The world of Pokemon and the world of My Little Pony cross paths.
The events take place after the Main 6 defeated Discord, while the other side, Ash has just finished his adventures in Alola. The two worlds intertwine, making the Ash Ketchum and his partner Pikachu cross paths with Twilight Sparkle and her friends.
There have been many instances where multiple worlds had crossed paths. One where Superheroes have met wizards, creatures meeting up with intergalactic life. So many of them with their own story. But this story is one of two worlds. One where there lay magical creatures who live with humans and a world of adorable yet wonderful ponies. Yet they all share one thing in common.
A powerful bond. Friendship.
Somewhere in the vast universe. A being of great power lies at the centre of it all. A sort of deer creature. This life form is known as Arceus.
"It is coming for us now." The otherworld being said to himself with an echoing voice. "The same force that has affected multiple worlds and Universes. It has found us. Nothing I can do, but to see how it all turns out between this world and another. You can feel it too can't you Ash?"
Equestria, Canterlot
Currently, All of Equestria is unaware of what is approaching. From Manehatten to Saddle-Arabia. To the home of the Hippo-Griffs and the Griffins.
High in the skies, a rift of sorts appeared, visible to the eye. Ponies looked up at the sudden appearance of the rift. It grabbed their attention as they did not know if it was anything that could pose a threat. Celestia was the first to witness this. Everyone had just recovered from Discord's return and the chaos he brought along with him. Now, this shows up, but no one knows what to make of it.
"A rift?" The sun pony said. "Why would a rift appear suddenly? Unless something is trying to come through.."
At Ponyville, the residents there spotted it as well. Cloudsdale got a pretty good view of it.
"Spike, do you see that rift in the sky?" Twilight asked him.
"I see it alright. You think it's Discord's doing?" Spike replied to Twilight.
"I don't think so. Discord's antics are much more erratic and chaotic. This just seems to be static and silent. But we can't take our chances. Who knows what's lying in there?."
At another world. The World of Pokémon
The world on the other side is also aware of this. Humans and Pokemon all had their eyes fixated at the rift in the skies. Flying-type Pokemon avoid this rift with caution by flying around it, over it or just moving away in general.
At Pallet Town, a boy and his partner Pikachu are completely unaware of this.
"Man, Alola was an experience wasn't it buddy?" Ash Ketchum said to his best friend as they were both relaxing in his room.
"Pika." He responded.
"I can't wait to travel the rest of the world eventually. Who knows what other Pokemon are waiting out there." He laid back on his bed with Pikachu jumping onto his stomach.
"Anyways. Let's get some good rest. That flight tuckered me out a bit." Both of them felt tired after their last adventure, so a good rest was needed for them as they both clocked out for a while.
That's when the rift finally acted up. In a sudden expansion, it let out a radiant white light that engulfed both worlds in a nanosecond. Celestia, Arceus, no one could react fast enough to it. And just like that, it was all covered in a white light.
The light settled, vanishing off as it seemed to do little damage. At the home Ash Ketchum, everything seemed fine. Delia, his mother noticed something was off. She took a look outside and what did she see? A pony. A light orange one with orange hair. And some sort of mark on it that was a chocolate cookie. She hadn't seen anything like it.
"Oh, dear. These Pokemon get stranger every day while still looking cute and simple." She said to herself, not minding it at all. The pony on the other hand.
"Hm? I was just in Sugarcube Corner. How did-" She was obviously confused. One minute she was ordering cookies and now she's here in another location. What she saw was some sort of purple rat. She assumed she just ended up in the wrong part of Equestria.
This was happening everywhere else. Regions and Countries were being mixed together. All at once, humans, pokémon and ponies were scattered everywhere. Within houses, offices, schools, castles, etc. From Sinnoh to Yak-Yakistan.
Twilight opened her eyes as she saw everything was normal around her at first. No one was hurt from the light. It seemed to be a dud.
"Nothing? Huh. Guess that was just a fluke, huh spike?" Twilight said laughing. Spike, on the other hand, was starstruck as he was pointing upwards.
"Look again, Twilight!" Twilight looked to where Spike was aiming and what she saw was something she had never seen before. Some sort of hairless monkey? They were all over the place.
"What are those?!" She shouted. Soon, pandemonium struck between the two worlds. Nothing made sense anymore.
Above the balcony of Canterlot Castle, Celestia looked and caught sight of the jumble of mysterious creatures everywhere. She knew she had to calm everypony down before it gets more out of hand. To do that, she'd have to use her royal Canterlot voice.
"Everypony, calm down. There is no need to panic. You are all safe and unharmed as of now.
Everypony grinded to a halt, even the humans and Pokemon. Her voice reached from Canterlot to Ponyville. Every individual took some time to examine their surroundings. To them all, many things did not look right here.
Back in Pallet Town, Ash has just woken after a nice rest. Neither he nor Pikachu knew about it. Ash rose from his bed while Pikachu awoke first. He shoved his human friend into waking him up. This never worked so the obvious thing to do is to do what always wakes him up.
That never worked, so the obvious thing to do is to do what always wakes him up. A clean thunderbolt woke the sleeping trainer up.
"Okay... I'm up." Ash said as he was covered in smoke. Time passed, as the two of them decided to go out. And once they got out, that's when they saw it. The rift. Although this time, it was in the ground instead of the sky.
"Holy moly, Pikachu! You see that?!" Ash exclaimed, his finger pointing enthusiastically at the rift in the fabric of reality. Pikachu, always ready for an adventure, hopped onto his friend's shoulder, fixing his gaze on the mysterious anomaly. In that moment, the air crackled with an otherworldly energy.
Suddenly, a hoof emerged from the rift, its color a mesmerizing shade of purple. "A hoof? Which equine Pokémon is that?" Ash wondered aloud, his curiosity piqued. Out from the rift emerged none other than Twilight Sparkle, accompanied by her loyal dragon assistant, Spike.
The boy, still in his pajamas, reached for his Pokédex only to realize his current attire wasn't exactly suited for Pokémon research. "Oh."
Twilight, with her sharp, violet eyes, took in the sight of the young trainer and his Pikachu. "Unbelievable, Spike. There's another world past here," she remarked, her voice tinged with amazement. Ash, still processing the sight before him, finally caught up to the conversation.
"Huh? Woah, you can talk?! Or is it just telepathy?"
"Telepathy?" Twilight responded, a hint of confusion in her voice. Ash, however, was convinced that the pony was indeed speaking on her own.
"No way. You can talk without telepathy. I thought Meowth was the only one that could do that."
"What is he on about?" Spike asked Twilight, sharing in her bewilderment. Twilight couldn't offer an explanation; this encounter was proving to be more perplexing than any magic she had encountered before.
Meanwhile, Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, making his way over to the duo. "Aww, look at how small it is," Twilight gushed, her eyes softening as she observed the electric mouse Pokémon. Pikachu extended his tiny hands toward Spike in a friendly gesture.
"Oh. Hey," Spike replied, shaking hands with Pikachu. "Pikachu," he added, conveying his greetings.
"He said hello back to you," Ash translated, kneeling down to pet Pikachu, who blushed in response.
"That's so sweet. Being best friends is always nice." Twilight couldn't help but appreciate the bond between Ash and Pikachu. However, she quickly refocused on the reason for their presence. "Oh right! We're here because of that!" She pointed towards the rift, drawing the attention of both Ash and Pikachu. Through the rift, people, ponies, and Pokémon were crossing between worlds. "That rift appeared out of nowhere suddenly. And then it let out a blinding light that caused this. Ponies were being sent everywhere, and even some of your species ended up in our world."
"So you're from another world, huh?" Ash mused.
"Yes, and we hoped to come through here to find some answers. Luckily, the rift seems harmless."
"Hm. Well, I got no idea really. I was kinda asleep through it all." Ash crossed his arms, chuckling at the absurdity of the situation.
"This is no laughing matter! This could be dangerous for both of our worlds! At least... I think it will. Spike, go on and tell the others that we should go see Princess Celestia. She may know what to do."
"Roger that." Spike darted through the rift, returning to his world to relay the urgent message.
"In the meantime, I have a few questions for you... uhh." Twilight struggled to recall his name.
"My name is Ash Ketchum."
"Ash Ketchum! ...What kind of a name is that?"
"Well, what's yours then?"
"Twilight Sparkle," she responded, prompting a suppressed laugh from Ash.
"Sure thing. Ask away, Miss Sparkle."
"Hmph." Twilight frowned at him, her inquisitive mind ready to unravel the mysteries that connected their worlds.
On the other side, Rarity's shop was experiencing some trouble.
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF EQUESTRIA IS GOING ON HERE?!" She yelled through her lungs. A swarm of Sewaddle were fiddling around with all of Rarity's dresses using strings on them. Rarity rushed at them, using a scarf to move them away. "Shoo! Get back! Getaway!" She chased them all out of her shop while breathing to calm down. However, the moment she turned around, she saw how her dresses looked amazing all of a sudden. She couldn't get this much work done in a few hours
"Oh my. These are stunning. Did those little bugs do this?" Rarity then gained an idea as she rushed out of her shop. "Wait! Come back!"
Meanwhile, at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack was about to buck some trees for apples. One kick dropped piles of them in a wheelbarrow. However, a sound came from the wheelbarrow. She looked over to see what it was. And to her surprise, a moving apple.
"What in tarnation?"
"Applin!" The creature said as it hopped away. Applejack rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't going crazy. But she saw what she saw. An apple with eyes and something wormy coming out of the back.
"Big Mac! Granny!" Applejack called out as she ran into her home.
At Sugarcube Corner.. we'll actually, Pinkie is already getting along. A group of Slurpuff were helping her make desserts and all kinds of sweets in a few seconds. They got along surprisingly quickly.
As for Cloudsdale, there were flying type Pokemon everywhere, soaring around. Some even landed on pegasi heads, to get some rest.
"Why are there so many birds?! This is ridiculous!" Rainbow Dash shook off the Tailow's on her mane. All of Cloudsdale was now 50% Pegasus and 50% Birds. Soon all of Equestria was filled with humans and Pokemon.
It has been 18 hours since the rift crossed the two worlds over. Things have calmed down now. However, Celestia still has no idea what to make of all of this. The rift us harmless but it ended up scrambling everything else. As she sat on her throne, she could feel something in the air. This feeling felt like a divine presence was near.
And with a sudden flash of golden light appearing, the princess looked up at it. Out from it emerged the Alpha Pokemon Arceus. Celestia was taken back by its appearance. It was just as majestic looking as her.
"Who are you?" She asked. But she was not afraid. It was almost as if the presence of Arceus was enough to make any pony, human or pokemon be calm.
"I am Arceus. I am the one who rules the world on the other side. I assume you are the same?" The Pokémon Deity asked.
"No. I only rule one country. Equestria. But you are the ruler of your world? The one that is mixed with ours?"
"Yes. That rift has made both our worlds connected. This is not the first time it has appeared in other worlds."
"Other worlds?"
"Yes. This mysterious force has been in countless other worlds. Worlds where men in blue and red fly across the skies, where creatures move faster than sound itself, where wizards dominate the world. And now it has come to us."
"So this force has been present everywhere else. But why does it do this then?"
"From what I can tell, it seems that it does this to see what the outcome would be if the work different universes became one. Almost like entertainment to it. After it is done, the two worlds return to normal and it leaves."
"So it is completely harmless. That is good to know. Everypony won't have to worry about anything." Celestia was relieved to hear that this force and rift won't really cause any damage to anyone. "So how long will it last?"
"Unknown. For that he first worlds it lasted over a year, and then later it varied from days, weeks and months in other worlds. The force seems to have some sort of enjoyment level. If it is not satisfied, it returns the worlds to normal."
"I see. Well then, I appreciate your visit, Arceus."
"I wish both of our worlds good luck." And just like that, Arceus left through a wormhole, returning to his domain.
"This could be good actually. Everypony could build new bonds with these new species. I can already tell a new kind of friendship is about to be born."
Meanwhile, in Ponyville, everyone but Fluttershy is aware of this otherworldly connection. Humans were falling from the sky, screaming for their lives but were lucky to have some Pegasi catch them. Grass-type Pokemon have already made the Everfree Forest their home along with normal types roaming Ponyville. Ash, Pikachu and Twilight arrived back in Ponyville to see what is happening on the other side. Ash had just got done changing out of his pajamas and into his closest clothes nearby, his Sinnoh clothing.
"Look at all the Pokémon here. And all these ponies." Ash took a good look at all of Ponyville. It was all just as vibrant as the other regions. Though it was a bit jumbled up currently.
"Alright. Spike should have gathered everyone by now." Twilight said. And just like that Spike came running back to Twilight. "Spike. Did you get the rest of the girls?"
"Sorry Twilight. They're all kinda occupied at the moment. You know... with all of this going on. But I haven't gone to Fluttershy yet, she might be available."
"Of course! Fluttershy loves animals! She'll definitely love Pokemon as well!" Twilight yelled with confidence.
"Fluttershy?" Ash wondered as he, Twilight, Pikachu and Spike headed to Fluttershy's Cottage. She was the only one unaware of the events happening outside. Being occupied with Angel will do that.
Twilight knocked on her cottage door to get her out. "Fluttershy! Are you in there?"
"Oh yes. I'm coming Twilight." Fluttershy opened her door, stepping out of her cottage. The first thing she saw was Pikachu. Which made her gasp in joy instantly. "Oh my goodness!" She rushed over to Pikachu who was on his friend's shoulder. "You are so cute! I've never seen anything like you before!" Pikachu was taken aback by how excited she was. He hadn't seen this much excitement for him back when he was a movie star.
"Uh, this is my partner Pikachu. And you're Fluttershy?" Ash said to the excited pegasus.
"Oh really? Well, he's so amazing. What is he?" Fluttershy put her hooves on his red cheek sacs, rubbing them. Pikachu was a bit sensitive there, so in response, he let out a surge of electricity that hit Ash, Twilight, Spike and Fluttershy, shocking them.
"GGGGHHHHGHH!" That was the sound they all made.
"I should warn you, he's sensitive there so be careful." They were all full of smoke with their hair and mane being puffed up. Fluttershy didn't mind this at all.
"Amazing. Electricity comes out of it?" Twilight said. "I've never seen anything like that before, even from the Everfree Forest."
"That's because Pikachu and every other Pokemon can do many things. Many things." Once Twilight heard this she now wanted to learn more about Pokemon. They might be some form of magic she's never seen before. "Anyways. Nice to meet ya Fluttershy. I'm Ash. And you've already met my friend Pikachu."
"Oh yes yes. It's wonderful to meet you too. You have an interesting friend here. And you look different yourself. Are you a new breed of monkey?"
"Fluttershy. We were hoping you'd be able to communicate with the rest of the Pokémon that are h-" Before Twilight could even finish her sentence, Fluttershy got more excited by the word "rest".
"There's more?! Oh my! How did I almost miss out on this?! Let's go!" Fluttershy flew off, heading towards Ponyville.
"She seems upbeat and energetic." Ash seems said to the two.
"Not normally. She's mostly very shy, hence her name. But once she sees an animal or any creature she gets all giddy. After all, animals are her speciality."
In Ponyville, Fluttershy gazed at all the Pokémon that were there. "Wow. Look at all of them. They all look like normal animals.. but different." She zoomed over to a Cherrim, picking it up. "You're like a flower!" The Cherrim smiled back at her. She then moved to a Mareep, hugging its wool."You're so fluffy! Fluffier than other sheep!" Ash saw her hugging the wool Pokemon and shouted out. "Fluttershy! Don't hug its wool! Its-" Fluttershy was shocked by the Mareep. Second time this has happened to her today. "Its fleece is charged with static electricity," Ash explained, but it was too late. She kept moving on to the next Pokemon, left and right. "You're like a crocodile! A vine! A firefly! A giraffe! Oh, this is just wonderful! This beats the gala any day!" She couldn't contain her excitement. All of the beasties all over the place for her to see.
"Well, shes obviously busy right now. Spike, I'm afraid we are on our own for this one." That's when Mayor Mare arrived to give one of her speeches. "Everypony please! May I have your attention. All ponies gathered up to hear another one of the mayor's speeches. "I can already tell you are all confused. After all, these new creatures are everywhere. But rest assured, after much consideration and spectating.. they are all completely harmless. Isn't that right you?" She was looking down at a Lillipup she had befriended earlier, petting it. "So as of now. I'd advise everypony to try and get along with these creatures."
"I second that!" Fluttershy yelled from far back in the crowd.
"Good. That is all for today!" Mayor Mare closed the speech as everypony then decided to get along with both the humans and Pokemon.
"Wait did she just call us creatures?" A male trainer said.
"Well. It seems that it's all going well. We still have to check up on the rest of the girls. I wonder how Pinkie is doing." As Twilight said that, hordes of cupcakes, sweets and all sorts of pastries came flying out of Sugarcube Corner with a pony being buried underneath them.
"Thank you." The stallion said.
"Pinkie. Have you just been doing this all day?" Pinkie Pie popped out of the pastry shop, standing on the pile of sweets.
"With some help actually!" Pinkie said pointing inside. In were Slurpuffs making all sorts of desserts for Sugarcube Corner.
"Check out all those Slurpuffs."
"Is that what they're called? I just call them Sweet Sniffers." Pinkie Pie hopped bad inside as Twilight and the gang followed in.
"So they helped you make all of this? Faster than you can normally do."
"It's no surprise. Slurpuff's are always used in kitchens by pastry chefs. Their nose is super sensitive, so they can tell when a dessert is baked to perfection." Ash said, explaining Slurpuffs abilities and traits.
"Really now? Ah, man. I bet they could sniff out some gems." Spike replied to Ash.
"Anyways! Who are you?" Pinkie hopped over to the new face, Ash Ketchum.
"This is Ash, Pinkie. He and his partner Pikachu and the rest of these uh... Slurpuffs come from another world. In their world, these creatures are known as Pocket Monsters. Or Pokemon for short. That rift caused both of our worlds to cross paths."
"Rift? What rift?" Pinkie said as she popped out of a package, eating a cupcake.
"You mean you didn't recognize that huge rift that is all across the world?! What are you doing?!" Twilight yelled.
"I was just making cakes for someone who ordered some. Then all of a sudden, this super-fast light came out of nowhere and just went. That's all I know."
"I'm surprised you could see something that fast. Well, you're obviously fine. We'll leave you to it."
"Wait! I haven't had the opportunity to make friends with you!" Pinkie jumped over to Ash. "I bet we can have LOADS of fun!"
"Well. Sounds good to me. I wanna explore this world more. And I can show you guys my world as well."
"Wonderful! Let's throw a party to celebrate our new otherworld friends! How many are there anyway?"
"All of them. The rift is kind of a gateway." Twilight explained.
"Hm. If it's all of them... then this party is gonna have to be much bigger than usual. Gigantic! This might take a few days, but it'll be worth it in the end!"
"I can't wait! Can you Pikachu?"
"Pikachu!"
"Hey, Twilight. I wanna see more of your world. I bet there's lots of cool stuff ahead."
"I don't know if you think they'd be cool but sure. Follow me, Ketchum."
Meanwhile in the Everfree Forest. The bushes were rumbling as a long pink hair stood out of them.
"Jessie, you're crushing me with your leg!"
"Suck it up, James! I need some time to recover from that flash."
"Well hurry it up! You two are stepping on my tail!"
"Wobbufet!"
The three infamous members of Team Rocket have also entered this world. Jessie, James and Meowth. Along with their Wobbufet.
"Where even are we? This place gives me the creeps." Jessie held herself as she could fee, the chill of the forest run through her. Unbeknownst to them, something was lurking behind them.
Timberwolves. Five of them in total. James and Meowth turned around to see the wood body wolves.
"Methinks we're in their territory?"
"Right you are James." The two of them gulped as the Timberwolves lunged at them. They took off, leaving Jessie in the dust, screaming.
"Where are you two going?!" Jessie turned around to see the creatures behind her as she then screamed for her life and followed her two teammates. The Timberwolves chased them down, but they couldn't keep up with Team Rocket's hilarious speed. Soon the two of them found a hut as they quickly rushed in it. They took some time to breathe as they let out a deep sigh.
"Phew. I've never seen Pokemon look so fierce yet so fragile looking." James said, laying back on a wall.
"Check this out. This must be some crazy lady's hut. This just spells voodoo all over." Meowth said, looking at the hut of Zecora, who they were unaware of.
"This pot looks like it's just here aesthetic. I bet she's not that crazy." Jessie sat down on a table, crushing the bottles as a chain reaction occurred with colourful explosions. It all blew up in their faces.
"Alright! No time to fool around! We need to figure out where we are! Our wonderful vacation.. ruined without warning! James! Meowth! We're getting out of this creep land."
"Well now, what have we here? Unknown creatures who have appeared." A rhyming voice came from the entrance. Zecora, the owner of this hut had just returned.
"Must be trainers. Meowth, talk to it and tell it to skedaddle." Jesse commanded.
"It is you that must leave this place, or the Everfree Forest will seal your fate."
"Holy smokes! You can talk like me! That can't be right actually." Meowth took some time to wonder. Jessie, James. I don't think we're in the same world anymore.
"Oh, so you are visitors from another world. That would explain the rift that whirls."
"We don't have time for these silly rhymes! Where are we?!" Jessie yelled, expecting an answer.
"I'm pretty sure, the rhyming zebra has already explained that we are in the Everfree Forest apparently. Wait, Meowth? Another world?"
"Yeah. That sudden flash must've sent us all the way here. Don't know how though."
"Well, I don't want to stick around any longer. Everything about this hut and forest is just uncomfortable. Well, thank you for your patronage, miss zebra. But I'm afraid we must be leaving." James smiled as they exited the hut, but heard the howling of Timberwolves. Back in they went. "Well.. we'll stay for a while."
Meanwhile, all the way in the Unova region. The Ursa minor had landed in Castelia City. It had just woken up from all the noise from the city. Panic ensued and people started running as this big cosmic bear was loose. Officer Jenny had arrived in the commotion, seeing the Ursa Minor.
"What is that?!" Jenny said.
"It's the Ursa Minor! Run for it! Some ponies who were set here were also running. With no Twilight here currently, how is this big threat going to be taken down?
Castelia City. Currently dealing with an Ursa Minor attack. Officer Jenny, the officer of this city was currently on the scene. But to deal with something of this size was new to her.
"Ursa Minor? That's a star constellation though." She said after one of the ponies screamed out its name while running. "Whatever. It needs to be stopped. All of Castelia City will be taken down with that gargantuan. "Arcanine might not be enough. I should've bought Herdier along but.. oh well. Arcanine, try and paralyze it with thunder fang!" She commanded her trusty Arcanine to bite on the Ursa. Electricity filled its fangs as it took a bite on the cosmic bear's toe. It barely phased it, only sending a small jolt on it. "Everyone else! Please evacuate the city and head to the Ocean's piers!" Jenny commanded everyone, including the ponies to head to safety near the piers where the ferries are.
Whilst they were all evacuating, even from the buildings, Arcanine was only able to just annoy the Ursa Minor. Jenny looked up as she saw that nothing was phasing this bear. And with one mighty swing, it took off the top of an entire building in one go as it dropped on a car.
"What strength! How do I deal with THIS?"
"Somepony put it to sleep, please!" A random pony who came from Ponyville cried out. Jenny heard this as she wanted to speak the talking horse.
"Excuse me! You said to put it to sleep. Does that help?"
"Well yeah. Last time it came to Ponyville, Twilight put it to sleep and sent it ba-" Before he could finish his sentence, the Ursa had already knocked multiple buildings over which caused the pony to keep on running. Jenny thought for a while. How was she going to put this thing to sleep? That's when she remembered.
"Dr Fennel of course! She owns a Munna! I just hope she's near. Come on Arcanine!" Officer Jenny and Arcanine took off, leaving the area as the Ursa Minor roared in the sky. Ponies, People and Pokemon were at the piers but there were too many of them, so it was heavily overcrowded.
"You're stepping on my tail!"
"Your hoof is on my loafers!" Constant commotion and rants came from the crowd due to them all being squeezed together. Jenny ran in the crowd, searching for Fennel. She couldn't be too hard to miss, she was the only scientist in this city with a Munna. And there she was mixed in with the crowd.
"Dr Fennel!" Jenny yelled, grabbing Fennel's attention. "Dr I need you to do something for me to calm the situation down."
The Ursa kept going on a rampage with no signs of slowing down as it looked like it was getting tired a bit. Mostly from all the swinging and destroying it was doing. Soon, Jenny returned to the bear with Fennel beside her.
"All we have to do is put it to sleep?" Fennel asked.
"That's what the pony said about how it was stopped last time."
"Very well then. Munna! Use Hypnosis!" The pink floating creature that was always beside Fennel let out a soft cry, sending a hypnotic ray to the Ursa. The spiralling ray made contact with the Ursa Minor's face, making its eyes all swirled up. And with that, it calmed down and due to how tired it was when it was on a rampage, it immediately fell asleep, crushing some buildings in the process with its back.
"Phew." Jenny let out a sigh of relief. Disaster averted. Although most of Castelia had been levelled. "Everyone! The bear is asleep! You must all stay still though, we'll need to clean this huge mess up! But where did it even come from?" And there was still the fear of it waking back up. So there had to be a way to get it out of the city.
All the way back on the other side, Ash and Pikachu had just arrived at Twilight's home. Golden Oak Library. Fluttershy followed them since Pikachu was the one Pokemon that interested her. Pikachu was on her back since she wanted to carry him around.
"Check this place out Pikachu. This library is more impressive than the Nacrene Gym."
"Pika."
"This is the Golden Oak Library. My library and home. I can probably find a book about rifts. If magic is involved anyways." Twilight began searching for books that could give any relation to rifts in space. In the meanwhile, Fluttershy was petting Pikachu, but this time on the head to avoid shocks.
"While you do that, I'm gonna explore more of this world. It's got my interest ya know." Ash walked out the door as he looked to his best buddy. "You coming to Pikachu?"
"Oh, I can guide you around if you'd like. Anything to show this little guy around." Pikachu and Fluttershy both followed him outside, leaving the library.
"Okay! I'll call you when I find something!" The unicorn yelled. As the three went out to the rest of Ponyville, Fluttershy gave them a quick tour.
"Now let's see, rifts." Twilight searched and searched with Spike helping out. Either the concept of rifts were non-existent in the books or Starswirl never encountered one before. This could take hours.
A few minutes passed as Applejack ran into the library looking worried.
"Applejack. Can I help you?"
"Twilight! You gotta help! It's insane!" What was Applejack talking about? The earth pony led her to Sweet Apple Acres to find that there were moving apples all over the place. It seemed that they have made the Acres their home. They were everywhere, especially in the trees.
"What in Celestia's name.. what happened?" Twilight questioned her worried friend.
"No idea. One minute I was bucking trees to gather apples, the next they start moving around. And there are these... things on them." Applejack pointed at the worm-like tail coming out of it, along with the fact that they had eyes.
"Then it must a Pokemon."
"A what?" AJ was confused by what she said? A Pokemon?
"I'll explain it all later. Right now, how do vouch we deal with this?"
"That's why I came to you. I think you might be able to deal with these here vermin."
"I'll see what I can do." Twilight readied herself as her horn began glowing. A purple magic aura surrounded a few of the Applin's lifting them up and out of the trees and ground. Despite how light they were, there were still too many of them, so she couldn't keep this up. "Applejack! Get a barrel if you can! I'll drop them in! Hurry!" Applejack rushed off to grab the nearest barrel she could find. Twilight couldn't keep this up as there too many of them for her magic to carry.
Applejack gave the burrel a good buck as it slid over to the purple unicorn. "Drop it now, Twilight!" With that command she let go as all the Applin's fell inside the barrel, filling it up. Applejack ran over and placed the cover on the barrel, closing it. Twilight let out a sigh of relief as she sat down.
"Woowee. That settles that. But what are we gonna do about these little guys?"
"I don't know. They seem to resemble that of normal apples so they probably flocked here to where Apples are most present." Suddenly, inside the barrel was a blue glow. And out of it came a burst of blue fire that was almost like a dragon's breath that shot through the barrel, freeing the Applin's as they bounced off.
"Ugh. It was a nice try. Thanks anyways Twilight. Besides, I don't think these little guys are harming anyone."
"You could just try and find them a spot where they can roam around in the trees and all," Spike suggested.
"That's not a bad idea Spike. But where?" Twilight wondered.
"Hmm." Applejack looked around the orchard and thought for a minute. "You know... I could let them stay for a while actually. Who knows. Maybe they might make this place more interesting and such. If they can behave."
"You sure about this Applejack?"
"Positive Twilight."
"Well okay then. I trust you. Come on Spike. Let's head back to find anything on the rift."
"Hold on there! You said something about Pokemon earlier!" Applejack halted them.
"Oh right. Well, you see.." After a few minutes of explanation, Applejack got the entire situation and understood it.
"Is that what it is then? So these little guys aren't from here."
"That's why I'm trying to find out if there's any information about rifts."
"Well while you work on that, what about everypony else? How are they handling all of this?" AJ asked, curious about everything else.
"Well, Pinkie Pie has already made friends with one of em and Fluttershy has already bonded with Ash's friend Pikachu. So from what I can tell, it's going well so far. But I have no idea if the same can be said for Rarity or Rainbow."
"Then we'd better go check. Rarity would lose it if she found one of them just in her shop."
But when the three of them arrived at her shop, everything seemed fine. Better than fine. So many Sewaddles were helping her out as many dresses had been made already.
"Ah. Twilight, Applejack. You two darlings made it." She said to the surprised ponies. "I should introduce you all to my lovely new workers. I don't quite know what they are, all the saw is sew-something of sorts. But they are excellent sowers. Those strings are divine."
"Rarity. I can't believe you're okay with all of this." Applejack said in shock.
"Well of course darling. At first, I was mortified when I saw them inside, but once I took a look at their wonderful crafts, I knew this was the start of a beautiful new friendship."
"Wow. First Pinkie, then Rarity. I never knew they'd make friends with them so easily like that."
"Well, you're friends with that Ash fella and his Pikachu friend right?" Applejack said to her.
"I wouldn't say we're friends yet, you know. We just met due to this rift so it's too early to call." Twilight was still on the fence about all of this. Making friends with otherworldly beings is new to her.
Speaking of Ash and Pikachu, Fluttershy had just finished giving them a quick tour.
"Huh. The world you have Fluttershy sure is something. I can't wait to see what else could be out there. Man, I'm getting excited already!"
"Well. If you wouldn't mind. I'd like to visit your world too, Ash."
"OH really?"
"Of course! Pokemon interest me so much. A whole world where there are endless amounts of mystical and fascinating animals and creatures. I've already seen some wonderful ones here. How many are in your world, Ash?"
"A lot more than even I can imagine. Try and count them like grains of sands on a beach. There's even Pokemon beyond the stars, even in entire dimensions. They come in all types! Dragons, ghosts, fairies, bugs, fire, grass you name it! So. Wanna check it out?" Fluttershy was now even more eager to go as the three of them went towards the rift to enter the other side.
However, the rift has begun acting up. Almost as if it was finding all of this to be too calm. It expected more interesting events to take place. So to satisfy itself, it changed the connection from Pallet to Ponyville, making it Ponyville to Castelia City. The three of them ended up in the middle of the wreckage that the Ursa ended up causing here.
"Castelia City? How did we get here instead? And what happened?!" Ash Ketchum was confused. He should be near his home by now but he's here instead. Not only that but the buildings have been totalled. Fluttershy noticed the problem. She spotted the sleeping Ursa Minor.
"The Ursa Minor!" She pointed out. Ash and Pikachu looked over, spotting a huge cosmic bear.
"Look at the size of that thing!" Ash was taken aback by how huge it was. Was it bigger than a Wailord?
"It must've caused all of this. Oh, dear." Fluttershy looked around the destruction it caused. Officer Jenny spotted Ash, walking over to him.
"Hey, Ash. Now is not the best time to be around here. That so-called Ursa Minor still hasn't been evacuated. Who knows how long it'll sleep for until it wakes up."
"Exactly how Twilight stopped it. Except she managed to lift it away back to its home."
"Home? You know were this bear lives my little pony?" Jenny kneeled to get to Fluttershy's height.
"Um yes. Last time it was cranky since it was dragged out of its home and away from its parent the Ursa Major. Twilight managed to send it back."
"Did you just say major?" Jenny was a bit frozen on the "MAJOR" part. The parent was much bigger than THIS?
"So all we have to do is send it home. No problem! Though uh.. it looks kinda heavy." Ash said.
"Ponyville is just across. If we can get Twilight she can send it back home. Her magic has definitely improved over time so she might be powerful enough to lift it without too much strain on her." Fluttershy explained her idea. Ash could clearly understand what she was saying. It seemed like an easy enough job.
"What are we waiting for then? I don't wanna know what else it'll do when it wakes up." The rift had planned this. Planned for conflict to happen to see how both sides would tackle this. If anything it loved to scheme. Watching events playout for its amusement.
A few minutes passed and Twilight still had no luck. Has Equestria never encountered a rift in the past?
"Ugh. No luck. Nothing about rifts yet. Maybe this is the first time Equestria has ever had rifts." Twilight kept going through hundreds upon hundreds of books, with Spike already tired and asleep. Twilight knew that this was taking too long and a nice rest was needed. She placed Spike on her back, tucking him into bed since it was getting too late now.
"We'll continue another time. Besides, gotta save that energy up for when Nightmare Night arrives in 2 weeks." Twilight went over to her bed to get some rest before the sun went down. She had a pretty eventful day today. A whole new world with different creatures and these beings known as humans? Rifts? She obviously needed to take a small break from all of that for a while as she closed her eyes, entering a relaxing deep sleep.
Resting in their beds, Twilight and Spike slept with comfort. Originally, Ash and Fluttershy planned to get Twilight to send the Ursa back home. But they didn't want to disturb her sleep. So, Ash vouched that they get some psychic pokemon together and lift the Ursa Minor back to the other side all the way to its home with the Major. And with that, night time came. Now, what does everypony else do at night with Pokemon and Humans involved?
With the rift mixing up locations for Ponyville and Pallet Town, Ash and Pikachu can't return home quickly anymore. They can only go to Castelia City and wait for the ships to arrive. But Ash wanted to explore this world more, but his mom would be worried about him. And that's when he remembered that his mom, Delia already trusts him due to how many adventures he's been on.
"It's getting late Ash. I should head home right now. I hope to see you again tomorrow. And of course you too, Pikachu." Fluttershy petted the electric mouse pokemon on the head.
"Thanks, Fluttershy. For the tour and everything. For tomorrow, I'd like to show you more of my world. You know minus the whole Ursa Minor thing."
"I'd love to. I'll be waiting." Fluttershy flew on home, heading back to her cottage as Ash and Pikachu looked at the rest of Ponyville, readying to clock out for tonight.
"You know buddy. Even though I don't get how this rift thing came to be. I'm really enjoying myself here. We got to see some sort of cosmic bear from this world, ponies that fly and have magic on their side. I didn't quite ask what those marks on them were but they were nice too. I think we're gonna have lots of new adventures here. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Pikachu!" He agreed with his partner 100%. They are always up for an adventure, even if it comes out of nowhere for them. Just the thrill of it will always pull the two of them in.
Moving away from the grounded earth, all the way up to skies in Cloudsdale. Cloudsdale had their own issue which was the sudden appearance of flying type Pokemon and humans dropping from the skies. The pegasi had to catch every human that fell since even though they didn't know these species, they had good pure hearts with a right sense of justice. So they had to save them.
"Does anypony even know where we put these.. things?" Rainbow requested. "They aren't pegasi so they can't stand on the clouds. And we can't carry them down cause they're too heavy!"
"Hey!" A human yelled in response to that insult.
"Well, we can't keep them here. Maybe we can send them through that thing in the sky before more of them fall through. Or else we'd be having lots of trouble catching more." Thunderlane suggested. Dash looked up at the rift and figured that it could work.
"Alright. Let's do this then!" Rainbow Dash readied up along with every other pegasus who was carrying a human on their back.
"Wait? You're gonna fly through that thing?!" One human said.
"I just got my hair done though, the wind will ruin it!" Another said.
The pegasus all took off from Cloudsdale, zooming towards the rift in the sky. Rainbow was the first to pass through and once she went through, she found herself high in the skies of Hoenn.
"What the hay? This is where you all fell from? What were you even doing?" Rainbow Dash questioned. Could they fly themselves? No, they couldn't because if they could fly, the pegasi wouldn't need to carry and catch them.
"We were just minding our own business in Dewford Town and all of a sudden and flash of light happened on an instant, and we were falling from above." The human answered.
"So that light appeared on the other side too huh?"
"Uh.. can you drop us off now please?"
"What? Afraid of heights?"
"No, I'm afraid of falling!"
"Alright fine. Everypony, down to that Dewford Town." They all followed suit, flying down to Dewford. As they dropped the humans of off at their home, they spotted some ponies were here too, especially Scootaloo.
"Scootaloo? What are you doing here?"
"Oh sweet! Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo ran over to her hero. "You won't believe this! One minute me and the crusaders were in our base and the next thing you know this light came out of-"
"A light flashed instantly, covering everything and now you ended up here." Rainbow Dash interrupted.
"Woah. How'd you know?"
"It's happened on this side too. To everypony really. Somethings are not the way they're supposed to be."
"Well, this place is pretty sweet. And these things... I think they call themselves humans, have pretty neat stuff here. Dare I even say, AWESOME!"
"What could be awesome here? This place looks kinda basic." Dash was not impressed. It looked smaller than both Ponyville and Cloudsdale.
"Well, there's this guy who fights and-"
"Pause! Did you say fight?"
"Yeah! At least that's what people call him. A fighting type gym leader or something."
"Show me."
Scootaloo led the multicoloured mare to the Dewford Gym where she was met with the Fighting Type Gym Leader Brawly. From first glance, he looked awesome.
"Oh, he looks impressive! Those shades! That colour scheme! But I don't think he's awesome material though." Rainbow was impressive but not to the awesome extent.
"You'll see! Hey Mr Brawly!" Scootaloo had already made friends with him from the time she was around here.
"Oh hey, Scoot. Welcome back. You here to see the ways of the fighting type Pokemon and learn from it?" The blue-haired brawler said.
"Love to! But I bought a friend of mine with me! One awesome pony! Rainbow Dash!"
"Really now? Well hey. I'm Brawly. The Dewford City Gym Leader."
"So you apparently fight huh?"
"Well, not me really. My Pokemon do. I own fighting type pokemon."
"What's a Pokemon?" Rainbow Dash wasn't aware of what a Pokemon was. She didn't even know the flying types back in Cloudsdale were Pokemon.
"Here, I'll show you." Brawly tossed out his Pokeball, sending out his Makuhita. Rainbow got a good look at it. It was unusual looking. She hadn't seen anything like it before. "This is Makuhita. A fighting type."
"And it can do some awesome stuff!" Scootaloo said poking its round body.
"Like what? It doesn't seem that impressive." Scootaloo and Brawly looked at each other and nodded, knowing what Brawly needs to do.
"Makuhita. Use arm thrust on the wall." The guts pokemon walked over to the wall, thrusting both its arms at it, leaving a hole in it as it had just destroyed a part of the wall.
"See?! It's strong enough to leave holes in walls by just poking it at em with its... I think those are hands?" Scoolatoo stated.
"That is strong. But I can do better." Rainbow Dash was known for being very competitive. And if it meant showing Scootaloo how awesome she is, she would take any challenge.
"Oh well then go ahead. Let's see if you can make a hole just as big if not bigger." Rainbow Dash went up to the wall, concentrating all of her strength in her hoof. With one kick she left a much larger hole in the wall than Makuhita. So much so it actually destroyed the entire wall in front of them. Brawly was impressed as his Makuhita felt underpowered.
"What strength!" Brawly exclaimed.
Rainbow Dash had a proud yet smug look on her face. "Well, it's no big deal. I mean I did kick a dragon once so this is just light work for me."
"That definitely trumps my Makuhita. Of course.. this isn't even my original Makuhita." Rainbow Dash paused for a bit and turned to Brawly.
"Huh?"
"You see, my first Makuhita actually evolved a long time ago. This little guy is just the second one I ever got. You wanna see real strength? Come out Hariyama!" With one more Pokeball tossed, he sent out a 7 foot Pokemon who looked much more built and bulkier than its previous evolution. The Arm Thrust Pokemon Hariyama. And it was intimidating. Rainbow Dash couldn't even imagine that small little Makuhita evolved into that later on. Scootaloo was also new to seeing this. She had only seen the first evolution.
"Okay!" Brawly clenched his fists as he pointed at the other side of the wall. "Hariyama! Focus Punch!" The big sumo like Pokemon held concentrated all its focused in its arms as Brawly stepped back. "You girls might wanna stand back. Hariyama's knock trains around like they're beach balls." They took his advice as they stood next to him, stepping back. And with one thrust of its hands, Hariyama blew away all the walls of the entire gym, and now that the walls are gone it took Brawly just now to realise that maybe, just maybe...
It was not a good idea to test their strength out inside the gym like this.
"Uh oh."
Rainbow Dash quickly grabbed both Scootaloo and Brawly, sending them out of the gym as it was crumbling.
"Makuhita! Hariyama! Return!" Brawly sent them back into their Pokeballs as the entire Dewford Gym was levelled. Oh well. "Should've probably seen that coming. My bad."
"That was... AWESOME!" Scootaloo loved every second of that! Both from Dash and Brawly. "You guys are so strong and awesome you could take down buildings like that! I bet you two could make an amazing team!" Rainbow and Brawly looked at each other for a bit,
"Hm. Yeah. I guess so. I mean, her strength and my Pokemon's strength equals high damage." Brawly started laughing.
"Yeah. It would be mighty. You're actually awesome Brawly." Rainbow Dash sent her hoof out for a shake.
"And you're super strong Rainbow Dash." He put his hands out, shaking her hoof as a new friendship was born.
"Well, we'd better head back. Our world is kinda waiting."
"Aw man, can't we stay around a bit longer though? I wanna see if there's more to this fighting type pokemon stuff." Scootaloo pleaded as she loved it here.
How everything has changed. Celestia raises the sun not just to ponies this time, but to Pokemon as well. As the morning arises, flying type pokemon soar through the Equestrian skies as grass types connect with nature.
Twilight had woken up from her sleep after the events that took place yesterday. She had much work to continue. Finding any info on rifts, learning more about the strange creatures known as Pokemon and maybe discovering the human world.
Ash and Pikachu had woken up after sleeping near a tree. They didn't mind it since they are used to sleeping in the wild due to all their past adventures. They woke up to the beautiful Ponyville, seeing ponies getting ready to do what they normally do every day.
"Ah. The sun here feels really great. Just as good as Alola's." Ash stretched as Pikachu had his hat on him. "Okay. Let's see what we can do first." Ash searched for anything to do in this new world and then it hit him. He never did ask what those marks on them were really. Spotting a pony who was none other than Berry Punch. He and his partner walked over to the raspberry pink maned pony.
"Hiya. I got a question. What are those marks that are on everyone else here?" He asked her.
"Oh, you mean our Cutie Marks?" She replied.
"Cutie Marks?"
"Pika?"
"Everypony has a cutie mark when they have a unique trait that separates them from others. They're sort of apart of us."
"Oh really? So is that why some of them are named specifically?"
"Yes. Although sometimes the names aren't actually literal. Oh, I gotta get going now. Busy busy." Berry walked off to continue her venture. Ash had now gotten a gist of what those marks were. Cutie Marks. What a cute name. Though he didn't understand how they all had names matching their mark or even their colours.
"Now we know that. If that's the case, then I wanna see what everyone does here for a living." The boy and pokemon decided to get a look at what everypony does in not just Ponyville but this entire world. However, in the bushes, a mischievous Misdreavus was plotting on how it was going to mess around in this new land.
At Sweet Apple Acres...
"Hey, big sis. What are those?" Apple Bloom pointed at the Applins that were everywhere in the orchard and all across the farm.
"Those? Those are just some... I don't really know how to describe them but they're living apples."
"Oooh. Where'd they come from?"
"From another world apparently. Don't get too close. Those little critters can shoot blue fire out of nowhere."
"I got it! I wanna see what they really are." Apple Bloom walked out to get a good look at the Applins. "They really are living apples." They jumped onto her mane, rolling around it as they found it be comfortable. Most ponies had comfortable and soft manes. Misdreavus had spotted the defenceless filly and had set a plan into motion. It used a confuse ray that had hit Apple Bloom, sending her into a confused state. Her eyes felt wobbly along with her body as she could barely keep her balanced. She began walking around all over the place with no sense of direction. Misdreavus saw this as a chance to strike as it went up to the filly, showing itself to her.
"Misdreavus..." It said.
"A-A g-g-g-ghost!!" Apple Bloom freaked out and zipped back into the house. Misdreavus gained energy from that fear. After all, it soaks up people's fear by scaring them. It needed a much bigger fear. A young one's fear was good but it's so limited. Those that are older have tons of fear that they hide due to their maturity. The screeching pokemon floated on to find its next big target.
At Ponyville, Rainbow had arrived, meeting up with Rarity and Pinkie.
"Oh Rainbow Dash, dear. I'm glad you're here. I was just about to show Pinkie Pie, my fabulous new helpers."
"I came here to tell you about this super cool world that's just beyond ours."
"You too have experienced one of those creatures?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah. I and Scootaloo met this awesome guy named Brawly. I gotta say he was impressed with that bulky Pokemon he had."
"Is that what they're called now?"
"Yep! Pretty funny name ain't it?" Pinkie Pie answered. "I and Twilight met this kid named Ash and his little yellow friend called Peekachoo or something like that."
"Well, it seems that everypony has had their experiences with these Pokemon. Although I do wonder what Fluttershy, Applejack and Twilight are doing to cope with this?"
"Knowing Fluttershy she's probably ecstatic about all of this," Rainbow replied as Fluttershy was right behind her.
"Are you kidding? I'm more than ecstatic!"
"AAH!" Rainbow Dash flew up in shock, not expecting Fluttershy to suddenly be behind her.
"It's just such a wonderful experience. New creatures that have so much variety. Possibly even more than our own in our world."
"Well, darling I'm glad you're enjoying this new life with these creatures."
"Mhm. Ash is going to show me around his world to see more of them. I can't wait."
"Who is this Ash you girls keep on mentioning?" Rarity asked. His name was being bought up a lot by them.
"He's a guy who came from the Pokemon world. He sure does know a lot about Pokemon, and he has a cute and amazing friend called Pikachu. He's an electric mouse. Did you know that they store energy in their body and discharge it all to have good health?" Fluttershy as obviously too into all of this, so she'd talk a lot about a Pokemon's description.
"Well, it seems you already know a lot about this stuff." Rainbow Dash came in to halt her rapid talking.
"Oh yes. I've learned so much from what Ash has taught me. We even talked to other humans and their Pokemon. Did you know that a Numel's body is full of magma, so it constantly stays dry and-"
"Okay. We get it." Rainbow Dash shoved her hoof in Fluttersh'y mouth, making her stop.
"So you're going to visit the other world then. Well, I would actually love to visit there. Perhaps the Pokemon there are just as good weavers as those little green darlings." Rarity actually felt like going. The Sewaddle were enough to fascinate her after all.
"I've been there. They have some pretty neat stuff. Though I was only in one town."
"Let's all go! Ooh! Oooh! We should bring Applejack and Twilight as well! Then it's a full party!" Pinkie Pie suggested.
"I'd love that. I can't wait for all of us to see all the Pokemon. Ooh, just the thought of it gets me all excited and giddy!" Fluttershy was giddy as she was about to jump around like a happy filly.
"I've never seen Fluttershy so happy. Not to this extent." Rarity whispered to the rest of the girls.
"Me neither." Rainbow quietly replied.
As the girls were talking, along came Misdreavus once more. And its next plan was simple. It had used Ominous Wind, sending a chilling breeze towards them. Both in the cold and nervous sense.
"Ugh. What's that feeling? It's giving me goosebumps." Dash and the other girls covered themselves from the wind but the repulsive wind would not leave.
"I don't like this at all. Do you girls feel something odd is near?" Pinkie said as she and the others were finding it hard to negate the wind. And now comes its next action. It sent itself down on the ground, doing a Shadow Sneak. The ghost pokemon let out a noise that sounded like someone weeping.
"What was that?!" Rarity looked around as she the girls could not guess where the sound was coming from. Even though it was daytime, this was still unnerving. And with that, Misdreavus let out its signature horrifying shriek like a cry. It is known as the Screech Pokemon for a reason. The sound was so terrifying and loud that Pinkie let out her own scream.
"AAAAAGH! GHOST!" This was so loud that it scared Misdreavus back, sending it in shock as it flew off.
"What was that thing?!" Rainbow Dash hid behind a tree, acting like she wasn't scared.
"Oh. That was most likely a ghost type Pokemon. Ash told me that they love to scare people a lot."
"Ghosts? That's a type?!" Rarity yelled.
"Oh yes. Now come on girls. I can't wait much longer. The four of them walked off to find their friends to bring them along. Misdreavus popped its head out of the ground with frustration. All the fear lost because of the pink ones somehow more terrifying scream. It didn't give up so easily though. If it was going to get a ton of energy, it would need to scare a group of people. Or maybe even ponies.
With Ash and Pikachu...
"Bits?"
"The currency in Equestria of course." He was talking Bon Bon, learning more about this world other than the race that lives here. "One bit can get you something despite how single it is. Two or more can get you a lot."
"Oooh."
"Pika"
"What's your currency in your world then?" Bon Bon asked.
"Pokedollars. It sounds odd at first doesn't it?" As Ash replied, a human had noticed Ash. Noticing him as the Frontier Brain and Alola Champion.
"Oh sweet! It's Ash Ketchum!" The young boy cried out. Ash turned his attention to the boy.
"Oh hey. Can I help you?"
"I can't believe I'm meeting the Champion of Alola right here at this moment! I'm a big fan!"
"Champion? You're a champion?" Bon Bon said.
"Oh well, it's no big deal really." Ash put his hand behind his head, a little embarrassed.
"I gotta tell my friends that he's here!" The boy ran off, heading towards the rift to inform his friends. Fluttershy and the girls had arrived, hearing about this champion talk.
"You're a champion? You never told me, Ash." Fluttershy said.
"Well, I don't normally go around saying my titles. Besides... I have a bigger goal in mind. Greater than a champion." Ash crossed his arms looking to the sky.
"What could be greater than a champion? I mean.. that's the coolest title you could ever have ya know." Rainbow Dash uttered.
"A Pokemon Master."
"Pokemon Master?" They all said in unison including Bon Bon.
"What is that?!" Pinkie Pie yelled.
"Master? That's a bigger rank than Champion!" Rainbow Dash followed.
"How do you gain it?!" Rarity finished off.
"No idea!" They all froze for a bit as he had no idea how to even become one. "The thing is.. becoming a Pokemon Master is something that no one has ever achieved before. I gotta make sure that I'm the first of them all. Whether it'd be understanding all Pokemon, exploring the entire world or becoming the very best. It's a goal I'm dedicated too since I started my journey. But I'm going a bit overboard.. what about you all? What are your goals?"
"Our goals?" The girls looked at each other. What were their goals?
"Well!" Rainbow Dash decided to speak hers first. "I wanna join the Wonderbolts! The fastest squad of pegasus ever!"
"I want to understand all animals.. any creature really, no matter what. And, maybe even overcome parts of my shyness." Fluttershy then said her possible goal.
"Well, I want to make it big in the fashion world. So that my works can go beyond that of Equestria!" Rarity explained her fancy goal.
"And I just wanna party, laugh and bake forever!" Pinkie's answer was obvious and set in stone. They all then turned to Bon Bon, wondering what her goal was.
"Uhh... I guess being with my friend Lyra forever? I'm not sure yet."
"Well good luck finding your true goal," Ash replied. And whilst they were chatting, Misdreavus was ready for its final scare. Pikachu could sense the ghost pokemon nearby. An ominous presence was closing in.
"Pika.." Both Ash and Fluttershy could tell that Pikachu felt something off.
"What is it, buddy? Who's there?" And out of the blue, arrived Misdreavus, using illusions to make itself look bigger, letting out an even bigger shriek.
"ITS THAT GHOST AGAIN!" Pinkie screamed in fear but this time, MIsdreavus was prepared to handle it.
"It's a Misdreavus!" Ash shouted out. "Its most likely hear to feed off our fears!"
"Feed off fears? How unhealthy!" Rarity cried out.
"It's huge!" Bon Bon moved back from the giant pokemon.
"It's just an illusion! Ghost Type Pokemon do this to make themselves more imposing."
"Oh. Well, that's better." Bon Bon was no longer scared.
"It's still gonna feed on your fears though. Luckily, I and Pikachu know how to handle stuff like this." Ash straightened his gloves and his partner went in front of him.
"What are you gonna do exactly?!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"This! Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" The young trainer pointed at the Misdreavus as his partner charged up electricity, jumping up in the air.
"Pika...CHUUU!" And with that a bolt of lightning went flying at the Pokemon, making a contact and delivering a powerful shock. And with one hit, the ghost type Pokemon was down. Everypony saw this and did a round of applause.
"Oh, sick! That was AWESOME! It can shoot LIGHTNING?!" Rainbow Dash was taken aback. That was much cooler than just hits.
"Yeah. All Pokemon types can do many things. Though that's an understatement." He picked up Pikachu, hugging him. He then went over to the downed Misdreavus.
"You know Misdreavus... I know you get your energy from scaring people and soaking up their fear. But maybe try sticking tonight where it's quieter and easier to scare rather than the day." Ash kneeled, talking to the ghost pokemon. It nodded in response.
"Misdreav.." Misdreavus flew up as it floated back away into the shadows.
"Nice handling their buddy!" Pinkie Pie appeared behind Ash, congratulating him.
"See look! I told you he was here!" The boy came back with his friends, pointing to Ash.
"Well, Mr Champion. You have company." Rarity said.
"Yeah. I think we're ready to go to my world now. I got some sweet Pokemon you'd love to see Fluttershy." As the group walked off to head to the other side, the threat from above was closing in. Only 7 days remain until it arrives.
But in the meanwhile, Twilight was stressing herself over this rift business.
"I can't! There's nothing!" She said as she was covered in books upon books. It was a mess. "No matter what, there's no info about any rifts." She put her hooves on her head as she felt like she was about to lose it. Spike wondered for a bit and came up with a brilliant idea.
"Hey, Twilight. Why don't we try asking Princess Celestia? She might know a lot about rifts!"
"You got a point, Spike! Let's go!" She got up and grabbed Spik rushing out immediately.
If there was anyone who had answers, it would most likely be Princess Celestia.
Twilight and Spike arrived at the Sun Princess's throne room, hoping to get some knowledge on rifts.
"Princess Celestia!"
"Twilight. Hello there." She responded.
"Princess. I need some info. It's about the rift. The one in the sky that's connected to both worlds."
"Yes Twilight, I am aware of it."
"Oh good. Then I assume you know of any books where I can learn about them?"
"No, unfortunately." That was shocking for Twilight to hear. Celestia did not know of any books? Impossible.
"But how? Surely there has to be one book on them." She pleaded.
"Believe it or not, Equestria has never had a rift before. Or even across the world. This is the first of its kind."
Now it made sense. Since this is the first rift that has appeared in their world, no one really knows anything about it.
"But, I was visited by Arceus. The creator of the other world. We talked about the rift and its mysterious force."
"Arceus?" Spike questioned.
"Creator?" Twilight followed.
"Yes. He had discussed with me that this type of event has happened before. In other words that is." She was talking about the Rift's previous world mergers and how it found both Arceus's world and hers. "Now it has reached both our world and theirs. From what we know, it is harmless and only merges worlds. For now, I can safely say you don't have to worry about it."
Twilight wasn't sure. It looked very ominous. But she trusted Princess Celestia and took her word for it.
"Alright, Princess. I will."
"Excellent. Now go on out there. You might be able to befriend these humans and pokemon."
Returning to Ponyville, Twilight had barely taken her focus off of the rift. It was just there. But as Celestia said, it was harmless. As she was returned to her home she found out that a Minccino was here. Not only that but she also noticed that her entire library had been cleaned. All the scattered books from earlier are now perfectly stacked like they never left their shelves in the first place. That was just the nature of a Mincinno. If they even see one thing that is not clean or organized they will take action, and nothing will stop them.
"You. Did you do this?" Twilight pointed at the Chinchilla Pokemon. Mincinno nodded in response, standing proudly with a job well done on the place.
"Cino." It said with pride.
"Well.. thank you very much. Beats having me and Spike cleaning up."
"Isn't that true?"Spike replied. Then to the corner of her eyes, Twilight noticed a note that was hanging on her walls. She went over, getting a good look at the note.
"A note? Who sent this?" As she examined the note it read...
"Entertainment is what I desire. Both worlds will create multiple outcomes of every kind. And I will be the one that starts the fire that will spread."
This was ominous and intimidating. Twilight didn't know what to think. But she was more perplexed when saw that note had a name.
"The Rift."
The rift? It had sent a note to Twilight by its own consciousness. Almost as if it was a living being. All those words that Celestia said about it not being a threat were all thrown out the window for Twilight.
"Oh my Celestia. This rift is alive!" Twilight yelled out. "It's plotting to cause some kind of trouble... but what?" And then the note vanished into blue and purple dust. As if it vanished into the air itself. Twilight could not rest on this. She had to find out what this rift was all about.
"Calm down Twilight. Look, why don't you just relax for a while and if it does end up causing trouble, we can just deal with like always. I mean, you and the girls took out Discord and Nightmare Moon, so it should be easy huh?" Spike said to calm her down as Mincinno was on his head.
"Alright. I'll stay alert though. If anything odd happens then I'll take action."
"Awesome. Now uh, I kinda wanna see what's on the other side ya know. Might be some high-class jewels that I've never seen before!"
On the other side, the rift had led Ash, Pikachu, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow Dash to Castelia City as it was being rebuilt after the Ursa Minor attack.
"Goodness. What happened here?" Rarity asked.
"Oh, and Ursa Minor came through and levelled some of the buildings here," Fluttershy responded.
"Oh."
"Hey check out those Pokemon!" Dash pointed at a girl had an Accelgor on her side.
"Oh, that's an Accelgor. They're pretty fast ya know. They can move at the speed of a ninja.
"I mean they look fast but... I bet they're not as fast as me. Still awesome though." Dash responded.
"I wanna show you guys each something you'd like here. Rarity you're a big fashion fan aren't you?"
"Well of course. Those little green things are such great helpers too."
"Oh, you mean Sewaddle!" Ash exclaimed.
"Sewaddle?" Rarity questioned.
"Sewaddle's known as the sewing Pokemon. It makes clothes by using the sticky thread it produces. Mostly on leaves. Fashion designers love using it as a mascot ya know." He explained the description of the bug Pokemon.
"Then that means I have a very important Pokemon in my shop! Oh, how wonderful!"
"Yeah important to only you.." Rainbow quietly said.
"Hush now!" Rarity yelled back at her.
"Well, there's also the evolved form of Sewaddle. Swadloon and its final evolution Levanny."
"I'm sorry did you say evolution?" Rarity asked. She, Pinkie Pie and even Fluttershy had no idea of Pokemon evolving. But Rainbow Dash did.
"Oh yeah. When I was hanging out with Brawly, he told me about evolution. Apparently, these little guys can do that. One minute their small and the next thing you know they get bigger! Ain't it awesome?!" Rainbow Dash said from her time at Dewford.
"Well not all of them. And some don't get too big." Ash correct her.
"Not all of them? What do you mean, Ash." Fluttershy asked him?
"Well, some Pokemon can't evolve. They stay the way they are. Some only have one stage. It's a weird thing even I don't get myself sometimes."
"Aww, it'd be cool though. I could only imagine what they'd all look like fully evolved." Rainbow Dash was imagining just that. When she was hanging out with Brawly he showed her and Scootaloo some trainers Glalie and how it evolved from a tiny little Snorunt."
"What about Pikachu, Ash? Can he evolve?" Pinkie Pie asked him.
"Well, Pikachu started as a small little Pichu as they all do and its final evolution is Raichu. Though Pikachu doesn't want to reach its final form and to be honest... I love him the way he is and respect his choice of staying this way. Isn't that right buddy?"
Pikachu nodded in response as he had a precious smile on his face. Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rarity were heart warmed by that statement.
"How precious. You two are such good friends!" Rarity cried out.
"Eh." Rainbow Dash merely found it too sweet for her. As the continued to walk along the streets of Castelia, going through the large crowds, someone had spotted Ash in the distance. An old friend. As the group sat down on a bench near the fountain of the city. They needed a small break as Ash recommended they try Casteliacones. Beloved ice cream of the city.
"Look who it is." A voice called out towards their direction. Ash turned to the location of the voice and who did he see?
"Hey, Ash." Brock was here.
"Brock! Oh sweet! Nice to see you here!" He was happy to see his old friend again. Though they had their reunion back in Alola along with Misty, it was always nice to see each other. After all, they've been travelling together for the longest after their adventures in Sinnoh. "What are you doing here in Unova?"
"I decided to take my Pokemon Breeding skills to other regions. I was recommended Unova since some pretty rare Pokemon can be found here." He as a Pokemon Breeder. Once he wanted to become a doctor but the dream of a breeder seemed more akin to him.
"Oh, you two are friends as well? Well hello there." Rarity said, greeting Brock. Brock turned his attention to Rarity and was instantly smitten.
"WOW! WHAT A BEAUTY!" He zoomed over to Rarity, kneeling to her. "My dear. Though we may be of different worlds and different species, I can feel our bond is close. Closer than anything in both our universes."
"Uhh.." Rarity did not know what to say. Brock was usually attracted to females. It seems ponies are no expectation if they are beautiful. And to put a stop to it, out of his Pokeball came his Pokemon Croagunk, who let out a poison jab that struck Brock's back, making him fall on the ground to stop his shenanigans. Someone always has to be there to do it.
"Ah good to see you're still the same Brock." Ash hadn't missed Brock's charisma and personality one bit.
"Now that's comedy!" Pinkie Pie said.
"Oh wow. A frog Pokemon. What's your name, little guy?" Fluttershy got off the bench, looking at Croagunk.
"That's a Croagunk. Ya know Fluttershy.. since you love Pokemon so much right now... I think you might need a Pokedex."
"A Pokedex?" She wondered.
"Right. It's a device that holds all the information about every Pokemon in the world. It's pretty nifty and helped me out in my journeys a lot.
"Huh. I would like that. But I'd prefer to learn more about Pokemon by being with them in nature."
"Okie Dokie. Oh, Brock by the way. These are my friends. Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. They obviously come from the other world that everyone knows about."
"I see. Well, it's great to meet them. Especially you, fair Rarity."
"Ew, please stop." Rainbow Dash said in disgust. "That reminds me. I wanna actually try something in this world!"
"What's that Dash?" Pinke asked.
"I wanna try Pokemon battles!" She exclaimed.
"Oh? You wanna try that huh?" Brock said.
"Yeah! After seeing Brawly take out that guy and his Pokemon in his gym I knew I had to give this a shot. The only problem though... I don't have a Pokemon of my own."
"We can get you started. I and Brock can help."
"Really? Awesome!" She flew up in joy. She got to try something she saw as fun back in Hoenn.
"Pinwheel Forest has a nice selection of Pokemon to help you get started," Brock explained.
"Ooh! Rainbow! I can compete with you!" Pinkie Pie yelled to her.
"Say what?!" She yelled back.
"Yeah! We could be... RIVALS!"
"RIVALS?!"
"Looks like you're already one step to becoming a trainer Dash," Ash said laughing with Pikachu.
As the gang made their way along, someone else was spying on them in secrecy. But that someone was also beside somepony.
A few minutes passed getting to Pinwheel Forest considering the distance between it and Castelia, but they were here. And training was about to begin.
"Alright! For starters! You're gonna need a Pokeball. I always carry some just in case I make a new friend." Ash got out a Pokeball, lending it to her as she pinned it down with her hoof. "Next, find a Pokemon of your choosing. Whatever catches your eyes." Rainbow examined the forest, looking for a Pokemon that she would make her first partner. And the first one she saw was a Whirlepede, near the bushes.
"Bingo! That rolling one!" She pointed out the Curlipede Pokemon.
"Alright, a Whirlepede! All you gotta do now is battle it. But since you don't have one of your own rights now, I and Pikachu can help." The two of them stepped forward, confronting the Pokemon. As they were ready to face off against it, Rarity spotted Sewaddles that were in this forest.
"Ooh. More of them. I wonder if I could just get some more to help me back home."
"Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Pikachu moved in blinding speeds, hitting Whirlepede in the centre, making it roll over. The pokemon got up quickly as it rolled around Pikachu. It then began spinning at high velocity, charging at Pikachu.
"Dodge it!" Ash commanded as Pikachu jumped up, avoiding the Whirlepede as it crashed through the trees, destroying them and turning around. "Alright! Now use Iron Tail! Wait for it to come close though!" Whirlepede zoomed a the electric mouse, closing in. Pikachu then jumped in the air, slamming its iron tail on the spinning Pokemon, sending it flying as it fell on the ground, fainting.
"Oh my." Fluttershy was surprised by how physical and fast-paced a Pokemon battle looked.
"Now's your chance, Rainbow! Lob the Pokeball at it!"
"Alright!" She kicked up the ball, bucking it towards the fainted Pokemon as it hit it, opening up and sending a ray light that absorbed it, sending it inside. The ball landed as it wiggled around. Shaking three times, it was a certified capture.
"And that's that. You just caught your first Pokemon." Rainbow Dash had a huge smile on her face. Her first Pokemon.
"Yeah! I caught a Whirlepede!" As they were celebrating her capture, Rarity had been eyeing the Sewaddle for a while. She's not the only one who wanted a capture. Meanwhile, high up in the skies the rift had made another move. This time it began shaping the two worlds once more. It was warping space around it.
"What's going on?!" Brock shouted.
"I don't know! Its like space itself is warping!" Ash responded. They all felt wobbly as they were no longer in Castelia. Now they were in Sinnoh. Specifically, Oreburgh city.
"Oreburgh City? Why are we here now?" Ash said. As if that wasn't enough, currently there was chaos occurring in the city. A group of Weaviles were causing trouble. The rift had placed them down to get some action going on. If it wanted to be entertained, it will be entertained. The Weaviles had frozen most of the city. Normally they wouldn't be strong enough to do so but a horde of them would. Even some Ponies who ended up here were frozen along with humans and Pokemon. The Weavile's had a blue and purple aura around them, almost like they weren't in their right mind. They spotted the group as they turned their attention to them.
"Those weasels are looking at us!" Pinkie shouted. The Weaviles all in unison sent an icy wind, large enough to consume a forest towards the gang. Now they were in new trouble.
Currently covered with ice along with people, pokemon and ponies frozen. As a horde of Weaviles takes over the place, they all release an icy wind at the group.
"Not good! Run!" Ash yelled as they ran away from the wind. They felt the chill of the icy wind as it was too large to outrun. It was engulfing everything in ice. From the trees to the buildings. It looked like it was going to freeze them all until...
"Onix, use screech!" A voice came out, commanding an Onix to let out a wave of sound that was strong enough to push back the wind. The screech even affected the Weavile's stopping them in their tracks.
"I know that voice... Roark!" Ash recognized that familiar voice, turning around to see Roark. The Oreburgh City Gym Leader.
"Ash! Over here quick!" He called for them as he led the group away from the city and into the nearby route where they could be away from all the chaos.
"Roark. Good to see you. What's going on here? Why are the Weaviles doing this?" Ash asked questions, wanting to know the situation.
"No idea, Ash. One minute everything is normal and then all of a sudden, these two individuals come out of nowhere and start causing trouble. Bringing these Weavile here." Roark answered.
"What two individuals, who were they?" Dash asked.
"One of them is known as Cold Colt," Roark mentioned one of the members. A pony. "The other, I couldn't get his name."
"Well, what did they do to cause this?" Brock asked him.
"They came here to Oreburgh and all of a sudden were commanding an army of Weavile's. They had this purple and blue aura around them, similar to the way they looked. The unicorn was blue while the other guy was purple."
"But why would they do something so horrible like this?" Rarity said.
"I don't know the answer to this. Look, I have to find a way to fix this. Everyone else has been frozen solid by all this ice."
"We'll probably need a fire type to melt this. But I don't have any of mine on me right now." Ash said, letting his head down. Everyone began thinking until Fluttershy got the first idea.
"I know. Why don't we just talk to the Weavile?" Everyone turned to her after she said that, Rainbow Dash and Rarity were the most confused.
"Fluttershy, darling. From what we've seen, those Weavile's are less than likely to talk right now." Rarity said to the shy pegasus.
"Oh, they're just probably in a bad mood. After all, they have that aura around them. So they must not be in their right mind." Fluttershy walked outside to the cold city. She could feel all the ice affecting her body. The Weavile's turned their attention to the unphased pony.
"Now now. Let's all talk about this. You little ones aren't really doing this on purpose now are you?" The Weavile's were ready to pounce on her with their claws on the ready. "I just know that deep down, you all want to go home don't' you?" A Weavile put its claws down, thinking about home for a bit.
"Now look at this. All of this unnecessary ice. Now how would you feel if somepony did something similar to you?" The Weavile's felt calm around her. As if all their aggression was gone. The purple and blue aura around them began to slowly dim down, becoming less visible. The gang were watching this and were amazed.
"Oh geez! I didn't know she was that good with creatures.." Ash said in amazement.
"You should've seen her when she stood up to a dragon. Fluttershy can be so cool sometimes!" Pinkie shouted. All the Weavile's sat down to hear Fluttershy's calming voice, the aura had completely vanished.
"Now then. We are going to make it a team effort to thaw everyone out, okay?" Fluttershy said to then now calm Weavile's.
"You ruined my fun." A voice came from atop the Oreburgh City Gym roof. A colt of ice blue skin and a dark blue mane along with navy blue eyes was seen. His cutie mark was a mixture of both an icicle and a rift, with the icicle piercing through the rift. "So much for that."
"Who are you?" Rainbow Dash said to the young one.
"None of your business granny." He said to her, calling her old compared to his age.
"G-Granny?!" Rainbow Dash twitched her eyes and grit her teeth.
"That's him! That's the pony I saw with the other guy." Roark pointed at the colt. "Cold Colt!"
"So that young troublemaker is Cold Colt? How could such a small little pony cause so much damage?" Rarity responded.
"Cause I'm awesome like that." Cold Colt said looking up with snarky pride.
"You call THIS awesome? This is ridiculous! This whole city's been frozen over!" Rainbow Dash yelled at the colt.
"Where are your parents? I'd like to have a word with them about your silly and irrational behaviour." Rarity exclaimed.
"What parents? Ah, whatever. I wanna have some more fun!" His horn began glowing as it shot out the blue aura only this time. The aura engulfed the Weavile's turning them back to their previous state. Fluttershy backed away as the Weavile's were now aggressive once more.
"If we're gonna save those Weavile's we have to stop him first!" Ash stepped up, looking at a cocky Cold Colt.
"Try it. I've got tons of backup with these little weasels!" The Weavile's moved in, heading to Fluttershy since she was the closest.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu ran in, using its iron tail to knock the Weavile's away from Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash decided to grab Cold Colt, however, he teleported away from her to avoid Dash.
"Come here you! We're gonna send you home and you're gonna be in big trouble!" Rainbow Dash chased after him, but he kept on moving around with teleportation, laughing with each time he evaded her. Rainbow Dash was getting agitated as she thought of an idea. She flew down lower as she spun around near the snow. She was moving so fast on the snow it created a snow hurricane. The hurricane reached Cold Colt, pulling him in. Dash flew up as he saw him spinning around inside the snowy hurricane.
"Let me out! I'm gonna be sick!" He cried out. Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves as she just watched the hurricane go.
With the others, Rarity had blocked herself from the Weavile's by using an ice block as a shield. "Back you ruffians!"
"We could try Fluttershy's calming technique again! It actually seemed to erase the possession!" Brock suggested.
"Right! As long as he doesn't interrupt and shoot that blue stuff at them, we should be fine. Fluttershy! If we give you some distance could you calm them down again?" Ash said.
"Of course! Anything to help them!" She responded with confidence. Pinkie Pie was putting team effort by rapidly moving from Weavile to Weavile. They were fast Pokemon naturally but they were having trouble catching this pink pony.
"Pikachu! Electro Web!" Ash commanded Pikachu who let out an electric web from its tail. The web fell on some of the Weavile's trapping them in it. Rarity had conquered some of them, by knocking them out via ice block.
"You forced my hoof, little ones." Rarity said. The rest of the Weavile's were tired from chasing Pinkie. They had fainted from exhaustion.
"All of them are down and out. Nows your chance Fluttershy!" Ash said. Back with Cold Colt and Rainbow, the hurricane was still going on. It eventually died down, stopping completely as the young unicorn colt fell on the ground, face planted into the snow. Rainbow Dash flew down to the planted pony, emerging victorious.
"Well, that settles that. You couldn't measure up to me kid."
"Just you wait! The Weavile's are gonna come here and freeze you along with your buddies!" He said whilst being stuck in the snow. His voice was a bit muffled but he could be understood.
"What you mean those Weavile's? Oh, right you can't see you're stuck." The gang had appeared with the Weavile's on their side. Fluttershy's calming proved to be strong enough to fizz out the possession.
"Good job Rainbow! Now, all we gotta do is return him to his parents back home." Pinkie said.
"What home?" Another voice was heard somewhere else. It was the man that Roark described. But his appearance was still not visible due to the shade of the trees hiding him. His hands glowed as he picked up Cold Colt from the ground with some form of telekinesis. "We're leaving the boy. There are other locations that we can have fun at."
"Aw.. fine." The colt and the mysterious man began phasing, almost as if their bodies were warping. And just like, they were gone."
"Rats! Gone. Who were those two chumps? And what they do think they're getting out of all of this?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
"They said there were other locations they could have fun at. You don't think..." Ash wondered.
"They might cause trouble in Ponyville as well!" Fluttershy said, worried.
"Or even cause trouble in Goldenrod City!" Ash responded.
"I believe we should head back home for now. Just in case." Rarity suggested. "Thank you so much for the trip anyways Ash. I must say I enjoyed myself, especially in Castelia."
"No problem. Sorry if it went all bonkers when this Weavile situation happened."
"And thank you for being here fair Rarity," Brock said with his hands holding her hoof. "Till we meet again on the other side, our bonds will forever be-" Rainbow pushed Brock away as the gang were starting to leave. "Alright. That's enough loverboy. See ya."
"Take care, Roark!" Ash waved him and Brock goodbye.
"You too Ash! And my little ponies! Now Brock. Can you help me find some fire types to thaw them out?"
"You bet!"
As the group returned to Ponyville, something was not right. Everypony and Pokemon felt a bit drowsy. They were all on the verge of falling asleep.
"What's happening here?" Pinkie Pie said, looking at the half-asleep ponies and pokemon.
"Girls! Ash! You're here!" Twilight was the only one who was not drowsy as she arrived. "Glad you're all here."
"Twilight darling, what happened?" The fabulous unicorn asked her.
"Everypony here suddenly grew drowsy by this weird pulse. I was lucky to cast a protection spell. And I saw two individuals who may have caused it. A pegasus and some girl."
"We had a similar experience back at Oreburgh City on the other side," Ash responded. "A colt and some guy."
"Then.. do you think that they're connected?" Fluttershy responded.
"More than that. I believe it has something to do with the rift." Twilight pointed at the rift, what she presumed to be the one behind it all. "That rift... I know this may sound crazy.. left a note for me in my library. Saying that it was doing this for entertainment."
"Woah Woah. You're saying that it has a mind of its own? And it's doing this just to have a good show?" Dash butted in.
"Yes. I'd love to try and explain more but everypony here needs to stay up. Their drowsiness isn't normal. It might be dangerous."
"What do you mean? Being sleepy isn't that bad. It's super relaxing!" Pinkie shouted.
"I know. But something about this one seems ominous. Its almost as if their bodies are going somewhat numb." And she was right. Ponies and Pokemon were starting to feel their bodies get numb all of a sudden. Their hooves, paws, tails, snouts, spikes, doesn't matter. They were all going numb.
"No time to lose then. We have to fix this as well." Ash got serious. "If their bodies are going numb, then we need a healing Pokemon. I can go to the other side and hope I can find at least one Pokemon that knows a move that can help." But before he could do that, the rift suddenly closed up. Blocking any entrance to the other world.
"The rift! It closed!" Twilight shouted out.
"What's the big idea?! OPEN UP!" Rainbow Dash yelled, practically at nothing. The rift had set its next course of fun in motion. And now it was ready to see how things would play out.
"This is bad. Nightmare Night is in 2 days and we don't need everypony to be asleep on a night where you don't sleep!" Twilight yelled, panicking a bit.
"Calm down dear. We can fix this. We're the only ponies left who aren't all numb and droopy. Besides, maybe Ponyville was the only one affected." Rarity said as she was implying something. Twilight picked up on it.
"Zecora! She'll know what to do!"
"Zecora?" Ash questioned.
"Come on girls.. and guy and Pikachu. No time to waste! All of Ponyville is at stake!"
"James, you're not doing it right!" Jessie yelled.
"I'm putting in the most effort I can right here!" James replied.
"Let's just hope this one doesn't blow up in our faces again!" Meowth finished off. They had become apprentices for Zecora, learning from her and working for her. It was going poorly. Neither understood how any of these voodoo magic stuff worked. So for the past few hours, it has been consistently going wrong for them. Zecora was enjoying this though. Never before had seen such failure yet determination from a group like this.
"I admire your determination Team Rocket. But your results end up hitting hard like a comet." The zebra said.
"Cut us some slack, lady! We've more experienced in tech than this magic mumbo jumbo" Meowth said as his face was covered in various colours.
And then, through the door came Ash, Twilight and the gang.
"Zecora! We need your help!" Twilight yelled. Team Rocket and Zecora turned their attention to the gang as the rockets noticed Ash and Pikachu right there. The boy and Pokemon had also seen them as well.
"Team Rocket?!"
"Pipi-kachu?!"
"The twerp and his Pikachu?!" Each of them said one after the other. Shocked to see the other here as they pointed at each other.
"What are you guys doing here? You planning to steal from here as well?!" Ash said, ready to act on them.
"You know these folks?" Fluttershy said.
"They're bad guys who steal Pokemon. They've been after my Pikachu for years now."
"For your information, we're just kindly helping Zecora out like good citizens so.. NYAAAH!" Jessie blew her tongue out at him.
"I can already sense there is some bad blood between you two. But other than that, how can I help you?" Zecora said.
"Zecora. Something weird is going on! Everypony in Ponyville had suddenly become drowsy.. and their bodies go numb afterwards. We were hoping that you could help us solve this?" Twilight explained the situation.
"This is a predicament, drowsy and numb? A potential solution could be a special type of plum."
"A special type of plum? What sort?" Rarity asked a question.
"The plum I speak of is ordinary. But once it is altered it becomes extraordinary. Zecora got out a standard plum from her jar. "Once this plum has been dipped in this liquid, its properties will change, everything shifted."
"Does she always talk in rhymes?" Did Ash ask?
"Yes." Rarity, Dash and Pinkie replied.
"All it takes is plum in that green liquid? Wow. That's surprisingly easy." Twilight said.
"But be warned of the result, Twilight Sparkle. If it's not eaten right, then the result will be an unparalleled startle." Zecora warned her. This enhanced plum had to be eaten in a specific way, or else the outcome would be devastating. Much more dangerous than numbness.
"How is it supposed to be eaten?" She asked.
"Once inside the mouth it must be still. After 3 minutes pass, the plum's job will be fulfilled."
"She basically means, holds it in and bite it once 3 minutes pass by. That's what I got anyways." Meowth translated.
"But that's only one plum though. We're gonna need a lot to heal everyone." Dash said. Zecora had grabbed a few more plums to alter in the liquid, but that was all she had.
"That is all the plums for now. Go save everypony, now."
"We'll make sure its eaten right Zecora," Twilight said. "Come on girls. And Ash and Pikachu. Let's go wake everypony up."
"Bye-bye! Be safe out there.. losers.." Jessie said quietly.
The numbness was reaching everypony, pokemon and human affected. They couldn't feel anything as they dropped to the floor like flies. Luckily some Pokemon were actually resisting going numb. Mainly poison types and some grass types who can absorb various toxins and fumes. The grass types pitched in to help everypony and human. An Ivysaur used its vines to grab onto a numb pony. It had used leech seed on the numb unicorn, seeping all of the poison from her body. The numbness was sent out Ivysaur's bud, holding it there. The Ivysaur went around, absorbing all numbness from as many humans, ponies and pokemon as it could. But it couldn't. Even an Ivysaur couldn't handle that much as all the numbness now travelled to it. The ones that Ivysaur helped were healed, but there was still so many of them who were drowsy and numb.
"W-What happened? Oh, I don't feel weird anymore." A youngster said, feeling refreshed. He, a real unicorn and a Chingling were fine along with the others that Ivysaur helped.
"All I remember is two weirdos came out of nowhere and used some creepy dark creature put us all to sleep." The teal unicorn said, holding his head. Ash and the gang arrived, seeing that some of them were healed.
"Oh sweet! Some of you are okay!" Ash said in joy.
"Yeah. But not all of us though. That Ivysaur over there helped us... but it looks ill though." The youngster pointed at the now ill Ivysaur who was carrying all that numbness in its bulb. Ash and Fluttershy walked over to the seed Pokemon, comforting it.
"You did good Ivysaur. " Ash said to it.
"Get a good rest you." Fluttershy soothed the Ivysaur, calming down.
"We have only a few plums for everypony here. Zecora's out getting more plums as we speak." Twilight said as she went over to a filly, lending it to her. "Hold in for 3 minutes. Once 3 minutes pass, then bite it."
"Okay.." The little filly responded in understanding. Ash looked around and saw an Audino who was also numb. That gave him an idea.
"Hold on a sec, Twilight. Give a plum to that Audino there. I have an idea." Twilight lent a plum to the hearing Pokemon, placing it in its mouth and giving the pokemon instructions on what to do.
"How will this help Ash, dear?" Rarity asked.
"Audino's are favourite for Nurse Joy's in Unova. They have tons of healing moves like Refresh and Heal Pulse. If I'm right, that Audino can help us heal everyone here."
"It can do that by itself? Man pokemon are so awesome!" Rainbow Dash said. As time was passing by, the two individuals who caused all of this was watching from the shadows. Similar to how Cold Colt and the man were last time in Oreburgh.
"Those are the ones that were in Oreburgh." Said the mysterious unicorn. She had teal skin and a radically swooshed hairstyle which went over her eyes. Her cutie mark was an emerald with a rift in the middle of it, similar to Cold Colt's cutie mark.
"Yeah, that's them. The rift has been keeping a good eye on them. It has all its attention and plans geared towards them." A girl with blue drill hair responded. Her identity was still a mystery. "Alright Emerald Aura. What do you think we should do about this? If we ruin it here, the rift will be upset." She said to the pegasus.
"I say we use him again." Emerald's horn glowed as she bought in a controlled, out of mind Darkrai. "We've already made them act all weird and numb. What do you think about nightmares?"
"I like that idea. It'd be interesting to see how they'd fix this one." The drill haired girl replied. Emerald Aura used her magic to send the controlled Darkrai as it appeared upon Ponyville. Everypony, pokemon and human looked up to see the Pitch Black Pokemon. Ash was most surprised by this. His fourth time seeing a Darkrai.
"It's a Darkrai!" He shouted. "That explains it."
"What the hay's a Darkrai?" Pinkie asked.
"Darkrai's are infamous for putting people and pokemon into a deep sleep, where they are tormented by terrible nightmares."
"T-THAT'S HORRIBLE!" Fluttershy yelled in fear. How could a Pokemon like that exist?
"Now Darkrai. Show them a nightmare!" Emerald said out loud as Darkrai gained a green aura around him. He then let out this pulse of dark energy that engulfed Ponyville as the skies were cloudy and dark. Everything was dimming down around everypony. This was the result of a Darkrai's nightmare initiation. Ash had experienced this back in Alamos Town.
"I can't let this happen again! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu charged up lightning, shooting it towards Darkrai. However, it was stopped due to Emerald's magic wave, cancelling the thunderbolt. "Twilight. Girls. If we don't stop Darkrai, everyone's gonna is put into a neverending nightmare!" The darkness was only getting bigger as some ponies and pokemon were being pulled in a black void. Some humans tried pulling them out but they were sucked in as well.
"I got this!" Twilight cast a reflection spell that had pushed back some of the darkness, bringing in some light. But it wasn't enough. Soon, a black void appeared underneath Rarity and Pinkie Pie, pulling them in as well.
"AH! GET IT OFF ME!" Rarity cried out.
"DON'T LOOK INTO MY DREAMS!" Pinkie Pie followed. Twilight and the gang attempted to pull them out as they were struggling. Pikachu turned around as he saw one of the black voids emerging underneath him and the others. To save him and his friends, the electric mouse pokemon jumped over the void, running towards Darkrai. Pikachu used its iron tail on Darkrai, hitting its head as it was sent down. Doing this had sent the voids away, however, a lot of ponies, humans and pokemon had already been sucked inside. Rarity and Pinkie were lucky to be saved at the last minute.
"Oh thank Celestia. That was close." Twilight said in relief.
"Good job buddy," Ash said as his partner ran back to him.
"Oh, so it was the mouse that stopped it. Ah, whatever. Let's just make this more interesting." Emerald said, preparing another stunt. Fluttershy noticed Emerald Aura, standing near a hill.
"There!" She pointed at the duo.
"I got it! Pikachu! Electroweb!" A quick electroweb was sent towards the duo, interrupting Emerald's aura's magic.
"You jerks!" Emerald yelled. The drill haired girl wasn't worried in the slightest though. "
"Calm down Emerald." She used her hair to break free from the web. Almost like her hair was a weapon.
"Who are you two? What's the big idea about doing?!" Twilight demanded.
"Like we'd tell you." The drill haired girl said, however, Emerald spilt it all out.
"We're creations made from the rift based on each of your own individual worlds and we've come here to do the rift's bidding by causing events to play so that the rift can see how it all turns out so that it can satisfy itself. Oops." Emerald had finally made it clear for the gang. Now they know what is really going on. The drill girl facepalmed herself.
"Its already been exposed anyways. So whatever." The drill haired girl revealed herself to be wearing a purple cloak that covered her completely.
"You mean it's doing this just for fun?!" Ash said with anger in his eyes.
"Oh yeah! And it's turning out great so far. So if you don't mind.. the rift would like to have some more fun!" Emerald made Darkrai get up as the pitch-black pokemon grew to a much larger size. Larger than Ponyville itself. It could be seen from the Everfree Forest and even from Cloudsdale.
"What in Celestia's name..." Twilight and everypony else looked up at the now titanic Darkrai. It was clear that this was a threat much bigger than Discord or Nightmare Moon.
Beyond the world of Pokemon. Beyond the world of Ponies, lies the one place the rift dwells.
An endless plane of astral and cosmic energy flowing through this realm. The rift sits there, playing out the events, as it is visited by those that work under it. Cold Colt, and the man who was with him, along with 3 other unidentified ponies and humans.
"Great Rift. The Darkrai phase is going well it seems. The ponies, humans and pokemon don't know how to deal with it yet. Is this interesting for you yet?" A mysterious earth pony said. The rift had responded. Actually having a voice of its own.
"It is already interesting to me. I am already anticipating how Ash Ketchum and Twilight Sparkle and her friends will solve this. The thrill of two worlds interacting with each other is just wonderful."
"I'm still pretty mad about what happened back at Oreburgh. That Rainbow Dash girl is gonna get what's coming to her if we meet again." Cold Colt said, still upset about Rainbow easily defeating him by snow of all things.
"Let the Darkrai event play out. And once they solve that issue... I will send in another event that might be just as fun."
Back in Ponyville, the now gigantic Darkrai was the major obstacle in the way for everypony, pokemon and human there. And without hesitant, Darkrai fired black balls of energy from its dark hands. If hit, the target will fall into a deep sleep. But it was worse. Hundreds of them were flying all over the place. All were running away from the nightmare spheres, but they kept on getting hit. Many fell asleep, living out their worst nightmares forever.
Twilight cast a large protection spell around the remaining ponies, humans pokemon. The spheres hit the barrier continuously. It protected them but it wouldn't last long.
"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. We have to do something!" Twilight's barrier was breaking apart from all the attacks, pushing everyone back. Pinkie Pie whipped out a ballon as she blew on it as hard as she could, Eventually the balloon was filled with a plethora of air.
"Everypony grab on!" The gang held onto Pinkie Pie as she raised the balloon upwards, The barrier had broken apart finally, but luckily they managed to fly off with the balloon. That didn't last long either, as Darkrai caught sight of this instantly, swiping its shadowy claws at the balloon, destroying it. The group was sent flying back down, screaming as loud as they could. And just like that, a void appeared underneath them, sucking them all inside. Now all of Ponyville was pulled into a black void of nightmares.
Rainbow Dash had woken up, opening her eyes to Cloudsdale. Everything seemed fine as she was in her home.
"Home?" She opened up her doors, coming out to the open as the pegasi were just enjoying their day. When all of a sudden, the clouds began to phase out. The pegasi were struggling to fly all of a sudden, clinging onto building and edges nearby. "Oh no!" I got you guys!" Rainbow Dash flew over to try and save one of them who was hanging on the edge, however, she was suddenly stopped. She couldn't put her hoof out to help the pegasi. She couldn't get any closer either.
"Rainbow Dash. Why aren't you helping me?" The pegasi said as she was slipping.
"I'm trying! I can't reach you for some reason!" She tried flying through this invisible wall but nothing was working.
"Rainbow." The pegasi said. As just like that, she fell from Cloudsdale, along with everypony else. Falling to their demise. And there was nothing that she could do about it. She screamed in both sadness and terror as she could feel this dark sensation all over here. The sounds of Darkrai, loomed over her, haunting her. She was destined to repeat this process over and over again. In multiple locations, multiple scenarios and multiple times. She could not save anypony no matter what. And this was just the first few minutes.
Pinkie Pie was sitting in a desolate land in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but hard ground everywhere. No sign of trees or even any water. "Hello? Anypony out there?" Nopony was out there. The cold hard atmosphere got to her, sending cold pressures all over the place. She could feel herself losing strength until she saw a pony in the distance. She gained a smile on her face as she tried to run towards that mysterious pony. And as she got closer, she could see a town filled with colours. Many more ponies were there, smiling away and having fun. This excited her, making her determined to get there.
"Everypony! Don't start the party without me!" However, it was no use. She was being pulled back suddenly. The distance between her and the town was getting farther and farther. Soon she was far from the town and at the edge of the desolate land, losing sight of the colourful party. And like that, her always ecstatic hair become dull and droopy. She couldn't join in on all that fun. She repeated this cycle continues throughout multiple sequences. As it kept going on, each of them looked bleaker and bleaker until all the colour was sucked away. From both the world and her. And the hands of Darkrai appeared behind her.
Everypony. Every Pokemon. Every human. Living out some of their worst nightmares. It wasn't just limited to one. It was many more. Each of their worst fears throughout their lives, being sent to them in the worst possible ways that they imagined and more. Fluttershy was surrounded by ponies mocking her but to the extreme. Her body was frozen so she could not move away from the mocking, the taunting, the insults, no matter how hard she tried. Her eyes were the only active thing. But they only let out tears. The one other thing she heard was the laughter of Darkrai.
Rarity saw all of her dreams being crushed in front of her. Over and over again. Everything she worked for and wanted to achieve had just crumbled into dust as all she could see was Darkrai being the one to destroy them.
Twilight was in some sort of forest. As she looked around she could see gravestones. 5 of them actually. Each of them of her friends. But it got worse. There were hundreds more that surrounded her in a circle. Everypony she had met up to that point had their names on each gravestone. "No... what is this?" And from above was Celestia who looked down on her. "Princess Celestia! I don't know what's going!" She cried out. Celestia turned away, ignoring Twilight as she flew off into a dark void. Twilight was starting to lose it. She was living out the worst possible scenarios repeatedly. Her friends falling to their doom, never meeting with them or just being in solitude. With no Spike even. All by herself without anyone even acknowledging she exists. The only one there in the room with her was Darkrai.
It was all looking bleak. All those who were in this nightmare-scapes were suffering from no end in sight. That is until Twilight saw a hand come out of thin air. She looked up to it as she could see that it was Ash's hands.
"Twilight! Take my hand!" His voice cried out. The voice of Pikachu was there was as well. She lifted her hoof near his hand as he grabbed it.
"Ash? Pikachu? But how?" She was being pulled out of the room and closer to them. As she was dragged out of the room and into a black realm with no space, Ash had saved her from that nightmare sphere. She hugged the two of them, feeling safe as she was free from that horror. "How are you-"
"I and Pikachu know this. We've experienced Darkrai's nightmares before."
"H-How were you able to break free of it though?"
"How? Because I trust him and trusts me. Darkrai only wants you to live out the worst possible scenarios that you wish never happen. My fear was losing my buddy. But I didn't let that get to me. Because he's got my back, and I've got his." They smiled at each other in certainty. Twilight could finally see it. The indomitable spirit and hope they gave. Throughout all their adventures, they've been tested. Their loyalty, compassion, trust and friendship for each other. They have been through so much throughout their journeys. It would take more than just a nightmare to get in the way of that. Twilight began crying as Pikachu and Ash comforted her. With them here, she felt safe. And to make sure that she felt truly safe, Ash said something that an old friend said to him long ago.
"No need to worry." Twilight looked up at the not so worried two. They were not scared in the slightest. "We'll get everyone out. They'll all be safe and sound."
Applejack, one of the ponies who had already been sent to sleep a while ago before Twilight and the gang arrived was living out her nightmares as well. That's when she saw Ash, Twilight and Pikachu reach out to her.
"What the... Twilight? And who are they?" She asked, petrified.
"Take my hoof Applejack! It's okay!" She assured the earth pony that it would all be okay, as she was pulled out of the nightmare, entering the void. With haste, ponies, people and pokemon were being saved by Ash and Twilight's efforts. It was as if all those horrible scenarios were just fictional now. On the outside world, pressure could be felt. Emerald Aura and the drill haired girl could feel it too. Darkrai felt weakened by this pressure. The huge void he conjured was starting to break apart. And out of it came as a thunderbolt that grazed him. And with that, complete freedom. All were starting to wake up from the horrible nightmares they had been saved by Ash, Pikachu and Twilight.
"They broke free of the nightmare! Holy Moly, how'd they do that?!" Emerald was shocked. The nightmares were huge and there were so many of them.
"You may have had everyone trapped in there. But I and Pikachu are far beyond that!"
"What are you on about, brat?!" The drill haired girl said.
"Our friendship and bond have been around for a long time! Longer than your entire existence! Like we'd let some nightmare get in the way of that!"
"Talk about spirit. What now?" Emerald asked her partner.
"This has already made me pretty aggravated. Forget what the rift thinks, these pests have to go! Darkrai! Crush them all!" Darkrai lowered itself, facing all of them.
"You sure you wanna do this Darkrai? You're just gonna let these guys command you to cause to much trouble?" Ash asked the nightmare pokemon.
"I believe you're a good-hearted Pokemon deep inside. It's just in your nature to cause nightmares. I'm sure you mean harm." Fluttershy followed.
"Yeah! And who are these chumps to boss you around? They just came to be all of a sudden! You've been around longer than them in your world. So if anything you shouldn't be taking all of this from them!" Rainbow Dash said with aggression. Darkrai knew that this was wrong. It only caused nightmares to defend its territory. But here, it was in their territory. Darkrai, despite its intimidating appearance, was a good Pokemon through and through. Ash should know. He knew the Darkrai that risked its life to protect the garden it loves. And he remembered the Darkrai that Tobias had were both on good terms with each other.
"That's enough babble! Darkrai! Go!"
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded Pikachu to release a thunderbolt as it hit the ground where the two of them were standing knocking them back. Darkrai held its head as all of the magic that Emerald placed in its mind was pouring out like crazy. Green lights flew all over the place, returning to Emerald who was on the floor. Darkrai had fainted on the ground, exhausted from all that magic that was boiled up in it. Everypony and Pokemon lent a hand, lifting the fainted Darkrai from the ground.
"This was a total bust!" Emerald got up, feeling dizzy from the thunderbolt. "But I think it turned out great! This'll definitely get the rift huge satisfaction eh?"
"Oh shut up you. We're leaving." And with the power of the rift, they vanished away like how Cold Colt and the other guy. Ponyville was saved along with everyone else. They managed to push back a huge threat that threatened them all. A moment of celebration was called for. Pinkie Pie was the most excited to start it due to what she experienced back there. And that is when up the sky, the voice of the rift finally called out to them. Not just to Ponyville but the entire world. Both worlds.
"I congratulate you all. You've managed to put on an amazing show. I will leave you all to have a moment of peace for a few weeks. And then I will start another event. One greater than this." The voice of the rift then faded away. Now everyone was alert but had time to relax.
Hours passed as the sun was setting. A party was being thrown as everyone was celebrating. Disaster averted. Pikachu was with Fluttershy and Pinkie. Eating some food that the Slurpuffs had helped make. Dash and Jack were competing whilst Rarity bought along her helpful Sewaddle's. Twilight was sitting outside, looking at the setting sun as she had some time for relief after what just happened back there. Ash came out to see her sitting there alone.
"Hey, Twilight. Aren't ya gonna join in? Its a blast."
"I will. I just still need some more time. It's crazy how all of this is happening. Just because the rift wants to have fun. I don't get it."
"Yeah. It's pretty weird really. But it ain't nothing I'm new to."
"Really? How come?"
"I've met lots of Pokemon that are similar to the rift. They just enjoy a good prank or so, or just wanna have fun. They don't mean any harm. Although the rift I can't say the same for. He sat down, eating the leftovers from an ice cream cone.
"I still have a long way to go compared to you. You've been doing this for years now from what you told me. You've probably made so much more friends than me. I'm outclassed."
"It doesn't matter how many friends you have, Twilight," Ash said.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"A friend you'll have today will be a friend the next day too. Now that's a friend who'll stay with you. I know some people out there who didn't want any friends at first. But once they got their first-ever friend, that's all they ever needed. You can have millions of friends or even just 3 of em. But at the end of the day, they'll always be with you. I know personally." Those words that he said really reached her. She realised that she didn't have to rush to make friends, or just seek out any potential friends. Friends at the end of the day are bound together by either destiny or fate. Like how Ash and Pikachu were bound together from day one of the meetings.
"You're a weird guy Ash. I like that about you."
"I get that a lot."
"How wonderful. I'm proud of you Twilight." All of a sudden, Celestia was here. It was almost as if she was overhearing this conversation for a while.
"Princess Celestia! You're here!"
"Woah, man. She's pretty awesome looking! Check out that mane!" Ash was amazed by how Celestia looked. Pretty radiant and majestic like Arceus.
"Thank you. You are Ash Ketchum as I have heard right?"
"That's me!" Ash said with a grin on his face.
"Ash, show respect!" Twilight wanted Ash to either bow down or act polite in front of the Princess.
"No need for that Twilight. I want to thank you. Both of you. And everypony else here. For overcoming such an obstacle like that." Celestia was proud of how they overcame the Darkrai situation. "And Twilight. You could learn a lot from Ash here. Perhaps, he can be your teacher in the lesson of friendship."
"Teacher?!"
"ME?!" They were both shocked. Ash for starters was only good at teaching Pokemon how to battle. You wouldn't catch him teaching any classrooms in any lifetime.
"Well just use him as an example."
"Oh. Alright, Princess."
"I know you and your friends will be able to handle the rift and its antics. Both our worlds are sure to be safe with you two around."
"Aw jeez. You're embarrassing me, Celestia." Ash put his hands behind his head.
"I'll leave you all to your fun. Goodbye." Celestia went over to her carriage, leaving to Canterlot. A moment of silence was there and it was immediately interrupted by Pinkie grabbing them both out of nowhere.
"You two! Get in here! We're about to see this pokemon called Illumise do something awesome!" She dragged them both inside as the lights were turned off. Illumise, the firefly pokemon, created drawing patterns of light in the air as they were in the shape of other ponies' cutie marks. Everyone was awed by this as it got better. It then drew a pegasus fused with a Quilava. Looked pretty cool to the pegasus. As they were enjoying the light show, Fluttershy noticed Darkrai was in the far distance. It was obviously leaving. It had been freed from everyone there and it wanted to find peace, living in its territory. Fluttershy waved the Pitch Black Pokemon goodbye, as everyone else partied the night away.
Ponyville. Two days have passed since the Darkrai event and Nightmare Night is just two days away. The two worlds have finally managed to live together in harmony.
At Sweet Apple Acres, the usual was happening with a side of Applin. And thanks to the party last night, Applejack managed to convince humans and pokemon to come to try their apple foods and drinks. It was beyond a success. Their pies, fritters and tarts were a smash hit. Having other species try your stuff was genius. On this day, a peculiar visitor arrived through their home door. He was of old age and wore a suit that had a tag saying Oppurtunity.
"Well hello there. This is the Apple family home am I right?" The man said.
"Yes? Can help you, sir?" Granny Smith answered.
"Good to meet you. My name is BigTime Ben. I come from Goldenrod city in the Johto region. And I'm here to give you the bigtime opportunity!"
"What kind of opportunity Mr BigTime?" The old pony asked.
"From what I've heard, your family's apple making business has recently been reaching the other world, my world that is. I understand that you're already booming in your world here in Ponyville. So how you like to make it ten times as big with my offer." He sent out a Gothitelle from his Pokeball suddenly. "Picture this." His Gothitelle cast a psychic projection that showed Granny Smith and apples.
"Your business will expand from just Ponyville and small parts of our world.." Then the projection showed a huge megalopolis that had signs with the names of each apple member on them. "It becomes a huge connected business with each family member having big-time buildings and stores with their names on it. Throughout entire regions. Whether it be the chilly Sinnoh region or the warm Alola region, you will be just as famous as other big business that I helped start."
"Hm." Granny was impressed, by both the projection and the offer. Then, Applejack walked into the room, seeing the projection.
"What's going on here, Granny?"
"This fellow by the name of BigTime Ben is lending us some big offer."
"Correct! I know of you as well Applejack. Your apple business would become so grand it would become possibly the biggest businesses in the world, overshadowing the rest. Silph Co. Macro Cosmos, all of them would be nothing. So.. what do you ya say?"
"No thank you," Granny replied.
"HAH?!" Both he and his Gothitelle were shocked as the projection went down.
"I appreciate the offer Mr BigTime. But I'd prefer to make our family business big with all the honest hard work we've been doing for years now." She was very clear about her answer.
"Hm. Fair enough. Hard honest work is better than shortcuts most of the time. Then how about something smaller that you may like?" Gothitelle created another projection, this time showing a much smaller scale projection.
"You can help your business by having some essentials from my company. I can give you some of my high-tech quality scanners. They'll allow you to see the quality of something to better know if it is good, bad, great or terrible." The scanner was shaped like a mini-dome.
"That does sound helpful but.." Applejack considered it but wasn't sure.
"It won't be too extreme. It will just let you know if something is off at times. I'm already positive you know how to make wonderful produce. But even the best of the best slip up here and there."
"Well then. We'll give it a go for a while and see how it goes." Granny decided to go with it. To give it a test run.
"Splendid! And if you aren't satisfied with it, you can just easily return it to me. My Gohtitelle will be able to know thanks to its psychic prowess. Ben got out the tiny scanner, lending it to the old earth pony. "Well. I'll be off now. Other potential big-time businesses are waiting for me. Come on Gothitelle." He had left Sweet Apple Acres, leaving to the other world.
"He does raise a good point granny. Sometimes our product doesn't come out as dandy at times and just falls flat at times."
"We'll see."
Time passed as in the span of 7 minutes, every pie that was made had been scanned and properly placed and trashed. This scanner could perfectly tell what was right and what was off. Pinkie Pie had come over as she could smell pies from afar.
"Sweet! Mind if I have a pie, Applejack?"
"Sure. But, Pinkie, can I ask you something quickly?" Applejack requested.
"Go ahead!"
"If I give you two pies, would you be able to tell which tasted good and which was a bit bland?" She asked.
"You silly filly. Your pies are always delicious! At least from the ones that I've eaten."
"Well then let's find out." Applejack held the scanner in her mouth as it scanned the two pies. The right one was deemed as great, while the left one was only decent. "Alright. Try the right one first and compare em."
"Okie Dokie!" Pinkie Pie took a big bite of the right one, crunching up the pie. She took a while to taste it and she loved it. "Delicious! That was much better than the last pie I had!"
"Then how 'bout the left one?" AJ asked. Pinkie took a bite out of that one as well, taking a moment to feel its taste.
"Hmm. It's good. But the first one was better."
"So it is effective. I didn't think it would be able to tell really."
"What? That little thing? AppleJack you silly pony. Since when did you start using tech stuff?" Pinkie said.
"Some guy name BigTime Ben came along and recommended this to us. Wants the entire Apple family to go big across both worlds."
"Well, why not? It'd be great if everypony from all over this world and the other knew of the sweet delicious pies and cider you all make."
"Yeah, but we'd like to do it more simply and traditionally. Besides... I still haven't forgotten about my time in Manehattan. Oh boy, that wasn't the life for me."
"Whatever you say. See you at Nightmare Night in two days! Oh by the way. There's this big blue thing outside that's been eating some of your stuff. Just wanted to let you know. BYE!" Pinkie Pie gobbled up the last of the pies as she went off to do whatever it is she does. She didn't pay attention to the blue thing eating her stuff part since she was too busy fixated on the scanner. She then placed it on the table, not wanting to bother with it anymore.
"Eh. I can easily go a long time without using it anyways." As she left the room, it was just there on the table, as Apple Bloom walked in, spotting it.
"Oooh.. what's this?" She picked it up as it scanned her teeth, showing her that a part of her teeth was not as clean as the other one. "That part of my teeth ain't clean? I could've sworn it was." The scanner then scanned a nearby can, showing that they were both expired. Apple Bloom took a while to notice what this thing was. And when she did, she got an idea.
"Hold on a minute. This thing's a game changer!" She rushed out with the scanner, heading to the CMC treehouse to tell her friends. "Girls! Girls! I found something useful!"
"What'd ya find?" Scootaloo asked.
"I don't know what its called, but I think it tells you what's bad or off."
"Ooh let me see!" Sweetie Belle grabbed it as it scanned her hair, telling her the front of it is smooth but the rest on the back is sloppy and a bit rugged. "You weren't kidding! I didn't even notice."
"Don't you know what this means girls?"
"What?" They both said in unison.
"If this thing can tell something from good and bad, it can help us find our cutie marks."
"How? I'm pretty sure looking at the quality of things won't help us get our cutie marks." Scootaloo responded.
"Well yeah. But! If we can find out what's off, we can help fix it and make it good. That way, we'll be able to get out cutie marks. At least... that's the idea."
"I get it! That makes sense to me!" Sweetie Belle agreed with her.
"You got a good point. Our future skill is in the hands of.. that thing." Scootaloo said.
"Then let's get going!"
As they went out, they started using the scanner to see what was off. They started with a pony's pile of plums. They scanned the plums, however since they were all piled up, it was letting them know multiple goods and bad. So they took out multiple plums at once, making them all topple, falling all over the ground. The pony who had those plums noticed this and turned to the three.
"Hey!" They ran off, to avoid any scolding as the plums rolled over to a Munchlax who devoured them as they came by. "My plums! Don't eat em!" Next they went over to a honey stand, there were jars of honey being sold. The scanner then went over them and found out that some of them were mediocre at best. They volunteered to help customers pick out better quality jars. This went horribly wrong though, not from the crusaders, but from a group of Combee who were pulled into that wonderful honey.
After a few tries and eventual busts due to their meddling or a Pokemon's meddling, the girls didn't know what to do next.
"This isn't helping at all. Maybe we should use it on much smaller things?" Sweetie Belle recommended. They weren't getting anywhere with all of this until they bumped into a human. One with distinct green hair and green eyes.
"Oh sorry, mister!" Apple Bloom apologised.
"Don't worry. I must be too tall to really see sometimes." The man was Cilan. An old travelling companion of Ash and a Pokemon Connoisseur. Due to his amazing skills of being a connoisseur, he noticed that the three of them were feeling down. "You three look a bit down. Something wrong?"
"We're just having trouble. See I found this thing that lets us know what's good or bad. We're using it to try and get our cutie marks." Apple Bloom explained.
"But so far it's going nowhere." Scootaloo finished off.
"Oh, I get it now. I do recognize these things. I came across someone using them in Kalos. They are very good at scanning I must say." Cilan said.
"Yeah but that's no good for us." Apple Bloom responded.
"Well, you don't need to rely on this little thing."
"Huh?" The three of them said.
"As a Pokemon Connoisseur, it is my job to know the compatibility of people and pokemon. But I can also tell other sorts of things such as fine arts. That scanner can examine things pretty well. Even better than most people. But the one thing it lacks that we have our own tastes. We wouldn't be so different without our own preferences. But I'm not sure about your whole cutie mark situation though. That's new to me."
"No no! You said something great!" Sweetie Belle yelled out. We don't need this thing to tell us what's good or bad. Besides.. a guilty pleasure. I like quesadillas a little bit more than most ponies.
"Yeah. If we're gonna get our cutie marks, we gotta get them with our own bare hooves and hard work." Scootaloo followed.
"You girls are something. Well, good luck getting your cutie marks. And remember. You have to decide yourselves. Although sometimes machines are pretty handy at the end of the day." Cilan walked off, leaving them behind.
"You know girls. I can get behind what my sister said one time. She said that hard work is tough and takes a lot out of a pony. But at the end of the day, its honest work. And it gets you pretty darn far." Apple Boom recited her sister's motivational speech.
"...Wait. What does any of this have to do with our cutie marks again? And what was the point of this scanner?" Scootaloo said.
"I don't know. Wanna head home and have some pies with me?" Applebloom asked.
"Yeah!" The two of them responded as they walked off, heading for some sweet delicious pie. As the scanner was dropped down, a sort of tentacle grabbed it. The tentacle belonging to the evilest Pokemon to ever exist. Malamar. The overturning pokemon had a devious look on its face as it disappeared into the shadows. It had a secret base that was hiding underneath a rock. Lifting it, it went underneath as inside was a collection of various things collected ever since the two worlds collided. A mane from a unicorn, a piece of a dragon fang found in Hammerlocke and one particular item it managed to come across due to the flash.
An element of harmony. Specifically, the element of magic. Malamar had many plans. These items were the foundation on its number one plan that it has had since day one. World domination. It knew that with the existence of someone like Celestia, and the meddling of the rift, it wouldn't be easy. But Malar had one ace in the hole that always worked. Its potent mind control. What's a leader without minions.
A few hours passed and BigTime Ben came back to the Acres.
"Well. How did it go?" He asked.
"Oh, the dome thingy? Eh, it's gone." Granny said.
"Gone?" Ben responded.
"Eeyup." Big Mac finished off.
"Not like we needed it anyways. It was nice of you to lend it to us, Mr BigTime. But our family likes to notice quality on our own. With our own scents anyways."
"Hm. You're right. Perhaps I shouldn't try to take away the traditionality of someone just for shortcuts. Instead! I'll just make shortcuts for non-traditional things. Hehehe! Wait till the boys at Altru Inc get a load of my newest creation! Their business is gonna be so much more different! The big time man walked off, out to make more business practices.
"What a weird fella. Now don't just stand there, Big Mac. Nightmare Night needs as many pies as it can. Lines are gonna be full that night. They'd better be."
Nightmare Night. An annual festival where youngins go from door to door to get some sweet delicious candy. All of this is named after the sister who was banished to the moon. Luna. On the other side, the Pokemon world celebrates its own form of this. The more known Halloween. On this day, Everypony has their own costumes they bring to the table.
Twilight will be going as the legendary Starswirl the bearded, while Spike, another dragon.
"Come on Twilight. We're gonna be late for the Nightmare Night festival." Spike said, pacing back and forth, waiting for her to show. And in her costume, he finally showed. Took her long enough. Spike looked at the costume and was not familiar with it. "Are you.. that one kooky grandpa from Ponyville retirement village?" Twilight didn't expect Spike to not know who she was. At least, she expected everyone knew who Starswirl was.
"I'm Starswirl the Bearded. Father of Amniomorphic spell." Spike still had no idea who he was talking about. "Did you even read that book I gave you about obscure unicorn history?"
As those two were on about costumes, the door had been knocked with Spike getting it. Out were three little fillies led by Granny Smith.
"Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!" The three said in unison, needing candy.
"Hi, everypony. Great costumes, Happy Nightmare Night Granny Smith."
"I should've been asleep five hours ago," Granny said as Twilight lent each of them one piece of candy. Then a little colt known as Pipsqueak came along in his pirate costume. Followed by the sudden appearance of a costume-clad Pinkie Pie.
"Enough chit chat! Time is candy!" Pinkie said. Out of everyone else, she desired more candy. More than the kids.
"Pinkie Pie. Aren't you a little old for this?" Twilight asked.
"Too old for free candy? Never!" So Twilight gave her candy as well, knowing she wouldn't leave without one. Twilight then showed off her costume, hoping that Pinkie Pie would notice.
"Do you like it?"
"Yeah great costume, Twilight. You make a fantastic weirdo clown." And with that, she left, off to find more candy. As the two went out into Ponyville, along came Ash and Pikachu with their costumes.
"Ash. Pikachu. What are you wearing?" Twilight asked.
"Hehe. I'm the Legendary Sir Aaron! The aura guardian!" Ash flaunted his costume, pulling his cape. "Pretty awesome right?"
"That is a pretty cool outfit. The blue looks great on you." Spike complimented him.
"Thanks, Spike."
"Then what is Pikachu meant to be?" Pikachu was dressed up the Deep Black Pokemon. Zekrom.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu showed off its sleek outfit as it did a pose.
"He's the dragon pokemon known as Zekrom. It fits ya know. And you're a wizard aren't you Twilight?"
"Yes! Glad you actually noticed it!" Twilight was happy that at least somepony could tell what she was. "So everypony in your world celebrates Nightmare Night too?"
"Well in our world, it's known as Halloween. So why is it called Nightmare Night anyways?" Ash asked.
"You're about to find out right now," Spike said as he pointed at Mayor Mare wearing a clown costume. Ponies were clapping and cheering, preparing to hear a speech.
"Thank you everypony. And welcome to the Nightmare Night festival." Mayor Mare started.
"Now. All the little ponies who have been out collecting sweets should follow our friend Zecora, to hear the legend of... Nightmare Moon! Muahahaha!"
"The spooky voice might work better if she wasn't dressed like that. Spike said quietly to Twilight as she giggled a bit. On the stage came green smoke and out popped the witch doctor costume that Zecora was donning.
"Follow me, and very soon. You'll hear the tale of Nightmare Moon."
"Listen close my little dears.. I'll tell you where you got your fears." A statue of Princess Luna's dark side appeared to their little eyes. "Of Nightmare Night, so dark and scary.." She blew green dust that created a dust projection of Nightmare Moon herself. "Of Nightmare Moon, who makes you weary." The illusion closed in on the young ones, as a cloud of green dust enveloped them all.
"Every year, we put on a disguise.. to save ourselves from her searching eyes." Pikachu held Ash's legs close, getting a bit spooked as he was shaking. "But Nightmare Moon just wants one thing.. to gobble up ponies in one quick swing."
Young ponies and Pinkie who was apart of the group screamed as some of them held close to Pikachu, making it hard for him to breathe.
"PIka.."
"Hungry, she soars the sky... if she sees no pony.. she passes by. So if she comes and all is clear... Equestria is safe another year!" The illusion went up, vanishing into the air. Everyone moved away from the electric mouse, giving him space to breathe.
"Oh, man. That's pretty eerie. I got goosebumps." Ash chuckled as he was sweating a bit.
"You should've seen Nightmare Night in person. I know I did." Twilight said. All of a sudden, the wind started to kick up. The clouds move away, making the moon much more visible. And all of a sudden, a white flash occurred in the skies and from the skies came a chariot with two stallions clad in black armour and everything. And in the chariot was a hooded figure. Everypony was both nervous and scared as the chariot reached the lower ground.
"Its Nightmare Moon! Run!" Pinkie Pie cried out as she and the little ponies along with Zecora took off.
She's here. Ash and Pikachu were seeing her for the first time as well. This was just as intimidating as Darkrai if not more.
Dark clouds swarmed over Ponyville as the chariot had arrived there, coming down from it, she landed on the ground having everypony still. Letting down her hood, she fully revealed herself finally.
Princess Luna. Everypony kneeled to bow down to her. Ash from first glance had thought it was Celestia due to the horn length and the flowing cosmic hair.
"Oh, sweet costume Princess Celestia!" He said out loud. Everypony including Twilight and Spike heard this and freaked out internally. Luna turned her attention to Ash and his partner Pikachu. Their eyes met and Twilight was sweating nervously. Princess Luna walked over to him as the wind kept blowing with bats flying about.
"Please Ash.. for the love of Celestia why can't you bow..?" Twilight said quietly, not trying to cause any potential trouble. Luna arrived face to face with the immortal boy and his electric friend, speaking to them.
"YOU WOULD COMPARE US TO OUR MUCH HIGHER APPRAISED SISTER, STRANGE CREATURE?" Her Royal Canterlot voice was being used as it let out a powerful echo that just the wind much more intense than it already is. Ash held his hat as Pikachu held onto his partner's leg again.
"Huh? SISTER?!" Ash was surprised to hear that Celestia had a sister.
"WE ARE THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT WHILE MY OTHER HALF IS OF THE SUN. I COME HERE TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE NO LONGER A NIGHTMARE TO ALL PONIES, BUT A PONY WHO DESIRES YOUR LOVE AND ADMIRATION. WE COME HERE to turn THIS OMINOUS AND HAUNTING NIGHT INTO A GLORIOUS FEAST!" Lighting struck down from all the words that she said. Everypony was shaking from all of that.
"Did you hear that everypony? Nightmare Night said she's gonna feast on us all." Pinkie made it worse as her the kids ran off, again. Luna managed to let her voice down finally to normal speaking volumes.
"What? No children, no. You no longer have reason to fear us. Screams of delight are what your princess desires. Not screams of terror." One stamp of her hoof, a crack on the ground. Luna turned to Ash, still focused on talking to him. Twilight had to do something before Ash's carefree attitude made it worse. Everypony slowly backed away, not wanting to be noticed as Twilight got up to stop Ash from whatever he might do.
"Princess Luna! Haha! Sorry for my friend here! He's from the other world. Ash, please bow next time, I beg of you.."
"We see that. The creature of blue and you are the only ponies that do not cower before us."
"Well, that's great. My name is-"
"Twilight Sparkle. IT WAS THOU WHO UNLEASHED THE POWERS OF HARMONY UPON US! AND TOOK AWAY OUR DARK POWER!" She used her royal voice again, blowing Twilight's fake beard in her face.
"Power of harmony? You must've done some awesome stuff a while back didn't you Twilight?" Ash said.
"Creature of blue. Explain to us about the other world." Luna asked him.
"Well, you see.." A few minutes of explanation from the flash all the way up to Darkrai, everything was explained.
"What a peculiar situation. And we assume that our sister has taken action to handle this crossing of worlds?" Luna said.
"Princess Celestia said that she'd leave us to handle the rift and all of its future plots. So it's all in our hands." Ash replied.
"Very well. We understand that the responsibility of this. If thou can eliminate the darkness within us, then we can certainly trust thou will put everything right from both worlds. Now then. We wish to co-operate with the ponies to make this dreadful night beloved."
"That should be easy though. You can just talk with them and hang out ya know." Ash said, despite not knowing how terrified everypony else is of her.
"It's not that easy Ash. Princess Luna has been banished for a long time in the moon. The stories left behind her were about Nightmare Moon. So her appearance is gonna be met with mixed results."
"Hm, I guess so. How about this?" Ash had picked up his partner Pikachu, showing him to her. "Try talking to Pikachu. He won't mind. He's just as much of a talker as I am."
"Pikachu." Luna looked at Pikachu as it wasn't anything like she'd seen before. It was much different from a normal animal.
"Greetings, a creature known as Pikachu. We are pleased to have this chat."
"Pika-Pika," Pikachu responded even though Twilight and Luna had no idea what he just said.
"Pikachu just said, nice to talk to you as well."
"Oh. That is pretty easy. Though I'm sure it'd be much better if we talked to the ponies who are scared of her."
"Right right." Meanwhile, behind the buildings was the Pitch Black Pokemon himself. Darkrai. Darkrai had returned here due to how different this night felt from others. It was lurking around, noticing Ash, as he was the one who helped him break free of Emerald Aura's magic. Pikachu had turned around, spotting Darkrai as he pointed him out.
"PIka-Chu!" They turned to where Pikachu was facing, spotting Darkrai.
"What is that creature of darkness that appears before us?" Luna asked.
"That's Darkrai. The pokemon I mentioned earlier."
"So that is the one who caused such a terrible disaster that almost doomed Ponyville. Such actions will be delivered with great consequences!" Luna's horn glowed as she was about to attack Darkrai, but was stopped.
"No, you got it all wrong Princess! Darkrai only causes nightmares on others if its territory is being invaded. It was just under a spell so it wasn't it in its right state of mind!" Ash said, pleading that Luna doesn't attack Darkrai. Luna's horn had stopped glowing, ceasing her attack.
"I came here to thank you, Ash." Darkrai had suddenly talked to them, via telepathy.
"Wait.. it can talk?!" Twilight was surprised. She didn't think Pokemon could actually form English other than that Meowth she met.
"That's telepathy. Some pokemon can do that to communicate with us humans. You're welcome Darkrai. Hope I wasn't too aggressive back there."
"I also came here to experience this... Nightmare Night. This type of night is good for us Darkrai. Darker nights help us improve more."
"Oh, I know!" Twilight got an idea as she put her hooves around both Luna and Darkrai. "Why don't you two try and experience Nightmare Night together? I'm sure you two can learn from each other and bond with everypony much better. That way it won't be awkward, right?"
"Hm. What thou speaks of is somewhat smart. Very well. Creature of darkness known as Darkrai. We request that you help us turn this dreadful night into a night of wonder." Darkrai looked at Ash and Pikachu as they nodded in response.
"Fine."
"Great! Then it's settled! You're going to love it! We have tons of fun activities on Nightmare Night. I bet even Pokemon would enjoy it."
As they all entered Ponyville, everypony saw not just Luna but Darkrai in the same place, together. They were already terrified but now there are two times the nightmare here. Everypony was quaking in their boots, barely able to move.
"They seem afraid. Of both of us." Darkrai said as little fillies were trying to avoid being seen by them.
"I can't blame them. They're all pretty shaken up after what happened last time. But don't worry. All you gotta do is just.. have fun." Ash said.
"Fun? What is this fun thou speaketh of?" Luna asked. Twilight pointed to an attraction involving spiders. She went up to the attraction, not sure what they're meant for. "Prey tell. What purpose do these serve?"
"T-Try to land the sp-sp-spiders on the web." A scared pony wearing a bee costume instructed as she cowered. Luna picked up the spider, locking onto the web as she gave it a throw, however, the spider missed the web by hitting the floor only.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered her on, encouraging her to try again. Luna picked another spider as she threw it one more time, this time hitting the web, square in the middle too.
"Ha! Your princess enjoys this.. fun." Darkrai wanted to give it a small go as he used a black void to pick up the spiders, shooting them at the web.
"Nice Darkrai. Though I'm not sure voids are allowed." Twilight said.
"In what other ways may we experience it?" The next activity was a pumpkin catapult. The aim was to hit the targets dead on.
"Fire away Princess!" Twilight yelled as Luna launched the pumpkin. It hit the targets right in the middle perfectly.
"Haha! The fun has been doubled!" Everypony cheered her. It was becoming much easier to bond with them. Darkrai was watching all of them have fun. He wouldn't normally be able to see this, since Darkrai's aren't really the fun type most of the time. Suddenly, without anyone noticing, all the apples that Applejack had left for her bobbing apple game had gone missing. All of it is eaten by the only Pokemon that would eat so much.
Snorlax.
"Hey! That huge vermin done stole all my apples, gobbling them up!" Applejack called out the Snorlax.
"A Snorlax!" Ash said. Snorlax went over to the pumpkins, eating them as well. It was practically going on a rampage. Nightmare Night had tons of food to select from. Candy was no exception to a Snorlax as it looked at everypony's candy bags.
"I think it sees our bags.." A little filly said.
"That Snorlax won't stop until everything in this entire area is eaten," Ash explained.
"Then we must cease the hunger of this gargantuan." Luna's horn glowed as she had used magic to lift the Snorlax. A normal unicorn wouldn't even be able to get Snorlax off the ground, but Alicorn's had a chance. It wasn't easy though. The weight of Snorlax was overwhelming so Luna barely managed to get him off the ground.
"Come on Princess Luna! You can do it" A pony cried out. The Snorlax was being sent further away but it was not enough. Luna could only him 8 feet away as she dropped him.
"Phew. We are surprised by how heavy that beast is." Luna breathed, trying to get past that weight. Snorlax stood up as it locked eyes on the candy, running towards the fillies at unexpected speeds. The young ponies, along with Pinkie Pie screamed as they running away from the hungering Snorlax. Snorlax was destroying everything in its path with its immense size and weight as it was on the hunt.
"How do we stop it?!" Twilight yelled, starting to panic. Darkrai had to do something as it sent a dark void towards the Snorlax, putting it to sleep as it fell, shaking the ground and making everything jump. "Phew. Good job Darkrai." Twilight said in relief.
"No... that's not gonna help." Ash said suddenly. Twilight, Darkrai, Luna and everypony looked to him. "Snorlax's can still eat even in their sleep." Snorlax was asleep and was still chasing them.
"What can stop it then?!" Luna thought for a minute as she had an idea. "We have an idea!" As the Snorlax kept chasing them, they were led into a forest, where Snorlax suddenly stopped. Piles of candy and cake had been placed down as a trail. Snorlax turned its attention to this since the cake was much bigger and there was much more candy there. Snorlax began chomping down on them, eating the wrappers as well. As it went down the piles of candy and cake, it went deeper into the forest, coming across a mountain of sweets and a tower of strawberry cake. Snorlax jumped into the sugary feast, feeling that it was in paradise. Luna looked over. The plan was a success.
"Great job using its favourite thing as a distraction. Now it can eat away here all night without any interruptions." Ash said. The ponies had also seen this, congratulating Luna.
"Princess Luna! That was genius!"
"Not only are you good at games but you're also a genius of trickery."
"And a great plotter too!" Ponies were going on, flattering her as she felt a bit embarrassed.
"See, Princess? With the right attitude and actions, everypony can warm up to you. At least... I didn't expect it to be with this kind of situation."
"We thank thee Twilight Sparkle. And thou as well, creature of blue."
"Oh. My name's actually Ash Ketchum. And this is my partner Pikachu."
"Then we thank thee Ash Ketchum and Pikachu. As for thou creature of darkness. We are now understanding of thou's nature. Misunderstandings are no longer on our minds."
"Thank you. All of you."
"Well, the night's still young you guys. I saw we have some more fun don't you think?" Ash said, putting his arms around the two.
"Pikachu!" On this night, Twilight had learned a new lesson. Both Luna and Darkrai, two individuals who had trouble fitting in because of either their actions or what they're capable of. But after learning to understand them and get closer to them, she realises that everypony, even the most terrifying deep down also need friends. Even if they have trouble making some. The world of Pokemon now didn't seem so bad. In fact, it was an interesting world for her.
But deep within the shadows, Malamar continues its evil plots. With Darkrai around it thought.. why not use a piece of it. Whatever Malamar was plotting, it was sure to be unworldly.
"The time has come to Rainbow Dash!" Ash was talking to Rainbow Dash. It seemed important.
"What time?" She asked.
"Time for you to learn how to really become a Pokemon Trainer!"
"Pikachu!" Twilight and the other girls were sitting around in her home, watching this.
"You already have your main Pokemon with you. Its time to head out there and catch em."
"Awesome! But where do we start?"
"I heard that some grass type pokemon have been around Saddle Lake. Along with water types as well." Fluttershy explained.
"Then we can head there. I bet there are some Pokemon that would make great friends."
"Sweet! But how am I gonna carry enough Pokeballs to catch them?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I prepared for just that darling. Rarity got out a rainbow patterned jacket with a blue cap that had a rainbow in the middle along with a bag fit for pokeballs along with a spot for a Pokedex. She placed them clothing on Rainbow Dash as she looked ready to go out and catch 'em all already. "Marvelous. You look so fetching in that."
"I feel young in these.." Rainbow Dash said with an unimpressed face.
"Aren't you? They really bring out the youth in a pony." Rarity replied.
"Rainbow. We'll be with you and help you with your new career as a trainer." Twilight said to her multicoloured friend.
"Okay. I'm ready!"
As the gang set out to Saddle Lake, leaving the Golden Oaks Library, an intruder had snuck in when they left. Malamar. He was here to grab something to advance his dark plans. However, Mincinno who was the only one left in the library noticed Malamar. Mincinno went up to the evil pokemon, attempting to get it out of here since its intruding. But Malamar doesn't have time for this little rodent. So it uses psychic to get the little thing out of the way, dumping Mincinno out of the library. Malamar then went over all the books in here to see what he could grab. Until he decided that he'll just grab as much as he wants. So he uses psychic to lift 12 books as he felt his job here was done. He floated out of the library with the books around him as Mincinno saw him levitate away. What was she gonna tell Twilight?
At Saddle Lake. Here dwelled grass, water and some flying type pokemon that have made it their home ever since the two worlds mixed.
"Is it me or is the humidity here much more intense now?" Applejack asked.
"Ever since pokemon came to this world, some of them have been altering the weather and atmosphere just from their presence alone." Twilight explained.
"Ooh! What's that Pokemon?" Rainbow spotted a Rufflet, sitting on a tree. Rainbow Dash got out her Pokedex as it scanned the Rufflet.
"Rufflet. The Eaglet Pokemon. Rufflet hasn't yet learned to control its aggressive impulses. Because of this, they will challenge anything, even those that outclasses it in every way. The more a Rufflet is defeated, the stronger they become, making it a persistent Pokemon." The Pokedex explained to the pony trainer.
"Oh sweet! That's my kind of Pokemon!" Rainbow got out Whirlipede's Pokeball, ready to catch Rufflet. Rufflet turned its attention to Rainbow, accepting her challenge as it jumped down from the tree.
"Rufflet!"
"Here goes! Whirlipede!" She sent out her partner pokemon Whirlipede out. Rufflet had no hesitation in it as it immediately flew towards Whirlipede going in for an attack. "It's coming towards me! What do I do?!" Rainbow Dash didn't know how to battle with Pokemon.
"Look at your Whirlipede's data! Tell it to use the moves it knows!" Ash yelled. Rufflet had used a wing attack, hitting its wing onto Whirlipede knowing the round pokemon back. Rainbow Dash got some moves down from the data. So now she was ready. "Whirlipede! Use Rollout!" Whirlipede had listened to her for the first time as the Curlipede Pokemon began spinning itself. It rolled over to Rufflet, knocking it back, but it wasn't enough to deal with a pokemon as stubborn as it. Rufflet then used peck aggressively on Whirlipede, obviously irritating it with its non-stop pecking. And it was dealing a lot of damage due to their types.
"Quit pecking my pokemon punk! Whirlipede! Double Edge!" Whirlipede had suddenly rolled back a bit, rushing in and using the full force of its strength to hit Rufflet, sending both of them flying as they hit some trees. Rufflet had fainted as Whirlipede managed to barely hang in there thanks to its body.
"Now's my chance!" Rainbow Dash got out a Pokeball, going in for the capture. "Go Pokeball!" She threw it at the fainted Rufflet as it hit it, sending out that red light that engulfed the pokemon. Rufflet was pulled in as the ball began to shake.
1.. 2.. 3. Got it!
"I did it.."
"Great work Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy congratulated her along with everypony else.
"PIka!"
"Awesome! I caught a Rufflet! Now let's see what this little fella is all about." She let Rufflet out as it was semi-awake. Still recovering a bit from the faint. "Hey, there little guy." Rainbow Dash lowered herself to get to Rufflet's height. Rufflet got a good look at its new trainer. "I hear you wanna get stronger don't ya? Well, good news! So do I! So what do ya say? Partners?" Rainbow Dash put her hoof out for a shake. Rufflet didn't turn this down for a second. She won the battle fair and square so she's his trainer now. He jumped up, pecking her hoof as a sign of agreement and bond.
"How sweet! I can already tell you two will make great friends in no time." Fluttershy said with glee.
"Awesome job Rainbow. Now you've got yourself a team!" Ash congratulated her. "If you're gonna make it big as a trainer, you're gonna have to join in gym battles on the other side."
"Gym battles? Like Brawly?"
"Exactly. You can choose whichever region you wanna go through. Of course.. it does mean you're gonna be pretty far from home."
"Pssh. Big deal. I can get to wherever in your world and my world in a few seconds flat. Anyways. What's next?"
"Well you can either keep finding new pokemon or you can start your gym battle." Ash gave her two options to continue her journey.
"I'll start a gym battle. I think I'm pretty ready ya know."
"Wish we could have gym's here in Equestria. But that'd probably take a long time." Twilight said.
"Well, that wish is about to come, true missy!" All of a sudden, out of nowhere. BigTime Ben was here. Back in this world.
"BigTime Ben?" Applejack said, remembering him from a while back.
"That's right. The one and only. And young missy I can proudly say that I.. BigTime Ben have agreed with Mayor Mare.. to start the first official Pokemon League in not just Ponyville but Equestria!"
"REALLY?" They all said in surprise.
"Yes really. With agreements from Princess Celestia as well of course. I tell you, this world is gonna know the joys of the pokemon league. I can see it now. Not only people but ponies participating. Who knows. Ponies may have a unique way of battling compared to us. Much like an Oranguru. Hehe!"
"But that would take a long time though, wouldn't it? Building all of that?" Pinkie Pie said.
"Heh. Young missy, that's why we have Pokemon. Us humans would take years to make something that grand. But with the help of rock, psychic, steel and even normal type pokemon. It'll be done in let's say... Two weeks! Oh.. technically 1 because I made the recommendation two days ago. Hehe."
"This guy's a bit of a weirdo.." Pinkie Pie silently said to Applejack.
"But he does have a charm to him." Applejack quietly replied.
"So my little ponies. You can rest assured that league is coming. Oh well. I'm off now. Other places for me to be." BigTime Ben walked off, returning to whichever direction he came from.
"Sweet! But uh.. what's the Pokemon League?" Rainbow asked Ash.
"Hehe. Glad you asked. The Pokemon League. Only the biggest competition in our world! It's a top-level tournament where trainers battle against other trainers who are highly ranked. The way to enter them is by collecting all eight gym badges whenever you win a gym battle. Man, it's just such a thrilling experience! Makes me wanna go through some past ones again!" Ash got excited about thinking of all those fun tournament's he's been in. Rainbow Dash as well. She could see herself now. Facing off against a super tough trainer. And she has an intense battle with them and their pokemon, and ultimately comes out victorious.
"Oh my Celestia! If that's the case! Imagine all the things I could sell in that league." Rarity was thinking about how everypony would love her fashion at the league. People lining up to wear something, whether they were cheering on their favourite trainer or just want to look good. Or just to make Rarity more world-known.
"1 week huh? I can wait." Rainbow Dash said.
"Then how about we use that 1 week to learn to bond more with your Pokemon," Fluttershy suggested.
"Huh?"
"I'm sure that you can learn a lot from each other in that amount of time don't you?"
"She's right you know," Ash said.
"HM.. fine."
At Fluttershy's cottage, Rufflet and Whirlipede were out of their Pokeballs, hanging out. Some Pokemon were in Fluttershy's cottage as well. It seemed that she had more than any other pony currently. Fluttershy had these Pokemon here because she decided to learn more about them and care for them as well.
"Now. Let's start by getting to know Rufflet, shall we?"
"We already know what this little guy's all about. He'll take on anypony! No matter the odds!" Rainbow said.
"Yes. But how about the rest?"
"The rest?"
"Maybe you could learn to understand what Rufflet eats. After all, he is yours now, so you have to know what he likes. Along with Whirlipede... if he has a mouth."
"How can you tell that they are both he's..?"
"Fluttershy does raise a good point ya know! Everypony's gotta know what they love to eat. Or they'd be nothing but bones!" Pinkie replied.
"Alright. What do you guys like to eat?" She asked them both.
"Rufflet! Ruff!"
"Whirlipede.."
"Uhh.." Rainbow didn't have a clue what they just said.
"Rufflet says that berries are its favourite to eat. And Whirlipede said it doesn't have a mouth." Fluttershy translated. She had also been learning to speak Pokemon ever since the mix. As they were talking, there was some light banging on the door. Applejack who was the closest to the door heard this. She opened it up as it was Mincinno, who was going around everywhere looking for them, panting over and over again.
"Uh, Twilight. Your little vermin friend's here. And they look tired too." Twilight turned around seeing her trusty cleaner.
"Minccy, what's wrong?"
"Minccy?" Rainbow Dash questioned. Did she nickname it?
"Mincinno. Cin! Cin! Cin!" Mincinno was moving about, trying to mimic Malamar's look with a weird face and lifting its arms and waving it around like it had psychic powers.
"She says... When you all were gone, a creepy huge squid-like pokemon came through the window of the library and took away some of your books with psychic powers." Fluttershy translated.
"Say what?!" Twilight was surprised to hear this. Why would a Pokemon take her books?
"A creepy huge squid-like pokemon..?" Ash thought for a bit on which Pokemon fit that description. And that's when it hit. "Malamar!"
"Malamar?" They all said.
"Malamar.. they're the most devious pokemon I know. On one of my journeys, a Malamar attempted to try and take over the world. Those pokemon are the cruellest of them all."
"Seriously?! I thought all Pokemon were good inside! Like ready-made cotton candy." Pinkie said.
"All of them are yeah. But there's something about Malamar that makes them so different."
"If it took my books, then its probably planning to take over the world by using some of their knowledge."
"Can Pokemon even use magic?" Rarity asked.
"Some yeah, mainly fairy types."
"We'd better hurry. Who knows what it could be doing!" The gang all ran out of the cottage as Rainbow returned her pokemon to their balls.
Deep in Malamar's lair, the cruel pokemon had already made good progress on its dark plans. The mane from a unicorn. A piece of a dragon fang. The element of magic and a small piece of Darkrai. All the ingredients Malamar needs. And with spells in his disposal, its all set in motion.
Underneath the ground below a tree, Malamar's plans are a go. By using its dark psychic powers, it merged the unicorn mane, the dragon fang, piece of Darkrai and Element of Magic together. By mixing them all, birthed something new to both worlds and existence.
It had the base of a crown, obviously from the element of magic, and a dark aura that surrounded it, being Darkrai's DNA. It was hard as the dragon fang that was apart of it and it had magic infused in it due to the mane. Malamar placed this new ominous crown on its head. Now that it had a unicorn apart of it, magic is now in its hands. And with the books that it stole from Twilight's library, who knows where it'll start.
But the best place to start, to Malamar anyways, is minions. If he's going to take over the world, he can't do it alone despite his newfound power. Malamar flew upwards, now gaining the ability to go through walls, grounds etc thanks to the piece of Darkrai. It looked around as it spotted some bug type pokemon. Normally, bug types aren't the strongest breed of Pokemon, but with this crown, they could be. Malamar sunk back into his base, using psychic on the books to hide them deep behind a cluster of rocks. No evidence must be visible to others. He went back up to the surface, flying towards the bug types and using hypnosis on all of them.
At Ponyville, things were quiet and going well. Pokemon, people and ponies are just genuinely having a good time. However, Twilight, Ash and the gang were still looking for Malamar. But no luck.
"This is taking forever! How are we ever gonna find this Mallet Mall?" Pinkie said.
"Malamar." Applejack corrected her.
"Malamar's sometimes go for secret bases. They don't usually hang out wide in the open." Ash said. All of a sudden, constant buzzing noises could be heard. Not only that but large shadows were looming over Ponyville. Multiple of them. Everypony, human and pokemon turned to where this buzzing was all coming from.. and that's when they saw something overwhelming.
A swarm of bugs upon bugs had emerged, countless of them. Each of different pokemon species. From Parasect, Kricketot, Burmy, Beedrill and Nincada. So many of them were here. And they were seemingly forming a dome shape.
"What's up with all those bug types?!" A woman said, being shocked by the overwhelming amount of them. The bugs had covered all of Ponyville by forming a dome, sealing it.
"They've domed us all in shut?" Rainbow Dash said.
"What's going on? Why are the bugs doing this all of a sudden?" Twilight rejoined. As they were all panicking by being domed in, Malamar phased through the bugs, revealing himself. And not only that, speaking to them via telepathy. Much more heightened telepathy than it usually had.
"Hello there, lesser beings." Malamar started.
"Malamar! Of course, you'd be behind this..."
"Correct you are. I the prominent Malamar had gained a power greater than your feeble little minds can comprehend. Which makes my plan for world domination much, much more undisturbed."
"By using bugs? Pretty lame if you ask me!" Scootaloo yelled out.
"Hush now, child. I don't expect a farm animal to know the true embryonic potential of bug types.
"Farm animal?!" Scootaloo and everypony did not take kindly to what Malar just said.
"Who do you think you are Scoundrel?!" Rarity yelled at him.
"I am the soon to be overlord.. of not just this world.. but both worlds. Not even that harrowing rift can stop my predetermined rule."
"GAH! You're just using big words!" Pinkie Pie said, not understanding some of the fancier words he was spouting out.
"Worry not my little peasants. I will let you all live as servants to my quintessential empire. But if any of you cretins dare try and contravene.." Malamar had called upon the poison dark pokemon Drapion and a Scizor. Two of some of the most intimidating and powerful bug types out there. "Then these two will gladly take pleasure in either embitter your bodies or just macerate you with hard steel. Drapion pointed its deadly tail at a little filly as Scizor intimidated everypony else with its scissor-like hands.
"Now then. You will all stay here whilst I conquer everything else. If they try anything foolish, then you can dispatch them of their existences." Malamar floated away as the bug types kept watch.
"What do we do..?" Applejack said quietly, while still having Drapion and Scizor eye everyone of them down.
"Well, first we have to get past those two." Twilight silently responded. Drapion and Scizor were not going to move a bit, so getting past them would be a struggle. A distraction was needed. Twilight looked at Pinkie, nodding at her. Pinkie Pie knew what she had to do.
"Hey, you two!" She called out both of them. They both turned to her, ready to attack. "Are you sure you wanna just stand here, watching everypony awkwardly? Why not pass the time with some fun!" Pinkie Pie got out a cupcake, smoothing it onto Drapion's eyes. "This is cherry-flavoured! You'll love it!"
"DRAAPION!" Drapion screamed due to all that cake in his eyes. Scizor reacted to this, going for a slam on Pinkie, however, the pink pony moved out of the way as Scizor slammed Drapion on the head instead. Drapion screamed in pain as it moved around in a frenzy, having frantic movements. Scizor flew back as he was wide open.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash told Pikachu to let out a quick thunderbolt as it struck the Scizor. Scizor recovered from this, flying down and using fury cutter to take out the electric mouse.
"Iron Tail!" Pikachu countered with its iron tail, clashing with the hard steel pincers that Scizor had. "Now you all can make a path!"
"Just what we like to hear! Applejack and every other pony attempted to run through the bug types but were stopped suddenly as they felt like they hit a hard metal wall. "OW! What in tarnation..?!"
"We can't get through! Why not?" A pony asked. A male human looked at the bug type closely, putting his hands on them as he felt that metal texture.
"Its harden! All these Pokemon are using harden!" He said. "They'll barely budge if there's not enough force."
"We'll make force then!" Applejack said, getting ready to kick all the bugs away with all her strength.
"Wait! We don't wanna hurt the little guys do we?" Fluttershy asked, pleading they don't hurt the bug pokemon.
"Yes!" Applejack replied instantly as she let out a strong buck to the bug wall. Her hooves hit the hardened bugs as a clanging sound was made. Applejack felt her body shake from this, but in return, she managed to slightly budge one of them. Even if it was just a group of Metapod. "Gah! It ain't enough!"
"If all of them are as hard as metal, it'll take forever for us to even most past 10 of them," Twilight said. With these immovable bugs, it seemed like they would be trapped for ages. Pikachu and Scizor were still going at it as Scizor caught Pikachu's tail.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out. Scizor tossed Pikachu upwards! Flying up to deliver a finishing blow. "Pikachu! Block it with Iron Tail!" Pikachu put its tail up, as Scizor slammed both its hard pincers down on Pikachu's tail. Pikachu felt the impact of it as he was sent rocketing back down to the ground. Pikachu got back up as the Scizor was looking down on it.
In the meanwhile, the others were still trying to find a way to break through the bug dome.
"There has to be something!" Twilight said. Applejack kept kicking and kicking and kicking but was making extremely slow progress. All of a sudden some humans stepped up help.
"We can help you. We can help break through this dome with our Pokemon."
"Oh thank Celestia. Please!" Twilight was relieved.
"Herdier! Giga Impact!"
"Poliwhirl! Bubble Beam!"
"Leafeon! Magic leaf."
Each human commanded their own pokemon to help break through the bug wall. Everyone was putting in a team effort as some unicorns joined, assisting to help break out of this dome. Twilight saw all of this and could now see that humans, pokemon and people can work together in the tightest spots as well.
"You all.."
"No time to get all sappy and sentimental Twilight! Help!" Applejack said, snapping her out of it.
"Oh right!" Twilight had pitched in, using as much as magic as she could to help everypony. Outside of the dome, the only thing that hasn't been caged in by bugs was Zecora's hut. And she and Team Rocket were overlooking this. "Is that a dome of bugs I see? They've caged in Ponyville, we must set them free." She said.
"Look at those bug types! That's a buffet of em!" Meowth pointed at the immense number of them.
"There have to be at least one billion bugs in one side of it," James replied.
"Getting close.. to all those bugs... EEEK!" Jessie couldn't handle the fact of all those bugs in one spot. Who knows how many of them there are.
"Team Rocket your help is required if you don't mind. To save Ponyville from this bug bind."
"Don't you worry your striped sides. We've got the perfect way to break through that bunch of bounded bug beasties." Meowth said as he got out a controller, pressing the nice round red button on it. Out of the ground, near Zecora's hut emerged a giant mecha that was modelled after a Garbordor. "Introducing the Giga Garbordor! This baby can pull in anything in its line of sight. Acting as the perfect pokemon picker. All those bugs will be in there, no sweat."
"Wow," Zecora said. Not even rhyming. The three of them jumped into the mecha, ready to set out." Meowth said to the two of them, making sure that Zecora wouldn't hear.
"With a bonus, we'll have billions upon billions of bug types in our disposal. And by chance, we might snag some pokemon in there. They won't notice, since there are too many bugs. With an even bigger bonus of ponies! We'll be pocketing pokemon and ponies in no time."
"I think the boss won't be a fan of bugs," James replied.
"But any Pokemon is better than no Pokemon," Jessie said.
"You're right!" The mecha walked onwards, heading towards the dome. Pikachu had luckily backed Scizor into a corner overwhelming it. Fluttershy who was helping to try and budge the bug dome saw this and knew that she couldn't resist helping the Scizor realise its mistakes. Fluttershy flew in, stopping the two of them from fighting.
"Wait!"
"Fluttershy?" Ash said.
"Pika-chu?"
"This is just like what happened with Darkrai and the Weaviles remember? These poor Pokemon are just being taken advantage of and being controlled by horrible folks."
"Yeah, that's true. And Malamar's are masters of mind control. But we still have to find a way out of here. They're pretty aggressive ya know." Ash said. Scizor didn't look like it wanted to stop at all. The mind control that was put on it and the other bug types by Malamar was strong. It would take more than just reasoning to stop them.
"Fine.. just.. please don't hurt them too much okay?" Fluttershy pleaded.
"You got it. Alright, Pikachu! We're gonna have to go wild on this one!"
"Pika!" As the two were ready to amp it up, the Drapion who still had cupcakes in its eyes was still moving about screaming.
"Pikachu! 1000 Thunderbolts!" Pikachu charged up more electricity this time, letting out he force of 1000 volts, that not only struck Scizor but also Drapion. The two of them were knocked out by the thunderbolt, leaving the big threat out of the way. As everypony and pokemon were helping to break free, they could hear some sort of metallic sound closing in. Footsteps actually.
"What is that?" Rarity said. Giga Garbodor had arrived.
"Activating Super Swallow!" Meowth pushed a lever, making the mech open up a huge hole. A strong suction had begun pulling in the bug type pokemon. They were all separated as the dome they formed had fallen apart due to a huge amount of missing members. They were entering the mech, however, due to their now hardened bodies and the amount of them, it was getting tough for the mech to even sustain them.
"Holy Moly! What's with all this weight! I thought bugs were supposed to be light and frail!" Meowth yelled.
"No wonder they were able to keep up that dome!" Jessie replied. The mech was getting overflown as it couldn't stop pulling them in, along with ponies and pokemon.
"Meowth turn it off!" James cried out.
"Too much! Can't turn it off!" Meowth was pushing the lever as much as he could but it was too late. All of that weight inside had caused the mech to blow up. The bugs were fine due to their hard bodies and the ponies and pokemon as well because the bugs went first. So they were shielded. As the mech was destroyed, Team Rocket was sent flying upwards.
"Talk about a bust. And it looked promising too." Jessie sulked.
"Look on the bright side. This is the first in this new world of horses." Meowth responded.
"Very true. This beats being launched in a new region. So you know what to say.." James said.
"We're blasting off again!"
"Wobbuffet!" They all said, flying off into the skies as all that was left was a twinkle. However, all that suction from Team Rocket had come in handy. Everypony was free from the dome.
"I have no idea what just happened. But I'll take it." Rainbow Dash said.
"No time for celebration. We have to find Malamar quick. Where could he be this time?" Twilight pondered.
"He said he's gonna dominate the world.. then the first place he'd go to would be.." Rarity said, hoping Twilight would know the answer.
"Canterlot!"
And Malamar had arrived at Canterlot Arriving before the guards who had prepared themselves against Malamar.
"Oh put your pathetic toys away." Malamar used psychically to lift their weapons off their hooves, sending them away. "I would make you my minions but you're too much of cannon fodder. I need a bigger force." Malamar had knocked out all the guards with a powerful Psywave that spread across the entire castle and even Cantertown, sending all the ponies there into a knocked out state. Malamar flew upwards, heading towards the big pony herself.
He arrived, entering the throne room of Celestia. She already knew Malamar was coming, so she was prepared.
"Hello, Princess."
"You are the one they call Malamar."
"Correct. But the soon to be term is Overlord Malamar. And that throne you're sitting on. That will be mine among many others."
"You would dare come here and claim yourself to be the ruler."
"Is it not discernible? A being of my calibre, stature and intellect is more fit to rule against a mere barn animal with wings and a silly horn."
Celestia didn't take kindly to this. Malamar's attitude was getting to her. Not only that but Luna was here as well, ready to help her sister.
"Oh, I see you have your sister with you. How pathetic that you would easily forgive her after what she did. I know of the story."
"She was only taken over by a dark force. It was not her fault."
"Oh, that's what siblings say to protect their other half's gruelling past. Who knows. I may be able to bring out that same destructive force that lies deep within her.. and make it much more potent."
"How dare thou threaten us like this?" Luna retorted. The three stared down with each other as it was about to get a bit destructive.
Malamar facing off against the two sisters in their throne room. With its heightened power thanks to its newfound crown, it was more than confident that it could win.
Malamar made the first move with a straight Psybeam, however, it was promptly countered by a beam of magic from Celestia's horn. Both beams were in a struggle, as Celestia was pushing Malamar's back. Malamar was surprised by how she was winning this.
"Impossible! I have the combined power of various things including magic! How am I losing this?!"
"You can't handle magic, can you? It's all new to you. What you don't understand, you fear!" Celestia overpowered him, knocking Malamar away as he fell to the ground. "What was that about being Overlord? Want us to put you back in the ocean, squid?" That was Celestia's rebuttal to Malamar calling her a barn animal earlier. Malamar was aggravated. He thought he'd easily wipe the floor with her. But it was clear that his newfound power was not as grand as he thought. Or at least, it wasn't yet.
"This is not over yet, Princess. I have more than just this crown." Malamar smirked as he used Topsy-Turvy to swap the angle of the entire throne room. This gave him time to act as he used Psychic to lift the two of them. This didn't last as both Celestia and Luna broke out of the psychic with ease. Malamar was shocked as it then released another Psybeam. Luna pushed it back herself this time, knocking him down again. Malamar was obviously being overpowered. The sisters were on another level compared to him.
"If I were you, I'd just give up now," Celestia said.
"Curse you princesses! In fact.." Malamar flew up, tapping into Darkrai's DNA as it unleashed a dark void towards the two. They both moved away from the void as it sunk through the floor like acid. Celestia and Luna both fired magic rays at Malamar who had then put up a light screen. The rays hit the light screen, reflecting from it as they bounced around the throne room. Malamar then used Darkrai's phasing ability to sink through the floor.
"Where did he go?" Celestia wondered. Malamar had a shadow on the floor as it snuck up behind the two sisters. Malamar rose from the ground, preparing to unleash a night slash, however, Luna noticed this, putting up a shield to stop the night slash.
"How annoying!" Malamar was not making any progress as he flew back a bit. "It is clear that I am outmatched. You two live up to your names as Princesses of Equestria. However.. this won't stop me. All I have to do is get you two out of the way and I have no threats left."
"Funny since you can't even make us budge." Celestia mocked him.
"I don't need to make you budge to win!" Malamar had a mad look in his eyes as he had used the bit of the dragon fang in the crow, unleashing a dragon pulse from his mouth. The devastating pulse of draconic energy hit the floor beneath them, causing a shockwave of draconic energy to emerge as the entire throne room floor was annihilated. Celestia and Luna were both blown out of the castle as Malamar watched them fall out.
"Hm-hm yes! The power of a dragon never fails!" This didn't stop the two of them as the sisters had both recovered flying in the air. "Such persistence. Not many can withstand a dragon pulse in my world. But I suppose this isn't my world."
"Luna. Hold him there." Celestia said to her sister. Luna cast a magic bubble around Malamar, trapping him in it. Malamar attempted to break free by using its sharp-edged fins to hit the bubble. Before Celestia could do anything, Malamar took advantage of the phasing ability moving out of it.
"Thank you, Darkrai for having such a useful ability only ghost types usually have." Malamar had to think. The sisters would not let their guard down and if he was to get a good clean hit in.. he'd need a distraction. How fitting of a pokemon who would do whatever it takes to gain victory. So out of nowhere, Malamar fired a huge dragon pulse downwards onto Cantertown, where the ponies there were still unconscious from the Psywave. Luna and Celestia gasped, rushing down to save them all from getting blown to bits by the dragon pulse. All according to Malamar's plan. Now they were wide open due to their love for the ponies.
"Kind-hearted fools." As the dragon pulse was being released from his mouth, from his fins, he tossed out two dark voids, courtesy of Darkrai's DNA. Celestia and Luna had saved them all by combining their magic beams to push the dragon pulse away, however, the dark voids came from above, hitting them from the back and entrapping them into a deep sleep.
"Haha! Now that the princesses are out of the way and in a deep sleep of an eternal nightmare.. my plans for world domination and role as a leader are still intact." Malamar floated upwards to the now destroyed throne room. As the two sisters were out in a deep sleep, Luna was able to barely move despite being hit by the dark void. Her time fighting nightmares gave her resistance to this.
"Now then. Let us begin by having a change of place. But first. I'll need some minions. And of course, who better than the princesses. Malamar looked down on them. Its hypnosis is mostly useful when it comes to mind control but considering how powerful those two are. He'll need much greater hypnosis than he has now.
With the Mane 6, Ash and Pikachu they were waiting for a train to Canterlot to hope that everything is okay.
"Come on come on. What's taking the train so long?!" Pinkie Pie yelled, losing patience.
"This is wasting too much time! I'd better go on ahead." Rainbow Dash insisted that she fly to Canterlot. But she didn't want to leave her friends behind though.
"You go on ahead Rainbow Dash. We'll catch up to you." Twilight was okay with this as long as somepony could check up on Canterlot. Rainbow Dash nodded in response as she immediately took off. Ash thought for a minute, gaining an idea that would hopefully help.
"I got it.. I'll be back! You guys get there as fast as you can!"
"Ash, darling! Where are you going?!"
"Don't worry! I have a great idea! Pikachu. You stay with them and give them all the help they can get." Ash told his best friend to stay and help the girls.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded, knowing that his buddy would be okay. Ash ran off to set his idea in motion. As the boy ran further, he looked up in the sky where the rift would normally be.
"Rift! Can you hear me?! I wanna talk to you!" This was the first time someone was calling for the rift. Never had it happened to it before? The rift appeared before Ash, obviously curious as to what he wanted to talk about.
"What is it, boy?"
"You already know about the whole Malamar situation that's kinda going on right now, don't you?"
"Of course. Its got me riled up. I wonder how it'll turn out.."
"Well, I need a favour. I want you to send me back home to Pallet Town. Connect it to here if you can." He asked.
"Hmm.. alright. I want to see how this all turns out." The rift granted Ash's request, creating a gateway from Pallet Town to right near the train station.
"Okay. Thanks!" Ash walked through the gateway as the rift had then left, back to its realm where it dwells.
Rainbow Dash was zooming along with the skies, heading towards Canterlot as she could see the castle nearby.
"Awesome! Hold on every pony! Hope I'm not too late!" Rainbow Dash kicked up speed as she was closing in, however in the distance, she could see Celestia and Luna floating there. With their eyes and pupils being hollow. "Princesses! Boy am I gl-" She was promptly stopped as the two of them froze her in place by holding her with magic. Rainbow Dash was confused. She didn't know what was going on.
And that's when Malamar showed up, looking at her.
"Hello there. We have a multicoloured menace here."
"You slimy little.."
"Oh hush now. As you can see your princesses look a bit odd don't they? That is because they and soon everyone else will be under my control. Of course... I only intend to keep these two under my control, since they are the most powerful. The rest are just fodder to me. That includes you. Dump her in the work chambers. Celestia and Luna, under Malamar's orders, had carried Rainbow Dash down to Cantertown where Malamar had set up a work chamber in a few minutes thanks to psychic. Down there, ponies would be forced to work, however, due to them being unconscious at the moment still, they have yet to realise what is about to happen. Rainbow Dash looked at this in disgust.
"Oh my.."
Pallet Town... Day.
Delia was inside her home, relaxing and watching the news on how ponies are now apart of this world. Ash had entered the house, surprised to see him back. Usually, when he's gone off, it takes a long time for him to come back.
"Oh, Ash. You're back. Guess you didn't go missing after all."
"Hey, mom! I gotta talk to Professor Oak quickly!"
"Alright." She didn't mind as it was normal for Ash to be apart of frantic situations even if she didn't know what he was doing, it was not normal that's for sure. Ash had got on his pc, left by his father. Turning it on he got in contact with the great Samuel Oak himself.
"Morning Ash. How have you been?"
"Hey, professor. I've been great! Look, I'm kinda in a hurry so..can I have some of my Pokemon back. I need to help some friends as fast as I can."
"Well sure. Who would you like to bring?"
"I need someone with speed. So I'll take Staraptor! And Sceptile for good measure!"
"Okay then. I'll send them over to you. Oh and Ash. If you wouldn't mind I'd like to see a pony for myself soon. If you know any." Oak wanted to really see the ponies face to face for himself but he was kinda busy with a few things.
"I will! I'll bring my friends over here once everything's done." The pokeballs had come through the pc, landing on Ash's lap. "Thanks, professor!" He picked them up, shutting off the PC and he was ready to help his friends.
"Bye, mom!"
"Bye Ash." She replied as her son rushed out, entering the other side.
"Alright. Staraptor! Come on out!" Ash tossed his Pokeball, sending out Staraptor. Possibly his 3rd fastest pokemon ever.
"Staraptor!" The Predator Pokemon was here.
"Staraptor. I need your help. I'll tell you where to fly to.
"Star!" Staraptor nodded as his partner jumped on his back, flying off to help his new friends.
The train was also on the move. With Twilight pacing back and forth, in a bit of a panic.
"Twilight calm down. We'll make it there." Fluttershy said trying to calm her friend down.
"Calm down?! I can't! Who knows what's happening at Canterlot right now. The worst possible scenario could be going on! And we don't know what Pokemon are capable of since they can do everything from breathing fire, fly, teleport, mind control, release lightning sorts of things! How can I stay calm?!"
"She has a point ya know. These things aren't from our world to remember. Why does little Applins on my farm breathe out some blue fire out of a barrel-like it was nothing." Applejack agreed with her.
"Darling. don't worry. We're all in this together. We've faced dangerous foes before. We can handle this as well." Rarity reassured her fellow unicorn.
"You're right. Thanks, girls." As the train kept moving on Malamar had already done some redecorating. Banners were put up with his face on them. Everything from the colour of the kingdom was changed to his liking. Matching his colour scheme that is. Celestia and Luna standing beside him as well as his right hands.
"Excellent. I want this.. colourful place to look more fetching. And oh... what's this?" Malamar could sense other ponies headed towards Canterlot with his psychic prowess. "It seems that they actually decided to come here and stop me. From that distance as well. Ponies sure are persistent. But like I will let those mares get in my way." Malamar grinned with a devious smile on his face. He knew they were coming. So he had time to prepare.
Staraptor and Ash weren't too far away from Canterlot, only behind the train by 7 minutes. As the train had finally come to a stop, the mane 6, Spike and Pikachu hopped off, ready to head inside Canterlot, until they noticed that something was different. A statue of Malamar could be seen from high up due to how tall it was. His immense psychic power helped him to build that statue in no time.
"What the..? When did THIS happen?" Twilight said, confused.
"Not only that. Look!" Applejack pointed at how the streets of Cantertown were barren. Nopony insight. That's when the sound of Malamar had reached their head, via telepathy even if he was a certain distance away from them.
"Well hello, there my little ponies."
"Malamar! What have you done?! Where is everypony?!"
"Oh fret not Twilight Sparkle. Everypony is currently going under a sort of change as of now. These streets and buildings will be full of all those ponies once more.. obviously underneath my rule. Do not worry. All of you will not be excluded from my empire. Once I reach Ponyville next. And then, I'll conquer every other part of your world."
"You barbarian! You think you're capable of doing all of that?!"
"Oh but I can Rarity. A being of my prominence can. And only me. To give you all some company, the princesses will lead you to the rest of the equines." Celestia and Luna appeared above them still under the might hypnosis.
"Princess Celestia. Princess Luna.." Twilight looked up at the now controlled Princesses' as they had lifted them all from the ground with magic.
"Take them to everypony else. In the meantime, I have more rearranging to do."
"What do we do?! We can't retaliate against the princesses! Its madness!" Pinkie yelled out.
"I don't know! I can't break free from both their magic either!" Twilight replied. Pikachu knew what he had to do. It wasn't going to be pretty and he didn't want to do it but there was no other choice.
"PIka..chuuu!" He let out a jolt of the thunderbolt that had struck both sisters, breaking their magic concentration. They had stopped carrying them all, however, they started to fall. They were screaming as Fluttershy managed to recover, but she wasn't fast enough to chase down after her friends. That is until Rainbow Dash came, swooping in and saving them as fast as she could, sending them all down on the ground.
"Rainbow Dash!" They all said in unison.
"That's me!" She replied.
"Thank goodness. We're so glad you're okay." Fluttershy said.
"It was nothing. I managed to sneak out of that chamber. But you should see what's going on down there. Its messed up."
It wasn't over yet though. Celestia and Luna were still here. Despite Pikachu's thunderbolt dealing a good hit on them to slow the two of them down for a bit, it wasn't enough to put them down.
"Malamar's got the princesses totally under his control. And he's making everypony work in a chamber." Rainbow explained.
"So he kept only the sisters since they're the highest of them all and kept the lower ones underneath the chamber," Twilight said.
"How can he be so cruel?" Fluttershy replied. All of a sudden, a combination of both sisters magic beams were sent towards the group. Pikachu jumped in, using his thunderbolt to push them back.
"We need to go now! Everypony to the chambers!" Twilight commanded as they all took off. Pikachu did the holding back, by repeatedly pushing back beams with his thunderbolts. They chased the group through buildings and such, tearing them down as they would not stop. Celestia had closed in going to strike her horn down on them. Pikachu had countered by using his iron tail to clash with hers.
As Pikachu was holding her back, Luna had zoomed past him, heading for the rest.
"Pika?!" Pikachu turned around and lost focus as Celestia knocked him away with her horn.
"Pikachu!" Fluttershy turned around seeing her fellow yellow buddy getting hurt.
"Fluttershy! We have to keep moving!" Rarity pulled Fluttershy, just in time as Luna almost got a clean hit on her. Pikachu stood up as Celestia looked down on the electric mouse. She was ready to blast him, however, the little guy was nimble enough to run underneath her. She turned around, firing a magic beam that Pikachu barely managed to dodge.
Celestia's head was hurting as it was clear that she was fighting back the hypnosis. It was difficult but a piece of her was still in there trying. Pikachu saw her guard down as she took this opportunity to let an electroweb out, trapping her in it. Pikachu ran ahead as Celestia was trying to break free from the web.
Meanwhile, in the skies, Staraptor and Ash had arrived. They were high enough to see where Malamar was since the throne room hadn't been remade yet and he was out in the open.
"There! Malamar!"
"Oh. Look who it is. A boy who doesn't know any better."
Ash jumped off Staraptor, landing down on the floor of the now destroyed throne room.
"Come to save your friends? Really you should just kneel before me. Like how every being else shall."
"Pssh. You wish. Like I'd knee to some guy like you."
"Hoho. Typically for someone like you to be so stubborn. Once your little pony friends.. every single of them are enslaved.. then you and every other human and pokemon back in our world will be under my control. And perhaps... if I can go further... I can harness the power of the rift.. and conquer other worlds!"
"Is that all you care about? World domination?"
"No Ashy boy. I've come to a realisation... With all this potential power at my side... it shall be universal domination! Even space will not be safe from my reign."
"That's why I'm going to stop you here and now. No one in the world wants someone like you to rule over them! Staraptor! Aerial Ace!" Staraptor came flying down towards Malamar who had used Psychic to send the bird pokemon back.
"Useless. How can you beat someone like me? When I have all the psychic power in the world now!" Malamar lifted both of them, launching them out of the throne room.
"Aaaah!" Ash screamed as his trusty flying pokemon saved him. "Thanks, Staraptor! Get in close! I have an idea!" Staraptor headed towards the overturning pokemon once more as Malamar just smirked all the way through. Ash jumped off Staraptor, lunging himself at Malamar.
"What a little kid." Malamar was prepared to use psychically to catch him once more, however in came Staraptor, using close combat on Malamar with its talons. Pushing him back gave Ash the chance to run past him. "Staraptor! Keep him busy for me!"
"Star!" Staraptor flew around Malamar to make sure he couldn't catch him. All Malamar needed was one good psychic to seal the deal.
With Malamar being distracted, Ash ran around the castle, seeing nopony insight.
"Man, this place is deserted. What happened?" As Ash was running he saw a shadow of pony nearby. He stopped to get a good look to see who it was.
Reunited. His friends had made it up here as they were looking for the chamber.
"Guys!" Ash called out.
"Ash!"
"Pika-Pi!"
"Oh, man. Am I glad to see you? This place was starting to creep me out." Pikachu ran back to Ash hugging his partner.
"It shouldn't creep you out. That jerk Malamar totally changed things up to make himself look cool." Pinkie said.
"And the princesses are under his control. Along with every other pony working underneath a chamber. That's where we're headed. But wait.. how did you get past Malamar?" Twilight asked.
"My other pokemon pal Staraptor has it covered. In the meantime, where is this chamber?"
"Rainbow's trying to lead us there. But she only came out through a hole instead of the main entrance." Fluttershy explained.
"Don't worry. Once we find it, we'll round up every pony and-" Before Applejack could finish her sentence, Staraptor was sent flying, crashing into the walls of the castle as he fell.
"Staraptor!" Ash yelled, seeing his friend hurt. Malamar appeared with purple psychic energy just surrounding him with such destructive and malicious force.
"That settles that with the bird. Now then.." Luna had appeared beside Malamar still under his control along with Celestia who had just broken free from the Electroweb. "Do you still believe you can defeat me?"
Malamar had such a large advantage. With the princesses on his side and everpony else in the chambers, even the number difference didn't matter.
"Well I'd say the odds are stacked against you. In terms of power anyways. Your ragtag group of ponies is no match for the combined might of alicorns and my wonderful psychic draconic powers."
"Oh for goodness sakes, do you always have to boast about yourself?" Rarity was getting tired of all his ego being blurted out of him.
"We've got both strength and numbers on our side, Malamar." Ash said as he got out a pokeball with Sceptile in it.
"Hm. Sure boy. Celestia. Luna. Chain them up. They wont be working under me due to how.. irritating they are proving themselves to be." Celestia and Luna followed his orders as they began tearing the floor apart by moving it with magic. The entire floor was ripped apart as they all started falling.
"Sceptile! Help!" Ash tossed his Pokeball as Sceptile had emerged.
"Sceptile!" The forest pokemon said. Rainbow and Fluttershy caught Rarity and Applejack while Sceptile used vines to grab onto Ash, Twilight, Pikachu, Staraptor and Pinkie Pie. The huge debris from the floor fell down to the lower levels of the castle as there were chunks everywhere. All of them had safely landed down as the two controlled sisters looked down on the group.
They came further down as Twilight and Luna's heads were twitching.
"T-Twilight.." Celestia said suddenly.
"Princess Celestia!"
"Listen. Me and Luna are close to breaking free of this mind control.. but I don't know how much longer its going to take. If you can, do your best to avoid us until we break free."
"Right Princess! You can count on us!"
"Good.." Celestia's short time of gaining consiousness was gone as she instantly released a magic beam at the group, grazing Rarity's hair.
"Sceptile! Don't hurt the princesses too much! Use Leaf Blade!" Luna and Celestia both struck their horns forward as Sceptile used leaf blade to block them. "Twilight! Everyone! I can keep the princesses busy until they snap out of it. You all go and find everypony else. Oh so that's what it feels like to say it."
"Alright. Come on girls!"
"Be careful Ash!" Fluttershy said.
"I got this! Alright Sceptile! Keep holding them back if you can!" Sceptile was doing its best to hold them back. He was putting up a good fight, but he was starting to get overwhelmed a bit. "Pikachu! Use thunderbolt on Malamar!"
Pikachu released a thunderbolt upwards as Malamar easily avoided it. The overturning Pokemon teleported to Ash, grabbing him with his fins.
"Nice try. But if y-" Malamar was interrupted by Pikachu who knocked him back with an iron tail to the head. "Oof!"
"You talk too much! Electroweb!" Pikachu let out his electroweb as it encased Malamar in, shocking him in the process. Malamar broke free from this by using Darkrai's phasing ability. He then charged up a dragon pulse, ready to blast the two.
"Thunderbolt!" Both the pulse and bolt met as they cancelled each other out. Smoke was in Malamar's way, blocking his sight of them. Sceptile had managed to push Luna back but was struggling against Celestia. Celestia's attacks were starting to wittle down. The hypnosis was losing its strength.
"Where are you, boy?" Malamar said looking for Ash in the smoke.
"Right here!" Ash revealed himself as he was holding Sceptile's Pokeball, making Malamar think he was going to catch him and that it was just unused pokeball. Malamar had used psychic to stop Ash from apparently capturing him.
"Hah. Capture me? Like I'd let you."
"Heh. I'm just the diversion."
"Hm?" Malamar turned around as was met with a devastating thunderbolt. This time Pikachu didn't stop firing it as it was left to shock Malamar. Malamar screamed as Ash was dropped. Luna had broken free of the hypnosis first, regaining her consiousness.
"Where are we?" She said, holding her head in confusion.
Celestia was next as she also managed to break free from the hypnosis, giving Sceptile time to breathe.
"Finally. We broke free. Thank you Ash."
"No problem, Celestia!"
"We can take Malamar from here."
"But what if he controls you two again?"
"He only managed to control us because he put us in a deep sleep and then had some sort of hypnosis to control us. We won't let that happen again." Malamar had recovered from the thunderbolt, still feeling the jolts from it though.
"How frustrating!" With his anger building up, he whacked Pikachu away with his sharp fins as Sceptile caught Pikachu. "You are all botching my plans! Get lost!" Malamar began firing a frantic dragon pulse as it was going all over the place with no sense of direction. The castle was falling apart due to all of this. The paitings on the walls were being destroyed as well. Malamar had lost his cool.
"Sister! To the Elements!" Celestia pushed Malamar back as the two sisters flew off to find and retrieve the Elements of Harmony.
Twilight and the gang had kept moving on as they had finally found the main entrace to the chamber. Deep below the castle.
"Everypony's in there for sure." Rainbow Dash said.
"Stand back ya'll." Applejack turned around as she bucked the door down with ease. Once that door was kicked down, the first thing they saw were ponies who were under Malamar's control as well. They were mindlessly walking out of the chamber, obviously off to do Malamar's bidding.
"What is this?!" Rarity screamed.
"Malamar's got them ALL under his control!" Rainbow replied. The swarm of ponies had budged past the girls and spike like they weren't even there, pushing them aside in the process.
"Their minds are completely devoid of thought. I don't think they're strong enough to fight it off like Celestia and Luna." Twilight explained to them.
"Well then how are we gonna get them out of that hypnosis stuff?" Spike asked. The ponies all walked up the stairs in unison with no signs of stopping at all costs. However, surprising to not just them but the mane 6 as well, they could feel everything falling apart. Malamar's rage was tearing the castle into pieces one by one.
"It sounds like insanity up there." Rarity said as small debris were falling from above.
"We can't stay around here for too long! We'll have to carry everypony out in the meanwhile!" Twilight said, preparing to user her magic. However even she couldn't teleport that many ponies out.
"No way Twilight! Thats one too many to teleport! We gotta find another way!" Rainbow Dash stopped here. Just then, from above, a huge hole was created by the dragon pulse above them everypony. And from above, fell Sceptile who managed to save himself by using a vine to grab onto the edge.
All the way at the top, the frustrated Malamar was still letting loose.
"This dragon pulse is gonna bring the entire place down! And that means Twilight and everypony else will be crushed!"
"As they deserve to be! It won't be too much of a loss. I'll just find another population of ponies to ensalve. The ones here are just dust in the wind! Along with you and troublesome pokemon!"
Celestia and Luna opened the chest that contained the elements of harmony... however one was missing. The element of magic. The one that Malamar had stolen and had made the base for his crown.
"The Element of Magic.. Its gone!" Luna said as both her and her sister were shocked to find out that there were only 5.
"Then the 6th one is.." Celestia turned around, noticing that the crown that Malamar had was similar to the Element of Magic's crown. Only difference being is that the base of the crown has dragon scales all over it. "So that explains a few things. Luna. We have to get that crown of off him. Before he realises just how powerful it can really be with the other elements." Her sister nodded in response. The new plan was to remove the corrupt crown.
Malamar spun around as his sharp fins were cutting apart the walls itself. Ash had protected Pikachu and the still injured Staraptor from getting hit by the debris as Malamar saw this as an oppurtunity to strike. However, that was promptly stopped by Celestia and Luna restraining the dark psychic pokemon.
"Accursed Princesses!" He yelled out in anger, trying to break free from the magic.
"Ash! Help us get that crown off of him!" Luna yelled.
"The crown.." Ash looked at the crown on Malamar's head. Knowing what he must do. "Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu jumped up, swinging its iron tail towards the crown. It landed however it wasn't enough to get it off. However, the iron tail managed to leave a crack in the crown, which actually helped a lot. The mind control on the ponies on the lower ground was dwindling due to the crown being damaged and Malamar's hypnosis wearing off due to how much he's being weakened during the battle.
"No good! Sceptile! Leaf Blade! Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Sceptile jumped back up from the hole as both him and Pikachu struck their two up close and personal attacks onto the crown. Celestia and Luna kept holding Malamar there, not letting for one second. Malamar couldn't phase through it with Darkrai's dna since the magic wasn't physical. Pikachu and Sceptile kept attacking the crown, breakign it apart. The hard scales of the dragon fang made it a durable thing, but thanks to Iron Tail it could dent it.
"This can't be happening! I won't allow it!" Malamar began focusing as hard as he could, sending a pulse of darkness around the magic field he was contained in. It pushed the two alicorns back a bit but not by much, but it did push Pikachu and Sceptile back more.
Twilight and the gang saw the battle from the hole upstairs, seeing how much they were all struggling to stop Malamar.
"We don't have much time! Everypony still won't move fast enough!" Twilight was beginning to panic. She didn't want the ponies of Canterlot to be crushed underneath all the rubble, but the hypnosis made them as slow as a turtle. But what they didn't know was that the crown being damaged meant that the hypnosis was wearing off. And like that.. a few ponies actually managed to be freed of the hypnosis.
"Oh my.. what was I doing?" A unicorn said.
"I don't remember a thing... are we in the castle right now?" Another unicorn retorted.
"They're breaking free of the hypnosis.. Its wearing off!" Fluttershy said with a smile on her face. They could all feel the shaking and rumbling of the conflict upstairs as they took a minute to realise where they really are.
"Everything is falling apart! Run!" The ponies who were free of hypnosis ran off, aiming to get out of here as fast as they can. And with one final hit from Iron Tail and Leaf Blade, the crown had not only been knocked off, but it was split in half too.
"NO!" Malamar yelled in anger as the crown dropped the ground. Celestia quickly picked up the crown as she saw the damage done to it.
"Its been damaged. But the gem inside is still intact. That's all that matters." Luna let Malamar down as the 6 elements surrounded the two sisters. Malamar turned around to see the circling elements obviously saying that his doom was upon him.
"I won't go down like this!" Malamar used the rest of his own strength by using psychic on the element of kindness, sending it aside.
"You dirty little-" Luna's eyes twitched on how cheap Malamar played.
"I don't play fair, missy! Dark types never play fair!" And with a mighty dark pulse he dealt the finishing blow to the castle as it finally all came crashing down. Luckily most ponies who had broken free of the mind control had escaped out into the city, so no one underneath was hurt. Celestia and Luna flew up, avoiding the tumbling castle as Ash held onto Pikachu and Staraptor and Sceptile holding them close. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack and Spike had escaped but Twilight was the last one behind.
"Hurry Twilight!" Rainbow cried out. Where Twilight was standing had been demolished, as the purple pony fell from atop. She began screaming as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy attempted to fly in and save her. But there was too much in their way. All the huge debris falling from above was blocking them from their friend.
"TWILIGHT!" Ash saw this as he jumped down to risk his own life just to save a friend. All the ponies gasped at this as Pikachu's eyes widened. Ash caught Twilight luckily but they were still falling down.
"ASH YOU IDIOT!" Twilight yelled at him.
"I can't let a friend go down like this!" He replied. To save both their friends, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy gave it more than just 100%. Everypony moved away from the huge falling debris that crashed on the ground as Rainbow charged through the rubble just to reach them. Staraptor had recovered to a good enough state to fly downwards to save his trainer. Sceptile held Pikachu close with his vines as Malamar just watched this ensue. He began laughing, knowing that two potential threats would be gone from this world forever.
"Haha! Serves you right!"
What he didn't know was that Celestia and Luna had already retrieved the element of kindness back and had fully charged up all the magic. And with one single shot, they fired the signature rainbow beam towards Malamar. Malamar turned around, noticing the light, however he couldn't react fast enough. And with that, the elements struck him.
"NOOOOOOOO! Ma-MALAMAR!" Malamar screamed in defeat. The only thing he could say was his pokemon name since the leftover power of the crown had faded away. His entire body turned to stone completely. He fell into a lake, with his stone body sinking deep down. That was Malamar's defeat.
As Ash held Twilight close, Rainbow and Fluttershy managed to save them both along with Staraptor who knocked away any debris from hitting them with close combat.
"Staraptor!"
"Fluttershy! Rainbow!" Saved. They landed down safely on the ground with no harm being done. And with that.. Disaster Averted.
"Everypony began cheering in joy as all that chaos was finally over. Ash let out a sigh of relief along with Twilight. Pikachu ran towards his trainer, giving him a hug as he was so glad he was okay and not smushed on the ground.
"That was risky Ash!" Twilight yelled at Ash, giving him mouth for that crazy stunt he did.
"Heh. I've done worse. Besides. I couldn't let you fall ya know."
"Oh you.."
"I'm just glad its all over!" Rarity hugged Twilight along with Spike and the rest of the girls. Staraptor joined in on the friendly hug as Sceptile just stood back and watched. Celestia and Luna decided to come down and congratulate them all for helping save Canterlot. Even if most of the castle has been absolutely obliterated. Everypony bowed down to them, respecting their presence.
"Ash Ketchum. Twilight Sparkle. All of you. Against all odds you helped prevent the mad conquering of not just our world but other worlds by stopping Malamar. Not only that, but Ash. You showed a selfless act by putting your own life on the line just to save a friend."
"Ah geez. Thanks. But ya know you helped too. Defeating Malamar and all." Ash retorted.
"Hehh. Yeah we did." Celestia and Luna got a bit cocky since they were proud that they dealt the finishing blow on Malamar. But they had every right to be.
"I'm just glad everypony's safe and sound from all of this." Fluttershy said.
"And I'm sorry if my world has guys like that around, Celestia and Luna."
"You don't have to apologise for anything Ash. There will always be darkness around every corner. No world is perfect and pure. But isn't that why we're here to help and save others?" Celestia said to brighten his and everypony's spirits up. Everypony nodded in response to this.
"Now then. A celebration is needed don't you think Pinkie Pie?" Luna said to Pinkie.
"Of course! We'll make it huge! But uh..one problem." Pinkie pointed at the now destroyed Canterlot Castle.
"Oh right." Luna replied.
"No need to worry! We still have Ponyville don't we?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed with his partner.
"Of course. A celebration in Ponyville it is then!" Everypony cheered on as it all finally came to an end.
Hours passed as the party in Ponyville was going well. Celestia looked over the gateway from this world and the pokemon. Curious. Ash and Pikachu walked out to see her looking in the distance.
"Ash. Pikachu."
"Yeah Celestia?"
"If I may.. hope I'm not being a bother. I want to see your world."
"Really?!"
"Yes. A whole new world is just waiting across that rift. I may be a princess.. but I love to have fun too."
"Well of course! You can visit our world any time! You'll love it!"
"PIka-Pikachu!"
"Thank you Ash. And thank you for helping save everypony else."
"No problem. To be honest, compared to the other things I've saved, this is just as dangerous as saving my universe. Well almost as dangerous."
"Universe?" Celestia said, confused. And from above, came Arceus.
"That is correct. Ash here has saved the world countless of times. He and his friends have gone through so much to protect and save the world they love. Including helping save me.. which save all of our existence from being wiped out." Arceus explained.
"Oh so we have a real veteran on world saving now do we?" Celestia nudged Ash. "You know I've done my fair share of world saving here and there. I should tell you about the time me and Luna stopped Discord."
"I can see you are all fine. I just came here to tell you that Palkia senses when the rift's next actions will take place."
"Palika? The alicorn asked.
"Palkia's the creator and guardian of space. It's his job to know stuff like this." Ash explained to her.
"Palkia senses that the rift will cause trouble in 8 days. Be careful all of you."
"We shall. Thank you Arceus." Celestia, Ash and Pikachu bid farewell to Arceus who left via wormhole to his realm. "Now then Ash. Mind telling me about this certain Pokemon called Milotic? I've been hearing a lot about it from ponies who apparently saw it."
"Oh Milotic? Well lets see.." As they went back to the party, talking away the Malamar event comes to an end.
On the other side.. the Pokemon World.
There sits the Swords of Justice, looking for a certain Pokemon who had just gone missing.
"Where is he..? He just up and left." Virizion said. The pokemon in particular was Keldeo. Who had ventured off. Apparently sensing a familiar presence nearby. An old friend.
It's a brand new day in Equestria and the World of Pokemon. Canterlot is being rebuilt after the Malamar attack, so everypony is helping to rebuild. And with the help of BigTime Ben getting some Pokemon to help them, the process will be much faster. In the meantime, today was the day that Celestia got to visit the Pokemon world. She was all giddy like a little filly. A whole new world for her see.
"Oh, I just can't wait! I get to see what the other world has. Who knows... I might even find a Pokemon of my own there!" She said jumping around, all excited and jolly. Luna watched her sister move around like a child in their room.
"We don't understand why thou gets to go. We want to visit the other world as well." Luna felt like she was being left out by her sister.
"Oh, Luna. Who said you couldn't come? After all, it's not like anything's stopping us."
"We suppose you're right. We shall follow thou sister to this other world. The world of Pokemon."
"Great! Ash has already volunteered to guide us. We're going to see his home town and so on and so on."
Ash and Pikachu were outside, waiting for the Princesses to come out. Twilight and the others were there since Twilight was a bit cautious about Celestia's visit.
"I don't know if this is such a good idea. Who knows what'll happen to Celestia if she goes there. If Pokemon like Malamar are there.. then-" She was beginning to panic once again. Not knowing much about the other world stirred up so many fears in her mind.
"Calm down Twilight. We're just going to escort the princess to get a good visit to the pokemon world. And if there is any trouble, We'll all handle it." Applejack reassured Twilight.
"Okay... No pressure..." A few seconds passed as Celestia and Luna had both arrived, ready to go.
"Princess Luna. Are you coming along as well?" Fluttershy asked.
"Indeed. We will not let our sister be the only one to sightsee."
"So Ash. Where to first? Your home town maybe?" Celestia asked him.
"I thought about it for a bit. And noticed that there are other gateways on other sides leading to different locations. There's Hoenn. It's super infused with nature. Then there's Sinnoh. Its got a bit of a chill to it but man does it have a lot history and settlements. Oh but Unova.. when its summer its got this nice warm feeling to it. And the cities are gigantic and they got so many attractions, film studios, the list goes on. And then there's Kalos. It's got this feeling that just gets your blood boiling with a wild sensation. And it's pretty fancy too. Oh and Alola.. man. The Alolan sun and moon are just wonderful. No better relaxation spot." Ash was rambling on, getting caught up in all his past adventures a bit too much. Celestia and Luna heard all of this as they made their decision.
"They all sound wonderful. So we'll go by each of them one by one." Celestia said.
"Sweet. So which region would you like to visit first?"
"The Unova Region has me interested. Although I want to save the best for last... So I suggest we go to Kalos. I want to know what this wild sensation is."
"We too would love to visit Kalos. See what they hold there."
"Then it's settled. That gateway rift over there leads to Kalos and back." Ash pointed at a gateway at the far right. The group all went through as they had feasted their eyes on the beautiful and glamorous Kalos. Specifically Lumiose City.
"This feeling... What is it?" Rarity could feel something great from Kalos that she never felt before. What Ash said about fancy was reaching her.
"Look at all of this, girls." Twilight and everypony got a glance at all the small shops and cafes. Many boulevards all divided by several avenues and plazas. After all, the city was shaped like a spoked wheel. And the one building that stood out the most. Prism Tower.
"You were right Ash. This is fancy." Celestia said. They all started to walk around Lumiose, seeing what it has to offer. As they were walking by, Rarity spotted a particular pokemon. The Poodle Pokemon Furfrou.
"What is THAT?!" Rarity snatched Rainbow Dash's Pokedex, just to see what it said about Furfrou.
"Hey!" Rainbow said.
"Furfrou. The Poodle Pokemon. Furfrou's long, fast-growing fur is easily trimmed into a variety of styles, but the Pokemon is picky on who wields the scissors. These Pokemon were designated guardians of the king." The Pokedex explained.
"They're perfect! I might have to start catching Pokemon myself." Rarity said.
"Well if you like that, you'll love Coiffure Clips. Its a hairdresser shop were-" That's all Ash needed to say to get Rarity going as she zoomed off, heading to Coiffure Clips.
"She took my Pokedex.." Rainbow Dash groaned. Continuing their tour with Rarity occupied, people had noticed Celestia and Luna, admiring how regal and radiant they looked.
"Oh my Arceus.. look at those two!" A woman said. She rushed over to the two alicorns as Twilight's guard was already up, fearing that her fears were about to happen. "Your hair... it's so..grandiose. And how it flows so perfectly. Not to mention its cosmic look. How this one has many colours and how this one is as black as the night."
"Oh. Why thank you." Celestia gushed at the woman's words.
"My dear. I highly suggest you try and become BIG in Kalos. With both of your looks, you could DOMINATE the entire fashion league and make it on the Lumiose Press and magazines in no time."
"Hehe. That'd be great, but they're princesses so... we don't have time for that. Thanks for the offer anyway." Twilight was obviously trying to get them away from the lady, fearing she might cause trouble that nopony wanted.
With Rarity she was inside the hair salon, looking at how the Furfrou's got their fur done. Rarity was impressed with how stylish they looked. Of course, some of them were pokemon influenced but still.
"You like what you see?" A man said to the gazing Rarity.
"Oh don't I? I had no idea Pokemon could also be stylish with hair."
"Pokemon are versatile in everything. You never know what else they're capable of. By the way, your hair something else."
"Oh, my mane? Oh, I know. I had this since I was a young filly. But it has grown significantly. And I do enjoy changing it up when I try different dresses on from time to time."
"In that case, how about you try some of the stylings here. You can stylize my Furfrou if you want." The man kindly gave Rarity the option to let her imagination run wild.
"Very well. Watch and learn!" Rarity grabbed the essentials from the salon, working her magic on the poodle pokemon. With deep concentration, she did not stop for a second. And behold, her work was done. The Furfrou's fur now resembled that of her little sister Sweetie Belle's mane.
"Ooh! Very nice. This style is so.. sweet."
"I know. Modelled after my dear little sister."
"Hey, think you can stylize my Furfrou?" A lady who had watched over Rarity's work said. More and more people were coming in the hairdresser salon, wanting Rarity to give their Furfrou's some fur change. She was going to be occupied for a while.
Moving back to the rest, Celestia had helped herself to some juice from the Juice Shoppe.
"I'm sorry but what is this flavour. It's so delicious!" Celestia loved the taste of it.
"Its Oran Berry flavoured. It's a current favourite here in Kalos." The shoppe owner answered.
"Well, I love it. Luna, try some." Celestia offered another juice box to her sister.
"We have never drank juice before.."
"So then let it be a first." Luna took her sisters offer, taking the juice box and drinking from it. Once that taste kicked in, Luna felt this amazing feeling within her. It felt like pure bliss. A taste like this was nothing she had ever tasted before. She melted in this feeling. Twilight, Pikachu and the rest took a drink from the juice boxes as they saw the princess of the night melt from the juice.
"Wonderful isn't it?" Celestia said to her sister who was on the floor.
"Yeaaah..." Luna replied with her words a bit mumbled.
"Hope you don't mind princesses.. but I kinda wanna go ahead and catch some Pokemon and train... if that's okay with you." Rainbow asked them.
"You're free to do so Rainbow Dash. All of you can venture this world as much as you want. And Twilight. I know why you really came along."
"Y-You do?"
"Yes. You're worried that something horrible could happen here since we don't really know what other pokemon exist in this world. The Malamar event was immense and it's reasonable to be cautious."
"But what if something worse than Malamar does happen?! What will we do then?!" Twilight couldn't stop worrying, no matter what.
"No need to worry Twilight. There are pokemon out there who'll come to your rescue if you're ever in trouble." Ash reassured her.
"Hey, a girl from a few hours ago came by and said that same thing. Said it was her unique catchphrase." The shoppe owner said to Ash.
"Catchphrase... Dawn was here?!" Ash yelled.
"Well if that's her name then sure." The owner retorted.
"Oh man, I missed her. She must be pretty far ahead in Kalos right now."
"Pikachu.."
"Well, this has been great! But I'm off to train my Rufflet and Whirlipede!"
"And I'd better go with her to make sure nothing goes too wrong," Fluttershy said.
"I'll go check up on Rarity, see how she's doing in there." Applejack followed.
"And I'll check out where I can find more Slurpuff! Somepony did tell me they come from this region!" Pinkie Pie finished off.
"Excellent. Oh, now I want to try the Hoenn Region. What do you think, Luna?"
"Suuuure..." Luna was still melted by the juice but she agreed anyway.
As everypony else went their separate ways, Applejack headed towards the salon, only to be met by a huge line of people who all had Furfrou's. They all wanted Rarity to stylize their Pokemon for them.
"What in tarnation?" Applejack couldn't see past the huge line, so she went to the window to see Rarity working on the different styles. "Rarity!" Applejack yelled from the window with her voice only barely reaching her. The beautiful unicorn turned to her friend as she had a tired face on her. It was due to all that work. So much work in the fact that the original hairstylist was sitting back, watching this go down.
"Applejack.. is that you darling?"
"Yeah, it's me. What's going on here? You look out of it."
"Oh. I've been working on every human's Furfrou. So many stylized furs. I'm running out of ponies I know from my lifetime! Who knew the word of my work could spread out so fast.." Rarity said as she just kept stylizing their furs, with no signs of stopping. All of this was driving her a bit mad.
"Rarity! I think you've done enough! Why don't you come out and-"
"NO!" She interrupted Applejack's words, refusing to stop. "I must do this! Something like this is so new! I can't leave this opportunity!"
"I think you've already been in this opportunity for too long missy!"
"I won't stop unless I stylize every single one!"
"Okay, I think that's enough! Out of the way, ya'll!" Applejack forced her way through everyone and their Furfrou just to reach Rarity. "Alright, Ya'll! This whole fur thing is over! Go on ya'll!"
"Aw, man... I was gonna make my Furfrou look like a Bouffalant." Everyone was leaving due to Applejack stopping them.
"Applejack! What are you doing?!"
"Rarity look at you! Your eyes are starting to droop. You have bags underneath your bags. You weren't honestly thinking of doing them all were you?"
"Well, only a handful. I had everything under control. Even if I was running out styles."
"Look Rarity. I appreciate your love for this new Pokemon thing, but you gotta know when there's a limit. There's a time where everypony's gotta slow down on the things they love to do if they wanna stay refreshed."
"Y-You're right. I just got so caught up in it darling. Pokemon truly are wonderful creatures.. so much so that they can drive me to push myself."
"Come on now. We can go to other regions. That Alola region sounds like it can take a load off you." The two left the shop as the shop owner was left with huge stacks of money from the customers.
"Hehe. Easy money."
High atop Lumiose Tower, a certain ninja Pokemon was watching from above, seeing an old friend as it spectated. The ninja Pokemon, left the tower, leaving no trace behind.
Santalune Forest, close to Lumiose City. Rainbow Dash is currently looking for ways to hone her skills as a trainer.
"Alright. What's up first?" She said. Catching Fluttershy's eye was an Eevee. The cute little Evolution Fox Pokemon.
"What about that one Rainbow Dash? Look at how small it is!"
"Vui?" The little Eevee said. It knew what was coming. It's experienced this before. So without a second thought, it took off, running from the two ponies.
"That's perfect! I'm catching that Pokemon!" Rainbow Dash zoomed off, easily catching up to Eevee.
"Um! Don't be too aggressive Rainbow!"
Rainbow Dash had flown in front of Eevee, stopping it.
"Alright, you. I wanna grow as a trainer. So I gotta challenge and catch as many Pokemon as I can. No hard feelings. Go, Rufflet!" Rainbow Dash tossed out her Pokeball, sending out her Rufflet.
"Eevee.." Fluttershy watched as these two tiny little pre-evolved pokemon were ready to face off.
"Okay, Rufflet! Get in there and use Peck!" Rufflet did exactly that, flying just a bit above the ground, going to peck on Eevee. Eeevee wouldn't let that happen as it jumped over Rufflet, using Swift from behind. Rufflet was pushed back by the Swift that hit it.
"Hah? Okay then! Wing Attack!" Rufflet flew back at the fox pokemon, spreading its wings, ready to hit with them. Eevee charged in using tackle as its head met with Rufflet's wings. They pushed each other back, seeming to be equal in strength. Fluttershy, who was watching over this was hoping that things wouldn't go too out of hand.
"This little thing's persistent for being so small and cute. Rufflet! Keep using Wing Attack over and over again!" Rufflet did just that, swooping around Eevee, constantly attacking with its wings. Eevee was avoiding most of them by jumping over Rufflet each time he came to ground level. This kept going on until Rufflet used wing attack on a tree. It was small but Rufflet's were exceptionally strong due to how much stronger they get as time goes on. And thus, the tree from above began falling. Rufflet stopped flying as both he and Eevee looked up to see the tree about to fall on them both.
"Rufflet!" Rainbow Dash was about to dash in to save her Pokemon until someone did it first. All of a sudden, the tree was cut in half, falling to the ground and missing them completely. Rainbow Dash grabbed her Rufflet as she was confused about how the tree missed. Fluttershy almost fainted when seeing this. Who cut down the tree?
Who else but Greninja. Not just any Greninja. Ash's Greninja. Rainbow Dash looked at the Ninja Pokemon that stood before her.
"Woah.. who's that Pokemon?" Greninja jumped off to the nearest tree, leaving them to continue its training. Rainbow Dash walked over to Eevee, issuing an apology. "Hehe. Sorry. I and Rufflet got a bit carried away ya know." Eevee smacked her in the face with her tail, looking away with its eyes closed. Eevee went off to do other things, leaving the battle. "Well, that was a bust."
"But I think you've improved so far. Don't look so down Rainbow Dash."
"You're right Fluttershy. I gotta keep getting more and training harder! Only a few days left before Equestria has its own Pokemon League! Come on!" As the two of them and Rufflet flew off deeper in the forest, Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Ash and Pikachu had arrived in Hoenn for the next visit.
The Hoenn Region. The current visit for Celestia and Luna. And the spot in Hoenn they arrived in was Lilycove City.
"Ah, Lilycove City. I'm already remembering May's contests here." Ash reminisced to May's contests in the contest halls of Lilycove.
"Contests? What sort of contests?" Luna asked.
"Well, how do I describe them? They're basically a show of skill and style. Who can perform the more appealing style with moves and so on."
"We must see this with our own eyes. Style and skill are something we adore."
"Sounds thrilling. I'm with Luna."
"Sweet. Although I don't think the contest halls are open this early." Ash said. As they wandered Lilycove City, they were being watched by a peculiar pokemon. One who was drawn to positive feelings. Ponies were also in Lilycove, as they bowed down to Celestia and Luna when they were walking by. The mystery pokemon followed the group, aiming to keep a low profile. Celestia could sense that they were being followed as she moved her eyes about.
"Who goes there?" Celestia said out loud. Ash, Pikachu, Spike, Luna and Twilight caught attention to this, wondering who Celestia saw. From behind a house, emerged the small, timid and frail psychic and fairy type. Ralts.
"Oh, it's a Ralts!" Ash said.
"A Ralts?" Twilight responded. Ralts was keeping its distance by using the back of the house as it was eyeing down Celestia.
"It seems like it won't stop looking at me.."
"Ralts have the ability to sense the warm feelings of people. And I guess in this case ponies too. They're drawn to people with positive and strong emotions. Though they kinda hide if things get hostile. So I guess it's drawn to you, Princess."
"Drawn to me..?" Celestia and the Ralts kept looking at each for a bit until Ralts stepped forward. "You don't have to be afraid, little one. You can come close to me." The little feeling Pokemon walked over to the Alicorn Princess, feeling those warm and positive emotions. And with that, the little Ralts had hugged Celestia's hooves. Sticking to her like glue. "Oh?"
"Ralts.."
"Sister, We believe thou now has a burden on thou shoulders," Luna said. Ralts looked up at Celestia as she looked down at her too.
"How sweet. It's been fun seeing you... but I have to get going, little Ralts." Ralts, let go of Celestia's hooves, respecting her decision to leave. "Farewell." The others walked off, waving goodbye along with Celestia, saying goodbye to Ralts. However, Ralts had still not gotten over Celestia. So it decided to follow them by sneaking around via teleport.
Elsewhere, Rarity and Applejack have reached Alola. Where the sun gives off passion and the moon courage. "Woowee. This sun is something else. Feels kinda nice though." Applejack said, still holding on to the nearly fainted Rarity. "Come on now Rarity. Ash said that this place is great for relaxation, so why not rest up and save all that energy you wasted."
"Resting sounds good. I like that." Rarity replied.
"Oh! Applejack is that you?" A familiar voice called out to her. To her sight, she saw her cousin. Braeburn.
"Braeburn? Why are you here?"
"Well, the funniest thing happened. It was just a normal day in Appleloosa, nothing too out of the ordinary. Then all of a sudden these little critters that were bouncing on their tail for some odd reason, came through. Flooded all of Appleloosa and then bounced off to who knows where. That's when we saw this swirly thing that led right here, and I gotta say. It feels great."
"It does?"
"Mhm. The sun here's got a much different feeling than Appleloosa. A pretty warm and good feeling too. Goes right through the skin too. Anyways. I'm just about to head back to Appleloosa. Nice seeing you, cousin." Braeburn was taking his leave, bidding farewell to his Ponyville cousin.
"Take care! Come on Rarity. The hotter a place is, the longer the sun stays. Don't wanna waste it now do ya?" Rarity was asleep, resting on a nearby chair. She was saving up energy, finally. Applejack sat down next to her, looking far out at the Alolan Sea. Out of it popped Pokemon she had never seen before. Magikarps were splashing about in the water as they were outshined by the further evolved Gyarados which flew out of the ocean and dived back into it with style. Applejack was impressed as she could watch this for a while.
"Mmm... Bug clothes." Rarity mumbled in her sleep, obviously referring to her Sewaddles' back at her shop.
Moving away from Alola, all the way back in Kalos, Rainbow Dash is still on her trainer practice, accompanied by Fluttershy.
"Okay. So that previous encounter was a bust. But no worries. I'm positive the next one will go much smoother. Without any trees falling that is."
"But who was that frog-like Pokemon. I've never seen anything like it."
"No idea. I think its tongue was some sort of scarf or something?" They were referring to Ash's Greninja who had just saved Rainbow's Rufflet and the Eevee from earlier. "You know, I bet I can spot some real good Pokemon if I just look from above!" Rainbow Dash took off into the sky, looking over Santalune Forest. Fluttershy followed but in a much lighter lift-off.
"Do you see anything that catches your eye Rainbow Dash?"
"Hmm... Well, I found that Eevee from earlier, but nothing too interesting. I ain't for catching bugs anyways."
"Oh now don't be like that Rainbow. You never know, Bug types might become a favourite of yours."
"No way. I still haven't gotten over what happened back in Ponyville. Those bugs were blocking out path. For me, I'm aiming for a Pokemon that speaks to me!"
"Well, why not go for all flying types? After all, there's a lot of them compared to most other types besides water."
"That'd be cool and all Fluttershy, but I want a spicy team. If I had only flying types, it'd just be redundant. Now electric types have got me interested. Or maybe even a fire type if I can find one." Rainbow was eager to get the best team she could have. If she had a great collection of Pokemon, she feels like she'd be unstoppable.
"Why not continue to grow with the team you have? I bet you, Whirlipede and Rufflet can bond even if you are a small band. Learning to grow with your current Pokemon will help you learn and understand any potential future team members." Fluttershy had spoken like a true trainer. She wasn't a Pokemon Trainer but she knew how they felt. After all, Pokemon and animals aren't too different from each other.
"Hm.. you got a good point Fluttershy. I'm surprised you managed to understand Pokemon this easily. We've only been mixed with this world for like what a week?"
"Let's head back to Lumiose. I hear there's this place called a Pokemon Center. Your Rufflet might need some healing anyways." The two pegasi flew off, heading back to Lumiose as Greninja stood from a tree, watching them go along.
Lilycove City. Time had come for a contest to begin as the Celestia and the group had already entered the contest halls.
"This'll be exciting. I wonder what a Pokemon's moves like in style. Don't you Luna?"
"Isn't this just parlour tricks? We doubt this will be THAT entertaining." Luna was not for this. She didn't think too much of what contests are capable of. The announcer for the Pokemon Contest, stepped onto the middle of the field, tapping his microphone.
"There we go. Ladies and Gentlemen! And some ponies in the crowd. Today is a new day and the day where the next Pokemon Contest begins. Our first contestant.. hailing from Circhester in the Galar Region, is Contestant Harper!" A female contestant wearing a dress that resembled her partner Pokemon, Roserade.
"And her opposing contestant, hailing from Azalea Town in the Johto Region is Contestant Victoria!" A female contestant who's wearing a dress that had a black and yellow circled pattern that resembled her partner. "The objective is the same and simple as always. Whoever can perform the most wonderful display of skill, will be rewarded with a ribbon. The judges today are Mr Suziko from the Pokemon Fan Club, Mr Contesta and the Nurse Joy from the local Pokemon Center."
"I can't wait to see this. Harper's tricks were my favourite last time." Nurse Joy said.
"Now then. Contestants.. bring out your Pokemon!"
"Roserade! Let's impress them once more!" Harper tossed her Pokeball, sending out her partner Roserade. The Bouquet Pokemon.
"Umbreon. Come out!" Victoria sent her partner out as well. Umbreon, The Moonlight Pokemon.
"Let the contest begin!"
"We'll use something that'll leave this crowd with a great sensation! Roserade! Magical Leaf!" Harper's Roserade spun around, summoning mystical and magical leaves that swirled around it, rising in the air. "Now follow up it up with Sweet Scent!" Roserade puffed out a Sweet Scent from its rose hands. The enticing aroma it has only boosted the Sweet Scent. The entire crowd got a whiff of it, feeling relaxed and good just by its scent alone. The wafting aura of Sweet Scent could be seen as it merged with the leaves, creating a nice combo of pink and green.
"Wow! Not only is it beautiful but it makes you feel so good, don't you think?" Nurse Joy gushed.
"Indeed. Takes me back to my youth, you know." Mr Suziko replied.
"Not bad... Umbreon Moonlight." Umbreon gave the entire halls a nighttime feel. In the middle of the air, a light similar to that of the moon emerged. "Now. Dark Pulse." Using a pulse of darkness, the glow of the moonlight was surrounded by the dark pulse, making it a mix of light and dark. "We've been working hard on this one."
"Ooh. It's like a solar eclipse but reversed. Very nice." Mr Contesta said.
"So far, they've both used some form of colour merging. Let's see what else they can do." Joy retorted. Celestia, Luna and Twilight were into this. They were gawking on how impressive this was. They didn't think Pokemon moves could be used like that.
"Our style is going to that extra oomph, ey? Roserade! Merge Leaf Storm and ride it!" Harper commanded her partner to unleash a storm of leaves as the grass and poison Pokemon began riding on the leaf storm. Since Roserade was known for their graceful movements, they had no trouble moving to the flow of other attacks, especially their own. As Roserade rode on the leaf storm, it twirled around as well, making the leaves apart of its body as it moves around like an ice skater. Then with one final trick, it jumped up with the surrounding leaf storm following it. It then spread its arms and legs, separating the leaf storm as leaves flew everywhere, gently landing down.
"Amazing! I've never seen anything like that before! Using the leaf storm as a ride and becoming on with it. I'd say that could be its own grass type move!" Mr Suziko said, with both the judges being in awe.
"Roserade truly is one of the most elegant Pokemon out there, wouldn't you agree Nurse Joy?"
"100% Mr Contesta!"
"Try and top that Victoria." Harper guffawed at her opposing contestant, thinking that no one could outdo her.
"Oh.. we'll do more than a just top that.." Umbreon. Shadow Ball. Umbreon fired a shadow ball, high up into the air. "Now use psychic and jump on it!" The Moonlight Pokemon then jumped high up, standing on the airborne shadow ball. "Let's more too it. Use Moonlight and then psychic once more!" Umbreon then let out Moonlight once more, but this time, it used psychic. The psychic controlled moonlight was next to the shadow ball as Umbreon directed the two balls into the air with psychic. The darkness of the shadow ball and the brightness of the moonlight accompanied by the purple glow of psychic. Now it truly looks like a solar eclipse. And here came the cherry on top. Umbreon's golden circles begun glowing, giving the shadow ball more light. Now there were beautiful light rays all over the place, shining almost as bright as the sun.
"Spectacular! It actually IS like a Solar Eclipse! The way they stand together with their opposing colours is brilliant!" Nurse Joy said with excitement and wonder in her eyes and voice. Harper was even impressed herself.
"Holy moly."
"Alright. That's the time! The judges will make their decision." Time had run out since this was a much shorter contest than most other ones. It was time for the judges to decide, who had the better display of style and skill.
"Hm. Roserade's first show was both beautiful and had a sweet feeling to it. The sweet scent,s pink wafting aura really helped bring it out. Especially when it became apart of the magical leaf." Mr Suziko said.
"Umbreon's first show was just as good. Having it use dark pulse around the moonlight gave it the feeling similar to that of an aurora. Not to mention how the pulse kept coming out of it like a heartbeat." Mr Contesta followed.
"And for both their second acts, they both did unexpected feats. Riding the leaf storm while dancing around it with such ease and using psychic on both attacks while one of them is truly spectacular." Nurse Joy finished off.
"So to conclude.. we have decided.. that the winner is.." Mr Contesta was about to announce the winner as the crowd and the contestants were waiting for the answer.
"Contestant Victoria!" The three of them said in unison. "That Umbreon trick was brand new. Felt like it was sitting atop a planet!" Sukizo said.
"Yes! Victoria had a look of joy on her face as she gave Umbreon on a hug. "Great job Umbreon!"
"Aw, man... You did your best Roserade." Harper kneeled to comfort her sad and defeated Roserade. Victoria and Umbreon walked over to their defeated opponents.
"Good show." Victoria extended out her arms as Harper held it as they shook hands.
"Yeah. Good show indeed. I might have to visit the Johto Region after this to learn new tricks. The crowd clapped, cheering with applause to such a good show. Celestia and Luna as well. Luna seemed to enjoy this much more than Celestia considering she wasn't too much for it at first.
"That was amazing. They had such grace and beauty doing it!" Twilight said while looking at Ash.
"Yeah. it is pretty wonderful to look at."
"Pikachu!"
"I do wish it was longer but that was wonderful anyways. Thank you for telling us about this Ash." Celestia had thanked Ash. All this time, Ralts had been watching Celestia and the contest going on. Ralts was amazed by what she saw. So much amazing and wonderful tricks were put on display. It was enough to put a big smile on her face.
Time had come for the crowd to leave the contest hall. Every human and pony let themselves out, heading home.
"That was AMAZING! WE ENJOYED THAT VERY MUCH, ASH KETCHUM!" Luna yelled with happiness and joy.
"Glad you liked it. There are more contest halls out there and they all have something to bring to the table."
"Pika Pika."
"I guess Pokemon can be beautiful themselves. I mean that Roserade was beautiful and that Umbreon too. Despite being a little bit creepy." Twilight said.
"Though it did look kinda cool when those yellow circles on it started glowing. You gotta admit." Spike replied to her.
Ralts kept teleporting, sneaking around just to see Celestia. However, the sun alicorn already knew Ralts was near.
"I know you're there Ralts." Ralts jumped in surprise as it hid behind another building, peeking out.
"That Ralts sure does like you princess," Spike said. Ralts walked up to her again, hugging her hoof once more. Celestia looked at Ralts, thinking for a bit.
"Ralts. Do you... want to come with me perhaps?" When Ralts heard this, its happiness grew. It nodded its head aggressively, jumping for joy as it was about to go with the pony that caught its attention. "Then it settled. I'll take very good care of you." Ralts jumped onto Celestia's back, unable to contain its happiness. Neither could Celestia. "Hehe. My very first Pokemon... This is all new to me."
"Congratulations Princess!" Twilight congratulated her teacher.
"Having a Ralts is super special. Not many can have one ya know. What are you gonna call her?" Ash asked.
"Well.. she looks timid and shy but can be very expressive and happy. So I believe I'll call her Passion. Does that sound nice Ralts?"
"Ralts! Ralts!" Ralts obviously agreed 100%.
"Great. Now then. How does the Sinnoh Region sound?"
"We should be careful not to waste too much time, sister. We have to bring up the moon eventually."
"Oh right right." As the group walked on off to the rift gateways. Their next visit is up ahead.
The Sinnoh Region. The first region. And the region where the creation trio is worshipped and well known. Dialga, Palkia and Giratina. Here, Twilight Sparkle will learn about the history of the Pokemon world. After all, the rift was watching over all of this.
"They have arrived in Sinnoh. Considering how that Twilight Sparkle pony is... I can already tell that she will keep all of her focus on this world." The rift said to itself, knowing what was coming.
"Here we are. Sinnoh. Man, I missed this. And we're in Canalave City too."
"Pika..."
"So this is Sinnoh.. something about it feels so familiar. Arceus maybe?" Celestia said, feeling a bit of Arceus around here.
"That's because Sinnoh is the first region out of all of em. And where Arceus and the Creation Trio are worshipped.. at least from my memory anyways."
"Hold on. First? So that means this entire region is.." Twilight took a moment to realise where she was standing right now. She was here at the origin of it all. "This is perfect!"
"It is?" Spike asked.
"Yes! The Pokemon World is still so confusing to me and has me wondering so many things. But now that I'm here, where it all began, I can learn more about it!"
"Well, there's the Canalave Library just up ah-" Twilight immediately zoomed off once she heard Ash say library. She was long gone now.
"She'll be busy for a while. Let's let her go on about her business." Celestia knew how caught up Twilight gets in her studies. And with something like this, who knows how long it'll take.
Canalave Library. The only library in Sinnoh. Here there lies a plethora of books containing the myths of Sinnoh, which also connects to the Pokemon world itself. The librarian, the one ran the place saw the purple pony rush in, heading towards her.
"Hi there. Do you by any chance have books that are about the origins of this world? Your world of course, not mine. Anywhere I can find one?" Twilight was speaking rapidly, trying to contain her excitement. The librarian looked at her with a worried look on her face as she pointed right to bookshelves.
"Section O.," She said.
"Thank you!" Twilight headed over to Section O, browsing through constant books just to find the most important one.
"Let's see... Origin of the True Dragon, Origin of the Pokeball.." The catalogue of books contains origins of not just Sinnoh but other regions as well so this library wasn't limited to only Sinnoh. Then, Twilight spotted the book that caught her attention. "Aha! That's it!" She used her magic to grab the golden book that stood out to her.
"Origin of the Universe. This is what I need!" The book that'll answer all of her questions right in front of her. Opening the book, she was met with the insight and knowledge of this world.
"In the beginning, there was a single egg that laid in the centre of darkness. Out of the egg hatched Arceus. The Alpha Pokemon who birthed the universe. Arceus?" Twilight hadn't seen Arceus yet. Even when he arrived at the party once Malamar was defeated, Celestia and her guards are the only ponies that have seen him.
"With him came a thousand arms consisting of Unowns. After that, he created the Creation Trio. Dialga, Palkia and Giratina." Twilight continued. "Dialga was the guardian of time, making sure that time flows normally throughout the universe. And Palkia was the guardian of space, making sure that space is intact. Then there is Giratina, who was banished to the Distortion World due to his destructive nature. Distortion world?" Twilight was curious about this Giratina figure and this other world.
"So it's these 4 that make the Universe the way they are.. but what about the world itself?" Twilight continued reading on the next page, finding out about the Pokemon Earth.
"4,600,000,000 years prior, the World of Pokemon was created. Arceus created three Pokemon that represent only three traits. Knowledge, Emotion and Willpower. The Pokemon that represented this were Uxie, Mespirit and Azelf. Guardians of Lake Verity, Lake Valor and Lake Acuity. So does that mean that all Pokemon aren't naturally made? Are they all just creations made up by this Arceus being?" Twilight had to know more. If this was the case then how were the humans made?
"Wait a minute.. what's this? The seas of the Pokemon world were formed by Kyogre, deep in the Trenches. And deep inside the earth, the grounds were created by Groudon. While Rayquaza formed the minerals in the ozone layer. These two Pokemon battle it out until Rayquaza steps in to put it all to a halt. AMAZING! Now I know about the seas and the land. But still no lead on naturally made Pokemon. Let's see... Regigigas moved the continents to place regions where they are right now.. wow. Talk about strength."
That is when something caught Twilight's eye.
"The ancestor of all Pokemon on Earth. Mew. Oh really now? Mew's were a race of Pokemon that lived in plentiful numbers, however as time went on.. the Mew species began to evolve. Every single one of them becoming new Pokemon as all Mew's were fading away into newer species. That is when Humans appeared. So there's no lead on how Humans came to be. Well, now I know how the universe and earth came to be. I might have to continue this back at home." Twilight closed up the book as she walked up to the librarian.
"Excuse me. Would it be okay for me to borrow this for a while?" She asked the human.
"You can borrow it but I expect it to be returned in at least 3 weeks... Actually considering how long and huge the book is.. make it 4."
"Right! I will! Thank you!" Twilight walked out of the library with all the knowledge she needed. Out of the library and into the City, Celestia and the others were long gone by now. "Princess Celestia? Where did they go?"
Celestia and the others were currently busy as a trainer had come up to Ash all of a sudden.
"You're Ash Ketchum aren't you? I've heard a lot about you.. and how you won the Alola League a few weeks ago." The boy said.
"Yeah, that's me. I can already guess why you're here.."
"You know it. I challenge you! I did the math and found out that if I beat you that will make me Champion automatically! At least I think that's how it goes.."
"I'm not sure you need math for that.." Spike said.
"Challenge accepted! I and Pikachu are up for one."
"Pikachu!"
"Oh, my Luna. We get to experience a Pokemon Battle! But this time for fun instead of what happened with Malamar." Celestia got excited, talking to her sister.
"Meh. We've probably seen much more exciting events."
"Go! Heracross!" The trainer sent out his Pokemon. The Single Horn Pokemon Heracross.
"Heracross!"
"Heracross huh? This'll be a bit tricky. Pikachu I choose you!" Pikachu hopped off his partner's shoulders, readying himself.
"Pika!"
"I actually wanna see this too!" Spike sat down as some residents in Canalave gathered around to see this as well.
"I like making the first move to deal some damage! Heracross, Bullet Seed!" The boy's Heracross shot out bullets made out of seeds from its mouth, which could barely be seen as they moved just as fast a bullet would.
"Knock em back with Iron Tail!" Pikachu's iron-clad tail knocked away the seeds, preventing any one of them from dealing damage.
"Get in close and use Megahorn!" Heracross flew forward with its horn glowing. It struck its powered up horn onto the chest of the electric rodent, knocking him upwards.
"Pika!"
"Pikachu! Relax and use Thunderbolt from above!" Pikachu recovered mid-air, sending down a bolt of thunderbolt towards the opposing Heracross.
"Dodge it!" Heracross barely managed to dodge the thunderbolt by the skin of its bug body.
"There's more! Electroweb!" Pikachu while falling mid-air sent out his electroweb which encased Heracross, shocking him in the process.
"Ah what? No way!" The trainer said, being surprised.
"Finish it with Iron Tail!" Pikachu ran forward, slamming its iron tail down on the head of the trapped Heracross, granting a certified knockout. Heracross had fainted.
"That's the match!" Ash said as everyone cheered, including Celestia and Spike. Luna let out tiny applause as she was mildly impressed.
"Ah, man... Good job Heracross." The young trainer returned his Heracross to its Pokeball as Ash walked towards the young one. "Man I can see why you're a champion and all. You've got a whole legacy to you."
"Ah, thanks. But ya know, you can be just as good as me someday if you train with your Pokemon and bond with them too. If I ever enter another league, I hope you'll be there."
"Right! Thank you, Mr Ketchum!" The boy thanked him as he ran off elsewhere.
"Mr Ketchum?"
"That was wonderful Ash! I could feel the thrill. Although.." Celestia looked back at her new and first Pokemon Ralts who was shaking due to the battle. "Its okay Passion. No harm is done to you." Celestia comforted her shaking pokemon who had stopped cowering.
"Sister. We do believe that it is almost time. The sun shall soon set. We should probably return to our world." Luna explained. Their nice little visit was coming to end. At least for today.
"You're right. What a shame. I was hoping to visit the other regions today as well."
"You can always come back another time and see them for yourself ya know." Ash retorted.
"Of course. And I did get something great out of it all. My little Ralts. Now we should probably get going. A wedding is due in a few days and we have to prepare."
"What about Twilight? What if she gets locked in at the library?" Spike worried.
"She'll be fine. If anything she might sleep in for the night." Celestia replied.
"I'm here! I'm here!" And speaking of Twilight she had caught up. "You won't believe what I found. I've learnt so much about this world and how it was made.. but there's still more to it."
"You catch up on that. Right now, me and Luna best be going. Will you come along or stay?"
"I'll come along. I can keep this at my home for 4 weeks in the meantime. By the way Princess Celestia? Are you sure you want to keep a Pokemon in your castle at Canterlot? Let alone your room. I mean you already have Philomena don't you?"
"I'm more than capable of handling it Twilight. Phoenix's aren't easy to raise either you know. Every creature needs time to raise."
"Yeah... I suppose that's true. They all exited through the gateway, entering the north side of Canterlot. Rainbow Dash and the others had just finished their visits, as well as they had all gathered up in one spot. "Everypony's here. I guess we all enjoyed our time there right?"
"Yeah! We did have some fun. I'm gonna back here every time to train myself." Rainbow said."
"And I'll be here to make sure Rarity doesn't overwork herself on a certain Pokemon."
"It was only a few, Applejack. I could've kept going."
"Glad every pony had their time. But boy oh boy... I'm out of it. I think I'm gonna need a long nap after this.." Twilight said with her body getting tired.
"We all do. Best we all head home now." And they did just that. Celestia and Luna returned to the castle which was only nearly done along with Celestia's own Pokemon Ralts. Fluttershy back to her cottage, Applejack back to Sweet Apple Acres after she gets Rarity, Pinkie had already gone home long ago and Twilight and Spike headed back to Golden Oak Library.
Ash and Pikachu had to clock out for tonight as well. "Well, buddy. We can get back home to Pallet Town quicker now."
"Pikachu.."
"You know the more I look at this world, there more I kinda want it to stay merged with ours.. but I guess that's a bit selfish huh?"
"Pika-pi. Pikachu."
"Yeah, you're right. Anyways, let's head home and see what happens tomorrow." And with that, they take a gateway to Pallet Town, returning home as they prepare for tomorrow.
At Golden Oak Library, Twilight couldn't rest on the book she borrowed. As she was reading through the history of the Pokemon world, learning about different legendaries and fossil Pokemon, something had caught her eye.
"What is this..?" A page describing an event where Arceus lost its Jewel of Life. And how it came back to him, saving the universe from extinction. But in the pages was a drawing of two humans and one other human. One that resembled Ash.
The Origin of the Universe. The book that Twilight Sparkle had borrowed. And in one particular page, where it describes the event of when Arceus lost its Jewel of Life and the entire universe was almost erased because of Arceus slowly dying. However, in that story, a group of people and Pokemon helped save Arceus. Five people in total. They had a mural based on those five people and one of them looked like Ash. Not just like him, identical. This shocked Twilight.
"Ash?" Was it an ancestor? If so then Ash's family must have a fondness for Pikachu's since it was also in there. But was it an ancestor? Because in the mural, the hat was there, but the clothing was similar to what they wore long ago.
"It's definitely an ancestor.. it has to be." She had only seen the picture of the mural. That is until she turned the page, reading the words on that page.. and that's when she saw the name. The words said... "The entire universe had been saved due to the efforts of five heroes. Damos, Sheena, Brock, Dawn and Ash. The land of Michina and the universe lived on without the jewel of life.. as Arceus and the Creation Trio returned.. back to their realm." Twilight knew she wasn't going crazy. Ash's name was right there.
"That long ago..." It became much clearer to Twilight. And the name Dawn was also something she recognized. When she was with Celestia and the others in Lumiose City yesterday, juice shoppe owner mentioned the girl with the unique catchphrase that went "No need to worry" Ash recognized it as his old friend's saying. Dawn. Now it was 100% clear. This was no ancestry situation. Twilight looked out of the window, glaring at the gateways.
"Ash. Who are you?"
A new day has come in both worlds. Today was a much more calm day. Nothing too extreme and nothing too boring. Just a nice warm standard feel-good day. The Bellossom was enjoying this the most. Dancing to that nice Equestrian Sun. Everypony was going about their day in Ponyville. Fluttershy was taking care of both the animals and some Pokemon that had decided to live with her. Rainbow Dash was in her home, learning to bond with her Rufflet and Whirlipede, while Pinkie Pie and her Slurpuff helpers assisted her. A normal and nice day. For mostly everypony that is. Because Twilight was ready to uncover the mystery behind Ash. At least the one she thinks is there.
"Twilight. What's with all this focus on your face?" Spike asked.
"Spike. I've discovered the most unnatural thing yet."
"What?"
"It's about Ash. I think he may be something else."
"What him? He just looks like a young kid that's all. Nothing out of the ordinary."
"That's just it Spike. He looks young, but apparently, he's been around for billions of years now!"
"Billions of years?! Come on Twilight, that's impossible-" Before Spike could finish, Twilight showed him the page where it mentioned Ash and also showed him the mural.
"Look at this. This all takes place billions of years in the past. And there's Ash right there. Along with his Pikachu."
"Woah. That is convincing. It could just be a distant relative or an ancestor."
"I thought so at first.. but then I saw the name Dawn. You remember how Ash mentioned one her friends was named Dawn back in Lumiose?"
"Oh... Woah.." It all clicked to Spike.
"This means one thing. Ash is older than even Celestia and Luna themselves. But how can he look so young compared to others who are much older than him?"
"No idea. But I don't think you should worry about it too much Twilight."
"Mincinno." Her Mincinno agreed with him.
"Ash might help us figure out how to fix all of this. If he's friends with Arceus the Creator Pokemon...Then his billions of years of knowledge can help us sort this rift issue in no time."
"Uh sure.."
"I'm off Spike. I'm gonna go find out who this Ash Ketchum guy really is." Twilight set out, ready to ask any human who Ash Ketchum is as Spike could already sense an incoming disaster.
The Pokemon World. Right now, Twilight is going around each region asking every human who Ash is. Just to get some answers.
"Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town? Oh yeah.. he's got a name for himself. That kid's been around every region so far. I don't think he'll ever stop until he's explored all of em." A man from Hoenn said.
"Aha! So he's explored every region for all these years. He must've taken millions of years to go through the ones he's been in. He probably has so much knowledge on each of them." Twilight said, getting a solid answer. Although she misunderstood the man on what he meant by explored every region.
"Yeah, that Ash kid had made some milestones. You should've seen him at the Sinnoh League. He made some sort of shield by getting his Pokemon to spin." A woman from Sinnoh said.
"The kid from Kanto? If I could describe him, it'd be tenacious. The kid doesn't know the meaning of the word gives up. Even when he loses he's always positive." A trainer from the Unova region described him.
"I like him cause he has so many cool flying type Pokemon!" A young child said with glee.
"His Pikachu's like.. pretty cool ya know.." A girl said with a monotone voice.
"The kids almost became a Frontier Brain.. but he liked turned it down." A surfer said.
"I wonder how he manages to come up with nigh-impossible tricks that guarantee him victory most of the time. I'm still blown away by that battle he had with Conway." A pondering girl wondered.
"His Greninja's pure speed. I mean I could barely keep up with it when it was battling against that Sceptile!"
"His Pikachu is like... CUTEST!"
"He can pull off a lot of things even with Pokemon that aren't fully evolved."
"I remember that time he won the Cameran Palace Battle Tournament and was rewarded the title of Hero of the Year. Man, that battle against Kidd Summers was awesome.."
And the final person she talked too...
"I saw him in like sort of golden light while flying in the air with water.. it was weird but pretty nice."
Twilight had gotten a lot of answers and info about Ash. Based on all the info she's gathered, only one of them grabs her attention. The region part. The rests were just feats and character descriptions.
"Okay.. so from what I can tell.. he's got a name for himself. But that exploring every current region is great. I'll just go and ask him what he's all about and if he has any long-lasting knowledge that can help us." Twilight took the gateway towards Ash's house, entering Pallet Town.
Once she entered by opening the door, she was met by his mother. Delia Ketchum.
"Oh hello. Can I help you?"
"Hi. Is Ash here?"
"Oh, you must be one of Ash's pony friends. No, he's not here at the moment. He's gone off to venture in your world with Pikachu again. In the meantime would you like Mimey to make you some poffins?"
"No thanks. But quickly... can you tell me what's up with Ash?"
"What's up with him? Well, where can I start..? I guess with the fact that he has one major goal."
"What is that?"
"To become a Pokemon Master. He hasn't let that dream go away not once."
"Pokemon Master? What could that be?"
"No one knows."
"Hah?" Twilight was confused.
"There's never been a Pokemon Master before. No one even knows what it is, how it's achieved or if it even exists. Most high ranking people in this world are mostly Champions. But even they aren't close to this master rank that is unheard of. That's why Ash is so dedicated to this goal. He wants to be the very best, but not just that. He doesn't just want to become a Pokemon Master.. he wants to be THE Pokemon Master. The first of its kind."
"A Pokemon Master.. unknown to everypony... Sounds like he's a real go-getter despite how long he's been around."
"Oh, you don't know the half of it, dear. Despite how many times he journeys the world, he's never once thought about stopping. Even when he comes home he can't wait to explore the world more."
"I see.. well it's been great talking to you... but I gotta go. Bye!" Twilight headed off, returning to her world in Ponyville.
"This is bizarre. Billions of years old. Region explorer. Pokemon Master? How hasn't he achieved a goal like that if he's been around for so long? He's older than everypony in this world! Unless... could it be?" Twilight thought hard for a minute... thinking and thinking until she came up with a ridiculous idea. Maybe... Ash is some sort of deity that roams this world as an immortal!" Clearly.. that wasn't it. She came up with this ludicrous answer... if only she knew the full story of why and how Ash was in the mural.
"Alright. Time to find Ash and get some answers." Twilight headed off, asking anypony if they had seen Ash.
"The boy with the thunderbolt markings on his cheeks? I saw him go into Rarity's shop." Lyra said. Twilight entered the said shop, only to find Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Opalescence and the Sewaddle in there.
"Rarity! Have you seen Ash?"
"Oh yes darling, he came by earlier. Just missed him though I'm afraid."
"Ugh.." Twilight zoomed out, heading to the next pony who she hoped had seen him anywhere.
"Oh that Ash kid? He came here to buy some plums.. then I believe he was headed to Sweet Apple Acres."
"Oh you gotta be kidding me.." Twilight felt like she was moving all over the place, looking for this one guy. At Sweet Apple Acres, she asked Applejack, Big Mac and Granny Smith if they'd seen him.
"He just came by to get a few pieces of Apple Pies. And that's about it. He is headed to Fluttershy's cottage though." Applejack explained.
"Eeyup."
"Why is he moving all over the place?!" Twilight rushed out, hoping to get to Fluttershy's cottage before Ash leaves. Arriving there.. she was too late.
"Oh, Twilight. Can I help you?"
"Fluttershy.. please tell me Ash is here."
"Sorry. He left a while ago."
"Oh come on! I've been moving all over the place!"
"But.. he is gonna stop at Sugarcube Corner and just there alone. I don't think he'll be moving around anymore."
"Perfect! I'd better get there to make sure!" Twilight moved as fast as she could, teleporting to save up some time. She had arrived at Sugarcube Corner, hoping that he was still there. "Please be here." Opening the door, there he was with his partner Pikachu.
"Aha!"
"Oh hey, Twilight."
"Pikachu."
"Wait.. what is all of this?" Twilight got a good look at the room and saw that it was ready for some sort of birthday party. "A birthday?"
"It's actually an Anniversary! For these two chuckleheads here!" Pinkie Pie said, pointing to Ash and Pikachu. The rest of the Mane 6, including some ponies, had entered SugarCube corner.
"Your anniversary?"
"Yeah. Todays' the anniversary of when I and Pikachu first met. Good times ya know."
"We heard about this, so he came to us to prepare a special occasion. He hasn't had anything special for their anniversaries you know. He came to me asking for a special outfit." Rarity started.
"Then he came to me for some plums, since his friend here started to like the plums that I make." The earth pony followed.
"After that, he came to Sweet Apple Acres to get some pies for everypony to eat. His treat for their anniversary." Applejack then continued.
"And finally, he asked if I could help decorate for him." Fluttershy finished off.
"And I did the invitations."
"Oh.. that explains a few things," Twilight said.
"Mhm. This is gonna be the best anniversary ever. We've never had a party during our anniversaries!"
"Pika-Pikachu!" Everypony began to start the anniversary party, congratulating the two of them. Ash had put on Rarity's outfit as it fit him perfectly. A blue jacket with yellow lines on the side followed up with grey jeans and some red and white shoes similar to that of his Kalos getup. This was Rarity's first time dealing with human clothing also.
"Awesome! Thanks, Rarity."
"You're a welcome darling."
"You rock blue just as good as me Ash." Rainbow Dash complimented him. They were enjoying the anniversary along with Twilight who walked up to the two of them.
"Well. Happy Anniversary Ash and Pikachu. Being around for this long.. billions of years even isn't easy. I can only imagine all the things you've been through."
"Billions?"
"Pika?"
"Your age. How long you've been around for."
"We haven't been around for billions of years."
"..Hah? But you were around when you saved Arceus and the universe billions of years ago. I saw it in the book.. and you were in a mural too! You've explored many regions through your years!"
"Oh that. Yeah about that.. Dialga sent us back in time to help Arceus get back the Jewel of Life. Our friend Damos just made a mural of us since we helped him out."
"Pikachu-pi!"
"S-So you're not an immortal deity who's been around for billions of years?"
"Nope. Truth is, this is our 22nd Anniversary."
"22nd?! You don't look like it though! How are you so young?!" She yelled.
"I uh don't know... but I think it might have something to do with Ho-oh... We don't quite know yet. But we're enjoying our adventures while they last ya know!" They both had a grin on their faces.
"Hahaha...hahaha... Time Travel.. that's it huh... Silly Twilight. Should've known. Hahaha! Immortal Deity." She was starting to go a bit crazy as Spike walked up to her.
"You know Twilight.. you could've just continued reading. The next page tells you about this Dialga guy."
"OH... Oh..." Twilight sank into the ground, feeling foolish for overthinking all of this.
"No need to worry Twilight. It's in the past now. In the meantime.. enjoy the party." Ash said. Twilight sighed as she got up, joining in. After all that, she could now see that Ash is just a boy with an electric mouse for a friend. He wasn't out of the ordinary. He was just a Kid from Kanto who has had a lot of adventures.
"Today's a special day." The mane 6 are out having a picnic out in the open in beautiful blue skies and green grass with all the grass types and flying types about. With a side of Normal type.
"Oh, it is gorgeous out." Rarity said. "Just Gorgeous. Everything was gorgeous, nice and silent until Spike came along, running hastily.
"T-Twilight! I-I have.. let me just.." Spike was tired from all the running as he burped out one of the message scrolls from his mouth, falling. Twilight picked up the message with her magic, opening up the scroll to see.
"Dear Twilight. I am sure you as excited as I am about the upcoming wedding in Canterlot... Wedding?" Twilight said, not knowing anything about a wedding. I will be presiding over the ceremony.. but would very much like you and your friends to help with the preparations for this wonderful occasion."
She then read each job that all of her friends were assigned.
"Fluttershy, I would like you and your songbird choir to provide the music."
"Oh my goodness. What an honour." Fluttershy said.
"Pinkie Pie. I can think of no one more qualified than you to host the reception."
"Hip. Hip. Hooray!" She cartwheeled and bounced with joy.
"Applejack. You will be in charge of the catering reception."
"Well colour me pleased as punch!" AJ said.
"Rainbow Dash.." Twilight was about to mention Rainbow Dash next but she yawned, not thinking this would be interesting at all.
"I would very much appreciate it if you could perform a Sonic Rainboom as the bride and groom complete their I Do's." The Rainboom part was what she was all about.
"Yes!" She said whilst in the air.
"Rarity. You will be responsible for designing the dresses for the bride and her bridesmaids."
"Princess Celestia wants me to ha-iy-a.. wedding dress... for a Canterlot Wedding I uhh ooh.." She couldn't contain herself, fainting near Fluttershy.
"Ash and Pikachu. You will be in charge of putting on a show with Rainbow Dash." Ash wasn't here but he did get the message.
"As for you Twilight. You will be playing the most important role of all. Making sure that everything goes as planned. See you all very soon. Yours, Princess Celestia." Twilight had finished reading the letter, looking for who's wedding it was. She looked closer at the text but nothing and even no words on the back.
"I don't understand. Who's getting married?" She wondered.
"Oh wait! Uh... I was probably supposed to give you this one first." Spike held out a second letter which was the precursor to the other one, handing it to Twilight who opened and read it.
"Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and.." Twilight gasped when she saw the other name at the very end.
"My brother?!"
On the other side.. all the way back at Pallet Town. Delia Ketchum had also heard of this wedding and wanted to go herself.
"Isn't this exciting Ash? I love going to weddings! They hit my soft spots so many times without fail or miss." She said tearing up a bit.
"Yeah, but do I have to wear this suit? Can I eve fit in it?" Ash said, holding a blue suit along with Pikachu with a yellow one.
"Oh, of course, you fit in Ash. You have gotten a bit taller over the years you know."
"Yeah, not by much though."
"Pika.."
"What's more is that its a pony wedding. I wonder how that works? We'll just have to wait and see. It's also great that other people from other regions have been invited too. This'll be a day or night to remember."
"I just can't wait to show off our tricks. We can use Counter Shield as a sight for them, right buddy?"
"Pikachu!"
"We'd best be going. Don't want to be too late!" Delia was in a salmon-coloured dress, ready to go as she had already added makeup to herself in a span of a few seconds.
"I still don't know how I feel about having to wear this later on.."
"Take care of the place for us Mimey!" Delia said to their Mr Mime.
"Mime!"
Back to the world of the ponies, Twilight was a bit on the surprising side once she found out that it was her brother getting married to somepony whose name she had never heard of apparently.
"Your brother's getting married? Congratulations Twilight. That's great news!" Applejack said, shaking her hooves, but Twilight's face wasn't as happy as the others as she closed the scroll, trotting off.
"Yeah.. great news... That I just got from a wedding invitation and not from my brother. But from a piece of paper. Thanks a lot, Shining Armor. I mean really.. he couldn't tell me personally?" Twilight picked up a sandwich with her magic, mimicking a talking voice.
"Hey, Twilight. Just so you know I'm making a really big decision that changes everything. Oh never mind! You'll hear it when you get the invitation. Princess... Mi Amore Cadenza. Who in the hoof is that?!" She said with anger boiling up in her.
"Uh, Twilight. Are you okay?" Fluttershy fluttered over to her friend.
"Sorry. It's just that Shining Armor and I have always been so close. He's my BBBFF." The others were confused about what that word meant or stood for.
"Big Brother Best Friend Forever." She explained.
"Oh." They all said in unison.
"Before I came here, learning the importance of friendship, Shining Armor was the only pony I ever really accepted as a friend." Twilight began reminiscing her time with her brother when she was just a small little filly. All those good times they shared all their dreams, their fun and activities. And she remembers how sad she was when she had to say goodbye to him when leaving from Canterlot all the way to Ponyville. He really was both a big brother and best friend all in one. Thinking about all of this just made Twilight sad, tearing up as she had a small moment to cry.
"As one of your PFFs." Applejack said while the others had no idea what that also meant. "Pony Friends Forever."
"Oooh."
"I want to tell you that I think your brother sounds like a real good guy."
"He is pretty special. I mean they don't just let anypony be captain of the royal guard."
"So let me get this straight. We are helping out the wedding of not only a princess.. but a captain of the royal guard?" Rarity said.
"I guess we are," Twilight replied, grabbing a nearby pillow as Rarity fainted on it. Everypony else but Twilight Sparkle was excited for this.
Canterlot Castle had been rebuilt thanks to the help of Pokemon sent by BigTime Ben. Fighting types and Psychic type Pokemon get work done in no time. Inside Celestia's throne room with her new Pokemon Ralts, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza had arrived in the throne room.
"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. So good to see you. I trust all the preparations for the wedding are going to swell?"
"Yes.. they are. Though I wish it would be much quicker." She said.
"Well don't you worry? Twilight and her friends can make this process even quicker."
"Uh-huh." Cadenza replied with an unimpressed tone. Celestia's Ralts named Passion was hiding behind Celestia, feeling something ominous from Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.
"Passion? What's wrong?" Celestia looked at her cowering pokemon who was also looking at Cadenza. "Scared of her? There's no need to be afraid, Passion. She's a friend to me and a friend to you as well."
"Yes... I am little one." She looked down at the Ralts with a bit of a devious grin on her face. Ralts only hid behind Celestia again, still getting a bad feeling from her.
"Well in a while we'll be practising the I Do's. Hope to see you there."
"So do I.." Cadenza turned around with a devious smile, walking out. As she walked out she went to a secluded spot with nopony around other than another individual there.
"Even Princess Celestia cannot see through you... impressive." The mysterious figure said.
"Obviously. Being the Queen means I can deceive others much easier. But I hope you're playing your part. The rift sent you here to help.. so you'd better not disappoint." Cadenza walked off, leaving the mysterious figure behind.
Ponies and humans with their Pokemon had gathered in Canterlot with each of them being invited to the wedding. Ash was here with his mom as well as some other familiar faces.
"Look who it is." A voice called out to him. He turned around to see an old friend here.
"Oh wow! Duplica?"
"Long time no see Ash."
"You're invited to the wedding too huh?"
"Oh yeah. Though I'm not really a wedding gal. But I heard there's gonna some sweet food here. So it's gonna be a eat and run."
"Pikachu.."
"So.. how are things with you and Misty? Eh eh?" Duplica nudged his shoulder.
"Oh great. She came to visit Alola a few months back ya know."
"Geez, Ash.. even at a wedding you're clueless."
"Huh?"
"Anyway. See you when the bride and groom are there." Duplica went off, obviously getting a head start on all the food when that time comes.
On the other side, Twilight had met up with her brother Shining Armor, not happy in the slightest.
"Twily! Oh, I've missed you kid. How was the train ride, I-" Before Shining Armor could finish, Twilight pulled back.
"How dare you not tell me in person that you were getting married? I'm your sister for pony's sake!"
"It's not my fault. Princess Celestia has requested a major increase in security. Didn't you see all the guards at the train station?"
"Yeah! There's a BIG wedding coming up. Maybe you've heard about it?" She walked away from her brother, still upset and mad at him even with his explanation.
"It has nothing to with the wedding. A threat has been against Canterlot. We don't know who's responsible for it, but Princess Celestia asks that I help provide additional protection. This... you need to see." His horn began to glow the same colour as his sister's, sending out a bright light that revealed round barrier, surrounding all of Canterlot. Doing this made Shining Armor's head ache a bit.
"The burden of keeping Canterlot safe rests solely on my shoulders. Staying focused on the task at hand is in my top priority." After explaining it thoroughly, Twilight now got a better understanding and was less upset and angry.
"Okay okay, I get it. You've got a really important job protecting Canterlot with a force field only you can conjure up. But still... how could you not tell about something as big as your wedding? Am I not that important to you anymore?" She looked at him with sadness. Shining Armor made sure that her little sister wouldn't feel sad anymore.
"Hey. You're my little sister. Of course, you're important to me. But I'd understand if.. you didn't want to be my best mare now." He said knowing she'd love to be.
"You want ME to be your best mare?" Her down face became more uplifting.
"Well.. yeah."
"I'd be honoured." She bowed.
"But I'm still pretty ticked you're marrying somepony I don't even know." She instantly switched back to being upset. "When did you even meet this... Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?"
"Twily... Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is Cadence. Your old Foal Sitter." Twilight took a moment to register the name the Cadence and then...
"Cadence? As in THE Cadence? As in the greatest foal sitter in the history of foal sitters?!"
"You tell me. She was your foal sitter." Twilight then began reminiscing her time with Cadence all the way back to her youth. Her unmatched kindness, her amazing magic spell to restore love to any cracked relationships and their signature dance that went a little something like this.
"Sunshine. Sunshine. Ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake.
"How many unicorns can just spread love wherever they go? I only know of one pony. And you're marrying her." She jumped around like little filly with glee. Both of her favourite ponies were going to be married.
"You're marrying Cadence. You're marrying Cadence." She stopped jumping once she saw Cadence right in front of her.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything important." She said raising an eyebrow. Twilight had a wide smile, moving up to her.
"Cadence! Sunshine. Sunshine Ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" She did that signature dance right in front of her.. however, Cadence was not amused or impressed in the slightest.
"What are you doing?"
"Cadence it's me! Twilight!"
"Aha..." She responded as she casually walked past her like she didn't know she existed and only went to Shining Armor.
"I gotta get back to my station. But Cadence will be checking in with all of you to see how things are going. I think I speak for both of us when I say.. we couldn't be more excited to have you here. Right, dear?" Her brother said with his hoof around Cadence, who looked back at Twilight with a discomforting look on her face.
"Absolutely."
"Well. We'll let you get to it. Both of them separated, going off to attend their own important business.
Inside the castle with preparations being made by everypony Ash, Pikachu and Rainbow were waiting it out.
"Counter shield will be cool and all but I gotta make it more special somehow. But I've never heard of a Sonic Rainboom before."
"It's kind of the coolest thing you'll ever see. And I'm the only pony that's ever pulled it off. In fact, I'm the only pony who can do it."
"Awesome."
"Pikachu." Whilst those three were talking, Cadence was moving to each of the other Mane 6's locations with Twilight in each spot. She showed disdain, disrespect and rudeness to most of them. From throwing Applejack's food in the trash to calling Pinkie Pie's party decorations similar to what a 6-year-old would have for a birthday party. Although Pinkie took that as a compliment. Nighttime had come as Celestia who was overseeing the entirety of Canterlot would be swapped out with her sister Luna.
"Rest my sister. As always I will guard the night. Luna said. With Twilight she had returned to her friends, obviously ticked off on how Cadence treated them. Complaining about her rude actions and words. She did raise her voices at one of Fluttershy's birds at the rehearsal. But Fluttershy admitted that he was singing offkey.
"Ugh. Rainbow Dash. Ash. You two s are with me right?" Twilight said to the two of em.
"Sorry Twi. Been too busy prepping for my Sonic Rainboom to pay much attention to the bride's bad attitude."
"And I and Pikachu are too focused on making this trick extra special. Sorry."
"Ugh!" Twilight was getting frustrated. Heavily really. From the corner of the building, Passion who had left Celestia's throne room could feel Twilight's anger. Passion the left the outside, teleporting back inside Celestia's throne room.
"Oh, Passion. There you are."
Ash walked off away from the group, needing some fresh drinks as he spotted something unusual. There was this black like creature in the sky but he couldn't make it out. The moment he rubbed his eyes, the creature was gone.
"Weird." Just them from the bottom of the ground emerged Darkrai. "Woah! Darkrai? Are you here for the wedding too?"
"Not quite Ash. Look. I came here to warn you. There's something ominous around."
"Ominous? Like what?"
"I can't say for now. But be careful. Someone at this wedding may not be who they seem to be. There's a fake among them all. I have to go. To make sure nothing's out of the ordinary outside." Darkrai left, phasing back into the ground as he left a cryptic feeling to Ash.
"Not what they seem?"
Back inside the castle, Cadence and Shining Armor were talking, having a bit of a dispute. Twilight had begun eavesdropping, peaking through the nearly closed door. And through the corner of her eye.. she saw something unexpected. Shining Armor's headache was kicking in again and all of a sudden, Cadence's horn glowed green, sending a green magic ray to Shining Armor's horn which made him fall along with his eyes being all wobbly. Twilight concluded. She's downright evil. As the purple pony zipped off to avoid being seen and towards her friends.
"Shining Armor's in real trouble! You have to help-" Twilight stopped as she saw her friends in dresses suddenly. "Dresses? What are you-"
"Can you believe it? We're going to be Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's new bridesmaids." Fluttershy said to her.
"New bridesmaids? What happened to her old bridesmaids?"
"She didn't say. But she did tell us that she would love love love it if we'd fill in for them." Applejack said.
"Seeing as we've been working so hard at everything." Rarity followed.
"And you had your doubts about her." AJ continued
"Told you she was an absolute gem." So did Rarity. Outside of the castle, Darkrai was in the nearest forest as he could sense someone nearby.
"Who's there?" Out of the shadows emerged the figure that Cadence was talking to before. The one sent by the rift.
"Nice to meet you. The Pitch Black Pokemon Darkrai." He showed himself to a pegasus who wore a light grey robe and had a Pokeball on his side. His hair and skin were as black as obsidian. Fitting since that was his name. Obsidian. "You're the first one to realise that something is off. Insightful."
"You. You're not from this world, are you? I can sense it."
"Right you are. I'm just a creation from the rift. Based on this world. Obsidian is the name. And I'm afraid we can't have anypony or pokemon be snooping around." All of a sudden, Darkrai was restrained by magical chains conjured up by Obsidian's pokemon. Cofagrigus.Darkrai attempted to phase through it but it was no use. And it ended up draining some of his strength in the process.
"Why you.."
"Everything that happens and will happen will be in the rift's favour. This wedding is going to be something once the truth is revealed." All of a sudden, Luna came flying in, shooting a magic beam at Obsidian who managed to move out of the way. "Oh geez. A Princess."
"Darkrai. Are thou alright?" Luna went to Darkrai, trying to remove the chains with her magic, but they were also draining her magic as well. "W-What is this?"
"Amazing isn't it? Normally a Cofagrigus isn't capable of this. But thanks to the rift, some altercations were made. Granting this fellow over here to try out new tricks just to spice things up a bit. Cofagrigus. Keep watch of them." Obsidian walked off as Cofagrigus kept those two still. The chains had also grasped onto Luna who didn't' have much strength to escape due to how much the chains sapped up the moment she used magic on them.
In the castle, practising was in session. Shining Armor standing there with Cadence walking through with beauty and grace. The Mane 6, minus Twilight were walking with their heads held up high.
"Perfect girls. No need to rush." Celestia said. "Then of course Cadence will enter." And she did, walking forward to Shining Armor. "I'll say a few words and then we'll begin with the vows. Shining Armor. You'll get the ring from the best mare." But there was no best mare. Twilight wasn't present at all.
"Hey. Has anypony seen Twilight" Shining asked?
But now she was, opening the doors herself, not looking happy.
"I'm here! And I'm not gonna stand next to her! And neither should you" She proclaimed. Shining Armor had a bit of embarrassment on his face.
"I'm sorry. I don't know why she's acting like this." Shining Armor said.
"Maybe we should just ignore her." Cadence replied.
"You have to listen to me!"
"Oh goodness. Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'm fine." She retorted, eyeing Cadence down.
"You sure about that?" AJ also asked as Twilight covered her face with her own hat.
"I've got something to say. She's evil!" Twilight said, pointing at her. Everypony gasped at that statement.
"Pika?"
Ralts was behind a pillar watching all of this happen.
"She's been horrible to my friends," Twilight said, teleporting behind her. "She's obviously done something to her bridesmaids. And if that wasn't enough... I saw her put a spell on my brother that made his eyes go all.." She mimicked the wobbly eyes from before. Twilight pushed her into a corner with everypony else staring. Twilight had a look of confidence in her face, believing that she had busted her. Cadence then.. all of a sudden.. began to cry.
"Why are you doing this to me." She wept, running off.
"Because you're evil!" Twilight yelled, teleporting to her whilst she ran out. "Evil! And if I don't stop you, you're gonna ruin my brother's life!" She walked back with confidence as she bumped into Shining Armor who was not happy at all.
"You want to why my eyes went all.." He also did the wobbly eyes, which actually hurt his head. "Because ever since I started having to perform my protection spell, I've been getting terrible migraines. Cadence hasn't been casting spells on me. She's been using her magic to heal me. And she decided to replace her bridesmaids because she found out the only reason they wanted to be in the wedding was that so they could meet Canterlot royalty. And if she hasn't been on her best behaviour with your friends, is because of me being so busy, she's had to make all the decisions about the wedding." He explained every moment that Twilight apparently misunderstood.
"I was just trying to.." She tried to get a sentence in but was interrupted by Shining Armor still going on.
"She's completely stressed out because it's really important to her that her big day be perfect! Something that obviously wasn't important... to you." He said to her face. He got his migraines again this time from letting out all that anger. "Now if you'll excuse me... I have to go and comfort my bride." He walked off, not even looking back at her. And you can forget about being my best mare. In fact, if I were you. I wouldn't show up at the wedding at all." He finished off, leaving.
Twilight looked back at her friends, who didn't know how to feel until Applejack stepped in.
"Come on ya'll. Let's go check on the princess." They all walked past Twilight, not giving her any eye as they all had a look of disappointment on their faces. Even Celestia didn't bother.
"You have a lot to think about." She said, leaving with the others. Twilight began to tear up as she took a moment to take it all in.
"Maybe I was being overprotective... I could've gained a sister...But instead. I've just lost a brother." She laid down on the stairs, full of sadness as Pikachu walked up to her.
"Pikapi."
"Pikachu.." Pikachu knew where she was coming from. He has experienced something like this before throughout his adventures with Ash, especially with other Pokemon that his friends had. Cadence had suddenly walked over to her, placing her hoof on her mane. Twilight looked up at the alicorn that she insulted in front of everypony including Celestia.
"I'm sorry."
"You will be." Her eyes suddenly glowed green as a circle of fire surrounded the two of them.
"Pika?!" Passion saw this and was surprised as well. Both Pikachu and Twilight had been engulfed by the green flame, sinking below the carpet.
Trapped. Only with Pikachu to be there with her, Twilight and him were trapped in an unknown cave region.
"Hello?" She called out for anypony else but there was only an echo.
"Is anyone else there?" She moved around with Pikachu as all they could see were their reflections around the glass-like walls. They could only hear the laughing of Cadence.
"Where are we?"
"Pika.."
"The caves beneath Canterlot. Once home to greedy unicorns who wanted to claim the gems that could be found inside." Cadence's reflection appeared everywhere. "And now..you two are imprisoned."
"Help! Help!" She called out for help but to no avail.
"Its no use. No one can hear you and no one will ever think to look you two either. Most ponies have forgotten that these caves even exist. Which is why they are the ideal place to keep the ones who try to interfere with my plans. Hahaha!"
"Plans? What plans?"
"The plans I have for your brother of course. "
"Don't you dare do anything to my brother you.. you monster!" Twilight charged up magic in her horn out of anger.
"Only way to stop me is to catch me." She playfully responded. Her laugh echoed everywhere as Twilight's anger was boiling, just getting hotter and hotter, until she finally fired a magic beam that bounced off the crystal-like walls. Pikachu couldn't keep track of all the moving Cadences all over the place. That is until Twilight fired a beam at a specific chunk of crystals, destroying it. And the pony that was behind it was... Cadence. But she looked different. Almost as if she had been roughed up. Twilight and Pikachu locked eyes on her with Pikachu preparing a thunderbolt. Twilight rushed in towards the now exposed Cadence in front of them.
"No, wait!" Cadence said, backing up and putting her hooves out, telling Twilight to stop for a bit. But it was too late. Twilight already initiated her pounce, pinning her to the ground as she was cowering.
"Please. Don't hurt me!" She looked up to see her old friend Twilight. "Twilight it's me. Please you have to believe me. I've been imprisoned like you. The Cadence who brought you down here was an imposter."
"Likely story!" Twilight wasn't buying it one bit until...
"Sunshine. Sunshine. Ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake." She reenacted the signature dance they used to do when Twilight was still young. Twilight had followed this dance, realising that it really was her.
"You remember me." They both embraced each other with a heartwarming hug, reunited for real this time. Pikachu stopped charging his thunderbolt. No need for any shocking now.
"Of course I do. How could I forget the filly I love to sit for the most." The fake Cadence's laugh still echoed through the caves, taunting them.
"We have to get out there. We have to stop her." Twilight proclaimed as her, Pikachu and Cadence moved further into the caves, trying to find a way out.
Back in the populated Canterlot Castle. Everypony, Pokemon and human were inside, already seated for the wedding, except for Ash.
"Where is that boy..?" Delia said silently. Not only was he not here but Pikachu as well. Ash was still in the halls, searching for Pikachu.
"Pikachu! Where could he be..? he was with the girls so what gives?" He searched high and low for his little buddy until he came across the bride's room. That's when he heard something that threw him off.
"What they don't know is that I have fooled them all." Those were the words he heard from her. Then he took a moment to remember what Darkrai said. About someone at this wedding who aren't what they seem to be. He kept on hearing about how she didn't care about the groom at all or anything else that everypony worked so hard to make this wedding the best it can be. So that's who was not what they seem to be.
"This is not good," Ash said silently, moving away from the door. "I can't just barge in there. I gotta find a way to warn everyone. Oh, where's Pikachu when you need him?" Ash thought for a bit, thinking of what to do. Only one thing he could do. The distance between his home and Canterlot wasn't too far. He would be betting on getting to his home, asking Professor Oak to send him a Pokemon whilst still making it back.
"I'd better make it quick! And I know just the Pokemon who can help." Ash ran out, leaving the castle as he made to his home as fast as he could. Meanwhile, with Darkrai and Luna, the two of them were still trapped by Cofagrigus. Who was avoiding their every attempt to free themselves? They tried zapping the coffin Pokemon but because of their drained strength, it was no use. Cofagrigus could do this all day. That is until...
Passion who had seen what happened to Twilight and Pikachu had to do something. She couldn't tell Celestia since she was so nervous and still timid and shy. And Celestia was already at the wedding with everyone else. So she had to do something. And that something was taking matters into her own hands. What made it worse is that she saw Luna and Darkrai being held up by Cofagrigus outside the window. She forcefully decided to take on Cofagrigus on her own..at least, distract him.
"Can't move... strength.. fading." Luna's magic was dropping rapidly as she had fainted.
"L-Luna!" Darkrai said as he was losing strength as well, but he was hanging in there thanks to him being a Dark-type and all. Cofagrigus watched them lose all the power they had until it felt something bump it in the back of its coffin.
"Cofa..?" The coffin pokemon turned around to see Passion the Ralts. Shaking in fear as she had grabbed its attention. Cofagrigus grinned, shooting out a shadow ball at the defenceless Ralts. Ralts teleported away, ending up onto of its head. Cofagrigus looked up as Passion screamed in fear just by being near it. This was Darkrai's chance. He was quickly distracted, so all he had to do was release one dark type move. And so he did. A dark pulse was released by him, as it hit Cofagrigus without it knowing. Passion was fine from the dark pulse thanks to her type advantage. This broke the chains that were holding the two of them down as Darkrai luckily managed to retain some of his strength left. But Luna was still down and out.
Cofagrigus took some time to recover as it attempted another chain to stop them. Darkrai saw through this though, phasing through it before it could drain him as he tossed a Dark void at Cofagrigus, sending it into a deep sleep. Fitting for a coffin.
Darkrai took some time to breathe as he picked up Luna, carrying her. He looked down at the Ralts who managed to save them by being a coward and accidentally teleporting on Cofagrigus's head out of fear and with no control of her teleportation.
"Thank you," Darkrai said to her. Passion had a small smile on her face, feeling that she accomplished something great. "We have to stop this wedding. Quickly."
Back at Pallet Town, Ash was asking Professor Oak for a Pokemon, but he couldn't decide. "What do I do? That lady's totally got everyone underneath her hoof without them knowing. How can I stop her without causing too much trouble?"
"Hm. A Pokemon for this situation would require some sneaky tactics.." Oak recommended.
"..What if we caused a scene!"
"A scene?"
"Yeah! And I know just how to do it! Sorry Princess Celestia, but I gotta do this. Professor Oak! Can you send me Hawlucha and Snivy?"
"Will do."
All the way back underneath the castle caves, Twilight, Cadence and Pikachu had come across the old bridesmaids. This is where they were.
"You're not going anywhere.." They all creepily said in unison. Pikachu readied another thunderbolt ready to retaliate.
"Pikachu wait! Don't hurt them! There's another way!" Cadence said as Pikachu halted. Cadence got out the bouquet. A bridesmaid's greatest weakness. Using her magic to send it far off where they'd be too distracted fighting over it. Their luck was also starting to turn around. A light-up ahead, indicating the outside.
"There! Come on!" Twilight said as the teleported towards the location of the light.
And now.. the moment has arrived. The fake Cadence was there at the wedding. Everything was going her way.
"Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. It is my great pleasure to you-" Before Celestia could finish a single shout was heard across the room.
"STOP!" Through the doors came Twilight as everypony turned around to see her.
"Ugh. Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother... Why does she have to ruin my special day?" The fake Cadence said, switching up from rude to sad.
"Because it's not YOUR special day! Its mine!" The REAL Cadence was here. Still rugged up. This blew the entire crowd back. There's two of em?
"WHAT?!" The fake Cadence said. "But how did you escape my bridesmaids?" Pikachu hopped over Twilight and Cadence, revealing himself, charging up another thunderbolt, this time eager to zap the fake Cadence without any hesitation.
"Pika.." He said with anger in the tone of his voice.
"Pikachu?" Delia said. "Where's Ash?"
"I don't understand. How can there be two of em?" Applejack was just as confused as everypony else.
"She's a changeling. She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them."
The jig was up. Saw right through her and everything. Now it was time for the fake Cadence to finally reveal who she truly was. Green magic surrounded her, erupting a pillar that engulfed her, Her true form was here. A bug-like wings, Pitch black skin, holes in hooves and a crooked crown. All matching with that dark blue hair and devious green eyes. It was the Queen of the Changelings. Chrysalis.
"Hahaha... Right, you are a princess. And as Queen of the changelings.. it is up to me to find food for my subjects. Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered. My fellow Changelings will be able to DEVOUR so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of." She said, walking over to the pony she impersonated for a while.
"You'll never get the chance! Shining Armor's protection spell will keep them from ever even reaching us!" Cadence yelled at her.
"Hmmm. Oh, I doubt that. Isn't that right dear?" She began controlling him, making him nod his head. Pikachu had seen enough of this. It was one thing to deceive everyone but to play with someone's emotions just to rob them of their love was unacceptable. So without any more waiting, Pikachu released a thunderbolt that shocked Chrysalis, making her scream.
"Gah! You rat!" She let out a pulse of magic that made everypony else lose balance, destroying the seats they were all sitting on. Pikachu jumped up, using iron tail, slamming it on Chrysalis's head which really stung. "Agh!"
"Let Pikachu handle this for now." Celestia stopped the girls from taking action, as she had put her faith in Pikachu.
"Drop dead you rat!" Chrysalis fired a magic beam from her horn but this was also powered by all the love she gathered from Shining Armor. Pikachu dodged it barely as it created a huge hole in the ground.
"Pika.." Everypony stood back, watching this go down. They didn't even think about running out since they had learned about the Changelings outside.
"Come on Pikachu! Show her who's boss!" Rainbow Dash suddenly yelled out. Pikachu used his speed to his advantage, moving all over the place. Chrysalis couldn't keep up with the zipping rodent. Then from behind, an electroweb was dropped on her.
"Gogh! Why you.." The electroweb kept her there whilst also shocking her in the process. Everypony applauded Pikachu for handling that so well. Managing to overpower her like that so easily.
"H-How?! I have the power of Shining Armor's love on my side! How are you much stronger than it?!"
"That's because of my son!" Delia stood up, saying to her.
"WHAT?!
"My son Ash and his Pikachu had a bond greater than the false love you stole from someone else. Hmph!"
"Well. Seems like your little plan has failed. And by a creature much smaller than you." Celestia said walking up to the trapped Chrysalis. "You were never going to win. Take her away."
"Oh... it's not over yet. OBSIDIAN!" Out of nowhere, Cofagrigus had returned. Back from the dark void.
"Cofa!!"
"It's a Cofagrigus!" A man said. Celestia and Pikachu looked up at the coffin pokemon, ready to deal with that as well. Obsidian showed himself as well, flying above Cofagrigus.
"Yeesh, Chrysalis. Talk about a wipeout. You didn't even stand a chance."
"Be silent and help you buffoon!"
"Have it your way. Cofagrigus! Will-O-Wisp!" Cofagrigus spat out some fire that spread across the room rapidly. A ghostly fire that is. The entire crowd was panicking. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were hiding behind their sisters along with Scootaloo behind Rainbow Dash.
"Stand back." Celestia stepped forward as she immediately blew away Cofagrigus with a magic beam without no hesitation.
"Ooh, scary princess. But now.." Obsidian said, smiling as he knew what was coming next.
"Princess Celestia! Look out!" Everypony tried to warn her but it was too late, Chrysalis had shot Celestia in the back as quickly as she could. The power of Shining Armor's love dealt a heavy blow, knocking Celestia back.
"PRINCESS CELESTIA!"
"Hah! That feels much better. Now I am the new Queen in charge."
"Cofagrigus. Grab em." Cofagrigus used its dark ghostly grabby hands but thanks to the rift, its hands multiplied from 4 to 129. Each of them grabbed as many ponies, pokemon and people in that room. Even grabbing Celestia's crown.
"Let go of that crown!" Twilight tried to do something but was also grabbed by Cofagrigus. This Pokemon knew how to move its hands fast. Pikachu jumped up, going for an iron tail but was stopped by Obsidian who flew in and bucked Pikachu into the walls, making him crash.
"Pika!"
"Pikachu!" Fluttershy cried out.
"Now that the ruckus is out of the way.." Cadence couldn't do anything because she wasn't strong enough at the moment. So Chrysalis was free to do whatever she wanted. "I believe we have a wedding to finish. Now I truly make him all mine. Shining Armor.." She walked over to the still controlled stallion.
"Don't you dare! Don't!" Cadence decided to try but was stopped via Cofagrigus's many hands.
"Now then." She placed her hoof around him, ready to declare them truly married. "I now pronounce us.."
"Snivy Attract!" From the front of the door, a ray of hearts hit Shining Armor's eyes, swaying him away from Chrysalis. Ash was here. With his charming Snivy who knows how to nail that attract.
"What now!?" Chrysalis glared at Ash as Shining Armor walked over to Snivy.
"Wow. Wonderful." Thanks to attracting, he was smitten by Snivy.
"Ash!" The mane 6 said along with Celestia.
"Now for the big entrance! Hawlucha!" Ash raised his fist as from above, came Hawlucha, making an entrance as always.
"Hawlu!"
"How many more interruptions are there going to be?!"
"As many as it takes to stop you.." The next interruption was here. Darkrai who was carrying the no longer fainted Luna along with Passion on his head.
"P-Passion? Luna." Celestia said, barely being able to stay conscious. Ralts jumped off Darkrai heading to her own. She hugged Celestia despite her being on the ground, hurt.
"Ralts.."
"You're outnumbered lady. It's us against you and those two."
"Oh am I now?" The shield that protects the entirety of Canterlot had finally been broken. By the Changelings. Similar looking to their queen but on the smaller scale. They instantly swarmed Canterlot like the weird pony bug hybrids they are, charging in headfirst with magic surrounding their horns. They crashed down inside and outside of Canterlot. "Behold! Now, who's outnumbered, boy?!"
"Oh, man. So that's what that thing was...Pikachu!" Pikachu got up, running back to his friend.
"With them all here, they'll feed on all the love you each hold. Then I truly will be unstoppable!"
"We'll see about that. Pikachu! Hawlucha! Snivy! Let's do this!" Ash and his Pokemon readied themselves as they faced off against Chrysalis, Cofagrigus, Obsidian and the Changelings. Everyone else was being held by Cofagrigus so it was just him. With the additional help of Ralts and slightly weakened Darkrai and Luna.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail! Hawlucha! X Scissor! Snivy! Leaf Blade!" Ash commanded all 3 of them as they did their part. Pikachu and Hawlucha both aimed for Chrysalis and her changelings whilst Snivy went for Cofagrigus.
"Cofagrgius. Will-O Wisp." Cofagrigus let out another ghostly fire, but the grass snake pokemon avoided it, dealing a hard hit onto Cofagrigus's head. This managed to free only four ponies who luckily managed to escape. However, the second Will-O Wisp had hit the floor once more, only making the fire worse.
"It's not safe here. Gotta everyone else out first. Pikachu! Spin with thunderbolt!" As Pikachu was fighting off the Changelings, he used the old tactic from Sinnoh, but improvised. This time it was moving around sideways and downwards instead of upwards. This frantic bolt of thunder shocked the changelings and Cofagrigus as well since it was so chaotic. This did end up jolting the ponies, pokemon and people who were caught by Cofagrigus though, but they were freed from its clutches.
"Now everyone! Get out!" They all did just that as they rushed out, running for their lives. Darkrai carried Celestia as well, flying out with both Princesses in his grasp.
"You brat!" Chrysalis, the changelings and Cofagrigus all chased them down.
"They're gonna eat us alive!" Pinkie screamed.
"No, they won't! Leaf Storm!" A storm of leaves conjured up by Snivy got in their way, blowing them back a bit. Everypony managed to escape outside as Ash kept holding them all back with thunderbolt and leaf storm. However, there was the issue of the Changelings outside.
"There's so many of them!" Twilight said as her and everypony else were backed into a corner. Surrounded by Changelings who outnumbered every pony in Canterlot. Even including humans and pokemon. Ash was still inside, holding them all back as Chrysalis had caught up to him.
"You meddling kid! How dare you get in my way!" Chrysalis struck her horn down towards Ash however he managed to catch it with his bare hands.
"How dare you?! You try and ruin someone's wedding.. the best day of their life! I may not get weddings and all that stuff.. but I know you shouldn't get in the way of people who care for each other with all their heart! I won't let someone who steals and treats someone else' love like a source of food get away with this!"
"Silence!" Chrysalis knocked Ash back with some magic as he slid on the floor.
"That's why I can't let you win. I'll stop you no matter what! Hawlucha! Go outside and help everyone else. Snivy. Head back home to Professor Oak's lab and warn everyone else.
"Sni!" She nodded in understanding, running outside as what she saw was everypony trying to escape from the Changelings, with only the Mane 6 and the guards fending them off, but there were so many of them. The Changelings had shapeshifted into other ponies that the everypony cared about, just to get the drop on them.
"Don't let them distract you," Twilight said as that line was repeated by multiple Twilight's. Changeling's crafty nature was a go. It was chaos outside and inside. Darkrai managed to place Celestia and Luna down near a secluded spot where there was no one else. Passion went up to Celestia, feeling sad that she got hurt.
"Passion. Sorry to worry you so much. But I'll be fine." Celestia said. Passion looked at her back, seeing the damage that was caused by the beam Chrysalis fired. She had to help her owner. So she used one of many moves that can heal wounds. Heal pulse. Light green and soothing pulse of nature like magic surrounded her. The wound on Celestia's back had been wiped out.. as if it was not there anymore.
"Passion. Did you heal me? You can do that?"
"Ralts.." Celestia stood up as she hugged her Pokemon.
"Thank you. Now. I have to protect my subjects from her. I can't do it alone either. Luna.." Luna struggled to stay up on her feet, still drained.
"We are still able to move sister. No coffin can stop us."
"Darkrai. Can you help us?"
"I can place some of them in nightmares, but I'm drained as well. I can't release as much as I normally can now."
"Then there's only one thing we can do. Twilight, Ash and the others are doing their best to protect everypony else. We'll go on ahead and get the Elements. Passion. Stay here. It's too dangerous with all of that happening over there."
"Ralts.." Celestia looked up as she saw the wedding room was burned into nothing due to Will-O Wisp. And the fire was still spreading across the castle.
The struggle against the Changelings continued. Twilight, the girls and the guards were tired out. Their numbers were too overwhelming. What made it worse was Cofagrigus who was trapping them all in chains. Twilight sat on the ground, breathing heavily.
"Too many of them. Can't keep this up."
"Don't worry Twilight. It'll be fine." Rarity said, however, she had passed out from exhaustion, being grabbed by Cofagrigus as it pulled her into it. Rarity had been placed inside of Cofagrigus.
"Rarity!" Twilight cried out. Cofagrigus's onslaught continued as it was grabbing more and more people, ponies and pokemon, trapping them in its seemingly endless coffin body. Applejack was doing her best to try and escape but was halted when one of the Changelings turned into Big Mac, stopping her. This allowed Cofagrigus to grab her, sending her inside as well.
"Applejack!" Pinkie Pie wasn't lucky either. While she was having a blast blowing them away with her somehow lethal party canon, Cofagrigus sneaked from behind, trapping her as well.
"Pinkie!" Fluttershy was beginning to panic. She had never been in this kind of situation before. She was about to be grabbed by Cofagrigus until Rainbow Dash stepped in, knocking it back.
"Stay away from her your multi-armed freak! Rufflet! Whirlipede! Go!" She sent out her two partner Pokemon to pitch in. "Rufflet! Wing Attack! Whirlipede! Rollout!" Both of the two Pokemon attacked the creepy coffin ghost pokemon. A wing to the fangs and a head-on hit from a rolling Whirlipede. Rufflet and Whirlipede got some great distance since one could fly and others could roll incredibly fast. However, there was one major advantage Cofagrigus had. The ability to phase through solid material. It was a ghost type after all. And it did just that, grabbing both Whirlipede and Rufflet.
"Whirlipede! Rufflet! Let them go!" Rainbow Dash zoomed forward, but that's exactly what Cofagrigus wanted. And so it opened up its coffin, baiting Rainbow Dash into it, trapping her with everyone else along with her Pokemon as well. It was now just a few ponies who were captured by Changelings and Twilight and Fluttershy who were the last ones left.
Ash and Pikachu were still facing off against Chrysalis, doing everything they can.
"How can your love be as strong as mine?!" She said as she clashing with Pikachu's iron tail like swords.
"You wouldn't understand! I and Pikachu have more love than you'll ever have!"
"PIKA!" Pikachu jumped over Chrysalis, slamming his iron tail on her back. The speedy little guy moved back to his trainer.
"In that case.. who needs Shining Armor's love... I JUST TAKE YOURS!" Chrysalis charged forward, aiming to sap the love from both Pikachu and Ash. Their bond has lasted much longer than Shining Armor and Cadence's. So if Chrysalis gets her hooves on it.. it'll be ugly.
"Twilight was about to faint with Cofagrigus aiming for next, but it was stopped by Hawlucha who had used X-Scissor to intercept it.
"Cofargri!!"
"Hawlu.." All of a sudden, Hawlucha was restrained by Obsidian who landed down, stepping on his back. "H-Hawlucha! Haw.."
"Nuh uh uh. No moving." Alright. Grab this one next if you want Cofagrigus. As the coffin pokemon was about to, it was stopped by a flamethrower to the face.
"COFA!"
"Hm?" Obsidian, Twilight and Fluttershy all turned around to see where the suddenly huge wave of fire came from. And to their surprise and Hawlucha's happiness.. it was all of Ash's Pokemon that was in Oak's lab.
Ash looked outside, seeing his old Pokemon there.
"Awesome! They made it! Great job Snivy!"
"Snivy." She had a look of confidence on her face, knowing she did well.
"What is all of this?!" Chrysalis yelled.
"These are just my friends. Nothing to it."
"You think your group of mish-mashed creatures are a match for me and my army? Nonsense! My Changelings have already gained so much love and some of your precious friends have been trapped inside that coffin thing. Celestia has been defeated and the entire castle is burning down. I've already won!"
"It ain't over till we say it's over," Ash said with his Pokemon behind him. It wasn't just the ones who were at Oak's lab. But the gateways that led to the other regions bought along with the Pokemon that were with Professor Kukui and Burnet, along with his Greninja and co.
"Ash.." Twilight said as she was about to faint.
"Get a good rest Twilight. We'll handle it from here. Let's not hold back one bit you guys." They all nodded in unison.
"Let's go! Greninja! Full Power!" The bond phenomenon is active and Ash Greninja is here. Now with all of Ash's Pokemon being the last line of defense, one can only hope that all of Canterlot doesn't get destroyed.
"Alright! Everyone! Our top priority is saving everyone that's been trapped in Cofagrigus. Greninja. You'll deal with Cofagrigus! Pikachu, Infernape and I will handle Chrysalis. Bayleef! Staraptor! Swellow! You focus on saving everyone who's been captured by Changelings. The rest of you handle the Changeling army. Let's go!" All of his Pokemon knew each of their roles as they split up.
"Don't let them succeed! Get them!" Chrysalis commanded as the Changelings went on and attacked Ash's Pokemon. Greninja rushed in, using Aerial Ace to push back the Coffin Pokemon. Cofagrigus relatiated by trying to grab him, however the Ninja Pokemon had used double team, giving off the illusion of multiple of him. And from behind, a swift Water Shuriken was tossed at Cofagrigus.
Staraptor and Swellow had swooped in towards the captured and tied up ponies, distracting the Changelings. Bayleef used vine whip to clamp onto the ponies who were captured, safely pulling them away, as the two flying types kept on pulling in the Changelings.
Snorlax became a brick wall for the Changelings to try and take down, but it was no use. They kept crashing into him, trying to at least damage or at least nudge him. But no luck. And for a retaliation, Snorlax gave a simple slap, that knocked them all back.
"Iron Tail! Mach Punch!" Both Pikachu and Infernape went in there with an iron tail and a strong mach punch, hitting Chrysalis's horn. The Changeling Queen was being pushed back, not standing a chance against their bonds. She rebuttaled by firing magic beams at them.
"Flare Blitz!" Infernape charged into the beam, cancelling it out with its blazing flare blitz.
"Now use Flamethrower!" Infernape followed up with a fast and hot Flamethrower. Chrysalis was a bit terrified since it was pure fire heading towards her.
"What tenacity,, how can somepony hold this much power?" Chrysalis was beginning to realise how outmatched she was. So she decided to play dirty, by firing a magic beam up at the castle, making it drop down as it was about to hit Fluttershy and Ash's other Pokemon along with Twilight.
"Charizard!" Ash yelled. And out of nowhere, a magic beam was fired at Ash, Pikachu and Infernape, knocking them back . Charizard had thankfully swooped in to save them all by grabbing them and kicking up strong wind that blew them away from the falling castle, which caused a huge shockwave and rumble.
"How many more these annoying creatures are there?! Why can they do much?! No matter. That leaves all of them to feed on. Their love is going to be delicious for all of us!"
"That's what YOU think!" A voice called out to her. From above was Celestia, who had the Elements of Harmony at her disposal. "This is as far as you go Chrysalis."
"You. I won't let you get the chance to use the Elements on me! Changelings!" Chrysalis ordered her Changelings to be her shield as they circled around her.
"We'll just piece right through that!" Ash said.
Greninja was avoiding Cofagrigus, easily outspeeding it. Greninja then grabbed Cofagrigus's many arms, swinging it about.
"Cofa!!" The coffin pokemon screamed as it was tossed in the air. Greninja jumped up, ending it with hard water shuriken that sent it plummeting down. That was a faint for Cofagrigus. It wasn't over yet though.
"Not bad taking Cofagrigus out like that. And you don't even have any dark type moves to your disposal." Obsidian said as he was behind Greninja. "But the rift wants much more than this." As if he was in a higher plane.. the sound of the rift was calling to him. Greninja could feel it too.
"Hear that? The rift has already conjured up something brilliant. Why have a Cofagrigus..." All of a sudden, multiple Cofagrigus's popped up from other gateways formed up by the rift, wanting more out of this. Greninja was taken aback by how many there were now.
Twilight had woken up as she was saved by Charizard, who had her and Fluttershy in his claws.
"A..Dragon?" She looked up at the fire lizard, holding her.
"Twilight Sparkle.." Luna said, holding her head.
"Princess Luna.."
"The situation we are in is dire. Chrysalis must not be allowed to gain anymore love. Thou must use the true power of love. Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's love."
"But what about the elements?"
"Chrysalis's magic from all the love she had taken might be enough to push back the Elements of Harmony. And if she keeps this up, there would be nopony left to stop her.."
"...Yeah.. nopony." Twilight said looking at Ash. Knowing what needed to be done.
Ash was still overwhelming Chrysalis. The more Pikachu and Infernape kept rushing, the more the Changelings started to fall, and the greater the gap for Celestia to use the Elements. Greninja alone was dealing with the Cofagrigus. The ninja Pokemon zipped around, taking out each of them with a hard hitting cut, moving to the next one. All Cofagrigus used their hundreds of arms to try and grab him. Greninja used double team to divert some of their attention as it looked like all of them were about to use Water Shuriken. The Cofagrigus all released a shadow ball at the many Greninja's but none of them were the real one.
"The real one was right behind them, holding its orange colored water shuriken in its frog hands. Tossing the huge sucker at them, dealt a chain reaction of damage. Water splashing all over the place. With that, all the Cofagrigus had been taken out by Ash-Greninja. But still more and more kept arriving. And Greninja was doing everything it could to keep them all from reaching the others.
"Man that thing is strong..Best try a new approach then..." Obsidian faded into the shadows.
With Cadence and Shining Armor, Shining Armor was still under Snivy's attract, which was a good thing.
"Shning Armor.." Cadence looked at her husband, still feeling down after what happened earlier. But she couldn't dwell on it for too long. She had restored him to his normal state, removing both the attract and Chrysalis's spell from him.
"Ugh.. Cadence?" He said.
"My Shining Armor!" She gave him a hug, glad that he was back to to his senses. "I was so worried and scared. I'm sorry.. that this wedding turned out like this.. I wanted it to be the best day ever.." She began tearing up, looking down. The day she was looking forward to the most was ruined.
"It's not too late. We still have some great ponies and humans doing their best to fix all of this. We're gonna make this wedding happen, and we'll go home and be happy together." He comforted her wife, telling her that it will all be alright.
"Let's finish this! Pikachu! Thunderbolt! Infernape! Flare Blitz!" With one final attack, Chrysalis had been knocked away, falling to the ground by both attacks combined into one.
"Not possible..." Chrysalis looked up as for the first time ever she felt fear. She was terrified of them. Terrifed of Ash. "I-I can't be losing.. I thought my love was strong enough!"
"Your love's false. Real love is all powerful. Like the bond between friends. Or the endless love of Family."
"Pikachu!"
"Infernape!"
"Grrgh.." Chrysalis struggled to get up as Celestia landed down, however she didn't have the elements all of a sudden...
"You can't gain love from feeding off of it. You gotta make it happen with someone you really care for ya know." Ash said Chrysalis as she looked down a bit. All of Ash's other Pokemon had come back to him, stand beside him. It looked like it was their victory easy.. untill. Greninja all of a sudden, struck a water shuriken through Ash. Ash had felt this as he fell down to the ground, flat.
His Pokemon and Celestia turned around to see this as they were in complete shock. What just happened? Then it was revealed. That wasn't Ash's Greninja. It was a changeling.
"Hah! Simple!" Obsidian said flying above. That Greninja of yours was tricky to handle. It was fast and strong. That's why I had the rift give the Changelings some extra tricks. Letting them transform not only into that kids Pokemon to fool Greninja.. but also granting them their moves as well. Genius if you ask me. In fact.."
Some of the Pokemon weren't even Ash's Pokemon either. They were Changelings, revealing themselves.
"Then where are Ash's real Pokemon you may ask?" Obsidian said, knowing the result.
"Cofagrigus occupied. Even they couldn't handle the endless swarm of em. Speaking of which..." More and more Cofagrigus kept coming out of the gateways with no signs of any of them stopping. Soon all of Canterlot was surrounded by Cofagrigus and Changelings. It looked like complete and total defeat.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu was trying to wake Ash up, but he was still down from the shuriken.
"Infernape.." Infernape's anger was boiling as he, Oshawott, Sceptile and Bayleef stood beside him. They were some of the last of Ash's Pokemon who were still here.
"Haha! Well it looks like at the end of the day! I still win!" Chrysalis boasted. "What now Celestia? You're cornered. We outnumber you by the hundreds!" Celestia looked around, seeing the number difference. For the first time in a while she was unsure of what to do. She couldn't fail her kingdom.
"We'll just get rid of that." The chains from the Cofagrigus had come up once more, holding Celestia as well, along with Pikachu, Infernape and the others.
"Game set match. We win." Obsidian said.
"I-It aint over yet.." Ash said, slowly getting up, still hurt.
"Of course it is boy. Nopony else is here to save you. You've reached rock bottom!"
"Yeah.. that's what you think.. but you're not the Queen of copying.. she is."
"Huh?"
All of a sudden, Celestia was smiling.
"What are you smiling about?" Chrysalis said. Celestia didn't say anything until.. up in the skies was Celestia again. They all looked up. "What the?!" The Celestia down here, returned to its actual true form. A Ditto.
"What is that thing?!" Chrysalis yelled.
"A Ditto!" Obsidian responded. All of a sudden, a double twist had ensued. Turns out there was one more who was out of the ordinary here. One of the Cofagrigus was also a Ditto. Specifically, Mini-Dit. Duplica's second Ditto. Its transformation powers had improved since the last time. Greatly even. Both of the Dittos have improved. Now you really couldn't tell them apart.
"Hah! Suckers!" Duplica appeared from out of the coffin as she lunged onto both Chrysalis and Obsidian, holding onto them like a child would on a jungle gym.
"Let go you brat!" Obsidian yelled.
"Nuh uh!" Duplica did not let go once as she sank her teeh into Chrysalis's hooves, not giving up her grasp at all.
"NOW! PIKACHU! THUNDERBOLT!" Ash let out a loud command as Pikachu unleashed the full might of his thunderbolt as it spread across the entire area. Every single Changeling and Cofagrigus had been shocked and hit by it. This one was much stronger than the rest making it guaranteed knockout.
"NO!" Obsidian yelled. Passion had run over to Ash healing him as fast as she could. Thanks to Pikachu's insane thunderbolt, everypony who was trapped in Cofagrigus had been saved and rescued along with Ash's Pokemon.
"W-Wha.. what happened..?" Pinkie Pie said all dizzy.
"Curse you.. Ash Ketchum!" Ash stood up as he turned his hat back.
"Don't take it too hard you two. It aint your fault that Duplica's the master of copying."
"But how..?" Ash and Duplica looked at each other, smiling on how they ennacted the plan. Whilst Ash and everypony else were running from the attack Changelings, Ash took a minute to talk to Duplica. Telling her to transform her two Ditto's into Celestia and a Cofagrigus. The real Celestia was the one with the elements of harmony at her disposal in the sky. Ash had distracted Chrysalis from focusing on Celestia whilst Duplica made Ditto turn into the fake Celestia behind everyones backs. It was risky. Especially with all these Cofagrigus and Changelings everywhere.
"You.. tricked us all.."
"Thats how copying works lady." Duplica and Ash fist bumped. The Mane 6, everypony, human and pokemon surrounded the defeated duo.
"Welp. I'm out. Peace!" The rift had taken Obisidian away along with the Cofagrigus as it was just Chrysalis now.
"You think you can lock me up eh? I'll find a way out!"
"Oh I know.. thats why they'll do the honors of sending you back." Celestia pointed at the now recovered Cadence and Shining Armor suddenly. They connected their horns together. Their love was flowing greatly.
"No.. Chrysalis began to back away, trying avoid all that love in one spot. Then with all their love combined into one, they unleashed a powerful blast full of pure love. This blast expanded so far and only hit those it deemed as an enemy. Chrysalis and all of her Changelings were blown away, sky high away from Canterlot in one go. "NOOOOO!!" She screamed as they flew into the distance... Gone.
"Oh thank Arceus its over." Ash sat down, exhausted along with everypony else. "Man.. this was one wild wedding."
"Speaking of that.. Shining Armor. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." Celestia walked to the two of them. "I believe I can finally finish where I left off. But for the real Cadence finally." Everyone stood up, getting ready for those wonderful words.
"The strength of your commitment is clear.. the power of your love, undeniable. Spike.. may I have the rings please?" Spike had luckily held onto the rings despite all that chaos. He handed them over as Celestia used her magic to raise them up.
"I now pronounce you.." The rings went on both of their horns.. "Mare and Colt." It was finally official and finally over. The wedding had been fufilled. Even if it was outside. Clapping, applauses and roars from each species were heard. They did their best and it paid off at the end. The happy couple was finally set. Pinkie Pie threw confetti all over the place to boost up the celebration so it didnt' feel too stale.
"This is as much as your victory as it is theirs." She said looking to Ash and the others. "Ash. Twilight. Pikachu. All of you. Twilight. You persisted in the face of doubt. And your actions helped bring back the real Princess Cadence back to us. Learning to trust your instincts is a valuable lesson to learn."
"Ash. Once again you've gone out of your way to help us all. Even if this isn't your world, you'll do anything to protect your friends and the ones you love. That kind of loyalty can even give Rainbow Dash a run for her money."
"Uhh I'm right here."
"Thats my boy. He's always a life saver isnt he?" Delia said, hugging him.
"Aw mom."
"And Passion. I have to say sorry to you. If I had known that you knew the Cadence in front of us was a fake due to your emotions and body language.. all of this would've been avoided. You saved me.. and you helped save everypony else. I still have a lot to learn about Pokemon. But I can safely call you not my just Pokemon.. but also my friend." Passion had a huge smile on her face, lunging at her friend, giving her a hug.
"Ralts!"
"Now then.. how about that show?"
"Oh right!" Rainbow Dash flew up, preparing a Sonic Rainboom.
"Pikachu. Everyone. Let's make something special."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu said as all his other Pokemon agreed. Pikachu and the others unleashed all of their known range attacks into the air, combining them all. Rainbow Dash had unleashed her Sonic Rainboom finally. And with the Pokemon moves in the air, it become double the rainbow with multiple colors in one. Colors that you wouldn't even find in the rainbow.
"Best! Wedding! Ever!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Although.. Canterlot Castle is ruined.. again." Celestia said looking at the burned and destroyed castle.
"I'll get BigTime Ben." Twilight replied.
And so the wedding came to a close. Shining Armor and Cadence had went off in their carriage, happy married as everypony else were preparing to head home and rest. Ash sat on the stairs, eating some cake in the process with all of his Pokemon who were having a snack. Darkrai and Luna were there as they had missed out on the rest.. but they were recovered now. Especially now that is was night time.
"Man these cakes are delicious!" Ash said, enjoying the taste.
"I know right? Slurpuff knew which flavor would really take everyone's tastebuds." Pinkie said as the Mane 6 sat down with Ash's Pokemon along with Duplica and his mom.
"You know Ash. Ever since your world came to ours.. its been eventful. Good or bad. I don't think I've ever experienced so much chaos before. Even from Discord." Fluttershy said.
"Well. Our world is weird like that. But that's what makes it so great ya know."
"So Ash, darling. Have you ever thought about getting married yourself?" Rarity asked.
"Marriage? I don't know.. it all seems so confusing to me. I guess I gotta wait and see what its all about in the near future."
"Oh Ash." Duplica said, shaking her head. Everypony laughed as they enjoyed the rest of the night. This ends the Royal Canterlot Wedding. But the rift knew there was more to come. There always is. It was the rift's turn to cause the next big event. And it knew how it was all going to play out.
Today's a new day. And the day where the Mane 6 go to Kanto to visit Ash and meet all his Pokemon. Delia was in her home, preparing for their visitors.
"Mom, what're you doing?" Ash asked.
"You're getting visitors Ash. Have to make them welcomed. Let's see.. what do ponies like?"
"Mom, they're only going to Professor Oak's lab not here. You don't have to do this."
"Oh right.. my bad. But if they do come by here then I'll be ready. By the way Ash. You do remember to visit Professor Oak's lab for something in a few days right."
"Yeah. He said something about Vermillion City I believe. I'll be able to get there in time when that day comes."
"You'd better. I don't want to have to wake you up because you fell asleep for too long.. Again."
"Pikachu.."
"Well, I'd better get going! See ya Mom!" Ash rushed out, heading towards Oak's lab.
At Oak's Lab, Ash's Pokemon were all still healing up a bit after what happened back at Canterlot. Their trainer had just arrived to see them all.
"Hey, guys! You feeling better?" He asked them all. They all were feeling better, healed up and everything. "Great. Twilight and the others are gonna come here for a visit. Get along with them alright?" Speaking of them.. the Mane 6 along with Spike had arrived.
"Here we are, girls. Kanto. Pallet Town." Twilight said.
"So this is Ash's home town. I can feel so much positive energy here." Fluttershy said, taking in a warm feeling.
"The air here is so sweet and smooth. It's almost like it always flowed perfectly." Rainbow followed as the sweet breeze rushed through her.
"It sure does look nice too!" Pinkie finished off.
"Come on girls. The lab is just up ahead."
At the Lab, Tracey and Oak weren't expecting the ponies to be here. Ash had just invited them over to see his Pokemon. Right now they were just working, no expectations for visitors. Until they came through the door.
"Hello. Is this where Ash is right now?" Fluttershy asked.
"Hm?" Both Oak and Tracey said, turning around to see the Mane 6 and Spike.
"Oh! Ponies are actually here." Oak zoomed over to them. "Interesting. Unique mane styles.." He observed their manes. "Two of them have horns." He looked at Twilight and Rarity. "Then another two have wings." Also mentioning Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "And the other two have nothing. But those hooves look a bit on the strong side." Finishing off with Applejack and Pinkie Pie.
"Uhh.." They all said confused right now.
"How peculiar. There seems to be some sort of mark on their flanks. A sparkle, gems, butterflies, apples, balloons and a rainbow. My word."
"They're called Cutie Marks." Rainbow Dash said.
"Cutie Marks?" Tracey retorted.
"Is Ash here or not, sir?" Rarity asked him.
"Oh, he is here alright. Right at the back with all his Pokemon. Please make your way there." Oak said as the girls and the dragon went on to the back. "Hm. That one looked like a dragon.."
As the girls went out, they took a good look at what they saw. Ash, Pikachu and his Pokemon were all there. Happy as they can be.
"Wow... I know I saw them back at the wedding, but we get to see them fully for real." Twilight said, stunned.
"Oh hey! You all made it!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu waved as he hopped off Ash's shoulder, giving Fluttershy a hug.
"So these are where all your Pokemon are huh? They look better in daylight!" Pinkie said bouncing over to them.
"Alright, gang. Say hello to them." All of Ash's Pokemon had their own ways of greeting newcomers. Applejack went over to Scraggy who looked up at her.
"Hey, there little fella. What's your name?" She asked. Scraggy looked at her more until he did his signature greeting. Actually.. what all Scraggy's do when they see someone new. A headbutt to the face. And Applejack felt it. "Ow!"
"Sorry Applejack. That's what Scraggy's normally do when they meet someone new."
"You don't say.." She said holding her face. Spike looked up at Charizard, gawking at the huge fire tailed lizard.
"Woah...I wanna be just like this dragon. Like you someday!"
"Uh I hate to break it you Spike... but Charizard isn't a dragon," Ash said.
"What?! No way. He totally looks at him!" Spike pointed at Charizard. He had the appearance of a dragon and everything.. but he wasn't one.
"I know. I found it weird at first. Some Pokemon don't seem to be the type that you'd think they'd be once you get a good look at em. Charizard's a Fire Flying type. Now Gible over there.. he's a dragon type." Ash pointed at his Gible who was chomping on Pinkie Pie's mane.
"Hehehe! He's bitey isn't he?" Pinkie Pie giggled.
"That's a dragon? It looks more like a shark.." Spike said. Rarity was looking at Ash's Levanny, feeling like it looked familiar.
"Hmm. Have I seen this one before?"
"Kind of. This is Sewaddle's final evolution Leavanny. They're much better at making clothes than Sewaddle. They love making warm clothes for smaller Pokemon."
"I see. So eventually my little darlings back at my shop will grow into this? Ooh, I can't wait for that!"
"Yeah! Though you gotta get past the second evolution first. Swadloon." Fluttershy was admiring this entire scene as all of her excitement could not be contained.
"Ash. Why didn't you bring me here earlier? These Pokemon are all so unique! What's this one?!" Fluttershy went over to Oshawott, seeing that he looked like an otter of some sorts.
"Hold on. I got my dex. I can see what these guys are all about." Rainbow took out her dex, as it began to describe Oshawott.
"Oshawott. The Sea Otter Pokemon. Oshawott can detach the scalchop on its belly and use it as a weapon in battle or as a tool for cutting up food and other things." The dex described.
"That's a weapon?" Rainbow Dash looked at Oshawott's scalchop. Oshawott looked up with pride, taking out its scalchop and swinging it about to show off.
"How wonderful. And its a bit of confident one." Fluttershy said.
"So all of these Pokemon are different types huh? I need to learn more about types and what they are." Twilight said.
"Well, I can give you a quick rundown. Types are basically what makes a Pokemon what it is. Whether it be their natural habitat, their moves or who they are. For example, Glalie over here is an ice type. The icy air it breathes from its mouth can instantly freeze someone." Ash said, petting Glalie as he got frozen via an open mouth.
"Interesting. So then what would that make my Minccy? Or Mincinno as it's known as. And that coffin thing called Cofagrigus from last time."
"Normal and Ghost," Oak said, entering outside with Tracey.
"Professor Oak!"
"Normal and Ghost?" The mane 6 said.
"Indeed. Normal types are standard Pokemon. Not too impressive compared to the other types, but they can learn moves from all 18 various typings. And Normal and Ghost bounce off each other."
"Really now? Wait... if its a ghost.. does that mean that all Ghost Pokemon are..." Pinkie Pie began to shudder.
"Some of them. Others have ghostly capabilities." Oak said.
"Phew." The Pink pony let a sigh of relief.
"You see I research Pokemon for a living, girls. Ever since I was a little boy, the world of Pokemon has always fascinated me. And even Ash has reached this fascination, with a different path that is."
"Oh. Like Father like son." Applejack said.
"Oh, no-no. I'm not his father."
"You're not.. then who's your dad Ash?" Rainbow asked Ash Ketchum.
"He's off on his own journey as a Pokemon Trainer. Hasn't come back since. But I'm sure our paths will cross someday!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Oh... Father and Son separated on two opposite sides of the world. It truly is heartwarming and sad." Rarity said, using her magic to get a napkin to wipe her tears away.
"Anyway girls. I hope that you can enjoy Ash's Pokemon more in the meantime!" Oak exclaimed.
"Speaking of which. Ash.. where are those other Pokemon? One of them was a frog and the other one was a bushy monkey of some sorts?" Twilight was referring to when all of Ash's Pokemon had come through the gateways last time.
"Oh them. Well, you see. Some Pokemon I released. Whether they want to be in the wild or if they want to get stronger. Like Lapras, Butterfree, Pidgeot, Greninja or Goodra. But it was nice to see them return to help against the Changelings." Ash explained. As time went on, Rainbow Dash had sent out her Rufflet and Whirlipede to hang with Ash's Pokemon as well. They were all bonding. Some have shared similarities with the Mane 6. Sceptile and Rainbow Dash could get behind each others 'Cool' personalities. Applejack could get used to Scraggy's nature. Reminded her of back home.
Fluttershy was making the most friends. She had already gotten to bond with most of Ash's Pokemon especially the unexpected and unnaturally large amount of Tauros that Ash had. Bayleef was constantly pushing back Twilight and Rarity from talking to Ash. She always gets jealous if anyone else is getting close to him, even for ponies.
Then.. a new visitor came along. An old friend from way back.
"Hey, Ash. Uh someone's here to see you." Tracey said.
"Who?"
Through those doors came an old face. The Colt Pokemon. And the fourth Sword of Justice. Keldeo.
"Hey, Ash. Long time no see." He greeted him.
"Keldeo!"
"A pony?" The mane 6 said. They at first thought that this world had their own ponies.
"A unicorn too. But no cutie mark from what I can see." Rarity said, examining him.
"This is Keldeo. An old friend of mine all the way back in Unova. I know he looks like you guys cause he is a pony. A colt actually."
"Wow. So your world has Pokemon that are similar to ours." Fluttershy said.
"Yep. We have a few horse-like pokemon here and there. Not too many of them but they're out there." Oak replied.
"Well, ain't he built. Hey, there, partner. Name's Applejack." Applejack said, looking up at him.
"Yeah, I'm built! I'm a Sword of Justice after all!" Keldeo exclaimed.
"Built is a bit of an understatement. He's a giant." Rarity whispered.
"Could give Big Mac a run for his money."
"What do you mean by Sword of justice?" Twilight asked the Colt Pokemon.
"You see, Keldeo's horn is a sword. And he's apart of the three Swords of Justice. Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion." Ash explained.
"That's a sword? I mean.. you can use them to hit stuff but I don't think horns are swords, Ash. Especially ours." Twilight retorted.
"Oh yeah? Show em Keldeo." Keldeo's horn began to glow as he then changed into Resolute Form. His mane got a bit bigger, he gained colourful quill-like attachments and his horn grew, looking like it had scales or something similar to that.
"Woah... It is a sword.." The mane 6 all said.
"This is my first time seeing it as well," Oak said, gawking at the sword.
"See! I ain't so little and cute!"
"Hehe. But anyway Keldeo. Why are you here actually?"
"I came to visit you, Ash. When all these rifts started opening up all over the place, me and the other swords had ended up going through them. We ended up on different parts of the world. There was one place with loads of Griffins.. well.. the little number of griffins. And then I.. sensed you."
"Sensed me?"
"Yeah. I'm not able to do that normally but it suddenly kicked in. So I kept moving from rift to rift and I eventually found you here."
"Well its always great to meet you. These are all of my Pokemon and my new friends."
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Keldeo." He bowed.
"So this is a sword?" Twilight tapped on it.
"Yeah. Its cool ain't it? Bet you can't do this with your horn." Keldeo looked up with a smug face.
"Oh yeah? I can do this.. magic!" Twilight used her magic to pick up Keldeo in the air.
"Hey!"
"Incredible! This is magic?!" Oak zoomed over, grabbing ahold of Twilight's horn as it made her squeak and twitch.
"Hey! Hands off!" Twilight bucked Oak into Snorlax who was asleep.
"OW.. magic huh?" The entire mane 6 laughed as they all had fun with Keldeo, Ash and his Pokemon throughout the whole day. As time kept passing by, Ash had given Rainbow a reminder.
"Say Rainbow Dash. The Pokemon League in your world is almost complete you know. Soon you'll have your own gym battles, Pokemon to befriend and meet, and even take on the league with other trainers!"
"Pikachu!"
"Yeah. I can't wait! Just a few more days and I am in! Me and my Pokemon are gonna dominate the scene! And maybe.. the Wonderbolts will notice how cool I am at it all and will ask me to join!" Rainbow Dash stood, proclaiming her goal. She was ready to take it all on. Her journey as a trainer is truly going to begin.
Elsewhere.. on the other side, The Swords of Justice were standing together.
"Has anyone seen Keldeo?" Terrakion asked.
"I know where he is. He went off to find Ash. Though I don't think he'll be able to find the way home due to how many rifts there are and how they sometimes move." Virizion said.
"I'll go and find him." Cobalion walked off, leaving his world and entering the other side. He ended up in Canterlot first. Once he arrived, everypony froze for a bit as they got a good look at him. His intimidating yet powerful and righteous aura could be felt.
"Who's that?" A mare asked.
"I don't know. But he looks so.. so.." A pony said trying to finish her sentence.
"Strong-willed?" Another finished off for her.
"Yeah!"
"Excuse me. Have any of you seen Keldeo? A little colt."
"Uh sorry, sir. We don't know of any young pony named Keldeo. You could ask Princess Celestia if she's seen him."
"Very well." Cobalion walked over to the castle, the most visible building there was. Everypony got out of his way as he walked up to the guards, looking down on them as they looked up at him. "I wish to speak with your princess about a Pokemon named Keldeo." He said.
His presence and tone alone was enough to make the guards let him pass. He gave off this powerful sense of authority despite not even being the ruler of Canterlot or anything. Cobalion made his way into the castle, looking around him. Eventually, he came across the Princess's throne room.
"Is this where the Princess is?"
"Why yes. I am here. How can I help you-" Celestia took a good look at Cobalion and froze for a bit. All of a sudden she and Passion who could feel it, got this strange feeling around her. And all of a sudden, her words began to fumble a bit. "H-How can I help y-you, sir?"
"Hello, Princess. My name is Cobalion. I am looking for a young colt named Keldeo. By any chance have you seen him or know where he is."
"O-Oh.. w-well I don't know of anypony named Keldeo. Apologies." Passion could feel Celestia's feelings. It felt like her entire demeanour was changing. Like she was burning up or something.
"Ralts..?"
"I see. I will take my leave now and keep searching."
"W-Wait! Could you maybe stay around for a while, please?" Celestia asked him to stay behind.
"Hmm... Sorry. I have to find Keldeo.. before he gets lost."
"Okay." Celestia respected his decision as Cobalion walked off. Celestia took a deep breath as all that heat in her suddenly stopped.
"Oh, that was odd. Could you feel it too Passion?"
"Ralts.."
"I know. I think I might have.. what's the word again.. a special somepony! Though he isn't a pony."
Canterlot Castle. Celestia is still hung up on the Pokemon that came through those doors. Cobalion. She was pacing back and forth in the her throne room.
"What do I do? I've never been in love before. I was too busy in my studies to fall in love! Maybe.. I can call for help! Cadence and Shining Armor know a thing or two about love!" Celestia decide to do just that. Sending a letter to Cadence and Shining Armor who were currently at Silver Shoals in the meantime.
"A letter from Celestia? What could she want?" Cadence opened up the letter, reading it.
"Dear Cadence. I have a problem that I need you to assist me with. Both you and Shining Armor. Something that the two of you are good at. Love. I have recently fallen in love and I am running wild without any knowledge of it. Help!" The letter said.
"Oh this sounds serious. Celestia never finishes her letters off with 'Help'. Shining Armor. We need to help Celestia and fast. If a pony's love goes on for another without the two ever really confessing.. the results won't be pretty."
Celestia waited in her room, as she could feel her head burning up a bit. Passion stood by next to her as Luna entered the room.
"Sister. Are thou feeling okay?"
"I don't know Luna. My head's feeling hot all of a sudden. I think I'm burning up.."
"How Ironic."
"It all happened a few moments ago. A Pokemon. A goat like creature. His name is Cobalion and he came to my throne room. And then.. I took a good look at him. He gave off such a powerful and righteous aura. He radiated the air of a leader. Oh.." Luna heard all of this and took a minute to process this. She saw her sister burning up once more and she had come to a sudden conclusion.
"Oh no.. Sister. Thou are-" Before Luna could finish her sentence, Cadence came through the door, finishing it off.
"Lovesick." She said.
"T-That's what we were going to say."
"Lovesick?" Celestia replied, confused.
"Its the most dangerous kind of love. Your feelings for somepony else is causing you to experience love for the first time. And not in the way you feel as a friend to all of Equestria.. but as a romantic feeling to somepony new. Its hurting you deep inside because this is a brand new feeling."
"How do I stop it? Its getting to my head."
"The best thing to do Celestia.. is to go to that pony and confess your true feelings. Or at least get to know him first."
"But what if we don't get along? What if he comes from a family who expect the very best from everypony. He certainly looks like he'd have that kind of family!" She began imagining the most unlikely scenarios with Cobalion.
"The second phase of lovesickness. Wild frantic imaginations." Cadence said. "We have to move now!"
Cobalion was still searching for Keldeo. He had stopped nearby a lake to take a rest as the animals and pokemon there came to him as they were all attached to his righteous aura. Celestia, Luna, Passion, Cadence and Shining Armor popped their heads out of a bush they were all in, looking at Cobalion.
"Thats him?" Shining Armor asked quietly.
"He sure does look bulky.. like steel." Cadence said.
"Yes. Thats him. Look at those eyes."
"Well Celestia. Don't you think you should go up to him and talk?" Cadence suggested.
"Oh! Right!" Celestia moved out the bush as Cobalion noticed she was there, looking at her. Celestia froze the moment he looked at her as she clenched her teeth.
"He's looking at me. What do I do.." She thought to herself.
"Can I help you.. Princess Celestia.. was it?" He said.
"Y-Y-Yes. That's me. Celestia Princess- I mean Princess Celestia." Cadence facehoofed. This was already off to a not so great start. "I see you have uh.. taken a break from your search of this Keldeo pony."
"Yes. It doesn't hurt to take small breaks here and there. Are you here to relax as well?"
"Uhh I was just- I-I.. umm." Celestia found it hard to really confess on the reason she was here.
"What is going..? She's always been able to tell the truth. Thats how she was able to wield the elements before.." Cadence said quietly.
"This isn't turning out great.." Shining Armor replied. Celestia couldn't finish her sentence to Cobalion. However, the Iron Will Pokemon knew what was going on.. at least a good gist of it.
"I know what's going on."
"You do?"
"Princess. I can see it in your eyes and the way you're acting. Especially with how you were once you saw me for the first time."
"You can?"
"Yes. You are in love with me."
"He figured it out fast!" Cadence yelled as Shining Armor and Luna put their hooves in her mouth to keep her quiet.
"You already knew?!"
"I've been around many Pokemon in my lifetime. I've seen countless of them fall in love with their own species and others. The same goes for you, Princess."
"Oh.. well.. the jig is up."
"Since you love me.. you'll have to earn it."
"Earn it?"
"Love between two individuals is formed if both have true feelings for the other. I have only just met you and you have just met me. So our supposed love isn't fully realised yet and it hasn't had time to build. For that to happen, we'll need to bond together. Only then will we understand each other. And maybe fall in love. I will see you another time. That is all I have to say." And he walked away like he owned the place, saying all of that with no pressure.
"Y-Yes! I swear Cobalion! I will win you over!" She proclaimed.
"Wow. That went well. Pretty perceptive ain't he?" Shining Armor said.
"Very." Luna replied as Celestia went back to them.
"I did it! I didn't even need to confess! This is the start of a beautiful relationship! Don't you?"
"Yes. But be careful Celestia. Love is a powerful force to manage. You need to really focus on your true feelings. Like Cobalion said.. even though I could've said it first. You have to bond together. Get to know him. Only then and ONLY then.. will you find out where your heart really lies. Understood?" She said holding Celestia's face.
"Uh huh." Celestia replied.
"Good. I think our work here is done. Write to us if you need anymore help."
The next day came and it was happening again. Celestia was lovesick once more. Cadence came inside to see her on her bed once more.
"Again?"
"I don't know why this keeps happening!"
"This is insane.. I've never seen it happen twice in a row before. You really don't know anything about romantic love do you?"
"I can't go on like this. I have a country to rule and everything. What if everypony laughs at me for being like this! They'll think I'm unfit to be a Princess if I can't even handle love itself! I even talked bout it back at the wedding! What do I do?!" Celestia began to panic as Luna gave her a slap on the face.
"Pull yourself together sister! We can fix this!" Luna yelled.
"This'll require some work. But we'll have to teach you about romantic love." Cadence said.
Lessons were in session. Cadence had sat down with Celestia to learn about this kind of love.
"Now. To understand romantic love. You have to first think about love for friends and Equestria. How do you feel about all of that?"
"I love it all. From the ponies to even my mentor Starswirl. I truly do love them all."
"Good good. Thats a good start. You already know that stae of love.. now can you think to other things you may love."
"Well.. I secrelty love cake a lot. A bit too much actually."
"You do?" Celestia blushed a bit. "Hmm okay. Thats secret love. Something that you adore and enjoy but are afraid other ponies will judge you for it considering your status. This also counts for secret lovers others may not agree with. Forbidden love is the common known name for it. What else is there?"
"I love my sister Luna a lot."
"That's family love. Possibly the highest form of love there is. We're getting somewhere now that we've covered the 3 main common types of love. Now we're onto romantic love. You already love your country, subjects, cake and your sister. Which means that deep inside of you, you also have that same type of love for Cobalion. Just different."
"Right. Different."
"Pretend I'm Cobalion. How would you bond with me?"
"Well first I'd walk with you.."
"Uh huh.."
"Then we'd talk.."
"About?"
"About.. what we like and our life maybe?"
"Good good and then?"
"Then we finish the day off and go home on our seperate ways."
"Good. Thats a great example! I'm surprised you knew what to say."
"Well its not like I don't know about romantic love.. I've just never experienced it by myself with somepony else. I've only seen it in plays, the town and city and with other locations."
"Wow. Starswirl must've really kept you stuck on those studies huh?"
"Yes. Its why I'm good at almost everything.. except for love and other things. I'm afraid that everypony will see me differently like this." Celestia looked down a bit.
"It'll be okay. Love is strange like that. But isn't that why we aim to earn it? To for the one we love because thats what our heart says. After all, nopony's perfect." Cadence reassured her.
"You're right Cadence. I might need to go for a walk. Thank you for your help."
"You do that. I'll be off now." Time passed on.. and Celestia was still stuck on Cobalion. She decided to do one single thing. Stay in her throne room all day without having to go out and find him.
"It's alright Celestia. You're better than this. Love is weird but its pretty straight forward.. hehehe."
"Sister. This is not working."
"What makes you say that?"
"Look at you. You're sweating like there's an entire rainstorm on you."
"Oh.."
"We could bring Cadence over here again-"
"No no. I have to conquer this myself. I have to master romantic love by my own."
"Very well." Luna left the room to let Celestia deal with this situation herself. Celestia looked around the room quickly as she teleported out of the castle and into the outside.
"I can't help it. I need to go and talk to him."
Cobalion was still on his quest to find Keldeo as he had ended up in Ponyville. Everypony turned around to see Cobalion arrive as they all bowed down.
"Why are we bowing?" Lyra asked.
"I don't know but this guy seems important." Bon Bon replied.
"Hello. I have a question for you all. Has anyone seen a colt named Keldeo?"
"Keldeo? We don't anypony like that." Berry Punch replied.
"Can you tell us what he looks like?" Derpy asked.
"He has a red mane and a blue tail that is apart of his neck and back. He stands out a lot actually." Cobalion described him.
"Wait! I think I saw a pony like that! He went through that rift right there! Just next to Golden Oak Library." A pony said, pointing at Twilight's home.
"I see. Thank you."
"You're welcome sir!" As Cobalion was about to head through the rift, Celestia had arrived with everpony bowing down again. Cobalion turned around to see her.
"Cobalion."
"Yes Princess Celestia?"
Celestia knew she was in public now. Everypony was watching. Her fear of not being perfect at everything was kicking in. But then she remembered what Cadence said. That nopony is perfect. She took a deep breath as she let these words out.
"Cobalion. I'm still struggling with all of this newfound romance. Its all new to me. So I hope you can understand that I may become much more flustered than everypony else! So when we talk and bond, I apologise if I may not be acting like myself!"
"I can understand."
"You do?"
"Of course. Its natural to be embarrased when in love. Even the most hard hearted individuals act differently when they have someone they love. Thats what makes love so powerful. It can effect everyone." The words that Cobalion said had moved everypony else. They understood what he meant along with Celestia. That love makes everyone act weird no matter who they are or where they came from.
"Yes. Thank you!" Celestia said.
"I'll be going for Keldeo now. Once you're ready to talk and bond with me. I'll be waiting at the lake from before." Cobalion said, walking off into the rift, leaving.
"Princess Celestia has a love interest?" Mrs Cake said.
"I didn't even think it would be him. He's so steel like." A pony also said. Celestia felt relieved. Granted she didn't win Cobalion's heart yet. But she made a great start. By getting over her lovesickness and thanks to Cadence's quote about nopony being perfect. She now had the courage to face him another time. Ralts watched from behind SugarCube corner, proud of her friend.
The Pokemon League. It has finally been completed in Equestria. And now Rainbow Dash and other ponies who caught wind of this can begin their journey to become a Champion.
"This is it! The big day! The day I become an amazing Pokemon Trainer. And my first gym is in Whitetail Wood." Rainbow Dash said. She had her clothing and gear ready. This was gonna be big.
"We'll be cheering for you Rainbow Dash. Now come on. Let's head to Whitetail Wood and see what this gym is all about." Twilight said.
Whitetail Wood. Recently having its own gym which was a large leaf house. Almost like a hut. It was much bigger inside. Every gym leader who was assigned for the Pokemon League in Equestria had requested they have their own unique looking gym. Courtesy of BigTime Ben.
"This is the gym. Grass Type, Apparently." As the group all entered in the hut, they were met with the interior of the gym. And the one standing at the very far back in the centre was the gym leader. A familiar face actually.
"No way. Gardenia?!" Ash said.
"Ash. Long time no see."
"You're the gym leader here? What about your gym back at Eterna City?"
"Well you see since this league is new, new gym leaders haven't been appointed yet. So us old gym leaders are filling in the shoes until a new one comes along. Soo, you'll be seeing a lot of old faces here and there. Now, which one of you is the challenger?"
"That'll be me!" Rainbow Dash raised her hoof.
"Ah okay! The rainbow mane girl. Alright then! We'll get this gym battle started!"
"Be careful of Gardenia Rainbow Dash. Her Pokemon can be pretty tricky to deal with especially with speed."
"Oh, it's different now Ash."
"Hah?"
"Pika?"
"A lot has changed since then. I travelled to other regions and caught other Pokemon as well. So I may not have the same Pokemon anymore."
"Doesn't bother me. Let's do this!" Rainbow Dash declared.
And it began. A referee who was a unicorn stood at the back to spectate the whole battle.
"Alright. This is the first of many. Rufflet! I'll start with you!" Rainbow Dash tossed Rufflet's PokeBall, sending out the flying type.
"Rufflet!"
"We're gonna ace this Rufflet!"
"Ruff!"
"Check out this beauty of a Pokemon! Go!" Gardenia tossed her Pokeball as well, sending out one of her newly caught Pokemon. Steenee. "Straight from the Alola Region!" Rainbow Dash took out her dex to see what this Pokemon was all about.
"Steenee. The Fruit Pokemon. LIvely and cheerful, Steenee often attracts a crowd of other Pokemon drawn to its energy and its lovely scent. Its sepals have evolved into a hard shell to protect its head and body from attackers. The dex described.
"Aw. It's so pretty and cute!" Fluttershy said.
"Doesn't seem that tough. This'll be a cakewalk." Rainbow Dash said, getting cocky.
"Ooh, I could go for some cake right now!" Pinkie Pie replied.
"Battle Start!" The referee said.
"All I need is one good hit! Rufflet! Wing Attack!" Rufflet took off from the ground, soaring towards the Fruit Pokemon, spreading its wings as they glowed white.
"Steenee! Stomp!" Steenee raised her leg, stomping it on Rufflet's back, sending the Eaglet Pokemon down, pinning it there with its feet.
"Gah! Rufflet!" Rufflet was trying to get out of the pin, struggling in the process. "You gotta get out of there Rufflet!"
"Steenee! Kick him away!" Steenee then let her foot away, but then she followed up by kicking Rufflet away."
"Oh, dear! This is a bit excessive don't you think?" Rarity said. Still trying to recover from that sudden pin stomp.
"Rufflet are you okay?" Rainbow Dash said. Rufflet recovered, still feeling energized. "Awesome! Let's get in there and use Peck!" Rufflet flew down striking its beak forward.
"Stomp on him once more from above!" Steenee jumped into the air, dodging the peck. Everypony looked up as Steenee positioned its foot towards Rufflet.
"Not today! Fly around!" Rufflet had got it as he flew away from the stomp, making Steenee stomp on the ground instead. Rufflet then flew around Steenee, moving all over the place and kicking up some wind. "Now go for it!" As he kept flying around he went in for a peck, hitting Steenee's head. Rufflet was a pretty speed Pokemon so it was tough for Steenee to keep up with him.
"Not bad. Leaf Storm!" Steenee kicked its feet up, letting out a storm of leaves that went towards Rufflet.
"Get away from it!" Rufflet began to fly away from the Leaf Storm, avoiding it as he went up into the air.
"Are Gym Battles normally this intense?!" Twilight asked.
"Yep. There's no slowing down! And this is just the first one!" Ash said laughing.
"I can't get too close with Wing Attack. It'll just stomp on him again. Peck's my best option... That Leaf Storm looks dangerous.. but Rufflet's a flying type so it wouldn't hurt to take some damage from it." She thought to herself. "I got it!" She then got an idea! "Rufflet! Close in on Steenee!" Rufflet flew downwards, aiming at the Fruit Pokemon.
"Now Steenee! Let's finish this with a Leaf Storm! A strong one this time!"
"Power through it!"
A leaf storm was sent towards Rufflet, however, the Eaglet Pokemon powered through it due to its tenacity and the fact that it kept growing stronger as time went on in this battle.
"Talk about a real brick wall. Stomp!" Steenee raised her leg once again until...
"Now grab onto its leg with a bite!" Steenee stomped its foot down as Rufflet suddenly bit on its leg with its beak. Steenee yelled in pain as Rufflet was stuck onto her.
"Steenee, shake him off!"
"Don't let go no matter what!" Steenee tried its best to get Rufflet off of its feet. The little bird wouldn't let go for one second.
"Stomp on the ground repeatedly!" Gardenia commanded. Steenee stomped repeatedly on the ground as it make Rufflet shake over and over again. "Now go in for one big stomp!"
"Now Rufflet! Fly off!" As Steenee stomped its foot on the ground with much more power this time, Rufflet had flown off and was extra close to Steenee.
"Wing Attack!" Rufflet's wings glowed as it struck its wings on Steenee's face, launching the Fruit Pokemon as it had fallen. Fainting.
"Steenee is unable to battle! Rufflet wins!" The referee said.
"We won... YEAH!" Rainbow Dash flew in the air with excitement along with Rufflet.
"Ruff!" They ended up giving each other a hug.
"Good job Steenee. You were wonderful." Gardenia said, returning her to the Pokeball. "I gotta say.. what's your name?"
"Rainbow Dash."
"Well, Rainbow Dash. You're pretty good for a beginner. That biting tactic was pretty clever. But let's see how you handle this one. An old friend!" She tossed out her next Pokemon. One of her old Pokemon. Roserade.
"Roserade!" Rainbow Dash pulled out her dex to see what this one was all about.
"Roserade. The Bouquet Pokemon. With its beautiful blossoms, enticing aroma and graceful movements, Roserade is quite enchanting- but watch out! Its arms conceal thorny whips, and the thorns carry poison."
"These things sound dangerous. There are thorns and poison in there?"
"Hope you're ready for this one," Gardenia asked.
"We are! Rufflet? Can you keep going?"
"Rufflet!"
"Then it's settled! Let's get a second win!"
"We'll do the honours of starting this time. Roserade, Sweet Scent!" From out of its arms, Roserade let out a sweet and soothing scent that reached not only Rufflet but even Pikachu.
"Pikachu..."
"What the hoof is this? Oh well. Wing Attack! Head on!" Rufflet didn't move actually. It was too caught up on the sweet scent. It did decide to close in, but not for an attack. Just to get closer to the scent. "Uh, Rufflet?"
"Wide open. Now Roserade! Poison Sting!" Roserade then attacked the defenceless Rufflet, by using some of its thorns to strike. It hit the Eaglet Pokemon square in its belly, knocking it back onto the ground.
"Oh no Rufflet!" Rufflet had fallen down.. as it was a knockout and a faint.
"Rufflet is unable to battle! Roserade wins!"
"Aw..and they did so well in the first round." Pinkie Pie said.
"If it weren't for the sweet scent thing they could've taken it." Applejack replied.
"Thanks, Rufflet." Rainbow Dash sent Rufflet back into its Pokeball.
"So? How are you gonna tackle this one, Rainbow?" Gardenia said.
"Oh, you'll see. I got one other Pokemon I can count on! Whirlipede! Get in there!" She tossed her Pokeball forward, sending out the Curlipede Pokemon itself.
"Whirlipede!"
"This is gonna be tricky and could go either way.." Ash said with a sort of serious look on his face.
"What makes you say that Ash?" Fluttershy asked him.
"Both of them cancel each other out. Whirlipede is a Bug and Poison type. Great against Grass Types. But Roserade is a Grass and Poison type. And the Poison type is great against bugs. If one of the two lands a strong bug or poison move then either one's gonna win."
"But Whirlipede still has the advantage of being two types strong against Grass. From what I've learned." Twilight replied.
"This will be tricky. But no matter! Sweet Scent once more!" Roserade went for another Sweet Scent.
"Not this time... Rollout!" Whirlipede instantly rushed in, rolling about as it charged into Roserade, hitting it dead on.
"Oh quick! In that case! Poison Sting!"
"Use Poison Sting as well!" Both Pokemon had clashed with their own Poison stings, pushing each other back.
"Roserade! Poison Sting once more!" Roserade went in for another poison sting towards Whirlipede!
"Roll away!" Whirlipede rolled away from the poison sting.
"Follow Whirlipede and don't stop until you get a hit in!" Roserade moved after Whirlipede who kept rolling on around the gym.
"Oh this is making my head dizzy!" Pinkie Pie said.
"Now! Rollout!" Whirlipede adjusted its angle as it then zoomed towards Roserade.
"Perfect! Use your thorns to grab Whirlipede!" All of a sudden, Whirlipede was grabbed by Roserade's hidden thorns, stopping it in its tracks.
"Oh no!"
"Gotcha! Now slam Whirlipede around!" Roserade swung its thorns and Whirlipede around, hitting the Curlipede Pokemon across the ground and walls. Whirlipede was taking consecutive damage from all this swinging.
"Gotta do something! Whirlipede! Roll with the thorns!" Whirlipede understood as it rolled its circular body around in one spot. All this spinning was twisting the thorns.
"Trying to jumble up my thorns huh? Too bad! Let go of Whirlipede!" Roserade let go of Whirlipede as Dash saw an opportunity.
"Go! Rollout! Head on!" Whirlipede had used rollout but this time it was much faster. Due to it already spinning in the thorns, it had kicked up speed.
"Ros-" Gardenia couldn't finish her command as Whirlipede smashed into Roserade at high velocity, knocking it back.
"Finish it with Poison Sting!" Dash commanded. Whirlipede moved in closer with it preparing a poison sting.
"Quickly! Dodge and use Sweet Scent!"
"Don't let up! Focus on Roserade!" Whirlipede moved in closer as Roserade dodged the poison sting, preparing a sweet scent. However, Whirlipede turned around, drifting as it struck a poison sting on Roserade's arms. The poison sting made contact as Roserade could feel the sting.
"Go!" Whirlipede then slammed itself onto Roserade as they both hit the ground. And with that powerful follow up. It was a faint.
"Roserade is unable to battle! Whirlipede is the winner! And that means the victor is Rainbow Dash from Cloudsdale!"
"We won our first gym battle! YEAH! Whirlipede we rocked!"
"Whirli.."
"SHE DID IT SHE WON! WOOHOO!" Fluttershy cheered louder than everypony else.
"Great job Roserade." Gardenia returned Roserade as she walked to Rainbow Dash. "Wonderful. You and your Pokemon were really impressive!"
"Thanks, Gardenia."
"And now you deserve to be rewarded. With this." Gardenia had revealed the newest Pokemon badge out of the remaining new ones to come later on. It was in the shape of three leaves. Green, Yellow and Orange. "The Veld Badge."
"Woah.." Rainbow Dash held the badge in her hooves. "Awesome! I feel unstoppable already!"
"Good luck with the other gyms. Because they are much different from me."
"I will. Thanks, Gardenia. Hey girls! Check it out! I got my first badge!" She zoomed over to her friends.
"How dazzling! I could make a necklace out of this." Rarity said gazing at the badge.
"Don't get any funny ideas."
"Congrats Rainbow. I gotta say.. it was intense at first but I could feel all the excitement." Twilight said.
"There's still more to come. You ready to handle 'em all?" Ash asked.
"Of course I am!"
"Then let's celebrate with a party back in Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie insisted as everypony was on board. Rainbow Dash's first gym battle and first full-on win have been registered. The road to the Pokemon League is long and hard, but that won't stop her.
Meanwhile.. amidst the once almost forgotten Crystal Empire. A dark force was looming over it. A once-powerful king who enslaved all the ponies in it.
Pallet Town..Morning had come. Dodrio's were crying out for a new day.
Ash is currently asleep in his room along with Pikachu. The alarm clock went off, the same alarm clock from when Ash first started his journey. Pikachu had actually woken up from this, holding a Substitute doll. His foot stepped on his trainer's face as he dropped the doll, yawning. Pikachu went over to the Pokeball shaped alarm clock, trying to turn it off, however Ash who was dreaming of grabbing a Pokeball, accidently placed his hands on Pikachu's head. He then grabbed the alarm clock, acting like a Pokemon was in there.
"Alright.. I choose you.." He said in his sleep, tossing the alarm clock at the wall as it broke. Again. The kid from Kanto fell asleep once more as his partner went up to him trying to wake him up. First he pushed on his cheeks. Then he slapped his face, but that was no good either. So it was down to the one method that always worked.
Electrocution. One zap on Ash that covered his whole body had woken him up.
"GYAAAAGHAA!" He screamed from the shock. However he ws only awake for a few seconds until he went back to sleep. Pikachu sighed. So much for the method that always works. That is until Delia walked inside his room.
"Ash Ketchum! Are you still asleep? You'll be late getting to Professor Oak's lab." She climbed up his bunk bed, holding her sons face.
"No problem mom.. Professor Oak's lab." He said in his sleep as he had finally realised that he had to be there. Once he woke up he fumbled about in his bed.
"Mom! Why didn't you wake me up?!"
"Because you insisted you could get up on your own." Ash was getting dressed out of his pajamas as fast as he could and into the clothing that Rarity made him. He and Pikachu rushed out, zooming off.
"See you later!"
"Pikapika!"
At Professor oak's lab.. outside.
"Professor Oak!" Ash called out.
"Oh its you Ash." The Professor replied.
"What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Well its been a few days so I'll remind you. A protoge of mine has just opened up a brand new research facility in Vermillion City." He explained.
"A new research lab?"
"Mhm. And I was hoping to invite you to the opening ceremony. You will come won't you?"
"Sure!" Ash ws on board for this already.
"Pika!"
"You'll come too right?" He said to Pikachu but his mom thought he was talking about her as she was also here along with Mimey
"I'd love to!"
"Mime Mime!"
"Mom?"
"I came to deliver your lunch but what a great idea! All those delicious sweet shops and big fashion boutiques in Vermillion City." She said lending him his lunch box, heading to the car.
"Hold on. You're not saying you're coming with us..?" Ash said with a worried look on his face.
"Let's get rolling!" Delia raised her hands in the air, wanting to get a move on already.
"Mime Mime Mime!"
Ponyville.. Golden Oaks Library. Twilight was currently learning about Pokemon Types from another book she borrowed from Canalave Library.
"So thats how it works. Some are effective.. some are super effective, some are not very effective and some have no effect at all. How interesting. Dragons can't do anything against Fairies it seems." Twilight said. This grabbed Spike's attention.
"What?!" Spike grabbed the book, looking at the page. "You mean to tell me us dragons lose to cute and colorful pretty girly fairies? Bogus." Spike looked upset over finding out the weakness of the dragon type.
"Look on the bright side Spike. At least Dragon Types are effective against most other types. Anyways. I'm off to help set up a Pokemon home that Fluttershy's planning. You, Owlicious and Minccy take care of the place alright?"
"Yeah yeah we will."
"Minccino!"
At Fluttershy's cottage, she was focused on building a Pokemon Home for all Pokemon to live in. She has to consider the Pokemon's habitat, favorite food and nature if she wants to get this right. Thats why she had Twilight pitch in to help.
"Alright Fluttershy. I'm here."
"Oh great Twilight. I'm already done thinking of what it will look like. What can you tell me?"
"Well for starters.. I think we should also take into consideration, which Pokemon types go where."
"Really?"
"Yes. See, some Pokemon types don't mix well with each other. Fire and Water obviously don't go well together and neither does Flying or Ground. So we have to consider a perfect spot for each Pokemon based on their typings."
"That is true. I don't want any fights to break out. How about this! We make a tower like structure for the flying types.. some sort of underground area for the ground types and we'll figure out what to do with the other types."
"That's a tall order Fluttershy. Are you sure we'll be able to make something like this? It might even take a long time."
"No worries. I've already gotten some backup that'll be here to help soon. BigTime Ben insisted that he'd send some Pokemon to help out."
Back with Ash.. they were currently headed to Vermillion City still in the car.
"It seems your love of Pokemon hasn't changed young man. Tell me Ash. A Pokemon Master. Is that still your goal?" Oak asked him
"There's no doubt about it! Me and my buddy Pikachu are gonna make this dream happen!" Ash Ketchum replied.
They had finally arrived at Vermillion City. Truly a gigantic city in Kanto.
"We're here. I'll go park the car. You go on ahead." Oak requested.
"Right." Ash replied, heading towards the stairs ahead. There was the facility. As he and Pikachu moved up the stairs, they noticed a Pokemon they had never seen before. "Who's that?"
Small in size but looking a bit fierce was the Puppy Pokemon Yamper, who was currently barking at Ash.
"Wow! A Pokemon I've never seen before!" Ash was amazed by this new Pokemon. "Aren't you just a cutie." He suddenly began to crawl towards Yamper, getting too excited over it as Yamper backed away. Ash had picked up the puppy pokemon, giving it a nice warm hug. However this was followed by a spark of electricy that went sent through him.
Second time Ash has been shocked today. Ash fell on the stairs as Yamper went on to greet Pikachu by licking him.
The girl who had owned the Yamper had returned after a day at school, greeting her Pokemon.
"Hello Yamper I'm home-" She took a moment to realise there was someone electrocuted and on the stairs. She moved to the left and just walked past like nothing happened and no one was there. Oak arrived, looking down at the shocked kid.
"Ash. If you don't get a move on you'll miss the opening ceremony." Ash got up realising he had to be there.
"Right!"
"Pika!"
Inside said facility, people have already gathered to see the presentation. Mostly grown ups. Ash was trying to see it but due to his height and the amount of people there.. that was an issue. The man in charge of this stepped up to start the presentation.
"Thank you for coming. I am Professor Cerise. Owner of the Cerise Research Labratory. I especially thank those who travelled a great distance to be here today Thank you all. Now. Let's move on to the subject of Pokemon." He snapped his fingers as there was a holographic prism that showed projections.
"As you're already aware. Our planet plays host to these mysterious lifeforms. In forests, in the skies, and under the seas. Not too long ago, our world ahs also been fused with another. A world mostly consisting of Ponies from what we've discovered. With three identified species of them. The Earth Ponies, The Pegasi, and the Unicorns. As Pokemon, Humans and Ponies live together in our world, they bond together in many ways. Whether it be here or on the other world. We here at the Cerise Labratory are dedicated to uncovering the mysteries of Pokemon in every region. And to understand the other world to see what we can learn from there.
Investigating, analyzing, digging deep and expanding our knowledge. Because to know Pokemon.. is to know the world. And that is the key to making a better world for each and every one of us. And also, I have recently gotten an assistant who is a pony. She has taken an interest to Pokemon recently like every other pony. But she seems to be extra dedicated to them. This is the start of us bonding with Ponies as well."
Everyone had applauded as the presentation came to an end.
On the top of Vermillion City's port, there stood a boy up there who felt like he was going to have a fateful encounter. His name was Goh. A boy who has set his goal on catching every Pokemon. Currently he is atop the roof of the port, waiting.
"Just as I predicted. These are the exacty cloud formations needed for its arrival." Goh said, looking at his Rotom Phone. "This'll be a breeze."
All of a sudden, back in the facility.. a notification had appeared. The atmosphere, temperature, humidty, altitude and the skies were all acting up. Once running through it, Cerise had come to a conclusion.
"This may not be the most accurate forecast. But in about 20 minutes.. An extremely rare Pokemon might just appear over Vermillion Port." Everyone heard this and started thinking that it might be a Legendary Pokemon. Ash rushed out to get a head start to see this extremely rare Pokemon. All the people rushed out to see what this Pokemon could be. As Ash and Pikachu were headed to Vermillion Port, they knew they were already ahead of everyone else. Until they were stopped.. by a sleeping Snorlax in the middle of the road of all things.
"Aw come on! A Snorlax of all times?! Give me a break!"
"Pika!"
Goh was still waiting on the port as the clock was counting down. He looked at it, anticipating.
"Here it comes. 5...4...3...2...1... GO!" But nothing happened. Nothing showed up in the sky. He did see a Pegasus fly by though. "That's weird. What happened?" He wondered. The only Pokemon there was a Psyduck who had shown up. Goh had thought he got the wrong spot until..
High in the skies, a black cloud began to form like a tornado. Lightning crackling over the ships as wind kicked up, swirling around the ominous cloud. Pegasi who were nearby had flown off, trying to get away from this. Then.. down from the clouds came a ball that began to glow. Out of the ball, burst out the Legendary Pokemon. The Diving Pokemon. Lugia. As it let out a mighty cry. Some trainers had gathered to try and take on Lugia.
"There it is!"
"Its Lugia!"
"It was worth the wait." They all said. They had each sent out their own Pokemon. Wartortle, Jolteon and Gengar.
"Wartortle! Use Ice Beam!"
"Jolteon! Thunder!"
"Gengar! Use NIght Shade!" All three Pokemon did their best to attack Lugia, but really all it did was just fizz out the moment they hit Lugia. Granted, Lugia didn't even feel it. As retaliation, Lugia flapped it wings.. once and blew them all away. After all, Lugia can knock down a house with one flutter of its enormously powerful wings. Thats why it lives in the bottom of the sea, to avoid destroying everything else on the surface. Goh rushed forward, heading towards the Legendary Pokemon as fast as he could.
"Just you wait Lugia!"
Lugia began to move, heading to the next batch of trainers who were ready to challenge it.
"Let's all do this together!"
"Yeah a Raid Battle!"
All the trainers tossed their Pokeballs in the air, sending out their partners. Sudowoodo, Sableye, Bisharp, Garchomp and Corviknight. All ready to go."
"Sableye! Use Dark Pulse!"
"Suduwoodo! Rock Slide!"
"Garchomp! Use Dragon Claw!"
"Bisharp! Use Night Slash!"
"Corviknight! Steel Wing! Let's go!"
All commands from their trainers. Sudowoodo and Sableye focused on ranged while Bisharp and the others got up close and personal. Lugia easily dodged the dark pulse and rock slide as it knocked away Bisharp with its tail, blocking and launching Garchomp away by spinning and using its wings. And butting heads with Corviknight! The Diving Pokemon blew them all away with its signature move. Aeroblast. Lugia had cleared out that group easily. And now he came face to face with the next one. A familiar face too.
"There you are! Alright.. Lugia. Let's have a battle!" Ash shouted.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu's cheeks began charging up. Lugia accepted the challenge from Ash.
"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash raised his fist in the air. The Electric Mouse jumped up, hitting its own red sacs and then unleashed a mighty thunderbolt that sturck Lugia dead on. This attack dealt some heavy damage to Lugia, pushing it back a bit. But Lugia wasn't going down that easily as it immedietaly returned the favor with Aeroblast, once more. The impact of the blast left a huge shockwave that could be seen from miles as it knocked Pikachu back. Luckily his trainer caught him.
Lugia had then flown off as Ash chased after it. Some Earth Ponies who were in Vermillion City were sightseeing this.
"This is amazing. That huge dragon like creature is pretty impressive." A pony said.
"Yeah.. not to mention pretty fast for its size." Another replied.
Ash and Goh were both chasing Lugia down on different sides as they both jumped onto its back from high heights. Goh hanged on to the tail while Ash on the legs. They both looked at each other for a bit.
"HUH?! What are you doing here?!" They both said to each other as Lugia flew off.
Over at Cloudsdale, Rainbow Dash will still feeling pretty great after her victory from last time. Her first gym battle win.
"I feel like a million bits right now. We totally won that with such awesome skills right guys?" She was talking to Rufflet and Whirlipede who were both out of their Pokeballs. "I can't wait to win the others. Its gonna be a blast. Right now. I wanna focus on getting stronger and maybe meet a new Pokemon along the way. All of a sudden, somepony knocked on her door. "Yeah?"
"Hey Rainbow Dash! Is it true you got to be in a Gym Battle!" A pegasus asked. All the pegasi from Cloudsdale had arrived at her home suddenly.
"Uh yeah. I did! And I won! Check out the badge!" She showed everypony her hard earned Verd Badge.
"Wow..Rainbow Dash! You just got more awesome!"
"Hehe. I know I know." She was taking all this praise.
"In fact! We've all decided to enter the Pokemon League as well!"
"What?!"
"Yeah! It'll be a blast! We wanna catch Pokemon of our own as well!"
"And we'll battle and win so many badges!" All of them were inspired by Rainbow Dash's victory which pushed them all to become trainers as well.
"Oh." Rainbow Dash now realised. She has a TON of competition now. It was no longer her being the only pony taking on this league. All the pegasi flew off to get themselves registered for the league. "Wow. I'm gonna have a lot of roadblocks now. But that kind makes it fun actually." This was also happening down in Ponyville. Everypony, especially the younger ones became inspired and wanted to become trainers as well. Especially Scootaloo.
"Isn't this the best girls? Because of this.. I got chance of being a trainer!"
"Thats great but.. you think you can do it? You might be too young if its all grown ups." Sweetie Belle said.
"Of course I can! I'll just get a Pokemon so strong that nopony can stop us!" Scootaloo replied. "I saw a pretty strong Pokemon the other day. Looked like a lion. I might catch that first I see it again!"
Back with Ash and Goh who had just met for the first time. They had safely got on Lugia's back, having a sigh of relief. Ash looked up at Lugia who also looked back at him with a smile.
"Woah.. Awesome. I'm riding on top of Lugia right now." Goh said. He got to see how Lugia's fins moved, felt its surprisngly rough skin as Ash was playing with the fins. Lugia let otu a mighty cry as it soared higher in the sky and flying next to a flock of Fearow's. Lugia then dived down, heading straight for the sea as Ash, Pikachu and Goh started screaming for their lives.
Just then, Lugia let out its Aeroblast once more, this time firing on the water, creating a huge hole in water itself. This caused some small rain to form along with a rainbow. Ash and Pikachu took in this amazing feeling and sight as Goh was taken aback by this. Lugia then rode over the waves, flying forward.
Then all of a sudden. Ash could hear a voice. It sounded like it came from Lugia. Lugia had spoken to Ash, looking back at him. The Diving Pokemon then went through water as the group held their breath. They got a good look at all the water type Pokemon down here as well as some sort of strange combination of a horse and a sea creature. The Legendary Pokemon then rose up from the water, creating a spiral as it came out, flying onwards again.
"Oh man! That was wild! But pretty fun too!" Ash said, catching his breath.
"You know. You're pretty funny. I accept you." Goh said to him.
"Accept me?"
"As my friend."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm Goh from Vermillion City." He introduced himself.
"I'm Ash from Pallet Town. This is my partner Pikachu."
"Pikachu."
"Nice to meet ya." They both said, shaking each others hands. Lugia without warning took another dive, this time towards the ground. It soared on the grassy plains, flying next to some Rapidash who were galloping. It was time for them to get off. Lugia turned around as it dropped the three of them down. They landed on a Vileplume's flower and on a Gloom.
Lugia then came down a bit, looking at them. It let out another cry, saying that it was leaving now. It flapped its wings, making the petals from the flowers flow about in perfect sync. It was time for Lugia to go. Flying off into the distance, Ash and Goh bid farewell to it.
"See ya Lugia! Take care! And thanks for the ride!" Ash said.
"Pika-Pika!" Ash took a moment to take in this fresh air, as he laid on his back, right on the soft grassy ground with flowers.
"Pokemon are the coolest. I gotta show my friends back in Ponyville more of this world."
"You're friends with Ponies on the other side?"
"Yeah. We've had a lot of adventures from the time our worlds came to be as one. I met some great ponies along the way."
"Like who?"
"There's Rainbow Dash who's a bit of a headstrong pony. She recently started her own Pokemon journey as a trainer. She can be brash but she's really cool. Then there's Pinkie Pie. She knows how to throw a party alright. I don't think I've ever seen anyone so happy and go lucky before. Oh but then there's Rarity. They aren't kidding when they say she's beautiful. And she makes pretty awesome clothing. She even had help making this one for me. Oh but Applejack. I gotta respect her a lot for what she does. She puts in all the maximum effort when it comes to work and is so honest. I don't think I'l lever catch her lying. And Fluttershy was a great early friend. Her kindness and love for both animals and Pokemon is something to admire. She already made great friends with the rest of my other Pokemon. And Twilight. She's a special one ya know. She can overreact a bit if something goes slightly wrong or not on schedule. But when she puts her mind to something, she's really one respectable and admirable Unicorn. They're all great. And Spike's really funny when burps out scrolls." Ash described all his friends.
"I can't wait to go and see them again later. Who knows what else we'll experience?"
Hours passed as Ash and Goh had trouble getting back to Vermillion City considering Lugia flew pretty far. Pikachu and Yamper had met up again with Yamper being excited. The girl from before who owns Yamper, looked out to see the two of them back.
"Come on. You're late."
"Chloe! You'll love this! Its the story of our fateful encounter! You'll never guess! I met Lugia!" Goh said to the girl who's name was Chloe.
"Is that so? But this is more important. Here your homework printouts." She lended him some sheets of homework. They seemed to be a lot.
"Oh man this is a lot.."
"Better get used to it. By the way Dad's in there with Professor Oak and-"
"Professor Oak is here?!" Goh rushed in to see the famous Samuel Oak himself.
"Your dad is Professor Cerise?" Ash said as Yamper had barked at him.
Inside the lab, Cerise was looking at the footage Goh brought him about Lugia. The backfins and the skin. Along with the underwater area.
"Nice footage Goh. Lucky you.. you two met Lugia of all Pokemon."
"It was nice to ride on Lugia again. Even if it may have been a different one." Ash said.
"You've rode on Lugia before?!" Cerise and Goh said in shock.
"Mhm. Good times.."
"Pika.."
"Professor Cerise! I'm here!" The newest assistant had arrived. It was a familiar face. Twilight Sparkle.
"Hah? Twilight?"
"Ash? Of course you'd end being here.."
"You're gonna be staying here from now on?"
"Not really. I'm only going to be working her partially from time to time. I still have a lot of work to do in Ponyville."
"Good to know you two already know each other. Twilight here wanted to learn more about the Pokemon World when she came to visit Vermillion City. I couldn't turn down all that determination." Cerise said. "And I have a request for you two. Ash and Goh. Will you do me the honor becoming research fellows at my facility?"
"Of course! I gotta know more about Pokemon myself!" Goh was on board.
"I'd love to. But would it be okay if I could also explore the other world. There's still a lot I want to see." Ash asked.
"Of course. You can come here anytime with any info you can gather."
"Awesome!"
"Ash, dear are you sure about this? Will you be alright?" Delia said, arriving. "Being a researcher, exploring the pony world and aiming to become a Pokemon Master.. thats a lot to do."
"I'm confident! It'll be tough but that hasn't stopped me before!"
"Pika Pika!"
"I see. Well just in case.. I'll leave Mimey with you. Think you can do that Mimey?"
"Mime Mime!" Mimey said with confidence and assurance.
Outside, Delia was ready to leave along with Professor Oak in the car.
"Good luck Ash. Oh by the way. Make sure you don't forget to eat all your food, even your vegetables. And make sure you brush your teeth every-"
"I know mom.." Ash said, getting embarrased.
"And Goh. Twilight. Take care of my Ash and be a good friend to him."
"You can count on us Mrs Ketchum." Twilight said.
"Aw mom.."
"Well you're in good hands! Bye!" Oak drove off along with Delia, heading back to Pallet Town.
"Oh! There's one final thing I forgot about." Cerise said. Back in his lab, he got out the three main Kanto Starters. Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. "Alright Goh. You're making your trainer debut. So go on ahead, pick one."
"I think I'll choose.. Mew."
"Hah?" They all responded to him mentioning Mew.
"Mew?" Twilight said, as she just remembered that she learned about Mew a few days ago.
"The Mythical Pokemon Mew?!" Cerise shouted.
"That's right. That'll be my first Pokemon catch ever! No doubt about it."
"You're pretty strange Goh!"
"Not as strange as you Ash!"
"Great! Then I win at being stranger!" Ash said, grinning.
"Huh?!" They both started talking rapidly, going back and forth at each other as Twilight and Chole watched over this.
"Wow. The human race sure is something different."
"You'll get used to it." Chloe responded. With Ash now having 3x the goal and everpony participating in the Pokemon League.. things are about to change.
But in Canterlot..
"I hope Cadence and Shining Armor are at the Crystal Empire by now. Its very urgent that they get there and protect.. I fear he may be returning."
Cold Colt and Emerald Aura were getting impatient.
"Ugh.. how long do we have to wait until we can do anything. I wanna get my revenge on Rainbow Dash already!" Cold Colt moaned.
"I just wanna mess around in Ponyville again," Emerald replied.
"Rift. Can't you just make an Alicorn and make everything much more difficult for them all?!"
"Where's the fun in that? An Alicorn early out of nowhere is boring. I need something much more entertaining."
"If I may rift. Currently, there's an ominous force around this location known as the Crystal Empire." Obsidian came in. "And that ominous force is an old ruler. King Sombra is his name. And he enslaved the crystal ponies for countless years until Celestia and Luna came in to stop him."
"Go on."
"Right now, he's just a force. No physical body.. but.."
"I could bring his entire body back. And perhaps, amplify his magic. Yes...We shall do that. I cannot wait to see how they solve this problem. I am already getting excited just from the thought of it.
Ponyville, Day.
Ash was helping with the creation of the Pokemon House at Fluttershy's cottage. With the assistance of Pokemon assigned by BigTime Ben, this'll be much faster. There were Machoke's and Conkeldurr's helping with the moving, various psychic types were helping with building walls.
"This is gonna be something big, huh Fluttershy?" Ash said, getting a good look at the nearly completed Pokemon House.
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Oh yes. I can't wait for it to be completed. I want all the Pokemon who normally can't find a home here in Equestria or anywhere exactly, to feel comfortable here if they have no place to go. I just hope I'm not giving too much attention to Pokemon so that my animal friends don't feel overshadowed."
"Nah. It's fine. A lot of people get hung up on one thing, that they sometimes forget about the other thing. But it doesn't last so no need to worry."
"You're right. Angel Bunny and the others won't have anything to worry about."
As the house was being made, Twilight had rushed over to Fluttershy's cottage, running out of breath almost.
"T-There you are.."
"Twilight? What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked the tired unicorn.
"Big trouble! Celestia! Crystal Empire! Sombra!" She was saying all of these words individually. Ash and Fluttershy looked at each other, confused.
"Twilight. Take a moment to breathe and tell us what's really going on." Fluttershy tried to calm her down.
"Okay... There's big trouble as we speak. Princess Celestia has ordered we head to the Crystal Empire.. to stop the previous tyrannical ruler. King Sombra! We have to go! There's no time!"
At Canterlot, Celestia was already insanely worried. She was thinking of the worst possible scenarios that could happen. Passion was also worried. She could feel this incoming danger as well. She stayed close to Celestia to feel safe, but this dark presence was still enough to send chills down anyone's spine.
"Sombra's fully revived.. what if Twilight and the others aren't capable of stopping him! I may have sent them to their doom!" She said, pacing back and forth. "No no. I have to put all my faith in them. I can count on them all to free the Crystal Empire and stop Sombra once and for all." Darkrai was overhearing this, learning about the Sombra situation. It wasn't any of his business to get involved, but after how Ash and the others saved him.. he wanted to help them at all costs. So the Pitch Black Pokemon sank into the ground, sneakily heading off to help them all.
What Twilight described the situation was nowhere near close to the horror that is actually happening. King Sombra had returned. But not as a black cloud of evil.. but as his full self. His body restored his magic.. all of it back to him. And to make it worse.. thanks to the rift. His magic prowess has been amplified to a level where the rift finds it plausible for entertainment.
Shining Armor and Cadence were sent to the Crystal Empire to guard it against Sombra.. however, they had not expected Sombra himself to fully show. With his heightened magic and his body in its prime.. he took over the Crystal Empire once more in 5 minutes flat. As for Cadence and Shining Armor, they were unfortunately defeated and forced to work with the enslaved ponies as well.
"To be honest. I don't really know how this is all happening? It feels like I was never defeated." Sombra said, feeling like he was young again. "Oh well. Doesn't matter. I've reclaimed my throne. Unfortunately for Celestia.. her and her sister's attempt to stop me did not last at all."
Outside, the snowy lands.. far away from the Crystal Empire, Twilight and the others were headed there.
"Are you sure this is where the empire is Twilight?!" Applejack asked as they could all feel the cold breeze of the snow get to them.
"100%. This is where the map said it leads to. But I don't see it anywhere!"
"We've been walking for a while now... My scarf can only absorb so much cold" Rarity said. They kept moving along, getting colder by the minute. Until...
"This is hopeless! We don't even have any signs to where it is!" Rainbow Dash complained.
"Is it that huge ominous black cloud with a red sky looming over it over at the north distance?" Pinkie Pie pointed out as she was referring to the other side, where things looked unnerving.
"Pika.."
"Oh yeah. That's it." Twilight replied.
"That's the Crystal Empire? It doesn't look very pleasing actually.." Fluttershy was getting nervous just from the sight of it.
"I know girls. But Princess Celestia requested we solve this. Shining Armor and Cadence are in there so we have to go."
Emerald Aura and Cold Colt were hiding behind a snowy rock, eavesdropping.
"So once they get in there it's game over right..?" Cold Colt whispered.
"Yeah. Sombra's gonna wipe the floor with me. Or at least enslave them. I don't know really." Emerald replied.
"I still want my revenge though."
"Save it. This is gonna be excellent.."
The Crystal Empire. Ruled by the devious King Sombra.
He knew other ponies were coming. His amplified magic could sense it. So he waited for these ponies to show up.
"Getting closer to the empire, are they? Probably sent by Celestia to try and stop me once more. Shame she couldn't come by herself or with her annoying little sister. Revenge would've been so much sweeter."
"You won't get away with this Sombra. Twily and the others will stop you without any problems." Shining Armor said as he was chained up along with Cadence.
"Feh. To be honest, I would believe that considering I was defeated many years ago. However, for some reason.. it feels like I can take on anything. I don't know what happened but my magic has been greatly heightened. I am now able to perform spells that I originally never had. How wonderful. So this precious Twily of yours and her friends won't even be able to push me back."
"Maybe. But Ash and Pikachu are still there for you to deal with?" Cadence rebuttal.
"Who?"
"That's right. You just came back so you have no idea what happened to our world in a few weeks. Just you wait. Once you see those two, you'll be overwhelmed in no time."
"I highly doubt that dear. Now enough chit chat. They're here."
Arriving at the front of Empire, they were met with ponies who were chained up and walking in single file. Sombra had made this place comfortable for him quickly.
"This is horrible. What kind of low down vermin would do this?" Applejack said.
"The same vermin who ruled this empire a long time ago. And now he's ruler again." Twilight retorted. Just then, they were all met by ponies wearing armour that resembled that of Sombra. King Sombra had already geared up some ponies to reinvigorate his army.
"We have company.." Rainbow Dash said as many guards were surrounding them all.
"Pikachu.."
"These are all Crystal Ponies who are under Sombra's influence and rule. They're not in their right mind." Twilight said.
"Well, how do we get to Sombra if they're in the way?" Fluttershy asked her. The purple unicorn began thinking whilst they were surrounded.
"I'll stay.!" Ash declared.
"What?" They all said in unison.
"I can be the distraction and help these Crystal Ponies break free. You all focus on getting to Sombra and finding a way to stop him."
"Ash do you not hear yourself? Sombra's a different kind of unicorn from what Celestia told me. We'll need all the help we can get! And are you sure you can handle yourself outside with all of this?!"
"Of course I can. No doubt about it."
"Pika!"
"Now I'll clear the path for you. Get going okay? Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu cleared a path by firing a thunderbolt on the ground, sending the armoured ponies away from the Mane 6 and Spike.
"Alright. Good luck Ash!" Twilight said as they all ran towards the main castle, where Sombra was. Cold Colt and Emerald peeked out, seeing this happen.
"Oh wow. They're already going to the final boss? Usually, they gotta go through a lot of stuff to reach the main event."
"They are gonna go through a lot of stuff Cold Colt. Sombra's already got something planned."
As the group were inside the castle, they were met with crystal platforms that rose from the floor, stopping their movements.
"What in tarnation is this?!" The platforms kept rising and multiplying. Eventually, they formed into the worst possible thing. Stairs.
"All those stairs?!" Pinkie Pie yelled.
"No biggie. We'll just fly over them easy peasy. Come on." Rainbow Dash had picked up Applejack and Rarity whilst Fluttershy got Twilight and Pinkie Pie whilst Spike was on Twilight's back. "See? Like some crystal stairs are gonna-" Rainbow Dash was interrupted by a sudden crystal which crashed into her wings. She screamed in pain as she fell to the ground, dropping AJ and Rarity as well.
"Rainbow Dash!" The other 4 said. From atop the crystal stairs, Sombra had shown himself, deciding to come out. They all looked up at the Unicorn King. Already feeling his wicked presence from this distance.
"That's him, girls... Sombra."
"Welcome my little ponies. I see you made it in."
"Sombra! Where's my brother and Cadence!"
"With me. In a much more comfortable spot. I assume that you came here under Celestia's orders like the goons you are."
"How dare you!"
"I can assure you, she should've come instead and with her sister. Sending somepony else to do her dirty work is cowardly."
"Princess Celestia is no coward! You take that back!" Rainbow Dash yelled at her.
"Mhm. Well, it wouldn't have made a difference anyway. I feel much better for some reason.. like all my potential has been released all of a sudden. Here. Let me show you." All of a sudden, pillars of crystals surrounded each of the Mane 6 like a prison. They were caged in by Sombra's crystals with the gaps looking incredibly slim.
"Sombra!"
"Stay there will you. I might have some use for most of you anyways." Sombra said, walking back into his throne room, leaving them all to be in this Crystal Prison.
"THIS WAS A DISASTER!" Rarity yelled. "Not even 10 minutes and we've already been captured along with every pony who's working under his control and Shining Armor and Princess Cadence are in there helpless! We're doomed!" She began to panic. They've never suffered a loss this fast. Not by Discord, Darkrai, Malamar or even Chrysalis.
"Pull yourself together Rarity! We'll get out of here! Now come on girls! Help me break through these crystals!" Twilight began firing magic beams at the crystals. These crystals weren't as fragile as they look. They were rigid. Thanks to his boosted magic, they would take much longer to even break pieces of it. Applejack tried to buck them all, but it wasn't going anywhere. Rainbow Dash couldn't do anything since a crystal had hit her wing. Rendering her in pain and unable to fly for a while.
Meanwhile outside, Ash has managed to cause a lot of distractions. By using Electroweb to halt them, he focused on getting the Crystal Ponies out of those chains.
"We're gonna get you all out of here. Pikachu. Iron Tail." Pikachu used its hard iron tail to break the chains holding them all in half. "Good job. Break the rest." It was a great call. All of these ponies weren't just being enslaved in chains.. but they were also being lined up to become soldiers. Sombra would place armoured gear on them, making them under his control so they could do him every bidding and be apart of his army. The Crystal Ponies had each been freed thanks to the iron tail as they had a moment of hope in their eyes but remembered where they are and who they were being ruled by.
"They all look so scared. So this Sombra guy's had them all terrified because of his ruling."
"Pika."
"And it should be like that if they want to see another day." From atop the balcony, stood King Sombra who was looking down on Ash. "What creature are you meant to be? Along with that yellow rodent."
"I'm Ash Ketchum. And this my partner Pikachu. You're Sombra I'm guessing?"
"King Sombra to you, boy. And you're in my empire now. I already have the rest of your friends locked up in my crystals. They should've known better than to oppose me. After all who needs a Princess when you have King!"
"Heh. I'm a king myself ya know. King of the Sea."
"Pika.."
"King of the Sea? Hah! That's less impressive. I suggest you get lost, boy. You and your bizarre rodent are just dust in the wind." Sombra said, going back inside.
"We're gonna stop you, okay?! Pikachu.. we gotta get in there and help the others."
"Pika!"
Trying as hard as they could, Twilight and the others had no luck breaking free from these crystals. They were already out of breath.
"Can't.. do it. Too many.. too hard." Applejack sat down, trying to catch her breath.
"We can't give up now... My brother and my sister in law are in there! We have to break free!" Twilight charged up her magic for one final magic beam. She was giving it all she had this time as she fired it point-blank at the crystals. But no luck. They still wouldn't budge. In fact, the only damage it did was create a small crack. Twilight had finally run out of energy as well. It was starting to leak bleak until...
Out of the grounds, shadows emerged. But not shadows of evil, shadows that will help. Out came Darkrai.
"Darkrai!" Twilight said with a smile on her face.
"Twilight. You can't lose here. Ash and Pikachu are already doing their best to save everypony else. Don't fall behind."
"But we can't break out of here. We can't phase through like you."
"That's why I'm here." Darkrai had suddenly summoned a dark void underneath them all, dragging the ponies and Spike into it. Darkrai phased through the floor as the gang entered out another dark void from the other side, away from the crystals.
"We're out! Oh, thank you so much Darkrai!" Fluttershy hugged the Nightmare Pokemon.
"Uhh.. you're welc-" Suddenly, Darkrai was hit from behind. A sneak attack from Emerald Aura.
"Miss me Darkrai?"
"Emerald Aura!" Rarity said. Cold Colt had also shown himself.
"It's payback time. Rainbow!"
"Cold Colt!" Fluttershy held Darkrai as the Pitch Black Pokemon looked at Emerald.
"You should've just stayed behind you know. Not that it would've mattered. The rift helping Sombra come back fully and gain much higher magic prowess would've still happened." Emerald said, revealing to them all why Sombra was like this now.
"So that's it. The rift is why the Crystal Empire was taken over so quickly." Twilight said.
"So scram. Or else things are going to get ugly. I've already got a hit on your precious Darkrai there. Don't wanna make things too hard now eh?" Emerald was getting a bit too cocky. Because the King of cocky was right behind her.
"And who are you to give orders in my kingdom?" She turned around to see Sombra, standing there and looking down on her.
"S-S-Sombra!" Sombra had heard everything. Now he knows of the existence of the rift and how it gave him all this extra help.
"So this rift is the reason why I am like this right now. To be honest, I should thank it. But I have no time to be thanking. Somepony's being apart of my army. And by some I mean the ones I deem as useful." Sombra had the same armour that was on the guards, ready to put it on some of them.
"Stay sharp girls. We may not be at full strength.. but we can't give up so easily like this."
"Twilight Sparkle. Great confidence. You'll be the first to wear it!" Sombra sent the armour and helmet towards Twilight, however, an Iron Tail had arrived knocking the helmet away. "Feh. You again."
"Ash! Pikachu!"
"You two. I think you two will do." Sombra said to Cold Colt and Emerald.
"Huh?" They both said in unison as Sombra had placed the armour and helmet on them instead. Once working for the rift, now working for Sombra himself.
"Oh, man. So they completely take a pony over once they're on."
"Pika.."
"Hahaha!" Sombra laughed as he stood up a huge pillar of crystals, looking down on them all.
King Sombra. Currently, the odds favor him. With Emerald Aura and Cold Colt who were both created by the rift now under his control, this situation could get ugly fast.
"Get them." Sombra stood atop his crystal stairs as Emerald and Cold Colt took action. They galloped towards the group. Twilight and the others were either hurt or tired, so it was defending them until they could recover.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu jumped up, knocking the two unicorns away with a hard iron tail, even chipping the armor that was given to them.
"A tail made of iron?" This was new to Sombra. He had never seen anything like this before.
"Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded as two magic beams were fired at Pikachu. Light blue and green. The thunderbolt pushed them back easily. This impressed Sombra more. A creature that could shoot lightning from its body and easily overpower two unicorns. Cold Colt and Emerald Aura were paralyzed from the thunderbolt, unable to move. "Let's finish this! Electroweb!" The finisher. Trapping them there, by not only paralyzing them but also placing a web of electricity that held them there. The damage was so good that it destroyed the gear, removing their mind control.
"Great job Ash!" Pinkie Pie yelled.
"How odd. A creature that can shoot lightning from its body and conjure up iron from its tail and use it as a weapon. Where did you get something like this?"
"I-Its called a Pokemon. Creatures from the other world connected by gateways." Emerald Aura explained before passing out.
"That would explain all those gateways I saw in the distance. I've already taken an interest to these Pokemon. Especially this dark one."
"Like I'd let a guy like you get close to Pokemon." Ash retorted.
"Hmph. Well, then Ash Ketchum. King of the Sea. Try and stop me then!" Sombra's eyes glowed as crystals appeared around Ash and Pikachu.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu easily destroyed the crystals with its steel tail, clearing away the crystals. The crystals were then used as weapons, aiming at an angle, fit for thrusting as they were targeted at Pikachu. Pikachu jumped over the sharp crystals that rose towards him. "Get up there with Quick Attack!" Pikachu ran up the crystals, rushing towards Sombra and getting him with a quick attack. Fast and moves at blinding speeds. Great for getting an easy hit in.
"Rodent!" Sombra bellowed, shooting Pikachu away with his corrupted magic. Sombra had then trapped Ash in a crystal prison the same way he trapped Twilight and the others.
"Cheap way out Sombra!"
"Oh please. Victory comes in many ways."
"Pikachu! Handle it from here!" Ash had relied on his partner to handle everything from here. He was going to send the others away from here before it got worse. Pikachu broke the prison Ash was in as he turned his attention to the Unicorn King. Ash picked up Twilight and Darkrai, obviously taking each of them outside one by one.
"You won't get far!" Sombra hissed. His horn had made contact with Pikachu's iron tail. Pikachu was using everything to make sure his trainer got them all out one by one. Ash kept picking them all up, sending them out. Sombra then slammed his hoof on Pikachu's tail, pinning him there.
"Pika!"
"Stay!" He declared. Aiming at Ash who was carrying Fluttershy and Rarity, Sombra was ready to blast him. Pikachu wouldn't let that happen as he let out a surge of electricity from his body, shocking Sombra. He did have his hoof on him so he was a prime target for instant lightning.
"Thanks, Pikachu!" Ash thanked his partner as he had gotten everypony out. Pikachu had jumped away from Sombra, hopping onto his friend's shoulder. "Let's go!"
"Get back here!" Sombra chased after them while creating crystal stairs to keep up with them.
"We gotta stop him! Electroweb!" Electroweb was sent towards Sombra, however, it was immediately destroyed by a magic ray. "No good. Darkrai! Can you throw one quick Dark Void?"
"I'm hurt but not defenceless." Darkrai tossed a dark void as it hit Sombra dead on. Sombra had been subjected to Darkrai's nightmares as well.
"Nice shot!"
"Pikachu!" This gave them all time to breathe as Sombra was temporarily out.
"Thanks for saving us Ash, Pikachu. And good job putting Sombra to sleep Darkrai." Twilight had greatly thanked them.
"Now quickly. Let's restrain him before he wakes up." Applejack insisted. They did just that. Twilight had used some of her magic that she had regained to lift Sombra up. Applejack and Pinkie Pie grabbed some of the chains that Pikachu broke and placed it around Sombra. Sombra was now immobilized for now. Every pony took some time to breathe as the Crystal Ponies walked up after seeing what just happened.
"T-They stopped Sombra!" A pony gushed. Soon all of them were applauding as they felt like they had been saved.
"Not for long ya'll. We'd best be careful. He could wake up from his nightmares and break free. We'd best find a better way to really restrain him for good." Applejack said.
"Cadence! Shining Armor!" Twilight ran back inside, moving up the annoying amount of stairs until she came across Sombra's throne room. There they were. Two ponies she loved for a long time.
"Twily!"
"Twilight!"
She ran to the two of them, hugging them.
"We knew you'd come and save us!" Shining Armor sighed with relief. Twilight was doing her best to try and break the chains restraining them, even trying some magic.
"Twilight. You'll need the key to break us out. Go search further in Sombra's room." Cadence told her. Twilight had advanced forward, entering the room of King Sombra. She looked around, searching for the key anywhere.. until.
"Hello there." Obsidian was sitting on a table casually.
"What are YOU doing here?!"
"Me? I'm only here to spectate. See how this goes down. I am an extension of the rift after all. And I gotta say, this is pretty fun so far. That small little scuffle between Pikachu and Sombra was pretty entertaining if short. I wonder what'll happen next once Sombra breaks free."
"You think this is fun?! My friends and everypony else are constantly in danger due to you and your rift's cruel actions!"
"Oh?"
"Ever since the rift merged the worlds together, constant threats have attacked. The control of Darkrai, Malamar's attack and you and Chrysalis's actions at the Royal Canterlot Wedding. And now this. You all have to be stopped before your evil antics become worse!"
"Do you really think the rift does this for the sake of evil?" Obsidian said which caught Twilight off guard.
"What?"
"The rift is neither good nor evil. If anything it's neutral at best. You see Twilight Sparkle.. this has happened before."
"Happened.. before?"
"Oh yes. The wedding, this. This has all happened before in the true timeline. In the original timeline, your world never crossed paths with the World of Pokemon. You never met your precious Minccino, Minccy. Your friends never met Pokemon that they could bond with. Darkrai never arrived to Ponyville and more importantly... you never met Ash and Pikachu. All of this is a separate timeline. A new timeline forged by the rift. And very soon, future events that played out in the original timeline will happen in this timeline as well... but with an extra dash of Pokemon."
Everything Obsidian said had blown Twilight back. This was a separate timeline? Ash and she never met long with the other Pokemon? And future events will play out?
"No way..."
"Yes, way. In a way... the rift created these bonds for you. It created your friendship with the world of Pokemon. In retrospect... your friendship with Ash is fake. Fabricated. Not natural. A False Friendship."
"Y-You're wrong! Ash and I are friends! We bonded like how actual friends would!"
"But you were never meant to meet. And very soon... once the rift is satisfied, both worlds will return to normal. All Pokemon and Humans will return to their world along with you ponies. Then it'll be like nothing happened. As for me and the others? We'll vanish into nothing. After all, we're just creations from the rift based on your world and the other world. But I'm rambling on for too long. Good luck with finding your key." Obsidian had teleported out of the room. Twilight took a moment to take this all in.
Her friendship with Ash was never meant to exist. And at any point in time, the rift will leave, causing both worlds to return to normal. Her ears dropped as she continued to look for the key. She eventually found the key, getting out and freeing the two of them. However, her mood was different. She felt nothing but sadness and a bit of doubt.
"Thank you Twilight! Um... Are you okay..?" Shining Armor asked.
"I'm fine.. let's get out of here."
Outside, the Crystal Ponies had taken some time to relax. They had some hope in their hearts after the current defeat of Sombra. Twilight had come out with Cadence and Shining Armor, still down.
"You're okay!" Fluttershy sighed.
"Yeah..." Twilight mumbled.
"What's wrong Twi?" Rainbow asked.
"...Ash."
"Yeah, Twilight?"
"We're friends aren't we?"
"Of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?"
"Well..." She didn't want to tell them the truth. On how they'll have to part ways once the rift leaves or how their friendship is purely fictional. Never meant to happen.
"Something's wrong. Twilight. You can tell me." Applejack said to her currently sad friend.
"I don't want to talk about it.."
"Everypony. We have to get to it. The Crystal Heart. Twilight. You go home for now. Shining Armor and I have got this."
"But what if he wakes up?"
"I'll stay behind. I'll make sure he keeps on staying asleep for a long time." Darkrai insisted on staying behind to keep an eye on Sombra.
"Alright, Darkrai. Good luck." Ash replied. Making their leave, they left the Crystal Empire, leaving it in the hands of Shining Armor, Cadence and now Darkrai. Along the way, Twilight couldn't get all the words that Obsidian said out her head. She kept all that knowledge to herself.
Ponyville, near night.
Twilight had returned to Celestia's castle, letting her know that the Sombra situation, for the most part, had been dealt with.
"Well done Twilight. But it's not over yet."
"What?"
"There's still one final thing I want you to do."
"What's that princess?"
"A test."
"A test?!"
"Yes. But before that... Passion notices that you're feeling down about something. What is it?" If there was anypony she could tell it's Celestia.
"You see... I recently just learned that... my friendship was Ash was never meant to exist. In fact. The same can be said for you and Passion. This is all a separate timeline. Once the rift leaves... both worlds return to normal."
"And you're afraid that once it all returns to normal, you'll forever live with the knowledge of knowing that the friendship you made with Ash was never meant to be in the first place."
"Yes."
"Hmm. Tell you what. I want you to take this test... and after that... you'll learn two important things today."
"Yes, Princess Celestia! I'll get right to it! I'm going to need all my years of knowledge for this one!" Twilight galloped out of the room as Celestia smiled. But she frowned, knowing that the Sombra situation wasn't stopped for long. King Sombra was close to waking up. And to make matters worse...
Sombra didn't stay asleep for long. Not many can break free from Darkrai's nightmares. Not many at all. But Sombra could... and he did. Once he broke free, the fear of the Crystal Ponies had kicked in once more as they began to panic. Shining Armor and Cadence were ready to stop him but this time with the assistance of Darkrai.
"Nice try. But your nightmares weren't that effective on me!" Sombra broke out of the chains with ease thanks to his magic. "Allow me to show you a true nightmare!" Those same crystal pillars rose once more but even higher. And they look much sharper than last time. "Having the power to cause nightmares to others by a simple void is both wonderful and a threat. And to think. On the other side, there are more like this one."
"We're still here Sombra! In case you haven't noticed!" Shining Armor yelled.
"Oh yes. You're still here. Why don't you get lost already? This kingdom is still mine!"
"Not whilst I am still here. I can put you in a deep sleep at any moment now." Darkrai said.
"I am aware. But it won't last long. My magic grows by the minute. You put me in a nightmare state once more, I will break out much faster than before."
"Shining Armor," Cadence whispered to him. "We have to find a better way to protect everypony else. Our protection spell won't last much longer." Shining Armor nodded in response. They had to do this quietly without Sombra ever noticing. Crystal Ponies all hid to avoid Sombra, still shaken up by his return.
Sombra had enough standing around as he immediately released a seemingly amped-up version of his magic rays.
Cadence placed up a protection spell, however, the beam had managed to make a huge crack in it. Shining Armor pitched in to help with the spell, keeping the spell up for a bit longer. Darkrai hid in the shadows, sneaking up on Sombra. But this tactic didn't work. Sombra had a much faster reaction time, shooting Darkrai down before he put him into a deep sleep again.
Thanks to Darkrai distracting Sombra, Cadence and Shining Armor took this opportunity to get a move on.
Elsewhere... Twilight had been sent back to the Crystal Empire. Whatever Celestia's test was, it must be grand if it means going back to the empire this soon. However, she felt a lot of pressure on her. Sombra waking up so quickly and having to protect the empire along with Shining Armor and Cadence who were still a bit drained. But it would be fine. Her friends are here to help as well.
"Are we really going back there again? I still haven't gotten over what happened with Sombra. Ugh..." Rarity shuddered.
"It's only been an hour. I'm not sure we're fully ready to take this on again Twilight." Fluttershy followed.
"We have to. The Crystal Empire isn't in the best state right now. We need to spread love and happiness to it. That way all hope will be restored to it and the ponies. Let's just hope Sombra hasn't gotten the better of everypony yet."
Shining Armor and Cadence had found a library, searching for any way to help protect the Empire from Sombra. Or at least get rid of him for good. They had asked an old pony who worked here where they could find any information. Unfortunately, she had no memory. After what happen with Sombra a hundred years go, most of the ponies only remember Sombra and not much else.
Outside, Darkrai was doing his best to distract Sombra. His dark voids weren't landing as much anymore. Sombra could tell when they could be thrown and where. The crystal ponies watched as this dark shadowy creature was helping to stop Sombra. They thought it would be the opposite. With its appearance, it looked like it would be on Sombra's side.
"How long are you going to keep avoiding me?!"
"As long as I can!" Darkrai released a dark pulse which destroyed the crystal platforms that Sombra was on. Darkrai was lucky to be strong enough to be a match for Sombra. Those crystals were tough to break. Twilight and the others arrived to see Darkrai handling Sombra.
"Darkrai!" Twilight called out.
"Twilight! All of you! Don't mind me! Just go and find Cadence and Shining Armor!" They took his command and kept moving on. They asked anypony if they had seen the two.
"I saw them go into the library over there.." A cowering crystal pony said. And in there were. Still searching for any information.
"No good. This might take forever. I don't know how much longer Darkrai can hold Sombra. Any luck Cadence?"
"No need, big brother!" They had entered the library. Safe and sound from Sombra.
"Twily! You're back!"
"Yes. We were sent here to help restore love and hope to the Crystal Empire!"
"Love and hope..." Cadence took a while to realise what this meant. "That's it! Love and hope!" She went through many of the other remaining books. "We need love and hope in order to restore the empire back to its true state and to push back Sombra!" She explained with a smile on her face. And she managed to find a book that could help with just that.
The History of the Crystal Empire. Everypony gathered up to the book as Cadence opened it up.
"A Crystal Fair. It was created by their first queen. And become their most important tradition. The fair was held every year to renew the spirit of love and unity in the empire so that they could protect it from harm." She read. "We could all put this together."
"That's gonna be a bit hard with Sombra roaming around." Ash responded.
"Yes. We have to put our faith in Darkrai." Shining Armor said.
"No need. Me and Pikachu can help Darkrai keep Sombra busy."
"Pika!"
"There you go running into danger again. Just make sure Sombra doesn't notice the Crystal Fair being put together." Twilight said to him.
"No need to worry! We'll lure him far away."
"Pikachu!"
"Besides. I bought this along with me." Ash said, raising his right hand to reveal his Z Ring.
With Sombra, Darkrai was running a bit low on steam. Sombra was still growing in magic so this meant that Darkrai was being pressured more and more. Before Sombra could get a clean hit on Darkrai, Pikachu's Iron Tail had knocked the unicorn king of his crystal platforms.
"We're here Darkrai! Twilight and the others have got this. We'll pitch in to help in the meantime."
"Thank you, Ash. Pikachu."
"Pikapi."
"How long will that last though? My magic has heightened to a point where I can now sense anypony from a faraway distance! I know where they are and what they're up to!"
"Then we just to make sure you don't get in their way! Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Pikachu moved at blinding speeds. The crystals formed up to try and stop Pikachu, but the electric mouse ran up the crystals while still in a quick attack state. Sombra could now see the quick attack coming as he flipped Pikachu over by raising his hoof up.
"Pika!" Sombra had then sent crystals upwards as they hit Pikachu's belly, sending him upwards.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out!
"No more surprises! I can see much faster now!"
"Electroweb!" From above, the electro web was sent down. Sombra turned around to see it, destroying it with his magic. "Iron Tail!" A follow-up. An iron tail straight down, but even that was stopped by a shield Sombra cast.
"Darkrai. We'll have to lead him far away so that they can all focus on the fair."
"I know where we can send him. Back to the cold arctic north. He'll obviously return here no doubt so we'll join him in the arctic. We can keep him busy there."
"Great idea!" Pikachu kept hitting the shield with his iron tail. gradually breaking it. "Pikachu! Pull back for now!" Pikachu moved away from Sombra, returning to his trainer.
"You and your rat are persistent. I can see that you have been through many battles if it is this strong for its size."
"Hehe. That's the bond me and Pikachu share. Something you wouldn't get."
"Hmph." Sombra was wide open as the dark void appeared underneath him. "This again? Like I'd let you!"
"Electroweb!" Pikachu sent out an electro web which kept Sombra in place. The dark void also swallowed both Ash and Pikachu. Darkrai followed suit as they had left the empire and into the arctic north. The Crystal Ponies peered out, seeing what just happened.
"So.. does this mean Sombra's been stopped again? I don't know how to feel. They only temporarily stopped him and he got back up again." A crystal pony said, still worried.
The Mane 6 now had their opportunity. It was time to set things up for the festivities. Thanks to Ash, Pikachu and Darkrai, Sombra won't be able to stop this. He's currently occupied with the two. So they got to work.
After some adjustments, everything was in place for the festivities to begin.
"What's this thing for?" Applejack asked Twilight. There was this cracked sculpture of some sort of heart.
"The last page of the book mentioned that a Crystal Heart is the fair centrepiece. So I used my magic to cut one out of a crystal block."
"Nice work Twi. Think we're ready to get this fair up and running."
The fair is about to begin. High atop on the Castle balcony, came Princess Cadence, Shining Armor and Twilight. Pinkie Pie stood on the side with a wonky trumpet in her hooves. She blew on it, playing a horrible sound.
"Hear ye! Hear y-" Twilight was saying however Pinkie played that terrible ear wrenching sound once again which cut her off.
"Hehe. My bad." Pinkie hid the trumpet behind her.
"Ahem. Hear ye! Hear ye! Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor do cordially invite you to attend the Crystal Fair! And no need to worry! Sombra isn't here!"
Other crystal ponies who weren't outside had come out for this announcement. They all took a moment to realise that for starters Sombra wasn't here anymore, he was hung up with some otherworldly visitors and there two new ponies who seemed to be rulers. This was enough to stir up some hope in all of them. And it did. Their crystallized bodies had shown once more. They all had a smile on their faces as they actually remembered what the Crystal Fair was. It was an important celebration... one that could never leave their memories due to how wonderful it always was. They all gathered around to enjoy this fair.
"Come on in y'all. Got food and drinks that'away. Games and crafts are that'away. Crystal Heart's in the back near the princess." Applejack said.
"Did she say Crystal Heart?" A pony said as they felt like they remembered a crystal heart. Rainbow Dash flew over to a Crystal Pony to try and get the memory of the heart back in em.
"Totally nailed it right?" The crystal pony got a bit worried, moving away from Dash. But Rainbow began to follow her. "Must be feeling a lot of love and unity right about now." Rainbow Dash had stopped by a cart full of corn, still following the same pony. "Gonna have some grub huh? What are you thinking? Crystal Empire berry pie? Maybe some crystal corn on the cob." She was talking to nopony as the crystal pony had left a while ago. "What is with these ponies?"
Some ponies weren't fully crystallized yet. They were still down in the dumps. Until two ponies could feel like they could remember all of this.
"Seeing all of this... I feel like I'm starting to remember. Remember things from before the king."
"Me too." They took a while to remember. And it hit then. Their crystal bodies came back to them in a beautiful flash and their true dazzling colors were seen once more.
"The Crystal Heart!" They said in unison. "Do you think they really have it?" Dash zoomed in once she saw these two return to normal.
"Of course we have it!" She said. "Can't have a crystal fair without the Crystal Heart right?"
"Of course you can't." The old pony from the library said as she had come out as well. "The whole purpose of the crystal fair is to lift the spirits of the crystal ponies, so the light within them can power the crystal heart so that the Empire can be protected!" She said with more energy in her voice, returning back to her true self as well. "I DO work at the library!"
"What's that about powering the heart?" Rainbow dash asked as Applejack even heard this.
"I just can't believe you found it. King Sombra said he'd hidden it away, and we would never see it again. I only hope it will still be as powerful after all these years. Mmm. Funnel Cake." This was a problem. The crystal heart there wasn't the real deal. And it's just sitting out in the open. If the crystal ponies find out that it is a fake... then their hope will fade out and it's back to droopy dim de-colored ponies. Rainbow Dash flew up, grabbing a nearby flag and placing it on the fake heart.
"Twilight! We may have a problem! The Crystal Heart is no sightseeing sculpture.. its the actual real deal!" Twilight gasped. She opened up the book, looking at the page of the Crystal Heart. Nothing about it being powered by the crystal ponies.
"I didn't know it was an actual relic. The book didn't mention anything about the crystal ponies powering the heart." She kept looking through until she reached a certain page. Or rather... no page at all. It's been torn off. "There was a page missing! How did I not notice?!"
At the Arctic North, Sombra was being occupied by the three of them. He wanted to get past but they wouldn't let him.
"Think you can keep me here for long?!" Sombra bellowed.
"Man.. is it me.. or is he getting stronger?"
"Pika-pika."
"His magic is growing by the minute. The rift really gave him a boost didn't it?" Darkrai said.
"Yes..." Sombra's magic grew to an exponential rate suddenly. It skyrocketed as there were clusters of pillars that overtook a large part of the arctic. This overwhelming evil was enough to push Pikachu and Darkrai back as the snow was sent flying away. Sombra's dark presence was spreading out so far that it was closing in on the Empire.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash had set out to find the actual Crystal Heart.
"I've been trying to figure out how I'm meant to pass Celestia's test. Retrieving the Crystal Heart must be it. But there is something else you can do Rainbow."
"Name it."
"You and the rest of our friends have to keep the fair going. Ash and Pikachu are doing their best out there right now to buy us all precious time. We can't let it go to waste. Everypony's spirits are at stake here. Along with the activation of the Crystal Heart. If Sombra comes back again, then the fair's a bust and Sombra takes over once more. So please Rainbow. Keep them all happy for as long as you can."
"You got it Twilight!"
"You seem pretty different considering what happened earlier in the room." Obsidian had shown up once again, hanging out like he normally does.
"It's that guy from the wedding!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Hello, again Twilight. I assume you've gotten over the harsh truth... or is it still hitting you?"
"What truth?"
"Oh. You haven't told your friends yet, have you? I mean you're no Applejack after all..."
"That's enough Obsidian. I don't have time for this! Rainbow go!"
"Alright!" Rainbow Dash zoomed out as Twilight kept moving.
"You can't keep hiding it from your friends Twilight. Eventually, they're gonna have to know." Obsidian's words stopped Twilight's movements, reminding her of the inevitable future outcome. "What's it gonna be? Keep hiding the truth and risk damaging your so-called friendship with Ash and Pikachu? Or face up and tell them. Everything. To see if you really are meant to be friends. I'll be waiting for an answer soon." Obsidian vanished like he suddenly appears.
Twilight was left with this horrible truth once more.
Keeping Sombra occupied was not going as easy as they thought. His growing magic started to overwhelm the three. If it comes down to it, then there's always the last-ditch attempt. The Z Ring. As for the Empire itself, the fair was still going on, however, the main goal is to keep the crystal ponies busy and entertained whilst Twilight finds the REAL Crystal Heart. So it was up to the others to make sure nopony gets close to the fake one Twilight built from magic. But the truth that Obsidian said came back to haunt Twilight. Now she has to handle all of this truth whilst trying to find the Heart.
It's a race against time. Reinvigorate all the love in the Empire before Sombra gets back and drives the crystal ponies into despair once more.
The fair was going well so far. Many ponies started to regain their crystal forms gradually as they joined in on all the activities and fun. The food, the hats that Rarity hoof crafted from straws, things were going swell. Until Rainbow Dash came to Rarity, whispering in her ear. Rarity gasped as they grabbed the attention of the crystal ponies.
"I just found out they're offering face painting for the little ones." She awkwardly said while picking up Spike. As the ponies left, Rarity picked up Spike, whispering in his ear next.
"Twilight's doing what?" The baby dragon said. Twilight was walking through the Empire, still needing answers and clues to where the Crystal Heart maybe. That is until she looked at the castle itself, and sprouted an idea.
"Twilight! Wait! I'm coming with you!" Spike ran to her.
"You can't. I have to retrieve the Crystal Heart by myself."
"I know. I promise I won't lift a claw to help you." Twilight decided to bring Spike along, setting out to the castle.
"Where are we going exactly?"
"I think I might know where King Sombra hid the Crystal Heart." She said whilst facing the castle.
"The castle?"
"The king would have been counting on the fact that nopony would dare come looking for it here. They'd have been too afraid to even try."
"I hope you're right."
"You and me both." Finishing their conversation as they entered the castle indoors. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were keeping an eye for anypony who thought of getting close to the heart. Rainbow was especially cautious. Moving around like a wild animal. A bit too cautious, as she went up to the face of a pony who was just casually walking by and just so happened to be near them.
"What are you looking at?!" She scared the stallion who backed away from her. "That's what I thought."
"Uh, Rainbow Dash. We're supposed to be acting like nothing's wrong." AJ whispered to her.
"Exactly." She said as she growled at some ponies who were watching, scaring them off as well.
Unbeknownst to everypony... something was picking up pieces of crystals from the Empire itself. Not from any caves, but from the walls, grounds and even bits of the castle. It was a Sableye. The Darkness Pokemon. The Crystal Empire. Normally Sabeleye's prefer gemstones and usually pursue Carbink to satisfy their love of shiny gemstones... but crystals were just as good. Just not the most frequent material to go after. And this Sableye found the jackpot. Practically everything was crystals. Even the ponies.
"Sableye.." The little guy said. He ran around, picking apart as many parts of crystals from the Empire with his tiny little claws. Who needs to dig branching holes in caves when you have it all here in the outside.
"Odd." A crystal pony said.
"What is it?" The other asked.
"That...thing is picking apart the ground and walls with its claws. And it's... eating the crystals?" Sableye was doing just that. Munching on a huge pile it collected. This was good for its eyes, after all, they did gain gemstones for eyes from eating so much. The little guy spread out to find more, picking apart as many crystals as he could find. AJ and Dash noticed the Pokemon moving rampantly around, taking apart the Empire little by little.
"What in tarnation is THAT?"
"No idea. Let me see." Rainbow Dash got out her Pokedex to get some info.
"Sableye. The Darkness Pokemon. Sableye can often be found pursuing Carbink to satisfy their love of shiny gemstones. Stories say this gem-eyed Pokemon can make off with your spirit, so many people avoid them." The dex said.
"Make off with our spirits?!" They both said. Applejack backed up against the fake Crystal Heart as Rainbow Dash was a bit shaken up. She believed the rumours of Sableye's taking spirits from others as she got a nearby crystal to try and back it away.
"Don't come any closer you spirit-robber!" Sableye, however, ate the crystal from her hooves like it was nothing.
"Woah nelly."
"What do we do? It might blow our cover if it finds out what's behind here."
"Calm down Dash. This here fake's not even made of gemstones."
"Yeah, but the crystals aren't gemstones either so what's stopping it?"
"What is that thing?" Some crystal ponies came around. This was getting bad. Now a lot of them were around the fake heart and curious about the Sableye. Sableye took a moment to realise... it can chomp on them as well.
"Sableye!" Sableye leapt up, taking a bite on crystal pony's mane all of a sudden. The crystal pony screamed as Sableye held on to the pony.
"It's eating her mane!" AJ and Dash yelled.
"What's eating who's mane?" Rarity wondered as she looked over the current situation. She saw Sableye and was taken aback. A Pokemon made that had gemstones on its eyes and chest. "Oh my!" Sableye was hopping from pony to pony, causing a huge commotion as he wouldn't stop biting them.
"We have to put a stop this Applejack!"
"No need! I can handle this!" Rarity stepped up. "Mine!" Rarity also leapt forward, grabbing onto Sableye with ease. She had stopped a potential disaster from happening by easily catching the little dark ghost Pokemon. "There. Not too difficult. Now I think I'll hold on to this little darling for a bit."
"Hold on there missy. You ain't thinking of using it for anything... illogical, are ya Rarity?" Applejack said, gazing at Rarity.
"What? No, no. Don't be ridiculous. I'm only after the dazzling gems on its chest and eyes."
"Well then... make sure you get THEM as well." Rainbow Dash said as she was pointing at a horde of Sableye that appeared over the horizon. The Empire pulled them all in like moths drawn to light.
"Nopony panic! They're completely harmless! They'll only bite on you... Wait that doesn't sound harmless." AJ tried to make sure nopony went nuts. Now that there were multiple Sableye's, the entire Empire's crystals will be gone in a few hours.
"We have to stop them, or there'll be no empire! Pinkie Pie! Draw their attention!"
"With flash, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie replied.
"Rarity! You're a gem expert! You do the catching!"
"I'll craft up a huge batch of hats! Getting them all in!"
"Fluttershy! I don't know if they count as animals but try your best if you can."
"Okay!"
"Applejack... we have to stay here and keep a good eye on this sculpture."
"Will do, can do."
The Sableye were chipping away as Pinkie Pie had gathered up some crystals. Thanks to her being born and raised on a rock farm, working all day, she can break them with ease. Those hooves are just as strong as Applejacks'.
"Here little purple imp things! Check out all of these delicious and ripe new crystals! Eh? Eh?" The Sableye's became suckers for them as they stampeded towards Pinkie Pie like rabid dogs. "Uh oh." They glomped on the hooves of Pinkamena, biting like crazy. "OWIE! IT HURTS!"
"Holy moly those things are aggressive! Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash let Fluttershy do her thing as she went over to try and reason with them.
"Now now. Let's not get aggressive. I'm sure you all love to eat crystals. But please don't munch on my friend Pinkie's hooves. She needs those to bake for other ponies, so they can also eat what they love. Like you." The Sableye all looked at Fluttershy as they stopped munching on Pinkie's hooves.
"T-Thanks Fluttershy." Pinkie's hooves had marks on them. From all the biting. Let's just hope Ash is having just as much luck as we are."
Sort of. Ash was still trying his best to keep Sombra busy.
"You are stubborn like a cockroach, boy!" Darkrai was on the ground as Sombra lifted Pikachu and Ash with magic. "You put up a great fight. But at the end of the day... you are just a child."
"Yeah. I get that a lot! Thunderbolt!" A swift thunderbolt shocked Sombra from above. This used to deal heavy damage to him, but after all those minutes, his magic has grown to gain resistance to electric attacks. Courtesy of the rift.
"Nice try!" Sombra then used his magic to slam the two of them down on the ground as they screamed in pain. "Look at that... my force has already snuck into the Empire. I think I'll pay your Twilight friend a visit.
"It isn't over yet Sombra!" Ash and Pikachu got off from the snowy ground.
"My. You are more than just stubborn."
"Pikachu! Spin with Thunderbolt!"
"What?!" Pikachu began, spinning around while using thunderbolt. The counter shield was in play. Sombra didn't think too much of it as he fired a magic beam, but the thunderbolt blocked it due to frantic movements of it. "Trying to block me eh?" Sombra had cast a barrier around him as he ran around the counter shield.
"Gotcha!" Out of nowhere, Ash grabbed a hold of King Sombra, keeping him there.
"You brat! Let go!"
"I ain't letting go! Darkrai!" Darkrai got up from the ground, recovering as he charged up a mighty dark void. This one grew to an exceptional size this time.
"You fool! Are you planning on sending us both into a nightmare state!? It will never work! I've grown strong enough to break free much faster now!"
"Not if we share nightmares.."
"Huh?!" Darkrai tossed the amped-up rift downwards towards the two.
"Pikachu! Go with Darkrai and make sure everything in Empire is fine!" Pikachu nodded, knowing his friend will be okay. The dark void engulfed them both, sending them both into a nightmare state.
Meanwhile, Twilight was frantically looking around the castle for the Crystal Heart. High and low. But to no avail.
"It's gotta be here somewhere. It's just gotta be." As she and Spike continued through the castle, Twilight spotted a familiar piece that Celestia showed her before they came to Empire. She then remembered what Celestia said about the Crystal Empire and about its love.
"If the Empire with hope and love, those things are reflected around all of Equestria. If hatred and fear take hold..."
It all clicked to Twilight.
"Of course!" She shouted.
"What? Did you find it?" Spike asked.
"No. Because this isn't King Sombra's castle."
"Well, isn't this where lived when he was in power?"
"It is. But it didn't look like this." Twilight concentrated her magic on the throne, her purple glowing horn had suddenly gained a darker light. Black lightning-sparked out of it. The same spell that Celestia used to show Twilight what would happen in hatred and fear took over was happening to her as well. The green, purple and black energy had appeared on her horn as well as it was making her struggle. Twilight fired magic at the throne, revealing what was truly there.
A flight of stairs. That went down. Really, really far down. Spike looked down at the number of stairs, getting chills as he gulped. Twilight led the way by making her horn glow to give off light in the dark area. However, she wanted Spike to stay behind suddenly.
"You stay here."
"Uhh.. if you insist."
Down, down, down. That's all these stairs went. Twilight kept moving along, unsure if she was even closer to the bottom.
"Can you see what's down there yet?!" Spike shouted down as his voice echoed.
"Not yet. I can't tell how far down this goes!" She replied. The purple mare used her magic to pick up a random crystal, dropping it down. The crystal kept falling and falling. Twilight was waiting for a sound of impact... but nothing. Dead silence. Sombra was twice as evil for having this absurd number of stairs.
"Oh, dear." She galloped onwards as one of the stairs cracked, making her slip. She fell from the stairs but luckily enough that was the boost she needed as she arrived at a door, right at the very bottom and saving herself with her magic.
"Yes! Finally!" Twilight went over to use her magic to open the door, however... they had vanished. She found another but that vanished as well. "What in the.." She went over to the next door she saw, trying to get there before it flew off. "Stop..moving!" The door she went too moved around the stairs, heading upwards. Another door appeared as the purple unicorn was getting frustrated. She had then used that same corrupt magic to fire at the door... and that's what opened it.
"Spike! I think it's here!" She smiled going through the bright light that shined in the door.
But she found herself in a familiar place. Canterlot. Celestia's throne room.
"What are YOU doing here?" Princess Celestia said with a somewhat different tone of voice she normally uses.
"I don't know. I opened the door and.."
"And now you must go." She responded.
"Go where?"
"It doesn't matter to me. You failed the test Twilight." She looked back at her with a sort of angry look on her face. Twilight was hit by this hard. What just happened?
"I don't understand! The test-"
"Not only will you not move on to the next level of your studies... you won't continue your studies at all."
"I...You didn't say anything about no longer being your student if I failed!." She began to tear up, ready to cry.
"Didn't I?" She said, walking off.
"But... what do I do now?" The laughter of Sombra echoed through the room all of a sudden. An artwork of him appeared on the glass windows. It was him gaining victory and Twilight failing. Twilight cried... not knowing what to think of what had just happened.
Then the voice of Spike echoed through her next. Spike had run down the stairs himself. Twilight was sitting at the door with her eyes glowing green and purple. Spike's shouting snapped her out of it.
"I know you told me to stay up there, but you were down here for such a long time and you weren't answering so I got worried, came down here and you were just staring at that wall and I was calling your name but I couldn't seem to get your attention..." He was talking rapidly, in a bit of a worried state. "What were you looking at? I mean, it's just a wall." Spike had walked up to that same wall, looking at it. He too was taken over by the illusions.
"Ponyville? How did I get...No! I don't wanna go!" He was suffering through the illusions as well, tearing up. "Please Twilight! Don't make me!" Twilight closed the door to snap him out of it.
"King Sombra's dark magic. A doorway that leads to your worst fear." Twilight Sparkle explained.
"We were home... and you told me you didn't need me anymore." Spike wiped the tears from his dragon eyes. "You were sending me away..."
"A fear that will never come to pass." She said, hugging her dragon helper. "I'm never gonna send you away. And I'm not gonna fail my test." Her magic had fired at the same wall with the crystal that showed them their fears, revealing the actual door that led somewhere real.
Going through, led to something worse than both their fears combined.
More stairs.
"What's in there?" Spike asked, standing afar, just in case.
"Stairs." Twilight sighed. "Lots and lots of stairs. Maybe you should come with me this time. They went up together, moving on the flight of stairs.
Darkrai's Nightmare world. Sombra and Ash were both in it.
"Feh. This won't last, Darkrai."
"You're here with me now Sombra." Ash was standing in the distance, facing down Sombra.
"Even in the nightmare world, you still want to quarrel? Your family must be stubborn in general. You're just a boy. You can't handle nightmares without having to go home and cry to your mother."
"Oh if only you knew. I've been here before and I've conquered my fears a long time ago. The only thing you gotta fear is me."
"Hmph. Pathetic." Sombra fired a magic beam at Ash. It made contact as it looked like it destroyed him, levelling him into nothing. However, Ash had shown up behind Sombra. "What the-?!"
"Neat huh? If you conquer your nightmares in this world... you can live it out like a dream that you can control. Multiple Ash Ketchum's appeared out of nowhere, surrounding Sombra.
"You think you can scare me, boy? I will take on a hundred of you for all I care!"
"It's not taking me on that's the terrifying part. Or even the amount of me's. You haven't figured out the worst possible scenario for you."
"What are you on about?"
"You already got beaten a long time ago. By Celestia and Luna themselves. And now you're facing off against her student, Twilight and her friends."
"So? She is just a mere pupil and they are just dead weight. And I have grown much more powerful than before."
"Yeah, you would say that. But you were gone for a long time. So you don't know what they're capable of. If anything.. Twilight is a future Celestia in the making. She's already managed to defeat past enemies that even Celestia took down. I learned all of this once the worlds crossed over and Pinkie told me their past stories."
"What are you on about?!" A huge projection of Twilight appeared behind all the Ash's.
"You can't see it, can't you? Twilight's capable of taking you down like how the two sisters did. You're too focused on your grasp of power that you don't notice the major obstacle that you'll never get past."
"You think that'll stop me?! Some mare and her friends?! I am King Sombra!"
"Oh yeah? Because you sure are having a hard time against a kid and his electric rodent."
"Silence!" Sombra blasted all the Ash's until one remained. "I am going to make sure you and your precious little friends are forever enslaved by me. And as a bonus, I'll put you all to war and watch you be the first to fall."
"Heh. I'd like to see you try. Besides... Pikachu and Darkrai are most likely already at the Empire. And you and I have as much time as we want. Notice anything?"
"...How am I not free yet?"
"We're sharing a nightmare. It's twice as long and I'm in control here, buddy!"
"You can't keep me here forever!"
"Watch me! Even if you aren't scared! We're gonna be here for a long time!"
Back at the Empire, all the Sableye had been caught thanks to Rarity keeping them in huge hats after she ended up using every piece of her weaving materials.
"There goes all my materials. I do believe that is all of the-" It wasn't. One sneaky Sableye jumped up, clawing away at the cloth that was hiding the fake sculpture, revealing it to all the crystal ponies. "Oh."
"This isn't the Crystal Heart..." A crystal pony said. Their cover had been blown.
"Pikaka!" Pikachu and Darkrai had returned.
"Pikachu! You're back!" Pikachu went over to hug Fluttershy.
"Pikapi! Pika-Pikachu, Pi Pika!"
"What did he say?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"He said that Ash is keeping Sombra busy by sharing a nightmare with him. We have to solve this before he wakes up with Ash."
With Twilight and Spike, after going through all those stairs and flipping everything upside down to reveal the true path... they had finally arrived at where they needed to be. And there it was.
The Crystal Heart.
Floating there in all its beauty. Twilight gazed at its dazzling looks as she took a step towards it. However, Sombra's magic has increased to a point where he can now act even in his sleep. Once Twilight moved closer to the heart, black crystals popped up from beneath, knocking away the heart and trapping Twilight. Sombra's outside magic had turned the skies into a dawn color as his laugh echoed through the Empire.
"The heart! Where's the crystal-"
"Here!" Spike called out. "It rolled over to me when you dropped it." Crystals were rising from the ground as the cold chill of the air was getting to Spike.
"Don't move! You can move just not towards me!" Twilight said. She teleported out, however Sombra's magic teleported her back in, smacking her against the crystal walls. "How could I have been so foolish? I was just so eager to get it. And when I saw what was going on outside-"
"You have to get out of there Twilight! You have to be the one to bring the Crystal Heart to Princess Cadence. If you don't, you'll fail Celestia's test!" Thunderstruck as things seemed to be getting worse.
"King Sombra's already attacking the empire. He could reach the crystal ponies at any moment. Reach Princess Cadence.. my brother... my friends. There may not be enough time for me to find a way to escape. Twilight began to worry as she came to a conclusion, facing Spike. "You have to be the one to bring the Crystal Heart to the fair."
"ME?!" Spike said in surprise. "But Twilight-"
"Go."
"But-"
"GO!" She demanded as crystals kept rising. Spike picked up the Crystal Heart. It was all him now. Crystals had arrived across the entire Empire, beginning to cover most of the buildings.
"Pikachu.."
"Woah nelly. That ain't right." Applejack said.
"This is terrible... unless.." Fluttershy got an idea. "Rarity! Let the Sableye go!"
"Are you INSANE?!"
"Trust me! They'll eat the black crystals!"
"Okay.. if you say so, darling." Rarity picked up the hats, letting the Sableye roam free. They set their sights on the crystals, ready to chow down. Sombra was getting stronger. He had broken free of the nightmare world.
"Finally!" He had no time to waste. With instant teleportation he was off. Ash had woken up as well, holding his head.
"I gotta get there quick!" He ran as fast as he could, heading to the Empire.
The worst-case scenario had arrived for the Crystal Ponies. Sombra was back.
"K-KING SOMBRA!"
"Looks like your friend Ash couldn't hold me back for long!"
"HEY! EVERYPONY! I GOT THE CRYSTAL HEART!" Spike said, holding it high up.
"That heart.. is MINE!" Sombra fired a beam at Spike, however, Pikachu countered with Thunderbolt. Darkrai attempted to put him into a nightmare again, however, Sombra had hit Darkrai with emerging crystals from underneath the Pitch Black Pokemon.
"RUN SPIKE!" Rarity screamed. Spike ran as fast he could towards Cadence with all his strength. Sombra was closing in as Pikachu kept getting in the way.
"MOVE OVER RAT!" Sombra fired a frenzy of magic blasts as they hit all over the Empire, even damaging the Sableye in the process. A blast hit near Cadence, creating a huge hole and making it harder to reach her. Things were coming down to the wire. Ash had arrived, seeing what was going on.
"Pikachu! Hold on!"
"Pikapi!"
"ASH!" The mane 6 yelled.
Spike, Sombra, Pikachu and Ash. All moving as fast as they could. One to stop the heart and one to give the heart.
"Rainbow Dash! Toss me!" Ash said. Rainbow Dash flew down, grabbing Ash as she launched the trainer high up.
"I'm coming buddy!" Ash hopped on Sombra's head, gaining an extra bounce as he reached Pikachu who was standing atop a swerving pillar of crystals.
"You won't.. and CAN'T STOP ME!"
"We'll see about that. Pikachu!"
"Pika!" Ash's Z Ring began to spark. Ash took off his hat, placing it on Pikachu. The Electric mouse jumped up to fist bump and high five his partner as it was time. For a Z move.
"Stronger than a Thunderbolt's 100,000 Volts... 1,000,000 volts!" Sombra was closing in as everypony was getting nervous, some about to faint as Spike was closing, also having to focus on jumping over that huge hole. "No. Even bigger than that! This is our full power Sombra!" Unreal bursts of electricity was surrounding Pikachu, surging up from within him.
"Pika Pika..."
"Pikachu! 10,000,000 VOLT THUNDERBOLT!" He raised his fist in the air with all his strength. Pikachu was full charged, jumping over to the charging Sombra, head-on.
"Pika-Ka-Ka-Ka-Ka-KA! PIKA! PIKA!" With a mighty cry and a great thundering echo, multi-coloured volts of thunder emerged, shooting at Sombra. They clashed with the Unicorn King's barrier, making a sound equal to that of 10 thunderstorms going off at the same time. The attack was pushing Sombra back as he was struggling.
"C-CAN'T LOSE TO THIS!" The force of the thunderbolt managed to tilt the castle, making a better angle for Spike to reach Cadence.
"Great job Spike!" Cadence used her magic to lift up the heart as she flew down, making sure to avoid the clash of thunderbolts and magic. The clash was spreading lightning bolts all over the place, causing craters to form. Everypony was avoiding it as Cadence reached the centre. "The Crystal Heart has returned. Use the light and love within you to ensure that King Sombra does not!" She returned the heart back to its normal location as it stuck there perfectly.
This overwhelming unity and love had restored the crystal bodies to ponies who were once dull and grey. The ground lit up with a bright beautiful blue light that spread out across the Empire. The heart spun around, turning even Cadence and the rest of the Mane 6 and Spike into Crystal Ponies and Dragon. This even turned Ash, Pikachu and Darkrai crystal. The combined force of the thunderbolt and the Crystal Heart had overwhelmed Sombra, destroying the black crystals, much to the Sableye's dismay and freeing Twilight as well, making her crystal too.
Sombra's body had been destroyed by both the 10,000,000 volt thunderbolt and the Crystal Heart, finishing him off and restoring love to the Empire. Once and for all. A beautiful array of lights spread out in the sky being filled with the colors of the thunderbolt as well, even being seen from Canterlot and Ponyville. Celestia and Luna knew that it was done.
And that was that.
Everypony rejoiced as they had won against Sombra. The Empire they knew and love had returned. Ash and Pikachu took a deep breath. That was a ride. They are exhausted.
"Whew. Finally."
"Pikachu.."
"Good job Spike." Twilight said from above.
Peace had returned to the Empire as everypony went on to live their normal lives and return to their homes. The Mane 6, Ash, Pikachu, Darkrai, Spike, Cadence and Shining Armor had left, leaving the Empire behind.
"Oh. I do so wish it was permanent. Did you see how my mane just absolutely sparkled." Rarity said whilst carrying all those Sableye.
"I didn't know we could be affected. Having crystal skin was so cool." Ash replied.
"Pikapika."
"Everything's gonna be okay. You gotta stop saving my rump like this. Starting to get embarrassing." Shining Armor said to his sister.
"Wasn't me who saved you in the end. It was Spike."
"It's just a test. Maybe she'll let you retake it."
"I don't think she's gonna give me a new test." Twilight sighed, all upset.
Back at Canterlot, Spike and the others were outside, starting to panic, especially Spike. He felt like he had robbed Twilight's victory and test completion.
"Keep it together buddy. Gotta stay strong. For Twilight." He said, pacing back and forth while breathing. Celestia was outside, gazing at the wonderful lights that were coming from the Empire.
"It's beautiful." She said.
"I wish it had been me who ultimately made it so. But it wasn't."
"Twilight. As I understand it, Spike brought Princess Cadence the Crystal Heart, because you weren't sure how quickly you would find a way to escape the tower. You weren't willing to risk the future of the citizens of the Crystal Empire in an effort to guarantee your own. Far better that I have a student that understands the meaning of self-sacrifice than one who only looks out for her own best interests. Similar to how Ash risked his own life to save you back at the Royal Wedding."
"Does...this mean..?" Twilight said with a glimmer in her eyes.
Spike was still outside, worried still.
"She's totally gonna lose it! Keep it together buddy. Stay strong! For Twilight."
"Pika.."
Then, Twilight came out of those doors, saying those words they all wanted her to hear.
"I passed!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
It was a rough ride. Going to Crystal Empire, returning and heading back to save it all. It was something that Twilight thought she wasn't ready for. Even if she was to do her best at any costs. Whatever it takes. But with her friends beside her, she was prepared. It was a high-stake test but it was completed.
And so, the world of Pokemon and this world continue on. With a new Empire in the mix, who knows what's next? The rift does. Whether it's on the side of good or evil...it will be there to see it through and enjoy itself. No matter what.
The beautiful and calm skies of the Sinnoh Region. Spreading out even in the cities and towns. Today, Twilight Sparkle returns the book she borrowed from Canalave Library. The Origin of the Pokemon World that is.
"Hello. I'm here to return the book. I hope I'm not overdue." She said to the librarian.
"Right on time, missy." The librarian replied.
"Thank you." Twilight placed the book back where she found it. Until another book caught her eye. Dozens actually.
"Veilstone's Myth," "Sinnoh Folk Stories," "Sinnoh Region's Mythology" "The Eeveelution Enigma," "Regi-Ruins." Countless of them to take and learn more about the Pokemon World.
"Wow! These are great as well!" She used her magic to pick up the books, heading to the librarian. "Mind if I borrow these as well?"
"That's a lot this time. I'll expect them back in at least 4 weeks."
"I'll bring them back at that time!"
"You know, missy. You seem to be highly interested in our world's history."
"Well of course. I already know a lot about my world. It doesn't hurt to know about this one as well. Plus it has much more going for it than my own! Uh don't tell anypony I said that..."
"I see. Well if you really want to go above and beyond with knowledge of the Pokemon World... then try this book." The librarian gave her a book titled 'The Aura'."
"The Aura?"
"Yes. You'll learn a lot about this world's natural life force. Aura."
"Interesting." Twilight took the book, leaving the library and returning through the gateway to Golden Oaks.
"Welcome back Twilight. Woah. You got a lot of new books." Spike greeted her back.
"Mincinno!"
"The Pokemon World is huge. Apparently, there are a total of 1209 Pokemon species. And each of them has millions upon up millions, possibly even transcending the billions of their species. Countless of them roaming the skies, the sea and the land. Well.. minus Legendaries. Apparently, they're one a kind."
"Great Twilight. I kinda gotta tell you something quickly. The Pokemon house. It's almost complete."
"I'll be there to see it. By the way, have you seen Ash recently?"
"Well get this! He caught a Dragon-type Pokemon called Dragonite at someplace called Dragonite Island! Its the coolest!" Spike had gone to visit these islands with Ash and also Goh. Seeing all those Dragon-Types made him happy.
"He caught a dragon? That sounds like him to do something insane like that."
"You should come and meet it! It's super friendly! The hugs it gives are so warm.!
"Thanks, Spike. But I got some books to read."
"Alright! I'll see you at the Pokemon House." Spike headed out with Mincinno as both Twilight and Owlicious were the only ones left.
The Pokemon House. An idea sprouted in Fluttershy's head had come into fruition. It was as big as she imagined it being. Rooms and places for all Pokemon to be in, regardless of the type. Everypony, Pokemon and human had arrived to see the completion as they had helped make this happen.
"Looks great Fluttershy!"
"Pika!"
"Thanks, Ash. All of you. You all made this happen." Fluttershy said, smiling.
"Now everypony. I can thankfully say that the Pokemon House is now open!" Mayor Mare said, cutting a ribbon to declare this place open to all. They all cheered as the Pokemon that were hanging out in Fluttershy's area had decided to venture this newfound house.
"This is wonderful." Celestia had arrived along with Passion. She caught news of this big Pokemon House project.
"Princess Celestia!" Fluttershy said.
"I can see that this will be great for all Pokemon who come here to our world. And it seems like a nice relaxation spot."
"Ralts.."
"Thank you. I had to make sure that no Pokemon felt neglected and alone. It all paid off."
"Yeah. And it looks like Pikachu wants to have a go at it too. Right buddy?" Ash talked to his partner.
"Pikachu!"
"Then in that case. Dragonite can join in as well!"
"Dragonite?" Fluttershy and Celestia said in unison.
"Come on out, Dragonite!" Ash tossed his Pokeball into the air, sending out the Dragon Pokemon. Dragonite.
"Oh my! You caught a dragon Ash?!" Rarity said.
"Yeah. Me, Goh and Spike went to the Dragonite Islands. The Dragonair there were learning to fly, which evolved them further. However, one of them couldn't fly. So I decided to help the lone Dragonair by having it use Dragon Dance to master its wings. And ever since, it evolved and became attached to me. So I caught it." Ash explained.
"How sweet of you Ash," Celestia said, responding to that heart-warming tale. Dragonite had suddenly hugged, Ash, Pikachu, Celestia, Fluttershy and Ralts at the same time.
"Oh yeah.. and it's a big hugger by the way."
"Pikapi.."
"How warm..." Fluttershy and the others melted in Dragonite's warm hugs.
"Ralts..."
"Oooh! I want a hug too!" Pinkie wanted that same feeling. Dragonite went over to hug Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie as well as they melted in it too. "Oh yeah. These are the best kind of hugs..."
Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, going over the house. Water Type Pokemon had made themselves comfortable by claiming the water. Some Pokemon had formed groups of some sorts.
One group, in particular, was led by a Krokorok. This Desert Croc Pokemon was leading the charge of all Ground-Type Pokemon. Another was a group of Flying-Types who laid in the highest point of the house. Led by a Pidgeot, they made nests for themselves.
"It all seems to be going well. What about any food though?" Celestia asked.
"How do plums sound? That one pony sells a lot of em." Ash recommended.
"Oh, you mean Mirabelle. Her family do have a lot of plums. Applejack's family does have close connections to them." Fluttershy replied.
"Ain't that right. But we got lots of food. I got some different apple foods from my family. They wanted to pitch in as well." Applejack said.
"Did we forget about anything important?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"Hmm. Nope. Everything seems to be in place. No Pokemon type is excluded. All 18 types of areas for all 18 types. Fluttershy, you've done it again!" She said, feeling proud of herself.
Just then from the bushes afar, Team Rocket had been peeking out.
"Well, would you look at that? It's a buffet!" Jessie said quietly.
"A Gourmet Grab for sure!" Jessie replied.
"Hang on!" Meowth stopped them for a bit. "We gotta think about this for a sec. We're Zecora's pupils. And if she finds out we've been bagging beasts, who knows what freaky voodoo she'll do on us!"
"You're right. And considering the top-pony Celestia's here and more present that big-time rulers...the odds are against us. What do you think James?"
"Hm. I say we join in on this Pokemon House without causing any trouble or snatching any Pokemon."
"Gasp! A Team Rocket plan without no Pokemon snatching?! It's unheard of!" They both said.
"Wobbuffet!"
"We won't be going as Team Rocket of course. Time for our expert disguises..."
Back at Golden Oak, Twilight has just now learned about Aura.
"The living essence of all living beings. Those with immense aura lying within them are known as Aura Guardians. They have perfect and full control over the aura, being able to not only sense others but even read minds, create barriers or attacks and they can activate these mysterious flowers known as Time Flowers." Twilight read.
"Amazing. Aura might be just as grand as magic. But how can you tell if somepony is an Aura Guardian? And how come I haven't been able to sense Aura? If its the natural life-force then I can probably sense in Pokemon mostly." Twilight had gone over to her Minccino, Minccy, holding her fluffy cheeks to try and see if she can tap into the Aura.
"Ccino..." Minccy was getting worried and bit a confused right now.
"Hmmm..." Twilight had concentrated with such focus in her eyes. She wanted to see if this Aura thing was the real deal. But she got nothing. "Ugh. Nothing. Maybe I'm just not brimming with Aura like these Aura Guardians. But what makes them gain such a huge overflow of it?"
She continued reading as she saw an important piece of history about Aura.
"What's this now? A legendary Aura Guardian by the name of Sir Aaron, who took a Lucario as his apprentice and became a hero when sacrificed himself to stop to a war from destroying the area around the Tree of Beginning. A war happened? Tree of Beginning. And what is a Lucario?" Twilight had to know more. She kept on reading until she came across the page describing Lucario.
"There. Lucario. The Aura Pokemon. Lucario is the only known Pokemon in existence that has a powerful connection to Aura. Because of this, they are the only Pokemon that have this connection, they only go to humans with powerful aura connections as well. However, the Aura Guardians mysteriously vanished one day, leaving barely any trace. This has made Lucario's harder to find or even their pre-evolution, Riolu. Amazing. These guardians just up and vanished without a trace in the world. And this Lucario Pokemon must be incredibly rare. Wonderful!"
Twilight had learned a lot about Aura, the natural life-force of the Pokemon World. Then she thought for a bit."
"Hold on. It would make sense if I can't access aura here in my world. But if I went to the other world..."
Back at the Pokemon House, everypony was relaxing along with the Pokemon enjoying themselves. Celestia's Ralts, Passion was also with the Pokemon along with other humans' Pokemon. They were all basking in this great sunlight today.
"Ah. I feel at ease this way." Rarity said with some shades on, sitting on her couch that she somehow always brings with her.
"Yeah...The air today feels pretty smooth for some reason." Rainbow replied.
"That would be the Flying Types.. certain ones." Just when it seemed like mostly everyone was here, Brock had appeared.
"Brock? You're here too!?" Ash said.
"Pika-chu?!"
"Yeah. Thought I'd come over to visit. I'm away from the Pokemon Nursey for today so it wouldn't hurt to take a break here. But I didn't come alone of course."
"Hm?" Ash wondered who else was here. From behind him, without him even knowing, a familiar girl with her Piplup snuck up behind Ash. Rarity was going to tell Ash but Pinkie made her be quiet. After all, she knows that you must never ruin a surprise. The familiar girl's fingers tapped Ash's shoulder as he turned around to find no one. The girl had turned around to avoid Ash. They had been in this situation before back in Unova. Ash would turn around while she would keep hiding from him.
"This feels familiar..."
"Pika.."
"It should." The familiar blue-haired girl said.
"Piplup." Ash turned around to see her old friend who she travelled in the Sinnoh Region with. Dawn.
"Dawn!"
"Pika-ka!"
"Long time no see Ash!"
"Pip-Piplup!" To greet each other, they did their signature High Five. They never forgot it once.
"So you're here in this other world too. In Ponyville."
"Yep. I couldn't miss out on all of THIS!"
"You two know each other?" AJ said.
"Of course! Me and Dawn travelled around the entire Sinnoh Region together. Along with Brock who started with me back in Kanto and onwards. We've been friends for a long time."
"Gee Ash. You sure hold a lot of mysteries." Fluttershy gushed.
"I don't hold that many mysteries..."
"So Ash. I heard you become the Champion of Alola. Congrats!"
"Thanks. You should totally visit Alola too you know."
"Do they have contest halls?"
"Well no. Not really... but they do have amazing resorts and beaches. Can't go wrong with that!"
"Pika-Pi!"
All of a sudden, there was a bit of conflict going on in the house. Two Pokemon weren't hitting it off. A Loudred, which was known for having a big voice was currently getting on the nerves of a Hattrem. A Pokemon that was not big on noise.
"Hattrem!" The Serene Pokemon yelled, trying to keep that Loudred quiet. However, that wasn't working since Loudred kept making noise. It couldn't help it really, it was in its genes. So out of frustration, Hattrem hit Loudred' right in its big open mouth with the braids on its head.
"What's going on over there?!" Fluttershy was worried about the current conflict.
"Who's that Pokemon? I've never seen it before." This was new to Ash as he got out his dex.
"Hattrem. The Serene Pokemon. No matter who you are, if you bring strong emotions near this Pokemon, it will silence you violently. Using the braids on its heads, it pummels foes to get them to quiet down. One blow from these braids would knock out a professional boxer." The dex said. This entry was a bit unexpected. Something that small and cute can do that?
"That explains it. It's not a big fan of Loudred. They can't help it though."
"What do we do? We have to stop this." Hattrem wouldn't let go of Loudred's mouth as the Big Voice Pokemon felt like it was choking, moving around as Hattrem followed.
"Hattrem. Please let go of Loudred's mouth." Fluttershy pleaded. Hattrem had listened to the shy pegasus, removing her braids from the Normal-Type Pokemon's mouth. "Now, all we have to do is solve this. Hattrem. You're not a fan of Loudred making so much noise now are you?"
"Hattrem."
"And Loudred. You're not a fan of Hattrem shoving her braids in your mouth."
"Loudred." Loudred replied as it made more loud noises. Hattrem was getting more riled up as Fluttershy held her back.
"This is a problem. Loudred can't help it. It just makes loud noises naturally. It is the Big Voice Pokemon after all." Brock said.
"But Hattrem doesn't feel fine with all that noise. What do we do?" Dawn replied.
"Hmm. Loudred is with all the Normal-Type Pokemon specifically. Maybe... if we find a spot where it can naturally talk we'll be fine." Rainbow Dash suggested.
"That'll be tough since Loudred kinda likes it here. And I'm not sure the other Pokemon would take kindly to its noise." AJ said.
Loudred made more noise as Hattrem jumped into the air, ready to attack Loudred once more, however, Passion had gotten in the way.
"Passion?" Celestia said.
"Ral-Ralts!" Passion tried to reason with Hattrem.
"Hattrem." Hattrem wasn't having any of it.
"Of course. Hattrem and Ralts are complete opposites of each other. Like Darkrai and Cresselia." Brock explained.
"Really?" Celestia asked.
"Well, it's mostly Ralt's second evolution Kirlia that is the opposite of Hattrem. But both of these two Pokemon and their three evolutions are rivals. Hattena's prefer calm dispositions and fears strong emotions while Ralts is drawn to those with a positive attitude and emotion. Hattrem's hate strong emotions while Kirlia's love trainers with that emotion and they develop a shining beauty. As for Hatterene and Gardevoir... its dangerous territory."
"Why is it dangerous Brock?" Celestia asked him.
"You see... Gardevoir's are fiercely protective of the ones they love. If it's loved one is in danger, it will use the full power of its psychic powers to create a small black hole. Whatever it takes to protect the ones they love. Even giving up their own life. For Hatterene, its a completely different story. It tears others apart once it reads their emotions. Doesn't matter which emotion it is. So its no wonder these two aren't fond of each other."
"Goodness. How can they have so many differences?" Fluttershy and everypony else were shocked at this. They never knew that some Pokemon had rivalries between each other. Celestia was laughing suddenly.
"This reminds me of me and sister. Only it's not as extreme as this."
Passion stood next to Loudred, not bothering to move once. Hattrem was getting annoyed as it accepted that Ralts would not move no matter what. Hattrem walked off, knowing it was defeated.
"Poor thing. I wish it could somehow take loud noises and strong emotions." Rarity sighed.
"It's a shame. Some creatures just don't get along at times. Whether it's what the other does or if its predator or prey." Celestia replied.
"Oh, dear. I have to make some adjustments. So that every Pokemon is happy. That's another week of building."
"No need for that Fluttershy. I may have a solution to all of this. Ash. There are some Pokemon experts at building aren't there?" Celestia said.
"Yeah. Mostly fighting types and some ground and rock types."
"Could you maybe find some that can help make a secluded space for Hattrem."
"You can count on me Celestia."
"Wow! Your mane is amazing!" Dawn was gawking at Celestia's ethereal mane.
"Why thank you."
"That's the mane of a princess. Wonderful isn't it?" Rarity said to Dawn.
"A Princess?!" Dawn yelled. "Oh wow! A real pony princess! And you have both a horn and wings! How beautiful is that?!"
"That's because I'm an Alicorn. Half Unicorn, Half Pegasus and Half-Earth Pony."
"Oooh. You're amazing!"
"You should see her sister." Berry Punch said.
The day went on. Some had gone home to rest after a long day here at the Pokemon House. Team Rocket didn't get the chance to do anything since Zecora had some errands they wanted them to run the minute they got out of the bush. Ash and Dawn did some talking on what they've been up to lately, while Celestia had returned back to Canterlot.
"It's been a long day. That sun's coming down soon." Ash said, looking at the sunset.
"It's beautiful." Fluttershy said.
"So romantic." Rarity followed.
"Eeyup." Big Mac finished off.
"Oh well! Before I head for a rest! I'm in the mood for a battle!" The moment Ash said that... Rufflet had escaped from its Pokeball, eager to accept Ash's challenge.
"Huh? Rufflet?" Rainbow said.
"You wanna battle me Rufflet?"
"Rufflet!"
"I'm not sure about that. Pikachu's a bit out of your league."
"Rufflet! Ruff!" Rufflet still wanted his battle. Meanwhile, Darkrai and Luna had made an appearance.
"Luna. Darkrai. You're here."
"Pikachu!"
"What is all of this?" Luna asked.
"The Pokemon House. Pretty cool huh?" Ash said.
"Hm. Yes.. cool."
"Right now Rufflet wants to fight but I think I'm too strong for him. But! You can train with us."
"He can?" Rainbow butted in.
"Yeah. If you wanna get through the future gym battles much cleaner, you're gonna need some training. Pikachu and I will only focus on using defense rather than offense."
"I'm cool with that. Rufflet and I do wanna get stronger."
"Ruff!"
"Okay, Pikachu. Ready?"
"Pika!"
"Awesome! Rufflet! Wing Attack!"
Rufflet flew in using its glowing wings to hit Pikachu, barely dealing any damage to him and barely making him move.
"I want Rufflet to be much faster! That way he'll outspeed every Pokemon! Fly faster and keep using Wing Attack!" This kept going on for a while as the training continued on.
Night had arrived. Luna raised the moon, Darkrai was hanging out more near the Pokemon House, The Pokemon fell asleep... at least the ones that aren't active at night and the rest of the ponies had also fallen asleep from all the fun they had. Pikachu slept on Fluttershy whilst Dawn and Piplup fell asleep on the belly of a Snorlax. Darkrai and Luna looked over this, seeing how peaceful they are.
"It's nice seeing them like this. But it makes me hate myself more for causing nightmares." Darkrai said to Luna.
"I can understand how that must feel. Being forced to only give nightmares to others... even if you do not mean to." Luna replied. Now she stopped talking with the royal 'We' and talked like everypony else. "But do not let it get you down Darkrai. Now I must head into their dreams. Guarding them against any potential nightmares that may appear."
"Nightmares...Come to think of it. I can still enter another's dream without having to cause nightmares. I'm coming with you."
"Splendid." They had both entered the dream realm, however...
They were unaware of the incoming disaster that was in Everypony, Pokemon and people's dreams.
The Dream World. A world where Princess Luna enters to protect ponies from nightmares. With the assistance of Darkrai, she now has double the help and can protect humans and Pokemon as well. But the two of them were not ready for the pandemonium that would ensue in the Dream World.
"So this is the Dream World." This was Darkrai's first time being in a world like this. He could see the dreams of everyone else and what they come up with whilst in their own state of mind.
"Yes. Everypony's dreams are visible to see. All we have to do is look out for- What is that?!" Luna had noticed something odd in here. To her, it was an unidentified creature. But to Darkrai, this thing looked familiar.
"That Luna.. is a Munna. It's a Pokemon that eat dreams and nightmares."
"Eats dreams and nightmares? That sounds-"
"Not dangerous actually. Munna are harmless. If they eat a dream or nightmare, it doesn't affect anyone. It lets out a pink mist if it eats a happy dream. Although they do forget what their dream was when Munna eats them."
"Oh. Well. It is fine then."
"Yes but not for long." The rift had appeared in the Dream World, here to spice to things up.
"The Rift!" They both said.
"Don't you wonder why a Munna is in here? I sent it here. They can't enter this world by themselves since they eat from the outside. But now they're in the inside."
"What are you planning, Rift?" Luna hissed at the rift.
"In order to make things more interesting... Munna can now influence others dreams. If it eats their dream... not only will it keep that dream... but that person, pony or Pokemon will no longer be allowed to dream ever again. Meaning they can never go to sleep again. Forever awake with no rest. And I also made it so that they all share a dream."
"How horrible! You dare!"
"Relax Luna. This is not out of ill-intent. I just want to see how this will all turn out. It's you two now. Go on Dream Warriors." The rift had vanished from the Dream World.
"We have to stop that Munna creature Darkrai!" Munna had found its first target. The dream of Rainbow Dash's Rufflet. Entering it, it had found itself in the skies.
Dream Sequence 1. Start.
The azure skies. Rufflet stood atop a cloud, looking at the distance. And over that distance, emerged the three Legendary Birds. Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres. They stood before Rufflet as the Eaglet Pokemon eyed them down. They all fired an Ice Beam, Thunderbolt and a Flamethrower combination attack at Rufflet. However, the little bird flew over it and used a move that it cannot even learn. Dragon Pulse. It shot down Articuno with Dragon Pulse, defeating it. This was without a doubt Rufflet's dream. To pick a fight with any Pokemon and to prove it is the best! And right now it was sharing a dream with its trainer, Rainbow Dash.
Dash was standing next to Rufflet, giving it commands as it fought against a horde of Pokemon that had arrived, specifically flying types. The flying types and the legendary birds all attacked the two.
"Go Rufflet!" Rainbow Dash shouted. Rufflet powered through all the flying types in one single dash as it then fired another move it could not use. In fact, only one Pokemon can use this move. V Create. Its head had a burning V on it, crashing into Zapdos, sending it flying away. Rufflet then bit on Moltres's wings as it spun it around, tossing the flaming bird Pokemon into the ground with ease. It had emerged victorious. "Yeah! You showed em!" Rainbow Dash then had millions of trophies at her disposal.
This was a pretty strong dream. What made it so strong is the fact that it was not only a dream but it was something aiming to be achieved in the future. Making it twice as powerful. Munna had decided to go for this one first.
"It'll devour it whole! We can't let that happen!" Darkrai fired a dark void at Munna, however, the Dream Eater Pokemon used Psychic to control the dark void, sending it far away. Luna chased after Munna but was stopped by Psychic as well. The rift has increased the power of Munna greatly to make this interesting. This won't be easy, even for the combined force of an Alicorn and Mythical Pokemon.
"Not good! Rainbow Dash! Move!" Darkrai warned Rainbow to move. Rainbow Dash heard this as she avoided the incoming Munna who was about to chomp on her head.
"What the? What is that thing? Darkrai? Princess Luna? What's going on?"
"Rufflet!"
"It is of grave importance. That creature named Munna eats dreams. If it devours any of your dreams.. you will never be able to sleep or dream again." Luna explained.
"That's horrible!"
"We have to keep it away from everyone no matter what. Its time we head to the next dream. Rainbow Dash. We share dreams right now. Follow us." Darkrai said.
"Right!" Now it was Darkrai, Luna, Rainbow Dash and Rufflet who went on to the next dream.
Dream Sequence 2 Start.
The dream of Brock. Currently being shared by Spike as they were both fighting over one mare. Rarity.
Both of them were in heroic outfits that you would see in fantasy books. And Spike's body has grown to a more muscular and chiselled look. They clashed swords, beginning their fight over Lady Rarity.
"You do not deserve Rarity! She belongs to someone with vast knowledge! Not some child!" Brock bellowed.
"She deserves someone who has been with her and known her much longer!" Spike rebuked. Their swords kept clashing over and over again as Rarity who had unfortunately shared their dream with theirs was watching this from a tall chair.
"This is just pathetic. But endearing really." She said. Munna came flying in, targeting Rarity first.
"Rarity! Look out!" Rainbow Dash cried out. She made it so that she was faster than light itself... this was a dream after all. However, Munna had still outpaced her. How? "No way! Its a dream, how is it faster than my endless speed?!"
Brock and Spike turned around to see Munna reaching Rarity as she was screaming.
"Rarity!" They both said. Putting their differences aside, they both leapt up as their swords grew to the size of mountains. They swung it down towards the Dream Eater Pokemon, however, the swords went through Munna like it wasn't there and instead destroyed the throne Rarity was in. Rarity jumped off the throne as the Munna was about to devour her dreams. Luna used her magic to send Rarity to her, making Munna miss.
"What is happening?! What is this dream?!" Rarity shouted. Munna may have missed Rarity but it didn't miss the next one. The first one to lose their dreams was Spike. Munna had chomped on his head, draining his dreams whole.
"Oh no!" Darkrai cried out. It was too late. Spike's had lost his dreams completely. He was now unable to sleep and dream once more.
In the outside world, Spike had woken up, feeling a bit of shock after what happened.
"W-What happened?! What was I doing just now?" Spike had no idea what to think. He couldn't bring himself to sleep anymore. This wasn't the end of Munna's rampage.
"It has already taken a dream of one. We cannot let it take more!" Luna's horn glowed as she created a force field around everyone else, protecting them.
"I don't see what the big deal is. It's just a Munna. Let it eat dreams. It's harmless." Brock said.
"That would normally be the case. But the Rift has altered Munna's dream eating. If it gets your dream... you will never be able to sleep or dream again." Darkrai explained.
"No way! But why would a Munna do that?!"
"It's not Munna's fault. It is naturally a peaceful Pokemon by nature. It would never do this. The Rift has also changed its actions as well."
"So what do we do, then?" Rainbow asked.
"The only way to combat a dream threat is to dream big of course. However... we may need to dream even bigger to defeat a foe like this." Luna replied.
"That can't be too difficult. Big dreamers are not uncommon really." Rarity said.
"It will be if we can't stop Munna even with the wildest imagination." Darkrai retorted.
Munna had flown off, heading to the next dream as they followed whilst being protected by Luna.
Dream Sequence 3 Start.
Cakes. Millions of cakes. Strawberry, Vanilla, Chocolate. Didn't matter. They were all good to the pony who loved them more than anypony else.
Princess Celestia.
She was in a paradise of cakes. Laying in a fountain of them. She had never been so happy before, even if it was a dream.
A single bite was bliss. She flew next to a flock of cakes, chomping on each of them as she went by. She then dived down, heading into a sea of cakes.
But that paradise is being threatened. By a small and cute Pokemon.
"Sister! Look out!" Luna yelled from afar. Celestia looked up as she avoided the incoming Munna who charged in like a rocket.
"Not my cakes!" Munna had powered through the cakes, spreading them apart as it turned around to face Celestia. "What is that thing?! What is happening?!"
"Dream Eater! No time to explain! Dream big!" Rainbow Dash quickly said. To halt the Munna, Rainbow Dash thought of a huge cage that fell into a deep hole underneath. "Yes!" But it didn't last. Munna blew away not just the cage but also the ground and cakes with a powerful psychic wave. "Oh come on!"
"It's growing even more! One of you has to dream of something unparalleled!" Darkrai yelled.
"...I know who most likely has the most absurd dreams! Princess Luna. Can you lead us to Pinkie Pie's dream?" Rarity asked.
"Very well. Stay on sister."
"But what about my cakes?" Luna guided them all to the next dream as Munna had followed them. The Dream Eater Pokemon used Psychic to hold the barrier that they were in, stopping them.
"It's got us in our clutches! What do we do?!" Brock yelled.
"I got this!" Rainbow Dash thought of a huge wind turbulent to blow Munna away. It worked for a little while, giving the group some time to into the next dream. With no time to waste. They were instantly in the next dream. Pinkie Pie's dream. It was exactly how they thought it would be. Sweets, parties and fun everywhere.
"Pinkie Pie! Over here!" Rarity called out.
"Oh, Rarity! Everypony! You here to join in on the fun?"
"No Pinkie Pie! We need you to dream of something absurd and unmatched in order to stop the Dream Eater!"
"What Dream Eater?"
"That one!" They said, pointing at Munna who had just arrived. The Rift looked down watching over this. It was entertaining.. but how it could it be more suspenseful. Just when things couldn't get any worse... The Rift duplicated the amounts of Munna.
"WHAT?!" They all said in unison. All the Munna's scattered, heading to other dreams. With so many around most of the ponies lost their dreams by the roaming Munna's. Even the Pokemon as well, along with some humans.
"I did not expect THIS!" Luna was taken aback.
"What now?! There's too many of them!" Rainbow said. Countless dreams were being stolen. Many waking up in the outside world. Everything was total chaos.
"I...I do not know!" Luna didn't know what to do. She had never dealt with a situation like this. "What do I do?!"
"Luna! You need to focus!" Celestia held her sisters face. "There HAS to be a way to defeat this!"
"There is one solution..." Darkrai said. It was something that he didn't want to do but it might be the only choice. "I shall give the ones who have had their dreams stolen, nightmares."
"Give them nightmares?! Darkrai! You-"
"Munna has already taken their dreams away. They are no longer capable of dreaming or even going to sleep. My Dark Void can change that. I can send them all into a nightmare. It is dangerous. But it is the only thing we can do for now."
"Darkrai is right. We have to do whatever it takes to stop this." Rarity agreed.
"You all focus on saving as many of them as you can. I will be outside." Darkrai floated off, leaving the Dream World.
"Okay. Now.... What do we do about this?" Brock said as they now had to deal with all these Munna's.
Munna's had devoured many dreams. Some not even dwelling in Ponyville. It was chaos inside the Dream World. Munna's searching for a dream to eat like a moth pulling itself towards the light. Darkrai had decided to go out and give nightmares to the ones who had their dreams taken. If they are to ever sleep again, it would be best to bestow nightmares on them. It wasn't pleasant and Darkrai hated doing it, but it was the only way anypony could rest until the morning comes.
On the other side, The Dream World, Luna had to figure out how to stop all these Munna's from taking everpony's dreams. But she had assistance in the form of Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Rufflet, Brock, Celestia and Pinkie Pie to help her.
"We have to find a way to contain these things. All of them!" Rarity said.
"We can all think of something to trap them. After all, aren't we each sharing a dream?" Brock suggested.
"Then we will do just that." Rarity replied. They all pitched in to dream of something to contain these little dream eaters. Hard steel boxes, nets larger than houses, vacuum cleaners, tubes, they all dreamt of a way to stop them all. But there was still a staggering amount of them.
In the meantime, Darkrai had been putting others into nightmare states, granting them their sleep back. Darkrai was the only one who could negate Munna's dream eating at this point in time.
Despite all this chaos, there was one individual who was not minding this in the least. Fluttershy. She was sitting on a cloud peacefully. She didn't mind all the noise, all the ponies running from the Munna. Total peace of mind. Rainbow Dash saw her, trying to warn her.
"Fluttershy! No time to be sitting around! You have to help us!"
"But I'm in my state of mind right now, Rainbow Dash. It's always nice to be like whenever I'm dreaming."
"Yeah. Well if you wanna keep that, you'll help us. These Munna are eating everypony's dreams. That means that they won't be able to sleep ever again! Which means YOU won't be able to dream about this for the rest of your life."
That got Fluttershy's attention. She loved dreaming of this every night and she didn't want it to be eaten and taken away from her forever.
"That is a problem. Alright. I'll help. The most important thing, I'll need to know what they love to eat."
"Dreams obviously."
"No no. Like food. Any fruit that they like?"
"Didn't think of that. We can ask Brock. He'll know." Dash flew over to Brock who was fending off a pack of Munna's with a huge Officer Jenny statue. "Hey, Brock!"
"What is it?!"
"Other than dreams, what do Munna like to eat?!"
"Munna's favorite food is Chesto Berries! They love the subtle dryness that- Wait a minute.. of course!" Thanks to Rainbow Dash asking him, Brock came up with an idea. He began dreaming as he turned his Officer Jenny statue into a pile of Chesto Berries. This had caught the attention of the Munna. They all moved away from their targets and towards the berries.
"SO that's what they love as well," Dash said. "Everypony! Use your imagination to dream of these purple fruits! They kinda look like chestnuts." They all took Rainbow Dash's advice as they began dreaming of the Chesto Berries. Soon, the entire area was filled with Chesto Berries. This was a great distraction as it gave everypony time to move away from them.
They all flocked to Luna who cast a protective barrier around them all. That will make sure that the Munna don't get through.
"Phew. That'll keep them occupied for a long time. But we still don't know how to stop them." Pinkie said.
"Our best option might be to wait it out until morning comes. Then we all wake up." A man said.
"No. There are still others out there and they are vulnerable to the Munna. We must hurry." Luna exclaimed.
"Ash and Dawn are still out there. Their dreams are huge so tons of Munna will be pulled in by them." Brock talked about this friends.
"Twilight and Applejack as well. I just hope that they haven't had their dreams eaten yet." Rarity replied.
Speaking of them, currently, their dreams were untouched. Twilight was dreaming about making Celestia proud while Applejack was simply dreaming of her younger years of when she was a little filly. Ash was dreaming about taking part in a global Pokemon League and winning whilst Dawn was dreaming of being the top Coordinator. All of them were unaware of what was happening in the other shared dreams.
The group had all arrived at Applejack's dream first. But all they could see was just normal every day Sweet Apple Acres.
"Hm. This is Applejack's dream. Bit boring if you ask me." Rarity said.
"Where even is she? I can't see anypony. How about you Rufflet?"
"Ruff!"
"Maybe you should look at that..." Brock pointed at the indoors of the barn. Spotting a young little filly through the windows."
"Oh yeah, that's her." Rainbow replied.
"But why is she young? Is this what Applejack dreams of all of the time?" Fluttershy wondered.
"I don't blame her. Ah, the joys of being young again. Being around for 10,000 years can make you miss the younger years." Celestia was reminiscing her youth. Was a bit too far away considering her being an Alicorn.
" Focus, please. We must gather everypony else and protect them. Those Munna might be returning soon once they finish those berries." Luna said as they floated towards young Applejack. The little element of honesty looked up at the group, raising her little small hooves.
"Aww... look at how small she is." Rarity loved how small and cute Applejack was right now.
"Hello!" She greeted them by standing up on her small feet. "What are ya'll doing here?" She said with the same speech pattern as a baby. All bubbly and sounding like she's talking through her tongue.
"Applejack. You might have to come with us. There are these Pokemon called Munna's eating dreams. For your safety." Luna said.
"Okay!" She hopped on Rainbow Dash's mane, sitting there.
"That's Applejack. All that's left is Ash, Pikachu, Dawn and Twilight. Who first?" As Rainbow Dash was wondering which dream is next, the Munna had returned. They had gobbled through the berries in a few minutes, despite how many there were. "No way! How did they get through so many of them?!"
"We have to hurry! Think of more Chesto Berries! This time a lot!" Brock yelled. They dreamt up more Chesto Berries to keep them busy as they advanced onwards to the next dream. Twilight's dream.
However, for Twilight's case... she wasn't dreaming... she was having a nightmare. A nightmare about what Obsidian brought up. The fake friendship. Her fear of leaving Ash and Pikachu once both worlds return to normal was still in her. And how this was all just an alternate universe with different events that play out with different outcomes.
"Twilight? She's having a nightmare instead. But of what?" Rarity wondered as the answers had flown right beside them all. Everypony could see a projection of Obsidian talking to Twilight on that day. They had finally seen the truth. Celestia already knew since Twilight came to tell her, but the others not really. Now that they were exposed to it, they began to worry for their friend. And also wonder how this is all an alternate reality.
"I don't get it. This has all happened before? Are we sure this is not just some crazy dream like the rest?" Rainbow Dash said.
"No. This is what Twilight is fearing and reminiscing. It has already happened and now it is coming back to haunt her." Luna explained.
"So wait. All of this isn't meant to exist? Our worlds crossing over?"
"I'm afraid so, Fluttershy. This just shows how much power The Rift holds." Celestia replied.
"What do we do? Twilight's hit pretty hard with this and she'll never let it go." Rainbow Dash worried,
"That is a solution that will be solved in the outside world in her own way. Right now. We need to focus on saving her from the Munna."
On the outside world, Darkrai had placed all those who had their dreams eaten into nightmare states. The Munna situation had slowed down as time was advancing forward. The morning was closing in. Darkrai was maintaining everything if he saw another wake-up. He looked up at the moon, waiting it out.
"Hurry Luna. The night will be over soon."
The group had engaged in Twilight's dream as Applejack returned back to her normal self to try and comfort her friend.
"Twilight. Twilight!" She called out her. Twilight's eyes opened as she looked up at AJ. "Twilight. You have to come with us. The Dream World's in a bit of danger right about now."
"Applejack... I don't want to lose this friendship I've made with Ash and Pikachu. I don't want it to be fake. I want it to be real-"
"Your friendship with em is real. Right now if you wanna save your friends you gotta come with us to save them before it's too late." "Applejack said.
"Okay..." Luna placed the upset Twilight in the same bubble as the Munna were returning. They had finished the berries much faster this time.
"Impossible! How did they finish through them much fast this time?!" Rarity yelled. They dreamt of more chesto berries but this time, they avoided it.
"They're adapting! They know that it's just a distraction now!" Brock replied. The group were on a race. Luna had to not only solve the Munna problem but also lower the moon soon. They had arrived in the next and final dream. A shared dream. Ash and Dawn's dream.
Right now the two were facing their own challenge. Ash in a league and Dawn in a contest.
"Ash! Dawn!" Pinkie cried out. They both looked up to see the group escaping from a horde of Munna.
"What the?!"
"Pika?!"
The Munna had grown teleported in front of the barrier, using psychic to break it. They have grown smarter and stronger in these past few minutes.
"M-My barrier!" The Munna held the group up with Psychic, ready to devour their dreams.
"My dreams are precious! Don't eat them!" Rarity yelled.
"How am I supposed to come with new recipes!" Pinkie followed.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash had stopped the Munna from eating with a thunderbolt. Not just a normal thunderbolt, an amped-up thunderbolt due to this being a dream. "What's up with all these Munna?"
"The Rift changed up the nature of them. Not only that but it made so that when they eat dreams, they prevent you from ever dreaming or sleeping again." Brock explained.
"Seriously?! Well, how do we stop it?"
"That's what we were trying to figure out. So far everything we do has been a bust." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Well to be honest. I think we need to think outside the box for this one." As Ash was talking, the Munna had emerged up once more after recovering from the thunderbolt. Then, the dream eater Pokemon had grown to the size of giants, filling up the stadium.
"Woah nelly." Applejack and the others looked up at the gigantified Pokemon. They were massive in size and now they could snatch up their dreams from an easy distance.
"What now?" Celestia said.
"If they wanna dream big. Then we'll dream big too." Ash began dreaming of absurd things. He dreamt his Pikachu to be much bigger than the Munna's. Pikachu towered over them easily. "Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu whacked its iron tail on them. The impact made a loud noise due to how large they all were. One Munna was hit into the other, causing a domino effect.
"Nice hit Ash!" Dawn yelled.
"Piplup!"
"What have we been doing? We've been so focused on trying to escape from them and trying to find a way to protect everypony else... we forgot that this was a dream. We can go nuts!" Rainbow Dash said.
"But we have been going as nuts as we can." Fluttershy replied.
"Not nuts enough." Rainbow began thinking as she made herself an Alicorn. "Oh yeah. This will do." Rainbow Dash flew up, blasting away at the Munna. The others pitched in. Soon they all begun dreaming even bigger than they have. Things they never thought they would dream of, at least not yet. Celestia dreamt up a cake fortress where she was completely safe. Fluttershy dreamt up a giant-sized Angel Bunny to protect her. Pinkie Pie made a swarm of cupcakes to ride on and overwhelm the Munna. As the others played their part, Twilight was still on the downside.
"How many minutes left until morning comes?" Ash said.
"Not long. We only have about 9 minutes until I have to raise the sun." Celestia said in her fortress of cakes which were firing loaded cakes.
"Only 9 minutes? Then we'd better do our best to keep them busy."
As everyone was doing their best to hold the Munna off, some of them were starting to wake up. Other ponies had different wake-up times compared to others, so some woke up at around 6:00 am. Thankfully, these were the ponies who weren't caught by Munna.
The giant Munna had lifted them all with Psychic as they surrounded them in a prison made of hard steel.
"This won't stop us!" Applejack dreamt for her hooves being as strong as steel. She bucked on the prison bars, breaking them with ease. The Munna then scattered about to catch them all from different sides.
"Oh no, you don't! Piplup! Whirlpool!" Dawn commanded her Piplup as it released a barrage of huge whirlpools which caught the Munna in it.
Unfortunately, somepony had been caught by a sneak attack Munna. A tiny one even. Pinkie Pie was the next to have her dream devoured.
"Pinkie Pie!" They all cried out. Soon all the Munna became smarter and smarter. Some had even turned invisible. One had chomped on Brock's dream next. To stop this, Ash made Pikachu toss a huge electroweb, however, the Munna had adapted so far to the point where Electric Type moves became an immunity to them.
"They're immune now! Then we'll have to use moves we don't know! Pikachu! Dragon Claw!" Using the power of his imagination in his dreams, Ash made it so that Pikachu can now use Dragon Claw, knocking away the Munna with such great range.
"We only have 6 minutes left!" Celestia said.
"Sister. You must wake up now! We can handle the rest."
"Are you sure Luna? This is taking everypony to handle this."
"I am sure. It may all be overwhelming but it is still something that I can handle. You have to raise the sun to wake everypony up!"
"Very well. But how am I going to-" Luna slapped Celestia, which made her wake up. "Ow!" Celestia held her cheek as she flew out of her bed. "Alright everypony. It's time to wake up!" Celestia's horn glowed as she began to raise up the sun, much faster this time.
Time was running short. Other ponies had their dreams eaten as Darkrai kept giving them all nightmares repeatedly.
"Oh no... I think I'm fully charged." Rainbow Dash was next to wake up. "See you on the outside!" She had woken up, vanishing from the dream world.
"It seems that my time up is almost up, darlings. Good luck!" Rarity followed suit.
In order to end this all in one final last-ditch effort. The Munna all charged in from all sides.
"They're gonna crash into us?!" Dawn yelled.
"Oh no, they won't!" As the Munna's closed in, Ash dreamt up him and Pikachu being micro-sized as they avoided the charging Munna's. Everypony came up with their own creative ideas to avoid the Munna's over and over again. Making it like a game of cat and mouse.
And now. Only 7 seconds remain.
"Time's almost up!" Fluttershy exclaimed. The sun was at its highest point now.
"Great! Now we just have t-" From behind, Munna was about to deliver a sneak attack on Ash.
"ASH LOOK OUT!" They all pointed. Twilight dreamt herself of being an alicorn as she zoomed in, rescuing Ash from the Munna.
"Nice save Twilight!" Time was finally up. The sun was up, ponies were waking up one by one along with Pokemon and humans. Ash had woken up along with Pikachu. Then Twilight, then Fluttershy and so on.
"We're up! Finally!" Ash said.
"Pika!"
"It's not over yet. There are still others who haven't woken up yet. And my nightmares are still in play." Darkrai replied.
"What do we do then?" Applejack said.
Luna emerged from the Dream World. Her time was up. "There is only one thing left to do." Luna knew of one way to wake everypony up. She flew into the air as she used her Royal Canterlot Voice.
"AWAKEN, CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE!"
That woke them all up. Some fell out of their beds as others jumped up from the shock of the loud voice. All of Ponyville had woken up.
"Ugh... now of all times?" Lyra said, wanting to go back to bed. Munna had left the Dream World as well. The ponies over at Canterlot woke up earlier than most so it could not get as many as it wanted from that side. Only Ponville was its best option. Munna rose up into the air with its eyes glowing. Unfortunately, one thing that the Rift didn't take into play was Munna's stamina. After all of that chasing and eating, it was tired. Which is why it left the Dream World. It was aiming for the nightmares but it ran out of steam. Then the Dream Eater Pokemon had snapped out of it, fainting. But not before it gave off a pink mist.
"It's over. Oh, thank goodness." Fluttershy sighed with relief.
"Congratulations. You've waited out the Munna and night." The Rift had appeared congratulating them. "To be honest, I was getting bored until the second half. This short little event has been fun and all. But I cannot wait to see the next one." The Rift had gone off once more, back to its own realm where it dwells.
"I can't stand that thing." Rainbow Dash said.
"At least it's all over now. Now we just wait for the nightmares to be over. My, that was weird..." Applejack was still taken aback by how wild that was even for a dream.
This pandemonium that was to befall upon the Dream World was at the end of the day, Munna. It may have been short, but this will be a night that nopony will ever forget.
Twilight being the new assistant at Professor Cerise's research facility has prompted her to research on Pokemon further. Today she learns about moves. And how some of them work. It was easy to understand a few of them. Bite, Tackle, Scratch, Peck. All simple and understandable. But some of them are much harder to explain.
"Let's see. This one is odd. Swords Dance. Do some Pokemon have swords? And this one, Noble Roar. Some of these are so bizarre."
"That's the beauty of Pokemon, Twilight. How strange they all are." Cerise said walking to her assistant.
"Professor Cerise. Mind telling me how Pokemon moves even work?"
"It'd be difficult. To be honest, to understand how they work you'd need to see them for yourself."
"Are there some that you can explain to me at least?"
"Well, I can explain Grass Types, Fire Types, Water Types and Electric Types. But those ones are simple and easy because they are natural to the world. However, they aren't without their fair share of bizarre moves."
"I see. Guess I'll have to find out for myself."
"You do that. By the way Twilight."
"Yes, Professor?"
"Have you been seeing something odd in this lab recently?"
"No? Like what?"
"Must be a ghost type. Oh well. Good luck."
For Twilight's first mission on finding out on how moves work, she went over to SugarCube Corner. Slurpuff seemed like a Pokemon that would have bizarre moves.
"Pinkie Pie. Are your Slurpuff's here?"
"Right here!" Pinkie Pie and her Slurpuff were already planning on making the next delivery.
"Good. I need to observe them for a while. How they perform moves."
"Moves? Oh, you must mean their weird pink wind they can bring out."
"Weird pink wind?" That weird pink wind that Pinkie described was Fairy Wind. The Slurpuff used Fairy Wind as it went through SugarCube Corner. It stirred up had a nice feeling to it. "Oh. So that's what it is."
"Yeah. In fact. It's great for clearing out any thick air. It REALLY helps make this place much sweeter than it already is!"
"I see. Well, it's odd. A pink wind. I have to see if there's a move that describes that." Twilight scrolled through the moves book, looking for anything that would match until she found it. "Here it is. Fairy Wind."
"Fairies? Silly Twilight. Slurpys aren't fairies. They look a little like smaller bears actually." The nickname she had given them.
"That's the type Pinkie."
"Type?"
"Pokemon have types. 18 in total. Back with Rainbow Dash's first gym battle that was solely a Grass Type gym."
"Oooh. So what does that make Slurpy?"
"From what I can guess. The pink color scheme, move called Fairy Wind... that's a fairy type. Now to move on to the next move."
"Okay! Have fun! Oh, Slurpy! Do you think this vanilla pie is cooked enough?" She put a pie next to a Slurpuff.
"Slur!" It nodded in approval.
"Okay. Rarity has a ton of Sewaddle in her shop. I found out that they're Bug and Grass types. This should be straightforward."
Inside Rarity's shop, the Sewaddle's were sewing away.
"Oh Twilight, darling. Can I help you?"
"Yes, Rarity. I want to know.. what moves do these Sewaddle have? Or at least what they can do."
"I can refer to their wonderfully useful threads."
"Their threads huh? That move would be... string shot."
"Their threads have this perfect stick to them. Because of this, this removes any chance of my dresses falling apart if they were ever to be caught in a disaster. Why I don't think I would be able to rip them apart if I really tried."
"Sticky thread huh? This stuff is tough now is it?" Twilight went up, placing her hooves on one of the Sewaddle's threads. It stuck to her like glue. "Eugh."
"I said the same thing, darling. But really the disgusting part is hidden by the usefulness."
"Uh-huh. Well, this is actually natural. Most bugs have sticky strings. Come to think of it.. most Pokemon resemble that of already existing animals. What's up with that? Pikachu's a mouse, Minccy is a Chinchilla and most the flying types are all different breeds of birds. Could it be that Pokemon are just normal animals but embedded with magic in them that changes up their shape and form into something more mystical?"
Twilight was in one of those states again. Where she thinks too deep into everything.
"Twilight, darling. If you would like to know more, I would recommend going to Fluttershy. She already has a good grip on this."
"You're right. She managed to understand and bond with Pokemon in one day. She'll know something!"
At Fluttershy's Cottage, The Pokemon House...
Dawn and Brock had stayed behind to help with the house. Like caretakers to certain Pokemon. Today, young fillies are visiting the Pokemon House as a trip.
"So Dawn. Where are you headed next after all of this?" Brock asked her friend.
"I'm off to the Johto Region next. They just got their own contest halls recently. I wanna compete there."
"I'm surprised Johto got one. They're more of a traditional region compared to the others."
"I also want to try the contests here. I heard that BigTime Ben had also helped make Equestria's first-ever Contest hall. I can't wait!" Dawn was already a big coordinator after so much hard work. But she wanted to advance even further than she already has.
"Look at this one, girls!" Applebloom was admiring a Fomantis which drew her attention.
"This one? It's not that interesting looking." Scootaloo wasn't impressed by it at all. "Now this one is more my thing!" The little pegasus went pointed over at a Luxio. The Flash Pokemon.
Diamond Tiara, on the other hand, was admiring a Pokemon that felt akin to her class. A Swanna that was in the water type section, whilst Silver Spoon grew a liking to a Beautifly.
Twilight had arrived to see the young ones on their Pokemon House trip as she headed to Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy. There you are."
"Twilight. Glad you're here. Have you come to help with some adjustments to the house?"
"Oh no. I came to ask you about moves. Specifically what Pokemon can do."
"Moves? Oh, I see what you mean."
"You're pretty good with Pokemon. And they're essentially animals but different. So you can tell me how some of the more obscure ones work right?"
"Oh yes. I do indeed."
"Great! Now... what can you tell me about the move, Water Pulse. How does that work?"
"Well, Concussive waves of water are pretty dangerous. Water can be disruptive, more than most things. Its why the word pulse is in there."
"Is that so? That sounds a bit dangerous. Which Pokemon can even use these?"
"Mostly Water-Types. But no need to worry. These lovable little ones would never do that out of nowhere. If they did then everpony's ears would feel that force and noise."
"Yikes. Well, that-" Twilight's words were stopped by Rainbow Dash who fell from the sky. "Rainbow Dash?!"
"Sorry. Came down too fast." The pegasi shook the dirt off her.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to sync better with Rufflet. I think if we both practice flying speeds then we're gonna blitz through every gym. The Pokemon won't even know that Rufflet moved." Rufflet had flown down, only seconds after Rainbow Dash.
"Uh-huh. Well, Rainbow Dash. Can you tell me about moves? At least your Rufflet's."
"Sure! Rufflet learned a new one even!"
"A new move? They can learn new moves?!" Twilight went over the book to see where it said that Pokemon can learn moves over time.
"Yeah! Check it out. Rufflet. Use Tailwind." Rufflet had kicked up a turbulent wind that blew on the opposing side. "This is what I need! With this move, my Pokemon will be able to move even faster! I can just imagine how fast Whirlipede would move with all the wind in our favor."
"Of course! A tailwind. How obvious. Well, it seems I can get a good breakdown on how moves really work, even the more strange selections."
"Like how?"
"Flying-type moves are the way they are because they mainly have something to do with the air, the wind and the sky. And even what birds naturally do. How didn't I notice it before? Everything has a reason for the way it is. Haha. That's another lesson done." Twilight had closed the book.
"All of this to learn about certain moves?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Mhm. I didn't understand it at first, but now it's all so clear and easy."
"Not all of it. Look." Fluttershy pointed over at a move that was tough to describe. A Corphish had broken a rock in half with its crab hands that lit up. That move was specifically Crabhammer.
"Did that crab's claws light up?" Rainbow Dash said.
"How can this be? Is there a light type that I'm unaware of?" Twilight opened the book up to find anything about this.
"I don't think so. I think it's just how some Pokemon showcase their energy." Fluttershy replied.
"Energy?" They both said in unison.
"Like how whenever Ash tells Pikachu to use the move Iron Tail, Pikachu's tail lights up and is just as heavy and hard as iron. From what I can tell, certain Pokemon improvise."
"Improvise?"
"Yes, Twilight. See that Wooper over there?" Fluttershy pointed at the little Water Fish Pokemon. "They only have feet and a tail. No claws, appendages or paws. But it can use a move called Dig. Because it doesn't have any upper limbs, it uses its hard head and feet to dig underground. Ash taught me this by showing me what his Pokemon can do to get creative.
"I still don't get it.."
"Look Twilight. I think Pokemon are a bit out of your reach for now. We still have no idea what they're capable of. So don't worry about it too much." Rainbow Dash said to her friend.
Twilight sighed, taking Rainbow's advice. "You're right. I shouldn't worry about it too much. It's just that. Pokemon are just so interesting to me. They're like nothing we've ever seen before. They can do so much and there so many of them with something that makes them stand out."
"In that case. I can show you the beauty of them." Fluttershy suggested.
"Beauty?"
"Alright, every-pokemon!" Fluttershy called out for all the Pokemon in the house. "Why don't we all show Twilight, how wonderful you can all be."
On the other side, Ash was at Sweet Apple Acres, helping Applejack out as he was pulling some logs.
"Come on Ash! Put your back into it!" Applejack yelled. Granny Smith and Big Mac were also watching from afar along with Pikachu.
"This is nothing! I've pulled heavier things!" Ash was to take these logs which had filled up the Orchard and place them away from Sweet Apple Acres. The trainer had reached a good enough distance, placing them down. "Whew."
"Good job there, Ash. I gotta say, you're might strong for your build. If I didn't know any better I'd say you come from a line of hard workers."
"Thanks, Applejack. I guess all that journeying improved my natural skills as well."
"Natural is right. Sonny, you could fool a feller with just your appearance alone." Granny Smith said. "I mean look at you. Your hair's all scruffy." She rustled his hair by taking his hat off. "Your clothes look like they haven't even been washed or taken care of for weeks. And you're built averagely."
"Uh...gee thanks, Granny Smith." Ash felt stung by those words a bit. Granny was a bit too honest there.
"No problem sonny. Now, are you gonna help for a little while?"
"Sorry, no can do. I promised I'd help Rainbow Dash train today. Me and Pikachu gotta get going now."
"You have fun then. Oh, by the way, Ash. Some feller came over to tell you that I should give you this." Applejack lent a purple bracelet over to Ash. "Didn't say his name, but apparently you might need it."
"Alright." Ash placed the bracelet on his hands as he felt a slight flash in his eyes. It didn't bother him too much. "Woah... freaky. Come on Pikachu. We gotta get going!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off Big Mac's back, heading off with his partner.
Back at the Pokemon House, Twilight was shown just how wonderful Pokemon can be. A group of Florges had used petal blizzard and magical leaf as they soared in the sky, creating a spiral of beautiful leaves. Next, a flock of Staravia's flew around the leaves, creating a wind current around them. Then, one Staravia set apart the leaves by spreading its wings out. The leaves beautifully flew onto the ground. The next beauty was introduced by some Floatzel's who rose into the air via Aqua Jet. 10 of them in total were in the air as they made a perfect line full of Aqua Jets. It was like watching multiple fountains go up. A Gorebyss swam up through the Aqua Jet's rising into the air. To make them stay up there a longer, a Kadabra had used psychic to keep them still. The Aqua Jet's were then radiated in a beautiful light by a Lanturn letting out its bright light. Golden lights surrounded the Aqua Jet's, giving them a golden outline. The Water-Type Pokemon were really putting on a show. Kadabra had then let go of them as they were falling back into the water. Before they hit the water, A Lumineon had shown off its luminescent light from underneath. Lanturn joined in as both blue and golden lights shined from above and below. The Water-Types returned to the lake as the aftermath was a beautiful light show of blue and gold water spouts rising up, giving everypony a wonderful sight.
"It is beautiful..." Twilight was stunned as everypony applauded. Even Diamond Tiara could get behind it.
"See Twilight? Pokemon are amazing creatures. We may not understand them... but I think that's the beauty of them. That they are so mysterious and full of wonder."
"Yeah... I guess so. I've been so caught up on trying to figure out how they work and what they can do... I didn't take into account how majestic they can be without any explanation."
Twilight had realised it all now. Pokemon were on another level of mysterious. Maybe one day she'll figure them out. But for now, she can just sit back, relax and enjoy this world for what it is.
Celestia had just gotten back from a daily decree concerning other decrees. Her Ralts Passion had been waiting for her to get back all day.
"Hello, Passion. I'm back. Sorry I was gone for so long."
"Ralts."
"Princess Celestia. The human from the other side has arrived." A guard said.
"Excellent. I have a feeling he'll make an excellent Tutor to the little ones. I want this world to embrace Pokemon even more. If you would be so kind. Please direct him to the main class."
"Understood." The guard left the room, heading to this newcomer who would teach the young ones. A man by the name of Hollow. From first glance, he looked like trouble. His sharp eyes, black and gothic clothing make him uncomfortable to be around. It didn't help that he had an intimidating name and a Scrafty, a Dark-type with black sunglasses on. And Dark-types don't get the best reputation.
But Celestia had trusted this man thanks to Passion being able to sense what kind of person he is.
"Hollow. Your tutoring begins. Princess Celestia ordered that we guide you to the classes." The guard said to him. He led the trainer to the class filled with colts and fillies who were ready to learn. The moment he entered the room, they had all frozen at the sight of him. Some hid behind their chairs, shaking.
"Hello, hello kids. My name is Hollow. I'm here to teach you all about Pokeballs and Regional forms." He was talking like any normal person would but his looks were still making the kids a bit terrified."Hm. Not really getting any responses. Okay, no problem. We can still get this lesson started. I can start off by showing you one of my partners. Come out." Getting out one his Pokeballs he let out his Pokemon, Delphox.
This was enough to grab their attention, as the little ones gawked at the Fox Pokemon.
"Wow... look at how pretty it is." A filly said.
"Why does it have a stick though?" A colt followed.
"I see you're already interested. This is Delphox. A Fire and Psychic-type. And if you're wondering what the stick is all about... that is actually a flaming branch which is used for psychic visions. Gazing into the fire can make it see into the future." Hollow explained.
"Oooooh.."
"Now that I have your attention, what say we discuss Pokeballs."
"Yeah yeah!" They were a little less scared of him now. He didn't seem like he would do anything dangerous to them.
"Okay. I'll start off with this." Hollow pulled out of his pocket a Great Ball. "This is a Great Ball. Similar to the red and white Pokeball, this one has a higher chance of catching a Pokemon. In fact, certain Pokeballs have better catch rates depending on the location, the Pokemon or even the weight."
"So what would count as the best Pokeball, Mr Hollow?" A young pegasus asked.
"The best? Well, the Master Ball is the peak Pokeball. It can catch a Pokemon without fail, no matter what."
"Oooh.."
"Problem is... they are incredibly rare. Only one guy has ever owned one fully and that is a guy named Sullivan, a fisherman. When I came across him, apparently he had a master ball ready to catch a Whiscash named Nero... but the Whiscash ate it. So it's gone." All the children laughed at that small story about the Master Ball and the Whiscash.
"Mr Hollow. How were the Pokeballs made?"
"How were they made? Well, it all began in the Johto Region. People discovered this by using Apricorns found in trees. They cut and carved them out while placing a special device inside of them. This allows the Pokeball to function, otherwise, it would just normal fruit. Although over time, Pokeballs have been mechanically made like the ones over at the Devon Corporation or Silph Co."
"So, how long ago was that?"
"Pretty long ago. 1925 was when the first Pokeball was made. Although that number of year might seem a bit long compared to this world huh?"
"Mhm."
"Well, I've already talked about how they were made and when they were created. Anypony got any questions."
"I got one! What's the point of a Pokeball? That Ash kid has his own Pokemon and he's never in a ball. Always outside."
"Ash Ketchum from Kanto? Oh, I know of him. Well, some Pokemon don't prefer being inside their Pokeballs... but the main reason for their existence is mostly due to a Pokemon known as Primeape."
"Primeape?" They all said.
"Yeah. Primeapes are known for their intense rage. They are always angry no matter what and because of this, even humans who owned a Primeape were attacked by them. This was the case for other Pokemon but it was mainly Primeapes that caused the creation of the Pokeball. They were made to make sure that humans can keep them without any risk at all. Essentially making it so that they can train with their Pokemon without too much danger."
"Woah. So all of that just for one Pokemon?"
"Yes. Some Pokemon can be pretty dangerous you know. Now, I've explained the history of it. Let's move on to one other lesson. And this will be the last one for today. Regional Forms."
"Regional Forms?" All of them said.
"Yes. Certain Pokemon have alternate forms and looks depending on what region they're in. This is caused when certain Pokemon adapt to the habitats of the region they're in. Even their types change."
"Oooh! So do they like grow big or something?!" A rambunctious unicorn said.
"Well no not really. They mostly stay the same size...But they do increase in weight. An example of an original form to a regional form can be of this. Come out Linoone." He sent out a Linoone, the original form from Hoenn. "This little guy is Linoone. This is what they originally look like. A normal type and just standard. But that's nothing compared to it's regional form. Its Galarian form."
"What's that like?"
"Dark and Normal. Its look is all kinds of different. It gains black patterns instead and has an extra evolution that the original line doesn't have. Although, I still love my Linoone the way he is."
"Wow. Pokemon are so strange..."
"That's the beauty of them, my little pony. It's the mystery they hold that makes them so wonderful. Now, I wanna excite you all. Back to the topic of Pokeballs... why don't we go out and try catching some Pokemon?"
"No way! You'd actually take us out to catch some? But we're not Pokemon trainers. Some of us haven't even registered for the Pokemon League. We're too young."
"Don't worry about it. Catching Pokemon doesn't really have an age limit. Before we go, I need to know your names so I don't lose track of any of you."
After a few minutes of introducing everypony, they were ready to go out. The first location they went over to was Saddle Lake. Tons of Water-types dwelled there since Water-Type Pokemon have the most Pokemon out of all 18 types. There, the fillies and colts were given pokeballs to use. Specifically quick balls. Effective on the first go.
The little ponies started catching away as a lot of them were not very good at it. The Water-Types simply dove down into the lake, avoiding them. Hollow watched this as he saw some of them get successful catches but not much. Then from the distance, he saw a familiar well-known face to others.
"Look at that. Ash Ketchum!"
"Hm? Oh hey! What's going on here?" Ash and Pikachu walked over to see what this catching spree was all about.
"Well, I'm just letting the boys and girls catch Pokemon. Though they don't seem to be good at throwing Pokeballs. Can't blame them. This is all new territory. My name is Hollow. I'm right now working at Canterlot to teach these kids." Hollow explained.
"Oh, so now humans can teach here? Sweet. I would like to do that, though I don't think I'm qualified as a teacher."
"Pikachu.." As the catching went on, that one rambunctious unicorn from before was about to try something insane. The unicorn was named Sunrise Sprint, an orange unicorn with a mane that can only be described as aloof. And right now he was using a fellow colt as bait to draw in the Pokemon.
"Come on.. take the bait!" He said.
"Sunrise! Knock it off!" His fellow classmate said he was being dipped in water. Sunrise was a bit of a wild one. He tends to think outside of the box but in extreme ways. Ways that he thinks gets things done faster.
"Sunrise. Would you let go of him already?" Another pony said.
"Fine." Sunrise placed him back on land. These Pokemon are too timid. They keep diving back down if anypony gets too close.
"Drawing in Pokemon are tough. Usually, they come to you out of instinct but some are on the more shy side." Hollow said.
"Feh. Well, I wanna catch a Pokemon already."
"Give it time Sunrise."
One pony was exempt from the group, hiding actually. A young blue earth pony by the name of Dew Drop. She had a bit of a fear of Pokemon. They were new to her and seemed to be everywhere in the world right now. She has a phobia of animals. Ash noticed the cowering pony as Pikachu went over to her.
"Pikachu?"
"Eeep!" She screamed as she hid up a tree, fearing Pikachu as he got close.
"What's wrong with her? She seems scared." Ash asked.
"No idea. I think she might have a fear of Pokemon. Dew Drop! You can come down it's okay!" Hollow said.
"..." Dew Drop was shaking in the tree as she made leaves fall down.
"Come on! Pikachu won't hurt ya. He's a great guy to be around."
"Pika-Pi!"
Dew Drop looked down at the Electric Mouse Pokemon and found him to have a cuteness factor. But that didn't stop her from still being afraid.
"I'm afraid it might s-shock me!"
"Pikachu won't shock you. They're quite friendly you know. You can trust me." Ash said to her. Dew Drop looked down as she thought about it for a second. She slowly slid down as she picked up a twig, moving it near Pikachu.
"Pika." Pikachu looked at the twig as he poked it with his tiny little mouse hands. Dew Drop smiled a little bit as she went closer to Pikachu. Even if she was afraid, no harm in getting a little bit closer to the cuter ones.
"See? Pikachu's harmless once you get to know him."
"I guess so." The little filly quietly said.
"That is going to be my next lesson tomorrow. Teaching them about cute and intimidating Pokemon and how you don't need to always catch cute Pokemon. The more burly and serious ones can be caught as well." Hollow replied.
Sunrise had used a small bit of magic to pull up a Pokemon. But he was only able to do so because the Pokemon was super light. A Horsea to be exact.
"Finally! Alright! Get in the Pokeball!" He tossed the quick ball, but Horsea suddenly smacked the Pokeball back into his face. "Oof!" He was knocked back as the Horsea went back into the lake. "Why that little-"
"Hah! Maybe you shouldn't talk to them like that." A pony said to him, laughing at what just happened.
"Feh. Just caught me off guard." Sunrise tried to act cool about it.
After some catching, the colts and fillies had placed their pokeballs near Hollow as he examined how many were truly caught.
"24 in total. Not bad. Though it did take a while." The pokeballs were sitting there until...
They were snatched by a large net. Only one reason behind that. That signature Meowth Balloon.
"Yoink! What's yours is ours now!" Jessie said.
"TEAM ROCKET!" Ash yelled.
"Pipi-Pikachu!"
"Sorry to make this short Twerp! But we've got places to be! But we'll be back for that Pikachu! Don't worry!"
"That won't happen! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu charged up a thunderbolt, sending it towards them. However, from underneath the ballon came out Wobbuffet who used Counter to send it back. They had ended up using Wobbuffet as a weapon in case they tried to stop them like always.
"Hah! Juked you out!" Meowth said.
"They won't get far. Delphox! Come out and use Mystical Fire!" Hollow tossed Delphox up who used Mystical Fire in midair. Wobbuffet was ready to counter even this one.
"Pikachu! Electroweb!" Pikachu joined in by using Electroweb. The Mystical Fire distracted Wobbufet whilst the electroweb hit the balloon.
"Cheap shot!" James bellowed. The balloon was sent crashing down on the ground. Team Rocket had jumped out of the destroyed balloon, aggravated.
"You're going to regret that. Go!" Jessie was about to toss a Pokeball.. but she remembered something. When they had their final time in Alola and the two worlds collided, they never bought a Pokemon along with them. As such... they had none of their Pokemon with them. "Uh oh."
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Delphox! Shadow Ball!"
"Pika-Chuuu!"
"Del...Phox! Both attacks raced forward, striking Team Rocket head-on, as it sent them off into the sky.
"You know the next time we plan a snag. Let's not forget the backup." Jessie sighed.
"On the plus side, this is the fastest we've been defeated in a long while. So it shows we haven't lost our groove yet." James followed.
"I don't think that's the positive." Meowth finished.
"Wobbufet!"
"We're blasting off again!"
"Man, they're just as persistent as me." Ash said.
THAT WAS AWESOME!" Sunrise yelled as the other little ponies cheered.
"At least the kids got a great show." Hollow replied. The day was coming to an end. Hollow was to return with the children as they were to head home as well. "Thanks for the help, Ash. Nice meeting you today."
"No problem, Hollow. Good luck teaching these kids." They shook hands, saying goodbye to each other as they went their separate ways.
When Ash returned, he saw Applejack and Spike a bit on the tired side. "Woah. What happened to you two?"
"Timberwolves... Becoming Applejack's assistant. Damsel!" Spike said, trying to catch his breath.
"Okay then."
"Pikachu."
Over at the realm where The Rift dwells.
"If I'm not mistaken. What follows next is the return of Discord correct?" Obsidian said.
"You mean that weird combination of multiple creatures? Oh yeah... he did get freed from stone in the original timeline didn't he?" Emerald replied.
"If he returns, then that means double the chaos. What do you say, Rift?"
"We will let history play out for this one. Discord will make things interesting with the inclusion of Pokemon. I am already aware that he knows of my existence. In the meantime... Emerald Aura. Cold Colt. I want you two to live in Ponyville."
Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Spike were a bit far from Ponyville, waiting around for Princess Celestia. It seemed like it was important.
"I love it when Princess Celestia comes to Ponyville! I got my hoof shined just like Rarity for the occasion. You like?" Pinkie Pie said as she showed her shiny hoof to Rarity.
"I most certainly do." Rarity replied, looking herself in the hoof mirror.
"I'm surprised she's not here yet." Twilight said.
"I wonder what's taking so long?" Spike was getting impatient.
"And where are Applejack and Fluttershy?" She continued.
"Fluttershy's detained helping Applejack with a mishap at Sweet Apple Acres. They'll be alone." Rarity answered.
"I still don't get why the princess would be so late?" Spike replied.
"She's bringing an important. That could be part of it." Twilight speculated. Had to be somepony big.
"A visitor who's important and slow.." Rainbow Dash sighed. Rarity came in to pitch in on who it could it be.
"Maybe. It's somepony so terribly important she still had more terribly important things to do before she got here."
Spike looked over and saw exactly who that important visitor was. And not one they wanted to see.
"Maybe the visitor has a deer antler, a goat leg, a batwing and a snake tail." Spike worriedly said whilst tugging on Twilight's tail, pointing at what he saw.
"Yeah right. That's Discord." Twilight found it ridiculous.
"Why in the wide, wide world of Equestria would Princess Celestia bring along someone like that." Rarity even found it ludicrous. She wouldn't do that, would she?
"M-M-Maybe you should ask her?" Spike pointed once more. Celestia had arrived in Ponyville. And like Spike said... the visitor fit that description perfectly.
It WAS Discord.
Twilight walked up to the Princess, a bit on the nervous side here.
"With all due respect princess... HOW COULD YOU BRING DISCORD HERE?! Ahem... your majesty."
"I'm fully aware that the last time Discord was here, he created serious havoc."
"If by serious havoc, you mean turning Ponyville into the chaos capital of the world." Rainbow Dash was not up for this.
"And tricking us all into being the opposite of our true selves." Rarity followed.
"And making yummy delicious chocolate milk rain all over the place without a single drop of whipped cream to go with it anywhere in sight! NOT A SINGLE GULLET!" Pinkie Pie yelled.
"Yes, I understand. But I have use for Discord's magic if it can be reformed to serve good instead of evil. This is why I've bought Discord here. Because I believe you are the ponies who can help him do just that. And he serves a great counter for the Rift."
"This will never work! This is a disaster! There'll be double the chaos! How will ever control him?! We're DOOMED!" Spike was panicking the most out of all of them.
"Need I remind you that you are the ponies who turned him back into stone like this in the first place?"
"I suppose we can just use the Elements of Harmony against him again if he gets out of hand." Twilight said.
"Uhh, we probably need a volunteer to run away from here right away to get them. I'll do it!" Spike was ready to book it until Celestia had stopped him.
"No need Spike. I have them right here. The guards placed down the chest, containing the Elements of Harmony. "And I've cast a spell so that Discord can't take them or hide them again. Now, where is Fluttershy? I believe she may know best how to begin reforming Discord?"
"Hey, guys. What are you- WHAT IS THAT?!" Ash arrived and saw Discord for the first time. He had no idea what amalgamation of creatures he was looking at.
"Pika!"
"This Ash. Is Discord. Lord of Chaos. And big trouble." Twilight explained.
"Ash. I have a question. Do you think you could help with reforming Discord?" Celestia asked.
"Me?"
"Ash? I don't think Ash knows what kind of problem Discord is. He's a handful. He won't be able to handle Discord's crazy reality-warping and manipulating hijinks." Twilight said.
"Well, it can't be too bad." Ash surprisingly replied, not worried.
"Huh?! How come!"
"I've experienced some Pokemon similar to this thing. A lot really."
"Then I am sure you, Fluttershy and everypony else can successfully reform him. Your bond with your Pikachu and your love for Pokemon shows much you understand creatures."
"You can count on us Celestia!"
"Pikachu!"
"This is a disaster waiting to happen." Spike said.
Behind some trees, Cold Colt and Emerald Aura were spying on them, seeing Discord.
"Oh, so that's Discord? Man, he is freaky looking. What is he even meant to be?" Cold Colt whispered.
"No idea. But we gotta see this. If we're gonna be living in Ponyville, we'd better see what everypony gets to, especially them. Always doing something wild." Emerald quietly responded. They were sent here to live as residents by the Rift. Despite everypony knowing who they are by now, especially Emerald Aura, they weren't just going to casually live in public. The Rift had made a hideout for them, right underneath SugarCube Corner of all places.
Pikachu was playing with Celestia's Ralts, Passion as they waited for Fluttershy to return. Ash observed Discord, having no idea what it is. He's seen some weird Pokemon that are hard to describe from first glance, but nothing like this.
"What even is this guy? He's got all kinds of parts on him."
"Well, Ash. He's a Draconequus." Celestia said.
"Dracon-new-quest?" Ash didn't know how to pronounce it properly. It was word new to him and he had never heard of a creature like that ever.
"It is confusing in every category. But, that summarizes Discord up perfectly. Pure chaos and disharmony."
"Oh. So this guy used to cause trouble?"
"You have no idea..." Rainbow Dash said. Fluttershy and Applejack had arrived to the area, finally.
"So they're gonna use her to reform him?" Cold Colt said.
"Apparently. This is how the original timeline went, minus the Pokemon. So if I'm right... then there's a chance that Discord's gonna find out about The Rift and things are gonna skyrocket." Emerald responded. They weren't the only ones spying. Team Rocket were snooping around as well.
"That thing causes chaos?" Jessie said.
"It certainly is a jumble of junk isn't it?" James followed.
"It looks like it some mook just smashed a bunch of creatures together." Meowth finished.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Shh! They look like you're about to do something." Jessie saw Celestia leave as they were left with Discord.
"Okay, ponies. Guess it's time to get started. Let's just hope this releasing spell works."
"Or, let's not." Spike replied to Twilight, hiding behind her.
"We'd best keep our elements on at all times till further notice." They had all equipped their elements, ready to free him. All of the elements shined, letting out a pulse representing their symbols as a rainbow travelled from each of them. Twilight's eyes shined as the rainbow surrounded the petrified Discord. Cracks formed from head to hoof. Light broke through, revealing parts of him returning as he was finally free once again.
Discord was back.
He let out a roar that soon turned into a yawn.
"Well, it's about time somepony got me out of that prison block. What a relief." He said as he snapped his fingers, transforming an innocent little Hoppip into a big burly beast that broke the ground underneath it. The girls had gasped at the sight.
"What do you think you're doing?" Twilight said to him. Discord was stretching about, already up to no good.
"Why stretching of course? When you're a creature of chaos, stone bodysuits aren't your typical go-to fashion choice." He kept stretching as he snapped his fingers once more. This time turning a cute little bunny into a menacing monster.
"Make that bunny cute again! Now!" Pinke demanded.
"Oh, he's adorable the way he is." Discord had scratched the bunny's chin as the transformed animal tried to take a bite out of the Lord of Chaos. "You know what else is adorable? You ponies truly believe you can reform me. And that you're putting your faith in this one here to make it happen. Along with some newcomer from the other side and his electric rodent. Makes me want to pinch your little horsey cheeks." He said having a magnifying glass that extended his eye on them as he then turned into a granny figure, pinching her little cheeks.
"How did you know about that?" Twilight asked.
"Being turned to stone doesn't keep me from hearing every word Celestia says. Although I admit it makes rolling my eyes a challenge." He took out his own eyes and rolled them as he emerged from the ground with his eyes returning back to him. "Now to be honest. I'm really a fan of this whole crossing worlds debacle. This Rift fellow is a big fan of mine. I can appreciate his work." Discord said whilst dressed up as a fan at a game with a flag and a number one fan foam finger that said 'Go Rift.'
"Of course a guy like you would like this!" Rainbow Dash yelled at him.
"Wha? How rude. Am I not allowed to appreciate fine art when I see it?"
"Listen here buster. If you don't want us to turn you back into stone, you'll zap those animals back the way they were pronto!" Twilight threatened him.
"Oh, you wouldn't dare turn me back to stone and risk disappointing your PRECIOUS Princess." Discord then teleported to Pikachu, examining him. "I must say, these Pokemon creatures have my interest. They're quite the conundrum."
"Pika.." Pikachu was a bit weirded out by Discord.
"And this young one here. Taking charge of these Pokemon creatures."
"So... this is what you really are?" Ash said.
"Well of course. The full showcase." Discord picked Ash up as he placed him on a throne. "I heard about your daring tales on how you helped save Canterlot, twice. Somepony should feel proud of themselves don't you think?"
"Leave Ash out of this Discord!" Fluttershy said as she flew up to him.
"What's the fuss? Your friend here intrigues me."
"I-He does?"
"Well of course. According to him, he's encountered beings like me before. Sounds to me like you know a thing or two about Chaos."
"Yeah it's true I do. The Pokemon I've encountered are sometimes mischievous. Mostly mythicals. So this Discord guy doesn't bother me too much, ya know."
"Seriously Ash?! What did you even go through?!" Rainbow Dash said.
"At least somepony can see that I am tolerable to be around. Now, how about you, Fluttershy?"
"I can tolerate you as well if I try hard enough. But first, you need to turn that bunny and that Hoppip back to normal! You think you can treat poor defenseless creatures like that and get away with it. You best watch your step buster! Or I'll give you... 'The Stare.'" This was a direct threat from a serious Fluttershy.
"The Stare. Oh no, please. Not that. Anything but your disapproving eyeballs." Discord was faking it, acting like that would even phase him. He laughed mocking the stare as Fluttershy intensified it.
"Oh no! No, no, no stop!" It looked like it was actually working. "Stop! I can't take it anymore! I'll do whatever you say because... BAHAHAHA! Hilarious!" It was just him faking it again.
"If it turns out we need to use the elements against you, I'm sure we can convince Princess Celestia it was a good reason." Twilight said.
"I suppose that's correct." Discord returned the Hoppip and Bunny back to normal, but he had also secretly made some beavers change nature. "Ooopsie. Well. It looks like I know where I'll be crashing while I'm being 'reformed.' With you Fluttershy." He teleported her to him, rubbing her head.
"Oh, dear." Fluttershy stammered. As the group, along with Discord, all left, Team Rocket, Cold Colt and Emerald Aura had stopped eavesdropping.
"They gotta reform that?!" Meowth said.
"If you think about it... if we get out hands on that Discord thing, we'll be changing the game like the Rift itself!" Jessie replied.
"That is if we can contain it." James retorted.
At Fluttershy's place, Discord had made himself comfortable by laying on the couch.
"He may be horrible, that doesn't mean we have to act the same way. We should at least try to be hospitable. You don't mind giving up your favorite spot on the couch, do you Angel Bunny?" Fluttershy said. Angel ran to the Lord of Chaos, trying to get him off the couch by pulling his lizard legs. "Oh. I'm sorry about Angel. Are you alright?" Fluttershy's kindness was really showing.
"Oh yes. Thank you, Fluttershy for your concern. If only your pony friends could be as considerate."
"Don't listen to him Fluttershy. He's just trying to drive a wedge between us like he always does." Rainbow Dash said.
"Now why in the world would I ever try to do a thing like that?"
"So we can't unite and use the Elements of Harmony against you, that's why!"
"I never thought of that."
"You big liar!"
"Now look who's a liar. Anyone can plainly see that I'm not BIG at all." He had shrunk himself down to size. He returned back to normal size as he ended up breaking a lamp.
He fixed it by replacing it with a strange lamp that was him in a tutu and it was all cracked. "There. all better."
"I can't watch." Applejack placed her hat over her face as the others walked out.
"We'll be outside." Dash said.
"You sure you're okay with this?" Twilight was severely worried for her friend.
"I know it's not gonna be easy, but Princess Celestia is counting on me. And I think I actually know what to do."
"You do?"
"I think the key is to befriend him. Being kind to him and letting him be my houseguest is probably the best way to do that."
"And you really think that'll work?"
"I think it's worth a try."
"Okay. But if you need us, all you need to do is whisper 'help' and we'll be back here with our elements. So watch that goat-legged step of yours, pal!"
"What? Look at me. I'm practically reformed already." He said, wearing a posh outfit. Fluttershy closed the door as the rest of them were all outside.
"She's really alright with him staying there?" Rarity blurted.
"That's what she said."
"Personally, I think we should come up with a backup plan. In case this whole 'befriending' business doesn't work out." Rainbow Dash suggested.
"Rainbow Dash is right. This is Discord we're talking about girls. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have another trick up ourselves."
"That's true Rarity. Ash. Can you get your Z-Ring just in case?" Twilight said.
"No need."
"Pikachu."
"What?!" They all said.
"Ash, what is it with you being all cool about this?!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"Ash, darling. Have you really experienced someone like Discord before?"
"Yeah... so many times. Me and Pikachu have gotten used to chaos." It was true. This mostly happened with Mythical Pokemon since they are known to be tricksters and have similar abilities like Discord. "Besides. Have some faith in Fluttershy. If she can snap those controlled Weavile's out of it with a simple talk and bonded with Pokemon in one day. I'd say she has it under control."
"Pi-Pikachu!"
"Oh Ash, you and Fluttershy are the same." Applejack facehoofed.
Back inside, Discord had gotten an idea that concerned the other world.
"You know. I would like to take a trip. A visit even!"
"A visit?"
"Yes. To the other side. All these little beasties have me interested. It wouldn't hurt to see other places now, wouldn't it? Being trapped in stone for a long time makes you miss out on some potential sights that you may never get to see."
"I guess so. We can go and visit."
"Excellent!" Discord snapped his fingers as he was in a tourist outfit along with Fluttershy having shades on her head. "We'll collect some Poke-Souvenirs along the way too."
Their first stop, Jubilife City. The largest city in the Sinnoh Region. Fluttershy had toured Discord around as he caused chaos wherever he went. First, turning a Shinx's tail into a wrecking ball, then making a trainer's Pokeball gain a tongue, licking it and finally, turning a Heracross into a Quadro-legged giant that hunted down any Bulbasaur's it came across.
"Discord!"
"Oopsie. Sorry about that. Guess this new world has me all excited. I just can't control all of it!"
"Well, please try and calm it down. This is Ash and Pikachu's homeworld."
"Oh, speaking of the two!" Discord snapped Ash and Pikachu here as they looked like they were previously laying down.
"Hm? What are we doing in Jubilife?"
"Oh, Ash. I hope you don't mind, but Discord really wants to know about your world. I think this is a good place to start reforming him don't you?" Fluttershy said.
"Hmm. I guess so. If that's the case then I can show him around."
"No need. I've already gotten a good scope of things." Discord said with his eye towering over Jubilife. "I must say, the creatures here are one of a kind. My personal favorite has to be those Ghost-Types. They know how to cause some quality chaos." Discord teleported to a trainer who was feeding her Munchlax. "Hello there. Mind telling me what this one is and what they do?"
"Uhh.. this is my Munchlax. And it has an insatiable appetite." The confused trainer said.
"Does it now? Let's see how insatiable." Discord turned the ground beneath them into vanilla frosting. Munchlax took a dive, eating the ground itself.
"What the?!" The trainer yelled confused. Munchlax was mowing through the vanilla ground like nothing.
"Discord! It'll devour the whole ground with nothing left at this point." Fluttershy said, looking upset at him.
"Come now, Fluttershy. It's in its nature. Besides, look how happy it is." Munchlax was super happy, eating away with no signs of slowing down.
"That may be true. But everyone else isn't too fond of it. They need something to walk on."
"Oh alright." Discord returned the ground back to normal as Muchlax's teeth made contact with hard concrete. Discord then teleported a bowl that had paper of all things in it as he was eating away. "You know, with all these Pokemon, the creativity is endless."
"Seems like you really enjoy chaos don't you?" Ash said.
"Of course. It's in my nature. I am a being of pure chaos. Without it I don't know what I would be."
"Maybe that's it!"
"What is?"
"Well, since it's your nature you can't help but do it. You just love doing what makes you happy don't you?"
"Hm. You do raise a good point Ash." Fluttershy replied. Maybe we should try giving you some space to let you be yourself actually."
"Really? Oh, thank you. The two of you are so understanding, unlike your pony friends."
"Hey! Don't talk bad about them like that!"
"Well, of course, you'd stand up for them. That's why you are the Element of Kindness after all. Now, where's a good spot for me to cut loose?"
Back at Ponyville, Golden Oak Library.
"That's weird. The spell I had in mind isn't in here. Spike, where are the other books I asked you to pull?"
"Right here Twilight."
"I really wanna have a reforming spell up and running pronto." She was cycling and scrolling through each of the books.
"But what if he makes the Elements of Harmony disappear like he did last time."
"Princess Celestia cast a spell protecting them remember. Uh oh." She dropped them all, not being able to find the spell.
"What's wrong?"
"Princess Celestia didn't cast a spell protecting our books. Everywhere I thought I'd find the reforming spell..." Pages were missing from the books.
Discord had just finished eating his bowl of Paper as he was in his comfortable space. And by that, he was at Lake Verity, home to the various Pokemon and Uxie, where everything was topsy turvy and he was relaxing whilst the Pokemon were flying about all of a sudden with streams of sweets in the sky. Even the ones who couldn't fly.
"I hope I'm not overdoing it now. I found this place to be more akin to me."
"Oh no. You just need some space to be yourself that's all. But um, could you please let the Pokemon down if you would?"
"Really? But look at how much fun they're having." The Pokemon, just like the Munchlax before were also having fun. Strangely enough, it seemed like most Pokemon aren't too bothered by this.
"They really are..."
Back at Ponyville, Twilight went to Fluttershy's cottage but found out she wasn't there.
"Fluttershy? She's not here. Oh no... What if Discord has done something awful to her! What if she's being held as a prisoner for fun!" Twilight was starting to worry and overthink. We have to find her Spike. Get the girls quickly!"
"Aye, Aye, Twilight!"
"Oh Fluttershy, please be safe."
She was safe. In fact, since Ash said that it was just his nature, things have been going swimmingly. Although the sight from a distance will look to anyone who passes by and see the lake just randomly spinning about.
"Well so far, this has been a joy. What's next on our Pokemon Tour?"
"Actually Discord. Since we've made great progress so far, why don't we show everypony else how much you've improved. We can bring them here if you don't mind."
"No problem, Fluttershy. We can get started right away." Discord snapped his fingers, bringing them all here instantly.
"Wha- Fluttershy! You're alright!"
"Hello, Twilight, everypony. Yes, I am alright."
"This chump better not have tried any funny business here!" Rainbow Dash said as she and the others took a moment to realise what was going on around them. "What the hay is this?!"
"This is just Discord having his free space. Everyone needs to be in a zone where they feel comfortable and themselves. And Discord is just experiencing that right now."
"Exactly Fluttershy. And I must say, this is equivalent to how much fun I've in a thousand years."
"Comfortable? Look at the place! It's all topsy-turvy and spinning around!" Rarity yelled. "And those poor little darlings are flying about."
"Actually, they like it."
They all looked at Fluttershy, confused about what she said.
"They do?"
"Yes. Though I'm not sure why actually. I guess it's their preference."
"Hehehahahaha!" Ash began laughing with Pikachu as they were sitting on a floating rock.
"What's so funny, Ash?" Rainbow asked.
"This is pretty fun ya know." Ash was standing atop a rock as he grabbed a hold of a Psyduck, flying about with him.
"I can't believe that he's enjoying himself. What did you do to our Ash?!" Rarity threatened Discord.
"Discord hasn't done anything to Ash. He's just enjoying himself along with Pikachu."
"He is?" They all said.
"Yes. It's not fitting to jump to conclusions."
"Urgh, Fluttershy! You're just gonna let him use his chaos magic all willy-nilly like this?" Rainbow was getting frustrated.
"Yes. I'm going to let him do what he loves. Because that's what friends do." Those words hit Discord a bit.
"We're friends?"
"Why of course. Even with the inclusion of the Rift, I've never seen everything so lively. And the Pokemon are enjoying themselves. Why you even made that Munchlax happy for a bit. And look at how happy Ash and Pikachu are."
"I've never really had a friend before..."
"Well, now you do."
"And by that logic, I guess you and I are friends as well. I haven't had this much chaotic fun since Hoopa." Ash also joined in, patting Discord's back.
"Pikachu!"
"...If Fluttershy and Ash can see the fun in it. Then I'll try and see it too."Pinkie Pie said.
"Pinkie?" Twilight said. Pinkie Pie hopped on a sweet trail as it took her on a ride. Some Nosepasses joined her on the stream. Pikachu hopped on her mane, joining her on the ride.
"They actually are enjoying themselves..." Discord was a bit surprised really. He had never expected an outcome like this. Usually, everypony just freaks out or gets confused when his chaos kicks in.
"Come on girls! This is actually all kinds of fun!" Pinkie Pie said as she grabbed Applejack and Spike, bringing them on the stream. Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were starstruck. They were actually enjoying this.
"I don't believe my stars."
"I'm with you AJ." Dashie replied to her.
"But how? I thought this would be too much to handle?" Twilight asked Fluttershy.
"At first I thought so, but then Ash told me about his nature."
"His nature?"
"I realised that I can't change someone for who they are. I can obviously make them have better manners and be a better pony or Draconequus. But if they're happy with who they are, then why try and stop that? If he's happy, then why not let him be happy." Not only did Fluttershy learn something new but so did Twilight.
"Who they are..." She quietly said.
"I don't know about this. This is still a bit out of hand." Rainbow was still skeptical about all of this.
"Don't worry Rainbow. I can get him to put it all back to normal soon. Right now. Why don't you join in on the fun?" A Mothim had flown over to Fluttershy, flying around her. "You can bring out Rufflet and Whirlipede."
"Hnngrh... fine." Rainbow sent out Rufflet and Whirlipede. Rufflet immediately went to attack the first Pokemon he saw. Whirlipede rolled on the streams. They were enjoying themselves in their own ways. Rarity could get behind it a little bit. She did see the streams as a bit on the fabulous side. Twilight wanted to talk to Ash on how he came to figure this out.
"Ash. How did you manage to figure Discord out and have him be.. well.. friends with you?"
"That's easy. It's all because of Mew."
"Mew? Really?"
"Yep. Mew and Discord are almost the same. And Hoopa too if I wanna include him. They both love to mess around because that's what makes them happy. Mew is the last of its kind. The other Mews evolved into Pokemon we know today. So it wants to have fun with everyone. Even if that means transforming into them to trick them into thinking they're another Pokemon. They just want a good time. Sure it can go overboard, but that's why they need friends to let them know when things are going too far."
"Wow. I never took into consideration on what you've been through for all these years. You have so much experience on this kind of stuff."
"Doesn't he?" Discord teleported to Ash.
"But I'm still pretty judgemental on your magic Discord. I know how you can use it to be extra-crafty."
"Foh. How rude."
"Well, of course, he's crafty Twilight," Fluttershy said. "I already know how he is, that's why I'm doing my best to gain his trust. Like a true friend."
"That's true."
"Come on Twilight. Join in on the fun if you want."
"Pikachu!"
"I'll pass. But all of this has made me learn something. I've learned that we shouldn't judge anypony on who they are based on what they do or change them for who they are. I guess chaos is fine when others are happy."
"You said it."
"Pika!"
"Well, Discord. I guess you're kinda okay. I can tolerate you. If they see good in you then I will too."
"Excellent. Group hug!" Discord grew huge hands, pulling them all in for a hug."
"I am truly amazed by what I've seen." Celestia had arrived, learning of what just happened via royal spy.
"Princess Celestia!"
"To be honest. I did not expect the outcome to be solved by this. By accepting Discord's nature whilst still teaching him how to improve is a well thought out lesson that even I forgot about. Fluttershy, Ash, Pikachu. You three have proven that you can accept anypony or Pokemon for who they are. The way you see the good in everyone truly is admirable."
"I suppose I have learned something myself today. These three are the first REAL friends I've ever had.."
"And we're going to keep it that way Discord." Fluttershy said with a smile.
"I'll leave the Elements with you... just in case." Celestia whispered to Twilight.
"Alright! I wanna try something new! Discord. Any ideas?" Ash was raring to have some more fun.
"Glad you asked." Discord made it so that all the Pokemon were giant-sized to ride on. Befriending Discord seemed impossible at first, but thanks to both Kindness and carefreeness, a new and chaotic friend was made this day.
A friend who is equal to that of the Rift. After all, to get rid of boredom, we all need a little Discord in our lives.
Rainbow Dash had just got done training up her team. She'll be going for her next gym battle in a few days, so she wants to prepare just a bit longer. Rufflet and Whirlipede had improved since then so she felt like she'll be ready.
"Finally. Once I head to the next gym in Dodge Junction, the second badge will be mine, easy peasy." She went over to take a small break, laying on what she thought looked like a cloud. Although it was a bit on the small size. Once she laid on it, the cloud started moving all of a sudden, without her controlling it. "What the? What's up with this cloud?" She noticed that the cloud also had blue features on them. Then it was revealed to not be a cloud. It was Pokemon.
"Oh, no way! A Pokemon as a cloud?!" She quickly got out her dex as the cloud-like Pokemon kept flying through the skies.
"Swablue. The Cotton Bird Pokemon. Swablu uses its cottony wings to polish everything around it. It also likes to land on people's heads so a woman walking down the sidewalk could suddenly discover she's wearing a fluffy Swablu hat." The dex said.
"Well, I like it. This is gonna be my 3rd member!" She got out a Pokeball, however, Swablu swooped up in the air, throwing her off balance. She flew off the Cotton Bird Pokemon, heading upwards. The chase was on. Rainbow Dash zoomed after it, planning to throw her Pokeball at the right moment. Swablue was pretty fast, able to even outpace Rainbow Dash for a bit.
"I've got you now!" Rainbow zoomed forward, picking up more speed. It looked like she was about to get it, but with a surprise juke, Swablu did a roll in the air, flying above and behind Rainbow Dash. "What the?!" Swablue giggled as it soared off.
"Oh, it is on." Rainbow Dash kicked her hooves back as she took off, leaving a strong wind pressure which knocked some Flying-types out of the air. She easily caught up to Swablu, grabbing the Normal-Flying type.
"Gotcha!"
"Swablu."
"Hehe. I could use you on my team. Two flying types never hurt anypony."
"Swa!" Swablu had laid on Rainbow Dash's head, acting as a hat.
"Uh. Thanks?" Rainbow Dash got out a Pokeball, however, Swablu had taken it from her holding it in its mouth. "Hey! That's my Pokeball!" Swablu just stood there with the ball in its mouth, staring her down.
"Aw come on..." All of a sudden, Rufflet jumped out of its Pokeball, itching to take on Swablu.
"Rufflet!" It cried out.
"Rufflet? You wanna battle Swablu? Good idea! That'll get my ball back and make catching easier. Go get em Rufflet!" Rufflet flew after Swablu who held the Pokeball in its mouth whilst flying away from the Eaglet Pokemon. It was flying against flying now. Rufflet grabbed a hold of Swablu's cotton with its beak, not letting go. Swablu spun around to try and shake Rufflet off but to no avail. The two were flying across the clouds all over Cloudsdale. The pegasi could see this. A bit of an odd sight. A cotton bird of some sorts being gripped by Rufflet and a ball in its mouth.
"Come on Rufflet! Don't let up!"
Rufflet had decided to put a stop it by using wing attack. It raised up its wings underneath Swablu, striking its belly. Swablu felt it as it spun around, crashing into a cloud. Rufflet had let go of Swablu, stopping the chase.
Swablu felt a bit dizzy from all that spinning it was doing. Rainbow Dash flew towards them, grabbing the ball from its mouth.
"There! Now you're mine!" Rainbow Dash, positioned the ball, throwing it with all her might. Direct contact and the ball pulls in Swablu.
One shake. Two shakes.
Rainbow Dash was hoping that this was a guaranteed catch.
Three shakes.
It looked like it was until the Swablu broke free. Just at the last second.
"Gah! And it was so close too!" Rainbow Dash felt a bit annoyed at that.
Swablu laughed at Rainbow Dash's failed to capture.
"Oh yeah? I've got more where that came from! Go!" She got out another Pokeball, tossing it, however, Swablu used its cotton wings to hit onto Rufflet instead. Rufflet got understandably mad at that, so it went to attack Swablu. "Oh geez. This thing's gonna be tough to catch. Let's try a different throw." Rainbow Dash got out another Pokeball as to Swablu, it looked like she was about to throw it again.
But it was a fake-out. She moved her hoof forward but the ball didn't leave her. Swablu had instinctively swung its wings but it didn't hit anything. Rainbow threw the ball when it was wide open, making direct contact again. The Swablue was in the ball again.
1...2...3...Catch!
"Yes! I got a Swablu!" Rainbow Dash picked up the Pokeball, gaining a new team member. She let Swablu out of the Pokeball to see it. "My team's looking pretty promising." All of a sudden, Swablu jumped off the cloud and down towards Ponyville.
"What the- WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"
Ponyville. Afternoon.
"These are berries?" Berry Punch was looking at a stand that was set up. Selling mostly berries.
"Yep. Every last one of them. We have Cherrim, Nanab, Wiki, Razz, Pomeg, you name it!" The owner said. Berry Punch looked at the berries closely, noticing how they resemble normal fruits.
"These look like normal everyday fruits but with different colors and shapes."
"Oh come on now. Don't be like that. Buy one if you want. Lum Berry is pretty popular ya know."
"I'll be the judge of that. Give me a drink of it." As the owner was getting Lum Berry juice ready, Swablu had landed on top of Berry's head. Swablu's tend to be soft so no one really ever notices the feeling of something on their head.
"Here you go. Lum Berry juice for you. That'll be 3 bits." She paid up, taking the juice in her hoof. She looked into it, seeing its green texture and everything. One drink of it, and she felt... nothing actually.
"I feel nothing. No taste, what is up with this thing?"
"Oh right. See, Lum Berries are mostly used to cure Pokemon. They don't really have a strong flavor or taste. They are bland but they're good medicine."
"Uh-huh. Well, can I at least have the ones that do have flavor?"
"Sure, sure. Try this Razz Berry juice." Berry Punch realised the name sounded a lot like Raspberry. They really are just everyday fruits but different. She took a drink out of it as she felt a nice taste similar to that of raspberry.
"I like this one. I'll take more of those please!" She paid up tons of bits just to get all of that juice. Rainbow Dash arrived at Ponyville with Rufflet, seeing Swablu on Berry's head.
"Why does it just land randomly?" She flew down to Berry Punch who had tons of Razzberry juices on her back. "Uh, hey Berry Punch. Hope ya don't mind but..."
"Trying to take my drinks are ya? Well, forget it!"
"No no! I'm trying to say that my Pokemon is on your head."
"Hm?" Berry Punch looked up, seeing the cotton there. "When did this happen?"
"It likes to do that apparently. I'll just take it off yo-" Swablu let itself off, flying over to the next pony it saw. "Hey! Swablu!" Rainbow flew over to the pony who sells plums, Mirabelle. "Mirabelle! My Pokemon is on your head!"
"It is?" Swablu flew off, heading for a new target.
"Ugh! Rufflet! Cut Swablu off!" Rufflet flew forward, heading in front of Swablu to stop it from landing on another's head. Swablu then decided, why not land on Rufflet's head. And it did just that.
"Ruff?" Swablu played around by putting its wings in front of Rufflet's eyes. Rufflet couldn't see so it was tumbling around.
"Oh seriously?" Rainbow Dash felt like this was getting a bit ridiculous. This Swablue was very different from her other Pokemon. Rufflet loves to pick fights whilst Whirlipede is all about focus. This one is just playful. "Come on Swablu! Cut it out!"
Rufflet crashed into Mirabelle's plum carriage, dropping them everywhere, again.
"My plums!"
They then crashed into the Berry stand, making all the berries and pre-made juice drop.
"My berries!"
This was getting out of hand. Rufflet's frustration was growing more and more as it flew into Rarity's shop, knocking over her dresses and scaring away the Sewaddle's. They were breaking everything in this entire area, scaring Opal and making Sweetie Belle hide in her room.
"My dresses! Sewaddle's! Save the dresses!" The Sewaddle's used string shots to pick up the dresses as Rufflet kept tossing about. Rainbow Dash came inside, seeing all the damage. "Rainbow Dash! Keep your bird in check!"
"Sorry, Rarity! But this Swablu is just so playful!"
"Ugh. Let me handle this." Rarity used her magic to stop Swablu, lifting it off Rufflet. Rufflet calmed down as it felt tired. Rainbow had to return him to his ball.
"Thanks, Rarity. Swablu, return." Rainbow returned the playful flying type back into its Pokeball, stopping the chaos.
"Look at all the damage! It's horrible!"
"Really sorry Rarity. Swablu's kinda new so I don't know how to control it yet."
"We'll work on that. I'm off to get Twilight's Minccino for help."
Rainbow Dash sighed as she flew back to Cloudsdale.
"Oh geez. Training Swablu might be much more difficult than Rufflet or Whirlipede." Rainbow Dash was about to head back into her home, until...
"Hold it!" Thunderlane had stopped her suddenly.
"What is it Thunderlane?"
"Rainbow Dash. I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle. As a new member in the league, I'm gonna prove myself." In reality, he was just here to impress his younger brother, Rumble.
"Hm. I haven't had a battle with a pony yet. So this will be a first. Okay! You're on!"
"Great! We'll take this down to the ground." As they soared on to Ponyville, landing on solid ground, All the pegasi had shown up to watch this battle. "Hope you don't mind that everypony watches.
"Not at all."
"Good. Come out, Electrike!" Thunderlane had sent out his first caught Pokemon Electrike.
"Oooh." Rainbow got out her dex to see this one.
"Electrike. The Lightning Pokemon. With every step Elecrtrike takes, friction causes static electricity to build up in its long fur. It runs with impressive speed, emitting a peculiar crackling sound as the static in its coat discharges."
"So this is a fast one huh? Crud. My flying types are totally vulnerable to this thing." Rainbow thought to herself. She had only two flying types and Whrilipede was her only choice.
"This'll be fine. Go! Whirlipede!" She sent out her Curlipede Pokemon, ready to go.
"They're having a Pokemon battle here?" A pony said watching from afar.
"This'll be our first time seeing a friendly Pokemon battle instead of any trouble like those bugs and coffin thing." Another replied, calling back to how most battles involved threats against Equestria.
"Since we move faster, we'll get an easy clean hit in! Use Thunder Fang!" Electrike charged in with its teeth full of lightning, lunging at Whirlipede!
"Quick Whirlipede! Use Rollout!" Whirlipede was about to make a move but was stopped via Thunder Fang. Electrike was just a bit faster than it. The fang had electrocuted Whirlipede as Electrike jumped back. "Use Rollout again!" Whirlipede now had an opportunity to move. Spinning about it zoomed towards the lightning Pokemon.
"Electrike! Discharge!" Electrike had discharged electricity from its body as it spread across the ground. Whirlipede's Rollout had managed to break through the Discharge thanks to it being a rock move as it smashed into Electrike. The Electric-type was sent back, taking massive damage. "Hehe. Nice hit!"
"That won't stop us. Electrike! Quick Attack!" Electrike moved at blinding speeds, knocking Whirlipede back. "Keep using Quick Attack!" Over and over again, Electrike was moving all over the place, attacking Whirlipede from all sides.
"Use Poison Sting!" Whirlipede used the limbs it had on its side to try and sting Electrike. It missed the sting due to Electrike's impressive speed. "Oh come on! It's too fast!"
"What's wrong Rainbow Dash? I thought you were an expert at speed?" Thunderlane taunted her. This was starting to rile up Rainbow.
"Oh, I'll show you speed! Whirlipede roll far back!" Whirlipede had rolled away from Electrike, moving away to a far distance. "Now! Rollout!" With all that space, Whirlipede's velocity had increased, making it faster now.
"Jump over it and use Thunder Fang!" Electrike jumped over Whirlipede avoiding it. Rainbow Dash smirked, as she knew what to do next.
"Turn around!" The same tactic she used back in her first gym battle against Gardenia came into play. Before Electrike could use its next attack, Whirlipede crashed into the Lightning Pokemon, dealing the finishing blow. Electrike fell on the ground, fainted. "YES!"
"Oh, no way!" Thunderlane was surprised on what just happened.
"Hahaha! Nopony can best me in speed!"
"Oh, it ain't over yet. I've got one more Pokemon that can turn this around. GO!" His next Pokemon was a Mienfoo of all things.
"What is that?" She said pulling out her dex.
"Mienfoo. The Martial Arts Pokemon. As the sun climbs in the sky, Mienfoo gather to train, moving in slow unison as they practice flowing through their battle poses. Different packs of Mienfoo use different poses."
"This is a Fighting-Type? My first battling one. Now uhh... which type was strong against it?" Rainbow Dash only understood a few typings, she hadn't learned the others and their strengths and weaknesses.
"Force Palm!" Thunderlane saw this as an opportunity as Mienfoo ran in, striking its little palms onto Whirlipede. One good hit had knocked Whirlipede back. The Curlipede Pokemon looked like it was about to faint.
"Come back for now Whirlipede." She had sent it back. "Cheap shot!"
"Hey. You were wide open."
"Hmph. Well, I know how to deal with you. It's your time to shine Swablu!" Swablu had been sent out for its first battle with Dashie.
"What is that thing?" Thunderlane had no idea what he was looking at.
"The thing that's gonna rock you! Swablu! Uhhh...." She quickly looked at the dex to see what Swablu's moves were. "Aha! Use Fury Attack!" Swablu had flown in, but instead of using Fury Attack, it went to become a hat for Mienfoo. "Oh, not this again!"
"Uh okay. Mienfoo. Toss it off." Mienfoo tried to grab Swablu, but it whacked its arms away with its wings, not wanting to get off. "What the?"
"This... could actually work. Swablu! Cover its eyes!" Using the same trick it used on Rufflet earlier, Swablu placed its wings on Mienfoo's eyes. Mienfoo couldn't focus like this.
"Oh come on! Mienfoo! Get it off you!" Mienfoo didn't have any moves that could help with this situation. It only knew Force Palm and Fury Swipes. Both moves that involved attacking forward.
"Hehe! Now Swablu! Use Fury Attack on it!" Swablu could use Fury Attack since it was fine in the spot that it was in. Using its wings and tiny little bird feet, it attacked Mienfoo constantly. Eventually, Mienfoo managed to grab its wings and toss it aside.
"Finally! Now! Get in there with a Fury Swipes!" Mienfoo leapt forward, moving its paws back.
"Fury Attack again!" These were the only two moves they could use. Force Palm wouldn't be able to take Swablu out and Fury Attack was the only move it knew. The wings and paws had clashed, going back and forth. They had pushed each other back from it.
"Let's end this! Mienfoo! Fury Swipes once more!"
"Swablu! Spin!" Rainbow was using all the tricky gimmicks that Swablu first used on her when they first met. Swablu flew at the charging Mienfoo, spinning around. Its wings had whacked Mienfoo, powering through the Fury Swipes due to its turbulent speed. Mienfoo was sent back as it skid on the ground.
"Mienfoo!" Swablu was too close to it, charging in again as it smacked it with its wings once more, knocking out the Martial Arts Pokemon. And that was game.
"No! All my Pokemon!"
"Yes! Total win!" Rainbow Dash got another victory on her hands as the ponies let out a small applause for that good show.
"Bummer. Come back Mienfoo." Thunderlane was defeated as he felt like he couldn't be cool in front of his brother.
"That was super fun, big bro!"
"It was?"
"Yeah! Your Electrike was super cool! Even though your other Pokemon didn't do much, I still liked it."
"Oh, thanks, Rumble. Good battle, Dash."
"Yeah, it was. I gotta say I'm kind of the best pony trainer in Equestria so far." Rainbow said with a cocky nature. Swablu was happy about their win as it went on Dashies' head, placing its wings on her eyes as the cycle repeated itself.
With a new and playful team member on board and her next gym battle coming soon, Rainbow Dash's trainer career is looking bright. The next gym will challenge her new skills to see how far she's come. As her Pokemon Journey continues.
A beautiful day. The sun shines brighter than normal now. Today is a special day. A day that nopony can predict, except for Celestia herself.
It's morning in Ponyville. It shimmers and shines like always. Twilight Sparkle had just awoken from a nice sleep. She felt like today that everything was going to be just fine. She stepped out of her library home, taking in the nice air. The air and the land were filled with beautiful Pokemon. The wonderful creatures that have crossed over with her world.
Everypony was headed to what they usually do, now with Pokemon to help. Pokemon like Floette make blooming plants even more beautiful, Pelliper's help Derpy deliver mail, The mayor heads to her office with her little Lillipup on her side. You could see Spoink's bounce around, heading who knows where. Ponyville has become a favorite landmark for all Pokemon. And with both of them combined, they give off a beautiful, calm, still yet exciting energy. Everything is just fine.
Until a raincloud drops rain on Twilight, killing her mood.
"Rainbow Dash. That's not funny." She immediately assumed it was Rainbow Dash since she'd most likely do that.
"Terribly sorry darling. I'm afraid I'm not good with the thundery ones." It wasn't Rainbow Dash. It was Rarity, using magic to control the clouds and weather. Then it was revealed with great shock. She had Rainbow Dash's Cutie Mark. Twilight had a bad feeling about this. Her face says it all as she gasped.
"Something tells me everything is not going to be fine." She walked over to Rarity who was controlling so many rainclouds at the moment. "What are you doing? What happened to your Cutie Mark?"
"Whatever do you mean Twilight? I'm simply doing what I've done since the day it first appeared. Does my sky look fabulous or what." Rarity's rainclouds were bothering everypony else. They were pouring all over the place.
"Where is Rainbow Dash? Why isn't she handling this?" Twilight wondered.
The Pokemon House. Where Ash and Pikachu were asleep next to a pack of Snubulls. They were unaware of the mishap going on in Fluttershy's Cottage. Dawn and Brock had gone off to get some food for the Pokemon really early, so they were unaware of what was happening right now. Pikachu had woken up, spotting Twilight and Spike headed here.
Spike yawned as they had arrived to Fluttershy's cottage.
"I still don't know what you had to wake me up for. I love sleeping in the rain."
"It's not about the weather, Spike. Rarity had Rainbow Dash's Cutie Mark and said this was Rainbow Dash's cottage. Something strange is going on." Twilight knocked on the door, seeing Rainbow Dash open it.
"Hey, guys." Rainbow said with a worried look on her face.
"Rainbow Dash. Why is Rarity doing your job?" Twilight asked her. A crash sound was heard inside as Rainbow's eyes widened. She rushed back into the chaos happening inside. "And what in Equestria is going on in-"
Inside, the animals were all over the place. They weren't listening to Rainbow Dash in the slightest. Pikachu had entered, seeing the carnage that was happening.
"Pika?!"
"Pikachu! Do you see this?" Twilight said. Pikachu saw that it was a mess. What happened while he and the other Pokemon were asleep in the Pokemon House. Pikachu, Twilight and Spike had noticed Rainbow Dash with Fluttershy's Cutie Mark. "She has her Cutie Mark? What is going on?!"
The Electric Mouse Pokemon rushed to his trainer, waking him up to alert him.
"Hm? What is it Pikachu?" Ash said, rubbing his eyes.
"Pika-Pi! Pika!" Pikachu pointed over at the scene. Rainbow Dash doing Fluttershy's job. Ash got up, walking over to get a good look. He saw what he saw.
"What is going on?"
"Ash! Thank goodness you're here. It's so weird! Rarity has Rainbow Dash's Cutie Mark and Rainbow Dash has Fluttershy's. Their jobs have been switched somehow."
"Huh? For real?! Can that happen?!"
"I don't know! This is a first for me. Rainbow Dash. Where's Fluttershy?"
"She's at SugarCube Corner! Hey! Put Rufflet down!" Rainbow Dash was occupied right now. So now was not the best time. Actually, no time right now was the best time.
At SugarCube Corner, Fluttershy was inside, doing her best to try and make everypony laugh. But it was going poorly. Nopony got a single chuckle out of anything she does. Pinkie Pie's Cutie Mark was now hers.
Over at Sweet Apple Acres, Pinkie Pie was the one gathering the apples. However, there was no bucking involved. Her hoof strength wasn't as a potent as Applejack's. So gathering them was tough. Ploughing the fields or even repairing was a struggle. It was not her forte. So many chores to do, her body doesn't have the same power AJ's packs. Applejack's Cutie Mark belonged to her.
And speaking of Applejack, she was at Carousel Boutique, Rarity's workplace. She was doing a horrible job of making dresses. They had patches in them and you could still see which part was sown in poorly. Every single one of them looked rugged and crumpled up. Normally, with the Sewaddle's there it wouldn't be too much of a problem. But they were out of energy, starving. And Applejack couldn't rush out to get food because she had a deadline to attend. Rarity's Cutie Mark was on her.
Rarity was still having trouble with the weather, causing sunburns and sudden frostbites constantly. It was a mess. They all had their Cutie Marks swapped. But why and how?
"Pika..."
"You said it, buddy." Ash replied.
"How? When? Why?!" Twilight said. That's when she realised how this could've happened. "We have to get to the library."
At Golden Oaks, Twilight had headed in as fast as she could.
"Why is this happening? Did something weird happen overnight or something?"
"Pika-pika."
"I think I may know Ash. You see... last night, I got a special delivery from the princess."
Flashback Sequence.
"Dear Twilight Sparkle. The spell contained on the last page of this book is Starswirl the Bearded's secret unfinished masterpiece. He was never able to get it right and thus abandoned it. I believe you are the only pony who can understand and rewrite it. 'Princess Celestia.'" Twilight had read. She flipped the book to turn to the page of the spell, reading it.
"From one to another, another to one, a mark of one's destiny, singled out alone fulfilled." As she was reading, the Elements of Harmony that were being kept in her library, started to glow and shine, specifically the Element of Magic only. It zapped 5 magic rays onto the other elements, rapidly changing their colors. "That doesn't make any sense. It doesn't even rhyme."
Flashback Sequence over.
"I cast the spell so I could find out what it was. but nothing seemed to happen." She walked over to the Elements, seeing the other 5 having different colors. "But now I know something did happen. The spell has changed the Elements of Harmony. That must be why their Cutie Marks are all wrong."
"So just cast a counterspell to switch em back." Spike said.
"There is no counterspell!"
"So their destinies are all changed? Just like that?" Ash scratched his head.
"Pika."
"Yes. And it's all my fault." Twilight walked up to her room, feeling guilt upon her.
"Minccino." Minccy felt that sadness as well, along with the others.
It all looked downhill from here. A simple spell ended up turning everything upside down. Faster than Darkrai, faster than Malamar, faster than Chrysalis and even the Lord of Chaos Discord.
Ash and the others went upstairs to see the saddened Unicorn.
"What have I done...?"
"No need to worry." Ash had suddenly said, using Dawn's catchphrase.
"What?" Twilight looked up at him.
"Don't give up on your friends so easily. It looks tough, but where there's a will there's a way. Your friends wouldn't want you giving up so easily now would they?"
"Pikachu!"
"You're right Ash. And they mean more to me than anything." She looked at the picture of her and her friends. "My friends." Suddenly, a purple glow had appeared around her. This glow was extra bright.
"Oh, man." Ash said as the light was reaching him and the others.
"P-Pika.."
"Minccino."
"Twilight? Are you alright?" Spike said. Twilight's eyes suddenly had her Cutie Mark in them. Her brain jumpstarted once more.
"I got it! I know what to do!"
"You do?" Spike replied.
"I may not be able to remind them of who they are, but I can show them what they mean to each other. They'll find the part of themselves that's been lost so that they can help the friend they care about so much." She used her magic to place her Element on her head whilst placing the others in the chest they are usually in.
"Come on, boys." Twilight ran out to fix this problem quickly as the others followed suit.
"Ugh. What's up with all this rain?" Dawn said while holding a basket of Poffins. She was trying to protect the poffins from the excessive rain.
"No idea. But this weather is uncanny all of a sudden." Brock was using his frying pan to protect himself from the rain. "Not to mention all the ponies are feeling pretty down and gloom."
They both saw Twilight, Ash, Spike and Pikachu running off somewhere.
"Where are they going?"
"Piplup."
At SugarCube Corner, Fluttershy was exiting the building.
"Fluttershy! Where are you going?" Twilight asked.
"I'm moving back to Cloudsdale. I don't know what's wrong but, I can't seem to make anypony laugh." She looked down with sadness like everypony else.
"Before you go, I was wondering if you might be willing to help out Rainbow Dash. She's really struggling with her animals."
"Pikachu!"
"But. I don't really know anything about animals."
"But you do know something about Rainbow Dash."
"I know that she's a true friend. And I'll do anything I can to help her." She said with a smile returning to her face.
Returning to the Cottage, they could hear a bang on the door and Rainbow Dash yelling. Outside of the Cottage came Rufflet who had a dizzy look on his face.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called out.
"I'm in here! Help! I'm trapped!"
Inside, the animals were revolting. They had placed Rainbow Dash in a pot, ready to cook her up. Whirlipede and Swablu were tied up as well inside the pot with her. Rufflet managed to escape though.
"Hurry Twilight! Can't you do some sort of spell to get her out?" Fluttershy asked.
"No. Fluttershy. You're the only one who can help. Rainbow Dash needs YOU." Fluttershy nodded her head, ready to try her best.
"Um. Hello. Little woodland creatures. I know that you're all very upset, and you like giving Rainbow Dash a hard time. But you'd all really appreciate it if you calm down and maybe... rest for a bit." Her voice was reassuring to the animals. They hadn't forgotten who she was and how much she cared for them. "Oh uh, look!" She zipped over to grab a bowl of vegetables. "Here's some nice juicy leaves for you to munch on. And some crunchy, munchy acorns too." The smaller animals had begun digging in. "Wouldn't you like to take a little break and have a snack?"
All the animals chose to eat the food, rather than resorting to devouring Rainbow Dash instead. Disaster averted.
"Aw. Look at that. I guess you were all just cranky because you were hungry." Angel Bunny hopped up to her as the other animals gathered around Fluttershy, welcoming her back home. "Aw. You are very welcome little friends."
Fluttershy's body began glowing as well. Matching her true element.
"Goodness. It's like I can understand them." The Element of Kindness was taking out of the chest that Ash was holding by Twilight. "I...I feel strange like, like this is what I was meant to do. But this is who I am... My Destiny!" She had flown up with Twilight placing the element on her. Suddenly, she had seen everything that she had been through. All of her experiences with her friends flashed before her eyes. Her kindness element glowing as it was all coming back. That wasn't the only thing that came back.
"W-Wha...What happened?"
"Fluttershy, look! Your Cutie Mark!" Twilight said. "It worked! It worked!" Her mark did come back. The idea that Twilight had planned was a success. "Oh I'm so happy you're back to normal! Now we need your help." The mission to restore everypony to their true selves was a go. Ash had untied Rainbow Dash and her Pokemon from the pot, freeing them of their demise.
Next was Rarity. Managing the weather was going poorly for her. Rainclouds were chasing after ponies, and the Grass-Type Pokemon were getting annoyed by all this constant rain with no sunshine. They had encouraged Rainbow to try and clear the skies. She flew up, gently kicking a cloud as it poofed away. Then, she flew about, clearing up all the clouds that were blocking the sky. Sunshine had returned, making all the Grass-Type Pokemon happy. Rainbow Dash's loyalty element had returned to her next. All of her friendship experiences had flashed before her eyes, restoring her Cutie Mark.
"Uhh... what just happened." She was very confused.
"There's no time to explain. But we need your help, Applejack's trying to make dresses." Twilight said.
"Say no more."
"Ash. What's going on?" Dawn asked.
"Well..."
Following up was Applejack. Her dresses were awful. Even the Sewaddle couldn't fix the damage that she caused. Mostly because she forgot to feed them like Rarity does so they have no energy. Rarity was encouraged by her friends to help Applejack. She used her magic to get the essential tools she needed to really make a good dress. Ash and Pikachu sent the bad dresses out as Dawn and Brock fed the Sewaddle's who were starving. They had regained their energy as Rarity was regaining her true skills. The Sewaddle's pitched in to help as they had made a beautiful dress. Rarity's Element returned to her. All that she has learned about generosity came back to her. bringing her Cutie Mark back.
"Oh my. What a terrible dream I had. Or, maybe I'm still having it."
"Rarity. Pinkie Pie's about to lose the Apple Farm. We need Applejack's help." Twilight explained.
"Lose the Apple Farm? Well can't let that happen now can we?"
The next one. Pinkie Pie, who was having major trouble. With all the Applin's moving around and having to fix the place was frustrating. That is until Applejack and the others came to help. Applejack bucked the trees, bringing all those apples down to those barrels. The others picked up the barrels with apples to carry them. AJ tossed corn seeds on the dirt to make them grow. Applejack had regained her loyal Element. All of her happy memories with her friends returning to her head. Her family's Cutie Mark had returned.
"Yeehaw! Now that's more like it! What's next?"
"The townspeople are furious. We need the old Pinkie Pie back."
"I'm on it. I know just the thing."
And the final one. They had all bought Pinkie Pie to the town which was now full of sad and down ponies. No smiles in sight. And for Pinkie Pie, her memories kicked back in fast. Instantly, she put on those universally known goofy glasses with the big nose. Her downed hair puffed back up to its wild and fluffy texture. Her contagious laughter had sprung back along with her Cutie Mark.
"Come on ponies! I wanna see you smile!"
"PINKIE!" They all called out in joy.
All Elements returned, finally. All of them being friends helped each other out. A march happened in the town as all the ponies and Pokemon were feeling Pinkie's positive energy. Twilight had pulled them all in, giving a group hug as the same purple light shined around them all. That's when the words that the spell had clicked to her. What they really meant.
"Wait a second that's it! I understand now! I know how to fix the spell!"
Returning back to the library, Twilight picked up the book and a quill. She began writing down the missing words from the spell that Starswirl couldn't figure out.
"From all of us together, together we are friends. With the marks of our destiny made one, there is magic without end." She said while writing it.
Once that final word was written and that full stop at the end, her crown started to glow, creating a strong pulse that had made the other elements shine as well. They all fired a beam with their respected colors. Twilight was inside a ball of light as she had suddenly vanished, leaving both a bright flash of light that came out of the windows and a puff of smoke on the ground.
"W-WHat just happened?" Dawn said in shock like everyone else.
"Pi-Pika?!"
"What was that...?" Brock said.
Inside an unknown area. Where there was nothing but blue ethereal colors and white sparkles everywhere. This is where Twilight was.
"Hello? Where am I? What is this place?" Her voice echoed. In the far distance, she could see a familiar figure walk up close to her. It was Princess Celestia.
"Congratulations Twilight. I knew you could do it."
"Princess. I don't understand... What did I do?"
"You did something today that's never been done before. Something even a great unicorn like Starswirl the Bearded was not able to do." She had shown the spellbook, opening to the last page. "Because he did not understand friendship like you do. The lessons you've learned here in Ponyville have taught you well. You have proven that you're ready Twilight."
"Ready? Ready for what?"
There was a reason why today was a special day. And why only Celestia knew it was coming. Projections of all of Twilight's accomplishments and moments in Ponyville appeared beside her. From when she first arrived in Ponyville, to when she made friends with the others. When she helped Luna gain everypony's trust back, to when she passed her seemingly impossible test. When she got her first Pokemon, Minccino who is now apart of her family essentially. And when she first met with Ash and Pikachu once both worlds crossed. She has come a long way. Celestia had watched her ever since.
All the adventures she's been on. She laughed and cried with her friends. Helped others get through moments. Even getting help from her friends and others as well. It wasn't easy, but she managed to pull through just like she always has. It has all made Celestia proud. Very proud. Like a mother.
The time has come. For her to start her new life. Going beyond what she normally is. It was time for her to really live up to her Cutie Mark. It was time for her to fulfil her destiny. A purple light surrounded her, whizzing about as she was floating up in the air. A light had engulfed her as she felt a change in her.
Back in Ponyville, nighttime had come as up in the sky, that same light had appeared above. It was Twilight's Cutie Mark. High above and huge. Ash and the others looked up to see this unexpected event. Down came the Cutie Mark, landing softly on the ground. And as the light started to dim down, Twilight's figure could be seen in it.
"Pika..." Pikachu said in awe.
"Twilight. Is that you?" Applejack said. Twilight stood up firm with her eyes closed. Until all of a sudden, she had spread out wings.
She had become an Alicorn.
"Woah. This is different. She has wings now!" Ash awed at the sight.
"A horn and wings.. doesn't that mean.." Dawn began thinking.
"She's just like Celestia and Luna now." Brock replied.
"Twilight, darling. You've become an Alicorn. I didn't even know that was possible." Rarity said.
"Alicorn PARTY!" Pinkie Pie yelled, swinging about.
"No way! Now she's like... A Princess!" Dawn just loved the thought of that.
"That's because she is a princess." Celestia had come flying down with Passion teleporting by her side.
"HUH?!" They all said in unison.
"I'm...A Princess?"
"Since you've come to Ponyville, you've displayed the charity, compassion, devotion, integrity, optimism, hope. And of course, the leadership of a true princess." Celestia was referring to Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Ash and Pikachu.
"But. Does this mean I won't be your student anymore?"
"Not in the same way as before. I'll still be here to help and guide you, but we're all your students now too. You are an inspiration to us all Twilight." They had all bowed as they would bow to a princess, even Celestia was bowing.
"W-What do I do now? Is there a book about being a princess I should read?" This was still a lot to take in for her. Celestia laughed a bit at that.
"There will be time for all of that later."
"Ralts!"
The next day had arrived. It was a special day for Twilight once more. At Canterlot Castle, everypony, human and Pokemon were inside for this special celebration. Celestia was ready to speak.
"We are gathered here today in celebration of a momentous occasion. My most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle has done many extraordinary things since she's lived in Ponyville. She even helped reunite me with my sister, Princess Luna. But today, Twilight Sparkle did something extraordinary. She created new magic. Proving without a doubt that she is ready to be crowned Equestria's newest princess. Fillies and Gentlecolts. Pokemon and Humans. May I present for the very first time..." Through those doors came Twilight Sparkle herself.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle."
A song was sung for this memorable day. Spike had walked up, handing her crown over. Celestia had placed the crown on Twilight, officially making her a Princess.
Outside, Twilight, Celestia and Luna looked out at all the ponies, people and Pokemon cheering and applauding Twilight for achieving this great rank.
"Say, something Princess." Celestia said to Twilight.
"Oh um... ahem. A little while ago, my teacher and mentor Princess Celestia sent me to live in Ponyville. She sent me to study friendship. Which is something I didn't really care much about." She looked back at her friends when she said that, turning to face them.
"But now, on a day like today, I can honestly say I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for the friendships I've made with all of you. Each one of you taught me something about friendship. And for that, I will always be grateful. Today, I consider myself the luckiest pony in Equestria. Thank you, friends. Thank you everypony." One more applause and cheering from them all. Minccino jumped towards Twilight, giving her a hug. Down at the crowd, Dawn and Brock were watching as well as Dawn wiped a tear from her eye along with Piplup. Darkrai was watching from the shadows, nodding silently.
Arceus was watching from above, feeling the positive energy that had been given today.
"Twilight! I'm so proud of you." Shining Armor said to his little sister as he started to tear up too.
"Are you crying?"
"Of course not. It's... it's liquid pride. Totally different thing."
"Boy, talk about a feat. Good job Twilight." Ash congratulated her.
"Pikachu!"
"Way to go Princess!" Applejack said.
"Best Coronation day ever!" Pinkie bellowed.
"We love you Twilight." Fluttershy said as they all huddled together to hug her once more.
"I love you too girls. All of you.
And so it all came to a close. A wonderful event had happened today. And it's only going to get bigger from here on. Twilight flew up, knowing that everything is going to be just fine.
Where the Rift lies.
"As expected. Princess Twilight Sparkle. She has finally transcended to Alicorn status. Now the fun can REALLY begin...."
One week has passed since Twilight became an Alicorn and a Princess.
Recently, she's been learning how to really control her flying. Having wings is going to be tough to manage. But today, Rainbow Dash's second gym battle is on the horizon.
"I can't wait! My second gym battle's gonna be a total win this time!"
"We're very excited to see your second gym battle Rainbow Dash. But which type is it?" Fluttershy asked.
"A Water-Type Gym. Can't be too tough. It's just water."
"I wouldn't underestimate water Rainbow Dash." Brock said. "Water-Types are good against a large majority of typings and only have two major weaknesses. Electric and Grass.
"Exactly why my Piplup is up there with the best, don't you think?"
"Pip-Piplup!"
"Either way. Whoever this next Gym Leader is.. they're going down! Rufflet, Swablu and Whirlipede won't let me down."
"We'll be cheering for you all the way, Rainbow Dash." Princess Twilight said.
The next gym was located in Dodge Junction. This gym had a dome-like structure to it located next to the Cherry Hill Ranch. Arriving there, the gang had all seen a pony trainer walk out of the gym, looking defeated.
"Bummer. That was a total wipeout." The unicorn said, walking away in defeat.
"Woah. He must've suffered a real big loss. That doesn't scare me though!" Rainbow Dash walked in there with confidence. Entering the gym, the Gym Leader was a very familiar face.
"Well, well. A new challenger already. And I see a familiar face in the crowd." The recognizable voice said.
"Huh? Oh wow! Misty?!" Ash said.
"Pikachu-Pi?!"
Misty was the gym leader here. Only fitting.
"We meet again, Ash. Pikachu. Guess Alola wasn't the last time we'd see each other."
"You decided to fill in as a gym leader in Equestria?"
"Yep! I see Brock here too... and I recognize you. Your name is Dawn isn't it?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"Looks like you keep on piling up new friends don't ya Ash? So who's here to challenge me?"
"That'll be me!" Rainbow Dash stepped up.
"Alright then. You think you have what it takes to battle me, Rainbow hair?"
"Oh I know I can!" Both of their personalities clashed. They were both essentially tomboys. Perfect dualities of each other.
"How long have you known her Ash?" Rarity asked.
"Very long. Very long. Pikachu, Brock and I know her a lot ya know."
"Mhm." Brock nodded in response.
"Pika."
"Since you're a newbie trainer, I'll obviously use slightly weaker Pokemon. But I won't hold back in the slightest."
"Works for me."
"What Pokemon does she use Ash?" Spike asked him.
"She's got a pretty fierce Staryu and Starmie. But that Gyarados is the real obstacle."
Another unicorn referee was here to judge the battle once more.
"We'll start off strong. With my heaviest hitter! Go! Whirlipede!" Out came her first Pokemon, Whrilipede. The Curlipede Pokemon.
"Let's steamroll all over them Whirlipede!"
"Whirli!"
"Whirlipede huh? Okay. Then come out! Politoed!" Her first choice was the Frog Pokemon Politoed. Dashie pulled out her dex to see what this one was all about.
"Politoed. The Frog Pokemon. When several Politoed gather together to sing under the moon, the angry quality of their cries makes it sound like they're having a heated argument. Poliwag and Poliwhirl regard this Pokemon as a leader."
"This thing doesn't seem too dangerous. Can't be too careful though..."
"That frog Pokemon doesn't look like the kind to be very strong." Rarity said.
"When it comes to physical, no. But it can take hits and deal some major special attack damage. Rainbow Dash will have to break through that special defense first." Brock explained.
"Battle Start!" The referee said.
"I'll do the honor of staring us off! Politoed, Hyper Voice!"
"PoliTOOOOOOEEEED!" Its potent cry had kicked in. A horrible echoing shout came out, having so much power that it actually damaged Whirlipede, knocking it back a bit. Everypony else was feeling this as it was getting to them as well.
"That sound is horrible!" Rarity said with her hooves in her ears.
"That's Hyper Voice for you!" Ash replied.
"Piiikaaa!"
"T-Too loud! Whirlipede! Rollout!" Whirlipede rolled forward, trying to break through the shockwaves of Hyper Voice.
"Hehe. Politoed! Earth Power!" Politoed made the ground erupt with power, causing pillars of the ground to strike Whirlipede, sending it upwards.
"Oh no! Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dashed cried out.
"Follow up with Water Gun!" Politoed then shot Whirlipede out of the air with a Water Gun, making the Curlipede Pokemon fall. Whirlipede wasn't out of the match yet, but Rainbow thought that it was taking too much punishment.
"Okay, Whirlipede. Come back for now." She had returned him to his Pokeball. That was a rough start.
"Whirlipede got pretty overwhelmed there. That Hyper Voice basically stopped it in its tracks." Fluttershy said.
"Misty's Politoed sure has learned some new moves, huh?"
"Pikachu."
"So much for starting off strong. But I don't have anything to worry about! Go! Rufflet!" Next was Rufflet, ready to take action.
"Rufflet!"
"Watch out for the Hyper Voice Rufflet. Fly up!" Rufflet took the skies, gaining the air advantage. This negated Earth Power from making contact.
"Water Gun!" Misty let Politoed make another attempt to shoot Rainbow Dash's Pokemon out of the air.
"Fly over it and go in with Wing Attack!" Rufflet flew over the Water Gun, zooming towards Polited.
"Politoed! Hyper Voice!" Again, Hyper Voice was in play. Since Rufflet was getting close this was a perfect opportunity to use it.
"Look out Rufflet!"
Politoed let out that same horrible echoing sound. It reached Rufflet, however, the Eaglet Pokemon wouldn't let that get to it. Through its sheer stubbornness, it kept flying forward as it struck its wings on Politoed's face. The impact of the attack was weakened a bit due to Hyper Voice slowing it down a bit. Politoed's Hyper Voice had stopped.
"Good! Now use Aerial Ace!" Rufflet's newest learned move came into play. Rufflet flew at intense speeds that would confound a Pokemon. It dashed past Politoed, leaving a big hit behind.
"Sweet! Rufflet's new move!" Spike said.
"Politoed! Bounce!" Politoed had suddenly bounced up in the air.
"What the-"
The Frog Pokemon came falling down, ready to slam into Rufflet.
"Dodge it!" Rufflet moved away from the bounce as Politoed crashed in the ground, leaving some cracks.
"Bounce one more time!" Politoed kept on bouncing around, trying to hit Rufflet.
"That thing won't let up until it makes contact. We have to finish it off fast." Rainbow thought to herself. "Rufflet! Circle around with Aerial Ace!" Rufflet had begun flying around Politoed, a similar tactic used in her first Gym Battle.
"Water Gun!" Politoed was firing Water Guns trying to hit Rufflet. Some hit and some miss but Rufflet kept flying as it closed in with Aerial Ace. Politoed fired one more Water Gun, however, Rufflet swooped under it as it used Aerial Ace on its belly. The impact and speed that had picked up caused enough force to knock Politoed back. Politoed tumbled around like a ball as it had fainted from that powerful impact.
"Politoed is unable to battle! Rufflet wins!"
"Yes! Finally, we took that thing out!"
"Ruff! Rufflet!"
"Woowee! That was a close one." Applejack sighed with relief. That Politoed was tough to get through. Brock wasn't kidding when he said it was a tough Pokemon.
"Good job Politoed. Not bad, Rainbow. Managing to take out my Politoed. Even if it did take two Pokemon to do so."
"Feh. You ain't seen nothing yet!"
"Hmph. It's your turn! Starmie!" Next up was Starmie. The part Water and Psychic Type. Rainbow pulled out her dex to get good info on this one.
"Starmie. The Mysterious Pokemon. Getting close to a Starmie could give you a headache, possibly because of mysterious signals transmitted by its glowing core. The signals it sends to the skies indicate that this Pokemon may be from outer space."
"Outer-Space?!" The Mane 5 all said.
"T-That thing's an alien?!" Pinkie Pie stammered.
"Hah! Do you think that'll scare me? Yeah right!" Rainbow Dash wasn't intimidated by that dex entry.
"We'll see. Starmie. Cosmic Power!" Starmie had absorbed mystical power from space, tapping into the cosmos. Its defense and special defense had risen. "Now! Psybeam!"
"STAR-MIE!" A beam of psychic energy was fired at Rufflet.
"Dodge it Rufflet!" Rufflet barely dodged the Psybeam as it grazed its feathers, hitting the walls and leaving a huge mark on it. Rufflet got a little bit scared by that attack. It looked destructive. "Yikes. That move looked vicious. Rufflet! Make sure you don't get hit by it, no matter what!"
"Ruff!"
"Go! Aerial Ace!" Rufflet took off into the skies, zooming forward. Misty had let Staryu used another Psybeam. Rufflet flew to the side to avoid it. Psybeams were being fired at it constantly as Rufflet kept doing its best to dodge them.
"Pretty fast. But not as fast as Starmie! Power Gem!" Starmie had then unleashed a Rock-Type move. It attacked with a ray of light that sparkled like gemstones as they pelted at Rufflet, pushing it back. Rufflet's distance was getting further away from Starmie.
"Don't let those gems bother you! Bite em!"
"What?!"
"Rufflet opened its peak, letting the power gems go inside as it flew forward.
"Just like Ash. But that's why I gotta beat you! Starmie! Psybeam!"
"Release them Power Gems!" Rufflet had spat out the Power Gems, sending them back. The Psybeam had powered through the gems, destroying them as it made direct contact with Rufflet. "Oh no, Rufflet!" Rufflet fell on the ground, heavily damaged. Rufflet got back up with scratches all over it.
"Your Rufflet's pretty tenacious. But tenacity won't stop us!"
"We got this! Rufflet!"
"RUFFLET!" Rufflet stood back up with confidence. The Eaglet Pokemon was too stubborn to go down so easily. Its determination to win was grand. For a split, second Ash could see a projection of Rainbow Dash and Rufflet's evolved form, Braviary with rainbow feathers.
"You sure about this? Okay then. Go on Starmie. Rapid Spin!" Starmie flipped itself over as it began spinning around.
"Rufflet! Wing Attack!" Rufflet ran forward, eventually taking off to the skies as it smashed its wings towards Starmie. Rufflet tried pushing it back, but Starmie was too strong. "Come on Rufflet!" Rufflet then flew back as it used Wing Attack from above, striking Starmie down. This wasn't enough to take down Starmie though.
"Hydro Pump!" A high volume of water was blasted at Rufflet, granting a powerful and far knockback. Rufflet rolled on the floor. It couldn't go on after a hit that strong. It had fainted.
"Rufflet is unable to battle! Starmie is the winner!"
"Thank you Rufflet. Get a good rest." Rainbow Dash had sent Rufflet back. "What do I do? That Starmie's just as big an obstacle as Politoed. Whirlipede can't do much since its part poison. And Psychic-Types easily beat that." Rainbow thought to herself.
"Wait a second..!" Rainbow Dash had just realised. Whirlipede is part Bug. Bug types work well against Psychic types. Whirlipede was once again the Pokemon that balanced things out for her. "Whirlipede. Let's have a second go." She had sent out Whirlipede who had taken some damage earlier.
"Is Whirlipede in good condition?" Fluttershy asked.
"It's just like what happened with Gardenia and her Roserade."
"What do you mean Ash?" Twilight asked.
"Poison-Types aren't very good against Psychic-Types, but Psychic-Types don't do well against Bug-Types at all."
"So once again, Whirlipede evens out the playing field." Rarity replied.
"We're gonna go for broke Whirlipede! You with me?"
"Whirl!"
"This is our chance. I couldn't use this move against Thunderlane's Pokemon since it wouldn't even phase them... but this one."
"Starmie! Psybeam!"
"Whirlipede! Pin Missile!" Whirlipede's newest move, Pin Missile. Sharp pins are fired forward, making contact with the Psybeam. Both attacks collided, causing them to explode and create a huge smoke cloud. The smoke covered the gym as Rainbow seized this opportunity. "Rollout!" Whirlipede moved in the smoke, ready to strike.
"Look out for Whirlipede and use Rapid Spin!" Starmie looked around, using its glowing core to sense Whirlipede. It saw the Curlipede Pokemon closing in as it spun around. Two spinning Pokemon had clashed, causing sparks to rise from their speed.
"They're even!" Rainbow and Misty both said. Whirlipede and Starmie had knocked each other back.
"Starmie! Use Rapid Spin to knock them away!" Starmie spun around, knocking away the Pin Missiles as they hit the walls and the area around them. Whirlipede was moving in, releasing more Pin-Missiles as the pressure was on. "Starmie! Psybeam!"
"Rollout!" Whirlipede had stopped the Pin Missile assault as it rolled away from the Psybeam.
"You're mine now, Rainbow! Spun and use Hydro Pump!" Misty had combined two moves into one, taking inspiration from Ash. Hydro Pump was moving around in a circle, like a whirlpool. The size of it gave it so much range as it made contact with Whirlipede, knocking it back.
This had caused the Curlipede Pokemon to unfortunately faint.
"Whirli..."
"Whirlipede is unable to battle! Starmie wins!"
"And after all that hard work. Not even its new move could seal the deal." Fluttershy sighed.
"It's not over yet. She still has one last Pokemon." Ash said.
"Hehe. Just what I wanted." Rainbow Dash had smirked. "I trained with you for a bit Swablu. So now's your chance to shine! Go!"
"SWA! Swablu!" Rainbow Dash's other Pokemon had dealt enough significant damage to her Starmie. Swablu had all the chances in the world to deal that right hit and knock it out.
"We'll go with everything we have! Time for you to show your new move Swablu! Ice Beam!" Swablu unleashed a beam made of pure ice towards Starmie.
"Starmie! Psybeam!" Both beams clashed as they were pushing each other back. Both beams were strong, but only one could come out on top. Swablu was starting to get overwhelmed by Ice Beam suddenly.
"Swablu! Pull back and go for Ice Beam one more time!" Swablue dropped the Ice Beam, flying down as it fired an Ice Beam forward.
"Jump!" Starmie had jumped over the Ice Beam suddenly.
"Fly after it and use Fury Attack!" It was a speed battle now. Swablue zipped up, swinging its wings at Starmie.
"Rapid Spin!" To counter, Starmie spun around to clash with the cotton wings.
"On top of Starmie!" Rainbow used Swablu's dex entry to her advantage. Swablue had made itself a hat on top of Starmie.
"What in the-?!" Misty was surprised.
"Now! Ice Beam!" Swablu fired Ice Beam on Starmie, point-blank. Starmie took massive damage from this.
"Oh no! Starmie! Don't let up! Hydro Pump!"
"Fly through it by covering yourself!" Swablu had covered itself with its cotton wings, nullifying the Hydro Pump. It still slowed down from the hit but that wouldn't stop this bird.
Misty could feel the pressure. This team was very stubborn.
"Finish it with Psybeam!" Starmie fired a final Psybeam forward.
"Swoop and fire!" Swablue had swooped under the Psybeam, firing Ice Beam at Starmie, making direct contact.
That was a definite faint.
"Starmie is unable to battle! Swablu wins! And the victor is Rainbow Dash from Cloudsdale!"
Their second gym battle won. It was much harder than the first one but they pulled through at the end.
"YES! SECOND TIME IN A ROW!"
"Swa!" Swablu flew over to Rainbow Dash, landing on her head with joy.
"Phew. That was rough." Dawn said.
"Amazing job Starmie." Returning her Pokemon to its ball, Misty walked up to Dashie to grant the second badge onto her. "Not bad, Rainbow. Just like Ash, you battle with some crazy tactics."
"Heh. Thanks."
"You deserve this. The Soak Badge."
"Yes! The second badge is mine!" Rainbow Dash flew up with excitement.
Outside, Misty was about to bid farewell to them.
"You know Misty, we can come back and visit you anytime ya know." Ash said.
"I know you will Ash. I'll be waiting here at Dodge Junction if any of you wanna hang out."
"By the way. Why didn't you use your Gyarados, Misty?" Dawn asked.
"If I used Gyarados this early, it would be a total wipeout for every trainer else. Besides, I'm saving it for the Pokemon World Championship happening in our world."
"Pokemon World Championship?!" Ash said, paying attention to this.
"Pikachu?!"
"Yep. Also known as the Pokemon World Coronation Series. It's the biggest tournament yet. And I'm gonna be the one to win it."
"Yeah right! If you're entering something that grand, then I'm joining in no question."
"Pika!"
"Well. I'll see you there Ash. And take care why don't you? Don't forget to come by!"
"We won't!" They bid her farewell, ready to return back to Ponyville, via train.
With Rainbow Dash's second gym battle complete, her team grows stronger evermore. And so does her determination. The Pokemon World still has a lot in store for her and the others. As the journey continues.
"These are the three words that describe the Fire Horse Pokemon. Rapidash. And today we showcase just how amazing it is! With the first annual Rapidash Race!" BigTime Ben had announced. He had done it again. He had opened up a race that focused on the speedy Rapidash. A Pokemon that became a smash hit in Equestria. Everypony loved it. Some loved its majestic yet fierce mane. Others love it because of how it reminds them of Princess Celestia and Luna.
"40 Rapidash! Each of you little ponies to run with! This race will be something to remember!"
Ash and the others had arrived at the center of Ponyville, to see this race take place.
"What in Equestria's name is this?" Rarity said.
"Looks like BigTime Ben is making more opportunities." Applejack replied.
"Oh my. Who are THOSE ponies?" Fluttershy noticed Rapidash.
"Oh sweet! It's a Rapidash! Tons of them!"
"Pikachu!"
"Rapidash?" Rainbow Dash pulled out her Pokedex to see what this Rapidash was all about.
"Rapidash. The Fire Horse Pokemon. It gallops at nearly 150mph. Rapidash usually can be seen casually cantering along fields and plains. Its moves at insane speeds when it gets serious, filling up its excitement to run and race with anything."
"Sweet! That sounds like my kind of Pokemon!" Rainbow Dash grinned.
"Ah! Look who it is! Princess Twilight Sparkle! Why don't you come up here and help announce it?"
Everypony turned to the new princess.
"Me? Uh.."
"No pressure." BigTime Ben said.
"No, it's fine. I can do it." Twilight walked up to where Ben stood as all eyes were on her. Gothitelle helped her out with a note to read. BigTime Ben always comes prepared for any situation.
"Ahem. As the newly appointed princess, I hereby welcome the newly made race completion. The Rapidash Rush. Huh. That was pretty easy." Twilight said.
"Excellent! Now then. For each participant, there will be 40 of them in total. Just enough for each Rapidash's. Anyone can join! People, Ponies or Pokemon!"
"I wanna join! It'd be super cool to ride on one of those!" Scootaloo wanted a go.
"We'll go! I wanna try this out for sure!" Ash decided to join as well.
"That doesn't look safe though. Its mane is nothing but fire." Fluttershy worried.
"Oh don't worry. You see, if you put your trust in Rapidash and it puts its trust in you, you can ride on it without any worry of the flames." Ash explained.
"Correct, Ash my boy! So nopony has to worry about getting burnt. Just let Rapidash trust you and you'll be one with it." Ben replied.
"Seriously? How does that work?" Twilight didn't understand how that was possible really.
The participants had been set. Ash, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and even Applejack had joined in. Followed up by some ponies and humans.
"Good luck you all!" Fluttershy was cheering them on.
"Pikapi!"
"Alright! Here's the layout! Gothitelle if you would." Gothitelle got out a huge map that showed the whole race map.
"Our starting point is obviously here at Ponyville. The racers will advance forward on the simpler paths such as Saddle Lake, White Tail Woods and Froggy Bottom Bogg. Then they'll go on a more diverse path. They will have 3 options, each of them have their own ways of getting to the next location quicker. These 3 paths were created once our worlds crossed over, and the planet had changed its structure based on certain Pokemon preferences. It's a choice of either Exploud Chasm, Kingdra Durance or Sealeo Breakwater. The choice is yours."
"These options look a bit intense don't you think?" Fluttershy said to Rarity.
"Indeed."
"Pika."
"Then, the racers will end up at Canterlot, where they'll meet Princess Celestia who has volunteered to help out in this race. She will lend you all flags that you will carry along with you. Then its a race to reach the Crystal Empire, and gain your second flags from Cadence and Shining Armor. You'll need those two flags. And finally, make your way to the brand new Ice Islands, where Ice-Type Pokemon are there like crazy. Then return here to Ponyville. That's the basic gist of it really." BigTime finished saying.
"And don't worry. Everypony can watch the race via Gothitelle's projections."
"This sure seems like a long one, eh?" Granny Smith said.
"Eeyup."
"That won't be an issue. Rapidash are very fast Pokemon. They'll be able to clear this out in a 2 hours or less." Brock explained.
"Is it safe to go without any Pokemon? Those new lands seem dangerous." Applebloom was worried.
"It's 40 contestants only. And Pokemon count. So Ash and Pikachu can't go together." Brock replied.
"Pika."
"Are you racers ready?" They were all on Rapidash. Some felt a slight burn since their trust in Rapidash wasn't fully complete. "Then get set..."
"GO!"
And they were off. All Rapidash's took off, galloping towards their first location, Saddle Lake. Ash's Rapidash was ahead of most of them. This wasn't his first go on a Rapidash so he had easy control. The others were still managing to keep up, even if they could feel a small burn.
"We're gonna ace this race!" Rainbow Dash said, grinning.
The race was being seen from all across Equestria. Psychic types can be considered the most useful type. And BigTime Ben just has drones everywhere.
The Rapidash had immediately arrived at Saddle Lake. There, Cobalion was standing on a hill, watching the race go by. Keldeo and the other swords were watching this race as well. The Rapidash had avoided a group of Krabby's near the lake. They had galloped up the steep section of the hills their speed was so fast that they passed Saddle Lake in only 1 minute.
Next was WhiteTail Woods, Gardenia saw the Rapidash coming as she worried that they might burn her gym due to their fire.
"Eek! Not the grass!" She yelled.
"Sorry, Gardenia!" Ash said, passing by her. Scootaloo was falling behind, her Rapidash wasn't moving as fast the others.
"Oh come on! What gives?! We're getting left in the dust here!"
Rainbow Dash was gaining up on Ash, just a bit behind. But Applejack was moving just as quick as hers.
"Hope you don't mind me passing you Rainbow!" Applejack said, passing her.
"Wha- Applejack!"
This race wasn't without its obstacles. There were some Pokemon they all had to get past. Like a flock of Wooloo. But, luckily the Rapidash knew what to do if they came across these little ones, jump over em.
"This race is pretty great so far. But what's the reward?" Twilight asked BigTime Ben.
"Hehe! The reward is a huge and beautiful mansion. Whoever wins gets to live there. And it's portable so it can move between both worlds."
"Is that even possible?!"
The race continued as the contestants galloped from White Tail to Froggy Bottom in no time. Applejack and Rainbow Dash butted heads with both their Rapidash's right next to each other. They were neck in neck for second place. The race was going fine, but somepony or some Draconequus had plans.
"This is interesting. This race is good so far... but!" Discord snapped his fingers, as he made the ground on Froggy Bottom Bogg have slime that made the Rapidash slide a bit.
"What in tarnation?!" The Rapidash were sliding across the slime, unable to control their direction a bit.
"Hm. That's weird. Oh well! It makes the race more interesting." BigTime Ben didn't mind the sudden ground change. He just went with the flow.
"We won't let this slow us down! Rapidash! Flame Charge!" Ash's trust meant that he could command Rapidash as well. His had charged through the slime, burning it away as it kept galloping on. This had made a good pathway for the others, giving them the opportunity to make through solid ground.
Passing Froggy Bottom Bogg, they now come face to face with their first challenge. The 3 paths. Ash had stopped as did the other contestants and the Rapidash.
"So we have three pathways huh? And each of them has its own quick ways of getting to Canterlot." Ash said.
"Well, I'm avoiding the Exploud Chasm. That's a disaster waiting to happen." A human said.
"If the lands have changed due to our worlds crossing over, who knows how quickly we can get to Canterlot." Applejack replied.
"Then me and my Rapidash will move on forward in the middle!" Ash and his Rapidash galloped to the middle, heading to Exploud Chasm.
"Then I'm taking the Breakwater!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Durance for me!" AJ replied. All the other contestants and their Pokemon had chosen different pathways that they believed would be a quick way. Scootaloo was falling behind still. She had just reached the 3 choices.
"Why are they so fast compared to mine?!" She moved on without thinking of which path to take. She had gone for Exploud Chasm.
The Sealeo Breakwaters. Sealeo's had made this area their home ever since the lands had terraformed in specific places. The mostly adorable and mostly harmless Ball Roll Pokemon loved it here. They constantly love spinning round objects on their noses. Rainbow Dash took a moment to see these Pokemon while galloping along.
"Oh, those are some pretty neat Pokemon." Discord appeared as a ball on Sealeo's nose as his next trick was in play. He had made the rocks on the Breakwater sentient as they were flying to the contestants, ready to pelt them with little pebbles. The pebbles had hit some of the Rapidash's and contestants in the eye, bugging them and throwing them off their flow. "Ow! Hey! What gives?!"
There were pebbles being pelted everywhere. They were only targeted at the contestants and Rapidash so the Sealeo's were fine.
"Grr... I think I may know who's behind this.."
On the other side of the spectrum, Exploud Chasm. A huge gorge could be seen once you arrived there. The Exploud there can cause massive destruction with just opening their mouth, once. These Pokemon are capable of triggering earthquakes in one shout.
"This is where things get dangerous. Those Exploud seem to be quiet, but at any second they'll start bellowing and things could get ugly." BigTime Ben explained.
"Oh, man. Look at all those Explouds..." Ash took a gander at the vast quantity of Loud Noise Pokemon. "Let's be careful for this one, alright Rapidash?"
"Rapidash."
Discord looked down, seeing Ash here.
"Hm. I wouldn't want to cause too much trouble for Ash. After all, he and Fluttershy are the only ones who can understand me. But..." Discord couldn't help it as it pointed at an Exploud, causing it to sneeze.
"EXPLOUD!"
Once that sneeze was active, the first tremor arrived. The entire chasm began shaking, rocks were falling as cracks formed. Scootaloo and her Rapidash were in the worst possible spot for this.
"W-What's going on?!" Ash heard Scootaloo as he turned around to see her.
"Scootaloo!"
Where Scootaloo was standing, the ground was breaking apart. Her Rapidash couldn't move as it was struck with fear.
"HELP!"
"Rapidash! Turn back!" Ash had commanded Rapidash to turn back, just to help Scootaloo.
Everyone watching this was in shock as BigTime Ben had fainted, with Gothitelle catching him. The ground broke apart as Scootaloo and her Rapidash had fallen.
"AAAAAAH!" She screamed in terror as Ash jumped off Rapidash, once again not regarding his life in the sake for others.
"ASH!"
"Pikapi!"
They all said in unison. Ash had grabbed the falling Scootaloo and Rapidash, holding them closely. "RAPIDASH!" He called out to his Rapidash. It ran down the chasm like it was a hill, heading towards them. "USe Flare Blitz!" Rapidash's body became engulfed in fire as its galloping speed increased, reaching that 150 mph. It jumped off the chasm, heading towards the falling trio.
Rapidash had to not only catch the three of them on its back, but it also had to run back up to the surface before everything collapsed.
Falling down to the seemingly endless abyss in the chasm, huge rocks falling down as Ash had held Scootaloo and her Rapidash close to save them. It was up to his Rapidash to catch them all and get back up there. Everypony across Equestria was watching this and was shocked with some fainting.
It's 150 mph had kicked in. By just the flame of its mane, it managed to catch them, using all its strength to carry the combined weight of Ash, Scootaloo and a fellow Rapidash. It slid off the walls, holding on for dear life with its hooves.
"Hold on Rapidash! Launch yourself onto one of the falling rocks!" Ash yelled.
Rapidash used Fire Blast to hit the wall it was sliding on. This launched Rapidash back along with the others. The distance they went was fairly far, however, Scootaloo almost fell off. Ash grabbed a hold of her hoof, making sure he wouldn't let go.
"I got you!"
Rapidash landed on a rock as it kept jumping from rock to rock, aiming to get to higher ground.
Every human and pony watching were biting their nails or even biting each other's manes. Were they going to get out of this? Discord was looking down at this and felt a little bad actually. He had grown a liking to Ash since he and Fluttershy could appreciate him and show him kindness.
Rapidash was nearing the top, however, the number of rock platforms was decreasing.
"This is gonna be close! We're gonna have to go for broke here!" Ash knew this could go either way. Rapidash used every ounce of its hoof strength. Its flames burned as hot as magma as it took off from the last rock platform, causing a shockwave from the leap, destroying it.
Rapidash had managed to get the upper level, getting them all to safety.
Disaster averted. Everypony let out a sigh of relief. So did Discord.
"Phew. That was a close one." Ash, Scootaloo and the other Rapidash got off its back, safe and sound.
"Thank you so much, Ash! You saved me!" Scootaloo thanked him.
"Rapidash also saved us too ya know. Right?"
"Rapidash!"
"Thanks, Rapidash!" Scootaloo gave the Rapidash a hug.
"Come on now. There's a race we have to finish."
At Sealeo Breakwater, Rainbow Dash and the others had managed to get away from the sudden rapid-fire pebbles. The contestants who were at the Breakwater had advanced forward, aiming for their next location. Canterlot.
"I can see Canterlot from this distance! Come on Rapidash!" Rapidash galloped along as 23 others followed suit. With Applejack at Kingdra durance, she was not only ahead of the ones behind, but she also got to take a good look at all Water-Type Pokemon beautifully swimming and jumping out of water. The Kingdra lived so deep in the ocean so seeing one was pretty rare, despite them making this place their main home.
That's when they were all met with the bully of the sea. Sharpedo. And it saw the contestants here and was ready to strike. Like how the Brutal Pokemon always does.
"What in tarnation is that?!" The Sharpedo had used Aqua Jet to fly out the ocean, heading towards the contestants and their Rapidash. Applejack made Rapidash swerve to the side to avoid the Aqua Jet, but the Brutal Pokemon wouldn't let its target get away so easily. It wasn't just one Sharpedo, it was numerous. They were all aiming for the contestants. Constant Aqua-Jets were zooming in.
"What's up with those shark Pokemon?!" Twilight asked.
"Those are Sharpedo's. They're known as the 'Bully of the Sea'. If they see you once, they'll instantly race after you at 75mph." BigTime Ben explained.
The Sharpedo's chased them all down. Now it was both a race to get away from the Sharpedo's while getting to Canterlot. The Sharpedo's couldn't match Rapidash's 150mph but they had advantage by using Aqua Jet. They were on the other side as well. At Sealeo Breakwater, Sharpedo's were attacking there as well.
"Sharks?!" Rainbow Dash yelled. The Sharpedo's there were more rampant, due to how many Sealeo's were just here. They constantly chase off the Sealeo's by jumping out of the water. The Sealeo's tried escaping but they were all hit by an incoming Aqua Jet. The contestants weren't safe as well obviously. "Get lost!" Rainbow Dash ducked, avoiding an Aqua Jet that was aimed at her head. Both sides had a Sharpedo problem.
But in the middle, Ash and Scootaloo were fine. Escaping Exploud Chasm luckily. Scootaloo had gotten a better hang of her Rapidash but was still a bit behind Ash and his.
"There! I see Canterlot!" Scootaloo called out.
"Nice!" Ash replied. The pathway to Canterlot was made for them, thanks to the terraforming.
The Sharpedo's were relentless. Not stopping once. They don't stop until they get their prey.
"This is getting annoying! Rapidash! Use whatever move you know to deal with these guys!" Rainbow Dash commanded Rapidash to use a known move. The Fire Horse Pokemon had Fire Blast to knock away the Sharpedo. This wasn't very effective but it helped to push them back. Eventually, they had left Sealeo Breakwater, but that didn't mean that Sharpedo would stop chasing them.
On the other side, with Applejack, she had bucked away any incoming Sharpedo's. Turns out her hoof strength was on par with that of a charging Shark that moved at 75mph and beyond with Aqua Jet. No wonder she's so good at her job. Even after seeing all that strength in those hooves, the Sharpedo still deciding to charge in.
"These things are more persistent and stubborn than Rainbow Dash!" She said.
Arriving at Canterlot were Ash, Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash and 8 other contestants. There, Princess Celestia had the flags ready to be taken.
"Congratulations on making it this far, all of you." She said. "And Ash. Well done on helping to save Scootaloo. You seem to risk your life a lot don't you?"
"Well, it happens a lot, ya know."
Celestia handed each of them flags, along with Passion. Applejack and the others had arrived to get their flags.
"Hoo boy. Those Shark Pokemon sure are feisty."
"They're called Sharpedo. They are pretty aggressive Pokemon compared to others." Ash explained. Just then, BigTime Ben's face appeared in the sky, due to Gothitelle changing the projection.
"Alright! Small break you all! Canterlot is also a break area! You'll continue the race in 12 minutes. Bye!" His face vanished from the sky.
A small break was needed. After what just happened back there, they needed it. They sat down with Rapidash waiting, eating some food that was served to them.
"Hey, Ash. I wanna thank you and Rapidash again for saving me back there."
"No problem, Scootaloo."
"You know, you're always doing dangerous yet awesome things like that? Do you ever take a moment to think about what you're about to do?"
"Not really. If someone, whether they're a Pokemon or not is in trouble or danger, I have to help. It's just my gut instinct ya know."
"And that is a wonderful instinct to have." Celestia said walking up to them. "Ash. I know I've said this before, but it does need to be pointed out. Once again, your selfless spirit is something to admire. The bond that you've formed over the years with your Pokemon and friends has shown, even reflecting onto the ponies here in Equestria. If I were to be honest, I think you could teach Twilight about friendship too."
"Me? A teacher? I don't know about that one... but I can lend her some advice." Ash had petted Scootaloo, ruffling her mane as she giggled.
"Well, you have taught me a bit about Passion and how Ralts' can sense feelings. So that's one act of teaching."
"Oh! You can teach me how to be a trainer, Ash! I wanna be apart of the Pokemon League too!" Scootaloo asked.
"Sure thing! I'll show you the ropes in no time."
"Awesome! I want a super cool Pokemon! One that's fast and strong! Or one that can take tons of damage but still keep on going!"
"Sounds like Electric-type and Steel-type Pokemon."
"What YOU need is a team like mine." Rainbow Dash joined in on the conversation. "I've got a heavy hitter like Whirlipede and some great air advantage with Rufflet and Swablu."
"Yep. And my team's only gonna get bigger. I'm gonna catch tons of Pokemon and build the dream team!"
"What about you Applejack? Apple Bloom tells me and Sweetie Belle about those Pokemon called Applin. They yours?"
"I wouldn't say that. They kinda just decided to hang around Sweet Apple Acres and the Orchard. I ain't too fond of being a trainer. But I do wanna watch the League."
"I don't get how apples can be a Pokemon though? That seems odd."
"Oh, that's because they're not actually apples." Ash explained to Scootaloo. Even Applejack was confused by this.
"Huh?" They said.
"See, some Pokemon decide to look like everyday things. Mostly food. Applin's just a wyrm inside an apple. And another Pokemon, Vanilluxe are just two Vanillish merged together to resemble an ice cream cone."
"That is weird..." Rainbow Dash said.
"Hah! That's nothing compared to the others out there. There are so many Pokemon that stand out from the crowd. There might be Pokemon I've never seen before! That's what makes them all so special. The possibilities are endless."
"Oh, now I really wanna visit the Pokemon world. Could you take me there someday Ash?"
"Sure thing, Scootaloo."
BigTime Ben's face had returned to the sky to deliver more news.
"Alright then! Times up! Hope you enjoyed your break, racers. Because your next destination is the Crystal Empire. And for this part, contestants will have to race while avoiding the group of Machamp's. They'll do everything to stop you in their tracks to prevent you from reaching the Empire. Along with some air support by Noivern. So better be careful. And don't worry, they won't hurt you. They are my Pokemon after all. Race on!" BigTime Ben's face vanished once more.
"Welp! Time to go!" Ash jumped up, heading to his Rapidash as so did the other contestants, holding their flags. Next stop, Crystal Empire.
"Good luck to you all!" Celestia waved goodbye as did Passion. The race was back on.
Back at Ponyville, Cold Colt and Emerald Aura were underground, in their base that the Rift had granted them. In there were Pokeballs and magic books fit for them. The Rift sent them here for a reason.
"Alright, Cold Colt, listen up. We've got a job to do. The Rift was to make this next event really special and fun, so pay attention."
"I'm paying attention."
"Good. Our main goal is to bring something from the Pokemon world here. Something grand. The Rift gave us a list of pretty big things. They'd overwhelm this world easily."
"Well, what are the options?"
"Let's see. Aha! Team Plasma or Team Galactic"
"Team Galactic? Team Plasma? Weren't they disbanded? And their leaders kinda done for. Cyrus got wiped out and Ghetsis is behind bars."
"Yeah, but The Rift can just negate and change all of that, duh. Were you born yesterday?"
"I WAS created a month ago. Including you."
"Whatever. I say we bring back Ghetsis. Dude's a maniac. He'd definitely make things go wild."
"What about Cyrus? He wanted to reset the universe. Don't you think he's more of a maniac?"
"True... or.. we could bring HIM back?" Emerald's hoof landed on Malamar's name.
"Malamar? That Pokemon?"
"Well yeah! He was a pretty big threat, even if he didn't last long. He almost came close to winning by mind-controlling everypony. Right now he's just stone in the sea. But if he comes back, oh boy. He'll be furious."
"Hmm... I got it! How about we bring them all back?" Cold Colt suggested.
"Are you crazy?! That never ends well! Bad guy teams don't last at all. Besides, I think Ghetsis wouldn't be up for Cyrus's universe resetting shenanigans. And he'd rather do the controlling rather than Malamar." Emerald shook her head.
"Okay. Got any brighter ideas?"
"I'd go for Ghetsis. He's evil but not Universe Ending Evil. Plus his Pokemon are pretty deadly."
"Well if he's gonna come back, he should at least get some upgrades or something. He'd get washed at the state he is right now. That Ash kid has grown over the years."
"I know. That's why I'll ask The Rift to improve him. Now let's get this started!" The two of them tapped into The Rift, due to them being created by it. So they can link up to it. The Rift had granted them their request.
Global Police Department, Unova.
Behind bars were Ghetsis and his Team Plasma grunts. Along with Colress. Their freedom was today as the bars had suddenly vanished into Stardust.
"This is interesting." Ghetsis said.
"Vanished by stardust? A cosmic force is most likely behind this." Colress speculated.
"Hah! Whatever the cause. We're free." Ghetsis suddenly felt a rush of strange energy through his body. "And I feel amazing!" Ghetsis' body was now brimming with the intense heat of... aura. Tons of it. Aura comparable to the Aura Guardians. The guards went over to see Team Plasma being free, ready to stop them.
"Out of the way." By using aura, he created a reflective barrier around him and his goons, granting him protection.
The guards had sent out their Pokemon to stop them.
"Arcanine! Flamethrower!"
"Noctowl! Air Slash!"
"Stoutland! Hyper Beam!"
All 3 attacks did nothing. That barrier was too strong to breakthrough.
"Amazing! This is a sign. A sign that I truly am destined for greatness!" Ghetsis put his arm out, creating a pulse of aura which knocked them all out on the ground. Just then, A gateway to the other world had appeared.
"A gateway? A rift even." Colress said.
"Shall we?" Ghetsis smiled. It was great to be back. And now with aura overflowing in him, he is now 10x the threat he usually was.
After getting through Exploud Chasm, Sealeo Breakwater and Kingdra Durance, they had reached Canterlot to have a small break. Once the break was over and they got their flags, their next destination was the Crystal Empire. But the main obstacles were the Machamps and Noiverns.
"How are gonna get through all of that?" Even Ash had no idea what to do in this situation. Those Pokemon won't let them have the chance of getting through. The Machamps crossed their four arms, standing firm.
"They sure big fellas aren't they?" Applejack said.
"Yeah right, I bet those muscles are just there for show. Watch this!" Rainbow Dash underestimated what Machamps are truly capable of. She got a taste of their awesome might as one of them easily sent her and Rapidash back with an easy flick on the nose of the Fire Horse Pokemon. "W-What the?!"
"It's not a good idea to underestimate them, Rainbow Dash. Here, look." Ash got out his Pokedex from his pocket to show her what they're all about.
"Machamp. The Superpower Pokemon. Machamp has the unimaginable might to punch 1,000 times in just two seconds. A simple hit from then can send their target across the horizon. They lift mountains casually with their four arms and have mastered every form of martial arts there is."
"Say what?!" Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Scootaloo and the other ponies were shaken by this. They could do all of THAT?
The Machamps had heard their dex entry as they flexed their muscles, showing off. And they had every right. If you're that powerful, why wouldn't you show off your stuff?
"How are we supposed to get past something like that?! 1,000 times in two seconds?! That's absurd!" Rainbow Dash said.
"It ain't gonna be easy. Not even close. Ash, what about the Noiverns? Can we move past them easier?" AJ asked.
"I wouldn't count on that either. It's not the flying that we should be worried about. It's their signature move, Boomburst. Its a super destructive sound move."
"Great. We've hit a brick wall." Scootaloo sighed.
"Not so. We have Rapidash remember. 40 of them in total. All we gotta do is use them to get past that. We can use the moves they know to make way."
"Not a bad idea. But those Machamp look pretty intimidating. And the Pokedex didn't help at all." A pony said.
"Let's do this! Rapidash! Fire Blast!" Ash commanded his Rapidash as it unleashed a blast with a certain shape, sending it to the Machamps. One Machamp had blown away the Fire Blast with a simple Dual Chop. "Flare Blitz!" Rapidash charged at one of the Machamps to separate them. A Machamp had blocked Rapidash by putting its hands out. Rapidash was doing its best to break through, only slightly pushing Machamp back.
"I got this!" Applejack said. She let her Rapidash run towards the Machamps, making it kick up dirt in their eyes with its hooves. Applejack's Rapidash then jumped over the distracted Machamp, however, another Superpower Pokemon grabbed its hoof, sending it back to the front. "That didn't work so well."
"They'll barely budge. Rapidash! Flame Charge!" Ash made his Rapidash pick up speed as it charged in once more. This time, all the Rapidash's had galloped forward, making all the Machamps act. The Machamps had all put their arms forward to the incoming Rapidash's.
It was now a struggle. A push battle even. Scootaloo had an idea sprung up in there. With all these Machamps distracted, why not take this opportunity to gallop past them. She made her Rapidash move past a Machamp who was too distracted with a Rapidash. Right at the very end of the line of Machamps even.
"Haha! See ya later!" She taunted. But she didn't take into account, the Noiverns. One Noivern used Boomburst to send her back to the front. "Oh come on!"
It looked like it was hopeless until the Rapidash's managed to actually push the Machamps back. Their strength was nothing to scoff at either.
"We managed to push them back but, this is gonna take a while." Ash said.
The Machamps then all dug their hands in the ground. What were they up to?
"What are they doing?" Applejack asked. The ground was shaking as the Machamp's changed the formation of the ground, causing the whole area to morph. Now it was full of huge bumps, making the area more chaotic.
"They changed the entire ground up. They REALLY don't want us getting through." A pony said.
"Then we'll use this to our advantage! Rapidash! Fire Blast on the ground!" Ash made his Rapidash unleash a Fire Blast on the ground. It caused a fiery explosion, creating a huge smoke cloud that blocked the Machamp's sight, even the Noiverns a bit. They had all scattered across the area as the Machamps also scattered. They used their hands to blow away the smoke as they saw all of them were all over the place. They each chased after them, aiming to stop them all.
"Yikes!" Rainbow Dash looked back as she saw a Machamp chasing her. It was imposing. A being with four arms just after you. Not only that but the Noiverns had flown down, chasing after those who got too far.
"Uh oh!" Ash said. A Noivern had used Dragon Pulse as it shot down the ground, causing an explosion that threw Ash's Rapidash off balance for a small bit.
The over Noiverns had used Boomburst or Supersonic to try and stop the contestants. The crowd watching this were very confused about what was going on.
"What in Celestia's name is going on?!" Rarity yelled.
"It's pure pandemonium! It's like a game of cat and mouse!" Twilight replied.
"Yeah! Ain't it awesome?!" BigTime Ben said.
"But are they ever gonna escape those Noiverns and Machamps?" Dawn asked Brock.
"It's a 50/50 chance. The Rapidash have the speed advantage. But the Machamps have immense strength to shake the area and the Noiverns can create great wind attacks to cut them off. They'll have to rely on Rapidash's speed for this one." He answered.
"Pika."
Ash had managed to keep on moving with his Rapidash powering through the Dragon Pulse.
"If you're gonna attack, then we'll attack back! Rapidash! Fire Blast!" Rapidash turned its head around, releasing Fire Blast. Noivern flew over it as it was still on the chase, firing Air Slashes. Rapidash was gaining speed as it was outrunning Noivern.
For the others, they were starting to turn this around. Applejack had made a Machamp run around in circles, making it dizzy.
"What's wrong, big guy? Even Big Mac doesn't get that flustered when things ring around him!" She taunted the Superpower Pokemon. She and her Rapidash escaped from the Machamp who was dizzy, making them the second to leave. The others were occupied, trying to cut off the contestants.
Rainbow Dash had seen an opening. A spot where there was no Machamp or Noivern since they were too busy with the rest. And she seized this opportunity, leaving this area as well.
"Hehe! Buh-Bye!"
The Machamps were seeing that they weren't stopping them all. So they all used Dynamic Punch to shake the ground, causing all of the contestants and Rapidash to fly up into the air as they were launched. Scootaloo's was unaffected because they were actually away from the pandemonium. They had the idea of staying far back while the others handle the rest. And thanks to that launch, she and her Rapidash sneaked past by hiding themselves in a large pile of rocks which was created when the Machamp's changed up the ground. Now she was the next one to leave.
Finally leaving that place and hoping that everypony else can make it through, they headed towards their next destination. The Crystal Empire.
The Crystal Ponies were waiting as they were cheering on the contestants. Cadence and Shining Armor had the second flags waiting for the racers. Ash and Applejack had arrived to grab ahold of their flags next.
"Here's your flags you two. Good luck!" Shining Armor said as he and Cadence lent them their flags.
"Better be ready. Cause those Machamps aren't the only obstacles you have to deal with." Cadence said to them. As more and more contestants arrived, managing to break past the Machamps and Noiverns, barely, they took their flags and galloped on.
"What's even gonna be next?" Scootaloo asked. And right on time, BigTime Ben's face showed up as they were galloping.
"What shows up next is...Zebstrika! Rapidash's Rival!"
"Zeb-who?" The ponies all said.
Zebstrika was here. A Pokemon comparable to Rapidash, essentially its equal. They all turned around to see Thunderbolt Pokemon right next to them.
"What the?!" Rainbow Dash jumped a bit. "Ash! What can you tell us about these ones?" Ash took out his Pokedex to show them.
"Zebstrika. The Thunderbolt Pokemon. A herd of Zebstrika running at top speed gives off a noise like thunder. When Zebstrika run at full speeds, lightning shoots out of their manes. They are rivals to that of Rapidash."
And the dex was right. The Zebstrika's and Rapidash had eyed each other down while running. They both loved to compete against each other but didn't want any of them beating the other.
"So these two are rivals huh? I can dig that." Rainbow Dash said.
"These Zebstrika's will be aiming to beat you all to the punch. Think of them as opposing racers. From now on, you're all on the same team and these Zebstrika's are on another team. Let's see which equine Pokemon is the fastest of them all." BigTime Ben said with his face leaving.
The Zebstrika's all used Wild Charge to boost themselves forward.
"Hey! Rapidash! Flame Charge!" Ash did the same as his Rapidash kept up with them.
"Uh.. do what he said!" Rainbow Dash followed what Ash did as her Rapidash also used Flame Charge. The other contestants did the same as now it was a race between the Fire-Types and Electric-Types. To make it to the Ice Islands, they had to go through some harsh snow, but this wasn't a problem from the two Pokemon. They were in the Arctic North as their hooves were leaving both flaming and electric footprints along with trails.
The Zebstrika's were rowdier than Rapidash, so they used Discharge to throw them off balance.
"Woah!" All the racers said.
"Cheap play you jerks!" Scootaloo yelled at them. A Zebstrika turned its head, sticking its tongue out at her. "Grr!"
"We'll just play dirty then too." Applejack smiled as her Rapidash was next to a Zebstrika. She took off her hat as she placed it in front of the Zebstrika's eyes, making it lose sight. She then took her hat back as the Zebstrika crashed into another of its kind. "Yeehaw!"
"Awesome play, AJ!" Rainbow Dash congratulated her. The racers and Pokemon had galloped along a long snowy hill. The Ice Islands were near, no doubt about it. To slow them down, the Zebstrika's butted heads with the Rapidash's by slamming into them. They were neck and neck, trying to push the other back.
"These Zebstrika's really don't wanna lose huh?" Ash said. "And neither do we! Rapidash! Flare Blitz!" Rapidash had charged forward, leaving a huge trail of fire as it zoomed up the hill, easily making it to the top. The Zebstrika's and other Rapidash followed suit by using Wild Charge and Flare Blitz as well.
There it was. The Ice Islands. And BigTime Ben wasn't kidding. Ice Pokemon galore. From Snorunts, Cubchoos, Bergmites and even some Lapras here and there.
"Check out all the Ice-Types!" Ash said. Normally, the chill of the ice would reach their bodies, but thanks to Rapidash's mane, that chill was negated.
Unbeknownst to them all, the Sharpedo from before had been chasing after them. And since the Ice Islands had water, the Sharpedo could reach here. And they saw their targets right in front of them.
BigTime Ben's face had popped up once more to tell them the challenge for this one.
"Alright! For this one, you'll all have to-" His speech was interrupted by the Sharpedo's who used Aqua Jet to fly through his face and towards the contestants. "What the- Sharpedo's again?!"
"What's with these guys?!" Rainbow Dash bellowed. The Sharpedos knocked some ponies off their Rapidash's along with some humans. Applejack was one of these ponies.
"Applejack!" Rainbow Dash gasped. "Why you!" She got frustrated with the Sharpedo's as she flew off her Rapidash's tackling the Sharpedo's back into the water. She went over to pick up her friend who was on the ground.
"I'm fine Rainbow Dash. They only sent me to the ground. Though it is cold and hard."
"Either way, what's their problem?! No wonder they're known as the 'Bully of the sea'. That's all they are!"
The Ice-Types weren't safe either. The Sharpedo chased after them as well. The Lapras were doing their best to try and escape from the Sharpedo's dashing towards them. A Sharpedo had used Hyper Beam on the icy ground, causing it to shake with the ice caps breaking apart. The Brutal Pokemon would go to extreme measures to get their target. Even the Zebstrika's weren't safe.
"Those Sharpedo's are nothing but ruffians!" Rarity said as she and the others who were watching this were getting nervous with all the Sharpedo's around. The challenge that BigTime Ben planned didn't even go into play.
"They won't stop until they get us. Zebstrika's! Mind putting our rivalry aside and help us stop these Sharpedo's?" Ash said to them. The Zebstrika's knew that they wouldn't be able to finish their race unless the distractions were out of the way. They nodded in response.
"Awesome!" Use Discharge!" Ash took charge, making all the Zebstrika's use Discharge. The electric energy hit the Sharpedo's stunning them. A Sharpedo had come from behind, using Night Slash on Ash's back as it knocked him off Rapidash.
"ASH!" They all said in shock.
Ash fell on the ground as the Sharpedo was about to bite him. The trainer rolled out of the way as he tried to get back on his Rapidash. But his Rapidash was knocked down by Aqua Jets.
"Oh no! Rapidash!"
More and more Rapidash's were getting hit by Aqua Jets. All the contestants were losing their flow.
"This is horrible!" Fluttershy covered her eyes, not wanting to see this.
The Sharpedo's were in the water, everywhere with no safe space. The Ice Type Pokemon hid behind the trainers and ponies, scared of the Sharpedo's.
"What do we do?" Applejack asked.
"Our only option is to make them faint. We'll all have to pitch in." Ash explained. "Zebstrika! Wild Charge!" A herd of Zebstrika's used Wild Charge to knock away the Sharpedo's making some of them faint. "Rapidash! Fire Blast!" Then the Fire Blasts came next. They weren't effective but they were good for knockbacks.
Scootaloo hid behind an ice rock as she was petrified. The young pegasi had now gained a fear of Sharpedo. Her Rapidash stood by her. It was to make sure that it would protect her. It senses her determination to win just like it wants to.
"Rapidash..."
Just then, A Sharpedo had used Night Slash on the rock Scootaloo was hiding behind. She screamed as the Rapidash got in front of her. It turned around and bucked Sharpedo away.
"Can you all help too?" Ash turned to the Ice-Type Pokemon. Most nodded but the Cubchoos felt like they should sit this one out. "Great! Alright, go!"
The Ice-Types had swallowed their fears as they used a variety of ice moves. From Ice Beam to Icy wind, to Ice Fang. With the combined effort from Zebstrika, the Ice-Types and Rapidash, they were all managing to push back against the Bully of the Sea. With all of their strength, they easily overwhelmed the Brutal Pokemon, scaring them off. They couldn't handle all of that, especially with the Zebstrika's having the advantage, and some Ice-Types had Freeze Dry.
Victory! The Sharpedo's had been dealt with. They won't be coming back for long.
"Woowee! That beats up rounding up the sheep any day of the week!" Applejack laughed. The others laughed as they had a huge problem off their back.
"Hehe! Yeah! Better get back to the race!" Rainbow Dash had already been on her Rapidash's galloping off. She took this opportunity to get ahead of everypony else.
"Hey! Rainbow Dash!" They all said in unison. They hopped on their Rapidash's heading back to their starting point, Ponyville.
The race was about to come to an end. The two Pokemon Types were neck and neck. Ponyville was over the horizon, they were so close. Ash, Zebstrika, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were right next to each other.
"This race is mine!" They all said.
"Rapidash! Flare Blitz!" Ash commanded.
"Flame Charge!" Rainbow Dash said.
"GO faster!" Scootaloo yelled.
Their speeds increased, even breaking past their natural speed limit. They were neck and neck. Their speed was so intense that it actually burned away the grass.
"It's gonna be close!" BigTime Ben said. Everypony was anticipating who'd win. And just like that in a sudden burst, they were all blown away once the racers passed the finish line. Their speed had caused a shockwave that powerful, as it was hard to tell who won that.
The racers stopped, leaving a long trail behind. BigTime Ben and everypony else were perplexed. He took his time to put his hat back on and adjust his clothing.
"Oh, sweet Arceus.. that was intense. But who won? Gothitelle?"
Gothitelle didn't really have the power to rewind projections. Psychic types can only do so much. She shook her head, not knowing.
"Well then. I guess we may never know who won. But either way, wasn't that an AMAZING race?!" Everypony cheered as they loved it. It was intense but it was enjoyable.
"I totally won that." Rainbow Dash said.
"You wish, Rainbow Dash." Applejack replied, thinking it wasn't her.
"You two are both winners in my eyes." Fluttershy said to both of them.
"Well! That ends Equestria's first official Rapidash Rush! Granted, the prize won't be going to anyone of you since we don't know who won... BUT! Maybe next time one of you will get it once I bring a camera. No hard feelings, right?"
"None taken." Ash said as his clothes were burnt due to that last-minute speed burst.
The race was over. Everypony was headed home as BigTime Ben was returning his Pokemon to their Pokeballs. From his Machamps, Noiverns to his Zebstrika's. Scootaloo was saying goodbye to Rapidash since the two of them shared a small little bond during this race.
"Bye Rapidash." BigTime Ben looked at the saddened Scootaloo who said goodbye to his Pokemon.
"Hey, kid. You did pretty well back there even if you had a slight disadvantage and almost fell into the chasm. I think you deserve this." BigTime Ben took out a Pokeball as out came the pre-evolution to Rapidash. Ponyta.
"Woah..."
"Ponyta is for you. You can deem this as your first ever Pokemon. I know you're already signed up for the league so this little fella will guide you to victory. And he'll do it with style."
"I love him!" Scootaloo hugged Ponyta as she got her first Pokemon.
"Welp. Best be off. Ya'll take care now, ya hear!"
"See ya later, BigTime!" They had all bid him farewell as he returned to his world.
Back at the underground base, Ghetsis had arrived, meeting with Cold Colt and Emerald Aura. They had already explained everything about The Rift and how the two worlds crossed.
"So. All of this is for fun you say?" Ghetsis said.
"Well yeah. The Rift wants an awesome event. So you'd better make sure you do something cool to satisfy him!" Cold Colt said.
"Oh, I'll give him an event like no other. From now on, you two work for me."
"Pssh. Yeah right." Emerald Aura said. But she and Cold Colt were threatened by his Hydregion. "Uh. Whatever you say boss." They were too terrified of it. Even if they had magic.
"Excellent. The first order of business. We'll take control of Mythical Pokemon. Meloetta."
Twilight had invited her friends over to see Cerise Labs. Her second job there. To them, the place was very advanced due to all the high-tech equipment here. She had even introduced to them to Goh and his newly caught partner Scorbunny. He did say Mew would be his first Pokemon but Scorbunny won him over. Today, was more than just a visit though.
"Here they are." Professor Cerise had given them all 9 tickets to a certain event that Misty mentioned a while back.
"The World Coronation Series?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Hey. This is what Misty mentioned! The Pokemon World Championship." Ash smiled.
"Not only that but its the finals." Fluttershy replied.
"Awesome! I get to see a championship with my very own eyes!"
"Up until now, each region has had its own league or championship." Cerise's assistant said. "Each with its own champion."
"But at the World Coronation Series, they choose the top trainer from everyone around the world." Another one of his assistants said.
"Oh sweet! And these are for the finals... then that means we'll get to see the strongest trainer be crowned!" Ash was loving this. Misty already made it sound exciting but this was even better than he thought it was. "Oh man, I can't wait! Let's take off to the Galar Region!"
High above the skies near the Galar Region, it had a bit of a sunset look currently. This was the first time the Mane 6 were on a plane. It was all so new to them.
"This plane stuff is pretty cool. But I bet I could fly there faster than it can." Rainbow Dash said as she was absorbed by the comfy seats.
"I can't wait to see this, Ash. This Pokemon Championship sounds so intriguing." Twilight talked to him.
"Yeah, it is. I wonder who the finalists are. They'd have to be on another level to reach the finals and be crowned the strongest trainer."
"But I doubt they're as strong as you Ash."
"Oh no. I'm strong but I've still got ways to go if I wanna become a Pokemon Master, Pinkie. Right Pikachu?"
"Pikachu!"
"I can't wait to see all the Pokemon in the Galar Region. Ooh, I wonder what will be there?" Fluttershy was excited to visit this brand new region she hadn't been to yet.
"I can't wait to catch all the Pokemon there!" Gou was excited for catching instead.
"In the meantime, I constructed this." Twilight got out a chart that showed all the Pokemon Types and how to work around them. "This new and improved type chart! Working at Cerise Labs and reading about them, I've figured out how types actually work finally, and I've found a way to counteract them. Even the ones that don't work."
"How exactly?" Applejack asked.
"It's simple. Electric-Types can't affect Ground-Types obviously. But I've gone over the data and found out that if enough electric force is built up, it should be strong enough to break through even the ground itself. Making Electric-Types capable of damaging Ground-Types."
"Are we sure that's how it works?" Pinkie asked her.
"Of course I'm sure. The amount of power needed would be similar to Pikachu's Z Move that he used against Sombra. All we need to do is find a Ground-Type to prove this theory."
"Twilight. It's not that some Pokemon can't damage the others, its more of the case that they don't do as much damage. Grass-Types can't deal too much damage on Poison-Types but they can knock them back and deal damage over time if they're careful. Type matchups aren't everything." Ash explained.
"They aren't?"
"Nope. Take it from me. I've won a lot of my battles despite me having the disadvantage. It's all about the skill and bond you share with your partner. Isn't that right buddy?"
"Pikapi!"
"Well then. I'll have to see it for myself. And if that's true then this chart is meaningless."
Pinkie Pie had smelled something delicious nearby as she bounced over to it.
"Mmm... what's that delicious smell?" She looked over as she saw the plane food. They had some Pokeblocks on the tray. Delicious candy that Pokemon love. And Pinkie Pie too. "These look and smell delicious!"
"These are Pokeblocks." The Stewardess explained. "Though they're only for Pokemon-" She was cut off as Pinkie Pie had gobbled up the Pokeblocks, finding them delicious.
"Mmm! These are some unique sweets! Keep it up!" She bounced back to her seat as the Stewardess was a bit on the dumbfounded side.
"By the way, I thought about it for a while and I've decided!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Decided on what?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'm opening up a second boutique at Kalos! The Carousel Boutique will be world-wide! Universe-wide even!"
"Oh my. Seems everypony has plans for Pokemon."
"Well of course. You have your Pokemon House, Fluttershy. So we decided to involve ourselves with Pokemon as well, darling."
"Yeah. And I'm gonna find the pinnacle of sweets!" Pinkie Pie said.
"Pinnacle of Sweets?" They all said.
"Apparently, from what I've heard... somewhere in the Pokemon World, there exists a sweet so grand, so delicious, so tasty that only a certain Pokemon can keep guard of it without eating it. It drives others crazy when they see it. They just wanna gobble it up in one go! And I'm gonna find it one day!"
"What about you Applejack, darling. Any goals for Pokemon?"
"Nope. I ain't got nuthin'. I'm perfectly fine with where I am right now. But I do enjoy the Applin's company."
Just then, there was an announcement.
"We have just entered Galar Region Airspace."
"Oh sweet. We're almost there." Ash said. Suddenly, the lights went off in the plane. Everypony, human and Pokemon were confused. Was a movie going to play or something?
"Everyone please remain calm. And remain seated with your seatbelts fastened." The Stewardess said. But suddenly, Pikachu was look out the window. He could sense something, something ominous outside.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Something's out there!" Ash exclaimed. The Mane 6 and Spike had looked out to see what it could be.
"I don't see anything Ash." Spike said.
"It's coming. I can feel it." Both Ash and Pikachu knew something was there.
"Pikachu!"
Something WAS out there. It was unexplainable. There was this large purple thing that soared through the clouds. It was hard to see what the rest of it looked like since it was so gigantic. Red lightning sparked in the skies along with a red aura that surrounded it. More purple bits of it were seen as the gang were surprised by what they were seeing.
Pikachu felt electricity just surge out of him. Like this red energy was affecting him in a way. Whatever this thing was, it was trouble. Then, more of its body was seen. It had some sort of purple part inside of it. In fact, its whole appearance seemed to be that of a skeleton of some sorts. It was still hard to see what it was due to its size and the clouds, but they got a glimpse of it. Once that mysterious figure left, the lights came back on, returning all systems to normal.
"Pikachu. Are you okay?"
"Pika.."
"What in Equestria WAS that thing?" Twilight asked.
"No idea. But I can tell that it was a Pokemon. A pretty overwhelming one too. Gets the blood pumping doesn't it?"
"You seriously enjoy THAT Ash?"
"Yeah, Twilight! Just think of all that mystery...and it's in the Galar Region, waiting for us!"
"I feel ya, Ash. It's got my blood pumping too!" Applejack responded.
The plane had finally landed at Galar. It was time to head to the stadium. Once they all arrived there by bus, they were met with the stadium itself. It was so gigantic that it was hard to see where the front was.
"Where is the stadium?" Ash said, thinking that he wasn't there.
"There." Goh held Ash's face turning it up to show him where it was.
"Huh? WOAH!"
"Pika!"
It was huge. The shape of it resembled that of a flower. The others were taken aback by the size of it.
"Holy cow! It's gigantic!" Rainbow Dash gawked. Ponies and people had gathered around the stadium to see the championship take place. It was about to start anytime soon.
"Come on! We can't miss this!"
"Pikachu!"
"Slow down, Ash! You're moving too fast!" Twilight said.
Inside the stadium was a huge crowd. All tickets sold out since everyone was anticipating this. Ash, Twilight and the others weren't the only ones here. Team Rocket with their grade-A disguises were here as well.
"Twerps and Twerpettes in the middle of this place?" Jessie said.
"Normally, I'd be suggesting we steal Pikachu." James followed.
"But when the boss gives a direct order, we put normal stuff aside. Besides, Zecora let us have a day off finally." Meowth retorted.
"We are to steal the Galar Pokemon who grow to gigantic size." Jessie uttered.
"Yes! For a giant prize!" James yelled.
"Right! And this time, we've got the right phone for the right job!" Meowth held up the Rotomphone.
"Wobbuffet!"
The lights went off. It was time. Introductions were first. A light show happened, where golden lights sprung up. Red, blue, green and white circles surrounded the floor, moving about.
"Welcome everyone! It's the moment you've all been waiting for! We're here to witness the world's largest, worlds greatest Pokemon Battle to determine the world's greatest trainer!" The light shows were going crazy. It was hyping this all up to the max. "Welcome, to the World Coronation Series!"
The cheering was off the charts as fireworks were in the air.
"So how did we get here? The Masters 8, the top trainers ranked by the Pokemon Battle Commission, have entered this competition of high stakes battling, so that they may ride for the much-coveted title of 'Monarch'! But who you may wonder, are our two finalists?"
Out came the challengers who were in the finals. One was a very familiar face to Ash. The spotlight landed on this challenger.
"First up! I introduce to you, Lance!"
"Alright, it's Lance!" Ash exclaimed.
"Representing the Kanto Region!" Goh replied.
"Oooh, this is so exciting." Pinkie Pie was shaking Rainbow Dash, but she didn't mind since Dashie was just as excited.
"One of the Kanto League's Elite 4, and winner of the prestigious Elite 4 Cup, Lance then went on to emerge victorious from the trainers ultimate dream... The Pokemon World Tournament in Driftveil City!" The announcer was building up and explaining all of Lance's feats. "Lance showed his attack skills as a member of Pokemon G-Men. His use of Dragon-Type Pokemon has been described as battling art! A world-class trainer, with world-class Pokemon!"
"Oh sweet! He's a Dragon-Type Trainer?!" Spike jumped out of his seat. "I gotta see this now!"
"I am now pleased to introduce our other finalist." The second one was here. The one who was the most impressive to all. The light shined on this seemingly new trainer. "It's Leon!"
"Born and raised in Galar, and known for winning the Galar Champion Cup on his very first try on battles that weren't even close! One who has never tasted defeat. A trainer who takes on any challengers, even once taking on a hundred challengers throughout the world and beating every single one of them! The King of the Kingdom! The Super Star of Galar! The Undefeated Champion! Leon!"
"Oh, sweet Celestia. This guy sounds unstoppable." Rainbow Dash said.
"No kidding. 100 challengers?!" Twilight exclaimed. "I have to get a note of everything that happens right now." Twilight had some paper with a quill, ready to take notes. The Stadium lit up with lights.
"Now. Lance and Leon have taken their positions on the battlefield." A man riding on a flying machine with an Aegislash on the front arrived to be the referee.
"We will now begin the final match of the World Coronation Series. Will both trainers come forth." The two champions stepped forward, ready. "The battle will be a single match. A trainer wins when the opposing trainer's Pokemon cannot continue."
"I've seen your previous battles. I can tell you're a trainer with considerable skill. That's why I imagined that you would be the one to eventually join me here." Lance said to Leon, praising him even.
"Are you able to feel it, Lance?"
"Huh?" He didn't get what Leon meant.
"To witness the tense still air on the pitch. The opposite of the audience, cheering and yelling. Feels fantastic wouldn't you say? But remember, the audience is also a bit cruel. They want nothing more to see one of us lose after all. But I love pushing past the fear. I love giving it everything I've got as a trainer. It's the greatest feeling!" Leon held his cape, getting riled up. "And I can't get enough of it."
"Hmph. You think you've already won." Lance retorted.
"The reason I'm unbeatable is because I learn from every battle I see or take part in. And today! I'll learn. From my victory."
"There's no need for words now. We will battle to determine who's stronger!" Lance held his Pokeball out.
"Please bring out your Pokemon!" The referee exclaimed. Leon got out his Pokeball, ready to do this and settle it once and for all. He tossed his Pokeball up in the air as it sent out his partner and strongest Pokemon.
Charizard. The minute that beast of Pokemon landed it caused the ground to shake, creating dust around it. The mighty Flame Pokemon let out a strong and fierce roar.
Lance then sent out his Pokemon. A Pokemon he caught long ago back in the Johto Region. The Red Gyarados. The Atrocious Pokemon was ready to battle as well.
"Incredible! Look at the coloring of it! Fetching!" Rarity yelled.
"It's Leon's undefeated Ace Pokemon, Charizard and evolved from a gold Magikarp, Red Gyarados!" The announcer said.
"Battle begin!" The referee said. It was off.
"The time has come!" Lance yelled.
"Indeed!" Leon yelled back. "Let's have a Champion Time! Now Charizard, Flamethrower!" Charizard had the first move. Letting out an intense blast of fire.
"Gyarados! Counter it with Hyper Beam!" Gyarados wouldn't let Charizard get the first hit in. Its mouth glowed unleashing a mighty beam forward. Both attacks met as they clashed. A powerful shockwave was left from it, even reaching near the crowd. Luckily there was a barrier to protect the audience from getting hurt. Both attacks were in a struggle, however, Hyper Beam managed to be the stronger attack as it broke through the Flamethrower.
"Dodge it!" Charizard flew in the air, escaping the Hyper Beam as it was chasing him down, hitting the barriers in the process. Charizard flew back down as the Hyper Beam had stopped.
"I must say Gyarados. It seems you're just as strong as I suspected." Leon praised Gyarados's great strength. "Alright, Charizard use Air Slash!" Charizard's wings began to glow as it flew forward.
"Block it Gyarados!" Charizard let out slashes of wind towards Gyarados, as the Atrocious Pokemon slammed its tail on the ground, making huge rocks come up to block the Air Slash.
"Use Flamethrower!" Charizard flew up into the air, unleashing another Flamethrower downwards.
"Oh geez! That one looks like it's gonna hurt!" Rainbow Dash said as they all looked up at it.
"Dragon Dance!" All of a sudden, Lance didn't make Gyarados counter it. Instead, he let his Pokemon stand there as it danced around with a purple energy surrounding it. Gyarados's speed and attack strength had been boosted. The Flamethrower hit Gyarados dead on. This didn't phase Gyarados too much.
"We need to get closer. Take it down using Aqua Tail!" Gyarados's tail had a water coating around it as it slammed its tail on the ground, sending it flying into the air towards Charizard. It made direct contact as it smacked Charizard with its Aqua Tail, sending the Flame Pokemon back down to ground level.
"What strength." Applejack gawked.
"Since Gyarados is part water, it took that Flamethrower and used Dragon Dance to gain a boost. Man, Lance is still so awesome!"
"You okay Charizard?" Charizard was more than okay. It was still healthy and pumped up.
"Let's follow up! Use Ice Fang repeatedly!" Gyarados's already sharp teeth became much more deadly. It slithered towards Charizard, circling around him continuously as he was biting the Fire-Type repeatedly with Ice Fang. It winded around Charizard with a series of attacks. Due to its speed increase it could keep on going as Charizard was finding it tough to break free.
"Throw it off Charizard! Then use Fire Spin!" Charizard had whacked Gyarados away with its tail as it sent out a fire that circled around the Atrocious Pokemon, trapping it.
"Gyarados! Cut your way out using Aqua Tail!" The Water-Flying Type broke out with its Aqua Tail, putting the flames out. "Now use Ice Fang!" Gyarados rushed in once more for another Ice Fang, but Leon wasn't going to let that happen again.
"This is what I've been waiting for. Alright Charizard, use Thunder Punch!"
"What?!" This caught Lance off guard. He was keeping that this whole time. Charizard's dragon-like claws and hands were surging with lightning. He slammed his fist onto Gyarados's face, sending the Atrocious Pokemon to the ground.
"Use Thunder Punch repeatedly!" Charizard was about to deliver a second one.
"If it lands over and over again, that Gyarados is done for!" Pinkie said.
"Counter with Aqua Tail repeatedly!" Lance wasn't about to go down so easily. Gyarados raised its tail up, clashing with the Thunder Punch. Their clash caused strong wind pressures to fly across the battlefield. They clashed their two attacks like swords, going back and forth. Eventually, the two of them pushed each other back.
"This battle isn't over yet! I forbid it." Leon sent Charizard back as it was time for the real show-stopper.
"Yes. I couldn't agree with you more." Lance returned Gyarados as well. They both knew what was coming.
"What's about to happen?" Ash asked.
"No idea. But oooh has it got me all kinds of excited!" Rainbow replied.
"So many things to take into account." Twilight had made so many notes on this battle so far.
"Alright! Gyarados, ready?" Lance outstretched his arm as his Dynamax band had activated. His Pokeball had changed colors as it grew in size.
"What the?!" They all said in unison.
"GO! DYNAMAX!" Lance tossed his Pokeball into the air as out came Gyarados. Bigger. Bigger. Gyarados was much bigger than it was before. Gigantic even. The skies around the stadium turned purple as they were all perplexed. Ash and the others especially. This wasn't like Darkrai's tricks or a dream. This was the real deal. A super-sized Pokemon. This was the Galar Region's speciality.
"It's huge! Gigantic!" Twilight said.
"So when professor Cerise said there'd be things that would amaze us, he wasn't kidding."
"Now this is battling!" Even Jessie was impressed.
"Good things come in big packages too!" Meowth said.
"So when the boss spoke of giant-sized Pokemon, this is what he was talking about!" James uttered.
"This Dyna-socks is for me!" Jessie mispronounced it.
"Big stockings isn't what he meant." James replied to that silly saying.
"Wobbu!"
"Oh, Boy... the word is Dynamax." Meowth corrected her.
"Dynamax Gyarados? I like it. Now I'll show you what Charizard can really do!" It was Leon's turn. His Charizard was more than just Dynamax. He tossed the Pokeball up as it released his partner Pokemon. "GIGANTAMAX!"
Charizard grew huge as well, but his appearance was much different. Like he had gone through another evolution. This unseen to Ash. The Mane 6 fell out of their seats, perplexed by this behemoth. Including the ponies who came to watch this. Spike was in awe. He loved every second of this. It felt like two dragons battling it out.
"It's Gigantamax Charizard!" The announcer said.
"That's Gigantamax?!" Goh exclaimed.
"So cool!" Ash bellowed.
"Pika!"
"Scorbunny!"
"This has gone from a normal Pokemon battle to a super-sized Dynamax extravaganza!" The announcer exclaimed.
"Use Max Geyser!" Out of Gyarados's mouth came an intense and maxed up beam of water. More powerful than a normal water move. Rain kicked up once the attack was fired.
"The Water-Type Max move huh? It seems like something you would use. Charizard! Meet it using Max Lightning!" Lightning surrounded Charizard as from above, lightning came down, striking Gyarados. The Max Geyser missed Charizard due to Gyarados being thrown off course. An Electric Terrain formed after the Max Lightning hit.
"Aiming for Super-effective hits is the way to victory!"
"Now! Use Max Strike!" Gyarados dug its tail on the ground, making the stadium shake with cracks forming. The rocks rose up as a shockwave of energy headed towards Charizard.
"Charizard use Max Airstream!" Charizard flew into the air, avoiding the attack as it let out a whirlwind of air that raced towards Gyarados. A direct hit too. "It's a champion time to turn up the heat! G-MAX WILDFIRE!" Charizard then followed up with its new signature move. All of a sudden, its wings got hotter as it looked like they flew off its back. A flaming figure in the shape of a bird soared to Gyarados.
"Gyarados! Use Max Guard!" Gyarados set up a shield to protect it from the wildfire.
"Now! Get ready for the last act!" The final move was in play. Leon had it all sorted out. The G-Max Wildfire wasn't over. It was still flying around. Once that guard was gone, the attack hit Gyarados. Continuously even. Like a bird rapidly swooping down on its prey. Then with one final hit, the wildfire dashed down, hitting Gyarados in the head. The aftermath was a flaming explosion that was large enough to cover even the super-sized Gyarados. A burst of flames was left over as well as it was burning Gyarados.
"Gyarados!" Lance shouted. Too late to counteract now. Gyarados return to normal size as it had fallen down. The referee had flown over to see the state of Gyarados.
"Gyarados is unable to battle! SO! The winner of this match is Leon!"
"And Leon pulls out a stunning victory!" The announcer yelled. Everyone cheered at that awesome battle. Ash stood up, amazed at what he saw.
"Oh, man. I've never seen Lance lose before. Ever even.
"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Spike yelled.
"Charizard. You did very well. Now you and I are true World Monarchs."
"Char!" Charizard and Leon high-fived each other. They aced that. Charizard let out fire in the air as a celebration of its victory.
"That was more intense than any battle I've seen so far." Rainbow Dash was taken aback by all of this.
"It was rough and tumble but it was amazing!" Even Rarity loved it.
"So this is what it looks like when two champions battle..." Twilight didn't know what to think. The notes she had written down didn't do it any justice.
"You were amazing. Now get plenty of rest." Lance returned Gyarados to his Pokeball as Leon walked up to him. "I guess it's over." They shook hands in good sports. The victor had been decided.
"That Dynamaxing was amazing." Leon said to him.
"I previously went on a journey in the Galar Region. And trained in the Dragon Gym. Wearing that historic uniform left a deep and lasting impression on me. Which is why I wear what I wear now."
"I'd say, this is a proud moment for them too."
"It's an odd feeling. I'm not angry I lost. But I'm happy I got to witness the rise of a great new Monarch."
"Thank you, Lance. It was a tremendous battle!" Lance lifted up Leon's arm to congratulate him to the audience.
"Here today! We've witnessed the rise of the greatest Monarch in the world! If a trainer has a strong and outstanding nature, then Pokemon will respond! And that's how a trainer grows strong with their Pokemon! As strong as Leon and Charizard!" Lance exclaimed to them all.
"Now! Once again presenting! The winner of the World Coronation Series crowned the Strongest in the World! The Monarch Leon!" The announcer said. Leon did his signature champion pose to them all. Spike had mimicked that pose as he had gained himself a new devotion.
"Amazing.. so he's been crowned the strongest Pokemon Trainer in the world?" Fluttershy said.
"Yep! And I wanna have a battle with him!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"HUH?!" They all said to him.
"Ash. I admire your bravado and spirit, but didn't you hear what they said that he's accomplished? He even won with the type-disadvantage!" Twilight said. But Ash didn't care. That never stopped him before.
The match was over and all were headed home. Rainbow Dash stretched her hooves from all that sitting. That was an event. It all looked like it was over until something had happened. Team Rocket had come across a Drednaw. The Bite Pokemon. They had sort of riled it up and triggered a Dynamax spot with a Bellsprout. This caused the Drednaw to grow in size, reaching its Giganatmax state.
"What in tarnation is that?" Applejack said, referring to the sudden red energy that rose up. Drednaw was chasing after Team Rocket who ran off indoors. Drednaw extended its neck, breaking in. It was now pandemonium. A Gigantamax Drednaw had to be dealt with.
Previously, the group had arrived at Galar to see the strongest trainer emerge in the Pokemon World Coronation Series. The crowned Monarch was Leon, who proved himself to be the strongest and undefeated trainer of all time after his fierce battle with Lance. Once that was said and done, Team Rocket had stirred up trouble by angering a Drednaw which Giganatamaxed. The huge Pokemon was now a problem for the citizens of Galar as its head was inside the stadium.
"What's up with that Pokemon?! And it's Gigantamaxed!" Goh yelled.
"Aww, it's kinda cute. It looks like a snapping turtle." Fluttershy said.
"Now is not the best time to be admiring it!" Rainbow bellowed.
"Hey! Mind calming down?!" Ash said to the Gigantified Pokemon.
"You'll destroy the entire stadium!" Twilight said. Drednaw wouldn't listen. It immediately attacked them by extending its head to try and bite them. They all moved out of the way, avoiding the huge bite.
"Fluttershy! Can you try and talk to it!" Rainbow suggested.
"I'll try." Fluttershy flew out the huge Bite Pokemon as it looked at her.
"Um excuse me bu-" Drednaw didn't let her finish as he roared, blowing her back to the ground. Rarity had caught her from hitting the ground.
"How rude!" Rarity said.
"Looks like it won't listen. Then we'll draw its attention with a battle!" Ash exclaimed.
"Right here?! Right now?!" Twilight shouted.
"Of course!"
"But how are you gonna fight a Pokemon of THAT size Ash?!"
"I dunno."
"I dunno?!" They all said in unison.
"All the more reason to try it!"
"Why are you so reckless, Ash?" Twilight facehoofed.
"Then if you're gonna battle, then I want in too!" Rainbow Dash had sent out Rufflet.
"Let's do this! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika-Chuu!" A bolt of thunder was sent towards the giant Drednaw. It made a direct hit but it barely phased Drednaw.
"Rufflet! Wing Attack!" Rufflet flew up to Drednaw, slashing its wings at it. But that did nothing as well. "No good!" Drednaw then prepared to extend its neck once more.
"Here it comes! Pikachu! Electroweb!" Pikachu sent a web of electricity at Drednaw who's neck had extended. It broke through the web like it was nothing as the Mane 6 and the others ran away to avoid the incoming neck. Drednaw's neck had stopped as it could only go so far. The group had stopped as they laid on the ground.
And then... Pikachu could feel something. He was standing on a sort of cracked ground with red and purple energy rising up from it.
"Pikachu. What's wrong?"
"Pika.." Pikachu could feel his electricity rise as he suddenly started to grow in size. Purple lights grew out of his back as he kept growing.
"Sweet Celestia!" Pinkie yelled. Pikachu kept growing and growing with his appearance becoming much more built.
Pikachu was now a Gigantamaxed Pokemon.
"Pi...Pi..ka!" Pikachu found it hard to stand in this new super-sized body.
"Pikachu Gigantamaxed?!" Goh said. Pikachu took one step as he made the group all jump and fall to the ground.
"Look at how pudgy he is!" Pinkie pointed out.
"We can use this! Pikachu! Use Quick Attack!" Ash commanded his new giant Pikachu as a white aura surrounded his body as Quick Attack would normally do. Though this wasn't Quick Attack. Pikachu began walking over to Drednaw was standing up. He was moving so slow since he was so huge. Pikachu is normally used to being small and fast, but this was different. Sacrificing speed for strength was not his style.
Drednaw stomped on the ground as water rose up, hitting Pikachu. The giant Electric Mouse Pokemon tumbled a bit, hitting the stadium.
"He looks like he's having so much trouble!" Fluttershy was getting worried.
"Pikachu's gotten so used to his speedy little self. This huge form isn't one he's accustomed to. Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
Pikachu grabbed a hold of his huge tail, walking towards Drednaw. He held it tightly as his tail began to glow like Iron Tail normally would.
"Pi..kaaa!" He was building up power as the ground shake. He then swung his iron tail like a whip, down on the ground steel spikes rose up from beneath, heading towards Drednaw. A direct hit. Leon was watching this go down from the front of the stadium. He noticed that Ash was battling without the Dynamax Band.
"Nice job Pikachu!"
Drednaw retaliated by stepping on the ground, sending out a huge wall of rocks.
"That's the Rock-Type Dynamax move!" Goh exclaimed.
"Tell him to use G-MAX-Volt Crash!" Leon called from the stadium.
"Leon?!"
"Your Pikachu should be able to use G-MAX Volt Crash!!"
"Right! I'll give it a try!"
"PIKA!" Pikachu stared down Drednaw, who had extended its neck to hit the rock wall. It began to fall down, ready to hit Pikachu.
"Pikachu! Max Lightning!" Pikachu jumped up as he would normally do when ready to fire a thunderbolt. But because he was so huge, he only got up a few feet. He fell down, bouncing on the ground as he then let out a burst of lightning from his body. The lightning shot up as it came back down, striking Drednaw as it also destroyed the large wall of rock. With one hit, Drednaw was down and back to normal.
"You did it!" Pinkie Pie cheered.
"PIKA!" Pikachu let out a battle cry as he was returning back to normal.
"That was amazing Pikachu!" Ash ran to his little buddy. Pikachu was still a bit shaken up from that. Team Rocket popped out of the bushes after avoiding the Drednaw they angered.
"All of you! Are you alright?" Leon ran to them.
"Yeah. Thanks for the help, Leon." Ash said.
"Oh, so this is Leon. He's much taller up close." Applejack said.
"Hey, Leon. I wanna ask you something."
"What is it, Ash?"
"Please battle me!"
"Pikachu!"
"Ash! Are you crazy! He's undefeated!" Twilight shook Ash. "Didn't you hear from earlier?! 100 challengers and he beat them all! You'll get floored!"
"Sure."
"What?!" Twilight responded.
"We'll battle tomorrow in the morning. I'll be waiting for you at the stadium."
"Awesome! Thanks, Leon!"
"Oh, Ash..."
The next day, the group were all sitting near a Pokemon Daycare. They had sat down to eat some the Galar Region's delicious scones.
"Mmm! These scones are pretty good! Nothing I've ever tasted before!" Pinkie said chomping on them.
Everyone was enjoying their meal, but Ash looked out of it. So much so that he wouldn't even eat.
"Ash, darling. Are you okay?" Rarity put her hoof on his shoulders.
"Huh?" Ash turned to Rarity, almost unresponsive. A Skwovet had come along, eating Ash's food while he wasn't looking.
"Oh sweet! A Pokemon I've never seen before!" Goh stood up as he got out his Rotomphone.
"Skwovet. The Cheek Stuffing Pokemon. It eats berries non-stop. When its cheeks are full it tends to stash more in the flaps in its tail."
"Pokeball go!" Goh tossed the Pokeball, gaining a guaranteed capture. But Ash wasn't really paying attention, he was still dazed.
"Ash, darling if something is troubling you, you should tell us."
"Yeah! Come on, what is it?" Pinkie asked.
"Oh. I was just remembering Leon's battle yesterday."
"I see. You think about battling Pokemon 24/7, don't you? That's why you're like that." Twilight said.
"No. I totally space out if I don't get ten hours of sleep." Ash explained the real reason why he was like that. "So that's 24 hours minus 10 which is..."
"Nevermind the math. The point is, you wanna battle Leon right?" Goh said.
"Yeah. That's right."
"I see. But that will be tough."
"Huh?"
"If you want to participate in the Pokemon World Championship, you'll have to sign up online and then win your way through the ranks."
"Ranks?"
"Your position, based on your record and performance. The top 8 in the rankings are called the Master Class. At the end of the season, those eight fight in a tournament, where the winner becomes the Champion or Monarch." Goh explained.
"Sounds like a pretty big deal." Pinkie said eating more scones.
"It is a big deal Pinkie! Tournaments are some of the most prestigious events ever. Only the highest skilled can make it to the top. This is the same case for our world too." Twilight replied.
"So, I can battle Leon if I enter that?!"
"Think it'll be that easy?" Goh retorted.
"Why?"
"Trainers who enter get divided into four classes based off their win/lose ratio and the contents of their battles. All trainers entering for the first time go into the Normal Class. Then the trainers in that rank battle it out between each other, and the ones ranked 999 to 100 enter the Super Class. Above that, 99 to 9 make up the Hyper Class. And Leon is in the highest class. Master Class of course. And he's ranked number one, at that."
"Pretty awesome stuff. I wonder if its the same for the league back in Equestria." Rainbow said.
"Our league is more limited to Equestria only. I mean this World Coronation Series is a much bigger deal." Twilight replied.
"Yeah, it is. Plus you get sponsorships with this stuff." Twilight, Applejack and Rarity stood up when they heard that.
"Did you say sponsorships?" They said.
"Yeah. Didn't you see Leon's cape? It had all kinds of brands and companies on it."
"You know... this Championship business doesn't sound too farfetched for me." Applejack was considering joining.
"Yes. I'm not too unladylike to join." Rarity as well.
"Hold on. Don't tell me you're all..." Rainbow Dash knew what they were thinking.
"Right you are. We're joining this Pokemon World Championship! I can get enough support to help the farm!" Applejack said.
"Well if you're all joining, then so am I!"
"But Rainbow. Don't you already have the league back at our world to deal with it." Rarity said.
"I know. That's why I'll win that and win the Coronation series as well. Won't hurt to join two of them."
"Yeah right! I'm the one winning the series!" Ash exclaimed.
"Oh yeah?!" Ash and Rainbow Dash butted heads.
"You two will have to compete to one-up each other." Leon had shown up.
"Leon?!" They all said.
"Ash. You wanted to battle me right?"
"Yeah!"
"As the World Champion, I can't turn down a young man's dream. I should at least grant it."
"Awesome! I can't wait!"
At Wyndon Stadium.
Ash and Leon were ready. Twilight and the others were sitting on the seats to watch this battle go down.
"Is Ash really up for this? I mean, that Leon guy is a force to be reckoned with." Spike said.
"You got this Ash!" Pinkie Pie had a flag that had Ash's face on it as well as Ash apparel.
"Pinkie. This is just a small exhibition match." Goh said.
"Still. Doesn't hurt to be super-supportive."
"This is a bad idea. Ash doesn't stand a chance." Twilight wasn't sure about this.
"Ash. Have this." Leon had tossed Ash the Dynamax Band. "It's a Dynamax Band. You battled without one yesterday, but normally we use it to control Dynamax. And when your Pokemon goes Dynamax, their moves name change as well."
"Oh, so that explains the name changes like Max Lightning."
"Correct. Steel moves become Max Steelspike. Normal moves become Max Strike."
"Oooh."
"But for your Pikachu is a Gigantamax. For that, his electric moves become G-Max Volt Crash."
"G-Max Volt Crash... the move from yesterday right?!"
"In order to Gigantamax him, you'll need to return him to his Pokeball, and then fill the ball with the power emerging from the band before throwing it." Leon explained. Though there was one problem.
"Well, Pikachu doesn't go inside his Pokeball... But we'll manage!"
"PikaPika!"
Ash placed the Dynamax band on his right hand.
"Oh, so cool!"
"Now both sides! Send forth your Pokemon!" The referee said.
"Pikachu! I choose you!"
"Charizard! You're the one I choose!"
Pikachu jumped off his shoulder as Leon threw out Charizard.
"Alright! Pikachu and I both wanted to battle Charizard!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"It seems that you understand your Pokemon's feelings very well. I'm glad."
"Heh. Me and Pikachu understand each other perfectly, ya know."
"Come on Ash! Show him what for!" Rarity yelled.
"That won't be easy. Me and Charizard will never lose any battle!"
"CHARIZARD!
"Fine by me!"
"Pikachu!"
"Battle Start!"
"Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Pikachu moved at lightning speeds, heading towards Charizard.
"Charizard! Counter with Thunder Punch!" Charizard readied his electrified hands as Pikachu was heading towards him. They clashed with Pikachu's head meeting with Charizard's fist. Charizard had managed to knock Pikachu up into the air.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu landed down safely as his tail became as hard as iron. He jumped up ready to swing it.
"Another Thunder Punch!" Charizard did it again. His Thunder Punch met with Pikachu's Iron Tail caused another clash. Once again, Pikachu was sent flying. Charizard was overwhelming him.
"Not even a minute and Pikachu's already struggling." Rainbow said.
"Keep going!" Charizard kept using Thunder Punch as he closed in on Pikachu.
"Electroweb!" Pikachu sent the web to try and stop him.
"Don't mind it! Keep going!" Charizard punched right through the web, obliterating it. "Air Slash!" Charizard then sent fast-paced slashes of air that hit Pikachu before he even realised it.
"Oh my. That Charizard is something else. I can't watch." Applejack put her hat over her face. But Pikachu was fine as he landed back down still ready to go.
"But Pikachu's awesome too ain't he?" Spike said as they were all impressed on how this little mouse can keep going against that giant dragon-like Pokemon.
"Alright! Thunderbolt!"
"Flamethrower!" Both attacks clashed. But Flamethrower had easily overpowered Thunderbolt as it was pushing him back. But Pikachu wouldn't let up as he kept his thunderbolt strong whilst the Flamethrower pressed onto it.
"Don't give up!"
"Pi...ka...CHUU!" Pikachu's lightning began growing in power as the Dynamax energy was flowing through him. He started to grow into size once more and his thunderbolt was pushing back the Flamethrower. He had once again Gigantamaxed! His powered up thunderbolt had broken through the Flamethrower, hitting Charizard.
"Oh, Charizard!" Charizard had fallen down but he wasn't out yet.
"Awesome! The Gigantamax was a success!"
"PI-KAAA-CHUU!!" Pikachu let out a mighty cry as he stomped his feet.
"Interesting. This was worth it. Return Charizard." Charizard returned to his ball. It was his turn to grow. Leon's Pokeball started to increase in size as the Dynamax energy flowed through the band and the ball. "Let me show you a true Champion Time!"
"Here it comes..." Fluttershy hid behind Rainbow Dash as the Mane 6 were bracing themselves for the titan that was G-Max Charizard.
"GIGANTAMAX!" Throwing the Pokeball made Charizard grow to Pikachu's size, but bigger.
"Let's do this, Pikachu! Max Strike!" Pikachu jumped up as landed on the ground, sending a burst of energy that went towards Charizard. Charizard flew back, avoiding the pillar of energy.
"Max Airstream!" Charizard had retaliated by sending a whirlwind of air at Pikachu. It made contact as Pikachu was struggling to hold still. He used every ounce of his strength to try and push through it. It had started to push him back though.
"Hang in there, Pikachu!" Pikachu wouldn't let up. He dug deeper as he was doing his very best, but the attack was too strong as it made him fall on his back. "Pikachu! Max Steelspike!" Pikachu got up from the ground, ready to go on.
"Charizard! Max Lightning!" Charizard had charged up a ton of energy as Pikachu held its tail, ready to hit Charizard. The lightning had struck down on the Electric Mouse Pokemon, but it didn't stop him. But it did prevent him from using the steel move.
"In that case, use G-MAX VOLT CRASH!" Pikachu used every ounce of his energy to shoot lightning up.
"Now! Enjoy the climax! G-MAX Wildfire!" Charizard had used his signature G-Max move as well. Sending out that same flame that flew like a bird and looked like one too. Both attacks had hit their target. The fire hit Pikachu, engulfing him, whilst the lightning struck Charizard.
"These Dynamax battles are so intense! It's like watching two titans go at it." Twilight said as they were all perplexed by this. Even seeing a 3rd time was just so insane.
"It's not over yet!" Leon said. The fire kept burning Pikachu as the lightning had eventually fizzled out. The wildfire kept hitting Pikachu, flying about as he couldn't take anymore.
"Pikachu!"
Pikachu began returning back to his normal size as he had fainted. Ending the battle.
"Pikachu is unable to battle! And such the winner is contestant Leon!" Ash ran over to his buddy to pick him up.
"I can't believe we saw Ash lose." Applejack said.
"I knew this would happen. Going up against someone who was undefeated." Twilight shook her head.
"Looks like it's over. What a shame, huh Charizard?" Leon returned Charizard back to his ball.
"Pikachu. You gave it your all."
"Pika..."
"Ash. Give Pikachu this." Leon gave Ash an Oran Berry as it had healed his buddy.
"Thanks. Leon. I'm glad I got to have a serious battle with you."
"Battles are no fun if they're not serious. That's all there is to it." Leon replied.
"Ah, here have this back." Ash held out the band.
"No, Ash. You keep it."
"Huh?"
"I like young unrefined trainers like you. But if you want to satisfy me, you'll have to pop more."
"Pop?"
"Put on more of a show!" Pinkie Pie explained.
"Later then." Leon bid them farewell as he walked off.
"Leon! Please battle with me again someday!"
"Our next one will be an official one with a crowd!"
"Yeah!"
"Pikachu!"
"Oh Ash, darling. So sorry for your loss."
"No need to worry, Rarity. I can use this to grow."
"Really? You're not bothered? Or mad? Or sad?" Twilight said.
"Nope! I've lost my fair share of battles in the past. But that's how I learn. And that's how I grow stronger, and how me and Pikachu have continued to win so many battles over time. I'll enter the tournament and take on Leon! And that'll bring me one step closer to becoming a Pokemon Master!"
"That's the spirit Ash!" Pinkie hopped on Ash's back, loving his optimism.
"Pikachu. Let's get stronger together!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Oh, Ash. You are a strange one." Twilight said.
Ash's new goal has been set. The road to a Pokemon Master is long and hard, but the journey that comes with it is incredible. With the tournament on his mind, his dreams have expanded even more. As the journey continues.
"Here you are. 12 Pokeballs for you, Rarity. And I made them all special for you." Brock said, handing over the Pokeballs.
"Why thank you, Brock." Rarity used her magic to take them.
"I didn't think you'd be the type of pony who would be interested in this, sister." Sweetie Belle said.
"I know it may seem strange, Sweetie Belle. But after learning about the brands that come with the Pokemon World Coronation Series, I have to involve myself in it. Just think. I've already planned to open up shop in Kalos, the most beautiful and fabulous region out there. With this tournament being worldwide, I'm sure to go big. Bigger than even Equestria."
"That's great and all, but what Pokemon are you even gonna catch?"
"Oh. I'm just using these for my little Sewaddles." Rarity had used her magic to poke the Sewaddles officially claiming them as her Pokemon.
"That's it?! But they're mostly the same!"
"Well, I do plan on getting a new Pokemon. That's why I have only one Pokeball left."
"Which Pokemon are you gonna get?" Brock asked.
"I need one that really speaks to me. One that says... Rarity. This is the Pokemon that embodies you!"
"On it!" Brock rushed out of the shop to find a Pokemon that fit her.
"Well good luck with that. But I want a Pokemon too! Scootaloo already has her own and Applebloom technically has those Applins. When am I gonna get my own Pokemon, sis?"
"Oh, I'm sure you'll find one that matches you, Sweetie Belle. Right now, I have important business to attend to."
At the Pokemon House.
"Are you sure this is where you want it?" A work pony said. Right now the Pokemon House was getting a mini-kitchen. For the Pokemon to eat constantly of course.
"Oh yeah! It's perfect!" Pinkie said.
"Thanks for helping out Pinkie Pie. Now the Pokemon will always have a place to eat." Fluttershy thanked her.
"Oh, it's nothing! Every creature needs to eat! Even if they're from opposite worlds!"
"But what food other than Pokeblocks are there for them to eat?" Fluttershy asked.
"Dawn gave me a list of food Pokemon just love. Let's see. There are Poke-puffs, Poffins, Poke-beans, honey... and even some drinks like Aprijuice and of course Berry Juice. I can spice all of them up! I was thinking of adding some vanilla to those Poffins. As soon as I learn how to make them."
"Well, good luck with that. Right now I'm waiting for a Pokemon that's coming over."
"Coming over?"
"Mhm. I heard that a rare Pokemon is headed this way to the Pokemon House. Oh, I can't wait to see what it is!" Fluttershy was excited. Whatever this Pokemon is, she'll love it." Brock had rushed over to the Pokemon House, looking for a worthy Pokemon.
"Oh, Brock. Watcha doing?" Pinkie asked.
"Looking for a Pokemon worthy for Rarity. It has to match her beauty to a T!" Brock went through the variety of Pokemon that were in the Pokemon House. "Maybe this Clefairy? Or this Swanna! So many options!"
"What about this one?" Pinkie Pie was holding a Feebas.
"A Feebas? They do evolve into Milotic... but that's gonna be tricky since you need a Prism Scale for that. And that might take forever to find! But I'll think about it."
"Well, instead of finding a Pokemon that matches her, why not a Pokemon that she'll grow to love. Like those Sewaddles. She wasn't too fond of them at first, but after seeing what they can do, she grew to love them." Fluttershy suggested.
"That is a good point. Fair Rarity! I swear that you will have the Pokemon you deserve." Brock looked into the sky.
"Wonder why he loves ladies so much?" Pinkie said to Fluttershy, but the pegasus shrugged her wings.
"Oooh! It's almost time! That rare Pokemon will be here soon!" Fluttershy was getting giddy with her hooves jumping about.
With Sweetie Belle and her friends.
"So you want a Pokemon soon too, huh?" Scootaloo said.
"Yeah. You just got yours Scootaloo. Ponyta. And it's so cute!"
"It's not cute. It's fierce and awesome. Didn't you see its blazing mane?"
"Well, we can help you find a Pokemon of your own." Apple Bloom said to her.
"Really?!"
"Mhm. I know one that you might love!"
The CMC had set out to find that certain Pokemon that Sweetie Belle may love. They peeked out of bushes, spotting the Pocket Monster.
"That's it. That's the one." Apple Bloom said, referring to the Restrain Pokemon, Espurr. "Ain't it cute?"
"Its eyes are a bit on the creepy side though," Scootaloo replied.
"You think that's the one for me?"
"Positive."
"Okay.. so how do I get it?"
"Well, you need a Pokeball for that apparently. Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom looked at Scootaloo.
"I ain't giving up my Pokeballs. I just started as a trainer and I only have 3."
"Oh come on. Just one? You can always just get sum'more."
"Hnnrrgh... just one." Scootaloo took out a Pokeball from her trainer pocket.
"Thanks. Alright. I got this." Sweetie Belle set her sights on Espurr who was gazing into the endless skies. The young unicorn crept up from behind, like a lion stalking its prey. "Alright. Go!" Sweetie Belle tossed the Pokeball, hoping for a full capture. Espurr had used Psychic on the Pokeball, hitting it back at Sweetie Belle's face. "Ow!"
"Oops! I forgot to mention! You have to battle them first!" Apple Bloom said.
"Don't worry Sweetie Belle. I got this!" Scootaloo jumped out of the bush, readying her Pokeball. "We'll wear it down for you. Ponyta, let's do this!" Scootaloo was about to initiate her first battle. Ponyta had come out, letting a small neigh.
"Espurr..." The Restraint Pokemon turned to Ponyta.
"We got this Ponyta! Use Tackle!" Ponyta galloped forward, tackling Espurr back. "Nice!" Espurr retaliated with Psychic, lifting Ponyta up and sending him back.
"Pony!"
"Pssh! Like that hurt! Use Ember!" Ponyta spat out an ember that struck Espurr. "Now Tail Whip!" Ponyta ran forward, whipping its tail at Espurr. Espurr was getting a bit aggravated as it had used Scratch on Ponyta. But it didn't do much.
"Wow! Scootaloo you're doing great for your first Pokemon Battle!" Apple Bloom said.
"Heh. Ain't it obvious? My Ponyta's obviously one of a kind. Now finish it with Tackle!" Ponyta did one final tackle as it had worn Espurr out. "Now's your chance! Throw it!"
"Oh! Right!" Sweetie Belle tossed the Pokeball as it made direct contact with Espurr. The ball began to shake.
1...2...3... Got it!
"Oh. OH! I caught it! I actually caught it! My first Pokemon!"
"It was my Ponyta that did the most work though..." Scootaloo did wear it down for her. A bit of a shame that she didn't get to catch Espurr herself.
"Now the Cutie Mark Crusaders have their own signature Pokemon! Applin! Ponyta! Espurr! Perfect Trio don't you think, girls?" Apple Bloom said.
"Yeah!" The two said in unison.
"I gotta show Rarity!"
With Rarity.
She was humming a tune whilst she was working with her Sewaddles. Sweetie Belle and Brock both rushed in to tell her about their Pokemon.
"Sis!"
"Rarity!"
"Look what I got!" They both said at the same time. Brock held out a Mareep, getting shocked as Sweetie Belle sent out Espurr.
"Oh, lovely. You've already found a Pokemon of your own. And you got one for me."
"Mhm!" They both nodded.
"I got an Espurr, thanks to Scootaloo!"
"And I got you a Mareep that Fluttershy let me have!"
"Well, they're all very lovely, yes."
"Rarity. This may not be the Pokemon that matches you... But I can guarantee you that its final evolution is one that you will LOVE!" Brock kneeled down, sending Mareep forward as it kept shocking him.
"Thank you, Brock." Rarity used her magic to lift Mareep, avoiding getting shocked. She placed Mareep on the floor as Opal got a little bit nervous around this Sheep-like Pokemon.
"And here's one that's a guaranteed beauty when it eventually evolves!" Brock held out the Feebas from earlier.
"Oh...charming." Rarity winced at its appearance.
"Now. How about we advance our relationship further and-" Croagunk popped out of his Pokeball, using Poison Jab on Brock's back. "GYAUGH!"
"Now I'll have to be off. I've made this tiny little clothes for the Pokemon at the Pokemon House. Winter is coming and they need something to keep them warm. Come on then, Sewaddles." The Sewaddles had finished the clothing as Rarity used her magic to carry them, folding them up.
"Oh! I wanna see it too!" Sweetie Belle had followed her sister outside.
"W-Wait for me!" Brock said, slowly getting up after the Poison Jab.
The Pokemon House.
The rare Pokemon was about to arrive.
"It's coming... EEEEE!" Fluttershy had a wide grin as she and Pinkie were waiting. Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Brock had arrived to see the Pokemon gathered up to also see this rare Pokemon show up.
"Oh, what is this? Why are you sitting in one spot, looking out at the sea?"
"A rare Pokemon is about to show up. We don't know WHAT it is... but it's coming."
"SSSH! Everypony SSSH! Here it comes..."
The sea began to swirl. Massive rain clouds were formed in the sky. As if they appeared in an instant. The sea levels were rising due to this sudden change with the weather. There's only one Pokemon capable of this. A huge pillar of water sprung up, making the Water-Types all separate. The weather became more intense as a large shadow could be seen in the water. The pegasi were so confused about how the weather had changed so fast in a heartbeat. And out of the water, emerged the Sea Basin Pokemon itself.
Kyogre.
"SWEET CELESTIA! WHAT IS THAT?!" Pinkie Pie bellowed.
"It's the Legendary Pokemon! Kyogre!" Brock replied.
Standing over 14'09 metres and weighing 776.0 lbs, this Legendary Pokemon soared into the air with the water surrounding it. The pegasi had seen this themselves from watching at Cloudsdale.
Fluttershy was starstruck by this. So was Sweetie Belle. So THIS was the rare Pokemon. And it was a Legendary Pokemon as well.
Kyogre let out a mighty roar as it landed down. Kyogre had sat there peacefully. It normally does this if it finds a nice spot that it enjoys.
"Amazing! I didn't think we'd see Kyogre here of all places!" Brock said.
"You know of this Pokemon, Brock?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yeah. Ash and I have met it before on our adventures. A lot of stuff happened back then."
Water-Type Pokemon had surrounded Kyogre, having a sort of Symbiotic Relationship with it.
"It's amazing! I love it!" Fluttershy had flown over to Kyogre to greet him.
"Um. Hello Kyogre. It's so great to see you."
Kyogre looked at Fluttershy as it then looked over, recognizing Brock. Kyorgre let out a small cry, meaning that it was greeting them.
"Oh. It says hello back, and it says it's nice to see you again Brock." Fluttershy translated.
"Thanks."
"Oh, I had no idea that these kinds of Pokemon existed. A Legendary Pokemon?"
"That's right. See, some Pokemon are at a higher status than others. These are known as Legendary Pokemon. They stand a the very top of Pokemon. They're one of a kind and most of the time you'll only ever see one of them. Legendary Pokemon are responsible for what happens in the Pokemon World. Whether it'd be the earth, the land the sea or sky, they're responsible for creating and keeping guard of it. For Kyogre's case, it's the sea." Brock explained.
"Oooh." They all gawked in unison.
"Right. But there are some Pokemon that rare because their species are very low in numbers or are tricky to find. These are known as Mythical Pokemon. And Darkrai is one of them."
"Darkrai is a Mythical? That kind of Pokemon is just here?!" Rarity said.
"Well, Mythical Pokemon don't have major responsibilities like Legendary Pokemon so they're free to do whatever they want like normal Pokemon."
"Either way, it's so great to have a one of a kind Pokemon here." Fluttershy had petted Kyogre in the head as Kyogre let out a gentle roar. "Oh, dear. Do you have to go now?" Kyogre roared with a reply. "Alright. It was nice having you over, Kyogre. Come back for a visit anytime."
Kyogre sank down to the water, bidding its farewell. The rainclouds stopped as the weather returned back to normal. Kyogre had left as the Water Pokemon followed it, while some shared their goodbyes.
"Wow. That was worth the wait!" Pinkie said.
"Thank you for this nice viewing Fluttershy. Now. I have your clothes ready. Winter is near and you don't want them getting cold."
"Oh hehe. Right."
A small but surprisingly eventful day happened. Kyogre had shown up in this world for a bit. And it was eventful. With the CMC now having Pokemon of their own and the Summer Sun Celebration nearing, it's going to be a great future. But Ghetsis and his team still lurk around. Right now, they're tracking down Meleotta. Colress used a machine to figure out where it could be.
"Here. Meloetta's melody is near, Lord Ghetsis."
"Perfect. With Meloetta's melody, it can bring about aching sadness or radiant joy. I only want the first one. If I'm going to complete my goal, a little revenge is needed first."
It's been a long day as usual for Princess Celestia and she's ready to sleep finally. Luna will handle everything else at night while she rests her worries away. Passion sleeps with her too, preferably inside of her mane. Celestia hasn't felt so much rest in her life before. Ever since the two worlds crossed over and the inclusion of humans and Pokemon, everything had seemed to become 10x more disruptive. But with the existence of Ash and Pikachu and other Pokemon, most of her troubles have vanished.
Come the day and she was up to raise the sun whilst Luna took a break until nightfall would arrive.
"Ah. Morning Passion."
"Ralts!"
"Today, we'll be seeing one of Hollow's classes. I'm quite excited. Learning more about Pokemon as a whole. It'll help me connect with you more, don't you think?"
"Ralts!"
"Come on, now."
Passion today had felt something odd about her. It wasn't anything bad, but it was something that she had never felt before. Although this mysterious feeling is pretty common to other Pokemon. She just hasn't experienced it yet.
At Hollow's Class.
"Alright! Today, it's about Evolution!" Hollow exclaimed.
"Evolution?!" The whole class said.
"That's right. The further step for a Pokemon." Hollow had pulled out a chart of Pokemon Evolutions. "Some Pokemon have one evolution while others have two and others can't evolve. There are hundreds of examples of evolution. We're gonna learn about all of them today."
Celestia walked in, seeing the chart.
"Evolution? I need to know about this."
"Princess Celestia!" The students all said.
"Oh, hello princess. I'm about to teach the young ones about Pokemon Evolution. We're gonna head out to see some Pokemon evolve."
"Outside? Why not indoors, Mr Hollow?" A student asked.
"Well, some Pokemon evolve faster in daylight. Specifically grass and bug types. You'll see. I can guarantee that the Pokemon House might have some Pokemon that will evolve very soon."
"Well come on! I wanna see some Pokemon evolve already!" Sunrise said.
"Alright, alright. Let's get a move on."
Pokemon House.
"There's only one way we settle this." Ash said as he and Applejack were staring each other down. Twilight and the others were watching with their eyes fixated on what was about to happen.
"Oh yeah. I know." AJ responded. Pinkie Pie gulped as the wind around them blew silently but with great ferocity with it.
"Wrassle!" Ash and Applejack sat down on chairs with their arm and hoof on a table. They locked hand and hoof, ready to wrestle.
"Go!" Brock shouted, letting the wrassle begin. The human and the earth pony were battling it out with every bone in their body. The Pokemon and the girls were cheering to see who'd come out on top. Ash was managing to match strength with Applejack all of ponies. All that lifting from his past journeys came in handy.
"Heh. You struggling, Ash?"
"Kh! You wish!" They were both having banter as the table was shaking. Both of their hats flew off, landing on a Kecleon and a Furret. It looked like Ash's hand was leaning back as AJ was starting to gain the upper hoof. They were both grunting as the school and Celestia had arrived to see this wrestle go on.
"Are they having a hoof wrassle now?" Celestia said.
"They seem to be pretty focused." Hollow replied.
"Sshh! Let them fight." Pinkie said quietly.
Ash started to push Applejack's hoof back as the table broke apart.
"Times up!" Brock exclaimed. The two of them let go as they moved away.
"Phew. Guess none of us are having that last Malasada."
"Yeah. You're pretty tough Ash. When'd you get that much strength for your a fella of your stature?"
"I've lifted some heavy things in my life." He was referring to him lifting Pokemon that weigh around 72kg or more.
"Well, I reckon you'd be able to do the same amount of work as Big Mac."
"Thanks. Oh, I almost forgot. I wanna show you all my new Pokemon I caught yesterday. Come on out!" Ash tossed his Pokeball up, sending out his second Pokemon, Gengar.
"Gen..Gar!"
"What in Equestria is that?!" They all said as the students were terrified of its look. Rainbow Dash pulled her dex out to see.
"Gengar. The Shadow Pokemon. The sudden onset of an unexplained chill might mean a Gengar is coming toward you. This Pokemon seems to have misunderstood the concept of 'making friends'. It tries to create a kindred spirit by attacking humans."
Rainbow Dash gulped as the young ones hid behind Celestia and Hollow.
"Ash? Why did you catch THAT?!" Twilight asked.
"Oh come on. Gengar's super friendly. It's just that Ghost-Types are the more mischievous types. But they're nice deep down."
"Gen-gar-gar." The Shadow Pokemon laughed.
"That thing's got some freaky eyes..." Sunrise quietly said.
"Don't freak out kids. Besides, there are much more creepy Pokemon out there." Hollow walked forward, casually standing next to Gengar. "But let's not get sidetracked. We're here to learn about Evolution."
"Evolution?" Twilight asked.
"Oh yeah. I can teach some of you if you want."
"I think I remember Brock explaining something about evolution. Wasn't it about the Hattrem and Ralts?" Fluttershy pondered.
"Yeah, I did." Brock nodded his head.
"Now. Most Pokemon evolve due to how much stronger they get. For example, my Delphox." Hollow sent out his Delphox to the class. "Delphox here started out as a small little Fennekin. But as she got stronger, she then evolved into a Braxien, and finally, she's the Pokemon you see today. Her final evolution, Delphox."
"Oooh." The students said.
"Heh. So just make em stronger and they'll evolve. Easy." Sunrise said.
"Not really. Most Pokemon yes, but some Pokemon are a bit more tricky to evolve."
"How so?" Celestia asked.
"Let me think of an explanation. Ash? Your Pikachu."
"Oh yeah. My buddy Pikachu has one final evolution. He evolves into a Raichu, but it can only be used with a Thunder Stone."
"Ooh. How come he isn't evolved yet then?" A young earth pony asked.
"Well, Pikachu likes being the way he is. And I like him as he is too. So we both agreed to never use the Thunder Stone."
"As you can see, you'll need specific methods and items for evolving Pokemon. The biggest example are Eevee's."
"Eevee's?"
"Mhm. The Evolution Pokemon. Its genetic structure is irregular. It can evolve into eight different Pokemon."
"Eight?!" Pinkie Pie shouted.
"Yes. Most of them require stones. Some require rocks and one requires affection to evolve. So basically, they're all unique in their own way."
"That's interesting. Its genetic structure is different from other Pokemon." Twilight was taking notes.
"Um, Mr Hollow. You said that some Pokemon don't evolve.
"Yeah, I did. Some Pokemon are kinda stuck the way they are. But sometimes, that's not the case."
"It's not?" The students all said.
"Nope. Regional variants of Pokemon who can't evolve gain that ability. Like Farfetch'd and Corsola."
"Wow. Pokemon really are amazing aren't they!" A student said.
"Yeah, they are! They're the best!" Ash exclaimed.
"So when are we gonna see some Pokemon evolve already? I wanna see what evolution looks like?" Sunrise was getting impatient, wanting to see an evolution.
"I can give you a small description of how it looks." Ash said.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Well first, the Pokemon starts to feel the flow of energy inside of them and all of a sudden they go FWAH! And then a FWOOSH! And finally a BAM! Right Pikachu?"
Pikachu had a weird face after listening to Ash's... unique description of how Pokemon evolution looks.
"Oh! I know! Princess Celestia."
"Yes, Ash?"
"Your Ralts. It can evolve further at any moment, ya know."
"Passion can evolve at any moment?" Celestia looked down at her Pokemon.
"What's it even gonna look like?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Well, its evolution resembles that of a dancer. More specifically a ballerina." Brock explained.
"So, when's it gonna evolve?" Sunrise Sprint asked.
"I wonder myself. Passion? Can you evolve now?"
Passion decided to try it. She dug deeper, tapping into her inner energy. She was thinking of evolving as everypony stared carefully, ready to see if it would happen. But nothing happened. Passion wasn't ready to stop as she dug deeper once more. And then, a blue flash engulfed her. That strange feeling she felt earlier today was kicking in. This sensation was nothing more than just a Pokemon feeling itself morph into its next stage.
"Oh my!" Rarity exclaimed.
This blue light surrounded her as she began to grow in size a small bit. Her height increased along with her body shape. Then, a bright flash occurred. This was the first case of evolution.
"Oooooh.." All the students and Mane 6 said, gawking. The light faded as the second stage evolution of Ralts was here.
"What does the dex have to say about this one." Rainbow pulled out her dex.
"Kirlia. The Emotion Pokemon. A Kirlia whose trainer has a positive attitude develops a shining beauty. When this Pokemon uses its psychic powers, it is able to distort the space around it and see into the future."
"See into the future?" A young unicorn said.
"Distort space?" Twilight followed.
"Looks like you and Ralts were super close, so it evolved due to how much your bond seemed to grow." Ash said to Celestia.
"It appears so. Congratulations Passion. It feels like I'm seeing my own child grow."
"Kirlia." Passion had a different personality now. No longer was she the shy scaredy-cat. Now she was a bit more confident and somewhat brave.
"Incredible. So what Pokemon can't evolve?" Twilight asked.
"Well... most Legendaries can't evolve, or most Mythicals. But some are much more common than you think? Like Salandit Male Salandit's can't evolve but females can and into Salazzle. And some Pokemon like Sneasel only evolve at night with a special item." Hollow explained.
"Urgh! All this is hurting my head..." Sunrise couldn't take all the information. Having to remember all of that sounded like torture.
"Alright, kids. Send out your Pokemon that you caught at our first lesson, and we'll see some of them evolve." The students sent out their Pokemon out. Each of them first stage evolutions.
"I wonder what my Sandshrew's gonna evolve into?"
"I bet my Hoppip's gonna be super cute when it evolves!"
"My Sunkern is just a seed." The students were all chatting away.
"We'll see if some of them evolve with a Pokemon Battle. Some of the kids got excited when they heard that. They wanted to try their hoof at Pokemon battling. "Each of you choose who you want to battle. We'll make this short and simple. Most of these Pokemon can evolve pretty fast."
"Okay, Mr Hollow!" The students all said.
"Hm?" Hollow had noticed that Dew Drops was hiding once more. Her timid shyness was very prominent. "Oh, Dew Drops. Are you still too shy to involve yourself in-class activities?"
"Mhm.." She nodded her head.
"Ah. How are we gonna do this...?"
"Don't worry, Hollow. I can handle this." Fluttershy fluttered over to Dew Drops. She knew how to handle a pony like this as she was like this before. "Hello, Dew Drops. Are you shy because of being around so many ponies?"
"Mmm.." She nodded.
"It's okay. I was just like you when I was young. Here, you can be with me in the meantime. I can be a fellow classmate." Fluttershy extended her hoof to the little filly. Dew Drops extended her hoof gently to meet with Fluttershy's.
"Okay.."
The students were already having their battle. Due to how small scale their Pokemon were the battles weren't as chaotic, fast-paced and destructive as the ones Ash goes through.
"I wonder if there is more to Pokemon that just battling?" Rarity said watching this go down.
"Oh, yes there is. When Princess Celestia and Luna went to visit the Pokemon World we went to see something known as a Pokemon Contest." Twilight replied.
"Pokemon Contest?" The other girls asked.
"Mhm. They're sort of a talent show in a way. Pokemon use their moves to perform beautiful tricks to dazzle the audience."
"Indeed they are. I enjoyed them ever so. That's when I met Passion." Celestia said.
"Kirlia."
"So there is more to battling? Oooh." Pinkie replied.
"By the way, Ash. I wanna ask you something." Rainbow Dash said to Ash.
"What's up?"
"Well, it's about what happened back at my second gym battle. When I was battling with Rufflet, I felt this weird thing go through me."
Ash knew what she was talking about since he saw a flash of it.
"I know what it is. The Bond Phenomenon."
"The Bond Phenomenon?" Celestia, Spike and the Mane 6 said in unison.
"Go on." Twilight was ready to note this all down.
"How do I describe it. It's when the connection between a trainer and their Pokemon is full of determination to win. My Greninja and I have perfected it and when we link, we become Ash-Greninja."
"Oh! That thing we saw back at the Royal Wedding?" Spike remembered Ash-Greninja being at Canterlot when the Changeling attack happened.
"Yep. So far, I only know of one Pokemon who can do it and that's Greninja. But now I know another Pokemon that can do it. You and your Rufflet, Rainbow."
"Really? Me and Rufflet can use it?! When?! Show me!"
"Uhh.. you gotta evolve Rufflet first. I did see it as a Braviary back there. Its second and final evolution."
"Huh?! Rainbow! You'll get trampled!" Twilight cried.
"Don't worry, Twilight. Me and Pikachu are not ones to turn down a challenge."
"Pika!"
"Great! I wanna gain this Bond Phenomenon Asap! Go! Rufflet!" Rainbow sent out Rufflet who was up and ready.
"I'll be the referee if you don't mind." Brock said.
"Alright, Rufflet! We're gonna go further beyond and achieve new heights!"
"Ruff!"
"I'm not sure you're ready to handle this, Rainbow Dash. But who am I to say no? Pikachu. Let's go." Pikachu hopped off Ash's soldier ready to go.
"Battle start!"
"Rufflet! Wing Attack!" Rufflet charged in with its wings glowing.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Pikachu countered with Iron Tail as it clashed with Wing Attack. Pikachu easily pushed back Rufflet with its overwhelming strength, no problem.
"Rufflet! Aerial Ace!"
"Quick Attack!" Two moves that had lightning-fast speeds behind them. Pikachu's head clashed with Rufflet's talons as he was knocked back once more by the Electric Mouse Pokemon.
"It's not too late to quit Rainbow!" Twilight yelled.
"I got this! Rufflet! Keep using Aerial Ace!"
"Pikachu. Keep your eyes focused." Rufflet dashed forward as Pikachu just stood there. The Eaglet Pokemon went to attack but Pikachu jumped over it. It flew back for another but the Electric Mouse kept on avoiding the Aerial Ace, a move that was almost impossible to dodge.
"How's he dodging every single one of them?!"
"Now! Thunderbolt!" And with a single Thunderbolt struck onto Rufflet, making it faint.
"Rufflet is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! And the winner is Ash!"
"I told you!"
"I didn't feel that same rush before. I thought the Bond Phenomenon was gonna kick in there..." Rainbow Dash sighed as she picked Rufflet up.
"It's hard to describe. You can only really feel that rush if you really wanna win against an opponent who's above you. That sensation can only happen if Rufflet's determination is at the max. A trainer and a Pokemon must always be in sync." Ash explained.
"Determination huh?" Rainbow Dash looked at Rufflet for a bit.
"Once again, you have managed to teach a valuable lesson to everypony else, Ash." Celestia walked to him. "Teaching Rainbow Dash the value of bonding with your Pokemon and how she has to learn how to reach this Bond Phenomenon with the love she shares with her Pokemon is truly great advice."
"Oh gee thanks, Celestia."
"Now I can't stay around for too long. I have places to be. But I enjoyed myself. And I got to see my Passion evolve today."
"Just you wait until it reaches its final evolution!"
"I will, Ash."
As for the students, some of their Pokemon had managed to evolve to their second stages. Fluttershy had helped Dew Drops by helping her Pokemon, Wooper. It didn't evolve but she got to bond with it a bit more.
Time had come to return back to Canterlot as the day was nearing its end.
"Well. Today was another long day." Ash stretched.
"Mhm." Pinkie nodded.
"Say, Hollow."
"Yes, Ash?"
"Someday, I wanna have a battle with you, if you don't mind."
"Pikachu!"
"I'd be up for it Ash. You can battle me anytime."
"Sweet! I can't wait!"
Back at Canterlot Castle, Celestia was ready to clock out for the night once more. But something was awry. Passion had looked out the door, sensing something was off. What she saw was some sort of black vine.
"Kirlia?" The black vine returned back into the ground. Kirlia knew something was not right. Vines don't just grow from the floor like that. The Emotion Pokemon closed the door as she went back to sleep with her trainer.
This mysterious black vine was growing. Ever so slowly. And it was coming from the Everfree Forest.
"Yes. Watch over the Sweetie Belle and the others for us won't you darling?" Rarity said.
"Just for a few hours." Applejack followed.
"Oh like Babysitting. Okay! I can do that!"
"Pikachu!"
"Marvelous. I hope they won't be too much trouble for you, darling."
"No problem. Me and Pikachu got this!"
"Pika!"
"Well, we'll leave you to it. Good luck." Applejack and Rarity left with their friends to attend some important business over at Sinnoh.
"Alright! Let's get this started, you three!"
"We get to hang out with Ash?! Awesome!" Scootaloo yelled.
"What are we gonna do first?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Who's up for a movie?"
"WE ARE!" The CMC shouted.
"Then let's get started! We're gonna head on to Unova! They got some really fun stuff to do!"
"Unova? What's in Unova?" Sweetie Belle asked.
The Unova Region.
Pokestar Studios at Virbank City.
"Woah.. what is this?" Scootaloo asked.
"This is Pokestar Studios. A film studio. You'll find the best movies here."
"Films? Yes please!" Sweetie Belle bellowed.
"Come on. You gotta see this." Ash said. They entered the huge film studio as the CMC were met with all its glory. It was like nothing they've ever seen before. They were introduced to the plaza, and they hadn't even seen the other rooms yet. All the people and Pokemon moving about as they all had important jobs to attend to in here.
"Well look who it is! Ash Ketchum!" A voice called out.
"Huh? Mr Gold!"
"It's good to see you again, my boy. How have you been?"
"Great!"
"Pikachu!"
"And who are these little ponies?" Mr Gold kneeled down to see the CMC.
"These three Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. I'm foalsitting them."
"Foalsitting?"
"It's like babysitting in their world."
"Ah."
"I'm showing them Pokestar studios for fun."
"Well since you're here, you can pitch and make another movie with us. What do you say?"
"Make a movie?! Can we join?!" Sweetie Belle said with a wide smile.
"Well, of course, my little pony."
"Yes! Oooh, I can't wait!" Sweetie Belle and the others were getting all giddy.
"So what's the movie we're making today?" Ash asked.
"Glad you asked, my boy. Come with me." Mr Gold led the group towards the studio. "You see, not too long ago I had a breakthrough. I have produced some of the best films in movie history with almost every genre you see. From romance to comedy and even a dabble in horror. But one I have yet to do is superheroes!"
"Superheroes?!" They all said in unison.
"Oh yes! I realised then when I saw the film made by Frank called Lightning Fast! Brave and Strong! Super Pikachu, I knew I had to tackle that genre next!"
"Oh! You saw the film I helped make with the director back at Kalos?!"
"Indeed I do. And I know it's this exact Pikachu was the star."
"Pika-Pika."
"Ash! You didn't tell us you were in a movie and helped with one of them." Scootaloo said.
"Hehehe. Guess I don't really bring it up too much do I?"
"Pika.."
"So. How about it? Will you little ponies join in?"
"Yes please!" The CMC bellowed as they hopped on Ash's back, shoulder and head.
"Well... they really wanna star in it too so why not?"
"Excellent! Make your way to the dressing room and we can get this rolling!"
The Dressing Room.
Where all the props and costumes lie.
"Look at all these costumes!" Sweetie Belle said.
"Can they even fit us? They're mostly human and Pokemon made." Scootaloo asked.
"Don't worry. Ever since the two worlds crossed over, we at Pokestar Studios have crafted clothing fit for ponies as well." A lady working here said. "Here is where all the available props and sets are." She lent them a green book.
"Awesome. So which ones are our costumes?"
"These will be the ones you and your Pikachu will wear." The lady grabbed an outfit that resembled that of a 1939 Superhero. One for Ash and one for Pikachu.
"Oh sweet. Check it out Pikachu. They match!"
"Pika!"
"And here are your costumes, little ones." The lady lent them each little filly costumes of their own, matching their size.
"What are we gonna play even?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Sidekicks, of course." The lady replied
"Sidekicks? Aw..." Scootaloo sighed.
"Hey, it could be fun even if we are sidekicks." Sweetie Belle said.
"But then again. It is your decision. You can be whatever you want to be, despite the outfit. And here are your props." The lady pointed to a box. "I'll leave you all to it now."
"Thanks, miss!" The CMC said.
"Alright! What do we have here?" Ash went through the props. "Let's see. A sculptured mask of a Druddigon. A sword..."
"Ooh! I want that one!" Scootaloo grabbed the sword with her mouth.
"Pointy ears, very long staff."
"I'll take the staff!" Sweetie Belle said as Ash lent the staff to her.
"Oh, this is a big one! Even bigger than the Mecha-Tyranitar bodysuit Cilan wore." Ash pulled out a hefty and solid bodysuit of a Regigigas. "Awesome!"
"Wait, Ash! How do we know which props to take, if we're starring in this movie?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Oh. I should've told you three. In Pokestar Studios its YOU makes the script and story for the movie!"
"We do?" The CMC said.
"Yep. Though we don't have a script. Or a scriptwriter. Ah, I didn't think of that! I even forgot about the crew like the assistant director and the makeup and so on! Gah!" Ash held his head, forgetting the essential people needed.
"Pikapi.."
"No worries. We can just go back to our world and find somepony who'd love to help." Scootaloo said.
"Oh, you're right. But who are some good choices?"
Over at the Sinnoh Region...
Rarity was getting nervous. Leaving all those 3 with Ash.
"Rarity? You doing okay?" Applejack asked.
"Hm? I'm fine. Perfectly fine." Rarity's eyes were shifting about as she couldn't stop thinking of the worst possible scenarios happening.
"You're all focused on what's happening with the young'ns and Ash aren't you? Don't worry. I know Ash and he's the last person who'd let anything go wrong."
"Y-You're right. I hope so.." She gulped.
"Relax. He'll be like a big brother to them all."
Back at Pokestar Studios, Ash and the CMC had gathered some ponies to help with this movie.
"Alright. We got our crew! Lyra will be our Assistant Director and Sound!"
"I got this, don't worry."
"Derpy. Costume and makeup!"
"You can count on me, Ash." Derpy saluted.
"And some of my Pokemon will help those two out. Sceptile, Snivy, Oshawott. I can count on you three to assist them."
"Osha!"
"Snivy."
"Scep."
"We're just missing one final member. A scriptwriter. Or even the director and cameraman." Ash said.
"I can handle that." A familiar voice came out of nowhere as Discord had poofed himself inside the Dressing Room.
"Discord?!" Lyra yelled.
"You wanna help with this movie too?"
"Well of course. The wonders of the theatre. Whether it be traditional or cinematic. I'm one for both." Discord was in a directors outfit, hat, funny pants, boots and everything.
"Oh come on, Ash. You don't think HE'D be a good choice for this?"
"No need to worry, Lyra. Discord's pretty creative so a guy like him may be needed."
"Isn't that right? I can create this perfect script and direct for everypony. The audience won't even know what they saw."
"Awesome. But we're missing a cameraman." Discord duplicated himself.
"We're all covered." Discord said.
"Alright then! We have our crew."
"YEAH!" The CMC shouted.
They got to work as Discord came up with a... unique script of his own. They say all movies are subjective so perhaps this counts for the Lord of Chaos.
"Here is the script. Written by yours truly." Discord showed the script as it had both words and some images added on.
"What's up with some these drawings?" Lyra said looking at the images closely.
"They'll make sense once they're played out, thank you very much. Now come on everypony. We've got a movie to make. Why not start with the first scene. Falling City."
"Falling City? Do we even have a city backdrop or something? Where's the green screen?" Ash asked.
"No need." Discord snapped his lion paw as he summoned a backdrop of a city behind them all. It was scaled down to fit the room so it was a bit of a mini-size city.
"That is a city alright," Scootaloo said.
"Now we gotta get to the Film Room. Where all the magic happens." Ash said. Discord instantly teleported all of them including the backdrop to the Film Room.
"Places everypony!" Discord said shouting from a director's megaphone. After going through the script they took their places. Ash stood in the middle with Pikachu on his shoulder. Discord snapped his fingers as he made the city he created, crumble apart. Similar to how an actually falling city would look like.
"Ooh, these effects look so real.." Derpy had no idea that Discord was a being of chaos so she thought this was all effects from the studio.
Scene 1: Falling City.
The entire city had cracks in them as rubble fell down. There were flames surrounding the buildings as Apple Bloom was playing a young filly who had been hurt and was on the ground in the destroyed city.
"Cue the fall and catch!" Discord yelled. The building was about to fall down on Apple Bloom as Ash caught the building with his bare hands.
"Don't worry. I gotcha! Pikachu! Put out those flames!"
"Pika!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, running around with Quick Attack to kick up some wind pressures to put out the fire.
"Excellent. Now for the toss!" Ash had tossed the building away as it broke apart. He then picked up Apple Bloom, placing her on his back.
"Cut! Brilliantly executed, Ash!"
"Ah gee thanks, Discord."
"I didn't even get to say anything." Apple Bloom sighed.
"Oh, you got to do some fake crying little Apple Bloom. Besides, this is all a prologue. There's little chatter in these scenes." Discord exclaimed. "Now all we need is the opposing force. The one who started this all. I vote Scootaloo."
"Me? I get to be the villain?!"
"You think you'd make a good villain, Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle said.
"I mean. I can be pretty terrifying if I try."
"Splendid!" Discord had snapped his fingers as he put the young pegasus in a menacing black and gold armor while still keeping the sword prop.
"Now. Cue the villain introduction."
As Ash had Apple Bloom on his back, he spotted somepony up atop the tallest building.
"Your line now Scootaloo." Discord said. Scootaloo didn't really know how to act well so she just went with the flow.
"Uh.. looks like you ended up coming back after your total defeat from before!" She bellowed. "Not a bright idea to return of all times, don't ya think, Astral?"
"I'd never leave the city or any civilian in danger. Even if I lose!" Ash retorted.
"Then you'll go down with this city!" Scootaloo shouted. "Nailed it." She thought to herself.
"Now. Take that leap and swing!" Scootaloo jumped off the tall building, ready to swing her sword at Ash.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Ash commanded Pikachu, but this Iron Tail was toned down to make sure Scootaloo wouldn't get hurt. The tail had clashed with the sword as they pushed each other back. "I'll defend this city to the very end! Especially from guys like you!"
"Hah! Then try it!"
"Cut! Splendid, everypony!" The first scene was finished. "Now THAT is a prologue."
"That was kinda fun. And that was just the first one?" Scootaloo said.
"I gotta admit Discord. You're pretty decent at being a director." Lyra said to the Draconequus.
"Well being the embodiment of all chaos, you tend to be a professional at things that match your forte. Making films involves a bit of chaos doesn't it?"
"He does have a good point, ya know." Derpy blethered.
"Now. We have more scenes to shoot, everypony. What we need is more casts. This city can't be falling if there are no civilians." Discord said.
"Well, we could use the rest of my Pokemon as civilians if that's cool with you."
"Of course. After all, from what I've seen these Pokemon movies can be all over the place."
Time passed as the movie grew bigger with more members working on it. The CMC were enjoying themselves more than they ever have before. Soon, the movie reached its penultimate state.
"Final scene everypony. Let's make this more dramatic." Discord had turned the set into an actual living skyline as everypony and Pokemon were hanging from the high skies.
"Woah! GR! DISCORD!" Lyra shouted.
"Don't worry Lyra. I can work with this." Ash said.
"You can?!"
"Yeah! Watch me!"
"Now cue the last scene! The Climax!" Discord exclaimed.
Ash was holding Sweetie Belle over his head as he was standing so high he could touch the clouds.
"We only have one shot at this. You'll have to make contact with the switch while being launched!"
"I got this! Launch me, Astral!" Ash had tossed Sweetie Belle forward as she extended her staff.
"Cue Scootaloo!"
"I won't let you!" Scootaloo jumped in, using her sword to block Sweetie Belle's staff. "My plan won't be foiled by some runs! So get lost!" Scootaloo pushed Sweetie Belle back as she was ready to strike her down with the sword. Discord snapped his fingers, creating real lightning storms inside the studio to add a more dramatic effect.
"And... Cue Pikachu!" All of a sudden, Pikachu zipped past Scootaloo who turned around to see the speeding Pokemon blitzing past her. Discord motion blur to Pikachu to give a greater emphasis on speed.
"NO!" Scootaloo shouted. "Stop him!" Some of Ash's Pokemon had played minions. Specifically, Gliscor and Heracross. The two Pokemon flew at Pikachu, ready to stop him with a Fire Fang and Megahorn.
"It's perfect!" Discord slowed everything down as he took a good look at the scene. "Wonderful! But it would be a lot better if this were like this. Discord tweaked a few things around. He increased the size of Heracross's horn, made Gliscor's entire body red to match Fire Fang and gave Pikachu lightning trails with the motion blur. "There." Discord returned everything back to motion as Pikachu's head pushed the lever. The Skyline started to fall apart as the entire cast were falling.
"Oopsie. Forgot about that." Discord made it so that they all levitated as he added in the effect of a purple and blue pulse. "And cut! Brilliant! We've spent a few hours but it was all worth it. We've got ourselves a movie."
"Nice!"
"Pikachu!"
"Well, my work here is done. I'll be off now."
"You're leaving now, Discord?"
"Of course I am. I only pitched in to help write and direct this movie. Nothing else. See you back at Ponyville. Buh-bye." Discord poofed away.
"What a weirdo." Sweetie Belle said.
"But we have our movie thanks to him." Ash replied.
"So when do we see it?"
"Well, it's getting pretty late. I gotta return you three back home."
"Aww. I wanted to stay a bit longer." Scootaloo sighed.
"Don't worry. If I ever get the chance to Foalsit you three again, we'll have more fun and even go on an adventure."
"Really?! ALRIGHT!" The three of them yelled.
"And thanks for the help, Lyra, Derpy."
"No problem, Ash!" Derpy replied.
"Yep. I'm surprised nothing went wrong with you here Derpy." Lyra said to the klutzy pegasus.
"Me too. Must be the movie magic."
"Oh, Ash. Leaving so soon?" Mr Gold had entered.
"Yep. We just finished our movie. You can go and view it. We'll come back another time to see how it turns out and what everyone else thinks of it."
"Hmm. I see. Well, it was nice having you here again. Along with your pony friends and your Pokemon too. Come back anytime, ya hear?"
"Alright! Thanks Mr. Gold. Come on you guys." Ash said to his Pokemon as they followed him out.
Back home, at Ponyville.
"WHAT?! YOU GOT TO STAR AND CREATE A MOVIE?!" Rarity howled.
"Yep! It's called Astral. And it was pretty fun through and through." Sweetie Belle said.
"Hah..Hah... I want to star in a Pokestar Studios movie." Rarity let her head down.
"Hehe. Guess I finally 1upped you at something, sis."
"Thanks for taking care of em, Ash. Really means a lot." Applejack said, putting her hoof on his back.
"No problem, AJ. I can take care of them anytime."
"I reckon you're a brother to all of them. Right Apple Bloom?"
"Mhm. The best big brother! D-Don't tell Big Mac I said that."
"I'm tired anyway. Making movies drains you, ya know." Ash yawned, sitting on a bench.
"Pika..chuuu.."
"Well. We'd best be off. Sweet dreams, Ash." Applejack said.
"Mmngh.." Ash murmured in his sleep. He and Pikachu had already dozed off that fast. He did well for his first Foalsitting, but more will come. And the bond he shares with the CMC will grow and grow, just like how the bond between Ponies, People and Pokemon continues to flourish.
Twilight was currently learning how to use her newfound wings. Flying was all brand new to her after all.
"You gotta really flap em hard." Rainbow Dash said. Twilight nodded as she was aggressively flapping her wings, but ended up crashing into a tree.
"Ugh.." She mumbled.
"Uh, maybe not quite that hard." Twilight then tried to fly down but ended up crashing down on the ground.
"Looking good up there, Princess Twilight." Applejack said.
"Applejack. You know you don't have to call me that."
"Why do you protest so? You've already given up wearing your crown all the time. The least you could do is embrace your new title." Rarity replied.
"If other ponies want to address me that way, I suppose it's fine but, not my friends. It just doesn't feel right. And neither does all this flying business. The Summer Sun Celebration is only two days away. And I'm never going to be ready to perform my part." Twilight sighed.
"Not if you spend all your time down here you won't. Now get up there and show everypony the big finish!" Rainbow bellowed. Twilight nodded in response as she spread her wings out, flying in the air, confident this time. It looked like she was actually doing it with ease.
"Woohoo!" She cried. Until she flew through some clouds, unable to stop flying and eventually falling back down and swooping about with barely any control, until she crashed on the ground, sliding on dirt.
"Wow! That WAS a big finish!" Pinkie said.
Canterlot Castle, Celestia's Throne Room.
There was a stain glass window art of Twilight Sparkle as an Alicorn, representing her newly achieved feat.
"You look, amazing darling. They've really captured your regality." Rarity gazed at it.
"I suppose."
"Oh don't be so modest. It's everypony's dream to someday wear a crown and have their coronation ceremony preserved in stained glass for all to see!"
"I don't know if it's everypony's dream." Rainbow replied to Rarity's words.
"My dreams are about frosting!" Pinkie retorted, dreaming about frosting right now.
"We'd better get going. We don't wanna miss our train." Fluttershy pointed out.
"Fluttershy's right. Don't know about ya'll, but I've still got bushels to do to get ready. The official celebration may be here in Canterlot, but whoo-wee has the mayor put us in charge for one heck of a party back home!" Applejack rambled.
Twilight let her head down, knowing that she was needed here and her friends would be back in Ponyville. Applejack went up to her to lift her spirits up.
"Oh don't look like that sugar-cube. You get to up there with the other princesses when Celestia raises the sun."
"And I'm honored. Really I am. It's just that the Summer Sun Celebration is what first brought us all together. It just doesn't feel right not getting to spend such a special day with my Ponyville friends."
"It doesn't feel right to us either, darling. If the mayor wasn't so desperate for our assistance we'd most certainly stay here in Canterlot. And of course, we do understand that your royal duties must come first."
"The Summer Sun Celebration may have brought us together, but it's something much bigger that'll always keep us connected." Applejack said. "Exhibit A!" She pointed her hoof at the stain glass window of the Mane 6 using the Elements of Harmony on Nightmare Moon. "The six of us are united by the Elements of Harmony. No amount of royal duties is gonna change that. Right everypony?"
"Mhm!" They all said.
"Right Pinkie Pie?" Pinkie Pie was still dreaming of frosting.
"Creamy, creamy frosting..."
"We should take that as a yes." Fluttershy said. Passion had arrived in the room, here to bring Twilight to Celestia and Luna.
"Passion?" Twilight said.
"Kirli. Kirlia."
"She says that Celestia and Luna are waiting for you out the balcony." Fluttershy translated. "And that's our cue to leave now."
"Alright. At least let me say goodbye to them at the train station?" Twilight pleaded to Passion. Passion agreed to it. She'd let her bid them farewell.
At the train station, the others were ready to leave, but Spike would stay behind. He is her assistant after all.
"We're gonna write to you and give you so many details, it'll be like you're in Ponyville with us! Right girls?" Pinkie blethered.
"Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye." They all said doing special hoof movements.
"And you will be with us right after the celebration. We already have an appointment on the books to discuss the royal upgrades to the loft decor." Rarity said.
"All Aboard for Ponyville!" The train was about to leave soon, so no time to waste. They all gathered together to give her a farewell hug. They trotted off as Pinkie gave an extra hug by diving at Twilight.
They were all on the train as they looked out, waving goodbye to her. Twilight sighed as they were finally gone.
"I can't help it, Spike. They've only been gone a minute. And I already feel I'm missing something."
"For the princess." A mail pony arrived to deliver a letter to her. Spike took the letter, opening it and reading the words on it.
"Dear Twilight, you aren't missing anything. Your friends - Pinkie Pie."
"THAT'S ME!" Pinkie yelled in response, even from that far of a distance.
"But I am.. I just know it." Twilight replied to it.
All the way back at Ponyville, Brock, Dawn and even Misty who came by to help with the Summer Sun Celebration with them.
"So, getting wings and a horn makes you a princess?" Misty asked Dawn.
"Well apparently, if you already have a horn and then you get wings, you are a princess. An Alicorn as it's known." Dawn replied.
"Ooh."
"It must be great being a princess! Twilight is so lucky. I can only imagine all the perks. Personal pets, fancy tiaras, tons of closet space, your own theme song! It must be perfect!"
"That only happens in movies, Dawn." Brock replied.
"Well, this world feels like a real movie you know. Magic is all over the place!"
"We have magic too. In the form of Fairy Types. And remember when we went back in time to save Arceus? Damos and the people there back that time referred to Pokemon as magical creatures. Pokemon is just the nickname we give all of them."
"Huh. Makes you wonder what they're really called." Misty pondered.
"Well, I don't wanna think about it too much." Dawn replied. "By the way. Where's Ash and Pikachu?"
"No idea. They're all over the place as usual." Brock answered. Everything seemed fine for now. But...
"Hm. That's odd."
"What is it Dawn?" Misty asked.
"The sun and the moon. Is it me or are they BOTH up?"
A few hours have passed. Everypony and Pokemon were asleep now as the moon was up. But something was up. Twilight, who was asleep in a guest room for her, had woken up. She'd only ever wake up if it was morning, but from what she saw outside. It was both day and night at the same time.
"Huh?! Spike! Spike!" She woke up Spike who yawned, unaware of the sudden oddity in the skies.
"Ugh... what time is it?"
"It's the middle of the night! But it could be morning...That's just it! I can't tell!" They both walked out to look at the Sun and Moon.
"Woah. That is weird.."
Just then, Passion entered the room, looking hurt.
"Passion? Are you okay?!"
"Ki..Kirlia.."
"What'd she say, Spike?"
"I don't know! I can't translate Pokemon like Fluttershy."
"Your highness! You're still here!" A royal guard said, entering the room.
"What's going on? Why are the sun and soon both up? Everypony's outside panicking from what I can see."
"It's Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They're gone!"
"Gone?! But I don't understand. Where are they?"
"We don't know. It seems that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have simply... vanished."
"Vanished?!" Spike fainted.
"This is why we have come to you. We await your command." The two guards lowered their heads.
"M-My command?"
"We are officers of the Royal Guard. We take our orders from royalty. With Princess Luna and Princess Celestia gone. And Princess Cadence overseeing the Crystal Empire now, that means we take our orders from you. Princess Twilight. There's no time to waste. We need to know what you want us to do."
Twilight wasn't prepared for something like this as her first task as Princess. But she had to do something.
"I want you to continue the search for Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. We have to find them before ponies start to panic. There must be some clue that can tell us what's happened to them. If you find something, anything, let me know immediately." She declared as the two guards saluted, heading off to do their task.
"Way to take charge, Twilight." Spike said, nudging her.
Just then, another guard arrived, coming through the door.
"Your highness! News from Ponyville! The Everfree Forest appears to be...well... invading!"
Twilight gasped as Spike fainted once more.
All the way back at Ponyville, especially at the apparent invading forest, Everfree, Team Rocket were getting the worst of this.
"What gives?! Why of all times is this forest acting wacky?!" Jessie yelled.
"These rouge roots are all over the place!" James followed.
"Boy, I don't know what humidity this forest has!" Meowth finished.
"Wobbufett!"
"Where even is Zecora of all times?!"
"She left, Jess. The moment these black vines came out of nowhere." James explained.
"She could've at least taken us with her!"
The Grass-Types were being bothered by this as well. They had left their areas to get away from these sudden black vines. The vines were rampant everywhere as one of them attempted to clutch onto a group of Bonsly.
"Bon? Bonsly!" The Bonsai Pokemon were luckily saved as the vines were cut in half in a flash. The Swords of Justice were here.
"Are you alright?" Cobalion said, reassuring hope in them all.
"What is this? Rampant weeds of some sorts?" Virizion wondered.
"Whatever they are, they look like they grow back too." Terrakion responded. He and the swords cut the weeds and vines but they kept on growing back. "Strange."
"At least it's good news that our swords can cut them. But where is it coming from?" Keldeo asked.
"We'll have to find the source then. Follow the weeds. The more there are, the further we'll get to the source. Terrakion. I want you and Virizion to take care of the Pokemon. Protect them from the weeds. Keldeo. Come with me." Cobalion declared.
"Alright!" The Colt Pokemon responded.
It wasn't just happening on the ground. Even the skies were affected. The clouds were moving on their own along with them having thorns inside. The Flying-Types were being disturbed by this. They couldn't rest and fly with all of this. Including the Pegasi. Not only that, but they were shooting lightning out. Rainbow Dash was doing her best to try and stop these clouds, but there were too many of them.
But it also wasn't just limited to the land and the skies. Some ponies were being affected by this as well. Specifically Unicorns. Each time they used their magic, something went awry. Like they couldn't control it.
"What is going on?!" Dawn shouted. Piplup was freaking out at the current sight.
"These vines and weeds are everywhere. First, the sun and the moon both end up being out at the same time and now THIS?" Brock said.
"What in Equestria is going on?!" Rarity said, looking at the weed-infested Ponyville. The rest of the girls were at Ponyville's main center as they were trying to get away from these rampant weeds.
"How are we gonna deal with all of this?"
"I know!" Brock shouted. "We'll use Steel-Types to get rid of them. Or any Pokemon that can cut real good."
"That's a great idea, Brock!" Applejack replied.
"Don't bother. It won't help anyways." Virizion shut down his idea as she and Terrakion appeared, protecting the Pokemon that were walking beside them.
"Oh my! Look at her!" Rarity was admiring the beauty that was Virizion. Another regal Pokemon.
"Now's not the time for that, Rarity." Applejack said.
"W-What do you mean it won't help?" Brock muttered.
"We Swords of Justice tried it already. Our swords can cut them, but they keep growing back. They won't stop no matter what." Terrakion explained. "Right now, Keldeo and Cobalion are off to find the source."
"The source? Where would that be?" Dawn asked.
"I can take a pretty good guess. The Everfree Forest." Applejack answered. "And from what I can see, it doesn't seem content on just taking over Ponyville."
"So it's just gonna keep going? What if it reaches our world?!" Misty bellowed.
"There is only one thing left to do! Twilight's library. She always has a book with an answer to everything!" Rarity exclaimed.
On the other side of the spectrum, Twilight was already headed here with her Crown, as fast as she could, even if she couldn't handle flying yet.
"There it is! Golden Oaks Library! We need to get the Elements of Harmony and find the others!" She was closing in on the library moving at top speed.
"Incoming!" Spike shouted. Twilight realised that was gonna crash, but could stop. So out of instinct, she used magic to teleport herself inside the library instead. Her friends were already inside, browsing the number of books for anything. She rolled on the floor as Spike crashed into the window, sliding down.
"Oh, thank goodness." Rarity sighed.
"Oh. I hope you know we wouldn't normally go through your books without permission." Fluttershy said. Spike entered after finally being free from that terrifying flight.
"Sweet ground." He kissed the wooden floor. "Sweet, sweet wonderful ground."
"Okay! I get it! I need to work on my flying."
"I don't know if you've noticed. But the Everfree Forest is just a teeny tiny bit... out of control!" Pinkie chided as her tail was shaking. Her Pinkie sense was active. A large vine came out of nowhere and hit Rainbow Dash as Pinke Pie ducked.
"We have a problem, girls. You see... Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are.. well.."
"THEY'RE MISSING!" Spike shouted, making them all worry.
"I don't know who has taken them. But I've got a hunch that we're going to need the Elements of Harmony to get them back." She took the Elements out of the glass case as she placed it on each of her friends.
"Well. Who's behind all of this? And how?" Dawn asked.
"Hm... Half-Day. Half-Night. Strange weather patterns, out of control plants I think I'm starting to get a pretty good of who we're up against. Two actually." Twilight theorized.
"Two?" They all said.
"Yes. Only two can be capable of something like this. It's either The Rift or Discord."
"Well, which one of them do you think did it?" Rainbow asked.
"Let's see. The Rift can alter reality and change up many things, whether they're living or not. Like change up the properties of Pokemon or even create new life like Cold Colt, Emerald Aura and Obsidian. But Discord is more of a random problem. Making everything all wonky. So, I suspect that Discord is the most likely candidate. Girls. We know what we need to do."
They all went outside with their elements, ready to summon the Lord of Chaos. Their elements began glowing as the rainbow surrounded them. A whirlwind of rainbows appeared as it had summoned him here. But right now, he seemed to be taking a bath, singing the Winter Wrap-up.
"Oh! Hoho! Now Twilight. You know Princess Celestia said that you were to give me a heads up before you summon me with that little spell she gave you. In case you haven't noticed, I was in the middle of a particularly invigorating shower."
"Enough! Release Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! And stop the Everfree Forest from invading!" Twilight shouted at him. A vine wrapped around her as it turned out to be Discord.
"Why, whatever are you talking about?"
"Don't you play dumb with us Discord! We know you're the one behind all of this!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Don't get me wrong. I absolutely LOVE what you've done with the place. But I couldn't possibly take responsibility. I'm reformed, don't you remember?" He said, moving closer to Fluttershy, who helped reform him.
"Yeah right! This has got your cloven hoofprints all over it!" Rainbow Dash thundered.
"I'll have you know, that I have only ONE cloven hoof." He responded as cloven hoof rose up, kicking Dashie in the flank. "Such accusations. And here I thought we were friends."
"...Is he meant to be a horse or a snake?" This was Dawn, Misty and Brock's first time seeing Discord.
"Drop the act, buster! We're onto you." Pinkie hissed.
"Ladies. Ladies. I'm innocent. Would I lie to you?"
"YES!" The 5 of them all said.
"Um... Maybe?" Fluttershy responded with a much gentler tone.
"Well then. It seems we've reached an impasse. I'm telling the truth, but you think I'm lying. What do friends like us do in a situation like this? Princess Twilight? Congrats by the way, on the promotion. You TOTALLY deserve it."
"I say we blast him back to stone!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Works for me." AJ agreed.
"Hear, hear." So did Rarity. The three of them got their elements ready but Fluttershy stopped them.
"Hey! We can't do that! What if he really IS telling the truth?"
"Well finally! Somepony willing to give me the benefit of the doubt. The rest of you could learn a lot about friendship from my dear friend Flutterfly here." He mispronounced her name while grabbing Rainbow Dash instead.
"Um, it's Fluttershy." She corrected him.
"Oh right, whatever."
"If you're not the one responsible then it has to be The Rift." Twilight said.
"If I were you, I'd ask your zebra friend what's up." He was knitting the vines as he made an arrow that pointed to Zecora who was leaving the forest with all her stuff.
"Zecora!"
"From my home, I have had to flee. The forest has grown too wild, even for me."
"Any idea why all of this is happening?" AJ asked.
"I'm afraid it is a mystery to me as well. But, I may have something that if combined with a spell, I do not dare to use it myself." She got out a potion with purple liquids in it. "The result would be tragic. It only responds to alicorn magic." Luckily, Twilight was the only alicorn here. "Princess Twilight. You can turn the potion from purple to white. After a sip, you may see why the sky is day and night."
Twilight concentrated all her magic on the potion. The same magic aura that Sombra has emerged on her horn as it shot a magic ray that made contact with the potion, turning it white.
Twilight lifted up the potion with her magic as Zecora encouraged her to drink it. Once she drank the now white potion, she didn't really feel much.
"Doesn't seem to be working-" Just then her eyes had flashed white.
In a somewhat familiar place. One also told in books of lore. Twilight was in this familiar place.
"Where am I?"
"Not another step." A familiar voice called out. It was from Luna. She was here.
"Princess Luna. I don't understand. Where are we? Why did you and Celestia disappear?" She asked the princess of the night.
"Did you really expect me to sit idly by while they all bask in your precious light?" It was like Luna didn't even notice Twilight.
"Precious light?"
"There can be only ONE princess in Equestria. And that princess... will be ME!" She stamped her hooves down, breaking a piece of the upper section as her eyes flashed white. Cracks began rising behind her, going up the walls as shadows emerged. The window behind her broke as the sun was revealed in all its bright and golden glory. And now the moon was rising up, blocking out the sun, as dark lights rained down, surrounding Luna in ominous black energy. She was undergoing a transformation. One all too familiar. She had become Nightmare Moon, once more. She laughed maliciously.
Nightmare Moon fired a magic beam as she was starting to destroy the place. Twilight moved away from the large falling debris, as she was met with the hooves of Princess Celestia herself. Celestia flew to her sister, who only shot a beam at her. She moved away from it but a huge hole was left in the ceiling.
"Luna! Think of how long you were banished to the moon! You'll give us no choice to send you back there if you don't stop!" Twilight tried to talk some sense into her.
"Luna! I will not fight you. You must lower the moon. It is your duty!" Celestia exclaimed.
"Luna? I am ...Nightmare Moon. I have but one royal duty now. To destroy YOU!" She fired another beam at her older sister. Celestia flew away, heading out into the sky.
"And where do you think you're going?!" Nightmare Moon chased after her. Twilight followed the two princesses up in the night sky. Nightmare Moon kept firing at Celestia, trying to hit her as she was destroying parts of Canterlot in the process. She eventually struck Celestia, hitting her right the middle as she screamed in pain.
"CELESTIA!" Twilight cried out as she chased after the downed princess. Nightmare Moon laughed as she felt victorious. Celestia was down on the floor as Twilight started to cry. "No... why would Luna do this?" She continued to cry as Celestia got back up. Twilight stopped crying, gaining a smile on her face. "You're alright. You're alright!" Despite Twilight saying all of that, Celestia did not hear her. "Princess Celestia?"
"Oh, dear sister. I am sorry. But you have given me no choice, but to use these." Celestia turned her back as out of the ground rose up the Elements of Harmony. All 6 of them. But in the form of gems.
"Are those... the Elements of Harmony? But that's how they looked in... The past! This is the night you banished her." Twilight had just caught on. This is a past event. And with all of this, followed one particular entity who is an expert at time. From high above the skies, a ripple appeared as Twilight looked up at it. Out of that ripple emerged a portal. "W-What's going on?" Out of the portal emerged the Temporal Pokemon.
Dialga.
Dialga's presence with time was so grand that it could even be seen by those in the past.
"What is THAT?!" Nightmare Moon exclaimed. Dialga looked down as Twilight had somewhat noticed it. She remembered the book she got from Canalave Library. How it mentioned the Creation Trio. Not only that but it also showed artwork of them, and one of them resembled Dialga.
"T-That's the Legendary Pokemon. Dialga. The Guardian of Time." Twilight said. Dialga would normally never show up in this world because it is not his, but since both universes have been connected, he now knows of this universe's timeline.
"No matter!" Nightmare Moon. did not mind Dialga, not thinking too much of it. Celestia flew to the Elements, gathering them. They circled around her as both light and a rainbow were apart of her. She flew up to her sister as she began to cry, not wanting to do this.
Both fired beams at each other. One of malicious intent, and one of harmony. The harmony beam had overpowered the malicious one, making contact with Nightmare Moon.
"Noooo!" She cried out as she was defeated. And just like in the past and stories, she was banished to the moon. Thus creating 'The Mare in the Moon.'
Dialga floated down to Celestia and Twilight. Celestia didn't know what to make of this Pokemon. She didn't even know what a Pokemon was at this current timeline. Twilight was shaking from the absolute size of it. Dialga let out a mighty roar as Twilight returned to the present suddenly.
She was still here. In the same spot with all her friends there. They all had looks on their faces like they were worried.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"It's just... you were mumbling to yourself..." Applejack started.
"Ooh! And don't forget the uncontrollable sobbing." Pinkie followed.
"We were really worried about you." Fluttershy finished.
"And you mentioned Dialga. You saw Dialga?" Brock said.
"Who's Dialga?" Rarity asked.
"The Legendary Pokemon that controls all of time." Dawn explained.
"So I was in the past. And that's why Dialga showed up."
"I for one found it delightful." Discord loved every second of what he saw. It was pretty chaotic from their point of view. "Sort of a one pony theatre piece if you will. You should really consider taking it on the road." He got out a scroll which showed the recreation of Twilight breaking down and crying.
"So? What did you find? Any answers?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"No. I only saw what happened in the past. No Rift involved."
"Perhaps farther back still are the answers you seek. Another sip of the potion will give you a peek." Zecora lent the potion over to her once more. It was time for another go.
"Wait. If I drink this, Dialga will show up again. What does that mean?"
"It could be that Dialga's trying to tell you something." Brock said to her.
"Tell me something?"
"Dialga watches over time for a reason. So it came to you, trying to give you pointers." Dawn said.
"...Alright. If I come across Dialga, I'll talk to it. if I can that is."
Twilight drank the potion once more, going through another flash.
On the other side of things, Cobalion and Keldeo have reached the Everfree Forest, getting closer to the source.
"We're close Keldeo. Keep your guard up."
"Right!" As they moved in deeper, they came across something odd yet beautiful. It looked to be some sort of tree. With a familiar Cutie Mark on it.
"What is that, Cobalion?"
Cobalion didn't say anything. He knew what this means though.
"A Tree?" Keldeo said. Both him and Cobalion had come across a mysterious tree. Even though Cobalion didn't know what it was, he knew what it was meant for. For somepony greater.
"This is no ordinary tree. This tree is waiting for another. One who's destiny will be fulfilled here."
"Well. What do we do now? We still don't know where the source of these vines are coming from."
"I think I may know. Look." Cobalion moved his head over to what appeared to be black seeds.
"Black seeds?"
"Perfect for growing roots of this scale."
Twilight who had drank the potion ended up back in the past. This time it was the past where Discord had turned the world into a chaotic landscape. Celestia and Luna were against him as they looked like they were tattered up.
"Hahahoho! This is so much fun. How about a game of pin the tail on the pony." The Lord of Chaos was suddenly holding Celestia's Etheral tail.
"Playtime is over you for Discord!" Celestia exclaimed.
"Oh, I doubt that." He replied by eating black seeds from a small sack. "Hungry?" He put the sack forward as those seeds dropped everywhere on the ground. Celestia and Luna had stern faces the whole way through. "Suit yourself."
The two sisters got out the Elements of Harmony from their pouch as they circled both of them.
"Oh. What have you got there?"
"The Elements of Harmony." Celestia said.
"With them, we shall defeat you!" Luna followed.
"This must be when they turned Discord into stone..." Twilight realised. Discord was laughing, thinking this was all pointless.
"You should see yourselves right now. The expressions on your faces are so intense. So sure of yourselves." He kept laughing as the rainbow emerged from them, swirling up in the air. "Hilarious!" He was uncontrollably laughing as he didn't notice the rainbow beam that was heading to him. He was struck as his entire body was turning to stone, sending him into a still motionless state.
It wasn't over though. She was then in another location, an unidentified one even. This location had a tree, similar to the one that Keldeo and Cobalion found in the present.
"The Tree of Harmony." Luna gasped.
"The TREE of Harmony?" Twilight had never heard about this tree. She didn't even know there was another piece of harmony out there. She looked at the tree as she saw not only Celestia's Cutie Mark but hers as well. "My Cutie Mark."
Celestia flew up to the tree, lighting up Twilight's Cutie Mark.
"Are you sure?" Luna said to her sister.
"We have managed to discover the only means by which we can defeat Discord, and free the citizens of Equestria. Even without these elements, the Tree of Harmony will possess a powerful magic." Celestia explained. The elements were taken out of the tree, flying about. "As long as that magic remains, it will continue to control and contain all that grows here."
Dialga appeared once more in the sky, looking at Twilight. The young alicorn looked back at the Temporal Pokemon who did end up showing her as well.
"Dialga! What is it, you're trying to tell me?" She tried talking to the Temporal Pokemon. Dialga let out a single cry. Though it and Twilight cannot understand each other, Dialga can at least let out a roar that others can understand. This roar was a message to Twilight.
"Starlight... who?" It was too late to get it all a she was back in the present.
"So what'd you find out?" Spike asked.
"I still don't know what's happened to Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. But I think I know why the Everfree Forest is acting this way. Something's happened to the Tree of Harmony." The others looked confused as this was their first time hearing about this.
"The tree of what now?" Rainbow said.
"It's where Princess Luna and Princess Celestia found the elements. I think it's in danger."
"Well alright then! Let's go save- uh...tree. Uhh.. where is it exactly?" Applejack asked her.
"I think it's in.. There!" She looked at the Everfree Forest, where a plethora of black vines were.
With Keldeo and Cobalion.
"You're saying that these seeds are the cause of it, Cobalion?"
"Black seeds being planted near a tree and sprouting black vines. It's not difficult to put the two and two together."
"Well then let's just get rid of these remaining seeds." Keldeo used his sword to cut the leftover seeds.
"Even if we do that, the rest of them have already been planted and fertilized. The best we can do is keep cutting these vines to halt them. Even if they grow back."
"So no one can stop this?"
"Not quite. This is magic territory. Something we're not experts in. This is pony territory."
"I'm a pony! I got this!"
"You're not brimming with magic though."
"Aw man.."
"Yeah. Unicorn territory. That's what it is." A voice came for nearby. Cold Colt and Emerald Aura were here. "Sup losers." Cold Colt taunted.
"Who are you two?" Cobalion demanded they said their names.
"We're two ponies created by the Rift. And right now we're here to spice things up. Hope you don't mind." Emerald replied.
"The Rift you say. So that makes you a threat to both worlds."
"Someone's harsh. Then again, what did we expect from the Iron Will Pokemon." Emerald replied.
"If you'll excuse us.. we're intensifying the situation. We've already seen what happened in the original timeline... Let's make it more interesting!" Cold Colt fired a magic beam towards the tree, however, Cobalion had reflected it with his sword.
"If you know how these events originally played out, and are trying to change it, just for the sake of fun, then I will not allow you."
"Me neither!" Keldeo exclaimed.
"What do we do? We didn't plan on taking on the Swords of Justice!" Cold Colt said, a bit nervous since these were Legendary Pokemon.
"We're useless against them in our current state. But we'll leave you all with a little gift if you don't mind!" Emerald aura dropped a small sparkle of magic on the ground as she and Cold Colt were returning back to their hideout via Rift teleportation. "Buh-bye!"
"What did they do?" Keldeo asked. The ground was shaking as the weeds and vines seemed to be getting bigger.
"They've done something to the seeds!" This was reaching all of Everfree. Twilight and her friends could feel this unknown pressure.
"W-What's going on?!" Fluttershy muttered. Out of the ground, sprouted something they did not see coming. A 30ft monster that was made out of the black vines and weeds along with the thorns emerged from the ground. This was created by Emerald's magic, making it crazy enough to be a Rift creation.
"Oh, sweet Celestia..."Twilight murmured. The Black Tree creature roared as thorns shot out when it roared. They all avoided the thorns as they dug into the ground, showing just how sharp they are.
"Oooh. This is new." Discord had a camera ready to record all of this.
"Of all the times Ash is not here..." Dawn said to herself. "Where is he during all of this?" The tree had then extended its black vines, gripping all of Ponyville. It grabbed a hold of some ponies and Pokemon, absorbing them in it.
"IT ABSORBED THEM?!" Pinkie Pie yelled.
"Not good. It's gonna make us all apart of it very soon! Croagunk! Poison Jab!" Brock sent out Croagunk as the Toxic Mouth Pokemon jabbed into the tree monster, stinging it a bit. The creature cried as it whacked Croagunk away. "Oh no, Croagunk!" The barbed behemoth started walking as the Mane 6, Zecora, Spike, Dawn, Misty and Brock started running.
From the distance, you could see this 30ft beast moving as it tore through the ground with its spiky feet.
"We can't get to the Tree of Harmony with THIS thing in the way!" Twilight shouted.
"Then we'll have to force our way through. Go! Rufflet! Whirlipede!" Rainbow sent out both of her Pokemon. "Use Rollout and Aerial Ace!" The two Pokemon flew towards the black creature, crashing into it and striking wings on it. The creature was a bit phased but it kept on moving as it grabbed onto Rufflet, Whirlipede and everyone else.
"L-Let us go!" Rainbow Dash yelled, biting on it's vines.
"T-This grip is too much!" Fluttershy said as she was about to pass out from this intense pressure being put on her.
"All these branches are giving it strength! Not only that, but it is increasing with length!" Zecora was right. The Tree Monster was growing longer. Longer vines, thorns and height. They were all being pulled in as Twilight managed to break free from it thanks to her newfound Alicorn strength.
"Everypony!" She cried out.
"T-Twilight.." Rarity extended her hoof as she was deep in the tree.
"NO!" It all seemed hopeless... until the branches were cut in half, freeing the Mane 6 and the others from being pulled in. "W-What?"
"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. Bit occupied at Vermillion City Gym." Ash was here with Pikachu. But not just that, he bought some of his Pokemon along with him.
"ASH!" They all shouted in unison.
"I'm so glad you're here!" Twilight went to hug him but pulled back. "WHERE WERE YOU DURING ALL OF THIS?!"
"Sorry! I was in getting my ranking up for the World Championship by battling at the Vermillion Gym. Hehe. My bad."
"You were busy getting ranks?!" Twilight bellowed.
"Anyways. I'm here now. That's the main problem." Ash pointed at the Tree Behemoth.
"Ash. We're trying to get to the Everfree Forest, but this thing's in the way. Its made up of all these weeds everywhere." AJ explained.
"Say no more. All we have to do is get to the forest. Staraptor! Aerial! Sceptile! Leaf Blade! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Commanding his Pokemon to take action, they each pushed back this behemoth. They were lucky that Ash's Pokemon were extremely strong. "Get going!" Ash exclaimed. They all ran into the forest, looking back at the monster. Dawn, Misty and Brock stayed behind to help their longtime friend Ash.
"What about you, Ash?!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"We got this. You all have an important job to do. We'll just slow this thing down for you."
"Pika!"
"Alright. Good luck!" Twilight said.
Ash turned to the behemoth as it had some dents in it.
"Alright! Infernape! Burn away all those vines! Gengar! Use Psychic to lift in the air!" Infernape jumped onto the monster, setting its vines of fire as it spread like fire would on trees. Gengar had used Psychic to lift the Behemoth high up as Infernape hanged on to its large branch arms.
"Piplup! Whirlpool!"
"Croagunk! Poison Jab once more!"
"Starmie! Psybeam!"
As they were all doing their best to stop that monster, Twilight and the others were deep in the forest now. Around them, they saw how much these vines and weeds had effected everything. Twilight stepped on a rock near the lake, but that was no rock. It started to rise as it was revealed to be another monster. One actually native to the Everfree Forest.
"Eeek! A Cragadile! Run for your lives!" Rarity screamed as they scattered. The huge crocodile-like monster cornered Twilight and Spike. The alicorn tried to fly but she was too nervous and she still couldn't get the hang of it. The beast was about to bite her until it was stopped. The girls had gathered a vine, wrapping it around its tail and trying to pull it back. Applejack used a vine as a lasso, latching onto the Cragadile's mouth. They used the weeds to restrain it, tying them to the trees, preventing it from moving.
"That was close." Twilight sighed.
"A little too close if you ask me. You sure you're alright?" AJ asked.
"I'm fine. I just can't seem to get these new wings to do what I want them to do when I want them to do it!" She complained.
"Ah, you'll figure it out eventually." Rainbow replied.
"Eventually, isn't soon enough."
"You have been having an awful lot of trouble with those things. And well, who knows what else is gonna come after us. You know, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea for Twilight to go back to Ponyville and let us look for the Tree of Harmony without her." Applejack said.
"What? Why?" Twilight was confused about why AJ would say that.
"For starters, you just about got eaten by a Cragadile."
"We all did. He wasn't after just me."
"Sure but, well, the rest of us aren't princesses."
"What's THAT got to do with anything?"
"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are gone. If something happened to you... I just don't think Equestria can risk losing another princess." Applejack was greatly worried for her. Considering what was happening right now, with the missing princesses and the tree monster.
"Applejack does make a valid point." Rarity agreed with her. "Even if we managed to save the Tree of Harmony, it won't necessarily mean Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will return. Equestria will need somepony to lead in their absence."
"But the Tree of Harmony! I'm the only one who has seen it and knows what it looks like!"
"You're not the only one." A voice replied to her. Cobalion and Keldeo were here after they had just returned from the Tree.
"Keldeo!" Twilight said.
"And Cobalion!" Fluttershy followed.
"We've seen the Tree as well. It's far beyond us. What it requires is magic. Not our speciality at all."
"I have magic. So all I need to do is head there and solve it."
"It won't be easy, my little pony. That behemoth is not the only thing that spawned from the vines. The magic that was sent inside the seeds has sprouted far more dangerous threats, larger than the ones that already exist here. If you're going to go in there, you need to make sure that you are prepared for the absolute worst."
"I can't let you go through with this Twilight. That tree monster is already bad enough. Who knows what's deeper in there." Applejack said.
"So... you all think it would be best if I wasn't here?"
"It is for the best. We don't want to risk losing you. And somepony needs to lead Equestria."
"Alright.." Twilight walked off with tears in her eyes, returning to Ponyville.
"Jump and use Iron Tail!"
"Chu-Pika!" Pikachu smacked the behemoth's face with an Iron Tail, knocking it back.
"Awesome job, Pikachu! Now let's hit em hard!! Flare Blitz! Leaf Blade! Fire Fang! Razor Shell! Ice Punch! Stone Edge! Hyper Beam!" His Pokemon each used their hardest hitting moves. Infernape, Sceptile, Gliscor, Oshawott and Gengar charged in to get up close and personal whilst Pikachu, Dragonite and Krookodile attacked from afar. Both physical and ranged attacks made contact, striking the behemoth was it was sent flying back due to the combined might.
"Woah! You sent it flying!" Dawn yelled.
"But everypony else is still inside!" Misty said.
"They'll be fine! We'll save them. Gotta put our trust in Twilight and the others. If it gets too hairy for them, we'll go and help." Twilight was watching this as she heard what Ash said. He generally had trust and faith in her, even if her friends didn't want her getting hurt.
"Seems like somepony has some faith in you." Discord said, talking to Twilight. "And to think your friends let you go since they know that YOU know you're better than everypony. One to rule Equestria after all with the missing princesses."
"I'm not better than anypony!"
"Well, how silly of me to assume that you would think that." Discord poofed a royal robe on Twilight and gave her a golden sceptre with her face on the top. "All you did was choose to keep your precious princess self out of harm's way, while your friends thrust themselves right into it. I'm sure you'll all be the best of pals again when they return from their terrifying and deeply bonding experience that they're having without you." Somehow, those words that Discord said encouraged her to return back to the forest.
The tree behemoth was greatly damaged thanks to Ash and everyone else's efforts. The behemoth had fallen, defeated on the ground. This had freed the ponies and Pokemon who were trapped inside of it, but it didn't free Celestia and Luna.
"W-What happened?"
"I don't know.." They were all perplexed and confused.
"That takes care of that. Now we gotta leave it to Twilight and the others."
Cobalion and Keldeo were leading the girls to the tree. They cut through some of the vines with their swords, protecting them.
"We're close." Cobalion said.
"Um, mister Cobalion, sir. What does the Tree of Harmony even look like?" Fluttershy asked.
"From what I can tell you, it is a tree unlike anything else. More importantly, it is a tree that only responds to destiny."
"Destiny?" They all said in unison.
"You'll know when we get there. Actually, we're here." They stopped as they came across the stairs leading to the tree. They all walked down it, heading into the root of it all. And there it was.
"Land sakes... It IS real." Applejack took her hat off.
"Everypony!" Twilight caught up, catching her breath as she went through all those horrible and rabid vines.
"Twilight? You came back!" Pinkie said.
"I couldn't leave you all. I just couldn't. You're my friends. I can't abandon you for anything else."
"Twilight, darling." Rarity stepped up. "We have to apologise for just sending you off like that. Equestria may need a princess..."
"But we need our friend." Fluttershy said. Twilight was touched by that as they closed in for a hug. Keldeo was trying to be cool, covering his eyes and acting like he wasn't crying.
"Not crying.. it's just liquid pride!"
"It's wonderful that you have all reconnected, but we have more important business to attend to. Cobalion pointed his horn at the tree. It was currently wrapped around the vines, slowly dying. "These vines won't let you get near the tree." Twilight flew up, looking at the tree, wondering what to do to save it. That's when she remembered what Celestia said in the past.
"Even without these elements, the Tree of Harmony will possess a powerful magic. As long as that magic remains, it will continue to control and contain all that grows here."
Twilight knew what they must do.
"I know how we can save the tree. We have to give it the Elements of Harmony."
"Woah, Woah, Woah. How are supposed to protect Equestria?!" Rainbow Dash and the others weren't sure about this.
"How are we meant rain Discord in if we can't use the elements to turn him back to stone?" Rarity said.
"Twilight. The Elements of Harmony... They're what keep us connected no matter what." Applejack said to her.
"You're right about one thing, Applejack. The Elements of Harmony did bring us together. But it isn't the elements that will keep us connected. It's our friendship. And it's more powerful and important than any magic. My new role in Equestria may mean I have to take on new responsibilities... and our friendships may be tested. But it will never, ever be broken. There's no time to lose. Everypony ready?" Twilight flew up but she was stopped by the vines as it clutched onto her hoof.
The threats that Cobalion mentioned had shown themselves. They were waiting idly. Creatures of all kinds spawned from the seeds and Emerald's magic.
"What are those things?!" Fluttershy yelled.
"Stay behind us. You all focus on restoring the tree!" Cobalion and Keldeo would provide cover. Cobalion used his sword to cut through these mysterious creatures, destroying them by splitting them in half. Keldeo kicked one of them back while shooting water from his hooves. The vines were becoming more aggressive as they surrounded them all like a vortex. The vines then gripped onto the elements, trying to remove them.
"What in tarnation?!"
"They're trying to stop us!" Twilight exclaimed. Cobalion and Keldeo destroyed a large majority of the creatures by the vines kept coming. The vines were getting close to removing the elements as they held them all in place.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu had arrived with Ash and his Pokemon as he cut the vines in half, freeing Twilight and the others. The weeds then focused on Ash Ketchum, attempting to latch onto him, but Gible wouldn't let that happen as he shot a Draco-Meteor at the weeds, obliterating them.
"Quickly! Do it!" Cobalion bellowed.
"Right!" Twilight nodded. The gems of the elements all flew off with Twilight's magic carrying them. The vines attempted to stop Twilight, however, Charizard had burned them away. The gems had then flown to the tree, landing on their respected spots. The vines grew larger as they had encased the other girls. Bulbasaur lifted the vines off them with his own.
Once all the elements were on the tree, something magical truly happened. All the elements glowed a powerful magic pulse of rainbows erupted. This pulse was so great it wiped out the vines and weeds. It spread across all of Ponyville, getting rid of every single one of them. This was the power that Celestia was talking about in the past. Al returned to normal, including the tree, shining brightly once more in its purest form.
It wasn't just its form that returned, Celestia and Luna were revealed to be encased in large thick vines. Those vines had been wiped out as they were free. Twilight rushed at them to give them a hug. Celestia had known what she had done.
"We know how difficult it must have been to give up the elements. It took great courage to relinquish them." Celestia said.
Twilight looked at the tree, gazing at her Cutie Mark as her eyes sparkled. A rainbow trail moved along the tree as it sprouted a flower. Twilight walked up to the flower, raising her hoof up. It opened up, revealing a chest of some sorts.
"What's inside it? How am I supposed to open it?" She wondered.
"Six locks, six keys." Luna said.
"I do not know where they are." Not even Celestia knew. "But I do know that it is a mystery you will not be solving alone."
"Phew! Man, coming back here for a few minutes was wild, huh Pikachu?"
"Pika!"
"I'm surprised it didn't last long. Saves up some trouble." Keldeo said.
"It is better to solve a problem as fast as you can then prolong it." Cobalion replied. Celestia noticed that Cobalion was here as she was trying not to freak out in front Twilight of all ponies. Luna looked at her as she held her sister.
"It's best that we were leaving now." She flew off, carrying her older sister as it was time to head back. All the Pokemon who were here returned, happy that all that trouble was gone.
The Behemoth had been wiped out as well, freeing everypony. Discord saw the group return as he congratulated them for winning.
"Congratulations! Once you and your beasties win the day. What large creatures did you have to blast with the elements to win? And speaking of which, where are those little necklaces and big crown of yours?"
"They're... gone." Applejack unfortunately said. But for Discord, this was a relief.
"Gone? Hohohoho! Gone?"
"But our friendship remains. And if YOU wanna remain friends, you'll stop thinking whatever it is you're thinking and help us clean up." Fluttershy demanded.
"Fine. But I don't do windows." He was in a maid outfit.
"One thing I don't understand. Why did this happen now?" Applejack asked.
"I have no idea. Those seeds I planted should've sprouted up ages ago."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Twilight shouted at him.
"Oh. Why should I try to explain it when you can see for yourself." Discord poofed the potion in his hand. Twilight took it, taking another sip as she was back in the past where Discord reigned. She took a good look and saw what Discord was eating were the black seeds. And each time he moved around and ate them, they fell on the ground like a child going crazy on food. The seeds would've sprouted but the tree was powerful enough to keep them at bay until now. Twilight had returned to the present, fuming.
"You realize this is information we could've used HOURS AGO!"
"And rob you of a valuable lesson of being princess? What kind of friend do you think I am?"
It was now time for the Summer Sun Celebration to finally take place. Trumpets were blown as all ponies gathered around.
"Citizens of Equestria. It is no longer with a heavy heart, but with great joy that I raise the summer sun. For this celebration now represents not the defeat of Nightmare Moon, but the return of my sister. Princess Luna. They all cheered as Luna flew up, bringing the silver moon down. Celestia then soared up, raising that bright and beautiful golden sun.
Twilight decided to finally do that big finish that Rainbow Dash mentioned as she flew up, leaving behind her Cutie Mark as a flash in the sky.
"Oooooh." Everypony gawked.
"This world sure is something, ain't it Pikachu?"
"Pikachu!"
Another day saved. Once again, they all had to go through some heavy obstacles, but they managed to overcome them. They will always be ready for whatever problem may come. But no one could predict the problem that was lurking. Ghetsis was still around. His quest for Meloetta was a success. But that wasn't his only goal.
"We have what we need. Now the next step is to take advantage of this world. This is nothing but a make-believe kiddy universe!" Meloetta was trapped in a canister, trying to break free, but she couldn't. "You're going to play a tune so painful it will render them all in agonizing pain. But that isn't what I am aiming for. No. I want something greater!" Ghetsis's aura was rising by the minute. Whatever it is he was planning, would spell Equestria's darkest time.
"Thank you for waiting. We've restored your Vulpix to full health." Nurse Joy was holding a young boy's Vulpix, giving it back to him.
"Thank you so much. So glad you're okay, Vulpix."
"Vul!"
It was another normal day at the centre. But there was on oddity. In the resting room, there laid an egg. A blue-spotted one. It was being incubated, just sitting there. Why this was an oddity is because this egg has not hatched for a long time. Months actually.
"No change." Nurse Joy looked at the egg. "I wonder why you won't come out of the egg? Whichever Pokemon you are."
Cerise Labs, Day.
"The first person to ever make the existence of eggs known was Professor Elm. The apprentice to Professor Oak." Professor Cerise was teaching Twilight and the Mane 6 about Pokemon eggs. "He pointed out how nobody has ever seen a Pokemon lay an egg before."
"Nobody's seen it? How can it be?" Goh asked.
"It can't be that mysterious. They probably lay it like normal animals. Like a chicken." Rainbow Dash said.
"That would be common but even that's never been seen before. Most people believe that Pokemon simply pick up eggs from someplace, but even that has zero evidence." An assistant explained.
"So it's a total mystery, huh?" Twilight said.
"Well, I've seen an egg before. But even I haven't seen a Pokemon lay one." Ash replied.
"Why don't we go looking for one. This'll be our chance!" Fluttershy exclaimed, wanting to explore how Pokemon Eggs truly work and where they come from.
"It won't be that easy. They're almost as rare as Legendary Pokemon popping up, ya know." An assistant explained.
"Still! I have to find out!"
"Fluttershy won't stop until she makes this discovery. Best go then." Rarity said, knowing how determined she was.
"Let's get rolling!" Fluttershy flew out as the others chased after her. Raboot, who had just evolved from a Scorbunny not too long ago, sighed as it just simply walked.
Outside, they were searching near Route 6 for any Pokemon that might lay an egg. That's when Goh spotted what seemed to be an egg.
"Oh! There!" But in reality, it was just an Exeggcute. "Even better! It's an Exeggcute! Go! Pokeball!" Goh tossed the Pokeball, getting Exeggcute.
"Still no actual egg." Fluttershy sighed.
"Heh." Ash chuckled. That's when his Rotomphone was ringing. A trainer was nearby. One to boost up his ranking. "Oh, a trainer who's ranked 1,024th place, huh? Name, Harper.
"Yo!" The trainer called to Ash, waving. A flying Rotom machine that calculated and spectated over battles arrived to declare this official Pokemon World Coronation Series match.
"The Pokemon World Championships has approved this Normal Class Battle. The battle will be between Harper from Fuchsia City and Ash from Pallet Town! The battle will be a 1v1. Both sides, send out your Pokemon at the same time."
"Good luck Ash!" Pinkie Pie cheered him on along with the others.
"3, 2 ,1. GO!"
"Pikachu! I choose you!"
"Tauros! Let's go, partner!"
Harper had sent out a Tauros who's horns look a bit damaged, indicating that this was a seasoned Tauros. After all, the Tauros with the most scarred horns is the boss of the herd. So this Tauros has boss-level horns.
"Tauros huh? Okay.."
"Pika.."
"Battle start!"
"Tauros! Horn Attack!" Tauros charged in, heading towards Pikachu.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu jumped up, slamming his tail on Tauros's horns. The minute it clashed with the horns, a powerful surge of aura was felt, all the way back at the Pokemon Center. And it was the still egg that felt it. Almost as if it was responding to the aura. Back at the battle, Tauros had bucked Pikachu in the face, sending him flying. The Electric Mouse landed down safely, not minding that kick.
"Electroweb!" Pikachu then sent a web of electricity towards Tauros, however, the trainer had a counter for that.
"Rip through it with Iron Head!" The Wild Bull Pokemon's head had gained iron plates it charged right through the web, breaking it and headbutting Pikachu as well.
"Pikachu! You okay?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu was still up and ready to keep on going.
"That's the spirit!"
"Another Iron Head!"
"Let's finish it Pikachu!" Once Ash said that a surge of aura kicked up dust. Twilight noticed this as she was able to see this blue energy rise thanks to her being an alicorn.
"What the..?"
The egg's frequency was rapidly increasing. It kept reacting to the aura.
"Thunderbolt!" Pikachu jumped up as Tauros was heading towards him to headbutt him once more. Pikachu unleashed a bolt thunder that raced forward. The egg began to glow a blue colour as Chansey, who was in the room noticed this. "GO!" The Thunderbolt struck Tauros head-on, making it faint.
"AH! Tauros!" Harper cried out.
"Tauros is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! As such, the winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The Rotom machine said.
"Woo-hoo!" Pinkie Pie cheered their victory.
"You did great, Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped to his trainer, hugging him. But, after clashing with that Iron Head with Iron Tail left a sting on Pikachu's tail as it was a bit injured. "Oh sorry! Let's get you to the Pokemon Center right away."
"Pikachu." Just then, both Ash and Pikachu could feel the sudden pulse of aura.
"Huh?" He was completely spaced out.
"Ash? What's wrong?" Fluttershy snapped him out of it.
"Oh. Nothing. I just felt like someone was calling me."
"Calling you?" The Mane 6 all said.
"I don't see anypony." Rainbow Dash looked around.
"Not like that. It was... How do I describe it?"
"Was it similar to what happened back with Lugia? You said you heard it say something." Goh said.
"No, not like that.."
"Ash. That was a good battle." Harper congratulated him.
"Oh, thanks, Harper."
"Based on the results of this battle, the Pokemon World Championships rankings will be updated." The Rotom machine flew off.
"Let's have another battle if we meet again somewhere," Harper said.
"You bet!"
"Pika!"
Ash could still feel that presence as the wind blew around him.
The egg was shaking about as it had suddenly stopped. Chansey had dragged Nurse Joy in to show her, but she was a bit too late. It had calmed down. Ash was rushing to the Pokemon Center to get his buddy's tail all healed up as soon as possible.
"Ash, slow down! Why are you in such a hurry? You can be pretty weird sometimes." Goh said.
"What do you mean 'weird?'"
"Hearing voices that I can't hear. You're just like a Pokemon Egg." Goh explained.
"An egg?"
"You hold many mysteries, Ash!"
"I don't hold that many mysteries... Oh, we're here!"
Inside the Center, Pikachu's tail was being tended too. Nurse Joy had a cotton ball with medicine as she was about to press it on his tail.
"This might sting a little." She pressed it on his tail as he felt the sting.
"PI...PI...KACHU!" Pikachu twitched, trying to power through the pain.
"Well done. Very good!" Nurse Joy congratulated him on taking it like a champ. The others were watching Pikachu getting healed up, but Ash had suddenly walked off. He could feel that presence again.
"Thank you for waiting. Your Pikachu i- Huh?" She didn't see Ash anywhere. The group all turned to see Ash walking off, right to the room where the egg was. Ash was looking at the egg. He was sure it was coming from it.
"Ash! What's with you? You suddenly walked off, with no sound even." Rainbow said.
"Oh! Look!" Fluttershy zipped over to the egg. "An actual Pokemon Egg!" She was getting all giddy.
"Nurse Joy. Why does this egg have wires hooked up to it?" Ash asked.
"Oh. Well, you see, a Daycare worker gave this to me. This eggs hold one interesting mystery. For some reason..." Before Joy could continue talking, the egg broke out of the wires as it was shaking about. It then rolled over, hitting the glass as it was at Ash's direction. There was an open spot for the egg to breathe as Ash put his hand in it, feeling the egg.
"It's so warm. Pikachu. Give it a touch." Pikachu put his hands in, feeling the egg as well.
"Let me see." So did Fluttershy.
"Hm. Perhaps... I shall leave the egg with you, Ash." Joy said.
"With me?"
"You see, this egg was found in the Sinnoh Region. The mystery it holds is that it never hatches. It's been handed from Day-care worker to Day-care worker throughout the region and no luck. It has been around the region for so many months until it finally reached here. This is probably the first time an egg has been like this."
"An egg that takes that long to hatch? What kind of Pokemon is in there?" Twilight wondered.
"Huh. Guess whoever's in there sure is laid-back. I can't wait for them to come out so they can experience all the fun in the world." Ash said.
"Ash. Please take good care of this egg, will you?"
"You can count on me, Nurse Joy."
"Pikachu!"
"And I'll pitch in to help!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"My name's Ash. Nice to meet you." Ash was talking to the egg.
The Egg which now belonged to Ash was taken to Cerise Labs. Yamper was barking at the egg, wanting to know what it was all about.
"Don't bark at it, Yamper. You'll scare it." Chole said.
"Being entrusted with an egg means being entrusted with a Pokemon's life. Quite the heavy responsibility. Think you can handle it, Ash?" An assistant asked him.
"No doubt about it. This isn't my first egg after all."
"We'll head on over to the Pokemon House. I bet it'll be comfy there!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"You just wanna get closer to it don't you?" Applejack knew the reason.
"Hehehe.. maybe." Fluttershy squeed as she blushed a bit.
"But, I wonder what Pokemon lies in it?" Rarity wondered.
"No one can really tell. It could be any Pokemon." Cerise replied.
"When's it gonna hatch?" Goh asked.
"When it does hatch, we'll throw it a 1st-year birthday party!" Pinkie yelled.
"For it to hatch, Professor Elm's thesis said that for it to hatch, it needs to spend a certain amount of time with a healthy Pokemon." An assistant explained.
"That's perfect! The Pokemon house has tons of Grass-Types. They're the healthiest Pokemon I know." Fluttershy retorted.
"So, the best option is to carry it around. Most trainers do that." Cerise said to Ash.
"Will do, can do." Ash picked up the egg, holding it close to his chest. "Let's head out on a stroll together in Equestria okay?" Ash talked to the egg.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Ash, I don't think the egg can hear you," Spike said.
"Don't be so sure. Here's an example." Cerise corrected Spike. "There was once a Jigglypuff who loved to sing, more than any Jigglypuff. It sang so much to the egg every day, that when it hatched, the Pokemon that ended up being an Azurill eventually sang. With the same amount of singing to put that same Jigglypuff to sleep."
"So it can learn from others? Amazing." Twilight was intrigued by that short story.
"So it CAN hear you! Uh! My name's Rainbow Dash! I'm Ash's friend!" She started talking to the egg as the others joined.
"I'm Goh!"
"Pinkie Pie at your service!"
"M-My name's Fluttershy! Hope to see you soon!"
"Name's Applejack!"
"Rarity, darling."
Raboot thought this was embarrassing as Spike and Twilight didn't know what to make of this.
Back at Equestria, at the Pokemon House, Ash had kept the egg in Fluttershy's house. The others would be home by now, but Fluttershy insisted they helped her with Ash's egg. Due to this they eventually all fell asleep. That's when the egg started to glow blue again. Pikachu was the first to hear it and see the light.
"Pika?! P-Pikapi!" He was trying to wake Ash up.
"Ugh... what's up, Pikachu? Huh? Woah!" Ash shouted. This woke everypony up from their sleep.
"What is it? What day is it?" Rarity mumbled.
"The egg!" Ash jumped up, running to it. Fluttershy and the others saw the egg as they went over to it as well.
"What's happening to it?" Goh asked. The egg then started to crack. It was time.
"Oh, my Celestia... It's happening!" Fluttershy was about to freak out. The egg kept cracking as a small blue light emerged. And now the Pokemon that was in the egg was revealed.
Riolu.
"Woah. Who's that Pokemon?" Rainbow Dash pulled out her dex.
"Riolu. The Emanation Pokemon. Riolu can detect the feelings of people and Pokemon using waves known as Aura. Its body is little, yet powerful. It can crest three mountains in and cross two canyons in one night."
"It's so cute!" Fluttershy squeed.
"I think a PARTY is due!" Pinkie was ready to start the one-year-old birthday party.
"Riolu? Aura?" Twilight remembered learning about Aura with the books from Canalave. She knew that Lucario was the master of aura, but she hadn't learned of its pre-evolution, Riolu. "Could this be its first stage?"
"So it was Riolu huh. Nice to meet ya. I'm Ash! And this is my partner Pikachu!"
"Pikachu!"
Riolu was confused. It was looking around for someone. Someone very specific.
"What's wrong Riolu?" Ash went to touch him. The little Fighting-Type acted on instinct, firing a Vacuum Wave at Ash, knocking him back.
"Pika!"
"Don't worry, Pikachu. That move was Vacuum wave, wasn't it? Awesome! You're so strong even though you just hatched!"
Riolu was still lost. So, all of a sudden, it busted through the window of Fluttershy's house, running off.
"What in tarnation!? He just up and left!" Applejack yelled.
"Riolu!" Ash called out. Ash ran out to chase after him as the others followed. Riolu was outside, looking for that person. He spotted the Pokemon House, seeing all the Pokemon. It then had the intention of picking a fight with every single one of them. The Emanation Pokemon jumped up, headbutting a Snorlax, but he bounced off its big belly. It skidded on the ground as it went to target the next Pokemon. It attacked a relaxing group of Frillish who just minding their own business in the water. Riolu tossed a Vacuum wave at them, but due to them being Ghost-Types, nothing happened. The Frillish retaliated by firing bubble beams at Riolu, knocking him down on the ground.
Riolu got back up as he moved on to the next Pokemon. He targeted a group of Litleo's but was easily overpowered by the numbers of them. Riolu wasn't really good on its own. It is a Pokemon that works well when it is battling with a trainer. But it kept going on. It then entered inside of the Pokemon house, where some of the Pokemon were just relaxing on the furniture. It picked a fight with them as well, firing a Vacuum wave at their furniture. This angered the Pokemon, specifically some Passimians as they kicked Riolu out of the Pokemon House and into the outskirts of a nearby small forest.
"Riolu! Where'd you go?!" Ash called out for him.
"Pika Pika!"
"Oh, dear. I hope he hasn't gone too far." Fluttershy was getting worried.
"It can cross three mountains and two canyons in one night. How are we gonna find it?" Twilight said.
"Riolu just hatched. There's so much it doesn't understand. I can't leave it alone!" Ash exclaimed. "Yesterday, I thought it was calling for me...That's what it felt like. So when Nurse Joy told me it had been in the egg for so long, I was happy. I thought it had been waiting for me all along. I was wrong though. But I ain't giving up on him."
"Ash..." Twilight murmured. "Alright! Here's what we'll do! We'll all split up for wider areas! There's 11 of us in total, so we can cover more ground.
"Right!"
Riolu was running through the night as it came across a Pokemon that was a bit too big for it. A Houndoom. Riolu attacked Houndoom but was knocked back by its tail. Houndoom growled at Riolu, ready to pounce on it. Riolu tossed a Vacuum wave at it, but it was too slow. Houndoom easily dodged it as unleashed a Flamethrower at the baby Pokemon. Houndoom let out a terrifying howl as it used Thunder Fang, shocking Riolu and biting into his arms. The Dark Pokemon then tossed Riolu aside on the ground, snarling at it. Riolu was struggling to get up as it was all tattered from the beating it took.
"Riolu!" Ash and Pikachu had found him first. "Are you okay?!"
"Pika Pika!
Houndoom howled at Ash and Pikachu, ready to attack them as well.
"Pikachu. Let's go."
"Pikachu!"
Ash and Pikachu faced Houndoom as their aura started to show. This is what Riolu was looking for. That powerful aura rose, blowing in the wind as it could be felt from afar. The intense pressure formed by the bond of a trainer and their Pokemon was showing. Ash smirked. This is the person that Riolu sensed.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu rushed in, using Iron Tail on Houndoom, hitting its head. Their aura kept rising as Riolu could feel all the power emanating from them. "Good job, Pikachu!" Riolu had then tackled Pikachu, knocking him aside.
"Pika!"
"Huh? Riolu?"
Riolu began talking to Ash, indicating that HE wanted to battle with Ash.
"You wanna become stronger huh?"
Riolu nodded in response.
"You got yourself a deal! I'll help you transcend to new heights!"
"RIO!" They looked at each other in understanding, but Houndoom wasn't done yet. It was about release another Flamethrower.
"Riolu! Use Vacuum Wave!" Ash commanded Riolu. The Emanation Pokemon unleashed a wave of wind that put out the fire. The Vacuum Wave was much stronger now. A pulse of aura showed when the two were in sync. Riolu's true potential showed when the one meant for it is battling alongside it. "Now! Riolu! Go!" Riolu rushed in at crazy speeds, smashing its elbow on Houndoom's face. This was enough to terrify even a Pokemon like Houndoom as it ran off in fear. Riolu was ready to chase it down, but Ash stopped him by yelling stop.
"You gave it your all, Riolu. You were really cool during that battle!"
"Pika!"
"Rio!" Riolu put his hands on his hips, feeling proud. But after all of that beating, he was drained and looked like he was about to faint.
"Oh, man. Best get you healed up first." Ash caught him. "We'll get you healed up to the Pokemon Center. Here. Climb on my back." Riolu didn't take Ash's offer as he would take himself there instead. "Heh. You really are stubborn, huh?"
Day at the Pokemon Center. The Mane 6 were there as well since they didn't find Riolu last night. Riolu was all healed up now.
"There. We've restored your Riolu to full health."
"Isn't that great Riolu?" Ash said. Riolu jumped off the resting bed, looking up at Ash.
"Rio! Lu! Lu!"
"Pika?"
"Riolu!"
"Huh?" Ash was wondering what he was saying.
"It could be that... Riolu wants you to catch him. From what he's saying." Nurse Joy said.
"Huh? Riolu? You really wanna be with me?"
"Riolu!"
"Then it's settled." Ash got out a Pokeball, tossing it. "Go!"
Once it hit Riolu, it was an instant capture. Not even a shake.
"That was fast!" They all said in unison.
"Awesome!" Ash picked up the Pokeball, raising it. "I got a Riolu!"
"Pika Pika!"
Ash let Riolu out who had a smile on his face.
"Riolu. Let's get stronger together."
"Rio!"
A new team member, partner and friend in this combined world. With the slightly stubborn Riolu by his side, Ash's Pokemon World Championship Challenge will continue!
The myth of the Pokemon known as Mew is a mystery to many. What is known of it is that is the ancestor to the Pokemon that dwell on Earth. Mews used to live in large numbers a long time ago, but as time went on, all the Mews evolved into new Pokemon. From the fossil Pokemon such as Tyrantrum, Archeops and Carracosta, or becoming the more common Pokemon known today such as a Ratttata and Miltank. There exists only one Mew. A Mew that has not yet evolved into future Pokemon. And today, that Mew will visit Ponyville.
Ponyville, Day.
"I don't get it. It's got me stumped." Rainbow Dash said.
"What's got you stumped, Rainbow?" Ash asked.
"Why are Fighting-Type Pokemon called Fighting-Type when all Pokemon fight?" She wondered.
"Well, it's true that Pokemon fight. But other Pokemon types battle in a primal way. Like biting, lunging, scratching, attacking with your tail, or growling and howling to intimidate your prey.. What makes Fighting-Types so different and unique is that they use fighting styles that we humans across the world use." Ash explained
"Oooh." Rainbow Dash got it now.
"That's why Riolu's fighting style is gonna improve when we get stronger right Riolu?"
"Rio!" Riolu responded. He was Ash second Pokemon to not stay in its ball, like Pikachu.
"You're so lucky to have gotten an egg. I want an egg too!" Dashie said. "And if I did have one, I wonder what Pokemon it would be."
Mew had peeked out of a tree, looking at Ponyville. To Mew, all of this was colorful and just waiting for some fun. The New Species Pokemon decided to blend in by transforming into a Pidgeot. It swooped down as its first target was Carousel Boutique. Once in, it transformed itself into a Sewaddle, blending in with Rarity's Sewaddle's.
"Alright. That looks wonderful! I'll have a great selection of clothing when my shop in Kalos opens up." Rarity said as her Sewaddle's had just finished making a plethora of clothes. Mew had moved over to the others by teleporting on top of one of the Sewaddle's head.
"Sewa?" It looked up. Mew then teleported to Rarity's box of hair products, messing about in them. The liquids that contained them had gone all over the place.
"Hm? Sewaddle, what are you doing?!"
Mew giggled, continuing to play around in them. Rarity used her magic to lift Mew up. Mew easily broke free of the magic as it teleported around, placing the dresses on its head.
"What in Celestia's name is wrong with one of my Sewaddle's? Nopony told me they could teleport." Mew was flying about with a dress on its head, looking like a ghost a bit. Mew then flew out of the boutique, heading on to have more fun. "Wait! Sewaddle, come back!" Rarity ran out, thinking it was one of hers. Mew had transformed into a Spearow, heading on over to the next spot, Golden Oaks Library.
Twilight had gotten a new selection of books. She had actually built a separate section just for Pokemon. She currently has over 100 books about the Pokemon World and is planning on getting more as time goes on
"There we go. That makes the 100th book. The Dragons of Truth and Ideals." Twilight said placing the final book on the top shelf. "You know, Spike. All these Pokemon, especially the legendary ones have me thinking."
"What?"
"How do you think they all came to be? Arceus I understand along with Dialga, Palkia and Giratina. But what do you think birthed the other legendaries? For the books I've read so far, Mew is possible, but it's described as being the ancestor to non-legendary Pokemon."
"Maybe because it's the first, all the others are legendaries?" Spike theorized.
"No that can't be it. If that were the case then EVERY Pokemon would be a legendary Pokemon. But there's not that many Legendary Pokemon compared to the vast majority of basic Pokemon. And I don't even know what Mew looks like. This cave painting only gives a vague description." And speaking of Mew, it had entered the library, looking at Twilight. Mew teleported inside, floating atop of Twilight. Spike, Minccy and Owlicious looked up, spotting Mew.
"Uh- Tw-Twilight.." Spike stuttered as he was pointing up at the Mythical Pokemon.
"What is it, Spike?" Twilight asked, not noticing.
"There! Above you! A Pokemon!" He exclaimed. What he and Twilight didn't know is that Mew can actually turn invisible to keep others from noticing it. So it did just that. Twilight looked up, not spotting Mew anywhere.
"I don't see any Pokemon anywhere."
"I did! It was right there! It just up and vanished! I saw it just floating about!"
"Oh yeah? Then what did it look like?"
"Like some sort of.. hairless cat!"
"A hairless cat? Alright, Spike. I think you need to rest for a bit."
"I totally saw it. Right Minccy?"
"Minccino!"
"You too Minccy?"
"Ccino!"
"Alright. I'll take your word for it. You did see a Pokemon. It must be one that can teleport then. Maybe a Ghost-Type."
Mew reappeared, messing around with Spike and Minccino by staying behind Twilight at all times. Mew laughed as it teleported out of the library.
Rarity was looking for her supposed Sewaddle. She still thought it was one of hers, even though there was an extra one, being Mew. Mew was teleporting all over the place. Transforming into other ponies Pokemon and confusing them.
"Lillipup? Two of you?!" Mayor Mare said as she rubbed her eyes, but Mew teleported away when stopped rubbing them. She thought she was going crazy.
"Bunnelby! Since when could you teleport?!"
"I didn't know you could teleport, Illumise."
"Are you feeling okay, Oddish?"
Pony after pony, Mew was messing around with. But it wanted to have more fun. So to try and entertain itself more, it spotted its next target. Rainbow Dash and Ash who were training. Mew had actually recognized Ash from when they first met back when Mewtwo appeared and the Tree of Beginning.
"Alright, Ash. Since your Riolu's a new one, I have a better chance."
"Oh yeah? I wouldn't get too confident, Dash."
"Pika!"
"Rio!"
"Come out, Whirlipede!"
"Whirli!"
"Let's do this Riolu!"
"Rollout!" Whirlipede picked up speed as it rolled towards Riolu.
"Vacuum Wave!" Riolu used the only move he knew so far. He knocked Whirlipede off course, making it roll past him.
"Jump over Whirlipede! Quick!" Riolu jumped high up, avoiding the Curlipede Pokemon. "Now Vacuum Wave!" RIolu then hit Whirlipede, knocking it back with a Vacuum Wave.
"No way! How's it managing to 1up me! It's just a baby!"
"Heh. Not so easy now is it?"
"Oh yeah? Pin Missile!" Whirlipede then fired missiles of pins towards Riolu.
"Vacuum Wave!" Riolu blew the pins away with a vacuum of wind. Despite it only knowing one move, it managed to hold its own. The benefits of syncing with Aura.
"Now charge in, Riolu!" Riolu ran forward, tackling Whirlipede back.
"Whirli!"
"Don't let it get to you Whirlipede!"
Mew wanted to see what it could do to have more fun. So it decided to come up with something that would grab everpony's attention. It transformed into Rayquaza of all Pokemon. Pikachu turned around to see 'Rayquaza right there'.
"Pika? PIKAPI?!"
"What is it Pikach- WOAH!" Ash looked up, seeing Rayquaza as it flew upwards for all ponies to see. "It's Rayquaza!"
Rarity looked up along with Twilight. They were not believing what they were seeing. Twilight recognized Rayquaza from the history books.
"T-That's Rayquaza! It's just as grand as it is in the books..."
"Oh, dear." Rarity fainted at the sight of it. Rayquaza could be seen from even Sweet Apple Acres.
"What in tarnation is that?!" Applejack shouted.
"Is it a snake?!" Apple Bloom yelled.
Even Fluttershy and the Pokemon at the Pokemon House saw this.
"Wait a second." Ash noticed something was off. "Rayquaza only flies high above the clouds so no one can see it. And it only shows up on the lower part of the sky if Groudon and Kyogre are battling. But nothing's happening to the Earth or Ocean."
"What are you getting at, Ash?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"That's not Rayquaza."
"Then who is it?" Rainbow Dash pulled out her dex, aiming at the fake Rayquaza.
"Mew. The New Species Pokemon. It is said that within Mew's cells rests the entirety of the Pokemon genetic code. Mew is so rare that many people often see it as a mirage, even by experts. It turns invisible to keep others from noticing it. Mew can also use every move, making it the ancestor of all Pokemon." The dex said, revealing it to be Mew.
"That makes sense! It's Mew!" Ash said.
"The ancestor.. of all Pokemon?" Rainbow Dash was amazed by this. "I gotta catch it!"
"That'll be tough to do. I think it's best that you let Mew do its thing, Rainbow."
Pinkie Pie was completely unaware by what was happening outside. What she didn't know is that she was about to get a new friend who shared the same energy as her. Mew turned invisible as the giant Rayquaza was gone from everypony's sights. The New Species Pokemon then smelt something good. Pastry. It was coming from SugarCube Corner. It flew towards the smell, seeing all the delicious cakes inside.
"Mew.." Mew wanted to take a bite out of those delicious cakes. To get inside, it turned into a Gengar, phasing through the walls. It then returned to its normal form as it flew around the cake. Mr and Mrs Cake didn't notice Mew fly in at all. It knew how to act stealthily. Mew thought it was unnoticed as it turned invisible. It then lifted up the cover for one of the cakes, ready to chomp down on it.
"You want some?" Pinkie had noticed Mew, even if it was indivisible. Mew was a bit startled as it jumped up. Pinkie took a piece of cake, extending it out. "Come on. You can get a good bit out of it." Mew looked down on the cake, wanting to eat one. Pinkie was kind enough to let it have one. The small Mythical Pokemon flew down, chomping on the cake. "Good isn't it?"
"Mew!" It replied as it took the cake, eating it.
"I like this Pokemon. It's all small and pink. Almost like a cat actually."
"Who are you talking to Pinkie?" Mr Cake asked, but Mew turned invisible.
"Oh, I'm just talking to- huh? Where'd it go?"
"Well.. we'll be out for a bit. Take care of the place and the kids." Mrs Cake said.
"You can count on me!" The two walked out as Mew revealed itself once more. "Hm. Guess you're kinda shy, huh? Well, don't worry. You don't have to be shy around me!"
Mew could get behind Pinkie Pie's personality. She had this special kind of fun energy that it never experienced before. Her colorful pink appearance along with her wild, puffy hair made Mew instantly pulled towards her. Mew flew around Pinkie Pie as she giggled. "I like you! What's your name?"
"Mew!"
"Mew huh? That's a funny name. Short but sweet! I'm Pinkie Pie! I see you love all these cakes? Well, you can have more!" Pinkie Pie handed Mew more cakes, along with some sweets. Mew began eating them as it felt like it would gobble them up faster by transforming into a Munchlax. It then devoured all of them, turning back into its original self " Woah.. You just transformed."
Mew nodded as it turned into Slurpuff as well.
"You can turn into other Pokemon! THAT IS AMAZING!"
"Mew!"
"You're perfect for surprise parties now that I think of it! Actually..." Pinkie Pie thought of something. Something that was ingenious to her. "You like pranks?" Mew nodded in response. They both knew what they had to do.
"I can't believe that Mew was here. Guess it found the other world too huh?"
"Pika-pika."
"That must be a super rare Pokemon right?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"The rarest!" Ash replied. Twilight ran to the two of them as she was carrying Rarity on her back. She was still in a fainted state.
"Ash! Rainbow Dash! Did you see that?! It was Rayquaza! Is that what it really looks like?"
"Well yes and no." Ash said.
"Hah?"
"That is what Rayquaza looks like, but it wasn't it. It was Mew."
"Mew? The ancestor Pokemon mew?!"
"That's the one. I know because Rayquaza doesn't just casually show up unless Groudon and Kyogre are involved."
"So that was Mew, huh? By why would it transform into Rayquaza?"
"Mew likes to play around. It's just a Pokemon that wants to have fun, ya know. Though it is kinda shy in some ways."
"Pika."
"Oh, I see."
Pinkie Pie and Mew had peeked out of the bush as they had an idea to sort of mess with everyponys heads. Mew had transformed into Minccino, acting as Twilight's Minccino.
"Hey, Twilight! Big news!" Pinkie called.
"What is it, Pinkie?"
"It's Minccy! She's... having a baby!"
"WHAT?! WHEN!? HOW?!"
"Just now."
"I-I'm not ready for this. I don't even know how Pokemon have babies!" Fluttershy appeared behind Twilight in a second once she heard 'baby'.
"What's this about a Pokemon having a baby...?"
"Fluttershy?!"
"Yeah. I just learned that Minccino is about to have a baby any minute now!"
"For real? I've never seen anything like that happen." Ash said.
"Well, you'd better believe it, Ash. I know one extra thing about Pokemon that you don't." Pinkie was obviously lying just to play a joke. "I also learned that its crucial to tend to Minccino's when they're about have their own child.
"What do we do then? How do we tend to a Pokemon if it's going to have a baby?" Fluttershy wondered.
"Time for phase 2." Pinkie said in her head. Mew then sneaked behind Pinkie Pie, transforming into a female Pikachu. Notably the heart-shaped tail. "Oh, but don't worry. I have a Pikachu here who can help. Specifically, a female Pikachu who also came all the way from the other world just to find Ash's Pikachu."
"Pika?"
Mew went over to Pikachu, giggling.
"You know this Pikachu, buddy?"
"P-Pika!" Pikachu shook its head.
"Of course he does. These two were lovers back in the day. And Pikachu did promise to be with her a long time ago. Guess you gotta make that wish come true."
"P-Pika..." Pikachu didn't know what to think. He didn't remember a Pikachu like this, even when he was a Pichu back in his younger years.
"So it'll help Minccy here with the baby while you two fulfil your past promise."
"This is a lot to take in." Twilight said.
"Mhm. If it was real."
"Huh?" They all were confused. Mew returned back to its normal form, revealing itself.
"Huh?! It was Mew all along!" Even Ash was surprised.
"Hahahaha! That was a fun little trick, huh?"
"Pinkie.." Twilight facehoofed.
"Wow. So this is what Mew looks like up close." Rainbow gazed as the ancestor Pokemon.
"Spike was right. It does look like a hairless cat."
"Mew. Mew."
"Mew says that it has to get going now." Fluttershy translated.
"Aw. Leaving already?"
"Mew. Mew, Mew."
"Mew says that it'll be back to have more fun with you Pinkie Pie."
"Well okay. If you say so."
"It was nice to see you again, Mew." Ash said.
"Pikachu!"
"Mew!" Mew waved goodbye as it flew off. The others waved it farewell as Rarity finally woke up, missing out on all of it.
As Mew was flying off, it was suddenly stopped. By a barrier of aura.
"Going somewhere?" Ghetsis's voice was nearby. Mew couldn't escape this barrier as it was suddenly grabbed by Ghetsis.
"M-MEW!" Mew was struggling to get out of Ghetsis's clutch. It tried to transform into a larger Pokemon, but Ghetsis was preventing by squeezing its neck tighter.
"I'll be needing you along with Meloetta. Having the ancestor of all Pokemon is already a huge step up from Kyurem. Hahaha!" Ghetsis walked off with Mew still in his hands. Where Ghetsis went was unknown. He had been moving about Equestria, advancing his plans in secret. Whatever it is he was up to, he was making sure that no one would get in his way and stop him this time.
Mew was still in Ghetsis's clutches. Trying everything to break free. Ghetsis was stopping it from transforming, it even tried to bite him but that was no good. Ghetsis had arrived at a small secret base he and the rest of Team Plasma set up and formed. They ditched the underground base where Emerald Aura and Cold Colt where.
"We have Mew." Ghetsis tossed Mew on the floor as it was encased in a cage. Mew transformed into a Golurk, trying to break free, however, the cage was made specifically for a Pokemon like Mew.
"I remember the old story from a few years ago. About what happened back at Kanto. Team Rocket managed to find a bit of your DNA and created Mewtwo. Don't worry. We won't be doing that. We'll be doing something far greater. You being the ancestor of all Pokemon means that you have all moves. So. I'm taking them, and giving them all to my Hydreigon."
"M-Mew?!"
"Colress. You are right when you say that its DNA can be transferred to me, correct?"
"Do you doubt me still, Lord Ghetsis? Mew's DNA dates back to the beginning of the world. Hydregion is one of the many Pokemon related to Mew, somehow, which means that Mew's DNA is linked to them. With this DNA mixer, all of Mew's genetics will be transferred to another. Giving them access to Pokemon Moves that it could never originally learn. Science truly is limitless isn't it?"
"Hmph. You know how to convince me, Colress. Then. Let's not waste time. Startup the DNA Mixer.
"Understood, Lord Ghetsis." The grunts replied. The cages had small little tendrils that wrapped around Mew. Another tendril wrapped around Hydreigon's 3 heads. arm as they were both linked now.
"Start it up."
Team Plasma had started up the DNA Mixer a small portable device that Colress came up with. Nothing too huge and recognizable. Mew felt a powerful shock go through it was in agonizing pain. All of its energy was being pulled from it suddenly. Hydreigon could feel this energy pouring from within him.
"M-MEW!"
"Yes! Excellent! A Millenium of Pokemon pouring through me!" Ghetsis thought that if he was going to be successful, he'd need more than Pokemon. In fact, why not be similar to a Pokemon. Mew was drained as it passed out on the ground. The tendrils moved away from both of them as Ghetsis felt like a changed man.
"Did it work?" A grunt asked.
"Let's see. Hydregion. Use Giga Drain." Hydreigon was now able to use moves that it could never use or even learn. All of the moves were at its disposal. It drained Mew of its energy by biting one of its heads onto Mew. The little Pokemon was already drained of its DNA, so this was hurting it even more. "Oh yes. It worked. The moves of all Pokemon belong to me now!"
"Not all. Hydreigon only has 15% of its DNA." Colress explained
"Then, we'll take it all out. But even this won't be enough. I've learned not to underestimate others. Even this pretty colorful world of ponies. So we'll need more to prepare ourselves in case everything goes awry."
"What do you suggest then?" Colress asked.
"A contingency plan of course. If everything goes awry, we will have an ace in the hole to grant us victory. I want NO failures!"
"Understood."
"Now. We will continue the next phase of our plan. Colress. Get me information of various moves. As for you Meloetta. I still haven't forgotten my plan for you."
"Melo..."
"Lord Ghetsis. What do we do about Mew?" A grunt asked.
"Who cares? It's useless now. Toss it away." Ghetsis replied.
"Understood."
Ghetsis was not one to mess around. Compared to the other threats of the Pokemon World, he was the biggest. There was no one more cruel and evil than Ghetsis.
At Canterlot, it was currently night. Celestia had an awful nightmare. What she was Ghetsis himself. This was more than just a nightmare. It was a premonition as well. What she saw was all of Equestria, even the entire world, conquered by a single man as Ghetsis stood there with his signature Hydregion.
Celestia woke up, gasping at what she saw. Passion woke up to it as Luan quickly ran to her sister's room, seeing her nightmare.
"You saw it too, didn't you sister?" Luna said.
"Y-Yes. That was horrible."
"That was more than just a nightmare, sister. A premonition is what it really was."
"A premonition? So that might happen..."
"Indeed. Whoever that strange human and Pokemon were, they are a monstrous threat to us all. More so than anything Equestria has and will ever face."
"We have to stop this. Before it becomes a reality."
"If we knew where this individual was or when they'll show up."
"Then this is a situation that requires everypony's coordination. In the morning, we will make a grand announcement for all of Equestria to hear. Everypony from every country and continent will also receive it."
"Kirlia..?"
"Passion. I know you can feel it too. This is something that might be beyond even us."
Morning came as all ponies gathered up to hear this announcement. Twilight was summoned to be with the princess, as Celestia had to tell her about the premonition.
"What is it, Princess Celestia? What could be so important that everypony be here?"
"I had a premonition Twilight."
"A premonition?!"
"Some ponies can see into the future when they dream. Essentially foreshadowing future events." Luna explained.
"What I saw was horrible. It was only for a split-second, but it was the worst-case scenario. I saw all of Equestria, conquered by a single individual. A human and his Pokemon. I couldn't make out the rest, but I know what I saw."
"So then, where is this guy?"
"We don't know. He could be anywhere. That's why we must keep watch over all of Equestria. Including other countries. This threat is larger than life."
"Larger... than life?"
"Twilight. This is one problem that I advise you to stay out of. It is beyond even you."
"But, what if I can help? Me and my friends will be able to help like we always do!"
"I know. But it's just... this premonition is unlike anything I've ever felt before. I don't want you getting hurt. None of your friends." Celestia was genuinely worried for Twilight. Never before has Celestia been so worried in her life. "If it comes down it, you and your friends will join in."
"I understand."
Celestia, Luna and Twilight walked out to the balcony to give the announcement.
"Citizens of Equestria. We thank you for being here. We have summoned you all here because of a premonition I have had. A great disaster is closing in on us." When Celestia said that they all started to worry about this great disaster. "I know everypony is worried. I am too. This is something greater than any threat Equestria has faced or will ever face in the future. We will all have to work together to be careful. If I am to have this premonition again, I can give the full details on who this mysterious human and Pokemon are."
"In the meantime. All must stay cautious. If you are to see anything irregular, we advise you to rush towards Canterlot and warn the guards." Luna said.
"We do not know when this disaster will arrive. So for now, keep caution at all times." Celestia finished off as she and Luna walked off.
"What do you think it may be?" A pony chattered.
"It can't be just one human and Pokemon, it has to be more." A woman replied.
"What if they've been in front of our faces this whole time!" Panic was stirring up in others as they grew weary of this apparent disaster. Twilight had walked out to her friends who were waiting.
"Twilight. What do you think of this?" Applejack asked.
"I don't know. But Princess Celestia said that we shouldn't get involved."
"Why not?" Pinkie Pie said.
"This is greater than us all. Beyond us. You heard what she said. It's a beyond anything Equestria has ever faced. And she doesn't want us getting hurt in the process."
"Well, when you put it like that..." Fluttershy mumbled.
"We have to stay out of this one, girls. It might be for the best."
Ponyville, Pokemon House.
"Aw, do you have to go Dawn?"
"Pika.."
"No need to worry, Ash. I'm only going to the contests that just got made in Johto. Besides, we have the gateways. We can see each other easily."
"Piplup."
"Oh yeah.. hehe right."
"I'll see you all around. Bye Pikachu! Bye Ash! Bye Brock! By everyone!" Dawn waved goodbye to all the Pokemon at the Pokemon House and everyone as she walked off, heading to the nearest rift.
"By the way. I wonder what everyone was called to Canterlot for?"
"Probably something major. We could've gone." Brock replied.
"Pikachu."
Fluttershy had returned back to Pokemon House as Pikachu went over to greet her.
"Oh. Hello Pikachu. Nice to see you." Pikachu jumped on her head.
"So. How'd it go? What was it about?" Brock asked.
"It was of a great disaster that is coming. Everypony needs to stay where they are until Celestia and Luna solve it."
"Great disaster, huh?"
"Pika-Pika.."
"Well. Better not worry about it too much. If the sisters have got it then we can just relax right?"
"Pikachu!"
"You're right, Ash. By the way, I want to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"It's about what Twilight feared back with the Munna situation. Remember? She's afraid that once both worlds return to normal, our friendship will disappear. Like it was never meant to exist and it was all fake."
"Yeah, I learned about it. She's still kinda worried about it."
"Well. It has me worried too. Will you forget us when the Rift leaves?"
"Are you kidding? You all are my best friends. Even if we return back to our worlds, I'll never forget you guys. All of you. You've shown me a world that I never thought existed. And I can't wait to learn more about it. There's still so much more I wanna see. And I want to see it with you all, ya know?" Ash smiled along with Pikachu.
"Yeah. You said it!" Fluttershy hugged Ash as he petted her head.
"Hmph. You always know what to say, Ash." Brock smiled.
The Ghetsis disaster may be one that will shake the foundation of Equestria, and they may leave each other once the Rift is done. But the bond that was created here will always last. And it will continue to grow.
How serene. So quiet. So peaceful. Nothing now can ever go wrong. Is what would be the case, if the Pokemon World weren't merged with this world.
Fluttershy poked her head out a tree, snooping around.
"I see it. This is a nighttime only thing. I heard that some Pokemon evolve only during the night. I can't wait!" Fluttershy was given this information by Brock as she was looking for a Gligar.
"What are you doing?" Darkrai's voice went to Fluttershy's ear as she jumped out of the tree, squealing.
"Eeep! Oh. it's just you Darkrai."
"Is there any reason why you're inside a tree?"
"I'm looking for Pokemon that evolve during the night. I want to see it for my own eyes."
"That'll be tough. Very few Pokemon evolve at nighttime. Only 9 of them do."
"Just 9? Oh, then it must be rare. What are you doing out here Darkrai?"
"I enjoy the night. I'm more healthy and energized in it. "
"Oh. So you count as a night Pokemon. I wonder what else counts as one..."
"Only those associated with the night. Like my opposite, Cresselia. It brings dreams instead of nightmares."
"Well, I'm sure you two get along."
"Cresselia's and Darkrai's don't get along at all." He replied.
"Oh."
"I'll leave you to your night evolution." Darkrai floated away, blending in with the shadows. He flew through the night skies of Ponyville, seeing everypony in their beds asleep. Besides Fluttershy, there was one pony who was out at night, snooping around as well. They weren't from Ponyville either. Darkrai moved down to the light blue-coloured unicorn.
This unicorn was known as Cobalt Seeker. A treasure hunter who only looks for the highest pieces of treasure. Preferably undiscovered treasure.
"This is it. This the spot right here!" He stopped as he looked down on the grass. He used his magic to get out a drill, spinning it on the grass. "Come to papa..." The drilling was loud enough to reach the houses as ponies opened their windows, irritated.
"HEY! KEEP IT DOWN! WE'RE TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!"
"Sorry! My bad!"
Darkrai floated down to talk to Cobalt Seeker. Wanting to know what he was up to.
"So. Any reason why you're here late at night?"
"Ah! Oh geez! C-C-Can I help you...?" Colbat was scared of Darkrai's appearance. Like anypony else would be.
"You seem to be causing a bit of a ruckus with that drill of yours."
"Oh, come on now. I'm just a treasure hunter. I found out that some high-quality treasure was deep in Ponyville."
"Really now?"
"Yes really. And the best part is... it's recent. Ever since these two worlds collide, some new treasure came here as well. I've been collecting things from the other world as well. My collection is gonna be the most diverse and unique treasure collection of all time. Even pirates are gonna be jealous of my stash! They'll all be jealous of Cobalt Seeker!"
"Hm. So that's why you search for treasure. Because of your name and your uh... Cutie Mark." Darkrai isn't used to saying very frilly and cute names.
"Mhm."
"That makes me wonder. How is that you all are named after your destiny?"
"Well, I'm not too sure how. I mean, we're given our names before we even get our cutie marks as young foals."
This confused Darkrai. Considering how many ponies are in this world, how every single of them are named after their destiny before they even get their mark is a mystery to him.
"I'll have to know more about this." Darkrai went into the shadows, leaving.
"Alright you do-" Cobalt Seeker looked around as he didn't see Darkrai. "What the... Where'd he go?"
Princess Luna had just finished guarding over the dream world. Nopony really had many nightmares tonight, so it was a quick one this time. Darkrai, emerging from the shadows wanted to talk to Luna about Cutie Marks. She was an alicorn and has lived for many years, so she has to know.
"Oh. Darkrai. Can I help you?"
"Luna. I have a question. How is it that ponies are named after the Cutie Marks, even though they are born without one at first? I assume you know since you are thousands of years old."
"Actually, even I do not know myself. It is a mystery on how the parents know what to name us. But I have a theory."
"A theory?"
"I believe that my sister uses some sort of spell to be at multiple places at once and predicts the young one's cutie mark, thus giving them their name. It is only a theory but that is my assumption."
"Guess I may never know. Oh well."
"By the way. You're awfully active lately Darkrai, even in the morning. Why is that?"
"I've grown accustomed to this world as well. If anything, this feels like a second home. "
"Oh? Could it be that the shady and mysterious Darkrai is secretly a softie?" Luna playfully teased.
"W-What?! Nonsense! I am not soft!" Darkrai crossed his arms, trying to act all cool.
"Sure you aren't." Luna giggled as she nudged Darkrai by hitting his back with her hoof. "Come with me Darkrai. For the meantime, I can show you more of my life."
Luna had led Darkrai to Canterlot. Inside was Luna's room and in there were heaps of Pokeballs. Pokeballs, everywhere.
"What is this...?"
"As you can see, I have taken an interest in Pokemon. Specifically owning a Pokemon of my own. Hundreds even. So I have been gathering Pokeballs from the other world. But no luck."
"How come?"
"I just cannot understand how Pokemon are caught. I am throwing the ball but they constantly break out."
"You'll have to battle them in order to wear them down. Then you can capture them. Especially the rare kind."
"I see. However, I do not have a Pokemon of my own. My sister already has her Kirlia. It evolved not too long ago even from that small little shy Ralts."
"Sister jealousy, I presume?"
"I am not jealous. I just do not want to be outshined by my sister. As I always have been..." Luna lowered her head. Darkrai decided to do her a favor. The time they bonded ever since they both met at Nightmare Night, and helped defend ponies from a controlled Munna had made Darkrai appreciate Luna.
"Then. I will let you catch me." He said.
"Y-You will? Surely you jest."
"No. I'm serious. Luna, you've proven yourself to be a good friend to me. I am willing to let you claim me as your Pokemon."
"My first Pokemon." Luna was squeeing deep inside, trying to act cool in front of Darkrai. "EEE MY FIRST POKEMON!" She said in her head. "Very well." Luna used her magic to grab a Pokeball, tossing it at Darkrai as he entered it.
1..2..3.. Get!
"I-I can't believe it..." Luna let Darkrai out of his Pokeball.
"Congratulations. I am your Pokemon now."
"Oh, this is most wonderful! Now I can catch as many Pokemon as I want! Ehehehehe!" Luna pranced around as Darkrai watched. Luna noticed she was prancing in front of her as she blushed. "Sorry."
"If you want to catch them, then we'd best head out. But I don't want to play aggressively with the Pokemon."
"Of course not. I'd never battle with aggression. Now! Let us catch them all!" Luna exclaimed.
Nighttime, 4 hours till the morning comes. Luna was ready to catch many Pokemon. She used her magic to grab a heap of Pokeballs, ready to launch them.
"What shall we catch first? Oh! That one!" Luna pointed her hoof at a Gligar who was eyeing them down. Gligar are Pokemon that silently fly through the air and strike their opponents from above. But Luna noticed it, so it was time to get physical.
"Gligar!"
"Haha! You wish to challenge ME?" Luna exclaimed. Darkrai stepped forward, ready to act. "Now then... w-what do I do?"
"Command me to use moves."
"Uh. Which moves do you know?" Luna was clueless about this. She was a greenhorn to this.
"Dark Void. Dark Pulse. Ice Beam. Double Team. Hope you can remember all of that."
"Of course I can. I shall start us off. Darkrai! Dark Pulse!" Darkrai made his first move. So did Gligar. The Fly Scorpion Pokemon flew at Darkrai but was stopped by a pulse of darkness. "Haha! I got a hit in!" Gligar recovered as it used Acrobatics to move all over the place, nimbly striking Darkrai. Darkrai barely felt this.
"Retaliate, now," Darkrai said.
"Right! Use Double Team!" Darkrai was moving rapidly, creating illusionary copies of himself to throw Gligar off.
"Gli? Gli?"
"Now umm... attack with Ice Beam!" Darkrai then fired a beam of ice that hit Gligar, dealing some hefty damage. Gligar was a bit dizzy as it wasn't balanced this time.
"Now is your chance. Throw a Pokeball!"
"Oh! Go Pokeball!" Luna tossed a Pokeball as it hit Gligar, sending it inside.
1...2...3... Get!
"I caught a second one! HAHA! I am one Pokemon above yours, sister!" Luna yelled in the sky. She felt like she accomplished something great. "That was fun. So this is the thrill that Ash Ketchum feels when he battles. It is amazing!" The thrill of Pokemon Battles had reached even royalty itself. Not even they can resist the adrenaline it brings. "We shall catch more! I shall construct a team worthy of the Princess of the Night!"
"If you say so." Darkrai went along with this. He felt Luna's determination after all. They went on, battling and catching Pokemon constantly. Mostly Normal-Types and some Psychic and Water-Types. Time was running out. Luna had to lower the moon in a few minutes. So she decided to go for one more capture. And she wanted to make this a big one. Plus she was down to her last Pokeball.
"I shall capture one last Pokemon before I lower the moon."
"Then which one will it be?"
"How about... That one!" Luna looked over to a Xatu. A pretty formidable Pokemon. And for good reason. They can see into the future with their four eyes. Although they don't have the power or just lack the will to change anything about the future. Probably why they don't move much.
"A Xatu. This might be tough."
"With you on my side, there is no challenge to difficult for us. Now! Use Ice Beam!" Darkrai fired an Ice Beam, but Xatu saw this coming. It still had the will to avoid getting hit. Xatu retaliated by using Air Slash. Darkrai was hit, being pushed back. "Use Double Team!" Darkrai created illusionary afterimages of itself. This didn't matter to Xatu. Its great vision let it see the real Darkrai easily. It used Air Slash in all directions, hitting the real Darkrai and launching him into a tree.
"Darkrai!" Luna yelled.
"I'm fine." Darkrai got back up easily.
"This Pokemon is a tricky one. But, no matter! Dark Pulse!" Darkrai sent a pulse of darkness towards Xatu. The Mystic Pokemon flew into the skies, avoiding the pulse. It then unleashed another Air Slash. "Look out!" Darkrai moved away from the Air Slash, avoiding it. "Ice Beam!" The Ice Beam that was fired raced towards Xatu. The Psychic-Flying-Type used Reflect to create a screen of energy. The beam had been reflected away.
"No good."
"I have to finish this fast. What would Ash Ketchum do?" Luna was thinking of any wild strategy Ash would do that he normally pulls. "Of course! Darkrai! Get in close with Dark Pulse!" Luna did not use Dark Void out of all his moves since she didn't want to bring nightmares to the Pokemon. And neither did Darkrai. Darkrai closed in on Xatu as the Mystic Pokemon stopped it with Psychic. "Now! Use it!" Darkrai used his Dark Pulse, even if he was stuck in place. The pulse hit Xatu, breaking its concentration.
"Finish it with Ice Beam!" Darkrai was much closer as it fired an Ice Beam, point-blank. Xatu was sent back down to the ground. It was on the verge of fainting. "Here goes! Go Pokeball!" Luna tossed her last Pokeball as it hit Xatu, sending it in.
1...2...3... This one was taking much longer than the rest. Luna was sweating a bit, waiting for the click to happen.
GOT IT!
"I did it! I have caught a Xatu! I now have more Pokemon that anypony in Equestria. HUZZAH!"
"Congratulations, Luna. You did well for your first time. Then again, I expect no less from royalty."
"Thank you, Darkrai. But, I have to thank you as well. Because of you, I have managed to catch many Pokemon that I would've never done if you weren't here."
"Touching. Now come on. You have a moon to lower."
"Oh! Right!" Luna flew off, returning back to Canterlot as Darkrai went into the shadows, following her back.
On this night, a new trainer emerged in the form of royalty. And with the most Pokemon that anypony in Equestria. Princess Luna's Pokemon adventures are just starting as well. As is her powerful bond and friendship with Darkrai. Like other friendships, it grows.
Back at Canterlot, Day. Celestia was walking in the hallways as she heard numerous sounds coming from Luna's room.
"Luna?" She went towards her room, opening the door as she saw all the Pokemon that Luna caught just free out of their Pokeballs, all over the place. "What in the..?"
"Sister! Have you met my Pokemon?" Luna grinned as a Stufful landed on her head. Canterlot was going to get much more lively now. Then again, that's what makes Pokemon fun. There never is a dull moment with them around.
"It's time I taught you about Double Battles, Rainbow." Ash said.
"Double Battles?"
"Mhm! At times they're more fun that just solo 1 on 1 battles. They can help develop the bond between both of your Pokemon. So they work better as a team, ya know."
"Pikachu!"
"Oh, that does sound kinda fun actually."
"And to get us started. I invited Hollow over to help me."
"Glad I could help. The kids can watch this go down as well." Hollow replied as he had bought over the young foals from Canterlot.
"Hope you're watching too CMC?"
"Of course! We wouldn't miss this at all!" The three of them said.
"Show us something awesome!" Scootaloo yelled.
"Yeah what she said!" Sunrise Sprint replied.
"We will. Fluttershy. Would it be okay if we had a double battle with some of the Pokemon here?" Ash asked.
"I won't mind. I'll them up later." She was okay with this.
"Great. Hey, Sandslash, Simipour. Wanna help us?" Ash asked the two Pokemon.
"Sand!"
"Simi..."
"They said they would love to." Fluttershy translated.
"Awesome. Then Gengar. I choose you!" Ash sent out his Gengar.
"Gen...Gar!" Gengar's appearance still freaked out the others a bit.
"I'll go with you Bagon." Hollow had sent out one of his own, Bagon.
"Ooh. What is THAT?" Rainbow Dash pulled out the dex.
"Bagon. The Rock Head Pokemon. Frustrated by its lack of wings, Bagon goes around smashing things with its rocky head. Its single-minded pursuit of flight appears to be genetically motivated."
"I see. Wait, that thing's a Dragon-Type?" Rainbow said.
"You all ready?" Brock asked, being the referee as always.
"Ready!" Both Ash and Hollow said.
"Sandslash!"
"Simipour."
"In that case. Battle Start!"
"Let's start off strong! Bagon! Dragon Claw!"
"Gengar! Ice Punch!" Both Pokemon floated and ran towards the opposing side. Simipour had protected it and Sandlash with Aqua Ring, enveloping them both in a veil of water. Sandslash had moved in, meeting both of their attacks with its own by using Fury Swipes. It was pushed back by the overwhelming force of the two. Simipour pitched in by using Scald of Gengar.
"Gen!" Gengar was sent back, but he shrugged it off easily.
"Gengar! Shadow Ball!" Gengar retaliated by throwing a Shadow Ball at Simipour, knocking it back. Sandslash used Dig to move under the ground.
"Keep a lookout for Sandslash, Bagon!"
"Bagon..." Sandslash was rapidly moving around in the earth, ready to strike at any time. Hollow could see the dirt being kicked up dig. "There! Dragon Breath!" Bagon charged up a flame hotter than fire as it unleashed Dragon Breath on the ground. This heat reached Sandslash as it could take it, coming out of the ground. "Now! Dragon Claw!" Bagon then hit Sandslash in its belly, sending it flying into a pile of leaves.
The Aqua Ring had healed Sandslash, preventing it from fully going down. Simipour had gone up to Gengar, using tickle on him.
"Gen? G-G-Gen!" Gengar was laughing as he was getting overwhelmed by the tickling.
"Oh geez! Gengar! Use your intangibility." Gengar did just. Using its Ghostly prowess the tickle phased through him. "Now! Night Shade!" Gengar caused a mirage in front of Simipour as a black and purple bolt of shadows hit Simipour, knocking it out. It was up to Sandslash now. The Mouse Pokemon had curled up into a ball, using Rollout.
"Look out!" Hollow shouted. Sandslash was moving at pretty quick speeds as it was hitting the two of them on the way. Its sharp spikes are an effective weapon next to its claws.
"That Sandslash is moving pretty fast. It's all over the place."
"What do we do then, Ash?"
"I got it! We'll mix up moves! Gengar! Use Psychic to carry Bagon!" A crazy command but Gengar went with it.
"Huh?! I thought you two were supposed to be on the same team!" Rainbow was confused.
"Oh, I get it. Bagon! Dragon Claw!" Hollow knew what Ash was going for. Gengar led Bagon to Sandslash, making it move faster thanks to Psychic. Bagon had come in contact with Sandslash, swiping a green claw of draconic energy onto Sandslash. The brittle spikes on Sandslash broke as an impact occurred, causing a small smoke cloud. Sandslash had fainted from the attack.
"Both Simipour and Sandslash are unable to battle! So the winners are Gengar and Bagon! Along with Ash and Hollow!" Brock declared.
"Yes!" Ash and Hollow high fived each other over their victory.
"That was just as fun as a single battle! You were right, Ash!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"I wanted it to be longer though..." Sunrise said, wanting more.
"That's an example of double battles. They're even more fun when it's four trainers involved." Hollow said.
"We wanna do double battles too!" Scootaloo yelled.
"Mhm! Four of us can be in!" Apple Bloom followed.
"The children seem very eager. It would be nice if you let them try, don't you think?"
"Right you are, Fluttershy. It'll be great to advance their Pokemon battle experience at such a young age." Hollow replied.
"Then how about this! Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, how about you two team up."
"Woohoo! Thanks Ash!"
"And uhh... what's your name again?" Ash couldn't remember Sunrise's name.
"It's Sunrise Sprint."
"Right, right! You can team up with Rainbow Dash."
"No way, Ash." Rainbow Dash declined. Surprisingly she wasn't up for this.
"Why not?"
"Pika?"
"I'm a bit too experienced for these kids. I'd totally beat them in a few seconds and it wouldn't be fair for the other team, ya know." Dashie explained. Ash shrugged his shoulders, going along with her reason.
"Then who'd like to be Sunrise's partner?"
"Come on. Anypony wanna tag with me?" The young ones were a bit nervous around Sunrise. He was a brash unicorn who was very rough and tumble. So he wasn't exactly the number one pony to be friends with unless you enjoy that kind of personality "Seriously? What are you all, chicken?"
"I'll team up with you." There was only one pony who wasn't nervous to be around Sunrise. The only pony who can actually keep an eye on his rough personality. A young blue filly unicorn by the name of Sapphire Flash. "Since you're kind of a lost cause." She taunted.
"Who you calling lost cause?!" Sunrise retorted. They usually argued like this. Sapphire would always say the right thing to get under his skin.
"Alright, you two. Since you both have... interesting chemistry, you two will team up." Hollow decided to let these two be a team since they are the most rambunctious of his class. "Hope your Pokemon are ready."
"I and my Petilil are ready, Mr Hollow." She replied.
"Well, my Timburr is more than ready! Always!" Sunrise replied.
Both sides bought out their Pokemon. Scootaloo her Ponyta and Apple Bloom one of the Applins from Sweet Apple Acres. Sunrise and his Timburr, Sapphire and her Petilil.
"Ready?" Brock asked.
"Ready!" All four of them said.
"Battle Start!"
"Watch a real trainer at work, Sapphire. Timburr! Hammer Arm!" Timburr raised up its huge wooden beam that it always carries with it. It ran forward, ready to slam it down.
"Oh. Ponyta. Flame Charge!" Scootaloo wasn't too bothered as Ponyta charged into Timburr with flames surrounded around it. Timburr was knocked back with its wooden beam hitting its head.
"Nice start," Sapphire smirked. "We'll try this my way. Petilil. Use Sleep Powder." Sapphire went for a more technical approach. Instead of getting all physical, she made Petili shoot out a drowsy sleeping powder that sprinkled onto Ponyta. The Fire Horse Pokemon had fallen asleep due to this.
"Huh?!" This was new to Scootaloo. She didn't know of status moves. Neither did Rainbow Dash. This was her first time seeing one.
"You put it to sleep?!" Sunrise exclaimed.
"Mhm. I'm more of a strategy girl, you know." She said with pride.
"Oh come on, Ponyta! Wake up!" Scootaloo yelled trying to wake her Pokemon up. "Apple Bloom! Do something!"
"Oh! Right! Applin! Dragon Breath!" Apple Bloom commanded. Sunrise and Sapphire turned their heads to that. It knew a move that strong? Applin unleashed a blue fire that missed the two Pokemon by their small little grass hair and skin.
Sunrise was quaking after seeing that.
"We got super lucky. We won't let that hit us next time! Quick Petilil! Use Sleep Powder on Applin as well!"
"I don't think so! Applin! Tackle!" Applin rolled towards Petili, tacking it before it could unleash the Sleep Powder. Sunrise shook his head, snapping out of the Dragon Breath.
"Timburr! Hit Ponyta with a Hammer Arm!" Timburr rushed in, hitting its beam on Ponyta's head.
"Come on! You gotta wake up Ponyta!" Scootaloo pleaded. What she didn't know is that sometimes, Pokemon moves can wake Ponyta up, but not for a while.
"Keep hitting it!" Timburr kept swinging its beam, constantly striking Ponyta. That amount of hits had caused it to wake up as it retaliated with a buck to the face, making Timburr rollback.
"Yes! You're awake!"
"Pony!"
"I know how dangerous that Petili is now. It's cute but that Sleep Powder is no joke. Quick! Flame Charge!" Ponyta rushed in, ready to hit Petilil.
"Petilil quick! Stun Spore!" By an inch, Petili had stunned Ponyta with a spore. The flames grazed Petili, dealing tiny damage to it. "Phew."
"Oh come on!" Scootaloo yelled. She was starting to get annoyed with these status moves. "Ponyta! Power through it!"
"Like I'd let you. Petilil! Energy Ball!" Sapphire's Petilil had one attacking move. Energy Ball. It hit Ponyta face first, but not that much damage was dealt to it.
"Timburr! Swing your beam around like crazy!" Sunrise yelled. Timburr swung his beam around, moving like a whirlwind. He struck both Ponyta and Applin, knocking them back. "Awesome job!"
"Don't worry Scootaloo. Applin here can finish this in one go. Dra-"
"Sleep Powder!" Sapphire cut her off, knowing how dangerous that move was. The sprinkles of sleep powder were spread out once more. Scootaloo could not let this happen a second time.
"Ponyta! Hold your breath in and use Ember!!" Ponyta did just that. It blocked out its nose to avoid the Sleep Powder from entering its nose. It then spat an ember at Petilil, hitting it. This dealt a ton of damage, actually knocking out Petilil.
"HAH?!" Sapphire was taken aback by this. Her technical strategy was beaten by simple nose blocks.
"Heh. So much for technical. We do this my way!" Timburr! Use Pound!" Timburr only knew two moves. So it used the second one it knew at the moment. Running in, it smashed its beam on Ponyta's head.
"Kick it away!" Scootaloo commanded. Ponyta turned around, kicking the Muscular Pokemon away. That was enough to make Timburr almost faint, but not quite.
"Yikes! Come on Timburr! Stay strong!"
"I'll finish this. Dragon Breath!" Apple Bloom got the final hit in as Applin unleashed a blue flame that engulfed Timburr, making it faint for real.
"Both Petilil and Timburr are unable to battle! The winners are Ponyta and Applin! Which means the victors are Scootaloo and Apple Bloom!"
"Cutie Mark Crusaders Pokemon Victory!" Scootaloo and Apple Bloom both clashed hoofs, congratulating each other. Compared to other Pokemon battles, this one was a bit on the slow side. But they are still young trainers so it is to be expected.
"Bummer."Sunrise was upset as he returned his Timburr. "I could've totally won that if it was just one on one!"
"Yeah right. You're all brute force. You wouldn't last a second against strategic Pokemon. Kinda fitting that you have a Fighting-Type." Sapphire said with disdain.
"Huh?! What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Alright, you two. Calm it down. Don't let that loss get to you so easily." Hollow said. "You're still young and new trainers. Like those two. You've still got a lot to learn. But hey, that's why I'm your teacher."
"You're right, Mr Hollow," Sapphire replied.
"I guess..." So did Sunrise, but he was still bitter about the loss.
"Ash! We won our first battle!" Scootaloo and Apple Bloom ran up to Ash with huge smiles on their face.
"Great isn't it? Pokemon Battles are the best!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Very soon, you'll be great trainers if you keep on going."
"And we're gonna have a great team too!" They both yelled.
"I wanted to join in though." Sweetie Belle had her hoof on her face, little sour about not getting to join in.
"Well, we'd best be getting along. After all, it's a short day today and no classes tomorrow. Thanks for having us Ash, Fluttershy Brock."
"The pleasure is all ours Hollow. Come and visit anytime." Fluttershy said.
"Come on kids."
"Yes, Mr Hollow." They all headed back to Canterlot, finishing for the day.
"That's another day done. And that's my cue."
"Your cue? What do you mean Brock?" Ash asked.
"I gotta move on Ash. My job as a Pokemon Breeder is needed elsewhere. But it was fun working here for the meantime."
"Aw man.."
"Pika.."
"Don't worry. As Dawn said, we'll always have the gateways, so we can see each other at any time, no problem. And I'll be there to watch you at the Pokemon World Championships."
"I'll see you there too, Brock. Good luck. Pokemon Breeder Brock."
"You too. Pokemon Master Ash." They both shook their hands, knowing that they will both end up achieving their respective dreams and goals. And once more they both went their separate ways.
"You know Ash. You and your friends are something else." Fluttershy smiled.
"Yeah, they are."
"And I think I know what my new goal is." She looked up.
"You do?"
"Pika?"
"Mhm. I want to help other Pokemon out there. I want to see more Pokemon, experience ones that I have never even heard of or even thought of existing. That's what I want to do in the future."
"Sounds adventurous. Just what we like! Right buddy?"
"Pikachu!"
Fluttershy's new goal has been set. To venture and learn more about the beauty of Pokemon.
Somewhere out there in Equestria, near a desolate and dried up lake. Three girls whose bodies have been morphed due to unexpected events were cold. They were 3 ponies, but they were not ponies before. Their bodies were cold as they were walking through the harsh lands.
"Hurry up you two. We have to get out of here somehow." It was the Dazzlings. A few weeks and a month ago, Twilight had entered another world where there were humans. That was its own story, but these three have ended up back in Equestria, but not in their normal forms.
Hearth's Warming is here. For Equestria, this is the most important celebration, even surpassing the Summer Sun Celebration. Because it was this day that Equestria was founded. For the Pokemon World, this is known as Christmas.
This is usually were ponies are frantically moving about, trying to find the best gift for their friends. And today, Twilight Sparkle is aiming to give an amazing gift to somepony while having everypony else coordinate for it.
"You sounded pretty serious Twilight. What is it?" Applejack asked. All her friends were here, seeing that Twilight was in a deep focus today.
"Yeah. Is it another problem we gotta smash in?" Rainbow Dash said.
"No girls. I called you all here because this is major! It something of the utmost importance!"
"Yes?" They all said in unison, leaning forward.
"We have to figure out the best gift ever!"
"Oh. Is that it?" Rarity replied.
"IS THAT IT?!" Pinkie Pie yelled. "THIS IS IMPORTANT! The best gift ever is the apex of parties! The highest form of surprises!"
"Who is it for, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.
"It's for Ash. I want it to be a thank you gift."
"A thank you gift? Well, why didn't you say so in the first place, darling? Oh, I just love those kinds of gifts." Rarity gushed.
"So what did you have in mind?" Aj asked her.
"That's the thing. I don't know what we should get him."
"Well, he's obviously done a lot for us ever since our worlds crossed. After all, he's saved our flanks a lot recently. Even saving your life for the cost of his." Applejack said to her.
"That's why it has to be the best thing ever. It'll show how much appreciation we have. Ash had helped everypony here for a long time now. Both him and Pikachu deserve a great gift."
"We'll help you, without a doubt Twilight." Pinkie placed her hoof on her alicorn friend. "Let's give Ash a gift he'll never forget!"
Canterlot, Celestia's throne room.
Celestia had received a letter sent by Twilight. Even she would be included if she was up for it.
"What's this now? From Twilight." Opening it, she read the letter.
Dear Princess Celestia. I hope you're not too busy, but I would request that you help me and my friends plan a gift for Ash. A thank you gift for all he's done for us. It would have to be the best thing ever. Hope you understand. Twilight Sparkle."
"A thank you gift, huh? Makes me realise we haven't given her friends one for all their past work. But I can help with this. Oh, Luna!" Celestia called out to her sister, who was occupied with the Pokemon she had caught. Hearth's Warming is the one time when the two sisters can kick back and relax, take a load off their time.
"Yes, sister?" She poked her head out of the door."
"Firstly, could you please keep them inside their Pokeballs, and secondly... how would you like to help with a great gift?"
Celestia wasn't the only one who got this message, even at the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor and Cadence got the message as well.
"We'd love to help them. Great gifts are always a treat." Cadence said.
"How come I don't have a great gift? I'm her BBBFF." Shining Armor got a bit jealous. "But I am grateful. He did save Twily's life twice now."
"Don't worry. You'll get your own great gift dear."
Two Kingdoms were now working together to give a gift to a kid and his electric mouse. But, that is just the extent of friendship after all. As for Ash and Pikachu, they were completely unaware of this. What they were doing right now?
"Whew. Ponyville sure is chilly at this time of the year."
"Pika."
Ash was wearing his Sinnoh Snow coat to protect him from the cold.
"Wonder how everyone celebrates Christmas here. We gotta check this out!"
"Pikachu!"
"Riolu!"
Ash and his two Pokemon were headed this way. What did they didn't know is that everypony was putting in their effort to get Ash the best gift. Twilight had convinced all of Ponyville to assist her. They were grateful to him as well.
BonBon looked out the window and saw the trainer outside.
"He's here! What do we do?!" She turned to Twilight.
"Make sure he doesn't realise we're getting him a great gift. Whatever it takes!" Twilight demanded. "Pinkie Pie! You know what to do!"
"Okie Dokie!" Pinkie Pie saluted as she zoomed out of the Town Hall, were everypony was working on the gift.
"Oh hey, Pinkie Pie."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Heeeeyyy Ash! Watcha doing?" She leaned on his shoulder.
"I'm just here to talk to my best friends! And this little newborn!" She placed her hoof on Riolu' face, nuzzling it.
"R-Rio.."
"So what are you all doing? Is this your Christmas?"
"Mhm! Everypony's super busy on Hearth's Warming! We're all getting gifts for each other and preparing for Hearth's Warming Eve." Pinkie explained.
"Sounds great. I wanna check up on what decorations are like on the outsi-"
"NO!" Pinkie yelled.
"W-Why not?"
"Pika?"
"We have other important business to attend to!" Just then, Pinkie Pie spotted Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Shining Armor arriving in Ponyville. Shining Armor looked at Pinkie Pie, telling her to not say a word. "Come with me! How about I show you Hearth's Warming treats!"
"Uh sure." Pinkie Pie dragged Ash, leading him to SugarCube Corner, just to occupy him. Amethyst Star peeked out, seeing them enter.
"Coast is clear. He's occupied with Pinkie." Amethyst said.
"Excellent. Now. Does everypony have their ideas for the best gift?" Twilight asked them all.
"Well we thought of it and we've come to a conclusion that it could be anything really." Rarity answered.
"If it's Ash we're talking about then he'd like something cool! I mean he is cool." Scootaloo exclaimed.
"Cool. Okay.." Twilight was writing notes down, making sure to get any valuable information. "Anything else?"
"He sure does have a love for food. Like.. a lot. He ate like an animal once." Applejack suggested.
"Food. Got it. This is gonna be an odd selection."
"Ooh! Oooh! He has a lot of cute Pokemon back at Oak's Lab. So I bet he loves cute things just as much as he adores cool Pokemon." said Sweetie Belle.
"So cool, food and cute. We're making progress everypony. What about you, Princess Celestia? Luna? Any ideas?"
"Well from what we've seen of Ash he tends to be the type to have a strong sense of justice, especially when it comes to Pokemon. He'll put in every amount of effort he has to help them, even if they aren't his." Celestia said.
"He also has no fear of what it seems. He was willing to casually talk to me when I had returned on Nightmare Night. Other than my sister, nopony has referred to me as just Luna. He sees us all as not royalty, but friends it seems."
"Same here. He helped me break free of the spell that Emerald Aura cast on me." Darkrai chimed in.
"From what we've said, Ash is an individual who'll always help others. Hope that helps." Celestia said.
"It's perfect. This has just given me an idea! We can give him a gift based on what he did and taught us. Anypony got anything else?"
At SugarCube Corner.
"Bring em out Slurpuff!" Pinkie Pie yelled as the Slurpuff brought some Hearth's Warming food.
"Oooh."
"Pika."
"Rio." The three of them were gawking at the buffet in front of them.
"Looks good huh? This is a Hearth's Warming Feast!"
"Awesome! It looks so yummy.." Ash, Pikachu and Riolu were ready to pry their hands on the food. "You two. Come out and take a look at this." Ash had sent out Gengar and Dragonite to have a bite. If Gengar could bite that is. "But wait. Don't we have to wait for the right time to eat a feast at this time of year?"
"Nah! This one's a freebie. Go on ahead. Eat away!"
"Thanks, Pinkie Pie! Thank you for the food! Let's dig in!" Ash and his Pokemon started chomping away at the huge feast. Pinkie Pie smirked, knowing this will keep them occupied for a long time. Nopony other than herself can eat that much and finish in a short amount of time. Then again, Ash wasn't a pony. To her surprise, he was already halfway done. Her jaw dropped to the ground.
"Not good. He's gonna finish it in no time." She thought to herself. "Bring in the second servings!" The Slurfpuffs had entered, bringing another feast. Hehehe. My treat."
"Mmm! This stuff is good!" Ash said with food stuffed in his mouth."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Lu! Riolu!"
"Gen!"
"Dra..."
"You know! I outta bring my mom over here. She'll love this no doubt!"
"Good idea! You do that! And take a long time getting her prepared okay?"
"Sure!" Ash agreed, without paying too much attention to the long time part. On the other side, everypony had already set out to get that perfect gift. Twilight had come to a conclusion. The gift that Ash deserves is an honorary statue. A pretty large gift compared to simple things like clothes and devices.
"A statue, darling? Are you sure?" Rarity thought this seemed a bit too much.
"I'm sure of it. After all, ever since I heard of his past achievements in his world I had to go with it. And once the worlds return to normal, a statue of him here will remind us all of him."
"I guess so. I just hope that we aren't overdoing it." Fluttershy worried.
"Nonsense. Who wouldn't want a statue of them?"
"Well... right now in the Crystal Empire, Spike's getting his own statue." Shining Armor said. "For returning the Crystal Heart."
"I... have a statue..? Awesome" Spike was about to faint.
"We have to make sure that this statue is made out of the best materials we can find. Our magic can speed up the process tenfold. 4 alicorns can make this easy!" Twilight yelled, 100% serious about this. Passion shook her head, knowing that this was going to go downhill fast. But for now, she'll just watch.
Everypony returned with materials they dug up and found. Varying from metals and common gems.
"Good. But it's still not enough. We'll start building with the materials we have now. Everypony keep on searching for more!" Twilight demanded. They began the process of making the statue. The combined magic of 4 alicorns was effective as the lower half was already almost done.
With Ash, he had gone over to his home at Pallet Town, inviting his mother over for Hearth's Warming.
"I'm so excited to see how they celebrate Christmas here!"
"Mime Mime!"
"It's called Hearth's Warming mom. And I hope you got some warm clothes for this. It's pretty chilly. Even more than Sinnoh."
"Oh, I'll be fine. I'm always prepared for anything. Right, Mimey?"
"Mime!"
They all passed through, re-entering Ponyville. Pinkie Pie was there to greet them.
"Yay, you're back! And you bought your mom... pretty fast."
"Mhm! Let's get this party started!" Delia raised her arms in the air. Pinkie Pie was sweating a bit as she knew the gift wasn't complete yet. Then to make matters worse, Discord arrived, being a snowflake that landed down on Pinkie's mane. He had already caught wind of this Best Gift Ever.
"Oh my. You'll have to find more ways to keep him from finding out. A person like him can be very persistent. More so than your rainbow friend." Discord said, only making Pinkie worry more as she was sweating so hard it actually filled up the ground with some water. Things weren't going well for the planners either. This statue business became complicated due to certain choices.
"Should we make his hair spikier? I'm not sure these rubies are enough to capture his sharpness." Luna said.
"No no. Leave it. The real issue is finding out which shade of blue to use. Are his clothes light blue, cadet blue or azure blue?" Celestia mumbled. Making the statue resemble him was tougher than they expected. They had never sculpted a human before. Let alone one who has an electric mouse on his shoulder at all times. As for the others, they were making decorations for a welcome entrance once Ash arrived.
"Let's make the banner cooler! Ash would love that!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"You know, he's not just cool." Apple Bloom said.
"Pssh! Yeah right. He's got cool clothes, cool hair, a cool name and cool Pokemon. Everything about him being cool checks out."
"Someone's a fangirl." Sweetie Belle silently said.
"Come on now, Sewaddle's. We'll make clothing that surpasses the one he just made. We'll know it's better since I made the last one for him." Rarity and her Sewaddle's were designing a new outfit for Ash.
"Red alert! Red alert!" Derpy yelled. "Ash is headed here!"
"What!? Pinkie couldn't stop him?!" Twilight was about to freak out. "Change of plans everypony. Speed up!" Twilight was about to use a speed up spell to accelerate the process.
"Wait, Twilight-" Celestia tried to stop her but it was too late. Everything was engulfed in a purple magic aura as the entire Town Hall was spinning around rapidly. Twilight hadn't really mastered this spell so it was a bit of a risky one. And it was showing. Everypony was spinning around along with the building. Ash, Delia and Pinkie were watching this, very confused.
"Celestia had used her magic to stop the spinning as she and everypony else were dizzy now.
"I was going to say that you haven't mastered that spell yet."
"Hehehe. Whoops." Twilight squeed as she blushed. And now it was all too late. Ash had entered the Town Hall, getting a good look at the room. Everypony turned to him as they all had an uneasy grin on their faces.
"Hehe. Surprise." Rainbow Dash said nervously.
"Woah." Ash looked around, seeing a messed up statue of him, decorations all over the place and pieces of fabric on the floor, torn up. "You guys must've been busy huh? What happened?"
"Well. We wanted to show you our appreciation for all you've done for us. So for this Hearth's Warming, we.. or I decided to get you the best gift ever. A thank you gift. But as you can see.. It's a bust." Twilight slumped over, feeling the failure she had just caused.
"Pfft." Ash suddenly started to laugh. "You went through all this trouble for a gift? Man, you guys sure are something!"
"You're.. laughing?"
"Of course."
"Aren't you upset?"
"Why would I be? I don't really need the best gift ever ya know. After all, who needs gifts when I got friends and family with me." Ash said, looking at Pikachu, Riolu and his mom. "I wouldn't wanna miss any time with you all. And I do kinda appreciate that you went through all this trouble for me. Really."
"Oh, Ash." Twilight sighed.
"He always knows what to say doesn't he?" Shining Armor said. Cadence nodded in a reply. Just then, one final surprise came through. A Delibird. A Pokemon that is very common at this time of year. And it had a gift to deliver to Ash.
"Oh? A gift for me?" Ash took the gift as Delibird walked off. Opening up the gift revealed a letter. A letter from a long time family member. "Dad?" Ash began to read the letter.
"Dear Ash. It's been a while. I'm writing to you since this is a time where I kinda miss my entire family. It's been 20+ years now. Being on this long Pokemon Journey of mine is something. I hope that someday we get to cross paths again. I know we will. But for the meantime, I never got the chance to congratulate you on your achievements. How you made it to Viridian City faster than me. It took me four days. How you've won all those gym badges from each region. And how you became a champion. I hope that one day when we both achieve our goals, we'll meet again. Once more. Your loving father."
"Aw... dad." Ash teared up a bit. "Now this. This is the best gift ever." Pinkie Pie started bawling over that letter, filling the room with water. "No time to get all wet-eyed. I wanna enjoy this Hearth's Warming thing with you all."
"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's have a real party!" With Pinkie Pie here, all the destruction won't be an issue with her parties. This was an eventful day. Definitely one to tell on Hearth's Warming Eve eventually. The friendship between two worlds of multiple different species continues to grow on and on. Both Ash and Twilight are looking forward to their futures. As the journey continues.
"Although. It would've been cool to have my own statue."
Out in the cold, the Dazzlings were freezing. Ever since they returned to this world, their bodies had morphed into ponies instead of their usual Siren forms. Adagio was pulling Sonata and Aira as they had both fainted from the cold. She was the only one left as they walking up a steep snowy hill.
"So cold...I'm gonna... get my revenge on those... ponies." Adagio eventually gave out, falling down on the snow. It looked like the end of the Dazzlings. Meeting their end in the cold harsh winter in bodies they never adapted too. But luckily for them, they were saved, by a Froslass. The Snow Land Pokemon. Usually, Froslass grab people and Pokemon, carrying them to its hideout in the snowy mountains and turning them into statues for decorations. But ti took pity on these three. Seeing them suffering like this.
"Froslass." The Ice-Ghost Pokemon cried.
At its hideout, Adagio, Aria and Sonata were lying on the cold floor. Thankfully, Froslass had covered them with leftover cloth from the many victims she had turned into ice decorations. Adagio was the first to wake up, seeing where she is.
"Where am I? What happened?" She then turned to see Froslass, floating there. "W-WHAT IS THAT?!"
"Froslass.." Froslass responded quietly. Adagio started to back away from the Pokemon, terrified of its appearance. Aria and Sonata woke up as well, confused.
"What's all that screaming for-" Aria turned to see Froslass, backing up herself. Sonata didn't see what the big deal was. To her, Froslass wasn't that terrifying.
"Did we sleepwalk here or something?" Sonata muttered. "And what even is that thing?"
"Froslass.." Froslass extended its phantom arms, pointing to the outside.
"I think it wants us to leave." Aria interpreted.
"Good idea. Let's get out of this place! It's so cold!" Adagio replied.
"But wait! Where do we even go?" said Sonata. Unknown of their next movement, the Rift had caught notice of this. After all, it was the one who changed them into ponies, taking their siren forms away from them. The sirens were far away from any civilization right now, with only Froslass and some Ice-Types around. So it decided to spice it up more, by creating a gateway outside.
"What is that?!" Sonata yelled.
"A way out of here maybe. Let's get going!" The Dazzlings ran off, leaving Froslass behind. Once they went through the gateway, they found themselves in new territory. Pallet Town. Once they arrived there, they opened their eyes, seeing the town. It was definitely better than the cold icy lands.
"A town? Okay. Now I'm even more confused. Where's our home?" Aria asked.
"I have no idea. First, we turn into ponies, then we end up in some weird creatures icy home and now we're here? Will someone please tell me what is going on?!" Adagio was getting frustrated. Her yelling had made Delia aware of them as she exited the home.
"Oh. Can I help you three, ladies?" She asked them.
"We're back in this world?" Adagio thought that they were in the world were they were humans, but they couldn't be farther from the truth.
"Oh, dear. You three look tired. Mind if I care for you a bit?"
"Yeah right! Like we're gonna-" Their stomachs were rumbling as they had been walking through the icy lands for 9 days now. "Actually.. yeah." Adagio went with Delia's offer.
Inside Delia's home, she gave them some nice delicious food to eat. Preferably Slowpoke tail.
"Dig in."
"Mime!"
The Dazzlings were trying to pick up the fork since they had gotten used to their human forms, but now that they were ponies, they didn't quite know-how. So they were awkwardly trying to pick the forks up with their hooves.
"Oh, you three don't have horns? I can see that you're all Earth Ponies. My apologies, I thought you unicorns."
"What made you think that?" Aria asked.
"Well, you have such glamour that you're equal to that of a unicorn." She complimented them.
"Thanks, I guess..." Adagio appreciated the compliment, not wanting to sound too nice. Sonata took a huge bite out of the Slowpoke tail, getting the first taste.
"Mmm! This stuff is good! My hunger's fading away already!"
"Is it really that good?" Aria leaned forward, biting into the tail. Once she chewed on it, she felt at ease. "Huh. It is that good. Try it Adagio."
Adagio was still a bit uneasy after everything that happened, but she was still hungry. So she took a bite out of it as well. And she also got that sweet taste of a Slowpoke's tail.
"Look at you three. Why if I didn't know any better I'd say you've been hungry for a few days now."
"9 days to be exact." Aria corrected her.
"9 days! Oh my! You poor things. So glad I ended up feeding you."
"Lady, would you quit treating us like kids. We are adults!" Adagio exclaimed as she felt the chill of the ice. "Can I get at least get a blanket?" She requested.
"Sure thing." The Dazzlings had never felt something like this before. Their whole life, they've never really had a mother figure. Nor did they know who their mother could ever be. So Delia was the closest thing they ever had to having a mother. Even if Delia herself didn't realise this. After all, she always acts like a mother to everyone. It's in her instinct. She placed much warmer blankets on them, better than the ones Froslass had since they were just cold. The Dazzlings felt engulfed by the warmth of the blankets. "There we go. Feeling better."
"I guess..." Aria responded.
"Now you just get comfortable. And once you're all healthy, you can head back home to your world."
"Mime!" Delia walked into the kitchen, leaving them to restore themselves.
"She seems nice!" Sonata said.
"Yeah, but don't get comfortable. Once we're done we'll be heading out to devour more negative energy. And this time, we're not gonna let anyone stop us. Especially not some 6 girls and their otherworld pony friend!" Adagio slammed her hoofs on the table.
"Alright. Calm down. Have some food." Sonata fed Adagio a piece of the tail.
"Delicious. But not as delicious as all that negative energy we're gonna feed on later!" Adagio gained a wicked smile on her face.
Just then, Ash had returned back to his home with Pikachu.
"I'm back!"
"Pika!"
"Oh, Ash. Back now?" Delia went to him.
"Yep. I'm here to ask Professor Oak to send over one of my Pokemon quickly."
"Great. Have you met our guests?" Delia extended her arm to the Dazzlings.
"Oh, hey. Nice to meet ya. My name's Ash. And this is my partner Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
"Uh, hi." Adagio waved at him slowly. Sonata noticed Pikachu, instantly loving it.
"Oh! What is that?! It's so cute!" She dashed over to Pikachu, grabbing a hold of his red sacs.
"Pi..PIka."
"First time seeing a Pikachu?"
"What's a Pikachu?" They didn't know of the existence of Pokemon.
"A Pokemon of course." He answered.
"A Pokemon?" The three of them said confused.
"Wait. You three aren't aware of Pokemon? I guess you must be pretty late to the whole worlds crossing over huh?"
"Worlds crossing over? When did this happen?" Aria asked.
"Well..." Ash had explained the entire story to them. About the Rift and ponies meeting and bonding with humans and Pokemon.
"That's a lot to take in.." Sonata couldn't handle all that information.
"So that explains this." Aria looked at her hooves, now knowing that the Rift was responsible for their current form.
"A lot has happened. But it's been a pretty fun time so far, ya know."
"Pikachu!"
"We're out of here. We've heard what we needed to hear. Aria, Sonata. Let's go." Adagio stood up, commanding them both to leave with her.
"Aww. Leaving already? Oh well. It was fun having you here." Delia smiled at them.
"Yeah well, don't get too sweet with us. We're not about positivity." Adagio retorted.
"How come? Doesn't hurt to be positive, ya know." Ash said.
"You don't understand. We're not meant to be ponies. Our true forms are sirens but thanks to that Rift, we look like this now." Adagio explained.
"And we Sirens just LOVE to eat negativity. It really fills you up!" So did Sonata.
"You eat negativity? How and why?"
"We do it because it's what makes sure we don't fizzle out. Our kind needs negativity to at least live for a long time. If we don't eat any for years and years... poof. Bye Bye us." Aria monotonously said.
"Seriously? Man, that kinda sucks."
"Pika.."
"Well, you gotta deal with it. Whether you like it or not, it's what we like. Come on you two." Adagio, Sonata and Aria were taking their leave except...
"Wait! We still don't even know where to go." Sonata stopped them. "I mean, we don't even know where our home is anymore. It's been who knows how long since we've been in that world and this world and then the other world... we're totally lost."
"Kh! You're right." Adagio gritted her teeth. They really were just wandering ponies now.
"You can hang out at Ponyville in the meantime. I'm sure the ponies there would love to guide you." Ash recommended.
"Yeah right. Like we're going to someplace called 'Ponyville'. Get r-" Adagio shoved her hoof in Aria's mouth, stopping her from talking more as she sprung an idea.
"Actually. That's a good idea. We will hang out there for a while." Adagio's real intentions involved negative energy.
"What are you doing, Adagio?" Aria asked. Adagio pulled the two of them in, starting to whisper to them.
"Listen. We can feed ourselves again by starting up tons of negativity in this Ponyville. A town's always a much better place to start. And it's less crowded than some school."
"Good point," Sonata said as she and Aria nodded. The two of them broke out of their group huddle.
"Ponyville it is." said Adagio.
"Awesome. I'll lead ya there. But give a minute. I still gotta talk to Professor Oak."
Ponyville.
Right now, Ash's hat was all the craze. Rarity had decided to make it popular. And it was a hit. Scootaloo who looked up to Ash bought tons of hats just for her. She was currently wearing one, acting like Ash, trying to mimic his signature hat turn he does.
"How does he do it?" Since she had hooves, it was hard to really turn it. They were more finger prone. "Oh well. Right now I wanna be a great trainer like he is. So who wants to battle with me!"
"Yeah right. I'm not letting my Espurr get hurt." Sweetie Belle denied.
"Boo." said Scootaloo. "Come on, Apple Bloom. Wanna battle?"
"Sorry. But I don't always have an Applin on me."
"Seriously? Lame."
Ash had arrived in Ponyville with the Dazzlings. They were already scheming on causing trouble.
"Oh, hey Ash." Derpy came flying in, having a package for him. "I came out here myself to give you this. Sorry if it looks crumpled up. My bad." She handed it over to him.
"Uh, thanks Derpy." He took the gift, opening it up as it was a letter. Reading it, it said;
"Dear Ash. We have a bit of a problem. We tried to make our own Pokeball and well... you'll just have to come over and help. Love Twilight."
"Own Pokeball? Well, we'd better get going Pikachu." Ash didn't say it out loud, only in his head, making the Dazzlings not know of the Mane 6's existence here
"Pika-Pi."
"Sorry, you three. I'm gonna be a bit occupied for now. Hope you get home."
"We'll be fine. We're more than capable of getting around." Adagio said.
"I'm gonna miss this little guy though." Sonata grabbed Pikachu, rubbing his face. "I love Pokemon a lot now."
"Pi.."
"Well. How about this?" Ash lent the three of them free Pokeballs. "You three can carry these Pokeballs with you. If you see a Pokemon you like, then you can catch it. It's gonna have to be an easy one so use it carefully.
"Catching with these things?" Adagio looked at the Pokeballs, confused by their appearance and how they work. "We'll give it a try, I guess."
"Well, we'll be off. Good luck!" Ash ran off with Pikachu, heading to Golden Oaks Library.
"Now that he's gone, we can finally get this started. How are we gonna do this, girls?" Adagio smirked.
"How about those three over there?" Aria pointed her hoof at the CMC.
"Little kids? Eh, sure why not." The Dazzlings walked up to the CMC as two groups met. "Hello there, little ones."
"Oh hey, lady." Scootaloo replied to Adagio. "Will you battle me?"
"Battle you?" Adagio was confused on what she just said.
"Yeah! I wanna get Ponyta up to maximum strength! So come on! Battle me!" Scootaloo demanded as she was ready to throw her Pokeball out. "Throw out your Pokemon!"
"I don't have a Pokemon. And who do you think you are talking to an adult like me?"
"But you have a Pokeball on your back." Sweetie Belle pointed out.
"But she doesn't have a Pokemon. Neither of us do." Sonata said.
"Well, why not? You have the item." Sweetie Belle replied.
"Yeah. Like we know how to catch Pokemon. They're brand new to us." Aria muttered back.
"Hehe. That means, we can show you the ropes. Like experts!" Scootaloo felt like the big pony in charge here. So did the other two.
"You? Teach us? Yeah right, you're just a kid." Adagio laughed at the thought of a child teaching her.
"But I've caught my own Pokemon though. So hah!"
"Technically Scootaloo, you were given your Pokemon by BigTime Ben." Apple Bloom corrected her.
"ANYWAYS! It's gonna be up to us teach you the ropes. And look at that. A Pokemon right now!" Scootaloo pointed her hoof at a Kricketot.
"Kri?" The Cricket Pokemon turned to them.
"Throw away, lady." Scootaloo was issuing a challenge to her.
"Hmph. Fine. Watch how easy this is gonna be." Adagio decided to take on the small challenge as she was ready to catch this Bug-Type. She held the Pokeball in her mouth, tossing it at Kricketot as it entered the ball.
1...2...3.. Get! Adagio got her first Pokemon. But it was a fairly common one so the capture being easy was expected.
"Easy." She picked the Pokeball, feeling proud of herself. She sort of enjoyed that.
"Lucky catch!" Scootaloo crossed her hooves.
"Hey. Not bad. I wanna catch one too!" Sonata wanted in. They were getting distracted now. Their negativity feeding was being ignored by Pokemon. "I want... THAT one!" Sonata pointed towards a Jigglypuff. But this wasn't just a normal Jigglypuff. This was an infamous one. One that goes around singing and draws on others faces when they fall asleep. Jigglypuff saw an audience in front of it as it got out its microphone ready to sing.
"What's it doing?" Aria asked.
"No idea. But it has a microphone. Wait. Is it gonna-" Sonata could tell what was about to happen. The singing began.
"Ji...gglypuff. Jiggly...puff. Jiggly... puff. Jiggly. Ji..gglypuff.." That legendary song. The song that can put anyone to sleep. No matter who they are. And it was effective on both the CMC and the Dazzlings. They had fallen asleep to that song, like everyone else.
"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff, once again was annoyed. Even in this world, they fall asleep to its tune. So in an old fashion, it got out its blue marker and started drawing on their faces out of anger and spite. The Balloon Pokemon walked off, puffing its cheeks in anger.
3 hours have passed and the 6 of them were still in a sleep state. Scootaloo had rested on Adagio's mane as Sonata hugged Sweetie Belle like a pillow. Adagio woke up, not remembering what happened.
"Ugh... asleep again?" She rubbed her eye as she saw Apple Bloom laying next to her. She was confused about why she was next to her and why her face was full of marker drawings. The same goes for everypony else. "What happened?" The others woke up, seeing the markings on each other's faces.
"Pfft. What happened to you all?" Sonata started laughing, not realising her face was also full of drawings.
"You got markings on your face too, idiot," Aria replied.
"Really?" She touched her face, seeing black markings on her hoof. "Would you look at that."
"What do you think happened, miss?" Apple Bloom asked Adagio.
"The most likely outcome is probably that pink thing caused a sleeping song. And our faces were terrorized. A classic case of drowsy tunes."
"We could totally sing a song just as sleepy as it though." Sonata bragged.
"Oooh. Is that why your Cutie Marks are like that? Lucky." Scootaloo had made them notice their Cutie Marks which they didn't know they had. Came with becoming a pony.
"Huh. Didn't even notice them. I guess we really are full-fledged ponies now." Adagio sighed.
"Well, we'd best get going. It's getting late. Thanks for this time!" Scootaloo said her farewells as the CMC's bid them goodbye.
"Alright. With that distraction out of the way, let's focus on the task at hand! No Pokemon! No chatter! Just negativity feeding!"
"Aw come on Adagio. Cant' we just have a little bit more fun in the meantime?" Sonata asked.
"I gotta agree with Sonata for once. I kinda like this place and this whole... Pokemon thing."
"Are you crazy? This pony thing's making you all soft! You don't want to consume their energy don't you?"
"It's not that, it's just... well so far no one has ever treated us like this. No one covers us with blankets, feeds us, or heck even talks to us this long. I kinda like it."
"Mhm. It's actually nice to have something like this. Especially that lady from that town. It kinda felt like we had a mother. Something we never had." Aria also said.
"W-Wha.. you... ugh! This is ridiculous! You're okay with them!?" Adagio was starting to lose it, thinking she was the only sane one here.
"I mean. Yeah. And you actually caught a Pokemon. Something that little kid asked you to do. Wasn't it fun?" Sonata blurbed.
"Fun?! We didn't come here for fun! Stick to the goal!" Adagio yelled at the top of her lungs.
"A-Alright.." Sonata stopped talking, listening to Adagio.
"Let's go." As the Dazzlings walked off, they were being watched by Obsidian from above a tree.
"Someone's a hothead. But I think the Rift would love it if I incorporated them into all of this. Somehow.."
With the Dazzlings involved, both worlds are only growing bigger in size. As multiple forces, good and bad lurk on both sides, the stories that come with this are far from over.
"Finally! My shop in Kalos has just opened! Right at Lumiose City. I must say that BigTime Ben fellow is a darling for helping me with this."
"But I'm gonna be all alone." Sweetie Belle pouted.
"Oh, Sweetie Belle. I won't leave you. It'll be a secondary boutique that I run. Besides, the gateways will always make sure we aren't too far." She petted her little sister's head.
"I guess so."
"I'll have three of my Sewaddle's take care of you. And you have Espurr and Opal as well. So you will always have some company. Now I have to get going. Lumiose City is waiting." Rarity walked off, heading out to her friends who were waiting near the gateway to Lumiose City.
"Took you long enough, Rarity." Rainbow Dash said.
"Sorry girls. But I have to make sure my first day is fabulously perfect."
"Come on let's get going already. I wanna catch all the Pokemon there!" Goh exclaimed.
"It's gonna be great going back to Lumiose City again. Right Pikachu?"
"Pika-Pika!"
"And I'm gonna ace that Battle Fest too! My ranks gonna soar if I keep on battling there!"
"You two will go on and do that while we help Rarity." Twilight explained.
"Oh no, darling. I am perfectly capable of running this new boutique. You all can go with Ash and Goh in the meantime."
"You sure Rarity?" Fluttershy asked.
"Of course I'm sure. Now let's get going." As the group walked through the gateway, they were met with the Kalos Region once more.
Goh had instantly set out to find some Pokemon, heading over to Shalar City, while the others went to Lumiose City. Both for fashion and fights.
"Here we are. And there it is. In all its beauty." The new Carousel Boutique was similar to the one back in Ponyville, but with a bit of blue in the mix along with some extra rooms. "Isn't it wonderful?"
"Looks the same to me." Applejack replied. Ash ran off to the battle fest, eager to get started.
"Ash! You're off already?!" Twilight shouted!
"Yeah! I can't afford to waste any time! I'll see you there!"
"Pika!"
"Well, I wanna see this. Catch ya later!" Rainbow Dash flew towards Ash, wanting to see this Battle Fest as well. Twilight sighed as she and the others had gone over to the new boutique. Opening the door, revealing the inside. And it was filled with other people and Pokemon inside.
"Who are they?" Twilight asked.
"BigTime Ben offered me some employees. And he picked a wonderful selection of darlings that will help me. They are all newbies so I will be able to teach them the ropes." Rarity explained.
"Morning Rarity." A woman said.
"Can't wait to get started." A man also said.
"Neither can I. Can you all be darlings and help me bring in some customers?"
"Don't they have to come to you first Rarity?" said Applejack.
"I know, but this is still a fresh boutique. It needs plenty of traction!" Rarity exclaimed. "Now then. Let's get to work, everypony!"
"But we're not ponies though."
Despite being told that she would be at Kalos, Sweetie Belle had gone through the gateway along with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.
"So this is Kalos? Pretty..." Sweetie Belle gazed at Kalos's beauty.
"Come on. I heard there's a battle fest here. And Ash is going to be in it." Scootaloo shoved the two of them through the gateway as they looked back at her. "Hehe. Sorry."
Speaking of the Battle Fest, it was already underway with many trainers battling it out to reach the top. Ash had reached his match, ending up facing a Clawitzer.
"The heated battle between Pikachu and Clawitzer continues!" The announcer shouted.
"Clawitzer! Flash Cannon!" The trainer commanded his Pokemon as it charged up a burst of metal energy.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu charged up his electricity, releasing a bolt of thunder at the Howitzer Pokemon. However, the Thunderbolt was absorbed by Clawitzer's huge right claw, swallowing it up and destroying it.
"Unbelievable! Clawitzer's enormous pincer swallowed up the Thunderbolt! I'm surprised it didn't deal a super-effective hit on it considering the type!" said the Announcer. Riolu, Gengar, Dragonite and Rainbow Dash were watching this battle go down. Scootaloo snuck in, spectating over the fest as well. They weren't the only ones. A familiar trainer was watching over this as well with her signature Pokemon. A Lucario.
"What will you do now, Ash?" The mysterious figure said.
"How's that?! Completely negated your Electric-Type's attack This claw is handy for that reason!" The opposing trainer boasted.
"Heh. We've got other options. Iron Tail!" Pikachu's tail was full of iron, ready to strike as he moved forward.
"Crabhammer!" Clawitzer's huge claw lighted up, ready to hit Pikachu. They both moved in on each other as the Water-Type struck its claw forward, but it was avoided via a jump from the Electric Mouse as he hit the ground. Pikachu had jumped over the attack, slamming his Iron Tail on Clawitzer's, making it fall over and faint. "Clawitzer!"
"Clawitzer is unable to battle. As such, the winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town." The Rotom Machine declared.
"Alright! We did it, Pikachu!"
"Pika-Pika!" They both celebrated their victory as did Scootaloo, wooing from the crowd as Rainbow Dash noticed her.
"Hehe. Hi." She waved as the other crusaders popped their heads out.
"Ash, right? I'll remember that." The trainer said, returning his Clawitzer.
"This was Contestant Ash's third consecutive win. If he wins his next battle, he'll breach the Super Class!" The Announcer exclaimed. Only one more battle and Ash is out of the Normal Class and he ranks up. It was a good idea to go to the Battle Fest. It is a great place to climb up to the ranks rapidly.
Meanwhile, Goh was watching as many Kalos Pokemon as he could find. Catching a Flabébé, a Scatterbug, a Phantump and a Fletchling.
"Awesome! I'm so glad that the Kalos dex is much smaller than other dexes. This'll be quick!"
On the other side of the spectrum, Rarity's shop was gaining traction actually. It ended pulling people in once they learned of who Rarity was. Kind of an important pony back in her world. Twilight and the others could hear the cheering from the Battle Fest. They decided to go and cheer Ash on and so did Goh. Eventually, they all ended up in the same spot anyways.
Ash was outside, sitting on a bench as he was preparing for his next battle to rank up. His Pokemon were gathered around him as he was looking at the Rotom Phone, getting a good look at his rank.
"There you are, Ash. I take it your Battle Fest is over?" Twilight said.
"Not yet. Just one more battle and it'll all be done."
"I can't wait to see your next battle already!" Scootaloo grinned.
"And I can't wait to get into it. Let's give it all in our next battle, okay?"
"Pikachu!"
"Gen!"
"Dra."
"Rio!"
Just then, Ash, Pikachu and Riolu felt a pulse of aura reach them. It was calling them. Riolu jumped off the bench, running to where the aura was calling him.
"Riolu? Where's he going?" Fluttershy wondered. Ash and the others followed Riolu, wondering where he was headed. Riolu stopped running, reaching the one who was calling him with aura. It was Lucario. It's superior evolution.
"Huh?" Ash also stopped as he looked at Lucario. This Lucario was very familiar to him. Pikachu noticed as well.
"Who's that Pokemon?" Rainbow Dash pulled her dex out.
"Lucario. The Aura Pokemon. It has the ability to not just sense auras but can also control them. No foe can remain invisible to Lucario due to it being able to detect all forms of aura. They can tell how others are feeling within a half-mile radius."
"So that's Lucario." Twilight noticed it from the books.
"Wait a minute. Could this Lucario be..." Ash began to put it together by looking at the band.
"Hey! Ash!" It was Korrina. She skated over here, greeting her old friend.
"Korrina! I thought so!"
"Long time no see."
"I sensed Lucario's Aura. I knew it had to be yours."
"Pika!"
"How have you been Pikachu?" Korrina petted Pikachu on the head.
"You two know each other?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Mhm. My name's Korrina. I'm a Gym Leader in Kalos. This is my partner, Lucario." She introduced herself to others. "Oh, you've caught a Riolu Ash." Korinna kneeled down to look at the young baby Pokemon.
"Yeah. Hatched from an egg."
"I hope you'll grow strong with Ash." Korrina held Riolu. Lucario nodded in agreement as Riolu looked up at his future evolution. He was instantly idolizing Lucario. Much like how Scootaloo idolizes Ash. "Ash and I had an amazing battle, ya know. All the way back at Shalar City Gym."
"Yeah. And I totally won that!" Ash boasted a bit, feeling proud.
"That's what you're fixated on?" Korrina puffed her cheeks.
"It's the most important detail!"
"Oh geez, Ash."
"So are you participating in the fest too, Korrina?"
"Of course. But today, I'm not fighting as a Gym Leader. You see... I'm entering the World Coronation Series as well. And I'm gonna take down Leon."
"Huh?!" They all shouted in unison.
"Lucario and I are both doing this to challenge ourselves." She took out her phone, showing her ranking. Rank 1001. "To train ourselves more and rise even higher. I just have to win one more battle to enter the Super Class! Same for you, right Ash?"
"Yeah! Let's battle! Whoever wins enters the Super Class!"
"This World Coronation Series sure is huge huh?" Twilight said.
"Mhm." The others nodded in agreement.
"Riolu. Watch Lucario's battle real closely." Ash said to his Pokemon.
"Riolu!" The baby Pokemon was punching the air, ready to battle.
"That's the spirit! But it's best if you watch today. Pikachu, Fluttershy, look after Riolu."
"Pika-Pika!"
"You can count on us, Ash." Riolu hopped onto Fluttershy's back.
With Goh, he was still looking for more Pokemon to catch. That's when Raboot thought it could sense a Pokemon nearby.
"What is it?" Goh asked. Raboot tried, but nothing there. "Nothing huh?" But in a few seconds, Raboot could finally sense someone there as it kicked a rock up, kicking it towards the bush as it was engulfed in fire. Out of the bushes came a Lucario, destroying the rock. "Oh! Lucario?!" Goh got his Pokeball out ready to catch it.
"You have sharp reflexes." A man who owned the Lucario said. It was Gurkinn. Korrina's Grandfather.
"Huh? You're its trainer?"
"Haha. Sorry if we got your hopes up. But I don't think greed is a bad thing either."
"Sorry. I totally thought it was a wild Lucario."
"Is it your first time seeing one?"
"Yes! We came here to catch Pokemon. It's my first time in the Kalos so I wanted to catch tons!"
"I see. So how many have you got?"
"Oh, let's see.." Goh look at his Rotom Phone, showing the Kalos Pokemon he's caught so far.
"Quite impressive. You've gotten quite a few Flabébé petal colors. Catching an orange one is particularly impressive."
"Now I just need the white one!"
"They say the white one is particularly hard to find. I'm not sure they'd show up around here."
"Do you know this area?"
"Well yes. My granddaughter is battling over there today, so I figured I'd come to see how she's doing." Gurkinn pointed at the Battle Fest.
"Oh! My friend is participating as well! Both of us come straight from Kanto! He's here to battle and I'm here to catch Pokemon!"
"Kanto, huh? Haven't heard that name in a while. My granddaughter is friends with this trainer from Kanto named Ash."
"ASH?!" Goh yelled.
"Y-Yes, that's right. He's partners with a Pikach-"
"That's my friend!"
At the Battle Fest, the battle between Ash and Korrina was about to begin. Twilight and the others were ready to watch this go down as Scootaloo got her Ash hat, putting it on.
"We will not commence this Normal Class battle on the Rock Field!" The Rotom Machine said. "Contestant Ash Ketchum vs Contestant Korrina! This battle will be a 2v2."
"Come on Ash! Make us proud!" Pinkie Pie yelled.
"Isn't this exciting girls?!" Scootaloo said getting all giddy and jumpy in her seat.
"Mhm! Glad we came here!" Apple Bloom agreed.
"It's our very own Shalar City Gym Leader, Contestant Korrina!" The announcer said as Korinna was waving to everyone else. "Her opponent is Contestant Ash who hails from Kanto!"
"Let's do this!" Ash held his hat, ready to go. Pikachu and Riolu were both pumped as well, but Ash put them on the sidelines to watch. "Oh sorry. You two stay here." They both drooped their ears down, not getting a chance to battle.
"Hey! Riolu! Cheer my Lucario on okay!" Korrina shouted at Riolu. We'll show you something cool!"
"Huh?! What are you on about?! Riolu's gonna be cheering for us, Korrina!"
Gurkinn and Goh entered the fest as well.
"Oh, there's Ash!" Goh pointed at his friend.
"Well, this is a surprise. His opponent is my granddaughter."
"What?!"
"Hey, Goh! Over here!" Pinkie Pie waved her hooves at him.
"Alright! Both sides send out your first Pokemon at the same time!" The Rotom Machine said. "3. 2. 1. Go!"
"Come out!" They both said, throwing the Pokeballs out and sending their partners in. Korrina sent her Mienshao which used to be a Mienfoo back when she battled Ash. Ash had sent out his Gengar.
"Check that one out." Rainbow Dash pulled her dex out to see Mienshao.
"Mienshao. The Martial Arts Pokemon. Mienshao signals its entry into battle with a strange cry. As it wears down its opponent with an onslaught of lightning-fast kicks and arm chops. It carefully builds up its own power to prepare for a finishing move."
"Oh. This is the evolved form of Thunderlane's Pokemon."
"Battle, start!"
"Acrobatics!" Mienshao made the first move, hitting Gengar quickly before he could even see it coming, along with Ash.
"Talk about speed!" Ash said.
"Gengar couldn't even have enough time to dodge Mienshao's blindingly fast Acrobatics." The announcer shouted.
"Gen!"
"U-Turn!" Mienshao was ready to land another hit in.
"Gengar! Psychic!" Gengar lifted up one of the rocks, tossing it at Mienshao. But the Martial Arts Pokemon kicked the rock away as it struck its foot on the Ghost-Type, switching out to Lucario.
"U-Turn hits its mark!" said the Announcer. "Mienshao quickly returns to its trainer, bring Lucario out!"
"A move that can send a Pokemon back?" Twilight said, taking notes.
"Yes. A fine call." Gurkinn replied.
"Hang in there, Gengar!"
"Gen.."
"Bone Rush!" Lucario summoned energy bones as weapons, rushing towards Gengar.
"Dodge and use Shadow Ball!" Gengar avoided the Bone Rush as it tossed some Shadow Balls downwards at Lucario. Lucario avoided one of them but not the second one. The bone acted as a shield as Lucario took a bit of damage, backflipping onto a rock as it launched itself off it, striking Gengar rapidly with the bones.
"Gen? Gen!" Gengar was overwhelmed by it as it was hit to the ground, fainting.
"Gengar is unable to battle! Lucario is the winner!" And with that Korrina takes out Ash's first Pokemon.
"Oh, man! They've gotten much faster." Ash said, surprised on how fast they were moving.
"Gengar got absolutely overwhelmed there. So much for being a ghost." said Rainbow.
"It ain't over yet! Come on Ash!" Scootaloo yelled.
"As expected from the Gym Leader! Her Lucario and Mienshao have an amazing combination attack!" Bellowed the announcer.
"Gengar didn't stand a chance. It was so quick." Goh was stunned.
"Korrina and her Pokemon are one. That is their strength. Therein lies their advantage. But don't count Ash out yet." Gurkinn replied. He knew that Ash wasn't one to just stop here.
"You did your best Gengar. Come back."
"Switch out Lucario." Both trainers returned their Pokemon. "Mienshao! I'm counting on you again!" Mienshao was back out to battle. Both Mienshao and Lucario were perfectly healthy, so Ash was backed up into a wall. But he wasn't worried.
"I choose you!" Tossing his Pokeball, he sent out the Dragon-Type Dragonite.
"Dragonite, eh? A worthy opponent. Let's go, Mienshao!"
"Dragon Claw!" Dragonite's claws were enveloped in green draconic energy as it flew up.
"High-Jump Kick!" Mienshao jumped from rock to rock as its kicked clashed with Dragonite's claw, causing a powerful wind pressure to reach even the crowd. "Double Slap!" Mienshao then took off from the ground, moving its arms around, slapping Dragonite with floaty but powerful arms.
"Dragon Dance!" Dragonite had powered through the attack, spinning around. Mienshao kept using Double Slap on Dragonite while it was spinning, but the Dragon Pokemon was still dancing while getting hit. This was only making Dragonite spin faster. Ash was using Dragon Dance, not as a way to power up Dragonite, but to neutralize Mienshao's attacks.
"That thing can take a beating!" Yelled Applejack.
"What did you expect from a dragon? Duh!" Spike said. Mienshao jumped back as Dragonite landed down, stronger and faster than ever. It let out a mighty cry.
"How's that Korrina?!"
"We're not done yet! High Jump Kick!" Going for another one, the nimble Fighting-Type rushed forward.
"Dragon Claw!" Dragonite was ready to strike Mienshao down. The Martial Arts Pokemon kneed Dragonite in its wide belly, but it looked like it did nothing. Dragonite smiled as it smashed its claws down on Mienshao, sending it back. This caused the fast Pokemon to faint.
"Mienshao is unable to battle! Dragonite is the winner!"
"Great job Dragonite!"
"Wow. At first, I thought it was just a friendly dragon that just loves hugs.. but it's a total tank!" Rainbow Dash gawked.
Now it was fair game. Both down to one Pokemon.
"Come back Mienshao." Returning Mienshao, Korrina knew what was coming next. And so did Gurkinn. "Lucario! You're up!"
"There's Lucario again. It just radiates a powerful presence doesn't it?" said Twilight.
"Mhm." They all nodded in agreement.
"Ash! Battling you gets me really fired up!"
"Yeah! Same here! I think it's time you showed us what Lucario can really do!"
"Here it comes..." Gurkinn uttered. They all looked at him, wondering what he meant.
"What do you mean, Mr Gurkinn?" Fluttershy asked.
Korrina was ready. And so was Lucario.
"Alright... Here we go!" Korrina had suddenly given off a series of fighting moves. "Bursting with life!" She raised her hand up, revealing her mega stone.
"Mega Evolution!"
A surge of energy was racing through both Korrina and Lucario. This adrenaline, this rush, this feeling. Lucario let out a mighty cry as its full potential was being awakened. Ash had a huge grin on his face. He was waiting for this. Bright lights of energy engulfed Lucario, evolving its body. Twilight and the others were in shock. They had no idea what was going on.
The mighty and fierce Mega Evolution. Transcending a Pokemon to the next level. Awakening an ancient surge of power in their body. And this was Mega Lucario.
"Mega... Evolution." Twilight and the others all said in unison.
"Rarity's missing out." Sweetie Belle chattered.
"First time seeing it?" Gurkin said to them. "It truly is something huh? Mega Evolution is a phenomenon first discovered in the Kalos Region, that brings out a Pokemon's hidden strength. It is brought forth by a strong bond between trainer and Pokemon."
"This wasn't in any of the books I read! I have to get back to Canalave Library after this! This is unbelievable!" Twilight was going crazy. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash looked like they were about to pass out from all of this.
"Don't worry about it Dragonite! Just do what you always do!"
"DRAGO!"
"Alright! Dragon Dance!" Dragonite took the skies once more, spinning around.
"You're being careful, huh, Ash? That's not like you. Aura Sphere!" Lucario focused its aura as it charged up a ball of pure energetic aura, ready to fire.
"Fly around, Dragonite!" Dragonite was now flying around, and thanks to Dragon Dance increasing its speed, it was fast enough to throw Lucario off.
"You'll need more than that to dodge Aura Sphere! Go!" Lucario fired its Aura Sphere forward as it raced towards Dragonite, creating a powerful sound once it took off.
"Hyper Beam!" Dragonite was ready to counter with Hyper Beam, but the Aura Sphere had already hit it.
"Let's finish it! Power-up Punch!" Korrina made Lucario jumped up as its paws lighted up with energy. The Aura Pokemon unleashed a barrage of rapid-fire punches onto Dragonite, sending it flying down. A barrage like that would take any other Pokemon out, but not Dragonite. Dragonite got up from the ground, still ready to go.
"How is still standing?!" Sweetie Belle clamoured.
"Man. Mega Evolution is still tough to this day. What to do...?" Ash thought for a bit as he then got one of his insane ideas. "Dragonite! I've got a plan! Hurricane!" Dragonite had kicked up a Hurricane by simply flapping its wings. This strong wind was once again reaching the crowd. "Keep the hurricane going!" Rocks were flying about everywhere, heading towards Lucario. Lucario hit each of them away but some hit it in the face. The hurricane was growing in size as it surrounded Lucario. "Just as I planned!"
"There goes another one of Ash's crazy tricks!" Pinkie howled.
"Lucario! We won't give up! Aura Sphere!" Lucario had blown away the Hurricane by sending two Aura Spheres to separate it. The leftover Hurricane and the force of the Aura Sphere managed to make yet another wind flow. This time it even blew away someone in the crowd, including Apple Bloom and Spike. "Power-up Punch!" Lucario went into for another devastating hit.
"Dragon Claw!" Both Pokemon had moved towards each other. They both hit each other in the face with their attacks, rocketing them both back to the ground. There was a moment of silence. No one knew who won the clash. That's when the two Pokemon stood back up. They stared each other down. Both had taken considerable damage. But only one of them could keep on going. Lucario had eventually given out, falling to the ground as it went out of Mega Evolution.
"Lucario is unable to battle! As such the winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"
"HE WON! WOOHOO!" Pinkie Pie celebrated by tossing confetti everywhere on the crowd. Scootaloo jumped off her seat in joy as Fluttershy took a deep breath, glad it was all over.
"We won! Yeah! You were awesome Dragonite! That was incredible! Thank you!" Ash went up to hug Dragonite. Dragonite had hugged its trainer back, filling itself up with so much joy. Ash's rank had now rose up. He was rank 921 and in the Super Class! "Yeah! I'm in the Super Class!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"You did great Lucario." Despite them losing, Riolu was starstruck by what he saw. "Sorry. I guess we were pretty uncool back there." Riolu didn't think that. He thought they were awesome and wanted to strive to be like her Lucario.
All of them were outside, ready to head back.
"Congratulations on moving up a class, Ash."
"Thanks, Gurkinn."
"But, too bad for you Korrina."
"We're not done yet, grandpa! Right Lucario?"
"Luca!"
"You were cool as always Ash!" Scootaloo shouted.
"So cool!" so did Rainbow Dash.
"Ash! You and your Dragonite were the best! Can you teach me?!" Spike said.
"Well..."
"Oh, there's the white Flabébé!" Gurkinn pointed out.
"AH! Wait! Come back Flabébé!" Goh said running off to catch it.
With Ash's rank now up, his road to the World Coronation Series and Leon is on the way. And with Rarity starting her new business at Kalos, the journey continues for both worlds.
Cold Colt and Emerald Aura were out in the open. Up to their shenanigans once more.
"Does it have to so late in the night, Emerald?"
"Why are you worried? We're just cosmic creations, we can't get tired."
"Yeah but... I'm still kinda spooked by the dark, ya know. We can still feel fear."
"We'll get this done quickly and we can head back to the hideout."
"Okay.." Cold Colt was shivering as he was looking around. He saw intimidating eys from the trees and bushes, making him more uneasy. Emerald Aura used her magic to sprout another problem, but they were stopped by the one Pokemon who's up at night and hangs around here.
"Look who it is." That familiar voice made Emerald Aura jump in fear. She turned around to see the Pokemon who held a huge grudge on her.
"D-D-D-Darkrai. You look well... Hehehe."
"Come here to stir up more trouble have you? I haven't forgotten what you did to me." Darkrai's anger could be felt. It was building up.
"Now now. It was all in good fun. I mean, the Rift wanted to see how it would be solved so it was gonna work out in the end." Emerald was doing her best try and reason with him.
"Fun? FUN?!" A surge of darkness filled the area. Cold Colt felt like he was about to pass out as Emerald Aura grabbed him, running off. She decided that they couldn't stay here anymore, not with a Pokemon like Darkrai around. However, the Pitch Black Pokemon had appeared right in front of her, ready to fire a Dark Void to put her into a horrible nightmare.
"WAIT! You don't wanna do this right? I mean... I'm just doing what the Rift tells me to do! Honestly! I mean it! So please don't put me into a nightmare state! I beg of you!" She was on the ground, begging the Dark Pokemon. Darkrai looked down on her, not amused.
"And you think that'll just let me spare you?"
"Come on. Have a heart please." Emerald Aura was genuinely terrified. Normally Darkrai wouldn't hesitate to send them into a nightmare, but spending time with Ash, Luna and everyone else has managed to change him. He laid down his Dark Void as it fizzled out.
"I'll give you a chance. But if I see any funny business going down..." Darkrai threatened her by staring her down with his void-like eyes. Emerald gulped, agreeing not to try anything.
"Y-Yes, sir." She gently trotted off, heading back to their hideout.
The day had arrived, and Emerald Aura was still shaken up from last night. Darkrai now knows she's here. And if she tries anything, he'll put her into a horrifying sleep state.
"What's wrong with you? You're quaking uncontrollably." Cold Colt asked.
"We can't be seen outside anymore."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Darkrai is just there. Waiting... in the shadows. And if we cause any problems.. then its lights out for us. But mostly me."
"So what? We just give up?"
"YES! I don't wanna deal with him okay?! We'll let Ghetsis handle everything else."
"Then what do we do now? We can't just stay here forever. It's so boring!"
"Too bad. I don't wanna have nightmares!"
"Well fine! I'm out of here! I'll cause problems on my own." Cold Colt left the hideout, leaving Emerald alone. Emerald was sitting on a chair, getting a good listen to the eternal silence. She sighed, just sitting there.
Cold Colt went out in the open to Ponyville. He wasn't too worried since the only ponies that know of his existence are the Mane 6 and Ash. Other than that, he's a total stranger. A kid just wandering about.
"Okay. How am I gonna do this?" Cold Colt looked around to see what he could sprout up. But nothing caught his interest really. Everything was so calm today that it was virtually impossible to ruin it all. "Oh. I have no idea where to start." He was clueless now. He knew one thing he had to do at least. Avoid getting seen by Twilight and her friends. But that was stopped abruptly as Applejack was right behind him.
"Going somewhere?" Her voice called to him. He jumped up, slowly turning his head to see the Earth Pony there. He gulped knowing this might be the end of the line.
"Ehehehe. Hi."
"You here to cause even more trouble? A little fella like you needs to know better."
"Uhh. I- I wasn't doing anything! What are YOU doing? Stalking me?"
"Yes."
"Wow. How honest... well... quit it! I'm not up to anything! So hah!"
"Uh-huh. Well, I still haven't let you go after what you did back in Oreburgh City. Not at all."
"Oh come on. It was last month. Give me a break. I'm just a kid."
"A kid that was made up by some Rift thingy and is in cahoots with ponies who tried to make Sombra succeed and corrupted Darkrai."
"A-" Cold Colt couldn't retort since everything she said was true. "Alright fine! I am up to something."
"Mhm." Applejack nodded her head, catching him in the act.
"But would you mind your own business lady! At least let me make the problem so that you can solve it eventually. Geez!"
"Solving the problem ain't what I care about. It's your reckless actions. You're putting everypony in danger all because of some fun that the Rift wants? Don't you feel a little bad?"
"Should I? I'm just a creation made out of cosmic astral energy. I can't be expected to have some sympathy."
"Well ain't that a bunch of nonsense. I can tell you can emote."
"Pssh. Yeah right. You have no proof."
"The way you reacted when I called you out. And you got riled up as well. You're just like us. Appearance and everything."
"I am not one of you. Don't get your hopes up." Cold Colt turned away.
"If you say so. But I'd better not see any funny business going on. And just to make sure..." Applejack wrapped her lasso around his leg.
"Hey! What gives?!"
"I'll be keeping an eye on you."
"Geez. You're not my mom! But fine, I won't do anything."
"Good. Now how about I show you around so you can get to know Ponyville better?"
"I'd rather be back at my hideout."
At Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack brought Cold Colt here once she showed him around Ponyville. He was bored out of his mind, not wanting to be apart of this but he had no choice. Applejack could easily stop him at any moment if she wanted.
"And here's Sweet Apple Acres. Our family's pride and joy."
"Oh wow... Apples." Cold Colt felt like he was about to fall asleep.
"That right there's Big Macintosh. And Granny Smith. Now, where's Apple Bloom?"
"Here!" Her little sister replied. That's when Cold Colt's boredom turned into something else. It was the one thing that was very predictable to see. Anypony much older can see it. The young blue colt was another victim of love at first sight.
"W-Who's that?"
Applejack could see it in his eyes and the way he was moving.
"Oh, I see. Predictable young'ns. Well, I'll just say this. You have no chance." Applejack shut him down instantly. Cold Colt walked towards Apple Bloom, putting on a cool persona.
"Hey. Name's Cold Colt. Everything about me is cool. What's yours?" He gave off a horrible smolder."
"Hi. My name's Apple Bloom. Pleasure to meet ya, Cold Colt." She said shaking his hoof. Cold Colt was trying to keep his composure. Despite him being an astral creation, that doesn't mean he wasn't given the natural things that ponies have. Perhaps this is also part of the Rift's plan.
"Well, we've taken a tour around most of Ponyville, you wanna keep going little fella?"
"You crazy, lady?! I'm bored out of my mind! The only thing interesting is right front of me!" He said pointing his hoof at Apple Bloom.
"Alright. If you say so. You wanna head back then?"
Cold Colt actually didn't want to head back. He didn't want to sit around in a room for who knows how long. He was like every foal, full of energy and excitement.
"Actually... I think I'll stay for a bit."
"That's what I like to hear. How about I give you some apple pies. You'll love em."
Meanwhile, with Emerald Aura, she was still sitting there, alone. She sighed in boredom as she realised that being here wasn't doing anything for her. But her privacy was broken once Obsidian entered the room.
"Bored out of your mind?"
"Obsidian! Oh finally. Somepony else is here."
"I'm sorry did you just say, 'Somepony'? Guess you're adapting to this world very quickly. Anyways, I came to check up on how everything goes. Have you sent something else over to spice things up a bit?"
"Well no. We only sent Ghetsis and nothing else. We don't even know what other options are good enough. And what even is Ghetsis doing right now?"
"The guys going around making Hydregion the top Pokemon. Right now he's made his Hydregion steal the DNA of many Pokemon. So now it can use more than 4 moves."
"Yikes. That's actually kinda terrifying."
"Yeah, it is. Now I got a question for you. What are you going to do now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the Rift sent you here for a reason. And here you are just sitting about."
"You think I wouldn't do anything by now? I can't cause any problems, because Darkrai's out there. All he has to do is toss some black orb at me and its game over. And he's still holding a huge grudge from when I was controlling him."
"I see now. Quaking in your hooves are we?"
"Whatever! I bet you'd be terrified to do anything with HIM around! And what even are you doing? We're the ones doing most of the work while you just sit around popping up in places. You only ever did something at the Royal Canterlot Wedding."
"I'm doing my part. Besides, I'm waiting to make a big move when Tirek arrives."
"Tirek?"
"Oh yeah. In the original timeline, this Tirek guy causes some real damage to Equestria. And good old Princess Twilight and her friends with the day as usual. This time, I'm gonna add something extra into the mix." Obsidian gave off a dangerous smile.
"W-What are you planning?" Even Emerald Aura wasn't sure of this.
"You'll see. Only 22 days left until the whole Tirek event happens. See you there." Obsidian was returning back to the realm of the rift.
"Wait! Don't leave me! It's so lonely here!"
"If you want company, go see the Dazzlings. They're hanging about in Ponyville, trying to be cautious not to be seen by Twilight and her friends. Ciao." Obsidian was gone.
"Ugh. This sucks!" She shouted as her shout could be heard from the surface. "Maybe Cold Colt is right. Sitting here is boring. But I can't go out there. Unlike Cold Colt, everypony knows who I am and what I did. There has to be something I can do..." She thought hard and long until she came to a conclusion. "That's it!"
She grabbed the list of things to send over by the Rift and decided to change things up a bit.
"Me, Obsidian and Cold Colt are the only ones who were made by the Rift. Why not add one extra member. But I'm gonna use this one for something special." She had a bit of a maniacal laugh. She knew what she was planning and she wanted it to be executed.
Over at Sweet Apple Acres, Cold Colt had eaten the pies and actually enjoyed them. He could taste the flavor they held.
"This is delicious!" He began chomping away at the pies.
"First time having pies?" Applejack asked.
"My first time eating EVER! So this is what food is like? I've been missing out!"
"First food ever? Where do you come from?" Apple Bloom wondered.
"Uhh.." Cold Colt turned to Applejack. He was hesitant to tell the truth while Applejack knew what would happen if he did. She had a smug look on her face that said it all. "I'm from... uh... Galloptopia." He made that up. Exactly what a young kid would say.
"Galloptopia? Sounds like a neat place!"
"It sure is." said Applejack, knowing that Cold Colt was lying through his teeth The young blue foal knew as well as he was sweating with Applejack just onto him.
"So when are you heading back there?"
"Oh uh... I don't have a home!" He blurted.
"You don't have a home? How come?"
"Well uh, you see...Back in Galloptopia... you need uh... 300 bits to own a house."
"300 BITS?!" Apple Bloom yelled.
"Mhm. 300 bits total. It's a pretty fancy city so it obviously costs a lot. And I don't own that many bits so.. there's that."
"That's a real shame. No wonder you haven't eaten before. But what about your parents?"
"Yeah, Cold Colt. What about your old folks?" Applejack sat next to him.
"They uhh... Left me!" He lied once more, coming up with anything he could think of. "Yep. Didn't want anything to do with me, so they ditched me in the streets and I was left to wander the world by myself and now I ended up here. In Ponyville. True story." He did everything to make sure Apple Bloom wasn't terrified of him. The Rift was deemed a threat to Equestria after all.
"Aw... that's so sad." Apple Bloom pouted. "I'm so sorry for you!" She gave him a pity hug which made him twitch. Applejack shook her head in disbelief. These were some of the worst lies she's ever heard of. "Applejack. Can we help him?"
"Hmm. Gee Apple Bloom. I don't know. Is he up for it?" Applejack leaned in on Cold Colt, making him feel the pressure. The young colt was sweating bullets. Normally he would decline and jet off, but love is a powerful force that can keep even the strongest of spirits pinned down.
"Totally! Totally am!"
"Then it's settled. Welcome to the family. Cold Colt."
"Isn't that great? Can I call you Cold? Are you a big brother or a little brother? Does this make you the middle child?" Apple Bloom rambled. What has Cold Colt gotten himself into?
"Gather round everypony!" Applejack shouted as the entire Apple Family was here. "We've got a new family member. Meet Cold Colt."
"Oh no." Cold Colt was surrounded on all sides. He set himself into a trap and there was no way he was getting out of it now. And Applejack knows this as well. If anything, she foresaw this. Almost planning it and every event that would play out here.
"Hope you all can make him felt at home." Applejack grinned. Now they had a member of the Rift, right in their hooves.
The Dazzlings were hanging about near Whitetail Woods. Their attempt at consuming negative energy wasn't working out as they planned. It's like they've been stripped of their natural talent, and it was something else. After all, they had Cutie Marks each.
"We're making 0 progress. Our singing is doing the exact opposite. It's making them... happy." Adagio twitched.
"Maybe we've gotten rusty?" Sonata shrugged.
"Nonsense! Sirens don't get rusty. Our singing is pitch-perfect."
"But we're not Sirens anymore. We're just ponies now." Aira slumped on a rock.
"Well, I'm hungry. I wonder if that Delia person will give us some more of that tail?" Sonata was drooling, thinking of eating Slowpoke tail again.
"Forget it. We aren't going back there. Don't want their goody-two-shoes energy rubbing off on us. Even if it is the most delicious thing we've ever tasted, ever." Adagio rejected having to involve herself with anyone else.
"Come on Adagio. We've done absolutely nothing for a week now. I'm getting bored. So why not just do whatever for the time being."
"I thought I already told you, Sonata. No. We're not here to have fun. At all."
"You're not here to have fun. Only you." Sonata responded with an attitude.
"Excuse me?"
"You keep dragging me down! If I'm gonna feed of negative moods, I should at least enjoy myself first. You always prevent us from having some fun."
"We're Sirens! Singing to take others moods is what we were born for! Quit trying to negate that!"
"Well, I am. And I'm not gonna let you boss me around anymore. You're not my mom!" Sonata and Adagio stared each other down as Aria looked at the two in a heated state.
"Fine! Get lost then. See if I care. You'll probably end up getting lost on your own." Adagio turned around.
"I will. And I'm so gonna consume negative feelings before you do!" Sonata walked off, leaving the two, making one member of the Dazzlings gone.
"Well. She's gone." Aria said.
"Who needs her? We can work better now that the airhead is gone."
As Sonata was wandering on her own, she could feel her stomach rumbling. She could only think about returning to Pallet Town and getting some of that sweet Slowpoke tail.
"Oh.. wait for me Slowpoke tail." As she kept moving, she came across a Buneary. "Oooh. Look at how small this one is."
"Bun?"
"Wait a sec," Sonata remembered she had a Pokeball that she never got to use on that Jigglypuff. Now was her chance. "Hehe. Go!" She tossed the Pokeball as it made contact with the Rabbit Pokemon.
1...2...3... Get!
"Yes! Haha! First try! But... what do I even do with this thing?" She looked at the Pokeball. She only knew that you could catch them, but never past that. "Oh well. I got it so that's all that matters."
Sonata eventually ended up in Ponyville, returning there. She was already on the verge of pure starvation as she could only keep walking for a while.
"Ugh. Where's that town with the Slowpoke tail?" She was looking around for where the gateway to Kanto might be. She was definitely lost, but not for long. Ash and Pikachu caught sight of her, walking to greet her.
"Hey!"
"Pika!"
"Hm?" She turned around to see the two chuckleheads. "Oh, it's you.. uhh... what's your name again?"
"Ash Ketchum. And I don't think I ever got your name.
"Sonata Dusk."
"Well hey, Sonata. Have you found your way home yet?"
"No. Totally lost. I don't even know where are our home originally was." Sonata slumped on the ground.
"Where are your other friends?" Ash looked around, not seeing Adagio or Aria anywhere.
"I left them. Adagio's too commanding. I can't hang around with someone like that. Especially if I'm not allowed to anything on my own."
"Oh. That's a shame. You looked like you got along pretty well."
"Yeah well.. that was before. I took me this long to realise how horrible she is." Sonata didn't want to think of Adagio anymore, but she was thinking about food. Her stomach kept growling. "Ugh.. food."
"You want some food? No need to worry. SugarCube Corner's right there. You'd love the stuff that's made there!"
"Pikachu!"
"Are they as good as Slowpoke tail?"
"You're gonna have to find out." Ash led Sonata to SugarCube Corner to fill that growling stomach up. Inside, Sonata was greeted to a pile of pastries. Made only by Pinkie with the help of Slurpuff. "Here we are. Check out all the stuff you can eat!"
"Pika!"
"Wow..." Sonata was drooling at the sight. Pikachu went over to grab a box of cake, wanting to hand it over to Sonata. "You're gonna give me some?"
"Pika-Pika."
"Thanks." The third time someone was nice to her. It was at this moment that she realised that her entire life, she had been feeding off the negativity of ponies who she could've been friends with from the beginning. But the nature of the Sirens and Adagio's commanding personality had negated that. She took a bite out of the cake by smashing her face on the box, making Pikachu jump. "Mmm! This is just as good as the tail!"
"Isn't it?" Ash smiled along with Pikachu. Pinkie Pie entered, seeing Sonata with Ash and Pikachu.
"Oh heya! Who's this new pony?" Pinkie called out as Sonata turned around. She recognized her from the other world, except this was her pony version. She was about to freak out, worried they might blow her away with song again. Pinkie zoomed over to Sonata, placing her hoof around her. "Nice to meet ya! I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name?"
"S-Sonata Dusk." She awkwardly said.
"Well glad to have you here! How about we throw you a big welcome party?"
"A welcome party? Just for me?"
"Of course silly. It'd be a crime not to have one. Everypony would love to have you here!"
"That... sounds fun! I'm up for that!" Sonata's worrying was thrown right out of the window. She was surprised that there wasn't any hostility sent towards her. Whether it was Pinkie's charm or the cake, didn't matter. All worries are gone.
"Oh. I see you've caught a Pokemon already?" Ash pointed at the Pokeball she had on her back.
"Oh yeah! But uh... what do I do with it now? It's in the ball."
"You can send it out. Just toss it and your Pokemon will know when to come out." He explained.
"That easy?" Sonata thrust her back up as the ball went flying in the air. Buneary came right out of it.
"Oh sweet. A Buneary."
"Pika."
"These things are weird." Sonata looked at the Pokeball. "Well, I like em! Hey there. Buneary! My name's Sonata. We're like totally partners now!"
"Bun?"
"Since this is your first Pokemon and you're super new to all of this, I can help you get to know the basics."
"Really?"
"Yeah! Ash is an expert at Pokemon. You won't find anypony better at it than him!" Pinkie Pie said.
An hour had passed. Adagio thought she could forget about Sonata, but to her surprise, she felt like there was something missing.
"You miss her don't you Adagio?" Aria pointed out.
"Not at all! I'm just thinking of all the things she's getting herself into without us. It'll show her that she can't be on her own." Adagio was reluctant to admit any positive feelings towards Sonata. She really was caught up with her goal. "But just to make sure... we'll go and check up on her."
"Right. Check up on her." Aria could see right through Adagio, easily.
As the two ponies headed to Ponyville, the first thing they saw was Sonata. And she was chatting away with Ash, Pinkie Pie and the CMC. Casually too. No problems here. Adagio was confused about how she could be talking to one of the ponies who blasted them away back in the other world. Then again she had no idea that both Pinkie's were two different entities.
"Well. No problem here. Looks like she's found herself some company." said Aria, chuckling.
"You cannot be serious..." Adagio felt like she was going crazy now. Everything she knew was changing right before her eyes. Sonata saw her two Siren partners, waving at them with a wide grin. Adagio's eyes squinted as she looked at Sonata with scorn in her eyes. Sonata's eyes widened, having a bad feeling about this.
"Oh hey. It's your two friends. Maybe they're here to talk it out?" Ash said.
"I don't think they're here to talk it out.." Sonata was quaking in her hooves. As Adagio got closer, Sonata could feel the anger from afar. It was like a behemoth of a monster was heading her way and there was nothing she could do to stop it from reaching her.
"Sonata... What happened to consuming negative energy huh? You end up having fun and here you are, chatting away!" Adagio growled.
"Well... I don't want to anymore. At least not for these guys."
"What?! You really HAVE grown soft. Budding with these chumps."
"Chumps?" Scootaloo said, feeling offended by that.
"Hey! You can't just-" Pinkie Pie was about to say something.
"Stay out of this you pink menace! You're almost as insufferable as her!"
"Oh.." Pinkie Pie stepped down.
"I've had enough of you Adagio!" Sonata bellowed at the top of her lungs. This was enough to keep Adagio quiet. "I've made my decision. I won't consume their negative moods. Not the moods of friends."
"Friends?" Adagio felt like she just threw up in her mouth. She knew there was no convincing her now as she stomped her hoof on the ground. "Fine! Fine! Whatever! Aria. Let's go." Aria was neutral to all of this. Despite her actually enjoying her time with those who cared for her, she still wanted to consume emotions like Adagio. She went with Adagio's side, much to Sonata's dismay. Adagio and Aria had left, making this the last time they'll see Sonata again. At least to them.
"Gee. I didn't know it was that serious. Sorry Sonata." said Ash.
"Pika.."
"Don't be sorry. It's for the best. I don't want to involve myself with them anymore." Sonata's usually bubbly personality was sidelined as she was 100% serious about this.
"Well, I'm sure it'll work out in the end. So cheer up. Your party's almost ready." Pinkie tried to cheer Sonata up. Sonata felt a built of guilt. Seeing how she might've lost the two Sirens who she knew the longest. But she felt like she got a huge load off her back.
"Can't we do something?" Sweetie Belle asked Ash.
"No. It's something that had to be settled by them and them only. It's best not to ever get involved." Ash replied. "You gonna be okay Sonata?"
"Totally." She replied with confidence. It was on this day that Ponyville gained a new citizen. One who would've originally been a threat to them. The remaining Dazzlings will now have to decide what to do now in their current state.
With enough time to improve, it was time for Rainbow Dash's third Gym Battle. Her destination, Manehattan. Much more grand in scale compared to the other two gyms.
"This is it. The day I win my third Gym Battle." Rainbow Dash was sitting down, talking to her Pokemon. "And we're gonna win this like we did the others! Nopony's gonna take us down!"
"Whirli!
"Ruff!"
"Swablu!"
"That's the spirit!"
"Best be careful Rainbow Dash," Ash said. "The third gym is always the first roadblock. I should know."
"Pika-Pika."
"I heard the 3rd Gym Leader's a pony. This'll be their first time being in the league." Twilight said.
"That means my chances of winning have gone up. Hehehe." Rainbow Dash was getting too full of herself. "No time to waste. Manehattan, here we come!"
Manehattan. A metropolitan city located in Equestria. Here is where Rainbow Dash will come across the third gym. And the gym leader will prove to be her biggest challenge yet. Arriving at Manehattan, they came across a red and orange domed shape building with the Pokemon symbol on it.
"This is it. Must be a fire gym from the looks of it." As Rainbow Dash and the others entered, they were greeted with the gym leader. To the others they didn't recognize the pony, but Twilight did.
"No way. YOU'RE the gym leader?!" Twilight gasped. The pony she recognized had come here from another separate world.
Sunset Shimmer.
"Hey Twilight."
"Is this that Sunset Shimmer girl you mentioned a while back?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah. I'm surprised you're here. You were assigned?"
"Hehe. Yep. This BigTime Ben guy offered me this role so I took it. Although I am a bit nervous. Celestia maybe doesn't I'm here and I'm still kinda shaken up on her."
"Who cares about all of that? I'm here for my Gym Battle!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Well, she came here for that. So we'll give her a challenge. Right Litleo?" Sunset said to her partner Pokemon who was by her side.
"Oooh." Rainbow Dash pulled out her dex to get some info on this new Pokemon.
"Litleo. The Lion Cub Pokemon. As soon as Litleo is able to battle without the help of its pride, it sets off on its own journey, filled with curiosity about what the future holds. When it gets fired up, its mane becomes hot."
"Aww... it's a tiny little lion cub." Fluttershy gazed at the fire Pokemon. Both trainers took their spots as the referee looked at both sides.
"The battle between Challenger Rainbow Dash and Gym Leader Sunset Shimmer will be a 3v3. Three Pokemon only and the battle will be over once three Pokemon on one side are unable to battle. Only the challenger will be allowed to substitute Pokemon for this challenge." He announced.
"I'll start off with you. Go! Rufflet!" Her first Pokemon was Rufflet, who had gotten stronger over the past days.
"Rufflet!"
"Then I'll go with this one." Sunset sent her Pokeball forward with her magic. Sending out her first Pokemon. Fletchinder.
"Another flying type?" Dash scanned it with her dex.
"Fletchinder. The Ember Pokemon. Each Fletchinder jealously guards its own territory and drives intruders away. Flaming embers shoot forth from its beak to attack, or to grill its food to perfection before eating."
"It'll be a Flying-Type fight then. I can get behind that. You ready Rufflet?"
"Let!"
"Battle Start!"
"Let's get in there with a Wing Attack!" Rufflet made the first move, flying forward.
"Blow it away with Razor Wind!" Fletchinder had sent a wave of wind that was sharp enough to cut rocks in half as each of them hit Rufflet, pushing him back.
"Ruff!"
"Don't let it get to you! Fly over it!" Rufflet flew over the Razor Wind, avoiding each of them.
"Chase after it and keep using Razor Wind!" Flethchinder chased after Rufflet, sending cutting wind at it. Rufflet was doing his best to try and avoid the wind, avoiding a bit. He eventually got in close, striking his wing on Fletchinder, pushing it back down. "Not bad. Counter with Steel Wing!" Flethchinder quickly flew up as it wings became hard as steel, hitting Rufflet in its belly.
"Oh no Rufflet!" Rufflet was sent to the ground, but he covered on his talons luckily.
"Ruff!" Rufflet shook off that damage, as it only riled him up more.
"Let's try the new move you learned. Brave Bird!" Rufflet's body started to glow as it was radiating energy representing its passion to win. The Eaglet Pokemon charged in, ready to smash into Fletchinder.
"Sorry. I won't let you! Flame Charge!" Fletchinder quickly retaliated by engulfing itself in flames, charging at Rufflet as the two birds butted heads. They ended up pushing each other back as they seemed equal in strength. However, Fletchinder had managed to burn Rufflet, making him experience his first status effect. Thanks to the ability, Flame Body.
"Okay, Rufflet! Come back for now!" She had returned him to his ball. "Rufflet matches it for strength..but that burn's a threat. I need to keep my distance. "Go! Whirlipede!"
"Whirlipede." Next up was the Curlipede Pokemon. Rainbow was going to use its speed and ranged attacks to its advantage.
"Fletchinder. Use Acrobatics!" All of a sudden, Fletchinder got much faster as it was moving about at high speeds. Whirlipede couldn't keep track, but Rainbow Dash could. Thanks to her being fast herself. Before Fletchinder struck Rainbow Dash made the command.
"Dodge it!" But it was too late. Acrobatics already hit its mark, making Whirlipede roll. This kept on going as Whirlipede was getting pummeled with Acrobatics. "Not good! Use Poison Sting!" Whirlipede was about to strike Fletchinder, but the Ember Pokemon avoided it easily. Its speed was too much.
"Oh, dear. Whirlipede is really feeling the pressure." Rarity was getting worried. Rainbow Dash even more. She didn't know what to do. She could keep up with Fletchinder, but Whirlipede couldn't. It's only fast when it builds up momentum.
"Urgh. Return Whirlipede." Making another switch out was tough for her. She wasn't doing too well in this one early on. She was caught in a bit of a rough spot. She only had two Pokemon who were Flying-Types. And Whirlipede's Bug-Typing made it weak against Fletchinder. And this was only Sunset's first Pokemon.
"Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Dash?" Sunset said.
"I ain't out yet. I'll find a way past that bird. Swablu! I'm counting on you!" Swablu was her next pick. Even if it's also a Flying-Type, it can still take neutral damage.
"Fletchinder. Steel Wing!"
"Swablu! Swoop around!" Swablu did just that, swooping underneath the Steel Wing. "Now use Fury Attack!" It flew back, attacking Fletchinder's back with its cotton wings and talons.
"Blow it away with Razor Wind!" Fletchinder pushed Swablu off it, unleashing rapid cutting wind waves at Swablu. The Cotton Bird Pokemon took the hits but not taking too much damage. "Now! Flame Charge!"
"Use Disarming Voice!" Swablu let out a charming cry that dealt emotional damage to Fletchinder. This was enough to put it to a halt. "Yes! Now slam it down with your wings!" Swablu lifted its wings up, slamming Fletchinder back on the ground. Fletchinder recovered as it wasn't enough to take it down. Rainbow Dash was starting to see why the 3rd Gym is always known as the first roadblock, as said by Ash.
"I've never seen Rainbow Dash struggle so much like this," Twilight commented. "You weren't kidding about the 3rd Gym Ash."
Rainbow Dash still had some faith. She did manage to land a few hits here and there. She thought to herself, thinking that if she just got one good hit in, she'd be able to take out Fletchinder at least. Then none of her Pokemon would have fainted, leaving her with an advantage.
"Alright. Swablu! Disamaring Voice one more time!" Swablu sent the sound waves down towards Fletchinder.
"Fly to the side!" Fletchinder quickly flew to the side, avoiding the voice. "Now! Steel Wing!"
"Look out, Swablu! Block it with your wings!" Swablu had covered its entire body with its cotton wings. However, cotton won't save you from steel. The attack made a direct hit, sending Swablu back. It dealt major damage, almost putting Swablu down. "Hang in there! Fly in close!" Swablu zoomed forward towards its target.
"Let's finish this with Flame Charge!" Flethchinder also zoomed in with fire ready to hit Swablu.
"Now spin and duck!" Using a new command, Swablu spun around, ducking the Flame Charge. This caught Sunset off guard. Didn't see that one coming. "Go! Fury Attack!" Swablu flew back up, slamming both its wings on Fletchinder, sending it back to the bottom. It hit the ground, and thanks to the repeated hits it took, Fury Attack managed to make it faint.
"Fletchinder is unable to battle. Swablu wins!"
"Yes! Phew! That got rough. Right Swablu?"
"Swa-" Their victory came with a cost. Flame Body. Swablu's cotton caught the burn as it took damage from the flames, making it faint as well.
"Swablu is also unable to battle!"
Sunset smirked. She planned this from the very start. Relying on Fletchinder's ability Flame Body was the right call, as it will burn the opponent if they get too comfortable getting up close and personal. Rainbow Dash returned Swablu, but she wasn't feeling too down. She still had somewhat evened the odds, but her Pokemon took some considerable damage.
"Not a bad start, Rainbow Dash. Manoeuvring around my Fletchinder was pretty smart. But. Let's see how you handle things on ground level. Go!" Her next Pokemon came out. Rainbow was ready to use the dex on it. It was a Braxien.
"Braxien. The Fox Pokemon. When Braxien pulls the twig out of its tail, the friction from its fur sets the wood on fire. It can use this flaming twig as a tool or a weapon."
"Braxien huh? She's got a full Kalos team." Ash pointed out.
"Okay... Gotta be careful. Fire's no joke, even when it comes to Pokemon. Whirlipede. Let's try this again!" Whirlipede came back out. It had one move in its arsenal that would help it. Rollout.
"Get in with Rollout!" Not holding anything back, Whirlipede went in with its body rapidly moving forward towards Braxien, now with momentum. Sunset and Braxien stood there, knowing what to do.
"Attract." Braxien had winked at Whirlipede, making it fall for Braxien, stopping in its tracks.
"Say what?!" Dash yelled. "Whirlipede! Keep going!" Whirlipede wasn't in his right mind. He was smitten.
"Gotcha. Use Psybeam." With its twig glowing a purple color, it blasted Whirlipede away with a beam of psychic energy. The amount of power behind it surpassed that of Starmie's. This was enough to knock Whirlipede out.
"Whirlipede is unable to battle! Braxien wins!"
Rainbow Dash gulped. She did not see this coming. This wasn't like Sweet Scent back at her first Gym Battle. Now she was down to just one Pokemon. Rufflet.
"What do I do..." She grit her teeth as she was feeling overwhelmed. "I have to risk it all on Rufflet."
"This is making me nervous." Applejack was quaking.
"Rufflet! Let's win this!" Sending Rufflet out, the two were about to go for broke. Both of them could feel the pressure. "I won't let it end here. Rufflet! Aerial Ace!" Rufflet quickly flew forward, striking Braxien with intense force. Sunset smiled as she retaliated instantly.
"Fire Spin." Braxien started to spin around as a fiery ball surrounded her. "Try and get close Dash." Rufflet backed away, not wanting to get hit by the Fire Spin.
"Blow it away by flapping your wings repeatedly!" She tried a good old fashion nature trick. Rufflet was flapping its wings as fast as it could. But it wasn't enough to even make the flames woosh. Braxien then jumped up as the Fire Spin struck Rufflet.
"Ruff!"
"Rufflet no!" Rufflet rolled on the floor as it got back up. But it was caught with the effects of Fire Spin. Not to mention it was still affected by burn. Rufflet was sweating intensely. "Quick! Wing Attack in Aerial Ace!" She tried to use a combination of two moves. She was getting very desperate now. Rufflet flew in, ready to do a dual move.
"Attract again." And now, even Rufflet was caught by the attract, falling for Braxien.
"Not again!" Rufflet stopped flying as it went up to Braxien, heart eyes and all. "Snap out of it Rufflet!"
"Psybeam!" Braxien was ready to deliver another devastating hit, however, Rufflet came back to its senses. Sensing Rainbow Dash's cry. It avoided the Psybeam as it made a crater in the ground. "Awesome! Now! Brave Bird!"
"Not bad, snapping out of Attract. But this is it! Double Team!" All of a sudden, there were duplicates of Braxien everywhere, throwing Rufflet off focus.
"Which ones the real one?!" Rainbow Dash shifted her eyes, trying to see past the afterimages.
"Psybeam!" It looked like all the Braxien's were about to fire a Psybeam. Rufflet started to panic and so did Rainbow Dash.
"Dodge it!" She could only say that, not knowing which is the real one. Rufflet flew into the air, as al the afterimages started to fade away, showing the real Braxien. Psybeam was fired, hitting Rufflet head on. A smoke cloud erupted from the impact as Rufflet fell to the ground. "No! Rufflet!" Rufflet was hanging on by a thread. It stood back up, all tattered and damaged. Its determination to win was no joke. Rainbow Dash could feel it too, but she wasn't sure about letting him continue. The final nail in the coffin came from the burn damage, eventually making Rufflet fall.
"Rufflet is unable to battle! Braxien wins! Thus the victor is the Gym Leader Sunset Shimmer!"
This was her first loss and hit hard. She lowered her head, putting her hat over her face.
"Good job Braxien. Come back." Sunset Shimmer returned Braxien as she walked over to Rainbow Dash. "You did your best, Rainbow Dash. But don't feel too down. You can always try a-" Sunset couldn't finish her sentence as Rainbow Dash zoomed out of the gym, feeling a total loss.
"Poor Rainbow Dash. I've never seen her take such a huge loss like that before." Pinkie Pie pouted.
"I'm sorry if I was a bit too aggressive." Sunset felt guilty.
"It's alright. It happens. Losing your first Pokemon battle can be rough. On anyone. Rainbow Dash needs to take in her loss in the meantime." Ash said. Knowing how she felt.
"Pika."
Her first loss was major. She thought she was unstoppable considering her consecutive wins. But after that, she didn't feel invincible at all.
Rainbow Dash was sitting in a back alley alone, looking at her Pokeball. She was struggling to cope with the loss she gained today. She had never felt that much pressure before. Even before the two worlds crossed.
"I lost."
The only thing running through her mind. She sent out her Pokemon who were severely injured. Whirlipede, Rufflet and Swablu were all tattered up as they could still feel the effects of the battle.
"I'm sorry you three. I let us down. I rambled on about how nopony would ever take us down. Me and my big mouth."
Her Pokemon looked at her with sadness in their eyes as well. They flew and rolled over to her, going to comfort their trainer. Tears began rolling down Rainbow Dash's eyes but she was trying to pull them back.
"I didn't know all of that would happen. I didn't see it coming."
Twilight and the others eventually found Rainbow Dash in the alley.
"Rainbow!" They went over to their saddened friend, also wanting to comfort her. "Hey. You feeling better?"
"No. I'm not feeling better, Twilight."
"We know it was a tough loss for you. But surely you can recover from this can't you?" Rarity asked.
"I don't know. I talked a lot about winning and look what happened."
"Rainbow. Losing isn't that big of a deal, you know-"
"It is to me Twilight! You have no idea how it feels to lose like that! I thought I was invincible. Me and my Pokemon could take on anypony and pull through at the very end. How am I gonna become a Pokemon Champion? I barely managed to take down that Fletchinder. And that Braxien... I didn't even reach her final Pokemon." She kept beating herself.
"Ash. You've lost your fair share of battles, right? Talk some sense into her." AJ turned to Ash, seeking some help.
"It's tough alright. Sometimes you're not prepared for what your opponent may do. And losing stings. No doubt about it. Especially if you've got a lot of confidence and trust in your Pokemon." This was only making Rainbow Dash feel worse. "But, losing always has one perk. It's that you can learn from your loss."
"Learn from my loss?"
"Mhm. Even if you lost, you can adapt to it. The next time you face your opponent, you'll be able to predict what tricks they might use to throw you off. Your Pokemon want to get better and win don't they?"
Rainbow Dash's Pokemon nodded in response to what Ash said. Dash looked at her Pokemon, seeing their determination to be better along with her.
"You guys..." Rainbow Dash's tears that she was trying to hold back started to flow as she hugged her Pokemon tightly. "Let's get stronger together!"
Pallet Town, Ash home.
"Alright Rainbow Dash. You wanna get stronger? You gotta learn. And you'll be practising against me and my Pokemon." Ash stood there with his arms crossed. It was time to train Rainbow Dash.
"Right!" Rainbow nodded in response.
"Now. Your first major obstacle is that Attract. It'll totally stop you and your Pokemon from attacking Braxien. Only Rufflet could resist it. So, we'll let the others get past it. Snivy here will help."
"Sni!"
"I got it. I'm ready to train."
"Okay. Snivy! Use Attract!" Snivy winked over at Whirlipede, sending a heart towards it.
"Whirlipede! Close your eyes!" Whirlipede did just that, shielding itself from the Attract. Once it opened its eyes, Snivy used Attract once more, putting Whirlipede in a trance. "Huh?!"
"You may be able to avoid Attract by closing your eyes. But your opponent can keep using it against you. And your Pokemon still need to see when they're battling." Ash explained.
"Then how am I supposed to get past it?!" Rainbow Dash felt like the Attract move was unstoppable.
"It's easy. Switching out your Pokemon can remove the effects of Attract. But be careful not to let your Pokemon get caught up in it again."
"So there is a way around it. But how come Rufflet was able to snap out of it?"
"If you have a strong bond with your Pokemon, they can snap out of certain things with no problem."
"Pika!"
"Snivy!"
"Now. Let's try with your other Pokemon, okay?"
"Right. Swablu!" Swablu was next. The only Pokemon who wasn't hit with Attract. Ash commanded Snivy to use Attract on the Cotton Bird Pokemon, however, Swablu, on its own instincts avoided it. "I... didn't tell you to dodge though."
"Must be acting on instinct." Ash said.
"Well, if Swablu knows how to avoid it, then two of my Pokemon can work around the move."
"Yeah. Now you know a way around Attract. But there's still one issue that we gotta deal with it. Burn."
"Pika."
"Oh yeah. The burn." The effect that killed Rainbow Dash's winning streak. "I should've expected Fire-Types to be able to burn my Pokemon. Silly me."
"Don't worry about it. Status effects sting. But there's not much we can do about them during a battle. They can really drag you down and throw your flow off."
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded in agreement to Ash. Twilight and the others were watching Ash teach Rainbow Dash, hoping that this will help her improve once she has her rematch.
"Fletchinder's ability is Flame Body. Meaning that if you get too wild with the up close and personal stuff, there's a good chance you'll get the burn. It's the same for Pikachu over here. At times, his ability Static will kick in and paralyze anyone if he takes a direct hit."
"I can get rid of them by switching out again, right?" Rainbow thought.
"Nope. It'll still stay. Your best option is to keep your distance at all costs."
"Only Whirlipede and Swablu have ranged moves. Pin Missile and Disarming Voice. Rufflet doesn't really have anything for distance. So I did have a chance of winning." Rainbow Dash realised that her options were good, but she still had no idea what went wrong.
"Then you gotta make sure that you take that chance one more time." Ash put his hand on Rainbow's back. "Every trainer has bumps in the road. You just came across your first one. The road to being a Champion is tough. Just like me on the road to being a Master."
"Pika-Pika."
"Thanks, Ash. If you don't mind, I'd like to battle you and your Pokemon. To get better."
"You got yourself a battle!"
"Pika!"
A training battle to help her improve. All of her Pokemon against Ash's Pikachu and Buizel. Rainbow Dash gulped a bit. She knew how different Ash was compared to Sunset Shimmer. Sunset is like everypony else, new to Pokemon still. Ash has been doing this for 22 years now. But this was just a small training session. So not too much to worry about.
"I'll definitely become stronger. Whirlipede! Pin Missile!" Whirlipede sent a barrage of pins moving at high speeds towards Buizel.
"Buizel! Water Gun!" Buizel cancelled out Pin Missile with a shot of water. "Now come as close as you want, Rainbow."
"Bui!"
"Okay! Whirlipede! Rollout!"
"Intercept with Aqua Jet!" Both Pokemon dashed towards each other, clashing. But, Buizel easily won the clash, pushing Whirlipede back. Rainbow could see the one thing consistent with Whirlipede. Since it is in the shape of a circle, it's constantly rolling around, even if it was knocked back. She saw this as an advantage.
"Whirlipede! Use that rolling momentum to your advantage!" As Whirlipede was rolling, it then gained control, turning around Buizel and continuing to use Rollout.
"Not bad! Ice Punch!" However, Buizel easily stopped Whirlipede by freezing it with an Ice Punch. "You're learning how to use your Pokemon's skills to their advantage much better now. Let's keep going."
"Right! Come back Whirlipede." Rainbow returned Whirlipede, sending Swablu out next. "Swablu! Disarming Voice!"
"Alright, Buizel. Spin with Water Gun!" Buizel reflected the sound waves by causing Counter Shield. The spinning water struck Swablu from the sky, pushing the Cotton Bird Pokemon back.
"If I'm gonna advance forward, me and my Pokemon need to take the toughest of battles! Swablu! Fury Attack!" Rainbow Dash yelled at the top of her lungs.
Their battle didn't last very long. Only 7 minutes. Buizel and Pikachu easily overpowered her team. But she learnt a lot and improved. Nighttime came along. Everyone had else had headed home for the meantime. Rainbow Dash was in her home at Cloudsdale, thinking about what had happened today. Losing the Gym Battle, but improving with Ash has made her realise a lot.
"Next time. I'll totally win. Me and my Pokemon." She said with confidence in her voice. Rufflet could feel her determination from within his Pokeball. The Bond Phenomenon within the two was growing. What they experienced today will help bring it out even faster.
The next day, Rainbow Dash was out on her own at White Tail Wood. She was training with Rufflet, Swablu and Whirlipede. Still wanting to improve.
"Rufflet! Brave Bird! Swablu! Fury Attack! Whirlipede! Rollout!" She commanded all three of her Pokemon to attack each other in unison. The three of them crashed into each other, sending them both back. "Keep going!" She kept this up for a while. Her Pokemon weren't stopping for a moment.
Fluttershy peeked her head out of the bushes, seeing Rainbow Dash train.
"Rainbow Dash's really riled up now. I'm just glad that she's gotten over her loss... but I'm worried. What if she doesn't win again? What'll she do?" Fluttershy thought of the worst possible scenario. There's no telling if she'd win a second time. And even Fluttershy knows that Sunset Shimmer hadn't used Litleo yet.
Twilight was at her library, thinking about the battle from yesterday as well.
"I think I've figured it out, Spike."
"Figured what out?"
"I think I've figured out this Flame Body ability. Ash said that there's a good chance it'll burn the Pokemon if they get too close for comfort. I noticed that when Swablu was battling, for the first part it didn't get burned. But the second time it went to attack, that's when Flame Body got it."
"So... what are you getting at?"
"I believe that there's a 30% chance of Flame Body actually working."
"A 30% chance? That's kinda low."
"Not too low. That's only a 70% chance of missing. If I can get this information to Rainbow Dash, she'll love it!" Twilight flew out of the library with the book by her side. She crashed on the ground, still not used to her wings.
Pinkie Pie was preparing a cheer up party for Rainbow Dash. Ash had already done that yesterday, but Pinkie wanted to make sure she was even happier.
"Come on Slurpuff! Sniff out the best cupcake you can find! Rainbow Dash has to be so happy, her loss will be non-existent to her!" Pinkie had piled up tons of Cupcakes with the inclusion of some chocolate sculptures, inspired by Mulia Mild.
Her friends were doing everything they could to lift her spirits up even more. Rarity made some dresses while Applejack got some cider for her to enjoy. Rainbow Dash wasn't aware of what her friends were doing for her. Not until they actually arrived at White Tail Wood, tracking her down.
Dash had finished training her Pokemon as they needed a small break. They sat down, relaxing as they were all thinking of the inevitable rematch. Breaking the silence, Twilight and the rest of her friends showed up. Each here for different reasons. She saw them heading this way to cheer her up.
"Rainbow Dash! I've got a solution to your burn problem!"
"I've got a party waiting for you back at SugarCube Corner!"
"Well, I got a nice cider drink waiting for you. Tons of em!"
"She can drink the cider and party after she learns of this."
"Parties come before anything!" They were bickering about what to do first. Rainbow Dash merely smiled at it. She was happy to have such good friends.
Rainbow Dash had lost previously, and it definitely made her feel down, but now she's prepared for what's to come. No one said this entire league would be easy after all. Sunset Shimmer was waiting in Manehattan. Taking her time off Canterlot High at the other world to give Rainbow her rematch.
"So. You ready for that rematch, Rainbow?" Sunset asked.
"More than ever. And I'm winning this time!"
"The battle will be a 3v3 like before. Once again, only the challenger can substitute Pokemon. The battle will be over when the other side has no Pokemon that are unable to battle. You may both send out your Pokemon." said the referee.
"Fletchinder. Out you come!" Like before, Sunset Shimmer sent out Fletchinder as her first pick. Rainbow Dash knew about Flame Body now, so she was going to be cautious this time.
"Go! Whirlipede!" Whirlipede was her choice. Despite it having a huge disadvantage against a Pokemon like Fletchinder, Dash still decided to go for it. After all, learning about abilities had made her learn about her Whirlipede's ability. She was going to use that to her advantage. Ash, Twilight and the others were ready to watch this rematch go down, hoping that Rainbow Dash can pull through on this one.
"Battle Start!"
"Pin Missile!" She went for a good distance move. Missiles of pins rained down on Fletchinder.
"Dodge it and use Flame Charge!" Fletchinder was avoiding the pins as it had its body light up with fire.
"Keep firing Pin Missiles while moving!" Whirlipede began to roll as it repeatedly kept on using Pin Missiles. The pins were everywhere, getting stuck in the ground and even on the walls. Fletchinder was actually finding it a bit hard to avoid all of the pins as it some of them hit it.
"Fletch!"
"Keep the pressure on!" Rainbow Dash was returning the favor of Sunset Shimmer putting the pressure on her in their first battle. Fletchinder was taking the pins but it wasn't doing too much damage. But it was good for racking up some hits,
"Fletchinder! Use Steel Wing to block them!" Fletchinder's wings turned into steel as it made the pins bounce off. "Good. Now go!" The Ember Pokemon swooped down, striking Whirlipede with Steel Wing as it flew by. Whirlipede rolled back, but it luckily regained its balance.
"Move around using Rollout!" Whirlipede took off, rolling across the area. "I always wondered why Whirlipede was so fast. Then I found out that its ability is Speed Boost. I'll use this outpace you! Go!"
"Fly up!" Fletchinder avoided the Rollout by flying high up. "You can use your speed if Fletchinder's up in the air ya know. Razor Wind!"
"Counter with Pin Missle!" The pins and the cutting winds met, cancelling each other out. "Now return." Rainbow Dash had called back Whirlipede, planning her next move. "Swablu! You're next! Get in there and use Disarming Voice!" Not only did she toss Swablu out, but she also gave it a command before it exited out.
"SWA!" Swablu let out a charming sound wave that struck Fletchinder. Fletchinder was sent to the ground from the noise.
"Awesome job!"
"Fletchinder! Acrobatics!" Fletchinder moved at blinding speeds as it flew past Swablu, hitting it numerous times with agile moves.
"Shield yourself!" Swablu used its cotton wings to nullify the damage, softening each blow.
"Flame Charge!" Flethchinder flew back as it was much faster than before.
"So Flame Charge is what makes it faster..." Rainbow Dash thought. "Swablu! Disarming Voice! One more time!" Swablu let out a second wave of sound that was pushing Fletchinder back from hitting it. However, Fletchinder easily broke through, hitting Swablu.
"Swab!"
"Quick! Grab it with your wings!" All of a sudden, Swablu grabbed a hold of Fletchinder with its cotton wings!
"What the?!" Sunset yelled.
"Hold onto Fletchinder and use Disarming Voice!" Swablu wouldn't let Fletchinder go as it yelled into its face.
"Shake it off Fletchinder!" Fletchinder was trying to get off but to no avail. Swablu was holding on tight. But it came at a big cost. Flame Body had affected Swablu. Rainbow grit her teeth. She knew it was coming anyway. More and more, Fletchinder was pelted with Disarming Voices. "No good. Steel Wing!" Fletchinder made its wings steel as it weighed Swablu down. Flethchinder had escaped from it as it struck Swablu on the head with its wings.
"Swa!" Swablu went falling down but recovered. It was taking burn damage in the process.
"Return Swablu!" Dash called Swablu back to avoid constant burn damage.
"Rainbow's being super strategic on this one." Spike commented.
"Mhm. It's like she's battling in a whole different way." Fluttershy replied.
"That's just the signs of a growing trainer." Ash said.
"Pikachu!"
"Whirlipede. Your turn again!" The Curlipede Pokemon was up next. Sunset was a bit confused on why Rainbow Dash was doing such excessive switching out. She was up to something.
"Fletchinder. Stay on your guard. Use Razor Wind!"
"Pin Missile and move!" Once again, the two moves connected against each other. However this time, Whirlipede managed to get more hits in. Its momentum was picking up. Speed Boost was greatly helping it. However, Fletchinder was still faster. "That Fletchinder's a speedy one. It's still keeping up with Whirlipede even with its speed rising." Rainbow said to herself. This might go on forever, until... "Hold on! Whirlipede roll and jump up!" Whirlipede reached maximum velocity as it gained enough speed to jump high in the air.
"What the?! Fletchinder! Dodge and use Razor Wind!"
"Pin Missile!" Fletchinder avoided Whirlipede but was quickly hit by Pin Missiles. This had bought down Fletchinder to the ground, but not enough to knock it out. But that's what Rainbow Dash counting on. Because she had one move that could take Fletchinder out in one go. "Rollout!" Whirlipede came flying down from the ground as it smashed into Fletchinder while it was still down. The impact was devastating as a smoke cloud erupted. As it faded away, Fletchinder was down and out.
"Fletchinder is unable to battle! Whirlipede wins!"
"Yes!" The first major obstacle was down. That speedy Fletchinder won't be a problem anymore. But it did leave behind a burn effect.
"Good job, Fletchinder." Sunset returned Fletchinder as Litleo was growling, wanting to go next. "Gotta say, Rainbow. You've improved since the first battle. But let's see how you get past my unstoppable Braxien!" Tossing the Pokeball forward, she sent out the biggest threat. Braxien.
"There she is. Braxien." Rainbow Dash was getting a bit tense. This was the Pokemon that threw her guard off after all.
"You knew this was coming. Braxien! Attract!"
"Whirlipede! Close your eyes and use Pin Missile!" Whirlipede shut its eyes as it fired pins frantically all over the place. The pins were randomly hitting their mark as Braxien was hit by some.
"Relax Braixen! Fire Spin to blow them away!" Braixen engulfed itself in a fiery ball, destroying the pins. This left Braixen wide open to Whirlipede.
"Rollout!" Even if it couldn't keep up with Fletchinder, it could definitely outspeed Braixen. Before the Fire-Type knew it, Whirlipede smashed into at max speed. Braixen took the hit and felt it real good. Her eyes widened as she was sent flying, rolling on the ground.
"Oh no Braixen!" Sunset bellowed. It was super-effective, but it didn't take her out in one hit. Braxien could feel the damage as it was tattered itself. Rainbow Dash had picked up new skills along the away. Skills comparable to the Dark-Type and their tricky moves.
"Rollout again!" Whirlipede was about to get another hit in, ready to seal the deal.
"Attract!" Braixen quickly looked up, winking at Whirlipede. The Curlipede Pokemon was 2 inches away from ramming into Braixen as it was now infatuated. Rainbow Dash squirmed. Attract hit its mark. Sunset Shimmer sighed a huge relief. That was a close one.
"Use Psybeam!"
"Return!" Quickly, Whirlipede had returned to its Pokeball. Even though she couldn't take down Braxien, she dealt considerable damage. Now it was Sunset Shimmer who was backed into a corner. "Go! Swablu!" Out came Swablu who was still taking burn damage.
"Come on Rainbow Dash! You can do it!" Pinkie yelled from the crowd.
"Braixen! Stay sharp!" There was a small pause. The battle had been halted from a bit. Rainbow Dash had a smirk on her face. She had the upper hand and she was about to put her next plan into motion. "Attract!"
"Cover your eyes with your wings!" Swablu shielded its eyes with its cotton wings, preventing Attract from making contact.
"Psybeam!" Braixen still had other long-ranged options. Firing a beam of psychic energy at Swablu.
"Fly up!" Swablu avoided the beam, heading higher into the air. Psybeams kept on flying at the Cotton Bird Pokemon, but it kept on avoiding each beam. "Now Ice Beam and follow up with Fury Attack!" Swablu fired down a cold beam of ice, just to freeze the fox in place.
"Double Team!" Braixen split itself into afterimages, just to confuse Swablu. The ice beam hit the ground, phasing through an afterimage.
"I won't fall for that again! Move on Swablu!" Swablu spread its wings out, hitting each of the afterimages as they fizzled out.
"Gotcha! Attract!" The real Braixen showed itself as it used Attract on Swablu. But like before when Swablu was training, it avoided Attract on instinct. Swablu then struck Braixen on the head with its wings. Fury Attack hit its mark as Swablu was pummeling the Fox Pokemon, eventually smacking it away with its wings. Braixen fell on the ground, knocked out.
"Braixen is unable to battle! Swablu wins!"
"Swa!"
"Great job Swablu!" Swablu flew over to hug Rainbow Dash. Now two of Sunset's Pokemon were down and Dash had all three of hers still standing. Sunset returned her Braixen, seeing how much Rainbow Dash has improved.
"She really took that loss and turned it into strength huh? Well then. It's your turn. Litleo."
"Litleo!" LItleo. Her final Pokemon and the one that stood by her side. It was ready to take its trainer's win back.
"Alright. Let's finish this last one and that gym badge is ours!"
"Swab!"
"Litleo. Let's show them what we can do. Noble Roar!"
"LITLEO!" A mighty roar emerged from the Lion Cub Pokemon. A roar befitting of that of a king. Swablu was intimidated by Litleo, getting a bit nervous. Rainbow Dash gulped, knowing not to underestimate this Pokemon. After all, she hasn't battled this one yet.
"Let's be careful. Use Disarming Voice!"
"Counter with Noble Roar!" Two sound waves clashed against each other. However, Noble Roar proved to be the mightier voice as it broke past the Fairy-Type move, pushing Swablu back.
"Fury Attack!"
"Fire Fang!" Swablu swooped down towards Litleo, but the little cub jumped up, biting onto its wings as fire surrounded it.
"Swa!" Swablu cried out in pain as the teeth were deep in its wings.
"Swablu No!" Litleo dragged Swablu down as it let go of it, launching it away. Swablu took burn damage from the Fire Fang, taking it out.
"Swablu is unable to battle! Litleo wins!" And just like that, Sunset Shimmer managed to take out one of her Pokemon. Rainbow still had two Pokemon left but they had some damage leftover.
"Aw. Just when she had a number advantage." Fluttershy sighed.
"Cheer up. She's still got two Pokemon left!" Pinkie replied.
"Whirlipede can seal the deal with Rollout. But I'd better be careful. Who knows what else this Pokemon can do...?" Rainbow Dash thought to herself. "Now go! Rollout!" Whirlipede started rolling towards its target.
"Litleo! Flamethrower!" Stopping the Curlipede Pokemon in its tracks was an intense blast of scorching fire. This was very effective on Whirlipede as it stopped rolling along. In one shot, Whirlipede was taken out.
"Whirlipede is unable to battle! LItleo wins!" In just one move, Sunset had already evened the odds.
"I don't believe it. Just like that?" Twilight uttered.
"Flamethrower is a powerful move. One of the strongest of the Fire-Type attacks. So it was to be expected on Litleo." Ash explained.
"Pika."
"Poor Rainbow Dash. She might end up losing again." Rarity worried. Rainbow Dash was without a doubt worried. But she still had Rufflet with her. And she was ready to put all of her trust in him.
"This is it. Her last Pokemon and mine. Rufflet! Let's end this!" Sending out her last Pokemon, it was time for the final stretch. Both Sunset and Rainbow were sweating hard. Neither wanted to lose.
"We'll finish this in one hit! Litleo! Flamethrower!"
"Dodge it and use Aerial Ace!" The wind kicked up from behind Rufflet as it flew over the fire, flying past Litleo while hitting him. "Keep using Aerial Ace!"
"Noble Roar!" Litleo had stopped Rufflet's movements with a mighty roar that echoed in its ears. "Now Fire Fang!" Litleo jumped up, biting on Rufflet's wings.
"Rufflet! Shake it off!" Rufflet was trying to shake him off, but the teeth were too deep in. The fire was reaching Rufflet, casting a burn status on him. Rufflet didn't want to disappoint Rainbow Dash. So it pecked its beak into Litleo's eyes.
"Lit!" Rufflet flew back as it had bite marks in its wings."
"Flamethrower! Spread it!" Litleo sent out a Flamethrower that was spread all over the place, making sure that Rufflet was stopped from all sides. Rufflet was avoiding the fire from each side, but it kept on going. Rainbow Dash was looking for any blind spots. She couldn't get too close because Flamethrower is a wider attack than Psybeam. And the heat will get to Rufflet. So she decided to pull a crazy stunt.
"Rufflet! Use Brave Bird to fly through the Flamethrower!" Rufflet engulfed itself in blue brave energy as it flew towards the Flamethrower
"IS SHE CRAZY?!" Twilight yelled.
"This is good! Brave Bird's got a protective aura around it!" Ash said. "But will it be enough though?"
Rufflet went through Brave Bird as he was struggling to get closer. Flamethrower kept pouring on.
"Hotter Litleo!" Litleo kept on increasing the fire. Rufflet was taking the heat as he was sweating like crazy.
"Go! Rufflet! You can do it!" Rufflet could hear his trainer's cry. Rufflet poured every last of its strength in its body. Flamethrower had cast a burn on him, but it didn't stop him. The Eaglet Pokemon screamed at the top of his lungs as Brave Bird broke through Flamethrower, hitting Litleo square in the face. Rufflet pushed Litleo back as they were both flying through the air.
"Oh no! Litleo! Quickly! Headbutt!" Litleo headbutted Rufflet, but it was no use. Rufflet kept on going with no signs of stopping. Rainbow Dash didn't expect Rufflet to stay in Brave Bird this long. "Fire Fang!" Litleo bit onto Rufflet's head, but it still didn't stop the Flying-Type.
With one final hurrah, Rufflet flew higher up and crashed Litleo into the ceiling. A fiery explosion was left over as the smoke was clearing. Both Pokemon were falling down from above. As they both hit the ground, smoke surrounded them. Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer looked forward to see who was left standing. The rest of the girls and Ash also peered their heads forward.
As the smoke cleared, only one Pokemon was left standing.
Rufflet.
All damaged with tatters on its body along with burning holes, it was still up, while Litleo was down and out.
"Litleo is unable to battle! Rufflet wins! Therefore the victor is the challenger Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow Dash took a moment to take it all in as she had a wide grin on her face.
"WE DID IT! YEAH! Rufflet you're awesome!" Rainbow Dash went over to hug her Pokemon with all the joy in her heart.
"Woohoo!" Pinkie Pie sprayed confetti everywhere as Sunset Shimmer returned her Pokemon, telling Litleo that he did a great job.
"She finally did it! That was so exciting!" Twilight squeed.
"Rufflet. You were amazing. Rufflet?" Rufflet didn't respond as it was looking at the ground, when all of a sudden, its body started to glow. Rainbow Dash backed up as everypony watched what was happening.
Body size increasing, stature growing. It was time for Rufflet to evolve. Into its final stage.
Braviary.
"Bravi!"
"Woah..." Rainbow Dash looked at the awesomeness that was Braviary, taking out her dex.
"Braviary. The Valiant Pokemon. Known as the 'Hero of the skies', Braviary fights for its friends, without any second thoughts, even if it means danger for its life. It fears nothing, not even death and will never stop battling."
"You've become an even more awesome Pokemon!" Rainbow Dash said. Braviary turned back to his trainer, giving a proud smile.
"Amazing. So this is its final evolution? It's so... majestic." Rarity gazed at it.
"It sensed Rainbow Dash's spirit to win. So it pushed itself further. So much so that it reached its final form." Ash explained.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Well, Rainbow Dash. Gotta say. You impressed me. You're just as awesome as your otherworld counterpart. So you deserve this. The Blazing Badge." Sunset used her magic to hand over the badge to the victor.
"Awesome. I got my third gym badge. AWESOME!" Rainbow Dash felt such happiness. This was her biggest win yet.
"You beat me here, but be careful. The next gyms aren't gonna be type based anymore. They're gonna be more theme-based. So keep your guard up."
"I will. Thanks, Sunset.!
As the battle ended, the group saw Sunset Shimmer off.
"Hope we can meet again Sunset Shimmer." Twilight said.
"Me too. But I have to get back to the other world. I like it there just a bit more. Plus uh... I'm gonna have to sneak in so that Celestia doesn't see me. Still kinda nervous."
"I'm just glad I finally won my third badge. Next gym, I won't take it for granted at all. Isn't that right Braviary?"
"Braviary!"
"Oh you're so cool!" shouted Rainbow Dash.
Finally winning her tough third battle and gaining her first evolved Pokemon, Rainbow Dash's league path is looking bright once more. But she should heed Sunset's words. The upcoming gyms far surpass hers. And Rainbow Dash will make sure she knows what to expect. As the journey continues.
Cold Colt couldn't sleep. Not that he didn't want to, he just literally couldn't since he wasn't naturally made. He's not but cosmic space dust after all. He was apart of the Apple family now after some intense lies so he slept in a guest room. Every day he could hear an unfortunate sound. The ringing of bells, indicating that everypony get up. And today was one of those days.
"Rise and shine, everypony! We got work to do!" Applejack bellowed. "Even you Cold Colt. Though you don't like like you sleep."
"Why do I have to get out of bed? Can't I just stay here?"
"You're apart of the family now. So that means you gotta work too. Unless you tell the truth to everypony, including Apple Bloom."
"Alright alright! I'll work. But I won't like it."
"Your first work, help me buck some apples."
"Can't be too tough."
Cold Colt was sent out to help Applejack gather some apples for the day. AJ did her usual thing. Easily gathering apples in a barrel. Cold Colt tried bucking the tree but hurt his hooves in the process.
"OUCH!"
"Heh. Can't be too tough, eh?" Applejack laughed. "Then again, you are a little colt. So I'll let you handle something easier."
"Like what?"
"Picking up some rotten weeds. That's more of your level, little fella."
"Watch me." Cold Colt walked over to some rotten weeds, sprouting out of the ground, biting onto them. He was pulling them with all his might but to his surprise, he couldn't get them out. She was straining as the weeds pulled back. "What gives?!"
"Well, I'll be. You can even pull out tiny little weeds?"
"I don't get it. The Rift made me like everypony else. Yet I can't even use that much magic, or even pull some lousy weeds out of the ground? How is this fair?!"
"Seems like your Rift ain't the brightest." Applejack mocked him.
"Grr. Rift! Make me have better magic and strength!" He yelled into the sky, but to no avail. For once, the Rift didn't come to him. His jaw opened up as he was surprised. "No way. Don't tell me I'm... stuck here forever?" Cold Colt slumped on the ground as he had a face of sadness on him.
Applejack felt a bit bad. Seeing how he can't do what other ponies do remind her of Scootaloo's disability. How she can't really fly since she lacks the light bones of a normal pegasus.
"So. You can't do what we do huh? Guess making you do chores ain't ever gonna be your forte."
"Yeah."
"How about this. I'll help ya find something you're skilled at. Your Cutie Mark's gotta mean something."
"It doesn't mean anything. It's just a fake Cutie Mark that only exists to match my name. I'm not like you all."
"Not with that attitude. Come on, little fella." Applejack led Cold Colt out of Sweet Apple Acres and towards Ponyville.
There, AJ went to SugarCube Corner to see if Cold Colt could do well there.
"Hm. What can you do?" Pinkie put her hoof on her chin. "I know! You can help deliver these boxes of cinnamon buns."
"That's great and all... but I ain't good at magic. I can barely even lift a stick."
"Pssh. Who needs magic when you've got your back silly." Pinkie placed the boxes on Cold Colt's back as they were weighing him down. He easily fell in the floor with the buns dropping down all over the place and some landing on him.
"Ugh.." He groaned.
"Wow. That won't work. Then how about this! You can add frosting! That's super easy!" Slurpuff had placed down a cake that had nothing on it. "Just put it all over and you're good." Pinkie lent the young colt an Icing Syringe full of strawberry flavor. Cold Colt held the syringe in his mouth as he attempted to add frosting on the cake. He missed horribly. So horribly that he got the frosting all over the floor. He kept trying but he just couldn't do it right. The frosting was causing a huge mess all over the place.
"How can one pony be so bad at everything?" Applejack thought to herself. "I can see why Rainbow Dash beat him so easily."
"Okay uhh. Don't worry. We'll try something else like uh..."
"Forget it, lady. I ain't good at party stuff." Cold Colt denied any more attempts at this. "I said it already. I'm not like any of you."
Applejack thought long and hard figured there might be one thing he could be good at.
"Maybe instead of pony jobs. What if you're more of a Pokemon pony? I still remember you controlling those Weavile. So that might be your strong suit."
"I guess so. I did do that."
"Then let's see what else you can do with your... subpar horn
"I guess so. Wait, subpar?"
His first attempt, a group of a Cascoons.
"Let's see if you can make those Cascoons evolve fast enough. Go ahead."
"Okay. I got this." Cold Colt focused on the Cascoon's laying in a tree. He focused all of his magic in his horn as he fired a bright icy blue magic ray at the Cocoon Pokemon. Their bodies were enveloped in that blue light as they reached their final evolution. Dustox. "Oh. I..I did it!" Just when it looked like he had found his talent, it went south fast.
The Dustox's started to go wild and spraying poison everywhere, destroying some plant life in the process. Applejack turned to Cold Colt with a look of anger on her face.
"I didn't' meant to do that I swear! They just started to go rogue!"
"Ugh." Applejack got her lasso out as she started rounding up the Dustox's preventing them from poisoning anything else before they got to anypony. Dustox was about to drop Toxic on Octavia but was promptly pulled back by the lasso.
"This horns only meant to cause problems!" Cold Colt yelled. He sat down on the ground, placing his hoof on his cheek. Applejack dragged all the Dustox's with her as she went to Cold Colt.
"Turn them back." She demanded.
"I can't do that. The Rift only created us to cause problems. Not solve them. So I can't reverse the effects, no matter what."
"So you're stuck like this, are ya?" Applejack asked. Cold Colt nodded his head, looking away. Now Applejack felt nothing but sympathy for him. Having the ability to only make everything worse because you were made like this was horrible. To make it worse, he was just a young boy. "I didn't know, Cold Colt. Honestly. Why didn't you say so in the first place?"
"Like it would've mattered." He kept on facing away from the Earth Pony.
"You know Cold Colt. If it makes you feel any better. I won't force you to work or stay at Sweet Apple Acres anymore. A pony like you doesn't really deserve any of this."
"You'd do that for me?" He turned to her.
"Sure. And I'll be honest. You have a... 2% chance of being with my sister."
"I'll take it! But where do I go now?"
"I might have an idea of where you can be." Applejack's idea was located at the Pokemon House.
"You want me to make him stay here?" Fluttershy said to AJ.
"Come on Fluttershy. I know he ended up causing those Weavile to go wild but he's honestly a good kid. Just... lost. I'd be too if I was just suddenly created. You understand right?"
"Well... I guess if he's still young, he can learn and grow as a pony. Maybe he can make friends with the Pokemon here as well." Fluttershy replied.
"Exactly. And besides. If he ends up causing any Pokemon to act up, you can just do what you usually do and return them back to normal. Oh, and speaking of which. Mind helping these little ones out?" Applejack bought the Dustox's closer. Cold Colt was sitting next to some Wooper's who walked towards him.
"What do you little things want?" The Wooper's had piled on his hoof, laying there. He squirmed a bit, not moving away from them.
"Okay. Cold Colt. I've decided that you can be here at the Pokemon House. I'm sure you'll get along with every Pokemon here and you'll grow into a good stallion." Fluttershy said.
"I can't grow. At least... I don't think I can."
"Whatever the case, Fluttershy is the pony to look after you. And I'll come by often to see how you're doing."
"But I'm gonna be further away from Apple Bloom though." Cold Colt pouted.
"She can come here too. So you won't be far at all. And you're still a part of the Apple Family. Well, I got work to do back at the farm. Little overdue. I'll leave you two to it." Applejack left, returning back to her home as it was just Fluttershy and Cold Colt now.
"So. Cold Colt. How would you like to start things off?" Fluttershy talked to the young one.
"I don't know. I didn't really plan for anything. For a while me and Emerald Aura have just been causing problems for you and your friends to solve. I don't really have anything else left to do."
"How about catching some Pokemon? There are a lot of options here. Some Pokemon that I don't' even know are around here."
"I guess I could. Obsidian gets his own Pokemon, Cofagrigus. So I want one as well!"
"Wonderful. So which one will you pick?" Fluttershy pointed her hoof at the selection of Pokemon. There were so many to choose from. "You can have maybe a Phanpy, Girafarig, Ledyba, Skitty. Oh! There's a lot of Water-Types to choose from. I bet they'd fit your name 'Cold' huh?"
"Hmm. All these Pokemon seem a bit... underwhelming."
"Well, their pre-evolutions maybe. But once they evolve, they improve greatly. In everything."
"Well, do you have a Pokemon of your own, Fluttershy?" He asked her.
"No, not really. But one Pokemon who loves to hang around with me is this Audino. It really likes to help me take care of Pokemon that are hurt. Isn't that right, Audi?"
"Audino." The Hearing Pokemon replied.
"Oh! But you must know something about Pokemon, right Cold Colt? Obsidian seems to know a lot."
"Me? Nah. I only know about their types and names. I'm clueless about everything else." He laid on his back, looking to the sky. Fluttershy thought long and hard. Cold Colt wasn't as difficult as Discord but he was definitely lost. It was her duty to help this little pony no matter what. And get him a Pokemon.
"Then I know the Pokemon just for you!" Fluttershy walked into the Pokemon House, looking around for that specific Pokemon. "Hello. You can come out."
Out of the corner, the Pokemon that showed itself was a Cubchoo. The Chill Pokemon. Infamous for having a runny nose, all the time, even if it was healthy.
"There you are Cubby. I have a trainer for you." Cubchoo's eyes were filled with happiness when hearing that but its nose was running even more. "Oh, dear. Audi!" Audino came in, putting a paper towel on its nose. "I'll admit. I'll never understand how some Pokemon work." Fluttershy giggled as Audino picked up the Ice-Type. "Here you are Cold Colt. Your Pokemon."
Cold Colt looked at the Cubchoo, seeing its cute yet strange appearance.
"A Cubchoo? You're gonna give me THIS Pokemon?"
"Mhm. Its fitting for two reasons. You're both ice-based so it fits. But I also think that you two are in the same hole together. You're both lost and don't know what to do. So I think this is the Pokemon for you. Audi." Audino passed Cubchoo to Cold Colt as they both looked each other in the eyes.
Cold Colt held the tiny little baby Pokemon, getting a good look at it.
"Hm. It is cute." Cold Colt smiled, liking its appearance.
"Cub-CHOO!"
His face was met with a sneeze. His entire face felt extremely chilly, covered with cold Cubchoo snot. Ew.
"Look at you two. Getting along already." Fluttershy and Audino giggled as she wiped his face clean. Cubchoo hugged its new trainer. Cold Colt hugged it. After being with Applejack and her family for a bit and being here, he came to realise that it's not so bad. In fact, he likes it here. He likes being like everypony else. It didn't matter if he was a cosmic creation, he found a place where he can enjoy himself finally.
It was a seemingly normal day today. Nothing out of the ordinary. The only thing happening was Twilight testing out some magic. An advanced form of the teleportation spell. Where she can bring multiple items with her when teleports. No matter how heavy they are. But this backfired hard. What ended up happening was everypony and human were teleported out of nowhere. The only ones remaining were the Pokemon. Even when they were inside the Pokeballs, they were left behind as the trainers went missing.
Pikachu was looking for Ash. The last thing he saw was a flash of light.
"Ash! Where'd you go?" He called out for his friend. He could only see Pokemon around. He then spotted Twilight's Minccino, Minccy. "Minccy! You're here. Have you seen Ash and the others?"
"Sorry, Pikachu. I don't have a clue myself. I can't find Twilight anywhere." Minccy replied.
"Well, how come the Pokemon are still here?"
"Beats me. We're the only species left. What if something terrible happened to them?!"
"Calm down. We'll figure this out. We can ask every Pokemon else."
Heading into Ponyville, Pokemon were everywhere. They were all lost, looking for their missing trainers. They all turned to Pikachu, noticing him as Ash's Pikachu.
"Hey look! It's Ash Pikachu! He'll know what to do!" A Farfetch'd said. They all flocked to the Electric Mouse Pokemon, putting all their faith in him.
"Come on, Pikachu! Tell us what to do!"
"Yeah! Or at least tell us where they are!"
"Uhh. Thing is.. I don't know myself." Pikachu answered. "But I'll get to the bottom of it. We all will. Let's all spread out and see what we can find!"
Pikachu took charge as a leader. All Pokemon spread out to find any lead on their trainers. They searched every home and building, every nook and cranny, high and low. The Flying-Type Pokemon took the skies to see if they could spot their trainers anywhere.
"Where could they be?" Pikachu sighed. Rainbow Dash's Pokemon arrived as they were on the search for their trainer as well. "Braviary! Whirlipede! Swablu! There you three are."
"Sorry. But she and everyone else have gone missing. It's just us Pokemon left."
"They weren't abducted were they?" Braviary uttered.
"Pretty sure they weren't...." Pikachu replied. "We've got everyone looking for them. I hope we can find them soon."
Riolu, Dragonite and Gengar exited their Pokeballs, being separated from Ash as well.
"What? What is it?" Gengar thought he was called out to battle, but no Ash was there. "Odd."
"Where's Ash? WHERE'S ASH?!" Dragonite was starting to freak out.
"Don't freak out Dragonite! Please!" Pikachu tried to calm the Dragon Pokemon down. Dragonite didn't want to be apart from Ash so the fear was to get it. Mayor Mare's Lillipup arrived to spill some news to Pikachu. "What did you find Lillipup?"
"Nothing. The entire town's empty with ponies." Lillipup answered.
"It's not the only location." A voice called out to them. It was Celestia's Kirlia named Passion. Along with Darkrai and the rest of Luna's Pokemon.
"Don't tell me... Canterlot too? How big was it?" Pikachu chattered.
"I can probably guess what caused it. Magic obviously. Must've been huge magic." said Passion.
"How can you tell, Passion?" Pikachu asked.
"We Fairy Types are experts at magic. We can tell when magic is involved somehow. And this is the cause of teleportation."
"Teleportation?" They all said in unison.
"Mhm. On a grand scale. Someone cast a powerful teleportation spell. Either on purpose or just by accident."
"Even Celestia and Luna." Darkrai muttered.
"This is a disaster on a global scale! We're doomed!" Riolu started to panic as well.
"Would you calm down! There's a solution to all of this!" Passion yelled at Riolu. "Our best option is to wait for Celestia to solve this. No one is better at magic than her."
"Twilight's good at magic too!" Minccy said.
"Yeah. But she's not Celestia." Passion obviously had some bias due to Celestia being her trainer. Minccino puffed her cheeks as she crossed her little arms.
"No time to argue. So you think that's what we should do in the meantime, Passion?" said Pikachu.
"Indeed. You can take my word for it. Celestia and the others will return. You can put your faith in Ash too, can't you Pikachu?"
"Of course I can. Ash is the strongest guy I know. He'll be back for sure. But I'm super worried, ya know."
"In the meantime! Let's do whatever! We don't' have any human or Pokemon to stop us!" A rambunctious Geodude yelled.
"We're not going to. That'd be-" Before Passion could finish her sentence, she was run over by a bunch of Pokemon who were ready to go wild. "Ugh... Idiots."
"I don't know. It won't be the same knowing Ash is gone." Pikachu sulked a bit.
"Cheer up. Let's have fun with the time that we have." Gengar patted him in the back. "Besides. I know what I'm gonna do to have fun." The Ghost-Type snickered, becoming intangible.
"This is the only thing left of Ash." Pikachu was holding Ash's hat in his hands this entire time. Once the flash happened, his hat was the last thing left behind. Pikachu had placed his friend's hat right on his little head. Dragonite huddled in a corner, worrying about Ash, rocking back and forth.
At SugarCube Corner, some Pokemon were about to snack on some pastry that Mr and Mrs Cake had prepared. The Slurpuff's had gotten in their way though.
"Hey! Keep your mitts off!" The Slurpuff's were doing their best to try and prevent them from eating all that hard work.
At Carousel Boutique, the Sewaddle's were pushing Pokemon away from the dresses with their strings.
"Don't! Rarity and we worked hard on these!"
Darkrai was watching this all go down. It was then that he remembered one Pokemon who might be able to help. One of his fellow team members from Luna's selection. Xatu.
"Xatu. You can see into the future, right? Can you tell if they'll be back soon?"
Xatu stood there, gazing into the sky. It was looking into the future with its mystical eyes.
"I see. But I can also see the past." The Mystic Pokemon replied.
"The past?" Passion and Darkrai both said.
"A flash of light engulfed them all. A teleporting flash to be exact. They indeed have been teleported somewhere. And in the future, they'll return by magic.
"Then that means the Rift is probably behind this!" Pikachu came to a conclusion!
"No, it isn't. The Rift is cosmic not magic. Two different power sources." Kirlia corrected him.
"I'm confused about why it didn't take us?" Minccy uttered.
"When are they gonna return?" Darkrai asked.
"In 3 hours. It's best that you all make sure that their town doesn't get violated by our brethren's wild antics." Xatu explained. Pikachu and the others turned around to see the Pokemon going wild, messing about. They gulped, knowing what might happen if they returned and saw how huge of a mess everything would be if they didn't stop them.
"Alright! Listen up!" Passion raised her voice, drawing all of their attention. "You can all have fun, but make sure you don't cause any destruction that will upset the ponies when they return home."
"Since when were you in charge?" A Rattata asked.
"Hmph. I'm Celestia's Pokemon. Therefore, I am the most important Pokemon here. Thank you very much." Passion proudly said, crossing her arms and looking down at the Mouse Pokemon.
"Oh, she does have a good point." They all chattered agreeing.
"Now go along and have fun until they return. And remember, no destruction! I've got my eye on you Ponyta. Keep that flame mane and tail in check." She was referring to Scootaloo's Ponyta.
Pikachu went up to Dragonite who was still panicking.
"Don't worry Dragonite. Xatu saw into the future and knows they'll be back. So there's no need to worry."
"R-Really?"
"Mhm!"
"Oh, that's good to hear!" Dragonite hugged Pikachu, very tightly.
"Ugh! Y-Yeah..."
Minutes passed with the Pokemon having the entirety of Ponyville to themselves. But the same thing was happening over at Canterlot.
Hollow's Pokemon were also puzzled.
"Where'd he go? He was right here..." Delphox wondered about her missing trainer.
"Maybe he's out for lunch?" Scrafty said.
"Whatever the reason, Canterlot is oddly filled with more Pokemon than ponies. In fact... there are no ponies! What has happened?"
"The students are gone too. Every last one of them. I can't even hear the loudmouth Sunrise Sprint." Scrafty commented.
This was happening in Manehattan too. The streets were filled with nothing but Pokemon, as well as the buildings. For a few hours, the Pokemon would own all of Equestria.
However, there was one individual who wasn't teleported away.
Discord.
He made his way back easily. He had heard of Xatu seeing in the future and how they'd all come back eventually, so he decided to wait it out and see what chaos might ensue with all these Pokemon going about.
"Oooh. This is interesting. I wonder which Pocket Monster will cause the most chaos?" He got out a recording camera to catch some juicy action.
Riolu decided to pick a fight with any Pokemon. He might as well get stronger on his own if Ash isn't around to train him for the meantime. But he was quickly given a reminder that he doesn't do well in battle on his own without Ash to sync up with his aura. So he was knocked away easily by a Floatzel.
Kirlia returned to Canterlot to fill for Celestia as ruler.
"From this point on, I'm the ruler now. Until Celestia returns."
"Then what does that make me?" Darkrai asked.
"You're the secondary ruler. Just behind me."
"Tch. I liked you better when you were a shy and timid Ralts." Darkrai muttered.
"I'll keep watch over all the Pokemon here. It'll be easy." She sat down on Celestia's throne, posing as a queen would. Evolving into Kirlia made Passion's attitude change a bit. Like any Pokemon would when they evolve.
As for Pikachu, he was simply sitting near SugarCube Corner. Still missing Ash. He didn't even get involved with the hijinks and fun the others were having. Braviary flew down to Pikachu.
"Still worried?"
"Yeah, Braviary. Still am. What about you?"
"Of course I'm worried! Rainbow Dash and I are a power team. I can't imagine what I'd do without her. After all, I just evolved not too long ago. But you said it yourself. Ash is the strongest guy you know. So why not relax until they all come back."
"I guess so. Yeah. I can have fun before Ash comes back!" Pikachu had a smile on his face as he jumped up. He could kill some time with some fun with other Pokemon. Pikachu ran into the middle of Ponyville as he saw Gengar messing about with the smaller Pokemon. Pikachu then spotted something that caught his eye.
It was a small book that looked new. Pikachu picked it up as he read what it said on the cover.
"Memories with Pokemon."
A memoir book made by Twilight. Opening it, he saw words and improvised drawings of Twilight and the others along with Ash. Each of them was recreations of everything that happened ever since the two worlds crossed. Twilight made this because of how she learned of both words returning back to normal once the Rift left. So she'll have this as a memoir of Ash and the Pokemon World.
"Twilight made this? She really doesn't want to see us go huh?" This touched Pikachus' heart. Even he was worried about leaving this world behind. He kept flipping through the pages as he kept seeing the references. When he understood Twilight's frustration at the Royal Wedding, the time she experienced the beauty of Pokemon by a show that Fluttershy put up, the time they experienced Rainbow Dash winning her first Gym Battle and being super happy about it.
Pikachu kept reading the book, but it stopped with blank pages. Their adventures weren't over yet. So Twilight will fill it in as time goes on. Pikachu closed the book, holding it close to him for a while. But that didn't last as a Swoobat swooped down and snagged the book from Pikachu's tiny little mouse hands.
"Hey! Give it back!"
"Mine now!"
"That's Twilight's book!" Pikachu yelled as he sent a Thunderbolt that struck Swoobat down. This ended up not only damaging the book a bit, but it also made it fall down. Pikachu gasped as the memory book landed near a Purrloin.
Purrloin looked a the book, putting its tail on it and claiming it for its own.
"This books seems nice. I'm keeping it."
"You can't keep that! That belongs to Twilight!"
"Who? Oh, you mean that purple alicorn pony. Sorry, I don't pay attention to other ponies. I'm more focused on my lovely Diamond Tiara. I'm sure she'll love this."
"Not if I grab it from you!" Pikachu rushed in, trying to grab the book but Purrloin lifted its tail, making him miss.
"Too slow." She teased. Pikachu growled as he kept trying to grab it, but she kept moving her tail about. Pikachu kicked up some dirt as it got in the Devious Pokemon's eyes. "My eyes!" Pikachu grabbed the book, taking it back from her. "Whatever! I didn't want the book anyways! Hmph!" Purrloin walked off, returning to her friend who was Silver Spoon's Pokemon, Glameow."
Pikachu looked at the book, seeing how this Thunderbolt had damaged it a bit.
"This is bad. I messed up. What's Twilight gonna do if she sees this?" Pikachu kept on walking as he eventually found his way to the Pokemon House. It was the most active since Fluttershy wasn't there. He saw them all a bit a puzzled. Some of them were hungry since Fluttershy feeds them normally. Pikachu spotted Audino who was doing her best to keep them all calm.
"Now now all of you. I'm sure Fluttershy will return soon." Audino said in a gentle tone.
"What if she doesn't!? What if she never comes back?! We'll be Fluttershy-less! Who's gonna care for us!?" A panicking Aipom rambled.
"She'll return. Oh, look. Ash's Pikachu."
"Hey, Audino." He greeted.
"Please call me Audi like Fluttershy does.
"Well, Audi. You're right on one thing. They'll return thanks to Xatu seeing in the future. But it'll take 3 hours. So we're gonna have to wait." This sprouted hope back into the worried Pokemon. But they were still starving.
"That's wonderful. But I haven't managed to find any food for every Pokemon here. Fluttershy normally knows where to get them."
"Why not get some food from the other world? That's where all of our stuff is anyways." Pikachu recommended.
"That would be the better option. But the Pokemon need someone to watch over them without getting too riled up. And I-" Before Audino could finish her sentence, Whirlipede came rolling in to warn Pikachu.
"Pikachu! We have a problem!"
The Pokemon couldn't take it anymore. They were going crazy. They missed their trainers so much to the point where they started causing destruction. Whether on purpose or by accident. This is what Xatu predicted would happen.
"Oh my Arceus. They've gone crazy!" Pikachu exclaimed. "Xatu wasn't kidding. We have to calm them down. Braviary!" Braviary came flying down, hearing Pikachu's call. "Can you take care of the wild ones who are in the air?"
"You can count on me." Braviary flew up to deal with any destruction happening at Cloudsdale.
"Swablu. You go and help Braviary. The rest of can handle everything on ground level."
The buildings were being torn apart by Pokemon who really, really wanted their trainers back. Rooftops were being sent to the ground. Windows shattering over the sound of a crying Chingling. Inside SugarCube Corner, the Slurpuff couldn't defend the pastries from the hungry Pokemon. At all. At the Boutique, the Sewaddle were easily overpowered by the other Pokemon as the dresses were all tattered up along with accessories and fashion items spread all over the place.
Lillipup was defending Town Hall to keep any Pokemon from ruining Mayor Mare's home. No one is gonna vandalize his trainer's house.
Canterlot was receiving a similar treatment. But on a less destructive scale, since the Pokemon there are somewhat civilized thanks to them living Canterlot with their trainers.
Passion was panicking. She thought she could rule easily, but it was backfiring quickly. She didn't know the first of being a queen.
"This was a mistake! I can't do this!"A Munchlax was eating everything from the Canterlot Kitchen, Dugtrio's were digging up holes wherever they wanted and the Excadrills weren't making it any better by clawing in the ground to make their new tunnel locations. A pack of Durant were carrying Picnic food from the vanished ponies as a Loudred kept on making noise.
It was at this moment that Pikachu and Passion were reminded that Pokemon exist in the wild for a reason. If they are ever to be left alone in a location like a town or a city or even an entire kingdom, things will go south very fast. They're only allowed to cause this much chaos in the wild.
And all the while, Discord didn't do a single thing about it. He was just loving this.
"I can't wait to see the look on everypony's faces when they return. It's going to be priceless."
There was one other issue that no one took into account. Who was gonna lower the sun and raise the moon if Celestia and Luna are gone too?
"This is a disaster." Darkrai sighed. He would put them all into a nightmare state, but he didn't want too, since that would be cruel and he's just learned how to maintain his nightmare curse.
3 hours had passed. Pikachu waited patiently. Braviary and the other Pokemon managed to calm the others down, only making Ponyville slightly damaged. as Xatu's premonition came true.
A burst of magical energy happened in the air. A vortex of magic emerged as all the Pokemon turned their attention to it.
Out of the vortex came Ash, Twilight and everyone else who was teleported as they all fell down on the ground, landing on each other.
"OW!" They all said in unison.
"Hehe. Told you it would work." Twilight said, dazed.
"Pika Pi!" Pikachu let out a happy cry as he ran over to Ash. All the other Pokemon went towards their trainers, happy to see them once more.
"Oh hey Pikachu. Sorry I was gone for a while." Pikachu hugged Ash, full of joy in his heart. Dragonite came flying in, hugging Ash as well with tears balling out.
"Next time Twilight. Please make sure you understand the scale of the spell before you do it." Celestia commented.
"Hehe sorry."
"It's time to get back now." Celestia used the teleportation spell, managing to teleport all of Canterlot's citizens back. She did it easily since she mastered it a long time ago.
"Being stuck in that endless space was weird." Rainbow uttered.
"I could've sworn I saw my old knick-knacks in there. Huh." said Pinkie Pie.
Pikachu had raised the book up, showing it to Twilight.
"Pikachu. You found my memory book?"
"Pika!"
"Memory book?" Applejack asked.
"This is a newly made book that I crafted. It's what I want to remember the Pokemon World and all the adventures we've had before both worlds return to normal. It's an ever-growing book. So I'll keep on updating it. And I'll add in what just happened today as well." Twilight said with a wide smile on her face.
"Aww.." Her friends hugged her. "Hey! Why is it mildly damaged?!" Pikachu was sweating as he quickly hopped back on Ash's shoulder, placing his hat back on his head.
"What happened here?!" Mayor Mare bellowed. She and everypony got a glimpse of the semi-destroyed Ponyville. The ponies all turned to their Pokemon as they let out a small blush and whistle.
At Canterlot, Passion went running to Celestia, crying as she missed her so much.
"I'm here Passion. Don't worry." She hugged her little Pokemon.
"What happened while we were gone, Darkrai?" Luna asked.
"It's best that you don't know."
Pokemon. Despite how grand and wonderful they may be... At times they cannot do everything on their own. That is why the bond between trainers and Pokemon exists. And that bond has helped forged the Pokemon World into what it is now. And it will continue growing, even helping all of Equestria and this world grow. As the journey continues.
"Did you hear? There's a pony putting on a magic show apparently." A man gossiped.
"Really? Who?"
"I think her name was-"
"THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!" Trixie Lulamoon had emerged on stage she set up. "Greetings everypony from this world. You are about to witness the wonder and greatness of my world's magic. Nopony knows magic more than me after all. Now! Prepare to be amazed!"
Humans had gathered up to see Trixie perform. They were hoping that this was going to be good.
Trixie turned around to the back of the stage to see her partner Pokemon that she had. It was a Misdreavus. She gave her Pokemon the sign to cause some ghostly antics.
Trixie's horn started to glow as she lifted up a cup. Misdreavus used Psychic to lift the entire stage up from the ground. It then used some illusions to make it look like the stage had shrunk and gone into the cup. The people were impressed by what they were seeing. Trixie smiled, but it all went south fast. Misdreavus couldn't keep this up for long as it wasn't strong enough. So Psychic ran out, the illusion faded away and everything came crashing down. Literally.
Trixie shook her head as she felt a bit dizzy. The people backed away leaving as they felt like the show wasn't as impressive as they thought it was. Trixie pouted, seeing how the magic trick didn't go so well. Even if it wasn't magic at all.
Trixie packed up her magic equipment ready to leave.
"Let's go Misdreavus. Maybe we can improve on your skills along the way."
"Misdre..."
"Hold on there missy." She was stopped by a voice. A voice belonging to the one and only BigTime Ben. "I see you're in a bit of a rut"
"And who are you?"
"I'm BigTime Ben. A man who gives big-time opportunities to all. And young lady. I can see a great future ahead of you."
"You? Give me a big-time opportunity?"
"That's right. You're a magic kind of pony. A unicorn. But you take it one step further. You're also a show pony if I'm saying that right."
"Hmph. The best show pony. I am the Great and Powerful Trixie!" She exclaimed.
"But that trick you just didn't wasn't so great. It was powerful though."
"Y-Yeah. So what are you here to give me?"
"Well, Trixie. I'm offering you an opportunity to make your magic business much more.. magical."
"How so?"
"With this! Gothitelle." Gothitelle had used her psychic ability to construct an image of what Trixie's future may look like. The image was of her in a teacher outfit.
"A teacher? Me?"
"Yes! A teacher of magic. If you can teach other little ponies magic, then without a doubt your name will spread across Equestria. You'll be the pony that they all come to for magic lessons."
"R-R-Really?" Trixie was loving this idea. Not only would it get her a huge reputation. But it would also make her more popular than Twilight, who as an alicorn even. "I'm in! Thank you Mr BigTime! So where do I start?"
"Well first. You obviously need to work on improving your magic. I'll leave you to handle that one. But for where you'll be working..."
An old run-down building located near Undella Town.
"Here. This building once belonged to a trainer who focused a lot on Fairy-Type Pokemon. Fairy-Types are the one Pokemon type that are brimming with magic."
"It's so tacky and run-down though."
"Yes, it is. But it can have some fixing up in no time. I'll have some of my Pokemon help you. And I assume you have a name for this place?"
"Indeed! I shall call it... The Great and Powerful School!"
"Seems simple enough. I'll leave you to it. Come out you all." BigTime Ben sent out his Pokemon to help. They consisted of a Male Indeedee, some Machoke's and a Mr Mime.
"This is the start of something beautiful!" Trixie had tons of joy in her face along with her Misdreavus.
Hours had passed and Trixie's new business was formed. A small school for magic. The first task was getting students. BigTime Ben's Pokemon had left, returning to their trainer.
"Alright. Now. Students. How do I gather them?" Trixie wondered. "I know! I'll just get some from Ponyville. I'm sure nopony would mind if I asked their young unicorns to learn some magic.
"Misdre..."
Trixie crossed the gateway, arriving at Ponyville. But once she entered, she was met with unpleasant looks glancing over her. They hadn't forgotten what she did when she had the Alicorn Amulet. She walked up to a little unicorn filly but the parent instantly grabbed their child and ran off. Soon, nopony wanted to chat with Trixie.
"So much for any students." Trixie lowered her head. Her Misdreavus went over to comfort her by rubbing her face on her trainer's. "At least you're here with me Misdreavus."
Just then, Misdreavus had noticed a familiar face. One who could help Trixie. It was Ash and Pikachu. Meaning that this Misdreavus was the same one that caused trouble in Ponyville when the two worlds had crossed over in the early days.
Misdreavus called out to them, grabbing their attention.
"Oh hey. A Misdreavus. Isn't that...?"
Misdreavus floated towards them, greeting the two.
"Pika!"
"Oh! You're THAT same Misdreavus. How have you been?"
"Misdreavus!"
"Excuse me! But that's MY Misdreavus? She belongs to The Great and Powerful Trixie."
"Oh. Found a trainer eh? Well nice to meet ya, Trixie. My name's Ash. And this is my partner Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
"Well, Ash and Pikachu. It seems you are aware of my great and powerful Pokemon."
"Mhm. She sure did cause a lot of trouble a while back. But I can see she found you and you got close."
"Of course we did. Anypony can get close to me. Except for the ones here." Trixie pouted.
"How come?"
"I'm not exactly the most liked pony around here. See, I caused a bit of trouble by purchasing an Alicorn Amulet. Things got out of hand, I was evil, and everypony is now sceptical of me. So yeah."
"Oh. That explains the shifty eyes." Ash was looking at ponies who were glancing over at Trixie with disdain.
"I came here to get some young unicorns to be my students for a school that had just opened up in your world. But that's not happening."
"Hey cheer up. I can help."
"Pika!"
"You will? You'll help me?" Trixie looked up at Ash and Pikachu.
"Sure thing. We're always down to help anyone out. Right buddy?"
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Hmph. Well, The Great and Powerful Trixie will accept your kind offer."
"Awesome. Though it'll be tough to find some. That's for sure. But I think I know a good place to start. You may not be liked here, but maybe you'll make a change at Canterlot."
"Canterlot?! Me?! No, no, no. That is beyond me. It's too... sophisticated."
"Ah, who cares. Canterlot doesn't care if you're sophisticated. Just be yourself."
"Be myself? That easy?"
"Mhm!"
"Pika!"
"Very well. Come Ash Ketchum. to Canterlot!"
Arriving at Canterlot, Trixie got her first good look at the place. It was her first time here after all.
"So this is Canterlot? It's as impressive as they make it out to be.." She gazed at the sight of it.
"I know right. I was surprised too. There are some unicorns here who'd maybe like to join your school. They're in my friend Hollow's class."
Leading Trixie to a house, Ash knocked on the door of the residents.
"Coming!" A mare yelled. Opening the door, she recognized Ash and Pikachu. "Oh my goodness! Ash Ketchum and Pikachu! Oh, what are you doing here?" She was getting all excited.
"Hey. I got a question for ya. Would it be okay if your kid signed up for a school run by Trixie over here? You don't ha-"
"Of course!" She immediately replied without hesitation.
"Really? That fast?" Ash was surprised.
"Anything involving you must be good, obviously." The unicorn chuckled. "Shineblitz! Get over here!"
A young light yellow colored unicorn with baggy eyes showed up next to her mother.
"I'm here..." She said half-asleep.
"You'll have to excuse her. She doesn't stay awake that long in the morning. I believe she may be nocturnal."
"Oh hey. You're Ash Ketchum." She said with a drowsy voice. "Can I have your auto-" She then dozed off. Her mother nudged her, waking her up. "Ah! I'm awake! I'm awake!"
"Shineblitz here is a one of a kind. Takes after her father. Her magic is a bit on the offside." Her mother explained.
"How come?" Ash asked.
"Well for some unknown reason, her magic only works when she's asleep. Never when she's awake. Odd isn't it?"
"It's not odd, its-" Shineblitz fell asleep once more.
"I'm sure we can still work with it. What do you say, Shineblitz? Wanna improve your magic?" Ash asked the young unicorn.
"Do I ever? I'd lo-" Back to sleep she went.
"She'd love to." Her mother said for her.
And just like that, Trixie had her first student. Albeit a sleepy one who's only active in the night. And it was all thanks to Ash. This was the start of something new even if it was greatly small.
Trixie had shown Ash, Pikachu and Shineblitz her new school, seeing how brand new it was.
"Behold! The place were legends will be made!" Trixie said, showing off the semi-tattered building.
"Oh, this place looks rough."
"Pika..."
"Huh? Oh... nice..." Shineblitz dozed off once more.
"Just you wait. Unicorns will start flocking here and this will become the ideal magic school. Possibly even higher than Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. Now Shineblitz. Come with me." Trixie used her magic to lift up the sleeping filly. Entering inside, the school looked nicer on the inside. It looked like your average school, with the only difference being tons of posters with Trixie on them. Everywhere. Narcissism in its purest form.
"So. Do you know what you're doing first here?" Ash asked.
"Well, no not really. I'm not sure where to start even."
"Why not start with simple magic spells? Will that do?"
"Pikachu."
"Simple is right. That's all I'm really good at. I'm not as skilled in magic like Twilight Sparkle, let alone Princess Celestia. If anything, I'm sub-par." Trixie was degrading herself a bit. "It'll be a slow process, that's for sure. But! Now is not the time for sulking! Now is the time for learning. Shineblitz!"
"Huh?! W-Wha?" She woke up.
"Are you ready to improve your magic?"
"I guess so."
"Then we'll start with something basic. The Glorpy!"
"The Glorpy?" Ash and Shineblitz both said in unison.
"It's another word for a haunted handkerchief."
"Oh. But wait, can't you already do that? Your magic can lift stuff ya know." said Ash.
"Oh no no. This is a much better version of it. Instead of your typical ghost shenanigans, it'll be an actual living ghost!"
"I'm not sure ghosts are alive though..."
"Pika."
"Hush now. Observe." Trixie used her magic to get a handkerchief, lifting it up. She cast a spell on it that made the handkerchief semi-sentient. It was flying on its own without Trixie's blue magic aura around it. This lasted for 18 seconds before the handkerchief died out and fell to the ground.
"You actually managed to make it come alive?!" Ash was surprised at what he saw.
"Mhm. I managed to remember one spell from the Alicorn Amulet. But it doesn't last long though. Now Shineblitz. Show me what you can do."
Shineblitz wasn't listening because she had fallen asleep on the floor. Trixie sighed, waking her up.
"Oh huh? Oh right. Glorpy. Sorry, Ms Trixie. I can't really do it. You know what my mom said. My horn only acts up at night."
"Well if you're asleep then it'll be off. All you have to do is stay awake. Simple enough right?"
"R-Right... I'll try it." Shineblitz looked at the handkerchief, attempting to use some magic. A small little yellow spark lit up in the horn. It looked liked it was actually about work in the day. But, the young pony fell asleep, causing the magic to fade away as she snored.
"Ugh. She wasn't kidding when she said it's only active in the night. Is this really my first student?"
"Cheer up Trixie. I'm sure you'll make some progress."
"Why are you so dedicated to helping me, Ash?"
"Why? I don't need a reason to help someone. No matter where they're from."
Those words really hit Trixie. The first time somepony was willing to help her out. Not wanting to show any signs of weakness, Trixe let out a soft smile.
"Hmph. Well, I appreciate it greatly. And have decided!"
"Decided on what?"
"You, Ash Ketchum, will be The Great and Powerful Trixie's assistant!"
"Me? An assistant?"
"Pika?"
"Of course. I'll need somepony to manage this school with me."
"Well... I'm not sure if that would fit me. But I can help find someone who can help you in the least. Eventually."
"Works for me. You may leave now. I think I now know what I must do. That includes you Shineblitz. I'll see you here next week."
"Oh... goody.. home.." Shineblitz responded as Ash picked her up.
"Good luck with your school Trixie. I'll come by and visit from time to time to see how you're doing." Ash and Pikachu waved goodbye.
"Farewell to you too!" She waved back. "And thank you." She silently said.
Returning back to the other world, Ash had sent Shineblitz back home. The sun was setting, marking a new day coming to an end.
"You know Pikachu. I've been thinking recently..."
"Pika."
"Twilight made that memory book to make sure that she remembers us when our worlds return to normal. I want to keep something that makes us remember them too, ya know."
"Pika-Pika."
"Yeah, I know. I'm getting super sentimental. But you totally were sappy too when I was gone for a while." He teased as the two laughed. They returned back to Ponyville, to get some rest and prepare for another day.
Why Dragons of course. But not the dragons native to his land. The Dragon-Type. After learning of its existence in the Pokemon world, and hearing about a guy like Lance existing, he had to know more. So as a favor, Ash had decided that one day he'd make his first Pokemon a Dragon-Type Pokemon. And today was that day.
"I can't wait. I wonder what my first Dragon Pokemon is gonna be? I don't know any but they're obviously all super cool!"
He began imagining what he might get. A bulky one? A fast one? A strong one? Didn't matter. Dragons are all of the above anyways.
The door had opened, making Spike jump out of his bed. He thought it was Ash, here to show him where he's gonna get his first Pokemon. But it was just Twilight with Owlicious.
"Aw. Got my hopes up." He slumped back onto his bed.
"Still waiting for Ash to show up, Spike?"
"Yeah. I wanna catch a Dragon Pokemon already."
"Well, you're gonna have to wait a while. Ash is busy helping his mom. Family comes first after all."
So Spike waited. 2 hours to be exact until Ash finally came through those doors.
"Hey, Spike! I'm here!"
"Pi!"
"Finally!" Spike hopped off his bed, heading to Ash. "I've been waiting for this... Today's the day!"
"Yep. I'm as excited as you are?"
"So? What's my first Dragon-Type Pokemon gonna be? Wait! Don't tell me! I don't wanna know! But I do!"
"Slow down there pal. I do have your first Pokemon for you. In the form of this." Ash had shown in his hand, a Pokemon Egg.
"Oooh. It's inside the egg? Like your RIolu!"
"Mhm. I went over to the Village of the Dragons. That's where my friend Iris grew up. And the people there lent me an egg that they found in the Kalos Region. It's a guaranteed Dragon-Type so you're gonna have to wait and see which one it is." Spike grabbed the egg, holding it close to him.
It reminded Twilight of when she first met Spike. He was also a dragon in an egg. So history was repeating itself here.
"I'll take good care of this egg. And it'll for sure grow into the best dragon there is!"
Just then, Fluttershy busted in once she heard the egg. Did she somehow hear it all the way from her cottage?
"Did somepony say egg?" She said with glee in her eyes.
"Uh yeah. This egg that Ash gave me has a Dragon-Type Pokemon in it apparently." Spike explained.
"Another baby dragon! Oh, I'm so excited! When will it hatch? Is it going to hatch now."
"Okay, Fluttershy. I think you need to calm down a bit." Twilight said.
"Sorry. I get a bit excited about anything Pokemon related." Fluttershy blushed.
"Alright, Spike. I'll leave you to it. Me and Pikachu gotta go and help Hollow. See ya!"
"Pika!"
Once the two of them left, it was all up to Spike. Along with the help of Twilight and Fluttershy. Mostly Fluttershy.
"Okay, so. What did Ash do last time he hatched his egg?" Spike said, examining the egg.
"Well for him, it hatched due to the Aura waves the two of them were emitting. I don't think you have the same thing, Spike," said Twilight.
"I'm sure it'll hatch naturally. Just give it time." Fluttershy commented.
"Well I'm gonna have a walk with it. I'll be like a father to it." Spike carried the egg with him, heading outside to lively Ponyville. He did have one fear though. That the egg would break if there were too many ponies or even Pokemon around, so he kept a close eye on everything.
Spike examined the egg, looking at the color patterns. It had purple, pink and green spots on it. He couldn't think of any Pokemon with that currently. If Ash's Riolu had his egg be nothing but blue spots then the dragon inside here shares the same coloring as its egg patterns.
Spike sat down near a bench, holding the egg as the CMC passed by.
"Oooh. Watcha got there Spike?" Scootaloo asked.
"Oh this? This is a Pokemon Egg. Especially for me."
"A Pokemon Egg?!" They all said unison.
"Mhm. Inside this egg, is a guaranteed Dragon-Type. And I can't wait for it to hatch so I can see what it is!"
"Oh, I want a Pokemon egg." Sweetie Belle gushed.
"Where can we get one?" Apple Bloom leaned in.
"Well uhh... I don't think they're that easy to find. This was just given to me after all."
"Aww..." They said.
"Well, I hope I get an egg too someday. I wonder what Pokemon would be in it?" Scootaloo imagined.
"By the way, Spike. Which Dragon-Type is in there?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"See, I don't know. It could be any Dragon-Type really. It could be-"
"An Applin? My home is full of Dragon-Types, ya know." Apple Bloom pointed out.
"What?! No way! I'm pretty sure it's something much cooler than some wyrm in an apple. It's gonna be huge! No doubt about it!"
"Well, when's it gonna hatch?" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both asked.
"No idea. Just gotta wait."
"You wanna know how to hatch an egg, boy?" A voice called out to him. A man sitting near a building, relaxing there.
"Yeah? You know how I can do that?"
"Of course. Just walk." He explained in a few words.
"Just walk?" Spike and the CMC uttered.
"Pokemon eggs hatch faster if you take them for a walk. Tell me, boy. How long have you been walking with that egg?"
"Uhh. I walked the distance from Golden Oak Library to here. So... for 7 minutes."
"7 minutes huh? You'll need 3 more minutes. 10 minutes is the most common time when eggs hatch."
"How do you know all of this, mister?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I'm from the Johto Region. We know a lot about our eggs. So if you want to hatch that egg as fast as you can, better keep moving along."
"We'll walk with you, Spike! We wanna see this egg hatch!" Scootaloo exclaimed. Secretly, Fluttershy was watching from afar, waiting for the egg to hatch as well.
3 minutes had passed exactly with them walking. And it was just as the guy said. The egg was starting to crack as Spike pulled back.
"OH! It's happening!" He exclaimed. The CMC moved forward and Fluttershy flew in, looking at it as well. The egg emitted a pink and purple light as it spread across the sky. A blinding flash occurred as it had finally hatched into...
Goomy.
The Soft Tissue Pokemon.
Spike was bewildered. This was the Dragon-Type? It looked nothing like a dragon. If anything. It was just a slime.
"So... is this the Dragon Pokemon or..." Scootaloo chattered.
"W-What is this?!" Spike yelled.
"It's adorable that's what it is!" Fluttershy responded.
"When did you get here?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"There has to be some sort of mistake. There's no way this is a dragon. Look at it!" Spike couldn't accept Goomy as a dragon. "Where's Rainbow Dash? Her Pokedex can easily tell us what it really is!"
"You seem pretty neglectful of it being a Dragon-Type, Spike," said Fluttershy.
"It's just a slime though." He slumped down on the ground.
"Well, Pokemon are unpredictable you know. There are some Pokemon that don't appear to be the type that you think they are. Like for example. Lurantis appears to be a mantis-like Pokemon but in reality, it's a pure Grass-Type Pokemon."
"Oh, she does raise a good point," Scootaloo said as the other crusaders agreed.
Goomy was confused itself. It didn't know where it was. It looked at Spike with a puzzled look. Then it moved slowly over to its trainer, hugging it with its non-existent arms. Spike could feel the slime crawl up on him. Goomy are infamous for having extremely disgusting slime. They have the slimy membrane to gain protection and keeping others away. But it was the other way around here.
Spike had to keep Goomy. It was his Pokemon after all. He sighed as the Soft Tissue Pokemon kept on hugging him with its body.
"Cheer up, Spike. I'm sure it'll evolve into a strong dragon." Fluttershy said to him.
"I hope so."
"How about putting it in a battle? Then you can see how good it might be as a dragon. I'll gladly battle you." Scootaloo vouched.
"I guess so... Maybe it's super strong and I don't know."
"Goo?"
"Then it's settled. Ponyta and I are obviously stronger than a newborn. So let's see what it can do." Scootaloo had sent out her Ponyta.
Spike had sent his Goomy forward, who was unsure of itself.
"You ready?" Scootaloo grinned with her Ponyta's mane intensifying, showing that it as well was ready.
"Uh, ready."
"Then in that case... Ponyta! Flame Charge!" Ponyta's body was enveloped in flames as it was ready to charge at Goomy.
"Goomy! Do something!" Spike commanded, not knowing the moves. Goomy used a move that it did know. Absorb. It drained Ponyta of its energy. But it was very little. The little dragon was knocked back by a charging Ponyta as it went down in one hit. Fainting. "Seriously?!"
"Whoops. Guess I should've expected that it wouldn't be that tough the moment it was born. My bad!"
"Pony.." Ponyta sighed.
Fluttershy picked up Goomy, ready to heal it.
"Oh well. It'll get stronger in the future, Spike. Don't you worry." The shy Pegasi said.
"Who knows how long that'll take. I'm not sure I want this Pokemon anymore."
Fluttershy gasped at what he said, having her normally happy and calm face shifted into an angered one.
"Spike! How dare you!" She yelled at him as he was quaking. "You can't neglect a Pokemon like that! Let alone one that was just born! Twilight didn't neglect you when you hatched, and you shouldn't do the same to this little one either!" Fluttershy was letting him have it. Fluttershy had never been this mad before. Even the CMC were shaking uncontrollably, along with Ponyta who huddled up to Scootaloo since it was feeling terrified of Fluttershy.
"A-Alright! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" Spike pleaded, not wanting to feel the wrath of Fluttershy. Spike then walked up to Goomy with an angered Fluttershy crossing her hooves, watching him. "Uh, little guy. Whatever your name is."
"Goomy." The Pokemon replied.
"Goomy huh? Well, Goomy. Sorry that I almost kinda ditched you. That would make me a horrible trainer."
Goomy looked up at Spike, glomping onto his face with joy. Spike sighed as the slime kept oozing on his face.
Later that day, Ash and Pikachu had returned from Canterlot.
"Alright. Let's see if it's hatched." He said, entering Golden Oak Library.
"Welcome back, Ash. It hatched alright. Into... slime." Twilight explained.
"Slime? Oh, I think I know what Pokemon that might be." Ash peered his eyes over as he saw the Pokemon he thought it would be. A Goomy. "Yep. It's a Goomy. And they're just as small and slimy as ever."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Yeah. This is my Pokemon." Spike said with Goomy on his head. He let out a sigh of disappointment.
"You don't sound very enthusiastic about hatching it though."
"Pika."
"It's just that... It wasn't what I was expecting. I wanted something strong and tough... not this."
"That doesn't matter, Spike."
"It doesn't?"
"Nope. Weak Pokemon. Strong Pokemon. It doesn't matter. Every Pokemon is special in their own way. Besides, Goomy here evolves into one of the best Dragon-Types you'll ever know."
"Really? It does?" Spike looked up at Goomy.
"Mhm. You'll see. Keep spending time with Goomy and it'll become a Pokemon you're proud of."
"Pikachu!"
"Wise words as always, Ash," Twilight said. "You should write a book with all of your quotes you know."
"Oh, thanks Twilight. So Spike. Think you can bond with Goomy?"
Spike looked at Goomy as the little slimy dragon looked back at him. Spike smiled at it as it smiled back. He had come to understand Goomy a bit. It's a timid Pokemon that only wants to make friends. Almost parallel to that of Spike himself.
"Yeah. I will. And we'll both get stronger together. Won't we Goomy?"
"Goomy!"
"That's more like it." Fluttershy appeared behind Spike without warning, making him jump.
"AH! Fluttershy?!" Spike yelled.
"I'm glad that you've come to understand and appreciate Goomy. And you did relatively early."
"When did she get here?" Twilight said.
"Thanks, Fluttershy. You're not gonna yell at me anymore are you?"
"No, Spike. Unless you deny your Pokemon again." She giggled with a happy face, sending chills down Spike.
"So Spike. Now that you have your own Dragon Pokemon. I got a sweet recommendation for you." Ash said.
"What is it, Ash?"
"A Dragon Trainer. Trainers who use Dragon-Type Pokemon are always classified as that."
"Me? A Dragon Trainer?" A wide smile erupted on his face.
"Yeah! And once you train your Goomy up, you can go and train other dragons too. Though Dragon Trainers have a tougher time than most other trainer classes."
"That doesn't matter to me! I'll keep training with Goomy and eventually I'll be tough enough to train other dragons!"
"Goo!"
"That's the spirit!"
"PIKA!"
A new member has been added to the group. A small and timid but potentially powerful Pokemon. As Pokemon find Ponies that they like, the same goes for other species. No one is left out when Pokemon are involved.
Every time he enters the other world, everypony stops what they're doing and bow to him. He's not of royalty, nor is he related to royalty in any way. But the presence and authority he gives off is enough to assert a sort of dominance.
And he's the only one that Celestia has fallen for, even though the rest of Equestria doesn't know. And the ones that do know are Luna, Shining Armor and Cadence.
Needless to say, he's made a name for himself in this world. Despite not being around that much.
Cobalion was relaxing, having a peaceful day at the Everfree Forest. What would normally be considered a dangerous area for many, Cobalion is capable of being there without any issue at all. No creature in the forest would dare come close to being who's horn is a literal sword. But that peace was disturbed by two ponies who walked up to him.
"You're really him. Cobalion!" A young filly said.
"He's just as tall as they say he is." Another chattered.
"Can I help you two?"
"Mr Cobalion, sir. Can we have your autograph?" The two of them were getting giddy.
"What is an autograph?" Cobalion had no idea what that was. Being a Pokemon that was distant from most of modern civilization.
"Oh, he's so modest. Is it true that you've protected Pokemon for centuries now?"
"Well yes. Countless of my kind have been keeping watch of Pokemon for years now. Many Cobalion's have come and gone, protecting all of Pokemon kind, even before I was born. And I-"
"Then does that make you the strongest of them all?!" He was interrupted.
"I am not sure of that an-"
"Obviously it does! They say the newer generation is always stronger than the old, duh." The other pony said to her friend. The two of them kept on blabbering as Cobalion couldn't interrupt the two of them once they started rambling. He sighed as he got up and moved away from the spot that he was in.
"Wait! Cobalion! Don't leave us in the Everfree Forest!" The two of them said, shrieking in fear.
Cobalion kept moving along, wanting to find a new place to relax. He entered Ponyville as all the other ponies fixed their gaze on him. The young ponies flocked to him, wanting to stand next to him so they can brag to their friends about meeting Cobalion.
The Iron Will Pokemon kept moving on though. He didn't mind the ponies. Even if they constantly bowed down to him. Though he wasn't a fan of feeling so important.
He was then stopped by Twilight, who wanted to know more about him.
"Cobalion. I hope I'm not bothering you."
"No. At least not yet."
"Great. I have some questions to ask you. First. How is it that your horns are a sword. I mean, even Princess Celestia, despite how long her horn is, was never as sharp as a sword."
"How you may ask? Magic of course." He answered.
"Magic? Wait... you have magic too?!"
"You didn't think we had it, Twilight Sparkle?"
"Well, I thought about it. But most Pokemon don't seem like they're magic."
"That's because we're all magic. Every single Pokemon."
This changed everything for Twilight. Everything.
"So then what does that mean for humans? Are they magic too?"
"Not necessarily. For you see, Twilight. Humans actually came before us."
Again, Twilight's knowledge of the Pokemon World had changed. She thought that Mew came before humans. But it was the other way around?
"But I thought Pokemon came first? Mew is said to be the ancestor of all Pokemon. And Arceus predates that."
"It's true that Arceus is the first of them all. But in terms of Earth, humans showed up and then Pokemon. Humans and Pokemon are one and the same. Or they used to be even."
"Amazing... so how does that explain magic then?"
"We are made out of magic due to the remnants of Arceus. But only specific Pokemon are magic. Most notably Fairy-Types. For me and the other Swords of Justice, our horns draw upon an external source of magic, while Fairies draw a mixture of both external and internal."
"This changes everything!" Twilight was writing down notes, remembering everything Cobalion had said. The Iron Will Pokemon decided to keep on moving. "Wait, Cobalion! Where are you even headed? Where do you even go?"
"Wherever I can, Twilight Sparkle. And if I come across Pokemon that need my help, I'll be there. Right now, I feel like moving along to a peaceful spot. Do you have any recommendations?"
"Well, Canterlot is pretty peaceful despite how grand it may be. I'd love to take you there, but I have to get to Manehattan with my friends soon. Rarity's headed to the Fashion Week Contest and we're going to be supporting her there."
"Very well. I'll make my way to Canterlot on my own."
"Good luck Cobalion!" Twilight waved him goodbye as Cobalion kept on walking.
Making his way along Equestria, he arrived at Canterlot. And once more, everypony there stopped to gaze at him. Canterlot ponies especially since they consider him of great importance. Darkrai, who lurks around Canterlot Garden, saw Cobalion. He knew how Celestia would react if she saw him here. Since even after their talk a few months back, she still gets shaky around him.
Darkrai loomed over to the indoors of Canterlot, telling the Royal Guards and Luna that Cobalion was here. They understood as they were prepared to make sure that nopony saw Celestia freak out in front of Cobalion.
But Cobalion wasn't making his way towards the indoors this time. Instead, he decided to stay at Canterlot Garden. He found it to be a peaceful spot.
The guards had seen Cobalion outside at the garden, thinking that Celestia wouldn't notice him if he just sits quietly.
But she did. Straight from the window even. Her initial freakout was waiting to come out. She could've just sat down on her throne and waited for him to leave, but she felt brave enough to finally talk to him without stammering and acting like she's holding a jackhammer.
"Okay, Celestia. You can do this. You talk to ponies every time, even Pokemon. So one Pokemon can't be that hard. Even if it is the one you're infatuated with." She said, jittering. Passion shook her head, knowing that this could go south very fast. But, she let her trainer handle this.
Cobalion was just sitting there. He could feel the calm wind blow in the ears as he received total silence. Twilight was right about Canterlot being peaceful.
Celestia peeked her head through the corner of the garden, looking at Cobalion. She went from bush to bush, hiding behind each statue.
Cobalion could sense someone was here. Raising his head, he noticed Celestia zipping around.
"Princess Celestia? What are you doing?"
Calling for her made her jump out of a bush.
"Oh! Nothing! What are YOU doing?" She responded with a nervous grin.
"I'm sitting here, relaxing. There are times when I like to have some peace. When I'm not rescuing Pokemon for life-threatening situations."
"Good. Good. That's good. I too love to relax. Even though I rarely get the chance to since I'm the princess of Equestria."
"You don't seem busy though. Perhaps you came out here because you spotted me."
"Pssh. What? N-No. Hahaha... yes I did." She admitted, dropping her head.
"Is the concept of loving another on a romantic level that confusing to you?"
"Very. I've never truly had romantic feelings before. Forgive me if I seem to be a novice at it. But I do know where my heart is."
"Then why is it that you shake so much once you see me?"
"I honestly don't know. So, Cobalion. I don't suppose you're occupied? Maybe one day we can go on a dinner date?"
"What is a... dinner date?" This showed how far Cobalion was from modern-day.
"You don't know?" She seemed puzzled.
"Not sure I do. I've been around nature for many years now. I have no knowledge of this 'Dinner Date'."
"Guess I'm not the only one clueless about love." Celestia teased. Cobalion smiled back as all the shaking that Celestia had, vanished. Simply by talking, her nervous fears faded away. Passion looked over, seeing how well things were going. It was impressive. Previously she wouldn't stop shaking for 3 hours when he saw him, even when they both left.
Although Passion did feel a bit jealous of Cobalion. Just a tad.
Cobalion and Celestia chatted away for hours straight. The two of them started to develop their bond. They talked about their accomplishments, their failures, and even their embarrassing moments. Cobalion himself was growing fond of Celestia. He could appreciate her honesty. It was clear that she generally loves her entire kingdom and does everything she can to make sure her subjects and everypony are happy.
Celestia had noticed Passion watching from afar, getting jealous.
"Passion. You can come here, it's okay."
Passion went over to Celestia, looking at Cobalion whilst moving. Cobalion looked down at the little Pokemon, scaring her a bit. Passion hid behind Celestia, holding her hoof.
Passion moved away from Celestia, getting a bit closer to Cobalion. The Iron Will Pokemon didn't make a move. Passion sat next down to him, feeling a bit safe.
"See? There you go."
"Kirli."
"You know, Cobalion..."
"Yes, Princess?"
"Even if we are to both be in true love. Once the two worlds return to their normal states, I may not remember you. I also have the same fear that Twilight has." Celestia lowered her head.
"I can understand the fear of saying goodbye to someone you may never see again. I once lost someone close to me."
"You did?"
"Kirl?"
"I had a good friend once, many years ago. He was a Kommo-o. One day when a great disaster struck a forest of Pokemon, I, Terrakion and Virizion did our best to save all the Pokemon. And so did Kommo-o. But his rescue was the riskiest of them all. He managed to save an Eevee from a raging dark mist, but he was dragged into the mist as well. Despite all my efforts, I couldn't do anything to save him, nor was I fast enough. I lost the greatest friend I had that day. Which is why I vow to become stronger so that no Pokemon is lost ever again."
Celestia's heart sunk. And so did Passion's. Learning about Cobalion's loss really hit them both, making them feel sorry for him. He seemed so Steel Hearted yet he's just like everyone else. Soft.
"Cobalion. I am very sorry for your loss." Celestia placed her hoof on his.
"It's fine. I know Kommo-o is up there watching over me. Even in this world. So I won't let it all slow me down."
Cobalion's words had made Celestia fall for him more. She now had an even larger reason to love him. Just when things were peaceful, a Royal Guard came galloping in, breathing heavily.
"Princess Celestia! You must hear this!"
"What is it?" Celestia stood up.
"It's Saddle-Arabia. It's been attacked. By a 3 Headed Dragon."
"A 3 Headed...Dragon?" Celestia was remembering what she saw in her dream. It fit that description perfectly. "Is Saddle-Arabia alright?"
"Not really. The dragon completely invaded it and overtook all of it in mere minutes. The ponies there have been restrained sadly."
"Send as many guards as you can there. Find out more about this 3-Headed Dragon and make sure everypony is safe."
"Understood."
"And Cobalion. I hope-" Suddenly, Cobalion was gone. "Cobalion?"
He had gone to stop this threat. He knew it was a Hydregion so he hurried his way to Saddle-Arabia.
Ghetsis had overtaken Saddle-Arabia. In a few minutes even. Nopony could stand up to the destructive and overwhelming force of his Hydregion.
"What did I say? I warned you to comply, and now look where you all are." The ponies were all restrained by Team Plasma, tied up and everything. Hydregion loomed over them all, making sure that nopony got any smart ideas and tried to leave. "Now I rule your land! I failed to conquer Unova... but that one single failure never stopped me. Not all."
Colress himself was busy. He was searching through Saddle-Arabia's archives.
"This world seems dependent on magic. Science is barely a factor here. How disappointing."
All seemed bleak for Saddle-Arabia until Celestia's Royal Guards had shown up with some backup.
"Halt! Release all the ponies at once! In the name of Princess Celestia!" A soldier said.
"Oh? And who may you be?"
"I believe they are the guards of that place known as Canterlot. It appears to be the most important location in this world." A grunt explained.
"Canterlot? So that's where the top is. I'll make sure that I don't miss out on that one next."
"You have made a threat against Canterlot. You are now officially deemed a criminal to Equestria. We will be taking you in."
"Take me in? HAH! Not again. Not this time." Ghetsis took out a Pokeball as the guards readied themselves, being cautious. Ghetsis tossed the Pokeball, sending out his Bisharp.
"Bisharp. Deal with these nuisances. Getting rid of you means I eradicate an extension of the Sovereign."
Bisharp lunged forward using Night Slash. The guards had no defense against a Pokemon like Bisharp. At all.
The ponies watched as they saw Bisharp completely decimate the guards. Many of them looked away to avoid what they were seeing. Nopony had ever seen such violence before. Ghetsis watched as he saw them all fall to Bisharp with their armor breaking apart, scattering all over the place.
The guards had been defeated by one Pokemon only as both Ghetsis and Bisharp stood over them. There was only one guard left who wasn't taken out like his fellow soldiers. But he was severely hurt. Ghetsis grabbed the guard by his neck with his staff.
"Tell your princess that eventually her entire kingdom will belong to me. Ghetsis. You can do that can't you little pony?"
The guard was struck with fear as he scurried off, running as fast as he could. Ghetsis laughed as he gained another victory. Conquering Saddle-Arabia was the first major one. And soon everything else will be much bigger.
"We've conquered this place. We'll build our foundation from here. And then everything else will belong to me! And I haven't forgotten about Unova. My world. I'll make sure they feel my revenge. TENFOLD!"
The guard had returned to Canterlot after a long journey. He felt like he was going to pass out. The other guards held him, making sure he wouldn't fall. They guided him to Princess Celestia to hand out the news.
"What happened? You look horrible." Celestia said worryingly.
"It was worse than we ever imagined, Princess. They were too overwhelming. And it was only one of them.2
"Only one? What happened to the other guards that were sent?"
"They were slain. I was the only one that survived." And just like that, he passed out on the floor. Celestia now knew what this Great Disaster was. And it made her worry even more. Passion looked up at her trainer, seeing her eyes intensified.
"Who would be that ruthless...?"
"Kirlia.."
"That kind of malice can only be found in our world," Darkrai explained, lurking in the corner. Celestia and Passion both turned to him. "Compared to your world, the evil that lurks in ours is like no other. Both humans and Pokemon are capable of vile actions. Actions so vile that no one will ever forget the impact it caused."
What Darkrai said was true. Equestria may have its fair share of evil, but it's nothing compared to what the Pokemon World holds.
"What do I do?" Celestia thought long and hard. Until she came up with a conclusion. "The best I can do for now is to try and free those trapped in Saddle-Arabia by their clutches."
The guard who had survived was being taken care of. The doctors tried to help him, but the injuries were like nothing they had seen before. It was almost as if he was cut by both pure steel and darkness at the same time.
Luna had overheard everything, and this made her terrified. She never even thought of someone like that even when she visited the dream world.
Shortly after, the guard had passed away. His body couldn't handle all of it.
Ghetsis wasn't slowing down though. If he was going to conquer, he would have to prove a point and make his moves fast. He had sat down on the throne of the king and queen of Saddle-Arabia, making himself feel more powerful.
"This is wonderful. Then again, this is a world full of pretty colorful ponies. It was obviously going to be easy to conquer."
"Best not get too confident, Lord Ghetsis. Don't want any surprises now do you?" A grunt said.
"Of course. I already know that. But this time, I have a way to make sure that no random 10-year-old boy and his friends stop me. By proving a point. We'll give Princess Celestia's Canterlot a little message eventually."
Cobalion, on the other hand, was still on his way. While he didn't know where Saddle-Arabia was, that wouldn't stop him from getting there.
A day had passed and news had come out about what happened to Saddle-Arabia. It was horrible. And all the ponies sent their prayers to Saddle-Arabia, hoping they are all alright.
Twilight took a newspaper containing this story.
"Saddle-Arabia attacked and taken by a 3 Headed Dragon and its trainer? What in Equestria's name?"
Her friends turned to her, hearing about the news as well.
"It's awful what happened to them." Fluttershy said.
"It gets worse. Apparently, Royal Guards were slain?! And anypony who dared try and escape were also slain." What Twilight was reading was horrifying to her and everypony else. "So this is the great disaster that Celestia foresaw.
Just then, Ash who was also listening was thinking about who could've caused this. 3 Headed Dragon. Entire location taken over. Only one person could've done this.
"Ghetsis."
"Huh?" They all turned to him.
"He's the only guy capable of doing this."
"Who's Ghetsis Ash?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"The worst guy you could think of. He only cares about ruling everything. So much so that he'll make sure that he's the ONLY person who can rule. By getting rid of the competition."
"So you mean he..." Rarity gasped.
"Yeah. With no hesitation. If he's back, then we're all in trouble."
"Woah. Now hold on. We've taken on worse. I'm sure we can beat this Ghetsis guy like we did the others." Rainbow Dash said.
"Ghetsis isn't like the others, Rainbow Dash," Ash replied
"And you heard what Princess Celestia said. This is one problem that even we can't get involved with." Twilight followed.
"I-I guess so. Then what do we do against a guy like him? Everypony can't just sit around and wait for him to do something?"
"Even Princess Celestia isn't sure. It says here that Celestia has never been this nervous before." Twilight pointed out.
"S-S-So. Does this mean this is the end of the line?" Rarity started to panic.
"No, it ain't. Let's not start going crazy and panicking now." Applejack calmed her down.
"Ash. You know about Ghetsis. You can at least tell us and Princess Celestia how to stop him." Twilight chattered.
"Stopping Ghetsis is simple. Just thwart his plans. But that's not an easy task. Ghetsis always finds a way to make it tough for everyone. And his Pokemon along with the rest of Team Plasma's are no different. If he's causing trouble here, that means he wants to rule Equestria."
"Rule Equestria?" They all said.
"He tried to rule Unova once by controlling Pokemon. Especially Reshiram. The Legendary Pokemon."
"Controlling Pokemon? How awful," said Fluttershy.
"Well, you beat him before Ash. So it's obviously not gonna be a big deal when you face him again." Dash uttered.
"I don't know. I can't be too sure. Who knows what he has now in this world."
"Pika."
Pinkie Pie wasn't feeling the dreaded atmosphere, so she had to lighten the mood.
"Let's not worry about it too much. Why don't we all-"
"It's reasonable to worry Pinkie. This isn't a situation we can't take lightly." Ash cut her off. The Mane 6 had never seen Ash and Pikachu so serious like this before. "You gotta tell Celestia about Ghetsis. As fast as you can."
"Ash is right. We have to tell Princess Celestia. That way she'll know who this Ghetsis guy is. Let's go girls." Twilight exclaimed. The gang set off to Canterlot to give the information to Princess Celestia.
Once they reached Canterlot, they let Celestia know immediately.
"So. His name is Ghetsis. An old foe of Ash."
"Yes. And the 3 Headed Dragon is known as a Hydregion apparently." Twilight explained everything to her.
"Now we know of his name and his Pokemon. Thank you Twilight. I urge you and your friends to continue staying in Ponyville until we sort this disaster out. We'll prevent it somehow."
"Understood, Princess Celestia."
"But, there is one thing I want to try. If he is Ash's old foe, then that means that he will know what to do against Ghetsis."
"You're not planning on letting Ash handle him are you?" Rarity asked.
"He has past experiences with him, so he'll know what to do hopefully. I'll be putting all of our faith in Ash and Pikachu."
"That is true. This is his territory." Twilight agreed. "I just hope that he'll be okay."
"He'll be fine. No doubt about it. It's Ash after all." Pinkie uttered.
"But as for everypony else, I fear the worst. A guard had returned from Saddle-Arabia. And the injures that he had were so severe, that no doctor could heal him. The Pokemon that Ghetsis wields could be capable of much more horrifying feats that all of Equestria, even our own world has yet to discover. So much so that they can conquer one kingdom in mere minutes. If I fail, then Ash will be the one to stop Ghetsis. But I cannot just sit around. Which is why... It shall be I that will go first."
"You're going to go, Princess Celestia?!" Twilight bellowed.
"Yes. I've already once sent you to deal with Sombra at the Crystal Empire. Now it is my turn. The ponies of Saddle-Arabia need my help."
"I won't let you!" Luna shouted, disapproving this.
"Luna?" Celestia and everypony else turned to her.
"Sister. I will not let you go. Not at all!"
"Why? If I go I might be able to-"
"I don't want you getting hurt! Everything that has been said about this Ghetsis has terrified me. What he did to the guards and how one of them passed on. I'm afraid of what may happen to you if you go. What if they unleash something much worse on you? I don't want to lose you sister." Luna started tearing up, terrified of what may happen. All these thoughts swirling up in her head of how Celestia could meet her doom.
Her older sister walked up to her, placing her hoof on her back and giving Luna a nice warm hug.
"I understand, sister. I'm scared too. Both of us know little about Pokemon still. But, even still, I have to do something. As my duty as Princess and Ruler of Equestria, I must help those in need. Even if it costs me my life." Celestia gave a smile off. Passion latched on to Celestia, obviously not wanting her to get hurt as well. "Don't worry Passion. It'll be alright. Now. I have to get going."
Celestia was ready to do what she must do. Luna and the others watched as they saw her move along to go and save Saddle-Arabia.
She wasn't the only one headed there. Cobalion was slowly but surely heading there as well. His lack of knowledge about its location didn't stop him at all.
Ghetsis was waiting. Biding his time. Old equipment and tech from his previous Team Plasma base were brought here. Along with Colress's old science equipment. It was starting to feel like home again. Colress had set up a new lab, straight in the king and queen's room, claiming it as his. Hydregion stood by Ghetsis's side, making him even more imposing.
The grunts were given the task of lookout and keeping the ponies in check. If any of them tried to escape, they would be met with harsh punishment from their Pokemon. Or worse, Ghetsis.
Celestia had quickly made her way to Saddle-Arabia, but she was seen by a grunt from high above a building.
"I see a pony. One with a strange mane. Almost cosmic." The grunt explained.
"That's the pony I saw on the flag. It's that Princess Celestia pony!" The other grunt yelled. The top horse was here, and they let Ghetsis know immediately. The ponies of Saddle-Arabia had hope on their faces, seeing Celestia arrive.
"Princess Celestia!"
"She's here to save us!"
They all chattered with joy in their voices. Ghetsis stepped out, just to see her for himself. The two had finally met.
"So. You're Princess Celestia. The number one pretty pony of this puffy world."
"And you must be Ghetsis."
"That I am. The soon to be new ruler of this world. And eventually my original world as well. Just like it always should've been."
"That won't be happening. Not at all." Celestia used her magic to hold the grunts and Pokemon in place as they could no longer keep watch of the ponies, making them escape without any harm done. But Ghetsis resisted her magic. Due to him being supercharged with Aura, magic wasn't very effective on him like it should be. "Who do you think you are? Coming to our world and deciding that you deserve to rule it?"
"Hah!" Ghetsis laughed loudly. "Oh please. All my life I've wanted to conquer and overtake everything. I decided to start small with Unova, but that went nowhere. Now with this second chance that I have been given, along with this overflowing surge of aura, the world can be mine. If I play my cards right."
"Then you'll end up losing as you did in Unova."
"Oh no, I won't. And I'll make sure by getting rid of the biggest threat here. You!"
"Hydregion! Hyper Beam!" Ghetsis commanded his Brutal Pokemon. A golden flash of hyper energy emerged in its mouth as it released a devastating beam towards Celestia. The beam tore through the ground, ripping it apart like it was nothing.
Celestia countered by firing her own beam. One of magic. Both connected as they cancelled each other out easily.
"Dragon Rush!" Hydregion flew through the smoke of leftover beams as it zoomed towards Celestia. Her eyes widened as she was met with an overwhelming menace of attacks from its heads. Celestia couldn't react fast enough as she was met with the attack.
Celestia had never felt so much pain before. It felt like she was getting hit with numerous mountains, over and over again. Hydregion then gripped onto Celestia's neck by biting onto it. Celestia screamed in pain as Hydregion tossed her aside, slamming her down with its tail.
The ponies were in shock by what they were seeing. Celestia being overwhelmed like that.
But due to her status and position, she didn't go down so easily. She had bite marks on her neck along with scratches from the Dragon Rush, but she was still up.
"How stubborn. They always are. Hydregion. Let's see which move you can use thanks to the DNA Mixer. Use Giga Impact!" Hydregion's body was engulfed by all of its power. Celestia had to stop it, so cast a barrier around her. Hydregion came crashing down, striking the barrier with all that energy, creating a powerful impact that shattered the ground and buildings around it. The ponies and grunts were all blown away by the impact as a huge dust cloud emerged.
Celestia was safe, thanks to the strength of her barrier. Celestia then teleported behind Hydregion, finally retaliating. The Dark Dragon Pokemon was struck by a magic beam that sent it down to the ground, breaking through it as it made a huge crater.
"Heh. That all? Fire Fang!" Hydregion flew up, biting Celestia once more, this time on the hoof. Celestia winced in pain as flames were seeping through the holes that Hydregion bit in her. "Hahaha! The ability to use more than 4 moves! That DNA Mixer idea that Colress came up with is his finest work yet. Now! Mix it with Thunder Fang!"
Celestia felt both the surging thunder and scorching fire seep in her, and even surround her. The ponies all looked away in fear as they couldn't watch this any longer. Not anymore. Celestia had to power through it. To protect everypony from someone like Ghetsis. So she let out a mighty shockwave of magic that sent Hydregion flying.
Celestia then unleashed a frenzy of magic beams that rained down on Hydregion. The Brutal Pokemon was overwhelmed by all of that magic as a large pillar of light erupted from the aftermath. Celestia breathed in and out as she turned to Ghetsis.
"Now for you."
"Heh. Please. Do you think it will be that easy? Even if you have managed to take out my Hydregion, you stand no chance against my aura. I don't even know my own strength with this newfound power."
"Then I'll just have to make sure that you don't get the chance." Celestia trapped Ghetsis in a magic bubble, keeping him from making any movements. Ghetsis wasn't bothered by this at all. He gave off a simple smirk and then said...
"Hyper Beam." And just like that Celestia was shot through her back with a Hyper Beam. Hydregion wasn't out at all. Celestia's eyes widened as she fell to the ground with a large gaping hole in her back. She had never felt so much pain before or even a defeat like this.
"PRINCESS CELESTIA!" Everypony in Saddle-Arabia yelled.
Ghetsis walked over to her, looking down at the defeated Princess.
"Did you really think a pony of all things would stop me?" Ghetsis slammed his staff down on her hoof, making her cry out in pain. "I do not have time to be playing with ponies. Only a child would. So long, Princess Celestia." Ghetsis raised his staff up, aiming at Celestia's head, striking it down until...
His staff was stopped.
By Cobalion.
His sword had blocked Ghetsis's staff, knocking it away. Celestia looked up to see Cobalion, right there.
"C-Cobalion."
"You've done well, Princess. Now rest."
"Feh. Even in this world, Unova always managed to come back to me in some way shape or form." Ghetsis said as both he and Cobalion stared each other down. "I'll blow you away as well! Hydregion! Zen Headbutt!" Hydregion concentrated psychic energy in its head as it zoomed towards Cobalion.
The Iron Will Pokemon turned around as it countered by summoning its sword.
"I don't think so." He said as he pushed Hydregion back. Cobalion then used Sacred Sword to slash Hydregion, dealing massive damage to it. All the while, he stood by Celestia, making sure that no one would try and finish her off while he's distracted.
"Crush him with Dragon Rush!" Hydregion roared as it slammed its heads towards Cobalion. Cobalion's sword kept blocking each swing from the heads, preventing them from dealing any damage. Cobalion had then turned around, bucking Hydregion back.
"Give it up. I outclass you in type-matchups." Cobalion demanded.
"You think I'll just give up? I don't play fair." Ghetsis snapped his fingers as the Team Plasma Grunts, who had just recovered from the previous impact sent their Pokemon forward. Now Cobalion was surrounded.
"Drapion! Cross Poison!"
"Krookodile! Shadow Claw!"
"Zangoose! Crush Claw!"
Three Pokemon homed in on Cobalion. But even they couldn't stop him. His sword alone countered each of their physical attacks as he slashed them each, defeating them in one hit. Hydregion attempted to fire from a distance with a Dragon Pulse, but Cobalion used Iron Head to cancel it out.
"Hydregion! Fly up and use Hyper Beam on the ground!" It did just that. Zooming into the skies, the Brutal Pokemon charged up hyper energy. Cobalion knew what Ghetsis was planning. He was going to blow away the entire area to destroy both Celestia and Cobalion himself.
"I won't let you!" Cobalion concentrated deeply, ready to do his best to stop the Hyper Beam. Celestia saw this as she knew that this was too risky for Cobalion. So in order to save everypony, she used every last bit of her magic to teleport Cobalion, her and everypony out of Saddle-Arabia. The Hyper Beam hit the ground as a huge explosion followed suit. The grunts and Pokemon were caught up in the explosion as well, but Ghetsis didn't care if they were destroyed by it. His aura had protected him from the explosion.
He smirked as he knew that he had gained a victory today. With Celestia gravely injured, he had proven his point. Very early on even.
"Excellent. We'll let them take all of it in. Soon we'll make our move on Canterlot and the rest of this pony world."
Celestia had teleported them all into the Canterlot Gardens as she felt like she was about to faint. The hole was still there. Luna flew out of the castle to her sister.
"Sister!" She cried out. Cobalion looked around, seeing that Celestia teleported them all here. Luna landed down, leaning towards her older sister. She spotted the hole in her along with the scratches as she was terrified, along with Passion who watched from the windows.
"Luna. I'm sorry. I couldn't do it." She was severely hurt. Even talking would cause her pain.
She had taken an injury like no other. The hole in her back and stomach was hurting her with levels of pain that she had never experienced before. The Hyper Beam really did a number on her. As for the ponies from Saddle-Arabia, they were currently staying at Canterlot since their home has been taken over by Team Plasma.
Luna and Passion were watching from the window, seeing their sister greatly injured as the doctors were doing their best to heal her.
Tears had filled Passion's eyes. It hurt her, seeing her trainer in this condition. It hurt Luna even more. She was more than just upset and sad now. She felt an uncontrollable rage boiling up in her. One that she had never felt before in her life, ever.
She hated Ghetsis. More than anypony. The anger in her was rising up to such extreme levels that it was close to awakening an old dark persona that she dreaded would never come back.
Twilight and the others had caught news of what happened to Celestia. Twilight as well was greatly devastated by the news. Celestia was like a mother to her.
"It can't be." Her heart sank when she Celestia in her current state. "Princess Celestia."
"Who did this?" Rainbow Dash muttered.
"Ghetsis did. It was all Ghetsis." Luna answered as she looked to the ground. The Mane 6 glanced at Luna, seeing familiar dark magic surround her. "His fault. HIS fault!"
Twilight saw this magic as she recognized it as Nightmare Moon.
"Princess Luna... Your magic!" She pointed out.
Luna snapped out of it for a moment, making the dark magic fizzle out.
The young princess of the night ran iff, heading to her room, upset.
All of Cantelort was left devastated from this. And to make matters worse, this made them much more terrified of Ghetsis, fearing the absolute worst. Ghetsis had managed to make himself that important and known in the world that easily.
"W-W-What do we do? If even Celestia couldn't stop him then-" Rarity was panicking again. Understandably so. "Twilight?"
"I...I don't know!" Twilight was struggling to take this all in.
"You aren't giving up so easily now are you?" Cobalion said, walking up to Twilight.
"Cobalion?"
"I haven't given up yet. I'm heading back to that Saddle-Arabia kingdom."
"You're going back? But you can't! You saw what happened to Princess Celestia!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"I know. But the ponies of Saddle-Arabia have had their home stolen from them. I cannot let that go." Cobalion has had a similar experience like this before. For the longest time, the Swords of Justice have been protecting other Pokemon who have lost their homes before. Whether it was due to land expansion of fires spreading across the forest where many Pokemon live. So he couldn't ignore this.
Twilight needed a moment as well. She walked out of the castle and out into the open streets of Canterlot. She saw and heard everypony talk about what happened to Princess Celestia, seeing them all with fears in their faces. Twilight had come to a realization. That Ghetsis truly was a force like no other. A force that could wipe them all out at any moment.
Twilight's friends followed her outside, wanting to do their best to try and cheer her up.
Luna, on the other hand, was feeling both anger and sadness.
"I knew I should've stopped her from going... I knew it was a terrible idea. I should've been there with her." She muttered to herself. Feeling guilty about it. If she had been there, then maybe the two of them could've stopped Ghetsis. Then, that same dark magic popped up once more. A presence similar to that of Nightmare Moon.
But this wasn't Nightmare Moon anymore. Nightmare Moon was awakened by jealousy. This new persona was awakened by the culmination of rage and sorrow.
The appearance kept Luna's ethereal mane, however, her skin had turned into maroon coloring, signifying her anger. Her mane had a much sharper appearance now adding the maroon coloring to as her eyes were constantly glowing purple. This was beyond Nightmare Moon.
This was Lunar Ire.
"I will make him PAY for what he did to my sister!" Her voice had an echo involved. Darkrai looked over at Luna, seeing her new form. Her other Pokemon exited their Pokeballs, terrified of their trainer now.
Luna stomped out of her room as she left a trail of furious magic behind.
The guards saw Luna's new form as they feared that it may be the return of Nightmare Moon. Luna turned to them, as her eyes met with them. They didn't say anything as they just stood there, terrified.
Luna reached the nursing room, seeing her sister still being nursed.
"I will have to rule over Equestria a bit. Heal up soon sister." She said as her voice made everypony shake in fear. "And I will make sure that Ghetsis pays for what he has done."
Darkrai felt like trying to stop Luna, but this was something that even he feared. Luna's rage was unlike anything he felt. She was calm but yet the aura it gave off was destructive.
Luna went out to the balcony, looking over all of Canterlot. She then used her Royal Canterlot voice to speak to them all.
"Loyal subjects of Canterlot. I understand you are all distraught and devastated. With what happened to my sister and the disaster she spoke of almost coming true soon. I myself am most hurt. Seeing my older sister in a state like that. But do not fear. I will take over for my sister until she has been recovered. And I shall guarantee that the monster known as Ghetsis WILL be stopped. For good."
Everypony including the Mane 6 had heard this. Twilight and her friends feared this new Luna. What if she was worse than Nightmare Moon?
And that's when the same started to happen to Twilight. Her emotions shifted from sadness to anger. She could feel that same magic that Luna has flow through her. Her friends stood back as they saw this purple magic rise up within her as she started talking to her self.
"It's all his fault. It's all Ghetsis's fault. I hate him. I hate him. I HATE him!" That''s when that magic had engulfed her completely. Now she had also undergone a transformation similar to Luna.
Her once midnight blue mane had darkened, gaining an intense flow that resembled fire burning as her skin became a regal purple. Her eyes were constantly glowing purple as well. The pony known as Twilight Sparkle had changed into somepony else. Known as...
Horizon Storm.
Beyond the Twilight, there is the Horizon and anger equal to that of a Storm.
"T-Twilight. Are you okay?" Applejack asked, terrified to go near her friend.
"I'm not okay. Not at all." She responded as her voice echoed as well. This mysterious magic seemed to possess anypony that had both sorrow and rage and shift them into a new persona. "I've never felt so much hate for somepony before. Then again, he's no pony." She stomped her hoof on the ground, making a small crack.
"I think it might be best if we get you home. We all need some time away from this situation." Applejack vouched. Despite this new Twilight, she wasn't exempt from everything else. She agreed to head home. She needed it.
At Ponyville...
Twilight was in her library, sitting on her own. Spike had given her some time to think as he was outside.
All these thoughts kept swarming her head. And each thought was numerous ways she thought of destroying Ghetsis.
Suddenly, her new persona quickly faded away, returning her back to her normal state. However, if she is ever pushed to a certain point, Horizon Storm will emerge. In fact, it lies within her now. Uncontrollable magic she doesn't even know she has or even knows how to summon it even. She had more self control than Luna, which is why her alternate persona didn't last.
Twilight huddled up in her bed, deciding to take a nap. As the day went by, the clouds had covered the sun completely, negating any sunlight for Ponyville.
Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy returned to their homes as well.
That goes for everypony else. What happened to Celestia made them all stay indoors. The streets of Ponyville were completely silent. Not even a Pokemon in sight.
Luna, on the other hand, sat down on her sister's throne, assuming the position of ruler.
"As the current temporary ruler of Equestria, I will make sure that Ghetsis receives his punishment! I shall show him no mercy!" Luna declared.
This signified the beginning of a long conflict between Equestria and Ghetsis. And the pure evil man had already changed Saddle-Arabia's name for his own like. Calling it the Harmonia Kingdom. Based on his full name being Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius.
And all of this is due to the Rift accepting the request of bringing Ghetsis back and freeing him from jail.
The Great Disaster that Celestia foresaw was just around the corner. And the first result of it was her getting injured.
Passion went inside the room that Celestia was resting in as she jumped on the bed. She laid next to her damaged trainer, wishing and praying for her to get better.
Eight have gone by now.
Luna has continued Celestia's reign by continuing to make everypony stay where they are, not wanting them to end up bumping into Ghetsis. She had also done the duty of raising and lowering both the Sun and Moon. Celestia was still in the nursing room, with that hole not going away anytime soon. Ash, who has at his world for a few hours, returned to Ponyville to check up on his friends. Starting by heading off to the Pokemon House.
"Hey, Fluttershy."
"Pikachu!"
"Oh, hello Ash. Pikachu." She responded with a bit of dread in her voice. Ash and Pikachu could tell that something was wrong.
"What's wrong?"
"Pika?"
Pikachu hopped off his trainer's shoulder, heading towards the sad pony.
"Oh. You haven't heard the news about what happened earlier."
"What DID happen?"
"Princess Celestia was..." Fluttershy explained everything to them as it blew both Ash and Pikachu away.
"Man. That's hard. Poor Celestia." Ash sulked his head.
"Pika..."
"Pinkie Pie's been trying her best to cheer everypony up, but she only managed to make a few of us happy. Twilight's taking this the hardest out of all of us."
"I should've gone and stopped Ghetsis myself. But... I don't think that would've changed much."
"Pi-Pikachu."
"Don't feel bad, Ash. We're all shaken up by this. Now, all we have to do is wait for this whole Ghetsis situation to fade away. I have to go and feed the Pokemon now. Will you help me?"
"I'll pass today. I wanna do something that'll lift their spirits up."
"Really? What do you have in mind?"
What did he have in mind? Well, he got all of his Pokemon from Professor Oak's lab first. He even travelled to Kalos to find his Greninja. Most of his Pokemon were here with missing inclusion of Primeape and Butterfree, wherever those two might be. And Naganadel is still at Ultra Space.
And he bought in one other person to help. Dawn.
"Alright, guys. Everyone here's feeling a bit down. So we'll do our best to lift their spirits up."
"Did you take inspiration from me, Ash, when you were feeling down and I had to cheer you up after your loss against Paul?" Dawn said.
"Maybe. Now! We're gonna make them all happy!"
"You can count on us. Ash."
"Piplup!"
Outside, Pinkie Pie could seen light works of some sorts. It was Dawn, using one of her contest moves.
"Oooh." Pinkie came out, glancing at the sight. "Dawn, you're back!" Pinke went to hug Dawn.
"Good to see you too Pinkie." She replied.
Everypony came out to see these contest moves. This was their first time really seeing them in action. All of them other than the Mane 6 have never even heard of Pokemon Contests. Dawn's Piplup, Mamoswine and Pachirsu were the ones pulling of the moves, and Ash's Pokemon decided to pitch in by mixing their moves in.
Twilight looked outside, seeing everypony gather. Leaving her library she saw them all smiling again. They were enjoying themselves once more.
"Yo, Twilight!" Ash called.
Twilight walked to him, seeing everything going down.
"Ash. You did all of this?"
"Well, me and Dawn along with our Pokemon. We wanted to cheer you up. We know everyone here in Ponyville and even all over Equestria is upset about what happened to Celestia. So I came up with this in order to lift everyone's spirits up. Hope ya don't mind."
"Pikachu!"
Twilight had a small smile on her face. She was happy that some joy was brought back to everypony else.
"Hey. Wanna see something cool?" Ash said to the CMC.
"Yes!" They agreed in unison.
"Okay. Greninja."
"Grenin." The Ninja Pokemon nodded in response.
The two of them activated the Bond-Phenomenon, bringing out of Ash-Greninja.
"Woaaah.." Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were amazed by this sudden transformation.
The rest of the ponies were lying on Snorlax's belly, finding it oddly comforting. Rarity got a good look at Leavanny seeing how eventually her Sewaddle's will evolve into it. Leavanny made Rarity a dress in a matter of minutes for her by using leaves.
"It's gorgeous! The skill gap between the pre-evolution and final evolution is impressive.! No offense, darlings." Rarity said, turning to her Pokemon.
Happiness and joy returned to Ponyville after hours of gloom. While Ghetsis was still around and Celestia still hurt, at least there is always time for everyone to enjoy themselves and be happy.
She wasn't in the nursing room anymore. Instead, she was in this weird space where there was an endless flow of aether and cosmic energy flowing everywhere.
"Where am I?" She looked around, clueless. The entire area resembled her mane actually.
"This is your Mindscape Celestia." A voice said to her. From what she saw, it was Twilight.
"Twilight? Why are you here? And what do you mean by Mindscape?"
"I'm not Twilight. I'm just taking on the form of one of the many beings you've loved throughout your life. My true form cannot be seen by any lifeform."
"Who are you?"
"Think of me as the opposite of the Rift."
"Opposite? How so?"
"Well. The Rift crosses worlds over and mixes things up. I, on the other hand, travel through worlds, guiding and speaking to others. Right now, you're in your mind. But, you are still on the bed, asleep in the outside world though."
"So the injury is still there I see. But what is there to see in my mind? Why am I here?"
"You said that foresaw a great disaster in your dream. That disaster ended up being Ghetsis, who'll soon conquer your entire world."
"Yes. And it seems that I was right on that. I should've prepared more."
"Right for the first half."
"First half?" Celestia tilted her head.
"Ghetsis is only the first half of the disaster. There will be others that come along. He's just the first of many."
"Others?! Then that means more will come up and cause major trouble for all of Equestria."
"Right you are. This great disaster is caused by multiple people and ponies. It keeps piling on."
"Like an endless sea of chaos..."
"On the nose, Princess. Follow me."
The entity led Celestia further within her mind as its appearance then changed to Starswirl the Bearded along with the voice matching the unicorn wizard.
"You came here based on your own will."
"My own will? But how is that possible? I was unconscious."
"Normally, even you wouldn't be able to do it despite your vast knowledge of magic. But what caused this was your Kirlia."
"Passion? How could she have done this?"
"Your Kirlia tapped into its psychic prowess, causing you to enter your own mind without even realising. Being the Emotion Pokemon, it is capable of exerting high amounts of power by feelings alone. Pokemon are powerful like that."
"I see. So what did you want to show me again?"
"Oh right! I wanted to show you this." The entity pointed towards what seemed to be Celestia's, Cutie Mark. Floating there in the endless Mindscape.
"My Cutie Mark?"
"You see Celestia, your destiny isn't or yet.
"What do you mean?"
"There's something within you that has yet to be awoken. There is a reason why you became an alicorn."
"Something within me? I thought I already reached my destiny once I got my Cutie Mark and became ruler."
"Yes, you did. In the original timeline, but not this one. Get closer if you want."
Celestia walked towards her Cutie Mark. Once she got closer she could feel an unexplained flow of energy within her.
"What is this magic?" She felt perplexed as her body was quivering.
"Oh, this is beyond magic. Go ahead."
Celestia walked towards her Cutie Mark as the last thing she saw was a bright flash of cosmic lights.
She returned to reality, regaining consciousness as she gasped. The doctors turned towards her.
"Princess Celestia! You're awake!"
"I am." She looked at herself. The hole was still there but it wasn't hurting as much anymore. Still stung horribly though.
"Please, Princess. We urge you to stay in bed. Your wound still hasn't healed yet." The doctor said.
"I will. Thank you. I have a question to ask actually. How is the kingdom fairing right now."
"The kingdom? Well, your sister has temporarily taken charge. It's been 10 hours right now."
"I see. Luna must be worried sick. I hope she's not struggling too much." Celestia then thought of something else. Remembering a particular Pokemon. "Wait. Where's Cobalion?!"
"Um. I'm afraid I do not know who that is, Princess."
Celestia held her head as she tried to get out of bed, but the nurses had stopped her.
"Princess please, it is too dangerous for you to be moving around so much in your condition." The doctor was right. Moving a lot caused a huge strain on her as the wound made the pain worse.
"I have to make sure that he's okay. What if he went to Ghetsis again?!" Celestia put her hooves on her stomach, trying to ignore the pain. She then laid back on the bed. "Please be safe Cobalion."
And what of Cobalion?
He brought along the other Swords of Justice with him. They were making their way towards Saddle-Arabia, this time Cobalion knew the way.
"You sounded very serious about this Cobalion. How bad is it?" Keldeo asked.
"Very. If we don't do something, this world will fall victim to an undeserving rule."
"If even the ruler, Princess Celestia couldn't do anything, then we should give it our all for this," Virizion commented.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's pick up the pace!" Terrakion bellowed.
After a few minutes of running, they finally reached their destination. And they were met with something new. Ghetsis had changed up Saddle-Arabia, just like how he changed its name to the Harmonia Kingdom. The entire place was heavily fortified as if they were in the process of making a castle. And the ponies were doing all the hard work, building this soon to be a castle.
"How horrible." Virizion looked over the ponies who were forced to work under the watch of Ghetsis and his grunts.
"I say we bring it down!" Terrakion said. The Cavern Pokemon charged in headfirst but was stopped by an energy barrier, pushing him back. "What is this?!"
"Hm-hm. As expected." Colress's voice came from inside the kingdom. "I expected some buffoon to charge in here, so I put up a defensive barrier. Tough luck."
"So they've blocked our way in. Now, what do we do?" Keldeo asked.
"Nothing we can do right now. Maybe not today, but we have to find a way somehow." Cobalion responded. "Right now, we're useless against something like this. Unless we get some help."
Back at Canterlot, Celestia was thinking about what happened in her mind. Seeing her Cutie Mark and that flash of light. What did that entity mean by greater destiny? The doctors had given her some food, only from the best chefs in Canterlot of course.
As she sat in the bed, eating away at her food, Passion entered the room, seeing her trainer awake.
"Oh. Hello Passion."
Passion's eyes lit up with joy. Her trainer was still here and alive as she leapt up, hugging her. With all of that joy filling her up with so much joy that her psychic power was rising up again. Celestia put her hoof on her Pokemon, calming her down.
"Slow down there, Passion. You do some bizarre things when you feel tons of emotion."
"Kirli."
"Sorry for worrying you." Celestia petted her head. Passion then teleported in and out of the nursing room, bring Celestia something. "Oh? What's this?" Passion had lent Celestia a Get Well Soon necklace. She placed it around her trainer's neck with Psychic. Celestia felt touched by this. This one moment made her realise just how much Passion loves her. Another example of a trainer and Pokemon bonding deeply.
One day has passed. Ponyville was active again even if they were still sad about what happened to Celestia.
Twilight, on the other hand, was researching information on Hydreigon, trying to find out more about it so that it'll be easier to defeat in the future. But she wasn't really getting anywhere. Mostly because Hydregion isn't a Pokemon with a ton of information on it due to how rare they are. The only major information she's gonna get is through the Pokedex.
"No good. None of these books from Canalave Library are helpful. The only stuff I know about Hydregion is that its smaller heads don't have brains and it attacks anything within its line of sight."
"Twilight. Maybe you shouldn't be thinking too hard about this dragon. What if that... thing pops up again." Spike said.
"What thing?"
"Well.. yesterday, there was this weird magic that popped up out of you. Your entire appearance changed, your voice was different, it was kinda scary actually."
"I was huh? Weird. I don't remember it... but I can feel it. Now that I think about it, Princess Luna had something similar to what you're describing Spike."
"You don't think it could be... NIGHTMARE MOON?!" Spike grabbed a pillow, hugging it.
"What? No, no. But it had a similar magic feeling to it. Her appearance wasn't similar to that of Nightmare Moon at all. Maybe it's a new persona." Twilight speculated.
"Is it worse than Nightmare Moon?!"
"I don't think so. If it was, then we'd be living in eternal night forever. Seems like she has this one under control, so maybe it's nothing to worry about."
"Guess so. Oh by the way Twilight. Have you heard?"
"Heard what?"
"They're bringing over a Pokemon lab here to Eque-" Spike was stopped as Twilight zipped over to him.
"WHERE?! WHEN?!"
"Uh... I don't know where it's gonna be but it'll be done in 2 weeks."
"2 weeks huh? That's a good time. That way I won't have to keep jumping from gateway to gateway just to get more information about Pokemon. Talk about quality of life."
Meanwhile, on the outside, Rainbow Dash asked Ash to train her. She had a feeling that if she ever comes across Ghetsis and her Hydregion, she'll be strong enough with her Pokemon.
"Alright, Rainbow Dash. You ready?"
"Pika?"
"Always!" She responded. Scootaloo and some other ponies had sat down to see this small training session.
"Whirlipede! GO!" For Rainbow Dash it was Whirlipede.
"Do you wanna make the first move?" Ash asked.
"Yeah! Getting the first hit in is my persona favorite! Whirlipede! Rollout!" Whirlipede starting picking up speed on a single spot as it dashed towards Gengar.
"Okay then. Gengar! Phase through!" Gengar had used its intangibility to its advantage, making Whirlipede go straight through it. "Now Shadow Ball!" Gengar had hit Whirlipede from behind with a Shadow Ball, dealing major damage.
"Oh no, Whirlipede!" Whirlipede was already feeling queasy from the attack.
"Come on! Faster!" Scootaloo yelled wanting this battle to pick up.
"Use Pin Missile!" Whirlipede fired pins towards the Ghost-Type.
"Dodge it and use Ice Punch!" Gengar zipped past the pins as it struck an icy hit on Whirlipede, making it faint. "That's one down."
"Aw! Return Whirlipede." Rainbow Dash sent it back to its Pokeball. "I should've seen this coming. You're a Champion and long-lasting trainer, after all, Ash."
"Don't worry about it. You can still grow even if you're facing someone leagues above you. But I guess I kinda get too into the battle at times, even if it someone weaker than me, huh?"
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Tell ya what. You can battle Riolu. He's still pretty young and new so he's a perfect training partner." Ash sent out Riolu.
"Rio!"
"That's true. And this time I know my Type matchups. So Braviary's gonna win this no matter what!" Rainbow Dash sent out her Braviary, ready to go. "Use Aerial Ace!" The Valiant Pokemon took off from the skies, leaving a huge gust of wind behind. This even blew away the ponies, showing how strong Braviary is ever since it evolved. Ash on the other hand wasn't bothered.
"Double Team!" Riolu made afterimages of itself, making Braviary hit nothing but a mirage. "Now strike Braviary's back!" Riolu jumped up, striking Braviary's back. This didn't do much damage at all, but it was still a hit.
"How the?! I thought Fighting-Types have no effect on Flying-Types!" Rainbow was confused.
"Just because they're weak to them, doesn't mean that they can't hit them. You just gotta take advantage of certain situations." Ash gave her a small lesson.
"Oh yeah? Brave Bird!" Braviary was engulfed in brave energy as he flew towards Riolu.
"Use Vacuum Wave to launch yourself up!" Riolu hit the ground with Vacuum Wave, sending it upwards as it avoided Braviary.
"Oooh." The ponies looked up in the sky.
"Follow after him and keep attacking!" Braviary turned around, flying up at the Emanation Pokemon.
"Grab Braviary!" Riolu then suddenly grabbed Braviary by its wings, holding on. Rainbow Dash was taken aback. She didn't expect something like this to happen.
"No way! Shake him off!" Braviary spun around, sending Riolu back down.
"Alright, return Riolu." Ash sent Riolu back to him. "Now! Pikachu! Go!"
"Pika!" It was Pikachu's turn now.
"Heh. I've got something for Pikachu. I taught Braviary some new moves. So it isn't just limited to Flying moves. Use Superpower!" Braviary's new move came into play. It created a great power that enveloped its talons and wings.
"Iron Tail!" Pikachu ran forward, using Iron Tail. Braviary's wings met with Pikachu's tail as they both clashed, causing a wind pressure to kick up. Pikachu proved to be stronger as he pushed Braviary back.
"Brav!" The Valiant Pokemon cried out.
"Fine then! Keep your distance with Air Slash!" Braviary sent slashing waves of wind towards Pikachu, pushing him back a small bit.
"Thunderbolt!" Pikachu quickly retaliated by sending a bolt of lightning which struck Braviary, point-blank. The Valiant Pokemon felt the shock as it had fainted.
"Oh seriously?! Should've seen it coming though." Rainbow Dash returned Braviary.
"Still wanna keep on going, Dash?"
"Pika?"
"Nah. I think here's a good spot to stop. You're too strong for me Ash. But I got some good training out of this though."
"You're welcome. Hope you get stronger and stronger." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"That was a great battle, you two! So awesome! I can't wait for my own major Pokemon Battle!" Scootaloo said, jumping up, almost flying for a bit.
"Thanks, Scootaloo. By the way, have you caught any other Pokemon?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well... no, not really. I only have Ponyta with me. And I don't even own any Pokeballs."
"I'll hook you up with some. Professor Cerise would l-" Just then, before Ash could finish his sentence, Fluttershy came flying here, with a worried look on her face.
"Fluttershy? What's wrong?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Come quick! It's the Pokemon! Something's wrong with them!"
All the Pokemon there had come down with an unexplained illness. The only Pokemon unaffected is Audino. As for everyone else, they were all laying down, whether it was on the ground, the river or even the beds. But the strangest thing... They all looked like they were petrified.
"What's up with them?" Ash asked. He, Rainbow Dash and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had come to see this.
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it before. I've been trying everything to heal them but it's not good. Audi's moves aren't even working." Fluttershy replied. Audino was doing its best, using Heal Pulse and Refresh. But none of them were working.
"If even Audino can't heal them, then it can't be that they're poisoned." Ash muttered.
"I don't know what to do. I even tried buying some Lum Berries, but they're no good either. Is there any way we can help them?"
"Hmm. I've never experienced anything like this before either. Maybe Nurse Joy can help." Ash commented.
"Pika."
So they did just that. Heading to the nearest Pokemon Center in Kanto, but...
"I'm sorry. But I'm clueless on this as well." Nurse Joy said. They had brought over some Pokemon for her to take care of.
"Chansey."
"Oh, dear. That's a shame." Fluttershy lowered her head.
"Can you at least tell me what caused this?"
"Well. The last thing I saw before all of this happened was a Krookodile. That's about it. And then this happened."
"Hmm. Let me see what other information I can find about Krookodile." Nurse Joy had used the PC, searching up data on Krookodile. But as she went through the Pokemon, she found nothing that would help. "Sorry. Nothing useful. And Krookodile doesn't even know that many status moves. Only Thunder Fang and Fire Fang. But this isn't paralysis or burn."
"Man. Bummer." Ash said.
"Pika..."
"But I think there might be a solution to your problem." This got everyone's hopes up. "You see, all the way over at the Hoenn Region, somewhere over at Shroomish Forest, there's a man who practices a great number of healing tricks for Pokemon. They call him Remedy Roy. My entire family is personally a big fan of him."
"Shroomish Forest? I remember that. But how come I never saw the guy?" Ash wondered.
"Pikachu."
"He just started practising healing there 12 years ago, so maybe that's why."
"Well, we'd better try that. Maybe he'll know what to do."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"We're going on an adventure?! CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ADVENTURE!" The three fillies bellowed.
"Hold on. Slow down. You three aren't coming with us." Rainbow Dash halted them.
"Aww. Why not?" Apple Bloom asked.
"You're too young for an adventure. Especially when Pokemon are involved. It'll be better if you stay home back at our world. Besides... Applejack and Rarity would annihilate me if something happened to their little sisters."
"Guess she's right." Sweetie Belle replied.
"Aww, I really wanted to go on a quest though." Scootaloo slumped on the floor.
"Maybe when you're older." Fluttershy petted Scootaloo's head.
"Alright. It's off to Hoenn then. Think we should bring Twilight and others?" Ash asked.
"Oh yeah. When the 6 of us are all together, there's no adventure too dangerous! No journey too difficult! No quest too long!" RD boasted.
"But... they are pretty dangerous, difficult and long sometimes." Fluttershy silently replied.
Golden Oak Library
"Okay. So is everypony ready?" Twilight asked her friends.
"Mhm." They all said.
"We all have our Pokemon with us? We might need them since it is their world. In case a Pokemon Battle goes down."
"All present." Applejack said.
"Although, I'm only bringing one Sewaddle with me. I don't want to lose all my little ones." said Rarity.
"Audi will be with me. She'll heal all of our Pokemon along the way." Fluttershy said with Audino by her side.
"Good. Ash, you know the way to Shroomish Forest. We'll follow your lead."
"Okay! The gateway to Hoenn isn't too far. We'll end up at Mauville City first. Let's not waste any time."
"Pikachu!"
And so they did. Travelling through the gateway to Hoenn, they arrived at Mauville City. The road to Shroomish Forest was going to be a long one. After all, it was located somewhere between Littleroot Town and Fortree City.
But Ash knew this. That's why he brought some of his old Pokemon with him. Ones that can get him and his friends across Hoenn easily.
"We can get pretty far in the sky. Come on out!" Ash sent out his Charizard, Staraptor, Talonflame and Unfezeant with him. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy will be okay, but Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack, Audino and Spike need some help. Even Twilight, since she hasn't gotten used to flying yet.
Ash and Pikachu hopped on Charizard, Applejack on Staraptor, Rarity on Talonflame, Twilight and Spike on Unfeazent and Pinkie, who was being carried by Rainbow Dash as Audino was being lifted up by Fluttershy. They took off into the skies, flying across Hoenn. It'll still be a long journey, but flying saves up time anyways.
"Feels kinda good to be in Hoenn again. Wonder how Brawly's doing?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"When we get to Shroomish Forest, do you think he'll really know how to heal the Pokemon? And how 's he gonna do it since there are so many of them that were affected." Pinkie asked.
"I don't know. But Nurse Joy said that this guy knows a lot of healing tricks. So he has to have something like an antidote." Ash replied.
"I just hope that every Pokemon is okay by the time we get back." Fluttershy worried. She was afraid that they might be too late considering how far they are from the gateway to Ponyville now.
Speaking of Ponyville, with Fluttershy gone, no one was watching over the Pokemon House. That's when it got an unwanted visitor. Two of them.
Adagio and Aria.
"This is where Sonata comes often huh? I can't believe her. Making friends with.. these things!" Adagio yelled, scowling at the petrified Pokemon. "We're gonna ruin everything that Twilight Sparkle has! Payback's gonna be sweet!"
"How are we gonna do that? We don't have horns like unicorns or even wings. We've been turned into the weaker Pony race." Aria monotonously replied.
"Oh, we'll ruin it somehow." Adagio burst into the indoors of the Pokemon House. The Pokemon inside couldn't move so they were powerless to stop what would come next. "Let's cause some mayhem!" Adagio raised her hooves up, ready to smash something into smithereens. She crushed a table where some of the Pokemon eat, creating cracks in the walls, tearing off clothes and sheets with her bare teeth.
Aria was taken aback by this. It seems that Adagio had a lot of strength. Not due to magic, but just unbridled rage.
Adagio was levelling everything that everypony worked hard to build. This entire house was made out of pure love and it was being violated by revenge.
Watching this made Aria think for a bit. She remembered how Sonata left the group, just because she found others who generally care for her and want to be her friend. Then she also remembered what Sonata said about Adagio. And she could understand where she was coming from. Adagio does have a very controlling personality. If anything, she sees herself as the most important being ever and only wants power.
Aria's neutral stance was no more as she stopped Adagio from destroying the house any longer by placing her hooves in front of hers.
"Alright. I think you've done enough."
"What are you doing Aria?"
"This is just petty, don't you think?"
"Petty? PETTY?! THEY RUINED US! We were so close to feeding off all that negative energy and then along came her friends, ruining it for all of us! You think this is petty?! This is revenge!"
"This isn't even the same Fluttershy's home in the other world. The one we dealt with was an alternate version. She doesn't even know that we're Sirens or what we did. We're just destroying somepony's home for no reason. It's wrong."
Adagio felt disgusted by what Aria said. First Sonata and now her.
"So. You're getting all buddy-buddy too huh?" Adagio shoved Aria with her hoof.
"What? I-"
"I can tell. Both you and Sonata have gone crazy. I don't know if its that disgusting aura Twilight and her friends have or the cause of the worlds crossing over, but something has twisted your mind!"
"Twisted my mind?" Aria knocked Adagio's hoof away. "Do you think that every little thing that we do that YOU don't like is brainwashing or something?"
"It practically is! You weren't acting like this before all these years! Why now?!"
"You just can't accept the fact that others can show us some love. Love that we've been missing ever since we were born!" The always unwilling Aria spoke up louder than she ever has in her life. "Sonata was right about you. You only care about yourself and you just love bossing us around."
"So what? You're gonna leave too?!"
"You bet I am. And I'll find a way to consume the negativity on my own." Aria let herself out of the Pokemon House as Adagio felt so much rage boiling up in her.
"Fine! FINE! Leave like Sonata! I don't care! Not one bit! I can do all of this on my own! I'm multiple sirens in one!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, tiring herself out. Now she was truly alone. And that was the end of the Dazzlings as they all had finally gone their separate ways. "I'll be fine on my own."
Adagio was the only one in the Pokemon House now. But she wasn't alone for long. Because a certain trio were taking advantage of Fluttershy being away from the Pokemon House.
Team Rocket.
"The coast is clear. The twerp and twerpettes are out of here." Jessie giggled.
"Let's snatch up all the Pokemon before they get back. I hate contrivances." James said.
"Snatching we go!" Meowth pressed a button on a controller, summoning a huge Meowth mech. This mech had multi-arms. Perfect for grabbing many Pokemon and a hatch to store them all in. The arms started picking Pokemon like radishes, placing them all in the hatch.
Adagio was confused about what was going on as she was grabbed as well. She was in the hatch with all the Pokemon that were petrified and motionless as more kept piling in, flooding her with Pokemon. Her Pokeball with her Kricketune had dropped in the mess as well.
"What the? What's going on?!" She yelled as she started to panic. "Oh, no... I'm claustrophobic. I CAN'T TAKE THIS!"
"What was that noise?" Jessie asked.
"Probably just some Pokemon howling. Now come on. Let's bail!" Meowth replied.
"Wobbuffet!"
Team Rocket entered their Meowth mech, leaving the Pokemon House with a fresh batch of petrified Pokemon. Aria who wasn't too far away from the house, saw this mech walk off, but she didn't think too much about it.
Back with Ash and the others, they had finally reached Shroomish Forest.
"Here we are. Man this place hasn't changed a bit huh?"
"Pikachu."
Ash hopped off his Charizard as did the others, reaching the ground.
"So. Where is this Remedy Roy guy located in this forest?" RD asked.
"Well, it's not too big of a forest. So he'll be pretty close." Ash answered.
Shroomish were moving along the forest, minding their own business, not minding the visitors here.
"Maybe we can ask these Shroomish?" Fluttershy fluttered over to the Mushroom Pokemon, hoping to get some answers for his whereabouts. "Excuse me, little Shroomish. Would it be okay if you could tell us where we can find someone named Remedy Roy?"
The Shroomish understood Fluttershy as they looked at each other. They nodded at each other, having a small chat.
"Shroo!"
"You will? Wonderful!" Fluttershy joyously said. Thank goodness for her amazing talent to communicate with all forms of animals, even Pokemon. The Mushroom Pokemon led the gang to Remedy Roy's location as they saw some Breloom jumped by.
They came across a small leaf hut with other Pokemon nearby. Specifically a Magby, Skorupi, Snover, Plusle and Minun. Some of them weren't native to Hoenn.
"Uh, is there a Remedy Roy here?!" Applejack yelled.
"Yeah? What is it?" A somewhat soft voice replied.
"We're here to see you! About healing tricks!" The farm pony bellowed.
"Oh. Well, come on in then."
Being invited in, the gang were greeted to a small space that made Zecora's hut look like a mansion. There he was.
Remedy Roy.
Wearing clothes that came straight from Alola. He sat down on a patch of grass with tables made out of leaves surrounding him. On each table were various forms of medicine, including berries.
"Now then. What is it that ya'll want?" The medicine man asked.
"Well, Mr Remedy Roy. We came here because we heard that you practice various healing tricks. A lot actually." Twilight said.
"True. True." The man nodded.
"And well, we have a problem. A lot of Pokemon have been... petrified from what it looks like."
"Petrified you say? Oh. That's interesting."
"So do you have anything to solve it?" Rainbow asked.
"Hm. I study a lot about certain things about Pokemon. Status effects mostly. What you're describing is no Burn, Poison, Paralysed or Freeze."
"Oooh, so that's why he has these specific Pokemon types." Pinkie Pie commented.
"What you might be facing... is an undiscovered status effect."
"An undiscovered status effect?!" They all said in unison.
"Indeed. A status effect that has yet to be found by even Pokemon researchers. This effect has probably existed before, but it must be super rare if it has shown up recently."
"So what could it be then?!" Twilight leaned forward.
"Well... if they're petrified. That means... they're like stone now. In fact, petrified is the perfect name for this new effect."
"Like stone... Like the Cockatrice back in the Everfree Forest!" Rarity gasped.
"So that's why they were motionless... And that explains the Krookodile." Fluttershy realised.
"Yeah. Krookodile's part Ground. So it must've done something to petrify all the Pokemon there. But why?" Ash wondered.
"Whatever the reason, is there a way to get them back to normal?" Dash yelled.
"Slow down my little pony. This is new to me, but nothing I can't figure out. It'll take some time, but I'll make sure to find a remedy to release them from their petrified state."
"Really? You can?" Fluttershy said with hope in her eyes.
"Of course! Being petrified is similar to being frozen. I just have to figure out which Pokemon move, berry, item etc can negate it. Might take days but I promise, I'll get it done."
"Oh! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much!" Fluttershy zoomed over to Roy, giving him a hug, almost crushing him completely. Luckily Applejack pulled her back. Roy took some time to catch his breath as he saw his life flash before his eyes.
"We appreciate what you're doing, Remedy Roy. We'll come back to check up on your progress." Twilight thanked.
"No problem. Make sure you take care of your Pokemon, alright?"
"We will!" They all said.
It was time for them to return back to their world. Riding on the back of the Pokemon once more, they made their way towards the gateway they came from. But they were unaware of the stolen Pokemon.
All the way back at the other world, Team Rocket had taken the mech to the deepest part of the Everfree Forest, making sure that Zecora wouldn't get too suspicious.
"Alright. Let's see the prize!" Jessie giggled as she and James opened up the hatch. And it was as they hoped for. All the Pokemon were there, still motionless. "Oohohoh. We've scored ourselves a great prize today! I've never been so happy before in my entire life."
"This is a monumental moment in Team Rocket history!" James uttered.
"Hey hold on. What's this?" Meowth dug his claws further in as he grabbed Adagio's tail. "Wait. This is a-"
"Let me out! LET ME OUT!" Adagio was screaming at the top of her lungs. She couldn't take being cramped anymore. Meowth jumped back as Adagio let herself out, breathing in and out rapidly.
"We've plucked a pony!" said Meowth.
"Get lost you. We don't need a pony. Especially one with no horn." Jessie said to Adagio.
"S-SHUT UP! Where am I?" Adagio was shaking still as she looked around.
"Everfree Forest. Creepy place. Now beat it!" Jessie kicked Adagio right in the flank, launching her away. "Alright. That's been dealt with. Now then! This huge grab is one step closer to nabbing that Pikachu!"
"Wobbuffet!"
Adagio fell on the ground, rolling on it as she was in another part of the forest. She got up, shaking the dirt off her face.
"Ugh. What's HER problem? And where even am I supposed to go to get out of here?!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. "Seriously. Where do I go...?" She gulped as she could feel the intense ominous atmosphere surround her. "Oh no."
Returning from Hoenn, the gang had entered back into the pony world, completely unaware of what happened while they were gone.
As they made their way towards the Pokemon House, they were given the horrible revelation. Mostly horrible to Fluttershy.
Once she returned back to her home and the Pokemon House, she saw that every last one of them were gone. And so she let out a powerful, sky-shattering scream that spread across Equestria.
"W-WHERE DID THE POKEMON GO?!" She bellowed, panicking like she's never panicked before.
"They're all gone. Every single one of them. Even the Water-Types are nowhere to be seen." said Twilight.
"I should've never left! I should've left Audi here to watch over! This is all my fault!" Fluttershy was about to cry as she was hyperventilating.
"Calm down, sugar cube. We'll find them. There are a lot of em, so they might not be hard to miss." Applejack reassured her.
"Where do you think they went? Oh! Maybe they stopped being petrified!" yelled Pinkie Pie.
"If they did, they'd still be here at the Pokemon House. There's only one answer to all of this. They've been foalnapped!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Don't you mean Pokenapped?" said Rarity.
"...Sure."
"But who would do something so mean?" Pinkie pondered.
"Team Rocket."
"Pipi-kachu."
"You think it was them Ash, darling?" Rarity asked.
"Oh yeah. They'll take any chance to grab some Pokemon. Even when they're out in the open. We were gone for a while and they know this place's existence anyways."
"That is true. Those chumps are gonna get it!" Rainbow Dash uttered.
"Wait. If they did it, wouldn't Zecora know and stop them? And are they even still in this world?" Twilight commented.
"Oh, they're still here. You see, I've known Team Rocket for a long time. And the one consistent thing about them is that they'll never stop chasing after my Pikachu."
"Pika."
"I say we head and find those bozos! We'll take those Pokemon back ASAP!" Rainbow Dash flew out, but Applejack grabbed her tail, pulling her back.
"Slow down there, Dash. Let's not rush in."
"Applejack's right. Maybe somepony saw Team Rocket. They can tell us where they are." said Twilight.
"I still think we should just go out there and find them ourselves but... whatever." Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves.
So they did. Heading further into Ponyville, they started asking everypony if they had seen Team Rocket, but nopony has. They weren't in their line of sight anyways when the mech came. In fact, not everypony knows who Team Rocket is, only a select few.
"No luck. Nopony's seen them." Pinkie Pie said.
"Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Oh, dear." Fluttershy kept blurting. "What if something AWFUL has happened to them?!"
"Calm down, Fluttershy. We'll find them. We just have to keep looking." Ash placed his hand on her head, calming her down.
"Then it's the Everfree Forest then." Rarity turned towards the ominous forest.
"Hold on! I think we might have a better second alternative." Rainbow Dash raised hoof up, aiming at Cloudsdale. The one place where Pegasi can get a good view.
At the Everfree forest, deep within it, Team Rocket were relishing in their capture. They've never caught this many Pokemon before.
"Alright. Now for the tricky part. Getting it to the other side without being seen." Jessie said.
"If the twerps and twerpettes are back, they're gonna notice this beauty of a mech and we'll be busted." The Scratch Cat Pokemon chattered.
"I say we take them over the other side, in certain numbers. That way it's less of a struggle." James suggested.
"Good thinking James!" Jessie got a huge sack to fit some Pokemon in. "Now then! Let's see who's gonna fit first?" Jessie went to grab the first Pokemon she saw. A Grimer, until...
The Grimer started to move all of a sudden, making Jessie pull back. From what it looked like, Grimer's poisonous sludge body was potent enough to break free from the petrified state.
"Grime?" The Sludge Pokemon was very confused about where it was. It looked at Jessie, who backed far away from Grimer, not wanting to get the sludge all over her.
"Get that... THING in the bag. Now!" Jessie yelled. James and Meowth took sack as they placed it over Grimer. However, the sack had melted away just by touching Grimer.
"We've hit a brick wall with this thing!" James exclaimed.
Grimer looked around, seeing its fellow Pokemon House members as it just casually slimed away. Team Rocket looked at the one Pokemon that managed to escape, leave.
"Well. It's just one Pokemon. We still have lots more here! Who needs that walking hazard anyways?" Jessie blurted. "Now, hurry up and load them!"
Pokemon were being placed in sacks, starting from the smallest to the largest. Luckily for Team Rocket, most of them were fairly small. Team Rocket laughed, thinking they were finally gonna return back to base with a huge load of Pokemon for once. They hoped that the boss would be proud of them.
Up at Cloudsdale, Rainbow Dash had asked any of the Pegasi if they had seen anything and well...
"I did see something weird when I was flying around Fluttershy's home. There was this like... metal cat thing that showed up. I have no idea what it was meant to be. Maybe some sort of Pokemon?" A Pegasus said.
"Really now? Cat you say? Did the cat have a golden thing in the middle of its head?" Dash asked.
"Oh yeah. I could probably sell that for a million bits, ya know."
"And where'd they go next?"
"Well, it looked like they were headed in the direction of the Everfree Forest."
"We've got ourselves an answer. Thanks!" Rainbow Dash thanked the Pegasi as she flew back down to Ponyville. "Yep. It was Team Rocket. And they're still hanging out at the Everfree Forest. Now can I dash off and find them?"
"I guess so. But do-" Applejack couldn't finish her sentence, because Rainbow Dash had dashed over to the Everfree Forest. Applejack sighed as they all followed the muti-colored mare to the forest.
There were now four groups at Everfree. Ash and the others looking for the Pokemon. Adagio who is lost. Grimer who's casually making its way back while leaving acid behind. And Team Rocket who were heading towards the gateway. It's only a matter of time until their paths cross. And when they do, the result will be chaotic. So chaotic that even Discord would shed a tear just watching it.
"We're almost out of this horror show! Let's get a move on!" Meowth bellowed.
"Where are they?!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"HELP!" Adagio yelled.
That's when they ended up crossing each others paths. First, it was Rainbow Dash and Team Rocket.
"You!" Rainbow Dash grit her teeth as she snorted like a bull.
"EEK! We've bee seen!" Jessie squeaked. "Quick! Make a run for it!" Team Rocket took off, running as fast as they could, but they could never outpace Rainbow Dash, who tackled Jessie and James to the ground.
"You guys are gonna get it now..." Rainbow Dash grinned. However, she forgot one more member. Meowth.
"Hehehe! So long you multi-colored menace!" Meowth got a pretty good distance, but he ended up bumping into Adagio, stopping him in his tracks. "Wha? You again?!"
"Get me out of here!" Adagio grabbed Meowth, shaking him. Then along came the rest. Twilight and the others had arrived to the scene.
Adagio and Twilight immediately noticed each other.
"YOU?!" They both said to each other.
"Twilight Sparkle. I've been waiting for this moment. You. RUINED ME!" Adagio lost it as she lunged at Twilight, tackling her.
With all of this chaos happening, Discord arrived. He is attracted to it after all. He watched from above a tree, seeing all of this go down.
"Now THIS is entertainment!" Discord got out a recording set to film the whole thing. "Let's see the beginning middle and end."
Adagio was pulling Twilight's hair with her teeth, straining the alicorn. Applejack used her lasso to try and pull Adagio away from Twilight, but it only made the hair pulling worse since Adagio's teeth wouldn't let go at all.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Twilight was in pain. Even an alicorn was no match for the anger of a vengeful pony.
Jessie and Rainbow Dash were having their own scuffle, as Jessie was trying to push Rainbow Dash away from me.
"Why don't you bug off, rainbow pony?!"
"Give back the Pokemon first!"
"You wish!"
Rarity had jumped in the mess, trying to pull Jessie away from Rainbow Dash. And it was only a matter of time until the rest of them joined. Pinkie Pie had jumped in just for fun.
Fluttershy couldn't take all of this as it was making her stressed out. How could it get any worse?
Adagio tossed Twilight aside as she landed on Pikachu. Pikachu got hurt by this and aggravated himself. And out came a sudden burst of lightning. Shocking everyone.
From Ponyville, you could see bolts of lightning rise up from the Everfree Forest in the distance.
That's when Fluttershy had enough. Her eye twitched as she finally snapped. She had enough. Of all of this.
"ENOUGH!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, making everyone stop. "I can't take it anymore! Audi! Hyper Beam!"
Fluttershy had taken command of Audino who charged up a Hyper Beam, aiming at Team Rocket. They started to panic as a huge beam of energy had hit them dead on. A large explosion followed after that as Team Rocket were sent flying into the air.
"We were so close! All of those Pokemon the palm of our hands." Jessie was about to throw a fit.
"This time it wasn't the twerp that sent us flying. For once in a long time." James sighed.
"So much for the perfect getaway." Meowth slumped on Wobbuffet.
"Wobbuffet!"
"We're blasting off again!"
Fluttershy, who was breathing in and out with seething anger had started to calm down a bit.
"Calm down there, sugar cube." Applejack said to the enraged pegasus. Fluttershy snapped back to normal, blushing a bit.
"Oh, dear. A bit too much?"
"Audino."
"That's great we've solved that problem. But there's still her." Applejack was referring to Adagio who had crazy eyes on her.
"Twilight. What's her grudge on you, darling?" Rarity asked.
"It's a long story..."
"LONG?! YOU STRIPPED ME OF MY TALENT! I CAN'T SING ANYMORE! MY PENDANT'S MISSING! AND SONATA AND ARIA ARE CONTAMINATED BY YOUR PRECIOUS FRIENDSHIP!" Adagio bellowed.
"Well, you deserved it. After what you were doing back at the parallel world." Twilight commented.
This didn't help. It only ticked Adagio off even more as she lunged forward to attack Twilight once more.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu had stopped Adagio's attack, sending her flying.
"I won't forget this!" Adagio yelled, flying off into the distance.
"Finally. It's over." Spike slumped on the floor.
"Not yet. We still have to get the Pokemon back. We already have some that Team Rocket nabbed here." Ash picked up the sack, letting the Pokemon outside.
Discord teleported to the group, clapping ferociously.
"Splendid! Splendid! That was amazing!" He gave 10 out of 10 cards to the whole thing. "Now THAT is what I call chaos. I knew you little ponies had it in you."
"Discord. Were you watching this entire time?! Why didn't you help?!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"And spoil the fun? You were all so passionate and into it. I'd just drag you down. Do you think that next time you come across that Adagio pony, you'll wear armor and wield weapons next time?"
"Ugh. I'm too tired to handle any more of this. Let's just go." Twilight sighed. But before they could go, Fluttershy had noticed Grimer walk here.
"Grimer? You're okay and moving! How?"
"Grime. Grimer."
"You have no idea? You just started moving freely again?" Fluttershy translated.
"Grime."
"At least you're okay."
The rest of the Pokemon were brought back to the Pokemon House, still petrified though. They had to wait until Remedy Roy finally had a cure for it.
"Thank you so much everypony. I still feel like it's my fault for leaving them alone like this." said Fluttershy.
"Don't worry Fluttershy. At least we got them back. And I can bet you that they'll be cured by Roy in no time." Rarity reassured her.
"Thank you all so much!" Fluttershy went to hug her friends, having a heart-warming moment.
It was a long and eventful day. From Hoenn to Ponyville to Everfree. The days are only going to get longer as time goes on in this connected worlds. As the journey continues.
Ash, Twilight and the others get into so many various situations and events in Ponyville. But what about the everypony else's point of view. What do they think about all of this?
The one pony who sees most of this go down is Amethyst Star. The only pony in Ponyville without her own Pokemon. She'd rather not bother with them. To her, they're too destructive and are most likely a handful. And she isn't wrong. Pokemon are destructive without a doubt.
She woke up in her bed, happy to embrace the morning sun that Luna now raises.
"Ah. Morning bliss." She took it all in, thinking this was going to be a normal day. But it wasn't. It never is.
Outside, she heard a huge fuss going on. It was Rainbow Dash's birthday. And Pinkie Pie was planning a Birthday Bash for her. Decorations had already been set up, meaning the party was closing to starting.
"Ugh. Why does peace ignore so much?" Amethyst groaned. "I'll just ignore it." She closed her windows, shutting herself from the noise as she would go with her day indoors. But before she closed those windows, a Pokemon had managed to get in.
A Skitty.
"What the-? How'd you get in here?!"
"Skitty!"
"Leave. I don't want any Pokemon right now. So shoo." Amethyst tried to get the kitten Pokemon out but Skitty was too playful to leave. Skitty jumped around her room, wanting to have some fun. But Amethyst Star wasn't up for it. "Ugh." She picked up the KItten Pokemon with her magic, sending it outside.
"Skitty?"
"Look. You're cute and everything. But I already said I don't want any Pokemon. Too much trouble. Too much of a hassle. Bye." Amethyst closed her doors but Skitty was inside once more, chasing its own tail. Amethyst groaned as she slumped on her.
"Skitt! Skitty!"
"Alright fine! You can stay for a bit. But no longer got it?"
"Skitty!" Skitty jumped onto her bed.
"Are you even listening?" Amethyst sighed. She sat back down on her bed, hoping for the day to pass.
Rainbow Dash's party went down outside, with the inclusion of a new party pony named Cheese Sandwich. That only made the noise even worse. It didn't help that Pinkie Pie was apart of it. They were having a goof-off to see who the best party pony was.
This went on for hours until the party had finally ended. Cheese Sandwich left and Rainbow Dash had the best Birthday Bash she's had yet. Amethyst felt like there was enough peace now. So she finally decided to go out.
"Ah. Much better." She felt the calm wind blowing in her face.
"Amethyst? There you are." Lyra called out as she was with Bon Bon. "Where were you? We didn't see you anywhere at Rainbow Dash's birthday."
"Yeah. Did you have something important to do today?"
"No. I just didn't want to come out today. It was a nice break from all the noise."
"But Ponyville's naturally noisy though. There's always something going on. Never a dull moment." said Bon Bon.
"Yeah but like. Ever since Pokemon were added into the mix, things have been 10x more disruptive. I can't even go one minute without some Pokemon moves flying all over the place or a bunch of battles happening left and right."
"Sounds to me that you don't like Pokemon," Lyra replied.
"It's not that I don't like Pokemon. I just think they're a handful and a potential distraction. That's why I'm the only pony without one of my own."
"Really? Then what's that?" Bon Bon aimed her hoof at the Skitty who was next to Amethyst Star.
"Skitty!"
"Aww. It's cute!" Both of them gushed at the Kitten Pokemon.
"Oh no, no. This isn't my Pokemon. It just kinda came to me." Amethyst denied it. But Skitty was purring up against her hoof.
"Well, I think it likes you," Lyra said. "Maybe you should keep it as your own."
"Nope. I ain't keeping one. Not a single Pokemon." Amethyst shook her head as Skitten jumped on her mane, resting on it. She sighed, knowing that this Pokemon would not leave her alone.
"Well okay. If you say so. But are you at least coming to the Pokemon Festival at Canterlot in a few days?" Lyra asked.
"Pokemon Festival?"
"It's this fun event where trainers get to catch as many Pokemon as they want to. And even see some new ones or even get eggs and more. It's gonna be such a treat! And it's the first one ever in our world." Bon Bon followed.
"Yeah no. Like I already said. I don't wanna involve myself with Pokemon. I'll sit it out when it comes around."
"Okay. We'll see you around then." The two of them left, leaving Amethyst and Skitty. Amethyst started to take a stroll as she sighed.
"Pokemon this, Pokemon that. Pokemon, Pokemon, Pokemon. That's all everypony thinks about now. This entire town's practically been overpopulated with Pokemon. What even is the appeal of them?" Amethyst sat down on a bench as she looked up at Skitty, who looked down at her, constantly having that smile. "I mean. They are kinda cute." She let out a smile for Skitty.
Skitty started to win over Amethyst's heart by purring on her. It had taken a huge liking to her. And so did Amethyst, albeit much smaller.
"Alright. Since you're so persistent... I guess I can keep you."
"Skitty!" Skitty licked her face with joy.
Amethyst Star would continue to be the one pony who was bothered by Pokemon. But slowly but surely, she was warming up to them all.
As Twilight and her friends continue their adventures, especially with some of them having rainbows shine out of their eyes. Rarity and Pinkie Pie being the first to experience this. Amethyst and everypony else continued their normal routines.
But what about Canterlot? Well for them, it was Dew Drops who was mostly in the background. She is the shyest of Hollow's class and she is too timid to speak up.
Today they were learning about certain abilities that go with or negate other moves.
"If a Pokemon has the ability Soundproof, then sound-based moves are practically useless against them. Moves like Hyper Voice, Boomburst, Metal Sound, Supersonic and many more are examples of sound-based moves." Hollow explained to them. "But there are also moves that can prevent sound. Like Throat Chop. It is a bit on the brutal side though."
"Awesome! That moves sounds so cool!" Sunrise said, slamming his hooves on the table.
"I wish I could use throat chop on you to keep you quiet forever," Sapphire replied. These two had a usual banter that always went on.
"Alright you two, simmer down. Now let me talk to you about the ability Trace. Now this one is a real game-changer of an ability because-" Hollow chattered on about abilities as Dew Drops, who always sat in the corner, looked at her Pokeball. She was thinking about catching Pokemon of her own one day. But she was way too shy. Pokemon still scare her. And her watching the Rapidash Rush with those Sharpedo didn't help at all.
But she wanted to get out there in the world someday. And hopefully, one day overcome her timid nature. She started thinking of which Pokemon she could catch that wouldn't scare her.
Even the cute Pokemon made her all shaky. But there were three Pokemon that she felt fine being around. Ash's Pikachu, Celestia's Kirlia and Fluttershy's Audino. If anything, she wanted a Pikachu of her own. Thinking about this made her zone out.
"Dew Drops?" Hollow called her name out as she snapped back into reality, gasping. "Are you okay? You zoned out there for a bit."
"S-Sorry." She quietly responded.
"Don't worry about it. It's not a bad thing to zone out from time to time, ya know. Now. Let me tell you all about signature abilities. Now the ability Gulp Missle belongs only to Cramorant. It's an ability only meant for it."
The lesson went on for hours until it was time to head home. Dew Drops would always see everypony leave and she'd end up being the last one to go. Hollow watched Dew Drops sit in the corner, waiting for them all to exit.
"Dew Drops. Are you not going?"
"Oh. I'm just waiting for everypony to leave. Then I'll go."
"You really are shy huh? Wonder why?"
"Well.. it's a very long story that I don't want to talk about, Mr Hollow."
"Alright. But good luck overcoming it. I'll see you tomorrow. And hopefully, we can get you your first Pokemon." He petted her head, leaving the room. Dew Drops followed him, feeling safer around him.
Dew Drops had returned to her home as her parents were waiting for her.
"Oh, Dew Drops, sweetie! You came back home safely!" Her mother went to hug her. "You're not hurt are you?"
"No, mom..."
"Did anypony try and take advantage of you?!" Her father came zooming downstairs, holding a broom in his mouth. "Tell me who they are!"
"No, dad. I'm fine."
"Oh good. Phew. Another day with my sweet Dew Drop coming home unharmed."
"So sweetie. Did you manage to catch your own Pokemon yet?" Her mom asked.
"No. Not yet."
"That's a shame. But have you decided which one you want?"
"Well... I want a Pikachu."
"Oh! A Pikachu! Like the one that Ash fellow has. Excellent choice, sweetie." She patted her daughter's head.
"So where do we find this Pikachu?" The dad asked.
"I don't know actually." Dew Drops lowered her head.
"Well, we're going to find a Pikachu! As your loving parents, we promise to get you your own Pokemon!" Her father bellowed.
The three of them had set out with gear packed. Dew Drops had a ton of protective equipment all over her. They took a train all the way to the one place where they know a bunch of Pokemon can be found. Ponyville. It is practically the Pokemon Capital of Equestria now.
Right now in Ponyville, the usual was going on. Ash, Twilight and the gang have come across a problem and they're working together to solve it. Basic stuff.
"Alright. We're sure to find a Pikachu here. Let's start looking." The dad said, holding a magnifying glass. "Now. They are yellow aren't they?"
Dew Drops walked around Ponyville, looking around. She and her parents couldn't really spot a Pokemon at all.
"Oh! That lady might know." The mother walked over to Vinyl Scratch for some help. "Excuse me. Do you know where we can find a Pikachu?"
Vinyl turned to the mother, but she couldn't hear her due to the music she was listening to. The mother awkwardly shifted her eyes.
"Um. I said. Do you know where we can find a Pikachu?" Vinyl read her lips and could understand her this time. She nodded her head, aiming her hoof over at Ash and Pikachu. "No no. I want to find a wild Pikachu. Not one that's already owned."
Vinyl read her lips once more and nodded again. She then shrugged not knowing where else to find one.
"Ugh. Nevermind." The mother sighed as she ducked her head, avoiding the thunderbolt that Pikachu had fired. "I'll just keep asking." She walked over to the next pony, Mrs Cake. "Excuse me. But do you know where we can find a Pikachu?"
"Oh, a Pikachu? Hm. I haven't really seen too many other than Ash's." Mrs Cake responded. "But, you can ask Ash himself. I'm sure he knows where you can find one."
"Of course. Why didn't I think of that?" The mother went over to Ash, ready to ask him. "Excuse me. Ash Ketchum."
"Yeah? What's up?"
"Pika?"
"Your Pikachu here. Where did you get it? Our daughter Dew Drops would LOVE one of her own. It'll be her first Pokemon as well."
"Oh, you're Dew Drop's mother. Well, finding a Pikachu? There's one place I know that's loaded with them. Pikachu Valley."
"Yes?! Where can I find it?!"
"It's all the way in the Alola Region. But the gateway to Alola isn't around Ponyville anymore so it might take a long time to get there."
"How long?"
"Well first you gotta take a boat from Kanto all the way to Alola, then you gotta go through so many islands and towns and cities and eventually you'll reach it. But an easy route is that it's located at Akala Island."
"Sounds like too much of a journey for one Pokemon. Is there possibly a shorter way to find one?"
"Hm. Well, you can just go to Kanto. They have Pikachu's in the wild. The gateway is right over there." Ash pointed at the gateway rift.
"Oh. Perfect. Dew Drops, dear! Come along. We're going to the other world."
"O-O-Other world?" Dew Drops was shaking. Going to the Pokemon world was her biggest fear since that's where most of the Pokemon can be found. And the thought of going through a rift was worse since she thought that her body wouldn't be able to take dimensional travel.
"Don't worry dear. We're here so we'll keep you safe. Now come on. We promised you we'd get you the Pokemon you wanted, and you're going to get that Pikachu! No matter what!" Her father exclaimed.
As the two entered the other world, they were met with Pallet Town first as usual.
"So. Where is this wild that Ash spoke of?" The mother asked.
"I believe it may that pile of tall grass over there." The father pointed his hoof at the first route.
"In there? Oh, Dew Drops, sweetie. Will you be able to handle this?"
"I'm too scared to go in there." She cowered on the ground.
"Don't worry, sweetie. I'll protect you." The father said, holding the broom in his mouth. "Any Pokemon tries to get too close, I'll send them flying!"
"You don't always have to bring the broom dear."
The family went towards the wild, entering it for the first time. There they were met with Pokemon of all sorts. All of them Kanto native. From the Pidgeys to the Dodrio's and the Rattata's. All of them were here, frolicking and just enjoying themselves.
"Woah." The father dropped the broom. "That is a lot of them. But where's a Pikachu?"
"Hmm..." The mother scanned their area, hoping to find a Pikachu. But they were pretty hard to find actually. They may be native to Kanto but they're not common like the ones here. "WHERE ARE ALL THE PIKACHU'S?!" She bellowed.
Dew Drops wanted to go home since she wasn't comfortable being around so many Pokemon. But that's when she was greeted with a Growlithe who walked up to her. She turned around, looking at the Puppy Pokemon as she was about to scream. But she didn't' want to alert the Pokemon, fearing that it may attack her.
Growlithe looked at her in confusion, not aware of her fear of it. Dew Drops froze for a bit as she noticed that Growlithe wasn't acting aggressively or even planning to attack. She stopped quivering, seeing that Growlithe still didn't do anything. She was at ease as she kept looking at the Puppy Pokemon, smiling a bit.
"H-Hello." She gently said to it.
"Growl." The Fire-Type replied.
"M-M-My name is Dew Drops. What's your name?"
"Growlithe."
"Growlithe? I like that name." Dew Drops thought for a moment and decided that she could make this her first Pokemon. It didn't scare her and it was friendly to her. "Um. Would you like to be my Pokemon?"
"Growl? Lithe." The Puppy Pokemon nodded in response, gladly accepting to be caught.
"R-R-Really?" A wide smile appeared on Dew Drops face. Her parents turned around to see this smile. She had never had a smile this large before. Ever. "Okay. Here goes." She gently tossed the Pokeball at Growlithe as it tapped its nose. The ball pulled Growlithe in as it began to shake.
1...2...3... Get!
"I-I caught a Pokemon..."
"She caught a Pokemon!" Her parents both said.
"Y-Y-Y-Y-Yay!" She let out a tiny yay as she picked up her Pokeball, releasing Growlithe from it.
"Honey, I'm so proud of you!" Her mother hugged her, tearing up a bit.
"But what about Pikachu? I thought you wanted one?" Her father asked.
"I did... But I think I also like Growlithe. It seems really friendly and nice. And I kind of feel safe around it."
"Growlithe." Growlithe nodded its head.
"Look at you. Gaining confidence. That's my girl. She gets it from me you know." The father proudly said, petting her daughter.
"Why don't we all head back to Canterlot for a nice dinner?"
"Okay!"
"Growlithe!"
On this day, Dew Drops became less shy. She was still very timid, but as time goes on she'll learn to gain more confidence and step out of the shadows.
The day was coming to an end. The night was almost here. For both sides.
Back in Ponyville, Amethyst Star went into her home after a long day of planning. She laid back on her bed as Skitty jumped on her stomach, resting there.
"Are you seriously gonna rest on my gut?"
"Skitty."
"Ugh. I don't get Pokemon. Oh well. I'll see you in the morning Skitty."
"Skitty..."
The two of the clocked out as the sun was setting. Outside Berry Punch had a huge cart of Pokemon Berries that she bought. She had recently taken a huge liking to them, incorporating them into her regular berry drinks. Although she was pulling a huge load.
"So many berries. But I need them. All of them!"
"Uh. Do you need any help with those?" A pony asked.
"HAH! No way! I know what you're planning. You're gonna nab my berries without me noticing. Well, nice try. These are mine. MINE!" She had become a bit too addicted to them, scaring the pony a bit.
She eventually returned to her home, ready to make a nice berry drink for the night.
"Perfect. Alright! Get in here!" She called for her own Pokemon. A Skwovet. "Now then. Do you have the rest of the berries? You better not have put them in your mouth again?"
"Skwo!" Skwovet revealed the berries in mint condition.
"Excellent. Let's make the best drink so far." So Berry Punch got the work. She started mixing all the berries that she had.
Magost, Oran, Kelpsy, Figy, Lansat, all of them. She wanted to make the best drink so far.
After tons of mixing, she had created her drink. Its foam was full of different colors from each berry. She picked up the mug, looking at the multi-colored drink. It was even fizzing a bit.
"Here goes nothing." She took one drink and immediately face-planted on the table, knocking herself out and going to sleep. Skwovet didn't mind this, so it took the remaining berries, placing them intis cheeks as it walked off upstairs.
Overall, what the others go through whilst Ash and others do other things are a different story. Wherever you are, there's always something going in the world. After all, there's never a dull moment for Equestria and the World of Pokemon, as the journey continues.
Celestia was in her bed, drinking some soup with Passion by her side. It has been at least 9 days since she was in here. She wondered how her sister was doing.
"I hope Luna's doing okay. What is she doing right now I wonder?"
"Filling in your position." Darkrai said, looming in the corner.
"Darkrai."
"She's been taking charge. Raising the sun and the moon at the same time."
"I see. I hope she's managing well."
"Well, her appearance sure has changed. She's more on the maroon colored side."
"Appearance? Maroon colored? What has happened while I was in here?"
"Well for starters. Luna's appearance changed up the moment she started to quell up all her hate for Ghetsis. She calls herself Lunar Ire now."
"Lunar Ire... hate. I know what that is!"
"You do?"
"It's Sorrowful Rage Magic. It finds anypony who's is full of grief and hatred, overtaking them and changing them completely. It seems that it's reached Luna too."
"So it's like that Nightmare Moon legend?"
"It's worse than that. If this magic stays in her, she'll lose all sense of morality and logic. The magic breaks down on your psyche, obliterating everything you love, remember and cherish, transforming you into the embodiment of rage itself."
"That kind of magic exists?!"
"Kirli?"
"I have to see her. To make sure that she's okay."
"You're still gravely injured. I'll get her." Darkrai disappeared into the shadows, heading towards the throne room.
Lunar Ire sat there on the throne. The only thoughts swirling in her head were the ways she was going to destroy Ghetsis and his kingdom. With only a small semblance of her sister in her mind. Recently she had upgraded the guards, just to prepare for the time she'll strike the Harmonia Kingdom.
"Luna. It's your sister, Celestia. She's awake." Darkrai said.
"She is?!" Luna rose up from her seat, heading to the nursing room. Once she got there, she could see Celestia wide awake. The amount of joy swelling up in her was enough to temporarily get rid of Lunar Ire and revert her back to her normal state. But Lunar Ire is hiding with Luna, and if one action occurs that effects Luna, it will return.
"Hello, Luna."
"Sister!" Luna went to hug Celestia. "I'm so glad you're awake!"
"I've been awake for a while now. A few days really."
"I was so scared and worried. I thought you wouldn't make it! Are you healed?! Is your hole gone!?"
"I'm feeling a bit better. The hole's still there but it doesn't hurt as much. Still painful though."
"I'm so glad to have my sister back!" Luna teared up.
"But Luna. I heard that you had changed. Into a pony named Lunar Ire."
"It was something that just came to me. It's gone now."
"Luna. I know that the Sorrowful Rage magic took over you. You were lucky to snap back to normal when you saw me. If I had been unconscious for a few more days, it would've consumed you completely."
"I know. But it's gone now. You don't have to worry."
"But it will come back up. Sorrowful Rage is a powerful magic that never fades away. Luna. You have to be careful."
"Well, it may not have come to me if you hadn't have gone to Ghetsis. I knew it was a mistake going up against someone that dangerous. And look at you now sister. A huge gaping hole has been left on you. Maybe if we went together, we could've won and all of this would've been avoided."
"Maybe. But Ghetsis and his Hydreigon were far more powerful than I anticipated. Even if we both went, the chances of us winning wouldn't be so high."
"Well speaking of Ghetsis. He has changed up Saddle-Arabia. Renaming it the Harmonia Kingdom and reorganising it for his own image."
"He what?! That-" Celestia strained herself by yelling.
"Do not overexert yourself, sister. You still have not healed up yet. You shall stay in bed while I continue to rule over Equestria."
"Will you be fine without me, Luna?"
"Have some faith in your younger sister. I may not have as much experience as you. I was born much later than you anyways. 500 years to be exact. But I've learned a lot from you whilst growing up. I will be fine."
"Alright. I'll continue to stay here. But before you go Luna. I have to tell you something I saw in my mind."
"Your mind?"
"You see... when I Was unconscious, Passion's psychic abilities managed to make me tap into my mind. There I found out that my destiny wasn't over yet."
"How can that be? I thought when a pony earns their Cutie Mark, their destiny has been reached."
"I thought so too. But it seems that even I Have discovered this new revelation. Whatever my true destiny is... I'll have to wait and find out."
"Maybe your Cutie Mark has changed?" Luna lifted the sheets off Celestia. And to both of their surprise, Celestia's Cutie Mark had changed.
It still had the sun in the middle, but surrounding it was every Cutie Mark to ever exist or will exist in the future. They were all super-small so that they could fit Celestia's flank, making it hard to see the rest of them. But the most visible ones were hers, Luna's and Twilight's.
"Oh my..." Luna gazed at it.
"This is unexpected."
"Kirlia."
"What does it mean? And how many Cutie-Marks are there?"
"I don't know, Luna. But I see Twilight's and yours. A Cutie Mark that has other existing Cutie Marks on them?"
"Whatever it may mean, it might involve you ruling Equestria once more. But you are still injured."
"If that is the case, then I hope I get better soon. Oh if only Starswirl were still here. He'd know what to do."
"Uh... I think he's on you." Luna aimed her hoof at Celestia's flank, seeing Starswirl's Cutie Mark on her as well."
"Starswirl's Cutie Mark?!" Celestia was even more taken aback by this. "Luna. Head to the Canterlot Library. There may be something that describes this."
"I shall." Luna nodded her head, teleporting herself out of the nursing room and into the Canterlot Library.
"Morning Princess Luna. You look normal today." The librarian said.
"No time! I need to know about multiple Cutie Marks in one!" Luna rushed off to the shelves, using her magic to grab and shuffle through every book there is.
"Multiple Cutie Marks? Is that even possible?" The librarian pony wondered.
"My sister has recently been given a plethora of Cutie Marks. It is something that both of us have never seen before. But maybe Starswirl had foreseen something like this happening." Luna kept going through the books. She was moving as fast as she could, only going through Starswirl's books and nothing else. Then again, they're all Starswirl's books.
That's when she came across something that might help. A book titled...
Unfinished Spells.
"This could be it." Luna opened up the book as even the librarian decided to take a peek at it. Scrolling through, she found many spells that had never been finished. Though they may not be complete, the book describes them as spells that will eventually be solved by future unicorns.
But there was one spell that wasn't like the others. The one that Luna was looking for. Looking at the word made her fascinated.
"The Boundless Cutie Mark." She read-out. "What in Equestria's name is this?"
"Oooh." The librarian said. Luna then began to read what was said about this.
"The Boundless Cutie Mark is the apex of all Cutie-Marks. Every single mark is on it. From the ones that have existed, to the ones that are currently existing and the ones that will exist in the future, making it infinite. This Cutie-Mark is only worthy of one pony and no more. It cannot be taken, nor can it be swapped. However, it is far beyond my control. Even I do not know what it means, making it an enigma. This is the one spell that may never be finished or solved. Ever."
"Unbelievable. And my sister is the one who has gained it. The Boundless Cutie Mark. I have to show this to her!" Luna teleported out of the library, leaving the librarian to tidy up as she sighed.
"The Boundless Cutie Mark?" Celestia uttered. "So that's what this is. And nopony can solve it?"
"Apparently not. And this is the first time it has ever been on anypony. This must make it the rarest Cutie Mark of all."
"It appears so. But if even Starswirl couldn't figure it out, then how can I?"
Luna thought long and hard until she remembered something that might help.
"Of course! Why don't you ask Twilight to solve it?" She suggested.
"Eh?"
"Twilight already managed to solve and fix one of Starswirl's spells. When their Cutie Marks had been switched. So there's a possibility that she might be able to solve this one as well."
"Hmm. You do have a point, Luna. But will she be up for it?"
"She managed to free me from Nightmare Moon. And she is your best and personal student. So I believe that Twilight Sparkle is the pony for this task."
"I suppose so. Alright. We'll let Twilight handle this one."
"Splendid. I will summon her friends to come and see this Boundless Cutie Mark. Just stay put, sister."
"Can't be too hard." Celestia was gravely injured so she wasn't going anywhere.
Luna had requested Twilight and her friends come to Canterlot to see Celestia's Boundless Cutie Mark via letter.
"A Boundless Cutie Mark? What even is that?" Twilight wondered.
"Maybe it's a Cutie Mark for restraining things?" Pinkie replied.
"Not that kind of bound Pinkie. Boundless means something that has no limit and is infinite." Twilight explained.
"So then, is it like, doing something without stopping ever? Sounds like a nightmare if you ask me." Rainbow Dash commented.
"Whatever it is, it sounds very important. Let's go girls. Ash, Pikachu, you coming along?" Twilight asked.
"Hmm... I'd love to, but I'd better keep watch of the Pokemon House in case Team Rocket gets back. You all go on without me."
"Pika-Pika."
"Alright. We'll be back soon." Twilight and the others waved goodbye as they prepared to take the train to Canterlot.
Luna paced around in the throne room, waiting. The Mane 6 and Spike had arrived at Canterlot, finally.
"Ah. You're here. Wonderful."
"Princess Luna. Oh, you're back to normal. N-Nevermind that. You wanted to see us about this Boundless Cutie Mark right?"
"Yes, Twilight Sparkle. Come with me." Luna led the group to the nursing room to see Celestia. Once they got there, happiness filled Twilight all over. Celestia was awake.
"Hello, Twilight. Everypony." She greeted them.
"Princess Celestia..." Twilight had a tear fill her eye along with the others. "You're okay!" Twilight dashed over to Celestia, giving her a huge hug, similar to what Luna did. "Is the hole gone?!"
"No no. It's still here. But I'll manage. Now, I trust that you're ready to hear about the Boundless Cutie Mark?"
"Yes. Can you explain to us what it is?"
"Well, first. You'll have to take a look at this." Celestia showed off the Boundless Cutie Mark that was on her. They all gasped, surprised by what they were seeing.
"What."
"Is."
"That?"
"I've never seen so many Cutie Marks in one. And is that... mine?" Twilight noticed her Cutie Mark.
"This is the Boundless Cutie Mark. A Cutie Mark that contains all marks. From the past the present and the future."
"That's why it's called Boundless..."
"Yes, Twilight. This is one of Starswirl's unfinished spells. In fact, it's the one spell he believed that nopony can ever solve."
"But we believe you may be able to." Luna let Twilight the book with the exact page. "You were able to complete his unfinished masterpiece, so perhaps this is another."
"Of course she can! Twilight can solve anything, no problem." Rainbow Dash commented.
"There's no problem she cannot solve. Isn't that right, darling?" Rarity said.
"Thanks, girls. But what if this is something that I can't solve?"
"If Luna is putting her faith in you, then I shall too. I trust you, Twilight. Do your best."
"I will! You can count on me, Princess Celestia!" Twilight had a wide smile on her face. "So uh... do we like...stay behind and watch your Cutie Mark... or?"
"I actually don't know. I'm stuck here until I'm healed."
"I know! How's about we draw the Cutie Mark?" Applejack recommended.
"Applejack, darling. That'd be impossible. There are too many Cutie Marks." Rarity replied.
"Why don't we ask Amber Canvas? He's a great artist who can paint anything!" Pinkie suggested.
"Painting every Cutie Mark though? That might take forever, even for him." Fluttershy retorted.
"We'll figure something out. After all, we do know that it's every Cutie Mark in one. Come on girls. Let's head back home."
"Good luck my little ponies." Celestia bid farewell to them, however just 7 seconds later a mail pony had arrived.
"Mail for Princess Celestia." The pony said. Celestia took the mail, opening it as it was a picture of Pinkie Pie huddling everypony up together with the words 'Get well soon' on it, tugging at the sun princess's heartstrings.
Returning back to Ponyville, Twilight began her research on the Boundless Cutie Mark. Then again, there was only one piece of information on it.
"This is going to be tougher than I thought. How am I supposed to solve this Boundless Cutie Mark thing if there's only one recorded information about it?!" Twilight fell on her books.
"It does seem like an impossible task. It's a one of a kind Cutie Mark after all." Spike said. "And why did it end up on Celestia?"
"Isn't it obvious? She's the most important pony ever. Top of them all. She is the ruler of Equestria after a-" That's when an idea struck Twilight. "Wait a minute. Every Cutie Mark. Ruler of Equestria. I think I have a hunch on what the Cutie Mark means!"
"You do?!"
"Yes. But I still don't have a definite answer. It'll definitely take a long time to solve this. But at least I've got an idea stuck in my head."
Twilight's quest to solve this Cutie Mark was a go. But all the way back in Canterlot, trouble was brewing.
The one pony everyone else hadn't taken into account was Obsidian. Compared to Emerald Aura and Cold Colt, he was the least present and it was hard to tell where he was all the time.
Right now he had entered Canterlot castle, casually resting near the pillars.
"Alright then. The Rift wants to take it to the next level. We'll take it to the next level. Get ready Princess." Obsidian had taken out his Pokeball, tossing it and bringing out a Hypno. "Get Celestia to fall into a hypnotic state. Make her head over to the Harmonia Kingdom. Ghetsis does what he normally does. Luna goes crazy again. And watch the fireworks go off. Haha! The Rift sure does think it's not evil."
"Hypno..." The Hypnosis Pokemon was headed towards the nursing room. It had used Hypnosis on any guards it came across, putting them to sleep. It had eventually reached the nursing room were Celestia was along with her Kirlia.
"Kirlia?"
"What is it Passion?" Celestia lifted her head as she saw the Hypnosis Pokemon. Passion knew this was bad news as she was ready to protect her beloved trainer.
Hypno was about to hypnotize Celestia, but Passion had used Magical Leaf to put Hypno off focus. Celestia then realised that Passion was protecting her from Hypno as Obsidian entered the room.
"Hello, Princess. You're looking healthy."
"You. Obsidian was it?" Celestia said with a serious tone.
"In the cosmic flesh. Hope you don't mind. I'll be accelerating the Sorrowful Rage magic process. Luna's gonna go insane to a point where she'll lose all reason. A force worse than Nightmare Moon. Sounds fun, eh?"
"You and the Rift are worse than scum."
"Oh please. Everyone thinks the Rift is evil. I mean.. I'm evil no doubt about it. But the Rift is still neutral. It's just that someone's gotta start a problem, or else things are gonna get boring."
"I don't want to hear it. Everything you've done has endangered my subjects. And I won't forgive you. Passion. Go!" Celestia was commanding Passion for the first time as the Emotion Pokemon sent Magical Leaf once more.
"Hypno. Psybeam." Hypno easily destroyed the leaves by firing a psychic wave. It struck Passion head-on, knocking her into Celestia, making them both feel pain.
"P-Passion!"
"Now Hypno." Hypno began casting Hypnosis once more. Passion got up, covering her trainer's eyes with her arms. "Feh. Annoying Kirlia." Obsidian flew up, shoving Passion out of the way as he held Celestia down. "Keep those eyes open Princess."
Celestia could feel a ton of pain from being held down, along with the hole in her as she kept her eyes closed. Her groaning could be heard by Luna and Darkrai both as they rushed to the scene.
"Sister! Get away from her!" Luna ferociously unleashed a beam towards Obsidian, knocking him away.
"Ow! Alright then. Hypno. Return." Obsidian sent Hypno back.
"You would dare lay your hooves on my sister you cur!"
"Dusknoir. Out you come." Obsidian had sent out a Dusknoir next. "I hope the Rift doesn't' mind if I eliminate you from the equation." Obsidian smirked as he faced down both Luna and her Darkrai. With the guards all asleep and Celestia badly injured, the result could be catastrophic.
Obsidian has infiltrated the castle, planning to use Celestia to unleash Lunar Ire once more.
Right now, Luna has come face to face with Obsidian, aiming to stop him from causing any more damage. The two of them had stared each other down.
"We'll make this quick. Dusknoir, Shadow Ball." Dusknoir had conjured up a ball out of shadows in its spectral hands.
"Darkrai. Prevent it with Dark Void!" Luna commanded as Darkrai stopped the Shadow Ball with Dark Void, cancelling them both out.
"Use Will-O-Wisp on the floor." An insane command. Dusknoir had dropped ghostly flames on the floor, causing the entire room to catch fire. Luna, Celestia and Passion gasped as everything around them was burning. Obsidian merely smiled at all of this.
"Sister!" Luna called out to her sister, trying to get close to her.
"Nuh-uh. Dusknoir, grab Luna." Dusknoir had sent out extending its arms, ready to grab the princess of the night, however, Darkrai had stopped its arms by using Ice Beam, making the Gripper Pokemon pull its arms back.
"Focus Luna! Or else your sister will be in more danger!" said Darkrai.
"R-Right. Darkrai! Place them to sleep with Dark Void!" Darkrai conjured up another Dark Void, tossing it. Obsidian told Dusknoir to use Protect in order to stop it.
"Now send Darkrai flying with Thunder Punch!" Dusknoir zipped forward, striking the Pitch Black Pokemon as it had launched Darkrai out of the nursing room, flying through the walls.
"Oh no! Darkrai!" Luna cried out. Dusknoir had then grabbed a hold of Luna, having the alicorn in its clutches. "Unhand me!"
"Stay put, princess. Alright, Hypno. Let's continue our work-" Obsidian's sentence was cut off by Luna blowing Cofagrigus away with a magic pulse. The entire nursing room was falling apart easily, making it even more dangerous. The fire caused by the Will-O-Wisp was spread across Canterlot and fast.
Darkrai got up, recovering from the Energy Ball as he quickly hovered back to his trainer.
Luna had gone in front of her sister, casting a barrier to protect them both. Passion huddled up to Celestia, terrified of the situation. Celestia kept Passion close to her as Luna was doing her best to protect them both. The fire was closing in on them as well. That's when Luna sprouted up an idea.
"Let's hope this works." She used her magic to grab one of her Pokeballs out of her room, sending out her blue Frillish as it was standing outside of the nursing room. "Frillish! Put the fire! I beg of you!"
Frillish heard its trainer's cry. It nodded in response. The Floating Pokemon had used Water Gun to push back the Will-O-Wisp's flames. Obsidian turned around to see Frillish there.
"Hm? Butt out. Dusknoir. Grab that Frillish." Dusknoir went to grab its fellow Ghost-Type but once again, it was stopped by Darkrai used Ice Beam once more, this time freezing Cofagrigus. "WHAT?!" This caught Obsidian off guard. Luna then saw an opening, dropping the barrier as she had knocked out Hypno with a fairly weak magic beam.
Obsidian himself was now in a rough spot. "Well then. This wasn't the result I was expecting."
"I cannot begin to describe the punishment I will give. For threatening my sister when she is weakened... and planning to unleash Lunar Ire out of me once more! And almost burning down the castle!" Luna's rage was building up. But it was enough to slowly bring out Lunar Ire. Celestia gasped, seeing the Sorrowful Rage magic rise up.
"Luna! You're losing your temper! Calm down!" Celestia pleaded. Luna held her head, pushing back Lunar Ire.
"This is bad. Rift! Get me out of here!" Obsidian had decided to make a retreat, returning his Pokemon to their Pokeballs as he disappeared into cosmic dust.
"Gone." Darkrai said. "And the flames have been put out thankfully. Good work Frillish."
"Frill."
"Sister! Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine, Luna. If you weren't here, who knows what would happen next."
"If I am not here at all... something terrible could happen to you. I cannot let you out of my sights anymore. You are vulnerable, sister."
"Luna..."
"Nothing is safe for you anymore sister. Not with a pony like Obsidian around. He could come back at any moment and cause nothing but trouble. And bring out the worst version of me."
"Luna. I'll be fine. I may be vulnerable, but I have Passion with me here to protect me."
"Kirlia."
"No! First, you were gravely injured by Hydreigon, and then you were almost hypnotized into heading back to Ghetsis. Your life has been in too much danger. Too much for me to ignore. I will stay here by your side and protect you."
"But who will watch over the kingdom, Luna? You can't stay here forever."
"I know, it needs a ruler but... I don't want to see you getting hurt anymore, sister." Luna sat down, sulking. Celestia didn't know what to do in this situation. She feels like it is partially her fault for going to Ghetsis, but she couldn't sit back and watch him humiliate and overtake Saddle-Arabia. Even though he has already conquered it.
Celestia then decided to take a big risk. She got off the bed, feeling the pain strain her. Passion held her but the sun princess had kept on moving. She then went over to her younger sister, giving her a hug.
"You don't have to worry anymore, Luna. I'll continue to rule Equestria." She said with a smile on her face.
"But, Tia! You're still injured. You can't-"
"It is my duty. I cannot distance myself from my subjects. Even if I am in pain, they still need me. They still need us." Celestia stuck to her word. And the moment she said those words, the Boundless Cutie Mark started to glow for a bit. Celestia looked at the infinite mark along with Luna.
"What is happening, sister?" Luna gasped.
"I don't know. This is new to me." The Boundless Cutie Mark had suddenly shown Luna's Cutie Mark, making it a bit more visible in the endless sea of marks.
"My Cutie Mark. It's more visible now? How is this possible?"
Celestia began speculating on what this meant. Then she had a theory.
"Maybe... this Cutie Mark acts up when I say or do something specific? Perhaps it also involves the pony that I am interacting with."
"You think so, Tia?"
"It's just a theory. But this Boundless Cutie Mark has many more mysteries." Celestia then walked out of the nursing room, heading to the balcony. Luna chased after her sister, who was walking ever so slowly, obviously wanting to avoid any more pain.
Celestia stood at the balcony, looking down at Canterlot. A pony noticed Princess Celestia. In all her glory.
"Look! It's Princess Celestia!" That pony made everypony else look. There she was. Still hurt but alive. They all started to cheer and cry after seeing their beloved princess again. Celestia was happy to see them all as well. She hadn't seen this many ponies in days.
"Hello, my beloved subjects. I'm back." Those words she said just made them tear up even more. Their princess was back and she was glad to be back as well. "As you know, I suffered a terrible injury last week. Even I was afraid that I would not make it. But here I am. I will still be here for all of you. Everypony. Even if my own life is on the line, I will stay with all of Equestria forever. That is my duty as a princess. Princess of Equestria."
Luna watched as they gave praises to her older sister. But this time, there was no jealousy involved. This time, it was happiness. Happy to see her sister once more. But even then, the thoughts of Ghetsis still roamed in her head.
Celestia returned inside, ready to sit on her throne.
"Sister." Luna had stopped her with her tone changing.
"Yes, Luna?"
"What if... we can't win against Ghetsis? What if the great disaster ends up overcoming us all? I don't want to lose you again."
"I understand Luna. Even I am terrified. Ghetsis is truly a force that nopony can predict what he'll do next. But still... that doesn't mean we should give up. Our world, the Pokemon world. They both will have no future if Ghetsis is not stopped. If he and his entire kingdom are brought down, then we will all have a future to look forward to."
"You're right. You're the best sister!" Luna hugged Celestia as their conversation had finally come to an end. Darkrai, who was watching all of this even felt a bit emotional, even if you couldn't see it in his intimidating eyes. Passion had also overseen this. In her mind, she was wondering she was enough to protect Celestia. She barely managed to protect her from Cofagrigus, how would she fare against Ghetsis then?
"Are you afraid?" Darkrai asked Kirlia.
"Kirlia." She nodded.
"I know. I can tell. To be honest with you, even I'm a bit nervous."
"Kirli. Kirlia."
"That won't stop me of course. I'll protect Luna no matter what. But about you? Are you sure you're ready to protect Celestia?"
What Darkrai said made Passion think. There was only one possible way of her being able to fully protect her beloved trainer. By evolving into her final evolution. Gardevoir. Only then will she be able to stand up to Ghetsis's Hydreigon.
Hours had passed and the news of Celestia recovering had spread across Equestria. This made everypony ecstatic and joyful.
"Princess Celestia is back! Woohoo!" A pony yelled.
"I totally knew she was gonna wake up soon. Yep. Totally."
"Do you think that hole's gone though?"
There was constant chatter going on, making Ponyville more lively than ever. Twilight already knew that Celestia was awake, but to see everypony aware of it made her feel at peace a bit. She looked outside as she saw the sun setting, showing that Celestia had really returned.
"I'm glad everything's returning back to normal Spike. But I still can't get the bad memories out of my head."
"I know how you feel, Twilight. What happened last week still has me shaken up too."
"Once this is all over... I wonder what happens next? What do you think?"
"Probably another bad guy will come along. But we don't have anything worry about. We've got each other and our Pokemon. Right Goomy?"
"Goo!"
"You're right Spike. And I have the best friends anypony could ever ask for. Good night Spike." Twilight turned off the lights as she, Spike and Goomy clocked out for tonight. Waiting for tomorrow to come.
Night had arrived. It was raining outside, pouring heavy rain as well. And standing near Twilight's window was an unknown figure. Thunder flashed as it revealed to be Adagio, wearing a hood.
She had quietly broken inside Golden Oaks Library, ready to continue her revenge.
"You're going to pay, Sparkle. Oh, you WILL pay." She stood over Twilight holding up a sack fit for a pony as she foalnapped Twilight.
Twilight's vision was cut off. She had woken up, but couldn't see anything. A blindfold was placed on her eyes.
"W-Where am I? What's going on?!" Anypony?!"
"Shut it! I need perfect focus for this!" A voice replied to her. Adagio's voice that is. They were in a damp cave were Twilight was tied up along with her horn. So that she wouldn't try any magic.
"That voice... You're Adagio!"
"That's right. And this is the moment I've been waiting for. No one's gonna get in my way this time!"
"W-What are you going to do to me?" Twilight started shaking.
"You took everything from me. So now I'll take everything from you!" Adagio grinned as she held out a familiar item. But Twilight couldn't see this item due to being blindfolded.
The Alicorn Amulet.
Adagio had managed to swipe it from Zecora's wooden box late at night.
Anypony that wears this amulet will gain untold powers. Adagio was turned into an Earth Pony, however, the amulet can grant anypony a horn, just to give them access to all the magic that it holds. Adagio wore the amulet as she went up to Twilight.
"I'll be able to feed off negativity once more. And maybe... I'll blow away those traitors Sonata and Aria." Adagio had tapped into the amulet was she was planning to strip Twilight of her magic and transfer it to her. Adagio began the process as she was absorbing the magic within Twilight. Twilight could feel her magic slipping as she had to do something. She tried harnessing all of her magic in her horn which was tied up. Luckily, tying a horn can only restrain it for so long. So Twilight blew away the tie and created a magic pulse that pushed Adagio back.
But Adagio had already taken a good chunk of Twilight's magic. Exactly 70% of her magic had been given to her, showing just how powerful the amulet is. No wonder Trixie loved this thing. Adagio could feel the magic brimming within her. She had all this power at her disposal now. And she can dole out some sweet revenge.
"Yes. I feel it all. This thing is the best! How does it feel to have something special to you be taken away?!" Adagio yelled.
"You...You won't get away with this Adagio. Twilight felt weak with so little magic in her.
"I already have. And I can blow you away once and for all!" Adagio charged up a magic beam but she couldn't control the amount of power she had so she started firing beams frantically all over the place. The beams hit the cave walls, making it crumble. "Uh oh. See ya! You can meet your fate by the falling rocks!" Adagio ran out as Twilight could hear all the rocks falling and the place coming down.
She gasped as she cast a barrier around her out of instinct. It was a good call since the entire cave had fallen down on her. Adagio had left, thinking that she had finally gotten her revenge.
"Hah! So long Sparkle! This thing really is impressive. That Emerald Aura pony was right when she said that I would love it. Now to really test this baby out. Where should I start?" Adagio walked away from the now destroyed cave. Once Adagio got a good distance, Twilight emerged from the rubble, shaking her head.
"That was close. But my magic... I can't feel most of it. How did she do it...? She doesn't have a horn." Twilight wondered. But there was no time to waste. Adagio was most likely planning to ruin Ponyville as well. So it was time to get a move on. "Ugh." I wish I was better at flying..."
Over at Ponyville, everypony was unaware of what was coming to them. Adagio had entered Ponyville, placing her hoof down and drawing their attention.
Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie turned around to see Adagio.
"You're that Adagio pony! What do you want now?" Rarity said.
"Zip it." Adagio had caused a zip to appear on Rarity's mouth, causing her to stop talking. That's when they all noticed the Alicorn Amulet.
"The Alicorn Amulet!? But how? Zecora kept it safe and hidden!" said Applejack.
"Heh. A pony by the name of Emerald Aura told me where this amulet was. And I don't regret taking her advice. I've already stolen your precious Twilight's magic. I'll use it to get all of my payback on you all. You annoying Rainbooms!"
"Mmmphmhm!" Rarity was trying to say something, but she couldn't.
"How'd she get a horn? She didn't have that before." Pinkie pointed out Adagio's newfound horn.
"Who cares? As long as I have the power, I can do whatever. Now for my first form of revenge!" Adagio had encased Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Applejack into a jar by minimizing them. Everypony gasped as they saw the little ponies trapped in the jar. Adagio walked up to them as she picked up the jar, looking at the three tiny ponies. "Don't worry. There's much worse coming your way."
"Hey! Drop my sister!" Apple Bloom shouted.
"Yeah! You can't mess around with my big sis like that!" So did Sweetie Belle.
"Shut it you brats. Oh but wait. These are your sisters you say? Then how about you join them?" Adagio then turned them small, placing them in the jar. "There you go. A nice family gathering."
"Hey! You can't do this!" A pony called out.
"And what are you gonna do about it?" Adagio turned to the pony. Nopony was brave enough since they were intimidated by the Alicorn Amulet and Adagio. Compared to Trixie, Adagio was a bit of a rage monster.
"Where are the rest of those Rainbooms? I wanna make sure they all get their just-deserves!"
"Adagio!" A voice grabbed her attention. A familiar voice. It was Sonata.
"Look who it is. The first one to drop out of the sirens. Come here to scold me or something?"
"What are you doing? I thought you wanted to just feed off their negativity, not this!"
"Oh, I'm still gonna do it. Eventually, I'll manage to feed off every single pony here. And soon all of Equestria. But for the Rainbooms, it's different. They deserve special treatment for ruining me. All of them!"
"You've gone crazy!"
"Butt out Sonata. Unless you want me to use this amulet on you as well." Adagio threatened her. Eventually, Twilight had made her way back to Ponyville, seeing her friends in a jar and the Alicorn Amulet. She thought she was dreaming for a bit.
Adagio turned around to see the young alicorn princess who was still alive and well.
"Seriously? The cave didn't crush you?!"
"Barrier spell. And how is that YOU have the amulet?"
"I already explained it to them, I don't have time to explain it to you. You're the one I want to humiliate the most. But more than that... the one I want to destroy the most!" The Alicorn Amulet was doing what it usually does. Anypony who wears it for too long becomes corrupted. Too corrupt.
"I have to get it off her. All she needs is some convincing..." Twilight thought to herself. They managed to get it off Trixie last time by tricking her so the same should go for Adagio. "You know Adagio, I b-"
"Nice try! Emerald Aura already told me about how you got it off that Trixie pony last time. I won't fall for it." Adagio had fired a magic beam at Twilight, but the purple alicorn had thankfully moved out of the way. "Getting rid of you will be a massive thorn out of my side!"
"That amulet's corrupting you Adagio! As if you weren't already evil enough... You have to take it off!"
"Forget that! This is exactly what I want!" Adagio had then trapped Twilight in a steel cage, restraining her hooves with shackles. "And what I want... is revenge! And I'm finally going to get it!" The amulet seemed to effect Adagio much differently than Trixie. Her urge for revenge was actually making the amulet stronger than ever, turning Adagio in the most powerful unicorn here.
Twilight attempted to teleport out of the cage, but her drained magic meant that it was much more difficult now. Adagio did take a good chunk of it after all.
"What's wrong, Sparkle? Feeling tired?" Adagio taunted. "Don't worry. I'll make sure you get an ETERNAL SLEEP!" Adagio had suddenly made the cage much smaller, closing Twilight in.
"Twilight!" The miniature Pinkie Pie yelled. Somepony had to do something, so a few Ponyville townsfolk tried to get close, but Adagio turned around, creating a floor of quicksand near them. Adagio watched as the cage kept getting smaller until...
"Iron Tail!" The cage was destroyed in one hit by Pikachu's Iron Tail. Ash, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy with her Audino had arrived.
"What now!?" Adagio growled, seeing Ash and the others. Twilight quickly ran to everypony else to get some safety, however, Adagio noticed her running. "You won't get away from me!" She was about to stop Twilight until Pikachu dropped an Electroweb on her. "Why you..."
"Pika-Pikachu! Pika!"
"Pikachu says that you've gone too far trying to harm our friends!" Fluttershy translated.
"So?!" Adagio destroyed the Electroweb with her magic. "I've got a ton of payback just waiting to be unleashed. And I won't let anyone get in my way!"
Everypony else started to back away from the scene. Scootaloo had quietly grabbed the jar Applejack and the others were trapped in, keeping it away from Adagio.
Big Macintosh was carrying a weakened Twilight on his back.
"Actually. Now that I think about it. You're also involved with Sonata's disgusting change, Ash Ketchum!" Adagio hissed.
"What's up with you? You looked happy when my mom took care of you. She even gave you food to eat since you were all starving."
"Yeah, Adagio! Think about the tasty Slowpoke Tail!" Sonata yelled from the crowd.
"Shut up! Both of you! I could care less about what your mom does for us. For me. I only needed the food to gain my strength back and-"
"Don't lie to me." Ash suddenly stopped her.
"What?"
"I saw how you felt back at home. You didn't want to show it. You're too stubborn to really show your true feelings and emotions." Ash called her out. He's had a long history with people and Pokemon who always hide their emotions to feel stronger. So he saw right through her.
"That's ridiculous! You don't know anything about me! You're just some kid with a yellow mouse!" Adagio replied. "I'll blow you away as well!" Adagio had then released a magic beam, still unable to control it. But one of them was headed for Ash and the others.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu jumped up, blocking the beam with a bolt of lightning. "We don't wanna get physical Adagio."
"Oh but I certainly do." Adagio's eyes had turned a crimson red. The amulet had completely taken over her. Faster than anypony it has ever corrupted. "How about I show you just how physical I can get!" Adagio grinned as she was pushing the limits of the amulet. So much so that she couldn't control it. The magic was going all over the place as Adagio could feel the intense pressure on her.
"Adagio!" Sonata shouted, actually worrying for her.
Adagio groaned as the magic was too much for her to handle. The magic that dwelled within the amulet started to fly everywhere. Everypony moved away from the frantic magic waves going all over the place. Adagio squirmed on the floor, not able to take the pain anymore. Sonata looked at Adagio, realising that all the hatred towards her personality didn't matter anymore. That was her sister.
"Adagio! Please! Save my sister from that amulet!"
"We can't. The amulet can't be removed by anypony else but the wearer." Twilight explained. This had made Sonata's hope dropdown.
"In that case. We'll just have to break it." Ash said.
"Pika!"
"You can't just break it, Ash. It-" Twilight didn't finish her sentence because Ash was already going for the idea.
"Iron Tail!" Pikachu dashed forward, avoiding the frantic magic waves, making sure none hit him. He jumped over one as he ran to the side. He set his eyes on the amulet, aiming to destroy it, but a magic wave had managed to him, sending him back.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out, but luckily he recovered.
"Keep on going Pikachu. Make sure you strike that amulet!" Ash pointed forward.
"Audi. Protect Pikachu with Safeguard." Fluttershy had commanded her Audino to cast a protective barrier around Pikachu, making sure that the waves don't hurt him. The safeguard came in handy as the magic waves didn't budge Pikachu at all. Pikachu got in close as his tail started to glow. He jumped up, aiming for the amulet as he struck his tail down.
Suddenly, the amulet had consciously pushed Pikachu back. It had gained its own consciousness, using Adagio's body as a vessel.
"Oh, this is so much better than just being a piece of neckwear." A voice came out of Adagio. It was still her voice but altered with an ominous and mysterious voice added on. "I finally have a vessel!"
"Vessel? Does that mean the amulet has a consciousness?" Twilight uttered.
"That is right, alicorn. And I'm glad to finally be truly free. Now. This little rat tried to break me did it?"
"Pika.." Sparks were coming out of Pikachu's cheeks as he was looking up at Adagio.
"Get out of my sister!" Sonata bellowed.
"And give up my first vessel? Never!" Adagio's eyes flared red as the wind around them started to kick up.
"We're still gonna break that amulet. We just gotta find a good moment to strike." Ash said. "I got it! Rainbow Dash! Can you help?"
"Always!" Rainbow replied.
"Alright. Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu had sent a bolt of thunder upwards, but the possessed Adagio had cast a shield to protect it from the bolt.
"Go! Braviary!" Rainbow Dash had sent out Braviary to help. "Use Brave Bird!" Braviary flew upwards, heading towards the possessed pony. Adagio had levitated higher in the air, avoiding Brave Bird.
"Chase after him!" Rainbow Dash commanded. Braviary started to chase Adagio through the skies.
Amethyst Star looked out, seeing the event going down. She didn't even bother to sigh anymore. It had become the norm for Pokemon to make this town more lively than it already is.
"Get lost you oversized bird!" Adagio had held Braviary in place. Ash saw an opportunity now.
"Thunderbolt!" This time, Thunderbolt hit its mark, causing major damage to Adagio. This had dropped the corrupt Adagio down to the ground, freeing Braviary. "Now! Iron Tail!" Pikachu ran towards Adagio, ready to finally remove the amulet.
The controlled Adagio looked up, seeing Pikachu head towards him. It was ready to cast a spell to stop Pikachu from destroying the amulet.
"Go!" Pikachu was moving too fast for Adagio as Iron Tail made a direct hit. Right on the amulet. The powerful steel from Pikachu had split the Alicorn Amulet in two.
"NO!" The amulet yelled as it had been released from Adagio. All the magic that Adagio had used had been undone. The girls returned back to their normal sizes and all the magic that Adagio had sucked returned to Twilight, restoring her to full strength. The amulet was on the ground as the consciousness had become a red wisp floating in the air. "You brat! You cost me not only my vessel but my own amulet!"
"Heh. Yeah, I did." Ash proudly said.
"How about... I corrupt you!" The wisp shouted out, heading towards Ash.
"No, you don't! Blow him away with your wings!" Rainbow Dash commanded. Braviary flapped its wings, creating a wind flow strong enough to send the wisp flying. "Now Fluttershy! Destroy the wisp!"
"Destroy it?! Oh dear. That doesn't sound-"
"If we don't it'll take over somepony else!"
O-Oh alright. Audi. Hyper Beam!" Audino had aimed at the wisp, eradicating it as it was blown up by hyper energy.
That was the definitive end of the Alicorn Amulet.
Adagio twitched as she stood up. She looked around her, remembering what had just happened.
"Adagio?" Sonata went up to her.
"Get back!" Adagio moved away from Sonata, not wanting to get any closer to her. Adagio then chose the only option she had. Run. So she ran off, leaving Ponyville. Sonata sighed, not getting the chance to reason with her.
"Adagio." Sonata lowered her head.
"Cheer up. I'm sure we'll run into her again." Ash reassured her.
"But I guess this is the end of this thing now." Rainbow Dash placed her hoof on the broken amulet. "What are we gonna tell Zecora?"
"Eh. She won't mind. This thing was nothing but trouble anyway. But I wonder who even made it?" Twilight picked up the remains with her magic.
"Whoever did must've been PRETTY powerful." Pinkie replied.
"Ah, who cares." Twilight tossed the amulet away, forgetting about it completely. But I wonder what'll happen to Adagio now? She really hates us. Especially me.
"No idea. But I reckon she'll find something and come right back to us." said Applejack.
"Pika..."
"Welp! I'm starving. Got anything to eat?" Ash asked.
"Just in luck. Slurpuff and I have just come up with this multi-layered ice cream cake. Layers on the outside, layers in the inside." Pinkie Pie held out a mouth-watering ice cream cake, with chips, cherries, chocolate, vanilla, the whole catalogue. Everypony was watering at the mouth from just seeing it. They had even forgotten about the amulet and what just happened today.
"Pika..." Pikachu started to drool uncontrollably.
Celestia had peeked her head through the bushes, being drawn to this new cake recipe, licking her lips.
"There's enough for everypony!" Pinkie Pie declared. They all went inside to grab a bite out of the Ice-Cream Cake as Celestia quietly watched from the windows.
Another day continues and another problem solved. A normal day in this connected world.
But, like always, Obsidian is up to something. But this time he has a request.
"Rift. I'd like to make a request. Any chance you create a special kind of pony. I've got an idea that's really gonna spice things up a bit."
How is it capable of having more evolutions than any other Pokemon. More than that, how can it evolve based on either stones or certain conditions.
And why is it only limited to 8 types? Why not all 18? Even when reading the book titled 'The Eeveelution Enigma', it still had her curious. But that wasn't the only reason she was curious about Eevee. You see...
"I want one." She blurted.
"Want what?" Spike asked.
"I want an Eevee!" Twilight declared.
"You?! Uhh.. wait what's an Eevee again?"
"It's that Pokemon with the irregular genetic code. This Pokemon has my interest piqued over a million. Not only that but it is super cute!"
"So you've finally decided on the first Pokemon you wanna catch?"
"Of course! No offense Minccy. You are still my first official Pokemon."
"Minccino!"
"Today. I'll catch myself an Eevee, figure out how it's genetic code works and evolve it into one of the Eeveelutions!"
"You're not gonna dissect it are you?!" Spike feared.
"What? No! Course not! Unless it comes down it... Anyways, I'm off to find an Eevee!" Twilight walked out of Golden Oaks, ready to set out for her future Eevee. "Now then. Where to start? Kanto maybe? They do originate there apparently."
"Morning Twilight. Where ya headed?" Applejack asked, walking up to her friend.
"Morning Applejack. I'm just headed to find myself an Eevee!" She said with a wide smile on her face.
"Eevee? That fox Pokemon thing?"
"That's the one! I was hoping to go to Kanto to find one."
"Why not try the Pokemon House? Even with the little fella's petrified, new Pokemon from the other world come along and live there. New ones every day." Applejack recommended.
"You're right! I might even find one of the Eeveelutions there! Thanks, Applejack!" Twilight then changed directions, heading towards Fluttershy's Cottage and the Pokemon House instead.
At said house, Audino and Fluttershy were still taking care of the petrified Pokemon. Grimer still being the only Pokemon who wasn't affected. However, more Pokemon started to arrive from the other world, living at the Pokemon House, so things didn't feel lonely here anymore. More Water-Types had appeared in the river, but then again they have the most Pokemon out of every type, and more Flying-Types, Normal-Types and Grass-Types came along.
Along came Twilight, seeing all the new Pokemon that had arrived.
"Hey, Fluttershy."
"Oh, hey Twilight."
"How goes the healing?"
"Well. Some of the Pokemon are starting to move a bit. Just barely though. So we're doing our best to make sure they still have some movement in them."
"How sweet. I hope that Remedy Roy has the cure very soon. So Fluttershy. I came here wondering if I could find and have an Eevee."
"An Eevee? Hmm. I think I saw an Eevee or two come here 4 days ago. Right inside the house."
"Perfect! I'll go check. Here I come my future Eeveelution!" Twilight pranced over to the inside of the house.
"Wow, she seems very enthusiastic about an Eevee."
"Audino..."
Entering the house, Twilight spotted some small Pokemon scurrying about. She looked around but no Eevee on this part of the house. She then went upstairs and there they were.
Three Eevees. All just casually sitting down on the bed.
"There it is... Eevee." Twilight squeed. "They're just as small and cute as the books show!" She zipped on over to the two Eevee's, getting a good look at them.
"Eev?"
"Hey, Eevee. My name's Twilight Sparkle. Want to be my Pokemon?"
"Eevee.." The Eevee's had hopped off the bed, not taking Twilight's offer.
"W-Wha- Wait! Where are you going?" Twilight had followed the Evolution Pokemon outside of the house as they were not paying her any attention. "I'll give you some delicious Pokeblocks! My friend Pinkie makes the best food for all species!"
"What's wrong Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.
"It's these Eevee. They're avoiding me. Do I smell? Was it something I said?"
"Oh no, Twilight. That's not it." The Eevee went over to Fluttershy, sitting next to her. "You see, some Pokemon only go with somepony else if they trust them. It's how Pokemon and trainers bond. By trust."
"I can be trustworthy."
"You have to earn their trust, Twilight. Simply telling them to be your Pokemon won't do." Fluttershy shook her head.
"Audino."
"I guess that makes sense. Ash and his Pokemon trust him more than anypony. Alright. Where do I start?"
"Well, a good place to start is by some Pokemon activities!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Audino!"
"Pokemon activities?"
"Mhm. I've been laying out some activities for Pokemon and potential future trainers. It's a simple way of making both of them get to know each other and bond. Professor Oak had recommended it to me actually. So let's get you and Eevee started!"
The first activity.
Getting to know the Pokemon.
"But I already know a lot about Eevee. Its code is irregular, the stones, the conditions, etc." Twilight said.
"Not that Twilight. It's like what Rainbow Dash did with her Pokemon. Just casually talk to each other and see what you both like. Right Eevee?"
"Vee!" They responded.
"Now. These three Eevees are very different in personality or nature if you hadn't noticed. The one in the middle is Adamant. She's ab it on the tougher sider and harder to convince."
"Eev." The Adamant Eevee looked away from Twilight, giving her a 'Hmph' expression.
"I can see that..." Twilight replied.
"The one the right has a Hasty nature. He tends to do things excessively."
"Vee! Vee!" The brisk Eevee bellowed, scaring Twilight a bit.
"And finally the one the right has Lax nature. She's more of a slow-moving Eevee."
"Eevee..." The relaxed Eevee laid on its back.
"So. Getting to understand all three of them is a great place to start. You can connect with them despite their natures."
"Audino."
"Hm. Good point. I'll start with the Lax one. Seems easy enough."
"Alright. You're up first." Fluttershy said to Lax Eevee. The lazy Eevee had walked up to Twilight, letting out a huge yawn.
"So. What is it that you like Eevee? Any favorite spots to hang out?"
"Eev..." Eevee merely snuggled up on the grass, feeling like falling asleep again. Twilight sighed at this.
"How about some food?" Twilight used her magic to take some berries of the tree. "Eh? Tasty ripe berries?"
Eevee was up for these berries as it jumped up, biting and eating them whole and then heading back to relaxation.
"Well, it's a start. I guess. Oh! I know!" Twilight used her magic to grab the pillow inside the Pokemon House, bringing to the Lax Eevee. She placed the pillow on his little tiny fox head. This did end up making the Lax Eevee even more relaxed and happy.
"Good job, Twilight. You really knew what to give him."
"Audino,"
"It was easy. Just make him feel relaxed. And he's happy." Twilight boasted. "Okay. I'll take the Hasty one. Can't be too tough right?"
"Alright. You're up next." Fluttershy said to the hyper Eevee.
"Vee! Vee!" The Hasty Eevee had run over to Twilight, scaring her a bit. "Eevee!"
"Eevee says, let's get this party started." Fluttershy translated.
"Uh-huh." Twilight laughed nervously. This Eevee was a bit on the intimidating side and considering how fast it moved. "So, what is it that you like? I bet you like to run a lot huh?"
"Eev!" The excessive Eevee replied, nodding its head. It ran circles around Twilight, eager to do something exciting.
"Seems like this Eevee wants to do something wild and exhilarating. What do you think Twilight?"
"I hope it's not anything too dangerous...How about we talk about...what you could race against!"
"Eev?"
"Yeah. I hear there are some pretty fast Pokemon out there. My friend Rainbow Dash has a Whirlipede that gets faster every time it battles. Its ability is Speed Boost. So maybe you could race against that and see how fast you can go."
"Eevee!" The hyper Eevee jumped up, loving that idea.
"It gets better. Electric-Type Pokemon are generally the fastest of all 18 Types. So maybe one day, you can race against all the Electric-Type Pokemon you want and maybe even evolve into a Jolteon. That way you'll be able to outpace any Pokemon."
"Eevee! Eevee!" Eevee jumped around with excitement. It ran around the house, imagining itself racing against Electric-Types.
"Wow. You knew how to handle that one too. Amazing job Twilight!"
"Audi! Audino!"
"Well, it's actually pretty easy. These Eevees remind a lot of my friends. Old and new. The Hasty one reminds me of Rainbow Dash and the Lax one takes me back to an old friend back in Canterlot. So I can tell what they might be into. But this one's gonna be tough." Twilight looked at the final Eevee. The Adamant one.
"Eevee." The resolute Eevee had simply stood there, ready to resist whatever Twilight would try.
"She says to try your best. You won't convince me." Fluttershy translated.
"Oh, I'll try my best alright. I know how to deal with you. How about I show you Ponyville Eevee?"
"Eev... Eevee."
"She says sure. It won't change much though."
"Great. Come on. You're gonna be easily convinced."
"Oh. Wait, I wanna come too!" Fluttershy said, following them.
Twilight had led the Adamant Eevee into Ponyville, dedicated to impressing her. The first place to go? Rarity's boutique.
"Here!" Twilight had entered Carasouel Boutique, grabbing Rarity and her Pokemon's attention.
"Oh. Twilight darling. Can I help you?"
"Hey, Rarity. I'm just here showing this Eevee around, just to convince it to trust me.
"This little fox Pokemon?" Rarity looked down at the Evolution Pokemon.
"That's right. I've decided to get myself an Eevee but I need its trust first."
Eevee looked around as it saw nothing that caught its eye. It was greatly unimpressed.
"Eevee."
"Eevee says that all of these dresses look tacky and threadbare." Fluttershy translated. Those words hit Rarity like a truck. She felt greatly insulted. By a Pokemon of all things. The Sewaddle were struck too, huddling up in the corner after Eevee just insulted their hard work. "Ooh. Sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have translated that."
"TACKY?! Listen here you miniature fox!" Rarity went towards Eevee, looking down at her in disdain. But the Adamant Eevee simply looked away not being intimidated by Rarity.
"Now Rarity calm down. I'm sure Eevee means well. It's just a bit on the hard-nosed side. It is Adamant after all."
"Well, you tell your ADAMANT Pokemon over here that she wouldn't know what fashion was even if it hit her tiny little muzzle!"
"Vee." Eevee had a smug look on her face, swishing her tail back, showing a sign of dissing Rarity. Rarity grit her teeth as her horn started to glow. She wanted to toss this thing across the room.
"Alright! I think that's enough! We'll just go now." Twilight stopped the imminent chaos as they left Carousel Boutique.
"Sorry, Twilight. This Eevee is a bit on the cynical side too. I should've mentioned that as well."
"No need to worry. We still have other places to go to. How about SugarCube Corner? Even she can't resist food."
At SugarCube Corner, the Slurpuffs were helping Mr and Mrs Cake out along with Pinkie Pie.
"See? Get a look at all the yummy stuff here, Eevee!" They had entered.
"Eevee..." The Adamant Eevee walked forward, looking at the excessively pink place. She jumped up the table, looking at the pastry on it.
"Oh. Does this little fella like what he sees?" Mr Cake commented.
"I betcha. No Pokemon can resist food of all kinds!"
Eevee placed her paws on the frosting of a cake, licking it. She had come to a conclusion.
"Eevee. Vee, vee."
"Eevee says that this cake is too sweet. Not everyone enjoys excessively sweet frostings, or else their life will be put in danger. How do you expect anyone to know the sweetness level of it?" Fluttershy translated. "Oops. I did it again."
Mr and Mrs Cake had felt that. They didn't take it as hard as Rarity though.
"Oh. T-T-That's fine. We can just make a cake that has a good amount of sweetness so that no pony can be in danger." Mrs Cake stammered.
"Is it me, or this Eevee very judgemental. More than anypony I've ever met." Twilight whispered to Fluttershy.
"Oh come on! Who cares about that? Sweet cakes are the best!" Pinkie Pie popped out of the cake, eating a bit of it. "You'll love it once we add some extra stuff on it. Like cherries and fondue! Sweet melted Fondue! I bet you'll never want to stop eating it."
"Eevee..."
"Eevee says that she doesn't like this hyperactive pony. She's worse than the hasty Eevee and already gets on her nerves." Fluttershy translated once more. She covered her mouth with her hooves as Twilight looked at her, shaking her head. "Sorry."
"W-Wha?" Pinkie tilted her head. "Oh come on. I know I can be a bit on the fast side but you don't think I'm annoying do you? I mean we just met. I'm sure we can get to know-"
Eevee had hopped off the table, not listening to Pinkie Pie as she walked off. Pinkie Pie felt hurt by that. She just turned her down that fast and judged her character so easily.
"Sorry Pinkie! Sorry, Mr and Mrs Cake!" Twilight said, walking out. "What is with you?! Why are you so rude to my friends?!"
"Eevee. Vee."
"Eevee says that she judges everyone based on what they do or how they act. That's how she comes to trust others."
"Well... It's a horrible way to trust others!" Twilight bellowed. This had grabbed Eevee's attention. "The way you do it, you'll never be able to trust anypony else! I bet that you'll end up distancing everypony from you due to your stubborn personality!"
"E-Eevee?!" She was shocked. Twilight was really letting her have it. No one has ever criticised her before. Even Pokemon haven't.
"You're the one Pokemon I'd never choose!"
Eevee took that hard. The same impact that was felt on the ones she dissed earlier. The Evolution Pokemon started to tear up a bit, preparing to cry.
"Oh, dear. She's going to cry now!"
"Well, it's not my fault." Twilight crossed her hooves. Eevee had suddenly fired a Swift at Twilight's face, running off. "Ow!"
"Oh! Eevee, wait!" Fluttershy called out, but the Evolution Pokemon had headed into the Everfree Forest. "Oh I wish she wasn't so Adamant."
Twilight did feel slightly bad. Not too much anyway. "Hmmrgh. I'm not going to apologize for what I said. I won't let anyone insult and be rude to my friends!"
"What's up you guys?" Ash had arrived, unaware of what just happened.
"Pikachu?"
"Oh, hey Ash and Pikachu. Well.. a lot has happened recently.."
"Audino."
"What happened was an Eevee was rude to my friends. I couldn't let that go. And now it wants to act all sappy."
"Oh yeah. I know a lot of Pokemon like that!" Ash and Pikachu started to laugh.
"Huh?"
"Eevee's are pretty judgemental. But they mean well. Every Pokemon is different from each other. Some are harsh, some are impish, it varies ya know." Ash explained. Throughout his journeys, he's come across many Pokemon with all sorts of personalities. He's had his fair share of cynical Pokemon like Lucario and Volcanion.
Twilight thought for a bit after what Ash had said. Eevee was at the end of the day a young Pokemon. Still unevolved. And it was hard to tell what it would become later on. Celestia's Pokemon Kirlia was a timid Ralts, but once it evolved, it became more confident in itself and open.
"I have to go and talk to her." Twilight flew towards Everfree, off to find Eevee.
The now sad Evolution Pokemon was wandering Everfree. Unaware of what was lurking behind it. The Cragadile. It had spotted a tasty meal just standing there. Eevee turned around to see the Cragadile licking tongue, ready to chomp on it. Eevee would use a move but it was too terrified to do so.
"Ee..Eevee!" It started to run as the Cragadile chased it down through Everfree. Eevee was lucky to be a fast Pokemon, outpacing it. But its luck ran out once it came across a dead end. A cliff to be exact. The Cragadile had cornered her with its massive size.
"You get away from her!" A voice was heard. Twilight was flying in the air, getting a better hang of her wings this time. She used her magic to lift the Cragadile, sending it back. "Eevee! Are you okay?" She went up to her. Eevee was shaking and cowering uncontrollably. To think that the same stubborn and rude Pokemon could be so afraid and unable to defend itself.
"Eevee..." It huddled up in the corner as Twilight stood by her. The Cragadile had gazed at Twilight, recognized her. It had unfinished business after last time. Twilight gulped as the two had a staredown. Twilight then looked at Eevee, gaining the idea of battling with her.
"Eevee. Will you trust me to battle with you?"
The Adamant Evolution Pokemon looked up at Twilight after she said those words. And in that single moment, her trust had been put in her. Even after all she said, Twilight came back to her. Just to save and protect her. Eevee nodded her head in response, finally putting some trust in the young alicorn. She jumped up, standing in front of Twilight and looking at the Cragadile.
"Alright! Eevee! Use that move you used on my face earlier!" Eevee had unleashed Swift as magical stars pelted the Cragadile's face, pushing it back even. "Go and use whatever move you know to flatten it!"
Twilight was finally having her first battle. Even if it wasn't against another Pokemon. Eevee had used Quick Attack, racing forward and smashing its head on the Cragadile's face. When a trainer and a Pokemon battle, the Pokemon's fears disappear. As it knows that it is safe with its trainer. Eevee kept unleashed Swift on the Cragadile. The giant beast couldn't take any more of this so it decided to retreat for now.
"Alright! Way to go Eevee!" Twilight cheered. Eevee had a smile on her face as she lunged at Twilight, hugging her.
Ash, Pikachu, Fluttershy and Audino were watching from a distance. Seeing the whole thing go down. They were all proud of Twilight and Eevee.
Eventually, once they returned to Ponyville, Eevee had apologized to Rarity, Mr and Mrs Cake, Pinkie Pie and their Pokemon as well. They had gladly taken the apology. After all, they couldn't stay mad at a Pokemon as cute as Eevee.
"So Twilight. What Eeveelution are you gonna have?" Ash asked.
"Pika-Pika-Pi?"
"I was thinking of... Espeon!"
"Oh, Espeon! That's a great choice! You're gonna need to bond with Eevee a lot in the day. That way, Espeon will be yours in on time."
"Pikachu!"
"I'm so proud of you Twilight. And you too Eevee. For finding your first trainer." Fluttershy said.
"Audino."
"Eevee!"
"Thanks, Fluttershy. I can't wait to see where we go from here. Right Eve?" Twilight had given her a nickname.
"Vee!"
With a new partner Pokemon on Twilight's side, this large group of friends grows even larger than ever. Who knows how large it's going to get. Perhaps larger than the world can even handle. But as long as they're all together. As the journey continues.
Rainbow Dash sat in her home at Cloudsdale. She had let Braviary and Swablu out of their Pokeballs to stand by her when they're just relaxing.
"You know you guys. I can't wait for our 4th Gym Battle. I know now not to get cocky. Those gyms are no joke."
"Braviary..."
"Swablu."
"And the Pokemon League. That's gonna be the toughest of them all." She looked up to the ceiling, imagining how things might turn out once she gets there. "But I've got you all by my side. So I don't have to worry too much!"
"Bra!"
"Swa!"
"And you too Whirlipede." Rainbow Dash looked at Whirlipede's Pokeball. Suddenly, her door was knocked. She opened it up as it was Flitter and Cloudchaser. "Hello? What do you two want?"
"Dash! You gotta come out and see this! It's the Wonderbolts!" Flitter exclaimed.
"Wonderbolts?! Here?!" She dashed out of her home, knocking the two of them over. Her eyes didn't deceive her. It was the Wonderbolts. But only one of them. Soarin. "Just Soarin? Works for me!" She zipped over to him. "What are YOU doing here?"
"Oh. Rainbow Dash isn't it? Sup. I'm just here visiting with my Pokemon. And hoping to improve them with a small battle, ya know."
"You have Pokemon of your own?! Which one?!"
"Yeah. Come on out, buddy." Soarin had sent out his own Pokemon. A Corvisquire.
"Oooh." Rainbow Dash had pulled out her dex to see the info on this new Flying-Type.
"Corvisquire. The Raven Pokemon. Smart enough to use tools in battle, these Pokémon have been seen picking up rocks and flinging them or using ropes to wrap up enemies. The lessons of many harsh battles have taught it how to accurately judge an opponent’s strength."
"Sounds awesome!" Rainbow gawked. Every other pegasus had gathered around to see his Pokemon.
"Thanks. Me and my Pokemon have been doing pretty good, beating the gyms and all."
"You're participating in the Pokemon League too?"
"Uh-huh. And I've already got some badges." He revealed his badge case, showing the badges he had earned. They were the exact same badges that Rainbow Dash had earned so far. Making them equal.
"I have those ones too." Rainbow showed her case as well.
"Would ya look at that. Guess we're on equal levels. Although I did hear that you made a name for yourself by being the first pony to earn a Gym Badge and join the league."
"You know it! That's me!" Rainbow Dash proudly responded. "So I guess we might end up meeting at the league too, huh?"
"Probably. Say. Since we've both got badges and we're the most popular trainers right now in our world, what say we have a battle?"
"You? Me? Battle!" Rainbow Dash started thinking millions of outcomes. She was going to battle against the Wonderbolts. She was even thinking of purposely losing to her idols but she still wanted to win. "Yes, please! I'd love a battle!"
"We get to see a Pokemon Battle?" The pegasi started chatting.
"Here? On Cloudsdale?"
"Sounds like a watch!"
"Thanks for agreeing. How about we make it a one on one?"
"Anything works for me!" Rainbow Dash said as her Braviary flew by her side. "Me and Braviary are raring to go, Soarin."
"Then let's get this going." Both Soarin and Rainbow Dash stepped back a good distance as their Pokemon went forward.
The two birds and pegasi had stared each other down, preparing themselves. The pegasi had all sat down on their own respective clouds, eating some popcorn in the process.
"So... who goes first?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I'll gladly start us off! Let's go Braviary! Use Aerial Ace!" Braviary went up higher in the skies of Cloudsdale, dashing at high speeds.
"Alright, Corvisquire. Give em an Aerial Ace too!" Soarin's Corvisquire did the same. Soon both birds had butted heads, knocking each other back to the clouds. "Get em with a sweet Air Slash!" Cutting waves of air were targeted at the Valiant Pokemon.
"Blow it away with Superpower!" Braviary's body was engulfed with pure power as it destroyed the slashes with its wings, causing a wind pressure to kick up.
"Heh, thanks. I totally improvise mid-battle." Rainbow boasted.
"Then you'd better focus mid-battle. Corvisquire! Swift!" Corvisquire let out another long distanced attack, this time in the form of Swift. Braviary couldn't react fast enough as the swift stars had pelted his face.
"Don't worry about it Braviary! Use Brave Bird!" Rainbow Dash said. Braviary engulfed itself in brave energy, burning the Swift stars.
"Oh! Dodge it quickly Corvisquire!" Corvisquire had avoided Brave Bird by a feather.
"Turn around!" Rainbow Dash used her famous manoeuvre tactic as Braviary rammed into Corvisquire, sending it flying through some clouds. The Raven Pokemon recovered, shaking its head. The pegasi were loving this battle. Not a dull moment in it.
"With those skills, I'm pretty sure you're more fit to be a Pokemon Trainer than a Wonderbolt, Rainbow Dash."
"Thanks. But I still wanna be a Wonderbolt anyways. I can have two major roles!"
"Well, you've convinced me you're good at this one. Now let's finish this! Corvisquire! Drill Peck!" Corvisquire's beak was spinning around rapidly with light coming out of it as it soared onwards to Braviary.
"Now! Spin with Brave Bird!" Braviary flew towards his fellow Flying-Type, spinning around with all the brave energy spiralling. Both had made direct contact, but Braviary proved to be stronger than Corvisquire, flying past it with a powerful impact left on it, making the Raven Pokemon faint.
"OH! Corvisquire!" Soarin yelled.
"Yes! Way to go Braviary!"
"Braviary!" Braviary let out a powerful victory cry. The pegasi had given off applause for that short but sweet battle.
"Return, Corvisquire. And good job." Soarin returned his fainted Pokeball. "Gotta say. That was pretty smart. Using that move by spinning. Thanks for the battle, Rainbow Dash."
"You're welcome!" Rainbow Dash replied. She got to battle with a Wonderbolt. It would've been fine if she lost, either way, she wouldn't forget this day.
"Maybe someday we can have a full battle eventually."
"A full battle? For real?"
"Mhm. At the league or maybe somewhere in Equestria. I gotta get going now. See ya!" Soarin had bid his farewell, leaving Cloudsdale.
"I wonder if the other Wonderbolts will be at the league? If I impress them all... I'll be sure to get in for sure!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Oh well. I won't forget this day. I got to battle against one of the Wonderbolts. Lucky me!"
Rainbow Dash returned to her home after that short battle today. She then continued to wonder about what would happen next? If the Wonderbolts are participating in the Pokemon League who knows what'll happen next? She didn't even get to see the rest of Soarin's team since they weren't eligible for the skies.
Her thoughts were interrupted by more knocking on her door.
"What is it now?"
All of a sudden, all the pegasi were gathered outside of her house.
"Hey Rainbow Dash! We were wondering if you would battle all of us?!" Cloudchaser commented.
"Yeah! I wanna battle too!" A pegasus exclaimed. Soon they all went on about how they wanted to battle. For the pegasi, they were the most interested in Pokemon Battles. More than the earth ponies and unicorns. It could most likely be their warrior history that makes them enjoy Pokemon Battling.
"Uh, sorry. But this looks like too much..."
"Oh come on! Just one!" They kept on chatting, eager to go.
"I said no! I need some time and space!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, shutting the door.
"Aww... I wanted to battle with my Honchkrow..."
"Lame.."
Rainbow Dash sighed as she felt a bit of peace and quiet return to her. With all this talk of her being the first pony to enter the league and challenge the gyms made her feel like a celebrity. But it could be a bit overwhelming at times.
"Maybe I'll head to Ponyville today. Ash can train me to get stronger for my next gym battle." Rainbow hopped out of her bed as she peeked through the door. She planned to get out of Cloudsdale without anypony noticing her so that they don't ask her to battle. She'd be overwhelmed by the massive numbers.
So she snuck out of her home by creating a hole in the nearest cloud and flying through it. Safe getaway.
"Phew. Now to find Ash." She zoomed on downwards to the active Ponyville. There she noticed something that caught her eye. It looked like banners. Were they having another party? Is somepony coming to visit? Somepony important maybe? Rainbow arrived to see these banners as they had the tex 'Welcome Humans' on them. "What's going on?"
"Didn't ya know? Them humans are coming to visit? Lots of em!" Granny Smith explained. "Ash is the only feller who's been here the most. The rest just left after 2 days once the whole crossing shenanigans happened."
"Oooh. So we're getting more humans? I'm down for that. But have you seen Ash, Granny Smith?"
"That boy's helping with preparations. Sugarcube Corner's where you'll find him."
"Thanks!" So Rainbow went just there. Ash was indeed there, setting everything up by helping Pinkie Pie.
"We're gonna make this great for them. Man this week and the next are gonna be so fun. I can't wait for the Pokemon Festival in the next week!"
"Pikachu!"
"I know right? A festival with Pokemon galore?! I mean I'm excited but definitely not as much as Fluttershy." Pinkie replied. "I know I what I'm gonna do at the festival! You know too, don't you Slurpuff?"
"Slurpuff!"
"Hey, Ash!" Rainbow Dash went to him.
"Oh hey Dash."
"I was wondering if you could train me today. Would ya?"
"Maybe not right away. I got this whole Human Visit to help with. But I can probably help later today once the visit is over or tomorrow."
"Pika."
"Aww. I was hoping to have one right now. Alright, I can wait. So about this Human Visit? Who's coming?"
"Well humans, duh you silly filly." Pinkie rubbed Rainbow Dash's head. "From all regions too! We're gonna be seeing Kantonians, Unovians, the whole catalogue!"
"That many? Won't Ponyville get overcrowded?"
"Hopefully not. Ooh! Slurpuff! Try sniffing this rhubarb puff!" Pinkie hopped over to her Pokemon.
"I hope I see some old faces here. It'd be great to catch up, right Pikachu"?
"Pika-Pikachu! Pika!"
The time had come for the humans to visit. The citizens of Ponyville had laid everything out. They came through the closest gateways. The gateway to Kanto and the one near Saddle Lake that leads to Sinnoh.
"How long has it been since we've been here?" A trainer said.
"I think like a month or two. The last thing I remember was falling from the sky." Another said.
"Well, I wanna get this started! I get to see cute ponies! Eeee!" A young girl screeched.
Suddenly they were all greeted by Ponyville, with Pinkie Pie and Mayor Mare up in front.
"Welcome to our world!" The ponies all said.
"Come on! We won't make any progress just standing around. Let's go!" Pinkie Pie had appeared behind some humans, leading them further into Ponyville. "You won't regret a single moment of this!"
Humans had scattered across all over Ponyville, heading to what intrigues them the most. Very soon Ponyville was now the pony, pokemon and people capital of this world.
"These look like apple pies." A trainer said looking at the Apple family's food stand.
"They sure are. I bet ya'll have some tasty apple pies back at your world. Guarantee you'll love these too." Applejack replied.
"Come on mister. Try em!" Apple Bloom recommended. The trainer grabbed the apple pie, eating it as he would back at home. He got a good taste of it as it reminded him of his grandmother's pies. He teared up at the good memories.
"So good. I'll take all of them!"
"Now slow down there. Everypony... or in this case everybody may want some of em." Applejack replied. "But you can have 8 of em."
"Sweet! How do I pay? Do you take these?" The trainer sent out money in the form of dollars. "Pokedollars maybe?"
"Sorry there, youngin. In this world, it's bits we take." Granny Smith explained.
"Eeyup."
"But for your first time here, we'll let you have em for free." Granny commented.
"Woohoo!"
For another group of trainers, they had taken interest in the Cutie Marks. The ponies they were talking to explained what they know about them.
"How is that they can just decide what you're good at?" A man asked.
"It's by birth of course. Most of us are named after our future Cutie Mark when we grow up to be young foals." Shoeshine explained.
"Seriously? How do the parents know what you're gonna do in the future?" A girl asked. Shoeshine actually didn't know how to respond to that. That was a question for another day.
"I want one too mom! A Cutie Mark!" A young girl asked her mother.
"I don't think you're old or capable enough to have one, sweetie."
As the chatter went on, people who had come over from Alola had noticed Ash and Pikachu who were standing next to Twilight, Rainbow and Fluttershy.
"Hey look! It's Ash!" A man said, drawing all the Alola people's attention. Their first-ever champion was here. They all flocked over towards their champion.
"Pika?!" Pikachu and Ash pulled back at the overwhelming crowd.
"Been a long time, Ash!"
"We're so glad to see you! When are you gonna come back to Alola and take in its league again?"
"Is it true that you're immortal?"
They kept chatting to him. Alola was like a second home to him, and considering how small the region was compared to the rest, he was very well known by everyone there.
"Hey everyone. It has been a while hasn't it, huh?"
"Pika..."
"How come you're only popular in Alola? Why not the other regions?" Twilight asked.
"Well, I am their first-ever champion so I kinda got a big name for myself." Ash laughed, trying not to show off his status.
Not only was all of Ponyville here, but others from Canterlot came to see this Human Visit event, specifically Hollow's class.
"I think I might see some familiar faces in the crowd." Hollow peered over the sea of humans. "Well I see some familiar people from other regions but no one too important."
"Mr Hollow. Do all of these humans have Pokemon of their own too?" A young colt asked.
"Of course. Everyone in my world owns a Pokemon. Even the younger ones. Why don't you all go and chat with the kids your age?"
"Okay!" The students all said in unison.
"I don't get why we have to come. Humans don't have super cool abilities and moves like Pokemon do. This is super boring." Sunrise Sprint commented.
"Don't be like that. Mr Hollow and Ash are cool even without any sort of fire, electricity or even magic. They can command super powerful Pokemon after all." Sapphire Flash replied to his comment.
"I guess so. The trainers are pretty interesting."
"Check it out! What's that Pokemon over there!" Sapphire Flash glanced over at a trainer's Pangoro.
"Oh! Look at the size of that one! So cool!" Sunrise gawked.
The event carried on some humans went over to see Carousel Boutique. They had already heard of the second one over at the Kalos Region, also owned by Rarity.
"Like what you see? I can assure you all that here I make some of the most aesthetically pleasing dresses you'll ever find." Rarity said to them.
"They do look pretty sweet. The colors are unlike anything I've ever seen before." A fashion fan chattered.
"They're so saturated yet they're pleasing to the eye." Another said.
"That's my speciality." Rarity giggled.
"Is it possible for you to make one for humans?"
"Oh, why I already have. You see I made the outfit that Ash is wearing. I stylized everything from top to bottom. Even choosing what his hat would look like. But I couldn't have done it without my darling Sewaddle's over here."
"Sewaddle!" They all cried out.
"You're the one behind Ash Ketchum's new outfit? I must say you did a very good job. Is it possible for you to make some for us?"
"I could but that would require a lot of time. Thankfully I have employees over at Lumiose City that can help with that."
"You know... you could speed up your dressmaking process by evolving your Sewaddle's." A mature woman said to her.
"Really?" Rarity looked back at her little darlings.
"Mhm. Sewaddle's are good at what they do in their first evolution. But their final two evolutions take it to the next level. Leavanny being the best of them both."
"Hm. That could benefit a lot. Yes!" Rarity went over to her Pokemon. "Alright darlings. I believe now is the perfect time for you to evolve. Let's make our skills evolve to the next level shall we?"
The Sewaddle's all looked at each other, discussing if they wanted to evolve or not.
"Sewa?"
"Sewaddle."
They kept on chatting as they came to a conclusion.
"Sewaddle!"
"W-What does that mean?" Rarity asked, confused. Suddenly, all of the Sewaddle's were enveloped by that same blue glowing energy. Their evolution was coming. They went from the tiny little bugs to the Leaf-Wrapped Pokemon. Swadloon.
"Sometimes, Pokemon can evolve at will if they want to. Especially the ones who've been around their trainers for the longest." The mature woman explained.
"Why. You're all so different. And cooped up too. Are you going through a rebellious phase?" Rarity asked. The Swadloon shook their heads at their trainer. "Oh. Good to know."
Moving away from the boutique, over at Golden Oak Library, Twilight had decided to bring along some humans who were interested in learning about this world. She was glad to help. Her first time being a teacher too.
"Glad to have you all here. I'll be your perfect guide and teacher to our world. Our Earth. Let's start from the beginning."
Spike got up from the floor, knowing this was going to be a long teaching session as he exited Golden Oak.
Twilight went on about the history of her world based on what she has learned so far. From Hearth's Warming Eve to the Mare in the Moon.
Overall, this visit was worthwhile to them all. But it wouldn't stop at just Ponyville. All across Equestria would be involved as well. Eventually anyways, when they finish their visit in Ponyville.
One visitor was Remedy Roy, who came here on important business due to the petrified Pokemon.
"Where's Fluttershy and her friends?" He wondered. Peering over the crowd of people, and ponies he spotted Applejack in the mix. "Aha! There's a familiar face!"
Roy went over to Applejack, ready to give her some important news.
"Hm? Remedy Roy right?" AJ greeted him, remembering his name.
"Yep. I've got some big news! I think I might have a solution to your petrification problem!"
"Really?" Applejack leaned forward.
"Mhm. With this." Roy held out a Pokeball as a Swalot was sent out.
"Swalot."
"Swalot over here can melt away the petrification with its Toxic Fluids. I need to see where the Pokemon are immediately!"
"So you finally have something to help em. I'll get Fluttershy to know!" Applejack went to find her friend.
Fluttershy was mixed in with the crowd. Her attention had been grabbed Applejack. "Oh. What is it Applejack?"
"Better come see this. Roy's here with the cure for our petrified problem."
"REALLY?!" Fluttershy bellowed, scaring the people around her. She was too happy after hearing this good news. She pushed through the crowd, heading over to Roy who was standing there with Swalot. "Is it true?! You have a cure?!"
"Y-Yeah. But hold on. Let me explain everything." Roy sat down on a chair near a table. "I recently found out that Poison-Types can actually melt away the petrified state. Whether they're literal rocks or just stuck in motion, the acidic aura the Pokemon give off are very potent."
"Poison-Types... That's why Grimer was the only one to break free of the petrification." Fluttershy called back to when she saw Grimer. The one Pokemon who freed itself.
"Mhm. Swalot here is of the same category too. Inside Swalot are special enzymes that can dissolve anything. It also sweats toxic fluids from its follicles."
"That's great! Then we can use Swalot to free every Pokemon there!" Fluttershy said with a wide smile on her face.
"Yeah. But there's a huge obstacle and issue." Roy had stopped her smile as she and Applejack leaned in. "You see. At the end of the day, they are still Poison-Types and their poison is very potent. I've managed to used Swalot's toxic and place it in an antidote. But it's a risky attempt. If you were to give any Pokemon this antidote, there is a good chance the poison will destroy them. Ending their life."
Fluttershy and Applejack froze at what they had just heard. This didn't sound like good news at all.
"That's why I came to you to tell you this. There's only one way to make sure that antidote doesn't harm the Pokemon. By finding something to negate the deadly poison while still recovering the Pokemon."
"Is there something that can?!" Fluttershy voice became desperate for a good answer.
"Thankfully there is. But it's hard to come by. See... to negate poison effect I'll have to find specific nectar. The Pokemon that produce can give off a lot however, their nectar won't be potent enough. It has to be nectar that is so rich it can bypass the poison."
"So where are you going to find this nectar?" AJ asked.
"That's the problem. This is why I came to you. I was hoping that your world would have some magic that makes nectar much more powerful. You think you can help with that?"
"I hope so. Maybe Twilight does have a spell that can do that. I want to save these Pokemon as fast as I can! Remedy Roy. Can you please give me the antidote?"
"I can give you the first one I've made. Be very careful with it." Roy had lent them the antidote as it was placed in a syringe. Fluttershy had taken it with her.
"I will. Thank you so much, Remedy Roy!"
"I'll leave you to it. If there's any major change or it works, just come to me and I'll be here." Roy had bid his farewell, returning Swalot to its Pokeball. "And remember! It has to negate the poison!" His final words as he had disappeared over the horizon.
"Alright. Let's make this count. We're going to get Twilight to make the nectar the strongest it can be!" Fluttershy exclaimed with determination in her voice.
"Uh. One question. Where are we gonna find nectar?" Applejack asked.
"Some Pokemon can provide it. I'm sure that we can find a Combee that can help us."
Whilst Fluttershy and Applejack set out to find some nectar, Ash was sitting around a table, eating away with Pikachu, Riolu, Gengar, Dragonite and Pinkie Pie along with Rainbow Dash and her Pokemon. If Whirlipede can eat that is.
They were devouring the food without no signs of stopping. Ash and Rainbow did it since they believe that food gets you pumped for a battle and Pinkie does it just because.
"Man. With this visit event going so well, I can't wait for the Pokemon Festival. That's the one I'm most psyched for. There might even be Pokemon I've never seen before." Ash said, holding a piece of meat in his hands.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"I hear it's gonna spread across all over Equestria. So it'll be everywhere!" Pinkie replied with her mouth full.
"I'm more excited about catching the Pokemon there! I want my team to get even bigger!" Rainbow Dash commented while drinking some cider. "That way I'll have the best team imaginable!"
They had finished the entire food on this table, feeling full as they patted their bellies, letting out a relaxed sigh. Then, Ash had noticed Goh and Raboot had arrived too. They had already previously visited this world but never really explored it like Ash.
"Hey, Goh! Over here!" Ash called for his friend. Goh and Raboot raced over to see them.
"Hey, Ash. This visit thing is going pretty well huh?"
"You know it. It gets me more excited for the Pokemon Festival next week."
"Pokemon Festival?!" Goh leaned forward on the table. "Will there be tons of Pokemon?!"
"Well yeah. It is a festival for Pokemon after all."
"Awesome! I can't believe I almost missed out on this! I should start coming here more often!"
"Raboot..."
Meanwhile, with Twilight, she was still teaching the humans about her world. It was a long teaching session, only a few of them actually fell asleep. Luckily she was almost finished.
"Then, with all of their might, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeated Sombra, however, Sombra took the Crystal Empire down with him in the process, making the empire vanish. So. I hope everyone's been keeping track late-" She looked over to all the humans as some of them were half asleep. "Ooops. Guess I may have gone on for too long huh?"
"No, it's cool." A human replied falling off his chair.
"Well if anyone wants to continue hearing me go on about our world I'd be glad-" And just like that, half of them zipped out of Golden Oak Library, decreasing the number of people inside. "Actually. I think I'll just leave it here. But I can give you all these books so that you can learn more." Twilight used her magic to grab specific books about Equestrian lore. The humans weren't really up for it, but they couldn't say no to Twilight's cute face so they took it anyways. "Remember to bring it back, please."
Once they all left, now Twilight had to decide what to do next. She sat down near the board where she gave off all that lore. Her Eevee Eve had gone over to her, sitting on her hooves.
"Hey Eve." She petted her head. She looked outside the window, seeing all the humans and ponies getting along. From what she saw, they weren't so different from each other. They all have the same personalities, talk the same, react the same way. This made Twilight appreciate humans more. She already did thanks to guys like Ash and Hollow, but seeing them all come together was a step up. And it's going to be tough when eventually the worlds return back to normal. But that silence was broken when Fluttershy and Applejack entered Golden Oak. Alongside them was a Combee they got from the Pokemon House.
"Twilight! Twilight!" Fluttershy cried out.
"Fluttershy? Applejack? What is it?"
"We need you to do something for us. It's urgent!"
"What? Tell me."
"Can you please enhance this nectar?" Fluttershy showed the antidote with the poison inside along with a jar of nectar.
"Enhancing nectar?" Twilight tilted her head, confused on what she just said.
"You see, Twilight." Applejack stepped up. "Remedy Roy came over and found a cure."
"That's great!"
"But... the cure's got poison in it. And the only way to make the antidote work without hurting those little critters is to have some nectar. Strong nectar even."
"It's the only way they'll be healed without their life being put in danger." Fluttershy commented.
"Okay. I got it. But enhancing nectar? Is there a spell for enhancing flavors?" Twilight went through her books, looking through the E category. She came across one that might help. Enhancing magic. "Aha. This might work. Alright. Bring the antidote and nectar over to me."
Fluttershy handed over the nectar and the antidote. At first glance, this seemed like it would be a simple task. Just add the nectar in the poison and enhance it. Easy enough. So Twilight took the nectar and used her magic to enhance it.
But it was at this moment that they remember that Pokemon poison and nectar is far different from regular poison and nectar. Once the nectar touched the poison, the magic went awry, causing a potent explosion that knocked everypony and Pokemon back. The aftermath was unexpected. The nectar and poison did mix but not in the way they expected. It created some sort of poisonous sweet mess that was spreading across the library.
"What is that?!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"I don't know! I thought I could just enhance it and we'd be done!" Twilight put up a barrier around her friends and Pokemon. The purple and yellow slime were melting away the floor and walls, almost reaching the books. "NOT MY BOOKS! We have to do something!" Twilight had concentrated all her magic to push back the poisonous sweet slime, vaporizing it. She let out a deep breath as a potential disaster was avoided. "That was close."
"How did that happen? Weren't you supposed to just enhance it not make it almost destroy us?" Applejack asked.
"I thought I could. But this poison and nectar... it's more powerful than I imagined." Twilight walked over to the syringe which was still there.
"That's Pokemon for you. But we need to try again. Please Twilight." Fluttershy pleaded.
"I know. I just have to figure out how to make sure it doesn't blow up in our faces this time. This might take some time, but I'll try as much as I can!"
"Thank you so much Twilight. Really!" Fluttershy kept on thanking her friend.
"Alright. Let's get this started." So the attempts began. Twilight kept finding new ways to try and enhance the nectar without having a dangerous result. They have many failures. One where the nectar had trapped them, the other were the poison almost became sentient and many more results that involved nectar and poison spreading everywhere. Soon, Golden Oaks was filled with poison and nectar stains everywhere. Combee had fallen asleep after giving off so much nectar to them all.
Now they were down to their final nectar. And the poison wasn't going anywhere.
"Alright. Last one." Twilight said with her mane all messy. "After so many failures... I think I found a way past it."
"You have?" Both Fluttershy and Applejack said.
"Yes. If Pokemon nectar and poison is much more potent than the average ones. Then by theory, we might be able to bypass the bad result with another Pokemon. Fluttershy. Does your Audino have a move that can do that?"
"Well. From what Ash told me Audino knows Safeguard, Hyper Beam, Draining Kiss and Refresh." Fluttershy explained her moves.
"Wait a second. What was that last move?"
"Refresh?"
"Hold on! Twilight went through her Pokemon books, finding the one where it had moves. She flipped to the Normal-Type Category, heading to the R section and finding refresh. "Aha! Refresh. A move used to heal status effects such as poison, paralysis and burn. This is it!"
"You think that move might be the one we need, Twilight?" Applejack commented.
"Definitely! If we can get Audino to use refresh on the poison the moment the nectar hits, it might finally negate nullify the poison! Fluttershy. You go and get Audino."
"On it!" Fluttershy flew out of the library.
"We've got one shot at this. Let's make it count."
Returning with Audino, the big test was about to occur.
"Alright, Audi. I'm counting on you." Fluttershy said to her Pokemon.
"Audino."
"Okay. We're all good to go Twilight."
"Excellent. Now..." Twilight used her magic to hold both the syringe and the nectar. "Use it at the right moment..." The nectar was dripping down, ready to fall on the poison. Applejack was quaking as she was anticipating another bad result. Fluttershy was sweating bullets as Twilight had never felt so much stress before in her entire life. Then, the nectar fell from the jar. Audino saw that sweet sweet flavor dropped as it unleashed a green and pink aura that spread across the room. At that same time, Twilight had powered up the nectar in the process.
The aura of refresh engulfed the nectar and poison the moment they connected, causing the aftermath to be safe. Nothing blew up in their faces this time. No slime, no monster, no destruction, nothing. Applejack, Eevee and Minccino hid behind the bed as she peeked her head out.
"D-Did it work ya'll?"
"Let's find out." Twilight picked up the syringe as it had the nectar mixed in with potion. "It's there. It's really there!" Twilight gained a smile on her face, but none bigger than Fluttershy's.
"IT WORKED! YES!" Fluttershy flew around the room.
"Now let's test it out. We'll find the first few Pokemon to use it on!" Twilight exclaimed. The gang set out to the Pokemon house, ready to use this newly found antidote. The Pokemon that would be injected with it were Kecleon, Nincada, Dunsparce and Cherrim.
Twilight held the syringe over Cherrim, ready to inject the Blossom Pokemon.
"Wait!" Fluttershy had suddenly stopped them. "What if the poison is still potent in there. What if..." Fluttershy was having second thoughts. She was thinking about the worst-case scenario. But Audino had held her close, guaranteeing her that it'll be okay. And if the poison does end up reaching them, she can just heal them. "You're right. Thanks Audi. Do it Twilight."
"Right." Twilight had finally injected it. It struck Cherrim's petals as the antidote flowed through the magical blood of the Blossom Pokemon. Pulling the syringe out left a hole in its petals.
That's when it happened. Cherrim could move its eyes once more. It petals started to jitter as it bounced up.
"Cherrim!" The happy and bouncy Cherrim had returned to its normal state, no longer petrified anymore. It bounced around like it normally does, happy to be back to normal. Fluttershy teared up as the antidote had worked.
"I-It... worked... It actually worked!" She hugged her Audino.
"Woowee. Had me nervous there." Applejack said. "Now let's get some of them back to their chippy selves."
"Okay!" Twilight injected the Kecleon, Nincada and Dunsparce, using the last of it. It wasn't a big antidote it was a very small portion at the end of the day.
Kecleon shifted into darker colors showing that it was healthy as it climbed up a tree. Nincada hopped around, glad to be back as Dunsparce just slithered away. It was happy though.
"We did it. Though there wasn't much of the antidote left. We're out girls." Twilight dropped the syringe.
"That's okay! We now have a perfect cure! And we can go and give Roy the good news!" Fluttershy pulled Twilight, Audino and Applejack in, hugging them all. "Thank you so much! Thank you all!"
"No problem. Now let's go get some more shall we?" Twilight said.
With the cure for the petrified Pokemon found, things are looking up for everypony and the Pokemon. It took some tries and some days but they got around it. The biggest mystery is why a Krookodile did this in the first place, and how was it able to unleash a status effect that hadn't been heard of for billions of years? A mystery that is yet to be discovered as the journey continues.
A new area created by the two worlds once they crossed over. Where Deerlings and Sawsbucks can found. With some other Pokemon wandering about.
Aria was currently on her own. She had left Adagio, not wanting to involve herself with her anymore. And as for Sonata, she is neutral on her still. So now they were all individuals. Aria sat down on the grassy plains of the forest, taking a small break. She laid on her back letting out a large sigh.
"Day 4 and I still can't sing properly. Woohoo..." She looked up to the sky, seeing some Flying-Types fly about with some pegasi. Seeing this made her realise how dull things have been ever since she had become a pony. Even for her, this was boring. "Ugh. What do I even do now? I can't sing properly, we sirens have split up and I'm just lost on where I am right now." Her stomach also started to growl. "And I'm starving."
Aria stood up, heading to find some food. She originally planned to jump at the Deerling's and cook them, but that wouldn't happen because, for one, she doesn't know how to start a fire being a sea creature at the end of the day, two, she didn't have the strength to do so, and three the Sawsbuck would annihilate her if she even tried it.
"So hungry..." She sat down near a tree, putting her hoof on her belly. Her hunger was stopped when someone came by, seeing her starving. A human. A very familiar human.
"Here." The voice said, lending her a box of berries. Aria looked up to the person who was kind enough to help her and it was none other than one of Ash's greatest rivals.
Paul.
"What are you doing?" Aria asked.
"Do you want it or not?" Paul said to her. Aria looked up at Paul and the box as she then took it, eating the berries.
"Thanks, I guess."
"What's a pony doing out here starving?" Paul asked her. Both of them had a similar way of talking. Their voices were both cynical and unenthusiastic.
"I'm on my own, okay? I left my sisters and wounded up here."
"And you think that was a good idea?"
"Of course it was. Adagio's just insufferable and Sonata is too zany for me. I'm fine on my own."
"Really? Cause you didn't even bother to attack the Deerling or even attempt to get some of the fruit in the trees."
"Hey! Mind your own business pal! I could do it. I just... don't feel like it."
"Well then get a Pokemon to do it for you. You do have a Pokemon right?"
"No. Why would I need one anyway?" Aria almost finished the box of berries.
"I'm no scientist, but even I can tell that with both these worlds coming together, Pokemon are kind of a must-have even for your world. You won't make any progress in a Pokemon world."
"Alright, smart guy. What Pokemon do you think I should catch then if you're so sure?"
"How about you try catching one of those?" Paul pointed over at the lake where some Lanturn's, Spheal and a Popplio. "If I were you, I'd go for a powerful Pokemon." Paul was one to always go for the Pokemon that had the highest potential and could work the best. Originally he had an aggressive way of doing so, but after his final battle with Ash at the Sinnoh League, the way he views Pokemon and their potential has changed drastically, making him give every single one of them a chance. Every Pokemon is powerful in some way.
"Alright fine. I guess I'll try." Aria stood up. Paul lent her a Pokeball as she went towards the lake. The Pokemon that caught her eye was Popplio. Aria wasn't obsessed with cute things like Sonata but she could see the cuteness factor still. "How did Adagio do it again? Just toss the thing?" Popplio looked up at Aria, waving at her. Aria responded by tossing the Pokeball at Popplio. The Sea Lion Pokemon held the Pokeball on its nose as it normally does with round objects.
"Pop! Popplio!"
"Haha. Very funny." Aria monotonously responded. "Get in the ball." Popplio had launched the ball upwards as its nose tapped the circle in the middle, sending it inside.
1...2...3... Get!
"T-That easily?" Aria was surprised.
"Of course. Starter Pokemon are generally easier to catch than other Pokemon." Paul explained. "Now you got your own."
"Hm." Aria released Popplio from its Pokeball, getting a good look at it.
"Pop!"
"So I just keep this thing with me?"
"Of course. Once you've gotten your partner Pokemon, you never leave them or let them go. I know a thing or two about that."
"How so?" She asked.
"I was kind of an idiot to just release my Chimchar. I didn't ever think that it would amount to anything. But later on, it proved me wrong by beating me in a battle." Paul answered. "Anyways. See ya." Paul started to walk off. Aria saw him leave, making her alone once more. But this time she didn't want to be alone. She would've starved if Paul didn't come along so she had to have some company.
"Wait!" She called out for him, grabbing his attention. "This is embarrassing... can you take me to someplace. A town maybe?"
"Can't get there on your own?"
"Well not in my state. I've been walking around randomly for days and I've been starving. I don't have anywhere to go So... would you please..." Aria started to twitch. She's not used to being friendly or even asking for help. She extended her hoof as it was jittering like crazy.
"Fine. I'll lead you to the nearest town. Come on. But don't get lost okay?"
"Pssh. I won't get lost." She followed Paul through Deerling Forest, hoping to get somewhere. Deerling Forest was pretty wide so it would probably an hour or two to find any sign of civilization. Deerling's had sat down, eating some grass and fruit in the process. Time was passing, 23 minutes exactly. Aria wanted to break the silence somehow. "So why's a human visiting our world? What's got you so interested?"
"I'm not that interested in this world. I just came here to see what Pokemon I can catch to make my team stronger. If I'm gonna be the best trainer, I need the best team possible. And to beat him someday."
"Well... how strong is your team so far?"
"For what it is, it's powerful. My Electivire is my ace. The rest are good for strategy and traps like my Drapion and Gastrodon."
"You sound like a seasoned trainer at least."
"I've been at this for 14 years now ever since I left my home at Veilstone City. I've got a long way to go if I wanna prove myself as the very best."
"Hmph. You sound a lot like-" Aria's words were stopped as Paul heard rustling in the deeper part of the forest.
"Hold it." Paul shifted his eyes about, searching for where that sound came from. An ominous sound came from that location. Aria got a little scared as she hid behind Paul.
From the forest was a Houndoom, lunging over at the two of them.
"A Houndoom? I can add that to my team." Paul sneered as he moved away from the Dark Pokemon's bite. "Electivire. Stand by for battle!" Paul tossed his Pokeball out, sending out his ace Electivire, the Thunderbolt Pokemon.
"Electivire!" The thunderbolt Pokemon cried out as it beat its chest in excitement. Aria continued to stay behind Paul. Houndoom terrified her due to how intimidating it was. And she had a mild fear of dogs, but no one else needs to know that.
Houndoom howled at them, going in for a Fire Fang.
"Gotcha. Electivire. Brick Break!" Paul commanded his Electivire as it raised its hands up, slamming them down on Houndoom's back, making it fall down to the ground with major damage being dealt to it. "Good." Paul took out an Ultra Ball, tossing it right at Houndoom as it connected, sending the Dark Pokemon inside the ball.
1...2...3... Get!
"Easy. Return Electivire." He returned his Pokemon as he picked up the Pokeball that had his newly caught Houndoom. "I'll make sure you're strong enough to carry me to the top. You can stop hiding behind me now."
Aria's tail perked up as she moved away from Paul. "I wasn't hiding." She said, not trying to show her obvious fear of dogs.
"Yeah sure. Tough girl." Paul taunted.
"Let's just keep going already, okay?" Aria echoed as she blushed at the embarrassment. Never before has some managed to taunt her and be this calm about it. The only one other individual Aria knows of that's done this, was herself at others. If anything, Paul was a perfect parallel to her many traits. That made Aria feel a bit mad at that. It's only fun when she's cynical to others.
As they journeyed on, they finally came across some civilization. It was small but it was something. A small pony town that wasn't really known to many. It was a grey blur compared to everywhere else.
"Oh? Visitors." A ragged Pony greeted the two of them. "How may we help you?"
"Hey. I'm here to drop this one off." Paul explained.
"I have a name you know."
"Apparently she's got nowhere to go. Think your town can take her?"
"A new townsfolk? We'd love it! Right everypony!"
"Mhm!" They all agreed, popping their heads out of the windows and nodding. Aria took a look around the place, seeing how run-down it was. The buildings looked like they could fall apart at any minute.
"Actually... I think I'll just keep tagging along with this guy until I find a new town."
"Aw..." The whole town said, lowering their heads. Paul had then noticed one pony who wasn't moving around like the rest. She was just sitting there, staring off into the distance.
"What's up with her?" Paul asked about the lone pony.
"Oh her? That's Cozy Glow. We don't know much about her ourselves. She's just kind of there. We don't even know who her parents are or where she came from. But we're happy to have her as a fellow citizen."
Cozy Glow had heard them talking about her, but she didn't care. The only thing on her mind was... more than safe thoughts.
"She is... an odd one though. She does say some of the wildest things at times."
"Hm." Paul took a small interest in Cozy Glow, walking up to her. The young pegasus had looked up at the purple dressed human.
"Can I help you, mister?"
"So, you're a strange one according to them, eh?"
"Me? Strange? Of course not. I'm just different compared to them." Cozy giggled.
"Sure." Paul replied, ready to walk away from this town.
"Golly mister. What's that you got there?" Cozy Glow aimed her hoof at the Pokeball sitting on Paul's pockets.
"This? It's a Pokeball. I assume you know about Pokemon at least."
"I do know about them. And I want one. So badly!" Most ponies want Pokemon to either befriend them or keep them as a pet and so on. But Cozy wanted one for... very different reasons.
"Well, you work on that later. I'm out of here." Paul had bid his short farewell to this town as Aria followed.
"Hey, wait for me." Aria called out.
"You're seriously tagging along with me?" Paul looked down at her.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I just need someone to get me to civilization... and not this."
"Alright. The next town or city we come across, I'm leaving you there."
"Hmph. Whatever." The two of them ended their banter as the town had waved goodbye. Cozy Glow, however, held a Pokeball in her hoof. She had quietly snatched it from Paul, making it hers now. An ominous look dwelled on her face as she knew which Pokemon she had to catch first.
Paul and Aria continued their long walk through Equestria until it was finally time for the day to end and night to arrive.
"It's getting late now. I'm gonna clock out for tonight." Paul said, stopping his movements. He sat near a tree, resting his head on it.
"You're just gonna stop here? Shouldn't we be getting a move on?"
"When you're on a journey, you'll end up in situations like this. Don't you think you should get some sleep too?"
Aria was feeling tired after what happened today, so she needed the rest without a doubt. "I guess so." Aria sat down, resting near a tree as well.
The night went on as it usually does. Both were having their usual dreams. Paul was dreaming about how he was going to stand at the very top. As for Aria, she was dreaming about her sisters. In her dream, she saw her sisters separate from her. Both going on their own separate pathways. Even if she hated how Adagio acted and how annoying Sonata was they were still her sisters.
She curled up in her sleep, wanting to get rid of this nightmare. This was her first nightmare in ages. And considering how long sirens live for, it's been a very long time since she's had one. But something had put her to ease. Her Popplio came out of its Pokeball by itself. It went up to Aria, sleeping next to her. The warm and comforting love of a Pokemon had reached even the cynical and unenthusiastic Aria Blaze.
Along came morning. Paul was the very first one to wake up. He had to get going. He wanted to return back to his world very soon by heading to the location of the rift that he came through. He saw Aria sleeping with her Popplio, still dozed off. Paul cupped some water from the river in his hands, dropping it on Aria.
"Up you get."
Aria felt the cold water splash on her face, waking her up with a shock.
"Hey! What'd you do that for?!" She yelled, waking Popplio up too.
"Popplio?"
"Time to get moving. I've got places to be and you need to be somewhere at least." Paul said with a commanding voice. Aria gave off a small 'Hmph', getting up and returning Popplio to its Pokeball. "I know one place that's nearby. You can stay there and then I'll be off."
The two of them continued their walk, heading to that certain location that Paul mentioned. Aria looked around and noticed that the area she was walking in looked familiar. Very familiar. Almost as if she has been here 3 days ago. They walked for an hour until they reached their location.
Ponyville.
"This place. It looks much better than that other town."
"I've been here before... oh geez." Aria placed her hoof on her face.
"See ya. I'm out." Paul bid his farewell to Aria, finally walking on his own.
"Hey wait!" Aria stopped him as he turned around. "I don't normally say this... but thanks... for helping me find someplace to be. Even if it's the one place I didn't want to come back to."
"Hmph. You're welcome I guess. Later."
Aria looked over at Ponyville, then back to Paul. Strangely enough, she didn't want to say goodbye to him yet. Even though they met yesterday, they formed a small bond. It's not that big or special but it's there. Their two personalities clashed as they had a lot of banter when they were walking for those past hours.
Aria had decided to stay here in Ponyville. Maybe they will all accept her as they have with Sonata. She walked over to the active town, ready to try and make a living here. She has nowhere else to go anyways. The first pony who she came across was Sonata, who was smiling at her, waving.
"Sonata?"
"Welcome back sis!" Sonata run over, glomping her sister. Usually, Aria would hate it when Sonata just hugs her for no reason what so ever. But this time, she was happy that she hugged her. That nightmare she had made her realise that she didn't want to stray away from her only family in the world.
"Uh yeah. I'm back." She pushed Sonata way with one hoof.
"So! Have you decided to be here?! The home that they gave me is super sweet!"
"I guess so. This town is pretty decent. I might consider not feeding off their negativity."
"Great! Come on! Check out my home and how I totally made it all stylized!" Sonata dragged her monotonous sister, heading towards her home. Paul had watched over from the distance, seeing Aria reunite with her sister. He gave off a small smile as he walked, taking the long journey back to his home.
Right now, BigTime Ben is being interviewed at Canterlot. His inclusion in this world has given him huge traction here. Helping with the Pokemon House, the Pokemon League, the soon to be built Pokemon Lab in Equestria and the incoming Pokemon Festival. All of it has drastically changed Equestria. A news pony from Manehattan had zipped on over to him with a camera crew and everything.
"We're here live at Canterlot! I'm Hearsay Hoof, currently interviewing the human who's helped Equestria a lot recently once the worlds crossed. BigTime Ben!"
"Hehe. That's me." Ben chuckled with his Gothitelle standing by his side as always.
"So Ben. Everypony's wondering. What is it that led you to your massive success? I mean you're capable of doing all of this with a fat load of currency. Even by our world's standards!"
"Hm? Good question. Well... I believe for that... we'll have to start at the very beginning. To when I was just a little rascal."
Flashback Sequence.
"Goldenrod City in the Johto region. Where I was born and raised from the very beginning. You see, Johto's a traditional region. It ain't as advanced as them fancy regions like Unova, Kalos... even Alola has much more going for them than us Johtonians."
Ben sat in his home. It was fairly small, but that was the standard for houses in Johto in anyways. He was sitting on his bed, casually watching the walls as he waited for time to pass by.
"See, I wanted to go big in my life. I wanted to accomplish many things. Create, innovate and all that smart stuff. But my dear mother didn't want to. She feared innovation due to the accident that happened a while ago involving my brother."
Ben hopped off his bed, walking over to her tired mom.
"Mom. When is dad coming back?" He asked her.
"Your father's still working overseas at the Kalos mines, Benjamin. It might be another 6 years before he can return." She explained.
"Well. I hope it's soon. I don't like it when dad's gone for a long time." Ben huddled up, sitting on the floor.
"Benjamin. Why don't you just watch some TV or entertain yourself in the meantime? I bought this comic for you. It's about the Lucario that saves the universe. I bet you might love it." She handed him a comic book.
"I guess so." He took the book, heading to his room to read it.
"Life was pretty standard back at my home. Nothing interesting ever went down. But that all changed when my father finally returned. But not in the best condition."
Ben ran out of his room, seeing his father finally return. He teared up as he was about to hug him, but saw him all injured and tattered.
"Oh, dear!" His mother stood up. "Aloysius. What happened to you, darling. You're a wreck."
"Hey. I'm back. Sorry about the way I look. Almost lost my life." He laughed casually.
"How can you laugh so casually!" The mother puffed her cheeks.
"Sorry about that. But I was saved by this little helper right here. Come on out." Aloysius turned around, revealing a Gothita.
"It was that first day I met Gothita. My soon to be partner Pokemon. And my best friend through and through."
"This Gothita saved me from being crushed by the rocks. Used psychic at the best time. I figured that a Pokemon like this would be good for you son. You did want a partner Pokemon after all." Aloysius bent down to Ben.
"I mean... yeah I did. I did want one. But are you sure this is the one for me?"
"Of course. I figured that the best partner for you would be one who would protect you. Even if they don't know who you are, it's the good in their heart that makes them do it."
"Gothi...?" Gothita looked up at Ben. They were both a bit unsure of the other.
"I guess... I'll take it. It saved your life after all dad." Ben smiled.
"Great. Now I'm starving. Coming from Kalos to Johto works up an appetite. Especially when your knees are all sprained." Aloysius chuckled.
Ben and his family sat down to eat some delicious food that was cooked up. While eating, Ben felt like he had to tel his parents what he wanted to do in the future.
"Mom. Dad."
"Yes Benjamin?" His mother replied.
"I think I know what I wanna do in the future!"
"Oh? What is it? Will you be a miner like your father or..."
"I wanna be a guy who runs a huge company! Helping everyone make it big!" He exclaimed as he ran off to grab his comic book. "See. In this page right here! The hero Lucario is facing off against the company owned by Malamar. Obviously he's evil... but it's so awesome! It's got all kinds of stuff that can make anyone make it big! At least... when the villain isn't planning to destroy the hero, but it's something I want to own one day!"
"A company?! Oh, dear. Benjamin. Isn't that a bit of a tall order?"
"Yeah, son. Compared to my job as a miner, that's a grand step up. Owning a company is... well it's huge! Not just in size. You gotta know what to do to run one. You're gonna have tons of people working for you. Tons."
"I know. That's why I'm gonna work very hard! I'll have an awesome company! I'll help everyone get big. I'll go big-time!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, dedicated to this goal.
"Well. At least he has a goal. Why don't you go and get some sleep, Benjamin? I can get you some books about companies tomorrow."
"Okay, mom!" Ben ran back to his room with Gothita slowly following him.
"Owning a company? Aloysius, I don't think our son is ready for something of that scale."
"Maybe. But with enough learning, he might make it somewhere. Small business can grow into something large after all. Besides, look how determined he looked."
"I know. I just don't want him to end up like his brother."
"So then, my mother got me as many books as she could. I started looking into other big company names like Silph. Co., Macro Cosmos and the Devon Corporation. I read so much that I never left my home for a long time. Haha! Though, every time I kept reading in my room, I missed out on other things happening outside. I never got to participate with other children my age. It did knock me down. But I had Gothita by my side, so I didn't mind it. And years passed. 14 to be exact. I was ready to start a small business and build it up from there."
Ben, now a fully grown adult exited out of his house with Gothita by his side. Gothita had been following Ben for years now, but she didn't know if she was worthy for him. She had just been sitting around, watching him and not contributing that much. But she wanted to help him achieve his dream. His first destination, Unova
"I've given you all the equipment that you need, Benjamin." His mother piled up tons of gear on him. "Unova is a big region. I don't want you to end up like your brother. Hiding away in embarrassment after a large failure."
"I'll be fine mom. I won't make the same mistake Caiden did. I'll make sure to have a giga-business and lend a lot of money to you and dad. Promise."
"I'd take his word for it, honey." Aloysius placed his hand on his wife's shoulder. "Just don't get into any accidents like I did years back. And if you do, you've got Gothita by your side."
"Alright. Now hurry along. The S.S Aqua won't wait for you, Benjamin."
"Right! Bye!" Ben ran off with Gothita on his shoulder. His journey started today. He made off to the S.S Aqua as it was setting off to Unova.
On the S.S Aqua, Ben had grabbed a huge book where he drew all the ideas for his company. All of it was made when he was a kid to a teenager. He even gave it it's own name. BigTime Business.
"I can't wait till we get to Unova, Gothita. I wonder where we'll start? Maybe Driftveil? Or Castelia? I hear companies start off small in Castelia City."
"Gothita!"
"Yes. My dream was coming to me. But I knew that on my own, it would take a long time. Even with a Psychic-Type on my side. That's when I met someone who would lend advice to help me."
A woman walked up to Ben, looking at his drawings and ideas.
"These look nice. Are you going to an art academy or something?" The redhead asked.
"Oh. Thanks. No no, these are just ideas for my company I'm gonna be starting. All the way over at Castelia City, maybe."
"A company you say?" She sat next to him. "All by yourself?"
"Well, I Have Gothita on my side. She's a Psychic-Type so that means they can do a lot things quickly with their psychic powers, right?"
"True. They can. But they can only get you so far. You're gonna need some more Man-Power and Pokemon-Power to boot. So what's your company gonna do? Are you gonna build or invest?"
"Actually... I wanna do everything!" Ben exclaimed.
"Everything?!" She pulled back.
"Oh yeah. I wanna make competitions for Pokemon, help trainers, I wanna create events that'll really shake up everything! I wanna have a ton of Pokemon that help me and everyone else!"
"Woah. That's a tall order. You sure you can do all of that?"
"Well... I'm gonna give it my best. Right Gothita?"
"Gothi!"
"At least you're determined. How about I give you some advice that might help you?"
"Oh? Sure."
"Right. Well, the last thing you said about having a ton of Pokemon can benefit you. After all, Pokemon can help businesses grow. And secondly, if you're going to Castelia City, they'd be glad to help you start a tiny business over there."
"Ah, I get what you mean! Thanks! I'll be sure to remember that!" Ben started to write down that valuable information right in his idea book.
Flashback Sequence over.
"Yes. My beginnings were on the longer side. Took me that many years to even startup." Ben explained.
"Oooh. So once you finally got to Castelia City? What next? How'd it all go?" Hearsay asked. Other ponies had gathered up to listen, even Celestia and Luna came by to hear this.
"Hm. Well, when I got to Castelia City. They did end up giving me a small business. In the form of the smallest tacky building, you'll ever come across. It was... pretty bad. But I made the most of it."
"Sounds like you had it rough in the beginning, huh?"
"Rough? Hah! Rough can't even describe how bad it was!" Ben was laughing at himself. Despite how atrocious it was in the beginning, he couldn't help but chuckle at all the shenanigans and mishaps that occurred. "But we managed. Eventually, me and Gothita decided to expand our small business. By catching tons of Pokemon. And boy did we catch them."
Flashback Sequence
Over at Unova, Ben was out with Gothita, searching for some Pokemon to catch.
"Alright. We've got all these Pokeballs, let's make em count. Lostlorn Forest is a good place to start."
"Gothita!"
Ben spotted some Pokemon to start catching. Some who weren't even originally native to Unova.
"Ooh. I see myself a Buizel!" Ben shouted out, drawing Buizel's attention. The Sea Weasel popped its head out of the water, looking at Ben.
"Bui?"
"All we have to do is battle it right? And then we catch it. Gothita. Think you can do it?"
"Gothita." Gothita stepped forward, ready to play her part.
"Awesome. Now uhh... I've never battled with you... so... use Psywave maybe? Do you know that?" Ben wasn't really much of a battler. At all. So Gothita used the one move it knew. Confusion. A swirling purple wave went towards Buizel but it was moving so slow. Buizel took its sweet time as it shot Gothita in the face with a Water Gun, knocking Gothita out. "Ah! Gothita!"
Ben ran over to his Pokemon, picking her up. "Aw. Talk about a wipeout." He lowered his head. "Let's get you to a center."
"Gothi..."
Ben took his Pokemon all the way to the nearest Pokemon Center to get her healed up. He sat down waiting as he realised that the first day wasn't going as planned.
"So much for humble beginnings." He sighed, placing his hand on his cheek. And old man saw the sulking Benjamin, walking over to his seat.
"What's got you so down in the dumps, my boy." He asked.
"Oh. I'm just bummed out on how today's going."
"How so?" He sat next to him.
"I finally got my own business, even if its small but... I wanted to catch some Pokemon to help me improve the place, but it ain't going so well. My Gothita got beaten in one hit. I'm not much of a battler anyways..."
"Sounds to me like it's just a small case of bad luck. Nothing too severe."
"Yeah, I know. But I don't know how I'm going to get anywhere at this rate?" He laid back on the chair, slumping down.
"It takes time, my boy. Rushing isn't always the best option. Unless there's a Pokemon that helps with that, I don't know."
"Yeah. I shouldn't rush. I should've known that in the beginning." Just then, Nurse Joy came out with Gothita.
"Thank you for waiting. Your Gothita is back to full health." Nurse Joy said as she handed over Gothita back to Ben.
"Thanks. Sorry about what happened Gothita. I'm not any good at Pokemon battling, so maybe I shouldn't pick fights with other Pokemon."
"Gothita."
"You know... if you want to catch some Pokemon without having to go through the battling phase. There's always the Safari Zone." The old man explained.
"The Safari Zone?" Ben tilted his head.
"Mhm. It's something that can be found in other regions, although regions like Unova, Alola and Galar don't really have their own. But they do have something similar to it. I just call it that because it reminds me of the Safari Zone back in my home Hoenn."
"Where can I find this Safari Zone?!" Ben wanted to know.
"Over at Astilbe Town. Not too far away from here actually."
"Thank you so much sir! But... what do you even do there?"
"Well. You can have a go at catching Pokemon. Whatever you want. But there is some luck involved so remember that."
"I will! Thank you!" Ben rushed out of the Pokemon Center, ready to catch himself a ton of Pokemon.
"I was so dedicated to catching Pokemon it was insane, to be honest. I believe that if you have Pokemon by your side, you can accomplish anything with them. It's why I own so many of them. Haha!"
Ben finally reached Astilbe Town, a bit far away from his Castelia now. He entered a building that said 'Pokemon Amass.'
"Okay. This is it." He entered the building as he saw many trainers exiting out with a smile on their face. They had caught tons of Pokemon and wasted a lot of their day doing so.
"Greetings. Welcome to Pokemon Amass. Are you here to catch some Pokemon?" An employee asked him.
"Uh, yeah. As many as I can. How many can I actually catch?" He asked.
"As much as you want. As long as you have enough Pokeballs."
"Amazing. I'll take as many as you have!"
"Splendid. You'll need 500 Poke-dollars to purchase some Pokeballs."
"500? I can pay for that. Mom and dad gave me 2100 when I left."
"That'll get you quite a handful. This way please."
"So I got myself some Pokeballs. And I was ready to catch the ones that I wanted to help me the most. I may have been poor at battling, but I knew my Pokemon and what some of them could do. So I chose carefully."
Ben's first Pokemon he went for was a Rapidash that was moving along a grassy area contained in the building.
"Rapidash, huh? I can use that Pokemon for when I want to have a race! Okay. Let's get this started." Ben held the first Pokeball right in his hands. "Go! Pokeball!" Ben tossed the Pokeball forward, catching the attention of Rapidash. The Fire Horse Pokemon responded by kicking the ball back at Ben as it struck him in the face, making him fall down on the grass. "Ow..." Rapidash had then fleed.
Ben got up, holding his face he grabbed the Pokeball.
"That was just one Pokemon. I can still get others and maybe come back for it."
"I went for many Pokemon. Every single one of them ended in failure. I couldn't catch them for the life of me. Eventually, it got late so it was time for it to close for the day. As you can tell by my story, It was not easy once I got to Unova."
Flashback Sequence over.
"How sad. It must've been horrible having to go through so many struggles." Hearsay commented.
"It was tough. Very tough. So tough that I ended up staying at an apartment for a few days, wondering how I'm gonna make it if I keep hitting a brick wall. I knew that everyone ends up struggling but for me, it seemed like there was no good luck coming my way. That's what I thought until something changed my life around."
"What? What happened?" Everypony leaned in.
"It went back to the Pokemon Amass building to try again. But that day, a bit of a predicament went down. All the Pokemon had been stolen, right in front of all our eyes."
Flashback Sequence.
Ben came back to Pokemon Amass and saw what was happening. It was Team Rocket. They had infiltrated the building via the ceiling as they were snatching all the Pokemon available.
"The Pokemon!" A worker shouted. Everyone started to panic as Team Rocket were making a safe getaway. They had intimidated everyone, stopping them from moving by having Poison-Types stand near them all.
"What in the?" Ben looked up, seeing all the Pokemon being taken. Even the trainers were losing their Pokemon. "I did not expect this today."
The Poison-Types had made sure that none of the trainers were making any sudden movements. Ben had just entered so he was a bit far from them. He had to do something quickly. Then he had an idea that struck in his head.
He ran past the Poison-Types but Drapion had grabbed him with its tail. Ben decided to do something by letting out a loud shout towards Rapidash.
"Rapidash! Use your mane to burn away the net!" He bellowed towards the Rapidash from before. Rapidash heard his call as he shuffled through the cramped space of all the Pokemon. It's mane set the entire net on fire, incinerating it into nothing. All the Pokemon fell back down to the ground as Team Rocket gasped. "Yes!" Drapion began to squeeze Ben, endangering his life. Gothita saw her trainer being harmed by Drapion's tail, fearing that he might get poison in the process as he screamed in pain with the sharp part of Drapion's tail digging into his skin.
Gothita stepped forward and unleashed a Psywave out of anger, sending Drapion flying. Gothita's attacks improve when it feels emotion. Much like the Ralts line. All the Poison-Types turned to Gothita as the people started to run with them being free. Team Rocket and the Pokemon had closed in on Ben, obviously mad at him for ruining their plan.
"Think you're some sort of a hero eh?"
"Ehehehe." Ben chuckled nervously. Gothita stood in front of Ben, ready to protect her trainer, no matter what. "Gothita?"
Just then, right behind Team Rocket were the rest of the Pokemon who they tried to capture. Rightfully, they're not too happy about it. So in response, they all attacked Team Rocket from afar with their own ranged moves, sending them packing and scaring them off. Team Rocket scurried out of the place in a hurry, not wanting to feel the wrath of hundreds of Pokemon considering the low amount of grunts that came here with only 12 Pokemon.
"Phew. Finally." Ben held his chest where the Drapion's tail hurt him. Gothita went up to his trainer, giving him a hug and glad that he was alright.
"Thank you so much! How can we ever thank you?" The owner said, thanking Ben for saving the Pokemon.
"Can I at least get some medical attention. This stuff stings."
Rapidash and the Pokemon had gone up to Ben all of a sudden. They had taken a liking to him. A Happiny had healed his wound with heal pulse as thanks.
"Oh. Thank you."
"Happiny!"
Rapidash had taken one of the Pokeballs, sending it over to Ben. Benjamin looked down at the Pokeball, then up at the Fire Horse, realising what it was trying to say.
"You want me.. to catch you?"
Rapidash looked over to all the other Pokemon that stood by it.
"All of you?"
The Fire Horse Pokemon and the rest nodded their heads and bodies. Ben got his catches, but in a much different way than he anticipated.
"Alright! It's a deal!" Ben stood back up with his confidence rising up once more.
Flashback Sequence over
"So yeah. I managed to score myself so many Pokemon that day. We all returned back to Castelia to help make my dream happen. Obviously it was a bit of chaos due to how many there were and how destructive a lot of them can be. But we managed. Eventually, after so much hard work, I managed to make my dream reality. By finally having my Big-Time Business."
"Amazing! What a story! So, can you tell us more about how it went?" Hearsay asked.
"I would but... it's getting a bit late. I have places to be now. I'll fill you in on my story another time." Ben said.
"Aww... I wanted to know more." Sunrise groaned.
"Well... that ends that interview. But who knew the successful BigTime Ben had so many troubles in his earlier days. I can't wait to know more once we interview him again. This has been Hearsay Hoof. Bye!"
Ben had returned to his world, but he went over to Johto this time. Being interviewed and telling some of his story had made him want to talk to his parents again. However, his parents sadly passed away. He went over to their graves at the House of Memories, speaking to them.
"Evening mom, dad. Today, I ended up rambling about my past. Much longer than I should've. Hope you're all doing great on the other side. And I still haven't forgotten my promise. I'll make sure to find my brother, where he's hiding. That way he'll be back home. Well, goodnight." Ben walked away, planning to return to Unova, but before that, he made one final visit. He went over to his old home, seeing how it has barely changed over the years. He picked up the family photo and a piece of paper that fell out of his idea book long ago. He saw the drawing of him and his parents standing beside him at his company.
He then looked over at his family portrait, seeing how far he's come. And he'll continue to grow his business, help others, and make them reach the Big-Time.
Nighttime was almost over. The sun hadn't been raised yet but its glowing aura was looming over the horizon.
Ash and Pikachu had dozed off near a tree in Ponyville, tiring themselves out again.
But not everypony was asleep. Twilight and the others were awake as they headed to Sugarcube Corner.
"Has anypony heard from Pinkie Pie since yesterday?" Applejack asked. They all shook their head in denial.
"I don't see what's so important that we had to meet here this early," Rainbow complained. "Celestia hasn't even raised the sun yet."
"I hope everything's okay." Twilight knocked on the door. The next noise they heard sounded like plates and other utensils being thrown about along with crashing sounds. Pinkie responded by opening the door with safety goggles and a chef hat on her.
"Thank goodness you're all here! There's no time to lose!" Pinkie tossed all of her friends inside of Sugarcube Corner. She was in a hurry. Inside there were rocks everywhere. The girls had ended up stepping on some rocks in the process. "Careful."
"What is all this?" Twilight asked. Pinkie Pie was mixing rocks about in a bowl, similar to she would for anything else like cake or pancakes.
"My sister Maud's gonna be here soon and I need your help taste-testing my rock candy recipes."
"Uh, we're happy to Pinkie Pie, but this seems like an awful lot of candy." said Applejack, worried about the huge load of colorful rocks.
"Even for you." Rarity commented.
"I may have gone a teensy bit overboard." Pinkie squeed. "Oh, I should also mention that I need one of Ash's friends to help with this. Brock was his name right?"
"The Pokemon Breeder?" Rainbow Dash said.
"That's the one. Maud loves rocks and he used to be a Rock-Type Gym Leader from what he told us. I bet those two would hit it off instantly! Now come on everypony! Let's start taste testing!"
The girls had tasted the rock candies, multiple times. All those rocks proved to be pretty effective. They ended up feeling instantly full from it. Not only that but the fact that they are rocks means that biting into them... hurts. Pinkie Pie had brought in even more candy for them.
"Everypony ready for more?" She asked.
"Ugh... my teeth hurt." Rainbow groaned as she laid on her back with rocks all over her mouth.
"I think we've had plenty. And shouldn't you be on your way to pick up Maud from the train station?" Applejack asked.
"But you've only tried half of the flavors. And we have to choose the perfect ones before she gets here so I have time to make more." Pinkie grabbed a huge pile of them, eating them to see how they taste. She then scared down the whole can of rock candies. Eve felt like she was going to throw up from all the excessive eating.
"Maud is your sister. I'm sure she'll love your rock candy. And I'm pretty sure you've made enough. She's only staying for the week." said Twilight.
"It's not just for Maud, silly. I'm making candy for all of us!" Pinkie exclaimed as the others groaned, not wanting to eat any more of those rocks. "It's part of a very important, super-duper special tradition, that only the closest and bestest of friends can share! We're going to make rock candy necklaces together!" She showed a necklace made purely out of rocks as she screamed in joy. "It all started when Maud and I were fillies on the rock farm. She taught me the Pie family rock candy recipe. It has a secret ingredient. It's rocks... And she showed me how to string the pieces to make them into a necklace. And once we were done, we trade."
Pinkie had drawn out how it all went down in a book.
"Maud and I have been trading necklaces back and forth since I moved to Ponyville. They're a sign that we'll always be best friends!"
"Aww. What a great tradition." Applejack commented.
"Hold on." Rainbow joined in. "The secret ingredient is rocks?"
"Yeah. But these are a special kind of rock that Maud discovered."
"Oh. What kind of rocks are they?" Fluttershy asked.
"Can't tell you that silly. It's a secret." Pinkie patted Fluttershy's head. "Oh! I almost forgot. Brock's not here! Time to grab us a rock specialist!" Pinkie dashed out of Sugarcube Corner, seeing Ash and Pikachu peacefully relaxing. So serene and quiet.
Pinkie couldn't waste any time. So she had to wake them up, via megaphone.
"WAKE UP!"
"Gyaa!" Ash and Pikachu jumped in shock as Pikachu responded by shocking both Ash and Pinkie Pie, making them both scream. Ash coughed out smoke as he rubbed his eyes. "I'm up...What is it Pinkie?"
"Pika...?"
"I need you to go and grab your friend Brock! It's for my sister!"
"Huh?"
The morning was finally here and Pinkie Pie had gone off to the train station to get her sister. For the others, they had set up a picnic, preparing for Maud's arrival. They were told that she's into everything they are. Loves fashion like Rarity, smart and loves reading like Twilight, honest like Applejack, loves forest things like Fluttershy and maybe even Pokemon, she's a master at games like Rainbow Dash and enjoys adventure like Ash. From what Pinkie Pie told them, she sounds like the ideal pony to be friends with.
The girls had everything ready as they brought along their pets and Pokemon as well. Brock had come along after being convinced by Ash to help. Then again, Brock was told that Pinkie Pie wanted him to come so Brock had to, or Pinkie would find him and it would not end well.
"I sure hope Maud has an appetite," Fluttershy said.
"Never met a pony or critter who didn't love Granny Smith's apple spice muffins." AJ commented. She pushed Angel Bunny and Eve from the basket of muffins, making sure they don't scarf it down.
"Oh! It's no use!" Rarity came along with a hat that crystal rocks on them. "I simply cannot anything suitable to wear." She sat down as a rock dropped inside the basket of muffins.
"I doubt she'll notice what anypony's wearing." said Rainbow Dash. "So what's the big deal?"
The big deal is that it would be very difficult to show Maud what a strong fashion presence we have in Ponyville if the most fashion-forward pony here can't keep her hat from falling apart." Rarity looked up at her hat as the rocks kept on falling constantly.
"I think we're all a little nervous about Maud's visit. She's Pinkie Pie's sister. And it's obvious Pinkie really wants us to hit it off. Being able to make those rock candy necklaces together is really important to her. I'm sure everything will be fine." Twilight commented.
"WE'RE HERE!" Pinkie's voice came over the hill as she bounced forward. But there was no sign of Maud.
"Where's Maud? Twilight asked.
"She's coming!" Pinkie Pie had a wide grin on her face as she looked over the hill. Everypony, the Pokemon, Ash and Brock all looked over the hill to get a good look.
"Uh, you sure?" Rainbow uttered.
"She's not quite as fast as me. I asked Gummy to stay with her in case she got lost."
And so they waited. Until finally a grey figure could be seen.
"Is she even moving...?" Rainbow Dash quietly said to Rarity.
She was moving slower than a Shuckle and a Munchlax combined.
"We're over here Maud!" Pinkie echoed. She had finally arrived as they all got a good look at her. She stopped walking for a rock that was on the ground. Maud lowered her head, sniffing it.
"Hmm. Sedimentary." She said.
"Huh?" Rainbow uttered.
"This is a sedimentary rock." Maud picked up the rock as her voice was very monotone and dull.
"That's really fascinating, isn't it girls?" Twilight tried to lighten the bland mood as they all cracked a smile. "We're just so thrilled you could come for a visit before your big trip. Pinkie Pie has told us so much about you. I'm Twilight. And this is Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Ash and Brock."
"We're ever so glad to meet you." Fluttershy commented.
"We're just gonna have the best time!" Applejack exclaimed.
But Maud's expression didn't change. She didn't' even say anything, making the awkward silence return. Rarity had to break the silence so she stepped up. "Pinkie Pie tells me you share my love for fashion."
"I'm really into expressing myself through my wardrobe."
"And what is the delightful frock you're wearing now saying?"
"It doesn't talk, it's just a dress."
"Oh...eh...of course. I just meant..." Rarity backed up, feeling much more awkward around her as her words were fumbling about. "The frock doesn't... uh... speak... I..."
"Uhh... so this here's Winona." Applejack started to introduce the pets and Pokemon. "That there's Owlicious, Tank, Opal and Angel. And these here are our Pokemon. Twilight's Eevee or Eve along with her Minccino or Minccy, Fluttershy's Audino or Audi, my Applin, Rainbow Dash's Braviary, Whirlipede and Swablu, Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff and Rarity's Swadloon, which has a lot of them back at her place. Oh and that's Ash's Pikachu right over there. Pinkie Pie told us you have a pet too."
"He's in my pocket."
"Oh. You have a pocket pet?" Fluttershy was starting to get excited. "Like a tiny mouse? Or a baby bird? Or a trained butterfly?"
"It's a rock." She took a tiny little pebble from her dress, revealing it to a now underwhelmed Fluttershy. "His name is boulder."
"This is going to be the best most awesome funnest week ever! I can't wait for us all to become bestest friends!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed with her excitement filling up. The same can't be said for the others though.
They sat down on the picnic blanket as Applejack recommended the muffins. "Maud? Would you care to try one of Granny Smith's famous apple spice muffins?"
Maud went over to the basket, seeing a rock mixed in with the muffins. She took that one instead, biting into it and eating it like it was food.
"Oh, uh... that's not uh.."
Maud kept on eating it, casually even.
"It's crunchy." She said.
Pinkie Pie bit the real muffins, also feeling a crunch. "Maud's right! They are crunchy! Yum!"
"So uh, Pinkie Pie tells us you like games." Rainbow chattered.
"Boulder and I sometimes play a game called camouflage. It's kind of like hide-and-seek but way more intense."
"....Awesome?" Rainbow slowly replied.
They had decided to try Maud's version of hide-and-seek, searching for Boulder. Which is impossible considering that there were rocks everywhere.
"Any luck?" Twilight asked them.
"I truly wish I spent more with Boulder because I'm having a very hard time remembering what he looks like." Fluttershy picked up a random rock.
"It's like looking for a pebble in a haystack." Applejack nudged a rock.
"More like in a pile of pebbles." Rarity commented.
"Well, you don't have to make it even harder." AJ replied to her.
"Ugh! I give up! This is impossible!" Rarity groaned.
"It'll hurt Maud's feelings if we stop playing," Twilight spoke. "Besides. Look how much fun Pinkie Pie's having."
Pinkie was moving about, pointing her hoof at as many rocks as she can. "Is this it?" She would constantly say, getting into the game.
"Just a little longer okay?" Twilight pleaded as they all agreed. But they weren't up for it. Ash and Brock were watching this bizarre display.
"Hm. Maud reminds me of someone." Ash commented.
"Who?" Brock asked.
"His name was Nanu. She gives me that same feeling."
"Pikachu."
"Found him." Maud held Boulder in her hoof.
"Ooh! Where was he?" Pinkie questioned.
"He was hiding in my pocket."
Hearing that really made Rainbow Dash a bit irate as she knocked some rocks away. "Oh come on!"
Angel Bunny tapped Fluttershy's hoof, pointing at the bored pets and Pokemon. That's when Fluttershy had an idea.
"Oh. That reminds me. Brock. You're an expert on Rock-Types. Why don't you show Maud?"
"There are Pokemon that are rocks?" This caught Maud's attention.
"Yeah! Didn't you know about the other types?" Pinkie asked.
"No. I only saw two Pokemon back home. Some rat and a bunny."
"Well, here are the Pokemon I've chosen." Brock took out 2 Pokeballs, releasing the Pokemon that were inside. They were Sudowoodo and Geodude.
"Sudo!"
"Geo!"
Maud walked up to the Pokemon, taking an interest in them. She had sniffed them both, making them a bit uncomfortable. She then recognized what type of rocks they were made out of.
"This one's a geode. Name's fitting actually." She said as she then went to Sudowoodo. "And this one is petrified wood. Wood that turns into a rock that normally takes millions of years to form. It's made of three minerals such as silicate, coal and sulfur iron"
"Huh. I actually didn't know that." Brock said.
"I like your Pokemon, Brock. Do you have more Rock-Types?"
"Well, these are the only ones I have on hand with me. But, I'd be glad to show you some more Rock-Types that might be around here. And I can head over to the other world to show you the ones that have been bred."
"We're making progress. Good job Brock!" Twilight shouted from afar.
"I'd love to. Show me more."
"Right. Follow me." Brock led the way with the others following suit. Fluttershy had decided it was time to get the pets back home though, they were more tired than everyone else.
They came across a Binacle sitting near the lake as Maud went up to it.
"So, what od you make of this one Maud?" Twilight asked.
"This one's made out of mafic rocks. Specifically a group of rocks."
"How about that Shieldon over there then?" Brock pointed to the Shield Pokemon. Maud went over, sniffing the tiny little Rock-Steel-Type.
"I'm surprised there's a fossil Pokemon just out in the open here." Ash said.
"What's a fossil Pokemon?" Twilight asked.
"I think it's best if Hollow told you that in his next class."
"Pika."
"Hm. It's hard as a rock." She tapped on its shield. "I like it. I like all of these Pokemon." Maud said, still not cracking a smile though.
"Isn't that great! Then you can have a Pokemon of your own!" Pinkie Pie popped up. "And it can be a Rock-Type too!"
"I don't want to make Boulder jealous though."
"Nonsense. He'll love the extra company! Now, let's get you a Rock Pokemon! Which one do you want?"
"I already like this one." Maud looked at Shieldon.
"Then we'll get it for you. I NEED A POKEBALL STAT!" Pinkie Pie bellowed.
"Uh hold on. Ash checked in his pockets, getting a ball out. "Here." He tossed it over to Pinkie who caught it with her mouth, who then passed it on to Maud.
"Alright, Maud. All you have to do is toss the Pokeball at it, and it'll enter." Brock explained. "Now, you won't be able to get in on the first try, but it's not a bad idea to t-"
Maud tossed the Pokeball, cathing Shieldon in 2 shakes, surprising everyone.
"It didn't even reach the third one!" Brock exclaimed.
"I got a Shieldon." Maud picked up the Pokeball. "I think I like Rock-Types now. Actually. I love them. Can you show me more Brock?"
"That'd be great. But we don't want to leave everypony out, Maud." Pinkie said.
"Sure."
So, Maud went over to Carousel Boutique as Rarity was planning to pick out a dress for Maud. "Now. Where should we start? I've chosen a few fabrics that I think would be stunning to-" But Maud wasn't really paying attention. At all.
"Choices, Choices, Choices!" Pinkie hopped over to Maud.
"Uh...Of course, if you don't see anything that speaks to you I would be to suggest-"
"I like this one." Maud picked up a dirty dish towel, choosing that.
Rarity laughed at that, thinking it was a joke. "Pinkie Pie didn't tell us you were so funny."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh...well... it's just," Rarity grabbed the towel with her horn. "I believe that is a dish towel." Maud was serious about wanting it though. "Oh, b-but it does go well with your complexion. I'm sure I can work my magic and turn it into something fabulous. Right Swadloon?" The Swadloon's shook their head, not wanting to even get near that towel. Grass-Types get stains easily.
"Rarity and my sister working together to make something. This is the best day ever!" Pinkie hugged Maud. Rarity had returned with many towels at her disposal.
"Perhaps I could sow all of these together and make you something you would like."
"No thanks. One is enough" Maud took the dish towel anyways, placing it on her back.
"Doesn't Maud make the coolest scarfs?" Pinkie squeed.
"Quite." Rarity nervously responded.
Next was Fluttershy, who had led Maud and Pinkie into a forest brimming with Pokemon. Mostly Flying-Types, Bug-Types and Grass-Types along with some Normal-Types sprinkled here and there. Maud was looking at a rock which had a Joltik crawl upon it.
"You like it? Joltik are 4 inches, making them the smallest Pokemon. They can't produce their own electricity, so they attach to larger Pokemon and suck off the static electricity given off and store it in a special pouch." Fluttershy explained some facts about the Attaching Pokemon.
"Jol!"
"I was looking at the rock."
"Oh."
The experience was short-lived as Maud was already headed to the next friend as Pinkie waved Fluttershy goodbye. "Thanks again, Fluttershy! Start thinking about which flavors you wanna put in your best friend rock candy necklace!" Pinkie hopped away.
"Oh gosh. I'm not sure we're even friends yet." Fluttershy said to Angel Bunny.
Next was Twilight.
"Maud is a total bookworm. She loves poetry!" Pinkie Pie said, skating with a ladder.
"I've got lots of poetry. Do you read anything by Quillin Ink? Or Flourish Prose?" Twilight held up some poetry books.
"I prefer to read my own poetry."
"Oh, I'd love to hear some of it."
Maud walked up, clearing her throat as she started her many poetry's. "Rock. You are a rock. Grey. You are grey. Like a rock. Which you are. Rock."
Twilight didn't know how to respond to that as Pinkie clapped in response.
"I've written thousands."
"She's so prolific!" bellowed Pinkie.
"This next one is about rocks. They're all about rocks."
Twilight looked over at Eve, seeing that this is going to take a while.
"Rocks. These are my rocks. Sediments. Make me sedimental. Smooth and round, asleep in the ground. Shades of brown and gray..."
Up next was Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres. Her, Maud and Pinkie were peeling apples for cider.
"You bout done peeling apples for the cider, Maud?" AJ asked.
"I think this one is done." Maud retorted as Applejack saw that she smashed the apple with a rock, having a shocked expression.
"Oh, uh! Yep. That's a very interesting method you got there." She laughed nervously.
"Should I peel another one?" Maud asked, holding another rock, ready to smash another apple.
"NO! I mean... Nah. I'm sure there's plenty of apples in it already."
Pinkie then sniffed the aromatic cider. "Can we taste it now?"
"Sure, why not?" Applejack poured the ciders in the mugs as they were ready to be tasted. Pinkie Pie drank hers in an instant. Wow! That's the best apple cider I've ever had!" Maud did the same next.
"What do you think, Maud?" AJ asked her as Maud took a drink.
"It tastes like apples."
"Told ya she was super honest. Just like you!" Pinkie uttered, getting close to Applejack.
They were playing a game where you chuck rocks as far as you can. Rainbow Dash got a good distance. "Yeah! Let's see you beat that!"
So, Maud responded by picking up a much larger rock and tossed it. It had a much longer distance as it went over the hill, hitting the ground as a black mushroom cloud of smoke erupted like an explosion, causing a powerful shockwave that moved the trees and lifted the lake, causing water to fall on them.
"THAT WAS AMAZING!" Pinkie said, moving on a log on the water.
"Woah. How'd you do that?" Dash turned to Maud.
"I threw it."
"I...guess you won this one, Maud."
"I'm not really into... winning." What Maud said made Rainbow Dash drop her jaw.
And the final one was Ash and Pikachu.
"Maud loves adventure! She's a real go-getter!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Really? What do you adventure for?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"I adventure rocks. Bigger rocks than the ones I found. The biggest."
"Oh."
"Pikachu."
"Isn't maud so adventurous?!" Pinkie wrapped her arms around Ash. Then, Ash had an idea, calling back to Maud's sudden love for Rock-Type Pokemon.
"Hey, I know. Maud. How would you like to know about Legendary Rock-Types?"
"Go on." This intrigued Maud as she leaned in to listen along with Pinkie Pie.
"You see, there are certain Pokemon that are much more important. The Rock-Types you've seen are standard but the one you caught is kinda rare. A Fossil Pokemon. But out there, there exists a Legendary Pokemon that's a Rock-Type. Regirock!"
"Pikachu!"
"Regirock huh? I wanna more about it."
"Well, it's made out of nothing but rocks. It's practically pure rock. And then there's Terrakion. His skin's had as a rock too! There's quite a few of them. Not only that, but there's a Mythical Rock-Types. Diancie!" Ash explained, getting Maud very interested in this.
"I like this. I want to see more Rock-Type Pokemon now."
"I know that excitement. There's also the fossils which are most of the time, Rock-Types. And it gets better. Pokemon can even learn Rock-Type moves."
"Moves?"
"Oh yeah. That's what makes Pokemon so unique. They can use moves of all sorts. Some Rock-Type moves are Rock Throw, Power Gem and Rollout."
"This makes me want to catch more Rock-Type Pokemon now. I might have to go searching for some when I get home."
"It'll be a blast. Adventuring for Pokemon is always fun."
"Pikachu!"
"Great insight Ash! Now Maud's definitely gonna be a full-fledged Pokemon trainer too!"
"I want to go talk to Brock. I like him and his name. It sounds like rock." Maud said.
"You do that! I think now is the best time to get those necklaces ready!"
Back at SugarCube Corner, Twilight and the other 5 had gathered up. Pinkie Pie opened up the door to see her unsure friends.
"Great! You're all here! Maud is out looking for rocks and chatting with Brock, so this is the perfect time for us to set up everything we'll need to make our best friend rock candy necklaces!"
Having said that, the 5 of them had shifted their eyes and looked away in sadness.
"What's wrong?"
Twilight dug the ground as AJ pushed her forward. "Well. I'm not sure it's the best time to make best friend rock candy necklaces."
"Why not?"
"W-Well, darling." Rarity stuttered. "You see..."
"You're ever so thoughtful to share your special bonding ritual with us... but um..." Fluttershy muttered.
"But whaaat?" Pinkie leaned forward with her eyes widening with excitement. Applejack sighed as she knew she had to tell the truth.
"The truth is, we've all been trying real hard to get closer to Maud. But, well, maybe some ponies just don't click the way others do." Applejack explained as her friends agreed. "We just wouldn't feel right making something that means we're best friends if... well... we aren't."
Hearing this struck Pinkie Pie in the heart like an arrow. Her puffy hair had deflated as her smile formed into a frown. "Oh. Ok. If anypony needs me...I'll be in here trying to figure out what to do with 200 pounds of rock candy." She backed up into SugarCube Corner, closing the door.
The girls had headed over to Golden Oak, feeling bad for what just happened.
"I feel awful!" Rarity commented. "Just awful."
"Maybe we should've just pretended we were friends with Maud." Fluttershy sighed.
"If we didn't tell Pinkie Pie that we hadn't all become the best of friends, I think Maud would have..." Twilight pitched in.
"Maybe. But who would've known?" Rainbow Dash replied. "That pony is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an igneous."
"Don't you mean, inside an enigma?" Rarity corrected her.
"Nope. I mean igneous. It's a kind of rock. Ask me how I know that!"
Suddenly, there was knocking on the door. Twilight opened it to reveal Pinkie Pie, back to her happy self. "I've come up with just the thing to bring everypony closer together!"
What Pinkie Pie came up with was a chaotic mess. She led them to the location where Maud, Brock and Ash was as they came across a monstrosity of mess. There were clusters of rocks, tubes, stacks of books out in the open, fabric piled up on the ground and more.
"I call it! Pinkie-Rainbow-Rari-Twi-Apple-Flutter-Maud-Fun Time!"
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash uttered.
"It combines everypony's interests into one giant activity that we can all enjoy together and that will totally bring all of my bestest friends together as bestest friends!" She explained. "You'll need these." Pinkie pointed her hoof at some not-so-protective gear that was wrapped around one of Rarity's pony mannequins.
"Like I said. Huh?"
"Probably better for me to show you. Watch this!" Pinkie put on some gear, ready to test this abysmal amalgamation out. First, she went through a tunnel full of apple sauce. "Apple sauce tunnel for Applejack," Then she landed in the fabrics. "Pretty shiny stuff for Rarity," Next she ran over to the books, charging through them. "Reading material for Twilight," She then showcased some of Fluttershy's animals who sat around her on a table. "Critter time for Fluttershy." Next was one for her which was a dome that made cupcakes rise up when a button is pressed. "Cupcakes yours truly." She took a bite out of one of them as she jumped over to the final mess, and it's a race for Rainbow Dash!"
"Pinkie Pie. What is that?!" Twilight pointed her hoof up at the huge cluster of rocks that were piled up. The biggest rock on top looked like it was about to lose balance at any moment.
"A rock slide of course! For Maud. First, you climb then you slide!"
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Applejack said to Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie bounced on the pile of rocks, getting higher, but her hoof ended up getting trapped within a rock.
"Huh?" She tried to get her hoof out but the rocks had wedged her in hard. As she struggled to remove her hoof, she was causing the other rocks to rumble, making the entire thing shake aggressively. The rock on top was moving the most as Rarity gasped.
"Oh goodness!" Fluttershy exclaimed. Pinkie kept on struggling but that only made things worse. The huge rock had slid down the other rocks, heading for Pinkie Pie.
"Watch out!" Applejack cried out.
"W-Wha?" Pinkie Pie looked up at the huge rock that was about to crush her. "HELP!"
"Pikachu IR-" Before Ash could give the command, Maud had dashed over, putting on the gear, going through the apple sauce and the fabric, racing forward to save her sister. She jumped up, rapidly smashing her hooves on the huge rock, breaking it apart into tiny little pieces one by one at lightning speeds as everyone's jaw dropped. Maud then broke the rock that had trapped Pinkie's leg, freeing her. Everyone had a huge sigh of relief.
"What-How-WHAT?!" Rainbow Dash stammered.
Maud and Pinkie Pie hopped off the rock cluster as Maud gave her sister a hug. "Pinkie Pie. What were you thinking?!" She for once raised her voice.
"I guess I wasn't."
"I know how important it is to you that your friends become my friends. But I just don't think it's going to happen. I think it would be best if I just go back to the rock farm and spend the rest of the week there." She then walked up to the ground. "It was nice to meet you all. Makes me happy knowing Pinkie Pie has such good friends. And thanks for the Pokemon advice, Ash, Brock." Maud had walked away.
"But. We never got to make our rock candy necklaces." Pinkie sighed. "Wait, Maud!" She chased after her gray sister. "I'll come with you!"
"I can't believe Maud cut her trip short." Twilight said.
"I can't believe we almost lost Pinkie Pie to that ridiculous obstacle course." Rarity followed.
"Thank goodness Maud was able to reach her in time." Fluttershy commented.
"Did you see how fast Maud moved?" spoke Rainbow.
"And the way she smashed that huge rock into dust! How in equestrian did she do that?!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Pinkie Pie was in trouble. Maud would move mountains for her if she had to." Fluttershy finished the conversation. Hearing this made Twilight spark an idea.
"That's it! I think I finally realized what we all have in common with Maud! Something that just might be worthy of a very important super-duper special tradition that only the closest and bestest of friends can share!"
Pinkie Pie was on the train with Maud, still bummed out.
"Thank you for coming with me. I don't know how long I'll be gone on my rock research trip. I'm glad I still get to spend some time with you before I go."
"Me too...I'm sorry I put so much pressure on everypony to bond. I only wanted my friends to get to know my amazing older sister." She went in for a hug.
Eventually, the train had bought them to their destination, as they returned home to their rock farm. And waiting there were Twilight and the others.
"What are you doing here?"
"Pinkie Pie. We're so sorry we hurt your feelings by not bonding with Maud right away. And Maud we're sorry that the only way to spare Pinkie Pie's feelings was to leave Ponyville early." Twilight said.
"Mhm." The others agreed.
"We've seen how much you care about Pinkie Pie. First hoof." said Applejack.
"Pinkie Pie's happiness means as much to us as it does to you. And we're sorry we couldn't see it sooner. The thing that makes up click and creates a special bond between us is how much we all love Pinkie Pie!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Aw shucks." Pinkie gushed.
"That's a pretty great thing to have in common if you ask me. What do you think Maud?" Twilight asked.
"Sure." She replied, making the air awkward again.
"What's wrong?" Pinkie asked.
"Sorry darlings. We just thought you'd be a bit more excited about this." Rarity replied.
"Are you kidding me?! I've never seen her more excited in my entire life!" Pinkie bellowed.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't show my enthusiasm for things quite in the same way my sister does."
"Uh, we noticed." Rainbow Dash commented. "And we're totally cool with it."
"Uh-huh." The rest of them agreed.
"Well, today's gonna be a day to remember, huh Pikachu?"
"Pikachu."
Returning back to the train station, it was time for Maud to go on her trip.
"Maud, we'd like to give you something to take on your trip. So that you remember all your friends from Ponyville." Twilight took the rock candy necklace, as it was finally made. She placed it around the gray pony's neck. The others did the same as they had their necklaces in their own custom styles. From an apple to a rainbow thunderbolt.
"Thank you."
"Try not to eat all the candy before you leave!" Pinkie squeed. Maud had then given Pinkie Pie her own necklace as they had exchanged their own. Pinkie hopped off as Maud placed the necklace inside a box, that revealed to have other rock candy necklaces. Twilight peered over, seeing the cluster.
"Are those all the necklaces Pinkie Pie sent you?" She asked.
"Mhm." Maud closed the box.
"You haven't eaten any of them?"
"I don't really like candy. But I do love Pinkie Pie." Maud had finally cracked a smile, looking at her candy-loving sister. "I'm off now." Maud then released Shieldon from is Pokeball as it jumped on her back. "Come on Shieldon. And thank you all."
Ash was training Riolu by having him train with Mimey.
"Riolu! Use a flurry of Vaccum waves!"
"Rio!" Riolu unleashed a barrage Vaccum Waves forward.
"Mimey, Dodge them!"
"Mime!" Mimey had avoided the waves perfectly.
"Riolu, Force Palm! Mimey, you use Reflect!" Ash commanded them both at the same time. Riolu charged in, striking its tiny little baby paws forward as Mimey put up a reflective shield. Riolu hit the shield, pushing Mimey back. "Good job Riolu!"
Ash had brought along Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo to watch Ash perform so that they can learn from him. Goh was practising something else as well.
"Go, Farfetch'd! Super Slow Ball!" Goh tossed a baseball as it curved towards Farfetch'd slowly moving towards it. Farfetch'd kept his eyes on the ball as he hit, sending it afar. "Alright!"
"Ash! Goh!" Professor Cerise called for them. "I have a present for you and your friends."
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash gathered to see this present. Cerise had taken out 12 tickets. "Tickets to an official Pokemon World Championships Master Class Battle."
"Oh, awesome! That means that Leon's gonna battle!" Ash exclaimed.
"Who's Leon?" Scootaloo asked.
"He's the strongest trainer in the world. The unbeatable champion." Ash answered.
"Woah! But I bet he's not as strong as you Ash!"
"Nah he is. He beat me in a short 1 on 1 sparring battle. But I'm gonna one day beat him. And become the number one trainer as well! That'll get me one step closer to becoming a Pokemon Master!"
"Wow!" Scootaloo adored Ash even more, continuing to look up to him.
"This is a great chance to catch more Galar Pokemon! Farfetch'd, you should come too! " shouted Goh!
"Far!"
"Twilight and the others are gonna love this!" Rainbow commented.
"Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom can't miss this either!" Scootaloo jumped about.
"Galar here we come!"
"Pikachu!"
Returning to Galar, The Mane 6, Spike, Ash, Goh and the CMC all came along with their Pokemon. But they were running a bit late.
"We're gonna be late! Why did you have to have seconds for lunch, Ash!" yelled Goh.
"Sorry! I couldn't resist! But you had an extra dessert too, remember!"
"Would you two stop bickering already! I don't wanna miss this!" Rainbow Dash said. They had luckily made it in time, arriving into the stadium. This was the CMC'S first time here so they were excited, but the location was actually different. This time, they came across a waiting room and there lied a golden statue of some sort of king holding a sword and a shield.
Ash stopped running as he gazed at the statue of the mysterious king, making him freeze for a bit.
"ASH, HURRY UP!" Pinkie yelled.
"Oh, Right!"
The stadium was as alive as it was the last time they went to a Master Class battle.
"This is amazing!" Scootaloo looked around, seeing the huge crowd and how revved up they were all getting.
"Can't believe we're this lucky to be here, girls!" Sweetie Belle said.
"I got some snacks too!" Apple Bloom was piled up with food.
"You should probably see this, Riolu." Ash sent his Riolu out to see this battle.
"Ssshhh! It's starting!" said Pinkie Pie. The Announcer was ready to say his stuff.
"The Championships have over 10,000 participants. Among them, only the eight highest-ranked can enter the Master Class! To show our respect for these eight, we refer to them as the Masters Eight! Today is a battle between these greats! It's time for the battlers to enter!"
The first one was a man who is mostly known as Leon's equal. The entire stadium lighted up to make his entrance flashy.
"The expert who charged his way into the Master Class right after joining the championships...current rank, 7th!" The man waved to the crowd, acting all cool with one hand in his jacket pocket. "He is our very own Galar Region Dragon Gym Leader, Challenger Raihan!"
"7th?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Dragon?!" so did Spike.
"He looks crazy strong!" Goh said.
"And rather handsome." Rarity gawked.
"So that's Leon's opponent?" Ash commented with stars in his eyes.
"And who else would his opponent be? Born and raised in Galar, never having experienced a single defeat...This Ultimate Trainer continues to extend his flawless winning streak!" Smoke emerged as out of it was the man himself, raising his fist in the air, acting all mighty. Which he was. The crowd cheered for him much louder than they did for Raihan as it could even be heard outside of the stadium. "Ranked 1st in the Pokemon World Championships and Coronation Series! Galar's very own Super Star! Challenger and Champion Leon!"
"Woah... that's Leon?" said the CMC.
"You may use one Pokemon each." Announced the Referee. Leon and Raihan nodded at each other in response.
"The reason I signed up for the Championships...was to put an end to your undefeated streak." Raihan said.
"I'm honored, Raihan," Leon responded. "You should enjoy the tense, still air on the battlefield and the cheering and yelling from the audience too!"
"No, this won't be the kind of flashy match that'll get the audiences fired up." They both took their distances turning their backs to one another. "They've got a severe battle in store!"
"That's great! I'll enjoy this to the fullest." They both then turned around, holding their Pokeballs.
"Both sides, bring forth your Pokemon!"
"Let's go!" Raihan tossed his forward.
"Go forth!" Leon sent his upwards. Both Pokemon came out at the same time. For Raihan, his Pokemon was a real tank of a Pokemon.
"Challenger Raihan sends out Duraludon!"
"Dura!"
"And Challenger Leon sends out his absolute ace, Charizard!"
"CHAR!"
"Duraludon?" Rainbow Dash pulled out her dex. As did Ash and Goh as this was their first time seeing it too.
"Duraludon. The Alloy Pokemon. Its body resembles polished metal, and it’s both lightweight and strong. The only drawback is that it rusts easily. The special metal that composes its body is very light, so this Pokémon has considerable agility. It lives in caves because it dislikes the rain."
"Let the battle begin!"
"Now, you ready for a Champion Time?!" Leon smirked as did Raihan.
"Bring the storm, Duraludon! Metal Claw!" Duraludon made the first move. Its metal arms became even heavier as it lit up. The Alloy Pokemon rushed in, being surprisingly fast for a Steel-Type. Duraludon had struck Charizard right in its stomach, pushing the Flame Pokemon back.
"Charizard. Let's show them your claws as well! Dragon Claw!" Green Draconic energy engulfed Charizard's claws as it charged forward. Leon had definitely changed up his moves since last time.
"Iron Defense!" Duraludon had stood there, taking the Dragon Claw head-on. Its overwhelming physical defense made it so that the Dragon Claw didn't even nudge it. Duraludon's defense was powerful enough to make Charizard fly back. Talk about defense. "Another Metal Claw!" Duraludon went for a second Metal Claw this time.
"Dig!" Charizard had suddenly spun around, smashing his body into the ground and digging a hole that he travelled through, making Duraludon miss its attack. And right from behind, Charizard came back up, sending a tornado of sand rocks that hit Duraludon. "Brick Break!" Charizard followed up with its arm lighting up, flying towards the Dragon.
"Duraludon! Counter with Stone Edge!" Duraludon did just that, getting on all fours as sharp crystal stones rose up from the ground, stopping Charizard in his tracks as one of them struck the Flame Pokemon right in its chest, dealing super-effective damage. The battle had paused for a bit.
"Duraludon. Your strength doesn't disappoint." Leon commented.
"I'll wipe that calm smile off your face, Leon. Let's finish this Duraludon! Steel Beam!" Then, Duraludon's mouth opened up as energy made out of pure steel formed in its mouth. This was a move that was new to not just the ponies but even to Ash and Goh. It's a top-class Steel Move that very few Pokemon know. A move that sacrifices the user's stamina in exchange for immense destructive force. And destructive it was. Coming out of its mouth, the beam raced towards Charizard.
"Charizard! Flamethrower!" But the Flame Pokemon retaliated with its own ranged attack. Both moves clashed, but Steel Beam proved to be the mightier move, hitting Charizard. The move hit its mark, making Charizard go back down, but it was still standing strong. As to be expected of Leon's ace.
"I thank you, Raihan! You've lit the fire in Charizard's soul!"
"Then let's make this a proper show! You know what's coming next!" Raihan held out Duraludon's Pokeball, returning him. Ash and the others leaned forward, knowing what's gonna happen now. The CMC, on the other hand, were not aware.
"Why's everypony leaning forward like that?" Scootaloo asked.
"Just watch. Here it comes." A giddy Rainbow Dash replied.
"Let's go Duraludon!" Raihan's Dynamax band sparked with energy. "GIGANTAMAX!" He tossed the Pokeball upwards, unleashing Duraludon back out into the open. The Alloy Pokemon grew in size. Bigger. Bigger. The skies turned red with clouds forming as Gigantamax Duraludon was here!
"WOAH!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders all said, in awe at what they were seeing.
"Heh. Good. I'm not finished with this battle. And I won't let anyone finish it for me!" Leon returned Charizard to his Pokeball as the smoke formed around him. It was Charizard's turn to match Duraludon's size. "I'll show you what Charizard can really do!" He held out his Pokeball as it grew in size. "GIGANTAMAX!" Tossing his Pokeball brought out Gigantamax Charizard. This absolute monster of a Pokemon.
"IT'S LIKE A GIANT DRAGON!" Sweetie Belle yelled.
"I know right?!" Spike replied.
"Let the winds blow! Stream forward, Sandstorm! Max Rockfall!" Duraludon summoned up a giga-sized rock wall that fell forward towards Charizard.
"Max Knuckle!" Charizard returned the favor by striking its bare fists right at the rock wall. The impact not only destroyed the rock wall, but it caused all the smoke to fly all over the place, almost hitting the audience, but luckily there was a barrier made to make sure no one would get hurt during the scale of these battles.
"Don't give up! Roar my dragon! Max Steelspike!" Duraludon got on all fours, sending huge metal spikes towards the Flame Pokemon.
"I'll show you a true Champion Time! All I need is one hit! G-MAX WILDFIRE!" Charizard's wings had come off as they flew about like a phoenix. The phoenix shaped fire broke through the Steelspikes, obliterating them and charging forward. "Now! Enjoy the climax!" The fire flew up in the air, dashing at the Alloy Pokemon as it crashed into it. Duraludon definitely felt that as an intense burst of flames engulfed it. The fury of Charizard's flames made Duraludon revert back to its normal size, causing it to faint.
"Duraludon is unable to battle! Charizard wins! As such! The winner is Contestant Leon!" The crowd went wild from that intense battle.
"Once again, Leon proves to be something else," Twilight uttered. "So this is what it's like when top-trainers battle..."
"Oh... it was so worth it coming here..." Scootaloo felt like she was about to pass out from all of this as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom caught her.
"Good job, Charizard. Once again, we proved that we are the strongest!"
"Charizard!"
"Thank you for your support everyone!" Leon had then given off his famous pose, making the crowd go wild even more.
"Duraludon, get some good rest." Raihan returned Duraludon.
"You know, Raihan. My dream is to help make the trainers of the Galar Region as strong as they can be." Leon extended his hand out. "I expect great things from the Dragon Gym you run, too."
"Heh. I guess me and the Gym guys should sharpen and polish each other some more, and then I'll challenge you again." The two of them ended up shaking hands. "After all. I will be the one to end your undefeated legend"
"No, it will be me!" Ash shouted from the stands. "It's gonna be me that beats Leon and I'll become the strongest Pokemon Trainer ever!"
"Pikachu!"
"A-Ash! You're embarrassing us..." Twilight blushed. "Even you Pikachu?"
"Ash... Of course! I'll be waiting for you!" Leon responded, waving at him. Leon then turned his attention to another, giving a thumbs up.
"What's this??" The Announcer started talking. "Chairman Rose, the one who helped Leon get here, is in the stadium! He watches with a wide smile!"
There he was. The executive of it all, giving applause to that battle. Ash and the others turned to see Rose Ash especially fixed his gaze on him.
They returned to the waiting lounge after seeing that intense battle. Ash went up to the statue that he saw when he entered here. "You think this is a statue of Leon?"
"It does kinda look like his supreme pose a bit, but I'm not sure." Goh replied to him.
"It looked like this right?" Ash tried to mimic the pose.
"Not even close. It was kinda like this." Rainbow tried to do it but she didn't have any fingers to pull it off perfectly.
"Like this?" Apple Bloom tried the same.
"No, you gotta look more heroic while doing it." So did Scootaloo.
"Leon as the hero, huh?" A voice replied to them. A girl was sitting near the statue, looking at her long blue nails. "Oh, don't' mind me. I'm just talking to myself."
"Oh my. You look gorgeous darling." Rarity admired her look.
"Um... is this a statue of Leon?" Ash asked.
"No no. It's of a legendary hero famous throughout Galar.
"Legendary Hero?" They all said.
"Yep. Long ago... a great black storm covered the Galar Region. Giant Pokemon ran rampant."
"Giant Pokemon? They were all Dynamaxed? " said Fluttershy.
"But they were defeated by a single young hero bearing a sword and a shield. The statue here is meant to depict the young hero of that legend."
"A great black storm. Was it like a typhoon or gigantic thunderclouds?" Goh wondered.
"We still don't know what it is. Did the events of this legend actually happen? Who was this hero, and where did the sword and shield go? What sort of link does it have to Dynamax? Investigating all that stuff is kinda my homework." The girl twirled her hair. "It's so heavy."
"Homework? For like school?" Pinkie said.
"No, no. It's homework for my grandma, who's a Pokemon Professor. I'm her assistant...technically."
"Oh. Well, I'm Ash and this is my partner Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
The girl gasped, loving the sight of Pikachu as she just noticed it. "It's so cute!" She dashed over it, grabbing its ears. Pikachu twitched at what was happening to it. The girl then noticed Twilight, seeing how she has wings and a horn, different from the ponies she's seen. "And this one has both a horn and wing!" She went over to grab Twilight's ears as well. Twilight was experiencing the most pain she has ever felt and will ever feel.
"U-Um. I'm Goh and this is my partner Ra-" Goh couldn't finish his sentence as she went to grab its ears as well.
"It's also super cute! In fact! All these ponies are the cutest I've seen so far! There's even smaller ones and an Eevee!" She had then grabbed all of their ears, making them wince like they've never winced before.
"I'm from Kanto along with Goh and the others here are from Ponyville at the other world." Ash introduced his friends.
"Oh? I'm Sonia. Nice to meet you."
They cut their chat with Sonia short as they were heading back, entering the outside of Galar.
"A black storm. Giant Pokemon." Ash wondered.
"And a legendary hero." so did Rainbow Dash. "Sounds really cool!" The two of them said.
"Hey! You lot!" A trainer called out to the group. "Is there a Pokemon Center around?!" He was holding his Pokemon in his hands, it was a fainted Chewtle.
"It's right there." Goh pointed right.
"T-Thank you!"
"Wait! What happened?" Ash asked.
"There's this huge weird thing on the bridge that just up ahead! My poor Chewtle!" The trainer ran off.
"Huge weird thing?" Twilight wondered. They decided to have a look, heading to the bridge but they didn't see anything. That's when they saw something ahead. The sound of something dragging across the ground. From the looks of it, it was a Farfetch'd. But it looked a bit different. Much more intimidating and serious even.
"A Farfetch'd?" Fluttershy uttered.
"Check out the size of its leek! It's huge!" Pinkie bellowed.
Rainbow took out her dex to see this different Farfetch'd.
"Farfetch'd. The Wild Duck Pokemon. And the Galarian variant. The Farfetch’d of the Galar region are brave warriors, and they wield thick, tough leeks in battle. The stalks of leeks are thicker and longer in the Galar region. Farfetch’d that adapted to these stalks took on a unique form."
"So this is a regional form huh?" Goh said.
"Far..." Farfecth'd had given off a 'come on' gesture with its wings, wanting a challenge.
"Pika?"
"No! Leave this to me!" Goh stepped forward, taking out a Pokeball. "Now, Go Pokeball!" Goh tossed the Pokeball, hoping to get an instant catch, but the Galarian Farfetch'd knocked it back to him with its leek. "Guess I'll battle it then. Farfetch'd on Farfetch'd!" Go sent out his Farfetch'd to battle. It was Kanto vs Galar. The two Wild Duck Pokemon stared each other down. "Night Slash!" Farfetch'd ran in, swinging its leek forward at its serious counterpart.
But the Galarian one proved to have an advantage due to its leek being heavier than a Kantonian's. It stopped the smaller leek from making contact.
"No good. Farfetch'd block it!"
That wouldn't help either. It also used Night Slash, sending its Kanto counterpart flying with a good hit to the stomach, making it faint in one hit.
"One hit?!" Pinkie yelled.
"R-Return!" Goh returned his Farfetch'd.
"Farfetch'd..." It told them to bring it on even more.
"So you've just been forcing trainers crossing this bridge to battle you?" said Ash.
"Far!" It looked over at Ash.
"Fine! I'll take you on!"
"Pika!"
Just then, Riolu had come out of Ash's Pokeball, wanting a go.
"Rio!"
"Riolu? You came out on your own?"
"Rio! Riolu!"
"I see. So you wanna fight, huh?"
"Ri!"
"Far..."
"Riolu! Vacuum Wave!" Riolu started off by releasing a wave of vacuum. Farfetch'd hit it away with its leek by using Night Shade once more, preparing to use it on Riolu as well. "Another Night Slash? Riolu! Force Palm!" Riolu ran up to Farfetch'd, striking its baby palms on its chest. Farfetch'd felt that, but it retaliated by slamming the leek down towards Riolu. "Double Team!" Riolu created illusionary clones of himself, tricking Farfetch'd. He's definitely learned some new moves.
"Far?"
"This is the results of our training! Follow it up with a Vacuum Wave combo!" All the Riolu's had then fired repeated waves of vacuum at the Wild Duck Pokemon. Farfetch'd took all the hits as it raised its leek up, going for another Night Slash. "Is it planning to fight us with just Night Slash?! Use Double Team again!" Riolu once again moved around Farfetch'd showing clones of himself zipping about.
Farfetch'd could see through it this time, swinging its leek around. It was strong enough to create a small whirlwind, destroying the clones. This didn't look like any Night Slash. A red streak surrounded the whirlwind.
"What's that?!" Goh said, pulling out this Rotom Phone.
"That move is Brutal Swing." The phone explained. Riolu fell on his back, still not out yet.
"Oh no, Riolu!"
Riolu got up with his body all tattered up.
"Oh, dear. I'm not sure Riolu can carry on like that." Fluttershy worried.
"But look. Farfetch'd looks like it used up all its strength with that Brutal Swing." Rainbow Dash pointed out. Farfetch'd was indeed a bit exhausted. The leek is heavier than it at the end of the day.
"I know you can still go on, right Riolu?" Ash said. Riolu responded to his words , getting back up on his feet. But slipping back down. "Come on! You can do it!" Riolu had finally stood up firm. "I believe in you, pal. You haven't yet given up have you?"
"Riolu!" The Emanation Pokemon let out a mighty cry. Farfetch'd raised its leek up once more.
"Here it comes Ash!" Twilight called out.
"I know! Time for the second part! Riolu! Reversal!" Riolu had learned a new move, rushing in forward as it returned all the damage back to Farfetch'd, knocking it back.
"You did it!" Scootaloo bellowed.
"No. Not yet. Farfetch'd! Hang in there!" Ash suddenly said, supporting the opposing Pokemon. "Stand up!"
"Huh?! Aren't you supposed to be on Riolu's side?!" Twilight exclaimed as the others were confused about why Ash was telling it to get back up.
"Farfetch'd hasn't given up yet either. I like its guts." Ash smirked.
"Pikachu!"
Farfetch'd got back up, raising its leek up with a battle cry.
"Ash, you idiot!" Twilight face-hoofed.
"Well done. Let's finish this, Farfetch'd! Right Riolu?"
"Rio!"
Unfortunately, Farfetch'd had fainted due to overworking itself.
As a favor, Ash and the others took it to the Pokemon Center to get it, Riolu and the Kantonian Farfetch'd healed up.
"We've restored your Pokemon to full health. Indeedee, if you would." Nurse Joy said to her helper Pokemon. A male and female Indeedee.
"Indeed!" The two of them brought their Pokemon back to them. Heading outside, Farfetch'd wanted to continue.
"You still wanna go on?" Ash asked. "You really love battling, huh?"
"Far."
"Well in that case..." Ash took a knee. "Wanna come with us?"
"Farfetch'd?"
"Riolu, Pikachu and the others. You could get stronger in my team!"
Farfetch'd took a moment to think about it. He looked into Ash's eyes, seeing the burning passion in it. He enjoyed battling just as much as itself. "Farfetch'd."
"He agreed!" Fluttershy translated.
"Awesome! Then go! Pokeball!" Ash tossed the Pokeball as it sent Farfetch'd inside.
1...2...3.. GET!
"I got a Galarian Farfetch'd!" Ash picked up the Pokeball.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Rio!"
"Congrats on another new Pokemon Ash!" Pinkie congratulated him.
"Alright, Farfetch'd come on out." Ash sent his newly caught friend to see him. Farfetch'd immediately went to strike Riolu, but the baby Pokemon avoided the impact.
"Oh, no fair Ash! I wanted to catch it! And you get the cool parts!" Goh groaned.
Deep within the bushes, there was a Pokemon that watched over them. A Sobble.
Today, the group had experienced another amazing Pokemon Battle. As Ash's path to reaching Leon continues and the road to the Pokemon League in Equestria carries on and the inclusion of Ash's newest Pokemon, the journey continues.
Twilight, Eve and her friends had arrived for apparent important business. They saw all the ponies glistening like crystals once more.
"Seems like only yesterday I was saving this place from being totally destroyed." Spike boasted as he walked with a proud strut. "Hey, you guys remember that?" He stopped near a statue. Which was of him.
"You only mentioned it about 15 times on the train here." Rainbow said.
"Yes, and we never hear a peep out of you about your exploits." Rarity said to Rainbow Dash, knowing she does it all the time.
"Heh. Point taken."
"I'm glad you all wanted to come. But I don't think it's going to be that exciting." Twilight commented. "I pretty much have to smile and wave as the dignitaries arrive."
"Yes but you get to smile and wave like a princess." Rarity responded.
"How exactly is that different from smiling and waving like... not a princess." AJ asked.
"It isn't." Twilight sighed, being a bit worried about something.
"What's wrong Twilight?" Fluttershy asked her.
"Why the looooong face?" Pinkie stretched her friends face.
"I've just been feeling a little unsure about things lately. It doesn't seem that my new role as a princess equates to all that much."
"That's just silly." AJ uttered. "You've got a real important role in Equestria."
"Princess Celestia wouldn't have asked you to come today if she didn't think so." Fluttershy spoke.
"I guess you're right..."
"Of course we are," replied Rarity. "Now hurry along. You don't want to risk having that important role diminished because you're tardy for your regal meet-and-greet.
"Eevee!"
The sounds of trumpets blew all over the kingdom.
"The Duke and Duchess of Maretonia!" Flash Sentry announced. Four royal and well-dressed ponies walked forward towards Celestia, Luna and Cadence. Twilight stood on a balcony, watching from above. Twilight used her magic to remove a rope that held a flag together. The flag opened up, revealing the symbol of Maretonia. They all bowed at each other as a greeting, and that was it. They all walked onwards, not saying a word as Twilight waved from above.
"That was it?!" Spike exclaimed. "Princess Celestia had you come all the way to the Crystal Empire just to do THAT?!" saving that made Twilight lower her head and close her eyes. "Uh, I mean Woah! Really regal and important." He gave off a nervous laugh as the other looked at him in disappointment with Applejack smacking his head.
Twilight was inside the castle as she greeted the Duke and Duchess herself.
"Your highness." The Duke spoke. "Thank you for understanding our desire to keep a number of those privy to these confidential discussions to a minimum."
"Of course," Twilight replied as they walked past her. She just smiled and waved them off. Along came Celestia with her Passion, Luna with her Darkrai and Cadence with her own Pokemon which ended up being a Sylveon. One she caught and evolved from an Eevee while ago. "Is there anything else I can do to assist with their visit?"
"I'm sorry, Twilight. But their visit is already over." Cadence answered.
"Oh." She lowered her head.
"Something wrong?" Luna asked.
"I guess I just don't really understand why I'm here. Couldn't one of the Royal Guards unfurled the banner?"
"Having all 4 of us in the empire to greet them lets the dignitaries know that the visit is considered an important one." Celestia explained.
"Plus, it gives me an opportunity to see my favorite sister in law." Cadence put her hoof around Twilight.
"And I'm happy to see you. All of you." Twilight still had a distraught look on her face.
"But...?" Cadence knew what she was going to say next.
"But I... well it's just that. Princess Luna raises the moon, Princess Celestia raises the sun, you protect the Crystal Empire. And all I seem to do is... smile and wave."
As Twilight wondered what she was even worthy of being a princess for, there was a familiar figure lurking about. Obsidian. Recently, he had just gotten a change in appearance. He asked the Rift to make him into a unicorn. Wings were cool, but magic was much more useful. As he listened to their conversation, he heard Twilight go on about what her role is meant to be. All the other princesses do something important and major. From the sun to the moon and love. Just like the 3 princesses, Twilight will play her part.
She became an alicorn for a reason.
Obsidian had vanished from the empire, returning to wherever it is that he hides. "I recognize that conversation. That means on this day... Tirek's coming back." Obsidian remembered the original timeline in the original universe. And this is the start of how Tirek returned and Twilight and her friends defeated her. "I've waited for this moment. Might as well get started." Obsidian had teleported to Ponyville, appearing to the underground hideout that Emerald Aura had been in for days and days.
"Oh! Obsidian! I was so lonely!" Emerald said with bags in her eyes. "Please don't leave me again!"
"Alright, calm down you. It's time you proved yourself useful."
"Huh?"
"I told you that I was waiting for this day. The whole Tirek event that went down."
"Oh yeah. So it's finally here. What do we do first? Do we get Ghetsis involved?"
"Yeah... we're not getting that maniac involved with this one. Instead... I got a better idea." Obsidian rubbed his hooves together.
"Hold on! I already know how this is gonna go!" Emerald stopped him.
"Hah?"
"Tirek ended up snatching every unicorn's magic in Equestria in the original timeline, even the alicorns."
"And your point is?"
"Uh, hello? We're unicorns too! He's gonna steal our magic too! And I may be nothing but a fake creation formed by cosmic dust, but I love magic okay?! Makes me feel cool."
"Oh, he won't have to. Because I've got a much better source of magic he can steal." Obsidian grinned.
Over at the streets of a town, a stallion was walking through the streets at night with a basket of food. He heard a noise, starting to worry. But it just ended up being a can rolling about. He let out a sigh of relief as he was about to continue walking, but halted when he saw a hooded figure in front of him. "Very sorry. Haha. You came out of nowhere."
"Is he friend or is he foe...? The pony wonders..." The hooded figure said with a fairly weak voice. "I can assure you, I am no friend. I am Lord Tirek." His hand came out of the darkness, rising up. He suddenly began to steal the unicorn's magic from him. "And I will take what should have been mine long ago." All that magic was entering his mouth, feeding him. Not only did he steal his magic, but his Cutie Mark had vanished as well. The poor Stallion fell down on the ground with his eyes all dull and locking vibrant colors like it used to. Tirek's body started to grow as well, increasing in size.
Over at Canterlot, Celestia woke up, having a fright. She just had a vision of Tirek. Luna rushed to her sister as she saw it all.
"Sister, are you alright?"
"I've just had the most terrible dream."
"Why do you think I'm here? You know as well as I that this was not a dream. But a vision."
"Then we haven't much time." Celestia got off her bed. "The stronger he becomes, the more we are all in danger."
The next day, Celestia and Luna had summoned Twilight and Cadence to Canterlot, giving them some information on who Tirek was.
"Tirek and his brother Scorpan came here from a distant land. Intent on stealing Equestrian magic. But Scorpan soon came to appreciate the ways of Equestria, even befriending a young unicorn wizard." Celestia said.
"Scorpan urged his brother to abandon their plans. When Tirek refused, Scorpan alerted us to Tirek's intentions." Luna explained.
"Scorpan returned to his own land and Tirek was sent to Tartarus for his crimes. But it appears he has found a way to escape." Celestia finished the story.
"We believe it happened when Cerberus left his post at the gates." Luna uttered.
"But that was a long time ago," Twilight commented. "Why is just now starting to steal magic?"
"His time in Tartarus left him very weak. He has just now gained enough strength to use his dark powers." said Celestia.
"But with each passing moment, he grows stronger still." Luna commented.
"And I know just the princess who could stop him." Cadence spoke.
"Yes. I'll find him and-"
"No Twilight." Celestia had halted her. "I'm afraid I must call in another to stop Tirek. Discord." Twilight, Luna and Cadence all gasped at what Celestia just said. It sounded like the worst-case scenario.
Back at Ponyville, Twilight had informed her pony friends about this.
"As in, Discord, Discord?" AJ said.
"Yes." Twilight replied.
"I don't think it's that big of a surprise." Fluttershy stepped forward. "He can be very helpful." The rest of her friends did not agree with that all.
"He can sense when there's a magical imbalance. The next time Tirek steals magic, Discord will be able to track him down." Twilight explained.
"So, what are you supposed to do in the meantime?" Rainbow Dash asked her.
"Nothing." Twilight sighed, turning around. "Unless of course one of you needs me to smile and wave." She then walked off.
"Where are you going?" Spike asked.
"To the Castle of the Two Sisters. I'm not really needed anywhere else. Might as well catch up on some of my reading."
"You want some company?" Dash questioned as the others followed her.
"It was been a while since we've visited the castle. Might be fun." Applejack babbled.
"Maybe I could use a little company right now."
As they were headed to the location of the castle, they came across the area where the Tree of Harmony was.
"I still can't believe we had to give back the elements." Rainbow Dash uttered.
"It had to be done or the Tree of Harmony wouldn't have survived." Rarity retorted.
"But Twilight was right." Fluttershy spoke. "Even without the elements, our friendship is as strong as ever."
"I just hope another FRIEND of ours never makes us sorry we had to give them up." AJ was referring to Discord. And speaking of Discord, his laugh could be heard. He arrived by flying in with an umbrella and a bag.
"You're talking about me I presume."
"How'd you guess..." AJ replied, not amused.
"My ears were burning." His ears were burning as he put them out with water.
"What are you even doing here, Discord?" Rainbow asked.
"Oh, just a bit of light reading before I head off on my extremely important mission." He donned a military outfit with the Equestria flag behind him. "I suppose you all know I've been tasked to capture a certain escapee."
"Big deal!" Spike spoke.
"You're right Spike. It is a big deal." Discord blew a bubble at Spike, trapping him in it as it flew up, popping. Luckily RD caught him. "Seems I possess a magic that gives me quite an important role in Equestria. Maybe they should make me an alicorn princess." He gave himself a horn and some wings, mimicking Twilight.
"In your dreams." Rainbow knocked the crown off his head.
"Oh, I never dream of such things. Ask Princess Luna."
"Don't you have a creepy magic stealing villain to track down?" Applejack reminded him.
"Yes, yes, yes. Of course." He pulled them all together, sending them to the Tree of Harmony. It's just that I couldn't help but notice that Twilight hasn't yet opened this little chest of hers." Discord referred to the mysterious chest with 6 keyholes. "It got me thinking, what if what's locked inside is something that could help her prove her royal worth? I only bring it up because she said that she's been feeling like her role as a princess doesn't equate to much."
"Wait a minute! How do YOU know how she was feeling!" Pinkie bellowed.
"Oh? Is eavesdropping not the way you're supposed to find out what your best pals are up to? Woe is me. Will I ever learn the intricate nuances of being a good friend?" He was acting all dramatic. The rest of them, except for Fluttershy were not amused. "Ahem. Well, in any case, I suppose now is as good a time as any for me to make my exit." He hopped on a moped. "Tell Ash I said Hi!" He had teleported away.
"And good riddance!" shouted Applejack, thinking he was gone, but he appeared right behind her.
"Oopsy doopsy. I almost left with the little journal you've all been keeping." Discord held the journal in his hands. "What a fascinating read. Haven't you girls just learned so much? I've bookmarked a few more interesting passages, you really should take a look." He placed the journal on Twilight's horn. "We're still for later, aren't we Fluttershy?" Discord whispered to her.
"I wouldn't miss it." She kindly replied.
"Oho! Well, I'll bring the cucumber sandwiches." He finally left, exiting through a random door.
"Sometimes I think the 'Reformed' Discord is more obnoxious than the before he was reformed Discord." said Applejack.
"Indeed." Rarity agreed.
"But he could be right couldn't he?" Fluttershy joined in. "What if there is something important in that chest?"
Twilight wondered for a bit. "There's only one way to find out."
They had eventually reached the Castle of the Two Sisters, searching for any information about the chest.
"Anything?" She asked them. They all said various forms of no, not making any progress. "There must be something in this library that can help me figure out how to open it. The answers' in one of these books. I just know it." She rapidly read through them, searching for anything.
Meanwhile, Tirek was continuing to steal as much magic as he could. Going up to every unicorn he could find and eating their magic. He continued to grow as he spotted another unicorn, slowly creeping up on him. The unicorn turned its head around, revealing to be Discord.
"Tirek. I presume?"
Tirek froze for a second, recognizing Discord.
"Discord? You're free?"
"As a bird." He transformed into an odd bird.
"I commend you on your escape."
"I'm afraid the feeling isn't mutual." Discord snapped his fingers, causing chains and cuffs to appear on Tirek's arms. Tirek, in response, fired a magic beam at Discord's head, but the Lord of Chaos split his head apart, making the beam miss.
"Oh, I should've known you would want to have Equestria all to yourself."
"Oh, I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing this for my friends." He said wearing a cop outfit. "Just between the two of us, it's mostly for Fluttershy." He whispered.
"Fluttershy? You're not saying you're friends with... ponies?"
"Surprise!" He popped out of a cake as some got on Tirek.
"I am surprised that someone with your intellect does not see this 'Friendship' is but a new form of imprisonment. Clearly you've had to abandon your true nature to stay in their good graces."
"I have done nothing of the sorts." He responded, playing a harp as an angel halo was above him.
"Oh, please. I've seen this before. But he was always weak-minded." He was referring to his brother, Scorpan. "You are Discord. You are a legend. You cannot fall into the same trap that claimed my brother. He'll need to grow strong and be rewarded with something far greater than 'Friendship'. Freedom." This grabbed Discord's attention. "Once I've stripped these ponies of their magic, nothing will give me greater pleasure than to see their world turned upside down. Who better to do so than the Master of Chaos himself?"
Discord was actually thinking about it for a bit.
"Join me Discord. And reclaim your greatness. Unless of course, pony errand boy is the role you've always wanted to play in this world?"
Discord looked over at the portrait of him and Fluttershy along with the Discord Lamp he made from the destroyed fragments of her old lamp.
"Hold it!" A voice called out to them. It was Obsidian with Emerald Aura hiding behind him, quivering. "I've got a better source of magic for you."
"Hm? A willing unicorn?"
"Oh. Those are just those Rift ponies. What do you want?" Discord said.
"You're off to eat unicorn magic aren't ya, Tirek?"
"Correct. And I see two new ones in front of me."
"Wait! What if I told you... there's something greater than unicorn magic?"
"I know. Alicorn magic."
"Even better. How would you like a taste of the apex of all magic? Fairy Pokemon magic."
"...Go on."
"You can still eat up your unicorn magic. But I'd say that Fairy-Type magic will benefit you a lot. Pokemon are all magic by nature, but the Fairy-Types are brimming with the most magic. Alicorn magic is powerful, but Pokemon magic has no limit. Pokemon continue to get stronger. Learning new moves and achieving new forms and evolutions they didn't even know they had."
"Interesting... All that magic power in this... Pokemon creature." Tirek rubbed his chin.
"What do you say? How about we all pitch in and steal some magic eh?"
Kanto, Pallet Town.
"Alright, Ash. Here you go." Delia handed his son a refill on Pokeballs.
"Thanks, mom."
"Pikachu."
"You know the other day, that Sonata girl and her sister Aria came along here again. They just couldn't get enough of that Slowpoke tail. They eat just as aggressively as you." Delia laughed as Ash laughed back. "Although when I asked them about their other sister, Adagio, they said they fell out. I hope they didn't get into some sort of horrible argument or fight."
"Don't worry mom. The two of them are pretty distant from Adagio, but I'm sure eventually they'll work it out with her."
"If you say so. Then again, you have a habit of sticking to your word. Now run along. Some of those Pokeballs are meant for your pony friends too, you know."
"Alright! See ya!"
"Pika!"
The two of them ran out of their house, entering the gateway to Ponyville. There he was greeted by Derpy who came flying in, crashing into him.
"Ough!"
"Pika!"
"Oh, hi Ash. I've got a delivery for you." Derpy handed him a package. "Straight from Pinkie Pie."
"Thanks, Derpy."
"Pikachu-Pi."
"You're welcome." Derpy flew off.
"Let's get a good look inside shall we Pikachu?" Ash started to open the package.
"Pikachu!"
He opened it as inside revealed to be a band of some sorts. The band had 8 colors in total. All of them represented his friends. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Spike and his color which was a mix of blue and yellow. It was a friendship band made just for him. "Oh sweet." He placed it on his right hand. "A friendship band, huh? I like it! Guess we got something to remember them by when it's all over huh Pikachu?"
"Pika!"
"But... I am gonna miss this world when everything reverts." Ash took a look at Ponyville, getting a glance at its vibrant view. "But, let's enjoy it while it lasts, kay buddy?"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
Back with Twilight and her friends, she had just found something in her journal that might help.
"I think I found something! I've been reading our journal, and there's something interesting about the sections that Discord bookmarked." They all gathered around her. "Applejack. Do you remember when you had to tell everypony that the tonic Granny bought from the Flim Flam Brothers didn't really work?"
"How could I forget? It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do." Applejack reminisced that moment. Being honest and telling the truth to her Granny who looked so happy and energetic was a tough thing to do. "But in that moment, I knew I had to be honest. I just knew it. But, what's that got to do with opening the chest?"
"I've found that each of you has had to face a situation. Where living up to the Element of Harmony you represent isn't easy. Fluttershy, it was when you realised that the way to show kindness to the Breezies was by forcing them to leave your home."
"Oh, the looks on their poor little faces. But I knew that was difficult as it was...pushing them away was the kindest thing I could do."
"Rarity. Even after Suri took advantage of your generosity at Fashion Week in Manehattan, you didn't let it cause you to abandon your generous spirit."
"I simply couldn't have lived with myself if I didn't do something special for the friends who have always been so generous to me."
"Rainbow Dash. You had the chance to fly with the Wonderbolts at the Equestria Games. But instead, you chose to compete with your friends."
"Sure. But being loyal to my friends was way-"
"Oooh! Ooh! My turn! My turn!" Pinkie interrupted Rainbow Dash.
"Pinkie Pie. You realised that seeing your friend laugh was more important than proving you were a better party planner than Cheese Sandwich."
"Best party I've ever had." Rainbow placed her hoof around Pinkie.
"It's clear we've all had our moments to shine Twilight." Rarity spoke. "But I'm with Applejack. What does any of this have to do with the opening of the chest?"
"All of you had tough choices to make. But when you made the right one and embraced your Element, it helped somepony else make the right choice too. Each of you received something from the pony whose life you helped change." Twilight referred to Cheese Sandwich's pal Boneless, the bit, the flower pin, the thread, the golden lightning medal. "I know it sounds crazy. But maybe there's something special about those objects that could lead us to the location of the keys. The chest is connected to the Tree of Harmony, the tree is connected to the elements, and the elements are connected to all of us. There must be a connection! I hate to admit, but maybe Discord was trying to be a good friend after all."
So, to the chest, they went, bringing along all the items they were given.
"I don't see anything on them to give us a clue on where the keys might be. They're just... ordinary everyday objects." Twilight said, examining them.
"Come on Boneless!" Pinkie picked up Boneless. "Give us that key!" She shook him about.
"I don't think that's going to work." Twilight replied. She ducked as Pinkie threw Boneless. But it was a good call, as Boneless hit the chest, connecting to a keyhole as the chest started to give off light that held the boneless chicken. They all gasped as they saw Boneless transform into a key that Pinkie Pie's Cutie Mark as the holder. The light pulled the key forward, inserting it into the keyhole. The others did the same, placing their items on the chest as well. It worked its magic, grabbing all of them and transforming them into keys with their Cutie Marks on them as well. They all entered the keyholes, but there was one left. "There's still one key missing. The key that represents the Element of Magic. My element."
"Oh, but I'm sure if we've gotten our keys, you have too Twilight." Fluttershy commented.
"Think Twilight. When have you completed a difficult magical task, and in doing so, encouraged another pony to do the same?" Rarity questioned.
"I haven't. If I had I would've written about it in the journal."
"Don't worry Twilight. I'm sure you'll get your key eventually" said Spike. All of a sudden, he felt a scroll coming through as he held his mouth, feeling the need to barf. He barfed out a new scroll. Twilight opened up the scroll as she read it. "What's it say?"
"That I'm needed in Canterlot at once!"
Twilight flew to Canterlot as fast as she could, finally getting used to those wings. She hurried inside as Celestia, Luna and Cadence were expecting her.
"I came as quickly as I could! Is something wrong? Is it Tirek?"
"I'm afraid I put too much trust in Discord. And the effect that Friendship would have on him." Celestia had caught news of Discord going about, helping Tirek steal magic. So many unicorns were losing their magic and Cutie Marks, left and right. "But... it's worse than I thought. Now Tirek is after Pokemon magic. Specifically Fairy-Types. With the combined might of both unicorn magic and Pokemon magic, who knows how powerful he's become."
Tirek was growing stronger, his body increasing in size, faster than ever. In the original timeline, it took a few hours for him to become large, but with this timeline and Pokemon, it took one hour and a few minutes tops. This Tirek was far more dangerous than the original timeline.
"How could he do this?! I thought out friendship meant something to him! I thought he had changed!"
"Tirek has stolen enough magic that he now has the strength to steal flight as well." Celestia said. And it was true. Tirek stole the flight of all the Pegasi. At the end of the day, magic is everywhere. But he didn't' stop there. Even the Flying-Type Pokemon were next. Soon, Tirek had gone after all of the Pokemon of every type. All 18 of them. "Without Pegasi to control the weather, there will be no rain in Equestria. And.. it seems every other Pokemon have had their magic stolen as well. Not just fairies. Pokemon are magic by nature, so they still have magic in them, just not as large as Fairy-Types. There is word that he has gone after Earth Ponies as well. Without their strength, they will not be able to tend the land. But even more worse, is that he hasn't stopped at Equestria."
Tirek had been taken to the Pokemon World next. He had currently been to Sinnoh, Johto and Hoenn. He returned back to Equestria to steal more magic there and he'll return to the other side for seconds.
"Ponies and Pokemon will no longer be in control of their own worlds," Luna spoke. "That power will belong solely to Tirek."
"There is no doubt that Tirek is after alicorn magic," said Celestia. "With Discord by his side, we will not be able to stop him from taking it."
"Once it is in his possession, his power will know no bounds. And all hope will be lost!" Luna exclaimed.
"But there is one solution."
Passion had peered over the corner, watching this. She was terrified of what she was hearing about Tirek.
Celestia, Luna and Cadence both flew over to Twilight as Celestia stepped forward. "It is only by making this sacrifice, that Equestria and the lands beyond it might be saved. We must rid ourselves of our magic. Before Tirek has the chance to steal it from us."
Both Twilight and Passion had gasped. What did she just say?
"Tirek is set on possessing alicorn magic," Luna spoke. "When he comes for us, we cannot have what he is looking for."
"I'm more than willing to do my part and give up my magic." Twilight replied.
"You misunderstand. Our magic just cannot disappear into thin air. Somepony must keep it safe." Luna explained.
"That somepony is you, Twilight." Cadence walked up to her.
"Why me?"
"We do not believe that Tirek is aware that a fourth alicorn princess exists in Equestria," Celestia said. "If we transfer our magic to you, Tirek will not know where it has gone."
"Do you understand what we're asking of you?" Cadence asked.
"Yes... it's just...I'm only now learning how to control my own alicorn magic." She showed off her wings. "To take on even more..."
"Twilight." Cadence halted her. "You represent the Element of Magic. If there is anypony who can do this, it's you." Celestia and Luna nodded their head.
"Taking on this task will be one of the most difficult things I'll ever do. But with the help of my friends-"
"I'm sorry Princess Twilight." Celestia stopped her. "But you must keep your new abilities a secret. I fear that your friends being aware of your new power could put them at great risk."
"Even Ash? He might be strong enough to-"
"Even Ash. I don't know if he and Pikachu are also capable of taking this threat on. Do you still think you can take on this responsibility?"
Twilight took a moment to think as she gave her answer. "This is the role I'm meant to play as a princess of Equestria. I will not fail to do my duty!"
"Then we must begin at once." Celestia spoke. Passion watched from the side, not knowing how to feel about this. She didn't want her trainer to lose her magic but it was for her own safety. Darkrai and Sylveon, on the other hand, accepted this, knowing it had to be done.
All 3 princesses surrounded Twilight in a triangle formation. They each concentrated their magic at the same time with all of it coming out of their horns. Their eyes flashed as they unleashed all of their magic, sending it upwards and creating a ball of pure concentrated magic. All of the magic in it came down on Twilight, filling her with overwhelming magic that she has never felt before.
Discord could feel this. He could feel tons of magic being poured somewhere as it made his body all wobbly.
"That can't be right..." He uttered.
"What can't be right?" Tirek asked as his voice became much deeper than ever.
"N-Nothing. Carry on."
All of the princess's Cutie Marks had vanished. Luna and Cadence were blank but strangely enough, Celestia's Boundless Cutie Mark was still there. But it was barely hanging in there.
Twilight, on the other hand, was overflowing with magic as she could feel so much power in her. Her body started twitching and glowing. She hadn't felt this much magic ever since the day the Sonic Rainboom jumpstarted her as a filly. The magic eased down as Twilight went to hug Celestia. She looked over, seeing their Cutie Marks vanish but Celestia's.
"Sister. Your Boundless Cutie Mark. It's still there." Luna pointed out. "I thought you gave up all your magic?"
"I did. I don't know why it hasn't vanished either. I can't feel any magic in me anyways. But right now Twilight. You must hide."
The night had come, but this time it wasn't Luna raising the moon. It was Twilight. Spike was asleep as he heard Twilight quietly trot in the night.
"You weren't gone very long. Does that mean that everything's okay?" He asked.
"Yep. Everything's fine." Twilight smiled as her own was twitching, unable to control all that power.
"In that case, I'm going back to bed. Sun's not up and neither am I." He dozed off. Eve had joined him in his sleep.
"That's strange. The sun should be up by now..." She took a second to realise that she had to raise the sun, gasping. "The sun should be up by now!" She went outside, looking at the sky and taking a deep breath. "You can do this." She concentrated all her magic at the moon, trying to lower it. Her mane started to gain stars in them as yellow electricity surrounded her, making her float up. She then made the moon fly about like crazy. She did end up bringing the sun, but then the moon again, and the sun, until she was just shuffling the two of them around like crazy.
Shining Armor looked up at the sky, seeing the oddity of the sun and moon going wild. Unbeknownst to him, the guards behind him were floating up without control. All of a sudden, his royal helmet was taken from him as Discord appeared wearing it.
"Shining Armor. Why whatever are you doing here?" He asked.
"Back off, traitor." Shining wasn't going to chatter with Discord.
"The only one Discord betrayed was himself." Tirek had arrived, looking like an absolute behemoth. Every footstep did rumbled the entire place. Obsidian and Emerald Aura stood behind him, using him as cover. Tirek was holding a guard, absorbing his magic as well as he dropped him. "Abandoning his true nature to make 'FRIENDS' with weak-minded equines that offer him nothing!"
Shining Armor decided to do something by unleashed a magic beam at him, but it was no use. Tirek easily caught it, eating it in one go. He then grabbed Shining Armor by the head, eating all of his magic as well. With Shining Armor down, nopony is left to guard the princesses. And they can't protect themselves either with all their magic gone. "H-How could you... do this?" Shining looked to Discord, fainting.
"Why don't you go and have a little fun?" Tirek put his arms around Discord. "I won't stand in your way."
Discord laughed, ready to dole out some chaos as he teleported off.
"Oh and as for you two." Tirek turned to Obsidian and Emerald Aura. "I thank you for teaching me about Pokemon. I never knew this much power could exist in tiny little creatures from another world."
"Well. We know our stuff." Obsidian boasted.
"Indeed. You've been useful enough." Tirek grabbed both of them, eating their magic in the process.
Not only did he now have unicorn, pegasus, earth pony and Pokemon magic in him. He now possessed a semblance of the rift. He tossed the two of them away as they became dull as well. He walked off, entering the castle.
"W-What did I say?" Emerald stammered.
"I-I knew it was gonna happen... but not this soon. M-Minor setback." Obsidian replied. "Not to worry... the Rift will just restore us. And so it did, their magic returned to them as Emerald shook her head.
"I'm out of here! I'm not gonna deal with that anymore!" Emerald Aura walked off, returning to her hideout.
"Meh. I played my part. I gave him all the power he needs, so I say this is a win. Now let's see how they tackle this problem." Obsidian grinned, flying off to wherever he goes.
Tirek had reached the princesses, ready to eat some alicorn magic. They could feel the tremor-like steps as he was staring them down. He broke through the doors like they were nothing. Passion and Sylveon had hidden to make sure Tirek wouldn't steal their magic too. Darkrai hid in the shadows.
Tirek grinned as he picked up Celestia with his magic, ready to eat. But he found out there was nothing. No magic at all.
"What have you done?!"
Celestia smiled knowing what has really happened. Passion didn't want that monster harming Celestia. She wanted to do something so badly. Tirek went over to Luna and Cadence, trying to eat their magic as well, but nothing. "WHERE IS YOUR MAGIC?!"
Passion had mustered up the courage to do something as she stepped forward, standing in front of her trainer.
"Passion?"
"Kirlia!"
"I'll just take more of this one then!" Tirek went to grab Kirlia.
"Not my Passion!" Celestia yelled. Passion had to protect the ones she loved. So out of impulse, she used every ounce of her psychic and magical powers to teleport Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Darkrai and Sylveon out of the castle. Tirek stomped his hoof on the floor, breaking it apart.
"Curses! Where did those mares put their magic?!"
Passion had teleported them all outside to Saddle Lake, wanting their safety, but mostly Celestia's.
"Passion...did you use Teleport?" Celestia asked.
"Kirlia..." Passion went over to hug Celestia.
"Oh, Passion. You were that worried. It's okay." Celestia hugged her back. "But now... we just have to hope that Twilight isn't found." Celestia and the others looked over to the distance, spotting Ponyville.
"Princess Celestia? Luna? Cadence?" Ash had come across them. Seeing them in their current state. Even noticing their Cutie Mark's being missing. Except for Celestia's. "What happened?"
"Ash Ketchum. You have to get somewhere safe. Tirek is loose." said Luna.
"Who?"
"Pika?"
The princesses explained everything. Who Tirek was, his brother Scorpan and how Discord betrayed them and how he's taken the magic of countless ponies, including the Pokemon and how they gave up their magic, storing in Twilight so that Tirek can't take it, and how Twilight is in hiding.
"Oh, man." Ash sat down' taking it all in. "That's rough. So this guy's stacked with magic now?"
"Yes. His power has grown larger than any creature in Equestria. Or even both worlds. By giving up our magic, we had essentially removed our natural way of life. Forever. But we had to, or else Tirek would be unstoppable."
"Hmm." Ash thought for a moment, thinking about what to do. Then an idea struck his head. "It's settled then."
"Huh?" The 3 princesses both said.
"We stop Tirek and get everyone's magic back."
"Pikachu!"
"Ash Ketchum. You make this sound easy. And you cannot face Tirek with all the power he has." Luna spoke. Ash just simply smirked. "Do not tell me... you have a way to defeat Tirek?"
"Of course I do. All we gotta do is defeat him. Simple. Who cares how much power he has? Me and my Pokemon have been getting stronger for years. Growing together. He just now got stronger after being trapped for so long. We'll show him how much hard work beats shortcuts!"
"Pika!"
"You're insane. But then again... what did I expect. I can't stop you once you've decided." Celestia replied. "But, can you really do it with just Pikachu?"
"Of course not. I've got other Pokemon. In fact, you all have Pokemon too right? Why don't you put your trust in them and they can help you win."
"Put our trust in our Pokemon?" Luna looked at Darkrai.
"If a trainer and a Pokemon team up, and put all their trust into each other, they'll be able to take on as many foes as they want."
"Kirlia." Passion looked up at Celestia. Celestia also looked back and realised that giving up so easily was a bit of a drawback. Her eyes flashed as the Boundless Cutie Mark began to flare. Celestia was then given visions of the original timeline, where Twilight succeded against Tirek. However, she also saw this current timeline and saw how Tirek easily defeated Twilight, becoming victorious, and Equestria being doomed. With Discord's immense magic and Tirek's overwhelming power, Twilight could be in even greater danger than anypony else. And with the inclusion of Ghetsis, it was practically an apocalypse waiting to happen. Just then, the Boundless Cutie Mark started to slowly gain its color back.
"My magic... It's returning?" Celestia's eyes had more color once more as she looked at herself. Once more he alicorn magic had been restored.
"How is this possible?" Luna said.
"The Boundless Cutie Mark." Celestia looked at her infinite mark. She then remembered the two visions she saw of the timeline. The first one was a success but this one seemed like an imminent disaster. "Twilight is in danger. Unparalleled danger." Celestia stood up tall as Passion smiled, seeing the trainer she loved back to her true self.
"What are you going to do, Celestia?" Cadence asked.
"I'm going to stop Tirek and save my star pupil. Ash. Pikachu. Passion. Will you help me?"
"Of course!"
"Pikachu!"
"Darkrai..." Luna called to her Pokemon. "I may not have my magic anymore... but will you help us stop this?"
"Of course. It was about time until you realised that we're still here." Darkrai responded.
"Sylveon. I know you're not much of a battler... but do you think you can help us?"
"Syl!"
"That's the spirit! If you don't give up, your Pokemon won't give up! Let's do this!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
Over at Golden Oak, Twilight tried to open her door but ended up destroying it. "I have to gain better control. I sure can't practice here." Twilight ran out as Spike, Eve and Minccy followed.
"Twilight! Where are you going?!"
"Oh uh, hi Spike. Gotta go...somewhere else!" Twilight flew off, causing a crater to form due to the immense flying power she now posses. She was struggling to fly even more, and just when she had finally gotten used to flying. She flew by Rainbow Dash, causing a sonic boom to make her rainbow friend spin and leaving a trail of cosmic streak.
"Twilight?" Rainbow Dash chased her. Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie saw this, following the two. Twilight crashed down, sliding on the ground and leaving a long dirt trail.
"Oh my goodness! Are you alright?" Fluttershy worried.
"Jumpin junebugs Twilight! Are you alright? When did you learn how to fly fast?" Applejack asked.
"I...must have caught a particularly strong breeze..." She suddenly teleported behind them. "Or something."
"Must've been or something." Rainbow commented. "Because there wasn't any breeze up there."
"I don't know what happened. But I really don't have time to figure it out right now." Her body twitched with magic.
"Another visit to the Castle of Two Sisters I presume?" Rarity asked. "We'd be more than happy to accompany you!"
"Not today. Tirek may still be a threat. I need you to stay here and encourage everypony to remain inside." Twilight was about to fly off, but she figured it would be best if she just walked this time.
With Tirek, he sat down on the throne, still wondering why they didn't have any magic. But he stopped thinking about it as he had all the power he needed now.
"No matter. Soon every Unicorn, Earth Pony and Pegasus will bow down to my will. And there there is nothing no one can do to stop it!"
"You meant our will? Didn't you?" Discord commented, playing with the stain glass windows.
"Of course. Here. I want you to have something." Tirek took off the necklace that was on his neck, handing it to Discord. "This was given to me by someone very close to me. I give it to you as a sign of my gratitude and loyalty."
"Oh my." Discord looked at the golden necklace. "I do love a good accessory. I suppose that's Rarity's influence."
"Now! With the princesses out of the way, we can now-" Tirek stopped as he noticed a stain glass window with Twilight on it. "Is this meant to be humorous?!"
"Oh, ho ho, no. I haven't touched that one yet."
"There is a fourth?!"And you did not tell me this?!"
"I just need some assurance, that you truly considered this a team effort. And now I have it." Discord held the necklace.
"Then where can we find this fourth princess? Where is her castle?"
"Castle? Hahaha! Princess Twilight lives above a library in Ponyville. Castle?" Discord continued to laugh.
"Not for much longer." Tirek grinned, knowing where he has to be next.
At Ponyville, the rest of the girls and Spike had finished warning them all.
"Alright, ya'll. I think we've warned everypony to stay inside." said AJ.
"I'm sure Discord will catch Tirek and this will all be over soon." Fluttershy spoke.
"I'll bet he takes his sweet time." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Or perhaps these things just take time." Discord had appeared here. Fluttershy ran over to hug him.
"You're back! Did you bring the cucumber sandwiches?"
"I did." Discord popped some cucumber sandwiches in his hands. "I imagine they'll be your last decent meal for quite some time." He suddenly dropped them on the ground. The group were suddenly trapped inside of a cage. "Ta-dah!"
"You've gathered up all of them?" Tirek said to him.
"And her little dragon too."
"Why are you doing this? I thought we were friends." Fluttershy started to cry.
"Oh, we were. But Tirek offered me so much more than just tea parties. Surely you saw this coming?"
"I didn't. I really didn't..." She wept.
Tirek then lifted the cage, eating their magic and strength as well, eliminating their Cutie Marks in the process. Discord felt a little bad about it. Tirek was now the size of many mountains, much larger than his size in the original timeline. "You really think she'd do anything for them?"
"If Twilight has magic to give...it will be yours. Soon there won't be a pegasus, earth pony, unicorn or Pokemon, who will be able to stand up against us!"
"Us? Who said anything about us?" Tirek grinned.
"You did." Suddenly, Discord was grabbed my overwhelming magic as Tirek brought him closer. "You helped me grow strong. You've provided the means by which I can obtain Princess Twilight's magic! And now you are no longer of any use to me." Tirek started to eat Discord's magic now. Now he had chaos magic at his disposal. The monstrous centaur walked off, ready to find Twilight and take her magic next.
"B-But you said... this was a sign of your gratitude and loyalty." Discord weakly said. "A gift from someone close to you."
"My brother who betrayed me. It is as worthless as he is." Tirek responded, jumping high into the air with all that grandiose magic in him.
"Surely you saw this coming?" Applejack said the same thing he said to Fluttershy.
"I didn't. I truly didn't." Discord lowered his head, feeling horrible. Just when it all seemed down. They heard a familiar voice.
"Iron Tail!" Pikachu came in, destroying the cage. Cadence and Luna had arrived as well as Celestia along with their Pokemon too. "You all okay?!"
"A-Ash!" Pinkie Pie said with a smile on her face.
"Tirek got you all too huh?" Ash held the weak pink pony.
"Ash. He's off to find Twilight. Stop him." Pinkie said.
"Don't worry. The princesses and I will handle it. You all help too."
"But Ash... we don't have our magic anymore." Rarity said. "And our strength has been stripped from us."
"You still have your Pokemon though. They're your backup magic." Ash replied. The girls looked at each other, remembering that they have Pokemon to help them.
"What if he absorbs the Pokemon's magic too? What then?" Applejack asked.
Ash and Pikachu, along with Darkrai, Kirlia and Sylveon then smiled, laughing all of a sudden. They were starting to scare the ponies.
"W-Why are you laughing?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well, you see..." Darkrai spoke. "It's true we Pokemon are magical creatures... but there is one factor that puts us above the rest."
"We have an ace in the hole..." Ash looked to Fluttershy.
Meanwhile, Twilight was sitting atop a cliff alone. "I can do this." She started her magic up, trying to control it. She ended up teleporting to point a to point b. Slowly getting the hang of it as a smile showed on her face. "See? Perfectly controlled teleportation." She spoke too soon as she was teleporting all over the place. From Canterlot to other familiar locations, until she found herself stuck in a rock.
"PRINCESS TWILIGHT!" Tirek's voice bellowed at immense levels. "You have something that belongs to me!"
Twilight flew out of the rocks, breaking them as she dashed past Tirek. She flew wildly, crashing back down as she slid on the ground, smacking into Tire's hoof. She looked up to see this 200ft monster standing in front of her. Unlike anything she's ever seen before as she backed away.
"You're going to give me what I want!" Tirek was about to steal her magic but the young alicorn teleported away in time, returning back to Golden Oak. She looked through her telescope, noticing Tirek from afar. The Centaur fired a beam of magic that raced towards her. It was moving fast. Twilight instinctively grabbed Owlicious out of the library, flying away from the building. The beam hit the library, obliterating it into pieces. Much more devastating than the original timeline.
Golden Oak Library was no more. Owlicious had flown as Twilight stood up, angered. She decided to finally do something as she took to the skies, unleashing a beacon of magic towards Tirek. Tirek put up a shield as the large beam engulfed him, barely pushing him back. Tirek realised just how powerful he had become as he obliterated the beam with his magic, causing a large colorful explosion to emerge.
Twilight was surprised that it did barely anything against him.
"Now I understand what you're fellow princess's had done." Tirek now knows where all the alicorn magic is now. Twilight took off once more, unleashing another beam. Tirek fired back this time as they both met. However, Tirek's easily overpowered hers by a long shot. Twilight was knocked back by the overwhelming being, feeling the sting of it. She shook her head as she saw Tirek lunge over, about to step on her. She gasped, teleporting away as a giant crater formed underneath, causing the hills around the area to fall apart.
Obsidian and Emerald Aura were watching this happen from afar, terrified.
"Holy moly. Can you imagine if he was like this in the original timeline? They'd be screwed." Emerald commented.
"I think they already are. I wanted him to become powerful but... how are they gonna solve a problem like this now?" said Obsidian.
Tirek chased after Twilight, making the ground tremble as the purple alicorn was flying away. Tirek easily caught up to her, grabbing her by the tail. "Gotcha!"
Twilight gasped as she teleported away, appearing above him and unleashing a destructive blast down on him. A pillar of magic occurred by that blast as Twilight flew back. But Tirek emerged from the smoke, grinning.
"BAHAHA! POKEMON MAGIC IS THE GREATEST! I've never felt so much power... The earth...the land.. the sea and the skies. Lightning, fire, water, darkness, fairies, ice, steel. All forms of powers that I never even dreamed would make this powerful! I should've thanked those two ponies from recommending Pokemon to me. Who knew that these tiny little creatures could hold so much power?" Tirek summoned a huge ball of destructive magic dropping it on Twilight. Twilight teleported away as the entire area continued to get destroyed constantly.
Tirek appeared behind Twilight, slamming her down to the ground. Twilight felt all that pain as instantly, her entire body was immobilized for a bit. She struggled to get up as she looked at Tirek. She charged up the mother of all blasts, firing it up at Tirek. But Tirek easily cancelled it out with a tiny ball, causing another colorful explosion. Twilight could feel her body falling asleep due to the intense strength of Tirek. But she hasn't given up yet. She used every ounce of her strength to lift herself up. That uncontrollable flying came in handy this time as she escaped from Tirek.
She decided to go for an easy weak point. Doesn't matter who you are, if you're hit in the eye, especially with something devastating, it will hurt. Unless you're immune to that. So Twilight zapped Tirek right in his eyes, making him feel all that pain. Tirek held his eyes as Twilight blasted him away with another beam, this time returning the favor to him. Tirek then unleashed a blast of his own. It grazed Twilight, making her fall back down to the ground.
"Enough games!" Tirek looked down at Twilight. "Your magic...is mine!" He went to pick up the young alicorn but was stopped by a zap of magic that struck his hands. "What?!" He turned around to see Celestia. Healthy again. "But how! I thought your magic was gone?!"
"I thought so too. But my Boundless Cutie Mark doesn't want me to stop here!" Celestia exclaimed.
"Princess...Celestia." Twilight smiled.
"Get away from my student." Celestia walked up to him. She looked up the large centaur, not even afraid at the slightest. Then, her Boundless Cutie Mark began switching up. Twilight's Cutie Mark grew in size as the others shrunkk. Soon Twilight's Cutie Mark was next to Celestia's. Twilight saw this, wondering what it meant.
"Now that you're here and healthy. I'll finally be able to consume alicorn magic!" Tirek went to grab Celestia, but the sun princess had teleported away from him, heading to Twilight and getting her to safety. "W-Where'd she go?!"
Celestia had teleported her and Twilight behind a pile of rocks.
"Twilight. I am so sorry about this. I only ended up causing more danger for you and your friends. I should've never given up my magic in the first place or put my trust in Discord. I should've just dealt with the situation on my own from the very beginning. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault Princess Celestia. I should've just stayed inside. Then maybe, Tirek wouldn't find me." Twilight responded.
The conversation the two just had made the Boundless Cutie Mark act up. They both looked at as it was trying to tell them something.
"Princess Celestia. I think I know what this Boundless Cutie Mark finally means!"
"You do?"
"Yes! There's a reason why it chose you. Because you are the ruler of Equestria obviously. But also because it must mean that you're the only pony who can do this!"
Celestia looked at her Cutie Mark. What Twilight said could be true. She could be the only one capable of this. But...
"No Twilight. We're the only ponies who can do this. I may be powerful... but not on my own. A ruler isn't someone with all the power in the world. Neither are the ones with a royal lineage. Or a kingdom to rule. A true ruler is somepony who inspires others. They help others reach their goals, and never judge anyone, even if they are beneath them or their accomplishments are greater than them. I wasn't being a great ruler back there. I did not have the courage. But now I know that courage is what will drive me to improve myself. I may be thousands of years old... but I still have a lot to learn. So what do you say? How about we save Equestria, Princess Twilight?"
"Okay!"
"Gh... no sign of them. In that case, I'll just drag them out with this." Tirek snapped his fingers, bringing Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Spike with him. "Out of your cages? No matter. PRINCESS TWILIGHT!" Tirek called out. "I HAVE SOMETHING OF GREAT VALUE HERE!"
Celestia and Twilight flew out of the rocks, seeing Tirek holding Twilight's friends.
"How's this for a trade? All the alicorn magic in Equestria for the release of your friends. If you decline... I'll obliterate them here. And besides. You can't stop me. I'm already brimming with more magic than I could ever expect. You know what the right choice is..." Tirek grinned. Twilight's friends chattered in the bubbles they were stuck in, pleading Twilight and Celestia not to do it.
"Don't do it Twilight!" Rainbow Dash pleaded
"We aren't' worth it!" said Fluttershy.
"Oh, but you are Fluttershy." Discord spoke. "You're the pony who taught me that friendship is magic. I had magic and friendship. And now... I don't have either."
"ENOUGH!" Tirek stopped this sappy chatter. "I want an answer! And I want it now!"
Twilight looked at Celestia with a worried look on her face. Twilight then looked at her friends, seeing a flash of colors surround them. Each being their own colors. That's when that similar rainbow color flashed in her eyes. Celestia saw this and knew that she had to let Twilight make this decision. Besides... Celestia knew there was something to keep Tirek occupied in the meantime.
"I will give you my magic. In exchange for my friends." She made her decision. All of her friends had gasped.
"As you wish." Tirek snapped his fingers, releasing them all, but Discord.
"All of my friends."
"After the way he has betrayed you, you still call him a friend?!"
"Release him!"
"If that's what you want." Tirek released Discord as well.
"Thank you Twilight..." Discord then turned to Fluttershy. "I'm sorry."
"I know."
"Your turn." Tirek started to take all the magic away from both Twilight and Celestia. All of it feeding him with every ounce. But the Boundless Cutie Mark still remained.
Tirek now went from 200ft to 490ft. He was juiced. He let out a mighty roar, feeling complete.
"Twilight... what were you thinking?" Spike said.
"Tirek tricked me into thinking he could offer something more valuable than friendship. But there is nothing worth more." Discord sighed. "I see that now. He lied when he said that this medallion was given as a sign of gratitude and loyalty." But when I say that it is a sign of our true friendship, I am telling the truth." Discord removed it from his neck, placing it on Twilight's. This medallion was the final item needed for the chest.
Seeing this made Celestia realise that Discord isn't perfect. Not at all. And he can be fooled easily like others.
Twilight figured out that this was the final key.
"You think that might be the last one we need?" Applejack said.
"We have to get to the chest." Twilight ran off along with Discord as Celestia stayed behind with her magic slowly coming back. She looked over to the distance to see Tirek rampaging. "Now Ash. It's time for you keep Tirek occupied until Twilight and her friends return."
Tirek entered Ponyville as everypony looked outside, terrified at what they were seeing. They cowered in fear, hoping that this behemoth wouldn't notice them. But there was someone outside. A few actually.
"Hold it!" Ash's voice called out to Tirek. The Centaur turned around to see Ash and Pikachu down there.
"And who are you, boy? Here to have your Pokemon lose their magic as well."
"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town! And this is my partner Pikachu! And we're here to flatten you!"
"Pikachu!"
"HAH! Big talk from a runt!"
"Oh yeah? You'll find that I can back it up all the time. Pikachu! IRON TAIL!" Pikachu jumped up, striking Tirek right in the face with an Iron Tail, making him feel all that damage.
"GAH!" TIrek held his face as he turned to Pikachu, attempting to grab him.
"Dodge and use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu dodged the grab as he sent a bolt of lightning at Tirek, shocking him in the process.
"YOU RAT!" Tirek then unleashed a beam towards Pikachu, knocking him back. But Pikachu stood strong.
"You okay, buddy?"
"Pikachu!"
"How are you still standing!? You should be obliterated by now!" Tirek yelled.
"Heh. Pikachu doesn't go down so easily, pal. Allow us to show you what us trainers and Pokemon can really do! Get in there, you guys!" Ash sent out his other Pokemon to join in. Dragonite, Gengar, Riolu and Farfetch'd.
"You're just some kid with pets! You don't stand a chance against me!" Tirek was ready to unleash a beam on them.
"Dragonite! Hyper Beam!" Dragonite stopped Tirek's beam with its own as the two collided. To Tirek's surprise, Dragonite was powerful enough to hold his magic back. As expected from the Dragon Pokemon. "Gengar! Ice Punch!" Gengar dashed in, striking Tirek's legs with a freezing punch. Tirek groaned as the Hyper Beam powered through his beam, hitting him in the face.
Everypony was outside watching this, seeing Ash take on that giant. Scootaloo's eyes widened as she stood outside the front door of Carousel Boutique.
"COME ON ASH! BEAT HIM!" Scootaloo cried out. Tirek turned to Scootaloo, aiming to get her next.
"You're next, my little pony!"
"Oh no she's not! Pikachu! Thunderbolt! Dragonite! Dragon Claw!" Thunderbolt struck his face, paralysing him for a bit as Dragonite struck draconic energy claws at his face, actually pushing Tirek back, making him fall down. The ponies of Ponyville opened their windows as they started to encourage Ash and his Pokemon to do it. They were shouting words like win, you got this and so on. "Thanks everyone. But it's not just gonna be me who takes all the glory."
Tirek got back up, letting out an aggravated roar. "I SHOULD NOT BE LOSING! I HAVE THE POWER OF 4 ALICORNS AND COUNTLESS POKEMON! HOW CAN A CHILD BE BESTING ME!"
"Because you'll never be able to handle the combined force of trainer and Pokemon," Luna said as she and Cadence had also arrived. "Darkrai! Ice Beam!"
"Sylveon! Fairy Wind!" Cadence also commanded her Pokemon. A beam of ice and pink wind were targeted at Tirek. He could feel the pelting of wind and pixie dust bombarding him as an Ice Beam struck his body, freezing a part of it. Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, Pokemon, specifically the ones he had stolen their magic from in Equestria had arrived with Audino in front.
"How are you all back and healthy?! I took your magic!"
"Audino." Audino replied, feeling proud of herself as she knows the reason why. She had gotten rid of her Safeguard move and replaced it for Heal Pulse. Tirek did not know that Pokemon can just simply get better and back to full strength if they are healed. Whether by Nurse Joy or healing moves. And he never will.
"Heh. That's a secret." Riolu! Force Palm! Farfetch'd Brutal Swing!" Riolu and Farfetch'd both hit Tirek's legs with some hard-hitting physical attacks. Tirek was having enough as he stomped around, frantically firing blasts all over the place out of frustration. "
The other Pokemon had used their moves, specifically ranged special moves to hit Tirek from afar, causing him to be overwhelmed.
"Dark Void!" Darkrai flew up, tossing a Dark Void at Tirek, hoping to put him into a nightmare state. It worked for a few seconds, but he broke out of it. Gengar appeared behind Tirek, using Shadow Ball on the back of his neck. Tirek grunted, swinging his arms towards Gengar, but the Shadow Pokemon turned itself intangible, making it unaffected.
"Gen Gen!" Gengar laughed at Tirek, making him riled up even more. But Tirek lost focus as Iron Tail came straight to his face along with Dragon Claw.
"ENOUGH! I WILL NOT BE BESTED BY POKE-" Tirek's words were put to a halt as he felt an attack him in the back of his neck. It was Passion. Along with Celestia who had arrived here with some of her magic back thanks to her Boundless Cutie Mark.
"Celestia! Glad you finally joined." Ash said.
"Pikachu!"
"As always Ash, you prove to go against all odds and last this long. Now then...Passion. Shall we?"
"Kirlia!"
This was their first battle ever. But thanks to them bonding for a long time, they were in perfect sync with each other.
"Passion! Teleport and use Psybeam!" Celestia made her first command. Passion teleported upwards, being in Tirek's face as she unleashed a Psybeam right at his nose. "Now follow up with Stored Power!" Passion then released all of her energy, pelting Tirek with psychic energy.
"Woah, Celestia! When did you get so good at battling like that?!" Ash asked.
"I've been learning from you."
"Awesome. Let's keep this going!" Ash and the princesses were just keeping him occupied now. It was up to Twilight and her friends to seal the deal.
They had arrived at the Tree of Harmony as Twilight placed the final key at the chest. The 6th key was in the shape of her Cutie Mark as it entered the keyhole.
"Together! I think we have to do this together!" Twilight exclaimed. They all went up to their keys, turning them as a ray of rainbows shot up from the chest, rising up. The rays had gone to each of their Cutie Marks that were on the trees, surrounding them with the vibrant lights.
6 lights shot down on the ponies, filling them with a different kind of sensation. Their appearance started to change as a flash of light emerged. Their manes and tails were so different. They now represented their personalities and Cutie Marks perfectly. All of their manes and tails had that same rainbow streak on them.
Pinkie Pie looked puffier and more aloof.
Rainbow Dash looked cooler and even more awesome than before.
Applejack looked like a real gal.
Fluttershy looked like a divine maiden.
Rarity a true beauty to behold.
And Twilight a true princess.
They were all surrounded by this rainbow power as they flew up, heading to Ponyville.
Back at Ponyville, Tirek was struggling so much against Pokemon. More than he expected.
"Let's hit him from all sides! Go!" Ash commanded as all of his Pokemon attacked Tirek from the left to the right, top to bottom.
"Passion! Psybeam!"
"Darkrai! Ice Beam!"
"Dragonite! Hyper Beam!"
3 beams connected at Tirek, dealing major damage to him. Tirek felt like he couldn't take this anymore, feeling overwhelmed. "IRON TAIL!" Ash then commanded Pikachu to strike him with Iron Tail. And strike him he did. The tail hit his stomach making him roll back.
"T-This can't be happening..." Tirek slowly got up from the ground. "HOW CAN THIS GET ANY WORSE?!"
It got worse.
The Mane 6 had arrived, showing off their dazzling new forms. Tirek turned around to see this, confused and shocked. He fired a beam at them, but the light surrounding the 6 of them negated it.
"How is this possible?! You have no magic!"
"You're wrong Tirek!" Twilight exclaimed. "I may have given you my alicorn magic, but I carry within me the most powerful magic of all." Then 6 lights hit Tirek directly, pushing him back. They engulfed him completely as he felt his power diminishing. He was getting smaller, weaker and scrawnier. He had been reverted back to his old lanky self. The light of the rainbow had transported him back to Tartarus. Where he originally was. This was a light that corrected imbalance. And correct imbalance it did. It spun around, releasing a pulse of rainbows that spread all across Equestria.
Everypony could feel their magic, flight and strength return to them. What they had lost, they had been given back as the Mane 6 flew by them all, restoring them.
The girls returned to the Tree of Harmony, feeling like they've done their job as they stared at the mystical tree. Then, the tree began to vibrate, releasing another rainbow light that rose up from the ground it was underneath as a rainbow reached all the way over to Ponyville. The light had also carried the chest to where the rainbow ended, sending it to the ground. The entire earth began to tremble as what came next, nopony expected.
Out of the ground, a castle was emerging. Not just a castle. Twilight's castle. It was taller than any building in Ponyville. It even had her Cutie Mark on the very top and flag as well. Everypony and Pokemon looked at the sight as the girls had their rainbow power taken away from them. Their job was done for today.
"Sweet Celestia!" Rarity exclaimed. "Are you all seeing what I'm seeing?"
"But... who's is it?" Twilight asked.
"I believe it is yours, Princess Twilight." Celestia answered as her, Passion, Spike, Cadence, Luna, Ash, Pikachu and Discord along with their Pokemon were standing together.
"Check it out."
"Pika..."
They had entered inside this new castle, getting a good look at it all.
"You've been wondering what you're meant to do as a princess. Do you know now?" Celestia said.
"As princess, I believe I have the power to spread the magic of friendship across Equestria. That is the role I am meant to have in our world! The role I choose to have! But I didn't defeat Tirek on my own! It took all of us to unlock the chest!" Twilight hugged her friends.
"Then it is unlikely you are meant to take this task alone." Celestia opened a door that revealed a room with a round table along with chairs representing her and her friend's Cutie Marks. "You are now Twilight Sparkle. The Princess of Friendship."
They all walked in, sitting on their respected Cutie Mark seats. Even Spike got one of his own.
"But what is the Princess of Friendship, without her friends?" Celestia gave off a soft smile. Discord peeked from the corner, unsure if he was even considered a friend now. Twilight carried him over to join in on the hug.
"You too, Ketchum." Twilight said to Ash, carrying him over here along with his Pokemon.
"Wait a minute! Where's my throne?" Discord asked.
"I don't think you're quite there yet. Fluttershy giggled.
"One final thing. Ash. Pikachu." Celestia said as they all looked over to the boy and his friend. "You have proven once again that not only do you sacrifice your own life for the safety of others, help everyone you see, even if you don't have a reason, you have also shown that you will step up to any challenge, any foe, no matter how large or overwhelming they may be. Even saving Ponyville from pure destruction."
"Aw shucks. You guys."
"Pika..."
"For all that you've done for us. You are now Ash Ketchum the Hero. And Pikachu the Noble" Celestia declared.
"Woah! You got an awesome name Ash!" Rainbow Dash flew to him. "Guess you learn from the best, huh?"
"At this rate, we might have to start calling you Hero. How does Hero Ketchum sound?" Rarity said.
"Nah. I'm good with my real name. Right Pikachu?"
"Pikachu..."
"Pikachu says that he wouldn't mind being called the Noble." Fluttershy translated, making them all laugh.
What a long day it was. Everypony from Ponyville had gathered to see this new castle. Out if it emerged Twilight and her friends, giving them all a smile as they cheered them all on for their victory. Today they had proven to them all that even when things looked dire, it worked out in the end. Thanks to the combined efforts of those who truly care for each other.
Friends.
This power will continue to grow as it can be seen throughout the entire world. And with that power, they will always shine.
But... over at the Harmonia Kingdom. Colress has been recording and capturing data of everything that happens in Equestria, especially Ponyville.
"Hm. Giants. Eating magic. Rainbow powers. This world truly is an oddity. What do you make of it, Lord Ghetsis?"
"Feh. I'm not worried about some hunky-dory friendship. The time will come when I crush that feeble meager force they call friendship. And soon they will know that only absolute power and dominance towers over all. No matter what."
It's been exactly one day since Ash, Twilight and the others saved Equestria from Tirek.
And right now, some repairs are being made. Their battle ended up causing some damage here and there. Thankfully, Ponyville wasn't totally flattened due to the trainers being extra careful. Ash, Pikachu and Twilight's new titles have been acknowledged. Princess of Friendship, Heroic and Noble.
BigTime Ben had arrived at Ponyville to do what he does best. He looked around, seeing the dam
"Hm. This place looks a bit different. Don't you think Gothitelle?"
"Gothitelle..."
"Oh, hey Mr Ben! You should've seen what happened yesterday!" Along came Scootaloo and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"It was the coolest and scariest thing ever!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.
"Our eyes were blessed!" Sweetie Belle bellowed.
"Sounds like yesterday was an event and a million."
"Oh, it was. That's why we made a drawing to show you what it looked like." Sweetie Belle showed him a crayon drawing. It was badly drawn as it was also hard to make it out. Ben tried to figure out what he was looking at.
"A giant spewed all over Ponyville and Ash?"
"No, no! A centaur battled against Ash and everypony. It was so cool!" Scootaloo corrected him.
"A centaur?!"
"Mhm! Ash came in and acted all heroic and awesome like he always is! And then the princesses started to be awesome too!" said Scootaloo.
"Yeah! And speaking of heroic, Ash and Pikachu got new titles. They're now Ash the Heroic and Pikachu the Noble! Should we start calling them that?" Sweetie Belle replied.
"Well, it sounds like it was a day to remember. Wish I could've seen it. Anyways, I'm here to inform you all about the Pokemon Festival. Remember, it's not too far away from now. Only 6 days left."
"We can't wait! I can't wait to catch some more Pokemon!" Apple Bloom said.
"Well, you three are in luck. I have here front row tickets to the show that will happen at the festival." Ben took out 3 tickets for them.
"A show?" The 3 asked.
"Mhm. Viewing and catching all kinds of Pokemon isn't the only thing you'll get to do at the festival. There will be many other activities, such as a live show, games, and even a signed autograph from a famous trainer."
"Wow! Thank you so much Mr BigTime!" Apple Bloom thanked him as they all took the tickets, running off.
"Hm. Kids. Now then Gothitelle. Let's give everypony a reminder about the festival shall we?"
"Goth."
While those two go along, Ponyville was about to be met by not one but two interviewers. A news crew from Jubilife TV in the Sinnoh Region and one from Manehattan. They had come here to interview Twilight and her friends since they caught news of what happened yesterday. It wasn't that hard to miss Tirek considering how huge he had gotten.
"Come on! Let's get some info! How about... that pony over there!" Hearsay Hoof, a popular news pony pointed her hoof over at Amethyst Heart and her Skitty. "You there!"
"Hm? What do you want?"
"Skitty."
"You're a resident of Ponyville. Wanna tell us any information on what happened yesterday? Or better yet! What about Princess Twilight Sparkle and Ash Ketchum? Can you tell us anything about that?"
"Oh, yeah. That. Yesterday was... something. That Tirek guy was pretty imposing. I swear, every time he walked, my house was shaking. All that valuable glass... gone."
"What about Ash and Twilight? What can you say about those two?"
"Them? I didn't think too much about them at first. After all... before Twilight came to Ponyville, I was the best organizer around. And before Ash came along with Pokemon, this whole town was fairly peaceful. But, after some days, weeks and months, I've gotten kinda used to those two and the hijinks they got on with their friends."
"Skitty! Skitty!"
"Oh! Really now?! Pretty good info there! On to the next one!" Hearsay and her news crew dashed off to another pony. This time they went over to Granny Smith. "Hello, th-"
"Out of the way, pony!" A human newslady pushed her out of the way, wanting to get this coverage for herself. "So, miss. Can you tell us about what happened here? Because apparently from what we've hear, some sort of creature that size of skyscrapers almost destroyed this place and ate magic?"
"Oh that. That there Tirek was a real beluga of a feller. But that didn't stop my little Applejack and her friends from giving it to him, eh?"
"Oooh. And what about those supposed friends? How did th-"
Hearsay interrupted the newslady, having her turn next. "Move it, lady! So. What can you tell us about those friends? Specifically, the two that everypony's talking about. Princess Twilight and the now Ash the Heroic?"
"Those two? I knew they had something in em that would really show someday. Hah! Guess yesterday was that day."
"Thank you so much for the interview, ma'am."
"You're welcome, little missy." Granny Smith walked off.
The newslady shoved Hearsay out of the way. "This news story is mine, pony!"
"Fah! You wish! I've been at this job longer than you here. So beat it!"
The two of them locked eyes, staring each other down as both their news crews were terrified of them both.
"How about we see who can get the most coverage then?" The Jubilife TV newslady challenged Hearsay.
"You're on." She took the challenge. The two off them split off, heading interview as many as they can.
"Oh, yesterday? Yeah, it was something. To be honest, I thought it was game over for all of us." Snips said.
"Eeyup. The biggest thing I ever saw." Big Mac commented. "Made me feel inferior."
"When I saw that behemoth, I thought to myself, ugh! Not another one. Lately these past days have been so destructive and loud it's hard to concentrate on your work." Octavia babbled.
"We were so scared that we hid underneath our rug! You should've seen Aria! She was shaking!" Sonata exclaimed.
"I was not!" Aria denied.
"Yeah right. No shame in admitting it scaredy-pony." Sonata booped Aria's nose, ticking her off as Aria lunged on Sonata as the two started fighting, knocking the camera over.
"Hm. What about Ash? I'd say for a guy who dresses in nothing but blue and has a pet yellow mouse on his shoulder at all times, he's surprisingly skilled. Oh and those other Pokemon he has. I think one of them's meant to be a ghost I think? But I don't see it." said Diamond Tiara.
"Twilight? Forget that! What about the princesses, did you see them?! They were letting their Pokemon totally let that Tirek guy have it!" Thunderlane shouted.
"Twilight and that Ash guy? Just between you and me... I think those two totally have a thing going on." Silver Spoon whispered.
"Oh, I'm truly grateful for what they've all done for my town. Being Mayor it's hard to run a town when you know it's 5 seconds away from a Pokemon or Centaur attack. But those 8 sure know how to take a lot of stress of your back." Mayor Mare laughed.
"To be honest. I'm surprised Pikachu was capable of going up against something huge." said Lyra. "What do you think Bon Bon?"
"Pssh. Not that surprising to me. I totally knew they could do it. You should've seen them when that Misdreavus thing came along and the Royal Wedding."
"Oh yeah... Guess size doesn't matter huh?"
The interviews were plenty, that's for sure. Both sides got their own good coverage.
"We're running out of ponies to interview. We gotta expand, folks!" Hearsay said to her crew. "Can't let that human beat me at my own game!"
"Then...how about we go over to that castle?" The camera boy pointed his hoof at Twilight's Castle.
"Genius! And it even has Princess Twilight's Cutie Mark on it. This is gonna be a big one!"
Moving away from Ponyville, and all the way to Canterlot, Hollow had come in for this week's class.
"Alright. Morning you all." Hollow yawned, entering the classroom.
"Mr Hollow! You're here! You missed out on yesterday!" Sunrise Sprint said to him.
"Huh? What happened yesterday?"
"There was this centaur that came along! All big and stuff!" A unicorn exclaimed.
"A centaur?"
"It started eating up all our magic! Even our parents!"
"Eating magic?"
"But then a rainbow came out of nowhere and starting fixing everything." Sapphire Flash explained.
"A rainbow? Sounds like a lot happened yesterday."
"A lot did, Mr Hollow. It was... pretty uncomfortable having all our magic being taken from us though." Sapphire replied.
"Mhm. I never wanna experience something like that ever again!" Sunrise exclaimed.
"Well then. Why don't you all draw me what happened that day? And also, I'm gonna give you all these." Hollow put his bag down, opening it as inside revealed to be Pokemon eggs.
"Woah! Eggs?" A pony said.
"Not just eggs. Pokemon Eggs. Inside them is a random Pokemon. I want you all to have them and raise them to see which Pokemon you'll get. Now grab the egg of your choice and make sure you take good care of them."
The young colts and fillies took the egg of their choice, mostly due to the colors and patterns that they preferred. Dew Drops was the last to take her egg as she held it close to her.
"Great. Now I wanna see those drawings so I can get a good gist of what just happened yesterday."
"Okay!" The whole class yelled.
Over at the throne room, Celestia and Luna were also helping with cleanup. They were repairing the damage done to the floor the other day. That's when Celestia thought of something that could help Canterlot. Greatly.
"I've been thinking Luna."
"What is it, sister?"
"Well. I believe that we may be able to help Canterlot more by giving the guards something in return. After all, they do their best to try and protect everypony. But they're missing something to give them that extra oomph."
"What are you suggesting?"
"A Pokemon."
"Pokemon for the guards? Are you sure, sister?"
"Of course I'm sure. Ash has shown me that even without magic you still have Pokemon that can your sword and shield. So the same can apply to our swords and shields. The guards."
"I suppose so. But which Pokemon do you think will be good guardians to be by their side?"
"It has to be a Pokemon that is solely made to protect all. Ponies, people or Pokemon. It doesn't matter what."
Luan thought for a bit and sparked up an idea. "Why don't we ask Hollow? He might know of a Pokemon that fits that category."
"Good idea Luna. I wonder what it could be? A Dragon-Type maybe?" Celestia and Luna walked over to the class, seeing the students draw away along with all the eggs around them. There was paint everywhere along with paper spread across the classroom "Oh my. What is going on here?"
"Morning Princess Celestia! Morning Princess Luna!" The students all greeted them.
"Sorry for the mess. These kids get pretty wild when they're creative." said Hollow. "So. Do you need something princesses?"
"Oh uh yes. Of course." Luna cleared her throat. "We wish to ask you. What Pokemon do you believe will be a perfect choice for our Royal Guard? One that can protect them and everypony else."
"A Pokemon that protects huh? Hmm." Hollow thought about it for a bit, thinking of every Pokemon he knows until he found the perfect one. "I think I've got the Pokemon for you and your guards."
"You have?" Celestia and Luna both said.
"Mhm." Hollow took out his Pokedex, scrolling through the list of Pokemon until he came across the one he was talking about.
Golurk.
"This one right there." He pointed at it as the dex began to spill out Golurk's dex entry.
"Golurk. The Automaton Pokemon. Golurk were created to protect people and Pokémon. They run on a mysterious energy. It flies across the sky at Mach speeds. Removing the seal on its chest makes its internal energy go out of control. It follows its master’s orders faithfully."
"Amazing! It's the perfect Pokemon for our guards!" Celestia spoke.
"Although that part where it mentioned its seal worries me greatly." Luna said.
"Don't worry. As long as it doesn't come off, we're all fine. Besides, it's very rare for that seal to even come off. And if it does, we can just put it back on."
"Well, it's settled. Golurk will be apart of the Royal Guard." Celestia declared. "Now where do we find a Golurk?"
"Oh uh... hmm. Well, they're pretty tough to come across. A Pokemon like Golurk is super rare. But they're mostly in common in Unova. I'll head to Unova and catch as many as I can."
"Thank you, Hollow." Celestia and Luna thanked him as paint suddenly hit their faces. The young ponies gasped as they were about to freak out.
Celestia removed the paint off her face as the pony who did it looked at her, terrified. "S-SORRY!"
"It's fine. Kids are wild when they are creative after all." Celestia laughed.
All the way over at the Crystal Empire, Cadence was enjoying having all her magic back. Shining Armor, on the other hoof, is still perplexed after what happened the other day.
"I can't believe that I got into my first Pokemon Battle. Right Sylveon?" Cadence said to her Pokemon.
"Sylveon!"
"What was it even like battling with a Pokemon?" Shining Armor asked her.
"What was it like? It was... unlike anything I've ever experienced before! The rush! The excitement! The adrenaline! It was amazing!" Cadence was getting excited. "Sylveon was so great in it!"
"Sylve!"
"Hrmm... Why don't I have a Pokemon? Even Twily has two of her own..." Shining Armor sat in the corner, sulking.
"I'm sure you'll find one for yourself, dear. There's loads of Pokemon to choose from after all."
"Sylveon."
"Easy for you to say. The Crystal Empire is the one place where Pokemon aren't that common. What even happened to all those Sableye that were here once?"
"If it makes you feel any better...I'll help you catch one someday."
"You will?!"
"Mhm." She nodded along with Sylveon.
All the way back at Ponyville, the news crew had attempted to enter Twilight's castle, but it was currently closed.
"No luck. Nopony's home. How are we gonna interview them if the place is closed?" Hearsay said.
"Maybe we should just come back another time?" A member of the news crew said.
"Aw. I wanted my scoop though."
"Oh! There's Fluttershy! Maybe she can talk to us!" A pony noticed Fluttershy and her Audino as they all raced to her.
"Fluttershy! Thank goodness! A pony involved with stopping Tirek! What can you tell us about what happened yesterday?"
"Oh um.. I'm on the news?" Fluttershy hid behind Audino. "Umm...It was pretty scary... but we eventually won. That's all I have to say!" Fluttershy squeed.
"Well, can't you tell us about that rainbow thing? It was all over the place?"
"Oh that. Well, it was the magic of our friendship that spread across Equestria. That's what it was really."
"The magic of friendship huh? Is friendship really that powerful?"
"Oh yes. Very. Whether it be a pony, human or pokemon. Or even a Draconequus. It's everywhere and potent." Fluttershy hugged Audino.
"Such motivating words!" Hearsay and the news crew started to tear up. "Thank you so much, Fluttershy!"
"Um. You're welcome."
"Oh! Over there! It's Princess Twilight Sparkle!" The news crew pointed out again. So they went over to her next.
"Princess Twilight!" Hearsay skidded on the ground as her entire crew bumped into her. "We've been waiting for this! We heard that you've just recently become the Princess of Friendship! Can you tell us how you feel?"
"Oh. Well, where do I start? I suppose it was a nice feeling. At first, I didn't know what part I would play as the fourth princess, considering I'm fairly new. I was so unsure of myself. But after I ended up seeing how much I care for my friends, deciding to take them over the alicorn magic, I finally realised what I role I wanted to play. Coming to Ponyville for the first time, I didn't know much about friendship. But these past months, days and weeks with everypony, Pokemon and human have made me realise how valuable friendship truly is. And it wasn't until my friends were in danger that I realised that."
"Oooh. That's so much good information! The best so far! So what can you tell us about your friends! What role do they play now?"
"Well...Fluttershy over there is still the same really." Twilight looked over to Fluttershy who waved at her. "Actually, all my friends are the same. They have their own goals that they want to achieve. But we're still friends either way."
"Does that include Ash and Pikachu? What about them?"
"Yes. Even those two chuckleheads. Despite how brash and reckless they can be, they have a strong sense of justice and will always help anypony out. Doesn't even need to be a reason. That's why I've formed a special friendship with them."
"Special friendship? Are you two like a thing?"
"W-What?! N-N-No! Not like that!" Twilight turned red.
"Well, then what's so different about him from your pony friends?"
"I-I...that's.."
"Eevee!" Eve jumped off Twilight's back, landing on the camera. She didn't like seeing her trainer like this so she used Swift on the camera, destroying it in the process.
"AH! MY CAMERA!" The camera pony yelled.
"MY NEWS STORY!"
Eve then looked at the news crew with a scowl, scaring them off.
"Uh. Thanks, Eve. But that was a bit excessive don't you think?"
"Eevee."
High up at Cloudsdale.
"We can't let the Tirek thing slow us down. We've got an upcoming Gym Battle to win. And win it we shall!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Braviary and Swablu were floating as Whirlipede was on her bed. "So, the next time some big threat comes along, we'll also be able to thrash them. Got it?"
"Braviary!"
"Swablu!"
"Whirlipede."
"That's the spirit! Now I wanna teach you all some new moves. I think they'll be useful against the next gym. Which is uh..." Rainbow Dash pulled out the Equestria Pokemon League. "Aha! The next gym is a theme-based gym. A speed one. I know a lot about speed so this'll be my territory. But we gotta make one of you faster. Braviary, you're already fast and Whirlipede you've got Speed Boost as an ability. All we need is to find a way to make you faster Swablu."
"Blu!"
"And I think I have the solution. I'll let you race against Braviary and Whirlipede in order to get faster. What do you say?"
"Swablu. Swa!"
"I'll take that as a yes. Come on!" Rainbow Dash returned Whirlipede to its Pokeball as her and her two Flying-Types flew out of Cloudsdale with her.
All the way back down at Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres.
"Ugh. All that noise the other day. It was ringing in my ears." Cold Colt exited out of the barn. He sat down as he grabbed an apple about to eat it, but it ended up being an Applin which shot a Dragonbreath at his face. "OW!"
"Don't be eating the apples unless you look at the back." Applejack laughed at him. "Come on you. I've got some mighty fine delicious apple pie as a celebration."
"Aren't you the one who defeated Tirek though? It isn't my celebration."
"For a family it is." Applejack held a Sweet Apple in her hoof. The Applin on her back smelt it as it lunged over at it. "Huh?"
The Applin exited out of its apple shell, revealing its Wyrm form as it chomped on the Sweet Apple. Once it took that bite, its body started to glow. This could mean only one thing.
"It's evolving?!" Applejack exclaimed. "Come see this ya'll!" Applejack called for her family who were just arriving back from Ponyville. They dashed over to see this evolution happening.
Applin was changing shape as the other Applin's watched from afar. It seemed to get bigger and bigger as it had a huge sweet apple on its back. It's natural body changed as well, finally gaining limbs to stand on.
"Woah nelly. It's the evolution!" Applejack said.
"Eeyup."
"But... what's its name?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I think it's called..." Cold Colt dug into his brain. "Appletun. The Apple Nectar Pokemon. Can't believe this thing is still considered a dragon..."
"Well, it's the most huggable dragon I've ever seen next to Ash's!" Apple Bloom hugged the sweet apple on its back.
"So do they evolve when they eat apples?" Applejack asked.
"Not really. They have to eat two specific apples. Sweet Apples and Tart Apples. I guess you must've found one when you bucked those trees." Cold Colt explained.
"Why not just eat one of the two apples?" Apple Bloom questioned.
"That's because Appletun has two different evolutions depending on which apple you give it. Heh. I've got some good knowledge about Pokemon myself, ya know." Cold Colt boasted.
"Oooh. I wanna see one of these Applin's evolve with a Tart Apple! Let's go find some!" Apple Bloom was ready to set out.
"I'm not sure your world's tart apples will have the same effect as the Pokemon world's." Cold Colt stopped her.
"Aww."
"B-But I'll go and get one for you Apple Bloom!" Cold Colt exclaimed, trying to win her over.
"You will?"
"Mhm!"
"Alright then. Go on then. On your own." Applejack said.
"O-On my own?"
"Yep."
"...On second thought, I can wait a few days."
Equestria has obviously had a long day yesterday. But what of the Pokemon World right now?
Ash was at Cerise Laboratory, looking at his ranking.
"Hey, Ash." Goh called to him.
"Yeah?"
"I hear you got yourself a title over at the world."
"Oh yeah, I did! Not just me but Pikachu too."
"Pikachu!"
"Really now? What was it?" Professor Cerise asked.
"Ash the Heroic and Pikachu the Noble. It's kinda growing on me, ya know."
"Pika-Chu-Pika."
"Lucky! I can't wait till I get my own rank. Once I catch them all, they'll probably call me uh..Goh the Collector!"
"Collector? Really?" Chloe said.
"It sounds cool okay! It's gonna happen someday!"
"Raboot..."
Ash laughed as he looked at the friendship band on his wrist. Seeing this reminded him and Pikachu of how much fun they've had so far in the other world. And this also made him more alert about Ghetsis. Celestia's premonition about him was still lingering, and he already knew how big of a threat he can be. So for now, he'll continue to do his best in both worlds. He'll stop Ghetsis, defeat Leon, and continue on his path to becoming a Pokemon Master.
It has now been 2 days since Tirek's defeat and Twilight has gathered her friends here. Goh had even tagged along this time. They had all even brought along their Pokemon with them in the process.
"Woah. This place is beautiful!" Goh gazed at the castle.
"It is isn't it?" Ash replied.
"Raboot."
The Mane 6 sat down on their respected chairs. Spike was asleep in his seat though. There's a reason why they were all gathered up here.
"Let's go through this one more time," Twilight spoke.
"We've been over it a million times Twilight!" Rainbow Dash sighed. "We found all 6 keys, defeated Tirek, and got this sweet castle! End of story."
"Yes. But why?"
"I don't know sugar cube. Maybe it's just your new house and there ain't nothing more to it than that." Applejack said.
"I must say. Speaking strictly on aesthetics, there really doesn't need to be more to it. It's all simply divine!" Rarity commented, loving the look of the castle.
"I agree with Twilight." Fluttershy replied. "And Rarity. And Applejack. And Rainbow Dash. And Pinkie Pie. And Ash. And Goh. Oh and probably Spike." Fluttershy being sincere as always.
"As princess, I've been chosen to spread the magic of friendship across Equestria. So why would the Tree of Harmony want us to sit in a castle in Ponyville? It doesn't make any sense." Just then, Twilight's Cutie Mark started to glow. In fact, every time the girls sat on their seats, the Cutie Mark on their chairs also lit up. Once all 6 are sat down, they caused a chain reaction. Light rays shot from the chairs, hitting the floor in the middle.
Crystals started to form around them all as the floor had brought up a table. And on that table was a map of some sorts. This had woken Spike up as he looked at the table. "Is that new? I like it." Spike then examined it further, seeing how it was a map of Equestria. "This is incredible! It's got all of Equestria!"
"Hi, mom and dad!" Pinkie looked over to where her rock farm home was.
"Have these crystals always been here?" Goh asked.
"Beats me." Ash replied.
Just then, their Cutie Marks started to pulsate. Almost as if they were telling them something. The marks then flew off their flanks, circling around in the air as they were moving about on the map. From the looks of things, it seemed like their marks were telling them where to go. An unidentified location that they were not familiar with.
"But... if this is Ponyvile...Why are our Cutie Marks over there?" Fluttershy wondered.
"I don't know. But it seems like the map wants us to find out." Twilight theorized. "The tree, the chest, this castle, and now the map. How can we not follow it?"
"You know what..." Rainbow Dash flew over the map. "There's a ton of room for dangerous adventure along that route. Count me in!"
"Ah shoot. I reckon you're right." Applejack replied.
"Well I was planning on organizing my baking sheets...but OK!" Pinkie was in as well.
"Oh. Very well." So was Rarity.
The others flew over to Fluttershy, hoping she'd come along. "Um. Maybe I'll just...stay here with Spike and the others."
"You all are seriously gonna go on a long dangerous adventure due to that thing?" Goh asked.
"That sounds exciting! I'm in!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Of course you'd wanna go. If you're going then I'm going."
"Don't worry about it Fluttershy! You can hang out with me and Big Mac where we'll talk about hoofball, and trading hoofball cards and arguing about hoofball stats..."
"On second thought...Maybe I'd better go with them. In case they need me."
"Looks like it's time for a road trip." Said Twilight. "Before we leave, everypony made sure to bring their Pokemon with them?"
"Oh, yeah. Now that we know how handy they can be in tough situations, I carry them with me all the time!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. They all had pouches on their sides with Pokeballs inside, lent to them by Ash. The other Pokemon that weren't in their Pokeballs were Audino, Eve and Minccy.
"You guys have fun! And I'll have my own fun here!" Spike said as they had all left to go on a trip to wherever that location is.
First, they took a train across Equestria, heading to the location via a map Twilight had. Then, they started a long walk, hoping to get there. If it even existed. They continued their journey, but there was no danger in sight. Wherever this place may be, it was completely secluded from danger. There weren't even any signs of Pokemon as well. Despite that, they had finally reached their destination. It was a fairly unimpressive looking village. In fact. It looked bland.
"That's it! That's the place on the map!" Twilight said.
"Right. Let's get down there and find the spa." Rarity walked forward first, but Twilight teleported in front of her, stopping her.
"Wait. We don't know why the map sent us here. We shouldn't just walk right in. It could be dangerous."
"YES!" Rainbow Dash yelled, wanting this.
"Stay behind me everypony!" Pinkie moved to the front. "I'm on it." Pinkie was going to be the first one to set hoof in the town.
"Careful Pinkie!" Applejack said as Pinkie Pie rolled down the cliff they were on, hiding behind a rock. Pinkie snuck around, knowing something was off. She got closer and closer as she gave the sign for her friends to come towards her. They all peered over a large rock, seeing the village fully. From the looks of it, it was just ponies enjoying their day, normally. Including some Pokemon here and there. Although it was bizarre how connected the buildings were. And the one specific building apart from the rest.
"This is where the map sent us? It looks like the most boring place in Equestria." Rainbow Dash said, unimpressed.
"That's just an ordinary village, with ordinary pony folk." Applejack commented.
"It could certainly use a few more architectural flourishes. Or any architectural flourishes." Rarity whispered.
"I think it's lovely." Fluttershy thought differently.
"I don't see it." But Goh agreed with the others. It was not that appealing to them.
"I don't like it. Don't like it one bit!" Pinkie Pie squinted her eyes, feeling highly sceptical of this place. "I know smiles. And those smiles... they're just not right." The ponies and Pokemon had an infinite smile. Never closing their mouth once. Constantly having their teeth gritted together and looking all go-lucky. It was a bit unsettling.
"Forget the smiles...look at the Cutie Marks." Twilight pointed out how they all had the exact same Cutie Mark. It resembled the equal sign and nothing else. Everypony had it, no exceptions. Not only that but they seemed to be lacking in color a bit. As for the Pokemon, they had this mysterious pinkish color in their eyes.
"Eevee."
"Okay... that's weird." said Rainbow.
"An entire village with the same Cutie Mark? How can that be?" Twilight wondered.
"Maybe they're all related or something?" Goh replied.
"I bet there's some sort of horrific monster behind it." Rainbow Dash uttered.
"What makes you say that?" Twilight asked.
"Cause fighting a horrific monster would be super awesome!"
"I reckon we outta just head into town and talk to some locals. Find out what's going on." Applejack recommended.
"Great idea, AJ. Let's go." Rainbow Dash and Applejack went ahead.
"Those smiles are bad news." Pinkie still had major doubts.
The group finally set foot and hoof in the town as all the ponies and Pokemon looked at them. Eyes wide open and everything.
"Welcome." One pony said.
"Welcome." And another.
"Welcome." And soon all of them started to say welcome once they passed by them. Even children.
"This must be the most pleasant place in Equestria." Fluttershy said, thinking this was all normal.
"Not so much in look though." Ash replied.
"Pikachu."
"Welcome. Pardon my forwardness but, are you an alicorn." One pony noticed. Hearing this made Twilight have a sudden grin on her face.
"That there's the Princess of Friendship." Applejack explained.
"Well, you've certainly come to the right place for friendship."
"What brings you to town?" Another pony asked.
"We're not entirely sure." Twilight replied to him.
"I see. Well, all are welcome here in our little village. My name is Double Diamond. And this is Party Favor."
"Howdy Double Diamond. I'm Applejack. And this here's Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Ash, Goh and Twilight Sparkle. And these little fellas are Pikachu, Eve, Raboot, Audi and Minccy."
"And you all have your own unique Cutie Marks." Double Diamond examined them.
"If you don't mind, has there been any sort of trouble here lately?" Twilight asked.
"Trouble? Why... I don't think we've ever had trouble in our little village."
"It's true. You'll see." said Party Favor.
"Perhaps you'd care to speak to our founder." Double Diamond and Party Favor were leading them to the top pony in charge. "Starlight Glimmer."
Hearing that name made Twilight recall the time she travelled back in time with the potion. She remembered Dialga trying to communicate with her. And the only thing she heard from Dialga's cry was the word Starlight. Twilight shook her head, thinking it was just a coincidence at first. But she kept her speculations.
"I wish everypony in Equestria was as friendly as these ponies are." Fluttershy said.
"I've got my eye on them." Pinkie Pie constantly had eyes shifting all over the place. "Something's rotting in...whatever the name of this village is that we're in right now!"
Both Double Diamond and Party Favor knocked on the door as it opened. "Starlight. We have some new visitors." Double Diamond said as they all walked inside. A fairly standard indoor decor.
"Be ready to fight. We don't know what's gonna come through that door." Rainbow whispered to Applejack.
And through that door came the pony they mentioned.
Starlight Glimmer.
"Welcome!" She greeted. "I'm so pleased to have you here."
Rainbow Dash sighed as she didn't get her wish of there being a monster behind this.
Double Diamond had introduced the group as Starlight walked up to Twilight, seeing that she was an alicorn.
"Forgive my bluntness, but I'm assuming it's PRINCESS Twilight Sparkle? We don't get many alicorns around here."
"Yes. But... Twilight is fine."
"So? How did you hear about our little village?"
"It's kind of a long story. Let's just say we found it on a map."
"Technically. It's a tree-chess-castle map." Pinkie said with a smile on her face, but it quickly devolved into a serious scowl.
"Well. However you found us we're happy to have you. And your Pokemon too. I see that you have some fairly... interesting ones."
"Do you have a Pokemon of your own?" Twilight asked.
"Oh of course. Come on out!" Starlight called for her Pokemon. Out of the door, it was revealed to be Hatterene.
"That looks a lot like that Hattrem Pokemon back at the Pokemon House." Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex to see this.
"Hatterene. The Silent Pokemon. It emits psychic power strong enough to cause headaches as a deterrent to the approach of others. If you’re too loud around it, you risk being torn apart by the claws on its tentacle. This Pokémon is also known as the Forest Witch."
"Yikes. Just as cranky as it's second evolution." Rainbow Dash said.
"Oh, I can assure you, my Hatterene is a perfect little angel. Without her, I wouldn't have found this village and united all these ponies together and creating friendship. We're happy to have anypony who wants to experience true friendship for the first time."
"Say what?" Applejack questioned.
"Oh indeed. That's what's so unique about our village you see. Around here we don't 'Flaunt' our special talents. Because we don't have any special talents to flaunt."
"Is that why you all have those Cutie Marks?" Twilight pointed her hoof at the Equal Cutie Mark.
"Perhaps it would be easier to understand if I gave you a tour of the village." Starlight led them outside, but Pikachu and Eve turned around to see Hatterene staring them down. It had a mortiferous stare, making Eve hide behind Pikachu. Needless to say, Pikachu and Eve were very cautious of this Pokemon.
Starlight led the equal ponies, telling the visitors about how everything is fair if we are all equal. They don't compete so that winning doesn't bring out the ego within. No one is superior and they all have the same hairstyle, minus Starlight. Here they don't ever dream so nightmares are no. With everypony's Cutie Mark being the same, everypony's talents aren't unique but to Starlight's point of view, having a special talent means that nopony can ever see eye to eye anymore. To her, it's best to negate all the countless differences that make a pony special.
Fluttershy was loving this, but Pinkie Pie the exact complete opposite. The whole time she kept scowling at it all. Ash and Pikachu were feeling uneasy as well. They've been to hundreds of towns, villages and cities but this was unlike anything they've ever seen before. What made the places they went to so special is that everyone there had something that made them stand out. And it even counts for this world. Ash and Pikachu were also getting pretty sceptical about all of this. Just like Pinkie Pie.
"Hold it. You guys sound like you're saying the most hilarious thing! Give up our Cutie Marks? No way!" Rainbow Dash laughed.
"Rainbow Dash. Don't be rude." Fluttershy said. "I don't think we should judge them. They all seem perfectly happy with their choice."
"Don't believe their smiles, Fluttershy!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"I'm sorry. I guess we're just a little confused by all of this." Twilight uttered.
"We have no judgements here in our village." Starlight replied. "Each of us was confused once as well. Blinded by the false promise of our Cutie Marks."
"Woah, Woah, Woah. Is she for real?" Rainbow Dash said.
"When we were sent to this village, we assumed it was to help in some way. But, well... it doesn't seem like you need any help." Twilight walked up to Starlight.
"Have you considered perhaps that you might have been sent here so we could help you?" Starlight placed her hoof on Twilight. "After all. Nopony or Pokemon has ever come to our village and wanted to leave. Why should you be any different? But that is entirely your choice. Please. Enjoy our little corner of Equestria. We're all quite fond of it. No doubt you will be as well. Double Diamond. Please help our guests with whatever they might need."
"Of course."
"Oh, and I haven't forgotten about you two humans. Ash and Goh right? You're also involved in our wonderful and perfect town."
"Uh, thanks." Goh said.
"Raboot..."
Starlight walked off as Hatterene followed suit. "Well. This will certainly provide a boost to our little community. When the rest of Equestria sees that a princess gave up her Cutie Mark to join us...they'll finally understand what we're trying to accomplish. Hatterene. You know what to do with the Pokemon and Humans. Make sure they're as happy as they can be."
"Hatt..." Hatterene had teleported off.
As the group walked around the streets, Twilight began thinking of what Starlight said about Cutie Marks. "A Cutie Mark is a representation of a pony's unique talents and skills. How is it possible to-"
Rarity gasped, cutting Twilight off as she saw something that disgusted her. "What in the name of Equestria is THAT?!" She was looking over the most unpolished and unkempt fabric she has ever set her eyes on.
"Welcome. Care to sample some local fashion? We've got cloaks this month." The pony selling them said. Rarity felt like she was about to throw up in her mouth. This place was the worst possible place a pony like her could ever be in.
"P-Perhaps another time. Good sir...thank you." Rarity cautiously backed up. She and Twilight then sat down on a table next to their friends. "No wonder nopony's not wearing anything." Rarity whispered.
"Really girls?" Fluttershy spoke. "They may do things differently than we're used to, but that's no reason to be rude."
"No. The reason to be rude is that they all keep staring at us." Rainbow Dash quietly said. They were, in fact, staring at them. Endlessly.
Goh who was in the mood for catching was looking at all the Pokemon here, being creeped out by their pinkish glowing eyes. "What's with these Pokemon? Oh well. I guess I can't catch since they kind of own em. What do you think's up with them Ash?"
"Hmm." Ash looked at their eyes, feeling like this all looks familiar to him.
"It does?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah... it looks familiar but the colors are off and the eyes still seem kinda normal."
"Is there anything I can get you folks?" A pony came up to them. "My name is Sugar Belle and I'll bring you something to eat. We have muffins..." She stopped there, making the air silent.
"Then I guess we'll take six muffins." Twilight said.
"Make that 12!" Pinkie yelled.
"Pikachu..Pika-Pika."
"Pikachu. I should expect better from you." Fluttershy replied to him.
"Pika. Pika-chu-pi-pika."
"Hatterene may seem intimidating and her dex entry might be unnerving, but that is no reason to judge them. You didn't judge Darkrai before after all."
"I'm with Pikachu on this one Fluttershy." Twilight said. "It does seem a bit... odd. Especially considering I remember Dialga telling me about the word Starlight back in the past. And there's a pony here named Starlight."
"Twilight. Please. I understand you all have your suspicions... but it's not nice to judge anypony for who they are now."
"I guess so..."
Just then, Sugar Belle returned with their muffins. "Forgive me for overhearing. But, just a moment ago you were disagreeing. And now it sounds like you're... agreeing."
"Uh-huh?" uttered AJ.
"Well, you have such differing opinions and Cutie Marks."
"We have differing opinions all the time, darling." Rarity laughed.
"But you look like you're friends."
"We are friends." Twilight spoke. "A simple disagreement wouldn't change that." Double Diamond overheard this from the other table.
"I'm sorry. I'm just having a hard time understanding. Different talents lead to different opinions which lead to bitterness and misery." Sugar Belle rambled. "So...why aren't you bitter and..."
Pinkie Pie took a bite of the muffins spitting them back out and coughing as she despised the horrible flavorless taste. Her friends looked at her as she pretended to like it. "Mmm... Good."
"It's alright. I know I'm not a very good baker. At least. I'm not any better than anypony else in the village." Sugar Belle said with a down voice as she shifted her eyes to the side, seeing Double Diamond gaze at her with suspicion. "Well... I hope you enjoy our little village." She walked off, but before that, she went back to them. "Come inside before you go. Meet me downstairs." She whispered to them, leaving.
"Okay. That was weird too." said Rainbow.
"Let's all sit here and eat these muffins and act normal." Twilight took a muffin with her magic. "I think we're being watched."
"Ya think?" Rainbow Dash already knew that earlier.
"No not like that. I mean somepony here doesn't want us talking to Sugar Belle." Twilight nudged her head over to the direction of Double Diamond.
Applejack thought for a second until she brainstormed. "I got an idea. But you gotta eat all those muffins Pinkie."
"Me?! Why me?!" Pinkie didn't want to eat something like this.
"You've got a stronger stomach than any of us. And that filly in there might be our best chance to find out what in the hay is going on here."
Suddenly, Ash and Pikachu stood up, walking off.
"Ash? Where are you going, darling?" Rarity asked.
"I'm off to get a drink. I'm super thirsty."
"Pika."
"Be careful there. Now Pinkie. Eat." Applejack said. Pinkie Pie looked at the muffins, knowing what she had to do.
"If I'm gonna eat it... I'm not doing it alone." Pinkie Pie sent out her Slurpuff. "We'll take one for the team Slurpuff."
"Slur!"
Ash and Pikachu looked for someplace to find some water as they asked a local pony. "Hey uh. Do you know where I can get a drink or something?"
"Why yes. In there." She pointed her hoof at the far end connected building.
"Thanks." Ash and Pikachu walked inside as it was as bland as the outside. They were alone in there for a few seconds, but that didn't last as there was an ominous atmosphere. "What's this feeling?" They turned around to find Hatterene with its eyes glowing in the dark. "Hatte-" Before Ash could finish his sentence, Hatterene grabbed him by the mouth with her tentacle claws as she also used Psychic to hold Pikachu. Ash struggled to break free from this grip. That's when Starlight appeared from the shadows.
"I already know what's up with you. Ash Ketchum. I've heard a lot about you lately. A human like you is too big of a threat. More than an alicorn. I can't have anyone running the perfect atmosphere that this town has due to all the chaotic energy you bring along with you. But your Pikachu's gonna be one of us. A happy mouse with a happy smile. As for you though..." Starlight opened up a hatch underneath the floor which revealed a ditch of some sorts. "I can't let you stick around. You'll be better off in a place where you won't cause noise like you usually do." Hatterene dropped Ash inside the ditch as the hatch closed. Pikachu shot lightning everywhere, trying to break free. Hatterene then used Hypnosis on him, taking over his mind as the thunderbolts stopped.
"Hatt." Hatterene had placed the controlled Pikachu back down.
"As always Hatterene. You're a great partner to have. Now that we have the biggest threat to our happy town, let's go make Princess Twilight and the rest of her friends one of us. We're gonna be gonna change the world once everypony finds out about this."
"I guess you listened to my advice after all." A voice called to Starlight. It was Adagio.
"Indeed I did. You were right about that Ash guy being too optimistic and go-lucky. Thank you Adagio. And I hope you can join our town too eventually."
"Feh. Yeah right. Don't bet on it." Adagio walked off.
Ash was in the ditch, where it was pure darkness all around. He held his mouth and head as he looked around. It was getting very hard to breathe. The walls were extremely thick. "Gotta.. get out of here." Ash went to reach for one of his Pokeballs. He grabbed one as he was losing consciousness. He tossed the Pokeball forward, sending out Dragonite.
"Dra?"
"Dr-Dragonite. Use Dragon... Cl..." Before he could finish his sentence, he passed out due to the thick air.
Deep in the ditch, Ash had lost consciousness due to the thick air. He had been separated from Pikachu but not his other Pokemon. He luckily sent out Dragonite before he passed out. The Dragon Pokemon looked at its trainer, seeing him in this state. Dragonite knew that it had to get them out of here as soon as possible. If it were to use Hyper Beam at the top, the explosion could bring this whole place crumbling down and harm Ash. Its next option was Dragon Claw.
"Wait!" A voice called from somewhere in the ditch. Dragonite turned around to see that there were other humans down here. Their clothes all dirty from spending a lot of time here as Dragonite could hear their stomach rumbling, indicating they haven't eaten for a while. "Don't leave us behind!"
"Dra?"
"Oh thank Arceus. We thought we'd never see some string of hope." A man said.
"Dragonite?"
"We were trapped down here by that Starlight Glimmer pony and her Hatterene. She took our Pokemon from us, knowing we'd retaliate against her Hatterene." A woman said.
"She looked so nice and convincing. How can a pony be this sinister?"
"Please! We beg of you Dragonite! Even if you don't understand us." Dragonite knew it had to get them all out of here. These poor humans were taken away from their Pokemon and their freedom by Starlight and Hatterene.
So Dragonite used Dragon Claw to break through the ceiling, destroying the hatch in the process. Dragonite brought Ash back to the surface, giving him so air. The humans followed suit, feeling the fresh air once more. The only two left in the room were Hatterene and Pikachu. Starlight and Adagio were already gone a few seconds ago. Pikachu was resiting the Hypnosis as he knew his best friend was separated from him.
"P-PI...PIKA..."
"Hatterene." Hatterene put more focus in her Hypnosis, but was stopped by Dragonite's Dragon Claw to the back, sending the Psychic-Type crashing into the walls, knocking her out for a bit and stopping the Hypnosis."
"Pi... Pika-ka?" Pikachu ran over to Dragonite as the Dragon Pokemon hugged him. Ash was gaining consciousness as the air came back to him.
"Ugh..man..."
"Pika-Pi!"
"Pikachu. Glad to see you're okay. That Hatterene got us good huh? And who are you all?"
"We were trapped down there too. But thankfully your Dragonite was a quick thinker." A man explained. "It feels good to be back on the surface!"
"Let's get out of here as soon as possible-" Just as the lady said that Hatterene stood back up, grabbing all of them with Psychic.
"Hatt..."
"N-Not again!"
"Hatterene. Hatt." Hatterene knew she couldn't put them back down in the ditch since Dragonite has practically destroyed the hatch to it. So it decided to find a new place to hide them all. First, it had to take out the biggest threat here. Dragonite. To do that, Hatterene would have to use the second form of Hypnosis. The one that puts anyone to sleep. So it did just that. It used Hypnosis on Dragonite, putting the Dragon Pokemon to sleep, eliminating a huge obstacle.
"Oh no, Dragonite!" Ash cried out.
"Dra..." Dragonite was sound asleep. Hatterene now had to deal with the rest of them. While the ditch may be destroyed, Hatterene can improvise. So she used shoved them all back inside the ditch and then used more of her psychic power to grab as much furniture as she could, blocking the hole made by Dragonite in the ditch.
Once again they had all been trapped down there. But this time Ash knew to hold his breath. He had to think fast, or else it was game over. The only thing he could do now was to lessen the thickness of the air.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail on the walls! Quick!" Pikachu quickly acted, slashing the walls of the ditch as more air was being created by each part of the walls being destroyed. Ash could now breathe much better here. "Thanks, Pikachu. Now we just need to get out of here again. Dragonite's still up there."
"Wait!" A lady stopped him. "What if that Hatterene is still up there? It could use Psychic us back down here."
"I know." Ash was going to go for the first option, but his mind quickly thought of something else. "Unless... I got a new idea! Do you all have your Pokemon with you?"
"No. Starlight Glimmer made her Hatterene control them."
"Oh. Then it's up to you guys." Ash took out his other Pokeballs, sending out Gengar, Riolu and Farfetch'd. "Gengar. Can you phase through these walls and do something for me quickly? I want you to go out there and see what you can do. Try and wake Dragonite up first."
Back at the outside of the town.
Pinkie Pie and Slurpuff had eaten all the muffins, feeling sick from it.
"I can't believe you ate all our muffins Pinkie Pie." Applejack spoke out loud, trying to draw their attention. "We'd best go inside and get some more." The group stood up, walking to where Sugar Belle told them to meet up.
"Nice work you two." Twilight said as Pinkie Pie and Slurpuff were lagging behind.
"I've eaten cardboard tastier than that..." Pinkie sighed.
"Hello? Sugar Belle?" Twilight called for her.
"Thank you for coming." Sugar Belle showed herself with that everlasting smile.
"Why did you want us to come down here?" Twilight asked.
"So that nopony could see what's about to happen."
Just then, from the corners, Party Favor and Double Diamond and another pony showed up as well. Twilight and the group were getting nervous as the young alicorn was ready to act with her horn glowing and Raboot ready for Goh to give a command.
"Are you really the Princess of Friendship?" Party Favor suddenly said.
"Do know Princess Celestia?" The pony asked.
"I love your Cutie Mark!" Sugar Belle grabbed Pinkie's flank.
"How can you be friends with different Cutie Marks? Don't you end up hating each other?" The pegasus pony questioned.
"Oh, look at this one. This one's great too." Sugar Belle did the same to Fluttershy's. "I'd love to have my special talent back. Even just for a day. Make something besides those disgusting muffins." She sighed.
"So what's stopping you?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Go get your Cutie Marks back."
"Daydreaming is one thing. But you mean... actually having it put back on?" Party Favor replied. "That seems extreme."
"I'm not sure Starlight would like that. She wants us all to be happy in our sameness." said Sugar Belle.
"How do you take somepony's Cutie Mark anyway?" Twilight wondered.
"The Cutie Unmarking is a beautiful experience. Starlight uses the Staff of Sameness to magically take them away and replace them with these." The pegasus said as they all showed their equal marks.
"But...nopony should keep you from your Cutie Mark. It represents such an essential part of who you are." Twilight replied.
"Oh, we're not kept from them. They're in the vault, up in the caves. We can visit them anytime we like to remind of us the heartache of a life with special talents." The pegasus was saying ludicrous things. Speaking like losing their marks wasn't that big of a deal anyways.
"Can we visit this cave?" Twilight asked.
They gladly let them. They took them to Starlight as she was leading them to this vault.
"I'm delighted you're interested in our Cutie Mark vault. We hope someday, everypony in Equestria will make a pilgrimage here in our little village. To have theirs removed too. And our message of perfect-" Starlight kept on talking.
"This must be the reason we're here." Twilight whispered.
"Pilgrimaging?" said Pinkie Pie.
"No. Helping those ponies get their Cutie Marks back."
"Oh. Are you are sure Twilight?" Fluttershy retorted. "Maybe they miss them a little, but even they didn't seem all that unhappy."
"Then why did they want to meet us in secret?" Twilight looked back to see Double Diamond walking behind them. "And why did they ask us not to tell Starlight who told us about the vault? Something's not right."
"Just through here." Starlight entered a large cave as the others did so too. "Behold!" They all looked at what was in front of them. It was unreal. So many Cutie Marks encased and trapped. Taken away from their original ponies. All shining bright. "Our Cutie Mark Vault!"
"I've never seen anything like it. "Twilight was stunned.
"And here... is the staff of Sameness." Starlight walked up to the wooden staff. "It was one of the Great Mage MeadowBrook's Nine Enchanted Items. We are incredibly fortunate to have it here. This is the tool that allows us to free ourselves from our marks." Starlight held it with her magic. "I'm curious. How did the subject of the vault come up?"
"Oh, someponies were telling us how much they miss their Cutie Marks and-" Pinkie spilled the truth.
"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight stopped her.
"Oops."
"Ah! Were they? Well...it seems you inspire all sorts of free thinking. Don't you?"
"Oh. Well-w-we certainly didn't intend to cause any disruptions to your charming little-" Rarity said but Starlight got up in her face.
"Good. Let's just make sure of that. Shall we?" Starlight's face morphed from the happy smile to the devious smile. Rarity backed up as she bumped into Double Diamond. Other ponies started coming through the holes of the caves all of a sudden. All around.
"It's a trap!" Twilight exclaimed. She used her magic to teleport herself up, ready to blast her magic. However, Starlight thought quickly as fired a magic wave, seemingly from the staff as it hit Twilight. Twilight could feel motionless as her Cutie Mark was being ripped out of her. She was straining as Eve looked up at her trainer.
"Eevee!" Eevee attempted to use Swift to save her, but Hatterene who was lurking in the shadows, stopped the Evolution Pokemon with Psychic. And just like that, Twilight's Cutie Mark was taken from her. That easily.
Starlight then placed the mark right in the vault, adding it to her collection. Now Twilight had the Equal Mark as she fell down.
"This is not good. Raboot! Ember!" Goh strained Raboot spat out an Ember of fire. Hatterene simply moved out of the way, avoiding it.
Rainbow Dash tried to reach for her Pokeballs but Hatterene made sure that their hooves and arms weren't going anywhere.
"Psychic is a very useful Pokemon move isn't it? Saves up the trouble of me having to hold you all." Starlight laughed.
"A-Audi! Hyper Beam!" Fluttershy yelled.
"Slurpuff. Do whatever it is you know!" shouted Pinkie Pie. Slurpuff conjured up an Energy Ball in front of it.
"Hatterene. Be a dear and stop them with Light Screen." Starlight commanded as Hatterene multi-tasked, setting up a Light Screen to block the attacks. "Your turn." Starlight zapped them all as well, slowly taking away their marks in the process. Now they were left with no Cutie Mark. Stored in the vault with the rest. And gaining the Equal Mark. Hatterene dropped the ponies but kept the Pokemon and Goh still. "I don't blame you for what you tried to do here today. You've spent your whole lives those marks are a good thing."
"Give them back!" Twilight shouted.
"Well. Now you can spend the rest of your lives here. With us. And we'll teach you just how much better life can be without your Cutie Marks."
"You wish! Like our Pokemon would let that happen!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Oh, but your Pokemon will be happy too. Hatterene. If you would?" Hatterene had then used Hypnosis on the Pokemon, turning their state of mind's blank as that same pinkish glow emerged in their eyes. Similar to how the other Pokemon back in the town looked. Hatterene had then forced them to give off a big smile. "See? Now they're happy too. If you were good trainers you'd understand your Pokemon and how much they love it here." Starlight then walked over to Goh. "As for you. Into the ditch you go." Hatterene carried Goh off, aiming to place him in the ditch with the other humans.
Just then, Adagio showed up, smirking as she saw Twilight and friends without their marks.
"Adagio?!" Twilight yelled.
"Stings doesn't it? Having something special taken from you huh?" Adagio taunted the Mane 6. "Not bad Glimmer."
"Thank you Adagio. Now I hope that you've considered joining us as well too."
"You two are teaming up?" Fluttershy said.
"A small little union. Adagio here told me how you took away what made her stand out the most while you all kept your talents. Hearing that upset me. It shouldn't be fair at all. If she doesn't get to do what makes her special...then neither can you. That way it's all fair."
"Now I get to see you be nothing for the rest of your lives!" Adagio grinned, being all up in Twilight's face.
"Alright. I think you've vented enough, Adagio. How about we put you all in a nice little home until you learn how wonderful life can be with simplicity and without Cutie Marks."
"You won't get away with this! Ash and Pikachu are still out there!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Oh? Ash Ketchum? I made sure Hatterene dealt with him. He won't be a problem anymore."
"Make sure to take their Pokeballs too. They've still got other Pokemon with them." Adagio said.
"Smart thinking." Starlight used her magic to snatch all of their Pokeballs, taking their Pokemon away from them.
"Give back our Pokemon!" Rainbow Dash ran to Starlight but she felt too weak.
"Now. Let's get going shall we?"
The Mane 6 were all taken to this lone building, trapped inside of it. There was a speaker on the walls telling them to free themselves of their Cutie Marks. Rainbow Dash was putting in the most effort, trying to break the door down, but to no avail as the others just sat there.
"Hey. This is pretty good." PInkie was reading a book with nothing but the equal sign in it.
"Ugh. We've got to find a way out of here." Twilight groaned. "I can't take much more of that voice."
"Oh this is horrible!" Rarity started to cry.
"There there Rarity." Fluttershy went to comfort her. "It's not so bad."
"Yes it is! Look at those drapes! I have no idea if they're tacky or not!"
"Well... I think they're nice."
All of a sudden, the Equal Cutie Mark on Rarity started to pulsate as she cry more. "SO DO I!"
Fluttershy backed away as bird flew in. "Oh thank goodness. Can you help us little birdie?" She tried to talking to it, but without her Cutie Mark, her talent to talk to all forms of animals was gone. So the bird had no idea what she was talking about. "Go on. Fly away and get us help." The bird tweeted as it flew off, confused. "Oh. Even tweets don't make sense anymore."
Applejack ran forward, bucking the door, but nothing worked. It was sealed tight. "This door's shut tigher than a...summer of...of piglets in... shoot! I can't even make countryisms anymore!"
"I don't know. Maybe it'll be super fun to be all the same!" Pinkie tried to keep her optimism, but the Equal Cutie Mark quickly changed that, making her lose all her excitement. "Sort of. More pleasant that fun I guess..."
"Something odd about that staff." Twilight uttered. "I haven't studied Eastern Unicorns as much as I should've. But I'm pretty sure Meadowbrook only had eight magical items. Not nine. And I don't remember any of them being a staff."
"Well it looks like you'll have plenty of time trying to think about it." Applejack laid on her back.
And so they sat there. Waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Time kept on moving along. No progress was being made. They had neither experienced such boredom, such staleness like this in their entire life before. Time passed as it seemed like night was coming along.
As for Ash, his plan was being put into motion. What Gengar was doing this entire time was phasing through everything and hiding in the shadows, observing. Gengar at first didn't know where Twilight and the others were, unaware of the vault's existence. But after some snooping about, Gengar saw something that caught its eye. It quickly returned to Ash to spill the news.
For his other Pokemon, Riolu, Farfetch'd and Pikachu had gone in deeper in the ditch by using their attacks. And once they and the humans went in further, Ash saw someone familiar.
"Is that... Goh!"
Goh was in the ditch, all dirty like the rest of them. "Ash! There you are! Were you here too the entire time?"
"Yeah. So much for a drink of water."
"Pika! Pika-Pika!" Pikachu called out to Ash.
"What is it Pikachu?"
Pikachu, Riolu and Farfetch'd had found a hole that led to the surface. Up there, it seemed to be a cave as there was a blue light coming from that direction.
"There's surface! Finally!" A human yelled.
"Let's get out of here quick!" All the people started to run towards the hole, ready to get out. Once they went through, they came across the vault where all the Cutie Marks were being held. This was the exact same cave Twilight and the others were in previously. "What the...?"
"Are those.." Goh gazed at the vault.
"Cutie Marks. So many of them." Ash replied. He even spotted his friends's Cutie Marks. "Twilight's Cutie Mark? Fluttershy and Applejack's too?!"
"Pika!"
"Don't tell me they've already gotten them?!" Goh exclaimed. Suddenly, Ash could feel a familiar presence around.
He and Pikachu turned their heads to see a familiar figure. Hatterene was around in the dark. But this time, she wasn't going to hold them down anymore.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Ash thought quick on his feet as Pikachu quickly dashed over at Hatterene, striking her in the face.
"PIKA!"
"Hatt!"
All the humans turned around to see Hatterene. Fearing that she may place them back in.
"All of you go! I can handle Hatterene now." Ash said as all the humans immedietaly booked it, running out of the cave. One of the humans ended up knocking over the supposed magical stick, breaking it a piece of it. They ran out to not only get out of here, but to get their Pokemon back. "I won't let you trap us anymore! Riolu! Vaccuum Wave! Pikachu! Electroweb!"
Pikachu tossed an Electrified web forward as Riolu sent waves of vaccuums at Hatterene. The Psychic-Fairy-Type avoided the waves but was was caught by the web, getting shocked in the process. Hatterene broke through the web by using Psycho Cut. Hatterene then used Psychic, grabbing huge rocks from the walls as it sent them flying at them. Ash and Goh avoided the rocks as Farfetch'd destroyed them with Brutal Swing.
Hatterene then teleported behind Pikachu, grabbing him with her tentacle.
"Pika!"
Hatterene then tossed Pikachu into the hard cave walls as it then used Psychic on Riolu and Farfetch'd, knocking them back. Pikachu retaliated by shocking her with his electric body.
"Iron Tail!" Pikachu then smacked Hatterene's face with its Iron Tail, making her feel it. Hatterene knew that Starlight's perfect utopia could crumble here and now. And the vault of Cutie Marks was right there. So in order to make sure nothing goes wrong, Hatterene shot a Psycho Cut in the air, breaking through the cave ceiling. It kept on firing more Psycho Cuts high up, calling for Starlight.
Starlight saw the Psycho Cuts flying up in the sky. "What in Equestria is going on over there? Hatterene? Somepony go and check that out."
"It's probably that Ketchum kid." Adagio said. "I knew we should've just offed him. He's too much of a threat."
"I'm sure my Hatterene has it all under control." Just then, a bolt of thunder soared in the skies as well. "Actually. That looks serious. I'll go check on it. Everypony make sure our new friends don't try anything funny okay?" Starlight walked off, heading to the direction of the chaos. Gengar had overheard this as it went over to where Dragonite was, trying to wake its fellow Pokemon up.
Hatterene had put up a Light Screen to block all incoming attacks from Ash's Pokemon. Pikachu tried to break through with Thunderbolt, but the Light Screen negated it. Riolu and Farfetch'd used Force Palm and Night Slash on the Light Screen, almost shattering it. Hatterene realised things were getting desperate. So she teleported behind Ash, grabbing him with her tentacle claw.
"Pika-Pi!"
"L-Let me go!" Ash struggled to break free from the Silent Pokemon's tough grip.
Pikachu and the others were about to attack, but Hatterene stopped them by placing Ash in front of them. If they did anything, Hatterene would rip Ash apart violently. Hatterene used Hypnosis from her eyes, putting Riolu and Farfetch'd to sleep. But Pikachu knew to close his eyes this time, avoiding Hypnosis. Hatterene seeing this decided to try another approach. Using Psychic to lift Pikachu up, immoblizing him.
"What's going on here?!" Starlight had arrived, seeing the current situation. "Oh my. Good job as always Hatterene."
"S-Starlight!"
"Ash Ketchum. I don't know how you got out of there. But you're slowly but surely starting to annoy me. What do I do with you? Clearly you're much more dangerous with your Pokemon around. So I'll be taking them away from you so that you don't try any funny business." Starlight used her magic to pick up the sleeping Riolu and Farfetch'd. "As for that Pikachu. I know what to do with it. Hatterene. Place him in the vault."
Hatterene had sent Pikachu over to the vault, placing him inside an open space. She shoved the Electric Mouse inside of it, trapping him in. Pikachu tried to use thunderbolt to break free but he didn't have enough space to fire a powerful one. If he had his Thundershock ability from a long time ago, it would come in handy right now. He tried using Iron Tail, but again, he's cramped in there.
"There we go. That solves that problem. Now for you. You're too much trouble... but I suppose I can keep you around. Hatterene. Hypnosis." Hatterene looked Ash in the eyes, sending a hypnotic wave at him. Starlight thinking that all her worries are now gone, walked off. "Now that we have him apart of our utopia, let's go and make Twilight and her friends understand the beauty of our town."
Meanwhile with Gengar, who was still trying to wake Dragonite up, was wasting time. So Gengar decided to go for the best possible outcome and what it knows best. Scare everypony. Gengar increased its size, growing to an astronimical level as it phased through the building. Everypony looked up, seeing the Ghost-Type Pokemon emerge. Gengar terrified them all, scaring everypony as they were tunning for the hills.
This screaming had woken the Mane 6 up as they looked outside, seeing Gengar.
"Gengar?!" Twilight yelled.
"GEN GEN GEN!"
Starlight was walking back with Hatterene as they saw everypony running away. "What the? What are you all running away from?!" She asked, trying to stop them. But when she turned around, she saw what it was that spooked them all. Starlight saw Gengar for the first time, even being terrified herself. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF EQUESTRIA IS THAT?!" Everypony hid behind Starlight, hoping she'd do something.
Hatterene on the other hand could see through it. It was just another Ghost-Type Pokemon being mischievous to her. So she unleashed a Psycho Cut, hitting Gengar in the face. This made Gengar revert back to its normal size, making the ponies realise it was just mind games. They all let out a sigh of relief, glad it wasn't an actual giant.
"Trying to fool us huh? Sorry, but that's not acceptable behavior here in our town." Starlight walked over to Gengar.
"Gen.." Gengar phased back into the ground, vanishing.
"Everypony get back to the town. It was just a Ghost-Type Pokemon playing tricks on us." Starlight them all back to town as Twilight and others sat down again. They were hoping that Gengar could've gotten them out.
It all seemed hopeless until...
"I've got it! I know how we can get out!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Forget it Twilight. This door's not opening." Rainbow sighed.
"And I'm afraid the windows are much too small for escape." Rarity said.
"But there is a third way."
"Of course! Eventually the wind and weather will wear down the walls until they start to crumble. And then all we have to do is wait for a big enough hole to form and we can just walk out! It's the perfect plan!" Pinkie Pie rambled but her Cutie Mark made her feel gloomy again. "I guess."
"We don't actually have to escape. They'll just let us out when they think we've accepted their philosophy."
"But they're never gonna believe we switched over in just one night." AJ replied.
"There's one of us they might believe." Twilight turned to Fluttershy. They all looked at Fluttershy, smiling.
"Oh! Me?"
"You've been saying how great this place is ever since we got here!" said Rainbow Dash.
"That's because everypony is so nice and... their village is so pretty and..and...Oh you're right. They probably would believe me. I hate to lie to them. They've been so welcoming and friendly. Aside from locking us in here, controlling our Pokemon, teaming up with Adagio and trying to brainwash us into abandoning the things that make us special. Okay. I'll do it."
"WOOHOO!" Pinkie jumped up but quickly deflated back down. "I mean.. cool."
"But. What do I do once I'm out? You've got to find a way to get our Cutie Marks back."
A day had passed. Dragonite was still asleep from the Hypnosis and Gengar was avoiding Hatterene who was watching out for Gengar at every side. Pikachu was still cramped in the vault and Riolu and Farfetch'd were also asleep. As for Ash, his mind hadn't been fully taken over. He was fighting against the Hypnosis. Starlight kept a close eye on him, making sure he doesn't fully break out of it. Starlight then opened up the door to where the Mane 6 were.
"I trust you all had a pleasant night? This way please. There are some friends who would like to see you." Starlight led them outside as all the ponies gathered around. "Gather around friends! Gather around! We've come to ask if any of you are ready to join us! There are so many friends to be made once you realise you don't need your Cutie Marks. Or the talents that come with them."
The Mane 6 then shifted their eyes, seeing Ash alongside Hatterene. They saw him holding his head, trying not to be controlled by Hypnosis. They wanted to do something but they weren't exactly at the best state right now. So for the meantime, they had to go with Twilight's plan.
"We have a welcome ceremony for new friends." Double Diamond said. "The whole village joins together to build you your own cards."
"Not interested!" Rainbow Dash cut in. "You may have them now but we're going to get our Cutie Marks back!"
"Ya'll don't understand do ya? You can't force nopony to be friends. It don't work like that." Applejack shook her head.
"Please! Join us!"
"We love new friends!"
"It's alright, everypony. This is a perfectly normal part of the equalization process. For those who haven't...quite seen the light yet. We'll try again tommorow. Once you've had a bit more time to consider our philosophy."
Ash was slowly pushing back the Hypnosis. But that wasn't all. Dragonite was starting to wake up. Along with Riolu and Farfetch'd. Hypnosis can only last so long in terms of sleeping. And Ash has had his mind taken over so many times, he's used to it by now.
"Y-You.." Ash stuttered as everypony turned to him.
"How is he breaking free of the Hypnosis?" Starlight thought.
Gengar could hear Ash's voice, popping out of the shadows as it saw its trainer.
Hatterene silently kept on using Hypnosis on Ash, making sure that he doesn't spout anything that will ruin it all. Fluttershy saw how much Ash was struggling so she had to do something. "I'd like to join!"
"Fluttershy? How could you?" Twilight played off a fake betryal voice.
"If giving up my Cutie Mark means I get to stay in this lovely village with these lovely ponies, then I'll do it."
Starlight led Twilight and the rest back inside, closing the door shut. "We have a new friend everypony!" They all gathered around Fluttershy, chatting about how much they're glad she's apart of their town now.
Gengar wanted to to help so badly. But Hatterene just terrified it that much. Gengar felt bad about itself for being so weak to defend Ash. Even if it had the strength to do so.
This is the part where their luck started to turn around. Because now that Dragonite's awake. It is not a happy dragon. The entire town felt a rumble in the ground. They were losing their balance along with Hatterene's focus.
"W-What's going on?" Starlight said. Out of the building that Dragonite was in came the Dragon Pokemon. It flew up into the air, letting out a might roar. "A DRAGON?!"
Dragonite let them all have it as it unleashed a Hyper Beam down on the ground, causing a powerful shockwave and explosion to occur, sending them all flying, including Hatterene. Ash was finally free of the Hypnosis as he took a deep breath. Not only was he free but the Pokemon who were controlled as well.
"E-Eevee?"
"Audino?"
Dragonite landed on the ground, furious. Starlight looked up to see a 7'03 ft tall Dragon stare down at her. Hattere got in the way to protect her trainer but was smacked away by its claw.
"N-Now now. Let's not do anything hasty here." Starlight nervously said. But Dragonite wasn't having any of it. It charged up a Hyper Beam, ready to blast her into oblivion. Fluttershy thankfully got in the way.
"Wait!"
"Dra?"
"Dragonite wait! You don't have to blast her." Dragonite stopped its charging as Starlight was quaking.
"Phew. Thank you so much Fluttershy. You're a life saver."
"Can't say the same for you." Ash said to her as they all turned to Ash. He wasn't happy either. "You trap my friends and other humans...take their Pokemon away from them... encase my buddy Pikachu, take away everyone's talents... and make everyone follow a philosophy that only leads to nothing." Ash stood up, turning his hat. Fluttershy had never seen Ash this serious.
Unlie Twilight and her friends, Ash is less forgiving. Anyone who threatens to harm those that he cares for and ruin their future is an instant enemy to him.
"I'm getting my buddy back!" Ash exclaimed. Gengar mustered up the courage now that Ash was up and ready, appearing behind his trainer.
Fluttershy backed away, not wanting to involve herself in this current situation. Twilight and her friends looked outside, seeing Ash in a serious state.
"Gengar! Shadow Ball! Dragonite! Dragon Claw!" Ash pointed at the building that Twilight and her friends were trapped in as the two Pokemon destroyined the front section, granting them their freedom. All the other Pokemon went beside Ash. He wasn't their original trainers but he was what they got for now. As for their original trainers, Goh and the other humans were watching from the cliff, seeing what was going down there.
Twilight and the others ran out of the house, standing beside Ash.
"You've ruined everything, Ash Ketchum! Everything was going so well! Everything so peaceful!" Starlight bellowed.
"You call this peace?!" Ash raised his voice at her. "The only way you can get peace is if everyone works together to make it happen. Having everyone be the exact same with nothing to stand out doesn't achieve peace at all! If anything, it's just setting itself up for an uneventful future with no progress! The only peace they'll ever get is in the next world!"
"Dragonite!"
"You take what makes someone special, you take away their future. None of these guys have a future anymore. That's why we're getting their marks back."
"No you won't! They're all happy without them! Hatterene! Psycho Cut!"
"Gengar! Shadow Ball!" Gengar countered the Psycho Cut with a Shadow Ball, cancelling it out. The other Pokemon decided to do something. A Panpour had shot a Water Gun at Starlight, making her wet. This was a good move to use by Panpour, as it revealed something shocking. The water had dried up the Equal Cutie Mark on Starlight, revealing her actual mark.
Everypony gasped. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"W-What are you looking at?" Starlight covered her mark with her tail. "They're the problem! Not me!"
"H-How.. could you?" Party Favor was shocked.
"You said Cutie Marks were evil." Double Diamond said. "You said special talents lead to pain and heartache."
"T-They do! Don't you see? Look at them!"
"Then why? Why did you take ours and not give up your own?" Sugar Belle asked.
"I...I had to you fools!" Starlight finally snapped as she was sweating. "How could I collect your Cutie Marks without my magic?!"
"B-But the staff has all the magic we need." The pegasus said.
"The staff is a piece of wood I found in the desert! It's my magic that makes all of this possible. You'd all still be living your miserable lives thinking you're better than everypony else. If it weren't for MY magical abilities! I brought you friendship. I brought you equality. I created Harmony!"
"You lied to us!" Double Diamond yelled.
"So what? Everything else I said is true. The only way to be happy is if we're all equal."
"Except for you." Party Favor said as Starlight scowled at him.
"Welp. That settles that." Ash hopped on Dragonite's back. "Let's go and get those marks back. See ya!"
"Huh?! WAIT!" Starlight called, but Dragonite had already flown off with Ash. "Hatterene stop them!" Hatterene attempted to use Psychic to grab Dragonite.
"Eve! Swift!" Twilight commanded her Eevee to distract Hatterene, pelting stars at Hatterene's face.
"Come on! Let's go get our Cutie Marks back!" Double Diamond said as they all ran off towards the cave. Starlight couldn't stop them because the Pokemon wouldn't let her get the chance.
Goh and the other humans had a sigh of relief as they ran back to their Pokemon.
"Raboot!" Goh called out, hugging his Pokemon with all his love. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"R-Raboot.." Raboot sighed, but it was also happy to see its trainer back too.
"My sweet little Panpour!"
"How I've missed you so much Sudowoodo!"
Dragonite and the ponies had reached the cave as Ash hopped off his Pokemon. He saw his best pal struggling to break free. He's been at this for a day now. "Don't worry Pikachu! Dragonite use Dragon Claw!" Dragonite flew up at the vault, breaking it in one single attack. All the Cutie Marks flew out like jets, zipping around all over the place. They raced back to their rightful owners, eliminating the Equal Cutie Mark. Doing so transformed their bodies into much more vibrant colors and restoring their original looks. Mane and everything. Ash had caught Pikachu, hugging him. "Welcome back buddy!"
"Pika-Pi!"
Rarity looked up, seeing all the Cutie Marks fly about in the skies. "Even without my Cutie Mark. I can tell this is beautiful."
Starlight looked outside, seeing this happen as she stomped her hoof. "They think they can come to MY village and disrupt MY life?!" Starlight walked over to the Mane 6's Cutie Marks. She kept them in her room considering how special they were. "Let's see how they like spending the rest of their lives without their precious Cutie Marks." She opened up a hatch that was underneath her bed, leading downstairs to somewhere. Starlight returned Hatterene back to her Pokeball as she ran towards the staircase.
Applejack tried breaking the door to Starlight's home, but it was no use.
"Stand back everypony!" The now refreshed pegasus by the name of Night Glider said, breaking through the door easily.
They ran in with the Mane 6, looking around for Starlight. That's when Fluttershy noticed an open underground passage.
"Over there everypony!"
They went towards the passage as it had led them to a cave and eventually outside. Rainbow Dash flew up, spotting Starlight running in the distance with their Cutie Marks. "Look! And she has our Cutie Marks!" Rainbow Dash took out one of her Pokeballs she retrieved as she sent out Braviary. "Braviary! Get our marks back!"
"Braviary!" Braviary instantly dashed forward, catching up to Starlight easily. Starlight looked up, gasping as she saw the Valiant Pokemon charging towards her. "Stop it with Psychic!" Starlight tossed her Pokeball up, sending out Hatterene who used Psychic to halt Braviary.
The others couldn't reach Starlight until Party Favor had an idea. Through bizarre means, he grabbed a balloon out of his Cutie Mark, blowing on it as it expanded. He formed them into binoculars as he looked in the distance. "She's headed for the pass! If she makes it into those mountains, we'll never find her!"
Pinkie grabbed the ballon binoculars, staring through them. "These are amazing."
"Drop my Braviary!" Rainbow Dash flew over. Hatterene launched Braviary into Rainbow Dash with Psychic as she was returned to her Pokeball. The ponies chased after her, but the Mane 6 were moving much slower. "Oh! Come on!" Rainbow Dash hopped on Braviary's back to get some speed. "Much better."
Night Glider and the others 3 had caught up to Starlight who was booking it. "Are you so willing to give up everything because of these... STRANGERS?!" Starlight said as she blasted a mountain, dropping some snow on Night Glider and stopping her movements.
"We gave up everything for you! Because we thought you were our friend!" Sugar Belle replied.
"I can't believe we have to count on these other ponies to save our Cutie Marks!" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"If we hadn't come here to help them, they'd still be living under he rules. Now it's their turn to help us!" Twilight exclaimed.
"And I know they can do it!" said Fluttershy.
"My newest recipe! Snow pie!" Sugar Belle used her magic to make a snow pie, tossing it at Starlight as it broke the wagon she was carrying, making the Cutie Marks inside the jars fall down. Starlight gasped as she just barely caught them with their magic before they hit the ground by just 2 feet.
Starlight then destroyed the mountain bridge, cutting her off from the rest. Party Favor had quickly used his balloons to build a balloon bridge for all of them to cross. They continued moving as Double Diamond came across his old skis. "Whoa! These are my old skis! This is where I first met Starlight."
"Maybe you can reminisce another time. She's almost to the caves!" Night Glider said.
"No she's not!" Ash said as he was flying with Dragonite with Goh on the dragon's back as well, chasing after Starlight along with Braviary and Rainbow Dash catching up. Ash had retrieved his Riolu and Farfetch'd, sending them and Gengar back into their Pokeballs. Night Glider picked up Double Diamond, dropping him on the steep snow hill as he started to ski. Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder, charging up lightning as he shot a bolt towards Starlight's direction. Starlight turned around, thinking she was going to get hit by the Thunderbolt but instead they ended up hitting the jars instead, breaking them.
"NO!" Starlight yelled. The 6 Cutie Marks were free as they dashed back to their rightful owners. And just like that, once they connected to their owners, their colors were returning to them. They could feel their true selves finally come back.
"Yee-haw! Finally I can buck like a five bit snake herder in an Appleloosa ranch house again!" Applejack uttered, bucking her hooves about.
"And you got your countryisms back to." Fluttershy said.
Starlight stomped her hooves on the ground in frustration as they had all finally caught up to her. "You.. YOU! Curse you! Adagio was right about you all! You're nothing but a nuisance Ash Ketchum! Twilight Sparkle!" Starlight tossed her Pokeball up, bringing out Hatterene one more time. "Hatterene! Psycho Cut!" Hatterene was about to attack as well as Starlight who charged up her beam.
"Raboot! Ember!" Goh commanded Raboot as the Rabbit Pokemon kicked up a piece of rock, lightning it on fire as it struck the flaming rock at Hatterene at high speeds, hitting the Silent Pokemon so hard that it sent her crashing into a wall. Starlight fired a beam forward, but Twilight got in the way, using an advanced magic shield to protect them.
"W-Wha? I studied that spell for years! How could you-"
"I studied that spell too. But what I didn't know then was that studying could only take me so far." Twilight stepped forward. "Each of my friends has taught me something different about myself. It was their unique gifts and passions and personalities that helped bring out the magic inside of me. I never would've learned that I represent the Element of Magic without these five. And i certainly wouldn't be here to stop you know."
"Spare me your sentimental nonsense! I gave these ponies REAL friendships they NEVER could've had otherwise!"
"How do you know that? You never even gave us a chance!" said Double Diamond.
Starlight had enough as she returned Hatterene, teleporting away from here with all of her magic.
"She's getting away!" Rainbow Dash tried to follow her.
"We'll never find her in there!" Double Diamond stopped her.
"We just have to hope that when she's had a chance to think it over she realizes that you all have taught her something." said Twilight.
"It's you who have taught us something." Party Favor spoke. "We all came to this village because we were searching for something missing from our lives. We thought Starlight had given it to us but now...now it seems that it was in front of us all along. It's us." The 4 of them all went in for a group hug.
"Does that mean you'll stay in the village?" Twilight asked.
"It's our home. I'm not going anywhere." Night Glider replied.
"That settles that. I still didn't get my drink though. And I'm hungry now too." Ash held his stomach.
"Pika..." Pikachu felt hungry too.
"Don't worry. I can bake you all something other than terrible muffins this time." said Sugar Belle.
"You will? Yes!"
"Pikachu!"
The town was now much more lively. It even had a makeover with some decorations here and there. Sugar Belle had baked some delectable food to choose from.
"Now THOSE are real smiles." Pinkie Pie giggled.
"I can't believe what just happened today." Goh held his head.
"Mhm. Although it's strange how Gengar took so long to do something." Ash said as Gengar came out of his Pokeball.
"Gen. Gengar!"
"Gengar said that Hatterene terrified him. That's why." Fluttershy translated.
"But you have the type advantage don't you?" Dash asked.
"Gen..."
"Gengar said, it was the eyes and the claw that spooked him."
Hearing that made everyone laugh.
"Looks like you were right Twilight. The map did have a reason for sending us here." Applejack commented. "We brought real friendship to these here ponies. Guess that's why you're the Princess of Friendship."
"But the map didn't send me. It sent us. You're apart of me. All of you. And there's no doubt you're all apart of my mission to spread friendship too." They all went to hug Twilight.
Ash took a deep breath as he was ready to head home. And his stomach was full and he was hydrated.
Adagio looked over from the distance, upset at what she saw. "You kidding me!? How do they keep winning?!" She stomped her hooves. "I swear I'll find a way to ruin their lives.. one day..."
Applejack came out of her home in Sweet Apple Acres, taking in all that fresh air.
"Ah... nothing like the fresh air of Equestria to get the day rolling." Applejack walked with joy in her eyes, but that joy was stopped when saw something she didn't want to see. A flock of Murkrow's were suddenly stealing the apples in the trees, flying away with them. "Huh? HEY! YOU VERMIN! GET BACK HERE WITH THOSE APPLES!"
All the way over at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was freaking out. Murkrow's were taking all of the cakes and pastries she and Mr and Mrs cake had to bake. "COME BACK! THOSE ARE MEANT FOR SOME PONY ELSE!" Pinkie bellowed.
This was happening everywhere. For some unexplained reason, Murkrow's were just swooping in, snatching everypony's food left and right. They didn't stop for one second, they just kept on taking them. Ash sat down to get a good bite out of his morning food with Pikachu. "Here goes. Let's dig in!"
"Pikachu!"
Just as they were about to dig in, Murkrow swooped in, taking their food.
"Huh? Hey!"
"Pika!"
Soon all of Ponyville had lost their morning food. Making them go hungry. They all started to complain as Mayor Mare caught wind of this, attempting to calm them all down. They all gathered up to tell their complaints to the mayor. "Everypony please calm down. I'm sure we can solve this sudden Murkrow problem. That's the Pokemon's name right? In the meantime, we still have a source of food. Sugarcube Corner and Sweet Apple Acres can provide as many foods for everypony!"
"We can't! Those darn crows dun stole every apple in our orchard!" Granny Smith yelled from the crowd.
"Oh... well then Sugarcube Corner can provide food for everypony."
"Yeah! We can still make other stuff for everypony!" Pinkie said. But the moment she said that the Murkrow's returned, stealing everything from Sugar Cube Corner. "Nevermind. It's all gone."
"Oh, dear. Well not to worry. We have a way around this. The pegasi and the Flying-Types can stop the Murkrow the next time they come along. I trust some of you have Flying-Types?"
Some ponies nodded their head as in fact they did have Flying-Type Pokemon at their disposal.
"Excellent. Now then. Everypony go on and find something to eat. And keep a lookout for any Murkrow's." Mayor Mare finished this short speech as everypony walked off.
"Why do you think the Murkrow's are suddenly stealing everypony's food?" Twilight wondered.
"Maybe it's like what happened with the bats? They must be really hungry." Fluttershy answered.
"It better not be like the bats. I don't wanna go through that again." Applejack shuddered.
"I'm sure we can find out why they're doing this. If they're hungry then we'll give them plenty of food," said Fluttershy. "But it's strange... Murkrow's don't fly around during the day. They generally sleep until dusk and their flying at night."
"Whatever the reason, they'd better watch it!" Rainbow Dash clashed her hooves together. Her stomach started to rumble like everypony else's. "First I need some grub."
Minutes later, everypony was struggling to find some food. The Murkrow had really taken everything. And in such a short amount of time too. They were all eating leftovers from last time but it wasn't much. At all.
"Pika.." Pikachu's stomach growled as he slumped on a wall.
"Did those Murkrow really take everything...How is that even possible? They just arrived 20 minutes ago during the day." Twilight groaned.
"There was only like...13 of them. Not even that many." Rainbow replied.
"Alright. I'm heading back to my world to grab something to eat." Ash was walking towards the gateway. "I can't wait to eat..."
Seeing Ash walk towards the gateway made everypony turn their heads. They could get some food on the other side. So they all rushed forward, knocking Ash through the gateway as they all entered Pallet Town.
"OW!"
"Pika!"
Delia came outside to see all of Ponyville outside. Some familiar faces and new faces were in the crowd. They all had their tongue and they were drooling too. "Oh my. Are you all friends of Ash?"
"Mhm! Got any food?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Oh... I see what this is. Don't worry. I can cook you all something wonderful. How does some Fresh Cream Curry, Instant Noodles and Slowpoke Tail sound?"
"YEAH!" Everypony yelled as Ash and Pikachu were still on the ground, groaning.
Delia managed to cook for an entire town, filling all those empty stomachs. Ponyville had never tasted anything so delectable before. They've been missing out on the other world's food. A few of them ate inside while the rest of them ate outside at Pallet Town.
"Mmm! This stuff is good!" Rainbow Dash slurped the noodles up.
"I can't believe we didn't think of this before!" Mayor Mare had also joined in, feeling hungry herself.
"This stuff's just as good as our apples!" Applejack chomped on the Slowpoke Tail.
"Eeyup."
"Oh, cream. Even in this world you're here for me." Pinkie Pie was going in on the Fresh Cream.
"Glad you're all enjoying your meal. I'm always happy to help any of Ash's friends in need."
"Thank you so much Mrs Ketchum!" They all said.
"I still haven't eaten yet..." Ash held his stomach. Rarity gave him some Slowpoke Tail to feed his rumbling stomach. "Oh. Thanks, Rarity!" Ash and Pikachu started to eat all of the tail as fast as they could.
Very soon, everypony in Ponyville was satisfied. Their hunger had been dealt with as they laid on their backs. Curry in this world can really make you feel unusually satisfied.
"I believe it is time we all returned back to Ponyville." Mayor Mare stood up as everypony followed suit. They all waved goodbye to Delia, entering the gateway. But what they saw, was not what they expected. "W-W-W-WHAT?!"
Murkrow's were flying away with all their furniture, items, collectibles, valuables, you name it. They snatched everything.
"My trinkets!"
"My kiosks!"
"My game controller!"
"My jelly!"
"Those Murkrow have done it now!" Rainbow Dash tossed out her Braviary as it flew up into the skies. "Braviary! Let's go get em!"
"Braviary!"
Rainbow Dash and Braviary chased after the Murkrow's. The Dark Pokemon turned around to see the two of them gaining on the flock. And they were moving fast. So to slow them down, the Murkrow's used Haze to block their vision as they disappeared into the black hazy mist.
"Where'd they go?!"
"Brav?"
"Oh, we'll find them anyways. Blow it away with your wings Braviary!"
Braviary flapped its wings aggressively, kicking up a wind current that blew away the haze. Braviary and Rainbow Dash saw two Murkrow left as they were lagging behind the others due to holding heavier objects.
"We've got you now Brave Bird!" Braviary charged forward, crashing into both of the Murkrow's making them fall to the ground along with the objects they were carrying. Everypony in Ponyville were chasing after the Murkrow as welly by following Rainbow Dash and her Braviary. After all, that is their stuff. Rainbow Dash landed down with Braviary as the two Murkrow saw all of Ponyville here. "Alright you two. Fess up! Where are the rest of your thieving pals?!"
"Murk! Murkrow!"
"They said that you'll never make us talk." Fluttershy translated.
"Oh yeah?" Rainbow Dash grinned, knowing how to make anypony talk. "Pinkie Pie." Rainbow Dash summoned Pinkie to her side. The party pony knew what she had to do. Pinkie Pie took out a book that looked like it went on for ages as it was a book of all the worst puns anypony could think of. The Murkrow's were intelligent enough to know what a bad pun was and they didn't want to hear any of them.
"M-MURKROW!" They flapped their feathers aggressively.
"They said they'll talk." Fluttershy translated.
"Murk. Murkrow. Murkrow. Krow!"
"They said that they're bringing it all to their boss. He demands all the food, equipment and furniture he desires. The boss is the boss after all."
"Who's their boss?" Sonata asked.
Take us to him. Right now." Rainbow Dash looked them in the eyes. The Murkrow's did just that. They led all of Ponyville to a secluded area in the lush forests. This area had been made by the two worlds crossing over and terraforming the forest.
Once they got there, they saw all of their stuff. Everything that everypony owned was there. Including all the food that was stolen. It was all in this slightly darker green forest were the trees were wilted and there Murkrow's sitting on those wilted trees.
"Sweet Celestia. It's all here." Rarity gazed.
"Look! Up there!" Octavia pointed her hoof up at the one Pokemon that was standing atop a larger tree. The head honcho.
Honchkrow.
"Who's that Pokemon?" Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex as all the ponies leaned in to hear this.
"Honchkrow. The Big Boss Pokemon. Becoming active at night, it is known to swarm with numerous Murkrow in tow. If its Murkrow cronies fail to catch food for it, or if it feels they have betrayed it, it will hunt them down wherever they are and punish them. Its goons take care of most of the fighting for it. The only time it dirties its own hands is in delivering a final blow to finish off an opponent."
"That explains everything now." Rainbow said. "So you're the punk who's been sending these goons to take our stuff huh?!"
"Honch. Honchkrow."
"Honchkrow said that...ahem.. you ponies left your post so we took what was unguarded. Because very soon, I'm gonna be the boss running your town." Fluttershy translated, having a serious tone to her voice. "Sorry. Had to match his personality."
"I beg your pardon. Running our town?!" Mayor Mare stepped forward. "What makes you think YOU can just come along and decide to run Ponyville?!"
"Honckrow. Krow-Honch. Honchkrow. Honch."
"He says that he makes his own rules. And his rule is that he's gonna run Ponyville now. And we're gonna be the ones that bring him food and equipment from now on. We'll be his replacements for Murkrow."
"That won't happen." Mayor Mare stared down Honchkrow as he stared back.
"Honch...Krow. Krow-Krow." The Big Boss Pokemon suddenly smirked.
"He says...We'll make a deal. If you can defeat my Murkrow and me in a battle, then you can have all your stuff back. But I wouldn't count on it, pony."
"You're on!" Rainbow Dash was ready to act but Mayor Mare stopped her.
"No, Rainbow Dash. Let me handle this. I'm the Mayor of Ponyville and this is a situation that calls for me."
"O-Okay. You got it, mayor." Rainbow Dash backed up.
"Honckrow!" Honchkrow let out a cry as all the Murkrow's flew down from their trees, ready to battle.
"I'll make sure I get everypony's belongings back! Lucky for me, my Lillipup reached its final evolution weeks ago. GO!" Mayor Mare tossed out her Pokeball, bringing out her partner Pokemon. Stoutland. Rainbow Dash pulled out her dex to see this new Pokemon.
"Stoutland. The Big-Hearted Pokemon. Stoutland's bravery and intelligence make it an excellent partner. Many trainers put their trust in this Pokemon to help rescue explorers stranded in the mountains or to keep an eye on the kids. ts fur is long and thick. A long time ago in cold regions, every household kept a Stoutland."
"Oh my gosh! It looks so huggable!" Sweetie Belle squeed.
"Are you sure you can beat all those Pokemon with just one, Mayor Mare?" Twilight asked.
"Trust me Princess Twilight. Stoutland and I can do this."
"Honch." Honchkrow sent three Murkrow's forward to deal with Stoutland. "Honchkrow!"
"He said. Let the battle begin!" Fluttershy translated as it was about to start. The Murkrow's got the first hit in by playing dirty. They each used Haze to throw Stoutland's vision off, creating a haze around the forest.
"This haze thing again?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. But Mayor Mare kept her cool along with Stoutland.
"Stoutland. Use Thunder Fang!" Stoutland's teeth were covered in an electric aura as it lunged through the haze, seeing a Murkrow. It bit on the wing of the Murkrow. It was Super-Effective as Stoutland tossed the Murkrow away with its teeth, making one of them faint already.
"Amazing! One of them's already down!" Pinkie Pie yelled.
The other two Murkrow's had used Peck, flying in an aggressively pecking at Stoutland. The Big-Hearted Pokemon was barely phased at all by this. If anything. It was just annoyed by it.
"Iron Head." Stoutland's head was encased in Iron as it slammed its head onto a Murkrow, launching it into the other one as they crashed into a tree, making them both faint at the same time.
"H-Honch?!" Honchkrow was surprised at how easily she took them out. The ponies let out a cheer, seeing their mayor completely flatten those three. "Honchkrow..." Honchkrow sent out more Murkrow's. 8 of them. Now Stoutland was dealing with more numbers.
"Oh come on! Eight now?!" Lyra yelled.
"Honchkrow!" Honchkrow gave the command to let the battle start. This time the Murkrow's changed things up a bit. They used their talons to kick dirt into Stoutland's eyes, messing with its vision. Then they used Haze to make it even worse. And the previous Haze was still there, so now it was even tougher to see. The Murkrow's had attacked Stoutland from all sides this time. They used Peck and Wing Attack on it continuously.
"Don't worry Stoutland! Use Iron Head on them and then follow up with a Thunder Fang!" Stoutland ran towards one of the Murkrow's charging headfirst at one of them, taking it out in one hit. Stoutland then ducked, avoiding a Wing Attack to head as it raised its head up at the Murkrow above it, striking its stomach with Iron Head, knocking it out as well. The Murkrow's then decided to use the items to their advantage. They picked up some furniture as they tossed it over at Stoutland.
"Hey! That's no fair! You can't do that!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.
"They're Dark-Types. They always play dirty no matter what." Ash explained.
"Pika."
Stoutland broke the furniture with Iron Head, charging through them. On the downside, some of the ponies had to see their precious furniture be destroyed in this battle. Honchkrow was getting worried. Mayor Mare and Stoutland were working really well as a team. It had to do something. So it ordered one of the remaining Murkrow's to try something extra sly.
A Murkrow had grabbed one of the jelly jars dropping them on Stoutland's head as Jelly got all over its head. Then it picked up some of the cakes, dropping it on Stoutland as well. Soon the Big-Hearted Pokemon couldn't see at all. Dirt, Haze, jelly and cakes had messed it all up. The Murkrow's then pecked ferociously at Stoutland, making it lower itself on the ground. They grabbed some items, swinging them on the Normal-Type.
Some ponies found this hard to watch. But Mayor Mare still kept her cool. "Now! Thunder Fang!" Stoutland used its nose and ears as its guide as it used Thunder Fang on a Murkrow. It then sniffed out the others as it was shocking them with a bite constantly, moving from Pokemon to Pokemon. Stoutland didn't need vision to battle at times. Besides, all that fur in the front was blocking most of its eyesight in the first place.
Very soon, all the Murkrow's were taken down. There were only two left now. But they were so intimidated by Stoutland and what just happened that they flew off and left, afraid.
"Now it's just you. Come down here and face me, Honchkrow!" Mayor Mare exclaimed. Honchkrow wasn't too worried. After all, the Pokedex did mention how it always deals the last blow whenever the Murkrow's rough the opponent up. And Honchkrow new this. Stoutland was bombarded earlier with tons of attacks and even items. It should be at a fairly weak state by now. "You're going to stay far away from our town as possible."
"Honchkrow..."
The air was still as everypony could feel it. There was a silent gulp and the sound of a sweatdrop hitting the ground. The wind flowed, blowing the wilted trees as the dust of the previous battle had settled.
"Honchkrow!" The Big Boss Pokemon made the first move. He used Toxic, spitting it out of his beak as it got on Stoutland. Now Stoutland had to deal with poison. This even caught Mayor Mare off guard.
"Stoutland! Thunder Fang!" Stoutland picked up Honchkrow's smell, running towards him. But the Big Boss Pokemon flew up, avoiding the Thunder Fang he used Dark Pulse, sending a dark wave down on Stoutland, hitting its back.
"STOUT!"
"Honchkrow-krow..." Honchkrow grinned as he picked Stoutland up with its talons, going to the air.
"Quickly Stoutland! Raise your head up and use Iron Head!" Stoutland turned its head iron as it thrust its head up, hitting Honchkrow's belly. Honchkrow dropped Stoutland as the Big-Hearted Pokemon back down. This also hurt Stoutland in the process.
Honchkrow flew up in the air, firing a Dark Pulse down.
"Dodge it!" Stoutland used its ears to pick up where the attack was coming from. It sensed it from above as it rolled to the side like a dog would. Honchkrow kept firing more Dark Pulses, but Stoutland could hear them coming from above, continuously running and avoiding them. Honchkrow realised he wasn't making any progress, so he charged down with Aerial Ace, striking Stoutland in the face as he sent the Normal-Type Pokemon flying and crashing through some equipment. But Stoutland wasn't down yet.
"Honchkrow." Honchkrow laughed, thinking that this was the end of the line for Stoutland. The Dark-Flying-Type was about to deal the final blow with the move Assurance as its wings were radiating a dark aura.
Mayor Mare on the other hoof had one move in particular. She was saving it was she smirked. Honchkrow went in, ready to deal that last hit until...
"GIGA IMPACT!" Stoutland unleashed all of its might as it took off from the ground, leaving a smoke cloud as it crashed headfirst into Honchkrow, overpowering Assurance as the Big-Hearted Pokemon was moving so fast it was carrying him up into the air. "Stay away from my town!" Mayor Mare exclaimed as Stoutland launched Honchkrow up with the last of the Giga energy. Honchkrow was sent flying out of control, going through clouds as he was nothing but a star in the sky now.
"She did it! WOOHOO!" Pinkie Pie tossed confetti everywhere as the entirety of Ponyville applauded and cheered for Mayor Mare's victory. Stoutland was badly hurt. Still full of poison in it. But it went to hug its trainer for its victory.
"Well done, Stoutland. This is why you're my Pokemon." Mayor Mare petted her Pokemon.
"Stout!"
Fluttershy had gotten Audino to heal Stoutland of its injuries and the toxic. Everypony was taking back what the Murkrow took from them, even if some of their stuff had been destroyed in the battle.
"You were amazing Mayor Mare. Remind me not to break any laws in Ponyville." Rarity said.
"Oh, why thank you, Rarity."
"But how did you get so good at Pokemon Battling?" Twilight asked.
"I'm the mayor. I watch over what everypony does in my town most of the time. And I've been keeping an eye on Ash and Rainbow Dash's training sessions. I can learn a lot at my age you know." She proudly answered. They all laughed as they returned back to Ponyville to enjoy the rest of the sunny day.
Today, Hollow is taking his class over on a trip to learn about Pokemon Fossils. Celestia had tagged along as well as Luna. She wanted to know about Fossil Pokemon since she was a bit of a geek to Pokemon. Celestia was interested as well. And this was one of her rare days off.
The area they arrived in was the rocky area were the Diamond Dogs once kept Rarity.
"Yeah. This looks like a place where Fossils may be." Hollow said.
"I don't get what's so interesting about a Fossil? Their names even sound boring. Fossil." said Sunrise Sprint.
"Oh, but these fossils are one of a kind. Pokemon Fossils are very unique in the fact that they can be restored. Bringing back the original Pokemon to this world."
"Bringing back? Like Necromancy?!" Celestia exclaimed.
"Uh... not quite. It's more a scientific way."
"Oh. Phew." Celestia gave off a huge sigh.
"I heard that some fossils were found here last month. Let's hope that they're still around. Come on out Scrafty." Hollow sent his Scrafty out of its Pokeball. This Scrafty had Black Sunglasses resting on its eyes were Black Sunglasses. Sapphire Flash pulled out her dex to see what looked like to be like the evolution to Ash's Scraggy that she knows of.
"Scrafty. The Hoodlum Pokemon. This Pokémon may be rude, but it takes very good care of its family, its friends, and its turf. As halfhearted as this Pokémon’s kicks may seem, they pack enough power to shatter Conkeldurr’s concrete pillars.It pulls up its shed skin to protect itself while it kicks. The bigger the crest, the more respected it is."
"Alright, Scrafty. Use Dig to see what you can find."
"Scrafty!" Scrafty used its head to start digging as it went into the ground.
"In the meantime! I've got this to get you started on Fossils. Sorry I didn't explain them earlier in the classroom." Hollow lent the students notes of all the different Fossil Pokemon.
"These all look pretty weird..." A young pony said.
"Yeah. They're kinda creepy a bit." So did another.
"Oh come on. Fossil Pokemon aren't creepy." Hollow said but then remembered what Omastar looked like. "Well. Not all of them..."
"This one looks like a Flying-Type!" A pony was looking at Archeops and Archen.
"Oh yeah. That's Archen and Archeops. The First Bird Pokemon." Hollow explained.
"The First Bird?" Sapphire responded to that.
"Mhm. In fact, some Fossil Pokemon are the foundations of certain Pokemon that follow in the future. Archen and Archeops are the ancestors of all bird-like Pokemon." Hollow explained as well. "And this Pokemon over here, Carracosta and Tirouga are the Prototurtle Pokemon. All other turtle-like Pokemon descended from it."
"Woah. No wonder they're fossils. These Pokemon are ancient!" Sunrise gawked.
"I wonder what Fossil Pokemon we'll meet today Passion? Having a day off for once in a long time is so exciting." Celestia said.
"Kirlia."
Scrafty dug up from the ground as he had found one fossil at least.
"Scrafty!"
"Oh! Good job Scrafty! It looks like you found the Sail Fossil." Hollow said as his Scrafty lend him the fossil.
"Which Pokemon does that hold?" A young filly asked.
"This one has an Amaura inside. It evolves into one of the most beautiful Pokemon you'll ever see. Now, all we have to do is find someplace to revive it. But first, we'll study this fossil alone and then bring back the Amaura inside."
"Maybe we can revive it by cracking it! Science is too boring." Sunrise exclaimed.
"No, you dummy." Sapphire whacked him in the head. "That'll just destroy the Pokemon probably."
"Pssh. Since when did you become a fossil expert?"
"Nyeh!" Sapphire blew her tongue at him.
Just then, in the distance, a group of Drillbur were doing what they normally do every day, drilling about, carving tons of holes in the rocky areas. The number of holes that were made actually revealed more fossils.
"Check it out! There are more fossils! The Root Fossil, Skull Fossil, I even see an Old Amber too." Hollow. pointed out.
"Thank you very much Drilbur!" Celestia waved at the Mole Pokemon as they waved back.
Just then, Rarity was seen coming out of a hole in the cave, complaining as Spike Fluttershy, Twilight and Applejack came out of it.
"Twilight? You're here too?" Celestia said.
"And what in Equestria happened to you all? You appear dirty." Luna noticed Rarity's mane was a mess.
"What happened?!!" Rarity exclaimed as she scared the kids. "I was just coming along to let Spikey-wikey dig up some gems. It was just meant to be a normal day. But then, that dog thing and Sableye came out of nowhere and chased us out and...and... GRGH! It's just been awful!" She stomped her hoof.
"Oh, dear. Someone sounds fairly miffed." The lady came out of the cave as well. She had a dress so beautiful that would make any fashion pony jealous, including Rarity. Beside her, she had a Gothitelle as her partner Pokemon. Her name was Jewel. "What happened back in there wasn't too eventful."
"Alright. I feel lucky about today!" Rarity said with glee on her face.
"Why is that Rarity?" Fluttershy asked.
"Because today is when the most amount of gems show themselves. It's a rare occurrence. It doesn't normally happen naturally, it must be done by other means. Like that battle with Tirek."
"You think that battle might've shaken things up here and revealed more gems?" Twilight asked.
"Mhm. I saw them last night and the way they shined in the night. So divine." The group were in a cave as Rarity could see sparkles in the distance, indicating that some gemstones are near. "There they are! The motherload!" Rarity galloped towards that sparking light, but she was met with something that halted her instantly.
Right where the gemstones were, a Midnight Lycanroc popped out of the corner, stopping Rarity's movements. Alongside this Lycanroc was a Sableye that was on its head.
"Uh, excuse me darlings. Could you please move out of the way? I have some gemstones to collect right now so if you all would be dears-"
"LYCAN!" Lycanroc stopped her chatter by letting out a cry.
"Um. They just said that those gemstones aren't going anywhere. So beat it." Fluttershy translated.
"Ah! How rude! You have no right to-"
Lycanroc stopped her from talking again as it left a hole in the wall with its paws, making Rarity quake.
"Hehehe. On second thought, maybe we can just...come back another time when you're not here."
"Ly!" Lycanroc looked like it was about to attack them as it raised its arms up. It had a dark aura surround its paws and teeth, indicating that it was about to bite on them. The girls and Spike screamed as they started to run away from Lycanroc. Lycanroc and Sableye laughed as they saw the ponies scatter.
From the corner, peeked out the Diamond Dogs. They saw how Lycanroc just easily scared away Rarity and her pals. They had so much trouble scaring her and this Wolf Pokemon did it in a few seconds.
"What a lucky break! We don't have to deal with that pony again!" Rover said.
"Disaster averted." Fido laughed.
"With that thing around, we don't have to worry about trying to do all the hard work of scaring ponies." said Spot.
"Now isn't that just a bit excessive?" A voice called to the Diamond Dogs. They turned around to see a human woman who was wearing a beautiful dress. On that dress were diamonds and pearls along with rubies and sapphires. She was flaunting it off the dogs. "Excuse me, boys. But I'll be leaving as well. I've already gotten a wonderful load of gems." Her Gothitelle was carrying a huge load of gems with Psychic.
"You can't leave with all those gems!" Those are ours!" Rover exclaimed.
"Hmm... don't care. Gothitelle used her Psychic to hold them all in place including Lycanroc and Sableye as they walked out of the cave with the gemstones.
Back with Rarity, she was upset that the Lycanroc and Sableye were blocking her way to the motherload of gemstones.
"Who do they think they are?! I've been searching for gems in this area before these worlds crossed over!" Rarity complained.
"I'm sure they have a good reason for keeping us away. Maybe those gemstones are for them and they found it first." Fluttershy defended the two of them.
"Fluttershy, darling. I love you. But you can't defend every Pokemon." Rarity said.
"We can always try and be subtle about it, ya'll." Applejack suggested.
"I'm not sure. I went over Midnight Lycanroc over the Pokepedia and found out that they can sniff out anyone from any distance. It's most likely that's how they knew we were coming." Twilight explained. "I think it's best if we try again another time."
"Ugh! How could this get any worse?!" Rarity slammed her hoof on a wall, causing this part of the cave to rumble as tons of 100 years dirt dropped on her, dirtying her mane. Twilight and others backed away, terrified of what might happen next. Rarity's eye twitched as she felt like breaking something. But she didn't want anything to get out of hoof, so it was best to leave.
Jewel watched Rarity almost about to throw a fit and all dirty. She shook her head, seeing the fancy pony be turned into a mess in the span of a few minutes.
"How tragic. All it takes is one small thing to happen."
"Gothitelle."
"That's how it went. It wasn't as bad as it sounded," said Applejack, telling the truth on the story. Rarity made it sound like it was a disaster but really it wasn't.
"But who are you? And how long have you been in there?" Spike said to Jewel.
"Who am I? Hoho!" Jewel pulled out a fan, ready to show off her apparent dazzle. "I am the radiant and stunning Jewel. A Pokemon Fashion Empress."
"Pokemon Fashion Empress?" Everyone said. All but Hollow didn't know about this rank.
"Indeed. A ranking of a Pokemon Fashion Model that is so high...only the worthy can obtain it. Which is me. I've been travelling the world, seeking out gemstones of all kinds for my dresses. My Pokemon dazzle wonderfully in everything I collect. All my hard work eventually granted me the rank of Empress."
"That's a fairly high rank indeed. Do we have an Empress in Equestria?" Fluttershy asked Celestia and Luna.
"Not any that we know of. No." Celestia replied.
"Don't worry. It's not on the same league as an actual Empress. One that runs an entire empire. But for me, the fashion business is my empire. Hoho! Now. I saw what happened back there and my... a bit of mess wouldn't you say?"
"Whatever..." Rarity mumbled. "What are you all even doing here?"
"We're here on a Fossil exploration!" A young pony yelled from the group, jumping up.
"Fossils?! I've always wanted to know about Pokemon Fossils soon!" Twilight shouted. "What a lucky coincidence! So did you find any?!"
"We got this one first." Hollow held the Sail Fossil in his hand.
"Oooh....what's in it?" Twilight asked.
"Amaura. According to what it was known as." Luna said walking forward. "Apparently, these fossils can be revived, bringing the Pokemon back to this world."
"Through necromancy!?" Twilight gasped.
"No. I thought the same thing too." Celestia replied.
"There's also those ones that the Drilbur dug up." A young pony pointed his hoof at the rest of the fossils.
"I recognize those fossils from the books. The Pokemon in them are..." Twilight was trying to remember which Pokemon were described to be in the fossils. "Cranidos, Lileep and Aerodactyl. Hah!"
"So then what about this one?" Fluttershy picked up another fossil. It was the Jaw Fossil."
"Oh. The Jaw Fossil. Inside there is a Tyrunt. This Fossil Pokemon kinda bit the dust faster than the others though." Hollow explained.
"Aw. The poor thing." Fluttershy rubbed the Jaw Fossil. "I think we should bring this one back first."
"Tyrunt back? Better be careful on that one. It is part Dragon." Jewel said. "In fact. I have something to show you all. I may be a gemstone hunter but I dabble in other forms of rocks. Such as rock sculptures. Example." Gothitelle used Psychic on Jewel's large bag of equipment. Inside it was what seemed to be a replica figure of Tyrunt. Almost looking lifelike.
The children looked at this, seeing the replica as they gawked and gazed with oohs and aahs.
"Is that what they look like? Pretty cool!" Sunrise went up to the figure. The other children went up to it to try and touch it, but something was off
"Use Roar." Jewel suddenly said. All of a sudden, that supposed rock replica of Tyrunt was a farce. It was the real deal. And it let out a roar that scared the young fillies and colts, making them hide behind Celestia. "Oohoho! It's the real thing. A living Tyrunt. Here in this day of age."
"IT'S ALIVE?!" Twilight and her friends shouted.
"You'll have to forgive my wife. She does love startling others. Guess science isn't so boring if it can do this, huh Sunrise?" Hollow smirked looking to the shaking colt.
"Wife? WIFE?!" Twilight exclaimed, looking at Jewel and Hollow.
"Correct you are. My darling Hollow and I tend to explore the world in the same location most of the time. I remember when we first met. It was all the way back in the Hoenn Region when he arrived for the first time to continue his journey there. Ah. The way he looked so tired after a long walk there. And I was but a young girl curious about love." She lost herself in the memories.
"Sounds to me like we've found your otherworld counterpart." Applejack whispered to Rarity.
"Oh hush you."
Fluttershy fluttered over to Tyrunt as the Royal Heir Pokemon looked up at her. "Oh my goodness. It's so fierce but adorable at the same time. Hello there, Tyrunt. My name is Fluttershy."
"Ty?" Tyrunt had licked Fluttershy's hoof, growing fond of the pegasus.
"Your skin is so hard. Like rocks." Fluttershy felt its rocky dragonic skin
"Why did these things go extinct so easily actually?" Sapphire pulled out her dex.
"Tyrunt. The Royal Heir Pokemon. This Pokémon was restored from a fossil. If something happens that it doesn’t like, it throws a tantrum and runs wild. Its immense jaws have enough destructive force that it can chew up an automobile. It lived 100 million years ago. Its large jaw has incredible destructive power. Some theories suggest that its restored form is different from its form of long ago. Tyrunt has been known to injure its companions by accident while trying to be playful."
"Oh. That explains it."
"Well, I think it's not a bad idea to be playful." Fluttershy petted Tyrunt. "Even if it did end up causing their extinction early."
"Unless you're all done talking. I want to see this fossil revival." Luna wanted to see the revival more than anypony.
"Right, right. We can head to the nearest gateway. It will take straight to Kalos at Ambrette Town." Jewel explained.
"Hold it!" A familiar voice called to them. The Diamond Dogs had popped out of the cave, unhappy about all those gems being taken. "You're not leaving with our gems!" Rover yelled
"Aren't those the Diamond Dogs?" Applejack spoke.
"Ugh. These ruffians." Rarity groaned.
"That's our property!"
"I'm sorry but gemstones are free to anyone. Tough luck. Ohoho!" Jewel laughed.
"T-That's not fair! You can't just come and take our gems! We saw them first!" Fido complained.
"Well if you're going to throw a fit about it, at least dig for some new gems. Then you can claim them for your own. Then again, I might beat you to it next time. And I'll be doing the digging. It helps with my perfectly fit shape." Jewel showed off her fairly fit figure, showing that she digs like crazy despite how well she dresses.
Rarity looked at Jewel and then back at herself. She felt that she needed to stay in shape as well. She's mostly been using Spike to dig for gems, not doing it herself anymore. "Ugh. Let's just go and revive this fossil before I start to lose it."
"Before we get a move on. Diamond Dogs was it?" Celestia spoke to the dogs. "How would you like to have gems that aren't native to Equestria?"
The dogs looked at each other and then back at Celestia. "Huh?"
"If you think about it, if you dig for gemstones that are located in another land, uncharted lands even, you can claim all of those gemstones for yourselves. How does that sound?"
"Hm. Huddle!" The Diamond Dogs huddled together, whispering to each other. They thought for it for a few seconds and realised the upside of this. If they head to a new unknown land, they won't have to deal with Rarity anymore. They'll be far away from her. "Deal!"
"Glad we have that settled. Now let's see this Amaura."
Kalos Region, Ambrette Town.
"Ooh. It's real alright. A real Sail Fossil." A fossil scientist said as he was examining it. "I can revive to for you indeed. But it's gonna cost you."
"Cost me? It didn't cost money the last time!" Jewel exclaimed.
"Well considering how many trainers come along with fossils more often nowadays us scientists want to at least have something in return for all our hard work."
"Ugh. Here." Jewel took a gemstone, lending it to him.
"Gemstone? I'll take it!" The scientist took the gemstone as he placed the Sail Fossil inside the Fossil Incubator. "Watch the magic happen kids."
"So there is magic involved?! It is necromancy?!" Celestia and Twilight gasped.
"It's not necromancy." The scientist replied as the two of them let out a sigh of relief. "IT'S TECHNOMANCY!" The fossil's percentage was rising rapidly. Faster than most fossils. "Oh, that's interesting. This is much faster than the one that have been brought to us previously. It seems that this Sail Fossil has been taken good care of over the years."
The fossil was at 63% as everypony leaned in, seeing that percentage rise up. Fluttershy, Twilight and Luna were getting giddy, ready to see this Pokemon emerge.
100%. In just 19 seconds flat. The fossil was glowing as bright light broke through the incubator, destroying it. Out of that light emerged the once small and beautiful Tundra Pokemon.
Amaura.
Fluttershy opened her eyes, seeing it in its glory as she instantly fell in love with it. "Oh my goodness! It's beautiful!"
"It's perfect!" Luna said, having her Pokeball out and ready to catch it.
"Wow..." Sapphire pulled out her Pokedex.
"Amaura. The Tundra Pokemon. It lived in cold areas in ancient times. It’s said that when Amaura whinnies, auroras appear in the night sky. This calm Pokémon lived in a peaceful land where there were no violent predators like Tyrantrum. but it’s not expected to live long because of the heat of the current environment in present time."
"I'll never say science is boring ever again..." Sunrise uttered.
"Amau?" Amaura looked around, confused about its surroundings. It hasn't been free for 100 million years and it was a more timid Pokemon than its fellow Amaura's. "Amaura!" The Tundra Pokemon started freaking out as it was unleashing an Icy Wind everywhere, making the entire room cold.
"C-C-Cold!" Celestia used a spell to make everyone else warm again. But Amaura was still panicking, even showing signs of crying.
"Why is it going crazy?!" Jewel exclaimed.
"I don't know! They don't normally do this!" The scientist ducked as Amaura frantically ran about.
"Fluttershy! Calm it down or something!" Spike yelled.
"Um. Okay!" Fluttershy flew over the frantic Tundra Pokemon, attempting to calm it down. "Amaura! Please calm down! It's okay!"
Amaura stopped for a bit as it was a bit out of breath. It looked around and noticed that there was a Tyrunt here. A Pokemon that hunts it. This only scared Amaura more, making the Tundra Pokemon blast a hole in the building with Ancient Power. Amaura ran out of the building, screaming in terror.
"Amaura! Wait!" Fluttershy flew out of the building. "Oh, dear. The poor thing is so scared."
"Worry not. I know how to stop it." Luna grinned as she was holding the Pokeball, knowing what she's gonna do.
"Luna. Don't try anything re-" Celestia's words were cut off as Luna dashed out of the building, chasing after Amaura.
Amaura was running through Ambrette Town, not able to take all of this sudden heat. It turned around to see a determined Princess Luna chasing after her.
"Amu? AMAURA!"
"I've got you in my sights!" Luna launched the Pokeball with all her might as it hit Amaura's head fins, sending it in the Pokeball. "Yes! Come on..."
1...2...
The Pokeball broke as Amaura shook its head, continuing to run.
"Ugh! You shall be mine!" Luna got out another Pokeball, ready to launch it again.
"Wait!" Fluttershy got in her way.
"Why are you in the way, Fluttershy? I have a Pokemon to catch!"
"Princess Luna. Can't you see that it's terrified? It doesn't know where it is and it can't take the heat. Please understand that now isn't the best time to catch it."
Luna listened to Fluttershy as she saw how mortified Amaura was, running about the town. "Very well. I shall postpone catching it. For now."
"Thank you." Fluttershy flew over to Amaura, attempting to try and stop it again. "Amaura please!"
Amaura had stopped running as it was out of breath. Fluttershy fluttered over to the Tundra Pokemon, ready to place her hoof on its head. Amaura was shaking, afraid that Fluttershy might harm it. But to it's surprise, Fluttershy merely gave the Tundra Pokemon a gentle hug.
"There there."
Amaura had calmed down, catching its breath. It was feeling Fluttershy's warm hug. But this kind of warm hug wasn't harming it like the weather.
"Amu..."
"I know you're scared. I'd be scared and confused too if I was revived after 100 million years. But don't you worry. You're here now. And we'll get you somewhere cold and comfortable."
"Amaura..."
Celestia, Hollow and the others arrived, seeing how Fluttershy had calmed down Amaura finally.
"Wonderful job, Fluttershy." said Celestia.
"I must say, things could've been fairly destructive if this kept up." Jewel commented. "I suppose I shouldn't keep Tyrunt out right now." Jewel returned Tyrunt to its Pokeball.
"Good. Now can I catch it?!" Luna grinned with a Pokeball out.
"Luna." Celestia spoke to her sister in a disappointed tone.
"Alright. I'll restrain myself. I just really enjoy catching Pokemon." Luna pouted.
"Now. Let's get you somewhere safe."
Amaura stood up, walking behind Fluttershy to feel safe.
They had returned back to the other world, ending up back at the Rocky Area.
"Today's lesson didn't go the way I thought it would." said a young unicorn.
"That's what makes them fun!" A filly pegasus exclaimed.
"I did enjoy myself for the time I was here. I hope to have another day off soon." Celestia laughed.
"I think it's time we all got going. Today's lesson is over. I'll be seeing you all tommorow." Hollow said.
"Scrafty!"
"Okay, Mr Hollow!"
"Hold on. Why didn't you mention anything about those sunglasses that your Scrafty has? Come to think of it, do Pokemon wear dresses too?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, these? The reason I didn't say anything about the black sunglasses is because tomorrow's lesson is about items that increase the strength of certain moves." Hollow explained as they all pratfall as his Scrafty laughed.
"I hope to find a nice cold place for your Amaura." Fluttershy petted Amaura.
"I can find a nice place for it. With me." Luna grinned, winking at Amaura.
"Princess Luna. If you're going to have Amaura, you must promise to take good care of her. She's a timid Pokemon and she needs time to adjust to this world. So please make sure that she's healthy and cold."
"Uhh..." Luna looked over to Celestia who nodded her head in agreement with Fluttershy. "Alright fine. I promise."
"Good. You'll be safe Amaura. Go on with Princess Luna."
"Amaura." Amaura licked Fluttershy as she was going to miss her pony friend. Luna tossed the Pokeball as it sent Amaura inside once more.
1...2...3... Get!
"Finally." Luna picked up the Pokeball. "That now makes 34 Pokemon in my collection. Huzzah!"
"I still didn't get my gems..." Rarity sighed.
Today was an odd day indeed. With the class and the others seeing a Fossil Pokemon be revived, meeting Hollow's wife and learning more about them along with the inclusion of Amaura in Luna's large collection of Pokemon, the journey continues.
Currently, Rainbow Dash was training her current Pokemon Team, preparing for the next Gym Battle.
"Alright. Go!" She was making the three of them race in order to get Swablu to become a faster Pokemon. Whirlipede and Braviary already outspeed it by a mile. "The next gym is a speed themed one. And we gotta make sure that we can keep up with whatever their Pokemon might be!"
Swablu was doing its best to keep up, but it was unfortunately not enough. Its team members were just faster than it in every way possible. Swablu took some time to catch its breath as Braviary and Whirlipede stopped.
"Okay... this isn't working out as well as I thought. We have to find a way to make you faster Swablu. But how?"
"Swablu..." Swablu pouted, feeling like it was letting Rainbow Dash down.
"Oh. Swablu, don't feel bad. I know you're trying your very best. Look, I just want to make sure we're prepared for the next Gym Battle so that it doesn't end up like our Third Gym battle experience. How about we back and rest you guys?"
"Bravi."
"Whirlipede."
"Swa..."
Rainbow Dash and her team returned to Ponyville to get a break. Once there, Rainbow spotted the perfect person to help with her training. Ash. He was currently chatting away with the CMC.
"Aha! Just the guy I'm looking for. Hey Ash!" She flew over to him.
"Hm? Yeah, what's up Dash?"
"Can you help? I want to train more. Specifically my Swablu."
"You want Swablu to get stronger? Sure."
"Pikachu!"
"Not that. I want Swablu to get faster. Have more speed. My upcoming Gym Battle in Fillydelphia is said to be Speed themed. I'm an expert at speed and so are Braviary and Whirlipede. But Swablu over here just isn't as fast as the two of them. We've been trying to get Swablu to increase its speed but... it's not been going great."
"Hm. So you want to be able to keep up with the Gym Leader's fast Pokemon with your own. I get ya. But do you think that Swablu might be capable of handling all that speed? Plus Electric-Types are the fastest type and the Gym Leader might have mostly Electric-Types so that'll be trouble for Swablu."
"Exactly! Can you help?"
"Well.. there's two options you can try. You can maybe focus on other things besides speed. Swablu's are pretty good at defense you know."
"Pika-pika."
"But how's defense gonna help Swablu? She's so light."
"If your Pokemon are durable enough, they can take a lot of hits and keep on going, even if they're at a type disadvantage."
"I guess so. Then what's the second option."
"Catching another Pokemon."
"Another Pokemon? Maybe another Flying-Type! Oh... but that'll just leave my team weak to mostly Electric-Types."
"Then maybe you can try going to the Pokemon House. You might find a new Pokemon there that you might like."
"Ooh! We wanna come along!" Sweetie Belle spoke.
"Yeah! I wanna catch some new Pokemon too! Ponyta is a bit on the lonely side." said Scootaloo.
"And I want more than just an apple!" Apple Bloom uttered.
"Alright. We'll get you three some new Pokemon too."
"Yes!" The three of them cheered as Scootaloo hopped on Ash's head and Sweetie Belle on his left shoulder.
The Pokemon House.
"So you want a new Pokemon?" Fluttershy said to them.
"Yeah. I want one that's fast. Got any good Electric-Types?" Rainbow asked her.
"Sure. The kinds of Electric-Types that come by here are the Electric Rodent Family."
"The Electric Rodent Family?" Rainbow Dash and the CMC questioned.
"Like my Pikachu over here." Ash pointed at his buddy.
"Pikachu."
"I'll show you. Come on out!" Fluttershy called for the Electric Rodent Family consisting of Plusle, Minun, Pachirisu, Emolga, Dedenne, Togedemaru and Morpeko. "Ta-da."
"Wow. They all look like some form of Pikachu!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"That's because they're all apart of the same family. Electric-Types with some of them having secondary typings." Ash explained.
"So, Rainbow Dash. Which one do you want? They're all speedy in their own right." Fluttershy moved her hoof over the selection of rodents. Rainbow Dash flew over them, examining each of them carefully. Through her time looking at them, she wasn't really feeling any of them at all.
"Hmm... I don't know. I don't think I want any of them really. I mean they look fast but..."
"I'll take one of them!" Apple Bloom spoke.
"Me too! I want one!" Scootaloo uttered.
"So do I!" As well as Sweetie Belle.
"Alright girls. Make your pick."
"I'll take this Pachirisu." Scootaloo went for the EleSquirrel Pokemon.
"Then I'm going for the Emolga!" Apple Bloom chose the Sky Squirrel Pokemon.
"Well, I'm going the extra mile. I'll choose those two." Sweetie Belle chose both Plusle and Minun. "They look like they work well with each other anyways."
The 4 Electric Pokemon went over to their new trainers as Rainbow Dash was still stuck thinking.
"Still thinking? I have some more Electric-Types for you to choose from." Fluttershy fluttered over to her.
Swablu watched her trainer think about what Pokemon she wants next. The Cotton Bird Pokemon felt like it was contributing much. It felt like it was holding Rainbow Dash and her other Pokemon back. It felt like if Rainbow Dash did eventually get a new Pokemon, she wouldn't utilize her that much. Swablu covered itself with its cotton wings as it flew off, leaving the Pokemon House quietly.
"How does an Eevee sound? You can evolve it into a Jolten eventually."
"Hmm... maybe.." Rainbow put her hoof on her chin.
"If you don't choose that you can always go for a Mareep. Or maybe even a Luxio."
"Those do sound like pretty good choices actually. I know a bit about Mareep and Luxio but not much. Can I see them?"
"Sure. Mareep! Luxio!" Fluttershy called for the two of them as they ran over here. Rainbow took out her Pokedex to re-read their dex entries and see which was the better choice for her.
"Mareep. The Wool Pokemon. Its fluffy coat swells to double when static electricity builds up. Touching it can be shocking. The more static electricity is charged, the more brightly the lightbulb at the tip of its tail glows."
"Luxio. The Spark Pokemon. Its claws unleash electricity with enough amperage to cause fainting. They live in small groups. It rests its forelegs on others to communicate with rhythmic electric pulses from its claws. This Pokemon is a go-to choice for younger trainers."
"I think I'll go for...Luxio." Rainbow made her choice finally.
"Luxio it is. Sorry, Mareep. Maybe another time."
"Maree!"
"Well. We've got our new member Swa-" Rainbow turned her head to Swablu, but she was nowhere to be found. "Swablu? Where'd you go? Swablu! Did any of you see Swablu?" Braviary shook its head as did the others. No one even noticed that it quietly flew away. "Where could she be?" Rainbow Dash flew up into the skies searching for her Pokemon. "Swablu!"
"Wonder why it left?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I think I know why." Ash spoke. "Swablu probably felt like she wasn't really helping Rainbow Dash's team at all. Kinda like she was holding her back."
"Pika."
"But Swablu did really well in Rainbow Dash's second Gym Battle. And it helped a lot defeating Braixen." Fluttershy said.
"Yeah. It did do all that. But I think it's because she's afraid that Rainbow Dash might lose due to her being slower than Braviary and Whirlipede. And the fact that the next gym is all about speed."
"Poor Swablu." Fluttershy sighed.
Rainbow Dash went high up into the skies, still searching. She saw a small cloud in the distance, assuming that was Swablu.
"Swablu?" She flew over there, but it was just a tiny cloud. "Oh." Rainbow sighed as her search continued. She went around asking fellow pegasi if they had seen Swablu around. The ones she asked so far shook their head. They hadn't seen Swablu in sight. Just other Flying-Types. "No luck..." Rainbow Dash sat down on a cloud, sighing and putting a hoof on her face. The cloud suddenly started to move as it was carrying her. "What the?" She looked down to see that it was Swablu that she was sitting on. "Swablu! There you are!"
"Swa!" The Cotton Bird Pokemon had flown away, not wanting to see Rainbow Dash right now as it covered its eyes with its wings.
"Wait! Swablu!" Rainbow Dash chased after her Pokemon, catching up to her easily. "Why are you flying away? What's wrong?"
"Swablu. Swa!" Swablu hid behind a cloud to get away from Dash.
"Why are you avoiding me? Is it still about the gym?"
"Swablu..."
Rainbow Dash thought for a bit. She realised that Swablu and every other Pokemon had their own fears just like ponies and humans. "Swablu. Listen. I don't want to force you to do something you're not good at. If it makes you feel better, you can sit out of the next Gym Battle and let the others participate."
"Swablu!" Swablu flew out of the cloud, shaking her head.
"You want to join in the battle anyway?"
"Blu." She nodded. "Swablu." She then raised her tiny bird wings up in the air.
"Swablu...Okay! I'll find a way to make you ready for our next gym okay? And I won't push you this time. Deal?"
"Swablu!" Swablu flew towards Rainbow Dash's face, hugging her trainer. "Blu!" She was ready to make her trainer proud.
"Okay, knock it off Swablu! I can't breathe!"
Back down at the Pokemon House.
Rainbow Dash had returned with Swablu by her side.
"So. Did you manage to work things out?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah. I've decided that I'm gonna find a different way of getting Swablu ready for the next gym. And I won't force her this time. Ash. You said that Swablu's are pretty good at defense right?"
"Yup. Especially when they evolve. They'll be able to stay in the battle for a long time."
"Pikachu."
"That's what I wanna try. What do you say Swablu? You think you're up for it?"
"Swablu!" Swablu raised its cotton wings up in determination.
"That's the spirit! So please Ash! Help me and Swablu get stronger!" Rainbow Dash pleaded.
"You got it." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pika-Pika!"
Ash sent out his Dragonite to be a training partner to Swablu. Fluttershy, the crusaders and their new Pokemon sat down to watch this training session.
"Let's go a bit easy on them, okay Dragonite?"
"Dragon."
"Well, we won't go easy on you, Ash!"
"Swablu!"
"Come on! Start it already!" Scootaloo yelled.
"Swablu! Ice Beam!" Swablu flew up, releasing a quick Ice Beam down at the Dragon Pokemon
"Dodge it!" Dragonite avoided the beam by flying up in the air. "Dragon Claw!" Dragonite then suddenly hit Swablu with a held back Dragon Claw, obviously avoiding harming Swablu a lot.
"Use Fury Attack!" Swablu flew back up, attacking Dragonite with its cotton wings. She was giving it her all, but Dragonite wasn't budging at all. "Disarming Voice!" Swablu then unleashed a charming sound wave that actually managed to push Dragonite back a bit.
"Not bad." Ash smirked. "Dragon Claw one more time!" Dragonite held back its power again as it hit Swablu once more with a Dragon Claw, sending it flying into the air.
"Recover yourself and go in for a Fury Attack!" Swablu recovered itself in the air as it flew down at its top speed, repeatedly hitting Dragonite with Fury Attack, but still not even budging it. "Fly back and use Ice Beam!" Swablu shot Ice Beam down once more. This time it connected, freezing Dragonite for a bit. But the Dragon Pokemon easily broke free from the ice.
"Let's see how you do against this. Hyper Beam!" Dragonite was charging up a Hyper Beam as it was building up small amounts of power so that it wouldn't severely damage Swablu.
"Ice Beam one more time!" Swablu did the same. Both beams fired at each other as they connected. Dragonite's Hyper Beam was easily pushing Swablu's back by a mile. But Swablu and Rainbow Dash weren't ready to give up here. "Come on! Push through!" Rainbow yelled at the top of her lungs as Swablu could hear her trainer's determination. If she was going to carry her to the top and win her the league, she'll have to give it her all. And give it her all she did. Suddenly, Swablu's body started to glow a blue dazzling light. Which meant only one thing.
Swablu was evolving. Her body increased in size a bit. Her wings were increasing as well as her power. The Ice Beam was starting to push back the Hyper Beam a bit. And then with a sudden burst of energy, she had evolved. Into Altaria.
"No way! Swablu you evolved!" Rainbow Dash had a huge grin on her face. The Ice Beam and Hyper BEam eventually cancelled each other out. Dash pulled out her dex to see her new Pokemon.
"Altaria. The Humming Pokemon. Altaria dances and wheels through the sky among billowing, cotton-like clouds. By singing melodies in its crystal-clear voice, this Pokémon makes its listeners experience dreamy wonderment. If it bonds with a person, it will gently envelop the friend with its soft wings, then hum. This Pokémon catches updrafts with its buoyant wings and soars way up into the wild blue yonder."
"Altaria!" The Humming Pokemon let out a powerful cry. The CMC and Fluttershy looked at amazement at this new Pokemon.
"Awesome job you two! Now I can take this a bit seriously." Ash congratulated the two whilst grinning.
"Show me what you can do Altaria!" Rainbow Dash yelled. Altaria had unleashed its newly learned move. Dragon Pulse. A shockwave beam in the shape of a dragon raced towards Dragonite.
"What is that move?!" Apple Bloom asked.
"It's Dragon Pulse!" Fluttershy explained.
"Dragon Claw!" Dragonite flew up, destroying the shockwave.
"Use Fury Attack!" Altaria's Fury Attack's were now much more powerful. She flew towards Dragonite, spreading out her wings as she connected them against its claws. The two went back and forth. Dragonite could feel how much Swablu has improved. "Let's finish this! Dragon Pulse!"
"Dragon Dance into Dragon Claw!" Dragonite started spinning about, using the same strategy back against Korrina. A Dragon Pulse hit the Dragon Pokemon, but it flew straight through it in a spiralling motion. Dragonite delivered the final blow with a might Dragon Claw, sending Altaria crashing down. Altaria gave it her all, but she fainted anyways.
"Oh! Altaria!" Rainbow flew over to her fainted Pokemon. "You okay?"
"Taria." Altaria looked up at its trainer, giving her a smile as she did her best.
"I'm so proud of you!" Rainbow Dash hugged her newly evolved Pokemon as it hugged her back as well.
"Great job you two." Ash and Dragonite walked up to the duo. "Even though you lost, you still managed to gain a newfound strength in evolution and you even managed to show me just how much you've grown. Dragonite was feeling a bit overwhelmed in that beam clash, ya know." Ash laughed.
"Drag."
"Thanks Ash. Because of you, me and Altaria have gotten much better now. And we'll continue to get better, right Altaria?"
"Altar!"
"It's so wonderful. I knew that it was going to evolve soon but I didn't expect it to be now." Fluttershy flew over.
"Hey, Ash! Can you train me too please?" Scootaloo asked.
"Sure. But let's make this a short one. The Pokemon Festival is tomorrow and I wanna be there early."
"Okay!"
Today, Rainbow Dash had learned about the nature of a Pokemon and their feelings. They have their fears and doubts as well like everyone else. Human or pony. But just like everyone else, they can grow from it. And grow her Pokemon did. Into the beautiful Altaria who was once an unsure Swablu afraid of letting her own trainer down, is now a Pokemon that will give everything she's got in order to carry her trainer to the top. As the journey continues.
"It's finally here..." Fluttershy was awake, earlier than everypony else. She has been waiting for this day. "I've been waiting for this. The Pokemon Festival!" Her screaming woke Angel Bunny up. Outside, all of Ponyville had been decorated for the festival. It wasn't just Ponyville though. This festival spread out across all of Equestria. It was to be a 7-day festival. So it was gonna last a long time. The sun was rising up as that golden dawn shined across the skies and the land, beaming through the clouds.
Ash had felt the sun rays hit his face as he woke up from them. "Ugh... today's the day. The Pokemon Festival."
"P-Pika..." Pikachu woke up, rubbing his eyes.
"Let's not waste any time buddy. I can't wait to see how this all turns out."
The day has arrived. The number of ponies excited for this certain event was astronomical. It wasn't just ponies, humans had come over. They'd be crazy not to go to an event involving Pokemon. They did originate in their world after all. BigTime Ben was the one who came up with this event in the first place and Celestia, Luna and Cadence helped with its creation. Needless to say, it'll be a week to remember.
"The day is here!" Pinkie Pie hopped out of her bed, waking up the entire Cake family in the process. "The Pokemon Festival is here!"
Everypony had woken up, preparing themselves for this day. The first group of humans had arrived in the other world, starting with Kanto since they were the closest to Ponyville. Delia had even passed through the gate along with Goh, Professor Oak, Cerise and their assistants, along with Chloe. None of them wanted to miss this.
Twilight had gathered her friends over to the castle to give them a rundown on the festival and how it's gonna go.
"So. We all know how this festival will turn out right?" She asked them.
"Mhm! 7 days of Pokemon. A full week!" Fluttershy squeed. "I can only imagine what kind of Pokemon could be there. Maybe I'll even see new regional forms or new evolutions!"
"I'm excited to sell my food there. You never know, some of the Pokemon might enjoy our family's apple delights." Applejack said. She and the entire Apple family were joining in. Not just Granny Smith, Big Mac and Apple Bloom.
"You wanna talk food? How about the parties that are gonna be there! It's gonna be a week-long party! The first of its kind!" Pinkie Pie bellowed.
"Seems to me like you've all got your goals on what you're gonna do there. Let's just make sure it doesn't end up like the first time we all went to the Grand Galloping Gala. Now, I've laid out how it's gonna go." Twilight used her magic to grab a teaching stick. "The festival spreads across all of Equestria. From Ponyville to Canterlot and even other locations such as Manehatten. We can head to any of these destinations via train. Or flight if you think you can get there faster. We can stop by any of these locations whenever we want to, but the main attraction is Canterlot. That's where a large majority of all the festival's flare is gonna take place. There, there'll be more activities than the ones in Ponyville and everywhere else."
"It will probably be packed. More than any place in Equestria." said Rarity.
"Since it'll last for 7 days, the festival will even continue at night. So some of us might doze off in the process. But not to worry, I've come up with a solution for that. Princess Celestia has tasked me with making sure everything goes well. So I'll be overseeing everything along with her and Cadence while Luna watches over the night."
"Like we're gonna doze off. It's gonna be full of so much energy, none of us are even gonna think about sleep!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"So. I hope you've all understood this rundown. Let's get this festival started!"
The first thing that the Mane 6 wanted to do was be active in Ponyville first, and then head off to Canterlot.
"I must say. This is a wonderful sight! And my first time here!" Oak said as he was gazing at Ponyville with Tracey carrying his stuff.
"You'll love it here Samuel. Although the saturation is a lot on the eyes." Delia chuckled.
"This place is kinda charming in a way." Chloe looked at Ponyville, holding Yamper in her hands.
"I'm not here for the sights. The Pokemon is what I'm here for!" Goh exclaimed.
"If you're going to do that, best tag along with Ash and his pony friends. I'm off to Canterlot. I didn't get to experience much of it ever since the Royal Wedding. Let's get rolling Mimey!" Delia said, pumped to head to Canterlot.
"Mime!"
"I think this is a perfect opportunity to learn how this world works, wouldn't you agree Tracey?" Oak asked.
"Y-Yeah." Tracey replied while holding huge baggage of equipment, trying to keep it balanced.
Not everyone was here for the festival. One group, in particular, was going undercover. Team Rocket. They disguised themselves as humble tourists just visiting the festival. And as always, their disguises somehow manage to work despite the fact that you can tell it's them.
"A festival for Pokemon equals a goldmine," Jessie uttered.
"A goldmine that's surrounded by ponies that is," James spoke.
"We'd need a miracle to nab all of those Pokemon in one go." Meowth chattered.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Let's just blend in with the crowd. This thing lasts for only 7 days, so we'll have plenty of time to plot. Besides." Jessie hopped out of the bush. "I'm in the mood for visiting that Canterlot place. It sounds like a place for a beauty like me! Hohohohoho!"
"She's going to get stuck in the moment to even remember our Pokenapping plan." Meowth sighed.
"Like always." so did James.
"Wobbuffet."
With Twilight and the others, they were packing their stuff to head on over to Canterlot. That's where the festival is really going to shine. Ash had gone up to Oak and the others, seeing them here as well.
"Mom? Professor Oak? Goh? You're all coming along too?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"Of course. It's my first visit as well, my boy." Oak responded.
"And I'm just excited to head back to Canterlot. Aren't you excited as me Ash?" Delia spoke.
"Yeah. I'm pretty pumped too. Let's make these 7 days count!"
"Pikachu!"
"Ash!" Twilight called for him. "Let's go! We're all ready!"
"Alright! Let's get rolling!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"The twerps and twerpettes are on the move. And so are we." Jessie said as Team Rocket were also ready to go. It wasn't just her, but Adagio as well. She was still hung on getting revenge, so she'll do whatever she can to ruin Twilight's life.
"I'll make sure your day is ruined Sparkle. One way or another. I'll make sure."
They all got on the train that was headed straight for Canterlot. More ponies were on the train today than usual due to the festival. Tracey was lucky to put the baggage somewhere else, giving his arms and hands some time to rest. Pikachu sat with Fluttershy as she held him in her hooves.
"So. While we're on this train. Ash my boy, mind telling me how things have been in this world and what you've been up to?" Oak asked, wanting to know the adventures that occurred here. He knows that Ash always gets into all sorts of adventures and this world was no exception.
"Sure! Where should I start...?" Ash put his fingers on his chin, wondering which memory to take.
"I can start us off," Twilight uttered. "How about the time we first met Darkrai? It was the earlier days of when our worlds crossed over."
"You met a Darkrai?" Go on. "Oak leaned in."
"Darkrai ended up putting everypony, Pokemon and human in Ponyville into a numb state. Nopony could move a muscle at all, and if it kept up, they'd end up falling into a deep sleep later on. He was being controlled by Emerald Aura. A pony created by the Rift."
"Mhm. At first, we were all scared of Darkrai." Fluttershy spoke next. "He ended up dragging everypony into a nightmare world where we live out our nightmares in an endless cycle. It was horrible. But then, Ash helped us realise that Darkrai didn't want to do this at all. It was against its own will and control. So we helped Darkrai break free from Emerald Aura's control and gained a new friend."
"A pretty creepy one if you ask me." Rainbow Dash whispered to Applejack.
"Now Darkrai lives in Canterlot as Luna's Pokemon. And I gotta say, he's a pretty helpful Pokemon to be friends with." said Ash. "He helped me keep King Sombra busy while everyone else was trying to restore the Crystal Empire."
"To be honest, I'm still surprised that Spike ended up saving the heart." Applejack looked to Spike.
"Heh. I'm heroic like that." Spike boasted with a proud face.
"Let's talk about the best parts! My Gym Battles!" Rainbow Dash joined in the conversation. "I gotta say, being the first pony to join in our world's league is a pretty great feeling still. I remember my first Gym Battle still."
"Yeah against Gardenia who was filling in. Your Whirlipede sure did balance things out." Ash said.
"Yeah, it did. I didn't even know that much about type advantages and disadvantages. But I pulled through with my awesomeness! And since then I've been on a roll!"
"Except for that moment when you lost." Rarity pointed out, making Rainbow Dash freeze for a bit. "Can't forget your first battle against Sunset Shimmer, darling."
"Don't remind me. I totally wasn't prepared for that Braixen. And that Flame Body from Fletchinder really dragged me and my team down." Rainbow Dash sighed.
"But you still ended up winning when you had your rematch. Don't forget." Pinkie commented.
"Hehe. Yeah, I did. And I got an amazing reward after that. Braviary! Seeing my little Rufflet evolve into something so awesome was the best! And it's called the Hero of the Skies, how can you get better than that?!"
"Ah, but I remember when Twilight got so focused on knowing who Ash was, she went all over Ponyville." said Rarity.
"Can you blame me? How was I supposed to know that he travelled back in time? The book didn't even mention it once. And how are you still so young yet so old at the same time Ash?"
"No idea. I still think it has something to do with Ho-oh do, but I don't care. I'm experiencing a lot with my life." Ash laid back on the train seat.
"Wait, Ash... Are you immortal?" Twilight leaned in as did everyone else.
"Uh, I don't think so. But it's no big deal really."
"You think if we see Ho-oh we might experience the same thing?" Spike asked.
"Maybe?" Twilight replied.
"Well, it sounds to me like you've definitely had a bizarre yet wonderful time here. Ah to be young again and explore the world." Oak commented.
"So, Ash. What are you gonna do when you become a Pokemon Master? After you reach your ultimate goal, what else?" Twilight questioned him.
"Once I finally become a Pokemon Master... I'll just continue my adventure! Even if I reach my goal, I still want to see more of the world. I just can't resist a good journey, ya know."
"That would be your answer." Twilight laughed.
On the other side of the train, Aria and Sonata were on their way as well.
"Isn't this exciting Aria? I can see you filling up with energy!" Sonata grinned.
"Oh yeah... I'm ecstatic." Aria kept the same expressionless face with the same monotone voice. "Can't believe you dragged me into this..."
"We've never been to an event before! Well, the only ones we've ever been to were the ones we crashed and stole everypony's negative energy. So this is a first!"
"This whole festival thing's gonna be a bore. I can feel it."
"Come on. Be excited for once! You never know. It might be the best time of your life! Of our lives even!"
"We'll see."
The train had finally arrived at Canterlot. Everypony hopped off the train as quickly as they could. Fluttershy was the first to get off as she was more excited than anyone in Equestria.
"We're here! The Pokemon Festival!" She squeed. And what a sight it was. Up in the sky, there were balloons with the faces of hundreds of different Pokemon floating in the air. Multi-Colored Flags were spread across the buildings of Canterlot. Every last one of them. There were lanterns spread out a table, preparing for the light show at night. Pokemon of all kinds, of all types, had gathered here to enjoy the festival as well. Fluttershy pranced around, feeling like she was in an eternal paradise right now. "I...I can't breathe." Fluttershy felt like she was about to faint. Rarity calmed her down by catching her luckily.
"Twilight. Everyone. You're here." Cadence had flown over to the group, greeting them. "So glad you could make it."
"Are you kidding? We wouldn't miss this for a second!"
"Well, I'm so happy to have you here. Hope you all enjoy yourself."
"We will! Where should we start?!" Fluttershy went up to Cadence's face as Rarity pulled her back.
"Forgive her, princess. She's been very hyperactive about this day." Rarity said.
"It's alright. I'd be hyper too if I were in your hooves."
"I'm already on started, ya'll." Applejack had already set up her stand with her family going the same all over Canterlot.
"I'm off to see what competitions they've got!" Ash ran off with Pikachu.
"Pika!"
"I'm here to catch all the Pokemon I can! Come on Raboot!" Goh took off as well.
"We can do a lot of catching up Twilight." Cadence said to her fellow alicorn princess.
"Really?!" Twilight gasped. "YES!" Very soon everyone had gone their separate ways, participating in whatever interested them the most.
Up at Cantertlot Castle, Celestia was humming a theme as she could hear noises come from Luna's room. "Luna? Are you okay in there?" She opened up the door to see her sister and her Pokemon moving about. Luna was trying to put on her dress as it seemed like her first time doing so. Her Pokemon were doing their best to help but they were clueless about dresses. "Do you need help with that?"
"Sorry, sister. This is the first time I've ever been to an event such as this. I'm always watching over the night so I don't have the opportunity to do so. Neither have I ever attended the Grand Galloping Gala. So I must look the part."
"Well. You know you don't have to put on a dress for this occasion."
"I don't have to?!" Luna fell off her bed as Celestia walked up to her, looking down at her younger sister.
"No. Just enjoy yourself, Luna. I'm sure your Pokemon want to get out there and experience the festival with other Pokemon without a care in the world, right?"
All of the Pokemon agreed with their cries as Darkrai was lurking in the corner. Luna turned to see her partner Pokemon just standing there in the shadows. "What about you Darkrai? Will you be joining the festival?"
"I'll pass. This festival thing is a bit too rowdy and loud for me."
"Oh do not be such a grump. You never know, you might enjoy it." Luna went up to Darkrai. She gave him a pleading look a child would make. It was super-effective. And Darkrai didn't want to let Luna down.
"Hrmmhgh... FIne. I'll try to enjoy myself at least." Darkrai disappeared in the shadows, heading outside to the festival.
"Now. Let's enjoy ourselves. I hear they have cake there too!" Celestia squeed.
For the Pokemon, they were given a spot for them to hang out. The Pokemon Zone. Where trainers can leave their Pokemon to hang out with their fellow Pocket Monsters.
"Alright, Eve. Do you want to stay here for a bit?" Twilight asked her Eevee.
"Eevee!" Eve hopped off her trainer's back as she wanted to hang out with other Pokemon. Cadence's Sylveon decided to join in as well and would watch over Eve like a Pokesitter.
"So, Twilight. Anything you want to do?" Cadence asked.
"Well, I was hoping that you'd know what we should do."
"To be honest. I'm clueless myself. I was thinking of just having a normal talk but I want to experience something much more thrilling, ya know?"
"I hear you. We can maybe try that!" Twilight pointed her hoof at a ride. Constructed by Psychic-Type and Fighting-Type Pokemon, it was based on the rollercoasters that existed in the Pokemon World. This was the first time this world has ever seen a rollercoaster "What is that thing anyway?"
"That right there is a rollercoaster, Princess Twilight." BigTime Ben said, being here as well.
"A rollercoaster?" Both Twilight and Cadence said.
"Yep. You get on that and it moves about those tracks. Gives you a rush too. But if you're too queasy and afraid of heights I wouldn't recommend it. You could try the other attractions we have here. Like Lopunny's Dance Inferno or Machamp's Strength test and more."
"Hm. We'll try the rollercoaster first. It seems fun." Cadence replied. "You're not queasy are you Twilight?"
"Then let's go!" Cadence exclaimed as the two alicorns went over the rollercoaster ride. They were seated by the person working there as he instructed them to keep themselves seated and buckled up. It will get intense. Spike had also joined in on the rollercoaster, not wanting to pass this one out.
"Alright. You're all good to go. Make sure your Pokeballs don't fly out okay?" The man said. The rollercoaster started to make its first movements, gently moving along the track first.
"This seems pretty slow. I thought he said that it gives us a rush." Twilight commented.
"Now hold on. It's picking up speed." Cadence pointed out as it was indeed picking up speed. The coaster than started to go up, heading towards the higher sections of the tracks. Up, up, up and up. It had reached the highest point as Twilight looked down, gulping. She wasn't the only one. The other ponies and humans seated on the coaster were shaking as well. It was fairly high up. They could see the entire festival from here.
"Wow. This sure is really high up." Twilight was sweating bullets.
"Yeah. But when does the speed ha-" Cadence's words were stopped as the coaster went all the way down. Now they felt that rush that Ben was talking about. They were screaming as they felt the wind blow in the face with their manes rising up. The coaster wasn't slowing down at all. This one, in particular, was modelled after the shape of a Serperior, Seviper and an Onix. All Pokemon that were snake-like. So the twists and turns were all over the place. The coaster reached max speed as it was coming to an end. It even reached the clouds, spooking some pegasi in the process. The ride had finally come to an end as it stopped at where it began.
Twilight and Cadence's manes were all frizzed up and wild now. They couldn't shut their eyes as they felt the wind blowing them back. Spike, in particular, was more queasy than anyone. Ben walked up to them after the ride. "So. How was your first rollercoaster?" He asked. In response, Spike barfed green fire in his face. A normal side effect of riding a rollercoaster.
"T-T-That was..." Twilight stuttered, struggling to keep her composure.
"Amazing!" Both of them said as they fainted. "Let's not do it again though..." Twilight sighed.
"Agreed." Cadence replied as they both laughed.
Moving over to Rainbow Dash, the attraction she headed to was Machamp's Strength Test. "Machamp huh? How tough is this thing again?"
"Machamp. The Superpower Pokemon. Machamp is known as the Pokémon that has mastered every kind of martial arts. If it grabs hold of the foe with its four arms, the battle is all but over. The hapless foe is thrown far over the horizon with megaton-level strengths. Its four ruggedly developed arms can launch a flurry of 1,000 punches in just two seconds. It grasps its opponents with its four arms and twists them up in an intricate hold. People call it “the Machamp special.”
"Woah. No wonder this is a strength test. I want a go at this!"
"Machamp!" Machamp let out a cry as it was calling for everypony to give its challenge a try. "Champ!" The challenge was to try and compare everyone's strength to see who was more physically fit.
"Ooh! I wanna try!" An earth pony called from the crowd, knowing that its species are experts at strength. Especially in their hoof.
"Then I'll try as well!" Rainbow raised her hoof in the air.
"Machamp!" Machamp used its hands to give off gestures, telling them to come up here. The two ponies went up the stand as Machamp placed down a pile of Gypsum. One of the hardest rocks in the world. "Machamp! Ma!" Machamp pointed over at the rules as they read the following. Put all of your strength into your hoof, tentacle, hand or whatever limb you own in order to either break the object in half or into pieces. One try only. The winner is decided by either time or strength. If you can break it fast you win. But if you can only break it with all of your strength and the bottom part which is where the harder sections are, you win as well.
"Okay... I got this." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. Both her and the earth pony looked down at the Gypsum.
"Champ... Machamp!" Machamp gave the hand gesture of 'Go!' as it began. Both ponies raised their hooves up, putting all their strength into it as they slammed down with all their might. The hooves made contact with the Gypsum. Rainbow Dash managed to break 12 piles of it but she felt the hard texture of the rock as it harmed her hoof.
"Ow ow!" She cried out in pain. As for the earth pony, he managed to break 13. Just one extra.
"Machamp!" Machamp raised two hands up, showing that it has stopped. The earth pony had managed to pull off the victory.
"Yes!" He cheered.
"Aw... guess earth ponies really are the more physically fit pony race huh?" Rainbow Dash sighed.
"Yeah, we are. But don't let it get you down. You at least came close to beating me." He replied. "Good game though." He put his hoof out as Rainbow Dash shook it in response, showing good sportsmanship.
"Machamp!" Machamp gave the gesture of having the next duo try out the strength test but without crushing rocks this time.
For Fluttershy, she went over to a special zone where Pokemon were. This was called the relief zone. And a relief it was. Here, the Grass-Types managed to morph this area into a sort of lush jungle-like forest. So many Pokemon come here to relax. "This is beautiful." Fluttershy gazed. The beauty of the forest was made better by the Morelull. Their spores gave off flickers that send out a hypnotic which would put anyone to sleep. As Fluttershy was fluttering about the forest, she saw something that caught her eye, an unidentified Pokemon. "Hm? Who's that Pokemon?" The Pokemon she saw didn't know that she was watching it. It was clueless. From what Fluttershy could see, it had a V-shaped head and its body color resembled that of flames.
It was Victini. The Victory Pokemon.
"Tini." The Victory Pokemon was chomping away at some macarons it took from the festival. It had used its invisibility to be all sneaky so that no one would notice it grab the food. Though it was odd seeing a floating macaron moving about and being devoured in mid-air to the ponies.
"Hello." Fluttershy greeted the Pokemon, making it jump. Victini responded by turning invisible and hiding. "Oh wait! It's okay! I won't harm you." Fluttershy wanted to make Victini know that she was friendly. She then saw the macarons laying on the ground as she picked them up, raising them in the air. "Look. Don't you want to finish your macarons?"
Victini peered from a tree as it looked at the macaron in Fluttershy's hoof. It gently floated over, grabbing it with its tiny hands. It took it as it started to chomp away at the delicacy, loving it. "Tini!"
"Must taste good. Hello. My name is Fluttershy. What's your name?"
"Victini!"
"Victini huh? Well nice to meet you Victini. I wonder what animal you resemble actually? A rabbit? A cat?"
"Tini. Victini-Tini."
"You don't know either, huh? Well, that's fine." Fluttershy sat down as she and the Victory Pokemon started to chat away.
But within this festival, there was something ominous lurking about. And by something ominous, it was Emerald Aura and Obsidian.
"Do we have to do this?" Emerald sighed.
"Of course. Gotta start something after all." Obsidian replied.
"This is gonna be a bust. I'm passing on this."
"What do you mean you're passing on this?"
"Your plans so far have all failed. The Royal Wedding, Celestia, Tirek and so on. I'm not involving myself into something that's gonna get me in trouble. Especially if Darkrai's around. He hates my guts."
"So you're just gonna chicken out?"
"I'd gladly chicken out. I'm not up for this!"
"Listen. We only exists to start trouble so that Ash and his friends can fix it like they always do. We don't have to win we just have to make something happen."
"Well, I still don't wanna do it. And that's that." Emerald crossed her hooves.
"Thought you might say that someday. But that's fine. This is why I asked the Rift to create a 4 pony."
"A 4th pony?" Emerald titled her head.
"Oh yeah. This pony's gonna be a mole in it all. I give you Jade Skies." Obsidian introduced a new rift made pony who shared a similar colour scheme to emerald but with her being jade-coloured. She had a basic look on her face with no emotion whatsoever. "This one's gonna be all buddy-buddy with them. They're gonna try and teach her the value of friendship because well... look at her. And when she finally understands friendship, she can use all that info to give to us and we can find a way around their weird friendship power and boom. We come up with a threat that can overwhelm them easily. Obviously there's more to the plan than that, but it's gonna work."
"So... you're gonna have her just be a fake friend? How are they gonna fall for it?"
"Oh. Jade here won't even know she's being fake friends with them. Her mind is completely blank now. She'll think she's actually true friends with them and so will they. But once she starts bonding, her mind will accelerate and realise what her mission is and she'll sabotage it all! Right now we'll play her off as an orphan. It's gonna be a perfect plan."
"....I have a bad feeling about this."
And so the first day of the Pokemon Festival has begun. What will happen in the span of these 7 days? It can only be discovered as the journey continues.
Day 1 of the Pokemon Festival is still underway. It was still morning so the day was gonna be a long one.
Ash and Pikachu were enjoying themselves by eating some food made by the best chefs in Canterlot.
"This stuff is good! I can't believe we've been missing out on Canterlot food like this!" Ash was chomping away at the food.
"Pikachu!"
"Plus we can get enough energy from this to participate in the battle competition on the 2nd day of the festival. We're gonna win it, right buddy?!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu raised his hands up with his mouth full of food.
Team Rocket had arrived as well, still disguised as tourists. They had their eyes on the prize. All the Pokemon to grab but mostly that famed Pikachu that they've been chasing for years now.
"Eyes on the prize boys. We play our cards right, we'll make a clean getaway without anyone noticing." Jessie commented.
"A getaway so clean there won't be any tracks left!" James exclaimed.
"And no tracks means no lead!" Meowth jumped up.
"Wobbuffet!"
Team Rocket started to blend in with the crowd as they were going along with the festival while watching Ash and Pikachu.
Whilst everyone enjoys themselves, Obsidian had put his Jade Skies plan into motion. "Alright, Jade. Go on. Learn about friendship and we'll be seeing you when you've finally understood the magic behind it." Obsidian shoved the expressionless pegasus forward as her mind started to turn on. The first thing she saw was the festival. And already she was greatly confused. The first thing she heard was the sounds of Pokemon, ponies and humans chattering away along with the sounds of young ones playing about. The first thing she felt was the wind blowing in her face. The sun rays beaming in her eyes and mane. This was the very first time she ever breathed air. And yet, she still had no emotion in her eyes as she started to walk.
Looking around her she could see so many colours for the first time. Her dull grey eyes took them all in. From the fiery textures of a Pansear to the Ethereal mane of Celestia and Luna. The skies were the next thing she had seen. How blue and azure it is as the sun shines brightly over the white clouds. Then the first thing she could smell was the food being made by the apple family. It was an odd and bizarre smell, but then again it was the first thing her scent picked up. She could also feel the grounds of Canterlot on her hooves. How smooth they were despite being rocks.
Then she came to a halt. Sitting down as she kept on sightseeing the entire festival. Looking up she had also seen the faces of Pokemon on balloons. She at least had knowledge of what a Pokemon and a pony were thanks to Obsidian's requests to the Rift. She seemed lonely until Ash and Pinkie Pie had noticed her. Pinkie went over to the emotionless pony, seeing how still she was.
"Come on. What's the matter? Aren't you enjoying the festival?" Pinkie said to the deadpan pegasus.
"Yeah. You okay?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
Jade had looked up to them, seeing the human, pony and pokemon. "Who are you?" She uttered her first words and they were monotone. More than Maud and Aria combined.
"I'm Ash. And this is my partner Pikachu."
"Pikachu."
"And I'm Pinkie Pie. Nice to meet ya!" Pinkie Pie grabbed her hoof, shaking it. Jade was still impassive. "Something definitely wrong. Where's your smile?"
"Smile?" She titled her head in confusion. "What is a smile?"
Hearing this made Pinkie Pie gasp. A pony who's never heard of a smile before? "You don't know what a smile is?!"
"I don't know much. I don't know where I am." Jade answered.
"Clueless huh? Do you have amnesia or something?" Ash questioned.
"Pika-Pika?"
"I don't... think so.. I don't know."
"Well, don't worry! With us here, we can turn that frown upside down. Why don't you enjoy the festival? We've got yummy stuff." Pinkie had a cupcake in her hoof, putting it near Jade's face.
"What is this?" She asked.
"It's a cupcake. Vanilla flavour. Try it."
Jade looked at the cupcake and then up at Pinkie who was aggressively nodding her head with a wide grin. So the deadpan pony took a bite out of the cupcake. Experiencing her first-ever taste in the few minutes she has existed.
"Well?" Pinkie, Ash and Pikachu leaned it to know her answer on how it tastes.
"It tastes... like something nice."
"You mean sweet?" Pinkie said.
"I guess so."
"Great! You're already getting in the mood! Come on! We'll introduce you to our other friends! I'm sure you'll have more fun around them!" Pinkie Pie grabbed Jade's hoof, bringing her along. The emotionless pegasus was still confused about her surroundings. Obsidian watched as he saw his plan going perfectly so far.
"See? It's working out so far. She's now gonna be apart of their group and we just wait for time to work its thing." Obsidian smirked.
"I can't believe you really came up with an idea like this. Then again, you have the wildest ideas out of all of us." Emerald spoke.
With the others, Rarity had lined up to try Lopunny's Dance Inferno. It seemed like it would be fairly easy. Just follow the rhythm of the song and Lopunny's movements. Rainbow Dash had flown over to get a look at this attraction. "Hey, Rarity. You wanna try this dance inferno thing??"
"Of course. I'm mostly attracted by that Pokemon over there though."
"You mean the Lopunny?" Rainbow Dash pulled out her Pokedex.
"Lopunny. The Rabbit Pokemon. An extremely cautious Pokémon. It cloaks its body with its fluffy ear fur when it senses danger. It’s notably wary and has a dislike of fighting, but at the same time, it can deliver powerful kicks with its lithe legs. Lopunny regrows its coat twice a year. Mufflers and hats made from its fur are really warm."
"Isn't it a beauty? Oh I wish to have a Pokemon like that." said Rarity.
"Just looks like an average tall rabbit to me." Rainbow Dash was unimpressed.
"How rude. Can an average rabbit do that?!" Rarity pointed her hoof at Lopunny's dazzling dance moves. Well, dazzling to everypony else but Rainbow Dash.
"Pssh. I can do those move easy. They don't seem that challenging." Rainbow Dash scoffed.
The ponies who had done the dance inferno came down from the stage, exhausted. "Yikes... those moves are aggressive." A mare said, sweating bullets.
"No kidding." So was the stallion who was apart of the dance.
"Lopun?" Lopunny was looking out for any new potential dancers. "Lopunny."
"How about we both try it." Rarity grabbed Rainbow Dash with her magic as she volunteered.
"Huh? Wait! Hold on! I didn't say I wanted to dance! I can't dance anyway!" Rainbow Dash protested.
"Nonsense. After all... you said it would be easy." Rarity went up to the stage.
"Lopun. Lopunny-Lo!" Lopunny pointed at the rules as they were fairly short and simple. They read the following. The maximum dancer size is 4. Watch Lopunny's movements when she does the moves first and then mimic them after. Once it reaches the second half, flow with Lopunny at the exact same time she performs the moves as the speed increases. The winner is the one who can flow with Lopunny the best.
"Simple enough. I've dabbled in dancing myself if you must know." Rarity said.
"I haven't." Rainbow sighed.
"Lopunny!" The music started as it was simple and slow pop beat. All they had to do was follow Lopunny's movements. Can't be too hard. Lopunny's first movements were shaking her arms up and down while moving her body left and right, ever so slowly to the beat. Rainbow Dash and Rarity stood up in a bipedal position as they moved their hoofs up and down whilst moving left and right as well. The next move was Lopunny placing her right hand on her hips while waving her left one as she looked to the right. Then she turned the left with left arm down and swinging while still keeping her right hand on her hip.
"This is pretty easy actually." Rainbow Dash said as she and Rarity mimicked Lopunny's movements fairly easily. Although they had no idea what was coming next. Lopunny then stood in one place with her hand on her hip still while waving the left arm about. The two followed suit, perfectly flowing with her. The next movements were Lopunny swinging her arms up and down like she was sending water upwards at someone. The two did the same with their hooves. Rainbow Dash was getting into this even. Then Lopunny gave of a singular pose where one arm was facing up diagonally and the other facing down diagonally. Rarity and Dash followed those arm movements, diagonally posing with their hooves.
And then the hard part kicked in. The music suddenly increased in speed. Which meant that Lopunny's movements increased as well. This is no problem for a flexible and agile Pokemon like her but for everyone else, this is where the challenge really begins. This time instead of watching Lopunny's movements first, you had to copy her movements at the exact same time she starts, which means on the spot. She did the exact same moves she did last time but with a much faster pace. Rarity was feeling the pressure now.
"Oh, dear! So this is why it's called Dance Inferno! Slow down a bit!" Rarity was trying to keep up with Lopunny, seeing the Rabbit Pokemon perform these speedy moves so perfectly. Lopunny also kicked her feet up to the beat while repeating the same moves from before. Rarity and Rainbow Dash attempted to kick up one of their hooves but unfortunately, they don't have the same balance that Lopunny has. At least Rainbow Dash was keeping up with Lopunny's speed being fast herself. Lopunny switched things up next. Instead of posing with those diagonal arms, she now did a pose where she thrust her left arm forward and then sent it back to her chest while pointing her left arm to the side and finally finishing off with the diagonal pose.
But the dance kept ongoing. She then switched to the first move that she did but this time she performed the same arm thrust and then switched into the arm wave. Then back to the arm to the chest while pointing it to the other side. Followed by the arm wave, the swinging on the lower section, wave once more, arm to the chest, wave one final time and then follow up with an arm thrust, arm to the chest and the finishing move, the diagonal pose. And thus the music stopped.
"Lopunny."
Rarity was already tired as she had trouble keeping up with her moves. The pace she was moving was tricky to keep up with especially since she had to also flow with Lopunny at the same time in the second half. The unicorn had fallen the ground, sweating and tired. Rainbow Dash was the only one who managed to keep up a bit.
"Lopun. Lo-Lopunny." Lopunny grabbed Rainbow Dash's hoof, crowning her the winner. She managed to flow with Lopunny much better.
"I can't believe I won that. Barely. You okay Rarity?"
"I'm fine... just need a rest." Rarity replied as Rainbow Dash picked her up, carrying her away from the stage. But before that Lopunny stopped them by giving Rainbow Dash a crown that said 'Dance Queen'.
"Uh. Thanks."
"Lopunny." She replied, waving them goodbye.
As for the Apple family, things were going swell. The same human who had bought something from Applejack's stand back when the humans came over to visit had spread word of their delicious food. So now the entire family was racking up bits easily. Cold Colt was brought along, but he only came because Apple Bloom was there. But it's not like he couldn't do anything else. There are still attractions to try. Pinkie and Ash had introduced the still Jade to the first of their friends, Rainbow Dash and Rarity.
"Rarity! Rainbow Dash! We'd like you to meet...uhh... what is your name?" Pinkie asked.
"Jade Skies."
"Jade Skies! She doesn't emote much. Probably because she doesn't know much at all or even why and how she's here. But I know that we can show her a good time by befriending her!"
"Really now? Well nice to meet you Jade Skies." Rarity drank some refreshing water as she went to shake hooves with her. Jade looked at Rarity's hoof, unaware of what to do next.
"What are you doing?" The deadpan pony asked.
"It's a hoofshake darling. One pony holds a hoof out and other follows suit by connecting both hooves together. Try it."
Jade gently lifted her hoof up as she connected with Rarity's. "Like this?"
"Yes. Good, Jade. Now all you do is shake." Rarity moved her hoof up and down as Jade did the same. Pinkie did it to her earlier, but she had no control in that one. "Jade, darling. You seem out of it. Are you alright?"
"Sorry, Rarity," Ash commented. "But Jade here is kinda confused right now. See she doesn't know how she got here or even what a smile is. So please don't overwhelm her a lot."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Oh my. You poor thing." Rarity pat Jade's mane. But Jade had no reaction whatsoever.
"I'm Rainbow Dash by the way. I'm a pretty awesome pony if you didn't know." Rainbow Dash flexed her hoof muscles, showing off. "If you're feeling lost, don't worry. If you're around us, there won't be a dull moment at all!"
"Really?"
"Yeah! Just hang around us and you'll be full of energy in no time!"
"Okay."
So in order to make Jade feel ecstatic, the group had let her try the attractions. They first let her have a go at Lopunny's Dance Inferno. Like everyone else, she struggled to keep up at the second half but she didn't seem to bothered by it. Then they let her ride the rollercoaster and yet she was still unaffected, even by the intense speed. Next, they let her try on a dress that Rarity quickly put together. She looked at the fancy dress as she was not phased by it.
"You look fetching in that darling. I bet any stallion would come galloping to you in mere seconds."
"You think so?" She monotonously replied to Rarity.
"Of course. Why if I were a stallion, I'd fall for you in no time."
"Yeah, yeah. Enough with the fancy girly stuff. Let's go on more Pokemon attractions!" Dash exclaimed.
"Speaking of Pokemon. We can't leave our Pokemon out of this." Ash took out this Pokeballs, sending out Dragonite, Gengar, Riolu and Farfetch'd. "You guys get to enjoy the festival too. Have a blast!"
"Rio!"
"Gengar!"
"Far...
"Drago!"
"You too, guys." Rainbow Dash sent out her Pokemon as well. Whirlipede, Braviary, Altaria and her newly added team member Luxio.
"Whirl."
"Braviary!"
"Taria!"
"Lux!"
"Oh, yeah. Meet Jade by the way. Say hi to her you guys." Ash introduced them to Jade. They said their greetings, but Dragonite did what it does best. Giving out hugs. It went over to Jade, giving her one of its nice warm hugs. This was Jade's first hug and her first time feeling it. It was warm indeed. Like all her worries were fading away. Then again, she didn't have any worries this early on.
"This feels...nice." Jade said, describing the hug. Despite this, she still didn't crack a smile.
"Ooh! You've felt your first great feeling!" Pinkie bellowed. "Still no smile though. But we'll work on it!"
"All of you are being this... nice to me. Why?"
"Why? Silly filly. It's because we look out for somepony who needs help." Pinkie Pie booped Jade's nose.
"If someone's lost, confused in trouble or anything else, we can't resist helping them." Ash leaned in. "It's practically apart of our nature, ya know."
"Pika."
"Indeed. That includes everypony. Even if they aren't friends." said Rarity.
"Friends? What are... friends?" Those words made Pinkie Pie gasp louder than last time. Not only does she not know of a smile but she's clueless about friendship? Ash and the others were surprised as well.
"Jade, darling. You don't know what friendship is?!" exclaimed Rarity.
"No."
"This is horrible! How can she not know?! Everypony at least knows about friendship or what a friend is!" Rainbow Dash ruffled her mane.
"Now calm down, Rainbow Dash. We've dealt with a situation like this before. Remember Maud? Pinkie Pie's sister?" Rarity commented.
"Yeah. But the difference between Jade and Maud is that Maud knows what friendship is and is friends with us even. Jade didn't even know it existed until you brought it up."
"You have a point." Rarity placed her hoof on her chin.
"Well. Then we'll be your friends. Your first ones." Ash went up to Jade.
"You will?" She looked up the trainer and his Pokemon.
"Oh yeah. And we'll let you meet Twilight and the others as well. She is the Princess of Friendship after all."
"Pikachu!"
"What do you say? Friends?" Ash outstretched his arm forward as Pinkie Pie and the others smiled at Jade. Jade responded by putting her hoof on Ash's hands, sealing the deal.
"Sure. Friends."
Meanwhile, at the relief zone, Fluttershy and Victini had spent a lot of time bonding. Victini had grown fond of the pegasus, even befriending her. Her kindness reminded Victini of a certain human and his Electric Mouse who helped him a few years ago. A Tailow rested on Fluttershy's mane as all the Pokemon here were drawn to Fluttershy's positive aura. Fluttershy fed him some macarons, however, they seemed to be running out of them.
"Oh. We're low on macarons. Don't worry. I'll go get some more." Fluttershy said as she fluttered away. As she was headed over to the stand where they were selling macarons, she noticed some familiar faces. To her, it looked like it was Team Rocket. She swore she could recognize Jessie's unnaturally long hair and that signature talking Meowth. But like everyone else, even Fluttershy couldn't see through the somehow genius yet basic disguise of Team Rocket. So she kept moving along until she met up with her friends who were talking to Jade. Pinkie noticed her pegasus friend as she raced towards her while grabbing Jade who was unaffected by it all.
"Fluttershy! You HAVE to meet our new friend! Jade Skies!"
"Oh. Well, hello Jade. My name is Fluttershy."
"Fluttershy. Hello." She replied with an impassive voice.
"You'll have to get used to that. You see she-" Pinkie Pie went on to explain everything about Jade so far. How she hadn't known about friendship before.
"I see. Well, I'll do my part to help you learn about friendship. But first I need to get some more macarons for Victini."
"Victini? You saw a Victini?!" Ash spoke up.
"Pika?!"
"Yes. It's right at the relief zone." Fluttershy pointed her hoof at the area.
"Man. I haven't seen a Victini in a long time...I gotta see one again!" Ash reminisced of the Victini back at the Kingdom of Vale.
"What's a Victini?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Victini's a special kind of Pokemon. It can bring victory to anyone and give then unlimited energy that it creates. I actually got to feel Victini's infinite energy once, ya know."
"A Pokemon that grants victory no matter what?! That exists?!" Rainbow Dash was a bit perplexed by that.
"Pokemon can do all sorts of things. In fact, they can do anything!"
"Pikachu!"
"Victory huh? How does it feel?" Fluttershy asked as she bought some macarons.
"It's an amazing sensation. If a Pokemon gets affected by it, they can ignore the type-disadvantage they have. If a human gets affected by it, they become like Superhuman. Well, I'm saying that cause that's what happened to me. I jumped from a far distance by instinct." Ash replied as he and the others were walking with Fluttershy to the relief zone.
"To have a Pokemon that grants victory always sounds like all the luck in the world." Rarity said. "Perhaps you should catch Victini, Rainbow Dash."
"No way. I wanna win based on my skills alone. I don't wanna cheat to victory."
"That's the spirit Dash." Ash responded to Rainbow Dash's words. They had arrived to the relief zone as Victini spotted more ponies coming along as it hid by turning invisible. However, it quickly became visible when it noticed a familiar face. It was Ash and Pikachu. Victini still remembered them. The Victory Pokemon's eyes lit up with joy as it flew over to the two.
"Tini!" It flew around Ash, glad to be back with him.
"Victini... You're THAT same Victini! It's so good to see you again!" Ash smiled as he gave Victini a hug.
"Glad to see you're free to go wherever you want now Victini."
"Victini! Tini!"
"Dragonite?" Dragonite went to Victini. The Victory Pokemon looked up at the Dragon Pokemon, terrified at the stature of it. But that fear was diminished as Dragonite gave it a hug. At first, Victini was about to turn invisible and release its psychic energy. But again, Dragonite's hugs are just that comforting. "Dra."
"Tini..." Victini melted in the Dragon Pokemon's loving hugs.
Jade was just watching all of this happen. Seeing them all talk and be happy while they feed Victini macarons and eat some of their own was still something she didn't understand. Is this what friends do? Sit around and chat all day. Pikachu went up to Jade, holding a macaron in his hand.
"Pikachu-Pi?" Pikachu raised the macaron up, wanting to give it to Jade. Jade couldn't really understand Pikachu at all as she just looked at him with dull eyes.
"I think Pikachu wants to give a macaron," Fluttershy said to Jade.
"Give me?"
"Mhm. That's what friends do, Jade. They share."
"Pikachu!"
So, Jade took the macaron and bit into it. The second best thing she's eaten today. "This also tastes good."
"Pika-Pikapi!"
"When we get to Twilight, I'm sure you'll understand friendship in no time." Fluttershy smiled as she sat next to her fellow pegasi.
The first day of the festival was coming to an end. Twilight and Cadence had tired themselves out in the library as they fell asleep. Twilight dozed off on Cadence's stomach as they were slumped on the pile of books. But even with night time closing in, the festival will still continue. But some are here for other reasons. Adagio was lurking in the shadows, bent on ruining it all for Twilight. Her plans to ruin Twilight all failed so far, but she felt lucky about this one. Because she had sought out of the many enemies of Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Her solution?
Night at the Pokemon Festival. It still carried on as there were lights shining across Canterlot. At night, the attractions that were available were Volbeat and Illumise's light show, Flight of Fancy which is available for Pegasi and Flying-Types, Tangrowth's Swing-Along and more of Lopunny's Dance Inferno.
Jade was still hanging out with Ash and the others, trying to understand the meaning of friendship and what it was. But right now, Adagio and Chrysalis who were now teaming up had their ideas already set.
"This better work. So you're going to disguise yourself as one of Sparkle's friends right?" Adagio turned to Chrysalis.
"Precisely. If we are to make this plan successful, I need to make sure that none of her other friends suspects anything unusual." Chrysalis transformed into Rarity. "First we have to make sure that the real Rarity is out of the picture."
"Can you even pull off that irritating posh accent?"
"Obviously, I can. I can mimic anypony's voice without any struggle whatsoever. And ever since I was Cadence, I've learned not to blow my cover. I'll have to act as kind as I can be. Even if it may be torture. Now, let us get moving, my little pony."
"Don't give me orders." Adagio walked off, wearing a cloak as Chrysalis set out to play her part. Rarity was inside Canterlot, working with her Swadloons. She had been requested by a pony to make a dress for their Dartrix. Little did Rarity know that Adagio was closing in on her. The festival at night was significantly quieter than in the day, but there was still some noise outside. Indoors, it was total silence. Celestia had given everypony a room to stay in for the night while the festival continues. Rarity was humming a theme, unbeknownst of what is lurking behind her. Adagio observed her surroundings and noticed the Swadloons. If they're here then capturing Rarity would be harder than it looks. But not for Chrysalis. The Changeling Queen had crept up on the group of Leaf-Wrapped Pokemon, knocking them out with a small concussive magic ray. All Rarity could hear was the sound of something hitting the floor.
"Hm?" She turned around to see her Swadloon's down on the floor. "Darlings! Are you alright?!" She gasped, galloping over to them as they were out of it right now. Then, Adagio came from behind and whacked Rarity in the head with a dress rack, knocking her out as well.
"See? Easy. Now, what do we do with her?" Adagio asked.
"We'll put her somewhere unknown. Last time I trapped Cadence in those mines... but they found a way out. We'll need a place where nopony can ever find her. As they were discussing what to do with Rarity, one Swadloon managed to stay conscious for a bit, overhearing and seeing everything. "I'll try the mines again, but this time I'll make sure the entrance is sealed." Hearing this, Swadloon used String Shot as a string emerged from its mouth, grabbing onto Chrysalis's eyes. "AGH!"
"Swad!" Swadloon kept the string on her eyes without letting go as Adagio tried to break it. But Swadloon's string was too thick to be broken normally. Chrysalis grunted as she used her magic to repel Swadloon, eventually knocking it out as well. Chrysalis removed the string from her eyes, shaking her head.
"How annoying these Pokemon are. Let's go, pony."
Pikachu was eating some macarons with Victini as the two of them were starting to tire out, ready to doze off for the night.
"These two are on the tired side. I think we'd better get them to bed," said Fluttershy, picking Victini up.
"I'd better get some sleep too or else I'll space out tomorrow." Ash picked up Pikachu. "Come on buddy, let's get some shuteye."
"Pika..."
"Ya'll get some rest now. We'll be out here." Applejack said.
"Even party ponies need some sleep." Pinkie Pie grumbled as her body felt wobbly and tired. "Carry me Rainbow."
"Alright. Let's go." Rainbow Dash picked Pinkie Pie up, heading towards the indoors of Canterlot. "Braviary. You all stay here."
The multi-coloured pegasus led her pink pony friend inside as she had instantly dozed off, letting out loud snores. Heading towards the rooms, she spotted who she thought was just Rarity, but really it was Chrysalis. "Hey, Rarity. Are you headed for some shuteye too?"
"Hm?" Chrysalis perked up. "Oh, uh yes darling... The night does drain you. But before that, I need to speak with Ash quickly. Any idea where he might be?"
"Ash is about to put Pikachu to bed. Who knows what he'll be doing next. I know what I'm gonna be doing for the night. Owning those attractions. What do you wanna talk to him about anyway?"
"Oh. It's a private talk. If you don't mind." Chrysalis walked off.
"Private talk?" Rainbow Dash started imagining the wildest outcomes. She shook her head, clearing her mind. "No way. I'm thinking too much."
Ash had entered a small room in Canterlot, placing his buddy down on the bed and tucking him in.
"Pika..chu.." Pikachu looked up at Ash, getting comfortable.
"Feeling cosy, Pikachu?" Ash sat down next to him.
"Pika..." Pikachu raised his hands up, wanting something before Ash left.
"You want... a song?"
"Pika-Pika-pi."
"Ah, I got you. You want me to sing the song that mom and I know. Alright." Ash put his hands over his buddy's head, petting his soft head.
The Poké Ball is your bed Curl up and close your eyes In the morning your wounds will heal If, if you come into my dreams
To play with me... It's just something I thought about Good night, good night, good night A bright star is shining
I have sleepless nights too Come here into my arms We'll talk, just the two of us If, if we don't have a meeting
I want to listen to you, but... Pikachu? Asleep already? Good night, good night, good night The star has drifted away now
Good night, good night, good night Soon, I'll sleep too
"Pika..." Pikachu had dozed off once hearing that song, falling asleep for sure. Adagio who was near had heard the song. Hearing it made her miss her own singing talent greatly. It made her jealous that everyone else, including Ash, can sing and she no longer can. She placed her hoof near her neck, trying to sing, but there was no melody coming out. The harsh truth was that she really did lose her ability to sing. And this Cutie Mark she was granted when she was turned into a pony didn't mean anything. So, Adagio just walked away.
Ash exited the room, leaving Pikachu to sleep through the night until Chrysalis disguised as Rarity came along. "Ash, darling. There you are."
"Oh, hey Rarity."
"I need to talk to you about something for a bit."
"Sure, what is it?"
"Well. I was wondering. How much do you love Pikachu?" Chrysalis asked. She figured that the best place to get tons of love is with Ash and Pikachu. From how they managed to overpower her back at the Royal Wedding showed that their love is a force to be reckoned.
"How much? We're kinda like a family. I can even consider him both a brother and a best friend. Pikachu's been there with me since the day I began my journey." Ash started to reminisce. "I remember that day still. He was pretty stubborn at first, but once those Spearow's attacked, he put himself forward to protect both of us. We've been through a lot over the years. We've gone through a ton of battles, met so many people and been to so many towns and even made a bunch of friends. He's my pride and joy. And I'm glad to have him as my best buddy. So yeah, we both love each other a lot."
Hearing this and feeling Ash's love for Pikachu was fueling Chrysalis. What Ash was saying was true. A love that was so potent and so long-lasting and so powerful that they're considered family. So strong that it even proved to be Chrysalis could feel it coursing through her. All that love managed to make her eyes flash green for a second.
"Amazing. You truly do love your Pikachu." Chrysalis laughed as her horn started to glow green along with her eyes flashing. Ash noticed this and recognized that same magic and green glow.
"Wait a sec... you're Chrysalis!"
"Right you are, boy. So long!" Chrysalis was about to trap Ash with Rarity inside the caves by surrounding him with green fire. Ash reacted to this as he jumped away from the flames. "All that love you gave to me was amazing. I can even look the part now." Chrysalis suddenly started to transform as she changed into Ash. Height, hair, clothing and everything.
"You're still bent on taking over, huh?"
"Of course. I still haven't forgotten how much you humiliated me back at the Royal Wedding!" Chrysalis conjured up green magic in her now human hands, starting to get used to the human body. "If it wasn't for you... I could've won!" Chrysalis fired a beam of magic at Ash, but the immortal trainer moved out of the way. "With you out of the way, victory is within my sights now!" Chrysalis ran towards Ash, ready to strike him with magic surrounding her hand. She sent it down, however, Ash caught her hand.
"Yeah right! Even without me, you still won't be a match for Twilight and the others! They've got love strong enough to beat you now. And you're still forgetting about Cadence and Shining Armor." Ash smirked.
"Nonsense!" Chrysalis blasted Ash away by firing magic from her eyes, leaving a burn mark on Ash's shirt. "Their love might be growing, but so will my power. As long as I feed on all the love they hold, I will have no limit to how strong I can get!"
"We'll see." Ash got up from the ground, staring Chrysalis down.
"On second thought. I think it would be best if I destroyed you!" Chrysalis sent a destructive ball of magic towards the trainer. It looked like it was about to obliterate Ash, but his aura had kicked in. His bond with Riolu had made his hidden aura more prominent nowadays. The aura around Ash protected him from the ball as it stopped it in place unconsciously.
Seeing this made him remember what happened with Sir Aaron. "Isn't this what Sir Aaron did to stop the war...?" Ash couldn't think about it for too long. He put his arm forward, depleting the magic ball into aura dust.
"How did you...?" Chrysalis looked confused. Ash's aura had unfortunately faded away. He still didn't have a good grasp on it yet. "No matter!" Chrysalis was about to attack Ash again. This time the trainer decided to make a run for it, avoiding the attacks headed for him.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out for his Pokemon's name. Pikachu heard Ash's cry as he jumped out of bed as fast as he could.
"Pikapi?!" Pikachu ran out of the room, seeing double. There were two Ash's. One who was avoiding magic beams from the other. "P-Pikapi?"
"Quick Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash exclaimed. Chrysalis turned around to see Pikachu, ready to blast him.
"Pika...CHUU!" Pikachu stopped her attack by shocking her with 10,000 volts of lightning. Chrysalis felt the shocks, realising her body couldn't handle that much power yet. She fell on her knees, paralyzed.
"You rat! Get lost! Both of you!" Chrysalis unleashed a magic field that trapped Ash. "So long Ash Ketchum! Join your friend Rarity in those damp caves!" Chrysalis was sending Ash down through the ground as green flames surrounded him.
"Pikapi!"
"P-Pikachu! Don't worry about me! Get some help!" Ash was gone, down to the caves with Rarity. Chrysalis then turned her focus to Pikachu, ready to deal with him next.
"Now for you. I won't be humiliated by a mouse a second time!" Chrysalis went to grab Pikachu, but the Electric Mouse Pokemon jumped up, using Iron Tail on her head. Chrysalis felt the hard iron hit her as it was enough to halt her movements. Not only that but it made her revert back to her normal form. She really did feel that impact. "T-This can't be... I can't lose like this so easily." Chrysalis grunted. Pikachu proved to be too much for her. "I have the love of your trainer... how are you so strong?"
"Pika-Pika." Pikachu crossed his arms. To make matters worse for Chrysalis, Shining Armor and the guards heard all of the commotions in this one area as they had arrived to check it out. Shining immediately saw Chrysalis down on the ground with Pikachu standing there, victorious.
"Chrysalis?! Good job Pikachu!" Shining Armor congratulated him.
"Pika." Pikachu felt proud of himself. The guards all surrounded Chrysalis, ready to lock her up and restrain her so she doesn't try and do anything. But at the moment she couldn't thanks to Pikachu paralyzing her and dealing massive damage to her head.
"This can't be how it ends..." Chrysalis groaned. "I'm not alone in this. Just you wait. Victory will be mine somehow!"
"Yeah, yeah. You lost a second time. Now come on. Let's go." said Shining Armor as he and the guards were walking her to the dungeon.
Pikachu took a deep breath. But it wasn't over yet. He still had to get Ash back. Luckily, since he was once trapped in the caves with Twilight back at the wedding day, he knows where his best buddy is. But he needed some help. He chased Shining Armor down to tell him about Ash's whereabouts.
Down at the caves. Ash had fallen his back, feeling the hard rocks hit him. "Ow..." He groaned as he got back up, rubbing his back. "Where am I?" His voice echoed. Then he heard another voice echo in the caves. A familiar voice. He walked towards the direction of the cry as he could hear the sounds of hooves smashing against the hard crystal walls.
"Let me out! Somepony! Anypony!" Rarity was shouting at the top of her lungs. She had been trying to get herself out here by continuously smashing the walls. Her hooves were hurting though.
"Rarity?!" Ash exclaimed. The unicorn turned around to see a familiar and friendly face.
"Ash? Ash, darling!" Rarity galloped over, hugging Ash as she was crying her eyes out. "I'm so glad you're here! I've been stuck down this horrible cave for hours now!" It's actually been 23 minutes. "I'm losing my mind down here! And I can't even gather these crystals!"
"Don't worry, Rarity. We'll get out of here. I've asked Pikachu to get help. And I know he will. Chrysalis kinda came back here and tried to take me out with all the love she stole from me."
"Queen Chrysalis? She's back?! This is horrible! What if she's already changed into somepony we know! Like me! Or Fluttershy! Or Twilight! This is a disaster!" Rarity began to pull her mane, panicking.
"Well, she did turn into me."
"She did?! The nerve of her! If she's going to turn into you, she better not have your clothing! Somepony like her isn't worthy to wear all the hard work I put into making it."
"Now, how did Twilight, Pikachu and Cadence get out of here the last time?" Ash started looking around to see if there was a way to leave. He couldn't just wait for help. He also had to try. "Maybe through here?" Ash had tossed some rocks aside, hoping to find a pathway, but it was just nothing. "Help me out here, Rarity."
"But my hooves are still sore." Rarity sighed. But she helped anyways.
On the outside, Pikachu had informed Shining Armor of Ash being trapped in the caves underneath Canterlot.
"I see. Where my Cadence was trapped before. Don't worry, I'll get him and Rarity back. You all keep Chrysalis contained while I go and rescue Ash." Shining Armor said to the guards. "Lead the way Pikachu."
Pikachu led Shining Armor, digging into his memory. He remembered him, Twilight and Cadence exiting out of the caves right near the garden. The Canterlot Gardens had a secret hole that hadn't been known by anypony for years now. Only Chrysalis knew of it. Which is how she managed to find the caves in the first place. "Pikachu. Pika-Pi-chu." Pikachu pointed at the hole that was cleverly hidden by a patch of grass. He used his tail to clear away the grass, revealing the entrance. Pikachu hopped inside as Shining Armor followed suit.
Ash and Rarity were still putting in work on getting out of here until could hear something. It sounded like rocks falling at first. Then the sounds shifted to the sounds of hoofs touching the ground." Is somepony else hear?" Rarity questioned.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu's voice echoed through the caves, grabbing both of their attention.
"It's Pikachu! Pikachu! Hey!" Ash responded to the echo as he was running towards the direction it came from. Pikachu and Shining Armor both picked up Ash's voice as well, racing to the location of where the sound travelled. The four of them eventually crossed paths, seeing each other once more. "Buddy!" Ash ran over to see his best pal as they both gave each other a huge hug.
"Pikapi!"
"You two okay?" Shining Armor asked.
"Oh, yes. We are! Finally some freedom! Once I get out of here, I'll give that Chrysalis the mother of all hoof beatings!"
"No need. We've kept her contained in the dungeon by now. Pikachu's attacks seemed to really stop her movements. She won't be going anywhere for a long time. Plus we've finally officially caught her."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Good job, buddy. Guess you're living up to your title of noble huh?" Ash laughed.
"Pika-Pika-Pika-Pi." Pikachu laughed back.
"You all go and get some rest or enjoy the festival. We'll continue to keep watch."
"Alright. Thanks, Shining." Ash and the others left the caves as Shining Armor returned to keep an eye on everything. He still remembers what Chrysalis said about her not being alone. It could be that more changelings are around somewhere. But in actuality, it was Adagio.
The Swadloons went up to Rarity, happy to see their trainer was free and alright. She gave each of the Bug-Grass-Types a hug. "No need to worry, darlings. I'm back. And thank you so much, Ash. I might have to make you something as a thanks."
"Heh. You're welcome Rarity. Stay safe, alright?" Ash and Pikachu waved her goodbye as they went off to have a rest. The two of them laid on the bed, ready to let the night pass.
The first day of the festival has ended. Now the second day can begin.
And without hesitation, some ponies, humans and Pokemon who had slept through the night came out to continue the festival, some heading to other locations to enjoy it. Today, the attractions and activities had refreshed with new ones coming in. The Machamp Strength Test was gone but the Lopunny Dance Inferno was still here due to popularity. The newest activity was actually a small mini-tournament assembled by BigTime Ben. This is the one that Ash has been looking forward to.
"Okay. Is it ready, Gothitelle?" Ben asked his Pokemon, checking his notes.
"Gothitelle." The Astral Body Pokemon nodded.
"Nice. Let's get this started. I know I'm excited too."
Gothitelle used her psychic prowess to raise up a banner that said 'Pokemon Tag-Team Tournament". Seeing this drew the attention of all trainers. If there's one thing a Pokemon trainer loves, it's a good battle. Ash, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo walked up to it, anticipating it.
"That first day was worth the wait!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Mhm! This'll make some good practice, right you four?" Rainbow Dash looked to her Pokemon as they nodded.
"Would it be okay if I partnered up with you two? Please?" Scootaloo looked up at Ash and Rainbow Dash. They were both her idols and role models so she wanted this badly.
"Sure. You can team up with us." Ash agreed along with Rainbow Dash nodding her head.
"Really? YES!" Scootaloo jumped up for joy as she was flying for a short bit. "I won't let you two down! Right Ponyta? Pachirisu?" Scootaloo looked over to her Pokemon.
"Pony!"
"Pachi!"
"Wish me luck, girls." Scootaloo then turned to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
"Good luck Scootaloo!" Both of them said.
The way this tournament was going to go was simple. Three trainers make up a team and compete against each other to win in different brackets. Some more experienced than others, but that's why they formed teams. Mostly to have the better trainer protect them.
"Alright, Gothitelle. Bring it up." Ben said. Gothitelle had raised up a stage from the ground. Ben had managed to find a way to implant an arena underneath Canterlot. And what a stage it was. Perfect for three trainers and their Pokemon to stand in. It did take up a lot of space, but that was mostly to make sure that the trainers don't get harmed when the Pokemon are pulling their moves.
"Hey, Jade. Wanna watch this? You'll get to see a Pokemon Battle!" PInkie said to the impassive Jade Skies.
"Pokemon Battle?" She said with a monotonous tone.
"Yeah! They're the best! Just watching them gets your blood pumping!" PInkie dragged Jade over.
While the tournament was about to start, Twilight and Cadence had just woken via Celestia.
"Did you two rest well?" She asked her fellow alicorns as the books they were sleeping on fell on their heads.
"Ugh...mhm." Twilight shook her head. "Is it the second day already?"
"Yes, it is. There's a Tag-Team Tournament about to start and it's grabbed my attention honestly."
"Tournament? Where?" Cadence rubbed her eyes, looking around. "Did we fall asleep here all night?!"
"Yes, Cadence. You still have a lot of the festival left to go. So no need to worry."
"Princess Celestia!" Shining Armor entered the library, here to talk about Chrysalis's capture.
"What is it Shining Armor?"
"You must see this. We've captured Chrysalis."
"Huh?!" All three princess's said as Twilight and Cadence perked up.
"I was as surprised as you three. It happened last night, where Pikachu managed to defeat Chrysalis." Shining Armor was explaining it to them whilst they were walking down to the dungeon. "In a short amount of time too."
"Impressive. I don't think even I could have done it that quickly or easily." Celestia commented. They had reached the Canterlot Dungeons, and there she was. Queen Chrysalis. Chained up so she doesn't try anything. She heard the sounds of ponies coming closer as she raised her head up, seeing Celestia, Cadence, Twilight and Shining Armor. "So she really is here."
"Celestia..." Chrysalis said with scorn in her voice. "Don't think you can keep me locked up in here forever."
"Chrysalis. Your punishment for your crimes is long overdue by now. Putting Shining Armor under a spell and trapping Cadence down at the caves and now doing the same to Ash and Rarity is unforgivable." Celestia spoke.
"Feh. Spare me the scolding. What do you even have planned for me?"
"You're already in the dungeon. Your punishment is to be locked in here for 23 years. I will be somewhat lenient towards you since you do this for your hive and want them to live. But your actions are unacceptable."
"23 years will go by with haste for a changeling such as myself. And after I'm free, I'll feed on everypony's else's love. Even your love for Cobalion."
"Princess Celestia. You're in love with Cobalion?" Twilight looked up at Celestia.
"N-N-Nevermind that!" Celestia was flustered as her cheeks turned red. Now Twilight knew about it.
"Hah! Not so honest about it are you Celestia? No wonder you were defeated by me back then, my love is more honest than yours." Chrysalis teased.
"M-Moving on! Stay here and perhaps you'll learn from your actions!" Celestia walked off, now struggling to get Cobalion out of her head as Chrysalis laughed.
"Just you wait. I'll get out of here sooner than you think. And maybe I'll take Shining Armor for myself once more."
"Hmph! You wish! Let's go." Cadence walked off, not wanting to hear more from Chrysalis. Twilight and Shining Armor followed suit. The Changeling Queen knew that she wasn't alone in this. Adagio was still around.
Back outside, the tournament was underway. Ash, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo's turn was up next. They had decided on which Pokemon they'd use for their first match.
"I'm going with Riolu first." Ash said.
"Rio!"
"Whirlipede for me."
"Pede.
"Then I'll choose my Ponyta."
"Ponyta!"
"You three ready?" Ben asked the three of them.
"Yep. All set." Ash replied.
"Pikachu!"
"You sit back and watch for now buddy." Ash picked up Pikachu, setting him down. The human and the two pegasi hopped on the stage with their Pokemon beside them. They were going up against 3 human trainers who looked experienced themselves. Scootaloo was obviously the weakest link in this, but she didn't care. She got to battle alongside her idols.
"Alright. You six know the rules by now. One Pokemon only for this bracket. You have 20 minutes. Even if one of your Pokemon faints the other two can continue until the rest faint. Now, the other side, you may bring out your Pokemon." Ben explained, pointing at the opposing team.
"Let's go Ledian!"
"I'm going for you, Frogadier!"
"Show them your stuff, Whimsicott!"
The three opposing trainers sent out their Pokemon. Fairly fast and nimble ones too.
"Good luck you three!" Pinkie Pie cheered from the crowd while having her hoof on Jade.
"Battle start!" Ben gave the call as he backed away, not wanting to get caught up in the imminent chaos.
"Mind if I start us off? Whimsicott! Tailwind!" A female ace trainer made the first move. She made her Whimsicott kick up a powerful Tailwind that was blowing towards the direction of the opposing trainers, starting to push them back as Ponyta's flaming mane was flowing in the wind.
"Trying to slow us down? We'll see about that! Riolu! Vacuum Wave!" Ash followed suit by sending his own wind. Riolu pelted waves of vacuums towards Whimsicott, hitting the Windveiled Pokemon square in the face.
"Whirlipede! Rollout on Ledian!" Rainbow Dash went next as Whirlipede started to roll towards Ledian, but the Tailwind was preventing it from moving at quick speeds.
"Ledian! Stop it with Comet Punch!" Ledian was ready to strike the Curlipede Pokemon back with a hard-hitting attack.
"Intercept with Force Palm!" Ash shielded Whirlipede by making Riolu rush in, getting in front of Whirlipede. Riolu's palms clashed with the Five Star Pokemon as a flurry of 5 punches were matching with the palms, stopping it from hitting Whirlipede as the Emanation Pokemon jumped out of the way. Whirlipede hit its mark, throwing Ledian off guard thanks to Riolu.
"Frogadier! Hit that Ponyta with Water Pulse!" Frogadier made its move next. It conjured up a pulse of water, shooting it towards Ponyta."
"Oh! Ponyta look out!" Scootaloo gasped, realising she was in this as well. She was getting too caught up with Ash and Rainbow Dash's moves. Ponyta responded by quickly galloping away from the Water Pulse. "Okay uh... Use Flame Charge!" Ponyta's turn to attack was here as it galloped towards Frogadier with flames surrounding it.
"Dodge it and use Water Pulse once more!" Frogadier easily avoided Ponyta's Flame Charge as it was ready to hit its mark this time with Water Pulse.
"Use Pin Missile on Frogadier!" Rainbow Dash had saved Scootaloo by having Whirlipede shoot down Frogadier with Pin Missile.
"Thanks, Rainbow Dash!"
"Whimsicott! Magical Leaf!" Whimsicott had sent mystical leaves that pelted towards the three Pokemon.
"Use Poison Sting to get rid of them!" Whirlipede had used its poison to melt away the leaves that were thrown at it and the others.
"Jump up and use Vacuum Wave!" Riolu jumped over an incoming leaf as it was ready to attack from a distance up in the air.
"Stop Riolu with Bounce!" Frogadier bounced up into the air, ready to hit Riolu. The Emanation Pokemon looked up as he was hit in the head, sending him back down to the stage. He had luckily recovered though. "Now Double Team!" Frogadier had created fast-moving clones that were beside it.
"You use Double Team as well!" Riolu did the same as the stage was now full.
"Ledian! Air Slash!" Ledian sent slashing waves of wind with its four arms towards the opposing Pokemon team. The slashes had managed to hit away some of the Riolu clones.
"Now's my chance to do something. Ponyta use Ember on that Whimsicott!" Ponyta spat out a burning Ember that was about to hit Whimsicott. However, the Windveiled Pokemon had seen it coming since it was moving so slow, so it just avoided it easily without any effort. "Oh come on!"
"Don't worry Scootaloo! We'll help you get some hits in! Riolu! Force Palm on Frogadier!"
"Frogadier, stop Riolu with Water Pulse!"
Riolu ran in with energy surrounding his palm. Fragodier put its arms forward as a pulse of water was swirling in its frog hands. Riolu thrust his palms forward, hitting the Water Pulse he also made contact with Frogadier's hands.
"Hit Riolu with Supersonic!" Ledian flew behind Riolu who was still pushing back the Water Pulse. The Five Star Pokemon was ready to blast a loud sound wave towards the Emanation Pokemon who was currently busy at the moment.
"No, you don't! Pin Missile!" Rainbow Dash attempted to stop Ledian.
"I don't think so. Whimsicott! Energy Ball!" Whimsicott intervened by conjuring a ball made out of pure earth energy. Energy Ball hit Whirlipede which made its Pin Missles fly all over the place. Riolu had managed to push back Frogadier but was then hit by the Supersonic and Pins. But Ledian was also struck by some pins as well since they were frantic. Scootaloo saw an opening. This was her chance to get a hit in!
"Flame Charge!" Ponyta was now much faster thanks to Flame Charge granting speed every time it's used. Rapidash dashed forward, striking Whimsicott square in its puffy cotton body. The Fire Horse Pokemon dealt major damage considering the typing of the Windveiled Pokemon. "Yes! I got a hit in!"
"It isn't over yet! Frogadier! Bounce!" The Bubble Frog Pokemon took the skies once more.
"We'll hit that frog out of the sky! Pin Missile!" Whirlipede sent more pins as they pelted towards Frogadier!
"Ledian! X Scissor!"
"Riolu! Force Palm!" Both Pokemon went towards each other, connecting their physical moves. Riolu managed to overpower Ledian as the Force Palm broke through the energy of X Scissor, hitting Ledian in the face as he launched the Five Star Pokemon back, making it faint.
"Whimsicott! Use Poison Powder!" Whimsicott was about to spread some poison to harm the opposing Pokemon around the area. The Tailwind was still active so it could easily blow their way.
"Don't think so. Vacuum Wave!" Riolu turned around, hitting Whimsicott with a quick wae wind that stopped it from releasing Poison Powder. "Now's your chance Scootaloo!"
"Oh, right! Ponyta Flame Charge!" Scootaloo perked up, giving the command as Ponyta galloped forward towards Whimsicott, but Frogadier got in the way.
"Water Pulse!" Frogadier was ready to blast Ponyta point-blank.
"Rollout!" Rainbow had intervened by making Whirilipede crash into Frogadier, sending the Water-Type flying as it had fainted. Ponyta had hit its mark as the flames engulfed Whimsicott, sending it rolling across the arena. The impact had made Whimsicott faint as all 3 of them were down and out.
"All 3 Pokemon from the opposing side are unable to battle! Which means the victors are Ash, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo!" Ben declared.
"We won! We actually won! I knew we'd do it with you two on my side!" Scootaloo hugged both Ash and Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah. But save up that energy for the next bracket we're in okay?" Ash said as picked Scootaloo up.
"Okay!"
"See Jade! Wasn't that amazing?!" Pinkie looked over to the deadpan pegasus.
"It was... interesting."
"I know right?! I bet you want to get into it too!"
"I don't know if I want to." She replied looking down.
"Well, you'll get into it slowly. Come on! Let's go and find Twilight." Pinkie walked away, dragging Jade with her.
Ash, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo had taken a break since their next match would come once 12 other trainers finish their battle. They sat down to eat some caramel apples that they brought from the apple family.
"You know. When our turn is up, we should try using our Electric-Types each." Ash recommended.
"Only Electric-Types?" Rainbow looked to Ash. "How come?"
"Well, if you didn't know... when Electric-Type Pokemon join forces their power increases faster than any other Pokemon. They gather the most energy out of all 18 types, making them dish out some quick damage if needed. All that electricity just bounces off each other like crazy. If we combine Pikachu, Luxio and Pachirisu's electricity together, we can deal some sweet damage early on."
"That does sound pretty good, ya know." Scootaloo looked up at him.
"Yeah. Great idea Ash!"
Ash finished the last of the caramel apples as he hopped off the seat.
"Where are you going?" Scootaloo asked.
"I'll be right back. I saw some tasty soda inside that I wanna try." Ash ran off with Pikachu, heading for Canterlot indoors.
Adagio, who was doing her best to be stealthy was snooping around Canterlot indoors. Nopony in Canterlot really knew who she was except for Ponyville. But she couldn't be too careful. She was quietly trotting about until she ended up coming across Twilight who was alone. Twilight turned around to see Adagio, standing right there in the open. "Adagio?!"
"Twilight Sparkle!" Adagio growled.
"What are you up to now?"
"I don't have to tell you anything. But you should already know that it involves you being ruined!" Adagio ran off as Twilight chased after her. Ash who was holding a can of soda looked over to his left, seeing Twilight chasing down Adagio through the halls.
"What the?"
"Pika?"
Adagio ran into a resting room, hoping to get away from Twilight. Once she got there, she stopped near the mirror that led to another certain world. Twilight followed her inside, cornering her. "Alright, Adagio. That's enough from you. You've already caused a lot of trouble before. I can't let you stir up more chaos, even in this festival."
"I don't need to hear your goody-two-shoes chatter! I swear I will find a way to ruin you!"
Ash had barged into the room, seeing the two of them stare each other down. "When did Adagio get here?"
"Pika-Pika?"
"Ash. Don't worry. I got this." Twilight's horn started to glow. Adagio had to think fast. Despite her thirst for revenge, she was no match for alicorn magic. And she had still be turned into an Earth Pony. But revenge does prepare you at times. In Adagio's mouth, she held another magic item which she had to get her dirty little hooves on to find. It looked like a jar of some sorts. "What is that?"
"You don't need to know that. What you do need to know is that it's gonna quell all my anger and revenge for you!" She slowly backed away, but what happened next, she didn't see coming. She accidentally fell into the gateway which was cleverly disguised as a mirror.
"W-What the?!" Adagio screamed as she was pulled inside. Twilight, Ash and Pikachu had gasped seeing what just happened.
"She passed through the gateway!" Twilight ran to the mirror.
"Gateway? That's a gateway?" Ash pointed at the mirror.
"Pika?"
"Yes, it is. It leads to another world where I've been to before. There, I became a human myself. Sunset Shimmer's also on that side. If Adagio's gone through, who knows what she's going to use that jar for. We can't let that happen!"
"Wait. You're gonna go through there?"
"Of course. Adagio knows that world too. And now that she knows that this mirror leads to the next world...I have to stop her."
"Aren't you gonna get the rest of our friends to help?"
"It's not a good idea to have all 6 of us there. It'll upset the balance if all of us meet our other world counterparts. But you're not from my world Ash. You can pass through with me!"
"Going to another parallel world? Hmm... We gotta make this quick. Don't wanna be left out of my next tournament match."
"Pikachu."
"We'll make it as quick as we can. Now. Let's do this." Twilight put her hoof into the mirror as she was ready to pass through. She went inside, crossing over to the next world. Ash and Pikachu did the same, taking a deep breath as their bodies were pulled in as well.
Passing through, Twilight could feel that same flow she did the first time she passed through. Once she landed on the grass of Canterlot High School, she familiarized herself with this place. It had been a while since she had been to this other world and her now human body needed some adjusting. "Alright. We're here. Wait a sec..." Twilight thought for a second. What would Ash and Pikachu look like if they came through here? She turned around to see the result. And through the gateway...
Ash looked the same. So did Pikachu. They weren't originally from Twilight's world. So in the end, they're unaffected.
"Aw. Disappointing." Twilight sighed. "But at least you two are here now."
"Woah. Twilight. You're a human in this world?! What about me?!" Ash looked at himself, not seeing any change. "Aw, man. I was kinda hoping we'd look different in this world too, huh Pikachu?"
"Pikachu!"
"But I'm still taller than you in this world it seems." Ash laughed as he looked down at Twilight. Who was slightly shorter than him.
"Alright, don't get cocky, Ketchum. We need to find Adagio. And my guess is that she's headed for the school. She's also got a vendetta against the counterparts in this world."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"Pikachu!"
Speaking of said school, Adagio still had to keep a low profile. Difference between Canterlot and Canterlot High is that everybody knows who she is here. After the whole Battle of the Bands event that occurred the last time she was here. "I can't believe I'm back here of all places. But who'da thunk that mirror was a gateway to this world? That actually works in my favour. As well as this." Adagio held the jar in hand, grinning as she remembered what the sales pony told her when she bought it.
"That jar over there is a Magic Siphoning Jar. The name speaks for itself. Open it up and siphon up all the magic in the area and you can transfer it all to you. Don't matter what pony race you are."
"If this little thing works just like that amulet I stole... then my magic will be back in no time. I just have to find one of those Rainbooms to sap it out of them." Adagio peered out of the corner, hoping that the coast was clear as she snuck into the back of the school.
As for the front, Ash, Twilight and Pikachu entered it. The trainer and his Pokemon looked around, seeing how everyone were humans like him. It was bizarre for the eyes, especially since some of the humans resembled ponies he knows. "This place is weird..."
"Pika..."
"I was confused too. Although I kind of freaked out seeing myself in... this." Twilight looked at her hands.
"I could've sworn I saw someone that looked like Big Mac."
"That's the thing about this world. It's the exact opposite of ours. So everypony I knew back in Equestria is also here. These are all their counterparts."
"Pika-Pika."
"My friends are probably hanging around... in here!" Twilight opened the door to the Gymnasium and she was right. They were all here. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Sunset Shimmer were all in here with other people. "Hey, everypon- I mean everybody!" Twilight yelled as they all turned to her.
"Twilight!" Pinkie dashed over to her. "Good to see you again! Why are you here? Is there another threat we gotta blast with music?"
"Something like that. I'm here because Adagio's still around, up to something again."
"The girl from the Dazzlings? She sure is persistent." Rarity said.
"Hold on...Twilight. Is that Ash and Pikachu?" Sunset pointed at the two of them.
"Oh, hey Sunset!" Ash waved as did Pikachu.
"Pikachu!"
"Uh yeah. I brought these two along because they don't affect this world since he's not originally from the parallel earth."
"Oh. Phew. I panicked for a second." Sunset wiped the sweat off her forehead. "So. Where is Adagio?"
"That's why we came here. We don't know where she could've run off to."
"Well, we'll get searching. Everyone else here knows what she looks like. So it can't be too hard." Applejack said.
"Oh my gosh! What is that?!" Fluttershy had gone over to Pikachu. "I've never seen this Pokemon before!" She had grabbed his red sacs.
"Wait don't-" Ash tried to warn Fluttershy but it was too late.
"PIKA-CHUUU!!" Pikachu ended up shocking everyone in the entire gymnasium in response, making it a repeat of the first time Fluttershy and Ash met in the other world.
"Oh... shocking." Fluttershy coughed out smoke.
"Ugh... You know about Pokemon in this world too?" Ash questioned.
"Well... only a small bit. Sunset is the only one who has a Pokemon. The rest of us are kinda clueless still as to what they are." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Well, you gotta see my world someday. It's a blast!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
Adagio who was snooping around wasn't exactly doing the best job of being stealthy. Her movements just made her seem more suspicious as everyone instantly recognized her. She held the jar in her hand, preparing to siphon all that sweet magic inside once she gets the chance. Until, one person walked up to her.
"Aren't you that Adagio girl from the Dazzlings?" He asked.
"What about it?" She turned to him.
"Well, your singing sucked back there when it suddenly became awful... but I gotta say it was pretty good earlier on."
"My singing sucking was not my fault!" Adagio erupted as she ripped the lid off the jar as it suddenly started to drain all the concealed magic inside of him. He felt his body grow weak, confused as to what was happening. Adagio looked at the jaw and saw magic sparkles inside of it, indicating that magic had been contained. "This is interesting...it works on you too huh?"
"W-What did you do...?" He said weakly.
"So... you don't know that you and everyone else have magic inside of you? Pathetic." Adagio walked off as she looked inside of the jar. She figured that now would be the best time to see if she can regain magic like the pony said. She opened up the jar, placing it near her face as all the sparkle and magic dust flowed towards her since she was the holder of the jar currently. Once she felt it all over she decided to give it a try. Singing. She let out a single word, and that word managed to make her utter a melody. It was faint but it was there. Adagio gasped as a wide smile appeared on her face. A semblance of her voice was returning to her. Which means that her magic as well.
"Oh yes. This is perfect." She held the jar up. She was about to go on a frenzy.
It has been 12 minutes since Twilight, Ash and Pikachu have been here ever since they passed the gateway. Their counterpart friends had pitched in to find Adagio who was roaming about. Unbeknownst to them, she was siphoning magic from other students, giving to herself as her singing voice was slowly but surely being restored. Wherever they searched, high and low, there was no sign of her. Not in the library, the classrooms or even the outside area.
"No luck. Haven't seen Adagio anywhere." Fluttershy spoke.
"She must've found a really good hiding spot then. The school's not THAT big." Rainbow Dash uttered.
"She didn't pass through the gateway already did she?!" Twilight gasped.
"If she did then she must've found a really good source of magic." Sunset Shimmer commented. Just as they said that they saw someone walk through the doors, looking drained. Actually, others were walking through with drained appearances. It was like something inside of them had been sucked away. They sat down to try and relax but they felt like something in them was missing.
"What happened?" Ash walked up to the human counterpart of Amethyst Star.
"Pika?"
"Don't know... I was just minding my own business and all of a sudden... I felt drained." She replied, holding her head.
"Drained? Are all of you feeling the same?" Rarity looked over to the rest as they nodded in response. Their eyes had lost some colour in the process. "This has Adagio written all over it. That's for sure."
"Draining magic? If that's what she's doing... How? She can't sing anymore right?" said Rainbow.
"Maybe she's digging her nails into everyone and sucking the life out of them!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Like some sort of Siren Vampire!"
"Whatever she's doing, we have to stop her. She could be anywhere right now." Twilight said.
What Adagio was doing was gathering more magic. The more she stole from the jar, the more she was collecting. And the more her singing voice was returning to its prime. But to her, this wouldn't suffice. "All of this is great and all. But they all have weak magic laying in them. I need someone who's just bursting with magic. I'll have to head to one of the Rainbooms in order to do that. Unless..." Adagio turned to Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna's office. "Oh yeah. That'll do." Adagio walked over to Luna's office first, acting like she owns the place. She opened up the door, grabbing Luna's attention.
"Hm? You. Aren't you Adagio Dazzle? What are you-" Before Luna could complete her sentence, Adagio opened up the jar, instantly absorbing all the dormant magic laying inside of Luna. Luna felt all the hidden magic in her leave her body as she was growing weak. She fell flat on her table as the sparkle and dust of magic was contained in the jar.
"Thank you so much Vice Principal Luna. I'm sure Principal Celestia wouldn't mind if I took hers as well. But first..." Adagio opened up the jar as she let the magic flow towards her. And just like that, a gigantic majority of Adagio's singing voice had been restored. It wasn't all of it, but it was almost enough. Going for the higher-ups was a genius idea. "Yes...Yes!" Adagio sang a beautiful harmony as she could feel her true self finally coming back to her. She left the room as Luna just laid there, drained.
Next was Celestia. If she could drain her next, perhaps all of her power can be restored to her in an instant. So she kicked the door opening, making Celestia jump in shock. Adagio didn't even let Celestia get a word in. She opened up the jar instantly without hesitation. The jar began to drag all of Celestia's grandiose dormant magic, putting in the jar. Celestia felt numb as she fell on the ground, knocking her over. Adagio had done it. And with such haste too. So she decided to place all that stolen magic to her.
Once the magic flowed through her body, her wish had been granted. After so many weeks...so many tries and attempts...from being stranded in the cold arctic weather to having her own sisters separate from her and being foiled by Twilight and her friends over and over again, Adagio was back to her prime. Her beautiful yet dangerous singing voice was restored once more. It took a while, but she made it. "Finally. Finally!" Siphoning all the magic was actually overflowing Adagio to an unnatural level. So unnatural that she was even growing fangs that she originally had as a siren. "Oh...how I've missed this...All that's left is revenge."
The Siren grinned as she walked out of Celestia room, ready to seal the deal with Twilight. But along the way, she continued to siphon anyone who came by, taking their magic for herself. News of this had got around. About how everyone is suddenly starting to feel numb and drained for no reason.
"You think it might be a vampire?" Someone said.
"Hope not... I hate vampires..." The other person shuddered.
The group had overheard this. Adagio could most likely be the source.
"So, she's still around somewhere. Who else could be doing it?" said Twilight.
"I think I've got a solution to all of this. Why don't we just ask Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna? They might know. I hear they have secret cameras everywhere." Rainbow Dash spoke.
"Do they?" Rarity looked around the room to spot any signs of cameras.
"But what was with that jar?" Twilight couldn't stop thinking about the jar Adagio was carrying back in the other world. It seemed like she had some big plans with it. Rainbow Dash went along to talk to Celestia and Luna, hoping to get some information on Adagio's whereabouts. When she came towards Luna's office she saw that the door had been left open. Unusual since teachers never leave it just out in the open like that.
"Vice Principal Luna? I wanted to ask you-" Rainbow entered and the first thing her eyes discovered was Luna on her table, drained as well. Dash gasped as she ran over to the weak Vice-Principal. "Are you okay?! What happened?!"
"A-Adagio...Dazzle. I... so numb." She muttered, struggling to speak full sentences. Rainbow Dash managed to pick up the words Adagio Dazzle. She got confirmation that she was behind this. And speaking of said Siren, she had made Rainbow Dash her first target of the Rainbooms. She crept up on the multi-coloured haired girl, opening the jar up. All of a sudden, Rainbow Dash could feel the magic within her flow away, exiting out of her body. Now she too felt numb. Rainbow turned around to see Adagio, standing right there with the jar in hands.
"Thanks for the magic, Rainbow Dash. I'm more satisfied with taking the magic that defeated me a while back. I'll stop by the rest of the Rainbooms and grab theirs along the way as well." Adagio laughed, exiting the room. Rainbow Dash struggled to get up. She could feel her bones wobble about as a splitting headache came to her. Now she knew how everyone else was feeling.
"Need to... get to Twilight and the others."
Adagio was making her way to the rest of the Rainbooms. With her taking all of Rainbow Dash's magic, her power was increasing evermore. In fact, she was going beyond her natural singing strength. She now had more power than she ever had, even more than she and her sisters were in the Battle of Bands.
Back to the other world, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were sitting patiently, waiting for Ash to come back, tapping their hooves on the table.
"Where's Ash? It's almost our turn to go..." Rainbow Dash uttered.
"I really wanna try this Electric-Type combo he mentioned." Scootaloo sighed.
"You two are up next. Better choose your Pokemon quickly." Ben said walking to them.
"Um, Mr BigTime. Ash isn't back yet. Is it okay if we wait?" Scootaloo pleaded.
"Hmm... I don't know. If he's not here then you can't continue. Unless you can find a replacement in the meantime."
"Replacement?" Rainbow Dash stuck her head up, searching in the crowd. She spotted someone who would be a good fill in. "Aha! Hollow!"
Her shout grabbed the attention of the goth dressed human, turning his head to her. "Hm?"
"Could you come over here, please!" She yelled. Her call brought Hollow to him. He was the first choice she went with. Hollow was a capable trainer as well.
"What's up?" He asked.
"Well. If you don't mind. Could you please fill in for this tournament match. You see, Ash hasn't come back yet and we're up next. So could please fill in his spot?" Rainbow Dash put her hooves together and put on a pleading grin.
"Hm. I've got a lot of things I wanna do in this festival... But we still have 5 days left. So why not? I'll help."
"Yes!" Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash both jumped up. They were still in.
"Alright. Glad you've got your replacement. Now's the time for action. Your opposing team is waiting." Ben said.
Meanwhile, down in the dungeon...Chrysalis is biding her time. She still believes that Adagio will release her but she is unaware of her being in another world. So for now...all she can do is stare at a wall and toss some rocks about. "Ugh. For a land that is so vibrant and go-lucky...this dungeon is depressing." She kicked some rocks on the bars. "What is that fool Adagio doing? She'd better not be wasting time."
Back outside, the next match was about to begin. Rainbow Dash had gone with Braviary this time while Scootaloo sticks with Ponyta. Hollow had gone for his Mimikyu.
"Eugh! What is that?!" Rainbow Dash was a bit creeped out by this seemingly haunted Pikachu as she pulled out her dex.
"Mimikyu. The Disguise Pokemon. Its actual appearance is unknown. A scholar who saw what was under its rag was overwhelmed by terror and died from the shock. Its disguise made from an old rag allowed it to avoid an attack, but the impact broke the neck of the disguise. Now everyone knows it’s a Mimikyu. Mimikyu will mercilessly seek revenge on any opponent that breaks its neck."
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash jumped back a bit after hearing the dex entry, scared of Mimikyu.
"Don't worry. Mimikyu's harmless. Most of the time." Hollow said, petting his Pokemon.
"Can the opposing side please bring out their Pokemon next?" Ben pointed to the other team.
"My go is for Bouffalant!"
"Gastrodon for me!"
"My Watchog is the way to go!"
The opposing team sent out their Pokemon choices next. While this battle is about to be underway, all the way back at the other side, Adagio is becoming much more powerful and even more known to the school. Now she's not as hidden as before. She wasn't even thinking about Chrysalis right now. If anything, she forgot they were even on teaming up. Her thirst for revenge had replaced it all. Collecting magic from everyone was great and all, but Adagio wanted to try something else. The obvious choice was to finish what she started. Feeding off everyone's negativity. But she knew that the Rainbooms would get in her way. With one of them down, that knocks down the difficulty. So to make things easier without any trouble, remove all of the magic from the rest of them and gather it in the jar.
"Where are the rest of those Rainbooms?" Adagio walked around, intimidating everyone she came across. They could see her fangs bearing as they also noticed that there were scales on her arms. The amount of magic she had stolen was slowly bringing out her true Siren form. She came across the lockers where she saw Rarity passing by. It looked like she was on the hunt for Adagio currently. The siren would normally stay hidden, but she felt so powerful, who needs hiding? "Perfect."
Rarity, completely unaware of what was lurking behind her was searching around the school, only seeing more people drained. Adagio opened up the jar, ready to siphon all of Rarity's magic from her. The jar targeted Rarity, siphoning all the dormant magic in her and sending it inside. Rarity felt a shock. She turned around to see Adagio snatching her magic away.
"A-Adagio!" She stammered, falling to her knees.
"Miss me? Cause I sure did. Payback is so sweet. Now to find the rest." Adagio once again went on her way, leaving Rarity to stay drained on the floor. Rarity couldn't find the strength to walk fast enough to warn her friends, so she just sat there.
Adagio's next target, Applejack. She knew that this was going to be as easy as the rest. Well, that's what she knew anyways. In truth, Applejack wasn't alone in this. Ash, Twilight and Sunset were with her. She found them in the computer lab, obviously searching for her.
"No luck. Where could she be?" Twilight sat down on a chair, wondering. Pikachu turned around as his nose picked up Adagio's scent.
"Pika?" Once he turned his head, he saw Adagio standing there, glaring at them. "Pika-Pika!" Pikachu pointed at Adagio, turning their attention to her. Now they finally spotted her.
"There she is!" Sunset Shimmer exclaimed.
"Oh well. Cover's blown. Who cares though." Adagio had opened up the jar and let it work its magic. And it opened, Applejack could feel her magic being taken away from her.
"W-What in tarnation..?" She mumbled, feeling weak. Twilight saw her friend being drained as she then turned her attention to the jar, realising what it was doing and why Adagio had it.
"The jar! The jar is draining them!" Twilight exclaimed. "Ash, stop her!"
"Right! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, sending a bolt of thunder towards Adagio. The Siren felt the shock of 10,000 volts through her, making her drop the jar.
"You rat!" She grunted as her body was still recovering from the shock. Sunset thought quick on her feet, grabbing the jar away from Adagio. Applejack was luckily saved. Although a large majority of her magic had been taken away from her, making her body on the weaker side. "Give it here!" Adagio had sprouted wings, flying over to Sunset Shimmer as she picked her up.
"Hey! Put me down!" She exclaimed, struggling to get out of Adagio's grip.
"I'll be taking that back." Adagio took the Siphon Jar off her hands as she then dropped Sunset to the floor. "Just to let you know. I'm back to my true form once more. And even better, I've gone above and beyond and taken more magic than I could ever imagine. You're up next. Your magic is mine!"
"You wish!" Sunset stood back up as she looked to Twilight. The two of them were about to try and unleash their hidden magic within them. One problem. Since Rainbow Dash and Rarity are magicless now, they can't tap into that dormant magic at the moment. All of it belongs to Adagio Dazzle now.
"Nothing's happening. We can't transform. Why can't we transform?!" Twilight shook Sunset.
"I-I don't know!" Sunset replied. The two of them looked up as they saw Adagio open up the jar.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Ash had stopped Adagio from taking their magic by having Pikachu jump up to intervene with an Iron Tail to the face. Twilight and Sunset saw this as an opportunity to go as they lifted up Applejack from her knees. It was now just Ash and Adagio.
"I obviously haven't left you out, Ash Ketchum. You're just as annoying as Twilight Sparkle and her friends!"
"You can stop right now, Adagio. Your sisters actually managed to turn over and be friends with the rest of us."
"Don't you bring those two up! They're nothing but traitors who want to live a life of boredom! I, on the other hand, stick to my roots and continue doing what I do best!" Adagio flew up, breaking through the ceiling as she went higher up to the skies. "And what I'll do is sing!" Adagio was getting ready to finish what she started a while ago. The remaining students looked outside to see Adagio flying in the air.
"Ugh. Another one of these?" Someone said, getting tired of Canterlot High being the target for supernatural attacks.
Adagio let out a single symphony. But what happened next, she could never anticipate. The volume of her singing caused a rupture to shake the ground and school. She had absorbed so much magic, broken past her natural limits to the point where she's too strong for her own good. This would terrify others, but not her. She is loving this new feeling. She then turned to the statue that held the gateway back to the world. If she has all this power now, she could return back there and continue her work. But revenge against Twilight had to come first.
Adagio is currently overflowing with so much magic, her destructive capabilities are unnatural now. So much so that it surpassed even Twilight and Sunsets' forms. With some of the Rainbooms having their magic taken from them, the transformations that Twilight and Sunset hold can't be tapped into. They could certainly use magic but not any that could match up to this. Right now, Ash and Pikachu were staring up at Adagio, whose appearance had changed a bit. Her fangs had become much more visible, growing in length, her nails had gotten sharper and her hair started to have a wild look. At this point, it was hard to tell if she even was a Siren anymore. The amount of magic flowing through her was so intense that she was struggling to keep some of it under control.
"So much magic. So much power!" Adagio looked at her hands as she was shaking the area around her. "THIS BEATS CONSUMING NEGATIVITY ANYDAY OF THE WEEK!" She exclaimed, causing a powerful wind pressure just from a bellow. The one major flaw of Adagio is that she cannot handle the effects of power-hungry magic. The same situation with the Alicorn Amulet came back to her in the form of the jar. She had gone crazy with power and wasn't in the right mind this time. She let out a symphonic cry, sending a sound wave towards Ash and Pikachu.
"Thunderbolt!" Ash reacted quickly, letting Pikachu push the sound wave with Thunderbolt.
"Is it me... or does she not look like a Siren anymore?" Sunset commented.
"She's absorbed and siphoned so much magic, she's turning into a completely different creature. One that she was never meant to be," said Twilight. "If we don't stop her, she'll end up siphoning all of Equestria's magic in the process as well!"
"Then stop her we will. We can't transform but we still have our Pokemon!" Sunset took out her Pokeball.
"Uh, whoops. I forgot I left Eve to have fun at the festival. Hehehe." Twilight blushed as Sunset looked at her.
"Well, at least we still have some Pokemon! Go! Braixen!" Sunset tossed her Pokeball forward, sending out her Braixen.
"Brai!"
"Pokemon don't matter to me! I'll crush them as well!" Adagio suddenly zoomed downwards, planning to crash into Pikachu and Braixen, flattening them in the process.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Pikachu responded by charging towards Adagio as his head met with hers.
"Braixen! Psybeam!" Sunset followed suit by having Braixen unleash a beam of psychic energy that pushed Adagio back.
Pinkie Pie came outside to see what all the commotion was. "Hey! Did you manage to find Adagio?" She looked up to see Pikachu and Braixen going at it against Adagio. "Guess you did."
Adagio had grabbed a hold of Pikachu's tail, stopping his attacks. "That's enough from you!" Just her talking caused strong waves of sound to harm Pikachu.
"Pikachu! Shock her!" Ash gave the command as Pikachu unloaded electricity through Adagio, giving her that shock of 10,000 volts once more. She dropped Pikachu as the Electric Mouse Pokemon landed safely on his feet. "Nice!"
"You think you're gonna win by throwing your mouse at me?!"
"It's working so far!" Ash replied. "Electroweb!" The Electric-Type sent out a web of electricity up at the hovering Siren. Adagio crushed the web into nothing with a single hum. Braixen backed Pikachu up from a far distance by continuously using Psybeam. Adagio unleashed a surge of magic that kept the two of them at bay, stopping their movements. Her mind was slowly slipping away as the magic was consuming her, similar to the Alicorn Amulet.
Twilight then thought of an idea that might work. If the jar siphons up magic, then if she can get her hands on it she could maybe siphon up Adagio's stolen magic and return it to everyone else. The only problem is getting close to her. So at the moment, she had to rely on Ash and Sunset. "Ash! Sunset! Make sure you get that jar from her! And please don't break it!"
"Don't break the jar? Got it!" Ash responded as Sunset shook her head. "Pikachu! Let's make this quick! Use Quick Attack!"
"Braixen! Run in with Double Team!"
Both Pokemon headed for Adagio as Braixen had conjured up shadow clones of herself. Pikachu ran in between these clones, giving off an illusion to Adagio's eyes. The Siren didn't pay any mind to it as she started singing a song that was pushing them both back. She continued singing, making sure that Pikachu and Braixen don't get too close. Students around the school were making a run for it. They didn't want to be caught up in all of this. "I've come too far to be stopped here! Not by some boy and his pet rat! Or even Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer!" Adagio's melody kept on going. Pikachu and Braixen were finding it hard to make any movements. The same for Ash and Sunset. They were being stopped in their tracks as well.
"We're not gonna make any progress like this! Go! Litleo!" Sunset sent out Litleo to try and change things up. "Use Roar!" The Lion Cub Pokemon let out a roar that went against Adagio's music, but the song was too strong to overpower with just a roar. Soon, Litleo was met with the song, stopping its movements as well.
"This song sounds like it won't end! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu was giving it his all in order to break through the song. He let out a Thunderbolt that went against Adagio's song, pushing it back a bit.
"How can one mouse be so strong?!" Adagio was surprised at the Thunderbolt managing to push her song back. She put more soul and power into her vocals, making the song and bolt of thunder go back and forth.
"Sunset! Get the jar!" Ash turned to her.
"Alright!" Sunset took out her other Pokeball, sending out her Fletchinder. "Fletchinder! Get that jar from Adagio!"
"Fletch!" The Fire-Flying Pokemon knew what it had to do. With Adagio distracted by Pikachu, now was the perfect time to act. And with precision and speed, the Ember Pokemon snatched the jar from Adagio's hands, holding it in its beak.
"What?!" Adagio turned around to see Fletchinder holding the jar. She was losing focus on what was in front of her, making the Thunderbolt breakthrough her sound waves, shocking her. The Ember Pokemon returned to its trainer, handing the Siphon Jar over to her.
"Great job Fletchinder!"
"Fletchin!"
"Give it back!" Adagio bellowed, flying towards Sunset Shimmer. Pikachu got in the way, using Electroweb to restrain her movements.
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu turned to Adagio, telling her that she should hurry up and take back all the magic before Adagio breaks free.
"You have the jar! Use it!" Twilight exclaimed. Sunset nodded her head as she ran to the restrained Siren. They had a chance to try it and try it they did. Sunset was now the wielder, and being the wielder meant that the magic could be siphoned from Adagio now. And the siphon was already taking place. Adagio could feel all the magic she had stolen, leaving her body. Since she had siphoned a plethora of them, it took a bit longer to extract it all from her. Adagio knew she had to act fast or else all her magic will be gone once more.
"I won't let it end like this!" Adagio bellowed as she ripped through the Electroweb, sending a sound wave that knocked Sunset Shimmer back. Pikachu got in front of Sunset, defending her so that Adagio doesn't get the jar. Adagio felt tons of magic missing from her body. She still had some leftovers though. She couldn't stay here any longer. With the Pokemon around, it'll be tough to keep the jar and Sunset is still wielding it. Pikachu, Braixen, Fletchinder and Litleo were staring her down, making sure that she doesn't try anything. So for now, she can suffice with the magic she's stolen so far.
"Adagio. You can still stop this. Your sisters are worried for you!" Twilight tried to reason with her. "If you can just forget about revenge and-"
"Shut up! I don't have to hear anything from you! You once took everything from me, and now you're trying to change me into someone I'm not! Well forget it! I still have tons of magic to continue my work! I swear I'll ruin you Twilight Sparkle! Mark my words!" She grinned, flying into the air as she turned to the portal. She took off towards the mirror, entering the gateway back to her world.
"There she goes. Back to our world." Twilight said.
"She's off to go somewhere else again. Thanks for the help, Sunset." Ash turned to her.
"No problem. I'll keep this jar safe here. And give everyone their magic back."
"Can you hurry back and give a bit of mine back?" Applejack held Sunset's shoulder, still a bit drained.
"Oh. Right." Sunset opened up the jar, aiming it towards Applejack. The cowgirl could feel the rest of her magic returning to her, granting her back her muscle strength.
"Woowee! Now this feels much better" Applejack exclaimed. "Now ya'll get back to your world, ya hear?
"We will. Thanks!" Twilight, Ash and Pikachu waved goodbye to Sunset, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, returning to their world.
Equestria, The Pokemon Festival.
During the time the festival was going on, Ash had already missed out on his tag-team match with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. Hollow had filled in for him though.
"Mimikyu! Shadow Claw!" He commanded his Mimikyu who had a black claw emerge from underneath its rag, striking the opposing Gastrodon.
"All 3 Pokemon are unable to battle on the right side! That means the left side wins!" Ben announced.
"Phew. That got a bit rough there." Rainbow Dash sighed.
"I didn't even get to do much for this one." Scootaloo laid her hoof on her Ponyta.
"Thanks for filling in Hollow." Rainbow Dash said to him.
"No problem. Return Mimikyu." Hollow sent his Mimikyu back. "So. Any idea as to why Ash hasn't come back yet?"
"No idea. He said he wanted to try some soda drinks he saw inside the castle. And he hasn't come back since."
"Did something bad happen to him?!" Scootaloo gasped.
"Doubt it. Ash and Pikachu are too tough to have anything bad happen to them. So don't worry." Rainbow Dash said to Scootaloo. "But is weird how he's taking so long."
Speaking of Ash, he and Twilight had just returned. Adagio was long gone by now. So no point in chasing off to find her. But they knew that she'll be back. Revenge does that someone.
"Oh! I forgot about my match!" Ash held his head, just realising that he had been away from his Tag-Team match. "AAGH!"
"What match?" Twilight asked him.
"My tournament match! I hope I'm still not too late! Come on Pikachu!" Ash hurried on out of the room, not wanting to miss out on the rest of the competition.
"Pika!"
"Ash, don't rush! Oh too late, he's already gone."
Ash ran through the hallways of Canterlot, going as fast as he could. He didn't want to miss out on his chance to continue this competition. And he still wanted to try off the Electric-Type combination with Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. As he was dashing, guards greeted him on the way.
"Afternoon Ash Ketchum." They all said as he passed by.
"Hey Ash. In a rush?" Shining Armor asked him, but Ash was in too much of a hurry to pay notice. "Guess so."
The boy and his Pokemon eventually reached outside, rushing towards the competition as he spotted Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and Hollow. "Hey!" He called out.
"Hm? Ash! You're back! Finally!" Rainbow Dash flew off from her seat.
"Sorry. I was occupied somewhere else. Did I miss out on the whole tournament?!"
"Well, you only missed out on our second match. We've still got one more to go." said Dash.
"Yes!" Ash was relieved that he still had a chance.
"That's my cue to go. You've got your teammate back. And I got some other attractions I wanna try out." Hollow stood up from his seat. "See ya."
"Bye, Hollow!" Scootaloo waved goodbye to him. "So! Are we still gonna try that Electric-Type combination?"
"Of course we are! I didn't forget about it for a second." Ash replied. "The day's still young after all."
With Ash returning back to his team, Twilight returned to the festival outside as well. In her mind, she couldn't stop thinking about Adagio. In a way she had some pity and felt a bit sorry for her. Adagio did end losing her voice before due to her and the Rainboom's actions. She can understand the anger of having something that makes you special being taken away from you. After all, she saw something similar to it back when she and her friends met Starlight Glimmer a few days ago.
Her thought about Adagio was quickly taken away with Pinkie Pie coming up to her. "Twilight! There you are! You've been missing out on some high-quality stuff in this festival! Oh! I almost forgot! I never introduced you to Jade!" Pinkie extended her hoof, bringing over Jade. "Twilight. Meet Jade Skies!"
"Hi." The emotionless pony said.
"Oh. Hi. Are you one of Pinkie Pie's friends?" Twilight asked.
"I don't know." She replied.
"You don't know?"
"Jade over here doesn't know a lot about friendship. Or a lot about most things actually. But that's why we're helping her! And since you're the Princess of Friendship, this'll be a cinch."
"You don't know about friendship? How come?"
"I don't know..." She replied with the same answer again. "But, is it true that you can teach me?"
"Of course. As the Princess of Friendship, it is my duty to spread the magic of friendship to everypony in Equestria. We can start by getting to know each other!"
"Okay." She responded with a flat tone. Twilight had an uneasy look on her face. This might take longer than Maud is what she was thinking.
All they way back down at the dungeon, Chrysalis was still waiting. Now, she was getting worried that two things could've happened. Adagio either left her, or she got caught too. "That Adagio is taking forever! I can't be locked in this dungeon for 23 years! Where is she?!" Thr Changeling Queen was actually starting to get worried. Not only was she defeated so easily by just Pikachu and sent to the dungeon, but Adagio is nowhere to be seen. She sighed as all she could is wait now. "This can't get any worse."
But just as she said that, her luck started to turn around. In the form of an unexpected ally. Colress. He had broken through the dungeon walls with his Magnezone. "Chrysalis I presume?"
"That's Queen Chrysalis to you. And who are you?"
"I am Colress. The resourceful and ingenious scientist of Team Plasma. We've been watching you, Chrysalis."
"What do you mean you've been watching me? How could see me when I have always been in the hive?"
"My Beheeyem of course. I've been monitoring all of Equestria and gathering data from every location I can find. I had my Beheeyem look into your hive, seeing your Changelings. Showing it to Lord Ghetsis has made him realise that he could use you."
"Use me? Hah! Does he intend for me to work for him?" Chrysalis laughed.
"Oh more than just that. You and him share a common enemy. Ash Ketchum." Hearing that made Chrysalis's ears perk up. "I have drones all across Equestria showing me everything. From the weaponized friendship, to that new castle that has sprouted up to Ponyville and even high up in the skies of Cloudsdale. And I know of your hatred towards Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu."
"It's a no-brainer. I despise those two. More than anything or anypony!" Chrysalis slammed her hoof on the hard ground.
"That's why Lord Ghetsis believes that you and him can cooperate in order to take down a natural enemy. If Ash Ketchum is out of the way along with his pony friends, both you and his goals will be carried on without interruption. No one will be there to stop you. Your biggest obstacle will be eliminated."
Chrysalis thought for it for a while. Ash has proven to be an obstacle indeed. And he's just one boy who's managed to get the upper hand on her twice now. The wedding and the festival. While Chrysalis doesn't like the idea of working under someone who she sees beneath her, she'll do it in order to take down a common enemy. "Fine. I'll do it. But I'm still my own entity. Let your Ghetsis know that."
"Excellent. Welcome to the alliance, Queen Chrysalis."
Day 2 of the festival was still underway. The afternoon has yet to end.
While everypony, human and Pokemon enjoy themselves, the princesses want in on the fun as well. For Luna, she wanted to experience this festival the most. She even prepared herself for this day. However, due to her never being to an event that takes place during the day and how she's more accustomed to nighttime events, she didn't know where to start. Her partner Darkrai was in the same boat. He was just lurking in the shadows, unsure of what to do. Luna was unsure of what to do. Which attraction should she even try?
"Let's see. Lopunny's Dance Inferno perhaps? No. I am abysmal at dancing." Luna placed her hoof on her chin. "Perhaps I can have a go at Tangrowth's Swing-Along? Maybe."
"Stuck thinking Luna?" Just then, her older sister came up to her, seeing her in a state of thought. "You really don't know what to do at a festival, huh?"
"You said that all I had to was enjoy myself. But just thinking about how to enjoy myself is a struggle in its own? It wasn't this difficult back at Nightmare Night. Why now?"
"This is your first-ever daytime event, Luna. And your first ever festival. It is reasonable to have no clue where to start. Considering you are a princess of the night."
"You're always active in the day, sister. What can I do?"
"Don't worry. As your older sister, I can help you get started. Although..." Celestia turned over to a stand where there were tons of cakes. "That does look promising..."
"Focus! You have to guide me!" Luna snapped her out of it.
"Oh! Right! Ahem. How about we try the relief zone. That's a great spot to get started. There will be a number of Pokemon for you to see. Come on." Celestia started with the relief zone, leading her sister there. Darkrai followed suit, hoping to get some enjoyment with Luna.
Over at said relief zone, Fluttershy was there, hanging with the Victini she met yesterday, feeding it macarons, its favourite food. The Victory Pokemon had spotted Celestia and Luna arriving as it hid via invisibility
"Oh? Good afternoon Princess Celestia. Princess Luna." Fluttershy turned to them, waving.
"Fluttershy. What was that?" Luna asked, referring to Victini.
"What was what?"
"That orange thing. What Pokemon was that?"
"Oh. That's just Victini. It hides if somepony new comes along. You can come out Victini. The princesses are harmless."
"Tini?" Victini revealed itself, hiding behind Fluttershy and poking its head out.
"A Victini? Here?" Darkrai said.
"You know of this Pokemon as well Darkrai?" Luna turned to her partner.
"Indeed I do. Victini is what others describe as ultimate luck. It can grant true victory to anyone it shares its infinite energy with. Doesn't matter who they're up against. I can't believe there's just one here."
"A Pokemon that grants true victory? Amazing. Pokemon are truly capable of anything and everything aren't they?" Celestia walked up to Victini. "Hello, Victini. My name is Princess Celestia. And this is my partner Passion. A Kirlia."
"Kirl."
"And I am Princess Luna. This is my Darkrai."
"Victini?" Victini flew over to Passion, greeting her as well. "Vic."
"This truly is a relief zone, sister. It feels so...calm here." Luna said.
"I know right? It's a bit further away from the festival so the noise isn't as present here. That's why you'll find mostly Grass, Bug, Normal and Flying Type Pokemon here."
"I still feel as though we are making zero progress right now. This is a nice place and all but... I want to be active in the festival. Fluttershy. You are a pony who was once unnaturally shy. Perhaps you can assist us?"
"Me? Oh. I suppose I could. Though, I'm not great at festivals myself. I mostly come along to see the animals. And for this case, I came to see the Pokemon only. But the relief zone is apart of the festival. So why not try relaxing with the Pokemon?"
"Relaxing with the Pokemon?" Luna looked over to the Pokemon in the zone. "Very well. I shall do my best. With that Pokemon over there." Luna pointed her hoof at a group of Ludicolo.
"Oh? Those Ludicolo? They love to dance joyfully. Especially in a festive tune. So they're obviously very energetic today. Although, maybe too energetic."
"I am sure I can handle some dancing Pokemon, Fluttershy," Luna replied, walking over to the Carefree Pokemon. She was unaware of how hyperactive these Pokemon can get. "Ludicolo is it?"
"Ludi?" The group looked over at her. "Colo!" They ran over towards her, ready to get her involved in the fun.
"I am here to- WOAH!" She was grabbed the Pokemon as they started to dance around with her. The tune they were listening to was being made by a Chimecho and a Gossifleur. Luna was being spun around by the Carefree Pokemon as they performed surreal dance moves that only they could ever pull off. "I am the princess of the night! I will not be- Ugh...I feel dizzy."
"I should've warned her about how energetic they can get when they dance with others." Fluttershy said.
"It's fine Fluttershy. I think she's enjoying herself." Celestia looked over to her sister as the Ludicolo were tossing her around by picking her up.
"I'm going to be sick..." Luna's eyes were moving about as the Ludicolo placed her back down. It seemed like the dancing had stopped. "Ugh..." Luna felt wobbly as she was struggling to keep her balance. She held her head with her hoof, still trying to recover. But it wasn't over. The Ludicolo broke into dance once more. This time they used Grass Knot to grab onto Luna, forcing her into dance once more. Ludicolo are known for making anyone dance, even if they aren't willing to. "Tia! Help!"
"Alright. I think that's enough." Celestia used her magic to teleport Luna to her as her sister was shaking. Luna hid behind Celestia, scared of the Ludicolo.
"That wasn't very nice of you, Ludicolo. I know you love dancing but you need to know when to slow it down." Fluttershy scolded the Carefree Pokemon.
"Ludi. Ludi." They had apologized to her and Luna.
"They said they're sorry, Princess Luna."
"C-Can we go somewhere else?" Luna stammered.
"Alright. Let's go. Thank you very much, Fluttershy." Celestia carried her sister as she waved goodbye to Fluttershy, Victini and the Ludicolo.
The relief zone wasn't for Luna. Maybe not in the day with Pokemon like Ludicolo around. But there were still many other choices. Right now, Celestia had her eyes set on the cake stand. She wanted to eat as much as she could but her sister came first.
Passion hopped off Celestia's head as she noticed something that caught her eye. "Kirli! Kirlia!"
"What is it Passion?" Celestia asked her Pokemon.
"Ki." Passion pointed at what looked to be a small Pokemon Contest. Similar to the contests found in Hoenn, Sinnoh and Kalos.
"A Pokemon Contest? Could it be that you want to try one?"
"Kirlia." She nodded.
"So. That's what interests you, Passion. What do you say, Luna? Is a Pokemon Contest okay for you?"
"As long as there is no aggressive dancing involved. How about you Darkrai?" Luna turned to her partner.
"Contests aren't for me. I think I'll watch that tournament over there." Darkrai shifted to the shadows, heading towards the Pokemon Tag-Team Tournament.
"His loss. So Passion. Are you sure that you're up for a contest?" Celestia looked down at her partner. Passion nodded her head instantly. She may not be adept or expert in a contest, but she wanted to try it. "Alright. We'll do it. I think I have a good grasp on it ever since we saw one in Lilycove City." Celestia walked up to the stand where the contests were being held as she was met with the assigner.
"Oh. Are you here to participate in the contest too?" The lady asked.
"Yes. This is my first time along with my Pokemon and-"
"First time? Oh, then we'll have to put you through a test showcase."
"Test showcase?"
"Right! If this is your first time, then you must be put to the test. We will have our workers guide you on what to do and so on. If that is okay with you."
"I suppose so. Practice makes perfect after all."
"Splendid. Now, what is your name may I ask?"
"Princess Celestia."
"P-P-Princess Celestia?! I-I didn't know you were the princess! Please forgive me!" The lady bowed continuously as she kept apologizing.
"No need for that. I'm ready to practice."
"Right! Ladies!" The assigner called for the workers to prepare Celestia and Ralts. They had arrived beside her, equipment and all. "First you and your Pokemon will need a motif."
"Motif? What do you mean by that?"
"All coordinators have a certain motif for their Pokemon. There's mystical if you want your Pokemon to focus on moves that are more on the magical and relaxed side. Fairy, Psychic and Ice moves are good for that. Then there's flashy. That's for moves that are all about being showy. Electric and Fire moves are popular when it comes to being flashy. Or you can go for a duo motif. If you have more than one Pokemon, you can have them partner up and perform moves together. There are a lot so here's a list." The lady handed Celestia a list of motifs that coordinators use.
"My. There are a lot of options aren't there?" Luna peeked at the list. "Do you suppose mystical is for you, sister?"
"Hmm...I'll choose the mystical motif. It fits my Passion. Does that sound good Passion?"
"Kirlia!" Passion raised up her arms in agreement.
"Wonderful. Please make your way to the waiting area." The workers had all grabbed Celestia and Passion, hurrying them to the waiting area. There, Passion was given clothing fit for a Kirlia. Celestia as well. She was given a coordinator dress fit for a pony. Especially one as tall as her. It seems like the other world had prepared for something like this. Celestia was given a dress that matched the colours of her Pokemon.
"Oh! I almost forgot about Luna!" Celestia exclaimed. "I was supposed to help her with getting used to a festival."
"No need to worry sister." Luna's voice reached her as she was in the area as well. "I will also join in this contest!"
"You too?! You're going to use Darkrai?"
"Oh no. Darkrai isn't interested in this at all. I'll just decide to use two of my Pokemon. My Frillish and Cherrim. The duo motif is my decision."
"Wait. Does that mean we'll be competing against each other then?"
"Perhaps. And if we do, I shall make sure to come out the victor. It has been a while since we have competed, sister."
"Yes...a while." Celestia was reminiscing the times' Luna became a bit too competitive and the fun they'd have would end in rowdy chaos. Remembering this made Celestia gulp. But maybe after all those years in the moon, Luna's competitive spirit might've diminished. Hopefully.
Luna was given a dress which was a mix of her Frillish's blue and her Cherrim's colour patterns. The two sisters were ready to practice as an instructor came in. "Okay. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna right. Even if you are new to Pokemon Contests, have no fear. With my teachings, you'll be mastering contest skills in no time! Now. You have a Psychic-Fairy-Type, Princess Celestia. Those are a fan favourite since they can pull off the more dazzling tricks. And you Princess Luna have A Water-Ghost and Grass-Type. Those are good for tricks that really bring out the colours of the area around us. Possibly even a rainbow. So, we'll start off with simple move mixing. Princess Celestia. Try and see which of Kirlia's moves can mix very well."
"Alright. Passion knows... I believe it's Stored Power, Teleport and maybe Psychic? I don't really know her moves that much to be honest." Celestia laughed as Passion sighed. "But you can show me your other moves, Passion. What else do you know?"
"Kir." Passion put her hands together, forming in them a bolt of thunder. A small spark of it even.
"It seems your Kirlia knows Thunderbolt. What's the 4th move then?" The instructor asked.
Passion then conjured up something else in her hands. This time it was a spark of flames.
"That seems to be Mystical Fire. Seems like your Kirlia has a fine selection of moves."
"Strange how Pokemon can only learn 4 moves though. And odd limitation." Celestia pondered.
"Not quite, princess. Pokemon can actually utilize more than 4 moves, it's just that in the spirit of battle, 4 is a perfect balance. They rarely use more than 4 moves in battle and they only use more when they're in the wild and free. Perhaps maybe your Kirlia can make the choice of using some extra moves it may know."
"I think we're fine with 4 for now. So how about we try mixing Mystical Fire with Stored Power? What will that make?"
"Well...I've never seen Thunderbolt and Mystical Fire being used as one. Why don't we see the result?"
Passion heard them and decided to go for it. On one hand, it conjured up a bolt of thunder and the other some flames. The two elements were formed on both sides as Passion gently moved them together. Even she wouldn't know the result. Would it cause a massive explosion or something worse? Once they merged, Passion ended up forming the union of Plasma. The same union that Reshiram and Zekrom both hold.
"Oh! That's a nice result! Plasma! In all its surging glory." The instructor raised his glasses.
"Amazing, Passion. You've created plasma! It's such a rare form of energy here in Equestria. We've never even seen it for centuries." Celestia said.
"Kirlia!" Passion raised her hands up, feeling proud. However, that excitement ended up dropping the plasma as it hit the ground. Everyone in the area gulped as the plasma set off, causing a power surge to shock them all. Celestia and Luna's ethereal mane had been messed up. Now they had a rugged appearance and the instructor was twitching uncontrollably. Plasma is a powerful force of energy. It's no wonder why only Reshiram and Zekrom can wield it.
"Well... now we know the result." Luna coughed some smoke.
"We can work on the plasma part. Right Passion?" Celestia held Passion up.
"Kirli!"
So the instructor ran the two princesses through the basics of contests. Passion had tried the plasma trick once more but this time with more caution. Just creating tiny bits of it would do. Luna's Frillish and Cherrim were learning how to cause a beautiful nature effect with their moves. They tried using Hydro Pump and Magical Leaf, but Hydro Pump was a bit too aggressive as it broke through the leaves and the walls. Needless to say, there were many attempts, but it was fairly easy to get a good grasp of contest moves. These were just the simple steps after all.
"Alright. I think we've made some sweet progress. Now it's time for the showcase. A contest battle between you two."
"I was waiting for this. Prepare to be stunned sister!" Luna exclaimed.
"Looking forward to it." Celestia laughed nervously, still worried about the competitive spirit coming back.
"Time to get on stage, princesses. The crowd is waiting for this next showcase." The assigner came into the waiting area to announce the next contestants. The two sisters went along with their Pokemon. Once they went past those curtains, they were met with ponies who gathered here to see this. Equestria hasn't been introduced to Pokemon Contests yet. BigTime Ben is working on that though. So this is their first-ever contest. Lucky for Celestia and Luna, this was just a small showcase, so nothing major was involved, along with zero judges. But Luna was determined to win either way. Celestia stood at the right side while Luna at the left. Both were ready.
"Alright. You may begin at any moment." The assigner said to them from behind the curtains.
"Allow me. I'll show you just how skilled we can be." Luna stepped forward. "Cherrim. Sunny Day." The first command was given off. Cherrim tapped into the sun's energy, gathering solar energy in it. It had intensified the sun, making it extra sunny. Celestia looked up, seeing this. This was her first time seeing a move like that. Pokemon can control the sun as well? They really CAN do everything. "Now Solar Beam. And Frillish. Hydro Pump." With the sun intensified, Solar Beam, a move that normally takes a while to charge became instant as Cherrim fired it into the air. Frillish followed with Hydro Pump. The same move that was absurdly strong and broke through the wall earlier, however, due to Sunny Day being active, it was weakened, making it less destructive. The two ranged moves merged together, forming a spiral of elemental energy. Once they became one, they scattered, forming raindrops that were rainbow-coloured.
"Woah. Rainbow Raindrops? That's amazing!" A pony exclaimed.
"Yeah! And new!" Another shouted as the crowd were greatly impressed. The raindrops hit the stage, causing a rainbow texture to form everywhere, even landing on the ponies, making their mane rainbow-coloured for a short while. Celestia was also impressed. She didn't see that coming. How was she going to beat that? Luna had a wide grin, knowing she pulled off something stunning indeed.
"Your move, sister."
"Right. My move. Okay, Passion. Let's do our best, okay?"
"Kirli." She nodded to her.
"Merge Thunderbolt and Mystical Fire." Celestia was going for the plasma tactic from before. Passion merged the two destructive elements together, forming the surging plasma. Everypony leaned in as this was their first time seeing plasma as well. It looked like a much more cosmic form of lightning. "Toss it in the air!" Passion then shot the plasma ball into the air as it was affecting the raindrops as well with all the sparks surrounding it. This was causing the raindrops to had plasma surround them, creating another new sight. "Now teleport and do the same from above." Passion had suddenly teleported above the plasma, merging the two moves again to create the energy source once more. She dropped the plasma ball onto the other one as they had combined.
The combination of the two plasmas had kindled an effulge of friction. The result of this merger was actually causing the rainbow-raindrops to stop in place. Almost as if the intensity of the plasma was causing a gravity field around them. Celestia was surprised, just like everypony else. It was so surreal that everyone else at the festival stopped what they were doing to take a look at this.
"Oh my Arceus. She just stopped those raindrops!" A man exclaimed.
"How is that possible?!" A pegasus bellowed.
"Passion. Are you holding it all with Psychic?" She asked her partner. But Kirlia shook her head, denying it. "Hm. Well then...try and release it by using... Stored Power." Passion generated a white ball of energy that contained a chunk of psychic power. She dropped the ball in the plasma fusion, and what followed next was marvellous.
The psychic energy had split the plasma as predicted. But it also created a pulse of a high deluge that made the Rainbow-Raindrops scatter. But not scatter as in they fall all over the ground. Instead, they rotated and in the skies, almost as if they were ignoring the natural law to fall on something. Everyone watched as these Rainbow-Raindrops were flowing across the skies, like a flock of birds flying together. They flew with the clouds as the sun rays reflected off the drops, creating a beautiful luminance of lights that shined across all of Equestria.
Luna and everyone were perplexed. They just saw something that they had never seen before. And that made them all applaud, giving Passion and Celestia a large congratulations from each side of the festival. "Sister. That was incredible!"
"Thank you, Luna. Sorry if I upstaged you."
"Nonsense! I could never think of something like that! You are the benevolent ruler of Equestria for a reason. Nopony can do the things you do. Especially with your Pokemon. And you showed me how fun a festival can be if I just go along with it. You're the best sister a pony could ever ask for!" Luna hugged Celestia. That competitive spirit was taken out by sisterly love as Celestia put her hoof around Luna's. Darkrai arrived as he saw the raindrops as well.
"That was unbelievable. I suppose contests aren't that bad after all." Darkrai said.
"In that case, we'll have to get you signed up and lend you a suit." Luna teased.
"I will wear nothing of the sorts!"
Celestia, Luna and their Pokemon laughed at Darkrai's response. The festival will carry on. The afternoon is reaching its end anyways as the Pokemon Festival continues.
Nighttime at the Pokemon Festival. The second night. Some ponies, people and Pokemon have decided to rest for the night while others enjoy the festival. The Mane 6 and Ash have decided to sleep for the night, resting their little heads. But the Pokemon wanted to involve themself more in the festival. Twilight's Eevee named Eve found a secret area that was hidden in the relief zone, and they decided to tell the others about it, hoping they'd tag along.
Pikachu was asleep next to Ash, but not for long. He woke up, rubbing his little eyes as he felt like he needed something to snack on.
"So hungry..." Pikachu yawned. He walked through the halls as the guards greeted him saying good evening, Pikachu the Noble. Although the face he was making wasn't so noble. Walking outside, he came across Eve who looked to be sneaking around. "Eve? What are you doing?"
"Sssh. No other Pokemon can hear about this. I don't want it to be ruined." She replied quietly.
"What? What don't you want everyone to hear?"
"At the relief zone, I found this secret area hidden behind the vines. There's a whole goldmine of yummy food there. So much food..." Eve started to drool.
"Seriously? I wanna see this!" Pikachu exclaimed as Eve put her paw in his mouth, keeping him quiet.
"Quiet! It needs to be secret. If the others find out about it, they'll eat it all and there'll be none left for me. I'm only bringing one Pokemon along and it's you since my trainer and yours are super close friends. So keep quiet. Got it?"
"Mhm." Pikachu nodded his head.
"You won't be so quiet if you look so suspicious?" Just when they thought they were alone, Passion had shown up, overhearing everything.
"Passion? Why are you here? Did you hear us?" Eve said.
"Indeed I did. You weren't honestly thinking of sneaking to an unknown area in royal Canterlot grounds now were you? As Celestia's Pokemon and the most important Pokemon here, I must also know about this secret area with a goldmine of food."
"I guess I can bring one more. But that's it. I don't want it all to be eaten. Now hurry before another Pokemon sees or hears us."
Eve led the two Pokemon towards this apparent secret area. She looked around, hoping that no Pokemon would see them sneak towards the vines. The vines were all mashed together, making the area well hidden as there were a lot of them hanging. The Evolution Pokemon used her tail to move the vines over, revealing a pathway. "In here." She said as the two Pokemon jumped in. Eve took a moment to look around, making sure no Pokemon heard them, and the coast was clear.
Pikachu and Passion set foot inside, and they saw the motherload of all food here. Heaps of it. Stacked up like towers. From Pokeblocks to berries, pastries, etc. It was all here. "Woah...How long has this been here?" Pikachu gazed at the dynasty of food."
"Apparently, someone's been taking all the food from the festival and hiding it here. This is all food from yesterday. So it's still good to eat." Eve explained.
"So there is a gluttonous thief on the loose eh? When I find whoever it is..." Passion was not taking kindly to all these stolen goodies.
"Maybe it was a Munchlax? Or a Snorlax even." Pikachu theorized.
"If it was a Snorlax, no way it would be able to get through the entrance. Must've been a Munchlax then." Eve replied.
"Who cares. Let's dig in!" Pikachu was about to take a bite out of some pastries but was stopped by Passion's Psychic.
"Slow down there, Pikachu. This all belongs to the festival. The best solution is to return it back to where they originally were. The owners can't run out of essentials for their stands."
"Aw. But I'm starving. There's so much right there. Can I just take some of them?"
"Fine. Just don't go overboard." Passion let him go.
"Sweet!" Pikachu walked towards the goldmine, grabbing a pie, ready to snack down on it.
"One thing I don't get is how they managed to sneak this many? It's only been 2 days since the festival started and I'm surprised no other Pokemon has come in here. Not to mention, Munchlax isn't exactly the fastest Pokemon or the stealthiest. So who really did it?" Passion asked.
"It could be Victini." Pikachu theorized. "Victini can turn invisible after all. But who cares, free food!"
"Now all we have to do is return all of it. This might take a while." Passion sighed. She started to grab as many as she could with Psychic.
"Hey hold on! I didn't bring you along to take them all away." Even had stopped her. "I'm keeping this place hidden because that means I'll get to snack on all of these in secrecy."
"Huh? How selfish can you be? It isn't yours. We don't even know who brought them all here" Passion narrowed her eyes as she and Eve locked eyes. "We're returning it all."
"You think just because you're Celestia's Pokemon you can boss me around? I'm the Pokemon of a princess too!"
"Hah! Princess of Friendship that is. Mine is the Princess of the Sun and Equestria. I'm automatically leagues above you." Passion had a smug look on her face as she looked down at Eve who growled back at her.
"Hmph! You sure act differently when you're not around Celestia. Guess these are your true colours, eh?"
"Oh? And you don't when Twilight isn't around so she can't scold you for being rude?" The two of them were going back and forth, disliking each other's tones. Pikachu broke the fight apart by holding a cupcake in between them.
"Come on you two. Chill out and have some cupcakes. These have vanilla frostings with sprinkles." He said.
"We don't have time for- Sprinkles?" The both of them turned to the cupcake, seeing it in all its delicious glory. They each took some of the frostings, tasting it. The argument they had earlier ceased to exist entirely thanks to the magic of Pinkie Pie's baking.
"Mmm. On second thought, maybe we can eat some of them for a bit." Passion commented. The three of them stayed behind, eating some of the food here until they were satisfied.
"Ugh. I'm full..." Eve sat on her back. "I can't eat another bite..." She groaned.
"In that case. We can take this all back now. I can get the other Pokemon to help us." said Passion.
"W-Wha? No way you're gonna-" Eve couldn't finish her sentence. She was too full. "Forget about it... It was fun while it lasted."
"Well, I'm tired. I already got my midnight snack. See ya." Pikachu said as he was about to leave.
"Hold on. Don't leave me here." groaned Eve. Pikachu picked her up, carrying the Evolution Pokemon outside of the hidden area. Once the three Pokemon left, the actual Pokemon who took all the food showed itself but wasn't seen by Pikachu and the girls.
Turns out it was Munchlax. But he wasn't alone. Victini ended up assisting him. The Victory Pokemon boosted Munchlax's speed to an insane amount, which is how it was able to bring so much food here in a short while. The two of them laughed as they knew they were still undiscovered.
Back at the festival, Rainbow Dash's Braviary and Altaria were dozed off near the Canterlot Gardens. Darkrai was on his usual night watch, looking out for anything suspicious while Luna guards the Dream Realm. Gengar snuck about, scaring anyone that came by with its usual shenanigans. For the Pokemon, the night was the calmest time of the festival. Passion returned back to the indoors of Canterlot, seeing her trainer asleep in her bed. The night was a time were Celestia could relax for a long time. Previously, Luna was in the moon, so she barely got any hours of sleep, but once her sister came back that changed and with the inclusion of Pokemon, her resting time has been fairly sound and peaceful. Passion went up to Celestia sitting down next to her. She then thought to herself on how she's going to protect the trainer she loves the next time a threat comes along.
"If I want to protect you, I have to improve myself. I have to evolve into a Gardevoir eventually so that you don't get hurt." She whispered. "I barely did much against Tirek. It was Ash and his Pokemon that ended up doing most of the work. I promise that I'll grow into a strong Pokemon who will always protect you." Obviously Celestia couldn't hear what she was saying, but Passion didn't care. So she went to bed as well, sleeping next to her trainer.
Day 3 had come along. Festival carries on and the Mane 6 and the others will spend one last day in Canterlot before they head to their next destination. The Crystal Empire.
The group were already outside partaking in the festival once more. The trainers were doing their own thing in the form of a quiz game formed by a Chatot. The Pokemon were free to do whatever they want. Pikachu was joyfully strolling around the festival with Riolu, Farfetch'd and Dragonite on his side. Gengar was somewhere else doing what it does best. "One more day and we head to the Crystal Empire to continue the festival." The Electric Mouse commented.
"Crystal Empire?" Riolu asked.
"Oh right. You three haven't been there before. Well, its an empire that's all crystals. It's pretty dazzling if you ask me." He explained.
"An empire full of crystals? Won't that mean it's very fragile?" said Dragonite.
"If they aren't careful something hard could topple that entire empire." Farfetch'd uttered.
"Don't worry. Those crystals are pretty hard so they won't be breaking so easily. I wonder what attractions are gonna be there?"
"I hope we get to fight some more!" Riolu punched the air.
"I hope there are new friends there." Dragonite was only thinking about giving hugs to potential new pony friends.
"Say. Why don't we try the Tangrowth Swing-Along?" Pikachu pointed to the attraction. For this specific attraction, ponies and Pokemon will have to hold on for dear life and swinging from rope to rope and hope to make it all the way over to Canterlot Gardens. The only category of ponies and Pokemon excluded from this attraction were Pegasi, Flying-Types and certain Dragon-Types. Pokemon moves were also allowed to be used as well.
"So. Who wants a go next?" Tangrowth announced. The Vine Pokemon was looking around for potential swingers. "What about you lot?" She pointed at Pikachu and the others.
"I'm in!" Pikachu exclaimed.
"I hear swinging is good for the body. I'll become unstoppable!" Riolu was up for it.
"I'll pass." Farfetch'd would sit this one out.
"I don't think it would be fair for me to join since I can fly. I'll pass as well." Dragonite said.
"I'll join in." A newcomer was up for this attraction. It was Goh's Raboot. "So you just swing on those things? Seems simple enough."
"Great. We that's three participants. And I see some more lining up. You lot get ready to swing now, alright?"
The three Pokemon and the other participants had climbed up the ropes, holding onto them with a powerful grip. "If you feel like you're too scared, I'll catch you." Tangrowth reassured them.
"We'll be fine. Thanks!" Pikachu replied.
"Alright...start swinging!"
The attraction was on. Both Pokemon started to force their bodies to make the ropes swing. Ever so gently they started to sway back and forth, picking up momentum. For them to reach Canterlot Garden, they'd have to get over the rest of the buildings that are connected with the castle. And Canterlot Castle is a behemoth of a structure. So it had to be a long-distance swing. Their momentum had built up to a good amount as they were ready to swing onto the next rope. All of them let go of their ropes, swinging forward. They got a pretty good distance but some fell behind. More specifically some of the Rock-Types couldn't get past the 4th rope considering their hard bodies weighing them down. The Bug-Types had improvised but not only using their light body as their advantage but also utilizing String Shot to latch onto the ropes if they by chance missed it by a margin.
Riolu was getting ahead of Pikachu and Raboot, proving to be the more agile Pokemon in this situation. The ropes were getting further away from each other, making the distance longer. So the Pokemon would have to put in a ton of effort if they were to reach the next ropes. In their way was one of the spires of Canterlot. Meaning they also had to manoeuvre with the ropes. Pikachu used to wind to his advantage, making him sway the rope to the left, avoiding the spire. Riolu and Raboot flipped over the spire while grabbing onto the next ropes. A Krabby was actually managing to keep up with them. Its grip on the vines with its big meaty claws was helping the River Crab Pokemon greatly.
"Later suckers!" Krabby exclaimed as he was now ahead of them all.
"Hey!" Riolu used Vaccum wave by firing it behind him to give him an extra boost. Inside of Canterlot, Cadence and Shining Armor could see the Pokemon swinging along the ropes along with the guards. It definitely confused them for a bit. But they're Pokemon, they're always up to something new.
Pikachu had to get ahead somehow, so he decided to improvise himself. By using Quick Attack, he increased his momentum on the ropes as he was swinging through the ropes like they were nothing. He kept up with Riolu but they were still behind Krabby, who was laughing at his lead, looking behind him. "This is a breeze-" His momentum was stopped as he crashed into a wall, not paying any attention to where he was swinging. Pikachu and the others passed him as they could see the gardens.
"Almost there!" Both Pikachu and Riolu said. Raboot had caught up with his own Quick Attack. Now it was neck and neck between these three small and agile Pokemon. Pikachu decided to go for broke and risk it all in this one final swing. He leapt off the rope he latched onto as he spun himself around while generating Thunderbolt. He had brought up Counter Shield. It was a great distraction to everyone else since there was a large cluster of lightning blocking their way. Pikachu ended up being the first to land down on the gardens as Tangrowth was waiting there.
"Nice! Great job winning first place, love!" Tangrowth congratulated him. Raboot came in second, Riolu third and the other Pokemon came after.
"Whew. Swinging does give you a different feel doesn't it?" Pikachu laughed. "I'm actually kind of dizzy." His eyes wobbled around as he was struggling to keep his distance. He fell but Tangrowth had caught him.
"I think I feel more durable." Riolu looked at his arms. "What about you Raboot?"
"Meh. I feel a rush I guess? I'm headed off to do something else now." Raboot walked off to enjoy more of the festival.
Inside of the castle, Passion was with Cadence's Sylveon along with Eve. They were discussing what Eve and Passion were arguing about yesterday. Being the Pokemon to a princess.
"You may be Celestia's Pokemon. But don't forget, it's my Twilight who's saved Equestria the most lately." Eve said to Passion.
"Hmph. Only for recent times. I can bet you that my Celestia has saved Equestria dozens more in the past. More than Twilight has currently."
"Are you two still arguing about this?" Sylveon stepped in. "Does it really matter?"
"Well, it wouldn't be such a problem if Passion over here didn't brag about her being Celestia's Pokemon. She does it all the time and when Celestia's not around."
"Well I can't help it if it's the truth. It's logical for the Pokemon who's trainer is the ruler of an entire country to be of high importance. Just you wait when i become a Gardevoir. I'll look the part even."
"Then, I bet that Twilight will become the Future Ruler of Equestria." Eve suddenly blurted, confusing Passion and Sylveon.
"Twilight Sparkle? Ruler of Equestria? I don't see it." Passion shook her head.
"I have to agree with Passion on this one, Eve. Twilight isn't really fit to rule an entire country. I think she's happy with her current status."
"Maybe not now. But i bet in the future, she'll become the greatest princess ever. And when I become an Espeon, I'll be her right hand Pokemon."
"Okay. You two obviously love your trainers very much and their ranking and titles. But can't you two accept that they're great in their own way? Celestia is amazing for being the Ruler of Equestria and having to do so much work without her sister for thousands of years. The struggles she must've gone through were tough but she's still here, which makes her worthy of being ruler. And Twilight is just as great for saving Equestria in this modern day and spreading friendship across the land including harmony. They're both amazing at what they do." Sylveon calmed them both down.
"I guess so...I didn't really think about how their accomplishments differ from each other. I'm too busy focused on how great my Celestia is." Passion replied. "Sorry for not acknowledging Twilight's feats."
"Sorry for trying to ignore Celestia's. Guess we just love our trainers that much huh?"
"See? All you need is a little love." Sylveon brought the two closer together, forcing them into a group hug. "Now let's enjoy this festival some more. What first girls?"
"Well aren't we headed to the Crystal Empire tomorrow?" Eve asked.
"Yeah. But I'm not going. I have to stay with Celestia." Passion responded.
"So it'll just be us two. I'll be like an older sister to you." Sylveon rubbed Eve's head. The Evolution Pokemon wasn't a fan of being treated like a child, even though Sylveon was an evolution of it. "Call me big sister Sylvie."
"I'm not calling you that!" Eve slapped Sylveon's paws way from her.
"Haha. Just teasing you, Eve.
"Before you two head to the Crystal Empire, I wanted to ask you all a question. What are you all going to do everything goes back to normal? I mean... I don't want to say goodbye to Celestia." Passion suddenly gave off a sad tone.
"You're thinking about that too? I have my fear of leaving Twilight too."
"And I'm afraid of saying goodbye to Cadence. But if we don't want it to end so soon, we can have fun with them while this lasts right?" Sylveon gave off a smile.
"Mhm." The two of them nodded. Their wholesome moment was interrupted by Gengar who popped out of the ground, terrifying them all with a grueling cry.
"EEK! Gengar! Again?!" Eve shouted.
"Hehehehe!" The Shadow Pokemon snickered, always getting off on scaring others. But it came back to bite him in the form Darkrai who was looming over Gengar. "Hm?" Gengar turned around to see the Pitch Black Pokemon eyeing him down from above. Gengar froze for a bit as he let out a squeal, phasing through the ground and leaving.
"Thanks Darkrai." Passion had thanked him as the Dark-Type disappeared into the shadows.
Back outside, Pikachu had recovered after the intense swinging from the Tangrowth attraction. He sat down on a chair, drinking some orange juice. "Ah. Much better."
"Say, Pikachu." Riolu uttered to his fellow teammate.
"Yeah? What is it Riolu?"
"Do you think we're gonna really make it to the top with Ash? I mean, going up against that Leon guy after all seems pretty intimidating even for me. He's unbeatable after all. Can we really get past someone like that?"
"I have my doubts too, Riolu. I'm Ash's pride and joy. But that doesn't mean I'm always going to guide him to victory. And I don't always win my battles."
"So, you also don't think we can reach Leon?"
"I do think we can reach him. You see, the reason why I always stay beside Ash is because of his spirit and determination. Ever since that day with the Spearows, when he risked his own life to rescue me, I knew that he was truly my partner. We've been through a lot together, seen a lot of stuff, but through it all I want to share his ambitions to become a Pokemon Master. If he's gonna be the very best, then I swear that I'll become the strongest Pokemon ever. Even if we lose, I'll always be beside him. No matter what."
"Wow. You think, I can reach that too?" Riolu pointed his paws at himself.
"Maybe you won't match how long I've been with him, but I'm sure you can reach a level where you and him are in perfect sync. I know him and Greninja definitely were." Pikachu laughed.
"Then I'll get stronger than I'm supposed to! I'll find a way to obtain a strength so great that I'll make sure Ash never loses!" Riolu stood up from his chair.
"That's the spirit! Now come on! Let's head back to Ash." Pikachu hopped off his chair, running off with Riolu as they headed back to their trainer. All the Pokemon left their spots, wanting to see the trainers once more. Ash and the others were all hanging out at the relief zone. They could see their partner Pokemon returning to them. They all looked like they had some fun back at the festival.
"Pika-Pi!" Pikachu called.
"Oh, hey Pikachu. Guys. Did you have fun over at the festival?"
"Pika!" Pikachu hopped onto his pal's shoulder.
"Rio!"
"Hey, Eve. You look pretty happy today. One step closer to becoming an Espeon, huh?" Twilight said to her Pokemon.
"Eevee!"
"I assume we're all ready to head to the Crystal Empire tomorrow?" Rarity asked.
"You bet'cha." Applejack replied.
"And with our new friend Jade, it'll be a blast!" Pinkie placed her hoof around Jade who was still numb of all emotions.
"Let's not waste any time! Not only do I wanna finish this festival, I also wanna finish my upcoming fourth Gym Battle! I've had loads of time to prepare!" Rainbow Dash flew up.
"We'll be leaving soon, Victini. But I hope we get to see you again someday." Fluttershy looked up at the Victory Pokemon.
"Tini!"
"Crystal Empire, here we come!" Twilight exclaimed.
They still had some time left before the day would even end. So a bit more of the festival to enjoy as the journey continues.
Our world. Their world. It is a Pokemon World. Filled with the most amazing creatures imaginable. An infinite array of creatures too varied to comprehend. They fill the ever-flowing oceans, thrive in the majesty of the mountains, soar high over the azure horizons, emanating our lush green forests, share the sparkling landscapes of cities, existing in alternate dimensions and dwell in the eternal astral flow of the universe. Try and count them if you dare, but then, try and count the grains of sand on your favourite beach. Trillions, maybe septillions, perhaps infinity. Meticulously fashioned by the forces of nature in all its glory as only nature can. And no matter what corner of both worlds you may find yourself, rest assured, you'll find Pokemon there as well.
Mankind and Pokemon alike have long journeyed together to experience the thrill and challenge of the Pokemon Battle. Along with the involvement of Ponykind. Living and learning together. As teammates. Sometimes opponents and rivals, yes, but ever friends, comrades and perhaps even Pokemon Masters. Which brings us to a young trainer who has dedicated his life to the love of Pokemon and battling.
Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and his partner Pikachu, travelling and experiencing the length and breath of both worlds with boundless energy with his friends, pursuing his goal to become a Pokemon Master. And alongside him, the Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle and her ever-stunning friends who help spread the joy and wonder of friendship to all while also sharing their own endearing dreams. A microcosm of the vast world of Pokemon, ponies and people together. Experiencing all sorts of things one might expect. Or not. But living their dreams nonetheless. For this is part of the journey. This IS the journey and the everlasting adventure that the collaborative world of Pokemon brings is about to present them with a new row, a shift, a journey until now for them, unimagined.
Day 4 of the Pokemon Festival.
Ash and his friends, joined by Princess Cadence are headed towards the Crystal Empire to continue this active and sprawling festival for all.
Along with them were the Cutie Mark Crusaders who were tagging along. Including their new and emotionless friend, Jade Skies.
"Wonder what's gonna be at the Crystal Empire? Maybe some new attractions." Ash chattered.
"Pika-Pika."
"I can't wait to see if there's a new relief zone. The previous one was lush like a forest. Maybe this one will be like a snowscape." said Fluttershy.
"If it's the Crystal Empire, it's bound to have something dazzling!" Rarity commented.
"Did someone call for us?" Sonata said as she and Aria popped their head outs from their seats.
"No. Not that kind of dazzling." Twilight said to them.
"Oh. Okay!" Sonata went back down to her seat along with Aria.
The Pokemon had hopped off their seats, running around the train. They were doing their usual frolicking as some of the young colts joined in on the fun, instantly moving away from their parents via Pokemon fun.
Outside of the train windows, Pikachu could see the Crystal Empire and the Frozen North as well. But something was odd. He could've sworn he saw something wisp about the Frozen North. And it looked like it was headed for the Empire. The Electric Mouse rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things. But this isn't the first time he's seen something odd move about in an erratic manner.
"I won't spoil what's there, but you won't be disappointed I can say that much," Cadence spoke. "And there's one other thing I won't spoil for a long time..." She quietly said this time, putting her hoof over her belly, indicating there was something else much more important than the festival coming.
"We're almost there. Oh, I do hope that this time we can be given those crystal forms once more." Rarity wanted to be a Crystal Pony just once more.
"I kinda wanna be crystallized one more time." Ash looked at his hands, remembering how he and Pikachu were given crystal bodies when the heart was restored.
"I'm surprised it even worked for you since you ain't from this world." Applejack put her hoof on his back. Ash laughed as he put his head over the window. This time he also saw the mysterious wisp. But not only that he started to see a slew of other things. He couldn't make them out since they moved by so fast, but he and Pikachu were the only ones who saw these unidentified things.
The train finally arrived at the Crystal Empire as everypony, human and Pokemon got off. The guards greeted them and the two Princesses. "Welcome back, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. And welcome Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"Thank you. Get ready to be amazed everypony." Cadence walked through the gates and she greeted their eyes to a brand new sight. Living up the crystal in its name, the festival was now a Crystal Festival, not like the Crystal Fair even. They had gone above and beyond for this. It looked more like a carnival than a festival. Ash had noticed some familiar structures that came from Nimbasa City. There were Drop Towers, a Funhouse, a Ghost-Type Attraction run by a Drifblim, a Simulator Ride and even the Musical Theater from Nimbasa City was involved including more. And they were all made out of crystals. "Well. What do you think?"
"It's more of a carnival than a festival! How did you manage to get all of this so fast?!" Rarity asked.
"Fighting-Type Pokemon."
"Oh, okay that makes sense." They all said in unison.
"This is amazing! What do you think Jade?!" Pinkie held Jade's face.
"It looks fun." She said with no emotion as always.
"I know right?! Let's not waste any time!" Pinkie dashed forward, bringing Jade along with her.
"I'm surprised there's stuff from Nimbasa City here." Ash gazed at the view.
"Hey, girls. Let's try that Funhouse!" Apple Bloom pointed her hoof at the convincingly eerie Funhouse.
"Well, if you don't mind. I and my Swadloons are off to see what can be made in the Crystal Empire. Ooh, I wonder if I can sew crystals?" Rarity squeed, walking off.
"Hey, Pikachu. Let's try that Simulator Ride!"
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu and Ash had run off as well.
"Drop Towers? Sounds good to me!" Rainbow Dash dashed towards the carnival ride.
"I'm interested in that there Ghost attraction. I'm a gal who likes a fright here and there." Applejack giggled, headed for the Driflblim Attraction.
"Any relief zones?" Fluttershy flew towards Cadence with a huge grin on her face.
"Well... we have a spot where you can sightsee Po-" The words that Cadence said and immediately made Fluttershy fly off to find the spot. "Hm. Everypony seems to know what they want to do. Well, I'll be busy as well."
"You're not going to join us for this day, Cadence?" Twilight said.
"Oh, sorry Twilight. I'll have to skip out on today. But I can be here for tomorrow. And besides, you've got the rest of your friends to hang out with. And you also have a potential great coltfriend on your side. So there won't be a dull moment at all."
"Alright. I understa- Wait. Coltfriend?" She froze for a minute.
"I'm the Princess of Love, Twilight. I can not only spot but sense when there's love around. Especially if it's coming from a pony who's hiding it." Cadence winked at her fellow alicorn.
"I-I-I have no idea what you're talking about!" Twilight's words fumbled about.
"You don't have to hide it Twilight. It's fine though. I'm the only pony who knows about it. Just make sure your relationship grows before you say anything." Cadence put her hoof around Twilight, looking over at Ash.
"Don't you have someplace to be!" Twilight tried to get out of this conversation.
"Oh right! Excuse me." Now it was Cadence's turn to walk off as Twilight let out a sigh of relief.
Ash and Pikachu's go at the festival was cut short when their attention was drawn by a whisper. They turned their heads towards this mysterious whisper as the voice it was making was faint. The feeling was similar to how Ash reacted to aura whenever it called to him, but it wasn't aura this time. As Ash and Pikachu followed this voice, they were led to the deeper parts of the Crystal Empire. Parts that were not really seen the last time they were here, even when Sombra attack. Pinkie Pie had spotted Ash and Pikachu, but they left her vision the moment they reached a corner. "Ash? Pikachu?" She bounced over to them, reaching the corner. Once she got there, the next thing Pinkie saw was unexpected.
The boy and his Pokemon came across what seemed to be a tunnel of some sorts. On the tunnel were blue glowing runes that had unrecognizable symbols plastered on them. To Pinkie, they were unrecognizable, but to Ash and Pikachu, they knew that they almost resembled Unown symbols, but they weren't quite them. The two went further in as the tunnel was suddenly closed with a door that formed. "Hey, wait! Ash Pikachu!" Pinkie tried to go in with them but the tunnel door had closed itself as she crashed into the door, falling down. The last thing Pinkie Pie saw was the symbols losing their vibrant lights and dimming down. "Ugh...Not good! Girls!" Pinkie Pie bounced back to the festival to inform her friends.
As the two walked through the tunnel, the blue symbols started to glow once more as they were reflecting across their bodies, sending a tingling sensation through them. It seemed like this tunnel went on forever, but they came across a new area. "Woah. What is this?"
"Pika..."
What they saw was a lost civilization. One that nopony knew was even beyond here. This new area was indeed ancient for being lost. There was moss everywhere as the buildings that were there seemed to resemble the appearance of Canterlot Castle. In fact, they looked like much smaller scale Canterlot Castle structures. Almost as if these were the prototypes for it. And there seemed to be dead silence as well. That mysterious voice was the only thing the two of them could hear, but there was no one here. Not even a pony or a Pokemon. The atmosphere silent as a Komala. That silence was quickly broken when Ash heard a hoof step. He turned his head towards the direction of the sound, and out of the building came one pony. A pony who was wearing only an amulet. More ponies started to come out as they were all wearing amulets as well. Their bodies were all tattered and their manes rugged and messy. It seemed like they were here just as long as the civilization and somehow managed to live this long. They also had Cutie Marks of their own, but they were all similar in some way. Their Cutie Marks represented different forms of building blocks.
Ash took a good look at their amulets and noticed they resembled the Alicorn Amulet. But they had a much less intimidating design as theirs was the colour blue and gold instead of red and grey. The ponies at first seemed cautious around Ash and Pikachu. They had never seen beings like them before. "Who are you guys? How long have you been here?" Ash asked.
"Zesacy? Baesithi ncatas gedenia?" A pony started talking, but in an unknown language. They seemed to be talking to each other in this unrecognizable language to Ash and Pikachu, showing just old they really are.
"Uh. Sorry. I don't really understand you all." Ash laughed.
"Pika-Pika."
"Usezadiel uholas, tohin...mapariel Elroz." They talked to each other once more, not really interacting with Ash and Pikachu. The ponies nodded their head as they seemed to deem Ash and Pikachu harmless. One pony walked up to the two of them, ready to speak.
"Forgive us. We... haven't spoken to others in centuries. At least... we don't think we have." The pony held his head.
"Woah. You guys really are ancient! Centuries? That's like... millions of years on top of other millions of years."
"From what we recall...we are the oldest living ponies to ever exist... I think?" The pony wasn't sure of himself, neither were the others.
"Guess you must have some bad memory for being here for so long. How did you all manage to stay alive for long though?"
"Pika?"
"That... we also do not know. Honestly, our memories are greatly foggy. All we remember is opening our eyes and we ended up in the buildings. But, who are you two?"
"I'm Ash. Ash Ketchum. And this is my partner Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
"Ash Ketchum? Are you perhaps... here to stop Queen Pyrestar?"
"Queen Pyrestar?"
"Pika?"
"That is one of the very few things we remember. We are ruled underneath a pantheon of powerful ponies who dwell in the Blessed Phoenix Realm. So I believe..."
"You guys have a pantheon? Isn't that like... a collection of super-strong guys?!"
"Pika-chu?!"
"But perhaps you're here to save us all from the Queen. Ash Ketchum and Pikachu! Are you our saving graces?" Everypony walked closer to them.
"Hm. I don't quite know what's really going on... But if you're all in trouble then we can help. And we'll help you remember who you all are. Count on that!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"You will? Oh, thank the seven stars!" All the ponies had smiles on their faces. It seemed like they hadn't experienced happiness for a long time. Either this Queen Pyrestar is a force to be reckoned with, or they were just asleep for a long time.
"Alright! So where do we start?"
"So, they went in here?" Twilight and her friends had gathered up to the spot where Pinkie Pie last saw Ash and Pikachu.
"Yeah! They were walking all weird like and slow and then they just went inside! There were these glowing blue things that I couldn't make out but they were freaky. And then the last thing that happened was the entrance closing." Pinkie explained.
"Walking all weird like and slow?" Twilight put her hoof on her chin. "Didn't Ash do the same thing when Riolu's egg was calling for him?"
"You think it might be aura again darling?" Rarity looked at Twilight.
"Maybe. We have to go in there and find them."
"That's the problem. It won't open when I get near." Pinkie put her hoof on the door, but nothing happened. "Access denied."
"There has to be some other way. And I think I know what. Stand back ya'll." Applejack went to the door as everypony stood back. She turned around as she put all of her strength into bucking the door. One hit and had some cracks around it. Applejack's idea was working.
"It's working! Keep it up AJ!" Pinkie exclaimed.
Applejack kept kicking at the door as it was slowly starting to come apart. With one final buck, she obliterated the door, revealing the tunnel with the symbols. "There! Weren't that hard." Applejack said.
"Great job, Applejack! Now we-" Twilight's words were cut off due to the door suddenly reforming itself back to normal. This took them all by surprise. It regenerated, acting like Applejack's kicking was non-existent. "How the-"
"Doors can't regenerate! Can they?" Rainbow Dash uttered.
"That doesn't make any sense. It has to be magic. Or maybe aura can repair." Twilight went up to the door. "We have to find a way inside. Any other ideas?"
"Why don't we try breaking it down again. But this time I'll fly in super fast before it regenerates!" Dash suggested.
"That could work. Applejack. Try kicking it apart one more time." Twilight said to AJ.
"You got it!" Applejack got back to kicking it down. But this time it seemed like the door had gotten much more durable like it had developed a resistance to Applejack's kicks. It was still cracking but it was much slower this time. Rainbow Dash readied herself to fly through those doors the moment they come down. After 17 seconds of kicking, the door had finally broken down again. Rainbow Dash flew forward instantly, and from what it looked like she, got inside. Seemed like a success.
Until suddenly the rainbow pony was shot back out by a blue light that surrounded her, sending her back to square one. "W-What the? How the-? What?!" She was just as confused as everypony. Not only that, but the door also seemed to reform itself into steel. It made sure that Applejack's bucking wouldn't even phase it this time.
"I don't understand. What is up with this tunnel?!" Twilight bellowed. "Maybe there's a spell that can get us through this."
"Oh, dear. I hope Ash and Pikachu aren't in any grave danger. Oh, the thought of it!" Rarity pulled out her fainting couch, falling on it.
"Let's not panic yet. We can find a way around this. Rainbow Dash Fluttershy. We're going to fly up and see if we can spot what's over this tunnel." Twilight said to the two as they nodded. The three flying ponies took the skies to see if the other side of the tunnel could be seen. But to their surprise, there was nothing there. The only thing there. Just more crystals. "Nothing?!"
"Does that mean they're stuck inside the tunnel?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Let's not jump to conclusions! Although... I am getting a bit worried." Twilight started to sweat. "Come on! There has to be a way to get in!" Twilight and the others were getting worried. How were they going to get past this tunnel? "That's it! Maybe there's something about this tunnel in the Crystal Empire's Library! Of course! Silly me. Why didn't I just go there first?" Twilight headed for the library located in the empire as her friends followed suit.
Inside the tunnel and at the lost civilization, Ash was being shown more of this place. He could still see the Canterlot-Castle-Esque buildings but alongside that, he noticed that some of them greatly resembled the Castle of the Two Sisters. "Hey. I got a question. What's up with these buildings? They look so familiar. Celestia and Luna live in buildings like those."
"Pika?"
"Celestia and Luna? Those names... they sound somewhat familiar. Once more, we only remember a select few things. Our language and Queen Pyrestar. We even do not know what the other ponies of the pantheon are called. Their names escape our minds."
"Well. Mind if I ask your name since you're pretty helpful so far."
"My name is Herald Dust. I am this civilization's guide. From what I recall, I hold the most knowledge out of everypony here. Apparently."
"Huh. So then what's up with those amulets? They look a lot like the Alicorn Amulet."
"Pika-Pi-Chu?"
"These? They are what we have left our lost magic." Herald lifted the amulet up with his hoof.
"Lost magic?"
"Pika?"
"Most of us here are unicorns. But that was not always the case. From what I can recall, the amulets used to be apart of us. I don't quite understand it myself yet or even remember what that means."
Just then, a young filly walked up to Ash, looking up at him and Pikachu. Pikachu hopped down from Ash's shoulder to greet the little pony. "Pikachu."
"What is this thing?" She asked as she put her hoof on Pikachu's head.
"It's a Pokemon. He's known as a Pikachu species." Ash explained.
"Pikachu. Pika-Pika!"
"Wow...it is so small and precious." All the other young ones came in to look at Pikachu. The Electric Mouse Pokemon was used to getting this much attention from those that just love anything cute.
"We're here, Ash Ketchum and Pikachu," Herald said. Ash and Pikachu looked over to see a gargantuan new area. "Welcome to Ether Sanctuary. Where the great pantheon of ponies dwells." It truly was was a sanctuary. It was much bigger than the Crystal Empire and Canterlot combined. How did no one notice this and how could it be in such a small area? At the sanctuary were statues of 10 ponies. The one in the middle could be Queen Pyrestar.
"So they're all in there huh?" Ash walked forward, gazing at the statues. The ponies all looked like unicorns but Pyrestar seemed to resemble an alicorn. All these mysterious unicorns also donned the Alicorn Amulet look-alike, except for Pyrestar. Ash and Pikachu were starting to uncover hidden secrets that lay within Equestria. He came across the entrance to the sanctuary by stopping at the door. Just being there made Ash and Pikachu feel strange. This feeling was similar to when they first heard that whisper at the festival. The whisper came back as it was telling them to come inside. Ash put his hand on the door, slowly pushing it open. As the doors were being pushed, making a creaking sound, what Ash and Pikachu laid their eyes on was unexpected. On the outside, it looked wonderful, but on the inside, there was nothing but ruins.
The pillars were cracked and seemed to have burn marks on them. In fact, there were burn marks all over the place, almost as if an overwhelming amount of fire erupted inside. Some of the stairs were split in half, hoofprints were stamped on the walls along with the remnants of what seemed to be rusty armour. Paintings were also seen. They were off the 10 ponies who lived here. They all had a large array of colours that made them stand out. Not only that but their names were revealed as they matched their colour schemes. Skyblue Whimsy, Xanthic Bolt, Orchid Glow, Ivory Mane, Goldspark, Magentalights, Midnight, Abalone and Medallion Ray. All of their paintings were also burnt with only Queen Pyrestar's being intact. One of them, Midnight, resembled Twilight in appearance actually.
"These names are pretty intense, huh?"
"Pika..."
"But what happened here? It looks like a huge fire must've gone down a long time ago." Ash continued his journey inside the ancient palace. That's when he and Pikachu saw that wisp from before. "Hey. It's that wisp thing!"
"Pikachu!"
The wisp had flown off, heading into another room that was nearby. Ash and Pikachu chased down the mystical wisp, entering the next room which appeared to be a tapestry room. In this tapestry, there were artworks of a series of events. The wisp had stopped by the tapestry, hovering over one that showed Queen Pyrestar and the unicorns who now seemed to have the appearance of alicorns. Ash and Pikachu looked up at it to see what it meant.
Queen Pyrestar being given a crown. The 9 alicorns surrounding the newly crowned queen. A mysterious creature arrives at the Queen's palace. From the appearance, it seemed to be a blue ram of some sorts with a bell on its neck. The strange ram using the bell against the alicorns, seemingly absorbing their magic. Queen Pyrestar stopping this ram by pushing it back. The queen being overtaken by a spell cast by the ram. The rest of the alicorns now becoming unicorns in the process. The magic that surrounds Pyrestar twists her morals and ideals, destroying the once kind-hearted queen. Queen Pyrestar now ruling with an iron hoof alongside the 9 unicorns who were once alicorns as well. And the final piece of the tapestry was Queen Pyrestar unleashing an overwhelming amount of flames inside the sanctuary which a mysterious cosmic light on the side. The rest of the tapestry seemed to be incomplete as there was a piece of it ripped out, indicating there was one more part missing.
Ash and Pikachu had now gotten a good understanding of what could've happened. The reason why the wisp was moving about was to tell them about the history of this place, even if it couldn't speak. "So that's what happened. No wonder there are burn marks all over the place."
"Pika..."
"But what happened next? There's a part of it missing." Ash held the end of the tapestry. "Hm. Guess we've got a new adventure on our hands, ey buddy?"
"Pikachu!" The two of them were up for a brand new adventure, no matter how mysterious it was. The wisp had led them to one other room. They followed the moving wisp as it brought to what seemed to be an area with a singular cist. An ancient burial ground. The wisp had flown over the cost as there were crimson lights emanating from it. The trainer and his Pokemon went towards the cist, seeing all the rocks over it. Ash removed the rocks to see what those lights were and what he saw surprised him. Inside the cist was the living breathing body of the alicorn queen.
Queen Pyrestar.
At the Crystal Empire Library, Twilight and her friends were searching for a book that might help them figure out what's with that tunnel? But there was nothing. Not even a hint or a mention of it in any of the books they had searched.
"What gives?! Why isn't there anything about it?!" Twilight exclaimed. She then flew over to the librarian to get some answers. "Please tell me there's a book about that mysterious tunnel?"
"Tunnel? What tunnel?" The librarian seemed confused about that.
"The tunnel located deep within the Crystal Empire of course."
"Oh, sorry. I don't think we've ever had a tunnel here. At all." The librarian shook her head. "Terribly sorry."
"So there's no record of it? That's weird." Twilight pondered. This tunnel mystery was only making her wonder more.
"We're wasting valuable time! We have to get to Ash somehow!" Rainbow said. "Pinkie Pie. When you saw Ash and Pikachu go in, what else did you see?"
"Well. When they went inside, the door closed, and all those blue lights that were shining from inside had vanished. I could just see them through the small gaps."
"So they just stopped the moment the doors closed? What could that mean?" said Rarity.
"Hmm...think Twilight, think!" The purple alicorn sat down, hitting her head with her hoof. "The lights vanished once the door had closed...vanished once the door had closed...vanished...vanished... THAT'S IT!"
All of her friends turned towards her once she said that.
"What if there's a time limit? Maybe there's a certain amount of time before anypony else can go through!"
"You think that might be it, sugarplum?" Applejack questioned.
"I hope so. It's our best option right now. Let's head back there...but we'll wait it out first."
"Mhm!" They all agreed.
"We could just use Pokemon," Spike suggested as they all turn to him. "Think about it for a second. Pokemon are technically much more powerful and faster than all of us. Even alicorns. Shouldn't we just get them to blow the entrance open? And if it reforms, we'll just use a stronger move." Hearing what Spike said, they all looked at each other and talked about it.
"We'll see. If our first plan doesn't work, then we'll go for the Pokemon plan." Twilight said to him.
"Yes!"
As the group went back to the tunnel, they took their sweet time. They came across it, standing a far distance away from it. They waited a total of 9 minutes before something happened. In truth, their entrance wouldn't be given by their waiting, but by another wisp. This secondary wisp had flown over the Mane 6, their Pokemon and Spike as they all looked up at it. The wisp had gone near the tunnel, sending a mystical pulse through it. This caused the steely doors to slowly open up, revealing the symbols once more as it was open.
"No way! It's open!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.
"That wisp thing did it," said Twilight. "Is that how they actually got in the first time?"
"Who cares! We got access now! Let's hurry and get in there!" Rainbow Dash was the first to head in as the others followed suit. Now they were granted entrance but the glowing symbols weren't reflecting off them as they did for Ash and Pikachu. The door behind them had closed, as the only the way to go now was forward.
Now they were granted with the lost civilization. The ponies had noticed the newcomers as they weren't obscure like Ash and Pikachu. They were one of them. They looked at the ancient ponies, noticing the Alicorn Amulet look-alike.
"Newcomers?" A pony said as the others went up to Twilight and her friends.
"Jumpin junebugs. A whole 'nother civilization is here?" Applejack gazed.
"How did we not see it when we flew up?" Fluttershy wondered.
"It must have been hidden by magic..." Twilight replied. "Who are you all anyway?"
"We are ponies who dwell in this land. This kingdom if you will." A stallion explained. "Have you come here to help?"
"Help? With what?" Fluttershy asked.
"A few minutes ago, a being by the name of Ash Ketchum and a Pikachu came here to help save us from Queen Pyrestar and-"
"That's it! That's the reason we're here!" Twilight stopped the stallion, scaring him for a bit. "Where are they?!"
"T-They were sent over to the sanctuary." He pointed his hoof over at the titanic sanctuary. The group knew where they had to go next, but Pinkie Pie actually wanted to stick around here for a bit, but Applejack dragged her along.
Back inside the palace, Queen Pyrestar's eyes had awoken. Ash and Pikachu backed up as they could feel an intense pressure fill the room. The awoken crimson queen rose up from her burial as the area around Ash and Pikachu was heating up. Almost as if the sun was here. In fact, her presence was similar to that of Celestia.
"Thou..." The Queen spoke. Her voice was unlike anything they had ever heard. It had a resounding echo that would make any dragon cower in fear as well as a hollow tone. Not only that, but it almost sounded like Celestia's and Luna's voice as well. A strange fusion of the two.
"You're... Queen Pyrestar." Ash uttered.
"Pika..."
The Scarlet Alicorn stood up tall. Her similarities to Celestia were shown as she was even the same height as the princess of the sun. Once she left her burial the entire cist burned into ashes. Queen Pyrestar looked around, seeing herself back in her castle. "W-Where...are we? Who are thou?" She spoke in the same manner Luna once did. "Where are Cocoa and Rosetar?"
"Cocoa? Rosestar?" Ash tilted his head.
"Pika?"
"I do not have time for this." Pyrestar held her head, dazed after being inside the burial for centuries, so she remembers. "I must find my throne room. My subjects..."
"Hold up! Wait a second." Ash ran in front of her. "You're the queen who these ponies are terrified of right? Is that true?"
"Terrified? Of me? What drivel. I rule under these ponies with all the love I possess."
"Really? Because on the tapestry, it looked like you were going crazy at the end. Is that why there are so many burn marks all over the place?"
"Pika-Pikachu?"
"I don't know what lies those ponies have been telling you. But I did not lose my mind. I was..." Pyrestar suddenly held her head, falling on her knees. She was having memory flashes come to her as they were very vague. "My throne." She walked off, leaving the burial room and the tapestry as she looked around her once beautiful and gorgeous palace. Ash and Pikachu followed, and once they did they came across her throne room. And to Ash and Pikachu's surprise, their throne even resembled that of Celestia's and Luna's
Ash wasn't the brightest guy in the world, not by a long shot... but he could see when something is odd. So he started to connect the dots. The buildings on the outside resemble Canterlot. The ponies are wearing amulets that resemble that of the Alicorn Amulet but of a different colour. The pony by the name of Midnight resembled Twilight a bit and Pyrestar gives off the same presence as Celestia and Luna. She shared the same height, the same ethereal mane, her voice was a mixture of both of them and even their regalia were similar.
"Hold on. Queen Pyrestar. What's the name of your kingdom?"
"My kingdom? I rule an entire country. Equestria. And this is Canterlot Palace."
"...Huh?!"
"Pika!"
"All of Equestria is under my rule. I am the princess of the sun and moon. Queen Pyrestar."
"Woah...But Princess Celestia and Luna are the ones who control the sun and moon and rule Equestria."
"Is it not obvious. I AM Princess Celestia and Luna. A fusion of the two."
"SAY WHAT?!"
"PIKA-PIKA?!"
The two of them were flabbergasted, not sure how to respond to this. This was unexpected. They've heard and seen of Pokemon fusion in the form of Kyurem and Necrozma, but this was new. Ponies can fuse as well?
"You're both of them combined?! That's awesome! But how. And why? And are you really the same Celestia and Luna?"
"It seems that what I saw was the truth. This isn't our world if our counterparts exist here as well. You see... strange being and his yellow mouse. We come from another universe. A parallel universe from this one. The last thing I remember was a cosmic essence appearing in front of the sanctuary and that must've been how we were all sent here."
"So this entire place is from another universe? Woah. It even managed to bring along a place as huge as this?"
"Pika?"
"I must continue my work. I must find Cocoa and Rosestar. They might know how to return us."
"Who're Cocoa and Rosestar, by the way?"
"Ponies who also came from another universe. They have some experience with universal travel as well."
"Well, you're in luck. Me and Pikachu are also from another universe."
"Pikachu!"
"You are...?" Pyrestar leaned in.
"It's a long story, but let me give a quick rundown."
Whilst Ash explains everything to Pyrestar, Twilight and the gang along with their Pokemon made it to the sanctuary. Twilight couldn't help but notice that everypony was staring at her. They recognized her as the pony Midnight, but she didn't know that, until she and her friends entered inside.
Now they had seen the burnt insides of the castle as well. The atmosphere it gave off started to terrify Fluttershy and Rarity, even making Pinkie and Rainbow uneasy.
"This place gives me the heebie-jeebies." Pinkie uttered, staying close to Applejack.
"Don't worry girls. Let's all stick together." said Twilight. That's when Rarity noticed the paintings and spotted Twilight's look-alike, Midnight.
"Twilight, darling. Isn't that you?"
"Huh?" Twilight turned her head towards her Rarity was pointing her hoof. She saw the painting of Midnight as well. This messed with Twilight's mind the moment she set her eyes on it. "That IS me? Midnight? How?"
"Twilight! Do you have a secret long lost sister that we don't know about? Can we meet her?" Pinke bounced over as the others glared at the painting.
"It's gotta be some sort of doppelganger right?" Rainbow Dash commented.
"It's a mighty convincing doppelganger, that's for sure."
"Come to think of it. A lot of this feels familiar. Think about it girls. The buildings on the outside resemble Canterlot Castle, everypony there was wearing what seemed to be the Alicorn Amulet but a different colour and call me crazy... but that Queen Pyrestar pony looks like a lot like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna at the same time. Something about this is odd." Twilight pondered as did the others. That's when Fluttershy's Audino had picked up some noises with its high-level hearing.
"Audi? Audino."
"What is it Audi? What do you hear?" Fluttershy asked.
"Audino." The Hearing Pokemon had pointed forward, making everypony's attention draw towards the middle gate.
"There's someone talking in there. It sounds like Ash." Fluttershy translated.
"We found him? Woohoo!" Pinkie Pie bounced over to the large entrance doors, eager to see her friends again. Once she opened up those doors, their eyes did not deceive them. Ash and Pikachu were indeed there. The two of them turned around to see their other friends as they had arrived.
"Huh? You're all here?!"
"Pika?!"
"Ash! Pikachu!" Pinkie bounced over, hugging the trainer and his Pokemon.
"Darling, you had us all worried. We thought you were trapped." Rarity walked up.
"You two chuckleheads just can't help wandering off without a word can ya?" Applejack said.
"Heh. Sorry. I was kinda out of it." Ash laughed along with Pikachu.
Pyrestar had seen the Mane 6 and Spike recognizing them, especially Twilight. They all looked over as they saw Queen Pyrestar in all of her glory.
"She really does look like Celestia and Luna..." Rainbow Dash spoke.
"That's because she is. She's a fusion of the two." Ash casually explained.
"Huh? HUH?!" They all shouted in unison at what they just heard.
"H-H-H-H-How is that possible?! That's not scientifically possible! Is it?!" Twilight stammered.
"Heh. Not really. In my world, Pokemon can fuse too."
"Pikachu-pi!"
"Midnight. It really is you..." Pyrestar spoke, walking towards Twilight.
"M-Midnight? Does that mean the pony in the painting really is me? But how?"
"Forgive me. But you are the Midnight of this universe. I recognize you as such."
"This universe? You mean you..."
"Come from an alternate universe? That's right." Ash nodded his head.
"Your friend, Ash Ketchum has explained everything to me. About the Rift and the crossing of both worlds. I cannot believe that I am looking at this universe's counterparts."
"So that means.... all of this.. is Canterlot? Those buildings on the outside looked exactly like them! What kind of universe are you even from?"
"Allow me to explain what I can remember." Pyrestar sat down on her throne, ready to spill everything. "You see in my universe, I was never the same entity. Celestia and Luna were still separate from each other. One controlled the sun and the other the moon. As for you, each of you remained as the Elements of Harmony. Loyalty, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Kindess and Magic. But your paths only crossed for a few months."
"A few months?" Fluttershy stepped forward.
"Indeed. Your friendship did not last long, much to Celestia's dismay. You managed to win the day by freeing my sister and sealing Discord back to stone when he returned. You even managed to stop Sombra and Tirek. But... what happened next was nothing nopony could ever expect. Out of nowhere, Grogar had returned."
"Grogar?" The ponies all said.
"He appeared out of nothing but cosmic energy, possibly from the Rift's actions. He instantly overtook all of Equestria, without barely any difficulty. And he did so by unleashing his plethora of creatures that he created. Including his greatest asset. The Bewitching Bell. You and your friends tried to stop Grogar with all you had. You were on the verge of victory, but the Bewitching Bell managed to absorb all the magic that the elements held as Grogar gave it all to himself. And just like that you were defeated."
"Oh, dear! Were we okay?!" Rarity gasped.
"You were fine. But all of Equestria now lived in tyranny due to the roaming of unsightly creatures. Celestia and Luna attempted to change this, however, by using a high-risk spell. First, they transferred the magic of alicorns to worthy ponies in order to counter Grogar's forces. One of them was you Midnight. I should mention that in my universe, your name was vastly different than the one you have here. Then, they used another high-risk spell by merging into one single entity. The one you see before you. Queen Pyrestar. The plan was a success. Our combined alicorn might managed to defeat Grogar and his creatures. However, it came at a great cost. Grogar's last act was to unleash the full power of the Bewitching Bell. It was a devastating result. All Pegasi and Earth Ponies were sealed away and the only ones that remained were Unicorns. Not only that, but the corrupt magic from the bell had managed to infect me, twisting my natural state of mind. Grogar was defeated, but Equestria was missing a large majority of its population."
"All the pegasi and earth ponies sealed away?" Twilight uttered.
"We tried to find a way to free them, but it took many years. Centuries even. Soon, the entire population of ponies ended up consisting of only unicorns as they became the dominant species. And as for us alicorns, we continued to find a way to break the seal. But no luck. That is when something became of me. The magic that Grogar corrupted me with sent me into a berserk state. It only ever unleashed itself when I was gravely upset or enraged. This magic was known as Sorrowful Rage magic."
Twilight recognized that name. In fact, deep within her, Horizon Storm was still apart of her. Still lurking from the events of what happened with Ghetsis and Celestia. The same goes for Princess Luna and her Sorrowful Rage form. Lunar Ire.
"The rage that I held was too terrifying for my fellow alicorns. So much so that one day, I erupted in a blaze of sunfire, sending a scorching frenzy of flames across the castle. That is why you see many burn marks around here. And then... I ended up losing them all. Grogar's magic was not over. It had also affected the 9 alicorns. They all lost their alicorn forms, reverting them back to unicorns. Including you, Midnight. And the last thing I remember. The final piece of the memories I can recall was the arrival of two ponies by the name of Cocoa and Rosestar. They had come from another universe. Acting as sort of a distress call. They had with them a spell that could travel between universes and the two made their way here. A unicorn from their world brought them here. Cocoa was a fairly adept pony who knew a lot about magic alongside her friend who carried with her an abundance of spellbooks. and they gave me hope. Hope in the form of a spell that could break the seemingly unbreakable seal. But that is when the Rift arrived. In an instant, it unleashed a blinding cosmic light and that is the last thing I saw."
"Woah... so much to take in." Pinkie Pie held her head, still trying to process the series of events that happened all the way in the other universe.
"I am hoping to find Rosestar and Cocoa so that they can help give us the spell information to break Grogar's seal and restore the pony population. That way Equestria can thrive once more. Our Equestria that is."
"So...where are these two ponies?" Rarity asked.
"I do not know. The last time I saw them, they were with me and the other unicorns. The light was the final thing my eyes had processed. They're somewhere out there. And I hope to return back to our universe, so that we can rebuild our land, our country once more."
"Wow...amazing!" Twilight jumped up.
"It is" Pyrestar titled her head.
"Of course it is! To think that there's a universe like that exists. All the lore that it holds! And my name is different! I want to know more if I ever get the chance to see it."
"Uh, Twilight. I think we should focus on helping, sugarplum." Applejack said to her.
"Oh. Hehehe..right." Twilight blushed.
"Speaking of which. I gotta tell the ponies that Queen Pyrestar isn't what they think." said Ash as he was about to inform everypony about the truth.
"So. Where do we start looking for this Cocoa and Rosestar?" Rainbow asked.
"Well, if this version of Canterlot was transported here by the Rift, then they must be somewhere in our Equestria." Twilight theorized. "Maybe they're at the festival. Or somewhere across Equestria. Prin- I mean, Queen Pyrestar. We'll find them for you. Wherever they might be."
"I think you may have a guide for that." Queen Pyrestar pointed her hoof up, showing the two wisps from before. This time a third one joined in. "The wisps shall be your guide, my little ponies."
"So they've been guiding us?" Fluttershy said.
"Then we should follow them. They know where we should go next. Come on girls." Twilight and her friends left as Pyrestar saw them walk off.
The wisps had flown out of the sanctuary as Ash spotted them as well. Everypony saw the wisps too. The triple mysterious entities were floating over to the entrance where the group first came through. Ash could hear the sounds of the wisps, being the only one who could pick it up once more.
"Where's it going?" Pinkie asked.
"I think it wants us to go back to the festival...In Ponyville." Ash suddenly said.
"Ash. You can understand them?" Twilight looked up at him. "How?"
"I don't know. It's weird. It kind of feels like aura in a weird way. These voices sound so familiar too."
"Well, we have a translator. Let us not waste any time. Although, I didn't get to enjoy the festival here." Rarity sighed.
"Hold on. I think a few of us should go back to Ponyville and search for Cocoa and Rosestar." Twilight suggested. "After all, it's only two ponies. If they're at a place as small as Ponyville, it won't be too much trouble."
"Then, how about the three of us go? You, me and Ash?" Applejack said. "The rest of ya'll can stay here at the Crystal Empire while we get searching."
"You sure AJ?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Trust me."
"Alright. We trust you. Good luck you three." Fluttershy commented.
All the way back at Ponyville, the wisps were not lying at all. But they didn't appear in Ponyville first. In fact, they passed through the gateway from the other world. The two pony friends. Cocoa Swirl, a young rambunctious unicorn-changeling hybrid with striking blue hair and an orange jacket. Although she didn't have a Cutie Mark on her. Alongside her was Rosestar. A pale pink pegasus with a dark pink mane and tail. Her Cutie Mark was a rose in the middle with five yellow pointed stars. She was on the more calm side compared to her energetic friend.
"Any luck finding a way back?" Cocoa asked her pegasus friend.
Rosestar went through the book she was carrying, searching for a spell. "No. We should've brought the universe hopping spell along with us. Now we're kinda stuck between this world and the Pokemon world."
"Don't worry about it, Rose. We'll find a way back eventually. But in the meantime, I'm gonna enjoy this festival some more." Cocoa walked forward, ready to enjoy herself. Rose sighed as she flew with her friend, carrying the book with her.
High atop the trees, Obsidian and Emerald Aura were peeking through, spotting the two ponies.
"Holy moly. Aren't those the two ponies from that other universe?" Emerald commented.
"Yep. That means that not only have they come from their universe, but they've also come from a parallel Equestria and just now the Pokemon World. That's an inception of universe hopping." Obsidian said. "Actually... this gave me an idea."
"What?"
"I wonder... what if we involved their alternate universe?"
"W-What do you mean by that? What are you planning this time?"
"Heh. Stay sharp Emerald. We're going to be taking a trip to an alternate reality."
The 4th day of the festival was still young and early. Only two more hours until the afternoon hits.
Right now, four different events were taking place. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Rarity are at the Crystal Empire. Ash, Twilight and Applejack are headed to Ponyville to find Cocoa and Rosestar. Obsidian and Emerald Aura are planning to intervene in the alternate universe that Queen Pyrestar comes from and the two universe hopping friends, Cocoa and Rosestar are both figuring out a way to travel back and just enjoying the festival.
Ash and the two ponies had arrived at Ponyville, in search for Cocoa and Rosestar. They might be tough to find in a crowd like this. Festivals are usually packed like crazy.
"Alright. Look out for anypony new. Queen Pyrestar didn't give us a clear description so keep an eye out." Twilight spoke.
"Got it. Anypony new." Ash started to gaze around.
"Pika..."
"Sooner we get this done, the sooner we can enjoy this festival without any distractions." Applejack said. "I wanna try those attractions myself, ya know."
The group split up to get searching. The wisps wouldn't help them for this part since they already led them to their destination. It was up to their own instincts this time.
The two ponies they were searching for were actually partaking in an attraction. The attractions in Ponyville were much tamer compared to the ones in Canterlot and the Crystal Empire. Probably due to the scale different. The attraction the were on was the Tug of War, formed by Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee. Suitable for the young ones and smaller Pokemon.
"We could be searching for another spell that allows us to travel through universes...but we're here playing Tug of War?" Rosestar commented, feeling as though they were wasting time.
"Chill out. Have fun, Rose. We have all the time in the multiple universes to enjoy this festival. We can find a spell at any time." Cocoa replied. "Besides. I wanna have a go at this. The Pokemon competing seem tough. ya know. Now help me out."
"Ugh. Why do you have to take the long route in every situation and scenario." Rose shook her head as her, Cocoa and the other ponies and Pokemon grabbed and bit onto the rope, ready to pull.
"Hitmon...chan!" The Punching Pokemon gave off the call to start as the Tug of War was on. The littles ones the smaller Pokemon. They each put their all their strength in their hooves, paws, teeth and other limbs they carry with them. Cocoa ended up showing to be the more physically fit pony of the group, as she was causing her team to win with ease. To their surprise, her strength was oddly overwhelming, even without using her magic. The Pokemon on the opposing side tried to increase their strength, but it wasn't enough. And the young fillies with them weren't holding up any better. Soon, in the span 9 seconds, Cocoa's team ended up winning with ease, and she ended up doing most of the work.
"Woohoo! Victory!" Cocoa cheered as the opposing team were on the floor, overwhelmed.
"Nice going. You overwhelmed them." Rosestar commented.
"Hehe. Woopsie. My bad everypony!" Cocoa laughed. "So. What should we do next?"
"Figure out a way to travel back. We can't afford to keep on playing around like childr-"
"Let's try that attraction! A race sounds fun!" Cocoa was about to rush forward but Rose stopped her by biting her tail.
"Slow down Cocoa! The sooner we find a way back, you can play around in this festival as many times as you want. Okay? So can we please focus on the task at hand. It's been months now."
"Alright, alright. I get it. We'll find a way to get back. I think I might actually know a way we can.£
"You do?"
"Mhm. This is just a parallel Equestria, meaning that they've probably got spells about universe hopping as well. So we'll just head to their version of Canterlot Library and we're good to go."
"Hm. That's is pretty simple when you think about it. Okay. Let's get going to Canterlot. Just don't get distracted Cocoa."
"I won't. You can count on-" Just then, Cocoa could smell something delicious near the food stands as she was floating towards that enticing scent. "Oooh...what's that?"
"COCOA!" Rosestar bellowed. Not only did it stop Cocoa in her tracks, but it also drew the attention of Ash, Twilight and Applejack. It seems they have found their Cocoa. Their heads turned to the direction of where the shout came from as they saw the pale pink Pony pull Cocoa back by grabbing her tail with her teeth.
"That's her. We found our pony!" Ash spoke.
"Pika!"
"Focus! Why are you so easily distracted?" Rosestar babbled.
"The stuff they have in this version of Equestria smells much more delicious! Makes me wanna chomp the whole thing away!" Cocoa grinned as Rose facehoofed. Just then, Applejack, Ash and Twilight had come up to the two pony pals, finding their objective.
"Hey. You're Cocoa, right?" Ash asked.
"That's me. The one and only!" Cocoa said with a proud voice.
"Yes! That was pretty easy. I was worried it was going to be a hassle to find her." Twilight commented.
"Oh, hey. Aren't you that Midnight pony? Your mane looks different in this universe. You don't look like a serious pony also. Weird."
"My name is Twilight Sparkle in this universe. And this is partner Pokemon Eve."
"I'm Ash. And this is my partner Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
"The name's Applejack. A pleasure to meet ya'll." Applejack shook Cocoa's hoof.
"Great to meet you all too. And this is my bestest buddy in the whole world. Rosestar." Cocoa put her hoof around her pegasus friend. "So what did you want with me?"
"We came to find you, hoping you would be able to send Queen Pyrestar and her Canterlot back to their universe." Twilight explained.
"Aha! See? Now that's something of great importance!" Rose spoke.
"Oooh. Sorry. We haven't found a spell yet that can do that. Our spell for universal travel is kinda back at our world. But we're headed to Canterlot Library to see if we can find one."
"Canterlot Library? I'm not sure it has a spell or any information about universal travel." Twilight put her hoof on her chin.
"How come? There has to be something." Applejack said.
"I was surprised when I found out there wasn't. When our worlds first crossed, Princess Celestia informed me that this was the first time our world has ever experienced something like the Rift. If anything we've never had universal travel in our world at all."
"Really? But in our universe, universal travel exists. How come it's not the same for here?" Cocoa asked.
"Maybe it has something to do with how every universe is different from each other. It's called the Multiverse Theory." Rose stepped forward.
"Multiverse theory?" The three of them said in unison.
"Cocoa and I have been to many other universes. Some of them end up being the same but alternate, like this one. They may share the same appearance here and there, but one has something that the other doesn't. So in this universe, there must not be a spell for universal travel at all."
"My favourite one was when we went to that universe with the guilds! There were talking flying cats!" Cocoa exclaimed.
"Point is. We won't end up finding a spell here... unfortunately."
"So then now what? If there's no universal travel spell in this universe, then how are we going to get Queen Pyrestar and her Canterlot back?" Twilight wondered.
They were now in a tricky spot. Cocoa and Rosestar knew about universal travel, but they didn't have the spell with them. And if they don't have it, then how are they ever going to hope to send Queen Pyrestar back and help restore her version of Equestria. Not only that but the concept of universal travel is non-existent in this version of Equestria. That's when Applejack of all ponies suddenly sparked up an idea that she believes just might work.
"I got it!" She shouted.
"What is it Applejack?" Twilight turned to her.
"We've got one pony who can help, probably. Our newest family member. Cold Colt."
"Cold Colt? Oh yeah...he's a creation from the Rift, so he might be able to help us with universal travel! Applejack you're a genius!" Twilight said. "Where is Cold Colt now?!"
"He's all the way back at the Crystal Empire with the rest of my family. We're gonna have to make our way back there if we wanna get his help."
"Then the Crystal Empire it is! Honestly, I'm surprised we didn't think about this sooner. We had a cosmic being in front of our faces the entire time." said Twilight. They had their first sign of hope in the form of a once old enemy turned friend. But they weren't the only ones getting involved with universal travel.
Emerald Aura and Obsidian had asked the Rift to send them to the universe where Queen Pyrestar originated. They travelled through a cosmic tunnel, seeing many stars pass by them in the process. This was normal for them, nothing special really. Once they finally passed through the tunnel, they arrived at the alternate Equestria. And what an odd sight it was. What Queen Pyrestar spoke of was true. Her Equestria had been ruined by Grogar. With the unicorns being the only race of ponies around, they do not have the same strength or capabilities to do what the other two races can. No pegasi to tend the skies and the weather and no earth ponies to tend the earth and the lands. As such, this world struggled greatly, and the essence of magic grew weaker. The unicorns had managed to keep this wasteland from fully fading away by using spells, but those could only get them so far. Magic cannot surmount to what the pegasi and earth ponies were capable of. They had arrived at Ponyville specifically. This version of Ponyville was mostly the same. But the homes and other structures were mouldy and ruined. Possibly from some of Grogar's creatures.
"This place is a wasteland." Emerald commented.
"No kidding. Grogar really did leave them a parting gift. A pretty ugly one." Obsidian spoke.
"So all the earth ponies and pegasi are sealed away, huh? Where could they even be?"
"Who cares. We're not here to find out about that. We're here to see what we can bring over to the more colourful Equestria. Let's see..." Obsidian started to search through Ponyville. The unicorns there were looking at Obsidian and Emerald Aura, but they weren't too surprised since they were unicorns as well. The two had also spotted a familiar-looking building that was heavily run down. Rarity's Carousel Boutique. It had been centuries here, so Rarity was no longer around. As such her boutique was in a horrible state.
In fact, many of the ponies here were unfamiliar to the two. Obsidian and Emerald Aura have seen what everypony in Ponyville looks like. They know their names, their occupations, what their Cutie Marks are, what they sound like, etc. But since centuries have passed, they had passed on. And as such, new unicorns ended up inhabiting Ponyville. Even have their own new mayor, who was trying her very best to keep Ponyville intact. However, despite them all being new ponies, some looked to be descendants of the old residents. Obsidian could spot what looked to be descendant of Amethyst Heart, one of Lyra and many more. All unicorns. Emerald as well. She could see descendants who had some similarities to their ancestors. Although they don't share the same energy as their ancestors. Mostly due to the wasteland that they all live in now.
"Ugh. This place is making me feel sad...For once, I wouldn't mind having Darkrai scare me at this moment." said Emerald.
"Nothing good here to bring. It's so...dry." Obsidian winced. "There has to be something that we can bring over. Or else this must be the most hopeless universe ever." Obsidian stopped for a moment, thinking of what he could possibly do. With the way this alternate reality is, what could they possibly bring over that could change everything? The unicorns wouldn't do. They're too weak to change anything really. Since magic has grown weaker over the centuries, they're not as powerful as they used to be. And the only pony powerful enough is Queen Pyrestar. But right now, she's in the other universe. And she is the only alicorn that exists in this universe. The others were reverted thanks to Grogar. But then, Obsidian had an idea that sparked in him. Since the Rift mostly listens to him and he hatches the plans most of the time, he came up with one that could really spice things up in the other universe. "I got it."
"Oh no...What's on your mind now?" Emerald backed up.
"If we can't find anything useful in this universe...we'll just summon someone to change the course of this universe."
"Uh...who exactly?"
"Ghetsis."
Hearing that made Emerald gasp in shock. This was not a good idea at all. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?! YOU'RE GONNA BRING GHETSIS HERE?!"
"That's right. He's already conquered Saddle-Arabia and made it his own. How about we let him conquer this version of Equestria, making him be the complete owner of this world."
"Okay. But how's that gonna help change things up? He's just gonna be stuck here."
"Oh, no-no. Cause we're going to give him access to universal travel. Meaning he can go back and forth from here to the other Equestria. It's genius."
"It's insane! Ghetsis is pure evil! If you give him all that power, who knows what'll happen! He could start up an entire army and bring them over to THAT Equestria and it'll all go downhill from here! You saw what he did to Celestia!" Emerald was panicking.
"Relax. We're only gonna let him go through two different universes. It's not like we're giving him the power to let him go through every universe to ever exist. Well...That's just a disaster waiting to happen."
"Alright. Are you sure you want to bring Ghetsis over here?"
"Positive. He's the best problem that we've brought back so far. If anything, I'd say he's the perfect enemy to Equestria. Now then. Shall we?"
"Fine...but I still think this is a bit much. It could even put us in danger."
"Rift!" Obsidian called to the sky. And just like that, the cosmic rift revealed itself, pulsating in the skies as it responded to Obsidian.
"Yes? What have you found, Obsidian?"
"I've got a new idea that could really spice things up to a large degree. Would it be good enough to give Ghetsis access to travel between this universe and the other? So that he can conquer this world and build his own empire that can clash against Equestria's. If that's okay with you."
"Hmm. Universal travel to Ghetsis? Possibly one of the most dangerous beings to ever exist. Giving him and Team Plasma that amount of power, especially with Pokemon involved, could spell a cataclysmic event. If anything... that would cause a future large scale war against both universes, including the Pokemon universe. It is a precarious chance. But...it could work. Greatly. Very well. I shall grant Team Plasma universal travel to this world. Let the events play out."
"Oh geez." Emerald cowered as she was terrified of what the results would be once Ghetsis decides to really make his move.
And speaking of Ghetsis, all the way at Saddle-Arabia which was now named the Harmonia Kingdom, Ghetsis was met with a sudden shock in his heart.
"W-What is this?!" He winced, holding his chest as he could feel an unnatural flow of cosmic energy inside him. He raised his hands up, attempting to call for help, but he unknowingly summoned a gateway to the other universe. And just like that, the shock in his heart had faded away. Ghetsis stood up, gazing at the portal. Through it, the first thing his eyes set on was the run-down and dry Ponyville. "This is interesting. What could the Rift be planning now?" Ghetsis looked at his hands. He knew that for something like this, Colress would be the one to talk to.
"You might want to see this, Lord Ghetsis." Colress was running a scan on Ghetsis in his lab as he had found something that he would never expect. He showed the tyrannical man an x-ray diagram of him, but inside of his bones were what appeared to be cosmic dust. "It seems that your body has been given cosmic energy. It's now flowing through your bones, emanating out of you. It has also seemed to pile up with your newfound aura."
"And what does this mean? How does this benefit me in any way?"
"It benefits you... because I have found that you now have Planewalking. Or Universal Travel as it is normally known as. Seems like the Rift has bestowed you with the power to travel between universes. More specifically, the one you unconsciously summoned. And you have opened up a gateway to a rather...bleak universe."
"I see..." Ghetsis grinned as he started to laugh maniacally. He knew what this meant. "To be honest, I should be grateful to the Rift. Not only has it granted me freedom and even heightened my aura...now it has given me the power to travel to another universe. Clearly, my destiny is being fully realized. Soon, I will reach the zenith of my reign. This universe that I have summoned a gateway too... it seems to be hopeless. Conquering it will be easier than even Saddle-Arabia."
"It is interesting. If you now have this sort of power, could be it possible to heighten it more? Perhaps we can elevate your power to make it so that you can travel to other alternate universes, besides this one."
"Work on that. Right now, I have a world to conquer. Bring along Chrysalis and her Changelings. This is the start of something wonderful."
The Crystal Empire, Afternoon. The 4th day of the Pokemon Festival.
Cold Colt is the current potential answer to universal travel. He is made from the Rift, so perhaps, he can help.
"You want me to help you travel through universes?" The young colt said to them.
"Mhm. Cold Colt. You're a pony who we've befriended and also is connected to the Rift. So you might know a thing or two about universal travel." Twilight spoke.
"Plus, this is a chance for you to help out and forget about what you did to those Weavile's back then," said Applejack. "Think you can help?"
"Well. I guess I could but have you all forgotten? My magic kinda sucks. The Rift won't even listen to me anymore so I can't enhance it. And it only causes problems and nothing else. How am I gonna help then?"
"That is true...your magic is more of a cause for problems..." Twilight started to think, wondering how they can work around this. "Any ideas?" She turned to Applejack, Ash, Cocoa and Rosestar.
"I got nothing, sugarplum." Applejack shook her head.
"Nope!" Cocoa exclaimed.
"Sorry. Nothing comes to mind."
"Hmm... Hold on. I think there's one way." Ash had sparked something up.
"What is it, Ash? What have you got?" Twilight went up to him.
"We get Victini to help!"
"Pika!"
"Victini? Isn't that the Mythical Pokemon with the giant V on its head?" said Cocoa?
"Victini has the power to make anyone pumped up and enhance what they're normally capable of and all that other stuff right? Why don't we let Victini boost Cold Colt's magic?"
"That is true...But there's still the issue of his magic only causing problems and nothing else. How do we work around that?" Twilight asked.
"We've got a Pokemon for that too. Togetic!"
"PiPika!"
"Togetic?" Twilight and Applejack both said.
"Togetic is a Pokemon that brings that good luck. If it sees anyone with a pure heart, all that good luck just soaks into ya." Cocoa explained.
"If that's the case, then both Victini and Togetic are our best bets." Rosestar commented.
"Yeah. If I was pure of heart. Which I'm not. I ended up causing a bunch of Weavile's to go rouge, worked alongside Sombra and I even worked alongside Obsidian and Emerald. No way it's gonna shower me with good luck." Cold Colt turned around, calling back to his previous actions. Applejack went up to him, putting her hoof around the young colt's neck.
"It's true. You were a pretty bad egg before. But after seeing you not wanting to be a troublemaker even if you're stuck like this and how you're crushing on my sister, you're not so bad as you were. If anything you're a pretty decent colt now. If I'm being honest, you're almost good enough to be a little brother and proper member of the good ol' Apple family."
"You really think I'm decent?" Cold Colt looked up at her as the Element of Honest nodded her head.
"Don't let it get to you Cold Colt." Twilight walked up to him. "You're still young and just a little boy. You're still growing...at least, I think cosmic creations can age. But point is, you're learning from everypony in Ponyville and all across Equestria now. I'm sure that eventually, you'll grow into a kind-hearted pony."
"Mmmrgh...okay I get it! Quit talking all mushy to me." Cold Colt felt embarrassed with his cheeks blushing but didn't want to show that he was grateful for them being this kind to him. He wanted to act all tough. "Let's hurry up and find those Pokemon already."
"Great! All we gotta do is head back to Canterlot, head to the relief zone and ask Victini to help. And if we get lucky, we bump into a Togetic." Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"But first. Can we stop for some food? I'm hungry from all that adventuring so far." Ash held his stomach.
"And in the meantime, we can help you improve as a pony, Cold Colt. I'm sure Togetic would give you all its good luck once it sees how much you've changed." Applejack said.
Whilst they focus on getting Cold Colt to help them travel through universes, Queen Pyrestar could feel something off. She put her hoof in her face, sensing an odd feeling through her. This unexplained sensation was coming from her original universe. Ghetsis had made his way to her universe and had overtaken it. "What is this...?" She uttered. Even if she was away from her world, everything that happened there, she could still feel. Just then, that feeling was gone. She took a deep breath, worrying evermore.
Staying inside this castle wasn't helping either. It just reminded her of the unfortunate events that occurred centuries ago. And waiting for Ash and the others to send her back might take a long time. She had to get all of these thoughts and worries out of her head. So for once, in centuries, she decides to exit out of the once glorious and beautiful Canterlot Castle.
Stepping out, she came across the ponies who lived here. Normally they would be upset at Queen Pyrestar, but after Ash told them what really happened in the past, their anger towards her had been diminished. Pyrestar on the other hoof wasn't feeling this new look. Everywhere she looked, it was nothing but mouldy buildings and unicorns wearing Alicorn Amulets in order to preserve their lost magic.
She continued her walk until she came across the tunnel entrance. Once she passes through that tunnel, no longer will she be in a century-old kingdom. But in the Crystal Empire. An Empire that had died out in her universe many centuries ago. The tunnel opened up for the fused Celestia and Luna. The unicorns watched as they saw their once cheery rulers walk away without saying a word. Normally, Celestia would smile and wave, but not this time.
Pyrestar had left that area after so many centuries, and once she did, the first thing she laid her eyes was the Crystal Empire and the Pokemon Festival. What she saw was something she thought she'd never see ever again. She saw not just the Crystal Ponies but ponies from across the world at the festival. Not only that, but she saw ponies from Canterlot here as well, visiting for the festival. A smile came to her face. One that hadn't been seen for years. Ever since her subjects back in her universe were sealed away other than the unicorns, she was pleased to see pegasi and earth ponies roaming around.
Ash was having a quick snack as he spotted Pyrestar standing there." Hm?" He then saw how she was about to break into tears. And for good reason. She hadn't seen a ray of hope and light in so long. "Queen Pyrestar?" Ash's words had grabbed everypony's attention. Soon, all ponies had seen Queen Pyrestar, identifying her as a new princess. But they had no idea that she was actually the fusion of the two sisters, Celestia and Luna. They all flocked to her, admiring her appearance and mane. All the chatter that she was hearing about her only made her tears more visible.
"Queen Pyrestar? What's wrong?" Twilight walked up to her.
"Eevee?"
Pyrestar couldn't reply as she covered her eyes with her hoof. The tears she formed were about to drop on the floor, but due to the solar heat of her body, they evaporated before they could. Everypony else was confused about why she was crying. And then all of a sudden, Ash's Dragonite flew towards Pyrestar, giving her a warm hug. This had ceased the crying for a bit, but Pyrestar returned the favour by pulling everyone else closer to her. She gave every single of them a hug. A hug that can only be described as being equivalent to a family reunion. And that's what it felt like. Reuniting with family. Because to Pyrestar, before she fused into one, Equestria was her home and everypony there weren't just her subjects, but they all felt like family. And she felt like a mother seeing her children once more.
"I've missed you all." She uttered.
Ash, the Mane 6 and their Pokemon knew exactly why she was feeling this way. They knew that it must've been hard missing a majority of the population whilst everything seemed hopeless in your universe, and you were doing your best to try and fix everything. So seeing her like this was heartwarming even if it did have a tragic factor to it.
Just then, Cadence had looked over her balcony, seeing the huge hug pile. It had caught her curiosity for a bit as she flew down to the pile. "What's going on here? Is there a hugging activity that I don't know of?" She asked as everypony looked to her. Pyrestar's tears kicked in once more as she flew over to Cadence, hugging her as well.
"Cadence!"
"Uh...Hi. D-Do I know you?" Cadence said as she was surprised at the sudden hug. She didn't mind it though. Hugs are always good, and Cadence could tell this hug was made out of love, even if she didn't know who she was yet.
"That princess seems very emotional. Is she a princess of emotions perhaps?" A pony asked.
"She looks a lot like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Bizarre..." A mare placed a hoof on her chin.
"That's because she is Princess Celestia and Luna. They kinda fused into one. Queen Pyrestar." Once again, Ash casually explained. Everypony turned to Ash, then to Pyrestar, then back to Ash and then back to Pyrestar. Cadence had heard this as well she was looking Pyrestar in the eyes.
"Huh? HUH?!" Everypony bellowed at the same time.
"Ash. You can't just go around casually explaining important stuff." Twilight walked up to him. "Then again, that is exactly like you." She laughed.
"Hello." Pyrestar waved as everypony recognized the dual voices of Celestia and Luna in Pyrestar. It really was her.
"How...a spell that allows two ponies to fuse? How is that even possible?" Cadence looked at Pyrestar, walking around her. "When did you do this?"
"And how come you didn't announce you were?" A pony asked from the crowd.
"No, silly. This is a different Celestia and Luna from another universe." Pinkie spoke. "Our two princesses are still the same and on their own."
"Another universe? What happened in your universe that caused this?" Cadence asked.
"I think it's best that you don't know for now." Fluttershy fluttered over to Cadence.
"Well, Cele- I mean. Queen Pyrestar. Glad to have you with us in our universe. Hope you enjoy the festival." Cadence gave off a soft smile.
"Hey! I've got an idea! Why don't we show you to OUR Celestia and Luna?" Pinkie put her hoof around the fused princess.
"Is that even a good idea? What'll happen if they meet? WHAT IF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE SPLITS IN HALF IF BOTH VERSIONS END UP MAKING CONTACT, CAUSING A DIMENSIONAL PARADOX?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Calm down, Twi. The universe won't break apart if two versions meet. Trust me, I know." Ash reassured.
"I'm not sure what my old selves used to look like. I've been fused as Pyrestar for so many centuries that I barely even remember what my two selves were appearance-wise." Pyrestar commented.
"I'm sure once you see them, you'll know what you used to look like. Why don't I come along with you? I just finished all the work I had to do today anyways."
"So should we tell them about how her universe ended up?" Cocoa whispered to Rosestar's ears.
"Now's now the best time Cocoa. Let's just get Victini and Togetic, and we're good to go."
Canterlot. The Pokemon Festival. 4 hours left until the moon rises.
"I must be seeing things." Celestia rubbed her eyes along with Luna. They had ended up bringing Pyrestar to this Canterlot and their eyes almost looked like they were playing tricks on them.
"No. I see it, sister. She really does look like a fusion of the two of us." said Luna.
"Pyrestar is it? I didn't think we'd adopt a new name once we fused, honestly. I wasn't even aware that a fusion spell like that existed. I've heard of fusing magic but not ponies." Celestia commented.
"In my universe, such a thing exists. But I am surprised that this is what I used to look like." Pyrestar suddenly placed her hooves on Celestia and Luna's face, feeling them. "Was my skin always so smooth? When I was Celestia, were my eyes always pinkish?" And when I was Luna, was I always this short?"
"Short?!" Luna winced.
"You must have been fused for a long time if you've forgotten what parts of us look like," Celestia said. "But it is odd. How is it that you managed to and gain an appearance like this?"
"The magic that was used to merge me was actually known as the Synchronize-Spell. It is capable of merging anypony into one single entity. It does not matter what race the pony is. Pegasus, unicorn or earth pony. They can all become one and create their own individual pony. It is a high-risk, high-reward spell. The reward and outcome are wonderful but the risk and process can cause potential damage to the two."
"Potential damage? What do you mean by that?" Luna asked.
"Even though any pony race can merge if one pony has significantly weaker magic, wingspan or hoof strength than the other one who holds much more, then once both of them fuse, the much more potent pony can end up gravely harming the weaker pony. When I was still Celestia and Luna, we were both on equal levels, meaning that once we fused, our bodies were fine and there was no harm done."
"It sounds like a doozy of a spell..." Twilight spoke. "But you two can defuse, right?"
"The concept of us infusing is...unlikely."
"Huh?!" Twilight ran up to her. "There has to be a way you can return to being Celestia and Luna. There's no way that the fusion is permanent!"
"It's not that it is permanent, Midnight. Sorry, I mean Twilight Sparkle. One of the flaws of the Synchronize is that depending on both ponies and how they both compare to each other, the time limit is decided. If the ponies are relatively weak, the fusion will last around a day or a few hours or minutes. If they are slightly stronger, it can up to weeks and possibly even months. But for us alicorns, it can feel like an eternity. I still to this day have no clue on when I will defuse and return to being Celestia and Luna. That is my one major regret on performing this spell."
"You obviously must've done it for a greater cause." Celestia placed her hoof on Pyrestar's back as she and Luna smiled at their fused counterpart. "If you went out of your way to perform a spell that grand, then your heart must've been in the right place. So the regrets you hold do not compare to the sacrifice you made."
"And we can safely say that we would make the decision you have." Luna commented.
"Thank you. Me...or rather, Celestia and Luna. I suppose I can tell you two and Cadence why I decided to fuse. Twilight Sparkle and the others already know of the reason. So it is best that you three hear this as well."
"We are curious as to why you ended up like this." Luna sat down.
Canterlot. The Pokemon Festival. 3 hours until the sun sets for the day.
Outside, the festival continues as usual, but on the inside, Pyrestar had explained what happened in her universe to Celestia, Luna and Cadence. She had already explained it all to Ash, Twilight and the others, but the other 3 alicorns needed to hear this, especially since she is their fused counterpart.
"Unbelievable. To think such a universe exists." Luna had just taken all of that information and lore in.
"So your universe's Grogar returned. By the Rift of course." Celestia spoke. "And only the unicorns remained..."
"It's even crazier the second time you hear it!" Pinkie uttered.
"That is why I must return to my universe and set things right. If I can somehow find a spell that can break the seal, then my Equestria can thrive once more. I just hope I can find it soon enough."
"That's where we come in." Ash stood up. "We've found a possible way to fix all of this. In the form of this little guy." Ash picked up Cold Colt, showing him to the three princesses.
"Heh. I get to be the hero for once." Cold Colt smirked.
"All we have to do is get help from Victini and Togetic. Togetic can spread good luck so his magic won't cause any trouble and Victini can give him loads of energy to make his magic much more powerful! Sounds like a straight-forward plan eh?"
"Pika-PiPika!"
"When you put it like that, it does seem like a plan that could smoothly play out without fail," Luna said. "I assume that you know the location of these two Pokemon?"
"Well, we know Victini's hanging around in the relief zone. But as for Togetic, that's gonna take some searching." Ash explained.
"I am truly thankful to you all for wanting to help me return back to my universe." Pyrestar smiled.
"Yeah! And it means we'll be getting back to ours very soon. Although I kinda wanna stay in this one for a while." Cocoa grinned.
"We shall wait for you all to return with the two Pokemon. Until then, Me...or rather, Pyrestar. Perhaps, to get your mind of all that gloominess...why don't you enjoy the festival with us?"
"Enjoy the festival? I...have not been to a festival in centuries. I may have even forgotten how to even have fun." Pyrestar looked down.
"That is why we are here. You are us and we are you. So this will not be a problem for us, at all." Luna said.
"Very well. I shall go."
"Then let's not waste any time!" Celestia cheerfully said as she and Luna dragged their fused self outside of the castle to experience the fun of the festival.
At the festival, the first thing that Pyrestar was introduced to was the food. This was Celestia's decision, mostly due to her love of cakes, which is the food that she is hoping that Pyrestar can enjoy. If she's half Celestia, then her love of cakes must still remain.
"If you're part of me, you'll obviously love cakes." Celestia used her magic to grab a slice, lending it to her fused self.
"I...have not eaten cake in centuries. In fact, I have barely eaten for so long. What if my taste buds have diminished greatly?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Any cake is forever delicious. Here." Celestia sent the cake near Pyrestar's mouth as the fused alicorn took a single bite out of the pastry.
Once she did, countless years of bliss had returned to her mouth. The wonderful taste of not just cake, but food itself had been revived for her. This made her break into tears once more, but again, the heat of her body evaporated the tears into nothing. "I've missed this feeling." She wailed. Her happiness was so great that she face-planted into the cake, crying inside of it. But the cake ended up melting due to her body heat. So now she was just crying in a puddle of icing. Celestia and Luna pat their fused self in the back to try and cease the crying as Mr and Mrs Cake awkwardly looked at each other.
"Well. You've experienced my sister's love for cake. Now it is time for you to experience what I love as well." Luna said.
What they ended up doing next was participating in a Pokemon attraction. Luna had grown fond of them ever since she saw everypony else partake in them. The most popular one which was still here ever since the first day was Lopunny's Dance Inferno. Only one pony has ever won this fast-paced attraction and that is Rainbow Dash. Everyone else can't even keep up with Lopunny once the music increases in speed.
"This Dance Inferno is particularly my favourite of the attractions. Although I have yet to conquer it. But when I do, I will revel in the shock of Lopunny. You hear that rabbit?!" Luna bellowed over at Lopunny raised her hoof at Rabbit Pokemon.
"Lo." The Rabbit Pokemon turned its head, aggravating Luna as the moon princess grit her teeth.
"But perhaps...since you are a fusion of me and my sister, this Dance Inferno will barely even be trouble for you. Not only that, but that will technically count as me beating the Dance Inferno." Luna turned to Pyrestar.
"I suppose so. I have not danced since the Grand Galloping Gala as Celestia from centuries ago."
"Forget about the centuries and the time distance. Just have fun. You have all the time in the world now that you're here at the Pokemon Festival." Celestia put Pyrestar in the back. The fused princess walked up to the stands as she was competing against a unicorn. Lopunny gave the other to start the music as the process repeated itself once more. Lopunny tends to use the same moves it knows but switches it up by throwing in new moves, so the dancers have to really keep an eye on her if anything is different.
For Pyrestar, it was going well, but the look on her face was a bit unenthusiastic. But as the dancing moved on and she followed Lopunny's movements, that unenthusiastic look on her face was slowly evolving into a much more chippy expression. Everypony gathered up to see this fused alicorn dance away. Most of them weren't even aware she was Celestia and Luna yet. Not everypony has gotten the word so far.
Celestia and Luna watched as they saw Pyrestar slowly starting to enjoy all of this. Her frown morphed into a smile as she was getting with the music and movements. Soon, it was time for Lopunny and the music to speed up. The unicorn that Pyrestar was facing couldn't really keep with Lopunny's movements. Just like every other pony. But as for Pyrestar, since she's a fusion of two alicorns, everything about her is magnified. Including her speed. Soon, she was the only pony other than Rainbow Dash who could keep up with Lopunny's pace. The unicorn, on the other hand, had fallen on the floor due to exhaustion.
"Lopun." Lopunny had raised up Queen Pyrestar's hoof, declaring her the winner. Everypony, including Celestia and Luna and the humans, gave her a mighty congratulatory applause. This all reached Pyrestar's ears. All the resounding applause from everyone was reaching her heart. She knew that she had cried enough for today, but she couldn't help it. This really was something that she just missed with all her heart.
Celestia and Luna saw that the sun was slowly moving along, meaning that the time for the moon was nearing. Now all they had to do is continue to wait for Victini and Togetic.
And what of Victini and Togetic? Well, heading to the relief zone, Fluttershy had convinced Victini to help Cold Colt improve his magic prowess. Victini being a friend to both Ash and Fluttershy was up to help. That one was simple and easy to do, but the tricky one came in the form of Togetic. A Pokemon that is fairly hard to find unless you can catch yourself a Togepi and evolve.
"Ash. You're the Pokemon expert. Where do we find a Togetic?" Twilight asked.
"Hmm. Tough to say. They're not as common as most other Pokemon. Pretty rare to see one just flying or walking about in the wild."
"There isn't any at the Pokemon House either." Fluttershy shook her head.
"If we don't find a Togetic, this might take a while." Rosestar sighed.
"Why don't we just ask Hollow? He's a Pokemon Teacher so he might know where to find some. Most likely." Rarity suggested.
"Great thinking Rarity!" Pinkie bounced up. "And I think I see him now!" The pink earth pony dashed over to the gothic dressed human who was about to take a bite out of an apple." Hollow!"
Hollow was startled as he dropped his apple, catching his breath. "What is it Pinkie?"
"Well! My friends and I were hoping if you could tell us where to find a Togetic. We kinda need all that yummy good luck."
"A Togetic? Well...they're pretty hard to come by honestly. You can only find them in Sinnoh and Johto. The easier route is to catch yourself a Togepi." Hollow explained.
"That would be easy, but I don't think we can waste any time." Rosestar walked up to Hollow. "We have to return to our own universe as soon as we can."
"Your own universe?"
"It's a long story. Point is, we're planning to use the good luck of Togetic and the unlimited energy of Victini." Twilight explained.
"Well, you're in luck. You won't have to go all the way to Sinnoh or Johto." Hollow stood up from his seat. "In my Pokemon Box Link, I've got some Togetic's lying around. I was gonna save the box link for my class but if it's for a good cause then I can pitch in."
"Woowee! You'll be performing fancy-schmancy magic with good results in no time, Cold Colt." Applejack patted Cold Colt's back.
Hollow pulled out his Rotom-phone, tapping into his Pokedex. This was the first time Ash and the others were seeing something like this. And what they saw was a bit bizarre for the eyes. Hollow had decided to swap out his Sandile for Togetic by having his Pokeball digitize into a smaller size. The Pokeball was then transferred through the phone as another one came out in the form of a Great Ball. Hollow held the Great Ball in his hand, tapping the button on the ball as it sent out the Fairy-Flying-Type Togetic.
"What the?! How is that even possible?!" Twilight was flabbergasted along with the others.
"That was FREAKY!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Applejack rubbed her eyes, thinking that she was seeing things.
"So cool!" Ash shouted.
"So that's Togetic?" Rainbow Dash pulled out her Pokedex.
"Togetic. The Happiness Pokemon. Togetic is said to be a Pokémon that brings good fortune. When the Pokémon spots someone who is pure of heart, it is said to appear and share the full force its happiness with that person. It grows dispirited if it is not with kind people. It can float in midair without moving its wings. It scatters a glowing essence called “joy dust.”
"Alright. So, all you need is that good luck combined with Victini's energy right? Togetic will be happy to help. Right?" Hollow turned to his Pokemon.
"To!" The Happiness Pokemon replied. Togetic flew over to Cold Colt as the rift pony looked up at it. He was a bit nervous that Togetic wouldn't see him as kind-hearted. Especially not pure of heart. Applejack held her breath in, hoping the Pokemon would see him as a good pony.
Togetic flew around Cold Colt reading his character. In order to spread its joy dust, Togetic reads the character of anyone it meets, so that it doesn't end up giving good luck to the wrong person or Pokemon. The Happiness Pokemon could see that while Cold Colt used to be a mischievous pony, he was only doing what the Rift assigned him to. Not only that but he wishes to have his magic be at least on the safe side, and he had fallen for Apple Bloom out of pure love, even if she hasn't seen it. Togetic had also seen that Cold Colt has been slowly evolving into a fairly good pony. He's still on the gruff side, tending to have squabbles with Applejack and making up a heap of lies in order to impress Apple Bloom and so on. But other than that, these past weeks and months that he's been with the Apple Family over at Sweet Apple Acres have changed even this cosmic creation for the better, even if the progress is a bit on the slow side. Togetic had nodded its head, choosing to give some of its joy dust to him, but only a little for being a decent pony.
"Toget-To." The Happiness Pokemon flew back to Hollow.
"It's done and done. Now you've permanently got good luck in you. Even if it is on the small side." Hollow said.
"So...does that mean my magic isn't for trouble anymore?" Cold Colt looked up to Applejack.
"Only one way to find out. Try using it on this here pie." Applejack held a pie in her hoof. "See what you can do."
Cold Colt turned to the delectable food, starting up some magic in his horn. The cosmic magic that flowed through his body was emanating, having blue sparks fly out of them. This was the first time he felt like this. Normally whenever he uses his magic for trouble, it was fairly easy, no struggle at all. Then, a tiny sparkle of magic flew out of his horn as it made contact with the pie.
Normally, if his magic came into contact with anything, two outcomes would occur. Mind control and rouge Pokemon and ponies running about. But in this case, with the joy dust flowing through him, the magic ended up actually causing the pie to sparkle. It gained a beautiful yet faint sparkling aura in it that resembled sparkling water. Everyone leaned in to get a good look at this newfound pie.
"Sparkling Apple Pie!" Pinkie Pie said. "I own that name now."
"Amazing. It's so fabulous!" Rarity gazed. "Although it is a bit on the faint side, darling but that's fine. Small beginnings after all."
"It won't be small beginnings for long. Not with Victini around." Fluttershy looked up at the Victory Pokemon.
"Victini!"
"We're ready to power you up via Victini. But a quick notice." Ash raised his finger up. "Victini's power boost lasts for a bit, so make sure you use it as fast as you can."
"Pikachu."
"And even then, Victini never runs out of energy so it can keep you powered up forever if it's around you." Hollow stepped in.
"All these feats that Pokemon perform make me wonder where all that magic source is coming from." Twilight wondered.
"Don't think about it for too long, darling. I think we've already agreed that Pokemon are just beyond our understanding," said Rarity. "Now. What are we waiting for? Shall we get started?"
"Right. All I have to do is tap into alternate universes...I can do this." Cold Colt took a deep breath as Victini surrounded him.
"Tini...." The Victory Pokemon shared its infinite boundless energy towards Cold Colt. Just then, the young pony could feel a ridiculous surge of magic building up in him. Unlike anything that he had ever felt before. Twilight and the other ponies stood back, watching the blazing aura surround him. They were wondering what it would be like to be powered up by Victini as a pony. It must be something special.
Cold Colt felt all that victory energy surging through him. The sensation was tough to describe. "I feel...I feel...I feel..."
"Like you can do anything?" Ash commented. "It's an awesome feeling ain't it?"
"Yeah! Okay. Here goes!" Cold Colt then focused his magic once more, and this time it came up in an instant. There was no buildup. Even for an alicorn, it takes 1 second for their magic to come up. But with the energy of Victini, that second is reduced into an instant flash.
Not only did he end up summoning a portal, and in broad daylight in front of everyone at the festival, but also ended up summoning multiple portals, all leading to alternate universes with their own outcomes. Celestia, Luna and Pyrestar turned their heads to see the multitude of gateways spreading across the skies of Canterlot. Victini's energy tends to transcend the limitations of anyone.
"Woah nelly." Applejack took her hat off as she was perplexed by this sight.
"Those are all alternate universes...every single of them," Twilight uttered. "Look at that one!" She raised her hoof up to a portal that showed a universe where Fluttershy became an alicorn instead of Twilight.
"Oh my. That happened there?" Fluttershy was surprised.
"Forget that! Check that one out!" Rainbow Dash flew over to a portal showing a universe where the Mane 6 ended up becoming apart of what seemed to be a space federation. There was one where the Mane 6 were stallions, one where King Sombra was good and even married Celestia, one where the Mane 6 were replaced with Sunset Shimmer, Trixie, Soarin Big Macintosh, Cheese Sandwich and Cloudchaser. Everywhere they looked, something was different one way or the other.
"There are so many of them. Which one is ours and Queen Pyrestar's?" Cocoa wondered.
Just then, in one particular portal, Twilight noticed a universe that had her, but something was not right. That version of her seemed to be wearing a sort of robe fit for an empress. And behind here was a massive fleet of spaceships. It was similar to the space federation universe, but in this one, Twilight seemed to be under a tyrannical rule. She gasped seeing this horrible alternate universe and how she could end up like that.
"Have you found yours yet?" Celestia asked Pyrestar.
"I believe it may be...that one!" Pyrestar pointed her hoof over at the gateway that led to her universe. But what she saw and what everypony else saw shocked them. Standing in the gateway, looking down on them all was the greatest threat that continued to loom over them all.
Ghetsis.
He stood there in Queen Pyrestar's Equestria with a mighty stance over a balcony. He had overtaken Equestria easily due to there barely being any resistance, and he had transformed its dreary appearance into an entire utopia of Team Plasma. Granted, it wasn't finished yet since he had just gotten there, but he had certainly made a huge change to everything. Not only that, but everypony in that universe were serving under Ghetsis's rule, living in buildings made by Team Plasma as the grunts kept an eye on them. But really, the unicorns couldn't do anything to try and resist. They had already lost a lot of hope, so there was barely any resistance. Now this version of Equestria was apart of his Harmonia Kingdom.
"Hahaha! How do you, Equestria? Do you like what I have done with the place? To be honest, it was unbelievably easy! The entire world was nothing but a wasteland. So I changed it for the better."
"Ghetsis! You would even go as far as to conquer another universe?!" Celestia bellowed.
"But of course. I have been given a second chance with my freedom, to rule over all! This universe was simple enough to conquer, and eventually, yours will be mine as well! I can already see your seething rage, Celestia. I already have a mass rule over what once used to be your precious Saddle-Arabia... And now with this universe in the mix, my kingdom only grows in size evermore."
"Release my subjects!" Pyrestar took off from the ground, charging towards the gateway. However, to her surprise and everyone else, she was denied entrance from it. Ghetsis had outstretched his arm, blocking her from returning to her universe. "W-What?"
"But...if I am to rule all universes... I obviously must have control of universal travel as well! Now I can pass through both worlds whenever I want! This is proof that my destiny is even greater than it used to be. So rest well, Equestria. Very soon, you will be under my rule and only my rule. The time will come when I end up taking what I will soon own. Farewell. I'll be seeing you back in this universe. And as for you, Ash Ketchum." Ghetsis turned to Ash and Pikachu were looking up at him. "I will make sure that you do not stop me a second time. You only got lucky thanks to that no good son of mine, N. But this time, luck won't save you. I'll crush all those dreams you have and even that pathetic magic of friendship your pony friends hold." Ghetsis laughed maniacally as he closed the gateway to Pyrestar's universe.
"My universe. My subjects." Pyrestar sat down on the ground, lowering her head. "This can't be happening." She started to lose all hope as everypony turned to Queen Pyrestar. They started to chatter about what just happened and Ghetsis's threat against them. Ash walked up to Pyrestar, putting his hand over her back. The saddened fused alicorn looked up to Ash, seeing him and Pikachu give her a smile.
"No need to worry."
"Pikachu!"
"We'll stop Ghetsis, take down his kingdom, and get you back home so you can bring back the pegasi and the earth ponies."
"How can you be so sure...? Not only did I fail to protect the other two pony races from Grogar seal, I have also lost access to my home. It is hopeless."
"You can count on me, Pyrestar. I'll make sure that it all turns around."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"I'd listen to him." Delia suddenly spoke as he walked to them. "What Ash says its true. He may not look it, but there's no one better to put all your faith in that Ash.
"Ash's stubbornness tends to guarantee success a majority of the time." Oak nodded his head.
"What they say is true, Pyrestar." Celestia walked up to her, helping her stand up from the ground. "Ash has proven time and time again that he can guarantee the safety and happiness of others, even if it means his own life. He will do whatever it takes to make sure that anypony has a smile on their face. So all you have to do is put your faith in Ash and his friends." The words Celestia said had been heard by everyone in Canterlot. Their fear of Ghetsis had been diminished, knowing that they have a source of hope right there. Pyrestar looked up to Ash as he gave her a thumbs up. All it took was a few actions from the trainer and he brought hope to her.
"Alright. I will put all my faith in you. Ash Ketchum." She let out a soft smile.
"Awesome! We'll flatten Ghetsis and laugh about whatever silly stuff we get into next time!"
"Pikachu!"
"Now let's continue this festival. I'm in the mood for some more attractions!" Ash walked off as everypony continued the festival with their moods lightened up.
"He always knows what to say, doesn't he?" Rarity looked at Ash.
"Mhm. My boy is a strange one, that's for sure." Delia went up to the Mane 6. "I can guarantee you, there's no in any universe like Ash. But that's what makes me such a proud mother."
"And we'll follow Ash's ideals. We'll put our faith in him too. Right girls?" Twilight said.
"Mhm." They all shook their heads.
"And as for you Cold Colt. I can teach you about some magic now that you can use it for good." Twilight turned to Cold Colt. The power-up from Victini had worn out as the portals were vanishing. Every last one of them. But the final portal that closed was of the universe were Twilight had become an empress.
At her universe, she saw the entire thing go down, overhearing it all. She sat down on her throne, now learning about universal travel herself. Something that was even unheard of in her own universe. "Universal travel? Not a bad form of transportation. If I can somehow get access to an amazing power like that..."
Night had arrived at the festival. The 4th day was finally coming to an end. Meaning that only 3 days remain for the Pokemon Festival.
Pyrestar was standing over the balcony of Canterlot. Looking down at the festival. She was grateful that Ash is willing to help fix everything for her, but she couldn't get Ghetsis off her mind. Celestia walked up to Pyrestar, seeing her in a deep thoughtful state.
"Still unable to get Ghetsis off your mind, Pyrestar?"
"Yes. Even though I have put all my faith in Ash Ketchum, I still fear this Ghetsis character. Just as much as I feared Grogar."
"I understand. Ever since our worlds crossed over and the Rift appeared, life has been vastly different. Especially for us alicorns that live for an exceedingly long time. But to be honest...life is a bit more fun with the inclusion of Pokemon in our world."
"Is it now? I would not know. Fun has faded away from my world."
"For now. I can guarantee you...He will make things right. And I will make sure that I help him. All of Equestria will help." Celestia gave a reassuring smile. "Now come on. There's still some cake left that hasn't been finished yet."
Ash, Twilight and the others were headed back to the Crystal Empire to continue their unfinished fun. They haven't really gotten the chance to fully enjoy themselves, not after what happened yesterday. Speaking of yesterday, everyone had ended up seeing the portals to various multiverses, pop up. They had also seen the one where Ghetsis had conquered, and how he threatens to conquer their world as well, expanding his Harmonia Kingdom rule. But the one that couldn't really leave Twilight's mind, was the universe where she saw herself as a tyrannical ruler. One that had an entire fleet of spaceships behind her. She only thought those existed in those silly comics that Spike reads. But in alternate universes, anything is possible. Twilight was on the train, worried about that version of her. But what about that alternate Twilight? What is occurring in her universe?
The universe where Twilight reigns supreme of even the cosmos.
The empress of the universe, Twilight Sparkle sat down on her throne which was located in space via a floating empire. It was clear that this universe's technology had far exceeded that of even magic. But, magic was still essential here. Empress Twilight was currently thinking about universal travel. After hearing about it, she yearned for an ability like that. If she was to continue her conquest, it wouldn't hurt to even conquer other universes. Both she and Ghetsis shared a similar goal. Total domination over everything.
Her entire empire floated in the grandiose scape of the universe. She already established her rule over her Earth. Everypony on Earth served under her, even the alicorns. The Celestia, Luna and Cadence of this universe were now degraded to just lowly servants who serve beside Twilight. Luna was her royal advisor while Celestia ended up being given the role of a maid. As for Cadence, she was tasked with keeping watch of the prison cells, making sure nopony that Twilight deemed as traitorous would try and escape.
As for her friends, she found no use for them. Instead, they were locked up in the intergalactic prison for attempting to try and stop her. Twilight in this universe was already an alicorn, so they barely stood a chance, but not only that, the reason why and how she was capable of achieving a feat this grand is due to what happened at a certain point in time.
In this universe, Chrysalis, Tirek and a pony by the name of Cozy Glow ended up forming an alliance to get their revenge on Twilight. Their source of revenge was the Bewitching Bell that Grogar owned. Ultimately, they were overcome by the magic of friendship, however, the Rift had intervened, causing Twilight to instead, take the bell for herself. Because of this, all the magic, including Discord's chaos magic had been transferred to Twilight. It was this moment in time were Twilight's motivations had been shifted. All those friendship lessons she had taught everypony and all the friends she had made meant nothing now. Once she had all the power, she immediately overtook the entirety of Equestria. Soon her intelligence was heightened, causing her to be able to build space ships and advance technology further.
It wasn't long until she managed to conquer her own universe, and eventually reaching space. She ordered everypony to build her empire, establishing her absolute rule over every single creature. It wasn't just limited to Equestria. Even the lands were Tirek hailed from were overtaken by the tyrannical alicorn.
She was no longer the Princess of Friendship. Not anymore. Instead, she became Empress Twilight Sparkle. And her empire was known as Twilight Imperium. And her total rule meant a whole new look. Her appearance had changed greatly. Her mane was now the same ethereal mane as Celestia and Luna. Not only that, but she was the same height as Celestia now. Her empress attire was a dark purple robe that had her Cutie Mark on the sides along with regalia that illuminated a purple glow. She really went all out for it.
"Universal travel. Perhaps there is a spell that can allow me to do so." Twilight spoke. She used Discord's chaos magic to try and summon a portal to another universe, but to her surprise, nothing happened. It seems as though the Rift, who she was aware of had blocked her from casually travelling to other universes, forcing her to find another way. "Tch. How annoying. The Rift decides to change my motivations in order to obtain all this power, yet he denies my access to other worlds. No matter. I'll find a way eventually." She used her chaos magic to teleport a multitude of books in front of her as she started reading. "Let's see...universal travel." She ended up easily finding a page where it describes Planewalking. "Aha. Planewalking. The magic to move between other dimensions and realities. It seems my studies aren't over yet."
Back to the other world, Twilight still continued to think about the tyrannical version of herself she saw. Seeing it made her realise that Equestria will have to deal with a plethora of threats. Adagio is roaming around, Ghetsis has already established control over Saddle-Arabia and is aiming for everywhere else, and there is also the looming threat of Starlight Glimmer who she has not seen ever since. And Twilight isn't even aware that Chrysalis had escaped from the dungeon thanks to Colress. Needless to say, Equestria's threats were larger than they have ever been.
"Twilight?" Fluttershy suddenly spoke to her, snapping her out of it. "Are you alright? You're completely zoned out."
"Eevee?" Her Pokemon, Eve looked up at her.
"I'm fine. Just thinking about some stuff. But, I'm kind of curious about one thing..."
"Yes?" Fluttershy leaned in.
"Why are you two still here?" Twilight turned to Cocoa and Rosestar, who haven't left this universe yet.
"Well...we had a chance to go back...but Cocoa here insisted that we stay around until the festival ends." Rosestar sighed.
"If we just leave without being there on the last day, it'd be so underwhelming. You get what I mean right?" Cocoa said. "And besides, we'll just get Cold Colt to send us back when we ask Victini for help, no biggie."
"Yeah. But uh, please don't use me as a personal ride." Cold Colt uttered.
Suddenly, the train came to a halt, stopping all of a sudden.
"Why'd we stop? And can trains just suddenly stop on the tracks?" Twilight asked.
"Uh. Small issue everypony. It seems we have a bit of a problem in the middle of the train tracks." The Conductor popped his head out of the door.
What the problem was...a flock of Wooloo were resting on the train tracks. The reason why the train stopped is because a Snorlax was with them, resting as well. Twilight and the others looked outside to see this sight.
"Are you serious?" Rainbow Dash said. "Fluttershy. Can you tell them to buzz off?"
"I'll talk to them." Fluttershy fluttered out of the windows to try and talk to the resting Pokemon. "Um, excuse me. Wooloo? Snorlax? I hope you don't mind, but could you please move? Our train has to get somewhere and so does everypony."
"Wooloo...Woo."
"Oh. You've found a perfect place to take a nap? And you don't want to give up this special spot that you've been searching for a while now?"
"Loo.Wooloo." The Pokemon nodded their heads.
"Hm. Okay, I see. And I guess I can't convince a Snorlax to move, even if I gave it my all. Well then, maybe you could rest here for a bit and when you're ready to go, we can continue our train ride? Please?"
"Loo."
"You will? That's great!" Fluttershy fluttered back to the train, ready to inform them all. "They said that they've been looking for a perfect spot to rest at for a while now. And this spot is the perfect place to rest. They'll leave once they're fully satisfied."
"Okay. But what about the Snorlax then?" A pony asked.
"Ooh. I'm afraid I can't do anything about that. Nopony or Pokemon is getting a Snorlax to move from its resting spot.
"So what, we're stuck here until they're satisfied?" said Rainbow Dash.
"That's right. But I can bet it won't be too long. Probably an hour or two."
"Even to my own kingdom?" Cadence spoke. She was on the ride as well since she was returning back to the Crystal Empire. "Oh well. I guess we can wait for them to finish their nap."
"It's not so bad. We could use some rest and relaxation. Especially after the past few days." said Rarity.
"Wait!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "That means we're gonna have a train sleepover! Even though it's not night, but still!"
"Hold on...Staying in here with all of you for an hour?!" Aria winced. She wasn't up for this.
"It's gonna be fun right, Aria?!" Sonata smiled along with Pinkie Pie. The unenthusiastic siren shook her head, denying the inevitable fun.
"I'm off to see what kind of food this train has." Cocoa hopped off her seat as Rosestar followed her, just in case nothing goes wrong.
"If that's the case, then how about we let the Pokemon run around for a bit." Ash let his Riolu, Farfetch'd, Gengar and Riolu out of their Pokeballs as everyone did the same. "Have fun, you guys. In the meantime...Let's kick back, relax and take a load off us."
Riolu and the other Pokemon besides Pikachu and Eve ran off to do whatever they want inside the train while time passes by.
"We're not just gonna stay here and do nothing, are we? Come on, there has to be something we can do to pass time." Rainbow Dash flew up.
"Glad you asked, Rainbow Dash. I always have a contingency for every situation. Especially one like this." Twilight had used her magic to bring out what appeared to be a board game box with Pokemon on it. "Behold. I got this from when all of Ponyville attended the trading event. It's called Pokemon: Horrors and Heroism."
"Oh. Just like Ogres and Oubliettes?" Spike said. "I have a whole set if you didn't know."
"You want us to try this, darling?" Rarity asked.
"Mhm. I'm not the biggest board game fanatic, but this piqued my interest. Plus, from what the human told me, it teaches you even more about the Pokemon World. And I haven't even scratched the surface of Pokemon, no matter how many books I borrow. So what do you say?" Twilight gave off a wide grin.
"Well. If you're excited to try it, then we'll give it a go too. Right everypony?" Fluttershy looked over to the others. Rainbow Dash looked somewhat interested in it, Pinkie Pie was up for any kind of fun, Rarity thought that this a bit out of character for her, Applejack was willing to try and so were Cadence and Ash.
"Great! I did the honour of going through the instruction manual and its pretty complex. Just how I like it." Twilight used her magic to remove the cover of the box as it revealed a large game board that took up a lot of space. The whole board was designed in a sort of ancient and medieval-style setting. It even went the extra mile by having interactive caves, castle and other fun pieces to mess with. "Pretty wide right?"
"Very wide. This is the most detailed board game I've ever seen." Spike gazed. "Some human just had this?"
"Well, he said it came straight from Accumula Town and then it was passed down from region to region, city to city. So this thing's been around a lot. And apparently, everyone who's owned it gave it away...like they didn't want it at all." Twilight explained.
"Wonder why anyone would wanna give up something like this so casually?" Rainbow Dash wondered. Once she placed her hoof on the board game, something unexpected occurred. A flashing image of what appeared to be a Dusknoir had shown up. And in an instant, Ash, Twilight and the others felt their bodies being sucked into the board game.
Sonata and Aria had witnessed this, but they did not bat an eye. Not at all. And their Pokemon, other than Pikachu and Eve were completely unaware of this since they were running about in the train.
Twilight's eyes were closed for a small bit. She was still recovering from being pulled into this board game. The first thing she saw was an entire grassy plains landscape. As green as it can be. She stood up from the ground, looking at her hooves. Everything was still there, but something was different. It felt like she was wearing something, but she couldn't picture what.
"Twilight? You okay?" Applejack's voiced call for her. She turned around to see her friend. She looked the same but she was wearing what seemed to be the robe of a Decidueye. She had the quills and everything.
"Applejack. What are you wearing?" Twilight asked.
"I...don't know. What are you wearing actually?"
What Twilight was wearing, she had a dress that resembled the colours of the Legendary Pokemon Xerneas. The Life Pokemon. Not only that, but she was also wearing a crown that resembled Xerneas's antlers. Everyone else was wearing something that was similar to a certain Pokemon.
Fluttershy had a dress that was of a Gardevoir, Rarity a Milotic, Rainbow Dash a suit of a Greninja, Pinkie Pie who for some reason was in a Bewear suit rather than a dress, cloak suit or a robe, Spike with an Axew gear, and Cadence who was wearing a dress that resembled her signature Pokemon Sylveon. They all had Pokemon-themed outfits.
"Oh. I can see why no one wanted this board game anymore." Twilight sighed. "So it just pulls anypony in?"
"Just like what happened with that Power Ponies book, right? All we gotta do is finish this one and we're home free. Should work the same." Rainbow Dash said.
"I don't know about you all, but I think I might like this. Just look at how fabulous I am." Rarity was in awe at her Milotic dress. She had no idea that her Feebas can evolve into this beauty of a Pokemon. "What about you, Ash?"
Ash wasn't wearing anything Pokemon themed, instead, he was wearing a simple blue hero outfit that resembled that of an Aura Guardian a small bit along with a red cape. Not only that but he was given a sword and a shield. He still kept his hat though. His Pikachu on the other hand remained the same along with Twilight's Eevee. "I like it as well. Check it out." Ash was getting a good look at his outfit. "Am I meant to be someone?"
"Pika?"
"I think we all are," said Fluttershy. "I can see Princess Cadence is her Sylveon and Rainbow Dash a Greninja. Although I don't recognize the other Pokemon. Mostly because I haven't seen them yet.
"So...if we're in this board... What are we supposed to do even?" Rainbow Dash wondered. Her answer given by a thunderstorm that struck in the far distance. Against all odds, there was a dark castle up ahead. They definitely knew what they had to do now. Defeat whoever the big boss of that place is. "We've got this. We conquered Power Ponies, so this'll be a cinch!" Rainbow Dash was ready to fly, but she just suddenly realised she couldn't. Her wings were gone. "My wings! Where'd they go?!"
"Oh, dear. Mine are gone too. Fluttershy looked at herself.
"I've only got my horn!" Cadence exclaimed. "And you too Twilight!"
"Huh?! But why?!"
"I think the board game changes us based on what Pokemon you all are. The Pokemon that you all resemble obviously can't fly. Although, Gardevoir kinda can a small bit." Ash explained.
"How are we gonna make any progress without our wings then?!" Rainbow Dash groaned. But to her surprise, she was surprisingly nimble and fast in the Greninja suit. She took one step and immediately she went from the ground to a tree. "Oh. That answers my question. I'm as fast a Greninja now? Oh, that's pretty awesome."
"I can still use my magic, actually." Cadence showed some sparks in her horn. "So, we still have something going for us."
"Well. Let's get moving. The sooner we finish this game, the sooner we can get back to the festival. Hopefully, the Wooloo and Snorlax have moved by then." Twilight started to walk off as everyone else followed with her. The distance from here to the castle seemed fairly fair.
Everywhere they looked they could see Pokemon about in the plains. Fairly standard stuff considering this takes place in the world of Pokemon. But more than that, it takes place in the earlier years of the Pokemon World.
The first place they came across was an old town with your standard villagers residing in it. Along with some Pokemon beside them. Oddly enough, these villagers, despite being in ancient times, seemed to have some modern equipment with them. More specifically, glasses, a Pokedex and a Pokeball. Objects that did not exist in the earlier years of the Pokemon World.
"That's strange. Why do they have such advanced equipment in this town? I thought this was meant to be accurate to the history of Pokemon?" Twilight wondered.
"It's just a board game, Twilight. Probably just there for fun." Spike said.
Just then, one of the humans saw Ash and the others, running towards them like crazy. The look in his eyes seemed like he had gone crazy as he had bags under them. "Oh! Thank Arceus! Are you here to save us?!"
"Uh...I think? What happened?" Ash asked.
"We've been trapped in this board game... for so long... so so long." He got on his knees.
"Wait! You're from real life too?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Every single one of us in this town have been sucked into this world. All of us fell for that seller. He was so convincing."
"So that explains the Pokedex and other stuff. How long have you been in here?" Twilight asked.
"It's only been 4 months actually, but it feels like it's been an entire year or two. Time is weird in this world."
"We've been trying to get out of here by attempting to complete the main objective of this board game." A woman walked up. "But we can't get past that." She pointed over at the castle. "Dusknoir Castle."
"Dusknoir Castle? So a Dusknoir's behind this?" Ash said. "That explains the flashing image."
"How could a Pokemon do this, actually?" Rarity asked.
"Dusknoir has the abnormal power to drag and pull anyone into other worlds. It always goes for the spirit world but I guess this one just decided that it wanted to bring others to a game world instead." The man explained. "Please stop Dusknoir. I'm missing out of my favourite show!"
"And I have a deadline to attend for work! I may already be way behind it by now!" The woman groaned.
"Alright. We'll get everyone out of here. All we have to do is just get to Dusknoir, defeat him and we're home free." Ash commented.
"Not that easy. Dusknoir's got defences all over the place. I should know." A man revealed some injuries on him as bandages were wrapped around his arms and legs. "You won't just get through it all willy-nilly. If you're not careful, Dusknoir and his Pokemon goons will send you flying out of that castle in no time."
"Got it. We'll be careful. Let's get moving, everypony." Twilight nodded her head as they continued their quest towards Dusknoir Castle. The humans and Pokemon were patiently anticipating their victory and their freedom.
At Dusknoir Castle.
The Gripper Pokemon sat down on its throne, overseeing the newcomers to his game world.
"Newcomers? It seems that this world is becoming more and more populated. Does that make you happy Kathleen?" Dusknoir suddenly spoke as it turned its head to a little girl who was looking out the window. She had frilly red hair and a dress that was made out of nothing tattered leather.
"I love it Dusknoir! They look the most promising. Can we make the challenges more fun? The last ones were pretty boring." Kathleen said.
"I will. I'll make sure that you are satisfied." Dusknoir levitated off its throne as its gripping hands emanated a purple aura. The area around the group was slowly changing. Out of the earth, itself emerged a dungeon. Just out of the open. Here in this world, Dusknoir had all the power. Even creation.
The group backed away as this behemoth of a dungeon was blocking their pathway to the castle. The only to get there is to make their way through it all.
"A dungeon? Where did it even come from?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Please do not tell me we have to through...there!" Rarity winced at the damp dungeon. It had an uneasy atmosphere just oozing out of it.
"It's blocking our way, so we have to." Applejack went ahead, looking deeper inside of the dungeon. "What's even in here?"
Her answer came in the form of some hostile Pokemon. Specifically some Golbats and Zubats. And like every other Golbat and Zubat, they do what they do best. Continuously attack anyone in sight. They immediately went towards Applejack, ready to use Poison Fang. Applejack gasped as she ran away from the Bat Pokemon.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded Pikachu to stop their movements by shocking them all with Thunderbolt. One hit and they were all down. Seemed like it would be the end of it, but another group of them came along, this time unleashing Air Slashes against the party.
"Even in Pokemon form...I hate bats!" Applejack bellowed as she suddenly shot out an arrow from her robe, hitting a Golbat out of the air. Those dresses and robes weren't just for show. They possessed the moves and talents of the Pokemon they are based off.
"Woah...Applejack. You just shot out arrows!" Ash said.
"Pika!"
"I did...How in tarnation...?" She looked at herself, seeing if there was something in her.
"Does that mean that these aren't just clothing?" Rainbow Dash wondered. She remembered how she moved at quick speeds on foot, even without her wings. The Greninja suit may have taken her wings away, but they kept her speed and added it up to the natural speed of a Greninja. The rainbow maned pony took another step as she was on the walls, hanging upside down. "Oh, awesome!" She dropped down from the walls, sending a group of Zubat's down with her by placing her hooves on their wings.
"Oh! So that's what these are." Cadence was getting it too. Since her partner Pokemon was a Sylveon, he had a pretty good idea of what moves she can pull off. Her first move that she pulled off was Fairy Wind. A flowing gale of fairy magic blew towards the Bat Pokemon, pelting them with tiny little specks of fairy dust.
"What could I possibly do with this? I mean it's fabulous don't get me wrong..." Rarity commented. She was met with a Golbat that flew right in front of her face. Rarity let out an ear-shattering scream of terror, but that scream had unleashed a Disarming Voice that sent the Golbat and the others flying. "Oh. I mean to do that!"
"I don't know about you girls, but this stuffed bear costume is the best!" Pinkie was constantly in a bipedal stance due to the Bewear costume. But this costume shared the same overwhelming strength as the actual Pokemon. Any Zubat's that got near were immediately knocked out in one hit by a mere arm swing of Pinkie's paws.
"Oh so cool!" Ash was amazed by what he was seeing. "Man, I wish had some sort of clothing to let me do that."
"Pika-Pika!"
"We have to get going! We can't stay around dealing with these Golbats and Zubats forever!" Twilight exclaimed as she blasted down some of them with some standard magic. The party decided to advance further, heading deeper and deeper into the grand cave, leaving behind the Bat Pokemon.
As they went further in, they noticed that the caves had special gems that were glowing and emanating all across the walls, ground and even inside some rocks. They had reached the more rich area of the cave. Rarity gasped as she dashed over to the gems.
"Rubies and sapphires! Diamonds and pearls!" She was ready to pick up all the gems in here. "I should visit Pokemon caves more often!"
"I wonder which region this used to be in the past? Sinnoh? Hoenn? Kalos?" Twilight theorized. "Whichever one it was, they could make a profit out of this."
"Makes you wonder who that Dusknoir is? Maybe it's an old Pokemon Folklore," said Fluttershy.
"So these clothes...they give us the moves and talents of Pokemon?" Spike looked at his Axew gear. "How come they stopped using these?" He looked up at Ash.
"I didn't even know they existed. Even when I travelled back in time to help Arceus I never saw any special clothes." Ash replied.
"Wonder why we became these Pokemon specifically? And what Pokemon am I even meant to be?" Twilight asked Ash.
"Oh, you're Xerneas. The Life Pokemon."
"Life Pokemon?" They all stopped once Ash said that.
"It's exactly what it sounds like. A Pokemon that gives eternal life." Ash nodded. "And looks like you ended up getting clothing based on it. Lucky."
"A Pokemon that grants you eternal life? How wonderful that must be." Rarity commented.
"Pokemon really can do everything, huh?" Twilight looked up. The party eventually reached a new area, hidden in the caves. If they were to get out of here, they had to complete this section.
And in the section was a good old fashioned dungeon boss. An Onix.
"Onix!" The Rock Snake Pokemon cried out. It smacked its tail on the ground to cause an intimidation factor to them all.
"An Onix?!" Spike exclaimed.
"Even it won't let us through. Don't worry everypony." Rainbow Dash stepped forward. "I've got the type advantage. This'll be a walk in the p-" Before she finished her sentence, Onix sent her flying with a Gyro Ball. This was a dungeon boss for a reason, and with Dusknoir in control, this won't be easy at all.
The 28'10 height Rock Snake Pokemon looked down on the party. Compared to most Onix's this one seemed to wield a ferocity unlike any other. It was under the influence of Dusknoir as well.
Rainbow Dash got up from the rocks, shaking her head after getting hit by a pretty strong Gyro Ball. "Cheap shot, pal!"
"ONIX!" The Rock Snake Pokemon wasted no time attacking. It had smacked its tails on the walls, causing a Rock Slide to form from above.
"Look out!" Twilight exclaimed as the entire party split up to avoid the falling heavy rocks. Onix didn't let them breathe for a second as it then slithered towards it.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Ash called out as his buddy turns his tail iron. The Electric Mouse ran towards Onix, slamming its hard metal tail on the Rock Snake's face. Onix shook its head as it retaliated by firing Dragon Breath out of its mouth. It grazed Pikachu, missing him by a mark.
Fluttershy hid away from Onix, not really being up to face a Pokemon of that stature, especially in an enclosed space like this with rocks flying all over the place in a frenzy. A boulder was about to land on her but she was luckily saved by Applejack who broke the boulder into pieces with a single arrow. She was getting the hang of this. "Now ain't the time to hide, Fluttershy. Why don't you do the same thing you did back in Power Ponies?" said Applejack.
"I don't think that exists here. And I don't know what a Gardevoir is capable of!"
"It's the evolved form of Celestia's Kirlia. So that obviously means its got Psychic and Fairy moves. Use em!" Rainbow Dash commented as she ran past them.
"Psychic and Fairy...okay... I can do this." Fluttershy poked her head out from the rock she was hiding from as she was ready to unleash whatever mystical power a Gardevoir can. "Come on Psychic..." The shy pony put her hooves on her head, attempting to draw out the hidden psychic prowess. She had never released used a lot of magic before. The only bit of magic she has actually wielded was the Elements of Harmony.
Thankfully for her, it was fairly easy to pull off moves. So her first move she performed was a simple yet effective Magical Leaf. The mystical leaves had pelted Onix, but even with the type advantage, the Rock Snake Pokemon bypassed it like it was nothing. Onix used Screech to stop everyone in their tracks, but Pikachu and Eve were taking this much worse than the others.
"This sound is horrible!" Rarity covered her ears. She returned the favour by using Disarming Voice to negate it. "Ah. Much better."
But Onix was still on the attack. It had wrapped its tail around Pikachu, grabbing a hold of him.
"Pi..Pika!" The Electric Mouse was straining, trying to get out.
"Pikachu! Use Iron Tail to break free!" Ash went for an escape attempt. Pikachu's tail turned into hard iron as he was able to break out of the grip by swinging his tail to the side. Onix let out a cry, but it quickly recovered, using Gyro Ball once more. The Rock Snake Pokemon was enveloped in pure steel, spinning at high speeds as it was headed towards Pikachu, but Cadence got in the way, using her magic to halt it in place.
"ONIX!" The Rock Snake Pokemon cried out.
"This thing's relentless!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "If only I had my Pokemon with me, this would be a cinch!"
"You can still do this without your Pokemon!" Ash replied as he used his shield to block Onix's tail. "Just use Greninja's mobility and agility well with Water-Type attacks and you're in the clear!"
"Right! Mobility...I am a pro at mobility. I got this!" Rainbow Dash was ready to utilize the capabilities of what a Greninja can do. She did it effortlessly against the Zubats and Golbats, so this Onix shouldn't be any different. The rainbow pony moved past her friends, landing on top of Onix's head. The Rock Snake Pokemon moved its head up to see Rainbow right on top of it. "Whichever water move I have...please be good!" Dash raised her hooves up as she unleashed Water Pulse, forcing Onix to be knocked down to the ground for a bit. "Yes!"
Onix however, smashed its body against the walls in order to shake her off. Rainbow Dash held on, continuously loading the Rock-Ground Type with pulses of cold water.
"Keep it steady, Rainbow!" Applejack exclaimed as she was aiming Decidueye's arrows directly at Onix's head. It was moving around like crazy, trying to get her off so it wouldn't be easy to land an arrow. AJ didn't have the same perfect accuracy and precision as a Decidueye, but it was good enough.
Her arrow was shot right towards Onix, striking it square in the face. Not only that but Onix was hit with another Water Pulse at the same time. The Rock-Ground Type was finally showing signs of being overwhelmed. But that didn't mean it was down and out. Onix had used Screech once more, halting everyone's movements once more. Rainbow Dash took the worst of it along with the Pokemon she was the closest to Onix. She was finally forced off Onix, giving the Pokemon a chance to continue attacking the others without any distractions. And just like that, it unleashed a blazing Dragon Breath once more. This time, it left behind a fiery explosion of blue fire. This caused a large part of the dungeon walls to be destroyed, leaving behind a smoking trail.
It looked like they had been hit with it, but Twilight had guarded them by using Light Screen. "Phew! That was a close one!" Twilight sighed. "But, we're wasting to much time on one Pokemon. We need to finish this as soon as possible. The sooner we rescue all the people and Pokemon trapped in here and defeat Dusknoir, the sooner we can get back to the festival."
"I hear ya, Twilight." Rainbow Dash replied. Everyone stepped forward with Fluttershy hanging in the back, in order to finally get past this Onix. The Rock Snake Pokemon had taken some considerable damage, so now was a perfect opportunity to attack it while it was weakened. "Just leave the heavy hits to yours truly."
"I'll just stay back here, giving my 100% support..." Fluttershy uttered.
"ONIX!" The Pokemon was ready to make another move, this time going all out. It slithered towards the group like any snake would, ready to smash its body into them all. This time it was moving much faster, making sure that the party don't get a chance to properly react in time.
However, Ash had gotten in the way by putting his shield forward as Onix smashed onto it. Ash felt the shockwave, but Onix felt it even more. The shield was ridiculously durable and hard. Pure steel. Not a good sign for Rock-Types. This staggered Onix for a bit, giving the others plenty of time to make their moves. "Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu and the others made their move with the Electric Mouse being ahead. A swift Iron Tail was met with Onix's head, pushing it back. Applejack had finally shot more than just one arrow out this as multiple of them stuck onto Onix. The arrows had a ghostly aura around them thanks to Decidueye's typing. Cadence had used Dazzling Gleam by creating a powerful flash that struck Onix's whole body.
Rainbow Dash had stood from afar, throwing Water Pulse's towards Onix, making sure not to get hit at all. The pulses of liquid were being bombarded on Onix's face. The Pokemon was on the verge of fainting. But it didn't want to go out yet, so it went for another Screech to stop everyone from making any actions. But it didn't take into account Rarity's Disarming Voice which had pushed back the Screech.
"Let's finish this. Eve! Swift!" Twilight commanded her Eevee to deal the finishing blow by having the Evolution Pokemon fire rapid moving stars towards Onix. Each of them hit Onix square in the face. Due to all the damage it had taken, the small and simple Swift was enough to make it finally faint.
"O...nix..."
"Whew. Finally." Rainbow Dash sat down on the ground along with the rest of the party. The persistent Onix was finally knocked out. "What was up with that Onix? It was so freakishly strong."
"I can only imagine what it must've been like to encounter it back in the past. But we can't focus on that now and take a break. We have to keep moving." Twilight stood up. No time to waste. They have a Dusknoir to reach.
At Dusknoir's castle, the Gripper Pokemon and Kathleen had overseen the party and how they dealt with Onix. This pleased Kathleen a small bit, but to Dusknoir it wasn't enough. It needed to make sure that she was happy. "That was really fun. The way they handled that Onix was so cool!" Kathleen raised her arms up at Dusknoir. "Can we give them another challenge that's just as fun?"
"I will. I'll make sure it is of the utmost peak of fun." Dusknoir was ready to change the world once more in order to up the anty. "What do you wish for them go up against?"
"Um...I want..well anything you can think of! You've got a lot of great ideas, right Dusknoir?"
"Very well. I shall give them a plethora of challenges." Dusknoir put his hands together, affecting the board game world a second time.
As the party were on their way, they felt the earth trembling once more. What could possibly be next? What did end up following next was an entire Maze, created by Dusknoir in a few seconds flat, seen in the distance near the grand mountains. The Pokemon around the area ran away from the shifting earth.
"Is it me, or did that maze just appear?" Rarity squinted her eyes.
"It definitely wasn't there before. Just like the dungeon. That means that someone's changing the earth itself." Twilight theorized.
"You think it might be Dusknoir?" Fluttershy turned to Twilight.
"It has to be. Dusknoir's the one behind it all anyways." She responded.
"That means Dusknoir's trying to slow us down by bringing up more and more obstacles," said Cadence. "And it's doing a pretty good job at it."
"Do we have to go through the maze? Can't we just walk around it?" Rainbow asked.
"Not really. It's right on those mountains. And they are some pretty steep and tall mountains as well. Not only that, but the castle is also right beyond there, and who knows what else Dusknoir will bring up the moment we get past the maze. So this is our only bet." Twilight explained. "It's times like this where I wish I had my wings."
"You're not the only one." Rainbow Dash, Cadence and Fluttershy sighed.
The party advanced forward with their only pathway being the maze. And like any maze, it was frantic all over the place. They set foot and hoof into this erratic area, hoping that they don't get lost immediately.
"Okay. This time, let's not split up. Last time we did back at Canterlot's Maze it was a disaster. Let's just stick together in groups." Twilight commented.
"I'll stick by Ash and Pikachu if that's okay." Fluttershy flew to the two.
"Me and Rainbow Dash then." Applejack went to Dash.
"Twilight, Eve and I will stick together. Two fairies can be pretty effective." Cadence chose Twilight and her Eevee.
"Then that leaves me with Spike and Pinkie Pie. I'm sure we'll all get through this with ease." Rarity went to the two of them.
"Alright. We've all got our partners. Then let's choose a pathway. If any of us ends up finding the exit, we'll make sure to come over as soon as we can if you make a call." Twilight finished her speech as the party went towards different pathways.
Ash, Pikachu and Fluttershy ended up in a more closed space. Each maze had different spaces, whether they were tight or open. The spot that these three were in had ancient paintings on the walls of the maze. From the appearance, it seemed to be the infamous paintings of Mew. Perhaps this is one of the earlier paintings of the Mythical Pokemon found usually in the caves.
"This place feels oddly familiar," Ash said, feeling like he's been here before. "In fact, this entire area...from the dungeon to this maze feels so familiar."
"Do you remember being here, Ash?" Fluttershy asked.
"I think so. Feels like I've journeyed here before."
"Pika..."
"Well, Twilight did say that this was all based in the past. So maybe it's from one of the regions you've been to. Just really long ago."
"Yeah, probably." Just then, Ash had stopped Fluttershy but outstretching hands. Something was inside the grass of the maze. "Something's there."
"W-What is it?" Fluttershy hid behind Ash as Pikachu jumped forward. The grass rustled forward as some estranged sounds echoed from them. Ash and Pikachu tried to pick up what Pokemon that sounded like. It was a bit of a faint cry.
Out of those bushes emerged the Little Bear Pokemon Teddiursa.
"Teddi?" It looked up to them with its paws on its mouth.
"Aww. It's just a little Teddiursa. Hello, little one." Fluttershy fluttered over to it as Ash and Pikachu had nothing to fear. Fluttershy placed her hoof on the Little Bear Pokemon, petting it. But what she didn't expect was Dusknoir's control over it. This cute and cuddly Pokemon suddenly attacked Fluttershy by using Slash, cutting a piece of her dress off. Fluttershy squealed as she backed away. Now, this singular Pokemon was their enemy. And its eyes were emanating a ghostly aura.
"Teddi...ursa!" It raised its paws up, attempting to look intimidating. This didn't look like a Pokemon that was here to make friends and cuddle. The Little Bear Pokemon ran towards them, ready to get aggressive on them.
"It's hostile too? Alright then. Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash and Pikachu got past this Pokemon easily as Pikachu rushed in at blinding speeds, taking out the Little Bear Pokemon in one hit to the face.
The Little Bear Pokemon held its face, upset at its immediate loss. But the ghostly aura around its eyes had faded away. And like any child, it called for its parent. And emerging from the maze, breaking straight through the grass of the maze was the Hibernator Pokemon Ursaring, running towards its child call, furious at Ash, Pikachu and Fluttershy.
"Pika?!"
"Oh, dear! we probably shouldn't have done that!" Fluttershy squeaked.
"It's fine! Pikachu! Dodge Ursaring!" Pikachu had avoided Ursaring's Fury Swipes as the grass and walls around the maze were torn apart by the swipes. Then, Ash took a good look at Ursaring's eyes, seeing a ghostly aura around them. Just like Teddiursa when it suddenly attacked Fluttershy. "They're under mind control...I didn't even know Ghost-Types were capable of that. I thought it was just Psychic-Types."
"The poor things. Ash, you have to snap them out of it!"
"Will do, can do! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...chuuu!" Pikachu sent a fast bolt of lightning towards Ursaring, shocking it with 10,000 volts of electricity. The Hibernator Pokemon powered through all of a sudden as it ran towards Pikachu, using Hammer Arm and whacking it away. "Pika!" The Electric Mouse had luckily recovered fast enough.
"Don't tell me it's freakishly strong too... So Dusknoir's influencing their minds and strength?" Ash said.
"URSA!" Ursaring used Fury Swipes once more, continuing its rampage. Pikachu had avoided the swipes by jumping onto the Normal-Types arms, staying there. Ursaring looked up at Pikachu, growing it at it as it raised its other arm to try and hit Pikachu. But the agile Pokemon jumped off at the right second, causing Ursaring to hit its own arm. Pikachu then placed its foot on Ursaring's face, stomping on it and using it as a launcher to bounce off. "Ur...saring." This staggered Ursaring for a bit.
"Great job Pikachu! Let's snap Ursaring out of it with a good hard Iron Tail!" Ash gave the final command. His buddy moved up towards Ursaring's head, smacking it with Iron Tail. This was enough to snap Ursaring out of its control, eliminating the ghostly aura in its eyes. The Hibernator Pokemon sat down, holding its head as its cub went towards it to see if it was okay.
"Oh, dear. Are you feeling better now?" Fluttershy went over to the dazed Pokemon.
"Ursa..." It shook its head.
"Sorry about that. But we had to free you from that mind control. Hope we weren't too aggressive." Ash said.
Fluttershy helped Ursaring get back up on its feet as the parent and the cub waved goodbye to them, thanking them for breaking the mind control. The first obstacle in the maze had easily been dealt with.
"We're making pretty good progress, huh?" Ash looked at Fluttershy.
"Mhm. All we have to do now is find the exit. Maybe the Ursaring and Teddiursa know where it might be." Fluttershy said.
"Yeah. Wait a second..." Ash turned his head towards the walls were Ursaring tore through, seeing it as a chance to gradually get out of the maze. "I got it! Pikachu. Can you use Iron Tail on the grass and walls?"
"Pika-Pikachu."
Over at the other side of the maze, Twilight, Eve and Cadence ended up in a more open area with much more space.
"Do you see anything yet, Twilight?" Cadence asked.
"No. Even with all this space, it's hard to tell where the exit leads to. Matter of fact... doesn't it feel like this one path just leads to nothing?"
"What do you mean?" Cadence stopped as she turned to Twilight.
"Call me crazy, but I think we've already passed here before. It's not like a maze to just suddenly have an endless path."
"Are you saying that this part of it is infinite? That's not possible. Mazes always have an endpoint. No matter how frustrating they are." Cadence laughed.
"Yeah. But this one doesn't feel like it does. Maybe it's just another one of Dusknoir's tricks. Yeah...that's what it probably is." But Twilight wasn't wrong. This part of the maze was confusing to the eye. From a birds-eye view, the maze looked like any other regular maze. It has a start and finish and a ton of twists and turns. But inside the maze, this one particular part of it was infinite. It never stopped and it seemed to go on forever. Which would greatly confuse anyone since its physically impossible for that to happen. For it to be possible, the maze would have to be larger than the entire world.
But their seemingly endless trot was cut short as Cadence's hoof activated a secret trap door that was cleverly coated in the grass. The people who made this maze seemed to be experts in traps and secrets. The 2 alicorns and the Pokemon fell down the trap door as it had closed. They both screamed as they fell flat on the hard ground.
"Ugh...what...when was that there?" Twilight groaned.
"Trap doors...every ancient civilization has one." Cadence put her hoof on her head, a bit dazed. Once they got up, the first thing they were met with was an underground city, just right up ahead. "Uh, Twilight...look."
Underneath this trap door, this city seemed to be built by those who preferred to live underground. There, some Ground-Type Pokemon could be seen with some humans who were wearing drags. Twilight assumed that they were also trapped in this board game, but from the way they all looked, they way they dressed and especially the way they were talking, they seemed to actually belong in there, as if they were made in the board game itself.
"This day is so weird...even for Pokemon standards." Twilight held her head. How could this day get any more bizarre?"
Dusknoir and Kathleen watched over, seeing the entire party end up in different areas with various situations. This wasn't the biggest obstacle they were to face. Dusknoir had other plans. All in order to keep Kathleen happy.
Deep underneath the trap door, where the underground city lies, Twilight and Cadence were trying to get out of here. They attempted to push through the trap door, hoping to open it. They tried everything from their hooves to even their magic and some Pokemon moves. But no luck. It seems like the hatch is only unlockable from the surface, not the underground. Not only that but there were strange electric webs just leaking from above. As if there was something else around.
"Are you kidding me?! We can't get through!" Twilight groaned.
"Totally shut. Talk about Grade A design huh?" Cadence spoke.
"Too Grade A if you ask me. Now, what do we do?"
"Why don't we ask the people living here? They might know a way out of here?" Cadence suggested, nudging her head over to the underground city. The people and Pokemon there didn't even notice Cadence, Twilight and Eve had crashed down here. They were too busy working. Building from the looks of it. Too focused on their work.
The two alicorns and the Pokemon headed towards the city. And as they got closer, they could feel the air around them thicken. The sounds of liquids hitting the ground and echoing around the area. Even some of the gems from the dungeon could be seen here. Some Zubats and Golbats hung around, but they weren't as hostile as the ones from the dungeon. If anything, this place was the safer version of the dungeon.
"Excuse me." Twilight went up to a human who was pulling a rope. The tattered man turned to her. "I'm sorry, it looks like you're pretty busy at the moment. But could you please tell us a way out of this cave, maybe?"
"Hm? A way out. Well, you came at the right exact moment. What we are all doing is planning a way out of here." The man explained.
"Wait. That's what you're doing?" Cadence said. "Are you building some sort of device maybe?" She and Twilight looked over to what seemed to resemble a drill of some sorts.
"Something similar to that. We are all currently working on a contraption that can break through these sturdy walls. We were originally planning to have the Pokemon use Drill Run, but these walls are much more powerful than we anticipated. Which is why we and the Pokemon are creating a contraption that has the strength equivalent to a hundred Drill Runs. Eventually, we'll be free from this horrible area."
"Oh. That's actually impressive." Twilight was impressed by all this hard work that the humans had put in. "How close are you to finishing it?"
"We have been working on it for 6 years now. Our progress has been a long one. But we are close to our completion. If we can just gather the right amount of strength, our freedom will come sooner than we think."
"If that's the case..." Cadence placed her hoof on her chin, thinking for a small bit. "We'll help you get it to the right amount of strength."
"We will?" Twilight turned to Cadence.
"You will?" The man said as the others heard Cadence's words.
"Mhm. We'll make a team effort to give everyone here their freedom. Including the humans who are trapped up there. After all, everyone does want some freedom right about now."
"That is true. But how can we possibly finish it in t-" Before Twilight could finish her sentence, Cadence pointed to her friend's horn and her own. "Oh right. Magic."
"If my memory's correct. We have a spell that can accelerate results. Although the last time you used it Twilight, it was a bit of a chaotic mess."
"Ehehe. Right." Twilight blushed, recalling the moment she first tried the acceleration spell.
"You two strange creatures can accelerate the process?" A woman asked.
"Yes, we can. Although, it'll only speed up the building process. The strength part is something we have to put our sweat blood into.
The humans started talking amongst each other, chatting about how these strange creatures possess the power to accelerate anything and were wearing clothing based on Pokemon. They thought for it for a second and realised that they do need the help. They've been underground for who knows how long. Some major progress would be nice right about now. "Very well. Help us. In whatever way you can."
"Right. Stand back, everyone." Cadence stepped forward towards the contraption as everyone else just backed away to see this magic happen. Cadence's horn emanated its usual magical aura. However unbeknownst to her, since she had the added magic of a Sylveon, her magic was much more potent and effective. The drill contraption was surrounded by the magical aura as the sight of it being completed were being bestowed up the eyes of the humans and Pokemon.
They could see it spinning around at high speeds that were high to keep up. Cadence was in deep focus, making sure not to break it apart due to how fast it was moving. The drill in the front was being polished in seconds. The hard texture on it was much more visible, showing just how much they've worked on it. Cadence had finished using her spell as the aura vanished. And just like that, in a few seconds, their contraption had been completed.
"Oh my Arceus...she did it effortlessly." A man said, starstruck by what he saw along with everyone else.
"That truly was magic!" A woman exclaimed. "This saves up so much time!"
"Now all we need is the strength. It's strong but, not quite enough to break through these dense walls." A man explained.
"If you need strength, why don't you just have all the Pokemon that know Drill Run use it in a combined state?" Twilight asked.
"We did try that. But continuous Drill Runs are not enough. They can definitely damage parts of the wall, but that is only a minimum amount. It needs to be capable of breaking chunks out." A woman answered.
"Capable of breaking chunks out you say? I think we can help with this one as well." Cadence said. "From what I can tell, you mostly have Ground-Types that all know Drill Run. But you're in luck. Twilight and I have access to certain Pokemon moves. Maybe those will help."
"Right we do. But are they strong enough?" Twilight turned to Cadence.
"Well... I don't know how Fairy-Type moves compare to other types in terms of power, but it's worth a shot. We'll try and see what moves can really benefit us. And I think I know one move that can help the Pokemon as well..."
"Please do. We cannot wait to see the surface once more." A man nodded his head. The plan to get out of here continued on.
Meanwhile, back up at the Maze, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were unaware of the incoming obstacles that each part of the maze has. Ash and Fluttershy had already dealt with a Teddiursa and Ursaring problem, Twilight and Cadence were dealing with an underground situation and who knows what the others might get themselves into. Rainbow Dash placed her hoof on her Greninja suit, holding the tongue scarf that came along with it.
"So, AJ. When we're out of here and the festival's done...are you gonna catch any Pokemon?" Dash asked.
"Me? Catch a Pokemon. Shucks, I don't know about that. Don't know if I really want a Pokemon, honestly."
"Why not? Everypony in Ponyville has a Pokemon of their own. Don't you technically have those Applins?"
"Well, those little fellers just hang around the orchard and the farm. I don't really own em. And if I were to catch a Pokemon, I couldn't decide. Too many of 'em. Even though Apple Bloom has one of her own...even Big Macintosh and Granny Smith have some. For all I know my entire family's got some of their own."
"Heh. You don't have to worry about that. Just leave it to me. I'll find a Pokemon that really fits you." Dash smirked.
"Really? Which one?"
"Well...ummm.. I got nothing. But I'm sure I'll find one. Maybe we can get you a pretty awesome Fighting-Type if we can." As they continued trotting along, the maze had found a challenge for the two of them next. In the form of an ambush. But this wasn't a traditional ambush with huge enemies and bandits. Instead, the maze sent Bug-Type Pokemon to perform the ambush. More specifically, a group of Joltik. One of the smallest Pokemon ever. Only standing 0.1 metres tall. And these Joltik were influenced by Dusknoir as the ghostly aura could be seen in their eyes as well.
"What's up with those Joltik?" Rainbow Dash looked at the Attaching Pokemon, noticing the ghostly aura. Applejack did the same as well. Then, the Joltik were suddenly increasing in numbers with more and more popping out of the grass. They were cleverly hidden in them due to how tiny they are. And just like that, they all attacked the two ponies by lunging at them and attaching themselves to their faces and body.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash started screaming as there hundreds of the little Bug-Electric Pokemon crawling and sticking onto them. To make matters worse, Joltik can't normally produce electricity on their own, so they always attach to others, more specifically Pokemon and suck up all the static electricity in them. And since every living creature has some form of energy running through them which always some static involved, this makes it a buffet to the Joltik. So they unleashed Thundershock that shocked both Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
Getting tired of the bugs on them, Rainbow Dash was about to blast them away with Water Pulse, but the Attaching Pokemon had used String Shot to wrap Rainbow's hooves together. And you can't just casually rip apart String Shot. It's much more thick and potent than a regular string. So Dash was stuck at the moment with bugs crawling over her.
Applejack managed to get some of them off thanks to her strength, but that didn't last long either as the Joltik's used Electroweb to halt her. She couldn't break out of this one. Not that she didn't have the strength to, but because she was being shocked and held down at the same time by the web, making it difficult to focus. Even worse, she was also caught by the String Shot.
"D-Darn Joltik!" The farm pony shouted. She used Decidueye's arrows, but since the Joltik were so small, they all ended up missing a large majority of them and only really hit two Joltik.
"Let me go! When I get out of here I'm gonna squash you all!" Rainbow Dash squirmed about, trying to get the strings off her. The Joltik had their prey as they called upon some accomplices. They weren't alone in this at all. The second Bug-Types that came along were the Iron Ant Pokemon Durant. Working alongside the Joltik. Only two of them came along, but that was more than enough. One Durant is capable of lifting 7000lbs, meaning that they can lift even the heaviest Pokemon like Snorlax, Wailord and even the Legendary Pokemon Groudon like they were nothing, making them one of the most physically strongest Pokemon out there. So these two were lightwork for them as they lifted up Rainbow Dash and Applejack, carrying them. The Joltik followed suit as they were headed to a secluded part of the maze.
Beyond the grass was a fusion of both spider webs and an ant colony. There were numerous electrowebs all over the place with Pokemon and human skeleton stuck onto them. Along with some of them laying all over the ground.
And standing at the very top of the dirt hill inside the colony was Galvantula. The Elespider Pokemon. It was running this entire group, giving orders to its pre-evolution and the Durant, making it the top Pokemon here. Not only that but this Galvantula was built. Seemingly much bigger and wider than a normal one.
"Woah nelly..." Applejack was taken aback by the sight of this. From the skeleton bones to the Galvantula and the insane amount of Joltik and Durant around.
"Gal...GALVANTULA!" The Elespider let out a cry as it was commanding the Durant to bring the two ponies to it. They escorted the captives to the Elespider Pokemon. AJ and RD looked at Galvantula, gazing at its many eyes as it was gazing back. From the looks of it, it seemed to be a bit on the peckish side. It was rubbing its two fronts legs together like it was getting ready to feast. The two ponies gulped as they realised that they were about to be fed to this Pokemon.
"This is not good. Not Good! I DON'T WANNA BE EATEN BY A SPIDER!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she was starting to freak out. She went crazy and dived into a panic by shooting Water Pulse's frantically, but since her hooves were trapped, they ended up missing their marks completely. And when they eventually hit one of the Pokemon, it barely did any damage. Mostly because Water-Type moves are weak to both Electric and Steel.
The Durant tossed the trapped ponies over to Galvantula, ready to feed it. Rainbow's panicking levels were skyrocketing. That's when Applejack hatched an idea. Even if she was stuck, there had to be something she could do. So she looked over to Galvantula and the Joltik and realised something.
The Joltik were difficult to handle since they were so small. Because of this, they could easily attach onto them without any struggle whatsoever. And since there were so many of them, Applejack's arrows couldn't even hit them. Only two. And she couldn't hit the Durant because they were under her when they were carrying her and Rainbow Dash. But Galvantula is the evolved form of Joltik. And this one is a giant of a Pokemon. Meaning that the chances of the arrows hitting just went up by a large degree. It was a risky move, especially with all these Pokemon surrounding them. But she had to take it. Applejack conjured up Decidueye's ghostly arrows as she fired two of them right towards Galvantula's eyes. The two arrows hit the Elespider's most prominent eyes, the two big ones of the side as it cried out in pain.
"Bullseye!" Applejack grinned. Galvantula out of pure anger, ran towards Applejack, ready to attack her. But this is what Applejack was waiting for. She turned her body around, causing Galvantula to attack the String Shot that was holding her hooves together. The Elespider Pokemon used Fury Cutter to try and attack Applejack and then caused the strings to be destroyed. The only way to get rid of them is by other Pokemon means after all. And since Galvantula is electric, it could bypass the Electroweb, making this a cinch for Applejack to make her escape. "Yeehaw! Fell for it!" She then returned the favour by shooting the arrows through Rainbow Dash's string, freeing her hooves.
"Galvuntula!" The huge Pokemon commanded all the bugs to attack the two ponies. The bugs scurried on over, heading towards the hill. Rainbow Dash broke out of the web by using Greninja's speed to throw it off her. Now she could finally do something.
Both her and Applejack looked down to see the Joltik and Durant climbing up the hills after them. In order to slow them down, Rainbow Dash unleashed Water Pulses downwards. Even if they didn't do that much damage at all, they could still be used as a distraction. Applejack shot multiple arrows down at the Durant since they were bigger than the Joltik.
Galvantula appeared behind the two of them, raising its legs up as it was about to dig its legs in them. Rainbow Dash quickly jumped over Galvantula as Applejack ran to the side, avoiding it. The less hit the hill, causing it to shake. And that shaking managed to throw off the Joltik and Durant.
"I think I've used enough of the same move. Let's switch it up." Rainbow Dash decided to utilize more of a Greninja's capabilities. She went for the move Water Shuriken, and in her hooves was a large shuriken made out of pure water. She tossed it towards Galvantula, hitting it, but not dealing that much damage. Applejack switched it up as well. She may not know a lot about Decidueye other than the fact that they can fire arrows. But she did know that it was a Grass-Type. And Grass-Types are very good against Electric-Types. So she ditched the arrows for now and went for the move Razor Leaf. By tapping into the magic within the Pokemon, she summoned sharp leaves that flew towards Galvantula, bombarding and pelting the Elespider Pokemon with these leaves.
"Let's get a move on, Rainbow Dash! I don't wanna stay here much longer!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Good call!" Rainbow Dash quickly moved around like a ninja, grabbing Applejack by the tail with her teeth. Galvantula wasn't ready to give up as it commanded the other bugs to use String Shot. And they did, grabbing onto Rainbow Dash's hoof which stopped her movements. "Oh come on!" Rainbow Dash groaned. Now her hooves were trapped by multiple strings from both Joltik and Durant. Applejack quickly used the arrows and Razor Leaf to try and free her. They were breaking the strings, but since there were so many of them, it was taking a while. And Galvantula was starting to close in on them. Dash tried to speed up the process by using Water Shuriken to cut through. They were getting somewhere, but the other Joltik and Durant had used more String Shots to make sure they don't go anywhere.
"Come on!" Break darn it!" Applejack was giving it her all as Galvantula was about to use Gastro Acid on them.
But thankfully, luck came their way. From beneath. Because right below them, a giant drill broke through the colony grounds, sending all the bugs flying across the area. And this drill ended up hitting Galvantula square in the middle, sending it flying into the air. It was the contraption that the humans and Pokemon had built along with the help of Cadence and Twilight. They had found the right amount of strength. And that strength ended up being not just the drill contraption, but the combined power of the Pokemon thanks to Cadence using the move Psych Up on all of them, making Drill Run go well with the contraption. Galvantula was hit the most with the drill having enough strength to knock
"What in tarnation is that?!" Applejack bellowed.
Out from the ground came Twilight and Cadence along with the humans and Pokemon who were underneath.
"Twilight! Princess Cadence!" said Rainbow Dash!
"Rainbow Dash! Applejack! Good to see you two!" Twilight replied. She then looked around to see the fainted bug Pokemon all over the place. Along with arrows, water, strings and bones scattered everywhere. "What happened here?"
"Nevermind that. We need to get out of here...now." Rainbow Dash shifted her eyes, not wanting to be in this colony for another second.
The drill contraption broke straight through the top, tearing apart the grass that hid the colony, giving them the freedom of the surface. A man looked up and the first thing his eyes locked onto was the azure sky along with the golden sun. "We did it... we actually did it! Finally! After so many months and years!" He got on his knees, feeling a sense of victory. The other humans rejoiced with their Pokemon as they could finally taste the fresh air and feel the wind blow in their faces. Twilight and Cadence looked at each other, seeing that they've managed to help them achieve their goal.
Dusknoir and Kathleen had seen the next obstacle be completed. Kathleen was rather impressed on how well they managed to solve two problems at the exact same time. "Amazing! Those ponies are so wonderful, Dusknoir! That was my favourite challenge yet!"
"I must say. I am also impressed. This group might be the first to ever complete this game." Dusknoir commented.
"I can't wait for them to reach you! But I'm worried that it might end too soon. There might be even more stuff that I haven't experienced yet." Kathleen lowered her head. Dusknoir flew over to the little girl, placing his huge hands on her head.
"I will make sure that you experience the best scenarios in this board game. I shall show you the epitome of a final boss battle. From what I know, those tend to be the most exciting of games."
"A final boss battle? Yes! I've always wanted to see that!" Kathleen jumped up.
It was time for Dusknoir to make a move. It was time for the final boss.
Challenges made by Dusknoir had been overcome. All to make the little girl known as Kathleen happy. But now it was time for Dusknoir to bring the group towards it and make sure that Kathleen experiences the best possible scenarios in this tabletop world.
Over at the maze, some of the group had met up. Twilight, Cadence and Eve managed to meet up when they were in the colony and the others were still roaming around.
Ash and Fluttershy had come across Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Spike, who seemed to have not encountered their challenge in the maze.
"It looks like mostly everypony's okay," Fluttershy spoke. "Hopefully the challenges for Twilight and the others aren't too bad."
"I'm sure they're fine darling." Rarity walked up to Fluttershy. "Besides, both Twilight and Princess Cadence are alicorns...albeit alicorns who don't have their wings in this world."
"I did hear some loud noises from somewhere. Sounded like a drill!" Spike exclaimed. "What do you think could've happened?"
"I don't know. But it was shaking up the earth pretty badly. But good news! We're starting to slowly find a way through this maze. By cutting down the grass and walls." Ash explained.
"Pikachu!"
"Good. The sooner we get out of this world, the sooner we can finally enjoy the Crystal Empire's version of the festival without any more distractions." Rarity brushed the dust off her Milotic dress.
"If we can just get through all the walls and grass with Iron Tail, we should be able to find the real exit. But man there sure a lot of them." Ash rubbed his head.
"Pika..." Pikachu's tail was getting a bit sore after using Iron Tail a lot.
Just then, they could hear the sound of a drill closing in. They turned around to see the drill contraption break through the grass and walls with ease. And riding the contraption were the humans, Pokemon, Twilight, Cadence, Eve, Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "Howdy ya'll!" The farm pony greeted.
"Oh, my word! What are you all on?!" Rarity pulled back.
"Nevermind that. We've got ourselves a way out of here." Twilight smiled, patting her hoof on the contraption. "I say we use this drill to break through the walls of the maze. Sound good to everypony?"
"Works for me. Pikachu's tail is hurting anyways." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
"We will be taking our leave now." The humans got off the drill device along with their Pokemon. "We are truly grateful to you for helping us. Honestly."
"Oh, you're welcome. We're willing to help in any way we can." Cadence smiled. The humans left, leaving the device to the party. "Now. Hop on everypony. We're headed straight for the castle in this juggernaut."
So the party hopped onto this behemoth of a device. With this drill, breaking through the maze will be a cinch. If anything tried to get in its way, it would be met with its destructive spinning power.
Over the far distance in the castle, Dusknoir and Kathleen could see the drill contraption ploughing through the frantic maze as if it was nothing. They weren't hesitating to be in a hurry. They were determined to get out of this board game as soon as possible.
"Wow. They're really moving quickly, Dusknoir!" Kathleen looked up at the Gripper Pokemon.
"Very, At any moment, they'll reach the castle in no time."
"I can't wait till they get here! It'll be my first time seeing a boss battle. Can you please make it a great one?"
"I will. The best it can be." Dusknoir prepared himself for the incoming party. He knew that they were going to bring everything they had, and so will he. So Dusknoir interacted with the world once more, increasing the castle size to an astronomical level. It was no longer some simple castle. Now it was an entire palace. The expansion of it was ripping apart the ground itself, causing mountains to fall apart due to how far it was spreading. The patterns and colouring resembled that of Dusknoir himself.
The party saw this palace form up as the stopped moving in the device. They set their eyes on the grand palace. Even if its appearance has changed completely, Dusknoir was still inside. And to make things seem much more flashy, Dusknoir added statues of himself and summoned a black storm above the palace.giving off that true final boss feeling.
"Now he's just showing off." Rarity sighed.
"You think that means he's expecting us?" Spike turned to Twilight.
"Oh yeah. I think he's expecting us. Let's be careful. Who knows what traps are waiting for us in there." Twilight replied. They hopped off the drill contraption, deciding to go in without it. And if they did need it, it was outside waiting for them.
Entering the castle, they were met with an extremely long carpet that led right towards the room were Dusknoir was waiting. Kathleen took a peek outside, seeing the party making their way towards the room. Her excitement was building up as she was anticipating this. No one had really made it past Dusknoir's challenges and campaigns and got this far. They were the first to impress her and cause Dusknoir to spice things up.
Dusknoir was floating on his throne, setting his eyes on the party as the doors had opened wide. And there he was. The Gripper Pokemon, waiting for them. Kathleen stood to the side, sitting down to watch this.
"There he is. Dusknoir." Twilight commented.
"What is it that final bosses say...?" Dusknoir quielty said to himself, thinking of a usual final boss quote. "Welcome heroes. I didn't expect you to make it this far. In fact, I was expecting you to keel over long ago. Espeically against those Bug-Types."
"You the chump that's got everypony trapped in here! You'd better get us out!" Rainbow demanded.
"You think I'd just listen to your demands? I think not. You're in my world. And in my world, I wield all the power imaginable. You've practically run into your final moments by approaching me." Dusknoir was playing the role a final boss pretty well for his first time. "No one is leaving this game!"
"Dusknoir's not just gonna let us go so easily Rainbow. If we wanna get out, we'll have to force our way out of here." Ash stepped forward in the middle as the others readied themselves."
Kathleen had a wide grin on her face, rocking back and forth in the corner. Dusknoir shifted his eyes to her, seeing how excited she was. All he had to do was keep this up and play the final boss role flawlessly to keep her happy.
"Then come! And face your fate!" Dusknoir's ghostly aura emanated across the room, giving it a much more eerie feeling as there were Will-O Wisps scattered across the walls and ceilings. Rainbow Dash made the first move, creating a Water Shuriken in her hooves. She tossed it towards Dusknoir, however the Gripper Pokemon caught it with its hands, crushing it into nothing. Cadence used Light Screen to grant them all a protective light around them as well as making their defences rise. Dusknoir moved in, ready to attack next as it was going for a Shadow Punch. Its ghostly hands extended towards the party all of a sudden. Ash put up his shield to block the punch as it caused some recoil to his shield.
Applejack stood from afar, firing arrows towards Dusknoir. The Gripper Pokemon avoided those arrows as it sent a Shadow Ball down towards her. The farm pony moved away from the Shadow Ball, barely avoiding it.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash pointed his sword forward as Pikachu gathered up the power of 10,000 volts in him, sending it towards Dusknoir. However, the Ghost-Type had cast a protective shield forward to protect himself from the bolt.
Rainbow Dash appeared behind Dusknoir, hiding in the shadows with Greninja's stealthiness. She got the jump on him by releasing a Water Pulse that knocked him back. And for a follow up, Pikachu had swung an Iron Tail towards Dusknoir's face.
So far, Dusknoir was the first one taking hits and feeling the damage. If he was to play the role of final boss well, he would have to be as aggressive as he can be. So he went for the move Trick Room, casting a psychic room around them all.
"What is this?!" Cadence looked around.
"It's Trick Room!" Ash responded. "Dusknoir's trying to outspeed us!"
"Correct you are." Dusknoir fired multiple Shadow Balls as they ended up hitting their mark. Rainbow Dash, Pikachu and Cadence were each hit with Shadow Ball, causing them to take some damage. Dusknoir amped it up by using Shadow Sneak. He disappeared into the shadows, heading towards Rarity.
"Look out Rarity!" Twilight turned to her unicorn friend as she stopped Dusknoir's movements by using Aurora Beam. The dazzling beam had hit Dusknoir's shadow, causing him to emerge from the ground. Rarity squealed as she pranced away from the Gripper Pokemon. Dusknoir decided to extend his arms, grabbing a hold of Twilight. He then extended his other hand, grabbing Applejack, who was constantly shooting arrows at her.
"Put them down!" Cadence was about to fire a Fairy Wind, but Dusknoir tossed them both at Cadence, throwing her off as she took damage by being hit by her own friends. Pikachu and Rainbow Dash both went up close and personal. Pikachu for an Iron Tail and Rainbow Dash for Cut. Dusknoir took both attacks from the sides, making him wince. But he quickly retaliated by using Fire Punch. Both his arms spread out at the same time, striking the pony and Pokemon with a flaming hit. The two felt the hits as they fell back down to the ground.
Fluttershy and Rarity decided to try and see what they could use. Rarity went straight for Disarming Voice while Fluttershy went for Razor Leaf. The voice had restrained Dusknoir as the sharp leaves had pelted him.
So far, Dusknoir was doing a good job on being a final boss, but he could do better. And to do better, he used Earthquake by slamming his hands on the ground. The intense tremor of the Earthquake shook the entire palace, making everyone lose their balance, especially Pikachu. Dusknoir managed to halt all of their attacks for the meantime, giving him an opportunity to strike. He managed to hit every single of them with a scattered array of Shadow Balls, multiple of them. Each of them hit the entire party, causing them to take all that damage for free. Eve on the other hand was unaffected by the Shadow Balls, thanks to her Normal-Typing.
"This is amazing!" Kathleen cried out. "You're awesome Dusknoir!"
Dusknoir looked down at the party as they were on the ground, still recovering from the Earthquake and Shadow Ball assault. "What's wrong? That all you can take?"
"Ugh... It isn't over yet. Rainbow Dash stood up, shaking her head as did the others."
Twilight had used Heal Pulse to restore everyone's health back to normal, making it seem like that damage never happened. Cadence had used Misty Terrain to change up the entire look of the room. The room was now filled with a pink mist that was radiating Fairy magic. This made Cadence, Twilight and Fluttershy much stronger. It was their turn to overwhelm Dusknoir.
"Pinkie Pie. Use Bewear's overwhelming strength. Your Fighting-Type moves won't have any effect on Dusknoir but you still have other physical moves that can work." Ash turned to Pinkie.
"Okie dokie!" Pinkie raised her arms up, running to Dusknoir like a child runs towards its mother. Dusknoir pulled back, attempting to escape from the Bewear suit Pinkie Pie, but she caught up instantly, using the move Payback, but in the form a hug. This caused massive damage to Dusknoir and also managed to keep him held there as Pinkie Pie continuously kept on hugging him with Payback.
"G-Get off of me!" Dusknoir squirmed. He tried to use his intagiblity but the Dark-Type move made sure he wouldn't.
"Spike. You can use Dragon-Type moves with your Axew suit." Ash talked to Spike.
"Really? W-Which one?" He replied.
"Go for Dragon Pulse. It's quick and effective."
So Spike held his breath in, gathering all that draconic Pokemon energy that lied within. Dusknoir was still squirming as Pinkie Pie was nuzzling against him. He let out a shockwave of dragon energy that raced towards Dusknoir. Pinkie turned around, noticing this coming towards her. The pinky pony quickly jumped out of the way as Dusknoir was hit by the Dragon Pulse, sending him flying towards the wall.
"Fluttershy. You can use Protect to shield us all if you don't want to battle." Ash said to her. "Just stand back and give us some support."
"Okay. I can do that." Fluttershy nodded her head as she was ready to give some back support to the best of her abilities.
"Rarity. As a Milotic, you can use a ton of Water-Type moves however you want. Use Aqua Ring to gradually heal us." Ash was quickly giving out simple commands to help get the ponies better adjusted to their Pokemon moves. "Just make it happen."
"Just make it happen? Alright." Rarity took a deep breath, channeling the water within. A ring of water surrounded the entire party in the process. "Oooh, this is beautiful to look at."
"Don't think you can just amp yourself up while I'm still here!" Dusknoir flew out of the wall, using Fire Punch on Ash. Ash used his shield to block the punch as the flames flew past him.
"Pikachu! Electroweb!" Pikachu jumped up in the air, tossing a web of electricity towards Dusknoir. The Gripper Pokemon disappeared into the shadows to avoid the move. Twilight and Cadence both used Fairy Wind at the exact same time, causing a powerful wind of magic to spread across the palace room. Dusknoir was being pelted by the bits and pieces of wind, throwing his movements off. "Rainbow Dash. Greninja's more than just an agile Pokemon. If you keep using its stealth traits, you'll be able to stay hidden for a while."
"Use my stealth more? Okay, I got it!"
"Applejack. Decidueye's arrows can also be used to hold Dusknoir in place. Use Spirit Shackle to do so." Ash turned to Applejack.
"I hear ya loud and clear."
Soon, all the advice that Ash gave to all of them came into play. Since he's battled against every single one of these Pokemon before and even battled alongside them, he knows all of their tricks. How fast they are, what they're capable of and how versatilte they can be. So a powerful team effort was formed. Applejack held down Dusknoir by firing a Spirit Shackle arrow that stuck onto its arm. Dusknoir tried to remove it, but the arrows was stuck to him like glue. Rainbow Dash hid in the shadows, making sure that Dusknoir wouldn't see her. She used Cut to hit the Gripper Pokemon in his antennae. Dusknoir used Fire Punch to burn away the arrow as he went into the ground using Shadow Sneak. He appeared behind Cadence, striking her with a Shadow Ball. However, protect had managed to negate the hit, giving Cadence the opportunity to blast Dusknoir in the face with a standard alicorn magic beam. Dusknoir went to grab Cadence, but was stopped by an Iron Tail from Pikachu.
The Gripper Pokemon flew back, tossing Shadow Balls to keep his distance. Eve got in the way, utilizing her Normal-Typing to shield them all from the Shadow Ball. They phased right through her, giving them all time to move away from them. Spike had unleashed another Dragon Pulse as Pikachu joined in by using Thunderbolt. Both attacks merged, striking Dusknoir square in the middle. The Ghost-Type was sent to the wall, grunting at the overwhelming assault. He retaliated by sending down Hyper Beam towards them. This looked like it was gonna deal some major damage to all of them.
Pinkie Pie got in the way however, grabbing a hold of the beam with her big bear paws, crushing them with a single hug. Dusknoir winced, seeing that all of his moves were being negated. And the entire party were being healed by Rarity's Aqua Ring.
Kathleen saw this and noticed that Dusknoir was being overwhelmed. It was a sign that he was not fit to be a final boss.
"Let's finish this! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded as he raised his sword up. Pikachu charged up all its energy as Cadence backed him up by using Psych up to power the Electric Mouse up. Dusknoir flew forward, ready to deal a Fire Punch to them, but it was too late. Soon he was struck by Thunderbolt as Rainbow Dash slashed past him with Cut, dealing the final blow.
And just like that, Dusknoir had tasted defeat. "This can't be..." Dusknoir held his head, feeling weak.
"It's over Dusknoir! Send us back! All of us!" Twilight demanded.
"...N-No one is leaving this world. For Kathleen's sake." Dusknoir grunted.
"You're still gonna keep us here? Come on!" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"I said... no one is leaving!" Dusknoir gazed at them as his ghostly aura was rising up once more. The party readied themselves for a second round. This is the part where the final boss has a second phase. But in this case, Kathleen could see that he wasn't one of those final bosses.
"Wait!" Kathleen got in the way. "Don't hurt Dusknoir! He didn't mean it! Honestly!"
"Who are you?" Cadence asked. "And how come we didn't see you in here earlier?"
"Please don't hurt Dusknoir any more. It's my fault."
"Hold on. What's going on?" said Fluttershy.
"Dusknoir was just trying to make me have a fun time with this board game."
"So you just trapped everyone in here? Just for fun?" Applejack commented.
"You don't understand...I'll show you why." Dusknoir got up, altering the world once more as he was about to show the party the reason why he had done this. The real story behind it.
Flashback Sequence
Sinnoh Region, Floaroma Town.
Kathleen was in her home, waiting for her parents to return. Apparently today, they had a special gift for her. In her room, she sat down playing board games. It was her favourite hobby and past time. The fun of interacting with a fantasy world was what always made her smile.
Through the doors, her parents returned home, bringing in a new board game for her to play. "Kathleen. We've got a new one for you." Her father said.
"A new board game? Yes!" Kathleen jumped off her bed and fell on the flor. "Ow..." She held her head in pain.
"You have to be careful Kathleen. If you want your illness to slow down, you can't be moving around so much." Her mother said.
"Sorry. But can I have the board game now?"
"Of course you can. And I got a friend you can play with, hopefully." The mother took out a Pokeball, sending out a Duskull. "This is Duskull. He'll be a good companion to you."
"B-But aren't Duskull's used to threaten misbehaving children?" Kathleen stammered.
"Well yes. But in truth, they are fairly playful Pokemon. Like most Ghost-Types. Duskull here will be a good friend and play with you all the time. So you won't feel lonely when playing a board game."
"Really? Yes!" Kathleen ran over to the Requiem Pokemon. "Hello Duskull. My name is Kathleen! Nice to meet you!" She put her hands forward. Duskull looked at her tiny little hands, gently sending his ghostly arms forward.
I was entrusted to be a good friend to Kathleen. Her illness meant that no one could play any games with her since she could infect them. But since I was a Ghost-Type, I was immune to this. This made me Kathleen's only playmate.
4 Years went by as Duskull and Kathleen played many board games together. Every week and month, the parents would buy a new one to keep the fun going and going while they took care of their daughter, trying to treat her illness to the best of their abilities. Duskull evolved over the years too. As he continued to evolve, his intelligence grew, making the board games much more challenging and interesting. Eventually when he became a Dusknoir, he was at the highest peak of his board game skills. Kathleen enjoyed every second of it. She couldn't ask for a better playmate and a friend.
Unfortunately, the illness that she had finally reached its critical point. She laid in a hospital bed with her favourite board game right next to her. She was finding it difficult to breathe as her parents stood by her. The doctor had told her that whatever it is that was affecting her was hard to describe. This illness she contracted occurred when she visited the Unova region, and doctors haven't figured out what it is yet. The only thing that they can find is a trace of draconic energy attached to her. It ended up belonging to a Hydreigon.
"I'm so cold..." Kathleen was shivering as well. She held her sheets closer to her. Her parents wanted to hold their child close to them, but they would end up catching the illness if they did as well. "Mom... Dad... I can't feel my legs...I'm scared." She wailed. Inside of her, she was not only shivering but her body was burning up to an intense degree.
"I'm so sorry Kathleen. We honestly tried everything that we could." The mother kneeled down to see her.
"I was an idiot to send us to Unova. It was my fault." The father sat down on a chair, taking the blame and guilt.
Dusknoir watched over as she saw Kathleen's last moments of life being slowly ripped away from her. Ghost-Type Pokemon have the power to know when someone is about to pass away. And Dusknoir being one of the most powerful could tell that she had very little time left. She saw Kathleen about to utter her final words, but she was struggling to get it out. And just like that, she never got to say goodbye to her family as her final words. Her last breath had been drawn as she had passed away. The parents looked down with tears flowing in their eyes, knowing that they just lost their daughter.
But Dusknoir wasn't ready to let her go. For the sake of his best friend, he would not allow Kathleen to pass on. Dusknoir had focused on the board game and Kathleen's body, channeling his ghostly aura. The entire hospital room was shaking as the lights were flashing like crazy. The parents looked up to see all the equipment flying around as Dusknoir was surrounded by a purple energy.
"D-Dusknoir. What are you doing?!" The father exclaimed.
Dusknoir clapped his hands together as he caused a bright flash of light to occur. Kathleen's body was starting to vanish into purple stardust along with the board game. The parents watched as they saw their daughter's spirit enter the game. Dusknoir followed suit, turning back to the parents. "You gave me to her to make sure that she was happy. I am merely continuing my promise." Dusknoir entered the board game, making those his last words for the parents. And as for the board game, the father picked it up, looking at it. He knew that her daughter was now inside of this tabletop game for children. But before he knew it, the board game had vanished into purple stardust as well.
"Now do you see? I do this to keep her happiness forever. I was entrusted to keep her happy, and that is all I want to do." Dusknoir commented. "She always wanted to play with other people, but she couldn't due to her illness. I am making that a reality by bringing others here."
"So please! Don't hurt Dusknoir anymore. I beg of you."
Ash and the others saw this, now knowing the real reason why. Some of them started to feel a bit bad and tear up a bit. But Ash could see the reason why the most. He had experienced something similar to this once, but in a different situation.
"I get it. You just want to make her happy. She never got to be happy in her final moments and she didn't get to say goodbye." Ash commented as he walked to Dusknoir. "You two remind me of Molly and Entei. Molly wanted a mother more than anyone else. All she wanted was to feel that same motherly love everyone else gets to experience. Entei would do anything to make her wishes come true."
"Pika."
"But, even if you're happy with this world and experiencing all this fun with Dusknoir, what about everyone else. The people and Pokemon here have their own happiness that they enjoy and want to experience as well." Ash kneeled down to Kathleen. "It wouldn't really be fair to them to be stuck here forever wouldn't it?"
"No...it wouldn't." Kathleen put her hands together.
"I'm not blaming you." Ash put his hand on her head. "When I'm journeying the world, I always want to have the best fun that I can have. I wanna become a Pokemon Master, but I don't wanna rush it. It's the journey that matters. All the places I grew and the folks that I knew, along with all the friends and Pokemon I've met mean so much to me. Even if I don't reach my goal for a long time, I can still smile knowing that I've done so much and made so many happy memories. Everyone else wants to make their memories as well."
"I-I'm sorry." Kathleen started to cry as she put her hands over her eyes. "I'm so sorry!"
Dusknoir floated forward, giving Kathleen a comforting hug. "Kathleen. I was only trying to make you happy. But I was a fool to not realise how much damage it was actually causing to others. I even ended up taking you away from your parents at your final moments. Some friend I turned out to be."
"Don't blame yourself Dusknoir." Ash spoke. "I'd do anything to make my friends happy too. Sometimes we don't see how much harm we're causing to others because we're so focused on the ones we love. Not too long ago, I ended up not paying attention to Pikachu because I was dedicated to helping Riolu get stronger. But we both realise that no matter what, even if we give more attention to others, we'll never break apart."
"Pikachu!"
Dusknoir and Kathleen looked at each other, knowing what must be done. Dusknoir had to set everyone free, back to reality. "Fine. You are all free to leave. Everyone here."
"It's for the best, Dusknoir." Kathleen said. Dusknoir put his hands together as he was shifting this world for the final time. All the people and Pokemon on the outside could feel their bodies being lifted up into the air as the world around them was covered in a purple stardust. Ash and the party experienced the same thing. It was time to return back to reality. Ash saw Kathleen cry once more. He knew she enjoyed this world with other people, but keeping them here wasn't the right thing to do. But that's when he thought of something.
"No need to worry!" Ash exclaimed as they looked up at him. "Because we'll be back. With more friends!"
"Y-You will?" Kathleen replied.
"Mhm! You don't have to leave this world. You can still experience it with the people and Pokemon that were made here. And I'll be back with other friends, so that they can experience this board game world too. To be honest, it was pretty awesome!"
"Pikachu!"
"Ash is right! Your fun isn't over yet." Pinkie said.
"We'll make sure that you never stop having fun. No matter what." said Cadence.
Hearing this made Kathleen cry once more, but this time they were tears of joy. Because now she knows that she will never truly be alone, and the potential friends she'll have in the future are near. Even if she had already passed away a long time ago and was bound here, she was happy in this other world. And as long as Dusknoir is with her, her happiness will continue to grow.
"Bye bye! I'll wait for you all to return!" Kathleen waved goodbye as they waved back as well. Even Dusknoir gave a returning wave. And just like that, all those who were pulled in to this world had finally returned.
Inside the train, the Wooloo had eventually rolled away after having a good nap, making them gone from the train tracks. Snorlax on the other hand was still asleep. So no progress had been made. Ash and everyone that had been trapped inside the board game had popped back out. Very soon, the entire train was filled with more humans and Pokemon than it could handle.
"Oh. You're back!" Sonata said. "So, how was the game?"
"Ugh...get off of me!" Rainbow Dash bucked someone off of her.
"Is the train still going?" Applejack asked.
"Nope. The Wooloo have moved but that Snorlax won't even budge." Aria replied.
"Are you kidding me?!" Twilight erupted. "Ugh! We spent all that time in that board game world and it hasn't even woken up yet?!"
"You wanna move a Snorlax?" One of the freed humans asked. "Well, other than the Pokeflute, there is another easier way."
"What way?" Fluttershy turned to him.
"Watch and learn." The man picked inside his pockets, holding out a pile macaron that were still fresh due to time being slow in the board game world. He tossed the macarons outside the train window, and the scent of it caused Snorlax to wake up, instantly running over to the macarons. And just like that, a huge obstacle was gone from the train tracks and the path to the Crystal Empire can go on.
"Finally..." Rarity sighed.
"There's one thing that I still don't get..." Twilight said.
"What is it Twilight?" Cadence turned to her.
"If Dusknoir has the power to grab others and send them to the spirit world...does that mean that this board game is an afterlife?" Twilight turned to the board game, along with everyone else. For now, they would keep it in a bag to make sure it was safe and in good condition. They had an odd experience in that world, although it was enjoyable to them to some degree. And the future of Dusknoir and Kathleen will still go on as the journey continues.
It is Day 6 at the Pokemon Festival. There is one day remaining until it is over. Right now, the group are spending their time at the Crystal Empire, experiencing what they have to offer during the festival.
They all got up to the usual activities that they enjoyed. Just generally having fun at the festival while it still lasts. Ash was hanging out with the CMC, just being good friends as usual. But this didn't sit well with a particular pony by the name of Diamond Tiara, who was watching this very closely with her Purrloin right next to her.
"I don't get it at all.." She spoke.
"What don't you get?" Silver Spoon asked, petting her Glameow.
"I don't get why somepony as amazing as Ash decides to hang out and have time with those...blank flanks. He's always with them too like it's nothing."
"I don't get it either...but what do you want me to do about it?"
"Nothing. I'll do something about it. All I have to do is grab Ash's attention, bringing it all to me, and he'll forget about the blank flanks in no time. I mean, they have no Cutie Marks anyway."
"Good idea! That way you'll become even more popular if you're his best friend! I think..." Silver Spoon looked up, placing her hoof on her chin.
Diamond Tiara, thinking that she's got this plan laid out perfectly, got off the chair and trotted over to Ash. Sweetie Belle noticed Diamond Tiara walking over here as she winced. "Oh no..." She then nudged her friends to grab their attention. She pointed her hoof at the direction of Diamond Tiara as they winced as well.
"Diamond Tiara...what do you want now?" Scootaloo sighed.
"I'm not here you for you, blank flanks. I'm here for Ash." Diamond Tiara turned to him. "I've been waiting for this for a while!"
"Me?" Ash pointed at himself.
"Pika?"
"Mhm. I've always wanted to talk with Ash Ketchum the Heroic." She smiled.
"Ugh. No way! You around Ash spells disaster. Sweetie Belle got in front of Ash. "Forget it!"
"I don't see why I'm not allowed to be around him but you blank flanks are." Diamond Tiara scowled at them. The CMC narrowed their eyes as they were seething at Diamond Tiara. Ash could see the fire in their eyes, noticing that they were not on good terms with each other.
"I guess you guys don't get along?" Ash spoke.
"Me? Get along with them? As if!" Diamond Tiara scoffed. "They don't even have their Cutie Marks yet and they've been chasing it for so long without any success. It's pretty funny actually."
"Well, we don't get along with you because you're always mocking us!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "You think you're so great just because you have one!"
"Of course I think so. Because I actually have my Cutie Mark. You're all still blank. And I don't get why Ash is even hanging out with you."
"Why you..." Scootaloo pulled out her Pokeball. "I'll show you! Ponyta g-"
"Hold on. Let's not go wild yet." Ash stopped Scootaloo from escalating the situation. He could tell what kind of character Diamond Tiara was. Ash had encountered someone like her before in his journeys. Multiple even. "How about this. I'll actually hang out with you."
"Pika."
"WHAT?!" The CMC all said, shocked.
"See?" Diamond Tiara felt like she was getting the win here.
"But, I'm only gonna do it to show you that it doesn't matter who I talk to or hang out with." Ash got down to her level by getting on one knee. "We can understand each other in no time."
"Hmph. I guess so. If it's coming from you, then it's likely. But I still don't think you should hang out with them."
"Who does she think she is? She can't just decide who should hang out with Ash." Sweetie Belle was talking through her teeth. Her, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were resisting the reflex to throw their Pokeballs and let their Pokemon go crazy on Diamond Tiara. But Ash was willing to give Diamond Tiara some time. The CMC restrained themselves, hoping for Ash to handle this seemingly impossible to handle pony.
"So. Your name's Diamond Tiara right?" Ash asked.
"That's right. And I'm a pretty big fan of you. The way you handle every situation really sticks to me. I even look up to you as an idol even."
Scootaloo felt like she was going to throw up in her mouth from hearing Diamond Tiara talk sweet. If anything, Scootaloo was a much bigger fan than her.
"An idol, huh? Pretty awesome." Ash replied.
"Pika-Pika."
"Mhm. I even wanted to try and have a go at Pokemon battling. But I don't think it's for me."
"Yeah cause we'd flatten you with our Pokemon..." Scootaloo said silently.
"But I want to try some other Pokemon professions. What do they have at your world?"
"What do we have?" Ash stood up, pondering. "Let's see...other than being a trainer... you can have a go at Pokemon Coordinator or even a Breeder. There's a lot of choices really."
"Well, what's a Pokemon Coordinator do?" She asked.
"Do you remember what happened back at Canterlot with Celestia and Luna on the second day?" Ash was referencing the Rainbow Raindrops sight from the showcase they did.
"Oh. That. I remember I was there on that day. Is that what Pokemon Coordinator's do?"
"Yep. They can pull off some pretty fancy stuff as a coordinator. It's the best role to show off awesome moves."
"Pika!"
"Oh...me... A Pokemon Coordinator." Diamond Tiara started to daydream about being a Coordinator. She could see it now. Her standing on stage with her Pokemon, pulling off flashy and stunning moves that have never been seen before, impressing everypony and human there while she does it effortlessly. "Yes! That's the Pokemon profession I want!"
"Okay then. It's settled. You've found what you wanna do." Ash gave off a smile to her. The CMC were impressed but not surprised by how easily Ash was talking to Diamond Tiara. But what they were surprised about was how she wasn't acting like herself. From the number of times they've been around Diamond Tiara, she's constantly had a snobbish and snooty attitude that just emanates from her, no matter what. But in this scenario, around Ash, all of that was non-existent as she sounded like a sincere happy filly. It was actually terrifying to them. It didn't feel like the Diamond Tiara they knew.
"Great! So, are you going to teach me?" She asked.
"Well, I'm not a Coordinator, but there's an attraction that lets you practice. Just like Celestia and Luna. We'll just get you started there, okay?" Ash picked Diamond Tiara up.
Just then, the CMC could see the look in Diamond Tiara's eyes. And as if they weren't surprised enough, Diamond Tiara was looking at Ash with stars in her eyes along with a wide smile. She was enjoying being picked up by her idol. "This is so weird... She's so...nice." Sweetie Belle whispered to her friends.
"I know... it's creeping me out." Scootaloo felt a shiver down her hooves.
The Crystal Empire had many of the same attractions that Canterlot did, including small Pokemon showcases for Coordinators or anyone wanting to take an interest in becoming a Coordinator. Ash led Diamond Tiara to the attraction, ready to let her have a go at being a Coordinator for the first time.
"Hello, hello. Are you here to involve yourself in our attraction?" The lady running it asked.
"Mhm. This little pony wants a go at being a Coordinator. Her first time." Ash kneeled down to pat Diamond Tiara on the head.
"Alright. We'll let you have a go at a practice showcase and see what you can do. Do you have a Pokemon to participate?" She asked.
"I do. My Purrloin." Diamond Tiara looked over at her partner. The Devious Pokemon stepped forward to also give this showcase a try.
"Good. Once you've practiced with your Pokemon, we'll have you go up against someone else...hmm..." The lady looked around, searching for anyone to pit Diamond Tiara against.
"I'll go." Sweetie Belle's voice suddenly called out as they turned to her. "This is my opportunity to show you up."
"Hmph. Of course you'd only want to join out of spite." Diamond Tiara smirked as they took gave each other intense stares. Ash and the lady looked at each other, knowing that this could get ugly.
Meanwhile, over at the Frozen North, a second rift had opened up in the sky. Meaning that universal travel was involved as well. Outside of this newly opened rift emerged a black alicorn with purple hair that almost resembled that of Luna. Her entire appearance even matched that of Nightmare Moon. On her dazzling teal eyes, she wore glasses that she adjusts with her hoof. This pony came from an alternate universe in another Equestria. Her name was Nyx, and she was here, not for a visit, but for important business.
"No doubt about it. This is an alternate Equestria. The gateway that opened up 2 days ago led straight to here. But who did it?" The alicorn wondered. "It couldn't have been the rift...unicorn magic was involved not cosmic energy. I'll have to find out somehow."
Back at the festival, Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle were practicing with their Pokemon. An instructor came in to give them a quick rundown on contest moves and how they. Then she let them decide on a motif they wanted to focus on. Diamond Tiara chose the clever motif for her Purrloin and Sweetie Belle went for the cute motif for three of her Pokemon. Espurr, Plusle and Minun.
"Hey, how is that fair? She gets to use three Pokemon!" Diamond Tiara looked up at the instructor, pointing her hoof at Sweetie Belle and her Pokemon who had smug faces on them, other than the emotionless Espurr.
"Well, you're allowed to use two Pokemon in contests. And Plusle and Minun are Pokemon that work together and come in pairs so they're allowed to tag along with one other Pokemon." The instructor shrugged her shoulders.
"Ugh...I only have one though..." Diamond Tiara sighed.
"Alright. You've got your motifs and you've gotten the basics down. Now it's time to show your stuff on stage, my little ponies." The lady pointed over to the curtains as there was a small crowd of ponies ready to watch the showcase.
"Good luck you two. Have fun." Ash said.
"Pikachu."
But the two of them weren't about to have fun. They were competing against each other now. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were rooting for Sweetie Belle, but Ash stayed neutral on it.
"I'll get started. Take a good look at this." Sweetie Belle went first. "Plusle, Minun, use Swift. Espurr, hold it with Psychic." The two Cheering Pokemon had thrown out magical stars into the air. Espurr held the stars in place with Psychic. "Now rearrange the stars." Next, Espurr had rearranged the Swift stars, changing them into a word. The swords of the stars showcased the words 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'. This one was for her friends. The crowd were impressed by how they managed to make words out of moves, and they even blend well with the skies. Makes them wonder how beautiful it would look like at night time. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom approved of this the most, as an applause was given to the performance. "Beat that, Diamond Tiara." She smirked.
But Diamond Tiara actually didn't know how to compete with that. She only had one Pokemon and Dark-Type moves aren't exactly the most stunning moves out of all 18 types. They can have some fancy tricks, but not many. To make matters worse, Purrloin is a Pokemon that doesn't know many stunning and dazzling moves. It is very limited to physical moves and Pokemon contests always have the Pokemon use special moves. Not to mention the fact that her Purrloin was still a fairly weak Pokemon that didn't have many moves at its disposal. So the ranged moves that it can know are not available to it at the moment and the only one it actually has is Thunder Wave.
"Ahem. It's your turn." The lady said from the curtains. Everypony was looking at Diamond Tiara, anticipating what she's about to do.
"Um...Purrloin. Use Thunder Wave." She finally gave the command. Her Purrloin looked back at her, seeing the worry in her eyes, but she went for the move anyways. It was greatly underwhelming. All that came out was a wave of thunder and that was it. The audience were unimpressed. Compared to what Sweetie Belle did, that was lackluster. It was just a normal Pokemon move being shown. She was about to give it another go, but suddenly, fear struck her. The worst possible emotion to obtain at a situation like this. Diamond Tiara suddenly ran back into the waiting room, passing the lady. Sweetie Belle and the CMC felt proud of themselves, but Ash and Pikachu weren't feeling it..
Him and Pikachu went backstage to check up on Diamond Tiara. There, they saw the little earth pony sit on the couch with her head down. Right next to her, Purrloin was sitting close to its trainer. "Diamond Tiara." Ash called out.
"Go away. I don't wanna talk right now." She replied with an upset tone. Ash could see how down Diamond Tiara was and how happy the CMC were. From what he could tell, he's seen a situation like this before. Where the tables turn and the sides are switched.
Ash can see that not everything is in black and white. Diamond Tiara may be stuck up and full of herself, but she's still a young filly and a pony like them. The Cutie Mark Crusaders may have no Cutie Marks, but again, they're still young too. Each of them have their own views of each other. The CMC and Diamond Tiara can't stand being next to each other, and neither of them wants the other to get the better of them. But the one thing the CMC didn't take into account is that Diamond Tiara, despite everything that goes on with her, has emotions. Just like how she got all giddy and happy when she finally got to talk to Ash and how he picked her up.
"You didn't want to lose to Sweetie Belle did you?" Ash asked.
"No...I don't want to lose those blanks at all. But I also wanted to do something amazing with my Purrloin."
"And you got worried, huh?"
"Yeah..." She slowly nodded her head.
"No need to worry. I know how you feel." Ash patted her head as she looked up at him. "I understand that you don't want to lose to someone you wanna best. I've gone through that a lot in my journeys. From Gary, Paul, Morrison and so on. Just like you, I don't want to lose."
"Yeah but...I was so afraid back there. I didn't know what else to do afterwards."
"I hear you. But there's nothing wrong with feeling fear. It's fear that helps us learn and overcome certain things, like accidents or our weaknesses. Your Purrloin may not have the right moves, but I can tell that it wants to better itself so that you can advance as a Coordinator." Ash looked over to Purrloin.
"Purr." The Devious Pokemon nodded. Diamond Tiara turned to her Pokemon, seeing how much she wanted her to succeed. Back there, Purrloin knew that Diamond Tiara was worried, she knew that Thunder Wave wouldn't dazzle anypony, but she went for it anyways. Even if she was a Dark-Type Pokemon, she still cared for her trainer. Just like any Pokemon does.
"Have confidence in yourself. As much as it stings, not all of us are born with special talents and skills by day 1. I was a pretty bad Pokemon trainer when I first started my journey, but it was my bumps and faults that helped me grow and grow, and look where I am now. I've got a great buddy, some awesome Pokemon and some more just waiting for somewhere out there in the world."
"Really...? You think I can improve as a coordinator?"
"I know so. My friend Dawn was the same. Even when she lost a contest, she picked herself back up and kept on going. I know that it's not easy to recover from a loss that quickly. It takes time. But no need to worry. As long as you have your Pokemon beside you, who wants you to succeed with all your might, you'll go far." Ash stood back up.
"Pikachu!"
Hearing this lifted Diamond Tiara's spirits up as she gave off a smile. Her Purrloin went up to her face, purring next to her. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had heard this and they felt a bit bad. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom nudged Sweetie Belle forward to talk to her.
"Hey, uh Diamond Tiara." She spoke.
"Hm? What do you want?" Diamond Tiara sighed. "Here to rub it in my face?"
"No...though that would be so wonderful...I came here to well...apologize a bit. To be honest, I really did end up joining in just to show you up. I didn't do it for fun, and you were right. It was out of spite. What would Rarity say in this situation...? It's unladlyike of me. So, I'm sorry." Sweetie Belle mustered up the strength to apologize to Diamond Tiara for the first time ever.
"...Well, I accept your apology I guess. But don't think we're on good terms now. You're still blank flanks." Diamond Tiara's stubbornness was as hard as a diamond. She took the apology and even gained a small respect for Sweetie Belle, but her usual attitude was still there. "But I still don't get why you hang out with them, Ash?"
"Why? That's easy? Cause why not? I don't care if they don't have any marks. I don't even care what they look like or what they are. A friend is a friend, no matter what." Ash replied.
"Pikachu!"
"I guess so...right, it's settled!" Diamond Tiara stood up. "I'm going to pursue my dream as a Pokemon Coordinator, and I'll be the best one out there. Count on that!" Diamond Tiara sneered over at Sweetie Belle.
"We'll see! With a sister like Rarity on my side, my moves are gonna be even more amazing in the future!" The little unicorn sneered back. Ash could see that they were now competing as rivals. And to him, that was good enough.
The final day. And the group have decided to head back to Ponyville for the last day. They had definitely had their fun over at Canterlot and the Crystal Empire, especially after the events that occurred during the festival. From Chrysalis to Adagio, the discovery of Queen Pyrestar and the Multiverses and finally the board game world. Needless to say, this festival won't be forgotten to them at all. And heading back to Ponyville is what they needed. A peaceful moment.
"It's a shame the festival is about to come to an end." Fluttershy sighed. "But I still had a lot of fun either way."
"Yeah. We did a lot. More than I saw coming." Rainbow Dash slumped back on her train seat.
"What did you two end up doing? Sonata, Aria." Twilight turned to the two siren sisters.
"We did a lot of stuff at the festival! More than you can imagine really." Sonata put her hoof around Aria.
"And every second of it was torture. But...I did kind of like that Dance Inferno attraction." Aria responded, trying to act like she didn't have much fun. But in reality, she actually enjoyed herself. The most fun she's had in years.
"I can't wait till we get you to Ponyville, Jade!" Pinkie smiled at her emotionless friend. "We're gonna find you a nice place to live in and teach you all about friendship! In the best ways, we know how!"
"Can't wait." Jade replied with a monotone voice.
"I can't wait for my upcoming Gym Battle at Fillydelphia. My Pokemon and I have grown ever since our third gym." said Rainbow Dash.
"Well, I'm more excited about returning back to my boutique over at Kalos. It has been a while since I've checked up on my employees there." Rarity spoke.
"For me, it's increasing the Pokemon House. With more Pokemon coming along, it wouldn't hurt to increase the capacity." Fluttershy commented. "It might end up looking like a mansion at the end of it all."
"I ain't really doing anything new. Just gonna continue work at home. Although, Rainbow Dash said she'd help find a Pokemon of my own." Applejack said.
"Well, I'm on the same page as Twilight. I want to evolve my Goomy as soon as possible." Spike uttered.
"Seems we know what we want to keep doing. And I know one pony who'll be involved with me." Twilight turned to Cold Colt's seat as the young unicorn turned back to her.
"Hm? Me?" He put his hoof on his chest.
"Yes. Now that your magic can be used for good thanks to Togetic's joy dust, I can help you improve on your magic. It'll be a cinch, don't worry about it. And I'll be the best teacher anypony could ever ask for." Twilight smiled.
"And we're going to head home to our universe once this festival is over." Rosestar said, turning to her friend Cocoa.
"Aww...I wish we got here sooner. We only got to experience a few days." Cocoa sighed.
Unbeknownst to them, the entire group was being followed by Nyx, who had tracked down the one who opening dozens of gateways to other universes with magic. She had disguised herself, sitting at a faraway seat, but with enough distance to see Cold Colt.
"That's the pony. The one who opened up the gateways." She whispered. "But how? Magic can't access Planewalking or any dimensional travel. Let alone opening up hundreds of Unless he's somehow connected to the Rift." She continued to keep a low profile, watching them closely. But more so, she had also noticed Twilight, a familiar face in her own universe. She wanted to talk to her, but she was here for important business so any idle chat was not needed.
The train arrived at Ponyville finally. Everypony coming from the Crystal Empire and Canterlot immediately got off to return back home. The young fillies and colts were the first to hop off along with some Pokemon and humans. Ash, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight got off the train next, taking in that sweet Ponyville air.
"Aah. Ponyville. It's good to feel your cool breeze again!" Rainbow Dash spread her hooves out, feeling the wind flow through her and move her mane.
"It's always a truly wonderful feeling to come back here." Rarity hopped off.
"Welcome to your new home, Jade! You're gonna have the best moments ever!" Pinkie bellowed, still having her hoof around her deadpan friend. "I'll let Mayor Mare see if she can lend you a place to live at." Pinkie suddenly gasped, realising something. "Or maybe, you can live with me! We can share beds!"
"Do friends share beds?" Jade asked.
"Of course! Especially if its a bunk bed. The best kind." Pinkie replied. "Now come on. Let's enjoy the last day of the festival as much as we can."
The group and everyone else made their way to Ponyville to continue the final days of the Pokemon Festival and Nyx kept on keeping a close eye on Cold Colt. She would reveal herself once they arrive in the populated Ponyville. But what also caught her interest were Cocoa and Rosestar. They came from another universe as well.
At Ponyville, the festival was much tamer compared to the larger locations. Not only that, but it seemed like some of the stuff there had been packed up early. Huge events like these always simmer down on the final day. There was only one attraction, the Tug of War by Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee. Some of the group had decided to head back to their homes, specifically Rarity and Applejack. The rest were going to participate on this last day, outside.
But before, they could split up, Nyx finally decided to show herself as she approached Cold Colt who was with them all. Twilight turned her head, being the first to spot Nyx. And what she was another fellow alicorn, just right in front of them.
"Who are you?" Twilight called out as the others turned their heads as well, spotting the new pony.
"Another alicorn? What is she the princess of?" Rarity wondered.
"You." Nyx stopped, looking over at Cold Colt and pointing her hoof at him.
"M-me?" The young pony replied.
"I need you to answer me one question. How is it possible that you opened up hundreds of gateways?" She asked.
"Wait. Are you from another universe as well?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yes. But that's not important right now. What IS important is how he did it with magic of all things.."
"Isn't it possible to perform it with magic though?" said Twilight.
"No. It's impossible mo- I mean, Twilight Sparkle." Nyx almost slipped by calling Twilight, mom.
"Were you about to say, mom?" Cocoa popped her head out of the group.
"Forget what I was about to say. What I am trying to say is that magic cannot access Planewalking. It is impossible." Nyx recovered.
"Impossible? But we saw it with our very own eyes. It was crazy! There were gateways everywhere with so many universes." Pinkie exclaimed.
"That's exactly why I'm here. To deal with that issue."
"Hold on." Twilight flew forward. "Cold Colt was only doing it to help an alternate Celestia and Luna return back to their own universe. We used the endless power of Victini to skyrocket his magic, which is why multiple gateways opened up. I'm sure Cold Colt didn't know there were consequences if there are any."
"Oh no. It's not just that he opened up the gateways. It's that he did it with magic. Magic cannot access that kind of power. It is beyond its reach. The only thing that comes close to it is dimensional travel because it is associated with magic. The only way he could ever even cause universal travel is that if he had cosmic energy flowing through him."
"Well, you're in for a surprise. Because he actually does!" Pinkie Pie patted Cold Colt in the back. This grabbed Nyx's attention even more.
"He does? How?" She leaned forward, narrowing her eyes.
"Cold Colt's a pony created by the Rift. He's basically made out of cosmic energy and dust." Ash explained.
"So that's how you did it. I had no idea that the Rift could create beings that fit our world." Nyx was taken aback by this. "It's certainly a step above what happened in my universe."
"What did happen in your universe?" Fluttershy asked.
"In my version of Equestria, the Rift arrived to do what it does best. It ended up bringing over different beings from other universes vastly different from ours. Meaning that they did not fit our world at all. And I can see that it did the same here." Nyx looked over at Ash, Pikachu, the Pokemon and the humans. "But I was unaware of it being able to do this."
"Ooh. So you've crossed over with another world? Tell us more!" Pinkie and Sonata leaned in.
"Well, I have no memory of what happened. After all, once the Rift returns both worlds to normal, memories of what occurred vanish for everypony. The only thing left is a vague fuzzy memory of these colour-coded humans in costumes. And some ponies even have memories of the Rift still, as if it cannot leave their minds. Such as I."
"Well, how did you get here, darling? If magic can't access universal travel, then how did you manage to end up in our universe?" Rarity asked.
"I didn't use any magic, obviously. But when he opened up all those gateways, I saw this version of Equestria through it. All the other portals closed, but mine remained open even after a few days. In fact, it is still open in the Frozen North."
"Then it's settled. This whole problem is solved then?" Applejack said.
"Not yet. Because this isn't the only reason I'm here. Him, I can understand. But how is it that possible for you two?" Nyx looked over to Cocoa and Rosestar. "Unless you're Rift Ponies as well?"
"Us? Nah! We're just average ponies from our own world." Cocoa answered.
"So you don't have any cosmic energy flowing through you?"
"Nope. Because in our world, magic CAN travel through universes." Cocoa responded.
"Huh?!" Nyx was taken aback even more. "You mean to tell me there are universes where magic is capable of doing that?! I have to rethink this. I have to reorganise what I know!" Nyx sat down, taking all of this new information in.
"I don't think you need to. There's a perfectly good explanation for this." Twilight went up to Nyx as she looked up at her. "Every universe is different in what it does and how it works. Whether it be alternate versions of ours or even completely separate universes like Ash's world. And that means the way magic works can be different. Pokemon magic is vastly different compared to our way of magic. So it's safe to say that Cocoa and Rosestar's universe has a different approach to how they use magic as well. Hope that's easy to understand."
"Yes. I understand it. Pretty well even. This changes everything. I guess the term alternate universes isn't just for different appearances and outcomes huh?" Nyx laughed.
"Phew. Thought I was in trouble for a sec there." Cold Colt sighed.
"So, does this mean you'll be returning to your universe?" Twilight asked.
"Yes. I only came here to see what was going on. But it turns out, it wasn't too big of a deal. So my time here is spent."
"Hold on! You can't leave without experiencing the Pokemon Festival at least." Pinkie went up to her. "At least hang around and join in the fun."
"I... don't really know if I should stick around longer. The gateway to my world might end up closing at any moment without warning."
"If it does, we can have Cold Colt open it back up. Although that might mean we'll have to find Victini again." Twilight said.
"Come on. You know you want to?" Pinkie leaned her head over at the festival activities. Despite how few of them were left, there were still some fun options. Some that caught Nyx's eyes.
"Well. I guess I can stay for a bit. It is basically just the same as my own universe. But what in Equestria is a Pokemon?" Nyx asked.
"Boy...do we have a story to tell you." Twilight commented.
The remaining hours of the festival went by as Nyx had a go at some of the remaining activities. She got herself some face paintings along with everyone else. The paintings were Pokemon themed. Nyx got a painting of the Psychic-Type symbol. Twilight got herself a face painting of a Ninetales, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had patterns of an Electrike over them, making them look striking. Next, they tried an attraction where you have to try and figure out which Pokemon was real and which was a Ditto. There were 15 in total so there were tons of options. To make it more challenging, they placed masks over the Pokemon, so that way no one can figure out which one was Ditto due to its signatures eyes and mouth appearance. The only way they could tell was by how the Pokemon was acting.
The last remaining activities involved a small eating contest which Ash and Pinkie crushed, a small racing contest which Rainbow Dash's Whirlipede won and a small challenge of seeing who can impress a normally hard to appear Toucannon with the best attempts they have. Fluttershy ended up succeeding in this along with Pinkie Pie and Pikachu.
And just like that, everything was slowing down. BigTime Ben arrived at Ponyville to pack things up as the festival was ending early on the final day at 7:00. He had already sent some of his Pokemon from Canterlot and the Crystal Empire back into their Pokeballs, along with other locations. All that was left were the ones at Ponyville.
All of Ponyville watched as it was all coming to a close, with some returning home. "Aww. I wanted it to last a bit longer." Scootaloo sighed.
"It was fun while it lasted. Really fun." Ash said.
"Pika."
"I can tell you're all somewhat exhausted." BigTime Ben walked up to the group. "Did you enjoy the festival?"
"Oh yes." Fluttershy nodded. "It was better than we expected."
"We experienced a lot, that's for sure. There definitely wasn't a dull moment." Twilight said.
"Well, you can definitely look forward to next year's festival."
"Next year? Yes!" The CMC jumped up for joy.
"Mhm. This won't be the last one, that's for sure. Well, I'll be seeing you all later. Let's go Gothitelle."
"Gothitelle..."
Ben and his Pokemon had left, waving goodbye to the group. Nyx looked up, noticing that the sun was slowly setting. Now would be a good time to return. "I have to get going now. I didn't get to experience the whole thing, but for the time I was here...it was actually pretty fun."
"You'll be back right?" Pinkie asked.
"I might come and visit...but I won't really have a reason for coming over unless it's something serious."
"Well. There is one reason you could come back here." Twilight was about to bring up a serious situation that was lingering across Equestria. "You can help with the Ghetsis situation."
"Ghetsis?" Nyx wondered.
"He's someone who managed to gain the power of universal travel. He travelled between an alternate universe and conquered it, adding it to his Harmonia Kingdom." Twilight explained. "Maybe you can end up helping us against him if he ever travels to another universe to try and conquer it."
"Hm. That does sound serious. Alright. I'll come over and help you if you need me. But if you want to make it possible for me to travel here, you'll have to summon the gateway yourself."
"We will. We'll be waiting for you...uhh..." Twilight was wondering about her name.
"Nyx. My name is Nyx. And I'll be there for you Twilight." They both gave each other a smile. Nyx especially, since she was talking to her favourite pony ever, even if it was an alternate from another universe. "And I assume you two are headed home as well?" Nyx turned to Cocoa and Rosestar.
"We'll be going home yeah. But we might come back as well. Very often even." Cocoa responded.
"Uh, no-no-no. We're not going to come back. We don't have a reason to return to this universe a lot. We're only going to come back to help Queen Pyrestar take back her world. And after that, we're done." Rosestar said.
"We'll see." Cocoa laughed. The three ponies from different worlds took their leave and said their farewells.
"Well...I'm tuckered out." Spike yawned. "I think I'm gonna clock out now."
"Me too. I have to get back and feed the Pokemon." Fluttershy fluttered away.
"Then we'll see each other tomorrow morning." Twilight's eyes were about to close, showing that even she was getting tired after a long week.
Everyone went their separate ways to their own homes. Ash returned back to Pallet Town to get some rest along with every other human passing through the gateways to their worlds.
For the first Pokemon Festival, it was a success. There were definitely exciting moments, and everypony got to experience multiverses in the skies. Twilight and the group ended up going on an adventure in a board game world of all things and even met a fused alicorn. The stories that will follow along with these two worlds are endless. Many possibilities are yet to be discovered, mostly in the world of Pokemon as the journey continues.
Today is the day that Jade Skies, the newest resident of Ponyville, understood friendship. But today is also a special day for a certain trainer.
Her emotionless attitude, impassive tone and expressions gave off a sense that she had no idea what friendship was. And she doesn't. Barely even knew the concept of it until Rarity brought it up at the festival. But today, Twilight will do her best to help Jade improve, whilst also helping Cold Colt improve his magic and getting her Eevee to evolve into an Espeon. She had a lot that she wanted to accomplish right now.
"Alright, Jade. You can count on me to help you get a great grasp on friendship. And as a bonus, I'll end up evolving Eve into an Espeon. This'll be a cinch."
"Eevee!"
"I guess so. I don't know if I'm capable of getting a good grasp at it though..." said Jade.
"Don't be silly. Friendship is easy for anypony. It exists all around us, just like magic. All you have to do is experience it. And I think you've already gotten an experience thanks to Pinkie Pie, right?"
"Yeah. Pinkie Pie is nice to me. And is everypony else."
"Exactly. That means you've already gotten a good taste of it. And we're gonna make you experience much more of it. We'll start off by talking about what you like to do."
"...." Jade was silent.
"Oh right. You don't have any memory." Twilight laughed. "Well, how about we find something that you might enjoy doing. A hobby."
"What do you think I might like?"
"Well, you seemed to enjoy some of the attractions at the festival. Even if your face didn't show it. So maybe, you might be an active pony. Pegasi are naturally active so, I guess it checks out."
"Active huh?" Jade looked at her hooves.
"Um, this is nice and all, but when are you gonna teach me on how to improve my magic?" Cold Colt spoke.
"Oh, right. I haven't forgotten about you Cold Colt. Don't worry. I'll make sure that everypony and Pokemon gets their wish. Magic, friendship and evolution. Let's get started."
The first thing that they ended up doing was heading out of the castle and towards Ponyville, just to introduce Jade to everypony else. For Twilight, getting to know everypony can be a good step in developing Jade's knowledge of friendship. She had already been introduced to the Mane 6, Ash, Pikachu and now Cold Colt, so she was on good terms with them. But everypony else was a mystery.
"Alright, Jade. I'd like to introduce you to the rest of the Apple Family. You've already met Applejack, but you've never been introduced to Big Macintosh, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom who you know a bit of." Twilight introduced them.
"Howdy, Jade. Pleasure to have you at our town." Granny Smith shook Jade's hoof with her own. "I'll tell ya, ain't never a dull moment here."
"Eeyup." Big Mac nodded his head.
"What's that smell?" Jade picked up something with her nose, sniffing the air.
"That? It's an apple pie of course." Granny answered. "Want one?" She held one in her hoof as Jade looked down at it. The emotionless pegasus loved the sight of it.
"This is perfect." Twilight gasped. "If she ends up finding her favourite food, she'll come over here and bond with the Apple family in no time. Brilliant!" She clapped her hooves together, feeling like some good progress was being made.
"Overreacting much?" Cold Colt said.
Jade took a bite of the pie once. It had a different taste from her first food, a cupcake. This taste was just as good as the cupcake if not slightly better. Twilight's theory was right. It immediately ended up becoming her favourite food. Although that isn't saying much since she's only ever eaten two things in the time that she's existed.
"This is good. I think it might be my favourite food ever." Jade said, making Twilight fly up in joy.
"Glad ya like it. You can come over to our sweet little farm to have a bite if yer ever feeling peckish, ya hear?" said Granny Smith.
"Yeah. I'll come back here for some pies another time." Jade nodded.
"We're making perfect progress, Jade!" Twilight zoomed over, putting her hoof around the jade coloured pegasus. "All 3 tasks will be finished in no time!"
"Speaking of that, can we focus on my magic now?" Cold Colt was eager to start.
"I know, I know. Just let me get Jade more accustomed to everypony else and we'll focus on your magic next."
"Fine...Hope it doesn't take too long." Cold Colt sighed.
"Wow, Cold Colt. You're Twilight's student?" Apple Bloom walked up to him, making him freeze for a bit.
"Oh! Apple Bloom! Hehe...yeah, I was totally worthy to be her first and only student." Cold Colt was obviously going for us his usual lies again, trying to impress Apple Bloom like always. But this time, he was actually telling the truth about him being her first student. "In fact, she saw so much potential in me, she instantly chose me as her student. No seconds thoughts." He smirked.
"For once he's actually right." Twilight whispered to Big Mac who laughed.
"You're amazing Cold Colt. Must be super lucky too!"
"Oh, it ain't luck, Apple Bloom. It's just fate." He grinned, leaning on an apple tree as an Applin fell, bonking him on the head. "Ow."
"Well, good luck with your lessons." Apple Bloom wished him luck as she and the family walked back in.
"Okay. Come on, loverboy. Let's keep moving." Twilight and the others continued on with the task, leaving Sweet Apple Acres. As they were heading back to town, they noticed that Pinkie Pie was setting up something. It was almost similar to how she set up Rainbow Dash's Birthday Bash. Except this time, it was for Ash. "What is going on here?"
"Oooh! Twilight! Glad you're here!" Pinkie Pie called out. "You're just in time for a big day!"
"A big day? What big day?" Twilight asked.
"The day Ash became a champion." Cold Colt commented. "Being a Rift Pony pays off, ya know."
"Exactly! And today, we're gonna celebrate! I mean... we weren't there when he became champion, but still! Everypony is excited to join in. Are you?"
"I'd love to. It can also be good for Jade. Her understanding of friendship will be done in no time. So, where's Ash?"
"We can't show him the surprise yet." Pinkie Pie went up to Twilight, putting her hoof in her mouth and looking about. "We gotta make sure he never sees it coming. So, act quietly about it."
"Pinkie. Ash is gonna notice all of this." Twilight moved Pinkie's hoof away as she pointed her hoof at the decorations and setup.
"When he gets here, of course. Right now he's somewhere else with Goh. So we gotta make this quick before he gets back. And we need you to help."
"Alright. What can I do?" Twilight asked.
"Well, everypony's getting a special gift for Ash. So all you have to do is find one for him. Easy as pie."
"I like pie." Jade commented.
"Something for Ash. Wonder what kind of gift he would like? We could try another statue...no...that was a disaster." Twilight pondered. "Maybe Fluttershy may know. She and Ash are pretty great with Pokemon. Cold Colt. Jade. Hope you don't mind but our tasks might have to be put on hold for now."
"I can wait." Jade nodded.
"Seriously?" Cold Colt groaned. "Fine, fine. Just make it quick please."
"You got it." Twilight and Eve made their way towards the Pokemon House. In order to find a great gift for Ash and Pikachu, it had to be Pokemon related, according to Twilight.
Fluttershy was aware of this special day. So she and the animals and the Pokemon got together to prepare something as well.
"Alright, everyone. It's looking great." Fluttershy said. Just then, she saw her alicorn friend and her Pokemon arrive here. "Oh, morning Twilight. Are you here to help out?"
"Definitely. Today's a special day for Ash and Pikachu, and I'm here to find out what kind of gift he would like. So I came here to the Pokemon House. What are you going to give him?"
"We're making a special floral bracelet that's based on him and Pikachu. It's a bit difficult, but we're getting there. What about you?"
"Well, I figured that if Ash wanted a gift... it would be a Pokemon. So I came here to wonder what Pokemon I could get him? Any ideas?"
"A Pokemon? Oh, no Twilight. I don't think that'll do." Fluttershy flew down.
"Why not? Ash loves Pokemon! More than anypony really. If we give him a Pokemon, he'll be thrilled! And it'll be a new teammate as well."
"Yes. But Twilight, you don't understand. The Pokemon come to Ash or rather, they trust him."
"They do?"
"Mhm. Ash doesn't catch Pokemon for the sake of catching them. He ends up earning the Pokemon by gaining their trust. Just like how he did with Riolu and Farfetch'd. And his other Pokemon from what I've been told."
"The Pokemon come to him, huh." Twilight thought for a bit. "I guess that's true. So giving him a Pokemon won't do."
"Oh, sorry if I ruined your gift idea, Twilight."
"No no. It's fine. This does make things a bit tougher. I'll have to ask everypony else then."
Back at Ponyville, Rarity was already hard at work, designing something new for Ash with her Swadloons.
"Excellent. At this rate, we might outdo ourselves at our own skills." said Rarity.
"Are you finished with your gift, Rarity?" Sweetie Belle walked up with her own gift ready in the form of a small gift parcel.
"Not quite. But by the time Ash returns, it'll be done and perfect. I just hope I'm not missing out any important details. What did you get him, Sweetie Belle darling?"
"Me, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo got together and made him a badge that makes him an honorary member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders."
"But Ash doesn't have a Cutie Mark." Rarity was confused.
"We know. But after all he's done and how much he's helped us grow as trainers, we thought it would be great to make him one."
"Aw. Isn't that precious." Rarity patted her sisters head. "I wonder what the others are planning. I mean, I already know what Pinkie is up to but the others, a mystery." Rarity started to think of what her friends could possibly get. Just then, one of her friends walked through the door. Rainbow Dash arrived with her own gift. It appeared to be in the form of a book of some sorts. "Rainbow Dash. Can I help you?"
"I came to see what you're getting him. Although, I can already tell what it's gonna be. New clothes?"
"Oh, no-no. The clothes I made for him are perfect already. But there is one final thing he's missing."
"And that is?" Rainbow Dash and Sweetie Belle said, leaning forward.
"Well. As you know, I managed to design Ash's clothes because his mother was a darling to let me see his past clothing. And one thing I noticed from all his other clothes were these accessories of some sorts. They're known as gloves."
"Gloves?" Rainbow and Sweetie looked at each other.
"Mhm. Pieces of equipment that humans place on their hands. It even resembles them which is...bizarre. I figured that I would complete Ash's fashion by making him some gloves. Only the best kind. And of course, like human clothes, there's nothing I can't design."
"That's actually a really cool gift. Better than my badge. What did you get him Rainbow Dash?"
"I got him a comic. Only the best gift for someone just as awesome as me. What do you think the others got him?"
"That's what I was wondering. I can only imagine what Twilight could be planning. She might take a while considering how something similar happened back at Hearth's Warming."
"I totally think she's getting him something special cause she's all for him." Sweetie Belle commented.
"Hm? Twilight? In love with Ash. Psssh. Get real." Rainbow Dash didn't believe it.
"I wouldn't say it's too far off. I mean, at times it does look like she has a special affection for him. Wouldn't say its quite love since she shows it to us as well." Rarity said.
"Guess so. But do you think she would?"
"I can see it being possible. If I'm being perfectly honest, there is a lot to like about Ash. In fact...he almost represents the Elements of Harmony in a way. Kindness towards Pokemon, loyal to his Pokemon, makes everypony, even the princess' smile, he's never lied to us and he's even bested me in generosity. Magic, on the other hand, I don't know about that."
"Now that you mention, he is pretty versatile in all the stuff that we earned out elements for. I guess it's because he's been around longer than us."
"Much longer apparently been around for more than 20 years now. If anything, I'd say he's our senior."
"Swad." A Swadloon called for Rarity.
"Hm? Oh! Finally! We're done!" Rarity used her magic to grab the gloves, revealing their design. "Behold. Equestria's first gloves, made by yours truly." The gloves resembled that of his Hoenn gloves since they are inspired by them, except they had an A imprinted on them. "These are perfect."
"Woah. I wish we could wear gloves." Rainbow Dash looked at her hooves. Now Rarity had her gift ready.
Everypony else had gotten something. For them to determine what to get Ash, they went over to Pallet Town and asked his mom. Delia only gave them honest and true answers on what really makes Ash happy, and there were a lot of choices.
Cold Colt decided to try and get him a gift since Ash is considered a friend to him now. Jade as well. Ash is one of her first friends, and although she didn't know anything about getting someone else a gift, Cold Colt would end up helping her with that.
Applejack was helping with Pinkie Pie with this special gift. Twilight was still wondering what to get him. "Nothing yet. Ash could be back by any minute now. Although the day's still young." She looked up at the sun.
"Can't seem to figure it out?" A voice called for her. It was Shining Armor along with Cadence. They were here as well.
"Shining Armor? Cadence? You're here too? Does everyone know about this day?
"Mhm. Ash's mom told us about how Ash became a champion on this exact day. Normally, it wouldn't be too much of a big deal, but Delia ended up convincing everyone to celebrate. And Pinkie Pie just spread the news." Cadence explained.
"We're bringing him something. Courtesy of the Crystal Empire." said Shining Armor. "And I can tell you haven't found one for him yet."
"Yeah...it's unnaturally tough. I mean, Ash from first glance seems so simple and easy to understand. I mean, he's just some kid from Kanto with a Pikachu as his partner. But somehow...I'm finding it tough to get him a gift. I don't get it. Finding the perfect gift is always a struggle. And I don't want it to end up like Hearth's Warming where were tried that statue.
"You know what I think?" Cadence walked up to her. "I think instead of getting him a gift that's perfect, why don't you get him one that comes from your own personal feelings?"
"Personal? Wait! I'm totally not-" Twilight started to turn red as Cadence shook her head.
"Twilight. We had this talk back at the festival. I'm the Princess of Love. I can tell love from a mile away. I know this is your first time falling in love, and there's no shame in being in love."
"Fine... you got me." Twilight sighed. "But, I'm 100% sure that Shining Armor wouldn't be oka-"
"I'm okay with it." Shining Armor interrupted, making Twilight gasp. "If it were anypony else, I'd be a bit on the sceptical side. But to be honest, I think you've found yourself a great guy to count on."
"So, since you really love him, get him something from your own heart. It's always the most sincere gifts that win them over, ya know."
"From the heart....okay. I think I know what I'll get him. But what about you two? What did you even bring him?" She asked.
"What did we get him? For helping save the Crystal Empire, we made him a medal out of crystals. We had to ask a human to help in order to make sure it can fit." Shining Armor answered.
"Celestia and Luna should be bringing a gift over as well very soon. Although, I'm not sure what those two could ever have planned," said Cadence.
"Even them? I don't get it. What makes Ash so special? I mean, I think he's special but all of this is a lot. Not even his world is this crazy about it."
"It's more along the lines of what he's done. Celestia herself said it best. Ash has done so much for us. This isn't even his home or his world yet he puts all his effort into making us smile, helping others without needing a reason and he even assisted in helping save Equestria a few times now. He helped distract Chrysalis to have me and Shining Armor regain our love, pushed Sombra back in order to have Spike return the heart, giving you enough time to reach the chest and defeat Tirek, and who knows what else he might do. It's the fact that he does all of this for the ones he cares for. His friends."
Hearing this from Cadence made Twilight realise why everypony respects Ash. Ash himself may be respected greatly by Equestria, but he's more focused on just hanging out with his friends than being called a hero, even if is one. It's that sense of spirit that Ash brings to everypony that hits. The bonds he's formed with his Pokemon over the years reflect why he is so beloved. He's sacrificed his life for his Pokemon and friends, helped train Pokemon that were abandoned by their trainers to help them grow to become even stronger, respects his Pokemon's choices on not evolving since he and his Pokemon know that they can still be strong even without evolution. Even Legendary Pokemon have formed a bond with him, and some of this knowledge isn't even known to Twilight yet.
"Yeah. I guess that's why I like him so much." Twilight laughed as her cheeks turned red.
"Now. Go get your gift. We'll be waiting for this celebration to start." said Cadence.
Hours had passed, and everything was being set up perfectly. Gifts had been prepared, some small...mostly small. Finding a gift for a human was still new to ponies. Celestia and Luna had arrived with their gifts along with their Pokemon, Passion and Darkrai.
And just in time, along came Ash and Pikachu, finishing their small little trip back at their homeworld. The moment they passed through that gateway, the first thing he set his eyes on was the entirety of Ponyville being decorated with his face on it.
"Woah. What is this?" Ash gazed.
"Pika..."
"SUPRISE!" Pinkie exclaimed as a flurry of confetti was thrown everywhere. Everypony else had said surprise as well. "Happy Champion Day Ash and Pikachu! Just made it up!"
"You guys did all of this for me? How did you know this was the day I became a champion?"
"I told them." Delia passed through the gateway. "I figured that I would make this day a special day for you. You are my son after all, and I haven't really celebrated your achievements as much. So here's that celebration."
"We all got you gifts, Ash, Pikachu. Hope you like them." Scootaloo said as they all held out their gifts.
Looking at this made Ash feel something that he truly enjoyed... Throughout his journeys, he's experienced so much happiness thanks to Ho-Oh blessing him. And this was another moment of happiness. Seeing everypony go out of their way to do this for some kid from Kanto. Ash put his hat over his eyes as he started to tear up.
"Pikapi..." Pikachu looked over to his crying trainer as everypony noticed the tears as well.
"You guys..." Ash started to wail a small bit. "You guys are the best..."
Hearing this made the Mane 6 and everypony get close to Ash, comforting his tears as they all gave him a hug, along with his mom and Pikachu. Ash truly felt happy to have so many friends in his lifetime care for him this much. Even if he doesn't become a Pokemon Master, he'll live joyfully, knowing that there are so many wonderful people, ponies and Pokemon in his life.
The time for getting gifts arrived. Ash opened up each gift, getting some pretty neat in return. They were all items, food and other things based on everypony's Cutie Marks. He got Fluttershy's floral gift, which lent to his mom to wear. He got himself a comic from Rainbow Dash to read. And it was even his first time being introduced to Daring-Do. The medal from Cadence and Shining Armor which he placed on Pikachu. And he got the gloves from Rarity and Swadloon.
"Awesome!" He placed the gloves on his hands, tightening them. "Thanks, Rarity! Swadloon!"
"Oh, don't mention it. Just generosity at work." Rarity replied.
"We hope this will be a gift that you enjoy." Celestia walked up with Luna. "This was something that we used to have when we were still young filly unicorns. Our magic charm. We used to think it could increase our magic capabilities back then. It definitely created memorable scenarios from our childhood."
"They were more of comedic memories, even." Luna commented.
"Thanks, Celestia and Luna." Ash put the charm on his right arm next to his friendship bracelet. "These sure a lot of gifts. I might have to find some space for them in my room."
"Pikachu."
"There's one other gift remaining. Twilight." Cadence looked over to her fellow alicorn.
"Oh, right. I have yet to give mine."
"What'd you get me Twilight?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"Well. I couldn't actually get you a physical gift. Probably because I was struggling to find one. I know it might sound redundant, and you've probably heard it a billion times. But Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, I really mean it. I want to thank you for everything you've done for us. And I'm glad, we're glad to have you here." Twilight gave of a smile, turning her head, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Twilight. That's a pretty awesome gift even if it isn't physical. And I'm glad to be with you guys as well. Isn't that right buddy?"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"You have an amazing group of friends, Ash. Then again, you always do." Delia laughed.
The celebration continued as Pinkie and Applejack helped Ash to some food to devour. It was a wonderful time for Ash. Being surrounded by friends is something he'll never get tired of. And as his journey continues, the bonds he forms, the people, ponies and Pokemon he meets will continue on and on. And up in the sky, something of great importance had shown itself.
"Look! Up in the sky!" Lyra pointed her hoof up at the sky, grabbing everypony's attention. What they saw was majestic, but to Ash is was familiar.
Ho-Oh. The Rainbow Pokemon. It was flying high above the skies of Equestria, emanating its dazzling and sparkling rainbow aura across the lands.
"Who's that Pokemon?" Fluttershy gazed.
"It's Ho-Oh. The Pokemon that keeps pushing me towards my goal." Ash responded.
"It's beautiful..." Celestia was taken aback along with everypony else. It truly was a sight to behold and a day to remember, as the journey continues.
Rarity's Carousel Boutique, the second one in the Kalos Region at Lumiose City.
Her employees there were coming in today to do their usual work. They were sort of proteges of Rarity. They wanted to learn fashion as well. Some wanted to make dazzling and beautiful dresses. Others wanted to make electrifying and cool outfits and some just wanted to see where their skills can go. Today, Rarity is going to put their skills to the test and see how far they've come so far and what they've learned.
"Alright. All of you, gather around." Rarity spoke. All 6 employees gathered around their unicorn boss, ready to hear. "Now. You've all been working here under me for a while now. A month or two I believe. It's time to see how far you've progressed in skills. I'm sure you all have an idea of what you want to design, correct?"
"Oh yeah. I want to design dresses for Pokemon. Specifically for the beautiful ones such as Gardevoir, Lopunny and more." A woman said.
"Mine is for both humans and Pokemon. I want to make clothing for Gym Leaders and trainers so that they feel much cooler when they battle, ya know." said a Guy.
"We just want to see what we can do, really." One guy said with another group.
"Seems you all have an idea of what you want to design. Now we'll put it to the test. I want you all to design an outfit of your choice. It can be whatever you wish. For humans or Pokemon. And if you can succeed at that, I can take you all to the next level and teach you how to design for us ponies. Alright?"
"Yes!" They all said in unison.
"Wonderful. I'll be working back at my original boutique. You have 4 hours to try your best. Good luck." Rarity trotted out of the boutique, heading towards the gateway that led to her world. The employees didn't waste any time and immediately got to work.
Rarity made her way back to Ponyville with a 12-minute walk, since the gateway from her world to Lumiose isn't at Ponyville, instead, it's right near White Tail Woods.
Heading back, she entered her boutique, thinking that everything was normal, but it wasn't. Something was off. When she entered, she saw that her Swadloons were a bit on the sick side. This was shown by their natural green leafy body was now a pale green with dimmer colours. Not only that but the leaves on them were wilting a bit and they were already feeling an immense amount of pain. Rarity saw this and gasped, rushing over to them immediately.
"My darlings! What's happening to you all?! Are you all alright?!" She worried.
"Swadloon..." The Leaf-Wrapped Pokemon all replied with their voices being a bit on the quiet side. It was clear that they were not alright at all. Rarity didn't know what to do at first, but then she immediately decided to take them all to Fluttershy and see what is wrong with them. She put them in their Pokeballs, rushing out of her boutique to make her way to Fluttershy's cottage.
Arriving there, she instantly showed her Swadloon off. This took Fluttershy by surprise as well. She had no idea that something like this could happen to a Pokemon. Then again, she's still learning about them since there are so many of them out there.
"I've never seen this before. It's like they're wilting." Fluttershy gasped.
"Please, Fluttershy! Get your Audino to heal them!"
"O-Okay. Audi. Let's use Heal Pulse and see if that does anything." Fluttershy turned to her helper Pokemon. The Hearing Pokemon sent a healing pulse of energy towards the Swadloon, in hopes of healing them. It managed to slow down the wilting, but it didn't heal them at all. "Oh, dear. It didn't do much. Only the wilting was slowed down."
"Do something else! Anything!" Rarity pleaded.
"Um, okay. Try using Refresh, Audi." The next attempt was the restoring Refresh. Fluttershy believed that this might be another status effect probably. But it wasn't. Although, the Refresh also managed to slow down the wilting as well. "Hm. It seems that the best we can do is slow down the wilting. But I don't know what else to do after that."
"Well... surely there are other Pokemon moves that can help right?" Rarity was desperate for any possible way of helping her little darlings.
"There are a lot of Pokemon moves that heal. But most of them are moves that drain the other Pokemon. I don't know if there's something that can help them right now. But maybe, I can take care of them for now and I'll see what I can do. The one thing we know right now is that Audi can slow down the wilting. Is that okay with you, Rarity?" Fluttershy picked up a Swadloon.
"It's fine with me. As long as they recover and are back in their usual colourful green selves. I'm worried about them."
"Leave it to me Rarity. I've been learning from Remedy Roy on various ways to heal Pokemon. I've picked up some skills that might help with this. So you head home and leave everything up to me."
"Alright...Please do your best." Rarity walked off, leaving her Swadloon to Fluttershy and Audino.
"Now. Let's see what's really going on?" Fluttershy laid a Swadloon down as she and Audino were ready to see what was up. Fluttershy's lessons with Remedy Roy have evolved to a point where she now knows which Pokemon can also be useful for healing other than Audino. Her Audino is useful for hearing heartbeats and picking up on current states, plus it has a great variety of healing moves. But besides that, she gained the help of a Comfey. Its flowers are used to soothe pain, and that can help with the immense pain that they're feeling. It proved to be effective.
"Audino."
"Oh, you're right Audi. Alomomola can help." Fluttershy went over to the lake section of the Pokemon House where the Water-Types hang out. She put her hoof in the water, swaying it about as she was calling the Water-Types up. Multiple different water Pokemon popped up, responding to Fluttershy's call. "Excuse me. But which one of you is Alomomola? There's just a lot of you in the lake."
"Alo." The Caring Pokemon called out its name, grabbing Fluttershy's attention.
"Good. Alomomola. I need your help. Do you think you can help heal these Swadloon with your special membrane?"
"Lomo." Alolmomola swam forward, getting a good look at the Swadloon. She could see how much a bad state they're in. It was unlike anything she had ever seen with a Pokemon. And Alomomola are pretty active Pokemon that swim about, seeing a lot in their lifetime. "Mola."
"Alright. I'll put them in." Fluttershy picked up the Swadloon along with Audino, carefully placing them in the lake. They're fairly light Pokemon and their bodies resemble leaves, so thankfully the float. Now it was time for Alomomola to work its magic. This Pokemon has a reputation as a healer in the open sea. If you see one, there's no need for any doctors or medicine. And the way it heals others is by holding them up with its fins and using its curative slime that covers its body. And it did just that, lifting each of the Swadloon one by one.
The slime that Alomomola possess rubbed all over Swadloon, making them feel uncomfortable, but it was necessary. The Pokemon winced at the feeling of the slime, but it quickly eased their pain. But the wilting wasn't stopping at all. They may be able to soothe the pain, but right now, they have nothing to deal with the wilting leaves. This could prove to be a difficult task.
Rarity was back at her boutique, pacing back and forth. She was unsure if Fluttershy had the right cure for her Swadloon. But then she remembered that Pokemon are unpredictable, so perhaps this might be something good. She was so worried that she even forgot about her employees and their work. All she could think about were her Swadloon.
Sweetie Belle came in, seeing her sister pace back and forth. "Rarity? What's wrong?"
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity rushed over to her sister, grabbing her. "It's awful! Simply awful!"
"Gee...I wonder what piece of fabric got lost this time." Sweetie Belle said, thinking this was another petty overreaction.
"This is no time for jokes! My precious little Swadloon are ill!"
"Oh. S-Sorry."
"I don't know what it is... They just started to wilt! And their perfectly vibrant green colours became so dull and pale. It was mortifying to the eyes! I hope Fluttershy can heal them very soon."
"Do you think it might be the cause of a Pokemon?"
"I have no idea. They've been inside all day. I've fed them, washed them, everything. What could have gone wrong?"
"Well...I think I'll leave you be. You seem pretty hurt about it." Sweetie Belle walked out, leaving her sister alone.
"If Fluttershy can't heal them...then I'll find a way to heal them!" Rarity exclaimed. She was about to take matters into her own hooves.
The young unicorn filly was also wondering what was wrong with the Swadloon. So, she decided to head to Pokemon House to see what their current state was.
At the house, the Swadloon were all huddled together, resting away. Fluttershy made sure that their pain would be constantly soothed by Comfey, who was floating above them.
"It's definitely not a status effect. If it was poison, the leaves would've wilted away much faster. So what could it be?" Fluttershy was having a tough time. She still had no idea why they were still wilting. Her first assumption was that Swadloon were acting like actual trees when they wilt. But that ended up not being the case. She grabbed a bottle of Lum Berry juice, fluttering over to them. "Here. Drink this. Lum Berries are good for health." She made the Swadloon get a drink of the berry juice, gulping it all down.
"Loon..." One groaned, speaking to Fluttershy.
"Huh? You feel something new in you?" Fluttershy leaned in.
"Loon. Swadloon..."
"You mean... you're evolving?"
"Swadloon..."
"The way you're evolving is different to how you would in your world?" Fluttershy gasped, realising what this meant. "Of course... something similar happened with Rainbow Dash's and Princess Celestia's Pokemon," Fluttershy recalled the time when Celestia's Kirlia ended up feeling a strange sensation through its body when they were learning about evolution. She remembered how Passion tried to evolve the first time but failed, however, the second time was a success. She also recalled when Rainbow Dash's Rufflet evolved into Braviary, it was completely still, like its entire body had frozen in front. It was only until it evolved that it could move again. "So that means...you're just feeling your body evolve into your final evolution! Leavanny! That's wonderful Swadloon!"
"Swad..." They nodded, letting out a soft smile which you rarely see on a Swadloon.
"I can't wait for Rarity to hear this. She'll be so happy to learn about this! Just you wait and rest up a bit more." Fluttershy was about to head out, but then she noticed Sweetie Belle arriving. "Perfect timing! Sweetie Belle!"
"Hm? Hi, Fluttershy. I just came here to see what was wrong with the Swadloon?"
"Everything's great. It turns out, they're not ill. They're just evolving."
"Oooh...really?"
"Yes, really. Apparently, when a Pokemon evolves in our world, their bodies feel and act differently from how they would in their own world. I guess because the magic here is different."
"Oh! Phew. Had me worried. Does Rarity know?"
"Not yet. I'm off to go and tell her. She'll be so happy to learn."
They made their way to Carousel Boutique, in hopes of giving Rarity the good news. But to their surprise, she wasn't there. Seems like she left long ago.
"Oh, she's not here." Fluttershy sighed.
"Maybe she's gone out to get some fresh air?" Sweetie Belle looked up at Fluttershy.
What Rarity was actually doing was gathering all the healing essentials she needed. She went over to the Hoenn Region, buying everything they had from Heal Powder, Lava Cookies, Touga Berries, Yaga Berries, all sorts of items that are used to heal a Pokemon, where they're injured or under a status condition.
"This is enough. I'll use everything I can to heal them." Rarity was carrying them all in a wagon, pulling it with all her might. She went from Hoenn, which had a pretty far away gateway from Ponyville, all the way back to her world. This time it was a 30 minute walk. An entire half hour. Rarity was unaware of what was really going on with her Swadloon, but she had every right to be worried. The sight of her Pokemon suddenly wilting and turning pale would worry any trainer with a Swadloon, especially if they had no idea that a Pokemon evolves differently in this world.
Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle were searching for Rarity in Ponyville, but there was no sign of her there. She was well away from their distance. Rarity had actually found a way towards the Pokemon House through a shortcut that led to Fluttershy's home. The path from Hoenn leads here if you go straight after all.
She opened up the door, dragging her wagon inside. There, she spotted her Swadloon sound asleep. She felt like she couldn't waste any time, so she immediately grabbed the first healing item from the wagon with her magic. A Lava Cookie. "Swadloon dears. Don't worry. I've got everything I need to get you back to your beautiful selves."
"Swad...?" The Leaf-Wrapped Pokemon each woke up, looking up at Rarity.
"Here. Have these Lava Cookies. Cookies can make anypony happy."
"Loon..." Her Pokemon tried to talk to her, but she was too worried and determined to heal them, plus she can't understand Pokemon like Fluttershy. So she shoved the cookies inside each of their mouths, forcing them to eat the Hoenn delicacy. Despite it having no effect, the cookies were delicious to them. Rarity realised that the cookies weren't working as more leaves were falling off. So she went for the next option. The Heal Powder.
"Powder is the body's best friend. Don't fail me now." Rarity sprinkled all of them with the powder, and yet again, no effect. It's not that they weren't working, it's just that Swadloon are at full health without any status conditions, so all of this was practically useless right now. The Swadloon were feeling overwhelmed by all the healing items being thrown at them. But despite all of this, they were happy that Rarity would do all of this to make sure they were healthy if they ever managed to get ill.
Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle came to the conclusion that they can't find her. So returning to the Pokemon House to see the evolution is all they can do right now. But at the house, with all of Rarity's constant use of healing items and the mess she caused with powder on the floor, walls, berry juice scattered everywhere and so forth, the unicorn felt like she wasn't doing good enough. At all.
That's when all the Swadloon started to wilt at faster speeds. Rarity gasped as she saw the leaves fly off like crazy. The Swadloon closed their eyes as their bodies were starting to wither as well.
"No no no! This can't be happening!" Rarity started to tear up, fearing that they might be passing away. "You can't leave me, Swadloon!" Rarity huddled them all together, giving them a hug in hopes of holding them one last time. Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle returned, seeing this as well. They also set their eyes on the leaves withering rapidly as it took them back as well.
And just like that, the Swadloon had each withered away like a tree. The last thing Rarity saw was the remaining leaves that flew off her hooves. It was at this moment where she felt utterly crushed and distraught. She sat down, tearing up as she begun to cry. But this wasn't like most of her usual cries where it involved being rejected, losing something etc. This was similar to losing a loved one. Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle were about to tell her what really happened, but that's when it finally happened.
The leaves that were on the floor started to fly up, as if the wind was carrying them. Rarity, Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle turned around to see the leaves moving about as they spiraling around. They were each emanating a blue light. The same blue light that shows whenever a Pokemon is about to evolve. Rarity gasped as Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle gazed, ready for this evolution.
And with a burst of magical energy, out emerged what once used to be Rarity's 12 Swadloons, were now 12 Leavanny's. The Nurturing Pokemon. Pokemon that had a nurturing nature and act like granny's to anyone. Not only that but they are the best at making clothes. Easily surpassing their previous evolutions in skills.
"Leavanny!" They all cried out.
"It's finally here! You've all become Leavanny!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"I...Wha? Huh?" Rarity was confused. "You...evolved?"
"Yeah. The Swadloon didn't know what was wrong with them earlier, but it wasn't until a few minutes that they actually found out why they were feeling so strange. They were actually evolving. And it turns out that Pokemon evolve differently in our world." Fluttershy explained.
"They were just...evolving?" Rarity was taken aback by this. All of this worrying ended up resulting in a good outcome. She hung her head, letting out a huge sigh of relief. One of her Leavanny's walked up to her, putting its leaf arms around its trainer.
"Leavan."
"Leavanny says that they appreciate you going through all this trouble to make sure that they were okay. If they knew that they were evolving earlier, you wouldn't have to worry yourself." Fluttershy translated.
"Leavanny. Oh, you're all such wonderful Pokemon!" Rarity hugged it back as the others huddled in for a hug. It was a heartwarming moment for all of them. Rarity was relieved that her Pokemon were alright, and Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle were glad as well. Although, some cleanup will be needed for Fluttershy's home due to all the healing stuff that had been scattered.
With the inclusion of Rarity's new and evolved Pokemon Leavanny, an even stronger friendship is formed. One formed out out fear for the other, that turns into a powerful love and nurturing nature. Rarity will promise to keep her Pokemon safe and well, and her Leavanny will do the same, as the journey continues.
The day is going swimmingly for everypony. Nothing too out of the ordinary, just a normal day where everypony does what they normally do.
Ash and Pikachu are sitting about on a bench, just minding their own business and taking in that sweet Ponyville air. Again, nothing too out of the ordinary. The Mane 6 were hanging next to Ash and Pikachu, chatting with each other. All is well, but no one can predict what is about to happen next.
"Man...wonder what it would be like as a pony?" Ash said.
"You curious about us?" Applejack spoke.
"Oh yeah. I mean, I think it's not too different from being a Pokemon."
"But you're not a Pokemon Ash." Fluttershy walked up to him.
"I became a Pokemon once. I remember turning into a Pikachu. It was something alright."
"Turning into a Pikachu? You've got to tell us all the weird stuff you've gotten yourself involved with." said Rainbow Dash.
"But I bet it would be cool to be a pony as well." Ash thought.
"Wish granted!" Out of nowhere, Discord showed up, poking Ash in the face with his paw.
"DISCORD NO!" Twilight and the others cried out, but it was too late. The transformation had taken place. Ash felt his entire body change into the form that fit this world. The Mane 6 backed up as they saw a bright light engulf him. His skin colour remained the same along with his hair which was now his mane and his signature Z marks on his face. His clothes had even changed in size to fit his newfound appearance. Even his new gloves had changed to fit his hooves. His hat remained the same though. He looked exactly like a stallion would. He had become a unicorn and to top it all off, he even got a Cutie Mark. His mark was the Pokeball with a blue aura surrounding it.
"Pika-Pi?!" Pikachu was perplexed by his best friend's new look. The Mane 6 gasped as they set their eyes on their friend's ponified appearance.
Ash looked at his hooves, seeing that he had actually become a pony. "Woah..." Is all he could say.
"Oooh... Discord!" Twilight stormed towards the Draconequus.
"Why so mad? I only granted his wish. He wanted to know what it would be like to be one of you, and voila. Wish granted."
"You can't just change someone into something else like that! Change him back now!" Twilight exclaimed.
"No, no wait guys." Ash stopped them. "I did say I wanted to try it after all."
"That is true. Ash wanted to know." said Fluttershy.
"See? Why can't you all be understanding like my good friends Ash and Fluttershy here." Discord split himself into two, putting his paws around Ash and Fluttershy.
"Ugh...fine! Just make sure you turn him back by the end of the day!" Twilight demanded.
"I will. Now if you'll excuse me. I have places to be." Discord teleported off, leaving them all with this new Ash.
"So this is what if feels like?" Ash was standing in a bipedal stance. "It's definitely different from a Pikachu, that's for sure."
"I'm surprised by how well you blend in, darling. You really do look like one of us." Rarity walked up to him. "And it's good to know that my wonderful clothing still looks good even on a pony."
Ash was struggling to keep his balance since he's not used to standing like this. He was wobbling about, attempting to take one step forward. "How do you work with these things?"
"Just relax and place them down, Ash. Not too difficult." Applejack held Ash in place so he doesn't fall.
"Why do I feel so fluffy and light?"
"So what do we call you now that you're a pony?" Pinkie bounced to him. "Ash is a pony-like name. Is Ketchum one?"
"Well, he has a horn. Which means he's a unicorn now. So something unicorn related." Fluttershy and the others noticed the horn. Ash put his hoof on it, feeling it.
"Oh, sweet! I'm a unicorn! So does that mean I got all the magic in here?" He grinned.
"That's what the horn's for. But do you even know how to use magic? Or have you ended up using it in your long adventures?" Twilight asked.
"I think so. I remember holding an orb that had the King of Pokelantis in it. So I guess that's magic. Now, let's test this out." Ash wanted to give magic a go, so he concentrated whatever he had in him through his horn. But to their surprise, what came out wasn't magic, but aura. Ash may not possess magic, but the dormant aura in him is a good alternative.
"That's not magic...it's aura!" Twilight exclaimed. "I'm actually glad Discord turned you into a pony. This is revolutionary."
"It is?" Ash tilted his head.
"I recognize that blue energy from anywhere. So instead of magic, you get aura. I guess that's your alternative." Twilight was taking notes.
"Oh! How about this? How does Aura Ash sound?" Pinkie suggested. They nodded their heads, agreeing that it was a pretty good pony name. But they were still going to call him by his actual name. Ash.
"Now that I'm one of you...and still taller than you," Ash smirked at Twilight. "I wanna put this new body to a test! What first?" Pikachu hopped on his trainer's back, using it as a replacement for the shoulder. Pikachu was already missing sitting on Ash's shoulder.
"Aura Ash? I like the sound of that! What do you think, Pikachu?" He turned around to his partner.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed even though he was still perplexed by this sudden change.
"Now let's get moving as a pony!" Ash outstretched his new hooves forward, trying to walk like a human in a bipedal stance, but he lost his balance, falling flat on the ground. "I've gotta get used to this."
Ash's first experience as a pony began. The Mane 6 helped him get adjusted to his new appearance as everypony watching noticed that this stallion resembled Ash. The CMC especially. He still had his getup, just slightly different.
"Uh...excuse me. But who are you?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yeah. And where did you get that outfit? I want an Ash outfit that fits me." said Scootaloo.
"Girls. This is Ash." Fluttershy said. The 3 of them took a moment to process the words that were transferred over to their ears. At the same time, they let out a resounding 'HUH' which rang in everypony's ears.
"How?!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.
"Discord did it. I was wondering what it's like to be a pony, and here I am." Ash explained.
"You look exactly like us. Freaky..." Scootaloo uttered. "But cool!"
"Aw...you got a Cutie Mark but we don't?" Sweetie Belle sighed, looking at his mark.
"So, Ash. Let's test out your horn. I really want to know more about how aura works. And this might be the best possibility." Twilight was eager to dive deeper into the properties of aura.
"Right. Uhh...I'll try something." Ash's horn emanated that blue aura once more. Instead of spells, he conjured up small little Aura Spheres, floating atop his horn. "Oh! An Aura Sphere!" Ash waved his head around, making the Aura Sphere move about.
"Can you fire it?" Pinkie asked.
"I should be able to." Ash aimed his horn up, firing the sphere into the air as it kept on zooming up into the sky, breaking through the clouds as it kept going. "Sweet."
"Check out the range that thing's got." Rainbow Dash looked up at the Aura Sphere, seeing just how far it kept going.
"So far, being a pony rocks! Wonder what else I can do?" Ash was starting to get comfortable with his horn as he utilized it once more. This time, his aura made the everypony around him achieve barriers that were inside. A protective one even.
Twilight placed her hoof on the barrier, feeling its emanating energy. Once she touched it, she could feel aura for the first time in physical form. It felt like the essence of infinite energy being contained within it. So much energy that it is impossible to figure out what makes aura so potent. "So this is what aura really feels like. It's unexplainable."
The others placed their hooves on it too, feeling that boundless energy within. Once they all felt it, that same unlimited energy granted their bodies with the essence of aura. This only made Twilight more confused about what aura really is.
"Pikachu. Pika-Pika." Pikachu and Pinkie Pie were moving around in the barrier, finding it a bit fun.
"So far, aura's proving to be just as effective as magic." Rarity sat down in the barrier.
"Too effective if you ask me," AJ replied. "And you don't even know what else you can do?" She then turned to Ash.
"I only know a few things about aura and I've seen it in actions a few times. I remember Riley using aura to contain an explosion, and every time a Lucario battles, I see its waves all the time. So I'm pretty experienced with aura." Ash responded.
"Well don't stop. The more you use aura, the more I can learn about it." Twilight spoke.
"I'll see what I can do. Right now, I'm starving." Ash held his pony stomach as he could hear it growling.
"Oh! Maybe your taste buds are different now that you're one of us!" Pinkie hopped in the barrier. "If we lend you some cake, your pony form will find it even yummier than your human form!"
"I already find cake really delicious, but sure. Let's eat!"
"Uh...can you let us out first." Applejack said.
"Oh right." Ash closed his eyes, focusing, as he released them all from the barrier.
They headed over to SugarCube Corner to fill that hungry pony stomach. Pinkie placed down a usual strawberry cake. If she was correct, then Ash's taste buds would adjust themselves to this world and his new body. He started chomping away at the cake, and the result... the same. His taste buds weren't affected at all. He still found the cake to be delicious either way.
"Nope. No change in taste buds. But this stuff is still good!" Ash continued to eat away.
"Well, personally I think what we should do next is to figure out what fits you now." Rarity said. "The clothes that I made for you look gorgeous still. So, I'll see what else can work."
"You're not planning on putting me in a suit?" Ash groaned. He was not a fan of suits.
"What else of course? Come along now."
Rarity dragged the trainer over to her boutique, already planning out different clothing options. He was placed in a standard suit for stallions, but she discarded it. He was then given gala suits, wedding suits, suits from Manehatten, a bunch of suits that were made in the past and so on. Ash sighed, not digging any of these choices.
"So? What else looks good on you?" Rarity asked.
"Thanks, Rarity. But I'm not a fan of suits." Ash removed the one he was wearing. "I like my trainer clothes better. All of them."
"Very well." Rarity used her magic to grab his clothes. "Although, strangely enough. These clothes are somehow my best work yet. Compared to everything else I've done, they're so simple and standard. Yet they work so well."
"That's why I love to wear em." Ash replied.
"Enough of that. Are ya fast at galloping?" Applejack spoke.
"I can already run really fast." Ash replied.
"Yeah, but as a pony, you never know."
Next was a test of speed. Ash can already run fast enough to keep up with a lot of people, Pokemon and ponies. Just a natural reward of journeying across many regions for so long. But how does he fair at galloping like a pony? Applejack herself can move at quick speeds due to her benefits of being an Earth Pony.
Ash put his hooves together, wondering if he can actually run faster with them. He rubbed them together, still trying to get used to them.
"Alright. From home to Ponyville. Simple as that." Applejack explained as they were at Sweet Apple Acres.
"I know how to walk with these a bit...but how do I run?" Ash kept looking at his hooves.
"Just relax and move like you normally would. You're always full of adrenaline ain't ya?" said Applejack.
"Guess so. Alright, I'm ready."
The two ponies readied themselves up as Pikachu and the others were waiting for them at Ponyville. The short race was on as they began their galloping. The speed difference with Ash as a pony didn't change at all. In fact, it was still the exact same speed he had. The same result as his taste buds. He and Applejack ended up reaching Ponyville in 8 minutes as their race ended in a tie.
"Woowee! Feel any different?" She asked.
"Not really. I still felt the same speed I always had. I guess nothing changed."
"So you mean to tell me that even though you're one of us, you still got everything you had as a human?"
"Looks like it. Guess my human form and pony form aren't so different, eh?"
"Guess so. But I'm okay with it. Even if I'm my normal human self or a pony, or anything really. I still enjoy being around all my friends, ya know. I don't care what I turn into as long as I get to have fun with it."
"Aw shucks, Ash. Keep talking like that and you're gonna make me turn red." Applejack put her hat over her head.
"Guess I'm only gonna stay like this for a day until Discord turns me back. Wonder what else I can do..." Ash thought for a minute and realised there's one thing he wants to try before he returns back to normal. "A battle!"
"Battle?"
"Oh, yeah! Before the day is over, I wanna battle as a pony. Just something that I really wanna do and remember."
"Then how's about a battle with me?" Rainbow Dash flew over to him. "My team's gotten way stronger over the days, ya know."
"You got it! I know for a fact my skills haven't changed as a pony."
"Pikachu!"
The two trainers were already ready to go. Ash's Pokemon still remained in his pocket, despite the size change.
"My gym battle is tomorrow. And I wanna prove my growth by backing you into a corner." Rainbow Dash commented.
"We'll see."
"Luxio. I know we haven't interacted much, but I'm counting on you!" Rainbow Dash looked at her Pokeball, tossing it out as Luxio came out.
"Lux!"
"Pikachu! I choose you!"
"Pika!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's back.
"Perfect...Ash's Pikachu doesn't have any moves that are good against my Luxio. Iron Tail, Thunderbolt and Electroweb aren't gonna be an issue. That Pikachu's going down." Rainbow Dash thought to herself, having a smirk on her face. "We'll start off strong! Luxio! Use Crunch!" Luxio made the first move a energy surrounded its fangs. The Spark Pokemon ran forward, ready to chomp on the Electric Mouse Pokemon.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Ash's Pikachu still had Quick Attack to bank on. Pikachu rushed in, hitting his head on Luxio's face and preventing the Crunch.
"Xio!"
"It's okay Luxio! Use Ice Fang!" Luxio recovered as ice energy surrounded its fangs now. Going in for another bite and hoping to land a hit this time.
"Electrified Iron Tail!" Suddenly, Ash let out a command that no one else has ever heard other than his Pikachu. Pikachu sent all of his Thunderbolt energy and mixed it with his Iron Tail. With one swing, he struck Luxio's face with both hard steel and 10,000 volts of electricity. This combination of moves proved to be effective against a Pokemon that isn't weak to these moves at all.
"W-What was that?!" Rainbow Dash stammered.
"Just a little trick I picked up when I battled my friend Clemont. I've got loads more where that came from!" Ash replied, crossing his hooves together.
"It isn't over yet! Discharge!" Rainbow Dash went for Discharge as she was hoping to get some distance. Pikachu's pretty fierce from up close. Luxio sent a discharge of electricity towards Pikachu.
"Run through and use Quick Attack!" Pikachu ran through the Discharge, bypassing it completely as he crashed into Luxio head-on. This was enough to knock out Luxio thanks to the move combination dealing some good damage earlier. Luxio had fainted from the last hit.
"Lux..." It groaned.
"Aw...return Luxio." Rainbow Dash sighed, bringing Luxio back to its ball. "If I had known you had improvised moves, I would've prepared more!"
"I'm unpredictable like that."
"Pika!"
"I won't let you get the best of this time. Go! Whirlipede!" Next up was Whirlipede, her first Pokemon. "Whirlipede and I have some new moves that are gonna throw you off, for sure."
"Show me what you've got then." Ash used his hooves to replicate the bring it on hand motion.
"Whirlipede! Iron Defense!" Its newest move was shown. Its body was engulfed in a bright silver light similar to that of pure steel. The Curlipede Pokemon's defence had been raised greatly. "Now charge in with Rollout! Let's see you try and stop Whirlipede with all that defence and speed!" Whirlipede picked up some speed on the spot, kicking up some dirt as it rolled towards Pikachu.
"Alright, Pikachu. Spin with Thunderbolt!" Ash used one of his many moves. The Counter Shield. Pikachu got on his back, spinning with Thunderbolt flying out. A frantic frenzy of lightning was in front of Whirlipede, shocking it and knocking it back. Now it couldn't get close because of the erratic Thunderbolts.
"Are you kidding me?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Whirlipede! Use Iron Defence one more time!" Rainbow was planning to get Whirlipede to a high enough defence so that it can break through the Counter Shield.
"Got ya. Iron Tail!" Pikachu jumped off his back, ending the Counter Shield. He was in the air as Iron Tail was ready to strike. Rainbow Dash and Whirlipede looked up to see Pikachu approaching.
"Dodge it!" Whirlipede luckily dodged it in time thanks to its speed. But Ash still had the distance advantage.
"Thunderbolt!" Pikachu turned around, shocking Whirlipede with Thunderbolt. The way Ash was performing this battle seemed to be much quicker than usual. And surprisingly, it had nothing to do with his pony form. It's just that at times, his battle instincts accelerate without warning.
"It's not over yet! Whirlipede! Venoshock!" Whirlipede recovered as it unleashed its newest move. It drenched a venomous poison towards Pikachu, but Ash had a way around this as well.
"Use Iron Tail to take it!" Pikachu turned his tail iron once more as he raised it up, absorbing the poison and negating the damage. "Poison moves have no effect on Steel moves. So this is a perfect way to deal with that!"
"You seriously have that?!" Rainbow Dash felt like ripping her mane out.
"I just came up with that trick just now. Into the skill arsenal, it goes! Now use Quick Attack!" Pikachu ran forward, hitting Whirlipede before Rainbow Dash could even make the command.
"Whirlipede! Recover and use Pin Missile!" Whirlipede recovered from the sudden impact as it fired missiles of sharp pins towards Pikachu.
"Jump and use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu jumped over the Pin Missiles, instantly shocking Whirlipede from a distance. This was strong enough to take Whirlipede out, making it faint.
"Whirli..."
"Yes!" Ash jumped for joy.
"PikaPika!"
Rainbow Dash returned Whirlipede, putting her hoof on her head. She was in awe of what she was witnessing. "Woah... that was brutal. You really are an amazing trainer, Ash. Even as a pony. Guess I was the one backed into a corner."
"Thanks. Now we gonna continue?"
"Nah. I think I know when I'm beaten. I'm still nowhere near close to your level. But I'm still ready for my Gym Battle tomorrow! Thanks for battling with me."
"No problem."
After their battle, the entire group decided to hang out for the rest of the day at the Pokemon House. The day was nearing its end with the sunset closing in. Ash so far had enjoyed his time as a pony. He got to utilize the unicorn horn, eat, gallop and battle as a pony. He's basically done everything a pony normally does.
"Man..being a pony is pretty neat. Even if it feels different from my normal body." Ash sat back on a wall of the house.
"Glad you enjoyed it, Ash. Shame you can't stay as one much longer." Fluttershy fluttered over to him, holding Pikachu in her hooves.
"It's fine. I get to remember it at least. Now, where's Discord?" And with the mention of his name, Discord appeared, knowing that it had been a good amount of time.
"Alright. Time to return back to your fleshy self, compadre." Discord got out a human button as he pressed it against Ash's face. Ash's body was engulfed in a bright chaotic light once more. His original size was returning to him again. His clothes reforming to fit him again along with the disappearance of his horn and Cutie Mark. He was back to normal.
"Back to being me." Ash felt his hands. "Fun while it lasted. Thanks, Discord."
"Anything for a fellow lover of chaos such as myself. Toodle loo!" Discord got on a bike, riding it in the air as he vanished back to where he lives.
"Aw...That means my pony outfit for you won't do." Rarity sighed.
"You can always just make some of Ash's outfits for other ponies Rarity." Twilight suggested.
"Oh! Good point! It'll be a trend like no other!"
"I've got a story to tell mom and Goh!" Ash laughed as he held suddenly turned his hand into a hoof. "Huh?" The others leaned in to see this. Ash then shook his hoof, turning it back into a hand. "Woah..."
"Ash...can you... turn it on and off?" Rainbow Dash spoke.
Ash then shook his leg as it became a hoof. He almost lost balance as he quickly returned it to normal. "No way. I can turn it on and off?!"
"Ugh! Why does Discord have to always leave everything with a side effect?!" Twilight face-hoofed.
"Does this mean you're going to stay a pony from now on?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Nah. I'm fine with just being a human. But I may use this form for sneaky purposes at times."
"Pikachu..." Pikachu sighed, knowing that things are only going to get weirder from here on out.
Today was an odd day. One of the more unexpected days indeed. With Ash's newly obtained pony form which he'll rarely use and Rainbow Dash's 4th Gym Battle tomorrow, the future of both worlds has become even more unpredictable, as the journey continues.
Rainbow Dash's Fourth Gym Battle has arrived. Located in Fillydelphia, this gym is all about speed. So quick Pokemon are bound to be apart of this gym.
The group arrived at Fillydelphia, standing before the dome-shaped gym. Rainbow Dash has had plenty of time to train her Pokemon so that they're up for this.
"Just relax, Rainbow Dash," Twilight spoke. You've had all this time and a few weeks to prepare, so you're more than ready to take this gym on."
"You're right. Let's go." Rainbow Dash opened the door with her hooves, revealing the inside of the gym. The appearance it had was full of slides and ramps. They were everywhere. On the walls, ceiling and floor. Not only that but there were skid marks everywhere as if something fast had skidded on them whilst moving. This was definitely a gym about speed. And standing there was the gym leader.
Zecora.
"Zecora?!" They all shouted.
"Surprised by this, I can see. The fourth gym leader...that is me."
"But how come? You're okay with leaving your hut?" Fluttershy said.
"BigTime Ben recommended me this role. There is shame in leaving your comfort zone."
"I'd never take you for a Pokemon trainer, Zecora. Let alone a Gym Leader." Rarity commented.
"I too can have fun, Rarity. The Pokemon I have are fast, that is a certainty."
"Hold on...Zecora always talks in rhymes...which means that before she even gets to attack, my Pokemon can get some hits in while she's trying to finish her rhyme!" Rainbow Dash thought as she rubbed her hooves together. "This is gonna the be the easiest gym badge I've ever earned yet!"
"I can see that you are acting brash. An unwise decision against somepony you have yet to face, Rainbow Dash." Zecora smiled as she walked to the other side, already preparing herself for the battle.
"We'll see about that." Rainbow Dash flew forward, standing at her side of the arena. Ash and the others took their seats, ready to watch this go down. The referee pony walked forward, looking at the two.
"The battle between Challenger Rainbow Dash and Gym Leader Zecora will be a 4 on 4. The battle will be over once four Pokemon on one side are all unable to battle. Only the challenger is allowed to substitute for this challenge."
"Fine by me. I'm gonna make sure this isn't a repeat of Sunset Shimmer. I'll start off with you. Go! Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash started off with Whirlipede, hoping to have a speed advantage with the move speed boost.
"My first Pokemon is a great example of being fast. I shall send you out, Ninjask." Zecora sent out her first Pokemon, Ninjask.
"Nin!"
"Check this one out..." Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex.
"Ninjask. The Ninja Pokemon. Ninjask moves around at such a high speed that it cannot be seen, even while its crying can be clearly heard. For that reason, this Pokémon was long believed to be invisible. Hearing its distinctive cries for too long induces a headache. Because of this quality, this Pokémon is said to be one that puts the Trainer’s abilities to the test. It congregates around tree sap."
"Woah. She's not kidding when she says it's fast. It's so quick it's invisible..." Rainbow uttered. "But I'm banking on Speed Boost to help me through this." She still had confidence. And she still believed that Zecora's rhyming would end up being her downfall in a match.
"Battle start!"
"I always love to get the first hit off! Whirlipede! Let's start off strong with Rollout!" Rainbow made the first move as always. Whirlipede started to pick up speed as it raced towards Ninjask. She was sure that Zecora couldn't act fast due to her rhyming...but she was in for a surprise.
Ninjask had ended up intercepting Rollout by using Fury Cutter. And this was done without Zecora making any commands at all. Ninjask's bug hands clashed with Whirlipede as they both cancelled each other out, proving to be equal in strength.
"What the? She didn't even say anything." Rainbow Dash said.
"I can see you're surprised by how that was done. Allow me to tell you something that is a guaranteed stun. I have been learning about Pokemon involved many days and weeks. I ended up learning about their instincts and how to use it as a technique. My Pokemon and I bonded on a mystical level. Although it did have its fair share of disapproval."
"Amazing...Zecora and her Pokemon are bonded on a mystical level?" Twilight spoke.
"Not the first time," Ash said as they all looked at him. "There are some trainers that can connect with their Pokemon with their minds. Most of the time its Psychic-Types. But when they do connect with them, they can give off commands without even saying it."
"So that means...Zecora's talking without rhymes in her mind, and speaking rhymes with her mouth." Twilight responded. "Once I evolve my Eevee into an Espeon, I'm definitely going to try and achieve that."
"Mind stuff isn't gonna stop me. I've still got Whirlipede's Speed Boost on my side!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Venoshock!" Whirlipede shot out toxic venom towards Ninjask. The Ninja Pokemon avoided it by flying into the air, as it was moving much faster this time. Ninjask then struck Whirlipede with Aerial Ace, dealing some big damage.
"Your Whirlipede is not the only one with Speed Boost, you see. Ninjask naturally has it and some of my other mons to a degree."
"It has it too?! Oh...this is gonna be a problem. Whirlipede! Pin Missile, rapidly!" Whirlipede shot out missiles of sharp pins towards its fellow Bug-Type.
Ninjask looked back at Zecora as she nodded her head. The Ninja Pokemon used Fury Cutter to knock the missiles back at Whirlipede. The Curlipede Pokemon took its own pins, dealing damage to it as Ninjask came flying in with Aerial Ace.
"Iron Defense, quick!" Whirlipede reacted quickly as well, enveloping its body with steel energy. Aerial Ace still hit its mark, but the damage was nullified a small bit. "Come back for now Whirlipede." Rainbow returned her Whirlipede, knowing that it's already taking too much damage now. So a break was needed.
"Feeling overwhelmed at the first few minutes, are we? There's more where that came from, I can guarantee."
"I'm not gonna let it be a repeat of the last gym. Let's go! Luxio!" Next up was Luxio. Electric-Types are always a good choice for fast Pokemon.
"Luxio!
"Alright, Luxio! You're new to gym battles, but I know you'll do great here! Let's go with Wild Charge!" Luxio's body was engulfed in an electric energy field as it charged forward. Ninjask saw this coming as it flew up in the air to avoid it. Ninjask had then flown back down, going straight for an X Scissor. "Use Wild Charge again!" Rainbow saw this as an opportunity. Ninjask are Pokemon that are mostly used to getting up close and personal. So Luxio charged at Ninjask, hitting in the Ninja Pokemon square in the face with its own. Zecora gasped as Ninjask was sent rocketing through the area, crashing down, but not out yet.
"Nin!"
"Awesome! Now use Discharge!" Rainbow Dash was about to follow up. Luxio stomped its paws on the floor, causing an electric discharge to spread across the room. Ninjask's eyes opened up as it had suddenly gotten faster thanks to Speed Boost. It could hear Zecora telling it to use its fabled invisibility speed. So that's what it did. Flying up and avoiding Discharge, Ninjask started to dash around, moving at even greater speeds, more than Rainbow Dash expected.
It was moving so fast that it was living up to its dex entry of it being invisible. Luxio couldn't keep up with it at all. All it saw were afterimages and blurs just passing by it. The Ninja Pokemon was circling around it while flying. Even Rainbow Dash was struggling to keep up with it. She had never seen anyone move that fast other than her. But she could still see it moving around.
After all, Ninjask is the second-fastest Pokemon in existence.
"That speed is ludicrous! Luxio! U-" Before she could finish her sentence, Ninjask struck Luxio with Fury Cutter. The amount of speed it picked up was so great that a weak move like Fury Cutter was strong enough to launch Luxio. "Oh, no Luxio!" Ninjask followed up. It chased after Luxio, hitting with Fury Cutter over and over again. Very soon, Luxio was being smacked around like a pinball. Each time it looked like it was about to hit the ground, Ninjask flew down and knocked it back up, and each time went high up, Ninjask flew up and knocked it back down, and the cycle kept repeating. Rainbow Dash was stumped. She was struggling with finding a way to break this cycle. Shinx was getting punished left and right, taking all those hits.
"If you will not make your move, then you will not have a gym badge to prove." Zecora commented.
Rainbow Dash put her hooves on her head, thinking and thinking. She didn't want to lose horribly like Sunset Shimmer, so she had to do something. That's when it hit. A risky strategy that would require a fast reaction time for her Pokemon.
"Luxio! Discharge in the air!" She gave off the command, but Ninjask kept hitting Luxio all over the place. "Don't let it get to you! Unleash it!" Even though it was getting punished by Fury Cutter, the Spark Pokemon unleashed all of its energy right after the previous hit. This gave it a small amount of time to shock Ninjask once it got too close. Ninjask was finally hit, and it felt all that electricity hit. Luxio only needed that 0.1 second moment of freedom. After all, not even Ninjask, the second-fastest Pokemon in existence can stop electricity. And as a bonus, Discharge managed to paralyze Ninjask, which made Zecora gasp in shock. "YES! Now use Ice Fang!" Luxio dealt the next hit by chomping on Ninjask's wings with its icy fangs. Ninjask couldn't avoid it in time due to the paralysis, and this caused the nimble and fast Ninja Pokemon to fall and faint.
"Ninja..."
"Ninjask is unable to battle! Luxio wins!"
The Spark Pokemon landed back down, breathing in and out as the aggressive Fury Cutter assault was finally over.
"Lux..."
"Awesome job, Luxio!" Rainbow Dash cheered.
"Phew. That was aggressive." Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "The speed in this gym is no joke. I'm actually terrified of what might be next."
"See that? Even stuff that moves faster than I can see won't stop me! Your move Zecora." Rainbow Dash had a smug grin.
"The next one will indeed puzzle your thoughts. Come on out, Whimsicott." Her next choice was the Windveiled Pokemon.
"Whimsi!"
"A Whimsicott? Heh. I battled one back at the festival. This thing's speed ain't all that."
"Speed is not just its speciality. Allow me to speak with a Solar Beam." The first command that Zecora spoke was Solar Beam. Whimiscott was gathering up all the solar energy from the sun, but it would take a while. And this gave Rainbow Dash all the time in the world to strike. But maybe not with Luxio.
"Return Luxio. You deserve to take a break." She returned Luxio and immediately sent out Whirlipede for some major poison damage. "Now Whirlipede! Venoshock!" Whirlipede was about to drench Whimsicott, but the Windveiled Pokemon had already gathered enough sunlight. Celestia was in her favour today. And just like that, she unleashed a powerful green beam of solar energy that raced towards Whirlipede! The Curlipede Pokemon took the hit as an explosion of green energy occurred after the impact.
Whirlipede was still standing thanks to its type-advantage, but the damage had been dealt for sure. Whirlipede still continued its attack by shooting venom towards Whimsicott. The Grass-Fairy-Type flew over the venom, making sure to not get taken out in one hit. It then unleashed Gust, whipping a strong gust of wind towards Whirlipede.
"Dodge it!" The Curlipede Pokemon rolled out of the way, avoiding Gust, but Whimsicott started to chase it down. Whimsicott unleashed a continuous barrage of Gusts that were constantly hitting the floor. Wind pressures were formed around the arena, blowing Rainbow Dash's and Zecora's manes. Whirlipede managed to avoid the gusts, and with Speed Boost, it was starting to outpace Whimsicott. Zecora saw how fast Whirlipede was moving and realise that she wasn't getting anywhere. So she looked at Whimsicott and it looked back at her, nodding.
Whimsicott utilized what it does best, spreading cotton everywhere. It flew all over the gym, leaving its cotton on the floor and even on the ramps and slides. Whimsicott always leave balls of cotton every time they pick up speed. Soon there was cotton everywhere on the floor, and this proved to be an issue for Whirlipede since it ended up crashing into one of the cotton while rolling.
"Whirl!" Making contact with it cause Whirlipede to lose balance as the cotton vanished.
"Oh no, Whirlipede!" Whirlipede was getting hit by cotton, no matter where it went. Every time a piece of cotton knocked it back, it kept making contact with the next one. Now Whirlipede was experiencing the same thing Luxio felt. Smacked around like a pinball but with fairy cotton this time. Rainbow Dash saw an odd opportunity though. Despite her Pokemon being smacked around by cotton, the more it hit them, the fewer cotton was left on the field. "That's it...Whirlipede! Roll forward!" Whirlipede opened its eyes as it managed to roll into space where there was no cotton, freeing it from the assault.
Whimsicott however, caught Whirlipede off guard by firing a Gust at it. The Gust hit its mark, blowing Whirlipede back as it crashed into the ramps. But this knockback was somewhat of a blessing, as Whirlipede was rolling on the ramps. With its perfectly circular body, it rolled on the ramps effortlessly. Rainbow Dash took this opportunity as well. This time she wasn't going to let Whimsicott get the better of her. "Pin Missile!" As Whirlipede was on the ramps, moving, it fired pins towards Whimisicott. The Windveiled Pokemon only managed to avoid a few of them as the rest hit their mark.
Whirlipede's speed had increased greatly and was at its top speed thanks to all that Speed Boost. Soon, Whimsicott was taking all the Pin Missles. And no matter what, it couldn't move out of the way. Whirlipede was too fast, so it could fire Pin Missiles for days. Eventually, Zecora realised that throwing attacks wouldn't work, so she made her Whimsicott go for a move that can change the course of this battle in one go.
Tailwind. Whimsicott had taken all the pins, but it was able to kick up a powerful Tailwind by harnessing its Fairy magic. Tailwind changed everything. Now the speed was in favour of Whimsicott. And this made able to avoid the pins, now being much faster than Whirlipede.
"Oh come on! Tailwind?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"The wind blows in our favour. Now say farewell to your victory, for it is mine to savour." Zecora said.
"I won't let this get the best of me! Whirlipede! Iron Defense!" Rainbow Dash went on the defensive side this time. Whirlipede was engulfed by steel energy as its defence had been greatly increased. Now it was time to strike. "Get up close and person and use Pin Missile!" Whirlipede was on the move once more, but this time, it wasn't moving as fast. Instead, Whimsicott was faster now. And to Rainbow Dash's surprise, it was headed straight for Whirlipede. The reason being is because it was aiming to use Gust at a much closer distance. And it did just that. Whirlipede was hit straight in the face with Gust as Whimsicott effortlessly avoided all the Pin Missiles. This Gust was enough to finally knock Whirlipede out, making it faint.
"Whirlipede is unable to battle! Whimsicott wins!"
"Down that one goes. And with Tailwind, my speed grows."
"Aw...you did good Whirlipede. Return." Rainbow Dash sighed, returning her Pokemon. "That Tailwind's gonna be a problem. And I can't bring out Altaria for a Pokemon like Whimsicott. So I'm gonna have Braviary take this one!" Next up was Braviary. Once that Pokeball was tossed forward, the Valiant Pokemon erupted with a mighty cry.
"BRAV!"
"Alright, Braviary! Let's not hold anything back! Go wild!"
"Braviary!"
"Head in with Steel Wing!" Braviary used its newest move, Steel Wing. Its wings gained hard steel energy around them as it flew forward. Whimsicott did the same, but it flew back, trying to get its distance from Braviary. But to its surprise and Zecora, Braviary was outpacing it. It's like Tailwind wasn't slowing it down at all.
Whimsicott sent some cotton balls forward to try and slow it down, but Braviary cut right through it with Steel Wing. Whimsicott gasped as before it and Zecora knew it, Braviary struck it right in the gut. The impact was so immense that it caused a wind pressure that rocketed Whimsicott towards Zecora. Zecora felt her Pokemon crash into her as it fainted.
"Whimsicott is unable to battle! Braviary wins!"
"Holy moly! That was intense!" Pinkie Pie shouted.
"It didn't even care about Tailwind. Amazing." Fluttershy commented.
This was Braviary's recent Gym Battle in a while after it evolved from a Rufflet. And its immense strength had shown just how far it had come. It was here to carry its trainer to victory, no matter what.
"What strength. The force it wields is great. But this isn't over yet. Just you wait." Zecora got back up, sending her Pokemon back into its ball. The next Pokemon she sent out was a Weavile. Another Pokemon that was quick on its feet.
"Weavile!"
"Weavile, huh? I've got just the move that can take care of it. Braviary! Get in close and use Superpower!" Rainbow Dash outstretched her hoof, sending her Braviary forward. Braviary's wings and claws were enveloped in intense raging energy. One hit from it and the result would be devastating. Weavile was already ahead of Braviary as it jumped over Braviary, avoiding the Super Power. The Sharp Claw Pokemon then used Ice Beam on the slides and ramps. The reason being is because Zecora had planned for Weavile to skate on the ice to pick up more speed. Braviary turned around to see the Dark-Ice-Type skating about. "That's so cool!" Rainbow Dash was in awe but she snapped out of it. "Fly towards Weavile and use Superpower one more time!" A second attempt at Superpower was made. Braviary swooped towards Weavile who was skating about.
Weavile smirked, leaping over Braviary as it looked down at the Valiant Pokemon. And then, it struck Braviary on the back with a Dark Pulse, sending the Valiant Pokemon down to the ground. A smoke cloud emerged from the hit, but Braviary quickly got back up, blowing the smoke away by spreading its wings.
"Good! Use Brave Bird!" Braviary took the skies, surrounding itself with brave energy. Weavile, who was still airborne had responded to this by unleashing an Ice Beam. "Dodge it!" Braviary swiftly avoided the Ice Beam as it hit the floor instead, turning it all into ice. Braviary managed to get a good hit on Weavile with Brave Bird. That one hit was enough to launch Weavile higher into the skies. "Now finish it with Superpower!" Rainbow was planning to end this quickly by having Braviary deal devastating hit. The Valiant Pokemon zoomed towards its opponent, but Weavile and Zecora weren't done yet.
The Sharp Claw Pokemon turned the tables by using Double Team. It split itself into afterimages, making Braviary hit one of them and missing the real one. With its guard down, Weavile then used Night Slash but swinging its sharp claws at Braviary's back. The impact of it was critical as Braviary definitely felt all that damage. Weavile landed back down on the icy floor, looking up at Braviary.
"It seems our Pokemon are both even in speed. This will be a great battle indeed."
"Yeah. One that I'm gonna win!" Rainbow Dash declared as she stomped her hoof on the icy floor, breaking some of the ice on it. Both Pokemon and trainers were dead set on winning this. And with their Pokemon so far seeming to be equal in both speed and strength, there's no telling the outcome.
Rainbow Dash so far was putting up a great fight. She's managed to take out two of Zecora's Pokemon. Ninjask and Whimsicott. But she's also suffered some drawbacks. Luxio has taken a considerable amount of damage from Ninjask's Fury Cutter assault and Whirlipede ended up fainting by Whimsicott's antics. Now the last two Pokemon remaining who are in top condition were Rainbow's Braviary who was out first, her Altaria who hadn't battled yet and for Zecora it was her Weavile and one other Pokemon in her arsenal. Zecora was proving to be a tough trainer since she doesn't say the commands, knowing that the rhyming would slow things down for her. Instead, she communicates with her Pokemon a mystical level, so Rainbow Dash won't be able to hear the commands, only see the moves. Right now it was Braviary vs Weavile.
"If I can get Superpower to land just once, that Weavile's a goner. But I'm gonna need to make sure I don't get hit by that Ice Beam of Dark Pulse...Okay, Braviary! Fly down and use Steel Wing!" Rainbow Dash went for Steel Wing instead of Superpower. Her plan was to make sure that Braviary gets every opportunity to reach Weavile without getting hit by any ranged attacks. And just as she thought, Weavile went straight for a ranged attack. Dark Pulse was fired towards the Valiant Pokemon. "Dodge it and fly forward!" Braviary avoided Dark Pulse thanks to its sharp instincts and it indeed got close to Weavile, who was now in striking distance. "Now change it into Superpower!" Braviary switched up from Steel Wing into Superpower. It looked like Weavile was about to get taken out, but the Sharp Claw Pokemon and Zecora already suspected this.
Once more, Double Team was activated. Braviary, unable to tell the difference between the real one and the afterimages, only ended up hitting the fakes. And that gave Weavile an opportunity to strike once more as it fired Ice Beam out of its hands. The beam of cold ice made contact as it ended up freezing Braviary, making it fall with ice-encased around it.
"Oh, no Braviary!" Rainbow Dash cried out. Braviary was frozen solid. Trapped within the ice. Weavile had landed back on the ground, seeing its opponent frozen in place. Now it had even more opportunities to attack.
"That's not fair! He's frozen solid!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"The freeze status effect is possibly the most effective one." Twilight commented.
Rainbow Dash knew that freeze was a pain to deal with, but she wasn't a stranger to this. There are ways out of situations like this. "Braviary! Use Superpower to break out!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. Her voice reached through Braviary. The Valiant Pokemon could sense her drive to win. And coupled with the hidden Bond Phenomenon hidden in both of them, Braviary started to draw in all that intense energy. The ice it was frozen in was emanating an orange and red light. Zecora and Weavile took a closer look to see what was going on. And just like that, Braviary broke out of the ice, causing a strong wind pressure as there were shards of ice flying everywhere. They even hit Weavile in the face and the wind even knocked it back a bit.
"Braviary!"
"Awesome! Now we're back in business! Let's continue to go crazy with Superpower! Head on!" Rainbow wasted no time, and neither did Braviary. The Valiant Pokemon took to the skies, heading towards the agile Weavile. The Sharp Claw Pokemon had fired another Ice Beam in hopes of freezing Braviary again, but the Normal-Flying-Type was smart enough to know not to fall for the same trick again as it flew over the beam, without Rainbow Dash even saying anything. Braviary finally hit its mark with Superpower. And just like Rainbow Dash theorized, it was indeed a move that would really put the hurt on Weavile. The sheer raw power behind it perplexed Weavile, launching it so far at such speeds that it crashed into the walls, causing cracks to form around it. Weavile fell from the cracked wall as rubble fell with it.
But to her surprise and the rest of the group and Braviary, Weavile was still up. Despite taking all that immense Superpower damage, it was still standing, but it definitely felt all that impact.
"How come?! Superpower should've taken it out in one go!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"I suspected a move like that to come by. So I trained this Weavile's defence to an all-time high." Zecora explained. "I've seen how you battle, and I've learned enough. Now it's time for me to cut loose and get rough." Zecora this entire time has just been holding back a bit. She had been observing Rainbow Dash's battle style to see how she plays. And she can tell that Rainbow is the type of trainer that focuses mostly on vigor and fortitude. That was her main weakness. She's too aggressive.
"Cut loose? You mean you weren't taking it seriously?! Braviary! Keep your guard up!"
"Braviary." He looked back at her, nodding his head.
Weavile had stopped holding back now as well. As if it wasn't tricky to deal with before. It ran towards Braviary while sliding on the icy floor. Braviary spread its wings, prepared for whatever may come its way.
"Hit it with Steel Wing!" Braviary's wings turned to steel as he swung them forward. Weavile ducked the wings by lowering its body while skating on the floor. It hopped on Braviary's back all of a sudden. "What the?! Braviary shake it off!" Braviary attempted to shake it off, but Weavile gripped onto its back with all its might. To make matters worse, Weavile dug its sharp claws in Braviary, so it wasn't getting off any time soon. Braviary winced at the claws digging into him. "Fly up!" The Valiant Pokemon then took the skies, bringing Weavile with it. Weavile wasn't just on Braviary's back to hang around. It had fired an Ice Beam from its claws, sending the cold beam through Braviary.
Braviary felt the Ice Beam surge through his body. Thankfully, he didn't freeze this time. But Ice Beam still dealt its damage. Braviary kept flying up and up until he reached the highest point of the gym. "Now fly down at top speed with Brave Bird!" A strange command, but Braviary went for it anyways. Rainbow Dash's plan was to smash Weavile down on the cold icy floor, that way it would definitely get off. But Zecora knew what she was up to, so Weavile hopped off Braviary's back, avoiding the imminent crash. Braviary felt nothing on its back, realising that Weavile was off. It stopped its movements, exiting out of Brave Bird. Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of relief. That one instance with Weavile was risky.
"Weavile..."
"Braviary..."
The two Pokemon were eyeing each other down. Rainbow Dash saw how things were turning out. Braviary was fast but Weavile had a slight advantage due to its small body allowing it to move at agile speeds. She felt like continuing like this wouldn't get here anywhere. "Return for now Braviary." She returned Braviary, letting it rest for a bit. "That Weavile's a threat. Braviary's only really good at up close and personal stuff. So I'll battle with my own distance as well. Go! Luxio!" Luxio was up next. Still pretty damaged after its previous battle against Ninjask, but it still had some energy left in it.
"Lux!"
"Keep your distance! Use Discharge!" Rainbow Dash continued without any breaks. Luxio stomped its paws on the icy floor, sending a discharge of electricity towards Weavile. The Sharp Claw Pokemon jumped over the Discharge, barely avoiding it. Even Weavile has trouble keeping up with electricity. "One more time!" Luxio went for another Discharge. This threw Weavile off course. It had just jumped over the last Discharge, and now it had nowhere else to land but on the floor. It made contact with Discharge, feeling all the electricity shock its nimble body. "Awesome! Now get in Wild Charge!" A follow-up, Luxio had engulfed itself in an electrical field, running towards Weavile. And with the floor full of ice, this speed was increased. Weavile fired an Ice Beam towards Luxio in retaliation. "Slide to the left!" Luxio manoeuvred its body on the ice, avoiding Ice Beam by sliding to the left. Weavile went for another move, this time it was Dark Pulse. "Slide to the right!" Rainbow Dash gave a similar command, but this time to the right. Luxio had finally gotten close enough, hitting Weavile dead on.
The force of it rocketed the Sharp Claw Pokemon back as it rolled on the icy floor. Luxio had taken all that recoil damage from Wild Charge. But all that damage wasn't enough. Weavile was still up.
"Still standing?! What's this Weavile made out of? Alright! Luxio! Discharge one more time!" Luxio was about to scatter Discharge once more, but Weavile took the air with a might leap, firing a Dark Pulse directly at Luxio. This dark wave made contact, sending the Spark Pokemon flying back. Luxio hit the ground, rolling on it. All that damage was too much for it to handle...so it had fainted.
"Luxio is unable to battle! Weavile wins!"
"Darn...So close. You did good Luxio. Come back." She returned her Pokemon back to its ball. This was a fast battle indeed. WIth Zecora not speaking the commands, it felt like Rainbow Dash was battling against a Wild Pokemon instead of a trainer. But that made it all the more difficult. Because she can't hear what commands Zecora's going to say, she can't find a way around it. Her only option is to watch the Pokemon perform the moves. But so far, that's been difficult as well. Since most of the moves are quick and can be released in an instant with barely any buildup. "It isn't over yet...let's see how far you've come. Go! Altaria!" The next Pokemon who was still fresh and healthy. Altaria.
"Taria!"
"I gotta say, Zecora. It wasn't smart of me to underestimate you just because I thought your rhyming would end up giving me this match easily. But now that I know how crafty you are, I won't underestimate you anymore."
"Glad to hear that, Rainbow Dash. Now let us continue this Pokemon clash."
"Right! Altaria! Dragon Pulse!" Rainbow Dash started off strong with the mighty Dragon Pulse. Altaria gathered all that draconic energy in its mouth, firing a shockwave of dragon energy towards Weavile. Zecora and Weavile knew that Dragon moves won't do much against Ice-Types, but they couldn't risk it. So Weavile used Double Team to avoid the beam. "We're not falling for that again! Altaria! Use Disarming Voice!" The Humming Pokemon utilized its beautiful soprano voice by singing an enchanting song that caused a powerful sound wave of Fairy energy to blow the afterimages away. This even managed to hit the real Weavile, revealing it to Rainbow Dash. "There you are! Get in there with Sky Attack!" Altaria no longer had Fury Attack at its disposal. Now it had moves that can really put the hurt on others.
The Humming Pokemon took the skies, locking its eyes at Weavile. But Weavile wasn't about to let itself go down the next turn. It fired an Ice Beam upwards at Altaria. "Now go!" Rainbow Dash gave the command the moment, Ice Beam as released. Altaria narrowed its eyes as it flew underneath the Ice Beam while initiating Sky Attack. It wasn't the fastest Pokemon in this gym, but it could still hit hard if it ever made contact with any other Pokemon. Weavile jumped over Altaria, avoiding the Sky Attack. It raised its claws up, ready to fire another Ice Beam. "You fire back with your own Ice Beam!" Altaria turned around quickly, shooting a cold beam from its mouth.
Both Ice Beams made contact, pushing against each other. The struggle between the two was fierce. It was hard to tell which one was stronger. All of this ice eventually ended up causing the room to gain a chill. Whether it was from the icy floor or the constant firing of Ice Beams. Either way, it was freezing. The group watching felt the chill as they were freezing from this. Even Rainbow Dash and Zecora felt cold.
Finally, the two beams cancelled each other out. Weavile landed down on the floor, breathing in and out. Despite how fast it may be, it still has stamina. And Rainbow Dash saw that stamina leaking and gave off a smirk. "Let's finish it with Disarming Voice!" Altaria was ready to finally take Weavile out with one mighty song. Weavile was prepared to stop it by using Ice Beam, but because it's tired itself so much from the constant moving against the previous Pokemon, it was charging Ice Beam a bit slower. But that gave Altaria enough time to unleash her song. The pink fairy sound waves reached Weavile, engulfing him in its melodic fury. The sound reached Weavile's ears as it couldn't take it anymore. The song had stopped and Weavile fell to its knees, fainting.
"Wea..."
"Weavile is unable to battle! Altaria wins!"
"YES!" Rainbow Dash flew up in joy. So did Altaria, who went over to hug Rainbow Dash, covering her with its cloudy wings. "Okay! Knock it off Altaria!"
"Whew. This battle sure is an aggressive one." Applejack let out a sigh of relief, slumping back on the seats with her hat on her stomach.
"Yeah. It's definitely fast-paced for sure." Spike replied.
"Zecora's got only one Pokemon left. How fast is this one gonna be?"
"I am impressed by how you've managed to outspeed me." Zecora held out her final Pokeball, narrowing her eyes. "But you will not get past my ace, you shall see!" She tossed the Pokeball, sending out her ace Pokemon
Zebstrika.
"A Zebstrika?!" Rainbow Dash was shocked. She already knew how fast a Zebstrika is and now she's facing one in battle. They were capable of keeping up with a Pokemon as fast as Rapidash, so their speed was no joke. Not only that, but its an Electric-Type, so two of her Pokemon are gonna have a tough time against this one. "No time to panic. Alright..." Altaria. Dragon Pulse!" Rainbow Dash kept it together as her Pokemon was about to blast away.
Zebstrika had already made the first move though. It easily outsped Altaria by using the move Thunder. Rapid strikes of lightning flew out of its body as its mane started to glow. The lightning came falling from above like a thunderstorm. Altaria was hit by some of them, feeling the damage.
"Oh no, Altaria!" Altaria was brought back down to the ground thanks to Thunder. The lightning bolts even destroyed bits of the icy floor due to how powerful they were. "Use Ice Beam" Altaria quickly got up, firing an Ice Beam forward. Zebstrika was on the move, galloping forward as it easily avoided Ice Beam. It got right up in Altaria's face, using the move Shock Wave. This move was so grand that no matter where you were in the room, it will hit you, making it an unavoidable move.
"Taria!"
"Grr..." Rainbow grit her teeth. Zebstrika was proving to be much more aggressive than the others. "Disarming Voice! Quick!" Altaria managed to push Zebstrika back with Disarming Voice, but it wasn't enough. Zebstrika immediately powered through the sound waves by retaliating with Flame Charge. Its body was engulfed in flames, galloping at Altara and burning away the sound waves in the process, something that took Rainbow Dash back. Zebstrika charged into Altaria, making it feel all that fire as its speed was increased. As if it wasn't fast enough already.
"Zeb!"
"Not yet! Dragon Pulse!" Altaria opened its mouth, sending a draconic shockwave forward. Zebstrika looked up at the Dragon Pulse, easily stopping it with Shock Wave. Zebstrika's proved to be much more potent as it cancelled out the pulse. "Ice Beam!" Altaria had continued its ranged assault by unleashing Ice Beam. Zebstrika galloped forward avoiding it. The Thunderbolt Pokemon was now underneath Altaria, summoning Thunder from above.
Altaria was hit with Thunder from underneath, feeling all those volts punish it. Whilst it let out a cry, falling to the ground, Zebstrika dealt a follow-up attack by turning around and bucking the Humming Pokemon far back towards a ramp. This Pokemon was more upfront with its attacks. Altaria, who was laying on the ramp, severely hurt, let out a wince.
"Altaria! Are you okay?!"
"Taria..." Altaria had one eye closed as its body was full of scratches. But it was still up and ready. It wasn't about to let itself go down so quickly. "Altaria!"
"Awesome! Now fly up and fire Dragon Pulse, repeatedly!" Altaria took the skies, preparing for a barrage of Dragon Pulses. Zebstrika looked back at Zecora as they both nodded their heads. Zebstrika's mane started to glow, shooting lightning out of it. The Thunderbolt Pokemon began running, avoiding all the Dragon Pulses that were coming it's way. Each time they missed, the icy floor would break apart, causing chunks of ice to fly all over the place. Altaria kept up the assault of Dragon Pulses, but Zebstrika kept on outpacing them all. It wasn't getting tired anytime soon. After all, they're rivals to Rapidash.
"Zeb...strika!" It had finally retaliated by summoning Thunder from above once more. Altaria looked up to see a lightning bolt rain down on her. She couldn't avoid it in time, and Rainbow Dash couldn't give off the command in time, so it took all that damage. This would be the time where Altaria would finally faint, but it was hanging on. Thanks to its Dragon typing and its drive to help Rainbow Dash win this.
"Altaria! Dragon Pulse! Full power!" Altaria gathered up all its remaining strength, bringing in all that draconic energy to let out a behemoth of an attack. She actually managed to release it as the dragon-shaped beam was headed straight for Zebstrika. The Thunderbolt Pokemon looked unphased by the attack racing towards it, as if it wasn't even slightly worried.
And it had no reason to be. Because to everyone's surprise, Zebstrika had eradicated the pulse by using Shock Wave, proving that the energy that it outputs far exceeds that of Altaria's. The Shock Wave expanded, filling the entire gym as Altaria saw the wave of electricity heading her way. And she couldn't avoid it, so she took the damage. The force of 20,000 volts punished her, making the Humming Pokemon fall down to the ground, fainting.
"Alta..."
"Altaria is unable to battle! Zebstrika wins!"
"Poor Altaria. She didn't stand a chance against Zebstrika." Fluttershy said.
"Just how fierce is that Pokemon?" Twilight spoke.
Rainbow Dash flew over to Altaria, looking at her fainted Pokemon as it looked back at her. "You did great Altaria. You didn't let me down at all in this battle. You really have grown." She hugged her Pokemon. "Now get some rest." She then returned her back into her ball. It was now time for the final Pokemon to seal the deal. "I'm counting on you. Braviary!"
Braviary came back out. It was Rainbow Dash's strongest Pokemon and her final hope. If Braviary can't get past Zebstrika, then it's game over.
"Zebstrika!"
"Braviary!"
The two Pokemon were sizing each other up. Zebstrika knew that even with the type advantage, Braviary is a fierce Pokemon to be up against since it is a fellow Unova Pokemon. And Braviary knew that Zebstrika was a threat with all that speed and Electric-Type moves at its disposal. These were both Rainbow Dash's and Zecora's ace Pokemon.
Rainbow Dash let out a small gulp. Reason being, she had just realised how far she's come. Starting out as a small Pokemon trainer to a somewhat seasoned trainer is a long leap in skill. She knows that eventually, she'll be battling against trainers even more skilled and powerful than Zecora. But for the meantime, if she can get past her, then she'll be ready to continue her goal towards the Pokemon League.
"It all comes down to this. Braviary! Brave Bird!" Braviary started off, as usual, surrounding itself in brave energy. Zebstrika's mane started to give off lightning as it unleashed Shock Wave. "Breakthrough it!" Rainbow Dash was going to power through Shock Wave It may be a super-effective move on Braviary, but the Valiant Pokemon wasn't going to let that stop it. It felt the force of Shock Wave shock it, stopping it in its tracks for a bit. Braviary opened up its eyes, continuing to fly forward. Even if Shock Wave was unleashed, Braviary could continue to move once it was finished. And he was quick enough to strike Zebstrika with Brave Bird, just managing to reach it.
The Thunderbolt Pokemon finally took another hit, sliding back on the remaining ice. Zebstrika was about to go for another Shock Wave. It was the most useful move right now. "Use Superpower!" Braviary flew behind Zebstrika, ready to strike with Superpower, but Shock Wave had already been unleashed. Braviary felt Shock Wave pulse through its body as it was sent flying back.
"Oh, dear! Braviary can't do anything against Shock Wave!" Fluttershy gasped, leaning forward.
"And it can't fly high enough to get a faraway distance from it. The ceiling isn't high enough." Rarity commented.
Rainbow Dash was sweating. This was the hardest obstacle to overcome so far. But she couldn't let her fears get the best of her. If she was going to make it to the top, she would have to find a way around even the most impossible scenarios.
"We aren't finished yet! Braviary use Superpower on the ground!" Rainbow Dash was up to her antics once more. Braviary had smashed its wings and talons on the ground. Why? Because Superpower was powerful enough to not only shake the floor in order to throw Zebstrika off-balance, but it also caused a majority of the ground to crack. Not only that, but the ramps and slides were affected as well, breaking apart as they fell on the ground, scattering everywhere. The referee gasped as the entire arena was a mess now.
Why did Rainbow Dash do this? Zecora had no idea. Zebstrika continued to battle on by preparing another Shock Wave.
"Hide behind the fallen ramps!" Now Rainbow Dash's strategy had made sense. Braviary flew over to the fallen ramps, hiding behind them as the Shock Wave travelled across the room, but not through the ramps. Rainbow had purposely used Superpower to give Braviary some rubble to hide behind in order to avoid Shock Wave. Zecora had realised it as well.
"An impressive strategy, I must say. You've found a way past my Shock Wave." Zecora commented.
"That's not all! We're just getting started!"
Zebstrika ran towards the ramps that Braviary was hiding behind by using Flame Charge. It was going to smash right through them.
"Braviary! Steel Wing on the ramps!" Braviary turned its wings to steel as it struck the ramps. It sent them flying towards Zebstrika, causing it to slow down as it avoided the ramps. Rainbow Dash was using the entire arena to her advantage. Braviary kept hitting the ramps, sending them towards Zebstrika. The Thunderbolt Pokemon was doing its best to try and avoid them, but some had actually made contact, stopping it in its tracks. "NOW! Superpower!" Braviary flew out of its hiding spot, heading towards a slowed down Zebstrika. Before the Electric-Type knew it, Superpower had made contact with its face, sending it back.
"Zeb!" Zebstrika shook its head, going for Shock Wave one more time! Braviary flew back towards its hiding spot, but a bit of Shock Wave grazed its talons. Rainbow Dash knew that she couldn't keep hiding behind the ramp rubble for long. So she had to improvise.
"Braviary! Grab one of the ramps with your talon and keep it there!" She gave off another command that confused Zecora. Braviary dug its sharp claws on a ramp, flying up with it. "Now! Head in with Superpower!" Braviary charged forward whilst having the ramp in front of it. Zebstrika yet again went for Shock Wave. But this time, it didn't do anything. Because the ramp was protecting Braviary like a shield, rendering Shock Wave useless right now.
"Brav!" The Valiant Pokemon spun around, slamming its wings at Zebstrika with Superpower."
Zecora knew that Shock Wave wasn't going to be useful right now. So it was time to switch things up. She made Zebstrika used Flame Charge instead, in hopes of melting away the ramp. The Thunderbolt Pokemon galloped onwards with flames around it, ready to smash into the ramp.
"Fly up!" Braviary avoided Zebstrika's attack by soaring into the air. "Now toss the ramp and charge forward with Steel Wing!" Braviary gave up its shield by tossing it towards Zebstrika. The Thunderbolt Pokemon moved out of the way, as the ramp dug into the ground. This was a good distraction as Braviary came flying in with Steel Wing. Zebstrika was about to unleash Shockwave one more time, as the two Pokemon were incredibly close to each other.
It was about to a close call. If either move lands, it could be a guaranteed faint. And in the blink of an eye an explosion of two forms of energy occurred. The force of both attacks caused it as everypony felt the pressure, shockwave force of the explosion, A huge smoke cloud formed, filling the entire arena where the two Pokemon were. The referee was sent flying back as Rainbow Dash and Zecora stood firm on the floor with their manes blowing.
The smoke was finally clearing, Everyone leaned forward to see the result. As it all settled down, what could be see was Braviary's wings making contact with Zebstrika's mane. To their surprise, Braviary stopped Shock Wave by letting all the electricity go on Braviary's Steel Wing. It had absorbed it all due to metal being a great conductor of electricity. And only that, Steel Wing, while not being very effective, was actually the finishing blow. Zebstrika had already taken a considerable amount of damage thanks to the ramps and Superpower, and Steel Wing was just enough damage to seal the deal as Zebstrika fell to the ground and Braviary flew back, taking in a deep breath.
"Zeb..."
The referee recovered, shaking his head as he went over to see the result.
"Zebstrika is unable to battle! Braviary wins! Which means the victor is the Challenger Rainbow Dash!"
"BRAVIARY!" The Valiant Pokemon let out a victory cry as Rainbow Dash jumped for joy.
"YES! WOOHOO!" She flew around, leaving rainbow trails around. Her friends let out a sigh of relief as it was finally over.
Zecora let out a smile. She enjoyed the battle even though she lost. And she was glad that Rainbow Dash managed to overcome her Zebstrika as she returned it to her ball. The zebra walked over to Rainbow Dash to lend her the badge. "A million congraluations on your victory. You are the first pony who has proven that they were match for both Zebstrika and me. Now I present you your reward. Take it, and increase your trainer record." Zecora held out the next badge. The Velocity Badge.
"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash took the badge from Zecora's hoof, holding it high. "I did it! We did it!" Rainbow Dash hugged her Pokemon.
"Bravi!"
"I gotta tell ya...these gym battles are getting tougher and tougher, aren't they?" Applejack said.
"I know. It's got me a bit terrified, but pumped too! I can't explain it." Rainbow grinned.
"It's the rush of a Pokemon battle that gets the blood pumping." Ash explained.
"Pikachu!"
"I shall be returning back to my hut back at Everfree. The fancy buildings and lights here are just not for me." said Zecora.
"Let's all head home together. I think we could use a rest after today." Twilight uttered.
With Rainbow Dash's fourth gym badge obtained, the battles from here onward are only going to get much more intense, difficult and aggressive. But with her team growing stronger and with more experience to be earned, the road to the Pokemon League no longer seems like an impossible goal, as the journey continues.
Ash and Pikachu have just returned from Ponyville as they were headed back to Cerise's labs at Vermillion City.
"Feeling tuckered out, Pikachu?" Ash was talking to his buddy.
"Pikachu..." He yawned in response.
"Same here. But we're gonna get some sweet shuteye and be ready for tomorrow. Although it's gonna be a long walk back to Vermillion, so you rest for a bit and I'll keep moving.
"Pika-Pikachu." Pikachu was about to doze off, laying down on Ash's shoulder.
Ash started to get a move on. He couldn't ask his mom to drive him cause she was sound asleep and the last thing Ash want's to deal with is the mortifying wrath of Delia when she's woken up from a wonderful sleep. So walking it was.
Walking along, Ash was reminiscing the first time he ever journeyed to Vermillion City. It was taking him back as he imagined Misty and Brock walking side by side with him. He could help back recall the memories. As he continued to move on, walking for minutes on end, he came across a red-haired boy who was wheelchair-bound, looking up at the skies.
This boy seemed to be in his pajamas, indicating that he was out late at night. And why he was staring at the skies was due to the fact that a gateway was in the sky. Some gateways are up in the air and only Flying-Types and Pegasi can access it. The boy kept gazing up at the night skies, setting his eyes at the gateway. He was almost lost in a trance.
"Hey. You okay?" Ash was worried as he seemed a bit out of it. His voice grabbed the attention of the boy as he quickly snapped out of it.
"Oh! S-Sorry! I spaced out there." The boy replied, laughing.
"Looks like you were staring at the gateway for a pretty long time, huh?"
"Yeah. It's caught my attention a lot." The boy turned back the gateway. "I wonder what's beyond there?"
"You haven't been to the other world yet?"
"Oh no. I haven't. Not in my current state anyways." He looked down at his legs. They were severely injured, meaning that he was bound to the wheelchair for many years to come, which was unfortunate for him. "I've been wanting to go there, but I just can't."
"Why don't you get your friends and family to help push you there?" Ash asked.
"My parents are too busy. They're so crammed up with their work that they rarely have time to go anywhere else. Plus they have to take care of me at home. Look." The boy pointed over at his home which was fairly close. "I can't get too far away from my house, which is why I haven't gone to the other world yet. And my friends aren't allowed to bring me either."
"Your parents must really care about you, huh?"
"Yeah. They don't want me to be in any sign of danger at all. So I'm kinda stuck here at my home until my legs recover. But I don't know how long that's going to take." He sighed.
Ash looked at his condition, his home and the gateways and came to a conclusion. A conclusion that wasn't so new to him.
"Well. I'll take you there." He said.
"You will?" The boy looked up at the trainer.
"Oh yeah. I'm up to help anyone with a dream. It's kind of a force of habit."
"That's great!" The boy had a wide smile on his face but it quickly faded into a frown. "But... my parents won't allow it. I don't want to worry them too much and they don't want to be worried as well so..."
"I can talk to them. I can convince them to let me take you over to the other world for just a while." Ash kneeled down at the boy.
"You'll really talk to them? But, none of my friends can ever convince them. They're a bit too worried that they'll end up getting in trouble if something goes wrong. Which also means my parents won't allow them to be near me anymore."
"I'll make sure that nothing goes wrong. You can count on me and Pikachu...who's asleep right now. What'dya say?" Ash held his hand out. The boy could see the determination in Ash's eyes. He was 100% serious about protecting him and granting him his wish of seeing the other world. The boy gained a smile on his face as he outstretched his hand, grabbing Ash's and shaking it.
"Alright. I'll count on you. My name is Troy by the way."
"Nice to meet ya, Troy. I'm Ash."
The next day came along. It was an early morning. Ash had returned back to Troy's home, knocking on the door. From what Ash saw, there were tons of locks on the door, showing that this place was a bit on the secluded side. Each lock had been removed as the parents opened the door, revealing themselves.
"Can we help you?" The dad spoke.
"Hi. My name's Ash. I met your son Troy over there." Ash pointed over at the spot where he and Troy met.
"Oh, yeah. Troy mentioned a boy named Ash last night." Troy's mom said. "Come on in." They let Ash and Pikachu inside their humble abode.
"Ash! You actually showed up!" Troy strolled out of his room, happy to see Ash here.
"Yep. As I promised."
"Now, what exactly are you here for, Ash?" The father asked.
"I'm here to fulfil Troy's wish of seeing the other world."
"Pikachu!"
"Seeing the other world?!" Both his parents exclaimed, standing up from their seats.
"Oh, sorry. No can do. We don't want our son going further beyond here." The mother shook her head.
"That's right. Not after what happened with his old friends." The father crossed his arms.
"What happened with his old friends, actually?" Ash wondered.
"His old friends are the reason why he's wheelchair-bound. They thought it was a 'Good Idea' to go rolling down a hill for fun. Clearly, you can see the result of it." The father explained, looking at his son's crippled legs.
"Oh. I get it now. But don't you worry. I'm not gonna involve him in anything dangerous or intense."
"How can we be so sure? Who knows what's on the other side?" The mother leaned forward.
"I do. I've been there for a pretty long time now. Ponyville and all of Equestria is generally a safe and nice place. You'll barely find any danger there."
"Pika-Pika."
"Mom, dad, please." Troy strolled up to them. "Ash is 100% serious about this. He actually really wants me to see the other world. And I may never get the chance to see it the way I am. So can I go? Can I?"
"Hrmmmgh...I don't know." The father put his hand at the back of his head. Troy's dad and mom had trust issues with anyone who was involved with their son. But, just like Troy, they saw the confidence and certainty in Ash's eyes. Just the way he looked could tell them about his character, and the could see how much Ash was being honest about keeping their son safe. They also realised that Troy hasn't been out much in the longest. He's only been 12 feet away from his home and no more than that. If they didn't let their child have a little fun, they would feel like failures as parents. "Alright fine. You can take him to the other world. But only for a while. He must be home 12:00 at least. And in no danger, whatsoever."
"You got it! He'll see so much, 12:00 won't be a problem to reach!" Ash tightened his fist.
"Pika!"
"Well. See as much as you want Troy." The mother kneeled down to get to her son's height. "And tell us just what you got to see over at the other world."
"I will mom. I'm ready to go, Ash."
"Alright!" Ash grabbed a hold of Troy's wheelchair handles. "You're gonna be introduced to something completely different from our world."
Ash had sent Troy out with him as he, Pikachu and Troy were heading all the way to Pallet Town, where the gateway to Ponyville was close to it. It was a 15-minute stroll back to Pallet Town since Troy's home wasn't too far away. There, Troy could see another gateway that was right next to Ash's home. The gateway to the other world. His excitement was building up. This was about to be the furthest he's ever been from home in years.
This was Troy's first time passing a rift, and the feeling his body got was a strange tingling sensation. The same feeling everyone felt when they passed through the gateways for the first time. "Here we are. Ponyville." Ash introduced.
Troy gazed at Ponyville for the first time. And just like what everyone said, it really is a vibrant place. A bit saturating to the eyes a small bit. It was also as active as they said it was. And it was his first time ever seeing ponies. Even when a few of them were in his world, he never even saw one. He just heard rumours about them.
"So this is the other world?" Troy gazed.
"Yep. Pretty sweet ain't it?"
"Pika-chu-pi."
"Yeah...it's beautiful."
"I'll show you around. There's a lot to see and some great friends here too." Ash began to guide Troy around Ponyville, being his tour guide.
"Look at all these ponies." Troy glanced at the ponies of Ponyville. The things that stuck out the most to him were their colours, their additional features which were the wings of the pegasi and the horns of the unicorns, but what mostly caught his attention, were the Cutie Marks. Everywhere he looked, he saw different marks with their own unique look to them.
"Yeah. They're all unique in their own way, even those that are family. Let me introduce you to one of my friends." Ash led Troy to the first of his friends. Pinkie Pie and her home at SugarCube Corner. Ash knocked on the door, and he was immediately given a response with Pinkie Pie opening up the door.
"Ooh! Ash! Can I help you with something?" Pinkie spoke. Her bubbly voice was a surprise to Troy. He didn't expect the ponies to talk.
"T-They can talk?" Troy stuttered.
"Yep. Pinkie Pie. This is Troy." Ash introduced.
"Hi, Troy! I'm Pinkie Pie! Nice to meet you!" Pinkie went up to the wheelchair-bound boy, shaking his hands with her hooves.
"Troy here wanted to experience this world for a while now. So I brought him along to give him his wish."
"Sooo...haven't been here before huh? Well, you're in for a treat, Troy. There's never a dull moment in Ponyville! Come on in! Let me show you why." Pinkie Pie bounced inside, leading Troy to the interior of SugarCube Corner. He could definitely see how vibrant and playful it was. It was just so....pink. "Oh, Jade! Perfect timing!" Jade Skies was here as well. She's been currently living with Pinkie Pie as a roommate for the past few days now. "How would you like to meet Troy?"
"Troy?" Jade looked over, seeing the wheelchair-bound human. Troy looked back at her as he saw the duality of both ponies. One was bubbly and full of energy. While the other was numb of all emotions and monotone. He could see how the ponies were similar to humans in many ways. Albeit, more exaggerated personalities than humans. "Nice to meet you. I'm Jade Skies. Did I do it right, Pinkie?"
"As Rarity would say...Flawlessly! Your greetings are getting even better!" said Pinkie Pie.
"Yay," Jade replied.
"So, Pinkie. Why don't you show Troy what makes this place fun?" Ash commented.
"You got it. Slurpuff! Front and center!" Pinkie Pie called for her Pokemon as the Slurpuff ran to her side. "Alright you, pink pocket monsters. We've got to make sure that Troy over here sees just the kind of fun we have to offer. So I need you all to get sniffing for the best pastry. Hop to it!"
"Slurp!" The Meringue Pokemon split up, heading towards the kitchen to put their sensitive noses to work.
"And I'll do what I do best." Pinkie Pie had her party cannon ready. In the span of 20 seconds, Troy was introduced to the party skills of Pinkie. She had set up the entire room to fit the appearance of a party. In fact, she had just come up with an introduction party for Troy. Just a celebration for his first time being here in this world. Troy was impressed by what he saw. He was also happy to have a party like this. The only party he ever gets to have is his Birthday Party. But only his parents are with him during his Birthday.
The Slurpuff came in with vanilla cream puffs on their head. Just the ones that they've deemed to be the best quality and baked to perfection. They placed the cream puffs down on the table for Troy to take a bite out of.
"Oh, check these out!" Ash was drooling at the mouth, wanting a bite as well.
"Pika..." Pikachu was the same.
"Get a good chomp out of these puffs. This'll be your first time eating at our world." Pinkie said.
"These do look good." Troy went over to grab ahold of a puff. He took a bite of it as his taste buds were picking up the puff. Once they picked up on it, he instantly found them delicious. "They taste good too. Almost as good as mom's cooking." Troy kept eating the cream puff. For the first time being here in a few minutes, it was going well. Ash and Pikachu took their own bites as well.
"You should meet the rest of my friends. You're gonna love them too!" Pinkie bounced up.
"That's what we're planning, Pinkie. I'm gonna introduce Troy to as many ponies as I can." Ash replied with food in his mouth. "We're gonna make sure he has the best time he can have in this world before he heads back home."
"Pi-Pikachu."
"Jade. Why don't you talk with Troy?" Pinkie looked over to the deadpan pony.
"Sure. What do I talk about exactly?" Jade responded.
"Anything. You've probably got something pretty interesting to talk about, ya know."
"I do? I don't look like I've got anything interesting to talk about. I'm not a party pony like you."
"You're interesting to me," Troy spoke. "The fact that you've got wings like other ponies makes me curious. How is it that everypony has something different going on for them?"
"Oh! Jade's a pegasus. They're pretty great pros at flying. I'm an Earth Pony. I may not have wings or a fancy horn, but boy oh boy, is my hoof strength something special. It's how I can bounce so much!" Pinkie Pie showed off her earth pony strength by bouncing up and down like a spring.
"Ooh. And what about those marks on all of you?"
"These? They're our Cutie Marks. They're basically our special talents and all that mumbo jumbo."
"So that's why yours are party balloons. Cause you're an expert at this." Troy looked around the room.
"Alright. Think now's a good time to keep on looking?" Ash said to Troy.
"Yeah. I'm ready to keep on going. Thanks, by the way, Pinkie Pie, Jade Skies. It was nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, Troy! Hope you get to see a lot of other great things here!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Same." Jade replied.
Ash led Troy out of SugarCube Corner as they all waved goodbye to Pinkie and Jade. Next, Ash introduced Troy to other ponies in Ponyville. He went over to Octavia and Vinyl's home to show him the music of this world. He got the best of both worlds by listening to Octavia's soothing music and Vinyl's erupting music. Then, Ash introduced him to others such as the mayor of this town, Mayor Mare, the entire school with Miss Cheerilee, which made Troy notice that the CMC don't have any marks. But Ash explained it to him and he knows that eventually, they'll get theirs.
He also introduced Troy to Sonata and Aria. The two of them were practically mirrors of Pinkie Pie and Jade. The only difference being that Aria is a bit more expressive than Jade, but she's very cynical. Ash told Troy how their Cutie Marks were all about singing, but they couldn't sing anymore. But Ash knows that with enough training and time, their harmonious voices will return to them.
After introducing Troy to a good chunk of ponies, Ash then introduced Troy to Fluttershy who was at the Pokemon House with Rainbow Dash.
"Hey! Fluttershy! Rainbow Dash!" Ash called for them.
"Oh, Ash! Good morning." Fluttershy fluttered over to him. "Who's this now?" She looked down at Troy.
"This is Troy. I'm helping him see this world for the day."
"Pika-chu." Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder as Fluttershy caught him, holding the Electric Mouse.
"How sweet. It's nice to meet you Troy."
"Are you also here to choose a Pokemon, too?" Rainbow Dash flew over to him.
"Oh no, sorry. Mom and dad wouldn't let me have one." Troy shook his head.
"Why not? Who wouldn't want a Pokemon of their own?"
"My parents think that I'm not ready to have a Pokemon in the state that I am. I kinda want to respect some of their choices cause they worry for me so much."
"Okay. I get it." Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, nodding.
"But I do wanna see what kind of Pokemon are here. I haven't seen many since I'm stuck at home. I've only seen a few Kanto mons and some other region mons on the TV."
"You're in luck. There are Pokemon of all types here." Fluttershy replied.
"Really? How many more types are there?!" Troy leaned forward.
"You don't even know about the other types?" Rainbow said.
"I only know about Fire, Water, Grass, Flying, Bug and Normal. The rest is still a mystery to me, even on the TV."
"I can tell you all the types." Ash walked forward, ready to say all 18 of them. "We have Dragon, Ghost, Flying, Poison, Bug, Water, Rock, Grass and Dark, Electric, Ice and Normal too Fire, Fighting and Steel, Ground and Psychic and Fairy." He went over all of them by pointing at Pokemon of each type, including his Pikachu.
"I never knew there were so many of them..." Troy was starstruck.
"I was surprised too, Troy. 18's a pretty big amount." Rainbow responded.
"And they're all great in their own way. There's even double-typings, ya know." Ash explained.
"Wow...if I ever get a Pokemon one day....I actually don't know which one I would want." Troy was daydreaming about having a Pokemon of his own to be by his side.
"If you had to choose, I'd say go for Flying-Types." Rainbow Dash sent out her Braviary. "There's no better field to battle on than in the skies!"
"Braviary!"
"Or, you could go for Normal. It may be ordinary but simple is best." Fluttershy recommended as she looked at her Audino.
"You've got tons of choices to choose from one day if you ever get the chance. And maybe you can even build your own awesome team." Ash spoke.
"Yeah. One day..." Troy looked at his legs.
"But, you can still hang around Pokemon. I'm sure your parents wouldn't mind that?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, hanging around Pokemon is something that I can actually do."
"Great! Come on, Audi. Get comfortable with Troy." Fluttershy turned to her signature Pokemon. Audino walked up to Troy as Pikachu jumped off Fluttershy's shoulders, landing on Troy's legs. Braviary flew beside Troy, floating there.
"Come on out and say hi, you guys." Ash sent out his Dragonite, Gengar, Riolu and Farfetch'd to join in. Dragonite immediately went over to Troy, giving him a hug as the other Pokemon was sucked into the hug as well.
"What a wonderful feeling..." Like everyone else, Troy had melted by Dragonite's hugs. Rainbow Dash sent out her other Pokemon; Whirlipede, Altaria and Luxio. Fluttershy called for some of the Pokemon around here as they all came towards Troy.
Troy had never felt and seen so many Pokemon around him before. This was the first time he's ever experienced some of this. And the happiness he felt was some of the best in a long time. Equal to that of his Birthday parties. Troy put his hands over his eyes, feeling grateful for finally being able to see this other world and see so many Pokemon at the same time. And just like that, Troy instantly saw Ash as a friend. A great friend to rely on and one who keeps his promises.
Ash noticed that time was running short, and he had to get Troy back home. "Looks like we're running out of time. We've spent a lot here in Ponyville."
"Aw...we're leaving already?" Troy sighed.
"Yeah. I didn't get to introduce you to ALL of my friends, but I promise that next time I'll bring you back here to see even more."
"You will?"
"Of course! I already kept my promise today, and you can bet I'll do the same next time." Ash smiled.
"Pikachu!"
"It was nice meeting you Troy. Hope you recover soon." Fluttershy said.
"And when you do, let's have a battle sometime!" Rainbow uttered.
"Okay! Thank you everyone!"
Returning back to their world, Ash and Troy moved all the way over to Troy's home. And right on time too. Ash managed to get Troy back before 12:00. He knocked on the door with the parents opening up. They were surprised that Ash actually managed to bring him back.
"Y-You actually did it?" The father's jaw dropped.
"Yep. Safe and sound and he get to see some neat stuff too."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Amazing...you really did keep your promise. Oh thank you so much, Ash!" The mother spoke as she went over to hug her son. "I'm so glad nothing bad happened to him. Did you have fun at the other world, Troy dear?"
"Yeah, mom! I haven't forgotten about it for even a small bit. I had the most fun I've had in years!" Troy had a wide smile on his face. The widest his parents had ever seen. They could help but feel glad that Troy had a friend that they could count on.
"Ash. I was pretty judgemental about you. Even though I saw the determination in your eyes, I still felt uneasy with my son being away." The dad said. "But after seeing you come back with him, fresh and safe along with him having the biggest smile I've ever seen yet, I can safely say that you're definitely a kid that we can count on."
"And a great friend for Troy. I hope this doesn't sound too needy but...would you mind taking Troy out to the other world a couple times, if you do have the time that is?" The mom asked.
"Of course! I'll be sure to help and guide him until the day he recovers." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Wonderful. Well, come on in Troy. And tell us everything about the place." The dad brought his son back inside as Ash said his farewells to Troy's family.
Today was a great day for Troy. The best in years. With him getting his wish on seeing the other side, he's found an ever greater source of happiness he can share with his parents who used to be worried 24/7. And a new friendship has been formed by Ash once more, as the journey continues.
Kalos Region, Couriway Town. One of BigTime Ben's buildings.
"Here you are." A man came over, placing down a bag on a counter. "They're still in good condition. Nothing bad has happened to them, thankfully."
"Let's take a look shall we?" The lady at the counter leaned forward, opening the bag. Inside the bag were the fabled and mighty mega Stones. The stones capable of making certain Pokemon reach their true final forms and awaken their hidden potentials. Mega Evolution. And a huge pile of them were just sitting in this bag. Not all of them, there were some Mega Stones for Pokemon that weren't available. "Yep. They're all here and still safe. I'm impressed you managed to get through that harsh weather and somehow still keeping them safe."
"What can I say? I'm a master at breaking through the impossible. So, what now?"
"Well, now we have to lend them over to some trainers. After all, mega stones are not easy to come by. The fact that you managed to discover some more over at Otori Mountain is a lucky break." The lady looked back at a bunch of sacks that all had mega stones in them. The man had gathered every single of them through his escapades.
"Who do we give them to? Just scatter them out for every trainer in Kalos?"
"No. Instead, we'll ship out these stones to the other world. And some other regions."
"You mean the world of ponies?" The man raised his eyebrow.
"That's right. The Pokemon League over at their world is still young and new. And BigTime Ben has requested that we ship over some mega Stones to Equestria. That's the reason why we sent you back to grab all those stones."
"So, I just went on a fetch quest and I don't get anything in return?" The man shrugged.
"I'll talk to Ben and see what he can give you. Right now, we have to get these stones to the other side."
So the shipment began. Mega stones available to certain Pokemon were being sent to other regions and the other world. BigTime Ben figured that it was about time that Equestria was introduced to one of the many Pokemon phenomenons. And what better phenomenon to start with than the Mega Evolution Phenomenon. If it goes well, then maybe Equestria can be introduced to other Pokemon phenomenons. But, these stones weren't just going to be handed out for free. Those with Pokemon that match the stones would have to earn them.
All the way over at Equestria, Canterlot.
Celestia had just gotten news of the key stone arrival. BigTime Ben had informed her and since she was the ruler of Equestria, Ben had decided to give her a a bunch of free mega stones for her subjects, and a specific stone just for her Pokemon Passion when it ends up evolving into a Gardevoir. Not only that, but he had given her a keystone. A small accessory that allows the trainer to activate mega evolution. Celestia's was designed after the regalia that was on her neck.
"So this is a Mega Stone. The source of Mega Evolution." Celestia was observing the stone made for her Pokemon. The way the stone was designed had the exact colour patterns of her Kirlia, but it was for Gardevoir instead. "It even matched Passion's colouring."
"So that means that a Pokemon can go beyond and reach a 4th evolution?" Luna said as she was looking inside the box of key stones as well.
"Apparently so. And here I thought we knew everything about evolution. That just goes to show how unpredictable Pokemon can be. Look, Passion." Celestia showed Passion the stone. The Emotion Pokemon took a gander at the key stone. Eventually, she'll be able to tap into the stone's power and go beyond a normal Gardevoir.
"I wonder. Is it possible for you to Mega Evolve Darkai?" Luna asked her partner.
"No idea. I'm pretty sure that only a certain selection of Pokemon can mega evolve." Darkrai replied, lurking in the corners as he always does.
"Well, you're a lucky pony, sister. You get a mega Stone and I don't?" Luna slumped.
"I'm sure some of your other Pokemon can mega evolve. Hopefully."
"Hm. Perhaps. If that's true, then that would mean I will not only be the pony with the most Pokemon at their disposal, but I shall have the most Mega Evolved Pokemon at my hoof! Oh, how wonderful!" Luna squeed.
"But I'm curious on how Mega Evolution works. And why only a select few Pokemon are granted it." Celestia wondered. "Maybe I can start my own research on Pokemon. Like Twilight."
"You? Researching Pokemon?"
"My curiosity sometimes gets the better of me, Luna. Besides, there's no shame in increasing my skills and knowledge, even as ruler."
"I suppose so. By the way, Tia. Have you checked up on Pyrestar recently?"
"Indeed I have. I've let our fused self borrow my bed in the meantime. Until we stop Ghetsis and return her to her own universe, she's practically a new family member. Even though... she's us." Celestia placed her hoof on her chin.
"If she has been around longer than us in her own universe, does that mean that she's the oldest of us all?" Luna wondered.
"Indeed I am." Pyrestar showed herself by entering the throne room. She was no longer gloomy anymore. Ever since Ash made a promise to get her back to her universe and Celestia and Luna comforting her, Pyrestar has been much more cheery lately. "Your universe has yet to experience the same amount of years mine has. So that means that I am in a sense... your older sister."
"Older sister?!" Celestia and Luna both said.
"Mhm. Call me big sister Pyrestar from now on." She trotted further towards them. "But do not worry. I am not here to overtake your throne. This isn't my Equestria after all."
"Ugh. Now I feel even more insignificant..." Luna was huddled in a dark corner near Darkraiwith her hooves crossed, rocking back and forth. "Now I have two sisters who are older than me. And one of them is one half of me."
"Oh don't feel too bad Luna. This technically means that you're somewhat an older sister due to them being fused." Celestia tried to cheer her up.
"Really?" Luna turned around with puppy-dog eyes.
"Yes...So we both win." Celestia nodded.
"I suppose so. Alright. I'll accept it. But I shall not be calling you big sister Pyrestar."
"Fine by me." Pyrestar chuckled.
Celestia placed the Gardevoirite in a small little chest. She would end up utilizing it when Passion finally evolves into a Gardevoir, whenever that day comes. "Perhaps some of the foals at Hollow's class have some Pokemon that can Mega Evolve. I'll have Hollow hold onto a few of them."
The Mega Stones had been shipped out to the rest of Equestria. They were given to humans who had experience with key stones. And their job was to head out across Equestria and see which pony is worthy of obtaining one. If they had the right Pokemon that is.
Hollow came in today to teach the class more about Pokemon. He was given the box by a guard, feeling all those stones inside. It was a pretty heavy box to carry. He opened the box as he saw Mega Stones for a bunch of Pokemon. Most of them were duplicates since there's not too many stones in the world. And the only Pokemon that everyone knows can Mega Evolve are a select few. Hollow decided that he could end up teaching them about mega evoltuion. Today's subject would have to wait another time.
Inside the class, the little colts and filled were already seated, still holding onto the Pokemon eggs that they were given a while back. They still hadn't hatched, so they kept the eggs with them and put them underneath their seats every single time.
"What are we gonna learn about this time?" Sapphire Flash said.
"Last time it was about terrain moves. I hope it's something interesting today." Sunrise Sprint commented. In came Hollow with the box of key stones. The weight that they were carrying was absurd.
"Morning...kids..." Hollow was losing balance as the sounds of stones moving about in the box was heard. He finally got some rest by placing the box on the table, taking a deep breath. "Finally."
"What's in the box, Mr Hollow?" A colt asked. "Are we gonna play with marbles?"
"Not quite. Kids. Today you're gonna learn about something extraordinary."
"Better than boring field moves?" Sunrise sat up.
"Yes, Sunrise. Better than field moves. By the way, how are those eggs coming along?"
"They still haven't hatched. They're taking too long." A filly held hers up.
"That's odd. They should've hatched long ago. Give it time. Pokemon eventually hatch from eggs no matter what. But right now...let me introduce you all...to these." Hollow opened up the box, revealing the Mega Stones to all the little ponies here.
"Woaaah...." Everypony, except Dew Drops who was in the corner, leaned forward to get a good look at the stones. They were mesmerised by their glistening appearances and fetching colour pallets.
"These, my little ponies, are Mega Stones." said Hollow.
"Mega Stones? What are they for?" A colt asked.
"Sit back and let me teach you about Mega Evolution." They all sat back at their seats, ready to get a good listen on Mega Evolution. "Now. How do I explain this in a simple way? Mega Stones are the result of Evolution stones being irradiated by the power of the Legendary Pokemon, Xerneas and Yveltal. The energy that those two give out is so potent that it completely changes the stones as a whole. These stones can allow Pokemon to Mega Evolve. Reaching their final stage."
"Wait! I thought Pokemon could only have 3 evolutions most of the time?" A filly spoke up.
"They can. But Mega Evolution pushes it further. It's more along the lines of hidden potential in a Pokemon. The best example is Ampharos. Ampharos's whole line is nothing but Electric-Type. But once it Mega Evolves, the massive amounts of energy intensely stimulate it's cells, re-awakening its long-sleeping dragon’s blood. Even if its wool comes grows back."
"Woah...so Ampharos is actually a Dragon?" Sunrise questioned..
"Mhm. Same goes for other Pokemon that can Mega Evolve. Some of them even gain a second typing while others remain the same. It's amazing really. There's a total of 46 Pokemon that can Mega Evolve. Pretty small considering the huge number of Pokemon that exist in the world."
"Well...are they the only ones that can Mega Evolve and no other Pokemon can?" Sapphire asked.
"They are the only ones. But, every Pokemon has a hidden potential laying dormant within them. Every Pokemon has the power Mega Evolve, it's just that we haven't found the rest of them. There are a lot of Pokemon, and not every Evolution Stone has been affected by Xerneas and Yveltal."
"Wow...I can't wait till my Pokemon egg hatches. Maybe the Pokemon inside can Mega Evolve!" A colt lifted up his egg.
"Mine too! I bet it's going to be part water when it Mega Evolves!" A filly had a wide smile. "Water is the best type to me."
"Can we see Mega Evolution, please Mr Hollow?" Sapphire Flash asked.
"Well...none of the Pokemon I have can really Mega Evolve...but I'm sure we can still find some trainers who have Pokemon can Mega Evolve. The Pokemon House has trainers come by very often, so I'm sure we'll find some. Plus, it's also my job to give out these Mega Stones to see who's worthy of them."
"Then let's go! I wanna see this with my own eyes!" Sunrise was about to hop out of his seat along with the others.
"Hold on, my little ponies. Before we take off, I should mention one thing about Mega Evolution." Hollow made them all sit back down to hear these last words. "Despite how great and awesome I make Mega Evolution sound, not all of it is pretty. It has itss drawbacks. Some Pokemon actually suffer from this."
"S-Suffer?!" The ponies all said.
"Mhm. You see...because Mega Evolution is the result of radiation, it's not natural like normal evolution. Because of this, the radiation ends up accelerating the adredaline in a Pokemon. For example, a Pokemon like Lucario which is known for having a respectable and amazing fighting style, can end up battling in heartless manor. Where it becomes aggressive and brutal. It's even capable of turning Pokemon against their own trainers, such as Salamance, Tyranitar and Aerodactyl. What's worse is that some of them even experience pain from this. A Glaile can end up letting out excess energy of Mega Evolution, which ends up breaking its jaw."
What Hollow said had terrified the little foals. They went from seeing Mega Evolution as the coolest thing ever to the most terrifying thing to ever exist. They shaking in their seats.
"I don't think I like Mega Evolution anymore..." A colt said.
"Don't worry. All these things I've said are terrifying, but one thing you can also know thankfully, is that these problems can be solved."
"They can?" Sapphire said.
"Mhm. If the trainer shares a powerful bond with that Pokemon in its Mega-State, they can overcome the suffering and become one with their Pokemon. After all, the bonds between humans and Pokemon is what led to our world's thriving nature."
Hearing that made all the ponies gain a sigh of relief. They were still terrified of it, but not as much anymore. It was now time for them to head out and see Mega Evolution for themselves.
At the Pokemon House.
Ash and the Mane 6 were all there at this moment. They were here because Rainbow Dash was searching for a new Pokemon. Just to prepare for the fifth Gym Battle in Trottingham.. The next gym was all about weather, and Rainbow Dash wanted a Pokemon that can deal with something like that. She may be an expert at weather thanks to being a pegasus, but she can't get too confident. After all, she struggled back at the fourth gym which was all about speed. And being an expert on speed, it was insanely tough for her. So she needed a Pokemon that can handle the weather.
"I think what you need is a Pokemon that is bound by the weather." Fluttershy said.
"Okay, which Pokemon is it then?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Castform. It is the Weather Pokemon after all." Fluttershy recommended.
"Castform...?" Rainbow Dash had never heard of it until now. "Okay...can I see it?"
"Oh, sorry. But Castform doesn't hang around here that much like other Pokemon. It seems to be more of a wandering Pokemon that goes all over the place."
"Ugh. Do you know where I can find one then?" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"Nope. But if I see one come over, I'll let you know."
"You know, Rainbow. You can also just have a Pokemon that has an ability to deal with weather." Ash spoke.
"I can? How so?" Rainbow flew to Ash.
"Some abilities make weather effects a thing of the past. Although, they're kinda limited since some abilities only work for on weather effect."
"Pika..."
"I don't want to deal with just one weather effect. For all I know, this gym could use all kinds of weather effects that I don't have a way around! I gotta prepare myself. These gyms are getting tougher as they go. There has to be an ability that deals with all weather effects."
"Sorry. Don't know if there is one." Ash shrugged.
"This is going nowhere," Rainbow Dash sighed. She turned her head to see Hollow's class arriving. Since he was a teacher, he might probably know of something. But the answer would be the same anyways. "Oh! Hollow!"
The rest of the group turned to heads to see Hollow and the students. Their eyes also locked onto the box of mega stones.
"What have you got in there, darling?" Rarity asked.
"Looks pretty heavy. Are you brining something over for the house." said Fluttershy.
"Mr Hollow's here to teach us about Mega Evolution!" Sunrise exclaimed. "The coolest...and scariest thing ever!"
"Mega Evolution?" Rarity wondered.
"Oh, yeah that's right. You weren't at the stadium that time Rarity." Twilight turned to her friend. Her and the others, other than Rarity experienced Mega Evolution for the first time when Ash battled Korrina at the Lumiose City Battle Fest. They and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were the first ponies ot ever see Mega Evolution. "Mega Evolution is...something alright."
"I wonder which Pokemon can Mega Evolve? Can one of mine, maybe?" Rainbow Dash flew down.
"You've got an Altaria. So yeah it can Mega Evolve." Hollow answered.
"Yes! Altaria come out." Rainbow Dash grinned, sending out her Pokemon. "We're gonna try and pull off what Korrina and Lucario did. Come on Altaria, let's Mega Evolve right now on the spot!"
"Alta."
"Ooh, sorry. That's kind of impossible." Hollow uttered.
"I wouldn't say that, Hollow." Twilight stepped in, ready to give off her powerful friendship speeches once more. "I know that Mega Evolution is formed by the powerful bond of trainer and Pokemon. Rainbow Dash and Altaria already share a powerful bond, so Mega Evolution is possible for them. Their friendship will-"
"No, I mean it's impossible because you need the stone." Hollow interrupted her.
"...Oh. Heheh...I knew that." Twilight blushed.
"Which is why I have this box." Hollow placed the box down, revealing the stones to the rest of the group. He looked over all the stones that were inside once more to see if the Altarianite was in.
"Check out all those stones!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"They're gorgeous!" Rarity squeed. "I wouldn't mind using those for accessories!"
"So, which ones mine?" Rainbow asked Hollow.
"Hmm...I don't see the Altarianite in here, unfortunately. Guess it wasn't apart of this box."
"Seriously?! Ugh! I really wanted to try Mega Evolution today." Rainbow Dash sighed with disappointment in her voice.
"Don't feel too down. There's probably an Altarianite somewhere out there in our world. Maybe you can set out to find it someday." Hollow suggested.
"That's exactly what I'll do. I gotta make sure my dream team is the best that it can be!"
"Come on! I wanna see some Pokemon Mega Evolve already!" A colt yelled.
"Ash. You have at least two Pokemon that can Mega Evolve. Your Gengar and Riolu whenever it ends up becoming a Lucario. Would you like to hold on to some stones maybe?" Hollow went over to Ash with the box.
"Me? Use Mega Evolution? Hrmmgh...I don't know. I've never used it before." Ash thought.
"Well, let's see if the stones are here." Hollow searched inside the box and found that the Gengarite and Lucariorite were not in the box as well. "Huh?! Even they're not inside?! What's with this box? It's nothing but repeats."
"Aw. Does this mean that we won't get to see Mega Evolution?" Sapphire lowered her head.
Hollow didn't want to disappoint his class, so he had to find a solution quick. Then, he looked over at Fluttershy and her Audino and remembered that Audino can Mega Evolve. And inside the box was indeed a Audinite. Audino is a fairly common Pokemon compared to the rare ones such as Lucario and Gengar.
"Jackpot! Fluttershy. Would you mind Mega Evolving your Audino?" Hollow held the Audinite in his hands.
"Me? My Audi?" Fluttershy turned to her helper. Audino looked back at her, unaware that even she could Mega Evolve as well. "I've never tried Mega Evolution before. Am I even up for it?"
"Of course you are. You and Audino are basically best buds." Pinkie hopped over to her. "So come on! Let's see that Mega Evolution!"
"Please, Fluttershy. We really wanna see it!" A filly said as the young foals leaned forward, making pleading puppy dog eyes. Fluttershy then looked up at Hollow, seeing that he wanted the foals to have some excitement judging by the awkward grin on his face. And it was up to Fluttershy to give them that excitement.
"Alright. I'll do it. It'll be my first time anyways."
"Great. You've got the stone. And now for the finishing touch." Hollow dug inside the box once more as he got out a keystone. The keystones came with boxes since the only way to Mega Evolve your Pokemon is if you have a Key Stone to react to it. This one came in the shape of a ring. The most common design for trainers. And one for the Pokemon as well since they have to wear it somewhere. Hollow handed over the stone and ring over to Fluttershy as the shy pegasus equipped the ring on her right hoof. She then placed the key stone necklace on her Audino's neck, perfectly fitting as well.
"You two look divine with those on. I'm actually a bit jealous of the other world now." Rarity commented.
"You've got what you need. Now all you need to do is let it out all in a burst of energy!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Yeah! And maybe it'd be cool if you also had a quote. I mean, Korrina did when she Mega Evolved her Pokemon." Rainbow Dash said.
"Okay. I'll try. All I have to do is tap into it right? Are you ready Audi?" She turned to her Pokemon.
"Audino." The Hearing Pokemon nodded. Everyone stood back to get a good look at this. Even the Pokemon turned their attention to what was going on.
Fluttershy took a deep breath. Thankfully, Mega Stones can automatically feel when the bond between a trainer and a Pokemon is present. So the mega energy instantly began flowing through both of them. "I can feel it..." Fluttershy gasped. The energy of the key stone radiated a golden light that emanated from the stones. Everyone watched in awe with their anticipation growing even further.
The same type of force that was felt back with Korrina's Lucario was also present here as the necklace around Audino was vibrating. The mega stone on Audino let out a blue light instead of a golden light as it was meant to represent the colours of evolution. All the Pokemon in the Pokemon House were frozen by what they were spectating over. The clashing of constant energy waves could be seen and heard as they were flying out of Fluttershy's ring. These energy waves travelled towards Audino, morphing its body. The power it was emanating was enough to shake the entire ground and even both Fluttershy's cottage and the Pokemon House. The little foals were being blown away by the amount of pressure as the others held on for dear life.
Just then, a burst of mega energy erupted from Audino as the Mega symbole flashed before its eyes. The smoke around Audino was blown back as it let out a mighty yet soft cry. It had finally mega evolved into Mega Audino. The ponies were all starstruck by what they had just seen and what they seeing now.
"Sweet Celestia... that's Mega Evolution?" Rarity gasped.
"That was amazing..." Sapphire felt like she was going to faint.
"Audi. You look so different. You look like a fairy now!" Fluttershy flew over to her Mega Evolved partner.
"That's because she is a fairy now. Part Normal, part Fairy." Ash spoke.
"Pika-Pika."
The foals all gathered around to see the Mega Evolved Pokemon. They took a gander at all its glory. Their fear of Mega Evolution was a thing of the past. Thankfully, Audino is one of the few Mega Pokemon that doesn't suffer when it evolves.
"Phew. Here I was worried that I wouldn't end up getting to show Mega Evolution." Hollow wiped the sweat of his forehead. "So Fluttershy. What do you think?"
"What do I think? I never knew that some Mega Evolutions could look this beautiful."
"Audino." The Hearing Pokemon nodded.
"This means you've got a powerhouse of a Pokemon on your side!" Rainbow dashed over to her. "Lucky you."
"I can feel so much magic pouring out your Audino too. That Fairy-Typing is really kicking in huh?" Fluttershy said.
"Are ya gonna keep that stone, sugarplum?" Applejack asked.
"Keep the stone?"
"Of course. The Mega Stone reacted to you and Audino's bond. That means that it knows of the friendship that you two share." Hollow spoke. "If you don't want it, then I can just return it if that's okay."
"Hmm." Fluttershy looked at the stone on the ring and her Audino. Despite how overwhelmingly intense Mega Evolution may be once the Pokemon is evolving, it actually has a pleasant outcome in Fluttershy's eyes. She figured that she could actually use this. Ever since the Pokemon were petrified by an unknown Krookodile, she felt like she needed to make sure the Pokemon House was under full protection. And with her now having a Mega Audino, she now has something to retaliate to any threats. "I'll keep it."
"Really? I'm surprised that you decided to go with that option. Isn't it a bit too intense for you?" Rarity asked.
"Yes. But I want to protect the Pokemon here. I don't want them to be in any form of danger the next time. And I don't have anything to protect them, then what's the point? Now that I have Audino on my side with this Mega Stone, I can protect every Pokemon here against any threat that may come our way."
"Welp. She's spoken and made up her mind. Congraluations on getting your first Mega Evolution, Fluttershy." Hollow congratulated her as did her friends. The class stayed around for a few minutes to keep on aweing at Mega Audino. After all, it was their first time seeing it, and they won't forget this day at all.
With the Mega Stones all shipped out to different parts of Equestria, who knows which ponies have gotten their hooves on them and which have the Pokemon capable of Mega Evolving. Equestria once again is slowly becoming apart of the Pokemon World by experiencing what else it has to offer, as the journey continues.
Equestria and its Earth have been linked with Pokemon World for quite some time now. Both worlds have practically adapted to their living styles and have learned to live amongst each other. But what about the other world? The one that is parallel to Equestria. Sunset Shimmer, the third Gym Leader of the Equestria Pokemon League owns her own Pokemon as well. This is because the parallel world has also been affected by the Rift. This is another story on another side. How the parallel world became introduced to Pokemon for the first time.
Sunset Shimmer's home.
Sunset was sound asleep in her bed, snoring away. It would be another ordinary night with everyone dozing off until the sun rises. But no one could predict what would happen next. Especially when they end up waking up in the morning.
The Rift had arrived in this parallel world, the same way it does for other worlds. The cosmic energy it radiated was pulsing up in the sky with cosmic dust raining down. It was here to interfere with this world as well. The Rift knew that Twilight Sparkle would return here and help the Rainbooms defeat the Dazzlings. It knows how every event with Twilight Sparkle plays out, so it was waiting for this exact moment in time to happen.
The light from the Rift was passing through Sunset Shimmer's window as it then reached her face. She groaned, slowly opening her eyes. Once she did, the first thing her eyes locked onto was the outside. The cosmic energy from the Rift was much more visible in the night compared to the day.
"What the...?" Sunset got off her bed as she looked out of her window. There, she saw the Rift, pulsating in the skies. She had no idea what to make of this. This was something that she had never seen before. And it definitely wasn't magic. Not any that she's seen before. And just like that, a blinding flash of light that moved faster than anyone could react to engulfed the entire world. The same way it did for both worlds when it first arrived. Sunset rubbed her eyes, getting the vision of the light out of her. She looked back outside and to her surprise, the Rift was gone. Once that flash of light happened, that was it. It was nowhere in sight. Sunset didn't think too much about it. She was way too tired to even care right now. So she slumped back onto her bed, forgetting that the whole thing ever happened.
Morning came, and things were not as they seemed to be. Just like the parallel world, this Earth was immediately flooded with Pokemon. Countless Pokemon were being placed in locations that suited their typing and nature. This ended up causing nothing but a wild and frantic great confusion for this world. Flying-Type Pokemon scattered across the skies of this world, Normal-Types were popping up in various buildings. Rattata's were showing up everywhere in homes, scaring the humans living inside as they mistook them for rats. Well, they ARE rats but just not any rats they've ever seen before. It was total chaos. Unlike the parallel world, the humans of the Pokemon world had not come along with the Pokemon But that is because this world already has its own version of humans. Even if they are just parallels of Equestria.
Sunset Shimmer woke up, tasting that sweet sunlight. She was completely unaware of what was even happening outside. The light she saw last night wasn't a bother to her since she was tuckered out and couldn't be bothered to check it out. On the outside, the area where Sunset Shimmer lives was unchanged for the most part. There weren't that many Pokemon in this area. The only Pokemon around here were some Tailow and a Butterfree. Sunset Shimmer looked outside to see these monsters but didn't even think they were Pokemon. She just assumed they were different species of already existing animals. And can you blame her? They did resemble normal animals but with slight changes. Although Sunset noticed that the Butterfree was a bit bigger than a normal butterfly. She could even see its eyes.
"Sweet, sweet sunlight," Sunset spoke. She was ready to head out and have a simple day. Canterlot High was closed until the weekdays arrive, so some rest and relaxation is all Sunset needs to pass time. But what she didn't know was that this day was anything but normal. Once she got dressed and took a step out of her home, the moment her feet touched the ground, she could feel an odd magic flow surge through her. This flow of magic was Pokemon magic, adjusting itself to this world. This surge was small but she felt it. Again, she didn't think too much about it, but it was odd.
As she started her walk outside, Pokemon were becoming much more present the further she went into town. There she spotted even more creatures that she'd never seen before. She went from seeing a bird and butterfly that looked slightly different to seeing a Stufful which obviously looked like a stuffed plush bear to her, a Patrat which to her looked like a chipmunk with oddly coloured eyes and a Sentret which to Sunset resembled a strange hybrid between a Tanuki and Racoon. Sunset rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things. But she wasn't. They were right here, visible to the eyes.
It only got even more bizarre once she reached the park. And what a sight to behold. There were Pokemon of various types everywhere. And some of them weren't here to relax. Some Pokemon were a bit on the physical side. A Bewear was going around hugging random people, perhaps a greeting, some were running away screaming from a Tyrouge since it's a Pokemon that will pick a fight with anyone due to its eagerness to fight and also if anyone looks at them funny. It didn't help that there were Mankey's running around due to them being a Pokemon that is constantly enraged and on a rampage. And there was even a Pichu shocking everyone, but that was due to it being unable to control its electricity like every other Pichu out there. A bunch of Ducklett were stealing people's bags, accessories and even their food as well, a Smoochum was going around giving everyone random kisses and a Mime Jr that was just mimicking others. It was the least harmful one here.
It was utter chaos. Sunset Shimmer had no idea what to make of this. She was frozen in place, barely moving. Her eyes could only follow the chaos of people running and Pokemon all over the place. Her eye was twitching as she was trying to muster a word. That's when she looked down near her leg to see a Pokemon resting there. It was a Fennekin, and it had looked up at Sunset Shimmer in curiosity. After seeing all of this, Sunset Shimmer came to the conclusion that these were not animals. Not at all. Some of them didn't even look like animals. But even if they weren't, she had no idea what they actually were. So this caused her to say one single word to the Pokemon beside her.
"What in Equestria are you creatures?"
"Fen?" The Fox Pokemon responded to her, tilting its head.
"Sunset!" A voice called out to her. It was Rarity. Her hair was an absolute mess along with her clothes. A bunch of Dugtrio just popped out of the ground near her, causing so much dirt to erupt all over her. "What is going on?!"
"I don't know! What are these things?!" Sunset replied.
"Whatever they are, they're causing a stir! Do something!"
"What do you want me to do? I've never dealt with animals before! Then again...I don't think these are animals." Sunset thought for a bit until an idea struck. "Maybe Fluttershy will know what to do! Of course!" If she was to get to Fluttershy, she would have to get past the mess occurring at the park. Meaning, getting past the rampant Pokemon. She'll have to avoid all the chaos, but judging by how far it spreads, that's going to be a bit of a tricky task. "I-If I can get past this."
Rarity wasn't the only one here who had been affected by Pokemon. Along came Applejack who had Combee honey all over her. She had wiped it off but tasted the honey some since it did have some good taste at the end of the day. "Ya'll too?" Applejack said.
"Well, I haven't affected yet. But Rarity and everyone else sure has." Sunset responded. "These things are weird. Some look like animals and some don't."
"Do you think that they all came from the mirror?" Rarity said.
"That could probably be it. Maybe these are creatures from Everfree. They definitely fit the mold." Sunset nodded.
"So all we have to do is send them back right?" Applejack tasted some of the honey. "If that's the case, then you can count on me. I can round up these little critters in no time."
"You do that. Let's hope we can get them back without any issues. I'll be waiting at the portal." Sunset took off. Applejack took on the task of getting all of these Pokemon to the portal located at Canterlot High's statue. However, once Sunset Shimmer got to Canterlot High, what she saw surprised her. A Snorlax was sleeping next to the portal, blocking the gateway, snoring away as it usually does. "Are you kidding me?! What is this?!" Sunset got on her knees, screaming. It was at this moment that she realised that there were Pokemon everywhere. No matter where she went, Pokemon here, Pokemon there, it didn't matter how big or small they were in size, they were everywhere. Soon this parallel world was overpopulated with Pokemon.
2 hours had passed and Applejack realised that rounding up Pokemon was not as easy as rounding up animals. Probably because a Pokemon is much more powerful than the average animal by large margin. It also didn't help that the Pokemon move faster than the humans and some can break free by just the swing of their limbs due to their ludicrous strength.
That's when things escalated. When the Pokemon started using moves. Applejack had a rope tied around a Mareep, halting it in its tracks. "Got you now." She said, thinking she had this Mareep where she wanted it. But that's when she got a taste of Mareep's electricity. The Wool Pokemon leto ut a Thundershock that spread on the rope, shocking Applejack. She felt the force of 5,000 volts shock her body as she let go of the rope. She fell on her back as her body was still trying to process what just happened. Rarity ran over to her friend to see her electrocuted body as the Mareep just casually walked along.
Soon, Pokemon were starting to get adjusted to this world. And once they did, they knew which moves they could use now in this sort of situation. And once that was said and done, they ended up claiming new territories for themselves. Excadrill and Diglett were digging up new nests and tunnels near the town, causing a huge hole to form there. This was also a huge issue for the subway systems. A Honchkrow and its Murkrow goons ended up kicking someone out of their own home and claiming as their base.
It only got worse from here. An Exploud, which is a Pokemon that can shake the entire ground and cause earthquakes with a thunderous bellow from just six miles ended up causing many homes to slowly break apart. Thankfully, it wasn't shouting, just talking, but the damage had been done. Muk, a Pokemon that is a living biohazard ended up wilting away and eradicating all forms of plant life with the toxins that leak out of it. The mere existence of the Pokemon was potent enough to affect this world in so many various ways.
Sunset Shimmer sat down on a bench near Canterlot High with her hand on her cheek, letting out a sigh. She tried to move the Snorlax from earlier, but that was no good since it was way too heavy and the chances of someone like her moving an absolute juggernaut like Snorlax is impossible. Sitting on the bench, she could only hear and see the utter chaos that the Pokemon were bringing along. Unlike the parallel world, there were no humans from the Pokemon world who could handle all this carnage. The humans from the Pokemon world know how Pokemon work and how to handle them. But these humans don't and mostly likely never will for a long time. This is the first time they've been introduced to them, they don't have the same amount of advanced technology to understand Pokemon like the other world does. And as for Fluttershy? This world's version of Fluttershy is good with animals, but can't speak to them like the pony variant.
The Fennekin from earlier walked up to Sunset Shimmer, taking an interest in her. Fennekin are Pokemon that tend to choose their trainer based on appearances most of the time. Sunset didn't mind the Fennekin at this point. It wasn't bothering anyone. "At least you're adorable." Sunset sighed. All seemed hopeless until...
Arceus arrived.
A bright flash of golden divine light spread across the skies of this world. Every Pokemon halted in place as they knew that Arceus was here. Even the humans paused to see this strange golden light.
"I think that is enough." Arceus spoke as his voice echoed through the entire town. The Alpha Pokemon was walking in the sky like it was casual. It made its way down to ground level as its golden feet made contact with the grass. All the chaos that the Pokemon were emitting had just come to a stop. Arceus looked around and saw all the carnage and destruction caused by the Pokemon. He shook his head, disappointed, but in reality, nothing could've been done to prevent it. The Rift caused it after all. Arceus decided to fix all of this destruction by harnessing the power of his 18 life plates. A beautiful golden light spread across the entire town and beyond. This divine light repaired all the damage done by the Pokemon in a flash, like it never even existed in the first place.
"Sweet Celestia. What are you? Who are you?" Sunset Shimmer stood up from the bench, looking up at the creator deity.
"I am Arceus. And your answer...these are magical creatures. Or for the other world, they are known as Pokemon." Arceus finally gave Sunset Shimmer an answer. "And you thought they were from your parallel world, Sunset Shimmer?"
"H-How do you know my name?" Sunset stuttered.
"I have gained knowledge of you when Twilight Sparkle came to this world not once but twice. You were Celestia's student once, correct?"
"Y-Yeah...that's me. So you know Twilight as well? And how come all of these...Pokemon are here?"
"These magical creatures are not here by their own will. This only the result of the Rift. A powerful cosmic entity that escapades many universes, seeking a potential candidate to cross worlds with. It had recently crossed over the parallel world of yours and my world as well."
"So, these things have already in Equestria?" Sunset looked down at Fennekin.
"They have adapted and adjusted themselves to the world that you originally came from. The humans and magical creatures now live with the ponies in perfect sync. As if they were one in the same. Now the same has occurred for this world."
"So they're not from my world then...Then does that mean that they'll just stay here forever?"
"Not quite. The Rift crosses the worlds over for the sake of satisfaction. To see how certain events will play out with the inclusion of vastly different beings that were originally never meant to be involved. Once it is satisfied, it shall return both worlds to normal, taking its leave and seeking out even more universes to affect. That is the purpose of the Rift, and it always has been."
"We have to wait until it leaves? How long will that take?"
"The time estimated for the Rift's existence here is incalculable. Even Dialga does not know when. So all you can do now is wait until the time comes for all to return to normal. But in the meantime..." Arceus got closer to Sunset Shimmer. His size was pretty overwhelming once you got a good look at him up close. He really did seem like some otherworldly entity that could not be explained. "Your world will have to find a way to cope with the magical creatures."
"But how? These things are so destructive and chaotic. Other than this one from what I can tell." Sunset was talking about the seemingly harmless Fennekin. "This world doesn't even have as much as magic as the parallel world."
"Magical creatures are destructive yes. That is undeniable. The amount of destructive potency they possess is unbridled. However, in my world, humans managed to find a way past this destructive nature and form bonds with the creatures. That bond managed to cause a perfect synergy that helped build the foundation of the earth. One of which being a close friend of mine, Damos. Ever since then, humans and magical creaturesbegan to coexist with each other, and the world progressed to a wonderful state, evolving evermore. If they can coexist with magical creatures...then I am certain that this world can coexist with them as well."
"Coexist with them?" Once again Sunset Shimmer looked at the Fox Pokemon which was constantly by her side without her knowing why.
"The Fennekin that sits beside you has taking a interest and liking to you. Perhaps, you would like to return the favour to it, by becoming its trainer." Arceus suggested. "That is how the powerful bond starts."
"Fennekin!" The Fox Pokemon agreed with Arceus.
"Become its trainer..." Sunset and Fennekin's eyes made direct contact. She thought about it for a bit and came to a conclusion. "Alright. I will. Besides...this thing's actually pretty cute." Sunset picked up Fennekin, holding it up like a dog.
"Then I shall leave you all to coexist with them. Even if you are completely different humans, you are still all parralels to your pony counterparts on the other side. Meaning that you share their qualities and personalities." Arceus began to walk in the sky once more as a portal in the sky opened up. "Bond with them with the time that you have before it all returns to normal." Those were Arceus's final words as he entered through the portal, returning to his realm.
The words that Arceus spoke were enough to encourage everyone else since his voice literally echoed across the entire area. They were willing to give Pokemon a chance, even though they still had no idea how they worked and what they were capable of. But that didn't stop the other humans from bonding with them.
Sunset Shimmer ended up taking a liking to Fennekin. She enjoyed how friendly it was to her and it was just too cute for her. But once thing was still on Sunset's mind. That Snorlax. As long as it's sleeping there, she can't have Twilight come over and help if there's another problem. "What do I do about that giant Pokemon blocking the portal? It's way too heavy and big." Sunset wondered. Fennekin looked over at the sleeping Snorlax and knew what it had to do. The Fox Pokemon ran over to Snorlax to deal with this. "Hm? Fennekin? Where are you going?!" Sunset ran over towards Fennekin who was staring up at the Snorlax. She took a moment to realise that Fennekin's naturally happy face was no more. Its eyes were narrowed at the Sleeping Pokemon. "Wait...don't tell me you're going to-"
"Fen!" Fennekin's body's was surrounded by a blazing flame. The move was Flame Charge, and the Fox Pokemon immediately ran towards Snorlax, jumping up and hitting its huge belly. Sunset was taken aback by what she was seeing. Fire was just around its body so casually. She could also see that Fennekin was trying to get Snorlax to move.
"Oh, I get it now! You're trying to get that Pokemon to move! Good thinking. Keep doing that then!"
Fennekin continued to use Flame Charge as it was on Snorlax's belly. It was jumping up and down on the Sleeping Pokemon's gut like it was a trampoline, just constantly using Flame Charge. "Fen! Fen!" Fennekin then managed to finally wake Snorlax up by shooting an Ember from its mouth as it hit Snorlax in its closed eyes.
"Snor..." The Sleeping Pokemon had finally woken up, leaning forward to look at the Fennekin that was on its stomach. "Snorlax..."
"Fennekin!" The two were starting to have a conversation.
"Lax..."
"Fenne!" Fennekin raised its paws up, telling Snorlax that it was blocking the way. If it wanted to go and sleep, it should just find another resting spot.
"Snorlax..." Snorlax realised that it can't argue against a Fire-Type due to how hot-headed they are, so it decided to stand up, almost knocking the statue over as it made Sunset's heart skip a beat. The Sleeping Pokemon finally moved away from the statue, heading somewhere.
"Amazing. You made that giant thing move..." Sunset kneeled down as Fennekin ran back to her. "You're the best Fennekin!" She picked up the Fox Pokemon, giving it a hug.
"Fennekin!" Fennekin was enjoying this hug as it knew it had found the perfect partner for it.
For now, this ends the tale of how this world managed to get involved with Pokemon as well. But this world's story shall not be left in the dust. As a brand new bond was formed today between both worlds, the story that exists in this Earth will continue to go on just like the other two worlds. Sunset Shimmer's story with Pokemon in this world will continue.
Deep within the frozen north near the Crystal Empire.
A Honedge is floating about. But this Honedge was a bit on the rusty side, comparable to that of a normal average sword. The reason being? Honedge hasn't absorbed any life force for the longest now. Deep within every Honedge lies a departed spirit that the Honedge merged with whenever they inhabit the sword. Anyone who's life has been taken by any random sword forms the body of Honedge to appear. The blue eye on the sword's handguard is the true body of Honedge, while the cloth is what drains the life away.
The Sword Pokemon has been floating across the frozen north for months now without any luck of absorbing heaps of life force. This area was barren with no appearance of life anywhere. It needed more, or else the sword will rust to a point where it becomes dust and both the spirit and Honedge will fade away into nothingness. Hope for Honedge came in the form of what it saw beyond the hill that floated upon.
The Crystal Empire.
Finally, some sign of civilization. Honedge can now live once more...but it had to keep a low profile. It may have the power to absorb life force, but it was still fairly weak Pokemon in the stage that it was currently in at the moment. So if it was to absorb someone, it would have to pretend to be just an average sword. It made its way towards the Crystal Empire with haste, ready to claim another poor victim's life force.
Honedge had arrived at the Crystal Empire, seeing all the Crystal Ponies populating the area. It was its first time seeing ponies, but that didn't matter. Whether it be human, Pokemon or whatever creature is out there, their life force will be absorbed as well. The sword Pokemon laid there on the ground of the empire, waiting for the first poor sucker to get a grip on it.
Shining Armor stood atop the balcony, watching over to see if nothing was wrong. That's when he spotted the Honedge, just laying there on the ground. "Who left the sword just lying there?" Shining Armor used his magic to teleport down to the ground level towards Honedge, finding it too dangerous to just leave a sword lying there randomly on the streets. The Sword Pokemon was anticipating this. Finally, the first victim in a long time. All Shining Armor has to do is pick the sword up, and his life force will belong to Honedge. But...what Honedge didn't see coming, was magic. Shining Armor used magic from his horn to pick Honedge up, instead of his hooves or mouth. To the Sword Pokemon's surprise, Honedge couldn't absorb his life force, because Shining Armor isn't making physical contact with the sword.
Shining Armor went up to some of the guards to see if one of them owned this sword. Strangely enough, swords are rarely used in Equestria and even the Empire, so why was there one there? "Does this belong to any of you or some of the guards?" Shining Armor asked.
"Sorry, sir. But none of us ever carry swords with us." The guard shook his head.
"So nopony owns this?"
"No, sir. Swords have never been used by the Crystal Empire, even during Sombra's rule."
"Guess that means it's not really important then huh? Alright." Shining Armor saw the guards off as he placed Honedge inside a storage room. If no one owned it, then it didn't really matter to anypony.
Honedge had just realised that it had just been tossed out like it wasn't that important. Not only that, but it couldn't even get a single life force from anyone. The sudden inconvenience of magic was not what it was expecting. Seeing that it couldn't just sit around and wait for someone to pick it up, Honedge resulted in the second option. The one option that most Ghost-types go for if the first one doesn't work.
Possession.
Honedge flew out of the storage room, slashing the door in half as it set out to possess someone. And who better to possess than the one who put it in storage.
Shining Armor, who was just casually walking back to Cadence, had no idea what was lurking behind him. Honedge had used its ghost traits to make its bladed body transparent. Once Shining Armor's guard was down, Honedge can turn opaque and strike at the right moment.
"Just a few months left, Cadence." Shining Armor walked into the throne room. "I can't wait!"
"Neither can I." Cadence replied. "I hope nopony else has caught on to it already."
"Believe me, it's only us two. When it comes along, then everypony can know about i-" Shining Armor was chatting along, unaware of Honedge's presence. Cadence on the other hand noticed that there was something odd behind Shining Armor as she spotted Honedge who was slowly revealing its opaque body.
"Shining Armor look out!" She cried out, attempting to take action. But it was too late. Honedge moved much faster than her, plunging its bladed body into Shining Armor. And just like that, Honedge had finally gained a vessel to possess. Cadence and her Sylveon gasped as they saw a ghostly aura surround Shining Armor.
"Ah...finally." Shining Armor spoke, but with a warped voice. "After months, I finally have made some progress. Possessing this pony's body was a brilliant move!"
"Who are you? Get out of my Shining Armor!" Cadence stepped forward.
"You wish. With this body under my control, I can drain heaps of life force from everyone else. No more having to wait for someone to pick me up." The Honedge possessed Shining Armor spoke. But just then, Shining Armor's body began to twitch and vibrate. From the looks of it, he was actually fighting back against Honedge, gaining control back for a bit. "Ugh... my head feels hard as steel." His voice returned to normal.
"You're back!" Cadence smiled. But, Honedge managed to gain control once more.
"Curses. This body's resistant. Doesn't matter. I'll be able to slowly gain full control over it as time passes. In the meantime. I have some life forces to absorb if you don't mind."
"Like I'd let you. Shining Armor will eventually break free from you. And I'm still here, ya know."
"Pssh. What are you doing to do?" Honedge scoffed.
"This." Cadence's horn ignited. She wasn't aiming on harming Shining Armor, but instead, planning to release Honedge from his body. The blade possessed pony however, utilized its victim's magic by teleporting behind the alicorn princess. Honedge raised its hoof up, ready to absorb all that life force, but was quickly stopped by Cadence's Sylveon who had used Fairy Wind. This gave Cadence time to back away from Honedge, avoiding the inevitable life drain. Cadence used her magic to hold Honedge in place, making sure that it wouldn't try and escape to the outside and drain everypony's life force. "Good job Sylveon. Now. Out of my Shining Armor!"
"You think I'd just give this body up?!" Honedge exclaimed. Its body began to vibrate once more as Shining Armor returned again for a bit. It seems that Shining Armor can snap back to his senses every time a 1 or 2 minute passes. "Cadence. This thing's pretty resilient. I don't think-" Honedge took control once more. Cadence could see that the two of them were constantly taking control back and forth, but Shining Armor's time was shorter. "This is getting annoying!"
"You're going to stay there until my Shining Armor is free. Let's hope that this separation spell is as effective as it seems." Cadence was ready to pull off a seemingly difficult spell. The power to separate two entities from each other. This only works if it involves two souls in one, and thankfully, Honedge just happens to be that. A purple aura surrounded Honedge's possessed body as the spell was in motion. Cadence put all of her focus into this spell, slowly ripping Honedge out of Shining Armor's body.
Honedge realised that its plans were going to be cut short, so it had to retaliate, or else things could get worse from here on. The Sword Pokemon had utilized one of its many moves. It made Shining Armor's mouth use the move Metal Sound by emitting a horrible screech that sounded like scraping metal. This broke Cadence's focus and even made Sylveon lay on the floor with it feelers covering its ears. Honedge then realised that it can actually use its moves by having Shining Armor be a vessel for it. The magic that was holding it had vanished, making Honedge free. "This is perfect actually!" The Sword Pokemon then ended up summoning a ghostly sword that was beside Shining Armor. "Now. Hand over your life force." Honedge trotted over towards Cadence, ready to place its hoof on her. But once again, Shining Armor retained control of his body, pulling his hoof back. "Finally. I got even much better control this time!"
"Shining Armor. Can you gain control much longer this time?" Cadence asked.
"Yeah. I think I've figured out how to work around its possession. If I just keep on using my magic to restrain it, then it won't have enough time to absorb anypony's life force as long as I just keep on interrupting it."
"I still have to pull off the separation spell though. So please find a way to keep it from breaking my focus."
"You got it-" Shining Armor's time was cut short as Honedge returned. "This isn't working! I'm wasting my time with you! I'll just head out and absorb others!" Honede used Shining's magic to teleport out of the castle, leaving Cadence. The Sword Pokemon appeared out into the streets, taking a gander at all the victims it could not absorb. The possessed Shining Armor rubbed its hooves together, knowing that it was going to have a field day with this. But what it didn't take into account was Cadence also having the ability to teleport. Like any skilled unicorn can. Honedge gasped as it saw Cadence staring it down with narrowed eyes. "This lady's persistent!"
Everypony gathered around to see Cadence and Shining Armor. They noticed that the two of them were seemingly having some sort of argument. At least, that's their assumption from the way their eyes look right now.
"Are the prince and princess having an argument?" A pony said.
"I hope it's nothing too serious." Another commented.
"Ah. I'm sure it's nothing. It's natural for married couples to argue." One scoffed.
"You can't keep this, sword. If Shining Armor can resist you, and I can separate you, that means you've already lost in this situation." said Cadence.
"Pah! Who's to say that I can't work my way around it? How about I start off with...you!" Shining Armor quickly ran over to the nearest pony, placing its hoof on them. Cadence gasped as the pony could feel its life force being drained from it. Sylveon quickly used Fairy Wind once more to stop Honedge. It was successful, but the pony's life force had been diminished. Thankfully, Honedge didn't get everything due to Sylveon's interference. The Sword Pokemon ended up realising that it wasn't going to achieve its goal due to Cadence and Sylveon being a massive obstacle in the way. As such, it's options were looking slim. "I can't lose like this!" The possessed pony placed its hoof on its mane out of frustration. Nothing was going as it planned.
"Got you." Cadence had held Honedge in place once more, planning to use the separation spell again. But this time, she was sure that it was to be a success. Sylveon had placed its feelers on Cadence's ears, leaving its own unguarded. Cadence knew that in a few seconds, Shining Armor will gain control of its body, making the separation spell much quicker. The spell was put into motion as everypony was just spectating what was going on.
Honedge was about to use Metal Sound once more in hopes of getting everypony to the ground so that it can absorb their life forces quicker, but Shining Armor managed to regain control, preventing it from happening. This was Cadence's chance. With an adredaline rushing through her body, she managed to seperate Honedge from Shining Armor, freeing her husband from the Sword Pokemon's control. Everypony watched as they saw Honedge fly into the air, looking dizzy after the separation.
"Shining Armor!" Cadence ran over to her husband, giving him a hug. "Thank goodness. That could've been ugly."
"Yeah. Good thing its possession isn't that powerful."
"Hone..." The Sword Pokemon went back to speaking in its natural Pokemon voice. It was not happy in the slightest. Its plans were ruined so quickly by two ponies. But it still had other choices. Other ponies to possess. It turned its attention to Cadence. If it can possess her, then it'll be much more powerful. The Sword Pokemon thrusted itself downwards, ready to dive into Cadence.
Shining Armor however, stopped Honedge by putting his hoof on it. Just right before it could get to Cadence. "I think that's enough from you." And just to make sure that the Sword Pokemon doesn't use its intagibility, Shining Armor used its magic to hold it in place.
The short Honedge issue was quickly resolved thanks to both Shining Armor and Cadence. A potential problem was avoided. Now there was one other issue to deal with. What were they going to do with Honedge?
"What do we do with it now? We can't put it in a cage since it can cut through it easily... And its a ghost so..." Cadence said.
"Hmm... I don't really know how to restrain a Pokemon like this." Shining Armor pondered. "Anypony got any ideas?" He asked the crowd.
The chattered among each other, thinking of what they could do, until one pegasus flew up with an idea. "Oh! I've got an idea!" They were in luck. Since pegasi are the one pony species that love to Pokemon battle, they carry the most Pokeballs out of any other pony species. The pegasus flew over, having a Great Ball in her hoof. "You can use one of my Pokeballs. I've got more so it's fine."
"This'll do perfectly. Thank you." Shining Armor took the Great Ball. "Alright, Honedge. You're gonna stay in here and hopefully, you can at least learn your lesson by becoming my Pokemon. At least... I hope so. Oh well." Shining Armor dropped the ball on Honedge's eye, sending the Sword Pokemon inside of it.
1...2...3...Get!
Seeing the capture made Shining Armor realise something. Finally. Now he has a Pokemon. And he also has something to brag about to Twilight when they meet up again. He picked up the Great Ball, gazing at it as he raised it up.
"Happy to have your first Pokemon?" Cadence walked over.
"YES!" Shining Armor exclaimed, making everypony pull back. "Oh, sorry...Got a bit excited there." He chuckled.
Shining Armor's first Pokemon has been caught, and it ended up being one that possessed his body for a bit and threatened to absorb the life force of everypony here. From now on, Shining Armor will work on reforming Honedge now that it is his Pokemon and hopefully, he can change the Sword Pokemon for the better.
It's a quiet night at Cloudsdale. All the pegasi were sound asleep. The clouds had been cleared to make sure that they all get a peaceful and uninterrupted rest. Rainbow Dash was in her home asleep as well. And like everypony else, she was dreaming. Her dreams at the current moment were about Pokemon. More importantly, being at the Pokemon League and becoming a champion. She was imagining having her team blaze through the competition with ease, easily climbing up to the top.
But that's when her dream was met with an unidentified pony who was nothing but a silhouette that she was facing at the league. This pony had their own Pokemon that were formidable. Rainbow had a dream battle against this unidentified pony, and to her surprise, she was losing. This pony and their Pokemon were proving to be too much for Rainbow Dash's team. This turned from a dream into an unexpected nightmare. Her Pokemon were being absolutely overwhelmed by the opposing team as they had all fainted. Rainbow Dash saw herself lose the league to this unidentified pony, unable to become champion. The multi-coloured maned pegasus gasped as she woke up from her nightmare, catching her breath.
"That was horrible!" She exclaimed. She laid back on her back, looking up at the ceiling. "I can't afford to lose to anypony else...especially at the league. So I can't let my fears get the best of me." Rainbow Dash quickly discarded the memory of that unidentified pony and her losing the league. She then put herself back to sleep, waiting for tomorrow to arrive.
The next day had come. Which means it's time to start fresh as always.
Rainbow Dash didn't have much to do today. All of her friends are in the same boat. It's another one of those days where there's not anything important going on. So, the best option for her is to train her Pokemon. She wants to make sure that her next Gym Battle goes smoothly without too many bumps. She brought out her Braviary and Altaria to practice against the upcoming weather based Gym Battle.
"Okay, you two. If we're going to win against that weather gym, we need to know how to fight back against weather effects. I'm already a veteran at the weather thanks to years of experience, and soon you two are gonna be the same in the no time. And find this Castform Pokemon. Whatever Pokemon that is."
"Bravia!"
"Altaria!"
The trainer and her Pokemon left Ponyville to continue their endless training. Down at Ponyville, the town was going to be met by another trainer who was also seeking to get stronger.
This pony was a unicorn who resembled that of Sunrise Sprint. He shared his colour scheme of orange but a bit darker, that same crimson mane that was slick back but on the smoother side instead of the wild messy one Sunrise had and those exact same green eyes. In fact, the reason why he and Sunrise looked similar was that they are in fact related. And also because Sunrise Sprint came along with him. This pony went by the name Daylight Blazer. A perfect identical twin to his little brother. Daylight came equipped with a saddle bag that had all the essential Pokemon equipment, just like every other trainer in Equestria.
"So, the Pokemon House is right up ahead?" Daylight spoke to his little brother.
"Yeah. There's a lot of cool Pokemon you can catch there. I'm telling ya. I've been there a lot." Sunrise grinned. "I bet it'll go great with your team."
"I hope so. Finding a good Pokemon isn't easy. Although, I've yet to travel to the other world."
"But you've already found some awesome Pokemon, bro. You've caught 17 Pokemon!" Sunrise exclaimed.
"Yeah. Still pretty low in comparison to Princess Luna's 28. Now come on. All I need are some good Ice and Bug-Types." The two brothers made their way towards the Pokemon House, located at Fluttershy's cottage.
Speaking of the Pokemon House, it was pretty crowded today. The usual group were here. The rest of the Mane 6, Ash, Pikachu but with the addition of the CMC, Goh, Jade Skies, Cold Colt and even Sonata and Aria. A few more to add to the party. Sonata and Aria were here mostly because Sonata wanted tons of Pokemon and she dragged Aria along. The CMC were just here to play with the Pokemon.
"How about this little guy here?" Fluttershy held a Horsea up.
"Nah. Pass." Sonata shook her head.
"Okay." Fluttershy placed Horsea back in the lake. "Then how about this Pidove here? Flying-Types are always a good choice for any trainer." Fluttershy held the Tiny Pigeon Pokemon.
"Pido!
"Hmm...nah." Sonata denied Pidove as well. The Tiny Pigeon Pokemon didn't take too kindly to Sonata's response as it flew out of Fluttershy's hooves, pecking Sonata in the face. "Ow! Ow!"
"Pidove!" Fluttershy grabbed Pidove, stopping its attack. "It's rude to just attack somepony like that. Even if they don't choose you. Shame on you. Say you're sorry." Fluttershy was cross with it.
"Pido..." Pidove lowered its head apologizing.
"Pidove says she's sorry." Fluttershy translated.
"Ow...Fine I guess I accept your apology." Sonata had her hoof on her face as Aria actually found some amusement from that.
"Choosing any Pokemon can be difficult. You just have to find that right partner." Fluttershy commented.
"How'll I know?"
"You'll know when you'll know." Fluttershy nodded.
"Oh! Jade! You can have a Pokemon too!" Pinkie looked over to her deadpan friend.
"...Me? Do I have to have one?" Jade responded in her usual monotone voice and accent.
"Well...you don't really have to have one. But they're always a great buddy to have around. They're your friends, pets and family members rolled into one!" Pinkie Pie said.
"I guess if it teaches me more about friendship...I'll have one."
"Great! I betcha that every Pokemon fits you, Jade! What type do you think would be your goto?"
"I don't know. I'm not really a Pokemon pony."
"That's why this is a perfect place to start off. I'm thinking Fire-Type. Ooh! Here comes Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie waved over to her pegasi pal who had just arrived.
"Fluttershy! Have you seen a Castform yet?" Rainbow Dash asked, still keeping an eye out of this Castform Pokemon.
"Sorry. But it hasn't come by the house yet."
"Seriously? There's no way it's THAT rare." Rainbow Dash sighed.
"Oh, no. Castform are pretty common Pokemon. It's just that they tend to be all over the place depending on the weather." Fluttershy explained.
"Well, when I find one, it better be capable of giving me my victory at the fifth gym."
"It won't. I can tell you that much." A voice responded to Rainbow Dash. Daylight was the one who spoke as Sunrise was right behind him. "You're gonna need more than just an extra Pokemon if you want to get past that gym."
"Huh? What makes you say that?" Rainbow Dash flew over to him. "And you know how to get past it?"
"Because I've already completed the fifth gym. Take a gander." Daylight used his magic to take out his badge case, showing the badges that he had. He had also completed and earned the same badges as Rainbow Dash, except he has one extra. The fifth badge.
"No way! You've already completed the 5th gym?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"That's right. I hear you're the first pony to ever take on the Pokemon League. Congrats. But looks like you were kinda on the slow side. I managed to complete my gyms much quicker. And it seems I'm already one gym ahead."
"Well, I'm getting there okay? If I'm gonna ace the gyms, I need enough time for my Pokemon to improve. The same can be said for you, I bet?"
"No way!" Sunrise spoke up. "My big bro here managed to get through the first 3 gyms, no sweat! And he did it all in 3 weeks!"
"3 weeks?!" Rainbow Dash pulled back. "That's quicker than me..."
"In a short amount of time too. I did take some time for the fourth one, but after that, the fifth one was mine in no time."
"Talk about an impressive trainer." Pinkie joined in as did the others.
"I am. And I'm gonna above and beyond, and become Equestria's first Pokemon League Champion." He declared. Those words he said made them all perk up suddenly.
"Pfft! Hah! You? Become Champion?" Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Sorry to tell you this, but it's going to be me that becomes the champion. The very first one too. And I'll be just like Leon. Unbeatable."
"Oh? You? I mean you're tough but...I don't think you're champion level yet honestly." Daylight shook his head.
"Huh?! And what makes you think you're qualified to be champion before me?!" Rainbow Dash poked her hoof at Daylight's chest.
"I've been learning about Pokemon ever since the league was first established here. My little brother Sunrise gave me information from his classes. Since then, I've learned about every Type matchup, every area of effect, every status move, so on and so on. Because of this, I've managed to catch Pokemon that are suited for high-level competitions. And that's what helps me blaze through the gyms. I've got a cut-throat team of 17 Pokemon that'll make sure I become champion. What do you have?"
"Well, I...Darn, I don't have that many actually." Rainbow Dash sighed.
"Don't worry about it. I did say you can't become champion...YET. If you can grow like me then I'm sure you'll be able to catch up to my level."
"Oh yeah?! How about this then?! I prove that I'm at your level or even above you...with a Pokemon Battle!" Dash declared.
"Rainbow Dash. You're seriously gonna start a battle like that?" Twilight said. "Not even a practice one."
"You wanna go against my Pokemon? Hmm...I don't know..." Daylight placed his hoof on his chin.
"Do it, Daylight! I wanna see!" Sunrise hopped. Daylight then looked back at Sunrise and then to Rainbow Dash. He figured that a battle wouldn't hurt? Plus it's always good to get a reminder on how skilled your team is.
"Alright. Sure. Let's battle." He agreed to it. This was to be her third pony vs pony trainer battle without it even being a Gym Battle.
Both of them took their sides. Daylight was bouncing his first Pokeball up and down as Rainbow Dash was eyeing him down. The others sat back from a distance to see how this could possibly go down.
"You think maybe she's getting a bit heated?" Applejack whispered to Rarity.
"More than usual. That champion bit really got to her didn't it?" She replied.
"I've seen this before." Ash said.
"You have?" Fluttershy looked over to Ash. "What does it mean?"
"Just keep watching and you'll see."
"I've only got 4 Pokemon...so you'd better use 4 Pokemon only as well!" Rainbow Dash yelled at him from a distance.
"Fine. I'll use 4 only. But these 4 are just enough, I'll tell you that." Daylight replied with a smirk. Just that confident smile was enough to rile Rainbow up.
"Then I'll start with this! Let's go Altaria!" Rainbow threw her first Pokeball, sending out her Altaria.
"Alta!"
"An Altaria, huh? That's pretty good. I'll go for this then. Out you come!" Daylight sent his Pokemon out next. It was revealed to be a Medicham.
"Med."
"What is that?" Rainbow Dash pulled out her dex to see this odd-looking Pokemon.
"Medicham. The Meditate Pokemon. It is said that through meditation, Medicham heightens energy inside its body and sharpens its sixth sense. This Pokémon hides its presence by merging itself with fields and mountains. Through yoga training, it gained the psychic power to predict its foe’s next move. It gains the ability to see the aura of its opponents by honing its mind through starvation."
"Another freaky Psychic-Type huh? But I don't need to worry. It's part Fighting. So all I gotta do is make sure Altaria keeps her distance."
"You gonna start or do you want me to?" Daylight spoke, waiting for the battle to begin.
"I always love to go first! Altaria! Fly up and use Dragon Pulse!" Rainbow made the first move. The Humming Pokemon took the skies, charging up that formidable Dragon Pulse. She let out a shockwave of draconic energy that raced down towards its opposing foe.
Medicham however, managed to simply avoid this pulse by just simply sliding its body to the right. It didn't even take orders from Daylight, showing that its sixth sense is incredibly useful to a point where the trainer doesn't have to worry about saying the word 'Dodge' all the time. "Bring Altaria down to our level. Use Shadow Ball." Daylight finally made a command. The Meditate Pokemon conjured up a ball of shadows that was shot upwards at Altaria.
"Dodge it!" Altaria barely managed to avoid the Shadow Ball as it grazed its fluffy wings. "Now use Ice Beam!" Altaria went for another long-distance attack. Rainbow Dash was doing her best to make sure Medicham doesn't get anywhere near Altaria.
"Trying to keep your distance, are you? I see. Meditate." Medicham had suddenly got into a meditative state with peace surrounding its mind. This peaceful fashion was enough to let Medicham avoid the Ice Beam, shocking Rainbow Dash. The Meditate Pokemon was awakening the power within with its meditate, biding its time.
"You're seriously just gonna stay there? Works for me! Keep using Dragon Pulse!" Altaria began a barrage of pulses towards Medicham. But every single time, they just kept on missing. Medicham's sixth sense and meditative state were helping it avoid the assault of pulses with ease. And it didn't even move from the spot it was on. "Are you kidding me?! How is that possible?!" Rainbow Dash didn't know what to make of this.
"Now it's time for us to make our move. Medicham. Hidden Power." Medicham's eyes finally opened up. All that focus was transformed into potent psychic energy as it unleashed a unique attack full of nothing by Psychic Energy. It acted as sort of a wide area move that was enough to reach the skies. Altaria was hit with Hidden Power, feeling all that Psychic energy make physical contact with it.
"Tari!" The Humming Pokemon was taken out of the skies, bringing her down to Medicham's level.
"Now use Thunder Punch." Medicham spread its arms out as lightning surrounded its left hand.
"Get up and stop it with Disarming Voice!" Altaria quickly got up from the ground, unleashing a sound wave of fairy magic towards the Meditate Pokemon. Medicham blocked out its sense of hearing, only needing to rely on its other senses. The Meditate Pokemon ran through the sound waves, not being affected by the voice as it struck Altaria with Thunder Punch, hitting its fluffy wings and dealing a considerable amount of damage. Thanks to Meditate, this attack was much more powerful, sending Altaria flying back as it also left a paralysing effect on her. "Oh no, Altaria!"
"Let's finish this with a bit of style, Medicham. Use Hidden Power once more." Medicham was ready to seal the deal with the next attack.
"We won't let you! Ice Beam, quick!" Altaria was about to unleash Ice Beam, but due to the paralyse, it couldn't fire fast enough. Which prompted Hidden Power to hit its mark. All that power was enough to make Altaria faint.
"Alta..."
Rainbow Dash was perplexed. Her Altaria was defeated so easily. She barely even got a single hit in. Medicham had avoided everything thanks to its sixth sense easily surpassing its other five. "Return Altaria..." Rainbow sighed, returning her Pokemon. She didn't let that one loss get to her. She still had other Pokemon left that could make it through this. "In that case...let's see you avoid my attacks with your 'Sixth Sense' when I get up close and personal! Go! Whirlipede!" Up next was Whirlipede. Her first Pokemon and the one that gradually gets faster as it goes without losing any momentum once it starts rolling.
"A Whirlipede huh? Hmm..stay in Medicham." Daylight was going to keep Medicham in for this as well. "And I'm guessing you're gonna make the first move again?"
"You bet I am! Rollout! Head on!" Whirlipede kicked up dust by spinning rapidly on the spot. The Curlipede Pokemon was headed straight for Medicham.
"Stop it with Zen Headbutt." Daylight made the command without having to rely on the sixth sense. Medicham's head was being filled with pure willpower as it headbutted Whirlipede the moment it got too close to it. Thanks to Whirlipede's Bug-Typing the knockback wasn't too great, but its Poison-Typing still made it feel the heavy damage from Zen Headbutt. Whirlipede's momentum wasn't stopped though and thanks to Speed Boost, it was much faster now.
"Move around and use Pin Missile!" Whirlipede took a turn by drifting its body. The Curlipede Pokemon then fired missiles of pins towards Medicham. The Fighting-Psychic-Type easily caught the pins with its bare hands, tossing them aside. Rainbow Dash and Whirlipede were taken aback by what they just saw, along with the others watching. "How did the...is its sixth sense really THAT good?"
"Medicham's sixth sense allows it act on both impulse and instinct. You're gonna need to do better if you ever hope to catch it off guard." Daylight explained. "I mean, the Pokedex kinda already told you that, Dash."
"Medi."
"I'll find a way past that sense! I've come back from much worse! Whirlipede! Iron Defense!" Rainbow Dash took the defensive side this time. Whirlipede's body was hardened like steel, greatly increasing its defence. "Now we can get physical without having to worry about too much damage. Rollout!" Whirlipede went towards the opposing Pokemon with its defence greatly increased.
Daylight wasn't too worried about this though. As he had a plan to deal with that Iron Defense. "Alright. Meditate." Medicham once again went into a Meditative State. Rainbow Dash thought that since the attack was more up close, Medicham was bound to get hit. But to her surprise. Medicham avoided Rollout by simply staying there. It was bizarre to the eyes. What everypony saw was unreal. Whirlipede had missed Medicham by moving past it and it didn't even move. They thought for sure that Rollout was going to be a direct hit.
"Woah! That was freaky!" Pinkie Pie rubbed her eyes.
"I'm not crazy am I? Right?" Rarity uttered.
"Aren't my bro and his Pokemon the coolest?" Sunrise chuckled, feeling cocky. And to be honest...he had every right to be. So far, Daylight was proving to be a trainer like no other.
"W-Wha-How-Wha? I thought it.. it looked like it..." Rainbow Dash's words were stuttering, she couldn't even finish her sentence. That one instance managed to mess with her head.
"Focus, dash. Thunder Punch." Daylight took advantage of Rainbow Dash's mind malfunction as Medicham backflipped towards Whirlipede, striking it from above with thunderous hit. It managed to bypass the defence that Iron Defense created thanks to Meditate increasing its attack. Whirlipede was knocked back, feeling dizzy from the hit as it was struggling to keep its balance.
Rainbow Dash snapped back to reality, realising that she needed to get her head in the game. "Gotta focus! Venom Drench!" Whirlipede had just recovered from the Thunder Punch, no longer feeling dizzy. It drenched out toxic venom towards Medicham, hoping for it to hit.
"Hidden Power." Medicham simply blew away the venom by letting out a wave of psychic energy that reached Whirlipede, knocking it back into Rainbow Dash as she caught her Pokemon.
"Whirl..." Whirlipede had also fainted. Rainbow Dash looked down at her Pokemon, realising that she had lost another one so easily.
"No way...How am I gonna get past that thing?" Rainbow Dash was getting backed into a corner. If anything, this was much worse than Sunset Shimmer. Her toughest battle yet.
"I told you. My Pokemon are built for competitive play. I've been learning about Pokemon for a long time now. If you can't get past my Medicham...then I don't think you'll ever catch up to me." Daylight shook his head.
"Oh, I'll catch up to you. And I'll surpass you too!" Rainbow Dash returned Whirlipede as she stepped forward. She held out her next Pokeball, ready to cut loose for this next one. "Not even your sixth sense can avoid lightning! Luxio, go!" Next was Luxio. Rainbow Dash believed that since lightning is a frantic and speedy force, it's bound to hit its mark most of the time.
"I see what you're planning. I'll switch things up a bit. Return, Medicham." Daylight finally returned Medicham, swapping it out for this next Pokemon. "Maybe you might do something against this guy right here. Out you come." Daylight tossed the Pokeball, revealing his next Pokemon to be Blaziken.
"Blaziken!"
"Woah...what is that? It's so cool looking." Dash pulled out her dex.
Blaziken. The Blaze Pokemon. In battle, Blaziken blows out intense flames from its wrists and attacks foes courageously. The stronger the foe, the more intensely this Pokémon’s wrists burn. Blaziken also has incredibly strong legs—it can easily clear a 30-story building in one leap. This Pokémon’s blazing punches leave its foes scorched and blackened."
"That thing's so wicked! But I can't let its awesomeness distract me. Luxio! Let's give it our all."
"Luxio!"
"Use Discharge!" Luxio unleashed a discharge of lightning that spread across the area as the more potent lightning was heading towards Blaziken.
"Block it." Daylight gave off a simple command. The Blaze Pokemon put up its arms, blocking the Discharge. It still felt the volts, but not too much.
"Finally. I can get some hits in! Get in there with Wild Charge!" Luxio ran forward with electricity surrounding its nimble body. Blaziken stood there, watching the Spark Pokemon charge towards it.
"Blaze Kick." Blaziken pulled its leg back as fire erupted around it. With a swift swing, it kicked Luxio right in its face, stopping Wild Charge. The sheer power behind the kick was so immense that it not only knocked Luxio back, making him roll on the ground, but it also made him faint. In one hit.
Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. One hit is all it took. This proved that Blaziken was a much more heavy hitter than Medicham.
"One hit? That's rough." Sonata slumped.
"I actually kinda feel bad for her a bit." Aria spoke.
Rainbow Dash looked down on the ground, returning her Luxio. She looked like she was about to break into tears a bit, but she didn't. She still had one Pokemon left. Braviary. Her strongest Pokemon. And the one that has Bond Phenomenon laying within it. She was betting all of it all on Braviary. She felt unstoppable whenever Braviary battled. "I've got one Pokemon left. Braviary. We can do this!" Out came Braviary to make sure that its trainer wins this no matter what.
"Braviary!"
"A Braviary? Awesome." Daylight thought Braviary was a pretty cool Pokemon. And a good choice to have on your team at all times. "You picked a pretty good Pokemon."
"Yeah. My strongest and best Pokemon. With Braviary on my side, I can't lose!" Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof down.
"We'll see."
"Braviary! Brave Bird!" Braviary made the first move. Brave energy engulfed its body as it soared towards its opponent at high speeds.
"Oh, I can already feel the intesity of this one. Blaziken! Blaze Kick!" Blaziken was about to go for the same move that took Luxio out in one hit. But Rainbow Dash wasn't worried about it this time. Both Brave Bird and Blaze Kick made contact with each other. The clash of both attacks pushed the two avian-like Pokemon back as they seemed to equals in strength. "Nice. Head in with Acrobatics." Blaziken ran forward as it got to Braviary's level, moving about with agile skills.
"Look out and use Steel Wing!" Braviary's wings became hard as steel as it was watching Blaziken come towards it. The Vailiant Pokemon swung its wins towards the approaching Blaziken, however the Blaze Pokemon avoided this thanks to Acrobatics. It delivered a leg stomp on Braviary's wings, sending it downwards. "No! Braviary!" Braviary was hurtling down, but it quickly recovered, shaking its wings.
"Use Acrobatics once more." Blaziken landed down on the ground, front-flipping towards Braviary.
"Use Superpower!" Braviary raised its wings up, swinging them towards Blaziken. This time, Braviary hit its mark. Superpower managed to overpower Acrobatics as it made Blaziken jump back.
"Not bad. You and your Braviary are tough." Daylight nodded.
"I told you! Braviary and I are a force of nature." Rainbow Dash stood up, crossing her hooves. "And together, we're gonna become the strongest trainer and strongest Pokemon, without a doubt!"
"I see. Then...how will you do against this?" Daylight raised his mane up, revealing a mega ring on his horn along with the keystone. The Blazikenite.
"M-Mega stone?" Rainbow Dash pulled back. Blaziken revealed that its mega stone was hidden behind the flames on its wrists. Its was in the shape of a ring as well.
"Oh yeah. Got this the day when Mega Stones were shipped to Equestria. Check this out." Daylight used his magic to activate the stone. It was time for Mega Evolution as the golden lights erupted from the ring. "Can you feel the intense flames building up across you? Get ready. Because that won't compare to the burst of flames that are coming your way. Mega Evolve!"
Blaziken's body was engulfed in that same blue light as the golden lights were travelling towards it. The intense heat that Daylight spoke off was surrounding the entire Pokemon House. Blaziken's body was morphing into a more intense and aggressive version of itself. And just like that, its Mega Evolved form was revealed. Mega Blaziken.
"Blaziken!" The Blaze Pokemon bellowed. Its appearance was basically saying that it was greatly intimidating and it wouldn't be a good idea to get close to it.
"Sweet Celestia..." Rainbow Dash gasped as the other ponies were perplexed by this.
"Get em bro!" Sunrise yelled.
"Wanna keep going?" Daylight said.
"I'm not afraid. I can do this. Braviary! Brave Bird!" Braviary felt Rainbow Dash's drive to win as it was not afraid as well. The Valiant Pokemon flew forward with all that Brave Energy building up.
"Blaze Kick." Once more, Blaziken followed such a simple command by moving its leg back. And this time, Braviary felt what Luxio felt. The power of Blaze Kick has been amped thanks to Mega Evolution as the Valiant Pokemon felt a kick to the beak, sending it flying so far that it destroyed the grass around it due to the flames of Blaze Kick surrounding it. Braviary had fainted.
Rainbow Dash looked down at her fainted partner. It all just clicked to her. She lost horribly and this time, she didn't even manage to take out any of his Pokemon. He didn't even use his entire team so she has no idea what else he had on standby. She took the loss heavily, but after remembering Ash's speech when she first lost to Sunset Shimmer, she didn't let it get to her too much, but she still felt the impact of it. "Return Braviary." She brought Braviary back, sighing.
"Poor Rainbow Dash. I don't think she's ever suffered a loss like that before." Twilight said.
"Yeah. That really WAS rough." Pinkie nodded.
Sunrise ran towards his big brother, ready to congratulate him. "Awesome job! I told you that my big bro was pow-" Daylight stopped Sunrise by nudging him with his hoof. He then pointed his hoof over at Rainbow Dash, seeing how upset she was. "Oh. Sorry.
Daylight walked over to Rainbow Dash to talk to the pony he defeated. "Listen, Rainbow Dash." His voice managed to get her to raise her head. "Don't let it get to you too much. I can acknowledge you as a pretty formidable trainer."
"You can?"
"Sure. You're no slouch to battling I can tell. But you need to change up your style. You're too aggressive and rely too much on speed. Don't you think that you need a new approach against future battles."
"He's right you know?" Ash spoke as they all turned to him. "I remember having something similar to this happen to me. I once lost against a great rival who pushed me to improve myself. I had to change the way I battled for the first time in my life. And it was that change that helped me win against him in the end." Ash was reminiscing about Paul. "It's always the ones that are hard on you that push you to be better."
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded.
"I guess so..." Rainbow Dash took both their words in as she hung her head.
"But hey. If it makes you feel better...I acknowledge you as my rival."
"You do?" She looked up at him.
"Mhm. I've battled a lot of trainers lately, and none of them really measured up. But you're different. Even when you weren't getting the upper hoof or just failing to land that many good hits in, you never backed away like the others. I like that. So until then, I'll be waiting for the day that you're a great enough trainer that can go hoof-to-hoof against me." Daylight spoke somewhat encouraging words.
"Yeah...Yeah! I'll become an even greater trainer!" Rainbow Dash suddenly exclaimed. "I'll make sure that I surpass you! I'll find a way past that sixth sense and I'll even prove that I'm capable of taking on Mega Evolution! I WILL become the greatest trainer in all of Equestria, and it's gonna be ME that becomes champion!" She declared at the top of her lungs.
"That's what I like to hear. I'll be waiting then for our rematch. And when we meet at the league, I'll bring my all. Let's go, Sunrise."
"Okay!" Sunrise followed his brother as they were ready to head back home at Canterlot.
Rainbow Dash now had a new obstacle she had to overcome. Her first great rival in the form a pony named Daylight Blazer. If she was to make it to the top and become champion, she'll have to get past him and his team. The road to a champion is never easy, as the journey continues.
Today. Twilight aims to evolve her Eevee into Espeon. The two have bonded for a good amount of time now. They're already friends at this point. And it's a fairly sunny day today, so that evolution must be kicking in at any moment.
"Today's the day. The day you finally evolve Eve. I can feel it." Twilight sat down, looking at her partner Pokemon.
"Eevee!"
"And I think I know just how we're going to do it. You're already good friends with me, but I bet if we increase your friendship with the rest of my friends, you're sure to evolve. Come on." Twilight and her trusty Eevee headed out of the castle, ready to finally get this evolution done.
First stop, Rarity's Carousel Boutique. Before, Rarity and Eve got off on a bad start, but they patched things up at the end. Even so, their friendship isn't really that prominent. They're more acquaintances than friends. But that is all going to change, according to Twilight.
"Befriend your Eevee?" Rarity spoke.
"That's right. You and Eve can become better friends today. They say that the best friendships are formed from early bitterness between the two."
"Vee."
"As much as I'd love to spend time with your Eevee, darling...Leavanny and I have work to do. I was just requested to make a suit for some human named Baron Alberto and his Lickilicky...That Pokemon is disturbing to look at." Rarity shuddered. "So I'll be a bit occupied at the moment."
"That's fine. Eve doesn't have to get involved with your work. She can just sit here, watch and chat with you...if you could understand her. Is that okay?"
"Hmm... Alright. She can stay here. This suit won't take too long anyway." Rarity nodded.
"Great! I'll leave you two to it. I'll be right back, Eve." Twilight placed her Eevee on the floor, leaving Carousel Boutique.
Eve was just sitting there, watching Rarity and the Leavanny work away on this suit. For 12 minutes, she kept swaying her tail from side to side, just letting time pass by. She interacted with Opalescence for a bit, scaring her with a tiny Swift. Rarity had gazed over Eve, seeing that she wasn't doing much.
"Eve, darling. You aren't really doing much now are you?"
"Eevee."
"Don't worry. I know exactly how to involve you." Rarity whistled at one of her Leavanny. The single Leavanny nodded their head, knowing what to do. It went through the closet, rummaging through everything until it found what Rarity was thinking off. "Since the Grand Galloping Gala is approaching very soon, I figured that I'd make a dress for you. Have a look at this." Leavanny brought over a small dress fit for an Eevee. The colours matched that of Twilight's mane colour. "Perfectly fitting to your trainer. What do you think?"
"Eev!" Eve raised her paws up, showing that she loved the way it looked. Leavanny had placed the small dress on the Evolution Pokemon. A perfect fit and perfect match.
"Marvelous. I knew it was a great idea to go with Twilight's mane as a reference."
Speaking of Twilight, she had just returned. And the first thing saw was Eve's gala dress. "What's this? You made Eve a dress?"
"I was saving it as a surprise for when the gala comes around, but oh well. I made sure that it matched your mane, darling."
"Well you certainly got it down to a T. It looks great on you Eve!" Twilight picked her Pokemon up.
"Eevee!" The Evolution Pokemon responded gleefully. All of a sudden, for a split second, Eve's body began to pulsate. Emitting a purple flash for a 1 second.
"W-What was that?" Twilight wondered. She and Eve had no idea what that was, but Rarity actually had a pretty good idea on why Eve just flashed all of a sudden.
"I think I know what that is." Rarity walked to Twilight. "Eve here is very close to evolving, Twilight."
"Evolving? Really?" Twilight looked at Eve, then to Rarity and then back to Eve.
"Mhm. Fluttershy and I recently learned that some Pokemon evolve differently when in our world. My Leavanny, when they were just Swadloon's, were wilting away. I was mortified by what I was seeing. It turns out they were just evolving into their final evolution."
"So the same's happening for Eve? Amazing! Evolution works differently in Equestria? This I have to look into! Oh, by the way, Rarity. Can I ask for a small favour?"
"Sure, darling. What is it?"
"Well...how do I say this?" Twilight crossed her hooves, looking to the side. "Obviously, the Grand Galloping Gala isn't too far away...and I was wondering if you'd make a special dress for me."
"Anything you want darling. How special?"
"I want to impress somepony special with it." Twilight's face was turning into a red as Rarity could see this now red-faced Twilight. "I hope he likes it." She said silently this time.
"Ah...I see." Rarity nodded her head, knowing who. "No need to worry. I know exactly what to make. You and Eve just head-on and I and my Leavanny will sort everything out."
"Thanks, Rarity. Come on, Eve. Let's head to Pinkie Pie next."
"Eevee!"
Next up, SugarCube Corner, Pinkie Pie. Along with Jade who now lives there.
"Stopping by for some fun?" Pinkie popped her head from the table.
"You could say that. I'm here to help Eve become good friends with everypony. That way she'll finally evolve into Espeon."
"You came to the right place then. I'm a natural adept at making friends. Isn't that right, Jade?"
"Yeah." Jade nodded.
"Then you wouldn't mind having Eve hang around here for a while?"
"Not at all. That evolution is gonna pop out in no time. Come on, Eve!" Pinkie Pie grabbed Eve as Twilight left the premises once more. Why she keeps on leaving for a few minutes? Even doesn't know. "Jade. Wanna help me plan an evolution party for Eve?"
"Evolution party?"
"Yeah! When she evolves into that Espeon Pokemon, we can throw a party for her and Twilight reaching their goal. First of its kind too."
"That sounds...nice. But I don't know how to plan a party, Pinkie."
"You can learn from yours truly. Besides, planning a party is easy. You don't have to be a super-duper party pony like me to pull it off. The nicest parties are the ones that are small and simple after all."
"Small and simple. I can do that." Jade nodded. It was about to be her first time setting up a party. Small and simple as the way to go for her.
So Eve watched as Jade was planning away. Her skills as a rookie were showing. The best she could do was setting up some chairs and party hats and that's it. Pinkie on the other hoof went above and beyond by setting up banners, balloons, some already baked cakes and even a disco ball. The Slurpuff went over to Eve, letting her a bite of some cupcakes. As always, their taste was perfect thanks to the Slurpuff's noses. Twilight returned back to retrieve Eve once more as she saw the words 'Evolution Party' on a party decoration. "Already prepared for her evolution Pinkie?"
"Yeah! It's also gonna be the first evolution party ever. And I've already pre-planned future evolution parties for other Pokemon."
"That's great. Isn't that great, Eve?"
"Eevee!" Once again, Eve's body began to pulsate that purple light once more. But this time, the light was more visible.
"It's pulsating again. That means that your evolution is getting closer. Let's continue until it finally happens." Twilight picked Eve up, walking out of SugarCube Corner. "Thanks, Pinkie Pie! Jade!"
"Buh-Bye! Can't wait for that evolution!" Pinkie had her hoof around Jade as she waved goodbye. Jade even did a wave as well.
Up next, Twilight was going for a quintuple. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Ash, Pikachu and Applejack.
Rainbow Dash was at the Pokemon House for one reason only. To get a Castform. But yet again, this unseen Pokemon hasn't shown up yet. Applejack on the other hoof was brought along by Rainbow Dash who promised to get her a Pokemon of her own. But that wasn't going anywhere at all.
"If it helps, you can always come back tomorrow and see which Pokemon piques your interest, Applejack." Fluttershy said.
"I guess. I'm not really a Pokemon gal, so I'm not as crazy for them as other ponies."
"You'll find a Pokemon that compliments you. I'm sure of it. Oh look! Twilight and Eve!" Fluttershy looked over to the arriving duo. "Are you here to pick a Pokemon, Twilight?"
"Actually, I'm here to make Eve evolve. Her friendship level is already increasing the more I make her accustomed to all of you. Very soon, I'll have my own Espeon!" Twilight clapped her hooves together.
"You're doing a lot to get one Pokemon to evolve, Twilight." Rainbow walked to her.
"But aren't you searching for an Altaria's mega stone, though?" Ash said.
"Pikachu?"
"Oh...hehe...right." Rainbow Dash chuckled.
"Look at you two. I remember when Eve was just an adamanant Eevee who was pretty judgemental, even the Pokemon here. But now that she's with you Twilight, I've never seen her so happy." Fluttershy commented. Eve jumped off Twilight's back as she went over to the Pokemon, wanting to chat with old friends. She even met up with her fellow Eevee's, playing around with them and the Pokemon. Pikachu joined in by playing with them as well.
"Yeah. Pretty huge leap. I guess the reason I'm so fascinated by Pokemon is how much they're similar to us and humans. That's the one mystery I've solved out of the countless Pokemon mysteries that exist." Twilight watched her Eevee play around with her old friends, having the time of her life. "I just hope I'm not leaving Minccy out of this."
"Your Minccino? I'm sure she understands that you want to evolve Eve as soon as possible. Plus, she has a fellow Pokemon with her at all times now." said Fluttershy. "I mean, the animals thought I was neglecting them for Pokemon, when that wasn't true. Now the animals and Pokemon get along great."
"Yeah. And they both help to the keep the castle clean." Twilight nodded. "By the way, Ash. I waned to ask you something."
"Yeah? What's up?"
"So. The Grand Galloping Gala is closing in...and it's going to be your first time there. I was wondering if you could come along with me." Twilight looked to the side. "Just as a friend of course!"
"Sure! I wanna see what this gala is all about."
"Pika!"
"Yes!" She silently said to herself as she raised her hooves up, curling them in victory. As she looked over at Eve was pulsating multiple times with the purple light become ever more visible with each pulse. "I think it's finally happening!" She and the others rushed over to Eve.
The pulse was so prominent that they could actually hear the heartbeat from Eve. The leaves around her were floating up, surrounding her like a tornado. Just then, Eve had something glowing on her forehead. It was forming the gem of Espeon. Her entire body shape was being morphed as psychic energy was flowing out like crazy.
And then, it looked like Eve's entire body as being separated in half. The psychic energy within was right in the middle of the halved Eevee. It then began to pull Eve back together as the final phase of the evolution caused a flash of purple and blue lights to emit.
The evolution was finally complete. Twilight and the others leaned forward to see the result. And the result brought joy to Twilight.
Espeon was here.
"Yes...Yes! You're finally an Espeon!" Twilight flew over to Eve, picking her up and giving her newly evolved partner a hug.
"Check that Pokemon out." Rainbo Dash pulled out her dex.
"Espeon. The Sun Pokemon. Espeon is extremely loyal to any Trainer it considers to be worthy. It is said that this Pokémon developed its precognitive powers to protect its Trainer from harm. Its fur is so sensitive, it can feel minute shifts in the air and predict the weather...and its foes’ thoughts. Psychic power builds up in the orb on its forehead as it bathes in the sunshine. Espeon is not good at battling at night. It unleashes psychic power from the orb on its forehead. When its power is exhausted, the orb grows dull and dark."
"So it's another crazy Psychic that can see things coming? Woah." Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Congrats on finally getting an Espeon, Twilight. Ash walked over.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Thanks! This is what I've been waiting for! All that hard work paid off at the end! Right Eve?"
"Espeon." Espeon nodded in response. It's nature as much more calm now. When becoming an Espeon, she has a much more relaxed and calm personality. It helps to maintain her psychic energy since it involves nothing but being calm.
"I'm surprised it took this long to evolve." Rainbow Dash commented. "I thought it would've evolved long ago.
"Sometimes the best work takes some time, Rainbow Dash. Now come on. Pinkie Pie's evolution party can finally begin.
So, the remaining group went over to SugarCube Corner, as the whole gang was there with their Pokemon. All here to celebrate Eve's evolution into Espeon.
"I'm so proud of you." Pinkie wiped away the tears from her eyes. "Seeing a Pokemon evolve is like seeing your kid all grown up. Brings a tear to my eyes."
"So, Twilight. Now that you've accomplished your goal of getting Espeon. What now?" Rarity asked.
"Well. I was thinking of catching more Pokemon actually." She answered. "Pokemon interest me so much, so I want to have as many as I can with me."
"That's a good call. Having a lt of Pokemon is a sure-fire way to make more friends, ya know." Ash spoke.
"Pika!"
"So, which Pokemon is next then, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
"Next? I think I'm the mood for a Fire-Type. I hear they're the most popular type next to Dragon. So whichever one I get, I'll be happy. But in the meantime..." Twilight picked up her Espeon. "I'm happy with Eve at the moment."
"Espeon." Eve's body began to glow as it picked up the entire cake. But not only that, it managed to pick up all the party decorations and setup that Pinkie Pie did. It brought all of it towards it as it was only going for the cake, chomping on it.
"Guess it can't control it's psychic powers yet huh? That's fine." Twilight laughed along with the others.
"You all seem really happy most of the time. I want to feel that too." Jade spoke.
"And you will, Jade. As Princess of Friendship. I promise."
Today, Twilight finally achieved her goal of evolving her Eevee into an Espeon. There were no problems, no threats, no issues that needed to be solved. It was just a nice day and a smooth evolution process. Whatever her next Pokemon may end up being, she can assure that it'll be just as a great as her other two Pokemon. As the journey continues.
Fluttershy's Cottage, the Pokemon House. Inside her home, the laughter of Discord could be heard.
"But that's not all. When I went to look for them again, they were on the ceiling!" Discord was chatting with Fluttershy as she laughed at his short chaotic story.
"Oh, Discord. I've never known anypony as funny as you!" Fluttershy said as teacups were floating towards her. "I love that story about the time you tried to train your right paw-" She was struggling to finish the sentence by laughing at how hilarious it was. "To fetch your left leg! Oh, I do love our Tuesday teas. And I can't wait for you to meet my friend, Tree Hugger. She's going to love you too."
"Tree...Hugger?" Discord chuckled at that name.
"I met her on a trip to see the Breezies. She's a member of the Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures."
"How nice for you." Discord wasn't too fond of this mysterious pony already as he took a bite out of his teacup.
"We're all gonna have so much fun together at the Grand Galloping Gala!"
"Oh! I was wondering when you were going to ask." That grabbed Discord's attention as he slid the couch towards his pony friend. "I'd love to!" He had a giddy face on him, but not Fluttershy.
"Oh. Oh no. Um...I'm afraid I've already asked...Tree Hugger." Fluttershy's ears drooped down as Discord stood up, walking away, not too happy about this. "I'm sorry, Discord. I assumed you'd have your own ticket since you and Princess Celestia are friends now. Were you not invited?"
Discord gave himself a suit as he turned around. "Who? Me? Probably got lost in the mail. No biggie as the foals say!" The tone of his voice was obviously saying that he as pretty hurt by it. "Well..gotta go!"
"But we haven't had any of our Tuesday tea-cakes." Fluttershy held out some tea-cakes, however, Discord picked them up, dumping them all in his suit.
"Well, I guess we're going to have to exclude them from our party this time." He tossed the plate tray as he was backing away. "Oh! Did I say that out loud? I mean..ta-ta." He had left Fluttershy's home, teleporting off.
Over at Canterlot, Celestia was expecting something, in particular, to occur at the Gala.
"I have a great feeling about tonight's Gala, Luna." Celestia was holding Passion in her hooves.
"Why is that?" Luna asked her sister.
"Well, Ash is arriving at the Gala as well, his first time. Along with Discord as well. I've sent him his own ticket. If they get involved, the Gala will be ten times as fun. Much more than when Twilight and her friends went a little stir-crazy the other time."
"Oh. Well, this does not concern me. I have a night to watch over. So once again, I shall not be attending the gala." Luna was about to walk away but she was stopped by Pyrestar who came in.
"Not this time, Luna," Pyrestar spoke. "I shall guard over the night for you."
"What?" Luna pulled back. "Pyrestar? Do you not hear yourself? You can't watch the over the night. That is my job."
"Yes. But I am half of you remember. Therefore, I share all of your capabilities as well."
"That is true but...after what occurred in your universe, I cannot let you do this. You need to take a break for as long as you ca-"
"No, Luna." Pyrestar stopped her. "I've realised that what happened in my universe could also happen to yours because of the Rift's existence. You may also end up suffering a similar fate such as mine. Therefore, I want you two to experience everything in your universe. There are a lot of little things to do this in this world, and you may never experience them. So, I shall keep watch over the night."
Luna saw that Pyrestar wasn't willing to give up on guarding the night. But what she said was true. Experiencing what this world has to offer, even the Pokemon world, is limited. So they'll have to experience them before they all vanish." Oh, alright. You can watch over the night." She ended up taking Pyrestar's offer. "But...I don't really have a Gala dress of my own. And the one I wore at Twilight's coronation was a bit too tight."
"I'll get you sorted about that. Now. Let's make this the best Gala possible!" Celestia placed her hoof around Luna. Nopony could predict what was about to happen tonight.
Twilight as helping Celestia get ready for the Gala as she was ecstatic today. Instead of spending time with Celestia, which was a massive failure last time, she's excited to spend quality time with Ash. And this time, she didn't have a single worry in her mind. Besides, if Ash is there, what's the worst that could happen? "I get to spend some time with Ash." Twilight got all giddy, putting her hooves together. "Nothing now can ever go wrong with this."
Over at Twilight's castle, Spike was sound asleep, just resting away, mumbling the word 'Gemstones in his sleep. That is until Discord appeared in front of him while snug in his blanket. Waking up, he let out a scream once he saw the lord of chaos.
"Where's Twilight?" He asked in a menacing voice.
"Uh...she's in Canterlot helping Princess Celestia with the gala!" Spike winced, feeling intimidated with Discord being close to him. Discord then teleported away, letting Spike have some space as he was freaking out from that small instance.
At Rarity's Boutique, she and Leavanny were getting both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo dressed for the Gala.
"Oh, your first Grand Galloping Gala! The excitement. The anticipation! I wouldn't miss this for all the jewels in Equestria!"
"We're going to the Gala! We're going to the Gala!" They jumped up and down, repeating themselves.
"Alright, ya'll. Keep it down." Applejack said as she was playing cards with Rainbow Dash. "It ain't like it's a life-changing experience or no...thing..." She turned around to see her little sister all dressed up as well. The sight of it was about to make her tear up. Which it did. "My little sister's all grown up." She blew her nose on Rainbow Dash's tail.
"Hey!" Rainbow winced, pushing her friend away from her tail.
"Now for you." Rarity went up to Ash who sitting on a bench, not up for wearing a suit at all.
"Do I have to wear a suit?" Ash groaned.
"Absolutely. Are you going to just waltz in there with the wrong attire? I mean, I'm proud of the work I did for your clothes...but it won't suffice at the Gala. Not at all."
"I guess. I mean I have worn suits in the past anyways."
"Now hold still." Rarity pointed her hoof forward as the Leavanny held Ash's feet down with String Shot, making him gulp. "And i haven't forgotten about you, darling." Rarity turned her attention towards Pikachu.
"P-Pika..." Pikachu winced, walking back a bit. His history with getting put into outfits was coming back to him as he recalled being put in a silly costume back at Cameran Castle.
"Don't resist. It's much easier if you just comply and wear this." Rarity had a small yellow suit that perfectly fit Pikachu.
The Electric Mouse Pokemon made a run for it, not wanting to get in. Rarity locked her eyes on him, as her Leavanny knew what to do. A single Leavanny used String Shot to latch onto Pikachu's back, wrapping him in a string cocoon, dragging him all the way towards Rarity.
"Pikachu!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon was squirming about, attempting to use Iron Tail but he the string was too thick.
It was too late for an escape. Rarity and her Leavanny army got to work, placing Ash and Pikachu in the suits that they were trying so hard to avoid. Despite the fact that the suits fit them perfectly, they still weren't fans of it.
"See? Don't you all look dashing in them?"
"Leavan."
"Urgh. Suits are not my style." Ash pulled on the collar of the suit.
"Pika..." Pikachu sighed.
"That goes for the rest of you." Rarity turned around to the others. It wasn't just Ash and Pikachu who were here. His Pokemon were out along with Goh, Raboot, his newly caught Sobble and even Jade, Cold Colt, Sonata and Aria.
"I'm not a suit guy myself. I mean...I don't think I am." Goh said.
"Raboot..."
"You're all attending your first Gala. So you're going to look the part. Alright?"
"I mean...I'm not against dresses. We rocked some pretty nice dresses back at the other world, right Aria?" Sonata looked at Aria.
"I'll agree with that... They were pretty good looking." Aria nodded, cracking a smile.
"Yeah... good looking." Cold Colt the entire time was gawking at Apple Bloom, completely clouding off all other thoughts.
Rarity and Leavanny then dressed all of them from ponies, human and Pokemon in suits and dresses fit for the Gala.
"Rio." Riolu looked at the tiny little scarf he had along with his blue suit that matched Ash's colouring.
"Gen..." Gengar was a bit confused about what it was wearing. It could just become intangible and let the suit drop, but Nah. Since it'll be going to the Gala, it rubbed its ghostly hands together, knowing of the pranks it's gonna pull there. "Gen, Gen..." The Shadow Pokemon laughed mischievously
Dragonite as a hard decision since it as a full-grown Dragon. So Rarity gave it a small bowtie and suit jacket. A simple but effective choice.
"Far..." Farfetch'd sighed. It didn't see how it was going to get any stronger by wearing a silly suit.
"This thing's making my neck itch." Goh was scratching his neck along with his Raboot. Sobble didn't mind though.
"Oh, this beats our dazzlings dresses any day of the week." Sonata hummed as Aria just shrugged.
"I feel ridiculous. What about you?" Cold Colt looked over at Jade who was unresponsive to the dress she was wearing. It matched her jade colouring, just like how they all had suits and dresses that matched their signature colours.
"Look at you all. You'll be the eye of the Gala. Hopefully." Rarity commented as her Leavanny were even dressed. They made their own clothing for this.
"This is gonna be the best night ever!" The CMC said in unison. At the mirror where they were standing, the eye of Discord popped up, looking around as it terrified them, making them scream and run away.
"I don't suppose...these adorable little cutie-pies have their own tickets to the Gross Gruesome Gala, do they?" Discord rubbed Apple Bloom's chin with his pa as the little pony smacked it away with her hoof, blowing her tongue at him.
"Ahem." Rarity was about to speak as Sweetie Belle was hiding behind her. "To answer your rude question, they're going as our dates. Our plus ones." Rarity pulled her sister closer to her.
"We're plus ones!" Sweetie bellowed as the other two joined in, repeating the words. Discord took off both his horns, placing them inside his ears, not wanting to hear the horrific sounds anymore.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! I believe I've got that!" Discord teleported off, leaving here as soon as he could.
Next was SugarCube Corner where Pinkie gave a cupcake to a random pegasus.
"Have a wonderful special fantastic day." She said, seeing the pony off. "Oh, hi Discord. Want some cake?" She knew Discord was here as the Draconequus was inside a cardboard box, surprised that he had been spotted. "I can give you a list of all the flavours we have in order. Most delicious, to incredibly unbelievably delicious!"
"Actually, Pinkie Pie. Who are you taking to...I mean... do you..." Discord was struggling to let the words out. "You know what! I am famished. I'll take all the cakes."
"All of them?" PInkie's tail stood up. "He wants all of the cakes!" She was excited, grabbing and shaking who knows what that she was looking at.
"Well, I'll need all my energy when I'm dancing at the gala. If I decide to go that is. Oh, by the way...are you...bringing any pony?"
"Oh, of course! I chose Jade in an instant. It's gonna be her first gala ever! And I realised that I could bring Maud along as not a plus one...but a plus two!! Those two are gonna get along so quickly! She's gonna have so much fun with Jade to point that she'll totally-" Pinkie Pie was blabbering away with Discord not paying attention. His eyes spotted Fluttershy walking and chatting with another pony. That pony was Tree Hugger. And beside her was her partner Pokemon, Lilligant. "-into a million pieces!"
"You know what...cancel my order." Discord said as he teleported off.
"You want none of the cakes now?!" Pinkie Pie bellowed as a Slurpuff devoured one of them.
"Oh my. You are funny." Fluttershy was giggling, hanging out with her new friend.
"I guess every being in Equestria is FUNNY today." Discord's head poked through the middle of the two as he joined in.
"Oh. How rude of me. Tree Hugger. This is Discord. Discord. Tree Hugger." Fluttershy introduced the two to each other.
"Radical to meet you." Tree Hugger spoke, walking towards Discord. "Really digging your vibe."
"My...vibe?" Discord had never heard of such words before. Especially the way she was talking. If anything, both Tree Hugger and Discord were parallels of each other. Calm and Chaos.
"It's a compliment." Fluttershy explained.
"Oh, well! I'm sure it is. Well, I must be off." Discord teleported away but then returned the next second. "It has nothing to do with seeing you or not seeing you. You can rest assured of that." He left and returned once more. "Have fun at the Gala!" Now he actually left this time.
"Righteous." said Tree Hugger.
Over at Discord's realm where he resides, everything about it is chaotic. He entered his home by opening the door, but he actually just teleported in.
"Oh, Tree Hugger. You're such a great friend. So much funnier than unfunny old Discord!" Discord was mimicking Fluttershy, obviously feeling a great flow of jealousy within him. The door slammed as a glass mug broke by falling off the table. He got a cleaning headband with cleaning equipment, lifting the bed as a lint creation of two rabbits were behind it. "No, no. Here. Take my plus one. I insist." He put the smaller rabbit next to the bigger rabbit, mimicking once more. "Before somepony else thinks HE'S my friend and expects to be asked instead." Discord was over-exaggerating what actually happened while cleaning the windows by not making any contact with them. "What's that? You're worried Discord might be upset? Not a problem!" While washing the dishes by making them dirty, he was making up conversations between Fluttershy and Tree Hugger that definitely didn't happen at all. "I can make more new friends anytime I want. It's NOT as if ANY of this actually MATTERED!" Storming into his living room, sitting on his couch, Discord crossed his chaotic arms. "I don't even want to go to the Gala anyway!" That's when another being's noises could be heard outside. A Mail Pony had arrived, floating in the void, screaming. Discord appeared outside, stopping his movements. "Are you perhaps looking for me?"
"Are you...Discord of this current residence?" The pony looked at the mail. "I can't find any street letters in this place."
Discord took the mail, opening it without contact. Out of it revealed to be a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala. "My ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala!" He was now ecstatic as he grabbed the ticket. "I was invited after all!" Discord then paused for a second, leaning his head towards the pony, making him shake in fear. "Why was this so late?" He said in a menacing voice.
"W-Well... I got a little lost after I escaped the flying badgers. Can you point me at the direction of the bottomless pit? I think I can make my way back from there."
"Oh. Over there, somewhere. Just go over there." Discord let the pony go as he continued to float in the endless void. "Looks like I'll see you at the Gala after all, Fluttershy. But I can't show up alone... She'll think that she's my only friend. Wh could I bring on such short notice." The Lord of Chaos pondered for a bit until it hit him.
Now, Ash, Discord and a ton of Pokemon were to be involved with the Gala at the exact same time. All of the chaotic and hyperactive energy that they all bring with them at all times will be at the Gala all night without rest. What could go wrong?
The Grand Galloping Gala. Canterlot.
"I must say. It's been very nice having you take over some of the planning reception responsibilities for this year's Gala." Celestia commented as she was in her dress. Her Pokemon Passion was even in one as well. Ponies were walking about along with humans who were also invited.
"Anything I can do to make it easier on you." She replied.
"Thank you, Twilight. I am quite looking forward to just enjoying the Gala for once. And oh...are things going to get interesting." Celestia rubbed her hooves together.
"I can wait for him to get here. I'm kind of nervous." Twilight blushed.
"Don't worry. Ash will be here. Along with some more guests."
"...Guests? Oh, you mean his Pokemon."
"Yes. All of them." Celestia nodded.
"Mhm- All of them?!"
"That's right. I decided to give out tickets for the rest of Ash's Pokemon at Professor Oak's lab. They deserve some fun here too don't you think?" Celestia smirked. She knew exactly what she was doing.
Twilight gulped. She was planning to spend some quality time with Ash, but she didn't anticipate a large majority of his Pokemon arriving. But hey, who knows. Maybe it'll still go well.
Along came Ash. He entered through those doors, full of energy as well. "Ooh! This is it, huh? Not too shabby!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pika!"
Behind him were all of his Pokemon from Oak's lab. Big, small, round, built, doesn't matter. They were here. And they even had their own attire, courtesy of Rarity and her own Leavanny army. From the ferocious and intimidating Charizard, the always lazy and hungry Snorlax, Muk who was melting away the carpet by just standing there, The always proud Oshawott who was here to impress, the rough Scraggy who was ready to headbutt the first individual he meets and so on and so on as all his Pokemon had various personalities. Seeing this made Twilight even more worried. She didn't take into account their personalities.
"Oh no." Twilight gulped.
"Oh yes." Celestia rubbed her hooves together.
"Have fun, you guys. I know I will." Ash and his Pokemon all split up to have their own fun. Goh and the others followed suit by also arriving with Ash. "Hey, Twilight. I made it. Just as you wanted." Ash walked up, greeting her.
"Pikachu!"
"Yeah. At least you ended making it. But did you have to bring ALL of your Pokemon? Couldn't some of them just stay behind?" Twilight responded.
"Yeah. But they haven't really gone out of Oak's lab in a while now. I thought I'd let them out of the fun, ya know."
"He's right, Twilight. Everypony, Pokemon and human deserve to have fun while it lasts. Pyrestar herself said it best even." Celestia nodded.
"Guess so. Well as long as there isn't any chaos...we're fine." Twilight sighed. But the moment she said chaos, trumpets flared.
"Announcing the Spirit of Chaos, Discord and his guest, the...uh..." The pony with the trumpet had no idea how to say this name. Discord leaned in, whispering the proper name saying to the pony. "The Smooze!"
Behind Discord came a strange slimy entity. At first glance, they thought it was another Muk. But it wasn't. Instead, it was a walking, living green slime with a bowtie and a hat. Everypony had no idea whether to be freaked out by the Smooze or Ash's Muk.
"Good evening, everypony. What a glorious affair." Discord greeted. His guest, The Smooze had grabbed a trumpet, devouring it inside its slimy body. "He does have a yen for shiny things. The rascal." Discord placed his claw inside the Smooze. Taking it out, he got a lot of slime on it as he placed it all on the clothing of a trumpet pony.
"I'll take care of this," Twilight said as she dashed over to Discord. "What are you doing here with...that? It's almost as bad as Muk. If not worse."
"Now now, now. The Smooze may be an IT, but it's an IT with a heart of...well...blob."
"This night...is extremely important to me Discord." Twilight looked over at Ash. "Keep...IT under control."
"Yes, yes, yes. Of course. Tell me. Have you seen Fluttershy anywhere?" Discord was on the search.
The looming chaos had already filled the entire Gala. And it was growing. Soon, it will erupt, turning the entire Gala upside down.
Snorlax was waltzing around, spotting some food nearby. It knew that it had to devour them immediately. So it did. Grabbing the entire table and dropping the food in its mouth, finishing it all in one go. Snorlax felt like going on an eating spree, and most of the time, it doesn't even notice that it's picked the wrong thing up. Mostly because Snorlax had picked up a pony, ready to eat it as it thought it was a snack. The pony was panicking, thinking this was her final moment in life, but Hawlucha had saved the pony by jumping forward, grabbing her away from the Sleeping Pokemon.
Charizard was walking about, intimidating everypony there. Mostly because he looked like a dragon, even though he's not one. It didn't help that his tail was always on fire, making them all cautious. And it also didn't help that Infernape had even more fire which was in the form of its hair.
Scraggy went up to a pony as they thought it was a pretty cute looking Pokemon.
"Aw...isn't this thing cute? Look at the way it's holding its...thing up." The mare said. But what she didn't know is that whenever a Scraggy meets someone knew, it greets them via headbutt. And that pony got that same experience as she felt a strong headbutt from Scraggy, making her head feel all the pain. "Ow!"
Twilight's eye was twitching as she looked up at Celestia. "Why Celestia? Why?"
Celestia merely gave off a response by facial expressions via a smile.
Luna had walked in, pulling at her dress. She had joined in as well. "Ugh. This dress is so frilly!" She even brought along her Pokemon as well. There weren't as much as Ash's, but there was a pretty hefty amount of them.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu was chatting with Passion and Eve who is now a fully evolved Espeon Rarity even managed to quickly made a new dress for Espeon, still resembling the dress that she had as an Eevee for a few minutes. Darkrai was lurking in the shadows, not wanting to get involved with the Gala. It wasn't for him.
Ash was eating away at some food that was thankfully not devoured by Snorlax yet. So far, he was enjoying himself. Twilight walked up to him to start a chat.
"So, Ash. What do you think of my dress?" Twilight was showing it off.
"Myrrh Fhoo," Ash replied with food in his mouth.
"Huh?" Twilight didn't understand. Just then, Gible came along, eating some of the food on the plate. Along with Totodile.
Ash swallowed the food, finally being able to speak clearly. "This stuff is good. Right, Gible? Totodile?"
"Gible!"
"Toto!"
"Yeah. But what about my dress?" Twilight leaned in.
"It looks pretty good." Ash responded, eating once again.
"Really? Thanks. You know I-" Twilight couldn't finish her sentence because she was being blocked by one of Ash's Pokemon. That being Bayleef who got in the way, narrowing her eyes at Twilight.
"Bay." The Leaf Pokemon was being very defensive of her trainer, not wanting anyone else getting close to him. Pony, human or Pokemon, doesn't matter.
"This is going to be tougher than I thought..." Twilight grumbled quietly.
Discord had given The Smooze a diamond to eat as he spotted Fluttershy with Tree Hugger. Both having their Audino and Lilligant beside them.
"The aura...coming off the waterfall was so...alive." Tree Hugger spoke in her usual tone. "So like...magic...manifestation. Actually, I sense an even bigger aura here. Like...universal level." Tree Hugger looked over at Riolu, feeling the aura.
Discord bumped into Fluttershy, trying to get her attention. "Oh, Fluttershy. I didn't see YOU there..."
"Can you sense Riolu's aura too? And how did you even know how to look for an aura on a waterfall?" She didn't even notice him. Or even feel the bump.
"Ahem." Discord kept trying to grab her attention. "A-A-Ahe-hem!" He kept it up until she finally noticed him.
"Discord! I thought you weren't coming." said the pegasus.
"No. I actually never said that. But funny how you remembered it that way. Anyway, good to see you. Tree...Friend is it? Your name is slipping my mind right now. How strange."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tree Hugger. Blessings..."
"You have met me before, actually! Discord exclaimed, snorting out smoke from his nose.
"Cool. Like in another life maybe?" Tree Hugger pondered.
"You've gotta be kidding! You don't remember ME?" Discord took his hat, pointing at his horns to try and jog her memory.
"I meet a lot of different creatures." Tree Hugger laughed a bit, speaking in her relaxing tone as well. And thanks to Lilligant's aroma that it gives off, she at the highest peak of relaxation possible. "Each one of them, perfect, and unique."
"Yes, well. As I was saying." Discord placed his paw around Fluttershy, pulling her close to him. "It's just great to be here with my OLDEST, BESTEST, friend."
"Am I really your oldest, bestest friend?"
"You?" Discord chuckled. "Of course not. You think I don't have other friends? I'm centuries old. I was talking about the Smooze." He flew over to the blob creature. "Smooze-face, the Smooze-inator. Well I mean that's what we called him back in college." Discord grabbed his slimy pal, teleporting and placing it on the table. "Smooze. I would like you to meet Fluttershy and...hmmm..." Discord still forgot her name. "Tree...let's see...Tree Embrace?"
"Oh! I like that." Tree Hugger responded as her Lilligant nodded. "It's so in rhythm with my life force. Maybe I'll change it." Unaware to her, a bit of the Smooze was closing in on her, but Discord smacked its blob limbs away.
"I can't believe I've never heard you talk about the Smooze before." Fluttershy petted the Smooze, getting some slime on her hoof. "Sounds like you two are so close."
"Well, I'm glad you got that. Because that's what is true. We are..." Discord teleported to the Smooze, picking it up. "Very close."
"That's wonderful! The four of us should go out to dinner sometime." Fluttershy said. Hearing that made Discord snap the Smooze's head off, but it regenerated thanks to being slime.
"We should all go to dinner sometime?!" Discord exclaimed at Fluttershy. "Have you no heart?!" Just then a shriek could be heard. The Smooze was closing in on two ponies. "Oh. It looks like somepony wants to mingle. We'll be back in a bit." He floated away.
"Oh. Okay. Treezie and I would love to talk to you more later."
"Treezie?" Discord flew back, responding to that nickname. "Really? Sort of a juvenile nickname, don't you think?" Another shriek was heard with the sound of glass shattering. "Smoozie! Wait up!" Discord left once more.
Some of Ash's Pokemon had ventured off further in Canterlot Castle. Just to make sure they don't cause any trouble, Passion followed them. Some of Luna's Pokemon joined in as well along with Raboot and Sobble. Oshawott had discovered a room that could pique all their interests. It seemed to a be storage room filled with old toys and activities that a child would involve themselves in. In fact, these were items that Celestia and Luna never got the chance to use that much since they were too busy learning from Starswirl.
"Osha! Oshawott!" Oshawott called for them, heading inside the room. All of the Pokemon went to Oshawott, peeking at the storage room. They also saw what was inside. With all of these items just sitting about, practically untouched, why not be the first to interact with them for centuries.
"Corphish!" Corphish had the first go. It jumped onto a large diamond-encrusted cart with wheels, riding on it. The other smaller Pokemon did the same, jumping on the fancy shining carts, moving along with them. Soon, the Pokemon were racing each other on the carts all over Canterlot Castle. Passion gasped as she was powerless to stop them. Once Ash's Pokemon are active, there's no stopping them until they either tire out or Ash tells them to stop.
Sceptile sat back, acting cool as always. But Infernape was swinging about like an ape all over Canterlot, leaping from pillar to pillar. Thankfully, Infernape's flaming head doesn't set things on fire. Only if Infernape is furious. When he's not furious, the fire is safe. Just like a Rapidash. Charizard didn't even bother as he was laying around, acting all lazy.
"Rio!" Riolu raised his little baby arms up while balancing on the diamond cart. Donphan was racing against them without using the carts. Instead, it was rolling. All the noise made by the Pokemon could be heard, even all the way at the Gala.
Twilight was shaking a bit, trying to ignore all that noise. For now, she wanted to focus on. Ash. But that's pretty difficult considering that Bayleef won't let her be with Ash for even 1 second.
"You know Ash...it sure would be GREAT to spend some time with you if your Bayleef didn't get in the way..." Twilight was talking through her teeth as she was eyeing down Bayleef. The two were not on good terms right now.
"Sorry. Bayleef can be like that a lot. She can be pretty overprotective too." Ash laughed.
"Bay."
"More like clingy..." Twilight said quietly. "How about for once we spend some quality time together? I'm sure your Bayleef wouldn't mind that, hm?"
"I guess I could... You don't mind if I head-on, right Bayleef?"
"Bay!" Bayleef shook her head, not wanting Ash to leave.
"Oh, come on Bayleef. Just let me hang around with someone else for a bit, okay? I promise I'll hang out with you too."
"Bay." Bayleef lowered her head. Ash patted her grassy head, making her feel better.
"Yes!" Twilight silently cheered. She and Ash began to walk as the young alicorn turned around, blowing her tongue at Bayleef. This enraged the Leaf Pokemon, as she was preparing to get her revenge on Twilight.
Luna currently was just sitting about, unsure of what to do. In fact, for the first time, before she became an alicorn and had the duty of lowering the moon, Luna was tired. Drowsy. She was ready to doze off as her head titled towards her older sister. She fell completely asleep on Celestia's back.
"Aw. I haven't seen her like this at night in centuries." Celestia pat her younger sister on the head. It reminded her of when Luna was still a young little filly. So far, this Gala was going perfectly for Celestia. And she knew that things were already going to get better from here.
Discord had led the Smooze near the exit of the Gala. "Now listen Smooze. I need to make this a party of one for a little while." He opened up the doors, pushing the Smooze out. "Just stay out here, until I come for you." He closed the door, leaving the Smooze outside as he locked it. Discord noticed that Fluttershy and Tree hugger were laughing with Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. He teleported to them, laughing along, even if he had no idea what the conversation was about.
"What's so funny?" Tree Hugger asked.
"Exactly!" Discord nudged her.
Rainbow Dash and the others felt a bit awkward as they were not up for this. "Uh. I think we're gonna go hit the dance floor." They all backed away from this scenario.
"Fluttershy. Tell the Hugs here about the time we went to the store and came back with two cakes instead of one. Because that's how CRAZY we are. When we're together." Discord had his hoof around her.
"Um. We went to the store and got two cakes." Fluttershy talked about the story in a few words, making it sound unimpressive.
"Oh. Well you kind of left out all the fun and frivolity there. But I'm sure you got it Tree Hugger."
"I got that you really like cake." She replied, making Discord even more frustrated with her.
"We like each other!" That was the point! I'm actually pretty lukewarm about cake.
Another shriek could be heard. It was Rarity's as she was banging on the door. "LET ME IN!" Darkrai went over the door, opening it. It was revealed that Rarity and her Leavanny were all covered in slime. She walked inside, feeling an unparalleled amount of disgust as fell on the floor. "That creature took my jewels!" It was revealed that the Smooze was just eating away at every shiny thing it comes across. And the more it ate, the more it grew in size.
"Discord. I thought I told you to keep your friend under control!" Twilight went up to him.
"Oh please. I have better things to do than to watch that THING all night." He realised he went for a poor choice of words as he recovered by saying something else. "W-What I mean to say is...that thing is a dear, dear friend. And I'll make sure that the ooze that it can help but secrete, doesn't get on anypony else." Discord teleported to Rarity and her Leavanny, holding a vacuum cleaner. He sucked up all the slime from Rarity and her Pokemon, but also ended up sucking up their dresses as well. Rarity covered herself in embarrassment as her Leavanny got in the way, making sure nopony saw her.
"Thank you. Now to get back to quality time with Ash." Twilight sighed.
"You are making me look like a fool in front of Fluttershy." Discord was dragging the Smooze with a leash. "I'll be back when the Gala is over." He placed the slime creature inside a closet. But inside this closet was a bunch of shiny objects, just sitting around. Jackpot for the Smooze.
Meanwhile, the Pokemon continued their shenanigans upstairs.
"Pika!" Pikachu was starting to lose his balance as he crashed his cart into a wall. It caused a chain reaction as Oshawott and Scraggy also ended up crashing right into Pikachu. Then the Pokemon on the carts all lost balance, causing a huge cart crash. Snivy, being the graceful Pokemon she is, hopped off her cart, acting like nothing happened.
"Sni."
Ash's Snorlax had made its way into the kitchen, spotting all the food there. Every single morsel was about to be devoured by it, Muk was slowly melting away the floor along with the walls just by just moving around, Totodile and the other small Pokemon continued their playful rampage by jumping back onto the carts. They were surprisingly durable. Then again, they were made out of diamonds. The Pokemon continued their little cart race as they were moving about once more. This time, the even larger Pokemon found even larger diamond carts. How fitting. Now they joined in on the race.
Back with Twilight, she and Ash were having that quality time by sitting down. Although, Twilight had no idea how to start the conversation off. She's usually an expert at it but in a scenario like this, it's a bit tricky. Ash on the other hand was eating some of the food he had grabbed, just enjoying it.
"Hey, Ash. Why don't we um..." Twilight looked around, spotting the dance floor. "I know! Why don't we dance together."
"Dance? Ugh. I'm not great at dancing."
"Pssh. I'm sure you're not THAT bad at it. Come on. I'll teach you some moves along the say." Twilight got off the seat, using her magic to bring Ash along. Bayleef was silently watching Twilight's every movement, ready to disrupt her moment with Ash.
Discord was spying on Tree Hugger and Fluttershy by teleporting up on a chandelier.
"Oh, Tree Hugger. I've never known anypony as funny as you." Fluttershy laughed as she repeated the exact same words she said earlier this morning to Discord, but now it was said to Tree Hugger. She placed her hoof right next to Tree Hugger, making contact. Discord saw this as his eyes engulfed in green flames, not happy about this one bit. All of a sudden, the lights turned off.
"Check, check, check. Is this thing on?" Discord had a microphone stand, tapping on the mic. "Good evening fillies and germs! I just flew into Canterlot...and wow are my interspecies parts tired!" He made an attempt at a joke. But nopony cracked up at it. Not even humans or Pokemon. He then grabbed his hat, stretching it all the way down his body as he came out of it. "I've only got these tiny mismatched wings and even I can fly better than Twilight Sparkle. Am I right?" Another attempt a joke. This time it actually got a laugh out of Celestia, Ash and Sonata. But not too many were laughing still.
"Hey!" Twilight responded to that joke.
"Perhaps you're into more...observational humor?" Discord teleported off as his head popped out of the brick wall behind him. "Did you ever notice how you always materialize out of thin air? Why not thick air?" He exited out of the wall. "What's the deal there?" Still not that many responses from the crowd. A cough could be heard though. "Tough crowd."
"What is he doing...?" Twilight said.
"I think they're...jokes." Rainbow replied.
"Maud! Jokes!" Pinkie grinned over to Maud.
"My favourite."
Discord continued his attempts at jokes, but on two sides of the spectrum, something was occurring inside of the closet and the Pokemon were slowly making their way downstairs in their carts. The sound of wheels and Pokemon could be heard from above, but everypony didn't really mind it. But Twilight was getting nervous. "Knock knock." He tried the good old fashioned knock-knock jokes, but no response. "You're supposed to say who's there?! This is the most basic of jokes!" Discord smashed a watermelon, getting some of it all over some ponies.
"You're the most basic of jokes." Maud replied. What she said made everyone laugh. They were now laughing at Discord, not with him. Discord was not enjoying this one bit. A young colt saw the closet glowing as he was quaking in fear of what could be beyond that closet. That's when pure raw chaos occurred. On both sides. Everypony turned to the stairs, not paying attention to the closet except for that one little boy.
All of a sudden, all the Pokemon racing down the stairs, all in the carts at top speeds.
"Pikachu!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon raised his hands up, having the time of his life. The speed they all were moving at was a bit on the ludicrous side. Everyone was attempting to avoid the moving diamond carts with Pokemon on them. They were all over the place, knocking down tables and even managing to pick up some ponies along for the ride.
"Oh. My old diamond carts. I never did get to play with them as a filly..." Celestia casually said, acting like there weren't Pokemon causing destruction along the way. Next was the Smooze. It had grown to a grand size due to all the shiny objects it had devoured inside the closet.
"What. Is. That?!" Twilight pointed her hoof at the enlarged Smooze. Now it was true chaos. The Pokemon did not mind the Smooze at all. They were having too much fun with their race. Although who knows where they're even racing to at this point? Passion held onto Riolu's back, too terrified to get off the ride due to how fast the cart was moving. She tried to stop them earlier by grabbing Riolu, but it ended up being a failure, and now here she is, apart of the race.
Everyone ran around screaming. Whether it was from the Smooze or the Pokemon. Mostly both. A chef exited out of the kitchen, screaming in terror. "There's a monster devouring all the food!" He pointed at the kitchen. Snorlax was chomping away, decreasing the amount of food inside the kitchen.
"This is pretty interesting." Jade said.
"Mhm." Maud nodded.
"Wah- I'm up!" Luna woke up from all the noise that was going on. "Is the Gala over?" Luna rubbed her eyes as they were baggy.
Oshawott decided to show off by firing a barrage of Hydro Pumps on the floor. The water attack he released caused a mini-flood to occur as he was surfing on the water with the cart. The Pokemon soon did the same. Now it was a surfing race as some humans and ponies were being carried by water. Darkrai was just sitting back, watching and letting all of this happen. He had the power to stop it. But he couldn't be bothered. Plus, the Pokemon are allowed to have fun. So why interrupt.
Twilight looked around, sweating bullets at the pure chaos that had taken over the Gala.
"Surfing? Oh sweet! Let me get in!" Ash was about to join in, but Twilight held him in place.
"No!" She exclaimed. The Smooze was sticking onto ponies, making their hooves get stuck in place. Twilight tried to blast the Smooze away, but it was a failure. It kept regenerating. None of my magic works on this ooze. Just then, Bayleef had dropped some water on Twilight as a small revenge trick.
"Bay..." Bayleef laughed from a distance as Twilight looked back at it.
"I think I'm gonna be sick." Goh was getting dizzy as he was being carried by the water as well.
"So-So..." Sobble was about to cry, adding more chaos to mix. "SOBBLE!" The tears started flowing in. Once Sobble cries, everyone cries, no matter what. Celestia and everyone in the Gala were crying uncontrollably, even Discord.
Muk was moving about as its biohazard toxins mixed in with the Smooze and Hydro Pump, creating an odd colouration of purple and green.
"Discord! How could you bring him here?!" Twilight looked over to the Discord.
"Oh, he's not that bad." Discord replied.
"OH! My shoes will be ruined forever!" Rarity winced.
"That's what you're worried about? Really?" said Applejack.
"This is kind of a bummer." Tree Hugger said as she and Fluttershy were stuck on the windows thanks to the ooze of the Smooze.
"Isn't it though? And to think. It never would've happened had I come to the gala as somepony else's plus one." Discord commented, looking at Fluttershy when he said that.
"Seems like something might've harshed his flow, ya know? Like his senses are agitated." said Tree Hugger.
"You don't know anything about rare creatures. I've known Smooze-face for ages. He's not agitated. He's partying down!" Discord busted some moves.
"All he needs is some calming auditory therapy." Tree Hugger replied, confusing Discord. "I know I always feel really at peace when I'm being bathed in positive vibes. Maybe he'll calm down with some sonic bless."
"Do you even know what you just said?"
Tree Hugger than started to hum. Meditative hums actually. The chaos was only increasing in scope. Gengar's shenanigans had come into play as he was scaring some ponies, making them faint as they were absorbed into the toxic liquid ooze. All of Tree Hugger's humming was actually calming the Smooze down to Discord's surprise. This was making the ooze diminish, freeing those that were trapped in it.
"Let go Smooze. Bliss out..." Tree Hugger was calming it down even more. The ooze was being pulled back so much that everyone who had gotten dirty with the ooze was now clean, since the ooze is apart of the Smooze. Every last bit of it. Although they were still wet. Snorlax came busting through the doors, breaking it down as it picked up even more food nearby.
"Snor!" Snorlax ran forward, shaking the entire Gala, passing through the water with ease as it ran through the Smooze, heading the nearby food. Snorlax knocked some of the Pokemon on the carts out of the way. Heracross went flying, crashing into Gible. The impact made Gible dizzy as it shot out a Draco Meteor that hit Pikachu right in the face. Pikachu felt that, not pleased about it. In response, the Electric Mouse Pokemon unleashed an area destroying Thunderbolt that shocked everyone in the entire Gala. Now their dresses and suits were all ruined by electric shock. The Hydro Pump ended up vanishing by heading out of the door and to the outside. Passion let go of Riolu as she held her head, feeling extremely dizzy, walking back to her trainer.
"Kir...lia..."
The chaos was slowly calming down. Everyone was glad as they were congratulating Tree Hugger on stopping the Smooze.
"That was the most magical thing I've ever seen done with animals!" said Fluttershy. This pushed Discord to the limit as he was done with Tree Hugger.
"Oh, thanks everypony. It makes perfect harmonic sense your magic doesn't work on him. He only responds to vibrations that peace out his energy field."
"Stop it! STOP IT!" Discord bellowed. "THAT'S IT! I am done with you, Tree Hugger!"
"Oh, man...you're really bumming me out. Can you just like...lower your voice a scooch." She replied.
"A scooch? A SCOOCH?!" Discord was done. He ripped open a portal in time and space, showing an unusual dimension, unlike anything anyone has ever seen before. He then brought Tree Hugger towards him, making her float.
"Woah dude...what is THAT?!" Tree Hugger looked over at the dimension that had a sock puppet wearing a sombrero and moustache behind a background that looks like a child drew it.
"Relax! I'm not going to hurt you. I'm simply going to send you to another dimension. I can't have you interfering in my relationship with Fluttershy anymore!"
"Discord! Stop!" Fluttershy's voice called out to him as she flew up.
"I will! Just as soon as she's gone. Then we can have a good laugh about this old affair over our regular Tuesday teas."
"Don't worry, Fluttershy! We'll stop him!" The rest of the Mane 6 stepped up, thinking they could stop Discord. The Lord of Chaos got out a disco ball with the Smooze behind him. He tossed the ball as the Smooze followed it. The girls were absorbed inside of the Smooze, takin them out of the equation.
"I'm doing her a favour! It's a lovely dimension, Fluttershy. Fun sand beaches." A dead desert with a skull and a cactus. "An attentive wait staff." Two bland ponies in a painting. "I mean okay, the humidity isn't great. But where isn't that the case these days?"
"I don't understand why you're doing this? We were all getting along so well!" Fluttershy said.
"As well as we could! Considering you've already stopped all of our friendship by inviting...HER to the biggest night of the year!" Discord pointed at Tree Hugger. "As if I didn't matter at all!"
"Did you really think I'd abandon you just because I have a new friend?!" Fluttershy responded, raising her voice.
"Yes! Because that's what you did!"
"No, Discord! I invited a friend to a party! I didn't abandon you! What if you had a friend that you could discuss chaos-based magic with? Would that mean we weren't friends anymore?" What Fluttershy said was making Discord ponder for a bit.
"Uh...well...no. I suppose not. It would just mean that I have different friends for... different things...oh." It finally clicked to Discord. "Oh, dear. It looks like I've perhaps reacted just a scooch."
"More like a lot of scooches!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "Tree Hugger. Could you give us a minute?"
"I'm just so new to this whole friendship thing. It's so much more complicated than it looks."
"Do you think maybe you owe somepony an apology?" Fluttershy crossed her hooves. Discord got out a flower, but she smacked it out his paw. "Not me!"
"Oh. Yes...right." Discord turned to Tree Hugger, snapping the dimension away and placing her down. Fluttershy went in to hug her friend, glad that she was okay. Discord went over to the Smooze, grabbing all the shiny objects inside of it, reverting the slimy creature back to its normal size. "Uh, Tree Hugger. I'm sorry that you got caught in the middle of my...you know...wrath."
"Oh. It's all groovy." She accepted his apology as she gifted a hug. She pushed him away though. "Um. I need like a few minutes to clear out my chakras before I can hug you from a place of authenticity."
"Oh, your chakras...fair enough." Peace had returned to the Gala. But not really, the Pokemon were still running about, even after all that. Snorlax had tired himself out from all the eating, making his rampage come to an end. "I owe you an apology Smooze. I spent the whole evening thinking about my own feelings and never thinking about yours." Discord apologized to his slimy friend as the Smooze accepted it via a kiss to the face. "Well, friends! I think I may actually grow to like this multiple-friend thing."
"Finally. It's over." Twilight sighed, sitting down from exhaustion. "Tonight didn't go the way I planned it. It was a total repeat of last time. Sorry, Princess Celestia. Ash. I didn't get to give you a break or spend that much quality time with you."
"Are you kidding?! This was AMAZING!" Celestia exclaimed. Twilight and Passion were both confused by that response.
"W-What?! But there was ooze all over the place! Water was flooding everywhere! Snorlax devoured all the food! The Pokemon were race surfing on hard diamond carts! Everypony including us got shocked and wet! We all started to cry from Sobble! And one of the guests threatened to send somepony else to another dimension!"
"I know! Can you imagine how dull it would've been if I hadn't invited Discord, Ash and all of his Pokemon? A complete snore-fest! Come on! The night is still young!" Celestia walked off, dragging Luna along who was sleeping on her back.
"Have fun racing, buddy?" Ash picked up Pikachu.
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu nodded as all of Ash's Pokemon flocked over to him.
"Maybe next time." Twilight sighed. She then decided to walk along with Ash and his Pokemon. Seemed like the more simple option at this point. What a chaotic night it was.
Today, the creation of the Pokemon Research Lab in Equestria was about to be finally complete, courtesy of BigTime Ben as always. And it was actually. Sitting right next to Twilight's castle. She was the most excited about this.
"It's here! Take a gander, Spike!" Twilight was grinning at the lab. The appearance of it was similar to your ordinary Pokemon research lab, but this one was designed specifically in an Equestrian style. Meaning it had more colour and flair to it. Having the colour scheme of blue and purple. A wonderful colour combination.
"You can get started at any point in time that you want, Princess Twilight." Ben walked up. "I've let Professor Juniper and Rowan give you all the Pokemon information that you'll need in there. The other professors will send you some more over the passing weeks. It's still a bit unorganised with some stuff not being placed properly. Hope that's not a bother for you."
"That's perfect! Thank you so much, BigTime Ben! Now I can look at all the research while still being super close to the castle! Can this day get any better?!"
"I'll leave you to it. Let's go Gothitelle." Ben made his leave.
"Gothitelle..."
Twilight immediately entered the lab. Once she did, she could already feel the vast knowledge flowing through her as she took it all in. "Can you feel it, Spike? The endless knowledge of Pokemon is just filling this entire room. And it's waiting for me to uncover it all."
"I don't feel anything." Spike shook his head, walking inside.
"Where do we start? What do we do? So many possibilities! What do you think, Eve?!"
"Espeon." She had no idea what to do.
"Bah. I'm sure we'll know what to do. Right now, let's see what we can do here." Twilight looked around as she spotted what seemed to a container with 6 Pokeballs stored inside them. She went up to it, curious as to why there was already something inside this container. She opened up the container, just to see if there were any Pokemon inside of them. "Wonder if it already has a Pokemon inside?" She used her magic to grab one of the Pokeballs, sending the first Pokemon out.
It was a Treecko.
"Treecko!"
"Aw...a Treecko. Then how about this one?" Twilight took another ball, sending the next Pokemon out of it.
This next one was a Cyndauill.
"Cynda!"
"Cyndaquill? Then that means..." She took a third Pokeball, sending another one out.
The third one was a Piplup.
"Pip-Piplup!"
"Oh...I get it now. These are starter Pokemon for upstart trainers! Of course! Then what are the remaining three" She grabbed the other 3 Pokeballs, sending the last three Pokemon out. The Pokemon that came out were Budew, Vulpix and Horsea. These three Pokemon were meant to represent the usual Grass, Fire, Water Starter trio. They were extra replacements. "Okay. I see. Wait a minute...does that mean... I'm a Pokemon Professor now?!" Twilight had a wide smile. "Then I can give a starter to any young trainers to start their journey! Lucky me!"
"Wait. We're giving these Pokemon out? Spike pointed at them.
"They're starters, Spike. It's practically their role to be given out. Just watch. A young trainer's going to come through those doors, choose their starter Pokemon and set off on their journey to complete the Pokemon League."
And just as she said that the doors burst open via Pinkie Pie. The rest of her friends had come along.
"We're here!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Ooh. This is OUR world's research lab? Nice." Rainbow Dash nodded, taking a good look at the place. She likes what she sees.
"Does that mean you're a Pokemon Professor now?" Spike asked.
"I think so. BigTime Ben did give this entire lab to me. And there's even some starter Pokemon right there. So...I think I am a Pokemon Professor now. I already have an assistant by my side Right, Spike?
"Mhm." Spike nodded.
"So, when do you think some new trainers are going to come by and choose these little guys?" Fluttershy flew over the starters.
"I don't know. Every foal in Ponyville already have some Pokemon of their own. Whether it be one or more. I don't think any of them would need a starter. If anything, we'd have to wait for foals from other towns and cities to come all the way here to choose their starter."
"Why don't we let Applejack choose?" Pinkie went over to Applejack.
"M-Me? Well, I don't know about that..." Applejack spoke.
"Why not? I did promise to get you a Pokemon. Now's your chance, AJ." Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah but. Honestly girls...I said it before, but Pokemon ain't for me. I guess it's because I don't see the point in having one." Applejack kicked the floor.
"What are you talking about? If you have a Pokemon, you can do anything! They're even just as good as our Cutie Marks. Why clearing the clouds is much quicker with Braviary and Altaria on my side. All the pegasi have an easier time with a Flying- said Rainbow.
"Rainbow Dash is right. My Leavanny are capable of performing the same dress-making skills as I. Sometimes they're even better, actually." Rarity nodded. "I'm sure that there's a Pokemon that can help you with work at the apple farm."
"You have a lot of Applin, don't you? Don't they all count as your own Pokemon?" Fluttershy questioned.
"Not really. They're just there to hang about. I don't own em. Not at all."
"So your family, other than Apple Bloom, don't have a single Pokemon of their own." Twilight walked up to her.
"Oh. Big Mac's got one."
"He does?" They all said.
"Mhm. He owns a Machamp. Caught one not too long ago, actually." Applejack nodded. The group all thought about it for a second. An absolute powerhouse like Machamp standing next to another powerhouse like Big Macintosh. The more they thought about it, there they realised how well it fits. Now that they think about it, how did Big Mac catch a Pokemon that powerful? "And Granny Smith got this...Drampa thing. I don't know. I think it's some sort of grandpa dragon?" The group then thought again. They haven't seen a Drampa yet, but their first thought was a dragon that looked old and wrinkly. "Even the rest of my family across Equestria have their own. I'm the only pony without one."
"Not having a Pokemon?! At all?! The only one?! That has to be a crime!" Pinkie pulled her mane.
"Well. One day, we hope you'll find a Pokemon of your own, Applejack. Whenever that day comes." Fluttershy commented.
"Thanks, ya'll. I guess if I ever wanted a Pokemon...it'd have to be something that really speaks to me. Don't know what that could ever be."
"Well. In the meantime, I'll be occupied here. All this Poke-knowledge at my disposal!" Twilight squeed.
"What do Pokemon Professors even do?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, from my time with Professor Cerise at Cerise Labs...they just research Pokemon...which is what I've been doing for the past few months. So...I already know what to do." Twilight sighed. "I thought I was going to do something new and exciting."
"I'm sure there's something interesting to be done in here, Twilight," said Rarity. "All five of us will help you and Spike out. Probably some organising."
"Thanks, girls. Let's get to work."
So the group set everything up. Organising everything in the lab. Very soon it looked like an authentic Pokemon Research Lab on the inside. And it wasn't long until everypony in Ponyville came along to get a good look at this place, wanting to see what this was all about. Plus it was their first experience at a Research Lab.
"Oh. This place has a pretty neat aesthetic." Lyra gazed at the silver and purple appearance of in the interior.
"So this is a lab?" Amethyst Heart placed her hoof on the smooth marble floor.
"Welcome, Everypony. To my Pokemon Research Lab!" Twilight spread her hooves out, introducing them to the new location in Ponyville.
"Neat. So what do you do in here?" Silver Spoon asked.
"Well as the name implies, research! For all your Poke-knowledge!" Twilight exclaimed. "Even though I...haven't started yet."
"Ooh. Look at those Pokemon!" Scootaloo went up front, glancing at the starters.
"These are Starter Pokemon. They're always every upstart trainer's first Pokemon choice. From Grass, Fire and Water. Although, you all have your own Pokemon already." Twilight explained.
"Whoever's aiming to participate in the Pokemon League will get one of these little guys." Fluttershy said, holding Piplup and Budew in her hooves.
"Well. I'm joining the league. In fact, I'm gonna be heading to the first gym in a few weeks from now. Can I have one?" Scootaloo asked.
"Scootaloo. You already have your own Pokemon. In fact, you already have two Pokemon. Ponyta and Pachirisu." Twilight went up to her.
"Oh, yeah. Right." Scootaloo nodded.
"Do you HAVE to have zero Pokemon to get a starter?" Bon Bon asked.
"Well... Wait." Twilight used her magic to grab a book that talked about the basics of being a Pokemon Trainer. She opened it up, scrolling through 2 pages until she came across her answer. "Wow. Would you look at that. Apparently, even if you already have a Pokemon of your own, you can still choose a starter. So...these little guys can still be chosen by any of you. Who wants one?"
"I already want one. I'll pick..." Scootaloo went over the options. She was thinking of which Pokemon could go well with her small team and help her at her first Gym Battle. "That one!" She pointed her hoof at Cyndaquill. "No shame in having two Fire-Types, right?"
"Cyndaquill it is. Fluttershy." Twilight turned to Fluttershy.
"Right. Off you go now, Cyndaquill." Fluttershy looked to Cyndaquill as the Fire Mouse Pokemon hopped away from her hooves, heading towards Scootaloo.
"Cynda?"
"Aw. It's actually super cute." Scootaloo leaned forward. Cyndaquill in response erupted its signature flames from its back, scaring her a bit. "And fierce. I like it!"
"What's this thing?" Derpy was looking at a Fossil Machine. Her hooves were about to make contact with them.
"Don't touch that!" Twilight got in the way. "This is a Fossil Machine. It's what revives Fossil Pokemon. It's very valuable and special so please be careful."
"Oh. Okay." Derpy hummed as she flew off. "Then what's this?" Derpy found something else that piqued her interest. She pulled a very inviting level as it opened up a secret hatch that was cleverly disguised with the wall. Everypony stopped what they were doing as they turned their attention to opening hatch. Beyond it, revealed to be a park. Similar to the one at Cerise Labs.
"Sweet Celestia. I had no idea this was even here." Twilight walked towards the park. But their surprises were heightened more. It wasn't just a park. It was a PokePark. BigTime Ben managed to include an entire hidden area with multiple locations inside of this research lab. How? Well, the best answer is most likely Gothitelle and its immense Psychic power. And inside this PokePark were attractions, similar to the ones that were at the Pokemon Festival. In fact, they spotted some familiar attractions, especially the Lopunny Dance Inferno, the most popular one at the Festival. "How did he get all of this in here?!"
"No idea. But this is pretty awesome." Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Just like Cerise Park. Does that mean that every Pokemon here belongs to BigTime Ben?" Fluttershy looked over at the first area. They were currently at the Cove Area. An entire coastal area with houses that some Pokemon live in. It all somehow managed to fit inside. Lopunny looked to the distance, spotting some familiar faces that she saw at the festival.
"Lopun!" She waved at them.
"What else does this place have?" Rarity wondered. Everypony entered PokePark, wanting to see this for themselves. They were all now venturing deeper into the Research Lab. A Raichu went up to the some of the ponies, greeting them.
"Rai-Rai!"
The three Elemental Monkeys, Pansage, Pansear and Panpour kicked over a soccer ball at the ponies. It bounced off Lyra's head. "Ow!" She held her head with her hoof, glancing at the monkeys with narrowed eyes, scaring them. Some ponies went towards the homes to see who could possibly live in here. Diamond Tiara knocked on the door as someone actually responded. It was a Slowpoke. Of all things.
"This lab is better than I expected!" Twilight flew up, crashing into a nearby Pelipper. "Ow...Wonder what other secrets this place has?"
"Wait till Ash sees this. He's gonna be blown away." Rainbow Dash sat near a water fountain, where a Dewott and Audino were hanging about. "What are you?" She looked over to the Dewott.
"Dewott. The Discipline Pokemon. Dewott must undergo disciplined training to master the flowing techniques it uses when wielding its two scalchops in battle. It shows no mercy to those that it trains with, following a strict code."
"I must say. The inclusion of Pokemon has really changed our entire town in a grand way." Mayor Mare commented. "If this keeps up, Ponyville will be the Pokemon Capital of the world. Imagine all the publicity we'll get from it!"
"Too much publicity if you ask me." Sonata walked past her.
Fluttershy went up to Dewott, wanting to have a chat with it. "Hello, Dewott. How are you today?"
"Dewott!"
"Hm? You're looking for a student that you can teach the Way of the Wott too?" Fluttershy translated.
"The Way of the Wott? What kind of silly saying is that?" Rainbow Dash laughed. Her laughter was punished with Dewott smacking her in the head with its scalchop. "OW!"
"Dewott. Wott. Wott!"
"Dewott says that you shouldn't disrespect the Way of the Wott. It's a prime technique that only the most capable of Pokemon can perform. Something that a pony like you could never understand. Uh...that's what she said." Fluttershy squeed.
"Well..whatever! I bet I could learn your lousy technique in no time!"
"Wott. Dewott." Dewott crossed her arms, turning away.
"Dewott says that you're not a Pokemon. So you can't do it."
"Watch me." Rainbow Dash took out her Pokeball. She tossed it forward, sending out her Braviary. "Braviary can learn it no problem. It can take on any-"
"Wott."
"Dewott says that a Braviary has zero chance of learning it. It's not an Oshawott. Oh sorry, Rainbow Dash. Looks like you need an Oshawott to be able to learn it."
"Ugh..whatever. Return Braviary." Rainbow Dash brought her partner back.
"Dewott. Dewott wott." Dewott pointed her scalchop over at Audino and a Zebstrika.
"Dewott says, you can still improve yourself by training with Audino and Zebstrika. They'll help your Pokemon become much more durable and increase their speed."
"Seriously? Oh that's actually pretty neat!"
"Hm? Applejack? Where are you going?" Pinkie turned to AJ who was walking towards the exit.
"I'm gonna be off now, ya'll. Got some leftover work that Big Mac needs help with. You stay here and be safe, alright Apple Bloom?"
"I will! I feel safe with all these Pokemon around me." Apple Bloom replied. Applejack was the only pony to leave the PokePark as the rest were still venturing here. But two newcomers had arrived, without letting anypony else spot them.
Obsidian and Emerald Aura. The two of them were hiding behind a house.
"All of them are in one spot. Excellent." Obsidian rubbed his hooves together.
"What are you planning this time?" Emerald Aura whispered.
"I got some knowledge about this PokePark place. Let's just say that somewhere in this pocket world, there exists a portal to another world."
"Another portal to another world? Don't we have enough of those already?" Emerald sighed.
"This one's been here for the start. They're gonna head on over to Seasong Beach which ain't too far from here, and they're gonna get stuck in that portal with no way out. Then the stakes can be really amped." Obsidian snickered. One thing he didn't take into account was Audino's brilliant hearing. Both Fluttershy's Audino and the Cove Area's Audino had heard Obsidian chatting away as they spotted him.
"Audino!" Both Audino's pointed towards the area where the two were hiding. Fluttershy turned to their direction, spotting Obsidian and Emerald Aura.
"Obsidian! Emerald Aura!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"What are you two doing here?" Twilight stepped forward.
"Our cover was blown that easily?!" Obsidian winced.
"Uh...I did not thing this time!" Emerald shouted. Cold Colt kept quiet, moving to be back as he didn't want everypony else to know that he had some association with the two of them.
"Not yet you have. You ponies are in for a special treat this time." Obsidian jumped away from the building he was hiding from, coming face to face with everypony. "The stakes are about to be increased ten-fold! Now it's my turn to take action." Obsidian grinned as his horn started to glow. The exit to the PokePark had been shut off. Closed. Everypony and Pokemon were now trapped inside. Except for Treeko and Applejack who was at home with Big Mac and Granny Smith. Twilight attempted to open up the exit, but it was no use. "Nuh-uh. Your magic ain't gonna do anything against cosmic energy. So you aren't going anywhere at all."
"You barbarian! Why is it that you must always make things difficult for us?!" bellowed Rarity.
"Because that's my job. Duh. If this world is gonna have interesting events play out, it's gotta have a difficult start. Or else it would be boring. Now. Let's get to it ponies. Find a way out of here like you always do in tough situations. Buh-bye." Obsidan and Emerald's body were being warped in cosmic energy, indicating that they were leaving this area. Which they did. Leaving all the ponies in this massive PokePark.
"Oh no." Twilight gulped. Now they had a new problem to deal with. And this time, the entire town was involved.
Currently. Everypony in Ponyville and Cloudsdale were trapped. The only exceptions being Applejack, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith, who are completely unaware of this at the moment. Ash and Pikachu are out there somewhere with Goh. Obsidian once again has made everything difficult for the ponies by trapping them in here. Now all they have to do is find a way out.
"Alright! Nopony panic! We can find a way out of here!" Twilight exclaimed, making sure that nopony panics on the spot. "We just have to explore this PokePark and find the exit out of here. Wherever it is..."
"Who knows how big this place is? We could be walking around forever!" Lyra exclaimed.
"Can't fly out of her either. It's like the sky doesn't connect back to Ponyville." Cloudchaser and the other pegasi tried to fly high enough to spot Ponyville, but there was no sight of it at all. Making everything seem much more strange. "Guess we are gonna have to go around this whole park huh?"
"Obsidian's really blocked us out huh? Fluttershy can you talk to the Pokemon? Maybe they know of a way out of here." Twilight said.
"Alright." The shy pegasi flew over to the Dewott. "Excuse me. But do you know of a way out of here?" Fluttershy asked Dewott.
"Dew. Wott." Dewott nodded, pointing her scalchop south from here.
"Dewott says there are a few ways to travel around PokePark. South leads to a place called Seasong Beach. And north leads to the Arbor Area. Master Samurott and Queen Serperior can help guide you as well." Fluttershy translated.
"So, which one do we take then?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"One of these options is gonna have to get us out of here. Half of us will take Seasong Beach and the other half will take the Arbor Area. Let's make sure nopony gets lost, okay?" Twilight said. Everypony went in pairs. One for Seasong and the other for Arbor. Twilight went with some of her friends, that being Jade, Pinkie and Fluttershy. On the other side, it was Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Spike. They all went with their own groups with a ton of ponies following each side.
The entrance to the Arbor Area was being guarded by three Pokemon of the same evolution line. Sandile, Krokorok and Krookodile. In fact, the Krookodile guarding the gate actually recognized the ponies that were coming towards it. That is because this Krookodile has been at the Pokemon House before, but not for good terms.
"Oh. Hello. Do you mind if we-" Fluttershy was about to speak to the Pokemon until she felt like she's seen this specific Krookodile. She took a moment to examine it and noticed that he was sweating bullets. Why would he be sweating? Unless he's seen them before. That's when it hit Fluttershy. "You...You're the Krookodile that petrified the Pokemon before!" She pointed her hoof at him.
"Krook!" The Intimidation Pokemon was shot back by Fluttershy recognizing him.
"This is that same Krookodile?" Twilight said. Fluttershy didn't respond as she simply flew over to the Intimidation Pokemon, intimidating him.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do, mister!" Fluttershy's tone shifted greatly. "What makes you think you can come by and petrify all the Pokemon like that?!"
"Woah, Fluttershy! Calm it down a b-" Pinkie Pie tried to calm Fluttershy down but was bucked away by her. "Ow..."
"Krook! Krookodile!" The Intimidation Pokemon was attempting to state his case and defend himself. Fluttershy stopped to hear Krookodile's defence, through and through. "Dile!"
"Hm. So you say you didn't mean to do it, huh?" Fluttershy responded.
"Krook! Kro!" He nodded.
"You were under a bad influence and you didn't have any control of yourself."
"Must've been the Rift's influence." Twilight said.
"Hm. Alright. You didn't have any control and you're sorry. So...I forgive you." Fluttershy showed her kindness once more. The Intimidation Pokemon took a huge sigh, glad that the misunderstanding had been cleared. Sandile and Krokorok had no idea what was going on. "Anyways. We came to ask you if you could please let us through to the Arbor Area?"
"Krook..." Krookodile was about to answer until he spotted Fluttershy's Audino. He was already in love with the Audino in the Cove Area, and now that there's a second one, that's double love. "Krookodile!" He immediately opened up the doors. Not just for the ponies since they forgave his apology, but for Audino as well.
"Thank you very much Krookodile." Fluttershy thanked him as the ponies all walked through the gate to the Arbor Area. Krookodile couldn't take his eyes off Audino. He was infatuated.
On the other side, the path to Seasong Beach was fairly easy to reach since it was the closest to the Cove Area. Rainbow Dash's group had already arrived at Seasong, and it definitely lived up to its name. They've never seen a more pure example of a beach before. In fact, it was so beautiful to the eyes that some of them were even thinking of dropping the quest to find a way out and just relax on the beach.
"This place feels so nice..." Spike took in the fresh air of the beach.
"Mhm. It's actually kinda distracting me a bit." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Let's see what we can find." She dashed off to get searching for a way out of here. She remembered Dewott talking about Master Samurott. Perhaps he has the answers.
Here at the beach, there were some Maractus, skipping about. A group of Patrat were eyeing on a beach ball, seemingly not taking their eyes off it for even a second. And at the distance, Samurott could be seen. In all his glory. The Formidable Pokemon had noticed the ponies arriving at Seasong, unaware of why they were here. He kept his attention on them in the meantime.
Rainbow Dash first went over to Samurott, ready to ask it for any way out. "Woah...check out this Pokemon." Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex.
"Samurott. The Formidable Pokemon. One swing of the sword incorporated in its armor can fell an opponent. A simple glare from one of them quiets everybody. In the time it takes a foe to blink, it can draw and sheathe the seamitars attached to its front legs. Part of the armor on its anterior legs becomes a giant sword. Its cry alone is enough to intimidate most enemies."
"This Pokemon is pretty awesome! So you're Master Samurott, huh?"
"Samu..." He replied.
"I just want to ask you something. Is there a way out of this place? Me and my friends are trying to get back home, but our exit's been shut off completely. So uh...any pointers?" Rainbow shrugged. Samurott knew that she wouldn't be able to understand his speech, so as communication he took out one of his seamitars, pointing at the direction south from here.
"Samurott!"
"South. Okay got it." Rainbow Dash was about fly off and tell the others, but she couldn't help getting one more good look at Samurott. "This thing's so cool..." She got giddy.
"Osha!" A familiar Pokemon's voice called out to both Samurott and Rainbow Dash. Oshawott was heading straight for the two. "Oshawott!"
"Samu. Samurott." The two were starting to have a conversation as Rainbow Dash just simply watched over them talk. Oshawott looked like he had urgent news. As if something horrible was currently happening. That's when Samurott's naturally serious eyes somehow intesified even more. Samurott had come to a conclusion suddenly. He decided to let Oshawott go along with the ponies to deal with this urgent issue. "Samurott!"
"Osha!" Oshawott nodded in response. Rainbow Dash had no idea what they were talking about and she felt like she needed to get a move on.
"Okay then. I'll be off now." Rainbow Dash flew over to the ponies, ready to tell them that she has some answers on how to get out of here. Oshawott was following them. Wherever this issue is located, the ponies were also headed in that direction.
On the outside, Treecko was running to find some help. He was the only Pokemon in the research lab out of the other starters that didn't get trapped in the PokePark. He immediately sought out help. The only remaining ponies in Ponyville and Cloudsdale were Applejack, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith.
The Wood Gecko Pokemon came across some hardships while seeking help. Since the pegasi were all absent from Cloudsdale, no one could tend the skies. So a harsh weather brewed up. Treecko had held onto a tree, sticking on it as he was trying to resist the intense wind that occurring currently. It climbed up the tree to see if there was anywhere else it could get help. That's when it spotted Sweet Apple Acres. It was fairly distant from Ponyville. And over there, Big Macintosh could be seen, getting inside to avoid the weather. Treecko had found someone finally. But it had to reach there while dealing with the intense weather, which wouldn't be easy.
So the next thing to do was call for some help. It looked up to spot a Tranquill flying by as it decided to call for it.
"Tree!"
"Tranquill?" The Wild Pidgeon Pokemon flew towards him, responding to his call.
"Treecko!" He pointed his hands over towards Sweet Apple Acres, asking Tranquill to carry him over there. Tranquill gladly accepted his request. The Wild Pidgeon Pokemon got closer to Treecko, making the Wood Gecko Pokemon hop on its back. It wasn't easy for Tranquill either. The harsh weather was powerful enough to push it back as well. But nonetheless, it pushed on through the aggressive gale. Tranquill used Razor Wind to push back against the weather, giving it more space to fly forward.
Sweet Apple Acres was near. And the nearer they got, the stronger the weather. The Applin over at the Orchard were all hiding inside the barrels of apples, but they were being rolled away in the barrels thanks to the wind. Applejack looked out the window, seeing all that harsh weather come by. "What's up with this weather? Why isn't anypony tending to the skies?"
"Bit too aggressive." Granny Smith had on protective gear that she believes will save her from the wind.
"Eeyup." Big Mac was standing right next to his Machamp, who believed could take all the intense weather.
"Oh no..." Applejack then realised something. "Apple Bloom's still out there! What have I been doing?!" AJ knew that she had to get out there and see if her little sister was alright. She would go through the harshest of weathers to protect her family, no matter what. "Big Mac. Can I borrow your Machamp for a while?"
"Eeyup. Off you go." Big Mac nodded, turning to his Machamp. But it wasn't just going to be those two. Tranquill had just reached the farm, crashing into the window. The impact grabbed their attention as they all saw Treecko and Tranquill on the outside.
"Tree! Treecko!" Treecko was tapping on the window, wanting in. Machamp opened up the windows, quickly grabbing the two Pokemon and saving them from the wind. Treecko and Tranquill took some time to breathe, finally escaping that intense weather. "Tree...Treecko!" Treecko went up to Applejack, trying to inform her."
"A Treecko? You that same Treecko from the lab?" Applejack asked.
"Tree!" He nodded in response. The Grass-Type then pointed his arms towards the direction of Ponyville, trying to communicate with Applejack on what was going on.
While AJ couldn't speak or understand Pokemon, she could at least tell Treecko's body language and what he was on about. Pointing to the direction of Ponyville meant that she had to get there instantly. "I gotta get a move on. It won't be just us four. Big Mac. Granny. I need ya'll to come along and help."
"I ain't going out there. Nope. Not one bit. But Big Mac will go along with ya." Granny shoved Big Macintosh forward.
"Works for me. Let's get going! Machamp!"
"Machamp!" The Superpower Pokemon picked up Applejack, Treecko, Tranquill and Big Macintosh, carrying them all.Machamp knew that he had to get there fast through this weather. But for a Pokemon like him, it was no big deal. Machamp dashed out of the house, running at intense speeds. The Superpower Pokemon was easily blazing through the weather as if it wasn't even a problem. Applejack and the others felt the intense rush of Machamp's insane running speeds. In about 13 seconds, Machamp had reached Ponyville. Faster than they even expected him to.
"In there!" Applejack pointed her hoof at the lab next to Twilight's castle. Machamp rushed took off from the ground with a mighty jump that left a crater behind. Machamp came in the fancy way, crashing through the roof of the lab. It may have been unnecessary, but Machamp's love to show off.
"Where are they?" Applejack didnt' see anypony in sight. In fact, she didn't see anypony at all in Ponyville.
"Treecko!" Treecko got off Machamp's grip, walking towards the shut door to the PokePark. "Tree!"
"Trapped inside? Alright. Break it down, Machamp." Big Mac commanded. Machamp put them all down as it walked towards the door.
"Macha!" The Superpower Pokemon thrusted its fists towards the hatch, but to its surprise, it didn't even budge? "Ma?" Machamp kept trying to break through, repeatedly striking the hatch. Even the overwhelming power of Machamp was not enough to combat cosmic energy. Obsidian had made sure that no one would just casually break through the hatch to PokePark.
"I don't believe it. Shut off." Applejack went up to the hatch, seeing it completely sealed off with cosmic energy.
"What now?" Big Mac asked. Treecko kept pushing on the hatch, trying to see if it could activate it like how they did last time. But no good.
"Everypony's trapped in there. Hope nothing bad's happening to em. As for what to do next, we call for help. Ash might be able to know what to do." Applejack decided to go for Ash as an option. Never failed them before whenever Ash gets involved.
As for the inside, Twilight and her group have reached the Arbor Area. In all its grassy glory. It had a pleasing forest-like appearance. And the Pokemon that ruled this area was Queen Serperior.
"Here we are. The Arbor Area. All we have to do is find this Queen Serperior. Then we might be able to find a way out of here."
"What's a Serperior?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I don't know actually. I haven't seen a Serperior before." Fluttershy responded. "Might be tough finding her."
"It won't. All we have to do is look for the most important Pokemon here and listen to their cries. Let's get moving ever-" Twilight's sentence was interrupted as she spotted a familiar Pokemon. One that she feared. A Bisharp with Pawniard's on its side. She feared this Pokemon because she remembered the news of Ghetsis's Bisharp and what it did to some ponies back in Saddle-Arabia. Because of this, she was intimidated by it, cautious even. "B-B-B-Bisharp." She was quaking.
The other ponies were intimidated as well. They also knew about Bisharp. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly the most loved Pokemon in Equestria. It was just as feared as Ghetsis's Hydregion. Fluttershy wasn't bothered by this, despite seeing their fears. "Now, now everypony. There's no reason to be afraid."
"There isn't?" Mayor Mare said.
"No. I know you're all scared of Bisharp after what Ghetsis's did. But these aren't his. These are different Bisharp's. Free ones even."
"Speak for yourself! It's a Dark-Type! Those things are always brutal and aggressive!" Silver Spoon exclaimed.
"Ash owns some Dark-Types. And they're not bad. They helped save us all back at the Royal Wedding remember?"
"Oh yeah...that is true." Silver Spoon nodded along with everypony else.
"Dark-Types are intimidating to everypony, I know. And it's true that they have the most mischievous and aggressive moves out of all types. But they're good deep down. Even the most fierce. I'm sure of it." The words that Fluttershy uttered were enough to ease their fears. What she said was true. Dark-Types, despite their dark nature, are good Pokemon deep down. So they continued to advance. They were walking past Bisharp and its Pawniard group, hoping to not draw their attention.
Pawniard had indeed noticed the ponies walking by. They each outstretched and sharpened their arm blades together, eyeing the ponies. Apple Bloom gulped as other ponies were sweating, walking ever so slowly. The intense gaze that the Sharp Blade Pokemon gave them wasn't helping at all.
"Just keep calm." Fluttershy said, trying to ease their fears. Bisharp paid no attention to them at all. It didn't have any business with the ponies, so it wasn't its problem. But it did glance at the Pawniard, making sure that they don't try anything stupid. Thus, ceasing any attacks.
The ponies all let out a huge sigh of relief. "That was terrifying." Pinkie Pie sat down.
"We've made it this far. Let's not slow down. Which way do we go now, actually?" Twilight looked around.
"Why don't we ask that Snivy over there?" Cold Colt nudged his head over at a Snivy. The first evolution of Serperior. "It's the first evolution of the Serperior line after all."
"It is? Cold Colt! Good job!" Twilight congratulated him.
"Heh. My Pokemon knowledge is pretty great ain't it?" He scoffed. Fluttershy flew over to the Grass Snake, ready to ask it for any pointers to its final evolution.
"Excuse me, Snivy. If you don't mind, could you tell us where we could find Queen Serperior?"
"Sni. Snivy." It responded.
"What did it say?" Amethyst Heart asked.
"She said...What business do you have with my mother?" Fluttershy translated.
"Mother? Does that mean you're..." Pinkie leaned forward.
"Sni." She nodded.
"That's right. I'm Princess Snivy. Now answer me."
"Sheesh. Rude much?" Scootaloo said.
"Well, tell her that we need to find Queen Serperior because we're stuck here and we need a way out of this park." Twilight turned to Fluttershy.
"Alright. Princess Snivy. Can you please tell us where Queen Serperior may be? We really need to find a way out of this Park. Not that it's bad. It's actually very nice."
"Sni. Snivy." She crossed her grassy arms.
"Princess Snivy says that we should follow her. She'll lead us to her mother."
"Fine. Wonder what a Serperior even looks like..." Twilight wondered. The entire group got a move on, heading further in the Arbor Area. The location of Queen Serperior was located in a place known as Verdant Court. A secluded spot where Queen Serperior laid. Standing beside her as her guardians were two Pokemon. Lilligant and Leavanny. Once Snivy led them all to her, the ponies all took a gander at Serperior. And what Pokemon it was. "Sweet Celestia..." It's appearance was regal and elegant. Truly befitting of a Queen.
"Let me get a good looks at this one!" Scootaloo took out her own Pokedex from her saddle bag, wanting to know of Serperior's information.
"Serperior. The Regal Pokemon. It can stop its opponents’ movements with just a glare. It takes in solar energy and boosts it internally. They raise their heads to intimidate opponents but only ever give it their all when fighting a powerful opponent who is also unfazed by its noble glare."
"That's a queen alright." Sweetie Belle nodded.
"Snivy." Snivy went up to her mother, ready to tell her who these ponies were. Fluttershy was on standby, ready to translate everything they were about to say.
The conversation began, and Fluttershy's ears were all up. "Princess Snivy's saying to Queen Serperior...Mother. These horse-like beings have come here to ask a question. If you know a way out of PokePark. Apparently, they're stuck here and have no way of getting out."
"Serperior..." The Regal Pokemon replied in a soft voice.
"Queen Serperior says that...If they want to find a way out of here, they will have to head to Wish Park. There, they'll find Darkrai, who knows the direction of PokePark's exit. There are many exits actually, my little daughter."
"Wish Park? There's another park?" Lyra said.
"How do we get to this Wish Park...um...Queen Serperior." Twilight bowed her head.
"Serperior."
"Queen Serperior says that you don't need to bow your head, pony. The way to Wish Park is located through the posters. They act as portals, gateways to Wish Park."
"Poster? You mean that purple thing on the windmill...um..Queen Serperior." Berry Punch said.
"Serperior."
"Correct. But you cannot just simply pass through it. In order to reach Wish Park, you must wish for it. Poster Portals can only be opened by Pokemon who have a strong link to the area where the portal is. All the Pokemon that live in the Arbor Area fit that category. The Pokemon must also think of the wind, as it greatly connects to our area. That link can be formed into what is known as 'Friendship Power'. Once you've gathered enough, you can open up the portal to Wish Park."
"All of that just get to another park on the other side?" Scootaloo commented.
"So we can't use any of our own Pokemon to open it up. And we can't do it to because we're just ponies. So only the Pokemon from here, huh?" Twilight said. "That means we're going to have to make our Pokemon befriend the others."
"Serperior."
"Not quite. My daughter here already has a strong link with all the Pokemon here thanks to the help from her other 3 friends, Pikachu, Oshawott and Tepig. She can help you open up the portal. So you do not have to worry about gathering many friends."
"Phew. That's a relief. Princess Snivy. Can you help us get to Wish Park?" Twilight walked up to her.
"Snivy..."
"You all seem like you're decent enough. Even if your colours are hard on the eyes. I shall help you get to Wish Park. I'll gather up all the Pokemon I know here."
"Great. I just hope the others are having much better luck than us." Twilight wondered. That's when the issue that Oshawott brought up, ended up reaching the Arbor Area next. Serperior's calm face suddenly intensified as she wrapped her tail around her daughter, protecting her. This ominous feeling could be felt by the ponies and everypony in the Arbor Area was well. Something was coming this way.
And that something...was Team Plasma. They had arrived to PokePark. And leading them were the Shadow Triad. They were here under Ghetsis's orders. Colress had discovered PokePark by spying on Equestria as usual. The trio of elite grunts landed down on PokePark, ready to get to work.
Now that Team Plasma was involved, things are gonna be much more difficult than they already were.
Team Plasma has just arrived. They found their own way into PokePark thanks to Colress. The Shadow Triad, individually known as Shadow, who were the three highest-ranked of Team Plasma and Ghetsis's most faithful servants, were leading the way. And behind them were a few Plasma Grunts. Why they were here? Unknown. But what is known is that Ghetsis is finally making his move.
"We're here. The Arbor Area." The middle Shadow spoke. "Do any of you spot them?" They were standing on a high point of the Arbor Area, letting them get a good look over the entire land.
"I see them." The right Shadow spotted the ponies. And they spotted the trio as well. They had no idea they were even apart of Team Plasma until they saw the grunts behind them. That's when each of them gasped in shock.
"We're here for that one. Ignore the rest." The middle one pointed over at Cold Colt. The young colt gulped as he noticed that he was in the Shadow's line of sight.
"W-Why are they pointing at me?" Cold Colt shuddered.
"Audi. Audino." Audino could hear what they were saying thanks to its superior healing. She turned to her trainer, Fluttershy, telling her why there were here.
"They're here for you apparently, Cold Colt." Fluttershy translated.
"Why me?! What do I do?!"
"You heard what Lord Ghetsis said. If any of the ponies try and resist, just deal with them if necessary.." said the middle Shadow. All three of them jumped off the higher land, appearing at Verdant Court in a flash. Their movements were shocking to the ponies. They had never seen a human move at those speeds before.
Cold Colt backed away as Twilight got in front of him, shielding her student. "Who are you three?"
"We're the Shadow Triad." The middle one said. "The highest-ranking of all Team Plasma. Loyal to Lord Ghetsis. And we're here for that pony."
"What do you want with Cold Colt?" Twilight narrowed her eyes. "What could Team Plasma possibly gain out of him?"
"Lord Ghetsis requires that pony due to it opening up countless gateways a while ago. An amazing form of power such as that would benefit Lord Ghetsis greatly."
"So Ghetsis wants to conquer every universe out there...and he wants Cold Colt to be his ride." Twilight turned to Cold Colt and then back to the Shadow Triad. "Forget it! My friends are not your personal travel items!"
"Yeah! You big meanies!" Pinkie blew her tongue out. The other ponies protested, not wanting Cold Colt to be taken away.
"Thought you would say that." In front of the Shadow Triad, appeared their Pokemon. In the middle a Bisharp, the left a Banette and the right an Accelgor. "Step aside. Or our Pokemon will inflict cataclysmic pain on you all."
"No way." Twilight stepped forward along with her Espeon. Fluttershy even braved it out by standing beside her Audino. Pinkie Pie held Jade close to her to keep her away from harm. As for everypony else, they weren't going to let a fellow Ponyville citizen be taken away and used as some item. They all sent out their Pokemon to protect Cold Colt at all costs.
Queen Serperior held her daughter princess Snivy close to her. And the two bodyguards, Lilligant and Leavanny were ready to protect the queen if things got a bit too wild.
"Bisharp. Take them all out." The middle Shadow pointed as he made the first move. The Sword Blade Pokemon ran forward, ready to clear out the group in order to get Cold Colt. Twilight cast a barrier around everypony, making sure that Bisharp doesn't get close to them. But that wasn't enough, as the Bisharp proved to be more capable than expected. A barrier wasn't going to stop it. It cut Twilight's barrier in half with its blades alone, not even using any Pokemon moves. They all gasped at how easily Bisharp just took out the barrier. Twilight quickly took action, using her magic to teleport everypony further back. But since Verdant Court wasn't that spacious, they didn't get that much distance. Leavanny and Lilligant stepped up, both using Petal Blizzard and Energy Ball. Both those attacks were cut short by Bisharp, slicing them in half.
"Not good. Eve! Use Psybeam!" Twilight commanded her Espeon. The Sun Pokemon's red gem on its forehead began to shine. Out of it came a beam of psychic energy, racing towards the Shadow Triad and their Pokemon. But the trio wasn't bothered at all. Bisharp, once again proving how fierce it is, simply cut the beam in half, rendering it useless. "What is with that Bisharp?!"
Without them noticing, Accelgor had snuck up from behind, undetected. Its ninja speed allowed it appear behind Cold Colt, grabbing the little pony. "Hey! Let me go!" Cold Colt exclaimed. Everypony's attention was drawn to Cold Colt as they all were shocked that he was caught. Accelgor moved at blinding speeds, returning back to the triad with Cold Colt in its grasp. Everypony didn't even get the chance to do anything. The absurd speed of Accelgor made sure that they couldn't protect Cold Colt at all unless they were somehow able to keep up with it.
"Cold Colt!" Twilight exclaimed. She attempted to get to him, but Banette had used Psychic to hold everypony and Pokemon still.
"We are slightly more merciful than Lord Ghetsis. We already have what we came for. You all no longer matter." The right one spoke.
"Put him down!" Twilight used her magic to cancel out the Psychic, blasting magic towards the trio. Banette got in the way, using Psychic to hold Twilight's beam in place.
"We have to do something. Stoutland! Stop them with Thunder Fang!" The Big-Hearted Pokemon immediately took action, lunging forward towards the trio with its fangs surging with electricity.
Bisharp, once again, proved to be a force of nature as it stopped Stoutland with the move Guillotine. A devastating move that can take a Pokemon out in one single hit. And it did just that. Bisharp dashed past Stoutland, knocking it out in a single go. Other Pokemon attempted to stop Bisharp, but the Sharp Blade Pokemon had taken them all out with a single Night Slash, cutting them all with sharp precision. Each of their Pokemon dropped down, feeling the intense pain from Bisharp's sharp blades.
"Oh no! Stoutland!" Mayor Mare gasped. Banette had dispersed Twilight's magic beam, pushing the young alicorn princess back. Cold Colt decided to try and free himself by biting onto Accelgor's arms. A tactic that always ends up working in the end. He managed to free himself, quickly running back to his friends.
"Stay close to me Cold Colt." Fluttershy held the little colt close to her.
Banette flew back to its trainer, giggling ominously. There was a moment of silence and a small break. Twilight called that one a close call. The sheer power of Bisharp and Banette and the ludicrous speed of Accelgor almost ended up causing them to lose Cold Colt. Thankfully, he managed to free himself. Twilight realised that they shouldn't be in Verdant Court right now. It's too small, giving them plenty of opportunities to take everypony out one by one.
"Everypony! We have to go! Now!" Twilight demanded. They all immediately agreed. But they wouldn't be able to escape by simply running and flying. Accelgor and the triad would catch up to them in no time. Instead, Twilight once more utilized teleportation magic. And for a good call, she teleported them out of Verdant Court and on the outskirts of the Arbor Area. The Shadow Triad instantly followed suit, by disappearing from Verdant Court, leaving the others behind.
Queen Serperior could see that this situation could get wild. So she looked over at her daughter, Snivy, nodding her head. Snivy and her friends had already faced hardships before, saving Wish Park and all. So she believed that her daughter was also capable of helping the ponies in this situation. The princess ran out of Verdant Court, off to help them all.
"That was close. That speed was ludicrous." Twilight sighed.
"Think now might a good idea to book it and head to that Wish Park place?" Sonata said.
"Not really." A voice called out for them. They had completely forgotten that Team Plasma grunts were also here, making things much more complicated than they already were. What's worse is that the Shadow Triad caught up to them in a few seconds flat. Now the ponies were in a rock and a hard place. Even though they outnumbered Team Plasma by a large amount, they still felt the pressure and fear that was filling the area.
"You have no chance of stopping us, pony." The middle Shadow walked forward. "Your Pokemon are vastly weaker than ours by years of experience. Hand over the pony. Now."
"I'll keep on saying no. You won't take my friend." Twilight then turned to Fluttershy, nodding her head. Fluttershy was currently the strongest out of the group due to her having access to Mega Evolution.
The Team Plasma grunts were lurching forward, ready to snatch Cold Colt and get out of here. Twilight once again, cast a barrier around everypony, but this time, she made sure to increase its strength, not underestimating Bisharp's power. Bisharp went to attack the barrier again, but this time, it couldn't destroy it in one go. Twilight was putting all of her strength into this one.
Fluttershy looked at her ring as she tapped on the keystone. "Alright. Be prepared Audi."
"Audino." She nodded in response. The flow of mega energy emitted from both the mega stone and keystone. Mega Evolution was in play here. Audino underwent its transformation, becoming Mega Audino.
"Knock them out with Hyper Beam!" Fluttershy commanded. Audino charged up an amped-up Hyper Beam that had fairy magic surrounding it. Twilight let the barrier down, giving Audino freedom to fire. Once the beam was unleashed, Bisharp's eyes widened, as he and the Shadow Triad were all engulfed by the Hyper Beam. A direct hit.
"You got them! Nice shot!" Scootaloo cheered. Everypony had a smile on their faces. They believed that the Shadow Triad had been knocked out by that Hyper Beam. But to their surprise, not even close. Hyper Beam had been stopped thanks to Banette, who utilized its Ghost-Typing, cancelling out the Hyper Beam.
"Oh come on!" Sweetie Belle bellowed.
"Accelgor. Get that pony." The right one commanded. The Ninja Pokemon moved forward, ready to snatch the pony once again. The ponies weren't going to let that happen as they all chimed in. Amethyst Heart bit onto Accelgor's scarf, stopping it in its tracks.
"Accel?" It turned around to see Amethyst biting on to its scarf.
"Twilight! Take Cold Colt with you!" Fluttershy pushed Cold Colt towards her friend. Twilight picked up the little colt, ready to leave to a safe spot with him. "The rest of us can escape as well!"
"Alright! Thanks, Fluttershy!"
"Stop them with Psychic." The left commanded Banette who used Psychic to hold them in place. Banette made extra sure that Twilight wouldn't try and break free once more as it focusing most of its Psychic power on her horn, causing her to strain. Eve wasn't going to let that happen, though. Being a Psychic-Type herself, she cancelled out Banette's Psychic by channelling her own psychic energy to block it out. This gave Twilight time to teleport her, Cold Colt and Eve out of the Arbor Area.
"Stay here. I'll go after them." The middle one spoke. He left the other two to deal with the rest of Ponyville, setting out for Cold Colt.
Twilight transported them to where they first started. Cove Area. Finally. They were safe for now. But one of the shadows were already hot on their tail. Twilight decided to hide with Cold Colt, behind one of the houses, hoping to go undetected.
"Are you okay, Cold Colt?"
"Yeah. I'm not hurt. Pretty scared though. What are they gonna do to me? ARE THEY GOING TO DISSECT ME?!" Cold Colt was shaking uncontrollably. He hadn't felt this much fear. Not even from Darkrai.
"They're not going to dissect. I'll make sure of it. And I'll make sure they won't take you away. We just have to hope that everypony else is alright. Those Shadow Triad were unnaturally strong. That Bisharp cut through my magic like it was nothing."
"How are we going to get to Wish Park if Team Plasma's running around?"
"I don't know. But we'll have to be cautious and silent from now on. Princess Snivy is still back there. We still have an opportunity to gather all the Pokemon together and find a way out of here." Twilight walked away from the building, revealing herself. The Pokemon at the Cove Area were a bit confused about why Twilight was sneaking around. The young alicorn looked around, hoping that the Shadow Triad weren't nearby. That's when she could hear footsteps. Human footsteps actually. She hid back behind the building, keeping Cold Colt close to her.
The Shadow landed down with Bisharp by his side. He stood tall, examining the area. All he could see were other Pokemon. But no Twilight, Espeon or Cold Colt. Twilight kept her silence, not trying to cause any noise. The Audino of the Cove Area overheard what they were saying earlier. She knew that they were being hunted by the triad.
"Audino." Audino turned to Dewott and Raichu, telling them what was really going on. The two nodded their heads at Audino's words. The Shadow kept searching the area for Twilight. High and low. Twilight thought that he wouldn't find her, but to her dismay, the Shadow was an expert at hunting. And so was his Bisharp.
"Oh no." Twilight gulped, looking up at him.
"Get them, Bisharp." Bisharp jumped from above, preparing to use Night Slash on Twilight. The young alicorn quickly flew out of there whilst carrying the young colt. Bisharp missed and only ended up cutting a piece of the house in half. It turned its attention to Twilight, running after her. What also terrified Twilight about Bisharp was how fast it was. It was quick on its steely feet as it easily caught up to her. The Sharp Blade Pokemon was prepared to slash Twilight but was suddenly stopped by another weapon connecting with its.
By Dewott. Dewott had used its scalchops to block Bisharp, saving Twilight from it. "Dew...Dewott!" She pushed Bisharp back with her weapons.
"Thank you so much, Dewott!" Twilight thanked her as she kept flying off, looking for another place for safety.
"Dew." The Discipline Pokemon nodded as she stood in Bisharp's way. She wasn't about to let the Shadow catch up to them. Not even for a second. "Wott!" She put her scalchops forward, opposing Bisharp.
"We don't have time to deal with other Pokemon. Bisharp. Guillotine." Bisharp took off from the ground, heading towards Dewott as its new target. The Water-Type quickly reacted, jumped back to avoid the one-hit move. As a response, Dewott used Razor Shell, tossing her scalchops towards Bisharp. It actually made some contact. Bisharp felt the shells strike its steely face. And thanks to the Type-Advantage, it was a pretty effective move. Dewott followed up by using Aqua Jet, charging straight towards the opposing Pokemon. Bisharp also gave his response. In the form of the move Iron Head. He smashed his head onto Dewott's as both of them made contact. They cancelled each other out, but Dewott felt the hard steel afterwards.
"Dewott!" She let out a cry. Beside her, Raichu was there to help along with Pansage, Pansear and Panpour. "Wott!" She pointed her scalchop forward, commanding them to take action as well.
The Shadow felt like too much time was being wasted on these Pokemon. He decided to stop messing around and just finish it immediately. "This is just ridiculous. Bisharp. Let's just steamroll through them."
"Bisharp!" Bisharp nodded his head, running forward with his blades out. Raichu attempted to stop Bisharp by using Thundershock, but to its surprise, Bisharp avoided them with ease by simply flipping over the rampant jolts of electricity. The Elemental Monkeys each fired from a distance, using Bullet Seed, Fire Blast and Water Gun. Bisharp once again easily dealt with this by jumping over Water Gun, sliding underneath Fire Blast and just simply running through Bullet Seed with its steel body.
Dewott made the next move, by having her scalchops out. She prepared herself as Bisharp was way too close now. And in a flash, the Sharp Blade Pokemon slashed past all of them with the move Guillotine. That one single move managed to hit them all at the exact same time in one go. Each of them had fainted from the move. "D-Dewott..."
"That takes care of that. Let's go." The Shadow and Bisharp were on the hunt once more.
Back with Fluttershy and the others, it wasn't looking good for them either. Every single one of them had been defeated with ease. All their Pokemon had fainted and they suffered some injuries of their own thanks to Banette, Accelgor and the rest of the Team Plasma grunts.
Fluttershy's Audino was knocked out of its Mega Evolution as she had fainted as well. She, unfortunately, wasn't a match for the immense skill of the Shadow Triad, even with Mega Evolution. Everypony was tattered up with injuries surrounding them. They had also taken some damage in the process, which explains why they were all on the ground. The Pokemon at the Arbor Area were watching from a distance, not knowing what was going on at all.
"It's done." The right Shadow said. Just then, they both were receiving a call from Ghetsis. "Lord Ghetsis."
"I can see that you have dealt with the ponies. I knew you three would be able to defeat them without any struggle. Their short experience with Pokemon is no match for years of skill." Ghetsis was spectating over this, thanks to Colress having a small spycam fly around, watching their every move. "Now get rid of them all. I can't have anyone, pony or not, stop my plans. All threats will be destroyed."
"Understood." The left Shadow nodded. "Unfortunately for you, ponies, your life has reached its end. Lord Ghetsis wants no possible threats getting in his way." Everypony tried to respond, but the injury given to them had rendered them motionless for a while. "Banette. Shadow Claw."
"Accelgor. Water Shuriken."
Both Pokemon were ready to put an end to the defeated ponies. Banette moved in whilst Accelgor had a shuriken made out of water in its arms. Fluttershy held her Audino close, covering her eyes. Thankfully, they were all saved via Princess Snivy... She had used Leaf Storm to blow Banette and the Water Shuriken away.
"Sni!"
"P-Princess Snivy..." Fluttershy uttered with a weak voice.
"Snivy!" Snivy didn't come alone. She had brought along the two bodyguards for her mother, Lilligant and Leavanny. Not only that, but since she was friends with everyone in the Arbor Area, all the Pokemon there had her back and were ready to defend the defenceless ponies. And there was a pretty good selection of Pokemon to help. Ever since she and her friends saved the Pokemon from Wish Park, she's gathered up some fierce Pokemon to be her friends. Ranging from an Excadrill, Seismitoad and even the Bisharp of this area with the Pawniard's on its side.
"What do we do? We didn't expect to face off against this many Pokemon?" The right Shadow said to the left.
"We could leave it be. But what Lord Ghetsis says is final. We cannot decline his say. These other Pokemon will be taken out as well."
"Sni..vy!" She pointed her leafy arms forward, commanding the Pokemon to attack. This instance gave everypony the opportunity to get out of here. Despite them being hurt, they weren't motionless forever. They all mustered the strength to get up whilst the Pokemon were busy battling against Accelgor and Banette. Fluttershy helped her Audino up, carrying her. Everypony was making a run for it with their Pokemon beside them. Accelgor attempted to chase after them but was stopped by a Zoroark used Dark Pulse to send it back a few inches.
Finally, everypony had gotten a break from the triad for now. Both Twilight and everypony else. But that didn't mean that the triad were gone forever. Now they had to find a way out of here whilst attempting to escape from the Shadow Triad.
Still trapped in it and attempting to find a way out, the ponies have been met with an unexpected aggressive obstacle. The Shadow Triad. Proving how dangerous they were, they all stood no chance the three of them and their Pokemon. And they're here for Cold Colt so that Ghetsis can harness the power to travel between multiple universes instead of one. With half of Ponyville injured thanks to the rest of the triad and Twilight keeping Cold Colt safe from one of the Shadows, the escape from the triad was in motion.
Rainbow Dash's group had no idea what was going on. The only thing that they knew was to go south. And tagging along was Oshawott, who had actually sensed the Shadow Triad arriving here earlier. Which is why Samurott ordered him to go along with the ponies, to keep the same from the threat. The ponies were all headed south, and located at the south, was the Crag Area.
An area that is populated by mostly Rock-Types and the master of this area is Emboar. The ponies arrived at the Crag Area by stopping at a cliffside.
"Does the way out have to be through here?" Rarity shook some dust off her hooves.
"That Samurott Pokemon told us to go south. So there has to be something there that can get us back." Rainbow Dash said.
"The air here's pretty thick. KInda tough to breathe a bit." Cloudchaser coughed.
"And it's so dusty..." Rainbow Dash rubbed dust out of her eyes. "I hope the others are having better luck than us. We'd better get going. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can deal with the weather again. Its probably going crazy without us there."
Whilst the ponies all attempt to find a way out of PokePark, on the outside, Applejack had set out to find Ash for help with Treecko following her. Big Mac and his Machamp stayed behind at the research lab, just in case anything important goes down. Applejack couldn't find Ash in his home. Delia told her that Ash had gone off with Goh to the Pokemon Center since Goh wants to try and trade Pokemon. Applejack made her way towards Vermillion City's Pokemon centre as fast she could.
Thankfully, Goh had finished his trade, gaining himself a Heracross. So the two had already finished their short adventure. Ash saw Applejack running across the pavement with Treecko on her head. "Hm? Hey, Applejack!" Ash waved.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Ash! There you are!" Applejack stopped in her tracks.
"Hey, Applejack! I just got caught a Hera-" Goh was about to speak but AJ cut him off.
"Forget about that! Everypony's trapped!"
"Trapped?" Both of them said.
"Pika?"
"I don't know the full story. But I'll tell ya'll on the way."
Applejack made sure that this was urgent. And it was. Even if she had no idea what was going on beyond that hatch. Leading them back to the other world, Ash and Goh set their eyes on the research lab next to Twilight's castle for the first time. But they didn't have time to gander at the lab as they had some friends to save. AJ showed them the hatch and how it was cleverly hidden. Treecko hopped off Applejack's back, climbing on the hatch, trying to open it.
"So they're trapped in here huh?" Goh walked up to the wall. "How do we get through it?"
"Beats me. Even Big Macintosh and Machamp can't get through it."
"Machamp..." The Superpower Pokemon shook his head.
"Hm. Let's try something." Ash got out one of his Pokeballs, sending his Gengar out. "Gengar. See if you can phase through those walls."
"Gen." It nodded. The Shadow Pokemon flew towards the walls, expecting to just pass through it as any normal ghost would. But to its surprise, it was knocked back by a pulse of cosmic energy. "Gar!"
"Gengar!" Ash ran to Gengar, picking him up. "So that won't do huh?"
"Of course not. No form of magic is getting through that." A familiar voice echoed through the room. They all turned to the direction of where they heard it. There was Obsidian, sitting there on a table with Emerald Aura beside him.
"Obsidian!" Applejack stamped her hooves down.
"You think magic is going to help you? No way pal! Your Pokemon are just magical creatures by the end of the day...and magic can't do anything against Cosmic energy."
"So it was you that trapped them inside!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Treecko!"
"Guilty. But don't worry, they'll find a way out. Might take a while though." Obsidian chuckled. "But none of you are getting past there. Unless you had cosmic energy of you own...which you don't, you're all stuck out here until your pals get back."
"You just love to make things harder on us doncha?! I'd expect nothing less from a varmin like you!"
"Pssh. Please. I don't have to listen to any of your country insults, farm girl. I got better things to do right now. Like planning how I'm gonna make things harder for you next time. Buh-bye." Obsidian smirked as he and Emerald were being transported away via the Rift. Applejack stomped her hooves around in frustration.
"I can't stand him!" She stopped stamping as she sat down, sighing. "What now?"
"So nothing's gonna break through it? No form of magic is going to help?" said Goh.
"So that means that Discord's out of the picture...unless..." Ash's brain suddenly started to pick up something.
"What? What is it Ash?" Applejack went up to him.
"If magic can't break through it..." Ash held out another Pokeball. "Then maybe Aura will." He sent out his Riolu to give it a try.
"You think Aura's going to help?" Goh asked.
"I may not know a ton about it. But what I do know is that Aura isn't magic. It's the natural lifeforce of our world. It's the only non-magic thing here. Riolu. Try getting that hatch open." Ash pointed at the hidden hatch.
"Rio." The Emanation Pokemon nodded. He went up to the hatch, looking up at it. Riolu may be young and small, but they are still capable of emanating potent Aura waves, even when they haven't evolved into a Lucario yet. Riolu placed his paws on the hatch, closing his eyes. He emanated all of his residing Aura as azure blue energy flowed upwards. This Aura release was even shining on Ash as his entire body was surrounded by Aura as well. Riolu's was making Ash's act up. And just like that, a glimmer of hope. Aura was enough to actually affect the cosmic energy. The hatch was actually moving, but not by much. It only opened up just a bit.
"It's working!" Applejack said with a grin on her face. "Aura's working!"
"But it's still not enough though. Does Riolu have a ton of Aura left over?" Goh asked.
"We'll just have to see. Keep going Riolu!" Ash exclaimed. Riolu nodded as he still had a lot of Aura left to give off. More waves of Aura kept flowing along the hatch, slowly lifting it up. The progress was there, but for a baby Pokemon like Riolu, it was a bit of a struggle. Unable to see its friends ever again made Riolu dig deeper. The Aura within him was pulsating like crazy. And with a burst of energy and adrenaline, Riolu lifted up the entire hatch, finally getting it open. He had tired himself out though as the baby Pokemon sat down from exhaustion. "Awesome! You did it Riolu!" Ash picked up his Pokemon giving him a hug.
"Pikachu!"
"Rio..."
"Finally. We can get somewhere. Come on ya'll!" Applejack wasted no time as she galloped inside. The others followed suit. Now it was time to find their friends and get them out of here. Once they entered PokePark, the first thing they saw as an Audino tending to the injured Pokemon who were taken out by Guillotine. She saw the other ponies and humans come through, waving towards them and asking them to come here.
"Audi! Audino!" She cried out.
"Pika?" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, running towards the Audino. "Pikachu?"
"Audino..."
"These Pokemon look like their necks have taken serious damage." Ash noticed. "Can you ask her what happened Pikachu?"
"Pika. Pika-Pikachu?" Pikachu asked her about what happened here and if they had seen the rest of their friends.
"Audino. Audi, Audino." She responded by telling Pikachu that their pony friends are being hunted down by these three terrifying people and their Pokemon. A Bisharp had used the move Guillotine to defeat the Pokemon that tried to defend Twilight and Cold Colt.
"P-Pika?!" Pikachu was shocked by what he heard as he told everything to Ash. "Pika! Pikachu!" He mimicked the scene by stretching his face to match that of a Bisharp a bit, then he did hand movements replicating the chase.
"So that's what happened huh?"
"What happened?" AJ asked Ash.
"These three guys are apparently chasing down our friends. I don't know who they are, but they must be around here still. Where to?"
"Pika?" Pikachu asked Audino once more.
"Audino." She said she didn't know. But she did point to the direction of Seasong Beach, where Twilight was headed. But what Audino also didn't know, was that Fluttershy's group had actually managed to escape from the rest of Team Plasma thanks to Princess Snivy giving them some time. They all came here, still pretty hurt from before. And Fluttershy's Audino couldn't heal them unfortunately since she was also injured.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu noticed Fluttershy and the others as he called for them.
"Pikachu? Ash!" Fluttershy had a smile on her face along with everypony, relieved to see Ash and Pikachu here. Pikachu ran to Fluttershy, giving her a hug as she embraced him back.
"You guys look really beat up! What happened?" Ash ran to them.
"Sorry, Ash. But we kind of got a little bit overwhelmed." Pinkie sighed, holding her hoof in pain.
"Ow." Jade felt small pain, but compared to everypony else, she wasn't that hurt.
"Some guys named the Shadow Triad came along with Team Plasma. They're hunting down Cold Colt. Thankfully, Twilight managed to escape with him." Fluttershy explained.
"Shadow Triad? I've never heard of them before. Have they always been with Team Plasma?" Ash wondered. "But nevermind that. Why are they after Cold?"
"Cold Colt is the only pony that can travel between universes. Ghetsis saw this and wants that for himself." Mayor Mare explained, carrying her Stoutland on her back.
"So Ghetsis wants to conquer every single universe then?" Goh said.
"Alright. I get it. You all get back to Ponyville. The hatch is open now thanks to Riolu here." Ash petted Riolu. "Applejack, Goh, Big Mac and I can handle everything from here."
"Alright. Be careful, Ash." Fluttershy nodded as everypony finally got their freedom. Passing through the exit, they made their way to the Pokemon Research lab and to sweet home, Ponyville.
Rainbow Dash's group had just made it to the entrance of the Crag Area, but they were being blocked by the gatekeeper there. A Bastiodon.
"Bastiodon!"
"Whos this chump?" Dash took out her dex.
"Bastiodon. The Shield Pokemon. This Pokémon is from roughly 100 million years ago. Its terrifyingly tough face is harder than steel. The bones of its face are huge and hard, so they were mistaken for its spine until after this Pokémon was successfully restored. When they lined up side by side, no foe could breakthrough. They shielded their young in that way. It lived in the same environments as Rampardos. Their fossils have been found together— seemingly from after they’d fought to the finish. Any frontal attack is repulsed. It is a docile Pokémon that feeds on grass and berries."
"Hey, pal. We kinda gotta get through. We need to get home fast." Rainbow Dash flew up to it.
"Bastio? Bastiodon!" Bastiodon shook his head. He's not going to let some strangers just casually pass through the gate and towards the Crag Area.
"Come on! Samurott told us to come here! So let us through!"
"Bastio..." Bastiodon reacted to the name Samurott. Even if they got permission from any of the area masters, they would still have to do one final thing in order to pass. Defeat Bastiodon in a battle. "Bastiodon!"
"Huh? All I have to do is beat you to get through? Deal!" Rainbow Dash could actually tell when a Pokemon is picking a fight.
"I'm surprised she understood that." Thunderlane whispered.
"We'll make this quick! Braviary!" Rainbow Dash sent out her ace, Braviary.
"Braviary!"
"Bastiodon!"
"Let's finish it in one hit! Superpower!" Rainbow commanded, making the first move as always. Braviary flew towards Bastiodon, ready to land that move head-on. The Shield Pokemon responded by using the move Take-Down. Surprisingly, Rainbow Dash's one-hit command actually worked as Superpower overpowered Take-Down easily. Bastiodon was launched towards the gate, fainting in one hit.
"B-Bastiodon..."
"LIghtwork. Now, are you gonna let us through?" Rainbow flew to him.
"Bastio..." He nodded as a reply. Bastiodon got back up, opening the gate to the Crag Area for them all. Entering the Crag Area, the thick air they once felt had died down, making it much easier to breathe. They thought they were going to get answers on how to escape from here, but it wasn't until they were stopped by something more urgent. Twilight had also managed to reach the Crag Area. She arrived by flying in from above, still on the run from the triad. She had Cold Colt in her hooves and Eve on her head. "Everypony!"
"Twilight?" Rarity looked up, seeing her friends as the other ponies turned their attention to the skies. "Have you found a way out, darling?"
Twilight flew down, placing Cold Colt on the ground. "Only one way from what I can tell right now. Apparently, we have to get to someplace called Wish Park."
"Wish Park? A park that grants wishes?" Derpy said.
"Well, no. But the owner of the park, Darkrai, can help us get out of here. We just have to get through those poster portals."
"W-where's everypony else?" Rainbow Dash looked around, not spotting the other group.
"About that... You see, Cold Colt here's being hunted down by these people known as the Shadow Triad. They ended up attacking us and everypony. Ghetsis wants to travel between multiple universes so that he can conquer them all. And Cold Colt's the only pony who's actually been able to summon that many portals to various universes."
"Using him as an item? Has he no respect for life?" Rarity scoffed.
"Apparently not. Ghetsis will do anything to reach his goals. Even if it means harming others to get what he wants."
"Well, we don't have to worry about that right now. We've gotta make sure that everypony's alright. Those Shadow Triad chumps are gonna be a piece of cake if I ever come across them." Rainbow Dash smirked.
"You really think that?" The voice that replied to Rainbow Dash made Twilight gasp in fear. She turned around, along with everypony else to see the middle Shadow and his Bisharp. They caught up to Twilight easily.
"B-But how...? How did you catch up so fast?" Twilight stammered.
"When aiming for a goal, we never lose sight of our prey. So no matter where you run, fly or teleport, we will find you. No matter what. And we're taking that pony."
Cold Colt shuddered, getting behind Twilight and everypony else.
"You stay far away from them!" Rainbow Dash flew up front with Braviary on her side. "Who do you think you are harming my friends?!"
"Making it more difficult than it needs to be? Fine. Bisharp. Guillotine." The Shadow wasted no time. He wanted to get this job done quickly. Bisharp ran forward, ready to take them all out in one hit once more.
"Braviary! Superpower!" Braviary retaliated by using its wings to clash with Bisharp's blades. Thankfully, Superpower was enough to stop Guillotine from taking them out in one go. But Bisharp continued its assault. It immediately slashed upwards, harming Braviary's beak as it kicked the Valiant Pokemon towards its trainer. Rainbow Dash and Braviary were both knocked to the ground.
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity cried out.
"Guillotine. Once more." Bisharp was ready to use it again, and this time it was going to make sure that everypony gets taken out in one hit. Twilight and every other unicorn there put up a barrier. Maybe with the combined might of an alicorn's magic and various unicorn magic, the barrier won't break as easily like last time. But to their dismay, Bisharp managed to break through it as well. Guillotine cut through the barrier, breaking it apart into millions of pieces. Not only that, but everypony and their Pokemon were immediately taken out, falling to the ground. The only pony who didn't fall was Twilight, thankfully. But she still felt Guillotine's impact. "Done and done." The Shadow walked over to Cold Colt who was on the ground, damaged. He picked up the pony, holding him by the neck so that he doesn't get the chance to bite his way out.
"P-Put him down." Twilight tried to stand up straight, but it was no use. Bisharp had damaged her hooves and wings as well.
"Lord Ghetsis doesn't want you alive. None of you. He sees you all as threats. So you must all perish as a result. Finish them Bisharp." Bisharp was about to deal the finishing blow to them all by using Night Slash. It lunged upwards, raising its blades up to seal the deal. Eve looked up, seeing the imminent danger coming their way. She couldn't let this happen as she tapped into her uncontrollable Psychic power. With a burst of energy, she managed to save them all by teleporting them away from the Shadow and Bisharp, granting them safety. "Gone. Lord Ghetsis. We have the pony you requested for. Should we return?"
"Those pony brats are pretty persistent. Evading death at the right exact moment. Return the pony to me. We'll deal with the ponies very soon." Ghetsis spoke through a communicator.
"Understood." The Shadows each heard Ghetsis's commands. They left the scene, vanishing from PokePark. How they manage to appear and disappear? That's a mystery on its own.
For the first time ever, Twilight and all of Ponyville had felt a total loss. They had never suffered a loss this big before. Not by Tirek, Chrysalis, Sombra or anypony else. Not only could they not defend Cold Colt, but they were no match for the triad. None of their Pokemon were. Eve had fainted from using all her Psychic power. Twilight was about to faint as well as she looked up to the sky. Her eyes were closing, the last thing in her line of sight being the clouds of the Crag Area. And just like that...she fainted.
Twilight's eyes had opened after being closed for a couple of hours now. She was just recovering from her faint. Looking around, she noticed that she was in a bed. Not her bed, but instead the bed of a Pokemon Center. In fact, half of everypony from Ponyville was here, along with their Pokemon. The other half came along to check up on their injured friends. They were all resting on beds. Some still fainted and some that have woken up.
"Where...? The Pokemon Center?" She took some time to breathe. She then noticed her partner Pokemon Eve, sitting right next to her as she had woken up as well. "Eve. Oh, you're okay."
"Glad you're up, Princess Twilight." Nurse Joy went up towards her. "I hope you've rested well."
"Nurse Joy? Did you bring us all here?"
"Not me. Your friends, Ash, Big Mac, Applejack and Goh ended up finding you all, so they carried you here to the nearest Pokemon Center. You all took some considerable damage. But it's a good thing no one was severely harmed."
"Yeah..." Twilight nodded until she remembered one important detail. "Cold Colt...Cold Colt!" She exclaimed. It wasn't a good idea to shout. She still had injuries, so minimal movement was required. She felt the pain leftover from the move Guillotine.
"You shouldn't move around too much, Princess. Guillotine's after-effects leave a mark that can take a considerable long amount of time to recover from. I would recommend that you stay here along with everyone else and heal for the time being."
"Chansey."
"Alright.." Twilight sighed, holding her Espeon close to her.
"Twily!" Shining Armor had arrived at the Pokemon Center, coming along with Cadence. Even Celestia and Luna showed up to check up on them all. "Are you okay?! I came as soon as I heard the news!"
"I'm fine. But it does hurt a lot." Twilight raised her wings up.
"We're so glad that you're okay." Shining Armor and Cadence gave her a comforting hug.
"I'm glad all of my friends are okay. If it wasn't for Eve, that would've been the end of us. Twilight patted Eve's head, making the Sun Pokemon purr. "But...I didn't get to save my student, Cold Colt. The Shadow Triad ended up taking them."
"The Shadow Triad?" Luna spoke.
"A trio of elite members of Team Plasma. They came to PokePark for the goal of capturing Cold Colt and using him as a universal travel object. And they ended up succeeding on taking him." Twilight looked down, sighing at her own failure.
"So Ghetsis really aims to conquer every universe out there." Celestia said.
"I have to go and get him back!"
"You can't move and go anywhere in the state you're in Twilight. You and the rest of Ponyville have already suffered enough injures as it is." Celestia halted her.
"But I-"
"Ghetsis and Team Plasma are proving to be too much for any of you to handle. Ghetsis is a threat that you are not prepared for. Even with your friends. This is a threat that we will have to handle."
"But Princess Celestia. Ghetsis injured you severely last time as well. What if he does it again?"
"It's true. Team Plasma has managed to overwhelm us. If I'm being honest...they've been winning so far. Not only have they conquered Saddle-Arabia and forming their own empire, but they've also conquered Queen Pyrestar's world and even gained access to Planewalking. Now they've captured a pony who can perform the same kind of travel. So far, we have yet to even get the upper hoof on them."
"In short. Interacting with Team Plasma is like walking into a fire field." Shining Armor said.
"I guess that means you're all going to get Cold Colt back soon?"
"We will. But we're actually thinking of sending Ash to do it." Celestia replied.
"Sending Ash?"
"Ash has a history with Ghetsis and also has years of experience with saving others. We've recently found out from his mother and Professor Oak that he's saved his world countless times and even the entire universe from being wiped out. If anything, Ash is the most capable to handle Ghetsis and Team Plasma." Luna explained.
"But he won't be alone. He'll have Pikachu and his Pokemon on his side. And we'll even send Hollow to help rescue him." said Celestia. "All of you should rest for now. You've already been through a lot and you deserve it."
"Alright." Twilight nodded, laying down on the bed. They all left the Pokemon Center, returning back to Canterlot and the Crystal Empire.
As for the rest of Twilight's friends and all of Ponyville, Rainbow Dash's wings had actually been damaged as well. So much so to the point where she's struggling to fly. Rarity's horn has been chipped along with other unicorns. Fluttershy and her Audino were relatively fine as well as Pinkie Pie. They managed to escape with the other group without having to suffer from Guillotine. Applejack went up to her friends and little sister, seeing them all up. She let out a massive sigh of relief, glad to see them all up again.
"Thank goodness. Ya'll are okay. Had me worried there." AJ said. She ran up to Apple Bloom, picking up her little sister.
"You didn't even need to worry in the first place. It was pretty obvious that we were gonna survive, no sweat." Rainbow Dash scoffed as she put her wings down since they were straining.
"Easy for you to say. My horn's been chipped." Rarity wailed, feeling her chipped horn.
"We got super lucky back there. Right, Jade?" Pinkie turned to Jade.
"...I don't feel that much pain."
"Baha! Okay, tough pony!" Pinkie giggled, patting Jade on the back. But that patting made her hoof twitch. "Ow."
"We all were vastly lucky. That teleport from Twilight's Espeon was our saving grace." Mayor Mare said, holding her Stoutland who had just recovered. "And we should also thank you and the others, Applejack."
"You can thank this little fella right here." Applejack looked at Treecko who was on her back. "If he didn't come to me, I would've never known that ya'll were trapped here.
"We could've taken them. We were just overwhelmed. That's all." Rainbow Dash responded. Everypony else was required to stay here and rest up until they've recovered. Guillotine is a pretty tough move to recover from. Especially if it's used for malicious intent. Which means no returning to Ponyville for a while. But as for the ponies who are still in semi-good condition, they could return to Ponyville. But only half of them would be missing.
"Alright now. Just hold still." Nurse Joy held a cotton bud with medicine on it as he pressed it on Bon Bon's hoof.
"It stings!" She wailed.
"There. Good job." Nurse Joy nodded as Bon Bon fell flat on her face. Everypony was being tended to along with their Pokemon. It was a lot of work for Nurse Joy to perform, but she has years of experience with healing. So she was going to make sure that they all were back to their perfect healthy selves.
Over at the Harmonia Kingdom, where Ghetsis resides.
The Shadow Triad accomplished their goal of capturing Cold Colt. Once they did that, they immediately brought him over to the kingdom, where Colress could get to work. The young rift pony was shaking uncontrollably. The room he was in was already making him have chills run down his spine. Tons of scientific equipment that he feared they would dissect him with. Colress walked up towards the young pony as Ghetsis stood from afar. Watching.
"Y-You're not going to dissect me are you?!" He exclaimed.
"Dissect you? What a ridiculous thought." Colress chuckled. "We're only going to tap into the cosmic energy that lays within you. So you are bound to feel something sharp poke you."
"Oh." Cold Colt gulped.
"The sooner I gain access to other universes, the more my ideal empire grows." Ghetsis walked up to the pony. "I've already managed to make wonderful progress by conquering this part of Equestria. And I've even taken over an entire parallel world. My rise to power will not slow down now that fate is on my side."
"Pssh! Jokes on you! My magic is terrible! I'm still in training by Twilight. Which means you won't even get the chance to travel between multiple universes." Cold Colt taunted with a smirk. But his smirk was immediately depleted by Ghetsis who gave him a mortifying scowl.
"You think I don't know that? I am aware that your magic is uncontrollable. Below average even. But there is a way I can gain access to that hidden potential within you." Ghetsis brought his Hydregion over, who looked down on the pony.
"W-What? Y-You're gonna blast me?"
"No. You see, we ended up capturing Mew a few months ago, taking some of its DNA. And that reserve of DNA was given to my Hydreigon. You do know that Mew is the ancestor of every Pokemon on Earth. Don't you?"
"Y-Yeah? W-Why?"
"Well if you know that...then you'll also know that Victini is apart of that mix."
"Oh." Cold Colt's heart sank.
"Indeed. My Hydreigon can now tap into that boundless victory energy that Victni possesses, making it the most powerful Pokemon. Which also means that your pathetic magic won't be so pathetic in a few minutes. Start the process." Ghetsis walked away as he let his Hydreigon stay extra close to the young unicorn.
Cold Colt attempted to run away, but unfortunately, he had been bound to the table via metal. He couldn't break free due to him being just a child. Colress had in his hands, the same DNA mixer that he used against Mew. This time, it was to be used on a pony of all things. Hydreigon made sure to build-up all that residing victory energy within in. The waves from the mixer had flown out, splitting into two, latching onto Cold Colt's and Ghetsis's bodies. He kept on attempting to break free, but it was no use. Soon, the waves from the mixer had strained his body. He could feel his entire cosmic DNA being ripped from him. Hydreigon bestowed the young pony with a small bit of victory energy. But that small amount was enough. And Ghetsis definitely felt some new energy flow into him as well. He was relieved.
Colress stopped the process since he and Ghetsis knew that Cold Colt's body would be destroyed if they were to go any further. And they were planning to gain more of his cosmic energy in the future. "Done. And you were right about him having massive potential. Take a gander at all this hidden cosmic magic." Colress showed the mixer to Ghetsis. Ghetsis liked what he saw.
"Excellent. Now. Get that hooked up to the gateway." said Ghetsis.
"G-Gateway?" Cold Colt was breathing in and out. It was revealed that Colress had actually built a gateway. One made entirely out of pure metal. Cold Colt realised that Ghetsis actually wanted to also use his magic for this machine. "Oh no."
"Oh yes. This gateway will act as a secondary pathway. I may be able to travel between universes, but a backup is always needed. I've learned that much after my previous defeat. We'll continue next time. Now let's see how much progress this gives me." Ghetsis put his hands forward, tapping into the cosmic energy that resides in him. With his aura flowing out, he summoned not one but three gateways to different universes. The plan was a success as always. "Excellent. Three will do for now. Colress. Keep him here. I'll plan my venture to the other three universes soon."
"Understood, Lord Ghetsis."
Cold Colt wanted to hold his head due to how queasy he felt after the mixer connected with him. But he couldn't since his hooves are stuck together. All he could do is wiggle around and sit there. Hiding in secrecy by using an invisibility spell and watching this go down, Obsidian and Emerald were spectating their fellow rift pony and how he was being used as an object for travel.
"Sheesh. Ghetsis sure knows how to plan his stuff doesn't he?" Obsidian chuckled.
"Hmm...I don't know how I feel about this." Emerald sighed.
"Why? What is it?"
"I mean. Look at him. He's just a boy. Does he really deserve to be treated like this?"
"Emerald. He's just like us. Cosmic creations. It's not like it really matters anyway. We aren't even meant to exist in this world. We're just placements for certain roles."
"Yeah but. He ended up getting along with Ponyville from what we saw right? He even made some friends here and there. Don't you think that he should at least be treated better? We can still carry out our roles, but shouldn't he have some freedom?"
"Silly Emerald. His role is just the...how do I put this in the nicest way. He's just dead weight if you think about it. I mean...his magic's not that great it's pretty below average, his first encounter with the ponies was being faceplanted in snow and plus...he's generally not that useful. His mind control magic can be broken pretty easily. I'd say that the Rift kinda made him pathetic. Unlike us. It's the harsh truth, ya know."
Emerald knew that was the truth, but she couldn't help him. Mostly because Team Plasma is way too much for her to handle. So all she could do is let it happen. At that moment, Emerald Aura felt empathy. An emotion that the Rift ponies do not naturally possess unless something triggers it.
Back at the Pokemon Center, the injured ponies had been put to sleep, resting for the day. The lights were off for total silence. Thank goodness for the Pokemon Center having so many beds. They all dozed off peacefully through the night, letting the pain heal overtime. But Twilight couldn't sleep. She couldn't stop thinking of what happened before. The sheer terror of the Shadow Triad, Team Plasma and Ghetsis was ingrained in her head. This was the first time Twilight had truly felt a total loss. What's more, she worried that Ash wasn't going to be enough to get Cold Colt back, let alone stop Team Plasma. Even if what Celestia and Luna said was true, the fear of what Ghetsis can and will do was lingering on her. She had noticed that Eve was awake too. Unable to sleep as well. "You can't sleep either can you Eve?"
"Espeon." She nodded in response.
"Me neither." She picked her Pokemon up. "I'm not sure that we'll even be able to stop Team Plasma. I've never faced a force as dangerous as them before. It gives me a different kind of fear that I've never felt before."
"Esp." Eve licked her trainers face for reassurance. It made Twilight laugh, giving her a good feeling. That was the best part of Pokemon Even when their trainers are feeling down, they'll always be there to comfort them no matter what. But that's when that moment of happiness was taken away when a familiar face walked in.
Adagio Dazzle.
Twilight gasped, seeing Adagio arrive here with a devious grin on her face. "A-Adagio?!"
"Not resting up eh, sparkle?" Adagio walked towards her. Eve jumped off Twilight's hooves, ready to defend her trainer. "Look at you all. Totally beaten and defeated. Not only that but you lost one of your precious friends to the Shadow Triad. Crushing, isn't it?" She taunted.
"You...Were you the one who led them to PokePark?"
"Bingo. You know the old saying. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer? I follow that with perfection. Feeding all the information I need to Team Plasma."
"You're working with Team Plasma now?!"
"Of course. Chrysalis as well. So far, they've proven to be above your precious little friendship magic mumbo jumbo. And very soon, they'll wipe it all out. And then you'll truly lose everything. While I continue to live with everything."
"That won't happen!"
"Why? You gonna tell your boyfriend Ash on me? Get real. He's just one boy. He can't stop a force that large. Especially if it's continuing to grow. Have fun in the hospital Sparkle. I'll be stopping by your home in the meanwhile." Adagio laughed, walking off. It sounded like she was about to vandalise Twilight's home. From the castle to the research lab.
"You stay away from there!" Twilight tried to get up, but she strained herself once more.
"Don't worry. WIth magic, it'll only take a few minutes." She let out one final laugh as Adagio was gone from here.
"Espeon..." Eve wanted to attack her so badly right now, but she as well suffered from injuries, and she shouldn't strain herself at all.
Things were looking dire. An alliance with Queen Chrysalis, Adagio and Team Plasma seemed like a nightmare situation. Especially since Team Plasma has proven to be Equestria's greatest threat to ever exist. Twilight right now could only sit back, get some rest and hope that tomorrow, things will change.
The morning had arrived at the Pokemon Center at Viridian City.
Everypony at the Pokemon Center had a good rest last night. All except for Twilight, who was met by Adagio late at night. She had recently learned that she and Chrysalis had joined with Team Plasma. And she was the one who gave off the location of PokePark to allow the Shadow Triad to arrive.
Applejack, Treecko, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith and half of Ponyville came through to check up on everypony else and their Pokemon. "Ya'll feeling better?" Applejack asked.
"A little bit. Still pretty stung." Apple Bloom nodded, stretching her hooves.
"That was a great rest. I feel better already," Cloudchaser commented until her wings twitched. "Actually. Never mind."
"We're all recovering thankfully. Very soon, I'll let Audi help heal everyone up." Fluttershy turned to her Audino. "How are you feeling, Twilight?"
"Oh me? I'm...good." Twilight replied with a nervous tone. It was obvious that she wasn't as happy as everypony else. Not after what happened last night. "Have any of you healed up enough?"
"Hope so. I bet Nurse Joy is gonna come in and tell us the great news." Rainbow Dash responded. And speaking of Nurse Joy, she ended up showing up with some news. But good? Not at all. "Well, nurse? What is it?"
"I'm sorry yo tell you this. But it looks like that Guillotine was more potent than I thought."
"W-What do you mean?" Scootaloo leaned forward.
"Guillotine has managed to not only injure you all, but your wings have taken a heavier hit than I expected. Not only that but your horns took the blunt hit from it as well. I'm afraid that you won't be able to fly for a while now. Magic on the hand, I'm not so sure on that."
"WHAT?!" They all exclaimed.
"How long are we gonna stay like this?!" A pony cried.
"The best time for you all to recover will be 3 whole weeks. By then, you should recover."
"3 weeks with no flying? That sounds like a nightmare." Flitter sighed. From the news, it seemed like things were spiralling downwards even more. But Fluttershy had an idea that would fix everyone's problems.
"I have an idea. Why don't I just ask Discord?" Fluttershy recommended. This not only got everypony's hopes up, but it even made Twilight gain gigantic grin on her face.
"Of course! Why didn't we think of this sooner?! Fluttershy you're a genius!" Twilight raised her hooves up, straining herself. "Ow."
"Discord can do anything. So it sounds like a done deal. We'll just let him fix us all up and then we can have him return Cold Colt, easy peasy." Rainbow Dash laughed. "And to think we were worried for a while there." Hope started to come back towards the ponies. Their problems would end being solved by the Lord of Chaos. But still, they have no idea that they were being watched by both Adagio and Colress's spy cam. And because of that, they had information on what the ponies were planning.
Colress showed the captured footage to Ghetsis, letting him know what they were up to. "Heh. Those poor pathetic ponies. Little do they know...we've already found a way around that chaos magic." Ghetsis chuckled. And he was right. They did find a way. Colress's spycam also managed to capture the footage of Ash's Riolu opening the hatch with Aura. After seeing how Aura being a natural infinite lifeforce meant that something as powerful as cosmic energy could be affected by it. And considering no form of magic couldn't get the hatch open, Aura was the way to go. And thanks to Ghetsis now gaining access to Aura, a potent one even, their plans seemed to be forfeit once more. "Let them have their hopes. In a bit, I'll end up crushing them with ease."
Cold Colt attempted to break free, wanting to find some way of telling them that Discord's chaos magic won't help them. But he was still bound to a table by a hard metal. So no use.
So Fluttershy put her plan in motion. She stood up from her bed, ready to call her Draconequus friend. "Discord! Oh, Discord!" She called out to him, hoping that he could hear her from the other world. Thankfully, Discord could always hear when Fluttershy was calling for him. And he made sure it was only her that he could hear. The Lord of Chaos appeared at the Pokemon Center, making Nurse Joy faint from the sight of him.
"Yes? You called?" He spoke.
"We're so glad you're here. I was hoping that you could help us out."
"Help you out? Another magic stealing tyrant on the loose?" Discord was filing his sharp nails.
"Can you please heal us first? Everypony's been injured. Our wings won't work properly for 3 weeks and who knows what magic is like for us. So please, heal us up if you can."
"Oh alright. I can't stand to see you in a sad state Fluttershy. Makes me feel woozy."
"What about us?" Twilight exclaimed.
"Oh, right. Everypony too, I suppose.." Discord got out a fan, blowing it at everypony. And just like that, Discord recovered everypony in an instant. Their injures had vanished, as if they never existed in the first place. Their wings were functional, Rarity's chipped horn had even recovered and all those strains were wiped out. Ponyville's residents were back to their healthy selves as usual. Rainbow Dash and the other pegasi flew up with excitement, feeling relieved to be able to fly again. Everypony began to cheer, thanking Discord in the process. Discord actually like it. Getting all this praise was actually pleasant. The young foals were running around without having to feel a strain in their hooves anymore. All back to their vibrant selves.
"Thank you so much, Discord!" Fluttershy flew up, hugging him.
"I could get used to this praise from everypony." Discord nodded.
"There's one final thing. Can you please return Cold Colt back to us? Team Plasma ended up capturing him, and we were hoping that you could bring him back here." Fluttershy requested.
"Who?" Discord raised an eyebrow.
"You saw him when you rudely entered my boutique last week." Rarity walked up to him. "Blue mane, blue fur, blue everything?"
"Oh, yes. That one." Discord raised his paw up, snapping it and expecting Cold Colt to arrive here. But to their surprise, and even his, he wasn't here. "Hm. That's strange." Discord snapped again, but no result. He looked at his paw, continuously snapping away in hopes of bringing the young pony here. Everypony's confusion was raised to the max. How is that Cold Colt isn't here? Discord's chaos magic can do anything right? The reason why nothing was happening...was because Ghetsis was preventing this.
Ghetsis had grabbed a hold of Cold Colt's neck, holding it there. His aura was surrounding Cold Colt, blocking Discord's chaos magic from interfering. Aura was the neutral force between the two. Cosmic energy can interfere with magic and Aura can negate cosmic energy, creating a sort of triangle between the three. What didn't help was the fact that Cold Colt was made out of that cosmic energy. So there was that problem as well.
"Why isn't he here?" Twilight said. "What's taking so long Discord?!"
"How should I know? Nothing's happening. Nothing at all." Discord kept on snapping, but yet again, no result. "Is this thing broken perhaps?" Discord turned to Nurse Joy who had just woken up, making her arms turn into jelly. Nurse Joy fainted once again as Chansey caught her. "Suppose not."
"So your chaos magic is still working. So why isn't he here then?" Twilight wondered.
"That's because chaos magic doesn't work against us." A voice answered her. Twilight and the others turned to who gave that answer. Emerald Aura had actually shown up. And unlike Cold Colt, everypony knew that she was a Rift pony. And they all held a grudge against her ever since she first showed up with that mysterious human and her control over Darkrai. Plus, she was beside Obsidian when they appeared in PokePark.
"Emerald Aura?! Why are YOU here?!" Rainbow Dash questioned, stamping her hooves.
"I'm here because of one reason. I also want Cold Colt back." She responded.
"Why you- Wait. You do?" Rainbow Dash stopped.
"Of course I do. As much as I hate to admit, I kind of feel sorry for the runt. He generally looks happy with you all...which kinda makes me feel weird. Ugh." Emerald felt like gagging in her own mouth.
"Hold on. What did you say about chaos magic not working against it?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, right. Do you all remember what Obsidian told you back at PokePark? About how magic won't do anything against cosmic energy?"
"Yeah?" They all said.
"It's not just normal magic. It's all magic. Every form of magic is useless against cosmic energy. All of it. Even that freaky chaos magic is no exception." She explained.
"Useless?" Discord looked at his paw. "That can't be right."
"He wasn't kidding when he said magic can't affect it... Then how did Ash and the others get through then?" Twilight asked again.
"I can tell ya'll that." Applejack interrupted. "Only way we were able to open that hatch...was by Aura."
"Aura? Aura was able to open it?" Rarity said.
"Mhm." AJ nodded. "Opened it right up. Machamp's strength couldn't even break through the hatch. But that Aura sure did."
"How's that possible? Why did Aura work?" Pinkie pondered.
"That's because Aura's not magic, duh," Emerald replied. "It's a natural lifeforce. Clearly..you guys don't know about Pokemon that much yet. Meaning you have no idea what Infinity energy is. Though I guess it's to be expected from a few months of being with Pokemon."
"...Infinity Energy?" Twilight quietly replied. "I didn't see anything about Infinity Energy in the books that I read. Not a single one."
"Oh yeah. You have no idea. Get ready. Cause your minds are going to be blown." Emerald smirked. Discord made everypony sit down on cinema chairs with popcorn next to them. "Infinity Energy is the pure essence of the Pokemon universe. It's basically what Aura is moulded from. This energy spreads across the entire Pokemon World. Even beyond its own Earth and out in the far reaches of the cosmos. In fact... all Pokemon types are made out of Infinity energy. And the three forms of infinity energy that are the most potent. Aura is the purest form of it, Dragon energy being the raw essence of it and Fairy energy being the healthiest of the two.."
"But I thought Pokemon were magical instead. What gives?" Sweetie Belle said.
"Is this Infinity Energy also magic?" Twilight asked.
"Heh. Do you actually think that? That's cute." Emerald chuckled. "It's true. Pokemon are magical creatures. By nature even. The moves that they do are magic as well, that's obvious. Most moves anyways... But Infinity Energy is basically above that. Everyone just thinks it's magic cause they still to this day don't understand how Pokemon really work. Only guys like Arceus and a few select Pokemon know about Infinity Energy. Each type is its own form of Infinity Energy. And Aura just happens to be the purest form of it. In fact, Aura is what makes the Pokemon world go around. It's why it's the way it is."
"That's a lot to take in." Rainbow Dash looked down, holding her head along with Pinkie Pie.
"So that's why Aura was able to open up the hatch." Applejack said.
"Yep. I've said enough. You're all smart enough to pick up on all of that aren't you?"
"How do you know all of this, Emerald?" Twilight asked.
"Being a born from the Rift means that I have knowledge about the world that I'm being placed in. I may be a pony but I was also given knowledge about the Pokemon World. Tons of it." She explained. "Anyways. You go and get Cold Colt back alright. I actually don't wanna see him in a sad state."
"Emerald, wait!" Twilight stopped her. The emerald unicorn turned around to see her. "Thanks for telling us this. If you never told us this information, we probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere."
"Yeah, whatever. I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing for the runt. Don't get it twisted." Emerald left them all with valuable information that can help. That small instance made everypony gain a small bit of respect for her.
"Now we know why Discord's chaos magic isn't really working. Which means...the only option is to go and rescue Cold Colt on our own." Twilight said to everypony.
"Wait. Didn't Celestia say that she's sending Ash and Hollow to do it?" Pinkie reminded her.
"Oh yeah. That's right. She did also tell us not to get involved with Team Plasma and Ghetsis. And seeing what the triad did to us...I can see why. So now, all we can do is wait for Ash and Hollow to get him back. Hopefully safe."
"Well. My job here is done. I tried my best but it seems I've been outmatched by a greater power. Again. Toodle-loo!" Discord waved goodbye to them all, returning back to his home.
"Do you think they'll be able to save Cold Colt from those brutes?" said Rarity.
"Of course they will. Ash can do it! Right?" Scootaloo replied.
"For once...I don't know. I'm not sure that any of us are enough to go against Ghetsis and Team Plasma." Twilight sighed. Pinkie Pie saw the negative energy around the room and decided to erase it. It was really making her mojo snore.
"Hey! Why don't we all head back to Ponyville? We're all healed up and fresh right? Come on! Let's rip those frowns clean off and stick those happy smiles back on, alright?" Pinkie gathered her friends around. They agreed with Pinkie Pie. It was time to stop being all moody. They should cheer up for a while. They're back to full health, so they should chin up. Even if Cold Colt is captured, the thought of Ash rescuing him is enough to give some hope to everypony, even if Twilight was worried about the potential bad outcome. Everypony and Pokemon waved goodbye to Nurse Joy and Chansey, thanking her for taking good care of them. The rest of Ponyville were trotting and soaring in Viridian City, making their way to Pallet Town, where the gateway to Ponyville resides. The road from Viridian and Pallet Town was pretty far. So to save time, Twilight sang a small song she heard whilst in the other world. It never left her head due to how catchy it was and she's even sung it around her friends a couple of times to a point where they remember what it sounds like. And that's when they all begun to sing this one song.
The magic feeling It's grown so strong Always leads me to the place where I belong.
Won't go away Never let me down I've got the greatest friends That ever could be found.
Across every river Behind every tree On top of every mountain They're a part of you and me.
One world! One world! Now and forever! Best friends! Best friends! Loyal and true! One dream! One dream... Put side by side There's nothing we can't do! One hoof! One hoof! Helping the other Each heart! Each heart! Beating as one! We live We live... Always together! Sharing the same bright sun!
You and me and Pokemon!
They rush like water They soar like the wind They're always with me Every day that I begin They burn like fire They chill like ice They take on any challenge Make any sacrifice
Across every river Behind every tree On top of every mountain They're apart of you and me
One world! One world! Now and forever! Best friends Best friends! Loyal and true! One dream! One dream... Put side by side There's nothing we can't do! One hoof! One hoof! Helping the other Each heart! Each heart! Beating as one! We live! We live... Always together! Sharing the same bright sun! You and me and Pokemon!
The singing was not only making their Pokemon jump about and move with joy, but even other Pokemon nearby were feeling the rhythm and harmony emanating from their voices when they sing.
One world... One world... Best friends... Best friends Loyal and true... One dream... Just one dream... There's nothing that we can't do!
One world! One world! Now and forever! Best friends! Best friends! Loyal and true! One dream! One dream... Put side by side There's nothing we can't do! One hoof! One hoof! Helping the other Each heart! Each heart! Beating as one! We live We live... Always together! Sharing the same bright sun!
You and me and Pokemon!
Their song had ended. But it was a good song to sing since they had made wonderful progress. Pallet Town was just up ahead.
Whilst they return to home sweet home, Ash was all the way over at Canterlot. Princess Celestia had summoned him and Hollow for urgent matters involving Cold Colt.
"Thank you for coming, Ash. Pikachu. Hollow." Celestia spoke. "Ash. You are already aware of the scenario. But I must also let Hollow know. The ponies of Ponyville were unfortunately attacked by Team Plasma the other day. By a trio known as the Shadow Triad. Their goal was to capture the young unicorn Cold Colt and utilize his cosmic power to gain access to even more universal travel so that Ghetsis can conquer every universe. And unfortunately, they succeded. Twilight and most of Ponyville were greatly injured by the triad. Thankfully, they were saved and taken to the Pokemon Center. However, Ghetsis still has Cold Colt in his possession. And we fear that he has already tapped into his power. So it is of the utmost importance that we request you to rescue Cold Colt from Ghetsis and Team Plasma. By heading to the Harmonia Kingdom."
"You can count on us, Celestia." Ash nodded."
"Pikachu!"
"Hollow. I understand that this may be unexpected news to you. I understand that if you do not want to follow with this. You do teach the class here in Canterlot after all."
"Hm. It does sound serious though. But I won't turn down some help. I can put my classes on hold for a situation like this. I'll go with Ash and get him back." Hollow agreed to the request.
"Excellent. You two are the most powerful trainers that come by to Equestria. I have faith in you two that you will free him along with your Pokemon on your side."
"Be safe when approaching the Harmonia Kingdom," Luna commented.
"We will. You ready to set off?"
"Pika-Pika!"
The goal to free Cold Colt from Ghetsis and Team Plasma was a go. It was only Ash and Hollow taking on this quest. A small duo, but with Pokemon on their side, they have all the firepower they need. It was off the Harmonia Kingdom for a rescue mission. They couldn't take a train to Saddle-Arabia due to Ghetsis's new rule, so they were going to travel via Dragonite. Ash sent out his Dragonite to carry them. It was big and strong enough to carry more than one on its back after all.
The Dragon Pokemon soared through the skies, making its way to the Harmonia Kingdom. All they had to do was just break in and get their pal back. But it won't be easy at all. It never is with Ghetsis. Ash looked down near the kingdom and noticed 4 familiar Pokemon.
The Swords of Justice. They had been coming back here over and over, trying to find a way past Colress's protective barrier that surrounds the kingdom. But still no luck no matter how hard they try. Their swords couldn't pierce through, neither could any of their moves.
Keldeo sat down, taking a deep breath. He was exhausted from all those attempts. "No good. This thing won't break no matter what."
"We can't stop trying though. Innocents are serving under his rule. We have to find a way past it at all costs." said Cobalion.
"Hm? Up there!" Terrakion noticed the Dragonite as he spotted Ash, Pikachu and Hollow arriving. Dragonite landed down, standing in front of Keldeo as the Cold Pokemon noticed how tall this dragon was.
"Ash. What could you be doing here?" Virizion walked to him.
"I'm here with Hollow to get a friend of mine back. Team Plasma ended up capturing him, so we have to save him." Ash explained in short but simple detail.
"Good luck even getting past this barrier." Terrakion turned his head to the barrier. "No matter what we do, we can't break through it. Our swords and moves have no effect on it."
"We have been coming back here for days on end, trying out very best to get through. But nothing." Virizion shook her head.
"Any ideas? We could really use the help." Keldeo asked. Ash and Hollow looked at each other, thinking of something that might get past this barrier. Hollow was the first to come up with some that just might work.
He picked up a rock, throwing it at the barrier as the rock was destroyed by the electricity surrounding it. "It's an electrical barrier. Which means there's only one way past it. Ash. Your Pikachu needs to overload it with even more electricity."
"You think that'll work?" Ash turned to him.
"Oh, it's going to do more than just shut off the barrier." Hollow nodded.
"Well. You said it. Pikachu, overload it as much as you can."
"Pika!" Pikachu hopped off his trainer's arm, already packing a ton of electricity within him. Pikachu aimed all of his concentrated energy towards the barrier that surrounded the Harmonia Kingdom. He let it all out, as a bolt of more than 100,000 volts shot out of him. The electricity from Pikachu was clashing with the barrier's electricity. On the inside, the number of volts moving about was so potent that the lights inside were flashing rapidly, even breaking. The Team Plasma grunts gasped at the sudden light crash. Colress's lab was the most affected by this especially. All of his equipment was being overloaded by just one Pokemon.
"W-What's going on?" Colress gasped. He turned his attention away from Cold Colt, looking at his monitors. Before he could get the chance to see what was happening, the monitors had been destroyed as well. Meaning that he couldn't see what was going on, neither did he get the chance to see Pikachu. "Everything's been shut off! Is it some sort of EMP?"
Every machine and electrical item was being overloaded as Pikachu kept pouring it on. Soon, the barrier that Colress had created had been shut off with all the power in the Harmonia Kingdom depleting.
"Woah." Keldeo's jaw dropped.
"It worked. Awesome idea Hollow!" Ash praised Hollow.
"There was no way it was going to handle all of that. Easy stuff." Hollow responded.
"Now we can finally save them all. Ash. Hollow. Pikachu. Dragonite. You go and save your friend. We shall free the citizens and Pokemon here." Cobalion commanded.
"You got it, Cobalion. Come on Pikachu!" Ash ran off, heading into the kingdom as Hollow and Dragonite followed. The ponies who were still in Saddle-Arabia and under Ghetsis's rule had noticed the shut down of all the electricity. They saw Ash and Hollow run through, confused about what was going on. But that confusion morphed into hope as Cobalion cut off the collars and leashes that kept them under Ghetsis's command. The freedom they once felt was returning to them in all its glory. The grunts of Team Plasma noticed that everypony was being freed by the Swords of Justice. They also saw that Ash and Hollow were making their way towards the front of the castle.
"Stop them with Crush Claw, Zangoose!" A grunt ordered. Their Zangoose was attempting to stop their movements, but Dragonite whacked it away with a simple Dragon Claw.
"Good job, Dragonite!"
"Pikachu!"
Back on the inside, Colress was trying to restore power to the kingdom, but it was no use. Nothing was working. "How can this be? How powerful was that electrical surge?" Colress banged his hands on his machines in frustration. Cold Colt had no idea what to make of this. He was confused as well. After all, he was stuck on that table, not being able to go anywhere. Unbeknownst to Colress and even Ghetsis, Ash and Hollow were blitzing their way through the castle. Each time they came across a grunt, their Pokemon made quick work of them. Pikachu and Dragonite cleared out any Pokemon with Thunderbolt and Hyper Beam, whilst Hollow used his Delphox to halt any movements with its psychic prowess. Things were getting out of hand obviously. The sounds of Pokemon moves being thrown about all over the place could even be heard by Ghetsis.
"So. They've finally decided to come to me, have they?" Ghetsis stood up from his throne. "About time you did something of notice, Celestia. Triad." Ghetsis summoned his loyal and faithful servants, the triad as they appeared from the shadows. "Whoever is causing all that chaos...put a stop to them. They're obviously here for the pony. And I require as much universal travel as I need." The triad nodded, knowing what they had to do. Once more, they disappeared into the shadows, setting out to complete their newly given task.
Dragonite broke through the walls of the castle with Dragon Claw. It was breaking through the walls so easily, and thankfully, they finally came across the room they needed to be. Colress turned around as did Cold Colt as they saw the group standing right in the middle of the broken wall. They had arrived to retrieve the young pony and they certainly made sure that they were loud about it.
"You guys came to save me? Yes!" Cold Colt had a wide grin that filled his face. Hope returned to him.
"Ash Ketchum." Colress groaned. "How a boy like you can be this stubborn is ludicrous."
"We're taking our friend back, Colress. He's not your personal travel buddy!"
"Feh. You really stormed the entire castle just to get him back. How you two managed to get through by being reckless is beyond me. If you think we're going to give up our greatest source of universal travel, you are terribly wrong. We've made an amazing breakthrough. Greater than anything in Team Plasma history. I'll even admit it...Greater than I could've ever imagined. The thought of multiple universes existing out there. Each with their own reality and outcome."
"If you know that, then you shouldn't be trying to conquer those realities! Let them be!" Hollow exclaimed.
"Oh, no, no. Our greatness doesn't deserve to just stop at Unova. Or even our own world. Soon this world will be under Ghetsis's rule. We've already conquered another universe, claiming it as our own. And with the devastating force of Lord Ghetsis's Hydreigon, there is not a single universe out there that can stop our rule. After all, what are a bunch of colourful pretty ponies going to do against a mighty dragon?"
"You'd be surprised by how tough they can be. Now! We're getting our friend back! Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu ran forward towards Cold Colt, ready to free him by breaking the metal with an even harder metal.
"No, you don't!" Colress was about to take out his Pokeball, but Hollow's Delphox had gained control over his hand, both of them, with its psychic abilities, preventing him from sending a Pokemon out. Pikachu broke the metal that bound Cold Colt's hooves, finally freeing the young Rift pony at last.
"Oh thank goodness! Any longer and they might've actually dissected me!" Cold Colt gave Pikachu a hug, squeezing the Electric Mouse Pokemon.
"Pi...ka...!"
"Done and done. Think now's a good time to leave?" Ash turned to Hollow.
"I think so too." He nodded in response. They hopped on Dragonite as Delphox made sure that Colress's hands weren't moving anywhere. Cold Colt blew his tongue at Colress taunting him as a victory cry. Dragonite flew through the walls that it destroyed, causing more destruction by firing a Hyper Beam at the other walls. The outside could be seen as the sun rays hit their faces. It looked like they were about to get out of here scot-free. But the Shadow Triad was still an issue that was lingering. They had spotted Dragonite flying off as the Shadows were standing high atop the castle.
"Stop them with Guillotine!" The middle Shadow commanded. Bisharp leapt off the building, ready to take them all down. If this hit, the result could be devastating as it meant crashing to the ground.
"Deplhox! Mystical Fire!" Hollow turned around, making his Pokemon halt Bisharp's movements. The Mystical Fire was Super-effective, dealing knocking Bisharp out of the sky and allowing Dragonite to ride on. Ghetsis looked out the window, seeing Cold Colt escape from the kingdom. He kept his cool, as he had a way around this.
"Chase them down, Hydreigon. Get that pony back." Ghetsis made his move next. His Hydreigon immediately flew out of the castle walls, chasing down its fellow Dragon-Type. Dragonite looked back, narrowing its eyes at the Brutal Pokemon. Hydregion caught up to them by using Dragon Rush, which made it soar through the skies quicker. The Dark-Dragon Type crashed into Dragonite, causing the Dragon Pokemon to lose its flow. Ash and the others felt this impact as well. With just a single collision, Hydreigon had managed to sabotage their rescue mission that easily. Dragonite was falling down as Ash, Hollow, Cold Colt and Pokemon were all falling as well, being detached from Dragonite whilst screaming. Ghetsis smirked as he watched them fall. But he didn't want Cold Colt to fall to his demise. He still needed him. Hydreigon dashed down, using its arm mouths to grab onto Cold Colt.
"Put me down!" The young pony cried out, being captured again.
They were close to hitting the ground and it looked like game over. But thankfully, Psychic-Types always end up having the most useful ability as Delphox saved them all by using Psychic. She let out a sigh relief, glad that she managed to save them all as their feet landed safely on the ground.
"Thanks for the save Delphox." Hollow sighed. He and Ash looked up at Ghetsis who's Hydreigon had Cold Colt in its clutches.
"I'll admit. You were close to achieving your goal. But you should know by now. Nothing is ever easy when I am involved. My goals allow me to get the upper hand most of the time. And this is certainly one of those moments."
"We'll just get him back from you!" Ash bellowed at him.
"Pikachu!"
"I highly doubt that. Triad." Ghetsis made the triad appear on ground level, prepared to deal with the intruders. "This time, deal with them. And those Swords of Justice too."
Soon, they were surrounded by Team Plasma everywhere. The ponies of Saddle-Arabia could do nothing but hide in fear. They had just been freed and they needed a break. Cobalion and the other swords turned to the scene. They had freed everypony, and now they had another chance to help Ash and the others. It was now a standoff between a large majority of Team Plasma along with the elite Shadow Triad. The mission to save Cold Colt was going to take a while.
Surrounded by Team Plasma grunts and the high ranking Shadow Triad, Ash and Hollow's mission to save Cold Colt was a struggle. But it wasn't for nothing. They had managed to shut off all of the power and electricity in the Harmonia Kingdom and the Swords of Justice had freed the ponies of Saddle-Arabia. Now all that was left was to get their pony friend back and high tail it out of here.
"I can't get too caught up in a battle right now. I have a friend to save. Dragonite. Chase after Hydreigon and get Cold Colt back. The rest of us can handle this." Ash commented. His Pokemon nodded in understanding, as the Dragon Pokemon took the skies, heading back to the castle to save the young pony.
"So, you're Ash Ketchum? I find it hard to believe that he's one of the people that stopped Lord Ghetsis long ago. He looks like just an average boy to me." The left Shadow said.
"Heh. Believe it. N, Iris, Cilan and my friends totally got the best of Ghetsis. And I'd be glad to do it again here." Ash smirked.
"Ash. Don't get all caught up in this, or you'll be too distracted," said Hollow.
"I know. I'm not thinking of battling right now. I just want to take my friend back home and carry on having fun. I know Dragonite wants that too."
Speaking of Dragonite, it had entered the castle, chasing down Hydreigon. The Brutal Pokemon was easy to find since it was heading back to its trainer, Ghetsis. Dragonite tracked it down easily, immediately attacking its fellow Dragon-Type. Hydreigon had dropped the young pony from its mouth hands as Cold Colt rolled on the floor.
"Ow!" He placed his hoof on his back in pain. The young pony was finally free...again. But he had to get a move on if he wanted to be free for good and not get snatched up by Team Plasma again. Whilst Dragonite took care of Hydreigon, he made a run for it. This was actually his best chance. With the Shadow Triad and Team Plasma distracted with Ash and Hollow, Cold Colt had a chance to get out of here. But the castle was a bit too big for a little pony for him to navigate in. "Finally. Whew." He sat down at the nearest corner, taking a small rest. "This universal travel and Pokemon stuff are too much for me to handle. Now how do I get out here quicker? I can't jump through those walls...I don't have wings."
"You won't need to." A familiar voice called for Cold Colt. The young unicorn turned around to see an old accomplice there. Emerald Aura had shown up. "Hey, squirt."
"Emerald? Aw, don't tell me you're teaming up with them?" Cold Colt groaned.
"No way. Ghetsis is way too intense for me. I'm just here to get you back to Ponyville."
"Wait...you're here to...rescue me? Seriously?" Cold Colt put his hoof on his chest. "Why would you want to save me?"
"Well...I kinda feel sorry for you. Just a bit. You seemed pretty happy at Ponyville. And to be honest, it's kind of a nice feeling seeing someone be happy with others. Not that I care anyways." She scoffed
"Oh. So you see me as a friend then?"
"A friend? As if. We're acquaintances. Nothing more. So don't get it twisted." Emerald turned her head as Cold Colt noticed.
"Hah! That means you do see me as a friend a bit! You're a softie deep down!" Cold Colt extended his hoof at her. The emerald whacked him in the head with her hoof. "Ow!"
"Let's just get you out of here. This place is too hectic." Indeed it was. The sounds and tremors of two Dragon-Types going at it could be felt around the castle. "Hold on to me." Emerald extended her hoof, ready to teleport Cold Colt away from here. But, familiar magic had prevented it by shocking Emerald's hoof. "Ow! Who the-?"
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Obsidian walked up to them.
"Obsidian? Now is not the time for this!" Emerald exclaimed.
"Emerald! You're not supposed to be the one who frees him! He's supposed to be saved by everyone else! Like a human or pony! This isn't your role!"
"Role? Who cares about roles at this point? I've just been following you around because you keep dragging me into your crazy antics! I don't even know what my point is anymore!"
"Uh, duh. You're the same as me. We're supposed to play the villains. We're the ones who cause events to occur so the Rift has something to enjoy. That's our role. As for him. He kinda just fell flat." Obsidian turned to Cold Colt.
"Hey! I only fell flat because everypony actually cares about me. I've only been created for a few months and I've already experienced some compassion. Unlike you."
"Pssh. Yeah right. The only reason why you're in Ponyville is that you're attracted to Apple Bloom. Well news flash, pal. If you've forgotten, let me refresh your memory. Once the worlds return to normal...we cease to exist." The words that Obsidian spouted made the young unicorn's heart sink. "Yeah. Forgot huh? We're just cosmic creations meant to fill specific roles. We aren't even meant to exist. So the moment all worlds return to normal, you're relationship with Ponyville will cease to exist, along with us. Harsh truth ain't?"
"S-So. I'll never exist again." Cold Colt looked down on the floor. Realising that the relationships and memories he's made with everypony that actually give him happiness and joy, despite how short they are, will vanish from history as a whole. And so will he. The thought of it terrified him. Just suddenly ceasing to exist was enough to mortify the young pony. Emerald looked back at Cold Colt, seeing how terrified he was. It was at this moment that Emerald's empathy increased. Slowly but surely, her heart was matching that of a kind-hearted individual.
"Anyways. There are more Rift ponies that are coming by soon. The Rift will plant them in a month or two. Stakes are gonna reach an all-time high with them. And if that's no good then maybe those Rift humans can do something, I don't know." Obsidian shrugged. "Now. Let's book it and let the good guys solve it themselves."
"So. There's more than one of you." That's when a voice that none of them hoped to hear had reached them. All 3 Rift ponies turned their attention to the voice. Standing there was Ghetsis himself. And with that smirk on his face, that meant that he was up to something.
"G-Ghetsis!" Both Emerald and Cold Colt said.
"Excellent. This actually creates easier situations for me. Now that I know that there are more than one of you cosmic ponies, I have the wondrous opportunity to accelerate my Planewalking abilities even higher!" Ghetsis chuckled, walking towards them. Emerald got in front of Cold Colt, protecting her the same way Twilight protected him back at PokePark. "Now. I assume you two are vastly superior in magic than the child."
"Yeah, I'm not up for this. Peace." Obsidian was about to teleport himself away, but to his dismay, Ghetsis had halted him via his aura. Ghetsis grabbed onto Obsidian's horn, filling his body with Aura as was blocking out the cosmic energy. "Hey! L-Let go!"
"You already show much more promise than the blue one. You will be an excellent vessel for Planewalking." Ghetsis's Aura wasn't just blocking the cosmic energy from Obsidian, it was even blocking Emerald's. She was attempting to transport away from here with Cold Colt, but the emanation of Aura was interfering. Soon, Ghetsis had managed to render Obsidian unconscious by sending a pulse of Aura through his body. And with ease as well. "Your turn." He tossed the unconscious pony aside, walking towards his next victim.
Emerald knew that she was no match for Ghetsis who was brimming with Aura. Not at all. Her only option right now was to ensure that Cold Colt was able to escape from here. So she was actually willing to give herself for his protection. Before Ghetsis could grab her, she used her magic to grab Cold Colt, launching him to a far distance. She felt Ghetsis's hand grab onto her neck. Now she was in his possession. The young unicorn looked back to see Emerald being knocked out as he began to gallop. No time to sightsee. Ghetsis now had two ponies who had heaps of cosmic energy that was flowing within them.
"This doesn't mean you're going anywhere. You are still an essential reservoir for Planewalking." Ghetsis sent out his Toxicroak to catch the young pony. "Grab him." His Toxicroak immediately dashed forward, outspeeding Cold Colt. Before he knew it, the little unicorn had been grabbed by the Toxic Mouth Pokemon, once again being in Ghetsis's clutches.
On the outside, most of Team Plasma's grunts had been defeated. They didn't really stand a chance against two elite trainers and the Swords of Justice. But the Shadow Triad was another story. Delphox had been knocked to the ground by Accelgor. The Shadow Triad were proving to be a major obstacle for them.
"Bisharp. Night Slash!"
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
Both attacks met as they evened out in strength. The Shadow's Banette attempted to try and hold them in place with Psychic, however, Delphox interrupted with her own psychic prowess. There were two ongoing battles right now. The one on ground level, and the destructive one being caused by two dragon Pokemon. Hydreigon had blasted Dragonite out of the castle, sending the Dragon Pokemon flying. Dragonite quickly recovered and retaliated via a Hyper Beam that shot towards Hydreigon. The Brutal Pokemon flew away from the beam, however, Dragonite made to move its head so that the beam was chasing Hydreigon. The castle was coming apart as the rest of the grunts were evacuating.
"I have to get in there." Ash looked up at the castle. He realised that it would be difficult to battle against the Triad and save his friend at the same time. So he was leaving it all up to Hollow and the Swords of Justice for this one. "Hollow! Guys! Can you please handle this one? I have to make sure that Cold Colt's okay!"
"We'll let you have as much time as you want, Ash." Hollow nodded as did the swords.
"Awesome! Thanks!" Ash ran off with Pikachu, but the Shadows weren't going to let him just casually run in there. They attempted to stop him, but they failed to realise that Hollow and the others wouldn't just let them stop him. Terrakion had halted their movements by using Stone Edge in front of them. Whilst they keep the triad occupied, Ash and Pikachu made their way to the castle, which was pretty beat up and ruined thanks to Dragonite and Hydreigon. Ash decided to make his way to the top. Since that's where they were last time. As he and his buddy were running in the castle, they could feel it all come down. Huge chunks of rocks were falling from above, almost crushing them even. It wasn't long until the pillars that held the castle up would come crumbling down.
Ash's Dragonite was getting overwhelmed actually. Hydreigon and its vast arsenal of moves were proving to be difficult for it to handle. Dragonite was on the floor with the walls coming down on it. Hydreigon hovered over the Dragon Pokemon, claiming victory for itself. It was about to finish off Dragonite by unleashing a Dragon Pulse. Dragonite knew that it was in a tough spot right now. So to improvise, it took what Ash taught it back when he and Dragonite battled Korrina and her Lucario. Dragonite began using Dragon Dance by spinning around. Hydreigon didn't think too much of it, unleashing Dragon Pulse. It ended making contact, destroying this part of the castle in one go. But to the Brutal Pokemon's surprise, Dragonite was still standing. The spinning from Dragon Dance had protected it once more. Dragonite then returned the favour by flying at Hydreigon, using Dragon Claw on its fellow dragon. Hydreigon bit onto Dragonite's arms, holding on with sharp grip as it was dragging it with it. The stairs underneath them were being demolished by their rapid movements. Soon they ended up coming across Ash and Pikachu.
"Dragonite!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
Hydreigon tossed Dragonite aside, sending it to its trainer. Ash ran over to Dragonite, placing his hands on his fallen Pokemon. He and Pikachu looked up to see Hydreigon staring them down.
"Hydrei..." The Brutal Pokemon cackled.
"You've gone through a massive amount of trouble to get this one pony back, boy." Ghetsis had arrived to the scene, standing beside his Hydreigon. "The only real progress you've made was causing mass destruction and a power outage to my kingdom."
"I can do even better if you want." Ash replied. "I'll destroy everything even if means to save my friends."
"Predictable response from a child. The only destruction that will be occurring will be your precious ideologies of your pony friends and their Magic of Friendship nonsense. Once I conquer every universe, the only idealogy left will be mine! And with my Aura rising evermore, I will be able to transcend that of a normal human!"
"You have Aura?!" Ash pulled back.
"Oh? You know of it? Then you should also know how potent it can be. With just a single command, I can open up a gateway to another world. In fact..." Ghetsis put his hand out, opening up a gateway. "I'll trap you in this world forever! And there will be no way for you to escape!"
The gateway led to the world of Pyrestar which now belonged to Ghetsis. Ash realised that if he got stuck in there, he wasn't getting out. So there's only one thing left to do. "Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"No you don't!" Ghetsis pointed forward, sending his Hydreigon to grab Pikachu with its head mouths. Pikachu was caught by Hydreigon The Brutal Pokemon was ready to toss him into the gateway, trapping him there. "Say goodbye to your Pikachu!"
"No!" Ash took off from the ground, rushing in to save his buddy. He outstrecthed his arm, going for Pikachu's tail. Ghetsis wouldn't let that happen either. He extended his only arm forward, attempting to prevent Ash from saving Pikachu.
That's when the unimaginable happened.
Because both Ash and Ghetsis had opposing Aura's, and there was cosmic energy present in the form of the gateway Ghetsis formed, it caused a dilapidation. Both of their aura's bounced off each other and the gateway. The friction of this was so potent that it actually slowed down time for a small moment. That's when a pulse of aura blew the two of them back along with their Pokemon. A pulse so grand that it reached the outside, affecting even the Triad, Hollow and the Swords of Justice. The ponies of Saddle-Arabia were not safe from this at all. Even all of Equestria felt it. Not even just Equestria, but the entire world along with the Pokemon World. Celestia got a strange tingling sensation that made her uneasy. Arceus on the other hand knew what this meant. This pulse of aura had spread out so far that it was disrupting the gateway, controlling it in a way.
Hydreigon had fainted from this pulse, as did Pikachu. Ash and Ghetsis recovered, rubbing their eyes. What they saw next surprised them. The aura's had actually created more gateways to other worlds. But it wasn't just another group of gateways to alternate Equestria's. No.
These were gateways to other Pokemon worlds. Ash and Ghetsis were both shocked at the same time. Unsure of what to make of this. However, due to the erratic collision of both Aura's the gateways didn't last as they were closing. The last thing Ash saw were these two trainers. One who resembled his old rival Gary Oak and another who resembled him but wearing red instead. And thus, the gateways closed, even the ones on the outside.
"What was that?" Ash gasped.
"So. There are alternate worlds similar to ours, eh? Interesting." Ghetsis grinned. "Not only that, but you seem to possess a potent Aura as well, boy. Looks like I won't be using just the ponies this time."
"I don't get what happened. But I won't let you use me as well. None of my friends." Ash picked up Pikachu.
"We'll see." Ghetsis held out his Pokeball, ready to send out another Pokemon since Hydreigon had fainted.
"Quick Dragonite! Hyper Beam on the floor!" Ash gave off a risky command that even surprised Ghetsis. Dragonite unleashed a Hyper Beam, point blank on the floor. The impact caused an area of explosion that knocked Ghetsis far back. In fact, it made Ghetsis fall down deeper in the castle as the rubble beneath him was falling with him. Dragonite had shielded Ash by using its own body, saving its trainer.
"You brat!" Ghetsis exclaimed as he could no longer be seen once he entered the dim parts of the castle with the chunks of rubble blocking any sight of him. Ash quickly got on Dragonite's back, holding Pikachu close to him. It was time to leave. But not without his friend.
"Dragonite! Head on upwards!" Ash pointed up. Dragonite nodded, soaring onwards. The castle was finally reaching its breaking point. The Hyper Beam from Dragonite sealed the deal. Cold Colt and the other ponies were currently stuck, bound to the same table that Cold Colt was bound to with the same metal cuffs. The young pony was terrified as he could feel everything crumbling down. Emerald and Obsidian were still unconscious thanks to Ghetsis, so they couldn't transport away. He noticed that the ceiling was coming apart as well, ready to drop on him. That's when it gave out. The huge ceiling from above fell as the young unicorn lowered his head, mortified. But his fears were quickly erased by the arrival of Dragonite and Ash. The Dragon Pokemon grabbed Cold Colt, breaking through the ceiling like it was nothing, destroying it as well. It even got Cold Colt out of the cuffs just by its pull alone.
"Ash!" The young blue unicorn said with glee in his voice.
"You okay?"
"Yeah! Wait, Ash! Save Emerald!" Cold Colt aimed her hoof at Emerald.
"Huh? Really?"
"Please!"
"Alright. Dragonite! Dragon Claw!" Dragonite turned around, heading back to the room. It slashed the cuffs off Emerald, freeing her as well. Now she was along for the ride. "Use Dragon Claw on him too!" Ash suddenly decided to save Obsidian, which confused Cold Colt greatly. Dragonite freed Obsidian as well. Now all Rift ponies had been saved. And it was about time to actually get out of here.
Dragonite exited the castle as it had finally crumbled into billions of pieces, eliminating the entire Harmonia Castle.
Finally, Equestria had gotten the upper hoof on Ghetsis's kingdom. His castle had already come apart.
"Not good. We have to retreat for now." The Shadows realised that this had already gotten ugly enough, so it was time to retreat. They returned their Pokemon and as usual, they disappeared in an instant, moving at the same speed as a shadow. The Swords of Justice took some time to breathe as Keldeo sat down.
"Finally." Keldeo sighed. Did you get your friends back, Ash?
Dragonite landed down as Ash hopped off with the other ponies and his buddy. "Safe and sound. Man, that was close." Ash caught his breath, finally escaping from the ruined castle.
"What of Ghetsis?" Cobalion walked over to Ash. The second Cobalion even mentioned him, a burst of Aura erupted from the ground rubble, grabbing everyone's attention. There was Ghetsis, still standing along with his Hydreigon. Aura had protected him from. He didn't' even have a scratch on him.
"You brat!" Ghetsis exclaimed, stomping his foot. The Aura around his foot made the entire ground tremble. "How is that you have managed to ruin everything once more?!"
"I'm not just great at battling. But destroying stuff is my speciality too!" Ash grinned.
"Pika!" said the slightly recovered Pikachu.
Ghetsis wanted to obliterate them all so much right now. His rage had built up to an insurmountable degree. His Aura was enough to shatter steel due to his anger currently. But he realised that he had just lost one part of his kingdom. As much as he would love to take his revenge, with the current scenario and how he's outnumbered, the best option was to retreat and take revenge at another time.
"This isn't over, boy. I'll be back." Ghetsis summoned a gateway behind him. "Don't think this is your lucky break! This isn't over!" Ghetsis returned Hydreigon back to its Pokeball as he made a run for it, entering the world of Pyrestar where he had a spare kingdom. The gateway had closed as a moment of silence filled the atmosphere.
The ponies of Saddle-Arabia took a moment to realise what just happened. All that destruction, all that chaos actually led to their entire home being set free. Ghetsis and Team Plasma had been pushed back and their home had returned to them. All they could do was let out a sigh of relief and cheer. Cheering for the Swords of Justice, Hollow, Ash and their Pokemon.
"Phew. That was a bit aggressive." Hollow sighed. He and Ash sat down as they finally finished this rescue mission. All that was left on Ash's mind was Emerald and Obsidian.
"Cold. What do you want to do with these two?" Ash asked.
"Cold? I like that nickname. And uh... I want you to leave Emerald alone if that's cool with you. She's actually really nice to me. Even if she doesn't show it...I don't know about Obsidian though. He's gonna escape anyways."
"Y-You're right I am..." Obsidian had woken up, no longer unconscious. "Hehe. The good guys ended up doing the saving instead like it was meant to be." He chuckled, holding his head. "My work here's done. Sayanora...suckers." Obsidian smirked as is body rippled away, disappearing to who knows where.
"There he goes. Ugh. I need a nap." The young pony fell on the ground, tired and exhausted. They all were. Even the swords. Ash and Hollow had completed their mission. It was a wild one, but it was a success.
The ponies of Saddle-Arabia decided to throw a party to thank the heroes that ended up freeing them from Ghetsis and Team Plasma. Their entire home may be a bit ruined, but they still had the essentials to throw a party the way they know-how. Ash couldn't stop thinking about what he saw back there. The gateways that revealed multiple alternate versions of his world instead. The two trainers who reminded him of Gary and himself couldn't escape his mind. He was wondering. Are there other world's where he's a completely different person? The thought was just filling his head. Pikachu ran up to him, clearing his buddy's mind of any of those doubts. He decided that now was a good time to head home and get some rest.
Ash and Hollow had just returned from their rescue mission, which was a success. They were exhausted and a well-deserved rest was needed for them.
"Ash. Hollow. I knew you two would be able to do it." Celestia walked up to the tired humans. "Thanks to you, not only did you rescue a friend, but you've also managed to give the Saddle-Arabians their home back. And even drove Ghetsis and his team away. You two have proven to be the most dependable of all Eq-" Celestia's words were halted when she noticed that the two of them were close to falling asleep along with their Pokemon. "Oh. I suppose you need some rest first" Celestia giggled.
"Huh? No way. Champions and heroes don't rest..." Ash responded with a drowsy voice.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu raised his arms in the air, dozing off on Ash's shoulder.
"It was no big...deal..." Hollow fell on the ground, laying next to Ash's Dragonite. They were both asleep finally.
"A much-needed rest is what these two deserve." Celestia used her magic to carry Ash, Pikachu and Dragonite whilst Luna carried Hollow. They led the sleeping heroes to the nearest room in Canterlot that was used during the Pokemon Festival. They gently placed them on the beds as they were completely knocked out. All you could hear was constant snoring from them.
"To think that only these two managed to not only rescue Cold Colt from the kingdom but even freed the ponies as well. It's vastly impressive." Luna commented.
"It's more than impressive." Pyrestar walked up to them. "Both of them exceed expectations. These humans...from first glance they seem so unsure and empty-headed, but when they put their mind to something their minds move at lightning speeds. I now have even more faith that my world can be saved and restored."
"We should announce their victory immediately. Don't you think?" Luna said.
"Right. Everypony needs to hear this. Let's let them rest up." Celestia nodded as they left the group to rest away. Cold Colt sat on the floor with Emerald beside him, still unconscious. He saw Celestia, Luna and Pyrestar all walk in, staring at him. "As for you, young Cold Colt. We hope you're doing well and recovering."
"Me? I'm doing fine. Just a bit shaken up after what happened back there, ya know." Cold nervously replied. That's not the only reason he's shaken up. He's also still terrified of the thought of him ceasing to exist once everything returns to normal. Celestia could see that fear as well.
"Are you worried about your inevitable disappearance?" She asked.
"Yeah...Even if I got saved...does it even matter? I'm gonna vanish along with the memories as well. And so will you all." He sighed.
"There's no need to worry, young Cold Colt. You're safe now. You can thank Ash, Hollow and the Swords of Justice for saving you. And you still have many memories to experience before it all comes to an end." Celestia walked up to him. Speaking of the Swords of Justice, they had arrived here with Cobalion leading in the front as always. Celestia froze in place, attempting to keep her composure in front of Cobalion. Luna shook her head as Pyrestar was just confused. "C-Cobalion! G-Glad to see you here!" She said with a wide smile.
"Pleasure as well, Princess Celestia. We came here to see if everything is alright."
"It's alright as it can be." Celestia chuckled. "We were just about to announce the news to all of Equestria. You'll be immortalized as heroes, actually."
"Immortalized? As heroes? I like the sound of that!" Keldeo said with glee.
"We appreciate the offer, Princess Celestia. But we will have to decline." Cobalion replied, shattering Keldeo's dreams in an instant. "We have had our fair share of hero-worship before. For once, we'd prefer to step out of the hero light for once."
"Cobalion raises a good point. We already have all the ponies in Equestria coming towards us, praising us constantly. Especially Cobalion here." Virizion walked up to Cobalion nudging him. This sparked something in Celestia. Something that she had never felt before due to her always being at the top. Jealously. Seeing Virizion stand next to Cobalion and make contact with her made Celestia a bit uneasy as she clenched her teeth together, trying not to lose it. Virizion on the other hoof knew what she was doing. She and Terrakion already knew about Celestia's affection towards Cobalion, so the Grassland Pokemon decided to tease the sun princess in that one instance.
"We'll be taking our leave now. We will return to help once this world is in danger once more." Cobalion turned around with the other swords, ready to leave.
"Wait, Cobalion." Celestia walked towards him. "I was wondering...if it's not too much of a bother...perhaps we can...spend sometime together again. Just you and me."
"Very well. I will remember." Cobalion turned around, smirking. Celestia let out a sigh of relief, glad that she got all of that out.
"When are you going to eventually just accept her love?" Virizion whispered to him.
"Love takes time to build between two individuals between bonds. You can't rush it. Even if it is love at first sight."He answered. The Swords had exited Canterlot, now leaving Celestia, Luna and Pyrestar to begin their announcement.
3 hours had passed and the news got out quick, spreading across Equestria. Not only was Ash's recognition boosted even more, but Hollow has also now been deemed a hero as well. Not only that, but they even got their own stain glass window, specifically for them and their Pokemon.
All the way over at Ponyville, the citizens there were ecstatic to hear about the news. Not only that, but a huge sigh of relief came to all of them.
"They did it! Woohoo! This calls for a celebration!" Pinkie jumped for joy as Rarity was relieved. She almost fainted from her constant worrying.
"Told you he'd be able to do it. I wasn't worried for a second." Scootaloo nervously chuckled.
"I'm just glad they managed to rescue him. But when are they getting back?" Applejack said.
"No idea. But when they do, we're gonna have to let Cold Colt have a nice long rest, doncha think sis?" Apple Bloom looked up at her sister.
"You're right on that, sugarplum."
"And maybe then, Cold Colt's family can take him back. All of Equestria's heard the news right?" Apple Bloom replied. Hearing that made Applejack come to a conclusion. For a while she's been keeping the truth of Cold Colt a secret, not wanting to reveal him as a Rift Pony. But now she felt as if she had to speak the truth. All of Ponyville sees him as a fellow resident and hopefully, even with his identity revealed, they'll accept him.
"Ya'll. I got something I have to confess." Applejack turned to everypony, holding her breath. They all turned to her, ready to hear what the farm pony has to say. "You have to hear this too Apple Bloom. You see. The thing about Cold Colt. He ain't really a pony. I mean he is but...he's... a Rift Pony." She finally spoke the truth. And the reaction she expected came true. Everypony aside from the rest of the Mane 6 were shocked. They had no idea what to think. A Rift Pony was living amongst them this whole time? They don't even know that there's a second one here in the form of Jade Skies, even the Mane 6 don't know that Jade is a Rift Pony as well.
"Wait..so..he's...not even from Equestria...at all?" Lyra spoke.
"Not at all." Applejack shook her head. Everypony, especially Apple Bloom was perplexed. They were gossiping and talking about this new revelation. Now all Applejack and her friends had to hope for was that they'd end up accepting him, despite their not-so-pleasant history with Rift Ponies. That's when after a few seconds of discussion...they came to a conclusion. After spending time with Cold Colt, despite him being similar to Emerald Aura and Obsidian, they grew to like him. Very much. And if they can somewhat get along with Discord, they can get along with him as well.
"That's fine with us." said Mayor Mare.
"Y-You're okay with it?" Applejack stuttered.
"Mhm. Even if he's not a real pony...he's still one of us and apart of this town. And that is all we care about." She nodded.
"Plus, he's really nice to have around. Even if he's super-stubborn about it." Mr Cake said.
"When he gets back, we'll let him know that we really like him here, ya know." Derpy commented.
"And I like him as a brother. Really feels like family." Apple Bloom walked up to her sister.
"Aww..." Applejack was touched by the positive reaction. She pulled her little sister closer to her, giving her a hug. And speaking of such, Ash and Pikachu had returned with Cold Colt by his side. Not only that, but Ash was carrying Emerald on his back as well. "Look who's back already."
"Ash! Pikachu! Cold Colt!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Heya!" He waved back at them all. "Pika!"
"You're back! How did it go?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"It's was tough. There was a pretty close-call in one part, but we did it." Ash nodded.
"Pika-Pika-Pika!"
"Cold here's all safe and sound. And in good health too."
"Cold?" The Mane 6 all said.
"It's a neat nickname I gave to him." Ash explained.
"Oh." The nodded in understanding.
"Well, we're glad you're okay and safe, Cold." Applejack walked up to him. "Had us worried there." She couldn't help but notice that he had lowered his head, feeling gloomy. "What's wrong."
"Nothing...it's just that...will you guys even remember me forever?" He suddenly spouted. Everypony knew why he said that. Now that they know he's a Rift Pony, they understand his feelings now.
"Cold. Everypony now knows you're a Rift Pony...and that's okay."
"R-Really?" He looked up at her.
"Really. You've become apart of this town. You're one of us and you're even family. Who cares what you're made out of? You're still a pony to us." Applejack finished her speech as everypony nodded. Hearing this made the young unicorn feel something that he's never felt before.
In fact, since he's made of cosmic energy, he's never sleepy, never hungry and he never has to worry about running out of stamina. But the one thing that he can feel along with the others, are emotions. Since cosmic energy fills everything, emotions are a natural part of it. And he felt an emotion indeed. Tears ran through the young unicorn's eyes. He was trying to act tough by putting his hooves over his eyes.
"Are you...crying?" Derpy asked.
"I'm not crying...it's liquid pride." He kept trying to act tough, but they could see right through him. They all went up to him to comfort him.
"Pikachu." Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, landing on the young pony's back to pet him on the head. "Pika-Pika." He was basically saying it was alright now.
"Thank you, guys. Guess I haven't been too respectful to everypony here."
"No need to worry. If it makes you feel any better, we can sing you a song." Twilight spoke.
"Uh. No. I'm not really a song pon-" He shook his head, denying any songs but it was too late. They were too happy as they were already prepared to sing. And what they were going to sing was the same song they sang earlier today, but a different variant of it that Twilight heard a while back.
One world One world Now and forever, best friends Best friends Loyal and true, one dream One dream Side by side, There's nothing we can't do One hoof One hoof Helping the other Each heart Each heart Beating as one, We live We live Always together Sharing the same bright sun
You and me and Pokemon!
Till the end, I will be with you We will go where our dreams come true. All the times that we have been through You will always be my best friend!
Till the end, I will be with you We will go where our dreams come true All the time, that we have been through You will always be my best friend!
One world
A magic feeling Best friends It's grown so strong One dream Always leads me to the place where I belong One hoof Won't go away Each heart Never let me down! Best Friends We got the greatest friends that ever could be found Across every river, behind every tree, You & Me & Pokémon, Pokémon!
One world, one world Now and forever Best friends, best friends Loyal and true
One dream, one dream Side by side, there's nothing we can't do! One hand, one hand Helping the other Each heart, each heart Beating as one!
We live, we live, always together Sharing the same bright sun You & Me & Pokémon, You & Me & Pokémon, You & Me & Pokémon, You & Me & Pokémon
One world!
"...Alright that was actually pretty awesome." Cold nodded. They all chuckled as they went on with their day in Ponyville.
"I'm still pretty beat. I need another nap." Ash yawned. "Wanna clock out again, buddy?"
"Pikachu..." His partner nodded in response.
"By the way, Ash. Why did you bring her along?" Rainbow Dash referred to Emerald who was on Ash's back.
"Oh? Emerald Aura? She's actually a really good friend of Cold. So if she's a friend of him, then she's a friend of mine."
"That's right. Emerald actually really cares for me." Cold said. "Even if she doesn't show it. And she even helped get me away from Ghetsis. Can we please let her live here too?"
"Hmm...she did mind control Darkrai though..." Rarity wasn't sure about this.
"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll become good friends with her too. If she's against Ghetsis, then there's some good in her." Twilight spoke.
"Yes! Thank you so much, Twilight!" Cold lunged forward, hugging her. He quickly pulled back though. "Uh..sorry."
The day carried on with everypony living their lives casually once more. Twilight's Pokemon Lab, which she thought was going to be ruined by Adagio was actually fine. The Pokemon of PokePark had actually driven her away, saving the lab. It was nearing night and Ash couldn't help but look into the skies, sitting next to a tree and still thinking about what happened back there.
The image of someone who looked like Gary and an alternate version of himself couldn't escape his mind It was embedded there. He then came to the conclusion that it had to be an alternate universe. And this mysterious trainer who looked like him had to be his other-self. The only difference between him and the mysterious trainer was that he wore all red and didn't have his signature thunderbolt birthmark. Then Ash's curiosity got the best of him. He now wanted to see the other Pokemon worlds now and what they could possibly hold.
But he wasn't the only one who was thinking of this. The Rift had actually felt this. When Ash and Ghetsis's aura's both collided, the pulse they sent through the gateway managed to even affect the Rift itself. Feeling this, the Rift now had a marvellous idea. An idea that Ash actually created.
"Not bad, Ketchum. I wonder what would happen...if I included those worlds as well?"
It's been exactly one day since Cold Colt was rescued and saved from Team Plasma. And also one day since the defeat of one of Ghetsis's many kingdoms, thus giving the Saddle-Arabians their freedom.
Twilight was at her lab, readjusting everything and fixing the ceiling that had a hole in it via Machamp busting in. The hatch to the PokePark was now left open, giving Twilight a view of the Cove Area and access to it without having to frantically move her hoof around to find the opening to the hatch. And today, she was starting her role as a Pokemon Professor, and this time with no interruptions. Some ponies would be coming in today to grab their starter Pokemon. Spike was there as her assistant as always.
"Everything's all ready. Right, Spike?"
"Yep. Nothing out of the ordinary here." Spike nodded.
"Good. Now let's go over the starters again. Line up, everyone!" Twilight called for the 5 starters. "Okay so. You're all going to get your first trainer for today, which means you'll be setting out to help them through the Equestria Pokemon League or Equestria League as it's now known. So I hope you're able to find yourself the perfect partner for you, just like I found mine in the form Eve here." She looked over at her Espeon.
"Espeon..."
"Now. Get ready to-" Twilight froze for a bit as she noticed that something was off. There were actually only 4 starters present here. One was missing. "Wait a minute...1, 2, 3, 4- One of you isn't here..." She went over the ones that were present which were Piplup, Budew, Vulpix and Horsea. Treecko wasn't here. "Where's Treecko? Have any of you see him?"
The Pokemon shook their heads, having no clue where their fellow starter Pokemon was. Spike looked around and even he hasn't seen it anywhere.
"No sign of it anywhere in the lab. Maybe it's in the PokePark?" He said. But the Audino at PokePark, who could hear their conversation shook her head in denial, basically telling them that Treecko hasn't been here. "Guess not."
"Where could he be? He needs to be here for his soon-to-be trainer!" Twilight was starting to worry. Where is Treecko exactly?
His actual whereabouts? Sweet Apple Acres. Ever since the whole PokePark event, Treecko had grown fond of Applejack at that instance. So fond that it actually decided to stick around with her. It admired her honesty and fortitude, since it personally wanted to evolve into a powerful Sceptile one day, and it felt like Applejack was the pony to do help him with that.
Applejack on the other hoof was a bit confused. She didn't mind Treecko hanging out here since the Applin's do the same, but Treecko went above and beyond by constantly being on her back at all times, and sometimes in her hat. Applejack had no idea that Treecko saw her as its perfect trainer.
"Alright. You ready to head on to the lab, Apple Bloom?" Applejack walked to her sister.
"I'm ready! I can't wait to choose! That Cyndaquill looked cute! Oh but so did that Horsea! But that Piplup's voice...I can't choose! They're all so cute!" She was excited to choose her starter. In fact, she wasn't actually going to be joining the Pokemon League. Scootaloo's going for that path. Instead, she's decided to go on the path of a Pokemon Monotype Trainer. A trainer that only has Pokemon of a single type or share that type with dual typing. She couldn't' decide on whether she wanted an all Fire, Water or Grass team. The reason why this caught her interest was due to her seeing a trainer with only Fairy-Type Pokemon at the Pokemon Festival, and that was enough to sell her. She had an Emolga but that was before she really wanted to go Monotype.
"Let's get going then. Gotta return his little fella back to the lab too." AJ looked back at Treecko. The two sisters went along their way, heading to Twilight's Pokemon Lab. They weren't the only ones. Rarity was bringing along Sweetie Belle while Ash brought along Scootaloo. Even though they all had their own Pokemon already, having a starter Pokemon was acceptable and allowed, according to the official Pokemon rulebook.
They all arrived at the Pokemon Lab were Twilight was pacing back and forth, worrying about Treecko's whereabouts. But once they passed through, she noticed that Treecko was right there, on Applejack's back.
"Huh? Treecko!" She exclaimed. "There you are!"
"Sorry, Twilight. He's kinda been stuck on me for a while now." Applejack said.
"That's fine. It's perfect that you came here with Treecko at the right time. I'm just about to give out the starters."
"Alright, Treecko. Off ya go." Applejack looked at the Wood Gecko Pokemon. But, Treecko refused to get off Applejack, not wanting to leave. Not at all. It kept itself stationary on her back. AJ looked back at Twilight, shrugging at her.
"We can work with this." Twilight sighed. "Alright Cutie Mark Crusaders. It's time for you to choose your starter. I hope you've made your choices already."
"I've made mine! I want all Grass-Types. So I'm going for that one!" Apple Bloom looked over at Budew. "Budew's for me."
"Oh. So you want to be a monotype trainer, huh? Interesting choice. Alright. Off you go Budew." Twilight looked over at the Bud Pokemon. Budew hopped over to Apple Bloom, choosing its new trainer.
"Budew!"
"And you Scootaloo? I already know you're joining the Equestria League, and you already have the Cyndaquill from here. So you want a team that's all about battling, right?"
"You betcha! But it's kinda tough. I don't even know what most of those guys evolve into." Scootaloo examined the other 4 Pokemon. "What do you think, Ash?"
"Hm. These are some pretty good Pokemon options." Ash kneeled down to look at the Pokemon. "Even I would have a tough time choosing, ya know." Ash petted the Piplup on the head. "Which one do you think will help you in the league, Scootaloo? It's probably all of them, ya know."
"Hrrmgh...I think f I had to choose...I'll go for...that one!" Scootaloo made her decision. Her choice? Horsea. "I hear Water-Type Pokemon have fewer weaknesses."
"Horsea it is," said Twilight. The Dragon Pokemon hopped over to its new trainer, Scootaloo. "Now all that leaves is you, Sweetie Belle. Who's your choice?"
"Well...I hear that Ash's friend Dawn is really good at Pokemon Contests. And she has a Piplup. So if I'm gonna be a great Coordinator...I'll choose Piplup! Plus penguins are cute."
"Excellent choice Sweetie Belle. Glad you didn't pick a destructive Fire-Type." Rarity chuckled as Vulpix blew fire at her face, making her cough out smoke.
"Great. That's all of them. Sorry that nopony got to choose you as well." Twilight said to the remaining starter. But then...Twilight had an idea that sparked in her mind. She looked over at Applejack and Treecko for a bit. She then remembered how Applejack couldn't decide on what her first Pokemon would be. And she was looking at a perfect match right here. "Hey...wait a minute. Applejack!"
"Yeah?" The farm pony replied.
"Why don't you have your own starter Pokemon?"
"Me? Have a starter? I guess ya'll are still trying to find a perfect Pokemon for me, huh?" She chuckled. "I don't know if I can choose any of em at all, really.." Applejack looked at the remaining Pokemon.
"Maybe. Or maybe... your perfect Pokemon is right behind you." Twilight nudged her head forward. Applejack turned around, looking at Treecko who was still there. The farm pony then took a second to process this. Twilight was basically saying that Treecko was her starter Pokemon.
"You...You think Treecko's for me?"
"Absolutely!" The young alicorn nodded. "I didn't think too much about it at first. But seeing how much Treecko likes you and the fact that it came to you for help when we were trapped in PokePark...I'd say you've found yourself a reliable partner right beside you. At least...that's my conclusion."
"Oh. I mean...that's true. It did have to go through that tough weather to even get to me. And if it wasn't for Treecko, I would've never known that ya'll were trapped in there and I couldn't get Ash to come help at all. Maybe you're right. Maybe this is the one for me. I think?"
"Tree."
"What do you say Applejack? Do you choose Treecko as your partner?" Twilight walked up to her. The others had eager faces, wanting to hear the response.
After taking some time to think it over...Applejack finally came to a conclusion. Her answer was absolute.
"Yes. I choose Treecko."
"Yes! Finally! You've chosen your Pokemon!" Twilight flew up with joy, glad that this day had finally come. Now all of her friends have Pokemon of their own. Took a while though. "Plus you two go really well with each other!"
"I guess we do."
"Treecko!"
"Now. All I have to do is give you three these." Twilight used her magic to grab some Pokeball cases and some Pokedexes. "Every trainer who starts out on their Pokemon Profession must always have these on them. Pokeballs for capture and Pokedexes for recordings."
"But I already have my own Pokedex." said Scootaloo.
"Oh. Well then...here you two go. And one Pokeball for you too, Applejack." Twilight gave them each their own Pokedexes and Pokeballs, making them have the appearance of a true upstart trainer. But there was one final touch that was needed.
"Oh. I almost forgot. To give you the perfect appearance of a trainer..." Rarity had brought along her saddle-bag, and inside of it were trainer outfits for the Crusaders. They were given trainer hats that matched their mane colours, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were given saddle-bags that were custom made by Rarity and Leavanny. They were perfect for fitting as many Pokeballs and other Pokemon essentials inside.
"Now we're matching trainers, huh girls?" Scootaloo pulled her friends towards her.
"Alright! That went much better than I expected. This first day as a Pokemon Professor was pretty easy actually." Twilight said. "Now. What's next?" Twilight grabbed the Pokemon rulebook and guidebook, searching for the next step of a trainer's adventure.
The group decided to have some small talk in meantime, but unbeknownst to them and all of Ponyville, they were about to be greeted by another world. A world parallel to the Pokemon World. The Rift had shown up in the skies once more, similar to how it appeared for the first time in both worlds. And without any hesitation, the cosmic entity unleashed that same flash of light that spread across the world with ludicrous speed for anypony to even keep up with. But Ash could sense this pulse of cosmic energy that flowed through the world, and to some extent, so did Twilight. That's when they realised that the Rift had done something.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, running out of the lab. The others followed the Electric Mouse Pokemon's path as everypony was outside, staring into the distance. Why they were staring at the distance? Well, that was because another gateway had opened up. The gateway was located right near the Everfree Forest this time.
"Another gateway?" Ash said.
"Is it Ghetsis?!" Twilight readied herself, worried that it might be Ghetsis.
"What's going on? Why's there another gateway here?" Rainbow Dash flew in.
Everypony and Pokemon's attention was turned to the sudden appearance of the gateway. That's when someone could finally be seen. The first thing the saw was a silhouette of a human. One that looked familiar to Ash. The silhouette resembled his old rival and friend Gary.
"Gary?" Ash spoke, leaning forward. Once that familiar face walked through, it was revealed to be a trainer who was similar to Gary, the only difference being that his hair was a bit lighter than Gary's and he seemed to be older. But this wasn't Gary Oak.
This was the trainer Blue. He had passed through the gateway out of curiosity.
"Whew. Get a good look at this place." Blue spoke.
"Even sounds a bit like him! Hey, Gary!" Ash shouted.
"Hm? You talking to me kid?" Blue responded.
"Yeah! I didn't know there was an alternate Gary out there!" Ash said.
"Pika!"
"What? Oh no...my name's Blue. I don't have a clue on who this Gary guy is." Blue shrugged.
"He looks exactly like you! I guess Gary's name's different in that world over there."
"You talking about alternate worlds? Really now?" Blue chuckled a bit. "Actually...Come to think of it...you look familiar too." Blue examined Ash. "You look a lot like Red actually. Maybe you ain't joking." Speaking of Red, the next person to pass through the gateway had shown up. All attentions were taken back to the gateway once more. That's when everypony saw the silhouette of the person who looked like Ash.
His hair was identical, so was his style of clothing. Hat and jacket, except instead of all blue, it's all red. Twilight and everypony even started to believe that this was a parallel Ash.
"Ash?" Twilight leaned forward.
The trainer had finally passed through, revealing himself to be Red.
"Sweet Celestia! He really does look like Ash!" Rarity exclaimed.
"This guy over here is my best pal and rival, Red."
"Red, huh? That's a pretty fun name." Pinkie Pie giggled.
"So this means that there are other Pokemon worlds? Amazing." Twilight said. "I wonder what their reality is like?"
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. This is our humble town, Ponyville." Mayor Mare walked towards the two.
"Ponyville? There's a whole town with pony Pokemon? Talk about freaky." Blue laughed. "I'm surprised you all can talk too."
"Oh, we're not Pokemon. We're just ponies." Fluttershy explained.
"Really? Aw, that's kinda boring actually..."
"Boring? Pssh! You ain't seen nothing yet! We're not just your average run of the mill ponies." Rainbow said to him.
"Well, why don't we introduce each other first!" Pinkie bounced over to Red and Blue. "My name's Pinkie Pie! And these are all my friends from Ponyville! Blue was it?"
"That's right. What kind of name is Pinkie Pie anyways?"
"And you're Red! Nice to meet you, Mr Red!"
"...." No answer. He gave no answer. In fact, he hasn't said a word at all. All he's been doing is standing there with that same serious face all this time. It was actually kind of intimidating everypony, even Aria, who's pretty deadpan herself was a bit uncomfortable. Somepony coughed as another whistled. Twilight winced at the fact that Red gave no response whatsoever. There was an awkward silence that filled the town as a tiny little Furret was just walking by.
"Uhh...this is the part where you say hello back? Or at least nice to meet you?" Pinkie spoke to him again, but there was no answer once more.
"This is um...awkward." Twilight moved her hoof on the ground, looking to the side.
"You'll have to forgive Red. He's not much of a talker...at all." Blue put his hand on Red's shoulder.
"Oh. Did something happen to him in his childhood maybe?" Fluttershy uttered.
"Nope. He just doesn't talk. It is what it is." Blue shrugged.
"That's kinda lame...but we can work around it!" said Pinkie Pie.
"Maybe. But we're just here out of curiosity. We plan to head back soon." Blue pointed his thumb at the gateway behind them. "But this gateway thing's pretty neat actually."
"But why did the Rift decide to include another Pokemon world?" Twilight wondered. "Is it just to find more excitement?"
"Who cares? I'm all for it. Red, right?" Ash walked up to Red. The silent trainer looked over to Ash, also noticing that he and Ash actually do resemble each other a bit. "Let's have a battle!"
"Pikachu!"
"Really Ash? You're gonna pick a fight with the first guy you see?" Twilight asked.
"Of course! If he's my alternate self...at least that's what I think...then I have to battle him! What do you say, Red? We can make it a short one if that's cool with you."
"..." The silent trainer nodded in response, accepting the challenge. Just like Ash, Red was pretty fond of battling.
"Awesome! I wanna see how strong you really are!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Wonder how the two compare to each other?" Bon Bon said to Lyra.
"If they're parallels of each other then they should be on the same level, right?" Lyra responded.
"Only one way to find out. I'll clear everything out so that the town doesn't get demolished by Pokemon. Again..." Mayor Mare sighed, walking off to clear some space.
The two trainers stood on opposite sides with everypony spectating from a distance. It was about to be a trainer battle between two seasoned trainers with years of experience behind them. Both their eyes met as they could each see the fire in their eyes. Both were eager to go against each other. Red was actually intrigued by Ash. He believed that this parallel version of himself was actually mildly amusing. And he as well wanted to see how strong Ash is if he really is his alternate self.
"So. How strong is your Red? Or should I say, Ash?" Blue asked the ponies.
"How strong is he? Ash is super-strong! Way more than you can even imagine!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"Oh really? Same could be said for Red. He's a real force to be reckoned with. I should know. Not many can stand up to him. And I doubt he's an exception."
"Oh, yeah? Well, Ash is a hero so...nyeh!" Scootaloo stuck her tongue out."
"Are you two ready?" Mayor Mare said to the two.
"Always ready!"
"Pikachu!"
"...." Red had his hand in his pocket, nodding in response.
"Very well then. Both of you can only use 4 Pokemon for this short battle since I don't want my town being demolished by even more Pokemon attacks. You may begin. Just don't go overboard."
Red made the first call. He sent out a Pokemon first. His first choice was his own Pikachu.
"Pika-Pika-Pika!" Red's Pikachu said.
"He even has his own Pikachu? They might as well be parallels!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Your own Pikachu huh? Then I'll go with my buddy Pikachu as well. Pikachu! I choose you!"
"Pikachu!" Ash's Pikachu hopped off his partner's shoulder, ready to face off against his fellow Electric Mouse.
"This is gonna be confusing...what happens if there's a ton of smoke? How will we know which Pikachu belongs to one of them?" Twilight asked.
"We'll know." Fluttershy responded.
"Let's do this! Quick Attack!" The battle began. Ash made the first move with Pikachu moving at blinding speeds.
"Quick Attack." Red finally spoke since he needed to at least give commands.
"Oh, now he speaks?!" Pinkie bellowed.
Both Pikachu crashed their heads into each other with their own Quick Attacks, knocking each other back and dealing some damage to one another.
"Use Thunderbolt!" Ash's Pikachu charged up a bolt of lightning with 100,000 volts packed behind it.
"Thunderbolt." Red's Pikachu did the exact same. Both Thunderbolt's met against each other, clashing. They proved to be even in strength, cancelling each other out as the only result was a cloud of smoke that emerged.
"Pretty even, huh Red? Guess both of our Pikachu's are alike as well huh?" Ash smirked.
"..." Red smiled, basically agreeing with him without words. "Iron Tail." Red's Pikachu gained a hard steel tail. So far, his Pikachu shared the exact same moveset as Ash's.
"Use Iron Tail as well!" Ash's Pikachu used his own Iron Tail. Both ran at each other, clashing their tails together. Soon it was a back forth collision of Iron Tails. Red's Pikachu attempted to sweep Ash's Pikachu, but his opposing Pikachu hopped over, slamming Red's on the head with his Iron Tail.
"Direct hit!" Ash said.
Red's Pikachu was sent back by Iron Tail however, it recovered fairly quickly.
"I take it back. This kid's actually pretty good. Matching Red like that is no small feat." Blue nodded.
"You ain't seen nothing yet. Go get em, Ash!" Pinkie cheered.
"Let's follow up with style! Electroweb!" Ash's Pikachu jumped up with its tail emitting electricity. His Electric Mouse Pokemon tossed a web of electricity downwards at his fellow Pikachu.
"Light Screen." Red gave off a defensive command. His Pikachu surrounded himself in a protective light barrier. This helped to nullify Electroweb, basically making his Pikachu immune to it. "Now head in with Quick Attack." Red pointed forward. His Pikachu broke through the web, destroying it as he tackled Ash's Pikachu with blinding speeds.
"Pika!" Ash's' Pikachu cried out.
"Follow up with Thunderbolt." Red was about to continue the assault. A bolt of lightning raced towards his opponent.
"Use Iron Tail to absorb it!" Ash's Pikachu quickly recovered in the air. He turned his tail iron which was actually a good call. A trick Ash picked up from Rainbow Dash's Fourth Gym Battle. Iron Tail had absorbed the Thunderbolt, making it a perfect conductor. "Now! Use Iron Tail and Thunderbolt at the same time!" Ash gave off a new command that resulted in something that Red had never seen before.
"Iron tail as well." Red made sure to retaliate. His Pikachu ran towards the other Electric Mouse Pokemon as both of them were heading towards each other. Both Iron Tail's collided but the only difference this time was that Ash's Pikachu emitted Thunderbolt by using the electricity it absorbed from Red's Pikachu. Sparks of Thunderbolts were thrown everywhere, some almost hitting the ponies and some hitting their homes. Both Pikachu's had pushed each other back once more from the hard clash of the tails.
"This Red guy's something else. He's got my blood boiling." Ash was enjoying this a lot. The fact that Red could match him proved that they were parallels. "Alright, Pikachu! Time to show Red what we can do!"
"Pikachu!"
"Let's finish this...Quick Attack." Red's Pikachu rushed in, quickly moving at ludicrous speeds. He smashed into Ash's Pikachu with a speedy Quick Attack. But that's when Ash's Pikachu gave off a smirk.
"Iron Tail!" Ash took advantage of this by having his Pikachu slam his tail down on Red's Pikachu's head. The opposing Pikachu had been sent to the ground, feeling the harsh impact. And that one final Iron Tail was actually just strong enough to cause Red's Pikachu to faint.
"Hah! See? What did I tell you?" Rainbow Dash taunted.
"Yeah, whatever. It ain't over yet though." Blue replied.
"..." Red returned his Pikachu, knowing that he was beaten. But he still had some Pokemon to spare. His next choice? He sent out a Snorlax.
"Snor!"
"He even has a Snorlax as well? Then I probably guess what other Pokemon he might have in his team." Twilight said.
"Snorlax huh? Okay, Pikachu. Come back for now." Ash called his best friend back. "We'll get past Snorlax with you... Go! Riolu!" For Ash's choice, it was Riolu.
"Rio!"
"Oh. He's got a Riolu? Lucky." Blue nodded. "Not many trainers can just have that on them."
"Stay sharp Riolu! Snorlax is a pretty durable Pokemon that can hit hard too!"
"Riolu!"
"Snorlax. Body Slam." Red made the first move this time. His Snorlax ran forward, lunging towards Riolu and planning to slam its entire body into him.
"Dodge and use Vacuum Wave!" Riolu quickly backflipped away, avoiding the Body Slam. Snorlax crashed on to the ground, making it shake from just falling. The Emanation Pokemon then unleashed waves of vacuums that made contact with the huge Pokemon. Snorlax definitely felt the hits, but it didn't really seem to be affected by them. It was a very durable Pokemon at the end of the day.
"High Horsepower." Snorlax once again used its entire body as a weapon as it smashed into Riolu, sending the small baby Pokemon flying.
"Rio!" Riolu fell on the ground, feeling the impact of High Horsepower.
"You okay, Riolu?"
"Rio." Riolu stood up, holding his head. He was still raring to go.
"Wild Charge." Snorlax surrounded itself in electricity, running towards Riolu once more.
"Use Double Team!" Riolu suddenly split itself into multiple afterimage clones, confusing Snorlax. Snorlax halted its movements, confused on which one was Riolu. "Gotcha! Force Palm!" The real Riolu showed himself, running towards Snorlax and striking its palm on its huge belly. Snorlax was sent flying by the sheer power of Force Palm. And it did some pretty sweet damage in the process, even for a Pokemon as durable as Snorlax. Red was impressed. He hasn't had a battle this engaging since he battled on Mt. Silver.
"...." Red suddenly returned his Snorlax back to its Pokeball. He wanted to send out his next Pokemon for this. And what was the next one he there out? It was a Lapras.
"Lap!"
"Lapras, huh? Alright. Riolu, keep sharp."
"Riolu!"
"Lapras. Blizzard." The Transport Pokemon suddenly summoned harsh Blizzard that appeared in Ponyville. The Blizzard had pelted hail towards Riolu, distracting it as some of it got in the Emanation Pokemon's eyes.
The ponies all felt the Blizzard hit them, giving them all a chill. "D-D-D-Did he have to g-g-g-go for a move like t-t-that?!" Twilight stuttered, unable to handle the cold like everypony else.
"This isn't good...Riolu! Vacuum Wave!" Ash had to find a way to get rid of this Blizzard. So as a response, Riolu shot Vacuum Waves forward, blowing away bits of the Blizzard. One Vacuum Wave managed to strike Lapras right in the face. The Blizzard had finally stop due to this. "Good job! Now head in Force Palm!" Riolu rushed in, ready to strike the Transport Pokemon.
"Psychic." Red gave off a powerful command. Lapras's eyes emanated a purple light as it lifted Riolu up from the ground with its hidden psychic prowess. Lapras sent Riolu back with Psychic whilst also dealing massive damage to him in the process. "Repeat." Lapras then brought Riolu back, ready to repeat the attack.
"Rio?!"
"Oh no! Quick Riolu! Use Vacuum Wave!" Riolu had stopped Lapras's Psychic by once again, hitting it in the face with a ranged Vacuum Wave. "Yes!"
"Hydro Pump." However, Lapras retaliated immediately. It was right up in Riolu's face, hitting the baby Pokemon with a highly concentrated Hydro Pump. This attack was devastating for Riolu as it was rocketed to the ground by it. Everypony felt the hit as well. They could tell that Riolu took massive damage from that.
"R-Riolu..." The Emanation Pokemon was slowly getting up as he had tatters all over him.
"His Pokemon's pretty formidable. But it's just a baby Pokemon at the end of the day. It's not gonna do much against a Pokemon like Lapras." said Blue.
"That Lapras has got some pretty scary moves on it...If either Psychic or Hydro Pump lands, it's not gonna be pretty. Unless..." Ash was about to perform his usual crazy antics once more. "Riolu! Run in and spin with Vacuum Wave!" And there it was. Whatever Ash was planning, his Pokemon just went along with it as usual. Riolu ran forward whilst having Vacuum Waves in his palm. At first, everypony thought this was Counter Shield, but it wasn't.
"Lapras. Psychic." Red went for a devastating move once more. But things were different this time. Riolu's spinning with Vacuum waves had resembled that of a tornado as they were moving around, constantly hitting Lapras in the face. Because of this, Lapras couldn't focus properly, meaning that it couldn't Psychic right now. Red was impressed. Through all of his years of battling he had never met a trainer like Ash. He's never met someone who improvises with moves. For the longest time, he's just been battling in a simple way. This was a fresh change of pace. He gave off a smirk, glad that he could enjoy a battle as interesting as this.
"Now! Get closer!" Riolu got closer whilst spinning around. Soon the Emanation Pokemon was up close and personal at the Transport Pokemon. "Force Palm!"
"Hydro Pump!" Red finally raised his voice. Both Pokemon unleashed their strongest attacks. Riolu's palm made contact with Hydro Pump as they both collided. An explosion of water occurred from the clash, causing both Riolu and Lapras to be knocked back. The result? Both of them had actually fainted.
"Rio..."
"Lap..."
"A double faint?" Applejack said.
"You did good Riolu." Ash went up to Riolu, picking him up.
"Riolu..."
"Get a good rest." Ash carried Riolu over to Fluttershy who's Audino was ready to heal Riolu up. "You're pretty awesome, Red. Your team's kinda making me try all sorts of new things."
"...." Red gave off a silent 'hmph' with a smirk on his face. He had one Pokemon he always used in battle. To him, this was Red's best Pokemon and his best partner, similar to how Ash's best partner is his Pikachu. He tossed out the Pokeball, sending out his strongest Pokemon.
Charizard.
"CHAR!" The Flame Pokemon let out a mighty roar that shook the area around them.
"Charizard huh? This is gonna be a tough one." Ash already knew how much a powerhouse a Charizard can be. Out of all the Pokemon he's encountered and owned before, Charizard is definitely the one that always continues to impress him with how powerful they are, despite the trainer. "If that's the case. Then I choose you! Dragonite!" Ash sent out Dragonite to deal with Charizard. A fitting Pokemon to go up against it.
"DRA!"
"Hold on." Twilight examined the situation. She realised that the two Pokemon were actually very alike in appearance with slight differences here and there. She also realised that this could get ugly. Really fast. If two Pokemon battle, then who knows what the outcome will be? "Uh. Maybe we should put this one on a hold for n-" Too late. The two of them were so into the battle that nothing was going to stop them.
"Dragonite! Hyper Beam!"
"Charizard! Fire Blast!"
Two devasting attacks that were some of the strongest in Pokemon history met against each other. A beam of pure hyper energy and blast of pure fire. Once they both collided, a shockwave so grand and so intense spread across Ponyville. In fact, everypony had been knocked back by the shockwave as some of them were sent flying into the air. Their homes were even affected as well with the windows shattering in the process. Even Twilight's castle, which was fairly distant was affected. The banner on it flew off due to the two attacks clashing.
"Dragon Claw!" Both trainers gave off the exact same commands to their Pokemon. Both Pokemon clashed claws with draconic energy surrounding them. They flew around, constantly hitting each other back and forth with Dragon Claw. Charizard had hit Dragonite all the way through a tree, obliterating it. Charizard then flew over at Dragonite, ready to unleash another Dragon Claw on it. The Dragon Pokemon quickly retaliated by swinging its claw faster than Charizard could. Everypony was staying at a faraway distance, not wanting to get caught up in all of this.
"Hurricane!" Ash raised his fists in the air, making Dragonite fly around in the air. The speed it was moving at was enough to generate a mighty hurricane.
"Fly in and use Dragon Claw!" Red decided to get creative as well. Charizard flew into the Hurricane and thanks to it being part Flying, Hurricane wasn't too much of a bother to it. Charizard struck Dragonite's belly with Dragon Claw, dealing some heavy damage.
"Blow Charizard away with Hyper Beam!" Dragonite returned the favour by unleashing Hyper Beam. Due to the two of them being side a Hurricane, the Hyper Beam's impact affected Hurricane, causing a powerful wind pressure to spread across Ponyville. Both trainers held their hats as they could feel the wind blowing on them. Both Charizard and Dragonite were still up, barely even close to fainting as they landed down on the ground. Red was about to push it even further as he revealed to have a mega ring on his wrist.
"Alright! That's enough!" Mayor Mare bellowed.
Both trainers stopped their battle, looking around the area. They just now noticed that their battle had caused some damage to Ponyville. If they were to continue, all of Ponyville would be destroyed in the process.
"Woah. Guess we went overboard just a bit huh?" Ash chuckled as Red had a tiny and silent chuckle.
"A bit?!" They all said.
The battle finally came to an end with it being postponed. Everypony let out a sigh of relief, glad that it was over. Well...some of them were upset that the battle had ended. Ash and Red helped clean up the mess since they were one who caused it thanks to their Pokemon. Audino had healed up their Pokemon as they chipped in to clean up the rubble and mess caused by them.
"That was the most intense Pokemon battle yet. I guess that's the result when two seasoned trainers go against each other, huh?" said Twilight.
"I'll say. I've never seen Red so into a battle before. In fact, I've never seen him smile that much. Your pal Ash really left a good impression on him." Blue replied.
"Your friend Red is pretty great too. It's kinda cool how he's so serious all the time." Rainbow Dash commented.
"Anyways. We've hung around here enough. We're heading back home."
"You're leaving already? Come on, stay for a bit!" Pinkie bounced to him.
"No can do. Got a lot of important stuff to do back home. But hey...we can come back another time. This place ain't so bad."
"I guess so. The gateway to your world is right at Everfree after all." Fluttershy nodded.
"Yo, Red! Let's get a move on!" Blue called for his rival.
"..." Red nodded walking towards his old friend.
"It was fun meeting you ponies. We'll stop by at any time."
"Wait!" Ash ran up to them. "If your world's a parallel of our Pokemon world...does that mean that there are guys like Brock and Misty there?"
"The early Gym Leaders? Yeah, why?"
"Awesome! So it is a parallel world after all! I wonder what everyone else is like there? I can't wait to see it!"
"He's sure eager. He's definitely the more expressive version of you, huh?" Blue chuckled as Red gave a small smirk.
"Red! Let's have another battle someday! A full one!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Alright." Red finally spoke in a casual manner instead of commands as he and Blue took their leave. They passed through the gateway, returning to their version of Kanto. But to everypony's surprise, the gateway started to move, as if it was changing locations. The gateway took the skies, floating on to who knows where? It now had a new location that had yet to be discovered.
"D-Did it just?" Lyra stuttered.
"...Okay that's it. I'm heading to bed." Amethyst sighed, having enough of this. It was a wild day for everypony. After the battle, they needed a break.
"I can't wait to see who else might come through the gateway? Wonder what some of our friends are like in the other world, huh buddy?"
"Pikachu!"
A new world has been discovered today. Identical to the world of Pokemon. Whatever lies beyond that third gateway to another world is just filled with familiar faces that have yet to truly show themselves to all of Equestria. One thing's for sure, this won't be the last time they cross paths as the mysteries that surround all three worlds are still waiting to be discovered. As the journey continues.
Pinkie Pie was humming, having the time of her life as usual. She was mixing cake mix at rapid speeds, making some of the cake mixes fly onto her Slurpuff and Gummy.
"This is going to be so great, Gummy! We have absolutely nothing to do today except BAKE! I've been waiting for just the right time to try Granny Pie's Super Special Triple Chocolate 15-layer Marjolaine recipe! It's gonna be amazing!" She looked over at a pot that had the recipe inside of it. "Jade! Wanna help?"
"I'm not really a baker." She replied.
"Okay! Suit yourself! Let's see. Nutty meringue, chocolate ganache, praline and nuts, cocoa flavoured buttercream..." Pinkie licked the cream of her hoof. "An hour per layer. That's 15 hours of pure baking bliss!" She went over to the oven, opening it as the first layer was complete. She took the pastry, placing it on the table. "Okay, Gummy! I think we're ready to start prepping the second layer!" That's when something was occurring with Cutie Mark. It was starting to glow constantly, which meant one thing. "Oh my gosh! My Cutie Mark." She suddenly gasped. "YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?!"
"No."
Pinkie leaned forward to both Jade and Gummy. "The map..." She whispered.
"What map?"
"Shh...it's a secret." She hushed Jade. "Could you all take over for a bit? Hopefully, this will be quick." Pinkie went out of the door. But she quickly came back inside, placing some baking powder down. "I'll just leave you with this baking powder. When the first layer cools, you all can drizzle some of the ganache over it. Slurpuff can guide you too. Buh-bye! And good luck!" She finally left.
"...I don't know to bake though."
All the way over at Twilight's castle, Pinkie Pie had been summoned by the map. Twilight was looking over the modelled Griffonstone that was on the friendship map. It had both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash's Cutie Mark's floating over it, meaning that they were the only two who had to go.
"This is so exciting! The map is summoning you to Griffonstone! The very heart of the Griffon Kingdom." Twilight grabbed a book all about Griffon history. "I don't know if either of you have read Bygone Griffons of Greatness but Griffons were known to be-"
"Rude insensitive bullies?" Rainbow Dash cut her off.
"You mean Gilda?" Twilight turned to her.
"Yeah, I mean Gilda! When she came to Ponyville she was a total jerk to all my friends! Especially Pinkie Pie!"
"She was a bit of a party pooper."
"Mhm." Rainbow nodded.
"So maybe Gilda was a little rude. You still get to go to Griffonstone. And according to this book, it has a rich, fascinating history." Twilight opened up the book, reading the history behind it. "In ancient times, Griffons were known to be as greedy as Dragons, always hoarding their bits and other treasures. But all that changed when King Grover found the mysterious golden Idol of Boreas. Legend says the idol of Boreas was made from the dust of golden sunsets blown across the mountains by the north winds. Possessing the idol of Boreas filled the Griffons' hearts with pride. It's said that that one great treasure is responsible for turning Griffonstone into the most majestic Kingdom of all the land."
"And why do you care so much about Griffons anyway?" said Rainbow.
"It was actually Gilda's visit that made me curious. So I picked up Bygone Griffons of Greatness. And I've been hooked ever since! And now..." Twilight went over to the map, seeing that only Pinkie and Rainbow could go and not her. "Now you two get to see Griffonstone with your very own eyes."
"Huh? Just me and Rainbow Dash?"
"Hey, you can totally take my place if you want. I still have half a nap to finish." She yawned, not eager to head to Griffonstone.
"Why don't you just come with us? I mean you are the princess of friendship!" Pinkie suggested.
"No, no. If the map wanted me to go to the coolest Kingdom in all of Equestria and tour the palace, and see the actual idol that unites an entire species which would be super amazing...I'm sure it would've said so." She was clearly not happy about this. "You two can handle whatever the issue is just fine. I'll stay here and so important princessy things... I guess."
"Well then, come on Dashie! We're going to Griffonstone!" Pinkie bounced off.
"Fine..." Rainbow sighed.
"That's the spirit!" Pinkie blew a party blower at her. The two of them were off on their friendship task.
As usual, they took a train to reach their destination. As the train moved along, it was nearing Griffonstone shortly.
"Whatcha reading there, Rainbow?" Pinkie asked Rainbow Dash who was reading a book about Griffons made by Twilight.
"Twilight literally wrote a book on what we need to do in Griffonstone."
"You mean like a guide on how to figure out what problem we're told to fix?" Pinkie was hoarding some snacks over to her side of the seat.
"And then some. It's like Twilight herself in book form." Rainbow Dash then started to mimic Twilight. "Always carry plenty of bits. The Griffons are sure to help you as long as you share the wealth." But to the multi-coloured maned pony's surprise, Pinkie Pie had wasted all the bits that Twilight gave them on sweet purchases.
"Umm...could I borrow some bits?" Pinkie squeed.
They weren't the only ones heading to Griffonstone, one trainer in particular who was venturing the pony world from time to time was none other than Paul, who had recently been seen with Aria last time. His journey was leading him to Griffonstone, so far he's only ended up in rough and tacky locations. And this was one of them. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had no idea they were about to cross paths with one of Ash's rivals. Their main objective was to speak to King Guto who was apparently the previous king. The current king is unknown to Twilight so when they come across him, they can tell him that the Princess of Friendship sent them both. And if that didn't work, they could always try a library and maybe they can get some photos along the way.
Once they arrived at Griffonstone, they saw how...unpleasant it was. Actually, it was pretty pathetic. Pinkie Pie put it best as she described it as a 'Total Dump'. The way it was structured was so dry and crooked that it looked like some of the homes could fall apart at any moment. Not only that but some of them had holes in their homes. And the trees were either cracked, wilted or just laying on the ground. The Griffons didn't seem to care too much surprisingly.
"Ugh. Maybe the map should've called Rarity instead of us." Rainbow Dash winced.
"Excuse me, sir?" Pinkie tried to grab the attention of a Griffon, but it didn't pay her any attention. The pink pony then went up in his face. "This IS Griffonstone, right?" She asked. But the Griffin grabbed her face, pushing her aside as he went along his merry way. "Well, that wasn't very nice."
"None of this looks nice." A voice answered her. It was Paul who also finally arrived here. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie turned to him, spotting the human that was here.
"A human? Are you here to help the Griffons too?" Pinkie asked.
"Help them? Nah. I'm just on a small venture to find a rare Pokemon. Couldn't care less about this dump really. I just heard there was one here." Paul responded. "Why are you colourful ponies even in a place like this in the first place?"
"Well right now, I was thinking of heading over to the palace and ask the king what's going on?" Pinkie answered.
"We don't have a king. Losers." A Griffon replied to her words. Not just any Griffon. It was Gilda.
"Hello...Gilda." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at her.
"Dash." Gilda did the same.
"Pinkie!" Pinkie Pie followed up by exclaiming her name.
"What are you doing here?" asked Rainbow.
"Uh...I'm a Griffon. What's your excuse, dweebs? And what is that thing? A hairless monkey?" She pointed at Paul.
"Hairless monkey?" Paul silently said.
"Hey! These dweebs are here to help Griffonstone! And this is a human!" Pinkie went up to her.
"Help at what?"
"Well...we're not really sure. But it involves a map and Cutie Marks and a problem and-"
"Bored now!" Gilda walked past her, heading off.
"Well if you don't have a king. Can you at least tell us where the Idol of Boreas is?"
"Haha! Don't tell me you really believe in that thing?" Gilda laughed at it.
"You'd better believe in it!" An old gruff voice responded, coughing in the process as he fell over, exiting his home. "The idol was the best thing to ever happen to us Griffins!"
"Oh great. Now you got Grandpa Gruff started." Gilda sighed as Gruff walked forward.
"I'll tell ya the whole tragic tale...for a couple of bits." Their greediness was showing as he extended his claw out for some sweet bits. Rainbow Dash sighed, giving him 2 bits. The old gruff Griffon examined the bits by biting into one of them. They were real as he placed them under his hat. "The first Griffon King, King Grover, united our kind like we've never been united before or since! And he did it all with that incredible Idol of Boreas!" He rambled on about the tale as Gilda was mimicking him from the back. She had heard this too many times that the whole speech has been ingrained in her head. Pinkie snickered at it. "And that Idol brought pride to the heart of every Griffon that saw it! From one king to the next, Griffonstone and our golden idol were the envy of all other species! It held us together! Gave us an identity! Right up until the reign of King Guto. That's when Arimaspi came. To steal our Griffon treasure!" The monster he was describing was gigantic and had a singular eye, with an appearance similar to that of a ram. "King Guto tried to fight him off. But Arimaspi managed to get away with the idol. They say when our treasure fell into the Abysmal Abyss...our pride went with it. King Guto was the last king of Griffonstone! And we all lived miserably ever after. The End!"
"That was the saddest story ever." Pinkie teared up.
"Oh well...TOUGH TAIL FEATHERS! NO REFUNDS!" Gruff bellowed at her, flying off.
"No wonder Twilight's book ended with the coronation of King Guto. Who'd wanna record a history that sad?"
"It's not sad!" Gilda uttered. "Do we look sad to you?"
"I'm off. That rare Pokemon can't be too hard to find somewhere here." Paul walked off to go and do his own thing. He found some small entertainment in that short story though.
"Pinkie! I think I know why the map sent us here! We need to find the Idol of Boreas and bring glory and pride back to Griffonstone." said Rainbow Dash.
"Hah! Here we go. Typical pony hero complex. None of us care about that dumb old idol! Don't you get it? We don't care about anything! And that's the way we like it!" Gilda replied.
"I think Rainbow Dash is right! The map sent us here to fix some sort of problem." Pinkie was suddenly on Gilda's back.
"The only problem Griffonstone is you!" Gilda bumped her off her back, making the pink pony crash on the ground.
"Well, I don't care what she says. We're gonna find that treasure, Griffonstone cool again and get back to Ponyville." Rainbow Dash flew up. We'll cover more ground with Braviary on our side." Rainbow Dash sent out her Braviary.
"Braviary!
"Come on, Braviary. Let's find that idol!" Rainbow Dash and her partner flew off.
"Wait, you two!" Pinkie halted them. "What about Twilight's advice?"
"What? Taking a bunch of pictures?"
"She mentioned finding answers at the library."
"Knock yourself out." Rainbow Dash tossed the book at her. "But when you get bored with Twilight's tour book, we'll be at the Abysmal Abyss finding the Idol of Boreas." Both she and her Pokemon had finally left.
Meanwhile, for Paul, his search for this rare Pokemon was ongoing. He ventured parts of Griffonstone until he himself arrived near the Abysmal Abyss. "Should be here? But where?" He searched the area, wondering where this rare Pokemon could be. That's when he spotted what he came here for. An Excadrill.
"Exca!" The Subterrene Pokemon exclaimed, popping out of the ground.
"There you are." Paul held out his Pokeball, ready to battle and catch it. However, Excadrill soon dug back under the ground, heading off. Paul sighed as he had just lost the Excadrill, but he knows he'll find it eventually. And how he's going to find it is by following its digging patterns and where it's headed exactly. Paul could see the dirt kick up due to Excadrill's movements as it was heading back to Griffonstone. "Back to that dump, I guess." He began to follow the Subterrene Pokemon back.
Rainbow Dash had entered a small run-down shop for some equipment to help her down in the abyss. She requested a rope and a grappling hook as essentials. Braviary will be there to guide her down to the abyss and ever carry her out. With Pinkie Pie, she was actually headed to Gilda who was pulling a wagon.
"Hey, Gilda! Word on the street is that Griffonstone has an amazing library chock full of answers!"
"Word on WHAT street?" She turned to the pink pony.
"Okay. Maybe not this street. But on the other street, your library is the talk of the town!"
"The library's right there. So why don't you go on inside...and leave me alone!" Not wanting to be bothered by Pinkie anymore, Gilda made her leave. Pinkie approached the library, which really wasn't much a library at all. The whole thing had collapsed with all that was left being bookshelves with some books left in them but those had pages ripped out of them.
"Maybe it's good that Twilight didn't come." Pinkie gazed at the ruined library. That's when she came across the statue of King Grover which had a book on its face. "It's sad what happened to your town, king." Pinke was on the statue. But Rainbow Dash can't be right. This can't all be because of a missing hunk of gold." Pinkie then put her hoof on the half-broken beak of the state, making it talk. "You are right Pinkie! And you've got amazing hair!" She complimented herself basically. "Ah, King Grover. You old charmer."
Excadrill was drilling underneath the town, causing some Griffons' homes to fall underground along with some of their stuff. Paul had been following the Excadrill's movements for a few minutes now. Paul had ended up bumping into a Griffon. The Griffon cawed at Paul, but the trainer responded by giving him a scowl. Paul's scowl was so intimidating and terrifying o the Griffon that it gently moved to the side, fearing Paul. Pinkie Pie then looked over at Paul and the Griffons, sparking an idea.
"I know what Griffonstone needs!"
"Fewer ponies?" Gilda replied.
"A song! I've got a super song about smiling that's sure to make even the most grumpy Griffon grin!" Pinkie held her breath in, ready to break into song but Gilda halted her by placing her talon in front of Pinkie's face.
"Can't sing here." She pointed at a sight that specifically showed the banning of singing and how it was not allowed.
"But...how do you break into uplifting musical numbers with no singing?"
"Yeah...that's Griffonstone's biggest problem. Lack of uplifting musical numbers." Gilda said sarcastically.
"Well if I can't sing...then how about a party? If there's one thing these Griffons needs is some good cheer! Where's your party store?" She asked. But Gilda gave no response. "No party store? Uh...how about cake? Nothing cheers folks up like cake! Where's the bakery?" She asked once more but Gilda groaned, basically implying there was none of that. "No singing?! No party store?! No bakery?! WHAT IS THIS PLACE?!" Pinkie flailed her hooves around.
"You're welcome to leave at ANY TIME!" Gilda bellowed back, launching the pink pony away.
"Can't win against them, can you?" Paul spoke, kneeling down to track Excadrill.
"I wouldn't say that. I just haven't gotten through to these Griffons yet. But maybe you can help me...uhh...what's your name?"
"Paul. And I'm not planning on helping to cheer these grim griffons out. I'm too busy tracking Excadrill down."
"You won't help? But you're a Pokemon Trainer! Aren't you all about helping?"
"Nope. Not all of us. Plus it's not my problem, so I don't have to deal with it." Paul gazing at Excadrills movements as it kept making holes in the ground.
"I agree with this guy. If it ain't your problem, don't bother." Gilda said. "Even though there is no problem here in the first place."
"Well, that just takes the cake...wait, no! It can't take the cake cause there is no cake! Or muffins! Or Griffon Scones!"
"Oh, we got Griffon scones. That's my speciality." Gilda referred to scones in her wagon.
"I'll buy one!" Pinkie instantly dashed over. Gilda grabbed a scone which didn't really look like they would taste delicious. In fact, they looked more like rocks than scones. Pinkie was about to bite into it, but Gilda moved it back away from her.
"Bits first." She put her other talon out. Pinkie pulled a bit from mane, lending it to Gilda. The grumpy Griffon forced the scone into Pinkie's mouth, force-feeding her. Pinkie Pie took a moment to bite on the scones, but they were incredibly hard. The crunchiness wasn't pleasant like any crunchy food at all. Not only that but the more she bit it the more she could taste the dry and bland flavour. "Well?" Pinkie kept chewing, trying her best to find a good part of these scones. "What? You like it? That's my grandpa Gruff's secret recipe."
Pinkie finally stopped chewing on these rocky scones for her own sake. "Ow! I think I broke a tooth!"
"Well, whatever. No refunds. I don't even care anyway. I just wanna sell enough of these so I can leave this lousy town."
"I can help you with that!"
Back with Rainbow Dash, she and her Braviary had arrived at the Abysmal Abyss finally. And they took a gander at it, seeing how vast it was. Rainbow Dash couldn't even tell how deep it was. She attempted to fly down there, but the wind currents were so strong it was probably a bad idea.
"Alright, Braviary. I'm gonna head on down there. You hold onto this rope as hard as you can, alright?"
"Braviary." The Valiant Pokemon nodded. It grabbed a hold of the rope with its beak, keeping it tight in its mouth. Rainbow Dash had tied the rope to herself, ready to head on down. The pegasus hopped forward, falling down to the abyss as the rope was on the move.
While those two work on finding the idol, Pinkie Pie was helping Gilda with an idea she hatched up.
"Grandpa Gruff's recipe is good...but it's missing one important ingredient."
"Uh...no. Baking powder. Lucky for you I never leave home without it!" Pinkie had baking powder stored inside of her mane...somehow. She got to work by having the baking powder become apart of these scones to really give them that pastry feel. She went over to the nearest oven, placing the scones inside. "Now just pop those in the oven and you'll have Griffon scones worth their weight in gold."
The smell that the scones were giving off was actually pretty good. So good that a nearby Griffon had actually picked it up with her scent. But since she stopped to sniff it, another Griffon crashed into her, making her fall on the ground.
"Greta!" Gild suddenly exclaimed. She ended up helping her fellow Griffon, but Greta moved away from her, flying off and not paying Gilda any attention.
"Aha! I saw that Gilda! You may act like a gruff grumbling Griffon. But inside, you're gracious and great." Pinkie squeed.
"What are you talking about?"
"You just helped your friend up when she got knocked down."
"What? Her? Greta's just some Griffon I know. We don't have friends here! I did have a friend once. But you saw how that turned out." Gilda sighed.
That's when Pinkie Pie, once again, hatched an idea. "Oh my gosh! I gotta go find Rainbow Dash!" Pinke ran off.
"See ya," said Gilda. Without her noticing too much, Excadrill had reached underneath her wagon, drilling a hole underneath. "Hm? Hey!" The wagon was about to fall inside the hole, potentially wasting all those scones in one go. Paul quickly took notice as he held his Pokeball out.
"Electivire! Grab it!" Paul sent out his Electivire who used its tendrils to grab onto the wagon and Excadrill's claws. Not only did he end up catching Excadrill in his clutches, but he also ended up saving Gilda's wagon. Unfortunately, Excadrill managed to escape the tendrils as it went underground was once more, escaping Paul's sight once more. "Return." Paul brought his Pokemon back.
"Uh, thanks. You saved my wagon." Gilda thanked Paul.
"Don't thank me. I was only aiming to grab the Excadrill. Your wagon just got caught up in Electivire's tendrils." Paul responded. "You should probably keep a good eye out. Excadrill's constant drilling for a home could end up sinking your entire town in the process." Paul walked off, following Excadrills path once more.
Rainbow Dash had carefully gone down the abyss with Braviary hold on tight. "Just gotta find that golden idol and get out of this place." Unfortunately, the rope ended up breaking in half due to it being pressed up against a rocky edge that was on the walls of the gorge, causing Rainbow Dash to fall, screaming.
"Brav?!" Braviary looked down to see her trainer fall. Thankfully, she fell on another rocky edge safely, but her hoof was a bit damaged.
"Ow! My hoof! Braviary!" She called for her partner's help. Braviary had to help its trainer immediately. It tried to fly down, but it encountered the same issue that Rainbow Dash had. Flying won't help due to the currents basically throwing its flying of balance. Rainbow Dash thought of getting Altaria to help, but that wouldn't help either due to the currents and she couldn't risk losing her Pokeball to the abyss. "Throw another rope down instead Braviary!"
Pinkie Pie arrived, spotting Braviary who had a rope in its beak, ready to pull its partner up again. "Rainbow Dash! There you are! Forget about finding the idol! I've figured out how to solve Griffonstone's real problem! Scones!"
"Scones?! What re you talking about?!" Rainbow Dash grabbed onto the rope as Braviary was pulling her back up. Unfortunately, the rope ended up being pushed by the currents once more, hitting another sharp edge. This caused the rope to break apart, shortening the length. "Oh come on! Braviary! Pinkie Pie! Get help!"
"Alright! Don't go anywhere!" Pinkie ran off.
"Where does she think I'm gonna go?" The platform that Rainbow was on breaking apart, splitting in half. "I hope I don't go anywhere!"
Back at Griffonstone, Gilda took a bite at the new and improved scones, actually finding them delicious. Much better than the hard rocky ones from before.
"Rainbow Dash is stuck on a ledge in the Abysmal Abyss! And I need YOUR help to save her!" Pinkie went up to Gilda.
"Not my problem."
"Of course it's your problem. She's your friend!"
"Used to be."
"Can't you remember when she was?"
"Yeah...of course." Gilda started to reminisce. It took her all the way back to when she first arrived at the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp.
Flashback Sequence
Gilda was a small little Griffon who was nervous and shy, being around nothing but pegasi everywhere. Vastly different from her current personality.
"Doesn't that Griffon know she's supposed to fly at the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp?" Three pegasi taunted. Rainbow Dash blew clouds at them in response.
"Maybe she just doesn't wanna make you look bad!" Rainbow taunted back. She flew over to greet the newcomer. "Hey there. I'm Rainbow Dash. And you are?"
"Uh...G-G-Gilda?" She replied, stuttering and unsure of herself.
"You sure about that? Stick with me Gilda and those guys won't give you any more guff! Rainbow helped the young Griffon up as they both took flight. Gilda suddenly started to accelerate, spinning through some clouds. "Wow! You're awesome!" said Rainbow.
"You too, Rainbow Dash!" She replied giggling. The two flew side by side, showing off the three pegasi.
"Well, Gilda! Let's show these guys how it's done!" The two of them dashed down, passing past the pegasi like bowling balls, knocking them far away.
"Junior Speedsters are our lives!" Gilda started the Junior Speedsters motto.
"Sky down soars and daring dives!" Rainbow followed.
"Junior Speedsters, it's our quest! To someday be the very best!" They both said at the same time.
Flashback Sequence End.
Gilda was done reminiscing, tearing up a small bit. "Fine! I'll help her! But that doesn't make me her friend!"
"Duly noted! Except it does..."
Braviary was still trying to figure out how to get to Rainbow Dash. The ledge was breaking apart ever so slowly, so it needed to act fast. As it decided to try a different approach. The Valiant Pokemon took the skies, gaining some extra speed as it soared towards the abyss. The speed it went at was actually enough to break through the wind currents, but only for a small bit as it was pushed against that rocky walls. Braviary fell down, damaging its wings from the impact. Thankfully, Rainbow Dash caught her Pokemon. Now they were both stuck here.
"You did good, Braviary. Great job."
"Brav."
"Hang on loser! I'm coming!" Gilda suddenly exclaimed, having a helmet on and rope strapped onto her. She went down, just to save her friend, who she still didn't consider a friend anymore.
"What took ya so long, doofus?!" Rainbow replied.
Gilda raced down, but even she was pushed back by the abyss's fierce winds. She placed her claws on the walls, holding on for dear life. The ledge that Rainbow Dash was on had finally broken, making both her and Braviary fall screaming.
"Rainbow Dash! I'm coming for ya!" Pinkie grabbed the rope that was attached to Gilda, plunging herself down. Not only that but she also dragged Gilda along with her. Pinkie closed in on Rainbow Dash and Braviary, managing to get a hold of them both. "Gotcha!"
Gilda fell on a ledge, luckily saving the other two from truly falling down since the rope was still attached to Pinkie Pie. "Hold on you two!" Gilda moved forward, attempting to pull them up. But when she did, she noticed the skull of Arimaspi right there. The real deal. Not only that, but she also noticed what she thought was nothing but fiction. "The Idol of Boreas." She attempted to grab it, actually believing that it would end up restoring Griffonstone into a flourishing land. But for the other two, Rainbow Dash's hooves were slipping from Pinkie's grasp while her other hooves were almost slipping from her Braviary. It looked like it was going to be a close one. Not only that but he idol was slipping as well, close on the ledge and bound to fall into the abyss as well. Gilda was trying to reach the idol, but then she realised that the two were close to falling. She had to choose. A fabled relic that could unite her entire kingdom once more, or rescue the two ponies who actually somewhat care about her and her first-ever proper friend. Only one decision.
She chose Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, moving up with the rope. With that, they ended up being saved by Gilda, avoiding certain doom. As for the idol...not so much. That was the end of it as it fell into the abyss.
"The idol!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"You're more important to me than some dumb chunk of gold." Gilda said with actual care in her voice as they all embraced a small hug. Now all they had to do was get out of here. Thankfully, they had help in the form of the only human here.
Paul.
"Send them up." Paul commanded his Froslass who had used Psychic to raise them up from the abyss.
"Paul!" bellowed Pinkie Pie. He put his Excadrill hunt on hold for the sake of saving others who looked like they were in need of assistance. Just like how helped Aria back then. Excadrill can wait another time. "Are we more important to you than some rare Pokemon?!"
"No." Paul replied stoically. "But, I couldn't let you guys fall to your doom. Even if I don't know you."
"Good enough for me!"
Returning to Griffonstone, Gilda gave her apologies to both of them. "I'm really sorry about how I treated you two."
"Thanks, Gilda." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Apology accepted." So did Pinkie.
"I'm just sorry we didn't' get your idol back. Now we'll never be able to solve Griffonstone's problem." Rainbow was still fixated on that idol, believing it was that important.
"That's what I've been trying to tell you. The map didn't send us here to find the lost Idol of Boreas. It sent us here to replace it with something better!" Pinkie Pie said to Rainbow.
"Nothing's better than gold to a Griffon." Gilda shook her head.
"That's because you don't have friendship!" Pinke put her hoof around Gilda, pulling her close. "If you can learn to care about each other again, Griffonstone could be a mightier kingdom than it ever was before! And you don't need some golden idol to do that! You just need each other!"
"Woah Pinkie! That was...really sappy." Rainbow Dash winced.
"What can I say? That's how I roll." Pinkie then noticed that Greta walked by, taking this opportunity. "Go on Gilda. Go make a friend!"
Gilda puffed her chest as Pinkie Pie lent her the tray of newly baked scones.
"I don't know Pinkie. Do you really think these Griffons are up for this? We aren't exactly in Ponyville, ya know?"
Gilda took a scone, offering it to Greta. The result? Well? Gilda would end up telling her as she flew back to them. "Okay! So she was really weirded out until I gave her the scone. Then she tried it and said it tasted...good! That's the first nice thing any Griffin's ever said to me!"
That's when both of their Cutie Marks began flashing, indicating that the problem had been solved. "Woah Pinkie. I guess that really was the problem we needed to solve. Well...we'd better be heading home."
"What?! You want me to spread friendship here by myself!? How am I supposed to do that?!" uttered Gilda. "I haven't even made one single friend yet!"
"No you haven't. You've made two." Rainbow Dash smirked.
"Hugging! HUGGING NOW!!" Pinkie pulled both of them in for a hug, wailing. She then turned over to Paul who was taking his leave. "You too Paul!"
"I ain't your friend just because I saved you. But you're tolerable so that's fine with me."
"Where are you going?" Gilda asked.
"I'm still continuing my Excadrill hunt. After that, I'm heading home. Then I'll probably come back to this world for another good Pokemon to catch."
"Okay, Mr serious! We'll catch you on the flip side!"
"Your optimism reminds me of Ash. Man, it's contagious."
"Ash! You know Ash?! Why didn't you say so in the first place?!" Pinkie went up to Paul, placing her hoof around him. "That practically already makes us friends!"
"Don't touch me." Paul grabbed Pinkie placing her down. "And why am I not surprised you know him? Oh well." Paul put his hands in his pockets, ready to leave. But, he could feel his stomach grumbling, in need of some food. "Actually...mind if I snack on those scones for a bit?"
"Sure thing." Gilda nodded.
They all went their separate ways with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie heading on back to Ponyville. Gilda had lent Paul and Greta some scones, filling their hunger. It was a small but growing friendship that would take some time to build upon.
That's when the statue of King Grover had a twinkle in its eye as Pinkie interpreted that as the statue flirting with her. "See you later you old charmer." Pinkie said.
"Uh, Pinkie. Who are you talking to?"
"Nopony! Come on! Let's go home and see how Jade and the others did with Granny Pie's Marjolaine recipe!
How did it actually go? Not terrible. Jade's baking skills were below average but thanks to the Slurpuff it was...less of a disaster. There was still a huge mess but the whole place wasn't in total ruin. Jade licked off the cake mix from her face, tasting it.
This time, we turn the attention to the home of Cranky Doodle Donkey and his wife Matilda. Apparently, today's a special day for both of them. More than anypony in Ponyville right now. Matilda was looking through the memory book, going over the images of her and Cranky in constant different scenarios. She then added something new to the memory scrapbook by glueing the blank page, placing a piece of paper that had wedding bells on them.
"I'll never understand the ponies in this town!" Cranky entered, shutting the door as he placed a bag of fruits down. "Everywhere I went they were all gussied up and looking at me funny. Kept asking if I was nervous. Doesn't help that those pocket monsters of theirs stare too."
"Did they forget the wedding is tomorrow?" Matilda asked.
"No. Maybe they're just as excited for us to be married as I am." He replied as the two embraced each other for a small bit.
"Well, they're going to feel awfully silly when they realize they've got the wrong date." Matilda and Cranky both looked at the book and that's when it hit. They didn't get the wrong date. In fact, the date was today. "The invitations are wrong! This says the wedding's today!"
"But I got such a good deal on them."
"Everypony in town got these! The princesses have even RSVP'D." Matilda was staring to worry with hooves moving up and down like crazy.
"I told you we should've eloped."
"Oh dear! The caterer! The flowers! The musicians! We've got to move it all to today!"
"What?!"
"Where's my wedding planner!" Matilda rushed out as quick as she could. Cranky looked at the book and knew exactly who to yell at for this.
"You told me you could do it for half of the others charge! And then...you send invitations to everypony in town with the wrong date!" He took his anger out on Derpy. Who indeed was the one who messed up the date.
Derpy responded by getting a basket of muffins out for him. "Muffin?"
Meanwhile, all the way at the centre of Ponyville, something else was happening. Twilight looked like she was in a rush...but that wasn't important right now. What was important was Derpy's guilt. She sat outside on a waiting table, worried.
"I really messed up on those invitations. I feel just awful doc." She was speaking to her close friend, Doctor Hooves.
"Hmph! Perhaps that explains why I never got mine." The waiter said, placing the drinks on the table.
"I told Cranky I could get it printed for cheap. But that meant hiring somepony with no experience using a printing press. Oh, I wish there was a way I could go back in time and fix all this..."
Dr Hooves was slurping on the drink, listening to what she had to say. That's when the mention of time gave him an idea. He led the klutzy pony to his humble abode which was all about science. Science everywhere.
"Going back in time is old thinking my friend." He spoke. Derpy took a gander at the room, flying about. "I was working on a cutting-edge theory. Making time come forward to you." He turned around to notice Derpy messing about in a prototype of an old ship with a tacky steel helmet on her head.
"Let me explain. Decades...centuries really.... of research and experimentation that I really haven't cracked. Turns out there's a magic spell for it. Who knew?" Derpy then went over to some sort of glowing electrical item, not paying attention to him placing her hoof on it. It made her mane and tail stand up with jolts of electricity rising up. "But! There are so many things that magic can't explain! Where science and mathematics are the REAL magic!"
"Like these? They're pretty." Derpy turned her attention to something else.
"Ah yes. My flameless fireworks. Never could quite figure out how to get them to ignite."
"How did you learn how to make all this stuff anyway?" Derpy asked.
"I've been studying science my whole life. Ever since a particularly traumatic experience as a foal...I've been looking for ways to make sense of the world around me. Science provides explanations of things we never thought possible! Now uh...why did we come here again?"
"Oh! Because I accidentally sent out invitations for Cranky and Matilda's wedding with today's date instead of tomorrow's!" Derpy scrunched her face.
"Great whickering stallions! I completely forgot! And I still need to get my suit tailored!" Hooves rushed out of his lab, heading back to Ponyville and racing to Rarity's Boutique as quickly as he could. "Rarity!" He knocked on the door. "Rarity!" He tried his best to open it, but no good. That's when saw Vinyl passing by, believing that he could get some help from her. "Please!" He ran up to her, but she kept moving, bouncing to the beat. "You've got to help me!" He went in front of her. "I've lost track of time! Unbelievably, and forgot that the wedding is this afternoon!" He kept on rambling but all Vinyl could hear was the beat of the song and all she could see was the mouth and hoof movements of Hooves. "Have you seen Rarity?! She's got to order the sleeves of my suit and she's got to do it now!" Vinyl nodded, walking off. She actually understood him. Somehow. "Oh, ho-ho! Thank goodness. Lead on my friend." The Doctor had followed her.
Where she led him to was a bowling alley with ponies bowling about. Some Voltorbs had accidentally gotten mixed in with the bowling balls.
"Vol! Voltorb!" They didn't seem to mind though.
"Uh...Why have you brought me here? Rarity would never set hoof in-" His words were cut off when he noticed that there were three ponies in some pretty swanky and smooth suits. They were known as the Lebowski's and the one in the middle was Lewboski Pony. Their style was completed by a bowling tie, slick shades and fairly fancy saddle-bags. "Great whickering Stallions! They've got style." Hooves went up to them to have a chat. "Gentlecolts! I'm facing a... certain calamity, and couldn't help notice your remarkable fashion sense. Could I get the name of your incredible tailor?"
"Oh yeah, man. His name is me." Lebowski responded.
"Me. What an unfortunate name."
"No man, like, I manufacture all my own garments. We all do man."
"Then you've got to help me! I need this suit tailored, it's an emergency!"
"Haha. Sorry man. We're just about to start the finals."
"Why is it that you keep on using the word 'MAN?' You aren't even humans."
"I don't know, man but guess what. A fourth didn't show so if you roll with us, we'll alter your suit for ya."
The Doctor first gazed at his suit, then glanced at the bowling pins. Immediately, he began conducting a mathematical and scientific formula on how it would even be possible to strike all the pins down at once.
"I'm sorry gentlecolts. But I will not bowl. The splits the spares. There are simply too many variables!"
"Variables? What are you talking about man? Just throw the ball straight."
"Hold on! Straight?" Hooves took a closer look at it once more. He then saw it from a 2D perspective and it looked fairly easy actually. "Very well. I'll try your...straight technique. It just might be crazy enough to work." So he had a go at it. And the result. He didn't terrible actually. In fact, in the amount of time he was bowling, he managed to get most of them down. Only 2 were left.
"7-10 split man. Harshest of the harsh. But if you pick this up, we win the whole shebang!" said Lebowski. The Doctor took a deep breath, gently moving to the side and ready to roll the ball. That's when Derpy busted in.
"Doc!" Her words made him jump as he dropped the ball. "I've finally figured out how I can help! Your flameless fireworks look just like flowers! I'll use them for the wedding!" Derpy flew out.
"Great whickering stallions. Wait!" Hooves chased her outside. The ball hit one of the pins, making it wobble to the side right near the last remaining pin. All three ponies leaned in to see if it would connect and...it fell, not hitting the final pin. That was the game. "Wait! The flameless fireworks are extremely volatile! Without knowing what the trigger is they could off at any moment!"
Moving away from those two, everypony had gathered around to see the Mane 6, Ash and Pikachu discussing something of some sorts. Seemed to be the usual. A problem had surfaced up and they were ready to deal with it.
"Do we know what they're on about?" Octavia asked, joining the group.
"The way they're huddled up like that, I'd say it's either a friendship problem, a monster attack...or even a new Pokemon that's attacking!" Apple Bloom answered.
"A Pokemon attack? Blast! I'm performing at the ceremony this afternoon and I still haven't sorted out what to play. Plus Pokemon are a bit too destructive. Every little thing they do can topple an entire house. I'd rather prefer an average monster attack at this point. How am I supposed to practice with a monster invading Ponyville?"
"Maybe it's just a friendship problem. And it'll all be cleared up in a half an hour or so." said Sweetie Belle.
"Ugh. I hope so." Octavia groaned walking off.
"Where's Pinkie Pie? I NEED MY WEDDING PLANNER!" Matilda joined the group, searching for Pinkie. That's when the problem actually showed up. But not a friendship problem. Just an average monster attack. In the form of a Bugbear. Thank goodness it wasn't a Pokemon attack of somepony's home would be demolished in the process somehow. This is what they were facing off against.
Ash sent his Pikachu forward along with the Mane 6 sending their own Pokemon forward. And just like that, the usual scuffle went down with the Bugbear flying down, attempting to sting them all. Each of them moved out of the way as Ash commanded Pikachu to use Thunderbolt. Twilight unleashed a beam of magic whilst commanding her Espeon to attack as well. They were currently occupied at the moment.
"Oh no! On my wedding day!" Matilda noticed the Bugbear attack and how Pinkie was distracted with it. "Somepony's gotta help me!" She then turned over to see Amethyst Star who was perfectly organizing everything by sending everypony to safety, obviously to avoid the Bugbear event that was occurring. "YOU!"
"Me?" Amethyst replied.
"I need to move an entire wedding from tomorrow to today!"
"But nopony's asked me to organize anything since Twilight came to town."
"So you'll do it?"
"I used to be the best organizer in all of Ponyville. You bet I-" Her words were cut off by the growling of the Bugbear. Pikachu and Braviary had knocked the mutated bear in the head with both Iron Tail and Steel Wing.
"Chu-Pika!"
"Brav!"
They sent the Bugbear flying through a building, thankfully nopony was inside. Probably wasn't a good idea to be around this right now. Not even on the inside.
"Come on! We'd better get the salon before it's flattened by of them! Pokemon or monster!" Matilda said as she and Amethyst hurried on.
On the other side of the spectrum, all the way over at the other world, Delia had caught news of the wedding. In fact, she was invited. The second time she's been invited to a wedding in Equestria. Lucky her.
"Lucky me! I get to be at yet another wedding! Isn't this exciting Mimey!"
"Mime!" Mr Mime replied.
"The perks of being Ash's mom can be rewarding, ya know. Tomorrow, I'll make sure that I wear the best wedding dress this time. I can definitely top the previous one." That's when Delia got some mail concerning the wedding. A Delibird had come through the gateway, leaving a present on Delia's doorstep. It knocked on the door as it took its leave. Delia opened the door, seeing the present there. "Oh? Wonder what it could be?" She took the present, immediately unwrapping it. Instead of pleasant news, it was somewhat disastrous news. At least to her. Once she read the mail, it hit her. "IT'S TODAY?!"
"Mime?"
"But my wedding dress hasn't been washed yet! Ugh!" Delia groned. "Of all the times...Alright! We'll just have to improvise! And I know exactly how. Mimey. We're heading to Oaks lab immediately!"
"Mime-Mime!"
Delia with haste made her way out of her home, running towards Professor Oak's Lab. If there was one Pokemon that could solve her problems right now, it was Leavanny. "Samuel!" Delia knocked the door open, scaring Oak and Tracey.
"GEEEH!" Oak squealed. "D-Delia? What is it?"
"I need Ash's Leavanny. Pronto!"
"You seem to be in a hurry. Why is-" Oak's words were put on hold by Delia who grabbed his shirt.
"This is a dire situation of the utmost urgency, Samuel!" Her eyes were blazing hotter than the sun. Oak knew now to get in Delia's way once she's in this state.
"A-Alright. Leavanny's yours for the taking." Oak stuttered. Delia ran inside as Oak had some time to breathe. "Are all Ketchum's this fueled with fire?"
"Leavanny!" Delia entered the garden where the rest of Ash's Pokemon resided. "I need your help! You're good at dress-making right?"
"Leavan." Leavanny nodded in response.
"Perfect."
Back at Ponyville, everything was being shifted to today. Some small complications had been made in the process. Inside the wedding hall, Bon Bon and Lyra were setting things up.
"I have to admit. When Matilda said we needed this place ready by today I was a little nervous," said Bon Bon.
"With you by my side, I knew we'd get it done in time." Lyra replied.
"There is nothing like a best friend is there?"
"Anything's possible when you know somepony as well as we know each other." Their conversation came to an end when the roar of the Bugbear could be heard from outside. Not only that but a Thunderbolt burst through the walls due to Pikachu's actions.
"What was that?" Bon Bon turned her attention to the roar and bolt.
"There's some monster attacking Ponyvilel or something." Lyra casually answered.
"What is it this time? Creature from the Everfree Forest?"
"Uh, I think it's some sort of Bugbear." Lyra giggled at the silly name of the monster. But to Bon Bon, that name was one to be cautious about.
"Did you say Bug Bear?" Her mood shifted as she dashed over to the wall, hiding. "It found me!"
"What are you talking about Bon Bon?"
"My name isn't Bon Bon. It's Special Agent Sweetie Drops." She gave out her actual real name. "I work for a super-secret anti-monster agency in Canterlot. Or at least I did until the Bugbear went missing from Tartarus a few years back!"
"What...are you...talking about?" Lyra was so confused right now. What was she on about?
"When it escaped, we had to shudder the whole agency. Every last shred of evidence of the organization's existence was destroyed." She got a briefcase with top-secret equipment that really wasn't that top-secret. At all. "Celestia demanded complete deniability."
"....What?"
"It was me who captured the Bugbear. I had to go deep cover here in Ponyville and assume the name, Bon Bon. I never thought it would be able to track me. But now...it has."
"Are you saying our whole friendship was based on a lie?!" Lyra raised her voice.
"I'm sorry Lyra! I couldn't tell you for your own protection!"
"B-B-B-But the lunches, the l-long talks, the benches we've sat on. None of that was real?" She started to tear up.
"It was all real. You're my very best friend." They had a small moment of bonding until it was time for Bon Bon to go. "I have to go find a crowd to blend in before I put you in danger! I'll see you at the wedding." She used a grappling hook to jump down with some slick shades on her face.
"Fine. But we're gonna talk about this later!" Lyra yelled at her from above.
Back outside, the whole Bugbear scuffle was going on. Some ponies were watching it go down as all they could see were Pokemon moves flying all over the place. Delia wasn't the only one who was arriving here. The gateway that leads to Lumiose City and Rarity Boutique also had three newcomers pass through. Ash's Kalos travelling crew.
Serena, Clemont and Bonnie.
Why were they here? Well, the actual reason was that the two actually ended up meeting up in Lumiose, reuniting. They had their small talk and were curious about the gateways. Bonnie's curiosity was much grander in scale as she ran through the gateway first recklessly with Clemont chasing her and Serena following suit, and now we're here.
"Bonnie, please! You can't just pass through a gateway that leads to who knows where?" Clemont took some time to breathe in and out.
"Now we know. It's a pretty beautiful looking place isn't it?" Serena spoke as they were at Saddle Lake. The area that was closest to Lumiose.
"I heard there were tons of ponies here! I only got to see one in the sky but nothing else. Let's go take a closer look!" Bonnie ran off again with Dedenne right on her head.
"Ugh. Again?" Clemont groaned.
"Come on. Try to keep up." Serena patted him on the back, following Bonnie. The three of them came across the first ponies here. Cold Colt was right near Saddle Lake, spotting the trio heading this way.
"Hm? Hey, aren't those...?" Due to him being a Rift pony, he has slight knowledge about Ash's friends, but not much. Before he could examine them, he was greeted by Bonnie's embrace.
"A real pony!" Bonnie grabbed Cold by the head, squishing his face. "They're as soft as I imagined!"
"Hey! Get off of me!" Cold tried to shake her off. He could feel his being stretched like gum by Bonnie's hands.
"And it can talk too! Awesome!"
"Alright, Bonnie. You're kinda making him suffer a bit." Serena made Bonnie stop as she noticed Cold Colt on the brink of pure torture.
"Oops! Sorry." Bonnie squeed.
"Y-You're crazy! I'm out of here!" Cold was about to teleport away with his magic, but since he was horrible with magic, he only ended up teleporting 3 inches forward. He turned around, looking back at them. He then awkwardly ran off instead.
"There's probably an entire town filled with ponies! Let's take a closer look!"
"Wai- Ah forget it. Let's just go." Clemont gave up, just casually going along with it.
"So, I've heard that these ponies can either fly or use magic. Isn't that fascinating?" said Serena.
"Fascinating? I mean...it's great and all...but magic can't compare to science!"
"Sure...whatever you say, Clemont." Serena giggled. Soon the three of them ended up reaching Ponyville, completely unaware of the whole Bugbear attack since everypony else seemed unbothered by it. In fact, their attention was drawn to the entire wedding this time. The battle against the Bugbear was led towards the Everfree Forest to diminish any more building destruction. The trio ended up gazing at Ponyville. An entire town of ponies with some Pokemon around. It was a pretty neat sight. "Wow. Not bad."
"An entire town that's all about ponies? I'm surprised they have their own civilization," said Clemont.
"Not only that but they have their own Pokemon as well. Do you think this is a parallel world to ours?" Serena asked Clemont.
"Not really. I believe the explanation was that Pokemon just ended up reaching here. So this is actually the ponies' world, it's just that Pokemon ended up reaching here."
"Oh...Hey, why don't we talk the locals and this time let's not stretch their faces, okay Bonnie?"
"Alright. Promise." Bonnie nodded. Serena went up to the first pony she decided to talk to being Derpy. "Hi there. We just ended up reaching your town and wanted to check it out a bit. Mind giving us a tour?"
"Oh, that's nice. But I can't do that right now. I messed up big time."
"How come?" Clemont asked.
"I accidentally gave out invitations to a wedding that was supposed to happen today...but it ended up saying that it would be tomorrow. I just don't know what went wrong."
"I'm sure you've figured it out though, right?" Serena replied.
"No. Well...not yet at least. Everything's being moved today. But I don't think everypony has everything arranged yet."
"Oh. That's a shame. We would love to help but..."
"Correct, Serena. We CAN help!" Clemont stepped forward.
"We can?" She turned to him.
Clemont adjusted his glasses, giving off a smirk. "The future is now! Thanks to science!" He raised his backpack, slamming it down on the ground. Whatever he had inside, apparently could be the solution to everypony's problem. Maybe. "I invented something specifically for situations similar to this. If something is supposed to be due today and there's a confusion, use this!" He revealed a bipedal android that had 16 arms and legs on it. It looked to be powered by a Thunder Stone, the same stone that allows a Pikachu and Eevee to evolve into Raichu and Jolteon. "I call this Armed Accomplisher Android! With all those legs it can run at a fast pace that's enough to clear an entire race track. And all these arms means that it can multi-task and reorganize everything in mere seconds! Plus, it's powered by a Thunderstone. So there is absolutely no way it's running out of power!"
"Ooh." Derpy clapped her hooves together.
"Alright. Time to get to work, android! Sort out those wedding arrangements." Clemont activated the robot as it was on the move. He wasn't kidding about speed since the moment it started moving, it was already at a fairly far distance. It made its way towards the spa all of a sudden, but it ended up stopping since it crashed into the walls of the spa. There was a slight issue now. The android could turn around since it kept going straight so it was constantly walking into the wall over and over again, flailing its metallic arms around. "Uh. No need to panic. I can fix this." Clemont nervously chuckled, running to his android. He grabbed ahold of its arms, but that was not a good idea. He ended up managing to turn it around, but as a result, due to him holding on a speedy android, the android ended up taking Clemont with it by running off. "Hey! Wait! Stop!"
"Oh, dear. We have to sort that out. Good luck on your wedding!" Serena waved goodbye as she and Bonnie chased after Clemont.
Inside the spa, Matilda was still panicking, worrying about the potential train wreck of the wedding. "Oh! There are so many things I'm forgetting! I hope Cranky remembers to tell the musicians. Oh! Oh! I'll never get my mane done in time!"
"You must relax my dear." Lotus Blossom the spa pony said. "We can handle anything! We once did a pony's hair during the ceremony."
"Oh it's true, it's true!" A voice replied. It was a large Sea Serpent who was somehow able to fit inside the spa by the name of Steven Magnet. "They really are the best. Matilda. I've just got to say, I already feel like we're family." He put his scaly hands towards her as she grabbed it with her hoof.
"You do?"
"Of course! I'm Steven Magnet! Cranky's best beast!"
"You're Steven Magnet?"
"Well what'd you expect, a Bugbear? I've known Cranky forever! Surely he must have told you about the time he saved me from Flash Freeze Lake?"
"...You're Steven Magnet?" She was finding it hard to believe still.
"Oh, I know, I know. Typical Cranky to leave out minor details like the fact that I'm...you know...a sea monster, right? I just love that old Burro." He chuckled.
"I'm sorry Steven. I guess I assumed you were a pony. And I had no idea you had such adventures together."
"Oh! Honey! You don't know the half of it. But let me tell you something. In all that we've been through together, the only thing he ever cared about was finding you." Steven pointed at Matilda, making her tear up a bit.
"Really?"
"Well, that and a baldness cure." Steven laughed.
"He is the sweetest thing, isn't he? All the stress I've put myself through. All the stress I put him through. The only thing that matters is that we're together. The wedding isn't the important thing, the marriage is."
Steven began to laugh all of a sudden, mostly at what Matilda said. "If you believe that, then I have got a bridge to sell you. All these ponies travelling to Ponyville, putting on uncomfortable clothes, sitting through a long ceremony, you think any of them care about some marriage?" What he was saying was actually making Matilda panic even more. "Honey. The wedding. Is. Everything."
Meanwhile, the others who were invited ended up being Hollow and Jewel. Hollow looked out of it today, in fact, he looked incredibly tired right now. Jewel was supporting him to make sure he didn't fall asleep whilst walking.
"Millions and billions and trillions of data...lost." Hollow groaned.
"There, there, dear. It's alright." Jewel patted her husband on the back.
"What's his problem?" Sonata asked as she and Aria were passing by.
"You'll have to forgive my dear Hollow here. See...he had all this work set out for the students, and the data got corrupted. And there's a wedding we also have to attend so..."
"I lost everything!" Hollow suddenly exclaimed, getting on his knees. "This was gonna be the day that the students finally advance in their studies by going up from grade 1 to grade 2... Countless hours of work...gone in atoms! WHY DOES JOHTO HAVE TO BE SO UNDERDEVELOPED!" He bellowed in the sky in anguish.
"You seem pretty broken up by it. Cheer up, goth looking guy." Sonata patted his head with her hoof.
"I can't cheer it up! Graduation was today!" Hollow got back up from the ground, knocking Sonata back. "How am I gonna explain everything to Celestia? She's the one who requested that it would be today."
"I don't think you have to. Take a gander." Aria pointed her hoof at Celestia Luna and Cadence along with Shining Armor who had arrived at Ponyville for the wedding.
"Oh sweet Arceus, she's here... But why?"
"Well, the princesses are also attending the wedding. So guess you won't have to worry about today's graduation huh?" Sonata squeed.
"...Yeah...Hehehe." Hollow chuckled nervously, knowing he just dodged a massive bullet thanks to sheer luck of time confusion.
"You have a second chance now. If you can get all that data down today one more time, you might be able to send it to the students before the wedding ends and still make it in time." Jewel suggested.
"Yeah.. you're right. I can do that! I'll do exactly that! But this time, I am not using a buggy computer over at Johto! We're going to the most advanced city in our world! Unova! Castelia City!"
"Will you even be able to make it in time?" Sonata asked.
"Pssh. We don't have to worry about that. Castelia's gateway is pretty near. Plus, I've got a Pokemon that can get us there pronto." Hollow held out a Pokeball, sending out one of his many caught Pokemon, that being Drifblim. "Drifblim can get us to Castelia easily. Plus the gateway to Unova isn't too far away from here." Hollow grabbed onto Driflblim and Jewel held on tight. "And to think I was worried. This is gonna be a cinch." The two of them had flown with Driflblim carrying them away.
"Well, while they handle that. What say we get inside for the wedding? I don't want anypony beating me to cake." Sonata walked off.
"I don't wanna sit through this at all." Aria groaned.
The number of guests who were invited to this wedding was ridiculous. It wasn't just Ponyville, but others from different parts of the Pokemon World. Even the Swords of Justice came along. But that was mostly because Celestia requested they would. But in reality, it was just to get closer to Cobalion.
"This is our first time at a wedding. How do you think it will go?" Virizion said.
"Hopefully quickly. This sounds like it's gonna be a drag." Terrakion responded.
"What even is a wedding?" Keldeo asked.
"When two individuals finally decide they want to be with each other forever, they become engaged, essentially forming a special eternal bond." Cobalion explained.
"You didn't have to make it sound so dramatic and grand, Cobalion." Virizion chuckled.
"Ooh. You think I'll ever get married?"
"Maybe one day, Keldeo. Definitely not very soon that's for sure." Virizion responded. "But if you do, I bet you could choose some of the ponies here. They have some real beauties in this town."
"Bah! Beauties? They don't compare to what I saw the other day! There was this one pony who-" Terrakion's words were cut off by Cobalion who sensed something coming this way.
"Something's amiss..." He stopped to get a closer look at what it was. What it ended up being was Clemont who was still being dragged by the android. This thing wasn't stopping for a second.
"Oh, dear. Is he alright?" Virizion commented.
"He kinda looks like he's headed this way, actually." Terrakion pointed out.
"HELP!" Clemont exclaimed.
"Not anymore." Cobalion got his sword out and ready. The moment the android got close to him, the Iron Will Pokemon struck the sword through the android, lifting it up and tossing it far into the sky. That at least solved Clemont's android problem. Serena and Bonnie who were still chasing it down looked at Clemont who was suddenly in the sky.
Clemont and the android crashed down near a pile of mud, making a huge impact that sent mud flying high in the air. Delia meanwhile had finally gotten her dress thanks to Leavanny's expert sewing skills. "Success! Now I'm ready to tackle this wedding!" All that sank into the bottom when the mud from the crash reached all the way to the gateway, landing on Delia's dress. The mother of Ash Ketchum paused for a moment, looking down on her shirt. She looked like she was hyperventilating as all that sewing was for nothing. The dress had been ruined. "WHY?!" She bellowed in the sky.
Serena and Bonnie picked up Clemont from the mud, getting him off the android. "I think we can call it a day. Let's get you cleaned up." Serena giggled.
"Yeah...Okay." Clemont groaned. The three of them were heading to the nearest location for a cleanup. Which was the nearby spa.
As for Hollow's tech problem, his Driflblim arrived at Castelia City with haste. He immediately entered the nearest PC Cafe in order to rewrite his data.
"Wait!" Jewel stopped him. "This data... you said it had millions, billions and trillions. Are you sure you'll be able to get every bit of it down?"
"By myself? No way. But..." Hollow tapped into his box link, swapping out his Linoone for another Pokemon. "This guy over here can help out." He took another Pokeball out and out of it came Porygon. The Virtual Pokemon. "Time to work your stuff, Porygon." He got to work. Porygon had the ability to move through cyberspace so it was of great use here. All Hollow had to do was create a document, sit back, and watch Porygon do the whole thing by itself. Porygon managed to clear up 45% of the data in a few seconds already.
"Happy now?"
"Yeah. I'm happy." Hollow laid back on the chair he was on. That's when the unimaginable happened. It was only 99% complete. Porygon had suddenly stopped as it exited out of the computer. "99%?! Are you kidding me?!"
"99% is good, right? You can just finish up the 1% on your own, dear."
"...Yeah. That's true. Good job anyways Porygon." Hollow sighed, glad that it didn't end in a disaster.
Hollow's and Clemont's problems had been solved, but what about the rest? Well, with Vinyl, she was returning back to her shared home with Octavia, who was trying to figure out what wedding song she could use.
"Ugh! All these weddings songs are so...standard. I want Matilda and Cranky's wedding to be special." said Octavia.
That's when an idea sparked in Vinyl's head. She had a way to really spice it up. She zipped on over to her side of the room, putting her headphones aside for now. She started off by creating a small beat on the DJ mixer she owned. She then pointed her hoof at Octavia, telling her that she should continue playing. She can work with this. Octavia continued to play her cello as Vinyl decided to get creative by spinning the record around next. At first, the mixer created a fairly horrid sound that Octavia couldn't stand it due to the bloodcurdling sound it made and Vinyl still hadn't found what would really tick.
"Thanks. But I'm not sure that's appropriate for a wedding, is it?" Octavia carried on with her cello. but this time, the rhythm she was playing at was actually making Vinyl feel its flow. She pressed her hoof on the drum pedal, starting a nice beat that actually went well with the cello. That's when Octavia realized that this could actually work. "That's more like it!" Very soon, both of them were getting somewhere, creating a slow yet upbeat rhythm. They stopped for a minute and knew that they could take it to the next level.
Both of them raised up their signature items to go above and beyond. Vinyl a new record and Octavia her bow. The perfect wedding song had been created by the two roommates as they were playing their instruments with the best of their abilities. And that's when things went to the next level once more. Vinyl's speakers were active and on and Octavia's microphone was close her cello. The volume had been raised up due to this along with the speed. The two were getting so excited that they ended up jumping up, ready to go crazy until...
"Stop! I'm going to be late for the wedding!" Octavia realized. So there was only one way to travel now. Via mobile DJ speaker booth. It busted out of their room with Vinyl at the wheel and command and Octavia standing on top one of the speakers. They continued to play whilst moving along towards the wedding. And still, at this very moment, the Bugbear was still being dealt with. The DJ Booth came across a house as it looked like it was about to crash. A quick save was made by Octavia who placed her bow on a street lamp, utilizing it as a drifter, guaranteeing a save. The last few guests to arrive were Dawn and Brock. They were completely oblivious to what was really going on right now.
"You hear that?" Dawn picked up on the beat of the song that was headed their way.
"I see it!" Brock pointed out the approaching DJ booth.
"Pip-Piplup!"
Soon, the DJ Booth had picked up Dawn and Brock, bringing them along for the ride. Not only that, but nearby ponies were dragged in as well. The boot kept moving along until it came across a group of ponies who were carrying a sofa. It looked like it would smash through or into the sofa but instead, it just ended up picking up those ponies as well along with the sofa as it was upon the speakers with some of them, including Octavia, sitting on it. Hollow and Jewel passed by unaware of the incoming ride towards them. Now they were also picked up by the mobile booth. Very soon, a large majority of everypony and Pokemon in Ponyville were being picked up by the booth, somehow still having the ability to fit that many on.
Clemont, Serena and Bonnie who were still making their way back had also been pulled in by the ride. No one was safe from it from the looks of it. Delia who had just returned with a clean dress had been pulled in too. Thankfully, the dress was safe. Soon, all the humans and Pokemon who were invited were being picked up by the ride. which was increasing with speed along with the music. Familiar faces everywhere on the ride. Some of them didn't even have a clue that some of their friends were even close to each other. Dawn and Brock had no idea that Serena, Clemont and Bonnie knew Ash as well and some of the Pokemon from the Pokemon House were even dragged into this as they were just casually hanging outside until this happened. Even Team Rocket, who were in their usual simple yet effective disguises were absorbed by the ride.
Matilda was in her wedding dress with Mr and Mrs Cake wielding the wedding cake in their possession. Mr Cake made sure to carefully balance the cake on his back. But unbeknownst to the three of them, they were also picked up on the ride, along with the cake. Cranky was in the way and out of all the others, he was the only one who actually managed to avoid the booth by leaning his back against a building wall. Soon, the booth took the skies with everyone flying off it. Human, pony or Pokemon.
Gummy looked outside the window of SugarCube Corner, staring out into the distance as he suddenly began to monologue to himself in his head. "What is life? Is it nothing more than the endless search for a cutie mark? The quest to become the very best? And what is a cutie mark but a constant reminder that we're all only one bugbear attack away from oblivion? And what of the poor gator? Flank forever blank, destined to an existential swim down the river of life to... an unknowable destiny?"
The rampant movement from the booth was actually a lifesaver as it managed to launch everyone inside of the town hall where the wedding was taking place. They all ended up landing on seats, perfectly sitting down with precise balance. Not only that, but everyone had been in place. The musicians, the cake, everything. Nailed it.
"Something like that might work." said Octavia.
Now the wedding could finally go as planned. Celestia and Luna were having a bit of a sibling argument right now.
"What do you mean you left it on the counter?" Celestia said to her sister.
"I thought you were bringing it." Luna replied.
"Well, this is just wonderful." Celestia played off a smile as Spike came up, placing a present down with the others. Passion was sitting on a seat, rocking back and forth like a child whilst Darkrai just stood in the corner, blending in with shadows as usual.
"I handled the gift for Cadence and Shining Armor. You were supposed to do this one. Remember?" Luna gave a rebuttal.
"Well, we just can't come to this wedding empty-hoofed." While those two argue, Shining Armor was sobbing all of a sudden with Cadence comforting him.
"It's alright. He always cries at weddings." Cadence said to a pony who was sat next to them. "Usually it's not until the wedding starts."
Derpy went up to the flameless fireworks as they had been set up on a table. "These flameless fireworks look even better than flowers." She giggled.
"I still feel a bit doozy after what happened back there." Goh held his head since he had been on the ride as well along with Chloe.
"Raboot..."
"Attention everypony!" Bon Bon entered. "Our friends have done it. They've defeated the Bugbear!" The news she gave made everypony cheer.
"What's this about a Bugbear?" Serena asked Clemont. But he just simply shrugged, having no idea what they were talking about.
Sweetie Drops or Bon Bon as she's also known as, when up to Lyra who had her hooves crossed, not paying her any attention right now.
"Hey," said Sweetie Drops.
"Hello," Lyra replied, still not looking at her.
"So, uh. You didn't happen to mention our earlier conversation about my...secret identity...to anypony did you?" She whispered.
"No. I did not. And you're not the only one with a secret, ya know. You know those expensive imported oats you were saving for a special occasion? I cooked them up and ate them! All of them!" She got up in Sweetie Drops's face. The two took a moment, finally revealing some of their secrets to each other as Lyra began to laugh. "It's sort of thrilling to reveal your deepest darkest secrets!"
"That's what best friends are for." They gave each other hug, patching things up already.
But on the other side of the spectrum, Celestia and Luna haven't quite patched things up yet for both of them.
"Next time, you can just bring your own gift and I'll bring mine." whispered the Sun Princess.
"Fine." replied the Moon Princess.
"Ben. After this, can you please give Johto better technology advancements?" Hollow spoke to BigTime Ben.
"What? Not advanced enough?" Ben replied.
"He came across a slight error today. We were lucky we found a solution, though." Jewel explained.
"I'll see what I can do. But Johto's a traditional region. Gotta get used to it." Ben chuckled.
"I wish I could sometimes..." Hollow sighed, laying his back on the chair.
Cobalion was asleep all of a sudden as the other swords gazed at him, seeing him mumble in his sleep. "W-Why's Cobalion asleep?" Keldeo asked.
"Oops. Probably should've mentioned. Cobalion, surprisingly, gets fairly tired during events like these. You should've seen him when there was a council meeting with a Slowking. It was a disaster." Virizion chuckled.
"...Mmrgh...I am the mighty Cobalion...fear my radiant blade." The Iron Will Pokemon mumbled in his sleep.
"You know, if we got our perfect singing voices back, we could totally sing a beautiful song for this wedding," Sonata spoke to Aria.
"Yeah. If only. But I guess since we've been taking singing classes, it's slowly starting to come back. But not fast enough if you ask me." Aria responded.
"Hope nopony...notices..." Cold was quaking all of a sudden, nervous. Why was he nervous? Because he left Emerald Aura back at Sweet Apple Acres. She was still unconscious to this day and Cold left her in his room to rest up. "Nah. They won't notice. Everypony's here. I think.
"I was gonna join the contest in Jubilife but this is fine." Dawn shrugged.
"Piplup!"
"I still have no idea what just happened. Was that a mobile booth?" Brock scratched his head.
"Best not worry about it now, Brock." Dawn giggled.
"Maybe next time I'll keep my clothes at home before I go for another visit." Delia sighed as she sat at the far back of the row.
"Look at all the cute ponies..." Bonnie's hands were about to act up. "But this is a wedding. Won't be very nice of me to do anything wild right now.
Derpy looked outside to see Dr Hooves running towards here. "There you are! My suit has vanished and this is the only thing left in my closet!" He was wearing a ridiculously long striped crochet scarf. "How do I look?"
"Like a million bits." Derpy complimented him by placing her hoof on his neck.
"Great whickering stallions! Look at the time! We'd better get inside. Allons-y!"
Everypony had entered the town hall, with many being present at the wedding, Pony, human or Pokemon. Even Steven Magnet was here was he poked his head through the window.
"I can't believe I lost my hair!" Cranky looked up at his head, seeing that his hair had been swept away when the booth was on the move earlier. "I look ridiculous. The love of my life deserves better than this."
"Have no fear, Cranky my dear. It's Steven Magnet's moustache to the rescue!" The sea serpent personally took off a bit of his own stache by using one of his scales. He placed it on Cranky's bald shiny head as it was a perfect fit. Neat.
"Aw, thanks buddy." Cranky was grateful.
"Oh, no problem. Now you get in there and marry that Donkey." Steven scooted him over to the wedding altar.
"Well? Is everypony here?" asked Mayor Mare.
Derpy closed the door, shutting it as she unknowingly missed out of Ash and the Mane 6. Whoops. "All set mayor!"
" Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these two in mare-trimony. As I look around this room, I can only imagine how uncomfortable Cranky must be."
Cranky grumbled in response as some ponies and people giggled and laughed.
"But I also see so many humans, ponies and Pokemon, from all trots of life, brought together by love. Cranky searched all across this great land of ours to find Matilda, and no matter what obstacles kept them apart, love would finally bring them together, just as it has brought all of us together now. It's remarkable to me how a story like Cranky's search for Matilda could fill this room with such a unique collection of ponies! It makes you realize that everypony is the star of their own story. And it's not just the main characters in our stories that make life so rich! It's everypony – those who play big parts and those who play small. If it weren't for everypony in this room and many more who couldn't be here today, Cranky and Matilda's lives wouldn't be as full and vibrant as they are."
Steven began to cry just from that speech alone.
"And so, in front of all these loved ones... Cranky, do you take this donkey to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"I do."
"And do you, Matilda, take this donkey to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do."
"Then I'm proud to say, I now pronounce you jack and jenny!"
The two married couple made it official with each of them giving each other a kiss. Everypony began to cheer, glad for their engagement. Even those who weren't even invited and had no idea there was a wedding end up cheering and clapping.
That's when the flameless fireworks finally set off. Their trigger had been found and it was a sight to behold. Beautiful fireworks spread across the room in harmony.
"AHAHAHA!" The Doctor stood up, finally glad he found the trigger. "OF COURSE! THEY NEED LOVE TO IGNITE! HOW COULD I HAVE MISSED IT!?"
Whilst the wedding went on inside, the Mane 6 their Pokemon, Ash and Pikachu took a gander at the light show that was occurring inside. They couldn't really see that much due to the fireworks, but that was all they needed to see. And after that, they'll take their leave.
"Awesome." Ash said.
"Pikachu."
"You know something...Ash, girls. We are so lucky to live in this town. I love you all!" Twilight pulled them all together, giving them all a group hug.
"Ow! That's where the Bugbear bit me." Rainbow Dash winced.
"Sorry." Twilight replied as the sun was setting for the day in this beautiful town. They all went their separate ways, as the day was finally coming to an end.
Castelia City, Unova, Early Night, some random apartment.
"I think I'm good." A young teenager in a Kangashkan onesie said. What was currently happening was a bit of a mess. He had gotten heaps of wires that connected to one singular flat-screen TV in his apartment home. "I'll be able to enjoy the movie The Empoleon's New Groove at the highest definition. 24K! This is gonna be awesome. All I need is the extra energy output to bump it up. He went to the back of his TV, bumping up the settings on the back. It slowly started to build power the higher raised the settings. The amount of energy being emitted from the adapters that had all the wires in them was starting act up. Volts of electricity picked up around the wires, showing that the energy was rising to a ridiculous level. It was going well above and beyond the natural limit that the adapter could hold. The electrons were going crazy. The TV the boy had gone out immediately along with his lights due to all the overflowing electricity. "That can't be right." He looked up. He then noticed that a huge flow of electricity had picked up on the adapter as he backed away.
Every object inside the room was being lifted up by the sheer force of electrons. Everything was being pulled towards the adapter since that was the one giving off the largest amount of power. The teen held onto his sofa, trying not to get pulled in, but unfortunately, he and the sofa were being pulled in as well. Next door, his neighbours were wondering what all that noise was. Very soon, their lights actually went off as well including their electronics.
"What the..."? Very soon, the neighbours were being lifted up as by the sheer force of the electrons.
"Oh, nonononono!" The teen shook his head as he was about to make contact with the adapter along with every other object in the room. He looked over to the adapter, attempting to try and unplug it, but it was too late now. "Sweet Arceus."
The result was a massive electrical pulse that erupted the moment they made contact. The pulse was so grandiose in scale and so intense that it only spread across Castelia, shutting all forms of power down, but it even shut down all of Unova. And it kept going. It didn't stop at Unova, it even reached the other regions. Every region in the Pokemon world hit. Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar, even regions that have yet to be found and discovered were affected. It was practically the entire planet suffering a blackout. But it all didn't stop at the Pokemon World. It even reached the other world. In fact, all of Equestria's power had been eradicated due to this pulse. Thankfully, the pulse finally reached a limit and it only stopped at Equestria. But it was still ludicrous that it could reach that far.
A total Blackout of the highest degree. Larger than anything anyone's ever seen before. It was so powerful that even Pokemon that linked to either Electricity, Steel and Water were affected by it, especially the Flying-Types.
The Teenager got up form the ground with his onesie being ruined by the electricity. He looked around to see his home totalled and dark with a majority of his equipment destroyed by the pulse. He coughed out smoke as he dusted some of it off his onesie.
"I'm sure no one noticed that freakishly insane pulse of electricity. Nah they couldn't have." He chuckled nervously. What he didn't know was that he basically caused a massive blackout across many lands.
All the way over at Ponyville, Twilight's Pokemon Lab was a victim of this blackout as well.
"What just happened?" Twilight used her horn to radiate some light. "Spike? Eve? Minccy? Owlicious? Are you all still there?"
"We're here Twilight!" Spike's voice called out. "This darkness is insane." Spike ended up crashing into a table.
"Espeon..." Eve used her Psychic energy to radiate some more light to the room. It wasn't enough but it was all they had right now.
"What do you think that was, Twilight?"
"A total blackout. Something must've caused a powerful electrical pulse that shut everything off." Twilight looked out the window. "Even all of Ponyville is affected. There's not a single light in sight."
"Does that mean.. WE'RE LIVING IN TOTAL DARKNESS!" Spike began to panic.
"Not for long. All we have to do is find a way to bring light back to Ponyville and we're good. There has to be some sort of generator that controls the street lights here." Twilight exited her lab, on the search for some power. That's when she bumped into somepony. "Ow! Sorry!" She shook her head, seeing her friend Rarity having a light in her possession. "Oh. Rarity!"
"Twilight! Oh thank goodness it's you. The whole towns suffering a blackout all of a sudden. Thankfully, my boutique doesn't have to rely on power, but I still need light to operate my work."
"You and me both Rarity. I'm currently trying to find a way to get the power back up. Does Ponyville have anything that can start up power again?"
"Startup power? Well, we do have a generator. One that links to the whole town and powers up such contraptions such as Vinyl's DJ Booth."
"That's great! Where is it?"
"No clue. I've never seen it. But we know it's there somewhere."
"Alright. I'll ask Mayor Mare. She's obviously the one who would know." Twilight walked off as Rarity followed her, not wanting to be alone in the dark. Soon other ponies came outside since not everyone was asleep. The night was still young after all it had just turned night 2 hours ago even.
Mayor Mare noticed that everypony gathered outside to wonder why there's a blackout all of a sudden. It was time for another one of the well-remembered speeches that she always manages to come up with.
"Everypony. Glad you're all staying calm somewhat. As you can see, our town's suffered a massive blackout. The first of its kind actually. But I can assure you, we can get the power back up without a doubt. All we have to do is start up the generator and everything will be all sorted out." The words she gave were reassuring as she went to the back of Town Hall to start up the generator. But to her dismay, that wasn't gonna happen. Because the pulse affected with countless machines, Ponyville's generator was no exception as it was broken beyond repair. "Oh no." Mayor Mare walked back out, sweating bullets as she had no idea how to break the news. "Um. Slight problem...the generator's broken."
"WHAT?!" They all bellowed.
"I know! The whole generator's been demolished. I have no idea how even."
"But I am positive that we can still sort this out. Blackouts at the end of the day are temporary. Plus...who says we can't have a second generator?"
"Oh, yeah she raises a good point." The ponies started to nod, realizing that they can just get another generator.
"That solves that issue. I was worried a small bit there." Twilight chuckled.
Everypony returned to their homes, waiting for the new generator to power everything back up. Meanwhile, at Everfree, Zecora was unaffected due to her having no need for electricity. But she was confused on what just happened outside, but she didn't bother to check it out. Team Rocket, noticing that the power was out all over Ponyville, decided to take advantage of this.
"A blackout. Total darkness." James commented.
"Know what this means? We've got the perfect opportunity to nab that twerps Pikachu in the night. With all this darkness, how's he gonna notice?" said Jessie.
"One problem, Jess. The twerp ain't here tonight. Probably off at home on the other side." Meowth replied to her. "We can't nab something if it ain't here."
"Good point. Then it that case...we'll just nab every other Pokemon in this pony paradise!" Jessie exclaimed. "Let's get to work!"
"Wobbuffet!"
Over at Canterlot.
Celestia used her magic to radiate a bright and beautiful magic aura that granted a good amount of light. "Well. That's peculiar. Are you alright, Passion?"
"Kirlia!" She responded.
"What could've caused this? This is certainly the first time we've ever experienced a blackout." Celestia looked out the window to see all of Canterlot affected by the blackout. None of the lamps were even lightning up. Canterlot Castle didn't really need to rely on electricity. In fact, they've used it before. But the citizens of Canterlot, some of them do use it.
"Sister? Are you up still?" Luna was here, not bothered by the blackout due to her being the Princess of the Night.
"Luna. Do you have any idea on what caused this?"
"Not at all. I'm as surprised as you are. It appears that the citizen's homes have had a blackout. Perhaps a power outage."
"It's not just Canterlot..." Darkrai commented, floating down.
"What do you mean, Darkrai?" Luna asked.
"Everywhere is nothing but total darkness. From Canterlot to even Ponyville. I've checked."
"So all of Equestria has had a blackout? Even the ones that don't rely on electricity. That is bizarre."
"It surely can't last all night, can it? There has to be a way to start everything up once again. Perhaps there exists a spell that can restart these...electronics."
"A spell to restart machines..." Celestia thought for a moment. "Hm. I believe there's something similar to it. The Recapitulate spell. That might do the trick. Let's just hope it's capable of restarting electricity like it can with other things. Passion. Stay here with Philomena, Luna and Darkrai. I'll be right back. Celestia trotted off, ready to see if the spell would be of any use.
"Kirlia!"
"I have dreams that I still have to watch over. Darkrai. I'll leave you with Celestia's Kirlia. I will call for you when I request any assistance."
"Fine. Guess it's just you and me, short one." Darkrai taunted.
"Kirlia!" Passion puffed her cheeks, not pleased about being called short. Even though she was. When she evolves into a Gardevoir finally, she'll mock Darkrai since Gardevoir's are naturally taller than Darkrai's, beating their 4'11 with their 5'03. Although, Luna's Darkrai was fairly taller than the average Darkrai.
Celestia went up to the first home she came across in Canterlot. This home belonged to Daylight Blazer and Sunrise Sprint, actually. Daylight answered the knocking of the door, opening it and seeing the Ruler of Equestria right on his doorstep.
"Princess Celestia?" Daylight bowed. "What brings you here? Can I help you?"
"Good evening. I'm just here to see if I can restart your electronics with my magic. May I come in?"
"Of course. But I don't really have that many electronics. The only thing of any tech is Sunrise game and all the kitchen essentials."
"That's fine. I just have to see if I can restart them. If I can reactivate them, then I can return the power to Equestria." Celestia went up to the kitchen as she saw all the kitchen appliances demolished due to the pulse. Every last one of them had been destroyed. From the oven, fridge, stove, etc.
"Yeah. I should've also mentioned that for some reason...they kinda broke down when the blackout happened." Daylight said.
"I see. I might have to repair these as well. Is your brother awake? Perhaps I can restart his game."
"Oh, right. Sunrise!" Daylight called for his little brother.
"Yeah?!" He replied from upstairs in his room.
"Mind coming down with your game for a bit?!"
"Alright! I'm coming!" Sunrise ran out of his room, sliding down on the rails of the stairs. "Princess Celestia?!" He noticed Celestia here as he fell off the rails, falling flat on his face.
"Good evening, little Sunrise. Mind if I see your game for a moment?" Celestia asked.
"S-Sure! But I don't know what you might want with it. It's kind of..." Sunrise showed his game device as it had been affected by the pulse as well. It had been damaged with a cracked glass around it.
"Oh. That too, huh? That's fine." Celestia used her magic to grab the device from his hooves. She had used the first spell, a repair spell to fix the broken glass with ease and other broken bits. Next was the real test. Could the Recapitulate Spell work? She gave it go as golden lights swirled around the device.
The result? Success! The game booted back up immediately.
"Oh! My game!" Sunrise jumped for joy as Celestia gave the device back to him. "Thank you so much, Princess Celestia!" He gave her a hug of great gratitude.
"You're welcome Sunrise Sprint. Now that I know that the spell is effective...I can get to work. Although...that might take a while considering I'll have to go across all of Equestria. Unless..." Celestia hatched an idea as she teleported out of their home.
"Celestia was in my home. I can brag about it tomorrow now." Sunrise smirked.
"Yeah, but you don't have any proof though." Daylight giggled.
Celestia returned to Canterlot Castle, heading to her fused self, Pyrestar. Since she's part Celestia and Luna, she obviously knows about the Recapitulate spell.
"Pyrestar. I need your help with something."
Moving away from Canterlot, exactly 36 minutes have passed since the blackout, and the generator that Ponyville obtained has been ineffective to Mayor Mare's dismay. She called them out for a speech once more, ready to break the news.
"Bad news everypony. The second generator isn't working." Once she said that they all started to groan in disappointment. "But! I am sure we can still solve this. Let's wait until tomorrow morning when the sun is bright and we'll see what we can do. After all, we still need some rest, don't we?"
Everypony agreed that maybe it was time to clock out early for tonight.
Twilight, Spike and the Pokemon returned to the castle as it had enough space to have some brightness involved. Plus, the moon shines through so the moonlight is also an extra source of light.
"Still no light from the outside." Twilight noticed that the street lamps were still off. "I thought Mayor Mare would've powered everything back up with the new generator?"
"Maybe it's taking some time to start up?" Spike shrugged.
"Maybe. This is a bit odd though. Don't tell me Ponyville's going to be trapped in eternal darkness forever?"
"Not forever, Twilight." Celestia's voice echoed through the room. She had arrived with Queen Pyrestar due to her plan.
"Princess Celestia! Queen Pyrestar!" Twilight walked up to the princess and the queen. "Why are you here?"
"Celestia here has found a way to solve your blackout issue. The Recapitulate spell. Capable of restarting anything it makes contact with." Pyrestar explained.
"Using this spell can help restore the electronics and appliances that may have been affected by the blackout. However, due to it affecting all of Equestria...it might take hours. Perhaps days." Celestia said.
"All of Equestria?! But I thought it was just Ponyville! What could've triggered all of this?"
"Judging by the mass shockwave that I felt earlier...it must've been a pulse of some sorts," said Pyrestar. "I have no clue what could've caused a pulse this potent, but it definitely shut everything down.
"A pulse? Where in an Equestria could a pulse like that come from?"
"No clue. Equestria is still in the early years of technological advancement. I'm not sure any device we have currently is capable of causing a pulse of that magnitude." Celestia shook her head.
"If it's most likely not from Equestria...then maybe it's from the Pokemon World." Twilight looked out the window, staring at the gateway to Pallet Town. "Their technology is much more advanced than ours anyways."
"Possibly so. But right now, we should focus on restoring power. Twilight. You do know about the Recupilate spell, right?" Celestia asked.
"Pssh! Of course I do. It's one of the most basic spells out there." Twilight scoffed.
"Then we need your help. If you can also use the spell as well, all three of us can cover a good majority of Equestria. Although, it might last until the sun rises once more. We'll need to start moving as fast as we can." Celestia explained.
"Alright. You can count on me Princess Celestia! I'll get to work right away!" Twilight proudly responded. "Eve. Stay here with Spike and the others. This might take a while."
Over at Sweet Apple Acres, the Apple Family weren't bothered by this at all. Although, they were bothered by their fridge being off. But Cold was bothered since he was after all, afraid of the dark. He sat in his room, holding his pillow close to him while the still unconsious Emerald Aura laid down on the ground.
"W-W-Why is it still dark?" Cold shuddered.
"You okay in there, Cold?" Applejack opened the door, making him jump.
"EEK!" He ended up smashing his head on the ceiling, falling back on the bed.
"Afraid of the dark, are we?" Applejack chuckled.
"N-No...yes...." He admitted to his fear.
"Well, you just get some rest and ignore all of it. Sunlight's coming up tomorrow anyways." Applejack went up and tucked him in. "By the way. Ain't you gonna do something about her?" Applejack nudged her head at Emerald.
"Oh, Emerald? Well, she still hasn't woken up yet. But when she does...I have no idea how she's going to react. Is she gonna freak out, be mad or be okay with it?"
"We'll know when she finally wakes up. Whenever that is. Get some sleep. We're gonna need a lot of energy for next week."
"What's happening next week?"
"Didn't ya hear? Everypony's going to visit the human world next week. Humans already came over here last time to visit our world, so only fair if we do the same."
"Oooh. I've never seen most of the Pokemon World. I bet it's gonna be so much fun."
"I bet. G'night." Applejack closed the door, leaving the young unicorn to sleep.
Whilst the blackout situation is being dealt in Equestria, as for the Pokemon World...
Ash was at Cerise Lab as he and Goh attempted to use flashlights. But due to the pulse, the flashlights ended up being destroyed in the process.
"No good. It's way too dark for me to find anything else." Ash said.
"Pika."
"Professor Cerise. Isn't there a way to start up power already?" Goh asked.
"Sorry. But nothing we try is working. Even the emergency power won't turn on." Cerise answered.
"How powerful do you think that pulse was?" said Chloe.
"How powerful? Judging by how it only shut everything off but also managed to destroy the machines at the exact same time...this must've equaled a force of 90,000,000 volts of electricity."
"90,000,000 volts?!" They all exclaimed.
"That's almost close the exact same amount of power of the Legendary Pokemon Zekrom. Which is said to have the most powerful Electric-Type attacks. Whatever caused this must've been near the same amount of power Zekrom can give off."
"You think it might've been Zekrom itself?" Chloe asked.
"Probably not. If it was Zekrom, we would've noticed since it brings a cloud of storms with it. So this had to be the work of something else."
"I'll go to Ponyville and see if I can get some help. Maybe Twilight knows some magic spell that can help bring back the power." Ash suggested as he and Pikachu took off.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"W-Wait Ash!" Goh followed him along with his Raboot and Sobble.
"Alright! Good luck! We'll just stay here...in darkness." Cerise sighed.
Ash and Goh were making their way to Ponyville. Along the way, they saw how every home they passed by had been shut off with people outside their homes, trying to start up their generators, but to no avail. They soon reached Pallet Town, where the gateway to Ponyville was. Delia noticed that her son and his friend were in a hurry this late at night.
"Ash! Where are you two headed?" Delia stepped out.
"Sorry, mom. In a bit of a hurry. Trying to solve this blackout problem."
"Well, you'd better solve it tomorrow morning. Don't you think it's a bit too late to go out? Especially to the other world?"
"I promise I'll get it sorted out soon. Besides, I'm big enough to take on the dark!" Ash grinned.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"If you say so. Just be careful. Night is when things start to go awry."
"You got it!" Ash ran off towards the other world.
"Bye, Mrs Ketchum!" So did Goh.
Returning back to Castelia City, the apartment where the pulse first began. The teenager looked over his broken TV and how it got demolished just from the pulse alone. He groaned, knowing that all that money had been wasted.
"So much for movie night. Guess I can call it a night and order another one tomorrow." He sighed walking over to the TV and placing it on the couch. He then went over to the adapter, grabbing the plug to remove it. But once he did, he accidentally set the electrons off once more. "Oh what now?!" He moved his hands back as another pulse was about to begin. It seems that the adapter has absorbed so many volt to the point where it has become a vessel for high amounts of electricity. And any interaction with it will set it off. And that doesn't spell good news for the world once more.
A second electrical pulse was unleashed, spreading across the Pokemon World and Equestria once more. All the progress that Twilight, Celestia and Pyrestar made had been thrown out the window. But it got worse. Due to there being a second pulse, it was now powerful enough to affect buildings. The apartments were slowly starting to come down with the windows, doors and all sorts of furniture breaking apart. Thankfully, the buildings haven't toppled...yet. Equestria wasn't safe as well.
Cold Colt looked up to see the ceiling break apart due to the pulse. This even woke up Granny Smith and the others as they had no idea what was going on. Celestia, Twilight and Luna could see that a second pulse had emitted as it destroyed the ceilings and windows of many homes in Ponyville and even all the way over at Canterlot. This wasn't just a blackout anymore.
The adapter had become an object of destruction. And if a solution to stopping it isn't found, it could end up reaching a point where it will have enough power to demolish both worlds.
Both worlds were now living in total darkness with this intense blackout. From the entire Pokemon World to all of Equestria. A solution to solving this problem had been found thanks to Celestia remembering the Recupilate spell, however, all that progress had been depleted once a second electrical pulse went off. The adapter which was now a vessel continued to build up heaps of electrical power with over 90,000,000 volts building up constantly. The more it builds up, the stronger it becomes and the more aggressive the pulse will become. The first pulse managed to cause a worldwide blackout and even destroyed many machines, devices, appliances and any other electrical source of power. The second pulse already managed to destroy ceilings, windows and doors...who knows what the third one will do once it reaches a certain point. So far, the only place in Equestria that hasn't been affected as much is Cloudsdale. Thankfully the first two pulses didn't reach that high. But the third one could if it does go off.
Pikachu felt a strange jolt in him the moment the second pulse went off. It made him feel off.
"Pi...Pikachu..." Pikachu shuddered.
"What's wrong Pikachu?" Ash asked his buddy.
"Pika-Pika." Pikachu's body was jittering as Ash held his best friend in his arms, carrying him.
"Hey, Ash. Look." Goh pointed over at everypony being outside of their homes due to the second pulse. Ponies were using their magic to emit some light in order to counteract the darkness, but it wasn't really effective.
"Them too? So it didn't just affect us." Ash and Goh walked up to the ponies who were chatting about the second pulse and how it woke them up.
"Hm? Oh, Ash and Goh. What are you two doing here so late at night?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"We're here to look for help to restore power to back to our world. But it looks like the same thing has happened to your world too." Ash replied.
"Yep. It was the craziest thing! Jade and I were just minding our own business, just being the best of buds and then all of a sudden, some weird shaky thing hit SugarCube Corner and shut all the lights off. And to make it worse, it even destroyed everything inside. The oven, stove, fridge, all of it! Weird night."
"The pulse was that powerful it reached here?" said Goh.
"Well, a second one just happened a few seconds. So where's it coming from?" Ash wondered.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu still felt off with his cheeks flowing with tons of electrons. His little body wouldn't stop jittering as blue electricity was also sparking out of him for a bit.
"Pikachu looks a bit off tonight. I think we'd better get you checked up, buddy."
"Pikapi."
"Tell Twilight that I came by to ask her to help with the power problem. I'll be at the Pokemon House!" Ash ran off with Pikachu, leaving Goh with Pinkie and the others.
Over at the Pokemon House, Fluttershy wasn't even aware of the blackout at all. She was asleep long ago as were most of the Pokemon. Some Pokemon were awake due to the pulse waking them up, especially the Pokemon that were weak to electric. Fluttershy's Audino was up late, tending to the Pokemon who were the most affected by the pulse.
"Audino..."
"Audino!" Ash called for her. "Audino. Can you please check up on Pikachu? I think something's wrong with him. He's jittering for some reason."
"Pika...chu..." The Electric Mouse Pokemon began to squirm.
"Audi. Audino." Audino took Pikachu off Ash's hands, ready to care for him as well. She looked at Pikachu's current state and noticed how he was letting out small jolts of his normal lightning colour and a new azure coloured one. She then realized that this sudden jittering with Pikachu could be linked with the pulse. She placed Pikachu down, using Refresh to mildly slow down his jittering. But the volts that laid within him were still there.
"Thanks, Audino." Ash kneeled down to look at his buddy.
"Audino." Audino nodded at Ash as a response. Ash stayed behind to take care of his buddy whilst at Ponyville, Twilight, Celestia and Pyrestar who were at Twilight's Pokemon Lab, had hit a brick wall. The second pulse had now complicated things to a massive degree. They were making such good progress and all of a sudden, it just raced back down to zero. They spent the last 25 minutes going around Ponyville and repairing and restarting everything and all of that was just wiped out when the second pulse arrived.
The alicorn trio had their hooves full with more work now. Instead of now taking all night, it could possibly take days due to the extra damage that was done. Not to mention the fact that Luna is occupied in the Dream Realm. She still has to guard the dreams of everypony still, so she can't help out at the moment.
"All that hard work...gone. What caused the second pulse?" Twilight sighed.
"It has to be a Pokemon. Possibly an Electric-Type." Celestia replied. "Twilight. Do you know of a Pokemon that can emit that much electrical power?"
"A Pokemon that can do that? Let's see..." Twilight began to dig deep in her memory. She recalled the time she first went over Pokemon history and she remembered something about the Legendary Pokemon Zekrom. "Maybe it's Zekrom!"
"Zekrom?" Celestia and Pyrestar both said.
"Zekrom is a Dragon-Electric-Type. Apparently, it has the most powerful Electric-Type attacks out of any Pokemon. It's the only Pokemon capable of emitting that much electric power. So it must be causing it from the other world."
"Then it's power must be something grand if it can even affect our world."
"Oh, I can assure you that Zekrom's not behind this at all." A familiar and friendly voice corrected them. BigTime Ben and his always by his side partner Gothitelle had shown up. He emitted some light by having his Gothitelle use the move Flash. In fact, many trainers in the Pokemon World were already doing that, at least the ones that had Flash on their Pokemon.
"BigTime Ben?" Twilight said.
"If it was Zekrom, we would've noticed a huge storm cloud that would've emitted high volts of lightning unparalleled by any Pokemon else."
"So, it's not Zekrom. What could it be then?" Twilight asked.
"Most likely outcome...Probably an overload. Somewhere out there, a device must've been overflown with heaps of electrons. Those electrons are possibly the cause of this intense electrical pulse."
"How do you know all of this?" Celestia questioned.
"My company's been affected as well. Everything's been shut down. In fact...our entire world has been hit with a blackout."
"The entire world?!" All three of them exclaimed.
"Mhm. Every region is experiencing the same thing. Even my hometown Johto's been hit. And it's the least technologically advanced region out there. I suppose it managed to affect your world as well as judging from the looks of it."
"Indeed it has. We've managed to find a way around it, however. We used a repairing spell and the Recupilate spell have proven to be effective in restoring power. However, ever since the second pulse hit, our progress has dwindled back to zero, unfortunately." Pyrestar sighed.
"Whew. Sounds like you've hit a brick wall. But don't worry. That's why I'm here to help."
"Really? How?" Twilight asked.
"I didn't come here just to check up on the state of your blackout. Instead, I've been gathering the assistance of every other region to help restore power. You see, there are some Pokemon that can solve this. Mostly Electric-Types, since they give off the most energy out of any other Pokemon. As for the broken devices, appliances, etc, Psychic-Types like my Gothitelle here are all we need. I came here to ask if you would help us in restoring power and getting rid of this blackout."
"Of course! If your world is already making a team effort in fixing this problem, then we'll do the same. We are struggling a bit, honestly." Celestia chuckled.
"But how did you manage to get the other regions to act so fast?" Once again, Twilight asked.
"Simple. For my company, in every part of the region, my workers have Psychic-Type Pokemon that connect telepathically. My Gothitelle here acts as the main link. The boss of all the Psychic-Types there. She uses her immense telepathy to communicate with the other Psychic-Types across all regions. That's how my company works so fast. Because they're always being updated with Gothitelle giving the word." Ben patted his Pokemon on the back.
"Gothitelle.
"There's still one issue we have to deal with. Where that pulse is coming from. So far, the only traces my scientists have given me is that the pulse is originating somewhere in Unova. Castelia City." Ben explained.
"The gateway to Castelia isn't too far from here. I can probably make it there in time before the third pulse goes off. Princess Celestia. Please let me set off to find the source of the pulse." Twilight turned to Celestia.
"Towards the source? Hmm...it may be highly dangerous due to the second one being much more powerful than the first. Who knows how dangerous the third one may be. But if you are up to the task, then I shall allow you to head off and stop the pulse, before a third one goes off."
"Thank you! And I won't be alone. I've got the greatest friends that ever could be found." Twilight smiled as her Espeon and Minccino went up to her along with Spike and Owlicious. "I and my friends will make sure that this pulse comes to an end."
"Hm. She's certainly much more upbeat than Midnight," said Pyrestar. "Curious."
"Great! We all know our roles then. I'm off to inform the rest of my company to keep on restoring power across Johto. Won't be long until we can communicate with other regions. I request if you'd please inform Ponyville to do the same if you can."
"I'll make sure that Equestria pitches in to help. Thank you BigTime Ben." thanked Celestia.
And what of Unova? The location where the pulse starts. The teenager who lives in the apartment where the energy source is was starting to panic. He had left his room to avoid getting hit by any more electrical attacks from the adapter. He was in a bit of a rough spot now. He was feeling two fear rushes right now.
The first. The fear of being found responsible for this since he was the one who set it all off. And if they find out, he could be given severe punishment such as prison time.
And the second being the fear of taken out by the electrical pulse a third time. It already ruined his onesie the first time, puffed his hair the second time and the third one could be devastating to him.
"This is bad. This is really bad...I messed up big time! What did I do wrong?!" He pulled his hair, feeling stressed out. Gently opening the door to his room, he looked over at the box that the TV originally came in as he grabbed the guidebook. Opening it, he realised that the guidebook said these exact words that were of critical importance.
"Only utilize 24K HD if there are fewer electronics surrounding or active. We advise you to turn off any other electronics that may be present. Maximum capacity of 4 can be active and on."
"Seriously?" He groaned as he had tons of electronics in his one apartment room. It didn't help that since this was an apartment, the neighbours had electronics that were close as well. So this was bound to be a disaster from day one. "I'm sticking to 4K. On the bright side. Can't get crazier than some pulse."
The minute he said that the third pulse had activated. But this time, it was different. Instead of affecting the entire world, the third pulse managed to form something. The adapter began gyrating with sparks of electricity flying out. The teenager went back outside in order to avoid the next wave. But this wasn't a wave. The electrons had gathered up in one spot with so much grand energy to a point that it was creating a sort of figure.
This figure was made of pure electrical energy. Electricity in its most volatile form. This electric entity stood up like a human would with extremely long arms and legs. This was unreal to gaze at. The teen took a peek and noticed the electric entity right inside. He had no idea what to make of it.
"H-How...How is this even possible?"
"Yeah...how is it possible?" An unfamiliar voice responded to him, chuckling. It was revealed to be Obsidian, who blended in perfectly with the darkness. "Too bad for your movie night pal. But on the plus side, Ponyville's about to be met with an electrifying event." Obsidian was the one who was behind this. It was never the teenager's fault in the first place. Granted, it wasn't a good idea to turn it up to 24K with all those electronics on. But that would only result in a short-circuit to his adapter. Obsidian actually ended up using his magic to make the situation much worse than it already was. This was his doing. "Oh, this is gonna be good. Wonder how they're gonna overcome this one?" Obsidian rubbed his hooves together as the electric behemoth broke through the apartment with ease. Due to it being pure electricity, it could easily phase through any physical object. But not only that, it could even drain the energy of any nearby electronic and even overload it, causing them to explode.
The electric behemoth was making its way towards the gateway that leads to Equestria. Obsidian just casually followed the creature, anticipating everypony's reaction to this.
Ash's Pikachu could feel the electric behemoth on the move. This caused Pikachu to squirm on the ground, jittering even more aggressively than before.
"Pi...Pika!"
"Audino!" Audino used another Refresh on him to sustain the jittering, but it wasn't proving to be as effective as before. It still sustained him, but not by much.
"What could be wrong with him? Is it maybe that pulse that went off?" said Ash. Pikachu's electricity was starting to go haywire. The closer the behemoth got, the more erratic the electricity became. As such, Pikachu's lightning was now shooting out of its cheeks frantically, flying all over the place. They were so frantic and high voltage that they even managed to burn a nearby tree down, making Ash and Audino gasp. Pikachu's electricity had been supercharged, more than he could handle. Ponyville was completely unaware of what was coming their way, even the princesses. Celestia and Pyrestar were at Canterlot, informing everypony to help restore power whilst Twilight informs Ponyville to do the same.
Team Rocket stood by, camouflaging themselves in the darkness as they gazed over the ponies and their Pokemon. Right now, everypony was staying outside due to their homes being damaged from the second pulse. To pass the time, some of them decided to play checkers, cards or any other small activity they can do to pass the time.
"They're all out here? I thought they'd be asleep by now?" Jessie whispered.
"Looks like they've hit a blackout. The worst time to have one even. This complicates things even more. How can we nab them if they're all there?" James whispered back.
"We'll have to be extra-stealthy with this one." That's when Meowth thought of a splendid idea. "Hey...On second thought."
"What? What are thinking now Meowth?" Jessie asked.
"If these ponies need some light in this blackout...we'll just give'em some." Meowth was suggesting a good old fashioned scam.
"Scam and distract? I like the sound of that." Jessie giggled.
"A perfect snatch in the dark before the light, wouldn't you say?" James replied.
"Wobbuffet!"
Team Rocket had a new plan set in motion already. In order to get their Pokemon, they would have to distract the ponies. And what better way to distract them via scamming them off with fake flashlights. They returned back to Everfree, asking Zecora for some leftover items that she no longer needed. They managed to construct fake flashlights by utilizing some of the tree branches. Then they used Wobbuffet's psychic abilities to create artificial light that would probably only last a few minutes. Finally, they went with their typical generic yet somehow impossible to see through disguises that not even the smartest individuals can detect. And as a bonus, they utilized their many inventions to make a clean getaway afterwards. This time it came in the form a mini-Meowth vehicle with a hatch fit to store some small Pokemon inside.
"Yoohoo!" Jessie's voice called for them all. She and Team Rocket placed stand where there was a box of fake flashlights sitting in all of them. "I can see that you ponies are feeling down with all this darkness around the area. No need to worry. We have your solution right here!"
"With these full battery flashlights." James raised the box up, making everypony's manes and tail stand up with attention. "Say goodbye to the darkness with just a single of one these!"
"And it'll only cost ya 3 bits." Meowth said.
"Let me get one!" The ponies started to flock over to the stand, immediately wanting one. Once again, Team Rocket manages to con everyone they come across.
"Now now. There's enough for everypony here." Jessie giggled. Whilst the ponies were scrambling to find some bits, Meowth took the opportunity to run off to the miniature vehicle of itself, just to nab the defenceless Pokemon. Due it being dark, they wouldn't be able to see Meowth coming. Lucky for Team Rocket, the Pokemon that most ponies owned weren't exactly the strongest, so snatching them was a cinch. The hatch opened up as the Mini-Meowth was pulling Pokemon in like a vacuum. Jessie glanced over as she saw Meowth controlling the machine, snatching up all the Pokemon that could fit inside, knowing that they got what they needed. "Bingo..." She said silently. "Alright! We've run out of flashlights now. But not to worry. You've still got all the light you need."
"Sweet." Pinkie Pie attempted to utilize the flashlight, but when she did, the light didn't come on at all. Even though there never was on in the first place. "Hm? Hey. It won't come on!"
"Mine won't turn on either." Lyra said.
"These don't work at all!" Berry Punch complained. Soon everypony began complaining about the flashlights until they found out they were fakes. Nothing but used tree branches and other useless junk mixed in with it.
"Sorry! No refunds!" Both Jessie and Jame said as they lunged forward, escaping the ponies. They hopped on the Mini-Meowth, standing on top of it with a smirk on their faces.
"Sayanora, losers!" Jessie blew her tongue out at them.
"Hey! Where did Slurpuff go?!" Pinkie noticed that the Pokemon were gone.
"Hm? Raboot? Sobble?!" So did Goh.
"Those Poke-nabbers!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Who are you?!" Twilight questioned.
"Listen is that the sound of a twerpette pony I hear?" Jessie taunted.
"I hear it loud and clear." So did James. That's when they finally decided to reveal themselves by removing their simple disguises. It was time for the usual motto with Jessie leading first as well.
"Prepare for trouble, a blast from the past!"
"And make it double, while you look aghast!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"And James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare for a fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Oh, that was actually a nice display." Mayor Mare applauded.
"Team Rocket?! You again?!" Twilight groaned.
"You may be the new twerpette, pony but you certainly aren't the best! We'll be taking these back to the boss if you don't mind!" Jessie replied as the Mini-Meowth was on the move, dashing off.
"Get back here!" Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Rarity chased after Team Rocket, attempting to get the Pokemon back.
"Jumping juniper! They're gaining fast!" James was surprised.
"Let them have it Meowth!" Jessie turned to Meowth.
"With pleasure! Eat wind, ponies!" Meowth made the miniature vehicle exert wind currents from the back, pushing the three of them away from Team Rocket. Twilight managed to fly past the wind pressure, barely as she caught up to Team Rocket. Her horn was glowing, indicating that she was about to blast them.
"Oh no, you don't!" Jessie picked up her Wobbuffet, raising her in front of Twilight. The young alicorn unleashed a magic beam in hopes of making contact. It did make contact, but that quickly turned around when Wobbuffet's Mirror Coat triggered. It bounced the magic beam right back at Twilight, knocking her out of the sky. "Hohohohoho! Buh-Bye!" Jessie laughed devilishly as Team Rocket got a good distance away. At first, it looked like they were about to finally make their escape...until...
The Behemoth finally arrived in Equestria. With its ridiculously long arms rising up in the skies. Everypony in Ponyville and Team Rocket noticed this as they saw the hand of electricity rising up. The behemoth put its arms down, and the moment it did, it sent an electrical pulse that spread across Ponyville. This pulse managed to drain the Mini-Meowth of all of its energy, stopping its movements.
"Huh?! We've been shut down!" Meowth exclaimed. This meant that the hatch had opened up, no longer functioning. Not only that but the pulse managed to break down the vehicle. After all, this was the pulse in living form. The Pokemon escaped from the hatch, quickly returning to their trainers.
But right now, a reunion was not necessary. Ponyville had a new problem to deal with. In fact, possibly all of Equestria. This Electric Behemoth let out a roar that sounded like a thunderstorm. It was just as loud as an actual thunderstorm to the point where it woke up all of Cloudsdale as well. The buildings were taking even more punishment the moment the roar came out. It even extended all the way over to Canterlot. The ponies covered their ears once they heard that bloodcurdling roar. Twilight looked up at the 500ft Behemoth and all she could say was this.
This entity stood tall, looming over Ponyville and Cloudsdale. From the far distance, you could barely see it in the clouds. All you'd end up seeing was a yellow and blue flash of electricity. This behemoth was the cause of Obsidian's magic interfering with a power outage. A situation that was already a bit bad, accelerated to a possible worst-case scenario.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" Cherilee exclaimed as everypony started to scream and panic, obviously not wanting to deal with the behemoth. It was 500ft after all. And if they even made contact with it, they would be shocked to a point where their bodies couldn't handle the volts.
"Just a little something I decided to spice up a bit." Obsidian stood atop a tree, chuckling. Twilight turned her attention to the scheming pony who was the cause of all of this.
"Obsidian! Of course, you'd be behind it!" She stomped her hooves.
"Espeon!"
"Oh, yeah. I'm a master class at starting up events. This one's a potential favourite of mine. If you think the tree behemoth was dangerous...you ain't seen nothing yet. Let's see how you deal with a being made out of pure energy. Ta-Ta." Obsidian took his leave with the usual rift transport.
"What do we do against something like that?"
Over at the Pokemon House, the thunderstorm cry managed to wake Fluttershy up from her sleep as well. Not only that, but the presence of the behemoth in Ponyville made Pikachu's condition accelerate. He kept on shooting out yellow and blue Thunderbolts repeatedly without any control.
"Pi...Pikachu!" Pikachu's lightning was going crazy. Soon it was shocking every Pokemon at the house, even shocking Ash and Audino. Fluttershy raced outside to see Pikachu losing control of his electricity and the 500ft behemoth.
"What's happening?! And what is that?!"
Ash grabbed a hold of Pikachu, trying to calm his buddy down. "I don't know!" As Ash kept holding Pikachu down, he was continuously shocked by him. But these weren't the usual friendly shocks that were given to Ash at times, these shocks were aggressive, unrestrained even. Meaning that Ash could feel more than 100,000 volts hit him.
Each time electricity emanated out of Pikachu, the behemoth could feel it. Almost as if the two were bouncing off each other, even from this far away distance. The behemoth was on the move once more. Each step it took cause electric shockwaves to emerge with ease. This shockwave managed to electrocute even the trees around Ponyville, even reaching Everfree.
"We can't stay here. Not with that thing around. Fluttershy. Audino. Can you please look after Pikachu for me?"
"We will. But what's going on? What happened overnight?" Fluttershy picked up Pikachu.
"I'll explain everything later on! Just wait for me, Pikachu!" Ash took off, leaving his buddy in good hooves.
"Pikapi..." Pikachu hopped off Fluttershy's hooves suddenly. He didn't want to be away from his best friend. Especially if that behemoth is just out there in the open. He quickly chased after Ash, always wanting to be by his side.
"What do we do against that?!" Pinkie bellowed.
"I don't know. But we have to put a stop to it. Or else it'll destroy all of Ponyville. Eve! Psybeam!" Twilight commanded her Espeon to attack. The Sun Pokemon unleashed a psychic beam towards the 500ft Behemoth. It was a huge target so there was no way any attack was missing. The Psybeam made contact, but to their surprise, it barely did much. All it ended up doing was causing the behemoth to let out a small wail.
Everypony had gone a far distance in order to get away for the behemoth. But it didn't matter how far away they get. The shockwaves and pulses it formed every time it moved were so immense, the distance couldn't protect them. And each time a new shockwave flies through, their bodies feel a shudder that sends chills down their spines.
Rainbow Dash gazed at the behemoth, unsure of what was even going on. She and the pegasi were having a nice rest and all of a sudden this happens.
"Did the storms just suddenly decide to get mad all of a sudden?!" Rainbow Dash uttered.
"I don't know! But I'm getting out of here!" A pegasus replied as they were all flying away from the approaching storm being. All the Flying-Types in the area did the same, fleeing from the behemoth. Rainbow Dash flew down to Ponyville to see if her friends were doing okay during this. She spotted Twilight and her Espeon looking up at the behemoth.
"Twilight!"
"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight turned to her friend.
"What in Equestria is that thing?!"
"Some sort of...storm monster! It came straight from the other world!"
"Well, what do we do against it?"
"High tail it out of here that's what!" Meowth exclaimed as he and Team Rocket were making a run for it. And it was a good call because the behemoth was actually getting faster. Naturally, something huge would be sluggish and slow, but because this behemoth is pure energy and electricity, its speed builds up. Meaning that eventually, it'll end up moving at lightning speeds.
The behemoth's main goal was simply nothing. Its sense of direction was just linear, meaning that it would rampage mindlessly towards a straight line. But even by just casually moving forward, it can cause destruction in its wake. From the direction it was facing, it would most likely head towards Canterlot next. The behemoth got a move on as it was moving much faster than before.
As it made its way forward, the energy it gave off electrocuted every building near it. Rarity's boutique, SugarCube Corner, Town Hall, Even Twilight's Pokemon Lab and castle were hit by it. The much larger buildings were not that damaged due to their structure, however, the rest of the buildings AKA the homes were greatly affected. Many ponies could only sit back and watch their entire homes be demolished by this walking storm. On the bright side, a large majority of the furniture was saved. So it wasn't all bad.
"This is perfect!" Obsidian showed up once more, sitting atop a tree. "This is way better than I expected! Much better than some tree. If I had to give it a name...I think the Storm Behemoth would work. Yeah. That's fitting."
"Obsidian! That's enough!" Twilight turned to him.
"What? Gonna lecture me or something, princess?"
"You've caused heaps of trouble over the months...and now you unleash this?! Your antics need to stop!"
"Bah! Stop?! Do you think I'm gonna let some 4th-dimensional being tell me, a 5th-dimensional being with cosmic power what to do? Yeah right! I have the power to cause any kind of disaster. From this Storm Behemoth to even a tidal wave! If I wanted to, I could wipe all of Equestria off the face of the Earth if I just go crazy with my magic!" Obsidian hopped off the tree, walking towards Twilight. "Face it, Sparkle. You're gonna have to live with the fact that I will continue to make things difficult for you in every possible way. It makes the world crossover much more fun that way."
"Fun? FUN?!" Twilight bellowed back at him. "You think this FUN!? Constantly causing events that put me and my friends in danger, having no respect for everypony's lives, even humans and Pokemon! You're only doing this because some cosmic being made you this way!" Twilight shoved him with her hoof. The tension between the two was rising. Obsidian was actually getting aggravated with Twilight a bit. "This stops here, Obsidian. I'm going to make sure that you don't cause any more trouble for anypony ever again! You and the Rift! With my friends by my side, we'll make sure that you don't hurt anypony ever again!"
"Do you really think you can stop me?" Obsidian chuckled as his horn and eyes began to glow. "You think just because you have alicorn magic, you stand a chance? And the Magic of Friendship? WRONG!" Suddenly a burst of cosmic energy erupted behind Obsidian. "Magic stands no chance against the paragon energy of the cosmos!" His voice suddenly begun to sound akin to that of the Rift. In fact, it was now the Rift speaking to Twilight. Applejack, Fluttershy and everypony else around the area of Ponyville looked up to see the cosmic energy of the Rift emerge as a mighty voice was about to echo throughout Ponyville.
"The Rift...?" Twilight backed away.
"Twilight Sparkle. Do you really believe you can just stop me? So casually? You couldn't even begin to comprehend the measureless empyrean cosmic power that I command. The Magic of Friendship? What a pathetic power you speak of! You are nothing more than another speck of dust in the endless disposition of the omniverse, easily capable of being wiped out by a single command of a higher entity of various other worlds and realities such as myself. With just a single world, I can command you and the entirety of your world to surrender with the force of an infinite array of voices. The fact that you even think that you even believe in the Magic of Friendship triumphing over anything you come across is so imperceptive and vainglorious that it honestly baffles even my vast knowledge. If I wanted too...I could wipe you out from existence at any given point in time...and your entire precious world. None will remember you. Your existence will be nothing but an afterthought of a child's imagination in another world!"
The words that the Rift said to Twilight could be heard from everypony. They all stayed silent as the atmosphere died down. Twilight sat down, unable to respond to something like that. She had never been talked down upon like this. Ever.
"So tell me. What did you say you were going to do?"
"I...I..." Twilight's fears were getting to her. The amount of fear building up within her was enough to potentially awaken Horizon Storm from within. The sheer force that the Rift was exerting had put everything to a halt, even the behemoth's movements for a small bit.
"She said that she's going to stop you." A voice broke the silence. It was revealed to be Ash who had Pikachu on his side. His buddy was still feeling off due to the behemoth, but he was always by his pal's side. "I'd take her word for it."
"Pikachu!"
"Ash Ketchum." The Rift controlled Obsidian turned to Ash. "You are a different story. You seem to have no quarrel against me if I am, to be honest. Surely, you weigh on the side of neutral due to your relations to various Mythical and Legendary Pokemon. Even the Lord of Chaos Discord has become a friend of yours."
"I may be able to enjoy some fun in life, but I also know when something goes too far and it endangers others."
"Oh? I see no problem. At the end of the day, you and your pony friends will end up saving them...as you always do."
"Yeah, I figured you'd say that. But even if we always save them, the thought of seeing them constantly being in danger is horrible. I just want to spend some time with my friends, laughing, having fun and just messing around! I don't need to be in intense situations and events to have fun with my friends!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Are you opposing me as well, Ketchum?" The Rift flew over to Ash.
"Yeah, I am!"
"Pika!"
The Rift could see that Ash was fearless against him. The Rift knew that Ash has already come across situations that constantly put his life in danger, so talking down to him with a bellowing voice wasn't going to phase him at all. And the Rift knew that. That's when the young trainer finally decided to talk to Rift on a normal level.
"I get that you want to have fun, see new scenarios. I'm kind of the same. I'm always wanting to experience new stuff that I've never seen before. I'm always throwing myself in the craziest of situations without knowing how wild it can get. That's why I'm journeying around the world. There's still a lot for me to do before I can become a Pokemon Master. And I want to experience everything before I reach my goal. Because if I just become a master early on, what's the point of the journey. But I don't put my friends in danger for the sake of fun. I want to have a blast in a way that makes my friends happy too."
"Pikachu!"
The words that Ash spoke managed to clear the dry atmosphere a bit. Not only that, but the Rift took some time to examine Ash's words. In a sense, he was right. The Rift and Ash did share similar ambitions. They both seek to have entertainment and fun. However, they both approach it differently. The Rift then came to a conclusion that would not change his stance...but it would still make him realise a few things.
"Hm. Well played Ketchum. I should've expected this. It is abnormal that you always know what to say, Ash Ketchum. It's no wonder why you've built a powerful bond with countless Pokemon, people and now ponies over the years. Very well. This is what I shall do. I will continue to create events for both worlds to see what scenarios can come from them. And I will still continue to utilize Obsidian as the role of a villain. However, I will show...some restraint in my actions. Despite my vast knowledge, I failed to remember what actual entertainment is. This does not mean I will put an end to actions, but it does mean that I will...partially consider the safety of others...most of the time."
"Sounds good to me. And we'll just end up stopping Obsidian and whatever Rift pony you throw at us! Count on it!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Hmph. We shall see. You make things interesting Ash Ketchum. We shall see who shall come out on top at the end of all of this." The Rift left Obsidian's body making it twitch a bit.
"Ugh...that wasn't very comfortable." Obsidian groaned. Once that was all said and done, the Behemoth was on the move once more. That issue still needed to be dealt with. Obsidian looked around as he quickly left Ponyville, not wanting to be here any longer.
"You okay?" Ash went over to Twilight who was still perplexed on what she saw.
"Yeah...I'm okay." Twilight nodded, feeling relieved after that. "Thanks, Ash."
"No problem. Now, all we have to do is deal with that thing." Ash looked up at Storm Behemoth.
"Pika..." Pikachu felt off just looking at the thing.
"It looks like it's headed straight for Canterlot by the direction it's moving. Canterlot is much more populated than Ponyville...so the result could be terrifying." Twilight replied.
"Then we'll just have to stop its movements!" Ash took out one of his Pokeballs. "Pikachu. You take a break for now. You're still not well. Everyone else. Mind helping me slow this guy down?"
"I'm not sure. We're not as skilled as you, Ash. What are we going to do against THAT?" said Lyra.
"You don't need to be skilled to help. Your Pokemon are beside you at the end of the day. That thing's made of electricity. So if any of you have Pokemon that are good against Electric-Types, we're good to go."
"My Leavanny do. I know that much." Rarity commented.
"There are some Ground-Types at the Pokemon House as well." Fluttershy flew over to Ash with Audino.
"That settles it. All we have to do is stop its movements." Ash sent out his Dragonite to fly towards the Storm Behemoth. "Let's get going! You coming along?" Ash asked.
"Of course we are. If that thing reaches Canterlot, all the progress Princess Celestia and Queen Pyrestar made will be set back to zero...again. We're coming with you." Twilight replied.
The Storm Behemoth was eradicating anything its electricity made contact with. The trees were being fried and set on fire once its foot went through them. Even Cloudsdale was affected, as it tore through the clouds itself due to intense 90,000,000 volts of electricity it possessed.
Ash's Dragonite which had Ash, Pikachu, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack on it, caught up to the behemoth. "Dragonite! Hyper Beam!" Dragonite unleashed a beam of hyper energy towards the 500ft monster. The Hyper Beam proved to be effective as the behemoth was actually pushed back by it. It let out a thunderous cry due to the pain it felt from the Hyper Beam. "Nice!"
"Leavanny. Energy Ball!" Rarity commanded her Leavanny which were on the ground. All 12 of them released balls of energy grassy energy towards the behemoth. Due to it being electric, Energy Ball worked well on it. The Behemoth was pushed back even more by the 12 Energy Balls.
"Treecko! Bullet Seed!" Applejack also gave her Pokemon a command for the first time even. The Treecko that sat on top her hat pelted bullets of seed that made contact with the Behemoth's face.
The Storm Behemoth decided that enough was enough as it waved its hand towards them. When it moved its long arms, lightning erupted everywhere from it. The sheer pressure was enough to make Dragonite lose its balance even. The Dragon Pokemon thankfully flew up, avoiding the swing, but the area behind it was hit sudden discharges.
Rainbow Dash flew up with her Braviary and Altara right by herside along with Twilight.
"Altaria! Ice Beam! Braviary! Superpower!" She commanded both her Flying-Types to unleash moves on the electric monster that would cause some damage. A beam of cold ice hit the behemoth, freezing a small part of it actually as Braviary flew in, smashing its wings and talons at the behemoth's face, but in the process, felt a shock run through its body. The 500ft monster was capable of being stopped by Pokemon moves as they were proving to be effective. Soon, everypony in Ponyville who had Pokemon that could use effective moves, commanded their Pokemon to attack the Storm Behemoth.
The behemoth realized that with all of these attacks, it would get nowhere. So as a result, it decided to try a new approach. And that approach was absobring the attacks themselves. Like some sort of vacuum, every Pokemon's attacks were being pulled into it. It was now feeding on them like a power vacuum. The electricity mashed the attacks down, making them apart of its body. The energy building within it was actually increasing its size. It was now 570 ft tall. And the electricity around it was becoming much more aggress. Bigger and bigger. And what's worse the electrons were even burning away the grass it stood on and anything nearby.
"Oh that can't be good." Twilight commented.
And it wasn't. The behemoth all of a sudden then took the skies by unleashing a power jump. The sound it made when it jumped caused a thunderstorm-like sound as it was high up in the clouds. It was still making its way towards Canterlot in a straight line. With it now being able to absorb attacks and its electricity constantly growing, who knows how potent this thing can become.
Pokemon moves now just fuel its energy, even more, making things much more difficult than they already are. The behemoth's path towards Canterlot was only drawing near. Now it seemed like a near-unstoppable being. The gigantic storm being was now pulling off a running motion, causing constant pulses each time it ran.
"It just absorbed all those moves? How?" Rainbow Dash uttered.
"The electricity around it is acting like some sort of power vacuum. It'll keep eating up moves and adding it onto its electricity." Twilight explained.
"Then how on Earth do we beat something that can just eat up our moves?" Rarity asked.
"I don't know. But if we don't figure something out fast, it'll end tearing through all of Equestria maybe one night. Ash, any ideas?"
"I got nothing. All we can do now is keep chasing after it. Dragonite! Forward" Ash pointed at the direction of the behemoth.
"Dra!" The Dragon Pokemon flew forward as the group were chasing the behemoth down.
Over at Canterlot, the ponies there were completely unaware of the behemoth that was heading their way. The only thing they could see were storms in the clouds. But they just assumed it was a natural thunderstorm that might be coming soon.
Princess Celestia and Queen Pyrestar had informed everypony to try and pitch in with the other world in order to help restore light and energy across both worlds. Little did they know that all that progress would be taken out by the approaching behemoth that was dashing this direction.
"Everypony's all set. Now, all we have to do is wait for the right moment." Celestia spoke to Pyrestar.
"Will this work? If their entire world has lost power, will it be enough to restart all the power there? I would assume it would only affect at least 20% of their world since theirs was on a more global scale compared to ours." Pyrestar asked.
"You'd be surprised by how much progress and power can be achieved with Pokemon on your side. Isn't that right, Passion?" Celestia looked at her Kirlia who was on her back.
"Kirlia!"
"I suppose so. These Pokemon creatures are still bizarre to me. It only makes sense that they come from another world completely different from ours."
"You don't know the half of it." Celestia chuckled. That's when Passion picked something up. Her psychic prowess was capable of picking up any imminent danger from a mile away. And she could sense the behemoth making its way here.
"Kir...? Kirlia!" Passion hopped off her trainer's back, looking out to the window.
"Passion? What's wrong? Do you sense something?" Celestia went up to her Pokemon.
"Kirlia!" The Emotion Pokemon outstretched her arms, pointing outside of the window. That's when Celestia, Pyrestar and soon all of Equestria saw the behemoth. It was running towards them with so signs of slowing down at all. Everypony began to panic as they quickly went inside their homes. The sight of a creature that huge, running towards them, was enough to terrify anypony honestly.
"What is that thing?!" Pyrestar exclaimed.
"Whatever it may be, it's heading this way! Passion get back!" Celestia made her Pokemon stand behind her as her horn began to glow.
The thunderous cry from the behemoth erupted, shattering the windows and obliterating the ceilings and walls of homes. Canterlot was affected as well. Due to it being much more hard-built, it didn't take too much damage, but the roar managed to leave some cracks on the walls and even shattering some windows in the process.
Celestia unleashed her magic by creating a large barrier around Canterlot in order to block the behemoth's movements. And the result? The barrier was actually a success. The moment the behemoth made contact with it, it was pushed back and its movements halted. It seems that it cannot absorb energy if it is moving, only if it is motionless that it can absorb all forms of energy. The sun princess breathed a deep sigh, glad that she managed to stop it. But that wouldn't last...because the behemoth began draining the magic energy from the barrier by slamming its long arms on it. Each slam not only drained the barrier, but it also caused a shockwave that ruptured across it. The rupture was enough to make the buildings tremble, even from a faraway distance.
"What strength!" Celestia gasped. Pyrestar quickly chimed in by adding her magic onto it. She formed a barrier that layered over Celestia's, as the force of the barrier emerging was enough to knock the behemoth down for a bit. But her magic was no exception to the behemoth, as it began absorbing Pyrestar's magic as well. Due to Pyrestar being a fusion of two alicorns, the amount of energy that the behemoth was absorbing skyrocketed. Its size increased all the way up to 650 ft easily thanks to Pyrestar's magic. Not only that, but its electric colouring gained some golden sparkles and shine due to it absorbing the huge amounts of magic. "Our magic...it's absorbing it?"
"Like some sort of power vacuum," said Pyrestar. "Pulling in our magic constantly and feeding on it."
"Where could something like this have come from?"
The Storm Behemoth broke through the two barriers with its now increased strength as it continued its linear path. Everypony made sure to stay inside their homes, hoping they'd be safe. But the roar ended up costing them their windows, ceilings, walls and even doors.
Daylight held his little brother close as did Dew Drops' parents along with everypony else. As the behemoth was walking through the buildings, sending pulses towards the ponies and giving them jolts to their bodies, it came across Canterlot Castle next.
Celestia and Pyrestar both unleashed magic beams together, firing at the behemoth. It was hit by the beams, however, its body quickly absorbed them, adding them onto its electricity as usual. So far, nothing was proving to get past this thing. Not Pokemon moves and not even Alicorn magic. That's when Luna arrived with Darkrai. The reason she was here was that everypony had been woken up due to the behemoth's thunderous roar, meaning that the Dream World was empty at the moment.
"Sister! What is -" Luna looked outside to see the behemoth, standing before them and approaching their castle. She had no idea what to make of this. "Oh my."
"What is that thing?" Darkrai said.
"We haven't the faintest clue. But it seems to be some sort of energy vacuum that pulls in magic." Pyrestar responded.
"And it seems to also cause pulses every time...it..moves..." That's when Celestia realized something. "Hold on. Could this thing be the cause of the blackout?!"
"Whether it is or not, it must be stopped. Darkrai! Dark Pulse!" Luna gave off a command. Darkrai phased through the walls of Canterlot, heading outside to come face to face with the behemoth. The Pitch Black Pokemon unleashed a pulse imbued with dark thoughts, racing towards the behemoth. The Dark Pulse for a split second managed to push back the behemoth, but it eventually absorbed it anyway. The power of Darkrai's Dark Pulse was actually capable of filling the behemoth with those same dark thoughts, granting some form of intelligence. The behemoth was now capable of performing other actions. And what it ended up doing next, was grabbing Darkrai. "Oh no! Darkrai!"
The Storm Behemoth had Darkrai in its surging clutches. Darkrai could feel all the elections shock his body as was struggling to break free from its grip. Luna flew up towards the behemoth in order to free her Pokemon from its clutches. She attempted to free him by blasting the arms, but again, the magic was pulled in, feeding it even more. Suddenly, the behemoth turned its attention to Luna, grabbing her as well with its lightning-fast arms. Now Luna was feeling all those volts pour into her.
"Luna!" Celestia gasped as she dashed out of the castle. "Drop my sister!" She demanded. The behemoth's only response was to go ahead and grab Celestia as well. Celestia thankfully managed to fly back in order to escape the grasp, but the pressure of the swing was enough to shoot lightning towards Celestia. Bolts of lightning hit the castles as they flew out of the behemoth's hands, even hitting every other building it made contact with. It was like the skies were raining down rampant lightning bolts without any mercy. Celestia knew that magic wouldn't do anything against it. It would absorb all the magic that is thrown at it.
That's when the Storm Behemoth began charging up all of a sudden. The sounds of electricity building up could be heard as thunderous sounds erupted from its body. From the looks of it, it looked like it was going to unleash a pulse on the spot. To be cautious, Celestia and Pyrestar formed another barrier, but this time on them and the citizens of Canterlot.
Passion gasped, sensing the overwhelming force that was building up. She knew that even if Celestia shielded everypony, the pulse would still leave a devastating impact that could shatter the shield, thus harming everypony in the end. In order to protect her trainer, Passion used every ounce of its psychic power to its absolute best. It mixed together Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt, performing what it did back at the Pokemon festival. It had formed plasma in its arms. The Emotion Pokemon aimed at the behemoth, firing the plasma forward. The behemoth was reaching the breaking point of unleashing a pulse as Celestia braced herself for this. So did everypony. They were preparing for the absolute worst until...
Once the plasma made contact with the behemoth, instead of its body absorbing the attack, it instead caused a destructive chain reaction within the behemoth. Despite all those electrons in its body, it could handle something that was hotter than the sun itself. As a result, the behemoth's electrons and volts were temporarily put to a halt, making the behemoth motionless. Luna and Darkrai managed to escape thanks to it being stationary from the time being and all of Canterlot breathed a sigh of relief. Passion, however, tired herself out from unleashing all that power from her fragile body. She fell on her knees with most of her energy being drained from her. Celestia knew that her Pokemon caused that due to her being capable of generating plasma by mixing Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt, proving that her Kirlia is a one of kind. Finally, there was a great moment of silence.
"Passion!" Celestia flew down to her partner, picking her up. "That was amazing!"
"Kir..." The Emotion Pokemon breathed in and out, exhausted.
"You did well. Take a good rest." Celestia hugged Kirlia.
"Unbelievable. This small thing managed to halt something that gargantuan?" Pyrestar was flabbergasted.
"I'm surprised as well too. How come only its attacks managed to work against it?" Darkrai wondered.
"I may know why. Plasma's hotter than even the centre of the sun. Passion here put all of her strength into both Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt to form a pure plasma. But she's still a bit fragile and young, so she's clearly exhausted from using all of her power in one."
"Kirlia..."
"Well, I'll be. I suppose that I can no longer underestimate this thing." Luna commented.
"But. It could wake up later on. All that energy within can build up again. At the moment, it's stationary."
"Then what can we do about it? If it is going to just wake up eventually, we can't keep it here." Luna replied.
"I don't know. Honestly, this is the first time we've ever dealt with something that's pure energy itself manifested. Right now, our best option is to do our best to try and send it away from Canterlot. All 3 of us alicorns might be able to do so." Celestia placed her Kirlia down on the floor to get a good rest. The 3 alicorns flew outwards towards the behemoth in order to send it away from here. That's when Ash and the others arrived, getting here just after the behemoth was halted.
"Woah...did you...stop it all by yourselves?" Rainbow Dash saw the stationary behemoth. Completely still.
"Not us. It was Passion who stopped it by using plasma at it." Celestia explained. "It honestly took me by surprise that she was capable of wielding all that power for being such a young Pokemon."
"So am I. I can only imagine what she could be capable of when she evolves to her final stage." Luna responded.
"Right now, we have to find somewhere we can place this behemoth." The 3 alicorns used their magic to lift up the behemoth, carrying it in the air. They had to find a spot quickly, or else this thing will start back up and continue its rampage. But where could they put it? It had gone from 500ft all the way to now 700ft thanks to all the energy its absorbed. The scale of this thing is hard to ignore. It looked like there would be some time of peace, but that's when something unexpected occurred. Out of the behemoth came small little monsters made out of electricity. The behemoth had ended up creating smaller variations of itself. And since they were smaller, they could get around quicker and could be harder to catch. The little behemoths scattered across Canterlot, ready to cause tons of chaos. They had spread out like flies, rapidly moving around like crazy.
"What are those things?!" Rainbow Dash pulled back. "Did it just create them?!"
"Aww...They're actually kind of cute." Pinkie looked down at one that was near her. The singular little behemoth jumped on her mane, shocking it and her entire body as her mane and tail were all puffed up. "But they sting..." The tiny creatures were going around zapping ponies in the process. Not only that, but they seemed to carry the traits of the larger behemoth, in which they have the power to absorb energy. They immediately began sapping way at the magic of unicorns. This didn't take away the magic from the unicorns thankfully, however they now had unicorn magic apart of them. It wasn't too long before they started absorbing Pokemon as well.
"This is absurd." Luna's jaw dropped. The sight was just bizarre to look at. Celestia then realized that the longer they stand here gazing at the sight, the more things will spiral out of control.
"No time to be sightseeing. We have to put a stop them. Luna, Pyrestar and I will continue to find a location to put this behemoth. In the meanwhile, everypony else will have to deal with these micro-behemoths." Celestia spoke to everypony. I know it has been a long night for you all, and the day is drawing near in a few hours. But once we solve this issue, we'll laugh about it all in the morning. Besides, we have our Pokemon beside us. The chances of us failing are nil." The words that Celestia said inspired everypony to quickly snap out of the fear, panic and confusion. It wasn't going to get them anywhere. Soon it became a scramble to stop these tiny Storm Behemoths.
Pikachu was still feeling off due to the presence fo the behemoth. And now his condition was accelerating due to there being a swarm of them. Pikachu couldn't stop exerting electricity from its red sacs. It was a mystery on whether or not he was sick at all.
"You ain't going nowhere, ya hear!" Applejack stood in front of some tiny behemoths with Treecko in front of her.
"Tree!"
"Treecko! Bullet Seed!" AJ commanded. The Grass-Type let the little creatures have it by pelting bullets out of seeds at them. They proved to be effective as the tiny behemoths were knocked back by Treecko's constantly pelting. It seems that while they may share the same ability to absorb energy like the gigantic behemoth, they can only do if they get physical.
Some tiny behemoths were stopped as they crashed into the heavy yet soft wall that was Audino. Fluttershy and Audino looked down upon the behemoths, finding it so odd that they were created on the spot. At first, they thought they were Pokemon...but nothing in the Pokedex can come close to this. "Sorry. But we're going to have to stop you now. If you don't mind. Audi. Pick them up."
"Audino." Audino picked up the behemoths with its hands, gently off the ground. Surprisingly, the behemoths couldn't absorb a ton of energy from Audino. Since Audino is a Normal-Type, she doesn't require heaps of energy, unlike other types. So the result was the behemoths only slightly gaining power. By a small amount. Fluttershy's approach was a calm and gentle one whilst Rainbow Dash's was fast and aggressive.
"Alright! Luxio! Get them!" She commanded her Luxio to grab the mini-storm behemoths with force. The Spark Pokemon chased after the little things, using its fangs to bite on to them.
Rarity made some of her Leavanny step on the behemoths, halting their presence whilst they were stuck under the grassy heal of a Pokemon. "This isn't too difficult, honestly. Despite their small size and their quick movements...they're fairly easy to stop. How are you fairing, Twilight?"
"Doing great here. But look." Twilight pointed her hoof over at the distance. The rest of the tiny behemoths were escaping Canterlot, heading in the direction of Ponyville.
"They're gonna flood Ponyville with those numbers!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Not if we stop them first. Dragonite! Fly after them!" Ash pointed towards the behemoths. His Dragon Pokemon took off, chasing after the little troublemakers. Its huge size easily blocked their pathway as the huggable dragon did what it does best. Hugging them. It grabbed the behemoths that stood in its way, giving them all hugs. The pressure of Dragonite's hugs were actually enough to destroy the electric behemoths.
Things were going well. Everypony had their Pokemon stop the behemoths while some also did it on their own. Whether it was unicorn magic or just earth pony and pegasus strength. The issues that they had faced overnight were slowly fading away the more they worked together. But one pony wasn't about to let this end with a breeze.
There stood Obsidian. Back again. He looked over the scramble that was occurring as he stood on top the castle. Twilight flew up to blast away some of the behemoths, and once she reached the skies, she noticed Obsidian there as well.
"Obsidian!"
"Having fun? Looks like you're all having the time of your life stopping these little guys. But you can't stop em all. Too many of them for even all of Canterlot to catch."
"Oh, you'll see. We'll stop them all before the sun can rise."
"Pssh. We'll see about that. Just know that I'll make things harder for you in the near future."
"Not this time." Twilight flew towards Obsidian, standing on the same platform he was on. "This time. It ends here." And right beside her was Eve who jumped off her trainer's back.
"Espeon!"
"Hoh? You really think this is the moment where you stop me once and for all?" Obsidian chuckled.
"100%."
"Yeah right. Like I'm going to waste time on you."
"What's the matter? Scared that because you play the role of a villain...you're going to lose? Always." Twilight smirked. She actually struck a nerve. It was the harsh truth. Because he had been created to play that role, all of his plans eventually will be dealt with and they have been in the past.
"I'll show you...I'll show you that I am more than just some villain placeholder. I'll end up changing fate by beating you!" Obsidian put his hoof forward as he had in his other hoof a Pokeball. "Come out." He sent out his Pokemon, Cofagrigus to deal with Twilight.
"I'm counting on you Eve." Twilight looked at her Espeon.
"Esp." The Sun Pokemon nodded, stepping forward and gazing at the Ghost-Type.
This is the moment where they settle things. Obsidian has caused so much chaos over the months and made everything difficult for everypony. Twilight knows that it has to come to an end eventually. And she decides that now is the time to put an end to it all. With a good old fashioned Pokemon Battle. Whilst a wild event involving electric behemoths happens in the background, it's all these two now.
While everypony is dealing with the small electric behemoths that are everywhere, Twilight faces off against Obsidian for the first and possibly final time. With her Espeon and his Cofagrigus.
"We'll put an end to this once and for all. Eve! Use Psybeam!" Twilight made the first move. Eve's red gem on her forehead began glowing along with her eyes. The Psychic Eeveelution unleashed a ray made solely out of concentrated mental energy. However, due to Eve not being able to properly control its psychic energy currently, the beam was a bit frantic, but it was still headed towards Cofagrigus.
"Protect." Cofagrigus had shielded itself with a simple protective barrier that blocked Psybeam's impact. It wouldn't have mattered anyway due to the type matchup. "Seems like somepony forgot about type matchups. How hilarious that it's you of all ponies. Cofagrigus. Shadow Ball!" The Coffin Pokemon returned the favour by sending a ball of shadows to the opposing Espeon.
"Dodge it and use Psybeam one more time!" Eve quickly ran past the Shadow Ball, firing Psybeam once again and this time it hit its mark. The damage was minor, barely even scratching Cofagrigus. "Keep using Psybeam!"
"Grab her." Cofagrigus halted Eve's next move by using its many hands to grab ahold of the Sun Pokemon.
"Esp!"
"Slam her down." Cofagrigus had slammed Eve on the roof, making bits of it fly off.
"Eve! Quickly! Use Psybeam again!" Eve had retaliated by blasting the Coffin Pokemon's face with a Psybeam. But once again, that barely did anything. It didn't even let Cofagrigus's hands come off.
"Seriously? Does your Espeon only know Psybeam? Pretty pathetic if you ask me. Let's finish this with Shadow Ball. Toss her up." Cofagrigus tossed Eve up, charging up a Shadow Ball to take her out of the skies.
"That's not all we can do. Double Team!" Twilight finally gave a new command out. Her Espeon split itself into illusionary clones, making the Shadow Ball hit a fake. "I'm not much of a battler...but this is the best I can do. Eve! Keep firing Psybeam!" That was all she could really do. Her Espeon didn't have many options against Cofagrigus. Only Psybeam, Double Team and Swift which she still had when she was an Eevee before. The Sun Pokemon repeatedly kept firing Psybeams at Cofagrigus. Each Psybeam wasn't very effective, however, because they were constantly being fired, they slowly did constant damage with each hit.
"This is getting annoying and pathetic. Cofagrigus! End it already with Dark Pulse!" Cofagrigus swatted away the last of the Psybeams with its arms as it fired a pulse imbued with dark thoughts that hit Eve head-on.
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon cried as it was knocked back by the powerful Dark Pulse.
"Eve!" Twilight ran over to her Pokemon which had taken great amounts of damage from Dark Pulse.
"Hah! Nice attempt, pal. You're the smart one and you have a lab, yet you didn't' see a result like this coming? Pretty pathetic if you ask me."
"You..." Twilight growled at Obsidian as she went to pick up her partner.
"Espeon..." Eve, however, wasn't ready to call it quits just yet. The Sun Pokemon stood back up all of a sudden. It knew that if Twilight lost here, the outcome of future events might not be pretty if Obsidian gets to do whatever he wants next time. "Esp!"
"Still standing? Pretty impressive." Obsidian nodded. "But you don't even have any moves that can really seal the deal against Cofagrigus over here. Why don't you just give it up already?"
"Maybe Eve can't do this on her own. But..." Twilight looked behind her to see her other Pokemon, her first Pokemon, Minccino or as she nicknamed it Minccy, jump over her and in front of Twilight and Eve.
"Minccino!"
"I know that together they stand a chance!"
"You're joking? A Minccino?" Obsidian laughed hysterically. "The best it's capable of is being immune to my Cofagrigus! You honestly can't be serious, can you?"
"Eve. Minccy. Let's finish this and tomorrow, we can all relax the day away. Alright?"
"Espeon!"
"Minccino!"
"This'll be light work. Cofagrigus! Shadow Ball!" Obsidian made his Pokemon toss a Shadow Ball forward, hoping to take out Espeon first.
"Minccy! Aqua Tail!" Twilight commanded Minccino to go first. The Normal-Type ran forward, phasing through the Shadow Ball thanks to its immunity. Its tail was surrounded by water as it slapped it against Cofagrigus, finally dealing some sort of significant damage.
"WHAT?!" Obsidian pulled back in shock.
"Didn't you forget? Normal-Types can learn a variety of moves. Use Aqua Tail one more time! And Eve! Hit with Psybeam from afar!" Both Pokemon played their part. Eve was firing from afar, constantly hitting Cofagrigus with Psybeam whilst Minccy pummels it with Aqua Tail. The Coffin Pokemon couldn't have any time to break free due to the constant assault from both attacks hitting him over and over again.
"Why you...Cofagrigus! Phase through the ceiling!" Obsidian decided the best option was to let Cofagrigus phase right through the ceiling platform. Both Pokemon stopped their attacks, looking around for the Coffin Pokemon. "Now! Come up and grab Espeon!" Cofagrigus emerged from the ground, snatching Eve with a quick hand grab.
"Minccy! Break Eve free with Aqua Tail!" Minccy quickly jumped up, smacking its tail on Cofagrigus's hands. And it's not like it couldn't grab Minccino. Because everything it would do will just phase through it since she's a Normal-Type. "Now! Use Aqua Tail and Psybeam again!" This time, they were closer to Cofagrigus. So when the two attacks made contact with it, it really felt the impact this time. The Coffin Pokemon took some considerable damage due to the combination of both attacks.
"Cofa!" Cofagrigus rolled on the rooftop. It wasn't down and out, but the Aqua Tail+Psybeam combo was a pretty heavy hitter, even if one of the moves wasn't very effective.
"This isn't over yet! Cofagrigus! Use Shadow Ball on Espeon and Dark Pulse on Minccino!" Using all four of its hands, the Coffin Pokemon unleashed two moves.
"Minccy! Get on Eve's back and use Double Team with Aqua Tail!" Eve quickly got on its teammate's back, riding Eve. The Sun Pokemon charged forward, splitting itself into illusionary afterimages. Not only that, but the same went for Minccy as there were multiples of her.
"Don't get distracted! Use Protect! Wherever they're coming from! Cofagrigus put up a protective shield in front of it, looking for the real ones. Two clones came straight for it, giving the impression that one of them was the real one. But to its surprise, it wasn't the real ones as they phased right through Cofagrigus. The real ones were right behind Cofagrigus with Minccy jumping high up, preparing Aqua Tail. "Behind you! Use Dark Pulse!"
"Psybeam!" Eve stopped Cofagrigus's attack by quickly hitting it with Psybeam.
"Minccino!" The Chinchilla Pokemon had struck its tail downwards on the Coffin Pokemon's head, dealing a hard impact. The attack was so potent due to the speed it got from being in the air, that is actually not only sent Cofagrigus flying through the roof, but it also ended up knocking it out.
"Cofagri..."
"N-No way." Obsidian was surprised that she managed to actually defeat Cofagrigus despite her disadvantages.
"How's that? I can still get creative even if I'm not a battler." Twilight smiled with her Pokemon standing beside her. "This is the end of the line Obsidian. Now you have to deal with me instead of my Pokemon." Twilight's horn emanated.
"Yeah right! Like I'm gonna go out that easily! I've got one Pokemon that's gonna blow you away!" Obsidian held out a final Pokeball, sending out his final Pokemon. One that he personally picked out himself a few months back.
"Metagross."
"META!" The Iron Leg Pokemon bellowed.
"What is that?!"
"Never seen a Metagross? Good! Cause this is gonna be the final time you'll ever see one! Metagross! Earthquake!"
"Metagross!" The Steel-Psychic Type slammed its legs down on the roof, causing a tremendous Earthquake to shatter the roof tiles of Canterlot. It was so immense that Twilight and her Pokemon fell off. Luckily, since she had wings, she quickly caught her Pokemon in her hooves.
Everypony, who had dealt with the electric behemoths finally although some had managed to escape, had looked up after hearing the Earthquake. They saw Obsidian standing there with Metagross in front of her.
"What is that thing?!" Rainbow pulled out her dex.
"Metagross. The Iron Leg Pokemon. Metagross has four brains in total. Combined, the four brains can breeze through difficult calculations faster than a supercomputer, which enables them to easily back their foe into a corner. This Pokémon can float in the air by tucking in its four legs. It boasts not only psychic powers but also fantastic strength. It grabs its prey with its four legs and holds them in place with its claws."
Obsidian landed down with his Metagross floating in front of him. "I think this is a good place to admit defeat. What do you think, Sparkle?"
"You wish I'd admit defeat." Twilight placed her Pokemon down safely. "Eve! Psybeam! Minccy! Aqua Tail!" She went for the usual moves once more, but this time...they would prove to be much more difficult to land considering what they were up against this time.
"Meteor Mash.!" Obsidian gave off a new command for a hard-hitting move. Metagross's legs were enveloped in steel energy as it flew forward, ignoring the Psybeam with ease. It smashed its hard legs onto Minccino, hitting with the force of a meteor.
"Ccino!" The Chinchilla Pokemon felt the heavy impact as it was rocketed back, crashing into the nearby fountain, fainting. Everypony gasped as they saw how hard the little Pokemon was hit with such brute force.
"Minccy!" Twilight cried out, flying over to her Pokemon.
"Minccino..." The Normal-Type let out a small groan as Meteor Mash dealt some heavy damage to her to the point where it was actually lethal.
"Hah! One-shot. That's all I needed. Let me give the same treatment to your Espeon over there. Meteor Mash!" Obsidian took advantage of the situation, ready to knock out her next Pokemon.
"Don't!" Twilight attempted to fly over to save her partner, but Metagross acted fast. It looked like the Meteor Mash was about to make contact until...
"Superpower!" Braviary had interrupted. By the command of Rainbow Dash, Braviary had use its wings to stop Metagross's legs from making any contact with Eve. "We've got your back Twilight." The rest of the Mane 6 went beside Twilight with their Pokemon beside them as well.
"Oh, this again?" Obsidian sighed. "Actually...if I take out all 6 of you...then that's an even major win than taking care of the Princess of Friendship. Score."
"You couldn't handle us in any situation. Especially if all 6 of us are here!" Applejack replied.
"With Metagross here...that's a completely different story."
"META!"
"Girls. What about the tiny little electric things?"
"We've taken care of them. As Rarity said, they aren't that difficult." Pinkie answered.
"We're here for you now. So let's pummel this guy once and for all!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"Right! Ready Eve?"
"Espeon!"
"This is gonna be my big break...Metagross! Earthquake!" Obsidian was planning to take them all out in one go, but that didn't work out for him. Braviary easily avoided Earthquake by flying up whilst a single Leavanny used String Shot to toss her teammates up while she took the damage of Earthquake. But it didn't hurt that much due to her being part Grass.
"Use Psybeam!"
"Superpower!"
Braviary soared downwards, smacking Metagross right in the face with its wings and talons whilst Eve provided ranged support.
"Energy Ball!" Rarity's Leavanny fired a nature-filled ball of energy towards Metagross, but unfortunately, it didn't do that much.
"Meteor Mash!" Metagross hovered forward, smashing its legs on Braviary, knocking it back as it went for the next Pokemon which was Leavanny.
"Protect!" Fluttershy commanded her Audino to get in front of Leavanny, putting up a Protect to shield her. Meteor Mash made contact with Protect as a massive shockwave filled the area. Audino was pushed back by the shockwave, but thankfully, Protect did its job and saved them.
"Zen Headbutt!" Obsidian continued attacking by having Metagross focus all its willpower into its head, smashing it against Audino as she was knocked into Leavanny.
"Over here!" Pinkie Pie called out as she made her Slurpuff use the move Sweet Scent in order to distract Metagross.
"Meta?" The Iron Leg Pokemon turned to the scent.
"Smells good right?" Pinkie winked at Metagross.
"Puh-lease. Metagross! Flash Cannon!" Metagross snapped out of it as struck Slurpuff from a distance with Flash Cannon. "Earthquake!"
"META!" The Psuedo-Legendary smashed its legs on the ground, causing a huge Earthquake to form across Canterlot. Everypony else felt the magnitude as the buildings around them were beginning to crumble.
"Not good...Braviary! Grab Metagross!" Braviary swooped in, picking the Steel-Psychic Pokemon with its talons. "Now toss it up and use Superpower!" Braviary tossed the heavy Pokemon up, ready to strike it in the air with a hard-hitting move.
"Meteor Mash!" Metagross's legs made contact with Braviary's as both moves made contact. Metagross's strength was enough to even match with a super-effective move that would make quick work of it at times. Braviary flew back as Metagross was now hovering in the air." Flash Cannon! Over and over again!" Metagross unleashed a barrage of light steel cannons that were raining down.
"Use Protect once more!" Audino put itself forward again once more, protecting its friends with Protect. But using Protect again can cause the shield to weaken over time. As a result, the protect broke from the Flash Cannons.
"Psybeam!"
"Energy Ball!"
"Bullet Seed!"
Three trainers made a command. Treecko hopped on Leavany's head as they both unleashed Grass moves towards Metagross whilst Eve unleashed a psychic ray. All 3 made contact with Metagross, but once again, the moves were proving to not even budge this tank of a Pokemon.
"Wide open! Now Braviary!" Rainbow Dash caught Metagross's blind spot by having Braviary smash into from above. The impact was hard as Metagross was sent rocketing to the ground. Finally, they managed to get a good hit on it. But it wasn't over yet.
"Think that's it? Metagross! Earthquake and then into Meteor Mash!"
"Not this time. String Shot!" Rarity made sure that Metagross wouldn't get another hit in again by having her Leavanny shoot a thick string that wrapped around Metagross's legs. Not only that, but Leavanny had shot more strings that even wrapped around Metagross's eyes, blocking its vision.
"M-Meta?" The Iron Leg Pokemon had lost its balance from one of its legs being stuck in the air by String Shot.
"Now's our chance! Braviary! Superpower!"
"Audi! Hyper Beam!"
"Eve! Psybeam!"
"Slurpuff! Fairy Wind!"
"Treecko! Bullet Seed!"
Each trainer utilized a move that would let out some damage. Even though each of these moves weren't very effective against a Pokemon like Metagross, a combined move with ones that are somewhat effective can still deliver some huge damage due to the power mix. Braviary flew forward as the moves from its teammates were behind it. Braviary became apart of Hyper Beam as it was mixed in with Superpower, creating a never before seen move combination.
"Metagross! Break free already!"
"Meta!" Metagross eventually broke through the string, but the ones its eyes were still there. And as a result, it couldn't see what was coming towards it. Braviary smashed its wings onto its face with the combined might of Superpower and Hyper Beam as all the other ranged moves made contact as well. A unison raid of attacks was just enough to take down Metagross once and for all as a huge shockwave followed by an explosion occurred from the impact. Metagross had fainted.
"Meta..."
"Yes!" Twilight cheered along with the rest of her friends. "We did it!"
"No way...they actually took down Metagross?" Obsidian trotted back with shock in his eyes.
"Game over, Obsidian! We win!" Twilight smirked.
"Oh, that was so cool!" Sunrise said in the distance.
"Good job, guys." Ash nodded as he had a jar of electric behemoths in his hands.
"Pikachu!"
Everypony in Canterlot cheered for their victory. Granted they ended up having their homes be ruined thanks to Earthquake sealing the deal, but they still won anyway so who cares.
"T-This isn't the end! The Storm Behemoth is gonna wake up any moment now! And I've still got my cosmic energy with me which easily beats magic any day of the week! I can wipe the floor with you all without Poke-" Obsidian was about to finish his sentence and attack, but he has immediately put to sleep thanks to Darkrai firing a Dark Void at him, making a Rift pony go to sleep for the first time ever.
"That's enough of that." Darkrai floated down, looking over the snoring pony who now had nightmares lurking within.
"Darkrai! Did the princesses find a place to put the behemoth?" Fluttershy asked.
"Not yet. It's a bit tough to find a spot to get rid of something that gigantic. Let's hope they can do it before that thing recharges."
"Oh, finally." Twilight sat down, letting a sigh of relief. The rest of the Mane 6 either sat down or laid on their back from exhaustion. There are only 6 hours left until the day arrives and they haven't even gotten their goodnight sleep yet. Not to mention they're visiting the other world next week and they need all the energy they can get for it. They're hoping that nothing crazy happens the next night and onwards. "What do we do about Obsidian?"
"I'll handle him." Darkrai picked up the snoring pony with his dark claws. His aim was to hold onto him and let the princesses decide. And if he wakes up, Darkrai will just put him back to sleep again. There was true silence at Canterlot, finally. Obsidian had finally been dealt with. But the issue of the Storm Behemoth still loomed.
Over at the Pokemon world, BigTime Ben's company in Johto had the plan to start power back up all set. In every region where bits of his company was, his workers had a bunch of Electric-Type Pokemon ready to charge everything back to full power. A large group of them is enough to generate 10,000,000 volts. Just enough to bring everything back up.
"Alright. Is everyone set, Gothitelle?" Ben asked his partner.
"Goth." She nodded as she was communicating with every other Psychic-Type in every region.
"Great. On the count of 3, we'll release all our Electric-Type attacks."
"Gothitelle," Gothitelle told the other Psychic-Types what BigTime Ben said as they carried that information over to the other Pokemon.
"1...2...3!" Ben gave the command to release. Gothitelle ended up telling them to release it now. Every Electric-Type channelled their volts within with all their might. Soon, the entire world was lit up with nothing but electricity. Sparks flew everywhere, interacting with every nearby machine there was. Their plan was a success, as energy all across the world was being powered back up. Lights were returning, cars were able to get a move on finally, specific Pokemon that rely on energy had woken back up and so on and so on. The force of energy being generated was so great it managed to even create a small pulse of its own, which managed to reach the other world. Only Ponyville was hit with this pulse as their entire light source had been restored. "Success! Great job everyone!"
"Gothitelle." Gothitelle gave the news to the others by repeating what Ben said.
"Whew. I'm out of it right now. I think now it's about time we got ourselves some rest, don't you think Gothitelle?" Ben yawned, feeling drowsy. Everyone was feeling drowsy since they stayed up all night trying to solve this power problem.
"Gothi." Gothitelle caught her trainer who was about to fall asleep right on the ground. She then carried him all the way back to his bed to let him have a peaceful sleep.
As for other regions, everyone had clocked out by falling asleep on the spot. With power restored, they can rest peacefully now.
But that wouldn't count for Equestria, as the behemoth was charging back up already. As its electrons were starting to rise once more, Pikachu could feel his jittering return to him.
"Pika...Pikachu..." Pikachu held his head, trying to get rid of this odd sensation.
"Pikachu? You feeling off again?" Ash kneeled down to Pikachu.
"Pikachu..." He nodded as rouge sparks were flying out of him.
"Then that means..." Ash turned around to see the sparks from the behemoth returning. All of a sudden, that same thunderstorm roar could be heard as there was an explosion of energy that occurred in the distance. Everypony turned around to see what it was, and what they saw next shocked them. Celestia, Luna and Pyrestar were sent flying all the way back by that same explosion. Thankfully, they managed to recover by spreading their wings out.
"Princesses! What happened?!" Twilight rushed to Celestia.
"I'm afraid our situation with the behemoth has just worsened," Celestia replied.
"How come?"
"Take a gander at that." Luna pointed her hoof at the distance. What they were referring to was unreal. The Behemoth now had wings. It absorbed energy from Celestia, Luna, Pyrestar, gaining the ability to fly as it had electric wings on its back.
"Oh come on! How is that fair?!" Rainbow Dash groaned.
The Storm Behemoth took the skies as it was now drawing energy from the skies itself, growing in size and power.
"If this continues, it'll end up reaching a mass so grand that it might absorb all the magic of Equestria in the process. Even the world." Celestia uttered.
"Absorb the world?!" The mane 6 gasped.
The Behemoth's electrons were rising at a much faster rate this time. And as it was in the skies, it actually gained enough power to start a storm. The clouds were forming around it as its own electricity became a part of it like an actual thunderstorm. Soon, thunderbolts were raining down from above, all of Canterlot and soon Equestria.
The Storm Behemoth was slowly reaching critical mass.
It had now gained wings and the ability to fly. And at this moment, it had enough power to create a storm. Which it did. It summoned a storm as thunderbolts were raining down from above all across Equestria with the fury of a raging storm behind it.
"How are we supposed to deal with that?! Our moves can't even affect it anymore!" Twilight pulled her mane in frustration.
"The only one who can stop this is Passion. But she's still exhausted after wasting so much energy previously." Celestia turned to her partner who was still resting up.
"Isn't there any other Pokemon that can generate plasma?!" Rainbow Dash asked.
"The only two capable of doing that are Reshiram and Zekrom. But they're way out of our reach." Ash explained.
"Just our luck." Twilight sighed. She quickly jolted back when she noticed that a thunderbolt almost hit her. "Eep!"
And speaking of their luck, it was about to dwindle even further when the behemoth unleashed even more miniature versions of itself. Now with wings. And not only that, but they seemed to have also increased in size as well. The mini-behemoths had been scattered once more and this time they could roam around even more due to their ability to fly now.
"The number of them has increased greatly! There are too many of them now!" Luna exclaimed as her eyes were trying to keep up with the ludicrous amount of mini-behemoths. Fluttershy thought of a way to somehow stop this. She flew upwards, heading towards the exhausted Kirlia as she picked her up.
"Audi! Please heal Passion!" Fluttershy realized that the only one who can stop this needs to be back at full strength. Audino nodded, walking over to the drained Psychic-Fairy Type. She restored the young Pokemon back to health by swapping out Safeguard for Heal Pulse. Passion could feel her health returning to her along with all her energy.
"Kirli..."
"Passion! You're alright!" Celestia went over to her Pokemon. "Is your strength back?"
"Kirlia!" The Emotion Pokemon raised her arms up with all her energy back.
"That means she can shut them all off, right?" Rainbow asked.
"Not quite. She can only stop the main one since its a larger target. And she can only use the full power of her plasma to do so, which exhausts. She won't be able to stop that many, not with the limited energy she has." Celestia shook her head. It was an unfortunate truth. Despite the massive potential that Passion had, she still had limited amounts of energy inside of her middle evolution body. It seemed to be a difficult situation until Fluttershy came up with another idea that could help.
"Then in that case...we'll ask Victini for help." Fluttershy turned to Celestia. "Victini is still here, right?"
"Sadly. Ever since the Pokemon Festival ended, all the Pokemon there had left. Victini promptly returned to its home once the festival ended." Celestia answered. Fluttershy's idea went down the drain as they were running out of options now.
"Uh...everypony. It's doing something." Rainbow Dash was gazing at the behemoth and its current action. The Storm Behemoth had constructed a ball of pure electricity in its humongous hands. From the looks of it, it was about to fire the ball. The energy that exerted out of it was shooting out sparks that were hitting the ground beneath it. Pyrestar quickly picked up on what it was planning to do.
"It's attempting to blow everything away..." She gasped. The fused alicorn quickly took action, flying into the air in order to stop the behemoth. In return, she unleashed a magic beam in order to stop the ball from being released. It connected and pushed the ball back, but it only ended up causing the behemoth to absorb it.
The Storm Behemoth's intelligence had grown. It now had the ability to know what is a threat to it, and its sense of direction was improved greatly instead of just moving in a straight line. It was aiming to eradicate the ponies that had stopped it from moving earlier, more specifically, Passion. All of its attention had been focused on her. The behemoth flew towards Passion who had noticed that it was heading straight for her.
"Kir? Kirlia!" The Emotion Pokemon hid behind Celestia in fear. Celestia got in front of with her horn emanating in order to protect her Pokemon. The behemoth outstretched its arms with having the intent of destroying Passion, who was the biggest threat to it. Celestia put up a barrier around her and Passion as protection. But unfortunately, the behemoth broke through it with ease. The shattering of the barrier ended up knocking Celestia into a wall as the behemoth attempted to grab Passion. The Emotion Pokemon gasped out of fear with her reactive instinct to teleport away, which she ended up doing. Everypony backed up, getting a far distance from the behemoth. They all noticed that it was only aiming for Passion and nopony else. Passion had sent herself into the indoors of Canterlot, but that didn't change anything. The behemoth broke through the walls of Canterlot, hunting Passion down like prey. She gasped as she then started to make a run for it.
The length of its arms helped it catch up to her with ease. Passion attempted to keep up her running, but unfortunately, she didn't have much stamina left to do so. Each moment the behemoth draws near, more of the castle is torn apart. The Canterlot Royal Guards are all sent flying by the rampant movement of the behemoth. The thunderous roar from the behemoth shattered the walls around Passion and even the floor beneath her. She fell down as everything was crumbling before her. She wishes she could teleport continuously, but teleporting requires heaps of magic power for her. It was a moment like this when Passion wished she was a Gardevoir, that way, she could teleport as many times as she would want to and possibly even fight back.
She fell down to the lower level of Canterlot Castle, arriving at the dungeon. Thankfully, the fall wasn't too hard, but it still hurt a Pokemon as small and fragile as her.
"Kirlia..." The Emotion Pokemon got up from the ground, holding her other arm due to the fall. And before she knew it, the behemoth appeared right behind her, ready to grab ahold of the little Pokemon. She let out a vocal gasp, turning around.. She was sure that it would catch her this time. But thankfully, her trainer had teleported in to save her. Celestia had arrived with Luna and Pyrestar by her side. All three of them had placed barriers in order to sustain it longer.
"Stay away from my Passion!" Celestia erupted with rage. She had enough of this behemoth and aiming to attack her own Pokemon pushed the line. However, even if she, Luna and Pyrestar used every ounce of their magic, it wouldn't matter due to the behemoth's ability to absorb energy. It was slamming against the barrier, slowly breaking it bit by it. Celestia realized that the only way to stop it was to let Passion unleash plasma on the behemoth a second time. "Passion! You must use plasma once more! It's the only way!"
She understood the importance of stopping this behemoth, however, her fears had gotten to her due to the chase she was previously in. But that quickly faded away when she remembered she wants to protect Celestia no matter what. So there was no time for fears. The Emotion Pokemon poured all of her psychic power into both Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt once more. She formed plasma in her hands in all its raw and pure energy. The Storm Behemoth broke the barrier finally, knocking the three alicorns to the ground. If there was a time to fire it, it was now. With all her might, she unleashed a bolt of plasma that raced towards the behemoth.
A direct hit was confirmed. And just like before, the plasma clashed with the electrons within the behemoth, causing a devastating chain reaction. The behemoth could feel all the energy within it being scrambled by the plasma. Its thunderous roar resounded once more but this time in pain. Its body generally couldn't handle the scorching force of plasma. As a result, the behemoth fell on its back, falling out of the castle and into the streets of Canterlot, where everypony saw it fall back. Passion exhausted herself once more with all her power drained. Plasma was still something she could barely withstand, especially when utilizing it at full power.
"Kirlia..."
"Passion." Celestia picked up her drained Pokemon. " I have to thank you again. But...that behemoth will restart itself soon at any moment."
"Your Kirlia cannot keep this up, sister. There has to be a way to get rid of this behemoth." Luna commented, getting up from the floor.
"I know but...this behemoth is overwhelming. And I fear once it wakes up again, it'll obtain a new ability. And that might be a problem."
On the outside, everypony stood a good distance, gazing at the fallen behemoth, which was starting up again slowly.
"D-Did they get it?" Sunrise commented.
"No. Hear that sound? Its energy is rising back up." Twilight replied.
"Are you kidding me? I wanna go back to bed already?" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"It's already destroyed most of the castle. Who knows what else it could do when it wakes up..." Twilight whispered.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu's electricity was still out of control. All that energy in one place made Pikachu erratic. Ash held his buddy in his arms, trying to calm him down.
"Why is Pikachu acting like this, lately?" Rarity went up to Ash.
"I don't know. Ever since this behemoth came along, Pikachu's electricity has been going crazy." Ash replied.
"Pika...Pikachu..."
"Going crazy?" Twilight said to herself. That's when she thought for a small bit...and an idea sparked. "Aha! I think I know of a way to stop the behemoth!" The moment she said that the behemoth awoke once more. Its long arms supported itself up, creating a crack on the ground. It was back to full strength once again, unfortunately. Its sights were still set on Passion, intent on destroying her. "Ash! Use Pikachu to stop it!"
"Huh?! But it'll just absorb anything we throw at it!"
"Trust me on this one! Tell Pikachu to use Thunderbolt! It'll work!"
"Alright. I trust you. Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash pointed towards the behemoth.
"Pika..." Pikachu hopped off his trainer's hands, lunging towards the behemoth with a ton of electricity surging out of him. He was prepared to use his signature Thunderbolt, but this time it was different. Due to all the energy that was jittering in him, it actually wasn't an illness, but an overcharge. Pikachu's electric aura began expanding, larger than it ever has before as it was also radiating a blue colouring, similar to that of plasma. "Pika-Pika-Pika!" The thunderbolt kept growing and growing and growing, showing no signs of stopping. Celestia and the others noticed this gargantuan aura of lightning appearing, but not from the behemoth this time.
"Holy moly! That Thunderbolt's gigantic!" Pinkie gasped.
"How much power is behind that?!" Twilight was even surprised. She didn't expect Thunderbolt to grow like that. And now, everypony felt like it was a good idea to run away. And so they did. Everypony immediately left Canterlot, because they know the result could be devastating.
"Release it, Pikachu!" Ash commanded.
"PIKA-CHU!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon let it all out. All that energy that was boiling within him ever since the blackout could be released. And once it was released, an intense spurt of lightning emerged from him with the colour combination of yellow and blue. The sound it made was equal to that of a thundercrack as the bolt struck the behemoth directly. And the result?
Better than expected. In fact, the thunderbolt was so powerful it had the exact same effect as when Passion unleashed plasma on the behemoth, but to an extreme level. All of that lightning had not only scrambled the electrons, but they even overloaded the behemoth's electricity. It once again, let out a thunderous roar of pain, unable to handle all of this energy. It was taking the punishment of 170,000,000 volts of electricity, more than it could handle. And just like that, the behemoth was not just defeated, but even eradicated. Its destruction resulted in an earth-shattering pulse that spread across not just all of Equestria, but the entire world and even the Pokemon world as well. It finished just like it started. And as a bonus, the smaller behemoths were affected by the pulse, being obliterated by it as well. But this came with a cost, the pulse caused mass destruction across the entire world, causing ludicrous amounts of damage in the process. Canterlot was almost destroyed with barely any buildings left at all. And the final result was an explosion of electricity that was the aftermath of it all, separating the clouds themselves.
The smoke cleared, the dust settled, the skies became silent once more as the final thing that could be heard was the echo of the behemoth's cry which faded away into the night. Twilight and the ponies had slowly moved forward, wanting to see the end result. With hope in their eyes, the behemoth was no more. Once everything had calmed down, Pikachu fell on the ground, no longer feeling jittery anymore.
"Pi...Pika..."
"He did it...WOOHOO! He did it!" Pinkie Pie hugged Applejack.
"Oh finally...it's over." Twilight let out a huge sigh of relief along with everypony else. The behemoth had finally been defeated. Cheers of victory echoed throughout Canterlot.
Celestia looked over the damage caused by the blackout event, seeing the once beautiful Canterlot now in a nearly destroyed format. But that didn't matter right now. What mattered most to her was the safety of her subjects and her Pokemon. And indeed, they were safe. But greatly exhausted and tired.
"So much destruction has been caused this night. But at least you are all still safe." Celestia sighed. "I don't know how we're going to recover from this."
"We will. We always do with Pokemon involved." Luna patted her sister on the back. "And now...I need some rest." Luna actually ended up falling asleep on the spot and for good reason. Tonight was ridiculous. Nopony could've predicted what would end happening at early nightfall. Soon, everypony started to fall asleep on the spot. They needed the rest after all of this. Celestia looked over her subjects being completely asleep, exhausted from the behemoth attack. The Sun Princess figured that she should get some rest too along with her Pokemon. But Passion was already asleep, dozing off next to her trainer's leg. The only ones awake at the moment were Celestia, Ash, Darkrai, Pikachu and Pyrestar.
"Sorry about what happened, Celestia. I didn't expect the Thunderbolt to cause that much damage." Ash went up to Celestia.
"No need for an apology, Ash. Nopony could've predicted any of this happening tonight. What's important now is that you are all safe. We'll rebuild Canterlot and any other location that may have been affected. Plus, this will be a story to tell in the future."
"I'll say. Your world is surprisingly much more chaotic than mine despite having a better outcome," Pyrestar uttered.
"By the way, what do we do with this one?" Darkrai showed Celestia Obsidian who was still in a nightmare state.
"I'll handle it. In the meantime, get some rest, Ash, Pikachu. You two deserve it."
"You got it. I do need my 10 hours of sleep after all. Come on buddy."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped on his partner's shoulder, feeling refreshed once more. The night could now carry on with silence. It will take some time to recover from all of this, but what matters the most is that it's all over now. The behemoth has been destroyed, Obsidian has finally been defeated, the blackout is over, and the teenager who was thought to be the cause of all of this was out of the clear for good. To many, this would be an event completely unnatural to anyone. But with Pokemon involved, it's fairly normal for the most part. What a night.
The Rift had noticed that Obsidian had been defeated finally and it only took a few months for it to happen. All 3 Rift Ponies had been sorted out.
"Most impressive. My best Rift pony has been bested. Now all 3 of them have been defeated in some way. Which means...it's your turn. Lucien. Sienna. I trust you can perform better and create vastly more impressive scenarios."
The Rift was referring to the two Rift humans who were seen with Cold Colt and Emerald Aura many months back. The man by the name of Lucien who was seen during the Weavile attack and the Drill-Haired girl by the name of Sienna who was seen during the Darkrai attack. It was their time to act now that the ponies had their turn.
"Don't worry. We've been watching over all of this and we know we can do better." The man named Lucien commented.
"Our scenarios will be top of it all." Sienna spoke.
"I suppose so. If either of you decides to play the role as a villain, go on right ahead. But I am hoping for an interesting outcome. I don't want to leave these two worlds feeling dissatisfied."
"Count on us." Both said.
With the Rift pony situation finally being dealt with...at least for the time being... the Rift humans, created by nothing but cosmic energy will take their place. What they are capable of will have to be seen when they make their next move. As the journey continues.
Sunlight can be given to both worlds once more after what just happened last night. But this time, nopony woke up early morning. Mostly due to the fact that the event that occurred had exhausted everypony. So they were all still snug in their beds. Even in the Pokemon World, they were all asleep. Except for Cold Colt and Jade Skies. One of the perks of being nothing but cosmic stardust.
Celestia was handling everything at the moment. From the usual raising the sun and now having to deal with Obsidian and the cleanup of Equestria. Obsidian was placed under the watch of Darkrai who could put him back into a nightmare state at any moment. And this went on for a while. Each time Obsidian attempted to wake up, Darkrai would put him back to sleep since he had his big dark claws gripping the pony's head constantly. She had requested assistance from BigTime Ben to help her repair all the damage done last night. He gladly accepted since they deserved the help right about now. Both worlds were now in a cleanup process.
Over at Twilight's Pokemon lab, which had the entire roof blown off thanks to the aftermath of the pulse, she was slumped down on her table, dozing off. Her Espeon and Minccino were in the same state, sleeping on their trainer's back. Spike was laid down on the floor with his Goomy sleeping on top of him. The Vulpix from the lab which has yet to have a trainer of its own jumped on the table Twilight was asleep on. The Fox Pokemon licked her face, basically telling her to wake up. "Vul." The Fire-Type hopped on her mane, patting her face with its paws.
"Mmm...Slowpoke Tail..." She mumbled in her sleep. Right now she was having the most sleep she's ever had in her life. Vulpix realized that it was best not to wake her up. She was having a great sleep at the moment. But Vulpix herself was pretty hungry. The Fox Pokemon hopped off the table, heading towards the cabinet were Pokemon food was stored. All the essentials needed for a professor to feed any Pokemon was inside. Vulpix helped herself to all the Pokeblocks and Poffins inside the cabinet, devouring them all. Twilight had eventually fallen off her table, hitting the floor. That was enough to wake her up. "Huh? Wha?"
"Vulpix!" The Fox Pokemon went towards her, patting her face.
"Oh, right. Morning." Twilight stood up, stretching her hooves about as she let out a mighty yawn. "Good morning, Vulpix."
"Vul!"
"Ugh...I'm still a bit shaken up after last night." Twilight held her head. Her body was also recovering from the volts of electricity that gone through her and everypony last night. The damage done to her lab was fairly significant as show by the destroyed ceiling, but everything else was intact thankfully. Twilight look a look outside of the half destroyed window to see that there was barely anpony outside today. The only one there was a Furret just walking by and some Pidgey's in the skies. "Looks like everypony's still asleep. I don't blame them, we're all exhausted after all of that." Twilight then turned to her Pokemon who were also completely knocked out, snoring next to each other. Goomy's slime was dripping over Spike and yet somehow, he still wasn't awake even from that. "Guess it's gonna be a while before everypony wakes up, huh? Just you and me now, Vulpix." Twilight sat down, petting Vulpix on the head.
For everypony else, they were asleep in interesting ways. Over at the Pokemon House, the damage done to it ended up costing some Pokemon their favourite spots. But thankfully, they weren't beyond repair, so the Pokemon got together to rebuild the damage. Fluttershy was asleep on Audino's stomach, using it as a pillow while Audino was asleep on a Snorlax's stomach, using that one as a pillow as well.
At Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom were both asleep in Machamps four arms, Treecko was asleep inside of Applejack's hat and Cold Colt laid snug on Big Mac's back. For Cloudsdale, the pegasi were all asleep on the clouds instead of their homes. They ended up falling asleep before they could even get indoors. Some had their heads stuck in the clouds while others were floating in the air while asleep at the same time. Rarity's Leavanny had held her close to their soft leaf bodies. Point is, everyone had the best sleep they had ever had in their life. Ponyville was the most quiet it had ever been.
As for the Pokemon World, the humans had actually woken up quicker than the ponies. Mostly because the aftermath didn't affect them as much as Equestria. At Kanto, Ash had fallen asleep on his bed with Pikachu on his stomach. The two were in their usual snoring state.
"I wanna be the greatest Master of them all..." Ash mumbled in his sleep.
"Pika..." The Electric Mouse Pokemon rolled up to his trainer, placing his hands on Ash's face. Right now, he was imagining himself holding a ketchum bottle.
"Pikachu...use Thunderbolt." He gave off a command in his dream, but that command actually travelled to Pikachu's ears. As a response, Pikachu woke Ash up with a Thunderbolt that shocked him. "GAAAGH!" Now he was officially awake. "Ugh...Morning Pikachu."
"Pikapi." Pikachu woke up, rubbing his eyes.
"Ash! You're finally awake!" Delia entered. "Did you two get some great sleep?"
"You bet!" Ash instantly stood up, full of energy once more.
"Great! You're going to need it for next week. Your pony friends are coming to visit our world and experience it fully. And I expect you to help show them around."
"Don't worry. I'll make sure they get to see loads of places."
"Pikachu!"
Over at Canterlot Castle.
Celestia had gone to Darkrai, who was keeping Obsidian under his watch. Couldn't exactly put him in the dungeon due to it being demolished once the Storm Behemoth attacked. So constant Dark Voids were used to put him back to sleep anytime he showed signs of waking up.
"Great job keeping him still, Darkrai. But still...how do we contain him?"
"If I'm not mistaken, isn't the only way to stop cosmic energy is by using Aura?" Darkrai replied.
"That is true. However, Ash is the only one we know that has Aura that potent. But how can we keep Aura in a single spot without having to have Ash just being here?"
"I don't know myself. But maybe what you could do is restrain his horn somehow. You at least have something that can do that, right?"
"Restrain his horn? Hmmm..." Celestia thought for a bit. "We do have horn shackles that were once used to keep rouge unicorns in check. We might be able to use that." Celestia called for the guards to bring in the old horn shackles that haven't been used for years. They were rusty, but they could still function properly. The shackles fit perfectly on his horn, clamping against it.
Obsidian was finally waking up for real this time. Darkrai still had him in his clutches, but he wasn't going to use Dark Void until he and Celestia could confirm that the shackles were effective. "Hm?" He blinked, examining the scenario in front of him for a moment. "Wait a minute...I'm up!" Obsidian turned to Darkrai who was gazing at him. "Sayanora, suckers!" Obsidian was about to transport away, but, to his surprise and to Celestia's relief, nothing happened. Obsidian froze for a moment as he had a second go. But again, nothing happened? "Wha? What's going on?" At first, it was believed that the horn was restraining him, but in reality, the Rift had given up on him similar to how he gave up on Cold Colt but on a higher level. Cold could at least use magic to do certain things even for just a small amount, but the Rift has completely taken away a gigantic majority of his magic, so now all he can do is flash it about all fancy like. "I-I can't do anything..."
"Finally. My claws can rest." Darkrai dropped him, finally having some space with his hands.
"Obsidian. I don't even know where I have to begin in order to decide your punishment." Celestia walked up to him. "What you've done for these past few months and last night is something that is unforgivable."
"Pssh. Whatever. I was a pro at causing trouble anyways. I have no regrets. Besides...I have one more ace in the hole that has yet to be really used." Obsidian smirked. He was referring to his last resort. Jade Skies. The final Rift Pony who was living peacefully in Ponyville.
"What ace in the hole? What have you done?" Celestia narrowed her eyes.
"I ain't saying. But all you need to know is that it's somewhere in Ponyville. A grey blur. Somepony you probably haven't noticed. That's my last resort." He chuckled.
"Whatever your last resort is, I'll be sure that it's stopped. In the meantime, you'll be serving time in the dungeon for 42 years."
"42 years? Bah. I don't have to worry about that. Once the worlds return to normal, I cease to exist. So this won't be a big deal." Obsidian laid his back on the dungeon wall.
"Alright. Then have fun doing nothing for a long time with no form of communication or anything else." Celestia hit a spot. Obsidian realized that if he's going to be imprisoned here for a long time, he can't really do anything else but just stare at the wall endlessly. "I assume Rift ponies don't get bored, right?" Celestia smirked while looking back at him. Obsidian right now could just gulp.
The Obsidian situation had been sorted out for the day and next up for Celestia's duty was to know of the results done to other across the world. After all, the pulse did affect their world. Returning to her throne, she was greeted with hundreds and hundreds of letters and scrolls that were piled on to each other. Each of them were from various places across the world that were ranting about the destruction done to their home. Celestia knew that today was going to be a long day.
Passion was asleep on Celestia's bed, tired from exerting so much plasma last night. For her sleep, she was dreaming about being a Gardevoir that could protect Celestia without any fail and always being with her, even if everything returns to normal. That was her ideal dream.
As for the outside, BigTime Ben's Pokemon had helped to cleanup all the damage done to Canterlot and soon all of Equestria and the world. In the meantime, the citizens would have to not only stay outside until it's all repaired but they also had to sleep outside. But luckily, due to there being so many Pokemon that were experts at what they were doing, the repairs would mostly likely be done way before midnight even hits. Luna had woken up, having the best sleep she's had ever. Pyrestar had stayed all night to make everything goes smoothly.
2 hours had passed and everypony was finally waking up for the day, later than they usually do. Those that were asleep in odd positions had either fallen down on the floor, bumped their head on something, or just accidentally hitting another pony in the face by stretching their hooves.
Eve and Minccy woke up by Minccy's tail tickling Eve's nose. The Sun Pokemon let out a sneeze of Psychic energy that blasted the two of them back into a wall. That ended up waking them both up.
"Espeon..."
"Minccino..." The two groaned.
"Oh, you're both up finally. I bet you had an amazing sleep, right?" Twilight went up to the both of them. Minccy hopped off Espeon, landing next to Vulpix. "Today's probably going to be a short day. I mean, it's almost the afternoon and some of us are still asleep." Twilight noticed that both Jade and Cold were outside, talking to each other. Those two were lucky that they don't ever get tired. Even more so, Cold had no idea he was talking to a fellow Rift pony and Jade didn't even know that she was one.
"So, Jade. Do you think today I'm gonna get super good at magic? I mean, Twilight's gonna be teaching me extra long today from what I heard last time."
"I don't know. I'm not really a magic pony. I just want to learn about friendship and what it's all about." Jade replied in her usual deadpan voice.
"Well...How's your emotion thing coming along?"
"I can laugh now. But I don't get it."
"Really? Show me!"
"Haha." She let out the weakest laugh to ever exist. It only lasted one second with no passion behind it. "Is that a grade-a laugh?"
"Uhh...no not really." He winced.
"I don't think I'll be understanding this friendship thing for a long time now."
"I mean, it can't be that hard. Just talk to somepony and get to know them. Seems pretty easy enough. To be honest, I'm surprised that it took Twilight a long time to even understand friendship judging by how smart she is." Cold chuckled but unaware to him at the moment, Twilight had overheard him. Because she was standing right behind him.
"Ahem." She grabbed his attention.
"Hm?" The young unicorn turned around to see her mentor right there. "T-Twilight!" He jumped back. "I-I... you know I didn't mean it right?" He squeed.
"Don't worry. I'm not bothered by it." Twilight shook her head, making the young pony give off a sigh of relief. "I'm not worried about too much right now. Because today, I'm just going to relax. After last night, I need all the downtime I can get. What about you two?"
"Well, I was thinking of practicing magic today but...I guess if you wanna relax that's cool."
"I don't know. I just join in on whatever Pinkie Pie's doing." Jade replied.
"You two can find something to do. How does heading to the other world sound? I know we're going to visit it there next week, but it wouldn't hurt to explore a small bit. Kanto might be a good place to start.
"Oh sure! That'd be cool. But uh...where do we go? Kanto's not that exciting. Unova on the other hoof, that's the way to go. They've got loads of fun stuff to do there."
"You bet they do!" A friendly voice replied to him. Ash and Pikachu had just arrived, here to check up on their pals. "Especially at Virbank."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Ash!" Twilight ran up to him.
"What's at Virbank?" Jade asked.
"What's at Virbank? Only one of the coolest places ever! Pokestar Studios!"
"Pikachu!"
"I've heard of that. You took the Cutie Mark Crusaders there as a Foalsitting Trip, right?" Twilight asked.
"Mhm. At Pokestar, you'll never feel bored once. I bet going there will get everyone's energy back up. It'll kinda take a while to get to Virbank since we've only got a gateway to Castelia."
"Fine with me. I'll bring along the rest of my friends. Rarity did say she wanted to visit Pokestar one day, but never got around to it lately."
"Can I come along? I kinda of wanna make a movie of my own...I bet I'll play an awesome role." Cold was daydreaming about him being a hero and Apple Bloom being a princess. You know the usual.
"Sure thing. We're gonna have a blast!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
So, they went off to gather the rest of their friends in order to have some fun at Pokestar. The first they went to was Rarity, who was psyched about this the most.
"We're going to Pokestar?!" Rarity exclaimed. "Finally! I've been dreaming of heading there ever since Sweetie Belle experienced it! I can see it now! The possibilities are endless with what we can create!"
"You don't know the half of it." Sweetie Belle said.
"A great choice to get our minds of last night! I'll get the essentials needed for movie magic!" Rarity dashed into her room.
"If she's going, then I'm coming along too. I wanted to revisit Pokestar for a bit. Can me and the Crusaders come along Ash?"
"Yeah! Pokestar can handle as many members as it can."
The group had been gathered from Sweet Apple Acres, Fluttershy's cottage and even Rainbow Dash's home at Cloudsdale. They went over to the gateway that led to Unova, Castelia City. The path to Virbank wasn't exactly too far. All you needed to do was get on a cruise ship and sail to Virbank which was located west from here. Soon, the party that were heading to Pokestar was huge. It consisted of Ash, Pikachu, the Mane 6, Spike, the CMC and the two Rift Ponies along with some of their Pokemon. This was going to be their big break. On the ship to Virbank, they got to take a good look at the scenery outside.
"Look at that!" Apple Bloom gazed out at the azure ocean, seeing a bunch of Water-Types swim next to the ship. A Lapras winked back at them with a Froakie waving while on the back of the Lapras. More of the scenery was giving to them by a flock of Staraptor flying by.
"So, we just make movies at Pokestar?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"That's the gist of it. The skies the limit with whatever movie you wanna make."
"I wonder what genre it's gonna be? Maybe a musical!" Pinkie Pie spoke.
"Or maybe a Sci-Fi one. I hear those do really well with everypony." said Twilight.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll go well. Hopefully." Applejack chuckled. As they all had their, waiting to reach Virbank, one of the Pokemon from PokePark had snuck onboard, following the group. It was Krookodile, but he was only here for Fluttershy's Audino. So for the meantime, he's going to blend in as if he was just a normal Unova-mon minding his own business and hopefully, no one notices. Hopefully.
Once they get to Pokestar, they'll have the time of their life with the best relaxation they could ever experience.
A resounding return to it but with newcomers involved.
"Here we are. Pokestar Studios!" Ash introduced them to Pokestar in all its glory. The CMC weren't strangers to this place but Twilight and the others sure were. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before. It looked like it was a place that would fit right in Las Pegasus. What a sight to behold.
"Amazing!" Rarity gawked. "Let's not waste any time! I need to see the inside!" Rarity went ahead first, wanting to see all that Pokestar has to offer. But unbeknownst to them, the Krookodile from PokePark was stalking them, more specifically Fluttershy's Audino. For the meantime, he was going to keep a low-profile.
Inside, they got to see what Pokestar was really like. The expansive plaza where many movie makers gather, the movie theatre where all the movies can be viewed, the dressing room for all your props, makeup and outfit choices and the film room, where all the magic really happens.
"Oh, welcome back. Ash was it? Are you here to create another movie?" A worker lady asked them.
"That's right. I'm here with a lot of my friends to give it another go."
"Pika."
"Wonderful. We have a set ready for you all to use. Please make your way to dressing room first if you will. We have some new props in stock too. By the way, today's a contest to see who can create the best movie. Some participants have already joined so if you would like to enter, please feel free."
"We'll enter without a doubt!" Rarity perked up.
"What kind of props are there even?" Twilight asked whilst they were all making their way to the dressing room.
"It's mostly Pokemon stuff like heads and outfits," Scootaloo answered. "Some of them are a bit creepy though."
"Here we are." Ash opened the doors to the dressing room as the place had actually undergone some changes in order to handle the capacity increase of props. I already know what I'm grabbing." He strolled inside, heading towards the first box of props, just to grab himself some personal faves.
"Look at all these boxes." Pinkie had gathered a plethora of boxes that had tons of various props inside of all kinds. "Check this out!" She put on a Gyarados head. "Look at me I'm a big scary Gyarados!"
"Pretty authentic prop head. And that Gyarados with the blue colouring is kinda neat actually." Rainbow Dash noticed the blue on Gyarados. Her and the Mane 6 believed that the Red Gyarados they saw all the way back at the Leon vs Lance match was its natural colour.
"Oh, that's what Gyarados normally looks like," Ash said holding a huge UFO prop in his hands.
"Pikachu!"
"It is? Then what was up with the red one?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"That was a Shiny Gyarados. Shiny Pokemon kinda look different in colour from their original forms, ya know."
"Shiny Pokemon?" They all asked. Nopony knew what a Shiny Pokemon was at all.
"Guess you guys don't know about them. Well, you've actually seen two of them so far. Lance's Gyarados and my Noctowl. Those are all shinies."
"Pikachu!"
"Shiny, huh? There goes another list of Pokemon variants that I have to look into." Twilight wrote some notes down.
"Have we decided on what movie we'll be making?" Rarity asked.
"Twilight said she wanted to try Sci-Fi. But I'm suggesting we try some western if ya ask me." Applejack grinned.
"No way. Action movies are more action-packed than western. It's in the name." Rainbow flew to Applejack, holding a Lucario scarf.
"Why don't we let Ash decide? The director is the one who calls the shots right?" Cold suggested.
"Good point. What do you think Ash?" Twilight turned to him.
"Hm? Oh, I didn't direct the last movie." Ash laughed.
"You didn't? Then who?" Twilight tilted her head.
"Yours truly of course." There he was, the Lord of Chaos, sitting on top of the pile of prop boxes.
"Discord?!" Twilight and the others exclaimed.
"Who else? If you're going to be filming movie magic, best not to leave the director out of it." Discord was in a movie director outfit.
"Wait...Y-You're the one who directed the movie with them?" Twilight stammered.
"That's right. Discord helped direct the movie and it came out a success." Ash crossed his arms, nodding.
"Pikachu!"
"It's true. Went pretty well too!" exclaimed Apple Bloom.
"So, what do you think would be a good movie idea, Discord?" Fluttershy flew up to him.
"Decisions are difficult even for me. But I assume everypony here has an idea that they're just BEGGING to film."
"Well...we can't really decide on what it is we want to film. And we're in a contest right now. And I'm not sure my idea will really be that great." Fluttershy replied.
"What is your idea anyways, Fluttershy?" Applejack asked.
"Well, I'm a bit of a fan of fantasy. Just a small bit." Fluttershy squeed.
"I mean...Fantasy's pretty neat actually." Rainbow Dash thought for a second.
"I'll admit, I do enjoy fantasy. It's almost like a perfect replica of our reality." Twilight nodded. "What about everypony else?"
"I don't mind it." Apple Bloom said.
"Me neither!" so did Sweetie Belle.
"Fantasy does have some cool stuff like knights fighting dragons and all that." Spike grinned as Scootaloo and Cold Colt nodded.
"Well, the majority prefers fantasy. So I guess we'll go with your idea Fluttershy." Twilight turned to her.
"Oh, wonderful! And I'm sure with Discord as the director, this will turn out wonderful!" Fluttershy clapped her hooves together. The others were a bit uneasy about this since they weren't sure what the outcome could be with Discord involved but Ash and the CMC weren't bothered since they've already had an experience with him as the director. While they plan their movie, on the other side of the studio, the other teams were preparing themselves with their own movie ideas. And one of those teams was Team Rocket who entered just for fun. But once again, they always somehow come right back to Ash and Pikachu, no matter what.
"Don't I look stunning in this!?" Jessie laughed, wearing an overly designed dress that was way too busy with so many colours clashing against each other. But she felt proud of wearing it.
"Bit hurtful to the eyes don't ya think Jess?" Meowth sighed.
"Oh, hush! You two wouldn't know beauty if it hit you like a meteor! Movies nowadays are all about flash and flaunt!"
"All-flash and no substance is the more appropriate saying for this," James replied. "You know, back home, I personally wanted to view movies of my own, but my lessons and activities got in the-"
"Yeah, yeah that's great, James. Right now, let's focus on the star of this movie. Me!"
"What are we even making?" Meowth asked.
"Isn't it obvious? The best movie genre is romance! Two lovers meeting at a bookstore at fate, the kiss in the rain, the airport chase and dramatic confession! It's truly art in its purest form!" From what Jessie was spouting, James and Meowth could tell her favourite genre. "That first-place position is mine for the taking. But just to make sure no one tries to out-film us." Jessie zipped out of the film room she was in, just to spy on the other contestants. She looked in the various rooms, seeing other contestants coming up with their own ideas. So far to her, no one posed too much of a threat. That's when she came across the room Ash was in. And it all hit her like a truck. "The twerp and twerpette party?!" She said to herself. Jessie quickly returned to her film room, panicking. "Why is it that wherever we go, he's always here like some sort of magnet!"
"The twerp's here with his pony pals?!" Meowth perked up.
"With them here we're sure to fall behind!" James held his head.
"Not this time! This time, we go above and beyond and surpass that twerp! He won't beat us, not even in movie magic!" Jessie cackled, determined to get one up over Ash. Her cackling was so loud that Sweetie Belle heard it, but she didn't think too much about it.
"How does this look?" Rainbow Dash held a suit modelled after a Tyranitar. "Whatever Pokemon this is, it sure is pretty awesome looking. Perfect for a monster, right?"
"They're all monsters. And yeah, that'll do." Twilight nodded.
"Oh! Awesome Tyranitar costume. Guess we don't need this anymore." Ash tossed away a Druddigon head as Spike caught it, placing it on his head.
"Tyranitar, huh?" Rainbow Dash began equipping the costume onto herself. Thankfully, she was able to fit inside the Tyranitar costume.
"Hold still now Fluttershy." Rarity and Leavanny were dressing Fluttershy and Audino up to give them the appearance of princesses. Rarity placed a crown that was modelled after a Slowking's crown but gold and Audino in a golden dress. Leavanny had made a princess dress fit for Fluttershy by gathering some fabric from other clothing and utilizing them instead. "There. Now isn't that the appearance of a proper princess?"
"I think so." Fluttershy replied.
"Audino."
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu held up a prop that was modelled after an old village. "Pikachu."
"Nice pick, buddy. Is that everything?" Ash asked.
"I think so. That means next is the Film room, right?" said Twilight.
"That's right. Pikachu and I will handle the cameras and lightning. Right buddy?"
"Pika!"
"How did you manage to direct the previous movie without chaos magic, Discord?" Applejack walked up to him.
"Who said I didn't? It's better to experience the film in its physical form, wouldn't you agree?" Discord poked her nose.
"R-Right...How did this go so well last time?" Applejack whispered to Rarity who shrugged.
For Team Rocket's side, they had everything planned out to the best of their abilities. But there was one final thing left before they were to head to film room.
"Alright, James. You're going to have to put this on." Jessie held a suit in her hands. "If anyone's going to play the second romantic interest you fit the part." Saying that made James jump back in shock.
"I'D RATHER DIE!" James exclaimed, not up for this. It was giving him flashbacks Jessebelle, Jessie's doppelgänger.
"Oh, hush! Movie magic requires sacrifices! It was a clear pick between you, Meowth and Wobbuffet."
"Hey!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Fine...But I won't like it." James sighed, going along with it. There was no talking Jessie out of something she loved.
The time had come for filming. Discord had transformed the entire film room to match that of a fantasy village. Not only that, but he made the Tyranitar costume much more authentic. And by authentic, that meant he made the costume sharper and heavier which was weighing Rainbow Dash down.
"There? Isn't that authentic and grounded in realism?" Discord commented.
"Don't worry guys! Just go with it!" Ash shouted from the background, holding the camera while Pikachu held the lights.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"I'm playing this role again?" Twilight was playing the role as the royal advisor similar to her Hearth's Warming Eve pagent play.
"This costume is super-heavy you guys." Rainbow Dash groaned. "What does this even do?" She noticed a button inside the costume, tempted to press it. Once she did, a Tyranitar roar bellowed from it. It startled everypony in the room. "Oh, so that's what it does."
"We'll start the plot by having a Tyranitar rampage uncontrollably and then we'll build up the plot from there." Ash said.
"Pikachu!"
"Make way!" Along came Jessie and Team Rocket, in their disguise so that Ash and the others don't recognize them as always. "Move over for real movie stars!" Jessie hip bumped Rarity out of the way, taking center stage.
"Rude!" Rarity yelled back at her.
"Oh, sorry. But we're about to film our movie right now." Fluttershy flew towards them. "We'll finish up first and then you can film next."
"As if. I'm here to make my-" Before Jessie could finish her sentence, James interrupted by whispering at her.
"You know...if we watch what they're making, we might have a way to beat it, don't you think?"
"Oh...Clever james." Jessie smirked, nodding.
"Learn from your foes as they say." Meowth giggled.
"Fine. Finish up and have fun!" Jessie and the others left the room, just to spy on their filming. "Now, let's see what they can do."
The time for filming was now and everything was set. Ash, Pikachu, Leavanny and Spike would handle everything from the back whilst the others work their movie magic. Krookodile had himself behind one of the buildings that was created by Discord's chaos magic. Once he set his eyes on Audino, he was smitten even more. For safety measures, all he could do now was just hide and hope he doesn't get caught.
Over at a kingdom, full of Pokemon of all types and species, there lived two princesses. One a trainer, the other a partner. Princess Fluttershy or in this case, Princess Ephemeral and her Audino. Right beside her was her loyal royal advisor, Twilight Sparkle or in this case, Quartz Meadow. Today, Quartz brings urgent news that the two Princesses must hear.
"Princess Ephemeral!" Quartz came rushing indoors to the castle, sliding on the slick clean floor. Discord really made it feel like an authentic castle.
"Yes? What is it, Quartz?" Ephemeral asked.
"There's trouble over the south from here! An unidentified Tyranitar is rampaging across the lands! It's already torn through the homes of many Pokemon. Hundreds of mountains have been demolished without any trace of them being left. And now it's headed here! From the looks of it, its under some sort of control!"
"A rampaging Tyranitar. I'm surprised I haven't heard of this sooner. But not to worry. I'm sure we can calm it down peacefully without having to resort to conflict."
"Forgive me princess, but I don't think a Tyranitar is one for peace."
"You'll never unless you try, Quartz. Come, Audino." Ephemeral flew off her throne walking outside to the kingdom with her Audino by her side.
"Audino."
Far over the distance, the sounds of a Tyranitar rampaging about could be heard as it caused small earthquakes that were potent enough to reach the kingdom. The Cutie Mark Crusaders who were playing the role as three children of royalty were hiding behind Ash's Dragonite for safety. Everypony's Pokemon were used as background characters to make it feel like a kingdom full of Pokemon. And also because Discord brought some random Normal-Types here but that's neither here or there.
"Calm down, everypony. There is no need to panic. I can reason with Tyranitar. After all, we've managed to even reason with Dark-Types haven't we?"
"What if it doesn't listen?! What if it just keeps on rampaging?!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"Trust in me." Ephemeral stepped forward as she could see the approaching Tyranitar. Inside, Rainbow Dash was sweating like crazy. In reality, she couldn't actually see through the Tyranitar costume that well. Mostly because it was made for a human to wear it. She may be able to fit in it, but her eyes barely reach it. But it works well for rampaging if she can't see where's she going. Ephemeral took a deep breath, bracing herself for this.
Krookodile spotted the Tyranitar heading this way at full speed. He would move out of the way, but he would risk blowing his cover. So all he could do was stay in the exact same place at the moment. The Tyranitar reached the kingdom, breaking through the walls with ease.
"This is actually going pretty well so far. Let's set the mood, buddy." Ash said.
"Pika." Pikachu changed the lightning to a more cinematic look as the colours were matching the scene. The tension that had arrived was given a grey filter.
"Tyranitar." Ephemeral stepped forward as everyone else just moved back. "I understand you're on a rampage currently. But please listen to what I have to say."
The Tyranitar dressed Rainbow Dash halted her movements, just to stay motionless for a bit. Discord figured that it would feel much more realistic if Rainbow Dash really acted like a rampaging monster. So as a result, he snapped his paw, making Rainbow Dash's back ache. And one common result of back aches is that they tend to make anyone cranky. So it was perfect. Rainbow Dash started to fidget around inside the costume as the Tyranitar she wore was doing the same. It now truly looked like a monster that was on an uncontrollable rampage. And just like that, she was on the move again, unable to not only see but having a horrible back ache on her. She smashed the Tyranitar's arms on the buildings, shattering them with ease. Her rampage continued, barging through every structure there was. And these weren't just props made out of paper mache, Discord made them out of the actual bricks and stone.
"Princess! It's not stopping!" Quartz pulled her mane.
"We're gonna be crushed!" Scootaloo bellowed.
"No one is getting crushed. If I'm going to stop Tyrantiar, I'll have to get my hooves a bit dirty. Audino." Fluttershy turned to Audino as they both nodded at each other. Ephemeral put her hoof out, the one that had the keystone in it. "Let's not use brute force for this. We just have to slow it down. Mega Evolve!" The keystone was reacting to Audino's mega stone. The rays of mega energy emanated from both stones, pulsating against Audino. The Hearing Pokemon had evolved into its Mega Evolution.
"Audino!"
"My back!" Rainbow said to herself as she destroyed everything in her path. She was now making her way towards Audino who was right in front of her.
"Audino. Grab Tyranitar!" Ephemeral commanded. The Normal-Fairy Type put its arms out, easily stopping Tyranitar in its tracks. The impact that was made when they collided caused a powerful Earthquake that went across the entire kingdom. Krookodile's cover was almost blown even. The rampage had been halted with ease thanks to Audino. Ephemeral flew back up to see what was wrong with Tyranitar. She noticed that the back of Tyranitar was a bit crooked and broken. Seems that Discord's magic didn't affect just Rainbow Dash's back. "So that's what it is." Ephemeral locked her eyes on the back as she dashed down towards Tyranitar.
All of a sudden, she smashed her hooves on the back of the costume and Rainbow Dash's back, causing both Rainbow and the costume to scream. "EEEK!" Ephemeral grabbed the neck of the costume, bending it backwards. The weight of the costume pressed down on her back as she could hear some bones crack. Everyone watching this winced at the mere sight of it. They were so lucky they didn't get to play Tyranitar. But it was a good outcome. Because all that aggression managed to fix Rainbow Dash's back. It was back to full health. "My back...wow." She moved back as the costume's back had also been repaired.
"See? No force needed." Ephemeral gave off a soft smile.
"That was the most force I had ever seen." said Quartz.
"Now, why don't you tell us who was making you uncontrollable, Tyranitar?"
"That's surprisingly good." James commented, watching the movie go down. "Not a bad opening if I do say so myself.
"Yeah. Tension in openings is pretty good most of the time." Meowth nodded.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Zip it!" Jessie shoved them aside. "They won't get anywhere by having action at the very start of their film! We'll perform much better than they ever could! But first...we're going to need some sabotage." Jessie grinned. It was time for Team Rocket to get up to their usual antics. Jessie wanted to win this more than anyone and she was willing to sabotage everything in order to make it happen. They first started off by heading to the back of the film room, undetected. Wobbuffet closed its mouth, making sure to not make a single sound each time it moved. The first step to sabotaging everything was cutting off the lights. Team Rocket climbed up to the top of the set, ready to enact their plan. Unfortunately, they were kind of weighing it down, so as a result, they ended up falling from above, crashing onto the floor of the made-up kingdom, startling everyone.
"What the?" Quartz or Twilight at the moment out of character, leaned forward.
"Are they in the movie?" Cold asked as Jade shrugged.
"Who are you guys?"
"Who are we?!" Jessie figured that she wouldn't have to play as a character for this instance so she decided to reveal herself along with the others. "Prepare for trouble, your movie's a fad!"
"And make it double while we show you our pizzazz!" James followed.
"The beauty so radiant, the flowers and moon hide in shame. A single flower of evil in this fleeting world. Jessie!"
"The nobly heroic man of our times! The master of darkness fighting back against a tragic world! James!"
"It's all for one and one for all! A glittering dark star that always shines bright! Dig it while Meowth takes flight!"
"Team Rocket, let's fight!" Both of them said.
"Meowth, that's right!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Team Rocket?!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pipi-Pikachu?!"
"We can't have you oumatching our movie! Especially when I'm about to give my top performance!" Jessie shouted back at them. Discord was intrigued by what he was seeing. He teleported to the camera, zooming in further. He didn't want this to stop as it was getting good.
"You'd think you guys would give it a break after last night!" said Scootaloo.
"Hush now! We've got the stuff to deal with you twerps and twerpette combo!" Jessie grinned as both her and James said this one word. "Gacha come on!"
From above, a Pelliper had something in its huge bill, dropping it from above. It was some sort of gacha machine that broke through the ceiling of Pokestar, crashing down on the ground. The gacha machine had tons of Pokeballs in it that had the Team Rocket symbol on them. Plus they were all coloured purple.
"What is that?!" Pinkie said.
"Watch and learn." Jessie suddenly grabbed Meowth by the face, turning him upside down. She placed Meowth's amulet coin on the machine as it was perfectly made to fit the coin inside. "Gacha vending secret!" Both Jessie and James said.
James turned the crank on the machine as two Pokeballs were sent out. "Let's see who we have here!" James grabbed the Pokeball, tossing it forward. Out of it came an actual Tyranitar. The real deal.
"TYRANITAR!" The Armor Pokemon bellowed.
"Wait! THAT'S AN ACTUAL TYRANITAR?!" Rainbow Dash's head popped out of the costume in shock as she took her dex out.
"Tyranitar. The Armor Pokemon. Tyranitar is so overwhelmingly powerful it can bring down a whole mountain it a few seconds. Its body can’t be harmed by any sort of attack, so it wanders through the mountains seeking opponents to fight. If it finds an opponent that’s not worthy, Tyranitar ignores it and wanders on. The quakes caused when it walks make even great mountains crumble and change the surrounding terrain. Maps must be redrawn afterward."
"And who's this one?" Jessie tossed another Pokeball, sending out the Despot Pokemon, Tyrantrum.
"Tyrantrum. The Despot Pokemon. Thanks to its gargantuan jaws, which could shred thick metal plates as if they were paper, it was invincible in the ancient world it once inhabited. Nothing could stop this Pokémon 100 million years ago, so it behaved like a king."
"Let's see you make a movie if it's all a wreck! Tyrantrum! Ancient Power!" Jessie commanded. The Despot Pokemon summoned up pre-historic rocks from beneath the ground as they were aimed at the group. Discord was beginning to love every second of this.
"Now this is movie magic." Discord nodded.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu ran forward, destroying the rocks with an Iron Tail.
"Tyranitar! Giga Impact!" James commanded. The Armor Pokemon was about to charge in with all its might. The outcome could be devastating. They weren't dealing with a costume this time, it was the real deal.
"Audi! Protect!" Fluttershy realized this could get ugly fast so she made her Audino protect everypony by putting up a defensive barrier.
"So much for making relaxation. Minccy! Aqua Tail!" Twilight joined in as her Minccino slammed Tyranitar in the head with a tail full of water.
"Too weak! Tyranitar! Hyper Beam!" Tyranitar began charging up a beam of hyper energy, ready to blast Minccino away. The Chinchilla Pokemon jumped back as she dashed away, not wanting to be caught in the Hyper Beam. Tyranitar unleashed Hyper Beam as it hit the buildings head on. More destruction than Rainbow Dash could ever cause was being dealt.
"Tyrantrum! Earthquake!" Tyrantrum stomped on the ground, causing an Earthquake that demolished the kingdom that Discord had built. Ash realized that if they don't stop this, all of Pokestar will be destroyed.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt! Dragonite Hyper Beam!"
"Audi! Use Hyper Beam!"
Both trainers commanded their Pokemon as a combination of two Hyper Beams and a Thunderbolt raced towards the two Pokemon. And that was just enough to seal the deal as both Pokemon were sent flying into Team Rocket, sending them out of the Pokestar and into the distance.
"My movie magic! Mutiliated!" Jessie wailed.
"On the bright side of all of this, we'll have inspiration the next time we have a go at this." James nodded as he crossed his arms.
"Inspiriation from defeat, ya mean?" Meowth sighed.
"We're blasting off again!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Phew. That could've gotten ugly fast." Ash let out a sigh of relief.
"Too bad about the movie. It's all ruined now." Scootaloo pouted.
"Are you kidding!? It's perfect!" Discord said as everyone turned to him.
"It is?" They all said in unison.
"Why of course! Much more believable than a back-ache if you ask me." He giggled. "This is sure to be a smash hit!"
"It'd better be." sighed Twilight.
The time to publish the short movies had come. Funny enough, the short battle that occurred with Team Rocket caused others to stop filming since the battle had distracted them and caused them to run out, so they ended up running out of time and could only deliver a half-finished project. Because of this, Discord's movie team actually ended up becoming victorious. So in a strange way, Team Rocket granted them their victory.
"I can't believe it...we actually won with that?" Twilight was flabbergasted that a movie like that ended up winning despite it being nothing but chaos. But then again, it was the only movie that had been published so it was an automatic win.
"It is what is, I guess." Ash laughed.
"We did have fun at the end of it. It did end up feeling like an actual battle too." Fluttershy said. "And you were really good at hiding, weren't you Krookodile?" Fluttershy pointed out Krookodile. She knew that he was here the entire time thanks to Audino's brilliant hearing.
"Krook!"
"Hm? Has he been stalking us?" Rarity said.
"He's been stalking Audi here. For a few days now even." Fluttershy answered. "Krookodile, you can't keep stalking my Audino like that. It's a bit uncomfortable considering she can hear everything you're saying whenever you hide."
"Krooko..." Krookodile lowered his head in shame. His crazy love affection had gotten him into trouble at the moment.
"You really want to be with my Audino? That badly?"
"Krookodile." He nodded.
"Hm. I don't know if Audi feels the same way, but I'm sure eventually you'll get there. But stalking her won't work since she can always hear you. So how do we solve this problem?" Fluttershy wondered.
"Maybe find another Audino to crush on something?" Rainbow Dash shrugged.
"Aha!" The shy pegasus sparked an idea in her head. "Discord! Why don't you catch Krookodile as your own!"
"Hm? Me? Catch a Pokemon? Hah!" Discord luahged at that statement. "I don't have time for such childish endeavors. Besides, what could i possibly gain from owning one of these things?"
"If you do, you won't be the only pony without a Pokemon anymore. And my Audino can become good friends with Krookodile, just like we've become great friends as well. What do you say?"
"Hm. I suppose I don't want to feel left out of this Pokemon craze...I'll catch it. But I won't use it if that's what you're thinking."
"Great. Now, to catch a Pokemon you need to-" Fluttershy's sentence was stopped when Discord teleported a random Pokeball to him. He tossed it at the Intimidation Pokemon, immediately catching it without fail as it shook once. "Oh. Nevermind."
"So. When we come back here, let's make another movie!" Apple Bloom said. "Next time it should be about space!"
"I didn't know you liked Sci-Fi Apple Bloom." Sweetie Belle replied.
"Space is Sci-Fi? I thought they were to different things. Oh well. That sounds good to me too!" She gigled as mostly everyone but Discord join in a group laughter. Time to head back home. They made their move even though it turned out to have a different outcome due to Team Rocket's interference. And thankfully, that didn't stop their relaxation as the day was still young. The journey continues.
Repairs had finally been done thanks to Pokemon. Canterlot was looking fresh and new once again. Today at the usual class, Hollow came in with some old friends of his. Each of them seemed to be tailored to specific colour pallets. In fact, these pallets resembled all 18 Pokemon Types. Celestia and Luna were here to see what this was all about. This specific lesson intrigued them.
"Alright, so." Hollow clapped his hands together. "Last week, some of you kids said you wanted to try and become Gym Leaders. Most of you anyways."
"That's right! I want to become a Gym Leader real badly!" A young pony from the class raised his hoof up.
"It sounds fun form what we've heard!" Another said.
"Meh. Gym Leader's sound boring. I wanna become a trainer so I'm not stuck to just one type, ya know." said Sunrise.
"Well, for those who want to become Gym Leaders or Monotype trainers...I've brought along some of my friends who are specialists in each typing. They'll recommend all the typings to you and you can decide which type is best for you. After that, we'll head out and have a Pokemon Battle. Sound good?"
"Yes sir!" They all said.
"Great. Alright. You guys got it from here." Hollow moved to the back of the class as all of his friends were ready to say their stuff.
"I'll go first!" A Fire-Type specialist moved forward as he held out a Pokeball. His entire outfit was designed after the Fire-Typing, similar to the others who had a similar look. "Yo, future champions. You wanna know what type is the best for you? As a Fire-Type, you can burn anything that stands in your way! And the most popular starters are mostly Fire-Types, so the choice is obvious!"
"Yeah right. Do you know what's hotter than fire? Electricity and lightning" A second specialist walked up, shoving the Fire specialist aside. "As an Electric-Type specialist, you can outspeed most Pokemon a large majority of the time. It's the faster typing after all. Paralyzation allows you to make sure your foe doesn't move as fast, and plus, that Ash Ketchum kid who is so popular here owns a Pikachu who's an Electric-Type, so you all wanna have one of your own, eh?" She winked at them, hoping they'd choose it.
"Yeah, those are cool and all. But what are the others gonna do against the Ghost-Type?" A young teenager stepped forward, specializing in Ghost-Type Pokemon. "I mean...how are you gonna hit something that doesn't even have a physical body? You can even possess stuff and other people and Pokemon. I'd go for the choice of being sneaky any day."
"FORGET THAT!" A martial arts stomped his foot on the floor, kicking the Ghost specialist away, startling everyone. "As a Fighting-Type specialist, you can master an arsenal of various martial arts and fighting styles across the world! No one is defeating the inner focus and skills of a true fighter! And if they even think about getting up close and personal to you, crush them! They don't stand a chance against your physical prowess! Choose Fighting-Type! You'll be the world's greatest fighter alongside your Pokemon!"
"Fighting-Types can't even affect Ghost-Types dude..." The Ghost specialist replied silently, holding his back in pain. "Ow...But they can affect me..."
"These sure are some interesting friends you have, Hollow," Celestia said with Passion sitting on her back.
"Yeah. I met them all during my travels. They're definitely something, that's for sure. They can get pretty passionate about the typings they love, though."
"Personally, I don't see the value and gain from focusing on only one typing." Luna shook her head.
"Alright. You four have had your say. Now let me introduce you little ponies to the typing that's sure to get you as many hits in as you want." A girl who specialized in Ice-Types stepped forward. "With the shivering Ice-Type, you can freeze your opponents in place. It'll allow you to hit them as many times as they want before they get the chance to thaw out. All they'll be hearing will be the clinking of ice. Choose Ice-Types. You won't regret it."
"The freeze effect is cool and all...but there's no better effect than poison." A Poison-Type specialist was up next. His whole appearance was of that of someone who looks like they would create chemicals in a lab. "As a Poison-Type specialist, you can deal damage over time to your opponent, and they can't do anything about it. Plus, certain Poison moves increase in power if your opponent has been poisoned, so that damage can be extra huge. Your opponent can't do anything against something that's seeping into them and corroding their body."
"Hmph. Please." A Psychic specialist raised her glass, smirking. "Poison is weak when face to face with Psychic. With the psychic ineptitude on your side, you can control the battle from a faraway distance with your own mind. The vast potential with the Psychic-Type is limitless as long as the brain itself improves with the Pokemon and trainer. Mind over muscle after all, isn't that right?" She said whilst turning to the Fighting-Type specialist."
"Well...obviously these other types sound pretty impressive. And compared to this typing...it's pretty...unimpressive." A young boy stepped up who was dressed much more basic than them. Mostly because he was all about Normal-Types. The toast sandwich of Pokemon as some people call it. " "But Normal may be ordinary and basic, but simple is best. You have a ton of variety of moves that you can access to throw your opponent off guard. They have the most versatility out of any Pokemon Typing and have the largest movepool. Choose Normal!"
"Oh, those do sound like some pretty good options. Normal sounds fun because you can do a lot with it." Sapphire Flash said.
"I'm leaning towards that Fire-Typing! My big bro has a Blaziken as his ace so it'd be cool if I had my own ace Fire-Type." Sunrise nodded.
"Slow down, my little ponies. You have yet to hear the other typings." The next specialist stepped up. A woman who was all about water. "As a Water-Type specialist, you have the least amount of weaknesses. If you control the smooth and flowing waves, you practically control most of the world. Have a go with Water."
"I mean, Water-Type isn't the only one that allows you to control most of the world." A man who was a Grass-Type specialist was up next."As a Grass-Type specialist, nature is at your command. You have access to a ton of healing moves. You can take the opponents health as your own and even utilize the power of the sun. Pretty clear that Grass is the way to go."
"You wanna talk about nature and the world at your command?! How about Ground-Types!" An aggressive woman exclaimed. "You can draw the source of all your power from the earth itself! It's one the hardest hitting types out there and it even has the best selection of moves that deal some delicious damage! The entire earth trembles before this type! Go for Ground!"
"Hah! Yeah. But what's it gonna do against something in the sky?" A Flying-Type specialist said as he was sitting on top of the teacher's table next to Hollow. "You can fly freely across the azure skies as a Flying-Type trainer. As long as you have a faraway distance from everyone else, you're in the clear."
"Yeah, but as a Bug-Type trainer, you can be insanely annoying!" A young boy who was all about Bug-Types exclaimed. They may be the weakest type, but when they work together in large groups, they can pull off amazing stuff and even chip away at health! Plus, annoyance is the greatest weapon in battle!"
"Uh-huh, that's cute. But it won't do anything against a rock that crushes it." A man who was a Rock-Type specialist uttered. "As a Rock specialist, you can deal with anything that even thinks about trying to run away. Just toss a rock of any size at them no problem. Attacking with all your guts is a sure-fire way to win, plus there's great defence involved. Go with Rock."
"Heh. But as a Dark-Type trainer... you don't have to worry about rules." A pretty shady guy said as he blended well with the shadows. "You can battle however you want without having to go by the book. Heck, you can even steal from your opponent or even prevent them from using certain moves. Doesn't that sound like a quick way to win against anyone? Choose Dark. It's worth it."
"Don't listen to this creep. Steel-Type is the best type." Up next was a man who was all about Steel-Type Pokemon. "You have the most defence out of all these types. You can cut through anything no matter how tough it is and even return the same amount of damage right back at your foe. And it's also pretty to look at when it shines."
"ALL OF THOSE TYPES ARE WEAK COMPARED TO THE MIGHTY DRAGON!" A highly aggressive trainer, the most aggressive out of all of them bellowed as he was all about Dragons. Even his eyes and teeth resembled the sharp appearance of a dragon. "YOU'VE PRACTICALLY GOT THE RAW ESSENCE OF POWER AT YOUR DISPOSAL! BLAST ANYTHING INTO SMITHEREENS, CLAW YOUR WAY THROUGH THOSE THAT TRY AND STOP YOU AND BECOME THE MIGHTIEST OF THEM ALL WITH A RESOUNDING ROAR! There's a reason why so many legendaries are dragons!"
"But that so-called mighty dragon is quickly taken out by the cute and charming fairy." A young girl landed on top of the Dragon trainer's head, making him fall flat on the floor. She was the final one. "WIth Fairy, you have full control over magic and the beauty of the world itself. Go for Fairy. It's too cute to deny." She winked.
"So which one are you kids gonna choose?" All 18 of them leaned forward, ready to hear the answers of the young foals. The little ponies had no idea what to think. From each type they've heard, they all have their strengths and even some weaknesses here and there. It was actually harder than they thought it would be. As a result, they were feeling nervous.
"Alright. I think you guys have said your stuff. Please back away from the kids." Hollow pulled his friends back. "I'm sure they'll decide on what type they want to go with eventually. And if not, then when they end up coming to visit our world next week, they'll have their answer eventually, hopefully."
"Well... I was gonna choose Fire but...the others sound pretty awesome too. This is actually pretty tough!" said Sunrise. He placed his head on the table, unsure of what he wanted.
"Choosing a Pokemon type is tough ain't it?" Hollow nodded.
"If I may, I have a slight suggestion." Celestia joined in the conversation. "If the children can't decide on what typing they want to choose, why not have the Pokemon they already own go up against the other types. Our mother always told Luna and me that the hardest choices require you to see that choice at it is best. So, let them see the types at their best and they can perhaps decide."
"Oh...that's actually not a bad idea." The Fire specialist said as the others agreed. "I guess we can all battle against them at once, maybe."
"No need." Luna stepped forward. I shall do the honours." She gave off a sort of devious smirk."
"Luna? You?" Celestia was confused.
"Of course. I have a plethora of Pokemon at my disposal. I've personally been catching countless amounts of Pokemon overnight once I finish patrolling the dream world. I have a Pokemon of every type. You shall face me instead."
"Uh...but are you sure you can do it? I mean, no offence...but you guys are still young to Pokemon. Us humans have been doing this for years." said the Flying specialist.
"I think it's better if we let Princess Luna do it. She's a very good battler despite still being somewhat new to Pokemon. You guys tend to go overboard anyways." Hollow replied.
"Splendid! We shall battle at Canterlot Garden my little ponies! But I can assure you, I shall not hold back for a second."
Over at Canterlot Garden, the stage had been set. Each student will have to face Princess Luna and her mass array of Pokemon of each type. The one that everypony feared the most was Darkrai. They were worried that they were going to have to battle her Darkrai last or worse, first.
"So...who's going first?" A young pony said.
"Uh...Sapphire! You look like the most capable out of all of us! You should go!" Sunrise shoved Sapphire to the front. She was the first victim of Luna.
"Haha! My first opponent! So, which typing interests you the most Sapphire Flash?" Luna asked, intimidating Sapphire.
"Uh...I'm pretty interested in Ice-Types. The Freeze effect seems nifty." Sapphire shrugged.
"Ice-Type it is then. I have the perfect Pokemon for this." Luna had in her hoof a Pokeball with a single Ice-Type inside. "I assume your Pokemon is ready as well."
"Y-Yes! Come out, Petilil!" Sapphire sent out the small Grass-Type Petilil. It was the only Pokemon she actually owned and it had yet to evolve. Not a good matchup against the Pokemon that Luna had. The one she sent out was the Aurorus she obtained when the class were learning about Fossils. "Oh, I forgot about that." Sapphire gulped.
"Aurorus and I are on slightly good terms with each other. So prepare yourself. Your call, Hollow."
"Oh, right. Both trainers ready?" Hollow looked to the two as they both nodded. "Battle start!" He made the call to begin.
"I can do this...hopefully..Petilil! Use Leaf Storm!"
"Peti!" The Bulb Pokemon conjured up a storm of leaves from thin air, releasing it towards Aurorus.
"Aurora Beam!" Luna returned the favour by having her Pokemon generate a rainbow coloured beam in its mouth. Once it was fired, it tore through the leaves, hitting Petili head on, knocking the Bulb Pokemon out in one hit.
"Petilil..." It groaned.
"Ah! Petilil!" Sapphire gasped, running to her fainted partner.
"Petilil is unable to battle! Aurorus wins! That means the victor is Luna! Yikes that was brutal..." said Hollow.
"Huzzah! My first official trainer win! Albeit very lackluster. Now. Who's next?"
"Since Sunrise was kind enough to let me go first..." Sapphire returned the favour by pushing Sunrise up front. "He'll go next."
"Huh?!" Sunrise turned to Sapphire.
"I expect impressive skills from a pony as aggressive as you, Sunrise Sprint. What is your favoured type?"
"I'm all about uh...still Fire-Types and maybe Fighting-Types?" Sunrise gulped.
"Undecided? Very well then. I'll battle you with both! Starting with this one!" Luna sent out a Darmanitan as a Fire-Type choice.
"Darma!"
"Go! Gurdurr!" Sunrise sent out his Gurdurr which used to be a young Timburr when he first had it. At least his Pokemon was evolved so it could stand a better chance against whatever it was about to face off against.
"Gurdurr!" The Muscular Pokemon raised its steel beam in the air.
"I can already see both are ready. Then in that case...battle start!" Hollow gave the command to start.
"Gurdurr! Use Slam!" Sunrise made the first move by having his Pokemon run forward, utilizing its steel beam as a weapon.
"Offensive are we? Darmanitan! Fire Punch!" Darmanitan pulled its arms back with flames surrounding it. The Blazing Pokemon's fists made contact with the steel beam, knocking them out of Gurdurr's hands. "Now! Strike Gurdurr!" Darmanitan followed up by striking Gurdurr's gut, sending him flying while leaving a trail of flames.
"Gurr!" The Muscular Pokemon rolled on the ground, but luckily for Sunrise, he hadn't fainted.
"Gurdurr! Get up and use Stone Edge!" Gurdurr headed for its steel beam, attempting to pick it back up
"Like I'd give you the chance to do so! Darmanitan! Bulldoze!"
"Dar..ma!" Darmanitan stomped on the ground continuously, dirsupting Gurdurr's focus as he couldn't get his beam or even pull off Stone Edge. The rocks from the ground even attacekd Gurdurr thanks to Bulldoze. "Now! Fire Punch! Once more!" Darmanitan lunged forward, plummeting Gurdurr to the ground with Fire Punch. The force of Gurdurr hitting the ground caused a small crater to form as Darmanitan had sealed the deal. Gurdurr had fainted.
"Gur..."
"Gurdurr is unable to battle! Darmanitan wins!" exclaimed Hollow. "At least that was slightly longer."
"Aw...bummer." Sunrise sighed, returning his Gurdurr.
"The battle isn't over yet, Hollow." Luna said.
"It isn't?" Hollow turned to her.
"Not at all. You haven't yet battled my Fighting-Type, remember?" Luna held her second Pokeball, making Sunrise shake. "What do you say, my little pony?"
"Uh... I THINK I'M GOOD WITH FIRE!" Sunrise dashed to the back of the group, terrified.
"Very well. So, which one of you has an interest of a certain type? Perhaps one for Electric?" Luna asked. Everypony else said nothing since they didn't want to be absolutely steamrolled by Luna and her Pokemon. The moon princess was getting a bit too into this. Her thirst for battle was comparable to that of the pegasi. After all, she tends to get very competitive over the smallest of things. Doesn't matter what. Celestia realized that the foals wouldn't stand a chance against Luna at all so it was probably best to not scar anymore of them. So instead, Celestia will have a go.
"I'll gladly give it a go." Celestia spoke as everyone turned to her.
"Sister? But you're not a student at all. Why would you possibly want to join in?"
"I may be interested in a certain type of my own. Right, Passion?" Celestia turned to her Pokemon who was sitting on her back.
"Kirlia!" She raised her arms in response.
"Psychic or Fairy."
"Both actually. But mostly Fairy." Celestia nodded.
"Are you challenging me, sister?"
"Maybe." Celestia smirked. The two alicorn sisters locked eyes with sparks of lightning clashing against each other. Everyone could see that a tension equal to that of rivals was rising.
"I think it's best that we keep our distance for this one." Hollow realized that this imminent battle might get ugly quickly due to the look in their eyes and by chance, mass destruction might occur. "Um...I suppose you two are ready?"
"Oh, I'm ready indeed. This Fairy-Type is my choice!" Luna sent out a Florges as her Fairy-Type.
"Florges!"
"Passion. Are you ready?"
"Kirlia!" The Emotion Pokemon hopped off Celestia's back, ready to go.
"I've never seen Celestia battle actually. What's she like?" Sapphire whispered.
"No idea. I actually wanna see this." Sunrise responded.
"Alright. You both seem more than ready. So I'll just let you go at it. Just please be careful princesses. Battle start!"
"Allow me to go first this time! Florges! Moonblast!" Luna stomped her hoof down.
"Flor..." The Garden Pokemon began drawing power from the moon itself all the way up in space, borrowing strength from it. "Ges!" Florges then sent a ball that was in the shape of a moon towards Passion.
"Mystical Fire!" Celestia followed suit by having her Kirlia burn away the Moonblast with blazing flames that travelled toward Florgres, hitting her directly and causing massive damage on the first go.
"Huh?!" Luna was perplexed by that. She broke through the attack so easily with that. "Fine then! Petal Blizzard!" Florgess sent magical petals that were moving with the intensity of a blizzard. They seemed to be unavoidable from the speed the petals were moving at and the area they covering.
"Passion! Teleport in front of Florgress and use Mystical Fire!" Celestia gave off an unexpected command. Passion had used her psychic prowess to teleport forward, avoiding the petals.
"What?! Florgres dodge it with haste!" Luna was surprised once more, attempting to have her Pokemon move out of the way. But it was too late. Passion was already up close and in front of Florgres. A burst of magical flames was released onto the Garden Pokemon, faster than she could set her eyes on Passion. Massive damage was dealt to Florgesa as it was enough to even make her faint. Which it did.
"Florges is unable to battle! Passion wins! Which means the victor is Princess Celestia!"
"Well done, Passion." Celestia congratulated her Pokemon who went to give her a hug. "I think Fairy-Type is definitely the one for me. But I may cycle through other types sometime if I ever have a second Pokemon of my own."
"Hmph. Lucky." Luna was a bit bitter from losing as she returned Florges. "I had no idea that you were such a skilled battler, Tia."
"I've been watching Ash and his battles for some time now. I've learned a lot from the antics that he pulls with his Pokemon."
"I see. Perhaps, another time. We have a second battle, but a proper one instead of a test run."
"Alright. If we ever get the time to do so. I'll challenge you again, Luna." Celestia nodded.
"So. Now that that's done with. Has anyone decided on what type they wanna go for now?" Hollow asked the class.
"On second thought, we'll just use whatever Pokemon type we want." Sapphire answered.
"Yeah. Monotypes are cool and all, but I don't wanna be trounced by typings that can beat me in one hit, ya know." A young colt said.
"Aw...so no one's choosing a typing?" The Ground specialist groaned.
"Sorry guys, maybe next time." Hollow patted her on the back. "But some of you do wanna be Gym leaders one day, right?"
"Definetely! I want to be a gym leader personally!" Sapphire exclaimed as a few others went on about being Gym Leaders. So monotypes weren't out of the question yet. As a result, Hollow let his friends stay behind a bit longer so that they could teach the kids more about typings. If they were going to become gym leaders, they'd have to get accustomed to a certain type. Celestia and Luna watched the lesson continue as Passion was asleep on her trainer's back.
"Sister. Do you ever wonder...how far can Pokemon really go?" Luna questioned.
"What do you mean, Luna?"
"Ever since our worlds crossed, Pokemon have continued to exceed our expectations over and over again. I'll even admit, at times they surpass us in everything we're special at. And with a Pokemon like Arceus existing, who knows what else could be waiting there."
"Luna...are you perhaps...thinking of going on a Pokemon Journey."
"Something like that. You see, I've grown fond of Pokemon battling and capturing. These months that I've experienced with Pokemon has made me realize that there are lot of little things that I have yet to do. Sister. I want to become the champion of the Equestria Pokemon League."
"Really now?" Celestia was surprised by that statement. "You're actually joining the league?"
"Mhm. I want to become the first champion of Equestria! It's a dream that I never knew that I wanted to achieve until recently. What do you think?"
"I think you should go for it. You've been gone for thousands of years ever since you were Nightmare Moon. You deserve all the enjoyment you can have. Besides, Pyrestar wouldn't mind filling in from time to time. Although, I worry we might be making her overwork despite this universe not being her own."
"Oh, thank you so much, Tia!" Luna hugged Celestia which ended up waking Passion up. "I promise I'll become the best champion in Equestria! Before anypony else!" Luna declared into the sky.
A new goal has been realized for Luna. One that has grabbed every ounce of her attention. Now it wasn't just Rainbow Dash aiming to become the champion of Equestria. Many other ponies were seeking this title, and you can bet, when the league finally begins, the best trainers in all of Equestria will come together to see who truly stands at the top of the strongest, as the journey continues.
Ponyville, the home where both Sonata and Aria live in together.
The two of them were practising their singing. They were told that if they just simply practice, they'll regain their natural singing talent back once again. But so far, it was abysmal. Their tune and harmony were off by lightyears as each time they even attempted to sing, it sounded like metal being scraped on a chalkboard constantly whilst being up close to it.
"O̶n̵e̸ ̴w̶o̶r̶l̴d̵!̴ ̸O̵n̶e̷ ̸w̷o̸r̸l̵d̴!̶ ̵N̷o̷w̸ ̶a̷n̸d̷ ̶f̵o̵r̶e̶v̷e̸r̴!̴"̵ Sonataa sung horribly. "No good. Didn't even sound it like it improved at all." Sonata sighed, sitting on the bed.
"Whoever said that practice makes perfect is the worst." Aria groaned as she laid on her back. "I don't get it. How come our voices won't develop no matter what we do?"
"I don't know...But I really wanna sing some songs already without having to hate the sound of my own voice." Sonata bit the pillow. That's when it hit her. The one way they could possibly get their talent back. "That's it!" She jolted up from the bed.
"What?" Aria asked.
"Why don't we just find a Pokemon that's all about singing and learn from them. I mean, they do say that Pokemon can do anything, can't they? And there's that Pokemon that can make you do things much better! What was it called again? V-Viplini?"
"Victini. And yeah, you've got a good point. There's a Pokemon for everything apparently. But do you really think it'll work?"
"It has to. Come on! Let's get our talent back! And I know exactly where we can start!"
Where did they start? At the Pokemon House. Which has the most amount of Pokemon of various types living there with Fluttershy. There's a Pokemon that can do specific things that exist there, so there at least has to be a Pokemon all about singing.
"Singing?" said Fluttershy who was beside her Audino, caring for an injured Shellos.
"Mhm! You've got a Pokemon that's an expert at singing, doncha?" Sonata nudged Fluttershy.
"Hmm. Certain Pokemon here know the move sing. It's the most common song move. Maybe they can teach you."
"That's great! Which ones are they?" Sonata got up in Fluttershy's face, making her pull back.
"Um. The Pokemon here that have it are Marill, Gossifleur, Delcatty and Chingling. Oh and also Chimecho." Fluttershy listed the Pokemon here that knew the move. There is a pretty large amount of them considering that they're fairly common Pokemon. "But, I've never actually heard them sing a full melody before. Usually, it's a soothing song that puts others to sleep."
"A song is a song no matter what. We've hit the jackpot, Aria!"
"We'd better have. Practising at home with that sound is horrible."
Fluttershy called for the Pokemon that could learn sing, gathering them around. Each of these Pokemon had their own unique melody that they could perform and the sirens were hoping that they could learn a lot from any of them. The Delcatty and Gossifleur looked promising to them anyway.
"Here they are. You can let them sing at any moment."
"Alright. Uh...that one!" Sonata pointed her hoof at Gossifleur. "That one can teach us!"
"Oh, Gossifleur. Alright. Gossifleur. Use Sing." Fluttershy commanded.
"Gossi." The Flowering Pokemon made the first melody. Its singing voice was as expected, beautiful. However, the one thing they didn't take into account is that 95% of the time, Sing is mostly used for one thing. To put others to sleep. And it did just that. Sonata and Aria were already feeling drowsy with their hooves feeling weak and wobbly.
"Oh, that's...beautiful..." Sonata silently spoke, falling flat on the ground, snoring.
"Not bad..." Aria did the same, falling on top of her siren sister.
"Oops. I guess that's to be expected." Fluttershy giggled. Her Audino picked the two of them up, placing them near a more comfortable spot to rest. Looking at the two she realized how difficult it must be unable to sing anymore, despite that being their speciality. It made her think about a scenario where everypony could no longer do what they're special at. As a result, Fluttershy felt sorry for the two of them and wished that they would get their singing back eventually.
The two of them at the moment could only dream about singing once again. All they ever dream about at night nowadays. Sonata mumbled in her sleep as she started to bite Aria's tail. Turns out there are other things they dream about rather than singing.
"Maybe...I can teach them!" Fluttershy's newest idea just struck her mind. She was great as singing...so...she could help the two of them by practising. It sounded like it would be effective anyway. Once they wake up, Fluttershy will do her best to work her magic and transform them into the amazing singers they once were.
Time had passed. 2 hours actually. The Sing from Gossifleur was that potent. Sonata had woken up, tasting Aria's tail. She rubbed her tongue, letting out a loud yawn as she felt refreshed. "What a nap. Don't know how that happened though...Right, Aria?"
"Hm?" Aria awoke as she felt something wet on her tail. "Yeah...what's going on again?"
"Morning you two. Hope you had a wonderful rest because I've figured out a way to bring back your singing!" exclaimed Fluttershy.
"You have?" Both of them rubbed their eyes, paying close attention to what she had to say.
"That's right. I'll give you singing lessons. That's a sure-fire way to get your singing back to its best. But, I assume you two have already had singing lessons before."
"....Uhh...not really." said Sonata which surprised Fluttershy. "Honestly, we never trained for our singing. We were just born with amazing singing talents."
"Yeah. So we don't even have a clue on how to practice." Aria spoke. It was true. They didn't need to work for their talent, they had it from the very beginning. It was no wonder that they sounded abysmal when singing back at their home.
"That's perfect! That just means that I can really teach you the basics!" Fluttershy clapped her hooves together. "We can get started right away!"
"You think it'll work?" Aria turned to Sonata.
"She sounded pretty good when she sang that Pokemon song with everypony else. So yeah. Maybe." Sonata shrugged.
"First, let's try some breathing. It helps control the pitch and duration of your singing. The best way to start off is by opening your throat for a while. Oh, Loudred! Could you come here please!" Fluttershy called for the Big Voice Pokemon which was pretty skilled in sound itself but in a different way. "Follow the movements of me and Loudred over here."
"Alright." The two of them said in unison. The practice began as they mimicked what the two were performing. Deep breathing. Not only that, but a Mime Jr. was even following along, just for fun and to perfect its mimicry skills. It started off small with simple inhaling and exhaling. Sonata puffed her cheeks, inhaling a bit too much actually and this ended up influencing Mime Jr., who was actually feeling Sonata's vibe on a usual Psychic level. Aria, however, she seemed to be thinking too much into it. She believed that if she breathed in and out rapidly, it would accelerate the process. Clearly, these two are complete rookies when it comes to practising.
"Um...okay...I guess that's a good start." Fluttershy uttered. "Let's try some simple humming. Anypony can hum no matter what. Try it."
"Humming? No problemo!" Sonata cleared her throat as she attempted to perform a beautiful hum. "H̶̗̿u̴͇̍ṷ̷͗u̷̟̔m̵͇͊m̶̨̀m̸͎̽" It was just horrible to listen too. The sound was so abominable, so repulsive that it affected every Pokemon and animal in the Pokemon House and the entire cottage. But the one who took the most punishment from this was Audino. It was a moment like this where she wished she didn't have such amazing hearing. It didn't help that Mime Jr. did the same. This caused Audino to faint.
"Audi...no..."
"Ah! Audi!" Fluttershy gasped, glancing at her fainted partner.
"Nice going, Sonata. You killed it." Aria said.
"I-It's fine. Practice makes perfect after all." Fluttershy nervously chuckled. "Let's try the same for you Aria."
"Got it. This'll be a cinch." Aria's turn was up. And how was she compared to Sonata? Not any better. Audino got back up, luckily recovering from that terrible sound. But once Aria let out something, she was hit again." H̸u̵u̴u̵m̴m̶m̸m̶m̵." Once again, Audino fainted from the torturous sound.
"Cinch, huh?" Sonata giggled.
"Ugh. Whatever. Shy pony. What are we even doing wrong?"
"Well, I think it might be that um...you're trying a bit too hard to sound like a professional," Fluttershy replied. "I think it's better if you take it easy. Take it easy and don't try to rush it."
"Take it easy, huh? Alright..." Sonata took Fluttershy's suggestion, starting to sing at a more calm rate instead of rushing it. With that, she let out a hum that actually sounded somewhat decent, but not that great. But it was a start. And it was slightly less torturous to Audino this time. "How's that?"
"That's good. It actually sounded decent!" Fluttershy clapped her hooves.
"Really?" Aria held her own throat as she did the same. The two sisters were finally getting somewhere. "Huh...would you look at that... I felt some change there."
"Mhm! Now, try it continuously and you'll get there." So what's they did. The two sisters began humming constantly at a slow pace. A significant change could be felt in their voices as time passed on. 3 hours actually. Their singing was actually improving. Right now they should be at least above average in terms of skills. Probably enough to sing a low pitched song at best. "Alright. I think you've reached a good spot right now. Let's try singing a song now. Repeat after me. Everybody wants to be a master.."
"Everybody wants to be a master..." Both Sonata and Aria followed along with their newfound singing talent.
"Everybody wants to show their skills. Everybody wants to get there faster, make their way to the top of the hill." Fluttershy continued as did the two sisters. Soon as the singing continued, it was actually grabbing the attention of other Pokemon. But in a good way this time. Mostly because Fluttershy sounded the best out of all of them.
"Hey...I can actually feel it." Sonata began rocking her head back and forth slowly, feeling the rhythm and melody coming back to her. But that's when she took things overboard. Her enthusiasm was something to be admired but it was definitely something that didn't work with her current singing level. And just like that, she started to raise her voice, singing a not so great melody that caused the Pokemon, Fluttershy and eve Aria to wince. But from the look on her face, she was getting into it. "Oops sorry." She squeed, realizing she went a bit overboard.
"Well. At least you two have gotten somewhere. Just keep practising and you'll get there."
"Right. Thanks so much, Fluttershy!" Sonata shook Fluttershy's hoof with her own which ended up making the pegasi shake about. But before the two could call it a day, something unexpected occurred. Fluttershy could see it herself and it took her by surprise. Aria and Sonata were growing horns. It seems that from the singing they were performing, small unicorn horns were beginning to form on them. A sign that once they retain their singing, they might be transformed into unicorns. "I'm starving! Let's head home and chow down Aria!"
"Sure. My throats a little dry from all that humming though." The two sisters made their way off, but Fluttershy didn't even tell them what she saw. She was too taken aback by the sudden horn growth. It was unnatural to her. She's never seen it happen once before to anypony. Not in that way at least.
"Oh, my. You think that they're meant to be unicorns instead of earth ponies, Audi?"
"Audino." Audino didn't know.
"We'll have to wait and see then. But I wish the two of them best of luck."
One day, the two siren sisters will improve greatly and retain their amazing singing talent. But that day is not today. But practice makes perfect after all. And one day, they're hoping to get their older sister back to them in hopes of snapping her out of her crazy revenge journey. But all of that will have to wait as the journey continues.
Rarity was coming by with her friends since they were told that an important figure from the Pokemon World had a request. He was a previous customer of Rarity after arriving at her boutique in Kalos one day. Baron Alberto. He had a second request for Rarity and she couldn't turn it down.
"You're really moving up in the Pokemon world Rarity. At least in fashion." Twilight said.
"I know. I'm surprised myself. Who knew Pokemon fashion was so acceptable in various ways. I barely even have to give it my all most of the time." Rarity replied. "Very soon, I'll probably have to-" Rarity's words were halted as she froze for a second. Her friends bumped into her, curious as to why she's stopped.
"What's wrong, Rarity?" Fluttershy asked.
"T-T-T-Tha? HAH?!" What Rarity saw shocked her. Over at the distance near the fountain. There were her good friends Ash and Pikachu as always, but. Alongside him was Prince Blueblood. The one pony that Rarity has a great disdain for. And right now, they were talking to each other. Like friends. Rarity was greatly confused. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. "How is that even possible?"
"Oh? That? That's just Ash talking to Prince Blueblood. What's the big-" Twilight spoke but Rarity had already dashed over to them, wanting answers.
"Oh, hey Rarity." Ash greeted her.
"Pi-Pika!"
"Hello, Ash. Good to see you as always. I just have one question to ask at the moment. Why are you with him?!" She jolted at Prince Blueblood who jolted back in shock.
"Who? Blueblood? We're just hanging out."
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded.
"But...how? How can someone like you hang around with a pony like him?!" Rarity at the moment was feeling a bit pent up due to her first and last experience with Prince Blueblood.
"She terrifies me!" Blueblood hid behind Ash.
"Now, now Rarity. Let's calm down before ya go breaking something." Applejack pulled her back.
"I guess you two don't get along too well?" Ash said.
"Not even in the slightest! I haven't forgotten what happened at my first Grand-Galloping Gala. You treated me like some board you could walk on! A piece of paper to wipe away any mess that you didn't even think about cleaning up yourself!"
"Um...apologies?" Blueblood squeed.
"Ash. How could you become friends with him? I need answers!"
"Guess you aren't' on good terms. Alright. I can tell you what happened. It all started this morning..." Ash began to tell the story of how he and Blueblood became surprisingly good friends.
Flashback sequence. Morning at Canterlot.
Ash came through a gateway he managed to find that actually led to Canterlot. He found it right near Pewter City which was the gateway to Canterlot. Either the gateways were starting to move again or its always been here in the first place.
"Oh, so Pewter City leads to Canterlot, huh? Nice."
"Pika-Pika."
"Makes travelling, easier don't you think buddy?"
"Pika!"
"Ash. Just the one I wanted to see." Celestia spotted Ash and Pikachu right next to the gateway.
"Yo, Celestia. What did you want to see me for?"
"Pika-ka?" Pikachu said Celestia in his natural Pokemon language.
"Well. I was wondering if you could help out a certain family member of mine. My nephew. Blueblood."
"Nephew? Sure. I can help out. What do you need me to help him with?"
"Just like everypony else, even he's taken an interest in Pokemon. Which surprised me. Considering how he acts, I would expect Pokemon to be the last thing on his mind. So I am positive that you can help him catch a Pokemon of his own. I hope he doesn't become too troublesome for you."
"No problem. You can count on me, Celestia!" Ash gave off a proud grin.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu raised his arms up in confidence.
"Excellent. Luna, Pyrestar and I will be occupied with royal duties for the time being. I'll leave everything up to you." Celestia walked off, leaving Ash to Blueblood. Where was her nephew exactly?
Blueblood was just casually walking about Canterlot Castle, having his usual snobbish attitude lingering across the room. The sheer aura of his personality could be felt everywhere. The guards kept a straight face as always but deep inside, they couldn't stand this guy being here at all. He was patiently waiting for the one who would help him with his Pokemon request. What he was expecting was somepony from his family at least. What he wasn't expecting was Ash who came walking up to him.
"Oh, hey. You're Blueblood right?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"Prince Blueblood to you. And you are...?"
"The guy who's gonna help you catch a Pokemon. My name's Ash. And this is my partner Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
"Hm? You're that Ash Ketchum human that my auntie and the rest of Equestria continues to talk about?" Blueblood was shocked. This was the legendary Ash Ketchum who was deemed a hero? "Hmm..." Blueblood took a moment to examine Ash carefully. "Well. You don't seem too unreliable. You actually seem somewhat impressive. And I will admit, that blue colour does fit surprisingly well on you. Are you by chance a prince yourself?"
"Me, a prince? Nah." Ash shook his head.
"No prince? How about a duke?"
"Nope."
"Count?"
"Nah."
"Marquess?"
"No idea what that it is."
"At least an Archduke?"
"Pika." Pikachu shook his head.
"You have no status of royalty?! None at all?!" Blueblood wasn't liking what he was hearing. He feared that he was to be helped by commonfolk according to him.
"Well..." Ash dug deep in his memories. "I'm King of the Sea and a battle baron. Is that cool?"
"King?! My apologies." Blueblood suddenly bowed his head. "If I had known you were a king, I would have lowered my head minutes ago. Forgive me, King Ash Ketchum.
"Uh...no problem." Ash laughed. "But you don't have to call me King."
"Pika..."
"But I must. You have the highest status out of all of us. Even my aunt is not of a higher status than a Princess. She hasn't even been crowned queen yet. If I am to catch a Pokemon of my own, I must at least show respect to one of a higher status than a pony such as myself. Mother said so anyways."
"Alright, I guess. So, you want a Pokemon of your own, huh?"
"Of course. After seeing how this Pokemon phenomenon has taken all of Equestria by storm, I at first believed that only common folk and peasants would be interested in these magical creatures. But, after seeing my aunt and her sister own Pokemon of their own and even seeing my own parents have their own Pokemon, I realized that I, Prince Blueblood must obtain a Pokemon as well. A special one even. One that speaks to me. I require a Pokemon that nopony else owns."
"Oh. Really? Well, that's not too difficult. There's a Pokemon for everyone, ya know."
"Pikachu!"
"Wonderful. King Ash. Escort me to the Pokemon that I deserve." Blueblood bowed.
"Sure thing. And I know just where to start."
Where did they start? The Pokemon World actually. Ash thought that heading to Pewter City would be a good start since it was the closest gateway here. Plus, Kanto recently has had some new Pokemon from other regions that have come over to either migrate or reside here.
"Here we are. Pewter City! I wonder if Brock's around today."
"...This...is the human world?" This was Blueblood's first time here and he had no idea what to think. On one hoof, it looked unimpressive, nothing compared to the castle he lives in and they even resemble that of Manehattan except they're slightly better looking. But on the other hoof, he actually admired the stunning view of it. Pewter City had gone through some changes over the years and its appearance was a bit cosy-looking to Blueblood. "How bizarre. It reeks of peasantry yet its somehow so rich."
"No idea what that means, but let's get searching."
"Hey! Ash!" A familiar voice called to him. It wasn't Brock, but instead, one of his siblings. Forrest. Actually, they were all here, Forrest was just leading the group. They each looked like they've grown over the years.
"Oh, hey! Brock's siblings! How have you guys been?"
"Pikachu?"
"We've been great!" said Cindy, the oldest girl of the group.
"Look how much we've grown!" Salvadore flexed his muscles, but nothing was really impressive.
"You've all grown a lot! Now you're really starting to look like Brock when I first met him. By the way, is he here?"
"Brock comes by from time to time being a Pokemon Breeder and all but he also goes places as well. But he also keeps on talking about some grey pony who he's apparently hanging out with a lot lately." Forrest answered.
"Oh, you mean Maud? Guess they're getting along well."
"Oh! A pony!" Suzie, one of the youngest of the family noticed Blueblood who wasn't even paying attention. Blueblood was yawning, waiting for this chat to be over already. But what he didn't see coming was Suzie grabbing a hold of his horn all of a sudden. "A real pony!"
"Hm? AH! What is she doing?!" Blueblood gasped at the sudden grab.
"Hey! Suzie!" Cindy pulled her younger sister back. "So sorry about that."
"Hmph! My delicate horn has been soiled by a lowly child's hands!" Blueblood got out a napkin he always carries with him, attempting rid his horn of Suzie's touch. "But, I suppose it is to be expected. Children will be children after all."
"Nevermind..." Cindy took back her apology, already not a fan of Blueblood's attitude.
"King Ash. May we please move on already and obtain my first Pokemon?"
"Alright, sure. Sorry, guys. I gotta help Blueblood here catch a Pokemon. See ya!" Ash waved goodbye to Brock's siblings, leading Blueblood to the first place to catch some Pokemon. Viridian Forest.
Viridian Forest still looked like its old self as usual. Being here just took Ash back to when he first ventured through Viridian Forest.
"Are you sure that the Pokemon for me can be found in a forest as...dry as this? The atmosphere here is simply toxic for my well-preserved royal body."
"Of course it is. And you seem to be pretty focused on royalty, ya know."
"But of course. Maintaining your royal status is of the utmost importance. It helps to separate the royalty from the commoners. Wouldn't you agree, King Ash?"
"Nah. Not really."
"What?!" Blueblood stopped in his tracks, bumping his head on a tree. "But you are a king! And a baron at the same time!"
"Yeah, but even with that title, I don't wanna go around saying that I'm King of the Sea all the time. I don't even want to go around saying I'm champion and stuff even if I'm happy to be one."
"I simply cannot believe what I am hearing. You're... humble." Blueblood winced at saying the word 'Humble'. "Treating yourself as equal to those that rank below you. What can you even benefit from that."
"There's a lot to benefit from it, ya know. You get to hang out with anyone and have tons of fun! Who cares if they're more important than you!" Ash laughed.
"Pikachu-Pika!" so did Pikachu.
"You get what I mean, right Blueblood?"
"Hmph. Absolutely not. That would just lower me to their level. I will never accept that, ever." Blueblood was stubborn, denying any possibility of what Ash just said. "My mother taught and told me that your status is what matters the most. Establishing your ranking among others helps to create a sense of power that can be respected."
After listening to what Blueblood had to say, Ash felt like he had heard this somewhere before. Or at least, something similar to it but less wordy and detailed. Ash has actually come across a few people like Blueblood in the past but on a slightly less extreme level. Then it hit Ash. What Celestia said about Blueblood's personality and how Blueblood acts made Ash realize what was really going on. And he also realized why Blueblood actually wants a Pokemon, especially one that nopony else owns. From what Ash could immediately tell, Blueblood was afraid of being left out.
"Blueblood. Are you...afraid of being alone?"
"Pika?"
"Hm? Me?!" Blueblood pulled back. "Ridiculous! I am accepted by many ponies back home and to an extent most of Equestria. I am never alone. Not even for a second. Why would I ever be afraid of something that has no effect on me?" He denied it completely.
"Then why did you want to catch a Pokemon in the first place? It can't be because you've taken an interest in them."
"Pikachu."
"I-I have taken an interest in them. 100%!"
"In that case...try catching that Weedle over there." Ash pointed at a Weedle who was moving along.
"That? Oh no, no. I can't catch a worm. It doesn't speak to me." Blueblood turned his head.
"How about that Butterfree over there?" Ash pointed at a Butterfree flying in the air.
"Butterflies are beautiful and all. But it still does not match my status."
"Well...what Pokemon do you want even?"
"Pika-Pikachu?"
"What Pokemon do I want? I've already said it before, King Ash. I want a Pokemon that nopony else owns. A one of a kind. Unseen before. A rarity of a Pokemon even. That is the Pokemon that I desire."
"Are you sure that's just the reason why?"
"Hm?"
"Maybe you want to catch a Pokemon because you feel left out from everyone else."
"Ridiculous! I do not feel left out!" Blueblood shook his head but Ash could see right through him. This wasn't his first experience with someone like him. "I am the nephew to Princess Celestia. The highest-ranking pony of all of Equestria. My status is already grand because of that family bloodline."
"It's cool." He nodded his head. "I get the feeling of wanting good things for yourself. Having something that no one else has is a pretty great feeling and everything else. But having something unique so that everyone can love you won't help. Celestia loves you because you're her nephew. Your family. She doesn't care if you and she are royalty and stuff. She loves you either way. You can still be pretty important but it's better to build up your own status than just going off someone else's. If that makes sense, ya know."
"That..." Blueblood was about to rebuttal but everything that Ash said was 100% true. Blueblood's status was only important because he sought out for that status and was assisted by his mother to do so. Blueblood was afraid of being stepped on by others, being at the will of somepony else. That is why he constantly brags about his status over and over again and why he steps on others. So that he can feel powerful and have somepony else against his will. And he was also afraid of being left out by everypony else. He feared that he would become a grey blur. One that nopony would ever even remember for years to come. So his status as a prince and as Celestia's nephew is what he clings onto. Because it's the only thing keeping his presence known. "I do not have to listen to this at all. I shall catch a special Pokemon of my own, thank you very much. If you wouldn't mind. I will also require those items known as Pokeballs in order to do so."
"Whatever you say." Ash got out a Pokeball, tossing it to Blueblood who caught it with his magic.
"Observe." Blueblood made his way through Viridian Forest, feeling confident in himself. But despite that, what Ash said was lingering in his head. The words he said to him actually made him reminisce what his mother told him once. She once told him that if he can have all the social status in the world if he continues to remember that he is a prince and potentially the next in line to the throne one day. Clinging onto Celestia's fame is what mattered to him the most. But he couldn't really back anything else up. That's all he had going for him. He was just Celestia's nephew and some prince. He continued to walk about with Ash following from behind, but so far all he could see were Bug-Types galore. Bugs, bugs, bugs, bugs everywhere. "Is it nothing but bugs?!"
"Nope. There's also Flying-Types." Ash pointed over at Pidgey sitting on a tree.
"But that is just an average bird! There isn't any special Pokemon here at all! None t-" Just before Blueblood could finish his sentence, he spotted something new. Something that grabbed his attention. It was a Caterpie but...it was a Shiny Caterpie. "What...is that?"
"That? That's a Shiny Caterpie."
"Pikachu.
Blueblood gazed at the Caterpie seeing its golden colours. Ash said that they were Shiny...the Caterpie was gold...so to Blueblood, that meant that this Caterpie was a special one. A one of a kind. "A Golden Pokemon. Perfect! It's just what I need! A Pokemon that is of gold! And Shiny according to what you've said.
"Caterpie, huh? Okay then. Go for it. Just toss the Pokeball as hard as you can."
"This will be easy." Blueblood scoffed as he used his magic to toss the Pokeball. The Shiny Caterpie turned around to see the ball approaching it. It wasn't about to let itself be captured that easily. So it responded by using String Shot to grab the Pokeball, sending it back to Blueblood by swinging it as the ball smacked him in the face. "Oof!"
"Cater!" The Worm Pokemon cried.
"I must...have that Shiny Pokemon." Blueblood took the Pokeball off his face. Ash could see that Blueblood was determined to capture that Caterpie now. The usual fire that affects everyone when they get involved with Pokemon began to show. Blueblood tossed the Pokeball forward once more as this time, it actually managed to hit Caterpie, making contact. The ball pulled the Worm Pokemon inside as Blueblood thought he had already caught it. "Could it be...?"
"Wait!" Ash halted him. "Let's see if its a guaranteed catch."
1...2...3...Failure.
Caterpire actually ended up breaking free from the Pokeball. Shiny Pokemon weren't as easy to catch as their regular variants.
"Tough break! Have another go!" Ash tossed him another Pokeball.
"Pikachu!"
"I shall and I will!" Blueblood made sure to put a ton of force into this next throw. "I shall have that Shiny Pokemon!" Blueblood used all of his might to throw the Pokeball, however, Caterpie had used String Shot to launch itself to a nearby tree. "You won't escape from me that easily!" Blueblood used his magic to control the Pokeball, manoeuvring it as it hit Caterpie, who didn't see that one coming.
"Caterpie!"
The ball began to shake once more with Caterpie inside.
1...2...3... Get!
Blueblood had officially caught a Shiny Caterpie. A Pokemon he believed to be incredibly unique. Even though there are other trainers out there with Shiny Pokemon and some have the same Shiny Caterpie. And also Shiny Caterpie's aren't really golden, they're just incredibly yellow. But shh...don't tell Blueblood. And Ash wasn't about to tell him either. He's about to have his moment. "I...I did it. I actually caught it."
"Congratulations!"
"Pikachu!"
"Yes! I have caught myself a golden Pokemon! W-What is this feeling?" It was getting to Blueblood now. The same sensation that fills everyone's body when they catch their first Pokemon. No matter who you are, it will affect you.
"That's the satisfaction of catching a Pokemon, Blueblood. Congrats. You've got yourself a Shiny Caterpie." Ash walked up to him.
"Indeed I have. Allow me to gander at my wonderful find." Blueblood released Caterpie out of its ball, getting a good look at its Shiny colours.
"Cater!"
Blueblood was proud of himself. Now he could go along and brag to everypony that he has a golden Pokemon that nopony else owns. Even if Caterpie isn't actually golden. "It's as special as it looks. Pure gold!"
"Pfft haha!" A laugh came from nearby in the forest. A trainer was passing by. "You call that special dude? That's just a Shiny Caterpie! One of the weakest Pokemon out there but yellow!" He chuckled, walking by as he just got away with taunting Blueblood. Prince Blueblood just realized that this supposed golden Caterpie was just yellow. It didn't even shine like Gold actually. The only time it did shine was when it came out of the Pokeball and that was it.
"Oh..." Blueblood sighed. "I just caught a different coloured version of a Pokemon...didn't I?" He sat down on the ground, feeling underwhelmed at his catch. "What a disappointment."
Caterpie looked up at its new and first trainer, seeing how upset he was. Whenever a Pokemon is caught, a bond between trainer and Pokemon is formed. Mostly due to the Pokemon being able to tell that the trainer is in fact dedicated to capturing it so it earns a bit of its respect. And with Caterpie generally being a weak Pokemon, it didn't want to disappoint its trainer by making it think it was just weak and nothing else. So as a response, the Worm Pokemon wriggled up on a tree, shooting String Shot at the trainer from earlier and hitting his eye.
"My eyes!" The trainer cried as he bumped his head on a tree, falling over.
"Cater."
"Hm." Blueblood chuckled a small bit at Caterpie's actions, seeing it stick up for him somewhat. "I suppose that move is somewhat useful actually."
"Caterpie!" The Worm Pokemon got off the tree, going up to Blueblood. He could see the cuteness factor to Pokemon and why everypony wanted one. Everypony wants a Pokemon of their own for a different reason. Either because they look cute, cool, smart or just made great friends and pets. That's when it hit Blueblood next. What Ash said finally made sense to him. He didn't need to have a one of a kind Pokemon to gain heaps of attention. He could actually build his own status. After all, Celestia constantly talks about Ash and Hollow and how much they help constantly and that made Blueblood realise that they've made a name for themselves, despite not even being from Equestria at all. Right now what mattered to the most to him was Caterpie, who he was starting to grow a bit fond of.
"You know...As much as it pains me to say it. You have a point, King Ash." Blueblood stood up.
"Hm?"
"Pika?"
"Perhaps I could...give it a small try. Maybe spending time with common ponies won't affect my social status among Equestria at all. I suppose there's no shame in being humble." Blueblood was willing to be humble for once. He wasn't instantly a different pony, he still clung on his social status and role as Celestia's nephew, but it was a start.
"Awesome! And now you have your very own Pokemon. You can train it and can become an awesome looking Butterfree later on, ya know."
"Cater!"
"Hm. You are an interesting one." Blueblood was now growing fond of Ash. He could admire Ash's radiating attitude. Compared to everypony else, Ash is currently the only one who's ever treated him this way. Instead of talking to him with fancy words and a high language, Ash speaks to him like he's just another pony. Normally, that wouldn't sit well with Blueblood, but Ash's personality changed that. "I thank you...Ash." He finally referred to him as just Ash.
"No problem!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
They were making their way back to Canterlot, but along the way, Blueblood stopped by Viridian City to talk to Brock's family for a while. He apologized for calling Suzie a lowly child before as he allowed the little girl to grab a hold of him this time. And the result? Surprising to him. There was a certain charm to it that Blueblood couldn't understand but he could feel. Suzie rode on his back like some sort of ride. To his surprise, it didn't feel horrible at all. It was still weird to him, but nothing he could freak out over. Soon, they returned to Canterlot, where Celestia spotted Ash and Pikachu returning with Blueblood.
"Ash. Pikachu. Welcome back. How did it go?"
"Yo, Celestia. It went well, ya know."
Pikachu!"
"Did it now?" Celestia was surprised that it went well. She was expecting some awry to occur with Blueblood there. But nothing like that happened at all. "You actually caught a Pokemon Blueblood?"
"Of course, auntie. Have a gander." He sent out his Shiny Caterpie.
"Cater!"
"Aww...It's so cute." Celestia found Caterpie to be adorable. Mostly due to its tiny little legs and cute bulbous eyes. Plus the sound it made just added to the cuteness factor. Passion hopped off Celestia's back, greeting her fellow Pokemon.
"Kirlia!"
"Caterpie!" Caterpie immediately began crushing on Passion, getting up close to her.
"Ki..?" Passion was confused as she backed up a bit.
"I'm impressed, Blueblood. I would've never taken you to be the type to bond well with somepony else so quickly."
"I'm surprised as well auntie. But Ash here made me realize what I was missing. I...still have no clue what I actually a missing, but I at least know what I want to do now other than just sitting around my room back home."
"Mhm. And I can say that I've made a new friend." Ash nodded.
"Friend?" Blueblood turned to Ash. "You see me as a friend?"
"100%! I've known guys like you before, so it wasn't that difficult." Ash laughed.
"Pikachu!"
The entire group began laughing as it seemed to be the end of that little tale. A tale on how Ash and Blueblood became surprisingly good friends.
"So, that's what happened. Blueblood here got a pretty sweet Shiny Pokemon too."
"Pikachu!"
"Talk about lightwork, huh?" Twilight said. "What do you think, Rarity?"
"I...I need a moment to clear my head. I'm struggling to believe you to be the exact same Blueblood I experienced back at the Gala." Rarity held her head.
"About that. I may have acted a bit..parvenu back then. I sincerely apologize, miss Rarity." Blueblood finally apologized to Rarity and it only took a year from the looks of it. Rarity could tell that the apology was indeed sincere and honest. She was still a bit upset about what happened back there, but she couldn't let it fuel her spite any longer.
"Hmmrgh...Apology accepted. But I am still upset."
"Fair enough." Blueblood squeed.
"Rarity. Your dress for that Baron guy." Pinkie reminded her.
"Oh! You're right!" Rarity couldn't afford to waste any more time. That entire flashback had crunched up all the time for the day so she had to get a move on.
"Next time Ash. Could you teach me how to perform in a Pokemon battle?" Blueblood requested.
"Sure thing! That's the one I'm super pumped to teach you about!"
"Pikachu!"
A new friendship was formed today. An unexpected one even. Prince Blueblood has now gained a newfound passion for Pokemon. One that everypony shares even. But that no longer bothered him. As his current quest to understand everypony else instead of thinking of himself begins, the various bonds formed between every form of species in the world continues to expand even further, as the journey continues.
Today's the day. The humans had once visited the pony world. It's time for a switch. The day the ponies finally get to experience the Pokemon World at its fullest. Instead of just randomly finding themselves in the Pokemon world via gateway placements, they are now going to experience, sightsee and do whatever they can for as long as they want.
"Today's the day, Spike!" Twilight exclaimed, slamming her hooves on the table. "We're finally ready to really get a good feel of the Pokemon world. No more going back and forth constantly, this is the real deal!"
"Real deal is right." Spike nodded. "But...where do we go first?"
"Thought you might say that. That's why I have these!" Twilight showed off some maps to other regions. "I was only able to get a few maps but the ones I got are great choices. We can either go to Sinnoh, Hoenn good old fun Unova or even Ash's home in Kanto. So many choices and cities to see!"
"Why don't we just go to wherever?" Spike suggested.
"That won't do. I want to really get a good feel of one region before I head to the next. It's gonna be a blast! Right, you two?" She turned to her Pokemon.
"Espeon!"
"Minccino!"
"I know everypony in Ponyville, Canterlot and all over Equestria are excited for this. No doubt about it. We're going to have so much fun!" Twilight was clearly ecstatic. But who wasn't? They were about to visit the world where their Pokemon originate from to the fullest.
"Vulpix..." The Vulpix in the lab was worried that she was going to be left behind whilst everyone is gone. The Fox Pokemon sat down, lowering her head.
"Don't worry Vulpix. You won't be alone." Twilight walked up to her.
"Vul?"
"Do you want to come along with us? Or you can go over to the PokePark." Twilight suggested, giving her two options.
"Vul. Vulpix!" Vulpix immediately chose the first one. She had gained a liking to Twilight so that was her obvious choice that she couldn't refuse. The Fox Pokemon hopped off the ground, jumping on Twilight's head. "Vulpix!"
"Then it's settled. Let's get going!" Twilight had everything set to go. All the essentials needed in her saddlebag. The same for everypony else.
"We're going to visit the Pokemon World to the fullest!" The CMC bellowed, pumped up for this.
"Alright, you three. Save your energy for when we get there. Actually...where are we starting?" Rarity wondered.
"That Sinnoh place sounds super fun! Let's go there first!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle.
"Nuh-uh! Hoenn sounds the best. Let's go to Hoenn!" shouted Apple Bloom.
"I have a better idea. Why don't we just explore Unova again but all of it this time!" suggested Scootaloo.
"We'll just have to see where we head off too, first." Applejack walked up to them. "Besides. Most of everypony is going, so it's gonna be all over the place."
"One thing's for sure. There won't be a single dull moment there," said Rarity. She was the most excited to go to the world for the contests. Sweetie Belle was a newcomer coordinator so she wanted to support her sister and make sure she wins this. "I know every moment will be an adrenaline rush for me."
"What are we waiting for! Let's get a move on already! Maud's already got a head start and we can't miss it!" Pinkie was raring to go.
"Not yet. Not everypony's here, Pinkie. Twilight and the others are still getting ready." Just as AJ said that they had arrived. Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were all here. "Now they're all here."
"Is everypony ready? We could be at the Pokemon World for weeks if we get too into it. Which we might." Twilight asked.
"Ready!" They all replied.
"Then let's get a move on! Which region do you think we should all go to first?" Twilight pulled out the map as they all began making their way to the Pokemon World. "The closest one is Pallet Town since it connects to Ponyville. That'll take us straight to the start of Kanto according to this map anyways." Twilight was looking at the map of Kanto.
"Well, I was thinking we start wherever. We wall want to see certain parts of the Pokemon world individually, don't we?" Fluttershy replied.
"Good point. Think we should split up in groups?" Twilight responded.
"If we do, us two will stay with these three so that nothing goes wrong." Applejack was referring to her, the CMC and Rarity. "Just in case."
"Jade and I will go together! We might meet Maud along the way," said Pinkie.
"Then it's Spike, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy for me." Twilight chose her group.
"We'll start at Sinnoh." Rarity's group had made a decision on which region to start with.
"Hoenn for us!" Pinkie's group was going for Hoenn.
"Then for us, it's going to be Unova. We'll meet each other back here. Or we might just end up bumping into each other. These gateways can be unpredictable sometimes."
"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Pinkie already got a head start with jade who let out a small 'woohoo. Soon, everypony in Ponyville and all of Equestria had gone off to different regions across the world. And each of them will have their own experience.
First, was Sinnoh.
The first region to ever exist and the home of some of the most powerful Pokemon ever. But they weren't here to know about that. They were here to have fun. Their first location in Sinnoh was Lilypad Town. The town of balmy breezes. Here, a Pokemon contest could be held. Just what Rarity needed to get her younger sister ready. And there was the contest hall.
"Here we are. Our first location. And what a great first choice we made."Rarity commented, getting a good look at Lilypad Town. Multiple ponies were here, some even familiar faces.
"Let's get to my contest already! This is gonna be my first one too!" Sweetie Belle was getting all giddy.
"I'll pass on contests. I've got something else in mind." Scootaloo smirked. She's here for one reason. And that answer might be hinted by the heaps of Pokeballs in her saddlebag. "You three have your fun. I'll have mine." Scootaloo scooted on over to partake in her own way of fun.
"Don't worry. She won't get far. Now, hurry. Those contest halls may not be open forever." Rarity made sure to get them to the Lilypad Contest halls as quickly as they could. People were already lining up to see the next contests. The line was long as it seemed to be a big contest today. Maybe between two popular coordinators who are about to go at it. But, despite all of this. Despite everypony being excited to finally get a good grasp of the Pokemon world, there's always one thing that lurks in the shadows, ready to topple it all. That shadow was in the form of Adagio.
Adagio had figured that it was time to really bring everything down for Twilight. And this time, she thought that instead of going for Twilight only over and over again, why not start with some of her friends and build up from there. Her first target was Rarity's group. And she had everything she needed to crush their fun. Her magic was perfect for creating negativity and with a crowd of people and ponies this huge, it's a goldmine for her.
The group had entered the Lilypad contest hall. Sweetie Belle was instructed to head to the waiting room to prepare herself. After that, she'll have to enter the performance stage. Luckily, since the Pokemon Contests keep records of every coordinator, old or new, they can tell what level each of them are on. So Sweetie Belle at the moment is at the lowest level, Normal Rank and she'll have to start up from there if she wishes to become a top coordinator.
"You've already decided on your Pokemon, haven't you Sweetie Belle?" Rarity asked her sister who was in the changing room.
"Uh-huh! I'm going for Espurr! I figured that the Beautiful category of moves is for me! Plus, Psychic-Types are just better at being flashy!" She exited the room with her Espurr. She had on a dress specifically made by Rarity who was anticipating this day. "I'm ready! When can I go out to the performance stage?"
"Please wait for a while The current contest is still ongoing. It should be over in 7 minutes." The worker lady answered. Now, they just have to wait. Whilst they wait, Scootaloo was wandering Lilypad for one reason. To train her Pokemon. Her first Gym Battle is one she wants to exceed at the first go, so she needs to train up her Pokemon so that they're ready for this. And she figured she'd find some Pokemon to challenge or at least some trainers.
"Where to start...?" As Scootaloo was walking along, she was heading out further from Lilypad, eventually reaching the outskirts. But wild Pokemon are there so that's a good thing for her actually. She ended up bumping into something that she didn't see in front of her. "Ow!" Holding her head from the impact, she looked up to see what it was that she bumped in to. What it was looked like some sort of Colosseum. In fact, this was the Lilypad Colosseum. A place where successful trainers in the Sinnoh Region's ancient times worked with their Pokemon to strengthen body and spirit. Past Sinnoh Champions have even come here to battle before. And Scootaloo has come across it due to her wandering. "Oooh...what is this?" Her curiosity got the better of her like it usually does. This place was enough to make her interested in entering. And thankfully, Lilypad Colosseum is a harmless area that modern-day trainers use to have small battles. But not for long. Adagio was looming behind her, going for Scootaloo first. As Scootaloo entered the Colosseum, she could see tons of damage done to it. All that damage had been caused by the constant battling done inside. Despite tons of trainers using this area for a battle, it hasn't really been tended to in centuries. So as a result, there were scratch marks, burn marks, rubble, poison and everything else from other moves that have been used here. This place truly was ancient. Scootaloo's venture continued until she came across the real stunner of the Colosseum.
The monuments of Dialga and Palkia. The guardians of Time and Space. This was her first time ever seeing these two Pokemon and she didn't even know who they were. But the sight of them was enough to make her freeze. Legends of these monuments say that trainers' wishes come true if they touch the monuments and then train their Pokemon. But she didn't know that. She was too busy gazing at it.
"This place is pretty amazing. The girls are missing out on this!"
"They won't be missing out on anything for a long time." Adagio's voice replied to Scootaloo, making her jump. The young pegasus turned around to see Adagio just standing there with her intimidating aura as always. Scootaloo realized that she was in the same room with a dangerous individual.
"You?!" Scootaloo backed up further in the Colosseum.
"You're one of those friends of Twilight Sparkle." Adagio began making her way towards Scootaloo. "If I can make you someone you're not, I can make some wonderful progress." She gave off a devious grin that was making Scootaloo cower. But the young filly realized that she had nothing to fear. She had her Pokemon with her.
"Get back!" She took out her Pokeball. "I've got my Pokemon with me!"
"Hah? Do you think I'm scared of some little mutant monster? Oh no, my little pony. Not at all." Adagio chuckled.
"We'll see!" Scootaloo sent out her Ponyta to defend her. "
"Oh, please." Adagio knew how to deal with Pokemon now after her last few experiences with them. She now saw them as a minor inconvenience. And unexpected obstacle in the way that can easily be overcome. And to do this, she sang a single melody. And this melody was what she needed to turn things around. Ponyta was unfortunately affected by this melody. And this effect that lingered around it was enough to turn the usually kind and usually loyal Ponyta bitter and negative in a second. "There we go. Now try and stop me with your pet. If you can."
"I'll show you. Ponyta! Flame Charge!" Scootaloo sounded off the command...but nothing happened. Ponyta's obedience to its trainer had been cut off by Adagio. Instead, all it could do now was deny her commands and loaf around. "Ponyta? What are you doing?"
"Pony..." The Fire Horse Pokemon paid no attention to her at all as Adagio cackled, knowing what she's done.
"Worked like a charm! They were right on saying that a Pokemon's obedience is what matters the most."
"W-What did you do to my Ponyta?!"
"What did I do? I merely took away its obedience from you. Now you're no longer capable of training it." Adagio grinned. It seems that her usual magic had been amped up. Instead of just giving negative emotions to the Pokemon, she can now cut off a trainer and Pokemon's bond completely with just a simple melody. And she knew exactly how she obtained a power like that. "Now it's just some horse. Fitting actually."
"Y-You can't just do that! That's my Pokemon!"
"Too bad. So sad. Your turn." Adagio sang another melody, this time ready to turn Scootaloo bitter. The old fashioned way. However, her other Pokemon wouldn't let this stand at all. By their own will, Pachirisu and Horsea came out of their Pokeballs to defend their trainer. Pachirisu used Discharge whilst Horsea used Bubble Beam as both attacks pushed back the melody, preventing them from making contact with Scootaloo. "Oh. There's more. How about I cut off their ties with you as well!"
"I won't let you! Pachirisu! Quick Attack!"
"Pachi!" The EleSquirrel Pokemon interrupted Adagio by moving at lightning speeds, bashing its head on hers.
"Doh! You little-" Adagio held her head in pain.
"Horsea! Bubble Beam!"
The Dragon Pokemon sent an array of bubbles that pelted Adagio. They didn't hurt her, but boy, were they annoying with the constant popping and pelting. Adagio realized that this was just getting ridiculous. So as a response. She let out a melody that echoed throughout the Colosseum. This melody had green waves around it that hit both the Pokemon and Scootaloo. Now she had been hit with all that negativity.
"Finally. That's enough of that annoyance." Adagio brushed off the dirt and water that was on her. "Have fun with your little trip~!" Adagio taunted, knowing that she's started something that's going to cause a mass chain reaction.
This simple visit to the Pokemon world was being threatened. Adagio was carefully placing seeds of chaos that would spread slowly across the land. Each time she lets out a melody, she can influence anypony, human or Pokemon to either become bitter or even disobedient to their own trainers. And this doesn't spell good news for the rest of Twilight's friends. Who were completely unaware of what was looming over them.
Adagio Dazzle was now on the move. Her presence was kept hidden, hiding in secrecy so that nopony spots her. If she's going to get her revenge on Twilight, she's going to have to influence her friends first. And she's already made a glaring start by going for Scootaloo first. She managed to not only turn Scootaloo bitter but even caused her Pokemon to become disobedient. A new trick that she picked up. Currently, her being a threat is even more dangerous than it already was. But at the moment, everypony else other than Scootaloo wasn't even aware of this. So they continued to just have fun.
With Sweetie Belle she was about to participate in her first official Pokemon Contest. She's had her practices before in the past, learning some pretty nifty tricks with her Pokemon. But now it was time to really show her stuff in the introduction round. Granted, this is the Normal Rank, the lowest of the low, so this is a beginners performance. Her opposing coordinator was the same. And to her surprise, it was a pony as well. A young orange-skinned, velvet-haired filly pegasus by the name of Velvetwind. Both will have to show off their best appeals by taking a few turns. A visual-based round. The judges present today were the usual trio. The Nurse Joy of Lilypad Town's Pokemon Center, Mr Contesta and Mr Sukizo. First up was Velvetwind. Since this was for the younger contestants, the only crowd members here were mostly parents. Not that crowded actually. About 19 people here with her parents, Rarity, Applejack and Apple Bloom being the only few ponies here.
"Now that the major contest has come to a close, we can focus on our junior Pokemon contests!" announced the Announcer. "First up is Contestant Velvetwind who hails from Trottingham!" She introduced the newcomer pony who was ready to go at it. Her parents were in the seats, cheering her on from a distance. "And her opposing contestant, hailing from Ponyville is Contestant Sweetie Belle!"
"Massive professional contests are fun, but it's always nice to watch simple and laid-back contests between new coordinators from time to time." Mr Contesta commented.
"Indeed. Seeing the juniors compete makes me wish I was young again." Nurse Joy sighed, dreaming of the earlier days. "Ah, youth. If I could, I would go through the juniors division and move onwards over the years."
"Not too late to try. You're pretty young still aren't you Nurse Joy?" Mr Sukizo said to her. "Are you possibly the youngest of your massive family?"
"Oh, not really. All of my siblings were born on the exact same day. I'm younger than most 15 of my sisters by 12 minutes at best." Joy laughed, revealing more of her unusual family.
"Now! Both contestants may begin! First is Contestant Velvetwind!"
The young pegasi walked up to the stage with her Pokemon beside her. A Drifloon. Her motif and category of choice was the Cute category. "Watch me, mum and dad!" Velvet waved over to her parents who waved back. Since her Drifloon was chosen to partake in the cute category and it was a generally cute-looking Pokemon to many, she chose some simple but effective moves for this. Her talent round had begun. Time to show off how cute her Drifloon is despite being a Ghost-Type. "Drifloon! Use Sunny Day, Icy Wind and then Attract!" Her choice of appeal was having Drifloon summon up a Sunny Day by bellowing into the air. Dazzling bright sunlight beamed through the contest halls, shining down on Drifloon like a spotlight. The Balloon Pokemon then generated a cold wind of ice that swirled around the sunlight, spiralling. And as a finishing touch, Drifloon used Attract, creating a heart-shaped projectile that was in the middle of the sunlight and spinning ice.
"Oh! Have a look at that!" Joy stood up from her seat. She was loving the way Velvetwind's move combination appeal looked by giving her vote instantly. 8 points from her. The other two judges were impressed by giving 7 points in total.
"Attract in the middle is a good call." Mr Contesta nodded. "That's what I call cute for sure.
"Now. Can we please see the appeal of the next contestant?" Mr Sukizo called for Sweetie Belle next.
"Oh! That's me!" Sweetie Belle perked up. Her turn was up and she had to find a way to impress the judges more than Velvetwind did. And she did have something in store thanks to all her practising with her Pokemon. Rarity was watching from the seats, cheering her younger sister on along with the rest of her friends.
"Good luck, Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom bellowed from the crowd.
It's showtime. Sweetie Belle sent her Espurr forward to show its magic. "Alright, Espurr. Let's make sure it's as beautiful as it can be." She spoke to her Pokemon.
"Espurr." The Restraint Pokemon nodded.
"Use Light Screen and then Wonder Room!" Sweetie Belle went for two commands instead. But that was all she needed. Espurr covered itself in a screen of light that radiated from its body. It then formed a bizarre room with hundreds of cubes that it was encased in. The light radiating from Light Screen shined and dazzled inside of the room, sending rays of light that were multi-coloured. The display was truly beautiful with it being similar to that of a light show.
"Now that is beautiful!" Mr Sukizo commented. "I give it these many points!" He made his vote by granting a total of 9 points for Sweetie Belle's round. Nurse Joy and Mr Contesta did the same by giving 8 points each.
"With moves like those, they're sure to impress others when they rank up." Mr Contesta nodded. "Let's have a second go please, Velvetwind." The cycle began. Each would take turns showing off new tricks and appeals to the judges. Whilst that goes on and everyone there spectates, what they're completely unaware of is Adagio's presence. The siren had made her way inside the Lilypad Town contest halls. She had already dealt with Scootaloo who was now bitter and had Pokemon that wouldn't even listen to her, loafing around and being disobedient. Adagio's actions were slowly creating a chain reaction. She had also managed to sing melodies that influenced other trainers and their Pokemon. Now, most of Lilypad Town had been affected by Adagio's voice. Many of their Pokemon were just turning disobedient and loafing around, cutting ties and bonds with their trainers, humans and ponies alike. Her next target was the young contestants of the Lilypad Contest.
Once Velvetwind finished her turn, Sweetie Belle went up next to try something new. Only a few more rounds left before it finishes. As Velvet was returning with her Drifloon, Adagio was sitting there, waiting.
"Hm? Um, who are you miss?" Velvetwind asked.
"Don't worry about me, little filly. Worry about your Pokemon. You've got a contest to win, right~?" When Adagio said the word 'right' it sent a tiny little green sound wave that breezed on her Drifloon. She decided to be secret about this one.
"Oh, right. Thank you, miss. Come on then, Drifloon. Let's try shifting Attract around next time, alright?"
"Drifloon." The effect hadn't kicked in for Drifloon yet seeing how it was a tiny sound wave. But Adagio knew that. She knew that it would kick in when Velvetwind's turn was next. Sweetie Belle had finished up her next round with Espurr, returning to the waiting room. Adagio had disappeared into the shadows, waiting for this all to play out until she can make her next move.
"Good luck, Velvetwind!" Sweetie Belle waved at her opposing contestant. They seemed to be getting along pretty well for the time they've been competing against each other. Velvetwind waved back as she and Drifloon made their way to the stage for their next trick.
"This is the last round before the Battle Stage. Let's see one final show of cuteness and beauty please." Nurse Joy clapped.
"Okay. Here goes. Drifloon. Use Attract and spin it around you with Gust." Velvetwind gave her command. But to her surprise, nothing happened. Drifloon didn't perform any moves. Instead, it was just floating there quietly, unresponsive to her commands. The effect had kicked in finally, making Drifloon now disobedient to its trainer. "Uh, Drifloon. You can go now..." She whispered. Everyone was waiting patiently to see the appeal move. They at first thought that Drifloon was just biding its time or the move is going to appear out of nowhere in a flash. But that wasn't any of them. "Come on...Drifloon." Velvetwind was getting worried. Her heart was speeding up as she kept her mouth open with worry.
Sweetie Belle watched from the waiting room, seeing how nothing was actually happening. Confusion swirled around her and everyone watching this, even the judges. They had zero clues on what was going on.
"Drif..." Drifloon did something...but it was just a simple word. Nothing else.
"Drifloon! Come on!" Velvetwind was getting upset. So upset to the point where her words starting to form into wails. She was feeling the urge to cry as she was worried about losing this round and not advancing to the next stage. This went on for a long time as the timer was ticking. If she can't get Driflim to perform one final move to rack up the last batch of points needed to advance to the next stage, then it might as well be over. And it was. Time had run out for her.
"Oh, dear. Sorry, Velvetwind. But time has run out." Mr Contesta said, instantly shattering Velvetwind's heart. She couldn't reach the next stage of the contest as her final batch of points were taken away from her. And with that, she was out of the contest. Tears began swelling upon the young ponies eyes as she couldn't help but cry. She ran into the waiting room, upset and heartbroken at her loss. And Drifloon just stayed there, loafing around. Her parents immediately got off their seats, running to tend to their daughter. There were confusion and chatter among the crowd who felt horrible for what just happened, even the judges. Mr Contesta didn't want to say it, but she did end up losing at the end. And it is his job to judge.
Velvet laid down on the waiting couch, huddled up on it. Her crying was so immense it could be heard from even the crowd, despite the distance. And this amount of negativity was fueling Adagio like crazy. Anger was already great for her, but sadness was another breed. The feeling of being destroyed and heartbroken fueled Adagio's power to a much better degree. She had done a perfect job on sabotaging this young girl's dream for her own gain.
"Velv! Honey!" Her mother cried out for her. She and the father ran over to their weeping child, tending to her. Velvet's constant crying followed up by small hiccups and babbling were already making her parents feel distraught as well, not wanting to see their precious child in this state. And this also fueled Adagio up. Adagio realized with all this power growing in her, the green light she radiates would become too bright and she'd be found. So for the moment, the best option is to leave without being noticed. The green light is pretty visible after all.
Sweetie Belle had passed, meaning that she could enter the next stage. But she didn't feel victorious. Not at all. As a result, she wasn't really motivated to go to the next stage because she had no one to compete with now. And her only competitor was in tears, still crying. The victory practically felt like an automatic win and that left her unsatisfied. Velvetwind's father returned Drifloon to its Pokeball as the mother picked her up. They believed it was time to head home, seeing how their daughter's first contest was a failure.
Rarity, Applejack and Apple Bloom arrived at the waiting room to see Sweetie Belle there, disappointed and upset.
"Sweetie Belle. Are you okay?" Her older sister asked.
"No, not really. Poor Velvetwind." Sweetie Belle sighed.
"Yeah. Shame on what happened to the little one. Why'd that Drifloon suddenly stop listening to her?" said Applejack.
"I don't know. But I don't think I want to head into the next stage anymore...I think I'll leave early for tody's contest. If that's okay."
"I understand, darling. I wouldn't want to compete too if that happened to anypony I was up against." Rarity walked up to Sweetie Belle, giving her a hug. They decided that the contest can be done at another time. Sweetie Belle's first contest didn't go the way she expected. It wasn't that it was a loss for her, but for her fellow contestant. Rarity told the judges that Sweetie Belle would be leaving the junior contest due to what just occurred. And they understood.
"We fully understand your decision. That poor girl." Nurse Joy lowered her head, feeling guilty about letting Velvetwind fail. "But, we hope to see you again in the next contest. And hopefully, Contestant Velvetwind can pick herself back up."
"Thank you." Sweetie Belle replied. It was time to head out. It may have been a bust, but there was still more to see in the Pokemon World that could raise spirits up once more. But that wasn't the case right now. Because Adagio had already turned everyone in Lilypad Town bitter and all Pokemon were disobedient, unresponsive to their trainers and just loafing around. Even those who came out of the contest halls. Applejack and the others had no idea what to make of this.
"What in tarnation?" Applejack pulled back.
"I've never seen anything like this." Rarity commented. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom moved their eyes around, searching for their fellow Crusader Scootaloo.
"Where's Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom questioned. Where was she? Scootaloo was returning from the Colosseum, feeling pent up with anger. She had returned her Pokemon to their Pokeball since they just decided to ignore her constantly. The young pegasus stomped her hooves about in frustration each time she walked. She ended up shoving some people aside as some shoved her as well. Whatever song Adagio did, it was super-effective. "Scootalo! There you are! Where did you go?"
"Nowhere," Scootaloo replied with a disdaining tone. Her friends could see that she was feeling the exact same way as the people and ponies here. This just made them wonder why everyone else was affected.
"You sure? You seem upset and angry." Sweetie Belle went up to her friend.
"I am not upset! And I am not angry! DO I LOOK ANGRY?!" She replied with aggression in her voice as she indeed looked angry. Furious even. This made her friends and even Applejack and Rarity pull back as both of them had seen something like this before.
"Uh..o-okay..." Sweetie Belle muttered.
"Look. Maybe we should head back to Ponyville for the meantime. We can come back tomorrow when everything's settled down." Applejack recommended.
"Fine..." Scootaloo replied. She could use the break right now. But one individual who didn't need a break from all the power she's gaining was Adagio who was loving every second of this.
"Oh yeah...This is more like it. It feels good to be back." Adagio giggled, feeling giddy with the damage she's caused. "But, work's never done. I'm going to have to get more creative with my next target. That farm pony and fashion pony seem to be pretty easy targets. Let's see how they act when pent up."
Nurse Joy, Mr Contesta and Mr Sukizo exited the contest, seeing everyone in the current state they were in. They had no idea what was going on. In fact, no one actually had any idea of what was causing it. But they didn't care. They were too upset to wonder.
"This is unnatural," said Mr Contesta.
"I'll say. Why is everyone like this all of a sudden?" Mr Sukizo replied. "What do you think Nurse Joy?" Both him and Mr Contesta turned to Nurse Joy who had a serious expression on her face.
"I know what to do about this." Nurse Joy's expert skills had come into play. She knew that something was amiss. No one just acts like this without reason. And there was a specific Pokemon that she and other Nurse Joy's own that can handle a situation such as this. Nurse Joy sent out her Pokemon, Blissey. The Happiness Pokemon. This Pokemon was perfect for something like this. The egg it carries has a calming effect that can even calm down the wildest of tempers, no matter how fierce. As a bonus, the soft, fluffy fur that covers its body is extremely sensitive to surroundings and can sense emotions everywhere. Doesn't matter how far away you are, Blissey will rush to you to calm you down and bring a smile to your face. So it picked this up even when it was in its Pokeball. "Blissey. Calm them all down!" Nurse Joy commanded, pointing forward.
"Blissey!" The Happiness Pokemon was on the move. It grabbed the egg on its pouch, tossing into the mouth of a trainer. Once he got a bite of the egg, in less than 1 second, his temper had been erased.
"Mm...This egg is good!" He loved the taste as well. They were pretty delicious after all. Blissey's eggs can actually regrow. How they do, that's a story for another day. But as they kept growing back, she tossed hundreds of eggs to all those that were present and near. She slam-dunked an egg in a pony's mouth, spun around, tossing eggs rapid-fire as they flew in multiple directions, stuffing everyone before they could even see it coming. She even infused moves with the egg. By using the move Double Slap, she used her hands to slap the eggs into everyone's mouth. Soon, all of Lilypad's tempers had been drained dry. They were now feeling go-lucky and it all happened in the span of 1 minute. Adagio noticed this and she was taken aback. She had no idea what just happened. Everything was going so well for her and all of a sudden, this weird pink and huge Guinea Pig, rabbit creature hybrid, whatever it is, comes out of nowhere and eradicates the anger like it didn't even exist.
All Mr Contesta and Sukizo could say were "Woah."
"Oh...ah that's some good egg." Scootaloo was savouring the taste of the egg. Best she's ever eaten honestly. "Really good!"
"I don't believe it. That Pokemon just fixed everything." Rarity's jaw dropped.
"No kidding. I've heard that food makes anyone happy but this is ridiculous." Applejack replied, starstruck.
"Sorry if I lost my temper there girls. Don't know what came over me."
"It's alright. As long as your back to being you." Sweetie Belle said as she and Apple Bloom went over to hug their friend. That's when Scootaloo did remember why she was acting that way.
"That's right! I remember now!" She exclaimed. "It was that pony who did it! Her name was uh...um... Adagio!"
"Adagio?!" Both Rarity and Applejack said.
"Uh-huh! I don't know what she did or how she did it. But she made my Pokemon ignore me. She even made me get all mad and stuff. Now I remember what happened."
"So...that's what happened, huh?" Applejack nodded.
"And that would explain why the Drifloon wasn't responding to Velvetwind. That no-good hussy!" Rarity stomped her hoof on the ground. "Forgive my language, children."
"When we find her, she's gonna have a lot to answer for." Applejack said. Adagio overheard this as she was actually getting terrified. Now that they knew she was here, they were sure to track her down. And she couldn't try and make everyone bitter again. Blissey will just fix that in an instant. So for now...it was time to make a change of plans. Her next destination is unknown. But what she does know, is that she'll still focus on running everything Twilight holds dear to her. No matter what.
The day is still young. The ponies are still on their visit to the Pokemon World. And so far, things have been going well for the most part. Adagio was still lurking around, looking for trouble. She had recently caused mostly everyone in Lilypad Town to become bitter, caused the Pokemon to become disobedient and even had the dreams of a young filly by the name of Velvetwind shattered during her first-ever contest just to fuel her power even more. Fortunately, Nurse Joy ended up solving this problem by having her Blissey work its magic via its calming egg that soothed all their rage. The issue of the disobedient Pokemon, however, was something that had yet to be solved. Unfortunately, Blissey's eggs aren't exactly made for disobedience and loafing Pokemon. That is a situation that Lilypad Town's trainers will have to figure out on their own.
But moving away from Lilypad, Pinkie Pie and Jade had arrived at Hoenn, Slateport City. The port where people and Pokemon cross paths with nature and the ninth-largest city in the Pokemon World. People from many different regions often gather and mingle in this bustling city port.
"Here we are! Slateport City!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I can already feel the sunlight of Hoenn!" Pinkie took in the feeling of Hoenn and its lush land and flowing water in the ocean. Lots of water. "Can you feel it too, Jade?"
"...Feels nice actually." Jade was indeed feeling the atmosphere of Hoenn but her face remained unchanged.
"But I bet it's not going to be as good as what we're going to do here! Let's go take a look!" Pinkie bounced further towards Slateport whilst Jade casually followed. When heading into Slateport, the first thing that'll always greet you will be Slateport Market. Where they sell Pokemon dolls, energy drinks, incense and decorations for secret bases. Speaking of secret bases, that's what grabbed Pinkie Pies attention. A stand that said 'Decorations for Secret Bases' is what got her. "Oooh! What's this about a secret base?!" She went up to the man selling the decorations.
"Oh. So you're interested in Secret Bases, huh my little pony? Want a decoration to go with it?" He held up a flag.
"Definitely! But where are these bases? Oh, right! They're secret that's why."
"Well, if you want to know where the secret bases are, you gotta have one of your own. Interested?"
"Of course I am! Having a secret base is one of my million dreams! Right behind a vanilla custard pool! Where can I get these..." She leaned in close to whisper. "Secret Bases?"
"To have one, you gotta create one."
"Create one?" Pinkie pulled back.
"Oh, yeah. Secret Bases are formed by the ones who created them in the first place. In order to do so, your Pokemon will need the move Secret Power. Using that move will allow you to create a base by converting small areas across Hoenn into Secret Bases with small indents in walls being able to be carved out into a cave, tall trees being able to drop down vines, and clumps of grass being able to be moved via Secret Power. All you have to is find any of those areas and use em. Simple."
"That's great! Oh but...My Slurpuff doesn't know Secret Power though. None of them do. Bummer." Pinkie sighed.
"No problem my pink pony. You can just let your Pokemon learn the move automatically."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I mean...every Pokemon has a Secret Power laying within them. They just gotta really let it out with all they've got. Think your Slurpuff can do that?"
"No doubt about it! I'll let one do it!" Pinkie took out one of her many Pokeballs, sending out her Slurpuff. "Alright, Slurpuff! Work your magic! Learn Secret Power!"
"...Slur?" The Meringue Pokemon tilted its head in confusion.
"Uh. Sorry, little pony, but telling them to use a move they don't know doesn't really work."
"Then what does?"
"Hmm...Well, there is one other option I can give you. You can catch a Pokemon with the move Secret Power."
"Ooh. Which Pokemon are those?" Pinkie leaned in.
"Let's see. A lot actually. In fact, I believe that every Pokemon can use Secret Power from what I can recall. The ones around here that you can find are Spinda, Zigzagoon, Gulpin, Volbeat...actually it's all of them that are near here. You just gotta find the one that has the move."
"Then it's settled!" Pinkie stomped her hoof, standing straight. "Before we continue exploring the rest of Slateport, we're gonna get ourselves a Pokemon with Secret Power and we're gonna create that base all the way back home! Right, Slurpuff, Jade?"
"Slurpuff!" Her partner agreed with her.
"Sounds fun." Jade nodded.
"Nice. Then before you get going, take these." The man handed Pinkie a blue box. "In here are tons of Secret Base decorations that you can use. Once you finally find that base of yours, go crazy with them."
"Got it!" Pinkie paid the man back with some pretty hefty amount of Pokedollars that she surprisingly had for who knows how long. Thanks, mister!" Pinkie ran off as her friend and Pokemon followed her, heading towards the area where she can catch some wild Pokemon. Route 110.
A nice and calm route like many other routes in the Pokemon world. Route 110. The Pokemon here compliment the Route as some trainers could actually be seen here. Some of them on their own journey's. Whether they want to become the champion of Hoenn or planning to rank up in the Pokemon World Coronation Series.
"Let's see...any Pokemon here can use Secret Power. We just have to find the one that already has it." Pinkie commented.
"So, are we going to like, battle the first Pokemon we see?" Jade asked.
"Even better. We're gonna lure them. Alright, Slurpuff. Use Sweet Scent. Let's reel all the Pokemon here."
"Slur." The Meringue Pokemon created a scent that was potent enough to allure any Pokemon that was located here on this Route. It proved to be effective as always as many Pokemon were heading towards the direction of Sweet Scent. Every single one of them had the ability to use Secret Power. But the question is...which one already has it on them.
"Perfect! The whole gang's here. Now to find out which one of you already has Secret Power on them. So?" Pinkie went up to the selection of Pokemon that were here. "What about you?" She went up close and personal to a Sentret who backed away, hiding behind a tree. "Hm. Guess not. Maybe this little guy!" Pinkie then dashed over to A Nuzleaf. "You look like a Pokemon that has a Secret Power in them!"
"Nuz..." Nuzleaf and some other Pokemon were too busy taking in the aroma of Sweet Scent which was still present in the air.
"I think they're only here because they thought they were getting some food from the scent, Pinkie." Jade said to her.
"Food...Food!" What Jade said to Pinkie gave her an idea. She believes that If she gives the Pokemon some food, they'd be honoured to show off Secret Power to her. "Luckily, I come with emergency food and backup food all the time!" Pinkie took some paper bags that had food in them out of her mane and her saddlebag. The selection of food was something that even a Pokemon couldn't resist. She placed down various pieces of food that would be to each Pokemon's liking. A little something for everyone. "Eat up, everyone! And show me that Secret Power later on." The Pokemon began gobbling down the food like it was no tomorrow. Pinkie watched as it was all being devoured by these Pocket Monsters. "Soon...I'll have my first ever Secret Base! I wonder where in Ponyville I'm gonna put it? Ooh! What am I gonna call it?!" Pinkie rubbed her hooves together, anticipating her Secret Base.
Jade watched the Pokemon eat as well, but over at the corner of her eyes, she noticed a small Spinda spinning around. Spinda are Pokemon that stagger and totter about with the mistaken impression that they're walking straight. And each Spinda has a spot pattern that is slightly different which is favourite for collectors. So this Spinda right now is walking aimlessly, unsure of its true destination. That's when Jade saw something that would benefit Pinkie Pie. Spinda had gone for some food, but not the food that Pinkie laid out for the Pokemon. Instead, it was going for a berry on top of a tree. It could sniff it out despite its erratic and derpy movements. It didn't have the strength to knock the berry out of the tree or even climb it. But, it did have a move in particular that could give it the strength. The move that Pinkie needed the most.
Secret Power.
"Spin...Da!" The Spot Panda Pokemon was engulfed in a pink aura, the usual colour for Secret Power as its latent power was being unleashed. It struck its tiny little arms on the tree, making it shake, almost toppling it even. The Oran Berry from the tree that it wanted fell down right near its feet. It was finally about to chow down on its food. Jade saw this and realized that Spinda might've just used Secret Power. She wasn't too sure since she's never seen the move once.
"Pinkie. I think I may have found the Pokemon with Secret Power." Jade pointed her hoof at the Spot Panda Pokemon.
"Hm? That Spinda over there?"
"Mhm. It managed to knock that shake that entire tree by using some pink aura thing to get a berry."
"Aha! Then that has to be Secret Power! I mean...look at it! It's so small! There's no way it'd be able to do it normally. We've got our Pokemon!" Pinkie bounced over to Spinda who was spinning about. "Hey, there little fella. You got Secret Power?"
"Spin?"
"Is that a yes?" Pinkie leaned forward to Spinda. This was going nowhere. Pinkie can't understand Pokemon like Fluttershy so she can't tell if Spinda is saying yes or no. What doesn't help is that it's a generally unpredictable Pokemon that has no idea where it's going. That's when Jade actually managed to gain some understanding. Due to her being a Rift Pony, the cosmic energy inside of her can be used as a valuable asset of various forms of communication. Each of the Rift Ponies all had a special ability that they could use after all. Whether it be mind control or causing disaster. Or possibly even bringing something to life and making it sentient. Even if she wasn't a unicorn, like Emerald Aura, Obsidian and Cold Colt. However, Jade had no idea that she had this form of communication nor does she know that she is a Rift Pony. This newfound power came to her by an instinct to help the pony she sees as a friend. The deadpan pony walked up to Spinda, now having the ability to communicate with Pokemon on a somewhat spiritual level. Almost similar to Fluttershy but without the words. A small spark of cosmic dust could be seen flowing through her mane until it vanished.
"You." Jade spoke to Spinda. The two then stared at each other silently with Spinda seeing double thanks to its eyes. Pinkie watched as they were both silent, locking eyes together.
"Uhh..you two having a staring contest? Are you winning, Jade?"
"...It said that it has Secret Power. For sure." Jade replied.
"Woah! You understood it?! Can you talk to creatures like Fluttershy? How'd you do it?"
"I don't know. I heard it speak in my head."
"Oh! Like some sort of psychic?!" Pinkie perked up.
"Maybe. I don't know what it was. I didn't even know I could do that." Jade was surprised but her voice and tone didn't sound like she was.
"Well, however, you did it, it gave us a clear answer! This Pokemon's the one we need! What do ya say, Spinda? Wanna come with us?" Pinkie took out a Pokeball. "Eh? Eh?"
"Spin?" Spinda wasn't sure if it wanted to come along. Then again, it wasn't sure where it is ever going.
"If you come along, I can give you all the Pokemon food you need." That's what got Spinda. Food. It took Pinkie's offer, touching the Pokeball. The ball absorbed the Pokemon, shaking once as it was a guaranteed capture. "Gotcha! Spinda and Secret Power are all mine! Secret Base, here I come! Come on Jade!" Pinkie was ecstatic as she was bouncing away, back to Slateport. Jade was about to follow until she was halted by a call from a certain individual.
"You there." Adagio was here. She had decided to target Pinkie Pie next since she believed she was the easiest to get to. But after seeing what Jade did, her curiosity has heightened to her. Jade turned around to see Adagio as Pinkie Pie was long gone. "I saw that. That was cosmic energy, wasn't it? Flowing through your mane."
"It was?" Jade never noticed it.
"But of course. That can only mean one thing. You're a Rift pony, aren't you?" Adagio smirked. She was aiming for the higher-ups. And in this case, cosmic energy was just that.
"I'm not sure what I am. I'm just a pony who's a pegasus."
"Playing dumb with me, are you? Oh, well. Won't matter once you head to your best friend feeling all bitter." Adagio set the next phase of her plan in motion by singing a single melody to Jade. The green sound waves looked like they were about to make contact, but they were vaporized into nothing but ash. Due to Jade being a Rift Pony, the cosmic energy that dwells within her eradicated the magic. And it wasn't even by command. "What?!" Adagio had no idea what just happened.
"I don't quite get it but...I know you're the same pony who threatened my friends from what I remember."
"Pssh. Yeah, so? What's an emotionless soul like you going to do about it?"
"Nothing. But...You make me feel something unusual." Jade looked at her hooves. This newfound emotion that she had found was opposite to the tiny bit of happiness she had with her friends. Instead, she had finally understood the emotion of anger and it was all directed towards Adagio. But it was minuscule so she wasn't as vocal about it. "I think I hate you. Is that the word for it?"
"That the best you can do? Just say you hate me? You're more of an unenthusiastic wreck than Aria, you know that? Can't believe I wasted time on you. I'll just have to continue going for the ones full of emotion." Adagio made her leave, obviously aiming for more of Twilight's friends. She left Jade out of the selection since there was nothing she could against her and Jade didn't seem like the type to try and fight back at all. She actually originally planned to affect all of Slateport, but unfortunately, she came to a sudden realization that every city town has a Pokemon Center and she wasn't about to risk her plan being stopped by a Blissey again. It was about time to get even more creative.
Back at Slateport, Pinkie went back to the man at the decoration stand.
"Oh! You got a Pokemon that has Secret Power, finally?" The man asked.
"Mhm! My best friend Jade managed to help out on that! Right, Jade?" Pinkie turned around to see that Jade wasn't here. She had been left behind due to her sudden meeting with Adagio not too long ago. "Jade? Hm. Guess she must've found something neat. Oh, well! I'll meet up with her again. But can I quickly get some more decorations?"
"Sure thing, my little pony." The man took out more boxes. "That'll be 2000 Pokedollars.
"Done!" Pinkie placed a perfect 2000 down. She really did come equipped with the essential amount of Pokedollars for this visit. Only she knows how much she's carrying with her.
"Pleasure doing business with you." The man took the money, shaking Pinkie's hoof.
"No problem. Now...let me see what that Oceanic Museum is all about?" Pinkie's next stop was the Oceanic Museum. A large two-floored museum located in the eastern district of Slateport. There, Pinkie Pie came across the man who owned built the Oceanic Museum. Captain Stern. One of the many people Ash had met on his journey when he was exploring Hoenn.
"Hm? Oh, hello there. You a pony who's here to see my museum?" Stern asked.
"You bet I am! Is this is all about Water-Type Pokemon or something?"
"Not really. I actually built this museum to teach others about the ocean and ocean floor. But, I have added a special floor specifically for Water-Types not too long ago. So you can go and check that one out if you want."
"WIll do, can do! Thanks, mister!" Pinkie entered the museum, ready to see what it was all about and its exhibits that are waiting to be viewed. Whilst she does that, Adagio makes an attempt to sabotage this as well. She reached Slateport, making sure to avoid the Pokemon Center at all costs. Plus, she didn't want to be seen by other ponies. She recognized some familiar faces from Ponyville here. Her back was currently up against the door of the Pokemon Fan Club. A club for and all about Pokemon and the people who love them. They were spread across the entire world, and this was one of their many headquarters.
"These areas are getting more and more crowded by the minute," Adagio said to herself. "Just have to-" Her sentence was interrupted and put to an end by a hand that grabbed her, dragging the siren inside of the Pokemon Fan Club. "H-Hey!"
"Lookie here! Look what I found!" A young boy said as he had the strength to lift Adagio up.
"Ooh! A newcomer to our club!" An ecstatic young lady said, dressed up in a dress that was similar to the patterns of an Illumise as she was also wearing an Illumise helmet. In fact, everyone in this club was wearing something associated with a Pokemon. Mostly ones in Hoenn. "Welcome, welcome!"
"WELCOME!" The entire club said as their voice echoed throughout the room.
"We're so glad to have a newcomer to the Pokemon Fan Club! And it's a pony from the other world too!"
"Oooh! A pony!" The younger members said as they ran over to Adagio. They were excited to see a pony here as they started placing their hands on Adagio with some of them pulling her face.
"Now, now. Let's not treat our new member children." The woman pulled them back. "Now that you're here, why don't we introduce you to it all?"
"Ugh..." Adagio held her head, recovering from what just happened. "You little-"
"I can start you off by showing you my collection?!" A young teenage girl dashed up to Adagio, interrupting her. "I only go for the cutest Pokemon. Then again we all do. My personal favourite is Electrike! Many don't think it's cute because of its intimidating eyes, but I do. They're so cute when they dash around like in a thunderbolt position! I have a ton of Electrike stuff. Here, look!" The young teenager showed off her Electrike collection. She had electrike keychains, necklaces, gloves, handbags, plushes, pens, all sorts of stuff. Some of them were even Shiny Electrike's. And to top it all off, she was wearing clothing that had the patterns of an Electrike.
Adagio wasn't up for any of this. She could care less about their intense love of cute Pokemon. "I d-"
"If you've got a Pokemon and have a good friendship bond with it, we can give you this Soothe Belle! It's a personal favourite of our club!" Another female member of the club spoke, interrupting Adagio once more. "This is perfect for soothing your Pokemon and it even helps in Pokemon Contests. I mean, then again...this entire club is also about contests, ya know."
"I don't care about some stupid-"
"And it comes equipped with a custom clothing choice." A young boy went up to her. "We've got clothes that match your favourite Pokemon. You'll be a perfect match!"
"ENOUGH!" Adagio raised her voice, silencing everyone inside. She breathed in and out, pent up from all that rage that was building up in her. "I don't care about some stupid Pokemon Fan Club! And I don't care about Pokemon!"
"But what about your Kricketot over there?" The boy pointed at Adagio's Kricketot. This Pokemon had been with her ever since she first caught it a few months back. Adagio never wanted anything to do with it in the first place, but Kricketot grew a liking to her and her passion for music. Adagio thought she had gotten rid of it, but in reality, it was hiding in her hair the entire time. Adagio's hair is pretty busy and big so a Pokemon of Kricketot's size could easily hide in it.
"Wha? You're still here?!" Adagio noticed the Cricket Pokemon resting on top of her mane.
"Kricke!" It jumped off her hair, looking up at her with glee.
"Get lost." The words that she sid made Kricketot's glee stop all of a sudden.
"Kri?"
"You heard me. Get lost. Shoo."
"You can't say that your Pokemon!" A young girl said from the crowd.
"Zip it, brat. I never wanted it to be my Pokemon in the first place. Why this thing is even still here is beyond me. I don't want anything to do with it. So I don't need it. Not with my goal in mind."
"Kricke..." The Cricket Pokemon lowered its head, feeling heartbroken. Its first trainer had just admitted to not wanting it at all. Like it was never meant to be with her. Feeling betrayed, Kricketot let itself out, walking out of the Fan Club. Everyone was shocked that Adagio had just done that so casually. Rejecting a Pokemon that was beside her.
"Finally. Now. I don't want to be in this nightmare house anymore. I've got better things to do." Adagio made her leave, finally leaving the club. Her goal at the moment was to make sure that the Pokemon Center doesn't intervene this time. So what was she going to do? "All I have to do...is get rid of that nurse. I can't have her Pokemon making everyone all buddy-buddy again."
Kricketot was sitting at the port where the boats docked, sulking. Being abandoned and rejected can really deal a number on a Pokemon. Especially on the smaller ones. This sadness that emanated from Kricketot was actually something that Adagio needed. She could feel Kricketot's sadness from all the way over at the port. And it was feeding her as well but at an unnatural rate. She had never felt something like this before. The sadness that Kricketot was exuberating was actually potent, amplifying Adagio's magic even further. This was because Kricketot is close to Adagio and sees her as a friend. And because of that, the sadness had more weight to it.
"Ooh. I guess it's not as useless as I thought it was." Adagio giggled. "I'll keep it with me, just in case." She walked up to Kricketot, planning to use its sadness as a limitless source of energy. "Hey."
"Kricketot?" The Bug-Type turned to her.
"Listen. I was wrong. I do actually want you. We're partners after all. I was just feeling a bit cranky, you know how it is." She was lying through her teeth. She was only doing this to gain the trust of Kricketot back. And unfortunately, due to how young this Pokemon was, it fell for it easily.
"Kricketot!" Kricketot jumped up, giving Adagio a hug on the face out of pure love.
"Urgh..Y-Yeah, whatever. Get back in my hair." She commanded. Kricketot did just that, residing in the siren's busy hair once more. Adagio now had her energy source. And she was planning to utilize Kricketot's sadness by occasionally breaking its heart and just regaining its trust once more. How was she going to do it? Well her plan was simple. Make up an excuse by getting into a situation where she'd end up becoming furious and just tell it to Kricketot. She saw the Pokemon as gullible and easily swayed. And as long as she keeps it up, this doesn't spell good news for Kricketot's fragile heart. Next up was Nurse Joy. Adagio was prepared to take out the biggest threat to her. She busted open the doors of Slateport's Pokemon Center, seeing Nurse Joy and her Blissey right over there.
"Oh, my. Um...can I help you with something?" Nurse Joy asked.
"No. Actually, no one will be needing your help anymore. Especially that." Adagio's eyes targeted Blissey. If she can make Blissey bitter and negative, then that eliminates the possibility of it making everyone else happy again. All Adagio had to do...was sing.
Adagio has arrived to remove the threat that is Blissey. As long as Blissey is here, it can negate Adagio's influence on others due to its egg. Adagio's mission is to make sure that Nurse Joy and her Pokemon are out of the picture. Her, Nurse Joy and Blissey are the only ones in the Pokemon Center at the moment after all, so its just Adagio and them. She sang a single song that emanated green magic, floating towards Blissey
This green sound wave was made to make a Pokemon disobedient and lazy. And if Blissey ignores orders and starts loafing around, then it won't be able to get in Adagio's way anymore. And it did just that. The melody that Adagio gave off affected Blissey, making it a victim to Adagio's influence. However, it didn't immediately turn Blissey. Instead, what ended up happening was Blissey attempting to fight back against the melody. The Happiness Pokemon got on the floor, holding its head as it was doing its very best to overcome this.
"Blissey?! What's wrong?!" Nurse Joy kneeled down to her fellow helper, seeing it struggle. To Adagio's surprise, Blissey's happiness was actually counteracting the negativity she generates.
"What's with this Pokemon?" Adagio grit her teeth. "How can it resist it?" A second melody was sung towards Blissey, hitting it. This made the struggle harder for the Happiness Pokemon as its positivity was slipping away. Nurse Joy realized that Adagio was causing this and decided to put a stop to it.
"Stop it!" Nurse Joy got up, putting her arms out to try and stop the incoming sound wave. The third one made contact with Nurse Joy as she took the hit. Now she was under Adagio's influence, which wasn't what the siren was planning.
"Tch. What an annoyance. Oh, well. At least the Nurse is out of the way. Now I can deal with you." Adagio walked forward, shoving Nurse Joy aside. She looked down at Blissey who was still struggling to push back the negativity that was trying to consume her. "I can't have you get in the way of my plans you...whatever you're meant to be. Have fun being disobedient to your trainer~" The siren cackled, delivering one more melody that did the trick. Blissey's exuberant happiness had finally been overtaken. The biggest threat to her had been dealt with, meaning that Adagio can cause as much negativity as she wants and feed on it all. And Slateport is already a populated area with tons of people and ponies just waiting to become bitter.
But all of that was unbeknownst to Pinkie Pie, who was too busy admiring the Slateport City's Oceanic Museum. She came across the section with Water-Type Pokemon as she definitely came across some pretty neat exhibits.
"Oooh." She pressed her face on the glass, looking at Lumineon and how it radiates it neon luminescent light. "Aaah." She then turned her attention to a Greninja that was silently meditating whilst a ton of water pours on its head. "Some pretty neat Water-Types here. If I was a Gym-Leader, I'd maybe choose water....nah." Pinkie bounced away, heading to the next exhibit. As she was exploring the Oceanic Museum, she came across something that was new to the museum but highly popular. An exhibit about Kyogre. The Sea Basin Pokemon. A Pokemon that once appeared at the Pokemon House, and one that she's actually seen before. But this image of Kyogre was different from its usual appearance. From the looks of it, Kyogre has these strange lines around it with new patterns instead of the usual red. "Oh, Kyogre! But...what's that stuff around it?"
"That's Kyogre's Primal Form. Primal Kyogre as it is known." She got her answer. The one who answered her was the janitor who worked here.
"Primal Kyogre? What's so different about this one?"
"Primal Kyogre is...how do I put this. Kyogre's true form. This is caused by Primal Reversion."
"Primal Reversion?"
"Mhm. It's an ancient transformation that restores a Pokemon's true powers as it absorbs the energy of nature to greatly increase its power. Kyogre can already cause storms and raise sea levels, but through Primal Reversion, it can go above and beyond. It often clashes with Groudon."
"Oooh. So Kyogre's much more powerful when its got those glowy things on it. Can all Pokemon do that?"
"Well, that's a mystery for another day. Who knows. There might be some Pokemon out there who have primal forms but have yet to be unleashed. But that's what makes the world of Pokemon interesting, wouldn't you agree, my little pony?"
"Yeah! Pokemon keep on getting better the more I learn about them! I've gotta show Jade this!" Pinkie decided to bring Jade along, by bouncing towards the direction of the exit. Jade had been absent for a while after the whole Secret Power thing, so Pinkie was curious about where she could be right now.
Where Jade actually was, she was returning to Slateport to warn Pinkie Pie about Adagio. But once she got there, she saw that everyone on the outside had been hit by Adagio. Their emotions had turned negative as the Pokemon around them started loafing around, disobeying their trainers. And this time, there was no Blissey to right everything due to Adagio giving the same effect to the Happiness Pokemon.
"Where's Pinkie?" Jade was worried for her friend. Her voice and tone didn't sound like a worried pony, but she generally was.
"Your pink pony pal went in there. The Oceanic Museum." said the man from earlier who told them about Secret Bases pointed at the Oceanic Museum. "I don't know what's going on, but everyone's a bit nasty all of a sudden."
"Adagio."
"Who?" The man responded.
"I have to get to Pinkie." Jade made a run for it. As quickly as she could. As she was running further into Slateport, she barged through the crowd of bitter people and ponies, pushing them aside. The Pokemon that were loafing about were also blocking certain pathways to various parts of Slateport. Jade realized that running past them wouldn't be that easy due to some Pokemon being heavier than others. So for once, Jade had used her wings by taking to the skies.
Adagio, who was revelling in all of this by feeding off their negativity, noticed Jade flying towards the Oceanic Museum in a hurry. Adagio was looking for Pinkie Pie next, so if Jade was dashing over there, then Pinkie must be in the museum according to Adagio's thoughts. "So that's where the pink one is, eh?" The siren giggled. "If I can make the most cheery, happy-go-lucky pony of Twilight's friendship group bitter, I've practically already created a huge hole in their bond.
Pinkie, who was still making her way to the exit was unaware of the events occurring outside. She was taking a while due to the Oceanic Museum being pretty big, so it's easy to get lost while inside. But she could actually hear what was going on outside at Slateport. She could hear arguing and bellows constantly being thrown about. Pinkie could recognize an argument from a mile away as she knew something was wrong. "That can't be right. Who's not putting up their happy face?!" Pinkie decided to put a stop this. She couldn't let anyone be unhappy, not even for a minute. But as she was zooming through the Oceanic Museum, she and Jade ended up meeting each other by Pinkie crashing into her friend. She recovered to see her on top of her pegasus pal. "Oh, Jade! There you are!"
"Pinkie. I need to tell you something."
"No time! Somepony's not feeling all to chippy at the moment and there's an argument going on. I've got to put a stop to this at once!"
"But Pinkie. It's Adagio doing it."
"Hah? Adagio? The pony with the big messy hair and singing?"
"My hair isn't messy, it's creative, thank you very much." Speaking of Adagio, there she was. She had followed Jade inside, using her as an opportunity to get to Pinkie Pie.
"Adagio?!" Pinkie perked up.
"The one and only." She smirked. "I thought I'd come by here and do what I do best."
"Do what you do best?"
"Pinkie. She's feeding off everyone's negativity from the outside." Jade explained, pointing her hoof at Adagio.
"Huh? She's what?! You can't just do that!"
"Oh, but I can. No matter who it is, I can turn anyone bitter with just a song. But now, I don't even need to put in a ton of effort due to how much power I've gained. All I need is a single hum and everyone's all negative. Including you. Especially you."
"You're not gonna make me moody with your melody. Nuh-uh!" Pinkie shook her head.
"Nuh-uh? What are you 10? This'll be easier than I thought." Adagio was about to sing towards Pinkie Pie, but Jade, realizing that her friend could be influenced next, got in the way of Adagio's song. Since her body being made out of cosmic energy meant that the song had been cancelled out, evaporating into ash. "Ugh! Again?!" Adagio stomped her hoof down.
"Pinkie Pie. It's not safe to be here right now." Jade turned to Pinkie Pie. "Go."
"Jade?"
"I don't know what it is. But I have the urge to keep you safe out of harm's way. Is this another form of emotion and friendship?"
"It sure is! You're protecting me!" Pinkie Pie hugged Jade. "Oh, right. Leaving! But will you be okay, Jade?"
"I think so. I don't know what it is, but her magic can't affect me."
"Yeah...that's an inconvenience," Adagio growled. "You know, just because I can't get you doesn't mean that stops me from getting everyone else."
"Try and catch me then!" Pinkie giggled, taking off as she dashed past Adagio.
"Hey!" Adagio turned around but Pinkie was long gone. She was about to follow, but Jade got in her way, blocking her. "Move over!"
"No. I can't let you get to my friend." Jade slowly shook her head.
"In that case, I'll force you to move." Adagio switched things up. Instead of using her magic to influence, she was now about to utilize it for destructive means. A bit of the magic she obtained from the siphoning jar still remained in her, so she could act offensively with song. "She bellowed a melody towards Jade and this time, it did something. The magic still didn't do much due to Jade being a Rift Pony, but the amount of power put behind the song was enough to finally make contact. This caused Jade to get on the ground, covering her ears with her hooves. Adagio continued to assault Jade by constantly singing at her with destructive sound waves. Each time she sang, the ground beneath them was starting to crack. And as long as everyone was negative on the outside, it would continue to fuel Adagio even more. Jade wasn't getting hurt by this, but it was holding her down. But she had to stay here in order to ensure Pinkie's safety.
As for Pinkie Pie, once she finally exited the Oceanic Museum, she could see the damage that Adagio has done. Loafing Pokemon ignoring their trainers, humans and ponies bickering against each other, it was something that Pinkie would never want to see. The only ones not affected were Captain Stern, the man who sold decorations for Secret Bases and some members of the Pokemon Fan Club.
"This is a disaster!" Pinkie exclaimed. "We all shouldn't be like this. Not on a visit trip!" Pinkie even saw Nurse Joy and her Blissey affected by this. Blissey was just laying on its back, relaxing like it didn't have an important job to perform. And Nurse Joy couldn't be bothered to heal a Pokemon at the moment. And she was lashing out against a trainer.
"Ugh...You know, you have potions. Why don't you use them instead of coming to me every time?!" Nurse Joy slammed her fist on the table, scaring the young trainer who was carrying his fainted Poochyena.
"S-Sorry." He replied, whimpering.
"Give me that." Nurse Joy still did her job anyways by grabbing Poochyena from the boy's hands, with aggression and force even. Pinkie could see that this was getting out of hoof. This had to stop immediately.
"There's only one thing left to do..." Pinkie was about to do what she does best. Make everyone smile again. This was a tall order though. The population here was larger than Ponyville. So she had to work at her absolute best and peak performance. "Let's put a smile on those faces...with these!" Pinkie went up to a human who was grumbling. He was both moody and hungry at the same time. Pinkie had a solution for that. She shoved the cupcake in his mouth, feeding that upset stomach. The man took a moment to taste the cupcake, feeling its pastry goodness in his mouth.
"Mmm...This is what a cupcake tastes like?! I've been missing out!" He's never eaten a cupcake before, surprisingly. Due to Pinkie feeding him, Adagio's influence had faded away from him. And due to that, the amount of negativity Adagio was being fueled with had fallen by 1%. She couldn't feel it since it was so minuscule, but she lost something for sure. Pinkie's job to reinvigorate their spirits continued on. She went up to two young siblings who were always at odds against each other, but Adagio had just made it worse. To fix this, Pinkie Pie decided to sacrifice some of the Secret Base decorations she had bought and lend them to the brother and sister instead. She gave both of them a Marill and a Jigglypuff doll, satisfying both of their wants and needs as these Pokemon were equally as adorable.
"Let's see. Who's next? Aha!" Pinkie went over to an even larger group this time. To fix this, she took out one of the Poke Dolls, holding a Charizard. "Hey! Look at this!" She grabbed their attention as the group turned to Pinkie. "Look at me. I'm Charizard. I'm a big strong looking Pokemon that can breathe fire and fly but I'm not a Dragon, even though I look like one." She was moving the mouth of the Charizard up like it was speaking. It caused a chuckle out of the younger members of the disgruntled group. She continued by getting out a Snorlax. "And I'm Snorlax. I'm the biggest inconvenience ever. I'm always blocking your way by being so lazy. I'll never move. Unless you feed me of course." The younger members were free from Adagio's influence, but the older ones were a bit trickier to get to. But Pinkie was prepared for this. "Put a smile on those faces with this!" She took out the balloons from the decoration box, blowing on them. As she pumped up the balloon, it formed the shape of a Snorlax. Even matching the size of Snorlax. She sent the Snorlax balloon to the older group as it pressed against them. It got a small chuckle out of them as the feeling of this balloon was Pinkie made. Meaning that it was softer than a normal balloon. Adagio's magic was also leaving them as well.
Soon, Pinkie went across the entirety of Slateport, putting a smile on everyone's faces as she was on the move. And due to this, Adagio could finally feel her power diminishing. All the negativity she was absorbing was fading away. She had now lost a large percentage of it all. This caused her to stop attacking Jade who was still on the floor.
"What the? What's going on?!" She looked at her hooves, realizing the power she had been absorbing was slipping away from her. "Did that Blissey get back to normal or something!" The siren decided to see what was going on outside. This gave Jade time to finally relax after that sound barrage. Adagio went outside to see that it wasn't Blissey who was doing this. It was Pinkie Pie instead. In the span 4 minutes, Pinkie Pie had transformed this entire place into a party city. Decorations were everywhere with balloons of Pokemon floating around that Pinkie made. She laid out some food of all kinds for everyone to try and chow down on. She was giving out Pokemon dolls to the younger kids, giving them something to take home. The man who sold the decorations was racking up money due to Pinkie convincing them to buy some and make their own Secret Bases. Nurse Joy had even returned to normal thanks to Pinkie's efforts. And thankfully, since Nurse Joy is basically Blissey in human form, she knew exactly how to deal with her disobedient Pokemon. She made Blissey feel guilty about not making everyone happy. Even if a Pokemon is disobedient, they still stick to their guts, what they love to do and their purpose. So, Joy got through to Blissey, causing her to quit her loafing, thus eradicating another piece of Adagio's influence. "WHAT?!"
"Hey, Adagio! Join the party!" Pinkie waved at Adagio was she was being carried by some members of the Pokemon Fan Club who deemed her a brand new member.
Adagio was blown back. All that progress. Gone. And it wasn't even Blissey this time. But she did end up getting foiled by another pink creature for the second time in a row. The siren pulled her hair in frustration, unable to comprehend how this was even possible. She came to the conclusion that she couldn't do anything now. Pinkie can just fix the problem at any point if she tries this again. And Blissey's back to its normal strength, and Adagio knows how that'll end. The best option? Leave Slateport and try something else. So she did just that. Adagio galloped away, making her retreat as she had been defeated a second time.
"Oh well. She's missing out." Pinkie giggled. She spotted her pal Jade walk out of the museum, gazing at the party. "Ooh! Jade!" She dashed over to her emotionless friend. "Glad you're okay! You're just in time too! The party's still young!"
"You managed to fix it, Pinkie?" Jade was surprised even though she didn't sound surprised.
"Yup! It was a cinch. Not even a struggle." Pinkie Pie bragged. "But, I guess we should kind of warn everypony else that Adagio's running around, huh?"
"Probably. I'm not sure everypony else has the same talent as you, Pinkie."
"Oh, stop! You're making me blush, Jade! Hey! Before we go and warn the others, let's enjoy the party a bit longer!"
Adagio's plans had been foiled a second time in a row. By another pink creature as well. But she wasn't one to give up so easily. After all, her stubbornness is only rivalled by Ash. Pinkie Pie had given a great example as to why she's great at what she does and why she has her Cutie Mark. The visit to the Pokemon world can continue to flow with joy thanks to her efforts. But Adagio wasn't about to let it flow on. Her revenge against Twilight and her friends was still burning within. Wherever she goes next and whoever of the 6 she finds, she'll do whatever it takes to break that friendship into pieces, as the journey continues.
The most traditional region in the Pokemon World. Not as scientifically advanced as the others but it still has a unique charm to it that anyone can enjoy. And some ponies decided that it would be a good choice to visit Johto. After all, they heard that BigTime Ben's HQ is here. And he was born here. Not only that but the students from Hollow's class came to Johto to see where their teacher lives. The students had also come along with their parents and some of their siblings. The first location they came across was Goldenrod City. A sprawling metropolis located in western Johto. It's the largest city in Johto and one of the largest across the Pokemon World. Goldenrod is the centre of the region's economy and telecommunications. It can only be described as "A happening big city" according to the sign.
"So, this is Johto? It's pretty...old." Sunrise commented on the look of Johto and how classical it looked.
"Yeah. But that doesn't look old." Sapphire replied by pointing her hoof at the main attraction of all of this. BigTime Ben's HQ. Or as it's known as, BIG.Co.
"Woah...is that BigTime Ben's place?" A young colt said.
"Duh. It says big on it so it has to be." A filly replied.
The building was massive in size. It had the appearance of a dome with a bit too many windows all over the place. The colour of it was both gold and silver. Overall, it looked simple yet flashy at the same time.
"Pretty..." Dew Drops commented, gazing at the building.
"Welcome, friends!" There he was. BigTime Ben. The owner of the entire building, standing there with his Gothitelle by his side. "Glad you decided to take a visit to Johto. Please, come on in." Ben invited the entire group inside, just to really see what goes on in a massive company like this. "Here's where all the magic happens.
The inside had been revealed. The layout and interior were all blue and white. His favourite colour combination. Everywhere there were various devices all catered for Pokemon. Ranging from an entire room where Pokemon can relax and have as much fun as they want, similar to Fluttershy's Pokemon House but on an extreme level. There was also even a room where Pokemon eggs were being incubated and tended to by a Chansey. The ponies, this looked like it was the future. There were different people working on various inventions. One young man managed to invent a device that allows the Pokemon to use moves it could never learn, but it was still a work in progress. And this was just the first floor and it was already impressive to them.
"This is amazing...I've never seen anything like this before." Dew Drops' father commented.
"Oh, thanks. But this pales in comparison to others such as Macro Cosmos and the Devon Corporation." Ben replied. The foals were distracted by a machine that pumps out ice cream. Although, it was a work in progress. "Sorry, kids. That's not finished yet. It's sorta new."
"Aww..." They all sighed.
"But I'll tell you what IS finished." Ben led them all to the second room. In this room, it was full of Shiny Pokemon of all kinds. "The Shiny Room!" This room had Shiny Pokemon from a few regions, that being Johto, Sinnoh and Kalos. The other regions weren't included. But it was still a massive amount of Shiny Pokemon just all over the place in this room that resembled a garden of some sorts. "These are all Shiny Pokemon I've caught over the years when my company was still in its earlier years. I've got shinies from here, Sinnoh and Kalos. The others are a bit harder to find though."
"Why do you have so many of these...Shiny Pokemon? And why are they so pretty to look at?" Sapphire Flash asked.
"I thought it would be a cool idea to have just a bunch of shinies. But uh...I never figured out what I wanted to do with them...so I made a room and placed them here. They're good to look at though."
"Very!" Sapphire's mom said, nodding her head.
"Now, unfortunately, I can't continue giving you all a tour of my HQ. Kind of busy at the moment, but feel free to explore for yourselves. Gothitelle. Let's get moving."
"Goth."
Ben had left the group of ponies to tend to more important matters. Now, they had all the freedom in the world to explore this place as much as they want. The possibilities are endless and what they can find here is just fueling their anticipation.
"Stay close to me, Dew Drops. This place might be unpredictable. Too unpredictable." Dew Drops' mother held her shy daughter close to her.
"I see you eager to get a move on, Sunrise." Daylight said to his little brother. "Just don't mess around with anything, alright?"
"Huh, what? I won't. Promise." Sunrise replied, obviously lying.
"Mhm." Daylight could see through his brother's lie easily. Everypony had split up to get a good feel of Ben's HQ and what can be discovered and done in here. And there were a lot of options. Ben was a technical guy. Meaning that he focused more on fun than innovation. She still innovated, but entertainment is what he enjoyed the most. As a result, most of his inventions are about fun instead of scientific purposes.
"Ooh! What's this?" A young pegasus went over to a machine that was shaped like the Psychic-Type symbol. It had a barricade around it since it was being blocked off. But since she could fly, that was no problem for her.
"Hey, hey! Don't go near that!" A man working here, grabbing the little pony's tail, pulling her back. "That's a work in progress teleporter. It's not yet finished."
"Work in progress teleporter?" She asked. "How's it teleport you?"
"Well. We gathered up a bunch of Psychic-Types to help give this machine energy in order to have others who can't teleport use this to get around easier. But it's not that functional. Look." The man held a rubber ball, tossing it to the teleporter. Once the rubber ball landed on the teleporter, it was disintegrated into nothing. This made the young pony gasp. She was almost obliterated. "Yeah. So please don't go near it at any costs."
"Okay! Thanks, mister!"
Sapphire had come across something herself. A sort of mini room that had tons of space. She entered the room and immediately, she was floating in the air, as gravity had changed. "Oooh...this is different. I'm flying!"
"You're actually floating. You're inside our Anti-Gravity room." A woman responded to Sapphire.
"Anti-Gravity room?"
"Mhm. We had some Pokemon use the Psychic-Type move Gravity and simply reversed it. Now Gravity in this one room is the opposite and instead Anti-Gravity. So right now, you're essentially feeling something opposite to what you normally feel."
"That's amazing... This place has some really amazing inventions!" Sapphire swam around in the room. "How did you manage to make all of this stuff?"
"Oh, thank you, my little pony. But we didn't do it alone. We had some help from other companies around the world to assist with the designs and inventions. BIG.Co is advanced but it's still growing. We're still nowhere near the more advanced companies."
"How can there be something better than this? Geez, the Pokemon world is huge. Hey, everypony! Come in here! This is the best thing ever!" Sapphire Flash called for her fellow classmates as they all came running towards the Anti-Gravity room. Now it was filled with floating fillies acting as if they could fly. Well, some of them could since a few of them were pegasi, but the unicorns and earth ponies felt it.
Dew Drops wasn't sure on what she wanted to do in a place this big. For a pony as shy as her, this was overwhelming yet still amazing to her.
"What about you, dear? What's got your interest?" Her father asked.
"Umm...I don't know. This is a lot." She replied in a timid voice.
"If this is too overwhelming for you, we can go home if you want." Her mother put her hoof around her.
"No. I don't want to go home yet. I really like this place but...I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm just tagging along."
"Oh, don't say that. You're apart of this visit as much as anypony else." Her father patted her head. "As your proud and awesome dad, I'll make sure that you have the best time here. We won't let this visit go to waste." He said proudly. "Oh! How does that look?" He noticed a room that was tailored for Pokemon Professions. This room was all about the roles and jobs that people can take in the Pokemon World. The most common being the trainers, coordinators, breeders and gym leaders. As the trio entered the room, they were greeted with many tables that had over 15 different booths with 15 different professions. Each available to have a look into. There were even young teenage trainers at some of the booths, looking for their future profession.
"Professions? Are you sure our daughter is capable of taking on a profession that involves Pokemon?" The mother asked.
"As long as it's a safe and simple profession, it's fine. Who knows. She might take an interest in one of them and end up being an expert in the near future."
"Yeah...if the worlds are still connected by then." She replied quietly. The three of them went up to the first booth which was about being a Pokemon Paleontologist.
"Pokemon Paleontogolist?" The father said, looking at the sign.
"Hoho! Interested in this job?" The lady at the booth leaned forward at them.
"What's this all about?" He questioned.
"Well, it's all about researching Pokemon Fossils and getting out there to find them. Whether it be in the harsh deserts or chilling snowfields This profession is great for those who want to revive fossils of certain Pokemon from the past. It's simple and straightforward. How does it sound?"
"Uhh...it does sound interesting but going out into the world to find fossils through those conditions sounds a bit too much for our little Dew Drops here." The father denied the offer.
"Oh. What a shame." The lady sighed, slumping down on her chair. The family went over to another booth that might be less adventurous than the previous one. This booth seemed to be heavily decorated, almost resembling that of a shrine.
"Which one is this?" The mother asked.
"This? You're standing before the Shrine Maiden booth." A Shrine Maiden replied. "Welcome."
"What is a...Shrine Maiden? Somepony who stands at a shrine?" The father questioned.
"Oh, no-no. Not quite. You see, Shrine Maidens, more specifically our Shrine Maidens are tasked with helping people and Pokemon across the world-"
"Oh, that sounds pretty natural. I think we've got the one, dear." The father interrupted the sentence, believing this was perfect for Dew Drops.
"Ah. I haven't finished yet. We're tasked with helping people and Pokemon across the world by travelling and exorcising spirits and Pokemon who haunt and afflict the innocent, though they are also tasked with protecting their shrines, both major and minor, as well as maintaining spiritual offerings."
"...Huh?" The parents both said, dumbfounded at the 'exorcising' part.
"Mhm. You see, there are certain Pokemon in the world that are either not at peace yet or even humans that have been possessed by a Pokemon or even transformed into one."
"P-Pokemon were once human?!" The mother stuttered.
"Not all. Just a few. For example, the Pokemon Spiritomb was once a human that was formed by 108 wicked spirits. It was bound to a fissure in an odd keystone as punishment for misdeeds 500 years ago. Spiritomb are Pokemon that we Shrine Maidens deal with since they are the most rampant when it comes to spiritual occurrences. As such, we exorcise Pokemon such as that by using weapons that are blessed and purified by Fairy-Types in order to affect them. Although this is mostly done by higher-ranked maidens. We are also taken in at a young age to become Shrine Maidens. Mostly in our teenage years. We're all taught by the Shrine Maiden Mother to be the best maidens we can become. It's a fairly complex profession, but it helps to strengthen the mind and body." She giggled.
"...." The parents had no idea how to respond to this. This was ridiculous to listen to. Purifying spirits, 108 spirits, taken in at a young age, possession and haunting. All of that was something that they would not expect to hear from a woman who was dressed so beautifully.
"On second thought...we'll just...go to another booth." The father said, terrified.
"Alright! Please come back if you change your mind!" The maiden waved them goodbye.
"Is this what humans have to deal with every day? I never knew the Pokemon World could be so dangerous." The mother spoke.
"Even our world is dangerous and full of unknown monsters, dear. But this is ridiculous. There has to be a profession here that doesn't involve danger in the slightest."
"What about those Pokemon Contests? From what I've heard, they're completely harmless and anypony can join in. Even the younger ones. And they're called Pokemon Coordinators, right?"
"Oh, right. That does sound like the best one actually. It's perfect actually!" The father exclaimed. "What do you say, dear? Do you wish to be Pokemon Coordinator?" He asked her shy daughter.
"Umm...not really." Dew Drops shook her head.
"Huh? Why not, honey?" questioned the mother.
"It sounds fun but...Too many ponies will be watching me." Dew Drops whimpered.
"Oh, right. You haven't conquered that fear yet. Not to worry. I'm sure eventually, you'll get used to being in front and around oversized crowds. But in the meantime, what really interests you?"
"...I want to become a Pokemon teacher." She finally gave an answer. "Sitting through Mr Hollow's classes and how much fun they really made me want to teach others about Pokemon in the future. If that's okay with you, mom, dad."
"Of course it is!" The father picked up Dew Drops, giving his light blue daughter a warm hug. "It's perfect!"
"Honey, if you wanted to be a Pokemon Teacher, why didn't you tell us earlier?"
"I thought you might find it underwhelming and not the exciting job you wanted me to have."
"Are you kidding? As long as it makes you happy, who cares how boring it may be." The father chuckled. "Besides, you have our smarts, so you'll be an excellent teacher in no time."
"Really? Thanks, mom, dad." Dew Drops made a soft smile that made both her parents melt as they were never capable of handling their own daughter's smile. It was sort of their greatest weakness.
"What are we waiting for then? Let's go see if there's a booth about being a teacher." The mother pushed them both forward as they continued their little journey inside the HQ.
Moving back to the other side, whilst the other foals have fun inside the Anti-Gravity room, Sunrise decided to venture further away from the group including his brother. Where he ended up was a room that had inventions that had been thrown out. They were all unused and most likely failed inventions that the workers deemed unsuccessful. It was essentially just a storage room.
"Look at all this awesome stuff..." Sunrise gazed at the collection of inventions and devices of all kinds. Which one could he start with, he wondered. The first one he picked out was an invention labelled 'Crystallized Aura'. Someone in this HQ managed to crystalize Aura itself, whoever it was. However, it was deemed a failure due to it being too destructive since someone had once used the crystallized aura to build a powerful doomsday weapon. But Sunrise didn't care for it. He just tossed it away. "Let's see...what else is there?" The next invention he picked up was a shield made out of Tyranitar armour. But, it was in here due to it being easily broken by Types that are Super-Effective against a Tyranitar. Mostly Fighting-Types. Plus, it wasn't as durable as a Tyranitar and no matter how many times they tried, they could never get it to match the durability of the Pokemon it was based off. It did look pretty neat to Sunrise though. He placed it on his back just to look cool. "Now this is more like it." Let's see what other neat stuff's in here? Rummaging through the vast amount of scrapped inventions, he came across something that piqued his interest more than anything else. It was in the shape of a standard box, but it seemed to have a screen on it. Sunrise noticed a lever that was made to activate. The young unicorn pulled the lever back, activating the machine as it was online.
"Greetings, future champion." The box suddenly gained a face as it spoke in a robotic voice that sounded like it was glitching out. "How may I assist you on your road to champion?"
"Woah. What is this?"
"I have no name. But I am programmed to service and assist trainers who aim to become Pokemon Champions."
"Ooh. ...How?"
"It is quite straightforward. For example, I can inform trainers which Pokemon they should catch to prepare for the upcoming gym battle and where to find them. I am also capable of giving out information for shortcuts and quicker routes for trainers in order to shorten their journey to the Pokemon League."
"Aw sweet! This thing's pretty great actually! But why were you thrown out in the first place?"
"I was deemed to be too easy for trainers. My functions apparently deplete the fun and enjoyment out of a Pokemon Adventure. As a result, BigTime Ben, the founder of this HQ, estimated me to be a failed invention."
"Pssh! Well, this isn't a failure at all! This is perfect! I'm joining in the Equestria Pokemon League and I wanna be the very best out of everypony in Equestria. So something like this is just what I need! How would you like to help me out?"
"I shall guide you to victory, future champion."
"Nice! In ya go." Sunrise gently placed the machine inside of his saddle-bag as it was small enough to fit. Sunrise felt like he just scored a big win by obtaining this device, even though he's not allowed to have it. For starters, he stole it and is using a failed and banned invention that Ben had forbidden. But, Sunrise thought that as long nopony notices, he's in the clear. He made sure to look around to see that nopony was near. And the coast was clear. No one had seen him head inside or outside the storage room. Now it was time to just head back to the group and act like he was always there with them.
Everypony was up to something in this HQ, but one pony who was indeed up to something more than anypony else was Adagio. Johto was her next destination since she heard how traditional and old school it is compared to the other regions. At first, she thought it would be a cakewalk, but she remembered not to underestimate anyone else after the Blissey and Pinkie Pie situation. So at the moment, she just sat there, wondering how to get away with this one without fail.
"I can't believe this has become so difficult. All I had to do was turn someone bitter and call it a day...but guess that's not happening with what's happened so far." Adagio sighed sitting at Route 34, the closest to Goldenrod City. The Kricketot that laid in her hair hopped out to comfort her trainer. "What do you want?"
"Kricke!" The Cricket Pokemon held a berry in its hands that it had picked from a tree earlier. It wanted to give it to Adagio just to cheer her up.
"Pass." Adagio turned her head, denying the berry. This made Kricketot a bit upset which fueled Adagio. Even if it was sad for just a small bit, its love for Adagio was enough to grant her heaps of power. But Adagio at this point didn't care. "What to do...?" She was running out of ideas. She put her hooves in her mane, rustling them about as she kept thinking of a new idea to succeed in her plan. That is until...they arrived.
Lucien and Sienna. The two Rift humans.
"Can't get creative enough, my little pony?" Lucien spoke.
"Don't call me that. I am not li-" Adagio turned her head to see the two of them standing there with smirks on their faces. "What do you humans want?"
"Oh, we don't want anything. We're just here to help you out with your power problem. Just a small bit." Sienna replied.
"How exactly? And how do you know?" Adagio stood up. Kricketot was uneasy about the two of them as it hid back in Adagio's hair.
"Don't worry about that. You want power right?" Lucien kneeled down to speak to her.
"Obviously. Absolute power!"
"Yeah, that's the main problem. I'm not sure if you've noticed Adagio...but you can't handle absolute power. Not in the slightest."
"What?! What do you mean I can't handle it! Of course, I can!"
"I mean...can you really?" Sienna taunted her. "Let's go over your moments of absolute power." She held her palm out, summoning a projection out of thin air. The projection showcased the two moments when Adagio had absolute power. When she had the Alicorn Amulet and when she absorbed a gigantic amount of magic with the siphoning jar. These were the two instances where she truly had absolute power. But there was one other consistent thing with these two instances. Adagio had no control over them. The Alicorn Amulet overtook her body, making her its vessel and the amount of power she gained from the jar only made her mindless and crazy with power to the point where she couldn't think straight and almost went on a rampage. She desires power, but she's unable to hold that amount of power.
Adagio had seen the two instances, being reminded of it all. She clenched her teeth and stomped her hooves in frustration, knowing that was the harsh truth. "Fine! So I can't control it...but I still need it. I need all the power I can get!"
"Figured you'd say that. That's why we're going to do you a favour." Whatever Lucien was about to do, it wasn't apart of his plan to cause events for the Rift to enjoy. Instead, this was just a small test run before he can really show his stuff. He poked Adagio on the nose, causing cosmic energy to flow through her body. She felt the rush of astral essence overtake her as it was too much for her to handle. Kricketot hopped out of her hair as it saw its trainer squirming with an unknown pain that couldn't be described. Adagio was undergoing some sort of transformation. In fact, she had gained the horn of unicorn thanks to Lucien. Adagio could feel the pain fading away as she looked up, confused, unaware of her current transformation.
"W-What's happened? What did you do?!" Adagio panicked, worried that something horrible had happened to.
"Relax. Check this out." Lucien touched her horn. "I've turned you into a unicorn. With this horn over here, you'll be able to control huge amounts of magic. "
"I will?"
"Of course. I mean...you were an Earth Pony this entire time. Of course, you couldn't control that amount of magic. But as a unicorn, magic's your expertise. So I did you a small favour and made you something that is actually great with magic."
"We could've just made her an alicorn ya know," Sienna commented.
"Nah. That wouldn't be as fun."
"Hmph. I suppose I should thank you for this. But why did you decide to help me? And how were you able to do that?"
"We're Rift humans. We're tasked with making any situation interesting and fun so that the Rift can enjoy it. We're one step above a Rift pony as well."
"You're also from the Rift?! That would explain it...Well, I appreciate the transformation. Being a unicorn means that I can finally gather as much power as I want without having to worry about losing control." Adagio smirked, knowing that she's got a higher chance of winning this time with the horn she now has.
"Mhm. Well. This is just a test run." Lucien stood up. "Have fun experiencing it and losing."
"Losing?! What do you mean losing?!"
"Haven't you done the math? You're going to lose eventually. Against these guys." Lucien projected Ash and the Mane 6 in his hands. "I mean...you already lost to Pinkie Pie technically and a Blissey even. I'd keep my expectations of winning very low."
"I'll show you! My revenge will be a success! And I will make sure of it!"
"Someone's pretty stubborn. We'll just leave and let you get to work. Buh-Bye." Sienna waved goodbye as both she and Lucien had vanished, teleporting to who knows where.
"Forget what those two have to say. They've removed a major handicap from me. Now...where can I start?" With Adagio now being a full-on unicorn, she had a change of plans. Whatever she's planning, that newfound horn of hers will come into play without a doubt. And since she knew that she was close to Goldenrod City, she figured that this is the perfect place to start and see what she's no capable of, as the journey continues.
With her now being a fully-fledged unicorn, Adagio can now gather a ton of magic without having to worry about losing control of it all. That being said, she now had the opportunity to utilize her magic at its best. And what better place to start with than the nearest city. Goldenrod City.
Currently at BIG.Co, the young ones were still having as much fun as they could in this large building. To them, it felt like the future. They had scattered all over the place, getting their hooves on all sorts of devices or even being pulled away from said devices before something bad could happen. Sunrise was doing his best to make sure that no one would notice that he's stolen something from the storage room. Especially something that was banned and thrown out.
Dew Drops had found her future job as a Pokemon Teacher after being inspired by her teacher Hollow. Although, who knows if she'll get the chance once both worlds return to normal. At the moment, none of them knew that Adagio was around. In fact, most of them had no idea who Adagio was, neither did they know that she was a threat. The siren had entered BIG.Co, going undercover whilst remaining out in the open at the same time. She was cautious this time due to her worry of there being a pony who can just undo all the damage that she can cause.
"Alright. If I can really maintain large amounts of magic now, then how can I start this off?" She pondered. Now that she's a unicorn, her magic choices are much more versatile with many possibilities. Currently, she was at the main entrance of the HQ. Nopony saw her as out of the ordinary. They thought she was just another pony coming to visit. Her eyes were moving about, searching for something to take advantage of. As she did that, her Kricketot spotted something of interest. A device for and about singing and music. One press of it and it can immediately scan you, replicating your favourite songs by scanning your mind. However, just like most of the inventions in here, it was a work in progress. So it wasn't quite done. But Kricketot didn't care nor did it even know. The Cricket Pokemon hopped out of Adagio's mane, landing on the table. It picked up the device, wanting it to test it out. "Hm?" Adagio turned to see Kricketot holding the music invention right in its small bug hands. "What are you up to?"
"Krick!" The Cricket Pokemon activated the device as it began scanning its trainer. Once it did, the work in progress device actually managed to replicate a song that was in Adagio's memories. And just like that, it started playing a familiar tune to Adagio's ears.
Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh You didn't know that you fell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh
Now that you're under our spell
"Hm? HM?!" Adagio was shot back by hearing this. She had no idea that this device could replicate songs from memory so it freaked her out when she heard the song she and the Dazzlings once sang. "What kind of black magic is this?!"
Kricketot didn't mind. It was singing along to the song, rocking its head back and forth, side to side. When its antennae hit each other, it sounds like the music of a xylophone. So it did just that in order to add a xylophone sound to the song. Kricektot was really feeling it. In fact, the memory of this song was resonating so much with Adagio that she actually felt compelled to sing along. Even, moving her hoof a little bit. But she couldn't afford to get distracted. Not by past events especially. "Just get back in my hair." Adagio picked up Kricketot who was still holding onto the device. Now she had both a Pokemon and constant music playing in her hair. Now all that was left to do was to sing some new tunes on her own, without her sisters.
On the higher floor of the building, the children had come across a room where certain trainers have Psionic abilities and were wearing purple robes. These were more commonly known as the Psychic trainer class. A group of trainers that have psychokinetic powers similar to that of Psychic-Type Pokemon. The most commonly known are the Saffron City Gym Leader Sabrina and many trainers from the Anistar City Gym. Right now, they were levitating Pokeballs and other items with their mind as golden and purple auras surrounded them. But the ponies just thought that this was magic, similar to how unicorns use their horn to lift things.
"Oooh. I didn't know that humans could use magic too." Sapphire Flash commented.
"Oh, no. This isn't magic." A male Psychic Trainer replied, levitating a Smoochum.
"It isn't?" said Sapphire.
"No. This is Psychokinesis, my little pony. An ability that allows us to manipulate, control and influence matter itself. Such as this." The trainer pulled a berry from far away, levitating it and giving the berry to the Smoochum.
"Smoo!"
"Woah...That'd be so amazing to have Psychoki...however you say it."
"You already have that kind of. See?" A young colt poked Sapphire's horn.
"Oh, yeah." Sapphire nodded.
"But I bet I could learn how to use Psycho-whatever it's called. I'd be the first Earth Pony to do it, maybe." He replied. "Think I could learn it?!"
"Ssh! I'm trying to focus here." A female Psychic hushed the young pony.
"Oh. Sorry...Still wanna learn it though."
"For you to learn it, you would need a powerful bond with a Psychic-Type." The male Psychic gave him an answer. But one that was restrictive.
"Aw...but I don't have any Psychic-Types. Does it just have to be Psychic-Type Pokemon only?"
"Only Psychic-Types. However, if you can master your psionic prowess by training with a Psychic Pokemon, you'll be able to do the same with other types."
"How long will that take?"
"Most likely 4 years. At best."
As the children were hanging around the Psychic area, Adagio who was at the west side of the first floor was spreading her music once more. She got up to her usual tricks of turning everyone bitter and negative, but this time with an improved state thanks to her being a unicorn now. Since she had absorbed hundreds up hundreds of magic all the way back at Lilypad and Slateport, shes' brimming with heaps of it. And now that she's become a unicorn, the overwhelming magic that would normally be too much to handle was now capable of being balanced within her. And all of this was being done without anypony suspecting anything suspicious. She was making her way to the second floor where she can continue from there. But before Adagio could progress her work, a young filly who had been separated from her parents had bumped into her.
"Hm?" Adagio turned around to see a purple-skinned and white-haired unicorn next to her. From the looks of it, she seemed to be upset and afraid. Almost breaking into tears. "What do you want?"
"Excuse me miss." The young pony sniffled. "But have you seen my parents? I lost them earlier."
"Parents? Like I would've seen them. I don't even know what they look like. Get lost." Adagio dismissed the young filly.
"B-But I'm scared. Can you please help me find them?" She went up to Adagio. Normally, Adagio would dismiss this since she doesn't have time for petty child antics. But seeing the pony upset and worried actually managed to take her back. For a small instance, she remembered a similar situation happening to her sisters. In fact, the horn on her flashed for a split second as she saw Aria and Sonata in the little pony for a bit. As a result, she felt a little bit of empathy and decided to at least help this little foal out.
Adagio groaned, shaking her head. She knew she didn't have to do this, but the memories and her soft spot for anything younger than her got to her. "Fine. Come with me and stay close, alright."
"Okay." She rubbed her nose, nodding in response.
Adagio was leading this little pony to find her parents. If there's one place they might be, its probably with everypony else. At the second floor. Lucien and Sienna watched as they were casually standing around, examining Adagio's current actions.
"So, that horn lets her become sympathetic or something?" Sienna asked. "Is that why you turned her into a unicorn?"
"Hm? Nah. I'm not the one behind this actually. From the looks of it, she's learning empathy or something. I don't know. I don't understand feelings that well."
"In that case, when are we going to actually start causing some events? Pretty sure even the Rift gets impatient."
"We'll start when we start. We gotta do things with practicality, ya know." Lucien smirked. "I've got a bunch of ideas that I can't wait to showcase. And along the way, we might bring someone back."
"What? Like one of those team bosses? You're not thinking of bringing Lysandre back are you?!" Sienna pulled back.
"Are you crazy? They already have to deal with Ghetsis. Besides, the Rift actually wants this world to live and not be 'restarted' as Lysandre once called it. No, no. I'm thinking of bringing back a certain Pokemon."
"What Pokemon could you possibly bring back that doesn't already exist?"
"You'll see. In the meantime, let's get moving. I hear that there are some tasty scones being made at Griffonstone now." Lucien and Sienna made their leave as they left without a single trace.
Adagio had finally found the little filly's parents who were on the verge of panicking until they saw their daughter right next to Adagio.
"Is this your kid?" Adagio asked.
"Oh! Yes! Gleam!" The mother dashed over, hugging her child. "So-So sorry that we lost sight of you!"
"I-It's fine. I can't breathe, mom." Gleam responded as her mother dropped her.
"Phew. Thank you so much. We would've gone insane if you hadn't shown up with her." said the Father.
"Yeah, yeah whatever. Just don't lose sight of her next time, okay?" Adagio shoved him with her hoof. It seems that she's not fond of family members losing sight of each other at random.
"A-Alright." He nodded, a bit intimidated by Adagio.
The siren felt like she could and continue her work now that the little lost problem had been dealt with. And what better place to start with than the most occupied room she's been in so far. She began singing her a melody that did what it usually did. Green sound waves emanated the room as they were influencing everyone else. However, to Adagio's surprise. Only three weren't affected by this. The mother, the father, and the little pony Gleam she helped. What actually happened was that the moment the green waves went close to them, it actually transformed into a golden light. And this golden light managed to grant the family happiness instead.
"That can't be right." Adagio's jaw dropped a bit. She thought that something had gone wrong, but as she looked across the room, she could see that everyone else was bitter so it couldn't have gone wrong. Everything was still functional like before. So she wondered why these three were affected differently. "Whatever. Don't get distracted, Adagio." She put her hoof in her face. She felt like getting out of here immediately since the positivity from the three of them was making her queasy. Next up, was the rest of the building, and then all of Goldenrod City. She continued her little music escapade by gathering all the negativity that filled the room and eventually singing more and more songs along the way. Strangely enough, the one song she kept on repeating was the same one that Kricketot was still listening to. Due to this, it was kind of stuck in Adagio's head. It would be aggravating to her, but at the moment, it was proving to suffice as a source of inspiration. As long as that thing keeps on playing, Adagio won't have to take a break and come up with a new song.
Meanwhile, but not too far from here, Hollow had arrived with Jewel beside him. He was here since a few of the parents of his students wouldn't stop bombarding him with letters and requests to come and see their kids when the pony visit happens since he's their favourite teacher ever from what they are told. Unfortunately for poor Hollow, this meant that his day-off had been cancelled. But he was willing to give it a go.
"Finally. We're here" He opened the doors to BIG.Co, taking a deep breath. He had to wake up earlier than usual just to keep his promise to the parents. As a result, he could fall asleep at any moment now, but Jewel was keeping him up by supporting him.
"Let's just see the young ones, talk to them and then we can head home and you can rest your little head as much as you want, okay?" Jewel patted him on the back.
"Sure..." Hollow sighed, walking over to a worker. "Hey. Have you seen a group of ponies here by any chance?"
"Oh, yeah. They're upstairs on the second floor." He replied.
"Thanks...Man, popularity in Equestria is much more extreme than popularity in our world."
"I'll say." Jewel nodded. "I don't even think Champion Leon gets this same treatment. Oh well. The duality of both worlds, right?" The two made their way further into BIG.Co. As they were moving along, they noticed that everyone was starting to feel a bit on the downside lately. Mostly giving each other the stink-eye. "My. Tensions must be high today."
Adagio had come across the two of them, making them their next targets. Hollow noticed that Adagio had a slightly different appearance from everypony else. Due to her being a siren by birth and origin, her fangs were showing and she had some small scales and fins here and there but they weren't too visible. "Oh, check out that pony." Hollow pointed at Adagio. "Those are the sharpest teeth I've seen on one so far."
"I'm not a pony, you mook," Adagio replied.
"Well, you certainly look like a slightly altered version of one, don't you?" Jewel laughed.
"Haha..." Adagio mocked her laugh. "I'm a siren, thank you very much. Once I'm back to normal, I can't wait to get out of this pony form."
"A siren...?" Hollow thought for a second. "Oh, like Primarina!"
"No, dear. Primarina's a mermaid. I'm pretty sure from what I've heard, sirens are different. But I don't know much about them except that they look like mermaids."
"You know what mermaid is yet you don't know what a siren is? Mermaids are just laid-back and stale versions of us anyways." Adagio scoffed.
"Well...what is a siren actually?"
"If you must know, sirens are beautiful, enchanting creatures, such as myself that are capable of singing perfect melodies and songs with their flawless voice." Adagio was just stroking her own ego now and to an extent, every other siren out there. "We're kind of the best singers ever."
"Oooh, a species all about singing? That sounds amazing! Do you perhaps sing to the entire ocean occasionally? Like your own form a concert?"
"SIng to the entire ocean? Are you crazy? We only sing to live, obviously."
"To live?" Both Hollow and Jewel said.
"Yeah. To live. And get stronger. We enchant others with our singing, putting them under a spell. This enchanting spell allows us to feed off their negativity in order to gain both power and energy. Just like what I'm about to do to you two next." Adagio smirked.
"You can't live without singing?" Hollow yawned. "That's kind of a bummer." He was starting to fall asleep every so slowly.
"Not like that. Singing is the main reason why we continue to get stronger. If we can't sing to anyone and feed off them then what's the point." Hearing that made Hollow and Jewel realize she actually meant that they could still live normally but not being able to feed off anyone is their version of a downer.
"That doesn't all that great. Why would you wanna do that?"
"You think we don't have a choice? Not only will there be no point if we don't feed off negativity, but even our entire race will struggle." Now it actually was about living. "My sisters are the only sirens left, and we sing in order to keep on living. And I don't know how but by some random chance, we lost our voices. Thankfully, being the skilled siren that I am, I managed to regain my singing because I am that talented above the rest." In reality, it was the jar that helped her get her singing back.
Hollow and Jewel came to the conclusion that Adagio is an odd one. Despite all she's said about the sirens and how they actually struggle and how singing is what they must do since it's their only way of living on gave them the impression that it was not easy being a siren. Especially since there are only three left. But besides all that, Adagio only seems to care about herself. She didn't even show any signs of sadness when she mentioned the demise of the sirens. If anything she only cared about the important details where she got her voice back and how amazing she is.
"Oh. So how does it even work?" Hollow asked.
"Watch and learn." Adagio targeted the two, singing that same song that wouldn't leave her head. However, just like the family from before, once the green waves connected with Hollow and Jewel, it transformed into that golden light that spreads happiness once more. Jewel could feel so much joy from it and Hollow was even starting to gain energy back, no longer feeling tired.
"Oh...that's pretty neat actually." He stretched his arms. "Are you sure its meant to make us feel down? Cause I feel great!" Hollow pumped his arms as he was fully awake.
"I feel replenished actually! Thank you very much!" Jewel thanked her.
"W-What? How come it didn't affect you two either?" Adagio backed up slowly. "Are there exceptions or something?"
"Your singing is very beautiful as well. You should start a band, you know," said Jewel.
"I don't need your thanks and appreciation! Why didn't it work on you?!"
"I don't know. But it sure beats having to go back to bed." Hollow laughed. "It's been a fun little talk about...sirens and their demise and evil singing...but I've gotta get going. Got a lot of promises to fill and I don't want to be steamrolled by a bunch of angry parents. Buh-Bye." Hollow waved goodbye as he and Jewel took their leave, feeling energized.
Adagio was still perplexed. The third time in a row, her negativity has been cancelled out. The first time, it was by Nurse Joy and her Blissey. The second time it was by Pinkie Pie. And the third time, it was her own magic that caused happiness. She had no idea what to make of it. Despite her intense and unyielding stubbornness, Adagio actually felt like she was getting defeated left and right without even being hit an attack. It was the pure influence of others that was defeating her. And now, she had just realized that she now wields the power to make others happy. At least, a specific group of people.
"I don't get it... I can have as much power as I want...but even still. Something always backfires." Adagio sat down, slamming the floor with her hoof. Even with the negativity from everyone else flowing into her, she couldn't get those thoughts out of her head. "Why can't I properly win?!" Adagio was reaching the point of frustration. Everything she does always manages to get turned around on her in one way or another. "What am I doing wrong?"
"Krick?" Kricketot hopped out of Adagio's hair, looking up at her. Kricketot didn't want to see its trainer upset and down, so to cheer her up, it once again gave her a berry. "Kricketot!" And this time, Adagio was actually hungry. Starving even. You can't fill your stomach by feeding on magic, unfortunately. Though there is most likely a universe and world where that's possible.
"...Fine..give me the stupid berry." Adagio sighed, holding her hoof out.
"Kri!" Instead of putting it on her hoof, Kricketot jumped up and shoved the berry inside of Adagio's mouth.
"Mmrpgh?!" Adagio was surprised at what just happened. But that didn't matter anymore. Once she tasted the berry, all of her worries were calmed down suddenly. The taste of it was that good. She seemed to be a fan of Grepa berries now. "That's actually pretty good." Adagio nodded, savouring the taste of the berry.
"Kricketot!" The Cricket Pokemon was glad that Adagio's spirits were being lifted once more. As a result, this positivity between the two was actually causing Adagio's horn to radiate on its own. That same golden light surrounded the two, emanating a beautiful shiny gold aura that was already making Kricketot joyful. As for Adagio, she was being influenced by her own light, but she quickly snapped out of it.
"Alright. That's enough." The golden light faded from her as it returned to its natural green. "Let's get moving you. There's one final place to go. Unova. That's where Twilight Sparkle is currently. And this time...I'll make sure to unleash everything on her." Now it was time for the main focus and the reasoning for her motivations. Heading straight to Twilight was her be all end all. And now that she's a true unicorn with heaps of magic brimming within her, she now believes that Twilight doesn't stand a chance with her magic of friendship. Adagio's final attack begins now.
A personal favourite of many. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Spike and Fluttershy decided to go with Unova and their first destination was the ever so popular metropolis Castelia City. The City of Grandeur. This was to be their first time to really explore Castelia and see what it was really about. They've heard a lot from it so it must be a city like no other. After all, Castelia is the heart of the Unova.
"Ah, Unova. I'm pretty fond of this region honestly." Twilight took in Castelia's air.
"Same here. Unova's got this feeling to it that reminds me of home." Rainbow Dash nodded.
"So. What's first?" Spike asked.
"It's a visit. Whatever we want. Ooh, but I do want to check out this place called Castelia Park." Fluttershy poked her hoof at the map.
"I'll take a look at...that! The Battle Plaza! Apparently, it's new from what I've heard." Rainbow chose the battle plaza which was right next to the Pokemon Center.
"Come to think of it...where's Ash? He promised to help show us around. But I haven't seen him all day." Twilight wondered.
"Maybe he's helping the others out first and then he'll come to us," Fluttershy responded.
"Maybe...Or he's still asleep and running late again...isn't here?"
"I wouldn't put it past him." Rainbow laughed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a plaza to battle in!" Rainbow Dash flew off towards the battle plaza, ready to battle to her heart's content.
"What about you, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'll just explore Castelia City at random. You all go on ahead. And you, Spike?"
"Well...I'm a bit interested in what Rainbow Dash's is going to. I have to make sure Goomy gets stronger, ya know."
"Alright. Have fun everypony." Twilight waved goodbye to Spike and Fluttershy as it was just her, Eve, Minccy and the Vulpix from her lab. "Now. Let's see what Castelia and Unova are really about."
Rainbow Dash and Spike had entered the battle plaza of Unova. It's a fairly new building so its sort of still in its infancy. But there are still many options here. One of them being Double Battles. Many trainers had gathered up to either battle solo or with a friend. And the one running this plaza was one of the many members of the Don George family.
"Double battle. Want to team up with me, Spike? Eh?"
"Me? I haven't actually been in a Pokemon battle before...at least not yet. I wanna focus on being a Dragon Trainer, ya know. So I'll just sit this one out and watch for now."
"Alright. Then maybe I can go solo in battle."
"Won't have to, Dash." A familiar voice responded to her with a hoof on Rainbow Dash's back. She turned around to see the captain of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire. Right there by herself even without any of the other Wonderbolts beside her.
"Spitfire? You're here too?!"
"That's right. I decided to join the visit as well. Just for a small bit though until I head back. So you wanna join in a Double Battle, do ya?"
"Yeah! Of course!"
"Then in that case, would it be cool if you and I ended being partners for this?" She held up her Pokeball which was actually a Great Ball.
"Sure! I'd love to!" Rainbow Dash nodded, agreeing immediately. "Plus, I'll get a chance to see you battle."
The stage had been set for two opposing teams. Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were being put up against two trainers who seemed to be somewhat new but experienced Pokemon trainers. The boy and girl juggled their Pokeball, ready to go against their opposing team. Spike sat down with a small crowd who were currently ready to see how this battle will play out.
"Good luck, Rainbow Dash!" Spike said from the stands.
"Alright, you two. Rules are simple. Two Pokemon each making it 4 Pokemon total for both trainer teams. 30 minutes on the clock. If each of your Pokemon are unable to battle, that's the match." Announced Don George. "You've got it... Now send out your Pokemon!"
"Allow me! Let's go Luxio!" Rainbow Dash had sent out her Luxio first.
"Luxio!"
"Watch and learn and be amazed at our amazing battling skills!" The two trainers said. "Go!" Both of them sent out Pokemon that compliment each other. Alakazam and Beheeyem. Two Pokemon of great intelligence and psychic prowess.
"Check those two out." Rainbow pulled her dex out.
"Alakazam. The Psi Pokemon. Alakazam's brain can outperform a supercomputer. Its intelligence quotient is said to be 5,000. It's brain continually grows, making its head far too heavy to support with its neck. This Pokémon holds its head up using its psychokinetic power instead. The spoons clutched in its hands are said to have been created by its psychic powers. Anything you eat with that spoon is apparently delicious and Alakazam will give it to whoever it trusts."
"Beheeyem. The Cerebral Pokemon. It can manipulate an opponent’s memory. Apparently, it communicates by flashing its three different-coloured fingers. With its psychic powers, it even rewrites its opponents’ memories. You, too, may have already had your memories rewritten."
"These two sound pretty formidable. Especially that 5,000 IQ part. I didn't even know it could get that high." said Rainbow Dash.
"Don't worry. I have a Pokemon that can deal with those two easily." Spitfire tossed her Great Ball forward, sending out her partner and signature Pokemon. Scizor. The Pincer Pokemon.
"SCIZOR!"
"Oh, awesome! You've got a Scizor!" Rainbow Dash gawked at it.
"Mhm. He's pretty sweet, ain't he? This guy's the reason why I've taken a ton of passion into Pokemon battling. Right Scizor?"
"Sciz." He nodded in response.
"Both trainers ready?" Don George looked to both sides to see that they were indeed ready. "Then let the battle begin!"
"Who cares about Type matchups when you have teamwork and skill!" The boy exclaimed. Alakazam! Use Tri Attack!"
"Ala!" The Psi Pokemon generated three beams consisting of Fire, Electric and Ice. If any of these make contact, it could result in one of three status effects.
"Beheyeem! Psyshock!" The girl followed suit. Beheyeem materialized odd psychic waves that were capable of even dealing physical damage despite being ranged.
"Let's blow it all away! Luxio! Discharge!"
"Lux...io!" The Spark Pokemon emitted a discharge of electricity that connected with both the Tri Attack and Psyshock. It managed to cancel both of them out, showing Luxio's progression in strength.
"Beheeyem! Energy Ball!" The Cerebral Pokemon dashed in, getting up close and personal to Luxio, who was surprised at the sudden speed this Pokemon had.
"No, you don't. Bullet Punch! Both sides!" Spitfire went next as Scizor managed to strike both Alakazam and Beheyeem at the exact same time with blinding speeds. It struck them both with tough punches as fast as bullets and thanks to its steely metal claws, they both felt the hard impact of Scizor punish them. "Follow up with X-Scissor!" Scizor continued the attack by dashing past both Psychic-Type Pokemon. He managed to send them both flying in the air, taking out Beheyeem and making it faint. However, Alakazam held on strong.
"Not my Beheyeem!" The girl got on her knees, screaming in the air.
Rainbow Dash was vastly impressed. Spitfire's Scizor managed to deal that much damage to both Pokemon on its own and even take out one of them. And her Luxio didn't even get to do much. All it did was cancel out two moves, which was still impressive in its own right.
"Lightwork. Good job Scizor."
"Scizor." Scizor nodded as steam was coming out of its pincers, showing just how much damage it caused during those two attacks.
"Awesome..." is all she could say.
"It isn't over yet. Out you come!" The girl tossed her second and last Pokemon out. A Donphan.
"Donphan!"
"This time, you won't get the jump on us. Not if we outspeed you! Alakazam! Trick Room!" The Psi Pokemon turned everything around by creating a bizarre room around them. Now all Pokemon on Alakazam's team that are slower get to move faster than the other team for a while.
"Donphan! Rollout!" The Armour Pokemon curled up into a ball, rolling towards both Scizor and Luxio.
"Luxio! Intercept with Wild Charge!"
"Not so fast. Telekinesis!" Alakazam halted both Luxio and Scizor's movements by holding them in place with its mind. Now they weren't able to anything against Rollout as Donphan smashed into Luxio first and Scizor second, getting some nice hits off. This made Rainbow gasp and even surprised Spitfire who had control of the battle earlier even. "Now toss them around!"
"And use Fire Fang while they're being tossed!" The two of them went for a combination of moves. Alakazam slammed the two Pokemon on the ground by continuing to control them whilst Donphan lunges forward with flames surrounding its mouth. It was aiming right for Scizor, ready to chomp it down with Fire Fang.
"Not good! Discharge! Quick!" Rainbow Dash attempted to get them out of it, but Alakazam slammed Luxio down on the floor, breaking its focus.
"Grab Donphan." Spitfire suddenly commanded. Scizor utilized its pincers to their best abilities by grabbing onto Donphan's trunk. Alakazam attempted to slam Scizor down, but that would also risk harming Donphan since Scizor was really gripping onto its trunk.
"Don...Donphan?!"
"Yikes! Pull Scizor back Alakazam!" Alakazam was doing its best to push Scizor away, but those pincers were stuck on the trunk like glue, showing just how powerful Scizor's grip is.
"Donphan! Try using Rollout to break free!" But that didn't work either. It needed to curl up its trunk as well, and that wasn't happening at the moment.
"Don't worry. You can have it back. Toss it!"
"Scizor!" The Pincer Pokemon finally let go of Donphan by tossing it directly at Alakazam. This dealt some Damage to Alakazam as Donphan was now on top of its fellow teammate.
"Acrobatics into X-Scissor." Spitfire finished the job by having Scizor flip towards the two Pokemon, whacking them both with its pincers whilst it was nimbly moving around like an acrobat. The attack kept on going as Scizor grabbed the two Pokemon with its pincers, tossing them in the air. Before the trainers could give out a command to escape, Scizor smashed both its pincers on their heads with X-Scissors, causing Alakazam's 5,000 IQ to scramble for a bit. And the finishing touch, Scizor grabbed them both once more by latching onto Donphan's trunk and Alakazam's ears, dashing downwards and slamming the two opposing Pokemon, causing a large dust cloud to form from the impact. This caused Donphan to faint and even finally did the trick on Alakazam, causing it to faint as well.
"Don..."
"Ala..."
"That's 3 Pokemon down! Only one Pokemon left on the opposing team!" Don George announced.
"Holy moly..." Rainbow Dash had been outshined by Spitfire and her Scizor. It's like the two of them had a unique synergy and bond together. Her Luxio once again didn't get its chance to really shine. But even Luxio was impressed. In fact, it saw Spitfire's Scizor as an awesome Pokemon as it had stars in its eyes. To Luxio, that was the coolest thing it had ever seen.
"Luxio..." Luxio had found itself a sort of personal idol. The first one even.
"No way. By herself." The boy's jaw dropped.
"Wanna continue? Scizor and I still have a lot more to show." Spitfire extended her hoof as she revealed to have a keystone with a mega stone inside, just for her Scizor. Seeing this made the duo realize that if they continued any further, they'd be tortured a second time. So for the sake of their Pokemon's health and their pride, they forfeited.
"We give up!" They bowed, forfeiting the match.
"Both trainers have forfeited! Thus the winners are the opposing team!" Don George announced both Rainbow Dash and Spitfire to be the winners of this match.
"Bummer. Oh well. Maybe if I have time for a second match, we'll mega evolve. Keep yourself energized for the next one, Scizor."
"Scizor." The Pincer Pokemon nodded.
"You have a mega stone, Spitfire? Awesome! I wish I had a mega stone for one of my Pokemon too, ya know."
"Luxio!" The Spark Pokemon ran up to Scizor, immediately being a fan of him. He had never seen a Pokemon act so stellar and awesome such as Scizor. Not at all.
"Sci?" Scizor was a bit confused by this though. He had no idea what Luxio was coming up to him like this.
"Uh, Luxio. You're a bit too close to Scizor there." Rainbow Dash pulled her Pokemon back. "Sorry about that."
"No problem. And sorry that I kind of took up most of the battling there. Got a little too into it."
"It's cool. I was pretty starstruck by those moves you Scizor pulled off anyways. It was pretty aggressive actually."
"Yeah. Scizor tends to get a bit intense when battling. Maybe a bit too intense sometimes." Spitfire patted Scizor on the back.
"Sciz."
"Wanna continue going for doubles? At least, with the time I have left. Hopefully, it's enough."
"Sure thing! And next time I'll make sure to land some hits in! Right Luxio?"
"Lux!"
"Sweet. Was kind of hoping I'd get the chance to battle alongside Ash but...doesn't look like he's here." Spitfire was looking around for Ash.
"You looking to battle with Ash?"
"Mhm. I've been keeping track of him ever since I started to get into Pokemon battling myself. If there's one guy I can learn from and improve my skills with, it's him. So where is he actually?"
"About that...he promised to come along and help with the visit. But nopony's seen him today. Twilight thinks that he's still asleep."
"Well. Doesn't matter. You'll show me your battling skills for real, right Dash? I mean, you hang out with him the most and you're participating in the Equestria League, so you've got your unique style right?"
"You bet I do! Just watch me!" Rainbow Dash said proudly.
Speaking of Ash, Twilight's assumptions were actually correct. He was still asleep. Again. He had an unusual problem with always managing to oversleep on important days that he continuously says that he'll make it there in time.
Delia opened up the door to see Ash still dozing off with Pikachu laying on his leg. She shook her head, losing count on how many times this has happened before. "Ash Ketchum! Are you still asleep?!" Delia climbed up his bed, holding her son's face. "You're running late! Today's the day that you promised to show your pony friends around during the visit!"
"Mhm...Pony friends...visit." Ash mumbled in his sleep. Delia flicked his head, which managed to wake him up finally. "Huh? AH! MOM WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP ON TIME?!"
"You said you wouldn't forget and you would be on time last week!" Delia responded.
"Pika?" Pikachu had woken up as he overslept as well. "Pika!" He fell off the bed, realizing that they were late.
"Get going. I'm 100% sure that your friends have already crossed the gateways to our world not too long ago." Ash fell off his bed, grabbing the clothes Rarity made for him. He was in a rush to catch up to everyone as fast he could. The young trainer and his Pokemon dashed out of their home, instantly passing through the gateway that led to Ponyville. Once they got there, they saw that it was completely deserted. Everypony had passed through already. Well. Almost everypony. Derpy was still here.
"They're already gone?!" Ash's jaw dropped.
"Pika?!"
"Oh, hey Ash. Did you just get back?" Derpy flew to him.
"No. I just woke up. Man, I can't believe I overslept." Ash facepalmed. He still didn't realize he had a problem with oversleeping at this point. "Wait, why aren't you at the other world, Derpy?"
"Oh. I overslept too. But no need to worry. Better late than never after all."
"Guess so. Alright. Now I have to figure out which gateway they each passed through."
"Oh, speaking of that. I was wondering if you could help tour me. I haven't been to the other world yet myself, you know."
"Tour you? Yeah sure, I can do that. I might meet the others along the way too and catch up with them. Where to first, Derpy?"
"Pikachu?"
"Uhh...that Unova place sounds fun from what I've been hearing lately. I really wanna go there." Derpy nodded her head aggressively.
"Unova, huh? Then the nearest one is Castelia City. We'll go there first! Sound good?"
"Mhm! I can't wait to see what they have there." Derpy smiled as Pikachu hopped on her back. The remaining trio had made their way towards the location of Castelia City, hoping that they weren't too late considering how long they were asleep for.
Back at Castelia, or rather, very close to it, Applejack, Rarity and the Crusaders were heading there as well. Mostly to warn Twilight and the others about Adagio's presence. If they can at least tell Twilight, she'll be able to tell the others, thus making their caution rise up. But Adagio knew this already. It was obvious that they would be onto her and keeping an eye out for her. And considering this was apparently the final phase of her plan, she wanted to play this out carefully. She had already failed with the others, so she couldn't afford to fail now.
Twilight at the moment was at the busiest part of Castelia. Where many clerk workers and school kids were in a hurry. Busy, busy, busy. No time to waste for any of them. She came across a stand that was selling custom necklaces for Pokemon and for anyone that was interested. And Twilight was indeed interested.
"Custom necklaces for Pokemon?"
"That's right. I can make a necklace completely custom for you and your Pokemon. Only costs 5 Pokedollars ya know." The man at the stand said. "You want one for your Espeon, Minccino and Vulpix there?"
"Oh, no. This Vulpix isn't really mine...but I think it wouldn't mind having a necklace. Right Vulpix?"
"Vulpix." Vulpix indeed wanted a necklace, even if it wasn't Twilight's Pokemon.
"Splendid! Then I'll grab inspiration from...there!" The man pointed at Twilight's Cutie Mark. "That'll do."
"My Cutie Mark?"
"Correct. Just sit back and wait and I'll have your necklaces ready in no time." The man got to work, grabbing three necklaces for each Pokemon. He examined Twilight's Cutie Mark with laser-focused eyes. He got together some diamonds and pearls that he kept stored, meshing them together. The speed of his hands at work was quite impressive. Twilight didn't expect a human to work that fast even without Pokemon. And just like that, he managed to create three customized necklaces for the Pokemon. They all had the same appearance. A gold chain with Twilight's Cutie Mark in the middle. Right to a T. "Here you go."
"Oh! That's amazing!" Twilight used her magic to grab the necklace. She placed it on the neck of each of the Pokemon. All three were made to fi them perfectly due to some being bigger or smaller than the other. Once they were placed on the Pokemon, it made Twilight think of the Elements of Harmony and how they're designed in almost the exact same way. She paid up the man the amount of money he needed.
"Espeon." Eve touched the necklace, loving the look of it.
"Minccino!" Minccy tidied the necklace by using her tail.
"They all work so perfectly on you three. Thank you so much." Twilight thanked the man.
"No problem. If you've got any other pony friends, I'd love to make a necklace around their mark as well."
"Alright! I'll make sure to tell my friends about this place! Speaking of which, let's go check up on Fluttershy you three." Twilight made her leave with her Pokemon and Vulpix. They now had some pretty neat jewellery they can keep to themselves. Plus, it lets everypony know that they're Twilight's Pokemon, aside from Vulpix.
Adagio, being the sneaky siren that she is, had overseen Twilight and her little necklace moment. Now all she had to do was follow Twilight and she'll lead her right to the rest of her friend's location. But before that, her Kricketot noticed the necklace stand as well and wanted in on it too. It hopped out of Adagio's hair, jumping on the stand.
"Hm? Hey!" Adagio called for her Pokemon.
"Oh? A new customer already? You want one too just for your trainer there, little guy?" The man pointed at Adagio
"Kricketot!" The Cricket Pokemon nodded aggressively.
"Uh, I don't need a necklace, thank you very much."
"You sure? They're pretty good looking..." The man held the necklace up, dangling it about. Adagio actually did like the way they looked. She had a bit of vanity in her that she wasn't afraid to show.
"Well...they do look good...Fine, I'll take one." She took the offer but wanted to make this one quick.
"Excellent! Only 5 Pokedollars."
"5, huh?" Adagio looked around as she stole some money from a passing schoolkid with her magic, gently removing it from her bag without anyone noticing. "Here."
"Great." The man took the money as he then set his eyes on her Cutie Mark as well. He made sure to get that perfect music note Cutie Mark on her to a 100% replica. And he did just that, showing off his expert skills once more. "Here you are." He made one for both Kricketot and Adagio.
"Hm. Not bad." Adagio nodded as she took the necklace, placing it on her. Kricketot did the same, loving the look of it. This one action actually caused Adagio's horn to emanate that golden light once more. The dazzling light filled the man with joy, making his already happy mood accelerate.
"Ah...I feel great all of a sudden." He slumped on his chair.
"Alright. Let's get going."
"Kricketot!" Her Pokemon hopped back in her mane as it was back to the usual revenge plan.
"Le'ts make sure this is the last time I run around chasing her. And this time, I think I have a pretty good idea on how to actually win against her. But it'll involve the cooperation of... everyone else in this entire city."
It's been a good 38 minutes now. The visit so far has been going well. And in the span of those minutes, many ponies have been going back and forth, exploring different parts of the Pokemon World and various other regions. Applejack's group have finally reached Castelia. They were here to warn Twilight. The same for Pinkie and Jade. Although, having fun in Castelia isn't out of the question either. And finally, Ash and Derpy who were the last two to arrive due to them both oversleeping.
Five groups in one spot. Two here were to have fun, two were here to warn their friends and one was here to exact revenge. How this will play out can only be determined by the actions that will occur once Adagio finally comes face to face with Twilight for the final time as the journey continues.
The last phase of Adagio's plan is ready to be put in motion. And that plan? Unleash all of her wrath on Twilight Sparkle and this time, without fail. And to do this, she was planning on using the entirety of Castelia City's residents to do so. But at the moment, she was stalking Twilight, watching her every moment like some crazed schoolgirl crush. Not only that, but she also had to keep a low-profile, just to make sure the rest of her friends don't spot her.
"This is where our little story comes to an end, Sparkle," Adagio whispered. In order to have the entire city be apart of her plan, she believed it was about time she actually utilized the capabilities of her magic. Whenever she sings, it doesn't just cause negativity, but it also allows a form of mind control in the process. Adagio knows that if she can affect everypony, she'll be able to control them to her own will. And there's only one way to do so. Create a scene and sing to them all. And the one song she could sing from memory right now was continuously playing in her head due to Kricketot using the music device it brought along with it. Not only that, but she also found some potent free targets as well. The rest of Twilight's friends had arrived, only here to warn her. She had her bad luck with them earlier, but this time, she was to make sure that they're first and not last to be affected by her.
"Ya'll are here too?" Applejack spoke to Pinkie Pie and Jade.
"Yup! We're here to warn Twilight about Adagio. She's going all over the place looking for revenge and all that stuff." Pinkie nodded.
"The exact same reason for us as well. She almost ruined Lilypad Town and crushed a little girl's dream. If it weren't for that Blissey, who knows what would've happened afterwards." Rarity said.
"We came here to Castelia cause she's got her eyes set on only Twilight. So we figured she'd come here last."
"Right you are." Speaking of Adagio, she walked up to the group casually without a single worry. The CMC hid behind Applejack, Pinkie and Rarity, fearing Adagio. "You all were extremely lucky back there. Eggs that bring happiness, pure child-like natures. All of those are so simple and the fact that they ended up negating my magic aggravates me to a whole new level. But after a little run-in with some human, I don't have to worry about any of that anymore."
"If you didn't win back there, what makes you think you'll win now?" Applejack pointed her hoof at the siren.
"What makes me think I'll win now? Are you blind? Take a closer look." Adagio showed off her horn, revealing that she was now a unicorn. At least, part unicorn-part siren. Seeing this made the group gasp in surprise. "Surprised? I was too. That Rift human did me a surprisingly splendid favour by turning me into a fully-fledged unicorn. With this, I can finally contain huge amounts of magic power that I could never handle due to my mind losing control. Nifty, don't you think"? She flaunted her stuff off.
"Big deal! You were a unicorn the last time you wore the Alicorn Amulet! What makes this so different!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"You're about to find out." Adagio knew what to do with all this magic at her disposal. The only thing that Applejack and the others saw for a split second was a green sparkle of light that shot out of Adagio's horn. This light was too fast for them to react to, as a result, it was the last thing they saw.
Over at the gateway that led to Castelia, Ash, Pikachu and Derpy had finally arrived, being late and all.
"Ooh...it's just as big as I heard!" Derpy took a moment to take in the gargantuan metropolis that was Castelia. It lived up to her expectations in size and even surpassed it. "What's that?!" She then noticed an ice cream stand where they sell the city's most beloved delicacy. Casteliacones. Derpy immediately dashed over to the ice cream stand, wanting a bite. "This ice cream looks good!"
"Interested? You can have one for just 50 Pokedollars." The ice cream vendor spoke to her.
"Oh. Um..." Derpy looked in her saddle-bag for some money. And it was at this moment that she realized she never got Pokedollars like everypony else. She was still stuck with bits. "I don't have those."
"Don't worry about it. I got you covered." Ash held out his own.
"Pikachu!"
"Oh! Thanks, Ash!" Derpy flew over grabbing the dollar from Ash's hand with her mouth. Derpy bought a Casteliacone immediately, wanting to get a good taste at this city's most popular dessert.
"Here you go, my little pony. One fresh and cold Casteliacone. Just for you." The vendor outstretched his arm, giving the ice cream to Derpy. She held it in her hooves, being amazed at its look. She just wanted to taste it as soon as possible. And she did. Without wasting any time, Derpy licked the Casteliacone, finally being able to see what makes them so beloved.
"It's amazing! Best ice cream I've ever had!" Derpy had ice cream all over her face as she kept enjoying the Casteliacone.
"I kinda want one too now!" Ash went up to the vendor.
"Pikachu!"
They ended up buying their own, remembering how delicious Casteliacones were. It has been a while after all. Looking at Castelia, Ash and Pikachu could see how much it has changed over the years. It still looked the same but it sure has gotten its improvements. What also caught Ash's eye was the battle plaza. A brand new area that had opened up in Castelia. In there, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were participating in the plaza, going for double battles. Ash was all about battling so this caught his attention in a heartbeat.
"A battle plaza! Awesome!" The young trainer took off, heading towards the plaza as quickly as he could.
"Oh! Wait for me, Ash!" Derpy devoured the remains of the ice cream by eating the cone, flying after Ash and Pikachu. The two entered, the plaza, already pumped to experience it. The sound of them barging through the doors pulled the attention of a few trainers. One of those few trainers were Rainbow Dash, Spike and Spitfire, who was especially looking for Ash.
"Oh. There he is." Spitfire commented. "Guess I might get a chance to battle alongside him before I head back."
"Check this place out." Ash got a good look at the area. What a sight to behold it was. For something so new it was full of life and felt like it's been here in Castelia for years. So many options to choose here. Single battle or double? Or if anyone's feeling adventurous, a triple battle. But, before the trainer and his Pokemon could decide, Spitfire had already come up to him.
"Ash Ketchum, right?" Spitfire spoke.
"Yeah. That's me." Ash nodded in response.
"Pika-Pika."
"Perfect. I was wondering when you'd show up. Name's Spitfire. But, I guess you already knew that by being friends with Rainbow Dash."
"You bet! What do you need, Spitfire?"
"I was wondering if you would team up with me in a double battle. Just one before I head back to Equestria. What do ya say?" Spitfire was straightforward and didn't waste time with her request. Then again, she doesn't have too much time left. She has an important job after all.
"Sure thing!" Ash agreed in a second. His love for battling is equal to that of the pegasi and their history of being warriors in the past. "Oh, hey Rainbow! Spike!" Ash waved over to the two from a distance as they waved back in response.
"Wait. Are we gonna battle?" Derpy asked.
"No, just us two, Derpy," Ash answered. "You can watch if you want."
"Oh. I've never actually seen a Pokemon Battle. What's it like?"
"What's it like? You've been missing out on some eye-candy for these past months, Muffins." Spitfire nodded. "It's only the coolest thing ever. I'd even admit I kinda find it a bit more fun than being in the Wonderbolts. Just a bit though."
"Ooh. Now I really wanna see this." Derpy felt a bit of excitement from what she's just heard.
"Watch us. You're gonna see just how great a Pokemon battle is. Right, Pikachu?"
"Pikachu-Pi!"
During the exact same time when Ash and Spitfire were about to partake in a double battle together, Twilight had finally caught up with Fluttershy, seeing her at Castelia Park. Currently, for the past few minutes, Fluttershy and her Audino have been chatting with some pretty rare Unova Pokemon that she hasn't seen in the Pokemon House yet.
"Fluttershy! There you are!" Twilight called for her friend. "Have a look at these." She came to her just to show off the necklaces on her Espeon, Minccino and as an extension, the Vulpix from her lab.
"Ooh. Are those necklaces with your Cutie Mark on them?" Fluttershy flew over.
"That's right. There's a small little shop where a guy will make a necklace for your Pokemon. He ended up using my Cutie Mark as reference. You should try it. I bet it'll look good on your Audino."
"That does sound fun. Do you want a necklace with my Cutie Mark on it Audi?"
"Audino!" Audino nodded aggressively in agreement.
"Great! It's pretty cheap so no need to worry about any huge leaps in currency." Twilight replied. Just as she was ready to lead Fluttershy to this necklace stand, they noticed that every human and even some ponies were all walking towards the exact same spot, south from here. From where they headed, it seemed there was something that grabbed their attention. And to Twilight and Fluttershy's ears, it sounded like singing? "Music? Is somepony performing today?"
"Looks like it. I bet it's some sort of concert."
"Come to think of it..." Twilight listened to the song closely and recognized the words from it. "That sounds familiar..." She spent a bit more time picking on the sound as she and Fluttershy advanced forward, following the crowd. The further they went, the more Twilight could recognize that song. And standing there, right at the very start at Castelia City was Adagio. She had managed to pull everyone in the city in by singing the one song she can memorize thanks to Kricketot constantly playing it on the stolen device.
We've got the music, makes you move it Got the song that makes you lose it We say "jump", you say "how high?" Put your hands up to the sky
"Adagio?!" Twilight exclaimed. It was something she hoped wouldn't be true. Adagio had managed to serenade everyone here by her singing. And thanks to her now being a unicorn, it was much more potent than before. In fact, the amount of magic being exerted from just being a unicorn is equal to that of when she was at her peak as a siren. Twilight was about to move forward until she saw the unthinkable. The rest of her friends had been affected as well.
Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and even Jade had been under her spell. Adagio managed to build up all this power by singing for a good minute. This allowed her to even gain an advantage over Jade's cosmic energy that surrounds her, but the control looked like it wasn't going to last. All of her friends except for a few others were under her spell, enchanted by Adagio.
The siren had ceased her singing, spotting the one she hated the most right over there.
"Twilight Sparkle. Glad you could arrive here. Love the crowd I've gathered?" Adagio spoke with her usual cocky voice.
"Adagio! Release my friends and everypony else!"
"Pah! You wish I would! I've come too far to just quit now! Especially now that you're here. Right in front of me. Isn't that right, everypony?" Adagio made a command that had everypony turn around to Twilight. They had the usual green glow, showing that they were in fact under Adagio's control. At this point, Adagio would lose control due to how much power she's gained, but thanks to Lucien making her a unicorn, that's no issue now.
"Oh, my. I didn't expect singing to be used for something like this." Fluttershy hid behind her Audino.
"It shouldn't be." Twilight stepped her hoof forward. "Even when we're all trying to enjoy the Pokemon world with a visit, you're still deciding to exact revenge on me."
"Of course I am! Do you have any idea on what you've caused?!" Adagio growled. "You intoxicating disease known as friendship is what ruined me and my sisters in the first place! You couldn't even begin to imagine the damage you have done."
"But your sisters are fine now! They're our friends in Ponyville! The same thing could apply to you, Adagio! If you could just listen to us for a minute! You don't have to exact revenge!" Twilight walked closer to her, pleading for Adagio to listen. However, the people and ponies that Adagio was controlling blocked Twilight's pathway to her.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand. Not from a sanctimonious species that think they're so righteous, anyways. All that matters now is that this entire city is under my control! This beats some pathetic school any day of the week! With this unicorn horn, I can achieve feats that I would never be able to perform like my old self! I suppose being a pony isn't too bad if it comes with a benefit such as this! Now, it's about time I finally put an end to this once and for all! By obliterating you, Twilight Sparkle!" Adagio's puppets separated just to give her a pathway to face Twilight. She was here no-nonsense whatsoever. She was ready to put an end to this once and for all.
"Vulpix. Get behind me." Twilight made the Fox Pokemon stay back for its own protection. Her own Pokemon stepped forward, ready to defend their trainer.
"I still remember some tricks from when I had that Alicorn Amulet. Allow me to show you!" Adagio stomped her hooves down with her sharp eyes flashing a vibrant green.
Unbeknownst to all of this, those at the battle plaza had no idea what was actually going on outside. But the song was for sure reaching them, but just a tad bit. Ash and Spitfire were ready to partake in their double battle, but that was put to a halt when Adagio's green light flashed through the plaza. This light grabbed everyone in the plaza's attention. Its emanating aura was enough to slowly enchant them as well. As a result, they were all compelled to walk towards the direction the light was coming from.
"What's going?" Ash wondered.
"Pika?"
"Spitfire. Do-" Ash ceased his sentence as he noticed Spitfire walking towards the light as well. Even someone with heaps amounts of willpower such as herself couldn't resist. Rainbow Dash and Spike were unfortunately caught by it as well. Only Ash and Pikachu were managing to resist it. "Why's this happening? Is it because of that light?"
"Pika-Pika?"
Derpy was floating towards the green light, convened by it and the sound that was rising in volume as she got closer. Ash recognized this as a form of mind control. Wouldn't be the first time he's seen various forms of it after all. Realizing that they were all under mind control, there was only one thing left to do.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Shock them. And that's what Pikachu did. An electric bolt of thunder struck Derpy head-on. It hurt for sure, however, the jolt was enough to snap her out of the mind control, bringing the true Derpy back.
"Oh. Something's shocking." Derpy giggled as her mane was all puffy and standing up now.
"Mind control, huh? But who's doing it...Come on, Pikachu!"
"Pikachu!"
What was actually happening on the outside is that Adagio had begun a physical quarrel with Twilight. Those green lights were not just enchanting sparkles, but they were also magic spells meant to put the hurt on Twilight. Not only that, but Adagio commanded those that she was controlling to grab a hold of them and keep them in place.
"Hold still!" Adagio growled, unleashing a magic ray full of nothing but disdain and anger. Twilight moved away from it as she witnessed that one single ray create a hole in the ground. She was perplexed on how powerful Adagio was as just a simple unicorn. Adagio decided to play dirty by shooting a ray up at a nearby building. The ray of magic sliced the roof off the building, just according to Adagio's plan. The now sliced roof was falling downwards, aimed at Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight gasped as she noticed the huge roof was about to fall on Fluttershy who was unaware. "Eve! Psybeam!" A quick save was made. Her Espeon obliterated the roof with a Psybeam as pieces of rubble scattered about.
"Gotcha." Adagio found a blind spot since Twilight's back was turned. As a result, she unleashed one more ray for good measure. But, Twilight's Minccino got in the way, taking the hit for her trainer. Due to this, Minccy took considerable amounts of damage, putting it in severe pain already.
"Minccy!" Twilight turned to her Pokemon, seeing it on the floor with green sparks coming out of it.
"I won't hit the wrong target this time!" Adagio went for another one, attacking Twilight once more. The young alicorn put up a barrier to protect her, but to her surprise, Adagio's ray was grand enough to almost shatter it.
"How can she be this powerful as a unicorn from the get-go? Fluttershy! Get Minccy to safety please!"
"O-Okay! Audi! Use Protect around Minccy and grab-"
"I don't think so!" Adagio wasn't about to let any of that happen. She commanded some pegasi to fly around Fluttershy and Twilight's Minccino, preventing them from taking action. A pegasus landed down, standing in front of Minccy while a few stood behind Fluttershy and her Audino. Adagio cast a spell that summoned magical green chains that held both Fluttershy and Audino down for a moment. "You think I'm just going to let you have the chance to make a rebuttal?! Get real!"
"In that case...Eve! Psybeam!" Twilight's Espeon ran out of the barrier, attacking the one who dare threatened to harm her trainer. Adagio scoffed at the Psybeam, thinking it to be pathetic and weak. She simply conjured up a mirror that reflected the Psybeam back at Eve.
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon felt the weight of its own attack damage it. Twilight watched as she saw both of her Pokemon getting punished by Adagio's fury.
"Eve!" Twilight exclaimed. She had enough of Adagio harming her Pokemon. As a response, Twilight decided to finally go on the offensive by herself. It became a traditional clash of magic as both rays of purple and green made contact with each other. Twilight was shocked by how powerful Adagio was for being just a unicorn, even for one who wasn't born a unicorn. The amount of magic she contained was slowly pushing Twilight's magic back.
"What's wrong, Sparkle?! Too much for you to handle?!" Adagio's eyes flashed green once more. This time, her siren side was really showing. More of her scales were becoming visible as her sharp fangs extended. Slowly but surely, she was returning to her true self with the inclusion of being half unicorn. And this doesn't spell good for Twilight at all. "Hold her down!" A new command was issued by Adagio. Everyone she was controlling had already held Fluttershy down. Now they can hold Twilight down, who was in the middle of a struggle at the moment.
They all moved in on Twilight like mindless drones, ready to restrain her. But each of them had their actions postponed permanently by a swift and hard-hitting Thunderbolt. Ash and Pikachu had finally come out of the battle plaza. It spread onto one person and pony onto the other, acting like a wildfire. The Thunderbolt they fired was actually powerful enough to snap them out of the mind control. An electric shock always does the trick...most of the time.
"Twilight! You okay?"
"Ash!" Twilight spoke with joy.
Those hit by the Thunderbolt and out of the mind control held their heads in confusion, unaware of what just happened. All they can remember was singing from before the flash.
"Hm? What was I doing?" A male clerk scratched his head.
"Something about music, I think?" A guitarist spoke.
"NO!" Adagio growled, realizing that her control had been stopped by a thunderbolt of all things. "Ash Ketchum. How in Equestria could I have forgotten about you!"
"Adagio?" Ash responded, turning to the enraged siren.
"Oh geez...What happened?" Pinkie groaned as all of Twilight's friends had been freed as well. The pegasi surrounding Fluttershy had also snapped out of it, falling on their backs in confusion.
"My head's all doozy..." said Sweetie Belle.
"Iron Tail on the chains Pikachu," Ash commanded his buddy to free Fluttershy and Audino by breaking the chains with a good old Iron Tail. Adagio's plans, once again, for the fourth time in a row were being foiled. It was like she couldn't win no matter what, even with all of this magic.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" She bellowed with an echo ringing out. "After all I did! All the planning! Every action I took! You all still somehow manage to break my control! What is wrong with this world?!" The amount of aggression building up in Adagio was impossible to comprehend. In fact, her rage was reaching a boiling point so intense that it actually looked like she was about to explode. On a grand scale even. Adagio held her head in frustration as visible veins could be seen. "What am I doing wrong?! WHY CAN'T I WIN?!" But this pent up rage was also enough to restore Adagio to her true self. Her siren self. An orb of magic surrounded the half-unicorn half-siren, transforming her body into a new species unseen to both worlds. The body of a siren yet the horn of a unicorn. A pretty long one too. "FORGET CONQUERING EQUESTRIA! I'LL JUST OBLITERATE YOU ALL UNTIL THERE'S NOTHING LEFT OF YOU!
Currently the victim to a monster attack of the likes they haven't seen before. An enraged Adagio who has built up enough negative energy, including her own has reached her true form at last. She is once again a siren but with the inclusion of a unicorn horn, forming a newfound species to both worlds.
"Conquering Equestria will have to wait until then! All I want to do now...IS PUT AN END TO YOU ALL!" Seething with rage and vengeance, the now vengeful Adagio, unleashed all of her wrath upon Castelia City. Out of her horn shot out green lightning that was potent enough to shatter a building into millions of tiny pieces. And it did just that. The Battle Plaza had been destroyed in one hit, reduced to nothing but rubble. Each time the green lightning made contact with anything, you can kiss goodbye to whatever it hit. The smartest choice was to run away. And that's what everyone did. Ponies, humans and Pokemon scattered like the wind, not wanting to be vaporized by Adagio's fury.
Many attempted to take cover by hiding behind a building, but the green lightning said otherwise, obliterating it. Castelia was being torn apart left and right with no signs of stopping. Over the distance at Skyarrow Bridge and Route 4, you could see a massive siren creature with a horn unleashing green storms that destroy anything that stands in its way. Kricketot gripped onto Adagio's hair with all its might, terrified of its trainer's new form. The constant moving Adagio in an uncontrollable rage almost made the small Cricket Pokemon fly off. But what did actually fly off was the music device Kricketot kept on holding onto for this long. It crashed on the ground, having cracks form on it from the impact alone.
Ash, the Mane 6 and even Spitfire who was here looked up to see an enraged Adagio unleash her wrath on all of Castelia.
"I came here to visit the Pokemon World! Not experience...this!" Spitfire exclaimed.
"Is that what a siren actually looks like?!" Pinkie fell on her back, gawking at Adagio's true form.
"An actual siren...I don't believe it" Twilight spoke.
"Better believe it, my little pony! Once I get rid of the prime example of goody-two-shoes sanctimonious ponies, all of Equestria will have to bow to me! And then you'll all know how it feels to lose something that you hold dear!" Adagio slammed her tail fin on the ground, shaking Castelia in the process. Only one thing is on her mind now. Destroy Twilight and her friends for good.
Lucien and Sienna were at Skyarrow Bridge, watching the whole thing go down. Even they were surprised that this occurred.
"I'll admit. I didn't anticipate that." Lucien's eyes widened, gazing at the gigantic Adagio who was blasting sound waves down on Castelia. The other thing he could see was a bolt of Thunder striking Adagio, indicating that Ash has already begun going up against her.
"So much for a 'Test run'" Sienna replied. "Now it feels like an actual event. You sure giving her the ability to control huge amounts of magic was a good idea?"
"You were in on it too, Sienna. Besides. Adagio's gonna lose anyway...but I can tell you, based on how stubborn she is, she'll be back for more."
"Probably." Sienna nodded. "Can't believe all that rage is coming out of something that pretty. Well...at least the pony form is pretty."
"It's only natural. I can't even blame her honestly." Lucien picked up a Swift feather from the bridge. "After what happened to the sirens at the battle of the bands and what happened in the past to the rest of the siren species, no wonder Adagio's taking all of her anger out on Twilight and to an extension, all of ponykind. I'd argue that she hates friendship more than anyone. Well...probably not as much as Ghetsis, though." He tossed the feather away.
"Yeah. It is kind of a shame what happened to them. I'd be pretty furious too. Oh, well. What can we do?" Sienna shrugged.
"We could always bring the siren species back. Every last one of them." Lucien nudged Sienna as he held a cosmic particle in his finger.
"Nah." Sienna shook her head. "Bad idea." Sienna walked off.
"Oh, and what? You got a better idea?" Lucien followed.
"Do I? You know Celestia's Kirlia?"
"You mean Passion?" Lucien created a lemonade drink out of thin air just for a quick drink. "What about her? We're not gonna do the whole mind control thing again are we?"
"Mind control? Nah, Nah. I don't think you've realized this Sienna, but Celestia's Kirlia is unnatural."
"How so?"
"Haven't noticed? For a Kirlia, it's ludicrously outlandish and unusual. Kirlia, in general, are already pretty powerful Pokemon, especially for being part Psychic and Fairy, but that one? One of a kind if you ask me."
"I mean yeah it's strong but...it's not that strong." Lucien shrugged, drinking his lemonade.
"Not that strong?" Sienna turned around to him, halting both of their movements. "Lucien. She can create plasma." Sienna formed plasma in the palm of her hand.
"...And?"
"AND, only two Pokemon are capable of that! The Legendary Pokemon Duo Reshiram and Zekrom. And technically to an extension, Zekrom. The fact that a little Kirlia can do that is not normal whatsoever. If it continues to grow in power, then it might become a Pokemon like none other."
"Hm. Now that you mention it...that is unnatural." He stopped drinking his lemonade just to ponder. "And to think, it's not even a Gardevoir yet. I mean, can you even imagine what it could do when it finally becomes one?" He chuckled.
"That's the point. And this is what we'll do next."
"What? Evolve it into Gardevoir instantly?"
"No, not that. How does the idea of making Celestia's Kirlia overflow with magic that it can't control sound?"
"Oh...like a reverse Adagio situation? Sounds good. How are we gonna do it and when are we gonna do it?" Lucien finished the lemonade bottle, making it vanish in thin air.
"I'd say the best time to do it is...right before Starlight Glimmer tries to mess with time. That'll do. Listen closely." Sienna was ready to explain her plan to Lucien in full detail.
Whilst those two plan an eventual event with Celestia's Kirlia in the near future, the destruction Adagio was causing carried on. Many had escaped through either the gateways, entering Equestria or taken the ships to high-tail it out of here. But others were still on the run.
"Iron Tail!" Ash was putting in the effort to stop Adagio's attack by having his buddy run up the siren's gargantuan body. Pikachu smacked Adagio in the face with an Iron Tail, causing her to fall over.
"ARGH! YOU...RAT!" Adagio's eyes shifted back to Pikachu as she had the immediate response of attempting to sink her sharp teeth into the Electric Mouse Pokemon's body.
"Pika?!" Pikachu gasped, realizing that he was about to be chomped by Adagio. He quickly used Iron Tail once more to hit Adagio's teeth. The sound of the iron hitting the fangs and the sight of seeing a bit of the fangs chip with small pieces of her tooth falling out was enough to make anyone wince.
"Thunderbolt!" Pikachu, who was still airborne, unleashed 100,000 volts of electricity on Adagio, making her feel each volt to the core. This only resulted in Adagio lashing out even further. The siren blew Pikachu back to the ground by emitting a sound wave from its mouth. This single sound wave was enough to shatter all the windows across most of Castelia. Thankfully, Pikachu recovered, landing safely on his little feet. Although, his ear was twitching a bit.
"Don't think I won't stop with you, ponies! After you, the Pokemon World is next due to how annoying it is! And especially that parallel world with that aggravating Sunset Shimmer! Every last one of you deserves a long-awaited payback!"
"Yeesh. What did you do to make her so mad?" Spitfire asked.
"No time to be answering that! Go! Braviary!" Rainbow Dash sent out her Braviary to help Pikachu. "Get up close and use Brave Bird!"
"Bring anymore of those creatures close to me and I'll flatten them!" Adagio bellowed. Just her raising her own voice was enough to conjure up a green sound wave to attack anyone within her range. Braviary and Pikachu both felt something equal to that of gravity pushing them down.
Fluttershy and her Audino had picked up Vulpix, Eve and Minccy, leaving the area since it was far too dangerous for the injured Pokemon trio. Derpy had also left, not wanting to be caught up in something like this. Applejack and Rarity had made sure that Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are out of here as well. The only ones left in Adagio's vicinity were Ash, Twilight, Pinkie, Jade, Spike, Spitfire and Rainbow Dash.
Adagio had moved from her spot, moving like she would in the sea. Her horn was emanating green magic, conjuring that same destructive green lightning from it. A Thunderbolt from Pikachu was sent to stop the lightning from making contact. And once both bolts came together, they proved to be a bit equal in power, cancelling each other out. Once the smoke formed after they both blew up in front of each other, Braviary flew through the smoke, revealing himself. Adagio gasped as she was hit with a straight Superpower, once again targeting her face, which was already harmed from Pikachu earlier. So far, Adagio was proving to struggle against the Pokemon, even with her being a hybrid of two species. Not only that but her focus was non-existent due to her being full of rage and disdain.
"I refuse to lose to some rat and bird!" Before the two Pokemon knew it, both of them were engulfed by a ray of magic instead of the usual green bolts. Despite them being hit by it, to Adagio's surprise, the rays didn't do that much to them. In fact, the best they did was slightly give Pikachu and Braviary and small jolt and maybe a tickle. She swung her tail out of frustration, destroying the buildings that her tail made contact with. Braviary and Pikachu found it simple and easy to avoid something like that by either jumping of flying to a higher level. All of a sudden, Pikachu hopped on Braviary's back, using him as a ride.
"Pikachu! Electroweb!"
"Braviary! Steel Wing!"
A mix of two moves was formed by the two Pokemon. Pikachu had placed an Electroweb on Adagio's face, blocking a bit of her vision whilst Rainbow Dash's Braviary went for the lower party, hitting the siren's stomach. Adagio wasn't standing a chance against them both. And they were only two Pokemon. She attempted to remove the Electroweb from her face but it was stuck on her like glue. What didn't help was that Braviary kept going back and forth, striking her with wings made out of pure steel.
Taking so much punishment from a slur of attacks eventually made Adagio fall over, unable to bear all that pain. She fell on her back, crushing an entire skyscraper in the process.
"This can't be how I lose..." She groaned, struggling to get up from the ground.
"It's over Adagio! You're outmatched by them!" Twilight went up to her. "You can give up and-"
"Don't you start talking about that Magic of Friendship nonsense again!" Adagio hissed at her. "I don't want to her a single sound of it! Especially from a pony!"
"Why do you have to act so stubborn already?! Are you that desperate for revenge?!" Rainbow Dash yelled at her.
"Shut up! You ponies have no idea what you've caused. What you've done to my sisters!"
"They're on our side now though. And you can do the same by having fun with us!" Pinke bounced over to her.
"You don't get it. You've essentially doomed both my sisters...You think once you've 'REFORMED' them, you can all go back to jus singing and dancing like nothing happened?!"
"I mean...we are dancing." Pinkie shrugged.
"You'll see one day...and I'll be there to laugh in front of your faces when the inevitable happens." Adagio strained as her horn was acting up again. Instead of attacking, she was retreating for now. She realized that she was indeed outmatched by these Pokemon. Despite her being a hybrid, she stood no chance whatsoever. At least, not at the level she's at right now. Her only response was to flee. The Kricketot in her hair looked down to see that they had left the music device behind. She swam away in the air, fleeing from Castelia and everyone else in it. They all watched as they saw the defeated siren make her leave. All that she left behind was a half-destroyed Castelia City. At least it wasn't all of it though.
"Hey! Get back here!" Rainbow Dash was about to fly after her.
"Leave it, Rainbow Dash. I don't think we're going to get through to her. At least, not today. But someday we might." Twilight sighed.
"Fine..." Rainbow grumbled.
"Oh. Is it over?" The ice cream vendor poked his head out of a building that had not been destroyed by Adagio thankfully.
"Yeah! All clear!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Oh, thank Arceus." The vendor fainted on his back. Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief, glad that it was finally over. Normally, this would be the part where cheers of victory and joy were being spread, but not this time sadly. They were still a bit confused after the whole mind control thing, gaining no memory of it and the siren attack didn't help at all. Maybe the next time a huge threat comes by and almost destroys everything. For now...they just wanted to relax.
Ash on the other hand couldn't help but keep the words Adagio said in his head. About her sisters and how they were apparently doomed due to them being reformed. Whatever she meant by that, it was clear that Adagio knew that something horrible was bound to happen to Aria and Sonata at any point in time at any moment.
"Hey! Ash! Snap out of it!" Pinkie waved her hoof in Ash's face. "You're kinda spaced out there."
"Hm? Oh. Sorry. I was just thinking about what Adagio said back there." Ash scratched his head.
"Pika?"
"Nevermind that now. It's all over! At least...until she comes back a hundredth time. We've still got a visit to finish, ya know."
"Yeah, I guess..." Ash nodded in response. But the thought of it was still lingering within him.
Where Adagio was at the moment, she retreated back to a barren land in Equestria, still in her siren form. But not for long actually. Due to her overexerting herself and losing all that negativity from before, her siren form was slowly reverting back into her pony state. She had lost all that progress in the span of one day. And the day wasn't actually over still. It was just reaching the afternoon at this point.
"Can't believe I lost again..." Adagio sat down, returning back to her small unicorn self. "Even when I had all that magic, I didn't stand a chance." At this point, Adagio was no longer feeling enraged. Now, she just felt upset overall. What was the point of being enraged if you've been completely defeated and lost your magic yet again.
"Stings doesn't it?" A familiar voice spoke to her. It was one of the few individuals who allied with Adagio along with Ghetsis and all of Team Plasma.
"Chrysalis? Here to taunt me or something?" Adagio lowered her head.
"As fun as that would be...I have no reason to taunt you since I suffered a horrible loss at the hooves of them as well."
"What? Did they shock and hit you with steel as well?"
"Actually yes. I did lose in a similar way. And the involvement of overwhelming love."
"Those ponies...They don't have the slightest clue on what they've caused. What they've done means the end of both my sisters...that'll leave me as the only one left."
"What's this now? Showing love to your sisters? Mind if I feed off that?"
"I am not showing love! Those two are borderline traitors!"
"You sure are a professional at hiding your true feelings behind that cynical nature of yours. It'll be fun to feed off your love someday." Chrysallis chuckled.
"So you did come here just to taunt me after all."
"Guilty. But I also understand your frustration against the ponies."
"You do?"
"But of course. Everything about them makes me sick to the core. They believe they're all good and pure. Doing the right thing, spreading friendship across the land, expression true love. But what they fail to realize is what actually occurs everywhere else. I feed on love to feed my Changeling hive in order to keep it stable and healthy. Doesn't matter how I have to obtain it. And I can tell a similar situation is with you as well."
"Similar situation? You wish. I feed on magic for myself and with the intent of conquering Equestria. Nothing else." Adagio crossed her hooves.
"Are you sure? In truth...are you actually doing it to avenge your species?" Chrysalis suddenly changed herself into Aria, revealing that she was already feeding off of Adagio's love. "Perhaps, you want to rule over Equestria for the sake making the ponies feel the exact same pain you and your fellow sirens felt. After all...the three of you are the only ones left. Well...two of them are now just full on ponies."
"I told you before and again. I don't care for those two after they decided to go on the side of friendship. Not anymore at least."
"If that's true, then how is it that I am able to appear as them?" Chrysalis then changed into Sonata. "In all my years of feeding on love, I've never met a creature such as yourself that hides it all behind an iron stare. To be honest, it's somewhat charming. Your restraint to be honest is something else, Adagio Dazzle."
"Whatever. I don't have to hear this. Besides...you've lost to them too."
"Of course I have. More than I can actually admit honestly. But with the alliance we've made with Ghetsis, our losses are sure to vanish eventually."
"And what makes you think we're gonna win just because we have some human on our side?"
"Because Ghetsis has something that no one in Equestria has. At least...not this version of Equestria."
"Are you saying that he's been grabbing stuff from other worlds?"
"Oh. More than just stuff, Adagio Dazzle. You might want to see this." Chrysalis smirked, knowing what Ghetsis has done. Whatever he's done, it was making Adagio uneasy. What could he have possibly dragged into this world that could ensure their victory and rule over all of Equestria. The answer could only be given by his interference with other worlds. And as for Ghetsis and Team Plasma...they were currently at the backup kingdom they built in Queen Pyrestar's world. Ghetsis sat there on his throne, still thinking about his loss against Ash and Hollow. But, the thought of that wasn't what he was focusing on at the moment. Ghetsis is equally as stubborn as Adaigo, if not greater. So he has no clue how to give up and when to stop. But what he does know is how to see through his opponents and find their weaknesses. And after days and hours of thinking, he had come up with a conclusion. A way to gain victory over Equestria once and for all. But for the meantime...he'll take his time.
Despite everything that happened during the Adagio attack at Castelia City, the visit resumed.
There were still hours left before everypony returns to Equestria after all. Even though Castelia City was half-destroyed, the people there weren't too bothered by it. Wouldn't be the first time their city was apart of mass destruction. For Twilight and her friends, the best option right now is to probably head to another region to resume their visit. Or they could head somewhere else in Unova. Castelia's going to need some time to recover. For now, the next stop for the visit shall be Undella Town. But first, Twilight still wanted to show her friends the necklace stand which thankfully wasn't destroyed in the attack. But tons of resources were obliterated, so a limited amount was left.
"You're in luck. Here you go." The man selling the necklaces revealed to everypony else the newly made custom necklaces he built for their Pokemon. Just like Twilight, they all had their Cutie Mark in the middle of the necklace. Each perfect for their Pokemon. Although, he could only make a limited amount for one Pokemon each, unfortunately.
"You weren't kidding Twilight. These are great!" Rainbow Dash placed her own necklace on her Braviary. Rarity for a single Leavanny, Fluttershy for her Audino and so on and so forth. The only one exempt from this were Jade and Ash since Jade didn't own a Pokemon and Ash just simply passed on it.
"Hold on!" Spike spoke up. "Where's my necklace for my Goomy over here?"
"Oh. That's a tough one. Your Pokemon's body shape is gonna be hard to make a necklace for. And you don't exactly have a mark like your pony friends here."
"Aw..." Spike sulked.
"Don't worry about it. Sometimes, I'm not limited to just necklaces. I think I have one more thing that your Goomy can have." He shuffled through the remaining amount of accessories he had left until he found something that could work. "Aha! This will do!" He gave Spike's Goomy a tiny little gemstone. "Goomy's at times love to eat gemstones. Here you go." He tossed a tiny crystal at Goomy as the Soft Tissue Pokemon devoured it.
"Hm. I guess that works." Spike nodded.
"Well...you all look like you're fine now. I'm out of here," said Spitfire.
"Mhm. I have a job still at the end of the day. But today was...something alright. Didn't get to have my double battle with Ash, but I did get to battle anyways and I saw a pretty neat takedown on that siren lady. So I'm satisfied."
"I promise next time we'll definitely have a double battle together, Spitfire," Ash spoke.
"Pikachu!"
"I can tell you'll keep it. Later!" Spitfire said her goodbyes as she left towards the gateway that led all the way back to Equestria.
"So uh...where to next are we all going?" Derpy asked as she had actually tagged along with the group.
"We're headed to Undella Town remember?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You sure you wanna come along?"
"Oh, yeah. Without a doubt." Derpy nodded her head like a ragdoll. "And maybe I can learn more about battling too."
"You? A battler?" Rainbow Dash chuckled. "No offence Derpy. But you don't really fit the battler role. Especially a Pokemon Trainer."
"I too can be a battler. For sure." Derpy seemed determined. "I can even maybe become one of the best, you know."
"I'm surprised you're interested in it actually." Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"
"Oh. My great-great-great-great...uh...lots of greats grandfather was a GREAT warrior way back then. So that warrior's blood is in me...I think that's how it goes."
"Derpy. We're pegasi. We all have warrior blood within us because of our ancestors." Rainbow said.
"Oh. Right." Derpy giggled. "But I can feel tons of it in me, ya know. I've been watching a ton of battles from Ash and the other pegasi in Cloudsdale. It really gets the blood pumping. Somepony said that."
"Speaking of which. Ash. We wanted to ask you for a favour for quite some time now." Twilight turned to him.
"Hm? Yeah, what's up?"
"Everpony...mostly the unicorns and earth ponies, were wondering if you could train us to become better Pokemon battlers."
"You want me to train you to be better battlers?"
"Pika?"
"That's right. After the whole behemoth attack, Shadow Triad, and most recently Adagio, we've realized that we've got some of the greatest defenders right in front of us. Pokemon. But we're not really great at battling. At all. I mean Rainbow Dash and the pegasi are all good and learning new tricks by being trainers, but that's natural considering their history."
"What are you talking about? You guys were awesome when you defeated Obsidian! You even managed to take down a Metagross! That's no small feat!"
"Pikachu!"
"Yeah true. But Obsidian's not really a great battler himself. Far from it." Rarity shook her head. "I'd say that we were all on equal skill levels. If he was actually skilled in battle more than us, we would've never been able to defeat him. Even with 6 Pokemon against 1."
"Hm. I guess that's true." Ash put his finger on his chin, thinking. "So. You wanna get stronger and evolve into better trainers so that you're able to protect and fight back against some of the toughest stuff out there, huh? Sounds good to me!"
"You'll do it?!" Twilight leaned in.
"Of course I will! Pikachu and I will do our very best to turn you all into some pretty formidable trainers! Right buddy?"
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu pumped his fist in the air.
"And as a bonus, I can teach you all too. I mean...I might be the best pony battler in Equestria due to the gyms I've been through and other stuff." Rainbow Dash bragged.
"Perfect! I'm sure everypony will be able to improve greatly with you as an instructor. RIght girls?" Twilight turned to her friends.
"For sure!" Pinkie nodded.
"Mhm. Besides. I already know what this little guy here evolves into thanks to seeing Ash's Sceptile." Applejack was referring to her Treecko that was inside her hat.
"Treecko!"
"I mean...I may not be crazy about battling, but I can learn from it. And I have Mega Evolution on my side too." Fluttershy spoke.
"It doesn't hurt a lady to get aggressive and unleash her wrath at dire situations. So it is a guarantee from me." Rarity was in as well.
"I'm already practising to be a Dragon-Trainer. Even if it is taking a while for me to get somewhere." Spike said.
"I think we already know the answer you'll give, Jade." Pinkie went up to her emotionless friend.
"It sounds fun. Might get a smile from it." Jade replied in her usual monotone voice.
"I'm already one step ahead of you all." Scootaloo grinned.
"I'm only involved with Pokemon for the contests...but...it can't hurt to defend yourself as well." Sweetie Belle agreed.
"It's a yes from me." Apple Bloom was the final one to give her answer.
"Then it's a full-on agreement. Come to think of it...does that mean you'll have to train the princesses too, Ash?" Twilight asked.
"Celestia and Luna don't need it actually. They're pretty great battlers from what I've seen. So I think they'll be able to pick up some sweet tricks along the way." Ash responded. "Now. Let's get to Undella Town. It's not too far away from Castelia. All we have to do is keep going east and we should find Reversal Mountain. Then we'll be there."
"Sounds great! Oh, but first. Can we stop by Trottingham for a bit?" Sweetie Belle requested.
"Why's that, Sweetie Belle?" Rarity questioned her sister.
"There's something I need to do first."
The entire group postponed their visit for a meanwhile, having to head to Trottingham. Thankfully, it was short due to them moving through certain gateways which can be seen as shortcuts to various parts of Equestria as long as you know which one leads where.
Why Sweetie Belle requested a quick stop at Trottingham was something that Applejack, Rarity and Applebloom knew. They came across Trottingham via gateway shortcuts and the young unicorn began asking a single question to somepony.
"Excuse me, sir. But do you know where a pony by the name of Velvetwind is?" She asked.
"Velvetwind? Well, they live right across the street over yonder. House is pretty vibrant. Can't miss it." The pony answered.
"Thanks!"
"What's this for even?" Scootaloo asked Apple Bloom as they were all heading to the location of Velvetwind.
"Oh right. You weren't here when it happened." Apple Bloom uttered. "Something happened when Sweetie Belle's first contest went down. You'll see.
They finally arrived at the vibrant house where Velvetwind's family lives. A knock of the door was made by Sweetie Belle, who knew that she had to be the one to talk to them. The father of Velvetwind opened up the door to see an unexpected group right in front of his doorstep.
"Oh. Afternoon. Can I help you?" He then looked down to see a familiar face. Sweetie Belle was here. "Wait. Aren't you...?"
"Yeah. It's me. From the Lilypad Town contest. I'm just stopping by because...I wanted to apologize to Velvetwind if that's okay."
"You have nothing to apologize for. It wasn't your fault that her Pokemon disobeyed her."
"I know. But I also just want to give something to her that I hope will make her happy. Please?"
"Hmm...being very generous right now. Alright. Wait right here." The father kept the door open for them, heading to his daughter. The group waited patiently for exactly 17 seconds until he managed to finally get Velvetwind here.
The young pony showed herself to them all, not looking happy still. Her eyes were red from all the crying she had been doing ever since the event at the contest, even all the way home. She was still hiccuping constantly, but she couldn't help it.
"Yes?" Velvetwind spoke with a dreary voice.
"Hey, Velvetwind. Sweetie Belle waved at her. "Um. I know you're still pretty sad about what happened back there. And I'm really sorry. Honestly. So, I thought what would cheer you up is this." Sweetie Belle opened up her saddle-bag to reveal to her and everypony else, a custom Pokeball of hers. It had dazzling and shiny blue gemstone patterns on the top meant to represent her big sister's Cutie Mark. It was clear that Rarity had made a custom Pokeball just for Sweetie Belle when she's at a Pokemon Contest. It even had its own different colouring. Instead of red and white, it was purple on the top and blue on the bottom instead. A sort of wild card ball to indicate that the best Pokemon would be revealed next. And it was accurately named the Rarity Ball.
"Sweetie Belle! You're giving up your custom Pokeball?!" Rarity gasped. "But I made that one especially for you!"
"I know. And I really like it. A lot. But I think it would also look great with Velvetwind when she's at a contest too." Sweetie Belle held out the Rarityball, bringing it near Velvetwind.
"Y-You...You're giving this to me?"
"Mhm." Sweetie Belle nodded. "Go on. It's yours now Velvetwind. I can tell it'll look great on whatever Pokemon you decide to show off with at a contest."
"Wow. Thanks, Sweetie Belle." Velvetwind ended up taking the Rarityball. "Thank you so much." Velvetwind looked like she was about to cry again as everypony gasped. Her hiccups were kicking in again. But, she couldn't control them whenever she starts crying, so what can you do? "It's really nice of you to do this for me." But these were tears symbolizing happiness instead of sadness.
"No problem." Sweetie Belle gave off a soft smile. "I hope I can see you again in another contest."
"Alright." Velvet took a napkin from her father, wiping her tears away. "I will. And I'll be a great coordinator too."
"My little girl making friends through tears...I'm so proud as a father!" The father started to tear up as the mother gave him a napkin as well to wipe those tears away.
Velvetwind and her family said their goodbyes to the group and Sweetie Belle, closing the door and closing off this short little meeting that Sweetie Belle formed. The young filly unicorn felt like a huge amount of weight had been taken off her back, giving off a huge sigh of relief and satisfaction.
"Sweetie Belle. That was incredibly generous of you." Rarity walked up to her little sister. "My little sister inheriting some of my talents...I'm so proud as a big sister!" Rarity wiped away a tear from her eyes with her own napkin.
"Thanks, sis. Now. I wanna see that Undella Town everypony's talking about lately!"
A small problem had been dealt with thanks to Sweetie Belle. Now the way to Undella was set. If they're at a peaceful location such as Undella Town, the memories of what happened with Castelia and Adagio will simply fade away. And thanks to a few gateway shortcuts that allow you to get your way around areas a bit quicker to reach your needed destination, they finally arrived at Undella Town.
A town of rippling waves. This town is constantly a perfect summer retreat with a beach full of people who enjoy summer vacations. Outside of summer, the villas here are all empty, but when summer comes around, they're all constantly full. It's certainly a favourite ever season summer comes by.
"Here we are. Undella Town! I missed this feeling." Ash nodded his head, taking in Undella's warm air.
"This is Undella Town? They weren't kidding about its appearance."Rainbow Dash said.
"I can already feel my worries slipping away. Then again they already did a while ago." Pinkie laughed. "What about you Jade?"
"I don't really know what this feeling is...but it feels good."
"Look at all these villas! Maybe one day, if I ever get stressed out, I can come here for a rest." Rarity spoke.
"Big Macintosh might like it here. It can help him relax with his back. Don't you think, Ash? You've been here before after all." Applejack asked.
"Oh, sure. Without a doubt. I mean...I don't have a brother, BUT If I did, I'd let him come here to relax."
"Pikachu!"
"And I'm guessing you might come here to relax as well once you've finally become a Pokemon Master?" Twilight questioned.
"Nah! I'm never gonna retire. I'm still gonna be on my timeless adventure!" Ash replied, giving an answer that only someone who lives forever would say.
"It's good to see that you're still your energetic self as always even after all these years Ash."A voice giggled at his comment. A very familiar voice. The ponies, Spike and their Pokemon all turned around to see possibly the most beautiful human they have ever seen in their entire life. Ash and Pikachu turned around, instantly recognizing a voice like that and even who it was.
The Sinnoh Champion Cynthia.
"Cynthia!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Who is that...?" Twilight gawked as all of her friends had the exact same look in their eyes. Their look could only be described as 'Starstruck'.
"She's beautiful..."Rarity sighed.
"No kidding." Rainbow Dash's eyes were wide open, unable to blink for second and not wanting to miss out on seeing Cynthia.
"This is Cynthia. The Champion of Sinnoh."Ash introduced.
"I see you've already befriended ponies from the other world. As expected from you Ash." Cynthia smiled. "It's nice to meet you, my little ponies."
"Hi, Cynthia." They all said in unison, enchanted. It was then that they snapped out of it, realizing how caught up in this they were.
"Wait, champion?!" Rainbow Dash took a moment to process the champion part that was said. "You're a champion?! What's a champion doing here?"
"I come here often to kick back, relax and just generally clear my mind at times, right at my villa as well. What brings you here, Ash?"
"I'm here helping my friends here on a visit. All the ponies are visiting our world for a day or more and I'm being sort of a guide."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"And he's going to help us become better battlers." Scootaloo hopped on Ash's head. "To very best even."
"And you're training them too, I see? You've been busy over the years it seems, Ash."
"Mhm. But, maybe we can train when we get back to Equestria, alright?" Ash held Scootalo, lifting her up.
"Sure!" The young pegasus nodded.
"Oh boy. I can't wait to get better at battling. Especially when I get my first Pokemon." Derpy commented.
"Wait...You don't have a Pokemon?!" Rainbow Dash turned to Derpy.
"Nope." Derpy shook her head in response.
"Everypony in Ponyville owns one. Especially in Cloudsdale. How come you don't? At least not a single Flying-Type." Rainbow Dash asked.
"I haven't been able to catch a Pokemon. Maybe I'm throwing the ball wrong."
"How are you going to become a better battle if you don't even have a Pokemon to start with?" Twilight questioned.
"Don't know. But I bet when I do, it'll become the greatest Pokemon ever." Derpy dreamed of her dream Pokemon and how they're the perfect duo.
"We can help out with that. How about we catch a Pokemon for you today, Derpy?" Ash went up to her.
"Really? That'd be great! Where do we start?"
"Undella Town has a nice selection of Water-Type Pokemon. I suggest we start over there."Cynthia pointed at the crashing waves.
"Do we have to go underwater for this?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Not quite. I'll handle the water part." Cynthia took out a Pokeball, sending one of her many Pokemon out.
A Milotic.
"Milotic..."
"Oh! What is that?" Rainbow Dash pulled out her dex along with Scootaloo.
"Milotic. The Tender Pokemon. Milotic is said to be the most beautiful of all the Pokémon only rivalled by the Embrace Pokemon Gardevoir. It has the power to becalm such emotions as anger and hostility to quell bitter feuding. When this Pokémon’s body glows a vivid pink, it releases a pulsing wave of energy that brings soothing calm to troubled hearts. Milotic has provided inspiration to many artists. It’s said that a glimpse of a Milotic and its beauty will calm any hostile emotions you’re feeling."
"Wait...is that what my Feebas evolves into?!" Rarity's jaw dropped.
"That's right." Cynthia nodded. "Milotic. Head deep in there and see what Pokemon you can find for this little pony. Make sure to bring it up gently."
"Milotic." The Tender Pokemon replied, making its way into the water by slithering.
"I wonder what it's gonna be?" Derpy pondered.
"I bet it's gonna be an awesome and fierce Pokemon like Gyarados!" Rainbow Dash gave her answer on what she thinks i might be.
"Or maybe something exotic and flashy like a Lumineon!" Pinkie gave her a possibility.
"Whatever it is. I'm sure that you'll build a strong bond with it." Cynthia said to Derpy.
"You think so, Cynthia?"
"I know so." Cynthia petted Derpy on the head. Milotic was seen coming back up as she had a Pokemon with her. They all leaned in to see what Water-Type was about to be Derpy's Pokemon and it was...
A Wooper.
"Wooper!" The Water Fish Pokemon spoke as it was on Milotic's back.
"Oh. It's just a Wooper." Twilight sighed. "Maybe we can try again, Der-"
"I love it!" Derpy suddenly shouted, taking everypony back.
"HUH?!" Twilight and the ponies all said in unison.
"It's the one that I want!" Derpy flew over to Milotic and Wooper. "Hey, Wooper. My name's Derpy. Nice to meet you."
"Wooper!" The Water-Ground-Type responded with a small bounce.
"She's found her first Pokemon that she loves, alright." Ash nodded.
"Pika." Pikachu nodded as well.
"I didn't expect her to go for a Pokemon that's so carefree and aloof." Rarity said.
"It happens. But the appearance of a Pokemon does not dictate the potential it holds and the bond it has with its future trainer." Cynthia responded.
"It doesn't?" Rarity and the others turned to her.
"Not at all. All Pokemon are not judged by how weak or strong they are, especially not by appearance. Pokemon are chosen out of love through and through. It's that same love that allows them to become stronger based on how much of a bond they build with their trainer. And even if they're unable to grow exponentially in strength, the compassion they share with their trainer and friends is enough to keep them going. And I can see that taking place right in front of us." Cynthia answered as they all looked at Derpy and Wooper. The two generally looked happy being together even if she hasn't caught it yet.
"I guess so. I'm so focused on becoming the Equestria Champion that I'm only looking for powerful Pokemon." Rainbow Dash said. "Guess I don't take time to enjoy the simple things and catch Pokemon that I just wanna hang out with."
"Should we tell her what Castform looks like?" Fluttershy whispered to Ash.
"Nah. She'll be good friends with it when she finds it eventually." He whispered back.
"Alright. Here goes." Derpy got out a Pokeball from her bag, putting it in front of Wooper. "Wooper. Do you wanna be my Pokemon?"
"Woo? Wooper!" Wooper suddenly headbutted the Pokeball, showing that it would love to come with Derpy. The ball pulled the Water Fish Pokemon inside as it was an instant capture. The ball didn't even shake once. Similar to how Ash caught Riolu, it was basically a set-in-stone relationship.
"Good job, Derpy!" Ash went over to her.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Thanks, Ash. Out you come, Wooper." Derpy sent her Wooper out.
"Wooper!"
"We're gonna be great battlers together, Wooper! I can already tell!"
"Woo!" The Water Fish Pokemon leapt towards Derpy, wanting a hug. And Derpy gave her that exactly as the two embraced.
"So. Who's ready to relax for a bit in Undella?" Pinkie suggested.
"You wanna relax now?" Twilight turned to her.
"Mhm! Even party ponies need some downtime. Don't worry it won't be for too long."
"Pinkie's right. After what happened today, we need a small amount of time to relax, ya know." Applejack agreed with Pinkie Pie.
"Hate to admit it. But yeah." Rainbow nodded.
"Relax all you want, my little ponies. Undella will get you back to full strength in no time." Cynthia walked off towards her villa to have her own downtime.
"Wait! There's a lot I want to ask you, Cynthia!" Rarity chased after her.
The visit carried on but it wasn't without its break. With Derpy having her first Pokemon and the presence of the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia here, the path this visit is taking is unpredictable. As the journey continues.
The group are still on their visit, but a small relaxation here at Undella was something they needed for sure. There is a lot to do in Undella despite how small, calm and peaceful it is.
"This is more like it, actually." Twilight was laying down on a beach chair, taking in the golden sun of the Pokemon World. Her Espeon and Minccino were also enjoying this golden sun that beamed over Undella, especially Eve.
The CMC were playing in the lake where Cynthia's Milotic was hanging out with them. Derpy was with her first and newly caught Pokemon, Wooper. Rarity had followed Cynthia into her villa just to ask her a few questions personally.
"I can see myself coming here if I ever choose to retire. What about you Applejack?"
"Already think Big Mac would love it here. But so far, I'm loving it already." Applejack was also taking in the sun with Treecko wearing her hat. "Hope we don't get too caught up in it. High noon's already long gone by now."
"I just hope that by the time we get back to Equestria, we'll start training to become better battlers. Even with all the books I've read involving Pokemon and various moves, abilities and types, I still don't quite get the full extent of Pokemon battles."
"I hear ya. You think by any chance any of us might end up taking part in that Equestria League?"
"Why? Are you interested in it?"
"Me? Nope. But if we really get into this battling stuff, one of us might end up getting battle-hungry."
"Maybe. But other than Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, I don't see the others as candidates for the Equestria League. Come to think of it...when's it being built? So far, everypony's only going through gyms and those are already built. Where are they going to go for the league after they finish all 8 gym battles if there's no league stadium in the first place?"
"It's a big stadium. Like the one stadium, we saw all the way over at Galar. Even with Pokemon involved, I can tell it'd take a long time to finish."
"You're right. Wonder where it'll be placed at?"
"From what I heard, it'll be at Canterlot. Whole thing. Though...gonna need a lot of space even for something as huge as Canterlot. If that's the case, then it's gonna take up a chunk of space!"
"Probably." Twilight giggled.
"Have a look at this." Pinkie Pie was showing off her newly caught Spinda to Rainbow Dash.
"...Uh...what is this thing?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"A Spinda. See the spins and swirls on it?" Pinkie pointed her hoof at Spinda's swirly eyes and how it was constantly wobbling about.
"Uh-huh...It's a bit creepy actually..."
Over at Cynthia's villa where she relaxes to her heart's content, Rarity had followed her to ask her about certain questions. She was struggling a bit to keep a cool head due to how beautiful Cynthia was.
"I hope you don't mind, Miss Cynthia. Can I call you Miss Cynthia?"
"It's fine. Rarity was it?"
"Yes!" Rarity nodded with a wide smile on her face.
"Well, Rarity. What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Oh! Well for starters, I've never seen a hairstyle such as yours. May I take inspiration from it?. Second, would you kindly point me to a location where I can find a Prism scale for my Feebas and thirdly, would it be okay if I could also take inspiration from the way you dress and create a new outfit for ponies?" Rarity started rambling on. Cynthia listened to everything that Rarity had to say as they walked out of the villa.
Ash was sitting down with all of his Pokemon out of their Pokeballs. They needed to take in Undella Town's sun as well. But even with the soothing calm air of Undella and how it's capable of clearing your mind of any worries in the world, Ash still couldn't get the comment that Adagio left behind out of his head. Not for a second. And it only made him worry for an unexpected occurrence with Aria and Sonata that could happen in the near future at any point in time without warning.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu snapped his trainer out of it by looking up at him.
"Sorry, buddy. I was thinking about that again." Ash scratched his head. "Guess I really can't get it out of my head. Even at Undella."
"Pikachu." Pikachu put his tiny little mouse hands on Ash's face, messing with his face to cheer him up. His Dragonite came in with its usual comforting hug, embracing Ash. Dragonite's hugs were warm enough to affect anyone no matter what. At least Ash's is. Gengar even joined in for the hug along with Riolu.
"Thanks, you gu-" Ash's sentence was cut off when he noticed that his Farfetch'd was picking a fight with random Pokemon. Because that's what it lives for. It was currently picking a fight with a passing Krabby, challenging it. The River Crab Pokemon was both intimidated and terrified of Farfetch'd at the same time. "Farfetch'd sure does love challenging everything he sees, huh?"
Speaking of challenges. There is one consistent thing that constantly happens here at Undella Town. Or rather, when Cynthia is around. Every time a trainer from faraway comes to Undella Town to be the very best, most of the time they've met Cynthia in Undella. They battle. Cynthia obliterates all of their Pokemon with ease. They leave. Promise they'll get stronger. Come back. Lose again. And the cycle repeats itself. And that cycle is about to repeat itself with a newcomer who's heard of Cynthia being here at Undella Town, flooring all trainers that have the unfortunate fate of crossing paths with Cynthia.
"There you are!" A young trainer who appeared to hail all the way from the Kalos region spoke towards Cynthia's direction. This made Ash and everypony else turn their attention to him. "Sinnoh Champion Cynthia! The trip here was worth it!"
"Look at that. It seems a new challenger has appeared." Cynthia said.
"You bet! I've heard a lot about you and how you're wiping the floor with every trainer who comes by to challenge you here in Undella Town! But not me! I'm a one of a kind trainer with a one of a kind Pokemon team, ya know!" The trainer seemed to be highly confident in himself. "So! I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle! To show you that I CAN defeat you!"
"Someone's a bit of arrogant and supercilious. You can't just speak to Miss Cynthia like that! How-" Rarity was about to let him have it until Cynthia stopped her speech by simple walking forward.
"It's fine Rarity. This is actually fairly common each vacation I take here at Undella. Trainers from across the world often come here to challenge me. Whether it'd be for the first time or a rematch. I'll gladly take your challenge, trainer."
"Yes! You won't be disappointed, Cynthia!" The trainer held out his Pokeball, ready for a battle. Everypony stopped what they were doing to see Cynthia in action.
"Then show me what you can do," Cynthia replied, sending out her Pokemon first. Her choice was her ace Pokemon and loyal partner, Garchomp.
"GAR!" The Mach Pokemon roared.
"Ooh! What's that Pokemon?!" Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash took out their Pokedex, scanning Garchomp.
"Garchomp. The Mach Pokemon. When it folds up its body and extends its wings, it looks like a jet plane. It flies at sonic speeds capable of outpacing the fastest machines around, never allowing its prey to escape. It is said that when one runs at high speed, its wings create blades of wind that can fell nearby trees and also cause injury to any opponent who attacks it. It dives into flocks of bird Pokémon and gulps the entire flock down whole. Some flying Pokemon have learned that colliding with a Garchomp moving at top speed is extremely dangerous and can result in a fatal outcome."
"Woah...is that the final form of Gible?" Scootaloo gawked.
"There it is... Cynthia's Garchomp. Luckily, I have the perfect Pokemon that can outspeed and take it out in one hit! Go!" The trainer smirked, sending out the Pokemon he believed to be the one to finally take down Cynthia's worldwide known Garchomp. A Weavile.
"Weavile!" The Sharp Claw Pokemon spoke with its arms crossed.
"Oh? A Weavile, huh?" Cynthia nodded.
"This Cynthia person seems pretty...calm." Pinkie whispered to Twilight.
"Obviously. She's a champion so she's naturally calm and collected like Leon. Well...those champions are least calm." Twilight was referring to Ash and his energetic nature.
"Weavile and I have been perfecting our skills and watching all of your previous matches in order to take out your Garchomp. We can predict its movements with our eyes closed."
"We'll see." Cynthia simply replied without a single worry.
"Weavile! Use Ice Shard!" The trainer gave off the first command to start the battle.
"Wea!" The Sharp Claw Pokemon conjured a chunk of ice in its claws, hurling it towards Garchomp.
"Cut it apart with your blades Garchomp." Cynthia gave off a response to this attack. Garchomp had simply used its sharp blades to cut apart the shards with ease, splitting them into even tinier shards of ice. Its blades were so sharp that it could bypass its weakness to Ice attacks without any fear of being damaged.
"What?! Then in that case...Fire an Ice Beam from afar!"
"Vile!" The Dark-Ice-Type Pokemon unleashed a chilling beam of ice towards its opposing Pokemon.
"Flamethrower." Garchomp easily obliterated the Ice Beam by breathing out scorching flames, stopping Weavile's Ice Beam permanently. "Allow us to attack next. Garchomp. Dragon Rush."
"GAR!" The Mach Pokemon took off from the ground, leaving a huge dust cloud behind it just from a single shockwave.
"Not good! Weavile! Night Slash quick!" The trainer panicked as he didn't anticipate the battle going like this so far. The Sharp Claw Pokemon jumped over Garchomp, avoiding its blades as it raised its claw for an attack. But Garchomp wouldn't just stop its attack if it missed once. It still continued Dragon Rush, turning around towards Weavile.
Weavile's claws made contact with Garchomp's blades, creating a collision. Weavile was showing to hold its own against an absolute powerhouse such as Garchomp. It managed to claw Garchomp whilst avoiding the blades that were swung towards it by jumping over them. The Sharp Claw Pokemon then did a double-handstand on Garchomp's head, flipping over the Mach Pokemon and attacking from behind with its claws.
Garchomp proved to be much more powerful without any trouble as it finally landed Dragon Rush on Weavile by quickly turning around, delivering a single strike to Weavile's head. The Dark-Ice-Type was being tackled and smashed by an overwhelming menace of attacks in the air. Each of Garchomp's sharp blades was exhibiting most of the juicy and effective damage, completely throwing Weavile off its flow. Garchomp delivered the final blow by slamming both its blades down on Weavile, rocketing the smaller Pokemon to the ground as a dust cloud emerged from the impact of hitting the ground. The dust cleared as it was settled. Weavile was down and out. Fainted.
"Wea..." Weavile groaned.
"No way!" The trainer held his head in shock. So much for anticipating movements.
"Good job Garchomp."
"Gar." Garchomp nodded back at Cynthia.
"Sweet Celestia... That Weavile got demolished!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Return Weavile." The trainer brought his Weavile back to its ball. But he still had 5 Pokemon left that he believed might be able to take Garchomp out.
"I hope your other Pokemon can continue to put my Garchomp to the test."
"You'll see! It wasn't just Weavile that I prepared for you!" The next Pokemon he sent out was a Clawitzer.
"Claw!"
"Let's keep our distance! Water Pulse!" The Howitzer Pokemon did what it does best. By collecting huge amounts of water in its claw and compressing it at high pressure. It unleashed all that water, firing it with the same power equal to that of a pulse.
"Dodge and use Stone Edge!" Garchomp surfed on the ground, moving to the side, avoiding the pulse with ease. It smashed its blades on the ground, sending up sharp rocks towards Clawitzer.
"Blow them away with Dragon Pulse!" Out of its claw came a pulse in the shape of a dragon, breaking through the stones. However, this is all Garchomp needed to get up close and personal. Clawitzer gasped, seeing Garchompp arriving up next to it and towering the Water-Type in height.
"Dragon Rush once more." Cynthia decided to go for another Dragon Rush, ready to overwhelm this Pokemon next.
"Dodge and-" Too late. Garchomp had already made contact. And now Clawitzer was met with an overwhelming rush of attacks. This time, Dragon Rush was sending Clawitzer flying back whilst Garchmomp chased after it, giving the beatdown on the Howitzer Pokemon. The Mach Pokemon then flew past Clawitzer, striking its back with its blades, sending it flying the other direction this time. And just like that, Clawitzter fainted as well. Unlike Weavile, the poor Pokemon didn't even get the chance to land a hit in.
"Claw..."
"That's two in a row. That's a champion for you." Sweetie Belle nodded as her friends nodded in response.
"Rest up Clawitzter. This is far from over." He returned his Clawitzter. This was looking rough for him but he still had 4 Pokemon remaining that could maybe change the battle up.
Maybe.
"Go! Trevenant!" Next up was the Ghost-Grass-Type, Trevenant. He was betting on Garchomp being part ground which leaves it vulnerable to Grass-Type attacks.
"Trevenant!"
"Wh-What is that thing?" Scootaloo shuddered as her friends hid behind her. Everypony else other than Fluttershy, Jade and Ash shuddered a small bit from the sight of Trevenant as Rainbow and Scootaloo held the dex out of this one.
"Trevenant. The Elder Tree Pokemon. Trevenant serves as a guardian to the forest home and protects the creatures who live there. This Pokémon is said to devour anyone daring to ravage the forest. To the creatures dwelling in the forest, it offers great kindness. Through its roots, it exerts control over other trees. A deadly curse falls upon anyone cutting down trees in forests or using Fire-Type moves where Trevenant dwell. It’s feared as a ghost of the forest."
"Oooh! A Tree Pokemon!" Fluttershy gushed at Trevenant. "How wonderful!"
"You call THAT wonderful?!" Applejack replied. "Did you not hear what that dex thing said?"
"Trevenant! Phantom Force!"
"Tre..." The Elder Tree Pokemon vanished into nothingness, disappearing from Garchomp's sight. All that could be heard was an eerie howl from Trevenant. Cynthia and Garchomp both kept their cool, preparing for the moment when Trevenant strikes. The Mach Pokemon kept its ears wide open, following Trevenant's cry. That's when Cynthia spotted a small purple mist forming behind Garchomp.
"There you are." She uttered with silence. "Flamethrower!"
Garchomp could sense Trevenant reappearing as well due to the mist. It turned around, blasting the Elder Tree Pokemon with raging flames, engulfing it.
"TRE-TREVE!" The Ghost-Grass-Type cried out in pain as it was overwhelmed by Flamethrower, going down in one hit. "Tre..."
"Aw." Fluttershy sighed.
"Are you kidding me?" The trainer's jaw dropped. Everypony else was surprised as well. Garchomp was wiping the floor with every last one of them without fail or even a struggle. "Ugh. Return Trevenant." Back in Trevenant went. "I'll get past your Pokemon no matter what!" He wasted no time as he sent out his next Pokemon. Excadrill.
"Exca!"
"All I have to do is land a hard-hitting move on you and that Garchomp's done!"
"What do you say, Garchomp?"
"Garchomp!" The Mach Pokemon welcomed the challenge.
"Garchomp said Bring it." Fluttershy translated as they all looked at her. "Sorry. Force of habit with Pokemon."
"Swords Dance!" This time the trainer was aiming to really take Garchomp out with one hit, hopefully. Excadrill's attack had been raised to a high degree.
"Oh?" Cynthia raised an eyebrow.
"Excadrill! Drill Run!" The Subterrene Pokemon got into a position where its sharp head was sticking out instead. It then moved forward, spinning around rapidly, similar to that of a drill.
"Flamethrower!" Garchomp breathed down scorching flames on Excadrill, pushing the Ground-Steel-Type Pokemon back and out of its attack motion. Plus it dealt some good damage.
"Use Giga Impact!" Excadrill wasn't down and out yet. It quickly recovered, charging back in with every bit of its power.
"Dragon Rush!" Cynthia retaliated by having Garchomp move in as well. Surprisingly, Excadrill had actually managed to land a solid hit on Garchomp with its sharp head striking its face. The Mach Pokemon was sent into the air, but it then shrugged it off like it was nothing.
"Keep going! Iron Head!" Excadrill kept up the attack, chasing after Garchomp in the air. The Mach Pokemon avoided Iron Head by gliding to the side. That's when Excadrill was wide open. The sharp blades on Garchomp were struck down on Excadrill's back, making the Subterrene Pokemon gasp in shock. "Excadrill! Drill Run!" Excadrill was proving to be the most resilient one yet. It landed down on the ground, immediately resuming its attack by spinning upwards towards Garchomp.
"Garchomp! Flamethrower!" The Dragon-Ground-Type flew over Excadrill, blasting him from behind with Flamethrower. And that second Flamethrower was enough to seal the deal as it engulfed Excadrill, making it fall to the ground, fainting.
"Exca..."
"Aw man...just when I thought we were getting somewhere." The trainer groaned.
"Oh, but you did. Managing to land hits on Garchomp like that is no small feat." Cynthia nodded. "However. You're going to have to go all out with the remaining 2 Pokemon you have left."
"Oh, I will! If I can at least take out Garchomp, I should be in the clear. Out you come, Talonflame!" The Pokemon that can give him the air advantage was Talonflame. His 5th Pokemon.
"Talon!"
"Return." Cynthia suddenly said. To their surprise, she returned Garchomp to its Pokeball, giving it some time to rest.
"Wait, what?!" The trainer was confused.
"Garchomp needs to rest as well, you know. Every Pokemon does once in a while. Now...let's continue with this." She sent out the next Pokemon that she had on her currently. Glaceon.
"Glace."
"Oooh. Is that another Eeveelution?" Rainbow Dash scanned it.
"Glaceon. The Fresh Snow Pokemon. As a protective technique, it can completely freeze its fur to make its hairs stand like needles. Glaceon can also control its body temperature by dropping it below –75 degrees Fahrenheit at will. This enables it to freeze the moisture in the atmosphere, creating flurries of diamond dust. Anyone who becomes captivated by the beauty of the snowfall that Glaceon creates will be frozen before they know it. The coldness emanating from Glaceon causes powdery snow to form, making it quite a popular Pokémon at ski resorts."
"Glaceon, huh? That's not too difficult to deal with. Talonflame! Flare Blitz!" The trainer was looking to take Glaceon out in one hit with one of the most powerful Fire-Type moves ever. The Scorching Pokemon was engulfed in blazing fire as it charged forward towards Glaceon. Once again, Cynthia was unbothered because she had a response to this.
"Water Pulse." She commanded suddenly. The trainer jerked back after hearing that. And before he could give the command to Talonflame in order to dodge, Glaceon had already struck the Scorching Pokemon down due it getting close to it whilst in Flare Blitz.
"Talon..." Now the trainer was down to one Pokemon.
"One hit...?" That's all he could say.
"I've never seen such a one-sided battle before," Twilight commented being starstruck. "Not even with Rainbow Dash's Gym battles."
"Shall we continue?" Cynthia asked returning her Glaceon. She ended up bringing her Garchomp back out for another go.
"Garchomp!"
"It's fine. It's fine." The trainer was panicking like crazy. It wasn't fine at all. 5 of his Pokemon had been defeated in such a short amount of time. But there was one ace up his sleeve he was counting on. "This is the Pokemon I can use to win. Out you come!" His final Pokemon was revealed.
An Abomasnow.
"Aboma...Abomasnow!" The Grass-Ice-Type bellowed.
"Abomasnow?" Rainbow took out her dex.
"Abomasnow. The Frost Tree Pokemon. It whips up blizzards in mountains that are always buried in snow. It is the abominable snowman. They appear when the snow flowers bloom. When the petals fall, they retreat to places unknown again. If it sees any packs of Darumaka going after Snover, it chases them off, swinging its sizable arms like hammers. It is also known as 'The Ice Monster'".
"That's not at all." The trainer outstretched his arm, revealing a mega ring with a keystone. This truly was his ace in the hole to take out Garchomp. The ring was reacting to Abomasnow's mega stone, beginning the transformation. "Mega Evolve!"
The rays of mega energy shot out of the ring, falling on Abomasnow. Its height increased from 7'03 to 8'10. The process of its mega evolution was enough to send chills across the area. Finally, in a burst of energy, Mega Abomasnow was revealed.
"ABOMASNOW!"
"Oh! A Mega Pokemon!" The CMC leaned forward.
"Alright, Abomasnow. Let's go for broke. We've got only one chance at winning this!"
"Aboma!"
"Mega Evolution, eh? Hm. I think I'll pass out on mine. Are you ready Garchomp?"
"Gar!"
"Abomasnow! Wood Hammer!" With pure aggression and force, the Frost Tree Pokemon ran over to Garchomp with its huge hands being surrounded by a strange green energy.
"Flamethrower!" Garchomp blasted Abomasnow with blazing flames, dealing huge amounts of damage to the Grass-Ice-Type.
"Push through it and keep going!" Abomasnow suddenly pushed straight through the Flamethrower, striking Garchomp with Wood Hammer, much to everyone's surprise. Garchomp was actually knocked back from the impact of Wood Hammer. "Ice Punch!" Abomasnow kept on going, using the same hand it did for Wood Hammer, making contact with Garchomp before the Mach Pokemon could even realize that it had been hit.
"Dragon Rush!" Garchomp made a quick and easy recovery, returning the favour to the Mega Evolved Pokemon. Abomasnow was met with a sudden hit to its face via Garchomp's sharp blades. The Mach Pokemon knocked Abomasnow into the air, chasing after him. It continued the Dragon Rush in the air, continuously pummeling the Frost Tree Pokemon with an unrelenting frenzy of rushes.
"Ice Shard!" Abomasnow opened its eyes, seeing Garchomp going for another attack with Dragon Rush. Out of its mouth, it shot out shards of Ice that pelted Garchomp, halting its Dragon Rush. The Mach Pokemon put its blades up in order to block the shards from really harming it. "Now! Wood Hammer!" Abomasnow followed up by getting physical. It smashed its hands onto Garchomp's blade arms, even when it was still blocking. The sheer force of it rocketed the Mach Pokemon down, but it didn't cause it to fall on its back. In fact, Garchomp landed safely on its feet. So far, Abomasnow was actually managing to hold Garchomp back and cause it to think quick of its feet. But, that wasn't going to last one Cynthia made one command that would end up ending this entire battle.
"Draco Meteor."
"Gar..." Out of Garchomp's mouth shot out a tiny golden ball of energy that shot up into the sky. It flew past Abomasnow, not even hitting him. Everypony wondered why Cynthia would go for a move so small that ended up missing. Was she feeling bad and trying to go easy on the trainer.
No. Instead, the tiny ball grew in size, sending out meteors with draconic energy around them. There were at least 15 of them raining down. They all gasped as they saw meteors raining down. Of all things.
"Yikes! Abomasnow! Blizzard!" The trainer attempted to blow away the meteors by having Abomasnow conjure up a Blizzard. It did, but that wasn't enough to stop the meteors. Soon, Abomasnow was being bombarded with meteors from above around every side. All 15 meteors hit their mark, creating a sudden burst of draconic energy that resulted in an aftermath of purple energy forming in an explosion of some sorts. The dust cleared after the meteors finally stopped. The winner had been decided. Even though it was set in stone from the very beginning.
"Aboma..." Abomasnow had fainted, reverting back to its normal form, leaving the trainer flabbergasted, falling on his knees.
"Holy moly..." Is all he could say.
"That's that." Cynthia walked up to her Garchomp, petting it. "A well-fought battle, trainer."
"I wouldn't say well-fought. I didn't stand a chance. Shouldn't have listened to my friends and come here." He groaned.
"Don't worry about it. You battled with everything you had. Even when you knew you had low chances of winning, you didn't lose any faith in your Pokemon and tried your very best."
"Really?" He looked up at her.
"But of course. It takes a powerful will to continue battling even when you're backed into a corner. And it's from your struggles that you can grow as a trainer. I hope to see you improve the next time you come and battle me here in Undella." Cynthia placed her hand on his shoulder.
"O-Okay! I will! You hear that Abomasnow?"
"Aboma..." The Frost Tree Pokemon nodded as Garchomp helped him up.
"That was awesome as always Cynthia!" Ash yelled.
"Pikachu!"
"To think she hasn't even used all of her Pokemon. Just like Leon, she's stupid strong." Twilight said.
"Mhm. It's a good thing there's nopony at that level joining the Equestria League." Rainbow Dash laughed nervously as she had a fear of coming across a trainer as powerful as Cynthia in the Equestria League. The trainer had left with his Pokemon returning to better himself the next time. Cynthia breathed a huge sigh of relief, exhausted.
"Even here at Undella...I can't seem to catch a break. One of the consequences of being a champion at times. There's little time to relax most of the time."
"Speaking of time. We'd better get going!" Applejack stood up. "This visit ain't gonna last forever."
"Oh! Right! Where to last, everypony?" Twilight asked. But everyone didn't really have an idea of the last place they wanted to go to. At all. So far, they've all only visited one location of different regions, with Unova being an exception. "Oh. Nopony has an idea. Great." Twilight sighed.
"No need to worry." Ash suddenly said. "We can always come back next time. Like tomorrow. It's a constant visit after all."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Yeah. You're right. Guess the whole situation with Adagio kind of took up a lot of time, huh?" Twilight nodded.
"Mhm...I'm tired anyways." Sweetie Belle rubbed her eyes, yawning.
"All of you can head back to your world to rest. I look forward to having another chance to see you all again, my little ponies." Cynthia returned her Garchomp. "And I need my own rest as well."
The entire group made their leave from Undella Town, heading straight for Castelia, where the gateway to Equestria is the closest to Ponyville. The day was slowly coming to an end and so was the visit, but they can always come back for another visit. Nothing's stopping them anyways. They truly did enjoy themselves, even if an entire city was almost destroyed and countless trainers and Pokemon weren't acting like themselves, they enjoyed themselves through and through, as the journey continues!
Ash continues his fight in the Pokemon World Championships. Currently, he's ranked 890th. So far, he's maintained a flawless winning streak. Seeking his next challenge, he's come to Saffron City along with Goh and the Mane 6.
There, he's been training his Riolu and putting him against other Fighting-Type Pokemon to better himself, such as Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee.
"Yes. Those moves are sharp." A martial artist at the dojo commented at Riolu's movements.
"Aren't they? I feel like we're totally unstoppable!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Are you sure you should be boasting this much in the Fighting Dojo?" The martial artist asked, chuckling. "Our Karate Master is no trifling foe."
"Think he'll battle me?"
"He's battling someone else right now. A challenger arrived before you."
"Aw..." Ash groaned.
"Pika..."
"Worry not. He'll be done shortly. The Master cannot lose."
With the others, they were all watching the Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee train their punches and kicks vigorously with 100% of their effort.
"Fighting-Types sure are overwhelming aren't they?" Applejack commented.
"But they're awesome too. Oh, I kinda want one of my own someday." Rainbow Dash thought.
"I can give you one at the Pokemon House if you want, Rainbow Dash. The Passimians are always a good choice." Fluttershy recommended.
"Thanks, Fluttershy. But I already have a pretty good idea of what I want my future Fighting-Type Pokemon to be."
Goh was busy trying to figure out which of the two Pokemon he wanted to catch. Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan?
"Should I go for Hitmonchan and his barrage of focused punches? Or Hitmonlee with his immensely destructive kicks? Do I really have to pick just one?" Goh asked the martial artist.
"Yep. That's the rule." He nodded. "The Fighting Dojo can only give trainers Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan. One or the other."
"Bummer. I guess I'll take..."
All of a sudden, Ash's Rotomphone was ringing. "A Championships trainer is nearby."The phone said.
"Pika?"
"That must mean the challenger is about to battle at the moment." The martial artist looked over at the dojo entrance.
"I gotta see this!" Ash ran over to the entrance, wanting to view the battle for himself. "Let's go you two!"
"Pikachu!"
"Rio!"
"Excuse me! But I'm coming in-" But before he knew it, the moment he got close to the door, a Hitmonchan was knocked out, crashing into the young trainer.
"Ash! Are you okay?!" Fluttershy asked. As they all went up to him, they saw who actually managed to knock Hitmonchan out by looking over at the inside of the dojo. Standing there was a trainer who had a fierce appearance to her. This trainer went by the name of Bea. And she looked back at the ponies, intimidating them with her sharp eyes.
Fluttershy hid behind Rainbow Dash while Pinkie Pie hid behind Applejack.
"Is she still looking at us?" Pinkie whispered.
"I didn't anticipate such power." The martial artist with the Hitmonchan said, surprised at the sudden overwhelming beatdown.
"Referee. Call it." Bea turned around, speaking.
"O-Of course! Grapploct wins! As such, the winner is Bea!"
"You okay, Hitmonchan?" Ash heled the Punching Pokemon up.
"Hitmonchan!" The trainer ran over to his Pokemon. "You fought well, Hitomchan. Return." He sighed, returning his Pokemon to its ball.
"I can't believe it... Our Karate Master was utterly helpless." A martial artist student spoke.
"That Grapploct is stupid-strong. Its trainer demonstrated an utterly impeccable fighting technique too." Another said.
"Grapploct?" Ash took out his dex to see this new Pokemon he's never seen before.
"Grapploct. The Tantrum Pokemon. A body made up of nothing but muscle makes the grappling moves this Pokémon performs with its tentacles tremendously powerful. Once you're caught in its tentacles, it is nigh-impossible to break free. Searching for an opponent to test its skills against, it emerges onto land. Once the battle is over, it returns to the sea."
"That was a fine battle. I thank you." Bea bowed to her opponent. That's when her Rotomphone started ringing as well, showing that a challenger was near. And that challenger was Ash of course.
"Hm?" Ash held his Rotomphone out to see that Bea was the nearby challenger. She was also participating in the World Coronation Series. "You signed up for the Championships too? My name's Ash. I'm fighting in the Championships too. I'd like to battle you!"
"I accept your challenge," said Bea.
"Really? Alright!"
"Pika!"
"Riolu!"
"My name is Bea. I hail from Galar."
"Galar?" Twilight spoke.
"May we use this arena, please?" Bea requested the Karate Master.
"Of course. By all means. You said your name was Ash, right?" The Karate Master turned to Ash. "I am the owner of this Fighting Dojo. They call me the Karate Master! You may use this place as you see fit."
"Thanks, Karate Master! I'm getting psyched!"
"Are you all here to battle as well?"
"Oh, no. We're just here to cheer Ash on with his journey towards Leon." Pinkie replied, holding a flag with Ash's face on it. "Go, Ash!"
"And I'm just here cause I heard I could get either Hitmonchan or Hitmonlee here," Goh answered.
"Indeed you can. If you can defeat me in a battle that is."
"I have to battle?!" Goh jolted back.
"Well, first. Let us observe Lady Be's battle. To live alongside Pokemon. Battle alongside Pokemon. One way to do that lies here. Lady Bea is a Gym Leader in the Galar Region, you see."
"Gym Leader, huh?" Ash uttered.
"She is known as both the Fighting-Type Gym Leader and the master of the century-old art of Galar Karate. Furthermore, she travels around, visiting dojos all over the world, battling, refining both herself and her Pokemon, in pursuit of even greater strength."
"Her rank is even higher than yours, Ash." Goh checked the rankings on his phone.
"Ranked 751st, huh?" Ash saw.
"...You know on second thought, maybe we can come back another time." Twilight and the others felt like they've walked into the wrong dojo and met with a terrifying opponent.
"No way, Twilight!" Ash stopped them. It was already obvious that he wasn't going to just leave because of a very-impressive sounding trainer. He certainly didn't leave when facing Leon for the first time.
"Ugh...I was afraid this was going to happen." Twilight sighed.
"I'm in the Super Class too. I'm 890th. We've won every match we've had so far! Riolu here has worked super hard!"
"Rio!"
"Pikachu!"
"Hmm..." Bea narrowed her eyes at Ash.
"I can indeed feel a burning fighting spirit from that Riolu. It seems to have been trained well." said the Karate Master.
"I know right! Riolu's awesome, isn't he?" Ash looked back, speaking to him.
"Ash! I know you can't turn down a battle no matter what! But now may be a good time to ya know...leave. Her eyes are a bit on the scary side." Spike commented.
"Don't worry about it, Spike! Speaking of Fighting-Type Gym Leaders, I managed to beat Korrina, remember?"
"Korrina?" Bea spoke.
"You know her?" Ash leaned forward.
"I have battled her." Bea was recalling the moment she first battled against Korrina. And how she actually managed to defeat her Mega Lucario. "She was entirely too soft."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ash replied, not taking kindly that what Bea said.
"Hey! What do you mean by soft?!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"There is no need for me to say more."
"On second thought.. clobber her Ash!" Rainbow Dash yelled from the back.
"Why did you sign up?"
"Because I wanna get stronger with my Pokemon! And I keep climbing the ranks, I'll be able to battle Leon to the fullest!"
"Pika!"
"Leon? To the fullest? Leon is every trainer's goal. Even the champions are aiming to surpass Leon due to him being the strongest trainer in the world. That includes me. I wish to defeat him and become the undisputed strongest. Thus, I signed up for the Championships."
"It's gonna be me that becomes the strongest trainer of them all! My friends and I will defeat Leon!"
"Then let us not hold anything back in our battle."
"This is getting a bit heated, don't ya'll think?" Applejack said to her friends.
"Mhm. Ash! Just do what you always do and you'll win for sure!" Goh said in the back.
"Alright! I got this! Pikachu! Riolu! Let's do this!" Ash put his right fist in his left hand.
"Pika!"
"Rio!"
Everyone was seated on the floor, ready to observe the outcome of this battle. The Rotommachine that usually arrives during a ranked match showed up here in the dojo.
"The Pokemon World Championships has approved this Super Class Battle! The matchup is Contestant Bea vs Contenstant Ash! This battle will be a 2v2. Alright, both sides send out your Pokemon at the same time. 3...2...1...GO!"
"Hawlucha! Go forth!"
"You're up, Farfetch'd!"
Both sent out their Pokemon, ready to go. For Bea, it was a Hawlucha.
"Hawlu!" The Wrestling Pokemon struck a pose in the air, landed down and got into a stance just to show off.
"Far!" Ash's Galarian Farfetch'd was sent out with its large leek ready.
"Hawlucha, huh? Farfetch'd! Watch out for its air attacks!" Ash warned his Pokemon.
"Far."
"Battle start!"
"Hone Claws!" Bea made the first command by giving off a knee and a fighting stance as a result. Hawlucha took the air, spinning about as its claws were glowing in the process. It just gave itself a boost.
"Lucha!"
"Farfetch'd! Use Night Slash!"
"Far!" Farfetch'd swung its leek about, sending blue slashes towards the opposing Pokemon. The Wrestling Pokemon, however, managed to simply avoid the slahes by performing its agile tricks, moving to the side, flipping over etc. Hawlucha then landed on the leek just to show off.
"Karate Chop!" Hawlucha ran on Farfetch'd's leek, sending a Karate Chop on the Wild Duck Pokemon and even knocking it back a bit. Not only that but its leek was no longer in its possession.
"Far!"
"Oh, no Farfetch'd!"
Hawlucha went all the way back, showing off with some frontflips as it took the air once more. "Flying Press!"
"Farfetch'd grab your leek!" The Fighting-Type woke up instantly. It rolled forward, avoiding Hawlucha's Flying Press thankfully.
"Farfetch'd!" The Wild Duck Pokemon managed to grab its leek in time, getting its groove back.
"Alright!"
"Good job, Farfetch'd!" Fluttershy said from the crowd. Hawlucha's attack wasn't over yet. It turned around, running towards its fellow Fighting-Type.
"Now! Brutal Swing!" Farfetch'd went on the offensive by swinging its leek forward. It managed to make contact against Hawlucha, finally. Before the Wrestling Pokemon knew it, it was being swung around by Farfetch'd.
"Lu?!"
"Keep swinging!"
"Let's finish this. Flying Press!" Bea made another stance via command again. Hawlucha made a quick recovery by placing its claws on the leek. The Fighting-Flying-Type took the air by leaping off of the leek, spreading its arms out for Flying Press. Farfetch'd had stopped swinging, feeling dizzy afterwards.
"Quick, Farfetch'd! Look up!" Too late. Hawlucha was too close to Farfetch'd due to the limited space this dojo has. As a result, Hawlucha slammed down on Farfetch'd with Flying Press, forcing the Wild Duck Pokemon down to the floor. Its leek flew up in the air, out of its wielders feathers. The dust from the impact cleared with Hawlucha jumping out of it. Both Bea and Hawlucha gave off the exact same pose to claim victory. It was then revealed that Farfetch'd had fainted.
"Far..."
"Farfetch'd is unable to battle!"
"Pika..."
"Aw, man...Return Farfetch'd." Ash brought his Pokemon back to its ball. "You did great."
"Pika."
"It won't be so easy next time!" Ash clenched his fist.
"It seems she has complete control over the battle." said the Karate Master.
"Poor Farfetch'd." Fluttershy sighed. Bea returned Hawlucha to its Pokeball, deciding to switch it up. The Pokemon she brought out next was widely considered to be her strongest Pokemon most of the time.
"Grapploct! Go forth!" She tossed the Pokeball forward, sending out the Grapploct from before.
"Grapploct!"
"There it is. Grapploct." Ash stood firm.
"That's the same octopus looking Pokemon from before, right?" Rainbow Dash asked the Karate Master.
"Right. Neither my Hitmonchan nor Hitmonlee stood a chance against it. It's truly a fierce Fighting-Type Pokemon."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu was ready to take on Grapploct, but instead, Riolu moved forward.
"Riolu? You'll go?" Ash looked down at him. The Emanation Pokemon didn't say a word. He only turned around to his trainer, showing the determination in his eyes. "Alright. Riolu! I choose you!"
"Rio!" Riolu front flipped forward in the arena, ready to take on its fellow Fighting-Type.
"Pikachu. Cheer us on, okay buddy?"
"Pika!"
"I'm going for my Riolu next, Bea!"
Grapploct gave off a 'bring it on' motion with its tentacles, taunting the baby Pokemon.
"Battle Start!"
"Vacuum Wave!"
"Rio!" Riolu jumped in the air, unleashing three waves of vacuums towards Grapploct without wasting any time.
"Charge in! Detect!" Grapploct easily detected the Vacuum Waves, avoiding them by propelling its body back and forth whilst heading towards Riolu at the same time. Grapploct got close to Riolu as Bea gave off the next command. "Close Combat!"
"Double Team!" Thankfully, Riolu split itself into afterimage clones, throwing Grapploct off focus. Multiple afterimages surrounded Grapploct, making the Tantrum Pokemon unable to figure out which was the real one. As a response, it began a flurry of attacks with all of its tentacles, attacking every afterimage of Riolu. The more it attacked, the more clones appeared.
"Liquidation!" Bea managed to put an end to the Double Team by having Grapploct summoned liquid around its tentacles. It scattered all of its tentacles towards the clones with water around them all. This managed to destroy them all until the real one was revealed.
"Ward them off, Riolu!" Riolu attempted to hit back the flurry of Liquidation. At first, it looked like it was working. Riolu managed to push back some of Grapploct's appendages. However, there were way too many of them. And it was only a matter of time until they finally hit their mark. Soon, Riolu was bombarded with liquid strikes, pummeling the Emanation Pokemon. Thankfully, Riolu was a resilient Pokemon, so he wasn't down and out yet.
"Oh, my. This has heart racing." Rarity sighed, unsure of the outcome.
"Are you okay, Riolu?"
"Pika?"
"Rio!"
"With all those tentacles...I can't predict its moves at all. What do we do?" Ash thought for a moment while Riolu and Grapploct were staring each other down. That's when Ash came to a conclusion by staring at Grapploct's sides. "That's it. We'll have to take the risk of getting in close to finish it! Especially if it's wide open like that. Riolu! Use Force Palm!"
"Ri!" Riolu lunged forward, pulling its arms back, preparing for a Force Palm.
"No! Don't fight up close!" The Karate Master suddenly warned, making everyone wonder why not. The reason why it wasn't a good idea to fight up close against Grapploct is because of its menacing grab. Grapploct was about to grab Riolu, ready to place him in its clutches.
"Watch out Riolu!" Ash called out. Riolu luckily managed to backflip away at the last moment, avoiding Grapploct's grab. "That was close...If it grabbed Riolu, that would've been game. What can we do now? We can't get close unless we deal with those arms."
Riolu was catching his breath, cautious of Grapploct's movements.
"I haven't seen Ash focus this much before." Pinkie said.
"Grapploct lured them into that. If it made contact, then the match would've been over then." said the Karate Master.
Ash examined the dojo, looking for a clear opening. He looked around and then to Grapploct, thinking of a way to turn this around. Until he thought of something that could work in hindsight.
"Alright, Riolu. Here's what we'll do. Strike under its feet! Force Palm!"
"RIOLU!" The Emanation Pokemon struck the floor of the dojo with its palm. The impact caused a burst of blue energy to suddenly rise up, heading towards Grapploct. Instead of making contact, it instead went beside Grapploct. This energy was actually forcing the wooden floorboards to rise up and attack Grapploct, similar to what Dragonite did to Lucario. Throwing the Pokemon off its focus.
"Here it comes! Ash's shenanigans!" Twilight leaned forward.
"Grapp?!" Grapploct was met with wooden floorboards attempting to attack it. It used all of its appendages to hit the incoming floorboards over and over again.
"Now! Use another Force Palm!" Ash went in for the opening whilst Grapploct was distracted.
"Rio!" Riolu jumped forward as he and Ash were sure that due to Grapploct behind distracted from behind, they could deal some damage now. But to their surprise, Grapploct managed to not only knock away all the floorboards that were attacking it, but it even tricked Riolu by revealing an extra appendage that it hadn't used against the floorboards. That appendage managed to grab a hold of Riolu, finally having Grapploct have Riolu in its clutches. "Rio?!"
"Riolu!" Ash exclaimed.
"Octolock!" Bea gave off a command involving a new move that nopony, not even Ash has heard of. Grapploct's signature move. Octolock. The Tantrum Pokemon used the rest of its appendages to subdue Riolu, pinning him down on the floor.
"The heck's an Octolock?!" Ash bellowed.
"Pika?!"
"His plan didn't work?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"R-Riolu!" Riolu was struggling to break free from Grapploct's clutches with all his might. But no matter what he did, he couldn't break free.
"What move is that?!" Goh asked.
"He walked right in her trap!" The Karate Master explained.
"Riolu! Hang in there! Break free with Vacuum Wave!" Riolu was straining itself by attempting to unleash a Vacuum Wave from its little palms. However, the grip was so powerful that it wouldn't let him pull the move off.
"Your technique has too many wasted movements." Bea taunted Ash.
"Pikachu!"
"Come on Riolu!" Pinkie Pie was shaking Applejack.
"Riolu! Your feet! Kick the floor!" Riolu changed things up. It stamped its feet on the floor, launching him and Grapploct into the air. That actually caught Bea by surprise. As they were airborne, Grapploct ended up turning around on its back with Riolu being above this time. Grapploct fell to the floor, taking damage from it. This caused Grapploct to lose its focus on Octolock, giving Riolu a chance to break free. "Awesome job, Riolu!"
"Yes!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Oh, thank Celestia. He needs to stop making us worry so much." Twilight breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"Ash works best when he makes all of us panic though." Rarity replied.
Riolu was feeling tired. But that wouldn't stop him from giving up. Not one bit.
"Hang in there, Riolu!"
"Rio!"
"Grapp..."
"Liquidation!"
"Reversal!" Both attacks were initiated. Grapploct was preparing to slam Riolu with a full-force blast of water. Riolu was prepared to use an all-out attack that would be very potent due to how much damage he's taken.
"Yes! Reversal! With all the damage that Riolu's taken, this move is sure to deal some great damage!" Rainbow Dash uttered.
"Grapp!" Grapploct moved forward, ready to attack with Liquidation. So did Riolu as both Fighting-Types clashed their limbs together. They struggled for a few seconds until they both ended up cancelling each other out, knocking them both back to the ground and proving that they were equal in strength so far. Both of them were actually tiring themselves out. Riolu got on his knees whilst Grapploct almost fell over, but its tentacles supported it up. The Tantrum Pokemon moved forward, advancing towards its fellow Fighting-Type.
"Use Octolock again!" All of a sudden, the attack was used once more. Grapploct quickly grabbed onto Riolu before he knew it. This time, the grip was tightened even further.
"Oh, no Riolu!"
"Pika!"
"Riolu..." Riolu could feel all of his muscles being restrained. As if he had zero control over them. Grapploct had tightened the grip this time, not giving Riolu the chance to move any of its over limbs this time.
"I can't watch!" Fluttershy covered her eyes with her hooves, not wanting to see this Baby Pokemon struggle so much.
"Forfeit. Otherwise, Grapploct and I will bring you down."
"You wish I'd back down! We've made it out before! Hang in there Riolu!"
"Rio...Rio!" From the looks of it, Riolu was starting to actually slowly break free, but it was still a great struggle.
"You leave me no choice. Liquidation!" Bea decided to finish things once and for all. Grapploct removed one appendage, placing it in front of Riolu. The Emanation Pokemon looked up at the freed appendage, gasping. Before he knew it, he was struck by a blast of water. Right in the face too.
"Riolu!" Ash cried out.
The baby Pokemon fell on its back, tumbling on the floor. The Rotom machine flew over to see Riolu's current condition. And with one look, it made its decision.
"Riolu is unable to battle! As such, the winner is Contestant Bea!" That was the match.
"I thank you." Both Bea and Grapploct bowed.
"Riolu! You okay?!" Ash ran over to his Pokemon along with Pikachu.
"Pika!"
"Based on the results of this battle, the Pokemon World Championships rankings will be updated!"
"Bea won with such ease..." Goh uttered.
"Not even Ash's crazy tactics could help. Even when he tried to outsped her." Twilight said.
"Both Hawlucha and Grapploct are practically almost unharmed. They weren't given too much damage." The Karate Master commented.
"I lost...completely and utterly."
"Pikapi..."
Not only that, but Ash's ranking dropped from 890th to 930th. Bringing his rank down to an unfortunate level.
"She was really tough, huh Ash?" Applejack and the others went up to him.
"No kidding," Ash replied.
"Return Grapploct." Bea returned her Pokemon. "I shall take my leave. Thank you for allowing us to battle here." Bea bowed to the Karate Master. Bea however, said nothing to Ash when she was making her leave, completely ghosting her. Rainbow Dash didn't take too kindly to that kind of poor sportsmanship as she was about to let her have it, but Applejack pulled her back, shaking her head. It was best to just let her go. Ash was still thinking about his loss anyways.
"Now, Goh. It's our turn to battle." The Karate Master said.
"Huh?!" Goh pulled back.
"So who'll become your partner? Defeat me and the choice is yours!"
"R-Right now?!"
Over at the Saffron City Pokemon Center, Ash got his Pokemon all healed up to full strength.
"Rio!"
"Far!"
"Good to see you guys back and healthy. Guess you were the only winner here, huh Goh?" Ash was referring to Goh managing to actually win against the Karate Master and obtaining Hitmonchan who was by his side.
"I got a Hitmonchan, so I'm satisfied!"
"Hitmon!"
"Are you feeling okay after that loss, Ash?" Pinkie went up to him. "If you need somepony to cheer you up, we can throw a party for you!"
"Thanks, Pinkie. But I'm actually doing great!" Ash replied.
"Typical of you to still be happy even after losing," Twilight said. "But I guess that's what makes you...well you."
"Haha! Thanks!" Ash kneeled down to his Pokemon. "Riolu. Farfetch'd. Sorry, I ruined our perfect winning streak."
"Rio!"
"Far!"
"Riolu and Farfetch'd say that it's okay Ash. You did your very best." Fluttershy translated.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu went up to Ash's shoulders.
"I've never had a battle like that before. But next time, I'll make sure it won't happen again." Ash stood up. "We'll battle Bea a second time sooner or later!" Ash had confidence in his face.
"Pika!"
The Gym Leader of Galar Bea has given Ash the first taste of defeat in the Championships. He still has a long way to go to reach the monarch and strongest trainer of all, Leon. This battle showed Ash what he'll be facing as he continues to rank up as the journey continues.
Today is the day that the ponies of Equestria started to get accustomed to battling. Not just the pegasi but the unicorns and earth ponies as well. Ash promised to help them all out. Not just limited to Ponyville either. Other trainers from the Pokemon World have even been asked to come and help due to Celestia's summons.
At the moment, BigTime Ben had hooked Ponyville and Canterlot up with a ranking board of some sorts. His Machamp ended up placing the board right near the Town Hall. This ranking board was actually for the ponies participating in the Equestria League. Everypony gathered around to see who's ranked where.
"Let me see!" Rainbow Dash flew towards the board as it showed the digital rankings of ponies whilst scrolling from time to time. Everypony was chattering at the rankings. Some even noticed their friends from different parts of Equestria on the boards. So far, the number of ponies who have taken part in the league is about 1075. A pretty big number for those starting out their first Pokemon League. Meaning that the ranking goes from #1075 all the way to number #1.
"Do you see where you're ranked, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked.
"Hmmrgh...wait." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes on the board. It was scrolling up and up and up until it finally reached the very top. There, Rainbow could see her ranking. And the result. "Oh!"
She was ranked #4.
"Number 4, huh? Not bad." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
"Then who are the three above me?!" She looked at the top 3 trainers in Equestria. And the three choices surprised her.
#3 was Princess Luna who was also taking part in the league after all. She managed to blaze through the early gyms due to her wide arsenal of Pokemon at her disposal. And because she had Darkrai. Mostly Darkrai.
#2 was Daylight Blazer. Her rival. He was obviously 2nd ranked due to how he managed to finish the gyms by tackling them weekly instead of waiting a few months. Although, he has slowed down on the 6th gym. He has yet to reach it after all.
"Daylight, huh? Yeah, that makes sense." Rainbow Dash nodded.
"I'm not surprised that Princess Luna has managed to cement herself so high up." Rarity spoke.
"Then who's ranked number one?" Pinkie wondered. Who was number one actually? Rainbow Dash shifted her eyes to the number one stop and wouldn't you believe it.
#1 was Spitfire. Right at the top.
She was deemed the best trainer in Equestria at the moment due to her ranking. Rainbow Dash hadn't heard of this at all. She never got the news that Spitfire managed to blaze through the gyms. Speaking of gyms, the board also showed just how many gyms each trainer has managed to win. Spitfire has won all 8 of them. Which is why she's so high up. But another reason for her being ranked number one is because the board doesn't just record the gym wins. It also records the trainer wins and losses. Basically, how many ponies have battled against each other and come out on top, similar to the World Championship in the Pokemon World. Spitfire has battled over 8120 ponies and won. How she managed to beat that many in the span of a few months whilst having to be the chief of the Wonderbolts? It's a sure-fire mystery. Compared to everypony else, her battle count blew them all out of the water. Everypony else has at least battled say...one two...or maybe even seven other ponies or more. Rainbow Dash has battled more than everypony else, but 8120? Not even close. Spitfire is at the top due to how many wins she has compared to losses. Which are 8119 wins and 1 loss.
"Sweet Celestia! How many wins is that?!" Rainbow Dash slammed her face on the board.
"How did she managed to battle that many trainers? It hasn't even been a full year yet." Twilight wondered.
"However she did it. She's beating us all to the punch! I gotta step my game up! But how am I gonna beat thousands compared to the amount of time she's been battling?"
"Oh! Look at that!" Pinkie Pie noticed a familiar face on the ranking boards.
#12 was Sunset Shimmer. She's been battling here in Equestria, but in secrecy since she and Celestia aren't exactly on good terms yet. At least, Sunset believes so.
"Sunset! Good for her!" Twilight smiled. "Wait. She's participating in the league too? I didn't take her for that type actually."
"...How in Equestria did you manage to rank up so high?" Octavia spoke to Vinyl. Vinyl was actually ranked #15 surprisingly. She was also joining the Equestria League. Vinyl shrugged, but she knew why and how she was placed so high up. As the board scrolled down to the bottom, Scootaloo noticed she was ranked at the very bottom. She was tied with Sunrise Sprint as #1075 with no wins or losses.
"What?! How am I ranked at the very end?!" Scootaloo's jaw dropped.
"Well. You haven't really been in any official trainer battles yet. Or even started any of the gyms." Sweetie Belle answered.
"Oh, yeah. That makes sense. I'd better get to work then! Ash! You're gonna train us all today, right?" Scootaloo turned to him.
"Of course! That's why I'm here." Ash nodded. "I'll make sure you're all ready to take on any threat that comes your way."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"So, who's ready to get started?" Ash asked.
Over at Canterlot, fewer ponies were watching the rankings on the board. Luna saw herself ranked very high as #3, feeling proud of herself.
"Look at this, sister! I am number 3! Number 3!" Luna was getting giddy, prancing on the spot.
"I see it, Luna. Not too surprising that you managed to complete the first 5 gym battles that quickly." Celestia commented.
"Nice. Number 2." Daylight checked his rank. "Only lagging behind Spitfire though."
"I'm at the very bottom...I need to get to a gym pronto." Sunrise said to himself. "And I'll be able to climb up the ranks like crazy with this thing with me." He was referring to the machine he stole from BIG.Co's storage room. It was placed inside his saddle-bag for secrecy.
"What was that, Sunrise?" Daylight spoke.
"Nothing!" Sunrise stood up.
"Hm. Sister. Isn't that Sunset Shimmer on the ranking board?" Luna noticed Sunset right over there.
"Indeed it is."
"Perhaps we should inform BIgTime Ben of Sunset Shimmer's actions and what she's done. I believe you wouldn't find it acceptable to have her be on the boards due to what occurred between you and her and how she stole the crown once."
"...No. Leave it." Celestia shook her head.
"What?!" Luna pulled back. "But she-"
"It's fine Luna. It's best that we let her participate in the league. I forgave her months ago after Twilight informed me of what happened in the parallel world. I just hope that one day I can have the chance to see her again." Celestia paused for a moment thinking about Sunset Shimmer. "Oh, I might end up breaking into tears if I can continue at this rate." Celestia giggled. "Now. Let's head out to the gardens. Hollow should be arriving soon to train everypony else."
Speaking of Hollow, there he was. He didn't come alone as he brought some of his friends who specialized in different Pokemon-Types as well. He brought the Fighting-Type, Fairy-Type and Normal-Type specialists with him. "Alright, you three. Remember. This is just a training session. I understand you love your types, but please don't go overboard. Okay?"
"Don't worry Hollow. We promise." The Fairy specialist replied.
"It'll be all in the sake of improvements." The Normal specialist nodded his head.
"Indeed. Sometimes training needs to be dialled back." The Fighting specialist crossed his arms.
"Good. Let's do our best to prepare them in case Canterlot gets attacked again. And we really need to do our best. Because a large majority of ponies aren't really top battlers or into battling. Meaning that almost any other trainer at a lowe level can defeat them in a Pokemon Battle. Even youngsters can defeat them."
"Mr Hollow!" Sapphire Flash called out his name.
"Hm? Oh, morning, Sapphire. I assume everyone's ready?"
"Mhm! Every last one of us! Well, except Dew Drops. She's staying out of this one."
"Understandable. Alright, let's get this started. We can train and make some great progress before it even hits high noon."
Everypony who wanted to improve as trainers were getting ready. Not just Ponyville and Canterlot. But every pony populated place in Equestria. After Ghetsis, the Shadow Triad and to an extent, the Storm Behemoth, the focus of becoming better trainers was all everypony was focusing on. And to be better trainers, they'll have to go through a series of certain stages if they want to really improve.
Lesson 1. Types.
Everypony already knew their Pokemon Types. But what most of them don't know is what works against what. They don't even know that dual-type Pokemon tend to be much more complicated since they have two typings. Ash was about to teach a small group of ponies who didn't really know that much about their type matchups. Twilight was on her own, figuring out how certain types can be used against each other.
"Alright! You guys are already pretty good with your Pokemon Types and what'ts what right?" Ash asked.
"Pikachu?"
"Sure are!" Silver Spoon commended from the crowd of ponies who were learning.
"Nice. Then you should also know which types are good against each other or bad against each other. Cause there's a lot to remember, ya know."
"Like what?" Lyra asked.
"I got a great example. Goh!" Ash turned to Goh who was also here.
"Hm? Oh, right!" Goh got out a list that Delia helped make for the ponies. She wanted them to improve as well. Besides, Delia would lose it if she saw all these adorable ponies threatened without any form of defence to protect them against huge threats such as Team Plasma and Ghetsis.
"Check it out. Electric-Types are great against Flying-Types. Pretty common and you all know that. But there's a reason why they're great against them. That's because they've got the range to catch them even if they fly super high up in the air. And to show you a great example. I've brought along some of my Pokemon with me. Out you come!" Ash tossed a Pokeball forward, sending out his Staraptor.
"Staraptor!"
"Alright, Staraptor. Fly high up in the air and dodge. High as you can!"
"Star!" The Predator Pokemon zoomed up into the skies, soaring high above the clouds.
"Now, Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Pika..chu!" Pikachu sent a bolt of lightning that chased after Staraptor. Staraptor had moved to the side, avoiding Thunderbolt but it kept on going forward up into the skies until Pikachu ceased the attack.
"See? Didn't matter how high Staraptor went. Thunderbolt still caught up to it. Unlike most other type moves, attacks like Thunderbolt don't stop until they hit their mark. So even if your opponent avoids Thunderbolt, it's still going to keep on going until it makes contact."
"Oooh. That would explain a few things actually." Cloudchaser said as she remembered getting shocked in the air one day all of a sudden. She wondered why and how and now she found her answer.
"I mean that makes sense obviously. Anything with great range can knock something out of the sky." Twilight spoke.
"Mhm! But here's where things get difficult. Out you come, Gliscor." Ash sent his Gliscor out.
"Gliscor!"
"You see, Gliscor here's a Ground-Flying-Type. And Electric-Type moves are kind of in-between here. They're great on Flying-Types but have no effect on Ground-Types. So there's a bit of a tough obstacle to overcome."
"Wouldn't that just mean that Pikachu can slightly hurt Gliscor?"
"Not actually. Pikachu. Use Thunderbolt."
"Pika." Pikachu a Thunderbolt towards Gliscor. It made contact and the result was Gliscor feeling absolutely nothing.
"See? Because Gliscor has the Ground-Type apart of him, Thunderbolt did nothing. Even if he's part Flying."
"Oh...So it all depends on what the Pokemon's first typing is?" said Apple Bloom.
"Not just the first typing. Sometimes its the second typing that makes or break battle! Example!" Ash took out a drawing he made yesterday. This drawing was based on the battle against Obsidian when the Mane 6 faced him for the final time. "Right here is a Metagross. A Steel-Psychic-Type. And over here is Rainbow Dash's Braviary. Braviary knows the move Superpower which is really good against Steel-Types cause Fighting beats Steel. But...because Metagross's second typing is part Psychic, Superpower won't be as effective as it's supposed to be thanks to Metagross being part Psychic."
"No wonder Superpower didn't take it out in one hit." Rainbow Dash realized.
"That's right. So if even you've got the type advantage, just remember. It's either the first type or the second type that can change everything."
"Pikachu!"
"Wait, so...If a Pokemon is a Dragon-Steel...how does that work against Fairy-Type?" Diamond Tiara wondered.
"Still tough to grasp, huh? Don't worry about it. It'll make much more sense the more you learn about it. But now. Let's have a battle. I'll go easy on you guys so don't worry."
"I'll go!" Applejack went up suddenly. "I wanna protect my family, so I have to get stronger. Treecko here knows that as well, right?"
"Treecko." Treecko nodded his head at Applejack.
"Alright. Then I'll get you go up against a tough Pokemon like this." Ash sent out his Sceptile to help better Applejack's Treecko.
"Sceptile!"
"Certain Pokemon learn better and get stronger when they go up against their own evolution line. Have Treecko go up against Sceptile and see how far he can go."
"What do you say, Tree?" Applejack turned to him.
"Treecko." The Wood Gecko Pokemon hopped off Applejack's back, looking up at its final evolution.
"Scep." Sceptile nodded at its first stage evolution.
"This is just for training, Sceptile. So don't attack like crazy, okay?"
"Sceptile."
Lesson 2. Battling.
"Ready when you are, AJ!"
"I hear ya. Treecko! Bullet Seed!" Applejack made the command for Treecko to attack. The Wood Gecko Pokemon shot out seeds from its mouth as they were moving at speeds equal to that of a bullet. Sceptile stood there, taking the Bullet Seeds as they didn't even do a single thing to him. Sceptile shrugged it off like it was nothing. "Head in and smash em with Pound!"
"Tree!" Treecko ran forward, jumping up as Sceptile looked up at him. Treecko hit its superior evolution in the face with its hands, but once again, barely did anything. Sceptile at the moment was just on standby. But this was good for Treecko, because it was giving it the opportunity to improve its skills.
"Nice. Try and switch things up Applejack. Have Treecko use a move it might've learned. It does have new moves, right?"
"New moves? Well...there's this one freaky move where he breathes out some blue and purple breath. Pretty destructive looking actually. Tree here did it by accident though."
"That's Dragon Breath! Treecko knows that because of two possibilities. The obvious one is because deep within the Treecko evolution line there's dragon blood. That's why Mega Sceptile is part Dragon. Or it could've been that Treecko's egg might've come from a Pokemon that knew Dragon Breath. It's one of the two."
"Tree..." The Grass-Type was breathing in all the air around the area. Inside of him a ton of draconic energy was building up from within. "Cko!" All of a sudden, the moment Treecko exhaled it breath a destructive mighty gust raced towards Sceptile, tearing the ground apart even.
"Scep?!"
"Yikes! Leaf Blade!" Ash realized the move was actually much more powerful than he anticipated. Especially from a young Treecko. Sceptile split the attack in two with its blades, saving itself. Both Ash and Treecko let out a huge sigh of relief. "Holy moly."
"Sceptile..." Sceptile held his chest. He thought he was a goner at that momen. That Dragon Breath had no reason being that powerful. Not on a Pokemon that wasn't relatively super powerful in its first stage evolution. But it was.
"I didn't see that one coming. Awesome job, Treecko! AJ!" Ash congratulated them both. "Man...that was close."
"Ya hear that Treecko? You're a real potential powerhouse." Applejack said to her partner.
"Treecko!"
"Let's keep this up. This time, try avoiding an attack. In a battle, you've always gotta be careful on which attack is headed your way. It also helps to make your Pokemon react faster and builds up their speed."
"Dodging right? I got it."
"Okay. Sceptile! Leaf Storm!"
"Sceptile!" The Forest Pokemon moved his tail forward as it begun to spin around rapidly with leaves surrounding it. He whipped up a storm of sharp leaves, sending it towards Treecko.
"Dodge it!"
"Tree!" Treecko attempted to dodge the Leaf Storm, but it ended up hitting him. Thankfully, Sceptile was holding back so it did minor damage. But Treecko wasn't fast enough to dodge a restrained Leaf Storm.
"Don't worry about it! You'll get around it! Leaf Storm again!"
"Try dodging again!"
The same scenario played out. This time, Treecko almost avoided Leaf Storm. The attack ended up hitting his arm instead of his whole body.
"Keep it up, Tree!" Applejack encouraged. Constant Leaf Storms were being thrown towards Treecko left and right. And with each Leaf Storm heading his way, Treecko was slowly starting to improve. This time instead of simply moving to the side, he tried using one of the storms as a means of dodging. And by that, he essentially jumped on one and jumped on the other. Treecko was hopping from Leaf Storm to Leaf storm.
"Woah! Not bad! That's one way to avoid getting hit." Ash was impressed. So was Sceptile. "Let's try this then. Solar Beam!"
"Scep..." Sceptile had gathered up some light within it. Thanks to it being a sunny day today, courtesy of Princess Celestia, Solar Beam was already prepared.
"That doesn't look good! Dodge it, Tree!"
Treecko gasped as he saw a beam of light shoot out of Sceptile's mouth. Treecko jumped over the Solar Beam, avoiding it by the skin of his non-existent teeth. It was actually impressive that Treecko managed to avoid a beam that was naturally fast even if you held back.
"That Treecko's one of a kind..." Ash gawked.
"Pika..."
"Good job! You've got dodging down to a T." Ash gave them a thumbs up. "Now that you've basically gotten the basics down. Let's amp it up a bit with the next step. Adaptability! If you can adapt to your opponent by either their moves or the area, you can get creative!"
"Alright...What do yu mean by that?"
"Oh. Well uh...hm. Aha! Sceptile, jump on that tree over there."
"Sceptile." Sceptile jumped over to a tree, standing on it.
"See, over here, Sceptile can do a ton of neat stuff on a simple tree. Sceptile are known for being experts when it comes to areas full of trees like forests. In a jungle, it's without an equal. Plus its really good at jumping from tree to tree with very few Pokemon being able to keep up with it. In short. You gotta use a Pokemon's traits in battle as well."
"Oh...I think I get what you mean. So if it was raining...Pikachu's Electric-Type moves might hit harder."
"Something like that yeah! If Pikachu had the move Thunder and it was raining, it'd be much more powerful!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"I get it now. I think I really get it, ya'll!" Applejack turned around to her friends.
"That's great! Because I was struggling to keep up." Pinkie Pie replied.
"Now that you've got a good grip on a few stuff, what's say we have a full-on battle."
"Right. But, mind if I battle against one of my friends? I don't really stand a chance against you, Ash."
"Sure thing Applejack. Go ahead."
"Pika."
Over at Canterlot, lessons there were already ongoing.
Lesson 3. Being sneaky.
"Alright. Here's where things get a bit creative and fun. You already know about your type matchups, your moves all that stuff from the lessons I've taught you." Hollow said to his students.
"What's that Mr Hollow?" A Colt asked.
"Let's just say that there are some Pokemon and some moves that allow you to mess with your opponents head. I think these two are the best example." Hollow sent out two Pokemon. The first was a Shedinja and the second was a Weezing.
"What is that thing?" Sunrise pulled out his dex to see Shedinja.
"Shedinja. The Shed Pokemon. Shedinja’s hard body doesn’t move—not even a twitch. In fact, its body appears to be merely a hollow shell. A discarded bug shell that came to life. It is believed that this Pokémon will steal the spirit of anyone peering into its hollow body from its back. It does not breathe and doesn't need its wings to fly."
"Yeesh...this thing's creepy."
"Alright. What is one of the many weaknesses of the Poison-Type again?" Hollow asked.
"Psychic!" They all said.
"Nice. Now. Whoever has a Psychic-Type, try using a Psychic move on Weezing here.
"Oh! I do! I have a Psychic move!" A young filly raised her hoof up, coming forth. Out of her Pokeball, she sent out a Noctowl.
"Alright then. Go ahead. Attack Weezing."
"You sure?"
"Mhm." Hollow nodded, insisting that she did.
"...Alright. Noctowl! Confusion!"
"Noc!" A simple Psychic attack went towards the apparent Weezing. Normally, this would absolutely overwhelm a pure Poison-Type like Weezing, and everypony knew that. But, the moment it made contact with Weezing...nothing happened. At all.
"...Eh?" Instead, it was the students who were confused. Not the 'Weezing'.
"Am I seeing things? That should've dealt super damage to it! But it had no effect?"
"Yeah. It should've. If it was a Poison-Type in the first place."
"Huh?" The students were all confused. They were sure that Weezing was a Poison-Type Pokemon without a doubt.
"You can show yourself now." Hollow laughed. The Weezing was suddenly starting to morph, its body was changing into something else. Everypony leaned in to see what was going on. It turns out that Weezing was actually a Dark-Type Pokemon.
Zoroark. The Illusion Fox Pokemon.
"Zoroak!"
"WOAH!" All the students were starstruck by what they witnessed and what they're seeing right now. They all took their dexes out of this one.
"Zoroark. The Illusion Fox Pokemon. Bonds between these Pokémon are very strong. It is known as the 'Master of Illusions'. tricking its opponents. Each has the ability to fool a large group of people simultaneously. This Pokémon cares deeply about others of its kind, and it will conjure terrifying illusions to keep its den and pack safe. Seeking to ease the burden of their solitude, lonely Trainers tell Zoroark to show illusions to them. If it thinks humans are going to discover its den, Zoroark shows them visions that make them wander around in the woods."
"You see. The move didn't work because Zoroark here is a Dark-Type. And Psychic-Type moves have no effect on Dark-Types. And as a bonus, Zoroark can shapeshift into any Pokemon it wants and fool them instantly, making them think that they're landing a Super-effective move on the right Pokemon. That's just one great example of being crafty, sneaky and creative."
"No kidding. That was sneaky!" Sapphire exclaimed.
"Then...what's that thing's deal?" Sunrise pointed his hoof at Shedinja.
"Oh. Shedinja here has a pretty nifty ability that's unique to it only. That ability is Wonder Guard."
"Wonder Guard? They all said.
"Oh yeah. It's an ability that prevents damage from direct attacks unless they're super-effective. So only Fire, Flying, Rock, Ghost and Dark Moves are gonna work against it."
"Wait so...nothing else other than those will work?" Sapphire asked.
"That's right. For example, if I tried to attack Shedinja with the move Energy Ball, it's gonna phase right through it as if it was never even there. Wonder Guard forces the opposing Pokemon and trainer to try a different attack. And if they don't have a single attack that deals super-effective damage, they're basically going to be hitting the air over and over again. And the best part, Shedinja can still attack while the opponent keeps on trying.
"Ooooh..." The students were all impressed.
"Mhm. That's just one of the many ways you can get creative and mess with your opponents head. I've got a lot more where that came from."
Back at Ponyville, Applejack was about to face off against Rainbow Dash. It was Treecko against Braviary.
"You sure you wanna do this, AJ? Braviary's a bit too much for a first stage starter like Treecko."
"Sure of it. After the Shadow Triad and Team Plasma, I realized that I need to protect my entire family to the fullest with Pokemon involved. So that means I gotta prepare for the absolute worst and tackle it head-on."
"Yikes. I've never heard you sound so confident before. Alright then. I'll give my all too if that's okay! Braviary! Brave Bird!" Rainbow went first. Braviary's body was engulfed in brave energy, heading towards Treecko.
"Treecko! Head in and use Pound!" Treecko ran forward, jumping towards Braviary.
"Is she seriously planning on getting close to Brave Bird?" Rainbow Dash confused. But Applejack knew what she was doing. Treecko flipped over Braviary, avoiding Brave Bird. This gave the Wood Gecko Pokemon the opportunity to strike Braviary's back the moment the brave energy vanished. Treecko managed to hit Braviary's back with Pound, actually making Braviary nudge a bit. "Use Superpower!"
"Dragon Breath!"
Braviary turned around, soaring towards Treecko with Superpower ready to be swung. Treecko however, blasted Braviary to the ground by unleashing that same powerful breath from before. It actually managed to deal huge amounts of damage to Braviary, sending it crashing to the ground.
"No way!" Rainbow Dash's jaw opened. "Braviary! You okay?"
"Brav...Braviary!" Braviary stood back as he had tatters over him.
"Bullet Seed!" Treecko continued the attack by pelting seeds at Braviary while he was still airborne.
"Shake them off and use Aerial Ace!" Braviary blew the seeds away, flying towards Treecko. This time, Braviary returned the favour by striking Treecko whilst flying past him. "Use Aerial Ace one more time!"
"Gotcha! Grab him!" All of a sudden, Applejack and Treecko took the adaptability lesson Ash taught her. Treecko grabbed onto Braviary's wings the moment he came close. The Wood Gecko Pokemon then got on Braviary's back, flying with him.
"Braviary?!" The Valiant Pokemon turned its head around.
"Shake him off, Braviary!" Braviary tried to shake Treecko on as the Grass-Type was struggling to stay on Braviary's back. Applejack knew that she had one opportunity to end this quick against a Pokemon as powerful as Braviary.
Dragon Breath!" Treecko inhaled and exhaled, unleashing Dragon Breath on Braviary's back. Treecko then jumped off Braviary while the Valiant Pokemon was falling down. This powerful attack was actually enough to knock Braviary out, making him faint.
"Brav..."
"No way! Treecko won?!" Scootaloo was dumbfounded along with a few ponies.
"Treecko." Treecko landed on the ground, crossing his arms as a show of victory. Smoke was actually coming out of its mouth to show the aftermath of Dragon Breath. Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped as she had no idea what just happened.
"Man...that Treecko is one of a kind..." Ash commented. "And Applejack's a fast learner too."
"Pika..."
"...You know...I'm not even mad at that." Rainbow Dash nodded, flying over to Braviary to help him up. "You did good Braviary."
"Brav."
"But, AJ. I didn't expect your Treecko to be so powerful. It took my Braviary out like it was nothing."
"Yeah! How come Treecko's so strong for being just a first stage?" Twilight went up to her.
"I got that answer. Treecko obviously senses Applejack's drive to protect those that she loves. So it shares that drive with her and because of that, they both can create a super awesome synergy that allows them to do the impossible." Ash answered. He knew this because of him and his Greninja. They both share a determination to win, thus creating the Ash-Greninja form.
"It definitely shows." Rarity nodded. "You two make a fierce duo, actually."
"Aw, shucks." Applejack felt a bit embarrassed as Treecko hopped on her back.
"By the way, Twilight. What did you learn about battling?" Ash asked.
"I learned some pretty useful tricks. The use of rooms!"
"Rooms?" Both Pinkie and Rainbow Dash said.
"That's right. I've been focusing on Field moves. Trick Room, Magic Room, Wonder Room. The three rooms that my Espeon can learn."
"Oh. You gave Eve all of them?" Fluttershy questioned.
"Well. no, not really. I still need an offensive move. So the only one I have on her is Magic Room. But I've also ended up teaching Eve another new move along with Minccy. Dazzling Gleam for Eve and Dig for Minccy. But I need to test them out to see if my strategies can work."
"Ah, I get ya. You wanna use the rooms to your advantage." Ash just realized. "Not a bad choice."
"Pikachu."
"Thanks, Ash. So, who's gonna help me?"
"I'd love to. But I kinda need to check back on the farm. Taking a small break with training." Applejack said.
"And I need to make some deliveries! But I'll be back in a few hours!" Pinkie bounced away.
"Hm. Guess we do still have our normal jobs. Alright. I think this is a good time to grab a bite to eat. Hayburger here I come." Twilight walked off as everypony took a break from practising.
"Same here! Come on, Goh!" Ash ran off towards Pallet Town.
"Pikachu!"
"Wait for me, Ash!" Goh ran after him.
"And I'm gonna prepare for my eventual rank climb. I'll find a way to surpass Spitfire...if I can win that many times." said Rainbow Dash who was preparing to head to her next gym battle soon.
This was the start of Equestria learning to improve as trainers. In order to combat any potential future threats, they'll need to be at a perfect synergy with their Pokemon. As the days go by, they'll learn new tricks along the way. And eventually, they'll truly become great and powerful Pokemon trainers, as the journey continues.
The entire Mane 6 were here for one reason only. And that one reason was making Twilight nervous as she paced back and forth, sweating. Whatever this was, it must be something that could cause the entirety of Equestria to fall apart.
"You look nervous. There's no reason to be nervous. Nothing to worry about. Everything's gonna be fine!" Twilight said to Pinkie Pie trying to make them believe she was nervous, even though she was the one who was actually nervous.
"Twilight, tell those butterflies in your tummy to beat it! Making new friends is always fun." Pinkie poked Twilight's chest.
"Ohhh..." Twilight put her hoof on her head.
"They're probably just as nervous as you are," Fluttershy walked up to Twilight.
"You've been plannin' this shindig for weeks. You know everything about these fellers. It's gonna be dandy." Applejack commented.
"It's not just that. There's one thing nopony's taking into account when the yaks arrive."
"What's that?" They all asked.
"Ash."
"...How's that a bad thing?" Rainbow Dash said.
"How? HOW?! Ahem. Allow me to give a short demonstration." Twilight got out a blackboard, holding a teacher stick. From this board, you can see that up here is Princess Celestia and Princess Celestia. And down here is everypony else. Now, everypony rightfully refers to the two princesses as...well Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Even I as a princess do it from time to time."
"Yeah. So what's the big deal?" Pinkie spoke.
"The big deal is that Ash is the biggest exception! He never refers to them as 'princess'! I don't think I've heard him say Princess Celestia or Princess Luna before. And if he did it must've been long ago! Now, I know we love Ash for his charismatic nature...but with the Yaks...that might not work this time."
"You're worried that due to Ash's carefree and energetic nature, he might end up giving the Yaks the wrong impression, correct?" Rarity went up to her.
"More than that! I'm worried that it might make the yaks start a conflict against Equestria because of him! What if Ash does something crazy again that endangers the prince?! What if Pikachu accidentally ends up shocking them like he usually does?! Why is that whenever he's involved, something crazy goes on in the most unexpected ways?! Why are Pokemon so dangerous yet so cute at the same time?!" Twilight was breathing in and out.
"Relax, Twilight. I'm sure that even with Ash, this will turn out great. Besides, charisma is contagious in a good way." Fluttershy calmed Twilight down a bit.
"You're right. Remember, Equestria and Yakyakistan haven't opened their borders for hundreds of moons. In fact, Yakyakistan is so far north of the Crystal Mountains, nopony's even been there! Imagine the look on Princess Celestia's face when she finds out we made friends with a yak prince! Hehehe... I'm calm! I'm calm..." Twilight gave off a nervous laugh.
Spike blew a trumpet, ready to introduce the yaks. The doors opened up as a red carpet was rolled forward. And there they were. In the front were two yaks who acted as bodyguards for the prince. Once they both separated, there he was. The prince of Yakyakistan.
Prince Rutherford.
Sweet Celestia, he was intimidating.
"Ponies! Greetings, ponies!" Rutherford spoke with a loud tone. Twilight immediately teleported to the yaks to give her greetings as well.
"Prince Rutherford, your Majesty. On behalf of all of us, I welcome you to Equestria." Twilight bowed, showing her respect.
"Me honoured. Yaks hope for great friendship between ponies and yaks. Friends for a thousand moons!" He echoed in Twilight's face. She rubbed her ear, getting the echo out of it.
"You must be hungry after your long journey." Twilight gave a hoof motion to bring a table over. "We've prepared a banquet of traditional yak foods."
The Prince went up to the table, observing the food before him and his fellow yaks. "If things not perfect, yaks get mad. Yaks always get mad when things not perfect!" This response from the prince only made Twilight gulp in fear. Prince Rutherford took a bite out of the delicacies, taking one second to taste it until he spat it out in disgust. "This no taste like yak food! Fake pony food make yaks mad!" He suddenly flipped the table over, running the food as it was all over the carpet. The bodyguards joined in with Prince Rutherford as the three of them were stomping on the table aggressively. But they went a step further. They ended up ramming the pillars, tearing off the window curtains, breaking apart seats with a kick and even more destruction along the way that could only make a Primeape shed a tear.
"Is it okay to be nervous now?" Pinkie said as they were all nervous.
"Group huddle! Now!" Twilight exclaimed as they all huddled up together. "Okay, this isn't the greatest start, but we can get through this. Just like we always have. Everypony knows what to do to make sure the yaks are happy and satisfied, right?"
"Right." They all nodded.
"Good. And there's one final thing we need to monitor. Make sure Ash does not engage the yaks, no matter what. If they can cause this much destruction over food, who knows what'll happen if they meet with Ash. Do your very best to keep him far away from them at all costs."
"I don't know Twilight. Keeping Ash away from them doesn't feel right," said Fluttershy.
"I know. It hurts me to do so, but it's for the best."
"Sounds a bit harsh on poor Ash. He won't be able to greet them. Rarity commented. She then looked back to see the yaks continuing their destruction, even breaking apart some fabulous furniture in the process. "On second thought, he can't meet them no matter what."
After minutes of destruction finally coming to an end, the yaks had left the castle, leaving everypony to clean up along with their Pokemon helping.
"Them yaks sure have a funny way of sayin' 'howdy'." said Applejack, hammering the rails of the stairs.
"They're different, that's all. Very... different."Rarity replied, glueing a vase back together.
"I think they broke my record for most stuff broken in under a minute. I mean, they even broke the trophy." Rainbow Dash held a trophy that had come apart.
"All we have to do is show them how great it can be to have friends before Princess Celestia arrives for the friendship party tonight. Now, who read the seven-volume cross-indexed history of Yakyakistan I recommended?" Twilight asked. None of them did.
"Um... I-I had a thing..." Rainbow Dash stammered.
"I did! I did!" Pinkie actually did read it surprisingly. "Did you know they live so far north of the Crystal Empire that it's cold all the time? Yaks have yak fur to keep them warm." She squeed, using Fluttershy's mane as an example.
"Pretty sure that's what fur's always for, Pinkie Pie." Applejack replied.
"I know! Yaks are so cool!"
"Pinkie Pie, can you show them around town? I know you have to plan the friendship party too, but it would really help make them feel welcome." Twilight pleaded.
"Don't worry. They'll be in good hooves with me."
"Remember, we want to make sure Equestria feels like home. That means doing everything we can to make this place feel like Yakyakistan and keeping Ash away from them."
"No problem!" Pinkie saluted.
"Good. Let's get out there and make some new friends!" They all put their hooves together in agreement.
The first way to make the yaks feel at home was a go. Currently, they were at Sweet Apple Acres with Applejack and Pinkie Pie.
"We know y'all are noble warriors who avoid the so-called finer things, so me and my family would be honoured if you rested here in the barn during your visit."
"Applejack and I made hay beds like you're used to back in Yakyakistan." Pinkie showed them beds made entirely out of hay bales with pillows.
"Hmm...This perfect."
" You can snooze here all afternoon, 'cause you're gonna need a lot of energy for my party tonight!"
"That wasn't so hard..." Applejack whispered with a sigh.
"WAIT!" Rutherford tasted the hay. "THIS NOT YAK HAY!"
"Well, we didn't have actual hay from Yakyakistan, but we tried our best to make it just like yours." Pinkie grinned as Applejack slowly backed away, bringing Pinkie Pie with her.
"Not perfect! YAKS DESTROY!" And so they did. Stomping aggressively on the non-yak hay by jumping up and down, they demolished the beds.
"Pinkie Pie! What do we do?!" Applejack pleaded for some help. Pinkie was thinking for a few seconds until she sparked something that might work. But she would need Fluttershy's assistance for it.
She had gathered some sheets, placing them on a tree to hang. It appeared that she was hiding something beyond them.
"And now, for your entertainment pleasure... Presenting animals, Yakyakistan style!" She removed curtains to reveal Angel Bunny a few other animals and some small Pokemon with horns on their heads to represent yaks.
"Animals cute." Rutherford commented.
"Oh...thank goodness..." Fluttershy sighed. But that all went tumbling down when a Scatterbug who had a single horn on its head, bumped into a Rattata, knocking the horns off both of them.
"Wait. These antlers lie! These not Yakyakistani animals! YAKS SMASH!
Fluttershy panicked, running over to grab all the animals and Pokemon, saving them from the eventual yak rampage. The yaks smashed the picnic cloth, cups and plates that came along with it as Fluttershy sat atop a tree, watching. All that perfectly good teaware...wasted.
"Okay, well... There's still other things we can do. I think." Pinkie grinned.
Next was Rarity.
"Yes! These are some of my favourite materials." Rarity was pulling a long sheet of fabric with her whilst she trotted. "Very rare, imported from the Crystal Empire to match your northern sensibilities. I hope you'll find them—" Rarity turned around to hear and see that the Yaks were chewing on the material, ruining it. "...delicious." But they went a step further. They ended up chewing on one of her Leavannny's leaves, finding it delicious.
"Lea? Leavanny!" The sole Leavanny cried out in pain.
"Oh, no! I'm afraid those aren't food, Prince Rutherford." Rarity dragged her Leavanny back away from them for its own safety. They continued to go back to the fabric, chewing on that again, until they actually ended up spitting it out.
"This no taste like yak fabric! YAKS DESTROY!" And thus, Rarity's boutique was an unfortunate victim to their destruction. The Leavanny would do something like shoot a String Shot to restrain them, but they would risk making the situation worse. So the best option was to just let them finish their destruction. Even if it meant seeing all their hard work fall apart right in front of them.
"Everything's gonna be fine. You'll just... make it up to them. Somehow." Pinkie Pie gulped.
Next was Rainbow Dash.
"Listen up! Tell your faces to hold onto their frowns, 'cause they're about to get turned upside-down!" Pinkie turned her body upside down to them.
"Hold your frown, face!"
"Hit it, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie made the call. Rainbow Dash had brought over a cloud of snow as she and Braviary smashed the cloud, sending a huge sheet of snow that landed down beneath the yaks and Pinkie Pie. And now at this very singular spot, it was snowing.
"Just like Yakyakistan snow, right? Because snow is snow, no matter where it comes from." Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash did a hoof bump. Seemed fine, until the unthinkable happened. The prince tasted the snow that was falling and came to a conclusion that was just absolutely absurd.
"THIS NOT YAK SNOW!" And thus, they tore appear the snow by flipping it all over. The ruined snow landed on Braviary, Rainbow and Pinkie's faces in the process.
"Seriously?! ...Seriously?" Pinkie face-planted herself in the snow.
Everypony gathered around at Twilight's castle to discuss how things were going with the yaks so far.
"Y'know... it's goin' okay." Applejack said first.
"Satisfactory, I'd say." Then Rarity.
"It could be better." Then Rainbow Dash.
It's not very good." Then Fluttershy who whispered.
It's a disaster! And finally Pinkie who exclaimed.
"Pinkie Pie, tonight's Yakyakistan theme party is more important than ever! You'll make them forget all about this afternoon, right?" Twilight was sweating bullets. They all turned around to her, praying that she could make it all better at the very end. Pinkie Pie's eye was twitching. She herself was unsure. "Because if it's not perfect, they're gonna smash everything! And I'm not sure how much more smashing this visit can take!"
"We have a problem!" Spike came in to give news that made the situation worse. "Ash found the yaks!" That single word made Twilight faint, falling on the floor.
Everypony picked Twilight up as they rushed outside to see what horrible outcome was made from Ash and the Yaks finally making contact. And the result?
Well, it wasn't what they were exactly expecting. The yaks were poking Pikachu's red sacs, giving themselves jolts that made their fur puff up each time they touch Pikachu.
"Yaks like yellow mouse and shocking. Yaks happy!"
"Pikachu..." Pikachu sighed, not sure how long he could take much more of this.
"Just go with it for now buddy. They're having fun." Ash kneeled down to Pikachu.
"Oh...thank goodness. I thought something awful happened." Fluttershy sighed. Twilight opened up her eyes, mumbling as she saw Ash with the yaks. So far, they were getting along fine.
"Ugh...Had me worried there. Okay." Twilight took some time to breathe. "Ash has got that sorted out...But Pinkie Pie, you're still going to have to get that party to its absolute best."
"I definitely will! I think. Maybe...?" Pinkie was unsure.
"You're the best gosh-darn party planner in Equestria." Applejack said.
"You'll show 'em a good time!" Rainbow uttered.
"You can do it!" Fluttershy nodded.
"We have absolute confidence in your abilities, Pinkie Pie." Rarity put her hooves together. They were all encouraging her but with her eyes darting about, she wasn't so sure herself.
"It's going to be my most happy-tacular party ever! I hope!"
"Why are your eyes darting around like that?" Rainbow asked.
"It's what I do when I'm not nervous!" Pinkie laughed hysterically.
"Pinkie Pie, I don't know what we'd do without you—" Twilight went to hug her.
"Me either! Gotta go!" Pinkie ran off as fast as she could.
The yaks had ended up feeling satisfied by touching Pikachu and having their fur affected by electricity. That was at least the first good thing that happened to them today. And that's when they made a request.
"Yaks like yellow mouse. Yaks want yellow mouse of their own!"
"Your own Pikachu? Well...you're gonna have to catch one. And I know a few places where."
"Pikachu..." Pikachu held his red sacs, relieved that he was free.
"I can show you-"
"Yaks will find Peekachoo on their own. Yaks perfect at catching!" Rutherford exclaimed, mispronouncing Pikachu.
"If you say so."
At SugarCube Corner, Pinkie was hyperventilating whilst laying upside on her couch.
"Jade! Gummy! Slurpuff! Spinda! What am I gonna do? I had all this amazing stuff planned for the party, but they're gonna hate it! There's no way to make Equestria feel like Yakyakistan. They're just too sensitive! Even Fluttershy made them mad! FLUTTERSHY! Oh... I need a new idea, and I need it now. How am I supposed to make this party feel like Yakyakistan without actually going there and bringing something back?!"
"Didn't you say that Ash got along with them well?" said Jade.
"Yeah! That's the ONLY good thing that's happened! But I'm not sure that Ash can keep this up! There has to be something I can do! Jade! You're a forward-thinking pony! What do you have?!" Pinkie went up to her, smashing Jade's face on hers.
"I don't know. If I were them, I'd just go back home if this place didn't make me happy."
That's when it hit Pinkie Pie. What Jade said made her spark an idea. "THAT'S IT! HOME! Jade! You're a genius!" Pinkie shook Jade.
On the outside, Twilight had kept an eye on Ash whilst leading the yaks to SugarCube Corner.
"And this is SugarCube Corner!" Twilight introduced. " They're working hard to make your traditional Yakyakistan cake."
"Vanilla extract balance very tricky."
"Uh-huh." The two yaks agreed with Prince Rutherford. This made Twilight worry. She was praying that the Slurpuff could make this perfect. After all, they're capable of knowing when a dessert is baked to perfection due to their sensitive nose.
"Do you mind, um, waiting here for one moment?" Twilight teleported into SugarCube corner with a zap sound following. "How's tonight's party coming? I'm doing what I can, but it's really up to you at this point! ...Pinkie? Where are you?!"
"She's gone to Yakyakistan," Jade explained as Gummy was chewing on her head.
"SHE WHAT?!" Twilight exclaimed, making the noise echo from SugarCube Corner. She slumped on the door, hyperventilating at hyper speeds. She was on the verge of breaking down. "Okay! Now is not the time to lose it! There's one ace in the hole we have left!" Twilight teleported back outside to the yaks and Ash. "Come here, Ketchum!" Twilight dragged Ash to her.
"Yeah? What's up?"
"Pika?"
"Ash. I didn't think it would come to this...but we're counting on you. You're the only one that hasn't made the yaks smash something. So please...for all that is good and sacred in both worlds, do your best to keep them happy! Show them your other Pokemon, I don't care!"
"Don't worry about it. You can count on us!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu raised his fist in the air. Their confidence was endearing but it only made Twilight melt on the floor out of fear. She was praying that his carefree nature wouldn't ruin everything. And she was also praying for Pinkie to return from Yakyakistan as soon as she can.
"So, not many Pokemon in your area, huh?" Ash went up to the yaks. "In that case, I can show you some more. Out you come." Ash sent out the rest of his Pokemon.
"Riolu!"
"Gengar!"
"Dra..."
"Far..."
"They come in all shapes and sizes, ya know." Ash nodded.
"Pika."
"Dragon?" Dragonite noticed the yaks as it went to hug them. Twilight saw Dragonite about to perform its usual greeting hugs to the yaks. Inside her mind, she let out a scream so powerful that if it were to be said outside and from her mouth, it would shatter every eardrum in Equestria. So for now, all she could do was make a sound equal to a monkey squeal. But thankfully, Dragonite's hugs are capable of making anyone happy. Including yaks.
"These hugs feel good! Yaks actually like dragon hugs now!"
"Good! GOOD!" Twilight dashed over to them. "Let's make sure these are the only dragon hugs you feel! Ash! Keep doing what you're doing!" Twilight ran off to find her friends and talk to them about Pinkie Pie. In a few minutes, she gathered all of her friends together to discuss Pinkie Pie's trip to Yakyakistan.
"She went where?!" Rarity pulled back.
"All the way to Yakyakistan. By herself! She didn't even take any of her Pokemon with her! Plus she's going to be travelling through all that harsh snow!"
"Maybe she'll make it back in time?" Fluttershy squeed.
"But the party! It's all we have left! What are we gonna do?!" Twilight pulled her mane.
"Ash is doing fine. Isn't that good enough-"
"GOOD ENOUGH IS NOT ENOUGH FOR THEM!" Twilight went up to Rainbow Dash. "I don't know how long Ash can keep this up until it all falls apart!"
"She did say that she'd be back in time for the party," Jade spoke to them. "If I know Pinkie, she'll be back in time."
"Right. If Pinkie Pie says she'll be back in time for the party, she'll be back. We have to trust her. Right? [nervous laugh] No reason to freak out!"
"We just have to put our faith in Pinkie Pie returning in time. She probably knows what she's doing, Twilight." Applejack reassured her.
"It'll be a piece of cake!" Rainbow uttered. The simple saying of the word 'Cake' only restarted Twilight's panic.
"The cake!"
Speaking of the cake, Mrs Cake had baked a cake that was meant to resemble what the yaks love to eat.
"One bite, and you'll be transported right back to Yakyakistan. I hope." Mrs Cake laughed nervously. And just to make sure that this cake was perfect for them, the Slurpuff had sniffed to their absolute best. So there was no possible way this could fail. Ash and Pikachu were standing by to watch how this would go. Twilight arrived at the scene, hoping that things are going well.
Prince Rutherford took a bite out of the cake and the conclusion? "Hmmm...Ponies too heavy on vanilla extract!" Rutherford roared as he smashed the rest of the cake into pieces. Not even Slurpuff's perfect food deduction could satisfy them.
"We've never needed a party so badly." Twilight stammered. She was about to fall over until Ash caught her.
"No need to worry. I'm 100% sure that Pinkie Pie will be back."
"Pika. Pika-Pikachu."
But that wasn't enough to bring Twilight's panic down.
Pinkie Pie was on a train that was headed straight for the Crystal Empire. Since Yakyakistan is around the same area as the empire, getting there should be fairly quick.
"Next stop, Crystal Empire!" The conductor announced to everypony.
"And so my quest begins." Pinkie began monologuing to herself. "I know what you're thinking. 'Why go to Yakyakistan alone, Pinkie Pie?' Because I'm the party planner. This burden falls on my rump and my rump alone. If I want a great party, I gotta climb the mountains north of the Crystal Empire, find Yakyakistan, and come back with something authentic! Know what I mean?" She turned over to the stallion sitting next to her who shook his head in confusion.
The train came to a halt all of a sudden. No longer in motion. Pinkie Pie looked and went outside to see that they weren't in Yakyakistan at all. There were just normal ponyfolk walking around instead. In fact, they were at Dodge City now.
"Did we go the wrong way? Where's all the snow? Please tell me this is magical sand-coloured snow." She chewed the sand, spitting it back out. "Nope. Sand. Definitely sand."
"Dodge City. End of the line, I'm afraid. All trains had to stop. Wooloo decided to sit on the tracks." The Conductor announced once more. There was indeed a bunch of Wooloo just sitting there, blocking the train's path to the Crystal Empire.
"CURSE YOU, WOOLOO! Thanks for your help, conductor." Pinkie bounced forward, planning to get there by hoof instead. But the moment she bounced on, a door opened, smacking her in the face. The pony who opened the door was none other than Cherry Jubilee.
"Cherry Jubilee!"
" Pinkie Pie?! I reckoned I eyeballed you crossin' my way right now." Jubilee helped her up.
" How are you? You look amazing! I need help." Pinkie went up to her, requesting assistance.
"I'm dandy as a daffodil and fit as a floribunda. What can I do ya for?"
"Have you heard of Yakyakistan? Do you have any idea how I can get there?"
"Mark your calendar, missy, 'cause this right here's your lucky day! I'm headin' north to the Crystal Empire myself for a delivery. I ought to warn you though – me and the boys are powerful tired 'cause we was up all night countin' cherries. Hey there! Wake up!" She exclaimed, making them snap out of their drowsy state.
"Counting cherries? How many?" Pinkie hopped into the back of the carriage.
"Four hundred and seventeen thousand, two hundred and thirty-four. Yee-haw!" Cherry Jubilee got a move on, leaving with Pinkie Pie. They were on their way with the boys running as fast as they could.
"And so my quest resumes." She was narrating herself again."As I stare across the endless desert, I tell myself I will soon triumphantly enter the homeland of our noble guests and return with a prize to make the best party they've ever seen. Know what I mean? Cherry?"
Jubilee had actually fallen asleep suddenly, dozing off and snoring. Actually, they all fell asleep. It was only Pinkie Pie that was awake at the moment. She locked on to the distance, noticing that they were approaching a ravine.
"Ravine...Ravine!" Pinkie shook Cherry, trying to wake her up. She used an alarm clock, poured water over her and pounded on a bucket. "WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" She was trying her best to wake them all up. They were getting very close to the ravine at the moment. She pulled on the ropes that were on the boys, actually managing to wake them up by doing that. Their eyes widened as they now saw the ravine in front of them. "Stooooop!" The carriage screeched as they all flew up, landing on both of the carriage and Pinkie Pie. Jubilee woke up from that thud as well.
"Huh?! Whoa. I was dreamin' about a ravine." She looked over to see that indeed, there was a ravine there. "Ravine!"
"That's what I said." Pinkie replied. Unfortunately, due to them being on a pretty rickety rock, it broke. Thus, the carriage fell. Oops.
Back at Ponyville, Spike was seemingly playing the piano. The sound of the piano being played sounded beautiful and the yaks agreed. They were sobbing at the serene sounds that it emitted, wiping their nose in the process.
"Music beautiful. Much soul." Rutherford said.
"Phew!" Twilight wiped her sweat away with her wings.
"When Twilight told me to stall— I-I mean, entertain you, I thought there's no way I could—" Spike hopped off the seat, speaking. But that wasn't the smartest move. Because the piano kept on playing without him being on it at all.
"Huh?" The yaks said. Rutherford turned the piano around to see that it was automatically playing itself.
"Spike!" Twilight exclaimed as Spike gulped.
"Piano play itself?! Music a lie!" Rutherford roared as he body-slammed himself on the piano, destroying it. We demand party! Party now or yaks no friends!"
"No! Just a little longer! Twilight flew to them.
"No more longer! We leave now! Yak go to train, return with more yaks! We declare war!"
"Ash! Do something!" Twilight held Ash's leg, pleading with all her life.
"Hmm...Aha! Check this out. Pikachu, spin with Thunderbolt!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu got on his back, shooting out Thunderbolt while it was spinning. Ash had gone for Counter Shield.
"Oooh..." The yaks were impressed by what they were seeing.
"Oh thank Arceus." Twilight fell flat on her face.
"Yaks impressed. But still no party! Yaks leave and declare war anyways!" And so they left to declare war.
"HUH?!" Twilight's jaw dropped.
"Oh well. We tried." Ash and Pikachu crossed their arms, nodding.
"Pika."
"THIS IS NO TIME TO BE CALM ASH! WE'RE ABOUT TO BE APART OF AN ENTIRE WAR!"
"Relax. She'll be back for sure."
"Pika-Pikachu. Pika-Pika!"
Twilight couldn't contain herself. She flew off towards Town Hall where the party was being held. Ballons, flags and other party decorations were everywhere. The rest of her friends were doing their best to make the party perfect but...
"No Pinkie Pie? What's this?!"
"Heh-heh. We panicked and tried to plan our own party." Applejack squeed.
"Treecko..."
"It's sort of panic-themed." Rainbow gulped as the paint was all over her Altaria. She was also tied up in a ribbon, somehow.
"The yaks are going home! This is awful! I wanted to surprise Princess Celestia. Now the only surprise is that I may have just started a war." Twilight curled into a ball, rocking back and forth. Her Minccino and Espeon went up to comfort her, but that was no good.
With Pinkie Pie, she actually managed to reach the frozen north by herself and survive the ravine. And she'll tell you how she did so.
"There we were, face-to-face with Falling Pony Ravine. Down, down, down! And then, suddenly... Pow! We were rescued mid-air by the Wonderbolts! And then they gave me a ride to Manehattan, I joined a travelling band, we played some shows here and there, got popular, almost made it big until creative differences tore us apart. And that's when I knew I had to get back on with my journey to the Crystal Empire, the gateway to Yakyakistan! And so here I am. It was a major adventure that took most of the afternoon. Know what I mean?" She was speaking to Cadence and her Sylveon.
"This is it. The northern boundary of the Crystal Empire. Beyond lies Yakyakistan. Nopony who's attempted this climb has ever returned. Are you sure you have to do this?" Cadence asked. The path to it was incredibly risky due to how to steep it appeared to be.
"Sylveon?"
"I do."
"Good luck, Pinkie Pie."
The pink pony made her way to the top with all that she had, ignoring the harsh wind and snow that blew in her face. It was proving to be a bit slippery with some ice there. In fact, she almost slipped off the path, but thankfully, a group of Spheal and a Beartic saved her.
"Bear!"
"Oh! Thanks! I thought I was a goner there. Mind helping me up?"
"Beartic." Beartic nodded as he commanded the Spheal to help Pinkie Pie head up the steep pathway. The Pokemon gladly lent their assistance to the earth pony, guiding her beyond the boundary. With Pokemon involved, a seemingly impossible climb was dealt with ease. Pinkie Pie had reached surface level thanks to the Pokemon, but that wasn't the only thing they reached. There was a cave with red eyes emanating from it, indicating that something was there.
"Ooh! Hi! My name is Pinkie Pie! I'm looking for Yakyakistan. You know, faraway land, lots of yaks? Maybe you've heard of it?" She asked the monster. The unidentified snow creature revealed itself to not be on her side currently as it roared in front of her face and the Pokemon. "Whoa-ho-ho! Slow down! I can't understand a word you're saying—" Just then, the beast clawed a piece of her mane off. It was clear that it wasn't next to Pinkie Pie to be all buddy-buddy. But what it didn't take into account were the Pokemon.
"BEARTIC!" Beartic roared back at the monster, forcing it to crawl back into its cave. Beartic was much larger than the monster and its roar had more oomph too it.
"Thanks, Beartic!"
"Bear."
"Spheal!" One of the many Clap Pokemon called for Pinkie Pie. It had spotted Yakyakistan in the distance. "Spheal, Spheal!"
"Aha!" Pinkie ran towards the Spheal's direction. And it was true. It did find Yakyakistan. "There it is! Yakyakistan!" She increased her speed by galloping towards Yakyakistan's entrance, but she was moving a bit too fast for her own good. As a result, she ended up landing her hoof on a sledge with a young yak child on it. Both of them were now on the move towards Yakyakistan with the sledge moving along the snow. Beartic and the Spheal waved goodbye to Pinkie Pie.
They had a short little sledge ride until the reached the entrance finally. The young yak hopped off the sledge, opening the doors to Yakyakistan. The child looked back at Pinkie Pie nodding at her and essentially inviting her in. Pinkie grinned, but that was short-lived due to the rock the sledge was on breaking apart. A second time in a row.
"NOOOOoooooooo!" Pinkie bellowed a long continuous 'NO' as she was going in reverse. She passed the Beartic and Spheal, the monster, Princess Cadence, Jubilee in Manehatten, Dodge City and the Wooloo and so forth.
Back at Ponyville, SugarCube Corner.
"This is not what I expected. Pinkie Pie's not yet back...and the afternoon is almost reaching its end. I wish she was here. I put too much pressure on her. I let everypony down. And Princess Celestia will be here any minute and see that I haven't made new friends. I've made new enemies." Twilight sighed.
Jade looked at everypony, seeing that they were upset. Even though she didn't quite understand emotions when it came to her only, she could understand how her friends were feeling. Jade looked over to Spinda, nodding at the Spot Panda Pokemon. "Use Secret Power."
"Spin. Spinda!" Spinda suddenly smashed the ground beneath Sugarcube corner, bringing the Mane 6 and Ash down to a Secret Base. Ash fell on his face first with Pikachu and Applejack landing on him.
"OW!" He cried out.
"Ugh...is everypony okay?"
"Mhm..." They all nodded.
"Yeah...EveryPONY that is." Ash groaned.
"What is this place?" Rainbow Dash gawked at the sudden change of scenery. This entire area was some sort of cave that had a stupid amount of party decorations everywhere. The usual you'd always see but multiplied to a thousand. Not only that, but there were files of everypony in Ponyville. But it went the extra mile. There were even files of those in Pallet Town. The very few that lived there anyways.
"This is a Secret Base." Jade fluttered down. "Pinkie Pie and Spinda made it. We used Secret Power to find the perfect spot, and here it is. The Party Cave."
"Oooh..." They all said.
"Are these files of Pallet Town?" Ash looked at Pallet Town files.
"Pika..."
" Look at these! Pinkie Pie's made files for everypony in town!" Applejack went over the rest of the files.
"With exactly what kind of parties we like." Fluttershy held a file that had Twilight's interests.
"Pinkie Pie has a secret party-planning cave as a Secret Base?! How cool is this?! Rainbow Dash flew up.
"Twilight Sparkle likes vanilla ice cream, red balloons, dancing..." Fluttershy was reading Twilight's file.
"That's right!" Twilight nodded.
"But she's afraid of quesadillas."
"No, I'm not! They're just so...cheesy." Twilight shuddered.
Pinkie Pie had ended coming all the way back to Ponyville, landing perfectly on her back, laying on her back as she finished her long 'No'.
"NO! I'm all the way back where I started! Gummy, I was this close to helping Twilight befriend the yaks. Now I've just let everypony down." Pinkie lowered her head. But then, her ears picked up some muffled chatter coming from underneath. She hopped down to her Secret Base, going down a slide.
"Looky here. It's notes for the party she wants to throw for her folks' fiftieth anniversary. But they ain't nearly that old! Huh. She's already plannin' their one-hundredth too. And their five-hundredth?" Applejack commented.
"I had no idea she worked so hard on her parties," Twilight uttered.
"She may be more organized than you, Twilight." Rainbow Dash flew over to her.
"Let's not get carried away."
"She's even planned parties for my world as well. How does she know what Mimey likes?" Ash looked at the file of the Mr Mime his mom owned.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu was reading files about him. His favourite food to have at parties were without doubt ketchup bottles and poffins.
" I just wish Pinkie Pie were here so we could tell her how much we all appreciate her hard work." Rarity said. And speaking of Pinkie Pie, who was listening to their conversation whilst being camouflaged behind a bunch of balloons, appeared, tearing up.
"Thank you! Thank you! I love you too! All of you!" cried Pinkie.
"You're back!" Twilight spoke as Pinkie Pie hugged her.
"I tried to go to Yakyakistan so I could bring something back for my party. But at the last second, I made a mistake." Pinkie sighed. "I worked harder on this party than any party ever. But I'm still just a big failure." She sat down, disappointed with herself.
"Pinkie Pie! You're not a failure. Twilight went towards her.
"What matters is how hard you tried." Fluttershy nodded at her.
"Who else would've gone all across Equestria to plan one party?!" Rainbow Dash put her hoof around her pink friend.
"Pi-Ka! Pikachu!" Pikachu went up to her.
"You know... the trip was really hard. But everypony I met along the way was so helpful. I just wish the yaks could see how friendly and wonderful and great Equestria really is!" Pinkie gasped, sparking up an ingenious idea "I just got the best party idea ever!"
"Too late. The yaks left on the last train." Twilight lowered her head.
"Um, no, they didn't. Trust me! There are a whole lot of Wooloo out there!" Pinkie went up to the slide, going upwards by sliding upwards on it. Somehow.
"So um...do we walk back up the slide or...or what?" Fluttershy said.
At Dodge City with the yaks.
"Yaks stuck here?! Why trains not work?!" Rutherford yelled at the pony managing the train.
"I never thought I'd say this, but... THANK YOU WOOLOO!" Pinkie bellowed as she was here with her friends. And now, if it's okay with you, it's party time!" She had a way to satisfy the yaks for good. What did she have planned? All you needed to do know was that it involved Pokemon in one way or another.
They were all out in Ponyville with Celestia and her Kirlia arriving finally. And thankfully, things were going well. How? It was simple. Nothing was changed that much. There wasn't anything that was Yak-themed at all. In fact, it was just a normal Ponyville party. A group of Ludicolo were dancing with the bodyguards of Prince Rutherford, and they were loving the dance. There were balloons of large Pokemon floating about such as Charizard, Snorlax, Walrein and Glalie.
There was an even larger balloon that was a Pikachu balloon. If you were to look in the distance, you would notice it.
The Pokemon were enjoying themselves by having a bite of their favourite food as planned by Pinkie Pie. Prince Rutherford took a bite out of a Casteliacone and enjoyed it instantly, chuckling.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu was gulping down a massive ketchup bottle. "Pi!" He ended up giving himself a stomachache but Audino treated him immediately.
"Kirlia!" Passion was about to take a bite out of some Pokesnacks, but a Pidgeotto came swooping in, grabbing it for himself. "Kir? Kirlia!" Passion got on her knees, distraught that she lost her food. "Kir..."
"Espeon." Eve went over to Passion, lending her a snack that was being gripped by her tail. "Esp."
"Kirlia?" Passion wiped away her tears, taking the food that Eve lent her. All was well.
"Wow, Pinkie. This came together quick. Even for you." Twilight was impressed.
"What can I say? I'm good at what I do." Pinkie then walked up to the prince to make her say. "Prince Rutherford, every time we tried to make something in Equestria feel like Yakyakistan, we couldn't get it right. When I got back from my adventure, I realized something. We shouldn't try to make Equestria feel like your home. We should try to make you feel at home in Equestria. And that means showing you why we love it here, so you'll love it too."
Rutherford looked over at the party, seeing how happy everypony was. How the ponies hang out with their Pokemon and how the Pokemon get up to their usual antics if you even take your eyes off them for one second. It was truly a simple yet beautiful sight. A sight that made Rutherford cry tears of joy.
"Pink pony work hard to make yaks feel at home. Now yaks happy. No declare war."
"Phew." Twilight had a huge sigh of relief. She then noticed that Celestia was right behind her. And the moment Rutherford spoke about not declaring war and how Twilight sighed, Celestia had a face of genuine concern. Granted, she had no reason to worry anymore, but the fact that a war was almost declared due to a few roadblocks made Celestia gulp.
"Ponies and yaks... friends?"
"For a thousand moons?" Pinkie giggled.
"FOR A THOUSAND MOONS!" Rutherford bellowed. This made everyone cheer as a result.
"See? Told ya. No need to worry." Ash spoke to Twilight.
"There was a lot of need to worry, Ash!" Twilight snapped at him.
"But worry no more. Princess." Celestia said to Twilight. "You and your friends managed to spread friendship even against the most difficult roadblocks."
"Pink pony, you understand yaks now."
"Aww...Come here you!" Pinkie went to hug Rutherford. There a slight moment of silence as she backed away, but Rutherford was up for a hug. And so was Dragonite who was pulled towards hugs like some sort of magnet. All three ended up hugging.
"T-Too strong! C-Can't breathe!" Pinkie was suffocating by a double hug from a dragon and yak.
"Now! Yaks want more Peekachoo shock!" Rutherford ceased the hug, wanting a bit more of Pikachu's jolts.
It was an...interesting day today. What seemed to be an impossible task was thankfully solved due to Pinkie's talents. A new friendship had been formed between the yaks and the ponies, showing that more bonds will spread out towards other species out there, as the journey continues.
The day that Scootaloo partakes in her first Gym Battle. She has a few Pokemon on her. One that she got from BigTime Ben, one from the Pokemon House and the other she was given to by Twilight as an extra starter. It's safe to say that she's prepared to take on the first gym which was Grass. She had a Ponyta with her and it was her ace even. Plus a Cyndaquill as well. So she was betting it all on Ponyta and Cyndaquill to win this. Her friends were there to support her at the gym of course. They wasted no time heading towards Whitetail Wood, the first area where the Grass Gym was located and where the Swords of Justice hang about usually. And as a bonus, Ash and the others come along to support her. However, Twilight wasn't here today. She had something that she needed to solve on her own.
"Here it is." Scootaloo gulped. "Bit nervous." Her hooves were shaking, her tail twitching, she wasn't sure what to expect at all.
"Don't worry about it. You'll do great." Sweetie Belle reassured her.
"Mhm. With us supporting you, ya can't lose." Apple Bloom nodded her head.
"Right. Thanks, girls. You're all going to support me too, right?" Scootaloo turned to Ash and the others.
"Of course we are. Do your very best, Scootaloo!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Shame Twilight can't be here to see it. But we can tell her what happened anyways." Rainbow Dash shrugged.
"Alright. Here goes." Scootaloo pushed open the doors of the gym, ready to tackle it. Inside, it was still the same as it was when Rainbow Dash first came here. Nothing has changed really. But what has changed is the Gym Leader. Previously, Gardenia was the Gym Leader since there wasn't anypony to fill in as the Grass-Type Gym Leader so Gardenia was assigned. But now that there is a pony who's taken the role of Gym Leader, things are about to be vastly different from Rainbow Dash's first Gym Battle.
The Gym Leader was now Roseluck.
"Hm?" Roseluck heard the doors open as she turned around to see everypony there. "Oh! Challengers? Wait! I'm not ready!" Roseluck panicked, shuffling through her Pokeballs. She ended up causing them all to fall on the ground. "Oh..."
"Roseluck? You're the Gym Leader instead? What happened to Gardenia?" Applejack asked.
"About that. I ended up taking the role as the first Gym Leader. So Gardenia could leave and return to being Sinnoh's Gym Leader." Roseluck explained. Her Pokeballs were rolling on the ground as now they were all scrambled. "Sorry. I' 'm not quite used to this Gym Leader business yet." She went to gather the Pokeballs as the others helped her.
"Are you sure that you want to be a Gym Leader?" Rarity asked her, picking up a few of the Pokeballs.
"Positive. I know it may not seem like something I'd be into but...surprise. I am."
"Well, you are great at battling right?" Rainbow questioned.
"I'm decent at best. Guess that's why I decided to be the first gym leader. To get young upstart trainers ready for tougher battles along the way. Now, which one of you is here for the Veld Badge?"
"Oh! That's me!" Scootaloo ran up to her. "I'm starting out my trainer journey to the league!"
"Alright. How many Pokemon do you have?"
"Uh...Four!"
"Four, huh? Then, in that case, I'll use four Pokemon as well for fairness. At least I think that's how it goes. Now I just have to figure out which Pokemon isn't too strong so that it doesn't become unfair for you." Roseluck was going through the options.
"I already know who I'm leading with first. Ponyta and Cyndaquill won't let me down for a second."
It's battle time. Everyone else took their seats while Scootaloo and Roseluck went on their own sides. There was the usual referee unicorn to call the battle.
"The battle between Challenger Scootaloo and Gym Leader Roseluck will be a 4v4. Four Pokemon only and the battle will be over once four Pokemon on one side are unable to battle. Only the challenger will be allowed to substitute Pokemon for this challenge." He announced.
"Works for me! Let's go Cyndaquill!" Scootaloo sent out Cyndaquill first.
"Cynda!"
"Fire, huh? I was afraid this would happen. Then I'll start with you. Out you come, Leafeon!" Roseluck sent out her first Pokemon. A Leafeon.
"Leafeon!"
"Ooh. Another Eeveelution?" Scootaloo pulled out her dex.
"Leafeon. The Verdant Pokemon. A Pokemon that lives a quiet life in a deep forest where rivers flow. This Pokémon’s tail is blade sharp, with a fantastic cutting edge that can slice right through large trees. It does not usually fight, but if its friends are threatened, it will end up fighting. Just like a plant, it uses photosynthesis. As a result, it is always enveloped in clear air. Its cellular composition is closer to that of a plant than an animal. The younger they are, the more they smell like fresh grass. With age, their fragrance takes on the odour of fallen leaves. Galarians favour the distinctive aroma that drifts from this Pokémon’s leaves. There’s a popular perfume made using that scent."
"Oh. So that blade's a problem, huh? Be careful of it Cyndaquill!"
"Cyndaquill!"
"Do your best, okay Leafon?"
"Leaf." Leafeon nodded.
"Good luck, Scootaloo!" Both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom cheered.
"Battle start!"
"Watch this! Flame Wheel!" Scootaloo made the first move. Cyndaquill cloaked itself in flames, charging at Leafeon whilst spinning even.
"Yikes! Leafeon! Dodge and use Swift!" Roseluck commanded. Leafeon was much faster than Cyndaquill, making it easy for it to avoid a super-effective move. The Grass Eeveelution unleashed Swift stars towards Cyndaquill, pelting it with stars.
"Shrug it off and use Ember!"
"Cyn!" Cyndaquill burned away the stars by shooting an Ember straight towards Leafeon. A direct hit followed by a super-effective hit as well.
"Yes!"
"Are you okay, Leafeon?!"
"Leaf...Leafeon!" The Verdant Pokemon was feeling pretty hurt from Ember but she could keep on going still.
"Great! Then in that case...Dig!"
"Leafeon!" The Verdant Pokemon quickly moved its paws on the floor as fast as it could, digging a hole. She burrowed a hole in the arena itself, heading inside of it.
"Huh?! It can do that?!" Scootaloo pulled back, never seeing a move like this before. Leafeon was heading towards Cyndaquill whilst moving underneath the arena. Both Scootaloo and Cyndaquill were unaware of where Leafeon was. "Where is it?!"
"Cynda? Cyn?" Cyndaquill was looking around for any trace of Leafeon. Then all of a sudden, Leafeon jumped out of the floor, striking Cyndaquill in the back of its head with its bladed tail. "CYNDA!"
"Oh, no! Cyndaquill!"
"Cyn!" Cyndaquill was knocked back by Dig. It proved to deal some huge amount of damage to the Fire-Mouse Pokemon. Thankfully, Cyndaquill didn't faint, but boy did it take some damage.
"Cyndaquill, return!" Scootaloo made the call to return her Pokemon. "Oh, that was close..." She sighed.
"Talk about a rough start." Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"That move almost took Cyndaquill out in one go...I need to move faster than it. Go! Ponyta!" Scootaloo sent out her fastest Pokemon to handle this. As well as being her ace.
"Pony!"
"This is our first gym battle, Ponyta! So let's win this!"
"Ponyta!" Ponyta stomped his hooves down.
"Leafeon! Use Quick Attack!"
"Lea!" The Verdant Pokemon moved at blinding speeds, getting an early hit on Ponyta.
"Gotcha! Flame Charge!" Ponyta, despite being knocked back, recovered fairly quickly. As a result, it charged into Leafeon at a close range, dealing a super-effective hit on it. Leafeon went flying across the area, unable to handle an attack that powerful. Leafeon had fainted in two hits.
"Leaf..."
"Leafeon is unable to battle! Ponyta wins!"
"Yes! An early win! Great job Ponyta!"
"Ponyta!"
"Aw...you did good, Leafeon. Return." Roseluck sighed.
"So far so good. Even for an early gym battle, this makes my stomach nervous." Pinkie snorted.
"Now all Ponyta has to do is take out the other Grass-Types and they win!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"Alright. Then I'll use this against you next! It's your turn!" Roseluck sent out her next Pokemon. A Dual-Type this time. And this type could help against Fire-Types. A Ludicolo.
"Ludi!" The Carefree Pokemon started to dance.
"Ludicolo, huh? You okay to carry on, Ponyta?" Scootaloo asked.
"Pony." Ponyta turned around, nodding in agreement.
"Alright! Then in that case...Flame Charge! Head on!" Ponyta moved forward, appearing to be faster this time thanks to Flame Charge increasing speed each time it's used.
"Here it comes...Ludicolo! Protect!"
"Ludi!" The Water-Grass-Type put up a protective barrier around it, making Ponyta crash into it. Ponyta moved back, breaking the Protect, but it was unable to make direct contact with Ludicolo.
"Bubble Beam!" Ludicolo shot forward a beam of bubbles that raced towards the solo Fire-Type.
"Dodge and use Horn Attack!" Ponyta galloped to the side, avoiding the incoming beams of bubbles whilst heading towards Ludicolo. However, the Bubble Beam was manoeuvred by Ludicolo in order to hit Ponyta from all sides. The bubbles ended up making contact with Ponyta, sending the Fire Horse Pokemon back to where it started whilst dealing some big damage to it. "Rats! Then it that case! Ember!"
"Water Gun!"
Two attacks that were equal in strength made contact with each other. Ember ended up being taken out by Water Gun easily. It was just Fire at the end of the day. Ponyta gasped as it managed to avoid Water Gun by ducking its head.
"How am I gonna get past that Ludicolo?" Scootaloo thought to herself. Despite this being her first ever Gym Battle, it was also Roseluck's first time as a Gym Leader as well. So in a sense, they were both beginners. But Scootaloo had a bit more experience due to her being more invested in battling.
"That was close...if any other Fire moves hit my Pokemon, that'll be the end of it." Roseluck thought to herself as well. "Aha! Rain Dance, Ludicolo!"
"Ludi! Ludicolo!" The Carefree Pokemon was doing what it does best. Dancing. It was summoning up a heavy rain by controlling the weather from the outside. It was that powerful to affect the skies outside even if it was inside. Just then, the rain was pouring outside and inside. After all, this gym was also made out of some leaves, so it wasn't difficult for water to get in. As a bonus, this will also help Rainbow Dash prepare for the gym where weather effects are its motif.
"Rain Dance?" Pinkie said. "Does it have the move Thunder on it?"
"A move like that is bad news for Scootaloo's Fire-Types! It weakens Fire moves and boosts Water moves." Ash explained, leaning forward.
"Pika-Pika!"
"It can just do that?!" They all said in unison.
"Who says I have to use only Fire moves? Horn Attack!" Scootaloo didn't mind Rain Dance as she sent her Pokemon forward. It was prepared to strike Ludicolo with its horn, hoping to do some good damage on it.
"Bubble Beam!" Ludicolo was firing beams of bubbles towards its opponent. If any of these bubbles hit, it could spell trouble for Ponyta.
"Avoid them and keep on going!"
Ponyta was doing its best to avoid the bubbles. As it was galloping towards Ludicolo, it was moving from side to side, leaping over the bubbles to avoid it. Thanks to it being faster due to the last two Flame Charges, it could gain some quick distance and get up close really quickly. Ponyta had managed to avoid all of them, striking its horn on Ludicolo.
"Ludi!" Ludicolo was launched back by Ponyta thrusting its horn upwards at it.
"Now! Shoot Ember!" Ponyta followed up by shooting small flames towards Ludicolo. Due to it being part Water and Rain Dance active, this didn't too that much damage at all. In fact, Ludicolo could brush it off. This battle might take a while.
"Ludicolo! You okay?!"
"Ludico!"
"This isn't going anywhere. Why did it have to be Water-Grass." Scootaloo growled. This battle, compared to others was simple and laid back instead of being fast-paced. But even then, it was enough to keep the group on the edge of their seats since nopony knew the outcome due to the Pokemon that had currently been shown. So far, all of Scootaloo's Pokemon are either good or bad against Roseluck's Pokemon. At least, the ones she's shown so far. Scootaloo realized that if Bubble Beam makes contact once, it's game over for Ponyta. So she was ready to try and use one thing that might work. "I got it! Ponyta! Run into Ludicolo!"
"Pony!" Ponyta ran forward, not going for a Pokemon move this time, but just simply running towards Ludicolo.
"Huh?" Roseluck was confused. "Okay then. Ludicolo! Bubble Beam!" The same move was used once more. Yet again, Ponyta proved to be capable of dodging them easily, however one bubble managed to hit it. Ponyta ignored it, even though it did sting. It ran into Ludicolo, smashing its body against it. This tactic didn't actually harm Ludicolo all that much at all. It did push it back though, so that was something. "That wasn't too bad. Water Gun!"
Before Ludicolo could so something, Scootaloo's plan had come into focus. The reason why she wanted Ponyta to just simply run into Ludicolo was because she planned to take advantage of Ponyta's Hidden Ability. Flame Body. And everypony knows, if Flame Body is activated, the opposing Pokemon will have a burn effect on it. And Ludicolo was now a victim of the burn.
"LUDI!" Ludicolo pulled back, feeling the effects of the burn.
"What the?!" Roseluck perked up, surprised at this. She wasn't too knowledgeable about the effects. She knew they existed, but had no clue how some of them were activated most of the time. Neither did she know that it could be activated by abilities as well.
"Yes! Now! Flame Charge!" Scootaloo took advantage of Ludicolo being wide open due to it still being burnt. Ponyta charged into Ludicolo, launching the Carefree Pokemon far back. Due to Rain Dance, it didn't deal tons of damage, but it helped Ponyta increase its speed. "Head in and use Double Kick on Ludicolo!" Ponyta chased after Ludicolo, giving the opposing Pokemon a good old fashioned buck to the face.
"Ludicolo! Recover and use Bubble Beam quick!"
"Don't let them! Horn Attack!" Ponyta interrupted Ludicolo's attack by striking the horn on them. Ludicolo couldn't handle that sudden assault of attacks. From being burnt to being kicked in the face and having a horn strike its belly, all of them were enough to make Ludicolo faint on its back as it tumbled towards Roseluck. Due to Ludicolo fainting, the Rain Dance had ceased.
"Ludi..."
"Ludicolo is unable to battle! Ponyta wins!"
"Phew! That did the trick. Alright, Ponyta. Have a rest in the meantime." Scootaloo returned Ponyta.
"Good job, Ludicolo." Roseluck returned Ludicolo. "I must say. You're pretty impressive Scootaloo. Then again, I'm supposed to hold back a bit when facing young trainers. It's my job as a Gym Leader."
"Is that true, Ash?" Fluttershy asked.
"It is. The earlier Gym Leaders hold back constantly to give younger new trainers a fair chance. That's why Misty didn't use Gyarados when Rainbow Dash battled against her."
"So that means...Gym Leaders are much more powerful than we can imagine?!" Rainbow Dash gulped, realizing that all this time she's been battling against trainers who were just simply holding back while she was giving it her all.
"But, once you get past the 4th Gym, that's when things get difficult."
"Pika."
"Alright. You're up next!" Roseluck sent out her third Pokemon. Bellossom.
"Bellossom!" The Flower Pokemon was dancing as well, swaying its hands about.
"Bellossom, huh? Do I send Ponyta back in or put Cyndaquill in again." Scootaloo thought. "Both of them took some huge damage from Leafeon and Ludicolo...and who knows what other Water-Type moves she's hiding in her Pokemon. I'll just have to try and confuse her." Scootaloo sent out her next Pokemon. A Pokemon that was not good against Grass-Types. Pachirisu.
"Pachi!"
"Pachirisu? Why did she go for Pachirisu?" Rainbow Dash said. Ash smirked, knowing why. He's been teaching Scootaloo a few tricks in battling that'll allow her to get the jump on her opponent.
"I'll make the first move this time. Bellossom! Use Giga Impact!"
"SAY WHAT NOW?!" Scootaloo exclaimed. She didn't expect a Pokemon as gentle as Bellossom to have that. The Flower Pokemon used every ounce of its strength to charge towards Pachirisu at full force with destructive energy surrounding it. "DO-" Scootaloo couldn't give out the dodge command in time. Bellosoom made contact, crashing into The EleSquirrel Pokemon. The impact was so severe that it almost made Pachirisu faint in one hit. In fact, if Pachirisu gets hit a few more times, that's game over. A powerful shockwave was left from the impact as Pachirisu was tumbling on the ground. "Pachirisu! Are you okay?!"
"Pachi..." Pachirisu was slowly getting back up.
"That was intense...I didn't expect it to have that move."
"I may not be well-versed in battling, but I know what moves are good for dishing out huge damage." Roseluck smiled.
"Oh, yeah? Pachirisu! Quick Attack!" Pachirisu moved at lightning speeds, charging into Bellossom.
"Bello!"
"Bellossom! Petal Blizzard!"
"Keep using Quick Attack!" That was Scootaloo's strategy. Having Pachirisu constantly crash into Bellossom, just to make sure that it doesn't get a single move off. And thanks to Pachirisu being an Electric-Type, it was naturally faster than Bellossom. Each Quick Attack was slowly whittling Bellossom down.
"Bellossom! Use Sleep Powder! Roseluck was aiming to halt Pachirisu by having it be put to sleep. The moment Pachirisu finished the next Quick Attack, Bellossom can have the opportunity to shoot out at least a few bits of powder. And that's what it did. Bellossom scattered a few drops of powder with the amount of time she had left to breathe during the Quick Attack onslaught.
"Pachi?" Pachirisu's nose had picked up on the powder as it got all over its face. The powder was working its magic, making Pachirisu slow down all of a sudden. And before the EleSquirrel Pokemon knew it, it had been put to sleep. The last action it did before dozing off was attempting to bash its head at Bellossom until it fell on its face. "Risu..."
"Huh?!" Scootaloo's jaw dropped.
"Yes! It worked!" Roseluck pumped her hoof. "Now! Petal Blizzard!"
"Bello!" Bellossom summoned a violent blizzard of petals that raged towards Pachirisu, picking it up.
"Not good! Pachirisu! Wake up!" But it didn't wake up. The petals were beating on it with massive amounts of damage being dealt.
"Let's finish this! Energy Ball!" To seal the deal, Bellossom drew tons of power from nature itself, firing a ball of energy towards Pachirisu whilst the petals continue to damage it. The combined might of the ball and petals was enough to make Pachirisu faint, even when it was asleep.
"Pachi..."
"Pachirisu is unable to battle! Bellossom wins!"
"Return, Pachirisu." Scootaloo sighed. She had lost one Pokemon, but she still had three left. "I'm not out of this yet. It's time for you to shine, Cyndaquill!" Cyndaquill was thrown back out. It was still pretty badly hurt from Dig earlier, but it could probably deal some damage to Bellossom before it faints. "Watch out for that Sleep Powder!"
"That's not all you have to watch out for! Giga Impact!" Roseluck was about to use the hard-hitting Giga Impact once more.
"Not this time...Cyndaquill! Flame Wheel!" Scootaloo was planning to make contact with Giga Impact from the looks of it. Both Pokemon charged themselves up, dashing towards each other. The collision between the two attacks could result in a fairly destructive outcome. Or perhaps, one might overpower the other. However, Scootaloo wasn't planning on just going up to an attack as powerful as that. "Move to the side!" She suddenly commanded Cyndaquill to move to the side whilst in Flame Wheel, throwing Bellossom and Roseluck off balance. "Gotcha! Now go!" Cyndaquill made a quick turn around, charging into Bellossom from behind.
"Yikes! Bellossom! Behind you!"
"Bell?" Bellossom had just come out of Giga Impact, prepared to turn itself around. But the moment it tried to do so, Cyndaquill had already landed Flame Wheel on it. "BELLOSSOM!" A direct hit. And as a bonus, it even left a burn on Bellossom.
"YES! Way to go Cyndaquill!"
"It's not over yet! Sleep Powder!"
"I don't think so! Jump back and use Ember!" Cyndaquill avoided the cloud of powder by jumping back, spitting flames that landed on Bellossom. Both the Ember and burn effect were obviously bad news for Bellossom. Both of them combined could make it faint. Which it did. Bellossom had fainted due to the Fire attacks.
"Bellossom is unable to battle! Cyndaquill wins!"
"Woohoo! That just leaves one more! Awesome job, Cyndaquill!"
"Cynda!" Cyndaquill's flames erupted in victory.
Roseluck returned Bellossom to its ball, thanking it for its help. Now she had one Pokemon left at her use. And this Pokemon was going to be a bit of a problem. "You've made it this far, Scootaloo. But just so you know...I don't want to lose either. This Pokemon's going to test you to the fullest!" Out came the final Pokemon. This Pokemon was the same as Gardenia's when she and Rainbow Dash were reaching the final moments of their battle.
A Roserade.
"Rose! Roserade!"
"Roserade? Guess both Gardenia and Roseluck have them both as their final Pokemon." Applejack commented.
"Roserade, huh? It's that poison that I gotta look out for."
Cyndaquill and Roserade were eyeing each other down, anticipating each other's movements.
"Here goes nothing. Flame Wheel!"
"Cyndaquill!" Cyndaquill was cloaked in flames, rolling over towards Roserade.
"Here it comes...Roserade! Extrasensory!"
"Rose..." Roserade was conjuring up a peculiar power with its mind alone. This attack was odd and unseeable, making it difficult to predict. Cyndaquill was unfortunately hit by this unseeable move, getting knocked back and out of Flame Wheel.
"Cyn!"
"Cyndaquill, no!" Scootaloo leaned forward to see Cyndaquill roll towards her. The moment the Fire Mouse Pokemon came up to her, it was revealed that it had fainted due to that single attack.
"Cyndaquill is unable to battle! Roserade wins!"
"That just leaves two of Scootaloo's Pokemon now. Ponyta and Horsea," said Sweetie Belle.
"I'm a bit nervous..." Apple Bloom was biting on her hoof.
"Don't worry. As long as Scootaloo can land a Super-effective hit on Roserade, she should win." Applejack said. "I hope."
"I should for Ponyta...but what if it has a move that can take Ponyta out in one go? But Horsea doesn't have any good moves that work well against Roserade." Scootaloo was thinking hard about what she could do. Then she came to a conclusion. "This is my best bet. I'm putting everything on Ponyta!" And out came the Fire Horse Pokemon one final time. Ponyta wasn't looking too good due to the Water attacks that hit it earlier. "Let's do our best to finish this, Ponyta!"
"Pony..."
"Roserade! Show them your flash! Petal Blizzard!" A blizzard of petals ravaged their way through the arena, aiming at Ponyta.
"Run through with Flame Charge!" The Fire Horse Pokemon charged forward, burning through the blizzard of petals with ease. And as a result, it crashed into Roserade, launching the Grass-Poison-Type back. "Awesome! Now! Ember!"
"Use Venoshock!" Roserade recovered on its feet, drenching Ponyta with a special poisonous liquid.
"Pony!" Ponyta felt the poison drench all over it, crying out in pain.
"Now! Swift!" Roserade continued the attack by pelting Ponyta with stars. Ponyta was knocked on its back from the overwhelming assault of stars. Thankfully, it hadn't fainted yet, but it took some considerable damage from all of that.
"We can do this, Ponyta! Ember!" Ponyta got back up, spitting an Ember that was approaching Roserade. The Bouquet Pokemon avoided this by gracefully dodging the Ember. Roserade then replied by drenching Ponyta in poison once more.
"Pony!" Ponyta could feel more of the poison affect it.
"Now! Pin Missile!
"I don't think so! Ponyta! Dodge and use Double Kick!"
"Pony?!" Ponyta snapped out of it, galloping to the side whilst avoiding the missiles of sharp pins being thrown at it. Thanks to Flame Charge, its speed had increased, allowing it to get closer.
"Look out, Roserade!"
"Rose?" Before the Flower Pokemon knew it, Ponyta's horn had struck its body, launching it upwards. "Rade!"
"Petal Blizzard from above!" Even if it was launched in the air, it could still attack from above. So that's what it did. A blizzard of petals raced down towards Ponyta.
"Burn them away with Ember!" Ponyta spat an Ember at the aggressive blizzard of petals. That single ember was potent enough to burn away all the petals with ease. Scootaloo and Ponyta were finally feeling the adrenaline of a full-on Pokemon battle. They were performing much better than before. Roserade was coming back down, giving Scootaloo the opportunity to strike. "GO! DOUBLE KICK!" Ponyta turned around, kicking both its legs at Roserade's face. The kick was powerful enough to launch the Flower Pokemon far across the gym. Roserade actually ended up crashing into the walls due to the force of Double Kick.
"Rose!" It cried out. The aftermath was Roserade coming off the wall and falling flat on its face. That impact was enough to seal the deal. "Rose...rade..."
"Roserade is unable to battle! Ponyta wins! Therefore the victor is the challenger Scootaloo!"
"SHE DID IT! YES!" Sweetie Belle raised her hooves up in victory as she and Apple Bloom hugged each other, jumping up and down.
"I-I won?"
"Yes you did, Scootaloo." Roseluck picked up her Roserade, walking towards the young pegasus. "And you did it with such aggression at the very end."
"Heh...sorry. A rush kinda came over me at the last second." Scootaloo squeed.
"Well, you managed to defeat all my Pokemon even without using your fourth Pokemon. You definitely deserve the Verd Badge." Roseluck had the badge in her hoof, revealing it to Scootaloo.
"Woah..." She gazed at the badge, seeing how it dazzled in the morning sun. "My first gym badge..." She was given the badge, holding it in her hoof. "Look, girls! Look at this!" Scootaloo ran over to her friends, showing them the badge.
"Look at you! You're already one step closer to becoming a great Pokemon trainer like yours truly!" Rainbow Dash placed her hoof around Scootaloo's neck.
"We're so glad that you won! Are ya gonna keep the badges on a wall?" Apple Bloom said.
"Maybe. But I know one thing for sure, with this win, I might've ranked up. Last place isn't my problem anymore."
"Glad you're happy with your victory. Now... I need some rest. Running a gym isn't easy." Roseluck yawned. "Come on, Roserade. Let's get a quick rest."
"Rose."
"I don't need any rest though. I'm already planning on heading to the second gym soon!"
"That fast? Are you trying to get one up on me?" said Rainbow Dash.
"What? Pssh? No." Scootaloo replied. Rainbow Dash chuckled, causing them all to chuckle as well. With Scootaloo's first Gym Battle cleared, her ranking will surely rise up, slowly bringing her up. It's a long way to go for her and every other trainer who are aiming to compete in the Equestria League. When the League finally begins, everypony from across Equestria will gather to see who can truly stand at the top as Equestria's Strongest Trainer as the journey continues.
Twilight and her friends were rushing towards Princess Luna who was there on her own. Behind her was this strange purple wisp that resembled Luna's Ethereal mane.
" Greetings, Tantabus. I am ready. Do your worst." She spoke to the ominous wisp. The Tantabus emanated a red aura around it as black rays shot towards Luna. The Mane 6 entered, seeing Luna's body inside of a pitch-black orb. From the looks of it, this was similar to how she transformed into Nightmare Moon long ago.
"Princess Luna's turning into Nightmare Moon again!" Twilight spoke.
The maniacal laughter of Nightmare Moon could be heard as indeed, she had returned. In all her glory.
"Yeah? Well, we've got the cure for that!" Rainbow Dash said. All 6 of them smiled as magical rays of light beamed down on them. This ray of light actually transformed them into their Rainbow forms. The same forms used against Tirek. And just like what they did against Tirek, the exact same rainbow beam of magic was released on Nightmare Moon as well, but it seemed to not affect her at first, making her cackle. But that's when something odd occurred behind her.
"Wait! What is it doing?!" Nightmare Moon turned around to see the Tantabus rip through reality itself, leaving. "No! It's gone!" And just like that, the rainbow beam struck her, obliterating all the darkness from within her. Luna had returned to her natural self again. The Mane 6 all gathered around her cheering, but Luna wasn't cheering at all.
That's when it was revealed to be a dream. Luna gasped, waking up from that dream instance. "What? My dream ended... happily? That. Cannot. Happen!" Luna exclaimed.
"Luna! What's wrong?!" Darkrai emerged from the shadows.
"Darkrai! I'm afraid that we might have to work harder this upcoming night!"
"Why's that?"
"The Tantabus."
Over at Rarity's Carousel Boutique, Twilight and her friends were in a bit of a tired state. Well, most of them anyways. Pinkie wasn't.
"Ooh, this is amazing!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Yeah, Rarity. Thanks for setting all this up." Rainbow Dash yawned, tired throughout.
"A grooming day for our pets and Pokemon really was a great idea...Even if some of them don't have fur." Fluttershy said. She was referring to Treecko, Slurpuff and Whirlipede who weren't exactly covered with any form of hair like the others.
Rarity was grooming Opalescence, slowly falling asleep in the process. As she was combing Opal, she accidentally put the comb on the wrong spot, making the cat jump up, sticking to the ceiling with its claws. "Oh, my! Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't get my normal beauty sleep last night..." Rarity yawned as Opal hissed at her.
"You know..." Twilight yawned, brushing Eve, Minccy and Owlicious at the same time. "I didn't sleep well either."
"I'm totally beat too!" Pinkie said, cartwheeling about with Spinda inside her mane. She wasn't tired in the slightest.
"Treecko...Pass me the brush." Applejack requested as she kept on struggling to stay awake.
"Treecko." The Wood Geck Pokemon gave his trainer the brush who was too tired to grab it herself. They were all on the verge of falling asleep until...
"Good morning, Ponyvillle!"
"PIKACHU!"
Both Ash and Pikachu woke them all up with their usual thunderous sounds all the way from the outside. The sound of it made them jump in shock. Rainbow Dash accidentally tipped the bucket that Tank and Braviary were both in, causing the water to flow about. "Ugh...guess that woke us up. That's what I get for going to bed early."
"Same here. I even went to bed early last night as well... but then I had a really scary nightmare." said Fluttershy.
"Me too!" They all replied to Fluttershy.
"Uh, only, you know, I didn't think mine was that scary!" Rainbow Dash stammered.
"Well, mine sure was. There was this blue smoke monster and..." The moment Twilight said that they all leaned forward at her with their jaws dropped "What?"
"I dreamt about a blue smoke thingy too!" Fluttershy responded.
"Me too!" Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie all said.
"So what? Probably just a coincidence." Rainbow Dash said, resting on her Braviary's back.
"That's an awfully big coincidence." Twilight picked up Minccy, holding her.
"Huh. I wonder why I didn't have that nightmare. I slept great!" Spike grinned.
"So then, what could've given us all the same nightmare?" Rarity wondered.
"I don't know, but I do know who might. Spike, could you send a scroll to Princess Luna?" Twilight requested.
"Sure!" Spike had a scroll and quill in his claws. "All set!"
"Dear Princess Luna, last night my friends and I all dreamt of a creature made of blue smoke. I'm sure you're very busy, but..." Twilight yawned mid-sentence"...when you have the chance, please let me know if you have any idea what it could mean. Yours...," Yet another yawn. "Princess Twilight Sparkle. You can leave out the yawns." Spike sent the letter to Luna and in the span of one second, Luna opened up the door in a heartbeat.
"Which of you saw the creature of blue smoke in your nightmare?!"
"Wow. That was fast." Fluttershy said.
"We all did." Twilight answered.
"Not me!" bellowed Spike.
"Ugh! We know!" They all said.
"So you've encountered the smoke monster too?" Twilight went up to Luna.
"The Tantabus is a creature of my nightmares. It escaped from my slumbers yesterday."
" But how did it get into ours?" Fluttershy pondered.
"The Tantabus is like a parasite. My dreams must no longer be enough for it. Now it seeks others to infect and corrupt. It must have learned of you six from seeing you in my dream."
"Whoa-whoa-whoa. So what you're saying is... you dreamt about all of them, and not me?" Spike whimpered.
"Uh, so Smokey gave us bad dreams. No biggie." Rainbow Dash brushed it off like it was no big deal.
" I saw that the Tantabus had grown more powerful, but I did not realize that power was enough to enable it to escape my dreams. If its power grows, it could very well find a way to escape into the real world. It could turn all of Equestria into a living nightmare! And it might not stop at our world. It could even reach a point where it can affect the Pokemon World as well!"
"Okay, okay, okay, I take it back! That does sound bad! Really bad!"
"What's this about dreams and nightmares?" Ash entered the boutique overhearing a bit of it.
"Pika-Pikachu?"
"Ash Ketchum. Perfect timing. We will need your assistance for this as well." Luna flew over to Ash and Pikachu.
"...Huh?"
Nighttime had arrived. At Twilight's castle, they had all gathered with Luna. She had brought along Darkrai with her.
"We've prepared everything exactly as you requested," said Twilight.
" Good. As you six slumber here, Darkrai and I will pursue the creature into whichever of your dreams it infests."
"Ooh! It'll be like a princess sleepover!" Pinkie jumped onto one of the beds. Everypony went to their beds along with their Pokemon by their side, who were ready to watch over their sleeping trainers.
"Speaking of princesses, aren't you gonna ask Celestia for her help as well?" Twilight asked.
"There is nothing my sister can do. She has no power in the realm of sleep. Only Darkrai and I can move from dream to dream. I am afraid nopony can help us both tonight."
"Even us?" spoke Applejack.
"Especially you. You have all suffered so much because of me. You need only slumber while I hunt the Tantabus in your dreams. Ash. You know what you must do. Your ability to combat dreams on a spiritual level is what we need to make sure the Tantabus doesn't spread like wildfire." Luna spoke to Ash who was standing outside of the room. "When you are ready, Darkrai will send you to the dream world."
"I got it."
"Pika."
"Ash and I will keep good watch over all of them." Spike nodded.
"One good thing about not sleepin' well last night – shouldn't be too hard to fall asleep now." AJ yawned.
"Are you kidding?! This is so exciting, I don't know how I'm ever going to— " Pinkie ended up falling asleep anyways. Soon, they all clocked out, dozing off as their bodies were being taken to the wonderful world of dreams. Luna's horn emanated, showing that she was ready to go. Darkrai was about to follow her into the Dream Realm as per usual. Multiple small magical lines of light fell upon the ponies, touching their heads. Luna was now connected to their dreams at the same time.
First up was Rarity's dream.
Rarity's dream consisted of...floating dresses?
"Oh, my! This is simply divine! How avant-garde!" She gazed upon the dresses. But what her eyes didn't gaze upon was the Tantabus which took its small wisp form, flying behind Rarity. It ended up travelling through one of the dresses, bringing life to it. A roar was heard as it came straight from the dress itself. The monstrous dress suddenly raced towards Rarity, ready to attack her. " Forget avant-garde! I should have said en-garde!" Rarity responded by blasting away the incoming dresses left and right.
Luna broke out of one of the dresses, revealing herself. "It is here." The dresses only became much more ferocious, tearing apart their fellow pieces of fabric in the process.
"It was such a pretty little chiffon...! What kind of monster would do this?!"
"The Tantabus."
"Then let's stop it."
"No, please! I don't want you to suffer anymore because of me. I will catch it." Luna chased after the fleeing wisp. "Darkrai! Ice Beam!" Darkrai appeared beside Luna, attacking the Tantabus together by shooting beams at it. The Tantabus had managed to avoid them both, escaping to the outside and heading to another dream. "It has jumped into another dream! I am sorry, but if we are to stop it, we must follow it where you cannot. Come, Darkrai!" Luna and Darkrai took their leave.
"Go! I should be able to handle things here." Rarity turned around to see a plethora of dresses roaring at her. "I hope...!"
Next was Pinkie Pie's dream.
"La-la-la-la-la! Whee! Whee, ha-ha!" Pinkie Pie was bouncing from location to location in her dream. From a lush green forest, mystical dusk forest and an area with a giant dragon until she reached a location where Luna was there.
"I followed the Tantabus here. Now I need only find—" Luna was cut off when Pinkie moved to yet another location.
"Sorry, can't help it! An idea pops into my head, it... Ooh, cake!" Pinkie's next location was a room full of cake. Cake, cake, cake everywhere. That was quickly ruined when the Tantabus arrived, infecting one of the cakes, turning it sentient with eyes and arms as it shot icing at Pinkie Pie's face, roaring at the pink pony. "Ew! Cake!" Soon, every single cake began cornering Pinkie Pie to the wall.
Darkrai appeared, freezing some of them with Ice Beam whilst Luna pushed many of them by expanding a magic barrier. Luna noticed the Tantabus escaping into what seemed to be a cake box. She chased after it, but it quickly moved into another location being the Crystal Empire thanks to Pinkie Pie. Luna ended up crashing into the statute of Spike.
"No!"
"Sorry!" Pinkie Pie squeed. Off Luna and Darkrai went to the next dream. In the meanwhile, Pinkie was off to dream about something else, like ice cream.
Fluttershy was third.
She was having her mane brushed by a giant angel bunny of all things. "Hmm...It's so nice to be the pet for once."
The Tantabus entered Fluttershy's reverse dream infecting both Angel Bunny and all the Pokemon at the Pokemon House at the same time. They had all become monstrous versions of themselves, varying from sharper teeth, claws, to much more intimidating eyes.
"N-n-n-n-nice... giant...Pokemon... evil Angel...!" Fluttershy stammered as Angel and all the Pokemon were about to attack her, but Luna swooped in to save her, placing them both on a tree. "Oh, thank you, princess!"
An aggressive Snorlax bashed its body against the tree that they were both sitting atop on, attempting to bring them down. A flock of Swellow went towards them. Darkrai appeared, blasting the Swellow away with Dark Pulse which scattered across the Pokemon House. Luna pushed the Snorlax back by unloading a constant barrage of magic rays at the Normal-Type. The Tantabus once again made its leave. And yet again, Darkrai and Luna had to chase it down to the next dream it was headed for. They left Fluttershy to deal with the huge array of aggressive Pokemon as she was cornered from all sides.
Up next, Applejack's dream.
She was currently polishing a giant apple from the looks of it. "Now this is what I call an incredible dream."
The Tantabus had dashed around, wilting every apple tree in the area one by one. Luna emerged from an apple, spotting the Tantabus. The Tantabus instantly moved to Applejack's giant apple, causing it to shrivel. Luna pursued after it, but she ended up heading inside of the apple. Now she was in another dream which was the dream of Rainbow Dash, who smashing Changelings about with brute force.
"I can see the Tantabus has already turned your slumbers into a nightmare!" Luna exclaimed to Rainbow Dash.
"What are you talking about? This is my favorite dream!" Rainbow Dash replied, punching her hoof at an incoming Changeling. The Tantabus quickly changed up the location of the dream by sending Rainbow and Luna into a happy, cheery and pretty land with ice-cream trees. Definitely not Rainbow Dash's natural dream. That's when the singing of sunflowers of all things could be heard. Multiple of them had popped up out of nowhere.
"We are such happy flowers
We will now sing for hours
Aren't we unbearably cute?
Watch me solo on jazz flute"
The odd singing sunflower played a jazz flute flawlessly surprisingly. But apparently, this sound was torture to Rainbow Dash's ears as she let out a bloodcurdling scream, unable to handle that sound. Now it was a nightmare for her. Darkrai was chasing after the Tantabus which caused Luna to spot them both, following them.
Finally, Twilight's dream was the next and last one the Tantabus went after.
Her dream consisted of books that automatically fly to the shelves to assort themselves or fly over to Twilight's hoof. The Tantabus made quick moves on the books as well, turning them against Twilight.
"Huh?" The young alicorn turned around to see rabid books after her. She took off, attempting to escape from the assault of flying books with what appeared to be bat wings. That's when she came across the Tantabus which looked to have grown in size. Luna landed in front of Twilight, blasting the Tantabus up close. "Luna!" Luna was managing to crystallize the Tantabus in place. Darkrai showed up to freeze all the books that were about to ambush Twilight from behind. The dreams of all 6 of them had ended due to the Tantabus breaking free of its crystallized self and growing in size. They all gasped, waking up.
"What happened?! Are you guys okay?!" Spike went up to them.
"That... that was terrible! I-I never want to have that nightmare again!" Fluttershy shuddered.
"Me either!" Rainbow shivered, rocking back and forth in the bed.
"But Luna and Dakrai caught it, didn't they?" Spike said.
"I am so sorry, my friends. I failed. It will be back to infect your dreams the next time you sleep."
"Pika?"
"Yeah. I reckon I could live without seeing that thing ever again." Applejack shook her head.
"But you will. Again and again, every night, until it grows powerful enough to infect the waking world! After what I did as Nightmare Moon, the fact that I am once again responsible for harming others is more than I can bear." Luna lowered her head.
"It'll be okay! Everypony makes mistakes!" Pinkie spoke.
"As long as none of you dreamt about another pony, the Tantabus remains confined to your dreams. I still have a chance to catch it before it's too late."
" Phew, that's good to hear! Although after you left, I did happen to dream that I was eating a giant ice-cream cone with all of Ponyville while taking a test we hadn't studied for. See, what'd I tell ya? Everypony makes mistakes!"
Which meant that the Tantabus could now infect everyone in Ponyville due to Pinkie Pie's multi-dream.
"But that means the Tantabus could be turning every dream in Ponyville into a nightmare!" said Twilight.
"It is far worse than that. Infecting all those dreams gives it more and more power. Soon it will be able to escape into the real world and infect Equestria with its nightmare plague! And then both worlds will be endangered by it!"
"Then you must let us help you stop it before that happens!" Rarity requested.
"But how? The Tantabus was able to escape Luna and Darkrai when it only had six dreams it could get to!" Fluttershy replied.
"It is true. With so many dreams to hide in, I do not know how Darkrai and I can catch it."
"Hmm..." Twilight thought for a second until she sparked an idea in her head. "What if everypony in Ponyville were having one dream?"
"I... can create shared dreams, yes, but for so many ponies at once? I have never done anything like that. The amount of power it would take..."
"Then I'll lend my power in order for you to do so." Darkrai flew over to her.
"Thank you Darkrai. All of you. I will do anything to end this, including accept your help. I cannot allow the Tantabus to escape into the real world. All of you must now go back to sleep and hope that I can create such a dream. That involves you and your Pokemon. And you as well, Ash."
"Alright." Ash sent out all of his Pokemon to help. "Time to clock out, all of you."
"Pikachu."
Now it was more than six going to sleep. The Pokemon, Spike and Ash had now dozed off, ready to enter the shared in order to deal with the Tantabus. Darkrai poured all of his power into Luna, fueling her. The princess of the night was emanating a bright and beautiful light that scattered many light lines that spread across all of Ponyville. These light lines attached to everypony and Pokemon in Ponyville. Soon, a bright light engulfed Ponyville, showing that Luna had managed to share their dreams.
And the result? Everypony was confused. How was it that they were all dreaming together? Flying muffins could be seen in the night sky with a few earth ponies flying about as if they were pegasi. Some Pokemon imagined themselves their final evolutions or they just dreamt of their favourite food.
Mayor Mare backed up as she bumped into what appeared to be a giant Derpy with a giant Wooper sitting on her back. Derpy apparently meowed at her whilst Wooper made a sound equivalent to Machamp apparently. Lyra and BonBon had become conjoined, Berry Punch detached her head and used it as a balloon, Scootaloo's Ponyta was eating its own fire mane, chewing on it as if it was a biscuit, some Pokemon from the Pokemon House had built a tower of Pokemon with a Rattata sitting at the top with a crown made out of gold. It was just a sight to behold honestly.
"Princess Luna did it!" Twilight exclaimed. This amalgamation of dreams was kind of creeping Applejack out until Big Mac arrived.
"Big Mac! Boy, I'm glad to see somethin' familiar!" But what she saw was only 99% familiar. Because Big Macintosh had a unicorn horn now. He utilized the horn, shooting out a speaking apple.
"Eeyup."
"PONIES" Luna called out for all of them.
"Princess Luna!" Many ponies went over to Luna, bowing down to her.
"There is no time for bowing, my friends! There is something coming, something terrible! No, it is already here!" Along came the Tantabus, much larger than it was before. Everypony started to panic and scream that the monstrous manifestation of darkness floating towards them. "I am so sorry! I brought this upon you! But I will end it now!" Luna blasted at the Tantabus in hopes of finishing it off. But the best she could do was slightly push it back. The Tantabus made its move, chasing after everypony in hopes of corrupting their wonderful dreams.
"Princess, what's wrong?!" Twilight and the others ran up to her.
"Even with Dakrai...It... is taking all my strength just to hold this massive dream together! You will have to stop it! I truly wish I did not have to ask this of you!"
"No need to worry. We'll help you out!" Ash tightened his gloves.
"Pikachu!"
"Just leave it to us!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as they were all ready to help stop the Tantabus.
The Tantabus had passed through multiple houses, turning them into sentient monstrosities in the process. One of these monster houses had Filthy Rich within its grasp.
"Please! I'll pay you anything!" Filthy Rich yelped, holding out a bit. But the monster just roared at him anyways.
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu-Pika!" Pikachu slammed an Iron Tail on the house's arm, freeing Filthy Rich whilst Rainbow Dash caught him.
"I got you! Altaria! Dragon Pulse!"
Altaria knocked down one of the sentient homes, toppling it over whilst the ponies inside made a run for it.
A Flabébé was about to be devoured by one of the homes until Fluttershy dreamt of herself as a Vampire Fruit Bat. She rushed in, biting the hand of the house which made it squirm, freeing the Single Bloom Pokemon.
Applejack held down a carnivorous plant her rope, restraining it from eating a pony. That's when she noticed her big brother cornered by a bunch of rabid muffins. "Oh, no! Big Mac! You can do anything in a dream remember?!"
Big Mac just remembered when AJ reminded him. He thought big as he dreamt of himself as an Alicorn. He even had the regalia to match. "Wheeee!" He took the skies, blowing away the muffins while soaring.
The Tantabus took it a step further. Somepony actually remembered the Storm Behemoth so the Tantabus took advantage of that. The 500ft behemoth had returned, letting out its thunderous roar once more.
"Aw, this thing again?! Who's dreaming of it?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
Amethyst Star squeed as she hid in the shadows, knowing that it was indeed her that was dreaming about it. It was originally supposed to be a dream where she defeats it by herself, but with the shared dream, that wasn't happening.
"Leave this to me! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash pointed at the behemoth.
"PIKA...CHU!" Pikachu gathered up the same amount of electricity it had when it once destroyed the behemoth. It blasted the sentient electrical surge with high amounts of volts, dispersing its body into nothing.
"Uh...you might want to take a look at this, everypony." Twilight's jaw dropped as she and the others noticed something unexpected. The Tantabus had managed to slice open the sky, revealing a gateway to the real world. "Eve! Psybeam!" Both Twilight and her Espeon unloaded a combination of magic and psychic energy beams towards the Tantabus, managing to drive it away from the gateway.
Luna poured a ton of her magic into the gateway, closing it off. " Hurry, my friends!" Luna strained. Rainbow Dash and her Braviary and Altaria chased after the Tantabus which was zooming off.
"Braviary! Superpower! Altaria! Dragon Pulse!" She commanded them both. Braviary attempted to smash its wings onto the Tantabus, but it went right through. The same for Dragon Pulse. Just phased through the manifestation of darkness. "What the?!"
"Riolu! Dream big!" Ash commanded.
"Rio!" Riolu nodded in response. "Rio..." The Emanation Pokemon was pouring all of its power into what he desired the most. And just like that, in a burst of aura, Riolu had dreamt himself being a Lucario. "LUCARIO!"
"Awesome! Use Aura Sphere!"
Lucario dreamt of it being able to use its signature move. It blasted a ball of aura towards the Tantabus. The Aura Sphere managed to affect the Tantabus due to Aura being able to make contact with any form of magic. But that wasn't enough to stop the Tantabus.
The manifestation of darkness took it one step further again. It noticed that a Dragon Pulse was being fired at it by Altaria again. So it took the Dragon Pulse for itself, infecting it. Before everypony knew it, a Dragon made out of the Dragon Pulse had been created.
"That's actually pretty awesome." Rainbow Dash was impressed.
"Please, we need your help too!" Fluttershy ran to the other ponies.
"Fluttershy's right! We've all got to work together to stop it from escaping!" Twilight said, blasting at the Dragon while attempting to stop the Tantabus at the same time.
"But how can we help? Nopony in Ponyville has your magic or your speed!" exclaimed Mr Cake.
"This ain't Ponyville! Plus you got Pokemon with you! So dream big with them!" Applejack bellowed.
"Eeyup!" Big Mac smoke, chasing down the muffins from earlier by shooting at them.
"And not just any! This is your dream! Anything you can do in your dreams, you can do now!" Twilight said.
Spike snapped his fingers, imagining himself as a buff dragon in armour. "Well, if you're gonna dream, might as well dream big, right?" Spike hopped onto the back of Derpy and Wooper. Hi-yah!"
"AUDINO!" All of a sudden, Fluttershy's Audino had become super-sized as she picked her trainer up. That's when everypony finally decided to pitch in with their own dreams to combat the Tantabus.
"Ash! I know you can do better than that!" Twilight bellowed at Ash.
"Huh? What do you mean, Twilight?"
"You have the largest dream out of anypony here! Dream of what you really want to be! Dream like you've never dreamt before!"
"Oh, I got ya!" Ash then poured all of his thought into his biggest dream. A dream that never changed from day one of his Pokemon journey. "My dream...is to become a Pokemon Master!" And so it was. Ash dreamt of himself as a master. He gained a cape that had the initials 'Master behind it' as he also appeared to grow in size, having an older appearance akin to that of an adult. And the extra mile of his dream went a bit further. He dreamt of not just the Pokemon he's owned throughout his life, but every Legendary and Mythical Pokemon he met on his journeys so far. "Nice." His voice was a bit deeper due to his age. Funny enough, he didn't actually dream of the age part or the Legendaries of Mythicals. Only the cape. He looked back to see the Pokemon behind him. "Aw sweet, I got a cape!" Ash only cared about the cape.
"Woah. What are those?!" Rainbow Dash pulled back, seeing some Pokemon she had never seen before.
"Don't worry about it! Everyone! Scatter!" Ash commanded the Pokemon to scatter about and help everyone. Rayquaza tore a falling building that was about to crush a young pony. Spike moved in with Derpy and Wooper, slashing the Tantabus who was about to make another getaway. Just then, Reshiram and Zekrom blasted the Tantabus with pure plasma by combining both their Fire and Electric attacks. Filthy Rich was riding on a wave of bits, unloading a barrage of them on the Tantabus.
Audino had cut off the Tantabus's next escape by blasting it with a Hyper Beam along with Dragonite assisting. Scootaloo dreamt of her having huge wings way too big for her to even have. She flew up, flapping her wings and sending a powerful air current to blow away the Tantabus.
Rainbow Dash dreamt of herself as the Power Pony she used to be that one time. Zap. Alongside her was Zekrom who she was riding on. She and her Pokemon had flown up, including Luxio and Whirlipede who can't even fly, but in the Dream World, they can. They all flew over to the Tantabus, spinning around with enough speed to create a tornado that brought it down to ground level.
Arceus, Dialga, Palkia and Giratina had held the Tantabus down together. Arceus utilized his Zap Plate, changing his typing into Electric as he paralyzed the Tantabus in place. Dialga unleashed its signature move Roar of TIme which sent a blast that could distort time itself. Palkia followed suit by using Spacial Rend. It slashed through the Tantabus, splitting space in half.
There was still the issue of the sentient Dragon Pulse. But that was dealt with thanks Twilight, who made her Espeon fire Hyper Beam towards the Dragon Pulse. Giratina joined in to help Twilight by using its own Dragon Pulse. They each ended up obliterating the sentient Pokemon move.
Ash's Charizard was carrying Sweetie Belle on its back as a ride. "Blast it away Charizard!" Sweetie Belle commanded. Charizard used the move Dragon Rage to bombard the Tantabus with a shockwave of pure draconic rage.
All of Ash's Pokemon had gone wild on the Tantabus. Whether they were hitting it from afar with ranged moves or just getting up close and personal. Infernape had knocked the Tantabus across Ponyville with a Mach Punch whilst Greninja, who now became Ash-Greninja, sent it back towards Infernape. They were making a team effort as Applejack's Treecko joined in with Ash's Sceptile and the Legendary Pokemon Reshiram. They both utilized their strongest attacks which were Leaf Blade, Dragon Breath and Blue Flare.
Luna's Darkrai flew into the dream world, blasting an Ice Beam at the Tantabus, attempting to freeze it. It looked like it was actually managing to freeze the manifestation of darkness.
"It's working!" bellowed Rainbow Dash!
"But it's not enough!" Twilight pointed out as the Tantabus blew the Pokemon away from it.
"Ho-Oh! Sacred Fire! Pikachu! Thunderbolt" Ash, who was on Ho-Oh's back, commanded Pikachu and the Rainbow Pokemon to unleash both a bolt of thunder and a mystical fire that engulfed the Tantabus. It did some damage, but the Tantabus was still up and healthy. "No, good huh?"
"Pika!"
"Then do more! This is a dream, remember?" Pinkie Pie was on a huge army of massive Slurpuffs.
Twilight looked around to spot Rayquaza up in the air. She had some knowledge about the guardian of the sky as she flew on its back. "Rayquaza! Get it!" Twilight pointed her hoof at the Tantabus, commanding the Sky High Pokemon. Rayquaza soared up into the air, dashing towards the Tantabus at high speeds with its signature move, Dragon Ascent. The Tantabus rose up from the smoke, creating an even larger gateway that it was about to escape from.
Lucario and Gengar both used Aura Sphere and Night Shade to prevent the Tantabus from making its escape. Each time it attempted to make a getaway, it was getting closer to succeeding. Applejack dreamt of herself as her Mistress Mare-velous. Another Power Pony. She used her lasso to pull the Tantabus away from the entrance to the real world. Rarity's Leavanny along with Ash's each stitched up the gateway, closing it off.
The Legendary Birds and Legendary Dogs simultaneously poured Fire, Water and Electric attacks onto the fleeing Tantabus who was getting closer and closer to escaping.
Fluttershy was on the head of Giratina as they were both making their way towards the ominous wisp. Whilst everyone kept on trying their best to stop the Tantabus, Luna was straining like crazy.
"I cannot hold this dream together much longer! Equestria will fall because of me!" Luna was starting to tear up from her own guilt. It was at that moment, the Tantabus grew in size, blowing away all the ponies and Pokemon that were near it.
"Am I crazy, or did it just get even bigger after Luna said that?" Spike gulped.
"I think it's feeding off your guilt, Princess Luna!" Twilight theorized.
"If that is so, then perhaps that is how it grew strong enough to escape in the first place!" strained Luna.
"Say what now?!" Applejack who was on Reshiram's back replied. Just then, the Tantabus was slowly taking the form of an alicorn. It even gained the horn of one, tearing a hole through the Dream World.
"I created the Tantabus to give myself the same nightmare every night...to punish myself for the evil I caused as Nightmare Moon!"
"But why would you do that?!" Fluttershy asked. The Tantabus's alicorn transformation was reaching its peak.
"To make sure I never forgave myself for how much Equestria suffered because of me! But it seems I have not learned my lesson, for now, I have only made you suffer more!" Luna's guilt reached its limit. And so did the Tantabus. It had become a full-on alicorn, gaining enough power to finally enter the real world.
"But that means you might just be the key to stopping all this!" Twilight ran up to her.
"Luna! You've gotta overcome your own guilt! If you keep on feeling bad about what you did long ago, then you'll be able to stop it! You have to leave it in the past!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"How can I forgive myself? I am no better now than I was then. My creation is about to turn the world into a living nightmare!"
" But look at what you're doing! Nightmare Moon would've wanted the Tantabus to turn Equestria into a nightmare! You're doing everything you can to stop it! Don't you see? That proves you're not the same pony you were then! Everypony who knows you know that Nightmare Moon is in the past! We all trust you, Luna! Do you trust us enough to believe we're right?" Twilight said as the wind was blowing aggressively throughout the world. The Tantabus's body was halfway through the gateway.
"I do." Luna gave off a soft smile. And that single saying followed with the smile was enough to tip the Tantabus away from the gateway. Luna had finally overcome her guilt, destroying the Tantabus in the process. The Tantabus roared as it felt its entire essence being minimised into nothingness. A single part of it, which was the alicorn part, came out of the diminishing Tantabus as it floated towards its creator. The Alicorn Tantabus trotted to Luna, merging with the princess of the night, restoring her true power. "Thank you. Thank you all."
And just like that, the last thing they all saw was a flash of light, showing that the dream was finally coming to an end.
The morning was here. The sun's up and shining as always. Twilight gasped, waking up finally. "Luna did it!" Her voice made everyone else wake up with them having the exact same realization of Princess Luna's victory. But they couldn't cheer since they just woke up. So all they could do was yawn.
"She sure did! Only... I'm not exactly sure what she did." Applejack placed her hat back on her head.
"Luna created the Tantabus to punish herself! The worse she felt, the more power it had! But once she finally forgave herself for what Nightmare Moon did..." Twilight explained.
"Poof!" Spike finished the explanation.
"Sshh!" Fluttershy hushed them. She looked down to show everypony that Luna was fast asleep with Darkrai hovering over her.
"Huh. Wonder what she's dreaming about now." Spike wondered.
"Something that can put her mind at ease," Darkrai replied. He picked her up gently, making sure that she wouldn't be woken up. "It's about time we took our leave. Thank you all for helping." Darkrai took his leave with Luna by phasing through the shadows and dragging her along.
"By the way, Ash. What were some of those Pokemon you dreamt of? I recognize some of them because you own them, but the others looked freaky and alien-like." Rainbow Dash asked.
"Oh, that? No idea. I just dreamt of being a Pokemon Master with a cool cape. Man, I want a cape like that.."
"Pikachu..."
"Riolu..." Riolu realized that he was no longer a Lucario in his dream. Oh well. He's gonna have to wait for that day to come.
"I think I'm good for a second nap..." Twilight curled up into her bed, deciding to sleep once more.
It was an eventful night, especially in the Dream World. With the Tantabus defeated, Luna can finally be at peace with all the guilt that was weighing her down, gone, as the journey continues.
"PokePark," Twilight spoke, standing before the entrance to PokePark. "I still don't know too much about it. Other than it's a park for Pokemon with different areas."
"So, like. Are we gonna head in there again today?" Spike asked.
"You bet, Spike. There's still a lot that grabs my curiosity about it. Like, what is this Wish Park? How is it possible for this place to exist despite the way the lab is built? That's why we're taking a trip to PokePark."
"Neat!" Spike grinned.
"I'm glad you brought me along to translate for you, Twilight. I can't wait to see what PokePark is really about." Fluttershy said with her Audino by her side.
"You're the translator for the job, Fluttershy. Now let's get going."
Twilight along with her Pokemon passed through the door with Spike, entering the PokePark. As always, the first area they arrive to is the Cove Area in Cove Town. The Audino there waved hello to them.
"Audino!" Cove Area's Audino greeted Fluttershy's Audino as the two ran towards each other, giving each other a hug as if they were long-time friends who hadn't seen each other in years.
"Feels good to be back here without any threats, right Eve?"
"Espeon." Eve nodded.
"Dewott!" Dewott had shown up, greeting Twilight and Fluttershy back to the PokePark with a bow.
"It's nice to meet you too, Dewott." Fluttershy greeted the Discipline Pokemon.
"Dew! Dewott-wott."
"Dewott says that every Pokemon here didn't get the opportunity to apologize for not being able to protect you from the Shadow Triad."
"You don't have to worry about it. We're sorry that we ended up bringing you into our little problem, Dewott." Twilight apologized to Dewott instead.
"Dew." Dewott nodded, accepting Twilight's apology. "Wott!" Dewott told the others to come over to greet Twilight and her friends.
"Rai-Rai!" Raichu said his greetings along with every Pokemon here. From the Mismagius that ran a shop, the Elemental Monkeys and the Sandile and Krokorok who were the new guardians of the gates to the other areas.
"Wow. This is a bit of a nice greeting, huh Spike?"
"No kidding." Spike's face was being mushed by Panpour.
"I wonder how Queen Serperior and Princess Snivy are doing?" Twilight wondered. "Sandile. Krokorok. Mind if we head over to the Arbor Area?"
"Krokorok!" He nodded in response, allowing them to pass through to the lush green Arbor Area, ruled by Queen Serperior.
The Queen was expecting Twilight to return here one day. And that day was today. Snivy spectated the Arbor Area, spotting Twilight, Fluttershy and Spike making their way here.
"Sni." Princess Snivy called for her mother, pointing out that the same ponies from before have returned. "Snivy!" Snivy ran over to Twilight, greeting her fellow princess to the Arbor Area.
"Princess Snivy! It's great to see you again." Twilight greeted back. "And to you too, Queen Serperior."
"Serperior."
"Queen Serperior says that it's a pleasure to meet you once more in good health, Princess Twilight."
"I wanted to apologize to you and your area as well, Queen Serperior. The Shadow Triad coming after Cold Colt was our fault. If only we knew Team Plasma were after him, the peace here would've never been disturbed."
"Serp. Serperior."
"You don't have to blame, yourself, Young Princess. You and your friends were all unprepared for what was to come. And so were we." Fluttershy translated.
"You're right. Guess I'm still pretty shaken up after all of that." Twilight squeed.
"Serperior."
"Bisharp." Suddenly, Bisharp walked up to Twilight, making her jump.
"Eep! Bisharp!"
"Twilight. Don't worry. This Bisharp is good, remember?" Fluttershy flew over to Sword Blade Pokemon.
"Right. Sorry." Twilight giggled as Spike hid behind her. "I wish I didn't have so many bad impressions of certain Pokemon."
"It's not your fault. Bad people just so happen to use Pokemon against us." Fluttershy patted Bisharp's head. Surprisingly, she didn't end up harming her hoof due to the fact that Bisharp is full of sharp blades. "Dark-Type Pokemon aren't really that loved by everypony in Equestria. The only ones they trust so far are Luna's Darkrai."
"Yeah. It is a shame actually. Poor Dark-Types."
"Serperior."
"Oh. Queen Serperior says that the misunderstanding of Dark-Types isn't just limited to ponies. Even humans and Pokemon misunderstand them most of the time."
"Really?"
"Serperior. Ser-Serperior."
"Queen Serperior says that for many years, the ancestors of most Dark-Types have been the cause of terrible outcomes that affected the future. It's due to their actions that their descendants are misunderstood or even shunned. The Dark Aura that lays within them spreads to all Dark-Type Pokemon as the years go by."
"So, that's why they have a bad reputation...huh. But still! We've seen some Dark-Types be accepted by others. Luna's Darkrai is a friend to most of Ponyville and Canterlot, and these Bisharp here ended up saving our lives when the other Bisharp's attack. There has to be a way to get everypony to know that not all Dark-Types are bad."
"We can always ask Ash for help. He's friends with some Dark-Type Pokemon from what we know about his past."
"That could work. Ash does have years of experience with every Pokemon Type after all. I just hope that we can find a way to make all Dark-Type Pokemon understood by everypony else."
"Serperior."
"Queen Serperior says that it shouldn't be an issue for a trainer such as yourself. You have all of us to support you from now on."
"Support me from now on...? Wait!" Twilight flew up. "Are you saying that I'm...?"
"Ser." Serperior nodded.
"That's right. You are our trainer, Princess Twilight Sparkle....Wait what?" Fluttershy just realized what Serperior said.
"OH! No-no-no-no-no! I can't be the trainer of EVERY Pokemon here. I'm fine with the Pokemon I own now! Right, Eve? Minccy?"
"Espeon." Eve shrugged her tail along with Minccy.
"Perior. Ser-Serperior." Queen Serperior slithered towards Twilight. She began a speech that Fluttershy was ready to go over in full detail.
"It may seem unexpected, but it is true. BigTime Ben offered us to you. He once found us one day in PokePark, lost and confused. He was horribly injured with only his Gothorita by his side. The Pokemon of PokePark were kind enough to nurse him back to health when they found him. Ever since then, he and his Gothorita came by a couple of times to PokePark. As the years went by, Ben gained all of our trust. Every Pokemon here. That includes Darkrai. The one who owns Wish Park." Fluttershy translated her speech.
"Then...should he be your trainer?"
"Serperior." The Queen continued.
"He was our trainer for a while. And he truly was a wonderful one at that. However, Ben became our trainer at a late age. 9 years ago to be exact. Meaning that his lifespan is diminishing, unfortunately. And Ben feared that he might have to say goodbye to his Pokemon since they live longer than him. However, when both worlds crossover, Ben had decided to give us to another trainer who can carry out his will. A trainer who he believes will be as great as him if not greater. That trainer is you. Ben has told us about your actions and how you've been spreading the joy of friendship to others. And the stories that we have been told of you were wonderful. So he believes...all ofPokePark believes that you can be an amazing trainer to us all." Fluttershy finished Queen Serperior's speech.
"Huh. I guess I never thought of it that way. How long does Ben have left with his lifespan?"
"Serperior..." Queen Serperior lowered her head, giving the sad news.
"From what our Audino can tell...he only has at least 6 years left, unfortunately. Running a company as huge as BIG.Co has really taken the toll on him for many years. Especially considering for 15 years, he has been doing it all by himself. It took him a vast amount of time for him to gain other workers who can help his company."
"Oh. That's a shame... I wish there was a way to keep him around longer...He's helped get Equestria adjusted to the Pokemon World after all." Twilight sat down.
"Serperior. Ser!"
"But there is. There exists a Pokemon out there that can extend the lifespan of anyone, no matter what."
"Which one is it?!" Twilight stood up.
"Serperior.
"The Legendary Pokemon of Life. Xerneas."
"Xerneas...?" Twilight thought for a second. She recalled the time she and her friends were in the board game world that one time. And she was a Xerneas, via the giant antlers that were on her head. "Xerneas! I remember now! Queen Serperior! Can you tell me where we can find Xerneas?!"
"Serperior."
"Slow down, my little pony. It is not as easy as you think it may be. Xerneas only gives an extended lifespan to those it sees as deserving of it. It does not just simply extend everyone's life without any reason. However, with someone like Ben, there is a high possibility that Xerneas will gladly do so. For you to find Xerneas, you will need to head to the Kalos Region. But it is rather difficult due to Xerneas being highly-secretive compared to other Legendary Pokemon."
"I see. So Xerneas can really do that. Then what about Ho-Oh?"
"Serperior?"
"You saw Ho-Oh?"
"We sure did. Everypony saw Ho-Oh fly high over the skies of Ponyville when we were thanking Ash on that day. We've heard that Ho-Oh has the power to grant eternal happiness. And the more I look at it, the more Ho-Oh resembles that of a Phoenix. Which would explain why Ash and Pikachu have lived for so long and still look young." Twilight explained. That's when she realized something. "WAIT!"
"What is it Twilight?!" Fluttershy and Spike leaned forward along with the Pokemon.
"If everypony in Ponyville saw Ho-Oh including us...does that mean we're going to age slowly as well?!" Twilight's face was unexplainable. It was a mixture of freaking out and being heavily confused. Wild thoughts were filling Twilight head with countless imaginations. She imagined the Cutie Mark Crusaders unable to age naturally. So they'll end up being stuck as fillies for a long, long time. She also remembered that Celestia, Luna and Cadence had seen Ho-Oh as well. So that must mean that they'll live on way longer than they originally can, which was already pretty long on its own."
"Oh! I didn't think about that actually." Fluttershy placed her hoof on her chin. "Does that mean we're immortal like Ash as well?"
"Awesome." Spike was loving the idea of being immortal.
"Serperior." The Regal Pokemon chuckled at Twilight's reaction. "Ser...Serperior."
"Oh. Nevermind. Queen Serperior says that it doesn't work like that."
"It doesn't?" Twilight and Spike turned to Fluttershy and Queen Serperior.
"Serperior."
"Not really. Seeing Ho-Oh doesn't automatically grant you immortality. Ho-Oh grants immortality to a pure-hearted trainer. It does this by radiating a golden light from its body first. And when it flies by, a rainbow appears out of thin air. It is at that moment that eternal happiness is granted to those who see it."
"Hm...When Ho-Oh flew by Ponyville...it did emanate a dazzling sparkling rainbow aura from its body. But I didn't see an actual rainbow form."
"Per. Serperior."
"That means that Ho-Oh has bestowed a small ounce of its happiness towards you. If a rainbow does not appear when Ho-Oh flies by, but its body emanates a rainbow, that means that you have all been given an extended lifetime of happiness. But it is finite."
"I see...so that means...we're going to live longer than we can anticipate?" Twilight looked at her hooves.
"This is the best thing ever!" Spike exclaimed. "If that's the case...then I can do a ton of things for a ton of years before I end up kicking in the bucket! Maybe I reach the thousands!"
"Living longer than you're expected to is sort of interesting. It means I'll have a lot more time to spend with my friends." Fluttershy hugged her Audino.
"Audino."
"So that's why Ho-Oh chose Ash. Because Ash's idea of being a Pokemon Master involves him being happy with those he loves. I get it now!" Twilight stood up, smiling.
"You do?" Fluttershy and Spike said at the same time.
"Mhm! And here I was thinking that Legendary Pokemon just go around doing what they do best willy-nilly like every other Pokemon. Guess that's why they're 'Legendary'. Thank you so much for the talk, Queen Serperior. And it was nice seeing you too, Princess Snivy."
"Sni."
"Princess Snivy says that you can just call her Snivy. You've earned her respect."
"Alright. Snivy. But now that I'm the owner of every Pokemon here...what do I now? Do I catch you or..."
"Serperior."
"You can summon us if you require assistance. The Pokemon of PokePark will heed your call and rush to your aid if you are in any sign of danger. Whether it be the Crag Area, Tech Area or even Wish Park, we will be there to assist you, Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"Alright...I understand. Thank you. And Bisharp." Twilight turned to Bisharp. "Sorry that I freaked out when I saw you come up to me. I shouldn't have since I knew that you protected us all before."
"Bisharp." Bisharp crossed his arms, nodding at Twilight.
"Apology accepted."
"Right. I still want to explore more of PokePark. I wonder what this Tech Area is? And what even is Wish Park?" Twilight wondered. "Fluttershy. Our stay here's going to be a bit extended if that's okay with you."
"I'm up for staying here much longer. Right, Audi?"
"Audino."
"Wonderful. So, Snivy? Can you tell me about how you apparently saved PokePark once? I heard it when we first came here."
"Snivy." The group along with Snivy being tagging along discussed and had a small chat along the way as Twilight wanted to experience PokePark for just a bit longer. With Twilight now being the trainer of every Pokemon in PokePark, meaning that she owns more Pokemon that even Princess Luna, and eve Fluttershy even though she doesn't own the Pokemon at the Pokemon House officially, it's still vastly impressive. And with them being blessed by Ho-Oh, their adventures are going to last much longer than they ever anticipated with them ageing at a different rate they're used too, as the journey continues.
"Today's apparently that day," Lucien commented as he was currently sitting atop a cloud, watching over Ponyville.
"Oh, right. The day those crusaders finally get their marks, right? Do we...do something to spice it up?" Sienna asked.
"Nah. Leave it be. Let this one play out like normal." Lucien shook his head.
"Wait? We're just going to let it happen like normal?! But doesn't this count as a major event?!"
"Mhm." Lucien nodded.
"So, let's do something about it! What say we have Team Rocket join in? Oh! Or maybe we can cause one of their Pokemon to act up or-"
"Nah. At the end of the day, they're just kids. Plus this did end up being one of the happiest moment of their lives in the original timeline. Let them be happy about their greatest achievement They worked hard for it." Lucien laid his back on the cloud he sat on.
"...Fine...At least with Pokemon, it MIGHT be different." Sienna sighed. "On second thought..." Sienna decided to be stealthy about this particular day. She poked her hand through the cloud she sat on, sending a small sparkle of cosmic energy down. Whatever that sparkle was planning, it would play out when the time was right.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders' Clubhouse, Day.
"Okay, Crusaders!" spoke Apple Bloom " We've been focused on Pokemon for a few months now that we've forgotten the main reason we're together! Back to the business of earnin' our cutie marks! Any suggestions?"
"No, we've tried everything!" Scootaloo shook her head, holding her Ponyta as Pachirisu sat on her head.
"We've run out of ideas. Plus, this whole Pokemon thing has kind of made us get distracted." Sweetie Belle replied with her Espurr snug in her hooves.
"Are you kiddin' me, Crusaders? We can do better than that!" Apple Bloom hopped off the box she was standing on. Today, they were determined to finally get their Cutie Marks. It has taken them an inconceivable amount of time to earn their Cutie Marks. Practically almost everypony that they know around their age group have already gotten their marks long ago. And at this very point in time, there could be a pony who might be getting their Cutie Mark somewhere in the world, and the CMC will still have nothing.
But they've never let that stop them in the first place. They're going to earn their marks. One way or another. How are they gonna do it? They don't know. But its the mystery behind it that makes earning your Cutie Mark so satisfying. And they want to feel that same satisfaction when it finally happens.
Suddenly, the small colt by the name of Pipsqueak burst through the doors."Cutie Mark Crusaders! Help!"
"What's wrong, Pipsqueak?" Apple Bloom asked.
"'m running for student pony president, I was hoping you three would be my campaign managers!" He pranced in place.
"We've never tried gettin' our cutie marks in campaign managin'! What do ya say, Crusaders?" Apple Bloom looked to her fellow Crusaders. All three of them at the same time let out a synchronized "Yeah!". It was settled. They have each other a high-hoof, agreeing on it. Pipsqueak tried to do the same but he was a bit too short. Sweetie Belle helped him out by lifting the little pony to join in on the 'Hoof'.
At the school where all the young ponies were gathered for this day, Apple Bloom spoke at the top of her lungs to try and grab everypony's attention. "So, Pip, how would you help the school if you were elected student pony president?"
"Our playground equipment took quite a beating during Ash and Twilight's battle with Tirek! If I'm voted in as student pony president, I'll go to the school board and right this wrong!" Pip announced. It sounded like a fair deal for everypony here as they cheered in agreement.
"Well, I think that's a ridiculous waste of money!" Along came Diamond Tiara with something else on her mind. "It's just like when Twist proposed to repair the window that Discord destroyed! She just wanted to repair it like a plain old schoolhouse window. But you all know voting for me was the best choice because I convinced the school board to give that window visual appeal!" She pointed her hoof at a painting of herself with the sun radiating the background. You know, usual narcissism stuff.
"'Course, it doesn't hurt that her mother Spoiled Rich is president of the school board." Apple Bloom whispered.
"Exactly! Which is why when Diamond Tiara is voted student pony president, the school will be putting a statue of her and her Purrloin in the centre of our schoolyard!" Silver Spoon scoffed, walking up to Apple Bloom.
"Silver Spoon! That was my big announcement for when I won!" Diamond Tiara talked through her teeth.
" I was only trying to help."
"I don't need that kind of help!"
"Haven't we all had enough of Diamond Tiara?" Apple Bloom popped up in between them.
"Do we really need a big statue of her?" Scootaloo joined in.
"Especially where our playground equipment should be?" so did Sweetie Belle. Diamond Tiara didn't take too kindly about this. But she could hear everypony chatter in a whispering state.
"A vote for Pip is a vote for the playground!" Pip himself said.
"A vote for Diamond Tiara is a vote for more Diamond Tiara!" Diamond Tiara replied. This is where things were getting heated. Votes were starting to flood in with everypony making their decision. The CMCS were very convincing with the words they were saying. Having Diamond Tiara step down means that the foals will no longer have to live under her' Tyranny' as they call it and they can instead live under nothing but fun with Pip in charge.
Diamond Tiara's way of running things meant that she would keep their secrets safe since she apparently knows every last one of them. She knows about their creepy super strength, mane extensions or even freakishly large teeth. Everypony had a secret that she knew of and she could expose every last one of them at any moment if she wanted to.
The foals started to make their votes by entering the voting room, deciding on who they believe to be the best leader. And from the looks of it, they were leaning towards Pip since it sounded the least controlling.
"Stop!" Diamond Tiara halted them. At least the ones who haven't voted yet. She went onto talk about how Pip can't keep his promises, but apparently, she can to the fullest and more. Due to her family, she can buy as many items and accessories as she wants without having to worry about a single shortage of bits. In fact, if she wanted to, she could buy all the Pokeballs in stock here at Ponyville and give them to the ponies. Obviously, she needs her father's permission for that but still. That's when her best friend Silver Spoon decided to pitch an idea in.
"I've got a tiny suggestion, That you should be aware. You could probably win this election If you show them all you real—"
"I don't recall asking you to speak!" Diamond snapped at her. This made everypony gasp at the fact that she said that to her best friend.
"Well, if that's how you treat your best friend, then I choose Pipsqueak!" Sweetie Belle said. With that one instance, everypony had made their decision on who they want to be their leader.
"The votes have been counted! The student pony president is... Pipsqueak!" announced Cheerilee.
"Huh?!" Diamond Tiara didn't expect this. Even though by the way everypony was reacting, it should've been clear to her. They all cheered for Pipsqueak's victory
"Oh, my gosh, Crusaders! Pip won!" Apple Bloom had a wide smile on her face.
" I couldn't have won without the hard work of my campaign managers, the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Pip went up to the trio.
"Campaign manager cutie marks!" Sweetie Belle and the others checked their flanks to see if they got their marks and...nothing. Oh well.
"Guess you're not as good as you thought, blank flanks! In fact, I demand a recount!" Diamond Tiara taunted, believing that she still had a chance.
"I'll be the judge of that, Miss Cheerilee!" The little earth pony went inside the school, checking the votes. And wouldn't believe it. Only one for her. "What?! One vote! Silver Spoon! You didn't vote for me?!" She rushed outside.
"No. I didn't."
"B-But you're my best friend!"
"Am I? 'Cause I tried to help by mentioning your 'surprise' statue, and suddenly I wasn't even allowed to speak! You could have actually won this election if you just listened to me. You wanna know how?Sorry. I'm not allowed to speak." Silver Spoon mocked her, throwing Diamond Tiara off balance. As a result from that, Diamond Tiara let out a scream of unbridled rage that would terrify even a Dragon-Type. The young pony then ran off, leaving this area. They all looked over to Silver Spoon, expecting her to follow Diamond Tiara. "What? I don't have to follow her drama any more."
"Purrloin?" Purrloin followed her trainer in order to comfort her like she usually does.
"I know Diamond Tiara's been pretty awful, but... we should probably make sure she's okay. Just 'cause she's never cared about anypony else's feelings doesn't mean we shouldn't care about hers. Besides...I'm getting flashbacks to what happened at the Pokemon Festival." Apple Bloom commented.
The trio followed after Diamond Tiara, in secrecy, wanting to see how she was doing. They had a recollection of what happened at the Pokemon Festival and how they felt guilty at that time. The same effect was sort of occurring here but on a different scale.
The upset filly was slowly trotting with her head down in Ponyville. That's when her mother, Spoiled Rich came through the door of the building she was next to. Her mother saw how upset she was, but she wasn't focused on her daughter's actual feelings.
"Diamond Tiara! Why are you making that face? That is not the face of a winner."
" Because... I didn't win." Diamond Tiara sighed as Purrloin hopped on her back.
"What?! You mean I hefted all these party supplies to celebrate nothing?!"
"Sorry, mother."
"It's bad enough you lost to that transplant from Trottingham, but imagine if you'd lost to one of those blank flanks. As a Rich pony, you must always think of your social standing. That starts here in Ponyville and reaches all over Equestria. Don't ever forget that, Diamond Tiara. Ever!" Spoiled Rich took her leave. She ended up leaving her daughter even more down than she already was. Purrloin hissed at the mother while using her tail to caress her trainer. Diamond Tiara took a small trot through Ponyville, seeing how there were young foals who were happy with their parents. Seeing this made her realise that her life compared to everypony else's was moving at a different path. For her, she's been told what to do and what to say. That's normally natural for any child who has a parent by their side, however, in Diamond Tiara's case, it was done differently to the point where she was limited to what she could do. In truth, she didn't really have a clue on what kind of pony she wanted to be, even with her mark. She sat down on the ground with her Purrloin going up to hug her.
And it was at this exact moment that the sparkle that Sienna sent made contact with Diamond Tiara, entering her. This sparkle drew out a small bit off Diamond Tiara's essence, slithering away from her and heading off to who knows where. But as it slithered, it was actually slowly transforming into the shape of a pony. Not just a pony, but Diamond Tiara's appearance expect with cosmic dust being its body. This manifestation of Diamond Tiara was feeding off her negativity the same way the sirens do. But instead of just making her upset...this was draining her life force and feeding it instead, allowing it to gradually grow in size. The more upset Diamond Tiara is, the more the manifestation drains the life-force away from its host. Needless to say, Sienna ended up creating an unnatural creature. Sienna and Lucien looked down to see the creature, unsure of what it even was. Even they had no idea what they were looking at.
"Is it weird that I feel bad for her?" Sweetie Belle said.
"If it is, then... I'm weird, too." Apple Bloom sighed.
"She wants to change, but she doesn't know how," Scootaloo uttered.
Ash and Pikachu came by, noticing Diamond Tiara all upset and sad. From the looks of it, she was on the verge of crying. Actually, she was crying.
"Hey, What's wrong?" Ash went up to her.
"Pikachu?"
"Nothing..." Diamond Tiara turned around to hide away her tears. "But you probably already know something's wrong."
"Something happened, huh?"
"I let my mom down. I didn't end up winning and..."
"Oh, I get it." Ash recognized something like this from his past journeys. Preferably the knowledge he had of James. "I don't quite get what you didn't win but...cheer up. I'm sure you'll win next time and make your mom proud."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"That's just it. I don't know if I will win next time...Not after what happened back there. Even my best friend didn't vote for me. So how am I gonna win next time?"
"Hmm..." Ash thought for a moment, digging deep in his brain until he came to a conclusion that was realistically the best option. "Alright. I'll leave you to it. This is obviously family stuff and I can't do anything about that right now."
"Wait, what? Why not? You always help everypony with their problems. Why won't you do the same for me as you did back at the festival? You even helped me get better at Pokemon battling too!"
"Well, I can't help you out with everything, Diamond Tiara." Ash kneeled down to her. "Pikachu and I enjoy helping everyone out. We really do. But we also know that sometimes, there's a couple of things that we can't help out with. Our worlds won't be connected forever, and I won't be there to help you out of every problem."
"Pikachu."
"But..."
"That doesn't mean there won't be others to help you out. Right, Crusaders?" Ash pointed out the trio who were watching this entire time. Seeing that Ash noticed them made them jump.
"Uh...we just got here!" Scootaloo said. "We weren't following her! Not one bit!"
"You three. You know her a lot, right?"
"Well...not in a good way." Sweetie Belle dusted her hooves on the ground.
"Don't bother. They probably followed me just to gloat and rub in my defeat."
"Oh come on now." Ash chuckled. "You three are here for a different reason, right?"
"Well..yeah actually. Diamond Tiara. We wanted to invite you to our clubhouse to hang out." Apple Bloom said to her.
"...Really?"
"Then, I'll leave you all to it. I've got something important to do now." Ash took his leave, waving goodbye to them.
"Pika-pika!"
"So, what do you say? Wanna come with us?" Sweetie Belle put her hoof out.
"Well, thanks to you all, I don't have any important class president business to attend to or anything. So I might as well." Diamond Tiara crossed her hooves together, going with it anyways. "Come on Purrloin."
So it was. Diamond Tiara had been invited over to the clubhouse were the Crusaders work their magic. The first time she's really experienced it.
"So, do you three just sit around here plotting out different ways to try and get your cutie marks?"
"Actually, yeah." Apple Bloom nodded.
"You three are... really lucky."
"We are?!" The three of them were surprised by what she said. It was unexpectedly positive coming from her.
"Yeah! You get to explore all these options, learning who you really are before you're stuck with something you don't understand."
"But... you've done that, right?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Yeah, 'cause I have my cutie mark! And I'm not struggling at all to figure out who I'm supposed to be and what I'm supposed to be doing with this mark that's already on my flank!" She replied in her usual sassy tone.
"Uh... are you sure about that?" questioned Apple Bloom.
"That's a weird question." Diamond Tiara scoffed.
"Not really, since we kind of overheard you earlier before Ash came along." Sweetie Belle scratched her hair.
"Were you trying to get your cutie mark in spying? Is that on your little chart?" She pointed her hoof at Sweetie Belle
"No! We were just worried about you when you lost the election, and then you lost your friend, and then your mom yelled at you..."
"We know you wanna change, and we think we can-" Apple Bloom couldn't finish her sentence due to an echoing bellow that came from behind. They opened the door up to see Pipsqueak, panicking in place.
"Help!" Pipsqueak returned, seemingly in a bit of a struggle at the moment. "Cutie Mark Crusaders! I was at the school board meeting and they didn't approve my request for the new playground equipment!"
"Why not?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"There's no money in the budget! So I checked my Peggy bank to see if I had enough bits, but my little Peggy wasn't nearly full enough!" He shook his Peggy bank to reveal that he didn't even have any bits. Just random stuff inside.
"Don't worry, Pip!" Sweetie Belle started.
"We'll meet you back at school." Scootaloo followed.
"And help you find a solution!" Apple Bloom finished the sentence.
"Thanks, Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
"Oh, I already have a solution! Our new student pony president is gonna be kicked out of office, and I'll be reinstated!" spoke Diamond Tiara who was already taking advantage of this. She made a run for it, rushing back to the school at high speeds, ready to take her role back.
"Where is she going?" Scootaloo wondered.
"Where do you think? C'mon! After her!" Apple Bloom replied. As the trio made a run for it, Sienna watched from the clouds, seeing the whole event play out. Lucien was still relaxing on the cloud as Sienna was hoping that he hadn't noticed her interference with this specific day.
"Sienna...Did you do something?" Lucien noticed her looking at the Crusaders, making Sienna jump.
"What? W-Why would you think I did something?!"
"You're looking down at them for a pretty long time. There's no way you're that interested in something like this. So you've definitely done something." Lucien saw right through her.
"I have no idea what you're talking about..." Sienna was lying through her teeth.
"...What did you do?"
"Nothing... Well, nothing that I don't know of yet."
"Don't know of yet? Are you saying that you affected one of them with something unknown?!" Lucien ripped a piece of the cloud he was sitting on apart.
"I just dropped a random sparkle! I don't know what it might do!" Sienna backed up, hoping that she wouldn't get thrashed by Lucien.
"Ugh. We don't need to do anything in this event, Sienna. This one can be left out and played out like normal!"
"Well, what did you want me to do? Wait for the next event? I mean, in a few weeks, Pinkie Pie's gonna be holding that secret about Cadence in. Are we not gonna intervene with that one because it's not as important?"
"Of course it's important! Like this one! But we aren't interfering with that event as well."
"Then why can't we do something about it? What's the point of being Rift humans who play the role of villains if we're just sitting about?"
"Look. Our job is to intervene in an event that can change everything or create one that changes everything. For example..." Lucien created a cosmic projection of the time Twilight battled Tirek. "Right here, this is when Twilight took on Tirek for the first time. This event is important because it could affect this world's future on a global scale depending on the outcome. This one the other hand, while it is important, it's more along the lines of a smaller scale effect. Meaning it's only going to affect at least the town at best."
"I know but like...It's so boring just doing nothing though..." Sienna groaned. "We're gonna end up being like Obsidian who just sat around and waited for the right moment to do something."
"Gonna have to live with it. The best we can do now is just wait for the right moment and then we do something. Besides, you still have your Kirlia plan coming up way before Starlight Glimmer can learn about time travel. So just bear with it for a few more weeks."
"Fine...I just wish we didn't just have to sit around doing nothing...I'm bored so easily..." She groaned, stuffing her face inside of a cloud. "Why do I have to have such an impatient personality, but not you?! Huh?!"
"Heh. This exactly why I've got more knowledge than you? See I know one thing the others don't, including you. Since we Rift humans and ponies are physical manifestations of the Rift's multiple personalities and other beings it knew before in its lifetime, I'm the closest to him in terms of personality."
"Huh?" Sienna raised her eyebrow.
"Told ya I got more knowledge than you. We're all based off one part of the Rift's personality and dare I say 'friends'. I represent his calm side, you represent the impatience of one of his old friends and the others...well they're pretty self-explanatory."
"So I'm just the speedster am I?"
"Mhm. You just can't sit still without wanting to do something."
"Pssh whatever. But that sparkle I sent is still going to act up in one way or the other. So, hah!"
"Pah. Whatever. It'll be dealt with by the Pokemon by the end of this all."
Back to Diamond Tiara, she managed to return to the school whilst running from the crusaders.
"Everypony, I have an announcement!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed, grabbing all of their attention.
"Diamond Tiara! Think hard about the choice you're makin' right now!" Apple Bloom pleaded.
"You can be a better pony!" Scootaloo yelled. Everypony at the school was confused on what was going on at the moment. But at that same moment, the door opened up, revealing Spoiled Rich, who was here.
"Diamond Tiara! I just happened to be here for the school board meeting, and this is what I see when we adjourn? My daughter associating with confused, insignificant lowlifes? Socializing with their kind is not how you move up in Equestria! Come, Diamond Tiara!"
"No mother!" She suddenly rejected.
"Excuse me?!" Spoiled Rich turned around.
"You've spent your life acting like a high horse and raised me to follow in your hoofprints! At first, I thought this was fine, but then I finally realized I wanted something you don't have – friends!" She stood up to her own mother which made everypony gasp since this was sort of a rarity that they've never seen before.
"That's enough, Diamond Tiara! Step away from those blank flanks!"
"These are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and they are my friends! You need to stop calling them such mean and hurtful names! They are working harder to get their cutie marks than anypony I've ever seen! And they will get them exactly when they discover their true talent, which I guarantee will be amazing! Now, will you please deliver this to father?" She held a note in her mouth. This was the first time that Diamond Tiara actually said something highly positive about the trio. And it won't be the last.
"Yes, of course, dear..." She was intimidated by her own daughter as she took the note from her, walking off.
"I have to thank you, Crusaders. Obviously, I've known since I got my cutie mark that my talent is getting other ponies to do what I want. I just asked my father if he could donate the money for the new playground equipment!" Saying that made them all cheer. Free playground equipment? That's a guaranteed win. "And Pipsqueak, I knew you were worried for a second there, weren't you? Ha! Well, I think it's all gonna work out just fine, Mister President!"
All was going well. Unexpectedly well. In the span of a few minutes, not only did Diamond Tiara manage to break out of her shell and decide who she wants to be now, but she also gained the respect and trust of everypony that she's ruled over with an iron hoof for a long time now. She even managed to patch things up with her best friend, Silver Spoon. Quite impressive actually.
But...there was one final thing that came into play for a bit. The manifested pony. It had made its way towards the pony that it was based off. The manifestation of Diamond Tiara's past ideals found its power source. However, due to Diamond Tiara breaking out of her shell, the manifestation ended up just simply fading away into nothing but smaller cosmic dust, showing that it no longer needs to exist due to the new Diamond Tiara.
"What was that..?" Scootaloo said as everypony saw the manifestation for a few seconds before it faded away. They had no idea what just happened in the span of that little time.
"What was that?!" Lucien also said the exact same thing.
"Oh! Now I know what that was!" Sienna realized. "That was the manifestation of her negativity made into a form that feeds off the host! And the moment that Diamond Tiara became all happy-go-lucky, it sort of just vanished. Shame. Didn't last that long."
"Wait! That can actually work..." Lucien thought for a bit, understanding the potential of something like that in the future.
"What can work?"
"Sienna you absolute genius... A creature that is formed of the negativity of somepony's obsessions or struggles and drains their life force in the process...That's actually not a bad idea! Guess you had the right idea of doing something on this day."
"Whatever that was...it was a bit pretty looking." Diamond Tiara commented as everyone went along with their day, already forgetting about what just happened.
"I've been thinkin', Crusaders. We spend an awful lot of time fussin' and frettin' tryin' to discover our true talent. But when we take a little time off, we end up helpin' other ponies figure out their true talent!" Apple Bloom uttered.
"Yeah, and I think that's way more important than worrying about our cutie marks, don't you?" Sweetie Belle nodded.
"Absolutely! I don't care if I ever get my cutie mark as long as I get to hang out with my best friends." Scootaloo pulled both her friends towards her, giving them a hug.
"So what do you say, Crusaders? Want to just focus on helpin' others find their cutie marks?" Apple Bloom suggested.
"YEAH!" The two of them agreed, giving each other a high-hoof. And at that moment, that one decision by Apple Bloom and the one agreement made by Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle was just what they needed.
It's time.
A magical purple light surrounded the three of them at the same time raising them up as a mystical light emanated from them. This grabbed the entire school's attention, gazing at this sudden transformation from the looks of it. The three of them were placed back down, unsure of what just happened. The next thing they heard was the stunned sounds of their classmates as if they had seen something amazing.
"What happened?" Apple Bloom got off the ground, shaking her head.
"What's going on?" Sweetie Belle rubbed her eyes.
"It's your Cutie Marks! They're amazing!" Diamond Tiara pointed out. Lo and behold, the time had finally come and it was here. The three of them looked at their flanks, noticing that they were no longer blank anymore. After so many months and years of trying and trying, it all paid off in the end.
They got their Cutie Marks.
And they matched too. They were in the shape of some sort of shield with their own symbols in the middle. Ranging from an apple, a music note and a lightning bolt.
"We all got the same cutie mark! Cutie Mark Crusaders forever!" They said in unison, happier than they've ever felt in their entire life. Throughout the days they've been searching for their Cutie Marks, they have worked to their absolute best and gone through many trials and tribulations that would normally make a normal foal quit halfway through. Despite all their failures, they never gave up on the pursuit of their marks. And finally, their wish was granted. The best and ultimate reward they could've asked for. They got their marks. It took a while...way longer than it should've...but it happened. But this is just the start of something greater. Now that they have their marks, their adventure has just begun.
"Look at that. Ain't that a sight to behold." Lucien commented.
"...Hm. You're right. It really is a sight to behold." Sienna nodded.
Obviously, a party was needed for this and Pinkie Pie was already on it. The entire school was joining in on this as well. "All right, everypony! Get ready for the biggest cute-ceañera celebration ever!"
"Oh, sugarcube, if Mom and Dad were here, they'd be so proud of ya." Applejack teared up, proud of her little sister along with Big Macintosh and Granny Smith.
"Oh... Thanks, Applejack."
"Now go on and party with your pals."
"Ma-Machamp!" Big Mac's Machamp was trying his best not to cry as he placed two of his arms on his face. But it was no good. This was enough to make a Pokemon as tough as Machamp wail.
Scootaloo made Rainbow Dash proud as well. Even though they're not related at all, they shared a sort of sisterly-bond together. And Rainbow Dash at this moment felt like seeing her little sister accomplish her dreams.
As for two ponies who were related and sisters, Rarity was exceptionally proud of Sweetie Belle. It wasn't just them, but their Pokemon were proud of them as well. Granted, Pokemon don't really understand Cutie Marks at all, but they love their trainers anyways and love seeing them succeed. Ash's Pikachu went up to them to congratulate them especially. It's always nice to see someone accomplish their goal after all.
"Well, what do you think, Crusaders? Were these cutie marks totally worth waiting for or what?" Apple Bloom spoke to her fellow Crusaders.
"Yeah! I can't wait to see who we're gonna help next!" Sweetie Belle replied as they all had large grins on their faces. Larger than they'll ever have that's for sure.
They've done so much, helped and inspired many along the way. And now they're going to continue inspiring and helping those in need no matter what. Their destiny has finally been fulfilled as the journey continues.
The Pokemon were getting up to what they usually do here. Today, Fluttershy was out with the rest of her friends, leaving the Pokemon to handle themselves while she's gone. But, her Audino was here to keep watch since she's essentially Fluttershy's doppelganger. Not only that, but Ash's Pokemon were here as well. They had ended up leaving their Pokemon here to hang out whilst they all attend something of...certain importance. Plus, their Pokemon need some rest as well. Ash had just got done training the ponies with more battling practice earlier so some rest was for sure needed.
"I'm beat!" Pikachu sighed, laying on his back. "All this training can really tire a guy out, ya know."
"You know, Pikachu. You wouldn't tire yourself out so much if you don't exert too much force. Ash only told you to do it gently." Audino walked up to him.
"Sorry. Can't help it. I'm kind of a glass cannon. I hit hard but I'm still a pretty fragile Pikachu too."
"Wouldn't be so fragile if you were built like yours truly over here!" said Braviary, showing off his wings.
"Braviary. You almost injured your wings because you got too close to Pikachu's Iron Tail with Steel Wing." Twilight's Espeon Eve said.
"He just struck a lucky spot. I could've tanked it." Braviary was lying through his teeth.
"You know, there's no shame in admitting you're a bit outmatched, Braviary." One of Rarity's Leavanny spoke. They all had their usual chatter about their trainers and life until Audino heard something that caught her attention. She heard it all the way from SugarCube Corner and the voice came from Pinkie Pie.
"PRINCESS CADENCE AND SHINING ARMOR ARE HAVING A BABY?!" The sound travelled through Audino's ears, making her aware of it.
"H-H-Huh?!" Audino fell on her back from hearing it.
"Audino! What's wrong?!" Pikachu and the others ran over to her.
"Baby...Baby..." The Hearing Pokemon put her hands over her eyes, blushing.
"Baby? What's this about a baby?" Treecko went up to her.
"Shining Armor...Cadence...Baby..." She explained whilst still having an embarrassed look on her face.
"Shining Armor and Princess Cadence are having a baby?" Eve figured out what she said. It took a moment for the rest of them to process that as Eve repeated herself once more. "Wait, what?!"
"Oh! Good for them." Leavanny clapped, helping Audino up.
"Meh. Not that special." Braviary shrugged it off as if it wasn't that big of a deal.
"It is special, Braviary!" Eve bellowed at his face. "This is royalty we're talking about here! It's always special! Oh, I wonder what the baby is going to be like?"
"Hold on..." Audino picked up on more information about the whole baby news via Mrs Cake who said that it's top secret. Meaning that only Pinkie Pie and to an extension, her Slurpuff, Spinda and Jade knew about it and the others can't know about it until Shining Armor and Cadence arrive tomorrow. Something like that is a bit of torture for Pinkie Pie since she loves surprises. And having to keep one like this was a new challenge she placed one herself. "Looks it's meant to a huge secret that's meant to be kept."
"A secret? Why not just reveal it to everyone?" Treecko wondered.
"You can't spoil the surprise. Especially something as huge as this!" Pikachu explained. "But...that also means that Ash and the others won't get to know about it until later."
"In that case...we can't tell our trainers about the news. Fluttershy will be able to know what we're saying. So everyone, avoiding talking about it, alright?" Eve pleaded.
"Not a word about it." Leavanny raised her leaf hands up.
"Secret's safe with us!" Pikachu responded.
"Baby?!" All of a sudden, a Loudred had overheard their chat about the Royal baby, gaining all the knowledge he needed. The group turned around, with their eyes widening at Loudred. If a Pokemon like him who's all about exhibiting loud sounds talks about it, the secret could be out in a second. "Hey everyone!" The Big Voice Pokemon turned to the multitude of Pokemon. "PRINCESS CADENCE AND SHINING ARMOR ARE HAVING A BA-" Before it could finish its sentence, Leavanny shot String Shot right at its mouth, silencing the Big Voice Pokemon from even speaking.
"Phew. That was close!" Eve sighed. But it didn't matter. Everyone managed to pick up on what Loudred was trying to say. They all figured out that he was going to say baby at the very end. And soon, chatter about that picked up as well. "Oh no...No-no-no-no-no! This is bad! Now they all know!"
"So much for it being something only Pinkie knows." Pikachu shook his head. "Now what?"
"All of you listen up!" Eve raised her voice, grabbing the attention of the entire house. "Yes, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor are having a baby. BUT! It's a secret that was only meant to be exclusive to Pinkie Pie...and Audino sort of picked up on it so now we know. But besides that! This secret is meant to be kept until they both arrive at Ponyville tomorrow! So please! All of you just don't mention it once. Don't even bring up the subject of a baby. Because if any of us do, Fluttershy can easily translate it and tell everyone else. Alright? Let's keep it top-secret from Twilight and the others until the day ends."
"Not even once?" A Mothim asked.
"Not even once," Eve repeated. "So keep that mouth of yours in check, Loudred!" She narrowed her eyes over at the Big Voice Pokemon. "Okay...I think that got through to everyone."
"Not everyone." Leavanny pointed at Ash's Gengar who was already planning something about this.
"Gengar...what are you up to?" Pikachu questioned.
"Would be a shame...if someone went ahead to spill the news to them, huh?" Gengar snickered. He took advantage of this in the spirit of his usual mischievous self.
"Gengar, no!" Eve exclaimed to him, but it was too late. Gengar made his move by phasing through the ground. He was headed for one pony only. Fluttershy. And currently, she and everypony else were at Twilight's castle. "Stop him!" Eve attempted to stop Gengar in his tracks with Psybeam, but it completely missed due to how well Gengar blended in with the shadows.
"I got this." Braviary flew forward, using the move Superpower on the ground. This was enough to shake the ground itself, causing Gengar to lose his flow. The Shadow Pokemon popped out of the ground, deciding to move by air this time, floating towards the further regions of Ponyville. Braviary chased after his fellow Pokemon, trying to stop him. "Stop right there, Gengar!"
The Shadow Pokemon turned around to see the group chase after him. Normally, since he's friends with all of them, you'd think he would stop what he was doing. But Gengar's a Ghost-Type Pokemon. And they love being mischievous. So it's only in his nature. Besides, who knows if he's even going to say it or he's just messing with them. "Sayanora suckers!" The Shadow Pokemon cackled.
"He won't get away for long!" Pikachu jumped up on Braviary's back, using him as a ride. "Speed up Braviary!"
"On it!" Braviary sped up using Brave Bird to try and catch up to the Ghost-Poison Type. There was a now a chase that was closing on Ponyville with the intention of trying to stop Gengar from saying a single word. They were closing in on Gengar due to the increased speed, giving Pikachu the opportunity to make his move next.
The Electric Mouse Pokemon jumped off of Braviary, firing an Electroweb towards its teammate. The web of electricity managed to catch hold of Gengar, halting his movements and bringing him back down to the ground.
"Alright, Gengar! That's where you stop!" Eve went up to him. "I told you! It's top-secret! Meaning that everyone else can't know about Shining Armor and Princess Cadence's baby! No matter what!"
"What's this about a baby?" Diamond Tiara's Purrloin who was with Silver Spoon's Glameow overheard this talk about a 'baby.' Eve turned her head, gulping aggressively.
"Oooh. Those two are having a baby?" Glameow leaned forward.
"No-no-no! Forget what I said!" Even put her paws up, trying to get them to forget.
"Too late. It's all in my head. Wait till the others hear about this." Purrloin said.
"NO! They can't know! At least...not until tomorrow when Princess Cadence and Shining Armor get here! Purrloin! Glameow! Please don't tell the other Pokemon..at all!"
"You sound pretty desperate...alright. I won't say a word." Purrloin replied, obviously lying. To know that she was lying, she twisted her tail about, hiding it behind her.
"Okay good..."
"Except for when I will." Purrloin and Glameow ran off.
"Hey! Get back here!" Eve chased after them. "You two won't even get the chance!" Out of frustration, Eve lunged at the two cat Pokemon, pinning them both down to the ground.
"Ow! Get off of me! You're hurting my tail!" Glameow winced.
"Tough! None of you are saying a word about it!"
"Oh, yeah?" Purrloin smirked, knowing a move that can get the word across fast. She used the move Hyper Voice to raise her voice even further. She bellowed about the two having a baby as it echoed across Ponyville, reaching the ears of every other Pokemon that it made contact with. Thankfully, it didn't reach Twilight's castle since they were high up in it. Now all the Pokemon within the range of Hyper Voice knew about the baby, and it's all going south from here on.
Soon, the Pokemon of each home, busted out of their doors to talk about the baby.
"A baby? Sounds great!" Amethyst Star's Skitty commented.
"Do you think it's gonna be an alicorn baby? What would that even look like?" A Snubbull said. Chatter everywhere about the baby was spreading like wildfire. Gengar freed himself from the web finally, dusting off the leftover electricity.
"All the Pokemon in this town are CRAZY! Gengar! If you hadn't flown off to tell them, this wouldn't have happened!" Eve snapped at him.
"I wasn't gonna tell anyone," Gengar replied.
"...You weren't?"
"Nope. I just wanted to see the look on your face when you think I would. And it was worth it!" Gengar snickered, having his goal complete.
"Ugh...alright. But what do we do about this...? Now they all know...And very soon...the surprise is gonna be ruined for the trainers!" Eve was starting to panic. "Audino! Do you know any moves that can help?"
"Sorry. I don't really have a move that's all about keeping secrets." Audino responded.
"Leavanny? Can you use String Shot to keep everyone's mouth shut?"
"That's a bit too harsh and rude. I refuse."
"Can any of you do something that makes sure it doesn't get out?!"
"Hmm..." Pikachu thought for a moment, thinking of ways to work around this. "I got it!"
"What?! What have you got?!" Eve rushed over to him.
"You know Queen Serperior from PokePark? She can make anyone listen by just glaring at them, from what I've heard. So, why don't we just ask her for help?"
"That's perfect! Queen Serperior has a high authority ranking! Everyone will have to listen to her! It's off to PokePark we go!" And so it was. Queen Serperior was their ace in the hole to keep this secret from being...well, secretive. If Queen Serperior can just look at everyone once with a glare, they'll have to keep it a secret for sure.
At PokePark, Verdant Court.
"I beg your pardon?" spoke Queen Serperior.
"I know. It sounds a little bit strange. But please, Queen Serperior. We need you to help tell all the Pokemon at Ponyville to keep it a secret!" Eve bowed her head.
"Hm. It sounds like a situation that might have been escalated to a large degree due to the nature of the other Pokemon."
"What do you mean by that?" Braviary asked.
"Us Pokemon aren't really the best at keeping secrets. Not at all. For centuries, we've known secrets that have been shared and we immediately let them spread like wildfire. It is why Pokemon do not celebrate how you say... Birthday parties. Or any surprise party at that matter. Because we simply cannot keep a secret. However, I'm impressed that you all have managed to keep it a secret. At least...for the most part. Perhaps over the years, Pokemon have learned to keep secrets for themselves. Although from what you are saying, it does not sound like a large majority of them have."
"So that's why, huh? Ugh." Eve dug her face in the ground. "It's all ruined. It's going to be spoiled for Twilight who's going to be an aunt and it's all my fault."
"Don't let it get to you, little Espeon." Serperior lifted Eve up with her tail. "You can still find a way to solve this."
"Y-You won't help us?"
"Even if I were to glare at them, it would not change much. Pokemon are just prone to let out a secret as quickly as they can. I understand your frustration."
"Then...what can we do?"
"Hm... I may know something that might work. Pokemon may be horrible at keeping secrets...but over the years things have changed. So perhaps, surprise parties are something they can sit still at."
"Oh yeah...They are pretty tame when it comes to Ponyville parties that haven't started yet." Pikachu nodded. "All we have to do is tell them that it's a surprise party being planned by Pinkie and they can tell their trainers when the day comes. That could work."
"You think it'll work?" Treecko asked.
"Worth a shot. Thanks a lot of the help, Serperior!"
"It is my pleasure to be of assistance to friends of our trainer, Princess Twilight Sparkle.
It was settled. A surprise party is a last-ditch effort in order to really maintain this secret from the ponies. As long as only the Pokemon know, they can keep the secret for themselves until tomorrow comes.
"Ugh...That was almost a guaranteed disaster." Eve held her head out of stress.
"I'm surprised that you're this into it, Eve," Braviary said.
"Of course I am. Something as huge as this can't be taken for granted. I just can't afford to let them all know before tomorrow."
As the group were ready to tell all the Pokemon, Audino's ears picked up something again. "Wait...I hear something new about the baby."
"What?!" Eve and the others leaned in.
Audino listened closely to hear the words of Applejack saying that Princess Cadence and Shining Armor might not arrive until Saturday. "It looks like they're going to be a bit late. They might not arrive tomorrow but on Saturday instead."
"SATURDAY?!" They all said in unison.
"We can't wait until Saturday! They could spill everything before we know it!" Eve was starting to hyperventilate. Ash's Dragonite gave her a hug to calm her down.
"There there...it's alright." The Dragon Pokemon said. "We just have to hope that they can get here tomorrow, alright?"
"Okay...okay...I need to rest." Eve was feeling tired out from making herself worry so much. Dragonite carried her over to Twilight's lab in order to get some well-deserved rest from trying to maintain this secret.
"Uh...you might wanna see this." Pikachu stopped Dragonite from flying off as he and the others noticed something of great importance. Here was Shining Armor and Cadence. Earlier than expected actually.
"They're here...? Now? Oh, thank Arceus..." Eve was about to faint as she curled up in Dragonite's arms. The Pokemon ran over to the royal couple who made a miracle happen thankfully. Cadence's Sylveon had noticed her fellow Pokemon rush over to her for a greeting.
"Oh, hello. You were all expecting us?" Sylveon uttered.
"How'd you get here so early?" Treecko asked.
"They weren't needed in Maretonia until next week. So that confusion was cleared up.
"Oooh..." They all said in unison.
"Good thing you got here on time. You wouldn't believe what went down when we heard about your baby secret!" Pikachu replied.
"Audino picked it up didn't she?"
"Yes...Oh, I wish I didn't have such good hearing sometimes..." Audino sighed.
"It's fine. Now that we're here...you don't have to worry about trying to keep it a secret from every other Pokemon."
"About that...every Pokemon knows about it." Braviary scratched the back of his head.
"Huh?! How?!" Sylveon perked up.
"A lot of stuff happened...Loudred, Gengar, Purrloin...it's a bit of a long story." Treecko rambled on. "But at least Shining Armor and Cadence can say it themselves, right?"
"Right." Sylveon sighed. "Good thing Pinkie Pie's an expert at keeping secrets...right?"
"I mean...is she?" Pikachu scratched his head.
"She should be. That's why the Shining Armor gave the scroll to Mr and Mrs Cake in order to pass it down to Pinkie Pie. I'd assume that the perfect party pony is also great at surprises, right?"
"Well yeah but...I'm not sure she enjoys keeping it to herself and not telling the rest of her friends." Pikachu shook his head.
"Whatever the case...we can wait until they reveal it to everyone else. Come along now." Sylveon pranced on with her trainers. The group of Pokemon followed suit, finally heading back to their trainers as well.
There they all were. The moment they opened up the door, they could see that Pinkie Pie was actually struggling to keep it a secret. She sat above a tree inside the castle, prepared to spill it all. Thankfully, when Shining Armor spoke, it cut off her sentence. That was a close one. Eve could see that if Shining Armor hadn't said anything, the secret would've been out. That only made her worry even more.
"Guess she's decent at keeping secrets to herself, huh?" Sylveon said.
"We're in the vicinity of Fluttershy now...so can we please not mention the baby once, okay?" Eve pleaded.
"You got it. We'll be 100% silent about it." Pikachu replied, hopping on Ash's shoulder as usual. Now all they had to do was wait. But not just wait. See, Shining Armor and Cadence had planned something special before the big reveal.
At the moment Shining Armor was shown tons of surprises that were from his childhood. Seeing them made him rave like crazy, taking him back to his youth. After that, he and Cadence told the group that they would have to meet them at the Town Square. The Pokemon theorized that at the Town Square, they might reveal their secret there and then. But once they got there, no sign of them at all. Maybe they were late?
"Where are there?" Eve whispered.
"Maybe they stopped for some snacks?" Treecko whispered back at her.
"Yeah well, they picked a perfect time to take a break." Braviary sighed. "How long are we gonna keep this up, anyway?" Braviary's worries were gone when it was revealed what they were actually planning. Twilight and the others had discovered a scroll that was inside the mouth of the pony statue. Reading it revealed that they had set the group up for a scavenger hunt. Of all things. Now for everyone else, this sounded like fun. But for Eve, she couldn't take much more of it. She just wanted them to say the secret now and get it done with.
"A Scavenger hunt...? Really?" Eve groaned.
"Sounds fun!" Pikachu exclaimed.
The first clue of the scavenger hunt had been solved quickly by reading the rest of the scroll. The Ponyville schoolhouse. Their first lead was found and it was only going to continue from there on until they reach the married couple. Eve was just praying that it was to be over with soon. However, she finally ended up tiring herself out, falling asleep. Dragonite placed Eve on Twilight's back, letting her sleep next to her trainer.
The second location of the hunt took them to Town Square. There, Mayor Mare's Stoutland was sitting by, seeing the group arrive inside. "What brings you all here?" Stoutland asked.
"Scavenger hunt!" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder, speaking to Stoutland.
"Oh...is it about the baby?" Stoutland whispered back.
"Yep. We're making sure its extra quiet, ya know."
"Maybe too quiet. I haven't been this silent in the longest." Treecko said.
"You'll all get through it. If you can manage to make it to the very end, it'll prove just how resilient you really are. Although..." Stoutland looked over at Pinkie Pie who was rapidly going through the birth certificates. "Your pink friend over there...not so much."
"She'll be fine," Leavanny replied. The next clue had been found. Audino overheard how it was about a place to rest little heads apparently. Then she realized that all these words being said by Twilight who was reading the clues meant something.
"Hang on a minute..." Audino spoke suddenly. She pulled the Pokemon in, letting them know what she found out. "This scavenger hunt. Shining Armor and Cadence are building up the baby reveal..." She whispered to the Pokemon.
"They are?" They all said in unison.
"Yes. Think about it. School? Foal? Birth Certificate? All of these have one thing in common. Youth."
"About time it took you to figure out what this hunt was about." Stoutland chuckled, revealing that he knew about this from the get-go.
"Oooh...so you knew that we knew that they didn't know about the reason behind the hunt." Braviary rambled.
"Correct, my boy. You catch on fast. Now hurry along your final clue is ahead."
"Alright! Thanks, Stoutland!" Pikachu waved goodbye as he and the party returned to the trainers, heading for the final clue of the scavenger hunt.
The final area was SugarCube Corner. And there were Cadence, Shining Armor and Sylveon waiting.
"Think this is it?" Treecko whispered to Leavanny.
"It must be. They're right here."
Shining Armor and Cadence had planned out the final phase of the hunt. The reward. But this reward went above and beyond from just a book like with Twilight's past. Shining Armor and Cadence gave off the clues that were related to all the locations they've been too so far and what they've found. Twilight repeated the same thing Audino did with the saying of School... foal... birth certificate... and crib. Since they found the final clue underneath a crib that made Twilight finally realize what was actually going on.
Pinkie Pie was getting giddy, Audino was covering her eyes out of embarrassment, Braviary yawned and Pikachu was anticipating this.
"Come on...come on..." Pikachu was about to explode out of excitement. That's when the couple finally let out those sacred words that released Eve and Pinkie from their endless torture.
"We're having a baby!" Both of them said, revealing cake behind them with your usual baby stuff on them.
"A baby, Twilight! It's a baby! Woo-hoo!" Pinkie Pie had burst with excitement. Eve woke up, hearing those sweet holy words. The Sun Pokemon let out a bloodcurdling sigh, falling down on the ground as Pikachu picked her back up.
"You mean... I'm going to be an aunt?! This is the best prize ever!" Twilight was flabbergasted but flowing with joy. "Oh, I love you guys! And I can't wait to meet your little foal!" Twilight hugged both of them.
"Audino..." Audino fell flat on her face, no longer feeling embarrassed.
"Oh, dear. Audi, are you okay?" Fluttershy looked at her Pokemon.
"Pikapi. Pikachu. Pika-Pikachu." Pikachu had told Ash what happened.
"Oh. So that's what happened, huh? Good job on keeping it safe, buddy."
"Pikachu!"
"You did it, Pinkie Pie! You kept it a surprise! Thank you! Was it much trouble?" Cadence walked up to her fellow pink coloured pony.
"Piece of cake!" Pinkie Pie squeed with a blazing victory.
A well-deserved wait. A secret of that scale was hard to keep quiet for a pony such as Pinkie Pie. And it was only harder due to the nature of Pokemon and how they're absolutely horrible at secrets...well in the past anyway. It was a struggle for both sides. Pinkie Pie had her own story on how she dealt with this, but for this one, the Pokemon's story was the main focus. And as a bonus, the baby won't just be brought up into its own world, but the world of Pokemon as the journey continues.
"WAIT! We didn't do anything about the other Pokemon!" Eve exclaimed.
"We'll handle it." Pikachu calmed her down. They will indeed handle it somehow.
It was a silent calm night. Nothing out of the ordinary. Well, except for Jade Skies and Cold Colt walking around Ponyville along with certain Pokemon who only show themselves at night, but that was just normal for them. Everything was perfectly silent. The same can be said with Canterlot. With Luna and Darkrai patrolling the Dream World, nopony or Pokemon is even suffering from any nightmares at all.
Yes, it's all smooth sailing tonight until the day arrives. However, there's always something lurking within the shadows. And this time, it wasn't a threat they were familiar with. In fact, this couldn't be classified as a full-on threat that was against Equestria. But it was something that could endanger Equestria.
Over at a newly created area due to the worlds merging known as Lapras Lake where many Lapras dwell and fairly close to both Canterlot and Ponyville, a fisherpony was humming a tune whilst searching for something chew down on tonight.
"It's a whole new world we live in...it's a whole new way to see..." He sang to himself. He was patiently waiting to snag a big catch whilst sitting under the moonlight. High up in the night skies, if you looked closely, you could see a bunch of Minior fall from above. They were the Meteor Pokemon after all so it was natural. As he continued to sing along to himself, the fisherpony finally got something. "OH! I snagged me sum'thn!" He stood up, gripping his fishing rod tight. "It's a big one! Wonder what it is?!" He was pulling with all his might. Every ounce of strength that he had left. But unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull it up.
"Lap?" A Lapras noticed the water underneath it tremble. So did the others. Whatever was underneath them must be a monstrosity of a sea creature. All the Water-Type Pokemon under the sea along with the Lapras began swimming for their lives as they feel the currents of the lake changing from the sheer force of this creature.
The fisherpony fell on his back, being defeated by this creature with his rod falling inside the lake, sinking deep down. "Ugh...what kind of beast can be that heavy?" He held his head. The fisherpony quickly got his answer when he saw the beast rise up from the lake. The amount of sheer force it exhibited from rising up from the water was enough to make the entire lake tremble. Its potency caused a tsunami to form, chasing after the fisherpony. "Sweet Celestia." He gulped. The last thing he saw was not just the tsunami but a 1043.31 feet creature rising up. And after that, he was consumed by the tsunami.
But it doesn't quite end there. The shadow the creature cast even reached Ponyville and Canterlot, blocking out the moon itself. Not only that, but the amount of pressure it made when soaring through the air created a thunderous sound of wind that managed to wake everypony up. The residents of peaceful Ponyville took a gander outside of their window to see this overwhelming shadow fly over their town. And it went even further. This creature was large enough to eclipse the entire all of Equestria and beyond. Essentially, the entire world. They couldn't quite make out what it was due to it being incredibly dark but they could tell it was gargantuan.
Rarity had fainted from the mere sight of it as one of her Leavanny caught her. Machamp held the entire Apple Family close for protection. Fluttershy and all of the Pokemon at the Pokemon House huddled together as they cowered in fear over this unidentified beast. Twilight and Cloudsdale got the worst of it due to them living at a higher point. Even from this height, they still had no idea what their eyes had seen due to the increased darkness.
Finally, the unidentified monster had vanished, returning to the lake it came from. But it didn't leave without a devastating effect. Once it dived back down into the lake, a second tsunami kicked up. This tsunami was much powerful than the last one, meaning that it was racing towards Canterlot and Ponyville at the same time.
Celestia gasped, looking up at the incoming wave of mass water. She quickly put up a defensive barrier, protecting all of Canterlot from the tsunami. The same for Ponyville. Twilight managed to protect it all by also have her own barrier up. Disaster averted. But the fact that this creature almost destroyed both Ponyville and Canterlot that easily was lingering in their minds now.
The morning had arrived.
And immediately, the only thing they all wanted to discuss was what they all saw last night.
"It was gigantic!" Lyra exclaimed.
"It covered the entire moon!" Sweetie Belle pulled her mane.
"It almost destroyed Ponyville!" Amethyst Star bellowed. Everywhere you look, you'll see and hear them chat about the creature who blocked out the moon itself.
"You think it was the Storm Behemoth again?" Pinkie said to Twilight.
"Not at all." Twilight shook her head. "This was something different. The behemoth looked like an ant compared to it...The fact that it blocked out even the moon is insane. Plus the force it let out caused a tsunami that could've doomed us all!"
"Whatever it was...there's no way it could've been a Pokemon, right?" Rainbow Dash commented.
"Wouldn't be surprised if it was. Pokemon are unpredictable after all." Rarity replied.
"What's everyone talking about?" Ash had arrived along with Goh this time.
"Pika?"
"Ash! Goh! You two won't believe what we saw last night!" Pinkie dashed over to them. "There was this... thing! It was huge! Absurdly huge! It shut off the moon for a bit! And it almost drowned us!"
"Was it another behemoth?!" Ash leaned forward.
"Pika-Pikachu?"
"Well...we don't think it was. What do you think, Twilight?" Pinkie turned to her friend.
"No clue. At this point, we might have to assume it was a Pokemon. But it's not a Pokemon I've ever seen before."
"Me neither. I've never seen a Pokemon like that before." Fluttershy shook her head.
"Maybe it's one of those Legendary Pokemon?" Apple Bloom spoke. "They're always big from what I hear."
"Well, what did it look like?" Goh asked.
"It looked like...Hmmm...It was kinda round...I think?" Pinkie scratched her mane with her hoof.
"It had a pretty long body shape. Kind of oval." Rainbow Dash drew an oval with her hooves.
"And we couldn't see its colour all that well because of how dark it was. But I think it might've been blue, maybe?" Scootaloo spoke. "You think it's a Water-Type?"
"It did almost drown us so maybe?" Silver Spoon shrugged.
"Sounds like one heck of a Pokemon! Which one do you think it is, Ash?" Goh turned to Ash.
"Hm..." The young trainer began putting the pieces together based on what everypony has said. Absurdly huge...oval-shaped...long...blue...possibly Water-Type. There's only one Pokemon that fits that explanation to a T. "I know which Pokemon that is!"
"You do?!" All of Ponyville said, leaning forward.
"Mhm! You guys just got your first encounter with a Wailord."
"Pika!"
"Wailord...?" Twilight uttered, unsure of a Pokemon named Wailord. Everypony's never heard of it other than Ash and Goh that is. Mostly because Ash has seen a lot of Wailord's throughout his journeys and Goh a few months back.
"Here. This is it." Ash took out his Pokedex, scrolling towards the information of Wailord as everypony moved forward to look at it.
"Wailord. The Float Whale Pokemon. Wailord is the largest of all identified Pokémon up to now. The biggest of them all. This giant Pokémon swims languorously in the vast open sea, eating massive amounts of food at once with its enormous mouth. When chasing prey, Wailord herds them by leaping out of the water and making a humongous splash. It is breathtaking to see this Pokémon leaping out of the sea with others in its pod. It can sometimes knock out opponents with the shock created by breaching and crashing its big body onto the water. When a small Wailmer is attacked by Sharpedo or Dhelmise, its whole pod works together to protect it. By inhaling to its maximum capacity, a Wailord can dive close to 10,000 feet beneath the waves. Wailord watching is a favourite sightseeing activity in various parts of the world. This Pokemon at times is also known as the Titan of all Pokemon."
"SERIOUSLY?!" Twilight's wings stood up along with everypony else being shocked. "A Pokemon THAT huge exists?!"
"You mean to tell me that this whale looking Pokemon is just swimming somewhere in Equestria?!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Looks like it. Guess you guys got a first taste of the biggest Pokemon ever, huh?" Ash laughed.
"Pika-Pika."
"No kidding. I wonder how you would battle with something like that?" Rainbow Dash thought for a second. She had a small little imagination instance where she imagined her opposing trainer using a Pokemon of medium size like Donphan. Then she imagined her battling with the largest of all Pokemon, Wailord.
If Wailord is that huge, then how are you going to be able to see the battle if it's blocking your view of your opponent? Will Wailord immediately crush the Pokemon the moment it's sent out of the Pokeball? How do you even knock back a Pokemon of that size even if you use a Super-effective move? And if it does get knocked back, will it fall and crush you instead? The thought of it sounded impossible to battle with a Pokemon like that.
"Does your world have to deal with stuff this huge on a daily basis?" Aria asked.
"Mhm." Ash nodded.
"At least we know what it was now. I'm sure that Wailord had someplace to be." Fluttershy said. But, the moment she mentioned Wailord's name, it came back. Once more, over at Lapras Lake, Wailord was on the move. Its movements were powerful enough to be heard from Ponyville.
"Is it Wailord again?!" Apple Bloom jumped up, hiding behind Machamp.
"WAILORD!" The Float Whale Pokemon let out a cry reaching across Equestria. And just like last night, it soared out of the lake, causing yet another tsunami to rise up. Rainbow Dash took the skies, seeing a clearer look of Wailord for the first time along with everypony else
"There it is! IT'S GIGANTIC!" Rainbow Dash yelped. She then realized that it wasn't a good idea to just stand around since there was a tsunami coming her way. She and the other pegasi took the skies, avoiding the tsunami whilst Twilight put up yet another protection spell, saving Ponyville from being swept by the tsunami.
"That's Wailord, alright! But that Wailord's bigger than any of the ones I've seen before!" Ash exclaimed, running towards it and heading for the undiscovered Lapras Lake.
"Pika!"
"Ash! Don't go near it!" Twilight flew after him. And like usual, her friends followed after her as well. Besides, who wouldn't want to see the biggest Pokemon ever?
Wailord was blocking out the sun this time, covering the entire azure skies. Now that they all got a clearer look on it, Ash and Fluttershy noticed that it had bite marks on its body. Multiple even. The largest Pokemon took a dive, returning underneath the lake. Once Ash got close to it, he was given a huge splash of water that made him and his electric buddy all wet.
"Aw, my clothes..." Ash looked at himself.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu shook off all the water from him. Wailord could finally be seen up close with the upper part of its body sticking out from the water.
"By Equestria...It's gargantuan!" Rarity gasped.
"It's much bigger up close." Applejack nodded.
"Wail..." From the looks of it, Fluttershy noticed that Wailord was in severe pain. The bite marks on its body were the cause of it. And they resembled that of Sharpedo bite marks.
"This Wailord. It looks like it's been attacked." Fluttershy flew up to it. "See? Look." Fluttershy placed her hoof near the bite marks, making Wailord wail. "And they're Sharpedo bite marks as well."
"Is that why it's been diving up and down lately?" Applejack went up to her.
"Most likely. I'm sure Wailord here didn't mean to cause tsunamis, right?" Fluttershy gave the Float Whale Pokemon a hoof pat.
"Wailord..."
"Hm? Is that why?!" Fluttershy gasped, flying back.
"What? What did it say?" Goh asked.
"Wailord was looking for his children in the sea but...he got separated from them when a group of Sharpedo ended up attacking them. So all the diving has been him trying to push the Sharpedo away while looking for his children. They were searching for a new home to live in the sea but they ended up getting caught by Sharpedo. Poor thing."
"Well, which Pokemon are they? A bunch of little Wailord's?" Rainbow questioned.
"Wailord..."
"Wailord's the father of 50 Wailmer. Its pre-evolution."
"50?! How do you lose 50?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Rainbow Dash! Rude!" Fluttershy snapped back at her.
"Oh...sorry."
"Don't worry, Wailord. We'll get your kids back for you." Ash went up to the Float Whale Pokemon. "They're all the way down there, right?" Ash looked at the lake.
"Are we seriously gonna have to go all the way underneath the lake?" Goh asked Ash.
"Probably. Or maybe...we can lure out the Wailmer! Pinkie Pie!" Ash turned to his pink friend.
"Already on it!" She took off, heading off to find grab her Slurpuff.
"We use Sweet Scent to lure in all the Pokemon here at Lapras Lake. The Wailmer are sure to show up with other Pokemon."
"What if those barbaric Sharpedo show up as well?" Rarity was a bit nervous about that.
"Pikachu and I will handle it."
"Pikachu!"
"Alright! Slurpuff's all set!" Pinkie was carrying her Pokemon with her bare hooves. "Work your magic! Sweet Scent!"
"Slur..." The Meringue Pokemon got to work by sending a sweet aromatic scent towards the waters of Lapras Lake in order to hopefully drag out 50 Wailmer. The scent filled the lake, reaching the Pokemon that were the closest to the group. They all swam towards the Sweet Scent, hoping to get some delicious out of it. The list of Pokemon consisted of the usual Lapras since this is their lake, Basculin, Gorebyss, Magikarp, Tympole, Frillish and Spheal. Out of the group of Pokemon that showed up, none seemed to be Wailmer at all.
"Any of ya'll see a Wailmer?" Applejack scanned the present Pokemon here as the others did the same.
"No. Not really." Spike replied.
"Can you hear the cry of a Wailmer, Audi?" Fluttershy asked her partner.
"Audino..." Audino was doing her best to track the sound of a Wailmer cry, but unfortunately, her wonderful radar-like hearing couldn't pick it up at all. Even when it was able to hear the ongoings underwater.
"Mrrgh...None of them are Wailmer." Twilight sighed.
"Maybe we can try asking them." Fluttershy went over to the Water-Types. "Excuse me. But have any of you seen 50 Wailmer? Or at least a few?"
"Lapras? Lapras." Lapras nodded her head along with the Frillish.
"You have?! Where?!"
"Lapras." The Transport Pokemon pointed its fins over at the south of the lake. "Lap. Lapras."
"Apparently, Lapras and Frillish saw a group of Sharpedo chasing after each of the Wailmer. But each of them split up into different groups, heading into the deepest part of the lake."
"So, they're at the very bottom?" Goh replied.
"That's right. That's also why Sweet Scent didn't lure them in."
"Alright. That means we're going to have to head deep underwater to find them. This might be tricky." Twilight sighed.
"Do we have anything for underwater, actually?" Rarity asked Twilight.
"There's a spell that allows us to breathe underwater for a certain period of time. But it only lasts 20 minutes. So we have to move quickly. Who knows how deep this lake goes?"
"We'll find out one way or another." Ash rolled up his sleeves.
"Hold on! Before you start swimming at the very bottom, the spell can only hold a few of us. So we can't all head in." Twilight stopped Ash from jumping in. "The best I can do is three of us."
"Only three? You sure that's enough?" Rainbow Dash uttered.
"It is. Two of us need to head down there while I provide the breathing. Ash. Fluttershy. You two are great with Pokemon. You two are our best option."
"You can count on us, Twilight. Looks like you're gonna have to sit this one out, buddy." Ash grabbed Pikachu placing him down.
"Pikapi."
"Wait here, Audi. We'll be right-" Before Fluttershy could finish her sentence, Wailord spoke, giving a much better idea than a breathing spell. "Hm...You'll take us instead?"
"What does he mean by that?" Twilight asked.
"Wailord..."
"Wailord's gonna carry us in his mouth." Fluttershy casually explained.
"WHAT?!" They all pulled back in shock.
"Lapras."
"And Lapras says that she'll guide the way and protect us."
"Oh no...no-no-no-no, I'm not sure I'm up for that..." Twilight winced.
"Being inside its mouth doesn't sound pleasant, darling." Rarity shuddered.
"Plus, won't the Sharpedo just attack again?" Pinkie asked.
"Yes, but Lapras will protect us, remember? Come on. Don't you want to help Wailord find his children?"
"I mean...yeah." Rainbow Dash twiddled with her hooves.
"I'm not ashamed of helping somepony else but..." Rarity dusted her hoof on the sand.
"Well. We'd better get moving. Sharpedo are super-fast ya know." Ash walked up to Wailord.
"Wait, Ash! Don't-" Twilight and Goh attempted to stop him, but it was too late. Wailord had invited the young trainer and his Pokemon inside, having the first traveller in it. "Too late."
"It's better to take risks for something greater." Fluttershy was next as she flew in as well with her Audino. It was only a matter of time before the others would have to go in. Twilight swallowed her fears, heading inside as well. Applejack did the same along with Rainbow Dash, closing their eyes when they went in. Goh followed suit and now it was just Spike and Rarity. Spike went in, covering his eyes along the way as Rarity ever so slowly walked forward. She turned her head away, covering her eyes, entering last.
"Is it safe to open my eyes?" Rarity stammered.
"Actually...this is better than I expected." Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. Rarity opened those eyes up, seeing something she didn't expect. The inside of this Wailord was unexpectedly shiny. Everything about this place was clean and polished as it if they were diamonds.
"I didn't see this coming." Rarity shook her head in amazement.
"Wail..."
"I don't know if I'm weirded out or impressed." Twilight didn't know what to think.
"Alright, Wailord! Let's find your kids! Lead the way, Lapras!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pika-Pikapi!"
"Lapras!" Lapras began guiding them all to where she ended up seeing some of the Wailmer split up. The search for young Wailmer began. Alongside them, the Water-Types who were pulled in by the Sweet Scent were each giving their assistance by swimming with Lapras.
Heading further down into Lapras Lake would lead you to a highly cautious area that the Water-Type Pokemon call Sharpedo Seas. Wailord had been through here due to it trying to find a new home for its family. He had no idea it was known as Sharpedo Seas at all which led to him being attacked and seeing his children flee.
"Lapras?" Lapras could hear the sound of something swimming at high speeds towards them. That could mean only one thing.
"What do you hear, Lapras?" Fluttershy asked.
"Lap." Lapras stopped its movements, just to turn around. And over the distance, she and the other Water Pokemon could see the Sharpedo heading their way. They were in their territory now so it was obvious they would come after them. "Lapras!" Lapras thankfully had a response to them all in the form of the move Freeze-Dry. A Water-Type move that is super-effective on even Water-Types which Ice isn't great against. Lapras rapidly cooled the Sharpedo's stopping them in their tracks. It even froze them
"What was that?" Goh asked, hearing something occurring outside.
"Shar!" That's when more Sharpedo's started swimming forward. This made the group aware of the Sharpedo, knowing that they were here and after their previous prey, Wailord along with some new prey in the form of more Water-Types.
"Sharpedo?! Here?!" Spike held onto Rarity's hoof.
The Sharpedo were all moving at 75mph speeds, crashing through their fellow Sharpedo by shattering them into tiny pieces due to them still being frozen. They didn't care about destroying one of their own when they're on the pursuit of their prey.
The Frillish got in front of the Sharpedo, attempting to stop them all by being a wall. However, Sharpedo charged through as well, causing the Floating Pokemon to tumble in the sea. Each Water Pokemon were doing their very best to keep the Sharpedo away from Wailord and Lapras, but the overwhelming number of them was too much for them to handle. Very soon, the Brutal Pokemon managed to catch up to the group, ready to attack without any hesitation.
The Transport Pokemon realized that this was going to ugly fast if she didn't do anything about it. It tried to use another Freeze-Dry, but a Sharpedo managed to bite onto her back, causing the Ice-Water Pokemon to cry out in pain.
"What's going on out there?!" Applejack was getting nervous. It sounded like something awful was happening on the outside. And it was true, it was awful. Wailord realized that if Lapras goes down, he'll lose the one Pokemon that can guide him to his children. So, the Float Whale Pokemon moved turned around, swinging its tail at Sharpedo. This was a good idea since Wailord is so huge, anything that gets hit by it will be sent flying, 100% guaranteed. But this was also a risky decision as the other Sharpedo bit onto the tail of Wailord, making it cry.
"That doesn't sound good...We'd better help out!" Ash was about to head outside.
"Uh, Ash! Not a good idea when we're this deep underwater!" Twilight flew in front of him.
"Don't worry about it! Let's go Pikachu!"
"Pika!"
"If that's the case...then you'll need this." Twilight set up the underwater breathing-spell in order to have Ash and Pikachu work underwater without having to worry about their breath. She followed them outside since she needs to be close in order for the spell to continue.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash pointed at the Sharpedo.
"Pika...Chu!" A bolt of 100,000 volts struck each of the Brutal Pokemon directly. It caused a chain reaction of bolts to hit each of them that were on Wailord's tail. Just then, the rest of the Sharpedo turned their attention to Ash, Pikachu and Twilight. They zoomed towards them, attempting to bite them into pieces. Ash moved out of the way but a Sharpedo managed to tear off a part of his sleeves. One Sharpedo managed to bite off a bit of Twilight's mane while another almost ate Pikachu whole.
"This was a terrible idea!" Twilight yelped. Each time a Sharpedo moved towards them, they kept doing their best to avoid their bites. Because if Sharpedo gets one good bite on them, that's game over.
"Iron Tail!" Pikachu smacked away the remaining Sharpedo by swinging at them each time they got close. He even managed to break one of their teeth when they tried to bite on his tail. Thanks to the efforts of Ash, Pikachu and a few of the Water-Types, the Sharpedo had been driven away. But they were still in their territory, meaning that more will be arriving shortly soon. The three of them re-entered Wailord, shaking the water off of them.
"That was close..." Twilight held her chest with her heart beating rapidly. In that small instance, her entire life could've ended right there.
"Did you manage to stop all the Sharpedo?" Fluttershy helped Twilight up.
"Yeah...drove them away." Twilight took some time to relax her heart.
"Lapras." Lapras had thankfully recovered, but the bite mark on its shell was still there and it stung since it is apart of its body. Managing to survive an assault of Sharpedo was actually worth it since Lapras had managed to reach the first area she saw some of the Wailmer retreat to. A small sea cave.
Inside this Cave were 12 Wailmer in total. They were all hiding from Sharpedo since they knew that if they were to even step out of the cave, Sharpedo would immediately chase after them. But at the moment, it was okay since Lapras was here. She was a friendly face so there was no fear of her at all. Not only that but with Wailord behind her, they could see their father again. The Wailmer instantly swam out of the cave, heading towards their father and reuniting with him.
"Wailmer!"
"You hear that?" Fluttershy and Audino picked up on the cries of Wailmer being happy. "We found some!"
"Oh, finally!" Rainbow Dash groaned.
The 12 Wailmer gave their father a hug, filling the Float Whale Pokemon with joy. He was happy to see some of his children again. But there was still 38 of them left to find. Lapras knew where the others went so she gladly led the way once more. Anything to get out of this Sharpedo-infested waters.
The search continued until Lapras led them to an area where there were sea crystals that dazzled in the water. These gemstones were just lying everywhere, radiating multiple colours that bounced well off the Lumineon that were around here. And this crystal area was where the next batch of Wailmer could be found. But at the moment, they weren't having a better experience than the previous twelve. In fact, the rest of the 38 Wailmer were all being chased by Sharpedo.
The Brutal Pokemon had been chasing after these Ball Whale Pokemon, crashing their heads on the ocean rocks and walls due to them constantly missing. Despite their 75mph speed, Wailmer could easily avoid them due to them all having the ability to elevate their own bounce height. So this entire time, Sharpedo have been essentially trying to hit balloons.
"Lapras!"
"Lapras says that they're all here!" Fluttershy translated.
"All of them?!" They all simultaneously exclaimed.
Despite the Wailmer easily avoiding the Sharpedo, they were slowly running out of stamina. And it was only a matter of time before the all the Sharpedo end up catching them since they barely get fatigued. Lapras being the protective Pokemon that she is, fired an Ice Beam towards a Sharpedo that was attempting to bite on a tired Wailmer, saving its life with a good old Freeze status effect. Wailord moved in, using the basic move Tackle to hit away the other Sharpedo. Ash stood up, ready to head out in the water again. Twilight groaned, knowing that there was nothing she could do to stop Ash from going outside. So she ended up casting the breathing-spell again, heading out with him.
There were much more Sharpedo out here than the ones back at their territory. But that's to be expected since most of them left their territory in order to find the rest of the Wailmer.
"Electroweb!" Ash pointed at the Sharpedo. Pikachu sent a web of electricity that trapped some Sharpedo, saving the Wailmer that were fatigued. "Quick Attack!" Pikachu then moved at blinding speeds in the water itself, hitting a Sharpedo into the sea walls. Lapras managed to freeze more and more Sharpedo with Freeze Dry and Ice Beam whilst Wailord kept using his overwhelming size to his advantage. Twilight kept the breathing-spell up, hoping that none of the Sharpedo would notice her. But one of them did and instantly chased after her.
"Not good! Eve! Psybeam!" Twilight yelped, commanding her Pokemon to blast away the Sharpedo. But more and more were coming after them. Soon, the entire ocean was occupied and populated with nothing but Sharpedo. Every other Water-Type had fled, not wanting to be caught up in this at all.
The others could hear all the chaos happening outside and they could even feel the chaos due to Wailord using his body as a weapon. Rainbow Dash realized that it would probably be better to help out her friends before they're torn apart by Sharpedo.
"Wait, Rainbow Dash. You're not heading out there too are you?!" Rarity exclaimed.
"You bet I am! Twilight and Ash could be eaten up if we don't do something! Let me out Wailord!" Wailord gladly opened up its mouth to allow Rainbow Dash to fly out and give assistance. The pegasus tossed a Pokeball out, sending out her Luxio. She held her breath in, pointing her hoof at the Sharpedo and commanding Luxio.
The Spark Pokemon let out a discharge of volts that spread across the water, shocking the Sharpedo that were closing in on Twilight and Eve. Soon, it became an underwater brawl. One side wanted to rip them apart while the other side just wanted to escape with everyone safe and reunited once more. It was only a matter of time before the others realized that they had to help their friend as well. Twilight couldn't use the spell on that many ponies since it was only limited to three, so they held their breath with all their life, sending out their Pokemon to assist as well.
Applejack had kicked away any incoming Sharpedo that tried to bite at her Treecko whilst Rarity's Leavanny wrapped some of them in String Shot.
Goh's Sobble used Water Gun which did nothing, but it was trying its best at least. Audino used Protect to shield her trainer from any incoming attacks from the Brutal Pokemon. If you were to be a Water-Type Pokemon just casually swimming by and you saw THIS...it wouldn't leave your memory due to how bizarre and chaotic it appeared. The Sharpedo were getting desperate. Their attacks were growing more and more aggressive. One almost bit off Applejack's hoof while another almost ripped off Pinkie Pie's head. Rainbow Dash was about to be devoured by a Sharpedo from behind but her Luxio defended her with Wild Charge.
"This is taking too long! Let's finish this! Pikachu! Spin with Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" Pikachu spun around in the sea itself, creating a small whirlwind of water around himself. Out of this whirlwind came bolts of lightning that were moving in an erratic nature. The Sharpedo were all greeted with Counter Shield as every last one of them were being shocked by the rampant Thunderbolts. Plus, the water whirlwind helped since it was sending other Thunderbolts from different sides as well.
Very soon, all the Sharpedo had fainted due to the efforts of the trainers and the Pokemon. Every Wailmer was safe sound without a single scratch or a bite mark on them. Now the next thing to do was high-tail it out of here and return to shore at Lapras Lake. Wailord invited the group back in, giving them time to rest finally.
"Is that all of them?!" Fluttershy gasped for air.
"Yeah! We got all the Wailmer!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Wonderful! Now can we please return home!" Rarity pleaded. Wailord responded to Rarity's plead by turning around, swimming off with its children. Lapras swam beside them, making sure to keep an eye out for any other attacking Sharpedo.
Their trip back to the higher levels of the lake was longer due to them having to be cautious around any remaining Sharpedo. And thankfully, the coast was clear due to them all fainting. So there was no need to worry. Or at least, they thought so. But one Sharpedo managed to hang in there. This single Sharpedo was slowly chasing them, lurking in the shadows.
Wailord and the others returned to shore, causing a huge splash to hit the sand. Ash and the group exited the mouth of Wailord, finally being able to feel the sweet air of Equestria once more.
"Finally!" Twilight gasped, falling flat on the ground. "That was aggressive..." They all took some time to catch their breath. The entire rescue mission could've ended their life in mere seconds.
"That could've been the end of us..." Rarity was hyperventilating along with the Pokemon. But their moment of rest was cut short when the final Sharpedo lunged out of the water, aiming straight for Spike.
"Raboot!" Goh's Raboot jumped up, using Double Kick to knock the Brutal Pokemon back into the lake, causing it to faint. Now, for real this time...it was over.
The Wailmer gathered around their father, tearing up as they were back with their father. Lapras let out a sigh of relief, glad that everyone got out alright. It was a happy family reunion between the Wailmer and Wailord. The father of them all could only do one thing and that was cry tears of joy. And when Wailord cries, its tears are as large waterfalls.
"WAILORD!" The tears of the father were enough to pour on the entire group, soaking them all with liquids. And they haven't even gotten the rest of the water off of them. This crying was getting to Sobble as well. And if Sobble cries...everyone cries. Which they did.
"I-It's great that you got your kids back, Wailord!" Ash teared up.
"Pika...Pikachu!" Pikachu wailed.
"And thanks for helping us out, Lapras! Thank the rest of the Water-Types for their help as well, please!" Fluttershy put her hooves over her eyes.
"Lapras..." Lapras nodded, telling Fluttershy and the others something important.
"You're going to help take care of Wailord and his family from now?"
"Lap."
"Oh, that's wonderful! You'll be a great guardian for them if you run into any more trouble!"
"Wailmer!" The little Wailmer gathered around Lapras, seeing her as some sort of mother figure actually. They all said their farewells to the Water-Types as they saw them swim off to find a new home. Wherever they're headed, they're hoping that its a safe place for them to be at. Lapras even said goodbye to its fellow Lapras, leaving them behind as well.
"Ugh...There's no reason for Water-Type Pokemon to be that much of a handful." Goh wiped away the last tear.
"Water-Type are the one type with the most Pokemon so it's to be expected after all." Rarity replied.
"Yeah, well I've had enough water for one day. I'm soaking wet..." Twilight groaned. "I need to dry off." The young alicorn trotted off with her friends following as well. They were ready to return to Ponyville to dry up and eliminate all this water from them.
Today, they managed to help a Wailord find its children. Even if it did involve their lives being threatened by the ever-so aggressive Pokemon Sharpedo. But, that's another thing to expect when Pokemon are involved. It's their unpredictability that makes them either wonderful or highly dangerous. And rest assured, the more Pokemon they come across, the more unexpected events they'll all have to go through as the journey continues!
Nightmare Night is here once more in Ponyville. Or in this case for the Pokemon World, Halloween. Whichever you prefer.
And for both worlds, they were prepared to experience this event to the fullest since it comes once every year.
"Alright! Let's do it right this time." Twilight spoke, wearing an Espeon costume. She got it due to BigTime Ben selling Halloween Pokemon costumes a few weeks back. Just to prepare for this day.
"Do what right?" Spike replied wearing a Goodra outfit.
"This year's Nightmare Night is promised to be the best it's ever been thanks to BigTime Ben. He's apparently found a way to give everypony the best fear experience for us. Granted...it took a while for it to start, but it's ready."
"Even more than Nightmare Moon?"
"Even more than Nightmare Moon. Though...I'm not sure what he has planned for everypony? He did say it would be Pokemon-themed after all."
"Maybe its a bunch of Sharpedo and Cofagri...whatever that Coffin Pokemon was called."
"Cofagrigus. And maybe. We'll just have to see. I'm actually pretty excited." Twilight was getting a bit giddy about this. "Are you two excited as well?"
"Espeon." Eve was licking her paw as she was dressed up in a mini-Starswirl the Bearded costume while Minccy wore a gladiator costume. Of all things.
"So, did you manage to convince Fluttershy to enjoy Nightmare Night?"
"No. Fluttershy decided that it's not her cup of tea. She's made her decision to stay out of Nightmare Night and that's fine with us."
"Aw. I really wanted to see what she would do at a time like this."
Outside, everypony was wearing Pokemon-themed costumes since they blew up in popularity the moment they came to Equestria. One of the many appeals of Pokemon. Most were either wearing costumes based on the Pokemon they own or just what they found interesting.
Ash was wearing what he wore last Nightmare Night. That being the Aura Guardian costume worn by Sir Aaron. He got to keep it after the events that happened Cameran Palace with Lucario. Pikachu changed it up by wearing a costume based on the Ho-Oh.
"Oh! Pikachu. Your tail's kinda ripping the back of the costume a bit." Ash pointed out the tear in Pikachu's costume.
"Pika? Pika!" Pikachu adjusted his tail to make sure it doesn't cause any more damage to it.
"Neat costume choice, Pikachu!" Pinkie bounced over as she had on a Bewear costume, reminiscent of what she had when they all sucked into a board game once. "Have a look at Jade! Doesn't this fit her?!" Pinkie pulled Jade towards her. She was wearing a costume of a Pokemon that Pinkie believes fits her. A Lopunny.
"I like it. Bit tight though." Jade commented.
"So, Ash! Pikachu! You two here to check out the Poke-Shock attraction?"
"You know it! We arrived just in time. There's only...7 hours until Nightmare Night ends. So we've got plenty of time!"
"Pikachu!"
"All the time we need as well, Ash Ketchum." The voice of Princess Luna had responded to Ash. It was expected for her to show up since this is her favourite time of the year. But it was taken a step further. Because this time, Celestia was getting involved as well. Along with some students from Canterlot who had their parents drag Hollow here. He was not up for this since he was on the verge of falling asleep.
"Luna! And Celestia? You're joining this year?"
"Indeed I am. Pyrestar has everything under control back at Canterlot. And I'm personally excited about this!" Celestia clapped her hooves together.
"Yes, well. This is MY year. So be prepared to have an experience like no other, sister." Luna said with brash manner.
Inside the home of Sonata and Aria, however...
"I ain't going!" Aria exclaimed. She was currently being pushed out of the door by Sonata, struggling to escape back inside.
"Come on...! Stop resisting!" Sonata strained.
"You can't make me!" Aria turned around, grabbing Sonata and tossing her away. Sonata crashed into a pumpkin, getting her head stuck in it.
"What? You scared of spooky stuff?"
"I am NOT scared! I never get scared!"
"That's the biggest lie I've ever heard. When we were little you were terrified of being alone at night all the time. You'd always say stuff like 'Adagio I'm scared!' Sonata, where are you?!' And other stuff like that. And I was younger than you! Still am too."
"T-That was a long time ago! No matter what you do, you'll never get me to come out of this house!"
"...If you say so. Have fun being indoors for the rest of the night without me here." Sonata hummed, walking off in her bizarre alien outfit.
Aria looked around, noticing that she was indeed alone now that Sonata was gone. And the only company she could have at the moment was her Popplio. In that instance, she was starting to quake, holding her partner Pokemon close to her. "I don't get scared. I don't get scared. I don't get scared." She repeated to herself.
But after a few minutes of realizing that she was surrounded by total silence in the night, she rushed outside for Sonata whilst having Popplio beside her.
"Oh? Got scared of being alone?" Sonata taunted.
"Shut up! I just wanna make sure you don't do something stupid this late at night!"
"Sure...Now! Let's go grab some sweets!"
Everyone who was awake at the moment was making their way to this Poke-Shock Attraction to see what it was all about. Their expectations were set low for this. But little do they know, Pokemon can be much more terrifying than they can imagine. The appearance of the attraction was in the shape of your usual funhouse. Nothing too fancy. But inside is where all the flare happens.
"Welcome friends!" Ben slid in with his Gothitelle. "I can see a lot of you are interested in this! And I even see some of the Cantelort Students here. Evening Hollow."
"I can't believe I was dragged out here..." Hollow groaned, tired.
"Here is the Poke-Shock Attraction! This is a fairly popular attraction every time we celebrate Halloween in our world. I assume all of you have a good grasp on what to expect in here, right?"
"Probably a bunch of random jumpscares and big scary intimidating Pokemon," Sunrise commented, believing that it wasn't going to be that scary. He might jump from the jumpscare but that's about it.
"Can't be too scary. We've battled and seen some pretty fierce Pokemon." same for Rainbow Dash.
"You really think so? Okay then. Have a venture inside and see what you all may find." Ben let them head in but there were two things he had to mention first. "Oh! Two quick things! One, you'll all need this. An automatic Pokedex." He lent them a smaller version of their Pokedex as it was floating next to them all.
"But we already have our own Pokedexes." Sapphire Flash said.
"Yes. But these ones are necessary for this attraction. They'll give you some extra information about Pokemon you never knew."
"Automatic dexes do sound cool." Ash looked up at it.
"Pikachu."
They were all about to head until Ben had to mention the final thing on his mind. "Oh and uh one more thing...You see...some of the Pokemon inside aren't mine."
"What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked.
"Every Halloween, the guys who made this tend to add both Pokemon that I own and some random Pokemon. So some of the Pokemon in there are mine and some aren't. Just keep that in mind."
"H-How can we tell which is yours?" Rarity stuttered.
"...I don't know. I've never been in this before." Ben shrugged. "Anyways have fun!" He waved goodbye as he and Gothitelle took their leave.
"Pssh. Can't be that terrifying. Earlier, Fluttershy of all ponies managed to terrify us the most. This will be a walk in the park." Rainbow Dash grinned.
"I'm still expecting to get some shock out of it." Cold Colt commented. Each of them went inside, unaware of what was really waiting for them.
One particular group who were lurking in the shadows was Team Rocket. They figured that what better way to snatch Pikachu than to do it in the darkest night of the year. Besides, they'll just play it off as some Halloween trick, giving them enough time to make a clean getaway to the Pokemon World.
"I see a huge opportunity this late at night." Jessie poked her head out of the bush as she was going undercover in a Seviper costume.
"An opportunity that can be passed off as a trick!" James popped up wearing a Carnivine costume.
"But no treat left behind for the poor suckers!" Meowth giggled as he was wearing a costume based off his final evolution, Persian.
"What say we blend in and get into the spirit of this frightful night!" Jessie rubbed her hands together as Team Rocket were ready to take action.
"Wobbuffet!"
The Poke-Shock Attraction begins.
And like everything horrifying, it starts off small. In the case of Pokemon, the definition of small can vary from time to time. The first spot they came across was a location that mirrored the infamous Pinwheel Forest in Unova. Nothing wrong with it, in fact, it had normal trees that weren't wilted and the grass was perfectly soft. The complete opposite of terrifying.
"...Hm. This is the first spot? It feels...normal." Rainbow Dash was unimpressed.
"I'm sure it builds up the further we go. Let's see what happens, everypony," said Twilight. That's when they came across their first Pokemon. It was unknown if this Pokemon belonged to BigTime Ben or if it was wild since its impossible to tell what's owned and what's not.
This Pokemon was a Litwick. Small, a bit soft and just generally a simple-looking Pokemon. I mean, it's a candle after all.
"Aw...look at that Pokemon." Sapphire admired it.
"Is that Ben's or just some random Pokemon?" Applejack wondered.
"It's a Candle? There really is a Pokemon based on everything isn't there?" Pinkie Pie scratched her head.
"I kinda wanna catch it a bit. Look at the way it wiggles around."Sweetie Belle giggled.
"Meh. Not interested. I'm heading to the next spot." Rainbow Dash flew off with some other ponies. uninterested by this one. Some of them, mostly the foals of Ponyville and a few Canterlot students stayed behind for this Litwick since its cute appearance was too difficult to resist. And that's when the automatic dex played its part. It flew towards Litwick, scanning it and giving all the information the ponies need.
"Litwick. The Candle Pokemon. Litwick utilizes its cuteness to draw trainers in. While shining a light and pretending to be a guide, it leeches off the life force of any who follow it. This Pokémon takes lost children by the hand to guide them to the spirit world. The younger the life this Pokémon absorbs, the brighter and eerier the flame on its head burns."
"...Okay. That's actually pretty creepy. But if we don't fall for it, it's no big deal, right guys?" Sunrise said to the others. However, they had all been drawn in by Litwick's cuteness already. The Candle Pokemon had easily lured the young ponies in, leading them to who knows where. "Hey! Wait! Didn't you hear what the dex said?!" Sunrise tried to stop them, but the grass underneath him suddenly rose up, creating a massive hedge that blocked him off. "Oh no...Guys!" Sunrise ran off, attempting to find the others to tell them about what happened.
With the others, some of them had ended up getting separated due to how massive the inside of the Fun-house was. The moment they set foot further inside, the larger it appeared and the more confusing everything was. As such, some of the ponies had their curiosity get the better of them when they saw something that caught their eye. Others got lost due to the Pokemon move Smokescreen being nearby. They seemed to have ended up on different sides of the Fun-house without any proper explanation.
"...Hm? Weren't we here with them earlier?" Pinkie looked back.
"I know what this is. This is probably one of those tricks where they split up the group. Easy pickings." Rainbow Dash scoffed as she bumped into something that felt like glass. "Ow! What the?" She and the others came across what appeared to be a fish tank. And inside the tank was the South Sea Pokemon Gorebyss. "Oh, just a Gorebyss. We already know about it so you don't have to say anything dex."
But the dex was going to do so anyway. Any new Pokemon it comes across, it must scan.
"Gorebyss. The South Sea Pokemon. Gorebyss lives in the southern seas at extreme depths. Its body is built to withstand the enormous pressure of water at incredible depths. Because of this, this Pokémon’s body is unharmed by ordinary attacks."
"Yeah..yeah...Moving on." Rainbow Dash flew forward, leaving this area that still had the appearance of Pinwheel Forest. But the dex wasn't finished yet. It still had more to say.
"Although Gorebyss is the very picture of elegance and beauty while swimming, it is also cruel. When it spots prey, this Pokémon inserts its thin mouth into the prey’s body and drains the prey of its body fluids. Its light pink body color turns vivid when it finishes feeding."
"I beg your pardon?" Rarity stood up from the dex entry, looking at the automatic Pokedex.
"That IS cruel! Why would a Pokemon ever-" Pinkie Pie's sentence was cut short when the South Sea Pokemon stabbed its mouth right through the dex and into Pinkie Pie's head.
"PINKIE PIE!" Rarity bellowed. Her yell could be heard from across the Fun-house as it was that vocal and bloodcurdling.
"That sounded like Rarity." Twilight stopped walking. "You think she found something that's actually terrifying?"
"Probably. But I bet it was just some jumpscare." Rainbow Dash shrugged it off as something minor. "Say, Ash. You know a lot about Pokemon. Can't you just-" Rainbow Dash noticed that Ash was gone as she and Twilight were the only two here in this new area that resembled a cave. "Ash? Oh, come on. We lost him too?"
"This place is pretty good at making us all split up, right Eve?"
"Espeon." The Sun Pokemon nodded.
"Let's keep going, Rainbow. We might run into everypony along the way." And so they did. Heading off further in the Fun-House they came across a familiar area in the form of Pokestar Studios and its prop room. There, the props were all laid out on the floor out of their boxes. Not only that but it seemed like something had bit into them.
"PokeStar Studios? What kind of Pokemon would be here?" Rainbow Dash landed down, grabbing a Druddigon head.
"No idea. I wonder if there's a Pokemon that's all about making movies? OH! Maybe there's a camera Pokemon out there!" Twilight theorized as she galloped towards the dressing room.
"Probably." Rainbow Dash replied. She turned around to notice that Twilight went off to the dressing room to venture more. But before she could go after her alicorn friend, the Druddigon head she was holding was starting to act up. "Hm? She dropped the head as it broke apart with something bursting out. The Pokemon that burst out of it was the Face Pokemon Glalie. One that Rainbow Dash was familiar with due to Ash. "Oh, just a Glalie. What's up with this fun-house? Nothing here's creepy at all."
But little did she know, the automatic dex had some information that can change that in a second.
"Glalie. The Face Pokemon. Glalie has the ability to freely control ice. For example, it can instantly freeze its prey solid. After immobilizing its prey in ice, this Pokémon enjoys eating it in a leisurely fashion. While they’re in that frozen state, it gobbles them up."
"Say what now?" Rainbow Dash was actually a bit blown back by that dex entry. The fact that this Pokemon just eats its victims when they're frozen is actually unnerving. And speaking of frozen, Glalie had frozen Rainbow Dash with an Ice Beam when she was still looking at the dex.
It was pretty obvious on why the automatic dexes were involved in this. One, so that they can give off disturbing and creepy facts about certain Pokemon. And two, because once everyone hears the fact, they'll be fixated on the dex by reading the words on the screen, giving the Pokemon enough time to take action. So Rainbow Dash was frozen solid by Glalie. Which meant it was time to eat.
"Nothing in there, Rainbow." Twilight came out of the dressing room. "But I did find-" Her words were cut off when she saw her friend frozen in place, being slowly eaten by Glalie who was biting the ice. "RAINBOW DASH?!"
"Glalie?"
Rainbow Dash's eyes were still able to move as she looked back at Twilight with a shocked expression. She couldn't do anything due to her frozen body. Glalie turned its attention to Twilight, finding a new prey to freeze and eat. The Face Pokemon hovered over to Twilight ready to freeze her, but the doors cut it off by shutting themselves. Now Rainbow Dash was trapped inside with Glalie.
"Okay! No need to panic! It's just apart of the attraction!" Twilight squeed as she held Eve and Minccy close to her. "This is just part of the attraction..." She took some deep breaths. But she still wanted to know if Rainbow Dash was okay. She attempted to open the door up by banging on it, but no good. She then tried teleporting inside, which worked actually. But when Twilight re-entered the prop room, she noticed that Glalie and Rainbow Dash were gone. All that was left was a piece of ice that had a bit of Rainbow Dash's mane in it. "Okay...maybe there's a lot of need to panic!"
The next group that was about to get a taste of how terrifying Pokemon can be were the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Applejack along with Cold Colt and Jade Skies.
"Lot of these places seem like just Unova." Scootaloo noticed.
"Maybe Unova's the one region with the scariest stuff!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"Maybe." Scootaloo nodded.
"You feeling anything, Jade?" Applejack asked.
"Not really. I don't know if I can feel fear."
"B-But I sure can...Does it have to be so dark?" Cold Colt trembled since he was easily afraid of the dark.
"Come on now. You're with us so it's alright." Applejack pulled the young foal close to him. "Hold on. Do ya'll feel that?" Applejack could feel something ominous in the air. As if something familiar was hanging around them.
"Feel what? I don't feel anything." Apple Bloom shook her head.
"Feels familiar..." Applejack put her hoof on her chin, trying to remember what this feeling reminded her of. The others just stood by and looked around the area for anything of interest. That's when Sweetie Belle saw something that definitely caught her interest. Standing there was a Yamask. Just staring at her with its usual blank expression on its face with tiny little teardrop that blended in with its eye colour. Sweetie Belle gulped, turning around and pretending it wasn't there. But it was there alright.
She wasn't the only one who found something unnerving. Applejack's thought was quickly cut short when she and the others came across a room that had a throne on it. And on that throne sat a Snubull. A fairly cute Pokemon in its own right. But this Snubull had human women next to it. Almost as if they were drawn to this Pokemon. The automatic dex gave information on that too. One that the young ones shouldn't listen to probably.
"Snubbull. The Fairy Pokemon. It grows close to others easily and is also easily spoiled. The disparity between its face and its actions makes many young people wild about it. It has an active, playful nature. Many women like to frolic with it because of its affectionate ways. Snubbull gathers women and makes them a part of its serail, keeping the women for itself."
"...I-I think we're just going to leave now..." Applejack backed away with the young foals.
"I don't know if this is scary or just uncomfortable. What do you think, Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked her fellow Crusader. However, she didn't respond to them at all. The reason being was revealed to Scootaloo when she turned around to see Sweetie Belle on the floor, struggling to get the mask of Yamask off her. "SWEETIE BELLE?!"
The young unicorn was trying her best but the mask was on tight like glue. They all tried to help out and get the mask off her, but it was no use. That mask wasn't coming off. And all Yamask did was just stand in the shadows, watching this go down.
But it got worse. Since Yamask's mask is meant to be the face of when it was a human, the memories of a human's past life and how they died were ingrained into Sweetie Belle's head. These memories were enough to make her suffer as she held her head, not wanting to experience any more of these haunting memories. Whatever they were.
"No good! It won't come off!" Applejack tried to use her lasso, but no good. As if things couldn't get worse. They did. The evolution of Cofagrigus decided to make an entrance, grabbing Apple Bloom from the shadows with its extremely long pitch-black arms, pulling her into its coffin body. A scream from Apple Bloom echoed throughout their ears as they turned around. But it was too late to see what happened. Cofagrigus had just up and vanished with Apple Bloom, leaving no trace or proof of its existence here. "APPLE BLOOM?!" Now it was getting to Applejack. The fear of losing her sister was kicking in her head.
"We shouldn't have come in here!" Cold got on the floor, holding his head out of pure fear. Their struggles only got worse once more. This time, those same hedges from the Pinwheel area popped back up, separating Applejack, Cold Colt and Scootaloo. The floor underneath Scootaloo was actually a trap door that would be activated once the hedges rise up. So the result ended up being her falling down through the hatch, screaming.
"Scootaloo?! Cold?!" Applejack called for their names. However, the hedges were so thick that they were practically soundproof. So no matter what, they couldn't hear each other. "Treecko! Dragonbreath!" Applejack was getting a bit desperate as she commanded her Treecko to blast the hedges down. But, to their surprise, the Dragonbreath just vanished into thin air. As it was water evaporating. All Applejack could do was gulp. But she wasn't alone for long. The Pokemon that came to greet her was Muk. A walking Biohazard. Applejack had unfortunately been enveloped by Muk.
Moving away from the group who came here for the attraction, Team Rocket had made their way inside by sneaking. They had no idea what was going on. But they would find out in their own way.
"This place gives me the heebie-jeebies. And not the good kind." Meowth groaned. Currently, they were in a hidden area that had a ton of honey made by Combee and Vespiqueen. Jessie could feel all the honey get in her boots, making her irritated.
"We just had to find the bonus area, didn't we?" Jessie shook the honey off her boots. "Where's the twerp anyways?! He's always around when we're after him! Why now he decides to be invisible!" Jessie kicked the honey, slipping on it as she fell on her back.
"Bit rough of the kicks there, Jess," James commented.
"Shut up and help me up!" Jessie snapped back. They tried to help Jessie up but this honey was unnaturally sticky. Stickier than normal. So sticky that Jessie felt like she was stuck on the ground. "I'm stuck?! Not like this!"
"This honey's pure! There's no way we're gonna get you out by just pulling!" Meowth exclaimed.
"That doesn't help, Meowth!" Jessie kicked around. And just like everyone else in here, things started to get worse for them. From above the ceiling, a bundle of honey poured down on Team Rocket, making them yelp. Soon, they were all enveloped in honey. Every corner. On the bright side, the honey was starting to lose its stickiness so they could move around now. But now they were apart of the funhouse's chaos.
Moving back to the normal group, Twilight's panic levels were rising and rising. She galloped around the area but it felt like she was making zero progress. This place was too gigantic so it was easy to get lost. "Where is everypony?! She cried out." She was tiring herself out from all the running as she took some time to break with her Pokemon comforting her. "This isn't what I was expecting." Twilight breathed in and out, walking slowly to restore her stamina.
And that's when she came across something that was more disturbing than it was scary. Actually, it was still scary to her. It was a Cubone laying on the floor. But it wasn't just laying on the floor. It was using the skeleton of its own dead mother as a blanket and its skull as a pillow. This alone was enough to disturb Twilight. It got worse as she turned around to see an Eevee standing around. She didn't think it was that bad due to it being a simple Eevee.
Little did Twilight know that sometimes, Eevee's genes are easily influenced by its surroundings. Meaning, even its face starts to look like that of its trainer. So, this Eevee turned around and had an unidentified human face on it.
"Eevee." The Evolution Pokemon spoke with the face of a human who had a very defined chin. This was enough to make Twilight scream in fear. It was a bit disturbing to see that on something as cute as Eevee.
Her Pokemon weren't safe from any of this either. It didn't take long until they experienced what this place has to offer. Twilight and her Pokemon turned around to see a newcomer in the mix. A Dusclops. If a Ghost-Type is involved, that's already a bad sign. And in the case of Dusclops, it was capable of doing something much worse than what the rest of the Pokemon in here.
Dusclops's body is entirely hollow with only a spectral ball of fire inside. But that wasn't the horrifying part. Not at all. What was the actual horror of Dusclops was the fact that its body is like a black hole. Meaning that it can pull victims inside of it, trapping them forever, with no chance of escaping.
So that's what it did.
The Beckon Pokemon began pulling in Eve and Minccy by opening its hidden mouth. Soon, they each felt the pull of a black hole pulling them in. Twilight was apart of this as well. She held onto the walls, attempting to break free of the pull. Her Pokemon were already sucked in, becoming apart of Dusclops hollow body, victims to an endless space with no end in sight whilst being near a never-ending fire that constantly burns on and on.
"EVE! MINCCY!" Twilight cried out for her Pokemon. It wasn't long until the pull got her as well. It looked like Twilight was about to be trapped inside of Dusclops as well, but she was saved by a rising hedge of all things. They seemed to be the most prominent trigger in this funhouse. Twilight was breathing rapidly, unable to take in all that just happened. She just saw her Pokemon fall into some sort of black hole. She was shaken up by it to the core. Twilight ran off, looking for somepony else until she came across something unfortunate.
She saw the bodies of Pinkie Pie and Rarity drained as Gorebyss was still sucking on their fluids. Twilight gasped, seeing her friends as dehydrated vessels of themselves. She made a quick turn, running from Gorebyss as her fears were building up even further. She believed that there was no way this was happening."
With Scootaloo, she ended up falling down a new area in this funhouse. Whatever was here would have the same effect as the previous rooms.
"W-Where am I?! Girls?! Applejack?!" Scootaloo did her best to try and call her friends. But it was no use. There was no way they were going to hear her due to how deep she was under the funhouse. But she wasn't alone. Not at all. She saw some Spoink bounce over to her in their usual cheery fashion. "Oh! Thank Celestia..." She let out a sigh of relief. "Some Spoink."
But unfortunately, even a Pokemon as cute and go-lucky as Spoink had something horrible behind it as well. Spoink shared a tragedy similar to that of Cubone and its deceased mother almost.
The reason why Spoink constantly bounces without break is due to the fact that it keeps their heart pumping by shock. If a Spoink was to stop bouncing, it's heart will stop, causing it to die completely. And that was happening to the Spoink here. All of them had stopped bouncing due to the heavy gravity in this room.
Scootaloo watched as she witnessed all the Spoink here suddenly fall with their lifeless body now on the floor. "W-What's going on?" More and more Spoink kept falling with their hearts coming to a sudden stop. And Scootaloo could actually tell that they were lifeless. She didn't think that they had just fainted. Because no Pokemon faints like that. "I don't like this...I don't like this!" Scootaloo sat in a corner, holding her head as she was genuinely terrified of this. The thought of seeing something just fall to its demise in front of you was horrible enough.
If Fluttershy were here, who knows what her reaction would be honestly.
And it was only going to get worse from here on.
Hollow's group was up next. They have yet to really experience what this funhouse holds. The others sure have. Hollow was too tired to move on. All this walking was just exhausting and he just wanted to sleep. So he did. He sat down near a fallen chair, dozing off on it.
"Mr Hollow?" Sapphire Flash turned around to see her teacher asleep. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep. "Maybe we shouldn't wake him up..."
"Mhm." A colt nodded.
"GUYS!" Sunrise had actually managed to find his fellow classmates with all the running he was doing.
"What? What is it?" A filly asked him.
"Big news! Bad news! The others have been foalnapped!"
"Foalnapped?! By who?!" Sapphire leaned forward.
"The-" Sunrise's sentence was cut short due to him activating a trap by stepping on a tile when he galloped. This trap caused Cofagrigus to show up once more, dragging the young unicorn down into what seemed to be an abyss. Everypony gasped as they saw Sunrise get dragged into this abyss with the hatch closing up.
"...Sunrise?!" Sapphire ran to the hatch, trying to open it up with her magic, but it was no use. Every last one of these traps were made to make sure that no one could just simply free whoever was caught by it. Not even a Pokemon.
But now...the class was about to get an experience from possibly the second most terrifying Pokemon in this funhouse. What made this particular Pokemon terrifying wasn't its appearance, even though it was a bit intimidating.
This Pokemon didn't have a hollow body that could suck you in like a black hole. It didn't sleep with its mother's skeleton.
It didn't use to be a human in a past life with a mask carrying all its memories especially when it dies.
It doesn't lure others by tricking itself as a guide just to steal their spirit.
It doesn't stab its victims and drain their fluids.
It doesn't have the ability to freeze its prey and eat them alive.
No.
This Pokemon has the ability to cause neverending pain. A pain that no matter what you do. No matter what you try. It will never go away. No matter what. A flame that burns on forever with deadly toxins that cannot be exterminated.
This belonged to the Dark Pokemon Houndoom.
The Dark Pokemon snarled at the foals, intimidating them. Houndoom is already an intimidating Pokemon and some ponies are terrified of larger dogs so it was the perfect scare-tactic in a way.
"Nice doggie..." Sapphire Flash gulped as her and the class backed up into a wall. The automatic dex made this worse for the students actually by giving out Houndoom's entry.
"Houndoom. The Dark Pokemon. Long ago, people imagined its eerie howls to be the call of the grim reaper. The flames it breathes when angry contain toxins. If they cause a burn, it will hurt forever, with a 0% chance of getting rid of the eternal burn. Thus, giving this Pokemon the nickname of 'The Grim Reaper'."
"Houndoom!" The Dark Pokemon saw them as prey as it was ready to attack them all. It didn't hesitate running towards the foals and what didn't help was that if you run, Houndoom will persist and chase you down without showing any signs of stopping. Which is what they all did. They ran for their lives.
Unfortunately, the area around them was so small and encased that it was impossible to run anywhere else, giving Houndoom the opportunity to chase them in this one secluded spot for as long as it wants. The foals were doing their very best to avoid the Dark Pokemon, dodging the Flamethrowers that were being fired at them.
That's when Houndoom noticed one particular trainer who wasn't moving. Hollow. He was still asleep. Easy prey to damage. Houndoom went up to the resting trainer, using the move Fire Fang to bite onto his arm.
"Mr Hollow!" Sapphire Flash and the other foals cried out. They just saw their teacher get bitten by a Fire Fang. And it was enough to wake him up. The moment Houndoom's fangs dug into his hand, he could feel the intense pain swell up in him. Hollow was about to let out a horrifying scream but the thick hedge walls rose up once more, blocking out the sound.
So now the foals were all alone, trapped in a secluded space with only the corner and hedge around them. And there seemed to be no way out.
This overwhelming fear was getting to them, causing the little ponies. This was worse than they could ever imagine. And of course, it got worse. Because look who came to join in on the fun.
Drifloon. A Pokemon infamous for kidnapping children, causing them to vanish forever.
"Drif..."
Strangely enough, they got somewhat lucky that it was Drifloon that got them and not Houndoom. Because if Houndoom could Mega Evolve, its fearsome fiery breath can turn its opponents into ash.
And speaking of Ash. He and Pikachu were unaware of what was happening with the others. Due to the thick hedge walls around the funhouse, sounds were blocked from all sides.
"We really got split up with everyone, didn't we buddy?"
"Pika..."
The area they were in was considered to be the final area of the funhouse. If you were somehow lucky to make it through all of that, you would be introduced to this area. A hall of all the possible terrors and fears in the Pokemon world. Ranging from the horrifying cries of a Phantump when it used to be a child that got lost in the forest to Banette being a vengeful doll that was thrown and only wants to cause endless torture to whoever threw it away.
Thankfully, Ash already knows a lot about these Pokemon and has had his experiences with him so he wasn't terrified by this. The exit to the funhouse was right there and he could exit at any time, but he felt like going back to see if everyone was okay. Ash knows that funhouses tend to get pretty chaotic when someone gets lost in them. But he had no idea what was actually going on at this moment.
Twilight felt like going home already. She couldn't take much more of this. She felt like she was going to pass out from all this running. That's when she came across the final Pokemon of this funhouse. And it was in a room full of mirrors. Mirrors were it showed all of her friends being taken and attacked by the Pokemon they've encountered. She got to witness all of it, leaving her speechless. And there was one final mirror that hadn't been used and it was for this room. They saved the best for last.
A Mimikyu.
Twilight had very little knowledge about Mimkyu. But one knowledge she's heard about them is that underneath that dirty cloth...lies an unthinkable horror that can cause anyone to die of shock if they see it. It wasn't a good idea to be here in the same room with Mimikyu. Twilight was ready to make a run for it, pronto, but she was held in place by Glalie's ice beam freezing her hoof in place!
"Hey! Let me go!" She tried to break free but the ice was too hard for her. Cofagrigus came along to grab a hold of Twilight's face, making her keep her eyes open for this. They were each planning to have Twilight look at Mimikyu's true form.
The Disguise Pokemon used its secret black claw to slowly take off its cloth, ready to terrify Twilight with something unthinkable. The young alicorn tried free herself but it was no use. Cofagrigus's hands were making sure that she didn't get the chance to break free. Glalie added insult to injury by freezing her horn to prevent any magic.
It looked like it was about to be the end as Mimikyu was halfway done removing its cloth until...
A honey infested hand grabbed on Mimkyu, causing the Disguise Pokemon to faint. Team Rocket had shown up, camouflaged in sticky honey. They couldn't take it anymore. Having all this honey over them. It was even blocking their vision.
"W-What are those things?" Twilight stammered. Even Cofagrigus and Glalie had no idea what they were looking at. The honey-clad Team Rocket were walking towards Twilight like some sort of infected zombie horde. Cofagrigus and Glalie weren't up for this as they flew off, leaving Twilight behind.
Jessie grabbed onto Twilight's face, getting the honey on her as well. Twilight squirmed as the rest of Team Rocket grabbed onto her. Not even on purpose. They just couldn't see and the honey was burning their eyes a bit. Twilight felt like this was the inevitable end as the last thing she saw was the golden honey drip on her eye and the viewing of everypony inside of the funhouse meeting their doom via the Pokemon they've met by the mirrors of this area and that was that.
"Psst. Hey. Twilight. Wake up." A voice called for Twilight to open her eyes. The young alicorn had gasped, sitting up as she was just remembering everything that happened.
"W-Wha-Where-" Twilight was fumbling with her words, unable to finish her sentences properly. She looked around to see she was outside Ponyville. It was still nighttime with everypony walking about meaning Nightmare Night wasn't over yet.
"Pika?"
"You recovering okay?" Ash helped her up.
"Yeah...I think...What happened?" Twilight held her chest with her heart taking its time to recover.
"Pikachu and I came to see where everyone else went and we found you getting dogpiled by these weird yellow things which turned out to be Team Rocket. So Pikachu ended up blasting them away."
"Pika-Pikachu." Pikachu nodded.
"What about everypony else?"
"They're alright. Safe and sound, right over here," spoke Ben. And it was true. Everyone who was in the Funhouse was okay. As if nothing happened to them at all. Their costumes were clean without a single tatter on them at all. But...they were confused about what actually happened fully. Each of them fainted at the last second, but they still had memories of what happened but not how it happened.
"I'm still a bit shaken up...what happened?" Rainbow Dash sat down, scratching her mane.
"I saw Rainbow Dash being eaten by a Glalie!" Twilight leaned forward. "Pinkie Pie! Rarity! Your bodies were sucked dry! Sweetie Belle! You were squirming on the floor! Applejack you-"
"Slow down there, my little pony. You'll faint again." Ben calmed her down. All of that you experienced wasn't real."
"...It wasn't?"
"Well...most of it. You see...I did say that some of the Pokemon here aren't mine. But that doesn't mean they aren't tamed as well."
"R-Really?"
"Really. Some of these actually belong to Hollow."
"Mhm. Worked like a charm. Good job, Houndoom." Hollow petted his Houndoom who loved a good old head pat.
"Houndoom."
"Y-You were in on this, Mr Hollow?" Sunrise asked.
"That's right. Houndoom, Mimikyu and Dusclops were my Pokemon."
"And that Glalie was mine." Ash pointed at himself.
"Pikachu!"
"But...I saw everypony end up in horrible situations! It was horrifying!"
"That? Those were courtesy of Gothitelle over here." Ben turned to his partner Pokemon.
"Gothitelle."
"Gothitelle's psychic abilities can go so far to the point where they can create perfect illusions. Making it hard to separate fantasy from reality."
"Goth."
"...So...all of it was just illusions? Oh thank Celestia."
"Actually...not all of them. Some of them were real."
"...Which ones were real?"
"...I don't know. Never been in there." Ben shrugged.
"I'm glad you're all okay." Fluttershy was here as she was more worried than anypony else. "It must've been horrifying."
"Speaking of which...Sorry if it scared you all too much. Guess I went a bit too far." Ben felt guilty.
"Are you kidding? That was amazing!" Pinkie Pie bellowed.
"Yeah! That was the most fear I've ever felt before!" Sapphire Flash exclaimed, jumping up. Surprisingly, they all enjoyed it. Even Twilight to some extent. It exceeded their expectations to a ginormous degree.
"I gotta say...I'll never underestimate anything ever again after that." Applejack nodded.
"That was truly the best Nightmare Night experience yet," said Rarity. "I wouldn't mind experiencing it again next year"
"Mhm! Nothing's gonna scare me more than that." Scootaloo grinned.
"Well. Glad you all enjoyed it. Now...I'm a bit tired from all this standing around." Ben yawned. "I think I'd better leave now. See you all next time."
"I'm heading back too...Come on Houndoom." Hollow returned Houndoom to his Pokeball.
"It's crazy...To think Pokemon can be that terrifying. Well...at least it's mostly Pokemon that are meant to be terrifying like Ghost and Dark Types." Rainbow Dash sighed. Hearing this made both Hollow, Ben and Ash burst out with laughter. "What?"
"Hate to break it to you, Rainbow Dash. But the Dark-Types and Ghost-Types are the least terrifying Pokemon." Hollow grinned at her. What hollow said made everypony gulp.
"You mean...the other types are much worse?" Twilight shuddered as everypony was trembling in fear.
"Much, much worse." Ben nodded. "But! I'm sure that you won't end up having too many problems with them in the future considering how well you make friends! Have a great night, you all!" Ben waved goodbye, leaving with Hollow as they were off to have a rest.
"...Pokemon are terrifying." Applejack finally realized the truth of it all.
"I'm starving. Got any candy?" Jade asked.
"Jade. You weren't scared at all?" Pinkie turned to her.
"No. I can't really feel fear actually. Not yet anyways."
"Lucky! It'd be so awesome to be fearless!" Scootaloo shouted. They all had their chats as Nightmare Night continued.
The two Siren Sisters got their candy, but Sonata ended up eating it all, causing her stomach to ache.
"Ooogh..." She grumbled.
"Good going. You're gonna experience stomach pain for a week now."
"Ow..."
As for Team Rocket, they ended up back in Zecora's hut thanks to the Thunderbolt earlier. Zecora shook her head, knowing what Team Rocket gets to on a daily basis. But she had something planned for them in the near future.
Needless to say, this will be a night nopony will ever forget. This was just their first taste into how terrifying the Pokemon world can be. There is a guarantee that the more Pokemon they find, the more terrifying they'll become as the journey continues.
There at the Changeling Hive, where all changelings dwell, Adagio was among the group. She had to constantly deal with the sounds of changelings for hours on end. The noises they made were enough to drive anypony mad from hearing it since all you could hear was hissing and hissing and hissing. It just wouldn't stop.
"I wish I was at one of Ghetsis's kingdoms..." Adagio sighed as she could feel the changelings feeding off her love.
"Enjoying your stay, Adagio?" Chrysalis taunted.
"Absolutely not! This place is disgusting! And frankly, the sounds here are straight-up torture!"
"You'll get used to it. Besides. You're an excellent source of love for my changelings and me. It's honestly remarkable how much love you hold for your sisters."
"You're on about this again?" She groaned. "I don't want to be reminded of those two ever again. Even if I can't get them out of my head."
"Whatever you say." Chrysalis cackled. "But keep up all that hidden love and my hive will be eating healthy for years to come!"
"How annoying...I wish I didn't have to live under these conditions." Adagio face-hoofed. "In fact, I wish I could live back home." That's when Adagio decided to reminisce of her time at home with the rest of her fellow sirens and family.
Equestria, Many years ago.
Somewhere along Equestria, a sea unknown to the rest of ponykind located far North. Almost to the end of Equestria. This faraway sea was home to the singing creatures known as the sirens. Mystical monsters who possess a singing talent and voice that is practically unparalleled. Second to none even. They lived in a beautiful city flourishing with their kind. And here, the magic was very prominent. You could probably feel it from afar even if you weren't underwater.
"Adagio!" The voice of a siren called for the older sister of the three sirens. In this time, Adagio is much younger than she was. Her height as a young siren was still large, larger than a pony that's for sure. But for siren standards, she's tiny.
"I'm here, I'm here." Adagio groaned.
"Where are your sisters?" A much older siren asked her. This siren resembled Adagio the most out of any other siren here. From the hair to the scale colour to everything. But that makes sense since this is the mother of the three siren sisters.
Known as Vivace.
"They're right there." Adagio pointed her fin at a younger Aria and Sonata who were currently having a small little fight by pushing each other's faces and tumbling around.
"All of you! Every siren here! Line up!" Vivace bellowed, causing the two to stop fighting. "Come here..." Sonata, Aria and the rest of the sirens swam over to Vivace, nervous about what was about to happen. They knew what they did and they know that their mother knows that they know what they did. "Who here wants to explain this?" Vivace held in her fin a valuable jewel that appeared to be broken into little tiny pieces. "Who broke it?"
"I didn't do it! I swear!" Sonata shook her head.
"I was busy doing... other things. I didn't even know it existed." Aria whistled.
"Mrrgh...Singing. I was singing at the time." Adagio grumbled.
"I was hanging out with Lento so...you know..."A siren muttered.
"You all. Just confess. If you do, then I won't have to rile myself up."
"Well don't look at me. I'm too frail to break something." A green siren named Chorale flailed her fins about. "But Chime sure is."
"What? I didn't break it." Chime shook his head.
"Oh? Curious. How did you even know it was broken?"
"Because it's right there in lady Vivace's fins, shattered."
"Hmph. Suspicious!"
"If it's easier for every siren to solve. Sonata loves shiny things." A red siren named Melodia nudged her head at Sonata.
"I don't even like jewellery! Lobster food is more of my taste." Sonata replied, drooling at the thought of eating some lobster right now. "Mmm...Crunchy claws..."
"Well, it's obvious that Sonata's too dull and braindead to break something." Aria nodded.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Sonata snapped back at Aria.
"Hush up! Just confess!" Vivace raised her voice. "The sooner we do, the sooner we can get back to singing to our heart's content. Who broke it?"
"Well...Hymn hasn't said a word in a while." Chime looked over at a light blue siren named Hymn.
"Oh, really?!" And just like that, a chaotic commotion broke out between them all. Every siren denying that they broke it when it actually...they didn't. But Vivace, who shook her head, now knew who did it.
"...Adagio. It was you wasn't it?"
"Yeah..." She confessed.
"For the 7th time, Adagio!" Vivace gave Adagio a slight knock on the head with her tail.
"Ow!" Adagio held her head, having a small tear pop up in her eye.
Vivace sighed, having enough of Adagio's shenanigans with her jewellery. "Come with, Adagio. Let's have a small swim." Vivace had a swim with Adagio, moving through the siren seas. "Why is it that whenever my jewellery is broken...it's always you?"
"I just thought it would look good on me. Like how it looks good on you, mom." Adagio grumbled.
"Again? You're trying to be like me?"
"Yeah. That's why I made my hair look like yours! And if I put the pendant on then I'd really look like you. You're the best after all mom."
Vivace saw that her daughter was just trying to be like her role model. Which was her. So, Vivace couldn't stay mad at her forever. "Fine. Just...ask me next time. And I might get some jewellery for just you, okay?" Vivace pulled her daughter close. "Besides...you're lucky that it was just an ordinary jewel. If it was one the pendants that gave us our power...then there might be a problem."
"Okay." Adagio gulped.
"Good. Now. I hope you and your sisters have come up with a new song to use? This year, we've been lacking in negativity lately. And every siren is doing their best to pick up the slack."
"That reminds me, mom. Why do we have to sing to feed off of ponies bad moods? I don't get it. Can't we eat something else? Sonata eats lobster after all."
"It's not that easy, Adagio honey." Vivace sighed. "It's somewhat of a fate us sirens can't sway away from?"
"But why? We can sing whatever we want, right?"
"Yes, we can. Our voices are always beautiful when we are born. But, with these voices, they only serve one purpose. To feed ourselves in hopes of living. We feed off negativity because it is what keeps us alive. Why our species is still here."
"Can't we feed off something else? I don't know how I feel about making someone sad to make myself live on." Adagio lowered her head.
"I know how you feel, dear." Vivace raised Adagio's head up. "But, like I sid. it's a fate we can't sway away from. No matter how hard we try. Besides...trying to will end up in a horrible demise. Just like your father. He abandoned that fate to take part in something that he loved and it cost him his life, unfortunately. Those wretched ponies sealed him away once he ventured beyond the North."
"So...this is all we can do?"
"It is all we can do, Adagio. You're still young and new to the world. Especially Sonata since she's the youngest of you three. There are a lot of things you have yet to understand in life. But I can assure you, I'll be here to help you, Sonata and Aria through it all. As your mother. After all, even with our wonderful voices...there's no greater magic than the Magic of Family."
"Thanks, mom!" Adagio swam over, giving her mother a huge hug. Vivace embraced her daughter as well, feeling at ease with her around.
"Now come on. A name is needed for your song. You'll be the lead singer of your sisters again."
"Yes!" Adagio raised her fins up in joy.
Returning to the populated city of the sirens, there was news spreading around that the ponies were increasing in magic power to an unnatural degree. So much so that it proved to be a threat to the sirens who for the longest actually had unparalleled magic power.
"What's going on?" Adagio asked her two sisters.
"Apparently those horse looking things are getting pretty good at magic. Very good at magic!" Sonata answered.
"At first, I thought she was bluffing. But it's true. Their magic is really good." Aria nodded.
"How do you know? Where did you see this?"
"Allegro went up the surface and saw a really young unicorn use some crazy strong magic. It was so strong that it freaked her out! Look!" Sonata pointed her fin at Allegro who was telling every siren on what she saw. The news really hit the sirens, making them worry that they might have a large threat looming over them.
Over the years, ponies from the south have been doing their best to fend off the sirens, but they proved to have superior magic due to their amazing singing. But now that there's a single pony who's managed to exhibit such high amounts of magic that can rival that of the sirens was nerve-wracking.
"Does this mean that the ponies are going to come after us, mom?" Adagio looked up at Vivace.
"Absolutely not. If they even try to lay a hoof on you, I'll wipe them away." Vivace held her daughters close to her. Now all the sirens could do was keep a closer eye on the ponies to make sure that their magic wouldn't prove to be a further threat in the future. And to do this, they caused even more disharmony to the ponies, all in order to make sure none of them proves to be their undoing.
4 years had passed. Adagio and her sisters had grown up, but not by much. They were still incredibly young. Most of their personalities had stayed the same but Adagio had grown more cynical. She gained this misanthropic personality after she learned to have much more confidence in herself. Before she was unsure of her singing goals but now she knew what she wanted to thanks to her mother's advice.
Currently, Adagio and Sonata were looking for Aria who had gone missing one day. Adagio was especially worried since she couldn't live without one of her sisters. Or any of her family for that matter.
"Aria!" Adagio called out. "Where are you?!" The seas they travelled in were vast and humongous. It was easy to get lost in them. Which is most likely how Aria got lost. "Sonata! Have you found her yet?"
"No. I checked everywhere...And nothing." Sonata sulked.
"This isn't good. Aria's not great with being alone!" Adagio was starting to panic.
"What do we do, Adagio?!"
"Let me think! Umm...We've tried the sea caves and nowhere else..."
"What about that one area?" Sonata asked. "She might have lost herself there!"
"Which area?"
"The place that leads to this hippo...something?"
"Hippogriffs," Adagio answered. "And we can't go there, remember? We're not allowed at this Seaquestria place. The water there will blow us away!"
"But what if she is there?!" Both of them weren't making the situation easier for themselves at all.
"What's wrong you two?" Vivace swam over, seeing her two daughters in a worried frenzy.
"Mom! Mom! Aria's missing!" Sonata flew up to her mother, placing her fins on her and looking up at the tall siren.
"What?"
"We were playing around and..." Adagio twiddled with her fins, nervous to say what actually happened. "I'm sorry! I was supposed to be the big sister and I lost her!" She felt guilty.
"Hold on. I know how to find her." Vivace had a solution. A song that she always used to sing to her daughters to bring them close to her. A sort of luring spell.
This enchanting song echoed across the seas in perfect harmony. Aria was actually lost in an area full of nothing seaweed. She hated being alone and if she was alone for too long, she'd break down into tears. Which she did. She was trying to call for her sisters and mother, but the distance between her and them was too great, making it impossible for them to hear her. But, Vivace's voice was potent enough to reach Aria, no matter how far away she was.
Aria wiped her tears, following the voice as she knew it belonged to her mother, filling her with hope. This song was great for finding those that you've lost. And no siren did it better than Vivace. Even though they all have amazing voices, Vivace's was one of a kind. She was described by other sirens as a 'Point one percenter.' A one of a kind that you would rarely come across in your lifetime.
Soon, Aria found her way back as she saw her family there, waiting for her. "Mom! Adagio! Sonata!" She dashed through the seas, giving her two sisters an aggressive hug full of love as she caused them both to fall.
"Doh! Aria! You're choking me!" Adagio squirmed.
"Can't....breathe!" Sonata raised her hooves up.
"You three," Vivace spoke, making the three of them jump up. They turned around to see their mother narrowing their eyes at them as they each gulped. "How many times do I have to tell you...don't go further to the north!" She gave them each a good bonk on the head with her fin.
"Ow!" The three said, holding their heads.
"Your curiosity is something, that's for sure. But I'm glad you're okay, Aria. And I'm also glad that you two did your best to try and find her."
"Yeah...Aria. Sorry that I made us go very far." Adagio rubbed her head. "You must've been scared."
"Me? Please. I never get scared!" Aria was denying it even though she was mortified.
"That's the biggest lie I've ever heard!" Sonata exclaimed.
"It ain't a lie! You'd probably get more scared than me with your brain levels!"
"Would not!"
"Would too!"
Soon, the two younger sisters began fighting once more, flailing their fins around towards each other and tumbling about as Vivace shook her head.
"My poor little babies. But that's why I love them. Adagio. Continue to be a great big sister to the two of them, alright? I can trust in you to protect them in the future just as much as I protect you three."
"I will! You can count on me, mom!" Adagio gave off a soft smile.
11 years passed.
Adagio and her sisters now looked like how they look at the present time. Much older and brimming with life. Adagio even resembled her mother even more. For these past few years, the sirens have been doing an excellent job in making sure the ponies don't accelerate their magic prowess any further. At least, the ones in the North. South, east and west were still untouched by them.
Today, the sirens continue their usual routine of spreading more and more disharmony across the land. But it wasn't long until a certain bearded pony from the south arrived to put an end to the sirens and their disharmony actions. The older sirens, which consisted of practically the entire siren race minus Adagio, Sonata and Aria, confronted the legendary pony known as Starswirl the Bearded. He was their biggest threat, mostly because he was the pony that Allegro saw use an overwhelming amount of magic. And he wasn't alone this time. He had five other ponies by his side for assistance.
"Look who showed up." Chime commented as every siren looked down upon Starswirl. "You're that pony that Allegro saw many years ago? He looks like a total geezer!" Chime cackled. "What did you bring your friends to play along?"
"Sirens! That is enough disharmony out of all of you! We will not allow you to feed off the negativity you spread across Equestria!"
"Oh, please! Even if you have an overflowing amount of magic, there's only six of you! And we are many!" Hymn smirked. Every siren had 100% confidence that they could cause disharmony on Starswirl and his comrades since they outnumber them my a large margin.
"Leave now, Starswirl! You're only causing our species harm with your so-called harmony!" Vivace bellowed at him.
"It is through harmony that this world can flourish. But you all negate that and seek and spread disharmony!"
"And you think we don't have a choice? Harmony does nothing for us! Only disharmony!" Vivace snapped at him.
"Harmony exists in all. But you cannot see that."
"Silence! We don't need to hear pointless babble from you!"
Adagio and her sisters, poked their head out of the water to see what was about to happen on the surface between Starswirl and the rest of the sirens. They even saw their mother there with the rest. They were the only ones in the water now since they were the youngest out of the entire siren species.
The next thing the three sisters saw was an unexpected one-sided battle between the sirens and Starswirl's group. He had easily cast a spell that conjured up some sort of portal. The sirens were all led to this unknown portal to another world, eventually ending up banished. They were either lured into it, tricked or knocked back through the portals. And each time they were sent through it the portals would close, granting them no chance of returning back home. Very few remained due to this. And the few that were there were so intimidated by the six ponies that they fled. They didn't just flee back into the ocean, they fled the North in general. Adagio and her sisters gasped as they saw how quickly their fellow sirens were defeated.
Vivace was the last one here as she noticed that her daughters were watching from below. The mother siren decided to halt her attack on the ponies and focus on getting her children to safety so that they don't suffer the same fate as their fellow sirens. Vivace swam over to them, pushing her daughters underwater with a tail smack to the head. She then removed the pendant on her neck, tossing it to the water with her daughters. And just as she did that, Starswirl managed to summon a portal behind her, pulling Vivace through it. The last thing she saw was the horrified faces of her daughters.
And just like that, a gigantic majority of the siren race had been utterly defeated. Whether they retreated or were sent through those portals, they lost either way. And the last three around this area were Adagio, Sonata and Aria, alone in the siren seas.
"W-What just happened?! Mom just vanished!" Sonata was hyperventilating, worried about what happened to her mother. The sirens had no idea what portals were at the time. So they assumed a horrible demise came upon their mother and the others.
Aria was shaking uncontrollably, terrified on what just happened right in front of their eyes. Out of the three sisters, she was the most prone to break down if something terrible were to happen. "Mom's gone...They're all gone."
"They're not all gone! Calm down you two!" Adagio grabbed her sisters, snapping them out of it. Adagio was doing her best not to break down into tears. She was the most resilient out of her sisters, meaning that it was nigh-impossible for her to get upset and cry since she hides it all behind an iron stare. But she was indeed heartbroken by what she saw. Despite her cynical nature that she gained as she grew up, she did have powerful feelings for her family and species. And seeing them vanish and flee tore most of her world apart!
"What do we do?! What if they come after us?!" Sonata curled up, terrified.
"They're not going to come after us! Alright?!" She pulled them both towards her. "Mom left this for us." Adagio showed her mother's pendant in her fin. "Mom's pendant is the strongest out of all of them...she must've given this to us for a reason."
"W-Where did they go? What were those swirly things?" Sonata gulped.
"I don't know..." Adagio turned around, looking at her mother's pendant. She decided to put it on, replacing the one that she owned and throwing it away. Now she really was her mother. A spitting image. "But I know one thing...those ponies are gonna pay for what they did!"
Flashback Sequence, over.
Adagio had finished reminiscing about her past. Remembering it all reminded her why she despised ponies so much. This only fueled her revenge even further. And she couldn't wait for her, Chrysalis and Ghetsis to defeat all of ponykind with a vengeful hoof/fist.
"Just you wait, Equestria. Sparkle. I'll make sure you get what you deserve. Every last one of you.
It's almost been a full year since the two worlds had crossed over. And such, new areas have emerged, making themselves far more comfortable.
Some well-known locations are...
Lapras Lake.
Exploud Chasm.
Kingdra Durance.
Sealeo Breakwater.
Deerling Forest and much more out there in the world.
Needless to say, with all these new areas being created by both worlds crossing paths, it was only a matter of time before most of them caught the attention of everypony in Equestria.
"Here it is. The new map of the updated Equestria!" Twilight announced, showcasing a giant map that took up a large portion of the castle walls. "There's a lot to take in here."
"No kidding. How did all of these new areas fit in our world? They look gigantic!" Rainbow Dash flew to the map.
"Ooh! There's Lapras Lake!" Fluttershy noticed.
"How come we ain't seen most of them before?" Applejack wondered.
"Most of the time we've been limited to a few areas located North and South." Rarity answered.
"Where to first?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"Let's see...Ludicolo Jungle, Pyroar lands, Carbink Caves, Dragon Valley, there's just a lot to choose from." Twilight was finding it hard to choose.
"Pikapi. Pikachu." Pikachu pointed over at an area that seemed similar to Pikachu Valley all the way over at Alola.
"Oh? You think that Pikachu area's good, huh buddy?"
"An area full of Pikachu's located near Rainbow Falls? Wonder what that would look like." Fluttershy thought for a bit.
"I've been to an area full of Pikachu's before. Goh and I even visited one the other day. It's a sight to behold." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
"Does Pikachu Highlands sound good to everypony?" Twilight asked.
"Hmm...That does sound kind of fun." Rainbow Dash was leaning towards that idea.
"I'm already up for it. I just love Pikachu!" Fluttershy nodded her head aggressively.
"There's a place with only with Sableye, hm?" Rarity rubbed her hooves together, sparking up an idea. "Interesting..."
The others agreed on the Pikachu Highlands. It was simple enough to start with plus Pikachu's are just naturally adorable creatures. Some ponies would even argue that they're the cutest in all of Equestria due to them seeing Ash's Pikachu so much.
But they weren't the only ones heading to Pikachu Highlands. Celestia was actually headed there as well. She had the opportunity to visit this newfound area for one day only whilst Pyrestar handles everything. She was the one who told Celestia to go along and have fun...like some sort of mother telling their child to run along.
"Are you sure that you want to head a place known as Pikachu Highlands of all places, sister?" Luna asked. "And if so, why there? The other areas sound much more interesting."
"Of course I do. I'm 100% sure. Besides...Pikachu is just so adorable~!"
"Hm. It is adorable. I wonder why I don't have one of my own? May I...come with you?"
"Of course you can, Luna. Nothing's stopping from you coming with me. It will be a fun little sister trip to a brand new location in Equestria." Celestia walked up to her little sister.
"Really? I can come along? Yes!" Luna pumped her hooves. "Darkrai! Do you-"
"No." Darkrai disappeared into the shadows, not wanting to be apart of this.
"Oh. Well, that's fine. He is a busy Pokemon after all."
"I know one Pokemon in particular who won't be busy and is coming along with us." Celestia closed her eyes, giving off a smile that indicated that she knew something.
"Hm? Who?"
"Cobalion of course. This is our first time ever spending a long amount of time together. It's what everypony calls a...a...hm...what do they call it again?" Celestia had trouble figuring out the word.
"A date," Luna answered.
"A date! It's my first ever one! I'm a bit nervous! Do regular ponyfolk get this nervous on their first dates?!"
"How should I know? I have never been on a date."
"Maybe, if I just keep calm and be myself, it will go smoothly."
"That's impossible. Each time you're near Cobalion you turn into a completely different pony. One that I've never seen before. Even when he is not present here your natural personality shifts."
"I know. Cobalion just gets me so excited!" Celestia pranced on the spot whilst Luna shook her head. Both groups on different sides were ready to make their way towards Pikachu Forest. Or as it is also known as
Pikachu Paradise.
Pikachu Highlands.
Home to a countless number of Pikachu. This location was created on the same day the two worlds crossed over. In fact, this is the only location that was actually displaced in Equestria. Everywhere else has remained the same, whether its cities, towns or even islands. But this was an entire highland. But even if it was displaced, it was a beauty to behold even in Equestria. They even had homes in the shape of Pikachu heads. You could only imagine what it looked like in its original world. The group had come across the Pikachu Highlands.
A paradise for Pikachu.
"Oh my..." Rarity gawked.
"Pikachu..."Fluttershy squeed with the widest grin on her face yet. A new record.
"I've seen many things in my life...but I've never seen this before." Luna was starstruck by the sight of this.
"Look at the variety of Pikachu here! This one has stunning pigtails!" Rarity picked up a Pikachu with pigtails.
"Pika!" The pigtailed Pikachu raised her hands up.
"This one's got a sick hairstyle!" Rainbow Dash went over to a Pikachu with spiky hair.
"Pika-Pikachu!" The spiky-haired Pikachu bellowed, having a much more intense voice than a normal Pikachu. Every single of these Pikachu had their own personality that made them stand out. Some were aggressive, somewhere intelligent, some wore special items such as scarves and masks, some had their own unique hairstyles and some were slightly bigger or smaller than others.
"This truly is a Pikachu Paradise." Celestia looked down at a Pikachu laying on the back of a pudgy Pikachu. "I wonder what is taking Cobalion so long?"
"Never gets dull seeing a place with tons of your own species, huh buddy?" Ash asked his own Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, heading off to chat with his fellow Electric Mice. "Pika-Pika!" Pikachu gave off a greeting.
"PIKA!" The entire Highland replied with a thunderous welcome greeting to their fellow Pikachu. It was so loud, you could hear it from Canterlot. Their greeting went as far as to clash tails with Pikachu, creating small shocks. The natural greeting of the Pikachu species.
"Pikachu! Pika!" Some female Pikachu's who were dressed up as maidens escorted Ash's Pikachu all of a sudden. This was probably another part of their greeting from the looks of it. Pikachu himself was confused about what was going on but he appreciated the friendly aura around here.
"Where are they taking Ash's Pikachu?" Twilight wondered.
"From what those maiden Pikachu said, they're taking him to see their Emperor and Empress."
"Emperor and Empress? This place has royalty?" Rainbow Dash found that hard to believe.
But it was 100%. Because right over the distance, a giant castle that was the shape of a Pikachu head could be seen. It wasn't that difficult to miss it since when you arrive at Pikachu Highlands, it's most likely the first thing you'll see besides the enormous number of Pikachu.
"Chu. Pikachu." A well dressed Pikachu went up to Ash and the ponies, giving them the hand motion to come along with them.
"You want us to head in there, huh? Sounds good to me." Ash accepted the invitation.
"We're heading in there? What do you think the inside's like?" Pinkie asked.
"Probably yellow everywhere," Fluttershy answered with her possibility. In truth, the inside of the Pikachu castle was not what they were expecting. They were expecting cute and adorable decorations with yellow colourings all over the place. And while there was the colour yellow everywhere, its appearance was grander than it was cute. So grand that it could even match Canterlot and the Crystal Empire in flash and dazzle.
Inside were Pikachu of high nobility. Somehow.
Every single of these Pikachu belonged a family with royal blood in them. You could tell by the way they walk upright, say their names less frequently and loud than a normal Pikachu and how they greet each other. Many Pikachu across the other regions have their own way of greeting each other. The most common is putting their tails together and creating a small shock. The Pikachu's in Alola, however, sniff each other and rub their tails together, with the females approaching the newcomers first. In the case for the Pikachu in this castle, they bow instead of putting their tails together. How formal.
"I've never seen Pikachu's act so...proper." Twilight was impressed.
"And here you were thinking Electric-Types didn't have class, Rarity." Applejack said to her unicorn friend.
"I never said that. I said they lack class. But this is truly impressive."
"Wonder what the emperor and empress are like?" Pinkie's words made them all think of the possibility.
Are they just ordinary Pikachu wearing fancy robes and a big ol' crown? Are they slightly taller than most Pikachu's? Are their tails or ears longer? Could they possibly be shiny Pokemon? Only one way to find out.
Once the maidens opened up the doors, the Emperor Pikachu and Empress Pikachu were revealed.
The Emperor was an unnaturally big Pikachu who indeed wore fancy robes and a big ol' crown with longer tail and ears whilst being shinier than a normal Shiny Pikachu. And as an extension, he held a scepter with a Pikachu face on it as his yellow fur was a great big bushy beard, indicating how old he was. He managed to be the Pikachu they all thought of when they heard of him. As for the Empress, she was just a normal Pikachu. But her ears were in the shape of hearts, similar to her tail.
"Wow! Look at that Pikachu! He's huge!" Pinkie pointed out the emperor's appearance.
"Pinkie Pie! You can't say that in front of an emperor!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Ooh. Sorry."
"Nothing in the Dream World will ever surpass this." Luna shook her head.
"Indeed. Greetings, Emperor and Empress Pikachu." Celestia showed her respect, bowing to them. The two royal Pikachu showed their respect back, recognizing Celestia as royalty as well. Her and Luna's regalia kind of gave it away.
"Pika! Pikachu!"
"Emperor Pikachu said, come here, my boy!" Fluttershy translated, speaking in a deep voice resembling that of a king. "Sorry. Had to get in character there."
"Pika?" Ash's Pikachu went up to the two of them, curious and confused on what was going on or what was about to happen. "Pikachu."
"PI! Pika!" The emperor introduced himself along with the empress. "Pikachu!"
"They say their names are Emperor PikaSupreme and Empress PikaRegal," Fluttershy revealed their names. "Oh my. Those names are something."
PikaSupreme put his arm around Ash's' Pikachu, giving the reason he summoned him here. And it was a shocker to Pikachu and everyone who got the translation from Fluttershy.
"What?!" Fluttershy pulled back.
"What?! What did he say?!" Twilight asked, wanting to know.
"He said that Pikachu has been chosen to be the new ruler of Pikachu-kind!"
"Say what now?!" Ash's hat flew off him from sheer shock and surprise.
"Pikachu. PikaPika."
"Emperor PikaSupreme says that he and his wife have been ruling Pikachu-kind for centuries on end, even when the Pikachu population was minuscule. They've watched as new Pikachu come and go and they've even defended their entire empire from any opposing Pokemon with their entire Pikachu army."
"There's a Pikachu army?" Luna uttered.
"But they've grown old and weaker in their age. Emperor PikaSupreme can barely get off his throne now without his wife, Empress PikaRegal helping him up. He used to be a mighty warrior that would emit electricity so powerful that even Ground-Type Pokemon would fear him. But his old age has changed that."
"Pikachu." PikaSupreme nodded, knowing the unfortunate truth. He's lost his touch.
"So he's chosen Ash's Pikachu to be the new ruler. He could sense his overflowing surge of electricity the moment he arrived at the Pikachu Highlands. He's sure that he's found the next in line to be Emperor."
"This is the last thing I would expect from a Pikachu." Celestia's eyes widened as Passion nodded in agreement.
"Pi..." Ash's Pikachu wasn't too sure about this. This was all happening so fast. And the thought of being a ruler of an entire species sounded a bit too much for him.
"Pikachu." PikaSupreme was ready to convince Pikachu by showing off his beautiful daughter who just so happened to be standing by the door, winking at Ash's Pikachu. Surely, that'll work. "PIka-Pika?" PikaSupreme nudged Pikachu, basically telling him that he'll get to rule side by side with his gorgeous daughter.
"Pi..." Pikachu rubbed his head, still unsure about this.
The maidens of the royal Pikachu family were ordered to tend to Ash and the others. They were friends of Pikachu after all so high treatment is deserving of them.
"I can't believe that a bunch of Pikachu can be this wealthy!" Rainbow Dash and her friends were all seated at a large banquet table with tons of food to eat. Mostly Pokemon food that the Pikachu species enjoy. To an extent, humans can enjoy Pokemon food and maybe ponies too? Only one way to find out.
"Pikachu!" A Pikachu chef jumped onto the table, ordering Celestia and everypony to eat up. And they couldn't say no to a face that adorable and furious at the same time.
"...Can we even eat these?" Rarity used her magic to pick up an unidentified mush of food that was an odd colour of red.
"Won't know unless we try." Applejack shoved the mush inside her mouth, getting the first taste. "Mmm! Not bad!"
"Pika!" PikaSupreme was chatting with Ash's Pikachu still trying to convince him to be the ruler. He let Pikachu have the best food in the castle due to this. He told his daughter to come along as she went up to Pikachu.
"Pika...?" The princess Pikachu uttered.
"Oooh. Look at that!" Pinkie Pie noticed the princess Pikachu getting up close to Ash's Pikachu, trying to grab his attention.
"What do you think of this Ash?" Twilight asked.
"I don't know. Pikachu being the ruler of an entire empire? As cool as that sounds...I don't wanna leave my best buddy behind, ya know."
"Ash Ketchum is correct. This is all happening too fast." Luna said. "I never expected a visit to a Pikachu only area would result in this. What say you sister?"
"I think it's adorable!" Celestia gawked. "Cobalion's missing out. Wonder what's taking him so long?"
"Pikachu..." Ash's Pikachu sighed as the princess nuzzled her sacs on his. "Pi?"
"PIKACHU!" Here came another one. Another Pikachu from a royal nobility and this time, this was a Pikachu who had long hair and was in love with the Pikachu Princess. And seeing her get all comfortable with Ash's Pikachu enraged him the moment he entered the room.
"Oh, that can't be good." Fluttershy's eyes widened.
"Why? What's up with that one?" Applejack asked.
"From what I can tell, that Pikachu's not so happy about the princess getting all mushy with Ash's Pikachu."
"Really now...?" Rarity thought for a bit. Examining the possible scenario outcome had her mind razing about. "Oh! A perfect rivalry story! How romantic!"
"Is it?" Ash scratched his head.
"PIKACHU!" The long-haired Pikachu hopped on the table, causing it to shake as he went up to Ash's Pikachu. "Pika-Pika!"
"He says... Direct your non-royal sacs away from my future bride. I PikaNoble the XVIII command you." Fluttershy translated. "Oh my. That name's much more overwhelming than the others."
"Chu?" The princess hid behind Ash's Pikachu terrified.
"Do we perhaps do something about this, sister?"
"No, no. This happened before in our family. Let it play out by itself."
"Pi..." PikaNoble pointed at Ash's Pikachu, challenging him from the looks of it. It didn't take Fluttershy translating to let everypony know that he's been challenged to a duel.
"A DUEL?!" They all said.
"Pikachu?!" Ash's Pikachu perked up in a surprised manner. PikaSupreme and PikaRegail tried to reason with PikaNoble, but he was way too stubborn to be reasoned with. His decision had been set in stone.
"If he wants to be battle, then so be it! Come on buddy!" Ash stood up, slamming his hands on the table.
"No, Ash!" Celestia stopped him. "This is a duel assigned by royalty. No one else can get involved but the two duelists. So you can't command Pikachu this time."
"Aw...bummer." Ash sat down, sighing.
"Pikachu..." PikaNoble leaned forward getting his face all in front of Ash's Pikachu. "Pi-Pi-Pikachu..."
Ash's Pikachu could only gulp. No getting out this now.
The duel was to take place outside with the entire Pikachu Highlands watching. This was to decide everything that Ash's Pikachu wasn't even up for in the first place.
"All of this for one Pikachu princess?" Rainbow Dash found this absurd. "Meh. It's not that special.
"IT IS SPECIAL, RAINBOW DASH!" Both Twilight and Rarity bellowed at her.
"Pikachu! Pika-Pikachu-Pi!" PikaNoble stomped his foot on the ground, demanding that Ash's Pikachu ready himself.
"Pikapi..." Ash's Pikachu looked over to his trainer for help.
"Sorry, buddy. I can't do anything in this situation." Ash let out a nervous grin. Ash's Pikachu had no choice but to go with it. And hopefully, he can leave home with his trainer.
"Pika." PikaSupreme walked in between the two, explaining the rules to them both. They may use 4 moves each, going with the traditional trainer rules. The duel will be over when either one faints. Simple enough. Keeps in line with a normal Pokemon battle. "PIKA!" He gave the signal for the duel to begin.
"Pika-ka-ka-ka!" PikaNoble chuckled, keeping his distance. Both Pikachu were ready to begin with everyone's attention on them only. The duel started off with PikaNobe tossing forward an Electro Ball from his tail."
"Pika?!" Ash's Pikachu rolled out of the way to avoid the incoming ball. When he turned his head to face PikaNoble, he noticed that he was running straight for him with an Iron Tail already prepared. Ash's Pikachu responded with his own Iron Tail as the two clashed tails. They pushed each other back, proving to be equal in strength.
PikaNoble utilized the move Volt Tackle to charge in with 100,000 volts surrounding him. Ash's Pikachu did something similar but in the form of Quick Attack. They had a small struggle with one trying to push the other back, but ultimately Volt Tackle managed to push through, sending Ash's Pikachu into the sky.
"Pika...Chu!" Ash's Pikachu sent a Thunderbolt downwards whilst in midair, but this proved to be futile since PikaNoble absorbed it, revealing his ability.
"His ability's Lightningrod?!" Ash stood up.
"What's Lightning Rod?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"An ability that allows the Pokemon to draw in electrical moves, absorbing them and turning it into power. So no matter what Pikachu does, Electric-Type moves are just gonna fuel this guy."
"What?! How is that even fair!" Pinkie pulled her mane. "This is rigged I tell you!"
"Pika..." PikaNoble grinned, as he raised his hands up. From above, the clouds were forming over Ash's Pikachu with thunder rumbling. And from above, the move Thunder had been activated, striking the airborne Pikachu.
"PIKA!" Ash's Pikachu cried out. As he was falling down, PikaNoble knocked him away by striking an Iron Tail to his face. Ash's Pikachu went tumbling across the ground, rolling about.
"Oh, dear!" Fluttershy and the Pikachu covered their eyes.
"Pikachu!" Ash's Pikachu however, recovered quickly by jumping up and sliding on the ground. He was highly resilient from travelling for so many years after all. But so was PikaNoble, who's gone through his fair share of battles in his time.
"Come on, Pikachu! Knock that pompous jerk silly!" Pinkie bellowed from the crowd.
"Pikachu." PikaNoble gave the 'Bring it on' motion with his hands, taunting him.
"Chu." Ash's Pikachu decided not to fall for the taunt, keeping his head cool. He knew that all he had to do was defeat this guy and he could go home. But the ruler part is still an issue. He moved in with Quick Attack, attacking PikaNoble at blinding speeds. This made the noble Pikachu stagger back a bit whilst Ash's Pikachu kept up the attack by returning the Iron Tail favour to him with his own.
Iron Tail was swung on PikaNoble's face and body repeatedly by Ash's Pikachu. He was then met by an overhead Iron Tail that sent him to the ground.
"Yes! Awesome job, Pikachu!" Rainbow Dash cheered as the entire Pikachu crowd was loving this. Cobalion had finally arrived, seeing the entire event go down.
"What is happening here?" He asked.
"Cobalion, you made it! You're just in time to see this royal duel continue."
"Royal duel? Against Pikachu's?"
"Pika..." PikaNoble pulled a surprise attack by using a 5th move. He had used the move Thunder Punch but he used such minimal electricity that he disguised it as a normal punch. This Thunder Punch struck the chin of his opposing Pikachu, knocking him back.
"Hey, I saw that! He used a fifth move!" Applejack noticed. But unfortunately, PikaSupreme didn't.
"Pika!" PikaNoble decided to pummel on Ash's Pikachu by also using multiple Iron Tails as a form of payback. These ones are much more aggressive than Ash's Pikachu's. The beatdown was being put on his fellow Electric Mouse Pokemon as everyone could actually feel the impacts as if they were getting hit by it themselves. This went on for 18 seconds total with no signs of stopping.
Luna was biting her hooves, holding onto Celestia's neck, unsure if Ash's Pikachu could win this. "Come on...Show him what for!"
"Luna...my neck..." Celestia was struggling to breathe.
"PIKA!" PikaNoble was about to deliver the finishing blow until Ash's Pikachu performed some of the silly shenanigans that he got from his trainer. He stomped on the final Iron Tail, pinning it to the ground and halting PikaNoble's attack. "Pika?!" The noble Pikachu was struggling to get his tail up but Ash's Pikachu was keeping his foot firm on the tail.
"Pika...Chu!" Ash's Pikachu then grabbed PikaNoble all of a sudden, lifting him up.
"He's gonna toss him?!" Twilight's jaw dropped.
"CHU!" Ash's Pikachu utilized all of his strength as he tossed PikaNoble afar. But it didn't quite end there. Quick Attack was a follow up as PikaNoble was hit while midair. And it still didn't stop there. Ash's Pikachu followed up with an Iron Tail to the back, sending the noble Pikachu down to the ground. "PIKA!"
"What an impact! Great job, buddy!" Ash congratulated his partner.
PikaNoble got up from the ground, holding his head and back. Ash's Pikachu really dealt some heavy damage on him. "Pika..." But he wasn't about to give up so easily. He was determined to win this. From above, he summoned not one, but five Thunder's from above. He was planning to overwhelm Ash's Pikachu with an endless assault of Thunder.
"Pika?!" Ash's Pikachu gasped, rolling out of the way of the first Thunder. He began running from the others whilst PikaNoble kept up the frenzy of Thunders. They were each destroying the ground as they hit, causing small craters to form. PikeNoble was trying to catch his fellow Electric Mouse, but he was way too speedy. Ash's Pikachu decided that this battle had to come to an end. He was planning to rush in with a mighty Quick Attack and Iron Tail in hopes of taking down PikaNoble.
The final stretch was here as multiple bolts of thunder were aimed at Pikachu whilst he was heading in with Quick Attack. It looked like it was going to be close. The Thunder was closing in while Ash's Pikachu was closing in on PikaNoble. But like his trainer, Ash's Pikachu always had something up his sleeve. He used Iron Tail at the last second to absorb the Thunders that were aimed at him, making them a part of his Iron Tail.
He crashed into PikaNoble with Quick Attack and followed up with a mighty finishing blow. He scattered the lightning on his tail, slamming Iron Tail on PikaNoble's face, rocketing him to the ground, forming a large dust cloud.
The duel was settled. Ash's Pikachu was victorious as PikaNoble had fainted.
"Pikachu! Pikapi-Pikachu!" PikaSupreme announced the winner as the entire Pikachu Highlands celebrated in victory.
"You did it buddy!" Ash ran over his Pikachu, picking him up as he was exhausted.
"Pikapi..." Pikachu raised his fist in victory.
"That was truly an amazing duel! Congratulations!" Celestia clapped her hooves together.
"I can't believe how awesome a battle between two Pikachu's can be." Rainbow Dash stunned. "Nice."
"Pika!" The princess Pikachu ran over to the victor, showing her affection even more to him. "Pikachu!"
"Pi-Pi-Pikachu!" PikaSupreme laughed, proud of Pikachu's victory against a noble. He battled magnificently. This only made him much more worthy of the title as ruler. PikaNoble got up, walking towards the one that defeated him, giving him a bow of respect. He's earned it and proven to be the one worthy of having the princess as his bride. If he wanted to that is. "Chu. Pika-Pikachu!" PikaSupreme raised his sceptre up.
"Emperor PikaSupreme says...You've earned the title of Emperor due to that stunning display of skill. Not many Pikachu can go toe to toe with PikaNoble and come out victorious. You are truly the next in line to rule. What do you say, my boy?"
"Pika...Pikachu." Pikachu shook his head, not accepting it.
"PIKA!?" PikaSupreme fell on his back, surprised at the answer. It was pretty obvious that he was going to say no anyways.
"Kinda saw that coming. Pikachu loves the offer but...he doesn't think he's fit to be a ruler." Ash explained.
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded in response to Ash's words.
"Hope that doesn't bring you down too much, PikaSupreme." Ash kneeled down as PikaRegal helped her husband up.
"Chu...Pikachu." PikaSupreme stood up, stomping his spectre.
"Emperor PikaSupreme says that he understands your decision. A great warrior should also have their own free will. And it was selfish of me to try and force this upon you."
"What a wonderful display..." Rarity wiped her tears as Spike gave her a napkin. "Its art in its purest form!" She began to wail from this, making tears akin to that of a river.
"I apologize if I was too late. I had to save some ponies along the way," said Cobalion.
"I understand. Maybe next time." Celestia replied.
It was about time to take their leave. The visit to the highlands was definitely worth every second.
"PIKACHU!" All the Pikachu in the highlands waved goodbye to Ash's Pikachu and his friends, wishing him luck.
"Pika-Pika!" Ash's Pikachu promised that he'll come back to visit them someday and have a blast. But before they could take their leave, the Pikachu Princess ran up to Ash's Pikachu giving him a farewell gift.
"What is she-" Luna's words were halted as she and everypony else saw the princess gave Ash's Pikachu a smooch on the cheek. This was really their first time seeing something like this and the result made a few of them cover their eyes in embarrassment whilst Ash, Spike, Cobalion and Rainbow Dash didn't see the big deal in this. "Oh...my!"
"Pikachu..." Ash's Pikachu rubbed his head in embarrassment. Guess he had something to remember them by.
Today was an interesting visit. Not what they were expecting when they planned to arrive at Pikachu valley. They got to witness an entire, town nobility and a royal family of Pikachu in one day plus a duel. It wasn't for nothing at the end of it all. And who knows what other Pokemon areas are out there in Equestria, waiting to be discovered with their own unique stories to tell as the journey continues!
Naturally, Winter takes some time to really emanate its chill, but due to the two worlds being crossed over, the process had accelerated. Mostly due to the presence of certain Ice-Type Pokemon. So if you see snow earlier than it's supposed to arrive, your answer is the Pokemon World. And Equestria was indeed feeling this chill.
"My... it certainly is chilly today." Celestia was stuttering, feeling the cold race through her. Currently, she and Luna came by the Pokemon House to see the new improvements that were being added to it but they weren't expecting this.
"More than usual. Equestria hasn't had a winter this early and harsh in centuries..." Luna stammered. The Cutie Mark Crusaders could feel their entire hooves starting to fall off as they were frozen solid.
"T-This isn't nothing." Rainbow Dash was huddled up with her Braviary keeping her warm.
"Pi-Pika-c-c-c-c-chu..." Pikachu sneezed as he was inside of Ash's hat, trying to keep himself warm.
"G-Goh. Can Raboot turn up the heat?" Ash asked.
"N-No. Even R-R-Raboot's freezing." Goh looked over to his freezing partner.
"If we had known it was to be s-s-s-so cold today, we would've w-w-worn something warm!" Rarity exclaimed.
"There has to be...some way to cool off." Twilight could her horn turning into an icicle.
"There is...one way." Ash sparked an idea.
"What?" They all said.
"There's one place where we can feel warm to the very end."
"WHAT?" Once more they said in unison.
"Alola."
So it was. The Alola Region.
Blue seas, blue skies and the brightly shining sun.
This is the Alola Region's Melemele Island. A tropical island filled with lush nature.
Passing through the gateway to Alola, they were all greeted to the blissful warmth of Alola's golden sun. The way it shined down upon them was truly something of great beauty.
"I'm back!" Ash shouted into the skies of Alola as they were all near the airport of Melemele. The gateway to Alola could be found if you pass through the gateway to Lumiose and head east. It's how Applejack and Rarity managed to end up in Alola for the first time in the earlier days of the two worlds crossing.
"Pikachu!"
"This is Alola? I feel so...warm..." Twilight noticed the ice around her melting away by Alola's blazing sun.
"Isn't it awesome?" Ash spread his arms out. His energetic actions could be spotted by a familiar face who recognized his yell and appearance. The one who recognized and noticed Ash was none other than Professor Kukui.
"OH! ASH!" Kukui called for him.
"Pika!"
"Professor Kukui!" Ash ran over to the professor, glad to see him again.
"Wait up, Ash!" Twilight tried to stop him but he dashed off like the wind.
"Alola, Professor Kukui!"
"Alola, Ash!" The professor gave Ash a pat on the head, making the young trainer have a wide smile. "Welcome back."
"I'm glad to be back!"
"Pikachu!"
"You look well, Pikachu!"
"Pika!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon hopped off Ash's shoulder and onto Kukui's shoulder instead.
The ponies all took a moment to examine the scenario here. Seeing how Ash and Kukui were interacting...that could only mean one thing.
"Hold on." Twilight and the others went over to Kukui. "Are you...Ash's father?"
"Me? Oh, no-no-no. I'm not Ash's dad." Kukui chuckled, patting Ash on the back.
"Really...? I thought he would be?" Rarity whispered to Applejack.
"Professor Kukui's a teacher at the Pokemon School in Alola and...wait. Where's Professor Burnet?"
"She's waiting right at home."
"Great! Professor Kukui may not be my actual dad, but he and Professor Burnet are my Alolan Family as well as Pikachu's." Ash explained to them all.
"Family?" They all said.
"Oh yeah! Having a family is the greatest! Especially if you've got multiple like me!"
"Pikachu!"
"Alola, everypony. You must all be Ash's friends from Equestria, right?"
"Uh, yes! That's right!" Twilight nodded along with her friends. "A-Alola? Is that how you say it?"
"I think so." Pinkie poked her head from the side.
"You all really are colourful looking as they say. And I see you have some Pokemon of your own already. An Espeon, Minccino, Audino and even a Kirlia. I even see a Raboot and Sobble! My first time even!"
"Sobble!" Sobble hid behind Goh.
"Did you catch them in Galar, Goh?" Kukui asked.
"Uh...y-yeah."
"I bet you can pull off some strong kicks with those legs Raboot."
"Ra..."
"And I can tell that Sobble really trusts you, Goh. All of you have some great Pokemon choices. They suit you all."
Now that the first greetings are out of the way, it's for more. Kukui and Ash had led them all to the home where Kukui and Burnet live together.
"I'm home!" Ash exclaimed at the door.
"Pika!" The voices of those two were indistinguishable. Ash and Pikachu had a unique sounding voice that you will never hear anywhere else. And due to this, Professor Burnet opened up the door to the familiar faces.
"Welcome home, you two!" She greeted them.
"Alola, Professor Burnet! And... your name was Lei, wasn't it?" Ash noticed a baby in Burnet's arms. A young baby boy wearing a Pikachu pajama. This little baby was attempting to touch Ash with his tiny little hands.
"That's right. Big Brother Ash." Burnet nodded.
"Big brother, huh?" Ash liked the sound of that. He went up to Lei as both their hands met. "Nice to meet you, Lei." Lei leaned forward, attempting to speak as he patted Ash's face. "Your hands are so tiny!" Lei then pulled on Ash's cheek, stretching it.
"No, Lei." Burnet stopped him from tearing Ash's face apart. "Come on in, everypony. No need to be shy."
"Right. How come we're so nervous all of a sudden...We weren't like this when we saw Ash's other friends...?" Twilight said to her friends.
"I don't know...I've never felt this nervous before." Rainbow Dash scratched her mane.
"I'm sure we'll get used to it. It is weird." Pinkie uttered. They all went up the steps with Lei trying to grab the ponies. He managed to grab a hold of Twilight's face, mushing it about. He did the same for Celestia, playing around with her horn. The CMC were victims of him as well. Since they were smaller, he poked their faces constantly as if they were toys.
"That tickles." Apple Bloom rubbed her cheek.
"He sure is playful isn't he?" Twilight held her face.
"Mhm." Celestia nodded in agreement.
Once they were all lead inside, they were greeted by the sudden hug assault from Ash's Incineroar, Rowlet, Melmetal and Lycanroc who were happy to see their trainer again, even though they saw each other back at the Canterlot Wedding when they saved everypony, but it has been a few months since then.
"Rowlet! Lycanroc! Incineroar! Melmetal! It's great to see you all again! I missed you guys a bunch!" They all gave Ash and Pikachu a great embracing hug, making him feel at home. "Okay, guys! You're heavy!" Ash laughed. "Say hello to everypony and Goh. You remember my pony friends from the wedding, right?"
Saying that made them all turn their attention towards the group. They now had a huge flaming cat, a huge dog, a huge being made out of metal and an owl staring right at them. Obviously one of them wasn't as intimidating as the rest.
"Oh, dear. They're looking at us." Rarity gulped.
"What do we do?" Scootaloo whispered.
They all ran over to Twilight, Goh and the others, giving them an overwhelming hug as well.
"Ow, ow! My tail!" Rainbow Dash winced.
"D-Do they have to be so hug-addicted! It's almost as worse as Dragonite!" Twilight strained.
"Y-You'll get used to it!" Pinkie Pie was struggling to breathe.
"T-This s-sure is a welcoming experience, right Luna?" Celestia said to her little sister. But Luna was on the verge of passing out. Ash joined in on the hug, making it worse.
"That's a real Blast Burn of a welcome." Kukui commented.
"Speaking of welcome, there's gonna be a welcome party for you two, Ash, Pikachu and everyone, So come to the Pokemon School. Mallow wanted me to tell you that." Burnet explained.
"Alright! I'll make sure to be there!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"For us as well?" Luna was catching her breath as the hug was finally being ceased.
"It'll be a blast! Come on! You've gotta say Alola to everyone else!" Ash ran out instantly with his best buddy.
"Ash! Ugh...can he please slow down for one second?" Twilight sighed.
"He can't help it." Kukui laughed. "Ash just has too much boundless energy in him. I hope that hasn't caused any trouble for you in your world."
"Trouble? Not really." Fluttershy shook her head as Lei was touching her mane.
"Ash has definitely been a hoof-full. But there never has been a dull moment with him involved." Celestia answered. "If anything, every day is much more exciting in Ponyville and Canterlot if he's there."
"That's good to hear. Hope you continue to have fun with Ash and the antics he gets himself into!" said Burnet.
On the other side of the spectrum, two others had come to Alola for a small vacation. Hollow and Jewel. Hollow was here due to all the work he's been exhibiting over at Canterlot's school for Pokemon. Speaking of which, eventually a building made for learning Pokemon will be built for Canterlot, giving Hollow a new place to teach. And with Pokemon involved, the progress will be swift.
"Alola is the place to be." Hollow yawned, sitting on a beach chair. "I needed this...teaching ponies about Pokemon is a lot harder than it sounds."
"Don't get too comfortable. The school for Pokemon is almost closed to being completed over at Canterlot. So savour these last moments of relaxation, dear." Jewel said.
"Now you remind me...I need a better schedule." Hollow put his hand on his jaw, gazing out at the beautiful seas of Alola.
"How about you come out and feel the air of your home, Raichu?" Jewel sent out her Raichu which was an Alolan Raichu instead of a normal.
"Rai-Rai!"
"Go on. This is your home so I think it's best that you remember what it was like here."
"Raichu!" The Mouse Pokemon surfed away, off to remember the times he spent here before he became a Raichu.
"Hm...That's odd." Hollow noticed something in the ocean.
"What is it?"
"That Pokemon's got a funny looking hairstyle." Hollow noticed a hairstyle that looked similar to that of something you'd see a pony from Equestria having, sticking out of the sea. The only thing other than the hair that he could spot was some fins at the back along with scales. He wasn't sure what he was looking at as the mysterious figure went back into the sea. He didn't think too much about it since he just wanted to relax and obliterate all his worries.
Jewel's Alolan Raichu was surfing among the seas, passing by the Wishiwashi that swam in these same waters. The Mouse Pokemon ended up coming across Ash and the others, seeing them head over to the beautiful sandy beaches of Alola as well.
"Check it out. Ain't it beautiful?" Ash stopped to look at the beach as Goh, Twilight and her friends took a moment to gaze at it as well.
"Pika..."
"It truly is." Rarity nodded. "Alola does have some stunning water, that's for sure."
"I'll say." Twilight agreed.
"Hm? Raichu?" Pinkie Pie noticed the Alolan Raichu surfing about. Everypony could tell that it looked like a Raichu just different.
"Oh! An Alolan Raichu!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Alolan Raichu?" Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex for this.
"Raichu. The Mouse Pokemon. And the Alolan Variant. It focuses psychic energy into its tail and rides it like it’s surfing. Another name for this Pokémon is 'hodad.' When you rub its cheeks, a sweet fragrance comes wafting out. However, you’ll also get a slight shock! It’s believed that the weather, climate, and food of the Alola region all play a part in causing Pikachu to evolve into this form of Raichu. It attacks with star-shaped thunderbolts."
"An Alolan form, huh? That'll look great next to my normal Raichu! Pokeball, go!" Goh tossed a Pokeball towards Raichu.
"Rai?" The Mouse Pokemon turned around to see a Pokeball headed his way. But he wasn't bothered because he knew it wouldn't work. The Pokeball made contact and just...fell over. The red light it normally exhibits just vanished.
"Huh? What just happened?" Goh was confused.
"Oh, that means that it's already someone's Raichu, Goh," Ash explained.
"Ah...r-right." Goh lowered his head.
"And who's Raichu would be that energetic?" Jewel spoke as she and Hollow were on a small walk.
"Hollow! Jewel!" Ash exclaimed.
"How is it that you're always within our presence, Ash?" Jewel asked.
"No idea!"
"Are you two by chance here to escape from the cold as well?" Rarity spoke to them.
"Not really. Hollow's here because he needs some downtime from all the teaching he's been doing. Right?" Jewel patted her husband's back.
"Hm? Yeah, yeah." Hollow nodded, yawning. "My sleep schedule's changed over the past few months ever since I became a teacher."
"It's only gonna get worse with the Pokemon School being opened up at Canterlot soon, huh?" Twilight nudged him.
"Yeah, I know...it's not gonna be easy." Hollow scratched his head.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu greeted Jewel's Raichu by connecting their tails together, creating a spark.
"You could ask Princess Celestia to let have- Wait...Where did Princess Celestia and Princess Luna go?" Sweetie Belle wondered, looking around.
"They decided to take a small break and relax here at Alola. I don't blame them. This place is the perfect vacation spot!" Pinkie pulled out a cupcake, ready to eat it until a Grubbin came out of nowhere, snatching it from her hoof and running off. "Huh? HEY! CUPCAKE BANDIT!"
"Oh! A new Pokemon! Wait up!" Goh chased after it as Ash followed.
"There they go. What do we do then?" Applejack asked.
"I guess now we just head for the welcome party." Twilight answered. "What do you think Ash's Alolan family is like?"
"If he considers them family, then they must be the best! Right?" Pinkie bounced.
"Should be pretty obvious. Family's family. Even if they ain't related by blood." Applejack knew a thing or two about that, especially with Cold Colt. As the rest made their way to the Pokemon School, Goh was in pursuit of Grubbin.
"Wait up, Grubbin!" Goh called out.
"Don't lose it, Goh! It's gonna use Dig!" Grubbin used Dig, moving deep underground to get away from them quicker. They made a quick detour, following the dirt that Grubbin was kicking up along the way. "Goh! Pikachu and I will corner it, so you catch it when it comes out!"
But Goh was long gone, he took his own detour to catch up to Grubbin by following its dirt tracks.
"Pika?"
"Goh?
"Grubb!" Grubbin had actually been behind Ash and Pikachu as it hopped inside of a bush. So what was Goh following?
"Wait up, Grubbin!" He kept up the pursuit until it was revealed that he wasn't chasing Grubbin any more, but an Alolan Dugtrio.
"Dug!"
"An Alolan Dugtrio?! Where did you come f-" Goh's sentence has put to a halt when he came close to a short cliff with a river next to it. He and his Pokemon lost their balance, falling off the cliff and into the river. Whoops. But he was actually saved in a few seconds. A fishing rod had snagged onto his bag, twisting and turning and sending him upwards with a stream of water flowing about.
The one to fish him out was revealed to be Lana who was using the back of a Lapras as a fishing seat.
"Hooked a real big shot!" She said with a smile. Her Eevee had brought Goh's raboot towards Lapras, saving it.
"Ra..."
"Eevee!"
"Alola, Mr Soaked!" She greeted.
"A-Alola..." Goh groaned. "Uh, I appreciate the greeting but I'd be happier if you let me down."
"Sorry." The blue-haired girl moved the rod, placing Goh right on Lapras's back
"Phew. You saved me..." Goh sighed.
"I'm Lana. You?"
"Goh."
"Goh...? Wait, are you one of Ash's friends!"
Speaking of Ash, he had no idea that Goh was elsewhere as he searching for him, calling out his name "Goh!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Where'd he go!"
"Ash! There you are!" Apple Bloom caught up to Ash.
"Apple Bloom? You aren't with the others?"
"I came over to see what you and Goh were doing but...he's not here.
"Ah, we'll meet him back at the school. Speaking of which. You ready to see most of my Alolan Family?" Ash gave Apple Bloom a nice little head pat.
"Mhm!"
"Ash! Pikachu!" A familiar robotic voice bellowed at their direction. "Ash!"
"Oh! Rotom!" Ash grabbed a hold of Rotom who came his way.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Eep! Talking robot!" Apple Bloom hid behind Ash, grabbing onto his legs.
"I really missed you!" The living dex said.
"Same here! Apple Bloom. No need to worry. This is just another one of my Alolan Family, Rotom."
"R-Really?"
"Mhm."
"Have you been well, Ash?"
"Of course!"
"Pikachu!"
"But I'm surprised you knew we were here, Rotom." Just then, Ash's Pokedex decided to scan Rotom since it was very close to him.
"Rotom. Pokedex Form. A Rotom Index, optimized for Pokemon Index functionality. It has no other functions." The Pokedex was almost saying that the other Rotom Dex was inferior to it.
"Hm?! How rude! I have recording and voice changing features, too!" Rotom snapped at Ash's dex. "Oh, I forgot! The reason I came here is that everyone's waiting for you at the Pokemon School."
"But I kinda lost my friend, Goh." Ash scratched his face.
"Goh's at the Pokemon School already with the others. Along with the rest of your pony friends. It seems he ran into Lana at the sea."
"I see. Lana, huh?"
Celestia and Luna had managed to find themselves near the Pokemon School since they thought it would be a good spot to relax for a while.
"Isn't the sun here wonderful, Luna? I wouldn't mind raising it if I lived in this world."
"It is a rather...golden sun." Luna raised her hoof up as the sun was getting in her eyes.
"Perhaps we should see the rest of Ash's Alolan Family inside, right?
"Right. Anything to get out of this Sun..."
Inside the school, the Pokemon had already made themselves welcoming with the ponies' and Goh's Pokemon. And by "Welcoming" that also means they backed them all into a corner, making them nervous as a Tsareena, Primarina, Togedemaru, Vikavolt and Eevee were staring at them.
The same could be said for Goh and the ponies as well. Already, Mallow and everyone else were bombarding them with questions on questions, getting straight to the point without wasting any time.
"So, what kind of foods do you like over at your world?!" Mallow asked.
"Uh...well..." Twilight stammered.
"You all have your own unique Pokedexes?" Sophocles leaned forward.
"Well...this is just a Smartphone Ro-" Goh raised up his Pokedex, trying to finish his sentence.
"Smartphone Rotom?! So you can make calls with it too?!" Sophocles' eyes lit up.
"So those are Cutie Marks?! They live up to their name as cute!" Mallow was looking at Rarity's Cutie Mark.
"But those Pokemon are also cute too." Lana looked over at their Pokemon.
"Say! You know how Ash tends to run off on his own right?" Mallow asked. "Has he caused you all any trouble?" She was speaking like some sort of sister.
"Well...not really...most of the time. A bit?" Twilight squeed.
"You think I could dissect your Smartphone?!" Sophocles requested.
"D-Dissect?!" Goh pulled back.
"Do you think I could get a Cutie Mark of my own?!" Lana leaned forward.
"I don't know about that." Pinkie grinned.
"Having fun all of you?" Celestia, Hollow, Jewel and Luna had entered, seeing the Alolan Family getting up close and personal with everyone else.
"Oh! Those ponies are super tall!" Mallow perked up. "And they have jewellery on them! So cute!"
"I beg your pardon? Who are you calling cute?" Luna raised an eyebrow. "I am a fierce al-"
"So are you some form of royalty?!" Mallow interrupted. "That crown looks really good on you!"
"Well, our mother hoof-crafted it hers-"
"Look at their marks! A sun and a moon!" Sophocles noticed as Luna was interrupted once more.
"Ah! A Kirlia! I always thought it was a Psychic-Grass when I first saw one!" Mallow squeed as Passion hid behind Celestia's hoof. "Oh! I remember you! Hollow! You took part in the trials a few years ago, right?"
"It was more like many years ago. I was way younger back then."
"Ash...hurry up and get here..." Goh said to himself. Just then, another had arrived but it wasn't Ash.
"Alola." said the newcomer, Kiawe with his Alolan Marowak and Turtonator.
"Maro!"
"Turtona!"
"Alola!" The Alolan family said back.
"Oh? So you're Ash's friends?" Kiawe went up to the ponies. "And you must be Goh."
"Y-Yes," Goh replied.
"I'm Kiawe. Ash's rival."
"Rival?" Goh asked.
"Right. I was his rival while he was in Alola, still am and always will be." Kiawe looked over at a picture of Ash and his entire Alolan Family. "So, who's the stronger battle out of all of you?"
"Huh?" Goh was confused.
"You're with Ash a lot, aren't you? So you all battle too, right?"
"I mean...I don't necessarily battle that much." Fluttershy twiddled with her hooves.
"The two us battle the most actually." Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo answered.
"Well...I battle every now and then." Goh gave his own answer which shocked Kiawe.
"E-Every now and then?! I cannot let that one slide!" He pinched his face. "Who are your Pokemon?"
"R-Raboot and Sobble." Goh pointed at his two Pokemon.
"Those two, huh? I look forward to seeing how well you have trained them."
"Huh...?" Goh took a moment to realize what he meant by that. He was challenging him to a Pokemon Battle with his choice of words. "HUH?!" The atmosphere was starting to get intense in here. But that quickly changed when Ash had finally made his return.
"ALOLA!" Ash burst in, waving at everyone.
"Pika!"
"Long time no see, you guys!"
"ASH!" They cried out his name as they went up towards their fellow Alolan Family member. "Welcome Back Ash!"
"It's good to be back!"
"Ash, what took you long?!" Twilight popped her head up from the crowd.
"Sorry about that! Got a bit sidetracked."
"Pikachu-Pi!"
"Now that everyone's here, we can start the welcome party!" Mallow clapped her hands together.
"Agreed!" The entire family said.
So it was. The party could begin. They were all treated to some good old Alola delicacy and drinks.
"This juice is pretty good! What is it?" Pinkie asked.
"It's Aina Cafeteria's special Pile Juice!" Sophocles answered.
"You have to use fresh Pile berries and honey from Alola to get this taste." Mallow held a Pile berry and jar of honey in her hands.
Everyone's Pokemon had come out to enjoy the Pokemon food given to them. It was an odd sight to see. You had small and cute Pokemon eating away whilst also having big and intimidating Pokemon doing the same. They all looked happy eating together, thankfully.
"Mallow's dream is to make people and Pokemon smile with her food," Ash explained. "She does a pretty great job at it too, ya know."
"That dream's already a reality!" Pinkie dug her face in the food.
"Thank you so much, my little pony! Oh, Sophocles! You're gonna visit Mossdeep City again, right?"
"Yeah! I'm going to a workshop to research the connection between Pokemon and Space!"
"Space?!" Scootaloo almost choked on her food. Thankfully, she drank the juice to stop the choking.
"You're working really hard too, Sophocles!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Sophocles's dream is to become an astronaut. To see if there are Pokemon beyond Earth." Rotom explained.
"Pokemon beyond Earth? Like... aliens?!" Twilight squeed, loving the idea of that.
"Oh, yeah! We've already got aliens in our world. Do you?" Ash asked Twilight.
"Well...none that we know of yet. Maybe we do."
"Alola Surprise!" Lana suddenly stood up, grabbing everyone's attention. "I just got this today! It's a letter from Lillie!"
"From Lillie?!" Ash grinned.
"Who's Lillie?" Applejack asked.
"One of my friends from school and another Alolan family member!"
"She's on a journey to find her father." Sophocles explained what she was up to.
"Ahem." Lana unwrapped the letter, ready to read it to all of them. "Are you all doing well?"
Yesterday, when Lillie wrote the letter.
With Lillie, somewhere far across the Pokemon World, she was currently on a train as a continuation to find her father. The letter she wrote to her friends went something like this. "I, my brother and my mother are all doing well." She wrote. Lillie saw her brother Gladion enter with his Zoroark, turning to him. "Where's mother?"
"She's sending the data we got last night to Aether Paradise." He sat down, petting his Umbreon.
"The data for Magearna?"
"Yeah. She was really excited, saying the more we gather, the more accurately we can pinpoint his location."
"I also feel like we're getting ever closer to father as well. I just know it."
"I see."
"Magear?" The Artificial Pokemon let out a purple light from its heart that acted as a sort of radar, pointing to where their father could be. With Magearna by their side, they're sure to find their father in no time. Lillie continued to write the letter as Lana finished reading it off.
"I wish to return to Alola together with my father. And then I would very much like to see you all. Lana. Sophocles. Kiawe. Mallow. Ash." Ash's heart skipped a beat when his name was mentioned. "I'll write to you again. Signed, Lillie."
"...Alright!" Ash slammed his fist on the table, making everyone's heart jump. "Lillie's giving it everything she's got! We'd better do the same! Hey, Kiawe! It's been a while, so let's battle!"
"A battle, huh? Sounds great!"
"Then it's on!"
"But...I've already decided a battle with Goh!"
"M-Me?!" Goh jumped up.
"I'll see if Goh is worthy of being Ash's rival."
"Ash's...rival?" Goh uttered.
"The person closest to Ash needs to be strong enough to help him out with his dream!" KIawe stood up.
"K-Kiawe. You're getting a bit too fired up there." Mallow tried to calm him down.
"I agree with Mallow." Sophocles nodded.
"You gotta cool down," said Lana.
"Come on, Goh!"
"Aren't you rushing things?" Fluttershy commented.
"I got it." Goh suddenly agreed to it. "How can I refuse after hearing all of that? I've got my own pride to protect."
So it was settled. The two will have their battle outside the school. It was to be Raboot vs Turtonator. They wasted no time with idle chit-chat and got straight to it.
"Turtonator! Dragon Tail!"
"Tur!" The Blast Turtle Pokemon got on all fours with its tail emanating a green draconic energy. It propelled itself towards Raboot, ready to slam it as an overhead.
"Dodge it, Raboot!" Goh commanded. The Raboot Pokemon hopped up, avoiding the tail that was made to hit. "Then use Double Kick!"
"Ra!" Raboot front flipped forward, kicking Turtantor twice. Once in the face and once in the neck before jumping back to keep its distance.
"Good job, Raboot!"
"Not a bad show of skill." Kiawe complimented.
"Of course!"
"In that case...to really see what you're made of. I'll use my Z-Move."
"D-Did he just say Z-Move?" Fluttershy was having flashbacks to when she and her friends saw Ash use a Z-Move against Sombra way back then. They still remember how intense it was when they first saw it.
"Z-Moves are the strongest moves in Alola, born by unleashing the full power of trainer and Pokemon!" Kiawe's Z-Ring started to glow a fiery aura. "If you want to run...do it now."
"There's no way I'd run!"
"I would! We saw a Z-Move and it was crazy!" Pinkie yelled from the crowd.
"What does a Z-Move look like?" Apple Bloom asked.
"You're about to find out." Applejack replied.
"It's best to close your ears for this one." Hollow covered Jewel's ears, knowing how loud Z-Moves can get.
"Just as I'd expect from Ash's rival." Kiawe smiled.
"You keep calling me his rival...You're wrong!" Goh pointed at Kiawe.
"Hm?"
"I'm not Ash's rival! And I have no intention of helping Ash reach his dream. Dreams are something you reach with your own power, yeah? So Ash has to do it on his own. My dream is my own future that lies in my own hands. Ash feels the same way! So use your Z-Move. I'm no rival. But I'm Ash's research fellow partner! His friend! And as his friend, I want to show him a battle I can be proud of!"
"Hm. I like your courage." Kiawe looked over to his Marowak, nodding at it as he nodded back. "Here we go, Turtonator!"
"Nator!"
Kiawe put his hands together with the Z-Ring activating. Radiating lights shined from the ring as Turtonator could feel that overwhelming Z-Energy swell up from within.
"My full body..." Kiawe flipped over, stomping his foot on the ground as his Turtonator mimicked his movements. "soul..." He put his fist to his chest. "and Power! The Zenith of all that I am!" He placed his fingers on the ground, rising up as moved his arms up as if he was kicking up fire itself with a blazing aura surrounding him. "Becoming a blazing flame that burns like the mountain of Akala!" He put his hand forward, sending all the energy he built up towards Turtonator, charging up the Blast Turtle Pokemon.
"Tur!"
"Raboot! Let's put all the power we can muster into this attack!"
"Ra!"
"INFERNO OVERDRIVE!"
A breathtaking ball of fire was summoned from Turtonator, bursting with sweltering flames. The fireball was released, annihilating the ground beneath as the rocks erupted from the ground itself.
"Go! Ember!" Raboot kicked up a pebble, sending it upwards and jumping towards it. The Rabbit Pokemon sent enough force to ignite the pebble, rocketing it towards the much larger fire attack. Unsurprisingly, the Z-Move destroyed the Ember in less than a few seconds the moment it made contact. Now there was a huge ball of fire headed their way and there was nothing they could do to stop it. Until a shadowy figure managed to save them by dragging the duo out of the way.
The fireball's aftermath was a burst of pure fire, blowing in the wind as most of the Pokemon School was given a red tint from it. Kiawe watched the flames die out as the smoke began to clear. Goh and Raboot were saved, unharmed as they were placed near a palm tree. It was revealed that Marowak had swooped in to save them.
"Oh...Oh! That was just as aggressive as the first one we saw." Rarity held her chest, breathing in and out.
"I'll say!" Applejack was trying to put out the fire from her hat.
"I think that woke me up." Pinkie Pie's face was charred.
"I'm sure this was Kiawe's plan from the beginning." Ash nodded.
"Well done, Marowak." Kiawe went to his Pokemon, giving a high-five.
"Maro."
"Goh." Kiawe spoke to a defeated, Goh.
"What?"
"Look after Ash for me, alright?" Kiawe outstretched his hand to help Goh up.
"Kiawe...Alright!" Goh grabbed his arm instead, getting back up. "I may not be his rival, but I can certainly look after him for you."
"You really are stubborn. But, that's what I like to hear!"
"Maro!" Marowak picked up Raboot, taking him to Turtonator.
"Raboot?!"
"Turtonator!"
"By the way, Goh. What is your dream?" Kiawe asked.
"My dream...is to catch every Pokemon to work my way up to Mew!"
"Not a bad goal!" Lana said.
"...You think we should tell him that there are certain Pokemon he shouldn't be allowed to catch?" Jewel whispered to Hollow.
"Nah...He'll figure it out when he reaches Groudon." Hollow whispered back.
"I don't know about you, but I want to have some more fun in Alola!" Sweetie Belle jumped up.
"No rush. There's a lot to do under the Alolan sun." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
So, they spent some extra time in Alola before heading back to Equestria.
They had their chats as time passed. Hollow spoke to Celestia about the Pokemon School and his time. She was kind enough to shorten his work hours due to him helping save Saddle-Arabia and all the work he pours into teaching.
Kukui and Burnet had brought Lei to play along with Ash since he took a great big liking to him. Lei continued to get his tiny little baby hands on every face that got near him. Twilight got accustomed to Lei's grabbing actions, no longer minding him pulling on her face. Although it did hurt a lot despite how tiny his hands were.
Luna was given some more of that juice since she grew fond of it. Favourite drink so far as well.
The sun was actually setting now. With winter arriving, the moon comes out much quicker than normal. Now they were greeted with Alola's silver moon. It was as beautiful as its sun. The way it shined its moonlight upon Alola was star-dazzling.
"You're already proud of this world's sun, sister. Well, I'm proud of this moon. I as well wouldn't mind raising this world's moon."
"Mhm. Now you can see why it's so beautiful." Celestia put her hoof around her little sister. "I bet you wish that mother assigned you to a different moon now, hm?"
"Oh please. It's not like we have two moons in our world." Luna laughed along with her older sister. "Do we?"
The time to leave had come. It was back to Equestria but this time, they had the equipment to help them through the cold thankfully. And once they get home, everypony will be able to prepare for tomorrow's chilly day. They gave their goodbyes to Alola as Ash was leaving his second home once more.
"You truly have an amazing batch of friends, Ash. Even some that you can call family." Celestia commented.
"Of course. The one thing that's just as wonderful as friends...is family. I'll never forget my family just as much as I'll never forget my friends. Oh! I should tell dad and grandpa that when they return!"
"Grandpa?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah. Dad and grandpa are travelling together. He helped him reach Viridian City...even if it took four days." Ash scratched his head.
"Did it take longer for you?" Twilight questioned.
"Not really. Pretty fast actually." Ash laughed.
"Wait, you're supposed to go to Viridian next?!" Hollow perked up.
"Didn't you, dear?" Jewel turned to him.
"No...I went to Pewter first. Guess I took a shortcut, huh?" Hollow laughed as they all passed through the gateway.
Eventually, they managed to return to Ponyville as they could see that Pyrestar had already raised the moon.
"I already miss Alola." Apple Bloom sighed.
"We can go to Alola again sometime. Right, Ash?" Goh asked.
"Right! That's a promise!"
"Pikachu!"
A swell day had come to an end. A resounding revisit to Alola ended up giving fun and joy to everypony else with Ash being able to revisit his Alolan Family and Goh advancing forward on what he wants to do continuing further on. Whatever region they decide to visit next time, it's bound to have some enjoyment behind it as well as the journey continues!
"It's showtime." Sienna slid into Canterlot Castle with silence behind her. Lucien just simply hovered inside. "This is gonna be the best..."
"You sound pretty hyped up about it. This Kirlia plan better be greater than the behemoth stuff. The Rift already has that as his favourite event so far."
"Trust me. The behemoth stuff is gonna look like child's play with this." The Rift duo made their way towards Celestia's room, making sure to keep it quiet. They made themselves unseeable to the guards via simple invisibility. One of the many perks of being apart of the Rift. They soon came across Celestia's room, gently opening the door.
And there she was. Celestia's Kirlia. Snug in her bed, dozing off. She looked so comfortable and peaceful in it, dreaming of the best possible scenario.
"Aw...look at how small she is in there..." Sienna gushed at Kirlia. "She's so tiny and cute."
"Focus." Lucien nudged her.
"Oh right. All we're gonna do is unlock her full potential. Like so~" Sienna dropped a small sparkle of cosmic energy that went into Passion. It was as simple as that. "There we go. It's been planted. Now let's get moving."
"This better be as good as you made it out to be," Lucien spoke as the two were phasing away from the room. Now all they had to do was wait for morning to come and let the shenanigans ensue.
Morning.
The time to raise the sun had come. Celestia got to work as usual with Pyrestar waking up as well due to her tiring herself out last night.
"Good morning, Passion." Celestia yawned, looking down at her Pokemon.
"Kirlia." Kirlia fell off the bed, falling flat on her face. "Ki!"
"Today feels like it might be a slow today, right?"
"Kirlia." Passion hopped on her trainers back, nodding.
"Oh, what's this?" Celestia had noticed one of Luna's Pokemon sleeping outside her room. Her Gligar was completely asleep. "Luna!"
"Hm?" Luna poked her head from the side with her eyes baggy.
"I believe this belongs to you." Celestia moved her hoof over to Gligar.
"Oh, sorry. Gligar tends to sleepglide at times."
"Sleepglide?" Celestia had never heard of something like that before. But what can you expect when Pokemon are involved. New scenarios are always created.
"Return, Gligar." Luna returned Gligar to his Pokeball, yawning. "I hope you've planned some sort of present for Shining Armor and Cadence's baby soon. Not too long before they're born."
"I have the perfect present prepared for the baby when it arrives. I just hope she doesn't accidentally destroy it with her magic."
"Are you perhaps referring to when I was born?"
"Oh yes. When you were born, you destroyed father's gift for you in a second. The reaction on his face was quite hilarious."
"Hmmrgh...I can bet that you had a similar scenario when you were born."
"Right you are on that, Luna."
"Kir." Kirlia hopped off Celestia's back as she noticed some snow starting to fall from the gap between the curtains. She wanted a full view of it so all she had to do was open the curtains with her Psychic abilities. She did so, however, the outcome was not what she was expecting. Instead of just opening the curtains, she managed to rip off the entire window along with the walls, creating a huge open gap in the castle just sitting there."Lia?!"
"Hm? What?!" Celestia and Luna turned around, shocked at what they were seeing. "Passion, what did you do?!"
The Emotion Pokemon had no idea what just happened. She stopped using her abilities as she just simply placed the windows and wall down on the floor.
"The entire wall has been ripped off...Unbelievable." Luna's jaw dropped.
"Kirlia..." The Emotion Pokemon twiddled with her hands.
"Oh, Passion. I know you didn't mean it. But, be careful next time." Celestia gave Passion a head pat. We'll have to repair this wall, though." This was only the start of things to come. That was only the first sign of Passion's potential really showing. In fact, something small could be seen around her. Pink energy was surging around her body, flickering from time to time. It even made her body twitch a small bit.
Minutes later as she was trying to get a glass of water, she ended up managing to pick up the glass, but the power she emitted was so potent that it ended up destroying someone's fridge in Canterlot, making them jump. But it actually carried on. She ended up destroying multiple appliances in everypony's home without her noticing. If you listen closely, you could hear the sound of metal breaking apart. Once again, a surge of pink energy flickered around her, making her twitch for a second time.
Celestia went over to sit on her throne as usual with Passion following her there. Passion had her own seat that was made for her a few months back. This seat allows her to sit right next to Celestia without having to constantly stand up. But the moment she went to sit on it, a third surge of pink energy kicked in, obliterating the seat into nothing but ashes. Not only that, but the floor the chair sat on had been obliterated as well, making Passion's chair fall through the hole and further down into Canterlot. This was even capable of making a piece of the ground in Canterlot disappear, leaving another hole.
"Kirlia?!" Passion fell on her back, perplexed by what just happened. So was Celestia. She just saw an entire seat and part of a floor get destroyed by a strange pink surge.
"Oh, my. Passion, are you okay? You've been acting strange lately." Celestia looked down at her partner Pokemon.
"Lia..." Passion wasn't sure herself. A fourth surge made her body twitch. And this time, it was much more visible.
"Something is definitely wrong. Guards."
"Yes!" The royal guards zoomed towards the area in an instant.
"I want you to contact the nearest Pokemon Doctor from the other world."
"On it!" They zoomed off to do their job. Celestia was unsure of what was happening to Passion, but she recognized something like this when Twilight was granted the power of 3 Alicorns once. So maybe, she's having a similar experience to that.
Half an hour passed and a doctor from Nimbasa City had arrived to check up on Passion. He was an expert at a Pokemon genes and DNA so Celestia was hoping that he could figure out what was wrong.
"Alright, Kirlia. Open your mouth." The doctor said.
"Liaaaaaa..." The Emotion Pokemon opened up wide. The doctor placed a tube that scans a Pokemon's genes and DNA instantly, giving him information on a Pokemon's current status. Sort of a technological variant of Nurse Joy but it's used for more detailed actions. The readings came in and they were unexpected. It was unlike anything he's ever seen before.
"Oh. This is bizarre."
"What? Is something wrong?" Celestia asked him.
"I wouldn't say something's wrong. In fact, I'd say its more evenhanded. Neither good nor bad. But I can also say that your Kirlia here is experiencing some sort of overwhelming power surge from the looks of it."
"Overwhelming power surge? Should I perhaps be worried about that?"
"Well, it's perfectly normal for a Pokemon to experience something like this. After all, Pokemon had limitless potential. There's no telling how strong they can become depending on the trainer. So it's natural for them to suddenly have power spikes from time to time. But this...This is the largest I've seen ever. Your Kirlia has exceeded the capabilities of a peak performance Kirlia. In fact, I'd even say that it's more powerful than most Gardevoir's out there. And that's nothing to scoff at."
"More powerful than most of its final evolutions? Unbelievable." Luna who was here was taken aback.
"Mhm. I believe this might be the most powerful Kirlia ever. At least, in its time."
"Then...what should I do?"
"Well, the best option I can give you is to let your Kirlia stay put and rest. Pokemon tend to improve even further by constant movements and just being active. If your Kirlia rests for a bit, then its surging energy will most likely calm down."
"Alright. Thank you, doctor." Celestia thank you.
"No problem, princess. Alright. Let's go Porygon." Porygon was revealed to be the machine as it returned to its normal Porygon2 form. The doctor exited, leaving some advice and help for Celestia and Passion.
"Alright, Passion. You heard the doctor. It's probably best for you to get some rest." Celestia picked up her Pokemon. "Perhaps you'll feel better after, alright?"
"Should we be perhaps worried about her intense power surge?" Luna whispered to Darkrai.
"Probably. If what that human said was true, then who knows what she might up doing next if she decided to become active again."
"Down you go, Passion." Celestia placed Passion back in her bed, tucking her in.
"Kirlia."
"I know that it feels weird. Twilight felt the same before when Tirek was on the move. But it will be alright. I promise." Celestia gave Passion a pat on the head, making her feel at ease. "Get some rest now." The Sun Princess took her leave, closing the door behind her and leaving her Pokemon to lounge away.
A few hours have gone by. 4 actually. So the day is still pretty young. And so is the snow.
Snow everywhere. Perhaps the most snow that Equestria has had in a while. On the plus, it's less chilly today so everypony doesn't have to worry about being frozen into a living ice cube if they even dare think about setting hoof outside of their homes. But some extra clothing was still needed to keep warm especially when night arrives.
At Twilight's Lab, some of the Pokemon from PokePark had come out to help Twilight in her pursuit for further knowledge of Pokemon. Today she was researching...pain? Of all things.
"Okay...let's test out the pain measurements. Which one of you can exhibit the most pain." She had a Ferrothorn, Gible and a Bisharp for the test.
"Bisharp!"
"Ferro!"
"Gible!"
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Twilight?" Spike gulped, not approving on of this.
"Don't worry, Spike. This is necessary. If I can find out which Pokemon can deal heavy amounts of pain, we'll know which ones to be careful of the next time a threat comes up with them involved. Doesn't hurt to be too prepared."
"But this will hurt."
"Okay first up...Gible." Twilight put her hoof out as the Land Shark Pokemon chomped on Twilight's hoof with its teeth digging right into her.
"Gib!"
"Ow, that hurt!" Twilight pulled her hoof away. I'll give that a...2.4. Next. Ferrothorn..." She put her hoof out for Ferrothorn next, poking at its spiked feelers. "AGH!" She quickly pulled her hoof away, shaking it about as she blew in it. "Hoo...t-that's a...that's...that's a 4.5."
"Twilight you can stop while you still have the chance!" Spike pleaded.
"Just one more. Bisharp."
"Bisharp."
Twilight put her untouched hoof right towards Bisharp's sharp edges. The moment she made contact with it, she could feel the pain of a thousand swords stabbing into her hoof at the same time at the exact same spot without rest, reaching piercing through her skin and flesh with more just coming in. This made Twilight's jaw drop, causing the young alicorn to pause for a moment.
"T-Twilight...are you okay?" Spike went up to Twilight, seeing her frozen. Bisharp waved his blades in front of her face while Eve and Minccy poked at her. Bisharp realized that the amount of pain she's feeling right now was so grand, it was probably best to grab the Cove Area's Audino before she erupts with a mighty cry of pain.
Audino quickly used the move Heal Pulse on Twilight's hoof easing down her pain. Which was a good call. Because if she let out her scream, who knows how defeating it would be. But Twilight knew how horrible it was. If Audino hadn't come to heal her, she would've got on the floor, squirming, tossing and turning, tearing up, trying her best to ease the pain, blowing on her hooves constantly, putting ice on it, banging her hooves on the floor and other things everyone tries to eliminate severe pain.
"T-T-Thanks Audino." Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "That deserves a 9. For sure."
"Are you done?"
"Done." Twilight nodded. "Alright. Next time, let's try and see which Pokemon has the fastest reaction time. Thanks, everyone. You can head back to PokePark now."
"Bisharp." Bisharp and the others waved goodbye to Twilight, returning to the Park and their respected areas.
"That's a good portion of the pain scale done. There's still a ton more dangerous Pokemon that I want to test for that."
"That's gonna end up putting you in a hospital Twilight."
"No need to worry, Spike. I'll be fine. Now can you give me those Great Balls over there? I still haven't finished figuring out how various Pokeballs work and why some are more effective than others in specific situations." Twilight looked down on a singular Pokeball, trying her best to solve it. They were pretty complicated despite being so simple.
Spike went over to grab them but he was met with an unexpected surprise. The entire cabinet of Great Balls was suddenly being hoisted up, floating in the air with pink energy surrounding it. Spike could notice that this wasn't Twilight's magic. Not at all. Because Twilight's magic doesn't have intense pink energy surging as if it was about to combust.
"Uh...Twilight..." Spike back up, pulling Twilight's tail.
"Yeah Spike?" She turned around, catching the first glimpse of the energy. "Oh my Arceus...What's going on?!" This wasn't just happening with the cabinets. This was affecting her entire lab. She could feel her roof ripping apart along with the floor being separated. Even the hard thick walls of the labs were being torn apart.
It went even further. Ponyville itself was affected as well. All of it. Passion's energy is so grandiose that it was reaching this far across Equestria. Rarity's boutique was being dismantled from top to bottom. All of her hard work was turned into nothing but ash right in front of her.
"My dresses! All that hard work! Gone!" Rarity bellowed as all of her Leavanny held her and Sweetie Belle close. The Pokemon House was especially taking damage. All the Pokemon fled from the inside of the house, rushing over to Fluttershy who was huddled up with every Pokemon there. They witnessed the entire house being levitated in the air with an aura pink energy surrounding it.
Town Hall was ripped from the earth itself, causing the entire ground to rise up. Mayor Mare held on to her Stoutland, confused and afraid about what was going on.
The entire Apple Orchard was flipped upside down with the trees falling from above like rain. A tree even managed to fall on the Apple Family's home, crushing it.
Everywhere in Ponyville, this pink energy was causing mishaps and mayhem.
"It's going to be alright everyone. I hope." Fluttershy gulped.
All of Cloudsdale was taking a beating from this. Not just Cloudsdale, but the skies themselves. Entire clouds were being shifted around like crazy, moving from side to side, up and down, turning around and changing shape. The homes in Cloudsdale were being spun around like a gyro, making the pegasi who lived in those homes all dizzy and sick.
"I think I'm gonna hurl..." Cloudchaser put her hoof in her mouth.
"Wheeee!!" Derpy was enjoying this however along with her Wooper.
"I don't...feel...so..." Thunderlane couldn't finish his sentence with all this spinning. Rainbow Dash held onto her table with all her might but that was no good. Soon she and the pegasi flew out of Cloudsdale, heading to ground level to escape this whirling chaos.
"What is all of this?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
As if it couldn't go any further, Griffonstone, Yakyakistan, Dodge City, even the Crystal Empire had their buildings and castles suddenly float up for no reason that they're aware of. It didn't stop there. The amount of power being exhibited was even dynamic enough to reach Tartarus itself. Soon, the entire ground was being split in half. As if there was a giant hand ripping the Earth itself.
All the way back at Canterlot, Celestia rushed in to see Passion floating in midair with a huge pink bubble with electrifying plasma surrounding her. Her eyes were flashing whilst rays of pink light shot out of her. These rays made contact with the furniture. Either obliterating them into nothing or just causing them to float.
"Passion!" Celestia gasped. She attempted to get close to her Pokemon, but that was quickly negated by a powerful pulse that emitted from the bubble that surrounded her. The seismic wave of magic had pushed Celestia back, causing the walls around her room to fall apart. Whatever was happening to Passion, it was surreal. Celestia put a barrier around herself, attempting to get closer to Passion, but even that wasn't enough to protect her. The barrier was shattered into nothingness, once again rocketing the Sun Princess back. This time, out of her room. "W-What is happening?!"
"Kir..." Passion squirmed about, trying to stop but it was no use. The more she struggled, the more the magic continued to grow. Luna rushed to the scene, seeing Passion in her current state. Her assumption about worried came true. But this was worse than she could ever imagine.
"Luna! Don't get too close to her!" Celestia warned her little sister. Luna kept her distance, knowing that there was nothing she could do stop this.
"What happened, sister?!"
"I don't know! All of a sudden, all of Canterlot was surrounded by Passion's energy, entire homes were being ripped from the ground itself. And when I came inside, this happened!"
"There has to be a way to stop her...Darkrai!"
"Yes!" Darkrai emerged from the shadows.
"Use Dark Void!" Luna commanded as she was pushed back by the waves of the bubble. Darkrai managed to resist it barely, sending a void of darkness Passion's way. The void just barely managed to break through the bubble, making contact with the Emotion Pokemon. It was a good call actually. Dark Void was useful since it can put anyone to sleep the moment it hits.
And that's what it did. Passion was calming down. Her bubble was shrinking. The pink aura was fading away. The Psychic-Fairy-Type fell to the almost destroyed ground, falling asleep into a nightmare state.
"Thank you, Luna." Celestia let out a sigh of relief.
"G-Good job, Darkrai." Luna sat down.
Kirlia was having a horrible nightmare, squirming around as that same pink surge was surrounding her tiny body once more. Indicating that at any moment, it could start up again. There was a moment of silence and peace across Equestria. But, the aftermath was a bit destructive. All the buildings that were being lifted were finally placed back down on the ground, but the impact caused some of them to almost break apart. Almost.
"W-W-What just happened?" Twilight was perplexed by this. She just witnessed all of Ponyville on the brink of destruction in a few seconds.
"Espeon..." Eve was shuddering as she was on the verge of fainting.
"I...I think it's over." Spike looked outside to see the pink aura no longer present in Ponyville. Which was a good sign. All the buildings were back on the ground, albeit almost destroyed and some were even upside down. "You might wanna look at this though."
Twilight and her Pokemon came out to the now chaotic Ponyville that met their eyes. "This doesn't look like Ponyville anymore, Spike..."
"No kidding."
"Twilight!" Pinkie called for Twilight's name as she was on a balloon. "Have you noticed the change in scenery?!"
"Pretty sure everypony's noticed it Pinkie Pie!"
"Okay! Bye!" The balloon sent Pinkie away...somewhere.
"Is everypony okay?" Twilight went up to Roseluck and Amethyst Star who had ended up in a barrel that came from Sweet Apple Acres. It seems that Passion managed to displace a few things here and there. Scootaloo's head poked out of SugarCube corner's wall. She was lucky that it already had a hole there because if not, she'd have to deal with having head be smashed through the wall.
"We're fine. Hooves a bit hurt though." Amethyst held her hoof as it was bruised.
"Princess Twilight. What was that?" Roseluck asked.
"I don't have a clue. I'm just as lost as everypony else." Twilight shook her head.
"Twilight!" Spike came running in with a letter from Princess Celestia. It was news regarding the incident that occurred with Passion and her sudden effect over Equestria. "You gotta read this!" Twilight took the scroll from Spike opening it up, immediately. It seemed highly important, which it was. When Twilight's eyes met with the words, she could only gasp.
"Princess Celestia's Kirlia?!" Twilight was needed at Canterlot pronto.
"What's this about Celestia's Kirlia?" Amethyst got herself out of the barrel finally.
"It says here that she's the cause behind it!"
"What? You mean her cute little Kirlia?" Roseluck chuckled as she fell over whilst still in the barrel. "Woah! Ow...How can a Pokemon like that cause all of this?"
"It's not too surprising. Pokemon have already shown that they're capable of unimaginable feats...but even I'm taken aback that Passion was able to cause....this!" Twilight looked over Ponyville, seeing how Passion had effected the entire town from the distance alone. "It looks like we might be needed. Let's go Spike."
"Um, actually. There's one more." Spike gave Twilight the second scroll as she read that one as well.
"Dear Twilight. Please do not engage. Passion is currently undergoing an unusual flow of surges at the moment. If you were to arrive at Canterlot, you'd risk being caught up in the sudden disasters that she could cause. The best option is to stay at Ponyville whilst I attempt to solve this issue."
"So...that's a no go?" Amethyst helped Roseluck out.
"No go. I can't get involved with this one. Neither can my friends. So...we're just stuck here until Princess Celestia can solve this situation."
"Great. In the meantime, can you help me out? I think my home got turned sideways from that stuff." Roseluck nudged her head over at her home which was indeed tilted sideways.
"Alright. We'll have everypony do some cleanup. Let's hope nopony else was hurt too bad."
Passion was still in her nightmare state due to Darkrai's Dark Void. While it was horrible, it was the only way of keeping her under control.
Darkrai stood by, in case he had to put her back to sleep once more. He was generally worried for his fellow Pokemon considering what she was able to do in a few minutes. And considering that she's not even fully evolved yet. But he also wonders what could've caused her to suddenly spark up with tons of energy like that.
Whatever Passion was having nightmares of, it was most likely less horrible than what she caused today and will cause. Passion squirmed around in her bed, feeling uncomfortable. Whether it was from the nightmare or the surge within her, it was a horrible feeling.
Celestia was in her throne room, keeping her distance from the huge gaping hole in the floor as she had scrolls flooding in from Yakyakistan and Griffonstone about the sudden pink aura that appeared in their land. It wasn't too difficult to know that Equestria somehow was the cause of this.
But she didn't care about any of that at the moment. All she cared about was the wellbeing of her Pokemon.
"Oh, Passion. What could be wrong with you?" Celestia sighed.
"Is something bothering you, Celestia?" Pyrestar had arrived at the throne room, seeing the destruction left behind. "What could've happened here?"
"It's a bit of an odd story. Passion has been going through an unusual power surge recently. For what reason, I don't know. Neither does a highly-professional Pokemon doctor. And it worries me. What if something horrible is happening to her?" Celestia bit her hoof.
"It does seem to be an issue of a high degree. Unfortunately, I do not believe I can help you with this one. Unlike you, I am not well versed in this 'Pokemon' business. If I was, I would have a solution to your current predicament."
"It's fine, Pyrestar. This is something I have to solve on my own. Passion is my Pokemon after all. So I must be the one to help her."
"Spoken like a true princess, Celestia. If I was split into two once more, the Celestia of my world would be proud."
"Thank you. I just hope that she manages to recuperate soon." Celestia smiled. All of a sudden, without warning, Darkrai was launched through the walls with pink energy flowing out of him as he tumbled across the floor. "Darkrai?! What happened?!"
"P-Passion..." Darkrai was struggling to get up. Whatever happened dealt a huge number on him. It was revealed that Passion had woken up, surging once more. But this time, her magic had heightened to a higher level this time. As if she had grown in her sleep. She suddenly created a psychic emission, creating enough vibrations and force to create a small sonic boom. Celestia and Pyrestar covered their ears as the sonic boom rung throughout the castle and out into Canterlot.
"Kir...lia..."
"T-Try putting her to sleep again, Darkrai!"
"I'm trying but...her bubble has improved greatly." Darkrai groaned.
The bubble wasn't the only thing that had improved. Passion's capabilities had also improved greatly. One of the many things she could perform was controlling the electrical surges in anyone's brain. Human, pony or Pokemon. Almost as if it was some sort of mental manipulation. And it was showing. The guards could feel their minds being tempered with, causing them to get on the ground, holding their head. The same could be said for Darkrai and Pyrestar however Pyrestar was only mildly affected by it.
However, she had her limitations at the moment. The overwhelming exertion of energy was causing her mind to be affected as well, causing the young Emotion Pokemon to faint, falling to the ground once more. This time, without the cause of having to use Dark Void, since that was now useless due to how powerful she's grown. Once again, everything was calm, but Passion left a massive aftermath.
"Inconceivable. I've never experienced anything like that before." Pyrestar said, stunned.
"Now you see. She's been like this for a while now. I don't know what to do or what is wrong with her."
"I don't have an idea either. I can't think of any other Pokemon capable of this expect for M-" Darkrai was about to finish his sentence until Luna rushed in.
"Is everything alright?! Are none of you hurt!" Luna bellowed as she held her head. "It seems that it managed to affect her as well. "Ugh..."
"We're fine, Luna but...I can't say the same for my Passion." Celestia sulked. "What do I do..."? Celestia felt like she was being backed up against the corner. She's never had to think this hard before in her life.
"Perhaps...the best thing to do is contain her for the time being." Pyrestar suggested.
"Contain her?" Celestia turned to her fused self. "I'm..not sure of this."
"There is no better option at the moment. If she can exhibit this much magical power without even having free will, then who knows what else she might cause when she awakens and experiences another power surge."
"I have to agree with Pyrestar on this one sister. Even though...she is half of you. Passion isn't safe for Equestria at the moment. It might be best to keep her in a protective space so that nopony can be harmed once more."
"...Alright. I suppose so." Celestia had to agree. No better option as Pyrestar said. So it was settled. All three alicorns put their magic together, containing the Emotion Pokemon inside of a blockade of magic in order to confine her. This blockade had the appearance of a glass box but had the material of pure steel. So it allowed Passion to still see out of it. This box is only used for much smaller threats to halt their magic. Not because they're immensely dangerous...but because they are small in size.
Passion had already woken up, seeing her current location inside this odd blockade. She got up as she noticed that the floor beneath her was nothing but glass. She saw Celestia outside, attempting to walk towards her but the wall of the box halted her by hitting her face. She now knew she was in a box.
"Kir!" She held her face. "Kirlia?"
"Sorry Passion. But this is for the best at the moment. But, I promise to find a way to help you." Celestia placed her hooves on the box. Passion looked like she was about to tear up and it wasn't making Celestia feel any better. "I know. Just sit tight. I'll do the best I can alright."
"Kirlia."
Passion was left alone in the throne room while Celestia sets off to find a way to save her Pokemon. All they had to do now was hope that Passion doesn't get another sudden power surge that causes effects on a grandiose scale. But it was already happening. Her body was twitching once more as that same pink energy started sparking around her. Whatever she was about to do next wasn't going to pretty. Not one bit.
It's been 6 hours since Passion's sudden power surges throughout the day. The damage she's caused was already enough. And if she continues to have sudden surges once more, who knows what she could do next. So for the meantime, she was kept contained inside a cube that restrained her magic.
"Kirlia..." The Emotion Pokemon sat down in the cube, holding her knees. It was for her own good, unfortunately. It would ensure the safety of Equestria at the end of the day. She was thinking about all the damage she managed to cause in the span of those few hours earlier and feared what could've happened if she hadn't fainted at the last second.
Celestia wasn't a fan of this either. Which is why she was currently doing her very best to find a solution to this. Passion's condition has magic relations. So maybe, there's a spell somewhere that can fix this. She was at Canterlot Library, shuffling through every book that was there, seeing if Starswirl or anypony else had a book that was perfect for a situation like this.
"There has to be something..." Celestia sat down with books surrounded around her. The more she searched the more she was stressing herself out. The ponies of Canterlot watched as they saw their princess currently in a state of struggle and worry. Something they had never seen before. "No...that's not it." Celestia sighed, tossing aside a book. At this rate, she could be at this for hours. The ponies figured that it would be best to leave Celestia to it. Probably wasn't a good idea to keep on watching her while she's in that state.
Luna had entered the library, seeing her big sister go through this endeavour. So, being her little sister, it was her job to support her big sister through her hard times. Even if she didn't have a clue on how to solve this as well.
"Um. Sister." Luna went up to Celestia.
"Not now, Luna." Celestia replied.
"Oh. Sorry. I was just hoping that I could assist you."
"I wish you could, Luna but...I've made zero progress so far. Nothing here is proving to be of any help. I'm not sure that Starswirl or anypony prepared for something like this..." She groaned.
"Well...maybe you could obtain some answers with your Boundless Cutie Mark? If it has an infinite array of marks, then perhaps there might be something there that could assist. If you can find it that is."
"...Maybe. But I'm not sure this Boundless Cutie Mark will change much. At this point...I don't know what will." She lowered her head, planting her face in the pile of books she gathered. "What to do...What to do..."
"Oh, sister. I hate seeing you in such a state." Luna held her big sister up. "Maybe you should get some rest of your own."
"I can't rest, Luna. I have to find a solution to this. Or else Passion could suffer even further, causing destruction and mishaps across Equestria."
"I understand but...Perhaps stressing yourself out isn't helping the situation. If you're struggling this much without any progress, then maybe it would be best to slow down. For your own sake."
"I know that, but this is for Passion's sake. So I can't afford to slow down." Celestia was sticking with her choice to continue searching, even if it could potentially be bad for her health. There was no talking her out of it.
"Alright. I'll leave you to it." Luna exited the library, seeing her sister resume her hard work. Once Luna was outside, she took a moment to realise how much work Celestia has put in throughout the years. After Celestia banished Nightmare Moon for the first time, she's had to watch over Equestria on her own whilst raising and lowering the sun and the moon at the exact same time. Even when Luna returned, things didn't get any better from thereon. The royal wedding, the Everfree Forest attacking, Ghetsis, Tirek, all of those were situations she couldn't overcome. Despite all of this, she gave it all her best effort, reminding everypony as to why she's the ruler of Equestria. Even if Luna couldn't help her, she could at least do something to ease her. So she hatched a plan.
Ponyville, hours after the sudden incident.
There was a long cleanup process currently ongoing in Ponyvlle. Passion's magic really did a number on it despite the distance. But this cleanup wasn't just picking up rubble or rearranging things. Not at all. Passion managed to rip the ground itself apart. So there were cracks here and there with gaping holes. That's going to be a much more difficult task than just sweeping. But with Pokemon on their side, the difficulty can be lowered.
Big Mac's Machamp was proving to be the most efficient helper. With his overwhelming strength had four arms, he was able to flip over the buildings that were topped back to their original position. He even placed the trees back in their original spots.
"Great job, Machamp." said Applejack.
"Machamp!"
"So yeah. Now you know." Pinkie Pie was speaking to both Ash and Goh who had just arrived to see the current state of Ponyville.
"A small little Kirlia did this?" Goh couldn't believe it.
"Hmm...Sounds like a real issue huh. But if Celestia believes she can handle it then its should go well." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
"Well, yeah the ruler of Equestria for a reason, duh!" Pinkie giggled grabbing Ash's face moving it about. "But, Twilight's a bit worried."
"Of course I'm worried! More than a bit!" Twilight rushed over, grabbing Pinkie's face. "Most of the time problems such as these only come up when there's somepony evil involved. This is one of us! Celestia's Pokemon! And she doesn't have any control of her own power! There's a lot of reasons to be worried!"
"I am on the same boat as you, Twilight Sparkle," spoke Luna who had arrived at Ponyville for actions regarding her big sister.
"Princess Luna?" Twilight turned to her. "Did something else happen at Canterlot?"
"No. Nothing yet. I came here because...I am planning a party."
"I'm already on it!" Pinkie poked her head between both Twilight and Luna. "What kind are we talking about? Birthday? Surprise? Oh! Did you find a very special some-pony?!"
"None of those. It is a 'Thank you Party'. Similar to what happened with you, Ash Ketchum."
"Oh! Who are we thanking for all the hard work?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"For my sister."
"A 'Thank you Party' for Princess Celestia? That's never been done before!" Pinkie just realized this is a brand new discovery in Equestria history.
"For all the hard work that she's done for us. Noticing this has made me realize that my sister goes through a plethora of struggles in her daily life. It doesn't help that I was the cause of some of those struggles. I wish to fix all of that by throwing her the best party imaginable."
"That touched my heart." Pinkie wiped her tears with Jade's tail, blowing her nose on it as well. "Alright! I won't let you down, Princess Luna!"
"I know you won't, Pinkie Pie. And I can already tell that nopony else will. You all truly love my sister after all."
"Of course. We'll give it more than 100%. Right, Goh?" Ash put his arm around Goh.
"Pika-Pikachu?"
"Huh? Me too? Well uh...I don't know much about her...but if it's for a good cause I'll pitch in." Goh replied.
"Thank you all so much. From the bottom of my heart. But I can guarantee that my sister will thank you even more."
"Not a problem, Princess Luna. Pinkie Pie. Repairs will have to wait. Get to planning that party." Twilight commanded.
"Will do, can do!" Pinkie saluted as she rushed off into SugarCube Corner to set everything up.
"Ash. I can already count on you, Rainbow Dash, Hollow and Pikachu to do all the flashy stuff, right?"
"Mhm! We'll be sure to put on a show! I'll get most of my Pokemon too!"
"Pikachu!"
"Good. Like you said. Let's give it more than 100%."
The party planning was set in motion. Unbeknownst to Celestia, Luna had involved everypony in Canterlot and Ponyville. It's been a long time coming, but Celestia deserves this. Even Pyrestar was involved. Which was a perfect pick actually, since she's half Celestia, Pinkie can know what her preferences are.
Celestia in the meanwhile was still giving it everything she had to save her Pokemon. She managed to overexert herself in that timespan, causing the Sun Princess to actually fall asleep from exhaustion, laying on the books. The librarian of Canterlot Library quietly walked out, also being informed about this party.
"Sssh. Sleep tight, Princess. Come on Chatot. Let her rest" said the Librarian.
"Let her rest." Chatot repeated but with silence behind its voice.
She closed the door gently, leaving Celestia to rest.
"Alright, everyone. Gather around." Ash huddled the Pokemon he over at Oaks Lab towards him. "We have to make sure that we pull off something awesome for Celestia, okay? So let's take a page out of Dawn's book and dazzle them."
"Infernape!"
"Donphan!"
"Hawlu!" All of Ash's Pokemon agreed.
"I didn't take you to be the party planning type Ash," Delia said as she and Oak walked up to him.
"I learned a lot from all the friends I've been with over the years, ya know. Sort of picked up some new skills along the way."
"Pikachu."
"Is there anything I can do to help? You know on your third birthday, your father and I threw a party that the entire would be proud of. Then again, they were all there."
"Sure, mom! You can pitch in with what you got." Ash replied. "What about your, Professor Oak?"
"Me? Sorry Ash, my boy. I'll have to sit out for this one Not exactly an expert at parties."
"That's fine. Alright, everyone! Let's get this going!" Ash exclaimed as all of his Pokemon cheered.
Hollow had arrived at Canterlot, stepping on some leftover rubble from the destruction Passion caused. He noticed that everypony was keeping the volume to a minimum. Don't wanna wake Celestia up and ruin the surprise.
"Hollow. Glad that you managed to make it here." Luna flew to him. "I assume that you have a good selection of Pokemon to pull off dazzling tricks."
"Well, actually I brought my wife's Pokemon instead of my own since they're more experienced in this sort of stuff."
"That'll do. Hurry. Everypony will be arriving at Canterlot soon. There is no time to waste."
"Sure. But what happened here? What caused this?"
"An issue with Celestia's Kirlia. No time to explain." Luna dragged Hollow along with her magic.
Shining Armor and Cadence had shown up to Canterlot as well, deciding to leave the Crystal Empire for a bit. Celestia was an aunt to Cadence and she was a mother figure to Twilight, so that makes her great in both Cadence and Shining Armor's books.
"Is she still asleep?" Shining Armor asked a guard as he nodded in response. "Good. Made it in time."
"Hope auntie likes it. Who am I kidding? It's cake. Of course, she will." Cadence had behind her a cake wrapped up in a gift to hide it. But the shape was recognizable as cake. And some of the vanilla from it was dripping through the gift ribbon.
Whilst all of this was going down, both Celestia and Passion were completely immobile. One from over-exhaustion and the other from over-exertion. Even when they were far apart, they were both in perfect sync. Showing just how much a trainer and their Pokemon have in common. Passion decided to send herself to sleep without the use of Darkrai's Dark Void. Now she and Celestia had something in common even more.
Hours have passed. Enough time for Celestia to finally wake up. When had awoken, she gasped, falling over the books as they landed on her head. Her sleep was long that her regalia managed to fall off her somehow. She groaned, rubbing her eyes as she felt somewhat refreshed. Celestia still remembered what she was up to earlier. Figuring out a way to save Passion.
"...Fell asleep." Celestia yawned. She looked around to see that the lights had been turned off in the library with nopony present whatsoever. Leaving her completely alone. And thanks to it being winter with snow, the skies were a bit darker now but it was still pretty bright. "And I'm alone too..." She sighed.
Dead silence on the inside and even outside of Canterlot. Nopony was there. Not a single sight or sound of one. There wasn't even any Pokemon at all. Which is odd considering how common they are.
"None of these books are doing me any good. There's nothing to help." Celestia shoved the pile of books aside as she lowered her head. "I wish mother was still here. She'd probably know what to do." The sun princess stood up, moving towards the outdoors. She actually ended up forgetting her regalia as it was just laying about on the carpet floor.
Once she exited the library, she could feel and hear the snow and wind blowing her direction. Snow-covered the ceilings, windows and every nook and cranny of Canterlot. Some even got in the fountain and indoors. The soft slushy powder of snow could be felt on her hooves as she left an imprint there.
Due to her wearing nothing, she could feel the chill of the snow race through her body, causing her to shudder and shake a bit. The deep blue coloured sky was being complimented by a small glimpse of the golden sun, just trying to show its entire celestial body to the entire world in this cold winter wonderland. Celestia noticed that there was a trail of what seemed to be Pokeballs that led somewhere.
"Pokeballs?" She wondered. The alicorn followed the Pokeballs, venturing on their path. As she followed the seemingly endless line of Pokeballs, she noticed that it was directed at the castle. Why is that? There's nopony here. You can't even hear any sounds coming from the castle at all. But she continued to follow the trail of capturing items.
Entering the castle, the trail had changed. Becoming a trail of sliced cake on plates now. A sudden surprising change of pace.
"This is odd..." Celestia went up to the cake, looking down at it. She noticed that it was her favourite flavour. Vanilla. She looked around to see if anypony was watching. But due to the absolute silence, nopony was. Not even a single guard. The Sun Princess picked up a plate of cake, biting onto it as the delicious taste of enormous swiss and fine fresh flavour of vanilla. Vanilla may not be the most popular flavour on cakes to many ponies since its so basic, plain and safe, but Celestia loved it ever since she was a filly. So who cares? It tastes good to her. "Mmm...Always as good as it appears to be."
She continued to pick up the slices of cake as she went along. She didn't even notice where she was heading anymore. All she cared about was keeping her eyes on the plain white cake. But it was due to this that the secret could be even better than expected. Because once Celestia reached the final slice of cake, she was greeted to her throne room. She took a moment to savour the final bite, tasting the last of charming vanilla as she opened her eyes to a resounding surprise.
"SURPRISE!"
Everypony from Canterlot and Ponyville had bellowed at the top of their lungs. They were all here. Pokemon included. Even Blueblood and the Swords of Justice were here. The sight of it was astonishing to the non-regal dressed princess. Seeing everypony that she's probably met throughout her long reign here was a sight to behold. She saw how they laid out her entire throne room in the form a party. Instead of the usual balloons, paper and simple sticker decorations, they went above and beyond for this.
Everything was Celestia, Kirlia and sun-themed. From the giant Celestia balloon and Kirlia doll to a huge sun statue made out of crystals courtesy of the Crystal Empire and even the leviathan of a vanilla cake that towered over everything else, almost reaching the ceiling even. They even pitched in to repair the destroyed portion of the floor. And by repair, Ash basically got his Snorlax to fill up the hole. It was a perfect fit.
There was even a painting made by a Smeargle that showcased Princess Celestia standing at the top, showcasing all of the hard work she's done over the years. Thanks to Twilight filling the Painter Pokemon with the information. And on the top of the cake was small little decoration of Celestia and her Kirlia together.
Nice.
"Surprise, sister!" Luna ran over to her flabbergasted older sister. "Sorry if this seems a bit sudden! I wanted to make it as surprising as it can be! What do you think?" Luna let out a wide smile. Everyone leaned forward, hoping to get Celestia's response with wide smiles on their faces as well. Now they just had to wait for the answer.
Celestia's eyes were still examining everything around her. All of this. All this flash, these decorations, these larger than life party extensions that you wouldn't expect to find in the same room together was something that couldn't be ignored. Then...her reaction finally came in. It wasn't what everyone was expecting.
Celestia was feeling an emotion that she already knew existed and she had, but it has never been shown with her involved ever before. She's cried before. It was no mystery. But not like this. Celestia's hooves were shaking, unable to control their balance as she felt like passing out from the sight of it, but she kept firm. In her eyes, light blue tears were filling up in them, wobbling about as if they were struggling to fall. A great tremor overtook her. Tears raced down her cheeks. The sun princess lowered her head, letting out small silent bewailing sounds that could still be vividly heard from everyone else. You could even hear her whimpering a bit.
"S-Sister?" Luna was worried about her sister's current state once more. She leaned forward, putting her hoof over her big sister's neck. "A-Are you alright? If this is too much for you, I can simply just call it off." Many ponies as well thought that she was generally upset at all of this, but Audino and a few others could tell that those sounds weren't the sounds of sadness. But rather the sounds of joy, jubilance, alleviation and pure happiness. And it finally showed.
"No...it's perfect." Celestia spoke, putting her hooves over her eyes. "Thank you...Thank you all!" Celestia pulled Luna towards her, giving her little sister the biggest hug she'll ever feel. Nothing will come close.
"C-Can't breathe..." Luna attempted to gasp for air.
"Sorry." Celestia let Luna go, having a small giggle. "You did this all for me? Every last one of you?"
"Indeed. We all wanted to say thank you. We've actually never given our full gratitude to you. After everything you've done, all that you've been put through, we've never taken the time to realize just how much work and effort you put into ruling Equestria now matter how dire and difficult it continues to get. I suppose that's why you're the ruler after all. And it's why we should be thanking you instead of you thanking us constantly."
"Luna. I never cared for overwhelming gratitude. I put the ones I love over everything else. I love all of Equestria. I rule and protect it not because I seek fortune or fame. But because I want to see you all smile. I don't care if I'm wounded or even if I fail. Because I want to share all my love with you. All of you. And that's all that matters to me." Celestia nodded. And that's when the Boundless Cutie Mark acted up again for so long. Celestia's Cutie Mark which was in the centre of it all emanated a beautiful glowing light that went by in a flash.
"S-SOBBLE!" The entire speech that Celestia gave was enough to get the emotions in Sobble running. And as we all know. If Sobble cries, everyone cries. But this time, they were crying for a reason. They didn't even need Sobble to get most of them to tear up. Celestia's words were enough.
"She's so cool!" Sunrise put his hoof over his eyes, trying to act like he wasn't crying.
"This is not in character for me..." Darkrai was in the shadows, trying not to cry. But he was happy for Celestia as well.
"I'm not crying...it's liquid pride." Both Shining Armor and Keldeo said.
"D-DRAGONITE!" Ash's Dragonite couldn't take it anymore. It needed to give a glorious hug to everyone due to all this happiness being spread about. So it flew over to Celestia and everypony else, ready to hug them all in one.
"No Dragonite wait!" Twilight attempted to stop Dragonite, but it was too late. The number of ponies the Dragon Pokemon could hug were in its clutches. But nopony was complaining. Dragonite's hugs are warm.
"Now! Let's get this party started!" Pinkie bounced up, announcing that the party can finally begin.
The party was underway. Everything was for Celestia. Everything here was hers to touch and interact with. And so she did. She admired the amazing painting that BigTime Ben's Smeargle managed to paint. The art style was unique and unlike anything she had ever seen before, becoming an instant favourite to her. She went over to the balloons of her and Passion as she gave them a nice soft hug. These balloons are both soft and durable so they were impossible to pop so easily, making them perfect for hugging.
Ash, Hollow and Pikachu showed off some dazzling moves that a Pokemon contest would probably approve of. Infernape used Flamethrower in the air whilst Buizel spun around with Pulse, creating a whirlwind of water that surrounded the Flamethrower. Some extra pizzaz was added with Hollow using his wife's Roserade to perform Petal Blizzard. Now you had the perfect trio of Pokemon type moves in one. Grass, Fire, Water. More tricks were performed thanks to Rainbow Dash's Altaria firing a Dragon Pulse inside of the three moves. The pulse shaped like a dragon was standing at the top as it now looked like a dragon made out of the three famous elements.
She went through many other fun activities until she went over to the main attraction. That cake. The tallest vanilla cake she had ever seen. What a sight to behold. But despite her immense love for cake, she felt like giving some slices to everypony else. Even if this party was meant solely for her, she wanted to involve everypony else so that they could have a good time. There's a reason why she once used to be able to wield the Elements of Harmony. Because at her absolute best, she was all 6 of them in one. And at this point, she might as well be the perfect candidate for them once more. If they were still here that is.
The party carried on with everyone having a blast while snow falls in the background. Celestia took the time to head out of the party and towards Passion. She had to check up on her Pokemon after all. She looked over to see her Pokemon wide awake after having a nice rest. Celestia didn't want to leave her Pokemon out of the party, even if her magic was being sealed for the time being.
"Here you go, Passion. Gengar, phase through it." Celestia commanded Ash's Gengar to phase through the box whilst holding a slice of cake. Gengar gave the cake to Passion, allowing her to be involved in this. The Emotion Pokemon began chomping down on the vanilla, feeling the same excitement and bliss that Celestia feels whenever she eats vanilla cake..
"Kir!"
"Delicious isn't it?"
"Kirlia!"
"I'm glad. And Passion. I promise that I'll figure something out. Even if it harms me, I'll make sure that you're back to your wonderful self."
"Kirlia! Passion believed in her trainer. She knows that Celestia won't let her down, no matter what.
The sun princess took some time to head out in the balcony, looking over the now snow-clad land of Equestria. Despite all that she's gone through, she was proud to call herself ruler of Equestria actually. And she was especially proud to be apart of it.
"Aren't you going to come back inside for more, sister?" Luna walked up to her.
"I will. I just need a small moment, Luna."
"Ah." Luna sat down next to her big sister as they saw the orange sun start to set slowly thanks to Pyrestar. "You know...I wasn't so sure that we would make it this far when mother and father left their roles to us. I believed we would've given up in a few years. Perhaps 50 at best."
"I thought so too. But seeing how we've made it this far...I think I understand why they put so much faith onto us. I've even thought of retiring from time to time. But...after today...I don't think I want to. I want to continue spending time with the ones I love the most. And that includes family."
"You really mean it, Tia?"
"Of course I do. You're my sister. And nothing is better than family. I can safely say that." Celestia and Luna gave each other a sibling embrace, feeling at ease with each other.
The one singular entity eavesdropping on this whole thing was Adagio who originally had a plan to ruin everything. But after hearing all that Celestia had said and how much she cherishes family. She couldn't bring herself to do it. So she just left Canterlot to return to wherever it is she decides to hang out while plotting.
Even with all this peace, the issue of Passion's surge was still a thing. And that issue was starting to kick up again. Passion's power surge was coming back, stronger than ever this time. The box she was being sealed in was on the verge of breaking apart. Actually, it broke apart. Another power surge had arrived. And this time, with the party going on, it's in a vastly populated area. Depending on what happens next, the outcome could be catastrophic.
Passion is once again feeling an uncontrollable amount of magic building from within her and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Previously, she was capable of messing with minds and causing objects of any size to float up via some sort of levitation. But this time, it went a step further. Many steps further. And with all of Ponyville and Canterlot in one spot, every last one of them was about to feel the sudden effects of Passion's extraordinary potential.
"Kir...Kirlia!" An echo of her cry resounded across the halls of Canterlot. The bubble that surrounded Passion seemed to grow in intensity, shooting out destructive rays of pink energy. The sound the bubble made was horrific as well. It almost sounded like the roar of an unknown monster.
"Rio?" Riolu was holding a plate of sliced cake as he could sense something wrong. His aura was picking up strong waves coming directly from Celestia's room.
"What's wrong Riolu?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"Audino?" Audino's amazing hearing also managed to pick up on something come from Celestia's bedroom.
"What do you hear, Audi?" Fluttershy asked.
Soon, the entire party in the throne room was being gifted an intensive tremor. They could feel all of their legs shaking about with this unexplainable force heading their way.
"What is this?" Virizion asked, confused.
"An Earthquake?" Terrakion thought.
"This is no Earthquake..." Cobalion replied to Terrakion, knowing what this might be.
"Passion's having another surge." said Darkrai.
"Everypony! Get behind me!" Celestia stood in front of all her subjects, placing a protective barrier in order to defend them all. She knew that the surge would just break through it but she had to try and protect them all.
But, this surge wasn't as destructive as the others. In fact, it wasn't destructive at all. Once Passion's magic spread out far enough, a flashing pink light that emanated across the room. Passion hadn't even moved from her spot, she was floating in midair while her magic expands far across Canterlot. Before everypony knew it, the last thing they all saw as a pink light that engulfed them whole.
Adagio stood from afar as she was lucky enough to escape from there without getting caught up in this mysterious magical light. Whatever it did, the outcome is unpredictable.
"Pika...Pikachu?" Pikachu slowly opened his eyes, noticing that he was completely unharmed. That light wasn't damaging at all thankfully. But it did do something that was unexpected to everyone else.
It sent them to what seemed to be a whole other world.
"What is this?" Ash gasped.
"Pika!"
The world that they were in was seemingly representative of a forest of some sorts. Not just a forest, but a forest of Ralts and Kirlia's. Hundreds, no, thousands of them. Each walking about. But it wasn't just your average looking forest. Parts of the forest were flipped to the side or upside down with everypony standing on each side of it all.
This entire world was topsy-turvy and confusing to look at. In both feel and appearance. Floating in the skies were Gardevoirites. The Mega Stones that will allow Passion to Mega Evolve when she finally becomes a Gardevoir. It wasn't just those but also the seat that she had when she sits next to Celestia's throne. And Celestia's throne was floating in the air as well.
From this entire scenario and setting, it looked like this is all what Passion has seen through her life and what she loves. Her evolution from being a Ralts to a Kirlia, the Mega Stone that will allow her to become Mega Gardevoir one day and the seat that she enjoyed sitting next to with Celestia before the surge obliterated it into ash. There was more. Heads of Princess Celestia herself were floating in the air as well, saying these exact same group words over and over again.
"I love you, Passion."
"Passion, you're the best."
"There's no better Pokemon I'd rather have."
"My sweet little Passion."
"We'll never part ways even if our worlds are normal once more."
"We'll be together forever."
"...This is disturbing..." Rarity's eyes widened. "Yet somehow enchanting."
"Is this an example of Passion's surges Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked.
"It might be. But I didn't expect something like this to happen as well." Celestia was taken aback by this as well. "From what I can tell, we might be in Passion's World."
"Her world? How is that possible?" Luna spoke as she was floating about. Not by her own wings but by the odd gravity in this world.
"I've heard that magic at times can reach levels that have yet to be discovered. One of these involves a whole other dimension created by either willpower or consciousness. And that world can be shaped after the conjures interests. But nopony's ever done it before."
"So this stuff is all Passion sees and loves?" Rainbow Dash bumped into Fancy Pants as they were both floating in this wide space. "Freaky."
"How do we get out of here?" Fluttershy asked as she was standing on an upside-down piece of land.
"Unfortunately. I don't have a clue on how to reverse this. This is uncharted territory for me as well." Celestia shook her head. "But maybe, the way to escape is by heading to the source of it all. Which is Passion herself."
"That's gonna be difficult with all of this." Rainbow Dash stood on one of the many heads of Celestia.
"Can't be that tough. All we have to do is find something that looks out of place, right?" Goh said as he was upside down, floating about in this abstract space.
"Everything looks out of place here." Sweetie Belle flew by.
Everypony was all over the place. Whether they were upside down or sideways, on a giant floating Celestia head, riding on a wave of Fairy magic, it was truly bizarre. Like some sort of abstract world. It could even be considered what Passion's mind is really like. This world was large in size as well. It was representative of how huge Passion's mind really is. Seemingly endless. Celestia had also noticed that the area that this world was located in was similar to the appearance of Lilycove City, the place where she and Passion first met. When she was just a little Ralts.
"Maybe one of these Kirlia's is her." Applejack went over to a Kirlia, picking it up. But the Kirlia had suddenly vanished from her hooves, turning into fairy dust. "Maybe not."
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm loving this!" Pinkie was taking a ride of a giant floating Celestia head, loving every second of this place. Despite how bizarre and abstract it was, it wasn't actually causing any harm to the ponies. If anything, it was similar to that of a funhouse, just taken to the next level.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu had ended up being taken away by the gravity of this world, floating off Ash's shoulder.
"No gravity here at all." Ash spoke floating up with his buddy.
"I don't do good with turbulence...especially gravity." Amethyst felt like she was about to hurl.
"This is the closest I'll ever get to flying for real!" Scootaloo dashed around the skies.
Whilst everypony was trying to get adjusted to this new world, Celestia, Luna, Twilight and Cadence were on the search for Passion. Wherever the real one could be.
"Poor Passion. The strain she must be feeling with all this uncontrollable power must be overwhelming." Cadence said. "But what could've caused it in the first place?"
"Magic doesn't just suddenly skyrocket like that out of nowhere. Does it?" Twilight turned to Cadence as they were all walking on a trail of floating Celestia heads.
"Perhaps she's going through some sort of springtide?" Luna thought. "Although...I've never seen magic accelerate at this absurd rate whenever a springtide comes by."
"Maybe it's not just Passion going through a springtide phase. Maybe its-" Twilight's sentence was cut off when she fell through a tilted door, entering a room. "Woah!" Soon, Twilight was in a room that was similar to the appearance of Canterlot. Actually, it was Canterlot. The whole thing from every single detail. Which makes sense since this is Passion's World.
"Twilight! Are you..." Cadence ran in, looking at the perfect replica of Canterlot halls. "Alright?"
"Canterlot? Through this single door?" Luna had passed through along with Celestia. "This world truly is abstract."
"Very. Maybe Passion is in here since this is Canterlot." Celestia replied.
"Not just Passion...look." Twilight's jaw had been dropped as she, Luna and Cadence had seen yet another bizarre sight. There were hundreds of Celestia's giving hundreds of Passion's belly rubs all over the halls. The sight was strangely enchanting to look at actually.
"Who's a good Passion?" A Celestia commented, rubbing the Emotion Pokemon's stomach. "Yes you! Good girl!" Every single Celestia was saying the exact same thing similar to how the giant floating Celestia heads were repeating themselves.
"Does she really love you this much?" Luna turned to Celestia.
"Oh, yes. I gave her a belly rub one single time though. I didnt' expect that she'd love it this much. Perhaps I should give her more after this."
"I hope I don't have to do this with Darkrai." Luna covered her eyes, not wanting to take any more of this. The four alicorn princesses trotted along the hallway, hearing the constant sounds of every Passion giggling and the many Celestia's complimenting her. It seemed like it was endless. Much longer than the actual halls of Canterlot. And the more they went further through the halls, the more Celestia's and Passion's were being shown. This time it was switched up. Passion was sitting on Celestia's back, riding her as her trainer galloped around.
"Are we even making any progress?" Twilight asked. "It feels like it goes on forever."
"You are infact making progress, Twilight." Celestia replied, but not the real Celestia, one of the many Celestia's who had Passion in her hooves. "Just keep on going and you'll get there."
"Kirlia!"
"....Y-You can see us?" Twilight stuttered.
"Of course we can. Don't give up. You're getting closer." A Celestia waved a flag along with a Passion.
"Good luck!" All of the Celestia's said at the same time.
"T-Thank you." Luna smiled nervously. She had never been surrounded by this many Celestia's before, all just staring at her.
With everypony else still floating around the abstract world, they were all having hard time figuring out what to do. This place wasn't boring by any chance, it was actually somewhat entertaining. But just constantly being here without any explanation other than the mysterious pink flash that engulfed them was getting to their heads. Some had even tried falling asleep, but realized they couldn't. Almost as if time in this world is non-existennt. Making the concept of sleep unpresent.
"...How long have we been here?" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"No idea. And nopony knows what to do. They're just wandering around confused." Applejack replied.
"Some of them seem to be having fun." Fluttershy pointed her hoof at the younger ponies who were riding on the fairy dust trail while eating the sliced cake that passed by.
"Lighten up you silly ponies." Pinkie flew by. "Enjoy the party! A space party!"
"Maybe Passion might end up sending us all back eventually." Rarity said to her friends. "I mean, she can't intend to keep ups all in here forever, right?"
"I'm sure she's not doing this on purpose. After all, they did say that she couldn't control." Fluttershy responded.
"Yeah, well. I wish she'd control it already. This place is getting boring." Rainbow Dash flew back, bumping into yet another pony. But this time, it was her. A perfect image of her from every little detail. "WHAT THE?!"
"What's with you acting all surprised?" The other Rainbow Dash commented.
"How can I not be surprised! There's a second me!"
"You'd better believe it. And I'm just as awesome as well." The other Rainbow Dash flexed her hoof muscles.
"There's a second Rainbow Dash. Amazing." Rarity flew over towards the double. "And it looks, sounds and acts like her as well."
"Well, yeah. Of course I do. You guys are in a mirror world after all."
"Mirror world?" They all said together.
"Mhm. Name's pretty self-explanatory. It's basically your world but mirrored. Minus the appearance and all that."
"....This doesn't look like our world but mirrored. Not at all." Rarity looked around. She was right. This place didn't exactly scream mirrored.
"Well not by place. But check that out." The other Rainbow Dash nudged her head over towards a second Rarity and second Fluttershy, just standing there in the distance, chatting. Not only that, but it seems some ponies have managed to bump into their mirror selves. "Convinced now?"
"Very..." Rarity's jaw dropped.
"Wait so...this whole space is huge because...it's Canterlot?" Applejack realized.
"Got that right. And if you go south, you'll find Ponyville." The other Rainbow Dash replied. "So...why are you guys here?"
"We're here because we got pulled in here by Passion's magic acting up. Got any idea on how to get us out of here?" Rainbow Dash asked her other self.
"Beats me. I just live here." The other Rainbow shrugged.
"How can this place exist? And how is it that you're all able to live normally like us?"
"No idea. But if you want some answers, why don't you head on over to Passion herself. You can find her...somewhere. Just look for the door that leads to Canterlot." The other Dash pointed at all the doors plastered across this vast space. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a gym battle to prepare for. Come on, Braviary." She flew over to her own Braviary which was revealed to be a Shiny Braviary instead of a normal one.
"Is anypony still lost?" Applejack said.
"Lost on what?" Pinkie floated over with her parallel self. "Oh! I should introduce everypony here to me!"
"Hello!" The other Pinkie waved at them. "Wow! You really do look like us. Isn't that weird!" Both Pinkie's laughed.
"I think I need to lie down..." Rarity fell on her fainting couch, this time resting instead of fainting.
"We all do. Where's Apple Bloom?" Applejack looked around for her sister.
"Right here!" Her little sister replied, but just like everypony else, she had her double with her. "You won't believe this place, sis!"
"I already don't." Applejack put her hat over her head, groaning. "Twilight...I hope you've found something."
Speaking of Twilight, after a long walk, the 4 princesses finally made it to the throne room after an unusually extended trot to it. This was much longer than the original Canterlot. It felt like ages, but in this world, time is off so who knows how long they've actually been walking for.
"Finally..." Twilight fell on the floor, exhausted. "Is she there?"
"She's there, alright." Celestia nodded as she immediately set her eyes on Passion who was floating over Celestia's throne. That same pink bubble was still surrounding her even in this abstract world of hers. "Passion!"
"Kirlia..." Bolts of pink plasma shot across the room, obliterating the entire ceiling of this Canterlot.
"Even in this world, she can't control herself! What shall we do?" Luna asked.
"I'll try and reach her! Passion!" Celestia walked over to her Pokemon. "Listen to my voice!"
The bubble around her was blocking out Celestia's voice, making it impossible for Passion to hear her trainer. Her bubble seemed to be growing in size each time she strained. And she couldn't stop it no matter how hard she tried. It seemed like she was about to reach critical mass from the intense sounds emitting from the bubble. It sounded like a horrifying roar from an unknown monster.
"Celestia! Get away from that!" Cadence exclaimed as she noticed that the bubble looked like it was about to explode. The sun princess ran back in order to avoid getting blown away by the seemingly incoming explosion. But to her surprise and the others, nothing happened.
What did happen, was Passion finally exhausting herself. The bubble faded with the plasma bolts vanished from thin air. It seems that everytime she reaches a point when she's at her absolute best, she tires herself out. And when she wakes up, she reaches new heights and the cycle repeats itself. Passion fell softly on the throne, tired out as she had passed out.
"Passion!" Celestia gasped running over to her Pokemon. But before she could get the chance to reach her, this entire world was being engulfed by that same pink light that brought them all here. This meant that due to Passion's energy coming to an end, everypony will end up leaving this world in the process.
The pink light expanded across the endless world, devouring it whole. And before they all knew it, they were back to reality. The real Canterlot in the real Equestria. Most of the ponies were lost on what just happened, so all they could do now was continue the party or just go home. Most went with the party while some decided to head home to rest after all of that.
"Aww...over already." Pinkie whimpered at the sudden departure of her other self.
"What was that?" Hollow held his head out of pure confusion.
"Another world." Rainbow Dash stood up. "A completely different world from ours. We met our doubles!"
"Did you just say doubles?" Twilight turned over to Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah. I met and had a talk with my double. She was everything like me. Even had a Braviary." Rainbow Dash scratched her mane.
"So that's why there were so many Celestia's..." Twilight gasped.
"Many Celestia's? We only saw one of each pony, darling." Rarity replied.
"It was Passion's World. She created it by herself." Celestia walked over to the Mane 6. "Which means that everything in that one world is a parallel of us but different and abstract. And what she loves. Her magic has grown to such a degree that she can simply create her own world with her own interests."
"More than that. It seems that she managed to end up in that world as well, despite being the one who unleashed the magic." Luna commented. "She has greatly improved from last time. Almost as if she's constantly growing with each power surge."
"Well, what'll happen if she gets another surge?" Fluttershy gently said.
"Back in the other Canterlot, Passion looked like she was about to cause a mass explosion judging from all the magic that was building up from within her. Her body was reaching critical mass. But she couldn't handle it anymore, so she passed out." Cadence explained. "If she manages to get yet another surge...then..."
"She might explode?!" Twilight gasped.
"Correct. And I don't know when the next one is bound to happen." Twilight lowered her head.
"Isn't there a way to like...stop it? There has to be a spell somewhere that can just do that, right?!" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I've searched Rainbow Dash. Every book in Canterlot doesn't have a single solution to something like this. This is beyond Equestria's knowledge."
Twilight pondered for a bit. Then she lingered on what Celestia said. Hearing those words made her realize there might be a possible way around this. "Maybe the reason why we haven't been able to solve this... is because it's Pokemon territory and not our world's territory."
"What do you mean, Twilight?" Cadence went up to her.
"What if the solution is in the Pokemon World? There might be something there that can fix this. At least, I assume there is."
"You raise a good point, Twilight Sparkle." Luna replied. "Perhaps this is something that requires the assistance of her original homeworld."
"It might be the only way." Celestia turned to the room that Passion was still in. Her bedroom. "Alright. I'll head to the Pokemon World and see what we can find."
"You aren't going alone. We're coming with you." Ash spoke.
"Pikachu!"
"We'd like to do our best to help you, Princess Celestia." Twilight and her friends nodded. "After all, this is something that's stressing even you out."
"Ash Ketchum and his friends are right, sister. You cannot do this alone. We will support you along the way with all that we can." Luna was ready to assist her older sister along with Cadence wanting to help her aunt.
"You all. Thank you so much. It really means a lot to me." Celestia wiped away some leftover tears from before, truly grateful for having such wonderful subjects and a wonderful family as well. "Alright. Let's get a move on. To the Pokemon World."
The destination that they were betting it all on was the Pokemon World. Passion's homeworld. Perhaps, there's something there that can stop her rapid growth in magic and sudden power surges.
Celestia had Passion on her back, just to carry her safely. Ash, The Mane 6, Luna and Cadence had decided to come along with Celestia in order to help her Kirlia to the best of their abilities. And the first destination they decided to go with was the place Celestia and Passion first met.
Lilycove City. The Hoenn Region.
"So, why are we headed to Hoenn of all places?" Rainbow Dash asked as the group were currently on a path to the nearest gateway to Hoenn.
"Princess Celestia and Passion first met at Hoenn. Right at Lilycove City. If we head there, we might be able to find Passion's family. And they might know what to do." Twilight explained.
"Can we be sure that there are many Ralts and Kilira's at Lilycove?" said Rarity.
"There has to be. Passion's surge could kick up again at moment. And if it starts up again, the next outcome could be devastating." Twilight replied, thinking of what may happen when Passion reaches critical mass a second time.
"We're here. Lilycove City." Ash had stopped as he recognized the familiar city. From its contest halls to the Lilycove Museum. "Passion came from that direction, right?" Ash pointed west.
"That's it. That's where I first saw her arrive." Celestia nodded. "If she came from there...then there must be a group of Ralts or Kirlia's at that nearby route." Celestia and everypony were looking directly at Route 121.
Passion's home was right over there. Where she was drawn in by Celestia's positive energy leading to their meeting. If their assumptions are right, it'll lead them to Passion's home. And there might be some other Pokemon that can help if they have any knowledge about Passion.
Route 121. Passion's home area. A route that connects to both the Safari Zone and Lilycove City whilst also leading to Mt.Pyre.
In this Route, the Pokemon that can be found the most and are common are Linoone, Gloom, Aipom, Elgyem Shuppet, Pelipper and Kecleon. But no sign of a Ralts or Kirlia.
"Do you see any yet?" Applejack asked Rainbow Dash who wasn't having any luck finding some, even when she took to the skies.
"No. None here."
"Maybe there's some in here?" Pinkie Pie looked at a small little hole near a tree. A Pokemon was indeed there, but not the ones they were looking for. An Aipom came out of the tree, pinching Pinkie's nose. "Yeowch!"
"Keep searching. This route doesn't appear to that large in size." Luna commented.
"Can you pick their cries, Audi?" Fluttershy turned to her partner. Audino was doing her best, using the full capabilities of her hearing, but to her surprise, there wasn't even a single presence of a Ralts and Kirlia cry. Not at all. "Nothing. What a shame."
"Are you sure that Passion came from here?" Cadence questioned.
"Positive. We saw her coming west the first time we saw her. Meaning that she had to have lived somewhere west." Luna replied.
"Or...She might've just ended up in this Route and followed from there." Celestia stopped. "Perhaps this isn't actually her home and where she came from originally."
"So, we've been searching in the wrong area this whole time?" Rainbow Dash flew back down. "Oh come on!"
"So then, where could she have possibly come from?" Fluttershy wondered. "Ash do you know?"
"Sorry. I'm lost too. I don't really know a spot with tons of Ralts and Kirlia's just moving around." Ash shook his head.
"Pikachu..."
"Kirlia..." Just then, Passion was waking up again, recovering from fainting.
"Passion. You're awake." Celestia looked back at her partner Pokemon, seeing her in a recovery state. "Are you feeling much better now?"
"Lia." Passion nodded. She wasn't feeling the greatest but she felt a bit better from that limited amount of recovery time. But, the fear of another surge going off was still lingering.
"Passion. Can you please give us an answer?" Fluttershy flew up to her. "Do you know where you came from? Where's your home originally?"
"Kirlia? Kir." Passion replied with a straightforward answer on where she came from. It was revealed that they actually got the right location. She did actually end coming from this route near Lilycove.
"So you are from here! Which means that we're at the right spot." Fluttershy translated.
"If we're at the right spot, then why aren't there any other of her evolution line?" Applejack asked.
"Kirlia."
"Passion says that her family can't be seen because they're all hidden somewhere here that they can't be detected by just looking and hearing."
"Hidden somewhere they can't be detected? How is that possible? And where would they even be? This route isn't even that large." Twilight raised her hooves up as her voice echoed throughout the route.
"Because it can't be seen by ordinary eyes, my little pony." Twilight got her reply from an unknown voice. This resounding reply resulted in the wind kicking up as leaves circled the entire group as if a powerful presence was coming their way.
"What now? Is Passion acting up again?!" Rarity lowered her head, fearing the worst. The Pokemon around the area made a run for it as they knew what was going on. A surge of psychic energy was felt for sure. But it wasn't coming from Passion. Not at all.
In front of them all, an enigmatic orb of psychic energy graced them, gently landing on the grass as the trees around them were almost whisked away just by the absolute sheer force of it. What could be giving off so much power? The Pokemon that caused this and spoke them had been revealed. The final evolution of the Ralts line.
Gardevoir.
Beautiful, imposing and majestic all at once. This powerful Psychic-Fairy-Type stood before the ponies, giving off a mighty sense of importance by just being here. Passion hid behind Celestia's hoof, intimidated by its final evolution.
"What. Is. That?!" Rainbow Dash pulled out her dex.
"Gardevoir. The Embrace Pokemon. Gardevoir has the ability to read the future. If it senses impending danger to its Trainer, this Pokémon is said to unleash its psychokinetic energy at full power, reaching the peak of its power along the way. To protect its Trainer, it will expend all its psychic power to distort the dimensions around it, allowing Gardevoir to create a small black hole. Gardevoir is even willing to risk its own life for the trainer it loves."
"That's what Passion's final evolution is?!" Rainbow dropped her dex.
"Amazing..." Fluttershy gasped.
"That's right. Gardevoir." Ash nodded.
"Pika-Pika."
"Did it just speak? Like Darkrai?" Luna just noticed.
"It using Telepathy. Lots of strong Psychic-Types do this sometimes." Ash explained.
"Are we gonna ignore that black hole part?" Spike tried to point that out to everypony.
"Gardevoir...Are you by any chance... aware of this Kirlia?" Twilight asked the Embrace Pokemon.
Gardevoir looked down at them all, scanning them each with her eyes. She then noticed that they indeed had a Kirlia with them on their side. But not just any Kirlia. A Kirlia that she could recognize by the energy she was giving off.
"Come here." Gardevoir easily brought the Emotion Pokemon towards her like it was nothing with her Psychic ineptitude. Passion hid her face by putting her arms over them. She didn't seem to want to be here. Mostly because she feared the response of this specific Gardevoir. "Look how much you've grown, dear." Gardevoir kneeled down, giving Passion a hug. Passion was no longer afraid as she embraced Gardevoir's caring and loving hug. She felt at ease now. No longer afraid or worried thanks to this single instance. It was known as the embrace Pokemon for a reason. "Have you been well? Do you sleep at a regular allotted time?"
"Kirlia!" Passion nodded aggressively.
"Oh! Are you two by chance..." Cadence was putting the pieces together on their relationship.
"You are assuming the right thing. We are indeed Mother and daughter." Gardevoir revealed as Passion held her mother's leg.
"Mother and daughter?! Well, it's nice to meet you, Passion's mother!" Rarity went over to Gardevoir, shaking her hands as a greeting.
"Passion?" Gardevoir was confused by the name they gave her daughter.
"Sorry if this seems a bit sudden. And sorry if we might've accidentally taken your child without notice!" Fluttershy gave her sincerest apologies to the Embrace Pokemon.
"I certainly wasn't expecting this. Then again...I should expect the unexpected when it comes to Pokemon." Luna said.
"Talk about a jump in evolution. If I had known that, I would've caught myself a shy looking Pokemon long ago." Rainbow Dash grinned.
"You seem to be very acquainted with these ponies, dear. Are they perhaps your friends?" Gardevoir looked down at her daughter. Passion nodded as she pointed over at Celestia. "Oh. So this is your trainer?" Gardevoir walked over to the sun princess. Gardevoir towered over every single one of them. Ash was taller than everypony else and just slightly taller than Celestia in height. And Gardevoir easily exceeded him in that, meaning that she was basically a giant. But then again, lots of humans and Pokemon are considered giants to the ponies.
"Yes. I am Princess Celestia. Kirlia's trainer. Or as I call her, Passion."
"Hm..." Gardevoir began to sense Celestia from up close. She wanted to see if this pony was worthy of being a great trainer to her daughter. She was very judgemental about trainer choices. There was an awkward silence that filled the air with Gardevoir's intensive stare. Both the Sun Princess and the Embrace Pokemon had locked eyes, staring each other down. No one knew the outcome of what would happen when they stopped looking at each other like that. "You're an amazing trainer to my daughter. I can sense it."
"Phew..." Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "You can tell?"
"Of course I can. I can sense the magic within others, no matter how small it may be. And sensing each of you...you're all good trainers. Some even great and just as amazing as your princess."
"Really? So like, am I great trainer?" Rainbow Dash dashed over to Gardevoir.
"You are indeed great. But you could improve."
"Yes!" Rainbow Dash pumped her hooves.
"But, I wonder. Why are you searching for more of my kind? Are you perhaps here to return her to me?"
"Well...The reason we came here is that...something is wrong with Passion. Her magic seems to be unstable." Celestia replied.
"Unstable? How so?"
"She's been going through sudden power surges that have been affecting all of Equestria. And each time her magic skyrockets, she faints afterwards. And when she wakes up it seems to be stronger than before." Luna explained.
"Fainting, you say?"
"And we worry that she might end up causing a massive explosion the next time she gets another surge." Cadence commented.
"So, please. You're a Gardevoir. The final evolution of the Ralts line. You must know a way to stop this." Twilight pleaded.
"...Come here, dear." Gardevoir turned to her daughter, holding her face. She and Passion were connecting on both a magical and psychic level. A mystical and dazzling pink aura surrounded the two as they were in a state of meditation.
"What's she doing?" Fluttershy said.
"No idea..." Pinkie Pie whispered back.
The two Psychic-Fairy-Types had finished their small spiritual connection state as the aftermath was shiny fairy dust flowing across the skies. Passion rubbed her head, feeling a bit doozy. Gardevoir had come to a conclusion, ready to give a straight answer to them all.
"She's not unstable. This is actually normal."
"It is?" Everyone spoke at the same time, surprised at the answer.
"Indeed. What is actually occurring is simple. Kirlia here has managed to somehow obtain the capabilities of a Gardevoir. However, since she's still a Kirlia, her body can't handle all that power. The mind is strong but the body is weak. But, that is to be expected from my daughter. She is a point one percenter after all."
"Point one-percenter?" Twilight questioned.
"You see, for every Pokemon, out of the vast amount of species that exist, one of each Pokemon species is a one of a kind. A special Pokemon if you will. They exceed the normal limitations of what they're capable of. Essentially becoming the best of their entire species. Some even gain unique abilities that are rare to come across. I can already sense one other among you all." Gardevoir pointed over at Pikachu.
"Pika?"
"Ash's Pikachu?" Fluttershy turned to him.
"That's correct. Like my daughter here, that Pikachu is much more powerful than the rest of its kind. A rare find."
"Hear that buddy?" Ash scratched Pikachu's chin.
"Pikachu!"
"Like Ash's Greninja." Twilight realized.
"My daughter here is another example of those. She's already much more powerful than our ancestors, even for just being a Kirlia."
"Is that so...but how do we stop the sudden surges that cause her to faint?" Luna asked.
"That requires something far more complex. I looked into Kirlia and noticed that there was something unusual within her. It didn't seem to be magic at all."
"Then, what was it?" Applejack commented.
"It seemed to be of cosmic origin. Deep within her lies some sort of sparkle brimming with it. That must've caused her latent potential to suddenly awaken."
"Cosmic...That can't be right. Obsidian's locked up in the dungeon. There's no way he could've done this." Twilight shook her head.
"Emerald Aura's still passed out too. Somehow..." Applejack replied. "And Cold would never do that. Not that his magic is that good, to begin with. Don't tell him I said that!"
"Isn't it obvious? The Rift did it." Rainbow Dash gave her own answer. "No other explanation."
"Sounds about right. It can just do whatever it wants after all." Twilight nodded. They were all unaware of who was actually the cause of it. But, they haven't seen Lucien and Sienna in months, neither have they even learned of their names. And it's almost been a full year since the two worlds crossed. "But we can just get it out of her right? I mean, Ash's aura can cancel out cosmic energy."
"Removing something like that is not as simple as it sounds. It would require the actions of the one who was effected in the first place. As it stands, my daughter is unable to remove the cosmic sparkle from within her. At least, not as a Kirlia."
"Then...what can we do?" Celestia was getting worried.
"There is one other way. The one that truly loves Kirlia must enter her mindscape and free her of this. And that is you." Gardevoir turned to Celestia.
"Enter her mindscape?"
"Correct. After all, our evolution line is part Psychic. Meaning that half of our power lays within our mind. If you can somehow breakthrough and reach Kirlia, you can free her of the cosmic sparkle that lingers around her. You must combat her mind."
"Combat her mind." Celestia thought for a second.
"Wait. Is that even possible?" Rainbow Dash was confused.
"It kinda is. Trust me. I know." Ash nodded, having similar experiences a few times.
"Pikachu."
"But I must warn you, princess. Once you are truly inside her mindscape, if something horrible happens from within or from the outside, you shall be destroyed in the mind world. Lost to the history books forever. Not only that, but my daughter's mind may be harmed as well." Gardevoir gave Celestia a warning, making hers and everypony's heart race.
"...You know. Maybe this isn't such a good idea." Cadence of all ponies wasn't up for this at all.
"I agree! This sounds way too risky!" Twilight gulped. "If something horrible does happen from both sides, we could lose you forever Princess Celestia!"
"They're both right sister. Please do not accept this." Luna pleaded. "If she has another power surge at the right moment, that could be the end. And we'll be powerless to stop it!"
Celestia was already at a decision state. She understands the risk. If she goes along with it, these could be her final moments. But, if she doesn't, it'll instead be the final moments of her world and everypony else due to Passion's magic on the verge of reaching critical mass.
The Sun Princess already made up her mind long ago. She's always stuck to her guts. She'd sacrifice herself for the safety of her subjects and all that she loves. So the decision had been made. She'll take the risk.
"I'll do it." Celestia said with power behind her voice. Everyone gasped, surprised at her answer. "It's for the safety of everypony else."
"But, sister!" Luna got in front of her. "It's far too hazardous! I cannot let you go!"
"We can't let you go either, Princess Celestia!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"And we can't do anything to stop the power surge!" Cadence bellowed.
"I will try and stop it." Gardevoir spoke. "I have enough power to hold it back. But, my daughter holds far greater potential than me. So I do not know how long I can hold it when it is unleashed. But I shall do my best."
"I understand your fears and worries. Honestly, I'm terrified and nervous as well. My heart is racing unthinkable speeds at this moment. I don't know if I'll be able to make it in time. Or even make it through the mindscape. But I have to try. If I give up, it's over."
"But-" Twilight was about to say something until Ash stopped her. Ash knew that this was the best option they had. He understood sacrifices and knew that Celestia was making the one decision that could save them all.
"I promised to keep my subjects safe. I have to live up to it. I'm ready Gardevoir. To head into the mindscape."
"Very well then." Gardevoir spread her arms out, drawing heaps of psychic energy that filled the route, even reaching Lilycove City. Twilight and the others went up to Celestia, giving their ruler an embracing hug. They felt like this would be the last time they ever saw her after all. But Celestia was determined to make sure that everyone goes home smiling at the end of it all. They all backed away as Gardevoir connected both Celestia and Passion's mind, allowing their mental thoughts to intertwine.
Whatever happens next is all dependent on Celestia.
Her world. Her Mindscape. The same world where everypony was pulled in earlier. But this time, the stakes are larger. Passion's next surge could mean critical mass since she came so close last time but fainted before anything horrible could happen. So this is all dependent on Celestia, who had entered the mindscape thanks to Passion's mother, Gardevoir.
On the outside, the next surge had begun. Passion was once again feeling that same uncontrollable sensation as she got on her knees. The amount of magic she was exerting this time was far greater than the previous ones. Everypony around her had been lifted up by a psychic levitation through her own uncontrollable surge. Even her own mother who was a Gardevoir. But, Gardevoir managed to hold back the surge as she promised by placing a barrier around Passion.
Sienna and Lucien watched from the clouds, overseeing everything as usual. Lucien nodded his head, impressed by what Sienna managed to actually start.
"Not bad. I guess you ended up having a better idea than me, huh?" Lucien nudged Sienna.
"Y-Yeah...This is bigger than I expected." Sienna gulped.
"What do you mean?"
"Well...I didn't expect it to go this far..." She scratched the back of her head.
"What? You're the one who came up with the idea and said Celestia's Kirlia was stupid strong for a normal Kirlia. What did you mean you didn't it to go this far?"
"I mean, I knew it was strong. But I thought it was just slightly stronger than most Kirlia's! I thought she'd only effect Canterlot. Not all of Equestria and beyond!"
"Well, it's too late to reverse everything now. We're already knee-deep in this whole event. So you're gonna have to wait and see what happens." Lucien patted the back of a terrified Sienna. "Don't worry. I'm 100% sure that Celestia can solve this. Maybe."
It was all up to Celestia who was already headed for the door that led to Canterlot. Along the way, she the mirror world counterparts of everypony wave at her, wishing her the best of luck. All she had to do was advance through the unnecessarily long hallway that laid before her.
"Here goes." Celestia decided to skip the simple walking and just for the quicker route, flying. As she flew by, she saw all of her parallel selves wave at her, cheering their other self on. But even with all that cheering, the hallway was still ridiculously long. She even tried teleporting but that didn't do her any good.
But, past that long hallway, Passion's bubble had grown to a faster rate since last time, showing that her magic is constantly improving the more she has another power surge. And with each time her magic grows, the harder it is for her body to maintain it all due to her still being a fragile Kirlia.
"Did this hallway get longer the last time I was here?" Celestia looked around her. She felt like she was making zero progress at this point. She worried that she might not be able to make it in time.
On the outside, things weren't looking any better. Due to Passion finally reaching a point where she could barely sustain a huge amount of magic, it was getting harder and harder to keep the barrier around her. The pink bolts that shot from her bubble were starting to break apart the barrier bit by bit whilst Gardevoir struggled.
And her struggling was actually affecting the mindscape as well. Since this was her mind, everything that happens outside can affect what happens inside. Passion was currently feeling a rush of strain that she could no longer bear. And due to her being unable to handle it, the fear of losing her trainer was boiling up from within. These fears were becoming a reality inside the mindscape.
The floors and walls of the mirror Canterlot were breaking apart due to the mental fears of Passion overflooding it. Not only that, but the gravity of the area had changed, forcing Celestia to fall down with the shattered walls and floors.
"W-What's going on?!" Celestia exclaimed as she strayed further away from Passion, dialling the already slow progress back down. The outside world wasn't safe either from this. Passion's magic managed to bypass the barrier from time to time, affecting everything from an insane distance. Layers of magic had emerged, knocking her back as if they were whips. Now what stood in her way were these layers.
The Pokemon of Route 121 were being displaced all over the place due to the constant combustion of magic and psychic energy overflooding the place. Even Gardevoir's barrier wasn't enough to stop the magic from affecting the other world. Soon, all of Equestria had been caught up in this once more.
And it went a step further this time. Instead of just levitating objects and messing with everypony's mind, the magic had taken an extreme height in levels by causing everypony to have their bodies be pressured down. As if gravity itself was moving against them.
Even Lucien and Sienna could feel this. They tried to keep their distance by heading further into the sky, but the magic of Passion gained too much distance. Anything within its vicinity will be caught. That includes anything in the sky. So Flying-Types weren't safe, unfortunately.
Passion's own created world that involved perfect mirrors of the ones she knew, in reality, was crumbling as well. The giant floating Celestia heads were suddenly immobile, no longer floating about. The fairy dust in the air had vanished into normal dust whilst everypony who lived in this parallel Canterlot shared the same fate as their real-world counterparts. Having their minds and bodies be affected by this overwhelming magic. Celestia had recovered from the sudden change in gravity. But it wasn't going to get easier from here on. The distance between her and Passion had changed once more.
"This isn't going anywhere." The Sun Princess groaned. "I'll have to force my way through." Seeing the destructive magic that filled the endless space, just simply flying to Passion won't work. Celestia will have to get aggressive if she hopes to get through. She made her way back to the location of Canterlot, this time, moving at high speeds. She managed to break past at least one layer of magic, but that almost caused her to fall back.
She continued to fly past the layers, breaking through them one by one. However, the further she went through them, the thicker they got, making the impact harder on her. What didn't help was that each time Passion struggled, the more aggressive the layers got and the harder they hit Celestia. When she smashed her body on the next layer, she felt a strong impact rush through her body, causing her bones to shake in the process. Celestia was sent back, feeling the harsh damage.
But she didn't let that stop her. All she had to do was get past the remaining layers. But with more coming through due to Passion's fears, it could take much longer than expected. Celestia flew straight to the layers, blasting them away with magic rays, slowly removing each that stood in her way. But just like before, the layers only got harder, making her magic dwindle along the way.
"I didn't expect it to reach this level." Gardevoir strained as she was doing her best to contain her daughter's spontaneous magic. The barrier wasn't going to last much longer and Gardevoir was really feeling the pressure. But she was the only one who was capable of keeping her daughter restrained. "I don't know how long I can keep this intact, my little ponies."
Equestria was slowly starting to crumble apart. The ground was rupturing with a huge chasm forming in between the ground. The entirety of Canterlot was coming down along with the castle tumbling. Everyone inside couldn't do anything due to them being immobilized by the magic. So all they could do was just sit there, helpless.
Griffonstone was being ripped out of the ground it was built off, causing the griffons to hold on for dear life. They even saw the skeleton of Arimaspi and a piece of their idol fly out of the Abysmal Abyss due to the gravity changing around them.
Both Yakyakistan and the Crystal Empire were being spun around like gyros, causing the inhabitants there to either get dizzy or just feeling the need to hurl.
Ponyville was getting the worst of it. It hadn't been fully rebuilt yet after the previous surges. Because of this, entire homes were being torn apart bit by bit.
"Kirlia's fears...They're what's causing all this tremendous magic to flow!" Gardevoir noticed. "If she continues to be afraid, it could build up to an insurmountable degree!"
"Hurry up sister." Luna gulped.
Celestia was trying her absolute best. Everything that she could do was being put to the test. All that's learned through her years was being showcased here. But even still, with all her years and centuries of experience, it just wasn't enough to overcome this. Celestia was running out of breath. She didn't know if she could keep this up. But she knew that the time to give up was not now or ever.
"I can't get through...there's too many." She sat down on an immobile floating Celestia head. "But I can't stop here. Everypony's counting on me. What can I do?" The Sun Princes dug deep, trying to find the best possible solution to this magic layer problem.
And just as things looked like they weren't about get any worse. They got worse. Passion's fears weren't just limited to the ones she loved. It was also apart of the ones she fears. More specifically...
Ghetsis, Tirek and the Storm Behemoth. Ghetsis because he managed to greatly injure Celestia, almost bringing her life to an end, Tirek due to him storming in and trying to steal Celestia's magic and the Storm Behemoth because it chased Passion about once. All three of those fears had shown up in her world as her worst fears.
"Oh, not you three..." Celestia groaned, not wanting to spend a second with them.
"You look a bit exhausted there, Celestia!" Tirek grinned. "What's wrong? Can't handle the psyche of some little creature?"
"Shows just how inferior your species is compared to my world!" Ghetsis cackled.
"I don't have time for all of you! Move aside!"
"You wish we'd move aside. Hydreigon. Hyper Beam!" Ghetsis and Tirek began their attack on Celestia. The terrifying truth of this world was that you can actually feel physical pain in here. This wasn't an illusionary world. This was its own separate world with life. Celestia now had even larger problems all over her hooves. She flew back, avoiding both of the destructive beams that came from Tirek and Hydreigon. However, she was quickly brought back down by a slap from the Storm Behemoth.
The Sun Princess had crashed on a hill, tumbling on it. She grunted whilst trying to recover from it. It didn't help that earlier the layers managed to hurt her as well. So this was only adding onto the pain. She was in a rough spot now. Celestia quickly opened her eyes, noticing that Tirek was flying towards her. She gasped, teleporting away from the centaur as he broke through the hill.
Celestia was given an unfortunate sneak attack from behind via Hydreigon. The Brutal Pokemon had bitten on one of Celestia's hooves with its mouth hands. The sharp teeth dug into her hooves, causing Celestia to scream in pain. And there was an insult to injury that was added onto this. Tirek had grabbed a hold of Celestia's neck, holding it place while Hydreigon's teeth continue to sink into her. The alicorn was finding it hard to breathe or focus as she was being restrained by two overwhelming forces. And the corner of her eye, she noticed the Storm Behemoth charging up a devastating pulse that was just eager to unleash of Celestia.
"C-Can't breathe..." Celestia whimpered. She could feel herself losing consciousness. She feared that she would meet her end, not by Passion but by these three. It looked hopeless until she was reminded of where she really was.
"Braviary! Superpower!" Rainbow Dash's voice echoed through her ears. Before she knew it, both Hydreigon and Tirek were sent flying by the incoming Valiant Pokemon. It was pretty obvious that it wasn't hopeless. After all, she was in a world where everypony was a perfect parallel of their real-world counterpart.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Even this world had a parallel variant of Ash who was exactly the same.
"Pika!" Pikachu had put a stop to the behemoth's charging by causing it to overload in that small instance.
"You okay, Princess?!" Rainbow Dash flew over to Celestia.
"R-Rainbow Dash?"
"Yeah. Well, this world's Rainbow Dash. You looked like you needed a lot of help there."
"Braviary!"
"Get lost, you brats! Hydreigon! Dragon Pulse!" Ghetsis exclaimed. The Dark-Dragon-Type fired a devastating shockwave in the shape of a dragon as it raced towards Braviary.
"Iron Tail!" Pikachu jumped up, blocking the Dragon Pulse with his tail and saving his fellow ally.
"Thank you for your help. Even if you are mirrors, you're still like your real-world counterparts."
"No problem." The mirror Ash gave a thumbs up. "You wanna get to Passion, right? We'll all back you up."
"Pikachu!"
"Right." Celestia had been healed up thanks to this world's Fluttershy using her Audino to heal her. The Sun Princess felt rejuvenated as she continued her pursuit towards the location to Canterlot. Tirek attempted to grab her, but this world's Twilight made sure that he wouldn't the chance by commanding her Eve. This world's Eve had blasted Tirek's arm with a Psybeam, causing him to pull his arms back.
The Storm Behemoth was chasing after Celestia, attempting to crush her. Pikachu continued to get in the way by constantly shocking it with Thunderbolts, forcing it to back down every single time. Ghetsis's Hydreigon constantly fired Hyper Beams at the dashing princess, trying to hit its mark.
One Hyper Beam looked like it was about to make contact, but once again, a parallel version of somepony in this world managed to back the princess up. This world's Applejack had her Treecko use Dragon Breath, pushing back the Hyper Beam as they cancelled each other out. Celestia looked back to see them all doing their best to protect her. Even if this wasn't her own world. She once again came across the layers. With her strength back, she could maybe breakthrough the harder ones, hopefully.
"Let me through!" Celestia unleashed a beam of magic that poured onto the harder layers. Her being back to full strength actually managed to cause one of the thick layers to break apart, showing some great progress. But there was still the obstacle of the ones beyond the layers that she could breakthrough at the moment. At best, Celestia managed to break through four of them with her full power, but it wasn't enough. "No good. The further ones aren't even budging. What now?"
It was time for a different approach. But what kind of approach would work this time. If she can't break through every single of them to the very end at her absolute best, then what if she used someone who was much more powerful than her to do so. And that's when it hit her. The best option is to use her enemies as support. Tirek, Hydreigon and the Behemoth were all greater than her in terms of power. They'll do.
"Yoo-hoo! Boys~!" Celestia called for them each. The three monsters stopped what they were doing along with the trainers as they turned around to heed Celestia's call. "Over here!" She taunted them by acting like an absolute child. She blew her tongue at them, shook her rump, made googly eyes and everything you'd expect a child doing their absolute best to taunt someone would be.
"What's she doing?" Rarity asked Applejack.
"I think she's taunting them." AJ replied.
"That's the best form of taunting if you ask me." Pinkie spoke.
Celestia had provoked Tirek the most since he was the easiest to provoke compared to the other two. The centaur chased after Celestia, attempting to crash right into her. But that was exactly what Celestia was hoping would happen. She teleported out of the way of the approaching monster as he instead crashed through the layers of magic that were in his way. That was the push Celestia needed to advance further. Tirek had managed to break every last one of them with the force he exerted. And as a bonus, it made his head dizzy.
"Thank you, Tirek!" Celestia thanked him as she flew by, heading through the door.
"WHY YOU-" His words were cut off by Pikachu slamming an Iron Tail on his head.
Celestia had finally reached Canterlot once more. That same unnecessarily long hallway stood before her. Once again, she'll have to pass through it if she wants to get to Passion.
"This again. I feared this the most." Celestia groaned. "How am I going to speed up the process?"
"Who said you'll need to do it on your own?" One of the many Celestia's who was petting their Passion's spoke. "We'll help you out."
"All of you? Every last one of you?"
"But of course. We are you and you are us. Only seems fitting don't you think?" Another Celestia said as they all nodded in agreement.
"I'm truly grateful. All of you. Alright. What can you do?"
"This." A Celestia walked up to the real one, kicking her across the hallway, causing her to scream along the way. "Follow up, every Celestia!"
All the Celestia's in the hallway were constantly taking turns, kicking the real Celestia further and further down the hallway. Surprisingly, it was the fastest and most efficient form of transport.
Hey. If it works, it works.
After an unknown number of kicks to the flank, Celestia had finally reached her destination. With the consequence of her back being sore. But who cares about that right now. There she was.
Passion.
Inside the bubble, reaching her absolute peak. The bubble she was in was shifting in colour. Indicating that it was already on the verge of blowing up. Celestia was here now. And all she had to do was reach her Pokemon.
"Passion!" She cried out.
But Passion couldn't hear her. The destructive sounds of the bubble were blocking out any other forms of noise, making her trainer practically invisible.
"Passion, it's me!" This time she used her Royal Canterlot Voice. But that was no good either. Celestia attempted to get close, by the magic bolts forced her to step back. "She can't hear me...Not with that resounding sound."
"Kirlia..." Passion curled up, starting to tear up from the constant struggling. Celestia won't be able to do anything with all of this noise. Not on her own. But maybe, the other Celestia's can help once more. Hopefully, it doesn't involve any further kicking.
"I may need your help once more, all of you!" Celestia spoke to her parallel world selves.
"Oh? You can count on us...us!" A Celestia nodded. "Need another kick?"
"No! This time, I need you all to transfer your magic to me." Celestia demanded.
"Huh?!" They all pulled back. What the real Celestia was referring to was similar to what happened with Twilight when Tirek attacked. "Are you sure?"
"100%. More than 100% even. I can't do anything in my current state. Even I'm not powerful enough to overcome this on my own. But with the help of everypony, I can make some amazing progress. You must all transfer your magic to me so that I can save Passion."
"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place. We'd do anything to protect our sweet little Passion!" A Celestia said.
"Anything!" All of them said unison.
"All together now!" The Celestia's each sent their magic towards the real one. This was practically the last-ditch effort. If this didn't work, then nothing will. Soon, Celestia felt the force of a million alicorns swell up from within her. And they were all her to boot. Now she felt what Twilight felt when she, Cadence and Luna gave up their magic for her. Every single Celestia had ended up losing their Cutie Marks in the process due to this.
Celestia's magic was rising, overflowing. Due to her being much older than Twilight by centuries, her body was actually capable of withstanding this amount of magic. But it still felt so uneasy for her.
"This amount of magic will do. Thank you all...uh...me's." Celestia thanked.
"No problem. Now go on and save Passion so you can give her a belly rub as well. Isn't that right, my little Passion? Good girl!" The Celestia's got back to rubbing the bellies of their own Passion's. It was time to really face Passion for the final time.
"Passion!" Celestia called for her name once more. This time she was confident enough to head towards her. The intense force of the bubble would normally push Celestia back, but thanks to her overflowing with magic, that was no longer an issue. The Sun Princess outstretched her hoof out, attempting to make contact with the barrier. The closer she got, the more pressure was being put on her.
Once her hoof made contact, the critical mass behind it was actually crushing Celestia's hoof in the process, slowly breaking her bones. She did her best to try and power through it as shoved her hoof further through the bubble.
"Kirlia...!" Passion was finally at her limit. It was too much to bear.
On the outside, the force she exhibited broke Gardevoir's barrier into tiny little pieces as they were all pushed back. This is where things went from horrible to apocalyptic. Before they all knew it, both worlds had been filled with Passion's psychic energy as it spread across continents, regions, countries, islands, cities, towns all forms of areas where there exists life was hit. Both worlds were engulfed in a dazzling magical pink light, encasing them in it.
At this point, it felt like the end of the world due to the chaotic activities that were being caused by Passion. And as you can expect, her magic was causing oddities across both worlds in various ways that are had to describe.
Celestia's hoof felt like it was about to die out as she could hear every ounce of her bones breaking apart. But she couldn't let that stop her. She was willing to harm her hoof in order to reach Passion.
"Passion!" Celestia let out one final yell for her Pokemon. She went all out by using every ounce of the magic that she was giving to break through the bubble with her entire hoof.
Finally, after a seemingly endless and infinite struggle, Celestia made contact with Passion with her hoof physically touching her. Passion could feel this familiar touch as she opened her eyes to see the trainer that she loves the most standing there.
"Kirlia?"
"It's alright. I'm here now."
Seeing Celestia here was enough to case Passion's bubble to diminish. It was this close to actually blowing up, but the sight of Celestia being there for her put that to a stop. Passion had flown over to her trainer, giving her an embracing hug. She was glad that Celestia was here for her. In truth, she was earlier, but the chaotic noise from the bubble was blocking out any other forms of sound.
This heartwarming hug was cut short. Very short. Even though Passion's bubble had managed to diminish, she was still feeling an uncontrollable surge lurk within her. She didn't faint this time nor was she put to sleep. Instead, it was revealed that it wasn't the bubble that was reaching critical mass and on the verge of exploding but it was Passion herself. However, it didn't feel like it was explosion worthy actually. Soon, a bright white light had shined across her world, even breaking through this world and reaching reality.
Both worlds were graced with this enchanting and dazzling light that. Everything that came from it was beautiful. It didn't cause any harm to anyone. It didn't affect their surroundings. It didn't do much of anything, except shine everywhere. Celestia closed her eyes as she and Passion had suddenly vanished out of thin air.
All that was left was the aftermath of sparkles filling the air.
"...W-What happened?" Twilight stuttered as she and everypony set their eyes on what seemed to be a dust cloud of smoke. Passion was completely gone from the spot she was originally standing at.
"She's gone. Where did she go?" Fluttershy asked with a worrying tone.
"S-Sister?" Luna started to tear up, fearing the worst possible scenario. Her heart was racing as she believed that her big sister had made her unfortunate fate along with Passion.
A completely infinite and empty space.
Nothing was around. Nothing at all.
Everything was blank all around with pink sparkles flowing across as if they were stars in the night skies.
The only two there were Passion and Celestia, floating in this endless space together.
They had woken up to this empty void, both seeing that they were completely unharmed. None of them suffered any critical injures or brutal fates as they thought they would, which was a relief.
"Well. We're still in one piece, aren't we?" Celestia spoke.
"Kirlia."
"Oh, Passion. I'm sorry that I was unable to solve this much sooner than I should've. If I did, then none of this would've happened." Celestia felt guilty as always. Being the ruler of Equestria and ruling for many years she thought she would have a solution to a problem like this. "But...I guess that's to be expected since your world is beyond my knowledge. "
Passion gave Celestia a huge on her face, basically telling her not to worry anymore. Who cares about any of that when she's here unharmed with her trainer.
"Kir."
"Passion...Did you just speak?" Celestia in that small instance could actually understand Passion's words. The two were connecting on such a level that it was possible for her to slowly gain an understanding of Pokemon speech. But since Passion was still a young Kirlia, it was fairly faint. But Celestia could hear the words "It's alright."
"Lia!"
"After this, let's have a nice long break, okay?"
"Kirlia."
The two took a moment to take a huge breather. After something like that, they deserve it all. And they do deserve a long break after all of this. The synergy between the two was another great example of trainer and Pokemon.
There are many phenomenons that involve Pokemon.
Whenever a Pokemon cries, something magical happens. As if they have the power to bring those back to life.
Whenever a Pokemon passes away, they leave behind something that can benefit the future. As if they're leaving behind a final gift to the world.
Whenever a Pokemon and Trainer share a powerful bond, they can achieve an unseen form that can be transformed into an amazing power.
And of course, the largest phenomenon that started it all. The creation of Arceus.
And this is one of those many phenomenons. The synergy between two that radiates happiness. This was more than just transforming their bonds into power. They were exhibiting magic in its purest form. Pure magic if you will. The space they were in had been purified with this dazzling magic, spreading a mix of Celestia's magic and Passion's magic across the endless void.
For the first time ever, the magic of Equestria which used to be completely powerless against cosmic energy had managed to overcome it, eradicating it completely from Passion. Finally, the two could rest easy.
On the outside world, they made their beautiful return. A pillar of light erupted from the same spot Passion vanished from, causing a reappearance. The pillar of light had brought them back to the outside world, but that wasn't all. That same light expanded into a vast and grandiose light shockwave that went across both worlds.
All the damage that Passion had caused to every part of each world was being undone by this magical light of two. Almost as if the removal of the cosmic energy had reversed the effects that it was forcing Passion to cause. After all, she wasn't even in control of herself at the time.
Before everyone knew it, it's like nothing ever happened. No damage was caused whatsoever. Everyone was placed back down on the ground, Canterlot had been repaired along with Ponyville and all of Equestria. Celestia and Passion emerged from the mystical light as they were both still hugging each other with Celestia holding her.
"Sister!" Luna cried out, seeing that her big sister was alright.
"Luna?" Celestia opened her eyes, seeing the whole gang here. "Everyone?"
"Auntie!" Cadence was tearing up.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed as her, the rest of the Mane 6, Luna and Cadence dogpiled Celestia with their own hugs. Soon, both Celestia and Passion were attacked by vicious yet comforting hugs from the ponies and their Pokemon as Ash and Gardevoir stood by watching.
"Okay! It's good to see you all again!" Celesti laughed as she and Passion were being crushed. It got worse when Ash's Dragonite came out of its Pokeball, joining in on the hug. "Wait! Dragonite, NO-"
"Dra!" Dragonite gave every last one of them a hug. There was no escaping this time. But Dragonite saw that they were all suffocating so it was best to pull back now.
"Phew...fresh air." Celestia let out a sigh of relief.
"Auntie! How did you do it?" Cadence had a wide smile on her face, wiping away the tears.
"Isn't it obvious? She's the best!" Rainbow Dash remarked.
"I didn't do it by myself. You were all there to help me."
"We were?" They all said.
"Yes. Well...your mirror world counterparts that is."
"Oh..."
"But we did it. We won." Celestia held Passion in her hooves.
"Kirlia!"
"Is Passion alright now?" Fluttershy asked.
"Perfectly fine." Celestia gave Passion a belly rub.
"Kir! KIrlia!"
"So...I-It's over? The problem's been solved?" Twilight stammered.
"Oh, finally!" Twilight fell on her back, exhausted.
"That was way too close for comfort." Rainbow fell on the floor face first. Most of them felt exhausted from this. The entire scenario almost ended up costing somepony's life and the life of many others. You could call this a usual day with Pokemon but at this point, seeing how it almost resulted in the destruction of two worlds, not so usual. If anything, this is the first unusual thing in months. And it might just stay that way for a while.
"Well. I believe this is where we part ways, my little ponies," said Gardevoir. "Kirlia." She went to her daughter, kneeling down. You've found yourself an amazing trainer. One that I would never expect or foresee in a million years. I want you to take care, be by her side and always push on through the hardest of times, alright?"
"Kirlia..." Passion was about to cry, saying goodbye to her mother. Even though they had a short reunion, it still hurt to say farewell. Especially when Passion had left her mother without even telling her. But Gardevoir knew that she didn't have to since already had the knowledge of her finding the perfect trainer. The Emotion Pokemon took some time to hug her mother's leg, saying her unfortunate goodbyes.
"Celestia, was it?"
"Yes?"
"Take good care of my daughter, alright? Raise her into a wonderful Gardevoir."
"I will. I promise."
"Kirlia!" Passion ran over to Celestia, hopping on her back as usual. Farewells were given to Gardevoir as they all vowed to take care of her daughter. And when she becomes a Gardevoir, it'll be her protecting them instead.
Canterlot.
A resounding return to it. They could come back to their world knowing that the damage done had been reversed due to both Celestia and Passion's magic uniting into one. And the snow complemented it perfectly. Returning to Canterlot was all they needed. Once they returned, cheers were directed straight towards Princess Celestia and Passion only. They were all glad that the two were alright and back in one piece.
"I'm back everypony. Oh..." Celestia sighed, feeling the urge to head to bed right now. Her knees were so weak that she was about to fall over, but Pyrestar came over to catch her.
"Welcome back, Celestia. A great success against the problem, I assume?"
"Right you are. It took a while." Celestia nodded. "But it all worked out in the end." The Sun Princess hooves had given up finally, causing her to fall the ground. Everypony gasped at the sight of seeing their princess suddenly fall to the ground. But that's to be expected from all the hard work she did to save everypony.
"I think it's best that we all give her some room to rest." Pyrestar spoke." She needs all the rest she can get."
"Mmm...Cake." Celestia mumbled in her sleep. Passion held on to Celestia's neck, giving it a hug and comforting her whilst she dozed off.
Everypony realized that it was probably best that they all just head home. Celestia's tired, she's exhausted herself, she just got back from saving both worlds from being crushed by uncontrollable magic. So all she needs is some rest. And that's what they gave her.
"You know...I'm pretty beat myself." Rainbow Dash yawned. "This cold weather and snow kinda make me sleepy."
"We all are, darling. I don't know how I'm ever going to stay up after almost being crushed by all that magic." Rarity said. "Think now might be the best time to head home?"
"I think so. We don't want to bother Princess Celestia anymore." Twilight nodded. "Her and Passion need a long break at the moment."
"I'm still wondering how she managed to do it?" Fluttershy wondered.
"Only one way she could have." Cobalion walked up to them. "Your princess was just another example of an amazing trainer and an amazing Pokemon."
"Really?" Fluttershy leaned forward.
"Really. If Cobalion says something then it's true." Terrakion commented.
"That shockwave of light was one of the many phenomenons that exist in our world," said Virizion. "There are even more phenomenons that our world holds that are waiting to be discovered. But for now, we'll be taking our leave."
"Think we'd better head back to Pallet, huh buddy?"
"Pikachu."
"Thank you all for helping my big sister. I don't know what she would do without you all." Luna picked up Celestia, carrying her on her back. "For a while now, Pyrestar and I will be attending her royal duties. In the meantime, you all return and enjoy the rest of winter until Hearth's Warming arrives. Or Christmas as it's known in the Pokemon World."
"Sure will." Twilight nodded as the others gave their agreements.
The day was nearing its end in a few hours. It's been a total of 17 hours since this whole problem started up. And both worlds were almost destroyed in 6 hours. But all that time was worth it since all is well finally. Celestia was placed in her bed, snug as a bug as Passion slept next to her.
Celestia had never looked so peaceful before. She hasn't been this asleep since she was a little filly. Just goes to show how much work she's put in. Pyrestar and Luna gently closed to the door, leaving Celestia and Passion to sleep without any disruption.
All was calm on this snow-filled night.
"To think...I suggested that you both should put your work on hold since I wanted you both to experience everything and sway from any problems that might surface up, as they did in my world. But then, she goes ahead and does this. I suppose I can't prevent a princess from partaking in her royal duties." said Pyrestar.
"If mother and father were here, they'd be so proud of her. I know I am." Luna replied. "But, it's a shame...Once the worlds return to normal...Both her and Passion will have to part ways for good. Meaning the same with Darkrai and I..." The thought of it was heartbreaking honestly."
"It truly is. They've both built something amazing together. Departing forever will truly ruin all of that." Pyrestar shook her head.
"I wish there was a way to keep both our worlds connected. Even if the Rift finally leaves." Luna sighed.
"....There is one possible way." Pyrestar said as it caused Luna to perk up.
"What? There is?!"
"It's just a theory...but what do know is that in every universe, one has something that the other does not. In my universe, the concept of ponies fusing exists but not in this universe. But here, this Boundless Cutie Mark seems to be a reality, however, it has never come up in my own universe."
"Are you saying that..."
"Yes. There might be a universe out there where somepony has found a spell that can keep our memories. It is a far reach. But judging by how endless these realities seem to be, it's not out of the realm of possibility."
"So then, what are waiting for? We should set out to these worlds and find the right-"
"Slow down, Luna...There's no need to rush. After all, don't you think now is a good time to just sit back and relax?" Pyrestar pointed at the window were Celestia and Passion were asleep.
"Oh, right." Luna squeed.
This single-story instance can finally come to an end. Celestia has found peace with her Pokemon and subjects. From now on, the way she's viewed by all of Equestria has been changed radically. No longer is she a highly-worshipped princess. But now, she's just like everypony else. Just here to have fun, smile and be with those that she loves. All while still being a princess, as the journey continues.
Ponyville, Afternoon. Still snowing in this accelerated winter.
"Come quick!" Spike was dragging Twilight by her tail, trying to get her out of the lab.
"What is it, Spike? What's so important that you want me to be outside?"
"Today's a day that involves me getting better as a Dragon Trainer! And I don't want anyone to miss it!"
"How so? More training with Ash?"
"Nope! I heard some news that a bunch of sponsors are heading over to the Pokemon World and they're arriving one by one!"
"Sponsors like?"
"Check it out!" Spike held out sponsor fliers of various Trainer classes. But the one held out the most had images of various Dragon-Type Pokemon.
"Oh, yeah. That's right. I do remember hearing about that."
"Dragon Trainers are coming to Equestria to seek and challenge other Dragon Trainers! You know what that means?!"
"That Dragon Trainers are challenging trainers who just so happen to have Dragon-Type Pokemon?"
"It means that I can get better as a Dragon Trainer with this. If I can beat at least one of them, it'll show my skills a Dragon Trainer!"
"Beat one of them? Spike. I don't know about that."
"I totally can if that's what you're doubting. All those lessons Ash taught me are gonna come in handy when they get to Ponyville." Spike grinned with confidence behind him. Speaking of Dragon Trainers, they had finally made a stop at Ponyville. They heard that the most action goes down at Ponyville after all. "They're here!" Spike exclaimed.
The Dragon Trainers looked exactly as you'd expect them to. They wore the traditional Dragon Trainer outfit which consisted of purple jumpsuits, red capes and the face of a golden dragon in the middle. They consisted of mostly young men and women with a few adults here and there. Many ponies gathered to see the tamers of Dragons, the highest of beasts.
"This is Ponyville?" A young male trainer spoke. "It doesn't look as active as they made it out to be."
"Never judge a book by its cover remember? There's a reason this place is so well known in our world." An older Dragon Trainer replied to him.
"Wow...You're Dragon Trainers?" Scootaloo gawked at a female trainer.
"That's right. Dragon-Types are our speciality, my little pony." She kneeled down to talk to Scootaloo. "But we also specialize in Pokemon that belong in the Dragon Egg Group."
Other Dragon Trainers were either chatting or searching for ponies who owned Dragon-Types. Unfortunately, Dragon-Type Pokemon are kind of hard to come by. It's not that there's little of them like Ice-Types, instead, they're so powerful that they're practically considering Legendary Pokemon in their own right. And also because it's hard to tame one considering how destructive they can be. But that's why the Dragon Trainers exist. After all, most of them aim to attain the status of their greatest members, Lance the League Champion of Kanto and Clair the Dragon-Type Gym Leader of Blackthorn City.
So far, there were only four trainers who owned Dragon-Type Pokemon with them. Ash, Rainbow Dash, Apple Bloom and Spike. And there were more trainers that owned Pokemon that were in the Dragon Egg Group. That being Scootaloo, Applejack and Rarity. And to some extent Twilight since she owned the Pokemon in PokePark. And a decent amount of them are indeed Dragons.
"Alright. We came here to judge the strength of anyone who owns a dragon and we aren't leaving until we see something good. Whoever owns a Dragon-Type, step forward." The oldest trainer of the group spoke. You could tell how old he was due to his spiky purple hair standing upwards while having a purple beard to boot.
"Oh! Hold on!" Twilight teleported in and out of the spot she was in, returning with the Axew that lived in PokePark. "Okay, go on."
"Axew!"
"Out you come." Ash sent out his Dragonite as the others followed suit. The Dragon-Types or Dragon Egg Group Pokemon that were present in Ponyville were all released from their Pokeballs for the Dragon Trainers to see. There was a pretty fine lineup actually.
"Does Treecko count?" Applejack asked.
"It's in the Dragon Egg Group from what I've learned. And its mega is Dragon...so yes." Twilight nodded as Treecko hopped of Applejack's back, joining his fellow Pokemon. The ones who owned the specific Dragon Pokemon showed them off to the tamers. All except for Apple Bloom who was passing on this one.
The oldest Dragon Trainer took a moment to examine the lineup of Pokemon here with his own eyes. His very intimidating and dragon-like eyes. Actually, most of them had the eyes akin to that of a Dragon, even owning some fangs, similar to that of the Dragon Trainer Raihan.
"Hmm. Let's see here. Dragonite, Altaria, Axew, Treecko, Feebas, Goomy, Horsea. Not a bad lineup actually. Some of these Pokemon seem to be very capable." He judged. "But the question is...who do we go up against and judge?"
"Spike here's been waiting for this moment. Pick him." Twilight held Spike as he waved at his fellow Dragon Trainer.
"Who? The purple dragon?"
"That's me! And that Goomy over there is mine. We're both gonna become the best Dragon Trainer and Dragon-Type Pokemon ever!"
"Goomy!"
"Hmm..." He examined the two, judging them clearly. He could see that the determination was there, but the question was, are they decent enough? "You have the enthusiasm. But can you back it up? Both you and your Goomy."
"Can we? Uh...I-I think we can at least. I mean...we haven't actually been in a proper Pokemon Battle yet." Spike scratched the back of his head.
"You've never battled once?"
"Well, not really. I mostly sat out because it was getting too intense for me and I just wanted to learn from my friends, ya know." It was true. Spike has never engaged in a Pokemon Battle once. Not even for a second. Even when Ash was training everypony, he never actually had his Pokemon join in. All he did was just watch from the sidelines and observe everypony.
"Hm. Hm. A Dragon Trainer must always be in the midst of battle." He crossed his arms. "Dragons are the highest of the beasts. They wield the most power out of any other Pokemon. Not to mention, they are the raw essence of magic itself. Masters of Infinity Energy. Arcane at its absolute best. The only thing that can really stand up to them at their absolute best are other Dragons since they're that powerful and Fairies due to them being the purest essence of magic. That just shows you how powerful Dragons really are."
"Ooooh..." Spike gawked.
"So it is of the utmost importance that you train with your Dragon day in and day out. Or else, you won't make any progress for a long time. So, are you sure that you want to do this?"
"Uh..." Spike was a bit intimidated. The man's appearance was intimidating anyways. But after hearing how different Dragons are in the Pokemon World compared to the Dragons of his world, he was quaking. But he was still willing to give it a go. "100%!"
"Alright. If you say so. I want to see what you're capable of." He held out his Ultra Ball, preparing his Pokemon. "Show me some promise."
"Spike. These are full-fledged Dragon-Trainers with years of experience. Are you sure this is a good idea?" Twilight said to him.
"I want to become a better Dragon Trainer. So yeah. I kinda know that I'm outmatched. But I want to show them how strong Goomy is. If I get the chance."
"Your choice. We won't stop you." Twilight backed up.
"I'm ready!" Spike exclaimed.
"Good. Then...come out my partner!" The Dragon Trainer sent out his ace Pokemon.
A Kommo-o.
"Kommo!" The Scaly Pokemon roared, causing a powerful wind pressure to form around Ponyville. The ponies felt their scarves and manes flow due to its roar.
"That thing's got scales on scales!" Rainbow Dash took out her dex.
"Kommo-o. The Scaly Pokemon. There is a legend that says Kommo-o is covered in glittering scales in order to drive away a great darkness covering the world. The reason these Pokémon seek out battle is to gain the power needed to defeat this darkness. When it detects someone approaching, Kommo-o rings the scales on its tail to announce its presence. Its rigid scales function as offence and defence. It battles valiantly with its fists, which are armoured in steel scales. Kommo-o specializes in uppercuts. It clatters its tail scales to unnerve opponents. This Pokémon will battle only those who stand steadfast in the face of this display. In the past, its scales were processed and used to make weapons and other commodities that can be found in certain ruins It has no desire to battle against weak Pokémon unless it senses great potential in them."
"This thing sounds pretty fierce Spike! Maybe it's not too late to back down!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"Too late. Once two Dragon Trainers initiate a battle, there's no escaping." The Dragon Trainer smirked. "Are you ready, boy?"
"R-Ready." Spike gulped. He knew he wasn't going to win but he had to try his best.
"Then in that case...Make your move first."
"Yes sir! Goomy! Water Gun!"
"Goo!" The Soft Tissue Pokemon shot out a small forceful shot of water towards its fellow Dragon. However, this did nothing as the water just simply made Kommo-o's face wet.
"That all? Come on. Put some more oomph to your attacks."
"Goomy! Tackle!"
Goomy propelled its body forward as if it was a rocket of some sorts. It smashed its body onto Kommo-o, barely even moving it, even with it going all out. The only one who was damaged Goomy, who felt Kommo-o's hard scales affect its head.
"G-Goo!" The Soft Tissue Pokemon felt dizzy from making contact with a Pokemon as hard as Kommo-o.
"Hmph. Is that the extent of your Dragon, boy? Shall I attack next?"
"You haven't seen anything yet! Tackle one more time!" Spike pointed, aiming to try the same tactic again.
"In that case...Kommo-o! Breaking Swipe!"
"Ko!" The Scaly Pokemon swung its tough tail wildly, smacking Goomy right in the face which was its entire body. The opposing Dragon-Type was sent flying into the air by the Breaking Swipe.
"Oh! Goomy!" Spike exclaimed.
Goomy fell the ground as a dust cloud emerged from it. The Dragon Trainer wiped some of the dust off his suit as he observed the area where Goomy fell. He was impressed to see that Goomy was still standing, even after taking a hit that hard from a Pokemon as strong as Kommo-o.
"Goo..my.."
"Oh. Not bad. Not many Pokemon can withstand an attack from Kommo-o's hard scales."
"You okay?" Spike said to his Pokemon.
"Goomy!"
"But, you'll have to do better than that. Tackle and Water Gun aren't going to cut it, boy."
"I'll show you...I may not be great battling...but I know how to be annoying! Goomy! Jump on Kommo-o's head!"
"Hm?" That command actually caught the trainer off guard. What was Spike planning? "Keep your wits up, Kommo-o. Use Sky Uppercut!"
"Kommo!" The Scaly Pokemon stomped on the ground, pulling its arms back. Goomy rushed in, lunging towards the Dragon-Fighting-Type. Twilight and her friends had no idea what Spike was planning, but Ash did. Since he taught him a little neat trick that Goomy has that can give him the advantage from time to time.
"Here it comes..." Spike leaned forward.
Kommo-o thrust its fists skywards as if it was leaping into the sky. That's where Spike's small plan came into play. The moment Kommo-o's fists came into contact with Goomy, they slid off it harmlessly. Goomy managed to get on Kommo-o's head without taking any damage what so ever.
"What the?" The Dragon Trainer pulled back.
"That worked?! Why didn't it slide off before?" Rainbow Dash confused by this.
"Easy." Ash grinned, knowing the real reason why. "Goomy's covered in a slimy membrane that makes any punches or kicks slide off it harmlessly. So if you only go for punches and kicks, you won't even get the chance to deal damage to them uness you try something else."
"Pikachu!"
"Oh. Is that why Breaking Swipe worked then?" Rainbow Dash nodded.
"Makes you wonder why it's not Dragon-Poison then..." Twilight said.
"Espeon.
"Great job, Goomy! Now jump and use Water Gun!" Goomy hopped off Kommo-o's head, causing the Scaly Pokemon to have slime in its eyes. Goomy then pelted it with a Water Gun, which did nothing once again. But, thanks to the slime, Kommo-o couldn't see a thing, causing it to lose a lot of its focus.
"Not bad, boy! Pretty clever using the Pokemon's biology to your advantage! But that's not enough. Clanging Scales!"
"Ko! Mo!" Kommo-o didn't need its sight to continue battling on. As per the norm with Fighting-Types. The Scaly Pokemon rubbed the scales on its entire body, generating a huge noise that spread across the vicinity of everypony. It sounded exactly like metal being rubbed against each other, which was already painful to even imagine. And it didn't help that Kommo-o's scales are essentially steel.
Goomy took the brunt of this noise the most. Due to its horns being intensely sensitive, the Clanging Scales caused a strong shock that made the Soft Tissue Pokemon unable to move. But surprisingly, it was somehow still standing.
"Impressive. Being able to stand from a move like that is no small feat. But this battle is over."
"It isn't over yet! Goomy! Water Gun!" Spike knew that it was a done deal battle. But, he was still giving it his best. And doing so caused Goomy to break out of Water Gun and unleash a newly learned move, Water Pulse. An ultrasonic wave of pulsing water was blasted towards Kommo-o, actually startling it for a bit. The attack made contact, causing an explosion of liquid to erupt.
"And it looked pretty powerful too. That had to have at least pushed Kommo-o back." Twilight commented. But to their surprise, it didn't. Not at all. Kommo-o had shrugged it off as if nothing happened. "Or not!"
"It's over. Kommo-o! Hyper Beam!" The most powerful Normal-Type move was unleashed. Only tied with Giga Impact. Kommo-o let out a grand and destructive beam that tore through the ground of Ponyville. Goomy met its unfortunate defeat as it was engulfed by this beam. It almost hit some of the ponies, grazing their manes as it broke through the roof of Twilight's Castle. The aftermath was an expected explosion that even blew Spike away.
The dust settled with the beam's sparkles fading away. Goomy had fainted. There was no way it was standing up after something like that.
"Goo..."
"That's the match." The Dragon Trainer said.
"Goomy!" Spike ran over this partner, picking it up. "Are you okay?"
"Goomy..."
"You did great there."
"Indeed it did, boy." The Dragon Trainer walked up to Spike along with Kommo-o. "I must say...that Goomy of yours is surprisingly impressive."
"It is...?" Spike looked up at him.
"But of course. Goomy is considered to be the weakest of all Dragon-Type Pokemon. Well... the weakest until it evolves. But you managed to show great fortitude and skill in that small instance of a battle. That's what I like to see."
"Really? That's great! Did you hear that Goomy?"
"In fact...I see great potential in your Goomy. Us Dragon Trainers can tell from a mile away."
"Yeah, we can!" The rest of the Dragon Trainers replied.
"So...if Goomy continues to get stronger it'll become a unique Goodra?"
"Something like that yes. Peak performance Pokemon of various species are somewhat common yet rare at the same time. I'd say your Pokemon is just another of those examples. And, I'm willing to give you an offer because of that."
"An offer?"
"How would you like us to train your Goomy?"
"Train my Goomy? That actually sounds great! We can get started right now!" Spike raised Goomy up to him.
"Yes. Unfortunately...we won't be able to train it here. We only came to Ponyville to see which Dragon-Type piqued our interest. And so far, yours is the most promising due to it being considered the weakest. So, we can't train it in Ponyville forever."
"Aw..." Spike lowered his head.
"Unless. You can either let us take Goomy along and train it...or...Goomy could stay here and continue to be trained by you."
"Seriously? Those are the two options?" Twilight flew forward. "Can you even do that?"
"They can. It's happened before." Ash replied, referring to his own Goodra and Gliscor.
"Pika-Pika."
"Spike. You can probably make some great progress training Goomy on your own, ya know." Rainbow Dash suggested.
"But, these guys are like experts with Dragons. So they know what they're doing. Uh, no offense Spike!" said Sweetie Belle.
"We're not forcing you. Just a small recommendation."
"Hmm...I don't know. I haven't really been battling with Goomy all that much. In fact...this is the first-ever major battle I've been in. But even still, we've barely had any time to bond, ya know."
"Choosing to have your Pokemon be trained by someone else is difficult. Believe me. But it's your decision. You have to find out what'll benefit your partner on your own." Ash commented.
"Spike. If you don't want to say goodbye to Goomy, you can just say so." Fluttershy walked over to him.
"Yeah. It's your Pokemon after all." Applejack nodded.
"I know, I know." Spike scratched his head. He was torn on this. The decision of having Goomy go with these trainers would help improve its training to a quicker and more efficient degree. But it would also mean that they wouldn't have enough time to bond together. And who knows how long they'll be gone for. Spike looked at his Pokemon in the eyes, seeing that despite hearing the two options, it still looked like a happy Pokemon either way. This made Spike come to a conclusion. "I think I've actually made up my decision."
"Yes...?" The Mane 6 leaned forward.
"I'll let Goomy go with you guys. You're obviously the best with dragons, so I think it would be best if you trained him. I'm still kind of a novice at this Pokemon business."
"Hm. So that is your decision." The Dragon Trainer nodded, accepting Spike's option. "Very well. We promise that we will return with Goomy and raise it into a mighty Pokemon by the end of it. It might take months, but we'll keep that promise of returning it."
"Right." Spike nodded. He took out Goomy's Pokeball, ready to return it inside. "Goomy. Sorry that we're cutting our time together short. I didn't really get enough time to train with you at all. But when you come back, we can hang around even more and take part in loads of awesome battles, okay?"
"Goomy? Goomy!" The Soft Tissue Pokemon jumped on Spike, getting its slimy body all over it.
"Ow! Okay! Okay! Knock it off Goomy!" Spike laughed as he returned Goomy to its ball. The baby Dragon handed over the Pokeball to the Dragon Trainer, making it official now.
"Many thanks, boy. We'll train him well. I suppose I never gave you my name. You may call me Dragon Trainer Avaun. Or just Avaun."
"Thanks, Avaun! I'm counting on you to make Goomy the best he can be."
"And count on me you shall, Spike, my boy. Alright, you lot. Let's get a move on." Avaun said.
"Yes sir!" The rest of the Dragon-Trainers replied.
There they went. Off with a Pokemon to train as they vow to return him. When that day comes for Goomy to return, Spike will have learned more about Pokemon. He aims to move out of his novice and rookie status and into a great Dragon Trainer. It's not easy training the most ferocious Pokemon Type. But that's why he's up for the challenge. And no doubt, his Pokemon will be facing harsh challenges as well as the journey continues.
"A-Achoo!" Ash let out a sneeze. The cold of Ponyville was pretty effective. Even if he was wearing a scarf. "I need Rarity to make me something warm..."
"Pikachu...Pi..."
"Feeling under the weather, my human compadre?" Pinkie Pie went up to Ash. "What you need is something to snack down on. Something hot! Like this!" She held in her hoof, a cupcake that was heated up to melt away the cold. "I call this the Cinder Cupcake! A Cindercake!"
"Oooh!" Ash and Pikachu were both given the Cindercakes, feeling their warmth. Both took a bite, melting at the wonderful taste of it. It was truly something that could erase the cold that you were feeling. "Aahh...That's more like it. Thanks, Pinkie Pie!"
"Pikachu, Pi-Ka!" Pikachu stuffed his face with the Cindercake.
"You're welcome! Boy. Winter this cold is so rare that I almost forgot about these Cindercakes. Last time I made some was when snow fell everywhere back home with my family. That's where it all began."
"We've never actually seen your entire family Pinkie. Well...we've only seen Maud. You said you had two other sisters, right?"
"Pika?"
"Oh!" Pinkie jumped up. "That's right! I should've introduced you both to them by now! Applejack's family's met them a few weeks back. Weird...for some reason, I feel like they should've met up during Hearth's Warming Eve instead of before for some reason..." Pinkie felt a disturbance. As if the timeline was switched up due to the Rift. "Oh well! This is your chance to meet them as well."
"Hm? We're meeting them now?"
"Chu?"
"YEAH! You'll love them! Mom and dad are super nice obviously! Marble's a real eccentric and charismatic pony! And Limestone is just great to be around!"
"Sound like a plan, buddy?"
"Pikachu!"
So it was. A trip to the rock farm to see the rest of Pinke Pie's family. It was just Pinkie, Ash and Pikachu on the trip there. It was sure to be a treat to meet the rest of the family. After all, they got along well with Applejack's family a few weeks back so the same can apply here most likely.
Finally arriving at their destination, the trio made their way to Pinkie Pie's home with haste. The appearance of her original home area hadn't changed a bit. Despite being winter, snow doesn't come around here that often. Even with Pokemon affecting the weather. But, you could see some on the rocky hills in the distance here and there.
"Here we are!" Pinkie exclaimed, showing Ash and Pikachu the rock farm. She was right about her living at an actual rock farm because that's all you could see for miles. Rocks everywhere. And fitting with those rocks was the house that the Pie Family dwelled in. "Hold on, you two. I'll get them!" She dashed over to the house, knocking on the door. "Yoo-hoo! I'm home!"
Answering the door was Pinke Pie's father and mother. Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz.
"Pinkamena Diane Pie. Back already? Are you perhaps here with the Apple Famly again?" Igneous asked.
"Good to be back! But not this time. I've got a really special friend to show you! He's just as happy as me! Everypony! Meet Ash and his best buddy Pikachu!"
"Heya!" Ash waved at the parents.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu waved as well.
"...Is that...a Human?" Cloudy spoke. This was their first time actually seeing a human in the flesh. They've seen Pokemon already, especially the Apple family's and some Rock-Types that pop up here and there, but never a human. They've only heard of them.
"Yep! The whole package! Ain't he something?" Pinkie showed Ash off to them. "Is it okay if Ash and Pikachu come in? I want him to meet the rest of our family!"
"Hm. It doesn't seem harmless. Less intimidating than that Machamp creature from before." said Igneous. They were referring to Ash s 'It' since they've never seen a creature like him before. Somehow, Machamp was less surprising to them.
"What's all that noise?!" A gruff and aggressive voice came closer to everypony's ears. Who else would have a voice like that other thank Pinkie Pie's eldest sister? Limestone Pie. By far the most aggressive in the family and the only pony who can match Pinkie Pie in expression. Albeit a different kind of expression. Limestone stopped in her tracks, setting her eyes on the unidentified creature. Not Pikachu. But Ash. "W-What is that thing?!" Limestone pulled back, wincing at the sight of Ash.
"There's Limestone! She's a real charismatic pony, I tell ya!" Pinkie introduced. "And over there, right behind her is my youngest sister, Marble Pie! Hi Marble!" Pinkie waved at Marble who was hiding behind Limestone. She was surprised by the sight of a human as well.
"They seem kinda shocked to see me..." Ash said.
"That's because they've never seen a human before."
"Seriously?!"
"Pika?!"
"Mhm! They only know your name cause I mentioned it a few weeks back. But don't worry. Now that you're here, they won't have to just know you by name. Everypony! This is Ash! Don't be shy! He's very approachable."
"Come on, buddy. Say hello."
"Pikachu." Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, walking towards the family. "Pika-Pika. Pikachu." He greeted himself.
"...Uh...Yeah, Hi." Limestone greeted back to the Electric Mouse. Her face remaining grumpy whilst staring at Pikachu. But inside of her mind, her thoughts had a completely different answer. "It's so cute!". Deep down, she was gushing at Pikachu's appearance, but she didn't want to express it.
"Greetings to you too, yellow mouse-squirrel-hybrid." so did Igneous.
"Charmed." Cloudy said.
"Pika?" Pikachu turned his attention to Marble Pie, who was staring at him with a different look than the others. The look on her face was more of a face of awe. It's almost as if she was stunned to see something like Pikachu. Actually, she was. She found it to be adorable. She didn't say anything other than a few gasps here and there. The youngest of the family went up to Pikachu, grabbing the Electric Mouse and surprising him with an intense hug. "PI-PIKACHU?!"
"Aw, look at that. Marble's already being a great friend to Pikachu." Pinkie gushed as she saw Pikachu getting choked to death by her. "Oh, Marble! Pikachu kinda needs to breathe."
"Pika..." Pikachu was trying his best to break free. Luckily, Marble realized that she was suffocating the poor little thing, causing her to drop him. "Pikachu..."
"So this is Ash Ketchum?" Limestone walked up to him. "He kinda looks a bit empty-headed."
"Nice to meet you. Limestone, right? So you're the oldest of your sisters. I bet you've got a lot of authority." Ash was referring to how Brock had a ton of authority for the being oldest of his siblings.
"Authority? Yeah, I've got that. Other than mom and dad, I make sure that my sisters are safe. Plus, I kind of run things here."
"Oh! You sure do look capable of all of that. But I'm kinda surprised on how different everyone is to Pinkie Pie. Guess I should've known ever since we met Maud for the first time."
"Uh-huh." Limestone replied. "If you're staying here for a while, then let's keep one thing clear, Ketchum!" She raised her voice at him.
"Huh?"
"If you don't wanna get on my bad side, stay away from Holder's Boulder!" She pointed her hoof at the direction of the boulder.
"Holder's Boulder?" Ash turned around to the direction she was pointing at. His eyes were met with a sacred boulder that was pretty girthy in size. "Oh. That thing?"
"Yeah, that thing. We'll be cool if you don't go near it! Ever!"
"Hmm...It seems special to you, so you got it. I promise I won't even lay a finger on it."
"Pikachu!"
"Yeah well, whatever."
"Wait. I didn't introduce you to everyone else. Out you come, guys." Ash sent out his other Pokemon to greet them.
"Dragon!"
"Gengar!"
"Rio!"
"Farfetch'd."
"Dra?" Dragonite noticed some new ponies to hug. Best get to it. He instantly set sights on Limestone Pie first since she was the closest. "Nite!"
"W-What's it doing?!" Limestone grit her teeth, backing up from the Dragon Pokemon. "Hey! Back up! Or I'll-" Too late. Dragonite already had her in its warm clutches. Limestone was yet another victim to Dragonite's hugs. "Y-You...I'm gonna clobber...you!" Limestone exclaimed. On the outside, it looked like she hated it. But actually, on in the inside, she was loving this. She had never felt a hug this warm before n her life.
"This is the best hug of my life..." She may not be afraid to speak her mind, but there are some things she'd rather not let out.
"Alright, Dragonite. I think she's had enough." Ash went up to Dragonite, causing the Dragon Pokemon to cease the hug. The Dragon-Type immediately went for Marble Pie next.
"Mmm..." Marble gulped as she noticed the 7 foot Dragon flying towards her. At first, she was terrified, but after seeing how friendly its face was, she was welcoming for the hug. She took Dragonite's embrace as she had melted in it completely. "Aaaah..."
Dragonite aimed for the parents next, planning to hug them as well.
"We'd rather not." Igneous turned down Dragonite's hug offer, causing the Dragon Pokemon to cease.
"Riolu." Riolu went up to Limestone, raising his little baby palms at her as a greeting.
"Hey." Limestone looked down at Riolu. The look on her face was the same but inside she was saying something else. She also found Riolu to be adorable. "How long are you gonna look at me like that?"
"Riolu!"
"It's great that you're all already getting along! Now that we're here, why don't we chow down for a bit!" Pinkie Pie spoke.
"Sounds good to me. You guys wanna eat too?" Ash asked.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu and his fellow teammates replied with a resounding yes.
Inside, Ash and his Pokemon were treated to Cindercakes like before. These cakes were both popular with everypony including Pinkie's family. What made them so good was the fact that they have a distinct taste that anypony can enjoy. No matter how different their taste buds are.
Gengar devoured a whole batch of Cindercakes, scarfing them down its ghostly throat. "Gen!"
Dragonite was feeding Riolu Cindercakes like some sort of parent. Well, Riolu is still a baby Pokemon actually.
Limestone Pie looked over at Ash and his Pokemon, seeing how well they get along as she took a small bite of her Cindercake. From the sight she gave, she seemed jealous that Ash not only has a great relationship with his Pokemon but also seeing that he had Pokemon of his own.
Pinkie Pie's eyes shifted from left to right. From Ash to Limestone. Her rapidly moving pupils took a moment to pick up what Limestone was feeling at the moment. Then it hit.
"I know what we can do before we leave!" Pinkie bounced up.
"What? Better not be another party. I'd rather not have a second one this early." Limestone grunted at Pinkie.
"Why don't we have you two catch a Pokemon?"
"What?!" Limestone spat out the Cindercake.
"You two don't have Pokemon for your own?" Ash asked.
"No! Do we look like the kind of ponies who would have some?" Limestone snapped back.
"Well...do you want one of your own?" Ash leaned forward.
"Tch. What would even change if we had one? It'll just be some weird looking pet anyways."
"A lot can change with a Pokemon on your side. I'll help you two catch one!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Great! We're gonna have a blast finding your first Pokemon! You won't regret it for a second!" Pinkie pulled, Limestone and Marble closer to her. There was no talking someone out of Pokemon. Especially if it involved catching one for the first time.
"If you all are planning to catch these creatures, best do it without causing too much of a ruckus." Igneous said.
"You got it, Pinkie's dad." Ash nodded. "We'll make sure it goes smooth!"
They all set out to find some Pokemon for the two sisters. The area they headed to in question wasn't too far from their home. They wanted to keep their distance towards their farm.
"Here you go." Ash gave them both Pokeballs to carry with them. "Alright. Do any Pokemon come by your farm? Or near here?" Ash asked.
"Yeah. There's this weird-looking big green thing that keeps on destroying the mountains here. One day, it decides to just cause a lot of noise for no reason right next to our home. Gets on my nerve every single time!" Limestone groaned at the thought of this Pokemon she saw. "Why does it even do that?!"
"Destroying mountains? Big and green? Oh, you mean Tyranitar!" Ash realized.
"Is that what it is?"
"Mhm. Not a bad Pokemon to have around here. Well. The mountain part's bad if it causes a lot of noise for you. Tyranitar's a great choice of a Pokemon to catch!"
"You seriously think I'm gonna be able to own something like that?!" Limestone pulled back.
"Sure do. I did say you were capable. So I think you can own a Tyranitar, no doubt about it." Ash nodded with his arms crossed.
"Pikachu!"
"First off, how do you expect to catch it if it just rampages about?" Limestone asked. "Kinda setting yourself up for disaster there."
"Leave that to me and my Pokemon." Ash replied. Speaking of Tyranitar, it was on another rampage yet again. This time, it seemed to have gotten closer and closer to the rock farm. Due to how many mountains it has destroyed from the far distance, it was only a matter of time before it went for the next batch. "There it is! Tyranitar!"
"Mmm!" Marble Pie hid behind Dragonite, terrified of the Armor Pokemon.
Tremors were being caused by Tyranitar's rampaging. And they only got larger once it got closer. Since Tyranitar wanders about in the mountains, looking for new opponents to fight constantly, it spotted Ash and his Pokemon, making them its new opponents.
"TYRA!" The Armor Pokemon roared as it made its way towards the group.
"H-Hey! If you're gonna do something, do it!" Limestone was getting a bit nervous and worried as she shook Ash's arm. The Rock-Dark-Type was getting closer and closer. Not only that, but he seemed to be heading straight for Holder's Boulder. "Do something already!"
"Wait for it..." Ash was biding his time, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
Limestone looked over at Tyranitar, then to Ash and then to the boulder she was overprotective of. She got on the ground, putting her hooves her head as she was worried about the outcome.
"Now! Riolu! Vacuum Wave!" Ash found the perfect opportunity.
"Rio!" Riolu lunged forward, sending waves of pure vacuum that whirled out of its fists. The vacuums made contact with Tyranitar, pushing it back, right before it even made contact with the boulder. It was pretty close too. One more second and that boulder was a goner. Limestone looked up to see that her boulder was intact as she had a sigh of relief.
"TYRANITAR!" The Armor Pokemon stomped its food on the ground, almost causing Holder's Boulder to fall as it was ready to challenge Ash.
"Come on, Ash! You can do this!" Pinkie cheered from the distance.
"Sorry, Tyranitar. But I can't have you breaking that boulder here or causing trouble to their home."
"Ranitar!" Tyranitar gave its respond by using the move Stone Edge. Sharp stones emerged from beneath the ground itself, racing towards Ash and Limestone.
"Riolu! Force Palm!" Riolu broke through the incoming stones, protecting them both from being hit by struck by them. "Rush in!" The Emanation Pokemon ran forward, continuing Force Palm. Tyranitar attempted to catch Riolu with Fire Fang, ultimately missing due to Riolu jumping overhead. The Emanation Pokemon dealt some sweet delicious damage to Tyranitar with Force Palm, causing the Armor Pokemon to fall on the ground and forming a pretty sizable crater
"Ty..." Tyranitar's eyes opened wide as it delivered a sneak attack to Riolu by biting its leg."Ra!"
"Rio!?"
"Oh! Riolu!" Ash gasped. Tyranitar not only dug its teeth deep in Riolu's legs, but it also tossed him aside, flinging the Baby Pokemon towards the location of Holder's Boulder, causing Limestone to shudder once more. "Riolu! Vacuum Wave on the ground!" Ash made sure that the boulder wouldn't get touched once as he had Riolu propel himself in the air by shooting waves of vacuums on the ground. This caused Riolu to avoid making any contact with the boulder, having Limestone calm down. "That was a close one."
"Tyranitar!" The Rock-Dark-Type roared at Ash and Riolu. The Vacuum Wave and Force Palm dealt some heavy damage to it due to its typing. So right now, it was a bit on the weak side. But it wasn't ready to lose just yet. It poured all of its remaining power into one final move. Giga Impact. Energy swelled up around the Armor Pokemon as its power was building up. It was planning to smash right through them all with this single attack.
"What's it doing?" Limestone backed up.
"That's Giga Impact! Get back!" Ash stepped forward, knowing how devastating Giga Impact can get. Tyranitar rocketed off the ground, charging at its opponent at full force. "Riolu! Force Palm!"
"Rio!" Riolu pulled his palm back, preparing to halt Tyranitar's destructive movements. Once they both made contact, the collision between Force Palm and Giga Impact was strong enough to cause a powerful wind current that blew away a majority of the pebbles and rocks here. Holder's Boulder was on the verge of falling off due to the intense pressure. Dragonite protected Marble Pie and the other Pokemon whilst the shockwave raged on.
Limestone turned her head to see that her boulder had finally given up. The pressure had caused the huge piece of rock to fall over. But Ash wasn't ready to let that happen. He quickly ran over to the boulder, pushing his back against it, preventing it from even falling over.
"I got it!" Ash grunted. He looked over to see that Riolu had tumbled over, but was still up. Tyranitar on the other hand took a lot of damage from the final Force Palm. It was on the verge of fainting as it was tumbling about. "Now! Catch it, Limestone!"
"H-How do I do that?!" She looked at the Pokeball in her hoof.
"Just throw it!"
"Alright!" Limestone chucked the Pokeball with all her might as it spun around towards Tyranitar. It made direct contact with the Armor Pokemon, sending it inside of the ball. Now all they had to do was wait and see the result. Limestone leaned in just for it.
1...2...3...The shaking had stopped but there wasn't a click sound yet. The Pokeball hadn't guaranteed the capture. But Tyranitar was still inside. And then, that's when the result came in.
Gotcha!
Tyranitar was caught!
"Yes! A guaranteed capture!" Ash exclaimed.
"I...I caught it?"
"Sure did!" Pinkie dashed over to her side. "And to think, it almost cost you your life!"
"There's your first Pokemon Limestone." Ash placed the boulder back at its original spot. "And a pretty strong one at that too. How do you feel?"
"Whatever. It's kinda neat that I have one. Even if I didn't do all the work." Limestone didn't want to express how she really felt about this capture but deep down it went a little something like this. "Yes! I got a Pokemon of my own!"
"What about you Marble? You ready to catch your own?" Ash dusted himself from the remains of the boulder.
"Mmm..Mm." Marble shook her head as Dragonite held her.
"Oh! Marble's not yet ready to catch a Pokemon of her own. Maybe another time." Pinkie spoke her youngest sister.
"Alright. I'll come back another time and help you with that. Good job, Riolu."
"Rio."
"So, Limestone. Hope you have some luck training Tyranitar later on. Don't worry. Now that it's your Pokemon, it'll be a bit less destructive. A bit."
"So it won't just start going crazy if I let it out?"
"Not at all. But it will be a bit stubborn."
"Pikachu."
"In that case. Out you come." Limestone sent out Tyranitar, getting a good look at her first-ever Pokemon. Tyranitar at the moment wasn't feeling like rampaging about. That's mostly because when it's just a wild Tyranitar, they rampage on and on without rest. But if a Tyranitar has a trainer, that rampaging is put to a minimum. But it will still rampage from to time. "Pretty good actually."
"Well. Our work here is done. I'm kinda beat. I didn't get my ten hours of sleep last night." Ash yawned.
"Best get home then, sleepyhead." Pinkie nudged Ash's head.
"Hey! Before you leave, I gotta say this. Ash was it?" Limestone went up to him.
"Yeah?"
"First. Thanks for helping me with this Pokemon thing. I appreciate it. And secondly, thanks for protecting Holder's Boulder. Even if it did almost crush you."
"No problem. I did say I would protect it after all."
"Yeah, you did."
"It's was great getting to meet you two. But, I don't think I have the time to get to know your parents better."
"I'll tell them everything. You're okay in my book, Ash." Limestone patted Ash on the back. He felt a bit of sting due to him carrying the boulder on his back before. "Oh sorry. You okay there?"
"Ow...Fine, fine!"
"Oh! That's a first!" Pinkie gasped.
"What is it?" Ash asked.
"I've never once in my entire life heard Limestone say those sacred words 'Sorry'."
"It's not that big of a deal Pinkie. It's just a single sorry." Limestone replied. "And you've heard me say it before."
"Yeah, but that was loooong ago! Guess that boulder save really warmed you up, huh?"
"Uh-huh. Well get going you two. I've got to get back to work."
Dragonite gave Marble Pie one final hug before taking its leave with Ash. But they promised to come back and help her catch a Pokemon of her own. Or, by chance, she might actually catch one by herself. She still had the Pokeball that Ash gave her. The Pie family along with Tyranitar saw Ash and Pinkie leave as they gave their goodbyes. Now they had a huge Pokemon on their side which was apart of the family. Even if it was out of place.
"You've got a pretty unique family, Pinkie. Guess that's what makes you all so special, huh?" Ash pointed out how her family varied in personalities.
"Pikachu!"
"Right?! Maybe one day, you can have us meet your dad! I bet he's a really great guy to be around!"
Ghetsis's Harmonia Kingdom. Located in Pyrestar's universe.
Ghetsis sat there, contemplating constantly. Ever since his defeat back at Saddle-Arabia, his thoughts have been swarming about his head. He knew he had been defeated, but he was still standing strong. He did have a plan to cease victory over all of Equestria soon. He was just waiting for the right opportunity.
In the meantime, Ghetsis decided to pay a visit to the Changeling Hive. His alliance with Queen Chrysalis meant that they had the same idea in mind of overthrowing Equestria. Even though they both have different ways of approaching it.
Every time Ghetsis arrived at the hive, his presence there was acknowledged. The Changelings were actually terrified of Ghetsis. So much so that they even retreat back into their cocoons and holes. If they heard the sound of his staff hitting the ground, they scurried away. If they even heard he was arriving here, into hiding they go.
"Ghetsis. What brings you here?" Chrysalis walked up to him.
"I'm only here to see some progress. Have you managed to feed on any significant love?"
"Of course I have. The most significant one I've gotten my hooves on so far has been that Adagio we're alliance with. She may not look the part, but the love she shares for her sisters is a real treat. Possibly the best I've fed on so far other than Shining Armor and Cadence. Strange how she never admits all that love, actually."
"Isn't it obvious? She's hiding her true feelings for her family." Ghetsis walked by Chrysalis. "Only natural for family to do so. I wouldn't expect you to understand that."
"And how would you know?"
"I don't need to tell you that." Ghetsis took his leave, exiting the Changeling Hive.
"Hmph. How rude." Chrysalis scoffed.
Ghetsis wasn't just here for a visit. At times, he tends to come here to ease his mind. Not inside the hive, but outside. And outside was Adagio who also tends to stay outside of the hive. She heard the footsteps of Ghetsis, recognizing it instantly. She turned around to see the leader of Team Plasma standing before her.
"Ghetsis? What do you want?"
"I come here to clear my mind in case I cannot think straight. I already know that you're out here due to your conflicting emotions."
"Conflicting emotions? What makes you think I'm conflicted in any way?"
"Don't play dumb with me. You're conflicted about your sisters." Ghetsis noticed.
"Fine. That's obvious. But why should you care? You don't have any family."
"How idiotic can you be? Everyone has family in one way or another. So do I. Especially that pathetic son of mine N."
"Heh. What? Did he defeat you as well?"
"Sadly yes. If I had known he would develop that much in strength, I would've changed the way I raised him."
"What? You raised him to be strong right? Guess that came back to bite you." Adagio chuckled.
"I raised him the same way my parents did. With absolute power. However, that power turned against me at the last second. How aggravating."
"Your parents raised you to be this? Guess they didn't do a bad job since you're pretty intimidating, honestly."
"They never raised me to be like this. I became like this on my own. My parents never contributed to my growth. I found true strength by myself. Whilst they simply watched, unable to do anything."
Adagio's attention was all for this. She actually wanted to know about Ghetsis's family and his past. Despite Ghetsis's commanding and dark nature, the way he spoke when he's not planning to rule is fairly calm. Then again, he's always calm until he's pushed to his limit.
"What happened between you and your family then?" Adagio asked. "Just curious."
Chrysalis decided to eavesdrop on this. She figured that if she could feed on Ghetsis's love for his family, she could gain magic power so grand that she never even imagined it being possible to have that much.
"My mother and father constantly said that they cared for me. That they love me more than anything else. I was their pride and joy. However, despite all their affection being thrown towards me, they failed to maintain the other thing that was important to them. My father and mother were both weak-willed, unable to stand up for themselves. It was that weakness that led to their downfall."
Many years ago in the Unova Region, my parents were of a semi-wealthy family. They had enough riches to buy small bits of land here and there. However, they were insignificant in comparison to the richer families. My father would constantly be pressured into paying the higher nobility what he owed them. It was unfortunate that he managed to get himself caught up with a nobility such as that. And no matter what, he couldn't do anything due to them having high amounts of authority and power of over hm. On that day, I had no clue on what was bound to happen later on.
"Here you are, Ghetsis." His mother spoke to him. "We thought long and hard about it, but your father and I have decided on what your first Pokemon shall be. Here you go." She had in her a Deino. Small, unable to see due to what's over its face and a biter.
"What is it?" A very young Ghetsis asked. Today was his 10th birthday and this was his first Pokemon gifted to him.
"A Deino. I found him near the gardens. He seemed to be very lost and confused the poor thing. But then again, Deino's cannot really see."
"Dei!"
"Oh. This is my birthday gift?" Ghetsis went up to Deino. The Irate Pokemon gave its greetings by biting on his right arm. "Ow!" He pulled his arm back, blowing on it.
"Sorry, Ghetsis honey. He's a bit of a biter."
"I can see that. Where's dad. Isn't my 10th birthday celebration about to begin?"
"Your father is a bit occupied right now...He still has a lot to pay for today. But no need to worry. He will be here in time, okay? Head to your room and play around with Deino. Just be a bit careful, alright?"
"Fine. Come here, you weird creature." Ghetsis tried to grab Deino but the Irate Pokemon decided to run around the mini-mansion, causing trouble along the way. "Hey! Get back here!" Ghetsis chased after Deino, attempting to catch him. His mother laughed as she set up preparations for his birthday. Since this was the far past. Like insanely far in the past, even before Unova became highly advanced, the decorations consisted of gold instead of the usual party balloons. They still had cake somehow.
Ghetsis's father had finally returned, not looking too great. He had some unfortunate news that he decided to deliver.
"Dear, you're back. Did it go well as I presume?" His wife asked.
"No...I have some horrible news that I wish I didn't have to share with you." He sighed.
"What is it, father?" Ghetsis asked as Deino's mouth was currently biting on Ghetsis's right arm. "Quit it!"
"The last of our wealth has been given away. Unfortunately, we will not have the necessary amount of money to pay them back the next time."
"All of it? Gone? Surely there is some left?"
"No. No, dear.." He shook his head. "Today I was requested to pay 800,000 Pokedollars. And unfortunately, that was the exact amount of money that we had left." He sat down on the chair. "Every last one of it is gone."
"No need to worry. We can just work hard to build more money. I heard that Unova is currently taking in many job offers currently."
"Maybe. But who knows how long it will take? What was I thinking promising that much money?"
"It was not your fault dear. You were just pressured to do so. I am sorry that I did not have the strength to defend you."
"Wait. What about my birthday? Are we still going to celebrate it?"
"Of course dear. We still have our home. Your 10th birthday will still take its course. And we shall make it the best 10th birthday possible!"
Even though they went through the horrible fate of losing all of their wealth, they still did their best to keep me happy. That determination to make sure that I have a bright future was something that I had admired from them. They continued to support me along the way, putting all their faith in me. And with everything they had left, they gave me a birthday that I never forgot. Even to this day. Unfortunately, two days prior, the unthinkable happened.
My father who went to work in order to build up his wealth once more had come across the same people who he paid up to. It turns out that the next time my father had to pay was only two days away. And due to him having no funds to keep his promise, he was unfortunately given a pain-inducing punishment along with some new news that would spell the end of my family.
Ghetsis's father returned to his home, having a ragged appearance. From the looks of it, he had been attacked by Pokemon. More specifically owned Pokemon of the people he promised to pay up to. Some Fire-Type Pokemon had ended up dealing the most damage to him as he had a burn mark on his shoulder.
"Dear! Are you alright?!" The mother rushed over.
"...No. I am not." He replied with his voice having a small whimper. "I am truly sorry dear. Ghetsis. I really tried." He fell on his knees as it was revealed that a bunch of cuts were made on his body. Most likely from Steel moves. Ghetsis saw his father fall to the ground, tearing up.
His father at the end of the day was considered a wimp to many. It didn't help that he had a scrawny appearance and often stuttered when speaking to large groups of people. He was greatly shy, leading to him being unable to stand up for himself.
"Oh, honey." Ghetsis's mother held her husband, comforting him.
"We will have to leave this home soon. Along with the land. I will not have enough to pay for it. The job I work at only gives 6 Pokedollars."
"6? That cannot be right. My friend who works there is even 850 Pokedollars. Everyone else is...Unless..." The mother took a moment to realize why her husband was getting less. She then realized that in reality, they were only giving small amounts to just the Harmonia family. "Oh. I see." The mother lowered her head, standing up.
"Mother? Father? W-What now?"
"Ghetsis, dear. It pains me to say this but. We will have to head somewhere else in Unova. I know it seems as if everything is moving fast. But you need to understand, alright?"
"I understand." Ghetsis nodded. He was bright enough to know when his parents were struggling. So for his parent's sake, he went along with it. Even if it was difficult.
The entire Harmonia family had left their home since they no longer had the funds necessary to own and pay for it anymore. They were now travellers who journeyed across Unova, aiming to find a new home. Unova at this point was still recovering from a civil war that took place in the distant past. And the areas that took the most damage had yet to be repaired.
My family and I struggled to survive for the past months onwards. With no money and the ruined land before us, it was nigh-impossible to find any food. Or even any clean water at that point. We travelled across the land, searching far and wide for any sign of food and clean water. But everywhere we went, those who recognized us as the Harmonia family shunned as all due to the actions of our ancestors. As a result, we were given no form of respect along the way.
And it wasn't long until my father finally started to show signs of physical struggle. A lack of food caused his bones to grow weak, making it difficult for him to stay healthy. My mother did her very best to keep him safe. She tried everything she knew to keep the man she loved from giving out. I could only watch as my father grew weaker time and time again.
"Ghetsis. Time to head to bed. Castelia City is our next destination tomorrow." Ghetsis's mother said as she had some sheets that she took from their home many months ago.
"Alright." Ghetsis lad down on the cold hard ground as his mother tucked him and his Deino in. "Mother. Why are we even continuing? We have no place to go and all the food that we took from our home is long gone by now. What's the point."
"Ghetsis. I know it may seem hopeless dear, but that does not mean that we can just give up all of a sudden. Do you know what our family name Harmonia means?"
"No?"
"Harmonia was our far distant ancestor who existed somewhere in the Sinnoh Region. She was described as the Master of Harmony."
"Master of Harmony?"
"Yes. You see, long ago, a great and devastating war almost began between Unova and Sinnoh. From how everything was playing out, it looked as if the war was destined to happen. But Harmonia managed to spread harmony to both regions, stopping the war from even beginning. While it is unknown how she did it, her descendants said that she ended up performing something so wonderful, it brought peace to anyone who saw it."
"She must've been amazing..."
"She was amazing. What she did was enough to soothe strife and discord. A sort of cosmic balance in an odd way. That is why our family name is Harmonia. Another word for harmony. And ever since then, our family has been doing its best to spread harmony to those in need. But as you know, as time went on, our family had unfortunately become apart of The Great Pokemon War. Ever since then, they have tended to start mini-wars against people across the land, thus, eliminating the meaning behind our family name."
"Oh..." Ghetsis wasn't enjoying the story anymore.
"But. Your grandfather managed to put our family back on the right path. However, we were still hated by many other wealthy families. Even still, your grandfather persisted in trying to win their trust back in order for everyone to bond with our family."
"So...Grandfather never succeded?"
"He never did. But he had faith in your father. He believed that he would be the one to restore the Harmonia name. And I have faith that he shall as well." Ghetsis's mother looked over to her dozing husband. "Now. Night has arrived. Best to sleep. Goodnight, Ghetsis." His mother gave a small kiss on the head
The entire family slept whilst Deino kept on gnawing on Ghetsis's arm. And on that night, a stroke of horrible luck came towards the family. Intensive weather had kicked up with the force equal to that of a tornado. The family were asleep during this but eventually, they'd end up hearing and feeling the effects of the weather.
It wasn't long until they decided to cut their sleep short. The entire family got a move on, heading to Castelia, which is a long way from here. The weather was forcing them to find another way around the usual pathway to Castelia. The ground itself shook from the sheer force of it. They had no idea why this was happening to them. And that's when it was revealed what caused such powerful weather to take place.
The Legendary Birds were the reason. They tend to battle from time to time. And when they do, it feels like the entire world might come to an end. Thunderbolts struck from above, scorching flames raged across the land as a chill filled the air thanks to the three of them. And unfortunately, the Harmonia family were caught up in it. They never saw the Legendary Birds, but they saw the effects that were given to the land.
Ghetsis held on to his mother's leg, trying to not let go. But the wind was too intense for him. So intense that Ghetsis and his Deino had been whisked away by the wind caused by the birds.
"Ghetsis!" Both his mother and father called out. They saw their son fly off into the distance, unable to help him. And the last thing Ghetsis saw before he fell down further the horizon was the sight of his parents being engulfed by the flames of Moltres whilst also being struck by Zapdos's lightning. After that, he passed out from shock.
I barely remembered anything back then on that day. What I saw last was the unfortunate fate of my parents. I assumed that they were alive since my mother always told me to have faith to the very end. That everything would work out. But...when I finally recovered from fainting after many hours, I rushed back to the scene where I last saw them. And what I saw horrified me.
Ghetsis's parents had met their unfortunate end. Their bodies were charred with smoke rising out of them. Not only that, but Articuno's ice managed to deal the final blow instead of Zapdos and Moltres. They were frozen solid in ice. The Legendary Birds had left this area hours ago. Perhaps their battle had come to an end when Lugia showed up to the scene as it always does. But the fact remains that their battle cost the life of Ghetsis's parents.
I could only watch as my parents were forever frozen in ice. Ice that never melted, even when the sun rose. That was the last I ever saw of my family. I waited days and days to see them break free of the ice, but again, it never melted. But despite all of this, I stayed true to my mother's words. I never gave up. My mother would've wanted me to carry on. And that is what I did.
I set out on my own to travel Unova. Along the way, I searched for those who would aid me. But they recognized me for who I was. A Harmonia. So they shunned me to the fullest. But even then, I still kept up hope. Day after day, I tried to do my very best to keep my hope up. But as time went on, all that hope my mother told me to carry along diminished. Until one day.
Ghetsis was sitting near a lake with his Deino by his side. It had been a full year since the day his parents met his end. He was 11 years old now. The hope and faith that his mother told him to have was barely even there anymore. He managed to stay alive for this long by using his Deino to steal from others. Mostly at night. That's the only reason why he's survived. Although, he's mostly been eating expired raw food and drinking barely clean water. Then, Ghetsis pondered, thinking of where his future could go.
"...Mother. Father. What do I do?" He said to himself. He decided to try one last time to see if anyone would take him in. He stopped by a nearby house that seemed to be full of wealthy. Perhaps another nobility. However, as Ghetsis looked around the area, he noticed that this land was familiar. In fact, this is where he used to live last year. This used to be his home, but now its appearance is completely different. "Home?" Ghetsis knocked on the door of his newly designed house. He got an answer in the form of an unidentified family he has never seen before. But they've seen him.
"Oh? You. I recognize that green hair from anywhere. You're Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius. Aren't you?" The unidentified woman said.
"Y-Yes? Can you help me and my Deino? We have been travelling alone for a year now. May we please have some food and water?"
"Hm. You think we would give any to a Harmonia?"
"W-What?"
"Your family has done nothing but cause mass chaos for many years. So many have been victims of the Harmonia family's actions. You shall not get anything from us!"
"B-But...This used to be my home. Please! Can you at least spare me something?"
"Used to be is correct, boy. Your family is nothing but trouble. Get lost." She slammed the door in front of his faces.
And at that moment, the lessons that Ghetsis's mother gave him had been thrown out the window. He tried to have hope and be kind to others. But ultimately. That all failed. And this was the moment that pushed him over the edge. He finally realized why his family suffered such horrible. It was because of their own weakness. Them being unable to stand up to everyone else. But for Ghetsis, that wasn't the case. Because he had the spirit to stand up for himself now. But not in the best way possible.
"It's your fault this is happening. It's all your fault my parents had to go through all of that." Ghetsis said to himself. "I'll make you pay. I'll make sure that you won't command my family ever again...Deino! Dragon Breath!"
"Dei!" This is the point where Ghetsis resorted to violence for the first time.
The next day, there was news going about how this specific home suddenly burned down all of a sudden. Many people theorized that it was the cause of a Dragon due to there being blue flames. Which they weren't wrong. It was indeed a Dragon attack. But one that was of command.
Ghetsis had destroyed the family that lived in that home whilst eradicating the place he once lived in. Ever since then, Ghetsis began his path on conquest. He now had a different belief in power. Before, he believed that real power came from the love of Pokemon and what his ancestor Harmonia stood for. Now he believed that power came from force and aggression. The only way to rule was to rule with an iron fist.
"I abandoned my mother's beliefs. Despite her beliefs being for the sake of others, they were weak. All they ended up doing was causing more and more failures along the way. I realized that if you try and keep your faith up, you shall only head into a path of disaster and failure. You cannot rely on others to make you happy. It is only by you that you can find true happiness. However, despite all this. I never resented my mother or father. Their weakness may have been pathetic and dry. But they were the only ones to truly make me happy. But now. I've found happiness on my own. And it shall stay that way. I shall never show compassion to anyone else. Not even my own son. That is true power!"
Adagio had listened to everything that Ghetsis had said. It was a lot to take in. She had no idea what to think. It's true that Ghetsis's past was unfortunate, but what led to that and the man he is today was absolutely unreal to Adagio. But what was even more unreal was the shock that Chrysalis was feeling.
She attempted to steal all the love from Ghetsis, but his hatred was too strong. So strong that it caused her own magic to act against her, almost causing her heart to fail of shock. She took some time to breathe as her heart was beating normally. It was at this moment that Chrysalis realized just how terrifying Ghetsis truly was.
Ghetsis had something horrifying that could destroy even something as mighty as love. Pure hatred. In its purest form
"Hmph. Perplexed are we?" Ghetsis laughed. He acted as if he didn't just give that entire backstory to Adagio and it wasn't a big deal. "Understand this pony. Abandon your sisters. Rely on only yourself. Only then will you be able to achieve great feats." Ghetsis took his leave, leaving both Adagio and Chrysalis speechless and reminding them of why he is the leader of this alliance.
Whatever Ghetsis does next...you can be sure that there won't be a slice of happiness left behind.
"Here you go, Sweetie Belle." Rarity gave her little sister a newly made Rarityball just for her contests.
"Thanks, Rarity. This'll look great when I send my Pokemon out in the next contest."
"That reminds me. In the likely event that your dress fails to impress...I made this." Rarity had one of her many Leavanny's bring over a sunhat. "A sunhat. Those are always popular."
"Do I need a sunhat? It's snowing right now."
"You can never go through life without having at least one, Sweetie Belle." Rarity nodded. "Plus, I also made it for your Pokemon. Who knows which one of them looks the best in it. Now run along and practice for your next contest."
"Right!" Sweetie Belle placed the sunhat on her head as she ran out to see her friends. "Alright, girls! I'm ready to prepare!"
"Great! But uh...why the sunhat? It's snowing." Scootaloo asked.
"I know but Rarity think's it'll look good on my Pokemon, apparently." Sweetie Belle picked up some snow. "What about you, Scootaloo? Are you heading to your second gym soon?"
"Next month's when I continue my path to the league. I think I'll have a newly evolved Pokemon by then! What about you, Apple Bloom?"
"Me? I'm already one step ahead of ya'll." Apple Bloom smirked.
"You are?" Both of them said.
"I've caught a lot of Grass-Types over the past few days. Mhm."
"Since when? We didn't see you do that." said Sweetie Belle.
"Ash took me to a place full of Grass-Type Pokemon. I got eight of them!"
"Oooh...Lemme see." Scootaloo leaned forward.
"Out you come all of you." Apple Bloom sent out the newly caught Grass-Types at her disposal. They were Petilil, Cacnea, Jumpluff, Sunflora, Cottonee, Skiddo and two Morelull. "See? Eight."
"Wow...how did you manage to catch all of them?" Sweetie Belle gawked.
"Well first started with a fun little chase with Jumpluff, then we accidentally woke up a Nidoking and then a bunch of Elgyem showed up, it's a long story. Point is, I'm becoming a better Monotype Trainer. Even though there aren't that many Grass-Types."
"Uh...Apple Bloom." Scootaloo grabbed her friend's attention. "I think you should put them back in their ball." Due to them being Grass-Types, the cold wasn't the best place for them to be in at the moment.
"Oh, sorry! Return!" Apple Bloom returned all of her Pokemon to their balls. "So. What next?"
"Well I was-" Sweetie Belle was about to ramble away until out of nowhere, her sunhat had been snatched from her head all of a sudden. "Huh?" The mysterious figure that took her hat had snuck into the snow, moving in it. "My sunhat! Where'd it go?"
"Right there." Scootaloo pointed her head over at the moving snow. Despite the unidentified creature moving in the snow, the sunhat was still sticking out.
"Hey! Get back here!" Sweetie Belle chased after the creature that was making off with her hat. Whatever it was, it seemed to be very nimble to be able to manoeuvre in the thick snow. The creature had picked up huge sheets of snow whilst moving, causing the sunhat to be hidden underneath it. "You won't get away from me! Go Piplup!" Sweetie Belle sent out her Piplup for assistance.
"Piplup!"
"Bubble Beam!" Sweetie Belle stomped her hoof down as her Pokemon unleashed beams of bubbles that raced towards the unidentified creature. The bubbles made direct contact, hitting both the creature and the sunhat at the same time. As the sunhat flew into the air, the creature had revealed itself.
A Teddiursa was behind it.
"Teddi!" The Little Bear Pokemon turned towards Piplup and Sweetie Belle. The sunhat landed back on its head as the Normal-Type claimed it for it.
"A Teddiursa?"
"Teddiursa!" Teddiursa growled at them both as it was revealed that it wasn't just the sunhat it stole. Right behind it was Ash's hat, Applejack's hat, Cranky's wig and many other hats. Mostly hats that belonged to everypony else in Ponyville and were worn for the cold.
"Is that my sister's hat?" Apple Bloom noticed.
"That looks like Ash's hat as well. And some other wigs." Scootaloo said.
"Nice Teddiursa...Just give me back my sister's sunhat and everything will be alright in the end..." Sweetie Belle and Piplup slowly went up to the Little Bear Pokemon. But Teddiursa wasn't willing to just give it up. As a response to Sweetie Belle, it used the move Zap Cannon at her Piplup. The moon symbol on its head lit up as that's where the cannon was fired from. "AH! Piplup dodge!"
"Pip?!" The Penguin Pokemon ducked, avoiding the Zap Cannon. Sweetie Belle made the right call to dodge as well since the electric blast almost struck her.
"Teddi!" Teddiursa then used the move Attract to try and infatuate her Piplup. That way, Piplup wouldn't make an attempt to stop her.
"That's Attract! Look out Piplup!" Sweetie Belle attempted to warn her partner, but it was too late. The heart-shaped attack had smashed Piplup square in the face. Teddiursa assumed that it was a sure-fire success, but to her surprise, Attract didn't do anything. Piplup just stood there unaffected.
"...Piplup?"
"Oh. Nice resistance, Piplup! Now! Pound!" Piplup moved in, raising its penguin arms towards the opposing Pokemon. Teddiursa gasped as she was given a pound to head, causing her to tumble about. "Yes! Alright, just stay there Teddiursa. You'll look pretty great on my team actually." Sweetie Belle held a Pokeball in her hoof. "Go! Pokeball!" The monster-catching ball was sent flying towards the Little Bear Pokemon as it smacked it on the head. The red light pulled the Normal-Type in as now the result was being anticipated by Piplup and Sweetie Belle.
1...2....Fail!
Teddiursa broke free from it.
"Teddiursa!"
"Gah! It looked like it was so close too! Piplup! Run in and use Pound one more time!"
"Piplup!" The Penguin Pokemon was about to smack Teddiursa silly one more time. But, Teddiursa planned for Piplup to get close. The moon symbol on its head lit up as Zap Cannon was fired point-blank in Piplup's face. "LUP?!" The Penguin Pokemon was sent flying back by a blast of electricity, tumbling on the snow.
"Piplup! Are you okay?!"
"Piplup..." The Penguin Pokemon was hanging in there. Zap Cannon did do a massive number on it though.
"Teddi!" Teddiursa was aiming for a second Zap Cannon this time. And if it hit again, that was game over for Sweetie Belle.
"Not good! Piplup! Dodge and use Bubble Beam!" Piplup gasped as it noticed the next Zap Cannon heading its way. The Water-Type Pokemon ran to the side, avoiding the blast of electricity as it obliterated an entire tree in one go. Beams of bubbles pelted at Teddiursa's face, causing it to be pushed back. "Now! Pound!"
"Ursa!" Teddiursa decided to switch things up a bit. Instead of going for Zap Cannon, She was aiming to throw Piplup off guard with Double Team. The Little Bear Pokemon created illusionary duplicates of herself, confusing the Piplup who had no idea which one to hit.
"Aw, Double Team!" Sweetie Belle groaned.
"Don't worry about it, Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo yelled from afar. "Just keep swinging until you hit the right one! Apparently, that works sometimes!"
"Not always." Apple Bloom replied.
"Right! Bubble Beam! All around!"
"Piplup!" Piplup spun around by firing Bubble Beam everywhere. Each illusionary double had been blown away by the bubbles until the real one was found. In truth, the real Teddiursa was right behind Piplup, prepared to use Thunder Punch on its back.
"Behind you, Piplup!" Sweetie Belle warned. Piplup was quick on its feet this time. It avoided the Scratch with haste. "Pound!" All Piplup had to do was hit Teddiursa once more, allowing Sweetie Belle to catch it the next time. But instead of using Pound, Piplup had learned a new move. Aerial Ace.
The Penguin Pokemon moved at ludicrous speeds, confounding Teddiursa. Before the Little Bear Pokemon knew it, Piplup has struck its tiny little penguin arms on its neck, launching her upwards.
"Ooh! That's Aerial Ace!" Scootaloo was shaking Apple Bloom.
"Teddi!" Teddiursa fell to the ground, tumbling as some snow got on her. "Ursa..." Teddiursa hadn't fainted yet as it got back up immediately.
"Woah. That Teddiursa's pretty good." Scootaloo was impressed.
"We'll see how long it can keep it up! Aerial Ace, Piplup!"
"Piplup!" Piplup moved in, causing the snow around it to fly from its insane speed during Aerial Ace.
"Teddiursa!" The Little Bear Pokemon had learned a new move as well, keeping up with Piplup. The move she learned was Night Slash, made to counter Aerial Ace. Both Teddiursa's paws and Piplup's hands connected as the two were in a small struggle for a bit. Both were trying to push the other back with all their might. But it was revealed that they were even in terms of strength.
"Lup!" Both had cancelled each other out as they were sent back to their original spots. When Teddiursa went back, she grabbed the sunhat, placing it back on her head.
"Let's finish this Piplup! Aerial Ace!"
"Teddiursa!" Teddiursa was aiming to finish this as well. Both ran towards each other, aiming to end this little Pokemon Battle. But Piplup outsmarted the opposing Pokemon by jumping over Teddiursa. "Ursa?!"
"Piplup!" The Penguin Pokemon smashed its hands right on Teddiursa's head once. It continued its attack by continuously slapping Teddiursa's face with its hands, giving it no time to rest. To finish it off, Piplup slapped Teddiursa right in its right cheek, leaving a slap mark as the Little Bear Pokemon was sent rocketing through the snow. It took some damage but it wasn't out yet. Perfect for catching at the moment.
"Here goes!" She tossed a second Pokeball which was the Rarityball this time. The custom Pokemon connected, pulling the Little Bear Pokemon inside. Now the outcome of this capture was being anticipated.
1...2...3...Still shaking about. No answer from the ball. Sweetie Belle and Piplup held their breath for the result.
Gotcha! Teddiursa was caught.
"Yes!" Sweetie Belle jumped up, raising her hooves in the air.
"Piplup!" Her Pokemon did the same.
"Whew. That was a bit harder than I thought." Sweetie Belle let out a sigh of relief, picking up the Rarityball. "Great job, Piplup."
"Pip!"
"Is it just me? Or are the smaller Pokemon the hardest to deal with?" Scootaloo scratched her mane.
"Who cares. I caught a Teddiursa! Out you come." Sweetie Belle released Teddiursa from her sister's custom Pokeball. The best part of the Rarityball was that it let out sparkles in the shape of Rarity's Cutie Mark when the Pokemon was sent out, adding that extra flash and flare to it.
"Teddiursa!"
"Welcome to the team, Teddiursa!" Sweetie Belle walked up to her newly caught partner. But before she knew it, Teddiursa made a clean getaway by rushing over to the all the hats she stole, grabbing them all at once. "Hey!" Teddiursa had jumped into a huge sheet of snow, disappearing to who knows where. "Ah...It just left?"
"Uh...better luck next time?" Scootaloo shrugged. Just then, Ash and Applejack had arrived as they tracked down Teddiursa's movements here.
"Is it here?" Ash stopped running as he looked around the area.
"I don't see it." Applejack shook her head.
"Pika..."
"Ash? Big sis? What's wrong?"
"Apple Bloom. You haven't seen a Teddiursa run by haven't you?" Applejack asked. "It had a bunch of hats with it that it stole."
"Funny you should mention. Sweetie Belle just caught one. But it kinda got away with everypony's hats."
"Oh. Is that what happened. Good job, Sweetie Belle." Ash congratulated her.
"Pikachu."
"But I don't know where it went. It just up and disappeared into this huge sheet of snow." Sweetie Belle and Piplup attempted to get rid of the snow but there was too much of it.
"Why don't you just return it? You have its ball?" Scootaloo recommended.
"Oh, right. Return, Teddiursa." She held the Rarityball out, hoping that it would pull Teddiursa back inside. But after a few seconds of waiting, nothing happened. "...Return!" She tried again, but the same result happened.
"Sorry. But the Pokeball only works if the Pokemon is close enough. And I guess it got pretty far." Ash said.
"Well, wherever it went with our hats, can ya track it down again?" Applejack asked.
"Not really. We only managed to find it because it stole Sweetie Belle's sunhat last." Apple Bloom answered.
"In that case..." Ash went up to the sheet of snow. "We'll have to get searching deeper underneath." Ash rubbed his hands together.
"Right you are on that." Applejack rubbed her hooves together. The two of them began blowing away the huge sheet of snow with their bare hands and hooves, clearing it out in no time. Their work had revealed how Teddiursa made its getaway. The snow had been covering up a small little hole that was just large enough for Teddiursa to fit through. It seems to have found a way towards White Tail Wood through this hole.
"So that's where it went." Ash looked at the hole. "White Tail Wood is just up ahead over there."
"Pika-Pika."
"White Tail Wood? Got it!" Sweetie Belle ran that direction, aiming to get her Pokemon back in its ball. Oh, and the hats too.
White Tail Wood. The one area that's been hit with the most snow. This place is pretty popular for those who want to go crazy and build the largest snowponies they can imagine. But not at the moment.
And there she was. Teddiursa. With everypony's hats and singular wig.
The group decided to play it quiet as they poked their head up from a large log, spectating Teddiursa.
"Alright...Just return it back in its ball, okay?" Scootaloo whispered.
"Got it..." Sweetie Belle was about to return her Pokemon until she noticed it was up to something. "Wait."
Teddiursa placed its paws together utilizing the move Attract. It formed a giant pink heart, rocketing it up into the air. As the heart hovered over her, Teddiura then used swapped out the move Zap Cannon for Hidden Power as its body was outlined with yellow light and is surrounded by light blue circles before sending them up towards the heart. The orbs circle around the heart.
Teddiursa then leaps toward the giant heart as it raises its paws. One paw was surrounded by electricity while the other glows purple. On the right Thunder Punch and the left Night Slash. Teddiursa struck the giant heart with Thunder Punch causing the heart to generate a fairly-huge burst, creating smaller hearts. Teddiursa then used her other paw, slashing every small heart and orb. When she finished, Teddiursa landed gracefully on the ground with a smile, bowing to her make-believe audience.
As she continued bowing, Sweetie Belle watched from her hiding spot with her friends, witnessing the entire thing occur. Teddiursa was all of a sudden, bowing to the hats in front of it, pretending that it was in a Pokemon Contests and that the hats were the audience watching.
"I think I get it now," she said.
Her friends looked at her, confused what the young unicorn was talking about. Sweetie Belle then jumped out of her hiding spot and ran towards Teddiursa.
"Teddi."
"Teddiursa!" She called for her name.
"Ursa?!" Teddiursa gasped as she turned around to see Sweetie Belle here. Her getaway area had been compromised.
"Teddiursa. Do you maybe...like Pokemon Contests?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Ursa?"
"The way you acted in front of those hats at the last second. You were pretending that they were people watching, right? Is that why you took everypony's hat?"
"Teddi..." The Little Bear Pokemon looked to the ground, kicking the snow with its tiny little feet.
"Don't worry. I'm not mad. Actually, I'm kind of glad."
"Teddiursa?"
"Mhm." She nodded. "I plan to be a great Pokemon Coordinator with all of my Pokemon. And seeing you do all of that by yourself has me excited about what we can do together. What do you say?" Sweetie Belle outstretched her hoof at the Little Bear Pokemon. "Want to participate in Pokemon Contests with us?"
"Piplup?"
"...Teddi...Ursa!" Teddiursa was glad that Sweetie Belle shared her love for Pokemon Contests. And the best part about it was that she was a Coordinator. So it's a win-win scenario actually. She jumped up, placing her paw on the Rarityball. She had finally accepted Sweetie Belle as her trainer.
"Welcome to the team for real this time, Teddiursa!" Sweetie Belle said.
"Great job, Sweetie Belle! Couldn't have done it better myself." Applejack congratulated her as she and Ash picked up their hats. They both ended up wearing the opposite hats, making them realize. "Oh. Sorry." Applejack chuckled as they both swapped hats.
"Now to get all of these back. And a...wig?" Ash picked up all the hats along with Cranky's wig.
"I'll...give that to Cranky." Applejack took the wig.
"My next contest is at Chrysanthemum Island. All the way at Kanto. I can't wait to get started and win my first ribbon!" Sweetie Belle was anticipating this the most. And with another Pokemon on her team who enjoys contests just as much as her, the odds are looking good for her.
The hats had been returned to everypony. Some preferring that nopony else knew that they wore those specific hats, mostly Cranky. That little problem had been sorted out thankfully. And with Teddiursa on Sweetie Belle's side, the expectations for the boundless future of Pokemon continues to grow as the journey continues!
Rainbow Dash couldn't sleep. There was something that was on her mind recently. She was reminded of the hidden latent power within her Braviary. The Bond Phenomenon. Brought up by Ash a few months back and even showcased by his Greninja, the mysterious power has been discovered to be in Braviary as well. She found the Bond Phenomenon to be something special, wanting to learn more about it.
"Bond Phenomenon, huh? Wonder what it would be like if I had it?" She looked to the skies. "What would we even be called? Braviary-Dash? Braviary-Rainbow? No, wait! Rainbow-Braviary!" She stood up from her bed. "Yeah. That sounds good. I can't wait to unlock it myself." She went back to sleep, anticipating tomorrow to arrive so that Ash can help her. She had a good feeling about this.
Morning arrived in Equestria with snow falling as usual. Rainbow Dash flew up from her bed, already ready to fly out and meet up with Ash. Today was the day she unlocked this mysterious form that lays within Braviary.
Ash was already here thankfully, giving Rainbow Dash the opportunity to get this started early.
"Ash!" Rainbow Dash flew towards him.
"Hm? What's up, Rainbow?" Ash asked.
"Chu-Pi?"
"Glad you're here early! Today's the day I want you to teach it to me!"
"Teach you what?"
"The Bond Phenomenon!" She yelled. "I've been wanting to finally know what it's all about! You said that me and Braviary had the same thing, right? So I want you to bring it out of me and Braviary!"
"A-ALright. I get you. You wanna learn it. No problem. I can help with that."
"Pikachu."
"YES! When can we get started?"
"Can I eat first? I'm starving." Ash held his stomach.
"Oh, right. Sorry. I'm getting a bit riled up there."
Rainbow Dash gave Ash some time to fill himself up. He decided to get a quick bite at SugarCube Corner before he teaches Rainbow Dash all about the Bond Phenomenon.
"Come on..Come on..." Rainbow Dash was waiting for Ash to finish eating, eager to get started.
"What's got you so worked up, Rainbow Dash." Twilight asked.
"Rainbow Dash here's waiting for me to show her the Bond Phenomenon. She's getting psyched for it." Ash explained as he was stuffing his face with pastry.
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Oooh...Like Ash-Greninja?" Rarity questioned.
"Exactly! Braviary and I are gonna end up being the exact same. I decided to call it Rainbow-Braviary when it happens."
"Rainbow-Braviary? That's a pretty funny name." Pinkie snorted.
"It's a cool name! And it'll be even cooler when you all see it." Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves.
"Alright!" Ash had finally finished up his food, feeling full. "I'm done with that. We can get started."
"Finally! This is gonna be so awesome..." Rainbow Dash squeed. "You're gonna have Greninja help, right?"
"Oh. Greninja and I haven't seen each other in months recently. He's busy helping Z2 deal with the remaining Giant Rock's. So he won't be here in Ponyville this time."
"Aw..." Rainbow Dash groaned.
"But, I can still help you bring it out with my other Pokemon. And I know the Pokemon that's just for the job."
Outside at Twilight's lab, the lesson in Bond Phenomenon was finally about to happen. Ash had brought along a Pokemon that shared the exact same determination as his Greninja with him. Infernape. Rainbow had already sent out Braviary from the start.
"Alright. What you really need to know about the Bond Phenomenon is that you gotta have a ton of trust with your Pokemon. That's what really matters." Ash explained.
"I've got trust. Braviary and I trust each other like to the max." Rainbow Dash patted her Pokemon on the back.
"But you've really gotta show it. The form won't show itself unless you really show your trust. Remember when you and Rufflet managed to finally beat Sunset Shimmer? Braviary's hidden form flashed for a small bit before the battle ended. And that also helped it to evolve into Braviary."
"So...to unlock it...I have to share my drive to win with Braviary? But I already do."
"It's a bit more complicated than that. I'll just have to show you. Come on Infernape."
"Infernape!"
"If you and Braviary can show me just how much you really trust each other, then you've got a good grasp on it."
"Watch us. We'll access that form in no time!"
"Alright, you two. Go a little bit easy on each other. We're near my lab and castle okay? And I don't really want them being blown away." Twilight asked. "Good? Good. Now...GO!" Twilight gave the command to start the small battle.
"Rainbow-Braviary! Here I come! Brave Bird!"
"Braviary!" The Valiant Pokemon was surrounded in Brave energy, zooming towards Infernape at Mach speeds.
"Infernape! Mach Punch!" The Flame Pokemon retaliated by thrusting its fists forward at lightning speeds, connecting with Braviary. To Rainbow Dash's surprise, Braviary was launched back by Mach Punch with ease.
"Viary!"
"Don't worry, Braviary! Use Brave Bird one more time!" Braviary decided to go for Brave Bird once more.
"Flamethrower!"
"Infer!" The Fire-Fighting-Type jumped over Brave Bird, avoiding the incoming Braviary by a mile. It then gave a response by breathing flames down on Braviary. So far, it wasn't looking too good.
Braviary tumbled on the ground, feeling the impact of Flamethrower as the flames were burning around him.
"Braviary! You okay?!"
"Braviary!" The Valiant Pokemon flew up into the skies, blowing away the flames around his body.
"Great. Don't worry, buddy. Let's keep trying. We'll get it. Aerial Ace!"
The Valiant Pokemon dashed down, moving at blinding speeds towards Infernape.
"Alright! Infernape! Mach Punch!" Ash could sense that Rainbow Dash was heating things up. So he might as well do the same. Infernape jumped up, as his fist met with Braviary's face once more. But this time, he didn't knock the Valiant Pokemon back. Instead, the two had a small clash with both their attacks.
Braviary attempted to strike the Flame Pokemon with his wings, but unfortunately, due to Infernape being an ape, he was insanely nimble. The Fire-Fightning-Type had backflipped onto the top of Twilight's castle, jumping down towards Braviary. The Valiant Pokemon raised its eyes up, seeing its opponent head towards him with an attack from above.
"Fernape!" Infernape thrust his fist downwards but unfortunately missed as Braviary soared to the side. Infernape smashed the ground, leaving a huge dent in it as Braviary zoomed in for Aerial Ace. The Flame Pokemon could sense the wind shifting due to Braviary's movements, giving him the opportunity to capitalize on that. Infernape turned around, running to the side as he once again avoided a hit from Braviary.
Bravi?" Braviary made a turnaround, heading for Aerial Ace one more time. This time, Infernape was actually hit by the attack finally. The Flame Pokemon was knocked back, but recovered, returning to Ash's side.
"Infer!"
"Not bad. You actually managed to get a hit on Infernape." Ash nodded.
"You'd better believe it. I can already feel that Bond-Phenomenon kicking in. Braviary! Superpower!" Braviary poured all of its strength into its claws and wings, aiming to deal some destructive damage to Infernape as it flew forward.
"Here it comes. Infernape! Flare Blitz!" Infernape had cloaked himself in flames, charging directly at the Valiant Pokemon. Yet again, both them clashed. But this time, Infernape's Flare Blitz proved to be just stronger than Braviary's Superpower. The result was Infernape dashing past Braviary in a flash, leaving behind a huge explosion of fire that engulfed the opposing Pokemon.
Ash and Rainbow Dash watched as the explosion caused a mighty shockwave that sent Pinkie, Spike and Rarity flying into the air. The smoke cleared as Braviary was seen fatigued. His wings were attempting to keep him from falling on the ground. Flare Blitz really did a number on him.
"Bravi...ary."
"Oh! Braviary!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Alright, Infernape. I think that's enough." Ash called the battle to an end.
"Infernape." The Flame Pokemon nodded in understanding.
Rainbow Dash had flown towards Braviary, holding her partner. "Sorry, buddy. I thought for sure we were going to activate it here."
"It's not as easy as it seems, Dash." Ash went up to her. "When I first activated Ash-Greninja, I had no idea what it was. I didn't even have any control of awakening it. It's a pretty complicated transformation for something so simple. But I can tell you really do have a lot of trust in Braviary."
"Yeah. I just don't know what we're doing wrong." Rainbow Dash sighed. "Maybe we're not trying hard enough?"
"No way. You're trying your very best. Braviary know's that as well. You just have to push yourself even further. If you can go above and beyond, you can bring it out. Remember. You're not doing this alone. You've got Braviary on your side. Just remember that you're fighting alongside a precious friend ready to give you strength."
"Braviary." Braviary looked back at Rainbow Dash, nodding at her.
"Yeah. I do. Let's try again, Ash."
"You got it. Get ready Infernape."
"Infernape."
A second go was attempted. This time, Rainbow Dash was planning to take it easy. Before, she was only thinking about getting the form as quickly as she could. Because she believed that with the newly attained form, she'll be unstoppable. But now, she decided to only think about fighting alongside her partner and doing their best.
"Let's go! Braviary! Brave Bird!"
"Flamethrower Infernape!" The battle continued. Braviary moved in with haste and agility on its side whilst Infernape unloaded flames towards the opposing Pokemon. Braviary used the brave energy around it to charge right through the Flamethrower. But, he was struggling as Flamethrower was pushing him back.
"Come on...breakthrough, Braviary!"
"Braviary!" Braviary poured all of its strength into Brave Bird, giving it his all. The Valiant Pokemon let out a mighty roar as it was slowly starting to reach Infernape.
"You're getting there. Mach Punch!" Ash thrust his fist forward, mimicking the movements of Mach Punch. Infernape had put an end of Flamethrower, smashing his lightning-fast fist on Braviary's face. Braviary was knocked back as usual, but this time he recovered quicker than last time.
"Aerial Ace!" Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof down as Braviary decided to move at blinding speeds as well.
"Dodge it!" Infernape front flipped forward, evading the approaching Normal-Flying-Type.
"Now, Brave Bird!" Braviary made a change of pace by switching up to the next Flying move. Brave Energy gave him the boost he needed in speed as he soared towards his opponent.
"Mach Punch one more time!"
"INFERNAPE!" Infernape and Braviary had their usual up close and personal clash which caused a shockwave from the collision. Infernape knocked Braviary back down to the ground, causing him to tumble. The Flame Pokemon returned to ground level with its fists emanating steam.
"Come on Braviary! I know you can keep going on!" Rainbow Dash cheered her buddy on.
Braviary used its wings to try and get up as he was putting in all of his energy to keep pressing on.
"Even if we can't win, let's try okay?!"
"Brav...iary!" Braviary flew up, spreading his wings out further. He was all tattered up, but that wasn't going to stop him from letting his trainer down. Braviary wanted to make Rainbow Dash happy and live up to her expectations. But it also understood that Rainbow Dash had limitations as a trainer and so did he. They were both stubborn and belligerent. But that's what makes them so alike. Braviary flew towards Infernape, appearing to be slower this time due to the damage he's taken. "BRAVIARY!"
Just then in that instance, Braviary's wings started to flash the colours of a rainbow. It was that single push that allowed them to reawaken the form for a few seconds. An orb of rainbows had engulfed Braviary whole in a split-second. The Valiant Pokemon had increased in speed due to the sudden burst of energy. Braviary's wings seemed to have the same pattern as Rainbow Dash's front mane. The feathers on its head as well.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. All of the colours of the rainbow were on its face and wings along with its tail. And with a burst of pure power, Braviary had blown away all the snow in the area by spreading its wings while crashing into Infernape, knocking the Flame Pokemon back.
"There it is! It's real!" Pinkie exclaimed as she was shaking Applejack up and down.
"Yeah! I see it!" Applejack replied as her hat flew off.
"Rainbow feathers... amazing." Twilight gawked. Look at that! Its eyes are different!" Twilight noticed that Braviary's eyes the same colour as Rainbow Das's instead of its usual grey.
"Finally," Ash smirked. "There it is."
"Awesome..." Rainbow Dash was stunned. The form she dreamed of was here. In all of its glory. It matched her rainbow patterns to a T. "Braviary! We did it!"
"Braviary!" Braviary let out a mighty caw.
"Alright! Let's continue! Superpower!" Rainbow Dash raised her hoof in the air. Due to how finally obtaining Rainbow-Braviary, she noticed that she could see what Braviary was seeing all of a sudden.
"Braviary!" Braviary had mimicked the hoof motion of Rainbow Dash by raising his wing into the air. They could both feel their heartbeats beating at the exact same time. They had become one. Everything Rainbow Dash sees and does, Braviary experiences the same and follows suit. The Rainbow-Feathered Pokemon smashed its wings on the ground, causing a powerful burst of energy to rise towards Infernape. These bursts were even Rainbow-coloured, signifying the difference in strength compared to a normal Superpower.
"Block it!" Ash knew there was no way they're were going to simply dodge an attack that immense. Infernape put its arms up as it blocked the rainbow pillars. They were potent enough to even deal some heavy damage to Ash's Infernape, forcing the Flame Pokemon to be pushed back.
"Infer!"
"GO! Use Brave Bird!" Rainbow Dash thrust her hoof forward. The next move was different as well. Normally, when Brave Bird is used, the brave energy is a sort of golden fiery aura. But this time it was fiery rainbow aura this time. Everything about this Pokemon was rainbow-themed. As Braviary zoomed forward, he left a rainbow trail behind him. The trail of rainbows even tore up the ground beneath due to how fast Braviary was moving this time around.
Before Ash could react, Braviary had struck Infernape's stomach, launching the Flame Pokemon upwards. The launch left a powerful force that obliterated any snow from a mile away.
"Fernape!" Infernape recovered by landing safely on the ground, impressed by Braviary.
"Well done, Rainbow Dash. You managed to get that extra push to bring it out, finally." Ash congratulated her. "Let's keep this up! Mach Punch!"
"Infernape!" The Fire-Fightning-Type decided to improve himself. He moved at much quicker speeds, striking Rainbow-Braviary in his beak. And it was that moment, Rainbow Dash realised the downside to the Bond Phenomenon.
When the Pokemon takes damage, so does the trainer.
"Ow!" Rainbow Dash held her nose, feeling Mach Punch. "Superpower!"
"Jump and use Flamethrower!" Infernape evaded the incoming attack with haste by jumping into the air. Infernape decided to go all out as well. That's when he decided to show his special trait off. Ash's Infernape had the ability Blaze, but it was even greater than a normal blaze. Some may even call it a Hyper Blaze. Instead of all of his Fire-Type moves being boosted, everything about Infernape is boosted. The Flamethrower he unleashed down at Braviary looked more like a beam that a wave of flames. Its heat was comparable to that of blue fire even. The fire on Infernape's head even intensified due to it.
Once Braviary took this destructive fire, Rainbow Dash felt it as well as she winced in pain. But it wasn't over yet. She raised her hoof up along with Braviary raising his wing up. The Superpower managed to push back the powered-up Flamethrower. Both attacks ended up cancelling each other in the process.
"Yes! Now! Let's-" Rainbow Dash's sentence was cut short all of a sudden. Due to her utilizing this newfound power, she couldn't exactly handle it. As a result, her eyes had widened in shock. Her body was trembling as she felt like she couldn't move any more. Braviary felt this too. He couldn't handle it despite his impressive power. "W-What's happening..." She tried to move her hooves but her muscles just gave out all of a sudden.
"Infernape...?"
"I can't move...What's going on?"
Ash knew what this was since he's experienced it before. He ran over to Rainbow Dash's side, grabbing her before she could fall on the ground.
"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie gasped as the rest of her friends ran to her side. "What happened?! Is she okay?!"
"She's passed out," Ash explained as he picked up the fainted Rainbow Dash. Infernape helped Braviary up from the ground.
"Passed out? Why?" Fluttershy asked.
"That's one of the side-effects of Bond Phenomenon. All of a sudden, your body just gives out during the rush. I've had it happen to me before."
"But, Rainbow Dash will be alright?" Rarity spoke.
"She will. She just needs to recover after that. But she and Braviary did an awesome job of awakening Rainbow Dash." Ash smiled at the passed out pony, proud of her.
Rainbow Dash had finally woken up. She had been placed in Twilight's bed for a resting spot. Once she woke up, she could feel her heart restarting as she gasped.
"WHA?! Whuh-...huh? What happened?" The after-effects of Bond Phenonemnon really take their toll on you.
"Wakey-wakey!" Pinkie bounced over to Rainbow. "So glad you're okay!" She gave her friend a huge hug. But Rainbow Dash was still lost and confused on what just happened.
"You had us all worried there, Rainbow." Twilight let out a sigh of relief.
"Passing out on the spot got us feeling funny." Applejack nodded.
"Passed out? Did I end up doing it, though?!"
"Yeah, you did," Ash spoke from afar. "You and Braviary finally managed to unlock the Bond Phenomenon. Even if it was for a small bit. But your body was feeling too much of the transformation's rush. So you both tired yourselves in the end."
"So that's what happened. It was insane." Rainbow Dash looked at her hooves. "I've never felt anything like that before. It felt like Braviary and I were on the same wavelength. Like our heartbeats were one. I even saw what Braviary was doing and I felt the damage given to me."
"Mhm. That's the Bond Phenomenon for you. You're still new to it, so you might pass out from time to time. But just like me, you'll learn how to master it."
"Pikachu!"
"Right...yeah." Rainbow Dash nodded, finally having some to breathe.
"Braviary!" Braviary had woken up as well, flying over to Rainbow Dash. Out of nowhere, he gave her a huge hug, glad that she was more okay than him.
"Ow! Okay, Braviary! I'm alright!" Rainbow Dash was being crushed by Braviary's embracing feathers. "We were awesome back there. And I bet at our next gym battle, we'll really bring out Rainbow-Braviary, right?"
"Viary!"
Finally, Rainbow Dash and Braviary had their first experience with the dormant power that laid within. Granted, it caused them both to pass out, but that's to be expected when using something that potent for the first time. As time goes on, the two will learn to master this power on their own as the journey continues!"
"Don't you remember? The day that Starlight Glimmer tried to ruin time and all that. This was the one I was waiting for especially."
"Oh yeah...We're not gonna... mess with time are we?"
"What? Nah. We're not allowed to travel through time. But what we can do is warn Starlight."
"About what?"
"Obviously in the original timeline, Twilight walked in to see Starlight there. Then a bunch of time-hopping shenanigans went down during the exact same day of the Rainboom, etc etc. This time we change up a bit. How about we warn Starlight on what's about to happen?"
"Wait!" Sienna got up from the cloud she was laying on. "That practically is messing with time!"
"No-no! Hear me out!" Lucien hadn't finished explaining. "We tell Starlight how it happened in the original timeline so that she can change things up...but! We won't tell her how she got reformed."
"Ooooh... So she'll still end up being reformed at the end. That is pretty smart actually."
"Ain't it? Watch and learn how the master goes to work. This is gonna be awesome..." Lucien rubbed his hands together. Their next plan was put into motion. And this one will involve the action of time-travel. Lots and lots of time travel.
Over at Celestia's School of Magic, Twilight was currently practising a speech.
" If somepony had told me when I was a blank flank that one day I'd give a speech to a class at Celestia's School of Magic, I wouldn't have believed it, but..." Twilight forgot what to say next as she let out a nervous grin. She used her magic to grab some word cards, shuffling them about to remember her lines. "I hope that I have been up to the task because I can tell that all of you are and that the future of Equestrian magic is in good hooves."
Very few claps were sent her way. Only Spike, Eve and Minccy were there to clap. It was just practice after all.
"Wow, hehe. That was even better than the first eleven times." Spike said.
"Eh, I don't know, Spike. I'd like to be able to get through the whole speech without looking at the cards."
"Come on, Twilight! You can't be nervous about giving a speech to a bunch of magic students!"
"Oh, I'm not nervous, Spike, but I do have to set a good example, especially for magic students. That's why this speech has to be..."
"Perfect...?" Spike sighed, knowing the correct answer.
"Exactly. Let's go through it one more time." Twilight cleared her throat. "When Princess Celestia asked me to speak to you today, I was honoured to have the opportunity to talk about my favourite subject: magic.
As Twilight continued on with her practice speech whilst Spike laid on a cushion, waiting for this to be over, Lucien and Sienna had already made their move. They had found Starlight Glimmer who was actually on her way towards Twilight's castle currently. She was this close to reaching Ponyville, spotting the castle in the distance. But the two Rift humans had stopped her for a bit.
"You're saying that you know what happens next?" Starlight walked back, looking up at them.
"Correct. Being Rift humans, we're granted the knowledge of every event that has happened in this universe. From start to finish. And you ended up becoming reformed at the end. On this exact day at that exact castle." Lucien pointed his thumb over at Twilight's castle.
"How did she even manage to do that?" Starlight scoffed.
"Don't worry about the details and outcome. Worry about how you're gonna work around it." Lucien shook his head.
"Well, how do you expect me to work around it if I don't even know how it went?"
"Easy. We can show you." Lucien held his hand out, unleashing a flash of cosmic energy in the unicorn's eyes. It was at this moment that Starlight was given the sight of what occurred in the original timeline.
There, Starlight had used a time-travelling spell that only Starswirl was capable of at the time. But to her surprise, Twilight and Spike managed to follow her by holding the paper she threw away, believing that she wouldn't need it anymore. And that was the end of that glimpse into the future. After that, the rest is a mystery to her.
"So that's what happened..." Starlight gasped.
"Yep. Wasn't a smart move of you to just throw the thing away." Lucien replied.
"If you wanna win, it wouldn't be a good idea to repeat the same thing you did in the original universe," Sienna said.
"I appreciate the help. Now I know what I can do in this new timeline." Starlight grinned. "Guess I'm one step ahead of you, Twilight."
"Great! Our work here is done. Peace." Lucien waved goodbye as he and Sienna took their leave. Now all that was left to do was watch everything play out differently.
Twilight's speech had finally begun with an actual audience now watching her. This time, she was able to say the right words flawlessly without using the cards.
"Obviously, the long term effects of....the simultaneous acquisition of cutie marks has yet to be determined, but..." She took a moment to sip some water. "Ahem. Next slide, please." She looked over to see that Spike was asleep.He was managing the slides but not at the moment.
Moondancer woke him up by rubbing his stomach, causing the baby draogn to gasp.
"Huh? Huh!" Spike got the rest of photo's placing them with the projector.
"I can speak from my own experience that the power of Cutie Mark Magic is very real, and in the instance of my friends and I, it can be traced to a single event! Without Rainbow Dash's race to defend Fluttershy's honor, this rainboom wouldn't have happened. Fluttershy might never have discovered her love of animals. Applejack might never have realized that she belonged on her farm. And Pinkie Pie might never have decided to leave hers. It might be hard to imagine Rarity without her sense of fabulousness. But it's even harder to fathom what my life would be like. Without this rainboom, I might not have gotten into magic school. Celestia wouldn't have taken me on as her pupil or sent me to Ponyville to meet my friends. And the most powerful thing about Cutie Mark Magic that I found is the connection I share with them-"
Twilight spoke to everypony here, gazing at the audience. But as her eyes were moving about, for a split second, she thought she saw Starlight Glimmer there. She took a moment to check again, but Starlight wasn't there. Gone.
"But, um..." She ended up going back to cards again due to her losing focus. "The real question about... Cutie Mark Magic is... who it seems to affect."
Twilight's speech came to an end eventually. But even still, the thought of her seeing Starlight never left her head. She could've sworn that she was amongst the crowd of ponies and Pokemon.
"Starlight Glimmer?" Spike asked.
" I was sure I saw her, Spike. But when I looked again, she was gone! I'm just worried what she could be up to." Twilight replied.
"Nothing good, I bet. I heard she wasn't very happy the last time you saw her."
"Forcing everypony in her village to have the same cutie mark wasn't right. We had to do something!"
"And now she's coming back for revenge." Once Spike said that, Twilight shuddered at that realty. "Uh, or she was just really interested in your speech!"
"Honestly, Spike. I'm not really sure what I saw. But as long as I have my friends, I know everything will be all right." They made their way back to castle, trying to forget about the whole Starlight Glimmer debacle along the way. Twilight placed her saddle-bag on the door, ready to relax away. "Maybe I was just more stressed about that speech than I thought."
"Yeah. That sounds better than Starlight Glimmer coming back with an evil plot for revenge."
"Well, when you say it like that, it does sound kinda silly." Twilight laughed, opening the doors to the meeting room.
"Or maybe it is!" Spike gasped as he, Eve and Minccy noticed something they weren't expecting.
Starlight Glimmer actually was here.
"Welcome home, Twilight!" Starlight exclaimed with a cocky look on her face. She used her magic to hold up Starswirls spell, just like in the original timeline. So far, everything was going exactly how it happened in the original universe. She zapped the spell, causing it shoot down a bolt of magic on the roundtable. The magic had forced the Cutie Map to show all of Equestria to Starlight.
"What are you doing, Starlight?" Twilight ran over to the table.
"I'd tell you, but I don't want to ruin the surprise!" Starlight laughed. "Allow me to leave you a little something before I take my leave." This is where things changed rapidly. Instead of throwing away the spell, she kept it this time. And as a bonus, she had her Hatterene sneak up from behind.
Hatterene had emitted a strong telekinetic attack, grabbing Twilight, Spike, Eve and Minccy at the same time. That way, they wouldn't think about following her. But then again, how are they going to since Starlight is keeping the spell.
"H-Hatterene?!" Twilight strained, turning around to see Hatterene grinning at them. The Silent Pokemon tossed them all aside by forcing them to crash against the hard walls. Starlight's plan was going smoothly for her. Light purple magic rose up from the table, creating multiple rings of light. "Eve! Psybeam! Minccy! Swift!"
Twilight still had her Pokemon with her. The two of them attempted to stop this mysterious magic by blasting it away from afar. But once they made contact, they just simply vanished. Twilight tried zapping it, but her magic vanished as well.
It was then revealed that a sort of bowl-shaped portal appeared in the air. This portal had the sounds of clocks ticking behind it along with stars being the clocks that spun. Starlight and her Hatterene levitated themselves up towards the portal, planning to leave Twilight and the others behind in the past. Once they passed through, that was it. The portal was closed.
"Where'd she go?!" Spike exclaimed.
" I don't know, Spike, but I think we better find out!"
"How? What did she even use?"
"Some sort of travelling spell from the looks of it. But to where?" Twilight paced back and forth, unsure of what to do. If she travelled somewhere, then must be a place of great importance if she decided to come here to the castle and do it.
She thought long and hard, doing her very best to come up a solution, but so far, nothing at all. What Starlight did was new to her. She looked through many books to see what it could've been but she found nothing so far. This went on for 10 minutes total.
She eventually came across something that gave her answer. A page had been torn from the book. And it seemed to be the exact same height that matched the appearance of the paper from earlier.
"Right here!" Twilight placed her hoof on the torn page. "She went through this page right here."
"Well, what was there?"
"A Time Travelling Spell." Twilight gulped.
"Time travel? You mean she's..."
"Mhm. She's gone back to past...to try and change the course of time." Twilight realized why she was there at Celestia's School in the first place. "That's why she showed up at the speech conference. Spike! I think she's trying to change the destiny of me and my friends!"
"She can't just do that!"
"But she can! Starlight can do whatever she wants in the past. And there's nothing we can do to stop her!" Twilight got on the floor, panicking. The one spell that involved advanced time travel had been stolen. It seemed hopeless at first. And at this point, it practically is. Starlight changed the course of the original timeline. And now she'll change the course of Twilight and her friends, changing everything that has happened up until this point.
But that's when hope arrived in the form of a booming portal. The sound of this portal had shattered the windows of the castle due to the sound it emitted. Twilight gasped as she Spike and the Pokemon backed away from this.
"Is it Starlight Glimmer?!" Spike gasped.
"I think so! Stay behind me, Spike!" Twilight stood forward with her Pokemon by her side. They were ready to tackle Starlight if by chance it was her.
But it wasn't.
It was something much greater.
Out of the blue portal emerged none other than the Temporal Pokemon itself.
Dialga.
"....D-D-Dialga." Twilight stuttered as her jaw dropped. The Pokemon she saw when in the past had arrived before her. It was as huge as she remembered. So huge that once Dialga came out of the portal, it destroyed the roof of the castle when it flew up. This was enough to grab the attention of everypony. They all gazed their eyes on the Temporal Pokemon and its incredible stature. But actually, they could only see a bit of Dialga's head.
"Oh geez....w-what does he want?" Spike was shuddering at the mere sight of this Legendary Pokemon.
"...Dialga is the Pokemon that has the power to control the flow of time itself. Essentialy its guardian. I think I know why it's here."
"Twilight!" Ash busted in the door as he responded to the appearance of Dialga. "You okay?!"
"Pika!"
"No way! It is Dialga!"
"Why is he here?" Spike asked.
"If Dialga's here that that means...it's trying to correct time." Twilight realized. And her theory was right. Dialga had created a time portal out of thin air with just its mind. It was in fact here to correct time since it knew something was wrong.
"Correct time? What happened?" Ash went up to her.
"Starlight travelled through time earlier with a spell that only Starswirl could properly learn. And my guess is that Dialga's here to correct the timestream." Twilight explained.
Dialga nodded at Twilight. Once again, just like before, Twilight could almost hear what Dialga was saying, but it still sounded like roars. Although, it sounded like Dialga was saying "Go through."
"We don't have much time to lose! Come on!" Twilight was right. Standing here won't fix anything. Her, Ash, Spike and the Pokemon all passed through the temporal portal. Dialga let out its signature cry as it was here to help them correct the timeline.
Where Dialga sent them exactly was actually back to the point in time where Starlight was about to pass through the portal with Hatterene. Dialga realized that it was best to interact with this moment since it was what defined everything in the first place.
Starlight noticed that a second portal boomed out of nowhere all of a sudden. Once this portal appeared, the Twilight and Spike of this moment just vanished all of a sudden.
"What the?" Starlight raised an eyebrow. She just saw them both up and disappear for no reason. But the reason was clear. Once Dialga sent them through time, it forced each timeline of themselves to merge into their current selves.
"Starlight!" Twilight flew through the portal as she grabbed onto the paper. This time, she was going with her.
"How did you do that?!" Starlight snapped at her. The first portal was about to pull both of them and Hatterene inside. Ash and Spike quickly grabbed on to Twilight's tail, aiming to assist her in whatever happens next. Now it wasn't just a few through the portal. It was a lot.
Sienna and Lucien spectated as their jaws had dropped in awe.
"I didn't expect that to happen." Lucien gawked.
"Really? You didn't expect the guardian of time to show up?"
"What reason would Dialga even be here anyways? This timeline isn't even its own."
"Duh. Both worlds are now connected. Which means that this world is also Dialga's priority."
"I guess you're right. Wonder what'll happen next...?"
Twilight and the others were screaming, and for good reason. They had just travelled through time, falling from high above the skies. Starlight was right next to them since they went through the same portal at the exact same time. The light purple unicorn had her Hatterene use Psycho Cut, forcing Twilight and her friends to keep their distance away from her. After that, Starlight and Hatterene teleported off somewhere in this timeline.
Twilight just remembered that she has wings so this wasn't a problem. But it as for everyone else who didn't have wings. She noticed that on the lower level, there seemed to be some sort of pathway. The alicorn princess took advantage of this by using her magic to grab her friends before they made a crash landing on the pathway.
"P-Pika..." Pikachu let out a sigh of relief.
"That was close. Thanks Twilight." Ash sat down on the pathway. He got up, attempting to walk on the rest of the apparent cloudy floor, but once his feet left the solid pathway and on the cloudy floor, he went straight through it. "Gah!" Twilight had thankfully saved him by bringing him back up. "Oh...thanks again."
Why he phased through the pathway itself as it was clouds was mostly because it was nothing but clouds. It was revealed that they were in Cloudsdale of all places.
"Cloudsdale? Starlight doesn't even have wings! Why would she come here?" Spike asked.
" I don't know, Spike, but it looked like she could fly with just magic! Keep your eyes open. We don't know what she has planned." Twilight replied. Replying at that moment was met with a sudden woosh sound coming their way. In between the group, a certain blue pegasus zoomed past them all at high speeds. A very familiar looking pegasus at that.
"Isn't that Rainbow Dash?" Ash said.
"Did Rainbow Dash look really young to you?" She noticed a very young long Rainbow Dash. Young enough to look like a foal. Alongside here was even a younger Fluttershy who was of the same appearance. No Cutie Mark. Nothing. And I didn't see a cutie mark. She really has gone back to the past to change everything!" Twilight thought for a bit.
"Change what? What happened at this moment?" Ash asked.
"At this very point in time, Rainbow Dash performed the Sonic Rainboom for the first time ever. It was that Rainboom that caused my friends and I to meet up one day. If Starlight's here, then she's planning to prevent the Rainboom from happening!" Twilight explained.
"Then wouldn't that mean we should be at the place where the race started?" Spike pointed to the direction of the race.
"Right! Let's hope Starlight hasn't beat us there." Twilight and her friends got a move on as quickly as they could. Ash got out Dragonite to help him through the skies since he couldn't risk accidentally falling through Cloudsdale again.
And speaking of Starlight.
"I don't know how they manage to find out what I was up to...but it won't happen a second time." Starlight spoke as she was hidden in the clouds. The reason she was able to stay in Cloudsdale was due to her levitating herself along with Hatterene.
The race was about to begin. The race that marked the most important day of Twilight and her friends. Some of the young pegasi of Cloudsdale couldn't help but stare at Ash and the Pokemon. They had never seen anything like them before. Well...not yet anyways.
The race was off. Rainbow Dash and the other two young pegasi zoomed through the skies, aiming to win this. They passed through some cloudy rings which acted as pathways towards the finish line.
One of the younger pegasi ended up crashing through a cloudy pillar, immediately being out of the race. Now it was just Rainbow Dash and somepony else by the name of Hoops. It wasn't really a huge race since they're just kids.
The young pony flew beside Rainbow Dash, tackling his body onto her.
"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash almost lost her balance at that moment.
"Heh! Later Rainbow Crash!" Hoops taunted, flying ahead.
"Hey!" Rainbow Dash got her focus back, chasing after him.
Starlight's head peeked out of the clouds as she was ready to ruin everything on the spot.
"Aw, sorry about this." She spoke, zapping Rainbow Dash right in her flank. The young pegasus had almost performed the Sonic Rainboom. She was this close. The wind in front of her was tearing apart with rainbow streaks surrounding them. You could even hear the sound of thunder rumbling. But, Starlight ruined that by causing her to stop in place.
"Hey! What gives!" Rainbow Dash tried to move, but that was no good. And just like that, that one single action changed everything. Rainbow Dash never performed the Rainboom and ended up losing the race in the end.
As a result, Fluttershy never came to continue her love for animals as they all just simply flew away from her.
Applejack never returned home to Sweet Apple Acres.
Pinkie Pie never left her rock farm and continued to work hard on it everyday.
Rarity never found the gems in the huge rock as she just simply kicked it off a cliff, walking off.
And Twilight never managed to unleash her magic, which also resulted in Spike never hatching from the egg he was born in.
All it took was one action and that was that. Time had been changed. The shock and sight of the Rainboom was never birthed into the world.
"Starlight!" Twilight turned to Starlight, finally noticing her.
"Sayanora~" Starlight waved at them as the portal through time opened up above them once more. The portal managed to pull only Twilight and her friends through it, leaving Starlight out of it. "That takes care of that. I don't know how they knew what I was up to. But I believe everything is going to be just fine from here on out."
Twilight and the others fell through the portal once more. This time, they actually landed on a familiar spot. The table and chairs of the rest of her friends. It seemed like it just sent them back to the present.
"Ow..." Ash held his head as he crash landed on Applejack's seat.
"What happened?! What changed?!" Twilight stood up, looking around.
"A lot changed. Look." Spike pointed at the new appearance of this timeline. The atmosphere had a red tint to it, her castle was gone. Non existent. The only thing left was the table and chairs. And even those were altered. Some were even half broken from appearance. "Twilight. Where's your castle?"
"Oh, no-no-no-no!" Twilight hopped off her seat. "The map pulled us back, but whatever Starlight did in the past changed things here! Without the Rainboom, everything could change!"
"...Your table's still here, though." Ash put his hand on the nearly destroyed table. "But the map here looks completely different."
"Pika."
"No kidding. The Crystal Empire takes up half of Equestria! It's not that big!" Twilight went up to the newly changed map.
"Espeon!" Eve noticed something in the distance.
"What is it, Eve?" The young alicorn turned her head. What her Pokemon saw was Ponyville. Not too far from here. The buildings seemed to be the same in appearance thankfully. So that must mean nothing bad has happened to it. At least, that's what Twilight assumed. "Ponyville. If anypony can help us, it's the rest of our friends."
"I don't know...This place is making me uneasy." Ash rubbed his arm.
"There's no need to be, Ash. This is Ponyville. Happiest place in the world. There's no timeline where things go wrong in it. That's for sure." Twilight was confident as they all made their towards Ponyville.
The appearance, whilst still having the same building structures, wasn't so pleasant. Some had holes in roofs, barricades on the doors with wood as if they were trying to avoid something. Not only that, but there were no Pokemon around at all. Not even the usual sound of a Flying-Type could be heard.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu felt uneasy, staying close to Ash. The group came across a familiar building that's always great to be in. SugarCube Corner. But not this time. It still had its appearance, but the colouring on it was so bland and dry. Its usual popping pink colours were non existent.
"Is that Sugarcube Corner?" Spike asked.
"I don't understand." Twilight shook her head.
"Not just that. Look." Ash pointed over to the direction of Carousel Boutique. At least it had its usual colours with it. But what was around it wasn't so pleasant to look at. The trees near it were wilted and on the verge of dying out.
"Rarity?" Spike gasped, rushing over to the boutique. Once he got there, he banged on the door aggressively, but there wasn't any response. He looked through the barricades, hoping to see somepony through the glass, but there was nopony at all. "Rarity! Leavanny! Anypony?!"
"I don't think she's here, Spike. I'm not sure anything we know is the same. But I know one place that could never change!" Twilight was referring to Sweet Apple Acres.
And she was partly right. The front was the same. But behind the front was something completely different. The sight of factory had become one with the entire farm. Steam and smoke rose up from the pipes as the sound of machines grinding could be heard.
"Espeon..." Both Eve and Minccy hid behind Twilight, unsure of if it was a good idea to advance forward. Twilight and Ash looked through the dirt covered windows as they noticed that some sort of food processing was going on. Cans with Granny Smith's face were being moved on a conveyer belt with produce being stuffed inside of them. This produce was actually apples that were pushed inside of a cooker of some sorts. The cooker smushes the apples down into nothing but mush as a tap then pours it all inside the can.
And to their surprise, Pokemon were still here even in this timeline. Big Mac's Machamp was working alongside him by using his many arms to throw away anything that seemed out of place.
"Pokemon are still here? How?" Ash wondered.
"Pikachu..."
Applejack had arrived outside, pushing a barrel. Her appearance was similar to that of her brother. They wore the exact same grey work outfits but one major difference was Applejack's hat. Which wasn't there anymore. What was there now was a fishnet that wasn't just on her head but her tail as well.
"Applejack?!" Twilight rushed over to her friend, giving her a hug. But Applejack seemed unphased by this, keeping a stern face.
"What can I do for ya?" Applejack asked.
"It's so good to see you! We couldn't find Pinkie or Rarity or Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash, but I just knew you'd still be here!" Twilight squeed.
"Of course I am. This is my home. But who in tarnation is Pinkie Bow and Flutterdash? Or you for that matter? And what is that?" Applejack pointed at Ash, acting like this was her first time seeing a human.
"Hm? You don't recognize Ash? Or me?"
"Nope. Honestly, the only name I recognize is Rarity, but she left for Manehattan years ago with her Leavanny."
"Probably to become a world-famous fashion designer, I bet." Spike had that as his conclusion.
"Not that I know of. Last I heard, she went to help with the cause like everypony else."
"The cause?" Twilight asked.
"The war against King Sombra and the Crystal Empire?"
"What?!" The three of them exclaimed at the same time.
"Where have you three been?"
"Actually...it's when." Spike grinned.
"I know this is hard to believe, but you, Ash, the Pokemon and I and those other ponies I mentioned are friends!"
" Did you bump your head on a crate of cider or somethin'?"
"I'm telling you the truth! And if you come with me, I'll prove it."
Meanwhile, Lucien and Sienna watched from the grey clouds above, spectating everything.
"So far so good, don't you think?" Lucien asked Sienna.
"At this point, I don't even know. But it's strange. How are there still Pokemon here?" Sienna replied. "Starlight only interfered with the past where there wasn't any Pokemon. Both worlds hadn't even crossed over yet."
"Is it not obvious? Even if the Rainboom never happened, it was never going to change the Rift deciding that both worlds should cross paths. Besides... The Rift just thought it would be interesting to mess with this timeline as well."
"Oh. Right." Sienna nodded. "So, when do you think Dialga's going to pass through? Twilight doesn't even have the spell with her."
"I give it a few minutes until that large time dragon makes another appearance."
"Well, I'll admit. I've lived in these parts my whole life and I've never seen this before." Applejack was brought to the table where the map was. It was all new territory for her.
"There's also supposed to be a castle that goes with it." Spike said.
"Another pony named Starlight Glimmer used this map to travel through time and change things in the past. For some reason, the map's here but everything else is different!" Twilight explained.
"Different how?" She asked.
"Well, for one thing, where we came from, there's no war with King Sombra. Maybe you could tell us how the war started, then we can figure out when everything changed!"
"That's easy enough." Applejack sighed, ready to explain everything she knew. "When the Crystal Empire returned, it brought King Sombra back with it."
What happened in the past was vastly different from the original timeline. This time, instead of it just being a war between ponies, even the Pokemon were involved. Both sides had Pokemon going up against each other, essentially sparking a second Great Pokemon War but this time in another world.
Next to Sombra's side were his own Pokemon which he never had originally. A Malar, Bisharp, Sharpedo and even his own Hydreigon along with many other Pokemon by his side.
"And it didn't take long for him to force every one of his subjects to fight for him against Equestria."
The ponies of the Crystal Empire was subject to Sombra's rule once more as they were forced to battle with the Pokemon against their opposing kingdom.
The soldiers and Pokemon marched forward to war with armor all around them. Many large Pokemon such as Nidoking's, Rhyperior's, Aggrons and Steelix's were used as soldiers in the war. Including slightly smaller Pokemon like Sableye, Scizor, Gliscor and Houndoom.
On the other side of the spectrum, Celestia had her own Pokemon to fight alongside her army. They consisted of many Braviary's and Staraptors for the air whilst Pokemon for the ground ranged from Machamps, Stoutlands and Rapidash.
And just like the first Great Pokemon War, this was equally as worse. Once both sides clashed, a battle on a destructive scale took place. You have countless Pokemon moves being thrown at each other, ranging from flames bursting from beneath the earth itself, beams of pure ice freezing anypony and Pokemon that was nearby, entire earthquakes were being formed, stones, grass, water, moves of every type were being unleashed in this.
And due to this, the entire world was being changed at the same time. Pokemon have the destructive power to change the earth itself. So much so that entire mountains break apart from their collision. The Machamps had thrown their usual 1,000 punches at the larger Pokemon, sending them across the horizon.
A Rhyperior had used Earthquake, causing the opposing side to lose balance as the ground itself was splitting apart. In the air, the Flying-Type Pokemon attacked with either Air Slash for distance or just charged right in with Aerial Ace, Brave Bird and other physical moves.
Sombra moved towards the carnage with his Malamar by his side. As a group of soldiers and Stoutlands attempted to attack him, he made himself rise up by summoning his usual crystals. His Malamar had used Hyponsis on any approaching Pokemon, either turning them against their fellow friends or just putting them to sleep.
Rainbow Dash was actually apart of this all as well. On her side, she still had her Braviary in this timeline. But instead of partaking in gym battles, they were just simply fighting against the Crystal Empire.
Rainbow's helmet had been blown off by a nearby Aggron who used Stone Edge. Braviary swooped in to protect its trainer by smashing the Iron Armor Pokemon through the ground with Superpower. Rainbow Dash was actually missing a bit of her ear along with some of her wings being slightly torn off.
From above, a Steelix had used the move Rock Slide as huge piles of rocks were falling from above, crushing some Pokemon and ponies in the process. One gargantuan rock was about to fall on Rainbow Dash without her even realizing. But thankfully, two ponies had managed to save her. Pinkie Pie and Maud were those two ponies as they shattered the rocks by rapidly smashing their hooves against it.
"And even with Princess Celestia leadin' the charge, it still takes every last pony and Pokemon in Equestria doin' their part, workin' day and night, to keep up the fight."
Celestia had on her side a Lucario instead of a Kirlia in this timeline. Any Pokemon that even tried to come close to her was met with a devastating Aura Sphere from the Aura Pokemon.
But even moving away from the conflict, it wasn't as great with everything else. Fluttershy was shearing the wool off some Wooloo's and Mareep's. Each time she sheared the Wool Pokemon, she would get shocked every single time. The wool that came from both sheep-like Pokemon was made into even more clothing for war which was being manufactured by Rarity and her Leavanny. You could even see many ponies leaving on trains to join in on this war.
Clearly, it wasn't the best timeline.
"I just can't believe it! We stopped King Sombra! You and me and all of our friends!" Twilight was flabbergasted.
"But we aren't friends. At least not here."
"Right..." Twilight lowered her head.
"Look. I hope all this helped, but I really need to get back to cannin' those apples." Applejack took her leave.
"Thank you. We're going to set things right." Twilight reassured.
"I hope you do."
"Hm?" Ash noticed the wind changing course. That could only mean one thing. Dialga was returning. And return it did.
The Temporal Pokemon arrived, leaving behind a booming sound as well.
"What in tarnation is that?!" Applejack fell on her back, shocked at the sight of Dialga.
"Dialga! That's our cue to leave!" Ash said as he and Twilight went through the portal, bidding farewell to Applejack and this entire timeline.
Dialga had sent them back to the time when Starlight tried to stop Rainbow Dash yet again.
"Now! All we have to do is-" Twilight's words were cut short thanks to a small little zap of magic that placed her and the others inside of a purple crystal. Starlight had frozen them in place, expecting them to arrive. The crystal fell on the clouds, slowly sinking through it.
"Well, finding her will be easy! But stopping her's gonna be harder than you think. Sorry to disappoint you, but I created that spell to send myself back in time. So even if you cast it, I still get sent back here. It wasn't difficult to change Star Swirl's spell. He'd already done the hard part. But figuring out I could use the map to go to any time or place? I even impressed myself with that. And as bonus, some humans told me how I managed to lose in the original timeline. But thanks to them, I changed my previous actions! But, I don't know how you managed to travel through time without the map. That's still a mystery to me. But that doesn't matter. With you all here, you can watch me erase the one thing that linked you with your friends! My village was a sanctuary of equality, where nopony's cutie mark allowed them to feel superior! It was a special place, and you and your friends took it away!"
Starlight then noticed that the crystal had sunk deep into the clouds, meaning they didn't get to hear the rest of it.
" Now it's my turn to take something special from you! Without the Rainboom, you and your friends will never form your special cutie mark bonds! Cutie marks for cutie marks! Sounds like a fair trade to me!" She poked the crystal, causing it to fall through the clouds. They were now falling rapidly down towards the hard ground. This impact could be ugly.
"I-Iron Tail..." Ash managed to speak within the crystal.
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu broke the crystal apart by putting all his muscle strength into his tail.
Dragonite had grabbed Ash, Pikachu, Spike and the other Pokemon whilst Twilight saved herself.
"Phew. This is getting too close lately." Ash sighed.
"Pika..."
"Don't worry, Ash. I know exactly what we can do now." Twilight had figured that the best option right now was to make sure that time goes as it was supposed to. "All we have to do is make sure that Rainbow Dash pulls off the Sonic Rainboom before Starlight gets the chance to stop her.
"Minccino!" Minccy jumped up from Dragonite's head, pointing aggressively.
"What is it, Minccy?" Twilight asked.
"Minccino!" The Chinchilla Pokemon had spotted starlight Glimmer over in the distance. But, at the moment, she was doing something unexpected.
It looked like she was talking to the young ponies. More specifically, the bullies who teased Fluttershy.
"Just remember how you'd feel if someone said those things to you." Starlight spoke to them.
"What's going on here?" Twilight zoomed over, growling at Starlight.
"Oh, I was just reminding these two colts how hurtful teasing can be."
"Well...don't!" Twilight snapped at her.
"Huh...?" The young ponies seemed to be befuddled by Twilight's words.
"What?" Fluttershy said as she hid behind Hatterene.
"I mean...you were?"
"Of course! In a world where everypony is unique, some are bound to feel more special than others. But that isn't a license to be cruel, is it?" Starlight patted Fluttershy on the head.
"No, of course not..."
"Oh, isn't it a shame we don't live in a world where everypony is equal? No one would ever tease anyone there! Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Mhm." The young foals nodded.
"No, it wouldn't! I mean, it'd be nice not to be teased, of course, but that's not the same thing!"
"Pika..." Pikachu was feeling the urge to shock her right now with electricity picking up on his sacs.
"Oooh! What's that?!" Fluttershy noticed Pikachu, rushing over to him. "It's so cute!"
"P-Pika..."
"Come on, Fluttershy. Maybe I can help you get through the course this time." Hoops suggested.
"Well, I-I sure could use the practice..." Fluttershy moved away from Pikachu. If she got any closer, it would've been a repeat of when she first met him, which also includes when her human self met him.
"I know you only convinced those bullies to not tease Fluttershy to stop the rainboom!" Twilight walked up to Starlight.
"Oh, that's not true. I convinced them not to be bullies because everypony should be equal. Stopping the rainboom is just a bonus. And getting rid of you both is the cherry on top! Hatterene! Psycho Cut!"
"No you don't! Iron Tail!" Ash prevent Starlight from trying anything. Cuts of psychic energy were directed at Twilight, but a good strong Iron Tail broke them apart.
"You won't be able to meddle with time if we stop you here. Eve! Psybeam!"
"Espeon!"
"Light Screen." Hatterene cloaked herself in a golden light, causing the Psybeam to essentially become weaker upon contact. "Dazzling Flash!" The Silent Pokemon emitted a powerful flash of fairy magic that was enough to blind them. This move was used for a quick getaway by Starlight. Her Hatterene and her teleported away, aiming to prevent the Rainboom from taking place.
"You won't get away from us! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chu!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon managed to put a stop to both of their movements via a bolt of 100,000 volts that brought them down.
"You...rat! Hatterene! Psycho Cut!"
"Hatterene..." The Silent Pokemon sent violent blades formed by pscyhic power towards the opposing Pokemon.
"Aqua Tail!" Twilight commanded. The Chinchilla Pokemon sent the cuts away with her tail being surrounded by a veil of water. However, this one action actually caused a horrible outcome.
One of the Psycho Cuts had accidently hit Rainbow Dash's wing, causing her to stop flying.
"Ow!" Rainbow Dash cried out in pain as she fell on a cloud.
"Eeep!" Twilight gasped.
"Ooh. Nice shot." Starlight congratulated her. And at that moment, the spell took place once more. Due to Rainbow Dash's wing being damaged, time was triggered. Twilight and the others were once again, pulled through the portal, flying to yet another timeline. "Buh-bye."
Time was a major factor in all of this. The current mission was to make sure the Sonic Rainboom occurs the right moment. But with Starlight involved, it's proving to be much harder than they expected. But with Dialga on their side, the scales may tip in their favour, as the journey continues.
Starlight Glimmer's attempt to prevent the Rainboom from happening was so far, tilting in her favour. Twice. And the first time, Ash, Twilight, Spike and the Pokemon had been pulled into a timeline where there was a great war between King Sombra, who managed to continue his reign over the Crystal Empire. Now, they've been pulled into a second timeline. One where they have no clue what to expect next.
One thing that remained consistent in each timeline was the table and the map.
"What now...?" Ash stood up, holding his back.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu helped Eve and Minccy up.
"This is gonna be harder than I thought. We'll have to try again!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Hey, Twilight..." Spike nudged her tail.
"I don't want to live in that awful future we saw!"
"I don't think you'll have to!" Spike gulped as Twilight and others turned their heads. What they saw was yet another unexpected outcome.
Ponies. Wearing tribal makeup with green stripes around them. They even had some dirt and mud on them here and there. Not only that, but they were all holding spears directly at the group. Two very familiar ponies were Fluttershy and Pinkie who were apart of it.
"Pinkie? Fluttershy?" Twilight said. Speaking up only made the spears get even closer.
"Silence, changeling!" Pinkie snapped at her.
"All servants of Queen Chrysalis found in these woods must be... destroyed!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Dra...?" Dragonite tried to get in for a hug but was quickly forced back as the ponies pushed the spears further forward at the Dragon Pokemon. "Nite?"
"Wait! We're not changelings! I'm a pony! These are Pokemon! He's a human! And he's a dragon!"
"A likely story! Prove that they're Pokemon!" Pinkie uttered.
"Pika...chuuuu!" Pikachu sparked up electricity from his body.
"Okay, that works." Pinkie nodded.
"The servants of Chrysalis will do anything to save their evil skins!" Fluttershy wasn't convinced.
"STOP!" A voice commanded them the ponies to hold their spears back. That voice belonged to Zecora, who stood atop a tree. "If they are changelings we'll soon see." She hopped off the tree, walking up to them. "Though I think they're not what they appear to be"
"Zecora! Please, you have to listen." Yet again, Twilight tried to move up towards them but was met with spears, telling her to keep her distance and stay put.
"Beneath this salve, no changeling hides, for it reveals the truth inside." Zecora placed her hoof inside a salve, having the same green substance that was on the ponies on her hoof. She placed it on Twilight, Ash and the Pokemon's faces to see if they weren't actually changelings.
And obviously. They weren't. They didn't transform or anything bizarre like that. But that wasn't all. Their bodies emanated a white light once the substance was placed on them.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu looked at his body.
"What is this?" Ash looked at his hands.
"What does it mean?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"The meaning is far worse, I see, for it is we who should not be."
"Well, we can explain what's going on." Ash suggested.
"I'm sure you can, but let's not talk here. Chrysalis and her army will soon draw near!" Zecora looked around.
Yet again, Lucien and Sienna were here as well, spectating as usual. So far, this was going well. Granted, it was following the same route as the original timeline but they were anticipating something different to occur soon. Not only that, but they were also keeping an eye out for Dialga. Sienna especially.
"You know...maybe it wasn't such a good idea to mess with this event?" Sienna gulped.
"Why? What's wrong?" Lucien asked.
"What if Dialga finds out that it was us who told Starlight everything. It'll crush us!"
"Pssh. Like Dialga's gonna know." Lucien scoffed at it.
"What if it does?! If it knows how time plays out from start to finish, Dialga end up knowing who told Starlight about the original timeline!" Sienna pulled on her drill hair.
"Calm down!" Lucien held her. "Dialga's not going to find out. We're gonna make it through this without being noticed? Okay? Okay...Now hush up. This is where things are getting good."
With Zecora and the others, they were making their way to someplace more secluded.
"The changelings took over not long ago. Though I'll wager in your world that isn't so," said Zecora
"Chrysalis and her army tried to take over Canterlot, but my friends and I stopped her." Twilight explained.
"Those friends as you know them are not here, alas. But tell me how all this came to pass."
"Starlight Glimmer, a pony who travelled back in time to stop my friends and me from ever coming together!"
"And it is these friends you have in life that keep Equestria free from strife?"
" I guess so. But this is the second time I've come back and this world is even worse than the last one! If Starlight keeps doing the same thing in the past, how could the present be so different?"
"Ah. Time is a river, where even the tiniest changes seen can lead to a cascade of effects downstream." Zecora placed her hoof on a small lake of water. Once she did, it diverged itself from the linear path, going a separate way. "This part of the forest is dark and damp, but it's done well to hide our camp."
She revealed a hidden area that was protected by a wall of leaves. This area was an entire camp with ponies who were living her under Zecora's protection. Some Grass--Type Pokemon were amidst the ponies as well. Once Ash and the others walked by, the ponies were intimidated by their appearance. Mostly the appearance of Ash.
"This doesn't seem so bad," Ash commented. Just then, a bloodcurdling shriek that sounded very familiar came their way. Who else could shriek like that other than Rarity? Who also arrived with Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Their manes were all messy and rugged with scratches on their body.
"Please! You have to help us!" Rarity shrieked.
"The changelings attacked Ponyville! We barely escaped with our lives!" Rainbow exclaimed. Twilight seemed to believe those were her friends. They seemed normal minus the scratches on their bodies as she was ready to talk to them. However, Zecora put her hoof out, knowing that it was too good to be true.
"The only changeling attack I see is the one that come here looking for me!"
"It's taken quite a while to find you, Zecora." Applejack moved forward with a menacing look in her eyes. She let out a laugh as green flames circled around her. Then it was revealed that these weren't actually them. Not at all. In fact, they were changelings. Not just that, but the one who made herself look like Applejack was revealed to be none other Queen Chrysalis herself. "What a lovely village you've chosen to stage your little resistance. It looks absolutely delicious!"
The ponies moved their spears up, forcing the Changeling Queen to back up.
"Oh, come now, Zecora. You're vastly outnumbered." In truth she was. Chrysalis had arrived with an unprecedented amount of changelings who seemed to be wearing armour actually. Not only that, but there were some changelings who disguised themselves at the ponies in the camp. "I know you don't want your charges hurt. Come quietly to the dungeons of Canterlot and I promise to leave the others alone."
"Why would she ever trust you?!" Fluttershy scowled at her.
"Even if there's a chance Chrysalis will honour her word, shouldn't you try?" Twilight asked.
"Race to the map while we hold off their attack. Stop Starlight and put the whole world back on track!" Zecora spoke quietly to Twilight and Ash.
"Time to make a decision, Zecora!"
"Even if what you are saying were true, we'd never surrender to a creature like you!" Zecora bellowed as both sides charged at each other, initiating a battle in the process.
As the others were running to the map, Pikachu pushed a changeling aside by using Quick Attack. Some changelings turned their attention to Twilight and the others, not wanting anypony to get away scot-free.
Minccy jumped up, smacking a changeling down with Aqua Tail as she continued to run with her trainer. Too many changelings were around the area. They all stood in the way of the map, blocking their path to it.
"We need to go now! Dialga!" Ash called for Dialga's name. The Temporal Pokemon heeded the call of its old friend. And as always, Dialga knew how to make an entrance. The booming sound of a portal opening up was so grand that even everypony including the changelings heard it.
"W-W-What is that thing...?" Chrysalis backed up. The changelings were all intimidated by the appearance of Dialga. Rightfully so. It's a giant to them.
The Temporal Pokemon roared at the changelings, forcing them all to scatter away. The Steel-Dragon-Type then brought out another portal that led to the same point in time where the Rainboom first took place.
"Thanks, Dialga!" Twilight thanked as they took their leave, passing through the portal.
Back to this point in time yet again. This time, Twilight came prepared. She placed a barrier that protected her friends from the incoming beam of magic from Starlight.
"Not this time! Eve! Psybeam!"
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon unloaded a beam of psychic energy towards Starlight, aiming to knock her out. But, Starlight's Hatterne intervened, using its own Psybeam.
"I don't know how you keep on following me without the spell! But it ends now!"
"It won't end unless we correct time! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" Pikachu shot over a raging bolt of thunder towards the two of them. Starlight flew away from the Thunderbolt as it destroyed an entire cloud.
"Hatterene! Psycho Cut!"
"Rene..." Sharp violent blades moved throughout the air, cutting entire clouds in half. Pikachu and the other Pokemon avoided the cuts as they were obliterating every cloud they came across.
"Aqua Tail!"
"Minccino!" The Chinchilla Pokemon jumped up, slamming its tail on Hatteren's head whilst leaving a splash behind. However, Minccy was unfortunately caught by Hatterene's claw as it gripped her tail. "Ccino?!"
The Silent Pokemon tossed the Normal-Type aside.
"Quick Attack!" Both Ash and Twilight said. All three of their Pokemon knew Quick Attack. And at the exact same time, they each moved at blinding speeds, smashing into Hatterene.
Everypony's attention had turned towards the current Pokemon Battle, forgetting about the race entirely. To them, this was the coolest thing they've ever seen in their entire life.
"Blast them away with Psybeam!" Hatterene had sent an intense beam of psychic energy which was much larger than before. It engulfed all 3 Pokemon, rocketing them back to their trainers.
"Pika!"
"Espeon!"
"Ccino!"
"This is the end! Psycho Cut!"
"Not it isn't! Dragonite! Hyper Beam!" Ash commanded. Dragonite flew up, charging up a beam of hyper energy as it was sent right towards Starlight and Hatterene. The duo gasped as they noticed a huge destructive beam heading their way. It obliterated the blades of psychic energy as it seemed to have engulfed Starlight and Hatterene.
But it was revealed that they teleported at the last second.
"Get lost!" Starlight decided to join in by firing her own magic back at them. Twilight flew back as the beam of magic broke through the clouds themselves, almost hitting a young pegasus in the process. The two ponies were flying back and forth, trying to hit each other with magic.
Whilst that went down, the Pokemon were doing their best to stop Hatterene who had the only intention of ripping them all apart with her claw.
"Pikachu! Electroweb!"
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped up, tossing a web of electricity downwards. The Silent Pokemon was prepared to cut in half with Psycho Cut, but that didn't happen. Eve made sure of that by blasting her with Psybeam.
"Hatt!" Hatterene felt the brunt of Psybeam as the electric net fell on her, trapping the Psychic-Fairy. "Hatterene!"
"Yes!"
"Hatterene..." Hatterene decided to make its attacks more aggressive. It broke through the web by using its sharp claw to rip it into pieces. The Silent Pokemon then decided to forget the move Light Screen for something much more powerful. Hatterene had learned Dark Pulse. A pulse imbued with dark thoughts obliterated the clouds around them as it then formed into a beam shape, aiming to destroy the Pokemon that stood before it.
"Thunderbolt!" 100,000 volts of electricity met with the pulse, pushing it back a small bit. Soon, they both cancelled each other out.
Twilight and Starlight had tired themself out as none of them could land a single hit on the other. They attempted to blast each other again, but they were exhausted.
"Woah! This is the coolest thing ever!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she and the pegasi were all watching this while eating popcorn. "Do that Hyper thing again or whatever its called! No, wait! The lightning attack was better! DO THAT INSTEAD!"
"What are you doing? You have to finish your race!" Twilight said to her.
"Are you crazy?! This is even more exciting than some race!"
"Gotcha! Blast them Hatterene!"
"Hatt..." Hatterene had decided to attack them with Dark Pulse while their guard was down.
Eve jumped in front of the Dark Pulse, taking the full force of the blast and protecting her trainer. "Esp!"
"Eve!" Twilight gasped. She ran over to see her partner horribly hurt from Dark Pulse.
"See? You can't stop me no matter what you do." Starlight cackled. And since the battle caused them to stop the race, the portal popped up once more, pulling them inside to the next timeline.
"Aw...it's over? Oh well. I saw an awesome battle. I'm satisfied." Rainbow Dash grinned.
They had arrived in the next timeline. This time, it appeared to be at night.
"Again...?" Ash got up from the ground. "How long are we going to keep this up?"
"Pikachu..."
"I don't know. If we don't end up causing the Rainboom to occur, we'll be at this forever." Twilight groaned as she held Eve who was badly hurt.
"Maybe we won't be with them here!" Spike gulped as he was looking over at some Timberwolves that had spotted them. The creatures growled at their prey, preparing to strike at any time. They couldn't catch a break. Not even for a minute. Twilight tried to blast the Timberwolves, but she ended up tiring herself out after her small little scuffle with Starlight earlier.
The Timberwolves found the right time to strike, running towards them.
"Iron Tail!" Ash stepped forward to put a halt to their attack. The Electric Mouse Pokemon turned his tail into pure steel, smashing the Timberwolves to the ground once they got close. "Time to go!" Ash figured it was best to leave now and get a move on. It wasn't just two Timberwolves here. There was an entire pack of them all staring in the shadows with their golden eyes, glowing in the night.
But these woods weren't exclusive to just Timberwolves. Some Zangoose lurked around here as well. And they found out that Ash and the others are currently on their territory. Which didn't sit well with the Cat Ferret Pokemon. A Zangoose leapt out of the shadows, preparing to cut Twilight with Crush Claw.
"Zan!
"Minccino!" The Chinchilla Pokemon protected its trainer from being harmed by using Aqua Tail as a defence. Unfortunately, now she had taken heavy damage. The claws of Zangoose had dug into Minccy's tail, breaking through the water veil. "Ccino!" Her tail had been injured as she tumbled on the ground. More Zangoose's revealed themselves from the shadows, attacking their prey.
"Dragonite! Dragon Claw!" Ash commanded.
"DRA!" Dragonite protected them all by slashing away at the Cat Ferret Pokemon that came nearby. They were all intimidated by the size of Dragonite. Which was enough to scare them off into the shadows.
"That was getting too rough." Ash picked up Minccy.
"Finally...somewhere friendly. The Castle of the Two Sisters!" Twilight sighed. The group had set foot in the area where the castle was located. It was best to get going. More Zangoose and Timberwolves could be heard in the distance.
Entering inside the castle, they slammed the door behind them, blocking the creatures from entering. There was a moment of peace and silence finally. They could breathe at last. Or, that's what they thought. Because the layout of the castle was different from what Twilight remembered. Instead of it looking like an abandoned mess, it seemed to be much more polished and refined as blue flames sprouted up on the side, lighting up the castle.
"This place looks a lot cleaner than I remember," Spike said. It wasn't just the place looking cleaner. But there were banners of the crescent moon everywhere. On the floor, a tapestry had been picked up by some magic. Magic belonging only to one other pony.
Rarity. Who, just like the previous timelines they've been through, also had a vastly different appearance. Not just in the clothing department, but her hair was now a bun along with her tail.
"Rarity!" Twilight exclaimed.
"The castle isn't open for viewings today. The tapestries all need changing. Again." Rarity spoke in an unenthusiastic tone.
"Rarity, it's me!" Spike ran up to her.
"I don't socialize with dragons. I don't know anypony who would." Rarity dismissed Spike, causing the baby dragon to whimper.
"Rarity, you have to listen to us! The future of Equestria's at stake!" Twilight pleaded.
"I don't know how you know my name, but I am far too busy to entertain some tourist's ridiculous fantasies."
"We have to get back to the map so we can stop Starlight from changing the past because every present we come to is worse than the last!"
"Time travel, you say? Now that's something I would like to see." The situation had worsened. In this timeline. They didn't have to worry about Sombra or Chrysalis. But what did they did have to worry about was Nightmare Moon. The nightmare of the night, sitting on her throne. A singular throne. Behind her was a tapestry of herself. In fact, everything was of her. Moon themed decorations and status everywhere. Not a trace of anything Celestia related. And by her side arrived some ponies dressed up in her armour, showing that this was her rule now. "Tell me how you came by this magic to travel through time." She laughed.
"The princess asked you a question! And unless you wanna end up in the dungeon, you'll tell her what she wants to know!" A guard spoke up. Not just any guard, but Rainbow Dash. Who also had a different appearance in the mane department. Her hair was shorter, no longer having her usual spiky mane.
"Nopony in my kingdom but me should possess a magic powerful enough to change time."
"Your kingdom?" Ash uttered.
"Who else?"
"Um...Celestia of course." Spike replied. Saying that made everypony gulp for a small bit.
Nightmare Moon chuckled at those words. "My sister has been imprisoned in the moon for years!" Which was indeed true. The roles had been reversed in this timeline. Instead, Celestia was the one who lost, being imprisoned in the moon for countless years. "But it is no less a fate than she'd sentence me to! Now, reveal to me the source of this time magic!" Nightmare Moon demanded.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu was feeling the urge to shock Nightmare Moon and her ponies at the moment.
"Is this rat trying to stand up me?" Nightmare Moon looked down at Pikachu with disgust.
"...Alright." Twilight suddenly spoke, causing Pikachu to stand down.
"Eh?" Ash and Spike turned to Twilight.
"We have no choice... I can take you to it, but you'll have to get past the timberwolves and Zangoose."
"I am the ruler of all of Equestria. Do you think I can't deal with some cats and timberwolves?" She scoffed at Twilight's words.
"No. I know you can."
"Hmph. Fair enough. But if you even think about trying to escape...the result will be something unfortunate for you and your creature friends here." Nightmare Moon walked over, scowling at Pikachu and Ash. "Keep this larger dragon restrained." She referred to Dragonite, who was the biggest threat here. They chained up the Dragon Pokemon, restraining any movements from it. Ash told Dragonite to go with it for the meantime.
Twilight led the princess of the night to the area of the map. Along the way, Luna was destroying any Timberwolves that came close to her. The Zangoose went into hiding, avoiding Nightmare Moon since they were actually intimidated by her.
"How does it work?" She asked Twilight.
"A pony from my time used this spell to travel back and change the past."
"And now you will give this spell to me! With it, I will ensure that the Elements of Harmony are never found and my reign lasts forever!" She went up to the map, cackling.
"But it won't," Twilight said.
"What?!" She turned around, growling at the younger alicorn.
" In my world, my friends and I found the Elements and used them to defeat you! And I will do everything in my power to bring that world back! Now Ash!"
"You got it! Dialga!" Ash chanted Dialga's name. The Temporal Pokemon came from above, landing down on the ground, causing a small earthquake.
"You tricked me! Get them!"
The ponies would get them...but...Dialga's too much for them. They would rather be thrown into the dungeon than go up against something as grand as Dialga. As a result, they retreated.
"You cowards! Fine! I'll deal with it myself!" Nightmare Moon flew up, blasting at Dialga with magic. She was the first pony in the current timelines to actually attack the guardian of time. Her ray of magic actually managed to slightly harm Dialga, but not by much.
The Temporal Pokemon responded by using its signature move. Roar of Time. A blast of pure draconic energy that was so powerful it even distorted time itself. The sheer magnitude and force blew Nightmare Moon back, causing her armour to break. Nightmare Moon fell on the ground, barely managing to recover from Roar of Time since it was powerful enough to paralyze her for a bit.
"Curse you..." She growled.
Dialga turned to Ash and Twilight, bringing up the portal to the same point in time once more. This time, they had to stop Starlight, or else it could go on forever.
Returning the Rainboom moment, Starlight was waiting once more. But Twilight was ready for the moment. She reversed everything against her by making Starlight and Hatterene into a crystal instead.
"Now more than ever I know how important it is to stop you!" Twilight exclaimed.
Starlight broke through the crystal with her own potent magic, doing it with ease. "Well, good luck!" And once again, another scuffle happened in Cloudsdale but this time in the form of a chase. Starlight flew off as Twilight chased after her. Ash got on Dragonite, attempting to catch up to Starlight and her Hatterene.
Along the way, Starlight raised her hoof up, throwing Rainbow Dash off balance when she flew by.
"Woah!" Yet again, the Rainboom had been stopped, causing a portal to appear. And this is where things accelerated to a high degree. The group would end up going through many timelines over and over again just to try and correct things.
First, they arrived a timeline where Tirek won, destroying everything that stood in his way. Dialga showed up instantly, ready to bring them back to the Rainboom moment. Tirek spotted Dialga, firing at the Legendary Pokemon. But the Temporal Pokemon easily blew his attack away with a single Dragon Pulse which broke through Tirek's beam, knocking him to the ground. When they passed through the portal, Ash tried to have Pikachu used Electroweb on Starlight, but unfortunately, she moved out of the way and instead, it was Rainbow Dash who was hit by the web.
Next, it was a timeline where Celestia and Luna never banished Discord ever. The group landed in a pile of rubber chickens as Equestria was all topsy-turvy and unbalanced. Right now, he was playing around the two princesses by having them dress up as clowns whilst running around. Dialga showed up to bring them back again. But when they came back, Starlight was helping Fluttershy pass through the hoops. So Rainbow Dash would never have to defend her honour. Back to another timeline once more.
The third timeline was one where the Storm Behemoth was never destroyed as it terrorized the land, destroying everything with its destructive electrical pulses. Dialga tackled through the behemoth, flying towards them, returning them to the Rainboom moment yet again. This time, Twilight tried to attack Starlight but what ended up happening here was Hatterene putting Rainbow Dash to sleep. Off to another timeline with a repeat.
The fourth timeline was where the brothers Flim Flam became huge business ponies who made the entire land their own factory.
The fifth was a timeline where Darkrai was never freed from his mind control giving everypony horrible nightmares without him being in control.
In the sixth timeline, Passion was never saved by Celestia which caused her magic to obliterate all of Equestria, causing chaos everywhere.
The seventh, Adagio managed to succeed in her plan. She was now a huge siren towering above all of Equestria whilst spreading disharmony.
The eight, a timeline where Dusknoir absorbed everypony into the board game without them having the chance of escaping, making the entire world feel empty.
The final one, which is possibly the worst possible outcome, a timeline where Ghetsis finished off Princess Celestia and conquered the entire planet, establishing his rule. And that was the final timeline they went through.
"Up for another race-ending fight, Ash and Twilight?" Starlight taunted.
"No. You were right. we can't stop you." Twilight was exhausted as Ash helped her up. "But you can't stop me from trying, and we could be stuck doing this for all eternity!"
"If that's what it takes to keep you and your friends from getting your Cutie Mark connection, then I'm game!"
"This is more than just Cutie Marks, Starlight." Ash said to her. "This is about everyone's future! Even your Hatterene!"
"Pikachu!"
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! It's all about Cutie Marks! They're practically everything!"
"What you're doing goes way beyond cutie marks! Everything we do here in the past – even the smallest change – can snowball into an avalanche of trouble for the future!"
"Spare me your overblown ego! No group of friends, not even Princess Twilight's, is that important! Adagio was right about you two. You're nothing but a disease that spreads around! Trying to infect everypony with that so-called Magic of Friendship nonsense you hold so dearly. WELL FORGET IT! No matter what you do...You won't ever convince me!"
"No. But he definitely can." Ash pointed up at the sky. Look who was here, standing above Cloudsdale. The shadow of the Temporal Pokemon was so grand it loomed over all of Cloudsdale.
"W-W-W-W-W-What is that thing...?" Starlight was perplexed by the sight of the Steel-Dragon-Type that loomed over her. And she noticed it was staring right at her. Even Hatterene was mortified by it.
"That. Is Dialga. The Guardian of Time." Twilight explained shortly.
"Guardian of time...?" Starlight gulped. She noticed that Dialga was floating right towards her, blowing away the clouds from just simply moving. "Hatterene! Psybeam!"
"H-Hatt!" Hatterene blasted Dialga in the face with a Psybeam, but that did nothing. Dialga just stood there, gazing at her. The Temporal Pokemon roared at Starlight, making her shudder in fear as Hatterene forced herself back into her Pokeball.
"N-Now...Let's talk about this. Let's not do anything rash, okay?" Starlight was pleading at Dialga.
"Dialga won't harm you. But it's here to protect time. Making sure that it flows correctly. And you're just making it harder for it." Ash said.
"Pikachu!"
"Making it harder for it? Tough luck!" Starlight zapped Rainbow Dash who flew by. "You can try and intimidate me with this big blue dragon! But it won't work! I'm not listening to a word you say! If you really think a bunch of friends are that important, especially yours... your ego is bigger than I thought!"
" I don't know how important other ponies' friendships are to the future, but I can show you what the world is like without mine!" Twilight said. The portal activated due to Rainbow Dash being hit by Starlight, bringing them all yet again. But this time, Dragonite flew forward, grabbing a hold of Starlight as it dragged her along for the ride.
"Hey! Let me go-"
The final timeline outcome was revealed.
An absolutely horrific one.
Starlight was brought to an area where the land was dead and empty. The trees had died out, there were no signs of civilization or even life. The skies were grey and dull with harsh cold winds blowing on.
"Where are we?!" Starlight turned to her.
"The future. Or rather, the present." Twilight replied.
"But there's nothing here!"
"I wish I could say I was surprised. But every world I come back to is worse than the last. I don't know why my friends and I are so important to Equestria, but we are." Twilight looked to Ash, nodding at him.
"I don't believe you!"
"Better believe it. Because there's nothing else that explains this." Ash said.
"Pikachu."
"I don't want to hear anything from you!" Starlight sent out her Hatterene.
"Like I said, everything in the past affects the future, even the tiniest act. And what you're doing leads here. I know I can't stop you, but I thought showing you this might change your mind."
"Change my mind? You don't know anything about me! I was perfectly happy before you and your friends ruined what I built! Psycho Cut!" She planned to take out all her anger on Twilight and Ash, but Pikachu got in the way, cutting the attack in half.
"I don't know what happened that led you to make your village without cutie marks, and I'm sorry my friends and I had to take it away." Twilight shook her head.
"Pika-Pika!"
"You want to know what happened to me?! You'll never know what happened!"
"But we will. Dialga." Ash called for the guardian of time.
Dialga emerged before them all, ready to show them Starlight's past. The Temporal Pokemon emitted a powerful flash of time that engulfed the entire area.
The past. But not in Cloudsdale this time.
Instead, this seemed to be Starlight's home town.
"Where are we?" Ash asked.
"Isn't it obvious? That map of yours is connected to every part of Equestria, and this part is my home." Starlight led them to the moment in time that changed everything for her. Inside a small little house, there sat two little foals. A young unicorn by the name of Sunburst who was a friend to a young Starlight Glimmer. "Sunburst and I did everything together. In fact, I don't remember us ever being apart. Until today."
A young Starlight was trying her best to gently remove a singular book from the book pile. But it went poorly. So poorly that the pile almost fell on her. But thankfully, her friend Sunburst saved her by using his magic to grab all the books. And it wasn't just something he could do normally. Not at all. His magic had skyrocketed all of a sudden as he hovered up. Every single book surrounded him, spinning around Sunburst in a circle. A bright golden light emanated from him causing the young colt to place all the books back on the shelves in perfect order.
And as a bonus, Sunburst obtained his Cutie Mark for the first. Way before Starlight did. The sight of it excited him to the core. He had to show everypony this immediately. The response was exactly what he expected. They were proud of him, carrying the young unicorn to celebrate. However, this left a young Starlight saddened that her friend has just left like that. Without her gaining her talent until way later in the future.
"And just like that, my friend was gone. His family recognized his magical talent and sent him off to Canterlot. I never saw him again."
"How come?" Ash asked.
"Pikachu?"
"Because of his cutie mark! He got his, and I didn't! He moved on, and I didn't! I stayed here and never made another friend because I was too afraid another cutie mark would take them away, too!" Starlight shoved her hoof at Ash as she started to tear up.
"That's ridiculous. A cutie mark can't take your friends away." Twilight said.
"You have Hatterene with you don't you? Isn't she your friend?" Ash spoke.
"Hatterene is just a Pokemon that helps me. Not a friend. Not everypony's lucky enough to get her cutie mark at the same time as her friends!"
"Hatt...?" Hatterene was shocked that Starlight felt that way to her.
"You don't know what it's like to lose a friend because of a cutie mark. But once I stop the Rainboom, you will!" Starlight had used Starswirl's spell to return them to the Rainboom moment. "And I'll make sure you don't get the chance to travel back thanks to that blue dragon thing pal of yours!"
"Starlight, you're right! I don't know what you went through! But I do know you can't do this! We've seen where this leads, and so have you!"
"I only saw what you showed me! Who knows what'll really happen?"
"But we have! A ton of times! Without Twilight's friends, everything turns out for the worst!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Ugh! What's so special about her friends?! How can a group of ponies that are so different be so important?!"
"The differences between me and my friends are the very things that make our friendship strong!" Twilight replied. She walked up but Hatterene stood in front of her.
"I thought Sunburst and I were the same. But we turned out different, and it tore our friendship apart!" Starlight wept.
"So try again! Make new friends! And if something that you can't control happens that changes things, work through it together! That's what friendship is! And it's not just my friendships that are important to Equestria! Everypony's are! When yours ended, it led us here. But just imagine all the others that are out there waiting for you if you just give them a chance!" Twilight flew up.
"Adagio was right about you! That's all you care about! Nothing else!"
"That's not true! There's a reason why Hatterene came to you, isn't there?!" Ash stepped forward. "You two became trainer and Pokemon for a reason!"
"Hatterene and I only met because she looked like she was in trouble! I saved her life and ever since then she's been by my side! Helping me out along the way! Nothing else!"
"Then that means she is your friend! Pokemon don't just choose trainers for no reason! They choose them because of trust and compassion! Hatterene chose you because you saved her life! Because of that, she'll do anything to protect you, just like how you protected her as well! She even goes far enough to try and stop us!" Ash uttered.
"Pikachu!"
"You've had a friend beside you this entire time! One who wants to be by your side at all times! And you can make new friends along the way! They don't even have to be ponies! You can just become friends with Pokemon as well!" Ash pointed at Hatterene.
"Hatterene." Despite hearing that she wasn't considered a friend to her by her own trainer, Hatterene still cared for Starlight Glimmer anyway.
"How do I know they won't all end the same way?" Starlight looked up at both of them.
"I guess it's up to you to make sure they don't. And your Pokemon will be there to help you out." Twilight smiled.
Dialga had decided that this was the perfect place to put an end to the time travelling. The Temporal Pokemon let out a flash of light that engulfed only the group. And at that exact same time, the Rainboom had been triggered as time could flow on naturally once more.
In a flash of blue light, they had safely been brought back to Twilight's castle. The whole thing was still here in all its glory.
"Finally..." Ash let out a sigh of relief as he laid on his back.
"Oh, sweet, sweet castle!" Spike got on the floor, kissing it.
"What in Equestria was that?!" Rarity's voice travelled through their ears. The rest of their friends had arrived. Mostly due to the fact that the damage that Dialga did to the ceiling was still there somehow.
"Is everypony okay?" Fluttershy asked.
"Can you do it again?" Pinkie squealed. "Also. What was that big blue thing that came out of nowhere?"
"It's all still here." Ash looked down at Pikachu.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash! Everyone! What's going on-" Goh had rushed in, responding to sudden damage done to castle. When he looked ahead, he noticed Starlight standing over there. "Wagh!" He stopped running as he tripped over.
"What's she doing here?" Applejack referred to Starlight.
"Long story. All you need to know it worked out in the end." Ash replied.
"And I'll just.. come back later..." Goh grinned, slowly backing away.
Starlight was waiting outside of the meeting room as she paced back and forth. She was nervous about the outcome that was about to be given to her. But, Hatterene was there to give her comfort.
"Thanks, Hatterene. And um...sorry for saying that you weren't my friend earlier."
"Hatterene." The Silent Pokemon gave Starlight a pat on the head with its claw.
Inside, the room, the group were talking about the whole time travel debacle. Ash had explained everything to them including Dialga.
"I mean, I knew my Rainboom was awesome, but I never thought all of Equestria depended on it!" Rainbow Dash grinned.
"Or on us!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"I can't believe there's a Pokemon that guards over time." Rarity said.
"I think it's more than that. Friendship connects all of Equestria, and undoing one group of friends made its magic less powerful." Twilight explained.
"I can't believe y'all were able to travel through time like that with Dialga. What Legendary Pokemon friends with Ash?" AJ asked.
"That Starlight must be pretty magical!" Pinkie nodded.
"She obviously has more talent for magic than almost anypony I've seen. My magic couldn't stop her. I had to convince her to stop on her own. Once I realized that, everything fell into place."
"But if she's as powerful as all that, we can't just send her on her way, can we?" Applejack uttered.
"Nope. Twilight came up with something even better." Ash replied.
Spike opened the door, startling Starlight. He gave the hand gesture that said: "Come on in." The light purple unicorn held her breath in, gulping as well as she walked towards them all.
"I know there's no excuse for what I did, but I want you all to know that I'm ready for whatever punishment you think is fair." Starlight lowered her head.
"I've been thinking a lot about how badly Equestria fared without just one group of friends. Because even when one friendship dies, the results can be disastrous." Twilight got off her seat.
"I know first-hoof how true that can be." Starlight responded.
"And that's why I've asked you here. If you're willing to learn, I'm willing to teach you what I know. You'll have the power to make Equestria an even better place."
"How do I start?"
"Starting is easy! All you have to do is make a friend! And you've got a lot of them right here." Twilight looked over at her friends." And one by your side." Twilight walked up to Hatterene.
The new path for Starlight's road to friendship began. She seemed lost at the beginning of all of this. Shutting friendship off away from her. But not anymore. She no longer thought it was too late to make new friends. After all, she had one on her side this entire time. Hatterene. Even if she never noticed in the first place, Hatterene was there for her from start to finish. And through the good and bad, she helped her trainer through it all. Even if it meant harming others just to make Starlight happy.
Ash's Dragonite finally felt like now was the right time for a hug. And Dragonite gave a special hug to Starlight and Hatterene. The Dragon Pokemon grabbed them both, giving them the best hug they've ever experienced. The other Pokemon decided to give Starlight a chance in friendship.
Rarity gave Starlight some dresses to try on while her Leavanny's think of what would look best on her.
Fluttershy showed her the Pokemon House, letting Starlight view all the wonderful Pokemon that inhabited the world. She even recommended Starlight a Pokemon if she ever wanted a second one in the future. A bunch of Combee had flown around Starlight, giving off a sweet scent for her to take in. Hatterene was swarmed by other Pokemon who seemed to be attracted to her.
Rainbow Dash let Starlight fly alongside her. Starlight was on Braviary's back as the Valiant Pokemon soared through the clouds with her. Meanwhile, Altaria was carrying Hatterene around as well.
Applejack showed her how enjoyable it can be to work alongside each other. By bucking trees together with Treecko giving her an apple to eat.
As for eating, Pinkie Pie had her Slurpuff give a ton of well-baked cupcakes for her to eat. Now she'll know how enjoyable every food in the world can be. Spinda had stuffed Hatterene's face while stuffing its own.
Ash showed her the thrill of the Pokemon battle. If Starlight trained, she and her Hatterene could pull off amazing feats together. Pikachu went up to Hatterene as the two gave each other a high-five.
And for Twilight, she went a step further. She brought Starlight back to the village she ruled once. Double Diamond and the others were still there even. This was the nerve-wracking part. Making amends with them.
Starlight walked up to the ponies she once ruled over and lied to even. She gave off an apology that she believed wouldn't be enough. But, they were able to tell that she was being sincere from the heart. So in that instance, they forgave her. Even if they are still a tiny bit judgemental.
It was back to Ponyville. Starlight could now make friends with everypony there. Not just a limited amount. From farm ponies, rowdy pegasi, crusaders, musicians, bakers, teachers etc. There was no limit to the type of ponies she could befriend. And as long as she has those that care for her on her side, she'll never lose her way ever again.
Dialga had looked down over Ponyville, letting out a mighty roar of victory. Its roar was enough to grab everypony's attention. Dialga wanted to give its thanks before leaving.
"Thanks for the help, Dialga!" Ash waved at him.
"Pikachu!"
"Uh, Dialga...I'm sorry for interfering with time! I hope you can at least forgive me!" Starlight apologized.
Dialga had forgiven her. All was right once more. So it held no grudge against her. It let out a roar that Fluttershy could translate.
"Dialga said that all is forgiven." Fluttershy translated.
"How does it fly without wings...?" Pinkie whispered to Rarity.
"Thank you, Dialga." Starlight thanked the Temporal Pokemon.
It was time for the guardian of time to return back to its realm to make sure that time flows correctly without any misbalance. The last they saw of Dialga was seeing it fly through a booming portal that emerged. Dialga's work here was done.
"Our work here is done." Lucien nodded as he and Sienna high-fived each other.
"Mhm. That did turn out pretty good. So, what's next?"
"What's next? Isn't obvious? Next week, the baby's finally being born. About time. I'll let you come up with an idea this time."
"Huh? Why do I have to come up with the idea?" Sienna replied, causing Lucien to laugh.
This part of the story can finally come to a close. But it's not over yet as the journey continues.
"Okay. Library... Library... Where did they put the library?" Starlight glimmer was attempting to find her way throughout this juggernaut of a castle. It was pretty easy to get lost in here. "This castle looked a lot smaller from the outside."
Continuing to find her way through the library, she came across a room where Spike was brushing his teeth. "Morning, Starlight!" said Spike.
"Whoops!" She closed the door. "Sorry, Spike! I guess I'm still trying to find my way around. You don't happen to know where the library is, do you?"
"Next door on the left!" Spike gave an answer.
"Oh. Thanks!"
Speaking of the library, Twilight was inside, going over a list of things that describe somepony who can make great friends. "Acceptance, mm-hmm. Altruism, definitely." The young alicorn princess turned around to see her new friend arriving. "Starlight, good morning, come in!"
"Sorry I'm late. I got a little turned around. I still can't believe you're letting me stay here... as your pupil... after everything I did."
"Well, I'm not one to dwell on the past, and neither should you. The castle is your home now, and as far as being my pupil goes, I was just trying to figure out what your first friendship lesson should be!"
"Oh, well, it looks like you're really narrowing it down!"
"Oh, these are just the A's. After this, I move on to the B's!" Twilight looked over to an abnormal amount of scrolls that were just waiting to be read.
Was Starlight nervous?
Yes.
Over at Professor Cerise's lab in Vermillion City.
"You want me to what?!" Goh pulled back.
"Mhm. I want you to make friends with Starlight. Easy as that." Ash said.
"Pikachu.
"Ash. Are you sure? Didn't she mind control a bunch of Pokemon and take away all those ponies Cutie Marks?"
"Yeah, she did."
"And didn't she try and get rid of you by placing you underground?!"
"She also did that too." Ash nodded.
"So, are you sure this is a good idea?! I don't know if I'll be able to even make friends with her."
"Don't worry. Besides, you and Starlight share something in common. You're both trying to figure out this whole friendship thing, right?"
"I mean...yeah. I am. Not that great at making friends anyways." Goh rubbed the back of his head.
"Then this is your chance, Goh! You two can learn from each other! I can already tell you'll get along great."
"Pika!"
"Well...if it's coming from you then you must know what you're talking about. Alright. I'll try my best."
"Great! I just know you two will hit off great!"
"Pikachu!"
Back at Twilight's Castle...
"I know I'm just learning about friendship, but I didn't think there were this many lessons for anything. How do we choose?" Starlight questioned.
"Maybe I should pare things down a bit before we go through them. Why don't you join the others in the throne room? They're planning our trip to the Crystal Empire when Shining Armor and Princess Cadance have their baby!"
"Throne room! Got it!" Starlight ran out until she came back. "Um, which way is the throne room?" Starlight laughed nervously, causing Twilight to sigh.
Ash and Goh were making their way to Twilight's castle since they heard that today was the day that baby would be born. Inside the throne room, everypony had already gathered up.
"Well, I think we should leave ASAP. I don't want to miss the Crystallising!" said Rainbow Dash.
"But, um, shouldn't we wait for the invitation?" Fluttershy questioned.
"Frankly, I'm not exactly clear on all the customs and traditions of the Crystal Empire, especially when it comes to a Crystalling." Applejack held Treecko in her hooves.
"What's a Crystalling?" Starlight asked, entering the room.
"Well, that's just it, darling. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's baby is due any day, and we're still not sure. The Crystal Empire was gone for a thousand years. A lot of their customs are a bit murky." Rarity answered.
"We know it's got somethin' to do with the new baby," said Applejack.
"And the party!" Pinkie chimed in quickly.
"And the Crystal Heart." Fluttershy turned to Starlight.
"And the party!"
"And some kinda cool energy." Rainbow Dash held her Pokeball, bouncing it up and down.
"And... a party!" Pinkie spread confetti everywhere.
"It's not hard to understand." Spike entered the room. "Most things in the Crystal Empire aren't. Like how I'm a big hero there, for example!" He held a sheet of paper that had him with the Crystal Heart. Everypony seemed unimpressed whilst Rarity was holding in her laughter. The image was a bit silly looking. "Eh... plus, I've had to help Twilight do a lot of research on Crystallings." Spike held up a purple vase that had the art of two ponies standing over their baby. He then explained what it meant.
"Whenever a baby is born in the Crystal Empire, the parents bring it before the Crystal Heart. They get the purest shard of crystal they can find, then pick a crystaller to present the baby to everypony who comes. Then they all share the light and joy they feel, feeding it into the crystal that joins with the Heart and increases its power! And this is going to be a royal Crystalling, so pretty much the whole empire will show up. That hasn't happened in millennia!"
"Audino..." Fluttershy's Audino came in the room, holding what seemed to be an egg. "Dino!"
"Careful Audi!" Fluttershy flew to the Audino, helping her with egg. "You have to carry it gently. Don't worry too much."
"What's up with the egg? Looks kinda...odd." Rainbow Dash asked. Everypony noticed that this egg was blue with yellow spots on the top. And at the very centre, a red circle laid there.
"This Egg is a gift for the baby. Audi found it by the Water-Type area at the Pokemon House. Apparently, it's been floating there for months now."
"Oooh...Giving the baby its first Pokemon? I get it." Pinkie nodded. "Which Pokemon is inside?"
"No idea. But I can't wait to see the result."
"What's this about en egg?" Goh walked in, hearing their conversation. Once he entered, she spotted Starlight right over there, gasping. "Geeeh!"
"Hi, Goh! Raring to go?" Pinkie bounced over to him.
"Y-Yeah." Goh stuttered.
"Just keep your cool, Goh," Ash said to him, walking by.
"Pikachu."
"Hm?" Once Ash stepped forward, he noticed the egg in Audino's hands. That egg looked very familiar to him. "THAT EGG!"
"PIKACHU?!"
"You know this egg, Ash?"
"Oh yeah! I recognize that egg appearance anywhere! Where did you get that?"
"Audi found it not too long ago. We're planning to give this to the baby. It'll be its first Pokemon." Fluttershy explained.
"OH! Then in that case... I'll keep quiet."
"Wait. You know which Pokemon is in there?" Rainbow Dash flew to him.
"Mhm. Don't wanna spoil the surprise." Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"Is it another Riolu? I get it is." Rainbow Dash poked at the egg. Once she did, it emanated a blue light from the touch as the blue pony backed away. "Whoops! Sorry."
"M-Morning..." Goh gently moved past Starlight.
"Uh...morning." Starlight replied back. "I'll just go and ask Twilight about the Crystal Empire." She took her leave from the group, giving Goh some to breathe.
"You can't be this nervous, Goh." Ash looked over at him.
"Sorry. I'm still a bit shaken up from what happened last time." Goh laughed.
"Shaken up by what?" Fluttershy asked.
"Goh's still pretty intimidated by Starlight here after the first encounter with her. Making friends with her is gonna be a bit of problem for him." Ash explained.
"Oooh...I get it! Both Starlight and Goh are new to friendship in a way. Gotcha." Pinkie understood it in a second. "Don't worry. Starlight won't bite. At least I don't think so."
"Right...How long till we head to this Crystal Empire?" Goh questioned.
Meanwhile, Twilight was busy reading through the ludicrous amount of scrolls, not taking her eyes off them for a second.
"Hey, Twilight, can I ask you something about the Crystal Empire?" Starlight spoke walking in.
"Huh! Funny you should mention it. Because I just narrowed your first friendship lesson down to three options, and one of them is in the Crystal Empire!"
"Really?"
"I found out that's where the first pony you ever cared about lives!"
"Sunburst?" Starlight's mood changed to a worried state. As Twilight continued to speak, Starlight couldn't help but panic for a while.
"Of course, that's just one idea. We could also go to Griffonstone. Making friends with a griffon is a challenge all by itself! Or we could tag along with the CMC's the next time they try to help a pony figure out why they're special...Starlight? Is something wrong?"
"What? O-Oh, no, heh, those all sound great!"
"I know! I guess you were right – it is gonna be hard to choose one!" Twilight pranced off.
"...Yeah." Starlight laughed nervously before gulping. She feared the worst could happen in this situation.
Goh himself had gone out of the throne room to catch a breather. But that didn't last since he and Starlight bumped into each other along the way.
"Starlight?!"
"Oh. Hi, Goh." She then noticed his nervous face all of sudden. "You seem a bit nervous. Are you lost in this place too?"
"Me? No way. I'm perfectly fine."
"Raboot..." Raboot kicked Goh forward towards Starlight, telling him to get it over with already.
"Oh Right. I was kind of told that I should try making friends with you first."
"Making friends with me first? Are you struggling on understanding friendship as well?"
"Well...yeah." Goh lowered his head. "I didn't really make many friends back when I was young. I was kind of alone because my parents were always busy at work. So I had no choice but to stay at home and wait until they came back. So making friends isn't really my best experience skill."
"That's what makes it perfect." Spike arrived, speaking in between both of them. "Ash was right. you can learn from each other. How neat is that?"
"It does sound neat...much better than what my first friendship lesson is going to be." Starlight looked to the side. "I'm not exactly thrilled with the options."
"Which one?" Spike asked.
"Reuniting me with my first friend."
"What's so terrible about that?" Spike scratched his head.
Asking that made Starlight give a quick rundown on her past with Sunburst. "When we were foals, Sunburst knew everything there was to know about magic. He always knew just what to do. And he was always there to help me. I guess it's not surprising that Sunburst got his cutie mark in magic and... went off to Princess Celestia's school. But when he left..."
"You blamed cutie marks and stripped a whole village of theirs, and when Twilight and the others stopped you, you went back in time and almost destroyed Equestria." Spike finished her sentence.
"Not really stuff I'm super eager to tell Sunburst about. I mean, he's probably some big important wizard now, and... I can't even find my way around Twilight's castle."
"Well, if Sunburst is that good at magic, maybe he'd appreciate your, uh... exploits. You should talk to Twilight about it. I'm sure she'd want to hear what you have to say."
"I know. But I don't want her to think I'm not ready to learn or that I'm not grateful for everything she's doing."
"Spike! Come quick!" Twilight's voice suddenly bellowed towards their direction. Currently, she was standing over her balcony with an eager face. Something was heading her way whilst blowing in the wind. An invitation in the shape of a snowflake came flowing towards her as the young alicorn caught it gently in her hoof.
"A snowflake letter?" said Goh.
"It's a Crystalling invitation!" Spike exclaimed.
"Shining Armor's a father! I'm an aunt! Well, this settles it! Since we're going to the Crystal Empire, your first friendship lesson is going to be... reuniting with Sunburst!" Twilight squeed.
"Great..." Starlight gulped.
It's go time.
The trip to the Crystal Empire began by travelling via train as always since that was the easiest way to get there.
Each of them sat down on their seats, waiting for it to reach its destination. Pikachu laid on top of Fluttershy's head, dozing off whilst Treecko was slumped over. Starlight looked outside, noticing that they were getting closer and closer. She wished this train could turn around right now. Rainbow Dash looked over at Applejack's side, noticing some huge object covered by a cloth.
"Um, Applejack, what is that?"
"Oh, just a little somethin' for the young'un." She removed the cloth, revealing it to be a baby crib. "Made from genuine Sweet Apple Acres apple trees. We make 'em for all the Apples, and anypony related to Twilight is practically family."
"Yeah, it's okay... But it's no Cloudsdale mobile!" Rainbow Dash got out a mobile that represented her Cutie Mark in appearance. "Bam!"
"Oooh..." Pinkie gawked at it. "Pretty." She poked at the middle of the mobile, causing a small bit of it to fall off.
"Well, a mobile is real nice... as long as you have somethin' to lay in so you can look at it." Applejack nodded.
"And a fetching blanket to keep you warm." Rarity showed off what she had for the baby.
"I'm sure Shining Armor and Princess Cadance will love all our gifts. But I think they're more happy we'll be attending the baby's Crystalling."
"Ooh! I can't wait to see all that light and love make the Crystal Heart even more sparkly and shiny!" The pink pony bounced over.
"Actually, Pinkie, the Crystal Heart is an ancient and powerful relic. Without its magic, the Crystal Empire would be lost to the Frozen North." Twilight explained.
"Wow, this Crystalling sounds pretty important. I'd understand if you wanted to... you know... wait to do a different friendship lesson when we get back." Starlight was trying to get out of this scenario as quickly as she could.
"Are you kidding? This trip is perfect! Not only do I get to see the baby and take part in the ceremony that helps maintain the magic of the Crystal Empire, but I'm starting my new pupil off with the most amazing friendship lesson ever! I can't wait!" Twilight put her hoof around Starlight, having the widest grin on her face. "
"Right... Me neither...Actually, Twilight, I am a little worried about meeting Sunburst."
"Oh, trust me. I know what it's like to see old friends. But I'll be right there to help things along. I've broken the whole lesson down into a few easy steps to ensure this reunion goes off without a hitch!" Twilight showed a stupidly long list. "Right, Ash?"
"Mhm." Ash nodded with his hat over his face.
Just then, the egg was showing off signs of nearing the end its hatching process as it was shaking about."
"Oh. It's almost hatching. Hope it hatches when we get to the baby." Fluttershy spoke, anticipating the eventual Pokemon reveal.
Finally, they had arrived at their destination. And standing outside the train station was Shining Armor. Out came everypony, either flying out or bouncing out. Twilight began reading the list she made to Starlight along the way.
"Step one, head to Sunburst's house and get you two started on the right hoof. Step two, get to the castle with enough time to visit the ba—" That was quickly put to halt when she bumped into a familiar pony. "Shining Armor!"
Although, he didn't look so great. In fact, he looked exhausted. He had tiny little stubbles on his chin and his mane was just a mess.
"Twilight...!" He spoke in a tired voice as they both hugged each other.
"I didn't know you were meeting us!" said Twilight.
"Of course I am! It's me, right here. Here I am. Why wouldn't I come meet my sister? Though we have met before, heh-heh..." His eyes widened.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
"Never better! Being a father is amazing! And wonderful, and amazing, and confusing, and amazing, but surprising too, you know? I mean, not that you'd know. You wouldn't know, I know... You know?" He went up in Twilight's face, having a nervous grin. "Sorry. I haven't really slept since Cadance had the baby. Come to think of it, she hasn't either. It sure would be great to get a break."
"Oh, of course! I don't know what I was thinking! You two probably need all kinds of help! I'm sorry, Starlight, but I guess combining your first lesson with this visit wasn't such a good idea."
"Oh, uh, don't be ridiculous! You're an aunt now! That's way more important than some friendship lesson." Starlight found her way out of this.
"I just wish there was a way to do both."
"Maybe there is! You've already done the work for Starlight's lesson with this list. All we have to do is follow it!"
"Spike, you're a genius!" Twilight grinned.
"Yeah...genius." Starlight narrowed her eyes and grit her teeth at Spike.
"Then it's settled! Shining Armor and I will head straight to the castle, and you two can head straight to Sunburst's!"
"Aye-aye, Princess!" Spike saluted as he marched off. "Come on, Goh. I Haven't forgotten about you."
"R-Right..." Goh sighed, tagging along.
"Uh-huh..." Starlight laughed nervously, following him.
"Alright, big brother, let's go see this amazing baby pony!" Twilight squeed. But once she turned to Shining Armor, he had fallen right asleep. Clearly, the struggles of parenthood had struck him early.
Meanwhile, the two who've been around a lot lately had arrived at Crystal Empire as well. Lucien and Sienna of course.
"Achoo!" Sienna sneezed. "C-C-Cold..."
"Get over it. We've got a plan to think of." Lucien peeked while they both hid behind a building. "Now how do we change things up with that heart...?"
"Maybe if we...make it come alive?" Sienna shuddered.
"Nah. We've already done too much of that. We need to switch things up a bit. Create some flash and substance!" Lucien created a blue spark in his hand. "I'm thinking...an inverted heart. What about you?"
"I don't know...I just want to feel warm again. A-ACHOO!" She let out a powerful sneeze this time. This sneeze sent a small little purple sparkle that flew towards the direction of the Crystal Heart. The sparkle made direct contact with the heart, entering inside of it. Lucien was surprised by what he just witnessed.
"Hm. Not bad. What did you do?" Lucien nudged Sienna.
"I don't know...it's just a random sparkle. It could do anything...I need some coffee." Sienna created a hot coffee out of thin air, but due to her being cold, she ended up dropping it as it cracked. "Ugh..."
"We'll just wait and see. Hopefully, it happens after they solve the baby problem."
Whatever that random sparkle did, it's clearly working its magic throughout the heart. This was unbeknownst to everypony else since the sparkle was so miniature in size.
But, whilst that eventual event slowly works its way up to revealing itself, an equally important event is taking place indoors.
"Before we go in, I should probably tell you. Seeing the baby might be a bit of a shock" Shining Armor led them to the room where the baby was waiting.
" Come on, big brother. I've met babies before. I expect meeting this one won't be any different." Twilight and the others entered the room, ready to grace their eyes on the baby. Celestia, Luna and Princess Cadence, who also looked exhausted, were inside the room where the baby laid.
And their eyes were certainly graced. At first, it seemed to be just a normal baby unicorn. Nothing out of the ordinary. But once they saw the horn what they saw next was it was something that they never expected to come across ever in their lifetime.
Wings.
It had both a horn and wings. Not just any normal wings. Alicorn wings. And an Alicorn horn. You could tell they were Alicorn wings and horns because they are way too big to fit even a baby unicorn or pegasus.
The sight of it made them all gasp in shock. They couldn't believe their eyes.
The little baby cooed at them in response to their shock.
"Of course, I could be wrong..." Twilight's jaw dropped. She rubbed her eyes, thinking that she must be seeing things. But nope. It was the real deal. "The baby is an Alicorn?!"
"It looks that way." Cadence spoke in a tired tone.
"But... But... But I thought Alicorn wings had to be earned by accomplishing some great, princess-worthy deed!" Rarity stuttered.
"Yeah. How can you just be born with 'em?" Applejack walked up to the baby.
"The birth of an Alicorn is something Equestria has never seen!" Celestia spoke.
"It is beyond even our understanding." so did Luna.
"This is the first of its kind?" Ash pointed at the baby. Celestia and Luna nodded. "It's never happened before ever." Yet again, they nodded in response. "...I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Pikachu..."
"Wow! A unicorn, and a Pegasus! So she could be a super-strong flyer and have crazy baby magic!" Pinkie rushed over to the baby.
"Well, I know all about super-strong flying!" Rainbow Dash showed off her wings.
"And I can help keep tabs on her magic!" Twilight uttered.
"Hm?" Fluttershy noticed Darkrai in the corner. "Darkrai? What's wrong?"
"You'll have to forgive Darkrai." Luna went up to Fluttershy. "He's...not great with babies. Apparently."
"It bit me..." Darkrai mumbled to himself in the corner. Earlier, he got a bit too close to the baby and thus, it chomped on his hand.
The baby felt like sneezing as it burbled random words constantly. Once she sneezed, a gigantic ray of magic shot up from its horn, bursting through the ceiling, continuing to rise up until it stopped. Everypony's jaw dropped at the sheer sight of that overwhelming magic. For something this newborn that was unnatural.
"It appears her magic is more powerful than that of a newborn unicorn!" Celestia was shocked.
"The crowds have already started to gather." Luna looked outside, seeing everypony walking towards the spot where the Crystalling will take place.
"This Crystalling is gonna be some party!" Pinkie flew up on a balloon until it popped, bringing her back down.
"Do you think we should call it off?" Cadence asked as the baby sucked on her hoof.
"Um, we've all faced a lot worse than baby magic." Rainbow Dash replied.
"I can't imagine cancelling such a beautiful and important ceremony over something so potentially adorable!" Rarity cooed at the baby. The rest of them gave a general agreement to Rarity's words.
"In light of the little one's abilities, this Crystalling might be more important than ever." Celestia turned to Cadence. "Perhaps you should address your subjects and remind them of that."
"Hm. Cadence nodded as she gave her baby daughter a kiss on the forehead.
"That reminds me. Here you go." Ash held the egg in his hands.
"What an oddly shaped egg." Luna observed it.
"We figured that it would only be fair that she gets her first Pokemon. Only Ash knows what's inside." Fluttershy explained.
"Mhm. But uh...I'd suggest we all be careful. The Pokemon in this egg can be a bit unpredictable. Trust me, I know." Ash went over to the baby, giving her the egg. The little baby Alicorn grabbed a hold of the blue egg, pulling it towards her.
She cooed and blurred at it as it felt like holding water. The baby alicorn then bit on the egg, pretending that it was food. But somehow, that little action was all that it took for the egg to finally hatch.
"Oh! It's hatching!" Applejack exclaimed. Everypony moved in to see the egg finally finish its hatching process. Ash was getting psyched since he couldn't wait to see a Pokemon like this again.
A crimson light radiated straight from the core of the azure egg. That crimson light then turned into something white and blue. And before they know it, two antennae formed from the top of the egg. The light was bright enough to be seen from outside the room. The baby was mesmerized by the sight of this.
And just like that, the Pokemon that hatched from the egg was none other than a Mythical Pokemon. The Seafaring Pokemon.
Manaphy.
"There it is! Manaphy!" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"Manaphy...?" Rainbow Dash pulled out her dex.
"Manaphy. The Seafaring Pokemon. Born on a cold seafloor, it will swim great distances to return to its birthplace. Water makes up 80% of its body. This Pokémon is easily affected by its environment. It starts its life with a wondrous power that permits it to bond with any kind of Pokémon."
"Mana...phy?" The Water-Type Mythical spoke. The first thing it saw was the baby who still had her mouth on its antennae.
"So that's the Pokemon? Aw...look at how small it is." Twilight walked up to it.
"Uh...don't get too close to a newborn Manaphy, Twilight," Ash warned her.
"Oh okay. It'll be a great idea to show off this newborn Pokemon at the ceremony as well." Twilight said.
"Ceremony...Ceremony!" Shining Armor perked up. " I still have to interview the honor guards, choose the purity crystal, and pick a crystaller!" He started to panic.
"Alright, take it easy. Pinkie can stay here with me and Ash. Just to keep an eye on the baby." Twilight calmed him down. The baby had already latched herself onto Ash's head whilst Manaphy had its antennae grab onto Pinkie's face.
"Pikachu."
"And we'll all help you with everythin' else." Applejack reassured. But just then, Shining Armor fell asleep on the floor.
"Baby..." He mumbled in his sleep.
Meanwhile, with Spike, Goh and Starlight.
Spike had managed to draw the attention of the crystal ponies. They were eager to hear the story of how he saved the Crystal Empire. Obviously, Spike took up the offer and continued to ramble on about how it went down.
"...and that's how we found the Crystal Heart, defeated King Sombra, and saved the Empire." The Crystal Ponies cheered at that overly long story. They told him how much they love him, praising him even.
Goh was on the verge of falling asleep until Sobble woke him up by poking his face.
"Hm? Ugh...is it over?" He groaned.
"Tell the one about the Equestria Games!" A young pony exclaimed, only furthering the story process.
"Ugh!" Goh slumped on a seat.
Starlight on the other hoof was just letting to play out since it was the only thing taking up time. If Spike continues to ramble on, then the reunion with Sunburst will never happen.
"Well, as much as I love reliving my heroic deeds, Starlight and I have an important lesson to do, by order of the Princess of Friendship!" Hearing that made Starlight gulp as the young foals could only saw 'Awww' in disappointment.
"Aw, come on, Spike! I want to hear about the Games too!" Starlight convinced him.
"No, we don't." Goh shook his head.
"I know you're nervous about seeing Sunburst, but it says right in step 3, to, uh, 'Deal with your fears by facing them, not by putting it off.'" Spike turned to her.
"Ugh. Let's go get this over with." Starlight tossed the popcorn aside.
Finally, Starlight was off to see Sunburst in order to reunite with him. His home was located just north of here and it seemed to be in a somewhat secluded area. Starlight was ready to knock on the door until...
"Wait!" Spike stopped her.
"Huh? What?!"
"Knocking on the door isn't the next thing on the list!" Spike pointed at the list.
"Seriously?" Starlight found that ridiculous.
"I know Twilight can be a little nitpicky, but this is your first lesson as her pupil, and it's important that we do it right!"
"Fine. What's the next thing on the list?"
Spike cleared his throat, reading the next step. "Before they see each other, be sure to highlight the importance of the meeting."
"Can't we just skip that?" Goh asked. "Seems kinda pointless."
" I don't know... I mean if we skip it, the whole lesson could go south! And then you might end up taking a giant step backwards instead of forwards! Maybe you'll never be able to learn anything about friendship at all!" Spike pulled Starlight's face close to him. "It's almost like your whole future depends on this moment." He let her go, continuing to read the step. "Highlight the importance of the meeting" – check! I can't believe you wanted to skip that, Goh."
Now that that's out of the way. All she had to do was knock. And knock she did. The response was nothing at the moment. She waited for a few seconds, silently moving her hoof on the ground. She believed that nopony was there, deciding to take her leave. But before she could even move a single step, the doors finally opened.
"Sunburst?" Starlight turned around. It was indeed him.
"Yes? What can I do for you?" Sunburst spoke.
"It's... It's me, Starlight. We used to be friends?"
"Oh, of course! S-Starlight! My goodness, it-it's been a long time! What, uh, what have you been up to?" He asked.
"Me? Oh! You know, some of this, some of that, different... stuff. Right now, I'm sort of Twilight Sparkle's new pupil."
"The Princess of Friendship?" He leaned forward.
"Heh... yeah... that's actually kind of why I'm here. I mean, I know you're probably very busy."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I figured after magic school, you'd go on to do important wizard work, but..."
"Oh. No. Y-Yes! Uh, y-yes, that's me, yup." He chuckled nervously. "Important wizard! Really busy with lots of, uh, wi-wizarding... stuff. Right. Uh, well... good to see you." Sunburst walked back inside, closing the door on her. That wasn't the best possible outcome for their reunion.
"Told ya we should've skipped it." Goh scratched his head.
"Well, I guess that's that!" Starlight let out a sigh of relief.
"Starlight, come on! We have to at least explain what Twilight wants!" Spike stopped her once more. She groaned as she was pushed back to the door. Let's try this again.
"Dearest citizens," Cadence spoke to the crystal ponies. "I am sure you are all just as thrilled and ready for this Crystalling as myself and Shining Armor."
Behind the curtains that were laid out, Shining Armor began to panic aggressively, breathing in and out. "I'm not ready!"
"Take it easy! Just pick whoever looks the most like honor guard material." Rainbow Dash held two helmets in her hooves.
"Right... right." Shining Armor took both helmets, placing them on two royal guards. However, he was so distressed that he accidentally placed the back of the helmet on their faces instead of their heads. "I'm sorry. Fatherhood is way more stressful than I ever thought."
"I can only imagine." Fluttershy commented.
"Now, I know choosing the crystal of purity is a very important decision. So I have gone through the trouble of arranging them in order from incredibly pure to outrageously pure." Rarity opened up a case of five crystals that sparkled beautifully to whoever laid their eyes on them.
"Um, Rarity, don't they all sort of look the same?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, well, to the untrained eye, perhaps. What do you think, Shining Armor?"
"I don't know!" He stammered incoherently.
"I hope Twilight and Pinkie are having better luck with the baby!" Rarity whispered to Fluttershy.
In truth, it wasn't going as well. In fact, you could argue it was much worse with the baby. The baby was flying about while Pinkie Pie held onto her, being dragged along.
"Well... at least she's having... fun!" Pinkie giggled. The baby then started zapping along with Twilight doing her best to contain the zaps with her own magic. What didn't help was that Manaphy was hopping about all over the place. Eve and Minccy tired catching the baby Pokemon, but it was to no avail. Manaphy was too nimble. Mostly because it wasn't in the ocean.
Ash just simply watched the entire thing go down. He wasn't bothered by it since he's seen this happen before. Way too many times actually.
"Pinkie, hold her still!" Twilight exclaimed.
"I'm tryiiiiiiing" She really was. As if things couldn't get any worse. They got worse.
Manaphy suddenly went over to Eve, landing on her head. Why it did this was simple. Because of its signature move. Heart Swap.
"Mana!" The Seafaring Pokemon had emitted a psychic power, employing it through the Sun Pokemon's body with its antennae touching the head of the Espeon. Before Eve knew it, her heart had been swapped all of a sudden. A red line dashed over to Twilight as she was hit by it. This move was called Heart Swap for a reason. Ash and Pikachu gasped, knowing what happened exactly.
"Twilight! Eve! Are you two okay?!" Pinkie rushed over to the trainer and her Pokemon.
"I think so..." Twilight spoke. But not through her own body. No, no. It was through Eve's body. "I feel weird though."
"Espeon..." Eve spoke. But not through her own body as well. Instead, it was through Twilight's body. "Es...Espeon?!"
And as a bonus, their colours had been swapped. Just as a nice touch.
"Oh, it happened again!" Ash facepalmed.
"What?! What happened again!?" Twilight spoke as she noticed she was smaller and slightly more nimble.
"Manaphy used its signature move, Heart Swap. Both you and Eve have swapped hearts." Ash explained in a simple matter.
"...S-S-S-Swapped hearts...?" Twilight took a moment to notice that she wasn't her in her original body. She looked at herself, noticing she had paws instead of hooves. Her wings were gone and along with her horn. She had indeed swapped hearts. "NOOOOO!!!" She bellowed into the air, almost shattering the crystals around her.
"Espeon..." Eve on the other hoof was digging this. She felt so different in her trainer's body. She was a bit heavier but now she could fly. How great was that? "Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon took the skies, already abusing Twilight's wings for herself.
"This can't be happening!" Twilight panicked. "Ash! Please tell me it isn't permanent!" Twilight jumped up at him.
"It's not permanent."
"Phew..."
"It'll wear off after a little while."
"Good..." Twilight sat down in her new Espeon body, sighing. She noticed that Eve was about to try out a spell that she had no idea how it worked. "Eve, NO!"
With Starlight and Sunburst, their conversation had begun. Albeit, very awkward.
"So... the Princess of Friendship wants you and I to be friends again?"
"Heh, I know. Weird, right?" Starlight squeed.
"Uh, I don't understand. Did something happen to you after I left for magic school?"
"What? No! I-I don't see what that has to do with anything. W-Why would you even ask that?" Starlight slammed her hooves on the table. "I-I mean, did something happen to you after you left for magic school?"
"What? Um, no. L-Like you said, I'm a... i-important wizard." He cleared his throat.
Goh and Spike watched from behind a large pile of books, seeing how nervous the two were.
"This isn't going that great, huh Spike?"
"I'm sure there's something on Twilight's list that can help here." Spike went through the list, starting to panic himself.
And speaking of panicking. Shining Armor was breathing in and out at rapid speeds whilst Rarity brushed his mane. Along came the three alicorn princesses, ready to get this started.
"Okay. I chose the honor guard, picked the purity crystal, and I know exactly who I want to be our crystaller. So, all we need is..." Shining Armor spoke to Cadence.
"The baby?" Cadence finished his sentence.
"We're here!" Twilight's voice responded to them through Eve's body. "Getting used to a body this nimble is going to be tough." She sighed.
"...Eve...did you just speak? And did you just sound like Twilight?" Fluttershy pointed out.
"Yeah, I know...Manaphy used a move called heart swap, Eve and I had our hearts swapped and now here we are." Twilight groaned as Eve flew around.
"Espeon!" Eve exclaimed.
"Don't worry. It'll wear out." Ash said.
"Pikachu."
"Well...this has been an odd experience so far. But I'm sure everything shall play out smoothly now." Celestia nodded. Cadence pulled the baby away from Pinkie's hooves, giving her freedom from the flying. But apparently, that was a bad call. The baby wasn't a fan of being away from Pinkie Pie. And as a result, she had the urge to cry.
And cry she did.
An ear bursting cry resounded and bellowed from the alicorn baby. A cry equal to that of the Royal Canterlot Voice. Mighty sound waves were spread across the area, causing a strong wind pressure as well. Those sounds waves managed to do something horrifying.
They shattered the Crystal Heart.
And the best possible response was a synchronized gasp from everyone, including the Pokemon.
The baby blurbed as she gently flew into her mother's arms, who was frozen in shock.
"I'm guessin' that's gonna make it harder to do the Crystalling." Applejack gulped.
"It's worse than that. Without the Heart, the Crystal Empire's about to be buried under a mountain of ice and snow!" Twilight looked out to see a black cloud heading their way.
Everything had gone wrong that fast. All thanks to two babies.
The Crystal Heart has been destroyed by the mere cries of a baby of all things. With the heart shattered, the empire will once again be drowned in darkness along with a mortifying chill. And as a bonus, Twilight and Eve had their hearts swapped, but that won't last.
"So... not only can we not take part in a fabulous ancient ceremony, but we're also about to be frozen solid!" Rarity shuddered.
"Without the Crystal Heart's magical protection, the entire city's about to become a winter wasteland!" Twilight winced in Eve's body.
"But what about when King Sombra ruled the Crystal Empire and the Crystal Heart was missin'? The city wasn't covered in snow then!" Applejack exclaimed.
"The Heart wasn't missing. It was still in the castle. King Sombra had just hidden it." Twilight explained.
"I'm afraid Twilight is correct, and the storm clouds are already forming." Celestia looked over to the sky as lightning cracked.
"Braviary, Altaria I can totally fly up there and bust those puppies! No problem!" Rainbow Dash was about to dash out until Celestia stopped her.
"I wouldn't advise it, Rainbow Dash. Those storm clouds are not like the ones you know."
"This far north, the weather has a will of its own, and now it will only grow stronger, enveloping everything in its path." said Luna.
"Including the Crystal Empire!" Cadence uttered.
"And us along with it!" Twilight gulped. This was a situation that nopony was prepared for. Because nopony expected the heart to just outright break out of nowhere. So they had to find a way to fix it immediately.
Over with Sienna and Lucien, they were anticipating Sienna's sparkle, hoping it would activate.
"Come on...why isn't anything happening?" Lucien was getting tired of waiting.
"I-Isn't it obvious?" Sienna sneezed. The thing's broken. So nothing's gonna happen to it now."
"Oh, right. Man, that blows...I was expecting something interesting today, not a repeat of the original."
"We can just repair the heart." Sienna raised her finger up, creating a small cosmic light that was made to repair the heart.
"No! We can't do that! We need to let this event play out like how it did originally. But still...there has to be something we can do to change things up a bit."
"Can't we just call it a day...I'm so cold."
"If we just call it a day, the Rift won't be too happy. This is another important event in this timeline after all."
"Because of course it is..." Sienna rubbed her nose. "A...ACHOO!" When Sienna sneezed a second time, her sneezing actually managed to trigger the sparkle that was in the heart. It seems that she just have to give the command. Albeit one where she couldn't control her illness.
Goh was patiently waiting for Starlight to finish her conversation with Sunburst which really wasn't going anywhere. Spike was panicking himself, going through the list to see if there was something to turn this awkward reunion into something amazing.
"There's gotta be somethin'..." He went through the overly long list.
"I know Princess Twilight is keen on the two of us rekindling our friendship, but... it's been so long. I don't see how anything on that list is going to help." Sunburst said to Starlight.
"I know, right? It's not like there's some spell that would magically compel us to pick up where we left off."
"Well, actually, there's several." Sunburst grabbed a plethora of books specifically made for situations such as this. "Mistmane's Material Amity, Rockhoof's Rapport, Flash Prance's Fellow... ship...But I-I get the feeling the princess isn't looking for a spell."
"Definitely not." Starlight chuckled.
" Got it!" Spike exclaimed, waking Goh up as he read the rest of the list. "And if all else fails, ask them to share an embarrassing moment from their past, maybe even something they regret!"
"Uh, I don't see how that would help," Sunburst said nervously. He wasn't the only one feeling nervous about that.
"Uh, yeah! We should just get out of your mane. It's pretty obvious this isn't going how Twilight hoped, and I'm sure you have plenty of important work to do...Right, Goh?" Starlight walked out, grabbing both Goh and Spike with her magic.
"Hm...Mmm yeah..." Goh replied, yawning.
"What? Oh! Right, yes, heh-heh! Uh, no rest for the wizardly." Sunburst stammered.
"Bye, I guess." Goh waved goodbye as the group had left the home of Sunburst. Heading outside, Goh's Raboot was the first to notice the storm clouds in the distance.
"Raboot!" The Rabbit Pokemon tugged on Goh's leg, pointing its paws at the sky.
"What's wrong Raboot?" Goh looked to the direction his partner was pointing at. "Woah...Those storm clouds seem pretty large."
"Sobble..." Sobble turned itself invisible out of fear of the storm clouds. Strangely enough, Starlight and Spike were too busy focusing on the whole conversation with Sunburst to even notice the clouds forming around the empire.
All Flying-Type Pokemon had flown away from the approaching storm, aiming to find an area where they can be safe until the storm passes. That is... if it ever passes.
Back with Twilight, who was still in Eve's body, she and everypony else were still struggling to find a way around this.
"There must be a spell that can restore the Crystal Heart! And how long am I going to stay in this body?!"
"Perhaps." Celestia thought.
"But it isn't something that either of us know." Luna shook her head.
"The library here at the castle is nearly as extensive as the one in Canterlot. There's a good chance we can find something there!" Cadence uttered.
"Can you hold off the storm?" Twilight questioned the two sisters.
"Yes, for a time, but even our magic will eventually succumb to the power of the Frozen North," Luna replied.
"We will do what we can, but you must hurry." Celestia flew up with Passion on her back. The two alicorn sisters and their Pokemon in order to fend off the storm. Darkrai had used Dark Pulse whilst Passion keeps the storm away with Mystical Fire. Even with the combined power of two Pokemon and two alicorns, the storm kept on coming. But they were doing their best."
"I don't know how long it will take to find the right spell, but you should probably tell the crowd outside to get somewhere warm!" Twilight said. Something good had finally happened in the form of her and Eve swapping hearts. Heart Swap was finally reaching its end as a crimson flash engulfed them both. "Oh, finally!"
"And try not to mention the Crystal Heart. We don't want to start a panic." Cadence pleaded.
"Yes, ma'am. C'mon, girls!" Applejack nodded. Her, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash ran out with their Pokemon whilst Twilight stayed behind.
"Ash. Rarity. Can you keep an eye on Manaphy?" Twilight turned to him.
"Sure thing. We'll make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Pikachu!"
"I may not be the best with children...but I'll do my best, darling."
"I'm gonna need all of your help. The crystal library is enormous!" Twilight went up to Shining Armor and Cadence.
"You can count on us, Twily!" Shining Armor reassured.
They all had their jobs to do. It was to make sure that the Crystalling would still be able to take place. But, things soon escalated to a major degree. Because lo and behold, the baby and Manaphy decided to become active once more. The baby alicorn had teleported onto Pinkie's face, causing the pink pony to shriek. As for Manaphy, the Seafaring Pokemon had decided to try yet another Heart Swap. This time, to the extreme. The red lines from the Heart Swap went from two to five.
"Look out!" Ash backed away from the lines, avoiding the Heart Swap. Twilight let out a yelp as she flew over it whilst grabbing both Minccy and Eve. Cadence, Rarity and Shining kept their distance thankfully. However, Pinkie was unfortunately hit by the Heart Swap.
"Eep!" The pink pony gulped. Now the red lines had to find a victim to swap hearts with Pinkie. Twilight put up a protective spell, blocking her friends from them lines. But that wouldn't stop them. The lines extended beyond the small group, heading out into the streets of the empire.
The lines ran rampant until they came across someone. They made contact with Sienna. And she felt the shock of Heart Swap. The Rift human could feel her heart being swapped with somepony from afar. Now two completely different entities with completely different personalities had been switched.
"...Oh...This can't be good." Sienna looked at the hooves she now had. She looked over to see that she was in the same room as Ash, Twilight and the others, with the Mane 6 and the two alicorn sisters not too far away from here. "This is not good at all..."
As for Pinkie Pie, she looked over at her body, realizing that she had now become a human. Hands. Feet. Very spiky hair. Cool looking eyes. And a body overflowing with cosmic power. At first, she felt like freaking out at her new appearance. She felt like a giant since the humans are naturally taller than the ponies. She even noticed that her eyesight had been somewhat increased. Mostly due to the Rift humans having enhanced senses. She wanted to freak out so badly. However, when she noticed that she had so much power inside of her, she could only think of one thing.
"Should've seen that coming. I wish I had some sort of cake to calm my nerves down." She thought it and it had been granted. Out of thin air, a cake popped up in front of Pinkie Pie instantly. Her favourite flavour too. "No way..."
"That cold must be really getting to you." Lucien was confused. He had no idea what happened at the moment. All he knew was that Sienna was acting a bit weird.
"Cherry on top?" Pinkie said. And so it was. A cherry arrived on the top of the cake by her own will and thought. It was at this moment that Pinkie Pie realized what she was now capable of in this body. "I have so much power..." All the power she needs even. With just a thought or a command, everything she can imagine can just pop into thin air. "Yes...Unlimited power!" She raised her hands up, summoning a storm of pastry that drowned her and Lucien.
"Hey! What the-" Lucien was being drowned in a sea of tasty sugary sweet delicacies whilst Pinkie bathed in them. "C-Can't breathe..."
"I can do anything...Anything I want." And at this particular moment, it was discovered by Pinkie herself that cosmic energy was too much for her. Whilst she had no idea it was cosmic energy, she knew all this power was unable to wielded by anypony else. The overwhelming force that she held was mighty enough to drive her crazy. "...This is...too much." Pinkie Pie was actually terrified of this. She got on her knees, shaking at the sheer terror of it all.
Lucien broke out of the sea of pastry, looking over at Pinkie Pie, who he thought to be Sienna.
"What's with you?! This is more than just some cold." He wiped some cream off of him. But looking at Pinkie Pie further, he saw that she was trembling. Lucien was smart enough to know that it wasn't Sienna. Because no one other than him, her and the Rift ponies could handle this much energy. "You're not her, are you?"
"N-No..." Pinkie shuddered, turning her head towards Lucien. She looked like she was about to cry. "My body's been switched by Manapy for this...I don't know what this feeling is."
There was only one way to find Sienna. Lucien knew that Twilight and her friends were here due to him having full knowledge of this event and how it plays out. He turned his head right over at the spot they were at, changing his vision from normal to see-through. And there they were. Trying their best to catch Manaphy and the baby who had run off somewhere. The real Sienna was just sitting there, confused.
"If your body's been switched...then who were you originally?"
"Pinkie Pie..."
"Pinkie Pie? Oh, so that's what it is...Heart Swap." Lucien figured it out. "Alright. Hold still." The Rift human went up to the confused individual, placing his finger on her forehead. And just like that, with ease, Lucien returned Pinkie Pie and Sienna's heart back to normal. Essentially negating Heart Swap. Not only that, but he erased Pinkie's memories of how she felt, returning the pink pony to her usual chippy self. Another example of how powerful cosmic energy can be. "There you go."
"Oh! Thank goodness! Back to my good old self!" Sienna let out a sigh of relief. But very soon, her cold kicked back in. "Ugh... Not so great to be back to my good old self actually."
"That was close. If Pinkie Pie experienced more of cosmic energy, who knows what could've happened next?"
"No kidding. It was weird being a pony actually. I felt so...colourful..."
"Colourful isn't a feeling Sienna. But anyway...we need to focus. Our progress is pretty stagnant at the moment."
"Not so stagnant," Sienna smirked as she wiped her nose. "When I was in Pinkie's body for a while, I noticed that my cosmic energy was still affecting the Crystal Heart. Small little bits of it.
"How so?"
"I don't know yet. But something's bound to happen. Guess my cold had some benefits after all hehe...ACHOO!"
Back with Spike, Goh and Starlight...
"Well, Spike, looks like my biggest fears came true. I wouldn't be surprised if Twilight decides to give up on me entirely." Starlight spoke.
"Aw, it's not your fault. I'm the one who said all we needed was this list." Spike burned the list away.
"It's not the list, Spike. Or you. Or Twilight. I'm the one Sunburst doesn't want to be friends with."
"I don't remember him saying he didn't want to be friends."
"He didn't have to say it."
"Well...Do you consider us being friends?" said Goh. "I mean, so far we've been getting along pretty well. For the most part."
"Really?" Starlight turned to him."
"Yeah. I mean...if Ash can become friends with you despite what you did to him...then I guess that makes me your friend as well. At least, that's how it goes."
"Goh's right. Plus, Twilight obviously thinks you're worth being friends with! And I do too!"
"Raboot!"
"Sobble!"
"So what do you say? To a good friendship?" Goh and Spike held out their hand and claw
"Sure...At least I have four friends, even if one of them has dragon breath." Starlight put her hoof on their hand and claw. Oh and you too, Raboot and Sobble."
"Yeesh." Goh pulled his arm away, feeling the chill close in. "I know winter's cold and everything. But this is just ridiculous."
"Strange...I thought the Crystal Heart was supposed to keep the cold weather out." Starlight finally noticed the cold weather as it was increasing.
"It is... unless something's happened! Come on!" Spike made a run for it as the others followed. They had no idea what actually happened until they got there.
With the others, they were trying their best to keep the crystal ponies occupied until everything was sorted.
"We're just saying that it might not be the best idea to stay outside!" Rainbow Dash uttered.
"I camped out all night for this spot! I'm not about to just give it up!" An adult pony replied, sitting on a chair.
"Still, when you think about it, the view is just as good a little further back, like... inside your house?" Fluttershy attempted to convince them. But that only caused confused complaining from the crystal ponies. They would have their Pokemon do something, but nothing would change.
"The Crystalling ceremony is one of our most sacred traditions! And when that foal is held before the Crystal Heart, I plan to be as close to the action as possible!" A pony with tons of scout badges on him leaned forward.
"Honestly, I don't know if there's gonna be a Crystallin'. The truth is, the baby's an Alicorn and her magic's plum crazy, so you might not wanna be that close after all." Applejack gave the truth out to everypony.
"A baby Alicorn? Wow, I can't wait to see that!" The adult pony squeed.
"Oh, those little wings are probably so cute!" So did the badge clad pony. This only made them eager to see the Crystalling even further plus the newborn alicorn baby.
"Look, I am a hundred percent sure the Crystalling isn't happening." Rainbow Dash said. However, inside the castle, beams that shot from the alicorn baby were bursting out of the castle, flying everywhere. The sounds they made afterwards were similar to that of fireworks, thus making the crystal ponies believe they were actual fireworks.
"No Crystalling, huh? Then why are they starting the fireworks show?" The ponies cheered, anticipating the Crystalling. The baby alicorn was only making things harder for the group.
And speaking of that baby alicorn, she was flying about in the library with Shining Armor trying to catch her.
"Young filly... come back here!"
"Come to your Auntie Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie, who had just recovered from the Heart Swap was doing her best to try and catch her. Pikachu had chimed in, attempting to catch up to the baby. Ash was doing his best to catch Manaphy, but surprisingly, its body was just as slippery as water. How convenient.
"Bridle Buck's Boat Chants, Hayhoof's Intonements, Mystic Maps and Mazes..." Twilight went through many books for a solution. But nothing. All she could do was groan. "Anything up there?" She looked up at Cadence who was doing the same.
"Not yet! I'm not even sure how these are organized!"
"Come here Manaphy...Gently." Ash tried to hold the Seafaring Pokemon. But yet again, she was too slippery.
"Mana!"
"This isn't working. Dragonite." Ash sent out the one Pokemon he believed could put an end to this. The lovable and huggable Dragonite. "Can you please calm Manaphy down? The best way you can."
"Ra..." The Dragon Pokemon nodded. No one could resist the hug of Ash's Dragonite so this had to work. Hopefully. Once the Dragon Pokemon got close, it managed to grab Manaphy and keep it close to it. But that wasn't surprising considering the size difference between the two.
"Mana...phy...." Manaphy melted in the hugs as everyone else does. However, for the first time, it came with a consequence. Manaphy enjoyed the hug so much that it ended up using its second move. Secret Power. And this time, it was in the form of a water-based Secret Power. What followed was a huge splash of water that spread across the entire library. The overwhelming splash of water managed to get every single book in the library wet. Making things much harder than they were already.
"Are you kidding me?!" Twilight pulled her mane in frustration. It only got worse from here on out. The baby was still flying midair, avoiding the water whilst Shining Armor kept on chasing her, slowly running out of breath. As the baby flew around, she came across Rarity next.
"Gotcha!" Rarity showed up with all 12 of her Leavanny by her side. At the same time, they all used String Shot to try and catch the baby. But somehow, they had been outsmarted and outplayed by the baby alicorn as it simply just teleported past them. Instead, the String Shots hit Shining Armor in the face, covering his eyes.
"My eyes!" He couldn't see where he was going as he crashed into the bookshelves.
"...Woops...Sorry." Rarity squeed.
Starlight, Goh and Spike had entered as their eyes were graced with this frantic chaos. They saw how the entire library was wet thanks to Manaphy and how many bookshelves had either fallen over or had been destroyed thanks to the baby. Eve and Minccy had been tired out due to chasing the baby constantly, Dragonite was doing its best to contain Manaphy's Secret Power, but splashes kept on coming out of it and Twilight and Cadence were shuffling through so many books that proved to be useless at the moment and were soaking wet to boot. Goh immediately set his eyes on Manaphy, seeing this Pokemon for the first time.
"Oh! What is that?!" He attempted to get his dex out, but a zap of magic from the baby managed to accidentally hit Goh's Rotomphone, destroying it and all the progress he made. All that data on the Pokemon he's caught. All the hard work that he poured as a Pokemon Researcher. Gone. "No! NO!" Goh got on his knees, screaming into the air.
"What is going on?!" Starlight exclaimed.
"You want the long or the short version?" Pinkie asked.
"Short?" Starlight replied.
"The baby's an Alicorn and she accidentally destroyed the Crystal Heart, so Twilight and Cadance are looking for a spell to put it back together and save the Crystal Empire from turning into a giant wasteland of ice and snow." Pinkie explained rapidly whilst being carried away by a sea of water.
"Oh." Starlight gulped.
"Pika!" Pikachu felt like he got the baby this time. The Electric Mouse Pokemon lunged towards her, only to be tricked via erratic teleportation. He bumped his head onto Pinkie Pie's, who also had the same idea. "PI!"
"Woah!" Pinkie slipped on the wet floor, bumping into Dragonite who was pushed back enough to be knocked into a bookshelf. The shelf almost crushed Raboot who responded by kicking it into pieces. But that was a bad call as well. The pieces of the bookshelf hit Pikachu in the head, causing the Electric Mouse Pokemon to respond with one thing and one thing only.
"PIKA...CHUUUU!" Exerting all of his frustration out, Pikachu unleashed a mighty burst of lightning that scattered across the library, shocking everyone, but Manaphy and the baby, who were lucky enough to avoid it. They enjoyed the sight of Pikachu's lightning though. But not everyone else as they were getting shocked by 100,000 volts of electricity. Arguably more considering how frustrated Pikachu is.
However, this single lightning shock was actually a saving grace. Since it was mighty enough to send many books flying off their shelves, one book, in particular, got Cadence's eye.
"W-What about this?!" She flew over to the book whilst sizzling with smoke from the Thunderbolt. "Trotter's Tome of Reliquary?" She brought the book over to Twilight who opened it, turning the pages as quickly as she could. That's when the found their ray of hope.
"I think this is it!" Twilight exclaimed as she showed the spell to Cadence.
"Spell of Relic Reconstitution"! I can't believe we found it!"
"It's a good thing, too! Without this, I don't know what we'd do!" Twilight chuckled. And thus, fate turned against them once more.
The baby and Manaphy flew by with Pinkie Pie and Ash chasing them both down. Ash managed to catch Manaphy, whilst Pinkie caught the baby. The ending result came in the form of the baby letting out a single sneeze. That sneeze caused a beam of magic to shoot out of its horn, heading towards Rarity. The unicorn held a mirror to deflect it away from her, but it continued on. It then aimed towards Shining Armor, who put up a shield to reflect. Next was Pikachu, who sent it away with an Iron Tail and finally, it went over to Starlight who put up a defensive barrier. The movement of the beam came to an end as it burnt through the one book that could help them, leaving a huge hole in it.
"Oops." said Pinkie. Everything. Every little thing had gotten worse. Oh, and the Crystal Heart that had been affected by the cosmic energy was about to act up now. Because of course. Of all the possible times it decides to start up. What that tiny sparkle did was scatter all of the shards of the Crystal Heart, scattering them across the Crystal Empire. The crystal ponies saw these shards fly about, wondering what they could be. Actually, to their eyes, they seemed to resemble the Crystal Heart.
"Was that the Crystal Heart?" A crystal pony said.
"Uh, N-NO! T-That was uh...paper decorations of the Crystal Heart. Yeah! Guess we flew them off too soon." Rainbow Dash managed to convince them. But now they had a huge problem on their hooves. "Scuse us for a second." The three of them went back inside, quickly rushing over to the library to tell the news.
"We have a problem!" Applejack exclaimed as she was hit in the face by a book. "Ow!"
"What could be worse than this?!" Twilight slammed her face on the table.
"Um well...pieces of the Crystal Heart sort of...scattered across the Crystal Empire." Fluttershy squeed.
"..." Twilight didn't say anything. She felt like fainting due to all of this. But Eve woke her up by slapping her face with her own tail. This wasn't the time to lose hope.
"Espeon!"
"It isn't over yet!" Ash pushed a huge bookshelf that fell on him. "Twilight! You can memorize something easily from just seeing it for a few minutes, right?" Ash shook the water off of him.
"Yes?"
"Good. Then in that case, while you try and remember the spell, we'll deal with the Crystal Hearts scattering. You said they're all over the Crystal Empire, right Fluttershy?"
"Right. They just flew up and scattered for no reason."
"We'll find them all." Ash sent out Riolu and Farfetch'd. All of you. Can you head out and find the shattered pieces of the Crystal Heart?"
"Riolu!"
"Far!"
"Let your Pokemon go along. They'll handle retrieving the shards while we sort out everything else. Alright?"
"Are you sure we'll have enough time?" Rainbow Dash gulped, looking out at the storm that was closing in.
"We will. We'll make sure we beat the clock before this Crystalling happens."
"You heard the man." Rainbow Dash sent out all of her Pokemon.
"A team effort is all we have left. All 12 of you. Scatter." Rarity looked at her Leavanny's. Soon, they all sent out their Pokemon to assist in the retrieval of the scattered shards.
"Starlight!" Ash turned to her. "Your Hatterene still knows Hypnosis, right?"
"Uh...yeah...I kept it on it. Sorry about that." She squeed.
"No! That's good! Hypnosis is the only move that can keep those two still and calm." Ash pointed at the roaming baby alicorn and Mythical Pokemon. "Can Hatterene and you do that?"
"We can try." Starlight nodded.
"Great. Then let's get this over with so that we can see this whole Crystalling thing through and through, alright?" Ash took command, speaking to everyone. His plan was simple enough to work. Hopefully, it works. All the Pokemon, even his Pikachu had run off to find the missing shards. Every last one of them. Meanwhile, the trainers will handle everything from here.
The ponies were growing impatient. The shards are scattered. The only remaining memory about the spell in Twilight's head is vague. The entire Crystal Empire is about to be engulfed in an endless harsh winter. And the two babies are only making the situation much worse than it already is by causing most of the actions. All of these problems would have to be solved quickly as the journey continues.
Impatient ponies here to see the Crystalling. The shards of the broken Crystal Hearts that have been scattered across the Empire, being searched by the Pokemon themselves. The approaching storm that Celestia, Luna, Passion and Darkrai were struggling to keep back from freezing everything. Twilight trying her best to memorize the spell before it had been destroyed via the baby and attempting to restrain the two babies, putting an end to their frantic actions.
Clearly, there was a lot to do.
Shining Armor and Cadence had also planned to warn everypony, aiming to have them all evacuate the city before the tracks freeze over.
"I only hope this spell is the one we need." Twilight got a paper and quill, ready to write down what she remembered.
"Alright. Hatterene. Hypnosis." Starlight commanded her Pokemon. Dragonite had held both of them close, making sure that they wouldn't escape. The Seafaring Pokemon and the baby alicorn had been put to sleep due to the hypnotic rays that hit it.
"Finally." Starlight sighed. "Is there anything else I can do to help?" Starlight turned to Twilight.
"I don't think so. I'm just sorry about your lesson."
"Oh, that doesn't matter now. Sunburst and I don't have anything in common anyway. He's a big important wizard! And I'm re-learning everything I ever thought I knew."
"Sunburst? I don't recognize the name, but if he's an important wizard, you should bring him here. Maybe he'll know what to do if the spell fails." Cadence walked up to her whilst carrying her sleeping daughter on her back.
"Of course!" Starlight ran off with her Hatterene.
"Goh. Spike. You two better go with her." Twilight said as the duo followed Starlight.
On the outside, Celestia and Luna were struggling to keep the storm back, even with all their magic. Passion tried using Mystical Fire to burn away the storm clouds, but that was no good either. Darkrai tried to freeze them with Ice Beam, but the ice actually made the storms stronger due to them being linked to the cold.
The three entered Sunburst's home, almost having their bodies blown away by the intense wind that continued to grow across the kingdom.
"Sunburst! Haven't you looked outside?!" Starlight bellowed. Sunburst took a look outside to see what was occurring at this current point in time.
"Snow? That's... not right. The Crystal Heart—"
"Is gone! The baby – Shining Armor and Cadance's baby – it's an Alicorn!" Starlight finished his sentence by giving him new information.
"Really?" His glasses almost dropped from hearing the Alicorn part.
"Really! And her magic is a little berserk, and well, I guess she destroyed the Heart! But Twilight thinks she can fix it and Princess Cadance thought you could help!"
"Me?" He shifted his eyes around.
"Of course! You're an important wizard in the Crystal Empire! It just makes sense!"
"Right... right... right right right. You know, I'd like to help, I-I really would. I-I just have so much, um, important wizard work to do around here."
"Huh?" All three of them said, confused at his response.
"You can't stay here!" Applejack exclaimed, trying to get the ponies away from here.
"Did I mention this was a Royal Crystalling? When the crystaller holds the young one aloft, all of the Empire will share their joy and light, and the Crystal Heart will beat stronger than it ever has before!" A crystal pony spoke.
"It really is a moving ceremony!" One pony almost teared up.
"Come on, it's freezing out here!" Rainbow Dash shuddered.
"Uh, this is the Crystal Empire. We've seen snow before." A pony replied, not bothered by the chill.
"Not like this!" Shining Armor arrived. "We don't have time to argue! Princess Cadance has decided to evacuate the city!" Saying that made them all gasp in unison.
"But the Crystalling...!"
"I don't know if we'll ever have another Crystalling again! The Crystal Heart... is shattered. Not mention every single shard has been scattered across the empire."
"It's not safe here!" A pony gulped.
"That's what we've been trying to tell you!" Applejack groaned. They all made a run for it, finally realizing it wasn't the best option to be here at the moment. Whilst they all evacuate the empire as fast as they can, the Pokemon are on the hunt for the shards.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu actually managed to find three pieces of them laying on the ground as he picked them up. He and the rest of the Pokemon had split up into every corner and area of the empire, searching high and low. Dragonite, Braviary and Altaria managed to make the most progress due to them being able to fly.
"Espeon!" Eve carried many shards by using her psychic capabilities to raise them. Altaria placed some of the shards in her cotton wings. But they kind of stung since they were sharp. So far, the Pokemon were doing a great job of finding the shards until they came across a problem themselves.
"Raboot!" Raboot and Sobble had come across one major problem. A Sableye. This wasn't a good sign. Sableye eat crystals. And all these shards are made out of crystals. The Darkness Pokemon had set its eyes on the shards, planning to eat them. In fact, it had one right in its clutches, taunting the two Pokemon with it.
"Sableye..." It dangled the shards over its mouth, preparing to eat it. But Raboot wouldn't let that happen. It used Quick Attack to kick the shard out of the Sableye's hand. "Eye?!"
"Boot!" The Rabbit Pokemon gave a stink-eye to Sabeleye, scaring it off. "Raboot..." It went over to pick up the shard, calling it a success. However, it wasn't a success for a long. Every other Sableye in this area had spotted Raboot's actions, not taking too kindly to it as their eyes all locked onto the Fire-Type. "Ra..."?
"Sobble..." The Water Lizard Pokemon hid behind, Raboot terrified. Rightfully so. There were a lot of them. Raboot figured the best option right now was to run with the shard. And that's what it did. Both it and Sobble made a run for it whilst the Sableeye all chased them both down. It wasn't long before the Sableye could see more shards up ahead.
"Raboot!" The Rabbit Pokemon looked back, kicking up a pebble to start up an Ember. It kicked the ember towards two Sableye, knocking them away. But that wouldn't stop the rest of them. Soon it was a chase around the Crystal Empire. Some of the Sableye had climbed up the buildings, using the move Power Gem to catch the two. They attacked with rays of light in that sparkled as if they were gemstones.
Raboot and Sobble managed to outpace the gems as they pelted on the ground, causing mini-craters along the way. Whilst escaping, the two came across some friendly company. Treecko and Luxio who were also carrying some shards.
"Lux?" Rainbow Dash's Luxio looked to their direction, noticing how they were being chased by Sableye whilst being attacked by Power Gems. "Luxio!"
"Treecko!" AJ's Treecko tossed the shards upwards, taking them off his hands for a bit. The Wood Gecko Pokemon unleashed a mighty Dragon Breath that raced towards the Sableye. Raboot and Sobble jumped out of the way, evading the Dragonbreath so that it doesn't end up hitting them in the process. Treecko's Dragonbreath was enough to send many of the Sableye in the distance, fainting along the way. But it ended up causing some of the buildings to lose a chunk of their structure. Whoops.
But there were still more. In fact, the Sableye practically populate the Crystal Empire just as much as the Crystal ponies. Since this is an empire full of crystals, it's a paradise for them. Which didn't spell good news now that they know there are just shards everywhere, waiting to be devoured. Thankfully, they don't reveal themselves in public. They tend to hide around a lot. Which means that the shards had yet to be grabbed by them.
Pikachu, Espeon and Braviary came across a pack of Sableye who had decided to attack them in order to get their crystals.
"Pika?!" Pikachu ducked, avoiding an incoming Shadow Claw from above. He almost dropped the shards he was carrying in his hands. "Pikachu!"
Eve especially was attempting to avoid them. She was a Psychic-Type and they were Dark-Ghost whilst she only knew Psychic and Normal moves. She'll be crushed if she even tries to fend them off. She had actually been cornered by some Sableye who decided to swarm around her. Eve held a ton of shards in her tail, doing her best to keep them balanced. But they did sting her tail.
"Braviary!" The Valiant Pokemon swooped in with Aerial Ace, knocking aside the Sableye as if they were bowling pins, saving Eve. Braviary picked up Eve, placing the Sun Pokemon on his back, giving her a ride. The Sableye attempted to shoot down Braviary with Power Gem, setting their eyes on the Normal-Flying-Type.
"Minccino!" Minccy had slapped a Sableye in the face with Aqua Tail, preventing it from grabbing the shards near it. One Sableye tried to snatch it from her whilst she wasn't paying attention. But she paid attention alright. Once she finished dealing with that Sableye, she immediately turned to the next, uppercutting it with her Aqua Tail.
"Chu-Pika!" Pikachu had knocked out a Sableye who came very close to grabbing a shard with its mouth. The Electric Mouse Pokemon decided to put an end to this by scattering his Thunderbolt everywhere. 100,00 volts of electricity had struck every single Sableye within its vicinity. Which was all of them. It proved to be an effective choice of moves as they all had fainted from the shock.
"Gengar!" Ash's Gengar had frozen any Sableye that tried to get close by using Ice Punch to do so. Dragonite however just simply stood in front of the pack of Darkness Pokemon, terrifying them without even doing anything.
Every single one of Rarity's Leavanny managed to restrain the Sableye by using String Shot whilst gathering some missing shards along the way. The Pokemon had managed to gather up a gigantic majority of the shattered Crystal Heart due to their hard work. Now, there were only ten shards left.
Riolu, Audino and Spinda were out searching for the remaining shards, looking everywhere they could. They came across the remaining shards in the form of one final Sableye. A Shiny Sableye to boot. It seemed to be the leader of the Sableye packed as it had the last of the crystal shards at its disposal.
"Sableye..." The Shiny Sableye knew what the Pokemon were up to. Retrieving all the shards just so they can restore the heart.
"Riolu!" Riolu stepped forward, ordering Sableye to give up the shards.
"Eye!" Obviously, it wasn't going to. Free food is free food.
"Rio!" Riolu decided to respond back with an attack. He tried using Vacuum Wave but that phased right through the Darkness Pokemon. After all, it is part Ghost. Meaning all of Riolu's attacks are essentially useless.
Sableye made a run for it with the remaining shards whilst they chased it down. The Darkness Pokemon shot at them with Power Gem whilst jetting off. Riolu had knocked the sparkling gems right back at the Shiny Pokemon by using Force Palm to do so. It proved to work since it was its own attack being turned against it.
"Sable!" The Darkness Pokemon ended up dropping all the shards due to getting hit by its own gems. The shards flew up into the air with the Pokemon all looking at it. Sableye quickly hopped up, attempting to snatch them back into its clutches. However, Audino had picked up Spinda, tossing the Spot Panda Pokemon forward.
"Spinda!" The Normal Type zoomed past Sableye, grabbing the remaining shards instead. A successful capture. But the leader of the Sableye wasn't about to let its food get away from it. It ran up to Spinda, lunging at the Spot Panda Pokemon who was completely unaware of the impending doom coming her way. But without her noticing, Whirlipede had arrived, smashing against Sableye with a good old Rollout.
"Sableye!" The Darkness Pokemon had been launched thanks to Whirlipede's interference. A Power Gem was quickly sent towards the direction of Whirlipede, pelting against the Curlipede Pokemon. This leader was very persistent in getting its gems back. But so were the other Pokemon. Along came Luxio who was on Altaria's back. The Spark Pokemon jumped off Humming Pokemon's soft and fluffy back, enveloping himself in electricity. In a flash of light, Luxio used Wild Charge to dash right into Sableye, crashing into the Dark-Ghost-Type. "SABLE?!"
And that was that. The last of the Sableye's had been stopped. The mission to retrieve the shards had been successful. Now it was time to head back to their trainers for the good news.
"Sunburst, I know you're busy, but did you hear what I said?" Starlight pleaded.
"Oh, I heard you, but-but like I said, when you're an important wizard, the work just piles up." He stammered.
"Sunburst!" Starlight groaned.
No use in keeping up the whole important wizard shtick. He decided it was about time to give out the truth. "Look, Starlight, I want to help. I do. But I can't. I wish I could."
"What do you mean?!"
"Fixing an ancient relic? I-I can't even come close to doing something like that!"
"But I thought you were an important wizard!"
"Well, you were wrong, okay?! I'm not an important wizard! I'm not even a wizard at all!" He began weeping.
"He's not?!" Both Spike and Goh said.
"I know it's hard for you to understand, but not all of us end up achieving greatness."
"What? Why wouldn't I understand that?" Starlight leaned forward.
"Really? You're the protégé of the Princess of Friendship! I don't think she picks just anypony for that!"
"Technically, she's more of a student than a protégé." Spike corrected.
"Whatever. I'm sorry I'm not the big important wizard you were expecting."
"Sunburst, I don't care if you're a wizard or not. I'm just surprised. You always knew so much about magic. I mean, look at all these books!"
"Yeah, well, reading about magic is one thing, but you don't know what it was like at magic school! To know so much and not be able to do any of it!"
"Well, you don't know what it was like to be left behind! And then getting so bitter that you steal the cutie marks from an entire village and then get defeated by Ash, Twilight and their friends, so you travel through time to get back at them, but they beat you again and teach you about friendship, but you're so terrified ponies will find out what you did that you can't make any friends!" Starlight rambled about the early past, tearing up herself. Saying all of that made him speechless with his glasses almost falling off.
"Did you really travel through time?" Sunburst asked.
"She sure did." Goh nodded.
"See? I told you he'd be impressed." Spike said.
"Hatterene..." Hatterene went up to Starlight, comforting her trainer with the claw she had.
"I'm sorry we lost touch. Maybe if I had reached out, you could have helped me at magic school, and I could have helped you to..."
"Not become totally evil?" Starlight sighed. "Let's just say I know what it's like to have something you're not exactly proud of."
"When you showed up thinking I was some big wizard... I'm sorry. I should have told you the truth."
"It's fine. At least we worked it all out. I think Twilight would be proud of us."
"She can be proud of you two later! Best get going!" Goh looked out the window to see the raging storm.
"I forgot to tell you!" Starlight gasped. "They're evacuating the city! You need to get to the train station unless you've got a spell here that will drive back the Frozen North and fix the Crystal Heart so the baby can have her Crystalling?"
"Crystalling...! Of course!" Sunburst actually did have something.
The two sisters and their Pokemon weren't doing so great. Their bodies were being covered in ice as the struggle to keep the clouds back was increasing.
"Push them back, my sister!" Celestria strained. The storm clouds had gotten too close them. Darkrai and Luna had been completely engulfed by them, still trying to fend them off with magic and Dark Pulse. Passion realized this was getting too close. So in a burst of adrenaline and fear, she managed to push back the storms by emitting her psychic energy. It did good to keep them back, but they were still closing in either way. And she ended up draining herself with that sudden burst.
Back on ground level, Shining Armor had continued to lead the ponies to safety. But it was a long path towards the train station at this point. "This way!"
A pony had slid on the ice, falling over on some snow. Cadence's Sylveon and Fluttershy had helped her up from the snow. Rainbow Dash had tried knocking away the clouds, but she ended up getting some ice on her in the process. She noticed that her wings had been frozen as well, so it wouldn't be the best option to fly right now.
Just then, Braviary and the other Pokemon were returning with the shards at their disposal.
"Braviary! You're back!" Rainbow Dash landed on Braviary's back. "Did you get the shards?!"
"Brav!" He nodded.
"Great job! Get them to where they originally were!" Rainbow Dash hopped off her Pokemon's back as the others rushed on towards the area where the Crystal Heart once used to be. Not only that, but Starlight, Spike and Goh had managed to arrive with Sunburst along. He apparently had something that could solve this whole problem.
"We have to go back!" Applejack exclaimed.
"I know how to stop this!" Sunburst replied. Whatever it was, it was their only saving grace.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu and the Pokemon made a safe return to the library, holding every last shard at their disposal.
"Great job guys!" Ash went up to Pikachu and the others. The Pokemon all placed the Crystal Heart on the floor, finally getting the sharp stings of the shards off of them.
"Uh, I think that's everything?" Twilight had finished scribbling the spell. She showed it off to Cadence who read through it quickly.
"It looks right to me, but... there's only one way to find out!"
Twilight poured all of her magic at the shards, initiating the spell. Cadence joined in for assistance. As the shards rose up into the air, Lo and behold, that spell was actually the real deal. The Crystal Heart had been repaired that easily. Albeit, having a cracked appearance.
But unfortunately...that ray of hope diminished. It turns around the spell wasn't enough. At best, it could only put the heart back together for a small moment. The cracks were a clear indication that it would just simply fall down eventually. Which they just did. The heart shattered once more, falling on the floor.
"The spell failed. I don't know what else to do." Twilight lowered her head.
"An old student of mine believes he does," Celestia spoke as she and everypony else had entered inside. Sunburst walked forward, spotting the shattered heart all over the floor.
"The baby did this?!" He was just as surprised as everyone else.
"I tried putting it back together with—" Twilight showed off the spell to Sunburst.
"The spell of Relic Reconstitution. No, that won't do it. The Crystal Heart's been around for millennia. Restoring a relic like this is way beyond one spell. You need to combine it with something else. Something unique to the relic itself. Something that strengthens it and provides it with power...?" He got out the book that was the answer to all their problems. He showed off the spell that could work to the young alicorn princess.
"The Crystalling!" Twilight gasped.
"Combining that spell with the light and love of everypony gathered for the ceremony, together with... Somnambula's Weather Abjuration to clear away the snow... and a little Fledgling's Forbearance for the parents... Heh. That should curb the little one's power fluctuations." Sunburst explained whilst he gave off books and scrolls to everypony who knew magic.
"You must be Sunburst. Starlight said you were a powerful wizard." Cadence turned to him.
"Oh, I'm no wizard." Sunburst shook his head. Saying that made some of them gasp.
"What?" Rainbow Dash uttered.
" But he studied magic his whole life! You should see his house! And since nopony has any better ideas, what do we have to lose?!" Starlight spoke.
"I had planned on asking Twilight to be our crystaller, but since it seems like she'll be busy," said Shining Armor to Sunburst.
"I'd be honoured."
"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Twilight turned her attention towards the shards along with the rest of the magic users. It was up to her, Celestia, Luna and Starlight to place the heart back to its true self. Twilight went first, raising the shards up as she strained. Celestia and Luna followed suit with their own magic, doing their very best to keep it still. Starlight finished it off by adding her magic to the mix as well. Even with the might of four powerful magic users, it was still straining them.
Outside, the others had stepped out to meet with the subjects of the Crystal Empire. Shining Armor and Cadence brought the baby forward, revealing them all to the newborn alicorn. They connected their magic together, creating a spark of light in the middle of the baby. The little alicorn had been raised up with Rarity bringing the case of gems. Sunburst picked out one singe gem for the Crystalling.
"Citizens! May I present the newest member of the Crystal Empire!" Sunburst introduced. The baby's light emanated across the area with such radiance. The subjects had this to say.
"She's beautiful!"
"Oh! It's just so moving!"
Everypony bowed down, finally causing the Crystalling to take place. Blue lights formed once they bowed their heads. Those lights spread across the ground of the entire empire, moving through every corner there was. Soon, the entire Crystal Empire lit up with that beautiful azure light as there was one final thing left to do.
Sunburst placed the single crystal on the ground, causing it to absorb all the light that surrounded the empire into it. The orange unicorn quickly rushed back inside to where the heart was being repaired, planning to beat out the clock. But it wasn't so safe at the moment. The shiny Sableye from before had returned, lunging forward and aiming to eat the crystal that Sunburst held. Raboot wasn't having any of that. The Rabbit Pokemon jumped up, kicking an Ember right at the Darkness Pokemon's face, knocking it out for good this time. Sunburst had finally managed to place the crystal inside of the heart as it pulled it in.
The princesses could finally stop what they were doing. Their work had been done. The Crystal Heart gyrated, spinning around whilst letting out a beautiful pink and blue aura around it. And just like that, it was over. The heart had been restored, sending a mighty light pulse that hit everypony in the Empire, turning their bodies into crystals, including the Pokemon as well. Their manes and hairstyles had even changed thanks to Crystalling. Just another one of its effects it leaves behind once active. The Sableye got a taste of this, actually feeling satisfied with themselves. The Crystalling was somehow a perfect replacement for just eating crystals. Plus they just liked the way it looked on them. All the snow and ice had been wiped away by this blue light, practically making it non-existent. The storm clouds had been blown away by a beautiful rainbow in the process.
"Best Crystalling ever!" The ponies cheered on.
"Oh! Check me out!" Goh looked at his crystallized body.
"I never noticed this with my hair!" Ash took off his hat, noticing that it had an upright appearance thanks to the Crystalling.
"This is...impressive..." Darkrai looked at himself, noticing that his usual dark and mysterious body was now dazzling with colour. Albeit a very dark colour but still dazzling nonetheless. Passion had gained a ponytail whilst some of the Pokemon got a nice change of appearance as well.
"For a pony who isn't great at magic, you did pretty well." Starlight turned to Sunburst.
"Indeed," Celestia said. "I'm glad to see you've found a way to share your unique gift, Sunburst. You may be more of a wizard than you think."
They could rest now. The entire group decided to make their way back to the train station, aiming to head back home after all of this. Arriving late were the parents of Twilight and Shining Armor. Night Light and Twilight Velvet.
"You would not believe the crazy weather that delayed our train. Came out of nowhere." Night Light said.
"But it was all worth it to see this peaceful little angel! Awww, so sweet! Come to your grandmare!" Twilight Velvet walked up to the baby.
"I wouldn't say peaceful..." Goh said quietly.
"I suppose that spell really did the trick!" Twilight nodded. It sure did. But to their shock, the baby felt like sneezing once more. They all grit their teeth, fearing the absolute worst to happen as they all scattered. But, it was just an ordinary sneeze. Thank Arceus. Manaphy hopped towards its trainer. The baby technically did own the Pokemon. And they got along well from the start.
"We have Sunburst to thank for that." Shining Armor let out a sigh of relief.
"I hope he takes his role as crystaller seriously. Something tells me the baby will need a pony like him to look to for magical advice." Cadence said.
"Cadance, darling, aren't we gonna name the poor little dear, or are we gonna spend our entire visit just calling her 'the baby'?" Twilight Velvet asked.
"We were thinking... "Flurry Heart"." The name of the baby had finally been given.
"You know, to remember the occasion." Shining Armor referred to how this one baby managed to cause a flurry to everyone's hearts in a span of a few minutes.
"Oh, goodness, how could anypony forget?" Rarity giggled.
"I think it's lovely." Twilight went over to Flurry Heart, kissing the baby on the head.
"That was rough. If we had a Blissey, this whole thing would've never happened." Ash chuckled.
"Pikachu.
"You got that right." Pinkie nodded along with Rarity and Applejack since they both knew what Blissey could do.
"What...?" Twilight turned around. "YOU MEAN THERE WAS A POKEMON THAT COULD'VE PREVENTED THIS WHOLE PROBLEM THE ENTIRE TIME?! AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US?!" Twilight jumped up at Ash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rarity.
"Sorry. Things were getting wild so it slipped my mind." Ash grinned. "But hey, there's a Pokemon for everything, right?"
"Pika!"
"Dah! Agh...I give up. I'm done underestimating Pokemon." Twilight sighed as they all laughed, heading towards the train.
"Well, I think you're the Crystal Empire's big important wizard, whether you like it or not." Starlight spoke to Sunburst.
"I don't know if I'll have time for any wizarding. I'm a crystaller now. That's a big responsibility."
"I can't think of anypony more qualified. Just... promise you'll stay in touch?"
"Hm, like I'd ever lose touch with my oldest friend." The two gave each other a genuine hug whilst Twilight looked back at them.
"What's wrong, Twilight?" Spike asked.
"I don't know, Spike. I think I have a lot to learn about being a teacher."
"What are you talking about? Your lesson went perfectly! Starlight and Sunburst got over their past and rekindled their friendship!"
"No thanks to me. I know a lot happened. I just wish I could have given my pupil the attention she deserves."
"Well, I know she needed to be put on the right path, but giving her the space to make her own decisions worked pretty well. Isn't that how Celestia taught you?"
"You know, I never thought about it! But I guess it is!" Twilight realized as her Espeon hopped into her hooves.
"Maybe you're a better teacher than you thought."
"Espeon!"
"Minccino!" Both her Pokemon got comfortable with her as the train took its leave.
What a day. What started out as just a simple trip to the Empire, just to see the Crystalling and the newborn baby, turned into a frantic mess of fetching shards, repairing shards, swapping bodies, fighting off crystal hungry Pokemon and fending off an entire storm. But despite all that, they pulled through in the end. And whatever adventures await them later in the future, they're bound to share the same energy as this one as the journey continues.
Ash has been assigned by Rarity and Applejack to foalsit the Crusaders whilst they assist Twilight at her lab. He gladly took the offer, foalsitting them a second time.
"So Ash! What are we gonna do today?!" Sweetie Belle spoke.
"Are we heading to Pokestar Studios again!?" Apple Bloom leaned forward.
"Are you gonna help us catch more Pokemon?!" Scootlaloo squeed.
"Hm...What to do..." Ash thought for a moment, thinking of something new and fresh.
"Oh. Not a bad idea, buddy." Ash nodded, taking Pikachu's suggestion. "Alright! Who wants to hear about all the wildest things I've done on my past journeys?"
"We do!" The three were eager to hear.
"We've never actually heard of what you've done. Just that you did amazing things." Scootaloo said.
"Yeah. You must've seen a lot." Apple Bloom nodded.
"Oh, I've seen a lot. Get ready. I'll take you through the most intense moments of my life. How about we start with...Aha! The time I experienced an entire event with the Legendary Birds and Lugia. That was a sight to behold.
It all happened when Tracey, Misty and I arrived at Shamouti Island by accident. Apparently, the people there were getting ready to cast the role of hero to someone. And I just so happened to be chosen by a girl named Melody. I took the role because it sounded like a ton of fun. I was told to retrieve three glass balls from each of the legendary birds and a lot happened along the way. But things really started to pick up when Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres began battling each other, affecting the entire world too by making the weather go crazy. And next thing you know, we also had to save them. And that's when Lugia showed up. Here's the best part.
Inside a giant floating Fortress ship, two Legendary Birds, Zapdos and Moltres were being held and used a sort of power source of the man behind it named Lawrence. A younger Ash alongside Misty, Tracey, Melody and even Team Rocket were attempting to free the two legends.
"Pika...CHUUU!" Pikachu shot a bolt of lightning towards Moltres's prison. However, the energy barrier around it wouldn't budge.
"I choose you! Charizard!" Ash sent out his Charizard for assistance.
"CHARIZARD! The Flame Pokemon fired a Flamethrower towards Moltres's prison, but even that didn't budge. Even with the combined efforts of Pikachu and Charizard.
"Fire and Electricity aren't enough!" Misty gasped.
"We can't just give up! We've gotta keep trying!" said Tracey.
"Well if things are you going to get ugly... we might as well try Weezing!" Jessie spoke.
"Right!" James nodded. "Go!" He tossed the Pokeball, sending out his Weezing to help.
"Weezing! Wee!" The Poison Gas Pokemon tackled itself on the prison, but the barrier sent the Poison-Type flying back and onto the floor.
"Come on you big palooka! Get up and fight!" Meowth exclaimed.
"Ugh! Let's try Arbok!" Jessie sent out her Arbok.
"Arbok! Arbok!"
"Now Arbok! Use Poison Sting!" The Cobra Pokemon shot out sharp needles laced with poison towards the prison of Zapdos. And of course, that had no effect as well.
"Squirtle! Bulbasaur! I choose you!" Ash sent out his other two starter Pokemon.
"Squirtle!"
"Bulbasaur!"
Soon each of his four strongest Pokemon at that time fired their strongest attacks at the prison, giving it everything they had.
It took a while, but after putting everything we had into our attacks, we finally managed to free Moltres first. Who also ended up freeing Zapdos too. But then, they kept on fighting once they were free. I'll tell ya, it was a real sight to behold way back then.
The two Legendary Birds of Fire and Electricity flew out of the flying fortress, continuing their aggressive battle. Whilst they battled, their attacks were actually destroying the ship in the process. Whether by setting parts of it on fire or causing an electrical surge that blew up many of the machinery built in it. Soon the ship was reaching a state where it was about to crash land, right on Lightning Island.
The impact wasn't too bad considering the ships massive size and durability, but it as still there, causing parts of it to fall off in the end, along with some of it breaking down on itself. Ash and the others made a run from it, escaping from the collapsing ship. They ran down a steep platform that fell off the ship as it led straight for the ground of Lightning Island. It was so steep that they all started rolling down accidentally. But hey, a boost of speed is a boost of speed.
They continued to make a run for it as the entire ship was aiming to fall directly on them all. Thankfully, one of the propellers of the ship crashed into a mountain, causing the ship to simply hover over them. Ash noticed one of the three glass balls. The ball of electricity. He picked it up, retrieving the third one for himself. Zapdos came along, shooting lightning right at them as they continued to zoom off.
Underneath the ocean, Lugia was approaching. It had responded to the actions of the three Legendary Birds and how the entire world was suffering from the rampant weather. The three birds were tearing everything apart. No one wished to get burnt, frozen or shocked. The group managed to reach the boat they came on, using it as their getaway from all of this. The sheer force of their battle was enough to shake the oceans themselves, causing the boat to move the opposite direction of where they wanted.
The boat had come across a waterfall, which could only mean one thing. An immediate scenario where it fell down the waterfall. But it wasn't about to land on more water. Not at all. Instead, it was about to crash land on solid ice that was next to the waterfall. But a stroke of luck came their way. In the form the leader of the Legendary Birds.
Lugia.
The Diving Pokemon broke through the ice by shooting a torrent of water that saved the boat from making a hard impact as it carried the group across the ice. Deep underwater, the cry of Lugia could be heard by everyone.
"What's that sound?" Melody wondered.
"Quick! We may need this!" Jessie spoke as she and Team Rocket unravelled a lifeboat as a spare. The Torrent of Water had saved their life, placing them on solid ground. But this was no time to take a small break.
"Come on! Hurry!" Tracey grabbed Melody's hand as they all continued their run. Their getaway boat, unfortunately, fell down, sinking into the ocean. Once they reached solid land, they all came across the next obstacle that they would have to face. And standing there was none other than Slowking. One who could speak actually.
"Take the treasure and put it there." The Slowking pointed at a shrine covered in snow. The shrine had three areas where the balls could be placed.
"You can talk?" Ash looked over at the Slowking.
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu told Ash to hurry and place the glass balls at the shrine already. The young trainer went up to the first hole, seeing through it. Looking through the hole, he could see how the three glass balls relate to the islands.
"Oh! Fire Island." He looked at the first island of fire, placing the fire glass ball there. "Lightning Island." And then the lightning glass ball. But there was one missing.
"So, you're Ash." The Slowking spoke, getting up close to Ash, startling him. "You're one treasure short."
"Yeah, I know but...how'd you know my name?" He asked. The cries of the Legendary Birds could be heard as they were still going on with their battle, showing zero signs of stopping. At this rate, they'll destroy the entire world before the weather gets the chance to do it. "Cut it out!" Ash ran over to the birds. He got a bit too close since their attacks caused an explosion that was about to spread out. But thankfully, Lugia saved him again by summing that torrent of water from below.
The torrent of water struck all three of the birds at the same time, halting their actions. Everyone turned their attention towards the torrent as they could see a large dragon-like figure rise up inside of it.
Out emerged the Psychic-Flying-Type. And Beast of the Sea. Lugia. The Diving Pokemon.
"The Great Guardian..." Slowking gawked. "Lugia."
"I can't believe it..." Melody stammered.
"Lugia?" Ash was perplexed since this was his first time seeing Lugia as well.
"Pika..."
Lugia stood before the three Legendary Birds, letting out its signature cry towards them.
"That sound!" Melody recognized it. It was the same sound that responded to her when she played the instrument.
Lugia came along to stop the three of them. And boy, did it stop them. At that time Lugia was one of the coolest Pokemon I'd ever seen. Still is to this day. If it wasn't for Lugia, who knows what would've happened to our world.
Zapdos and the other birds denied Lugia's request to cease their actions as they began attacking their leader. Lugia soared away from an incoming Thunderbolt whilst flying over a Flamethrower and manoeuvring around an Ice Beam. The three birds chased the larger Flying-Type down in hot pursuit. Lugia's dorsal fins suddenly pulled back, laying on the Diving Pokemon's back as it crashed through the icy ground, heading underwater.
It did this to kick up another torrent of water, using it was a weapon once more. The Psychic-Flying-Type soared out of the ocean, flying towards the three birds who just managed to avoid it. Articuno froze the entire torrent with a single Ice Beam, but that wasn't going to stop their boss. Lugia burst out of the ice torrent, continuing the chase and battle. Flying forward, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt and Flamethrower kept missing their mark. Only managing to destroy the ground that Lugia flew over.
At the same time, they unleashed their attacks in unison. But even in unison, it wasn't enough to stop a Pokemon like Luga. The Diving Pokemon had blocked each of their beams by pushing them right back at the Legendary Birds. The Beast of the Sea then flew past them, creating a wind pressure so powerful it even pushed them back.
"Though the Guardian of the Sea shall arise to quell the fighting, alone its own will fail. Thus the Earth shall turn to ash." Melody recited the words of the legends.
"This looks bad." Slowking said in a worried tone.
Indeed it was. Even with Lugia involved, that wouldn't stop the carnage. It may be powerful enough to fend them off, but the Legendary Birds still have the capabilities to take Lugia down. Especially if it's on its own.
"And then what happened next?!" Apple Bloom asked.
"Yeah! What happened next?! How did you manage to solve it?!" Scootaloo jumped up.
"There's a ship that's a fortress...?" Sweetie Belle had her mind fixated on that.
"Well, a lot happened, ya know. And I do mean a lot. But I guess I can finish this story up by heading to the climax. After a while, I ended up helping Lugia along the way. We were supposed to get to Ice Island in order to retrieve the final treasure. But both Lugia and I ended up falling into the ocean by a surprise attack."
Ash had fallen into the sea, knocked out whilst Pikachu trying to get him out. Around them, horrifying water tornados kicked up in the ocean.
"Pikapi! Pika!" Pikachu was doing his best to drag Ash out but it was no use.
"Ash!" Misty called his name as she swam over to him. Thanks to her being a swimmer, this was nothing to her.
"Pikachu-Pi!"
"Pikachu! Just hang on!" Misty grabbed them both as she held on to a rope that Tracey had. He pulled the rope, safely bringing the three of them back to shore thankfully.
"Ash!" Tracey pulled Ash up.
"Come on, Ash! Breathe!" Misty tried to wake him up.
"You got to!" Tracey exclaimed.
"Pikapi!"
"Please, Ash! Please! You can't-" Misty kept nudging him until he woke up. The young trainer slowly opened his eyes, quickly realizing he still had to get the final sphere at the shrine. He got up, but his knees were very weak. "Ash!"
Tracey tried to stop him, but there was no stopping Ash once he puts his mind on something. "Let me go! I gotta do this!" He made his way towards the shrine to put an end to this once and for all. Along the way, he almost tripped due to his weak knees, but his friends helped him back up. Ash pushed his limits further and further, tossing them aside in order to save everyone he knew in the world. And it was that push that made him reach the shrine, finally.
"He made it!" Melody smiled along with Slowking.
"Togepi!" Misty's Togepi cheered.
"Have you brought the final treasure, Ash?" Slowking asked.
"Here it is Slowking." He held the ball of ice towards the Royal Pokemon.
"You must be the one to place it."
Ash quickly ran up the stairs of the shrine, standing before it. He placed the final sphere in the middle next to the other two, completing the unification.
All three stones reached to each other, shooting our rays of light that matched their colours. Just then, they all shifted into a green light instead. This green light scattered symbols across the shine, exerting a burst of wind equal to that of snow. That green light turned out to be liquid actually. The liquid that poured across the shrine, going all over the pillars that surrounded it.
"The song!" Misty looked over to Melody since only she could play the Song of Storms. Melody ran up the stairs of the shrine with the instrument at her disposal as always.
All she had to do was play to it. And play she did. She perfectly played the song that represented Lugia. Essentially its own song. Each time she played, the pillars lit up depending on the melody of the song. The beautiful sound that came from it was enough to reach the Legendary Birds, who had been knocked out earlier. Lugia's song woke them up, easing their nerves in a matter of seconds.
The sun could finally reveal itself as it shined its golden rays down on the land. The tornados had faded away due to the melody of the song. Flowers were once again blooming. The green liquid poured across the shrine, flowing down towards the sea itself. This mysterious green liquid spread across the sea, overtaking every last part of it. The Three Legendary Birds flew up, knowing that the balance had finally been restored to the planet, letting out cries of joy.
And out of the ocean came Lugia, who flew higher into the skies than the others. The golden sun beamed down on the Diving Pokemon as a majestic radiance emanated from it. The green liquid had faded away as it had acted as some sort of restoration substance. The water was now sparkling yet again as the once bland and dry mountains and hills regained their beautiful lush green colours, returning to their normal state. Lugia flew over to Ash and the group, looking down at the young trainer. It offered Ash a ride on his back for helping it back there. He earned Lugia's respect on that day.
Ash gladly took the offer, hopping on Lugia's back with his buddy Pikachu on his. Up they went for a ride. On that day, Ash got to experience a ride on Lugia as they soared across the now beautiful azure skies and the light blue ocean that sparkled around every corner. Melody continued to play the song, continuing this beautiful harmony. And the cherry on top, a dazzling torrent of water shot up from the ocean, moving across the land as if it was the shape of a rainbow.
The three Legendary Birds, Lugia and every Water-Type and Flying-Type here moved alongside each other with Ash and Pikachu taking in this breathtaking sight. The rainbow shaped water torrent gently moved back down, becoming one with the sea once more.
"Everything calmed down finally. The whole problem had been solved thanks to the efforts of me and friends and Lugia. Boy, I'll tell ya. I thought nothing could top it for a while." Ash laughed.
"Oooh...Saving the whole world in a situation like that? I could never." Scootaloo shaking her head.
"Mhm. But I'd probably enjoy the music part!" Sweetie Belle nodded.
"Well...if you thought nothing could top that for a while...what did top that?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Oh. A lot. I do mean a lot. But one moment that really got my blood rushing was this." Ash was about to explain another intense moment in his life. "I remember this one especially. Mostly because of what happened back at the Crystal Empire. The whole situation with Flurry Heart, Manaphy and the Crystal Empire takes me back to something similar that involved a Manaphy and crystals." You see...me and my friends Brock, May and Max kind of got lost wandering through a bright road that was super hot. Thankfully, we came across the Marina Group who helped give us some water. But you really wanna hear some really exciting stuff? This one adventure involved a Pokemon Ranger."
"A Pokemon Ranger?" The three of them leaned forward.
"Oh yeah. His name was Jackie. And he was the coolest guy I met at that time!" Ash grinned. "A Pokemon Ranger is someone who takes care of a bunch Pokemon in a certain area. And they use these little things called Capture Stylers to have a Pokemon help them. But Jackie's a one of a kind. He was so cool when he first did it!" Ash got giddy.
"He must've been something else huh?" Scootaloo gawked.
"Oh, yeah! He was so cool I even thought of becoming a Pokemon Ranger myself once. Pokemon Ranger Ash. I like the sound of that."
"That's great and all. But what happened at that time? What the intense moment there?" Sweetie Belle asked wanting to hear more of Ash's intense adventures.
"Oh, right! Here's where things really took off. It all happened at the Sea Temple."
It was at the sea temple. I decided to send back the last crystal in order to save the temple. It wasn't easy rushing to the treasure room while the entire place was being flooded with water. First I had to make sure May, Manaphy and Pikachu were alright first.
"May! Get in here! It's Phantom's!" A slightly older looking Ash dragged a small escape pod for May. "Come on you gotta!" He helped both Manaphy and May inside of the pod since it was large enough to fit them both considering how big this Phantom character was. He even placed his best buddy inside the pod.
"Pikapi?"
"Pikachu. You take care of the two of them." Ash requested as he picked up the crystal, closing the pod.
"Pika?!"
"I have to go put this back." He gave off a smirk, setting himself out to save the temple. "Now you guys just sit tight in there and wait!"
"But Ash!" May cried out.
"Pikapi!"
Ash set off to the treasure room with haste. He also had to avoid the rampant rising water levels as well. The young trainer hopped on the higher levels of the temple, jumping from a thin bridge to another thin bridge with the widest gaps. He didn't stop for a second, outpacing the water whilst running on the thinnest platforms he could come across. Ash looked down, knowing that he had to go underwater if he was to get to the treasure room. It was a risky attempt, but danger has never stopped him before.
He turned his hat around, preparing himself as he held his breath. The young trainer took a huge dive into the water, entering the flooded parts of the temple. Ash swam forward, remembering the route towards the treasure room since he and his friends were last there with Phantom.
He reached the treasure room, spotting the one hole where there wasn't a single crystal. That was the spot. But he had been underwater for a while now, and he couldn't continue holding his breath. Ash swam back up, reaching surface level whilst catching his breath. Once he got up, a fountain of water poured on his face, knocking him back down and causing him to drop the crystal. The single and final crystal landed in a hole, getting itself stuck there.
"Oh no you don't!" Ash held his breath once, swimming towards the stuck crystal. Meanwhile, May, Pikachu and Manaphy were still inside the pod, praying that Ash could fix this in time.
"Hurry." May prayed.
"Pikapi."
"Mana..."
On the outside, everyone else was awaiting Ash and May's safe return whilst inside a submarine. The Pokemon Ranger Jack Walker, or Jackie as he prefers, came back up using one of Phantom's ship.
"Jackie, you alright?" One of the family members of the Marina group said to the ranger.
"I'm just fine! Where are the kids?!"
"May and Ash haven't come back yet!"
"What the?!" Jackie pulled back.
Speaking of Ash, he had reached the lowest part of the sea temple. Down there, the water pressure was much heavier, putting a huge strain on his body. But yet, he persisted. He managed to reach the crystal, grabbing a hold of the heavy piece of crystallized rock. With all his might he pulled and pulled, trying to get it out. He gave it everything he had until he managed to do so. However, all that straining caused him to accidentally open his mouth.
The young trainer was being hoisted up by the water, slowly passing out due to all of it as he once again dropped the crystal.
"Please, Ash. Don't give up." May prayed once more, hoping for the best possible outcome.
"Pikapi..."
Manaphy then decided to help out. It did this by, of course, using its signature move. Heart Swap. However, Heart Swap can do more than just swap hearts around. It can actually take the wishes from someone's heart and relay them to another. Essentially making it an energy boost of some sorts. May's wish that Ash can save the temple came from the heart and Manaphy simply sent it over to Ash.
"Please, Ash... Ash. Don't give up. Ash. Be strong."
"Pika..."
Ash was slowly waking up, hearing the voices of his two best friends.
"I know you can do it. I know!"
"Pikapi!"
And just like that Ash felt a burst of energy in his body, fully revitalized from his unconscious state. He swam much faster than before, heading up to surface level to catch his breath. He noticed that he was slowly running out of the time. The water had reached critical levels and it looked like the sea temple was doomed. Locating the crystal once more at the bottom, he dives down to retrieve, ignoring how much air he has left. This time, he grabbed the crystal with ease. He swam higher up, arriving at the altar where the rest of the crystals laid. Ash finally the last crystal inside. Smashing it in the diamond-shaped hole.
It was a success. A yellow glow filled the room, emanating from the crystals themselves. Ash looked at this mysterious light as he took it all in. The temple Samiya was in its collapsing state, about to collide into an ocean cliff, but since Ash put the final crystal in place, the temple barely misses and begins floating upwards. Meanwhile, yellow energy beams begin to snake out from the treasure room, wrapping around Samiya as it floats upwards. These yellow energy beams represented the people of the water. One of the yellow energy beams grabbed the pod that May, Pikachu and Manaphy were in, safely bringing the three of them back to the surface on the outside of the temple.
"Mana! Mana, Mana!"
"Hey look!" Max yelled as he looked outside the submarine. Outside, he spotted not just a bunch of Water-Type Pokemon but a Legendary as well. The Sea Basin Pokemon Kyogre was present in this area. "Kyogre!"
Kyogre and all the Water-Types were heading towards the direction of the light as if someone was calling to them. At the surface, everyone is back on the Blue Lagoon, seeing Samiya rise as the sun is rose up as well.
It was massive as the legends made it out to be. The beauty of the temple could finally be seen in its full glory. A beautiful veil of water surrounded the temple, showing off its magnificent colours.
May, Manaphy and Pikachu opened up the pod, exiting out of it as they were in clean fresh air now. The entire temple was back and in its full glory. Many Wingulls flew near the temple, basking in the light that radiated once the sun made contact with its beautiful material that made its floor and walls.
"Pikapi..."
"Ash. Ash must've done this." May said. But saying that made her realize that maybe Ash had actually sacrificed his life to make all of this possible. The realization made her heart sink as she looked up into the sky. "It can't be...No way..."
"Pikapi..." Pikachu lowered his head, not wanting to believe that his best friend is gone. But unbeknownst to the two of them, the man who managed to cause all this trouble in the first place, a Pirate by the name of Phantom, burst out of the ocean to grab Manaphy, who was the key to all of this.
"You will be coming with me!" Phantom grinned. He took off, riding on his torpedo whilst making a getaway with the Prince of the Sea.
"Mana!"
"Manaphy!" May bellowed.
"As long as you're by my side, I can always find the temple!" said Phantom. He only wanted all the treasure from the temple. And nothing else. Usual pirate shenanigans. "Then I can take what truly belongs to me! Haha!"It looked like he would get away with this without anyone else stopping him until...
A single yellow energy beam shot out of the water, racing towards the scene. This beam of light moved at such speeds that it instantly caught up to Phantom. The pirate looked down to see this mysterious light following him. But it wasn't just a simple beam, someone was inside of it. The beam shot up out of the water, rising into the air. The one inside was none other than the one who saved the temple.
Ash.
"What's that?!" Phantom looked back.
His body was cloaked in the golden light as he chased after Phantom. It almost looked like he was flying.
"Ash!"
"Pikapi!"
Arriving at the scene as well, was the submarine the others were in. Ash was chasing Phantom at high speeds, moving up and down like a torrent of water. No matter how fast Phantom moved in his torpedo, Ash caught up.
"You are?! Let's see you try!" The chase was on. Phantom moved ahead but Ash easily caught up by diving in the water to gain extra speed and then rising back up, getting in front of the pirate. The sight of it was bizarre. Everyone else was seeing Ash chase Phantom around the water whilst flying in this golden aura.
"Hey, it's Ash!" The mother of the Marine group said.
"Corphish!"
"But how...?" The father wondered.
"Whosoever shall wear this crown...shall be known as King of the Sea." The grandfather explained the saying of the legend. And indeed there was a king. Ash rose up as the golden sun beamed down on him. "And it's true! Behold! The Sea Crown! It is the touchstone of the people of the water and the Water Pokemon."
"You became King of the Sea?!" Sweetie Belle spat out her popcorn.
"Mhm." Ash nodded. "I didn't know that until they told me afterwards."
"Pikachu."
"If you were a king this entire time, why didn't you say anything?!" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Ah, I don't really talk about it that often. Mostly because of how fast it happened." Ash chuckled.
"Then what happened? How did the chase go? How did it end?!"
"Oh, right. The chase. Alright."
Phantom was pretty persistent too. He didn't want to let Manaphy up for one second.
"Where are you going?!" Ash kept up the chase, following every single one of Phantom's movements. From loops to drifts to all sorts of movements in the water. Or even out of the water. Suddenly, a spiral of Remoraid's surrounded Phantom, throwing him off guard. The Jet Pokemon had all led Phantom into a path were tons of Wailmer and Wailord's where. The entire ocean was planning on foiling Phantom as well. They responded to the actions of the King of the Sea.
Phantom even looked down to see the Legendary Kyogre as well. The Sea Basin Pokemon rose up, pushing Phantom's ship upwards, breaking through the surface level of the sea.
"W-WOAH!" Phantom yelled as Kyorge forced him to fly up into the air with his torpedo. That was Kyogre's plan actually. To get him off balance so that Ash could zoom up and grab Manaphy. Which is what he did.
"I gotcha!" Ash grabbed the Prince of the Sea, dashing back down to the sea whilst Phantom fell off his torpedo midair.
"Why you...GAAH!"
"Mana! Mana!" Manaphy hugged Ash in joy. Together they swam through the sea with the Water Pokemon all following them. They swam side by side with the King and Prince, aiding Ash in his efforts. All of his friends noticed as well inside their submarine.
"Ash got Manaphy!" Brock spoke.
"Pikachu!"
"Uh, oh." But Jackie noticed something else. All is not well. Phantom makes one last effort in capturing Manaphy by staging an attack with his large submarine. This gargantuan submarine scared off the rest of the Water-Types, mostly the smaller ones. He stood atop the submarine, cackling at Ash.
"I'm back! Haha!"
Ash flew past the Wailord's as both him and Manaphy commanded them and the rest of the Water-Types to attack the submarine from below. Many of the Wailord's smashed their bodies at the submarine, using their world-renowned mass and size to their advantage.
"It's the Wailords!" One of Phantom's crew members said.
"They're doomed! Crush them all!" Phantom commanded.
"Yes sir! Supersonic, away!" The submarine emitted powerful supersonic waves that caused all the Pokemon to enter a confused state. Even the ones on the outside who were weren't even in the water. Even Kyogre was affected by it.
Every single Water-Type Pokemon couldn't keep their focus at all, causing many of them to scatter.
"VERY SOON I SHALL BE KNOWN AS KING OF THE SEA!" Phantom bellowed.
"Phy...Mana!" Manaphy looked back at Ash as he flew out of his arms.
"Huh?"
Manaphy then let out its melodic cry whilst using Heart Swap at the same time. This small little melody along with Heart Swap was being used to cancel out the Supersonic. The Pokemon were no longer confused thanks to the efforts of Prince Manaphy.
"Manaphy's singing calmed them all down!" Jackie said.
"The way only Manaphy knows how." May nodded.
"MANA!" The Seafaring Pokemon had the Pokemon continue their attack on Phantom's submarine. This time with extra aggression. The Wailord's continued to smash their bodies against it but this time, the Wailmer joined in for support. Many Mantine had leapt out of the water, firing Bubble Beams at the pirate, almost knocking him off his own submarine.
The Chinchou decided to deal with the electrical devices. They slipped into some exposed electricity, sending Discharge across them all. The overwhelming flow of electricity caused the machines to blow up, shutting the power down.
"Why you...cursed Pokemon!" Phantom growled. "Huh?" He then looked over to see that Kyogre was heading his way. With Manaphy sitting on top of its head. Oh no.
"PHY...MANA!" The Mythical Pokemon commanded the Legendary Pokemon to blast the submarine with all it had. Kyogre did just that by jumping out of the water and firing the always hard-hitting Hyper Beam forward. Once it made contact, all of the crew's useful equipment had been destroyed. Plus, it dealt critical damage to the submarine.
"That's insane! You had all those Water Pokemon at your command?!" Scootaloo stood up.
"Oh, yeah. In that moment."
"Well...do you still have that power? If you went back there that is?"
"I mean...maybe. I don't know. It's been a long time. But anyways...all it took was a Hyper Beam from Kyogre and that was that. Phantom was taking in by Jackie and all my friends ended up being to able to fly in all those yellow beam things as well. Man...what an experience that one was."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"We wanna know more! What was the one that really put you on edge?!" Sweetie Belle wanted to hear more.
"Yeah! Which was the very best of them all?!" so did Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.
"Sorry, girls. But I'm afraid that's enough for today." Rarity and Applejack had returned actually.
"Aw...it's over?" They groaned.
"Mhm. You've got a few things to clear up back home, little missy." Applejack picked up Apple Bloom. "Thanks, Ash."
"No problem. I can finish telling you three other parts of my adventure next time. Okay?"
"Okay!" All three of them said as Ash and Pikachu took their leave.
"We should probably tell you what we learned! Wanna hear about some pirates and sea temples?!" Sweetie Belle asked Rarity who chuckled at that.
Yes, Ash has been on a lot of adventures in his past. Ranging from world-ending events, pirates, aliens, floating castles with draconic energy, humans becoming Pokemon, seeing Legendaries battle across an entire city, even the destruction of the entire universe. He's seen a lot. And he's going to continue seeing more wild and frantic events play out right in front of him while he experiences it all as the journey continues.
"Okay! I know you two haven't talked much other than the first time you met at the Gala...but now's your chance!" Pinkie Pie squeed. "You'll hit it off perfectly!" She pulled both of the ponies she cared for close to her. Maud Pie and Jade Skies. One was emotionless and the other was just as emotionless but didn't understand friendship. "You can learn a lot from Maud, Jade!"
"I can"? Jade turned to Pinkie.
"Mhm! Maud knows a lot about friendship! And she volunteered to help you! She can run you through the ropes with ease. Right, Maud?"
"Right," Maud replied in a similar bland tone as Jade.
"Great! I'll leave you two to it! It's all you, Maud! Come on, Slurpuff. Spinda." Pinkie went out with her Pokemon. Now it was just these two in the same room. And they'll have to start their connection here in SugarCube Corner.
"So. Pinkie Pie told me that you're not great with friendship." Maud spoke in a dry matter.
"It's more than that. I didn't even know it existed until they brought it up." Jade replied in the exact same matter.
"Oh. So friendship is new territory for you?"
"Very new territory. Even when I've been around Pinkie Pie and everypony else, I still don't really get it. At least...not a lot of it."
"Really? If you're friends with Pinkie Pie and the others, then you at least know a few things."
"Not much." Jade lowered her head. "The only things I know are defending my friends, helping them or just sharing things. That's about it. I can't do much of anything else."
"That's not so bad, Jade." Maud put her hoof on Jade.
"It's not?"
"No. I may not show it but I'd defend Pinkie Pie and my entire family no matter what. If you defend your friends, that's already a great start."
"I guess so. But I'm not sure how to...emote. I can barely smile. In fact, I've never smiled. Can you?"
"I can smile. But not often. If you've never smiled once, then this is bigger than I thought. I guess we can start with having you experience something that you enjoy."
"Well...what do you enjoy, Maud?"
"Rocks." Maud explained in one word.
"Oh. Right. Well...I don't know what I truly enjoy. I just follow Pinkie Pie and everyone else around to see what happens. Most of the time I'm just...there. A face in the crowd."
"And you're worried that you'll be left out of the group, right?"
"Mhm." Jade nodded.
"In that case...I know what we can do today for a while."
An idea was set by Maud. She realized that Jade had a fear of having a hard time fitting in due to how unresponsive she is compared to the rest of her friends who are brimming with personality and energy. So the best option was to get her involved in a new smaller group.
"If you want to stand out from Pinkie's group, you'll have to find out how other groups work. You and I are a pretty small group together."
"We are?"
"We are. I can understand you a ton, Jade. You remind me of when I was younger." In reality, Maud was still emotionless in the past, but slightly less enthusiastic. "That's why I want to help you."
"But how? You already know a lot about friendship and you're just as emotionless as me. At this point, I don't even know if I'll be able to perform what you can do."
"You don't have to. You already have friends beside you. All you have to do is do what you find fun with them."
"Fun, huh? I guess every time Pinkie brings me along, I end up seeing everypony do something fun along the way. But I never join in. I just stand there."
"That's why we'll find something fun that we can both do. Here we are." Maud had brought Jade along to an attraction that had been built near Lapras Lake. This was specifically for rocks and Rock-Type Pokemon. Maud actually comes by this spot to experience it. The attraction was shaped like a dome, similar to the Equestria Gyms.
Out the attraction came Cold Colt, who had just finished the attraction inside.
"Whew! That was just as fun the twelfth time!" He shook some pebbles out of his mane. "Oh hey, Jade and uhh...Maud, right?"
"What's in there?" Jade asked.
"I come here a few times to experience the rock activities here. It caught my attention. Mostly because it was actually Pinkie Pie who requested this to be built for me a few months ago."
"Yeah. And it's a blast. Even for rocks. In fact. I think I might just head in the thirteenth time!" Cold exclaimed, rushing back inside the rock attraction.
"Come on. I want to show you this." Entering the rock attraction, they were greeted to a room full of Rock-Type Pokemon of all sorts. The reason why this was a rock attraction was not just because there are a ton of Rock-Type Pokemon. Instead, it's what you can do here with the Pokemon.
Many Rock-Type Pokemon are often seen taking part in certain activities. Due to their bodies being made up of all sorts of rocks, they can perform many actions that can bring enjoyment out of anyone. You could see that some young ponies were taking part in a rock climbing activity, but instead of ordinary rocks, a bunch of Geodudes and Graveler are what you climb on.
Bastiodon is used as some sort of bull ride, testing trainers to see who can balance on the bucking Shield Pokemon without falling off. And whoever can make it through to end gets to keep the Bastiodon as their Pokemon, becoming its trainer.
Rampardos helps out in an activity where you challenge him to see if you can destroy a specific object that you put in front of him. Rampardos is a Pokemon well known for their headbutts. They're so powerful, they can knock an entire skyscraper with ease as it was light work. Unfortunately, their constant actions of headbutting into other Pokemon much stronger than them in ancient times along with their small brains is what led to their extinction in the first place. But with them being revived by many trainers over the years, Rampardos is no longer an extinct species at this rate.
Some are just there for show. Like Minior's Core Form emanating nano-particles, Aurorus's body giving off beautiful lights similar to that on an aurora and it's also very popular in the petting department. Although, you are recommended to put on a special glove to pet Auroros since its skin is hundreds of degrees below freezing. -240 exactly.
This was a Rock-Type Paradise which many to see and much to do.
"This is impressive." Jade was impressed, even if her voice and face didn't show it.
"It is. I'm glad Pinkie Pie convinced BigTime Ben to build this. I come here if I end overworking myself at times. It's a nice stress reliever." Maud walked over to the glove section, placing her hoof through a hoof-shaped glove. She petted the Arurorus's body, causing it to feel good. "You should try some of these. This Aurorus is made out of part diamonds. The most beautiful rock in the world."
"Ain't that right?" Cold walked by.
"Hmm...You really think I'll be able to enjoy myself here, Maud?"
"I know so. I can tell that you want to emote, but you don't know how to. Try that Bastiodon Buck over there. The excitement might come out of you."
"Alright." Jade went over to Bastiodon who had just finished with another pony. Yet again, nopony can win this game since Bastiodon is much more intense than a bull by a long shot.
"Bastio." The Shield Pokemon looked over at Jade, giving the head sign to 'get on and try the ride.'
"Try it." The human managing this ride said to Jade. Bastiondon will make sure you have a good time... Even if you lose.
"Tiodon."
"Here goes." Jade got on the back of the Rock-Steel-Type, preparing herself. She's never really taken part in anything similar to this at all. So this was all new territory for her in terms of fun. The human gave the command to start the buck as a whistle was blown.
Bastiodon could see that Jade was new to this and unsure, so it decided to take it easy on her. The Shield Pokemon spun around slowly, moving at gentle paces for Jade. The jade-coloured pegasi held onto Bastiodon's shielded neck, feeling a bit nervous. Whilst Jade's face never emotes, she could feel fear and other emotions. It's just that her face doesn't show it. So at this moment, she was nervous.
After a few seconds of gentle movements, Jade adjusted herself to Bastiodon's back, sitting upright. Bastiodon noticed that she was slowly getting used to this, so now it was time to speed up. The Shield Pokemon moved around at a slightly quicker pace, forcing Jade to keep her grip steady.
"I got this..." Jade said as she held on tonight to Bastiodon's neck. She looked over to see Maud nodding directly at her, having confidence in her. Jade's own confidence started, rising up, feeling that she could take faster speeds from Bastiodon. The Fossil Pokemon increased its speed, now moving at a normal pace that was challenging enough.
Jade could feel her body bounce with Bastiodon's increased speed, her hooves almost left the Shield Pokemon's back but her hooves stayed firm on it. So far, she was proving that she could indeed handle this. At least, the normal section of it. Because unfortunately, once Bastiodon moved up from the normal pace slightly, Jade fell off the Shield Pokemon'sback, finishing the ride.
"Ooh! Sorry. Better luck next time maybe." The male human running it said to her as he helped her up.
"Bastiodon!"
"Jade. How did you find it?" Maud walked up to her.
"That was...It was...pretty enjoyable actually." Jade felt a genuine feeling from that experience. The experience of her trying to overcome this challenge with her own confidence was actually rewarding. Granted, she didn't succeed but the fact that she believed she could for a moment gave her a sensation that sparked new energy within her. In fact, Jade almost cracked a smile. From her frown slowly moving up. However, it quickly returned to a frown. Oooh, so close.
"That was good. You almost smiled." Maud congratulated her.
"I did...I was so close too."
"Then that means we should have you experience even more in here. How about that?" Maud pointed her hoof over at the Rampardos Ram challenge. And so it was. Thus began a series of actions where Jade would partake in everything she can. Maud's main goal was to get her to smile. Maud can crack a smile here and there at times, albeit rare, so she's determined to have Jade pull off that smile. Even if it's just once.
Jade chose 50 large gemstones in order to challenge Rampardos. The Head Butt Pokemon broke straight through the layers of gemstones with ease, proving its destructive capabilities. It's short but sweet and fun, but still not enough to get a full smile out of her.
Next, Maud had her pet the Aurorus. She placed the special gloves, placing her hoof on the Tundra Pokemon's back. Even though its skin was cold, it was also very soft. Jade could feel the softness from the Rock-Ice-Type as her hoof was melting in it. It was a nice feeling. One that made her feel comfortable like Dragonite's hugs. But again, not enough.
They went over many other actions to try and get that single smile out. Rock climbing. It tested Jade's athleticism without having to use her wings. It was fun, but no smile. Although it did have her enjoy climbing a bit. An attraction where you see if you can throw a rock longer than the move Rock Throw, an attraction where you race with Rhyhorn, more Aurors petting, getting to drink some Shuckle Juice, some Minior watching and so and so forth.
All of that. And yet. Still no smile.
"Sorry, Maud. I've barely enough come close from a straight line mouth." Jade lowered her head.
"That's fine, Jade. You've been doing great so far." Maud actually gave off a smile on her own surprisingly. "I can tell that you really want to improve." Maud put her hoof around Jade's neck. "But so far, I like you the way you are."
"You do?"
"Mhm. The way you are makes me feel like I have somepony like me at my side at all times. If anything, I'm glad that you and I are so alike." Maud nodded.
"Thanks, Maud. I just wish I could break out of my emotionless state. I want to smile at least once."
"...Hm. I know one way you can possibly smile." Maud knew one last-ditch effort that can make anypony smile. She pointed her hoof over at one final attraction. An attraction that trainers who aim to take part in the Equestria League go to. A small battle attraction. A double battle even.
"A double battle? But Maud. I don't even have a Pokemon of my own. Still to this day."
"That's fine. You can use one of my own." Maud held out one of her Pokeballs. "Brock helped me to catch some Pokemon when we spent some time together. So here you go." She gave Jade a Pokemon of her own as they both went up to the Pokemon Battle attraction.
"Double battle?" The man who managed this attraction asked.
"Double battle. Me and my friend over here would like to take part." said Maud.
"Alright then. Your opponents shall be those two Pokemon." He pointed over at a Barbaracle and Lunatone. "Good luck!"
Both emotionless ponies stepped forward, preparing themselves against the two Rock-Types.
"Out you come." Maud chose her Pokemon. The Shieldon she caught a while ago was her choice.
"Shieldon!"
"Then, who's this?" Jade sent out one of Maud's Pokemon. Carracosta. The Prototurtle Pokemon.
"Carra!"
"Aqua Jet, Shell Smash, Stone Edge and Earth Power. That's all you need to know about my Carracosta's moves."
"Are you sure I can do this, Maud? I've never battled before."
"I know you can. Jade. When you set your mind to something for your friends, you can do a lot of great things. You want to continue defending Pinkie Pie and the others, right?"
"I do. I do a lot."
"That's good. Then just keep calm and have faith in Carracostra."
"Carracos."
"Battle Start!" The man gave the command to start it off.
"Shieldon, Flash Cannon." Maud showed off how she battles. She doesn't shout out her words like every trainer else. Instead she just says them the way she normally speaks.
"Shield!" The Shield Pokemon gathered up light energy, shooting it towards its opponents as it was hard as steel itself. Barbaracle cut the Flash Cannon straight in half by using Razor Shell, causing it to fall both ways.
"Um...Oh. Aqua Jet."
"Costa!" The Prototurle Pokemon covered itself in a veil of water, dashing towards its opponents. It hit Barbaracle who was already wide open after cutting the Flash Cannon. The impact on the Collective Pokemon was enough to slightly push it back. However, Lunatone had taken advantage of this by also attacking with Carracosta's guard down. The Meteorite Pokemon utilized Psyshock, materializing odd psychic waves in order to attack Carracosta.
"Stone Edge." Shieldon had destroyed the waves by summoning up sharpened stones from below the ground. "Now Shieldon. Iron Head." The Shield Pokemon charged into Lunatone, smashing its shielded head onto the Meteorite Pokemon's rock-solid body. Barbaracle had attempted to hit Carracosta with Night Slash, but the Prototurtle Pokemon kept its distance by moving back. And if the attacks did manage to reach it, it would get inside its shell for protection. Carracosta knew that this was Jade's first time battling. So she'll give the attack commands while he does the rest.
"Carracosta. Earth Power." The Prototurtle Pokemon came out of its shell, knocking its head on Barbaracle's and forcing it back. The Water-Rock-Type then caused the entire ground to erupt all of a sudden. Powerful stones conjured up by the erupting force smashed onto Barbaracle's body, forcing it up into the air. Jade then remembered something similar to this to when she saw Ash battle. She decided to take a page out of his book. "Now. Aqua Jet." She followed up. Carracosta used Aqua Jet to fly up towards the airborne Pokemon, smashing its water covered body onto it.
"CARRA!"
"Barbaracle!" Barbaracle quickly recovered however. It used Cross Chop all of a sudden, smashing all four of its arms down on the Prototurtle Pokemon. Carracosta was forced back down to the ground, causing a crater to form.
Shieldon had hopped on Lunatone's head, blasting it with Flash Cannon repeatedly as ordered by Maud. The Meteorite Pokemon used Psychic to toss the Shield Pokemon off its head, but that did little to stop the assault. Shieldon fired one final Flash Cannon whilst being tossed as it struck Lunatone dead on. And that impact was enough to knock out the Rock-Psychic-Type, causing it to tumble on the ground.
"Carracosta. Are you okay?" Jade asked.
"Carra!"
All of a sudden, Barbaracle had used Grass Knot, ensaring both Carracosta and Shieldon with grass, catching their feet.
"Shield?!"
Carra?!"
"Barbaracle!" The knots slammed both Pokemon down on the ground. The heavier the Pokemon, the harder the impact. Shieldon got the least damage from it but Carracosta, who's typing was weak to Grass felt a lot of damage from it. "Barba..."
"It isn't over yet. Right, Jade?"
"Right." Jade nodded. "Can you stand Carracosta?"
The Prototurtle Pokemon could indeed stand.
"Alright. Shell Smash." Jade suddenly stomped her hooves. The ancestor of all turtle Pokemon had went inside of its heavy shell, causing it to burst with energy. Carracosta was now stronger and faster, but way less durable than it was before. "Now. Aqua Jet."
"Shieldon. Iron Head."
Both Pokemon made their way towards their single opponent. Shieldon jumped on Carracosta's head, using him as an extra boost of speed. Barbaracle had gone for Brutal Swing, swinging its four arms violently towards the approaching Pokemon. Their teamwork showed thanks to them battling alongside Maud for a while. Shieldon hopped off Caracosta's head, avoiding the Brutal Swing whilst Aqua Jet collides with the attack. From above, the Shield Pokemon smashed its head onto Barbacle's head, causing it to flinch in the process. This gave Carracosta the opportunity to finish it as he pushed further with Aqua Jet, smashing into the Collective Pokemon.
A burst of water was left behind as Barbaracle was sent flying into the walls of the dome building at high speeds. The impact startled everypony and Pokemon inside due to how hard it was. And that impact was a guaranteed faint on Barbaracle.
"Barba..."
"Both Pokemon on the opposing side are unable to battle! Which means that the trainers are victorious!" The man announced to both of them and the small crowd who decided to watch.
"Awesome!" Cold yelled.
"Great job, Jade. For your first battle, you did well." Maud went over to Jade as Shieldon hopped on her back. She looked over to notice that Jade's eyes had widened all of a sudden. "What's wrong Jade?"
"That..." It was happening. The one consistent thing that happens to anyone who enters a Pokemon battle. "That was..." Jade's body was shaking all of a sudden, uncontrollably. Then in a surprising fashion, her frown slowly started to morph into a smile. It didn't even stop at the straight-line mouth. Not this time. "Amazing..." And just like that, she cracked a smile.
"Jade. You cracked a smile." Maud pointed out as she rushed over to her friend.
"I did...?" Jade looked at the shield on Shieldon's face as it was also like a mirror. It was true. She did in fact, smile. "I did."
"I knew this would bring it out in you." Maud let out a gentle smile as well.
"You did?"
"Mhm. Pokemon battles are known for getting the blood pumping. They bring out the adrenaline and rush out of anypony. Even me. I enjoy Pokemon battling from time to time myself. And the same can be said for you too." Maud had managed to complete her mission to get Jade to smile once.
"Yeah...I did enjoy that." Even though she let out a smile, it quickly morphed back into a frown. But hey. She still smiled anyways.
"I saw that!" All of a sudden, Pinkie Pie emerged from the ground below, wearing a hard hat and goggles. "You did it Jade! For the first time!" Pinkie had been spying on them the entire time, anticipating this moment.
"How long has she been down there...?" Cold wondered.
"I did do it. It felt...weird but nice at the same time. I can't describe it."
"That's what makes it so great!" Pinkie pulled both Jade and Maud in. "I knew that Maud would be able to bring it out of you! If there's anypony that can understand you, it's her!"
"Anything for a friend of Pinkie Pie."
"So...since I smiled for the first time, is this the only thing that can make me smile? Pokemon battling?"
"Maybe. But there's always something else that can give you excitement and cause you to crack a smile." Maud replied. "How about this? Next week is Hearth's Warming. I can come over and we can continue to find something that makes you smile, alright"
"Alright. Thanks, Maud." Jade suddenly returned the favour by giving both Pinkie Pie and Maud a hug. The smile she cracked also managed to bring out her hugging nature. Although that was most likely due to her being hugged by Pinkie Pie and Dragonite so many times. Cold Colt quietly snuck in, getting involved in the hug.
Jade's path to emotions and understanding friendship is slow. Possibly slower than Twilight and Maud combined. But her determination to gain them and understand them is strong. Whatever else comes her way, whatever situation. Whether it's protecting her friends, finding enjoyment or just being around the ones she loves, her knowledge on this world and the world of Pokemon and how they function with bonds is ever-growing as the journey continues.
There are only 5 days left until Hearth's Warming comes by in Equestria. And for the Pokemon World, Christmas. So there's a lot of downtime going across both worlds
But one individual is having a well-deserved downtime after all that's happened to her. And her Pokemon deserves it as well.
Princess Celestia and her Kirlia named Passion. They've been gladly given some time off after the whole Passion incident. Pyrestar and Luna promise to handle things until their downtime comes to an end. Celestia is planning to enjoy herself for 2 days. Quite generous considering that she saved both worlds. Everypony would rather she take an entire month off due to that, but Celestia being Celestia went the short route. Just for her subjects.
Currently, they were both taking a break at a newly created area in Equestria. One known as Enkindle Island. A gigantic island that is larger than even an entire canyon. It is an area inhabited by mostly Fire-Type Pokemon. Plus, the sun here is pretty potent and strong thanks to the existing Fire-Types. The heat is so intense, that it blocks out the snow, essentially making winter non-existent here. The way it shined in the blue skies whilst beaming through the clouds was a treat. It also had some water that surrounded it. Almost like a beach. Although, due to it being heavily populated with Fire-Types, the water is more warm or hot than cold. However, there was a gigantic gorge that existed around this island. One where the heat is so intense that even Fire-Types stray away from it. These were blue flames, meant to indicate how hot they are. If anything, they were equal to that of dragon fire.
"Ah...This is more like it." Celestia laid on a chair. Sunglasses on, regalia off whilst basking in the golden sun. Passion sat on a smaller chair, laying on her back as well. She and Passion enjoyed the sound of the seas hitting across the land whilst some Basculin and Mantine jumped around in the water. Over at the distance, you could see a Wailord hanging about as well.
"Kirlia."
"Just you, me, the Pokemon, the sun and some cake. I needed this." Celestia nodded as she ate some cake. These moments were the most calming moments of her life, besides when she was extremely young and still new to the world. She and her Pokemon spent some time relaxing for a total of 40 minutes. "Up you go!" Celestia picked up Passion, tossing her up and down, over and over again. She then took Passion for a ride as they soared high up into the skies. Up there, they got a good glance at all the beautiful Pokemon flying by. Some Beautifly could be seen along with a flock of Staraptor flying in a synchronized arrow formation. "Isn't it beautiful?"
"Kirlia..."
They took some time to bask in the beauty of the skies. The Pokemon really made it feel alive. As they continued to stay airborne, Passion felt something fly by. She couldn't make it out but it seemed to be up in the Ozone layer. She looked up to see some sort of green figure, almost in the shape of a snake zoom over the clouds. But, that was about all she got to see from it. After that, the mysterious green figure seemed to fly higher up, leaving behind a cry akin to that of a dragon.
"Hm?" Celestia heard the cry, but it was very faint. She assumed that it might've been one of the Flying-Types that made that cry.
During those 40 minutes, something else was occurring on the other side of Enkindle Plains.
Further beyond the wide expansive island, an Arcanine was attempting to save a young Flareon. The Flareon had recently injured itself trying to save its fellow Flareon's. Enkindle Islands, while perfect for Fire-Types, has a few areas that can be risky for even a Fire-Type Pokemon. Especially that gorge with the overwhelming flames. Arcanine succeded in saving a few of the Flareon's, however, many of them were still deep within the gorge. They were standing on a cliff inside the gorge, the only thing keeping them from falling into the azure flames. These blue flames ended up catching Arcanine's legs, causing a horrible burn wound on them. As a result, Arcanine was only capable of saving four Flareon's.
Arcanine placed the fourth Flareon right next to its brothers and sisters. The Legendary Pokemon felt the sting of the blue flames, falling on the floor.
"Flareon!" The Flareon all gathered around Arcanine, worried about his state. Their fellow Fire-Type was struggling to stand. Each time he tried, the wound only worsened. But Arcanine didn't care. He had the full intention of saving the rest of the Flareon's from the gorge. Even if it meant his life. However, even Pokemon like Arcanine need to know when they have their limitations. As a result, the Legendary Pokemon fainted from both the wound and the intense blue flames exposing heat equal to that of the sun.
The Flareon each pulled on Arcanine's tail, trying their best to get him to safety. Or at least, someplace where he can rest. But the heat had gotten to them too since they were inside the gorge earlier. Eventually, they felt like fainting as well, unable to think properly at the moment.
This is where their beam of hope started to reveal itself. Passion has the power to sense emotions. Whether positive or negative, she can tell when someone has a powerful emotion from a faraway distance. Every Kirlia can do this, but due to Celestia's Kirlia being a unique Kirlia, this power is heightened.
"Kirlia?" Passion turned to the direction of the emotion, hopping off her chair.
"Passion? What's wrong?" Celestia raised her sunglasses, looking at her Pokemon.
"Kirlia! Lia!" The Emotion Pokemon spoke to Celestia by aggressively pointing her hand at that specific location. One where many trees can be spotted. Celestia could actually understand Passion to an extent. Their experience in that white void managed to connect them even further. Now Celestia can tell what Passion is trying to say via body language, hand motions and at times, if Passion tries hard enough, she can use telepathy to muster some words, similar to her mother Gardevoir, but it puts a large strain on her body so not much comes out.
"Something's happened?! There?" Celestia looked over to the tree-filled area.
"Kirlia!" The Psychic-Fairy ran off, following the powerful emotions coming from the area.
"Passion! Wait!" Celestia got off her chair, following her Pokemon to wherever she's headed.
They arrived, spotting the fainted group of Flareon along with the fainted Arcanine. They were just on the floor, unconscious and unresponsive. A Pokemon battle didn't do this. This was much worse than a battle. And Celestia could tell. She looked over to see the injuries dealt at Arcanine's legs, spotting the burn wounds.
"What happened here?" Celestia gasped. She ran over to the fainted Fire-Types, seeing that only Arcanine had been greatly injured. The others just simple had scratches on them.
"Kirlia." Passion tried to wake the Pokemon up by nudging the Flareon. Which worked actually. A Flareon had woken up, spotting the trainer and Pokemon before it.
"Flareon...?" The Flame Pokemon slowly stood up, regaining its consciousness. However, its legs were weak, feeling like falling over again. Passion had caught Flareon, helping the Fire-Type to stay balance.
"Kirlia?" Passion asked what happened, requesting that she had the information of what caused this.
Flare..." Flareon gave her an answer by going over what happened. Its brothers and sisters had ended up falling down into the gorge where blue flames dwell. This gorge was known as the Draconic Gorge, mostly because of how they resembled the colour of draconic fire, which is mostly blue. Arcanine had come to the rescue, risking his own life to save every single one of the Flareon's. However, the heat was too intense for him and as a result, he only managed to save four of them. What's worse is that a sudden burst of fire managed to catch Arcanine's legs, horribly damaging them with burn wounds. As a result, he passed out from the heat and wounds as did the Flareon.
"Kirlia?!" Passion had taken in the entire story, understanding the situation. "Lia." Passion had looked up to Celestia, telling her what happened. She tried using telepathy to give the rundown. The Psychic-Fairy tapped into its psychic abilities, attempting to speak through telepathy. She strained herself, struggling with such an ability, but she managed to let out a few words that travelled through. Those words were gorge, others, Flareon, trapped. They weren't coherent sentences at all. But Celestia could understand, judging by the scenario.
"Gorge, others, Flareon, trapped?" The sun princess looked over at the Flareon that were here and the Arcanine. She then noticed that Flareon had run off back to the location of the gorge whilst Passion followed. The Flame Pokemon tripped, however. "Oh! Are there other Flareon's trapped in the gorge?!"
"Flareon..." The Flame Pokemon nodded.
"Arca..." Arcanine was finally waking up, recovering from passing out. The Legendary Pokemon powered through the wounds on its paws, only setting his mind on saving the other Flareon. Celestia noticed that he was struggling, on the verge of falling back down. She went over to help the Fire-Type up, keeping his balance. "Arcanine..."
"It's alright," Celestia said to the wounded Pokemon. "You've done an excellent job in trying to save those Flareon. Leave the rest to us, alright?"
"Arcanine..." The Legendary Pokemon appreciated Celestia's help, but he also wanted to continue doing his best to save the Flareon as well. Acranine ran off on his own, returning to the location of the gorge.
"Wait! Arcanine!" Celestia and Passion chased after him.
The remaining Flareon's who were still standing on a ledge had passed out due to them being close to the heat. Each of them didn't have the strength to get back up. Some were even starting to slip from the rocky ledges.
"Flareon! Flare!" The single Flareon had reached the gorge, looking down to see its brothers and sisters on the verge of falling off the ledge. Their combined weight was even forcing the rocky to slowly break, which made things much worse. Small pebbles dropped into the blue flames, disintegrating the moment they made contact.
"Oh my! This is much more serious than I expected!" Celestia gasped, gazing at the scenario.
"Arcanine..." Arcanine was about to jump in, ready to risk its life once more to save the Pokemon. However, Celestia used her magic to stop him, placing him back.
"Arcanine, please! You are too injured to head in there! Let me do so."
"Kirlia!"
"Arca...Arcanine..." Arcanine was overexerting himself. He sat down on the ground, breathing in and out. Passion held the Legendary Pokemon, comforting the Fire-Type. Celestia looked down at the gorge, seeing the imminent doom circling beneath the Flareon's.
"These flames...They're hotter than anything I've ever come across...They might hotter than the sun itself." Celestia gulped as she was sweating from the heat of the gorge. She wasn't even in it yet. But this was no time to time to worry about the heat. At any moment, those Flareon could fall to their doom. "Passion. Take care of Arcanine."
"Kirlia." The Emotion Pokemon nodded.
"Here goes nothing." Celestia took in a deep breath. If she wanted to withstand the heat, the best option was to cover herself. And that's what she did. Celestia had used a cloaking spell that sends a magic coating over her body. This is essentially another form of a barrier spell, except instead of staying in one place, you can move freely with it. Unfortunately, it's not as potent or durable as the barrier spell, which is probably why it's rarely used.
The Sun Princess could already feel the heat of the gorge getting to her. The heat here was exactly 18,000 degrees F. That is the exact same amount of heat that a Magcargo has for its body temperature. And since the heat here is equal to that, it essentially means that it is in fact, hotter than the sun itself.
The only reason why the Flareon all haven't melted yet is that they are Fire-Types at the end of the day and because a Flareon's average body temperature is between 1,300 and 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. In their internal flame sac, temperatures reach 3,000 degrees. Meaning they can resist it. But not for long.
"Flareon..." One Flareon was waking up, sweating bullets along with its brothers and sisters. The Flame Pokemon thought it was hopeless until Celestia came. The ruler of Equestria picked up two Flareon's in her hooves, flying back up to the top with them.
"I've got you." She placed the two Fire Eeveelutions down on the ground, right next to Arcanine. Celestia was already feeling like she was about to pass out. Just being in there for a few seconds was capable of that. "Alright. Just a few more." Celestia turned around, preparing herself to head back in. There were 13 Flareon out of the group in total. Which means that all she has to do is save 9 more.
However, once she reentered the gorge, her magic cloaking was starting to melt away. It had previously managed to withstand the heat of the flames when it first entered. But reentering made the flames pick up where they left off. Celestia could feel her head aching from this excessive heat. Her coating was being melted away by the blue flames, slowly negating her spell. All of a sudden, before she could place her hooves on the next Flareon, the flames went through a sudden burst, erupting upwards. Celestia gasped as she was blown away by the erupting flames. Thankfully, her magic cloaking managed to shield her from the damage, but the flames had ended up tearing a large portion of it off. Celestia grunted as she tumbled on the ground, rolling next to Arcanine.
"Kirlia!" Passion ran over to her trainer to see if she was alright. Celestia had taken a huge hit from that. One that wasn't expecting. She surely wasn't expecting the fire to just burst and erupt all of a sudden. And there wasn't even any warning. It was just instant.
"I'm fine Passion." Celestia breathed in and out with her body sweating. She feared that if she went back inside there a third time, her coating would be erased at a much quicker rate than before. And Passion could tell. There was no way Celestia was going to save all those Flareon. At least, not by herself. "Let's try this again." Celestia closed her eyes, bracing herself for a second dive in. The sun princess hopped inside the gorge one more time, this time, planning to power through it all.
Passion realized that this was far too risky. Celestia needed help. Huge amounts of it. And since some Water-Type Pokemon hang out around here, perhaps they'll help. The Emotion Pokemon quickly made a run for it, heading back to the beach area of the island, off to tell the Water-Types the current scenario. Arcanine watched as he saw Celestia essentially do what he's been doing. Risking her own life to save others, even if there's a slim chance she'll make it out.
"Kirlia!" The Emotion Pokemon had arrived near the water section of the island. "Kir! Kirlia!" She called for the Water-Types, grabbing some of their attention. The Water-Types swam up to Kirlia, heeding her call. She was glad that they all decided to come close and listen to her. The Emotion Pokemon went on about the whole Flareon situation. She spoke in a worried manner. Rightfully so. At this moment, her trainer could be meeting her end.
The Water-Types understood the situation. They wanted to help. However, even they knew how dangerous the gorge is. Any Water-Type that swims near it will feel its aggressive heat beat onto them. Even a Vaporeon, a Pokemon whose cellular structure is similar to water allowing it to blend in with water by melting, can't stand being near it. So essentially, there was nothing they could do, because they risk getting injured by the gorge as well. This saddened Passion greatly. But a Lapras still wanted to help someway or another. It's in its nature to help those in need.
"Lapras!" The Transport Pokemon let out a cry that reached the sky. That cry was made to signal the Staraptor's, calling for them.
"Staraptor!" The Predator Pokemon flew down, responding to the call of the Water-Ice-Type. "Star?"
"Lapras. Lap." Lapras had explained the situation to the entire flock, giving them a quick and simple explanation. The Staraptor all looked at each other, nodding in unison. They were up to assist in whatever way they can. And they had an idea. The idea that the Staraptor came up with was simple. The heat of the gorge is only dangerous if you get too close to it. However, being above the gorge is relatively safe. The heat can still reach you, but it's only intense if you head down further near it.
So, the Staraptor aim to carry the smaller Water-Type Pokemon on their backs, flying them over to the gorge. Then, the flock of Staraptors and Water-Types shall unleash moves to put out the flames. Ranging from the usual Water-Type moves to ranged Flying-Type moves such as Air Cutter, Air Slash, Gust and Hurricane. If they can combine all those moves together, it should be enough to push the intense azure flames back. Hopefully.
Celestia was going through an unsightly endeavour. The flames had already burnt away parts of her coating. And as she feared, each time she reentered, it would tear it off faster. However, due to her deciding to power through it, she managed to save four more Flareon's from the gorge, leaving five of them left. While her persistence was great and proving to be useful, it, unfortunately, won't last.
"Just a bit more..." Celestia returned to the top, on the verge of fainting from the heat. She couldn't take anymore. This was more than her body could handle. But yet again, she persisted. She was determined to save those Flareon. "Just hold on..." Celestia wiped the sweat off her head. She went in one more time, aiming to save the final five. This was to be the breaking point. Her coating was diminishing down to a point where it was only covered her horn, hooves and face. Very little of it even. "Come on..." Celestia attempted to grab onto all five Flareon's. However, her hooves could only grab three at best.
With a stroke of unfortunate luck, the flames erupted once more. This time, they broke through the last of Celestia's coating, causing the Sun Princess to scream. She had been pushed back, but this time, not the surface. Instead, she was knocked in the hard walls. The worst part is that the walls themselves were scorching. So once Celestia's back hit them, she felt a horrible burn as a result. Celestia dropped the three Flareon's, falling on the ledge with them.
Arcanine jumped into the blazing gorge, aiming to now protect both Celestia and the Flareon. The Legendary Pokemon had used its own fur to shield them from any other approaching flames that decide to erupt. "Arca!" Arcanine had grabbed Celestia by biting on her hoof. The Legendary Pokemon barely had enough strength to carry anyone at the moment, but he kept on trying.
At any point in time, the flames could erupt without warning. Truly making them a destructive force. And Arcanine couldn't take another one considering how a single burst managed to wound him greatly. Thankfully, the Staraptors had arrived with the Water-Types above them, along with Passion.
"Kirlia!" The Emotion Pokemon gave off the command to unleash all of their attacks in order to push back the fire. And it was a good call. The gorge erupted another time with the flames rushing towards them. A combination of wind and water had been released by every single Pokemon. All in order to save Celestia, Arcanine and the remaining Flareon's.
The combined efforts of Pokemon was actually enough to push back the flames. The azure fire had been pushed back, heading further down into the lower levels. A Staraptor had flown down, attempting to grab the group out of the gorge.
"Star!" The Predator Pokemon could also feel the overwhelming heat, unfortunately. No Pokemon could withstand these flames. Staraptor had grabbed onto both Celestia and Arcanine at the same time, utilizing its amazing strength. The Normal-Flying-Type flapped its wings ferociously, trying to escape from the heat. Unfortunately, the flames erupted once more. This time, they made contact with Staraptor. "STAR!" Staraptor had cried out in pain, dropping both Celestia and Arcanine. The Predator Pokemon flew back up, landing on the ground as its wings had been injured.
But Celestia and Arcanine had taken the worst of it. The flames had now affected their face, leaving burn wounds on them as well. Celestia groaned as she was trying to stay conscious.
"It's not over yet." Celestia groaned as she grabbed onto Arcanine. She was aiming for a last-ditch effort attempt. She tried to fight back against the flames herself. The Sun Princess raised her horn up, blasting a mighty magical beam downwards at the gorge. It was powerful enough to slightly push back the flames, but not by much. Passion commanded the Staraptors and the Water-Types to do the same. Soon, it was a combined effort between the Pokemon and Celestia. Each trying to diminish these flames with everything had. With Celestia's magic added on, the flames had actually been pushed back greatly. Celestia then zoomed over towards the remaining five Flareon's, using her magic to grab all five of them whilst still holding Arcanine.
Arcanine helped out as well. He noticed that Celestia was on the verge of falling due to her wings taking some damage from the erupting flames. She couldn't fly up on her own. Especially when carrying 6 Pokemon. So there was only one thing to do. Give her a boost. The Legendary Pokemon unleashed Fire Blast down towards the gorge. The reason it did this was simple. The force of Fire Blast was powerful enough to send Celestia upwards due to the shockwave it leaves behind. And it was a helpful attempt. Celestia had managed to gain higher ground thanks to Arcanine's efforts.
Unfortunately, the added Fire Blast only increased the might of the flames. It increased the blue flames so much that the entire gorge started shaking. This was an indication that the gorge was about to unleash an overwhelming burst of fire. Larger than any of the ones it has ever unleashed. Celestia flapped her wings ferociously whilst the Staraptors quickly flew off, not wanting to get struck by these flames.
"Almost there..." Celestia strained. She was about to faint at this point. And if those flames hit, it's over.
"Kirlia!" Passion called out for her trainer's name. She attempted to help by jumping off of the back of a Staraptor, heading towards her trainer. She was aiming to use her psychic abilities to carry her, but who knows if she could do it in time before the flames caught her and the others. It looked like it would be the end as the azure flames had skyrocketed towards them all, letting out a sound equal to that of a roar. Celestia closed her eyes, holding Arcanine tight and bracing herself for the worst.
But their hope had finally arrived. Straight from above. The mysterious green figure from earlier had revealed itself, zooming through the clouds. It was none other than the Sky High Pokemon.
Rayquaza.
Rayquaza had come to their rescue, flying past the Pokemon at intense speeds. The Sky High Pokemon had blown away the Staraptors just by flying by as it opened its mouth wide. It unleashed a mighty Dragon Pulse. One that could tear through the earth itself. This Dragon Pulse had not only pushed back the azure flames, but it also managed to put out the fire completely. What followed as an aftershock from the Dragon Pulse. The entire gorge trembled as a great rising shockwave filled the area, forcing everyone out of it. And just like that, they had been saved in the most unexpected way possible.
Celestia tumbled on the ground whilst still holding Arcanine. But she didn't need to hold him anymore. They were all on safe ground now. And the heat from the gorge had vanished thanks to Rayquaza.
"Is everyone okay...?" Celestia asked, standing up. She was able to stand despite her body being harmed from the flames. She had burn wounds all over her body. And they were they enough to really put a strain on her. But she was strong enough to stand.
"Arcanine..." Arcanine nodded as Celestia helped him up. All the Pokemon had let out cries of relief, glad that they all managed to come out of there alive. The Flareon's ran to each other, happy to see their brothers and sisters alive and well. They lunged on each other, playing around. Passion rushed over to Celestia, looking at her wounds.
"It's fine, Passion. Fluttershy's Audino will gladly help and heal me." Celestia smiled as her hooves were a bit weak. "But who saved us?"
"Arcanine!" The Legendary Pokemon raised its head up, looking at the Pokemon that saved them all. Rayquaza. Celestia and everyone else looked up to see the Sky High Pokemon there.
"Who are you...?" Celestia gawked.
Rayquaza only responded with a cry. Its job here was done. It was time to leave. The Legendary Pokemon turned around, taking to the skies. It was headed back to the Ozone Layer, where it dwells. The Pokemon all thanked Rayquaza for saving their lives at the final minute. But they also thanked Celestia for doing her very best and the Flareon's gave their thanks to Arcanine as well.
"You're welcome, everyone." Celestia took their thanks as a Talonflame flew around her. Arcanine looked over at Celestia, licking her face as a show of gratitude. So did the Flareon. They ended up licking Passion, which made her a bit uncomfortable. "And you're welcome too, Arcanine. That was close wasn't it?"
"Arcanine." The Legendary Pokemon nodded.
"Well.. glad everyone is alright. And it looks like that huge Pokemon managed to put out the flames for good. Just be careful not to end up somewhere dangerous again, okay?" Celestia said to the Flareon's.
"Flareon!" They all responded. They promise to never end up somewhere dangerous ever again. Most of the time.
Celestia and Passion felt like taking their leave. Mostly because Celestia was injured and those wounds need to be treated asap. But before they did, Arcanine went up to her.
"Arcanine!"
"Hm? What is it?"
"Arca." The Legendary Pokemon walked up to the alicorn, nudging his nose at her. He was trying to tell her something.
"Kirlia. Kir?" Passion spoke to Arcanine. Whatever she said, Arcanine nodded in response. The Emotion Pokemon then channelled the last of her Psychic power, attempting to speak through Celestia. The words were "Catch me."
"Catch me...? Arcanine...do you...want to come along with us?" Celestia looked down at the Fire-Type.
"Arcanine." He nodded, sealing the deal.
"Really now? That's unexpected. But great! I'd love to have you along Arcanine."
"Kirlia!"
"Arcanine!" The Legendary Pokemon pounced on Celestia, licking her as a dog would to its owner.
"Okay!" Celestia giggled. "I get it, Arcanine! At least let me rest up for a bit!"
Today wasn't what Celestia and Passion were expecting. They were expecting some downtime but then this had to happen. But to them, they didn't care that they lost the rest of their relaxation time. They had the urge and spirit to help those in need no matter what. And it was that urge and spirit that allowed Celestia to gain the respect of Arcanine. So much so that he decided she shall be his trainer. For Celestia, her experience with the Pokemon World is growing ever more just as it is for everypony else as the journey continues.
Everypony's decided to clock out for today and head home. Very few were outside as the moon had risen early thanks to winter.
"Did you hear?" Twilight spoke to Rarity.
"Hear what?"
"Hearth's Warming and Christmas have been moved back all of a sudden."
"How is that possible? They can't just be moved back."
"Apparently, something happened over in the Galar Region that caused it. Must've been some complications."
"Oh. That means I'll have to postpone everything until Hearth's Warming actually arrives." Rarity groaned.
"Look on the bright side. At least you'll have much more time to prepare."
"Oh! You're right!" Rarity squeed. "There's a lot I want to fine-tune!"
As the duo were making their way towards the Pokemon House, elsewhere in Ponyville, a new visitor has arrived. A small, adorable and magical Pokemon. It was none other than the Spike Ball Pokemon Togepi. A Pokemon well-beloved and known for soaking up good vibes from other beings, using it as energy. Plus its shell is filled with happy feelings and warm fuzzles, making this Pokemon popular with children and trainers who just love adorable things.
But not this Togepi. This Togepi was the complete opposite of its brothers and sisters. Every Togepi only seeks one thing. Love and compassion. All this Togepi wanted was absolute power. And she figured the easiest place to start at was Equestria. It seemed colourful and innocent enough for it to conquer. All she had to do was be like very other Togepi and play it cute. Nopony's gonna see right through her.
At the Pokemon House, many of the Grass-Type and Ground-Type Pokemon had gone inside due to the snow. The cold wasn't really great for them at all. Especially considering their weakness to ice. The rest decided to stay out though since the cold doesn't bother them.
"Sorry, everyone. With Hearth's Warming being pushed back, our showcase might have to be postponed." Fluttershy apologized to the Pokemon. Many of them were upset that their hard work would take some time to be shown to everypony else. A Tyrouge punched the walls of the Pokemon House of pure frustration.
"Ty!"
"But on the bright side, we'll have more time to perfect it, right?"She reassured them all.
"Do we have to wait that long?" Cold Colt, who was also here, groaned.
Along came Twilight and Rarity for a short visit here as always. But they weren't the only ones here for a short visit. Togepi was already scheming behind the scenes. She had been busy, laying out many traps across Ponyville in secret. Most were pitfalls. Anypony can easily fall through them considering how populated and small Ponyville is.
"Toge-Toge." She cackled. She had already set up a pretty good amount of traps. Now came the next part. Making everypony a sucker for her. That was the easiest part of the plan. Nopony's resisting her cuteness at all. Her first target had already been set. Fluttershy. Togepi saw her as the weakest individual here. And if she could have control over all the Pokemon at the Pokemon House with Attract, her plans to conquer Ponyville will be much easier. It was time to get to work.
"Hm." Twilight was pondering at the moment, looking over at a group of Krabby's chatting with each other. Something was looming in her head.
"What is it, Twilight?" Fluttershy noticed her in deep thought.
"Something's got my curiosity recently. Why do Pokemon say their names? Is it because that's all they can say? And do we just call them by what they can say?"
"That is curious. Even the creatures of the Everfree Forest don't say words such as 'Hydra or Cragadile'." Fluttershy replied.
"Perhaps that's just another mystery of the Pokemon World, don't you think?" Rarity was holding a Marril.
"Yeah. That's why Pokemon interests me so much. Nothing in Canterlot comes close to the mystery of Pokemon." Twilight patted her Espeon.
"No kidding. Its an even bigger mystery on why Legendary Pokemon don't say their names." Cold Colt ate a Cindercake.
"THEY DON'T?!" All three of them said, startling the young Rift Pony.
"N-No..." Cold Colt spat out his cake, taking a deep breath.
"How come?" Twilight asked.
"Well, Legendary Pokemon are a bigger mystery than every other Pokemon. You see, no one actually knows what they're really called. People gave the Pokemon Zapdos its name because when its feathers rub together, they produce a crackling sound like the zapping of electricity. That’s why this its called Zapdos."
"Is that why Dialga only roars...?" Twilight remembered how Dialga never said its name once. All it did was just roar, roar and roar. In reality, every Legendary Pokemon lets out a roar, mostly the Dragon-Types. But Twilight doesn't know that yet.
"Yep. So Dialga's name might not even be Dialga. The people of Sinnoh only called it Dialga because its body looks like a diamond. But hey, they gave it a pretty awesome name. So awesome that Arceus even calls it that...sometimes."
"That settles it!" Twilight stamped her hooves on the ground, startling Cold once more. "I'm going to find out what Legendary Pokemon are actually called. One day anyways."
"Good luck with that." Cold nodded. "Weird how the Regis are the only legends who can say their names though."
"Togepi!" Along came Togepi, ready to enact its plan. "Pi! Toge!"
"Hm? Oh! A Togepi!" Fluttershy squeed, flying over to the Spike Ball Pokemon. "How are you, little one?"
"Toge! Togepi!" The devious Fairy-Type played a fake plea of distress to Fluttershy.
"What's that?! That's awful!"
"What? What did it say?" Twilight asked.
"This poor Togepi's family's been trapped underneath Ponyville!"
"Trapped underneath Ponyville? How's that possible?" Rarity wondered.
"Togepi!"
"Apparently, they were being chased by an Excadrill and it ended up digging underneath them all. So they fell in with this Togepi being the only one left."
"Togepi!" Togepi let out the move Fake Tears. The Fairy-Type feigned some crying that was easily effective against Fluttershy and the others. She then gave Fluttershy's hoof a hug, crying on it.
"There there. We'll get your family back out of the ground."Fluttershy hugged the Spike Ball Pokemon. "Where are they?"
"Togepi!" She pointed over at the direction of Town Hall.
"So it was right near Town Hall?"
"Then what are we waiting for?" Twilight flew up. "Best get them all out of there."
"Right. Sandshrew. Use Dig." Fluttershy commanded a Sandshrew.
"Sandshrew!" The Mouse Pokemon burrowed its way deep underground, getting to work. Fluttershy and the others got a move on towards Town Hall. Togepi followed, but she decides to run at a slower pace so that she was behind them.
"Toge...Toge-ge-ge!" All according to plan. Now that they've gone ahead, she can deal with the Pokemon without the ponies interrupting. But how was a single Togepi going to deal with so many Pokemon? With the one move it always banks on to control others. Attract. She turned around, facing the Pokemon with a malicious look on her face. The Spike Ball Pokemon licked her lips, creeping them out. She had them all facing her direction which was perfect. Meaning they were in her line of sight. This Togepi's attract was powerful enough to infatuate multiple targets at once. Many of the Pokemon, especially the big strong ones had been hit by Attract, falling for Togepi instantly. However, some managed to resist it. But the small amount that could resist were outnumbered by the large amount that couldn't.
The Pokemon who resisted the Attract looked over to see the rest of their friends under Togepi's control. Completely smitten.
"Toge!" Togepi commanded the Pokemon she controlled to take care of the others. The controlled Pokemon had chased after them, planning to either trap them all or make them faint. The malicious Fairy-Type watched as her puppets did all the work. She then took her leave, following Fluttershy and the others to Town Hall.
And speaking of Town Hall...
Sandshrew dug back up, ready to give the news to Fluttershy and her friends.
"Sandshrew! Sand!"
"You didn't find anything?" Fluttershy said.
"Shrew." The Ground-Type shook his head.
"Maybe try again?" Cold Colt asked.
"They have to be somewhere here. Let's try-" Twilight took a step to the right, landing her hoof on one of Togepi's traps. A huge pitfall had formed beneath the group, forcing them to fall deep underneath it. "WOAH!" This pitfall was insanely deep too. It wasn't short at all. Twilight fell first with Rarity falling on her, followed by Fluttershy and then Cold. Their Pokemon had fallen on them as well, hitting their heads. "Ow..."
"My head...what was that?" Rarity felt doozy.
"A pitfall?" Fluttershy held her head, looking around. "How long has this been here?"
"No idea. But it wasn't a pleasant surprise." Twilight shook her head, spreading her wings.
"Toge!" Togepi looked down at them all, arriving at the scene.
"Togepi!" Twilight exclaimed as she flew up towards her. "Sorry. But we're not really having the best luck on finding your family."
"Toge-Togepi!"
"Little help here Twilight!" Rarity bellowed.
"Oh, right! Twilight flew down towards them. All according to Togepi's plan. The Spike Ball Pokemon then used the move Ancient Power to summon huge ancient rocks from beneath where she stood. She blocked the entrance out of the pitfall with these prehistoric rocks, trapping them. "Huh? Hey!"
"Sand?!" Sandshrew jolted back, shocked at what he saw.
"Toge..." Togepi grinned. Sandshrew was next. She used Attract on him as well, infatuating him with ease. Another one to add to her controlled Pokemon list. Togepi had noticed that Berry Punch had seen her perform all of that in a few seconds. Her jaw dropped at the sight of it all. "Togepi." Togepi couldn't let there be any witnesses. As such, she commanded Sandshrew to attack Berry Punch.
"Yikes!" Berry Punch exclaimed, making a run for it.
Togepi's plans can advance further onwards. The Spike Ball Pokemon took her leave, believing that Twilight and the others won't be a bother. But she was wrong.
Twilight broke through the rocks by using her magic to do so. The young alicorn took some time to breathe in the fresh air.
"Air. Sweet air!" She felt like she was losing her breath inside of there. Twilight then returned down to the pitfall, heading there to grab her friends. She picked them all up one by one. From Rarity to Audino. "There." She placed Eve down on the snowy ground.
"What was that?" Rarity wondered where the rocks suddenly came from.
"From what I saw...it looked like Togepi trapped us with Ancient Power," Twilight said.
"What?! Togepi would never do that! Would she?" Fluttershy spoke.
"Apparently, she would. Why did she anyways?" Just then a bloodcurdling scream could be heard from afar. What caused that scream was simple. Togepi had unleashed the Pokemon upon Ponyville. Her conquest begins now. All the Pokemon she controlled from the Pokemon House had made their way to the town, beginning to terrorize it. Many ponies had fallen through Togepi's traps whilst trying to escape from the Pokemon. "Oh...that's why."
"Are those all the Pokemon from the Pokemon House?" Fluttershy gasped.
"Looks like it. They all look like they're infatuated by Attract." Cold noticed their eyes.
"Toge! Togepi!" The cruel Togepi stood atop the head of a Pidgeotto, cackling maniacally over Ponyville.
"You!" Twilight flew up to Togepi. "You tricked us!"
"Toge? Pi!" Togepi could care less about Twilight at the moment. She held her breath in, using Flamethrower towards her. Twilight yelped, avoiding the Flamethrower by ducking downwards. The Spike Ball breathed scorching flames towards Twilight, forcing her to move back. "Togepi!"
"Togepi says that she came here to conquer, so stay out of her way!" Fluttershy translated.
"Togepi!" Togepi raised her arms up, commanding the Pokemon to deal with anyone that stands in her way.
"Well, she won't be conquering anything as long as we're here!" Twilight stepped forward with her Espeon and Minccino by her side.
"Toge?" Togepi looked at Twilight in disgust. She dare challenge her? If Twilight and her friends think they can defeat her, then they must be fools according to Togepi. As a response, Togepi breathed Flamethrower to her once more.
"Eve! Psybeam!"
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon broke through the flames by unleashed a beam of psychic energy. The Psybeam hit Pidgeotto, knocking it out of the sky and forcing Togepi to reach ground level.
"Togepi!" The Spike Ball Pokemon retaliated by rushing at her opposing Pokemon. Her retaliation came in the form of Mega Punch. Eve was then slugged by a punch thrown with muscle-packed power, sending the Psychic Type flying towards Twilight.
"Eve!" Twilight caught her Pokemon as both were sent crashing into the walls of a building.
"Toge!" Togepi commanded a Snorlax to blast them away with Hyper Beam. The Sleeping Pokemon's eyes shined. A mighty and destructive beam of hyper energy was shot towards the trainer and Pokemon.
"Not good!" Twilight put up a magic barrier to defend her and Eve. The beam hit the barrier, splitting two ways due to it being cast. The building behind them was only partially destroyed now.
"Audi! Use Hyper Beam!" Fluttershy gave off her own command for Hyper Beam as well. Her Audino held its breath in, preparing to do the same, but unfortunately, she was stopped by a Snorunt who froze Audino in place with Frost Breath. "Audi?!"
"Toge-ge-ge!" Togepi cackled as she was gaining the upper hand. Ponies across Ponyville had been captured by the Pokemon. Mostly the Bug-Types as they trapped the trainers by using String Shot. It seemed like there were very little trainers stop her reign.
Snorlax corned Twilight and her Espeon, keeping them there. Minccy tried to fend off Snorlax by using Aqua Tail on its back, but that resulted in nothing. Snorlax barely budged.
Team Rocket had overseen this entire scenario by poking their heads out of a bush. The first thing that caught their attention wasn't the attacking Pokemon, but the Togepi giving the commands.
"Say. Doesn't that Togepi look familiar?" Meowth asked.
"I recognize those scheming little eyes anywhere." Jessie narrowed her eyes. "That's that same Togepi that played us for a fool! And broke my heart!"
"It seems to be going above and beyond this time." James said.
"We'll go above and beyond this time. It's time for some revenge!" Jessie hopped out of the bush.
"Hold on! Now's not the best time!" Meowth warned her.
"Hm?" Jessie turned her head to Meowth. The reason why it wasn't the best time was that there was a Passimian heading her way. "Eek!" She hid back in the bush, avoiding the Teamwork Pokemon. "It's a danger zone out there!"
"How about this? We let Togepi do all the work and when the time is right, we swoop in and grab all the Pokemon that the ponies couldn't win with." James recommended.
"Not a bad idea! Easy pickings!" Jessie rubbed her hands together.
"Wobbuffet!"
Pinkie Pie looked out of her window to see the event that was taking place outside at the moment. It was definitely something.
"This is what I feared the most! We're currently under attack by a sentient egg!" Pinkie gathered all of her cooking equipment in her hooves. "Gummy! We're gonna have to take-" Pinkie's sentence was cut short with a Tangela breaking through the doors of SugarCube Corner.
"Tangela!" The Vine Pokemon had used its vines to grab onto Pinkie Pie, trapping her in its clutches. Pinkie shrieked as she was being dragged off by Tangela. Her Slurpuff attempted to save her, but Tangela gave them the same treatment by bringing them along. The reason for this was due to Togepi deciding that everypony in Ponyville be gathered up so that she can establish her rule.
Twilight and most of everypony had been captured, trapped by String Shot and Wrap. It was a bit of a humiliating defeat since it was a small little Togepi that did all of this.
"When I woke up, I wasn't expecting this." Mayor Mare sighed.
"I'm confused, what's going on? Why are we being held captive by an egg?" Lyra asked.
"Togepi!" Togepi jumped down from a throne of Jumpluff, slapping Lyra in the face, commanding her to be quiet. "Togepi. Toge!" The Spike Ball Pokemon rambled on, heading back to her throne of Jumpluff.
"What's she saying, Fluttershy?" Rarity asked.
"She says; You ponies are the easiest capture of my life. Ruling over your town didn't take that much effort honestly. Now that I own this entire town, my great rule can begin. The Age of Togepi is now."
"The Age of Togepi? What drabble is that?!" Rarity exclaimed.
"You haven't won yet! Some of our friends are still there!" Twilight tried to break free, but her horn had also been caught by String Shot. "They'll stop you!"
"Togepi." Togepi essentially said to Twilight that she would like to see anyone else try. "Togepi!" The tyrannical Fairy-Type had established her rule. She was now free to do whatever she wants with the town. She claimed Town Hall as her castle, entering it like she owned the place.
"...Okay. She's gone." Twilight said quietly. "Now to break out of here."
"How?" Fluttershy whispered.
"I was waiting for her to leave. So that I could do this. Eve, Psychic."
"Espeon..." The Sun Pokemon closed her eyes, gently gathering up Psychic power from within. The gem on her forehead emanated a blue light as she created a mighty pulse of psychic energy that blew away the nearby Pokemon. Not only that but it freed everypony from String Shot. Everypony immediately scattered, separating themselves from the Pokemon. Now that they were free and understood the situation, they could retaliate with their own Pokemon.
"Out you come, Stoutland!" Mayor Mare sent out her Stoutland.
"Stout!"
"Giga Impact!" The Big-Hearted Pokemon got to work first by its trainer's commands. Soon, everypony had sent out their Pokemon in the mix as well.
"Now's our chance!" Twilight removed the string from her horn. "Rarity! Get your Leavanny quick!"
"Already on it!" Rarity made a run for it, avoiding the danger zone that was Ponyville at the moment.
Very soon, Pokemon moves were being thrown all over the place, making Ponyvile too dangerous to be in at the moment since you risk getting caught by either flames, rocks or even ice.
Togepi sat inside Town Hall, wondering what all that ruckus was outside.
"Togepi?"
Bursting through the doors was Mayor Mare herself. She was here to take back her Town Hall from Togepi.
"Get out of my town you devious egg!"
"Toge!" Togepi hopped off her Jumpluff throne, confronting both Mayor Mare and Stoutland. The two stared at each other with narrowed eyes. The Spike Ball Pokemon grinned whilst Mayor Mare frowned. Only one can be the leader of this entire town. "Togepi!" Togepi had unleashed a Flamethrower straight towards her opposing Pokemon, tearing through the floor.
"Dodge and use Fire Fang!"
"Stoutland!" Stoutland had barely managed to avoid the Flamethrower as it grazed its fur. The Big-Hearted Pokemon lunged at the Fairy-Type, preparing to bite on her with flame-cloaked fangs.
"Toge." Togepi had suddenly gone for a fifth move. She wasn't one to play by traditional Pokemon rules. The Fairy-Type had used Substitute to avoid the Fir Fang, giving the illusion of Stoutland missing. She then went for Psychic, lifting up the Big-Hearted Pokemon into the air.
"Oh no! Stoutland!"
"Togepi!" Togepi hovered Stoutland over its trainer, slamming the Normal-Type down onto Mayor Mare. The mayor currently had her Pokemon on top of her, both feeling the impact. "Toge-ge-ge!" Togepi laughed.
"Laugh all you want...you still won't win. Giga Impact!"
"Stout!" Stoutland hopped off its trainer, rushing towards the devious Togepi.
"To!" Togepi attempted to stop the Giga Impact by using Mega Punch. Both Pokemon had collided with potent moves, but Stoutland proved to gain the upper hand, pushing Togepi back. She was sent so far back she crashed through her throne of Jumpluff, knocking them away like bowling pins.
"Now! Fire Fang!" Stoutland chased down Togepi, hoping to hit Fire Fang this time.
Togepi snarled at Stoutland, unleashing Ancient Power from beneath the floor. The huge rocks hit Stoutland right in the face, causing the Normal-Type to be knocked back.
"It's alright! Try Fire Fang again!" Mayor Mare commanded. Stoutland gave it another try. Togepi sent the rocks its way, attempting to crush Stoutland. The Big-Hearted Pokemon hopped over the rocks and even jumped on one of them as an extra boost. Stoutland hopped off the rock it was on, opening its mouth wide. And finally, a direct hit. Stoutland bit onto Togepi's egg shelled body, landing Fire Fang.
"Toge?!"
"Now! Toss her!"
"Stoutland!" Stoutland tossed the Fairy-Type into the air, causing her to be airborne.
"Finish her with Giga Impact!" A finishing command was given. Before Togepi knew it, Stoutland charged into her, creating a fairly large explosion mid-air after the impact. And that was just the amount of damage that was needed to take out Togepi.
"TO! Ge!" Togepi tumbled on the floor, severely damaged by the Giga Impact.
"That's that. You've lost Togepi."
"Togepi..." Togepi slowly got off the ground, growling at her. Togepi knew that she was defeated so there was no point in trying to continue. "Toge!" Togepi swore that she would exact her revenge on Mayor Mare one day. For a way to retreat, the Spike Ball Pokemon dug her way underground by using Dig. And that was that.
"Finally." Mayor Mare let out a sigh of relief.
On the outside, the other Pokemon had all been dealt with in one way. By Fluttershy deciding to Mega Evolve her Audino. Mega Evolving was a good call since all it took was a single Hyper Beam from a powered-up Audino to finish this.
Audino had blown away the last of every Pokemon here, engulfing them in hyper energy as it tore through the ground itself. The aim of the Hyper Beam was to snap everyone out of Attract. Which it did. Everypony else had dealt with the other Pokemon by snapping them out of Togepi's attract in their own ways as well.
"Snor...Snorlax?" Snorlax shook his head, confused about where he was right now. Many of the other Pokemon were dazed and lost. The Attract had really messed with their minds. As a result, they made their way back to the Pokemon House, aiming to get some rest.
"Glad that's over with." Rarity sighed.
"Mhm. What was up with that Togepi? How can something so cute be so evil?" Pinkie Pie wondered.
"I don't know. But I''ll never look at an adorable Pokemon the same way ever again. Oh but not you two. You two are still the same." Twilight hugged her Pokemon.
"Have a look at that. The whole thing's been cleared." James said.
"No kidding. And they all look so healthy still. So much for all the hard work." Meowth lowered his head.
"Now's not the time to sulk." Jessie held Meowth's head. "All these shenanigans in Ponyville have given me an idea." She grinned. Jessie had sparked an idea after seeing everything occur in Ponyville. This idea of hers benefits her and Team Rocket. But mostly her. "But, we're gonna have to make sure Zecora doesn't find out, got it?"
"Got it!" The two of them said.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Toge." Togepi stood atop a hill, looking over Ponyville. This wasn't the last they've seen of her. Togepi had now determined Mayor Mare as her mortal enemy. One that she'll come back to defeat someday. Needless to say, in this expansive world of Pokemon, any Pokemon can have a personality that you would least expect. So for every trainer out there, the best option is to keep a lookout as the journey continues.
"Gather around you two." Jessie pulled James and Meowth in.
"This idea of yours better be something. We've been out of the story a lot lately." Meowth said.
"And with little time to spare with each word count," James spoke.
"Not this time. I've found a weak spot with these ponies." Jessie grinned.
"Weakspot? We're gonna hit em where it hurts?" Meowth asked.
"Not that. Haven't you two noticed. The ponies in this town are complete novices. Rookies to Pokemon. They're so new to it that the twerp of all people has to teach them."
"That is true. They're not exactly well knowledgeable in Pokemon. Apart from that alicorn twerpette." James put his finger on his chin.
"Exactly! Which is why I've come up with the best possible plan ever! Gatcha come on!" Jessie summoned the Gatcha machine. A Pelipper flew by, sending the huge device down on the ground. Zecora watched from outside, spectating Team Rocket's actions. "Up you go." She and James grabbed Meowth, placing his coin inside the machine.
"Twist and turn!" Both of them said. Instead of two Pokeballs coming out, it was instead one single Pokeball.
"There!" Jessie grabbed the Pokeball, tossing it upwards. "Out you come!" The Pokemon that was a major part of this plan was none other than a Wigglytuff.
"Wigglytuff!"
"A Wigglytuff? How's that gonna get us anywhere?" Meowth questioned.
"Of course!" James clapped his hands together. "Wiggytuff's fur is so comfortable and good that anyone who touches can't get separated! I heard a long time ago in some folklore that there was a Wigglytuff who managed to get an entire town trapped within its fur. Their only fate was to pass away with the Wigglytuff."
"No way! This thing's a walking glue trap!" Meowth perked up. "How could anyone break free from it!?"
"Well, obviously there's a way to break free from the fur. But the ponies don't have to know that. Now. Let's get to work." Jessie uttered.
"Going somewhere this late at night? Then again, you four seem to be the most active under the moonlight." Zecora walked out of her hut, causing them to jerk up.
"EEK! Zecora?!" They all exclaimed.
"W-We were just...getting some sweet moonlight! They say the moonlight is much better when its winter." Jessie squeed.
"Quite! NO better time to be soothed than a nighttime winter!" James chuckled.
"If you say so. I would recommend you hurry before the aggressive winds start to blow."
"Will do, can do! We'll be back soon." Jessie shook her head. "We just have to...get this Wigglytuff back home." Jessie began walking off with the others.
"Don't want it to suffer out the cold, right?" James walked backwards.
"Wobbuffet!"
Zecora watched as Team Rocket took their leave. She knew what they were up to. She knew from the very beginning. Each time she walks out of her hut, she either sees Team Rocket being blasted off, inventing some machine or crash landing near her hut. But strangely enough, Zecora had no ill intent towards them. She could see that Team Rocket were good people. They just have an odd tendency to steal Pokemon all for the sake of the boss, Giovanni. Zecora had plans for Team Rocket. This time, she was obviously expecting them to be blasted off all the way back here again, but now when they return, she'll have them take upon a request.
At Ponyville, everypony had gone to sleep. Whether from exhaustion or from the Togepi attack from earlier. The time to strike was now for Team Rocket. Of all things, a Wigglytuff was their option.
"Coast is clear. No equine in sight." James scanned the area.
"Good. Let's start with the small fry." Jessie leaned herself up against the wall of SugarCube Corner. "Wigglytuff. Work your magic."
"Wiggly!" The Balloon Pokemon attempted to bring out the ponies that lived in SugarCube Corner by using Sing. The resounding sound of Wigglytuff's beautiful voice was just enough to reach the ears of Pinkie Pie.
"Mmm...What's that sound?" She woke up, picking up on the sing. Unlike Jigglypuff, Wigglytuff's singing was not only capable of putting others to sleep, but it can also lure them in with a beautiful sound. The pink pony opened up the door to see Wigglytuff standing there with its usual cute smile.
"Wiggly!"
"Ooh! What are you?!" Pinkie likes what she sees.
"Wigglytuff!" The Balloon Pokemon opened her arms up, inviting her fellow pink creature for a hug.
"A hug...? Don't mind if I do!" Pinkie Pie went over to Wigglytuff, giving the Normal-Fairy-Type a huge lovable hug. The moment she made contact, she could already feel the comforting and soft fur of Wigglytuff. "Ooooh...This is amazing...So soft. So sublime. So heavenly. This is paradise..."
"Wiggly!"
"Hook line and sinker. The crazy one's been caught first." Jessie peeked from behind SugarCube Corner.
"Hm. That's odd." Pinkie all of a sudden felt stuck on Wigglytuff. "My hugs won't come off at all." She struggled to pull herself off of the Balloon Pokemon's soft and fluffy fur. No matter how hard she tried, it was impossible to break free. She was, unfortunately, a victim of Wigglytuff's fur. "I'm stuck! Not like this!" Pinkie wailed. "Although, it's not so bad." She looked to the bright side of this.
"Tuff!" The Balloon Pokemon went back to Team Rocket, showing her Pinkie Pie.
"Team Rocket?!" Pinkie gasped.
"The one and only! Feeling comfortable in there?" Jessie went up to Pinkie Pie's face, taunting her. "Hope you don't get too attached!"
"Ha! I get it! But I won't be stuck forever!"
"Hah! We'll see about that." James chuckled. "Alright, Wigglytuff! On to the next!"
"Wait! You can seriously keep me like this?! Hel-" Meowth taped Pinkie Pie's mouth shut.
"You're the last pony we want blurting out words!" Meowth uttered.
As Team Rocket continued their Wigglytuff fur plan, Lucien and Sienna were spectating as always. This plan actually caught their attention. Mostly due to how effective it looked to be.
"Would you look at that... I didn't expect someone to weaponize Wigglytuff's fur." Lucien was impressed.
"Oh...I wish I could hug a Wigglytuff." Sienna dug her face in the clouds. "But I don't want to get stuck."
"Mhm. But uh...that Wigglytuff can't hold everypony. It's not big enough...You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I am." Sienna nodded.
"Then it's settled!" Both Lucien and Sienna pointed at Wigglytuff, shooting the Balloon Pokemon with a tiny beam of cosmic energy. "There. The moment it gets somepony else on its fur, it'll grow in size. It's perfect!"
"Can buildings get caught up in Wigglytuff's fur?" Sienna wondered.
"Don't know. Never seen it." Lucien shrugged. Their work here was done. Now all they had to do was watch the chaos unfold.
Wigglytuff had lured out some ponies by singing near their homes, dragging them out with its beautiful voice. Pinkie tried to yell but that tape was keeping her shut. Each time they set their eyes on Wigglytuff, they felt compelled to hug her. despite the fact that their fellow ponies seemed to be stuck without having any chance of freeing themselves. Wigglytuff was capable of pulling anypony in with its ability, Cute Charm and the move Attract. It doesn't matter if the ponies could see the others stuck on her, both that ability and move essentially made them prime victims and magnets to the Balloon Pokemon.
Plus, she was very inviting. And with every hug, her size grew, giving more room for ponies to be trapped in her fur. So far she's caught over 17 ponies in the span of 8 minutes. And each time she captured them in her fur, her mass increased. Some ponies had their faces buried in Wigglytuff's fur, making them unable to cry out for help. Those that could open their mouths had been taped shut thanks to Meowth, yet again.
"We've got a pretty good chunk of them stuck!" Meowth grinned.
"Now let's snatch those pretty little Pokemon while we have the chance!" Jessie and James both said as they rushed into the homes of the ponies who had been caught by Wigglytuff. The Sing from Wigglytuff was only aimed towards the trainers and not the Pokemon. So the Pokemon were still asleep, giving Team Rocket the opportunity to nab them without any interference.
BonBon squirmed around in Wigglytuff's fur, trying her best to break free.
But it was no use.
Even unicorn magic was useless as Amethyst Star felt powerless.
In the meanwhile, Team Rocket had nabbed their Pokemon via their ingenious inventions as always. This time it was a comfy net that had the same feel as a pillow. So that way, the Pokemon can feel comfortable and still be asleep even though they're being captured. How thoughtful.
"That's odd. Did she get bigger?" James noticed the sudden growth spurt from Wigglytuff.
"Wiggly!"
"The bigger the better." Jessie held a huge sack of Pokemon. "We've got ourselves a hefty amount of Pokemon. The best nab so far!"
"What's all that noise?" A voice came from Town Hall. More specifically from Mayor Mare. Once she came out, she spotted Team Rocket, Wigglytuff and everypony stuck on the Wigglytuff. The mayor took a moment to examine the situation as there was a long pause. Team Rocket slowly turned around to spot the mayor as their eyes locked. And as a bonus, out of the sack came a sleeping Karrablast. "You three!"
"Time to go!" Team Rocket and Wigglytuff made a run for it. And as usual, their getaway speed seems to be unparalleled by many. Before Mayor Mare could chase them down, they were gone, leaving behind a trail of dust. But, they no longer had a clean getaway since somepony spotted them without them being captured in Wiggytuff's fur.
Mayor Mare only got a small glimpse of Wigglytuff's appearance. She was too tired after the whole Togepi thing to deal with it, so she decided to head back to bed. But she's definitely determined to deal with the situation when she wakes up.
"Pinkie?" Jade come out of her room, searching for her enthusiastic friend. She was completely unaware of Pinkie's capture. The Slurpuff were all asleep during that time, but it was impossible for her to sleep due to her being a Rift pony. If only she came out of her room that night. "Must've gone out early."
Outside at Ponyville, many ponies realized that it was a bit quiet today. Unusually even. Normally at this time, the town would be filled with others doing their jobs. But nothing. Absolute silence.
"A bit quiet today, isn't it?" Rarity said to Rainbow Dash.
"Mhm. Usually, Pinkie Pie would just burst out of here."
"Has anypony seen BonBon? She's not home or anywhere." Lyra asked.
"Haven't seen her. A lot of ponies aren't around either. No sign of their Pokemon either." Applejack shook her head. "Bit odd for a lot of em to just up and vanish like that."
"They didn't up and vanish, Applejack." Mayor Mare walked up, responding to her. "They were taken."
"Taken?" The group turned to the mayor.
"By Team Rocket. Along with their Pokemon as well." She explained. "This odd pink thing came along and stuck everypony on its body."
"Team Rocket?" Rainbow groaned "What's with those guys? As if stealing Pokemon wasn't bad enough. Now they've decided to snatch ponies as well?"
"You said 'odd pink thing'? What do you mean by that?" Rarity questioned.
"Well, from its appearance it was clearly a Pokemon. But the name of it, I'm unsure of. What I do know is that it seemed to stick everypony on its fur somehow. As if it was glue. I'll have to look into that."
"Do we know a Pokemon like that?" Rarity turned to Rainbow Dash.
"There's a lot of pink Pokemon. Chansey, Sylveon, Hoppip, Skitty, Audino. But none of them really have sticky fur." Rainbow shook her head, listing some of the pink Pokemon she knows so far.
"Maybe Fluttershy can tell us. She knows a lot about Pokemon." Applejack recommended. A pretty good suggestion. If anypony can tell which Pokemon can do what, its Fluttershy. Hopefully anyways.
Mayor Mare, Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash had made their way towards the Pokemon House, asking Fluttershy about a pink Pokemon with sticky fur.
"Pink Pokemon with sticky fur?" Fluttershy tilted her head.
"Yeah. Do you know anything like that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Hm... A lot of them have pink fur but...it's never sticky. It's just soft and fluffy. Right, Audino?" Fluttershy rubbed her Audino's fur.
"Audino!"
"There has to be at least one." Applejack went up to her.
"Hmm...What did this Pokemon look like?" Fluttershy wanted some descriptions. Mayor Mare is the only pony here who's seen it.
"What did it look like? How do I describe it... Its body was pink obviously with a white section in the middle. Plus it seemed to be at least as large as SugarCube Corner. It had huge bulbous saucer-like eyes that were blue, its body seemed to be flexible from the way it was built and it had a small little curl on its head. That is the best explanation I can give."
"Hm. Blue saucer-like eyes...flexible body...curl on its head." Fluttershy thought for a moment. She was digging through her memories on all the Pokemon she's seen so far. "From what she can recall, there's only Pokemon that matches that description that she's seen. And it is the middle stage evolution. "You mean Jigglypuff?"
"Is it a Jigglypuff?" Rainbow replied.
"Well...Jigglypuff isn't really big. And it doesn't have any white stuff in the middle. It is close to that description, but I don't think it could've been a Jigglypuff."
"Great. We're making zero progress here." Applejack groaned. "How about we ask Ash instead? Is he here yet?"
"Nope. He hasn't shown up. But I've got a better idea." Rainbow Dash flew up into the air to see if she could spot this unidentified Pokemon. If it was as large as SugarCube Corner, it couldn't be hard to miss. She couldn't spot it when she arrived at Ponyville earlier, but now that she understands the situation, she'll be on the lookout.
"I'll see what I can find. Perhaps the books that BigTime Ben lent me can be of us." Mayor Mare took her leave.
And it didn't take long for her to find it. Wigglytuff was massive at this point. Rainbow Dash spotted the curl of Wigglytuff poking out from the trees of Everfree Forest.
"I see something!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "It's pink alright!"
"You do?" Fluttershy flew up, turning her head to where Rainbow Dash was facing. "Oh, I see the curl! It looks like Jigglypuff's but it's standing upright."
"Then that's where everypony is! I got this!" Rainbow Dash zoomed towards the location of the visible Balloon Pokemon, prepared to find her friends. But she wasn't prepared for what was about to happen next. Team Rocket was anticipating this.
"Wiggly." Wigglytuff turned around, facing Rainbow Dash as everypony glued to her had been revealed.
"There you are!" Rainbow Dash increased her speed. Pinkie shook her head rapidly along with the trapped ponies, trying to tell Rainbow Dash to not come close to it. But they couldn't. Their mouths were taped shut. The Balloon Pokemon had forced itself onto Rainbow Dash by using its flexible body to stretch towards her. "What the?!" Rainbow Dash attempted to slow down, but it was too late. Wigglytuff had caught Rainbow in her fur, growing in size once more.
"Gotcha!" Jessie jumped out of the bush. "Can't believe you fell right for it!"
"You're just as headstrong as the twerp!" James taunted.
"T-Team Rocket!" Rainbow Dash growled, attempting to break free. But like everypony else, it was no use. "Wh-what's with this fur?!"
"We're just gonna take these!" Meowth opened up Rainbow Dash's saddle-bag, rummaging through it as he grabbed the Pokeballs. "Gotcha!"
"Hey! Those are mine!"
"Not anymore! Thanks for the free Pokemon!" Meowth ran off. Team Rocket had succeeded in getting two threats out of the way. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. However, Fluttershy had seen the whole thing play out.
"Oh, my!" She gasped.
"The shy one's eavesdropping!" Meowth looked up at Fluttershy.
"Not for long! Get her!" Jessie commanded Wigglytuff.
"Wiggly!" The Balloon Pokemon puffed its cheeks, bouncing up into the air. Fluttershy yelped as she flew back, avoiding the incoming Pokemon. She almost became one with Wigglytuff at that moment. But Wigglytuff had a way around this as well. Before it fell back down to the ground, the Normal-Fairy-Type had winked at Fluttershy, sending an enlarged Attract her way.
"Look out Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash yelled. Fluttershy knew it was coming and obviously flew out of the way, but the Attract was so huge that it caught her anyways. Now Fluttershy was unfortunately infatuated by Wigglytuff, compelled to her.
"Wiggly!" Wigglytuff landed on the ground, opening her arms wide for a hug.
"Oh! I'll give you a big hug alright!" Fluttershy took the inviting hug in an instant. Rainbow Dash tried to stop Fluttershy from heading but the comfortable fur had her trapped. She tried headbutting Wigglytuff, but it did nothing. No matter what she tried, she truly was stuck. So there was only one thing left to do.
"Luxio!" Rainbow called for her Pokemon. Suddenly, the Pokeball that Meowth had begun to tremble. A spark of electricity burst out of the Pokeball, causing the Scratch Cat Pokemon to be launched back. Out of the Pokeball came the Spark Pokemon, responding to its trainer's call.
"Lux!"
"Luxio! Discharge!" The Spark Pokemon let out a flare of electricity that was set loose across all of Everfree. This Discharge of electricity managed to hit everything within range. Including Team Rocket and especially Wigglytuff. Everypony took the Discharge as well, but it had to be done. Fluttershy was shocked before she was able to stick to Wigglytuff. The Discharge had snapped her out of Attract.
"Hm? What was I doing?" Fluttershy looked around, confused.
"Good job! Use Discharge one more time!"
"Xio!" Luxio let out another surge of lightning that filled the area. Wigglytuff felt it again, but even with Discharge, the ponies couldn't get separated from its fur. The best Discharge did was just puff up its fur.
"No good...still stuck." Rainbow Dash groaned.
"Hah! Nice try! But shocking won't get you free!" Jessie laughed at Rainbow Dash's failure to free everypony.
"Now it's our turn!" Meowth held out a bazooka that shot out a net. Once fired, it caught Luxio from behind, pinning the Spark Pokemon to the ground. Luxio tried to break free by using Discharge, but the net was specifically made for Electric-Type Pokemon. Mostly Ash's Pikachu.
"Lux! Luxio!"
"Fluttershy! Go!" Rainbow Dash yelled at her. Fluttershy's the only free pony at the moment, so it's best to get going before Team Rocket catches her as well.
"O-Okay!" Fluttershy flew off.
"Don't just stand there! After her!" Jessie decided to let Wigglytuff chase after Fluttershy.
"Wigglytuff!" The enlarged Balloon Pokemon got a move on. And with its size being larger than SugarCube corner, now more comparable to Town Hall, when it ran, entire trees were being destroyed along the way. The ground itself was shaking. It was as if a huge monster was chasing Fluttershy down. Albeit one that's pink and cuddly.
The tremors that Wigglytuff was causing could even be felt all the way from Ponyville.
"What's that noise?" Twilight opened up the door from her lab. The entire Pokemon Lab was shaking from these sudden tremors. And at the corner of her eye, she saw something completely unexpected. And so did everypony else.
A giant balloon shaped Pokemon with many of Ponyville's residents on it chasing down a scared Fluttershy was the sight that bestowed their eyes.
"What the..." Twilight's jaw opened.
"There it is! Stoutland!" Mayor Mare called for her Pokemon who ran to her side. Fluttershy managed to outpace Wigglytuff, hiding behind Applejack for safety.
"Wigglytuff!" The Balloon Pokemon bellowed.
"I've had enough of this." Mayor Mare stepped forward. "First that Togepi and now this thing. Nopony or Pokemon threatens the peace of my town. No matter what. Stoutland! Fire Fang!"
"Wait! Mayor Mare! Don't get close to it!" Rainbow Dash warned her.
"Hah! What a sucker!" Jessie grinned.
"Stout!" But it was too late. Stoutland had already rushed in. The Big-Hearted Pokemon lunged at Wigglytuff with its fangs surging with crimson flames. From a viewer's point of view, it looked like an insignificant creature taking on a much larger and mightier creature. And it kind of was in a sense. Everypony who had been stuck on Wigglytuff feared the worst. They feared that Stoutland was to be next.
But to everypony's surprise, that's not what happened. Instead, Stoutland bit on Wigglytuff's head, not only damaging her but also managing to still have free movement.
"Wiggly!" The Balloon Pokemon cried as she tumbled back. The flames from Fire Fang spread across its body, actually causing something unexpected. The fire had freed Pinkie Pie from Wigglytuff's fur, causing her to fall on her back.
"I'm free? I'm free! Freedom!" Pinkie Pie jumped for joy.
"But how...?" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Princess Twilight is not the only one who has knowledge of Pokemon. As mayor, it's my duty to have the necessary and fundamentals of Pokemon as well since they're integrated into our life now. I went through the books and found the Fairy-Type category. And look which Pokemon was apart of it. I figured that Wigglytuff's fur could only be separated by moves. More specifically, Pokemon types that it is horrible against. And Fire is one of those types."
"She's got us stumped!" Meowth held his ears.
"Big whoop! So you figured out the way to separate the fur. But you can't stop Wigglytuff in this size!" Jessie growled.
"Believe me. I can." Mayor Mare smirked. "Since I now know what type Wigglytuff is, I decided to switch up Stoutland's moveset. Stoutland! Iron Head!"
"Land!" Stoutland's head hardened, having a steely texture to it. The Big-Hearted Pokemon ran forward, ready to smash into Wigglytuff.
"Wigglytuff! Attract!" Jessie commanded.
"Wiggly....tuff!" The Balloon Pokemon winked at Stoutland, but Mayor Mare prepared for a situation like this. Ever since the whole Togepi debacle, she came up with a little strategy that would allow her to deal with Attract.
"Stout!" Stoutland had used his fur beard to cover his eyes, blocking him from seeing Attract. That's all that needed to be done. The Big-Hearted Pokemon smashed its head against Wigglytuff's belly, harming BonBon as well. But it had to be done. It was the only way she was to be freed. Wigglytuff was sent flying as BonBon was separated from the Balloon Pokemon's sticky fur.
"Ow!" She fell on the ground, tumbling.
"BonBon!" Lyra ran over to her best friend, hugging her.
"Why you! You want to play rough?! We'll play rough alright! Wigglytuff! Thunder Punch!" Jessie stomped on the ground.
"Stoutland! Bite her over and over again with Fire Fang!"
Both Pokemon charged at each other with the snow being scattered from their movements. Wigglytuff' stubby hands were surrounding by volts of electricity, thrusting them towards the Big-Hearted Pokemon. Stoutland hopped over Wigglytuff's punch, biting her arm. This bite had spread fire once more, freeing more ponies along the way.
"Wiggly!
"Stout!" Stoutland continued the Fire Fang assault, continuously chomping on Wigglytuff with every single bite. Soon, the flames that spread from Fire Fang had freed every single pony that was trapped within its fur in the first place.
"Just shake it off already!" Jessie pulled her hair.
"It's about time we finished this! Now! Iron Head!"
"Land!" Stoutland ceased Fire Fang, jumping off of Wigglytuff, who was still recovering from all those Fire Fangs. With its head hardening like steel, Stoutland finished it off by smashing its hard metal head onto Wigglytuff's wide belly. The opposing Pokemon was rocketed back from the impact. So far even that it crashed into Team Rocket, getting them stuck within its fur as well.
"My perfect plan! Shambled!" Jessie wept.
"On the bright side...at least it was from someone important and older." James sighed.
"Either way. We got bested by a dog of all things. I've let my fellow Meowth's down..."
"Wobbuffet!"
"We're blasting off again!"
"Wigglytuff!"
And that was that. The entire situation had been solved at last.
"Finally." Mayor Mare took a deep breath. Everypony cheered as they were glad it was all over at last. Those that had been trapped could move with freedom once more. Luxio returned to Rainbow Dash with the rest of her Pokeballs in his mouth. The two gave each other a hug, glad that they were both okay. "Amazing job as always, Stoutland." She went over to pet her Pokemon.
"Stoutland!" The Big-Heart Pokemon licked Mayor Mare's face out of compassion.
"I'm still so confused...what just happened? Why was that Wigglytuff so huge?" Twilight scratched her mane, unable to process what just occurred.
"Don't worry about Princess Twilight. It's mayor business." Mayor Mare giggled, laughing at herself.
Team Rocket had been sent all the way back to Everfree. They were now stuck on Wigglytuff's fur unable to do anything.
"Got any ideas on how to break free from this?" Meowth groaned.
"My oh my, this is a new sight. And...did this thing increase in height?" Zecora examined Wigglytuff.
"Zecora...help us out here." James pleaded.
"Hold still." Zecora got out a sickle that had poison on it. "This type of poison leaves a bit of a chill." She scraped the sickle on the fur of Wigglytuff, freeing Team Rocket from its stickiness. They had some time to breathe. "Never before have I seen so many failed attempts. At this rate, the best option for you all is to be exempt."
"Wait...you knew this entire time?" James turned to her.
"Of course I knew. I knew along. Most of the time, your blasting off is what I see all day long."
"We've been busted!" Jessie and Meowth held each other. "She'll gobble us up in a big tasty stew!"
"This is what I feared the most!" James hid behind them.
"Wobbuffet!
"Don't be ridiculous. I would never do anything that cruel. But what I will do is ask you four to take a break before you end up in another unfair duel."
"Take a break?" James said
"There is good in you four, I can see. Even if you go on a Pokemon stealing spree. Deep down you try and act evil and horrible. But from what I can tell, in reality, you're actually quite adorable. Especially you James. You seem to be the most pure-hearted, straying away from your friends' gains."
"Hey!" Jessie exclaimed.
"But you two are in the same boat. Deep down there is something that you adore that you continue to quell."
"Hm...She's right. We've been so focused on nabbing Pokemon left and right that we've taken our eyes off the fun." James nodded.
"I'll say. I miss my state of the art boss-bot with pats back at the tower." Meowth dreamed of being petted by a robotic version of Giovanni.
"I haven't done a contest in ages..." Jessie sat down.
"That settles it!" James clapped his hands together. We'll take a break! Clear our minds! And get back to catching Pokemon for the boss!"
"And with ourselves rejuvenated, that Pikachu is surely ours!" Jessie jumped up.
"Here's to a fun break!" Team Rocket high-fived each other.
"Wobbuffet!"
Zecora could tell that they would still get up to their Pokemon shenanigans either way. But she could rest well knowing that they are good people deep within. The request she's given to them could take place anywhere. Wherever they decided to take a break, there's a high chance Pikachu and Ash will be there as well as the journey continues.
"Vulpix!" Vulpix, who always stayed out of its Pokeball and roamed around the lab had held a flier in its mouth. The Fox Pokemon went up to Twilight, showing her the flier.
"Hm? What's this?" She rubbed her eyes, looking at it. "The Game Guru approaches Ponyville next. Be prepared to use the full capabilities of your Pokemon knowledge."
"Vul!"
"Game guru? Pokemon Knowledge?" Twilight looked closer at the flier. She then noticed the details on what the Game Guru brings with him. She read the list of games that can be done. "Poke-End, Passimian Pass, Poke-Dodgeball, Escavalier Jousting, Ditto-Art...Wow. These sound kind of fun actually."
"Espeon." Eve hopped up the table, looking at the list.
"Let me see." Spike checked out the list. "Oh. These seem pretty nice. When does he show up?"
"Probably before the afternoon hits. I wonder what Pokemon games are like actually..."
They're about to find out. Come 10:50, The Game Guru had made his arrival. He showed up in a huge truck with a giant blue box strapped onto it. Everypony gathered around to get a good look at this. Ash and Goh showed up, spotting the unusually large truck stop by Ponyville.
"Check that out." Ash gawked.
"Pika..."
"So this is it? All of that is in there?" Twilight pointed her hoof at the truck.
"Looks like it." Rainbow Dash nodded. "You think it's like a mini-Pokemon Festival?"
"I'm looking forward to that Poke-end part. What you do think it's all about?" Fluttershy wondered.
The blue box began gyrating, shaking uncontrollably. The sound it made was a bit uneasy and intimidating. But that quickly changed into fun when the giant box burst open with an entire plethora of Pokemon popping out of it. These Pokemon were Passimian, Escavalier and Ditto, The Pokemon listed in flier were all here. What also came out of the box was a stand of some sorts. One with a giant screen added on onto it. Many other Pokemon came out of the box, landing everywhere in Ponyville with such precision and style.
And finally, the man who ran the whole thing exited out of the truck. His appearance matched the colour of the box as he wore a blue suit with a blue hat. In fact, his appearance was almost similar to that of BigTime Ben. Height and everything.
"Here we are! Finally! We can get this started!" The guru spoke. His voice even sounded like Ben.
"BigTime Ben?" Sweetie Belle narrowed her eyes.
"What? Pssh...no. Not at all." He shook his head. "I am the great and outstanding Game Guru. A trainer who has mastered the art of Pokemon entertainment!" He raised his arms in the air with confetti flying everywhere. But, out of the truck came a Gothitelle, which solidified that it was indeed him. "Now. Who's ready to bask in the glory of Pokemon entertainment?"
"I am! Can we get started!" Pinkie Pie's head popped out of the crowd.
"Of course we can, my little pony. There's a lot to choose from and a lot more to experience. Let's make this a day to remember.
And so it was. Ponyville's first taste of what Pokemon entertainment can be like. And this is only the simple version of it.
The various attractions were laid out with each Pokemon being at their specific spot. The layout was similar to that of how the Pokemon Festival's attractions were laid out, making it feel familiar and somewhat comfortable in an odd way. The ones that really caught everypony's eye were Poke-dodgeball, Poke-end and Escavalier Jousting.
"How about we try...that one!" Twilight pointed her hoof over at Poke-End. That attraction was the one with the unusually large screen.
"Ah. The Poke-End game. Nice choice." Ben rubbed his hands together. "But this one is for those who are experts in Pokemon."
"How so?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well. Poke-End is essentially a game where...hm. How do I put this in the simplest term? It's about saying a Pokemon's name and taking the end of its name and following up with the next Pokemon. For example. If I said Reuiniclus, you'll follow up with Steelix. And then after Steelix, the next person will follow up with a Pokemon like Xatu. Then Ursaring and so on and so forth. Depending on the letter at the end of a Pokemon's name."
"Oooh...I get it!" Twilight got how the game worked instantly. "Sounds pretty simple."
"Oh, it is simple. However!" Ben exclaimed, making them jump. "There is one major rule you must take into consideration. You cannot say a Pokemon who's name ends in N. You say N, that's it. The game will be over and you'll have to start all over again. Also, this is mostly for trainers who know a lot of Pokemon. And I do mean a lot."
"That'll be a cinch. We've all seen a lot of Pokemon." Rainbow Dash nodded.
"It'd better be a cinch. Also. As a bonus, you can also do this. If I say Vanillish, you can follow up with Sharpedo. So two words that are identical also count. Got that?"
"All clear. All of us will go?" Rarity looked at her friends.
"Mhm. We'll take turns and ace this game." Twilight replied. "So when can we start?"
"Right now!" The Guru slammed a button, turning on the screen. Along with that, some music started to play. "You're gonna have to say it rapid-fire. No time for breaks!"
"Wait what?!" All 6 of them exclaimed.
"Mhm! You gotta say it each after 1 second passes. The naming begins...Now!"
"Oh, uh! Pikachu!" Twilight started off.
"Unfezant!" Applejack followed.
"Trapinch!" Fluttershy bellowed.
"Herdier!" Pinkie jumped up.
"R-Ralts!" Rainbow Dash stuttered.
"Skitty!" Spike blurted out, joining in on this.
"Yamask!" Rarity exclaimed.
"K-Kecleon?" Sweetie Belle shrugged.
"Ooh! Nope sorry. Kecleon's got an N at the end." Guru stopped the music.
"Aw..." Sweetie Belle groaned. "I blew it."
"Don't worry about it. Just a slip-up. But not a bad first try, everypony." The Guru nodded.
"Yikes. Thinking of a Pokemon on the spot is harder than it looks." Rainbow Dash sighed.
"The highest number of Pokemon trainers have named are 500. That's the score to beat."
"500?!" Twilight gasped.
"Don't worry. You don't have to beat it. All you have to do is reach a high score of your own. The recommended goal is 150. Each Pokemon you name is worth 10 points. If you can name at least 140 of them, you're golden. But that's already tough enough for you all so...50 will do."
"What do you think? Can we really name them all?" Pinkie asked.
"Of course we can. We've met so many Pokemon over the months. Plus, there's the Pokemon House which is just full of Pokemon. All we have to do is stay firm on our hooves and recall every Pokemon we've met. " Twilight reassured them.
"Sounds promising. Let's have a second go!" The Guru slammed the button once more. The music started up with the fast-paced beat running through their ears.
"Go!" Guru gave the command.
"Gyarados!"
"Swoobat!"
"Tailow!"
"Wooper!"
"Raticate!"
"Emolga!"
"A-Altaria!" Scootaloo stuttered.
"Audino!"
"Oshawott!"
"Tangrowth!"
"Houndoom!"
"M-M-Mimikyu!" Sweetie Belle hit her head.
"U-Umbreon?" Apple Bloom winced.
"And that's that!" The guru stopped the music.
"Oh! I messed up!" Apple Bloom face-hoofed herself.
"Actually. You didn't! Stopping at Umbreon was a good call! Sometimes the game can come to an end if you decide to say a Pokemon with N at the end. Each of you accumulated 130 points each!" He showed off the points. Their naming was just enough to almost reach the high score. "Ooh. Just short."
"So close!" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"But, for breaking past your high score and almost breaking the record, you get the second place reward." Guru gave each of them silver trophies with a Pokeball in the middle of them. "This whole Poke-end game of mine is still relatively new, so not many have taken part in them."
"So it wasn't that hard to break the high score?" Twilight took the trophy.
"Not really. But! Since you all did and were the first to break it, you deserve these. But I can guarantee you that next time, it'll get harder with even more points racking up along the away."
"Who cares about the high score? I got a silver trophy!" Rarity held the trophy close to her face.
"I'll break the high score." Ash stood from afar, smirking. "I'll get past 150."
"Hm? You sure?" The Guru leaned forward.
"Oh yeah. If anyone knows a lot of Pokemon, it's me!"
"Ash. I know you've got a lot of knowledge on Pokemon, but can you name them all without landing on one that as an N at the end? I mean...there's probably like a thousand Pokemon in the world. Maybe even a million!" Rainbow Dash flew over to him.
"Watch me." Ash stepped forward. "That first place is mine!"
"Pikachu!"
"Well. He's accepted it. Let's give it a third try!" Guru slammed the button, starting the game once more with the music moving at high-speeds. "GO!"
"Holy moly!" Rainbow Dash turned to the screen, seeing Ash rack up points at ludicrous speeds. He had already broken past the 150 high-score, reaching 190. But he didn't stop there. He kept on going and going. He named four more, reaching 230.
"Xurkitree! Exploud! Doduo! Pikachu!" He raised his buddy up for that. "Uxie! Electivire! Reshiram! Mudkip! Pumpkaboo! Octillery! Yveltal! Lucario! Omastar! Rayquaza!" More and more points were building up at absurd rates. His score was the highest of them all, reaching 370. He figured that now as the best time to stop since he's reached a good enough level. "Archen!"
"That's that!" Guru stopped the music. "Whew...that was the most so far. That makes...370! Highest one yet!"
"Yes!" Ash pumped his fist.
"Pikachu!"
"Shouldn't have doubted his knowledge." Rarity said to Rainbow Dash.
"Here you go. First place's prize! Gold!" Guru had his Gothitelle bring in the heaviest prize. A gold trophy that weighed a lot. The trophy was placed right in front of Ash, causing him to jump. The way it shined dazzled across the town.
"Awesome!" Ash gawked at it.
"Pika!"
"Congrats, Ash!" Pinkie rushed over, looking at the trophy. "Oh...lucky. I would love a gold trophy! But I actually like my lungs."
"This is gonna look great with the others at Professor Oak's lab." Ash picked up the trophy.
"So. Any of you fancy other attractions?" Guru asked.
"That looks fun." Pinkie bounced over to the Escavalier Joust attraction. "Escavalier Joust?"
"Oh yes. An old fashioned sport that was popularized long ago in the Galar Region in 1066. It's pretty self-explanatory. Two Escavalier's with a participant on the back of both charge at each other, striking with their lances. It's jousting but with much more oomph."
"Escavalier, huh?" Rainbow Dash took out her dex.
"Escavalier. The Cavalry Pokemon. They fly around at high speed, striking with their pointed lances. Even when in trouble, they face opponents bravely. These Pokémon evolve by wearing the shell covering of a Shelmet. The steel armour protects their whole body. They’re very popular Pokémon in the Galar region. An image of one of its duels is captured in a famous painting of Escavalier clashing with Sirfetch’d."
"I'll take it!" Rainbow Dash chose this game as her choice.
"Great. Then who's joining her?" Guru asked.
"Um. I'll pass." Fluttershy hid behind Ash.
"I'll try it. Seems fun enough." Spike decided to give it a try.
"Hm." Guru looked at Spike, comparing the size of him and Rainbow Dash. "Seems fair enough. Alright then. Both of you hop on and we can get this started. Just uh...don't poke your head out."
Spike and Rainbow Dash were both seated on the two Cavalry Pokemon by sitting on their helmets. The area they would joust in had hard fences placed down by Gothitelle for safety reasons. Both of them had kept a faraway distance from each other as well.
"Oh. And for good measure. Escavalier, use Iron Defense." Guru commanded both of them. The two Bug-Steel-Types hardened their bodies for extra protection. The impacts they cause can be devastating if not careful. "You two ready?"
"Ready." Rainbow Dash grinned at Spike.
"On second thought. Maybe I-" Spike was having second thoughts.
"JOUST!" Guru gave the call to start. Both Pokemon wasted no time getting started. Escavalier aren't exactly the fastest Pokemon. But once they pick up speed, they perform amazing feats. Both charged at each other, scattering the snow along the way. Spike pulled his head back as he could feel the wind blowing in his face. Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes with her mane flowing back.
"Esca!" Both cried out.
The moment they came close, both their lances clashed with the tips connecting. A powerful shockwave emitted from their clash, causing the fences to almost fly off. Ash held his hat as Pinkie Pie was blown back. It's not exactly a smart idea to be close to two Escavalier's when they clash lances. The two had a small struggle with one trying to push the other back. The one Escavalier that came out on top was Rainbow Dash's Escavalier who pushed through its fellow Cavalry Pokemon's lance, striking its torso area which is the body of a Karrablast. The impact on Spike's Escavalier was enough to launch both him and the Bug-Steel-Type far.
Spike wailed, but he was safely caught by Rarity's magic, thankfully, whilst Gothitelle caught the flying Escavalier with Psychic.
"That's the joust! Winner! Rainbow Dash!" Guru pointed at Rainbow Dash.
"Woohoo!" Rainbow Dash raised her hooves, falling off Escavalier's helmet. "Woah!"
"So. What's next?" Spike wiped some dust off him. There was still a lot more to choose from.
They went through many attractions with various outcomes. The Ditto-Art attraction had everypony draw a Pokemon from their imagination or at least, a Pokemon they believed to be real. Even though there's a high chance that Pokemon exists somewhere considering the ever-expanding world of Pokemon. Once the drawing is shown to Ditto, it will transform into that Pokemon with the best of its abilities. And as a bonus, Rotom will enter your Pokedex and come up with a fake dex entry. For authenticity reasons of course.
"How about this?!" Sweetie Belle showed off her drawing. It was of a Meerkat that had flame patters across its face and tail. Its fur was crimson red along with its paws and eyes being yellow. It looked to be a Fire-Type. "I call it uh...Sear...kat? Searkat!"
"Ditto..." Ditto found the drawing to be...interesting, but it could work with it. The Transform Pokemon morphed its body to try and match the appearance of the Fire-Type Meerkat. It got the drawing down to a T by appearing to have the same appearance as an ordinary Meerkat, but with sharp flame patterns on it.
"Oh! It's perfect!" Sweetie Belle grinned.
"Off you go Rotom," Guru commanded his Rotom. Soon, Sweetie Belle's Pokedex had been infiltrated by Rotom as it meddling with its data.
"Now let's see it!" Sweetie Belle held out her dex, facing it towards the Searkat.
"Searkat. The Searing Pokemon. Searkat are commonly known for forming in packs of two to 30. They do this to build up 190 degrees Fahrenheit of flames that surround their soft yet blazing fur. Searkat utilizes this tactic to scare off its natural predator, Seviper."
"Yes! I love it!" Sweetie Belle picked up Ditto, shaking it about.
"Di-Ditto!" Ditto returned to its normal form from all the shaking.
"Oh. Sorry."
"Then...how about mine? I thought long and hard about this one!" Fluttershy squeed as she raised her drawing up. Hers was of a Grass-Type Pokemon of some sorts. It was based off was an Oak Tree instead of a creature. It had eyes that were always closed as it stood in a bipedal stance. Its arms were huge and perfect for hugging. It had your usual green leaves on its head, however, they had teal highlights on the tip as well. It looked like a friendlier version of Trevenant. "I call it Shrubhug!"
"Can you do that, Ditto?" Guru looked down at the purple blob.
"Ditto." Ditto indeed could. Its body morphed, changing its usual blob-like appearance into the shape of a stalk. Long leaves formed out of its head as it gained huge arms and hands comparable to that of a Machamp and Snorlax combined. Its eyes were closed, similar to that of Brock. The way its face looked made it seem like a Pokemon that was relaxed and laid-back. A perfect Grass-Type to some trainers out there. Not only that but it was huge. Almost as large as an Onix.
"Excellent! Scan it!" Fluttershy had a wide grin as Sweetie Belle raised her dex up.
"Shrubhug. The Nestle Pokemon. Shrubhug's massive leaves are perfect for relaxation. Flying-Types often flock to its leaves, claiming them as resting spots or perfect places to create a nest. The leaves on Shrubhug's head can also soothe and unwind any injuries caused to someone, no matter how severe. Trainers often bring a Shrubhug with them in order to heal after a Houndoom attack. The hugs it gives out can also replenish anyone that approaches it."
"I love it!" Fluttershy flew over to Shrubhug, hugging her creation. Ditto felt compelled to hug back. Might as well live up to the dex entry of the fake Pokemon. "I wish it was real..."
"That's cute and all...but does it compare to this?" Rainbow Dash held out her drawing. It seemed to be a superhero of some sorts. It had the body structure similar to that of a Lucario. The typing had been described by Rainbow Dash as Flying-Steel. It had a red cape made out of wings along with its fur being rainbow-coloured. The eyes of this imaginary Pokemon were rainbow-coloured as well. Everything about it, minus the cape was rainbow-themed. "Pretty neat right? I call it uh...Ouraniom!..Yeah. That's it." She came up with the name on the spot.
"That's some saturation." Guru rubbed his eyes. "But Ditto can do that as well. Alright, go!"
"Ditto!" The result of this new Pokemon was better than expected. Ditto had decided to improvise. Since its body structure was similar to that of Lucario, it figured that it should look like a Jackal. The wings turned out great. The rainbow colours had been toned down in order to be easier on the eyes. But as a bonus, they dazzled in the sunlight. Even its eyes dazzled, giving it a shiny appearance.
"Ouraniom. The Spectrum Pokemon. This Pokemon was once a Normal-Type that had been exposed to the radiation of Mega Stones that laid near the end of a rainbow. Instead of granting it access to Mega Evolution, the radiative energy transmuted its cells, transforming the weak Pokemon into a mighty entity. Ouraniom can be seen protecting people and Pokemon from a plethora of disasters and terrors. These Pokemon are usually paired up with Absol."
"I've never been so happy in my entire life." Rainbow Dash tearing up.
"These are some ideas. How about the rest of you? Have you come up with something?" Guru asked everypony else.
"Nah...Haven't really thought of anything yet." Ash groaned, stuck on his drawing.
"This is harder than it looks." Twilight sighed.
"Way harder...making a Pokemon is difficult!" Sonata tossed her pen as it hit somepony in the face.
"Don't worry about it. You can try it again when the Pokemon Festival arrives for the second time in 2 months."
"The Pokemon Festival's coming back soon?!" Rarity raised her head up.
"Yes! I know this because...BigTime Ben told me. Yeah. That's what happened. So don't worry about not having any ideas at the moment."
"Alright then. By that time, I'll have thought of something amazing!" Pinkie screeched. "So, what's next?"
"Hmm...that Poke-Dodgeball's been catching my eye for a while now." Applejack turned to Poke-Dodgeball. The one attraction that hasn't been interacted with yet. Everything else is being interacted and played by everypony else, except that one.
"Oh. Poke-Dodgeball. This one's been played by many trainers over the years." Guru walked over to the attraction. "This is the most intense attraction due to how aggressive it can get. Are you 100% sure you want to try this one?"
"Sure! We've got plenty of time. Why not?" Twilight shrugged.
"Very well then. But just so you know...you'll all be facing off against...your Pokemon."
"What?!" They all pulled back from those words.
It was as it seemed to be It was the Pokemon vs the trainers. They all stood in a dodgeball arena that had an expansive wide space. Most of the ponies from Ponyville were participating in this since it also caught their eye. But they weren't expecting to challenge their Pokemon in the process. The balls had the appearance of Pokeballs for aesthetic choices.
"Oh yeah." Guru rubbed his hands together. "It's Trainers vs Pokemon! The rules are the same as regular dodgeball. You get hit, that's it. No hitting the head or above the shoulders. You can block an incoming ball with another ball and catching it with your hands, hooves or whatever limb you own sends the thrower out of the game. But! In this case, Pokemon moves are involved."
"They are?!" Twilight gasped, turning to Guru.
"Indeed they are. The Pokemon are allowed to use their moves to their advantage. It's what makes the game much more fun. But don't worry. I'm 100% sure that you all know how to deal with the moves since they are your Pokemon, right? "
"...R-Right..." Scootaloo gulped.
"Great! Plus, magic is allowed. So that's an extra advantage in its own right. You've all got 14 minutes total. Alright. Trainers! Are you ready?"
"Ready.!" Ash picked up a ball.
"And the same for the Pokemon as well?"
"Pika!" Pikachu grinned, holding a ball with his tail. Even if Ash was his best friend forever, he was looking forward to this. No shame in having fun right?
"Then...play!" Guru gave the call as he made a run for it, knowing how destructive this is going to get.
"If we hit them first...they won't have the chance to use their moves!" Rainbow Dash flew, holding a ball. "Here goes!" She made the first move, tossing the dodgeball directly towards Thunderlane's Mienfoo.
"Foo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon had used Substitute to avoid the dodgeball as it bounced on the arena floor.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu tossed the ball up with his tail, jumping after it. The Electric Mouse Pokemon then used Iron Tai to hit the ball, rocketing it towards the trainers. "Chu-Pika!"
"Yikes!" Pinkie screeched as she and the trainers moved out of the way. "Why did he fire it with such aggression?"
"Espeon..." Eve raised up three balls with her psychic abilities, surrounding them around her. She sent them towards the opposite side, hoping to hit three in one. And she did hit three in one. Amethyst Star, Spike and Roseluck were taken out by Eve's throw.
"Aw seriously?!" Spike groaned as the ball ended up hitting his claw.
"Don't worry. It's our turn!" Applejack had bucked over a dodgeball that raced towards Eve. But unfortunately, she caught it with her mind. Thankfully, you're only out if the ball is caught physically by your opponent. So levitating the ball doesn't count.
"Sorry about this!" Fluttershy tossed a ball with weak strength behind it. The ball barely moved from her spot as it bounced on the floor. "Oh."
"Braviary!" The Valiant Pokemon took the skies with a ball in his talons. He used Superpower to smash the ball, sending it down at lightning speeds. Rainbow Dash flew out of the way as the ball crashed through the arena floor, leaving a huge hole through it. So far, the Pokemon were gaining the advantage thanks to their moves and what they're capable of doing naturally. Pikachu and Minccy kept using their tails to throw the Pokeballs since they packed more speed in them. Audino was completely puzzled on what to do. She didn't exactly feel like harming anyone in any way shape or form. This actually made her an open target.
"Gotcha!" Twilight tossed the dodgeball directly at Audino as it struck her stomach. The first Pokemon to be out was her. "Yes! I got one!"
"Ra...Boot!" Raboot kicked up the ball, backflipping towards it. The Rabbit Pokemon slapped the Pokeball towards them as flames surrounded it. Rarity jumped up, landing in Rainbow Dash's hooves as the flaming ball almost hit her.
"Leavan!" Rarity's single Leavanny had used String Shot to pick up a ball, swinging it around. Leavanny released the Pokeball, sending it to the side of the trainers.
"No, you don't!" Ash got in the way, blocking it with his own Pokeball. Just then, he was almost hit by an incoming Pokeball from Applejack's Treecko. It just grazed his hair. He moved out of the way, avoiding the incoming balls thrown Braviary.
"Pika!" Pikachu had taken out Pinkie Pie by slapping four Pokeballs her way. Each of them hit her hoof, tail, stomach and stomach.
"Aw...rats!" Pinkie pouted, walking off the arena.
"This is getting pretty one-sided. We've gotta do something fast!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She was almost hit by an incoming Pokeball from Sweetie Belle's Piplup.
"Ponyta!" Scootaloo's Ponyta had kicked a Pokeball that knocked Derpy out of the sky.
"If we can take out the biggest threats we should be good." Ash looked up at Braviary. "Here goes!" He tossed the Pokeball upwards, allowing Rainbow Dash to grab it.
"Sorry, Braviary!" Rainbow Dash had targeted her own Pokemon, tossing the ball his way.
"Braviary!" Braviary had used Brave Bird to move out of the way, avoiding the ball. Rainbow Dash went down for another one, flying up after him.
"If magic is allowed...then I can do this, right?" Twilight had decided to use teleportation as an advantage. This was actually a good call. Not only would it allow her to avoid any incoming attacks, but it could also throw the Pokemon off guard since she could throw the ball from anywhere. And she did. "Gotcha!" Twilight tossed the Pokeball forward, striking somepony's Chimecho out of the air.
"Chime!"
"Leavan!" Leavanny had yet again picked up a Pokeball with her string. This time, she raised it up, slamming it overhead. Applejack saw this as an opportunity. She raised her Pokeball up, blocking the incoming ball. The rebound was immense due to it being slammed by String Shot. It managed to push Applejack back, almost causing her to lose her balance. This rebound was a good call since Leavanny was still holding onto the string.
"There!" Applejack tossed the Pokeball towards Leavanny, striking the Leaf Wrapped Pokemon in its leg, taking it out. "Yeehaw! Direct hit!"
Rarity had used her mane to her advantage somehow. Each time a ball came her way, she would use the silky smoothness of it to swerve the ball, launching it upwards. She did put some gel in it today after all. With the ball being launched up by her mane gave Rainbow Dash the opportunity to grab it, tossing it back at the Pokemon. She took out Aria's Popplio with it. Now the tables were turning. The trainers were starting to get the upper-hoof. Twilight would catch a Pokemon off guard by teleporting near them. Each time they would throw a ball, Twilight would appear, throwing a ball at them by surprise.
Braviary set his eyes on Rarity, prepared to take her out, The Valiant Pokemon flew high into the sky, gaining more and more distance. He tossed the ball up, once again, using Superpower. The ball came rocketing down with flames surrounding it. It even broke the sound barrier due to the speed it was moving at. It looked like Rarity was about to be taken out until Ash caught the ball with his bare hands. It burned his gloves a bit with steam coming out, but it was worth it since Braviary was now out of here. Ash then tossed the ball he caught right towards Raboot.
Raboot blocked the ball by kicking up one in front of him to do so. But he was quickly caught by surprise by Goh hitting his foot with a Pokeball. Taken out by your own trainer. Harsh.
Very few trainers and Pokemon remained. Meaning there was far more space to dodge incoming Pokeballs.
"Espeon!" Eve tossed some Pokeballs in the air whilst holding a spare with her tail. The ones she raised up with her mind were sent towards the trainers' side whilst she kept the spare just in case. Applejack had ducked the incoming Pokeballs, avoiding them all, but she, unfortunately, didn't see the last one coming. Eve used the spare Pokeball, releasing it from her tail. Once Applejack was taken out, the ball that hit her was grabbed by Rainbow Dash who tossed it right towards Eve.
Minccy attempted to block the ball with her own, but it passed through it her, hitting her tail and taking her out next.
"Ooh!" Guru watched as he saw the Pokeballs fly back and forth. So much dodging, so many moves being used, it was a sight to behold. But now, things amped up.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped on a ball, taking to the skies. "Chu!" He sent an electroweb down, causing the entire arena floor to be filled with electricity.
"What the?!" Goh almost lost his balance as the electrified floor was giving him a jolt.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu grinned landing back on the ground. He used Iron Tail to strike the Pokeball their direction whilst Treecko added Dragonbreath to it. Goh was taken out by a combined Iron Tail and Dragonbreath combination. And he couldn't do anything about it. Electroweb filling the floor had restrained his movements and everypony else's.
"Cheap trick, Pikachu!" Twilight yelled, struggling to move through the web.
"Pika-ka-ka-ka!" Pikachu chuckled.
Many trainers were being taken out thanks to Electroweb. Most from their own Pokemon. The number of trainers dwindling yet again.
Twilight had used her magic to caused a shockwave, blowing away the Electroweb and freeing everypony.
Rainbow Dash was the only who pony who avoided Electroweb at the last second thanks to her constantly staying the air. She saw an opportunity to take out Pikachu with a Pokeball, locking her eyes on him.
"I've got you in my sights!" Rainbow Dash put all of her strength in her hoof, rocketing the ball towards Pikachu's direction.
"Pika!" Pikachu used Quick Attack to move ahead, avoiding the ball. The Pokeball that Rainbow Dash threw was then caught by Eve who used her mind to send them back at the trainers.
Eve was quickly taken out thanks to Twilight catching the ball with her hooves. "Yes!"
"Esp?! Espeon." Eve sighed, walking off the arena.
"Piplup!" Sweetie Belle's Piplup smashed the Pokeball with Aerial Ace, causing it to twist and turn. This was caught by Ash who took Piplup out by doing so. Scootaloo's Ponyta had been building up speed with Flame Charge the entire time, just to gain a speed advantage. And what an advantage it was. The Fire Horse Pokemon had used Double Kick to launch 4 Pokeballs towards the direction of the trainers.
Aria was quickly taken out by the first one. Apple Bloom the second. And Lyra the third. The fourth had been caught by Scootaloo herself, taking her own Ponyta out of the game.
Mienfoo closed its eyes, focusing all of its energy into its hands. The Martial Arts Pokemon had used Close Combat to rapidly strike the ball in one spot. "Mien!" After that, it let out a palm strike, forcing the ball to gain motion. The speed the Pokeball moved at was heightened thanks to Close Combat. Sonata had blocked the incoming ball with her own, but the impact was intense that when it bounced off, it forced everypony to fly back due to the shockwave it left behind.
"Yeesh...How is this getting more and more aggressive?" Twilight breathed in and out.
"Don't worry. I'll stop every last one of them." Ash held his hands out. "Come on!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo struck a Pokeball towards Ash's direction with Force Palm.
"Lup!" Piplup did the same by using Aerial to do so.
Ash held his breath in, keeping all the focus on the ball and his hands. And just like that, he caught both of them with both of his hands, taking two Pokemon out. "I gotcha!" He then held both Pokeballs forward, blocking an incoming one. Now was a perfect time to send them back at the Pokemon side. Ash did this by taking out both Slurpuff and Silver Spoon's Glameow.
At this rate, it was unclear of who would win this. Only 4 minutes remained on the clock. Diamond Tiara's Purrloin decided to live up to its title as the Devious Pokemon and as a Dark-Type. She used Fake Tears to pretend that she was crying, grabbing the attention of the trainers. Purrloin was very convincing with crying, almost making it seem like genuine sadness was filling her eyes. She got on her knees, increasing the Fake Tears. Many trainers had stopped what they were doing, looking at the Devious Pokemon.
"I-Is she okay?" Rainbow Dash whispered at Twilight.
"Wait a minute...that's Fake Tears!" Twilight exclaimed as Purrloin smirked. She tossed a Pokeball right towards Rainbow Dash, taking her out by surprise. She then used Night Slash to sent another Pokeball towards the trainer's side. Sweetie Belle was taken out since she was one of the few who fell for Purrloin's fake sadness. One was coming towards Twilight, but she caught it with her magic. "Nice try!" The young alicorn teleported all over the place, confusing Purrloin in the process. It was her turn to be juked as Twilight had then flown up, tossing the ball towards Purrloin, taking out the Devious Pokemon in the process.
"Ah...I love Dark-Types and their scheming nature." Guru chuckled.
"Pika?" Pikachu looked around to notice that he was the last Pokemon remaining. If he wanted to win, he'll have to take out the remaining 4 trainers with precision. Which were Ash, Twilight, Scootaloo and Fluttershy.
"It's just you now Pikachu!" Scootaloo smirked.
"Pika...Chu!" Pikachu unleashed a burst of 100,000 volts from his body, almost hitting the trainers. It wasn't his intention to hit them with Thunderbolt. He only aimed to throw them off guard. And that's what he did. He quickly used Quick Attack to grab a Pokeball, tossing it forward. The one who had her guard down the most was Fluttershy who had been taken out by a Pokeball to the hoof.
"Eep!" Fluttershy circled up into the ball, thinking she was badly hurt. She wasn't. But she was out. "Oh. Uh, fairy play." Fluttershy squeed, flying off.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu used Quick Attack to move at blinding speeds, not allowing the trainers to keep track of him. He left behind afterimages due to this speed, throwing their eyes off balance.
"Where is he!?" Scootaloo's eyes felt like they were about to fall off.
"I can keep track of him." Twilight had teleported across the arena, trying to keep track of Pikachu. Pikachu found a blind spot with Twilight. He picked up a Pokeball with Iron Tail, whilst still moving around in Quick Attack.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped up, smacking the Pokeball with his hard metal tail. With Twilight's blind spot open, she was sure to be hit. But thankfully, her teleportation saved her at the last minute. The Electric Mouse Pokemon was almost taken about by Scootaloo who tossed a Pokeball his way in the air. "Chu!" Pikachu caught the Pokeball, taking Scootaloo out.
"Aw! Darn!" Scootaloo groaned, walking off.
"Pika!" Pikachu landed down on the floor, breathing in and out. It was just two trainers and one Pokemon now.
"Sorry, buddy. But I'm aiming at winning this." Ash said.
"Pikachu!"
The three of them each raised up the Pokeballs in their hand, preparing to toss them with all their might. But unfortunately, time had run out. That was 14 minutes.
"Ooh! That's it! Time's up!" Guru called the game over. "Whew...that was getting a bit aggressive back there."
"Finally..." Twilight sighed as she sat down, dropping the Pokeball.
"Pika..."
"Since two trainers are left on the trainer side and only one Pokemon. The winners are the trainers! By a hair."
"Good job, buddy. You almost had me there." Ash spoke to his partner.
"Pikachu! Pikapi!"
"That was way more intense than normal dodgeball..." Goh fell on his back.
"I'll say..." Sonata nodded.
"So. Now that that's done...who's up for-" Guru looked over to see the trainers and Pokemon exhausted. "On second thought, maybe it's best to call it all to a close."
They experienced some other game attractions that were less intense than the Poke-Dodgeball one and they enjoyed themselves until the sun had set.
"Time to go! But I can tell you all had a blast!" Guru hopped back in his truck as Gothitelle placed everything back in the huge blue box. "I'll see you all at the Pokemon Festival in two months!" He took his leave, driving off with his very colourful and expressive vehicle leaving behind a trail of confetti.
What a day. One filled with naming, jousting, fake Pokemon and a very aggressive game of dodgeball. They can all look forward to more activities like this in two months, but in the meantime, more fun can be had with Pokemon involved, whether it be here or in the Pokemon World as the journey continues.
The existence of Ice-Type Pokemon had changed everything. Snow isn't meant to fall this early on. But on the plus side, this also means that the snow is vastly more comfortable than regular snow. That's just one of the few upsides of Ice-Type effects.
At the moment, other than Enkindle Island, there was no place in Equestria where snow wasn't present. But today, the snow seemed to pour on harder than before. To the point where windows were completely covered and huge sheets of snow took up most of the ground. If you were to dig your hoof, feet or whatever limb you own in it, chances are you might sink. Which doesn't spell good news for foals and smaller Pokemon.
"What's with this snow?" Rainbow Dash looked out her window. The snow was falling so hard that it looked like it could break through glass. She tried heading outside, but she was met with a bombardment of snowflakes, forcing her back inside her home. "Ow!" She wiped the snow off her face. "Guess I'm stuck here for a while." She sat on her bed, slumped over. Rainbow Dash felt like finding something to do in order to kill some time. Surely the snow won't pour like this forever.
Looking around for something to do, she spotted a particular Pokemon outside the window. This Pokemon was new to her, but it was whose name wasn't unfamiliar with her.
"What is that?" Rainbow Dash held out her dex.
"Castform. The Weather Pokemon. Castform’s appearance changes with the weather. This Pokémon gained the ability to use the vast power of nature to protect its tiny body, transforming itself into the guises of the sun, rain, and snow clouds. This Pokémon’s feelings change with the weather as well. Although its form morphs with the weather, that is apparently the result of a chemical reaction and not the result of its own free will. The rougher conditions get, the rougher Castform’s disposition!"
"Castform..." Rainbow Dash's mind took a second to process that name. She's heard it before a while back actually. "...Wait...That's Castform?!" Her mane, wings and tail stood up. "Yes! Finally, I found one! But uh...it's not what I expected it to look like." Rainbow Dash was expecting a large creature with huge clouds swarming around it, not this tiny little thing. "Ah, whatever."
"Cast..." Just like what the dex said, the weather was influencing Castform's body. All this snow transformed the Weather Pokemon into its Snowy Form. "Castform!"
"No way...It actually can change forms depending on the weather." Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. The dex was still facing Castform and it even had information on its Snowy Form.
"Castform. The Weather Pokemon. Snowy Form. This is the form Castform takes when covered in snow. Its body becomes an ice-like material, with a temperature near 23 degrees Fahrenheit. In an experiment where it was placed in a freezer, it didn’t change to this form."
"That's what I need for the fifth gym! Come to ma-" Rainbow Dash was prepared to head out, but once again, the snow forced her back inside. "Oh...right. How am I gonna get that Castform...?" She pressed her face on the window. She could try luring Castform out with some food, but she didn't have any at her disposal at the moment. Perhaps, banging on the window will grab its attention. "Hey!" Rainbow Dash banged her hooves on her window, attempting to grab the attention of the Weather Pokemon.
"C-C-Castform!" The harsh weather was actually getting to Castform, causing it to sneeze. Even for a Pokemon who was all about the weather, this was overwhelming to it. Thinking it was alone in the skies, Castform picked up on the sound of Rainbow Dash's knocking, turning its entire body to her direction. "Castform?"
"Yeah...right here. Come on..." Rainbow Dash was luring in Castform perfectly. The Pokemon seemed to have a curious nature so it wasn't too hard to grab its attention. "There we go...Gotcha!" Rainbow Dash quickly opened the door, grabbing Castform before the snow could pelt her. The multi-coloured-maned mare had gained a hold of the Weather Pokemon, shutting the door behind her."
"Cast?"
"Hehe! Yes! I got a Castform! Well...not officially yet. Get in the ball." Rainbow Dash held out a Pokeball.
"Castform!" The Weather Pokemon decided to play around, flying all over the place in her home.
"Hey, wait!" Rainbow Dash was being dragged across her own home whilst still holding on to the Normal-Type. For a Pokemon that weighs only 0.8kg, it has some surprising girthy weight to it.
"Cast...Castform!" Castform had sneezed in its snowy form, causing an explosion of snow so great that it filled Rainbow Dash's home. It seems that the weather was taking a toll on Castform so much that it could pump out a huge sheet of snow in an instant.
"U-Ugh..." Rainbow Dash was buried in snow with her hoof sticking out.
"Castform..." Castform's snowy form was fading away. Being inside Rainbow Dash's home was making it a bit warmer. The Weather Pokemon laid itself down on Rainbow Dash's bed to rest up.
"Gagh!" Rainbow burst out of the snow, breathing in and out. "Finally! Geez...that was a lot of snow for something that small. It's perfect!" She flew up. "With this Pokemon, I'll be able to ace that 5th gym with the weather on my side! Alright...Here goes!" She picked up the Pokeball from the snow, aiming it towards Castform. The monster-catching ball had been thrown, giving Castform a bonk on the head.
"Cast?" Inside the Weather Pokemon went, pulled in by that red light. Now for the outcome.
1...2...3...Gotcha!
Castform was now in Rainbow Dash's possession.
She picked up the Pokeball, gazing at her fifth team member. "Welcome to the team, Castform!" She grinned. But that enjoyment had quickly diminished in a short amount of time. The Pokeball was shaking uncontrollably all of a sudden. Before she knew it, her Pokeball had frozen in ice. But it didn't quite end there. Not only did it freeze, but Castform burst out of the Pokeball by shattering both the ball and the ice. "H-How did you..."
"Castform!" The Weather Pokemon had sneezed once more. It seems that whenever it sneezes, it exerts high amounts of snow and frost in the process. "Cast..." Castform felt hungry. It craved something to eat. Its wish was granted as an aromatic scent caught its attention. "Form?" The Weather Pokemon floated towards the smell, opening the door by itself by biting onto it.
"Hey! Where are you going?!" Rainbow Dash turned to her newly caught Pokemon. Before she could chase the Weather Pokemon down, the harsh snow had bombarded her once more. Castform's form changed into its Snowy form once more, giving it the strength to press on through the cold. "Urgh..." Rainbow Dash groaned, buried in snow yet again.
All the way down at peaceful Ponyville, this scent was the cause of Pinkie Pie obviously. She and the Slurpuff had baked the largest Cindercake there was. It had hot chocolate all over it in order to counteract the cold weather. The scent it gave off was the cause of each of Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff using Sweet Scent to fill the Cindercake.
"That looks great. Slurpuff, your nose never lets us down." Pinkie patted one of her Slurpuff's in the back.
"Slurpuff!"
"This is meant to warm you up?" Jade went up to the cake, placing her hoof on the hot chocolate frosting.
"Oh yeah. Once you eat this, who cares about the weather?"
"Hm." Jade licked the frosting off her hoof, feeling a slight burn on her tongue. "It is pretty hot actually."
"If we can make a bunch of Cindercakes this huge, that'll solve everypony's problem. Besides, these scarves aren't really doing anything." Pinkie shuddered as even a scarf was useless against the cold. "How come you're not cold, Jade?"
"...Don't know."
"Spinda!" Spinda hopped up the table, prepared to take a bite out of the Cindercake.
"Castform..." Along came Castform, sniffing out the scent. It felt like melting from the alluring scent the cake gave off. It needed this badly.
"Hiya there! What's your name?" Pinkie popped her head up, greeting the Normal-Type.
"Castform." Castform completely bypassed Pinkie's greeting, only focusing on the cake and nothing else. The Weather Pokemon gazed at the chocolatey goodness it bestowed. All that hot chocolate mixed in with a girthy cake base was enough to make its little heart melt. No use in wasting time. Castform had decided to dig in. "Cast!" Castform chomped on the cake, digging into hot chocolate frosting that surrounded it all. The moment the chocolate hit its mouth, something else that was rather explosive occurred. Similar to what happened with its Snowy Form earlier. The hot chocolate had transformed its body into its Sunny Form.
"Oooh! How'd it do that?!" Pinkie gawked at the sight of the form change.
"Form changing?" Jade tilted her head.
"There you are!" Rainbow Dash had flown in, using her bedsheet as protection from the harsh snow. "Caught up to ya!"
"Oh, hey Rainbow Dash! You here to bite out the cake too?" Pinkie asked.
"No. I'm here to get that back!" She pointed her hoof at Castform. Just then, her eyes noticed its new form. "Another one?" She quickly took out her dex, scanning this newly seen form of the Weather Pokemon.
"Castform. The Weather Pokemon. Sunny Form. This is the form Castform takes on the brightest of days. Its skin is unexpectedly hot to the touch, so approach with care. In an experiment where Castform was placed in front of a heater, it didn’t change to this form. When you touch its glowing skin, it feels all dried out!"
"So it changes type depending on the weather?" Rainbow looked at her dex then back to Castform. "But it's not even hot right now...And if the heater didn't change its form...then what gives?"
"That means my Cindercake really is effective! Yes!" Pinkie cheered, glad that her cake was capable of negating the cold. Or it could possibly be that this Castform has a unique reaction compared to its fellow Castform's.
"Whatever. Let's try this again. Okay, Castform. I got a brand new Pokeball for you. So please don't break it this time." Rainbow Dash held a new ball in her hoof. "And...go!" She launched the ball towards Castform, but to her surprise, the ball didn't activate. It just simply fell to the ground.
"Cast." Castform didn't even notice as it kept eating the cake along with Spinda.
"...Huh? What gives?" Rainbow Dash picked up her Pokeball.
"Ooh. Tough break." Pinkie said. "Wonder why it didn't work..."
"Maybe because Castform already has a Pokeball, no other ball will catch it." Jade gave an answer to them both.
"Oh. Okay, that makes sense." They both said, nodding.
"Wait! That's not a good thing! How am I supposed to keep it stored and safe if it broke its only Pokeball?!" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"I don't know. But why would you wanna keep something this cute in a ball?" Pinkie went up to Castform, looking at the Weather Pokemon's smile and how chocolate was all over it.
"Cast...form..." Time for a third effect. This time, due to it being in its Sunny Form, Castform had emanated a sudden spike in temperature. All of a sudden, the indoors of SugarCube Corner had been granted a searing feel instead of a chilly one. Castform had made the entire place hot. Scorching hot even.
"Boy...my Cindercake must really be super-effective." Pinkie Pie wiped some sweat off her forehead as her usually puffy and fun mane was drooping down.
"Too hot." Rainbow Dash's mouth had instantly become dry all of a sudden from this heat. Jade, however, was completely unaffected by it. But the ones who were really effected were the Slurpuff's. "So this is why it's called the Weather Pokemon...This is ridiculous!"
"Slurpuff..." The heat had caused many of them to fall on the floor, passing out. Some had even caught fire from the temperature spike.
"Spinda!" Spinda's tongue suddenly felt a hot burn on it. The heat was enough to affect the Cindercake as well, causing its already hot texture to intensify.
"Castform!" Castform felt satisfied with the food, no longer starving. But its Sunny Form was still active. And it progressed from just SugarCube Corner to all of Ponyville. Castform's heat had managed to melt away all the snow that surrounded Ponyville, essentially wiping the slate clean. While it was nice to have some warm weather, everypony wasn't expecting this.
The heat had forced some of them to come outside due to it reaching their homes as well. In a few seconds, everypony was sweating uncontrollably.
"Why's it so hot all of a sudden?!" Amethyst Star opened her door, holding her tongue out. She attempted to step outside, but the moment she did, her hooves felt a sharp burn all of a sudden. "Ow!"
Soon, anypony who even tried to set hoof outside on the ground was met with a burn. The entire ground had been heated up thanks to Castform. Its Sunny Form was proving to be fairly effective and potent, even from this distance. Everypony decided that it was probably best to stay inside.
But inside wasn't any better. Rarity, unfortunately, got the worst out of all of this. The heat had set all her hard work on fire, causing her dresses to set ablaze. Not only that, but her Leavanny were catching fire as well due to the temperature spike.
"Sweetie Belle! Help me put this all out!" Rarity attempted to pour water on them all, but even that didn't put the flames out.
"Don't you have a Feebas?"
"Oh...right." Rarity sent out her Feebas, who hadn't been out of its Pokeball for months. "Feebas! I know we haven't interacted as much, but please. Put this out!"
"Feebas..." The Fish Pokemon used the one move it knew. Splash. As expected it did nothing.
"Nevermind..." Rarity sighed, returning her Feebas.
"Don't worry, sis! I'll get help!" Sweetie Belle rushed outside. But the moment she did, she was also met with the scorching ground, forcing her back inside. Her mane had been charred from just setting hoof outside Ponyville. "Nevermind."
At Twilight's lab, she had gathered some Pokemon from PokePark in order to cool her off. Oshawott, Dewott and Swanna had all given her cold water to negate heat, even pouring some on Eve and Spike. Vulpix avoided this however due to it being a Fire-Type. Minccy had used Aqua Tail to cool herself off, pouring the water on her head each time.
"Ah...that's more like it." Twilight basked in the water from all three Water-Types, feeling refreshed. However, the heat still carried on across Ponyville.
"Twilight!" Starlight entered the lab with her hooves charred. "Why is it so hot?!"
"No idea. But my guess is that there's a Pokemon out there influencing the weather. Similar to how Ice-Types brought along snow much earlier than it usually arrives. So maybe, there's a Fire-Type that's so hot it can change the entire weather and bring about a hot day in an instant."
"Yeah, well...Can somepony tell whichever Pokemon that is to quit it?" Starlight blew on her hooves.
"I got it. Swanna. Water Sport." Twilight commanded Swanna to cool Starlight.
"Swa!" The White Bird Pokemon had soaked the unicorn in water, removing the heat from Starlight's body.
"Oh, that feels so much better..." Starlight fell on her back, relieved.
Sweet Apple Acres, however, had almost caught on fire due to the sudden heatwave. Entire trees were being set on fire due to this, causing so many ripe and fresh apples to be wiped out. Luckily, Applejack's family had the Pokemon to deal with this. Her Treecko had exhaled a smaller version of Dragonbreath to put out the flames whilst Big Mac's Machamp put the flames out with its bare hands.
The Pokemon House was an odd situation. You have Pokemon who are either enjoying the heatwave since they hate the cold, mostly Grass, Ground and Flying-Types. And you also have Pokemon who despise the heatwave, ranging from Ice, Bug, Steel and a few Fairy-Types here and there.
"Did one of you cast Sunny Day?" Fluttershy was about to pass out from all the heat as she looked over to the Pokemon. But none of them did. And even if they did cast Sunny Day, it wouldn't be this powerful.
From atop the clouds, the usual duo of Lucien and Sienna watched over the unexpected carnage being caused by one tiny little Pokemon.
"Wow. Not bad, Lucien. I didn't think about using Castform as an idea!" Sienna patted Lucien on the back.
"...I didn't do anything." He shook his head.
"You didn't?"
"No. I haven't done anything today. None of us has really interacted with anything.."
"Oh...so then...why is that Castform capable of that?"
"My guess...it's a special Castform. One of its kind. I've never heard of a Castform that can just heat up an entire town."
"Ooooh...That is pretty special." Sienna nodded.
"In any case, even I don't know how they're gonna handle this situation. It broke its Pokeball...so its essentially just out in the open forever."
"Why don't we just repair its Pokeball?" Sienna raised up her finger with a cosmic spark on it.
"We could...but that would spoil the fun." Lucien grinned. "Let's keep watching! I wanna see what its Rainy Form can do!"
On it went. Castform's Sunny Form was finally fading away. The heat from the Cindercake had finally left its mouth, causing the Weather Pokemon to return to its normal state. Not only that, but it seems that the heat it brought along with it faded away as well. As if Castform merely existing was causing the scorching temperature to be present.
"Cast!"
"Oh, finally! It's over!" Rainbow Dash groaned, falling flat on her face.
"Is everypony okay?" Jade asked as her eyes looked over to see every single one of them recovering from the heat.
"Castform." Castform flew over to Rainbow Dash, looking down at its trainer. "Cast?" The Weather Pokemon smiled at her, giving her head a soft rub.
"Castform...Can you please get in the- Oh wait...Nevermind." Rainbow sighed, slamming her face on the floor.
"Form." Castform could see that its trainer was a bit stressed out thanks to its actions. It didn't mean to cause any harm or trouble. After all, as the Pokedex said, it doesn't have any free will over its form changes. Meaning it can't do anything about it. In order to ease its first trainer's nerves, Castform had decided to use one spot as a replacement Pokeball. Rainbow Dash's saddlebag. It was just small enough to fit inside of it with ease.
"Look at that! It fits perfectly!" Pinkie set her eyes on the saddlebag.
"Hm?" Rainbow Dash opened up her bag to see the Weather Pokemon sitting inside all snug up.
"Castform!" It was the perfect place to be in. It wasn't too cold neither was it too hot. It was just right, capable of keeping the Weather Pokemon in its normal state.
"Huh...This can actually work! It's perfect!" Rainbow Dash flew up.
"So this thing controls the weather?" Jade peeked in the bag.
"Yep. It's exactly what I need for my 5th Gym Battle. If I can control the weather, I basically control the world! Right, Castform"?
"Cast!" The Weather Pokemon nodded, looking up at its trainer. Castform could sense a strong urge of victory from Rainbow Dash like her other Pokemon. It may not be the strongest Pokemon, in fact, it's most likely the weakest of her team now, but it'll do its very best to guide her to victory.
Rainbow Dash's fifth Pokemon and the Pokemon that she had been looking out for has finally been caught. Castform. A Pokemon that she is sure will help her against the fifth gym which is all about the weather. However, Rainbow knows at this point that it's not wise to underestimate the gyms, even if you know what it's about. Sunset Shimmer and Zecora made that very clear. She's keeping that in mind and planning to outsmart her opponent when the time comes to head to the fifth gym, as the journey continues.
Currently, most of Manehattan is asleep with some still active at night. But it's not many.
The Earth Pony and one of Rarity's friends, Coco Pommel was making her way home at the moment. Alongside her was her partner Glaceon who was enjoying the cold weather as Ice-Types usually do. It was usual night heading home, but this night is not like the rest. What is about to occur could change all of Equestria.
Coco had heard odd sounds whilst making her way home. They almost sounded like radiowaves of some sorts. She couldn't quite make them out, but these odd and bizarre sounds were echoing across the streets of Manehattan. Almost as if something was near.
"Glaceon..." The Fresh Snow Pokemon felt as if something was wrong. She ceased her movements, no longer walking side by side with her trainer.
"What's wrong, Glaceon?" Coco turned to her Pokemon who was on the lookout. "Did you see something?"
"Glaceon." Glaceon narrowed her eyes, focusing on the Mare Statue of all things. Clearly, something was up there or at least near the statue. An ominous fog surrounded the Mare Statue, blocking any vision from it. The fog had even appeared behind Glaceon and Coco, causing them to turn around towards it.
There's a reason why this fog is present. Those same radio wave sounds were coming straight from the fog as if there was something deep within it. And as an extra surprise, 3 lights flashed within the fog. Green, red, yellow. Not to mention two green eyes that looked to be in the shape of the ∞ symbol but bug-eyed.
"W-What is that..."? Coco shuddered with her hooves shaking uncontrollably.
"Ceon..." Glaceon snarled at the unidentified lights, preparing to protect her trainer.
The unidentified entity revealed itself to be none other than the Cerebral Pokemon.
Beheeyem.
"Behee...yem." The Cerebral Pokemon put both its alien-like arms forward, facing them at Coco and Glaceon's eyes. But the real focus wasn't Beheeyem. Instead, it was what came along with the Cerebral Pokemon. The fog that gathered up behind it had summoned something else, high up in the air.
A wormhole.
Not just any wormhole. But an Ultra Wormhole. An unstable portal connecting to the Pokemon World and Ultra Space. Beheeyem had managed to gather enough power to summon these wormholes with its own psychic powers.
Coco moved back, gazing at the unstable portal. The appearance of it was uneasy to the eyes. It looked like the sky itself had been cracked with a large hole in the middle. Why did Beheeyem summon an Ultra Wormhole here? Whatever the reason, one thing was clear. It was doing this for its own plans that only it knows.
Out of the Ultra Wormhole came an Ultra Beast which had the codename UB-01 Symbiont. Otherwise known as Nihilego. The Parasite Pokemon.
The sound it made was unnatural. To Coco, it didn't look like a Pokemon, giving its alien feel more authenticity. The Parasite Pokemon turned its attention towards Coco and Glaceon. It was almost as if Beheeyem was giving off the command. Nihilego raced towards the trainer and Pokemon with haste. Coco let out a bloodcurdling scream from this and that was the last thing that occurred in Manehattan that night.
Morning in Ponyville.
Today, the town was granted with news that would normally seem standard with Pokemon involved. But this time, it was much more surreal than standard, even with Pokemon. They had gotten news that for some unknown reason, everypony in Manehattan have started becoming violent for no reason. Manehattan right now is a mess with ponies and Pokemon acting fierce. Not only that but there is also news of ponies seeing two unknown alien creatures appearing.
"Ponies becoming violent for no reason?" Twilight read the news as she was sitting with the rest of her friends. "How come?"
"Maybe somepony said something to another and things took off from there?" Pinkie Pie shrugged.
"Even so, I'm surprised that it's the entire city. Oh, I hope Coco's alright." Rarity said worryingly.
"What's more is that some ponies have said they've seen these strange creatures appearing. Almost as if they were alien." Twilight continued reading.
"A-A-A-Alien...?" Fluttershy gulped, hiding behind her Audino. "You don't think its aliens do you?!"
"Please don't tell us its aliens!" Sweetie Belle shrieked.
"Relax. There's no way its aliens. They're not even real." Rainbow Dash laid her back on a chair.
"I wouldn't be so sure, Rainbow Dash. Don't you remember what Ash said back in Alola?" Twilight reminded her of the small little conversation about aliens that they had.
"Pokemon beyond Earth? Like... aliens?!" Twilight squeed, loving the idea of that.
"Oh, yeah! We've already got aliens in our world. Do you?" Ash asked Twilight.
"Well...none that we know of yet. Maybe we do."
"Oh yeah...He did say that. Wait! So our world does have aliens?!" Rainbow Dash stood up.
"I was actually thinking it might be aliens from the Pokemon World instead," Twilight replied. "If so, I can't wait to meet one!" Twilight squeed at the thought meeting an alien Pokemon.
"I don't know...this sounds a little bit too dangerous to get excited by." Starlight uttered. "What if the aliens come here...?"
"Or maybe..." Applejack slammed her hooves on the table. "There's already some here in Ponyville, hiding out in the shadows...pretending to look like us and our friends. Waiting for the right opportunity to reveal themselves, dissecting and analyzing our open insides with whatever unknown doo-hickeys they have, only to then rip-"
"Stop!" Apple Bloom bellowed as she and the Crusaders were shaking in fear.
"What's the big deal? Aren't they like changelings if they can look like us?" Spike asked.
"Maybe. But I don't wanna find out." Applejack shook her head.
"Elgyem..." Passing by the group was a new Pokemon that none have ever seen before. This Pokemon was carrying an old TV with its mind, taking it somewhere.
"Oh? What's that?" Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle took out her dexes.
"Elgyem. The Cerebral Pokemon. It uses its strong psychic power to squeeze its opponent’s brain, causing unendurable headaches. Rumours of its origin are linked to a UFO crash site in the desert around 50 years ago in Unova. If this Pokémon stands near a TV, strange scenery will appear on the screen. That scenery is said to be from its home."
"UFO..." Rainbow Dash paused for a moment. As did everypony else. And for those few moments that their minds had processed everything, they each gasped.
"Alien!" They all said in unison.
"That's the alien?!" Spike pointed at Elgyem.
"Aw... it's so cute for an alien!" Fluttershy gushed at it.
"This thing's the cause of everything?" Applejack gazed at it.
"Hi there, little one." Fluttershy flew towards Elgyem. "What have you got there?"
"Elgyem...?" The Cerebral Pokemon looked up at Fluttershy, gazing at the pegasus. "Gyem."
"Uh, maybe it's not a good idea to be so close to it, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "You heard what the Pokedex said! It'll make your brain hurt a lot!"
"I'm sure it's fine. Besides, the dex also said it's just looking to head back home. That's why you have a TV. Right Elgyem?"
"Elg." The Cerebral Pokemon held the TV out at Fluttershy. Obviously, it wasn't connected to anything so it couldn't show off the strange scenery. "Elgyem."
"What's it saying?" Scootaloo hid behind Eve.
"It says that...It's unsure of where to find a place to plug this TV." Fluttershy translated.
"You can understand alien, Fluttershy? Amazing. But this is even better! An actual alien!" Twilight squeed, bouncing over to the Cerebral Pokemon. "I wonder which part of space it came from! Maybe it came from another dimension!"
"Shouldn't we be more worried that it's causing everypony in Manehattan to act violently?" Rarity asked.
"Rarity's right. The whole Togepi thing should be a clear reminder of what not to trust." Starlight nodded.
"I'm sure that Elgyem doesn't mean any harm. After all, it's just trying to get home, Right Elgyem."
"Elgyem." The Psychic-Type raised its arms up, pointing to the skies. That made everypony believe that it was trying to get home as the dex says. But in reality, Elgyem was pointing for a different reason.
A shriek had come near the corner of Carousel Boutique. Roseluck seemed to be on the run from something. Her Roserade was firing Razor Leafs while her trainer makes a run. Roserade had unfortunately been taken out by an unknown beam filled with the power of space itself, causing it to faint.
"Audino...? Audino turned around, instantly picking up on the shriek faster than everypony else.
Nihilego had arrived at Ponyville. The Parasite Pokemon was currently hovering over the town, grabbing the attention of everypony. They had never seen anything like it before. Roseluck picked up her Roserade, looking up at UB-01.
"Hey! Look!" Scootaloo nudged her friends and everypony else, gaining their attention. Now they have seen this unknown entity for themselves.
"What is that?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, unsure of what she and her friends were looking at. She, of course, pulled out her dex for this thing.
"Nihilego. The Parasite Pokemon. One of several mysterious Ultra Beasts. A life-form from another world, it was dubbed a UB and is thought to produce a strong neurotoxin. This neurotoxin is capable of infecting others, causing them to suddenly become violent. Nihilego appears to be a parasite that lives by feeding on people and Pokémon, fueling its Nihilism and Ego. That is why is this Pokemon has been granted the name Nihilego."
"Ultra...Beast?" Twilight said slowly.
"So that thing's the cause of what happened in Manehattan??" Applejack gazed up at UB-01.
"Elgyem..." The Cerebral Pokemon nodded.
"N̶͎͋i̶̧͂l̵͉̑ë̵̜g̶̤͠-̴̻̓G̸̼͝h̸̰͆-̵̪̕N̴̗͘i̵̝̋ḫ̴̇Ḯ̶̫l̶͇̈́." Nihilego hovered over to Roseluck and Roserade who were backed into a corner, phasing in and out of space itself. Roseluck held her Pokemon tight, preparing for the worst.
"Psybeam!" A beam of Psychic energy raced towards the direction of Nihilego, knocking the Parasite Pokemon out of the sky. Twilight had saved them both from Nihilego's attack. "Are you two alright?!" Twilight ran over to Roseluck and Roserade.
"I'm fine. But Roserade isn't!"
"Rose..." Roserade had been badly hurt by the attack from before. She was doing her best to protect Roseluck and it ended up harming her in the end.
"I'll help her." Fluttershy flew over with Audino. The Hearing Pokemon had picked up the fainted Roserade, aiming to nurse her back to health.
"H̶̪̑i̶̳͂l̷͊͜ê̶̩-̶̺̊ğ̶͇h̸͈̒õ̴̬N̵̗̕i̶̗͑" The Parasite Pokemon got back up, obviously targeting all its hate towards Twilight and Eve now since they fired at it. "G̵̠͊h̶̹͘ǒ̵̮." Nihilego began phasing in and out of space itself, almost as if it was unstable being here.
"What's it doing...?" Starlight whispered to Rarity.
"I don't have a clue...But it's uncomfortable to look at."
"W-What's it Saying, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash stuttered.
"I...I don't know." Fluttershy gasped. "I can't understand it!"
"N̴i̴.̶.̴.̷" The Parasite Pokemon had suddenly sprayed venom across the skies of Ponyville, causing a poison rain.
"Look out!" Pinkie shrieked with her and her friends scattering to avoid the poison rain. This poison was made for the intent of turning everypony violent. Once it hit you, your entire behaviour will shift in a millisecond, causing Nihilego to feed off your nutrients for its own expense. Like a Parasite.
Many ponies had decided to enter inside order to avoid the poison rain. It was a good call. But not for long. The poison would eventually melt away the roofs of everypony's home, making it futile to hide.
"Eve! Psybeam again!" Twilight commanded, avoiding the poison rain with a magic barrier.
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon channelled all of its psychic energy within her gem. Nihilego had done something similar to Psybeam. The beam from earlier that took out Roserade. This move was identified to be Meteor Beam. A beam that even Ash probably doesn't know exists. Nihilego had gathered up power from space itself in order to pull this move off.
Both Pokemon unleashed their own beams at the exact same time. They both collided, having a small little struggle for a few seconds. For a moment, they seemed to be even, however, Meteor Beam proved to be the stronger beam as it tore through Eve's attack, blasting through the barrier that Twilight put up.
"Esp!" The Sun Pokemon and her trainer had been knocked back by Meteor Beam's destructive power.
"Twilight!" Her friends cried out, seeing Twilight tumble on the ground. They attempted to run over to her, but Nihilego wasn't letting any of that happen. The Parasite Pokemon had every single one of them in their sights, shooting poison needles towards all 5 of them. Rarity and Applejack had been hit in the neck, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie in the head and Fluttershy right in the hoof.
"Ow!" Rainbow Dash fell from the sky, feeling the poison seep into her. Nihilego had done its job of infecting them with its violent poison. And it was only a matter of time until it would change them. But the Parasite Pokemon wasn't satisfied with just 5. It needed more. Everypony had to be infected. The Parasite Pokemon turned its attention towards Twilight and her Espeon, planning on changing the behaviour on the Sun Pokemon and her trainer for the worst. Eve had gotten up, protecting Twilight by using Quick Attack to smash into UB-01.
Nihilego, once again, had phased in and out of space itself, becoming more and more unstable in this world. "N̸i̸h̵" It was planning on using Meteor Beam once more to knock everypony out in the process so that nopony could resist and run from its poison.
"Eve! Use Quick Attack to head behind it!"
"Espeon!" Eve had moved at blinding speeds, avoiding the incoming beam that had been fired by UB-01. All that was left was a crater in the ground.
"Now! Psybeam!" From behind, Nihilego was met with a super-effective attack in the form of Psybeam. The Ultra Beasts' body had been engulfed by the psychic beam, overwhelming it. Thankfully, that powerful Psybeam was just enough to take out the Parasite Pokemon, causing it to cease its attacks. "Yes!"
"N̷i̴h̶i̷l̷-̶H̷i̶l̵...N̷i̴h̶i̷l̷-̶H̷i̶l̵" Nihilego had finally felt unstable in this world, phasing in and out like a flash TV screen. All of a sudden, the Parasite Pokemon had flown away with its body constantly flashing. It was clear that it knew when it was beaten. However, it had done its job of infecting others with its poison.
"Finally...is everypony alright?!" Twilight turned to her friends who were currently squirming on the ground. She flew over to see if they were injured, but once she moved her hoof towards Rarity, it was smacked away by her.
"Don't touch me!" Rarity groaned, trying to ease the poison from within her.
"Rarity?" Twilight pulled back, shocked at Rarity's response.
Fluttershy breathed in and out with the poison causing her body to twitch constantly. The process of Nihilego's poison goes like this. It hits you, causes a little sting, forces your body to go through unbearable pain, and that pain is what transforms your behaviour into something violent and aggressive. It wasn't as bad as a Houndoom's toxins, but it was close.
"Audino!" Audino realized she had to do something quickly. She had just finished healing up Roseluck's Roserade, rushing over to her friends next. The Healing Pokemon went for Refresh, a move that is perfect for dealing against anything relating to poison, burn or paralysis.
"Urgh..." Fluttershy had acted violently, shoving her own Pokemon to the ground. Nihilego's poison can make you see things at times. And right now, Fluttershy couldn't see her Pokemon anymore, but something else.
"Audi!" The Hearing Pokemon fell on her back, shocked at her trainer's sudden actions. "Audino?"
"Don't worry, Audino! They're not acting like themselves! Just use Refresh on them to get rid of the poison!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Audino!" The Normal-Type got back up, putting her serious face on. She knew that simply walking up to Fluttershy in her violent state wouldn't help. So what she could do now was grab ahold of her trainer, placing Fluttershy within her clutches.
"Let me go!" The violent nature of the poison was rapidly taking over Fluttershy. Very soon, she'll be completely overtaken by it. The shy pegasus had retaliated by biting onto Audino's arms, leaving a bite mark. The Hearing Pokemon yelped, feeling Fluttershy's teeth sink into her skin. It was clear that the poison didn't just make you violent, but it even twisted your instincts.
"Audino..." The Hearing Pokemon had powered through the bite, ignoring it for the sake of her trainer's well being. A bright green light had emanated from Audino's body, surrounding her trainer. Fluttershy strained with the mystic green light spreading across the area, reaching all five of them. A dazzling and sprinkling stardust filled them with refreshing energy that had poured into the spots were Nihilego struck its poison needles. And with ease, Nihilego's poison had been taken away from their bodies, giving Twilight's friends space to breathe properly.
"...Hah...Wha?" Pinkie got up from the ground, feeling refreshed. "Oh, I feel refreshed!"
"That makes two of us. Oh, Audi! I'm so sorry!" Fluttershy hugged her Pokemon. It seems that even if the poison is taken away, you still gain memories of what you did previously.
"Audino!"
Rainbow Dash stretched her hooves, getting a good feel of Audino's refresh. No longer was her body full of poison. Rarity and Applejack were also clearly refreshed.
"Oh thank Celestia...But what was up with that thing?" Twilight turned to the direction Nihilego fled to.
"Elgyem..." Elgyem, who was hiding behind the TV when it all went down, spoke to Fluttershy.
"Hm? What's that?" Fluttershy listened in on Elgyem's words. The Cerebral Pokemon was giving her a simple explanation of what happened. Once Fluttershy got all that information she needed, the revelation shocked her. "Bad news, everypony. There's a reason why that Nihilego came by here."
"Apparently, that Nihilego was brought over by a Beheeyem. One that belonged to Colress. He had his Beheeyem open up an Ultra Wormhole of some sorts, bringing Nihilego and other Ultra Beats here."
"Wait! So...there's more of these things around here?" Applejack questioned.
"Elg."
"Mhm. Elgyem's been trying to reach home in order to gain help from its other Beheeyem so that it can stop Colress's Beheeyem from opening up more wormholes."
"Wormholes? Aliens? Ultra Beasts?" Pinkie held her head.
"Why would Team Plasma want to bring over....Wait a second." Twilight realized something she heard earlier. "Rainbow Dash! Play Nihilego's dex entry one more time!"
"Uh, okay." Rainbow went over to Nihilego's entry, replaying the entry.
"Nihilego. The Parasite Pokemon. One of several mysterious Ultra Beasts. A life-form from another world, it was dubbed a UB and is thought to produce a strong neurotoxin. This neurotoxin is capable of infecting others, causing them to suddenly become violent. Nihilego appears to be a parasite that lives by feeding on people and Pokémon, fueling its Nihilism and Ego. That is why is this Pokemon has been granted the name Nihilego."
"There! That part!" Twilight stopped at the part that mentioned Nihilism and Ego. "I think I've got a pretty good idea on why they brought that Ultra Beast over here. For Adagio."
"Adagio? How does she play into this?" Rarity asked.
"Adagio does something similar, remember? She stirs up some trouble then feeds off the negative energy of everypony. Exactly what Nihilego does but with poison involved. And since she, Team Plasma and the changelings are in an alliance, they must be giving each other boosts in magic and power. So they brought Nihilego here to power up Adagio even further."
"Elgyem!"
"Elgyem says...that's actually spot on."
"Doesn't that mean that Adagio's getting all the negativity she needs in Manehattan right now?!" Pinkie yelped.
"Most likely. And who knows how much magic she's gathered last night? Or how many other Ultra Beasts are roaming Equestria? We might have to stay firm on our hooves for this. Audino's refresh was able to get rid of the poison, so maybe we can help everypony in Manehattan return to normal."
Twilight chatted on. Whilst she kept on speaking, who was spying on them as always? None other than one of Colress's spy drones. It had been sent from Pyrestar's universe in order to monitor over everything that went down in Ponyville. The drone had enough frequency to connect from this world to Pyrestar's world.
"Chrysalis and Adagio were right. She does catch on fast." Colress was impressed by Twilight's quick learning. Her intelligence was possibly on par with his. "But can she act fast enough? We've already unleashed many Ultra Beasts across her world. Who knows where they're all roaming."
Clearly, Ghetsis had continued his plans on conquering Equestria. And he was willing to do whatever it took to do so. And that involves utilizing Ultra Beasts. It was thanks to Colress that they were able to open up an Ultra Wormhole. At this very point in time, there are countless Ultra Beasts somewhere in that version of Equestria, either hiding or already interacting the world. Wherever they may be, the group will all end up coming across them, as the journey continues.
Currently the unfortunate victim of a Nihilego attack. The Parasite Pokemon had managed to seep its poison into most of the ponies here, causing them to turn violent in one night. Due to the violent poison infecting them all, Manehattan had become a bit of a destructive and negative zone. If you even dared set hoof in it, chances are, you'll be met with carnage.
Nihilego's poison can make anyone act savage and ruthless. As if they were wild creatures going on a rampage. This was because the poison makes your body squirm with unbearable pain. And it is that exact pain that causes them to turn violent. The actions they cause is nothing more than them trying to get rid of the pain. But clearly, that wasn't enough. What they needed was something that could heal the poison.
Adagio at the moment was loving this. All this negativity, this hostility that filled the city was practically a gourmet feast for her.
"This is incredible! I didn't even have to do anything for this! This Pokemon thing isn't so bad." Adagio was being fueled by all this chaos and carnage. The magic within her was overflowing to an overwhelming degree. Not even her mother or the other sirens could ever hope to cause this much negativity. If anything, Nihilego had beaten the sirens in their own game.
She took a little stroll along the streets of Manehattan, avoiding the destruction that filled the streets. Everywhere you looked, windows were broken, bags were thrown all over the place with all their items flying out, violent ponies chasing down other ponies who haven't been infected by Nihilego and some Pokemon just acting savage and aggressive, climbing up buildings or tearing things apart.
"When Ghetsis gets here...I can already tell he'll establish his rule here in a second."
Adagio's Kricketot peeked out of her mane, seeing the entire carnage for itself. The sight of it was enough to terrify the small Cricket Pokemon, forcing it back inside Adagio's huge and playful mane. But this carnage wouldn't last forever.
Along came Twilight and her friends with the cure. In the form of Fluttershy's Audino, who had the move Refresh. The answer to this entire problem. Adagio spotted Twilight along with Starlight in the mix, anticipating their arrival.
"And of course, she'd be here with her rag-tag group." Adagio scoffed at Twilight's direction.
As for the girls, they had no idea what to make of this. Nihilego had left an impact on Manehattan. The entire city was coming apart with destruction following everywhere. The city almost had a post-apocalyptic appearance to it with all the cracked buildings.
"This is worse than I imagined." Twilight's jaw dropped with her eyes shifting across the city.
"They're tearing each other apart...Coco!" Rarity gasped, splitting from the group as she ran off.
"Rarity! Wait!" Twilight and the others attempted to chase after her, but they were separated from their unicorn friend via a violent Gurdurr who slammed its steel beam near them.
"Gurdurr!" Gurdurr was being affected by the unbearable pain of the poison. This pain only aggravated the Muscular Pokemon more, increasing its aggressiveness with each passing second.
"Sorry Gurdurr! Psybeam!" Twilight apologized to the Muscular Pokemon, having her Espeon take the Fighting-Type out in one hit. But a single Gurdurr wasn't all they had to look out for. After all, the Pokemon were all hostile. It didn't help that the ponies, whilst not as berserk as the Pokemon, definitely dealt some damage and attacked innocent bystanders as well. "Where's Rarity?!"
"I can't' see her!" Rainbow Dash attempted to fly up, but she was blocked by some attacking Swellow's. "Woah!" The pegasus had evaded the incoming Swellow's. Some of the Swellow's had crashed through the windows of buildings due to how fast they were moving.
"There's too many of them!" Starlight yelped, avoiding an incoming vase from afar. "How are we gonna cure them all if every last one of them are trying to tear each other apart?!"
"You won't!" Bellowing at Starlight's response was none other than Adagio herself, standing on top of some rubble. "You all aren't changing a thing here."
"Adagio!" Twilight turned her view towards the half-pony-half-siren who stood atop the rubble of Manehattan.
"Hello, Sparkle. And I see that Starlight is with you and your merry band of goody-two-shoes. What's the matter Glimmer? A slave to friendship as well?"
"That's enough, Adagio! Stop all of this!" Twilight commanded.
"Stop it? I didn't cause this. That Nihilego thing did. I'm just enjoying what it left behind." Adagio giggled. "And to be honest, if I had known there was a Pokemon that could do all of this, I would've caught an Ultra Beast as well."
"As well...does that mean?" Twilight feared the answer.
"Correct, Twilight Sparkle." Of all the worst possible times, he was here. Ghetsis. He had finally come face to face with them all. This was their first time meeting Ghetsis in person. And boy was he as intimidating as they made him out to be in the news. He had made his arrival to Manehattan due to the fact that he had his own plans for it, similar to Saddle-Arabia.
"G-Ghetsis..." Twilight stepped back along with her friends. Fluttershy hid behind Rainbow Dash, who was also coerced by Ghetsis, despite her bravery. Ghetsis was the last person they expected to come across today.
"Hello, my little ponies. So. You 6 are the ones that I have heard so much about. The Elements of Harmony as you're also known as."
"What are you doing here?" Twilight was the only one brave enough to speak to Ghetsis, but even she was shaken up. So shaken up that Horizon Storm could come out at any moment now.
"Is it not obvious? I'm here to take this city as well. Add it to the Harmonia Kingdom. But I can see you're here to try and stop me, aren't you?"
"Espeon..." Eve snarled at Ghetsis.
"We won't let you do what you did to Saddle-Arabia as well!"
"Will you now? Are you sure that all of you are capable of doing so? Look at you. You're quivering in fear from just my presence." Ghetsis pointed out some of their quaking hooves. "How do you expect to face me if you are constrained by my mere presence. And even my name."
"We-We're not scared..."
"Actually...we are." Applejack spoke.
"I already know enough about you all. And what you represent. Loyalty, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Kindness and Magic. All culminated together to create harmony...What a bunch of nonsense!" Ghetsis stabbed his staff on the ground.
"Hey! It's not nonsense!" Pinkie raised her head up from the ground. "They're 100% legit! And they've-"
"Silence." Ghetsis spoke, causing Pinkie Pie to cease her words. "I could care less about your Magic of Friendship. Honestly, it sounds like something a child would dream up. At least...that is what I would say. But so far, from what I've seen...you ponies have managed to weaponize friendship, turning it into a mighty force of power. I must say...that is impressive."
"Correct. Clearly, you haven't forgotten about my ability to travel between various universes, have you?" Ghetsis held his hand out, generating cosmic energy. "With this power at my disposal, I can travel to a multitude of universes, each with their own outcome and possibility. And I must say, from the ones I've seen so far...they disgust me. But there was one universe that caught my attention. A world where you reigned supreme." Ghetsis pointed at Twilight.
"M-Me...?"
"Oh, indeed. In that world, you've brilliantly established your rule as Empress over your entire world, becoming the definitive ruler. The entire planet...no...the cosmos bow to your very will. Anyone that stands in your way is rightfully punished and dealt with without a single ounce of forgiveness. A perfect display of authority. And the most surprising part of it all, you managed to achieve this with friendship. By weaponizing it into pure power. Witnessing that, your alternate self and I rightfully formed an alliance due to our goals being similar."
"It disgusts me that a second Twilight is on our side...but she's far better than you." Adagio smirked.
"You're lying!" Applejack yelled.
"Not at all. Perhaps it would be best if I showed you." Ghetsis outstretched his arm out. Using his Aura, he gave the ponies a projection of what the alternate Twilight appeared to look like.
And there she was. Empress Twilight Sparkle.
The sight of her reminded Twilight of what she saw back at the Pokemon Festival at the last moment before the portals had all closed. It was indeed true. Ghetsis was being honest. There was a universe where Twilight had become a tyrannical empress that ruled over all of Equestria.
"I could say that this is you at your very best."
"T-That can't be right." Twilight shook her head.
"Hard to accept, isn't it? Don't worry. You won't have to wait in order to accept it. Because you'll be apart of all of this. If I can weaponize this world's friendship...then I will have access to yet another amazing power on my side. But before that...I suppose I'll have to start what I came here to do." Ghetsis held out a Beast Ball. A Pokeball that was unseen to everypony here. Out of the ball came another Ultra Beast. This time, it was a parallel to another Ultra Beast. It goes by the codename UB-02 Beauty. Otherwise known as Pheromosa.
"What Ultra Beast is that?!" Rainbow held out her dex.
"Pheromosa. The Lissome Pokemon. One of the Ultra Beasts. A life-form that lives in another world, its body is thin and supple, but it also possesses great power. Get too close and you'll feel the force a locomotive attack you with its ground-shattering kicks. It has been spotted running across the land at terrific speeds. It refuses to touch anything, perhaps because it senses some uncleanness in this world. Although it’s alien to this world and a great danger here, it’s apparently a common organism in the world where it normally lives."
"I'll leave you to it, Pheromosa. Go wild and do whatever you want. But make sure that you keep the ponies alive. How else will I weaponize their friendship?"
"I'll be leaving then. Buh-bye." Adagio cackled, walking off to fuel herself more whilst Ghetsis stayed behind.
"Mosa." Pheromosa stomped its feet on the ground, intimidating the ponies and their Pokemon.
"What do we do? Rarity's somewhere in all this mess." Rainbow Dash asked.
"I don't-" Without any warning, Twilight's sentence had been cut off in an instant. Pheromosa had moved at jaw-dropping speeds, coming face to face with the young alicorn. Twilight hadn't seen her arrive yet nor did she feel her presence. But what she did feel was a swift kick to the face, sending the Princess of Friendship across the streets.
"TWILIGHT!" Her friends yelled, shocked at what they had just witnessed.
"Phero!" Pheromosa was a Pokemon that didn't waste time at all. If it wanted to get rid of you, it will get rid of without hesitation. The Lissome Pokemon stamped its feet on Starlight's back, forcing her onto the ground. Faster
"Sta-" Fluttershy was met with lightning-fast Triple Kick, causing the pegasus to rocket all the way into a pile of rubble. Fluttershy felt the hard rubble make contact with her body, causing a few of her bones to take damage. Pheromosa had shifted its head, aiming for its next target.
None of the Pokemon could even react fast enough to spot Pheromosa's movements. Soon, Pheromosa had attacked them as well. Treecko attempted to fire a Dragonbreath her way, but all that he saw was a blur. From above, Pheromosa had stepped on his head, knocking the Wood Gecko Pokemon out.
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon took out all her anger towards Pheromosa. She clearly wasn't happy about what happened to her trainer. A Psybeam was sent towards UB-01. But yet again, the speed was too insane to keep track of. And soon, Eve had been taken out in one hit from a single kick. Pheromsa's kicks were no joke. Once you get hit by them, you will without a doubt feel the impact, no matter what.
Rainbow Dash was fast enough to see the next move coming, so she purposely tackled Pinkie Pie out of the way since that's who Pheromosa was aiming for next. It was a lucky save. Pheromosa almost struck its feet on Pinkie Pie's face, cleaving the rocks behind her.
"That's enough from you! Braviary!" Rainbow Dash quickly sent out Braviary to fend off the lightning-fast Ultra Beast.
"Braviary!" Braviary spread his wings out, letting out a battle cry. The others had run over to both Fluttershy and Twilight's side, hoping that they were alright. Both had taken heavy damage thanks to Pheromosa.
Both Twilight and Fluttershy's face had been bruised from the Pheromosa's devastating kicks. They had never felt something like that before in their entire life. The kicks were so vicious that they almost made both of them pass out from injury.
"You're gonna pay! Braviary! Brave Bird!"
"Braviary!" The Valiant Pokemon had surrounded itself in Brave Energy, planning to take Pheromosa out in one hit.
But the Lissome Pokemon was prepared for this. It had a certain move that could fend off Braviary's super-effective moves. Braviary had bolted at its opponent, thinking that it was about to be a clear hit.
"Pher!" Pheromosa gave Braviary a fake-out. It had the move Electroweb in its possession, just for the Normal-Flying-Type. Sparks of lightning filled the Lissome Pokemon's, indicating that it was ready to fire.
"Look out, Braviary! Fly up!"
Bingo. That's what Pheromosa was betting on. Braviary had flown up in order to elude Electroweb, believing that Pheromosa would unleash it at him. But in reality, its actual target was Rainbow Dash. The Bug-Fighting-Type dashed over to the multi-coloured mane mare, throwing her off guard. Before she knew it, Rainbow Dash felt a stomp on her back. Pheromosa had stamped its feet on Rainbow Dash's back, forcing her to the ground.
"Brav?!" Braviary gasped, seeing her trainer being stepped on by the Ultra Beast.
"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she held up Fluttershy.
"G-Get off of me!" Rainbow Dash strained. But the more she struggled, the more Pheromosa stomped on her, writhing and twisting its feet on her back.
"Braviary!" The Valiant Pokemon was prepared to save its trainer by charging straight at Pheromosa with Brave Bird.
However, Pheromosa was cunning enough to expect this. So as a threat, the Lissome Pokemon had threatened to shatter Rainbow Dash's neck if Braviary made any sudden movements. Her foot was right there as well. So at any moment, with the right amount of force, that could be it for Rainbow Dash. Braviary had no choice but to cease his attack, fearing that she might end his trainer if he even dares tries anything. Even Pinkie and the others were stopped from trying anything.
"Phero..." The Ultra Beast had them both right where she wanted them. She kicked Rainbow Dash over to Braviary, causing her to crash into the Valiant Pokemon. "Mosa!" As if that wasn't enough, she sent down an Electroweb to the both of them, trapping the trainer and Pokemon duo. All according to her plan.
"Braviary!" Braviary attempted to break free, but Pheromosa sent out a second electroweb, stacking the two nets of volts. The ruthlessness this Pokemon had was unreal.
"Leave them alone!" Pinkie sent out her Spinda. "Spinda! Secret Power!"
"Spin-" Not a chance. Pheromosa kicked the Spot Panda Pokemon its cute adorable face, sending it into the sky as a result. It wasn't going to let a single one of them get the chance to lay a hoof on it. The Ultra Beast appeared behind Pinkie Pie, stomping its feet on her tail.
"Hey! Ge-" Once again, Pheromosa's ruthlessness kicked in. She shut Pinkie Pie up by using Triple Kick on her face. Pinkie was left flabbergasted by this. The impact given to her face was enough to evoke her mind to go numb for a bit.
"Pi-" And poor Applejack was unfortunately struck as well. If anything, she got the worst of it. Pheromosa had instead targeted her neck, aiming for throat. Applejack gasped. Her entire voice had been cut off by the sheer force of Pheromosa's kicks. Applejack, at this very point in time, at this very moment, could no longer speak. And to add insult to injury, Pheromosa gave a slap to her face with a kick, knocking the farm pony out.
Every last one of them had been taken out by a single Ultra Beast. They could barely do anything due to the staggering speed it wielded. Their wings had been damaged, their voices lost, their minds numb, their backs aching. Pheromosa had proven the huge power gap between them.
"Phero."
"C-Can't...M-Move..." Twilight groaned, trying to get back up.
Castform flew out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, terrified of Pheromosa. It had seen its trainer badly injured along with its teammate. What's worse was that they were encased within a double-layered Electroweb, eliminating any escape.
Ghetsis walked over to the defeated ponies, looking down at each of them. Honestly, he was disappointed that they were taken out so easily. He expected more from the ponies who are oh-so-popular across Equestria.
"Pathetic." Ghetsis slammed his staff near Twilight's head. "This is the best you can do? Then again. What did I expect from children who are still new to Pokemon?" Ghetsis had grabbed Twilight by her neck, raising the young alicorn up in the air. "But perhaps when I turn your friendship into power, you will all live up to your expectations."
"Gh..." Twilight groaned, attempting to break free from Ghetsis's clutches.
"Don't worry. I'll leave it up to your alternate self. She seems to understand this friendship concept better than me anyways...Pheromosa."
"Phero."
"Grab the others."
"Mosa." Pheromosa took Ghetsis's orders, heading towards Pinkie Pie and Applejack. It seemed like this was the end. They had been defeated easily in a few minutes by one beast. The Lissome Pokemon came close to grabbing the two Earth Ponies until...
From the corner of its eye, The Ultra Beast had pulled its hands back, avoiding a lightning-fast slash. It looked to be from a sword. But that was because it was indeed a sword. Two swords.
Cobalion and Keldeo had arrived.
They heard the news of the carnage happening over at Manehattan. And as their duty as Swords of Justice, they rushed to the scene.
"Tch. You again." Ghetsis snarled at the swords whilst still holding Twilight.
"Unhand her." Cobalion ordered.
"You wish I would."
"Then, in that case, we'll force you." Cobalion readied his sword. "Keldeo."
"I'm on it!" The Colt Pokemon had unleashed water from his hooves, causing him to fly upwards into the air. The plan was to attack Ghetsis from above with Hydro Pump. Pheromosa clearly wasn't going to let that little plan play out. The Lissome Pokemon took the skies, prepared to take the Colt Pokemon out as well.
But, as they should all know by now, whenever one Sword of Justice is here, that means the others are nearby as well. Such as Virizion, who deterred Pheromosa's kicks with her sword. Virizion was known for her speed, so she was enough to keep with the Ultra Beast.
"Now, Keldeo!" Virizion gave Keldeo the opportunity to attack whilst she handles UB-02.
"Right!" Keldeo without hesitation had blasted Hydro Pump towards Ghetsis.
Ghetsis had attempted to block it by using an aura barrier, but that didn't last. Hydro Pump proved to be powerful enough to break right through it, causing the high pressure of water to hit the leader of Team Plasma directly.
Twilight had been dropped from Ghetsis's clutches, being saved by Terrakion who caught her on his back.
"I gotcha, princess!"
"Accursed swords!" Ghetsis roared. Pheromosa had been sent back to the ground by Virizion's exceptional strength, proving to also be a match for her.
All four Swords of Justice had gathered. Ready to defend and put an end to this carnage.
"Virizion and I shall handle that Pokemon. Keldeo. I can trust you and Terrakion to get these ponies to safety, correct?"
"You can count on us, Cobalion!" Keldeo nodded.
"Good. Now. Are you sure that you want to challenge us, Ghetsis?"
"Hmph. You just can't help getting in the way of my plans can you?" Ghetsis grabbed a hold of his staff. He and Cobalion had a staredown. Both their eyes clashing against each other. Ghetsis knew that with the Swords here, this complicates his plans further. So the best option was to let Pheromosa handle everything else whilst he heads back to Pyrestar's world in order to continue developing his plans. "Pheromosa. Destroy this entire city if you have to. Just get rid of those swords." Ghetsis summoned a portal behind it, walking through the cosmic gateway. It was all Pheromosa now.
"Phero!" The Lissome Pokemon got into a running stance, prepared to attack all four of them at the same time.
"All together now!" The Swords of Justice had each stayed firm on their hooves, anticipating Pheromosa's movements. "Now!" The four swords had each brought upon their swords at the exact same time. The combined efforts of the Sacred Sword was not only enough to block Pheromosa's attacks, but they were also powerful enough to damage the Lissome Pokemon's leg. Its greatest asset had been injured.
"Mosa?!"
"Gotcha!" Keldeo followed up by shooting a Hydro Pump as a continuation. The pump of high pressured water forced the Ultra Beast to tumble through some rubble.
"Time to go Keldeo!" Terrakion said as he picked up Applejack and the Fluttershy.
"Oh, right!" Keldeo followed his senior, picking up Rainbow Dash.
Twilight was losing consciousness along with her friends. This was similar to how things turned out with the Shadow Triad. But on a much worse level. The last thing Twilight saw was Cobalion and Virizion facing off against Pheromosa until her eyes had blacked out. Terrakion and Keldeo had carried them all to a safer spot, along with their Pokemon. As for Rarity, they were all still worried about her at the moment. But they were powerless to do anything. So for now, all they could do was let the Swords of Justice handle everything as the journey continues.
Twilight and her friends had been greatly injured by a Pheromosa who had been ordered by Ghetsis to do whatever it wanted to do. As a result, the Ultra Beast had completely overpowered every last one of them with its devastating kicks. Applejack had lost her voice, Pinkie's mind had gone numb for a bit whilst the others were just bruised. The only one not present with them was Rarity, who ran off to see if Coco Pommel was okay.
Twilight and her friends looked to be on the edge of their end with hope fading away until the Swords of Justice arrived. They had managed to save their lives by rushing to Manehattan, catching the news on the utter carnage that had been unleashed upon the city.
Terrakion and Keldeo had brought the ponies and Pokemon to safety whilst Cobalion and Virizion attempt to put a stop to Pheromosa.
"Pheromosa!" The Lissome Pokemon had made Virizion and Cobalion its new prey. After all, Ghetsis told it to go wild. So what's stopping it from doing whatever it wants to? The Swords. That's who. Pheromosa took the skies, tossing an Electroweb from its feet. This web of volts had been cut in half by Cobalion's Sacred Sword, scattering the tiny volts across the ground.
Virizion made her move next. Her swiftness was just enough to keep up with a Pokemon as fast as Pheromosa. Both the Grassland Pokemon and the Lissome Pokemon had entered a skirmish with a sword and foot clashing together. Both had a small struggle, with one trying to push the other back. They went back and forth, causing both their sword and feet to collide with each other over and over again.
Virizion had galloped backwards, releasing an Energy Ball towards UB-02. It didn't do much at all, only causing a minor explosion of grass in the process, but it was a good distraction. Cobalion had moved through the smoke, using Iron Head on the scornful Ultra Beast.
"Phero!" Pheromosa had been forced back by Iron Head. The move had left a small dent on its arms in the process. "Mosa..." The Lissome Pokemon's hatred towards the Swords only growing further and further. All the while, Cobalion and Virizion hadn't said a word. All they did was just gaze at the Ultra Beast with arduous and formidable eyes. This didn't sit well with Pheromosa, who was easily agitated by this. "Pheromosa!"
Out of animosity, the Ultra Beast bolted towards the direction of the two Swords, intent on crushing them with a devastating Triple Kick. Cobalion and Virizion could see how frustrated the Ultra Beast was getting. It was that frustration that would allow them to gain upper hoof. Both the Iron Will Pokemon and Grassland Pokemon had used Extreme Speed to juke out the Lissome Pokemon, throwing it off guard.
And indeed, it was off guard. It couldn't keep up with Extreme Speed at all. The two of them appeared to be a blur moving across the area as if they were kicking up a tornado. With each Extreme Speed, they had tackled the Ultra Beast, moving back and forth, faster than it could ever hope to react. Pheromosa out of frustration stomped its feet on the ground, causing a small tremor on the streets.
And yet, that wasn't enough either. Cobalion and Virizion at the same time decided to put an end to this. Both went for Sacred Sword, mixing it together with Extreme Speed. And before it knew it, Pheromosa had been incised by both Pokemon who passed through it with their swords. The impact was so powerful that it even replicated the sound of a sword cutting something down to size.
"Phero!" Pheromosa took a moment to realize that it had been taken out by two swords at the same time. And it didn't even see it coming. Not at all. "Mosa..." Pheromosa got on its knees, defeated and beaten.
"That's that." Cobalion laid down his Sacred Sword. "You're beaten."
"Mosa..." Pheromosa growled at Cobalion and Virizion looking up at the both of them. Cobalion gave a stern glare to the Lissome Pokemon, asserting his overwhelming dominance over it. Pheromosa was no longer frustrated with them. Instead, it was intimidated by them.
"Leave. Return your world and never come back here." Cobalion ordered. That was all he needed to say. Pheromosa quickly got up from the ground, making a run for it. It knew that Cobalio and the swords would find it if it ever decided to stir up trouble again. And just like that, the Pheromosa threat had been taken care of.
"Now. What do we do about all of this?" Virizion was referring to the carnage still ongoing in Manehattan.
"Fluttershy's Audino is the only Pokemon here that can remove the poison within their bodies. If we are to save them all, we will have to round every last one of them up."
"Is that so? I can do that." Virizion tapped her hoof. Her speed was enough to outpace every single Pokemon and pony here.
"Then it's settled. You'll lure them all to this spot whilst we keep them restrained. Make sure no one gets hurt in the process."
"That isn't even a challenge."
Whilst that occurs, Rarity had made her way to the Plaza, hoping that Coco hadn't been infected by Nihilego's poison.
"Coco?!" She looked around the plaza to see that it had been frozen over by ice. Most likely from Coco's Glaceon. Nopony else was in sight. The entire hotel either had broken walls, shattered windows or even some dresses scattered across the floor, torn apart. Clearly, Nihilego's neurotoxins can really leave an effect on somepony.
Rarity searched high and low for her friend, but so far, there wasn't a sign of her anywhere. At least, not on the lower sections. Until she heard the sounds of a Glaceon crying out.
"Glaceon...?" Rarity turned her head to the direction of the cry. Coco must be there since she does own a Glaceon. The sound was coming from a hotel room which was filled to the brim with ice. If anything, this one spot had the most ice out of everywhere else. "She must be in here!" The unicorn came across the door of a hotel room. Before she could even think about opening the door, a beam of ice shot through it, nearly freezing Rarity on sight.
"Glaceon!" Inside the room, Glaceon had unfortunately been hit by Nihilego's neurotoxins.
"Glaceon, stop!" Coco's voice apart of the noise as well. Currently, she was grabbing a hold of her partner, trying to restrain her. The Fresh Snow Pokemon had completely frozen its fur in order to make her hair stand up like needles. These sharp ice needles were piercing through Coco's skin, causing her to wince. Not only that, but the sheer cold of Glaceon's needles was enough to freeze the atmosphere around her. Thus, causing Coco to gain a horrible chill. And yet, she continued to hold her Pokemon.
"Not good...Leavanny! String Shot!" Rarity had sent out one of her Leavanny's to restrain the Fresh Snow Pokemon. A shot of thick strong wrapped around Glaceon, confining the Ice-Type Eeveelution.
"R-Rarity?" Coco shivered with the ice still filling her body.
"Coco! Darling, are you alright?!"
"Fine...bit cold actually." Coco had almost fallen over, but thankfully, Rarity caught her. Once she did, she felt the harsh temperatures flow through her hooves as well. "I don't know what happened...Glaceon started acting violently for no reason."
"Glace! Glaceon!" Glaceon snarled, trying to break free from the string with its needles. However, Leavanny kept up String Shot, causing the string to thicken even further.
"That would be the neurotoxins from Nihilego. It's not your Glaceon's fault."
"Nihilego...?"
"An Ultra Beast apparently. Strange Pokemon from another world that have been summoned here by Team Plasma. My friends and I managed to fend off one Nihilego that attempted to infect our town. But it seems that it's already done its job here."
"So that's what that thing was last night?"
"You encountered Nihilego?"
"Mhm. I was heading home for the night with Glaceon...until this weird alien-like Pokemon appeared. Next thing I know, these holes in the sky started appearing. That's when Nihilego showed up. Glaceon ended up defending me by defeating the Nihilego, but unfortunately, she was hit by those neurotoxins. And now I don't know what to do to calm her down..." Coco sighed.
"But I do." Rarity reinstalled hope in her. "Fluttershy's Audino can remove the poison with Refresh. Your Glaceon will be back to its glorious personality in no time thanks to her."
"R-Really?" Coco sneezed from the chill.
"Really. So you don't have to worry about a thing. Do you have Glaceon's Pokeball with you?"
"I tried but...the entire plaza's been damaged, so I can't really find it at the moment."
"In that case...we'll continue to keep her wrapped up. Right, Leavanny?"
"Leavanny."
"I just hope that everypony is alright out there."
On the outside, Virizion was doing a fantastic job of luring everypony and Pokemon in. Since the poison made them all violent, that also meant that they are easily provoked. So Virizion had taunted them by using Leaf Blade to slightly graze them, causing a small tickle on their skin or fur. Soon, the provoked ponies and Pokemon chased Virizion down, aiming to perform violent acts on her. However, due to her being swift, they weren't catching up at all.
"Over here~" Virizion teased, luring them to the spot where Cobalion, Keldeo and Terrakion where. The three of them were waiting for the exact moment when they were all close enough. And close enough they were. "Now!"
"I got it!" Terrakion replied. In order to restrain them all, the Cavern Pokemon had used the move Stone Edge to surge up huge rocks that had circled everypony and Pokemon nearby. These Stone Edge Rocks were much larger than your average Stone Edge, so the gap was smaller and the height even taller.
As for the Flying-Types who were harder to gain a hold of, that was no problem for Terrakion either. He had the move Rock Slide, allowing him to summon boulders out of thin air. These mystical boulders dropped from above, forcing the Flying-Types to fall into the Stone Edge prison. Lightwork for Terrakion.
"Good. Is she awake?" Cobalion asked Keldeo.
"Yep. She's up." Keldeo gave the answer. Fluttershy and Audino were up and conscious. Thankfully, Pheromosa dealt the least damage to them, but make no mistake, it hurts. "Think you can help us here, Fluttershy?"
"Mmn..." Fluttershy squirmed. Her back and wings were injured after she was launched into a large pile of rubble. But she could stand, thankfully. "I-I'll try."
"Audino..." Her partner did the same. It's a good thing Audino is a fairly durable Pokemon that doesn't go down so easily despite its gentle nature.
"Actually. You two should probably get some more rest. Those bruises look pretty serious." Keldeo changed his mind.
"No. I'll do it. I have to." Fluttershy held her hoof out, revealing her Mega Ring. "Let's go Audi."
"Audino." Audino held on to her mega necklace, preparing for Mega Evolution. With both the trainer and Pokemon badly injured, it seemed like Mega Evolution wouldn't occur. But that wasn't the case.
Mega Evolution could still be activated despite the condition. The light rays of mega energy shot out of Fluttershy's keystone, flying towards her partner. Audino took a deep breath, taking in all the radiating energy that filled her body.
The power of Mega Evolution was not only enough to power her up, but it was also enough to rejuvenate her, granting the Hearing Pokemon some energy back. And just like that, a burst of magic emanated from Audino, revealing her Mega Evolution Form.
Mega Audino.
"Audino!" Audino felt like a completely different Pokemon now. She noticed that Fluttershy was on the verge of fainting, slowly losing her balance. The Mega-Evolved Pokemon caught her trainer in her huge lovable hands. Audino decided that Fluttershy should leave everything to her. "Dino." Audino looked over to Keldeo, nodding in understanding. She made her way towards the scene where everypony and Pokemon had been grouped in one spot.
"Are you prepared?" Cobalion asked.
"Audino." Audino replied with a resounding 'Yes'. She was planning to fix everything in one go. And she had the power to do so. Mega Evolution doesn't just power up offensive moves after all. The Hearing Pokemon was aiming to use Refresh on not just the group, but the entire city. "Audino!" Spreading its arms out, a ravishing and sensation flare of green sparkles that caused a coruscation of light to spread across the city. This gargantuan green light could be seen from afar, even from high above the clouds themselves.
Adagio had especially seen the light, gazing at its green glint spread all over the city.
"What?! What is this?!" She gasped as the light was even affecting her.
As expected, Refresh eliminated the neurotoxins from those that were affected, but it went above and beyond. Due to the Refresh being powered up by Mega Evolution, Audino was capable of affecting the entire city in one go, even reaching Coco's Glaceon.
"Glace...Glaceon...?" The Fresh Snow Pokemon closed its eyes, noticing that the neurotoxins were no longer within its body. It had returned its Jolly nature, reverting back to the Pokemon that Coco loved so much.
"Glaceon? Are you alright now?" Coco noticed the light and change in Glaceon's eyes.
"Glaceon!" The Ice-Type Eeveelution responded with a wide smile on its tiny little face.
"Oh! I'm so glad!" Coco had shoved Leavanny out of the way, giving her partner an overwhelming yet loving hug-dive.
"Ugh. My head..." A pony who had been refreshed groaned. The neurotoxins originally hit his head so that's where he felt the sting the most. "It actually feels much better suddenly."
"Cherrim." A Cherrim had removed its mouth from the head of a pony. Originally, it had become so violent that it decided to bite off the pony's head but wasn't strong enough. Once it realized it was no longer full of poison, the Blossom Pokemon got back to jumping around whilst absorbing the sunlight.
Everypony and Pokemon did so. They obviously had memories of what happened still remained without a single ounce of it lost. Although, the neurotoxins do tend to make your mind a bit fuzzy afterwards.
"Audi...no." Audino had used up every ounce of her energy in that one refresh. Pheromosa's attacks were still present in her. As a result, she came out of Mega Evolution, falling on her knees from exhaustion.
"Are you kidding me?! There's always something that ruins everything, isn't there?!" Adagio groaned. She figured that she could leave, finding no reason to be here anymore.
Rarity had returned with Leavanny, eager to see if her friends were alright. And they were far from alright. Everypony else was refreshed and energetic once more, but the others? Not so much. Twilight was only now waking up after blacking out. Applejack had still lost her voice whilst Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy each had their backs injured. Pinkie Pie's mind had become numb. This meant that she couldn't think straight at the moment. Everything was a blur to her. The only pony who hadn't taken the worst of it all was Starlight.
"Everypony! Are you all alright?!" Rarity gasped, running over to them. She could see that they had scratches and bruises over them. "What happened?!"
Applejack tried explaining what happened, but she couldn't. With her throat damaged, she couldn't utter a word. The best she could do was let out small grunts.
"Your friends are not in the best condition at the moment, Rarity." Cobalion spoke to her. "They suffered a horrible assault from an Ultra Beast that been unleashed by Ghetsis. As a result, they were unable to fight back against the creature's blinding speeds."
"Really?!" Rarity gasped. "Oh, I wish I hadn't had run off, everypony!"
"Even if you were here, the outcome would not have changed, unfortunately." Virizion shook her head. The creature was just far more powerful than they could have ever anticipated.
"Oh...I see..."
"The best you can do now is head home. All of you. There are more of these wormholes across Equestria. Who knows how many of these 'beasts' have passed through. They could be causing chaos across the land as we speak." Cobalion ordered them. "You have already seen what these beasts are capable of. It would be a wise decision not to encounter any more of them. They are far beyond you."
Hearing that made Twilight remember what Celestia told her months ago, regarding her premonition about Ghetsis.
"Twilight. This is one problem that I advise you to stay out of. It is beyond even you."
"But, what if I can help? Me and my friends will be able to help like we always do!"
"I know. But it's just... this premonition is unlike anything I've ever felt before. I don't want you getting hurt. None of your friends." Celestia was genuinely worried for Twilight. Never before has Celestia been so worried in her life. "If it comes down it, you and your friends will join in."
"I understand."
"We will," Twilight replied, lowering her head. "Come on girls. Let's head home."
The road back to Ponyville wasn't filled with exhilarating energy as always. Not in the slightest.
All that filled the atmosphere was a sense of dismay, discomfiture, failure and total defeat.
Along the way, none of them said a word to each other. They all simply stayed silent, some more than others. Starlight and Rarity, however, weren't as down as the others. Mostly because Rarity was healthy and untouched whilst Starlight was only mildly injured.
Even Pinkie Pie was down. So down that her usually fluffy and puffed up mane had dropped down to its bland and plain state of when she was a foal. Audino was carrying Fluttershy along the way since her back was still injured from the rubble crash. Applejack held her throat, feeling a sting each time she either swallowed or attempted to speak. Rainbow Dash felt guilty that she couldn't defeat Pheromosa. Braviary could've taken the Lissome Pokemon out in one hit, but he was unfortunately tricked by a threat, causing him to let his guard down.
They all finally made their way back to Ponyville, but not in high spirits as they usually are. They brought an aura of despair along with them.
"You're back! Did you manage to...save...Manehattan?" Scootaloo asked, but her words slowed down once she witnessed their dismal faces and tattered bodies. "What's wrong?"
"Are they okay?" Sweetie Belle wondered.
"Sorry, Sweetie Belle. But they're not in the best condition at the moment." Rarity replied to her little sister. "It's best that everypony gives them some space."
"Oh. Okay...What do you think happened?" She whispered to her fellow Crusaders as the group walked by.
Lucien and Sienna who were always spectating from high above the clouds had seen everything. From Nihilego to Pheromosa. And in that instance, they felt great pity for Twilgiht and her friends.
"Man...That's rough. I kinda feel bad for them." Lucien winced.
"Mhm.I don't think they deserved what happened to them at all. They weren't prepared in the slightest for Ghetsis."
"They never were in the first place. Celestia did tell Twilight to keep her distance from Ghetsis at all times but...she couldn't have anticipated him arriving at the scene."
"I wish we could help but...I'm not sure we're meant to do anything good since we're playing the role of villains. What a shame."
"Well technically...we're only allowed to interact the world around us, not the ponies themselves. So it's not out of the question for us to help them. But I don't really have a clue on how to help."
"Applejack's voice has been taken away. And the others are a bit injured. "We can try restoring that can we?"
"Hm. Yeah. We can do that." Lucien leaned forward, pointing directly at Applejack. He sent a tiny bolt of cosmic energy that hit her throat, restoring all the devastating damage that had been done to her earlier.
Pinkie Pie's black eye had been healed along with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's backs.
AJ felt her throat rejuvenate, back its full state, but that didn't make things any better. Applejack and the others were still traumatized and upset in the end. "That solves that but...she still doesn't look too happy huh?"
"Not at all." Sienna shook her head. What happens next is even unknown to them. Because this is vastly different from the original timeline. Never before have Twilight and her friends suffered a loss this huge. They thought the Shadow Triad was the pinnacle of failure until they actually met Ghetsis.
The group all went their separate ways, returning to their homes. Twilight and Starlight returned to the lab with Starlight seeing her teacher looking down constantly with her head hung low.
"I-I suppose we'll see each other tomorrow?" Rarity said to all of them. They all gave a combined 'Mhm'. But not one of excitement packed behind it.
With Pinkie Pie, she sat alone in her room with her mane still down and dull. Her Pokemon and Jade stood outside her room, hoping that she was alright.
"Are you okay in there, Pinkie Pie?" Jade asked.
"No. Not really." Pinkie gave an honest answer. She didn't try to make the mood better like she always does. After what just happened, how could she?
For Applejack, she felt guilty all of a sudden. It was her that said that she wanted to protect her family which is why she was the most dedicated to improving as a trainer. But after what happened back in Manehattan, Applejack felt like if she couldn't even protect her friends, how could she protect her family as well? Treecko sat inside of her hat, attempting to cheer her up, but it was no use. The same goes for Rainbow Dash. Both she and AJ felt tons of guilt. One felt guilty for being unable to do anything and the other for failing to take out Pheromosa even though she had the Pokemon to do so.
Fluttershy was couped up in her room. Her Audino and Angel Bunny were obviously doing what they could to lift her spirits up. Fluttershy wasn't exactly the most affected out of everypony, but she definitely felt genuine despair in that instance.
But the one affected the most out of everypony was Twilight. Currently, she went through three powerful emotions at the moment. Fear, sadness and despair. Fear from Ghetsis and Pheromosa, sadness from seeing her friends in that state and despair being a culmination of all of the above.
"T-Twilight. I-Is it okay if I leave you alone?" Starlight asked.
"Its fine Starlight."
"You know...we still ended up winning. I mean, it was the Swords of Justice who did it so...it's not a total loss, right?"
"I know. But that doesn't really help." Twilight sighed. "Honestly...I don't know if we'll ever be able to handle Ghetsis. Or Team Plasma as a whole."
"Right...I'll just go." Starlight closed the door. Outside was Spike along with Twilight's Pokemon who overheard the conversation. "Do you think she'll recover from it, Spike?"
"I don't know. I've never seen her like this. Wish I was there to help."
"I don't think none of us could've done anything even if we joined together." Starlight shook her head. And it was true.
They had never encountered something as ruthless as that before. The closest threat that they've encountered that has ever come close to that ruthlessness was King Sombra, but even he pales in comparison to the absolute terror that is Ghetsis. What happens next...is unknown.
It's been almost a full day since the horrible experience in Manehattan. The day had been saved by the Swords of Justice, sure. But the damage that had been done to Twilight and her friends, minus Rarity hadn't left them at all. The memory of it all still lingered with their heads. A memory they can't erase.
They were utterly destroyed by Ghetsis's Pheromosa. There was nothing they could that could've prepared them for such ruthlessness. Celestia's warning now had much more weight than they expected.
Each of them had kept themselves inside, interacting with no one. Not a soul. Not even their Pokemon. And it was probably for the best. They weren't exactly feeling like themselves at the moment.
Rarity, however, was already planning on fixing this somehow. For the sake of her friends, she would do her very best to cheer them all up.
"Alright. I know they're clearly upset and full of dread. But I can fix that. Hopefully." She was talking to herself, pacing back and forth. "I just need to think out of the box. Dresses won't do!" She knocked over a pony mannequin.
"So...How are you going to cheer them up exactly?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"There's only one thing I can do. I'll have to act like Pinkie Pie in hopes of raising their spirits!"
"Is that even possible?"
"Probably not. But I have to try. Leavanny. Can you all help me out?" She requested assistance from her 12 Leavanny's.
"Leavan!" Each of them agreed in unison, already up for this plan.
"Excellent. And we could probably use the help of one more." Rarity held out a Pokeball she hadn't used in a long time. For months even. Out of the Pokeball came the Mareep that Brock had given her. A Pokemon that she hadn't utilized ever since she got it.
"Mareep!"
"Mareep, darling! Hi." Rarity waved at the Electric-Type.
"Reep? Ma." Mareep turned its head, ignoring Rarity.
"Wha- You're ignoring me?!"
"Mareep." The Wool Pokemon gave the equivalent of a 'Hmph', walking off. Clearly, it was upset about being left out for such a long time.
"Wait! Mareep!" Rarity ran in front of it. "I know I haven't interacted with you in months...almost a full year even. But I promise not to forget about you again! I was just...caught up with my Leavanny! And there was a whole process of their evolution that made me panic, the Shadow Triad, Adagio...a lot has happened."
"Ma." Mareep wasn't having any of it. It could care less about what Rarity had done. What about what it has been doing? Absolutely nothing. Since it's been inside a ball for months now.
"I don't think Mareep's taking your apology that well." Sweetie Belle said.
"Not at all. Alright, look. I truly am sorry, Mareep. It wasn't really polite or sweet of me to just completely forget about you for a few months. Actually many months...I haven't really been the best trainer to you. At all. Not in the slightest. But I'm asking you kindly to help in this one situation. My friends are currently in a downthrow after something terrible that happened to them. So I ask that you please help cheer them up with me. At least for a small bit? After that, I promise I'll spend much more time with you." Rarity felt like she could get on her knees, begging to it.
"Mareep..." Mareep thought about it for a second. Rarity sounded genuine with her words. After all, she was doing this specifically for her friends. Not only that but the look in her eyes said it all. "Mareep." Mareep had decided to accept her request. If Rarity can keep her promise, it'll grow more attached to her.
"Excellent! Now. This plan might transition into tomorrow, so let's go rolling. Sweetie Belle, can you help as well?"
"You can count on me!"
"Good. And if I know one pony who's just as good as cheering others up as Pinkie Pie, it's Ash. Tomorrow morning, I'll fetch him from home. Let's get to work everypony!"
And so it was. A procedure devised by Rarity, specifically made to cheer her friends up and erase all the despair that is lurking from within at the moment. With the involvement of her little sister and Pokemon, this plan of hers might come into fruition. All she had to do was work on it until tomorrow arrives.
Sweetie Belle was tasked with informing her closest friends since they had strong relations to the Mane 6 as well.
As for Ash, he'll know what to do when tomorrow comes.
In the meantime, Starlight had come out of Twilight's castle, entering the outside of the snow-filled Ponyville. Normally, it's a delight to see snow. But after what happened today, not so much. Not even snow could fix this.
"What do I do...? How do friends make things better for other friends?" Starlight thought for a moment, attempting to think of something to cheer Twilight and the others up. This is all new territory for her. If only Twilight wasn't down at the moment, she would give Starlight advice on how to cheer friends up.
Jade was in the same boat as Starlight. She had less of an understanding of friendship on a more bland level. Even she decided to think like Pinkie Pie and get their spirits up. But clearly, that's impossible for a pony like her. That is until Sweetie Belle came along with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom to get Jade in on the plan, adding Spike into the mix. Rarity went a step further. And by a step further, she had every single one of Fluttershy's Pokemon join in. She obviously couldn't speak to them since she doesn't share the same connection as Fluttershy, but her Leavanny's can speak for her.
Along came the night. Late-night even. Midnight has long passed now. The time is currently 4:00. Just 3 more hours until all of Ponyville wakes up. But in this case, a few citizens are staying up. Mostly Rarity and her planning team. Along with Jade and Cold Colt since the concept of being tired is non-existent for them.
Preparations were close to being completed. Whatever Rarity was planning it must be a behemoth of a plan if the shadows of it could be seen from inside the boutique since the lights are on.
Various sound echoed from her boutique, indicating at some truly hard work being done. The sounds consisted of tables being moved, somepony getting their hoof stuck in something, glass breaking, groaning and an occasional electric shock here and there.
Finally, along came morning. Everything was set.
"This is it. It's perfect." Rarity said to everypony and Pokemon here. Some had kicked up some sweat due to the hard work that had been done overnight. The CMC were on the verge of falling asleep due to staying up all night to help out. "Alright. Now there's one final piece of the puzzle. Is Ash here yet?"
"I see him alright." Spike looked out the window, spotting Ash and Pikachu pass through the gateway from Pallet Town.
"Excellent. Let's make sure this reignites their spirits. It has to." Rarity nodded.
"Boy...What a day that was." Ash spoke, yawning and stretching his arms.
"Pikaaaa..." Pikachu let out a resounding yawn as well, getting comfortable on Ash's shoulder.
"Ash!" Starlight ran towards him. "Glad you're here. Come quick!"
"Hm? What is it?"
"Pika?"
"We'll explain everything later. Come inside!" Starlight grabbed the trainer and Pokemon with her magic, bringing him inside Rarity's Carousel Boutique. Now the final piece of the plan had been completed.
"Good! You're here! Now we can begin!" Rarity rubbed her hooves together.
"I'm confused, what's going on?" Ash scratched his hair.
"Don't mind the details. The important thing to mind is cheering everypony else up." Rarity responded.
Now that the plan had been completed, it was time to put it in motion.
Twilight and the others were all couped up in their homes still, not coming out at all. Usually, around this time, it's either Pinkie Pie or Applejack who's awake first and ready to tackle the day. But not this time. So the best option was to drag them out.
Apple Bloom had gone up to her older sister, attempting to convince her to come along with her. Obviously, she didn't need to try and convince her. Applejack would've come along anyways.
Scootaloo had gone after Rainbow Dash via Ash's Dragonite. The Dragon Pokemon took the skies with the young filly on its back. Once they reached her home, Dragonite gave a knock on the door, grabbing the attention of the guilt-filled pegasus. Scootaloo managed to convince her by telling her there was a small little party going on down at Ponyville, and it was just for her and her friends.
And it was fairly easy to get Pinkie Pie out. Even though they were upset and down, that didn't mean they locked themselves inside, distancing themselves from everypony else.
There was one who was impossible to get out though. Twilight. Out of everypony, she was the most affected by this. Starlight tried getting her out of her room, but that was no good. Even Spike couldn't convince her. So this plan was missing one other.
Rarity had gathered them all out near the Pokemon House since this plan involved something gigantic.
"Where's Twilight?" Rarity asked.
"Sorry. I couldn't get her. She wants some more time alone." Starlight replied.
"Oh...well...I'm sure we can get her eventually. This surprise will last for many hours after all."
"Why did you bring us all here? And what is that?" Rainbow Dash and the others were gazing at a huge piece of cloth that seemed to be hiding something.
"Glad you asked, Rainbow Dash! And glad to see you're slightly energized today!" Rarity went up to Rainbow, holding her face. "Let's raise that up the energy, shall we? Spike. Pull the cloth."
"Got it." Spike placed his little baby dragon claws on the cloth, unravelling the plan to their eyes. What the plan had been revealed to be was an amalgamation of everything that everypony loves and adores. Similar to what Pinkie Pie did when Maud came for a visit.
Only this one went a step further. It could be identified as art in a bizarre way. Instead of it being some sort of odd obstacle course, it seemed to be an unholy contraption that an old-time gadgeteer would make. Clearly, Rarity had stepped out of her usual talent zone and attempted something she's never tackled before. Gadgets. And it shows since it looks like it could fall apart any moment, even if someone breathed on it.
"Behold! The Friendship Novelty!" Rarity introduced. "An amalgamation of everything that we each love and adore timesed by a million. This time with the inclusion of Pokemon to boot. This gadget will showcase everything we love and have loved from the past and present! It'll be better explained once I show you!"
And what about this Friendship Novelty? Well, to start off, the one thing that stands out is that huge screen with a projector near it, meaning the showcase will be shown there. Aside from that, you have a plethora of Pokeballs, mostly Rarityballs that were stacked up to the side of the screen. And alongside these Rarityballs were some of the Pokemon from the Pokemon House.
The Pokemon here consisted of Eevee, Karrablast, Ledian, Electrike and a Mienfoo.
"I see you've spotted the Pokemon and Rarityballs?" Rarity went over to the side. "This is exclusively for you Rainbow Dash. I know that you're determined to reach the league, emerging as the champion and first of Equestria. So, why not have some extra Pokemon on your team? I hoof-picked these since they match your exuberant personality. This Eevee here is fairly bold along with this Karrablast and these three over here...well they seem strong so they're perfect for your team."
"Uhh..." Rainbow Dash took a moment to process this. She wasn't even paying attention to the Pokemon. It was mostly the appearance of the gadget that caught her attention.
"And here's one just for you, Applejack!" Rarity went over to Applejack's side. For her, it was an altered painting of her family. Rarity had gotten a Smeargle from the Pokemon House, ordering it to paint an exact copy of Applejack's family picture. The result was a rather radical one.
This Smeargle had taken liberties, having the Apple family stand in a flaming background with thunderbolts raining from above whilst they wore some fairly impressive scarves that you'd see old-school masked heroes wear. Not only that but their manes spiky. Equal to that of Ash's spiky hair even.
Rarity took a moment to examine it, noticing how intense it was in appearance. "I thought you were deciding on a simple style?"
"Smear..." Smeargle rubbed his head, looking away.
"No matter. Up next, Fluttershy. This wasn't too hard to decide on. The Pokemon each helped me with this. Even if they seemed rather strict about it." Rarity went over to Fluttershy's side. For her, it was essentially a tower of Pokemon. Many Pokemon were stacked on each other, attempting to keep their balance. Who knows how long they've been like this all night.
This tower was made for the sake of one thing. Showing off Pokemon moves in a tower-formation. It looked a bit unstable considering a majority of them were smaller Pokemon.
"Alright. Go." Rarity gave off the command to unleash the moves. And so they did. Each of the Pokemon being supported by Machamp unleashed various moves that were perfect for Pokemon contests. Rarity's Mareep had joined in by shooting up an Electro Ball. Water, Electric, Fire, and Grass moves were utilized for this along with the inclusion of some Fairy and Psychic moves since they bring out the colours even more.
The elements mixed together, attempting to form the shape of a pony. But they couldn't keep it up forever. Eventually, they'll tire out.
"Good! Keep that shape. Now. Pinkie Pie. This was a bit tricky, but with the help of Jade and your Slurpuff, I managed to find something that could work. If I were you, the best possible thing I could do is show off what we've been through as friends. Which is why we have this little thing." Rarity referred to the projector and the screen. "Play it."
"Sweetie Belle had turned on the projector, starting off the showcase. Since they didn't have footage or images of their past experiences since unfortunately, no one in the Pokemon world has thought of giving them a TV or recording cameras yet, the replacement actually came in the form of their Pokemon and pictures.
During the plan, Rarity had gathered up the Pokemon to portray the Mane 6, telling them how each event in their life went, causing the Pokemon to play it out. These were mostly humorous moments. The Pokemon were even voiced over by Rarity and the others, just for clarity.
The first one was when they recalled the time Rainbow Dash came flying through Golden Oak Library with Fluttershy attempting to give her best cheering voice. The replacement for Rainbow Dash ended up being Scootaloo who had been carried by a Pidgeotto to replicate that moment. As for Fluttershy, the Vulpix from Twilight's Pokemon lab ended up being the replacement. For Golden Oak Library, the CMC had banded together to replicate its appearance with cardboard. Very crumpled up cardboard.
It could've come out worse.
Next was the time they first interacted with the Pokemon World. When the two worlds first crossed over. For Rarity, she had her Leavanny be her Sewaddle replacements since that's what they all used to be. For everypony else, it ended up being horribly cut out cardboard drawings of them.
"Eeugh..." Rarity winced at the cardboard drawings, feeling as if she was about to throw up from just looking at them. "Next slide please, we'll come back to this later.
"Got it." Sweetie Belle nodded, attempting to flip to the next slide. Unfortunately, this is where things go horribly wrong. The Pokemon had finally tired themselves out and it was only a matter of time before one of them toppled the tower.
"H-H-Helioptile!" A Helioptile felt cold, unleashing a mighty sneeze. When it sneezed, The Generator Pokemon had ended up shocking all the Pokemon there. Its electricity had spread out, affecting the projector as well.
"Uh oh." Sweetie Belle gulped, backing away from the projector. The generated electricity from Helioptile's frills had short-circuited the projector, causing it to go haywire.
"Oh, dear." Rarity's eyes widened. "No need to worry! This can be solved fairly quickly." She dashed on over to the projector, attempting to fix it with her bare hooves. "Just gotta...shake this about." She picked up the projector, shaking it about like some sort of jar. That was a bad call since it gave her a shock, causing her mane to rise up.
The Pokemon tower had topped, causing the Pocket Monsters to fall over the screen, destroying it with their combined weight.
Along came Twilight who was actually passing by. She decided to take a breather outside, going for a short walk in Ponyville. Her walk caused her to spot the scenario before her.
"Come on..." Rarity kept shaking the projector aggressively whilst everything was coming down. The screen had managed to knock over the rest of the amalgamation gadget, creating a series of chaotic outcomes. The Rarityballs had all fallen down, spreading everywhere on the ground, the gadget had smoke coming out, indicating that it could explode at any moment.
"Uh, Rarity..." Fluttershy spoke.
"Don't worry! I've got it all under control." Rarity picked up the Pokeballs with her magic as she dropped the projector since she couldn't take another shock.
"I've gotcha!" Scootaloo ran over, holding up the falling family painting before it could break. Unfortunately, she wasn't strong enough to hold something that large. So as a result it almost crushed her. Luckily, Jade helped lift it up for her. The gadget was on the verge of exploding as flames came out of it, causing everypony to gasp in shock.
"Not good!" Twilight gasped, rushing over to the scene. She had used her magic to form a protective barrier, shielding Rarity, Scootaloo and Jade from the explosion of the screen. It was a great save since the barrier had also protected the Pokemon as well, preventing a potentially horrible result. The Pokemon were sent flying via the shockwave from the explosion, but thankfully, Ash, Audino and Leavanny managed the catch them.
The smoke had cleared with everypony and Pokemon alright. Still intact. Rarity had ducked, believing that she would've been hit by the explosion. Thankfully, she wasn't.
"Is everypony alright?" Twilight asked.
"I-I think so." Rarity breathed in and out.
"Rarity! What were you thinking when making this?!" Applejack asked.
"Well...I was just trying to...do my best to cheer you all up."
"And you all were in on this?" Rainbow Dash looked over to the others.
"Ehehehe...Whoops?" Sweetie Belle squeed, hiding behind Apple Bloom.
"Don't take it out on them." Rarity spoke. "I was the one who came up with the idea in the first place. I thought that I could come up with a way to reenergize you all after what happened in Manehattan."
"But did you have to build...this?" Rainbow Dash raised her hoof up at the now destroyed gadget.
"I tried to be like Pinkie Pie. That was an immediate mistake." Rarity lowered her head. She wasn't really an expert at cheering others up at all. "But I don't want to see any of you in the state you're in. It affects me as well."
"Rarity." Twilight walked up to them. "I understand it completely."
"You do?"
"Mhm. If I were in your hooves, I'd try doing the same. We're all shaken up after what happened yesterday. And we appreciate what you tried doing for us. Don't we girls?"
"Yeah. I mean...I'm not exactly thrilled at the moment." Rainbow Dash scratched her mane. "But...that showcase thing was kinda funny." She chuckled at how poorly made the showcase was.
"And what you did with the Pokemon was impressive. Having them all stand up in a tower formation with those moves are contest worthy." Fluttershy spoke.
"And that family painting. A bit wild but I enjoyed it." Applejack nodded.
"That was..." Pinkie Pie's drooped down mane rose back up to its puffy state. "Pretty hysterical at the end! I mean you all almost blew up but seeing the Pokemon fly about and you shaking the projector like a jar of jellybeans was great!" She squeed.
"You all...actually liked that mess?" Rarity uttered.
"Who cares about how sad we are if you're doing your very best to cheer us all up!" Pinkie bounced over to Rarity.
"Having you do all this for us is more than enough," said AJ.
"Wow. I suppose it wasn't a total failure. Does this mean your fear of Ghetsis has diminished?"
"Not really." Twilight turned around. "If anything, I'm more terrified of Ghetsis than I've ever been. We've never come across a threat like him before. Celestia was right. We should've stayed away from him."
"But it wasn't really our fault, was it? We didn't see it coming. Not one bit." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "And for once...I'm kinda scared of Ghetsis." She wasn't afraid to admit it.
"Same here." Pinkie admitted her fear along with Applejack. "And that Ultra Beast thing didn't help at all."
"You guys met Ultra Beasts?!" Ash turned to them.
"Pika?"
"Mhm. A pretty vicious one too." Twilight nodded. "We were completely overpowered by it."
"Espeon." Eve went up to her trainer, attempting to comfort her.
"And to be honest...I don't think we'll be able to defeat Ghetsis." Twilight sighed.
"Don't say that!" Rarity ran over to Twilight. "You've had your doubts Twilight. At times, you've been unsure of a situation that you believed was impossible to overcome. But you've done it time and time again. Even if you all lost, you can learn from this. Whenever I fail at something, I just do my best to improve. If I just gave up there, how would I be able to know if I can overcome it."
"Rarity's right," Ash commented. "I don't know what happened at Manehattan. But I'm sure that I can help you all improve as trainers even more. Your Pokemon want to protect you, right?" Ash kneeled down at Twilight's Espeon, petting her head.
"Esp."
"You guys are still new to Pokemon and there's a lot to discover and experience. But I'll be here to help you through. Sorry that I couldn't be there to help at Manehattan. But I can definitely train you all even more."
"Pikachu!"
"But how are we sure that'll be any better? You've got 24 years of experience Ash. We're still rookies." Rainbow Dash sighed.
"I was like you guys once. I remember starting out my Pokemon Journey. I had no idea what I was doing at all. I kept on tripping and making mistakes along the way. But eventually, I got better. I made new friends along the way and I got the greatest buddy I could ever ask for."
"Pika!"
"You don't have to face these hardships alone." Rarity said. "I'll be here for all of you. And maybe...we may not fully understand this whole Pokemon thing. And we might not even be able to hold a candle to Team Plasma the next time we meet. We might not even improve that much as trainers. But as long as I have all of you by my side. Even my family, who cares about all of that?"
"Took the words right out of my mouth!" Applejack smiled, giving Rarity and Apple Bloom a hug. Soon, they all gathered around for a group hug. That's all Rarity and Ash had to say to raise their spirits back up to the fullest.
"Now. Who wants to get stronger?" Ash asked.
"Me! For sure!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"I don't know about you but I've got my own way of getting stronger." Rainbow Dash scoffed. "But...I could use the extra help."
The group had all set their sights on improving themselves immediately. Despite them being back to full spirit, the fear of Team Plasma and Ghetsis was now apart of them. However, with them being together, those fears are quickly taken away, even if for just a bit. There's no doubt the next time they encounter Team Plasma, it'll be a situation that will cause them to tremble in fear. But they've all made sure that next time, they'll be prepared as the journey continues.
At this moment, an encounter from two opposite sides will play out. One being the Mane 7 and Spike who have decided to take a visit to the Pokemon World with Ash and Goh in order to clear their minds, and the other being Team Rocket who were on their break as requested by Zecora.
"Where are we now?" Fluttershy asked as they were all travelling right near an uncharted territory.
"No idea. Sinnoh's pretty tough to navigate sometimes." Twilight looked at the map. "Where's Ash, Spike and Goh by the way?"
"They got a bit distracted at Daybreak Town." Starlight answered. "I'm sure they'll catch up eventually. But uh...it feels like we're in the middle of nowhere."
"It's a pretty nice scenery though!" Pinkie rolled about in Sinnoh's lush green plains.
"Hold on! I see something!" Rainbow Dash spoke out loud, spotting something in the distance. "It looks like...a mansion?"
"Did you say mansion?!" Rarity stood up, running over the horizon. Indeed it was. A whole mansion just sitting out there in the open. "Have a look at that!"
"A mansion just out in the fields like this?" Applejack said. "Ain't there too much space?"
"Wonder who lives here? Oh! You think it might a Poke-Billionaire?!" Twilight gasped.
"Poke-Billionaire...?" Starlight thought for a moment. She and the others pictured a human wearing a fancy suit and having an unholy amount of Pokedollars, gems, jewels, gold and all sorts of treasures with him. "Oh..."
"Only one way to find out!" Pinkie rolled down the hill, heading straight towards the mansion whilst everypony else followed.
And switching the other side, being Team Rocket, along they came for a sort of re-visit to this mansion. Especially for James.
"I don't get why we have to come back here? I thought you hated the thought of being back here?" Jessie asked.
"They say that to heal wounds, one must face the cause of the wounds in the first place." James quoted some poet from Kalos.
"Except these wounds come with a scar. And those don't heal." Meowth was shuddering, thinking of one particular person who scarred him and Team Rocket to this day.
The two groups had finally crossed paths, both reaching the entrance without them even noticing. And at the same time, both Twilight and James said the exact same word.
"We're here!"
A moment of silence filled the air. Both voices took a moment to pass through each of the character's ears. And then, a turnaround. Team Rocket looked over to the ponies and their Pokemon whilst the ponies looked over to Team Rocket. Only one outcome can come from this.
"Team Rocket?!" The ponies all exclaimed.
"Twerpettes!" so did Team Rocket.
"What are you three doing here?!" Rainbow Dash held out her Pokeball, ready to take action.
"What kind of silly question is that?! I live here! This is one of my many mansions!" James exclaimed.
"...Huh?" Rainbow Dash and everypony took a moment to pause. And in the middle of that pause, a familiar voice rang from the inside of the mansion. It sounded as if it was getting closer. The sound of footsteps moving at a running speed could only mean one thing.
"Master James!" Out of the door burst Jame's old butler, Sebastian.
"Sebastian?!" James turned around to see his butler jump through the doors as if he was flying.
"I knew I recognized that voice! It's so splendid that you've returned once more!" Sebastian, in all his ecstatic and exuberant fondness for James, picked up the young master, giving him a hug that a mother Ursaring would give to their Teddiursa.
"Eegh! C-Can't breathe!" James squirmed.
"Wait...You're saying that this guy is..." Rainbow Dash attempted to finish her sentence.
"James here is as rich as they come! His family swimming in wealth" Meowth replied.
"All that wealth and none for us! HMPH! How rude." Jessie crossed her arms.
"Well, it's not my fault!" James replied to her. "Mommy and daddy don't just give them out all willy-nilly."
"Your family's rich? You?" Rarity winced at James.
"Of course they are!" Sebastian snapped at Rarity. "Ah. Master James's family is among the richest in our world! Unparalleled wealth!"
"Him?! But he steals Pokemon with those two!" Pinkie pointed her hoof at Jessie and Meowth. "How did he get from this to...this?"
"The scope of it is larger than you think." James nodded. "Now. May I come in?"
"Of course you can! This is one of your many summer homes as well. Please do invite your friends in as well!" Sebastian had invited the Mane 7 indoors as well, believing that they and Team Rocket were chums. They weren't...Not yet at least.
"Growlithe!" And along came a second familiar face. James's first Pokemon and the Pokemon he remembers the most. His Growlithe. Or Growlie, as it's known. "Lithe!" Growlie lunged forward, tackling its beloved trainer to the ground, giving James an old-fashioned lick to the face.
"Oh! A Growlithe!" Fluttershy squeed at the Puppy Pokemon.
"Growlie, please!" James chuckled, trying to get his trusty Growlithe off of him.
"This is so bizarre...He's a completely different person right now." Twilight whispered to Applejack.
"I'll say." AJ nodded in response.
"How come you're with Team Rocket if you have all of this at your disposal" Rarity questioned, confused on why James would choose the Rocket Route instead of this.
"Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't pass out on this!" Pinkie yelled in the mansion, causing an echo to fill the room.
"All this formal society is not for me. As a child, I was forced to endure this for days on end. Taking part in numerous mundane classes and activities without having the opportunity to even enjoy my time outside. It was torture I tell you. So I ran away."
"How could you say that, Master James! Running away from home absolutely destroyed your parents, don't you remember?!"
"Last time I remember, they waited for me to return just to trick me in the end!"
"Sounds like a lot happened...And trick you? Into doing what?" Starlight asked. Her answer was quickly given when the monitors inside the mansion showcased the one person that James feared more than anything. More than a Legendary Pokemon, Ghost-Type, Dark-Type and so forth. Nothing comes close to the absolute sheer terror that haunts James's nightmares now and forever.
"It's her..." James shuddered as he looked outside to see a bunch of helicopters carrying a couch with someone sitting on the couch.
"Who?" The Mane 7 asked.
"Jessebelle."
"James darling!" That horrifying voice. A voice that can send chills down anyone's spine. No matter what species they are. This was the voice of Jessebelle. Jessie's counterpart. And boy was she recognizable from that very Country-Esque accent she wields.
"We've got to get out of here! Now!" James winced, aiming to book it at lightspeed. But unfortunately, Sebastian wouldn't let that happen. Betrayed by his own butler.
"I'm sorry Master James. But I'm afraid I cannot let you leave." Sebastian had stood by the door, locking it shut. Not only that, but it had been enforced with hard steel the moment it had been locked. Even the walls and ceiling had been reinforced with steel. Steel so strong that even a Fighting-Type would have trouble breaking through. The mansion had been upgraded just for a situation like this in case James tried to escape again.
"Sebastian! How could you?!"
"It's for your own good and health, Master James! Please understand!"
"It's toxic for my health instead!"
"Wait...we're locked in?!" Twilight perked up.
"Nice going, James! You've got us all boxed in here," said Jessie.
"I didn't plan this!"
"Yoohoo!" Terror had struck. Jessebelle had made her entrance, not by the door, but instead, a secret hatch that had been built in the ceiling a few years back. They really made sure that James wouldn't escape next time. Through that hatch came Jessebelle, landing down with an umbrella.
And indeed, she really did look like Jessie's doppelganger. The biggest difference between the two was their hair colour. Jessie had more purple whilst Jessebelle was red.
"No way...There's two of them?!" Pinkie bolted her head, looking at Jessie and Jessebelle.
"James, darling! I knew you'd return again one day! Seems like fate doesn't want us to separate at all!"
"Fate can go jump in the Distortion World for all I care! This is just bad luck!"
"Who in Equestria is this? Why does she look a lot like her?" Rarity asked.
"Jessebelle. My fiance. Unfortunately." James grimaced.
"And future wife! And that future is now, my dear James!"
"Growl..." James's Growlithe snarled at the doppelganger. Jessebelle was known for not being a fan of Growlie. Especially when she tried to replace it with a Skitty when she and James were children.
"No way! You're gonna marry her? She looks just as crazy as her!" Rainbow Dash chuckled, pointing at both Jessie and Jessebelle.
"Hush you!" Jessie grabbed Rainbow Dash's face, stretching it. The two were having a face stretching fight at the moment.
"No matter how many times you try and force me, you won't have your way!" James pointed at the doppelganger.
"And no matter how many times you try and run, I'll end up having my way. You can't run forever, James darling."
"Please, Master James! Concede!" The butler got on his knees, pleading for James to accept the marriage and get this whole thing over with.
"I'd rather die!"
"Even if you somehow managed to break through the steel, my bodyguards are out there, waiting to snatch you up." And it was true. Jessebelle had 50 bodyguards waiting outside. An intimidating number for sure.
"Plan, genius!" Meowth climbed up James's shoulder.
"Come on! We've got places to be!" Applejack yelled at him.
"You're not helping!" James held his head.
"Just get it over with it!" Rarity joined in as well.
"It's no use! Submit!" Jessebelle grinned.
"Um. Maybe we can talk this out?" Fluttershy suggested.
"There's no talking out of something like this, sadly." Twilight shook her head.
"Just give an answer already, James!" Jessie was growing impatient.
"What to do...what to do..." James held his head, thinking to himself. Then...something sparked in his brain. An idea so risky which might also cause his life to end. But it was the only thing he could do. "Very well. I'll tell you this."
"Yes?" Jessebelle and Sebastian leaned forward.
"Jessebelle. I can't marry you. Because I already have another fiance."
"...Huh?" Jessebelle flinched. Those were words she didn't want to hear. Not at all. "WHO?" Her voice had been raised as she crushed her umbrella into tiny little pieces with ease, terrifying the ponies.
"The one who I've already decided to be my future bride is..." James raised his hand up, turning around to the plethora of characters behind him. "Her!" The finger pointed at one individual and one individual only.
Applejack.
"Hm?" Applejack took a moment to notice that James's finger was directed at her. "Wait...What?!" The Earth Pony pulled back, realizing that James referring to her.
"HER?!" Jessebelle growled.
"That's right! Jackapple!"
"Applejack!" She corrected him.
"Right."
"Hold on. There's no way that A-" Applejack was about to speak about this until James shut her up by closing her mouth.
"One moment! We all need a private talk!" James grabbed everyone with haste, moving them to the next room nearby.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Applejack shouted at him.
"Please! You have to understand!" James clapped his hands together. "I've been avoiding her for years! She's been trying to force me to marry her for ages now! For this, just please pretend you're my fiance! That way, she'll have to leave me alone forever!"
"What makes you think I'm okay with this?"
"Help a trainer out. Please?"
"I mean...if it's pretending, it's not that bad, right AJ?" Pinkie said to her.
"Besides...forced marriages aren't exactly ethical. They completely go against somepony's own free will. Even if it is Team Rocket, it's for a greater good." Rarity decided to go along with it.
"You two are okay with this?!"
"I'm not exactly one for faking something. Not one bit." Twilight shook her head along with her Espeon and Minccino. "But...I also understand when somepony's being forced to do something they can't reason their way out of. Applejack. Even if it's just for a small bit, just pretend that you are and we might get out of this steel-blocked mansion."
"Mrrgh..." Applejack grumbled, not being a fan of this in the slightest. "For a small bit?"
"Just enough to get her to leave and out of my hair forever."
Applejack groaned, putting her hat over her face. "Fine. Let's get this over with...But I won't like it."
So it was. A fabricated relationship between James and Applejack. All for the sake of freedom from Jessebelle and the mansion. For the meantime, they would just have to act like they were a couple. Even though neither knew how to since they've never been in a relationship such as this. They came out of the room, seeing an agitated Jessebelle glaring at them with the look of a demon.
"So. As I was saying. Jacka- I mean Applejack...is my fiance. Happened a few weeks after our worlds crossed."
"Y-Yes..." AJ had a wide smile with her teeth clenched together. "James and I fell in love in such a short amount of time."
"What?! James, darling! How could you fall for someone else?! Not only that but a...country-ridden farm pony!"
"Country-ridden...why I outta..." Applejack growled at Jessie's Doppelganger.
"That's because it's true love! Applejack and I were bound by actual fate! The moment we met, we hit it off with ease. Right, dear?" James gave off an awkward grin, trying his very best to be convincing. He looked over at Applejack with that grin, nudging his head at her.
"R-Right...James and I have already decided to get hitched once the new year comes along. Isn't that right, honeybun." Applejack felt like screaming at the moment. But she had to endure it until Jessebelle left. Which she was hoping was now.
"As you can see, he's taken." Rarity moved in front of them. "So, run along now. Shoo."
"There won't be any shooing here! You!" Jessebelle snapped, pointing directly at Applejack out of disdain. "Think you can just steal my James from me?!"
"Steal?" Applejack pulled back.
"Well, you're wrong! I was here first, horse! He even fell in love with me first! And I bet you only got him to love you out of dirty country tactics that only a country girl would use!"
"Now I see why you can't stand her..." Applejack whispered to James.
"You can't have him. And the only way to win him back...is in battle." Jessebelle held out a Pokeball, sneering at her new declared love rival.
"Huh?! Battle?!"
"Wait! You're not leaving?!" James gulped.
"Of course not! Our marriage is the only marriage that's happening! And the one that matters the most. Besides, she's not a match for you at all. I mean look at her. Her hair's all careless and unkempt. She has freckles for Arceus's sake and not only that, who wears a cowboy hat? The style of it doesn't even match a pony at all."
"Now hold on just a sec-" Rarity attempted to speak for Applejack.
"Leave it." AJ outstretched her hoof, halting Rarity. "I've heard enough." All it took were those words from Jessebelle to get the farm pony riled up. "You wanna battle? Fine. We'll battle."
"Excellent! We'll battle for James's love! Whoever wins will be his true bride. No questions!"
"Fine by me!" Applejack narrowed her eyes with her Treecko already eyeing down Jessebelle.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Meowth shuddered.
The battle between the two was about to begin. One for love and the other for the sake of shutting the other up.
"Now! Out you come!" Jessebelle had tossed her Pokeball into the air. Usually, the Pokemon she's seen with all the time is a Vileplume. But not this time. This time, she switched it up. She had a Gothitelle.
"Goth!"
"This lovely little Gothitelle here was made just for you, James. In case you tried to escape, I'd have her catch you with Psychic and hold you there until we finally get married!"
"Eeek!" James quaked, moving to the back of the group.
"Lady! You're a bit too controlling! You really expect him to marry you with that attitude?" Applejack snapped at her. "All you're doing is forcing him to marry you!"
"Hmph! I'd never control my sweet precious James. You on the other hand seem like the type to do so."
"You don't know a thing about me! Ready, Treecko?"
"Treecko!" Treecko hopped off Applejack's back, landing in front of her. "Tree!"
"My dignity and will to be free are on the line here! James bit his glove.
"Lighten up, bub." Pinkie Pie patted James on the back. "There's no way Applejack is gonna lose with that face. Besides, what's the worst that could happen if she does lose?"
"Then he'll be forced to marry her of all people." Rainbow Dash replied.
"I had no idea you had it this rough, James." Fluttershy looked back at him whilst holding his Growlithe.
"Same story another side..." James sighed.
"Now...you may both begin!" Sebastian gave the order to begin the battle.
"Watch this! Gothitelle! Use Psyshock!"
"Gothi!" The Astral Body Pokemon had spread its arms out, materializing odd psychic waves to attack the Wood Gecko Pokemon.
"Treecko! Dodge and use Dragonbreath!" Applejack was looking to end this in one hit. The Grass-Type had taken off, lunging off the ground. The waves of psychic energy had grazed its tail, leaving a small bit of damage behind. The Wood Gecko Pokemon powered through it, however, holding his breath in as the waves hit the ground, kicking up a smoke cloud. With a burst of energy, Treecko exhaled, unleashing a purplish-blue wave of draconic breath that raced towards the Psychic-Type.
"Grab it with Psychic!" All of a sudden, Dragonbreath had been stopped in place with just a simple thought. Gothitelle held the attack in place with her mind alone.
"What?!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Tree?!"
"Now! Send it back!"
Gothi...telle!" The Astral Body Pokemon had manipulated the breath, redirecting all of its power right back the one who fired it in the first place. Treecko gasped, returning to the ground whilst the reflected Dragonbreath raced into the sky. It was a good call to land down.
"Now! Head in and use Pound!"
"Treecko!" Treecko bolted forward, heading straight for the opposing Pokemon. With haste, he managed to get a single hit in on Gothitelle, smashing his gecko arms on the Psychic-Type's dress-like body. But, Gothitelle didn't even budge. She just simply looked down at the smaller Pokemon.
"You call that a hit? This is a hit. Double Slap!"
"Thitelle!" Gothitelle had grabbed Treecko's tail, lifting him up to her face. Following up, the Astral Body Pokemon had used its other hand to give the Wood Gecko Pokemon a slap to the face. Ouch.
The impact of the slap let out a sound so loud that it could be heard from afar, even near Daybreak Town. Ash, Goh and Spike picked up on the sound, not thinking too much about it.
But it was called Double Slap for a reason. A second ear-shattering slap had been given to Treecko, launching him away due to how much power the final one exhibited.
"Tree!" Treecko cried out with Gothitelle's hand marks on his face.
"Treecko! Recover and use Bullet Seed!"
"Cko!" The Wood Gecko Pokemon had done just that. He opened his eyes, sliding on the ground with a quick recovery. The Grass-Type Starter then proceeded to shoot seeds towards Gothitelle, pelting the Unova-mon with lightning-fast speeds.
The seeds actually did something. One seed can't do that much, but since they hit repeatedly, they rack up damage thanks to how many there are.
"Gothitelle! Bring Treecko over with Psychic!"
"Goth!" The Astral Body Pokemon grabbed the Wood Gecko Pokemon with her mind, forcing him to fly over here as a blue light surrounded her eyes.
"Gotcha...Dragonbreath!" Applejack found an opportunity. That opportunity was hitting Gothitelle with a devastating move whilst up close.
"Tree!" Treecko held his breath in, drawing in that hidden dragon energy from within.
"Eek! Throw it away, Gothitelle!" Gothitelle had used Psychic to send Treecko back, but that wouldn't stop Dragonbreath. By exhaling from his mouth, Treecko had unleashed Dragonbreath whilst flying through the air. Gothitelle gasped, covering her eyes and getting down, fearing Dragonbreath. But just simply covering her eyes wouldn't protect her as Dragonbreath made contact, causing an explosion of blue and purple flames.
And just like that, a single Dragonbreath had taken out Gothitelle, causing it to faint.
"Gothi..."
"No! Not my Gothitelle!" Jessebelle wailed in shock and terror.
"G-Gothitelle is unable to battle. Which means that Treecko is the victor."
"Yes! Great work, Treecko!" Applejack jumped for joy.
"Tree!"
"YES! I'M FREE!" James got on his knees, screaming into the sky with happiness fueling his heart and soul.
"Not yet!" Jessebelle smashed her foot on the floor. "I won't let anyone have you, James!" She suddenly pulled out a whip, completely forgetting about the deal. The whip had wrapped around James, trapping his entire torso area.
"EEK!" James squealed as Jessebelle was dragging his entire body.
"Hey! What about our deal?!" Applejack bellowed at her.
"No deals in love, pony! Hohohoho!" Jessebelle had kicked through the steel door, having enough strength to break it.
"You ain't getting away!" Applejack took matters into her own hooves. She dug into her saddle-bag, searching for her lasso. She held the piece of rope in her mouth, tossing it right at James's leg. The lasso spun around the trainer's leg, trapping him in it. Now he had two objects wrapped around him, attempting to pull him to one side.
"Ow-Ow-OW!" James yelped as he felt like he was being torn apart.
"Let go!" Jessebelle strained.
"You let go!" so did Applejack.
"Boys! Don't just stand there! Help me!" Jessebelle yelled at her bodyguards. They all nodded, assisting Jessebelle by holding each other and her to add some extra manpower to it.
"Girls! Help me out here!" Applejack requested help from her friends. They nodded as well, assisting Applejack by using their mouths whilst Twilight, Rarity and Starlight used their magic. Even their Pokemon joined in.
It soon became a great struggle for James. Both sides giving it 100% of their strength. Jessebelle's side was actually winning due to amount of people supporting her, completely outnumbering Applejack's group. Even Jessie and Meowth had joined in.
"LET GO!" Jessebelle snarled.
"YOU LET GO!" Applejack growled back at her.
"Is this it...?" James felt his final moments coming to him. "It must be. Goodbye. I've lived a happy life with some great friends alongside me." He was ready to accept his end. Through the corner of his eye, he could see a bright light shining down on him. With that light came angels who flew down from above. And standing at the top was Arceus himself, waiting for James to join him.
"Growl!" His Growlithe on the other hand wasn't ready to let that happen. The Puppy Pokemon had run over to Jessebelle's side, biting on her dress.
"Eeep! Get this mutt off of me!" Jessebellle shrieked as Growlie was ripping her clothing apart bit by bit.
"Treecko! Dragonbreath!" Applejack had given off a destructive command. Her Pokemon jumped into the air, exhaling a mighty gust of draconic energy towards Jessebelle's group.
"W-WAIT!" Jessebelle's eyes widened, seeing the mighty dragon attack coming her way. But it was too late to move. She had been struck along with her bodyguards. Every last one of them. Knocked out. "My darling James..."
"Phew. Glad that's over with." Applejack sighed.
"Same here." James groaned, removing the whip off him. "I can finally rest easy."
"Finally. That had no reason to be that destructive." Twilight said. "Are you happy now, James?"
"Of course I'm happy! A great burden and terror has been taken off my shoulders! Finally! And it's all thanks to you, Applejack!" James felt filled with more joy than he's ever experienced. He ran over to Applejack, picking her up for a loving hug.
"O-OKay...N-No problem!" Applejack puffed her cheeks with her eyes widening. James placed her down, allowing her to finally breathe. "So I can quit this now?"
"Of course. It was only for a bit."
"Whew. Thank goodness. Didn't know if I could take another moment of that."
"But...You did seem pretty worried when James got snatched by Jessebelle. Isn't that right, Mrs James? Mwah, Mwah." Pinkie Pie taunted her as Applejack shoved her hoof in the pony's mouth.
"In any case, I'm just glad that you've got someone like her off your back." Applejack spoke to James.
"And I have you to thank for it. Glad that pretend relationship went smoothly."
"Wait." Jessebelle's voice could be heard. She had woken up once she picked up on those words. "Pretend?"
"Yikes!" James squealed. "W-What I mean to say was..."
"OH, James, darling! I knew this was just some silly game!" She jumped back up. "Now we can get hitched for real!"
"Oh no..." James gulped, slowly backing away.
"Run." Applejack whispered to him.
"Good choice. I'll see you another time Growlie! Thanks for everything, Applejack!" James made a run for it, dashing off like the wind. And of course, like old times, Jessebelle followed.
"Come back, my love!" The doppelganger chased after him in hot pursuit.
"We'll round him up. Come on, Meowth." Jessie and Meowth went along, moving at a slower pace.
"Off they go. Aw, I wish they blasted off instead." Pinkie Pie pouted.
"Today was an odd day, wasn't it?" Fluttershy uttered.
"I'll say." The young alicorn nodded. "But strangely enough...I've found all-new respect for Team Rocket."
"You have?" Rarity turned to her.
"I mean...I don't know about Jessie or Meowth. But James doesn't seem too bad. He's just...lost? I think?"
"In any case, hope he stays out of trouble." Applejack walked off.
"Aren't they always prepared for trouble?" Pinkie Pie giggled. The group were making their way back to Daybreak, planning on heading home. Along the way, Ash, Goh and Spike had come by, wondering what they were up to.
"Oh hey. James's summer home. I knew one was here." Ash looked up at the mansion in the distance.
"Pika..."
"Wait...Ash! You knew James was rich?!" Twilight exclaimed at Ash.
"Mhm!"
"Pikachu!"
"I'm tired of trying to figure you out, Ketchum." Twilight groaned as they all continued on their path home.
As Fluttershy said, it was an odd day for sure. But nothing too out of the ordinary. Adventure can be experienced in many ways, shapes and forms when it comes to the world of Pokemon. On both sides, there's bound to be something interesting occurring at the moment with its own story. But James at the moment...this part of his journey hasn't come to an end yet.
"Leave me be, you jezebel!" James exclaimed whilst running off into the sunset.
"You're not running properly!" Jessebelle whistled.
Rarity is currently on her traditional hunt for gems. Joined by Spike, who held a basket of gems, eager to eat them, a single Leavanny just in case any Rock or Ground-Types try and attack and a helmet. Just to be safe.
"The last time I was here, I woke them and ended up with a mane full of bats!" Rarity sighed. "Thanks for being my basket holder, Spike."
"Basket holder? I thought I was your bodyguard." Spike raised an eyebrow.
"What? Oh, heh, yes, yes, that of course, too. Oh, for once I wish unicorn magic wasn't so... luminescent!" Just then, a light coming from Spike emanated to a point that it had reached high enough to alert the bats, awakening them from their slumber. "Spike! You'll wake the bats! Turn that off!"
"Ugh! I can't" Spike groaned as he was squirming on the ground. Whatever was happening to him was brand new territory for him and Rarity.
Moving over to Canterlot, at the moment, Twilight is spending some quality time with Celestia and Luna. Just for fun. Their Pokemon had joined in the fun as well as always.
"Espeon?" Eve spoke to Passion.
"Kirlia!" The Emotion Pokemon raised her arms up at her fellow Psychic-Type. Whatever they were talking about, it must be something serious judging by how Minccy's eyes are shifting across the room, looking at the two. Darkrai being Darkrai as always was lurking in the corner, blending in with the shadows as he let out a never-ending stare.
"Arcanine." Celestia's newest and second Pokemon, Arcanine had interacted with the group, showing how affectionate he can be. The Legendary Pokemon had given Passion and Eve a lick, showing his courage love.
"Es..." Eve felt like she was about to throw up.
"Kir..." Passion shuddered.
"I'm so glad you two could come!" Twilight smiled.
"Of course. We so rarely get a chance to relax and just visit." Luna replied.
"There's usually some crisis we have to deal with." Celestia picked up Passion. "Somepony always needs our help. But today—"
A shriek of unparalleled horror interrupted Celestia. And who else can scream like that but Rarity, who came bursting through the doors with Spike on her back.
"Twilight! There's something wrong with Spike!" Rarity bellowed, placing Spike on the table. The young dragon was scratching himself as if he had an unremovable itch on him.
"What's wrong?" Twilight asked her assistant.
"I don't know! Nngh! All of a sudden, my scales just started glowing and... burning!" Spike grunted.
" Little is known about dragon culture, but this is a phenomenon we've seen before. It is the call of the Dragon Lord." Luna commented.
"Dragons glow whenever the Dragon Lord has need of them in the Dragon Lands." Celestia explained.
"Great... H-How do I make it stop?!" Spike scratched his head.
"The only way to end the summons is to answer it. You must journey to the Dragon Lands and see what is expected of you." Luna stepped forward.
" B-B-But the Dragon Lands are full of... dragons! And they're ghastly creatures!" Rarity winced. "Oh, oh, not you, of course, Spikey-wikey. But remember that rotten Garble?"
"How could I forget?" Spike gulped. "He would have burnt us to a crisp if you weren't there. If I have to go to the Dragon Lands, would you two come with me?"
"Ooh! Oh my goodness, I'd love to!" Twilight squeed. "We are sadly lacking any information on dragon culture and customs. All I have are these Dragon-Type lore books." Twilight took out some books that had information on most of the Dragon-Type Pokemon. "I could research them – maybe even write an article! This could be my chance to make a great contribution to the knowledge of Equestria!" She took a moment to realize that the others were looking at her with lowered eyes. "And be there for Spike, heh, of course."
"Be very careful. The Dragon Lands are particularly dangerous for ponies. It would be wise to be discreet. But as long as you have your Pokemon with you, that won't be a problem, right?" Celestia said.
"Not at all." Twilight shook her head.
"Ooh! I'm sure I still have the dragon costume we used the last time we snuck into the Dragon Lands!" Rarity clapped her hooves together.
"I think we might want something a little more practical this time," Twilight responded, having something in mind.
Although, it wasn't as comfortable as the dragon costume. If anything it was a bit hard to move around in. A huge rock. That was the disguise. Sitting atop it was Spike. Still glowing. Still itchy.
"Hmmm... Well, it may be practical, but this disguise isn't flattering in the slightest!" Rarity said in silence.
"It's not supposed to be flattering. It's supposed to blend in!" Twilight whispered back at her.
"Sssh!" Spike hushed them as a dragon flew by. This dragon was glowing as well along with every other dragon here. They had all been summoned to this exact spot. One dragon, in particular, had spotted Spike. The one he hoped that they wouldn't come across.
"Hey-hey, look! It's our old friend Sparkle-warkle." That dragon was Garble, along with two other dragons.
"It's Spike." The baby dragon replied.
"Are you sure your pony friends didn't give you a pony name?"
"It's nice to see you too, Garble." Spike sighed, crossing his arms at the teenage dragon.
"I didn't say it was nice to see you. It's not. I don't like you. Was I not clear about that?" Garble knocked Spike off the fake rock, hopping on it instead. A grunt came from Twilight, Rarity and Eve, but a silent one.
"Hey! That's my rock!"
"Oh, really? Then why aren't you sitting on it?" Garble laughed.
Their laughing was ceased when Torch, the big dragon in charge came along. More than just being in charge, he was the biggest dragon here. His shadow loomed over every dragon here, causing Twilight and Rarity to raise their eyes up to gaze upon the sheer size of this guy. Everything about him was intimidating. Horns, wings, tail, everything. They outclassed every other dragon in size and scale.
"Dragons of Equestria, hear me!" The gigantic dragon spoke with a booming voice. "I have been Dragon Lord for longer than many of you can remember, and my reign has been extraordinary!" He took a moment to realize that there wasn't any response from the dragons. "Agree with me!" And so they did. His aggressive voice got them all to make general agreeing noises. They all seemed to scream his name "Torch" over and over again.
"Who is that?" Spike pointed up.
"It's Dragon Lord Torch, dummy," Garble replied.
"No, next to him." Spike was referring to the smaller blue dragon flapping right next to Torch.
"That's his daughter, Princess Ember. I wouldn't even look at her if I were you unless you want Torch to eat you!"
"This is fascinating! Dragons are notoriously reckless, but they do whatever the Dragon Lord says!" Twilight spoke. "I wonder if the same logic applies to Pokemon?"
"Unfortunately, according to dragon law, it is time for me to step down. Sad, I know." Torch said, noticing that yet again, no one was affected by that. "Be sad!" He forced them to feel distraught and saddened by this reveal. "This is why I have summoned you – to compete for the throne in the Gauntlet of Fire" Now that got them to give a genuine reaction of cheering. "Whomever has the strength and fortitude to retrieve this bloodstone scepter from the heart of the flame-cano will be crowned Lord of the Dragons!" Torch held up a scepter that paled in comparison to his overwhelming size. But that didn't matter since the scepter packed heaps of power behind it.
He tossed the scepter into the distance, causing it to fall straight into an active volcano cave. Getting a scepter in that would require a dragon honestly. Once the scepter went inside the volcano, a burst of lava rose up. A red light emanated afterwards, causing the glow to vanish from the dragons.
"When the scepter disappeared, the dragons stopped glowing! We are learning so much!" Twilight squeed, getting out a quill and notebook. She started scribbling down some information, however, the quill was reaching Rarity's nose, causing the unicorn to reach the verge of sneezing.
However, Minccy had blocked her nose using Aqua Tail to do so.
High above the Dragon lands. Or at least, right next to the tallest mountain there was, the two cosmic duo of Sienna and Lucien made their appearances once more. Wherever there's a major event, they'll be there.
"Look at all those dragons..." Sienna gawked.
"Weird. All of this yet not a single Dragon-Type in sight. Ain't that weird." Lucien chuckled.
"Weird is an understatement. Just feels out of place. You'd think there'd be at least one right?"
"Well...what about that Bagon over there?" Lucien pointed at the only Dragon-Type that was here. A Bagon. Just minding its own business, looking into the sky.
This Bagon had been undetected by the dragons here, mostly due to it being a bit of an individual Pokemon Bagon is usually a Pokemon that dreams of being able to fly. As a result, it's constantly frustrated, smashing its rocky head on anything that it spots. On the bright side, because of its single-minded pursuit of flight, it appears to be genetically motivated. Bagon for the past months has been destroying rocks in the Dragon Lands out of frustration. But the dragons found it adorable.
"Just the one Bagon?" Sienna twirled her drill hair.
"Looks like it. Check out how it stares into the sky."
"Ba..." The Rock Head Pokemon wouldn't take its eyes off the crimson skies of the Dragon Lands. How it wishes it could fly.
"It's kind of impressive that their final evolution Salamance just gains the ability to fly because it wished super hard." Sienna turned to Lucien.
"Mhm. Having a super strong desire to fly and just gaining wings when you finally reach that point. That really is impressive..." Lucien thought for a bit, sparking up an idea. He looked over at Bagon, then to the flame-cano. Then to Bagon and back to the cave. "I got an idea..."
"What? What did you get?"
"Check this out. We're gonna grant this Bagon's wish in a heartbeat. Bam!" Lucien pointed directly at Bagon, shooting the Rock Head Pokemon with a bolt of cosmic lights.
In just a split second, Bagon's wish had come true out of nowhere. Its body began morphing, skipping past its second evolution, Shelgon and right to its final evolution.
Salamence.
"SALA!" The Dragon Pokemon let out a resounding roar.
"Oooh...Nice!" Sienna clapped. "But uh...I don't get what this is gonna achieve."
"Isn't it obvious? Salamance is an unusual Pokemon species. These guys get a little bit too rowdy sometimes. So rowdy that they lose all sense of themselves, destroying everything around them. They get like this because they're so happy to gain wings, they end up destroying entire field and mountains. So here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna have this Salamance head in there and start doing what it does best. Go wild."
"Oooh...That just sounds like everyday natural dragon stuff to me." Sienna was unimpressed.
"It's gonna be cool! Watch!"
"The Gauntlet is dangerous, for I designed it myself!" Torch continued speaking. "Only dragons with my ferocity, strength, and determination will be able to finish. We will gather at the cliff when the sun is at its peak!"
The dragons cheered, but Spike wasn't up for this at all. "I don't want to be Dragon Lord or dragon toast, and I stopped glowing, so let's sneak out of here!" He pushed the rock, preparing to high-tail it out of here.
"Ah! Where do you think you're going, little dragon?!" Torch spotted Spike, unfortunately.
"Oh, uh, hi, your Lordship. Uh, I was just going home!" Spike squeed.
"You don't get to leave unless I say you can!"
"Dad, look at him. He's just a runt. Besides, he doesn't even wanna compete. Let him go." Ember suddenly spoke, flying down towards the baby dragon, patting him on the head.
"He is rather tiny, heh-heh. I could squish him with my pinky claw." Torch said, causing Spike to chuckle nervously. "That wasn't a joke. It was a fact. When I want you to laugh, I will say 'be amused!'"
"Of course, your Lordship! I, uh, guess I don't understand dragon customs. Another reason why I shouldn't compete."
"Hm. Very well then, little dragon. I release you."
"Thank you!" Spike grinned nervously as he then turned to Ember. And thank you." Both went their separate ways with Spike pushing the rock and Ember flying off.
The teenage dragon, however, seemed to be heading in a different direction at high speeds, but her father caught her.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"To prepare for the Gauntlet." Ember looked up, replying to her father.
"No, you're not. You're not much bigger than that runt I just sent home!" The Dragon Lord shook his head.
"But I'm smarter than most of these boulderheads and you know it!" She flew up, pointing directly at him.
"Being smart won't help you win this Gauntlet! It was designed for a big, strong dragon to win because it takes a big, strong dragon to lead! Besides, I said no!" His yell caused her to fly back away from his vicinity.
"I hate when he does that!" Ember growled, flying off.
Many dragons were already discussing what they'd do if they became Dragon Lord. One had said that they would allow burping to be a greeting, another just wanted soft pillows but Garble had something much more aggressive in mind.
"That's nothing! When I'm in charge, the first thing I'll do is get revenge on those puny ponies! They'll regret they ever crossed Garble! We'll take whatever we want from Equestria and burn the rest!" Clearly, his was the more forceful and rough route.
"Oh, my gosh!" Twilight was rightfully worried.
"Ooh, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope that burping dragon wins!" Rarity shook her head.
"None of them can win! Equestria's in big trouble if any of them are in charge!" Spike replied.
"But what can we do?" Twilight wondered.
"There's only one thing to do, and only I can do it! I have to win the Gauntlet of Fire!" Spike put his hands together.
"Oh..." Both said.
"Huh?" Rarity had taken the rock costume off. "What do you mean you have to win the Gauntlet?"
"It's the only way to protect Equestria from the dragons. You heard them! They have horrible plans for ponies if they win! So somehow, I have to do it!"
"There has to be another way. It's too dangerous. Besides, if you win, you'd have to stay here! We have Pokemon on our side! We can just defend ourselves with them!" The young alicorn exclaimed.
"I know, but with how many of them there are, there's no other way to keep my friends safe." His words were a bit moving to them. They were very sincere and honest with a lot of love packed behind them.
"Well, if you're staying to compete, then we're staying to cheer you on!" Twilight replied.
"Espeon."
"Minccino!"
The Gauntlet of Fire was about to begin with a large majority of the dragons, who also had some armour on here and there, gathered up in one spot with Torch looking over them. He noticed that Spike came along running, joining his fellow dragons.
"I thought I released you, tiny one!"
"I decided to compete. I am a dragon, after all."
"Are you sure? You can't even fly!" Garble pointed out his non-existent wings.
"All dragons are welcome to compete, but they do so at their own peril! Flying to Flame-cano Island is the first of many challenges you will face in your quest to find the bloodstone scepter!" Torch breathed fire, indicating that it was time to begin. All of them took off flying, heading straight for the island.
All except Spike, who couldn't fly.
"Good luck! Just kidding. I hope you lose." Garble knocked Spike off, flying towards the island with the others. He fell straight into the sea, falling behind every one there.
"Thanks, Garble! I was planning on swimming anyway!" Swimming was his best source of travel at the moment. Behind him, two seaweeds came towards him. Those seaweeds were revealed to be Twilight and Rarity, giving their support in secret.
"You can do it, Spike!" Rarity cheered him on.
From the large sea, a sea worm emerged, roaring as a wave of water hit any dragons that passed by, knocking them out of the sky as if they were flies. And it was more than just one of them, that's for sure.
One dragon in particular, who was covered in armour had been knocked out of the sky, falling into the sea with the others. But this fall was worse. Instead of just falling and flying back up like the others, this dragon had ended up sinking further down into the sea, right next to Spike.
"He's gonna drown!" Spike gasped, heading down to save the armoured dragon.
"Spike!" Twilight squealed, seeing Spike head deep into the sea. But thankfully, he saved the dragon much quicker than expected, bringing them back up. He brought the unidentified dragon to shore, saving their life instead of carrying on with the gauntlet.
"Hey, are you okay?" Spike noticed that the dragon was waking up with its eyes slowly opening . The dragon was coughing whilst still having the helmet on, causing Spike to take the helmet off. Once he did, it was revealed that this dragon was Ember. "Princess Ember!"
"What do you think you're doing?" Ember stood up, rubbing her head.
"Only saving your ungrateful scales!" Rarity snapped at her whilst still disguised via seaweed.
"Did that seaweed just talk?" Ember narrowed her eyes, walking straight towards the disguised ponies. She removed the disguise, causing Twilight, Rarity, Eve and Minccy to be visible. "Ponies?! What are they doing here?! And what are those things?!" She then pointed towards the two Pokemon.
"They're my friends!" Spike ran up to her, standing in between the girls.
"Friends? Dragons don't do friends."
"Well, this dragon does."
"Whatever. I don't care as long as none of you gets in my way. I have a Gauntlet to win." Ember took the helmet off of Spike's claws.
"But I thought your dad said that—" Spike chattered, attempting to finish his sentence.
"I don't care what my dad said! I'll show him and every dragon who thinks I'm just a little princess there are better things than being big and strong!"
Atop a hill, a Slingtail had sent a boulder right towards Garble's direction, forcing him to bounce off some crystals, crashing to the ground whist the boulder laid on his body. Twilight and Rarity quickly went back into their seaweed disguise before they get noticed by him.
Garble turned his eye to the corner, noticing Spike hiding behind the seaweed. "Don't leave me here, Spike!" Spike, being the good soul he was, rushed over to Garble, pushing the boulder off with all of his strength. Garble looked at this, finding it pathetic. " Ha-ha! Knew you'd do it. Your pony friends made you soft."
"Uh-huh. You're welcome."
"For what? I didn't say thank you." He kicked some dirt at Spike, burying him in it. "Wow, you even smell like ponies." His draconic nose started acting up, picking up the scent of ponies. "Or is it coming from over there?" He continued sniffing for ponies. A dragon's nose is unusually good, especially if they're older. He went over to the seaweed, tracking the scent all the way here. Twilight and Rarity closed their eyes, praying that they weren't caught.
"Uh, that's just me. I, uh, robbed some ponies on my way over here." Ember put up a gruff voice, preventing the ponies from being spotted.
"Huh, I like your style. Have I met you before?" Garble examined the scales and wings of Ember. "You kind of look like—"
"My, uh, old neighbour! Uh, Sandy... Rockbeach!" Spike interrupted. Atop that same hill from before, the slingtail continued tossing boulders to any dragon that passed by.
"Stupid slingtails knocked me down! But I've wasted enough time making small talk. Get it? Ha-ha! Because you're too small to win this! I'm funny." Garble flew off.
"Why did you cover for me? You could've had one less competitor." Ember turned to Spike.
"I could ask you the same thing. You could've told Garble about my friends."
Ember turned her attention to the skies, seeing more and more dragons getting taken out via boulders and occasionally the water.
"Yikes... That looks rough. But that's what makes it a challenge." She spoke.
"Are you kidding? Those boulders are huge!" Spike exclaimed. However, a thought had circled his mind. One that could work out. "Hey, what if we worked together? You fly me up there, and I'll help look out for boulders, like a second set of eyes!"
Although, by the way Ember looked at him, she found the idea to be a bit unusual. Spike went over to the seaweed, expecting to see Twilight and Rarity there. However, once he made contact with it, it dropped down, spreading water on the ground. In truth, they had swapped disguises, now appearing to be in the same rock disguise from before.
"Pssst!" Rarity called for him. "Spike! Are you sure it's a good idea to team up with Ember? You don't know her too well."
"I do know she could've told Garble about you, but she didn't. I think we can trust her."
"Her behaviour does seem contradictory to everything I've noted about dragons so far." Twilight nodded, writing down new notes.
"Hey, you, little fella!" Ember raised her voice at him. "I've thought about it, and your plan makes sense. Let's do it."
"Really? Great! It's a deal!" Spike rushed over, putting his arm out for a clawshake. Ember grabbed a single claw of his, shaking it.
"Just so you know, this doesn't mean we're gonna pick flowers or exchange necklaces or whatever pony friends do."
"Good luck. We'll meet you at the top." Twilight exclaimed, hiding back inside the disguise.
Deep within the flame-cano, Salamance was currently present within there. Lucien had placed the Dragon Pokemon at the right spot for the other dragons to encounter it.
"Sala!" The Dragon Pokemon let out a mighty roar. One so mighty that it even shook the island, causing its voice to echo outside. The dragons had never heard a roar like that before. They wondered if something was in there. Or maybe a dragon has already found the scepter. And as it's commonly known for, the Dragon-Flying-Type, so overjoyed with its wings started exhibiting great amounts of power. A single stomp had caused the entire island to tremble, even forcing some flames to rise up.
It decided to give its new wings a try by flying into the air. The Dragon Pokemon flew around the cave, overjoyed to the fullest. However, it was so overjoyed that it barely noticed its surroundings. All its excessive flying was not only destroying bits of the island, but a sharp crystal had even stabbed into its skin, sticking there.
Salamance are already ferocious Pokemon with a bad temper. But this crystal made it worse. Lucien didn't plan for that part to happen, but he was eager to see how it would play out with an even more aggravated and frustrated that normal Salamance. Which was already bad enough.
Outside, Spike and Ember's team-up seemed to be a success. With Ember's flying as navigation and Spike's eyes being the overseer who could see any danger coming their way. And danger was coming their way in the form of a slingtail tossing a boulder their way.
"Pull up! There's one on your tail!"
Ember yelped, flying directly over the boulder. But more were sent, hitting other dragons out of the sky with ease.
"Go left!"
Ember had evaded one that came from the left, evading more and more boulders that were chucked, moving at a brisk enough pace that she and Spike had gone ahead of most of them. They came across their designated area being the island, landing down safely on solid ground without even a single scratch on them. Not a bad combination.
"So what do we do now?" Spike asked.
"I think we go through there." Ember pointed directly at the cave. One where Garble flew through. Once two other dragons passed through, a roar of flames hit the two, forcing them to head out of the cave.
"Oh, that looks scary!" Rarity yelped. "I mean, you can do it!"
"Listen, Spike. I wouldn't have made it this far without you. So I guess, if you want to, we could keep working together. I mean, just until we get through that tunnel."
"Okay!" Spike was all for it as the two made their way towards the inside of the cave, preparing for the worst.
"We'll be right behind you!" Twilight said.
"Minccino!"
Inside the island cave, the challenge was only going to get harder from here on. Especially with what awaits them at the island. Right now, most of the dragons, including Spike and Ember came across rocks that were moving as if they were teeth. They crunched up and down, trapping some dragons between their rocky gaps.
Spike hopped on Ember's back, planning to use the same strategy they utilized back outside. Ember flew through the gnawing rocks, soaring through their rapid movements with ease. She had some exceptional flying skills. Garble, however, had gotten himself trapped between the teeth, falling behind the two.
It got worse. Further inside the island cave, moving crystals moved in and out of holes, having the potential to crush anyone that they made contact with. But as a plus, at least there were some Pokemon inside here. But only the ones you'd expect, such as Sableye and Carbink. Spike had saved Ember from an incoming crystal that almost hit its mark, nearly crushing the dragon princess. Garble wasn't as lucky. He had been slammed into the walls via an incoming crystal, leaving him a bit dazed.
Now for something harder. Lava. Deep within this were stacked pools of lava with Macargo's sitting about in them. They seemed to enjoy the free bath as they were all stacked within them. Twilight and Rarity were here, now in separate rock disguises. They managed to get here via the help of their Pokemon.
"Oh, you made it! Oh, we were so worried!" Rarity sighed.
"About us? Spike scoffed. "That tunnel was cake!" It clearly wasn't since he groaned, falling down afterwards.
"Wait. How did you two get through?" Ember wondered. Abruptly, the entire cave began rumbling, causing Rarity to almost fall into a pool of lava.
"Rarity!" Spike yelled, grabbing the rock with all his might. And that might was enough. A nice and quick simple save as Rarity was pulled back.
"Oh, thanks, Spike!" Rarity thanked him.
"It was nothing." Spike sighed.
"Nothing?" said Ember. "You just risked everything to save her! And they're putting themselves in danger just to support you!"
"Well, that's just what friends do. Don't you have anyone who looks out for you?" Spike asked.
"Not really. Unless I count you. Which I don't! Because we were only helping each other get through the tunnel, and now we're through the tunnel, so that's it."
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"Well, there's only one winner, one scepter, and one Dragon Lord. So I guess it's every dragon for themselves."
"Oh. So we aren't really friends?" Spike lowered his head.
"Maybe if we were in Ponyland, but like I said, dragons don't do friendship." Ember flew off, leaving a pretty heavy impact on Spike emotionally. Spike, feeling doleful, continued the challenge, but not out of enthusiasm this time.
"I can't believe Ember ditched me."
"Oh, you're better off. She was only looking out for herself. She's just like all the other dragons." Rarity replied.
"She's not, though. I know it. She saved me, even when she didn't have to. I don't care what she says. That makes us friends."
"SALA!" The sounds of Salamace boomed throughout the cano. A devastating Dragon Pulse broke through the walls, revealing the Dragon Pokemon to them. There it was. Enraged due to the crystal that had been stabbed into its back. But next to Salamance, was the scepter. Sitting right there atop a throne of crystals.
"There's the scepter! But it's right next to....what is that?" Twilight went into her saddlebag, taking out her own Pokedex.
"Salamance. The Dragon Pokemon. Salamence came about as a result of a strong, long-held dream of growing wings. It is said that this powerful desire triggered a sudden mutation in this Pokémon’s cells, causing it to sprout its magnificent wings. To express its joy, it flies and wheels all over the sky while spouting flames from its mouth that even burn fields and mountains. When angered, it loses all sense of itself and destroys everything around it. The destruction will continue until Salamence has tired itself out."
"SALAMENCE!" The Dragon Pokemon bashed its head against the wall, causing a small earthquake.
"I have to get the scepter...past that?!" Spike gulped.
"You can't! But I sure can!" Along came Garble, completely unaware of what stood in front of him and everyone else.
"Wait, don't get too close to i-" Twilight attempted to warn the overconfident dragon. But it was too late. Garble flew forward, thinking he could just simply knock Salamence out of the way and grab the Blood Scepter. How wrong he was. The Dragon Pokemon set its sights on Garble, delivering a devastating Flamethrower his way. Garble's eyes widened as he was pushed back by the flames, hitting the wall as a result.
"MENCE!" Salamance found another target. Spike. The Dragon Pokemon growled at the smaller dragon, attempting to absolutely demolish him.
"N-Nice Pokemon...W-We're both dragons here, right?" Spike backed up against the wall, gulping.
"We have to do something!" Rarity yelped, holding out one of her Pokeballs.
"Look!" Suddenly, Twilight noticed something coming their way. Or someone. Along came Ember, swooping down towards the Dragon Pokemon in order to save Spike. She gave it her best effort of attempting to tackle it, She managed to force Salamence back a bit with all her might, but the recoil was worse on her due to Salamance's body weight, forcing her to tumble on the ground.
"SALA!"
"Ember! I thought it was every dragon for themselves! Why did you save me?!"
"That's what friends do! And I am. I mean, we are. I never should have left you back there. Agh, please don't make me talk about my feelings!" Now wasn't the best time to talk about anything. Salamence got back up in a few seconds, obviously even more enraged than it already was now that it's been attacked.
The Dragon Pokemon, out of sheer rage, creating powerful shockwaves with just its roar. The shockwaves were so intense that they broke Twilight and Rarity's disguises, revealing them to Garble.
"What the?!" Garble gasped. But this seemed like a good opportunity. He could take out some ponies and maybe get the scepter as well.
"Esp!" Eve jumped in front of Garble along with Minccino, snarling at the teenage dragon in order to protect their trainer and her friend. However, Garble is the last dragon they have to worry about. Salamence was the real problem. The Dragon Pokemon had flown towards Spike and Ember, planning to obliterate them both.
"Not good! Quick Attack! Both of you!" Twilight decided to forget about Garble, focusing all her attention on Salamance. Both of her Pokemon had moved at blinding speeds, bolting towards the Dragon Pokemon. Salamence's tail had been struck by the two, grabbing the attention of the Dragon-Flying-Type.
"Salamence!" Salamence responded by smacking both Pokemon away with Dragon Tail, causing them to hit the walls in the process.
"Spike! Get the scepter!" Ember commanded. Salamence continued its rampage, unleashing Flamethrower upon the cave. Twilight conjured up a defensive barrier to protect her friends, blocking out Flamethrower. However, the flames tore apart the ceiling, forcing it to slowly come apart. Huge chunks of the top fell from above with some falling on Garble and the barrier.
Ember flew forward, tackling Salamance again, but this time, Salamance didn't even budge. In response, Salamence undertook a bite, preparing to tear Ember into shreds with its fangs. The dragon princess had evaded the bite, but barely. Salamence's fangs tore off bits of her armour, causing them to shatter into pieces. Salamence didn't stop to catch its breath at all. It used Dragon Tail to hit the ground, forcing a tremor that caused Spike to trip, halting his progress.
The Dragon Pokemon went towards Spike, platforming itself in front of him, making it harder to reach the scepter. The moment it landed down, it destroyed the rock bridge behind it, creating a huge gap that Spike couldn't jump over.
"There's no other choice but to stop this thing." Rarity tossed out two Pokeballs, sending out a single Leavanny and her Mareep.
"Leavanny!"
"Mareep!"
"Both of you! Energy Ball! Electro Ball!" In unison, both the Wool and Leaf Wrapped Pokemon called upon electric and nature energy, tossing the powered up spheres towards the direction of the Dragon Pokemon.
Both attacks struck Salamence's face, causing it to be pushed back. Salamance in response gave out a discharge of draconic flames that Spike thankfully ducked from. However, the flames were headed towards the other and they had grown in size, so there was no way you could just duck from them now.
Ember got in the way, taking the hit for them. Her body had felt the impact and burn of Salamence's Dragonbreath, forcing her to fall to the ground.
"Eve! Psybeam! Minccy Aqua Tail!"
"Minccino!" The Chinchilla Pokemon swung her tail with a veil of water as if it was a vicious raging storm, slapping Salamence's face. Following up, a beam of psychic energy had poured on the Dragon Pokemon, dealing a good amount of damage in the process.
"Now! Leavanny! X-Scissor!"
"Vanny!" The Leaf Wrapped Pokemon crossed its arms together as if they were a pair of scissors. Its now sharpened arms cut Salamence's wings, more than once even. A flurry of X-Scissors had been unleashed on the Dragon Pokemon was being given a barrage of slashes by Rarity's single Leavanny.
"Salamence!" Despite this, Salamence was still standing strong. The Dragon Pokemon had learned the devastating move, Hyper Beam, out of pure desperation. Twilight gasped, knowing what move this was. That same destructive beam that has constantly shown its overwhelming might came out of Salamence's mouth with terror behind it.
Spike looked back to see Salamence tearing the place apart by moving the Hyper Beam across the room. He couldn't get the scepter since his friends came first. But instead of rushing to protect them, he noticed something that caught his eye. A crystal, deep inside Salamence's skin. It took a moment to process through his mind, but it was clear that the crystal was the reason for Salamence's rampage. And the fact that it usually attacks out of frustration but mostly the crystal.
"Ccino!" Minccino had been knocked out by Dragon Tail, falling to Twilight's side.
"Minccy! Eve! Dash around with Quick Attack!"
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon did just that. Moving around as if she was a tornado, the Psychic Eeveelution befuddled Salamence with all its rapid movements. And taking inspiration from Cobalion and Virizion, Eve had struck Salamence each time she got close with Quick Attack.
Salamence attempted hitting Eve with Dragon Tail, but Quick Attack was too fast for it to catch up. "Sala!" So a better option was to blast the ground. And so it did. With Hyper Beam, Salamence caused a mighty burst of explosive hyper energy, forcing Eve to lose her balance.
Thankfully, the Hyper Beam only pushed Eve back, not knocking her out. She was still up and ready to go. Rarity's Leavanny had gone for another X-Scissor, but Salamence saw it coming this time, biting onto Leavanny's arms. Mareep had assisted with Electro Ball, which was a good choice. Leavanny's resistance to Electric-Type attacks meant that Electro Ball would only affect one of them.
Salamence in response, unleashed Flamethrower on Leavanny whilst still holding on to its arms. It was super-effective, taking Leavanny out in one single hit.
"Van!" Leavanny had been knocked back, fainting from the devastating Flamethrower as its trainer ran to its side.
"Sala!" Salamence continued its assault with a series of attacks. It smacked an incoming Ember away with Dragon Tail, destroying the rest of her armour. It then got into a beam struggle with Eve's Psybeam, using Hyper Beam to fight back. Mareep joined in, tossing an Electro Ball from behind whilst Salamence was busy trying to win against Psybeam.
"Wait!" Spike exclaimed, running over to them.
"SALAMENCE!" Salamence blew them all back with a body exertion, causing a tremendous shockwave. The shockwave destroyed the Psybeam and even its own Hyper Beam, showing how overwhelming its own strength was.
"Espeon..." Eve shook her head as she and Mareep were the only two Pokemon left standing to take Salamence on. Albeit, fairly exhausted.
"Wait! Salamence!" Spike called out to Salamence, grabbing the Dragon Pokemon's attention.
"Sal?!" Salamence growled at Spike, ready to either smack him with Dragon Tail or obliterate him with Hyper Beam or Flamethrower. One of the two will work.
"Easy there Salamence...Not gonna hurt you." Spike instead, was trying to calm it down. Salamence pulled back, confused at Spike's actions. "Just gonna...do this." Spike carefully walked around the Dragon Pokemon, who kept its eyes on him. Salamence was prepared to strike at any moment if it spotted Spike trying to pull something funny.
"Spike! Get away from it!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Wait! Look..." Twilight had stopped Rarity from trying to attack, noticing what Spike was up to.
"I'm gonna take this out...right here!" Spike jumped up, grabbing the crystal that had been dug inside Salamence's skin, ripping it out with ease. It was a small crystal after all but it was insanely sharp.
"Mence?! Sala!" Salamence winced at the pain, letting out a cry. But instead of a cry of rage, it was a cry of joy. The Dragon Pokemon fell on the ground, breathing in and out. "Salamence..."
"There! All better." Spike grinned, taking a bite out of the crystal afterwards. "Now to get that scepter." Spike ran over, resuming the challenge. But he just remembered there was a gap there. And he can't fly. Oops. But, he wasn't alone. He had help from Ember, who carried him over.
Spike, with haste, ran towards the throne, seeing the scepter lying there. He climbed up, gazing at its dazzling glory. The way it outshined every other crystal on this entire island. The baby dragon finally got a hold of it, and the result? A stream of red magical flames emanated from the gem, flowing through Spike's face as well. He held the scepter up as it shot out a beam of flames, racing high up into the skies with lightning speeds. What a sight it was.
"What?" Garble gasped, getting back up. "You?! You have the scepter?! But that means that you're..."
"The Dragon Lord. Dragon Lord Spike." Ember said as she bowed down to him. Not only that but some other dragons, who finally made it here, showed their respects by bowing to the new lord. How kind.
"Urgh...Dragon... Lord... Spike..." Garble reluctantly said as he bowed down.
"That's right! Uh... Now, go start your long journey home. And give every dragon you see on the way a hug. Don't tell them why." Spike ordered him.
"Awww! But that'll be super embarrassing!"
"I command you to do it!" He pointed the scepter at Garble.
"I can't believe this..." Garble gave a dragon hug before flying off to hug even more, unfortunately for him.
"Dragon Lord Spike. Hm, has a nice ring to it." Ember nodded.
"Dragon Lord Ember sounds a lot better." Spike, unexpectedly, gave the scepter over to Ember instead.
"What? No. You're the Dragon Lord now."
"The Dragon Lord is whoever brings the scepter back to your father! Besides, you'll make a great leader. I was just doing this to protect the ponies. But I know you'll protect them just as well as I would have." Spike grinned.
"You sure about this?" Ember was unsure.
"Absolutely. My home is in Equestria with my friends."
"Well, you'll have at least one friend here too," Ember replied as Spike suddenly hugged her. "What are you doing?"
"It's called a hug!"
"Oh. I don't know if I like it. But... okay." Ember blushed, giving him a pat on the head.
"Aww..." Twilight and Rarity gushed at it.
"Salamence..." Look who's up. The Dragon Pokemon. Feeling all better. Its shadow loomed over Twilight and Rarity, causing them to gulp. But there was no reason to be afraid this time. Salamence flew over to Spike, with a smile on its face instead of a snarl or frown. "Sala."
"Hey, Salamence. Feeling better?" Spike asked.
"Salamence." The Dragon Pokemon nodded.
"Great. Glad it all worked out in the end. Now let's get out of here. This place is still coming apart." Spike walked off, feeling all chummy and jolly. But it didn't end there. Salamence had nudged Spike's back, grabbing his attention. "Hm? What is it?"
"Mence. Salamence."
"Sal..." Salamence gazed at Spike with eyes that, for most of the time, meant only one thing. Salamence even gave a bow, acting like the others dragons as it recognized Spike as Dragon Lord. But Spike also gained Salamence's respect, being able to confront a Pokemon as overwhelming as it. The two took a moment looking at each as Spike's eyes widened.
"...Salamence...Do you...wanna come with me."
"Mence." Salamence gave a simple nod to Spike's words.
"Oh...OH! Yes!!" Spike raised his arms up in joy. "Oh, wait! I don't have a Pokeball with me!"
"Got you covered." Twilight carried a spare Pokeball, lending it to him.
"Thanks. Now, Pokeball go!" He launched the ball at the Dragon Pokemon, sending it inside with that same red light. Now for the sake and outcome.
1...2...3...GOTCHA! Salamence was caught!
"Yes! I caught a Salamence!" Spike picked up the Pokeball, raising it up in a victory pose. What a joyful experience it's been.
Returning back outside, Torch noticed the light of the scepter emanating. But the one carrying it was Ember.
"Ember? You?!"
"I know you didn't think I could do it, but I did."
"I expressly told you not to do it, because you're not—!"
" I'm not big and strong. I know. But you know what? I won anyway. So maybe it takes more than just being big and strong to be a good Dragon Lord!" She snapped back at him. Torch took a moment to think about it. She did head in there and succeed in getting scepter. Even though there was much more to the story of how she got it, but Torch didn't need to know that. Through his own mind, he came to a conclusion. One he would have to accept.
"I was wrong, Ember. You might not be big, but you are strong and smart, and perhaps that counts for more than I thought. And you will make an excellent leader."
"Thanks, dad." Ember landed on his nose as she turned to the dragons. Agree with him!" Like her father, she went for those same words, but as a joke. "Just kidding! That's not gonna be my thing."
"Bahahaha! Dragons, hear me! I present to you our new Dragon Lord, Ember!" Torch introduced. Resounding cheers went across the Dragon lands over the new ruler. Along came Garble, doing what Spike ordered him, hugging Torch's face. "Hm? What is the meaning of this?!"
"I can't tell you!" Garble wailed whilst Ember giggled.
As for Spike, he, Twilight and Rarity were returning with high spirits in them. Alongside that, they were riding on the back of Salamence for a quicker ride.
"Sala!"
"You did well, Spike." Twilight commented. "With Ember as Dragon Lord, the ponies will be safe and you've gained us a powerful ally. Well...two powerful allies." She gave Salamence a pat on the back.
"And a new friend! Well...two new friends." Spike did the same for Salamence.
"Plus, Ember said I could write to her anytime I had questions about dragon culture! With this much information, I'll be able to write a whole book on dragons!" Twilight squeed.
"And I gained tons of ideas for a new line of camouflage clothing! I think I'll call it 'Camo-Maud'!" Rarity sparked up an idea which caused them all to laugh. Salamence let out a roar that echoed throughout the skies, flying off into the sunset as a result.
What a day. With Ember as Dragon Lord, Spike's newest Pokemon which further develops his status as Dragon Trainer, the days that come next are unpredictable in both worlds as the journey continues!
"Riolu! Vacuum Wave!" At the moment, Ash was training with his Pokemon as he usually does. Riolu had whirled his fists, sending waves of pure vacuum forward. Who he was aiming at was Pikachu, who was evading the waves. Gengar, Dragonite, Fartech'd and the Mane 7 watched this small training session go down. "Force Palm!"
"Pikachu..." Pikachu had jumped up, preparing to avoid Riolu's incoming attack. Riolu's palms had just missed Pikachu by a hair, but he kept it up by trying repeated palm strikes. And yet, Pikachu avoided them all anyways. But in one instance, Riolu almost hit his mark with one final Force Palm until Ash stopped them.
"Alright! That's good!" Ash put it to a halt. "Good job. You got in close at just the right time."
"Rio!"
"Pika!"
"Thanks for helping Riolu out, Pikachu." Ash kneeled down, petting his best buddy.
"Chuuuuu...Pikachu!" Pikachu enjoyed the head pat from Ash as it felt comfortable whenever he did it.
"Next up is Dragonite and Farfetch'd. You two ready?" Ash looked over to his other Pokemon.
"Far."
"Dragon."
"Good luck, you two!" Fluttershy cheered for them both.
"Ash!" Along came Goh, sliding on the grass in a hurry. He ended up crashing into a Snorlax, falling over. "Ough!"
"Goh? What is it?" Ash looked down at him.
"Ugh..." Goh held his head, raising his Rotomphone for everypony to see. "We might wanna go to the Johto Region today. Look." On the phone, Bea could be seen. Her ranking and everything.
"Her again?" Rainbow Dash said.
"I'm confused, who's that?" Starlight asked.
"Bea. A gym leader from Galar. She's pretty fierce." Pinkie replied as the others nodded.
"Fierce is right. This is my chance to have a second battle with her!" Ash grinned, tightening his gloves.
"Pikachu!"
"And we'll be there to support you as always!" Pinkie hopped on his shoulder.
So it was. It was off to the Johto Region to meet with Bea. The way of travel this time was by boat, since Johto's fairly close to Kanto as a neighbour region. So the quickest way to get there was by sailing from Kanto to Johto. The rematch against Bea was drawing near.
Johto. Cianwood City Gym.
"Here we are. Cianwood Gym." Ash ran up to the gym, seeing how it's changed since the last time he's been here. Still looked similar in appearance enough to be fully recognizable from afar.
"Bea's in there? Make sure you don't get hit by a Hitmonchan again, right Ash?" Twilight walked up to him.
"Yeah, well. This time, she'd better at least show some sort of sportsmanship this time." Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves, frowning. "Pretty rude of her not to do so before."
"BEGIN!" A voice boomed out of the gym, grabbing each of their attention.
Inside the Cianwood Gym, a Poliwrath and Bea's Grapploct were currently in the middle of a sparring season, striking their fists and appendages at each other with impactful hits. The Poliwrath actually belonged to the Cianwood City Gym Leader, Chuck.
"Remarkable!" Chuck bellowed. "You took every last one of my Poliwrath's Poison Jabs!"
"Hm." Bea let out a silent reply. Abruptly, her Rotomphone received a notification that a challenger as nearby.
"Oh! A Championships notification!" Chuck leaned forward.
And who came through those doors other than Ash along with his friends.
"Bea!" Ash exclaimed, causing Bea to turn to him. The two had locked eyes, staring each other down. Bea stared with a frown whilst Ash had his usual smile attached to his face. Goh looked at the ponies, nodding in an understanding of what this meant while Starlight was just confused.
"That young man looks familiar." Chuck squinted his eyes, examining Ash.
"This is an official battle announcement." Both their Rotomphones spoke. "Would you like to battle or not?"
"Bea! Let's battle again!" Ash pumped his fists, grinning. But after a few seconds, Bea gave no response. Not at all. "Uh...Don't you recognize me?"
"The Riolu Trainer." She finally responded.
"Pika?"
"Riolu Trainer? He has a name!" Rainbow Dash yelled from the back.
"Young lady. You've battled him before?" Chuck asked Bea.
"I remember his Riolu and Farfetch'd at least."
"BAHAHAHA!" Chuck burst out in laughter. "That response is to be expected from you!"
"I'll accept any challenge and I am given." Bea turned to Ash.
"Official Battle Appointment made." Their phones both said.
"Yes!" Ash yelled with excitement.
"Pika!"
"Riolu..." Riolu was eyeing down Bea's Grapploct who noticed him doing the same.
"Grapploct. Return for now." Grapploct had been returned to its ball, being saved for when its turn arrives.
"Chuck!" Ash ran over to him and Bea. "Mind if we use the gym?"
"OH! I knew it! You really are Ash!" Chuck finally recognized him.
"Yeah! Long time no see!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu raised his arm up for a wave.
"Very well. Use it however you please!"
"Thanks!"
"You know him?" Bea questioned.
"But of course. I am a Gym Leader. They say I let my roaring do the talking." Chuck reminisced of when Ash took him on in a battle. With Ash's Bayleef managing to defeat his Poliwrath and Machoke, granting him the Storm Badge. "I never forget any trainer with whom I have exchanged roaring fists with!"
"Bea! I'm back in the Great Class just to battle you a second time!"
"You had dropped into the Normal Class?" Chuck asked. "I see. You can only battle trainers in the same class as you, after all."
"Yeah! This is gonna be Ash's rematch!" Pinkie Pie nodded.
The two trainers went on opposite sides of the gym arena. Now that they've initiated a Championship match, the Rotom Drone came flying in to be the referee as usual.
"I'm gonna win my way up into the ranks again and reach Ultra Class!" Ash exclaimed. And yet, Bea said nothing.
"The Pokemon World Championships has approved this Great Class Battle!" said the drone. "The match-up is Contest Bea VS Contestant Ash! This battle will be a 2V2!"
"Say...what is this...Pokemon World Championships?" Starlight asked Twilight and the others.
"What is it? It's a competition to determine the world's strongest trainer. Ash has registered just to reach the top and battle Leon to become the strongest." Twilight explained.
"Mhm. We've got something sorta similar in the form of the Equestria League back home. But uh...the stadium isn't done yet and it's kinda smaller in scale compared to the Championships." said Rainbow Dash.
"Pikachu! Riolu! Stay sharp!"
"Pika!"
"Rio!"
"Alright. Both sides, send out your Pokemon at the same time. 3...2...1...GO!"
"Pikachu, I choose you!"
"Go, Hitmontop!"
At the same time, their Pokemon had come forth. Ash and his trusty Pikachu, Bea and her Hitmontop.
"Pikachu!"
"Hitmon...Hitmontop!"
"Hitmontop?" Rainbow Dash and Goh both took out their dexes.
"Hitmontop. The Handstand Pokemon. Hitmontop spins on its head at high speed, all the while delivering kicks. This technique is a remarkable mix of both offence and defence at the same time. The Pokémon travels faster spinning than it does walking. The centrifugal force boosts its destructive power by 10. If you are enchanted by its smooth, dance-like kicks, you may get a closer experience with one than you’d like."
"Battle Start!"
"Hitmontop! Gyro Ball!" Bea made the first command and move. Hitmontop did what it does best by getting on top of its head, spinning at high speed, utilizing it as a form of offence whilst it made its way towards Pikachu.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash followed up.
"Pika!" Pikachu propelled himself forward, avoiding Gyro Ball. "PIKACHU!" Following with his own attack, Pikachu sent a bolt of 100,000 volts forward, however, Hitmontop's spinning was fast enough to avoid even lightning itself.
"Stand strong, Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Pikachu soared towards Hitmontop as if he was a jet, enforcing his tail with hard steel. "Chu...Pika!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon swung Iron Tail forward, clashing with rapid movements of Hitmontop. Their clash had caused a mini-explosion that forced them both to retreat, showing that they're evenly matched.
"Quick Attack at lightning speeds!"
"Pi..." Pikachu slid off the ground, recovering himself. In blinding speeds, he made afterimages whilst moving towards Hitmontop, tackling the Hand Stand Pokemon. "Pika!"
"Hitmon!" Hitmontop had been knocked off balance, soaring in the air. Bea said nothing at all. She just kept her stern face throughout this.
"Now! Electroweb!" Ash, however, kept the attack up.
"He's really putting the pressure on," Chuck commented.
"Ash might be trying his good ol' 'fight with speed' tactic." said Applejack.
"Pika!" Pikachu had made a web of electricity, holding it in place until Ash made the call.
"Grab em!"
"Pikachu!" With the command, Pikachu sent Electroweb downwards, ensnaring Hitmontop and forcing it to fall back to the ground.
"Now we've cut your speed!"
"Hmph. Focus Energy!" Bea finally gave a second command.
"Hitmon...Top!" Hitmontop got back up, spinning around as usual. But this time, it was building up power by tightening its focus. The speeds it was spinning at were so great that it blew away the bolts of electricity that were surrounding it.
"Be careful, Pikachu!" Ash warned.
"PIka..."
"Focus Energy, huh? That'll make it easier for Hitmontop to hit a vital spot without a high chance of failure." Chuch explained.
"Triple Kick!"
"Top!" Spinning forward, Hitmontop managed to score a devastating hit with its signature move, Triple Kick. One kick that sent Pikachu flying, a second that kicked him so hard he spun around and third that sent him back down the floor. It was like its speed never dropped even when Electroweb was used. And thanks to Focus Energy, Pikachu felt those hits for sure.
"That hit hard!" Chuck exclaimed.
"It didn't look like it slowed down, even with Electroweb," Fluttershy spoke.
"You okay, Pikachu?!"
"Pi...Pika!"
"Well then, how's this?! Use Electroweb on the arena!" Ash raised his fist in the air as Pikachu did the same hand gesture as him.
"Pika!" Getting up to their usual wacky antics once more, Pikachu slammed his tail on the arena floor whilst having Electroweb apart of it. Threads of bolts had come forth with Hitmontop being in the middle of one of them.
"Huh?" Bea gasped.
"Hitmon?!" Hitmontop looked around to see that the entire battlefield was now filled with electric threads around every corner.
"What crazy scheme is he up to now?!" Twilight leaned forward.
"Gyro Ball!" Bea pressed on.
"Hitmontop!" Hitmontop moved forward, spinning about once more. However, each time it moved, it had been caught up in the threads, shocking it in the process. Not only that, but due to the Electroweb being everywhere, this meant that Hitmontop's speed was being cut each time it made contact with the threads.
"Iron Tail!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu was unaffected by the bolts since it was his own move. He bolted towards Hitmontop, slashing the pointed part on its head with Iron Tail, causing the Hand Stand Pokemon to fly up.
"Quick Attack!"
"Pika!" Pikachu followed up by moving at lightning speeds, crashing right into the opposing Pokemon in just a few seconds. An explosion followed afterwards with Pikachu flying out of the smoke. As for Hitmontop, it fell from above, laying on its back. But it wasn't getting back up. It had fainted.
"Hitmon..."
"Hitmontop is unable to battle!"
"Alright! The first battle is ours!"
"Rio!"
"Good job, Pikachu!"
"Pika..." Pikachu shook the sweat off of him. "Pikachu."
"Yes! Pikachu did it!" Fluttershy squeed as the others cheered.
"You seem rather ecstatic, my little ponies." Chuck turned to them.
"Ash couldn't take out a single one of Bea's Pokemon the first time. So if he keeps up this momentum and beat the next one..." Goh spoke.
"I see. But how do you think she feels about this loss?" Chuck pointed out how Bea was unaffected by this.
"Come back, Hitmontop." The stern trainer returned her fainted Pokemon to its ball, keeping herself adamant still. "You fought well...Now. GO! Grapploct!"
Out came the ferocious Grapploct, raring to go as usual.
"Grapp!"
"Pika..." Pikachu got on all fours, preparing for the worst.
"Here comes Grapploct. Stay sharp, buddy. And keep it up."
"Pika!"
"There it is. Grapploct." Pinkie Pie gulped, getting flashbacks to the first battle with it.
"Let's strike first. Quick Attack!"
"Pika! Pika-Pika!" Pikachu moved at high speeds, preparing to get the first hit on.
"Close Combat!" Bea punched the air, giving Grapploct the command to infight.
"Grapploct!" The Tantrum Pokemon jumped over Pikachu, evading Quick Attack without an issue. And with a swift swing of its appendages, Grapploct smashed them against Pikachu's face, causing the Electric Mouse Pokemon to fly off. Grapploct chased him down, delivering a barrage of brutal blows to Pikachu, giving him an endless assault of attacks. "Loct! Grapp!"
The ponies closed their eyes, unable to watch this absolute all-out pummeling that Pikachu was receiving. But they ended up seeing it again by moving their hooves and opening their eyes.
"Pi! KA!" Pikachu couldn't do anything and neither could Ash. Close Combat was moving at ludicrous speeds, faster than that of Quick Attack even. After being absolutely bombarded with devastating hits, Grapploct delivered a final blow that rocketed Pikachu back. But Ash saw an opportunity for this.
"Now! Thunderbolt!"
"PIKA!" Pikachu gave a retaliation. 100,000 volts had struck Grapploct, forcing the Tantrum Pokemon to fall to the floor. Once it did, smoke emerged from both the impact of it falling and the aftershock of Thunderbolt. However, when the smoke cleared, it was revealed that Grapploct had its appendages crossed together in a blocking position.
"It withstood the hit!" Ash pulled back.
"Octolock!"
Here it comes. The move that granted Bea absolute victory before. Octolock. Grapploct's signature move. The Fighting-Type slithered forward, raising its appendages up to prepare for a mighty lock.
"Iron Tail!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped up, avoiding the first appendage whilst charging Iron Tail. He avoided the second. And the third. But the fourth one caught him. And soon all of Grapploct's appendages wrapped around the Electric Mouse Pokemon's tiny body. "PI!"
"Oh no, Pikachu!"
"Pika..." Pikachu strained, attempting to push himself out of the Octolock. But that was no good.
"Don't struggle! It'll just make it hurt more!" Ash warned, causing Pikachu to stop struggling.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu put an end to its struggling, but the Octolock was still in motion. With each passing second, the appendages closed their gaps, causing Pikachu to become even more trapped with the Tantrum Pokemon's grip.
"Then..Use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika..." Pikachu's red sacs emitted electricity, preparing to shock Grapploct's entire body. But even that didn't work. Pikachu couldn't let it out.
"You can't put out the strength?! Then try Iron Tail!"
"Pika...Chu...Chu..." Yet again, Pikachu gave an attempt, but the result didn't change. Octolock still had him trapped.
"Nothing they do is working..." Rarity said.
"That's what makes Octolock so terrifying. Its tentacles can restrain your entire body."
"There's gotta be something we can do..." Ash growled.
"Liquidation!" Bea commanded.
"Grapp!" The Tantrum Pokemon raised one single appendage up, creating a full-force blast of water out of thin air. There was nothing Pikachu could do to stop this. Octolock restricted every last one of his movements.
"PIKA!" Pikachu gasped as he was struck by the devastating Water-Type move. It was so powerful that it even managed to deal major damage to an Electric-Type like Pikachu, who resisted it. But then again, Pikachu's a glass cannon. The Electric Mouse Pokemon flew into the air before falling down, tumbling on the floor.
The Rotom Drone flew forward to confirm Pikachu's status. "Pikachu is unable to battle!"
"Ah! Pikachu!" Ash gasped.
"Rio!" Riolu ran over to his friend's side, worried about him. The Emanation Pokemon, being the good friend that he is, helped Pikachu up, carrying him on his back.
"Pika..."
"It's so rare to see Pikachu lose." Fluttershy sighed.
"Yeah. Only Leon's managed to take him out." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Thanks, Riolu." Ash kneeled down, grabbing Pikachu. "You did well, Pikachu. Thank you. Cheer Riolu on, please."
"Pikachu..."
"It's all on you now, Riolu!"
"Rio..." Riolu turned around to glare at its fellow Fighting-Type who was just standing there with its arms out.
"Oh! I can sense Riolu's fighting spirit rising!" Chuck exclaimed.
"Riolu's already lost to Grapploct once. So it makes sense that it's serious about this one." Twilight nodded.
"That Octolock was overwhelming aggressive. Even for a second time." Rarity gulped.
"But if Pikachu couldn't get out of it, can Riolu?" Pinkie said in a worried tone
"Rush in, Riolu!"
"Rio!" The Emanation Pokemon rushed in, anticipating Grapploct's moves.
"Liquidation!"
"Loct!" Grapploct surrounded all four of it appendages with water, preparing to strike Riolu the moment he got close.
"Vacuum Wave!" Instead of getting close for a physical attack, Riolu instead, unleashed Vacuum Wave from a distance. This whirl of waves broke through Liquidation, causing both its own water and Riolu's wave to strike Grapploct. "Fall back!" And with quick instincts, Riolu leapt back before he got too close to the Tantrum Pokemon.
"Now there's an interesting approach. He blew the water from Liquidation in its face." Chuck uttered.
"But why wouldn't he close in for an attack?" Goh wondered.
"He may have deliberately changed the rhythm of his attacks just to throw Bea off," Chuck answered.
"That's just like Ash to try something new and unexpected." Fluttershy nodded.
There was a moment of silence between the two. Riolu pivoted his foot to the side, grabbing Bea's attention.
"Hm. Octolock!" She saw that Riolu was wide open. Ash didn't' give a command. Instead, he just stood there, letting Grapploct head in. The Tantrum Pokemon spread out its appendages, lunging towards Riolu, whilst Ash suddenly smiled. "He's smiling?"
"Grapp!" All four of its tentacles wrapped around Riolu's arms and legs, trapping him in Octolock. Just like before. But this time, there was no struggle. Not at all. It was almost as if Ash was allowing Riolu to be caught. Despite Grapploct bringing Riolu closer to tighten the grip, the Emanation Pokemon stayed calm with his eyes closed.
"What's he doing? Why isn't he attacking back?" Starlight was confused.
"He didn't even bother trying to attack Grapploct before Octolock landed," said Fluttershy.
"What are you planning, Ash...?" Twilight thought in her head.
The plan was starting to make sense. When Grapploct's appendages tightened Riolu's arms, Bea noticed that Riolu was copying the exact same movements Grapploct's appendages were making.
"That's it Riolu! Match up to Grapploct's movements!" Ash exclaimed. "Start breaking through the Octolock!"
"Most intriguing." Bea was impressed, but she believed that nothing was breaking through Octolock in this situation. "Let me see what you have."
"She's letting it happen out of intrigue?" Rarity pulled back.
"Riolu! Store up your power!" Ash suddenly commanded. What did he mean by that?
"Rio." Riolu closed his eyes, deepening his focus, cooling his mind off and relaxing. All of a sudden, he generated a field of blue energy that rose up from within his body. This appeared to be Aura due to how the energy looked in appearance. This field of energy just stayed there whilst Riolu kept calm.
"Now! Force Palm!"
"Lu!" Riolu had struck Grapploct's single appendage, creating an explosion from point-blank range.
"Grapp!" Grapploct jerked back from the hit, tumbling on the floor whilst Riolu skidded back to Ash's side. "Loct!"
"We did it!" Ash grinned.
"Pika!"
"OH! Awesome, Ash!" Rainbow Dash clapped.
"Instead of fighting the Octolock, he waited until the last possible moment when Grapploct had grabbed hold, and release a Force Palm from point-blank range!" Goh pointed out.
"So that way he could escape while still dealing considerable damage. That's so Ash." Twilight nodded.
"Your Force Palm has gotten stronger." Bea complimented him. "Well then, we shall answer in turn with our full power! Close Combat!"
"Grapploct!"
"Let's finish this! Use Force Palm one more time!"
"Riolu!"
Both Fighting-Types were aiming to finish this with all their strength. They took to the air, staring each other in the eye.
"GO!" Both their trainers bellowed.
Thus began an up close and personal bout. Grapploct sent an appendage forward, missing Riolu who evaded with precision. Another appendage was sent and even that missed. Then, a series of rapid-fire blows from Grapploct's appendages were thrown towards Riolu, who kept evading, left, right, up and even over Grapploct's head. The speed they were both moving at was almost invisible to the eye.
"Riolu!" Riolu had mounted Grapploct's head by performing a handstand. Both Pokemon managed to hit their mark with their own moves. Riolu with Force Palm which ended up generating that same blue energy aura once more and Grapploct with Close Combat, striking Riolu's jaw.
An explosion of power came as a result of the two colliding. Their sheer strength had sent them both rocketing to the floor, tumbling next to their respective trainers. Both Fighting-Types were down on the ground, unresponsive. Now the result would have to come via the Rotom drone.
"Grapploct and Riolu are both unable to battle! As such, the battle is a draw! No change to the rankings!"
"A draw?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Bahahahaha! That was a great battle!" Chuck laughed. "Well done, trainers and Pokemon alike! Alright! Let's take a break!" Chuck stood up.
"Take a break? From what? The battle's over." Twilight asked.
"Just you wait and see my little pony."
What the break actually ended up being was a desert picnic outside of the gym. Courtesy of Chuck. The look of it was so good it could be equal to that of SugarCube Corner's pastry.
"Oooh!" They all gawked at the deserts.
"Look at all of this!" Rainbow Dash flew about the table.
"All of this for us?! AWESOME!" Ash squeed.
"Baha! My energy comes from these truly delicious sweets!" Chuck said. "Eating sweets helps build up stamina! Plus, I have ones for Pokemon as well!"
"We can eat...whatever we want?" Pinkie Pie was drooling.
"Go ahead, my little ponies! They're all free to be devoured! After all! Ash and Bea showed us a most heated battle indeed! So help yourself!"
"In that case...out you come!" Ash sent out the rest of his Pokemon to snack up. So did Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack. And Starlight's Hatterene can enjoy the food if she wants to. "Now to dig in!" Ash grabbed a cupcake, devouring it in one bite.
Everypony and Pokemon had their fill, eating away at all the pastry that laid before them.
"Young lady. I suppose this might not fit your tastes..." Chuck was referring to Bea since she was a stern and serious trainer after all. But when he turned to her, he was shocked to see the unexpectable. "HUH?!"
Everypony else turned as well, spotting the expression that laid on Bea's face. "HM?!" They all said with their mouth's full.
Bea, despite her seriousness, was enjoying the sweets along with her Grapploct and Hitmontop. "It's delicious, Mr Chuck." She suddenly let out a soft smile. One that nopony would've ever expected her to have.
"She can smile?" Rainbow Dash said with a full mouth.
"Very good! Very good, indeed!" Chuck chuckled, patting Rarity on the back, causing her to cough out the food. "BAHAHA!"
"Oooh...She's got a sweet tooth!" Pinkie Pie realized.
"You like sweet stuff?" Ash questioned Bea.
Bea placed a cake in her mouth, licking off the chocolate from her fingertips, revelling in its taste. "I love it!"
"Pika Pika?" Pikachu ran up to Bea suddenly.
"Here." Bea kneeled down, kindly lending a cake to the Electric Mouse Pokemon. Both of them at the same time took a bite out of a cake, feeling the deliciousness fuel them. "Delicious!"
"Pika!"
Bea then looked over to see Ash's Riolu looking right up at her.
"Rio?"
"Riolu. Do you want some too?"
"Grapploct." Grapploct had gone over to Riolu, pushing him forward towards Bea.
"Here." Bea took a piece of cake, lending it over to the Emanation Pokemon. Riolu kindly took the offer, getting a bite of the cake for the first time.
"Rio!" What a taste it was.
"Good for you, Pikachu and Riolu," Ash said to his Pokemon.
"Rio!"
"Pika!"
"The way you broke free from Octolock was remarkable." Bea complimented Ash's strategy.
"But I guess it won't be easy to beat you." Ash scratched his hair. "I gotta train more!"
"Then, I shall move on to the Ultra Class further onwards."
"I won't lose either, Bea!"
"Baha! Just as I expected! That attitude of acknowledging her foe yet striving to rise above them comes from her father!" Chuck bellowed.
"Her father?" Starlight turned to him.
"Mhm!" Chuck grabbed a piece of cake, eating it. "You see, A long time ago, I learned Galar Karate in the Galar Region. She was the beloved daughter of a teacher there. Even back then, she possessed a considerable talent for Galar Karate."
"It's only natural since I'm aiming to be the strongest." Bea scarfed down some more deserts whilst Ash looked at her with a blank stare. "Whatever the case, I will defeat Leon and become the strongest trainer in the world! A true Pokemon Trainer!"
"No way! I'll defeat Leon first and become the true strongest!" Ash responded.
"We will both ascend to greater heights, aiming for Leon." Bea smirked at him.
"Yeah! Even greater heights!"
The fire between the two was igniting, showing their passion for reaching the top.
"OH! I see. You both share the same goal." Chuck nodded. "I look forward to your coming battles. I wonder...which one of you will bring down the Unbeatable and Invincible Leon? I can't wait to see! Bahahahahaha!" Chuck gave both Rainbow Dash and Applejack a pat on the back, causing them to almost choke on the deserts.
"We will battle again, trainer of Riolu."
"My name is Ash!" Ash gave out his name to her, causing everyone else to laugh.
Back to Ponyville and at the Pokemon House, Ash, Riolu and Pikachu were already training hard for the next time they come across Bea.
"Training hard, huh Ash?" Fluttershy flew over to him.
"I'll win next time!" Ash was doing push-ups with his Pokemon. "For sure!"
"Pikachu!"
"Mhm! We'll be rooting for you too!" Pinkie Pie nodded as she ate the last of Chuck's food since she brought it here. "Mmm."
"In any case, we've learned a lot from seeing you engage in a real battle." Twilight said.
"Oh, yeah! I hope you guys got something great out of that. I know I did! Pikachu. Riolu. Let's work even harder, okay?"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Riolu!"
Ash has faced another challenge in his second battle with Bea. His challenge to reach the mightiest and strongest Champion, Leon, burns brighter than ever before, as the journey continues!
Rarity had found the perfect position to sleep. Her pillow was comfortable enough, the sounds were silent and serene and her Mareep actually doubled as a perfect substitute pillow with its soft wool. Thankfully, it doesn't shock you if the Pokemon is asleep. Whatever Rarity was dreaming about, she prayed that nothing would interrupt her.
But something did interrupt her.
Or somepony.
"Rarity, wake up!" Sweetie Belle bellowed in Rarity's ear, causing her to wake up along with Mareep. And since Mareep is awake with Rarity laying on the Wool Pokemon, an electric shock worthy of 50,000 volts travelled through her body, frying her mane.
"GYAAGH!" Rarity screamed.
"Glad you're up!" The little unicorn squeed at her now electrocuted older sister. "Today's the day! I'm gonna get my first ribbon in my first official contest!" She pranced about on the spot. Rarity groaned, falling off her bed whilst Mareep yawned.
"That's great, Sweetie Belle...But does it have to be this early?"
"MHM! I want all my friends to be there for my first contest! My Pokemon and I already spent a long time practising all night long."
"You didn't fall asleep?!" Rarity gasped.
"Nope! Not for a second! I had to make sure that I could perfect it! And we all learned some new moves overnight that are sure to dazzle the judges, Right everyone?" She looked over to her Pokemon.
"Piplup!"
"Plusle!"
"Minun!"
"Espurr..."
"Teddiursa!"
"What if you fall asleep during the contest?!"
"I'm not gonna fall asleep. Plusle and Minun made sure to keep me up with their electricity." Sweetie Belle grinned as the duo of Electric-Types nodded. "So come on! Let's hurry and head to Chrysanthemum Island!"
"Fine...Do you have your dresses ready at least?" Rarity fixed her messy mane.
"All set! And I've decided that Espurr and Piplup will compete today! It's gonna be great!" She pulled in her Pokemon with her hooves, giving them a group hug whilst grinning. She was determined to really get her first ribbon and just have a good time overall.
She included her closest friends in this. Each of them were also in the same state as Rarity. Tired and exhausted with their eyes all baggy. Each of them let out their own unique yawns. Low pitched, high pitched, fast, slow, silent and a mix of all of them. They all made their way to Chrysanthemum Island by sailing there via ship. It was in between Fuschia City and Seafoam Islands after all.
"Did she wake you up early too..?" Twilight rubbed her eye.
"Mhm...She came right into my home and woke me up." Ash nodded as Pikachu was slumped down over his shoulder.
"Pikachu..."
"There it is!" Sweetie Belle bellowed, causing them all to wake up. "Chrysanthemum Island!" She looked over to see the island in all its glory. A town that has Contest Halls as the main attraction along with a resort. This is where it will all start for Sweetie Belle as the ship was finally reaching its destination.
The group had finally gotten a chance to reenergize themselves. They were no longer yawning or even on the verge of falling asleep. They had plenty of time to rest on the ship thankfully. Ash could recognize the town immediately. It hasn't changed a bit the last time he was here.
"Come on! I can't wait to get started!" Sweetie Belle ran off, heading straight for the Contest Hall and ignoring everything else. Upon arriving, she was stopped by a Golurk who acted as a bodyguard.
"Gol." The Golurk had outstretched its arm, blocking Sweetie Belle, who crashed into the Automaton Pokemon's hands.
"Ow!" She bounced back with her head ringing, unsure of where she was at the moment. "Hey! What gives?!"
"Golurk."
"Sorry, my little pony." The owner of the Golurk arrived, being an employee of the Contest Hall. "But you can't enter at this time. You'll have to wait until it hits 3:30 pm. That's when things can really get going."
"3:30 pm?!" Sweetie Belle jerked back.
"You mean you woke us up early for something that doesn't start in 4 hours?!" Scootaloo groaned.
"Ehehehe...whoops." Sweetie Belle squeed.
"Don't worry. You can still use the resort and relax until it's time. 4 hours isn't too long, ya know." The employee said.
"I guess so...We can experience the town before it starts." Rainbow Dash rubbed her head. "Where's that resort you mentioned?"
"Right over there." The employee pointed over at the stunning resort of the island. There's a reason why this place is also seen as a tourist destination. You have people and Pokemon relaxing and taking a breather there, almost as if it was a beach.
A perfect place to kill some time until 3:30 hits.
"Just gives me more time to prepare! Come on you two! Let's practice!" Sweetie Belle ran off with Piplup and Espurr, leaving the others in the dust.
"Yeah. She wasn't even this excited when searching for her Cutie Marks with us. Or even when she got hers." Scootaloo nodded.
"It's natural," Ash spoke. "Pokemon Contests do that to anyone. Just like battling, they get the blood pumping with an all-new sensation you've never felt before."
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded, hopping off Ash's shoulder. "Pika-Pika!"
"Espeon." The Pokemon had decided to run off and do whatever they pleased until the contest can begin.
"I could've gotten an extra amount of sleep today." Ash sat down near the pool, lowering his head. "But at least contests can wake you up."
"I was planning on visiting PokePark today with Starlight. She has yet to meet Queen Serperior and the others." Twilight yawned.
"What's this about a PokePark?" Starlight turned to her.
"You'll find out soon enough." Twilight dipped her hooves in the pool, getting a good feel of the warm water. "Hm. This is nice..."
Whilst they all enjoy themselves near the pool, just a bit on the south, Team Rocket were present here. Not because they were here for Pikachu. Not at all. They're still on their break after all. And this time, it was Jessie's turn. Her perspective on a break was none other than Pokemon Contests. And beautiful resorts but mostly contests.
"This again?" Meowth groaned. "You sure you wanna try these colourful contests again?"
"They're a bit too flashy for my taste." James sighed.
"Oh, hush you two! This is apart of our big break! And you already know that I need to do this! I've already engraved my name in Pokemon Contest history. I bet I'm already in the same league as top coordinators thanks to all my performances!" Jessie laughed.
"So what's it gonna be this time? Jessebella? Jessadia? Jessilina?" Meowth was listing each of Jessie's contest disguises she's had over the years.
"No. Those three are long gone. Now it's someone completely different...Jesselle!" Jessie revealed herself in a dress that was strikingly similar to her Jessilina dress but on the blue sight with larger pigtails this time. "Watch as I ace through this year's contests! Which is also next year!"
"Don't look now, but get a glance at who's here!" Meowth noticed Ash and the others right at the resort, relaxing.
"Seriously?! Even here?!" Jessie pulled her pigtails. "It's like we're not allowed to be happy for a whole year without the twerp around!"
"There's no choice. Yet again, our true selves need to be masked." James put on some shades along with Meowth. Despite how simple it was, their disguises always work, no matter what. Even the smartest minds can't see through them. "We'll be cheering you on, Jessie. Just remember to keep a cool head at all times!"
"Even if you boil up as usual!" Meowth nodded.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Hmph! This will be a cinch! Because I've got the perfect Pokemon to win this for me!" Jessie held out some Pokeballs that she got from the Gatcha Machine. She disguised them as Pokeballs so it wouldn't look obvious that they were Team Rocket Pokeballs instead. Clever.
Time had passed. 4 hours exactly. Which mean it was finally time to begin. "It's time!" Sweetie Belle jumped up, dashing past Golurk and its trainer, heading straight for the halls.
"Sorry about that." Rarity apologized as she and the party walked past the trainer and Pokemon who were dazed from the sudden dash of Sweetie Belle.
The interior of the Chrysanthemum Contest Halls was to be expected. A standard contest hall, similar to the one in Lilycove City. Sweetie Belle and Jessie had been signed up for today's contest, heading into the preparation room to prepare themselves with their Pokemon and outfits.
"Alright, you two. You remember what to do right?" Sweetie Belle spoke to Piplup and Espurr. The two Pre-evolutions nodded, understand clearly. "Great! Even though we're in the Normal Rank, let's give it our all."
"Just remember to keep all your attention on your Pokemon, Sweetie Belle." Rarity walked up to her. "That way, you'll have perfect control of the scenario without even making a single slip-up."
"I will! I wonder who I'm up against?" Sweetie Belle looked around to search for her opposing coordinator.
"I think it's that girl over there." Rainbow Dash pointed her wings at Jessie who was moving in and out of the preparation room frantically. She seemed to be getting herself sorted out, making sure that everything was perfect. As a result, many items were thrown out of the room with James being smashed against a wall.
"Ough!" James winced.
"Well...Doesn't seem like it'll be too difficult right?" Rarity turned to Sweetie Belle.
"Right. She seems a bit rowdy doesn't she?" Sweetie Belle had gotten in her coordinator dress, returning Espurr and Piplup to their Pokeballs.
"The contest is about to begin. May both coordinators please enter the stage?" An employee walked in, giving the news that the contest starts now. So both Sweetie Belle and Jessie need to make a move on and get on that stage. It was time to show how much they can shine with their Pokemon.
The stage had been set. A fairly small audience since it's a Normal Rank contest but still a hefty amount of them were there.
"People and Pokemon!" The announcer announced. "Working together and creating a blissful harmony. And no amount of bliss is equal to that of the joy of Pokemon Contests! Today we have a Normal Rank contest between two new coordinators! Both seem to have their own energy in their own right. For the first round, coordinators will use two Pokemon in an exciting double performance! The second round shall be a double battle! Both of these rounds will determine which coordinator will come out on top. And win the Chrysanthemum Ribbon as well as advancing up the ranks!" She held up the ribbon which still remained the same even after all these years.
"Oooh..." Sweetie Belle gazed at the ribbon.
"Now let's hear a few words from our judges." The announcer went up to the three most famous judges who are always somehow present in every contest. Mr Contesta, Sukizo and of course, Nurse Joy.
"Thanks! Newcomers participating in contests are what excite me the most since they hold the most potential!" said Mr Contesta.
"Chrysanthemum Island is remarkable! The resorts here really compliment its contest feel." Sukizon nodded.
"Ah...I wish I could participate in a contest, but my sisters and I are all so busy being nurses. But I'm excited to see it nonetheless!" Joy commented.
"Alright then! Let's get started! The first round can begin. The double performance. And our first entry, Sweetie Belle from Ponyville!"
"Okay. Both of you. This is what we prepared for." Sweetie Belle walked through the curtains, sending out Espurr and Piplup. Once they came out of the Rarityball, a flash of Rarity's Cutie Mark dazzled across the contest halls, stunning everyone who saw it. A great first impression.
"Espurr..."
"Piplup!"
"Let's start off with the best amount of dazzle. Espurr, use Wonder Room."
"Es..." The Restrain Pokemon clapped its two tiny little hands together, creating a wondrous wall of light that encased her and Piplup inside.
"Follow it up with Light Screen. And Piplup, use Aerial Ace."
Espurr had surrounded herself in a body light, giving it a beautiful shine that passed through the walls of the Wonder Room. The same tactic she used back in Lilypad and it was still effective to the eyes. Piplup's turn had been initiated. The Penguin Pokemon took the air, striking the entire room with its wind covered arms, delivering a shattering impact to it. The Aerial Ace had managed to shatter the Wonder Room, but when it did, shards of the room had flown into the air, still having the light of Light Screen reflect off of them.
Now the entire Contest Hall was filled with these multi-coloured shards flying everywhere.
"Oooh..." Pinkie Pie gazed up at the shards, trying to catch one with her hooves. They looked like they would be physical, but they weren't.
"Just like before, Light Screen seems to be her go-to move for some flash." Apple Bloom spoke.
"I'll say." Twilight nodded.
"Espeon."
Piplup returned to the ground with the shards finally vanished from the halls along with Espurr letting down Light Screen. Some resounding cheers and applause were given for that performance. It was a good showcase for Sweetie Belle's first attempt that could impress easily.
"And thank you, Sweetie Belle! And now to our judges!"
"Even seeing that Light Screen technique for a second time never gets old. But it was made even better with all those shards!" Contesta started off.
"Mhm. Remarkable!" Sukizo followed.
"Using shards as a performance technique is something I've never seen before! Truly some high-level thought went into this." Joy finished off.
"Now! Time for a second entry. That being Jesselle!"
"Looks like it's my turn to shine." Jessie giggled, stepping out of curtains. "I'll show them all peak dazzle. Out you two come." Jessie had sent out the two Pokemon of her choice that she believed could win her this. Once the two Pokemon came out, grass petals followed suit which meant the two choices had been Grass-Types.
The Illuminating Pokemon Shiinotic.
And the Bloom Sickle Pokemon Lurantis.
"Luran!"
"Shiin..."
"Watch this. Lurantis, Solar Blade! Shiinotic! Moonblast!"
"Lurantis!" The Bloom Sickle Pokemon raised its petals into the air, summoning a blade of light with green energy embedded in it. Shiinotic had then gathered energy from the moon itself, sending a ball of light similar to the appearance of the moon.
Lurantis had swung its Solar Blade, cutting the Moonblast in half. It now appeared that the moon had been split in two, but Lurantis wasn't done yet. Lurantis had cut it in half further with Solar Blade, splitting it into four different parts that each went their own separate ways. Once the Moonblast had blown up, the explosion was an enchanting crescent-shaped explosion that left moon dust which sprinkled across the room.
"How's that?" Jessie crossed her arms in confidence as applause resounded across the halls.
"Ooh! Felt like I was seeing the beautiful Moonlight early on but in different ways! That's what I like to see." Contesta nodded.
"Agreed! Remarkable!"
"The moon truly is the best form of flash, isn't it? An amazing show of Grass and Fairy!" Joy uttered. "I definitely won't forget that combination!"
"That was just as impressive!" Rarity leaned forward.
"Oooh..." Even Sweetie Belle was impressed by that performance.
"Both these two coordinators can move on to the next round as the excitement continues!"
"Congrats on reaching the second round, Sweetie Belle. But looks like you're going up against somepony just as formidable." Fluttershy said.
"I know. It's getting me all pumped up!" Sweetie Belle squeed.
"Don't tire yourself out." Jessie suddenly spoke to her. "Because I've already got a lot more to show off in the next round!"
"Really? Well, then good luck to you too!" Sweetie Belle shook Jessie's hand, catching her off guard.
"Uh-huh...Good luck to you too." Jessie pulled her hand away, walking off.
"This is going better than I expected. All I have to do is keep it up. And that ribbon is as good as mine."
The second round is about to begin. The double battle between both coordinators and their Pokemon. This is where things could get a bit tricky. Only one of Sweetie Belle's Pokemon utilizes attacks and that's Piplup. Espurr is mostly used for dazzle and flash with moves that can raise defence and cause effects. It only really has one single move that does minimal damage. But Sweetie Belle was prepared to do her best with those limitations anyways.
Both Jessie and Sweetie Belle stepped out onto the stage with their Pokeballs ready to be thrown. They were the only two coordinators competing today, so there wasn't any time to take a long break.
"Now! Both coordinators, please bring out your Pokemon!"
"You two are up next again!" Sweetie Belle sent out her Piplup and Espurr once more, whilst Jessie brought Shiinotic and Lurantis out again.
"Does her Espurr even know any attacking moves?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I don't think so." Scootaloo scratched her mane. "I think the only move it knows that does damage is Disarming Voice."
"That's not a good sign since the opposing Pokemon have Solar Blade and Moonblast. Both hit really hard." Ash leaned forward.
"Oh, dear..." Rarity bit her mane, entering a state of worry that was slowly building up.
"Allow me to start off! Shiinotic! Moonblast! Lurantis! Petal Blizzard!"
"Luran!" Lurantis had spun its petals around, forming a violent blizzard of green and pink petals that spiralled forward.
"Notic..." Shiinotic joined in by adding Moonblast into the mix. The moon-shaped attack had gone through the whole of Petal Blizzard, combining the two moves together with the blizzard spinning around the moon. Both power and flash were displayed here.
"That looks good! But no time to get distracted. Piplup! Aerial Ace! Espurr! Light Screen, go!"
"Espurr..." The Restraint Pokemon had given both it and its partner a protective barrier of light that shined around their bodies. This would help them resist Moonblast and Petal Blizzard, even if it was minimum.
"Pip!" The Penguin Pokemon bolted off the ground, raising its arms up. With all its might, Piplup had slashed its wind covered hands on the combined attacks, sending it right back at Lurantis and Shiinotic. This even threw Jessie off guard. She didn't expect the combined move to be knocked right back at her.
"What?!" She gasped, pulling back.
"What a trick! Using their own moves against them to deliver the first blow!" The announcer bellowed.
"I can't believe she knew what to do there..." Twilight's eyes widened.
"Hehehe...I taught her some neat tricks when we were training." Ash smirked.
"Pikachu!"
"Now! Let's follow up with Bubble Beam! And Espurr! Disarming Voice!"
"Pip-lup-lup!" Piplup shot out multiple beams of tiny little bubbles forward whilst Espurr, in all its silent glory, let out a charming cry that had a beautiful pink light coming out of it. The bubbles had surrounded the light, moving in and out of it as they both raced forward.
"I won't let you get the better of me! Lurantis! Night Slash! Shiinotic! Charge Beam"
"Ran!" The Bloom Sickle Pokemon leapt up, staring the two moves in the eye. Shiinotic had fired a beam of bundled concentrated electricity around Lurantis. Thanks to it being a Grass-Type, the move could safely be around Lurantis. The Grass-Type had cut the two moves in half while letting the aura of Charge Beam affect them.
The result was sparks of electricity flying across the stage whilst a dark aura that came from Night Slash became infused with the pink light and bubbles, creating a brand new never-before-seen technique. Dark bubbles along with a mixture of dark and pink sound waves.
"Aerial Ace! Light Screen!"
"Piplup!" Piplup moved in with Light Screen still being around its body for resistance. It was moving in towards an electric covered Lurantis which was a risky decision on Sweetie Belle's part. However, Piplup moved at high speeds, striking its arms on Lurantis's face.
"Luran!" The Bloom Sickle Pokemon had been knocked into the air as Piplup followed up with a final blow, smashing Lurants back. Due to the Charge Beam still being around Lurantis, not only did it let out a stream of electricity but it even surrounded Piplup, who landed down with an electric aura. It was a good thing Light Screen was up.
"Oh! That's the stuff, Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom cheered.
"Since when did she learn twerp tactics?" Jessie growled. Let's finish this quick! Solar Blade! Moonblast!"
Jessie was aiming at finishing this pronto with the strongest moves she had. The Bloom Sickle Pokemon raised its petals up, summoning a gigantic blade filled with the energy of nature itself. Shiinotic had brought upon the powers of the moon once more, raising it into the air.
"Sweet Celestia..." Sweetie Belle moved back a bit along with her Pokemon. The light these two moves cast over the halls were mesmerizing to the eyes. A beautiful green and pink filled the halls whilst packing some power behind them. Sweetie Belle gulped, knowing that it wasn't time to get nervous. "Stay calm. We'll finish it too! Piplup! Combine Aerial Ace and Bubble Beam! Espurr! Wonder Room!"
"Piplup!" Piplup ran forward, looking up at the huge attacks that were coming towards it. The Penguin Pokemon closed its eyes, bracing for impact. But Sweetie Belle had an idea so risky it just might work. And it came in the form of Wonder Room. But instead of using it on just Piplup, Espurr had summoned the room around Lurantis and Shiinotic as well.
"What the?" Jessie was confused on what she was planning. Then it hit her. "Wait...No, don't!" She attempted to call off the attacks but it was too late.
Piplup had fired a beam of bubbles towards Lurantis that did nothing. But that was the plan. The one major thing that Wonder Room does is swap defence and special defence to any Pokemon caught up in it. Espurr had swapped both Lurantis and Shinnotic's defence, adding them onto Piplup instead. The Penguin Pokemon smirked as it had powered through the two moves that could've taken it out in one hit.
"Lu?!"
"Shiino?!"
"Piplup!" Piplup struck both its arms on the faces of the two Grass-Types, launching them off. The result from the impact of Aerial Ace shattered the Wonder Room like before, however this time, thanks to Moonblast and Solar Blade, this was taken to the next level. Now the shards were rainbow-coloured instead of just a few colours.
The rainbow had filled the hall and even reached the outside, giving it a mystical feeling as a result. Alongside that, the bubbles from Piplup's bubble beam were now apart of these rainbow-coloured shards, having their own rainbows inside of them. And as a bonus, Piplup's devastating Aerial Ace was enough to knock out both Shiinotic and Lurantis thanks to their strong defences being swapped with fragile pre-evolution defence.
"Unbelievable! Both Lurantis and Shiinotic were both taken out by a crafty defence swap at the last second! Thus, the winner of the second round and overall contest is Sweetie Belle!"
"We won...?" Sweetie Belle paused for a moment. Was it true? Indeed it was. "We won! YES!" You two are amazing!" She ran over, hugging both of her Pokemon, almost squeezing them to death.
"That's my little sister!" Rarity ripped a bit of her mane off from the intensity of the second round. She was weeping due to how proud she was of Sweetie Belle's performance.
"Using Wonder Room at the last second was a good call." Contesta nodded.
"If I had my other sisters here with me, they'd clap in unison! But I'm sure they're watching from home anyways!" Joy clapped along with the audience.
"You two...Good job." Jessie went up to Shiinotic and Lurantis, feeling proud of them.
"Luran."
"Notic."
"Jesselle!" Sweetie Belle spoke to Jessie. "That was a great battle and a great contest! You did great." She held her hoof out in good spirit.
"Hm...You did well too twerpette." Jessie held her hoof, shaking it in response. She gained some respect for the little filly. After all, this was all in good fun. "But next time we meet, I'll make sure you don't trick me like that ever again."
"We'll see." Sweetie Belle grinned.
The time to leave had come. Sun was coming down after all. It was a short but sweet contest. One that Sweetie Belle won't forget. And best of all, she got herself the Chrysanthemum ribbon.
"I got the Chrysanthemum ribbon! Look!" She showed it to all her friends and her Pokemon.
"Yes, we see it." Rarity nodded. "Congratulations, Sweetie Belle. I didn't think the outcome would look like that."
"Mhm! I can't wait for my next contest! I hear they're almost done building the halls in Equestria."
"Then that means you'll be able to compete against ponies who are also aiming to be top coordinators. Oh, just the sight of it gets me excited!" Pinkie Pie squealed.
"You don't seem too hurt about it, Jess," Meowth spoke to Jessie who took off her disguise.
"Not at all. I'm just enjoying my break. And I did enjoy that." Jessie smiled.
"A resounding performance with good sportsmanship! That's what I like to see!" James exclaimed, weeping.
"I'll have to get better. Much better than before! Come on you two! Let's go practice with some Fire-Types!" She grabbed them both, running off into the sunset out of joy.
"Wobbuffet!"
It appears that Sweetie Belle's path to being a top coordinator is looking bright and hopeful. With her first official ribbon from Chrysanthemum Island, as the road to the Grand Festival is slowly approaching as the journey continues.
"Is she still knocked out?" Applejack spoke. Her, the Apple family and Cold Colt were looking down at a still unconscious Emerald Aura. Still to this day, she was out cold. The aura that Ghetsis hit her with was that potent.
"Yep." Cold poked her. "Nothing's waking her up. I hope she's okay."
"Maybe she's just having a really good dream that she doesn't wanna wake up from?" Apple Bloom said.
"If she ain't getting up before the year passes, better toss her out." Granny Smith suggested.
"Hold on now. She's the first well 'friend' that Cold had. Let's just wait it out a small bit." Applejack replied.
They've been waiting for months on end for a response. And today, they'll finally get what they've been waiting for. A single grunt could be heard from Emerald's mouth as her hoof twitched. They all snapped their heads towards the direction of the grunt, picking up its sound.
"Did ya'll hear that?" Applejack's eyes widened.
"I heard it loud and clear. Is she finally waking up?" Cold leaned forward, hoping that she would become conscious once more. They all gently moved their heads forward, anticipating the outcome.
"Mrgnh..." Emerald let out another voice. Her eyes were slowly opening after so many months of being closed. The first thing she saw once she finally woke up was the sight of the Apple Family and Cold staring at her. Along with their Pokemon as well of course. "Squirt...?"
"Emerald! You're finally awake!" Cold squeed, giving his fellow Rift pony a hug.
"You're actually okay? And what are you doing?" Emerald looked down at him.
"It's a hug, duh!"
"Where am I even?" She took a moment to examine the room around her. Through her quick thinking mind, she recognized this exact room and location. "Isn't this...the Apple home?"
"Right you are!" Applejack nodded. "Glad you're up finally."
"When did I get here?!" Emerald stood up. Clearly, she was a bit taken back since her reputation in Ponyville isn't exactly a good one. Not even a welcomed one.
"I brought you here. Ash and Hollow ended up saving me from Ghetsis. It was a wild ride getting from Saddle-Arabia to here, ya know."
"Is that what happened now? But why did you bring me here of all places?"
"Well, you know...I thought it would be nice to bring you here since the Apple family is sort of my family as well."
"You suggesting we're family?"
"I mean...We are, aren't we?" Cold gulped.
"Hmmm...I guess we kinda are family in a way. But I ain't staying here." Emerald planned on transporting herself out via Rift teleportation, but a shocking surprise came her way. A surprise that was similar to what Obsidian and Cold Colt received once their jobs had been done. She couldn't leave here all of a sudden. Not by Rift travel anyways. "That can't be right..." She gave it another go, imagining a place where she wished she could be at right now. And yet, nothing. Nothing at all.
"What's wrong, Emerald?" Cold asked.
"I can't use any cosmic energy...what's going on?!"
"Oooh...You must've gotten cut off too." Cold realized, nodding his head.
"Cut off? What do you mean cut off?!" She grabbed the young colt, lifting him up and shaking him.
"Eek! It means that the Rift cut off a large majority of your energy! Don't hurt me!" He whimpered.
"No way..." She dropped her fellow Rift Pony, causing him to fall flat on his face as he let out an 'Ow'. "I've been cut off...Where's Obsidian? Didn't he come and get me?!"
"Well...Obsidian got cut off too. Looks like the Rift kinda just weakens us when we end up reaching a certain point. But I was pretty weak already." Cold Colt said with a proud face.
"Looks like you're one of him now." Applejack said to her. The look on the Earth Pony's face was one of doubt. Despite Emerald having a somewhat close relationship to Cold, she wasn't as clueless or lost as him. If anything, Applejack knew that there's a good chance she's most likely to continue causing trouble. "So you'd best live with it since you're just an ordinary unicorn now."
"Ordinary? You'd wish I was ordinary." Emerald scoffed at her. "Who cares if I'm cut off from the Rift? I can still use unicorn magic to teleport out of here. Like so." Her horn emanated and emerald-coloured aura, tapping into the magic within instead of cosmic energy. Due to her, Obsidian and Cold Colt being Rift Ponies, not only can they use cosmic energy but they can also tap into the power source of the creature they were created from. In this case, unicorns.
Emerald's magic proved to be greater than that of Cold Colt since she was created to be an adult rather than a child like him. However, she could only reach the outside of the house, proving that the Rift had severely weakened her, even cutting off a large majority of her magic.
"Just outside?!" She shifted her head around the farm, seeing how she only got a small distance instead of a far one. "This can't be happening..." Emerald groaned, placing her hoof on her face. "It's fine. It's fine. I can just walk my way out of here...Not as fast though."
"Emerald! Wait!" Cold rushed out to catch up to his fellow cosmic creation. "You're seriously leaving?!"
"Of course I am. I don't have a reason to be here."
"But can't you just like...stay a bit longer, maybe?" He grinned nervously.
"No. I don't need to or want to. Not even for a second." She shook her head. "I won't gain anything from just staying here. Or even in Ponyville for that matter."
"Oh..." Cold lowered his head.
"Look, runt." She walked over to the little colt. "You're obviously happy here since you've kinda got a family of your own. And even some friends here in Ponyville. Which is good for you. A kid like you needs it after all. But I don't. Not after knowing what happens to us after all of this."
"What do you mean?"
"Duh? We cease to exist, remember? What's the point of making friends when none of them are gonna remember you and you'll be wiped from existence. I don't see the point. That's why I don't wanna associate myself here."
"I guess that makes sense..." He played with the dirt on the ground. "But, everypony here taught me that I can still make the most out of the time I have left. Even if I end up vanishing when both worlds return to normal. So maybe you can do the same before that day comes, right?"
"Maybe I could. But like I said, I won't gain anything. You've already gained something from being here with Ponyville and it should stay like that for you. See ya, squirt."
"A-Alright." He pouted. "But where are you gonna go exactly?"
"Ah-" It was at this moment that Emerald realized that she had hit a bit of a roadblock. Since she's been cut off, she can't exactly go wherever she wants with just a thought. Not only that, but her secret underground base she and Cold used to own could only be accessed via Rift teleportation. So at the moment, Emerald Aura has nowhere to go. She scrunched her face, turning around to the young colt with a blank expression on her face.
"Hah! You're stumped!" Cold Colt noticed as he wheezed. "Not so cool-headed now, huh Em?"
"You mocking me kid?!" She teleported to him, grabbing his face and squishing it.
"Ow! Ow! I'm sorry!" The young colt squealed, flailing his hooves about.
"Those two. They look like they've got a pretty good relationship, huh?" said Apple Bloom.
"Eeyup."
"Ain't got nowhere to go, do ya?" Applejack walked up to her. "You're not thinking of just walking across Equestria forever, are you?"
"Well...no. But we Rift ponies don't get tired. So it shouldn't be a struggle."
"But you still don't have a place to live." Applejack smirked.
"That-" Emerald paused. She wanted to make a smart response, but AJ was 100% right. She can't reach the hideout so what was the point of trying to walk off. "Urgh!"
"Come on. Just stay behind in Ponyville for a bit. Please?" Cold Colt gave puppy dog eyes, pleading for Emerald to do so. The emerald-coloured unicorn looked down at Cold, seeing how genuine he was about this.
"Mrrrgh...." Emerald groaned clenching her teeth as she raised her head. "Fine! I'll stay behind for a bit." She had accepted defeat. "But I won't like it...And after this, I'm heading off to find someplace to live. Maybe some abandoned home or something..."
"Yes! You're gonna love it here in Ponyville!" Cold jumped up, levitating himself with his own magic out of joy. Today begins Emerald's catch up on the world around her.
Heading out into Ponyville, she noticed that there was snow everywhere at the moment. Ponies wearing scarves and other essentials that help keep them warm. Some ponies even use Fire-Type Pokemon to keep themselves warm.
"Wait a sec...Snow...?" She took a moment to process this. "How long was I out for?"
"Uh...maybe 2 months? 3? In between? I haven't been keeping track after Ghetsis captured me." Cold shrugged.
"That Aura Ghetsis possess is potent. Insanely potent even. It wasn't a good idea to unlock his Aura potential." Emerald groaned. "What have you even been doing for these past months?"
"Oh! A lot! I got to experience a pretty sweet Rock attraction that's exclusively for Rock-Type Pokemon. It's actually super fun when you're there. And uh...oh, right! Ponyville got attacked by a giant 500ft electric monster that just started causing these crazy pulses. Then there was the whole thing with Adagio. I wasn't there when she got big but I heard it was pretty intense, some sweet games with some guru person and I even got to experience important events from the original timeline. Like the Tantabus and...yeah that's about it. Oh! Maybe I'll get captured by Chrysalis like everypony else!" The last words he yelled echoed across Ponyville, caused everypony to turn around. "Oh...right. They're not supposed to know what happens."
"Sounds like you've had a pretty eventful few months. And what about Obsidian? How did he get captured exactly?"
"How? It was pretty sweet how it happened. Rainbow Dash told me the whole thing. Twilight and her friends ended up defeating him in a Pokemon Battle and Darkrai put him to sleep with Dark Void. I didn't get to see it but I bet it was amazing!"
"Hm. That so?" Emerald replied. Her attention had been focused on something much more intriguing than what Cold was rambling on about. She noticed that Jade Skies was still here. Chatting with Pinkie Pie who had her hoof around the Jade coloured pony. "Jade? She's still here? That must mean Obsidian's plan is still ongoing."
"What plan?" Cold had quit his rambling, asking her what she meant by 'Plan'
"Don't worry about it kid. But how long is gonna take for her to understand friendship? Or at least some emotions."
"Oh...You know about Jade's whole thing with friendship? She's great. Jade's one of the first ponies I become great friends with. Me and her connect really well for some reason."
"There's a reason alright..." Emerald quietly said. "How much has she learned about friendship so far?"
"Uh...Well...Twilight teaches both of us. For me it's magic and for her, friendship. So far, she knows how to um...she can share I guess? Oh! She does know how to defend others. That's something. And she's pretty good at understanding when somepony's upset. So I'd say she's gotten pretty far. And it's only been a few months too."
"That so?" Emerald nodded. "If she can learn those in that a few months then this whole plan might occur sooner than expected." She thought to herself.
Moving away from Emerald's perspective, Pinkie Pie had actually noticed Emerald Aura standing beside Cold Colt. She was finally awake. Which only meant one thing. A new pony to introduce.
"Oooh...." Pinkie was ready to dash over to Emerald's side. "She's awake!"
"Hm?" Emerald turned her head to see that Pinkie Pie was prepared to dash right into her. "Oh no." She gulped, fearing something like this would happen.
"Hey! Emerald Aura right?!" Pinkie bolted towards the emerald-coloured unicorn. "Nice to-"
"No, you don't!" Emerald use the amount of magic she had in her to put up a barrier, causing Pinkie Pie to crash into it, sliding down from the emerald barrier. "I ain't a hugger."
"I can't believe you're actually up! I thought you were gonna be knocked out forever!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "So. How's it feel to be up and conscious?" She pressed her face on the barrier.
"Feels great." Emerald used her magic to push Pinkie Pie aside. "But I'm not up for friendly introductions."
"Oh, come on! Don't be such a grump." Pinkie Pie got a sneak attack on her, appearing from behind. "You've got a lot of catching up to do. And a lot of friends to make!"
"I don't-"
"Have a look at this!" Pinkie extended her hoof, grabbing Jade and pulling her over. "Jade's a good first friend to make! She's already trying to understand friendship. So you two will get along per-" Pinkie paused her sentence, taking a moment to examine Jade and Emerald's appearances. Something major clicked in her head. "Oooh...You two are kinda similar! Jade-coloured and emerald-coloured! You're a perfect match!"
"Ugh...Yeah... two peas in a pod." Emerald winced.
"She looks familiar," Jade commented. "Have I...seen you somewhere before?"
"Uh...I-I don't think so." Emerald stuttered.
"Oh. Jade. This could be your one clue to finding out where you came from! Maybe she's your sister! Are you her sister?"
"Me? I'm not her sister. Not one bit." Emerald shook her head. However, Pinkie Pie was half right. In a sense, Jade was a sister to Emerald since they both come from the same source.
"I don't know...I've got this strange sensation in me. I feel like I really do know you." Jade replied.
"Whatever your connection is, it's gonna be even greater when you become good friends! Or maybe...good sisters? If you are that is."
"Great...could you let me down now?" Emerald sighed as Pinkie dropped both her and Jade.
"Let's introduce you to the rest of my friends!"
"I'm not up for-"
"Hey! Rainbow Dash! Over here!" Pinkie yelled at a passing Rainbow Dash.
"Hm? What is it?" Rainbow Dash snapped her head to the pink pony.
"Look who's up?!" Pinkie was pointing her hoof aggressively at Emerald.
"Oh...OH! She's actually awake?!" Dash dashed down towards Emerald, getting a good look at her.
"Can everypony please stop getting so close?" Emerald groaned.
"Heh. You two kind of look similar." Rainbow Dash pointed out the similarities between Jade and Emerald.
"I know right?! I thought they were sisters, but apparently, they're not. But Jade here's got a gut feeling in her that she knows Emerald."
"Really? Jade doesn't remember anything before the Pokemon Festival," said Rainbow Dash.
"I know right? This means that we're getting close to solving Jade's origins. Hopefully."
"Origins? What origins?" Emerald asked.
"Jade here doesn't really know where she came from. She just ended up being at the Pokemon Festival all of a sudden and doesn't remember anything before that time. Right, Jade?"
"Right. Everything before the festival is a blur. But maybe Emerald can solve that mystery for me. I just know there's something familiar about you."
"Even if there was something familiar about me, how would I be able to help?" Emerald pushed Jade away.
"Duh! You've got cosmic energy in you. You can basically do anything you want!" Rainbow Dash answered. "Hold on...maybe you can zap Jade's memories back! Do that!"
"Oooh, about that, Rainbow." Cold spoke. "Emerald can't do that. At least not anymore."
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash tilted her head.
"Well...she's kinda in the same boat as me. Both of us have gotten our cosmic energy cut. So now all we have left is unicorn magic and just a tiny bit of cosmic in us."
"You're kidding. So you're basically powerless?" Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at Emerald.
"I am not powerless! I just...don't have the right amount of power in me anymore. And what makes you think I'll just bring her memories back?"
"Wouldn't you?" Cold Colt looked up at her with a frown. Emerald stared back, not wanting to upset the young pony.
"Well...It's not that I can't it's just..." Emerald scratched her mane, looking to the side.
Pinkie Pie's eyes shifted across the group, looking at both Cold and Emerald at the same time. She noticed how quickly Emerald changed in tone and personality when talking to the young pony. That can only mean one thing. Emerald is very caring of Cold Colt like an older sister. Little did she know she was an older sister to him in a cosmic way.
"Ahh...I get it now." Pinkie Pie nodded. "You're a big ol' softie for Cold here aren't you?"
"What?!" Emerald jerked back.
"It's okay. You know...you kinda remind me of Limestone. She's just like you but your face says even more! How weird is that? Oh! Maybe I can have you meet Limestone! Jade's already met Maud so you and Limestone will go great together! It'll be a perfect double duo of personalities!"
"Do you ever stop talking..." Emerald dug her face on the ground. She wanted to leave this conversation and entire town pronto, but again, she had nowhere to go so she's basically stuck here. "How long do I have to keep this up?"
"Just a bit longer. There's still Rarity, Twilight, Spike Fluttershy and Starlight left." Cold patted her back.
"Starlight...?" Emerald popped her up from the ground, having a piece of the earth around her neck. "I WAS UNCONSCIOUS FOR THAT LONG?!"
"Yep. Starlight's already apart of the group." He nodded. "Took longer than the original timeline though."
"Runt! Tell me!" Emerald picked him up. "Has the Crystalling happened yet?"
"Y-Yeah...Rainbow Dash and the others were there at the Crystal Empire when Flurry Heart broke the Crystal Heart."
"And Spike. Has he met Ember yet?"
"Mhm. And she's the new Dragon Lord in charge." He nodded.
"Oh no..." She dropped him. "Oh, no-no-no...I couldn't have been knocked out for that long...come on." She sat down, lowering her head.
"Hold on. What do you mean by took longer?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Oh, don't you remember? Us Rift ponies know how every event is gonna play out and how it ends. From start to finish. And we knew that Starlight was gonna become good eventually. But in the original timeline, the amount of time it took for her to be reformed was shorter." Cold explained.
"No way...Hang on. If you knew this...then why didn't you tell us that the Crystal Heart was gonna break during the Crystalling?! We could've saved up tons of time and trouble!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Well uh...I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Sorry." Cold squeed.
"Cold's right. Ruining surprises is a big deal. Even in other universes." Pinkie Pie crossed her hooves, nodding.
"Besides...Only Emerald and Obsidian know every little detail. I just know the beginning and end. And a few details here and there. I'm just a kid after all."
"What's the point in telling them? They're not gonna remember anyway? Not when the worlds return to normal." Emerald removed the dirt off her.
"Yeah, we know. But we're making the most of the time we have!" Pinkie Pie squeed, grabbing all of her friends together in a group hug.
"I don't think you all realize what I actually mean by that. Runt. You're gonna have to hear this too."
"What do you mean, Em?" Cold turned to her, ready to hear this.
"Look. When the world's return to normal and the Rift leaves...not only do your memories vanish. But even your progress dials back. All the adventures you've had will be sent all the way back to when it all began. In the case of this timeline, the worlds crossed over one day after Discord had been defeated. So when that day comes, you'll be set back to that day and you'll have to re-do everything. The Royal Canterlot Wedding. The Crystal Empire. Tirek. Starlight Glimmer. Every little thing in your life will be reset to match the original timeline once more. The same goes for the Pokemon World. It's gonna head back to when Ash finished his adventures in Alola. Back to square one."
What Emerald just said stunned every single one of them, minus Jade. And by the look of her face, she wasn't joking. She meant what she said. The worlds being reverted back didn't just mean the loss of memories but it also meant a loss of time itself.
"Y-You're kidding...R-Right...?" Pinkie said in a worried tone.
"Not for a second. And it won't just stop there. You know those two? Aria and Sonata? They'll never be apart of Ponyville anymore. Their destiny is to be trapped in the parallel world with no hope of returning here. And to go even further beyond... certain ponies will cease to exist too. Not just us Rift ponies. But normal ponies as well."
"W-What do you mean by that?" Rainbow Dash stuttered.
"Those little foals that Hollow guy teaches will fade out of existence. They were never meant to exist in the first place. Same goes for some of the humans of the Pokemon World. They'll be nothing. Nothing at all. It'll all go back to the way it was supposed to be from the start. The true timeline."
"...That can't be..." Pinkie Pie sat down, perplexed by this. In a few seconds, she was already tearing up. "It's not true. You're lying!" She covered her ears.
"It's the harsh truth, I know. But I'm sorry. I just had to tell you all so that you can prepare for when that day comes." Emerald turned around.
Jade looked over at Pinkie Pie to see her weeping, covering her tears with her puffy mane. Rainbow Dash was speechless. Instead of crying, she just stayed silent. That's when it happened. Jade's inner cosmic energy started to flow through her mane. Just like what happened with Pinkie Pie back when they were searching for a Pokemon with Secret Power. The instinct to help a pony she sees as a friend. That was Jade's unique ability. It was fairly rare since it didn't' show up during the Ultra Beast situation but in this case, it sparked up. It seems to only appear during specific situations from the looks of it so far.
"...Maybe...there's a way to change that," Jade spoke.
"What?" said Emerald, turning to her fellow Rift Pony.
"Jade?" Pinkie wiped her tears away, looking up at her friend.
"What if somehow there was a spell or something that could make sure that the worlds stay connected forever. Even if the Rift left. Or even keep our memories...?"
"Say what now?" Rainbow Dash spoke.
"Think about it. Even if there isn't a spell or artifact that can do that...maybe...there's a Pokemon that can."
"Are you suggesting...there's a Pokemon that can change fate?" Cold Colt asked.
"There has to be. There's a Pokemon for everything isn't there? But which one? Please, Emerald. You may not want to do it for us or everypony here in Ponyville...but you'd do it for Cold Colt, wouldn't you?" Jade was speaking in a way that wasn't common for her. The energy within her body was causing this.
"...Hmmm." Emerald thought for a bit. What Jade said was true. Emerald would do anything to make the young pony happy. After all, like Emerald said earlier, it's good Cold already has his own family along with great friends here in Ponyville. A kid like him needs it. And that involves lost memories and existence erasure. "Fine. I can tell you this."
"Yeah...?" Pinkie Pie leaned forward, wiping her tears away.
"There is one Pokemon that can change fate."
"Yeah....?" All of them leaned forward this time, eager to hear the answer.
"Jirachi."
"Jirachi?" Rainbow Dash and Pinkie looked at each other.
"That's right. The Wish Pokemon. As the name suggests, it has the ability to grant any wish that you give it. No matter what. It doesn't matter how absurd it is or how out of this world it may be, Jirachi can do it. Hence why it's called the Wish Pokemon."
"Of course! Why didn't I think about that? Duh!" Cold Colt hit his head.
"So you mean...if we get Jirachi to hear our wish..." Pinkie uttered.
"It'll keep everything when the Rift leaves?" Rainbow Dash finished Pinkie Pie's sentence.
"That's right. Jirachi is the only Pokemon that can cause this. Although, there might be another Pokemon out there that can do it but...who knows."
"This..." Pinkie Pie's already puffy mane had somehow puffed up even further. "THIS IS AMAZING!" She flew up into the air with joy, causing a powerful soundwave as result. "THIS IS THE GREATEST NEWS SO FAR!"
"Yes! That means we're gonna keep everything!" Rainbow Dash pumped her hooves, picking Cold Colt up. "Isn't that awesome, Cold?!"
"Yeah, it is!" The young colt raised his hooves up in the air. Joy had filled the area around them. Pinkie Pie was eager to rush off and tell the others about the great news. Once Twilight and everypony in Ponyville hear this, their spirits will be lifted to the max. But before that could happen, something else abruptly occurred. Something cosmic.
A booming sound emerged in the sky, grabbing the attention of everypony there. Pinkie Pie stopped her cheering, falling straight on her back as result. What caused this boom? Why none other than the Rift itself, who was here to respond to the ponies and their revelation. The rest of the Mane 7 had stepped out, looking up into the sky to see the Rift present there.
"Well done, my little ponies. Well done indeed. You've actually managed to finally solve the obstacle that is the reversion of both worlds."
"What's going on? What does he mean by that?" Twilight flew over to Pinkie Pie's group, curious.
"Didn't you hear, Twilight Sparkle? Your friends here have finally discovered a way to not only maintain the memories of both worlds when they return to normal...but they have even managed to find a way to keep both worlds connected, even with my departure."
"No way...That's amazing!" Twilight Sparkle squeed. "In your face! We've found a way around your shenanigans!"
"Yeah! In your face!" Pinkie Pie blew her tongue at the cosmic entity.
"Hm. Hm." The Rift suddenly chuckled. "HAH! Do you think you're the first beings to solve this?!"
"Uh...Y-Yes? Maybe?" Pinkie Pie shrugged.
"You are not even among the top 5 universes who've solved it. Some human in a bat costume figured it out in three days, much earlier before any of you could. If anything...your revelation was much slower."
"Well, whatever! We solved it and we're gonna be able to keep all of this stuff!" Rainbow Dash flew up at the Rift.
"Indeed you have. But answer me this. Can you achieve it on time?"
"What do you mean?" Starlight asked.
"I know how this universe plays out and the deciding outcome that closes off this story. Meaning, I know exactly when to leave this world at what time. And that time is closing in. It is slow, but it is approaching."
"Pssh. Please. All we have to do is find Jirachi and get the wish. Easy peasy." Rainbow Dash scoffed.
"Oh? But do you know the one drawback to Jirachi? There is a reason why it is a Mythical Pokemon after all."
"And what would that be?" Rarity questioned.
"Jirachi is a Pokemon that sleeps every thousand years."
There it was. The words that shot them all through the heart.
"T-T-T-T-Thousand?!" Pinkie Pie yelped.
"Indeed. Once it appears and grants a wish, it immediately returns to slumber in its crystalline shell for another thousand years. And you know the last time Jirachi had woken up?"
"Uhh...Last thousand years ago?" Twilight shrugged.
"Hm. Let's just say...Ash Ketchum met Jirachi a few years ago. Around the time he journeyed through Hoenn. Meaning that Jirachi has already returned to slumber. And none of you here...well... most of you, can live for a thousand years. How sad is that?"
"No way..." Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof on the ground. "Just when we had a chance."
"It's not hopeless, ya know." The voice of Ash suddenly travelled through their ears. He had just passed through the gateway, hearing their conversation
"What did you say?"
"I met Jirachi twice. Remember that?"
"Pikachu!"
"Y-You did?" Pinkie Pie stuttered.
"Mhm. A girl name Gemma ended up getting her wish granted by Jirachi to restore her valley to a beautiful vibrant land again. And Pikachu here even met another one without me even being there, right buddy?"
"Pika-Pika!"
"So who cares about a thousand years? If there's a chance we can see Jirachi again soon. We'll take that chance." Ash smirked.
"Pika!"
"Hm. You always know what to say, don't you Ash Ketchum? Very well. I will issue you all a challenge. Let's see who will come out on top first. Will you be able to find Jirachi before I can leave? Only time will tell when that fateful day comes."
"You're on!" Ash accepted the challenge.
"But I must warn you...It's not easy getting a wish from Jirachi. But then again, that shouldn't be a problem with you, Ketchum? I'll be waiting."
The Rift had finally left, leaving behind a booming sound afterwards.
"This is great news! Greater than anything we've ever gotten!" Twilight flew towards Ash. "Eve! Minccy! We can still be together!"
"Espeon!"
"Minccino!"
"Had me worried there for a sec." Rainbow Dash wiped the sweat off her forehead.
"Ash! You're the Pokemon Expert! Tell us where we can find Jirachi!" Twilight leaned forward along with everypony else.
"I don't have a clue!" Ash grinned with a proud face along, crossing his arms with his electric buddy.
"Pikachu!"
"Eh...?" Twilight pulled back.
"Jirachi's a Mythical Pokemon. That means you'll never find it in the same spot, ya know."
"Urgh! Ash Ketchum, why are you like this?!" Twilight grabbed Ash who still had his arms crossed and grinning, shaking the trainer aggressively.
"But, we can still find Jirachi out there somewhere in the world. Don't lose hope, you guys." Ash reassured.
"Ash is right. If there's a chance we can even find that Wish Pokemon, we'll take it!" Rainbow Dash smashed her hooves together. "T-The chance not the Pokemon I mean."
"It might take a while, but we'll make sure that we find Jirachi before that day comes. No doubt about it." Ash nodded.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Mhm. That info on Jirachi really got my spirits up to the next level." Pinkie bounced up and down. Not only that, but everypony in Ponyville had their hopes up as well.
"Well...I've seen enough already." Emerald walked off.
"You're leaving for real this time, Emerald?" Cold Colt asked.
"Yeah. I've done my part in telling you about Jirachi. Now it's up to you to find it one day."
"B-But you still don't have anywhere to go!" Cold ran up to her. "Come live here in Ponyville! The beds over at Sweet Apple Acres are the best!"
"I may not have a home...But I've decided to give that recommendation a try. On experiencing everything while it lasts. I'm gonna venture the world. Both worlds even. Maybe I'll improve on my own magic along the way."
"Oh. Okay." The young colt pouted.
"Don't worry, runt." Emerald placed her hoof on his mane. "If I feel like it, I'll come by and visit you at any time, okay?" She gave a soft smile that could cause anyone to faint if they looked at it. "And you know...if you guys actually manage to find Jirachi and change fate...then maybe I'll try and make some friends."
"Okay!" Cold grinned with a sparkle in his eyes.
And off she went. She never befriended a single pony in Ponyville. But she still kept her bond with Cold Colt at the end of the day. With the information of Jirachi spreading across Ponyville, the future yet again is completely unpredictable for the ponies. But then again, when Pokemon are involved, anything is unpredictable. It's now a race to one day find Jirachi before that fateful day arrives as the journey continues!
An outstanding place that almost defies description with its abundance and grandeur. And of course, Pokemon.
As the most mysterious and magnificent creatures of this planet, possessing mystery that never ceases to amaze no matter what. There are over 900 species of Pokemon. Possibly even more that are waiting to be discovered. And they can be found wherever one looks. Most people, ponies and Pokemon live happy and peaceful lives together as friends and companions, sharing the bond of trust and respect.
Soaring high above the azure-coloured celestial sphere skies.
Swimming deep underneath the sparkling and angelic sea.
Roaming the dazzling expanse of its graceful lush-green lands.
Existing in vast and expansive cities and towns, living alongside humans and ponies.
On top of towering mountains that reach even the heavens themselves.
Changing the world around them whilst living in glacial lands.
Enduring the harshest conditions in blazing environments.
Digging through the earth itself in unison whilst changing the world around them.
Dwelling beyond the infinite cosmos themselves.
No matter where you are at any place at any time, you are guaranteed to come across Pokemon as they live in harmony with each other.
The mystery of Pokemon. Perhaps it is that mystery that exists at the very heart of the world itself that gives it its unrivalled charm.
And where there are Pokemon, there are Pokemon Trainers. Who join forces with Pokemon as battle partners, displaying their skills in competitive arenas and everywhere, competing to one day become champions. And one trainer in particular who has continued to live in harmony with the world he loves advances his timeless adventure.
Ash Ketchum, who hails from Pallet Town. Alongside his partner Pikachu, they travel across various lands to meet, befriend and possibly catch other Pokemon whilst refining his battling skills on his path to becoming a Pokemon Master. The greatest master of them all. As he experiences his endless adventure with his various friends across his years, including his newest group of friends.
Twilight Sparkle, who originates from a separate world of her own. The world she inhabits has also been graced with the grandiose nature and beauty of Pokemon, alongside her friends who continue to spread friendship wherever they go.
Two souls from two different worlds whose paths have crossed, creating a newfound synergy that had yet to be discovered until that fateful day. One who sees to be the very best and the other who aims to learn about the true meaning of friendship.
Indeed, there have been twists and turns around every corner of their adventures. Easy or difficult, gentle or aggressive, they push on through together with boundless energy dwelling from within, alongside their Pokemon who continue to assist them with all they have as trainer and Pokemon. Meeting many new people, ponies and Pokemon, dreaming an abundance of dreams and looking forward to a plethora of new and exciting adventures.
For every new Pokemon they meet, a brand-new exciting adventure awaits them. And today, tomorrow and onwards like always, they shall experience a multitude story that is sure to be ingrained their memories for years to come.
Pallet Town. Day.
"I'm off!" Ash burst out of his home, rushing off with his boundless energy as always, alongside his partner Pikachu.
"Pikachu!"
"Have fun as always!" Delia bellowed back at him, waving good luck to her loving son. She enjoyed seeing him always run out of the home, passing through the gateway with such excitement behind him. It always brings a smile to her face. "He truly is the apple to his father's eye isn't he?"
On the other side of the gateway, Goh was there, waiting for Ash to appear. Ash is always there whenever you expect him. Albeit, sometimes late.
"Oh, Ash! Right on time!" Goh exclaimed.
"Yeah! You as psyched as I am?!"
"Mhm but uh...what's with all the excitement? Why did you want us to come here today? What's going on?"
"It's over at Canterlot. Today's both Celestia and Luna's birthday! And also Pyrestar's to an extent."
"Both of them?! I thought one was older than the other."
"One is older than the other. But apparently, they were born on the same month just at different years."
"Oooh..." Goh looked up, getting it now. "A birthday party sounds sweet! I've never really been to many actually."
"You're about to find out what makes them so much fun! Everyone's already getting psyched to head out." Ash crossed his arms, nodding aggressively. "I wonder what alicorn birthday parties are like? Oh, I wonder what pony birthdays are like in general?"
"Pika..."
"Oh, so that's why they're all moving so busy-like." Goh stared at a rampant moving Ponyville.
Many ponies there were headed to give out gifts for Celestia, Luna and Pyrestar's birthday and attend it of course. The presents they had came in all different shapes and sizes. But the most consistent one was that of cake. Anyone could easily tell that the box was shaped to hold a cake. Tall or small. All exclusively for Celestia.
As for Luna, it was unsure what she truly enjoyed. Everypony knew about Celestia's love for cake thanks to a certain newspaper columnist and Dream Eater, but the princess of the night was a complete mystery. So the gifts could be anything. As for Pyrestar, she's part Celestia so that won't be too hard to figure out.
"I'll go see if everyone's ready. What are you gonna do, Goh?"
"I'll just stand by for a bit and wait for when we have to go."
"Got it! Come on, buddy!" Ash dashed off.
"Pikachu!"
Their first destination was Twilight's lab and castle, but the two of them weren't alone. Rainbow Dash had flown beside him, heading to the exact same location as well.
"Sup, Ash! You excited for this birthday party?"
"Hey, Rainbow! You know I am! Right, buddy?"
"Pikachu!"
"I can't wait to pull off my best trick yet. I'll go above and beyond a Sonic Rainboom!"
"Above and beyond a Sonic Rainboom? How?"
"Pika?"
"Heh. You'll see when we get there." Rainbow flew on her back, crossing her hooves. Whatever she had planned, she was confident about it.
Inside Twilight's lab, she was obviously preparing for the birthday like everypony else. But out of everypony, she was the most prepared for this. However, at the moment, Twilight had a few things to clear up before she heads out to Canterlot.
"Alright. Out you five come." Twilight held six Pokeballs in the air with her magic. Releasing each one of them, she had sent out six Pokemon.
These Pokemon ended up being a Litten, Mudkip, Chespin, Azurill and Pansage. Obviously, there was one more to be added into the mix and that was Vulpix. The same Vulpix that was still here in Twilight's lab and has yet to be picked by a trainer.
Due to Twilight's Pokemon Lab being the only Pokemon Lab in Equestria currently, young pony trainer from across Equestria travel to Ponyville to pick their starter Pokemon. And before Twilight can leave for Canterlot, she has to make sure that the starters are present for the trainers to choose.
"Alright! Everyone's here. Great! How much time do we have left Starlight?" Twilight asked Starlight who was now working as an assistant to the Pokemon Lab. She was the Tracey to her Oak if that's a fair comparison.
"We've still got a lot of time left before the train arrives. So everything's fine." Starlight answered.
"Good. Alright, you six. In a few minutes, you'll have trainers from across Equestria coming over to pick you as their first Pokemon and Starter. I trust you'll be able to work well with them, right?"
"Litten.." The Fire Cat Pokemon just simply licked its paws, not caring that much.
"Pansage!" The Grass Monkey Pokemon had swung about her lab, using Vine Whip to do so. Clearly, all the Pokemon were in an agreement with some not showing as much excitement as the others.
"And Vulpix. Don't worry. I'm sure that you'll end up getting a trainer finally. Somepony will pick you." Twilight looked down at the Fox Pokemon who gazed at her.
"Vulpix..."
Vulpix, unfortunately, hasn't been chosen yet by anypony. It has been left out constantly for other choices from other trainers. However, despite all of this, it never felt upset. Because of Twilight. Vulpix had gained a liking to Twilight, often showing the young alicorn some affection in the process by helping her around the lab.
"Espeon." Eve had comforted the Fox Pokemon by using her tail to pat Vulpix's head, telling him that it'll be alright.
"Hey!" Ash and Rainbow Dash both entered the lab, tripping on some water that Mudkip dropped. Both of them gasped as they fell on their back. "Ow!"
"Pikachu?"
"Morning Ash, Rainbow Dash. I bet you two are already ready to go, aren't you?"
"Ugh...You know it." Ash gave a thumbs up, getting himself up from the floor along with Rainbow. "Oh. New Starter Pokemon?!"
"That's right. Some ponies are starting out their journey today so this is currently the go-to place to get their Starter Pokemon." Starlight said.
"By the way, Ash. Caught any new Pokemon yet?" Twilight asked.
"Nah. Still got the same team with me."
"Pika."
"I don't get it. If you wanna become a Pokemon Master, why don't you just catch every Pokemon? Isn't that the whole point of it?" Starlight questioned.
"I used to think that becoming a Pokemon Master meant I had to catch em all when I first started my journey. That having every single Pokemon in the world would make the very best. But if I just caught every single Pokemon, it wouldn't mean much to me. I want to form bonds with them and even help them with anything they struggle with not just catch them."
"Right. Ash here wants to understand all Pokemon. That's why he doesn't catch every single Pokemon he comes across." Twilight flew up to Ash. "At first, I thought that it was pointless for him to reach his goal without catching them all. But not anymore."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Hm? Oh, is PokePark open?" Ash noticed the entrance to PokePark wide open. The young trainer rushed in to have a quick visit to PokePark before they all set out.
"Say, Twilight. How is that you all met? When the worlds crossed over. Because it seems like you've got a great bond despite knowing each other for almost a full year.."
"How? Hah!" Twilight chuckled. "I'll tell you, it was completely different in the beginning. Especially when I met Ash."
"It was? You two got along well in the beginning though, right?"
"Not even close. At first, I found Ash to be weird. Weirder than Pinkie Pie surprisingly. He was energetic, naive, brash and just overall too much for anypony to handle for even a minute. And I mean...he still sorta is."
"I'll say. He sure does love moving around doesn't he?" Rainbow Dash nodded. "I can respect that."
"But after spending some more time with him for the past few months and onwards, I've come to realize that Ash just has an incredible passion for everything around him. And a pretty remarkable optimistic outlook with a strong sense of justice. He's constantly being selfless, volunteering to help anyone. People, pony or Pokemon. That's probably why I like him so much." Twilight paused, taking a moment to realize what she just said. "A-As a friend, obviously! N-Nothing more if you're wondering! I mean, w-w-why would I see him as more than a friend that be w-weird right?! Weird in a good way, not a bad way!"
"Uh...right. Well, I hear the Equestria League arena is almost complete. I can't wait until I reach there! Just gotta keep doing my best throughout the gyms! Right Castform?" Rainbow Dash looked inside of her bag to see her Castform resting there.
"Castform!"
"I thought you wanted to become apart of the Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash?" Starlight questioned.
"I do. That's still my number one goal. But becoming a champion sounds just as cool. Being a Pokemon Trainer is kinda like a hobby. A really serious hobby."
"You all seem to really love Pokemon if it's becoming this apart of your life, huh?" Starlight scratched her mane.
"Mhm. Pokemon are just such wonderful creatures." Twilight ran over to her bookshelf. "They hold so much mystery that even the smartest minds can't and haven't solved yet. It's that very mystery that well...as Ash would say, gets the blood pumping."
"Ain't that the truth. Pokemon can be so cool too! I remember seeing a Pokemon Battle go down and thought it was amazing!" Rainbow Dash squeed. "And they still are!"
"Many others at least as a secondary goal when it comes to Pokemon." Twilight levitated a book about Fairy-Types and their mystery. "They've all grown to love Pokemon a lot over these past months."
"Secondary goal? Then if Rainbow Dash wants to become champion...what about everypony else then?"
"Pinkie Pie wants to build a place where Pokemon can come and eat to their heart's content. Rarity's already on the right track by having a second boutique over at Lumiose. Fluttershy...well I think the Pokemon House is pretty self-explanatory and as for Applejack, she hasn't really decided on her own goal, but she's happy to have Pokemon anyways." Twilight explained. "As for me, I'm already training as a Pokemon Professor. And Spike's training to be a Dragon Trainer."
"Mhm." Spike nodded.
"Some ponies are even training to be Gym Leaders or other Pokemon Trainer Classes like that." said Rainbow Dash.
"Wow. You've all really gotten used to Pokemon, haven't you? I'll need to do some catching up." Starlight rubbed her hoof.
"Don't worry. With us, you'll be up to speed in no time. Speaking of speed, we'd better get a move on soon." Rainbow Dash noticed that time was almost here to head off to Canterlot.
"Right. Alright, everyone. Rest up." Twilight had grabbed the Pokeballs that belonged to the starters, returning them. All except for Vulpix, who preferred to stay outside its Pokeball since he enjoys helping Twilight around. "Ash! We should get going now!" She went up to the PokePark, calling for Ash.
"OK!" Ash responded whilst having a Panpour on his arm.
"Pikachu!"
"Vulpix. We're heading out now. Be sure to stay put here, alright?" Twilight looked down at the Fox Pokemon.
"Vul..." Vulpix lowered his head, not being a fan of that idea. He really didn't enjoy separating from Twilight, especially when her adventures take a long time to finish.
Twilight could see the sadness in the Fox Pokemon's eyes. And how he responded to her words. Twilight figured that it probably wouldn't be best to keep this little fella here on his own.
"Or you know...you can come along with us. Like you did that one time. What do you say?" Twilight recommended.
"Vul? Vulpix!" Thrilled to bits to hear that, the Fire-Type hopped up, landing right on Twilight's mane. He was raring to go. "VULPIX!"
"We're all set then. Let's get rolling!" Twilight cheered. It was about time they made their way to the birthday of the two sisters and one merged sister of course.
Many ponies had already climbed aboard the train to Canterlot with their gifts ready. It was a bit of a struggle fitting them all in considering how many there were, but they managed to find a way.
Onboard, they were all discussing what their gifts were and how they planned them. Some took liberties since they don't really know much about Princess Celestia and Luna's personal life other than the very minimal things they see them enjoying. So they just chose whatever gift they believe might work for them.
"Here, Pikachu. Eat this." Fluttershy had given Pikachu a special berry just for him.
"Pikaaa..." Pikachu opened wide, scarfing down the entire berry in one go. "Pikachu!"
"To think we're getting close to the one year anniversary of when our worlds crossed over." Rarity commented. "Has it really been that long?"
"Time sure flies when you have Pokemon involved, huh?" Rainbow Dash held Castform in her hooves.
"I'll say. I can't even remember the last time we've had a slow day." Pinkie Pie slumped on the seat. "But I'm not complaining."
"Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" Over at another seat, Mayor Mare was giving her Stoutland a belly rub, which the Big-Hearted Pokemon enjoyed very much.
"Stout! Stoutland!"
"Oooh..." Apple Bloom pressed her face on the window, seeing the scenery of the Pokemon World continue to thrive. She saw how there were many Flying-Types soaring in perfect unison along with some Grass-Types causing the lush lands to thrive, even with all the snow around.
"Look at that over there!" Scootaloo noticed some Zebstrika and Rapidash racing each other as always for a friendly competition to see which equine Pokemon is truly the fastest. "You think there's an Alicorn Pokemon somewhere out there?"
"Maybe. There's still a lot of Pokemon I haven't seen yet. And I can't wait to meet em all." Ash laid on his back.
"Alicorn Pokemon, huh?" Sweetie Belle thought about that for a second. Its appearance would obviously be an alicorn, but Pokemon are so distinct and unique in appearance compared to everything else, even the animals that are similar to them that it's hard to even imagine what this Alicorn Pokemon could possibly be. "Oh, that'd be so amazing..."
"I've never been to a birthday party before...it's gonna be so much fun!" Sonata squeed as she held Aria.
"Yeah. Fun." Aria pushed Sonata off her. "But how many times are we gonna go to these populated celebrations?"
"Duh, you silly siren. That's why they're celebrations. Silly, silly Aria." Sonata chuckled, rubbing Aria's head. "I just wish Adagio could enjoy it with us. I bet she'd love parties!"
"Adagio's never been one to associate herself with stuff like that, remember? If it involves getting tons of magic then sure, she'll show up to a party just to steal that magic."
"I guess you're right. But you never know, we might be able to get through to her someday. Hopefully, anyways. OH! Think we might see her at Canterlot again?"
"Most likely. She really doesn't like Twilight after all..."
And speaking of Canterlot, Celestia and Luna had already been preparing for their birthday. Staying up all night and having their own wishes swirl around their head.
"Okay. Let's see. The three main objectives for today." Celestia held a list for the birthday. "Enjoy the party, eat some cake, see a Pokemon Phenomenon and finally a Pokemon Battle."
"Pokemon Battle?" Luna peered her head over, looking at the fairly short-list. "How is that you're so interested in Pokemon battling lately?"
"It's a natural thing as they say. Getting involved with Pokemon gets the blood pumping apparently. Human or pony. Plus, Passion, Arcanine and I have to improve if we want to protect Equestria, isn't that right you two?"
"Kirlia!"
"Arca!"
"Hm. That is true." Luna nodded as she wearing a birthday hat on her horn. Along with a huge sticker on her tail that said, Birthday girl. "Now that I think about it, do Pokemon have birthdays?"
"Hm...Possibly. Then again, evolution exists. Passion here was essentially a child as a Ralts. And the next thing I know, she evolves into a Kirlia, which is essentially her older self. And seeing her mother Gardevoir must mean that she'll become an adult at her final evolution."
"How bizarre. Ageing up that fast must be an odd sensation. With your body just pulsating all of a sudden, increasing in size and stature as well." Luna raised her hooves up.
"Oh, by the way, mother and father delivered a letter." Celestia brought over a letter from both her and Luna's parents. "They wish us both happy birthday and to even more youthful years."
"Youthful? We're no longer children! We are perfectly grown mares! Hmph!" Luna said proudly.
"I know. But you know how mother and father are. Anyway, the birthday party is about to begin. Are you joining us, Pyrestar?"
"Hm?" The fused alicorn turned to Celestia in response. "Me? Be apart of this?"
"But of course. You are both of us in one. It is by default your birthday as well." Luna commented.
"I suppose...I haven't really partaken in birthday parties for centuries in my world. Not even for a second."
"Well, now is your chance to get back into the wonder of it don't you think?" Celestia walked up to her, bringing her along to the party.
"Arcanine!" The Legendary Pokemon made Passion ride on his back, carrying her to the party as well. Almost everypony was present here. And if you were to look over the horizon you could see a sea of presents just swarming over Canterlot. What a sight that was.
"Might I ask...what do you mean by that one part? Pokemon Phenomenon?" Luna asked.
"I've been looking into Pokemon history as well thanks to some books Hollow gave me. I learned that at times, phenomenons occur it certain situations involving Pokemon. The one that I'm looking the most forward to for this birthday is a Legendary Phenomenon. When a Legendary Pokemon makes its appearance even if it is brief."
"A Legendary? That sounds fairly rare. How are we sure a legendary Pokemon will pass by here exactly? Besides the Swords of Justice that is."
"The one Legendary that does make the most appearances when people and Pokemon work together is Lugia apparently. This Pokemon seems to appear during scenarios such as that and brings beautiful winds that can flow for years on end without showing any signs of stopping. So possibly, we might see Lugia today. Oh! Everypony's here already!"
"Wonderful! I can't wait to reach my newest age! I wonder if I'll grow a few inches today?" Luna squeed as she pranced off to head towards the location of the party. Which was the exact same area where the Grand Galloping Gala usually takes place.
The sea of gifts had been carefully carried by Pokemon since some of them were pretty heavy and bulky at the same time. The guards ordered the citizens to place all their gifts right near the stairs where Celestia usually stands during the gala.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu had hopped off Ash's shoulder, greeting Passion as always. "Pika."
"Kirlia!"
"Glad you could all make it in time," Celestia said to the approaching group. "I see you've all got your own presents ready right?"
"Mhm!" Pinkie Pie placed down six different presents that appeared to be in the shape of cakes. That already got Celestia's expectations up to the highest as she was drooling at the simple sight of the boxes.
"Princess Celestia. Is that...your Arcanine?" Twilight noticed the Legendary Pokemon licking Pikachu as a greeting sign.
"Pi-Pikachu..."
"That's right. Arcanine is my second Pokemon now." Celestia walked over to Arcanine, giving him a belly rub. "And isn't he just such a good boy? Who's a good boy? Yes, you are! Good boy!"
"Arca...Arcanine!" Acranine panted with its tongue out, getting the treatment Mayor Mare gives to her Stoutland.
"The birthday shall begin in a few minutes. Make yourselves comfortable until then." Celestia looked up at all of them whilst still rubbing Arcanine's belly.
"Alright! Come on, buddy." Ash said to his pal.
"Pikachu."
A time of enjoyment is about to grace this party. For once, they can all just relax without worrying about anything going wrong today. Although, Darkrai being Darkrai, is always on the lookout for any potential threats.
Through the gateway came Hollow and Ben who both seemed to be exhausted from sorting out all the presents for the party.
"Finally!" They both groaned, falling on their knees. Gothitelle and Jewel looked at the two of them, helping them both up whilst Gothitelle carried each of the presents.
"There, there." Jewel gave Hollow a good pat on the back. "Hard work pays off, doesn't it, dear?"
"You two made it. I guess it's in the nature of Johtonian's to arrive at close-call times?" Luna went up to the two.
"Yeah...it took us a while. Finding the right presents was tough. Especially since we don't really know what you and Princess Celestia really like...other than cake." Hollow held his face.
"I'll say. I think my back gave out last night." Ben held his back, feeling age hit him like a Machamp.
"You can relax your back here. As for what my sister and I enjoy...apart from her obsession with cake, I on the other hoof am more fond of..." Luna scrunched her face.
"Fond of...?" They leaned in towards her to get the answer.
"Don't tell anypony. They'll think I'm childish." She shifted her eyes across the room. "I'm more fond of v-v-v..." She gulped, ready to say it to them without shame. "Video Games."
"Ah...I see." Hollow pulled back, nodding. "Wait, since when?"
"When my sister and I were visiting the Pokemon World, I spotted a young human boy playing on this strange device with moving images on it. I asked him what that strange contraption was and he told me it was a video game handheld thing...Whatever you call them. I took an interest and found a resounding love for them. Almost as much as Pokemon Battling honestly."
"...Hold on for a bit." Hollow began whispering to his fellow Johtonian. "I didn't think she'd be interested in that. Now the gifts won't match her tastes..."
"She is the youngest sister so it only makes sense that something such as games would grab her attention. But no need to worry, Hollow my boy. I never come without backup."
"Really?"
"Mhm. Gothitelle..." Ben turned to his partner who nodded in understanding. Gothitelle took her leave, returning to the Pokemon World for obvious reasons.
"Anyways!" Ben clapped his hands together. "I'll just relax as you said!"
"Hm? Oh, right!" Hollow's eyes widened as he took off, involving himself with the party. He may be a bit tired from all the work he's been doing from home and Equestria, but he's still got some spirit and energy to continue on.
The stage was set for everything to begin. Every single one of these presents, at least the ones that were cake shaped had been opened up. They were all revealed to be birthday cakes with candles on them, each in their own unique design. But mostly vanilla. Since that is Celestia's favourite. The number of candles on each cake was inconsistent due to the fact that there are no amount of candles in the world that can fit on the cake due to how old Celestia and Luna both are. So a random number will have to do.
"Vanilla..." Celestia's tongue was sticking out as she was panting like a dog. And speaking of panting like a dog, Arcanine, Sonata and Pinkie Pie were doing the exact same thing. Once they sing Happy Birthday, you'll never see those cakes ever again once these four cake-hungry creatures dive into them. "Arcanine. Use Flamethrower."
"Arca!" The Legendary Pokemon had done the honours of lighting up the candles by gently aiming and controlling Flamethrower's precision and heat so that he doesn't destroy the entire thing with blazing fire. The flames from Arcanine's Flamethrower were truly impressive, causing everypony and Pokemon to clap. If some Pokemon could clap that is.
"Make a wish, aunties," Blueblood said.
"Mhm. Anything you can imagine." Shining Armor spoke as Cadence nodded.
Both sisters blew out their candles along with Pyrestar, sealing the deal that they've aged up once more in their many years of living on this world. How old were they? Old enough to be someone's mother or grandmother that's for sure.
"Another year passes another age up." Celestia sighed. "Now! Time for some delectable cake." She rubbed her hooves together, immediately taking a slice for herself. And thus, everypony scattered to enjoy themselves while the day is still young.
The remaining presents that weren't towers of cakes had been opened up by Luna who was anticipating this part the most. Opening the first present, the first gift revealed ended up being an entire miniature sculpture of Nightmare Moon.
"Oh. This is new." She raised the sculpture up. It caught every essence of Nightmare Moon's ferocity. From the sharp lizard-like eyes to the fangs she bared along with that pitch-black fur. As a bonus, it's been designed to a point where the regalia glows in the dark. How creative. "This almost makes me miss Nightmare Moon...Almost."
"So now," Celestia spoke whilst having cake in her mouth. "I hear that both the Equestria League arena and Contest Halls will be done soon. Possibly before the new year can arrive."
"Mhm. You psyched to see it?" Ash asked.
"Psyched? You could say that. I've always wanted to see a full-on Pokemon Contest if you ask me. And even some more full-on battles."
"Just you wait when you see a real full Pokemon Battle. Those are the battles I enjoy the most!" Ash grinned, eating a thick slice of cake. He almost choked on it but thankfully, Fluttershy gave him some water to drink.
"Slow..." Along came a Slowking who may or may not have a trainer, passing by the group.
"Slowpoke?" Applejack said.
"Looks like a Slowbro to me. But what's that thing on its head?" Rainbow Dash took out her dex.
"Slowking. The Royal Pokemon. A poisonous bite reacted with its system, blessing it with the enhanced intellect of a genius. It has full control of its psychic powers. This Pokémon is so famed for its intellect that a proverb still persists in some regions: 'When in doubt, ask Slowking.' It also holds the title of 'Sage of the Sea'. It’s constantly coming up with new ideas that would change the world, but as soon as it hits upon a new idea, it forgets it. Slowking engages in battles of wits with Oranguru, but the result is usually a draw."
"It evolves into a genius?" Twilight looked at the Royal Pokemon, examining its appearance. "I don't see it."
"Looks like it. Face ain't changed much that's for sure." Applejack took out an apple, preparing to eat it. But that apple is what caught Slowking's attention.
"Slow..." Slowking spoke to Applejack, calling for her.
"Hm? What is it?" AJ asked.
"Slowking..." The Royal Pokemon pointed its claws at the apple, requesting for a bite out of it.
"You want this?"
"King."
"Alright then. Have a go at it." Applejack had given the apple to the Water-Psychic-Type, gracing him with its sweet and red glory.
Once Slowpoke bit into the apple, the result was to be expected. It loved the taste already. Slowking are Pokemon that are very easily impressed even with their intellect, so this was no surprise.
"King!" Slowking enjoyed it so much that it deemed Applejack worthy to wear its crown. The Royal Pokemon took off its Shellder crown, swapping it with Applejack's hat.
"Hm?" Applejack looked up to see the crown hover over her, feeling curious.
"What's it doing?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Looks like they're doing a hat swap or something." Pinkie Pie replied. Indeed they were. The crown had slammed itself on Applejack's head whilst Slowking wore AJ's hat instead. Strangely enough, they both seemed to fit well in them.
"Oh! That looked like it hurts! Are you okay, Applejack?" Rarity went up to her.
"Oh, she's fine," Ash spoke. "But I've seen this before."
"You have?" Fluttershy turned to the trainer.
"Mhm. Once that crown gets on you, bam! You're crazy smart!
"Pikachu!"
"Crazy smart...? Then that means..." Twilight gasped as they all turned to their earth pony friend. Once Applejack raised her head up, her eyes had changed, having golden stars in them. "Applejack, are you okay?"
"But of course!" She spoke in a booming voice. Not only that, but her accent had changed suddenly to something much more posh and haughty. "Never better, my dear Twilight!"
"My dear...Twilight? Why does she sound like that?" Pinkie chuckled at Applejack's new voice.
"Is it not obvious? I have breached my boundaries." Applejack stood up in a bipedal position with her hoof on her chin, having a smirk on her face. She had changed for sure.
"Boundaries? What are you on about, AJ?" Rainbow Dash tilted her head. "You're acting weird."
"The answer is simple, Rainbow Dash. I have exceeded the limitations of your average pony and have become a pony of great insight. You may no longer refer to me as Applejack or AJ. From this point on, I am Applequeen! A master of Slowpokes all around! And the top knowledgable pony!"
"...Huh?" Twilight jerked back.
"Hm...That Shellder crown sure is something. Always makes your mind go huge." Ash nodded.
"Pika..."
"Now. How shall I begin my infinite pursuit of knowledge?" Applejack turned around. "Perhaps I shall advance Equestria's technology to a point where we can reach for the stars? Or an assembly of artificial ponies to carry out the future in the case of an apocalypse? So much to choose from."
"...We have to get that crown off her head." Twilight's horn emanated, indicating that she was about to lift it off AJ's head. However, with her increased intellect, Applejack saw this coming from a mile away.
The high intellect pony held on the crown with her hooves, keeping it still. All of a sudden, Twilight couldn't even lift her off the floor.
"A decent attempt, my dear Twilight. But I have already anticipated you and everypony's actions to remove my crown. By using my extraordinary earth pony strength, I can exhibit enough force to hold onto the crown and even keep my hooves firm on the ground. My natural strength exceeds that of your magic."
"Enough with the big words! Take it off!" Rainbow Dash flew towards Applejack, attempting to grab the hat. But another bonus that came with the hat was agility. Applejack had effortlessly jumped over Rainbow, floating in the air as if she was an umbrella.
"A bit too slow, dear Rainbow Dash." Applejack chuckled as she bent her body backwards, avoiding an incoming Pinkie Pie. "And a bit too predictable, Pinkamena Diane Pie."
"This is interesting." Celestia was intrigued by this while she ate some cake. Ash stood by as well, watching this whole thing play out. He's been in this situation before but he knows eventually, it'll come to an end.
And thus, a chase had ensued. In one spot really. Applejack's increased agility meant she could move around at flexible speeds equal to that of a Greninja or Ninjask. Or any Ninja Pokemon really. She had been avoiding Rainbow Dash by flipping over her whilst giving Pinkie Pie and Rarity the slip. Some magic was attempted but yet again, earth pony strength is just too much. At least, Applejack's strength is anyways.
"Useless! You are all unable to overcome my lighting fast reflexes." Applejack taunted at the exhausted ponies. "Accept defeat and embrace the intellect that I now possess. Join me my little ponies. And we shall usher in a new age of-"
"Treecko!" The one she least expected to foil her was on her own partner. Treecko had blown the crown off her head by firing Bullet Seeds from afar. An easy flaw in Applejack's almost perfect evasion plan.
"What?! Impossible!" She yelled as she attempted to reach her crown before the high intellect faded her way. The earth pony took the air, extending her hooves for a grab, but Rainbow Dash quickly headbutted it, forcing the Shellder Crown to fly off elsewhere. AJ fell flat on her face as a result of the air time she had. It was fun while it lasted. "Ugh..."
"Applejack! You okay?!" Pinkie Pie helped her up.
"Mrrgh...That was something? What happened?" Back to her old self with her recognizable accent.
"Oh good! You're back to normal!" The pink pony gave the orange pony a bear crushing hug.
"Just gonna return this." Twilight grabbed both the Shellder crown and Applejack's hat from Slowking, swapping them back to their rightful owners, restoring balance to the world once more.
"Slow..." Slowking went along, still keeping the apple for itself.
"Well. That was fun." Celestia clapped her hooves together, swallowing down some cake. "So far, this birthday's been entertaining. What do you think Luna? Luna?"
"Oh...Ohhh..." Currently, Luna was in a state of shock and happiness. In front of her was one of the many gifts she had hoped for. A game device. Gothitelle had found enough time to head back to Johto, grabbing the closest one she could find. And it was worth it. Luna held in her hooves a handheld device that was almost larger than her hooves herself. She was shaking uncontrollably with her eyes locked onto the enchanting device. "T-This is the best birthday in centuries! Sister! Do you see this?!"
"Y-Yes. I see it." Celestia moved back as Luna was up in her face. "What is it exactly? A glass case of some sorts?"
"Glass case?! This is a device that allows the actions of playing games! And it's all mine..." She held it close to her. "If you'll excuse me, I shall be occupied in my room for a bit." Luna squeed, teleporting herself out of here and towards her room. She'll be busy but the party can carry on.
Along came the Swords of Justice who were invited for obvious reasons. Mostly Celestia wanting to spend time with Cobalion and of course a show of gratitude for saving Twilight and her friends' lives from Ghetsis and the Ultra Beast. As well as Manehattan too.
"Can't we just travel through the gateways more often? Walking this long is killing my hooves." Keldeo groaned as they arrived indoors at the party.
"How else can you improve without training your physical strength on the lower sections? Your horn isn't your only weapon Keldeo." Cobalion replied.
"Yeah...I figured you'd say that." The Colt Pokemon lowered his head. "So this is the birthday party?"
"Looks like it. Check out all these ponies and Pokemon," said Terrakion.
"How come I don't have a birthday party?" Keldeo asked.
"When we found you, we had no idea when you were born. Do you know yourself, Keldeo?" Virizion spoke?
"Well...no not really."
"Oh!" A young filly noticed the Swords of Justice. "You're the Swords of Justice!" He gawked.
"Hello, there little one." Virizion looked at the little pony.
"Wow...I've heard a lot about you all. Are you all a family?" She squeed. She wasn't the only little pony who noticed the swords. Many others, including some more grown-up ponies, turned all their attention to the Pokemon.
"Family? Nah, we're not related." Terrakion shook his head.
"Really?" A colt spoke. "I always thought you were. You look like their cool uncle." He pointed at Terrakion.
"C-Cool uncle?" Terrakion pulled back. "Actually...that doesn't sound too bad."
"You look like you'd be the mom. Or aunt? Or stepmom?" He referred to Virizion.
"Ohoho, I'm not a mother." She chuckled. "Wait...why stepmom?" She thought to herself, squinting her eyes.
"And you remind me a lot of one pony's dad. You just scream dad!" Cobalion was obviously who he was referring to.
"Hm." Cobalion didn't really respond. He just brushed it off.
"And me? What about me?" Keldeo asked.
"Uh...Son? Yeah, son."
"Works for me!" Keldeo grinned. His nose then picked on a wonderful fragrance that he simply could not avoid. That fragrance would be the scent emanating from the cake. He can thank Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff for using Sweet Scent. "Mmm..that smells good." The Colt Pokemon had been guided to the cake, ignoring everything else on his mind.
"Cobalion! You made it!" Celestia squeed, rushing over to the Iron Will Pokemon with a wide grin.
"I managed to do so without getting myself caught up in any danger this time." Cobalion responded. "Happy Birthday, Princess Celestia."
"Thank you! I'm so glad that you're here. And with the swords of course. I also want to thank you for saving Twilight and her friends. Along with all of Manehattan as well."
"It was no problem. All we do is just help others in need. Whether it be humans, ponies or Pokemon." said Terrakion.
"But I must say, your world seems much more fragile than ours." Virizion pointed out.
She had been 100% right. The Pokemon World and this world were vastly different. Not just in history and appearance, but by structure and geography as well. The Pokemon World was built specifically to withstand the destructive force of potent power the Pokemon posses.
Whether it's a rampaging Tyranitar, a Macargo being hotter than the sun itself, a Dugtrio causing earthquakes daily, A Kingdra that causes tornadoes when it wakes up, Gardevoir's casually creating mini-black holes or even a cute and lovable Espurr who can blast everything within 300 feet with devastating psychic energy that it has no control over most of the time.
It's no wonder why the Pokemon World is the way it is. If it wasn't built in a specific and detailed way, thanks to Regigigas and Groudon, who knows what the results could be.
And now that they've made their way to this world and all of Equestria, it's no surprise that snow is falling earlier than its supposed to be or how new locations are being formed by Pokemon just simply moving about and changing the land as they go. Thankfully, this world, while not as durable as the Pokemon World, is just tough enough to handle most of it.
Whilst the party carries on with the ponies, the Pokemon, however, had decided to experience their own little adventure as always. But this time, Passion vows to make sure that they don't cause any trouble like what they did back at the Gala. And since this is her trainers' birthday, she's determined to keep everything under control.
To accomplish this, Passion had carried everyone with psychic energy, keeping them all in one place constantly. She knew the one place they were headed to. The secret room where Celestia and Luna's old foal toys dwelled. Last time, they caused such a ruckus with them. Thankfully, there are less Pokemon now, but the threat was still there.
"Kir..." Kirlia looked Pikachu in the eye with a stern face. She was essentially telling to not try anything funny at all.
"Pi-Pikachu." Pikachu let her know that he won't cause a ruckus. But the others, he's not so sure about. The ponies had all sent out their Pokemon to enjoy the birthday party after all. And some are more energetic than others.
And one of those was without a doubt Gengar, who's always up to no good. Good ol' Ghost-Type shenanigans.
"Gen-Gen..." The Shadow Pokemon giggled, wondering what he could achieve with this. However, he felt a chilling vibe rush through his body, forcing him to shudder in fear. Passion was glaring at him with a stare so vicious it could rip someone's heart apart if they even dared turn around. As a result, Gengar put his antics on hold for today.
The same goes for all the Pokemon here. They had been intimidated by Passion's stare, dropping any possibility of energetic fun. However, this intimidation had actually caused Goh's Sobble to tear up, unfortunately.
And when Sobble cries. Everyone cries.
"So...So..."
"LI?!" Passion and the other Pokemon gasped, realizing that the Water Lizard Pokemon could affect everypony in the birthday party, causing a flood of tears to drown them all. After all, Sobble's crying packs a chemical punch of 100 onions. So it doesn't matter how far away you are.
Dragonite quickly flew over, picking up the Water-Type in its arms like a baby. This tactic was always effective whenever Sobble was about to burst into tears or was already in a weeping state. Dragonite rocked the Water Lizard Pokemon in its arms, calming it down with ease.
"Sobble..." Sobble felt at ease, slowly relaxing all of its nerves and saving the entire birthday party from being filled with an ocean of tears.
Thank Arceus.
Hours had passed and everything was going splendid for the two sisters. This will go down as their best birthday yet. And it isn't even over yet. There were two things left on the list that had to be done.
A Pokemon Battle and the appearance of Lugia. If that last part really happens.
"Now is a good time." Celestia nodded, deciding that the Pokemon Battle shall be done next. "Ash, can you come here quickly?"
"Sure, what's up?" Ash went over to Celestia with his buddy hopping on his shoulder.
"I've been anticipating this. But would you please join me in a Pokemon Battle?"
"A Pokemon Battle? Yeah! Sounds good to me! Let's go at it, Celestia!"
"Oh. It won't be a solo battle. I want to battle alongside three others. That being you, Luna and Hollow. And whoever we may face."
"A quadruple battle? I've never heard of that before." This was new territory for Ash. He's seen multiple Pokemon battles in fours before, but never competitively. It was mostly for survival or when danger struck. "Sounds good to me anyways!"
"Now to find somepony to battle against..." Celestia looked around the room to see who'd be a great opponent to go up against. The best options here were Daylight Blazer, maybe Jewel since she's an experienced trainer as well, possibly Ben and Rainbow Dash. "Perfect!"
Inside Luna's room, she had been on the device for hours on end ever since she got it. She's managed to make some wonderful progress without taking a single break. Clearly, she had a competitive spirit for a reason. But it was only a matter of time before she ended up reaching a roadblock. The roadblock that forces players to take a break now and then.
"Curses!" Luna groaned as she laid on her back. "So close...But that was unbelievably fun! This is the second-best gift ever..." She looked up at the ceiling, hearing the sound of an old clock tick by. Luna then remembered that she had a Pokemon Battle to attend to. "Oh! I almost forgot!" In a burst of energy, she made her way back to the party via teleportation.
"Luna. You made it. And just in time." said Celestia. "We can begin our Pokemon Battle outside." Ash, Hollow and the others had been gathered as requested by Celestia. Besides, who doesn't love seeing a Pokemon Battle? Always causes a huge adrenaline rush from start to finish.
The eight trainers along with the party made their way to Canterlot Garden to partake in their fun little battle. Due to Canterlot Garden being wide in scale, there was a ton of room to cut loose and watch. Although, best not cut loose too much since there are decorated hedges after all.
"Alright! No offence, Princesses, but we're gonna win this!" Rainbow Dash smashed her hooves together. She was being teamed up with Jewel, Daylight and surprisingly not Ben. The fourth team member will come in the form of one of Rainbow Dash's Pokemon. So she'll be using two at the same time.
"We shall see, Rainbow Dash." Luna leaned forward.
"I'll have you know that I may appear elegant, but my Pokemon are not to be scoffed at," Jewel smirked at them, bouncing a Pokeball in her hand. "And I won't go easy on my own husband."
"I wonder if this'll count as me moving up in the ranks...Oh well." Daylight shrugged.
"This is already getting exciting. Who do you think is gonna win?" Scootaloo asked.
"Isn't it obvious? With my brother on their team, they can't lose. Princess or not." Sunrise felt confident, having a wide grin on his face.
"Pssh. You wish. They've got nothing on two experienced trainers like Ash and Hollow." Sapphire replied to him.
"Whatever the case, how about we cheer them all on, okay?" said Starlight.
"Seems like everything is clear to me. Alright. You may each send out your Pokemon!" Ben announced.
"Pikachu! I choose you!"
"Pika!" Pikachu hopped off his partner's shoulder, already raring to go with volts surging out of his red sacs.
"Let's go, Passion!"
"Kirlia!"
"Go forth, Darkrai!" Luna had gone for her Darkrai as he emerged from the shadows beneath.
"This'll do. Come out, Delphox!" Hollow tossed his Pokeball into the air, sending out his Delphox.
"In that case...Braviary! Whirlipede! Out you come!" Rainbow Dash had tossed two Pokeballs, sending out the first two Pokemon she had ever caught.
"Braviary!"
"Whirli..."
"Blaziken. You're up." Daylight sent out his partner Blaziken.
"Blazi!"
"Show them your stuff, Lopunny!"
"Lopun!"
"I'll just...stand all the way over here." Ben backed up, knowing that this was gonna get destructive fast. "Are all trainers ready?" He didn't need to ask since their eyes did all the talking. "Then in that case...begin!"
"Watch and learn as we make the first move! Braviary! Aerial Ace! Whirlipede use Rollout!"
"Whirlipede!" The Curlipede Pokemon got a move on alongside its fellow teammate. One was rolling forward whilst the other was soaring at high speeds.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
"Chu-Pika!" Pikachu hardened his tail, blocking the incoming Aerial Ace with it. Braviary's beak made direct contact with Iron Tail, causing the Valiant Pokemon to flinch. Pikachu then slammed his tail overhead on Whirlipede, finishing off the Iron Tail attack.
"Delphox! Mystical Fire!"
"Darkrai! Ice Beam!"
Both Pokemon crossed streams by firing flames that were imbued with mystical energy alongside absolute zero beams of ice.
"Blaziken! Destroy it with Blaze Kick!"
"Ziken!" The Blaze Pokemon kicked its feet up, knocking the Ice Beam and Mystical Fire into the air as if they were nothing. He then dashed forward, swinging its feet towards the Pitch Black Pokemon.
"Quick Attack!" Pikachu had saved Darkrai by charging directly at Blaziken, connecting with his feet.
"Pika!" Pikachu let out a burst of power that knocked Blaziken back, causing the Blaze Pokemon to keep its distance.
"Lopunny! Dig underground!"
"Lopun!" The Rabbit Pokemon smashed her feet on the grass, digging a hole underground. A perfect way to keep yourself safe from the battle whilst still engaging in it.
"Move in and use Aerial Ace!" Both Rainbow Dash and Daylight commanded.
Blaziken and Braviary had moved at lightning speeds, both having their own way of performing the move. For Braviary it was simple. He charges forward and slashes with his wings. But for Blaziken, it surrounds its talons and feet with light blue energy, surrounded by gusts of winds.
Delphox had put up a Protect around her, shielding her teammates by standing in front of them. Both Aerial Aces made contact with the protective shield, failing to break through it. Passion had finally made her move, tossing small bolts of electricity infused with fire to create plasma. After all, she was the only Pokemon here capable of doing that. Whirlipede had gotten in the way, using Pin Missile to clash with the raging plasma bolts.
The result was an explosion of energy, leaving behind a smoke cloud that blocked the trainers' view. Pikachu came out of the smoke, having an Iron Tail ready for Whirlipede. However, Blaziken was ready for Pikachu as well, swinging its blazing feet at Pikachu, delivering a devastating Blaze Kick.
Pikachu had been sent flying into the air whilst being hit by a follow-up attack from Braviary, who ended up using Superpower to smash the Electric Mouse Pokemon back down to the ground.
Darkrai being the good teammate that he is, caught Pikachu, causing him to recover easily. As a means of combining skills and techniques together, Pikachu hopped off Darkrai's claw, charging up a Thunderbolt mid-air.
From beneath, Lopunny came back up, kicking Darkrai without him even seeing it coming. But that wasn't enough to stop Darkrai. The Pitch Black Pokemon flew back, causing Pikachu to shock Lopunny from above.
Whirlipede had increased its defence with Iron Defence, causing it to withstand a Mystical Fire from Delphox.
Delphox had summoned up a Wonder Room, allowing the defence of each Pokemon here to be swapped. It was a genius choice by Hollow for one reason. Since Darkrai is a Dark-Type who is immune to anything Psychic, his defences hadn't been swapped, giving him the opportunity to deal some sweet damage to the others who had their defence swapped with Glass Cannons such as Pikachu and Passion.
Both Pikachu and Passion moved in with a Quick Attack and Teleport, catching Lopunny and Blaziken off guard as they were up in their faces. Blaziken had backflipped away from Pikachu, getting a safe distance, however, that didn't matter at all. Pikachu and Passion both unleashed a combined Thunderbolt, shocking Lopunny and Blaziken at the same time with all that range Thunderbolt grants.
Lopunny had recovered, changing the course of the battle. She had the move Copycat, meaning that she could return the favour by shooting out a combined Thunderbolt of her own. This surprised the two Pokemon as they had been struck by their own power combination. Thankfully, Pikachu resisted it but Passion for sure felt it.
Braviary had used Steel Wing, putting his wings in a blocking position. He did since a powerful Psybeam from Delphox had been fired, almost dealing major damage to the Valiant Pokemon. The steel had cushioned the blow, allowing Braviary to barely feel it. The Normal-Flying-Type picked up Whirlipede with his talons, allowing the Curlipede Pokemon to attack from a high distance with Pin Missile.
Darkrai had chased after the two of them, using Dark Pulse to blow away the pins. The Pitch Black Pokemon had raised his claws up, preparing an Ice Beam that is sure to deal super-effective damage on Braviary.
However, the two Pokemon who weren't ready to let this happen were Blaziken and Lopunny who both had a move ready to strike down Darkrai. Close Combat and High Jump Kick. Braviary tossed Whirlipede up, preparing to strike with Superpower. If all three of these moves hit Darkrai, it's game over for him.
But like a protective friend, Passion had been his shield. She was able to teleport in-between them, utilizing her typing to her advantage. Since she's a Psychic-Fairy, both of which resist Fighting, these three Super-effective moves will be nothing against her. And thanks to Wonder Room swapping their defences along with Whirlipede's Iron Defence, she was practically invincible. She took the hits, protecting Darkrai from going out. Now was the time for her team to strike.
Delphox caught every single one of them off guard since they were still shocked that Passion appeared in front of them, taking the hits. The Fox Pokemon had used Psychic to grab them all, holding the trio of Pokemon in place. One Pokemon who wasn't held by Psychic was none other than Whirlipede who returned to ground level after falling down, immediately using Rollout to attack Pikachu.
The Electric Mouse Pokemon was knocked back, but not after being supported by Darkrai who had learned a new move. That being Thunder Punch. A move that Luna believed would throw her opponents off guard. And it did. Whirlipede had been knocked out by Thunder Punch, causing the Curlipede Pokemon to roll back to Rainbow Dash, fainting.
As for the Pokemon above, Delphox had still held them all in place with Psychic. It was now Passion's time to take action whilst they're still there. The Emotion Pokemon teleported above, combining both Thunderbolt and Mystical Fire together to create plasma. She let out a powerful roar, unleashing a beam of plasma that engulfed all three of them at once. The sound it made was equal to that of the Storm Behemoth. Thunderous.
The beam hit the ground, causing a large explosion that almost caused the trainers to fly off. Some ponies in the background actually flew off from the intense force of this battle.
However, despite all of that damage, the Pokemon weren't down yet. Well, they were almost down. The plasma beam definitely did a number on them. But they all still had one trick up their sleeves.
"This is getting aggressive. Looks like we'll have to be at our absolute best," said Rainbow Dash.
"I hear ya." Daylight nodded.
"I believe we all know what we must do then?" Jewel held out her arm, revealing a Mega Ring along with Daylight who had one for his Blaziken.
"Braviary! Let's go!" Rainbow Dash on the other hoof, had the Bond Phenomenon instead to help her. Both she and Braviary let out a shout of power as a pillar of rainbows came from the heavens themselves, beaming down on the Valiant Pokemon.
"Mega Evolve!" Both Jewel and Daylight bellowed.
"Here it comes..." Ash grinned as he was anticipating something like this happening. The lights from all three of them radiated across the gardens as a burst of energy shot out, revealing their absolute peak performance forms.
Mega Blaziken.
Mega Lopunny.
Rainbow-Braviary.
"Blaziken! Close Combat!"
"Lopunny! Triple Axel!"
"Braviary! Brave Bird"
A unison of three Pokemon moving at ludicrous speeds had graced their eyes. Lopunny had chased down Pikachu whilst Blaziken went for Darkrai. Pikachu had used Iron Tail to fight back against the Triple Axel. Three consecutive kicks came from the move, complimenting Lopunny's destructive kicking power. Pikachu's Iron Tail had managed to block the three kicks, but they were so destructive his tail had actually been injured a bit.
Darkrai had phased deep in the shadows, avoiding the Close Combat. The Pitch Black Pokemon appeared behind Blaziken, preparing to strike it with Thunder Punch.
The Blaze Pokemon picked up on the sound of electricity, causing it to turn around with its blazing feet connecting with Thunder Punch. Both Pokemon knocked each other back whilst Delphox and Passion were both trying to catch up with Braviary's intense speed.
Since he was linked with Rainbow Dash, he shared her speed as well, making it hard to catch him. Braviary had caught them by surprise by slashing Passion with Steel Wing, dealing some heavy damage to her whilst also zipping around with Aerial Ace to throw off Delphox's focus.
Passion, Pikachu and Delphox looked at each other, figuring out how to catch this speedy Pokemon. Delphox raised her wand up, summoning a Mystical Fire that raced to the skies. Passion teleported towards the Mystical Fire, shooting down her own along with a Thunderbolt.
This combination had created an even more potent plasma than before since there was even more fire added into the mix. Passion held the Plasma in her arms, tossing it down towards the opposing team.
Braviary gasped, flying past the devastating attack, avoiding it by the tail of his feathers. Lopunny and Blaziken had scattered, avoiding the plasma attack. But Ash had capitalized on this. He commanded Pikachu to catch the plasma by using Iron Tail to absorb it. A wise decision and an obvious Ash tactic.
Pikachu had used its ludicrous speed to move in with Quick Attack whilst still having the plasma apart of its tail. If this hits any of them, the impact could be overwhelming and that would be the match.
All three Pokemon wouldn't let that happen. Not for a second. Blaziken had used Flare Blitz, charging straight towards Pikachu whilst Lopunny digs underground. Braviary had planned to use Superpower, flying beside Blaziken as well. It looked like Pikachu would be overwhelmed, but that was far from the truth.
Darkrai had used Ice Beam to force Lopunny out of the ground and grass beneath them all. As for Blaziken and Braviary, leave that to Delphox and Passion.
Delphox had been teleported by Passion, using Protect to shield Pikachu. The two powerful moves of Superpower and Flare Blitz had been blocked by the Fox Pokemon, who let out a small smirk. Why did she smirk? Simple? Because Pikachu and Passion were about to finish them off.
Pikachu hopped over Delphox, slamming his plasma covered tail on top of Lopunny's head whilst Passion strikes a beam of plasma right in front of Blaziken and Delphox.
The aftermath was yet another explosion of plasma that blew every single Pokemon back to their trainers. What an impact.
And the result? Rainbow Dash's team had fainted, deforming.
"Ugh!" Rainbow Dash felt the impact since she was linked to Rainbow Dash. Boy did it sting.
"Rainbow Dash's team is unable to battle! Which means the victors are Princess Celestia's team!" Ben announced. That caused a thunderous applause to fill all of Canterlot. What a battle.
"YES!" Ash pumped his fist in the air, giving Luna and Celestia hoof/fist bump.
"Huzzah! We win!" Luna grabbed Ash, Hollow and Celestia, hugging the three of them. "Best birthday ever!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu gave the other Pokemon a high-five for their victory as well, celebrating. Even Darkrai joined in.
"Sheesh...those four make a deadly combo..." Daylight sighed, walking over to his Blaziken. "Good job, Blaziken."
"Blaziken..."
"You were awesome, Braviary."
"Viary."
"A splendid show of skill, Lopunny."
"Lopun."
"Oh...OH...That was..." Scootaloo felt like she was going to faint. Everypony did. That battle was intense and by far the best they've seen yet.
"I think I need to take a nap." Twilight held her head, trying to process all that had just happened.
"I take it all back...Pokemon battling is amazing..." Aria's jaw dropped.
"Thank you all so much for being here to enjoy this moment with us." Celestia said. "It really means the world to us."
"We will truly never forget this day." Luna shook her head.
"You're welcome, princesses. Oh! I forgot to show off my trick!" Rainbow Dash yelped.
"What was your trick?" Ash asked.
"Me and Braviary were gonna do a double Sonic Rainboom while in Rainbow-Braviary. I almost forgot."
"I don't think you'll have to do it...look." Fluttershy gasped, pointing her hoof at the sky. Why exactly?
Because the phenomenon that Celestia talked about had come true.
There it was.
Lugia.
The Pokemon that brings wonderful wind for years to come. And as Celestia said, it recognizes the bonds between people and Pokemon. And in this case, ponies and Pokemon.
"Isn't that one of those Pokemon from Ash's dreams?!" Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex.
"Lugia. The Diving Pokemon. It is said that it quietly spends its time deep at the bottom of the sea because its powers are too strong. It sleeps in a deep-sea trench. If it flaps its wings, it is said to cause a 40-day storm. Lugia is also known as the guardian of seas and the one who brings the wind."
"So that's Lugia..." Luna gawked as she saw the Diving Pokemon soar above Canterlot.
"Yeah..." Ash nodded.
"Pika..."
Lugia had looked down over Canterlot, seeing how all these ponies gather to enjoy themselves to the fullest and just simply bond with each other. It was small but something it could respect. As a result, the Diving Pokemon granted them all 100 years worth of wind by flapping its wings, sending an amazing zephyr that filled Canterlot. The Psychic-Flying-Type made its leave, flying off into the distance and leaving behind some wonderful wind too.
All everypony can do now is wave goodbye to the Diving Pokemon as it flys off into the sunset.
The day was coming to an end. Which meant Celestia and Luna's birthday was closing off as well. The two sisters had actually almost tired themselves out due to the day they had. Pyrestar had helped them up, getting them each back on their hooves whilst eating some cake along the way.
Ash and the group had already left for Ponyville, deciding that now was the best time to leave. Besides, their Pokemon were a bit exhausted.
"What a day..." Ash yawned.
"Got that right...I think for the first time, cake's tired me out." Pinkie fell flat on her face.
"We're all tired...but we had a blast, didn't we?" Twilight giggled.
"Yeah. But we'll have an even bigger blast when the festival returns in 2 months!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"I just don't know what happened back there with that Slowking..." Applejack scratched her mane.
"Oh, darling. Do we have a story to tell you..." Rarity chuckled.
"I can't believe we got to see another Legendary Pokemon." Fluttershy squeed.
"I can't believe how overwhelmingly huge they all are." Starlight gulped.
"That's why they're called legends, after all, right?" Goh replied.
"In any case!" Ash stood up from his seat. "I'm really psyched to learn what our next adventure will be!"
"Pikachu!"
"Alright, settle down, Ketchum. The kids are sleeping." Twilight pointed her hoof at the sleeping CMC.
"Oh. Heh Sorry."
Pikapi."
Indeed. What a day it truly has been. A day for celebration and a day full of excitement and a bit of an unexpected personality change. Whatever may come next, whatever might be lurking around the corner, and whatever is waiting to reveal itself, there is a certainty that Ash, Twilight and their friends will be there to see it through and experience it to the fullest as the journey continues!
Today, new trainers from across Equestria are starting out their Pokemon journey. Whether it be to participate in the Equestria League and become champion or perhaps succeeding as a top coordinator. Either way, there is one consistent thing about each of them.
They require a Starter Pokemon. One that will lead them to their path of victory and help them understand the world of Pokemon even further.
Twilight had the only Pokemon Lab in Equestria, making it a frequently visited area for upstart trainers to get their starter. Which is exactly what is occurring now at the moment.
"Alright, everypony. Take your pick." Twilight spoke to four young foals who've travelled far with their parents to choose their Starter.
The previous choices from before were still here. Chespin, Litten, Mudkip, Pansage, Marril and of course, Vulpix, who has yet to be picked. But perhaps, today might be that day.
"They're all so cute!" A young filly squeed. "But I'm really liking this one!" She was leaning towards Azurill.
"Forget cuteness." A young colt replied. "I want the Pokemon that can hit the hardest. This one looks like it!" He turned his attention to Litten.
"Vul..." Vulpix let out a tiny whimper, looking up at the young ponies who were making their decisions on which Pokemon the desired. None were really glancing at Vulpix's way or even mentioning the Fox Pokemon.
"It's okay, Vulpix. I'm sure one of them will pick you." The young alicorn looked down at Vulpix, giving him a head pat. She was trying her best to raise his spirits up, but unfortunately, everypony had already made their decision. None of them chose Vulpix. Now it was just him, Azurill, Pansage and Chespin left.
"I've made my decision, alright!" A colt wearing unnecessarily large glasses held Mudkip.
"Mud!"
"Oh...Well, okay then." Twilight stammered, realizing that Vulpix hadn't been chosen. "Then you'll all need these. Starlight."
"Hm? Oh, right!" Starlight used her magic to bring over the essential gear for any trainer. The Pokedex which acts as an encyclopedia for all things Pokemon, Pokeballs for their starter and whatever colourful beastie they come across on their path, food for the Pokemon and of course the badge case. And for coordinators, the ribbon case. Each of them were given their starter gear, already looking like certified trainers now. Their parents talked and chattered about how proud they were to see their sons and daughters reach a point in life such as this.
But for Twilight, she wasn't feeling as happy. She did feel joy for the ponies, but she knew that Vulpix wasn't feeling any joy at all. But perhaps, with the remaining trainers that arrive, they might just pick the Fox Pokemon. The young trainers had left the lab, setting out to start their journey with glee in their hearts.
"Don't worry, Vulpix. We still have some other trainers coming in today. So don't feel too down." Twilight spoke to the Fox Pokemon.
"I don't know...I'd feel pretty down if I was him." Spike said.
"Trainers just have their own preferences. I'm 100% sure that there's a trainer out there for Vulpix. We'll just have to wait for the next trainers to come in."
Three hours had passed and the next trainers indeed came in. But none of them chose Vulpix. Instead, they chose the remaining Pokemon in the lab. So Pansage, Azurill and Chespin were out of here.
"They didn't even look in its general direction." said a surprised Starlight.
"Maybe they don't like foxes?" Spike shrugged.
"Espeon." Eve went up to Vulpix, comforting him by patting his head, telling him that it'll be alright.
"I don't get it. Why won't they choose Vulpix? How can they resist something this cute?!" Twilight held up the Fox Pokemon, showing off its cuteness.
"Let's try next week maybe?" Starlight suggested.
"Right. Next week, somepony's gonna choose him. I know it!" Twilight stomped her hooves in confidence, positive that next week will be Vulpix's lucky day.
Well...Next week came.
The Pokemon that could be chosen along with Vulpix were Fennekin, Totodile, Turtwig, Poliwag and Bounsweet. Twilight believed that this couldn't happen a third time.
But it did.
All 5 of them had been chosen by young ponies. All except for Vulpix, yet again.
"It happened again?!" Twilight's jaw dropped. She was honestly flabbergasted by this. How could Vulpix not be chosen yet again, but every other Pokemon gets a chance to set off on their own journey with their new trainers. "Ugh! Why does this keep happening...?"
"It's pretty bizarre. Maybe there's a Pokemon casting a curse around Vulpix?" Starlight said as she was petting her Hatterene.
"A curse...That's it!" Twilight jolted up. "It has to be a Ghost-Type Pokemon lurking somewhere around here! Why didn't I put it together? SIlly me."
"Are you sure it's a Ghost-Type?" Spike asked.
"It has to be. Nopony or I guess...Pokemon is this unlucky. A Ghost-Type must be putting a curse on Vulpix...somewhere around this lab. We just haven't seen it yet." She sure was optimistic about it being Ghost-Type Pokemon. "Don't worry, Vulpix. We'll break this curse and you'll finally have a trainer come over and pick you as their starter!"
However, Vulpix was unbothered by this. Honestly, he didn't really care too much about not being picked by any upstart trainers. Because as long as Twilight is here, he doesn't need to be upset. Even if he gets a little bit down when somepony ignores him.
"Vul?" The Fox Pokemon tilted his head, confused about this. If only he could speak her language, he would able to tell her that he wanted her to be his trainer.
"He doesn't seem to be bothered by it actually." Starlight noticed Vulpix's expression. "Maybe Vulpix is a pretty calm Pokemon. Or at least...this Vulpix is. I don't know about the others."
"Starlight's right," Spike said. "Maybe Vulpix doesn't care if nopony picks him."
"Vulpix." The Fox Pokemon licked his paws, showing his further carefree nature surrounding all of this.
"Alright, Ghost...show yourself!" Twilight called out.
But no response.
Probably because there wasn't a Ghost-Type here at all.
There are Ghost-Types in PokePark sure, but it's currently not open at the moment.
Not to mention that Ghost-Type Pokemon are much different from your average ghost. They're easier to spot since they're all visible unlike average ghosts were can never be seen, plus they tend to let out Pokemon cries, so you know that a Ghost-Type is nearby.
"...Twilight. I don't think it's a ghost." Spike shook his head.
"Me neither." So did Starlight.
"Yeah...probably not." Twilight sighed, dropping the ghost theory. "Alright. Best rest up Vulpix. We're heading out."
"Vulpix!" The Fox Pokemon hopped off the table, suddenly running off. His nose had picked on a delicious scent. That could only mean that Sweet Scent had been used. And that could also mean that SugarCube Corner has something fresh and new that is just waiting to be eaten.
"Vulpix? Where are you going?" Twilight turned to the Fire-Type, seeing him rush off like a child running for some ice cream. Vulpix was a Pokemon that tends to wander off if something grabs his attention. Especially when Twilight is out with her friends on their own adventures.
Over at SugarCube Corner, Mrs Cake sat down on the floor, sweating bullets. She seemed greatly exhausted, along with some Slurpuff's and Pinkie Pie.
"Finally...It took many days and weeks but the outcome was worth it." She wiped the sweat of her forehead. "Taking inspiration from Donut Joe wasn't such a bad idea, Pinkie Pie."
"Thanks. This Pastry Palace is gonna look great when Hearth's Warming or Christmas comes along." Pinkie drank some water after riding herself out.
The pastry they had baked was precisely what it sounds like. A Palace made out of pastries. To describe this baked beauty would be impossible for the ears to handle and for the eyes to witness. It even had some sweets and other delicacies mixed in with the pastry.
It had a garden made out of green fondant icing that was meant to replicate grass.
A lake of vanilla ice cream and jello.
A jelly bean pathway,
A bird's nest made out of croissants
Mountains made out of cupcakes and cream puffs.
Trees made out of cotton candies that had berries hanging from them.
The palace itself was the main attraction. This baby was baked the same way a normal cake usually is but pushed to the next level. It had a mixture of multiple flavours on each side. The front of the palace was a pure vanilla cake, the side was chocolate, the roofs were meringue, the windows were modelled with buttercream and as a bonus, inside the palace was just heaps of other pastries, waiting to be discovered.
What a sight it was.
Just seeing it would cause anyone to go mad with hunger, struggling to contain themselves as they would attempt to devour the entire palace. And the constant Sweet Scent's used by Slurpuff only made the urge to have it even worse. That's probably why the Slurpuff's are so tired.
"Here." Jade gave Pinkie Pie and Mrs Cake some water, refreshing the exhausted ponies.
Along came Vulpix, attracted to the enchanting aroma. Once he entered SugarCube Corner, he immediately set his sights on the palace. As to be expected, he was prepared to take a bite out of it.
"Hm? A Vulpix?" Pinkie Pie noticed the Fox Pokemon entering, slowly making his way towards the table where the cake sat. And of course, Pinkie Pie could tell that Vulpix was craving the Pastry Palace. It was in the eyes, the way he was drooling and the fact that he was moving slower than a Snorlax. "Oh! No, Vulpix!" She got in front of him, halting his movements. "We can't eat it yet. This is for Hearth's Warming."
"Pix?"
"Vulpix! There you are!" Twilight flew indoors, heading over to the Fire-Type. "Don't run off like that, please. At least not without my supervision."
"It's okay, Twilight. Vulpix here was just enchanted by the oh-so-yummy scent of our Pastry Palace!" Pinkie introduced the young alicorn to the Pastry Palace, allowing her to gaze at its beauty. "I don't blame him...I'm craving for a chomp too." She stuck her tongue out along with Vulpix.
"Restrain yourself, Pinkie." said Mrs Cake.
"Vulpix..." Vulpix was eager to jump up and dive headfirst into the cake but thankfully, he has restraint. Even if he can be a bit adventurous.
"Hmm...Maybe you can have one thing from the palace." Mrs Cake decided to let the Fox Pokemon have a single bite. She had decided to take a cupcake as the only thing he could eat until Hearth's Warming. "Here you go."
"Vul!" The Fox Pokemon jumped up, snatching the cupcake from her hoof with a single bite. In two seconds, he had devoured the whole thing, savouring the taste. "Vulpix!"
"Honestly, you should really keep a look out for this little guy more often, Princess Twilight. He sure does enjoy running around Ponyville every so often." Mrs Cake gave Vulpix a head pat.
"Run around? Vulpix never leaves the lab unless I bring him along. Or even this moment right now." Twilight shook her head.
"Oh, when you're not here that is. Each time you, Jade and Pinkie Pie and everypony else are off on an adventure somewhere, Vulpix explores Ponyville for himself. Constantly, entering other ponies' homes, getting up to who knows what."
"Vulpix. Is this true? Have you been moving around Ponyville each time I'm away?"
"Vulpix!" The Fox Pokemon raised his paws up in response.
"Oh, yes. Mostly everypony in Ponyville knows about Vulpix's presence and how pops up here and there. He's even visited here a good amount of times. I've even fed him at times."
"Wow. I didn't know any of that. I thought Vulpix just stayed in the lab most of the time. I had no idea he's been on his own adventures. Guess I shouldn't really leave you alone most of the time, huh Vulpix?"
"Why don't you just put it back in the Pokeball then?" Jade asked.
"Well...Vulpix doesn't really like staying inside his ball for some reason. I don't know if its a fear or something but he always prefers staying outside. Like Ash's Pikachu."
"Vulpix!" Vulpix licked off the icing from the cupcake he ate, getting some more out of it.
"Espeon?" Eve went up to Vulpix, asking him why he ventures off without any supervision.
"Pix! Vulpix!" Vulpix replied by essentially saying that he wants to experience the same feeling Twilight and her friends feel whenever they go on an adventure. Just like when he went along with them to Unova and Canterlot. But this time, Vulpix gave Eve a better understanding of things. In reality, he always wants to tag along with Twilight at every step of the way. Not just as a tag-along, but as her Pokemon.
"Esp..." Eve nodded, finally understanding Vulpix's goals and motivations. She could see that Vulpix wanted to install himself as Twilight's Pokemon, one she officially owns. But he couldn't properly explain it to her, unable to give the young alicorn any strong signs that Vulpix wished to be her Pokemon. Eon." Eve hopped up on Twilight's back, poking her with her tail.
"What is it, Eve?" Twilight asked her partner.
"Eon. Espeon." The Sun Pokemon aimed her tail at Vulpix.
"About Vulpix?"
"Esp." She nodded. For a better understanding, Eve had gone up to Pinkie Pie, using her psychic mind to grab a Pokeball belong to one of the Slurpuff's from the table. The Sun Pokemon hovered the ball over Vulpix, who was poking his paw on it. "Espeon."
"Vulpix!" Vulpix grabbed a hold of the Pokeball, rolling around with it.
"...Wait. Could it be that..." Twilight took a moment to realize. She looked over at Eve to see her nodding in response. It finally clicked to Twilight. "Vulpix."
"Pix?" The Fox Pokemon stopped rolling with the Pokeball, looking up at the Princess of Friendship.
"Is it possible that...you wanna be my Pokemon?"
Those were the words he was waiting to hear. And once they travelled through his fluffy ears, his eyes widened along with the biggest smile anypony's ever seen. An abundance of joy flowed through the Fire-Type's heart as if it was a child seeing its parents for the first time.
"Vulpix! Vul!" He raised his paws up, jumping about and circling Twilight.
"Then in that case." Twilight held her hoof out. "Let's be trainer and Pokemon. What do you say?"
"Vul!" The Fox Pokemon jumped up, connecting his hoof with Twilight's in agreement.
It was settled.
Twilight and Vulpix were now trainer and Pokemon.
"Woohoo! That makes three Pokemon alongside you! Uh...a hundred if you count PokePark." Pinkie Pie squeed
"I don't know why I didn't' see it sooner. Vulpix asking to come along with me from time to time should've been a dead giveaway. I'm sorry that it took me this long, Vulpix."
"Vulpix!" Vulpix essentially said that it was okay. He apologized for nothing making it clear to her. After all, he's never followed her all the time so it made it seem like he was just curious here and there.
"From now on, we'll go on all sorts of adventures together!"
"Pix!"
A new friend has officially become apart of Twilight's plethora of Pokemon. A third one that travels alongside her with her Espeon and Minccino. Vulpix's thirst for adventure and endless curiosity is sure to mesh well with Twilight's friends, with new and exciting possibilities lurking around the corner as the journey continues.
Unova, Castelia City. The city where the skyscrapers pierce the clouds and a city of grandeur.
Over at one of the many company buildings that dwell in Unova, one, in particular, had a slight meeting involving certain topics.
"...No good..." A man spoke, having his hand on his chin. "It's no good. All of this isn't working!" He slammed his hands on the table, startling everyone else there."
"W-What's wrong, Director?" A worker who was apart of this building asked, spinning around in his chair.
"What's wrong? Have a look at this!" He showed off a statistics board to them all. This board showed the stats of what Pokemon-related thing clicks. This entire company was all about marketing everything Pokemon. Whether it be the number of people interested in a certain Pokemon, the age range of trainers, merchandise such as a pretty neat looking Snorlax bag that has its mouth as a zip or just some cute plushies of Pokemon. Point is, it's everything Pokemon.
"I don't see the problem. Everything looks fine." A woman shrugged, noticing how the stats were stagnant. They were neither going up nor down. They just stayed still on one continuous line.
"That is the problem! We've hit a straight line! All of our products and work aren't hitting as hard as they used to 10 years ago! A bunch of Pokemon have been losing interest since some trainers don't find them interesting enough or whatever! Not only that, but even the younger audience are losing interest. They won't even bat an eye at this cute Phanpy doll. How can they ignore Phanphy?" He squeezed the doll as it made a Phanphy cry in the process.
"Maybe they're just growing out of it?" A carefree man commented, holding an Espeon pendant. "I mean, I remember when I was a kid. I was all about a Cinderace action figure. I played with it for days on end. But eventually, I grew out of it and look where I-"
"I do not care about your childhood!"
"..Oh."
"What I do care about is how we're going to cause a huge boom in sales now. Even if everything is just fine and nothing is changing, that means that we've become too predictable. We need something that can really cause a flash across many parts of the world! Any suggestions?"
"Oh! A Legendary Pokemon onesie!" A younger female employee moved around in her chair, holding some Shiinotic candles.
"An electric coin Pikachu bank?"
"A Pokemon board game set in the future!"
"Cookie Cutters in the shape of Pokemon Type symbols!"
"A super big Shuckle plush that takes up an entire room!"
They all gave their suggestions, but none of them were really working for their director.
"No, no! Useless! Every last one of them!" He kicked the table in half. "Every last one of them won't do at all..."
"How about we put more focus on the trainers? Champion Leon is the strongest trainer, so why not make an action figure based on him and his Charizard?" A man recommended.
"We've already tried that but they pale in comparison to the Pokemon. Even these Cynthia pillows aren't proving to be effective!" The director held a pillow with Cynthia's face on it, tossing it aside.
"How about we keep making Pikachu products? Those always seem to work."
"Obviously! Pikachu always sells! Everyone loves Pikachu! But we can't keep relying on one Pokemon to make a boom. Charizard, Eevee and Lucario are doing well for themselves, but they're not convincing anyone as Pikachu's equal..We need something. Anything." He sat back down, putting his hand over his face. He thought to himself for a bit, unclear of what they could do to really change the game up.
"I bet it isn't this difficult to make decisions with the ponies?" A man said to a woman as she nodded.
"Wait a minute..." The director stood up. "Pokemon...humans...ponies..." Then it hit him. Something so new and unlikely that it just might work. "Oh by Ho-Oh's Rainbow Wing...I think I've got it!"
"What?" They all asked.
"Yes...this is the breakthrough we needed!" His voice echoed throughout the building, even reaching all of Castelia. Whatever sparked in his mind was sure to shake the world itself.
1 week later. Ponyville, afternoon.
"Ow, ow!" Ash held his hand, blowing on it whilst Fluttershy tended to it. "Hoo, that stings!"
"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to catch Ferroseed barehanded, Ash." Fluttershy wrapped some bandages around his hand.
"Pikapi..."
"Yeah...But you're okay now, right Ferroseed?" Ash asked the Thorn Seed Pokemon.
"Ferro!" The Grass-Steel-Type nodded, rolling off to do what it normally does. Find some iron and absorb it.
"Taking care of all these Pokemon must be tough, huh Fluttershy?"
"Pikachu?"
"It is. Pokemon are much harder to look after and manage than animals. It's a hoof full indeed. But I have you here, Ash. As long as you're here to help, I'm confident."
"That's the spirit." Ash gave a thumbs up, but that only caused his hand to twitch. "Ow!"
"And I can't wait to see the Pokemon House upgrade. We really needed it. A lot of Grass, Ground and Flying-Types are having trouble staying warm during this time of the year. Plus, not that many Fire-Types come by here sadly." Fluttershy held Pikachu in her hooves, giving him a head rub.
"We can always ask Twilight to help by bringing over some of the Pokemon from Poke Park to assist. There's a lot of Fire-Types at the Crag Area, I hear."
"Really? That'd be-" Fluttershy's words had been cut off by a bloodcurdling scream. Only one pony can scream like that.
"Rarity!" Both Ash and Twilight exclaimed.
"Pi-Pika!"
If she's screaming like that then obviously, something horrible must've happened. Major or not. Ash, Pikachu and Fluttershy made their way towards Carousel Boutique as fast they could. Heading there, they could see that Sweetie Belle was standing outside along with Rarity's Leavanny's. If they're outside, then the situation must be dire.
"Sweetie Belle! Leavanny What's happening in there?! Ash asked.
"Well...It's best that you see for yourself."
"Leavan."
The three of them entered the boutique in a worried fashion. Immediately having their guard up. What horrible thing could've happened to Rarity? Well...
"What's wrong...What's wrong?! They've gotten my eye colour wrong!" Rarity showed artwork of her, not in pony form.
But in human form.
Vastly different from the parallel Rarity. Instead, she resembled a human from the Pokemon World. Hair colour and everything. Her dress matched the colour of her fur along with her having purple boots to compliment her hair. And finally, alongside her was a single Leavanny instead of multiple.
It was Rarity alright. Down to a T. The only thing off was the eye colour. Someone apparently mixed blue with teal.
"...Huh?" Ash and Fluttershy squinted their eyes.
"Pika?" Pikachu narrowed his eyes instead.
"How could they miss this?! Everything else is perfect but the most vital part! It was this close to perfection and they've ruined it!"
"...What is this?" Fluttershy asked, unsure of what her eyes were gazing at.
"Oh. This? Well, it's apparently artwork of us, darling. Straight from Castelia City. They're all the buzz right now. Much larger than any buzz I've created."
"Did you say...us?" Fluttershy leaned forward.
"I did. Have a gander at this." Rarity showed off another one. This time it was of Fluttershy. Anyone could tell that it was Fluttershy based on the yellow top and green skirt. But this time, they actually got everything about her correct instead of forgetting one tiny little thing. And her Pokemon, of course, was her Audino.
"I don't believe it..." Fluttershy gasped, gazing her eyes at this unexpected surprise. "I...I...like it.!" She found herself being fond of this human recreation of herself. The way she was designed here just felt right. Right enough to win her over.
"Pika..." Pikachu gazed at the human recreation.
"This is pretty neat stuff." Ash held one of Applejack and Treecko. "Wonder if they're for some sort of book."
"Apparently, they're for some sort of promotional content? Not sure myself."
"I wonder if everypony else knows about it." Fluttershy kept looking at her own artwork.
"Oh, but they do. From what I heard they're booming over at Castelia and the Pokemon World. Ponyville has just gotten these recently, so there's a minimum amount of them."
"I wish I had one of me and the Crusaders." Sweetie Belle puffed her cheeks, a bit upset that only the Mane 6 got artwork. But it only makes sense since they're the most recognizable ponies to the Pokemon World. Among other 3. That being Celestia, Cadence and Luna "Lucky."
"Apparently that's not all they did. They've also created these dolls." Rarity used her magic to bring over what seemed to be plushies of her friends. This time, in pony form.
"Really now?" Ash took the Twilight plush, feeling how soft it was. "Oh! These are soft! Pikachu, feel it." He lent it to his buddy.
"Pika?" Pikachu placed his tiny little mouse hands on the Twilight plush, feeling himself being enchanted by its softness. "Chuuu..."
"Mind if I keep this one?" Sweetie Belle went up to the Rarity plush.
"Go ahead. They're shipping more merchandise here anyways. Oh, speaking of which! Have a gander!" Rarity pointed her hoof to the window, noticing that more merchandise was coming in.
This was made possible by the folks over at that company. Their breakthrough in Pokemon-related products involving ponies was proving to be effective. They brought along with them merchandise that was exclusively for the ponies. In fact, some of these humans were newcomers who had decided to set up a small shop here in Ponyville, but before asking Mayor Mare or else they'd be booted out before they knew it.
These products included, saddlebags that had unique patterns based on Pokemon-Types or certain Pokemon, plushies of Celestia, Luna and Cadence, more artwork of the Mane 6 with the four alicorn princesses having their own unique separate ones, special cards of the Mane 6 and their Pokemon that had a special value to them and even had unique appearances. Rainbow Dash's card for example had a rainbow effect if you flip it around.
But it wasn't just limited to ponies. Merchandise and products that are already popular in the Pokemon World were sent here. Keychains of many champions such as Lance, Cynthia, Steven, Leon and Diantha. Among other things that would make a foal plead and beg their parents to buy them. Which is exactly what was happening right now.
The only reason why Rarity got hers for free was due to the fact that she was apart of the Mane 6. So it's only obvious she gets it for free while everypony else has to pay up.
"7 bits for a glove?!" Silver Spoon pulled back as she wanted a glove modelled after Leon's glove but for ponies.
"I've got you covered." Diamond Tiara pulled out 7 bits from her saddlebag, buying the pony shaped glove for Silver Spoon.
"All of this came from the other world? Sweet." Ash gazed over them. "How much is all of this?"
"Well apparently...the currency in this world is a bit lower than ours so...The highest all of these can go for is 75 bits. From what I've heard." The young teenager working there said.
"Move aside!" Along came Pinkie Pie, bursting through the crowd of ponies. She was especially interested in this. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"
"See anything you like, my little pony?" He asked.
"Yeah, I do! I'll take this," She grabbed a plushie of herself. "this," and another plushie of her friends. "that and this and that!" She only seemed to be focusing on the stuffed dolls of her friends and nothing else.
"If you want all that...then 15 bits lady."
"15?! Ugh..." Pinkie Pie groaned. She reached for her saddlebag, getting out 15 bits exactly.
"Pleasure doing business with you." He grinned.
"It's great that something like this is here. It'll help us get more accustomed to the Pokemon World, ya know." Sonata said.
"Mhm." Aria nodded. "It's almost been like what? A whole year since this whole world crossing thing went down. It would make sense for us to get more used to all of this stuff."
"And it'll be the anniversary when I and my Leavanny's first met." Rarity said. "I still remember them being little Sewaddle's. They were so adorable! I miss their tiny little bug hands already."
"That's for sure. The Sewaddle's were the reason why you ended up liking Bugs in the first place." Sweetie Belle replied.
Whilst many ponies were getting their grubby little hooves on these colourful products, Twilight had just received news about all of this. In fact, she had been delivered a package to her castle. Once she opened it, her eyes couldn't believe what she was looking at.
Since she was the second most popular pony in her group of friends according to the humans with Fluttershy being the most popular, the amount of merchandise she got was overwhelming, to say the least.
"Oh..." Twilight breathed in and out, locking her eyes on the plethora of products.
"Twilight...Are you okay?" Spike gulped as he and Starlight were worried. Twilight was hyperventilating at speeds only a Rapidash and Zebstrika would dream of achieving. It was unclear if she was terrified or amazed. The results hadn't shown yet.
Her Minccino, Espeon and Vulpix looked at each other with worried emotions. Perhaps all of this was taking a while to process, so Twilight was in a state of imbalance.
But eventually, her true reaction had been revealed. What did she think of this? Well, from seeing artwork her as a human with clothing oddly similar to the ones she had back in the parallel world alongside her Pokemon, to the abundance of stuffed dolls made out of her, whether it be of her Cutie Mark or even her head which was also her entire body too, there was only one logical response.
"Oh...This is...This is..." She raised the plushie of herself up into the air with her horn trembling. "So cute!" She dug her face inside the box.
"Oh. Had us worried there." Starlight sighed. "Wait, cute?"
"Twilight's a sucker for things that are super cute. It's why she wanted an Eevee in the first place." Spike explained.
"Look at all of this! Look at how sharp my hair is in this!" She showed off the artwork of her as a human. "And look how squishy this one is!" The young alicorn squished the plushie of herself, acting like a child during all of this. "The Pokemon World has the best products! Why didn't we think of buying any of these back when we visited for a while?"
"How come I don't have anything based around me..." Spike pouted.
"Actually, Spike. I think this is yours." Starlight used her magic to bring over a keychain that had Spike on it.
"Works for me." He accepted the keychain even if it was minor.
"Where do I even keep these?! Maybe I can put them next to my Smartypants doll...no wait it's missing. Wonder where it went? Oh, well! I have all these items for myself!" She hugged the products, squeeing in the process. What a delight it was to have these in her possession.
Moving from Ponyville, Canterlot had gotten a taste of the Pokemon World's products in more ways than one. Celestia in particular was interested in something that involved her.
"Unbelievable..." She held up an action figure of her and Passion. They somehow made this in a short amount of time, getting every detail down to a T. But that's to be expected when you have Pokemon working with you.
"Oooh..." Luna's eyes gazed at her own figure of her and Darkrai. The best part about these figures is that they light up. More specifically, the manes do. They had implemented a feature that allowed the ethereal manes to flow and glow. They even work better in the dark to give them their extra flash.
"If I had known the Pokemon World had objects such as these, I would have requested BigTime Ben to bring in more than just Pokeballs and gym badges," said Celestia, enchanted by the flowing mane of the figure.
"I'll say. How did they manage to even perform this?" Luna was looking for something that could give her a hint on how they made the mane flow despite it being made out of plastic.
"I think that's another mystery that the World of Pokemon will never reveal." Celestia chuckled.
Over at Castelia City.
"Success!" The director stood up as the works cheered with victory inside their spirits. "Introducing the ponies to our world's merchandise was a smash hit! So much of a smash hit that they're requesting more from our world! This is the greatest breakthrough yet!"
"I know right? Who knew ponies and Pokemon went well with each other?" A girl held up a Celestia and Passion action figure.
"Should we give them a TV?" A man wearing an Electrike Hat asked.
"Perhaps..." The director rubbed his chin. "Here's what we'll keep on doing. We'll just...ask the ponies what they enjoy and see where we can go from there. Besides, they've already taken a great liking to the artwork portion."
"Mhm. And there's already a statistic on which pony seems to be the most popular. Apparently, a lot of ponies are a fan of this human artwork." A young man showed off a statistic chart on his Rotomphone.
Fluttershy's human artwork blew past everypony else's without there being any competition. Was it the eyes or the mane that gained attraction? Probably both actually.
The director sat down on his chair, having a smile of satisfaction on his face.
"This is the start of something spectacular."
Adjustments and new concepts continue to reach the ponies. What the Pokemon World holds and is capable of presenting never ceases to amaze them. And with the humans involving themselves more with the ponies, not just limited to Ben's company, the future looks promising, unpredictable and entertaining for days to come, as the journey continues!
A Chikorita, following its mother Meganium had wandered into the mystical forest, searching for a new place to call home. They had recently come from a brand new area created in Equestria when the two worlds crossed over, but they are no longer capable of living there due to how the Ice-Types have changed the wether.
"Chiko!"
"Ganium." The mother Meganium kept her daughter close to her. They noticed that the further they reached Everfree, the worse the weather conditions became. Snow started pouring down aggressively as if it was heavy rain. The trees and ground had soon been engulfed by massive sheets of snow.
It was a shame really. All of Equestria, well most of it anyway, had been greatly affected by the presence of Pokemon in general. But that's to be expected since this world wasn't built for Pokemon in the first place. But slowly but surely as time goes on, Equestria and other parts of this world will eventually adjust itself to fit the structure of Pokemon. Especially since it's not just Ice-Types changing the world as they go.
A thick fog had emerged from the weather, engulfing most of Everfree in a matter of seconds. The featureless ashen haze had made both Pokemon struggle in terms of eyesight. Not only that, but this fog seemed to have an odd mystical presence behind it.
"Megan?" Meganium could feel that her body was slowly being drifted away from Chikorita. As if she had no control whatsoever. "Meganium!"
"Chikori!" Chikorta being the lightweight Pokemon that she is had been dragged away at a much faster pace than Meganium. The Leaf Pokemon tried rushing to her mother, but it was too late. The fog had thickened enough to a point where it was practically impossible to see anyone else. Even the trees were invisible to her eyes. The mother and daughter had been separated, lost somewhere in Everfree. Wherever they may be, both will end up in their own scenarios.
Pokemon House.
"It's a bit foggy today, isn't it?" Goh squinted his eyes, barely being able to see most of Ponyville anymore. Not only that, but constant bumps into other Pokemon were frequent. Some of them blend well with the fog surprisingly.
"Are you still there, Fluttershy?" Ash called out.
"Pikachu?"
"Still here." Fluttershy's voice travelled through the fog. Her Audino had found them thanks to her superb hearing. "Could it be the move Haze?"
"Audino."
"Whatever it is...it's really messing with my tracking here." Ash sighed.
"Pika."
That wasn't all. Many other Pokemon were having trouble navigating themselves around the Pokemon House. They were constantly falling into the lake with the Water-Types, poking themselves on Ferroseed's thorns on accident, ending up near Loudred and having their eardrums busted, it was just a mess.
The fog had reached a point where it would eventually affect the Pokemon House as well since it is the most populated area in Ponyville thanks to all the Pokemon that dwell there.
"Ratta?" A Rattata noticed that he was being carried away by the fog along with his brothers and sisters. "Tatta!"
"Hm? What's wrong Rattata?" Fluttershy turned to the single Rattata, soon spotting that each of them were being dragged away. But of course, it wasn't just them. Many other Pokemon were being pulled away, including a Bunnelby, Volbeat, Salandit, Numel and much more unfortunate Pokemon who were powerless to move.
"Audino?"
"Oh, dear. What's going on?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"The fog's taking them somewhere!" Ash recognized an odd phenomenon such as this. "Dragonite! Come out!" He sent out his Dragonite to handle this.
"Dra!"
"Dragonite, grab the others, quick!" Ash commanded, knowing that things could get ugly if they weren't rescued in time. The Dragon Pokemon made haste, grabbing the smaller Pokemon in its huge hands, flying high into the air. Whilst it was fairly dangerous for a Dragonite to be out in a weather like this, the Dragon Pokemon was willing to take any risk in order to protect others. Similar to its trainer.
The Pokemon Dragonite could grab had thankfully been saved and placed near Audino so that she could hear them if they ever get dragged off again, but some others were still missing. The fog had unfortunately gotten them.
"Dragon!"
"Dragonite says that some of the Pokemon were still taken by the fog!" Fluttershy translated.
"Figured so. Do you have a clue on which direction the fog could've taken them?" Ash asked his Pokemon.
"Dra." Dragonite pointed its claws at the one area it believed the fog could've moved at and originated at.
The Everfree Forest.
"Alright. Thanks, Dragonite. Return." Ash returned Dragonite to its ball to protect it from the cold.
"The Everfree Forest? Isn't that place bad territory from what I hear?" said Goh.
"Right. Not many ponies head in there because of what goes in that forest. But if they were dragged in there, then that must mean the fog's coming all the way from the forest."
"So...we have to head in there?" Goh gulped along with his Sobble.
"Looks like it. No need to worry, Goh. We'll make this quick and easy." Ash placed his hand on Goh's shoulder. Even Fluttershy was confident enough to head through Everfree due to her past experiences in it.
At Everfree, the Chikorita from before was currently searching for her mother in this distressing haze.
"Chiko!" The Leaf Pokemon cried out continuously, trying to find any sign of Meganium. She was clueless as to where she was in Everfree. And unfortunately, she would eventually come across the many threats of the forest.
The first being rampant roots that seemed to attack anypony that even come near them. These roots were leftovers from the seeds that Discord planted long ago. Seems like a tiny bit of them still managed to grow thanks to the influence of some cosmic energy that had yet to leave the seeds.
The roots sprouted up vicious vines, spotting Chikorita passing by. The Grass-Type was completely unaware of the horrors Everfree possessed. However, she was about to find out personally. The vines whipped themselves forward, just missing Chikorita. The impact of the vines caused Chikorita to jump.
"Chiko!" Chikorita gasped, backing away from the vines. With ferocity and ruthlessness, every single vine around this area focused all their attention on the Leaf Pokemon, prepared to tear her to shreds.
Chikorita made a run for it, attempting to escape from the vicious roots. Each time she managed to avoid them, she noticed that some trees were destroyed whenever the vines whipped them. If any of them connect, the result will be devastating for the Starter Pokemon.
At first, she attempted to fight back by using Razor Leaf. Unfortunately, the vines obliterated the leaves with their sharp and thorny texture. So attacking back seemed to be useless.
Without warning, a secret hidden vine popped up from the ground, wrapping around Chikorita's leg. The roots finally had her in their grasp.
"Rita?! Chikoo!!" Chikorita struggled to break free, pulling her leg with all her might. The vines closed in, wrapping around her head. The sharp thorns around the vines poked into the Leaf Pokemon's skin, injuring her in the process, causing Chikorita to wince in pain.
It seemed hopeless for the little Pokemon until her saving grace came in the form of a fellow Pokemon.
"Hyper Beam!" Fluttershy's voice could be heard from the distance. All of a sudden, a beam of hyper energy tore through the fog itself, obliterating the roots and vines around the area into nothing but dust.
"Audino!" Audino continued to blow away the vines by firing consecutive Hyper Beams, carefully making sure that she didn't hit Chikorita in the process. The Leaf Pokemon had been saved by the two of them, thankfully. But the injury was still there.
"Are you okay?" Fluttershy fluttered over to Chikorita, helping her up from the ground. She could see that Chikorita had holes sticking out of her due to the thorns grabbing her a few seconds. "Oh, my. Audi. Heal Pulse."
"Audino...." Audino walked over, doing what she does best by sending a pulse of healing energy throughout the little Pokemon's body. The wounds from the thorns had closed off due to this, rejuvenating Chikorita.
"Chi?"
"There we go. It was a good thing we ended up running into you. Although, I've lost track of the others."
"Chikorita..." The little Chikorita looked up at Fluttershy, thanking her for coming to her rescue and saving her life.
"It's no problem. Did you end up getting lost in Everfree?"
"Chiko! Chikorita!" She ended up explaining the situation to her and what really happened. How her mother and she were attempting to find a new grassy area to live in, leaving their previous home. However, the fog had separated them from each other, leading to Chikorita searching for her mother.
"Is that so? Then, where was the last place you saw your mother?"
"Rita." Chikorita lowered her head, saying that she only saw her getting dragged away. The fog was too thick to really tell where they were.
"Poor little Chikorita. No need to worry." Fluttershy gave her a head pat. "We'll help you find your mother. Right, Audi?"
"Audi-" The Hearing Pokemon's words were cut off when the roots grew back once more, wrapping around Audino's arms and feelers. "Audino?!"
"Audi?!" Fluttershy gasped as she noticed the roots and vines had returned, racing up from beneath. They were currently in an area where these roots were the most prominent, so it wasn't a surprise that they would grow back eventually. "Not good! Use Hyper Beam!"
"Dino...Audino...!" Audino attempted to unleash a Hyper Beam, but it was proving to be impossible due to the vines restraining her arms and even her neck. Very soon, the vines crept up on Fluttershy, grabbing a hold of her wings and hooves. They were difficult to see since they emerged from the thick fog, disguising themselves and striking at the right moment.
Fluttershy felt the sharp thorns dig into her hooves, causing her to wince in pain. And unfortunately, she didn't have the strength capable of breaking free.
"Chiko!" Chikorita had tried assisting by using Razor Leaf, but like before, they were essentially useless. Even when trying to cut the vines in half, the leaves were just torn apart.
"If I can just..." Fluttershy looked over at her Mega Ring that laid on her hoof. If she could at least reach it and activate it, then Audino might be able to break free due to the burst of energy that comes along with Mega Evolution.
However, the vines were constricting her even further, tightening the trainer and Pokemon to a point where struggling would just make it worse. Similar to Grapploct's Octolock. Chikorita had been caught by the vines as well, unfortunately. They had grown much more elusive rather than making themselves obvious.
Audino had eventually passed out due to the vines wrapping around her neck. Now it was just Fluttershy and Chikorita who were both conscious at the moment.
Fluttershy knew this could be the end of them if they didn't do anything else. But Audino was out cold and Fluttershy couldn't move her wings or hooves at all. Chikorita's moves were essentially pointless since Razor Leaf would just be torn apart if they even made contact with the vines. Soon, the vines wrapped around her mouth, causing her to muffle underneath the black thorned vines.
Although, one thing that Fluttershy didn't take into account was the presence of Zecora. She had Pokemon that could help others if they ended up getting caught in any of the forest's actions. Zecora's Ninjask had come to their rescue, using the move Metal Claw to cut the vines in half.
"Nin!" The Ninja Pokemon moved at its usual blinding speeds, managing to avoid the attacking vines with ease. Each time it moved, it cut the vines into tiny little pieces with Metal Claw, freeing the three of them from its clutches. "Ninjask!"
"N-Ninjask?" Fluttershy looked up at the Ninja Pokemon, recognizing it as Zecora's. "Thank goodness..." She held her mouth, realizing that some of the thorns from the vines had managed to injure it. "Ow..." Not only that but her hooves had suffered horrible damage from the thorns, making it difficult for her to move without feeling a sharp pain strike them.
"Jask." Ninjask had told them that it would lead the three of them to Zecora's hut where they can rest up and be safe from this part of the forest. However, carrying a Pokemon like Audino would be tough for the Ninja Pokemon considering the height and weight difference.
"I've got it." Fluttershy went up to Audino, using all of her remaining strength to pick up her partner. It was a challenge since her hooves were damaged, meaning that the weight of something on her back would be a horrible idea. But yet, she persisted. Even if it caused her to strain and wince. "NInjask. Have you seen a Meganium?"
"Nin." Ninjask shook its head. It hadn't seen one in sight at all, unfortunately.
"Oh. Okay. Don't worry, Chikorita. I'll still find your mother for you." Fluttershy winced, almost losing her balance. Ninjask got a move on, allowing them to follow it to safety. Along the way, the Ninja Pokemon destroyed any rampant roots and vines that would try and attack. It was a good thing Ninjask was absurdly fast and had lightning-fast reaction time.
As for Ash and Goh, they had managed to find some of the missing Pokemon who had been dragged off by the fog. They guided the missing Pokemon back to Ponyville, leading them to safety. However, there was one thought lingering in their mind.
"Fluttershy's still nowhere to be found," Goh said.
"We won't find her through this thick fog. There's only one place we can go to." Ash raised his finger up.
"Where?"
"Zecora's Hut. She'll be able to help."
"Pikachu!"
Over at Zecora's hut, Ninjask had led them here, allowing them to take a huge breather after the vine attack.
"Nin!"
"Excellent job, Ninjask. Quickly, bring me that flask." Zecora said to it.
The Ninja Pokemon zipped over to the table, grabbing a wooden flask. Zecora took the flask from her Pokemon's bug hands, walking directly towards Audino. Zecora had made the unconscious Hearing Pokemon get a good drink out of the mixed liquid inside the flask. It was effective since it was made to regain consciousness.
"Au...Audino?" The Hearing Pokemon's eyes opened.
"Audi! You're okay!" Fluttershy gave her partner a huge hug, glad that she was up again.
"Not yet, I'm afraid. The thorns from those vines held cosmic energy, meaning that the injury from them can stay for an abnormal amount of time due to its unusual blades. Many Pokemon have been caught by these thorns, having their injuries last for weeks on end. There is no telling how long your Audino's condition can extend."
"Audino..." Audino could feel herself feeling extremely weak. She tried healing herself with Heal Pulse, but it was no use. The thorns had an unusual effect where they made your power diminish, especially if you've already been hurt greatly by them. So at the moment, she couldn't heal herself, Fluttershy or Chikorita. The Hearing Pokemon held her neck, feeling the injuries really dig deep in her. A sharp pain shocked her neck, causing her to wince in pain. "Au!"
"We could head to the Pokemon Center and heal you. But first, I want to continue helping Chikorita find her mother."
"Chiko?"
"If she's out there somewhere in Everfree, then she could be in great danger. I can't sit around and do nothing. Even in my condition."
"You won't have to do it alone. Along they come, Ash and Goh." Zecora saw the two trainers entering the hut in a hurry.
"Oh, Fluttershy! There you are!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Thank goodness...Had us worried there." Goh let out a sigh of relief.
"I'm fine. Well.. mostly. Audi and I aren't, unfortunately. We've been injured by the vines here in the Everfree..."
"Hm? Did this Chikorita get hurt too?" Ash noticed the Chikorita sitting next to Fluttershy with wounds in her legs.
"Mhm. Chikorita's searching for her mother Meganium. I want to help find her no matter what it takes."
"In your condition? Even your Audino's hurt." Goh pointed out.
"I know. But still..."
"That's the spirit, Fluttershy. We'll help you find Chikorita's mom." Ash walked up to her.
"Pika-Pika!"
"I should've seen that coming." Goh lowered his head.
"I shall come along and assist you. Only I know how these vines and roots act. By constant pursuit."
"Alright. Don't you think it's best that Chikorita stays behind here?" Ash asked.
"Chiko." Chikorita shook her head, denying to be left behind.
"Guess not. Alright. Let's get a move on!"
"Pikachu!"
Meganium's whereabouts at the moment where near the swamp of Everfree. Her sense of direction was completely lost at the moment. She called out for her daughter, but no response. Strangely enough, earlier, both of them were calling each others' names out, but the fog had cut their voices off at that point. In fact, the fog was so thick that no even Audin could hear through it.
"Megan..." The Herb Pokemon had put a stop to her walking, taking a breather. She wished that she could just find a new area to live in already with her daughter. The dream-land that she envisions is a wide flat grassy plain where the sun is constantly beaming down from above. A place like that would be perfect for them to live in.
But, this was no time to daydream. Along came some Timberwolves who had sniffed out the Herb Pokemon due to Meganium constantly letting out a becalming scent from its petals that are usually meant to bunt the foe's fighting spirit. She turned around to see the Timberwolves snarling directly at her. She was unfortunately their prey. The wolves charged at the Herb Pokemon, ready to absolutely tear her apart.
"Ganium!" The Herb Pokemon responded by using its aroma that emanated from its petals to calm them down. Before they knew it, the Timberwolves were no longer hostile at all. They had ceased their attack, feeling at ease at moment.
"Meganium." Meganium continued her walk now that she's dealt with that small problem. Her daughter had to be close. The fear of her being devoured by the Timberwolves was lurking inside the Herb Pokemon's head. She hoped that she was fine.
The fog grew thicker and thicker, gaining the ability to now move the trees and plants themselves. And that could only mean one thing. The roots had advanced from their usual area, gaining access to even more areas in Everfree.
The roots crept up on Meganium, slowly moving underneath the earth itself. The Herb Pokemon was completely unaware of the lurking threat.
Meganium came across a familiar-looking area. It looked to be the area where she and Chikorita were separated. That must mean she might be on the right track, hopefully.
"Meganium! Ganium!" Since she recognized this spot, she called Chikorita's name once more, hoping to get a response this time. But the only response she earned was the sudden eruption of the roots. "Ganium?" She responded to the rupturing sound, noticing that black vines had risen up, rushing towards the Herb Pokemon. Before she could react and defend herself, the high-speed vine had wrapped around her petals and neck. "Gan! Megani!" Now she had become a victim of the vines.
The roots continued to grow around Meganium, wrapping around her legs and tail. The Herb Pokemon attempted to break free by using Poison Powder on the vines, which actually worked. The vines had been melted away by the poison Meganium let out from her petals, giving her a moment of freedom.
Keyword being a moment.
The ferocity of the vines continued to grow as they immediately rose back up from the ground, trapping Meganium once more. This time, they pinned her down, slamming her body onto the ground.
"Meganium!" The Herb Pokemon cried out in pain as her body hit the hard cold ground. She attempted another Poison Powder, however, this time, the vines actually whipped her, causing her to lose focus. The sharp thorns pierced her body with each swing, causing the pain to build up over time. "MEGA!"
Meganium's voice had increased in volume, reaching high enough to a point where Ash and the others could hear it.
"Did you hear that...?" Ash and the others stopped walking, picking up on the voice. Audino could hear the echo, finally being able to hear through the thick fog.
"That sounded like a Meganium cry," Goh replied.
"Audino!" Audino finally found the source of the cry, running towards it. However, due to her injuries, running wasn't a good idea at the moment. And yet she kept on running towards the location of the noise her feelers picked up. The group noticed that the fog actually got thicker in that specific area. Meaning that this might be where the fog began.
"This area has the most amount of fog here! Quickly! The Meganium must be near!" Zecora exclaimed.
"We'll blow away this fog! Dragonite! Hurricane!" Ash sent out his Dragonite just to deal the heaviest fog they've found yet.
"DRA!" The Dragon Pokemon spun its body around, kicking up a mighty hurricane that blew away the maddening gray haze. However, it was still so thick that not even a Hurricane could get rid of it completely.
Thankfully, it was enough to reveal Meganium to them all. There she was. Getting brutally hit by the vines whilst trying her very best to break free.
"Chikorita!" Chikorita cried out for her mother, rushing towards her to aid.
"Wait, Chikorita! Don't get too close!" Fluttershy flew forward, grabbing the Leaf Pokemon. It was a good call since she was almost hit by the sharp vines and their whipping motions.
"I've never seen the vines act so aggressively..." Zecora gasped. "If we are to rescue her, we shall have to avoid and battle the vines carefully." Zecora had then spoken to her Ninjask through telepathic connection, commanding the Ninja Pokemon to attack the vines with Metal Claw.
"I hear ya! Dragonite! Dragon Claw! Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
"Raboot! Ember!"
Ash and Goh chimed in, having their Pokemon fight back against the monstrous vines. Pikachu and Dragonite cut the vines in half whilst Raboot burnt them away with a blazing ember.
The vines had realized that Ash, Zecora and Goh were a threat. So they were next. The vines had gained enough power to shake the ground itself, causing them to lose their balance.
"What now?! Ash got on one knee.
"Pika?!"
"L-Look!" Goh fell on his back, noticing something that was unusual to him, but familiar to Ash and Zecora.
A familiar face in the form of the Tree Behemoth had revealed itself. The previous and first behemoth that had been created when Cold Colt and Emerald Aura were still playing the role of villains. Since the cosmic energy they planted in the seeds never left, the behemoth had been regenerating over time. At the moment, it wasn't as huge as it used to be when it was first created, but it was at least larger than Zecora's hut.
"This thing again?! How come?!" Ash got back up, gazing the Tree Behemoth.
"It has been possibly regenerating as time goes on! Very soon it may return to its original form!"
"Then we'll stop it before that happens! Pikachu! Thunderbolt! Dragonite, Hyper Beam!"
"Pika!!" Pikachu sent a bolt of 100,000 volts to the 10ft monster, shocking it in the process.
Dragonite had blown a massive hole through its chest area thanks to Hyper Beam, whilst Zecora's Ninjask cut pieces of its branches off with Metal Claw.
The behemoth roared, responding with an enraged swing of its abnormally long arms. When it swung, the sharp black vines swung along with it as well. Dragonite and Pikachu had been knocked back by the vines, taking a considerable amount of damage from that. Even though the behemoth wasn't at full strength, it was still powerful enough to deal some heavy damage.
Ninjask moved around the Behemoth, using Metal Claw and X-Scissor whilst zipping around at ludicrous speeds. It proved to be effective since the behemoth couldn't keep up with a Pokemon as speedy as Ninjask. However, it had a response for the Ninja Pokemon.
The behemoth erupted sharp branches from its body, acting like a pincushion of some sorts. The eruption was instant, even causing Ninjask to be thrown off guard. The thorns had struck Ninjask's wings, piercing straight through them. The Ninja Pokemon fell on the ground, badly injured from that hit.
"Nin!"
Zecora gasped, running over to her Pokemon. Ninjask had done its best, so it deserved a long rest. "Return, Ninjask. You did well to take on a creature this large." She returned the Ninja Pokemon to its Pokeball as she brought out a second one. "Now come out Zebstrika, and use Flame Charge!"
"Zebstrika!" Her ace Pokemon came out, immediately galloping forward once he exited the ball. Flames surrounded the Thunderbolt Pokemon as he charged into the behemoth, leaving behind a burn. Raboot jumped on Zebstrika's head, using Ember up close on the behemoth's face.
"Chiko!" Chikorita ran to her mother, seeing how injured she was from the vines. "Chikorita!"
"Meganium..." Meganium was relieved to see her daughter alright and in one piece. That was all that mattered to her.
"I'm so glad that you two are reunited." Fluttershy flew over. "But I suppose now isn't the best time to have a reunion." She looked over to see the current scuffle with the behemoth going on behind them.
"Rita! Chiko!" Chikorita explained that Fluttershy was the one who rescued her earlier and decided to help find Meganium in the first place, bringing her friends along as well.
"Ganium." The Herb Pokemon stood up, grateful to Fluttershy for taking such an action. She shook her head, getting the thorns out of her petals with Poison Powder. Meganium realized that this was her time to help out. The Herb Pokemon would assist by using the move Petal Blizzard, sending an aggressive wave of petals towards the Tree Behemoth.
The behemoth let out a roar, turning its attention towards Meganium next. The body of this creature had been greatly damaged due to it being shocked, burnt, blasted with energy and cut with steel. It realized that it might end up losing so it was time to just let everything out in one go.
It did so by raising its long arms up, sending up multiple vines into the sky. Out of these vines came a barrage of thorns, hundreds of them even. These thorns rained down from above, piercing through the ground even.
"Dra!" Dragonite flew over Ash and the others, protecting them from the thorns. The sharp prickly thorns rained down on the Dragon Pokemon's back, bombarding it aggressively. But it didn't end there. The vines that were sent up in the first place had also come raining down, having their whip motion alongside them. "Gonite!"
"Not good...Come out and help, Gengar!" Ash sent out his Gengar for assistance.
"Gen!"
"Phase through and use Psychic!"
"Gengar!" The Shadow Pokemon used its ghostly traits to its advantage, phasing right through the thorns and vines. It then held the behemoth in place with its mind via Psychic. Now all movements had come to a halt.
"Now's our chance to finish it!" Ash exclaimed as Dragonite flew back, charging up one final Hyper Beam. Meganium had joined in, charging up a Solar Beam in the process whilst Raboot kicked up a pebble to perform ember. Zebstrika had shrouded himself in electricity, preparing to use Wild Charge.
Audino found a little bit of strength left in her body. But it wasn't much. She could only perform a mini-Hyper Beam, unfortunately. But any help is better than no help.
At the same time, all Pokemon unleashed their attacks on the behemoth, overwhelming it with their combined might. Audino's Hyper Beam combined with Dragonite's to create slightly bigger beam, Pikachu's Thunderbolt and Raboot's Ember circled around the double Hyper Beam, Meganium's Solar Beam crossed streams with Hyper Beam, Chikorita chimed in with Razor Leaf whilst Zebstrika charged forward, smashing into the behemoth.
All ranged attacks hit their mark after Zebstrika was done. The overwhelming force of the attacks was so potent that it actually managed to not only defeat the behemoth but even destroy its body and blow away the entire fog from this area in one go. The behemoth had been obliterated into tiny little pieces, leaving only an echoing roar behind.
That was that.
"Phew. Finally." Ash sat down, letting out a sigh of relief.
"What an exhausting moment, I must say." Zecora chuckled. "Do you experience scenarios such as this every day?"
"You don't know the half of it." Ash laughed back.
"Meganium!" Meganium and Chikorita finally had enough time to have a proper reunion. They both gave each other a head nuzzle, glad the other was fine and safe.
"It's a relief that it all turned out well in the end," Fluttershy said. "I'm glad that we found your mother, Chikorita."
"Chiko!" Chikorita ran over to Fluttershy, hopping in her hooves as a sign of gratitude. Meganium had decided to calm everyone's sense down by using Aromatherapy. They needed it after that sudden aggressive event after all.
Meganium had decided that it was time to leave. Her pursuit for a better land with her child continued on after all. But she didn't leave before saying goodbye to the ones who found her daughter and save both their lives.
"Ganium."
"You're welcome, Meganium. Glad to be of help." Fluttershy replied. "I hope that you two find a perfect home somewhere in Equestria."
"Meganium." The Herb Pokemon nodded. However, Chikorita had a different emotion from her mother's.
The Leaf Pokemon turned to her mother, speaking to her. "Chiko! Chikorita!"
"Meganium?!" Meganium had suddenly pulled back.
"Chi!"
"What are they talking about?" Goh asked Fluttershy.
"Chikorita!" Chikorita explained why to her mother, hoping that she would understand.
The Herb Pokemon looked the Leaf Pokemon in the eyes, seeing how she really cared for Fluttershy and found a great liking towards her. She could feel a calm and beautiful presence when with her, almost as if she was a second mother. Meganium had nodded her head in understanding. Fluttershy had understood what they said, being taken aback by this.
"Rita!" Chikorita ran up to Fluttershy, looking up at the pegasus with a wide smile.
"Chikorita...Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked.
"Chiko!" She nodded.
"So...is she staying or not?" Goh scratched his head.
"I think it's more than that. Chikorita wants to stay with Fluttershy." Ash explained.
"Pikachu!"
"If you really want that...then sure! You're welcome to stay with me, Chikorita!" Fluttershy had accepted the Pokemon as her own.
"Chiko? Chikorita!" The Leaf Pokemon was pleased to hear the response, running around with excitement. Meganium let out a smile, glad that her daughter found a trainer that she can rely on.
"Meganium." The Herb Pokemon asked Fluttershy if she would take good care of her daughter for her.
"I promise I will, Meganium. You can count on me. And my friends. And maybe, we might end up coming to visit you if you ever find a perfect spot!"
"Audino!" Audino had picked up Chikorita, glad that she had a second member to be with her on Fluttershy's team.
"Ganium." She nodded in response, finally taking her leave. Her daughter was in good hooves now. All that was left to do now was wave back to the Herb Pokemon, seeing her walk off into the now clear sunset.
A somewhat exhausting day that took an unexpected turn and the return of an old threat. But either way, the result turned out to be good in the end. With the inclusion of Chikorita to the group, a new friend had been added to mix, one that has grown a great fondness and liking to Fluttershy and will most likely continue to grow fond of her for days to come as the journey continues!
Currently at this moment, Twilight seemed to be setting something important up whilst Starlight just stood there, watching.
"First lesson of the day, we very carefully set the table without using magic, so that—" Twilight spoke, teaching Starlight. But her sentence was cut off when she noticed some forks and spoons flying near her, almost making contact with her head "Yikes!" Starlight set the table up by using magic despite Twilight telling her not to. Although, she did set it up perfectly. "Did you...?! How? When? What?!"
"What?" Starlight asked.
"I said no magic. You were supposed to do it by hoof so I could work in a friendship lesson."
"Oh, I heard 'set the table' and just kinda went for it."
Well, if you hadn't used magic, you'd have heard me say, uh..." Twilight placed her hoof on the plate and utensils, giving a short explanation. "This plate represents your head, this spoon is your heart, and the knives... are sharp! Always be careful with knives." Twilight sighed. "The metaphors make more sense when you're actually setting the table."
"Should I... change it back?"
"I just want to make sure you're ready for this dinner. Princess Celestia will be joining us tomorrow night to see how the friendship lessons are going!"
"If it's just you, me, and Princess Celestia, why are there four seats?"
"Well, the whole point is for you to bring a new friend. That way, the princess will see for herself just how far you've come. And how good a teacher you have." Twilight nudged Starlight.
"Well, I can't choose. I like all your friends."
"That's the best part! You have to make a new friend!" Twilight squeed with the widest grin on her face.
"New friends?" Starlight thought for a moment. "Hey, maybe I'll just force friendships by magically enslaving the entire population of Ponyville!"
"Starlight!" Twilight said in a disappointed tone.
"Kidding!" She laughed nervously. The mission to make a new friend was about to begin. Can't be that hard, right?
Ponyville. In all its colourful and vibrant beauty.
Starlight was getting a move on, searching for a new friend to make. But who? Out of everypony and Pokemon here, who would work as a new friend?
"Let's see. Make new friends in Ponyville, the friendliest place in Equestria. Shouldn't be hard..."
"Need to make a new friend, huh? I know just the pony for you!" Along came Pinkie Pie with her boundless energy as always, instantly picking up on Starlight's words. She had foalnapped the unicorn, bringing her over to the one place she believes the best of friends can always be made in an instant.
SugarCube Corner.
"Miss Starlight Glimmer, meet Mrs Cake!" Pinkie introduced Mrs Cake to Starlight for the first time.
At the moment, Mrs Cake was just adding a small bit of icing to the cake. "How are you, dearie?" Mrs Cake spoke to her.
"Are you baking? Can I help?" Starlight asked, using her magic to grab some pots, pans, flour and all sorts of baking essentials. In a matter of 5 seconds, she had managed to bake a cake with the items she had grabbed with ease. The fastest anypony has ever made a cake even though magic was involved instead of it being naturally made. Although it matched her mane colour which made it pretty neat.
"Wow, Mrs Cake! Look what your new friend made you." Pinkie exclaimed
"New friend. I like the sound of–" Mrs Cake looked up to see the magic-made cake hovering right over her. "Howza-wowza! A-Are you trying to put me out of business with your fancy magical-thingy-whatsit cake?!"
Starlight winced, letting the cake go. Unfortunately, since it was still hovering over Mrs Cake, it ended up dropping on her, covering her in the magic-made cake. "Sorry..." Starlight apologized.
Pinkie Pie, however, took a bit out of the cake, enjoying it anyways along with her Spinda. "In her defense, it is delicious!"
A second attempt was made. This time involving Applejack.
"I think I have just the pony for you, Starlight. Meet Big Mac!" Applejack introduced her big brother to the unicorn.
"Eeyup!" That was his way of saying hello. It may not look like it but it was.
"He's not much of a talker," AJ whispered to her.
"Nope." Big Mac said proudly.
"Oh, that's too bad. I love a good conversation." Starlight replied. Then something clicked in her head that might work. Her horn emanated an aura, sending the magic inside his mouth all of a sudden.
What did she do to him? Applejack had a confused face while Starlight a smug one. What she did was revealed to be something fairly overwhelming.
"Eeyup-yup-yup-yup-yup-yup-yup-yup-y-y-y-y-you did something!" Big Mac now had what is commonly known as motormouth. And the effects were hitting him hard. "Whoa! What's happening? I feel really weird! I'm talkin' so much! And I'm so articulate! Enunciating with such precise pronunciation! Annie Apple awoke and accidentally ate an auburn azalea!" He screamed in agony. Make it stop!"
"Mrrgh..." Applejack and Treecko turned around, growling at Starlight with no so pleased look on their faces.
"I can't be friends with somepony who doesn't talk." Starlight tried to defend herself.
"Mrrggh..." But it wasn't working.
"...And I guess my first instinct shouldn't be to magically command ponies to act the way I want them to?"
"Mrrrgggh...!" Applejack and Treecko went closer to Starlight, giving off a highly intimidating vibe. One that almost forced Hatterene out of its Pokeball due to its reaction to strong emotions.
"Alright, I'll change him back!" Starlight replied. It was a good call for two reasons. For Big Mac's sanity and Hatterene's restrain.
A third attempt might do the trick. This time it involved Rarity.
"The trick to finding a new friend is to render yourself radiant. First impressions count a great deal, you know." said Rarity, wrapping a scarf around her neck.
"I'm glad you all got past my first impression."
"Well, everypony deserves a second chance. Well...mostly everypony." Rarity referred to Ghetsis. "Ooh! Now, I have a top-notch idea. I'm thinking pastel silk here and here with a crinoline underneath."
"You really think a new outfit will help me meet ponies?"
"Oh, with the right outfit, you can do anything, darling!" Rarity had a strut as her Leavanny's placed her in a top-model dress.
"When will it be ready?"
"Three weeks."
"Dinner's tomorrow." Starlight sighed.
"Well then, how about a hat from the..." Rarity cleared her throat. "...clearance bin?" She took out a somewhat old looking hat, attempting to fit it on her fellow unicorn's head. Unfortunately, the piece of fabric had ripped when placed on Starlight's head ruining it.
"Ugh...Maybe not."
How does a fourth attempt sound?
With Rainbow Dash. Surely the excitement she brings can work out in Starlight's favour.
"Heh. Nopony's gonna make friends with you because of your outfit. The only thing you want a new friend draped in is coolness." Rainbow crossed her hooves together, laying back on her Altaria's cloudy wings.
"Like you?"
"Yeah, but you already know me, so..." Rainbow then thought of one pony in particular who she found just as cool if not cooler. "Spitfire!" She went up to Starlight, getting too close to her face. "Heh. Sorry."
"Who's that?"
"Only the Wonderbolt-iest pony in the Wonderbolts! Come on, I'll introduce you!" She returned her Altaria, taking off at the speed of sound, leaving behind a sonic boom. Not only that, but she also left behind Starlight, prompting her to fly back. "You coming or what?"
"I guess my first question would be, 'What's a Wonderbolt?'"
Those were the words that caused Rainbow Dash to gasp in shock and terror. "You've never heard of the Wonderbolts?! Where have you been?!"
"Enslaving villages, I guess..." Starlight replied nervously.
"Right..."
So the Rainbow Dash portion didn't go as well. But maybe, the fifth one involving Fluttershy might. How can you go wrong with somepony as pure as her? And with Pokemon involved, there was no way Starlight wouldn't make new friends. Her Hatterene would get involved. Since at the end of the day, who could hate a Pokemon?
Starlight was rubbing the bellies of both Angel Bunny and a Minun.
"Minun!"
Other Pokemon gathered around her to greet Starlight and a large majority of them were welcoming and good to her Mostly due to Fluttershy's influence over all of them.
"You're all so adorable and sweet, but probably not what Twilight had in mind." Starlight and Hatterene took their leave, making Fluttershy wonder where they went? What a shame. She wanted to give Starlight a brand new Pokemon.
Alright, so Fluttershy didn't exactly go the way it should've, unfortunately. So far, everything has been lackluster.
Starlight walked around in a populated area with many ponies and Pokemon chatting away. There were even some humans visiting, already getting along with the ponies.
"What is going on? This is Ponyville! If I can't make a friend here, there's gotta be something wrong with me! She sighed. "Okay, calm down. Nobody makes friends with a total stress case. What do you think, Hatterene?"
"Hatterene..." Her Hatterene wasn't exactly an expert on friends either. Mostly because Starlight was her first friend as well. She's still learning at the end of the day.
"Figured as much. Maybe if I just look at everypony else and learn from them?" Starlight began navigating her head, observing everypony and how they get along with each other.
You had some ponies decorating their Pokemon with laurels and flower hats, some were interacting with humans by trading some items from their own respected worlds. You even had some trainers interact in a small Pokemon battle for the sake of improvement.
Even Wild Pokemon who had no trainers whatsoever, somehow got along well with the humans and ponies as if it was nothing. The emphasis on 'Bonds with people and Pokemon' was really showing, now with ponies being added onto the mix. Everypony other than Starlight that is.
"Stop stressing... Stop stressing!" But it was no use. She had already reached the perfect amount of stress. Her voice echoed to a point where she grabbed everypony's attention. They all gave her awkward stares, making her feel uncomfortable.
"Hatt!" The Silent Pokemon gave them all a death glare with its infamous menacing eyes. Everypony was intimidated by Hatterene, immediately turning their attention away from Starlight so that they don't get torn apart by Hatterene's vicious claw.
"Thanks, Hatterene." Starlight sighed, glad that her partner Pokemon was there to make her feel better.
"Tterene." Hatterene over to Starlight, pointing her claw at the Ponyville Day Spa. A perfect place to relax Starlight's nerves and stress.
Inside the spa, Starlight had already been given a spa treatment, sitting back in a chair whilst the Spa ponies handle everything.
"This is just what I needed." said a relaxed Starlight Glimmer.
"Tell me about it." A voice responded to her. A voice that was familiar to mostly everypony in Ponyville but not Starlight.
"You ever have one of those days?"
"For me, they're all one of those days." She replied, making Starlight giggle. "I'm gonna start coming here every time I visit Ponyville. Does that sound fine Misdreavus?"
"Misdrea!" The Pokemon who belonged to this faceless trainer nodded in agreement. In fact, this Misdreavus was somewhat known in Ponyville. Mostly during the earlier days of the worlds crossing over.
"I'm not from here either. I've been trying to make friends, but it's not easy. They're not saying it, but I think everypony knows about my past. I may have been a tiny bit... completely and utterly evil? What do you think, Hatterene?"
"Hatt." The Silent Pokemon gave a simple nod to her question.
"Ponies judge me on my past too. Along with my precious little Misdreavus."
"Finally, a pony I can relate to." Starlight turned around to face the other pony. This unrecognizable pony could be the one that Starlight was searching for. Not only that, but their Pokemon seemed to compliment each other. Perhaps it could be the one.
Over at Twilight's castle, the young alicorn was setting things up perfectly as usual.
"Soup spoon, salad fork, pasta spoon, strawberry pick. I'm beginning to think that after friendship, the greatest magic of all is proper silverware placement!" Twilight giggled as her Minccino dusted off any dirt or dust that may nearby. Minccino's are known as clean freaks after all.
"Twilight, guess what? I made a new friend!" Along came Starlight, rushing indoors.
"That's fantastic news!" Twilight turned around, eager to hear about this new friend.
"She's great!"
"Great!" Twilight repeated what Starlight said.
"She's powerful!"
"Powerful?" Twilight was a bit confused about that part.
"She's—" Starlight was about to state her name, but the pony she was describing had made her entrance already.
"Hello... princess!" Trixie Lulamoon. The only pony to match Starlight's description.
"Misdre-dre-dreavus." Her Pokemon let out a tiny little ghostly cackle.
"Trixie?!" Twilight exclaimed, flabbergasted.
"Wait...you two...you know each other?"
"You could say that..." Twilight shifted her eyes to the side.
"We...had our differences." So did Trixie, walking up to who was essentially her rival. "What matters is Twilight gave me a second chance, and I appreciate it."
The two gave each other looks that can only be described as a combination of disdain and mutual respect. You can tell by the way Twilight cracked a smile. Not a nervous smile. But a smile that had physical and aggressive intentions behind them.
Her smile was essentially saying "I want to hit you and smack you around so badly with either my hooves, magic or Pokemon but I'm better than that."
Their Pokemon even showed a similar relationship as well. Trixie's Misdreavus lived up to its Ghost-Type status. A normal Misdreavus gets its energy from scaring people and soaking up their fear. Its personal favourite trick is hiding in an otherwise empty room and making a noise that sounds like someone weeping. However, after spending time Trixie and bonding as a trainer, Misdreavus has grown to become...well essentially the exact same as she always was, but, now she involves herself with magic tricks alongside Trixie instead of standard haunted house shenanigans.
The Screech Pokemon messed around with Minccy, getting dirt on the floor by shaking her spectral hair that had some dust inside of it.
"Dreavus!"
"Mincc!?" Minccy winced, immediately dusting away the dirt. But Misdreavus had a second go, causing more dust to fall on the floor, even getting on the Chinchilla Pokemon's tail and head.
"Espeon!" Eve attempted to put a stop to Misdreavus's little shenanigans, but being a Ghost-Type that wasn't about to happen. Not to mention that Misdreavus wasn't intimidated by Espeon since she held the Type Advantage over her. But Vulpix definitely intimidated her due to his flames, causing Misdreavus to back, returning to her trainer.
"So, um, what brings you to Ponyville?" Twilight asked.
"The Grrrreat and Powerful Trrrrixie has come to perform a new stage show of grand illusion! I am calling it "The Humble and Penitent Trixie's Equestrian Apology Tour"!" She announced.
"That's kind of a mouthful." Starlight whispered at Trixie.
"It's a working title." She whispered back.
"Starlight? A moment? Over here?" Twilight requested a small little moment with Starlight concerning Trixie. She used her magic to pull Starlight towards her, keeping a wide grin the process"I know I said 'make friends with anypony', but, well, with Trixie's past, and your past, I'm not sure she's the best... first friend."
Starlight looked back to see Trixie waving at her with a sort of smug look on her face. "But whatever she did, you've forgiven her, right?"
"Of course. It's just... She wasn't the nicest pony."
"Well, you did say anypony, and I just assumed that you'd trust me to make my own friends the way Princess Celestia trusted you." She made Twilight feel a bit guilty from those words, causing the alicorn to sigh.
"You're right. I trust you. Just be back in time for the dinner."
"Thanks, Twilight! You won't regret it!" Starlight ran out whilst Trixie looked back at Twilight, still having that smug expression on her face.
"I hope not." Twilight sighed, having a bad feeling about this deep within.
Trixie had set up her performance stage out in the open of Ponyville. It looked a bit rickety and old from the appearance.
"This magic show's gonna be the greatest thing Ponyville's ever seen!" Trixie exclaimed. She and her Misdreavus were eager to begin and bedazzled everypony here.
"Misdrea!"
Unfortunately, some chatter and gossip travelled through her and Misdreavus's ears. And not the good kind. Both Misdreavus and Trixie don't exactly have the best reputation in Ponyville. One attempted to soak up the fears of everypony in Ponyville and the other used the Alicorn Amulet to establish a tyrannical rule over Ponyville. Clearly, they both were in the same boat together. But that is perhaps why they became trainer and Pokemon.
"Dreavus..." Misdreavus flew over to Starlight using her hair as hands to pat her trainer's head, telling her that she shouldn't mind them.
"Thanks, Misdreavus. You know...Everypony always says they'll give you a second chance, but deep down, they never forget."
"That's what I'm worried about." Starlight replied.
The blue unicorn let out a small sigh whilst Misdreavus wore her hat.
"What's wrong?" Starlight asked.
"I heard what Twilight said about me, and she's right. I wasn't very nice. So I'd understand if you didn't want to be friends."
"Are you kidding? You're the first pony I've met who has any idea how I feel!"
Trixie then looked around, getting close to Starlight. "Can you keep a secret?"
"What are friends for?"
"The things I've done? I did them because I was jealous of Twilight. She's just the best at everything, and I wanted to beat her at something!" Trixie stomped her hooves out of jealousy.
"Your secret's safe with me."
"Thanks." Trixie smiled at that response. "Want to help me unpack my wagon?"
The two were hitting off perfectly so far. Their Pokemon seemed to be getting along as well, in their own unique way anyways. To Hatterene, Misdreavus was a tolerable Pokemon to be around due to her mischievous nature.
"I spend a lot of time on the road with my wagon or even just rummaging through it when I'm teaching my magic class, so it might be a tad messy," Trixie spoke to Starlight, leading her towards the location of her wagon.
"Maybe I can help. I'm pretty good at organizing stuff. Magic props, brainwashed crowds..." Starlight laughed, causing Trixie to laugh as well.
"Pssssssst! Pssst! Psssssst!" As they were walking along, a voice called for Starlight. That voice being Twilight, who was hiding in a bush. "Shhhhhh!"
"Uh, I'll catch up. I think there's something in my hoof." Starlight stopped walking alongside her fellow unicorn.
"Sure. The wagon's right around the corner. Come on Misdreavus." Trixie went around the corner, leaving Starlight and Hatterene alone.
"Misdrea!"
Twilight poked her head out of the bush, letting out a grin with Eve, Minccy and Vulpix popping their heads up as well. "So, how's it going with your new friend?"
"Great." Starlight spoke sarcastically "Thanks for asking in a completely not creepy way."
"Because you know, if it isn't working out for any reason, I could introduce you to my friend here." She pointed her hooves at the bush next to her.
"Nice to meet you." Starlight spoke to the bush in a deadpan manner.
"No, no! You can come out now!"
Popping out of the bush was none other than Vinyl, listening to some dubstep as usual.
"You like music, right? DJ Pon-3'd be the perfect friend for tonight's incredibly important dinner with Celestia. You know, if you decide to make a last-minute change. Heh." Twilight seemed to be attempting to convince Starlight to change her mind about Trixie from the looks of it. "Plus, you and Goh are in the same boat. You're both learning so..."
"So back at your castle when you said 'I trust you', you meant 'I don't trust you'." Starlight seemed disappointed at Twilight whilst Vinyl just continued to bop her head alongside Vulpix who could hear the music, feeling the exciting beats.
"Who can really say who said what? I know I can't!" Twilight squeed as she then turned to Vinyl. "Can you?" But, Vinyl took her leave, heading off to do better things at the moment with the dubstep fading out from Vulpix's ears. "Starlight, I'm just trying to look out for you."
"I appreciate it, but you're wrong about Trixie. She's just like me. We have a real connection."
"That's kind of what I'm afraid of. Oh! What about her?" Twilight shifted her attention to Derpy and Wooper. The two of them had ended up bumping into a sign, causing Derpy to fall out from the sky with Wooper landing on his feet.
"Please, Twilight! I know you're trying to help, but I need to make friends on my own if I'm going to become a better pony."
"But do you really think Trixie's the one to help you with that?"
"Wow. Trixie was right. You're not really giving her a second chance. I wonder what that says about how you feel about me." Starlight's tone changed towards Twilight, feeling even more disappointed in her. She ran off, leaving Twilight behind, which made the Princess of Friendship feel some more guilt on her.
Twilight turned around to see Cranky sitting alone, having a Pidove fly by and snatch his moustache wig. "Oh! Now he'd be perfect!" She squeed, which only made Starlight groan even further.
Eve and Minccy could only slam their paws in their faces, feeling disappointed in Twilight as well. What a shame.
Back with Trixie, she was sorting everything out with Starlight now assisting.
"I was thinking. You said Twilight is better than you at everything, but that's not true. You're better at magic."
"Only when I'm wearing a soul-sucking evil amulet, so I don't think that counts. Funny story. Don't need to get into it." Trixie chuckled.
"I meant stage magic."
"Well, of course! Great? Yes. Powerful? Obviously. But I'm not the best. As great and powerful as I am, there's one trick I've never been able to do – the Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive!" She exclaimed, looking up into the sky. "Only one magician has ever pulled it off – my hero, Hoofdini! You are supposed to blast yourself into the open mouth of a hungry manticore! After the manticore chews you up and swallows you, you magically step out of a box on the other side of the stage! Completely unharmed! But I want to go above and beyond. Further than a Manticore. I was thinking of diving myself into the mouth of a huge Pokemon!"
"That sounds very..." Starlight lingered on her words.
"Dangerous?"
"I was gonna say cool!"
"I knew I liked you for a reason." Trixie and Starlight gave each other a hoof-bump. "I don't know how he did it! If I tried it, I'd get chewed up and swallowed by any large Pokemon. They all seem to have pretty sharp teeth from what I've seen anyway."
"Not if you could use real magic."
"Obviously. Way to rub it in."
"No, I mean, I could help! You could start the trick, and right before you got chewed up, I could use magic to save you..." Starlight suggested, teleporting Trixie inside of her black box. "...and make you appear in the black box!"
"I guess that would work... But if you made one mistake, I'd be a goner."
"Hah. When it comes to magic, I don't make mistakes. Maybe I could be your... magic show helper pony!"
"We call it "assistant" in the magician biz. And... very few ponies have ever offered to help before."
"Who are the other few?"
"Ash and BigTime Ben. Those two offered to help when I was over at Nimbasa City when nopony else would. I earned myself a pretty neat-looking school with...one student. But you're the third pony to ever help me out. And at least you're not bumping into me when rushing out of doors." Trixie chuckled.
"Who's rushing out of doors bumping into you constantly?" Starlight laughed at that.
"Some human by the name of Barry. You should meet him someday. He's quite the character and a good friend."
"Well, I'd be honoured. About the assistant part. And the whole meeting part too."
"You may have just made my great and powerful magic show even better! Which I didn't think was possible! We're gonna blow them away tonight!" Trixie went up to her wagon, hugging her Misdreavus.
"Dreavus!"
"I can't! Tonight's this incredibly important dinner with Twilight." Starlight groaned.
"Oh."
"Can I vent for a minute?" Starlight requested.
"What are friends for?"
"Even after Twilight says she trusts me, she clearly doesn't trust me enough to choose my own friends." Starlight sighed. "I guess you were right. No second chances."
"Hmph, I wish I could say I was surprised. Well, lucky for Princess Twilight, I have my magic show tonight. If you have to go to the dinner, I completely understand." Trixie then started to speak in a dramatic manner to tug on Starlight's heartstrings. But Hatterene could easily tell she was faking it due to her being able to sense strong emotions. "I just hope I find a way to survive the Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive without my new assistant!"
Back at Twilight's castle, everything had been set up and Celestia had arrived along with Passion and Arcanine.
"Starlight Glimmer should be here, heh, any minute, heh. Any minute now..." Twilight laughed nervously. Celestia could wait as she used her magic to twirl Passion's Mega Stone around. "How about I introduce everyone? Our friendship lessons are going so well! She made five new friends!" Twilight was referring to Derpy, Wooper, Vinyl, Cranky and even the Pidove that stole his wig who was currently on the donkey's head.
All five of them were currently here, sitting around the table. Goh was here as well since he had been dragged along into this dinner. He tapped his fingers on the table, eager to catch a new Pokemon already, Vinyl just kept listening to her music, Cranky was here for other reasons whilst Derpy and Wooper were just happy to be here.
"Wooper!"
"Pidove!"
"She has such great taste in friends. I don't know where she would've learned that"
"Starlight Glimmer? I thought you said 'nose-hair trimmers'! What's going on? I'm hungry! And my nose is too hairy." Cranky snorted.
"Ha-ha, Cranky Doodle! You're so funny!" Twilight nervously chuckled. "If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna check the kitchen. Maybe she got lost amongst the, uh... artichokes!" Twilight slowly walked off until she galloped away in a panic.
"Kirlia..." Passion felt like falling asleep due to this waiting time whilst Arcanine licked both Wooper and Derpy as a sign of friendship.
Nighttime had arrived with many Pokemon that were nocturnal showing themselves. Especially Ghost-Types since this was their favourite time to be out. However, ponies were still outside, a pretty good amount of them.
"Starlight? Has anyone seen Starlight Glimmer?" Twilight asked, prancing about in a hurry. "I'm looking for her!" She came across a hill, getting a good look at what was occurring at a lower level. Trixie's magic show was about to begin with a few ponies gathered up along with some Ghost-Types, interested in this. "Trixie." Twilight said in disdain.
"So this is the Humble and Penitent Trixie's Equestrian Apology Tour?" Pinkie Pie spoke.
"Ain't that a mouthful of molasses." Applejack replied.
"It's a working title!" Trixie poked her head through the curtains. "Oh, this is gonna be the greatest night of my life! Excuse me. Our lives." She spoke to Starlight, getting all giddy.
"I'm so glad we're not at that boring dinner." Starlight sighed, feeling relieved.
"Ahem? " Along came Twilight, hearing Starlight speak about the dinner as she entered the wagon. "You just decided to skip our dinner without telling me? Are you aware that, at this very moment, Princess Celestia is waiting for you at a table with exquisite silverware placement?!"
"Yes, but—"
"A-ha! You still don't trust me! But guess what, princess? It doesn't matter if you want to give me a second chance or not. Starlight had to choose between you and me, and she chose me! Your pupil chose me, so ha! I win!" Trixie scoffed, feeling as if she finally gained a major win over Twilight for once.
"You win? That sounds like you just made friends with me to beat Twilight." Starlight raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly!" Precisely one second after Trixie said that, she immediately realized it wasn't the wisest thing to let out of her mouth. "Wait! I mean, no! I got caught up in the moment. I like you. Beating Twilight is just a bonus." Yet again, she let out words she didn't mean to, gasping. "Saying that didn't help, did it?"
"I should've known. Nopony else in Ponyville wanted to be my friend. Why would you?" Starlight teared up, rushing out of the wagon in sorrow.
"Wait, it's not like that! I am your friend." Trixie groaned, failing to stop Starlight.
"Well, you won. I hope you're happy!" Twilight went up to her.
"Dreavus!" Misdreavus got in front between Twilight and Trixie, hissing at the alicorn.
"Leave it, Misdreavus..." Trixie called her partner off, sighing. "Looks like the Great and Powerful Trixie is back to a solo show. Come on Misdreavus."
"Trixie?" Twilight noticed Trixie's change in tone and emotion.
"Which is exactly the way she likes it! Thank you, Princess Twilight, for getting rid of that annoying pony who wanted to be my fifth friend! I am not sad at all! I definitely don't feel as if my heart is breaking into a million pieces!" Trixie had genuine tears building up as time as she went back to her wagon with Misdreavus how went over to comfort her partner.
Twilight at this moment felt very conflicted. Did she end up shattering a potentially strong bond between two ponies in that instance? She noticed that Starlight's Hatterene had teleported off to find her trainer so that she can do her best to comfort her. The same way Misdreavus was doing for Trixie.
The show was about to begin with many more ponies and Pokemon joining in. Trixie had gotten herself ready, stepping out into the stage with Misdreavus by her side. However, this time, she didn't have her enthusiastic and bombastic voice with her at the moment.
"Come one, come all. Come and see the Pathetic and Friendless Trixie's 'Way-To-Go-Dum-Dum-You-Really-Messed-It-Up-This-Time Repentance Tour'". What she announced only confused them about the title. "It's a working title! Behold, your fears come true. A pony-eating Pokemon." The Pokemon she had gotten for this was none other than Snorlax. The Pokemon that eats more than anyone else.
"Snor..." The Sleeping Pokemon was just laying on his back, not minding a single thing at the moment. As it usually does.
"For tonight, the Great and Powerful Trixie will be performing the Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive. But in the form of a Pokemon instead of a Manticore." Even though her voice was unenthusiastic, it actually made everypony gasp in shock. "Now, now, save your gasps for when I defy the beast's jaws of doom and appear inside that black box. I was supposed to perform this trick with my great and powerful assistant, who was also my great and powerful friend!"
Sitting atop the hill was Starlight, being cared for by her Hatterene. The Silent Pokemon wasn't the best at understanding emotions but she was still doing what she could by using her claw to pat Starlight on the back. Along came Twilight to give out an apology.
"Hatt."
"Starlight, when I first came to Ponyville, Princess Celestia gave me room to make my own decisions and my own friends. I need to give you the same freedom. I shouldn't have tried to pick and choose your friends for you. Just like me, you have to make your own decisions and your own friends."
"But... what if Trixie really was using me just to one-up you?"
"From what I've seen, she's the real thing. But it's not my place to judge. It's all up to you."
Trixie had placed herself inside the cannon, putting a helmet on for extra safety. She lit up the cannon's fuse, preparing to fire herself forward. As an extra bonus, she placed berry juice all over her body, causing the Sleeping Pokemon to pay attention to her. In truth, Snorlax wasn't a Pokemon that ate ponies, but instead, if you have any sort of food around your body, chances are, it'll scarf you down in one go.
"Starlight? If you're out there and you still want to be friends, let's be great and powerful together!" Trixie exclaimed, heading deeper in the cannon as her voice echoed. "Please?"
The cannon had finally been fired, launching the blue unicorn forward. Her Misdreavus closed her eyes, unsure if Trixie would actually pull this off. The unicorn let out a scream as she had entered Snorlax mouth, much to everypony's surprise, causing them to gasp. Fluttershy fainted on the spot from the mere sight of it as Snorlax went back to sleep.
But, lo and behold, she was alright. A spark of magic hit the black box, revealing a somewhat tattered up Trixie who had her mane all ruffled up along with her hat and cloak.
Trixie spoke in a woozy voice, unable to properly let out actual grammar. "Behold, the Peat and Growerful Triskie...!" She fell right on the spot as there was a moment of silence.
That silence was broken when everypony had let out cheers for that performance. Misdreavus let out a sigh of relief, glad that her trainer was alright. Along came Starlight who helped her new friend up from the stage floor. She gave Trixie a wink, letting her know that indeed, they are friends still.
"And now, I'm proud to introduce my great and powerful assistant! And best friend. Starlight Glimmer!" Trixie closed the curtains as more resounding cheers filled the area. The two unicorns took a moment to give each other a hug similar to that of a reunion of some sorts. It felt like one anyway.
"Trixie!" Twilight came in.
"What do you want?" Trixie scoffed at her.
"I was wrong. I'm sorry. And I have to hand it to you. I could never have pulled off a trick like that." The words that Twilight spoke were enough to actually make Trixie smile, gaining some more respect between the two.
"Thank you, princess." Trixie took off her hat, bowing down to Twilight. Poking her head outside the curtain along with Starlight, the two had the pleasure of seeing fireworks shoot into the air. In Sinnoh, they say that fireworks are a symbol of relationships continuously building up to form an endless bond.
Speaking of endless, back at Twilight's castle, Goh had fallen asleep along with Sobble since Twilight hadn't returned. His Raboot was kicking up Passion's Mega Stone, Derpy and Wooper finished all the food here, Vinyl was so enchanted by her music that she didn't even notice how much time has passed and Arcanine and Passion were in the same state as Goh and Sobble. Asleep.
"How do you get your hair to do that all the time?" Cranky asked Celestia.
The Sun Princess could only sigh in response. It's a good thing she has her mother's patience.
The start of Starlight's path to making friends continues to grow on. With the newest friend of hers being none other than the Great and Powerful Trixie. An unexpected friend, but they say that the most unexpected tend to be the ones who can form stronger bonds with you. And that surely can be said for people ponies and Pokemon alike as the journey continues!
"Dewott!" The Discipline Pokemon had cut some boxes in half, courtesy of PokePark's Audino.
"Audino!" Audino brought some more boxes, allowing Dewott to continue his training. Dewott was a Pokemon that yearned to improve with its endless strict training. Whether it be on other Pokemon or himself. More importantly, Dewott aimed to master the one technique that he's been working on for years.
The Way of Wott.
A technique that only the Oshawott line can learn. Oshawott and Dewott are both adepts at this technique, with Samurott being the master. Due to this, Dewott vowed to surpass even Samurott's skills and engrave himself as the strongest Ott.
"Wott! Dewott!" He continued cutting the boxes with Razor Shell as Oshawott followed his steps. However, Oshawott seemed to be much better than Dewott when it comes to this technique.
And that wasn't a surprise for one reason. Dewott had once taken Oshawott under his wing as a disciple, training the Pre-evolution to master this skill. And well...Oshawoot eventually did...and now he's surpassed his teacher.
Normally, a teacher would be proud of their student surpassing even them, but not Dewott. His drive to get stronger still laid within him. He needed to become better. The best version of himself. But surprisingly, Dewott didn't view his final evolution Samurott as the best version of himself. Rather, he believed that he can prove himself to be a formidable and great warrior whilst still being in his second evolution.
"Audino..." Audino was getting worried about Dewott's health. Training isn't a bad activity but too much of it without rest can really wear you down, especially if your current condition has a limit. "Dino?"
"Wott!" Dewott denied Audino's request to cease the training. But eventually, he passed out from exhaustion. Oops. "Dewott..."
"Rai-Rai?" Raichu looked down Dewott, asking what happened.
"Audino..." Audino explained how he pushed himself too far, passing out in the end.
"Osha...
Audino picked up the Disciple Pokemon, placing him in the fountain to rest up.
"Wott..." The Discipline Pokemon mumbled in his sleep, mostly about being an amazing warrior. This Pokemon sure had a heaping amount of pride within him. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, his scalchop would be the one that decides.
After a few hours of rest and relaxation, Dewott had awoken. The cold water from the fountain pouring all over his face did the trick.
"Dewott..." The Discipline Pokemon stood up, picking up his scalchops as he noticed the sun wasn't going down any time soon in PokePark. Or even Equestria for that matter. The Pokemon of PokePark got up to their usual activities for the day. Whether it was a Meowth trading some items, taking photos at Misdreavus's photo store, training with Pignite, Zebstrika and Audino or playing soccer with the Elemental Monkeys, everyone was doing something. Everyone except Dewott at the moment.
The Discipline Pokemon had decided that he needed to find a much better alternative to improving himself rather than just cutting boxes and running all the time. Perhaps, the one way to improve his skills lies beyond PokePark. And his answer might have to involve and long and adventurous journey.
"Osha?" Oshawott noticed that Dewott was staring at the exit to PokePark with an unusually serious look on his face. More than he usually has. The Sea Otter Pokemon asked why Dewott was just standing there on the fountain, gazing at the exit.
"Dewott. Wott." Dewott explained to his student that he aims to venture out into Equestria and improve his skills along with the ancient technique, The Way of the Wott. This meant that he would have to leave PokePark for a while. For the first time even. It wasn't going to be easy, leaving behind what essentially his home.
"Oshawott!" Oshawott watched as he saw his teacher walk off into the sunset, heading out to pursue his goal of finding strength.
One hour had passed since Dewott's departure. The entrance to PokePark was just left open without the entrance being closed off, grabbing the attention of Twilight and Starlight.
"Hm. Wonder who came through." Twilight wondered.
"Everypony looks like they're present here." Starlight looked inside the park, spotting mostly every Pokemon from the Cove Area present and active. "Actually, where's Dewott?"
"Dewott's not here? That's odd. It's mostly him or Audino that are seen first when entering PokePark."
"Espeon."
"Look at this." Starlight noticed that there were wet footprints. Footprints that matched Dewott's. Since Dewott had been placed in the fountain earlier, the water hadn't dried off yet, so it gave the two a pretty good confirmation that Dewott was the one who left PokePark.
"My guess...for the one thing he's been searching for this entire time."
"And that is...?"
"Dewott's ultimate goal in life is to become the best version of himself. So he's probably set out improve his skills. Wherever he may be, we can be sure that's he's dedicated. Actually..." Twilight looked outside to see that Dewott's wet footprints could still be traced, indicating that they hadn't dried off yet. At least, around the time Dewott left. "Why don't we follow him? I'm curious about what a Pokemon's usual training regime is. And even what adventures they got up to!"
And what of the Discipline Pokemons whereabouts? Dewott had gone beyond Ponyville at this point. Where he was headed was unknown. But what was known was that his end goal will involve him returning back to PokePark.
Currently, the Discipline Pokemon had arrived at the resounding location of Exploud Chasm. Where the earth-shattering sounds of Exploud's are constantly being heard. This location has been listed as Equestria's 4th most dangerous area to be in.
"Dewott." Dewott climbed up a cliff, almost reaching the top of it. He figured that the first Pokemon he could challenge himself against was an Exploud. After all, their voices are strong enough to cause Earthquakes by just opening their mouth's.
A perfect foe for the Discipline Pokemon to challenge. Dewott had readied his scalchop, preparing to strike each and every Exploud here. Until...
"Woah! Slow down there, pal!" A pony wearing a hard hat had halted Dewott's movements by placing his hoof forward. "Ya can't go near that area. Not at the moment anyway."
Many ponies had actually gathered around Exploud Chasm, all brining along some Machoke to help out. It seemed like some sort of construction was occurring. When Dewott looked over the horizon, he noticed that a huge blockade was surrounding the chasm, covered in steel that looked to be from the Pokemon World.
"D-Dewott?!"
"This area's been noticed as too dangerous for anypony to cross by Princess Celestia. The Exploud here have been causing frequent Earthquakes than they usually do. They used to only affect this area and the chasm alone. But now it's reaching to a point where towns are crumbling down. So Princess Celestia has issued an order to build a sturdy soundproof blockade that'll block out the sounds while still letting those big mouth things roam around wherever they want. Courtesy of BigTime Ben. Sorry for the inconvenience."
"Wott?! Dewott had no choice but to change destinations. Clearly, he wouldn't be able to challenge the Exploud's and he surely wasn't breaking through steel. At least, not at his strength level. So a change of areas had to be made. Dewott's travelling continues already.
The adventure led the Discipline Pokemon to one of the more peaceful areas in Equestria. Deerling Forest. Inhabited by Deerling, Sawsbuck and a few other Grass-Types along with a small amount of Normal-Types. Since winter is the current season, Deerling and Sawsbuck have obviously changed their colourings. It's no wonder why people mark the seasons when they see a Deerling.
Dewott didn't think that he would find any challenge here at all. After all, Deerling and Sawsbuck are fairly passive Pokemon. Despite Pokemon having battling in their blood, some prefer to relax and take it easy. And Dewott could see that. So perhaps, this may not be the best place to improve his skills and strength. Although, it is a peaceful place to calm your mind, especially with the way the snow falls here.
"Deerling?" A Deerling had gone up to Dewott, asking the Discipline Pokemon why he had such a serious look on his face at the moment. Looking into the distance with such intensity is a bit unusual to the Season Pokemon.
"Wott? Dew." Dewott explained that he was currently in pursuit of strength and improvements to his skills. But so far, this pursuit hasn't exactly been going so well.
"Deer. Deerling." The Season Pokemon had pointed her head North, showing Dewott a brand new area he could venture in to find some strength.
This location wasn't new to others such as Ash and his friends, but it was certainly new to Dewott.
It was none other than the Pikachu Highlands. An entire kingdom that was just full of Pikachu's. The location seemed to be nearby Deerling Forest from the looks of it.
"Dewott!" Dewott perked up. This could be it. If he can battle against the type that is super-effective on him and possibly come out on top, he'll improve greatly. Plus, if it's just populated by nothing but Pikachu's then it's a safe bet that it'll only be Electric-Type Pokemon there. "Wott!" The Discipline Pokemon thanked the Deerling, making a run for it.
With Twilight and Starlight, they had tracked Dewott's wet footprints down to the distance he managed to gain. He even came by Lapras Lake, leaving footprints on the sand and getting his feet wet even more. Their tracking then led the duo to Exploud Chasm, where Dewott's footprints came to an end.
"That's that. Dewott's footprints aren't present anymore." Twilight dropped her magnifying glass. "Where could he be now? In the chasm?"
"Excuse me, but are you two looking for something? It ain't safe to be here right now." The hard hat-wearing pony from before asked the two different shades of purple ponies.
"Oh, nothing. We're just looking for a Dewott, that's all." Starlight responded.
"Dewott? Oh, that blue thing that came by earlier. Yeah, I've seen it."
"You have? Where?!" Twilight leaned forward.
"Little blue guy went West from here. Seemed pretty intense from the look of his face."
"West huh? That leads to both Deerling Forest and Pikachu Highlands. Gotcha. Come on, Starlight! We might be able to catch Dewott's training on time!" Twilight squeed. With enthusiasm, the Princess of Friendship pranced off with Starlight following by just simply walking.
Back to Dewott, the Discipline Pokemon had reached the Highlands, looking over it from the cliff. As always, there were Pikachu's as far as the eye can see. Them and their Pikachu's shaped houses along with the very prominent Pikachu shaped palace. Where PikaSupreme and PikaRegal lived.
"Dewott!" Dewott jumped off the cliff, creating a dramatic entrance by landing on the grassy ground of the highlands, kicking up some dust from the impact.
"Pika?" The Pikachu's turned around as they were each startled by the landing.
"Dew...Dewott!" Dewott took his scalchop out, pointing it at every single Pikachu that met his eyes. "Wott!"
"Pikachu?" A curly-haired Pikachu asked why Dewott was here, a bit intimidated by the Disciple Pokemon's stern look.
"Dewott! Dew! Wott!" He explained that he came here looking to improve himself. And an area with only Electric-Type Pokemon which is essentially a nightmare for any Water-Types was the perfect place to test himself. So which Pikachu is it gonna be?
"Pika! Pikachu!" A Pikachu with spiky hair was eager to have a go at it. This Pikachu was inspired by Rainbow Dash when she and the others first visited the area. He admired how cool her hair looked so he changed his own hair up by adding Rainbow patterns on it as well. Plus, it was the exact same Pikachu she picked up back then, so that counts for something.
"Pika!" A shy Pikachu with cropped hair attempted to convince the rough Pikachu to calm down. Wouldn't be safe to just start a battle here. At least, not without the permission of PikaSupreme and PikaRegal.
"Dewott?" Dewott questioned them on who resided inside that palace over there in the distance.
"Pika? Pika-Pikachu!" A Pikachu wearing a jacket explained that the Emperor and Empress lived in that palace. The highest-ranking Pikachu's here.
Excellent. Dewott had hit the jackpot. With a name such as PikaSupreme and PikaRegal along with the ranking of Emperor and Empress, it's obvious that they are the ones he must challenge.
"Dew!" Dewott forced himself through the sea of Pikachu's aiming to head directly for the Emperor and Empress.
However, many Pikachu's wouldn't just allow the Discipline Pokemon to just barge his way through and enter as if he owned the place. They stood in his way, threatening to shock the Water-Type if he went any further. But that's exactly what Dewott wanted. Now was an opportunity to challenge himself against his weakness.
"Pikachu..." The Pikachu's attempted to intimidate him by sparking up electricity from their red sacs, but that only excited Dewott even further.
"Wott!" Dewott raised his dual scalchops up, initiating the battle. The Discipline Pokemon made the first move by embedding his scalchops in water, aiming to use Razor Shell.
"Pika!" The Pikachu's could see that Dewott was on the offensive. So the call to fire had been made. Thunderbolts and Thunder Shocks were released in order to subdue him.
The Discipline Pokemon put his scalchops in a blocking position, defending himself from the combined volts of electricity. Unfortunately, that didn't really help him. He had still been shocked either way. Dewott, despite being bit by super-effective moves, made a quick recovery, retaliating by tossing his scalchops forward.
His dual weapons had smacked the Pikachu's in the head, acting as a sort of boomerang as they came right back to its wielder. "Wott!" Dewott then followed up by shooting Water Pulses straight from his scalchops instead of the usual mouth or hands the Water-Types normally utilize in order to attack from afar. The pulses of water forced the group of Pikachu's to be pushed back, but just a little bit.
"Chu-Pika!" The Rainbow haired Pikachu came from above, going for the always hard-hitting Iron Tail.
Dewott's senses were sharp enough to know when a sneak attack was coming his way. The Discipline Pokemon raised his scalchops up, blocking the Iron Tail.
"Dew...Wott!" Dewott got down on one knee, struggling to keep the Iron Tail from causing damage.
"P-Pika...!" The Rainbow haired Pikachu put some extra effort into his iron tail, trying to force his way through the scalchops. These dual weapons were surprisingly durable for something so small and what were essentially shells.
"Dewott!" Dewott had gained the upper hand on the spiky-haired Pikachu, firing a Water Pulse from the scalchops whilst they were still in their blocking positions.
"Pika!" The spiky-haired Pikachu went flying back, barely taking that much damage at all. He gave his own response by sending a Thunderbolt to the direction of the Discipline Pokemon.
Dewott had made a quick evasion by using Aqua Jet to do so. His body was covered in a torrent of water as he dashed at almost invisible speeds, perfectly avoiding the Thunderbolt. Not only that, but he even followed up by crashing into the Rainbow-haired Pikachu with Aqua Jet.
Yet again, the Pikachu didn't feel a thing due to it being water. But it was strong enough to knock him back.
"Pika! Pikachu!" This Pikachu retaliated via Thunder Punch. He ran forward, aiming to sock Dewott right in his stern face.
"Dewott!" Dewott pulled out his scalchops, going straight for a Razor Shell.
Both Pokemon made contact with their moves. The scalchops collided with the Electric Mouse Pokemon's fist, causing a shockwave of power to emerge from their contact. The result was the two of them knocking each other back from their own power as the Pikachu's had each backed up. At least, the ones who weren't up for battling right now.
"Dew!" Dewott slid on the ground, dropping one of his scalchops.
"Pika!" The Rainbow-haired Pikachu shook his hand as he felt it take some damage from that clash.
From atop the cliff, Twilight and Starlight had actually been observing this battle for themselves. They sure caught up fast. Mostly due to Twilight galloping, leaving Starlight in the dust, who was currently out of breath.
"Isn't this exciting, Starlight?! Seeing Pokemon battle each other for the sake of getting stronger or for the sake of a sport always gets the blood pumping. Ash was for sure right about that!"
"Yeah great...But shouldn't we stop this?" Starlight was getting a bit worried due to how intense this battle was getting. And it had just begun not too long ago as well.
"Stop it? Nah. Dewott's in the moment right now. And he's found a perfect place to improve himself. Let's keep watching." Twilight had some magnifying goggles, getting a closer look at the battle.
"Dew!" Dewott had already taken too much damage. But that was to be expected. The Thunderbolts and Thundershocks from earlier had already hit him hard. Adding onto that, Thunder Punch only made the damage worse. The Disciple Pokemon almost fell on both his knees, digging his single scalchop in the ground. He breathed in and out, knowing that one more Electric move would mean game over for him.
"Pika...Pikachu!" The Rainbow Dash inspired Pikachu built up a ton of electricity within, aiming to take out Dewott with one single attack. That being Thunder.
"Dew?" Dewott looked up to see the cloud changing formation, darkening in the process. Possibly one of the strongest Electric-Type moves ever was looming over the Disciple Pokemon as if he was about to be judged by the heavens themselves. In order to win this, Dewott would have to play it smart. And there was only one thing he could do.
"PIKA!" The spiky-haired Pikachu had finished building up power, sending down a ferocious thunderbolt from above.
"Dewott!" Dewott had improvised in one way and one way only. He covered his single scalchop in water, tossing it upwards that Thunderbolt.
A great decision. Water and Electricity don't mix at all, making it possible for the electricity to just go crazy when it made contact with the liquid. Bolts of thunder had spread out due to the collision of the scalchop covered water, causing them to fly all over the highlands. Some Pikachu's got a pretty good shock out of the frantic bolts, feeling refreshed. The scalchop had stayed in the air with the bolts constantly hitting on its water covered aura.
As for Dewott, he took advantage of this situation. His plan had worked. The opposing Rainbow- haired Pikachu was wide open. He used Aqua Jet to not only grab his other scalchop, but he even crashed himself into the spiky-haired Pikachu. But it didn't end there. For one final attack, the Discipline Pokemon had used his single scalchop to slash past the rough-attitude Pikachu, cutting even the grass beneath him.
"Dew!" A gust of wind was created from Dewott's slash as he didn't even look behind him. And just like that, that was the amount of damage needed to take down this certain Pikachu, causing him to fall on the ground.
"Pika...chu..."
The Thunder had finally stopped with the clouds separating. Dewott had won, defeating that single Pikachu. But at the cost of his own energy.
The other Pikachu's looked in awe and shock, flabbergasted at what they saw. The Pikachu's from earlier who struck the Discipline Pokemon with Thunderbolt and Thunder Shock were prepared to subdue Dewott once more since he just took out one of their own.
"Pika-Pikachu!" A bellowing and commanding voice had told the other Pikachu's to cease and put a halt to their movements. That voice was none other than PikaSupreme who came out with his wife PikaRegal and their daughter.
"What's up with that Pikachu...? It's got a great big bushy beard!" Starlight gasped.
"That's PikaSupreme! Emperor of Pikachu's! Still looking as important as ever!" Twilight explained whilst having a wide grin on her face.
"D-Dew...Dewott?" The Discipline Pokemon looked up at the old age Electric Mouse Pokemon.
"Pika-Pikachu." PikaSupreme went up to Dewott, commending him for his honour and determination to get stronger. Indeed, PikaSupreme was like Dewott when he was younger. Aiming to become the best version of himself. If anything, Dewott was the most like him than other Pikachu's.
"Dewott." Dewott stood up, pointing his scalchop right at PikaSupreme. He was determined to challenge what many consider to be the strongest Pikachu in the world.
"Pika..." PikaSupreme asked him if he was sure he wanted to. Dewott could barely catch his breath, not to mention the bolts of electricity still surrounding his body. If he challenged PikaSupreme now, it would be a one-hit knockout.
Dewott didn't care, however. His pride was too great. You won't catch him giving up for a split-second. And that was something PikaSupreme admired, causing the Emperor to chuckle, almost breaking his back as his wife held him up.
Eventually, Dewott realized that he was too exhausted to keep this up, falling on his knees finally. Despite his immense pride, Dewott knew when to give up and when enough is enough. But, he was satisfied since he got to include himself in a rather difficult battle where it would've been impossible for any other Water-Type to be involved in.
PikaSupreme helped Dewott up, congratulating him on his victory and his drive to become the best version of himself. He offered the Discipline Pokemon a place to relax and heal up since Dewott was clearly on the verge of fainting right now. The Water-Type had no choice but to concede.
"Pikachu." The spiky-haired Pikachu went up to Dewott, holding his hand out of the Pokemon that defeated him. He gained his respect and even made this Pikachu find a coolness factor within Dewott.
"Dew." Dewott being the honourable Pokemon that he is, shook his hand back, installing a high sense of respect between the two. The Pikachu's of Pikachu Highlands no longer viewed Dewott as a threat or enemy. Rather, just a Pokemon who seeks to get stronger. Something a few of them can relate to.
"Amazing!" Twilight flew down, causing all of the Pikachu's and Dewott to turn their attention to her. "I've never seen Pokemon interact in that way! Respect, admiration and honour! What a rush of events!
"Pikachu!" PikaSupreme welcomed Twilight and her Pokemon as the other Pikachu's gave their greetings, glad to see a familiar face back here.
"Sorry if Dewott caused you all any trouble, though. I'm sure he meant well." Twilight went up to her Pokemon.
"Dew..."
"Pika-Pikachu!" PikaSupreme chuckled, giving Dewott a pat on the back, whilst breaking his. "PIKA!"
"Pika-Pikapi." PikaRegal held her husband up, supporting his broken back. It was probably best he got to bed and healed up like always.
"I never knew that Pokemon could have such...personality..." Starlight was impressed, standing beside Twilight. "They even have their own houses, royalty and sense of style?"
"I know right? Aren't Pokemon just the best?!" Twilight squeed.
"Dewott." Dewott placed his scalchops back, taking a deep breath.
"I think it's time we head back, don't you, Dewott?" Twilight asked.
"Dew." The Discipline Pokemon nodded. He needed the rest.
"I'm glad that you pursued your goal of getting stronger. And you've even made a rival of some sorts. Wait till everypony else hears about this!"
"Pika-Pika!" The Pikachu's waved goodbye to Dewott and the others, giving them best wishes.
A small adventure for Dewott had given the Discipline Pokemon more to look forward to on the path to becoming stronger. Yes, many Pokemon set off on their own solo adventures for their own motivations and goals, much like the trainers around them. Wild or not. And Dewott's newfound respect from Pikachu Highlands and continuing path to becoming the better version of himself is certainly one of those motivations and goals as the journey continues!
A shrine located somewhere near Azalea Town. Here, the Shrine Maidens of Johto reside, constantly hard at work when it comes to spiritual occurrences.
The mother of the Shrine Maidens, also known as the Maiden Mother, the highest-ranking maiden was currently sitting alone at night. She was praying to the shrine of the Mythical Pokemon Celebi. A Pokemon that has a few shrines dedicated to it all across Johto.
"Complete focus." The middle-aged woman said to herself with her eyes closed. "Cleansing the body and mind of any hardships. Embracing the darkness to accept your imperfections." Clearly, she was in a deep state of focus and concentration. One that shouldn't be interrupted.
"Mother! Horrible news!" A Shrine Maiden burst through the doors, breaking that concentration in an instant.
"Gh!" The Maiden Mother winced, gaining an anger vein on her forehead, clearly not happy about her meditative state being broken. "Nozomi! What is it?! It is improper to just force yourself indoors!"
"Deepest apologies, mother!" She lowered her head, apologizing. "It's just that... the Spiritomb! It's escaped!"
"WHAT?!" The mother pulled back, shocked at the words that travelled through her ears. She quickly ran out of the shrine, rushing to the area where Spiritomb had been sealed for years now.
Upon arriving at the tree where Spiritomb once was, she was shocked to see that the keystone that usually holds Spiritomb was still there, but the Pokemon itself was missing. An odd sight to be sure. There were arrows that had Fairy-Type magic on the tip, surrounding the keystone and grave. They were placed there just to keep Spiritomb from escaping. But clearly, it escaped. The other Shrine Maidens were outside, chatting about the sudden disappearance of Spiritomb and where it could be.
"Unbelievable...How did it manage to escape?" The Mother picked up the keystone.
"From what we may believe, the arrows had lost their magical balance, causing Spiritomb to become loose. It might have something to do with that electrical pulse that struck the region a few months back." Nozomi was referring to the day the Storm Behemoth was born.
The pulses it created obviously affected both worlds, creating shockwaves in the mix. And those shockwaves are what caused the Fairy arrows to lose their magical balance, weakening them greatly.
"This is horrible. That Spiritomb is far too dangerous to be free into the world! Much more dangerous than the average Spiritomb! Where was the last place you all saw it float off to!"
"We're not sure, mother. All we know is that there was an eruption of dark energy that came from the keystone. And in that instant, Spiritomb was gone." A Shrine Maiden responded.
"I see. Nozomi!"
"Yes, mother!"
"You and the others know what to do. Take the Fairy weapons and find the Spiritomb at once!"
"Yes, mother!" The Shrine Maidens all bowed their heads in understanding. They had a job to do. One that involves the safety of others. With haste, they gathered the weapons that are commonly used to deal with Spiritomb's, ranging from bows and arrows, spears and fans. And of course, the one Pokemon Type that commonly assists the maidens, the Fairy-Type. They each had Fairy-Type Pokemon of their own to embed their weapons in Fairy aura.
But what of the Spiritomb? Currently, it was just a floating spirit, wandering the world in order to continue its rampage. This Spiritomb, in particular, was once a human from long ago who had committed a horrible crime that gave them the reward of being cursed, turning the human into a Spiritomb. Staying true to its dex entry and then some.
"Spirit..." The Forbidden Pokemon had found itself coming across one of the many gateways that connect to both worlds. Spiritomb was completely unaware that two worlds had crossed over since it had been sealed for years until the pulse managed to disrupt the seal. The Dark-Ghost-Type passed through this gateway, entering the other world for the very first time.
Now that it was here, who knows what it could spread...
The Crystal Empire, day.
"Alright. Out you come." Shining Armor spoke. He held his Pokeball out, sending out none other than Honedge. The Pokemon he caught in a rather odd situation. "Let's try this again. I-"
"Hone!" The Sword Pokemon cut Shining Armor off, doing what it usually does to its trainer, Enter his body and posses him.
"Eek!" Shining Armor winced as he felt his body being taken over by the Sword Pokemon once more, causing him to twitch in the process.
"Ugh. Not this again." Cadence groaned. She and Shining Armor have been dealing with this issue for weeks now. "Honedge, out. I'm sure you don't want me to force you out again, right?"
"Bah! Not this time, princess." Honedge spoke through Shining Armor. "Your husband may have captured me, but he will never be my true trainer."
Just then, like always, Shining Armor managed to gain a bit of control, speaking through his true self.
"Don't worry, dear. I've got this under cont-" But eventually, Honedge took control. They've been doing this for weeks now, constantly fighting back and forth. Little do the two of them know, that's exactly what forms a beginning bond between trainer and Pokemon.
"How stubborn can you get? Sylveon. You know what to do." Cadence's horn emanated a magical light, holding Honedge in place, preventing him from moving.
"Syl!" Sylveon put her ribbonlike feelers on the possessed Shining Armor, releasing enmity-erasing waves throughout the body of Shining Armor.
"HOO! HOHO! THAT TICKLES!" Honedge chuckled as he felt Sylveon's magic dig deep into him. "KNOCK IT OFF!" With enough action from Sylveon, Honedge was forced to leave Shining Armor's body, being defeated by Cadence and Sylveon once again.
"Honedge..."
"Ugh...Geez. When are you gonna get along with me, Honedge?" Shining Armor held his neck, still feeling the soothing aura from Sylveon.
"Nedge."
"Everypony else are good friends their own Pokemon. Even the Sableye get along with them from time to time." Shining Armor sighed.
"Don't worry. I'm sure you and Honedge will get along well eventually. Right, Honedge?" Cadence turned her head towards the Sword Pokemon.
"Hone." Honedge turned around, scoffing at Cadence's words. It truly was a stubborn Pokemon. Most Ghost-Types are anyways, but they mean well.
One Ghost-Type who didn't mean well, however, was none other than Spiritomb. The Forbidden Pokemon had managed to find a goldmine of ponies to absorb once it found the empire.
"Spirit..." Spiritomb has only one goal. To complete its transformation by uniting 108 spirits. And there indeed was more than 108 individuals here. Enough for Spiritomb to go from a tiny little purple and green wisp to its regular size. And the Forbidden Pokemon wasn't discreet about it for a second.
The Forbidden Pokemon had begun its attack by forcing itself upon the citizens of the Crystal Empire. Its tiny wisp body had grown in size due to the energy it was exerting. A spiral of dark energy shot up into the sky, acting as some sort of tornado. The citizens of the Crystal Empire rightfully began panicking in fear of this sudden attack that just came out of nowhere without warning.
Cadence and Shining Armor looked outside to see the spiral of dark and purple swirling in the skies, causing the gravity around them to change.
"What is that?!" Cadence gasped.
"Whatever it is, it needs to be stopped! Honedge! Get it!" Shining Armor attempted to command Honedge, but the Sword Pokemon didn't respond whatsoever. "Seriously?! Even in this situation?!"
"Forget about Honedge! That looks to be Dark-Type aura...Sylveon, let's go!" Cadence had already prepared to teleport herself and Sylveon outside to the streets of the Crystal Empire.
"Sylveon!"
The trainer and Pokemon had both gone outside, involving themselves in the current chaos that was Spiritomb's actions. The two then saw that the dark spiral was actually acting as some sort of gravity field, pulling in ponies as it chased them down. The ponies who were filled into this spiral had been absorbed into Spiritomb's body, letting out screams as they could feel their entire spirits exit their body, feeding the Forbidden Pokemon as it was returning back to its original size. It had just absorbed 40 spirits in one go. Not only that, but their physical bodies had been pulled in as well.
"Spiritomb!" The Forbidden Pokemon bellowed as its spiral raged on.
"Sylveon! Moonblast!" Cadence commanded.
"Sylv!" The Intertwining Pokemon shook her head in understanding. She began borrowing the power of the moon itself, forming a moon-shaped ball of magic in front of her.
"Spirit?" Spiritomb could sense Fairy magic nearby. Something that was clearly bad news for a Pokemon such as itself. Fairy-Type magic was the reason why it was sealed up and defeated in the first place.
As a response and an attempt to save itself, The Forbidden Pokemon had used the move Ominous Wind. By creating a gust of repulsive wind, Sylveon's focus was being interrupted by the awful hollowed out screaming the wind had bellowed out.
"Syl! Sylveon!" The Fairy-Type Eeveelution covered her ears with her feelers, attempting to block out the noise of the wind. It worked for a moment as Sylveon fired Moonblast directly at Spiritomb. The ball of lunar energy had been caught in the wind, desperately struggling to break through the cyclone of repulsive zephyr.
"Tomb!" Spiritomb could see that Moonblast wasn't getting past the Ghost-Type move at all. A perfect defence against an otherwise super-effective move. As a second response, this time on the offensive side, Spiritomb had hurled a black blob of shadowy energy. It was none other than the move Shadow Ball. The attack had phased through the Ominous Wind and Moonblast by the use of its intangibility, hitting Sylveon directly.
"Veon!"
"Ah! Sylveon!" Cadence gasped.
"Spirit!" Spiritomb was racking up more spirits with the spiral still being active. Cadence spread her wings out, blasting the Forbidden Pokemon with a giant ray of magic in an attempt to put an end to this. The Forbidden Pokemon had been engulfed by Cadence's overwhelming large magic beam as the spiral of dark energy faded away.
While the magic beam managed to get rid of the spiral of Dark-Type energy, Spiritomb was still standing. The beam only managed to make it flinch and slightly aggravate it.
"It's not enough?!" Cadence's eyes widened.
Spiritomb figured that it could absorb Cadence as well. She seemed like a huge threat after all. To do this, the Forbidden Pokemon had attempted to pull Cadence in with a gravity field that acted as a sort of black hole. The alicorn gasped, realizing that her very essence was being pulled from her body. It's a good thing Cadence is an alicorn since it helps her resist the pull of Spiritomb.
"Sylveon!" To save her trainer, Sylveon had managed to use Moonblast whilst Spiritomb was focused on getting Cadence inside her. Once Moonblast hit Spiritomb, the Forbidden Pokemon had ceased its attempt to absorb Cadence's spirit, letting out a horrifying scream, falling to the ground.
"Good work, Sylveon!" Cadence let out a sigh of relief.
"Syl!"
"Spirit...Spiritomb." Unfortunately, even a devastating Fairy-Type move such as Moonblast couldn't take out this particular Spiritomb. The Forbidden Pokemon had slithered away, making a hasty retreat from Cadence, Sylveon and the Crystal Empire in general. It had enough spirits inside of it, so it was best to head out and find a new area.
"Wait! Come back here!" Cadence and Sylveon chased down the ominous spirit since there still citizens of the empire trapped within it. Cadence could easily keep up with Spiritomb since it is generally a slow Pokemon. However, the Forbidden Pokemon can phase through whatever it wants in order to make some quick getaways. And that's exactly what it did. It immediately phased through the ground, vanishing from Cadence and Sylveon's sight with ease.
"Sylv?"
"This isn't good..." The Princess of Love uttered. Clearly, it wasn't. Spirits of the Crystal Empire had been taken by that Pokemon. And who knows where else it's headed. To make quick action, Cadence had to warn Celestia and Luna about this pronto.
Ponyville, Rarity's Carousel Boutique, Afternoon.
"Here. Eat up, Ponyta." Scootaloo and the Crusaders were currently feeding their Pokemon at the moment in Sweetie Belle's room.
"Pony!" The Fire Horse Pokemon had taken a bite out of a berry, devouring most of it in one chomp.
"Espurr..." Sweetie Belle's Espurr fed itself by using its psychic mind to place the Pokeblocks inside of its mouth.
"Emol!" Apple Bloom's Emolga went around, snatching some food for herself by gliding in the air.
"A-Achoo!" Apple Bloom suddenly sneezed. "Ugh...Not like this..."
"Caught a cold? Don't worry. Ponyta will warm you up, right pal?"
"Ponyta." Ponyta went up to Apple Bloom, using his flaming mane to warm the earth pony up.
"Thanks..." Apple Bloom rubbed her nose. "I needed that."
"And what I need is a new way to work on my contest moves." Sweetie Belle picked up her contest ribbon case with her hooves, bouncing it up and down. "That Wonder Room trick isn't gonna impress the judges forever."
"Don't you have other Pokemon that can do other moves?" Apple Bloom asked, resting her head on Ponyta's warm body.
"Well yeah, I do. And they've all got something that could dazzle the judges. Teddiursa here's been itching to get involved in a contest already. Isn't that right, Teddiursa?"
"Ursa!"
"Well, while you work on that, I'm working on beating the second gym. Water. Pachirisu over here's gonna carry me to victory." Scootaloo picked up the EleSquirrel Pokemon.
"Pachi!"
"Sweetie Belle. Crusaders." Rarity, spoke opening the doors to Sweetie Belle's room. "Have you all figured out what gifts you'll be giving your Pokemon once Hearth's Warming comes around?"
"What gifts? Uhh..." Scootaloo squinted her eyes, attempting to come up with something on the spot.
"We don't really have anything yet." Sweetie Belle shrugged.
"Mostly because we don't know what Pokemon see as gifts." Apple Bloom shook her head.
"That's understandable. I'm not sure myself to be honest. Pokemon are a bit harder to read in terms of what they enjoy." Rarity replied to all three of them whilst petting her Mareep.
"Reep!"
"Just make sure that you don't overwork yourselves. We don't want a repeat of Ash's Thank You party now do we?"
"Oka-" Their words had been cut off for one reason. All three of them, along with their Pokemon, had spotted something unusual behind the mare and her Mareep. It was none other than Spiritomb but they had no idea what Pokemon it even was.
"R-Rarity..." Sweetie Belle stuttered, slowly pointing her hoof up.
"Hm? What's wrong, you three? You all look absolutely shaken up."
"Ponyta..." Ponyta and the other Pokemon were giving Spiritomb intensive glares, preparing to defend Rarity.
"Behind you!" Scootaloo exclaimed, causing Spiritomb to take action. And the obvious action was to absorb Rarity into it.
"Spirit!" The process of absorbing her spirit had been initiated. Rarity gasped as she could feel her entire spirit leaving her body out of nowhere, causing the unicorn to scream in pain.
"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle gasped.
"Ponyta! Use Flame Charge!"
"Pony!" The Fire Horse Pokemon was already on it, charging right into Spiritomb's eerie body, forcing it to back off from Rarity and thankfully saving her life before she became apart of the many spirits trapped within Spirtomb.
"Tomb!"
"Hah...Hah..." Rarity held her chest, breathing in and out as she fell to the ground. That entire scenario was terrifying to her. The feeling of almost having her spirit being ripped out of her body was so painful, no amount of words could even come close to the level of horror and devastation it brings.
"Sis!" Sweetie Belle went over to her older sister, helping her up.
"Mareep!" Mareep turned around, seeing how Spiritomb was the one who attacked his trainer.
"I don't know what you are...Actually what even are you?!" Scootaloo pulled out her dex.
"Spiritomb. The Forbidden Pokemon. A Pokémon that was formed by 108 spirits. It is bound to a fissure in an odd keystone to keep it from doing any mischief by a mysterious spell. Apparently, there are some ill-natured spirits in the mix."
"That thing almost took Rarity's spirit?!" Apple Bloom gasped.
"It won't be doing any of that anymore! Ponyta! Use Flame Charge one more time!"
"Ta!" Ponyta went for yet another Flame Charge, appearing to be much faster than before. Spiritomb however, utilized its intangibility to its advantage, phasing right through the Fire Horse Pokemon. "Pony?!"
"Spirit!" The Forbidden Pokemon gave Ponyta its own attack in the form of Dark Pulse. A horrible aura imbued with dark thoughts struck the Fire-Type's back, causing him to fall to the ground. In just one hit, Ponyta had already taken a considerable amount of damage. The Fire Horse Pokemon was already on the verge of fainting.
"Ah! Ponyta!" Scootaloo ran over to Ponyta, seeing her partner tumble on the floor.
"Piplup! Aerial Ace!" Sweetie Belle joined in, commanding her Piplup to protect her sister.
"Lup!" With blinding speeds and gusts of wind surrounding its arms and legs, the Penguin Pokemon gave Spiritomb and swift strike from both its arms and tiny little penguin feet, forcing it back a bit. Keyword being 'A Bit'.
Spiritomb had given its response by unleashing Shadow Ball on the Penguin Pokemon, causing it to take massive damage as well, ending up in the same state as Ponyta.
"Oh, no! Piplup!"
"SPIRIT!" Spiritomb didn't feel like wasting any time with these children. So instead, he'll just absorb their spirits as well along with Rarity who was still recovering. The four ponies felt their spirits being ripped out of their bodies, helpless to do anything to stop it.
"Reep!" But Mareep and the remaining Pokemon weren't helpless. The Wool Pokemon had protected the four of them by firing an Electro Ball, shocking Spiritomb's ghostly dark body in the process. Sweetie Belle's Teddiursa hopped on Mareep's back, raising its tiny little bear paws into the air. With the move Night Slash, the Little Bear Pokemon dealt the most damage to Spiritomb out of any other Pokemon here, but it still wasn't enough.
Emolga and Pachirisu had worked together as Electric Rodents, annoying the Forbidden Pokemon by using both Spark and DIscharge, shocking the Dark-Ghost-Type with 30,000 volts of electricity every single time. And of course, the remaining two members of the Electric Rodent Family, Plusle and Minun did the same with a unified Thunder Shock.
Despite them all being weaker than Spiritomb, when they work together and combine their power, they can even damage the most ferocious of Pokemon. And Spiritomb definitely felt the damage this time. The more they attack, the more damage they built up over time.
The Forbidden Pokemon was just getting frustrated at this point. And that prompted it to use the one move that is all about frustration. Accurately named, Frustration. A move that is commonly used when a Pokemon dislikes its trainer, increasing in power. But in this case, this move had increased in power due to Spirtomb's own frustration, prompting the Forbidden Pokemon to expand its dark eerie body, hitting every single Pokemon and even the ponies with a devastating shockwave of physical energy.
All of their Pokemon had unfortunately fallen to the overwhelming might of Spirtomb, as Sweetie Belle's room was a complete mess now.
"Spirit..." Emerging victorious over all of them, the Forbidden Pokemon took its first victims in the form Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. It had successfully absorbed their spirits, making them apart of it.
"S-Sweetie Belle!" Rarity groaned, attempting to save her sister. But the damage done to her made it so that she could barely move from the floor.
"Tomb!" Now that Spirtomb had absorbed two unfortunate ponies, Scootaloo and Rarity were next. And there was no Pokemon conscious to stop it.
Is what it thought until it was given the knowledge of Rarity's Leavanny's. Each of her Leavanny's were strong against Spiritomb due to their Bug Typing as they dashed through the doors of the room, attacking the Forbidden Pokemon with String Shot.
"Spiritomb?!"
"Leavanny!" The Leavanny's held the Forbidden Pokemon in place, making sure that it wouldn't even think about escaping. A single Leavanny dropped the string, going in for a physical attack instead. The Leavanny had landed a hard-hitting X-Scissor, striking the Bug move on Spiritomb's ominous body.
"Spirit!"
"L-Leavanny?" Rarity looked up to her Pokemon as a single Leavanny picked her up.
"Tomb..." Spiritomb looked over the current situation, realizing that it was cornered by every Leavanny here from all sides. With the amount of damage it had taken earlier from the other Pokemon and from that one single X-Scissor, it made the wide decision of retreating via phasing through the ground itself. "Spirit!"
"Nny?!" The Leavanny's all leaned forward, noticing that Spiritomb was gone just like that. And without a trace.
"Give my friends back..." Scootaloo groaned, falling unconscious on the ground.
"Give my sister back..." so did Rarity as she passed out eventually.
The Leavanny's had gone over to the fainted ponies and Pokemon, preparing to care for them. They couldn't chase after Spiritomb since they can't track down the movements of a ghost, so all they could do now was take Rarity, Scootaloo and the Pokemon to a safe spot to heal whilst they all plan on warning Twilight and her friends.
Spiritomb had finally been unleashed, roaming Equestria, in search of spirits to absorb. And so far, it has done a successful job. Stealing spirits from the Crystal Empire and even Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Now that it is loose and currently around Ponyville, the lurking danger of the Forbidden Pokemon is now a prominent threat that everypony else has yet to learn about as the journey continues.
A Pokemon that absorbs the spirits of anyone it comes across, fueling its dark energy. Recently, it had just broken free from its keystone in Johto, setting out to find new victims to absorb. It started with the Crystal Empire once it found the gateway to the other world for the first time, absorbing many ponies who resided in the empire. It had almost been defeated by Cadence's Sylveon but it made a quick getaway, searching for more spirits to steal.
It eventually made its way to Ponyville, coming across Carousel Boutique first. During its time there, it attacked Rarity and the Crusaders, attempting to absorb their spirits as well. Their Pokemon put up a good fight against the Forbidden Pokemon, dealing some damage to it due to them working together.
Unfortunately, even with their combined efforts, Spiritomb managed to defeat them all, absorbing the spirits of both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom into it. If Rarity's Leavanny's never came to the rescue at the last moment, then both she and Scootaloo would've been pulled into Spirtomb as well.
At the moment, Spiritomb's whereabouts are unknown, but it's definitely still lurking somewhere in Ponyville, that's for sure, aiming to absorb more than just two spirits. As for Rarity and Scootaloo they had been taken to bed by Leavanny, resting up in the process. Now the Spiritomb threat continues.
"Mrrgh..." Rarity's grumbled, slowly opening her eyes. Once she did, she noticed that her friends were all standing over here with their eyes locked on. "Everypony?"
"Rarity! You're okay!" Spike exclaimed, giving his friend an embracing hug.
"Leavann!" The Leavanny's all moved in for a group hug, glad that their trainer was up and healthy once more.
Rarity took a moment to notice that the other pony in bed at the moment was none other than Scootaloo. Seeing that made her realize what had happened earlier. "SWEETIE BELLE!" Rarity exclaimed, jumping from the bed as she knocked Spike and the Leavanny's to the floor. "Where is she?! Where's that thing?!"
"Wait, Rarity! Calm down!" Pinkie Pie uttered.
"I can't calm down! Not after what has just happened!" Rarity jumped off the bed, preparing to set out.
"Rarity! The Leavanny's have already told us what happened!" Fluttershy attempted to reason with her.
"If they've told you about the situation, then we can't afford to waste any time! Where did it go?!"
"Thing is...we would've gone out and searched for it but...we don't know where it is." Twilight lowered her head.
"Applejack's currently doing her best to try and find this...Spiritomb Pokemon. We're all clueless as to where it went." Starlight explained.
"What was the name of that Pokemon anyways...?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"Spiritomb. A Pokemon that steals spirits from others" Twilight answered. "I figured that when Fluttershy translated what the Leavanny said about a Pokemon that had pulled Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom in it by dragging their spirits as well, it had to be a Spiritomb. I've heard a lot and read about it. Right here." She showed them all a book containing legends of certain Pokemon.
"Spiritomb is apparently a Pokemon that was formed by 108 spirits long ago. Around 500 years exactly. The mischief and misdeeds it caused had spread out so far for so many years that a traveller came by, placing a mysterious spell to bind Spiritomb to an odd keystone. This keystone not only restrains Spiritomb's true power but it even negates its ability to absorb spirits. This traveller had placed every single Spiritomb in existence under a spell to keep them all from causing any more mischief and chaos."
"So that means..." Fluttershy shuddered.
"The Spiritomb that attacked wasn't bound to its keystone at all!" Twilight closed the book.
"What do we do?! Applejack's already off to find it! What if she gets pulled into it as well?!" Pinkie Pie pulled her mane, panicking.
"I don't know! Stealing spirits is new territory for me! I didn't even know that was possible!"
"M-Maybe Ash knows something about Spiritomb? He's the Pokemon expert after all, right?" Rainbow Dash suggested.
"Right...but he's not here yet. I'm not even sure he's coming here today." Twilight sighed.
"Then what do we do?" Starlight asked.
"Alright..." Twilight took in a deep breath. "This time...we can't let it be a repeat of the Ultra Beasts and Ghetsis. The longer we stall, the more spirits Spiritomb steals. We'll have to take matters into our own hooves for once."
Spiritomb's presence was currently known by the Crystal Empire, very soon Canterlot and the Mane 7. And if it wasn't stopped, in a few days, all of Equestria could become apart of Spiritomb's body, surpassing the 108 count. One thing was for sure, Spiritomb would still be in Ponyville.
From what it could tell, there wasn't a single Fairy-Type in sight to stop it. As long as there are no fairies, Spiritomb feels like it's in the clear. Bug-Types are just a mere inconvenience to it. The Forbidden Pokemon wouldn't leave until it absorbed a good amount of spirits within its vicinity. Just absorbing Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom won't satisfy it.
Applejack was doing exactly what the others described. She had already set out to find Spiritomb, searching every part of Ponyville for the Forbidden Pokemon. She had even passed through Everfree, but there was no luck at all. She tried looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. But everything was ordinary at the moment. Spiritomb isn't exactly a Pokemon that changes the world around it.
"Oh...Apple Bloom..." Applejack clenched her teeth, building up high levels of fear and panic within her. She didn't want to lose her little sister. Not like this. But she just can't find a trace of Spiritomb anywhere. At least...not at the moment.
The streets of Ponyville were completely active and populated at the moment, giving Spiritomb the opportunity to strike amidst the noise at any moment. The howling of Spiritomb echoed across the cold air of Ponyville's winter, causing even the snow itself to shake.
The howls of Spiritomb were enough to send chills down everypony's spine. They had no clue what caused it though, completely unaware of the danger that lurks underneath.
Twilight and her friends had gone outside, keeping an eye out for Spiritomb. Since they now know what it is capable of, they're making sure to keep their guard up at the absolute highest level.
"Keep your eyes open girls. Ghost-Types are generally tricky to spot." Twilight said with her Pokemon doing the exact same.
"But...where do we even start? What if we're too late to save Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle? And how will we know how to free them?!" Fluttershy bit her hooves, already in a state of panic.
"Hey! Let's not lose hope already!" Rainbow Dash flew to her. "This time, we're not gonna let Pokemon get the better of us. No offence guys." She spoke to her Pokeballs and Castform.
"Audi...Audino!" Audino's ears played a huge part in this since they would act as a Spiritomb tracker. Her huge feelers twitched, causing the Hearing Pokemon to turn her head in all directions.
"What is it, Audi?! Did you find Spiritomb?!" Fluttershy flew up.
"Dino..." Audino was in a bit of a tough situation. She could hear Spiritomb's howling and voice but she couldn't see it. One of the many advantages of being a Ghost-Type and part Dark. You blend in well with the shadows. However, even if she couldn't see the Forbidden Pokemon, she could track the direction of its howling. As such, the Pokemon to follow was Audino, who began running towards the howling.
They spent minutes on end, trying to find the source of the howling. However, it was so inconsistent in volume and location that it was difficult for even a Pokemon such as Audino to track it down. They even attempted to ask some ponies if they had seen something matching Spiritomb's description at all. But nothing.
Eventually, their rapid movements had led them to Applejack who also on the search for Spiritomb. And of course, she wasn't having any luck at all.
"Did ya'll find anything?" Applejack asked. Her entire body was full of dirt and dust, indicating that she had been searching in every corner of the town.
"Nothing yet. Audi's ears are having a tough time picking up on where the howling is coming from. She's not sure whether to go North, South, East or West." Fluttershy responded.
"Audino..."
"Can we even bring it out?" Rainbow Dash scratched her mane.
"Maybe we can bring it out...with Fairy magic!" Twilight stomped her hooves as they all turned to her. "Spiritomb is said to be a part Dark. Which means that it's weak to Fairy! All we have to do is use Fairy-Types moves and hopefully, we can draw Spiritomb out of hiding! How many of us know Fairy-Type moves?"
"Only three of my Slurpuff's known Fairy Wind." Pinkie Pie explained.
"Audi doesn't have any Fairy Moves on her that can help, unfortunately. Even in her Mega Form." Fluttershy shook her head.
"My Hatterene only knows Dazzling Gleam. That can cause something major," said Starlight.
"Altaria's got Disarming Voice on her." Rainbow Dash answered.
"I'm afraid that's the only amount Fairy-Type moves we have at our disposal, darling." Rarity sighed.
"It'll have to do! Let's get ready!" Twilight exclaimed.
Spiritomb's howling was suddenly growing louder in volume, indicating that at any point in time, it could pop out of the ground, absorbing spirits once more without any hesitation. And it wasn't unaware of the attempts to try and stop it. Being in the shadows meant that Spiritomb could see and hear everything around it. The Forbidden Pokemon was aware of Twilight and her friends attempting to thwart its spirit snatching plans.
Clearly, Spiritomb wasn't going to let that happen. So what was the best action to deal with anyone who would try and stop it? Simple. Absorb them as well. Enough hiding. The time to strike was now.
And strike it did. The Forbidden Pokemon revealed itself to Ponyville, letting out a horrifying scream once it burst out of the snowy ground. The same dark spiral it conjured up back in the Crystal Empire had emerged once more, startling everypony and forcing most of them to high-tail it out of the area, heading back indoors. However, the dark spiral had already pulled in 30 spirits from the amount of force it had been exhibiting, causing many ponies to scream as their spirits had been stolen along with their bodies.
Their Pokemon attempted to help, but none of them could even stand up to Spiritomb as a single Dark Pulse made quick work out of all of them with one go.
"It's out already?!" Starlight yelped, trotting backwards.
"Then it's already asking for more trouble!" Rainbow Dash held out her Pokeball, sending out Altaria.
"Tari!"
"Disarming Voice!"
"Alta!" The Humming Pokemon gaped its mouth wide open, sending a spiral of pink sound waves towards Spiritomb.
The Forbidden Pokemon saw this coming from a mile away. So as a response, a Shadow Ball was unleashed in order to clash against Altaria's Disarming Voice, causing both attacks to cancel each other out.
"You!" Applejack stepped forward along with Rarity. "You'd better release both our sisters!"
"This instant!" Rarity bellowed.
"Spirit? Spiritomb!" Spiritomb laughed at their words, finding it amusing that these cute little ponies are talking so big with such mature voices.
"You won't be laughing for long! Hatterene! Dazzling Gleam!"
"Fairy Wind!"
"Spirit..." Spiritomb could see that five Fairy moves were about to absolutely demolish it in an instant. There was no way it was handling four of them at the same time. No chance. So, the Forbidden Pokemon had used a dirty trick to put a stop to the two attacks. What was this dirty trick?
Spiritomb had projected Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and some of the Crystal Empire citizens inside of its body, screaming in eternal agony.
"A-Apple Bloom?" Applejack gasped.
"Sweetie Belle?!" Rarity winced.
They could see the screaming faces of the ponies twist and turn around Spiritomb's eerie body. Their screams echoed through the air, sending a chill down their spines. Due to this, Hatterene and the Slurpuff's couldn't fire their attacks. The sounds of the ponies crying out for help was enough to startle them all, freezing them in place.
"Spiritomb!" Hook line and sinker. They fell for it. Using the agony and pain of their friends in order to distract them was an effective trick. So effective that it allowed Spiritomb to make its move whilst their guard was down. Time to absorb some more souls. "Tomb!"
"Esp?" Eve noticed that Spiritomb was headed straight for Twilight and the others, preparing to pull them all in. "Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon jumped in front of Twilight and her friends, protecting them from the Forbidden Pokemon.
"Eve!"
"Spiritomb!" Spiritomb viewed Eve as a mere inconvenience that could be dealt with in an instant. And she was. Spiritomb had fired a Dark Pulse down on Eve, dealing high amounts of damage to the Psychic-Type Eeveelution as her body was hit by a pulse full of dark thoughts that were powerful enough to mess with her mind.
"Espeon!" Eve had been blown back by the Dark Pulse, tumbling on the ground as she had fainted. "Esp..."
"Eve, no!" Twilight turned around to see her Pokemon all tattered up and unconscious. Obviously, this angered the young alicorn, prompting her to retaliate back. "Vulpix! Use Incinerate! Minccy! Aqua Tail!"
"Vul!" The Fox Pokemon breathed scorching flames forward whilst the Chincilla Pokemon swung a tail surrounding by water, all in order to take out Spiritomb.
However, this Spiritomb was smart enough to trick them. Not only that, but it's one of those Pokemon that doesn't follow the usual 4 moves rule that has been popularized with even Wild Pokemon. The Forbidden Pokemon had used Shadow Sneak to appear behind everypony by just simply using its shadow to do so, completely evading the Fire and Water moves.
Now that Spiritomb was up close and personal with them from behind, it was a perfect time to start absorbing. It did this by extending its eerie body in size, casting a dark shadow over the little ponies and their Pokemon. Twilight and her friends gasped as they saw a purple and green energy looming over them with a devious smile along with it.
"Fire Fang!" A voice flew through their ears. One that was familiar and friendly. It was none other than Mayor Mare and her Stoutland, biting onto Spiritomb's body with blazing fangs.
"Stout!"
"S-Spiritomb!" Spiritomb felt that one for sure. The Fire Fang from Mayor Mare's Stoutland forced the Forbidden Pokemon to back away from the little ponies.
"Altaria! Use Disarming Voice!" Rainbow Dash commanded. The Dragon-Flying-Type took herself higher into the skies, firing a spiral of magical sound waves down on the Forbidden Pokemon. Finally, they were gaining the upper hoof on Spiritomb.
"Now! Use Dazzling Gleam, Hatterene!"
"Hatt..." Hatterene channelled her magic into one spot, unleashing a bright sparkling light from its body as it raced towards Spiritomb.
Finally, Spiritomb had been struck by two powerful Fairy-Type attacks, forcing it to be pushed back. However, even a powerful Fairy-Type move such as Dazzling Gleam couldn't take out this particular Spiritomb.
Spiritomb had a change of plans. Hatterene and Slurpuff were the biggest threats here. Might as well eliminate them. To do this, the Forbidden Pokemon had used Double Team to split itself into multiple illusionary clones of itself, throwing them all off guard.
"W-Which one is the real one?!" Fluttershy yelped with her eyes shifting across the area.
"We'll find out...Altaria! Use Disarming Voice! All around!"
"Altaria!" The Humming Pokemon spun her body around whilst echoing an enchanting voice. The spinning sound wave had gotten rid of some the illusionary clones, slowly revealing Spiritomb to them all. However, the real Spiritomb had phased through the ground, sneaking up behind Rainbow Dash via Shadow Sneak.
All the clones had been destroyed, but Spiritomb was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd it go?!" Rainbow Dash gasped. What she and the others didn't know was that Spiritomb was already right behind the blue pegasus.
"Audi...? Audi! Audino!" Audino had heard Spiritomb's, cackling turning around to see that it was right behind Rainbow Dash. But before she could warn the pegasus,
Spiritomb had finally gained its third victim from Ponyville. Rainbow Dash had her spirit forced out of her body from behind, pulling both her spirit and body into its eerie dark body, adding an extra spirit to its spirit count.
"RAINBOW DASH!" The girls all yelled in shock.
"TOMB!" Spiritomb was satisfied with the number of ponies it had absorbed. It was close to 108 due to this town's fill. However, Spiritomb could also realize that it couldn't stay here any longer. Not all these Fairy-Type Pokemon and moves posing a threat to it. So it was time to head off to the next location to absorb some more spirits.
The Forbidden Pokemon became one with the shadows, moving across the ground, leaving only its eerie howling that Audino kept on picking up. But this time, Spiritomb had put a stop its howling, making sure that Audino would no longer hear its cries.
Twilight's jaw dropped as she had just seen her friend pulled into the abyss that was Spiritomb's body. Everypony else was flabbergasted as a large majority of Ponyville was now missing, with very few left. It all happened so fast without warning and they could barely take it down despite having super-effective moves at its disposal. All they could do was stand there in shock at what had just happened.
Spiritomb's next location was unknown to them all. But it certainly knew where it wanted to head first. It spotted Canterlot in the far distance, recognizing it as a highly-populated area due to its structure. So the obvious option is to absorb the spirits there too. And once it finally reaches 108 spirits, it can cause as much mischief and misdeeds as it wants without anyone stopping it this time as the journey continues!
It was close to reaching its 108 spirit count. Once it did, its true power can be unleashed, causing it to cause as much chaos as it wants across the land. Now with many ponies from Ponyville inside of its body, its next location was none other than the ever-so-popular Canterlot.
At Canterlot, Hollow had just come in for another usual Pokemon lesson. But he was completely unaware of the news regarding Spiritomb.
"Afternoon, class. I've got some-" Hollow entered the room, holding a bag of various Pokeballs at his disposal. Once he entered the classroom, he noticed that the foals were in a bit of a petrified state. Some were even shaking in their hooves. All because Cadene had informed Celestia about the presence of Spiritomb and what it has currently done. "Hm? What's wrong? You kids okay?"
"W-We're all okay here..." Sunrise squeed as his shaking was causing the chair he sat on to quake.
"Mhm...There's nothing causing us to be terrified. Not at all." Sapphire had a wide grin on her face as fell off her chair. "Ow!"
Dew Drops was more mortified than everypony else here. The news of Spiritomb travelled fast, Just fast enough for Celestia and Luna to inform all of Canterlot before Hollow got here. You can thank Pelipper for that.
"Hm...Everyone's acting off today...First the citizens, the guards and now you all. What's going on here?"
"Nothing at all! Let's learn!" A colt exclaimed as he stood up from his seat.
"A-Alright...Uh...I was gonna continue off from yesterday. Learning more about certain Pokeballs. Cause there's a lot more to these little things." He placed the bag down, revealing many other Pokeballs of all kinds. "You all already know how most of these Pokeballs work right?"
"Y-Yeah...The Quick Ball is the most effective for a first encounter, right?" Sapphire replied.
"Right you are. They work extremely well when their first thrown. But after that, they just worse the more you throw em. So. How about today, I show you this?" Hollow held out two Pokeballs. The Friend Ball and the Luxury Ball.
"Which Pokeballs are those?" Sunrise asked.
"These are the Friend Ball and Luxury Ball. The Pokeballs that help you get closer to a Pokemon that you catch."
"Get closer? A Pokeball like that exists? Isn't that cheating?" A filly wasn't too sure about this.
"Not at all. Like the normal Pokeball, the inside is super comfortable. Almost like a hotel. The Pokeball changes mechanics inside to match the Pokemon inside. If I were to catch a huge Pokemon like Wailord, the inside of the ball would adjust itself to match the proper comfortable environment for Wailord."
"Oooh...The Pokemon are so lucky to be inside something so comfortable!" A pony squeed.
"Mhm. And the Friend Ball and Luxury Ball take that a step further. The Friend Ball helps ease anger and stress whilst the Luxury Ball helps to give the Pokemon some luxury inside. Both work the same in which your Pokemon will calm down. Works well on rowdy and aggressive Pokemon."
"Wow...I guess it would work pretty well on the Spiritomb that's loose right now." A colt said. It took him a moment to realize that he had just bellowed the truth out of his mouth to the entire class, making Hollow aware.
"A Spiritomb's loose?!" Hollow dropped the Luxury Ball.
"That is indeed correct, Hollow." Standing alongside another Pokemon that lurks in the shadows was none other than Princess Luna who overheard the entire conversation. "I assume you know about this Spiritomb Pokemon, correct?"
"Y-Yeah...Spiritomb's a serious Pokemon to be involved with. More so than most Pokemon. It's one of the very few Pokemon in the world that are inherently evil."
"S-So it's an actual evil Pokemon?!" Sunrise hid under his desk.
"Sadly, yeah. Spiritomb's are mostly formed in two ways. The first being the spirit of someone who caused an evil deed, forming into the body of a Spiritomb and absorbing other souls along the way. The second involved more than just one soul causing a horrible crime. The all 108 souls sealed inside the keystone would seek revenge."
"So then this Spiritomb is formed by one spirit I presume? It attacked the Crystal Empire, absorbing 40 ponies into its body from what Princess Cadence told us." Luna asked.
"Uh...I guess that's right. So it's somewhere around Equestria right now?"
"Completely rampant. Who knows how many spirits it has absorbed? If only there was a way to track it down." Luna thought to herself.
"Not that easy to track a Spiritomb down. Since it's Dark-Ghost, it blends in perfectly with the shadows and darkness, essentially becoming invisible."
"So there's no way to find it, then?"
"Well...You can still find it. Just not on normal levels. If anything..." Hollow pointed at Luna's Darkrai. "Your Darkrai has a better chance of finding Spiritomb. It's a Pokemon that blends with the shadows as well doesn't it?"
"That is true." Darkrai looked at himself. "I could possibly detect Spiritomb's shadow if it closes in."
"Excellent!" Luna suddenly exclaimed, startling the class. "We now have a way to drag out this Spiritomb creature! This is wonderful news!"
"But...how are you gonna know when Spiritomb is gonna show up? If it's just going all across Equestria stealing spirits, then isn't it gonna be hard to find it in one spot?" Sapphire Flash asked.
"You raise a fair point, Saphhire Flash." Luna pondered. "I suppose it would be erratic..."
"Hm!" Darkrai suddenly gasped, feeling a shock within his body.
"What's wrong, Darkrai?!" Luna turned her head.
"It's here. I can feel it."
"You can...? How?" The princess of the night asked.
"Us Dark-Types can sense nearby cruel activities. Spiritomb's here in Canterlot."
"It's here?!" A filly screeched, causing the young ponies to enter a state of panic and fear. Some were yelling about how they didn't want to be apart of Spiritomb's spirit count.
"W-Where is it?!" Luna shifted her head to every side, searching for the Forbidden Pokemon. "Darkrai. Head into the shadows and see if you can spot it."
"Right." The Pitch Black Pokemon did just that. Darkrai became one with the shadows, disappearing from everypony's sight with ease. It was up to him to find his fellow Dark-Type and hopefully put an end to it. But where in Canterlot was Spiritomb
Spiritomb's first location was actually indoors instead of the streets of Canterlot. It made its entrance in the home of a completely unsuspecting pony who was just minding their business. The Forbidden Pokemon was slowly emerging from the shadows, preparing to pull another spirit into its body.
However, one disadvantage that Spiritomb was cursed with which Darkrai thankfully had at all times was speed. Darkrai being the speedy Pokemon that he is, caught up to Spiritomb in no time, startling the Forbidden Pokemon.
"Found you!"
"Spirit?!"
The pony indoors was completely unaware of the two Dark-Types in his home. He was just listening to music, passing the time with a calm mind. "Walking down this endless highway...Nothing but my friends beside me..." He sang to himself.
"So, you've been busy stealing innocent spirits now, have you?" Darkrai spoke in an intimidating tone.
"Spiritomb..." Spiritomb backed up as it flew up from the shadows, clearly intimidated by its fellow Dark-Type. But clearly, being a Pokemon that has a vengeful spirit within it, it wasn't about to just give up because of something much greater than it was standing in its way. Besides, it was so close to reaching its 108 spirit count, reaching its true power after so many countless years. "Tomb!"
"Release the spirits from your body!" Darkrai hovered up, holding a Dark Void in his claws. His method of dealing with Spiritomb was just simply putting it to sleep in a nightmare state. Works most of the time anyway.
"Spiritomb!" Obviously, Spiritomb wasn't just going to stop because someone told it to. It was a Pokemon that followed zero rules whatsoever. As a response, Spiritomb had used Shadow Sneak to retreat from the building, making its way to the outside of Canterlot.
A retreat wouldn't stop Darkrai from chasing it down, however. Dark Voids were thrown towards the shadow of Spiritomb, attempting to put it to sleep. But despite being a slow Pokemon, it was crafty at the end of the day. So crafty in fact that it tricked Darkrai into hitting a pony with Dark Void, placing them to sleep.
Spiritomb's shadow crawled up Canterlot Castle, forcing Darkrai to soar higher up. If Dark Void won't catch it, then perhaps an Ice Beam will. Darkrai had fired a chilling beam of ice, planning to freeze Spiritomb in its tracks. Ice Beam was generally faster than Dark Void anyways. It actually worked somewhat. It didn't freeze Spiritomb but it did force it to fly out of the shadows.
"Tomb!"
"Gotcha!" Darkrai found an opportunity to strike, sending a Dark Void towards the Forbidden Pokemon.
Spiritomb took some time to recover from the Ice Beam, but when it did, the Forbidden Pokemon didn't get the chance to react to Dark Void. As such, the ball of dark energy made contact with the Dark-Ghost-Type dragging it into a world of total darkness, causing it to fall into a nightmare state.
Spiritomb could be seen falling from above as its eerie body hit the ground, not making a single sound. Darkrai flew down from above, looking at the resting body of Spiritomb as Luna flew beside her partner.
"Amazing job, Darkrai!" She exclaimed. "A potential grand threat has been solved already."
"Not yet," Darkrai uttered. "The spirits are still trapped within it."
"Oh, right. How do we separate them then?"
"I'm not sure about that one. I don't have a clue on how to separate spirits at all." Darkrai shook his head. A problem that they thought was solved instantly, proved to have one major obstacle in the way. Darkrai definitely didn't have the power to separate spirits, but that would be cool. "Is there by chance a spell that can do so?"
"Hmm...No. Unfortunately. Spirit absorption and separation are two completely new territories for me. And most definitely my sister as well."
"In that case...We'll have to seek out help from my homeworld. Perhaps there are trainers out there who have knowledge of separating spirits from Spiritomb."
And speaking of Spiritomb, Dark Void didn't last that long against it. Out of nowhere, it had suddenly woken up already, unleashing a devastating Frustration that forced Darkrai and Luna back. The ponies of Canterlot had been startled, galloping off since they already knew something major was about to occur if both Luna and Darkrai are out here.
"It's awake already?!" Luna gasped. "How?!"
"Spiritomb!"
"It's vengeful spirit is so great and aggressive that nightmares are merely an inconvenience for it..." Darkrai hovered back, realizing why Dark Void didn't work fully. Spiritomb had vented out all of its anger in another move. One that wasn't frustration. Instead, it was a Dark-Type move known as Lash Out.
Black tendrils flew out of Spiritombs body, aggressively striking Darkrai as he felt the force of Spiritomb's anger.
"Darkrai!" Luna saw her partner smacked to the side by Lash Out, tumbling on the ground. "How dare you hurt my partner! Darkrai! Freeze it with Ice Beam!"
Darkrai being the resilient Pokemon he is, recovered from his tumbling as a cold beam emerged from his claw, freezing Spiritomb in place.
"Tomb!" But, surprisingly, Spiritomb broke out almost instantly, scattering the ice shards across Canterlot. "Spirit!" Spiritomb sent another Lash Out forward with the same dark tendrils chasing after Darkrai.
"Dodge it and use Dark Pulse, Darkrai!" Luna commanded. The Pitch Black Pokemon thought quick on its feet...which it does have, evading the tendrils by outspeeding them easily. He cupped both his dark claws together, creating a wave of black and purple circles imbued with dark thoughts.
Giving its retaliation, Spiritomb had also sent a Dark Pulse forward, connecting with its fellow Dark-Type. Darkrai's Dark Pulse proved to be stronger, however, making it clear that Spiritomb really didn't stand a chance against the Mythical Pokemon at all.
"Spirit...Spiritomb!" Spiritomb's eerie body had been blown back, forcing it to fall on the ground.
Hollow and the students looked outside to see Luna and Darkrai facing off against Spiritomb and how they managed to fend off against the Forbidden Pokemon.
"Awesome!" Sunrise pressed his face against the window glass. "Luna's Darkrai is so cool!"
"But that Spiritomb hasn't fainted yet!" Sapphire noticed as Spiritomb got back up immediately. "Shouldn't it be down already, Mr Hollow?"
"Spiritomb's a pretty durable Pokemon. So it's not surprising that it can withstand hard-hitting attacks such as Dark Pulse and Ice Beam.
"Spirit..."
"This thing is certainly persistent." Luna had a small grin on her face. "It's a bit exciting. But our little game ends here! Darkrai! Let's finish this with Dark Pulse one more time!"
Darkrai put one claw forward, preparing to send out Dark Pulse to finish this little bout.
However, Spiritomb had one little trick that it can bet on. Similar to what it did back at Ponyville to throw Applejack and Rarity off guard by showing them the captured spirits of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. It was capable of doing this since once it steals a spirit, it can dig deep into their memories, finding the ones that they love and care for.
And it did exactly that. Spiritomb had shown the agonizing faces of Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom since they have their own little bond with Princess Luna and Darkrai. Their hollowed out screams caused Luna and Darkrai to pause all of a sudden.
"Sweetie Belle!? Apple Bloom?!" Luna gasped.
"Spirit!" Spiritomb used this opportunity to act. It knew that it couldn't hope to defeat a Pokemon like Darkrai. Not at all. However, even if it decided to hide in the shadows, Darkrai could just find it anyway. So the best option at the moment was to pull off another dirty trick in the form of Smokescreen.
An obscuring cloud of smoke and ink had been released from Spiritomb's body, blocking out the vision of it from Luna and Darkrai. This was another of its getaway tricks. Using a move such as Smokescreen was perfect for escaping.
And now, Spiritomb knew of a way to avoid Darkrai. As long as it doesn't hide in the shadows, Darkrai can't find it since the shadows are Darkrai's speciality. Granted, this means Spiritomb will be much more visible to anypony that passes by. But it's much better than being hunted in the shadows. However, what wouldn't be discreet was it spirit absorption. Once it gets back to doing that, somepony's gonna notice, especially Darkrai.
"Where is it?!" Luna noticed that Spiritomb had up and left.
"It's somewhere here in Canterlot. I'll keep searching!" Darkrai submerged himself in the shadows, continuing the hunt for the Forbidden Pokemon.
The students, who were already terrified, had their fears built up to a much higher degree. Spiritomb was this close to being defeated. But unfortunately, it made its escape by playing dirty.
"What do we do?! It could come after us next! I don't want my spirit taken away from me!" A colt screamed out in fear, pulling his mane.
"M-M-Maybe if we stay extra quiet it won't find us?" A filly squeed.
"M-Mr Hollow. What do we do?" Sapphire asked, shaking in fear.
"Calm down. There's a way to deal with this."
"There is?" All the students replied.
"Yeah." Hollow held out a Pokeball, looking directly at it. "I'm counting on you to keep them safe. Out you come." The Pokemon he sent out was none other than his Mimikyu.
"Mimi!"
"Mimikyu. I need you to help me keep a lookout for Spiritomb, okay? It's loose somewhere in Canterlot. So if we find it, I can trust you to help us stop it, right?"
"Kyu!" Mimikyu was up for it. It was ready to defend the children since it has grown an attraction to them over the past few months. Mostly because it loved how some of them found it cute despite its eerie appearance.
It wasn't just Luna, Darkrai and Hollow who were aware and prepared for Spiritomb. Celestia was well aware of its presence. She was the first pony to gain news of Spiritomb's actions and how it absorbed 40 spirits at the Crystal Empire. Passion stood beside her as both were biding their time, waiting for the opportunity to stop Spiritomb.
Celestia had recently been learning about Pokemon after all, similar to Twilight. With the Canterlot Library now gaining books surrounding Pokemon and various categories about the world and the creatures that inhabit it, she was well aware of the Pokemon known as Spiritomb.
And speaking of Twilight, she and her friends were still in absolute shock and horror of what had just happened earlier. Rainbow Dash had now been taken by Spiritomb with her soul lost in its eerie body. What's worse, they couldn't track Spiritomb down anymore since it was no longer howling, causing Audino to lose its presence.
There were very few ponies remaining in Ponyville. With some of them being Mayor Mare and the rest of the Apple Family. It's a good thing that Spiritomb is mostly satisfied when it obtains a certain amount of spirits, causing it to flee to another location.
But, even still, Twilight was in a rough spot. She couldn't track down Spiritomb since it was such an elusive Pokemon thanks to its Ghost-Typing, not to mention she had no clue how to separate spirits at all. There wasn't a single spell in Equestria that could perform that.
"What to do...What to do...?" Twilight groaned, covering her face with her hooves. The rest of her friends were feeling their own emotions at the moment. Pinkie Pie was comforting Fluttershy who was absolutely mortified by this whilst Rarity and Applejack were both distressed about their little sisters. "I don't know! I don't know what I can do about this?!"
"T-Twilight?" Starlight stuttered.
"Not now, Starlight! I can't think straight!" Twilight slammed her hooves on the ground, causing Starlight to move back.
Fluttershy and Audino were also taking care of the Pokemon that belonged to Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and even Scootaloo's since they fainted whilst battling against Spiritomb earlier.
"That dirty little spirit!" Rarity stood up. "It used our own sisters against us! We almost have it in our hooves!"
"And it's no longer making those hollowing cries." Fluttershy sighed. "Who knows where it could be now?"
"All of you." Mayor Mare spoke. "You're not thinking of quitting now are you?"
"W-What? No! Our sisters are still in there!" Applejack exclaimed. "But...Neither of us got a clue on how to solve this..."
"It feels like an absolute repeat of Ghetsis and the Ultra Beasts..." Rarity stomped her hooves. "Why is it that no matter how hard we try we can never overcome anything that involves Pokemon...It feels like we're just constantly hitting a brick wall that we can never breakthrough or even fly over..."
"Even so, that won't stop you. It hasn't stopped you all before now, has it?" Mayor Mare asked.
"Well...no..." Twilight rubbed her hooves together.
"You girls have done so much for our town in the past. You've overcome difficult odds and even gotten yourselves out of struggles that you never won anyway. So surely, this is no different, correct?"
"She's right...we've gone up against a lot of seemingly impossible odds in the past. Discord, Sombra and even Tirek." Pinkie Pie said.
"Right! And remember when you all first met me?" Starlight asked. "It wasn't just you that stopped my plans but other ponies instead. So we can do the same for this Spiritomb thing, right?"
"Not to mention how you managed to drive out that Nihilego Ultra Beast, preventing it from causing any more harm. You've accomplished a plethora of feats and achievements that guarantee the safety of our town and possibly even that of Equestria. I can safely say that you can break past this Spiritomb issue like the rest." Mayor Mare nodded along with Starlight.
"You're right." Twilight removed her hooves from her face, standing up and spreading her wings. "We may not know about spirits and how to separate them...but after being involved with Pokemon for so many months and learning about them, I'm confident there's a way to free our friends." Twilight swallowed her fears, finally accepting that no matter what, Pokemon will always take them by surprise. But that doesn't mean they should just keep on feeling stumped about it.
"Audi..." Audino's ears picked up on something. It sounded like humans talking. But instead of your natural gibber gabber about daily life and other simple things, the words these humans spoke were about Spiritomb. "Dino! Audino!" Audino spoke to Fluttershy, telling her about what she's hearing.
"Hm...? Really?!" Fluttershy flew up.
"What?! What did she hear?!" Rarity perked up.
"Some humans nearby are tracking down Spiritomb apparently! I think she heard it from over there!" Fluttershy pointed her hoof over at the outskirts of Ponyville. Hearing that sparked up even more hope in Twilight and her friend's. This could be what they needed at the moment.
The group with the inclusion of Mayor Mare had followed Audino who was tracking down the chatter. But who exactly was it that was mentioning Spiritomb? As they got closer, the ponies could hear their words clearer. From their appearance, it appeared to be the Shrine Maidens from Johto who were tasked with stopping Spiritomb. But the ponies definitely didn't know that. They just thought they were nicely dressed humans.
"Spiritomb isn't too far from here. It seems it must've retreated North."
"Right. Let's hope it hasn't reached 108 spirits yet. If it has, then defeating it will prove to be much more difficult."
"They're after Spiritomb too?" Twilight whispered. "Maybe they know how to separate the spirits."
"Who goes there?!" A Shrine Maiden managed to pick up on Twilight's words, startling the ponies. She held up a bow, shooting an arrow towards Twilight's direction at high speeds. This arrow was covered in a pink Fairy aura as it grazed Twilight's mane, colliding with a tree as it pierced through the thick tree.
"Eep!" Twilight squeed. She was almost done in by an arrow.
The maidens all turned their heads to see the ponies hiding behind a rock, blowing their cover immediately.
"Ponies?" The maiden who fired the arrow raised her eyebrow. "My deepest apologies!" She gave a bow to apologize.
"Uh...N-N-No problem." Twilight was still quivering from the arrow. "We just came by since we heard you talking about Spiritomb?"
"You've seen it?!" The maiden exclaimed, startling the ponies as she still had the bow and arrow on her.
"Seen it? We've experienced it!" Pinkie Pie replied. "That creepy looking circle thing came out of nowhere and started stealing the spirits of our friends!"
"Our sisters and friend were all taken by that ghastly thing." Rarity shuddered. "And poor Scootaloo is still unconscious."
"I see...Then we should've tracked Spiritomb down quicker. Apologies. We'll have to increase the amount of Fairy magic if it has consumed many more spirits over time."
"Um, do you by any chance know how to separate the spirits from Spiritomb?" Fluttershy asked, hiding behind her Audino.
"Indeed we do." The maiden nodded her head. And there it was. The words they wanted to hear. There truly was a way to free their friends from Spirtomb. But it got even better. "There are only two ways to separate the spirits from Spiritomb's body."
"There is?! What are they?!" Twilight flew up with joy packed inside of her wings.
"The first is Fairy-Type magic. The only thing that is capable of going up against a Dark-Ghost-Type such as Spiritomb. Fairy magic is capable of purifying darkness as well as negating it. It is why we maidens carry weapons that have Fairy magic around them." She raised her arrows up as they were shown to have mystical pink sparkles around them."
"Oooh..." Pinkie Pie gazed at the light. "Then...what's the second one?"
"The second one is Aura." A word they didn't expect to hear. "Aura is capable of what Fairy-Type magic is but on a higher level. Only an Aura Guardian can perform this. So much so that even if Spiritomb was to reach 108 spirits and more, the Aura would be able to separate it no matter what. Not even Fairy magic can do that unless it is below 108. However, modern-day Aura Guardians are so rare that we just resort to Fairy-Type magic."
"This is great news! Ash has Aura! He can help, right girls?!" Twilight squeed.
"Oh that is true." Rarity nodded as they all remembered that Ash does have aura lying within him.
"So you have a friend who is an Aura guardian?!" The maiden leaned forward.
"Mhm. Ash and his Riolu are oozing with it. From what we've seen." Twilight replied. "If we can get Ash, we'll be able to separate everypony in no time! Oh, but Fairy magic works too."
"I see. That's wonderful. However, even with all that said, the seal will not work unless Spiritomb is placed in this." She held out the keystone that the Forbidden Pokemon used to be in.
"Isn't that...Spiritomb's keystone?!" Twilight recognized it from the books she's read.
"Right. Every Spiritomb is placed inside of these keystones to restrain their power or to just simply seal them. This belongs to that exact same Spiritomb. With it being free from the seal, it is much more powerful than an average Spiritomb since its power is no longer restrained."
"So all we need is this little thing? Do we chuck it at the critter?" Applejack asked.
"Well actually, it needs to be surrounded by either Fairy magic or Aura in order for it to work. Then you can chuck it at Spiritomb. After that, we maidens will place the Pokemon near an ancient tree or a shrine to complete the seal."
"It's best that we do not waste any more time. If Spiritomb has managed to absorb more than 108 spirits already, then our Fairy magic will be useless." Another maiden spoke.
"Ah, that's right! We'll have to continue tracking it down."
"But how can you find it if it's completely invisible at this point?" Twilight asked.
"Us Shrine Maidens were trained to gain spiritual abilities that help us see even through the shadows themselves. Over there, Spiritomb's shadow tracks can be seen by us. And it seems that North is where it fled to." The Maiden pointed over at the direction Spiritomb went. They could somehow see the trails of shadows left behind by Spiritomb, making it easy for them to track it down.
"North huh? That's where Canterlot is!" Twilight gasped.
"Let's go. The sooner we stop Spiritomb, the better."
"If Aura is much more effective than Fairy magic...then we'll have to get Ash just in case." Twilight flew up. "You girls can go along with the Shrine Maidens. I'll see if I can get Ash in time."
"You're planning to come along with us?" The maiden turned to the ponies.
"Indeed! Those are our friends and sisters in there. We cannot leave ourselves out of it." Rarity shook her head along with Applejack and the others.
"I'll gladly give my assistance. They are my citizens as well," said Mayor Mare.
"Hm. I suppose that's fair. Alright. You shall assist us since you know this world better than we do. See if you can retrieve the Aura Guardian in time, my little pony."
"You can count on it! Vulpix, Eve, Minccy. Head off the others. I'll be right back!" Twilight flew off in order to find Ash pronto as her Pokemon waved goodbye.
There was now a way to put an end to this Spiritomb situation. Two possible ways with one being much more effective than the other. However, if Spiritomb manages to reach 108 spirits, Fairy magic will be useless and Aura will be their only hope. But if Spiritomb manages to outplay Aura with its usual sneaky tricks, then the outcome might be catastrophic as the journey continues!
With Spiritomb lurking around Canterlot, avoiding Darkrai with every opportunity it can find along with the Shrine Maidens having the solution to this problem, the clock is ticking as Spiritomb slowly builds its way up to 108 spirits and possibly even beyond that. Their hope lies within Fairy-Type magic and Ash's Aura.
"Where are you...?" Darkrai was on the hunt for Spiritomb who was proving to be fairly elusive, even to a Pokemon such as Darkrai himself. Each time it felt like he was nearing Spiritomb, the Forbidden Pokemon had managed to get away by using a heavy amount of Smokescreens. Darkrai followed the traces of Smokescreen, but yet, Spiritomb evaded him still.
"Hiya, Darkrai!" A pony waved at Darkrai, seeing his phase through their home. But Darkrai was too focused on finding Spiritomb to even notice.
"Afternoon, Darkrai." Fleur de Lis greeted him, but yet again, Darkrai's concentration was too intense.
Everypony watched as they saw the Pitch Black Pokemon moving around Canterlot in order to find Spiritomb. They also witnessed odd smokescreens popping up, unaware that it was the move Smokescreen.
In the classroom where the students learn about Pokemon, Hollow and his Mimikyu stayed with the foals in case Spiritomb decided to come after them as well. His Mimikyu had one powerful Dazzling Gleam waiting for Spiritomb if it ever spotted the Forbidden Pokemon.
In Celestia's throne room, her Arcanine kept his guard up, prepared to protect his trainer along with Passion. While she didn't have any Fairy-Type moves on her yet, she was prepared to do whatever it takes to defend Celestia.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Shrine Maidens, joined by the remaining members of the Mane 7 along with Mayor Mare were tracking down Spiritomb thanks to maidens being able to see shadow trails. They found out that Spiritomb's trails led straight to Canterlot.
They had taken a train to Canterlot, making it much more efficient that just walking there. They couldn't afford to lose any more time. They fear that Spiritomb might be near 108 spirits already.
"Here we are. Canterlot. Are you sure that the shadow trails lead here?" Rarity asked as they all finally arrived at their destination.
"Positive. Spiritomb's shadow is too immense to ignore." The maiden nodded. "However, there's a second shadow trail somewhere here that is greater than Spiritomb. Why is that?"
"That's probably Darkrai! Don't worry about it. He's a real chum." Pinkie Pie explained.
"Enough with the chit-chat. Let's hurry and save everypony else!" Applejack was already ahead of them all. They were completely unaware of the pursuit that Darkrai was on for Spiritomb.
Very soon, the Forbidden Pokemon would eventually have to come across both opposing sides in an attempt to seal it back in the keystone.
"Have you found it yet, Darkrai?!" Luna flew to her partner.
"Not yet. It's managing to evade me with ease at the moment. But it can't keep this up, that's for sure."
"We'll need assistance to catch Spiritomb. The guards are having a difficult time spotting it..." Luna shifted her eyes, thinking of a way to make this easier. That's when she spotted Applejack and the others approaching Canterlot, alongside the maidens and the Pokemon. "Or maybe our assistance is already here!" Her frown transformed into a smile, prompting the moon princess to teleport directly to the spot where Applejack and the group stood.
Once there, her sudden teleportation had startled the ponies, causing the maidens to almost attack since they were on high alert at the moment.
"Princess Luna!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"You're all here! I trust that you have arrived to help with the Spiritomb situation?" Luna asked.
"Right. That thing absorbed most of Ponyville's spirits. It's just us and few others left now." Applejack explained.
"So it didn't stop at the Crystal Empire or Canterlot..." Luna said quietly. "I see that Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle are not present with you. Did the Spiritomb take them as well?!"
"Twilight's gone to find Ash. Apparently, his Aura can separate the spirits from Spiritomb, along with Fairy magic. As for Rainbow Dash, she was unfortunately taken by Spiritomb as well." Rarity gave Luna her answer.
"So...there really is a way to separate the spirits. Then quickly! Spiritomb is loose somewhere in Canterlot! Even Darkrai is struggling to find it."
"Darkrai won't need to try and find Spiritomb." The Shrine Maiden spoke as her and the other maidens shifted their eyes east. "We see it..."
"You...see it?" Luna raised an eyebrow.
"Clear as day." A maiden took her bow out, aiming it at the spot that she and the others sensed Spiritomb. They could see Spiritomb leaving shadow trails, rapidly zooming across Canterlot. But it wasn't anything the maidens couldn't handle since they were trained for this. She fired the arrow filled with Fairy magic as it zoomed towards Spiritomb's location.
The arrow broke through the wind itself, causing strong gusts to kick up from the force it exhibited. And just like that, the Fairy arrow connected with Spiritomb's shadow, stabbing it.
"SPIRIT!" The Forbidden Pokemon let out a horrifying yell, feeling the mystical magic arrow pierce through its own shadow, forcing the Dark-Ghost-Type to emerge, coming out of hiding finally.
"There it is!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Tomb!" Spiritomb let out an echoing roar at the group, turning all of its frustration and anger towards them. It was both terrified and annoyed that the maidens had managed to find it.
It noticed that one of the maidens was holding the keystone, only further increasing Spiritomb's fears. But this time, Spiritomb was determined to make sure it would never be sealed away again. So what the best solution to this. Destroy and absorb at the same time.
"Spiritomb! Release the spirits you've stolen and return yourself to the keystone! That way it'll be less of a struggle." A maiden commanded.
"Tomb! Spirit!" Obviously, Spiritomb wasn't going to listen to a word they said.
"No surprise that it would try and resist. Then in that case...we'll restrain it by force." A maiden held up a fan embedded with Fairy aura as the other maidens did the same.
"So, Fairy-Types work best against it? Then out you come, Florges!" Luna sent out her strongest Fairy-Type. That being Florges.
"Flor!"
"Ooh, look at that!" The little ponies inside the classroom squished their faces on the window, spectating over the scenario that took place on the streets of Canterlot.
Many other ponies who stayed indoors to avoid Spiritomb were also spectating, hoping for the better outcome in this situation. Their spirits were on the line after all.
"Give our friends back! Treecko! Dragon Breath!" Applejack commanded, instantly targeting all her anger towards the Forbidden Pokemon.
"Treecko!" Treecko held his breath in, building up latent draconic energy from within. With a mighty exhale, the Wood Gecko Pokemon had let out a light blue beam surrounded with dragon flames as it raced towards the opposing Pokemon.
Spiritomb had used its wisp-like body to avoid the breath as the attack instead blew off the roof of somepony's home, causing them to jump in shock. Spiritomb had sent a Shadow Ball towards Treecko's direction as a response to the attack.
"Cko!" Treecko had been hit, feeling the black blob of shadows knocking him back to Applejack as his trainer caught him.
"Ah! Treecko!" Applejack held her partner in her hooves as she saw that he fainted from that single Shadow Ball.
"Florges! Moonblast!" Luna exclaimed. "And Darkrai! Use Ice Beam!"
"Flor..." The Garden Pokemon had borrowed the power of the moon itself, forming the energy in her hands. "Ges!" An orb of pink energy had been shot towards Spiritomb, hitting its shadow.
As a follow-up, a beam of cold ice had frozen Spiritomb in place since it didn't have much time to recover from Moonblast. And Ice Beam was just generally a fast move anyways.
Rainbow Dash's Altaria had joined in since she was her trainer after all. The move she went for was none other than Disarming Voice, sending a spiral of pink sound waves that gaped from its beak. Pinkie Pie had commanded three of her Slurpuff's to use Fairy Wind, kicking up a pink storm as tiny little pink stardust flew alongside the soundwave.
Spiritomb, realizing that multiple Fairy moves were headed its way, whilst it was frozen, decided to improvise. By using Frustration, it broke out of the ice out of pure force alone.
The Forbidden Pokemon had contorted and twisted its wisp-like body, causing it to avoid the Fairy moves that were thrown its way. "Tomb!" Spiritomb having avoided the moves, sent out black tendrils in the form of Lash Out, forcing Altaria, Florges and the Slurpuff's to be pushed back a small bit.
"Right where we want you!" A maiden had blown her fan, sending a gust of pink wind towards Spiritomb, essentially having her own version of Fairy Wind packed within a simple fan.
Spiritomb had been pelted with the sparkles coming from the wind, causing it to echo out in a resounding cry. As if that wasn't enough, the other maidens had used their weapons as well, shooting more Fairy covered arrows towards its shadow and body, forcing the arrows to stick onto its eerie wisp-like form.
The Forbidden Pokemon was completely stuck in place due to how many arrows were pinning its shadow down to the ground, causing it to be immobile.
"Excellent! Now! Let's finish this!" A maiden held out the keystone that was surrounded by Fairy magic, ready to put an end to this situation once and for all.
But not Spiritomb. Its 108 spirit count had yet to be reached. As such, it will not submit until it is satisfied. To break free from the Fairy arrows, the Forbidden Pokemon had used Will-O-Wisp to free itself, causing a haunted blue flame to burn away the arrows.
"Spiritomb!" Once it freed itself, it quickly let out a Frustration, forcing the ponies and Pokemon to back away from it a good few distances. And thanks to Frustration being linked to anger, it left them all a bit stunned afterwards. "Tomb!" With much more frustration packed with its vengeful body, it unleashed Lash Out, sending multiple black tendrils that flew into the air.
These black tendrils rained down from above, bombarding Canterlot as they were powerful enough to break off bits of ponies' homes and structures.
"Leavanny! X Scissor!" Rarity commanded her Leavanny to attack as the Leaf Wrapped Pokemon crossed both its leaf bladed arms together, bolting towards the Forbidden Pokemon.
"Spirit!" Spiritomb being the stubborn and vile Pokemon that it was had shot a Shadow Ball towards Leavanny, easily overpowering its X Scissor.
The black tendrils continued to rain down with some almost making direct contact with the group, leaving behind smoking hot craters once they hit the ground. Darkrai had sent all the tendrils into the nightmare real with Dark Void, protecting the others from any more harm.
"There is no chance that it can avoid multiple Fairy moves at once!" Luna exclaimed. She, Pinkie Pie and Starlight had each unleashed three mighty Fairy moves at the same time along with Altaria and her Disarming Voice. The maidens chimed in by using the fan and the arrows along with what seemed to be a spear covered with Fairy magic.
Hatterene had used Dazzling Gleam, extending her claw, sending out rainbow coloured rays that shot forward. The rays of rainbows had merged with the Moonblast, Disarming Voice, weapons and Fairy Wind, creating a unison of Fairy magic powerful enough to even surprise the mightiest of Pokemon.
From the looks of it, the unified Fairy attack had connected, striking Spiritomb as a huge smoke cloud with pink stardust emerged from the impact, causing both a destructive and beautiful sight to behold.
"Did you get it?!" Fluttershy leaned forward, widening her eyes. Everypony watching from the inside had leaned forward as well, hoping that it was finally over.
But it wasn't.
Spiritomb had used Protect. A green and purple barrier surrounded its also green and purple covered body, shielding it from taking any damage whatsoever.
"You're kidding?!" Applejack gasped.
"URGH! Why is Protect so convenient!?" Pinkie Pie pulled her mane.
"Tomb!" Spiritomb let out its hollowed cries once more, laughing at the ponies and maidens due to their struggle to defeat it.
"It's mocking us..." Darkrai hovered down next to Luna.
"Spiritomb has improved greatly from the last time it was sealed. It is far more cunning this time." A maiden said.
"Spiritomb!" Spiritomb looked over those that would dare oppose it, planning on a way to defeat every last one of them and take their spirits as well. Then it hit the Forbidden Pokemon. Since it's a part Ghost-Type, it can do the one thing that every Ghost-Type Pokemon is capable of doing.
Shadow Possession.
"Tomb!" By using Smokescreen, Spiritomb had thrown everypony's vision off causing, the Forbidden Pokemon to hide without worry.
"Where'd it go?! Try sniffing it out Slurpuff!" Pinkie commanded her Slurpuffs to try and sniff out Spiritomb since their smell was so excellent. However, Spiritomb doesn't have a smell. Its scent is non-existent.
Spiritomb hid itself in Pinkie Pie's shadow causing it to become apart of that single shadow. Like every Ghost Pokemon, Spiritomb has the power to do so. Not only that but if it wanted to, it could possess their bodies at any point in time. But it wasn't looking for body possession. It just wanted spirits.
"Audino!" Audino could hear Spiritomb moving in the shadows, wondering where it could've gone. Unfortunately, her wonderful hearing isn't really effective when it comes to situations such as shadow possession. If only she had advanced eyesight as well.
Once it hid in the pink pony's shadow, she could feel herself being affected by the Forbidden Pokemon's presence. This shadow hiding technique was very useful for Spiritomb since it would allow it to absorb a spirit in secret. The only reason why it never uses this technique that much is mostly due to the fact that it only works on one individual whereas its usual dark spiral works on multiple.
Pinkie's body had been dragged into the body Spiritomb along with her spirit. She let out a horrifying scream as it grabbed the attention of the others. They still couldn't see through this smokescreen, but what they could see was Pinkie Pie easily falling into Spiritomb as it had now added an extra spirit to its count, slowly reaching its full power.
"Pinkie Pie!" Applejack gasped.
"TOMB!" Spiritomb had sent out a powered up Lash Out, striking every single one of them. As its spirit count grew, its attack grew more aggressive, increasing in strength and size as well. Even a Pokemon such as Darkrai felt a bit overwhelmed.
"Let's see you escape from this!" A maiden held up a Fairy covered spear, swinging it towards Spiritomb's body.
The Forbidden Pokemon in all its mischief, contorted its body once more, avoiding the swings from the spear. However, the fairy dust from the spear sprinkled onto its body each time the spear was swung, causing Spiritomb to move back.
"We'll do this with other moves other than Fairy-Type moves! Stoutland! Fire Fang!" Mayor Mare commanded.
"Land!" The Big-Hearted Pokemon lunged up, covering its fangs in blazing flames. The Normal-Type had sunk its scorching teeth into Spiritomb's body, causing an explosion of flames to erupt afterwards.
"Hold it there, Stoutland!"
"Stout!" Stoutland kept his teeth inside Spiritomb's body, making sure that he wouldn't let go of the Forbidden Pokemon at all.
"Now's your chance to seal it away!" Mayor Mare turned to everypony else whilst Stoutland kept Spiritomb still.
"Right!" The maiden who held the fairy covered keystone tossed it directly at Spiritomb with all her might.
The keystone began spinning about, passing Stoutland, but hitting Spiritomb's eerie body. Once it made direct contact, the inevitable happened. Spiritomb had felt its entire body being pulled inside of the keystone. Purple chaotic lights shot out of its body and the keystone, blowing Stoutland back as a horrifying scream came from Spiritomb's body.
The Forbidden Pokemon had finally become one with the keystone it was bound to for so long ago. Its powers had been restrained once more.
"Tomb?!"
"Yes! It's finally restrained!" The maiden exclaimed, proud of her excellent throw.
"Now all we have to do is knock it out! With its power restrained, it shouldn't be able to withstand another Fairy-Type move!" Another maiden spoke.
"Spirit...Spiritomb!" And despite this. Despite its power being restrained due to the keystone, Spiritomb just wouldn't give up. In order to save itself, the Forbidden Pokemon used the one move that would throw everyone off guard.
This one move, in particular, was so powerful, that even if you hit the Pokemon, it wouldn't stop the move from going off. But as a drawback, this move would normally take out a Pokemon, causing it to become unconscious or even a forgotten memory. However, Spiritomb knew of a way to work around this and had enough spirits to withstand the explosion.
This move was Explosion.
Possibly the strongest Normal-Type move there is. Even a Steel-Type Pokemon would fall weak to its overwhelming might.
The Forbidden Pokemon's body suddenly started to glow, preparing to take everypony out in one go. The maidens had all stepped back, realizing what move this was. Even if they were to use their Fairy weapons, that wouldn't stop the Explosion from going off. It always goes off, no matter what.
"That's Explosion!" A maiden gasped as she and the others ran away in fear.
Darkrai had shielded the ponies by covering them all with its Pitch Black body whilst Luna placed a barrier around them for protection.
Hollow looked outside, recognizing Explosion instantly. He gasped, shielded the little foals as he prepared for the absolute worst.
All of a sudden, a violent dome-shaped explosion occurred, spreading across this one single area as a booming sound echoed throughout Canterlot, shattering even the windows themselves whilst also blowing the clouds back.
The force of the Explosion had almost ripped the buildings of Canterlot off the ground itself, scaring off any nearby Pokemon that may be living near Canterlot, mostly near a wildlife area. High up in the skies, the Flying-Type Pokemon flew away, retreating in fear.
The Pokemon on the ground level, unfortunately, had been hit. The barrier that Luna put up wasn't enough to fully protect them, as a result, Luna and the Pokemon had been hit by the devastating Normal-Type move. Darkrai was the only one who managed to fully withstand as he kept the ponies safe. The maidens, while they weren't hit by the explosion, had been blown back by the sheer force of it.
The only good thing to come out of this was the fact that since Spiritomb had its power restrained, Explosion wasn't as powerful as it could've been when it was free from the keystone. Meaning that the buildings around them were only slightly affected by Explosion.
Celestia held her two Pokemon close to each other as they both felt the magnitude of the explosion going off.
The aftermath had come. What was left was a gigantic crater that sat in the middle of Canterlot. The dust had settled with absolute silence. All of the Pokemon besides Darkrai had fainted along with Luna who was barely conscious at the moment.
"I-It took itself out...?" A maiden groaned as she was on the ground due to the force of Explosion reaching her and the others.
They believed that Spiritomb had decided to take itself out with Explosion, but the truth was shocking to them all.
Spiritomb had used its Ghost-Typing to its advantage. When it activated Explosion, it had made itself intangible, causing it to phase right through the destructive Normal-Type move, surprising everypony.
"Tomb!" Spiritomb cackled. It had outplayed them all. This Pokemon was punished long ago in the past for a good reason. It was so cunning and sly that it could perform tricks that would leave even an Alakazam befuddled.
But oh...it got worse. The Explosion wasn't just meant to deal stupid amounts of damage to them all. It also had enough power to shatter the keystone that kept Spiritomb restrained.
Just like that, the keystone that had been made specifically to hold back a Pokemon as dangerous as Spiritomb had been freed from its seal. Possibly forever.
"No...The seal!" A maiden gasped.
"Spiritomb!" Now that the Forbidden Pokemon was free forever, it was time to go crazy and absorb the remaining spirits and also cause chaos across the world.
"It's not over yet..." Darkrai, who was badly injured from Explosion looked up at Spiritomb who's body size grew, casting a shadow over Canterlot.
"Stoutland! You have to get up!" Mayor Mare ran over to her Stoutland who had fainted from the attack. Every other Pokemon were unable to battle, leaving only Darkrai as their saving grace. Is what they thought until Spiritomb was giving the knowledge of another magic threat.
One in the form of Equestria's benevolent ruler.
Princess Celestia.
A Flamethrower from her Arcanine struck Spiritomb's back, forcing the Forbidden Pokemon to turn around. It saw the Princess of the Sun standing there with Arcanine and Passion by her side. And judging by how narrowed her eyes were along with her intimidating demeanour and how Arcanine was growling, she was not happy in the slightest.
"Darkrai," Celestia spoke to the Pitch Black Pokemon. Take Luna and everypony to safety. Now."
"R-Right." Darkrai nodded. He was rightfully intimidated by Celestia since she wasn't here to waste any time. The Pitch Black Pokemon had picked up Luna and Altaria, carrying them to safety as everypony else made a run for it. It was all Celestia this time.
"Spiritomb..." Spiritomb loomed over Celestia, cackling at the Sun Princess.
"I may not have a Fairy-Type move on Passion to deal super-effective damage. But that won't stop me from defeating you!"
"Tomb!" Spiritomb admired Celestia's confident attitude, sending black tendrils in the form of Lash Out towards her and the Pokemon.
"Passion! Jump above and use Thunderbolt! Arcanine! Dodge with Extreme Speed!" Celestia commanded as she shielded herself with a magical shield.
The Emotion Pokemon and Legendary Pokemon nodded in understanding, splitting up in different directions. Passion had used her light body to jump up high, appearing above the Forbidden Pokemon whilst holding a Thunderbolt in her tiny little hands.
Arcanine had used a move quicker than even Quick Attack. He left behind a white trail with afterimages coming out as he effortlessly dodged the black tendrils. A bolt of thunder shot down on Spiritomb via Passion, shocking the Forbidden Pokemon.
"Don't let it rest for a second! Flamethrower and keep on using Thunderbolt!"
"Kirlia!" Passion had shocked Spiritomb once more, unloading 100,000 volts on the stealer of spirits. The force of the Thunderbolt was enough to send Spiritomb down to the ground, causing it to minimize, returning to its normal size.
"Canine!" Arcanine had mixed both Extreme Speed and Flamethrower together, appearing next to Spiritomb at blinding speeds whilst breathing a blazing hot flame on the Forbidden Pokemon's body.
"Tomb!" Spiritomb felt two different heat sources pour onto it. The heat of flames and the heat of lightning itself which was hotter than the sun. Out of desperation, Spiritomb blew them all back by using Frustration to gain a safe distance. It worked for a moment, but as Celestia said, she wouldn't let it rest for a second.
Passion had combined both Thunderbolt and Mystical Fire together, creating its usual plasma with its hands. Obviously, she still wasn't too capable of controlling such overwhelming power, but that overwhelming power was perfect for dealing stupid amounts of damage.
The Emotion Pokemon fired a beam of plasma forward, engulfing Spiritomb whilst ripping through the already destroyed ground.
Spiritomb's wisp-like body had launched a fairly far distance, causing the Forbidden Pokemon to hit a wall.
But, thanks to it being free from its keystone, Spiritomb could take as much punishment as possible, making it a difficult Pokemon to take down.
The Forbidden Pokemon stared Celestia and her Pokemon down as the atmosphere intensified. Spiritomb realized that in truth, Celestia was the biggest threat here at the moment. Everypony else paled in comparison. So if it could defeat her, then nothing would stand in its way.
However, shifting away from the scenario in Canterlot, Twilight's search for Ash had proved to be successful. She found him and Goh hanging about in Vermillion Harbor as they just had a small run-in with a certain Electric-Type Pokemon. That was a story on its own that occurred. Twilight gave them the run-down on what has happened so far.
"So that's what happened, huh...?" Ash spoke.
"Pikachu..."
"That's right. We couldn't do much against it. It was so crafty and unpredictable." Twilight sighed. "But then again, it's a Ghost-Type so I should've seen it coming.
"W-What's a Spiritomb?" Goh asked.
"Don't worry about it, for now, Goh. You said they were headed to Canterlot to stop it?"
"Right. And I don't know if they made it in time before Spiritomb reached 108 spirits! Ash! You know how to deal with Spiritomb using Aura right?!"
"Hm...I don't know anything about separating with Aura...but Pikachu and I defeated a Spiritomb and sealed it away in a tower. So I can help you out with that. You said that it would either be sealed away in a shrine or an ancient tree?"
"Mhm." Twilight nodded.
"Alright then. We'll make a stop to Canterlot and free our friends from Spiritomb!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Great! Let's just hope we're not too late. Everypony, please be alright." Twilight said as she worried for her friends and their current condition.
Spiritomb is now a free Pokemon. With it managing to overwhelm the group and causing the Pokemon to faint, it is proving to be a foe that is difficult to handle. With Celestia doing her best to fight back against the Forbidden Pokemon, Ash, Goh and Twilight are now making their way towards Canterlot to save their friends as the journey continues!
The Forbidden Pokemon bellowed at Princess Celestia with a bone-chilling cry.
But Celestia was not phased by it in the slightest.
After her encounter with Ghetsis, The Storm Behemoth and even the near destruction of both worlds due to her own Pokemon, Spiritomb isn't that terrifying to her. Not even a bit. She stood in the face of imminent danger that could also result in her own spirit being taken away from her.
"Passion! Fire off some plasma once more! Arcanine! Add Flamethrower onto it!"
"Kirlia!" Passion put both Thunderbolt and Mystical Fire into one, creating the unison of plasma whilst Arcanine held his breath in. Both Pokemon sent out ranged attacks full of blazing heat that roared their way towards Spiritomb.
"Spirit! Spiritomb had put a Protect, shielding itself from a devastating combination of moves such as that with a purple and green shield. Placing the shield away, Spiritomb had then sent black tendrils in the form of Lash Out that roared through the sky.
"Burn it away! Use Flare Blitz, Arcanine!"
"Arcanine!" Arcanine surrounded himself in a raging sphere of fire, forcefully rocketing himself forward as if he was being launched from the ground itself. The flames of Flare Blitz were strong enough to burn away the black tendrils, causing the Legendary Pokemon to smash its blazing body into Spiritomb.
"Tomb!" Returning the favour, the Forbidden Pokemon caused a mighty shockwave with the move Frustration. Its body puffed up a deep red, causing Arcanine to be sent back, giving it time to gain some space.
If there wasn't a second Pokemon present here. Passion had been ordered by Celestia to throw repeated plasma bolts at Spiritomb, continuously shocking and burning it at the same time.
With each throw, Passion had dealt heavy damage to the Forbidden Pokemon over time. Plasma was proving to be much more effective then Fire and Electric. But then again, it is both of them combined into one.
Spiritomb, feeling obviously irritated, used its surroundings to its advantage. The Forbidden Pokemon sent itself into the shadows, throwing Celestia off guard for a bit.
Keyword being a bit.
Celestia knew how to handle shadows. She concentrated her magic into her horn, letting out a golden flash of light that was bright enough to affect even Spirtomb. The Dark-Ghost-Type was forced out of the ground, revealing itself to Celestia.
"Right where I want you!" Celestia had a go in attacking next, shooting a dazzling beam of magic towards Spiritomb.
The Forbidden Pokemon contorted its body, causing Celestia's magic to just simply pass by it. Spiritomb had used the shadows once more, this time, hiding in shadows that are further away from Celestia. Mostly tight spaces of Canterlot buildings.
This time, Celestia's magic couldn't really reach it since it was in such a tight space. But that didn't stop her from tracking Spiritomb down. She saw the Forbidden Pokemon sneak itself in Canterlot Castle, knowing that it was off to absorb more spirits in order to reach its full potential. Celestia knows that if she can flash a golden light powerful enough, it'll bring the Forbidden Pokemon out.
"Arcanine. Head inside Canterlot. Passion. Come with me."
"Canine!"
"Princess Celestia's so cool!" Sunrise squeed.
"But, where'd Spiritomb go?" Sapphire Flash shifted her eyes across the area, unable to spot the Forbidden Pokemon.
Just then, Celestia had sent herself inside of the classroom, here to warn Hollow and the students.
"It's not safe to be indoors right now. Everypony out!" Celestia ordered as the foals rightfully made a run for it, not wanting to be apart of a Ghost-Types spirit count at all. "Hollow. Do you have a Fairy-Type with you at the moment by any chance?"
"Right here in the form of my Mimikyu." Hollow held up the Disguise Pokemon.
"Mikyu! The Ghost-Fairy responded.
"Excellent. Now, cover your eyes!" Celestia said that due to the fact that she was about to let out a blinding flash of light. Hollow covered both his Mimikyu and his own eyes in order to avoid being blinded by the flash.
A golden flash spread across the indoors of Canterlot, moving across the castle as if it was wildfire spreading. The light even shined through the windows, reflecting off every window present. At least, the ones that were still intact.
The flash of light had obviously reached Spiritomb since it was large enough to catch every shadow there was. Didn't matter if Spiritomb hid in the darkest corners. Celestia's magic was just that bright. Once it hit the shadow of Spiritomb, the Forbidden Pokemon let out an eerie yell, giving out its location to Celestia.
And just like she suspected, since the students were the most prominent in Canterlot, even outnumbering the number of guards that were here today, Spiritomb would obviously go for the ones that had the most spirits to steal. The Forbidden Pokemon was seen right outside the door of the classroom, perplexed from the bright flash that came from Celestia's horn.
"Found you! Passion! Paralyze it with Thunderbolt!"
"Kirlia!" The Emotion Pokemon with all her might sent a concentrated Thunderbolt that was focused on both damaging and paralyzing the Forbidden Pokemon.
Spiritomb, who was still recovering from the light, had been hit with 100,000 volts of electricity, causing yet another scream with the sound of multiple spirits echoing out.
"Now, Hollow! Subdue it!" Celestia pointed her hoof at Spiritomb.
"Oh, right! Mimikyu! Play Rough!" Hollow commanded.
"Mimi!" The Disguise Pokemon, in all its terrifying glory, jumped towards Spiritomb with its black claw sticking out of its dirty rag. Spiritomb had been cloaked with a heavy and thick white smoke surrounded by stars as it had been pulled into Mimikyu's body.
Mimikyu had grabbed Spiritomb with a fierce grip, hitting it multiple times with the mysterious claw it had inside of its even more mysterious body that is still a mystery to this day. The sounds of struggling could be heard as Mimikyu was doing its very best to keep the Forbidden Pokemon contained.
"Kyu!" Mimikyu had succeeded as its claw had finished pummeling Spiritomb, tossing it aside like a ragdoll.
"Yes! Nice work, Mimikyu! Now use Play Rough once more!"
"Mimikyu!" A second go was made. If Play Rough it a second time, then it'll surely deal wonderful damage to Spiritomb.
However, one thing they should take into consideration is that this particular Spiritomb is cunning and a bit of a genius actually. To avoid a second Play Rough, the Forbidden Pokemon once again made itself one with the shadows by using Shadow Sneak this time.
One advantage that Spiritomb had over Mimikyu, which was also an ironic fate, is that Ghost-Types, like Dragon-Types, are Super-effective against each other. The shadow of Spiritomb appeared behind Mimikyu, attacking the Disguise Pokemon.
"Mimi!" Mimikyu's disguise had been broken with its neck breaking and flopping to the side, having itself be launched up into the air by Spiritomb's shadow.
"Mimikyu! Recover and use Play Rough!"
"Passion! Fire Plasma towards it!"
From both sides, Spiritomb had been attacked. But this was an opportunity. A good old fashioned juke will do the trick. Spiritomb had tricked them both by not only twisting its eerie body to avoid the attacks, but at the exact same time, it even used Smokescreen to cause confusion.
Mimikyu couldn't see where Spiritomb was thanks to the Smokescreen as it swung its claw around frantically, hoping to hit something. And it did hit something. But not Spiritomb. Instead, Passion had been hit repeatedly by Mimikyu, taking the force of Play Rough. It's a good thing she's part Fairy or else it would've hurt like crazy.
"Kir!" Passion had been hit out of the Smokescreen, rolling across the floor.
"Mim?" Mimikyu took a moment to realize that it got the wrong Pokemon as Spiritomb was nowhere to be found.
"It got away again?!" Celestia gasped.
"That Spiritomb is unusually crafty... If we just keep chasing it down, it'll continue to find a way to escape." Hollow spoke, placing his hand over his face. "Guess that keystone was keeping it restrained for a good reason."
"There has to be a way to keep it from escaping..." Celestia thought to herself. She quickly shook her head, realizing that Spiritomb was now roaming Canterlot free as a bird. So this wasn't the proper time to stand around thinking. "Hollow. Please help me search for Spiritomb. I'll let out a flashing light every now and then. Make sure you cover your eyes constantly."
"You got it, princess!"
"Mimikyu!"
On the other side of the spectrum, Ash, Twilight and Goh had made their way to Canterlot via Pewter City. Canterlot and Pewter City have connected gateways after all.
The trio gazed their eyes across the streets of Canterlot, noticing that there was a giant crater, shattered windows and small bits of roofs that been blown apart.
"What happened here?" Goh gasped in awe.
"Spiritomb must've done this. Everypony's still indoors, though," said Twilight.
"Pikapi...Pikachu!" Pikachu nudged Ash's shoulder, pointing his tiny little mouse hands over the area where the rest of their friends were resting up. They noticed that Darkrai had the fainted Pokemon safe whilst the ponies tended to their partners. The Shrine Maiden's weren't holding up any better as well.
"Guys!" Ash called out, waving over at them.
"Hm? Ash! You made it! Oh, thank Celestia." Rarity let out a deep sigh.
"What happened? You all look so beat up." Ash asked as he ran over.
"Spiritomb happened...That thing's stupid strong!" Starlight fell on her back.
"Stupid strong is an understatement. That Spiritomb was much more powerful than an ordinary Spiritomb." A Shrine Maiden replied to Starlight.
"My sister's currently giving chase to the Spiritomb at this moment," said Luna. "But I'm not sure that even she can stop Spiritomb. It's far too elusive."
"Well, don't worry! We can still seal it up at the end of the day, right girls?" Twilight squeed.
"About that..." Applejack held her fainted Treecko, knowing the unfortunate truth. "Spiritomb destroyed the keystone."
"It did what?!" Twilight screeched.
"It took it out with the move Explosion. Then it must have used its Ghost-Type traits to phase through its own attack, causing everything but itself to be hit." A maiden explained. "The one thing that could restrain Spiritomb's power and seal it away has been destroyed."
"H-Hey uh...this sounds like a pretty dangerous situation," Goh whispered. "Are we sure that we should be involved in this? I mean...I don't want my spirit to be stolen, ya know."
"Have some faith, Goh. It isn't over yet." Ash crossed his arms, thinking for a moment.
"Right. We have an Aura Guardian here after all. You can seal away Spiritomb, right?" The maiden stood up, looking at Ash.
"Ah, about that. I didn't even know that Aura could do that. I mean, I knew of the tale of an Aura Guardian who sealed away a Spiritomb with his own Pikachu. But they did that by placing Spiritomb's keystone at the tower...which is what Pikachu and I also did."
"Pika."
"What do you mean you don't know how!" Starlight screeched.
"I'm not really a super expert on Aura. I know I have it and I know a little bit about how it works. But other than that, I've got limited knowledge on it."
"Pikachu..."
"That's fine." The maiden shook her head. "As long as you have Aura, we can still overcome this. There is a reason why Aura is considered to be more effective than Fairy magic."
"Why is that?" Twilight asked.
"The travellers who sealed away many Spiritomb in the past all across the world were all Aura Guardians. It was around the time when Aura Guardians were still prominent with a sizable amount of them across every region. They are the ones sealed away most of every Spiritomb that terrorized the land."
"Oooh...These Aura Guardians continue to sound even more impressive the more we learn about them." Twilight gawked.
"If there's one thing most Spiritomb's share in common...they despise wielders of Aura. It's why they have vengeful spirits in the first place. If they even sense a single trainer who was a high amount of Aura, they will not hesitate to attack, even if they are outmatched."
"Oh. Wait a sec..." Ash squinted his eyes, realizing that everypony was staring right at him. "You're gonna use me as bait?!"
"Right you are on that. You're the only one here with an overflowing amount of latent Aura. It must be you that attracts Spiritomb."
"And if we bring it here, we can still separate the spirits from it. Even if we can no longer seal it away. Let's just hope that it hasn't reached 108 yet." Another maiden explained.
"Hmm...I got it. Wouldn't be the first time I've been used as bait."
"Wouldn't be the first time?" Rarity shifted her eyes at Ash, squinting.
"I'll do it! I just have to get close to Spiritomb, right?"
"Right. It can sense who exactly has high amounts of Aura. The Spiritomb seems to have retreated indoors." The maiden pointed up at Canterlot Castle.
The minute she showed Ash the location where Spiritomb could be at, a beam of plasma broke through the walls of the castle, startling them all. That's a pretty good sign that Celestia and Passion found Spiritomb.
Along with the plasma beams came golden flashes that obviously originated from Celestia's horn. And after that, more plasma beams flew out of the castle. The ponies from Hollow's class had run out, safely escaping from the destruction that was gracing Canterlot Castle.
"Oh, I wanna keep watching!" Sunrise lagged behind, desperate to see the action play out.
"Later!" Sapphire used her magic to grab Sunrise dragging him with the foals.
"Looks like Princess Celestia's really hard at work right now." Starlight said. "She's gonna destroy Canterlot before Spiritomb does!"
"Alright! If Celestia's working hard then we'll work hard too! I'll make sure to lure Spiritomb in!"
"Alright. But be careful. That Spiritomb's crafty." Fluttershy warned him.
"I'll say. It's pulled off tricks and stunts that keep on throwing our guard off." Rarity shook her head. She and the others watched as Ash made his way to the scene were the Spiritomb scuffle took place.
The last thing they all saw was Ash turning to the corner whilst a golden flash of light flashed across Canterlot, along with the screams of Spiritomb and the spirits it had stolen. You could even hear some of the royal guards screaming, indicating that their spirits had been stolen by Spiritomb recently.
And what about Spiritomb?
Well, even with Celestia's proving to be much more tenacious than the others along with the help of Hollow, even she was having a hard time dealing with the Forbidden Pokemon's cheap and crafty tactics. Despite how many attacks were thrown at it, Spiritomb just wouldn't go down. That just further shows how much the keystone was holding back this Dark-Ghost-Type. If it wasn't free, a few Fairy-Type hits would've sealed the deal.
"Kirli...Kirlia..." Passion was running out of breath from constantly firing Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt. Not to mention that plasma burns through her magic must faster than anything else.
"Passion. Rest up for now." Celestia could see that her partner was exhausting herself. Attacking any further would just cause her to faint automatically. It was up to Celestia and Arcanine now. And speaking of Arcanine, he had just caught up to his trainer, attacking Spiritomb from behind with a quick and effective Flare Blitz, forcing the Forbidden Pokemon to fly back. However, Flare Blitz being a hard-hitting move meant that it did some recoil to Arcanine himself.
"Arcanine!" Arcanine snarled at Spiritomb, pacing around the Forbidden Pokemon.
"Are you still healthy, Arcanine?"
"Canine!"
"Spiritomb..." Spiritomb was obviously feeling agitated with Celestia. She was proving to be a difficult foe to overcome. Mostly because her golden light could reveal it instantly. And that plasma from Passion really leaves a mark on you. If you could see it on a ghost.
"It feels like this is never-ending." Hollow sighed as his Mimikyu was getting a bit exhausted as well. "Why is this one Spiritomb so persistent?"
"Mimikyu..."
"It isn't over yet. There's still a way we have to defeat it. There has to be." Celestia narrowed her eyes at Spiritomb.
However, like every other Pokemon, minus a few exceptions here and there, Spiritomb was actually running out of steam itself. Despite it being a Ghost, it relies on Infinity Energy like every other Pokemon in existence. As a result, Spiritomb could actually be heard breathing in and out, mostly due to the spirits within it that caused it to perform that.
"It's...getting tired?" Celestia noticed.
"Spiritomb's reaching a fatigued state. Just like every other Pokemon. But our Pokemon are a bit tired too." Hollow explained. "Mimikyu. Can you still continue?"
"Kyu..." Mimikyu was obviously exhausted itself, but it could put in a bit more effort. Arcanine clearly wasn't exhausted at all. Even with all that running and attacking he still had a good amount of energy left within.
"Tomb..." Spiritomb had some tricks in hiding that it would perform just in case things got hairy. Even though it was close to being fatigued, the situation was looking pretty hairy for the Forbidden Pokemon. And yet, it just gave off a smirk, knowing that no matter what, it will always have a move that will guarantee its escape. Plus, it was desperate to get to 108 already. The royal guards it absorbed were so close to achieving that goal.
That's when Spiritomb sensed something. A force that it hoped it would never sense again. "Spirit?!" This familiar force caused the Forbidden Pokemon to shake in fear. From where it hovered, its entire wisp-like body was trembling. Celestia and Hollow raised their eyebrows, wondering what could possibly terrify Spiritomb. Not even Darkrai could terrify it with Dark Void.
What else can terrify a Spiritomb than the one thing that sealed them all away in the first place?
An Aura user.
There stood Ash alongside his partner Pikachu, reaching their destination.
"Found you." Ash spoke.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash! You're here!" Celestia exclaimed. "Wait...is it terrified of Ash?"
"Spirit...Spiritomb..." Spiritomb turned around to see Ash, already sensing the Aura that flowed within its body. The Spiritomb recognized this Aura. In fact, it was similar to the Aura Guardian who sealed it up many years ago, much earlier than 500 years. Precisely 1,000 years ago.
Sir Aaron.
The Hero of Legends who has accomplished many feats that transcend what a human can do, including stopping an entire war.
So Spiritomb was definitely mortified when it recognized that Ash's Aura was strikingly similar to Sir Aaron's. Practically the exact same, just inhabiting a younger body.
"So that's what the rest of Spiritomb looks like without its keystone?" Ash noticed how the lower part of Spiritomb was as sharp as a blade. Much sharper than the sides of Spiritomb.
"Pika..."
"Ash. Do you perhaps know of a way to stop this thing?" Celestia asked.
"I do." Ash held out a Pokeball. "But I'm gonna need the help of this little guy. Come out, Riolu!" Tossing the Pokeball forward had sent out the Emanation Pokemon.
"Rio!"
And there it was. The pre-evolution to the Pokemon that Sir Aaron had beside him. It wasn't a Lucario obviously...yet, but it still brought back memories to Spiritomb that it would rather not remember.
So what shall Spiritomb do know? Will it decide to give up and admit defeat since it was running out of steam and was in the presence of Aura. Or...will it continue to steal spirits and make its getaway?
Obviously, for a Pokemon such as Spiritomb, the second option is the only option that matters. As a result, Spiritomb was about to perform yet another insane stunt. In the form of Explosion once more. And this time, it was indoors.
Ash, Hollow and Celestia gasped, noticing that it was about to perform Explosion once more. And there was nothing they could do to stop it from going off. Well... except for one thing.
Hollow realized that there was one way to stop the move from playing out. He held out a Pokeball, hoping that capturing it would not only stop the Explosion but even put an end to this Spiritomb situation.
"Here goes...Go, Pokeball!" He tossed the Pokeball forward with all his might as it made direct contact with Spiritomb. The red light from the Pokeball pulled the Forbidden Pokemon inside, falling to the floor afterwards. Now for the result.
1...2...
No good.
Spiritomb had broken out of the Pokeball, shattering it into pieces. But the fact that it shook two times was a good sign to them.
"Curses! I thought it would work!" Hollow chided.
"But it almost did! Try again!" Celestia replied.
"Spiritomb!" Hearing that made Spiritomb change up its strategy. The Forbidden Pokemon had used Lash Out to attack them all, scattering black tendrils across the hallway.
"Riolu! Knock them back with Force Palm!"
"Rio!" The baby Pokemon had pulled its palm back as a blue light surrounded it. The Emanation Pokemon thrust its palm forward, connecting it against the Dark-Type move. With a bit of a struggle behind the clash, Riolu managed to knock back one of the black tendrils, causing Spiritomb to take damage from its own attack.
"Arcanine! Flamethrower! Pour it on!"
"Arc!" The Legendary Pokemon breathed down a continuous wave of flames on Spiritomb, forcing the Forbidden Pokemon to stay put in one spot as the flames were obviously keeping it there due to their intense heat.
"Hollow! Try catching it once more!" Celestia exclaimed.
"Right!" Hollow pulled out a Great Ball this time, tossing it directly at Spiritomb. Once Flamethrower had ended, Spiritomb was once again placed inside the ball. The shaking began as they all hoped for a better outcome this time.
1...2...
Still no good.
Spiritomb had broken free once again.
What a stubborn Pokemon it was. It's no wonder why Sir Aaron was the one who managed to seal it away.
"We're still gonna have to free everyone from Spiritomb's body. In that case...Riolu! Head in and exert your energy! Pikachu! Assist Riolu and use Electroweb!"
"Riolu!" Ash realised that freeing everypony from Spiritomb would be the better option at the moment before they caught the Forbidden Pokemon. With a jolt of speed, both Riolu and Pikachu dashed towards Spiritomb, easily moving at blinding speeds due to their lightweight bodies.
"Chu-Pika!" Pikachu had sent an Electroweb forward in order to pin Spiritomb down.
The Forbidden Pokemon used the always useful Protect to shield itself from the web of electricity, taking no damage whatsoever, leaving behind a smoke cloud afterwards. However, Riolu used this opportunity to get behind Spiritomb, catching it off guard. The Emanation Pokemon hopped up, extending his palm out towards the Dark-Ghost-Type.
"Spirit?!" Spiritomb gasped, realizing that Riolu had just snuck up behind it by using the smoke as camouflage. Before it could react, Riolu's palm had made contact with its pulsating blue energy surrounding it.
The moment of truth had come. And just like the stories say, Spiritomb truly did fear Aura Guardians for a reason and Aura in general.
The Aura that Riolu exhibited had spread around Spiritomb's body as some sort of outline. The Forbidden Pokemon was absolutely petrified at this. It was almost as if the Aura had immobilized it in place. With a burst of energy, the best possible outcome had occurred. Five ponies had been shot out of Spiritomb's body.
Those five being Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Rainbow Dash and even two ponies from the Crystal Empire. Aura truly was an effective way to free spirits.
"It worked!" Ash jumped up for joy.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"So Aura is capable of freeing the spirits... Incredible." Celestia gawked.
"Right..." Hollow nodded in awe. He realized that he could still catch Spiritomb after all of the stolen spirits are freed from it. But he would need a much more effective Pokeball for a Pokemon as tenacious as Spiritomb. "I'll be right back! I've got a few things that could work!" He told Celestia as he and Mimikyu ran back to the direction where the classroom was.
"Ugh..." Rainbow Dash groaned as her eyes were slowly opening along with the freed ponies. Their bodies felt odd once they woke up. As if they had been trapped in an endless space with nothing else around them. She raised her head to see Ash and Celestia facing off against Spiritomb, causing her to shake her head. "Wha...?"
"Glad you're back, Dash. Everyone." Ash turned to her. "You might wanna head back outside."
"...W-Wha...Right!" Rainbow Dash smacked her own head with her hoof, remembering the Spiritomb situation. All five ponies made a run for it, leaving the scene safely.
"Now that we know that Aura really can separate spirits, let's free them all! Riolu! Keep exerting your energy and use Double Team! Pikachu! Keep on assisting Riolu with Thunderbolt! Don't drop it for a second!"
"Pikachu!"
"Riolu!"
"Arcanine. Assist them both by distracting it with Extreme Speed."
"Canine!"
All three Pokemon closed in on a worn-out Spiritomb, surrounding it on all sides. Spiritomb looked to see multiple Riolu's facing its direction, unable to tell which was the real one. Arcanine zigzagged around Spiritomb as he left afterimages, only confusing the Forbidden Pokemon further.
A bolt of thunder had shocked Spiritomb thanks to Pikachu catching it off guard. The Thunderbolt had paralyzed Spiritomb, cutting a bit of its already slow speed. Riolu saw an opportunity as all of its clones rushed forward, placing each of their palms on a paralyzed Spiritomb. Pikachu kept Thunderbolt active, pouring all the energy it had within him to make sure that it wouldn't move an inch.
The Forbidden Pokemon felt the Aura engulf it as it let out a bloodcurdling scream in the process. Thanks to Riolu, more and more ponies were being freed from the Spiritomb's body. From the royal guards, citizens of Ponyville, to the citizens of the Crystal Empire. Pinkie Pie rolled on the ground, landing face first.
Everypony had been trapped inside gasped in shock, unsure of what just happened. Or at least, they forgot about it for a moment but were quickly reminded once they saw Riolu pressing its Aura covered arm on Spiritomb. And with that reminder of what happened to them before, they made a run for it, leaving Canterlot Castle in a hurry.
With each spirit being freed, Spiritomb grew weaker and weaker. Since Spiritomb itself was one vengeful spirit, that meant that Aura would eventually bring Spiritomb back to just a single spirit.
From outside, Twilight and the others noticed that Rainbow Dash and everypony else had filled the streets of Canterlot. Obviously, they were still a bit dizzy in the head. Getting your spirit stolen will do that to you.
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack stood up.
"Sweetie Belle!" so did Rarity.
Both big sisters ran over, giving their little sisters a reunion hug, tearing up a bit. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were still perplexed, however. Their eyes repeatedly blinking, completely at a loss for words.
The same could be said for Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy went over to give her fellow pegasus friend a hug as well. And even she was befuddled.
"The Aura is working! Just a bit more and Spiritomb will return to its single spirit!" A maiden exclaimed.
"But, can Ash really seal it in?" Fluttershy asked.
"He'll have to. Or else Spiritomb will never cease its rampage in the near future." The maiden replied.
Back inside Canterlot, Riolu had spent all of his Aura, tiring himself out.
"Rio..."
"You did an amazing job, Riolu! Rest up!" Ash brought Riolu back to its Pokeball."
"Spirit...Spiritomb..." Spiritomb was finally back to the first spirit. The one human who became the Spiritomb. It was now significantly weaker than ever.
Hollow had returned with a Pokeball he believed would not only sort their Spiritomb issue, but it would even tame Spiritomb in a way. The Luxury Ball. "Here goes. Don't fail me now!" He gave the Pokeball one strong toss as it spun towards the Forbidden Pokemon.
"Tomb?" Spiritomb turned around to see the Luxury Ball headed its way. But it was powerless to do anything at the moment. It didn't have the strength to make a getaway in the shadows or even using Smokescreen. Even contorting its body was useless.
The ball struck the Forbidden Pokemon, sending it inside once more. And this time, the result would prove to be much more effective.
Once the ball placed Spiritomb inside, they leaned forward to see it shaking about.
1...2...3...
There was a brief pause. It had stopped right at 3. They held their breaths in and then...
Gotcha!
Spiritomb was caught!
"Yes! Got it!" Hollow bellowed.
"Phew! Finally." Ash let out a sigh of relief. "It's a good thing it was running out of steam before we got here. Or else it would've tougher to stop it."
"Pikachu..."
"I'll say." Celestia lowered her head, sitting down on the floor.
Hollow went over to pick up the Luxury Ball, looking at it. "Glad that's over with. That was way harder than it should've been for just one Spiritomb."
"What will you do with it now?" Celestia asked him.
"Well...I have it inside the ball. I'll make sure that I can spend some time with Spiritomb and see if I can tame it. It won't be easy, I know that much. But right now...I need a nap." Hollow groaned.
They all needed some form a rest. Especially the freed spirits.
Returning outside, Ash, Hollow and Celestia witnessed everypony standing out in the streets of Canterlot, anticipating the good news.
"So...did you do it? Did you seal it?" Fluttershy asked as everypony leaned in.
"Even better." Hollow held out the Luxury Ball. "I caught it."
"You caught it?!" A few ponies exclaimed.
"You're not thinking of keeping something like that with you!" Rainbow Dash flew towards him. "What happens if you send it out?! It'll go crazy again! Can you even tame that thing?!"
"Actually, you can." Ash answered, prompting them all to utter a collective 'Huh'. "Cynthia owns a Spiritomb if ya didn't know. Among other trainers. At the end of the day, even if it's a Dark-Type, you can still come to an understanding with it like every other Pokemon."
"Pikachu!"
"I guess that's true...Yeesh. Why are Dark-Type Pokemon like this?" Twilight groaned.
"In any case, that has solved our problem." A maiden spoke. "I suppose capturing it in a ball is an equally good alternative. The Mother will be pleased to hear of this." She bowed her head along with the others. They decided to take their leave. Since they only came here to subdue and seal Spiritomb, but another good outcome had come from it.
"Hold on...I'm still so confused about one thing." Rainbow Dash scratched her mane. "If Spiritomb has the power to steal spirits...how come it took our bodies along with it?"
"Perhaps the main reason for it might be the fact that it was a Spiritomb that wasn't 108 vengeful spirits, but rather a single vengeful spirit," Twilight answered. If it was 108 vengeful spirits in one, then it would've taken just the spirit and left the body behind."
"Ugh...Creepy." Pinkie Pie shuddered.
"I'm just glad that it's over," Celestia said. "Everypony managed to come out of this alright in the very end. And it all culminated into a safe outcome..."
Except for the massive crater that was still formed in the center of Canterlot along with a few destroyed roofs and windows.
"Well. Almost."
Everypony had either decided to rest up or just carry on with their day. They wanted to leave the Spiritomb scenario out of their minds for good. Hollow had promised to bond with Spiritomb and turn into a less aggressive spirit stealing Pokemon, keeping it with him at all times. As for the citizens of Ponyville and the Crystal Empire, they made their return to their homes. After all of that, they'll need it.
On the train, Twilight was thinking about how the entire Spiritomb problem had gone down. Even though it would've normally felt like a scenario where they were completely powerless to do anything, that wasn't really the case this time. Despite it being a massive struggle, her friends managed to actually put in the right amount of effort that helped Princess Celestia wear down Spiritomb over time. If anything, if they never battled Spiritomb, the Forbidden Pokemon would've never lost energy over time and would've gone on an endless rampage.
Perhaps their training with Ash was possibly paying off. It was slow but it felt like a natural progression.
"You know girls. I've been thinking." Twilight spoke.
"What is it Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.
"I think we can better improve on Pokemon in general...if we spend more time in the other world with humans."
"You think so?" Rainbow Dash flew up.
"Mhm. Humans have obviously bonded with Pokemon much longer than us. They understand them fully. They have possibly even greater friendship than our own. They're just much more versed in Pokemon that we are. So maybe, if we spend more time with them, we'll understand Pokemon even further. We can learn from them."
"We already learn from Ash, don't we? Why don't we just keep doing that?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I know. But it wouldn't hurt to try others who have their own bonds with Pokemon. If we do that, then we'll be ready for whatever comes next."
"You're suggesting that we visit the Pokemon World more often, aren't you?" Starlight leaned forward.
"Precisely. We've only been to it a certain amount of times. But this time, we'll visit it as if it were our own home. What do you say, girls?"
"Hmm..." Applejack thought for a bit. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to do so. The best trainers are obviously in their own world. But we've got a lot to do here in Ponyville still."
"We'll only visit it and stay for a few hours. After that, we can head right home. I just don't want my friends to feel so overwhelmed the next time."
"Twilight. It wasn't your fault." Rarity went up to her. "Nopony could've predicted what happened today. Then again...nopony can predict Pokemon at all. It's better that they're just left a mystery. I suppose that's why they're so fascinating aren't they?"
"If it makes you feel any better, I can just ask Ben if he can bring something over to our world that can help us get better at battling." Rainbow Dash suggested.
"We could even take some lessons from Gym Leaders too. They seem to know what they're doing." Fluttershy nodded.
"Whatever the case and whatever the scenario. We can guarantee that we'll help you along the way. We all want to improve upon Pokemon as well. And we'll do it together. Even if it almost costs us our own life." Rarity squeed.
"Thanks, girls. And I can't wait for Hearth's Warming to come by and the second Pokemon Festival!" Twilight felt satisfied with their responses, glad that she had great friends alongside her to help her along the way.
A perplexing day that resulted in the near loss of many ponies. A vow made by the ponies to improve had been installed within them. Battling Pokemon is difficult enough, but understanding them can prove to be an even greater challenge. But it is a challenge they're willing to tackle. And this time, they'll be seeking help from every other human in the Pokemon World, aiming to improve themselves along the way, like any trainer would as the journey continues!
There sat the usual duo of Lucien and Sienna, hanging around like they normally do. Currently thinking of new ways to spice things up.
"You know... we could always try that little thing you did to Diamond Tiara by accident," Lucien spoke to Sienna.
"What? Oh, you mean that manifestation of her doubts, fears, obsessions and all that other gloomy stuff?"
"Exactly. If it's capable of creating a manifestation of that...then can you imagine what everypony's manifestation must look like?"
"So... do we do it now?"
"Now? Nah." Lucien crossed his arms, shaking his head. "Now's not the best time. Besides. I think something neat's about to happen today." Lucien took out a telescope, zooming into both Cloudsdale and Ponyville. There's always something happening around here after all.
"We keep on spying on them. How's that any fun?" Sienna pouted.
"What? Never a dull moment is there?" Lucien extended the telescope as Pidgey flew in front of it.
"Well, no. Honestly, I don't think the ponies have had a slow day ever again after they encountered Pokemon. I'm surprised that most of them can withstand all this chaos without passing out."
"Well, what did you expect? They're not other ponies from other worlds and universes. They're built differently. In...more ways than one."
"Oooh...I guess so."
"Now...let's see what's cooking today." Lucie rustled the telescope whilst the Pidgey had a rest on his head.
Over at Ponyville, with Applejack and Pinkie Pie Treecko had fallen asleep inside of Applejack's hat, dozing off and snoring.
"Aw...All tuckered out." Applejack looked at the Wood Gecko Pokemon as he fit perfectly inside the pony's hat as if it was a crib. "If I ever had a kid, I'd let em rest in here too. If they're smaller than Treecko that is."
"Treecko...Tree..."
"Aw look at how small he is." Pinkie Pie gushed at Treecko. "Oh, I wonder how you'd look if you slept in something small and cosy, Spinda."
"Spinda!" Spinda responded by jumping into Pinkie Pie's mane, fitting perfectly inside its puffy texture.
"That's what I like to see and feel!" Pinkie Pie squeed.
"Hm? Have a look at that over there." Applejack noticed something a bit unusual. Multiple young foals alongside their parents were heading here to Ponyville, each of them from different parts of Equestria. "What do you suppose all of them are here for?"
"Maybe its somepony's birthday?" Pinkie gasped once she said that. "What am I doing standing around then!?"
"I don't think it's a birthday. Look closer." Applejack grabbed Pinkie Pie's face, showing her how the foals were making their way towards White Tail Wood. Where the first Gym was located, run by Roseluck.
"Oooh. Maybe it's a special Gym gathering? Let's take a closer look." The two earth ponies being the little eavesdroppers that they were decided to follow the ponies who were all possibly here for their first Gym Battle. It is by default the first place trainers come to earn their first badge after all.
Following them, it was revealed that they all made a huge line, waiting and biding their time. This just made Applejack and Pinkie Pie even more curious than they already were.
"What's going on here?" Applejack went up to the ponies, asking them.
"These little rascals are all here for their first Gym Badge." A stallion replied to her.
"We all came from all across Equestria since they've all started their journeys." A mare gave her daughter a pat on the head.
"Oooh, so these are all upstart trainers." Pinkie nodded, realizing the situation. "But all of them at the same time?"
"Ain't it a bit crowded? Even for their first Gym." Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, it's understandable why it would be this packed. The other gyms near our area are too much for our little darlings. They'd get trounced in a second if they went in there."
"I'm gonna ace this Gym and get myself the Verd Badge! Then it's off the Equestria League for me!" A colt exclaimed.
"I'm just gonna collect badges cause they look good!" A filly squeed.
"Hm. Wonder what Roseluck thinks of all these trainers showing up?" Pinkie Pie wondered.
Her answer came in the form of a sudden explosion of energy occurring inside the gym. Perhaps, the current Gym Battle has come to an end. After a few minutes, the trainer inside had exited the gym, holding his gym badge high.
"I got my first badge! Yes!" The colt flew up with his wings, clearly full of joy as he went over to give his parents a wide loving hug.
"Oh! My turn!" A filly ran inside, prepared to gain the Verd Badge next as the line was shortening ever so slowly.
"She's gonna be pretty occupied. Oh, well. I'm sure she can handle it." Pinkie bounced away with Applejack following, leaving the trainers to handle their usual Pokemon business.
A few hours had passed. Enough for it to reach the afternoon.
Pinkie Pie and Applejack were still hanging out together in Ponyville since the others were a bit occupied at the moment, having their own situations to sort out for the day.
Once those hours had passed, Applejack and Pinkie noticed that the number of foals returning was diminishing, indicating that they had all successfully finished the Gym as every last one of them had wide smiles that filled their little faces whilst their parent's show sings of being incredibly proud of them. It was a pretty wholesome sight to see.
But there was one thing, in particular, that wasn't so wholesome. In fact, looking at it can bring the mood down on somepony.
Roseluck had returned from the gym, wielding a dismal facial expression. Alongside her was her Roserade as always, comforting her trainer with he rose it had for hands.
Pinkie Pie, being the pony that she is could tell that something was obviously wrong with the way Roseluck was emoting. She bounced over to the pony Gym Leader, startling her a bit.
"Why so glum, Roseluck?" Pinkie asked.
"AH!" Roseluck's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, it's just you Pinkie Pie."
"You don't look too happy at the moment. Something wearing you down?"
"Something wearing me down? You could say that." Roseluck sighed. "In more ways than one..."
"Well, what's actually wearing ya down?" Applejack wondered. "Must be something serious."
"Serious? Not even in the slightest...If anything, it's an issue that a kid could solve." Roseluck turned away as Roserade gave her trainer a pat on the back.
"Hm...Does it have something to do with the foals that came over to your Gym? If you want, you can tell us? I'm great with kids!" Pinkie Pie grinned.
"Alright. You see...It's about me being a Gym Leader."
"Oh, really? You don't like being one?" Applejack replied.
"No. Actually, I kind of like the position of Gym Leader. The Gym's also pretty neat to be in. And I've even added some decorations and renovations to make it feel more like home. It's pretty comfortable. Especially when the Flying-Types come by."
"So if you like being in the Gym...What's got you feeling down about it?" Pinkie Pie appeared behind Roseluck.
"How do I put this. I'm easy pickings."
"Easy pickings?" Both Applejack and Pinkie Pie said in unison.
"Yeah. I'm a breeze to get through. Foal's play. The weakest link. Basically, what I'm trying to say is...I'm always the first Gym Leader everypony beats...every single time. And it doesn't help that I'm actually registered as the first official gym that trainers are recommended to come to first."
"Ahhh.." The two of them shook their heads.
"Ain't the point of being a Gym Leader to test a trainer so that they can see if they can take on the league?" Applejack remembered the role of Gym Leader.
"Well, yeah. That's true. I mean I knew that when I signed up to be a Gym Leader."
"So, it's no big deal. You help the little guys and gals get their badge so that they can head on the next gym and onwards." Pinkie placed her hoof around Roseluck. "Plus, it makes them super happy, ya know."
"I know. And I'm glad that they're happy. Seeing a foal full of joy by getting their first badge and running to their proud parents makes me fill up with joy too. But in reality...I don't know if you know this...but I don't have a single win as a Gym Leader yet."
"Not a single one?!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "How's that possible?!"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out myself. Even when I'm performing well in battle, for some reason, I always lose at the very end. Even my Roserade isn't enough to help me win."
"Roserade..." Roserade lowered her rose hands, knowing that it was the unfortunate truth. Despite how powerful she may be, she hasn't really given Roseluck her first official victory in a full-on battle. Roserade has defeated some Pokemon sure, but its mostly the first Pokemon the trainer sends out. After that, she gets defeated by the final Pokemon.
"At this point, I might as well just quit battling all together."
"Well...why don't you? Not every trainer takes part in Pokemon battling?" Pinkie questioned.
"I would but you've seen what's happened so far when both worlds crossed over. The danger levels are the most extreme Equestria's possibly ever had! You've got 500 ft monsters! Spirit stealers! Evil Egg...things! And who knows what else is just waiting to take us by surprise. I can't just sit around defenceless when I know I have something that can defend me. My partner right over here."
"Rade!"
"She's got a point Pinkie. It's like Ash said. We've got Pokemon to help protect us and fight alongside us. If anything else comes up, they'll be here to help." Applejack looked at her hat which still had Treecko sleeping inside of it.
"Yeah. Mayor Mare's Stoutland has even saved the day a couple of times too." Pinkie scratched her mane. "So she's got her own wins behind her. Well...not trainer wins anyways."
"I want to protect those near me. I've got loved ones too ya know. How am I gonna protect them if I can't even win once. Plus another reason is...I know it kinda sounds selfish but...I want to know what it feels like to win as a Pokemon Trainer. I already know how it feels to lose as one. Roserade feels the same way too."
"Rose..."
"But it's not like you're a bad battler right? I mean, you did pretty good against Scootaloo for the first time." Pinkie Pie recalled how she managed to give Scootaloo a hard time when she entered the gym.
"Oh, I remember. If anything, that was the closest I had ever gotten to almost winning. When I battled Scootaloo, in that one instance, I felt a crazy rush flow through me. My adrenaline was just coming out of nowhere. And after that, it kinda just went away. That entire battle with Scootaloo was the most fun I've had being in a Pokemon Battle and as a Gym Leader."
"Bummer..." Pinkie Pie pouted.
Applejack pondered to herself for a bit. She a took while to process everything Roseluck had uttered, trying to figure out a solution to this. That's when an idea sparked up in her mind. One that mirrored the advice that Ash gave her during their small training sessions. Two pieces of advice that are extremely helpful, even to the lowest skilled trainers.
"How about this." AJ spoke. "I'll battle you."
"Hah?" Both her fellow Earth ponies snapped their heads towards Applejack after hearing that.
"Mhm. But, I'm gonna have to teach you a few things before we tussle in the gym."
"Teach me? Applejack, you're not an expert Pokemon trainer, are you? And even if you were, I can't get super good in a short amount of time."
"I thought the same thing too. But Ash taught me a little something special that can help anypony out. Doesn't matter the skill level."
"Oooh...What is it?" Pinkie leaned in on the conversation.
"I'll show you. And after that, we'll have a small battle at your gym."
"Are you sure that'll work...?" Roseluck was sceptical.
"Positive. Trust me, okay?" Applejack went up to her fellow earth pony. Roseluck could see that Applejack was 100% serious by the look in her eyes. If you were to look closely, it almost resembled that of Ash's eyes when he himself gets serious.
"Okay. I'll do it." Roseluck nodded. It was a done deal. The training session could now begin.
Applejack took Roseluck to Sweet Apple Acres in order to help her improve. It's a fairly wide area so there's plenty of room to work their magic.
"What's going on?" Apple Bloom asked as she was alongside Cold Colt, curious at the moment.
"Roseluck's feeling a bit bummed about having zero wins throughout her career as a Gym Leader. But Applejack's gonna help her find her groove." Pinkie Pie explained in the only way she knows how.
"Oh..." Both Apple Bloom and Cold nodded.
"Treecko ain't up yet. Little fella's still asleep." Applejack placed her hat, letting Treecko continue his nap. "So it's just gonna be you and Roserade."
"Got it!" Roseluck nodded.
"Well...What Ash taught me was this." Applejack closed her eyes, remembering a saying that Ash managed to engrave in her head. It hadn't left her to this day.
"You know, Applejack. There are a bunch more ways to use a Pokemon's move in battle than just hitting hard. Even the entire environment can be super useful. Like what I did with Bea's Hitmontop by having Pikachu use Electroweb on the floor. I've actually done it a lot with my other Pokemon in the past too! If you can get creative and use the area around you to your advantage, then you can really pull off some crazy stuff and throw your opponent off."
"Pikachu!"
"Like that." Applejack finished reciting what Ash told her.
"The environment to my advantage?" Roseluck looked around the area.
"Mhm. Something like that can really mess with somepony's head if they don't see it coming at all. Your gym's all grass in the inside right? You could do something weird there with the Pokemon you have."
"Oh...I suppose. I've never thought of that before...So, what's the second one?"
"The second one is something I'm pretty used to a bit. And that's because I've seen Ash do this a lot. Adaptability."
"Adaptability?" Roseluck tilted her head.
"Mhm. There's nopony who knows how to adapt in every situation better than Ash. He taught me how to not only use a Pokemon's moves an adaptability advantage...but even what a Pokemon can do with its body."
"Oooh...Go on..." Roseluck leaned forward.
"I know this from seeing Gardenia battle. You see your Roserade over there? It's got little poison whip thorns inside of its roses."
"Roserade has thorns inside of her hands?!" Roseluck looked inside of her Pokemon's rose hands, seeing poisons thorns just sitting there, perfectly hidden too.
"Yep. About as hidden as a needle in a haystack."
"Roserade!"
"Oh..." Apple Bloom gawked. "I forgot that certain Pokemon have sneaky little things they can do naturally."
"Sneaky is right!" Pinkie Pie nodded. "I still remember how Spike's Goomy used its slime to blind that Kommo-o. Pretty smart, ya know."
"Treecko here can climb and walk on walls and ceilings with the little tiny spikes inside the soles of his feet to reach Flying-Type Pokemon. Which he's weak against. I haven't tried it with him yet, but he did do it on a tree once." Applejack looked down at Treecko who was almost close to finishing his nap. "Try using your Roserade's thorns to grab something here."
"Use her thorns, huh? Okay. Roserade. Grab some apples here."
"Rose." Roserade nodded in response, extending both her rose hands forward. Out of them came her signature poison thorns as they raced through the air like a grappling hook of some sorts.
The thorns did exactly as you would expect them to. Latching onto something with their prickly sides as they also wrapped around the apples. Since this was a natural thing for Roserade, it wasn't that difficult.
"Yes!" Roseluck exclaimed, having a smile strike her face.
Unfortunately, there's a reason why every Roserade always hides its thorns. They are poisonous at the end of the day. So in the span of a few seconds, the poison had melted the apples into nothing. Roserade's poison is described to be near-fatal after all.
"Oops..." Roseluck gulped while Roserade gasped.
"That's fine. Just natural Pokemon stuff." Applejack didn't mind at all. "Now. Try using your vines on Big Macintosh's old wagon over there." She pointed her hoof over at a nearly destroyed wagon that looked to be years old. "You can rough it up all you want."
"Oh, okay. I guess this is the environment then? In that case... Roserade, grab the wagon."
"Rose!" Roserade removed her thorns from the tree, grabbing into the handlebars of the wagon next.
"Now swing it around!"
The Bouquet Pokemon effortlessly swung the wagon about as if it was nothing. While this wagon may be old, it's still pretty heavy and durable. Something that Big Mac himself would struggle a tiny bit to pull. But that wasn't an issue for Roserade. Not in the slightest. Even if she was only 0.9m tall.
She swung the wagon about, blowing the blades of grass around with each swing. The wagon had almost hit Pinkie and the others, causing them to yelp. The weight was non-existent to Roserade. What also became non-existent was the wagon as the poison had melted its wooden texture away into nothing.
Applejack nodded, glad that they were making great progress. And at such a smooth pace. Her Treecko finally woke up, poking his head out of AJ's hat as he noticed Roseluck and Roserade present here.
"Treecko?"
"Finally up, Tree? You've got a lot to catch up on." Applejack picked up her hat as Treecko hopped out of it. She watched as Roseluck and Roserade were personally testing out what else Roserade could do with her thorns. It seems that Roseluck's discovery of her partner's hidden thorns struck some inspiration within her. Now she was really thinking like a Pokemon Trainer.
"Rose. Roserade." Roserade showed Roseluck her hands, letting her in on something extra. Besides poisonous thorns, the other thing that laid within Roserade's hands was a luscious scent that it normally uses to lure opponents in, wrapping and binding them with her thorn. The more toxic the poison, the sweeter the aroma.
Not only that, but the poison in its right arm is quick-acting while the left is slow-acting. But both are equally life-threatening.
How can something so beautiful that moves like a dancer with such grace be so deadly, Roseluck wondered. But it was perfect for her. She's learned quite a bit about her partner. Little neat traits that Roserade just had and she hadn't been utilizing any of them at all in her battles. And as a bonus, these little traits could help against any future threats that come their way.
"Applejack." Roseluck went over to her fellow nature-themed pony. "I think Roserade and I are ready. For our battle, that is."
"Roserade!"
"Really now? You sure you're ready now?" Applejack raised her eyebrow.
"Positive! Roserade and I are sure we've improved over the time we've had. Right, Roserade?"
"Rose." The Bouquet Pokemon nodded her head, having that same determination and confidence in her.
"We believe that we might be able to win this time. At least once."
"Hm...Alright. If you say you're ready, then you're ready. But I gotta warn you, Roseluck. I don't plan on losing either."
"That's fine with me." Roseluck accepted the fact that Applejack would be giving it her all as well.
"Ooh! I wanna see this!" Cold Colt squeed.
"Same here!" Both Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie leaned forward, falling off the log seat they sat on. It was going to be a small audience, but that didn't matter since it's just a short little battle for Roseluck to find satisfaction in battle.
They made their way to the gym, taking their places on their respected sides. This time, Pinkie Pie would act as the Referee since the real one wasn't available at the moment. Some gyms do have schedules, actually.
"Okie Dokie! You both know the rules, right?" Pinkie had a referee outfit on along with a whistle, rubbing her hooves together.
"Clear as day!" AJ nodded.
"All knowledge here!" Roseluck bellowed.
"Great. Then bring out your Pokemon! Oh, wait...they're already out." Pinkie backed away as both Treecko and Roserade went in front of their trainers, getting themselves pumped up.
Both trainers and their Pokemon had a common goal. To get stronger. The threats that come with Pokemon are only going to get larger as time goes on, making the previous ones look like a joke in comparison. If they want to protect those that they love, they'll have to get stronger so that nopony or Pokemon gets hurt ever again.
"I'm rooting for ya sis!" Apple Bloom cheered. "But do your best too Roseluck!"
"Alright...Ready..." Pinkie Pie raised her hooves up as both trainers and their Pokemon readied themselves with Treecko getting on all fours. "Battle start!" She slammed her hoof down, initiating the battle.
"Treecko! Start off by heading in with Pound!" Applejack made the first move. Her Treecko stood up, dashing towards his fellow Grass-Type, raising his gecko hands up towards her.
"Roserade! Pin Missile!" Roserade followed suit by extending both her rose arms forward, shooting out pins that could pierce through grass itself.
"Knock em away!" Treecko had used Pound to knock some of the first few pins out of his sight. But a few actually managed to make contact with him, forcing the Wood Geck Pokemon to fall back.
"Cko!"
"Now! Roserade! Use Petal Blizzard!"
"Rose!" The Bouquet Pokemon raised her rose arms up, summoning a violent storm of pink heart-shaped petals around it. Each of these violent petals were then fired towards Treecko who looked up at the incoming storm.
"Blow them away with Dragon Breath!"
"Tree...Cko!" Treecko, with a burst of draconic energy, exhaled a light blue breath attack with dragon flames surrounding it. The breath had easily overpowered the petals, burning them into nothing. Roserade gasped as she was struck by Dragon Breath since Treecko did aim it at her as well. Not just the petals.
"Rade!" Roserade took the full-force of Dragon Breath as an explosion of smoke emerged from the devastating impact. The Bouquet Pokemon tumbled on the floor, yelping with each tumble. But she wasn't out yet. She skidded on the arena floor, hanging in there.
"Are you alright, Roserade?!"
"Roserade!" Roserade nodded, feeling a bit of the draconic energy still.
"Keep it up! Fire Dragon Breath one more time!"
"Dodge and use Pin Missile, quick!"
First, Roserade quickly ran to the side whilst Treecko unleashed yet another Dragon Breath. This time, the Wood Gecko Pokemon was manoeuvring the breath attack, hitting the walls in the process whilst trying to catch the Grass-Poison-Type.
Roserade was struggling on avoiding Dragon Breath due to how large and destructive it was. Even with her speed advantage, she couldn't get the chance to unleash Pin Missile since she was on the run from the devastating Dragon-Type move which took up most of the arena with its movements.
Apple Bloom, Pinkie Pie and Cold Colt yelped, taking cover as the walls from the gym were coming apart from Dragon Breath alone.
Roseluck had then found an opportunity to strike. The breath attack was diminishing in size since Treecko kept firing it without rest. Which meant that the gap needed to avoid it was no longer close.
"Roserade! Duck and fire!" Roseluck gave a new command, taking the opportunity.
"Rose!" Roserade gasped as she ducked the Dragon Breath, having the attack just slightly graze her grassy skin. And since she managed to avoid it finally by ducking, she quickly fired pins from her roses, bombarding the Wood Gecko Pokemon with them.
"Tree!" Treecko had dropped Dragon Breath, taking a super-effective hit from Pin Missile as it caused him to jolt back.
"Now's our chance! Hit him up close with Poison Jab!"
"Roserade!" The Bouquet Pokemon moved in with her roses glowing purple.
"Dodge it quick!" But it was too late. Roserade was the much faster Pokemon as her roses struck onto Treecko, dealing yet another super-effective hit on him.
"Treecko!" The Wood Gecko Pokemon had not only taken a super-effective hit, but he had also been poisoned, only adding to the damage.
"Treecko!" Applejack exclaimed. "Jump back and use Dragon Breath one more time!"
"Tree..." Treecko, feeling a bit battered by the super-effective hits and taking poison damage, held his breath in, building up draconic energy one more but this time at a slower pace due to the punishment he received.
"Grab him with your thorns and slam him!"
"Roserade!" Finally using Roserade's natural traits, whips shot out of Roserade's hands, wrapping around Treecko's arms and legs. This sudden grip not only caused him to lose focus of Dragon Breath, but he even took some extra poison damage from the thorns.
"Cko!"
"Treecko! Use-" Before Applejack could give the command, Roserade swung the Wood Gecko Pokemon around the arena. Applejack ducked as Treecko swung by her, causing her hat to fly right off from the force of the swing. And then, with all her might, Roserade slammed Treecko down on the ground with her thorns, causing a huge cloud of smoke to emerge whilst an impactful thud could be heard.
"Yes!" Roseluck grinned.
"Treecko, no!" Applejack leaned forward after seeing her partner take such a beating like that.
The smoke cloud was clearing as Roserade's thorns moved away from the spot. She was sure that Treecko was down and out along with Roseluck.
But much to everypony's surprise. Treecko was still up.
Despite all of that damage done to it with Super-effective moves, this Grass-Type didn't even faint. Then again, Treecko is a Pokemon who is known for being cool, calm and collected. It never panics in any situation, even if a larger Pokemon stood before it.
And Applejack's Treecko was no exception. If anything, her Treecko was the most resilient one there was.
"It's still standing?!" Roseluck gasped.
"Holy moly! That Treecko's tough as steel!" Cold's jaw dropped at how Treecko was still standing.
"Tree...cko!" How could this Treecko still keep on going? It was simple. And Applejack knew why. They both know that they want to protect those close to them. And it's because of that similar motivation, they're able to press on even through challenging and overwhelming obstacles together. They may not overcome it, but they have enough willpower to hold their own.
"Treecko. I think it's best that we-" Applejack was planning on calling it quits since she didn't want her partner to take any more damage. Despite his resiliency, even he can only take so much punishment after all.
And then...the unexpected happened.
Treecko's body began to glow all of a sudden, shocking everypony.
Roserade pulled back, blocking her eyes as a sudden flash of green energy emitted from Treecko's body. As if they were rays of light scattering across the area. The ponies all gawked as they saw leaves surround Treecko's glowing body as if there was a tornado surrounding him. This could mean only one thing.
Evolution.
In a burst of Infinity Energy, Treecko had finally broken out of his shell, causing an explosion of pure power to emerge from the power exertion.
Grovyle was here.
"Grovyle!"
"Oh! It evolved!" Cold Colt leaned forward, falling off his seat.
"Woah..." Apple Bloom took out her dex for this new Pokemon.
"Grovyle. The Wood Gecko Pokemon. The leaves growing out of Grovyle’s body are convenient for camouflaging it from enemies in the forest. This Pokémon is a master at climbing trees in jungles. In a forest, no Pokémon can ever hope to catch a fleeing Grovyle however fast they may be."
"Treecko! You finally evolved! But I guess I should call you Grovyle now."
"Gro..vyle!"
"I've never seen that happen before..." Roseluck was at a loss for words. Pinkie Pie on the other hoof had her eyes extending from her sockets, completely shocked at this sudden evolution.
"In that case...Use Pound and let's see how much harder you hit!"
"Gro!" The second-stage evolution let out a mighty roar as he raised his arms up. Instead of using Pound, he had learned a new move via his evolution. The leaves on his arms emanated a green light as the Wood Gecko Pokemon rushed forward, much faster than before.
"What move is that?!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.
"It's Leaf Blade!" Cold got up, explaining as he could recognize it.
"Roserade! Use Poison Jab quick!"
"Roserade!" Roserade knew this was no time to be in shock. She still had some leftover damage from the poison that she gave to Grovyle. She thrust her poison covered rose hands forward, clashing with Grovyle's blades.
"Gro...VYLE!" Grovyle proved to have much more physical force than her, causing Roserade to gasp. With sheer force alone, Grovyle overpowered Roserade's super-effective move, causing her rose arms to fly back. The blade from Leaf Blade made contact with the Bouquet Pokemon, striking her face on impact.
"ROSE!" Roserade was launched afar by Leaf Blade as a mini-shockwave emerged from just the force of the launch alone. It was a good thing she was Grass-Poison since that allowed her to take the Leaf Blade without receiving too much damage. But boy, even still, Grovyle was unnaturally strong.
"Roserade! Grab him with your thorns one more time!" Roserade, who was airborne, outstretched her arm as a thorn raced out.
"Grab it!" Grovyle had a much faster reaction time now. With precision, he grabbed ahold of Roserade's whip thorns, taking some more poison damage in the process. "Now! Swing and use Dragon Breath!"
"GROVYLE!" Grovyle returned the favour to Roserade by swinging her instead. He held his breath in, going for Dragon Breath once more. But it was much faster this time due to his power increase. So fast in fact, that the moment he exhaled the breath, even the speed it was fired at was faster. Almost at the speed of sound itself.
"RADE!" Roserade had been hit by Dragon Breath as it engulfed her completely. The breath attack went on, breaking through the ceiling of the gym itself as it even pierced the clouds, startling Cloudsdale and the Flying-Types. The Bouquet Pokemon had fallen with her thorns retracting back into her hands.
She hit the ground hard, tumbling on it.
"Roserade, NO!" Roseluck exclaimed, mortified to see Roserade take such a devastating hit in the form of a much more potent Dragon Breath.
However, the cycle seemed to be repeating itself with the opposing Pokemon. Similar to how Treecko didn't go down at all after taking heavy damage, neither did Roserade.
The Bouquet Pokemon slowly stood up, using her rose arms as support. She had one eye closed whilst the other was wide open, showing how beat up she truly was. But like her fellow Grass-Type, she could still put some more effort in, even if she looked like she could faint at any moment.
"Rose..."
"Unbelievable! Even Roserade's up?! Is the sun extra powerful today or what?!" Cold Colt was surprised at how both were still standing still.
"Rade...Roserade!" Roserade wasn't about to give up here. She wanted to make her trainer proud and prove that she can defend her, no matter what.
"Roserade! You're horribly injured! Let's call it qu-"
"Rose!" Roserade interrupted Roseluck's words, cutting her off. She refused to quit. Not after the admirable effort they put in earlier today. The Bouquet Pokemon turned around, staring her trainer in the eye.
Roseluck took a moment to see how both her Roserade locked eyes as her partner let out an intensive stare. Roseluck could tell by the way Roserade was looking, she would never give up, even if she was in the worst possible condition. Her determination to protect her trainer was something that even the most formidable of trainers could admire and aspire to.
"Roserade...You really want to continue?"
"Rose." The Bouquet Pokemon nodded, making up her mind instantly.
"Alright...Let's do this! Roserade! Petal Blizzard!"
"Rose..." Roserade crossed her hands together, closing her eyes. Normally, a violent storm of petals would rise up and surround her. But not this time.
Instead, her thorns had come out of her hands, falling to the ground. All of a sudden, her whip thorns glowed purple and green, gaining a stardust aura. This was clearly not Petal Blizzard.
"What now?" Apple Bloom noticed the sudden change in Roserade's move.
"That looks like Power Whip! She learned a new move too! How exciting is this?!" Cold had figured it out thanks to this extensive Pokemon knowledge.
"Power whip huh...? Then in that case...use that instead Roserade!"
"Keep your guard up, Grovyle! Use Leaf Blade!"
"Grovyle!"
"Roserade!" Roserade's eyes widened as a purple light flashed from them. She swung her light covered whip thorns forward, whirling them around as they seemed to be much more aggressive than Petal Blizzard.
The Wood Gecko Pokemon jumped up, blocking the whip with his blade. The two of them kept this up as Grovyle advanced forward, using his bladed leaves to continuously hit the whips away whilst Roserade kept on swinging them around like crazy, destroying the gym bit by bit.
Apple Bloom, Cold and Pinkie had just now realized that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't a good idea to be in here with two powered-up Pokemon going at it. So they made a run for it, exiting the gym and instead, spectating it from the outside.
"ROSE!" Roserade, with the last of her strength, let out a final swing of Power Whip, bringing it down on Grovyle who was now up close in her face.
"GRO!" Grovyle had also used the last of his strength as the poison still damaging him. He swung his bladed arms forward with a spurt of energy behind it.
It looked like it was going to be a big one. Both Pokemon had made contact with their hardest hitting moves. The blades had connected with the whips, causing a collision so great that it not only blew them both back but even their trainers were launched back with Applejack's hat flying in the air.
Even outside, Pinkie Pie and the others were hit by the immense shockwave as Spinda flew out of Pinkie Pie's mane.
"Spinda!"
A violent flow of smoke erupted from the gym, causing the entire roof to be blown off along with the walls. Some nearby Pokemon ran off in fear from the aggressive sound that came from the gym. Even the trees themselves were almost ripped from the ground as the leaves across the woods scattered everywhere.
The aftermath had finally ended with the smoke clearing. Applejack's hat gently fell to the ground, still in one piece somehow.
And speaking of Applejack, both her and Roseluck had gotten up from the floor, rubbing their eyes with their manes being an absolute mess. They widened their eyes, looking behind them to their partners.
And the result?
A Double K.O.
They had both taken each other out.
"Gro..."
"Rose..."
Pinkie Pie ran inside, looking at the two fainted Pokemon as they slid off the half-destroyed walls.
"Yikes! Both Grovyle and Roserade are out of it! That means... it's a draw! Would ya look at that..."
"A draw?!" Both Cold and Apple Bloom exclaimed.
Applejack and Roseluck took a moment to process the outcome. Neither of them had won. Both their Pokemon managed to deal just the right amount of damage to cause the double knockout. In Grovyle's case, his Leaf Blade was all he needed whilst the poison helped Roserade deal that finishing hit with Power Whip.
Both trainers had accepted the result, heading over to their fainted partners.
"You did a mighty fine job, Grovyle." Applejack held him, giving her Pokemon a hug.
"Vyle..."
"That was amazing, Roserade. Get a good rest, okay?" Roseluck gave Roserade a pat on the back.
"Roserade." Roserade nodded as she held her head, suffering a bit of a concussion from the hit.
"Well, Roseluck. Sorry that you didn't win the battle. Hope this doesn't make-"
"You don't have to say anything, Applejack. I actually enjoyed that a lot. More than anything else recently!"
"...Really?" AJ squinted her eyes as she placed her hat back on her head.
"Mhm. Seeing how much effort Roserade really put into the last moments of that battle showed me just how much she's willing to protect me. She could've just quit right there but she didn't. I'm glad to have such an amazing Pokemon as my partner. Even if I didn't win."
"Roserade..."
"So...does that mean you're gonna keep on being a Gym Leader?" Applejack asked.
"Well...yes. I'll keep on being a Gym Leader. For the sake of getting stronger with Roserade. Plus, I still find enjoyment out of it." Roseluck squeed.
Both Pokemon had been taken to the Pokemon House in order to have Audino and Fluttershy tend to them. Audino had used Refresh on Grovyle, curing him on all of Poison damage whilst Fluttershy tended to Roserade's concussion.
"I'm so proud of you both! And I'm glad that Treecko finally evolved into Grovyle!" said Fluttershy.
"I'm surprised it happened like that. Guess evolution really does take you by surprise, huh?" Applejack replied.
"Mhm." Roseluck nodded her head.
"Wait. What about your Gym, Roseluck?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"I'll repair it. Besides, only a few walls ended up getting destroyed anyway. It's no big deal. But the ceiling though..."
"I'll have Big Mac help you out with repairs. And we're gonna need stronger leaves too." Applejack chuckled as she placed her hoof around Roseluck. They all had a small laugh, especially the Pokemon after the day they had just had.
What a battle and a day. With Roseluck now gaining confidence to protect those that she loves along with Treecko finally evolving into a Grovyle, furthering his growth in strength, the future is looking much more hopeful for them all. The threats that will come their way won't go easy on them at all. And they know. But with their Pokemon on their side, they'll be ready to take on whatever comes their way as the journey continues!
The multi-coloured maned mare Rainbow Dash was soaring through the air with three of her Pokemon at the moment. Braviary, Castform and Altaria. At times, they fly together for two reasons. To improve health and speed for future battles or just because it feels good. Yeah, it's usually the second one.
"Hey! Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo's voice echoed upwards, ringing through the trainer and Pokemon's ears. The young pegasus stood there, sitting right on her Ponyta's back.
"Hiya, Scootaloo! What's up?" Rainbow and her Pokemon brought themselves down to ground level to greet their fellow trainer and Pokemon.
"The Rainbow Dash Fan Club just decided – everypony's coming to see you when the Wonderbolts' new tour comes through Ponyville!"
"Well, it's great that you guys are going to the show, Scoot, but I won't actually be performing in it. Reservists aren't in the show unless one of the real Wonderbolts can't fly." She chuckled. "Braviary, Altaria and I will probably be working crowd control or something."
"You're still gonna be wearing a Wonderbolts uniform though, right?" Scootaloo squeed.
"A Reservist one, yeah." Dash nodded.
"Hmm. That's good enough for me." Scootaloo took the option. It'll have to do.
"Altaria..." Altaria, who was feeling the cold, was kindly warmed up by Ponyta's mane.
Speaking of the Wonderbolts, they were flying by Ponyville, leaving behind their usual speed trails in the sky.
Spitfire had noticed Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo looking up at them, deciding to a quick stop whilst the others go on ahead. With all her flash and dazzle, she made a stylish entrance by slamming her hoof on the ground, separating the rocks from the ground itself.
"Whoa!" Scootaloo ogled.
"Rainbow Dash! Glad we found you." Spitfire spoke. "We need you in the show when we get to Ponyville. Flying!"
"But she's only in the Reserves!" Scootaloo said.
"Not anymore, kid." Spitfire shook her head.
Those words travelled through Rainbow Dash's ears, giving her a moment to process what this could mean. If the Wonderbolts wanted her but she was no longer in the Reserves...that can only mean one thing.
A slow gasp came out of her mouth as her wings were rising up and her pupils expanding. "You mean..."
Scootaloo, however, figured it out instantly. "Rainbow Dash! You're finally a full-fledged Wonderbolt! Woo-hoo!" The younger pegasus let out a laugh of joy for Rainbow Dash, who still stood there completely blown away. "Yeah, Rainbow Dash! Whoo!"
"Braviary?" Braviary waved his wings in his trainer's face, wondering if she was okay.
"Heh. What she said." Spitfire nodded.
Just then, Dash snapped out of it, getting the biggest smile that can only be measured about to a Ludicolo and Wooper smile. This was something she was anticipating for a long time. You could even say that the Pokemon League doesn't compare to this. Not even close.
Up in Cloudsdale, Rainbow was moving around in a hurry in her own home with her friends just watching a streak of rainbows pass by them.
"Uh, anypony seen my wing balm? I don't want to be stiff when I show up at Wonderbolt headquarters." Rainbow Dash asked in a hurry.
Spike dug his claws deep within a couch, finding the required item. "Got it!"
Rainbow Dash zoomed over, slamming the balm and unknowingly also slamming Spike inside of her luggage bag.
"Do you have time to tell us what happened, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, yes, we must know every detail!" Rarity insisted.
"Start from when you were a foal and you first knew your destiny was to become a Wonderbolt!" Pinkie appeared behind her pegasus pal.
"Heh. Well, not much to tell, really. Spitfire told me the Wonderbolts need me to go on tour with them."
"That's really great. I know how long you've been waiting for a spot to open up." Fluttershy nodded along with Applejack.
"Yeah. Fire Streak decided to retire and teach full-time. Cloudsdale Flight School will probably be churning out Wonderbolts with him there. But guess who was at the top of the Reserve list."
"Ooh, ooh, I know! Pick me!" Pinkie aggressively raised her hoof, waving it about.
"So what do you do now, Dashie?" Rarity questioned her.
"I have to report to Wonderbolts headquarters this afternoon. It's only two days 'til tour starts, and I need to learn the routine. Castform. Altaria. Braviary. Let's get a move on quick." Rainbow Dash flew off with her luggage and Pokemon, prepared to take her leave.
"You're leaving already?!" Pinkie gasped, appearing through the doors all of a sudden with some cake and balloons. "But we barely started your congratulation party! I haven't even thought about your going-away party yet!"
"Pinkie, I'm not leaving Ponyville. I just have to train for this show."
"I hope everything goes well. Sounds like an awful lot of pressure having to learn everything so quickly," said Fluttershy, being carried by her Audino.
"Yeah. Good luck, Dash." Applejack uttered.
"Luck? Heh. Save that for the rest of the team." Rainbow placed her goggles on her face, raring to go as Castform hid back inside her Saddle-bag. "Now that my awesomeness has finally been recognized, the other Wonderbolts will have to keep up or eat my cloud trail!"
"Everypony knows you're a great flyer, Rainbow Dash, but so are the rest of the Wonderbolts. It might be more challenging than you think." Twilight warned her.
"Aw, you're right! I mean, do I show up wearing sunglasses or not? Sunglasses are automatically cool, but anypony can put them on. Maybe I'd stand out more if I didn't. What do you think, Braviary?"
"Viary." Braviary was already rocking some sunglasses, looking good in them.
The others looked at her with worried faces, nervous that her confidence might exceed its natural level and just fill up her ego like it usually does.
Rainbow Dash had reached her destination, meeting up with Spitfire immediately once she had arrived. Everywhere you look, you could see some Wonderbolts flying alongside with their Flying-Type Pokemon for obvious reasons that involve better trainer and Pokemon relationships.
"Team briefings are every morning at—" Spitfire went on about the rules until Rainbow Dash finished her words for her.
"07:20, because there were twenty ponies in the original E.U.P. Guard that became the Wonderbolts!"
"Right. And I know you've seen the academy bunks, but these are the official Wonderbolts barracks." Spitfire brought Rainbow Dash along to the barracks, showing it to Rainbow Dash in all its striking glory.
"Built by Admiral Fairweather himself!" Rainbow Dash trotted towards the runway until her tail was stomped on by Spitfire, causing her to fall over.
"Don't forget rule number one, newbie. Always check both ways before crossing the runway." Spitfire warned as she looked both ways, seeing that the coast was clear, causing her to walk forward.
Rainbow Dash did the same. Left, right, nothing here. "Uh, sure, but... nopony else is here."
"They will be, and most of the Wonderbolts like to make a flashy entrance, so stay alert."
"Right, no problem!"
"Scizor!" Spitfire's Scizor had opened up the door to the barracks for them, letting both ponies inside.
The place was exactly what Rainbow Dash imagined to be and more, filling her excitement only further. She got up close to a trophy that held a plethora of Wonderbolt items from the far past or a few years ago. One of which being a cap belonging to a famous pony.
"Whoa! Is that General Flash's cap?!"
"And the original crest with the Wonderbolts motto on it."
"Altius volantis! Soaring higher!" Both ponies recited the motto together.
"Wow!" Rainbow Dash geeked out, flying over Spitfire. She quickly regained her composure, acting all tough and smooth. "I mean, ha, cool."
"Okay, newbie, we've got a show in two days, which means you gotta hustle your haunches to learn this routine. You got five minutes to get dressed and get outside to meet the rest of the team."
"Yes, ma'am! I'll have all of the moves down by the end of the day!"
"Let's hope so. We're all expecting you to make quite an impression. Come on, Scizor." Spitfire had left, flying off with her partner.
Now it was just up to Rainbow Dash to prepare herself for what could be the biggest moment in her life at this point.
The full Wonderbolt uniform had been given to her to fit herself in. And boy, did it fit. Her Pokemon definitely thought the same.
"Lookin' good! Okay, you're about to take your first flight as an actual Wonderbolt. No pressure." She let out a sigh, stretching her hooves and wings. "Just gotta go out there and knock 'em off their hooves. You guys are gonna cheer me on, right?"
"Okay, Wonderbolts, get ready to meet your most awesome member ever!"
"Altaria!"
"Braviary!
"Castform!"
Her Whirlipede and Luxio who were inside their Poke Balls for safety definitely agreed as well.
"Okay, Wonderbolts, get ready to meet your most awesome member ever!"
Heading out to where most of the Wonderbolts were at the moment, Rainbow Dash, alongside her Pokemon was completely unaware of what was heading their way.
But Spitfire wasn't. She noticed both Soarin and Fleetfoot soaring towards Rainbow Dash without her paying any attention.
"Hey, look out!" She exclaimed.
"Huh?" She turned her head to notice the pegasi heading her way, gasping in shock. She and her Pokemon flew out of the way, thankfully avoiding the collision. "Whooaaa!" Unfortunately, Rainbow ended up crashing herself into a trash can, rolling inside of it.
Spitfire went up to the trash covered pegasus, shaking her head. The sound of both Fleetfoot and Misty Fly could be heard as they laughed at Rainbow's current condition and how she got into it.
"Whoa, most awesome entrance by a newbie ever." Misty Fly said in a somewhat sarcastic tone.
"Are you okay, Rainbow Dash?" Soarin asked, worried.
"More like Rainbow Crash." Fleetfoot mocked, prompting other Wonderbolts to laugh as well.
Hearing the word 'Rainbow Crash' brought back some memories she would rather no reminisce about at all. But they did get her down.
"Cast." Castform being the good partner that he is, washed off all the dirt and garbage from Rainbow Dash with Water Gun.
"Hey! You guys buzzed me on purpose!" Rainbow Dash snapped at them.
"Not quite. You forgot rule number one, newbie." Spitfire replied.
At the same time, all the Wonderbolts present around her had said the exact same words in unison. "Always check both ways before crossing the runway."
"Yeah, well, I was just... testing you guys!" Rainbow tried to scoff it, attempting to act like she planned that. But that only made them give out disbelieving laughs.
"Alright, nopony got hurt and we got a lot to do, so let's forget about this and get flying!" Spitfire ordered them.
"Classic rookie move, Rainbow Crash. That was amazing." Misty Fly spoke in her sarcastic and mocking tone as usual.
"Braviary." Braviary had placed his wings on Rainbow Dash's back, comforting her while he got some remaining garbage off her mane.
The flying routine began with each of the Wonderbolts flying in a unified formation, leaving behind smoke trails. Rainbow Dash, however, was lagging behind them all. Thus began a series of not-so-great performances from Dash.
"Higher, Crash! You're breaking formation!" Spitfire spoke through a loudhailer.
Next was a spiral formation where each of the Wonderbolts flew about in, of course, a spiral shape. Rainbow Dash struggled with this sort of formation as they were each flying over her, under her whilst picking up speed along the way. Definitely something new that she hadn't experienced yet until now.
"Check your nine, Crash!" Her name had now been mistaken as Soarin exclaimed to her.
Next, a quick turn technique. Where the Wonderbolts dash downwards and then in a spurt of speed, turn to the other side. Rainbow Dash had a bit of a delay, falling behind two Wonderbolts.
"Tighter, Crash, get in there!" Spitfire said.
"My name's not Crash..." Rainbow Dash growled, losing focus for a bit. And that focus caused her to crash right into a fellow Wonderbolt, causing them both to fall into a cloud. The Wonderbolt who had been knocked into the cloud with Dash flew out, shaking her wings.
"Huh, could've fooled me." She said, flying off and leaving Rainbow Dash in the cloud.
So far...it was a disaster.
The routines had ended as each of the Wonderbolts made their way to the locker room for some rest and relaxation. Some were even heading home.
"Hey, Crash, I know it was a tough day today, but don't worry. You'll get the hang of it." Fleetfoot said.
"Tough day? Please. If I can pull off a Sonic Rainboom, I can learn this routine. I'll have it down cold tomorrow. Probably even come up with a couple of improvements." She sure was confident in her abilities.
"Rainbow Dash, over here!" Spitfire stood by the doorway, calling for the rookie's name.
"Yes, ma'am!"
"I'm glad you're still here."
"Oh, yeah? Did you want some ideas on how to make the show extra-awesome?"
"Not quite. I know you've been a Reservist for a while, but the 'Bolts have a few of their own rules you might not know about." Spitfire shifted her eyes past Rainbow Dash, staring at the other Wonderbolts who had a bucket of water along with a scrubbing broom, giving it to the rookie. "Like worst flyer of the day has to clean up the whole compound. Better get to it, Crash."
"My name's not Crash." She spoke underneath her breath.
Along came the night. Rainbow Dash returned home with her Pokemon, feeling a bit down after today. It didn't quite go as expected. Not at all. She wanted to take her mind off it for a bit as she prepared to open the door. But before she could do that, it opened itself as a very familiar party cannon stood in front of her, blasting her with confetti, ribbons and balloons.
"SURPRISE!" All of her friends were there. From ponies to humans to Pokemon.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu and the other Pokemon cheered.
"Hooray, Rainbow Dash! Our favourite Wonderbolt!" The crusaders all said together as there was a flag with a crayon drawing of Rainbow Dash in a Wonderbolt outfit. Made by those three exclusively.
"We know you're probably tired, Rainbow Dash, but Pinkie wanted to throw you a real party," Twilight spoke.
"Espeon..."
"Your best day..." Pinkie Pie held her breath in, shouting through a megaphone. "ever party!"
"Yeah. It was somethin', all right." Rainbow turned her head.
"Pretty sweet that you ended up reaching your goal!" Ash nodded.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Mhm! And we can't wait to hear all about it!" Applejack squeed.
"Heh. And I'd love to tell you, I really would, but I'm pretty beat." Rainbow Dash yawned. "You know, from all the... excitement of my big day?" As she flew up to her room, they all noticed that something was definitely wrong due to her body language. It was pretty easy to see through it.
"Um, is something wrong, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked.
"What could be wrong? I'm finally a Wonderbolt, which means everything has to be totally, perfectly awesome." She sat down, transforming her smile into a frown as her hooves met with both her face cheeks.
"Oh, no. Something is wrong. What happened, darling?" said Rarity.
"I told you, it's nothing! I mean, maybe some of the Wonderbolts started calling me Rainbow Crash..." She rubbed the back of her mane, turning around.
"Oh, no!" Fluttershy gasped. "Isn't that the same terrible nickname those bullies in flight school used to call you?"
That prompted Rainbow Dash to whimper since it sadly was the truth.
"Why would they call you that?" Twilight wondered.
"Well, I kinda sorta fell into a garbage can." She whimpered yet again.
"Well, look at the bright side! At least they didn't call you Rainbow Trash!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"So you started off on the wrong hoof. I'll bet every new Wonderbolt has a tough first day." Applejack placed her hoof in Pinkie Pie's mouth.
"Mmm-hmm! What you need is to find a positive way to stand out. As soon as you're known for something else, that nasty old nickname will be forgotten." Rarity flipped her mane.
"Rarity's right. Why don't you think of the Wonderbolts like us? We're a team, but we all stand out in different ways." Twilight pointed her hoof at everypony and Pokemon here.
"That's it! I'm gonna stand out in a different way, just like you guys! Goodbye, Rainbow Crash; hello, Captain Awesome!" She zoomed out of her home due to her excitement as her friends and even her Pokemon watched her leave.
Returning to the Wonderbolts Academy, the sun was just over the horizon with morning coming up soon. At this time, even the Wonderbolts are still asleep. But they had no idea what was in store for them today.
Soarin slowly opened up his eyes, seeing a suddenly ecstatic Rainbow Dash with a slight mane change similar to that of Pinkie Pie, standing over his bed.
"Good morning, everypony! Who's ready for a fantastic day of flying? I know I am! I just couldn't be more excited for the big show tomorrow. Are you guys excited? I'm excited! Actually, I'm always excited! Some ponies even call me 'Dynamic Dash'!" She didn't just look like Pinkie Pie via the mane, she was even imitating her personality.
Her sudden shift in personality prompted them all to wake up with baggy eyes, confused on why Rainbow was acting like this all of a sudden.
"Uh, Wonderbolts don't get excited, Crash. You gotta keep a level head to fly the way we do." Fleetfoot said.
Rainbow Dash sighed, quickly changing up her personality. This time it was Applejack. Accent and mane included. "Well, of course I know that! But the truth of the matter is, you should be excited! It's the dream of near every little Pegasus pony to grow up and fly with the Wonderbolts! And here you all are doin' it!"
"So are you." Fleetfoot brushed her teeth.
"True! Go ahead and call me 'Forthright Filly' if you want. But shee-yucks, I like to tell it like it is, and I believe a pony oughta appreciate hard work payin' off like this because bein' a Wonderbolt is somethin' special!"
"We know." Misty Fly responded. In a matter of a few seconds, they had all left the room, leaving Rainbow behind. But even still, she decided to mimic her friends once more.
Outside with the rest of the Wonderbolts training and flying about, Rainbow Dash had decided to imitate Twilight this time. She even went the extra mile to put on some glasses and grab herself some random book.
"You know, I was just reading about how dihedral wing angles can help increase stability in banking turns. It made me think that pre-flight checklists could really help increase our efficiency, so I went ahead and made them for everypony!" She spoke to Spitfire. "I'm always finding so much interesting information in books. In fact, a lot of ponies call me 'Reading Rainboom'."
"Scizor..." Spitfire's Scizor winced at the sight of this. It was enough to make a Pokemon like him uncomfortable.
"We all know how wings work, newbie! And we already have checklists! Now get off the runway!" Spitfire spoke through a megaphone, blowing Rainbow Dash back a bit.
She shook her head, quickly changing her personality to match Fluttershy. "I'm so sorry. I was just trying to help because I care about all of the Wonderbolts oh-so-much. Yessiree, just call me 'Care Mare'. Um, but if you're busy now, I can just come back later..."
"Mrrrgh..." Spitfire growled at her.
"Or, you know, not at all..." Rainbow Dash had then zoomed away.
How does another attempt sound? Rainbow Dash up for it. This time, she imitated Ash. She got most of it right by changing her mane to match his hairstyle, using some markers to add his signature Z-Shaped birthmarks whilst also having Luxio on her back as her own Pikachu. Her accent stayed the same since she and Ash practically sound alike in a way when they speak.
"You know. I think if we could pull off some even cooler tricks with our Pokemon involved. Just think about it! If we work alongside with our Pokemon, especially the Flying-Types, we'll be able to give it more than 100%! There's nothing that can be achieved without a Pokemon by your side!"
"Lux..." Luxio winced, confused at why Rainbow Dash was acting like this all of a sudden.
"...We're not allowed to use Pokemon for the Wonderbolts..." Misty Fly raised her eyebrow.
"Oh..." Rainbow Dash's mane returned to normal. "I knew that..." She squeed, flying off.
Another attempt was made. With yet another imitation. She went over to the locker room, standing behind one as she held her breath in. "Okay..."
Who could she possibly be imitating this time? Well, judging by the mane and, eyelashes and enticing eyes, the imitation was clearly Rarity. She went up to Soarin, pulling off her best posh accent that she could come up with, along with very sophisticated trots.
"I must tell you how much I just love these uniforms. Why, ever since I was a foal, I've admired the mixture of bold lines and classic contours. They don't call me "Rainbow Fash" for nothing."
"Uhhhh... huh...?" Soarin was at a loss for words. How does one respond to this sudden change in personality?
"The 'Fash' is for 'Fashion'." Rainbow fluttered her eyes.
"Crash!" Spitfire bellowed. "I'm not sure why you're acting like this, but you need to stop."
"I was just, you know, trying to show everypony all the awesome ways I can contribute to the 'Bolts."
"I know you're excited to find your place on the team, but just focus on the routine for now, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am." Rainbow lowered her head.
"Maybe this will help motivate you." Spitfire smacked her hoof on a locker, causing to open. Inside was a pretty neat looking jacket just for her.
These jackets were made for the Wonderbolts with their nicknames on them. And unfortunately, since she's been given the name Rainbow Crash a lot recently, instead of it being a rainbow that was dashing, it was a rainbow that was crashing through a stop sign.
"Crash?! Couldn't you just put my regular name on it?!"
"That's not how it works around here. We all have our nicknames on our jackets. Right, Clipper?"
"Clipper?" Rainbow turned around to see that Spitfire was referring to Soarin, revealing his nickname.
"Right, boss!" Soarin replied.
"Now it's official. Welcome to the Wonderbolts, Crash!" Spitfire walked away as she had installed Rainbow Dash as a true Wonderbolt member. And all it took was a jacket.
"Mrrgh..." Rainbow quickly tossed the jacket back inside of the locker.
"If I don't come up with something unforgettable to add to the routine, I'm gonna be Rainbow Crash for the rest of my life!" She looked like she was about to tear up all of a sudden. She hid her face in the locker, trying to push back the tears.
But she had some help. Braviary, Castform and Altaria caught up, surrounding their trainer.
"Taria!"
"You guys? Oh. Sorry, I left you behind."
"Brav. Braviary." Braviary pointed his wings over on the outside of the barracks, trying to tell Rainbow Dash that her friends were coming over to see the show soon.
"...Oh, it's soon?!" Rainbow Dash could tell what Braviary was getting at. "But how am I gonna make this routine super cool...? Could I try Rainbow-Braviary, maybe? Nah..." Then, a gasp came out of Rainbow Dash's mouth. Something struck her mind, creating an idea. "Unless..."
Outside, ponies were gathering around to see the show along with their Pokemon as many had already seated themselves.
"Pika...chu..." Pikachu stretched his arms, laying on Ash's lap as a cushion.
"This is gonna be so amazing!" Scootaloo could barely contain herself.
"I know! I'm almost as excited as Pinkie Pie!" Spike exclaimed.
" I can't wait to see Rainbow Dash's first performance as an honest-to-goodness Wonderbolt! I hope there's cotton candy!" Pinkie popped up out of nowhere, catching Spike with her mane. She then took off with her Spinda, dragging Jade along, off to find some candy to scarf down.
"We should all remember to be extra supportive for Rainbow Dash too," Fluttershy said.
"Excellent point. It's simply dreadful that she's had such a rough start after finally achieving her dream." Rarity nodded.
"Rainbow Dash is a pretty resilient pony. I'm sure she's shaken off her tough first day and turned it around by now!" Twilight commented.
"Dino? Audino." Audino had heard the wingbeat of Rainbow Dash closing in. Along came their pegasus friend, prompting them all to turn their attention to her.
"Hey, Dash!" Ash greeted.
Rainbow hovered over Scootaloo, stopping by just for her. "Perfect! Hey, can I borrow Scootaloo? Oh and Ponyta too if that's cool."
"Me? What for?" Scootaloo wondered.
"Pony?"
"Oh, heh, I just needed some help and figured the president of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club was the right pony for the job!" She replied in a nervous tone.
"I thought the Wonderbolt Reserves were here to help," Twilight said.
"Oh, yeah, they're all busy doing, uh, official Reserve stuff. But don't worry! With Scootaloo's help, everything's gonna be awesome. Better than awesome!" Rainbow Dash picked both Ponyta and Scootaloo up.
"Does... Does that mean practice went well yesterday?" Rarity held her sun hat.
"Gotta go. Stay here, guys." Rainbow Dash ordered the rest of her Pokemon to stay behind, including Whirlipede and Luxio as she let them out.
Flying off with Scootaloo and Ponyta, Rainbow Dash went up to a fairly high spot up on a ridge for two specific reasons. One, so that Fluttershy's Audino doesn't hear her and two for something involving Scootaloo and her partner.
"What are we doing up here, Rainbow Dash?"
"I just need a small favour from you that's really gonna make this show something special. Now, the Wonderbolts are gonna fly over this ridge right before the finale of the show." She grabbed a cloud, pushing it near a wooden ramp. "I'll fly by last, and when I signal you, you get on Ponyta's back, while he gets on the scooter. Then, Ponyta's gonna use Flame Charge to zip up the ramp on your scooter and use Double Kick to smash the storm cloud into my path!"
"What?"
"That kick will shoot off a lightning bolt right behind me, making me look totally awesome! And then I'll do some incredible Rainbow Dash flying with it to create the coolest, show-stoppingest, lightning-tastic light show anypony has ever seen!"
"Are you sure about this?" Scootaloo held onto her scooter. "I'm not sure Ponyta's even capable of doing that."
"Uh-huh! It's gonna be so awesome! And don't worry! Ponyta's a tough Pokemon! From what I've seen, those hooves are no joke! And nopony will ever call me 'Rainbow Crash' after this!" She was really determined to make this a real show-stopper as she noticed the Wonderbolts fly by. "Oh, gotta go! Be ready for me, okay, you two?"
" Um... okay...?"
Back at the show, the whole thing was about to begin as the announcer spoke through the loudspeaker.
"Mares and gentlecolts, fillies and foals of all ages! Pokemon of all types! Look to the skies and prepare to be awestruck by the incredible flying prowess of... the Wonderbolts!"
Along came those stunning pegasi, flying in perfect sync as the crowd cheered, watching the flashy flying moves play out. Their speed was something to be admired. If they got close enough, they could blow anypony's mane in the wind just from the sheer force they exhibit.
"Pikachu!"
"I hope Spike and Pinkie Pie are done getting their snacks, or they're gonna miss Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Oh, don't worry, Fluttershy. Nothing would keep Pinkie Pie from missing this!" Rarity replied.
Well, their cotton candy situation was taking a bit. Mostly due to Pinkie Pie's craving for more cotton candy. It must be bigger.
"Come on, Pinkie, the show's starting!" Spike said.
"One second! Just a little bit bigger please, but hurry! Bigger!" She demanded much more than candy she received.
Whilst she attempts to really get the perfect cotton candy size, the Wonderbolts continued to amaze everypony there. That's when Rainbow Dash's friends spotted her actions. The way she was keeping up with the others and flying in perfect unison with them. It looked like she would struggle, but not at all. It seems that her promise of improving herself in one day wasn't a joke.
Her Pokemon watched as Braviary clapped his wings together.
"One second! Just a little bit bigger please, but hurry! Bigger!" Pinkie spoke.
"Oh! Are these Wonderbolt shows always like this?!" Ash gawked.
"Pika!"
Whilst the show carries on and Pinkie Pie orders more and more cotton candy so large you could build a house out of it, Rainbow Dash gave the signal to Ponyta and Scootaloo who stood atop the ridge, with the Fire Horse Pokemon taking control over the scooter.
"Okay, Ponyta...Let's just relax." Scootaloo got on the back of her Pokemon, holding tight. And for good reason. Ponyta may have seen Scootaloo use her scooter here and there, but he's never really utilized it. "I hope this works. Use Double Kick."
"Ponyta!" The Fire Horse Pokemon had raised one hoof up, kicking the black cloud away. The amount of power put behind Double Kick was so strong that it made the cloud move at ludicrous speeds that clouds don't usually move at.
As the show was coming to an end, Rainbow Dash had noticed that the cloud had been launched, prompting her to fly to the side with Soarin noticing.
Once each of the Wonderbolts finally stopped flying with everypony giving their applause, Soarin went over to Spitfire, showing her what Dash was currently up to.
She raced towards the cloud which had lightning sparking inside of it. Unfortunately, she didn't anticipate the speed it would move at. As a result, she attempted to stop in her tracks, but it was too late. The cloud had grabbed a hold of her with ease.
"Whoa!" She wailed as she felt herself being engulfed by the thundercloud. Sparks of lightning shot out it, reacting to Rainbow Dash's speed. The lightning had then shot Rainbow Dash out of its cloud, forcing her to take off like a rocket without any control whatsoever.
As she was being propelled through the skies, she bumped into a Tranquill, causing it to respond out of anger with Razor Wind, only making Rainbow Dash's air time last longer. Then, she found herself making contact with the tree near Ponyta and Scootaloo.
The tree acted like a slingshot, launching the blue pegasus higher into the air. And yet, there was still no control over her movements. She found herself making contact with that same rapid-moving cloud as it engulfed her once more. More lightning bolts shot out until one finally spat her out, sending her towards the ground this time.
Rainbow Dash had a lightning-shaped aura surrounding her as she was trying so hard to stop but it was no use. Where she was headed next was right towards Pinkie Pie and Spike's location, who had just finished getting the right amount of cotton candy she desired.
"Hope I'm not too late. I dunno what took that pony so long." Pinkie scoffed as Spike shook his head.
The lightning covered Rainbow Dash crashed right through the candy, but yet, despite the thick amount of cotton candy, she still didn't stop due to the speed she had been shot out with.
"Scizor! Catch her!" Spitfire commanded.
"Sciz!" The Pincer Pokemon took off from the ground, moving at much faster speeds than Rainbow Dash's current propelling pace. The Bug-Steel-Type effortlessly caught Rainbow Dash with his pincers, grabbing a hold of her tail. The lightning around her only slightly shocked him though as Scizor placed Rainbow Dash safely on the ground.
"That was amazing!" Pinkie was impressed by that.
"Spinda!"
"Urgh..." Rainbow Dash groaned. She looked up to see Spitfire arriving with her shadow casting over.
"Way to go, Rainbow Crash." She said, prompting Rainbow to sigh as she dug her face in the ground with cotton candy on it.
Afterwards, Fluttershy's Audino had healed her up with Heal Pulse, causing Rainbow to recover quickly. The blue pegasus rubbed the back of her mane, walking out with her head down. Up ahead were Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts, looking right at her.
"You gonna tell us what just happened, newbie?" Spitfire asked.
"I'm so sorry." Rainbow sighed.
"I should hope so. You changed the routine without consulting me and put other ponies at risk. I've drummed flyers out of the 'Bolts for less."
"I know, and I'm ready for whatever punishment you want. You guys were right to call me 'Rainbow Crash'. I've always been a standout flyer, but since I joined the Wonderbolts, I've only stood out for making mistakes. It's been my dream my whole life, but... I guess maybe I'm not Wonderbolt material after all."
"Are you serious?! You're the most talented flyer we've ever had!" Soarin exclaimed, nudging her.
"And you've saved all of Equestria like, a dozen times." Fleetfoot nodded.
"Uh...I-"
"Of course you're supposed to be a Wonderbolt. We've been waiting for a spot to open up ever since you joined the Reserves!" Spitfire said to her.
"But... you guys all called me Rainbow Crash."
"Yeah, so? My nickname's 'Clipper'. You know why they call me that?" Soarin raised his wings up.
"Uh... 'cause you're as fast as a ship?" Rainbow answered.
"Because I clipped my wing on a flagpole as I was landing on my first day. Heh."
"Huh..."
"'Flatfoot'," Fleetfoot spoke. "My first day, I misjudged my landing and came down right on Spitfire's hoof."
"Dizzy". Misty Fly referred to herself as others did the same.
"Slowpoke".
"Hoof-in-Mouth".
"You don't wanna know what they call me," Spitfire whispered in Rainbow Dash's ear.
Whilst everypony else couldn't hear what she said, Audino picked up on the name, causing her to hold her laughter in.
"Audi...Audino..."
"Whoa! That is so much worse than Crash." Rainbow jerked back.
"Right?" Spitfire chuckled.
"So does this mean I'm... still on the team?"
"Do you think you can be part of this team and not constantly try to showboat?"
"I promise! I spent my whole life trying to be a standout flyer, but now that I'm a Wonderbolt, it's time to be okay with fitting in!"
"Good, because I really didn't want to miss the chance to tease you for years about this catastrophe! I mean, that crash was epic!" Spitfire bellowed as the other Wonderbolts laughed. All in good fun.
Rainbow Dash's Pokemon came over to her, giving their trainer a tight-spaced group hug. They were satisfied with her conclusion to all of this since they were worried in the beginning.
"But you're on probation for a month. Got a problem with that?!" Spitfire pointed her wing at her.
"No, ma'am," Rainbow replied quickly.
Along came the night.
Rainbow Dash was currently sweeping the area after the show had ended. Her Pokemon offered to help with Braviary using his wings to blow away any dirt from here whilst Castform used Water Gun. Whirlipede picked up dirt by rolling on the ground, allowing Castform to eventually wash it off of him.
Along came here her friends, seeing their friend and her Pokemon clean away.
"Hey. Rainbow Dash. We just wanted to check on you. Are you doing okay?" Twilight asked.
"Vulpix?"
"I'm doing great, thanks!"
"Sure you don't need any help?" Scootaloo offered.
"Nah. I've already got my Pokemon to help me out. This mess is my responsibility, and I've gotta clean it up myself. And after this, Spitfire's got me cleaning the Wonderbolts' compound for the next month." Rainbow Dash gave her Luxio a pat on the head as he was carrying a bucket with his mouth.
"Lux."
"So why are you in such a good mood?" Scootaloo wondered.
"Ponyta?"
"Duh! Because I'm a Wonderbolt!" That's all she needed to say.
Her dream of becoming a Wonderbolt had finally been realized, becoming a true reality. Even without the interference of the Rift or any cosmic ongoings. Granted, she did mess up and end up getting herself stuck in probation. But on the bright side, she's now learned that she wasn't the first Wonderbolt to gain herself a nickname and performing accidents along the way. That made her a true Wonderbolt and it'll certainly stay that way for years to come as the journey continues!
An Ultra Wormhole had emerged out of thin air. Most likely due to the actions of Colress tampering with Ultra Space. However, this time, the Ultra Beast that came through wasn't one that was intent on causing destruction. Not at all. Today, the ponies will come across what might be considered the most vainglory Pokemon they'll ever meet.
Come morning, and everything seemed peaceful and quiet as usual today. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Nopony was even aware of the roaming Ultra Beast. Especially not quiet and peaceful Ponyville, which is the most popular place for a Pokemon to just go crazy and roam around.
"Here you guys go," Ash spoke as he held in his hand an Xtransciever. The powerful communication transciever from the Unova Region.
"What is this? Another Pokedex?" Twilight held it in her hooves.
"It's the Xtransciever. A super useful tool that lets you contact your friends and family. This thing's pretty neat, ya know."
"Pikachu!"
"Oooh..." Pinkie held the Xtransciever in her hoof, gazing at its sleek design. "It's so smooth..."
"I'll say...This design is so perfectly compact and simple yet so complex." Rarity examined it.
"This is actually what we need!" Twilight exclaimed. "That way, we can stay in touch with everypony if we ever get separated! And we can call for help if we need it."
"Ain't it? I've already given you all my trainer number so you'll always have on there. You guys should have your trainers numbers too."
"Trainer number? How do we know what our trainer numbers are?" Applejack questioned.
"Just turn it on and it'll scan your face. Then it'll just give you a number automatically. Wish it did back when I first journeyed Unova."
"Well, I think I need this more than anypony." Rainbow Dash placed it in her saddle-bag. She was starting to look more and more like an actual Pokemon Trainer. Even an adept one.
"It's good that we're getting more involved with the Pokemon World and their items. And we'll also find out where Jirachi can be found. Hoenn's the one place where Jirachi's said to be the most prominent." Twilight commented.
"But where in Hoenn? The region's super big with tons of water." Rainbow replied.
"Jirachi's one of those Pokemon that are super rare after all. But there's no Pokemon too rare to find!" Ash grinned.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"So uh...just do this?" Scootaloo turned on the Xtransciever as it scanned her entire face in an instant. "Oooh.
"Scootaloo Registered!" The communication device suddenly spoke as Scootaloo's face digitally appeared on the screen with the trainer number 30000.
"Sweet!" She lifted it up as the others did the same.
With their trainer numbers registered and each having something to communicate even from afar, staying in touch with each other is going to be a lot easier now. In fact, they could call their friends in case they were having trouble with anything so that they could give some advice.
Truly a convenient device.
What was also convenient was the arrival of the mysterious Ultra Beast.
This alien Pokemon had been roaming around the world, causing a bit of a ruckus. But not in the way you'd expect. Instead of it causing destruction and harming others like some Pokemon, this Ultra Beast seemed to be a bit of a showoff.
And the ponies were about to find out when it finally arrived. It made a grand entrance by falling from above. The minute it landed down, it caused a bit of tremor that shook Ponyville as a whole. Dust clouds picked up from the impact as even some rocks flew out of the ground with a slight crack forming.
"What in tarnation was what?!" Applejack gasped. She and her friends snapped their heads to the location of where the noise and impact originated from.
Everypony did actually.
This time, they were ready. After Nihilego, Spiritomb and other threats that came their way, they were all prepared to tackle whatever Pocket Monster may attack them with their Pokemon beside them, ready to act on command.
But they weren't prepared for the appearance.
Bursting out of the smoke was none other than the Swollen Pokemon. The Bug-Fighting-Type. The Macho Mosquito. The Beefy Bug. The
Buzzwole.
And dear Arceus, this thing is overwhelming to look at.
Bug-Types are usually considered to be the weakest type ever with every other type outclassing them. Even Normal-Types are considered stronger.
But not this bug. Just seeing it throws out every saying about bugs being puny and weak.
It was so breathtaking to look at that the ponies didn't even keep their guard up.
But how could they?
Seeing Buzzwole for the first time would make anyone defenceless. By looks alone, it is a fierce-looking Pokemon by default. What's worse is that in its own world, they're common. Essentially, the Rattata's of their world. You could only imagine the poor upstart trainer who decides to set out on their journey for the first time with boundless energy and joy, only to be greeted by this specimen.
The ponies were still paralyzed in awe by the sight of Buzzwole.
"It's...It's...Sweet Celestia..." Rarity was sweating bullets as she wiped the sweat off her forehead with a napkin.
"What is that...that...thing?" Rainbow Dash's hoof was stuttering as she and Scootaloo pulled out their Pokedex. What could it possibly say about this Ultra Beast?
"Buzzwole. The Swollen Pokemon. This Ultra Beast appeared from another world. It shows off its body, but whether that display is a boast or a threat remains unclear. Witnesses saw it pulverize a dump truck with a single punch. Although it’s alien to this world and a danger here, it’s apparently a common organism in the world where it normally lives. Buzzwole is also capable of draining energy with a single absorption that takes no effort. It is a one of a kind Ultra Beast."
"Woah! A Buzzwole is here?!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pika?!"
"Why is it so..." Pinkie Pie paused for a moment, absolutely flabbergasted. "Jacked."
"Well, Buzzwole's overwhelming like that." Ash nodded.
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Wait!" Rainbow Dash snapped out of it as she and other ponies couldn't stop looking at its muscles. "We can't get distracted! If it's an Ultra Beast, then let's take-"
"Hold on!" Ash suddenly stopped her. "Buzzwole isn't like that."
"It's not?" Twilight turned to him.
"Nope. Take a closer look." Ash pointed over at the Swollen Pokemon, causing the ponies to hold their attacks back.
As the dex says, Buzzwole is a Pokemon that just loves to show off its muscles.
And show off it did.
"Buzz!" The Swollen Pokemon raised its muscular arms up, pulling off the standard Front Double Biceps pose. "SWOLE!" It then performed a Side Chest by rotating its body towards one side whilst also displaying its shoulder arm and forearm size. The force of the Side Chest had caused a wind pressure that blew everypony's manes in the wind.
"Well...it's not hurting anypony. But so maybe its...Oh my..." Fluttershy covered her face, unable to take the insane muscles of Buzzwole.
"Buzzwole's only here for one reason. To show off. And boy does it love showing off." Ash explained.
"Does it have to show off its muscles here? Can't it do it somewhere else?" Mayor Mare said to Ash.
"I wish it was that easy..." Ash sighed. "The last Buzzwole me and Pikachu met was stressed out since it wasn't in its original homeworld so it just flexed its muscles to cool its mind. But this one looks like it doesn't care where it is.."
"It is a pretty passive Pokemon so far...well...not so passive in looks," said Fluttershy.
"Do we just stand here and do nothing then?" Rainbow Dash whispered. "I mean...I'll admit. It is pretty cool on how its flexing and all but...What if it attacks all of a sudden?"
"Swole!" Buzzwole suddenly turned its head towards Rarity's direction, focusing all its attention towards the unicorn.
"Eeep! It's looking at me!" Rarity shuddered as she hid behind Rainbow Dash and Ash.
"Don't worry, Rarity! The dex says this guy's a Bug-Fighting-Type. Braviary's gonna make quick work of it!" Rainbow held out her Poke Ball that contained Braviary.
The others prepared themselves with their Pokemon standing by, preparing for the absolute worst.
Then with a spurt of speed, Buzzwole had moved from the spot it had stood on for so long, leaving behind a large dust cloud. Before Rainbow Dash could send Braviary out or even before the ponies could give a command, Buzzwole had passed right through them.
Rarity screeched, ducking for cover as she believed Buzzwole had attacked her. But to her and everypony's surprise, it hadn't.
Instead, Buzzwole only ran towards Rarity for one reason only. So that it could grab her mirror.
"Buzz!"
"...Huh?" Rarity was puzzled on why the Swollen Pokemon would even want her mirror in the first place.
Then the reason was revealed. To show off even more. "Buzzwole!" It looked itself in the mirror, flexing off its muscles once more and just exhibiting raw power with each flex.
"Oh...Is that why." Rarity let out a huge sigh of relief.
"I guess that confirms it. It's not a hostile Pokemon. Just a huge showoff." Twilight nodded.
Everypony in Ponyville also had their own sighs of relief they let out. They were glad that for once, a brand new Pokemon arriving and causing a scene wasn't here to harm anypony. It was just here to flex and show off how awesome its muscles were.
"I'm taking back everything I said about Bug-Types. That thing's crazy to look at!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"And very...staggering." Fluttershy kept covering her eyes.
"Well you know...its muscles are impressive but...It's not all that..." Rainbow Dash scoffed it off as she laid on her back.
"It's not all that... It's not all that... it's not all that..." The words that Rainbow Dash spoke had travelled through Buzzwole's ears. Words that she shouldn't have said.
Everypony and Pokemon gasped, placing their hooves, hands and whatever limbs they have on their mouths. They knew by the way Buzzwole turned its head, it was a horrible choice of words from Rainbow. After hearing Buzzwole's dex entry, everypony could come to the conclusion that it probably wasn't a good idea to prove it. At all.
"What?" Rainbow Dash looked at how everypony was performing the same pose. "What is it?"
"Rainbow Dash...You shouldn't have said that..." Fluttershy whimpered.
"Why? What's the big deal?"
"BUZZ!" Buzzwole's voice had been raised at Rainbow Dash, prompting the multi-coloured maned mare to turn around with a startle. "Swole..." Buzzwole pointed its fingers at Rainbow Dash out of disdain.
"Why did you have to say that? There are two types of boasters. The ones who respond out of jealousy...and the ones who respond out of anger!" Twilight quivered in fear, ducking for cover. "
"What's the big deal? Trixie used to flex and boast a lot. What makes this guy so different?"
"The difference between Trixie and Buzzwole is that Trixie isn't a 7 foot, muscle-bound beefcake like Buzzwole!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Didn't you hear what the dex entry said about it?!"
"Oh come on! A dump truck? Please! Machamp can do better than this oversized bug! Brawly's Hariyama could even do the same thing as well!"
"Rainbow Dash! Please do not provoke the muscular mosquito!" Rarity screamed.
"Buzzwole!" Buzzwole was clearly unhappy about Rainbow Dash's words. The Swollen Pokemon had gone up to a building, slamming its fist through the window. Why it did was not out of hostility, but instead, to retrieve a quill and a piece of paper to write on. "Buzz!"
"Wha-My home!" Cream Heart gasped.
The Ultra Beast then began writing aggressively on the paper, almost burning it from the insane speed its hand moved at. Everypony watched as they saw it write down in both human and pony language with ease. It was a fairly intelligent Pokemon after all.
"Swole!" The Swollen Pokemon showed them the paper, allowing the ponies to read the words written on it.
"Let's see..." Twilight brought the paper to her with magic. "If you think my awesome space-shattering muscles aren't all that, then let's see you do any better. I challenge you to a Macho-Beast competition! Courtesy of my homeworld!"
"Nice, going Dash." Applejack nudged Rainbow. "You've just got yourself into something you can't get out of now."
"Seriously?! I didn't think it would take it that hard!"
"Buzzwole's a Pokemon that prides on its muscles. Underestimating them is the last thing you wanna do." Ash said.
"Pikachu."
"Buzz!" Buzzwole gave her the 'Come here' hand gesture. The Swollen Pokemon was willing to prove her wrong.
Rainbow Dash being the competitive pony that she is would accept this...but...she wasn't so sure this time. Instead of competing to show her stuff off, she would be competing to have her opposing competitor prove her wrong. "Alright, so I didn't know it got touchy from saying that. Cut me some slack." She groaned.
"Swole" Buzzwole grabbed the paper from Twilight, writing on it once more. Once it showed them the new words, Twilight read them out as they said...
"You will be forgiven if you prove that you're capable enough to match me in feats."
"What do you think, Rainbow? Do you accept its challenge?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Hmm...I am kinda curious about what a Macho-Beast Competition is...I'll give it a shot for a while. If it means getting this thing to forgive me."
"Swole!" Buzzwole raised his muscles up, glad that Rainbow Dash accepted the challenge. But the question is, what were the activities of the Macho-Beast Competition?
They were all about to find out.
The first challenge was a test of pulling strength.
Buzzwole had gathered two trees together by ripping them out of the ground and placing them both on its side and Rainbow Dash's side. The Swollen Pokemon then pointed all the way over to the location of the Pokemon House. "Buzz!"
"Oh...I get it." Twilight figured it out. "Buzzwole wants to see who can pull the trees the furthest to the Pokemon House!
"That's it? Pssh. That's not so bad." Rainbow Dash scoffed. "I can pull a tree no problem!"
"I don't think you should underestimate it, Rainbow Dash darling...Just look at it." Rarity pointed out Buzzswole's overwhelming muscles and how it was flexing to prepare itself.
"I know. But I've been training with my Pokemon to improve my skills too. Going into Rainbow-Braviary that one time in Ponyville and that other time at Princess Celestia and Luna's birthday gave me a little boost, ya know."
"If you say so...Just don't overexert yourself." Rarity warned.
"You got it!"
"Buzz!" Buzzwole had gotten itself ready, picking up the tree with its bare hands.
"Here goes..." Rainbow Dash did the same as she placed her hooves on the tree, ready to pull it along.
"Ready...?" Mayor Mare spoke, prepared to say those magic words. "GO!"
"BUZZ!" Buzzwole took off like a rocket, leaving Rainbow Dash behind as it moved at high-speeds. The dust left behind got in Rainbow Dash's face, causing her to lose focus. Buzzswole was already long gone in the distance now.
"HEY!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she quickly got a move on. To everypony's surprise, she could actually carry the tree. "Heh! Told ya!" And indeed it was. She was expecting to have a struggle lifting it but it turns out she was just that strong. But compared to Buzzwole, who was carrying it with one hand this time, her lifting strength didn't compare at all.
However, Rainbow Dash could actually keep up with the Swollen Pokemon thanks to her speed output. She zoomed past Buzzwole, now leaving it in the dust instead.
"Catch ya later!" Rainbow taunted, feeling good about herself when she realized that her speed was much better than the Ultra Beast's. She had reached the Pokemon House, placing the tree down whilst Buzzwole came last, dropping its tree next.
"No way! She actually beat it?!" Twilight gasped in shock. She expected the opposite result since Buzzwole was played up to be an overwhelming force.
"Of course she did! Rainbow Dash is just that great!" Scootaloo shook Twilight who's jaw was still wide open.
"Hah! Looks like I can actually back it up!" Rainbow crossed her hooves, smirking as she looked down at the defeated Ultra Beast.
"Buzzwole." Buzzwole crossed its arms in response, not sounding too bothered by it. It was off to the next challenge of feats.
However, after they left, a Bunnelby and a Rattata from the Pokemon house had effortlessly picked up the tree as if it was nothing. Ash, Pikachu, Fluttershy and Twilight had actually noticed this, causing them to summon thoughts in their heads.
The next challenge was a test of throwing strength. Who could throw the hardest or longest? One of the two is fine.
The objects of choice this time were two large boulders. Buzzwole personally grabbed the two of them, handing one over to the opposing pony. So far, Buzzwole's been the one who's picked out the objects as a sort of kind gesture, despite the challenge it issued to Rainbow Dash.
Strangely enough, similar to the first challenge, Buzzwole rushed off to find two of the same objects without anypony seeing him. Why he didn't just do it near them when there were nearby rocks and trees was a bit odd to them. But Ash, Fluttershy, Twilight and Pikachu might have a clue on why it did this.
The way to excel in this challenge was to either see who can throw the boulders the longest distance, highest distance or, how much force they can exhibit from their throw. Which essentially means, who can cause a shockwave or make the air rupture a bit with a pressuring sound whilst the grass blows. That kind of force.
"Swole!" Buzzwole had picked up the large boulder, juggling it around like a bouncy ball.
Rainbow Dash gulped. She wasn't sure that she could lift something much larger than her at all. But if she could beat Buzzwole in the first test surely she could do it here in the second test.
Buzzwole went first, chucking the boulder with the intention of height behind it. The length the boulder went was impressive. It managed to break through the clouds and even reach Cloudsdale a small bit. Just lightly connecting with the door of somepony's home. The boulder than crash-landed back down near them, leaving behind a smoke cloud afterwards.
"Swole!"
"Sheesh! It's gonna be tough to beat that one, Dashie!" Pinkie yelled from the crowd.
"Yeah..." Rainbow nervously replied. She placed her hooves on the boulder, preparing to pick it up. Surprisingly, she could even effortlessly pick this boulder up as well. "Woah...I'm stronger than I thought...Here goes!" With all her might, she sent the boulder up into the air.
And once she did, it easily exceeded Buzzwole's, breaking past Cloudsdale in a few seconds. If you look closely enough, you could even see that it was this close to breaking past the Earth itself. Everypony gawked in awe as the boulder came flying back down, crashing near Rainbow Dash in the end.
"Yes! Two in a row!" She pumped her hooves. "Guess I'm more physically fit than you, huh?! What's next?"
"She's actually winning against that thing? I didn't know Rainbow Dash was that strong." Rarity shook her head.
"I didn't know you could chuck boulders that high." Pinkie gasped. "I've been missing out as a filly."
"Uh, actually Rainbow Dash..." Twilight spoke. "This boulder is super light." She picked it up easily with her magic as she tossed it over to her Minccino, who was balancing it on her tail.
"Minccino!"
"...What...?" Rainbow's mouth stayed open.
"Mhm. And that tree from earlier seemed to be lighter than the one Buzzwole carried. We saw the Pokemon over at the Pokemon House pick it up without any problem."
"Huh?" Her mouth began opening up even more. "Hold on! Have you been giving me easy stuff to...make me look good?"
"Buzz!" Buzzwole flexed his muscles, essentially replying with a 'Yes'. It then proceeded to show the gap in strength by easily sending both the tree and boulder far into the skies with just a flick, surpassing Rainbow Dash's height. It wasn't even close.
"W-Why?" She stuttered.
Buzzwole held the quill and paper once more, rapidly writing on it. This time it read, "Because it wouldn't be fair to upstage you. In truth, I dislike outperforming weaklings. I just prefer to flex."
"Weakling?!"
"Would ya look at that? This Buzzwole thing's actually a pretty nice fella." Applejack nudged Rainbow Dash. "Bit passive aggressive though..."
"So then...You weren't actually upset when I said you weren't all that?"
"Buzz!" Buzzwole shook its head aggressively.
"Oh...Phew." Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of relief.
"I must say. I can grow to like this thing." Rarity nodded her head. "A pony can really get enchanted by these overwhelming yet wondrous muscles."
"Swole!" Buzzwole heard Rarity's compliments, showing off its muscles even more as it picked up the unicorn whilst posing at the same time.
"See? Just like Dark-Types, not every Ultra Beast is aggressive." Ash went over to pat Buzzwole. "Some will attack you out of nowhere, but most just enjoy doing what they love best."
"Oooh...Can I be picked up by Buzzwole?" Apple Bloom asked.
Buzzwole granted her wish by picking her up as if she was a tiny little doll, placing her on its bicep. Other ponies wanted in on it too as they all managed to fit on each of Buzzwole's muscular arms as it was posing about now. The ponies can grow to like a Pokemon such as Buzzwole since it just loves to flex and nothing more.
"You know I bet I could flex my muscles like that. Hrrngh!" Spike puffed his cheeks as he flexed his tiny little dragon muscles.
"Nah, you gotta put more effort into it, like this!" Ash showed off his muscles along with Pikachu.
"Pikachu!"
"Swole. Buzzwole!" Buzzwole, being the showoff that it is, decided to juggled the ponies around. The size comparison was ridiculous. It could measure up to many Dragon-Types even. And yet, the ponies loved this swole bug. They grew an attachment to it.
Buzzwole knew it was strong and muscular, and it revelled in it. If anything, this was one of the many Pokemon that could boast about how awesome and amazing it was and still get away with it. Buzzwole was just that amazing.
But unfortunately, Buzzwole knew that it would have to return home soon. The Swollen Pokemon pointed up into the sky, indicating that its Ultra Wormhole was near.
"Wait...are you leaving already, Buzzwole?" Fluttershy could tell Buzzwole's hand gestures and what they meant.
"Swole!" Buzzwole wrote on the paper once more, letting the ponies understand. It read; "I must go. My planet needs me. But the time I had here was enjoyable. I will remember you all in my daily flexes Until we meet again, my little ponies."
"Do you have to leave so soon?" Sweetie Belle asked. She looked up at Buzzwole, giving it puppy dog eyes. Buzzwole being the big softie that it was, decided to stay around for a just a little bit longer. Besides, the wormholes can't really close on their own at the moment thanks to Colress.
After a bit of showing off via lifting up everypony and Pokemon nearby as if they were marbles, Buzzwole finally took its leave. It could tell where it came from originally so it knew where to go.
"Goodbye, Buzzwole!" Fluttershy waved goodbye to the Ultra Beast.
"Thanks for the competition! Even if I was underestimated..." Rainbow Dash said.
"Buzz!" Buzzwole finally left, making a grand exit by running at ludicrous speeds. Once it ran off, all that was left was a dust cloud that spelt the Ultra Beast's name.
"So cool..." Rainbow gawked.
The third encounter with an Ultra Beast. But not one out of hostility or danger. Just one out of pure fun. Buzzwole is an interesting Ultra Beast. But then again, they're all interesting in their own way. Even though there are Ultra Beasts that are hostile and will attack anyone on sight, others such as Buzzwole only exist to enjoy what they love doing best. And it shows whilst all of Ponyville waves goodbye to the Muscular Mosquito as the journey continues.
Ash and Pikachu were currently on their own this time.
They had been exploring Deerling Forest for themselves since they planned to visit it eventually. And they had a good time there as always. So much so that they spent most of the day there with just the Deerling and Sawsbuck.
"Exhausted, huh pal?" Ash held Pikachu in his hands.
"Pika...chu..." The Electric Mouse Pokemon stretched his arms out, feeling relaxed in his best buddy's arms.
"I wanna visit that one place with a ton of Dark-Types. What was it called again?"
"Pikapi. Pikachu."
"Ah, you're right. Best get home before I fall asleep on the ground. Wish we got the chance to visit Pikachu Highlands again. Guess we got too distracted, huh?" Ash chuckled.
The duo made their way back home, waving goodbye to the Deerling and Sawsbuck who resided here. They had all fallen asleep as well since they're fairly standard Pokemon with standard sleep patterns.
With brand new sounds filling the air that only appear at night, nocturnal Pokemon reveal themselves, basking in the moonlight and darkness.
At night, mystical enigmas occur the most, especially deep in Equestria. But the ongoings now are more Pokemon based rather than Equestrian based.
And one pony in particular who stays up at night the most is none other than the Princess of the Night, Luna. Her presence had arrived near Ash and Pikachu in the form of a swirling magic sphere. Out of that sphere, Luna had emerged, alone this time. Usually, Darkrai is always with her.
"Hm? Luna?" Ash and his buddy snapped their attention to the alicorn.
"Pika?"
"Ash Ketchum? Are you pursuing them too?"
"Pursuing what?"
"Ah...So you're unaware. It might be wise to take caution at this very moment." Luna walked up to Ash.
"Why? Is there something attacking Equestria?"
"Well...It actually has to do with what occurred many months ago. Back in the earlier days of our worlds crossing over. It involves the Munna from months ago."
"Munna? You mean that same Munna that was affected by the Rift?"
"Pikachu?"
"That's right. Even though we ended up preventing the Dream Eater Pokemon from devouring everypony's dreams, leaving them lost forever, it turns out, the effect the Rift put on the Munna never left. Instead, all that cosmic energy within it has been building up to form something completely new."
"Is it eating dreams again?!" Ash gasped.
"Not anymore. While it has ceased its natural instinct of devouring dreams, it has spawned something far worse. The mist around it usually turns pink when it is having a good dream but...it seems as if there is a black mist releasing instead."
"Black mist...Hm..." Ash thought for a moment, remembering what that meant. "That's when Munna has a nightmare. Something's bothering it."
"I wouldn't say that. You see...I believe that its dreams have entered reality." Luna responded, giving the full explanation finally which caused the duo to gasp.
"The dreams have entered reality?"
"Pikachu?!"
"Mhm. But it isn't similar to that of the Tantabus. Instead, it seems to be the cause of Munna being unable to control its power due to how overwhelming the cosmic energy is. As a result, its nightmares have been taking form, rampaging late at night with the intent of adding on their nightmares to ponies and Pokemon alike. Darkrai and I have been pursuing them recently for the past few days, only when the energy within Munna reached a certain point."
"So there's living nightmares walking around Equestria? How many are there?"
"It's very little. Around 10 since Munna isn't too powerful. So far, Darkrai and I have managed to find three of them, however, they've constantly managed to escape at every turn. If we don't stop these Nightmares or find Munna's current location, the energy within it will continue to grow. And the nightmares will only become stronger later on. I also plan on catching Munna...since...it is a bit cute actually." She scrunched her face.
"Hm. Okay! How about we help out?"
"Help out? You'll actually assist us in this?"
"Yeah. It sounds like a big deal that could get out hand very soon. So Pikachu and I are gonna help you and Darkrai find Munna and save her as well."
"Ah. I appreciate the help, Ash Ketchum. Alright. But just be careful. The Nightmares are capable of putting you to sleep instantly with the right amount of energy exerted. I've brought along my Xatu who knowns Sleep Talk to combat this." Luna held out Xatu's Poke Ball, sending the Mystic Pokemon out.
"Xatu..."
"Alright. Where do we start?"
"Darkrai and I made our way here since he detected that the Nightmares are reaching Deerling Forest soon. So somewhere around this large forest, we'll find them. Hurry. Before the situation worsens."
The hunt for the Nightmares was on. An objective that involved the uncontrollable will of a Munna was capable of forming walking entities that cause nothing but horrible dreams were on the loose. But what did these Nightmares even look like, actually? Ash and Pikachu were about to find out.
Around Deerling Forest's deeper parts, the group came across some Deerling that were evading the Nightmares by leaving their territory.
"Deerling!" The Season Pokemon cried out as they all barely managed to escape these horrific entities. Ash and Luna watched as the Deerling had retreated from their territory, absolutely horrified with what their eyes had graced.
"Stay alert, Ash Ketchum! They're near!" Luna suddenly stopped her movements, narrowing her eyes forward. She could hear the eerie cries of these Nightmares closing in since she's dealt with them before.
"Huh? Where are they?" Ash moved his head around, wondering where the Nightmares could be. Once he looked towards the direction where Luna was facing, that's when he and Pikachu saw them for the first time.
The Nightmares were creatures that were unexplainable. In both look and feel. Their bodies were strange black blobs that continuously flew about in spot, rising up or even growing or shrinking in size. Their shapes were identical to that of humans and ponies but some of them even resembled that of Deerlings and other Pokemon. Meaning that some Pokemon were unfortunately caught by the Nightmares.
What's more bizarre is that it seemed like their obscure form was just merely what Ash and Luna were capable of seeing. Which meant that their actual forms were much more horrifying than this. Something akin to Mimikyu in a way. Xatu was the only one who could see this thanks to its mystic eyes.
The Mystic Pokemon could see that their true form was something that could perplex the mind if revealed to eyes that were not as potent as Xatu's. Truly, they were abstract and mortifying entities.
The feeling they gave was just horrible. They had an aura that just sent a chill down anyone's spine as that was where the sources of their eerie howls originated from. Their nightmarish aura was capable of turning the entire area around them into a much darker variant of itself. Even darker than that of the night.
What didn't help was that they even give off a sort of larger than life feel. As if, they were beings that were way above others on a higher scale. And to think, this is formed by the black mist of a suffering Munna.
"That's them...?" Ash uttered.
"Pikachu..."
"Right. They're as horrifying as they are disturbing. Be on your guard. They are highly hostile." Luna's horn glowed with magic, preparing for the right opportunity.
The Nightmares had spotted Princess Luna, Ash and their Pokemon, finding new prey to spread their nightmares on. Like the actions of a Deerling, the Nightmare shaped like the Season Pokemon galloped towards the direction of the trainers and their Pokemon with a trail of black orbs coming out.
"Here they come! Xatu! Psychic!"
"Xa..." The Mystic Pokemon became outlined in an enchanting blue light, releasing a blast of invisible energy that forced the Deerling-Shaped Nightmare back, separating the black orbs from its body.
The other Nightmares took action, making their way towards Ash and Luna with horrifying movements involved.
"Ash Ketchum! Subdue them if you can!"
"Got it! Pikachu Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon hopped of his buddy's shoulder, spinning around in the air. 100,000 volts of electricity filled Pikachu's body as the aura from Thunderbolt created a golden light that shined across the forest, causing the Nightmares to halt their movements. It seems that they are sensitive to light sources. "CHU!" Pikachu raised his arms up, unleashing the bolt of 100,000 volts as it tore through the air at high speeds.
Each of the Nightmares were struck by the Thunderbolt, feeling the destructive volts shock their ominous and unexplainable bodies. Despite how powerful Thunderbolt was, these Nightmares weren't exactly that easy to take down since they've managed to evade Luna and Darkrai after all.
The Thunderbolt definitely left a mark on them, separating the black orbs from their body. A humanoid-shaped Nightmare held its hand out towards Pikachu's direction. All of a sudden, its hands had extended out of nowhere, as if was stretching.
"Pika?!" Pikachu gasped as he saw an elongated hand racing towards him.
"Pikachu! Dodge with Quick Attack!" Ash commanded, realizing how sudden that action from the Nightmare was.
"Pikachu!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon curled his body up, forcing himself to move at blinding speeds in the downwards direction. Quick Attack was thankfully fast enough to avoid the hand as Pikachu returned safely to the ground, unharmed.
"What was up with that arm-stretching?!"
"These Nightmares take on the traits of the ones they have infected! Perhaps, a human must've been dreaming of something like this and the nightmares must've found them! If we can defeat these Nightmares and stop Munna, the infected ponies, humans and Pokemon will be freed from their curse!"
"Got it! Pikachu! Electroweb!"
"Chu-Pika!" Pikachu summoned a spark around his tail, flinging a net of lightning towards the Nightmares.
A pony-shaped Nightmare had cut the Electroweb in half with a butcher knife. The pony this Nightmare was based off was on must be a chef somewhere in Equestria.
The other nightmares who were attempting to get closer had been pushed back by Luna's magic and Xatu's Psychic which lifted them in the air. Xatu's Psychic couldn't contain the Nightmares in one spot forever, unfortunately. They were powerful enough to break free from the Mystic Pokemon's mental grasp, causing Xatu to take damage as well.
A Sawsbuck-shaped Nightmare had replicated the move Energy Ball by summoning a ball of black and purple energy instead of the natural green that Energy Ball always comes with.
The distorted Energy Ball was sent towards Luna, aiming to knock her out in the process whilst she was distracted with other Nightmares.
"Iron Tail!" Ash caught notice of this, commanding his buddy to save Luna from being hit.
"Chu-Pika!" Pikachu cut the corrupt Energy Ball in half with a hardened tail of steel. Luna gasped as she had just realized that she could've been taken out without her even noticing.
"Many thanks, Ash Ketchum and Pikachu!"
"Pikachu!"
"Now! Pikachu! Spin with Thunderbolt!"
"PIKA!" Pikachu got on his back, rapidly spinning around whilst unleashing Thunderbolt out of his body, performing the always effective Counter Shield tactic.
The rapid spinning barrier of volts was enough to push back any incoming Nightmares that even attempted to get close to Pikachu. They felt their horrifying bodies being whipped by 100,000 volts each time, forcing the Nightmares to pull back. They were actually smart enough to know when something was difficult to overcome. The ponies, Pokemon and humans that they were based on didn't really have a response for the Counter Shield at all.
As a result, the Nightmares retreated for the moment, making their leave by scattering their blob-like bodies across the forest, disappearing into the darkness.
Luna attempted to chase after them, but the darkness they left behind was too difficult to see in. They had become perfectly camouflaged in it. Even with the magic light that Luna emanated from her horn, it still couldn't cast a light bright enough to see through the Nightmare's Darkness."They're gone!"
"Are they gone from Deerling Forest now?!" Ash ran up to Luna.
"I'm not sure. Their movements are erratic and unpredictable when searching for prey to infect. However, one thing is for sure, Munna isn't hard to find. Each time Darkrai and I have tracked it down, it exhibits a high amount of dream mist that both of us can easily find. And at this moment, it's somewhere here in Deerling Forest."
"It is?" Ash looked around, realizing that he and Pikachu hadn't seen Munna in the time they've been in Deerling Forest since early morning. "I guess Munna's not a Pokemon that shows up in the day that much anyways..."
"Pikachu."
"Quickly, Ash Ketchum. If we can find Munna and save it, the Nightmares shall vanish forever. Darkrai will also be able to find them faster than us!" Luna and Ash got a move on, searching for the Dream Eater Pokemon. Wherever it may be.
With Darkrai, he had managed to find many Nightmares with ease. Being a Pokemon that knows a lot about nightmares and wields the power to cause them, it wasn't a challenge for the Pitch Black Pokemon.
Darkrai managed to easily overwhelm the Nightmares with the moves he had at his disposal, however, the Nightmares were too elusive. Just like Luna said, they continuously managed to find a way to escape every single time. They weren't exactly insanely-powerful, just tricky and slippery to deal with.
"Got away again..." Darkrai spoke, shifting his eyes across the forest. As he hovered about, searching for both the Nightmares and Munna, he spotted some Caterpie's that had been infected by the Nightmares sadly. He watched as their little bodies were squirming in their sleep, unable to rid themselves of these horrible nightmares, even if they dreamt hard enough.
Darkrai especially felt powerless. It was times like this where he wished that he wasn't a Pokemon that caused nightmares and nothing else. But then again, it was a curse that he couldn't free himself of. Such is the horrible fate of many Dark-Type Pokemon.
However, after spending time with Luna, Ash and the others over the past months that he's been in this world as Luna's partner, he now knows that he can still protect and save others, despite his curse.
Darkrai picked up the tiny Worm Pokemon, placing them up in tiny little holes filled with comfortable snow, where they can squirm less and take in the warm soft snow around them.
Just then, the Pitch Black Pokemon picked up on more eerie sounds. Obviously, they came from the Nightmares. Darkrai had the advantage in this scenario thanks to him being a Dark-Type. The Pitch Black Pokemon was able to see perfectly in the darkness as if it wasn't an issue. And of course, he can blend in with the darkness, making himself hidden.
Heading into the darkness, Darkrai came across an area where a pink light was blooming all of a sudden. Not just any pink light. Psychic light.
"Munna's near," Darkrai said, making his way towards the pink light. The further he went, he noticed that destructive psychic bolts were shooting out of the darkness. Wherever Munna was, it couldn't contain all that energy any longer as its power was going out of control every passing minute. The psychic bolts had struck the trees, causing them to distort due to the mental force exhibited from the bolts.
However, since he was a Dark-Type, it had no effect on him as he simply phased through them as if he was a Ghost-Type Pokemon as well.
What caught Darkrai's eyes next took him by surprise. Up ahead in the deepest part of the darkness, Munna's body was undergoing something horrible. It looked like the Dream Eater Pokemon's body was being mangled apart with the space around it warping about.
"What in the..." Darkrai gasped.
The distorted Munna, who was currently crying out in pain had summoned more Nightmares that appeared right in front of Darkrai. This time, the Nightmares resembled that of Fairy-Type and Fighting-Type Pokemon.
Munna had summoned them as a defensive force. It was in so much pain and so confused that it thought that everything around it was a threat. So as such, it created Nightmares that are based around Pokemon capable of taking out certain Pokemon via Type-matchups. Even Pokemon that aren't in Deerling Forest.
One Nightmare shaped like a Breeloom had attacked Darkrai with a move resembling that of Focus Blast. A black orb of energy opened up from its gaping void mouth, shooting it directly at the Pitch Black Pokemon.
Darkrai shifted his body to the side, avoiding the devastating Fighting-Type move. In response, he gave the Nightmare Breeloom a hard-hitting Ice Beam that shot right out of the Dark-Types hands. Once Breeloom had been hit by this Ice-Type attack, that prompted the other Nightmares to attack. Now Darkrai was in this particular situation, right next to the source of all of this. Munna.
"This way." Luna pointed her hoof North, guiding Ash and Pikachu. Her Xatu acted as a radar, tracking down the movements of Darkrai with the move Miracle Eye and outlining its body with Psychic's blue light.
Normally, this would be impossible for Xatu since it was a part Psychic-Type, however, Miracle Eye is a move that allows Psychic-Types to interact with Dark-Type Pokemon. It also helps Normal-Types and Fighting-Types hit Ghost-Types. Truly a useful move to have.
"It's getting darker up ahead..." Ash squinted his eyes as it was difficult to focus with all this darkness filling the deeper parts of the forest.
"As expected." Luna rubbed her eyes, feeling a bit of an eye-strain due to all of this. Even with Xatu being her radar, she had trouble keeping her eyes sturdy and static on the Mystic Pokemon. "The Nightmares and their dark aura darken areas after all. This means that they are the most prominent here at the moment. Let's hu-" Luna's words were halted when she had been dragged inside of a pitch-black covered Lake that had been affected by a Nightmare Tentacruel, who was also the Pokemon that grabbed Luna.
"Luna!" Ash gasped.
"Pika!"
Luna held her breath, quickly flapping her wings upwards. However, the tentacle of the Nightmare Tentacruel had latched onto her hoof. Her eyes widened as she looked down to see the Jellyfish Pokemon latching the rest of its tentacles onto her. More and more Tentacruels had surrounded her, surrounded in a nightmarish aura. Due to them being Nightmare Pokemon, they had the power to grant a nightmare state to the alicorn princess. And since one had already grabbed onto her hooves, the nightmares were bound to flow through her.
Thankfully, Luna was strong enough to resist this. But she definitely wasn't strong enough to hold her breath for long whilst the horrific tentacles of Tentacruel dragged her further down. She attempted to use her magic, however, the Tentacruel's had wrapped their tentacles around her horn, preventing Luna from teleporting out of the lake.
The tentacles from Tentacruel could deliver venomous stings to their preys whenever they grab a hold of them.
Ash and Pikachu quickly jumped into the lake, seeing how Luna was being restrained by the Nightmare Tentacruel's. He held his breath in, commanding Pikachu to use Thunderbolt on all of them.
The Electric Mouse Pokemon gathered electricity underwater, preparing to initiate a risky action in the process. The lightning shot out of him, with all 100,000 volts conducting with the entire lake. The power of Thunderbolt had been amplified thanks to the lake as one strike on a single Tentacruel caused a chain reaction that travelled through the rest of the Nightmare Tentacruel's causing them all to go down in one hit.
This one action from Pikachu actually managed to destroy the Nightmare Tentacruel's, freeing the originals from their horrible nightmare state.
Luna had been freed as Ash grabbed a hold of her, swimming up from the lake at fairly high speeds. It seems that a bit of Manaphy's energy still laid within him when it came to underwater interactions.
Once they went back to the surface, catching their breath. Ash climbed out of the lake, holding a slightly injured Luna who had been hurt by Tentacruel's stings.
"You okay, Luna?" Ash breathed in and out.
"I-I'm fine...Many thanks once more." Luna gasped with her hooves feeling a bit weak.
However, A final Nightmare Tentacruel emerged from the lake, aiming to grab a hold of both Luna and Ash.
"Xatu!" The Mystic Pokemon flew to her trainer, seeing how she had been injured. It quickly defended her by using Psychic to blast the Nightmare Pokemon away. And as a bonus, it freed the Tentacruel who had been affected, saving it from its nightmare state.
"Thank you, Xatu." Luna stood up, shaking the water off of her. "These Nightmare Pokemon are much more prominent than they were the first time Darkrai and I encountered them. I fear that Deerling Forest might become overpopulated with them. And eventually, all of Equestria."
"There's no way we're letting that happen. Xatu. Can you keep searching for Darkrai?"
"Xatu..." The Mystic Pokemon nodded, continuing the guide them towards the location of Luna's Darkrai. This was no time to take a small break. The more Munna becomes influenced by cosmic energy, the more Nightmares are summoned.
Back with Darkrai, he was currently in a tough situation. His weakness involving both types was really showing. A Nightmare Throh had grabbed a hold of the Pitch Black Pokemon, using the move Circle Throw on him. Darkrai had been tossed in the air, spinning about.
As a follow-up, a Nightmare Clefable had shot Darkrai out of the air with Moonblast, causing the Dark-Type to be hit by the power of the moon itself.
Darkrai grunted as he fell to the ground whilst Munna continuously grew stronger with more and more Nightmares being summoned. The Pitch Black Pokemon had hidden in the shadows, aiming to recover for a bit. However, even that wouldn't save him.
A Nightmare Conkeldurr had slammed both of its concrete pillars down on the ground with Superpower surrounding them, forcing Darkrai to arise from the shadows. It wasn't looking too good for Darkrai. He attempted to freeze the Nightmares with Ice Beam in order to immobilize them.
It actually ended up working. Darkrai's Ice Beam froze the targeted Pokemon solid. However, not all of them were caught by the Ice Beam. Some managed to evade. And the ones that did escape broke the other Nightmare Pokemon out of the ice with Fighting-Type moves.
"No good..." Darkrai groaned, flying back. "And Dark Void won't affect them at all. If I can just free Munna..." Darkrai knew that Munna was the main objective. The Nightmare Pokemon weren't the biggest problem here. If they made physical contact with Darkrai, their nightmares wouldn't affect Darkrai since he practically is a walking Nightmare. But their moves will definitely hurt.
The Psychic Bolts that flew out of Munna were only getting more and more aggressive with each passing second. So aggressive that they even hit Munna's own Nightmare creations. The Fighting-Type creations had been taken out by the frantic bolts, giving Darkrai an opportunity.
However, this wasn't just the act of Munna losing control. It was almost as if Munna was actually doing this to help Darkrai. It ended up viewing him as an ally after hearing how he was only here to free Munna from her pain. As a result, Munna managed to gain control for a small bit, allowing the bolts to hit the Nightmares instead. Not only that, Munna actually remembered this Darkrai from when it had been influenced by the Rift for the very first time. It definitely recalled how Darkrai and everypony saved it from causing any more harm.
The Dream Eater Pokemon spoke to Darkrai telepathically, telling him to help her since she can't take it anymore. Darkrai understood thoroughly. After hearing Munna's plea, he decided to put in 200% effort this time. A silly notion created by Ash but it managed to stick with him.
Darkrai decided to get creative. If he can't hide in the shadows, then he'll just control the shadows. The Pitch Black Pokemon dug his claws on the ground, looking up at the Nightmares.
The Nightmare Pokemon, cautious of Darkrai's actions had decided to continue attacking the Mythical Pokemon. Whether it be a Fighting-Type running towards him for an up-close hit or a Fairy-Type hitting from afar with magic.
Before any of them could get the opportunity to do so, Darkrai's creative plan had already been revealed. Black shadowy tendrils rose up from the ground, whipping the Nightmares aggressively. Darkrai had then manipulated the shadows to grab a hold of the Nightmares with a huge black claw grabbing every last one of them.
With Darkrai's command, he performed a crushing hand motion with his own claws, prompting the summoned claws to do the same. The Dark Claws had crushed the Nightmares into nothing but black stardust as they had been defeated.
"Munna..." Munna whimpered in pain. The energy was finally reaching a critical point. The sight of Munna's body being separated was only getting worse. Now it looked like it was trying to fit each part in as if it was a puzzle piece.
With haste, Darkrai flew towards Munna, attempting to save her. He outstretched his arms, trying to grab Munna in the process. However, it was too late. The cosmic energy had erupted with fury, causing a cosmic shockwave that forced Darkrai back. Darkrai grunted as he tumbled on the ground. He surely didn't see that sudden eruption coming.
Ash, Pikachu and Luna had finally arrived with Xatu being one helpful searcher. They reached their destination, hoping that they weren't too late.
"Darkrai!" Luna exclaimed as she saw her partner down on the ground.
"What's happening to Munna?!" Ash noticed how Munna's body was freaking out, moving all over the place at light speed.
"PIKA?!"
"Stay back!" Darkrai got up, putting his hand out so that the others don't try and get in close. Whatever was happening was something that could rip them apart at any moment.
The cosmic energy within Munna had manifested itself around the Dream Eater Pokemon's body as the psychic bolts had retracted, returning inside of her body. "NNA!" With a horrifying scream, Munna's body had suddenly imploded on itself with a purple flash popping out afterwards.
Ash and the others closed their eyes from the purple flash as the light managed to reach beyond Deerling Forest. The trees around them had been torn apart from the flash along with the lake being split in half.
The Deerling and Sawsbuck's who were asleep had been woken up from this sudden flash. The light didn't affect them surprisingly. It only seemed to affect nature and nothing else.
The flash had finally died down, allowing Ash and the group to uncover their eyes. Once they opened their eyes, they had been graced with the unexpected.
Munna had evolved.
Into Musharna. The Drowsing Pokemon.
"Evolution?" Luna gasped. She quickly took out her Pokedex to see what this Musharna Pokemon was all about.
"Musharna. The Drowsing Pokemon. The mist emanating from their foreheads is packed with the dreams of people and Pokémon, including many different colours depending on the dream that was eaten. When dark mists emanate from its body, don’t get too near. If you do, your nightmares will become reality. It’s best to leave it be if it’s just woken up, as it’s a terrible grump when freshly roused from sleep."
"Oh, right. Because the magic's so different in Equestria and this world, the evolution process looks different." Ash said.
"Hold on...Look." Darkrai noticed that something wasn't right. Even though it was an evolved form, the situation hadn't been solved still. Musharna was still in pain.
And now that it has reached its final evolution, the power it exhibits is much greater.
"So that's what was happening..." Ash finally realized. "Munna was feeling the power of Musharna deep within. But she couldn't handle it since she was still a Munna. That's why she was capable of creating living Nightmares before."
"Really now? If that's the case, then doesn't that mean it should have perfect control now?" Luna replied.
"Not quite. The cosmic energy is still hurting her from within." Darkrai pointed out. "If we don't get it out of her, she'll still continue to lose control, even as a Musharna."
"Ash Ketchum. You and your Riolu wield the one thing that can combat against cosmic energy and negate it. Aura. Please. Free Musharna from it." Luna requested. "We shall assist you." She faced forward alongside Darkrai and Xatu.
"You got it! Come out, Riolu!" Ash tossed his Poke Ball up, sending the Emanation Pokemon out.
"Riolu!"
"This isn't gonna be easy with cosmic energy involved. So you guys are gonna need to help out too." He sent out the rest of his Pokemon to help out. Gengar, Dragonite and Farfetch'd would provide support alongside Darkrai and the others.
"Musha..." Musharna wailed, summoning Nightmare Pokemon of different types in order to combat the other Pokemon.
They ranged from Psychics, Fairies, Ground and other Dark-Type Pokemon. Each of them was specifically made to exploit the weaknesses of Pikachu and the other Pokemon.
"Riolu! Get in close and use your Aura on Musharna!" Ash pointed forward. "Everyone else! Make sure Riolu doesn't get hurt!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu and the others got it clear as day.
A Nightmare Piloswine had used a move resembling that of Earth Power. A black and purple outline surrounded its body as glowing purple cracks travelled through the ground, preparing to explode with power.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped up, avoiding the exploding force of Earth Power while the others scattered with Riolu heading forward, only having sights on Musharna.
"Darkrai! Freeze them with Ice Beam!" Luna commanded.
Darkrai had frozen some of the Ground-Types in place with a quick-acting Ice Beam. Dragonite and Gengar flew forward with both of them attacking the types that would prove a bit of a threat to them both, but with a swap. Gengar went for the Fairies whilst Dragonite had gone after the Ground and Psychics.
"Gengar!" The Shadow Pokemon had used Ice Punch on a Nightmare Togetic, forcing it to freeze completely.
Dragonite had blown away any opposing Ground-Types with Hurricane, causing them to scatter into black blobs. The Dragon Pokemon had made quick work of any Psychic-Types with Hyper Beam, easily defeating them with one single fire of it.
Both Darkrai and Farfetch'd had fended off the Psychic-Types with either Night Slash or Dark Pulse, clearing a way for Riolu to pass through.
Riolu, who was closing in on Munna, had been chased down by a Nightmare Solrock and Lunatone but had been saved by both Xatu and Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu had hit Lunatone with Iron Tail whilst Xatu took out Solrock with Steel Wing. Two hard-hitting Steel moves that saved the soon to be part Steel-Type Pokemon.
"Riolu!" Riolu had finally reached Musharna who was squirming about, just wanting the pain to end already. He knew what he had to do. Exert his Aura and free Musharna from the cosmic energy. Trying to get close to Musharna was actually a bad idea since Musharna had been forced to respond violently due to having little control of herself. The Psychic Bolts from before had returned, making direct contact with Riolu as they flew across the entire area. "Lu!"
"Those bolts are gonna be a problem...Farfetch'd! Help Riolu with Brutal Swing!"
"FAR!" Farfetch'd raised his leek up, running alongside his fellow Fighting-Type. Together, they both evaded any bolts of Psychic energy that were being thrown at them. But then again, they were erratic bolts so they were flying everywhere at this point.
"Raise your leek with Brutal Swing!" Ash exclaimed."
Farfetch'd had used Brutal Swing whilst raising his leek at the same time. It was a clever tactic from Ash actually. Once the bolts connected with the leek, the dark aura around it made it so that Farfetch'd wouldn't take any damage whatsoever.
"Now, Riolu! Jump on Farfetch'd's leek! Farfetch'd! Toss it!"
Another one of Ash's ridiculous shenanigans. The Emanation Pokemon jumped into the air whilst the Wild Duck tossed his own leek whilst covering it with Brutal Swing.
And just like that, Riolu was standing on top of a flying Leek covered in Dark-Type energy. What a sight. The leek went straight for Musharna as Riolu braced for impact. The bolts of psychic energy attempted to take out Riolu, but the leek had protected him.
The Nightmare Pokemon could see that Riolu was nearing Musharna, most likely having the high chance of freeing her from the cosmic energy. It wasn't a wise decision to get distracted. Due to them taking their nightmarish eyes off the opponents that were in front of them, they had been taking out by a combined Thunderbolt, Ice Beam and Hyper Beam combination from Pikachu, Darkrai and Dragonite.
"Now! Do it, Riolu!" Ash exclaimed.
"Rio!" Riolu put his hands forward, grabbing onto Musharna's very huge and soft head which was also its entire body. Now that Riolu was on Musharna, all he had to was remove the cosmic energy from within with Aura.
But it wasn't that simple. After all, Musharna's black mist was still coming out, affecting Riolu. The Emanation Pokemon was struggling to keep himself steady on Musharna as his Aura was having trouble coming out due to the mist slowly making his nightmare a reality.
"Rio..." Flares of both blue and black lights emanated from both Pokemon as it was a struggle. Riolu's body had been struck with Psychic waves but he still held on firm.
"Riolu won't be able to do it with that much pressure!" Luna gasped. "Darkrai, help him!"
"On it!" Darkrai hovered forward, assisting the Emanation Pokemon in his struggle. Darkrai had pushed back the Psychic waves by exerting Dark aura from his body.
Both Pokemon had their auras merge, creating a unison from it. This unison of auras was enough to rival the overwhelming force of cosmic and psychic energy that Musharna was producing.
Perhaps it was too strong. In fact, the ground was shaking due to the clash. The entirety of Deerling Forest had been affected with tremors going across the area.
Luna and Ash felt the quaking that filled the forest, almost losing their balance in the process. All of the cosmic energy within Musharna was starting to come out, showing that it was working. However, this caused the energy to go haywire. It looked like it was gonna blow.
"Look out!" Ash bellowed, noticing the imminent eruption. He went in front of Luna as the cosmic energy had finally been freed from Musharna, causing the Drowsing Pokemon to wail. Dragonite protected the other Pokemon whilst both Riolu and Darkrai were knocked back by a pink light that surrounded the Psychic-Type as bright flash engulfed the entire forest in one go.
The light had faded away with pink and purple stardust being left behind. As the dust was clearing, Luna could see that Ash had taken a pretty heavy hit from the flash as he fell on his knees.
"Ash Ketchum!" Luna gasped, seeing the trainer in an almost battered state.
"No need to worry..." Ash breathed in and out. "I've taken heavier hits."
"Musharna..." Musharna's felt dizzy from the result of it being freed finally.
"Now's my chance." Luna held out her Poke Ball, aiming it towards Musharna. "Go!" She launched the ball towards the Drowsing Poke Ball with her magic as it spun around. A direct hit on Musharna's head as the red light pulled the Psychic-Type in. Now for the result.
1...2...3...
Gotcha!
Musharna was caught.
"Yes! A successful capture!" Luna pranced on the spot.
"Finally!" Ash let out a sigh of relief, laying on his back. The rest of his Pokemon gathered around him, helping their trainer up from the ground.
Due to Musharna being freed from the cosmic energy, the Nightmares that were still around the forest had been defeated. Their ominous and distorted bodies had been turned into stardust that flew into the night sky. As a result, the ponies, humans and Pokemon who had originally been infected by the nightmares had been finally free from the curse. The lake had returned to its vibrant azure blue colour as the Deerling's who had been infected originally shook their heads in confusion. They had no idea what just happened.
"Out you come." Luna sent out her newly caught Musharna.
"Musha!" Out of joy, gratitude and excitement, Musharna had suddenly dashed over to Luna, giving her first-ever trainer a glomp by latching onto her face.
"Wha-" Luna gasped as she had felt Musharna pounce on her. The feeling of the Drowsing Pokemon hugging her face was something she would have to get used to. Because Musharna was going to do this a lot from now on. The mist that came out of Musharna was now a beautiful pink, showing how happy she was now.
"Glad that's finally over with." Darkrai was relieved, sinking himself into the shadows as his head was poking out. All of them were relieved. Ash and his Pokemon definitely didn't expect things to escalate this late at night. They were just expecting a nice long sleep. And well, they'll be getting that now that the Musharna issue had been dealt with.
After a few minutes of relaxation and time to breathe, both trainers had decided to return home. But not before saying their goodbyes.
"Once again, I must thank you for everything, Ash Ketchum. For saving my life twice even." Luna thanked him.
"No problem. Things were getting pretty hairy back there ya know." Ash laughed.
"Say...I heard that there was a way to keep both worlds connected for good. Is that true?"
"Mhm. Jirachi's our ace in the hole in all of this. Twilight's working super hard to find out where Jirachi's most likely to show up.
"Do you think that you'll be able to reach Jirachi before the time comes when both worlds must return? What if we're already reaching a point in time where that fateful day is closing in?" Luna was getting a bit worried.
"I'm positive. I made a promise after all. And I also made a promise to help Pyrestar get her world back. And I plan to keep those promises too. Right, buddy?"
"Pikachu!"
"Hm. I should've expected that answer from you. I suppose that's why everypony seems to look up to you. You inspire them from what I can see."
"Really? Well, I haven't really noticed that one. Guess that explains a few things." Ash chuckled.
"Pika-Pika..."
"Indeed. Since everypony puts their trust in you...then I shall do the same. I trust you fully Ash Ketchum. Actually..." Luna thought for a bit, digging her hoof in the ground. "Would it be fine if I referred to you as Ash?"
"Sounds good to me!" Ash let out a grin.
"Then, I trust you fully, Ash." Luna gave a soft smile.
"Musha!"
Both trainers had actually decided to head home together since they were essentially going the same direction on the same path. Along the way, they talked about various things. Mostly subjects involving Pokemon and how Luna was really feeling the rush of reaching the Equestria League so that she can become Equestria's first and only champion.
On this night, a brand new bond was formed via Musharna who was once a Munna that had a previous interaction with Ponyville. They do say that Pokemon bonds form in the most unlikely situations and unpredictable times and this one scenario certainly proves that. And it'll keep on proving to be unlikely and unpredictable as the journey continues.
"Gotcha!" Ash tossed a snowball at a defenceless Sweetie Belle, taking her out from a distance.
"AH! Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo gasped as they hid behind a snow fort.
"Urgh..." Sweetie Belle groaned as she had been taken out by a single snowball that had been thrown by Ash.
"Cheap shot, Ash!" Scootaloo puffed her cheeks.
"In a snowball fight, everything goes." Ash bounced a snowball up and down.
"Pikachu!"
"In that case, Ponyta, Double Kick!" Scootaloo commanded her Ponyta. The Fire Horse Pokemon had kicked a huge snowball towards Ash's direction, causing him and Pikachu to gasp.
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu-Pika!" Pikachu effortlessly cut the giant snowball in half with a good old Iron Tail. A move that's stayed with him since Hoenn and has always come in handy.
As the group continued their little snowball fight, Pinkie Pie devoured some Cindercakes in order to combat the cold. She gave some to her friends who were also feeling the sudden harsh cold.
"When's this cold weather gonna give out?" Applejack shuddered.
"As soon as we reach the Winter Wrap Up." Rarity replied. "Although with Pokemon involved. it might take longer than usual this time."
"I already know there's a Pokemon out there that's an expert at gathering snow," Twilight said as Vulpix was trying to warm her up with Incinerate.
"Vulpix!" But, using Incinerate only caused Twilight's face and mane to be covered in smoke as she coughed.
"T-Thanks, Vulpix..."
"Vul!"
As usual, the Mane 6 got along well with their partners. Over these past few months which is now nearing a whole entire year since the two worlds have crossed over, a new kind of friendship was formed between them. Not one out of magic but instead, one out of Pokemon and possibly the most absurd situations they've been through so far.
However, despite all of this, not everyone is so happy about Pokemon. In fact, the ones that stand out the most who showed their not-so-fond expression to these Pocket Monsters were the pets.
These pets were obviously, Angel Bunny, Winona, Tank, who was still in hibernation somewhere, Opalescence, Owlowiscious, Gummy and to an extension, all the over at Canterlot, Philomena.
With Pokemon being heavily involved with the ponies and their world, and their involvement is still growing with new discoveries being made, some of the pets felt a bit left out.
The one who was bothered by this the most was Angel Bunny. Winona and the others, not so much really. Sure they felt a bit jealous but they weren't feeling the exact same emotion as Angel Bunny right now.
Jealousy.
And who could blame him? Ever since Pokemon came into their life, everypony's pets, not just limited to the Mane 6, but all over Equestria, they had all been essentially left in the dust. They weren't forgotten, not at all. But compared to Pokemon who can perform amazing feats that continue to impress day after day, the pets are bit underwhelming. It doesn't help that Pokemon aren't even considered pets like them. They're actually considered great friends and even family in certain scenarios.
Angel Bunny, who was ferociously tapping his foot on the soft snow, looking at resentment and envy. He couldn't accept the fact that the Pokemon have been getting much more attention than him and the other pets. Who have all been with them since day one. Some later than others. His jaundiced eye shifted to all the Pokemon that sat next to the Mane 6, focusing all of his spite on every last one of them.
But the one Pokemon he was the most jealous of was none other than Audino. To say he despised Audino was an understatement. This huge rabbit, butterfly eared creature who coincidentally shared the exact same colour palette and motif as Fluttershy, had been around her so frequently that they're practically considered sisters to a point where Angel Bunny had never felt such animosity in his entire life.
Audino had quickly overtaken him in the span of a few months, whereas he's been with Fluttershy for years now. What doesn't help is that Fluttershy's newly caught Chikorita might end up leaving Angel Bunny in the dust as well if this carries on.
Clearly, this irate bunny felt like he had to do something to get Fluttershy and everypony to remember that they exist too. Angel devised a plan. One that would need to involve the rest of the ponies' pets, minus Tank. But, to pull it off, he would also have to request the assistance of the Pokemon themselves.
Angel Bunny wasn't really a big fan of the wonderful creatures known as Pokemon. If anything, he viewed them as rivals to every animal in the world. He believed that they're just here to replace every animal in his world and essentially make every pet around the world irrelevant. But for his plan to work, he needed the Pokemon. And the right selection too.
A few minutes had passed and in those minutes, Angel Bunny had gathered around all of the Mane 6's pets other than Tank and every other animal at the Pokemon House. And he did it without Fluttershy or anypony spotting them. But that makes sense since they were too busy focused on Pokemon.
Winona. the animals and the other pets weren't sure on why Angel had brought them here and for what purpose exactly? That's when he gave the explanation. He explained to them that the Pokemon are replacing them all. In fact, they've practically already done it in a short amount of time.
He went on about how the pets would eventually become irrelevant very soon. And it's almost been a full year. Angel then gave his fellow animals a chatter about how they don't compare to the Pokemon whatsoever. And he wasn't lying.
Pokemon can perform unbelievable feats that this world would've never anticipated.
Some can burn hotter than the sun itself.
Some are capable of moving at speeds so ludicrous that make Rainbow Dash look like a joke.
They can toss mountains around like they were baseballs and crush them as if they were berries.
Bring down skyscrapers without any issue.
Cause nightmares in a second.
Steal spirits.
Unleash electricity and lightning so powerful and potent that it can even rival or surpass that of a storm.
Cause earthquakes on a daily basis as they change the entire landscape, causing cartographers to continuously change the map layout every passing second. On the bright side, they get a very smooth payroll.
Some are larger than entire cities and kingdoms.
Some can just casually summon black holes at any point in time.
Distort space itself.
Others have an IQ so vast that it's surprising how none of them has attempted to rule the world at this point, apart from a certain Dark-Psychic-Type.
There is a dragon out there can just control time.
And some are even capable of destroying the world at any time, however way they want, whenever they want. The list goes on and on and on.
And they haven't even met every single one of them. There are still other Pokemon out there that are just capable of the most ridiculous feats.
After hearing this, the animals realized that the Pokemon are essentially superior versions of themselves. After all, many Pokemon resemble everyday animals but just much more remarkable variants. They can't even begin to come close to the wonders that Pokemon can perform.
Winona at first wasn't too bothered by the whole Pokemon thing at all. When the worlds first crossover over, Applin was the first Pokemon that made its appearance in Sweet Apple Acres. Multiple of them. However, despite this, it never caught the attention of Applejack. It took her by surprise but she wasn't really a pony that was interested in Pokemon. That left Winona as the most prominent creature there.
Cut to a few months later and she manages to find a Pokemon that stuck by her ever since. Treecko, who is now a Grovyle. After that, Winona has noticed that Grovyle ended up gaining a ton of affection from Applejack. Even Big Macintosh spends more time with his Machamp than her. All she has left is Granny Smith who surprisingly doesn't hang around with Drampa that much. Although that's mostly because Drampa hangs around in the back since it just wants to relax with absolute silence.
But at the end of the day was normal for Winona to be a bit jealous since she is a dog. But usually, its dogs that are jealous of other dogs. Not grass lizards.
Other than that Opal, Gummy and Owlowiscious weren't actually that bothered by it. Especially Tank and Owlowiscious. Opal doesn't really interact with Rarity that much anyways so its natural for her at this point. However, seeing how she views the Leavanny's as her own children, especially when they were little Sewaddle's before, did make her a bit envious.
The owl and the alligator, however, didn't really have a reason to be jealous. Owlowiscious helps out in the Pokemon Lab anyways and Gummy doesn't even care one bit.
As for the animals who were around Fluttershy's cottage, they weren't afraid to express their feelings towards Pokemon. They didn't hate Pokemon, but they certainly felt like runner-ups to them.
For a fair comparison, the Pokemon were gold medalists while the animals were either silver or bronze. And times, Pokemon even felt like platinum.
They had all shared their, not necessarily disdain but more of a slightly visible resent. Although, some animals do get along well with Pokemon.
Most of the time.
Angel Bunny had managed to convince the animals that were indeed left out and irrelevant at this point, especially by Fluttershy. So he had the right number of fellow animals he needed for his plan.
And what was his plan exactly?
Simple.
Look like Pokemon.
Angel Bunny believed that if they simply look and acted like Pokemon, obviously all the attention would be drawn to them. But the question that surfaced his mind was, what Pokemon should they be? Do they copy already existing Pokemon or just make up their own.
Angel had gone with the first decision. Copy already existing Pokemon. But, with a twist. If he can find one that is.
Every animal here at least resembles a Pokemon. Whether it be the surface level Normal, Grass and Bug-Types or the sky-high Flying-Types, most Pokemon look like animals anyway so it won't be that challenging to replicate some of them. Although, a lot of paint, stickers and other materials would be required for this plan to work.
But, moving away from Ponyville, what of Canterlot?
The one pet that belongs to the ruler of Equestria herself.
Philomena.
Celestia's pet phoenix.
Compared to the animals, a phoenix is a special kind creature. If anything, Philomena had been the superior versions of animals long before the Pokemon arrived. Spike even had one phoenix named Peewee before giving the little phoenix to his parents.
But other than that, Philomena was on the same boat as Owlowiscious. She may not be super active, but then again, she's a phoenix. What can she really do other than looking beautiful?
Celestia's parents did end up getting her a pet phoenix when she was a little filly and ever since then, she's been alongside the Sun Princess, even before she became an alicorn. Philomena has obviously gone through her usual Ressurection phase that every phoenix goes through, with one occurring many months back with Fluttershy, so there's always something to look forward to when it comes to this blazing bird.
A phoenix was so fascinating that even Passion was interested in it. There aren't many firebirds in her world. Well, none that are extremely similar to phoenix by appearance and name such as Talonflame and Moltres with the only exception being the Legendary Pokemon Ho-Oh.
While Passion doesn't really interact with Philomena that often, occasionally, she does come by to the phoenix here and there, gazing at its radiant appearance. And today was another one of those days where she would just stand there, looking at it.
"Kirlia..." The Emotion Pokemon gawked at Philomena. Out of curiosity, Passion had decided to place her hands on the phoenix. She wondered what it would feel like. In her mind, she thought it would be soft like a regular bird's feathers.
And they were, somewhat. Touching a phoenix felt very warm since it is a creature of fire after all, but its feathers were nice to touch. Philomena felt a nice sensation when Kirlia rustled her feathers.
Overall, Philomena is completely fine with Celestia taking such good care of Passion. After all, she's been looked after for a thousand years now. So she's spent time with Celestia for a long time. Passion being the new creature in line to be looked after wasn't a bother at all.
But back to Ponyville.
The plan had been devised.
Angel Bunny had already had his Pokemon appearance up and ready along with others.
He was meant to be a Raboot. To pull this off, he got one of Rarity's old fabrics, wrapping it around his face and body. And from first glance, he somewhat looked like a Raboot. Albeit a slightly smaller version of the Rabbit Pokemon.
Winona was meant to be Lycanroc, the Midday Form. To pull this off they got a bunch of fluff and just slapped it on Winona's neck and tail. They even painted her legs white as well. It wasn't the most authentic one, but if you look closely, it does kind of look like a slightly darker Midday Lycanroc.
Gummy was a Totodile in which all they did was just pour blue paint on him and call it a day. But they put in more effort by adding Totodile's signature yellow V and red scales.
Owlowiscious was a Hoothoot in which they put black paint around his eyes along with some plastic to mimic Hoothoot's diamond-shaped extensions. So far, they've been using items that came straight from Rarity's Carousel Boutique. Angel had to convince the Leavanny's that they needed old fabric for 'creative purposes'.
And as for Opalescence? She was a Purugly. This decision actually infuriated her since she thought that if there was a Pokemon she would prefer to mimic, it would be the glamorous Glameow. But nope. It's Purugly and it's staying that way until the trainers notice. But, she did notice that her eyes match Purugly's so she should've seen it coming.
The rest of the animals were appropriately dressed.
You had your smaller birds mimicking the regional Flying-Types such as Pidey, Pidove, Tailow and so forth.
The bear known as Harry was meant to be an Ursaring, which was the easiest one yet. All they did was paint a circle on his chest and that was it. There was more effort put into Gummy's Totodile appearance than this.
But, to be fair, Ursaring is just a bear with a circle on its chest. So it wasn't really close to being a challenge. Although, they did go the extra mile and put frills on Harry's shoulders.
You had a few other rabbits being disguised as Buneary's.
Eagles that were meant to be Braviary's, which they pulled of pretty well. Getting the colour palette of Braviary was tricky of course but once they did, these majestic birds were truly looked striking.
Ducks that were Duckletts of course.
Ferrets mimicking Furret.
Bugs mimicking so, so, so many Bug-Types.
Beavers for Bidoof and Bibarel. The lovable silly-looking things.
And somehow, in some way, they even managed to replicate Espeon. How? They got a cat, painted it purple, added a fake second tail, glued a red marble on its head and voila. Espeon.
Clearly, a lot of hard work and time actually went into these knockoff designs, some being easier than others, but overall, fairly impressive. Angel Bunny was a bit of a clever creature after all.
Now that they had the designs on them, there was only one thing left to do.
Pull off moves.
And this is where the Pokemon come in. Angel Bunny had requested help from the Pokemon to use their moves just slightly next to the animals so that it looked like they were also performing them. Granted, they would have to hold back the amount of power they exert with the moves because a single Stone Edge can end the life every single animal here in the span of 2 seconds, so that meant no heavy hitters such as Hyper Beam or Giga Impact.
Now it was time to head to the ponies themselves.
Angel Bunny had led the charge and the one thing everypony saw was a huge horde of animals making their way towards the centre of Ponyville, dressed up as knockoff variants of Pokemon.
"Ah...I kinda wish it snowed more often sometimes." Ash sighed, feeling the soft white snow continuously fall from above whilst Scootaloo and Pikachu were both hanging on his shoulder.
"Pikachu..."
"Audino?" Audino, being the master of hearing had picked up on the sounds of the animals walking directly towards them. She had nudged Fluttershy, pointing directly at the horde of knockoff Pokemon who had soon filled all of Ponyville.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Rarity squinted her eyes.
"Yeah!" Pinkie rubbed her eyes. "Pokemon? Or not?"
"More like animals dressed as Pokemon. What is all of this?" Fluttershy fluttered over towards the animals. She could clearly see Angel standing in front of them all, smack dab in the middle.
Angel Bunny crossed his tiny little bunny paws, looking smug and confident. He believed that they were going to blow the ponies away.
And let's just say, something will get blown away.
He gave the command by raising his paw up, causing the show to begin.
It started off with Angel Bunny attempting to mimic Raboot's pebble kick when Ember is performed. He picked up a pebble, tossing it high up into the air whilst a Darumaka shot an Ember towards the tiny piece of rock. Once the pebble was surrounded by flames, Angel had hopped up, kicking his feet on the ignited rock.
Since he was a bunny, it was natural for him to have pretty impressive hops. But, because he's a normal bunny, connecting his feet with Ember meant that he'd get a pretty bad burn mark due to this. However, he did manage to launch the pebble, perfectly replicating Raboot's Ember.
It was actually very impressive how identical it looked.
"Oooh..." The ponies certainly found it impressive.
Now that Angel had shown that he can pull off the same tricks as a Raboot, even though he was currently holding his now burnt feet, blowing on it aggressively, it was time for the other animals to do the same.
And this is where it all went wrong.
Even when a Pokemon holds back their power, it didn't matter that much. Whether it was that they were too strong or the animals were just fragile in comparison. It was one of the two. Most likely both at the same time.
The birds were tasked on mimicking Air Slash and Gust with the Pokemon that they were knocking off assisting in that category. Once both Flying-Types moves had been unleashed the result as a combined force that had caught the birds inside of the unified wind, causing them to spin around rapidly.
The ponies gasped as the birds had been carried away by Gust and Air Slash. The Flying-Types had widened their eyes, not seeing that one coming at all.
According to Angel Bunny, it was just a minor setback. He ordered the others to perform other moves but this time with caution. But that wouldn't matter at all.
When Winona and other animals were told to perform Stone Edge and it went the absolute opposite way. The fluff around her neck actually had stones placed inside of it for authenticity, according to Angel.
Winona shook her head about, causing rocks to fly out. The animals posing as Pokemon who knew Stone Edge had either chucked rocks out of their mouths or just flung them with their tail since some Pokemon perform Stone Edge that way. This was a mistake for a few reasons. One of which is that there were rampant rocks moving about, breaking through the windows of some ponies homes whilst also taking out some birds in the sky.
And all it took was that fake Stone Edge to cause a chain reaction. A few rocks had managed to come across the birds that were still being carried by the unified Flying-Type move, spinning around in them. The birds had eventually been dragged back to the other animals with the rocks shooting straight out of the whirlwind, with one almost hitting Applejack right in the head which caused her to yelp.
Other animals had been hit by the rocks, especially Gummy who had water placed inside of his mouth. The plan was to have Gummy spit out the water as if he was using Water Gun, but it was forced out of him.
The fake Water Gun ended up getting on some of the animals, getting rid of the paint with ease. So much for all that paintwork.
Owlowiscious flew up, obviously not wanting to get involved in the carnage that was occurring. Same for Opalescence. She just casually moved to the side, yawning as she watched the destruction play out.
Angel winced, pulling on his ears as he saw all of his hard work falling apart right before his very eyes. The ponies had realized that maybe it was probably time to solve this. Right about now.
"We should probably do something about that." Rainbow Dash flew up, grabbing ahold of the birds who were being carried by the wind, saving their lives. Her Braviary had destroyed the wind by using Steel Wing to do so.
Pikachu and Eve had used Iron Tail and Psybeam to cut the rocks in half and blown them up, preventing any further destruction by their frantic movements. Meanwhile, Grovyle and Leavanny had saved Harry from getting bombarded by raining rocks with Leaf Blade and X-Scissor
Angel Bunny, who still felt a burn mark on his foot had been healed by Audino thankfully, eliminating the burn.
Thankfully, the destruction didn't last that long as it had died down. But in that short amount of time, they had managed to cause quite a ruckus.
"Whew. That could've gone worse..." Twilight sighed.
"Angel Bunny! What were you thinking?" Fluttershy fluttered over to the little bunny.
Angel scoffed, turning his head to the other side whilst crossing his arms. He looked over to see that some of the animals had been hurt due to this fake Pokemon act and others were a bit mortified actually. Seeing this made him realize that he put them all in danger.
"Winona! Bad girl! You could've taken somepony out!" Applejack scolded her pet dog, causing her to whimper.
Angel Bunny had given out a little squeak, replying to Fluttershy.
"You were doing this just to show us that you're just as great as Pokemon?"
"Oh...I get it." Twilight nodded. "I think what we're seeing here is jealousy. But this is a different breed of jealousy that I've never seen before."
"Jealousy?" Fluttershy thought for a bit. "Angel. Do you think that we've been neglecting you all this entire time?"
Angel nodded his head aggressively. Not only did he nod his head, but the other animals actually did the same. Even though theirs was a more hesitant nod. Seeing this made Fluttershy aware of the animal's current feelings.
Normally, she would say that they haven't been neglecting them, however, the evidence was right in front of them. The harsh truth was that Pokemon had practically taken up so much of everypony's time that the animals were no longer the beloved woodland creatures they once were. In a sense, they were being neglected.
Applejack looked over at Winona to see how she was looking down, upset that she had just been scolded at. Which rarely happens actually.
Although, Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Rarity saw how their pets were completely unbothered, not caring one bit.
"I guess they're not phased at all aren't they?" Twilight let out a small chuckle."
The animals responded with squeaks, roars, chirps and whatever sounds a beaver makes.
"I don't blame them." Rarity walked up to Fluttershy. "To be honest, I've practically done something similar. Not just to Opalescene but to my Mareep as well. I suppose I was so caught up with my Leavanny's, especially when they were still little Sewaddles that I completely ignored them both." Just then, Rarity was reminded of the Feebas she had. "Oh, wait..."
"Well, it's not an issue for some of us. Owlowiscious and Gummy are always interacting with us after all. Right, Pinkie?" Twilight spoke.
"Oh, yeah. Gummy's made great friends with Jade. He sure does love biting on her wings." Pinkie grinned.
"But other than that...I think I feel a bit bad." Fluttershy dug her hooves in the snow. "Angel. Everyone. I'm sorry. It's just that...Pokemon are so wonderful and amazing. They can do things that we never imagined and they're still impressing us day after day. I guess my instant love and fascination for them made you all feel left out."
Angel shifted his eyes from side to side. Despite him being a spoiled and bossy rabbit who shows so much aggression to Fluttershy, in truth, he honestly does care for her and to an extension, every other animal in the world. Even if he doesn't show it that much.
And it is that care that allowed the bunny to forgive Fluttershy. However, he found the strength to apologize as well. He and the animals gave their apologies since they caused a bit of carnage in a short amount of time, all for the sake of getting the ponies to notice them.
"From now on, I'll put much more focus on all of you. Both Pokemon and animals combined. I promise." Fluttershy picked up Angel Bunny.
Angel, feeling ecstatic to hear that answer, looked up at Audino, the Pokemon he originally hated the most. After Audino healed his leg, he no longer despised the rabbit, butterfly-eared, whatever Audino is meant to be. After seeing how she showed her caring nature to him, Angel now viewed Audino as a second Fluttershy. Which is a good thing in his eyes.
All the other animals gathered around, giving Fluttershy a group hug as she was cornered by every single one of them with Harry grabbing them all.
"Sorry for getting mad at you there, Winona. Guess I should've known why ya'll did it." Applejack gave her dog a pat on the head. Grovyle did the same but his pat felt smoother due to the fact that he is a Grass-Type, they tend to have smoother skin.
That's all Winona needed to hear. She never felt truly jealous of Grovyle that much and she definitely forgave Applejack.
"Man...Makes me wonder why regular animals are so rare in our world." Ash spoke, recalling the time he first saw a Pidgey eating a regular worm when he started out his journey, saw a fish tank with regular fish, the time he wore a cow costume and the one time that Gastly turned into a Mongoose.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu nodded his head.
"...Wait...what?" Twilight's ears picked up on Ash's words, turning to him. Does that mean that regular animals exist somewhere in the Pokemon World?
Whatever the case, the animals in this world have finally been able to let Fluttershy know how they really feel. On this day, the animals and Pokemon will form a new bond that had yet to be created. But now was a good time to make that bond possible.
The animals had also come to accept the fact that Pokemon are just too wonderful and amazing. But actually, that made the animals look up to the magical creatures in a way. As if they were idols and role models. Some animals even wished they could perform what Pokemon could do as if they were children being inspired by their hero. It was a fairly nice sight to see and there will be more pleasant sights involving the relationships between all forms of life as the journey continues!
"Here you go. Your Pokedex, Poke Balls and Xtransciever." Twilight gave out the starter gear for the new trainers who had come in to find their starters. The Xtransciever was a new addition to it. The Pokemon that had been selected today were Bulbasaur, Chimchar, Froakie, Hoppip, Numel and Corphish.
"Thank you!" The foals gave their thanks to Twilight as they all walked out with their parents.
"Good luck, everypony! I hope to see you all at the Equestria League!" Twilight had waved goodbye to the six foals, seeing them leave to start their journey. "Phew. That's another group of ponies and Pokemon off on their adventure."
"So, what now?" Starlight asked her.
"Now, I'll help Cold improve his magic and continue helping Jade with friendship. After that, I'll see if I can get more information on Jirachi's whereabouts."
"Hatterene..." Starlight's Hatterene had given Eve had a head pat with its highly lethal claw. But it wasn't lethal at the moment thanks to Hatterene warming up to her fellow Psychic-Type.
"Esp..." The Sun Pokemon purred, getting a good sensation from the Hatterene's pats. But, that quickly came to an end when the red orb on her forehead sparked all of a sudden."Espeon?!" Eve was on high alert, quickly jumping away from Hatterene as she snarled all of a sudden.
"Eve? What's wrong?" Twilight turned to her Pokemon who was staring and hissing at the walls of the lab. It seems that she was the only who could sense this due to her orb having latent psychic power after all.
But what was she hissing at?
She wasn't exactly staring at the wall. Rather, it seemed as if something was appearing out of thin air. A sudden rush of wind filled the lab, causing Twilight and Starlight's manes and tails to blow all of a sudden. Both ponies were a bit nervous of this sudden change in atmosphere.
Could it be a new Pokemon that threatened Ponyville?
Not quite. Instead, in front of them all, the booming sound of a portal opening had travelled through their ears, shattering the windows of the lab. And of course, a portal emerged, inside of the lab itself. Seeing this made Twilight and Starlight wonder who could it possibly be. Mostly Twilight.
Their answer came in the form of three familiar ponies.
Cocoa, Rosestar and Nyx.
The only three ponies who are capable of universal travel, at least in their own world. They made their entrance looking a bit exhausted instead of refreshed as if they were escaping from something.
"Finally!" Cocoa exclaimed, falling flat on her face. Rosestar hopped over her whilst Nyx just went to the side.
"That would've been disastrous." Nyx let out a sigh of relief, lowering her head down.
"Nyx? Cocoa? Rosestar? You three are back?" Twilight gasped. "How come?"
"Sorry for the sudden interruption! But it's urgent!" Nyx raised her voice.
"Who are they...?" Starlight asked, confused about these three ponies. Eve had ceased her snarling now that she could see that they were allies instead of a potential threat. But there was a threat involved in this somehow.
"What happened?! Is it something that involves your world's?!" Twilight leaned forward.
"Yeah! it's something that endangers our entire lives!" Cocoa bellowed.
"Not our lives!" Rosestar shoved her hoof in Cocoa's mouth. "But it is a big deal either way."
"At least we're safe now." Nyx rubbed her horn. "That was a horrible experience..."
"Can you three tell me what you were escaping from? And how did it lead you all here?" Twilight requested to know the context behind all of this. They wouldn't just show up out of nowhere without a reason. And if there was a reason, it would be for the Pokemon Festival, but that isn't happening until next year.
"Alright. We'll tell you everything that has happened so far." Nyx sat down, prepared to spill all the information that she knows.
"Not too long ago. A few weeks actually...a fourth pony had appeared with the ability to travel through other universes as well. But it went an extra mile. She opened up two gateways instead of one. With those two, she made her move, planning to conquer both worlds which belonged to me and Cocoa and Rosestar here."
"It happened so fast as well." Rosestar. "Once she travelled through, in a less than an hour, she managed to overtake our worlds with absolute ease."
"A total wipeout." Cocoa groaned.
"A pony was responsible? I would expect a Pokemon to be able to perform that instead." Starlight commented.
"The thing is..." Cocoa scratched her mane. "Pokemon were involved." Those words caused Twilight and Starlight to shoot up. This was new information to them.
"This Pokemon creature was horrifying. A human was commanding it to attack without any hesitation whatsoever. It had the appearance of a dragon from what we could tell with these horrifying hands that also seemed to be an extra pair of heads and-" Nyx was describing this Pokemon, but Twilight could instantly recognize it and the human by description.
"You mean Hydreigon?!" Twilight interrupted, startling Nyx.
"Y-Yes...It did make those sounds as well." Nyx stuttered.
"So, Ghetsis wasn't bluffing when he said he could travel to multiple universes now..." Twilight spoke under her breath, recalling what Ghetsis said to her and her friends back in Manehattan.
"With this power at my disposal, I can travel to a multitude of universes, each with their own outcome and possibility. And I must say, from the ones I've seen so far...they disgust me."
"You're already aware of this...Ghetsis person?" Nyx asked.
"We're very aware." Starlight nodded. "All of Equestria is. But who is this she you keep mentioning?"
"I think I've got a good idea." Twilight had the answer. "Remember what Ghetsis said after he mentioned his ability to travel through multiple universes?"
Saying that made both Starlight and Twilight reminiscence further about their encounter with Ghetsis. They remember him saying these exact words that involved Twilight specifically.
"Oh, indeed. In that world, you've brilliantly established your rule as Empress over your entire world, becoming the definitive ruler. The entire planet...no...the cosmos bow to your very will. Anyone that stands in your way is rightfully punished and dealt with without a single ounce of forgiveness. A perfect display of authority. And the most surprising part of it all, you managed to achieve this with friendship. By weaponizing it into pure power. Witnessing that, your alternate self and I rightfully formed an alliance due to our goals being similar."
"Oh...Oh!" Starlight's jaw widened in shock.
"That's right. A universe where I apparently reigned supreme and crowned myself Empress."
"That's it! That's the one!" Cocoa jumped up. "Empress Twilight Sparkle! Oh, that's actually a pretty neat name. I like the way that sounds."
"It seems you know more than we expected. Empress Twilight Sparkle has established her rule over our worlds, claiming them for her own. And with the assistance of Ghetsis and that Hydreigon creature, nopony really stood that much of a chance. The Twilight Sparkle of my world attempt to assist along with her friends, but they were easily overwhelmed in a matter of minutes." Nyx continued explaining.
"We even tried to get our world's Twilight to help. And well...the result's the exact same as Nyx's." Rosestar said.
"Cocoa, Rosestar and I barely managed to escape from Empress Twilight and Ghetsis. We both used the only sources of Planewalking that we possess to make our getaway. The last thing we saw was everypony being enslaved by those two, completely helpless to do anything."
"Oh my..." Starlight was at a loss for words.
"B-But your world's Princess Celestia, Luna and Cadence managed to do something right? Did they cast a spell that could end up awakening in the near future?" Twilight asked, hoping that there was at least some form of hope behind this.
"About that..." Rosestar, rubbed her hoof as she and Nyx looked to the side with nervous eyes. They knew exactly what happened and they weren't sure how to say it. But Cocoa knew how.
"She took their magic for herself!" Cocoa exclaimed, revealing the truth.
"SHE WHAT?!" Both Twilight and Starlight bellowed with their faces pressed against each other.
"It's unfortunately true. In the worst way possible." Nyx raised her head. "Each of the princesses was absolutely overpowered by Empress Twilight Sparkle. She didn't even have anypony assisting her."
"But how? Nopony can just defeat an alicorn so casually!" Starlight exclaimed. "Especially if it's more than one!"
"That would be the case. However, the thing about Empress Twilight is..." Rosestar held her breath in.
"She's got the magic of other alicorns within her." Cocoa finished Rosestar's sentence. As if Twilight and Starlight weren't surprised enough. Now they're learning that she has other alicorn magic at her disposal.
"Turns out..." Nyx stood up. "Ever since she had gained access to Planewalking due to Ghetsis approaching her, she's travelled to multiple variations of Equestria, heading straight for Canterlot every single time. And each time she did, she would have one goal. Absorb the magic of every version of Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadence and even herself. It's because of that, her magic is at a level that is unseen in Equestrian history."
"For her to even pull this off, that must mean that in her world, she had already taken the magic there. So she's practically piling it on. And who knows many she's absorbed over the past few weeks." Rosestar gulped.
"That's why we came to you for help." Nyx went up to Twilight.
"Us? How can we help?" Twilight was confused. After hearing all of that, she found it virtually impossible to even stand up to Empress Twilight Sparkle.
"Twilight!" Suddenly, Fluttershy and everypony else had rushed inside the lab since Audino had picked up on the sound of the portal booming. "Are you okay?!"
"Audino?!"
"Oh. Isn't that...?" Rainbow squinted her eyes, recognizing the three ponies that were currently with Twilight and Starlight.
"You three again? You're back?" Applejack spoke. "What's going on?"
"I think you might wanna sit down for this one." Starlight went up to the rest of the ponies. They had a lot to listen to.
After being told everything that they had already explained to Twilight and Starlight, the expected response from everypony else was visible. Open jaws, widened eyes, a loss for words and trying to take this all in with their minds being perplexed.
"Oh...is that so..." Rarity's shifted her eyes from left to right, still trying to figure out how any of this was possible. A few weeks? That seemed difficult to believe.
"Now you all see. We're here to request help from all of you." Nyx said.
"But like I said before, how can we help? If every version of us failed against Empress Twilight, then what makes us fare any better?" Twilight asked.
"Twilight's right." Fluttershy nodded. "We didn't even stand a chance against Ghetsis when we came across him in Manehattan. If the Swords of Justice never came to our rescue, we would've been captured. I don't think we're the ponies capable of doing this."
"Maybe not on your own. But we know in this universe, you all have something that can actually stand up to Empress Twilight's overwhelming empire. The Pokemon." Nyx gave the reason why she, Cocoa and Rosestar viewed this world as the one world that can win.
"Mhm! Of all the worlds we've seen, this one looks to be the strongest. These little things are packed with so much power that they'll make Empress Twilight's hooves shake." Cocoa picked up Vulpix who gave her face a little pat.
"What Cocoa said is true. Out of every possible scenario and reality, this is the strongest version of Equestria there is." Nyx stood tall. "And the only that can defeat Empress Twilight." The way she worded it made it sound like this was a last hope situation. Her eyes definitely helped solidify that as well.
"...Oh my." Fluttershy gulped.
"Can't you ask somepony else from another universe?" said Rainbow Dash.
"Every other universe has either been conquered or aren't strong enough to face Empress Twilight. And as we speak at this very moment, she's most likely conquered another universe with more magic being added on to her." Rosestar replied.
"Not to mention that this is the only universe where the Rift has crossed two worlds over. The rest are still on their own. Please. You must understand that we don't really have that many options now." Nyx shook her head. "This is all we have left and the one universe we've put all our hopes into. It's for the sake of our friends and family."
"Hm..." Twilight grumbled, thinking for a bit. Still to this day, she remembered how Princess Celestia told her to stay away from Ghetsis no matter what. And when they finally came across Ghetsis, they were almost captured and taken away. Now that Ghetsis has formed an alliance with not just Chrysalis and Adagio, but even a tyrannical version of herself, the odds are pretty one-sided.
However, despite her knowing how outmatched she and her friends are and how they all generally fear Ghetsis, more than anypony they've ever faced, there were two things keeping them from just giving up. Celestia and Ash's words of encouragement.
They had stuck to them like glue, engraved in their minds. Ash was able to convince Twilight and practically everypony in Ponyville not to give up. He knows that there are threats and foes that are much greater than them in almost every way, but he also knows that's there's a chance they can win. Perhaps on their own, they won't be able to stand up to Ghetsis, but with Pokemon on their side, the best partners they could ask for, their chances can rise up.
And as for Celestia, when Passion was going through an uncontrollable power surge, despite how dangerous it was and the fact that it could've ended both worlds and even Celestia herself when she entered Passion's mind, she still persisted. Celestia did say that even she was wounded or if she failed, it wouldn't matter. All she wants is to see her subjects and everypony smile. And that means her own life.
And with Ash and Hollow as a mentor to all of them, they're progressively improving as trainers as time goes on. It was because of these reasons that Twilight knew she had to do something. It was in her nature to help, much like Ash.
"Alright. We'll help." Twilight agreed to it. Saying that caused all of her friends to gasp at her response. That was now the answer they were hoping for.
"Uh...Twilight..." Pinkie Pie zoomed over to her friend, placing her hoof around Twilight's neck. "Listen...we've been through some rough stuff recently and every step of the way we've somehow managed to get out of every rough spot no matter how aggressive it is. But OH MY CELESTIA...THIS BONKERS! YOU SILLY FILLY!"
"Pinkie Pie's right!" Rarity squealed. "Ghetsis is one thing, but an evil version of you that has countless of alicorn magic with her?! That's just ludicrous!"
"And the Shadow Triad exist too, ya know!" Rainbow Dash flew up. "Team Plasma's been kicking our flanks without us even getting the upper hoof on them! If they're getting more and more allies who are stupid strong, what chance do we have?!"
"I know, I know." Twilight nodded. "I'm as worried and scared as you all are. In fact, every time I remember Ghetsis, I just can't help but imagine the worst possible scenarios that could come from any more interactions with him. But, after hearing what Ash and Celestia have said, mostly Ash, if we don't do anything then..."
"I'm with Twilight." Applejack. "I'm also the same pony who said I wanna protect my family and friends. But that also means I'm willing to take on anything larger than me. In more ways than one...If I don't try and protect them, then what's the point of me being a sister or a friend?"
It took Applejack's response to make them realize that they all have family and friends that will be in even greater danger if they don't do anything to protect them. They all have their parents or siblings that they wish to keep out of harm's way. And Ghetsis is that force that creates a looming danger that could strike at any moment, harming them all.
"...I can't argue with that." Rarity shook her head. "Nothing beats family."
"Looks like I'm the silly filly here." Pinkie sighed. "I almost gave up on my family back home! Spinda! Knock some sense into me with Double Slap."
"Spin!" The Spot Panda Pokemon jumped out of Pinkie's mane, spinning around as the ears of Spinda slapped Pinkie's face.
"Ow! Thanks..." Pinkie rubbed her face.
"I'm with you all," Rainbow spoke. "I may be afraid but...I'm no chicken!"
"This is splendid!" Nyx had a smile on her face. "We are so relieved that you have decided to help us!"
"It's for those we care for. So we have to." Twilight replied.
"Besides, we've got a pretty amazing trainer as our mentor. With him around, things get a little less hairy." Rainbow place her hoof around Twilight's neck.
"I can believe that...I was worried we weren't gonna get any help at all." Cocoa let out a resounding 'whew'.
"You all head back now. We'll make sure that we'll help you in stopping Empress Twilight and Ghetsis." Rarity reassured.
Although, the looks on Cocoa, Nyx and Rosestar's faces wasn't exactly one that was all about heading back home.
"Uh...well...I'm not sure if you recall but..." Nyx scraped her hoof on the floor.
"Oh, that's right. Empress Twilight took it over." Twilight gasped. "So...you don't have anywhere else to go?"
"Well, it's not like we don't have a place to go it's just..." Cocoa winced.
"If we try and go anywhere else, Ghetsis and Empress Twilight have either conquered that place or will eventually conquer it. This is the only universe where Ghetsis hasn't succeeded since Pokemon are just that powerful." Rosestar said.
"So at this point, we're practically Planewalking Wanderers." Nyx sighed. "The best we can do is just hop from universe to universe and hope that it hasn't been taken over yet. But even when we do find that one universe, Ghetsis and Empress Twilight arrive either way. What a shame."
Twilight looked to her friends, who looked back at her. They all took a moment to think about it for a second. That's when Pinkie Pie shook her head aggressively at Twilight.
The young alicorn then turned to her Espeon, Vulpix and Minccino, wondering what their response was. All three of them had nodded their heads as well. After that, Fluttershy and the others did the same, along with their Pokemon. The decision had been made.
"Maybe you don't have to keep running and wandering different universes." Twilight walked up to Nyx. "How about...you stay here?"
There it was. Those words travelled through all three of their ears. One they didn't expect at all. Cocoa's jaw dropped whilst Rosestar's eyes narrowed. Both of them were surprised that they were willing to let them stay in this world. Cocoa was already thinking about how different this world must be with Pokemon involved. She didn't get to explore it that much since she and Rosestar arrived late into the Pokemon Festival.
Rosestar thought that staying here might get a bit too chaotic. But she wasn't wrong. Every single day, something is happening in this version of Equestria thanks to Pokemon. Whether it be Ponyville, Canterlot or the Crystal Empire, something's happening that nopony sees coming. But at this point, she'll take it over the constant fleeing from Ghetsis and Empress Twilight. Besides, it's the only world that's managed to overcome many absurd threats.
As for Nyx, her reaction surpassed both Cocoa and Rosestar. She was bewildered. It wasn't the fact that they all asked her to stay here.
Not at all.
It was the fact that Twilight was the one who said. In Nyx's original world, Twilight is a very important pony to her. More than this version of Twilight thinks. If you listen closely, you could hear her hyperventilating. Audino definitely could.
At the same time, all three of them gave an echoing "YES" as a response. But Nyx's was the loudest.
"Then it's settled. You can stay here until we eventually free your world from their control. And we promise that we will. Right, girls?" Twilight turned to them all.
"Oh, yeah. 100%." Rainbow nodded her head, crossing her hooves.
"We took in Jade who's a completely lost pony and now she's one of our good friends!" Pinkie put her arm around Cocoa and Rosestar. "So, you three are welcome here!"
"You really believe that we'll be able to live here in a world like this? I mean...these Pokemon creatures are completely beyond my understanding. I know very little about them other than the fact that they seem to be magical creatures." Nyx spoke to Twilight.
"I do. I was completely clueless about Pokemon for the very first time. And well... I still am. But I'm learning so much about them and even the other world where they originate from. I'm sure that we can help you get adjusted to this world. It is still Equestria, right?"
"R-Right..." Nyx stammered.
And so it was. In an unexpected turn of events, Ponyville had just gotten three new residents. Ponies who were from completely different universes with their own stories. Not only that, but that would also mean there is a second alicorn living in Ponyville. Granted, they'll have to speak with Mayor Mare about this since it is her town at the end of the day, but most likely, she'll sort something about.
As for the situation regarding Empress Twilight, like an all-seeing eye, she had been watching this entire time. Not without help actually. Colress's spycams which are always constantly monitoring every single move of everypony in Equestria, let the tyrannical Twilight catch wind of this.
"This is where they retreated to?" Empress Twilight spoke. She currently stood before Colress, inside of his own lab. "Those three are elusive aren't they?"
"At this point, they won't be Planewalking for a long time now," Colress commented.
"Good. That just means that I won't have to deal with those three annoyances every turn of the way. Although...if what they're saying is true about that universe being the most powerful version of Equestria there is, then I might've found the pinnacle of magic." Empress Twilight was already getting new ideas. "What truly interests me is that Boundless Cutie Mark on this world's Celestia. A Cutie Mark with every mark from the past present and future is something that I've never heard of before."
"And you plan to take it for yourself?"
"Of course I do. I already have the magic of a hundred alicorns at this point. No other version of Celestia and the other alicorns can stand up to me. But this world...I can already tell it'll prove to be a threat. The ponies here are much more vigorous than the rest. Especially the princesses."
"More than you can imagine. Pokemon are being of unpredictable feats. If you make one mistake when facing them, there's no recovering."
"You don't have to tell me that. Creatures that can stop time, distort space and even grant you the ability to win no matter what? I must say, these Pokemon creatures might prove to be some worth." Empress Twilight turned around as a gateway to her universe opened up. "Very soon, I shall be the one to head to that universe and overwhelm it. Tell Ghetsis that."
The tyrannical Empress Twilight took her leave, causing Colress to sigh. He was glad that she was gone. Being around her is very nerve-wracking since it feels like she could obliterate you at any moment. In any case, the threats are now piling up.
With the knowledge of Ghetsis and Empress Twilight conquering world after world non-stop, Twilight and her friends were now on high-alert. But now, they have more helpful allies on their side. Allies who have access to Planewalking even. They'll need all the help they can get against these ominous and earth-shattering threats as the journey continues.
Currently, there are seven ponies in Ponyville who can be considered individuals with a bizarre background.
Cold Colt who's a Rift Pony, Jade who is also a Rift Pony but Ponyville hasn't found out yet, the two siren sisters now turned into ponies which are Sonata and Aria and the newest trio of Cocoa, Rosestar and the alicorn Nyx.
Whether it's their origin or where they come from, they've certainly been through events that led them all to Ponyville.
Strangely enough, Starlight Glimmer wasn't actually put in the same group as them since her background wasn't as wild as theirs.
They all have their own stories to them. Two are created out of cosmic stardust and are just trying to discover friends and even family, two are a perfect example of sisters who mix well with each other despite the difference in their personalities as they also aim to reason with their older sister and three others have a plethora of stories to tell from their world's since they don't really have anywhere else to go with the looming threat of Empress Twilight Sparkle alongside Ghetsis.
All 7 of them will continue their lives here in this world. Right at home in Ponyville.
Ponyville, Night.
The two ponies who never sleep, Jade and Cold were currently having a bit of a small venture outside whilst everypony else rests up until tomorrow arrives.
"Alright...the coast is clear." Cold spoke, moving his head around Ponyville, making sure that nopony was awake or nearby.
"What are we doing here exactly?" Jade asked in her monotone voice.
"Okay, so the reason I dragged you out there is that..." Cold looked around once more for clarity. He then pranced over to Jade, whispering to her quietly. "Get this. There's some juicy photos located underneath Ponyville."
"Hm?" Jade tilted her head.
"Somepony told me there's a photo album chock full of embarrassing pictures of mostly everypony in Ponyville from the past! And apparently, Granny Smith and Mayor Mare's mother both hid it under this very spot, right near the outskirts of Ponyville."
"Oh. So that's why you were so giddy today."
"Mhm. I really wanna dig it up!" Cold Colt used his magic to hold up a shovel he brought along with him. "So help me out, Jade. I wanna see what everypony looked like before their pretty years."
"Is this something that friends do too?"
"What? Well uh...friends make fun of each other sometimes so...totally!" Cold grinned. "I think..."
"Alright." Jade rubbed her hooves together. "Let's see those photos."
The two got to work. With Cold's surprisingly impressive digging skills and Jade's unusually potent hooves, they had managed to dig a hole in the span of 3 minutes alone.
With the hole successfully dug, the treasure had revealed itself. A wooden box with locks ended up being the item that contained these juicy photos. All they had to do was unlock them.
"Ugh! Locks?!" Cold groaned. He just wanted to see the photos.
"Oh well. Guess we'll never see them." Jade shrugged.
"Don't say that. All we have to do is just you know...unlock it. And I know the best way!" Cold raised his shovel up with a deadly grin on his face. With aggression behind his magic, he smashed the digging item on the wooden box, breaking it apart with sheer force.
Jade watched with her usual blank expression as wood was just flying everywhere. A tiny piece of wood managed to hit Jade in the face, causing her to let out a single "Ow."
With the box now ruined, the photos can reveal themselves. And they did not disappoint. They were everything Cold was expecting and more.
"Ooh boy...this is is amazing!" He held up the first photo that really caught his attention. It was of a younger Mrs Cake when she was still known as Cup Cake, having a mane-style that could only be described as 'Spaghetti Hair'. What didn't help was the fact that her younger self had a sort of aggressive look to her, indicating that she might've been a hooligan back then.
"Hm." Jade picked up a photo that involved many ponies having a not-so-great Hearth's Warming. While it was hard to describe exactly what was going on in this photo since it looked like pure chaos, that one Hearth's Warming must've been something eventful. "I guess this is where I would laugh."
"It was worth digging this up!" Cold squeed as he couldn't get enough of everypony's embarrassing past. Especially Mayor Mare's younger self where she had headgear braces and an afro. What a sight to behold. "Wouldn't it be cool if we kept these?"
"Should we? They buried these for a reason."
"Well no obviously. But it was still worth digging them up. I'm definitely keeping them in my memory."
The two had spent their time enjoying themselves with these embarrassing photos. There was a lot of variety behind these photos, each with their own story behind them. And thanks to both them being unable to get tired, they could be here for hours.
But currently, they weren't the only ones awake at night. Three ponies in particular were wide awake. The newcomers Cocoa, Rosestar and Nyx obviously couldn't since it's been about one day since they've gotten here. They couldn't really sleep for a few reasons. For one, they've been evading Ghetsis and Empress Twilight for weeks now that they can't bring themselves to sleep without being cautious.
Another reason is the fact that they'll have to get used to this version of Ponyville since it is vastly different from every other Ponyville they've been too. The Pokemon that live here with the ponies make that very clear their way of living is something to get used to. But for Nyx, it was the fact that she was in a universe where Twilight Sparkle was still safe.
All other Twilight's from every other universe had unfortunately had their magic taken away by Empress Twilight in her endless quest to conquer everything. As such, Nyx's own Twilight had been caught by the tyrannical alicorn, losing her magic in the process. Every version of Twilight that she had come across had failed miserably, completely powerless against the Empress. And at this very moment with every passing second, there could be another Twilight Sparkle losing her magic as well.
However, this universe's Twilight seemed to be different from the rest. She was very similar to the original timeline's Twilight in every single way. But the one thing that makes her stand out from the others is that Nyx has deduced that this version of Twilight Sparkle was not only fine, but she had even come out of intense situations that the other Twilights couldn't. Mainly involving Ghetsis. Thus, Nyx titled her as the strongest version of Twilight yet.
Because of this, Nyx felt like she found the one Twilight who can actually stop Empress Twilight's tyranny but also end up being exactly like the Twilight from her world, who she hoped was alright.
Nyx was currently staying inside of Twilight's Castle with a spare room since Twilight treated her like a princess due to her being a fellow alicorn. Looking outside of the window where the moonlight shined on her, Nyx took a moment to look upon this universe's Equestria and it was something to view.
The air of this Equestria was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Due to the existence of Pokemon, the winds themselves gain a smoother and more relaxing breeze that simply cannot be described any further without having to look into a dictionary with the most absurd words possible.
Nyx saw how the world itself was changing its structure just to fit the Pokemon and their habitats. After all, Pokemon are capable of changing the world around them. Just like how it happened many, many, many years ago when there were countless Mew's roaming the land before they evolved into other Pokemon.
She was also given the sight of many nocturnal Pokemon who only show themselves at night. Ranging from the appropriately named Noctowl, Snorunt, Ariados, Oddish and many other Pocket Monsters who just can't get enough of the moon.
Seeing them made Nyx remember one word that Twilight said to her before the night arrived. It was about how Nyx wasn't sure she could live in an Equestria like this, despite her being thrilled to be here.
"Well...I guess one way you could get comfortable in this world...is by catching a Pokemon of your own!"
"Catching a Pokemon of my own?" Nyx said to herself. Eventually, she managed to put herself to sleep, finally. All that evading had died down.
Come morning, and it's a fresh new day in Ponyville. The sun rays shot down on Nyx's face, forcing her to wake up. The sounds of a Dodrio and Pidgey could be heard across Ponyville, causing everypony else to shoot up from their beds. Everypony except Jade and Cold who had finished looking at old photos of everypony, digging them back in the ground.
Once Nyx shook her head, yawning, she was met with the sound of Twilight opening the doors to her room.
"Morning, Nyx!"
"Hm? G-Good morning." Nyx responded.
"So...are you ready?"
"Ready for what?"
"Remember? Your first Pokemon! Doesn't that sound exciting?!" Twilight squeed.
"Oh, right. That." Nyx turned her head to the side.
"Hm?" Twilight could easily tell from Nyx's body language, she wasn't exactly thrilled about this. "Not so excited, huh?"
"Not really. I just don't really see the point in having a Pokemon honestly. They just seem like slightly more impressive pets anyway."
"Oh, believe me. Mostly everypony thought the same as you. When our world's first crossed over, nopony really thought that much about Pokemon. Including me. We just thought that they were creatures from the Everfree Forest. But they turned out to be something greater."
"Something greater, you say? Well from what I've seen, they are impressive little creatures. Being able to conduct various energies of all sorts from their bodies is something alright."
"That would be Infinity Energy. It's sort of the life force of every Pokemon. That and Aura. I was surprised that it wasn't even magic. Although, some Pokemon are more magical than others."
"Hah. So you don't consider them pets at all?" Nyx pointed her hoof at Twilight's Minccino, Espeon and Vulpix.
"Not at all. Pokemon seem to behave in a way that makes them similar to us. There are some Pokemon out there that can actually speak! Well only one of them can physically speak the rest use telepathy or possession."
"Ccino!" Minccy hopped off Twilight's back, walking over to Nyx. The others did the same, making themselves friendly towards the second alicorn.
"Vulpix!"
"Espeon."
"You already know about Eve and Minccy. How one is adamant whilst the other just loves keeping things tidy. Vulpix here is the most playful out of the three. Isn't that right, Vul?" Twilight gave Vulpix a belly rub. Something that many Pokemon enjoy. Well...the ones that have fur most of the time.
"Vul...Vulpix!" The Fox Pokemon panted, enjoying the feeling of Twilight giving him a belly rub.
"Go on. Give them a pat or rub. They like it."
"Minccino!" Minccy looked up at Nyx, insisting that she give the Chincilla Pokemon a head pat or belly rub. One of the two will work.
"Hm." Nyx raised her hoof up, placing it on the head of the Normal-Type. Once she did, she had been introduced to the soft fur that every Minccino was blessed with. The feeling had travelled through her body, causing her nerves to activate all of a sudden. "It's so...soft."
"Minccino..." Minccino let out a shake like an actual Chinchilla which is a sign of affection.
"So...So..." Nyx took a moment to really take in Minccy's appearance and fur. Once she did, she had come to a conclusion about this little Pokemon. "So cute!" Nyx picked up Minccy, giving her a mighty hug equal to that of a bear. Pokemon have that effect on everyone. Whether it's being cute cool or just plain bizarre and goofy.
"C-Ccino!" Minccy however was being crushed to death whilst struggling to breathe.
"Esp..." Espeon had grabbed Minccy out of Nyx's grasp with her mind, saving the life of her friend.
"Min...Ccino." Minccy breathed in and out, glad to be breathing once more.
"And there are even more Pokemon out there that are just as cute. Now, I found one pony in particular or rather human who can help you catch a Pokemon."
"Really?" Nyx picked up Vulpix. "Who?"
"Who else but Ash, of course. No other pony fit for the job."
"Ash..huh? Are you sure? From what I've seen at the small amount of time I was with you all during the last day of the festival he seems to be a bit..."
"Hyperactive? Stubborn? A walking time bomb?" Twilight chuckled.
"That." Nyx nodded. "I'm not sure that I would want my first experience with Pokemon to be with somepony such as that. Seems a bit overwhelming. Much more than Pinkie Pie."
"I was in the same boat as you, Nyx. When I first met Ash, he was...something. He felt like an unusual amalgamation of Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash all rolled into one with Fluttershy's love for animals. Everypony had just been introduced to Pokemon so there was a ton of confusion and anarchy with nopony having any idea on how to handle these little monsters. And Ash only added to the confusion. I thought he was a hairless monkey at first." Twilight chuckled.
"Ah. So he's a good mentor to have?"
"Mhm. A lot of us have become better trainers thanks to him. And we've even made some new little friends with his help." Twilight picked up her Espeon.
"Esp."
"I see...If you say he's the right pony to teach me, then it must be right."
"You won't meet anypony like him! He's a one of a kind. He certainly is to me." Twilight paused for a moment, realizing what she said at the very end. "N-N-Not that I treasure him more than anypony else! Not in a weird way! I-In a friendly way of course! That'd be weird! You're weird.!" She chuckled nervously, squeeing at Nyx.
"Uh...huh..."
"Come on. Cocoa and Rosestar are already planning on getting their own Pokemon too."
Speaking of Ash, along came that blue dressed trainer and his electrifying yellow friend. As always, they look refreshed and energized, taking in the air. Something was on Ash's mind recently. Being the adventurous spirit that he is, he wanted to explore Equestria even more. Ranging from locations that have already been here for many years to the newly created areas that are Pokemon themed. There's a lot to look forward to.
"Hm...Should we visit Saddle-Arabia? I wanna see if they're all recovering well." Ash said, pondering.
"Pikachu..."
"Ah, but that Las Pegasus place sounds like a blast! Man! There's just a lot to view and visit!"
"Ash!" A friendly voice raced through his ears. One belonging to Twilight who was beside Nyx, Cocoa and Rosestar.
"Oh, Twilight! You doing great today?"
"Pika!"
"Mhm. Always."
"Great. Say I-" Ash paused his words once he and Pikachu's eyes connected with three familiar faces. That being Nyx, Cocoa and Rosestar. They were sharp and quick to remember her. "Oh...You three again! Nyx, Cocoa and Rosestar, right?"
"Pika-Pika?!"
"That's right. Hello, Ash Ketchum. Or...Ash."
"So you really came back. You getting psyched for the second festival?"
"Yeah, we are!" Cocoa shot up.
"Actually, Ash. Nyx is here for a different reason..." Twilight flew over to the trainer, prepared to tell him why Nyx has arrived.
Once she gave him a breakdown of everything, from Ghetsis and Empress Twilight to Cocoa and Rosestar arriving with Nyx, Ash and Pikachu found it clear that her reason for being here was a dire one.
"Hm, hm." Ash nodded his head. "That's a super big deal..."
"Pikachu..."
"You're the one human who's had the most experience with Ghetsis, correct?" Nyx asked. "Then that means you're the one who has the highest chance to stop him."
"Actually, Ash stopped Ghetsis a few months back. All the way back at Saddle-Arabia alongside the Hollow and Swords of Justice."
"You did? And Swords of Justice?" Rosestar spoke.
"There's a lot that's happened in these past few months. I'll explain it all to you later. But, Ash. I was wondering if you could help Nyx catch her own Pokemon."
"Oh. Yeah, I can do that. No problem. What Pokemon catches your eye?"
"Well...I'm not exactly sure." Nyx looked up in the sky, scraping her hoof on the ground. "I suppose I do like the smaller ones due to how adorable they are. Their fur feels soft too."
"If I had to choose one, it'd be a soft and fluffy one too." Cocoa replied. "But uh...I'd want it to stay that way."
"You mean you'd never want it to evolve?" Rosestar turned to her.
"Maybe." Cocoa squeed.
"Then! I know the Pokemon just for you!"
Where they would find this Pokemon would be simple. The Pokemon House. Where a plethora of Pokemon of many types, minus dragon can be found. The most common type is Normal since most of the Pokemon resemble their animal counterparts so there's a lot to choose from.
Another pony who's also looking for a brand newPokemon today is none other than Sonata who dragged Aria out here. She's been yearning for a second Pokemon other than her Buneary, desperate to find that second partner. Today, she was going to change that.
"I want..." Sonata moved her hoof around, going through the list of Pokemon that Fluttershy recommended to her. "I don't know..."
"Just pick one already. I haven't got all day." Aria tapped her hoof on the ground, waiting for this to be over.
"Hold on. It's not that easy." Sonata picked up a Psyduck. "Do I want this silly looking duck?"
"Psy."
"Or maybe this little guy's for me." Sonata grabbed a Karrablast.
"Karra!"
"It's a tough decision isn't it?" said Fluttershy. "Don't worry. Finding a second Pokemon is just as difficult as finding your second one. I'm sure you'll be able to choose one eventually.
"It shouldn't even be this difficult..." Aria gave herself a face hoof.
"By the way. Have you two gotten better at singing?"
"Oh, yeah. Totally!" Sonata nodded We've been practising every week now! I bet when we get back to our best we can start our own band!"
"That and we'll probably leave Ponyville too." Aria suddenly said.
"Leave Ponyville?" Fluttershy gasped.
"Well, once we get our perfect voices back, we're hitting the road. Right, Sonata?"
"I don't know...I kinda like it here. We've got a pretty comfortable house and every day's a fun day."
"Fun day? We both had our spirits stolen!" Aria stood up, yelling at Sonata.
"But it turned out fine in the end, right?" Sonata stuck her tongue out whilst closing her eyes.
Fluttershy saw the two sisters bicker in their own unique way. She also saw that Ash and Twilight were making their way here with Rosestar, Cocoa and Nyx beside them. "Oh! Twilight! Ash! You brought the others along?"
"Mhm. We're for one reason only." Ash raised his finger up.
"Pikachu!"
"This is where we'll be finding a Pokemon for us?" Nyx looked around, examining the Pokemon House for her own eyes. Indeed, there's a lot to choose from. "There are so many of them..."
"Oh. A Pokemon just for you three?" Fluttershy flew up. "Which one do you like the look of?"
"Actually, Ash here said he found the Pokemon that would be perfect for us."
"Yep." Ash crossed his arms, having a silly grin on his face. "Eevee. That's who."
"Eevee, huh? That is a good option." Fluttershy nodded.
"Wait. Who's Eevee again?" Sonata asked as Aria was grabbing her face.
"It's that fox thing that can evolve into other Pokemon, duh!" Aria stretched Sonata's face about as they were still arguing.
"Then I want that one!" Sonata winced. "Eevee's good!"
"Eevee it is! Both of you are gonna love them!" Fluttershy clapped her hooves together. "She called for a bunch of Eevee's which commonly hung around near the Normal-Type area. An area where they get along with Grass-Types.
"Eevee!" Six Eevees spoke. All with their own unique personalities and natures.
"Eevee's a pretty neat Pokemon. It's got 8 evolutions that you can choose from." Ash explained.
"It's how I got my Espeon here. Eve was once an Eevee. That's why I named her that." Twilight held up her Espeon.
"Espeon."
"Eight huh?" Sonata narrowed her eyes at the six Evolution Pokemon. "Wait, what do the others look like?"
"A little something like this. Twilight held out an evolution chart showing the eight Eeveelutions. "As you can see, they're all separate types. From Fire to Fairy."
"Oooh. I like the way that one looks!" Sonata pointed her hoof at Glaceon.
"Types you say?" Nya raised an eyebrow.
"Ah, right. Guess you're not fully aware of Pokemon Types. No need to worry. I can teach you the basics of Pokemon." Ash pointed at himself.
"Pikachu."
"So, Nyx. Which Eeveelution catches your interest?" Twilight asked.
"Hmm... I like the patterns on this one." Nyx's eyes were gazing right at Umbreon. It did have some neat patterns, honestly.
"Oh, Umbreon. That's a good pick." Twilight nodded.
"Very good. One of these Eevee's has been wanting to evolve into an Umbreon." Fluttershy picked all of the Eevee's up in her hooves. "Well, a lot of them wish to evolve into any of the eight Eeveelutions. But I think it's...this one!" Fluttershy held out an Eevee that had a Quiet Nature.
"Eev."
"M-May I hold it?" Nyx held her hooves out.
"Of course. Off you go, Eevee."
"Eevee." The Quiet Eevee hopped off Fluttershy's hooves and into Nyx's.
"So cute..." Nyx gawked at Eevee's adorable appearance as her eyes sparkled. "I love it!" She gave the Evolution a hug, nuzzling with it.
"E-Eevee!" Eevee's eyes felt like they were going pop out of his head as he yearned for fresh air.
"I'll take this one. I really want that blue looking Pokemon." Sonata went over to an Eevee with a Naughty Nature.
"Finally..." Aria groaned, glad that it was over. "Are you happy now?"
"100%!" Sonata squeed as the Eevee hopped on her head.
"Is this one good?" Cocoa was referring to Flareon. It looks like it's got the softest fur out of all of them.
"Flareon, huh? Then this is the Eevee for you. Be careful, he's a bit on the Sassy side. Is that okay with you?"
"Sassy's no problem. I'm already friends with Rosestar so it won't be a problem." Cocoa held the Eevee that wished to be a Flareon. "Hey, there little fella!"
"Eevee!"
"Hey..." Rosestar narrowed her eyes at Cocoa. "Well, whatever. If I had to pick, it would probably be this one. The other blue one." By that she meant Vaporeon.
"Oh, Vaporeon. Um...Ah!" Fluttershy placed the Eevee aiming to become a Vaporeon down. "This Eevee's more Gentle than the others. So you won't see it moving around that much."
"That's fine with me. I could use something gentle for once." Rosestar was already glad that the personality of this Eevee was something she could live with. Being with a friend like Cocoa can really get the blood rushing at times. So something slow and calm was what she needed.
This certain scenario seemed to be resolved fairly quickly. But what of the scenario involving Jade and Colt?
Their digging had eventually been found out once morning came up. They weren't exactly that great at hiding evidence. As a result, everypony managed to find the plethora of photos as some of them were sticking out of the dirt that had tried to hide every last one of them.
Once they found them, they all had a field day with the photos. Some were even taken back to their past from looking at their old embarrassing photos.
"Hm!" Octavia held her laughter in, looking at an old photo of Vinyl. Before she rocked those signature headphones, she had on these wide-glasses that took up most of her face. Along with that, her mane had bows on the back with pigtails. Far different from the radical hairstyle she now owns.
But Octavia wasn't any better. Vinyl looked at an old photo where Octavia went through what some could call 'A phase'. Ear piercings, hair over one eye along with a fake Cutie Mark with a skull. The one thing that Vinyl was thinking of was what happened back then that led to the Octavia she knew.
Everypony was laughing at their embarrassing moments. Whether it was their old appearances or what they ended up doing in certain events. Whether it was a birthday, Hearts and Hooves day, Hearth's Warming, etc.
"Now who went ahead and dug these up?" Granny Smith wondered as she was standing next to Mayor Mare who hid her old embarrassing photo inside of Stoutland's fur.
"No idea. But when I find them..." Mayor Mare wasn't too happy about somepony digging up the wooden box and smashing it apart. That and the one photo she wished wouldn't see the light of the day had been freed.
Cold Colt gulped as he and Jade hid behind SugarCube Corner. The young colt was shaking, not wanting to feel the wrath of Mayor Mare and potentially her Stoutland.
"S-She won't find out, right? T-They can't trace magic like hoofprints. C-C-Can they?" Cold gulped, looking up at Jade who wasn't terrified in the slightest.
"If she does, she'll probably have her Stoutland burn us alive with Fire Fang while he sinks his blazing teeth into our skin, slowly tearing away at our flesh and devouring us while the mayor just stands there, watching as we cry out in agonizing pain until we finally wish for our unfortunate lives to come to a gruesome end," Jade replied.
Cold was terrified at Jade's words. The way she said it didn't help at all. Her blank expression and monotone voice really gave it an impact.
"Just kidding. Pinkie Pie taught me some humour tricks. Haha. Dark humour." Jade made an unconvincing laugh.
"Oh..." Cold fainted, falling flat on the ground. Jade let out a tiny little chuckle, showing that she was making some progress in emotions. "I guess that's what friends do too."
A growing town with some ever-growing ponies. Ponyville may not have the same flash and wonder that the Pokemon World has but it has its own unique and relaxing presence that makes anypony feel at home. Whether they be musicians, farmers, bakers or even a Mayor, there's a little something for everypony.
And there's even a Pokemon for them as well. Granted, Pokemon is for everyone but not every Pokemon is for everyone. They all have their preferences. Some like em cute, cool, smart or just plain weird. Either way, it's these varying personalities of these citizens that give this world its charm as the journey continues!
With the knowledge given to her about certain Legendary Pokemon from Canalave Library, Twilight Sparkle has also learned about certain events that occur with these larger than life creatures. One of which involved the Legendary Pokemon and one of the three Legendary Beasts, Suicune.
A Pokemon said to be the reincarnation and embodiment of the north winds as it races around the world, purifying dirty water with its gracefulness and mystical power. It was capable of this since it was one of the three Legendary Beasts who were once Pokemon that had been revived by Ho-Oh.
On a rare occasion, Suicune's movements also bring an aurora along the way. When it does summon an aurora, the light it gives off is so grand that it can even be seen on a sunny day. Why Twilight was looking into this was simple.
There's been word across Equestria that this dog-like creature has been running across the lands, giving everypony water so pure that it's made them healthier in a matter of minutes. They saw this creature heading towards the direction of Saddle Lake, spreading the aurora wherever it went. Which meant that Suicune was here in this world. And which also meant that Ponyville will have the pleasure of viewing the aurora that Suicune brings.
"If Suicune's heading this way, then it might show up this afternoon," Twilight spoke. "Everypony can't wait to see the aurora show up in the sky. To think it can even do it in the day!"
"Wouldn't it look weird in the day?" Spike wondered.
"Obviously, an aurora really shines when the night arrives. But Suicune's is said to be that vibrant and dazzling. But who knows, it might show up late at night."
"An aurora? I've always wanted to see that!" Starlight squeed.
"Well, this is your chance! I'll be at Saddle Lake. That's where Suicune is said to arrive according to what Princess Celestia saw. I even heard that Suicune's presence is so great that it can even purify the water from a faraway distance." Twilight turned around as Vulpix hopped on her head.
"Vulpix!"
Everypony was aware of Suicune's arrival since news of it spread like wildfire.
Over at SugarCube Corner, Pinkie was being held back by Mrs Cake and the Slurpuff's from devouring some food meant specifically for the time of the celebration when the aurora shows up.
"Pinkie Pie! Restrain yourself!" Mrs Cake had Pinkie on a leash as the pink pony's tongue was sticking out, craving all those delicious delicacies in front of her. "Save it for Suicune!"
Her Slurpuff attempted to draw her attention away from the food with Sweet Scent, but that didn't work at all. If anything, that just accelerated Pinkie's urges.
"I can't...I need it!" Pinkie was unusually hungry today. More than normal. So she wasn't going to stop until she ate something.
"Spinda! Knock some food into her mouth!" Mrs Cake strained as she was slowly losing her grip of the leash.
"Spin!" The Spot Panda Pokemon had used Double Slap on a nearby soft cake, slapping it towards Pinkie Pie's mouth. That did the trick as Pinkie took in the soft cake, tasting the sweet goodness of the altered pastry. Her hunger had been calmed down for now.
"Mmm! Soft cake!"
"Finally." Mrs Cake sighed as she fell on her back, letting Pinkie go.
"What's an aurora?" Jade asked. It was something that she wasn't aware of at all, so it piqued her curiosity. Plus the name just sounds interesting.
"An aurora's a bunch of amazing lights in the sky that show up. But not that often. They're kinda super rare." Pinkie gave Jade an answer.
"If what they're saying about this Suicune thing is true, then not only will we have some slights to look forward to, but apparently, the water will become purified when it runs across the land," said Mrs Cake.
"Oooh...they sound beautiful." Jade nodded.
"I know right?!" Pinkie grabbed Jade's face. "If we have purified water then...then uh...I don't know what we'll do. But we'll do something with it!"
Switching over to Rarity's Carousel Boutique, both sisters were, of course, excited like everypony else. Sweetie Belle mostly.
"Alright. Out you come." Rarity held out a Poke Ball belonging to a Pokemon she hadn't sent out in months.
Feebas.
"Fee."
"Here goes nothing." Rarity held her breath in. "Feebas. I want to apologize for neglecting your many months now. Much like how I did to Mareep over here."
"Reep!"
"So, I plan to make it up to you today. By not only having you see the aurora that's coming by soon, but I'll also be spending time with you much more often."
"Bas." The Fish Pokemon was surprisingly unbothered by this. The reason being was that Feebas only had one goal in life. To become a Milotic. A dream many Feebas's wish to achieve once they find a Prism Scale. It doesn't matter how long it takes, as long as they reach their final evolution. So it didn't care one bit about Rarity leaving it inside a Poke Ball for a long time. It did overhear her at Undella Town and how she'll eventually find the scale.
"Uh, Rarity. I don't really think it cares." Sweetie Belle noticed Feebas's unphased state.
"Ah. So it seems. Well, that's fine. Every Pokemon has a unique personality after all. So Feebas here is just one of them." Rarity went over to give the Fish Pokemon a pat, only being given the feeling of its dry body. "Eeugh..."
At the Pokemon House, for Fluttershy, she was more curious about Suicune than the aurora. But she also wanted to see them anyways.
"You're leaving him here?" Fluttershy looked up at Discord who was floating above. With him was the Krookodile he caught all the way back at Virbank City.
"No hard feelings, but I just don't find anything interesting about this thing." Discord shook his head. Krookodile seemed unphased by his words though.
"Krook."
"Is Krookodile not interesting for you?"
"Appearance-wise, I can admire it. Other than that, it's just another capsule creature." Discord gave Krookodile a 5/10 rating with duplicates of himself. "I'll be leaving him here from now on.
"But you still see him as your Pokemon, right?"
"Hm? Oh, yes, whatever. It is mine I suppose. I'll be off now!"
"Wait. Aren't you going to stay behind to see the aurora? A Legendary Pokemon is passing by Saddle Lake, apparently."
"Hm. Sounds enchanting. But no thank you. Toodle-oo!" Discord poofed himself out of thin air, returning to that twisted dimension he calls home.
"Well, Krookodile. Sorry that Discord won't be keeping you at his home. That's just his preference. But don't worry. You can call the Pokemon House your home. Right, Audino?"
"Audino!" Audino nodded as she held Angel Bunny in her hands.
"Krooko." The Intimidation Pokemon wasn't even paying any attention to Fluttershy. Instead, all of his focus was right on Audino. The Pokemon that was the main reason he ended up becoming Discord's Pokemon among other events. Since he couldn't get with the Audino from PokePark, he figured he might as well try Fluttershy's Audino.
However, something that wasn't so pleasing to his eyes was the sight of Angel Bunny being held by Audino. Krookodile being the big prideful tough guy that he is wasn't very fond of this. So he had the urge to slash Angel Bunny up with the move Shadow Claw.
"Krookodile!" The Intimidation Pokemon snarled at Angel, forcing him to hide behind Audino.
"Dino? Audino!" Audino obviously upset at Krookodile for scaring Angel, let out a small scolding towards the Ground-Dark-Type. But then again, he is known as the Intimidation Pokemon. Scaring just comes with the title.
"Oh, my." Fluttershy shifted her eyes from Krookodile to Audino, seeing how the Intimidation Pokemon had been scolded at by the Hearing Pokemon. He may be terribly aggressive, violent and known as the Bully of the Sands much like Sharpedo's Bully of the Sea title, but when face to face with a Pokemon such as Audino, his personality and attitude shift drastically.
Angel Bunny laughed as he stuck his tongue out whilst hiding behind Audino. This only enraged Krookodile further who now had a grudge against the little bunny.
Fluttershy could sense that there was bad blood between the two. It might take a while for the two of them to get along. Maybe a whole year will do.
And what of Sweet Apple Acres? You could say that they might have the best view of the aurora due to where their home is located. So most likely, they'll be the first to see Suicune pass by.
"Are we gonna go out with everypony else to see it or just stay here?" Cold asked.
"Well, we'll be the first to see it if we stay here. But...I wanna see it with the rest of my friends." Apple Bloom replied.
"Eeyup." Big Mac nodded.
"When that Suicune thing passes by, that's gonna be a relief. The water's been a bit funny ever since that Storm Behemoth thing." Applejack said.
It was true. Due to the absurd amount of pulses, the volts exerted during that night when the Storm Behemoth attacked had messed with the water sources everywhere. Saddle Lake for sure took some horrible punishment from the pulse with the water now having tiny little sparks inside. So anypony who drinks a glass of water will always end up feeling a tiny little shock. It's not frequent but when it happens, they really feel it.
That goes for every other location in Equestria that has either a lake, river or any body of water nearby. Once Suicune shows up, all of that will change thankfully.
Speaking of Saddle Lake, Twilight ended up being the first pony to show up, preparing herself to see Suicune's magic take place. She was even hoping to see a small glimpse of it since it can affect everything from a faraway distance.
"Right here. If it was first seen near the Crystal Empire and the Frozen North, then it's bound to be seen in the distance not too far from here." Twilight brought along a telescope, just to see the distance clearer. She placed the telescope firmly on the soft snowy ground, enhancing its length.
"Vulpix." Vulpix picked up a snowball with his tail, flinging over at Minccy who was completely caught off guard.
"Ccino!" The Chinchilla Pokemon gasped, feeling the cold snow strike her. "Minccino!" She growled, snapping her head over to Vulpix who was giggling. Out of spite, Minccino returned the favour by launching a snowball right at the Fox Pokemon, hitting Vulpix square in the face.
"Vul!" Vulpix fell on his back as all he could see was snow now. Now it was Minccy laughing at him, giving off a snicker. This had started an inevitable snowball fight between the two pre-evolutions.
Both had used their tails as launchers, going back and forth with snowballs flying across Saddle Lake, hitting each other whilst evading every single piece of snow that came their way.
Eve watched as she licked her paws, unbothered by her friends and their snowball fight. But soon, she would be hit by a snowball that came from Vulpix.
"Esp?!" The Sun Pokemon jerked back as the snowball struck her face.
Both Minccy and Vulpix gasped as their eyes widened. They could already tell that Eve would go off on them both without any hesitation. And judging by how her right eye twitched, she wasn't too happy..
"C-Ccino..." Minccy slowly backed up, hiding behind a tiny hill of snow.
"Espeon..." Eve growled at the two of them, using her psychic mind to pick up some snowballs. Now it was her turn. With aggression packed behind it, the force of her snowball throws could be considered lethal as they raced at high speeds, striking both Vulpix and Minccy to the ground.
Very soon, all three of Twilight's Pokemon went at it, attacking each other with snow, aiming to come out on top. All the while, their trainer was looking through the telescope, seeing if she could spot a trace of Suicune somewhere, completely unaware of the snowball fight happening around here.
"Come on Suicune...show a little teaser."
"Minccino!" Minccy put some extra effort into her throws by using Aqua Tail. Her water veiled tail smashed a snowball towards Eve.
"Esp!" The Sun Pokemon gasped, ducking for cover as she managed to evade the snowball.
Unfortunately, the Pokemon up ahead wasn't as fortunate. At this time, Ice-Types are obviously very present since they were the ones causing winter to be extra cold. Colder than usual.
One of those many Ice-Types are none other the Chill Pokemon and pre-evolution of Beartic, Cubchoo. A Pokemon that's all about having the sniffles and a runny nose.
Sitting atop a hill of Saddle Lake, a snowball hit the Chill Pokemon right in the face where it was already cold enough for the poor little thing.
"Cub!" The Ice-Type fell on its back, shocked at the sudden impact of the snowball. Now, this wouldn't be a problem for any other Pokemon. Granted, some would be aggravated but for the most part, they'd be surprised or confused. And some would just laugh it off with their playful nature.
However, Cubchoo is a different story. Even when it's healthy, its nose is always running. But, when this Pokemon is at good health, its frosty snot increases any Ice-Type in power. And that means one other thing would increase in power.
"Cub...Cub..." Like always, the Ice-Type Pokemon couldn't help but sneeze. And with its face feeling extra cold thanks to the snowball, this sneeze was about to be something powerful. "CUBCHOO!" A mighty sneeze came from Cubchoo, causing a flurry of snow so grand and huge that it flew off from the hill.
Not only that, but the snow around Saddle Lake had even been moved, causing a mini-avalanche in the process.
"Esp?" Eve's ears twitched as she noticed the huge sheet of snow capable of engulfing the entire body of water in one go falling from above. She and the other Pokemon spotted it heading straight for them. "Espeon!"
"Minccino!"
"Vulpix!"
All three of them made a run for it, avoiding the incoming avalanche, however, Twilight was completely unaware. She was still searching for Suicune after all.
"Oh! I see something!" Twilight stood up, thinking she caught a glimpse. That's when she felt the rumble and heard the noise. A large shadow cast of her, making her wonder what that could be. "Hm?" Once she took her eyes off the telescope, the young alicorn was greeted to the avalanche caused by one tiny Pokemon. "AH-"
Direct contact. Twilight had been hit by the avalanche with her guard down. Her entire body had been buried in snow as her Pokemon winced, watching their trainer getting taken out by the snow. What a shame.
"Achoo!"
But an even bigger shame was the cold she caught from this.
Due to the abundance of snow that fell on her, Twilight Sparkle had just caught a cold, forcing her to head back inside. Since it was a large pile of snow that came from Cubchoo, the cold was so intense that not even Vulpix's flames could warm her quick enough. But at least they were effective. Ash and Pikachu were there, seeing that their friend was currently under the weather.
"Bummer. Caught a cold at the worst time." Ash said.
"Pikachu..."
"Urgh...I wanted to go so badly outside to see Suicune and aurora." Twilight whimpered as she was in her bed, covered in a plethora of sheets while Vulpix kept her warm. "Thanks for stopping by you guys. But I think I need some rest."
"Hm. Alright. Get well soon."
"Pika-Pikachu."
The duo left Twilight alone with her Pokemon at her castle. It would be all three of them that would do their best to nurse her back to full health. They were technically the ones who caused this, even if they didn't know that.
"That blows." Ash groaned. "Twilight won't get to be with everyone else when Suicune shows up."
"Pika." Pikachu lowered his head, sighing.
"She was psyched about it too when she heard about Suicune being around yesterday," Ash recalled when Twilight found out from Cadence that the Crystal Empire had seen this dog-like Pokemon nearby. It went a little something like this.
"A Pokemon that purifies water!" Twilight exclaimed as she stood up from her seat. Currently, she had a letter sent by the Cadence
"Ooh. Which one is that?" Fluttershy looked up, wondering. She didn't know of a Pokemon that purifies water. "Do you know, Ash?"
"Purifies water? Hmm..." Ash thought for a bit, digging through his memory as he was trying to recall which Pokemon is capable of that. "Oh! Suicune!"
"Suicune?" Rainbow Dash turned to him.
"Mhm. It's a pretty neat Legendary Pokemon." Ash laid back on his chair, crossing his arms. "Not only does it make the water all pure and great when it comes by, but it even brings the northern lights with it. It's so cool."
"Northern lights?! An aurora?!" Twilight squeed. "I've always wanted to see those! Thank you Pokemon for having everything!" She yelled into the sky.
"You seem extremely excited about this, Twilight. Have you never seen an aurora before?" Rarity asked her.
"Never in my life. It's only in books that's I've seen images of them. The closest thing I've gotten to the Northern lights was Princess Celestia's ethereal mane. But now, this is my chance to see the real thing! And Suicune's said to be headed somewhere near here tomorrow due to what everypony's seen so far!" She pranced on the spot, getting all giddy.
"Getting all fired up for tomorrow then, huh?" said Ash.
"Pikachu?"
"Of course! Aurora, here I come!" She raised her hoof in the air, filling up with such emotion. Twilight was truly psyched about this. More than anypony else in Equestria.
Back to the present day, Ash knew that it was heavily disappointing for Twilight that she might not get the chance to see the aurora at Saddle Lake in her condition. If she even stood outside for a second, that wouldn't help with her cold.
"She could see from her balcony but...that would mean going outside."
"Pika..."
Meanwhile, everypony was making their way towards Saddle Lake as it was almost time. Very soon, that one area where the Swords of Justice used to hang around but no longer do since they're busy searching for Ultra Wormholes and protecting ponies and Pokemon from harm, had been populated by ponies and their partners.
"Strange. Twilight would usually be the first here, wouldn't she?" Rarity looked around, unable to spot Twilight anywhere.
"She said she was headed here. So I don't have a clue why there's no sign of her." Starlight replied.
"Perhaps, she's a bit busy at the moment," Nyx said. "Maybe."
"There's a Twilight-shaped figure right over here." Pinkie Pie noticed the sheet of snow that had dropped on Twilight earlier thanks to the avalanche. "Maybe she had a bit of fun here earlier."
"Let me get on Ponyta! I'm feeling kinda chilly still." Sweetie Belle requested.
"Tough luck." Scootaloo hopped on her Ponyta's back, taking in the heat. "But all this heat is for me."
"Unfair..." Sweetie Belle puffed her cheeks at Scootaloo, desiring some heat.
"Hmm..." Ash, who had also arrived here, sat down on the ground with his arms crossed, thinking to himself.
"What's wrong, Ash?" Fluttershy flew over to him. "Is something bothering you?"
"Pikachu. Pika. Pika-Pikachu-Pi." Pikachu spoke to Fluttershy, explaining to her that Twilight caught a cold which meant she wouldn't be able to see the aurora and Suicune, unfortunately.
"Oh. That's a shame. She was the most excited out of anypony to see the aurora."
"Audino..."
"Yeah...There's gotta be something I can do to help..." Ash pondered for a while, thinking of anything that could raise Twilight's spirits back up. Ash stood up, deciding to clear his mind for a bit. "I'll be back."
Back at the castle, Twilight was looking up at the ceiling with her Vulpix continuously warming her up. It's a shame that Cubchoo's ice was this potent.
"Mrrmgh...Aurora's..." Twilight grumbled. "I wanted to go with all my friends..." She covered her face with her bedsheets. I bet they're having so much fun and eating good food too..." She looked at the window, knowing that the aurora was only heading in a linear path. So she wouldn't even be able to spot a tiny bit of it.
"Espeon." Eve gave Twilight a pat whilst she was still covered by her bedsheets.
Twilight had decided to put herself to sleep at this point. It was probably for the best. Her Pokemon gathered around her, deciding to sleep as well with their trainer. They all felt like having some quiet time until Twilight recovered.
Fluttershy had told everypony why Twilight wasn't present at the moment, spilling the news about her cold.
"Ugh! A cold? That sucks..." Rainbow Dash murmured.
"That would explain the Twilight-shaped snow over there." Rarity turned her head to the last place Twilight was when the snow fell on her.
"Ash said that he's planning on doing something to help. I guess right now, he's off to do just that." Fluttershy explained.
"Hope he does it fast. That Suicune critter could be here any moment now." Applejack moved her head about, hoping that Suicune wasn't too near.
And what about Ash? He was currently near White Tail Wood, away from everypony else as he needed to really spark something in his brain at this moment. But so far, nothing seemed to be working at the moment.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, looking up at him.
"Sorry, buddy. Guess you're not a fan of me looking like this so far, huh?"
"Pikachu. Pika-Pika." Pikachu told him that it was alright. After all, this is something that Ash does a lot. If a friend of his ends up having an unfortunate moment, he'll go out of his way to help.
Standing in the cold silent air of White Tail Wood with the sun slowly setting, the light rays of the sunset beamed down on Ponyville. Just then, an odd but familiar sound could be heard. It sounded like crystals moving actually. A blue mist surrounded both Ash and Pikachu all of a sudden, causing them to snap out of their thoughts.
It took them both a second to realize what this meant. The sounds of the crystals got closer, forcing them to turn their attention to the source of the sound. A figure emanating a blue light appeared in the mist, causing it to separate as the trees were given an illuminating azure glow.
And there it was.
The Aurora Pokemon. Suicune.
The Legendary Pokemon gazed at Ash and Pikachu recognizing the two of them with ease. After all, it's one of the many Legendary Pokemon that has grown emotionally attached to Ash over the years. It never forgot his face.
"...Suicune." Ash gasped.
"Pika."
The Aurora Pokemon let out a cry towards Ash, greeting him as it has been too long. Seeing Suicune here made Ash finally come to a conclusion that could help Twilight. "Long time no see. It's been a while hasn't it?"
"Pikachu!"
Suicune let out a mystical cry similar to that of the winds howling as it caused a small wind pressure to kick up, blowing the trees and even the clouds themselves. That was a sign that it was happy to see Ash and Pikachu again, thankful for helping it during the whole Celebi experience.
As a response, Suicune offered Ash a ride on its back like before, if he wanted to that is.
"Thanks, Suicune. But I'll pass...Although, there's something I need you to help me with."
A few hours had passed. Everypony was still outside of Saddle Lake, waiting for Suicune as they partook in small activities until the time came. Seems like the night is when Suicune will show up.
Over at Twilight's castle, she and her Pokemon were fast asleep, all comfortable in Twilight's bed. Vulpix slept on her head whilst Eve and Minccy slept on top of her. There was absolute silence in the castle. The only sound that could be heard was the howling winds.
That's when a light shined through the windows, putting a spotlight over Twilight and her Pokemon.
"Esp...Espeon?" Eve was the first to notice this. Her eyes slowly opened as multiple rays of blue lights beamed through Twilight's circular window.
Their lucent and scintillant appearance only seemed to increase in power. These sparkling cerulean rays had managed to wake Twilight, Minccy and Vulpix up eventually, causing them all to raise their heads.
"Hm...?" The young alicorn who was still sick rubbed her eye with a grumble. With one hoof over her left eye, her right had locked onto the window, spotting the lights. "What the...?"
Taking a moment to recover from her exhaustion and rest, Twilight got up from her bed, heading closer to her window, along with her Pokemon.
"Minccino?"
"Vulpix?"
"What is this...?" She wondered. But she got her answer already.
Her answer came in the form of the only thing that could explain this. Suicune. Outside, the aurora could actually be seen passing by Twilight's window.
Instead of it going in one linear path like most ponies predicted it would, it went around all of Ponyville. That's because Ash had told Suicune to move in that particular way for everypony to get a glimpse of the lights. Not just the ones at Saddle Lake.
"The aurora..." Twilight said under her breath. At first, she thought this was a dream, but not at all. It was truly the aurora of Suicune.
The Aurora Pokemon had appeared dashed across the lands of Ponyville, stopping by Twilight's castle as it had also left behind a beautiful trail of lights. That's when it locked eyes with Twilight Sparkle.
She was in absolute disbelief. Suicune was right in front of her. Along with the aurora. She looked closer to realize that not only did Suicune bring the aurora with it, but it also spelt something with the lights. The words read "Get well soon." And as an extra bonus, Suicune made its body glow to give Twilight an even greater light show.
And that's what it took. Twilight's wish had been granted. Her dream to see an aurora had finally come true. And she even got to see the Legendary Pokemon who brings the northern lights with it. A wide smile had been plastered on the young alicorn's face as she looked like was about to tear up.
Twilight rested her head on the window, continuing to marvel at the sight of the aurora. The way it spelt those words with the exact same colours as Celestia's mane was beautiful.
The lights danced across the sky, following Suicune's movements. The way they illuminated the world was almost unparalleled actually. Not many spectacles can come close to a sight like this. Every building, every tree, hill and cloud had been blessed with the aurora as the winds howled a beautiful melody due to Suicune's cry.
Twilight was at ease. Even with her cold. She saw Suicune gave off a gentle smile as the Aurora Pokemon turned around, bolting away. It left behind one final thing for Twilight. An extra aurora that surrounded her castle in a circle as the Legendary Pokemon disappeared in a flash.
But of course, everypony at Saddle Lake weren't left out. Once Suicune made its way to everypony else, it immediately dashed across the water of Saddle Lake, causing the liquids to be purified, erasing all the leftover bolts from the Storm Behemoth. The water was given azure sparkles that rose up like stardust. The sounds of crystals could be heard as everypony gawked at the sight of Suicune's miracle.
That's when they all saw it. Now everypony had truly seen Suicune. Its majestic appearance and radiant aura was something to behold. Truly giving it the status of Legendary. The Aurora Pokemon stood on the water itself, gazing back at the awestruck ponies.
Ash had returned with Pikachu letting out a sigh of relief. He was glad that he ended up giving Twilight the chance to see the aurora.
"Ash. You're back. And just in time!" Fluttershy flew up. "Did you find a way to help Twilight?
"Yeah." Ash nodded with a smile, knowing that he did a good job. "I told Suicune to show her the aurora. Take a look at that." He pointed directly at the aurora, showing Fluttershy the words that Suicune wrote. Now she was aware that it was Ash who was behind this.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu sat down, taking in the breathtaking beauty of the aurora. Everypony's eyes had locked onto the aurora and the Pokemon at the same time. They were completely frozen with awe.
Suicune looked back at Ash, nodding at the trainer and his buddy. Ash gave a thumbs up, letting Suicune know that he did an awesome job. The Aurora Pokemon smiled at Ash, understanding him clearly. It was time for Suicune to leave.
With amazing speeds, Suicune ran on the water of Saddle Lake, leaving behind bubbles and droplets of water that rose up from above. The Legendary Pokemon's body glowed blue as aurora coloured trails followed it.
And just like that, Suicune was gone. But it left a lasting impression of everypony in Ponyville. And it'll continue to leave impressions as it travels the lands, spreading purity to the oceans as it goes.
With Suicune gone, but the aurora still around, everypony had decided to dig in for some food.
Pinkie Pie immediately went first, acting like a rabid dog as she smashed her face into some cake, devouring it from the inside. The Pokemon ate both regular food and Pokemon food since some have their preferences and can be a bit needy at times.
Whilst they all snacked until the night came, Twilight sat back on her bed, still gazing out at the aurora. It was too beautiful to take her eyes off.
"I'm glad I got to see with you three as well. And I'm sure everypony else feels the same way." Twilight pulled her Pokemon close to her, giving them a group hug. By tomorrow her cold would be long gone thanks to her having a Fire-Type after all. But even still, she was happy either way. It wasn't over yet, though. Along came Ash and Pikachu entering inside for one final thing.
"Pika!"
"Feeling better?" Ash slid in, almost falling over due to his movements. "Yikes!"
"A little bit. I'll be back to full strength by tomorrow."
"Awesome. Just gonna leave this behind for you." Ash had brought some food over from the aurora party, bringing it just for Twilight and her Pokemon. As he placed the food on the table, the human stretched his arms, feeling a bit tired himself now. "I'm beat...Come on buddy."
"Pikachu."
"Ash, before you go!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Hm? Yeah?" Ash turned around, just moments away from stepping out.
"I'm guessing by how the aurora's spelt....you and Pikachu were behind this weren't you?"
"Heh. Guilty." Ash grinned, looking proud of himself as Pikachu did the same.
"Pikachu!"
"Thanks. Both of you."
"Espeon!"
"Minccino!"
"Vulpix!"
"No problem. See ya tomorrow!" Ash and Pikachu gave their goodbyes with a simple wave. They closed the door, leaving Twilight to continue enjoying herself with the food and the aurora. And she's going to enjoy herself until the day ends.
As Suicune leaves behind a wonderful gift for everypony in Ponyville, the beautiful lights of the aurora continued to shine across the night sky for all to see and take in with wonder as the journey continues.
"You want me as a teacher also?" Ash spoke. He and Pikachu were currently with Princess Celestia and Luna. Just outside of the classroom where Hollow was teaching.
"Pika?"
"Indeed. Like Hollow, you're also very knowledgable when it comes to Pokemon after all," said Celestia. "You're already a mentor to Twilight and everypony in Ponyville after all."
"Hm...That's true." Ash nodded.
"With the Pokemon School close to being completed, many young ponies from across Equestria are looking to improve themselves as trainers. We've only been using the old classroom Luna and I used to sit in when Star Swirl taught us both. It's not exactly a place for Pokemon. But that certainly is." Celestia opened up the curtains, revealing the almost complete Pokemon School.
"Oooh..." Ash gazed at the sight of it. Even though it wasn't finished yet, he could already tell it would be something spectacular.
"Pika..."
"Once it's finished, foals will be flocking towards this school. And with the amount of them becoming trainers and some even aiming to either succeed in the Equestria League or the Pokemon Contests, they'll need someplace where they can all gather instead of this small classroom. Which also means that the number of teachers must increase. Hollow definitely cannot keep this up on this own." Luna explained.
"He has been feeling burnt out lately. Coming from Johto to Canterlot for five days straight, teaching non-stop. Even with his break, he'll still end up tiring himself out. Some of his friends have already decided to become teachers here along with other humans who've caught wind of our school." Celestia replied.
"Oh, I gotcha." Ash nodded. "As great as it sounds, I'm not sure I'm fit to be a Pokemon Teacher. I'm more of a mentor. But thanks for the offer."
"An expected response," Luna uttered. "Your dream is to become a Pokemon Master after all, correct Ash?"
"Right! I'm gonna be the greatest master of them all, ya know."
"Pikachu!"
"Well. It was a decent effort. Thank you anyways, Ash." Celestia thanked him.
"No problem. Now I-" Ash's words were put to a halt for one reason. At this very moment, at this very point in time, another gateway had opened up.
It has been a while since new gateways have shown up, but the last one that had appeared was none other than the gateway that led to a parallel Pokemon world. In fact, this particular one is similar to that.
The booming sound of the gateway startled everypony, causing them to put a stop to what they were doing immediately. From the classroom, castle and homes. The windows had almost shattered from the thunderous sound as the clouds had even split apart as well.
Ash, Celestia and Luna went out to the balcony, raising their heads up., preparing themselves for whatever the Rift was pulling this time. This time, it wasn't anything hostile. Not at all.
Ash looked closer to the gateway, squinting his eyes. From what he could see, there was a silhouette of a human. Two actually. One looked very familiar to Ash. A trainer who he came across in his adventures once but only met him once and that was it. In Ash's world, he has a certain name. But in the other world, he has another.
Gold.
"Ah-Aaah!" Gold was screaming at the top of his lungs. And for good reason. Both he and his friend were currently falling from above all of a sudden.
"Yikes! Not good!" Ash grabbed his Poke Ball, tossing it forward. "Dragonite! Catch them!"
Out came Dragonite, already on the move. The Dragon Pokemon flew up from the balcony, spreading its arms out to catch these two. The two trainers braced for impact, closing their eyes as Gold's hat flew off into the air.
"Dra!" Dragonite had thankfully caught the two trainers without any harsh impact following afterwards. Gold's hat had fallen right back to him, landing on his face. The Dragon Pokemon flew back to the balcony.
"Oh..whew." Gold breathed in and out, glad that he was safe and sound. "That was close! I thought I was a goner!"
"No kidding..." Silver did the same. He didn't have as large of a reaction as Gold but he was certainly shaken up.
"You two okay?!" Ash went up to them both.
"Yeah...We are now. Thanks for the-" Gold got off Dragonite's claws, preparing to thank Ash.
That is until they both stared at each other, freezing for a brief moment. When their eyes examined each other, they actually felt like they recognized each other.
"...Red?" Gold squinted his eyes.
"Ethan?" Ash's eyes widened instead. His eyes then shifted over to Silver, who also looked familiar to him. "Paul?"
"My name is Silver." Silver hopped of Dragonite's clutches, dusting himself as he played it cool.
"You're Red right?" Gold went up to Ash. "You look a lot like him."
"You know Red?" Ash asked, recognizing a name like that. Now, this is where things get a bit confusing for him and Gold. "Well, sorry but I'm Ash."
"Ash, huh? Guess you're not him. But who are you calling Ethan? I'm Gold."
"Gold?" Ash raised an eyebrow, unaware of that name. "And Silver?"
"What fitting names," Luna whispered to Celestia.
"Oh, hold on!" Ash put two and two together. The sudden gateway, the similarities to Ethan and Paul and the fact that they thought he was Red could only mean one thing. "You two must be the alternate versions of Ethan and Paul, huh?"
"Alternate versions?" Gold and Silver both looked at each other.
"Right! You see...I met Red a while ago once. He looked a lot like me from when I first saw him. The same went for his friend, Blue, who I recognized as Gary. But it wasn't. That's when I found out that they're basically me and Gary from another world."
"Wait. So that thing's a..." Gold turned his head to the skies, looking up at the gateway.
"A gateway to another universe." Silver finished his sentence.
"We're in another universe?! WOAH!" Gold shot up. His eyes immediately scanned all of Canterlot, seeing ponies galore alongside Pokemon who were their partners. But he didn't know that. He instantly mistook them for Pokemon. "Check out these Pokemon!" He raised a Poke Ball up, aiming to battle Celestia and Luna. "These two just scream Legendaries!"
"Ah, hold on!" Ash stopped Gold from trying anything he'll end up regretting. "They're not Pokemon!"
"T-They're not?" Gold lowered his hand.
"Nope. Everyone you see here is just a normal citizen. Ponies. But these two are princesses. And the Pokemon are just their partners."
"Oh. Wait. Are humans extinct in this world?" Gold asked.
"Nah. You see..." Ash pulled back, holding his head. "I gotta explain it all don't I?"
"Allow me, Ash." Celestia stepped forward, willing to do all the hard work by explaining why everything is the way it is now.
After a simple and short yet understandable explanation, all the information had travelled through Gold and Silver's heads, staying there.
"So that's it huh? Boy, that sounds pretty overwhelming. How'd you all get used to it so fast?" said Gold.
"Simple. Ash and the humans were thankfully willing to help us all get adjusted to Pokemon." Luna placed her hoof on Ash's shoulder. "If not for them, our experience with Pokemon would be vastly different."
"Well, that clears everything up. Let's head back then." Silver turned around, already aiming to leave.
"Hold on, Silver! We can't leave just yet! I wanna explore this place for a bit." Gold replied.
"Right? And I want to battle Gold over here." Ash place his arm around Gold's neck as they both had a cheesy grin on their faces.
"Eeugh..." Silver winced as he saw how both of them were practically mirrors of each other. "Do we have to though?" He pinched his face.
"So, what's this world like? And what are those things on you?" Gold pointed at Celestia and Luna's Cutie Marks. "And how do you get your hair to do that?!"
"...This is going to be a long day..." Celestia said to Luna. Judging by how things were turning out so far, she was most likely right.
Over at the classroom, The students were still looking up at the gateway out of curiosity. They were wondering where it led to.
"You all have been staring at that gateway for a while now," Hollow commented.
"Yeah. What do you think's past there?" Sapphire wondered. "We saw two humans fall from it after all."
"Probably a world where there's only humans. Maybe. I think." Sunrise responded.
"Curiosity..." Hollow scratched his hair. "Come to think of it. One of them looked a lot like that trainer from Johto..."
Speaking of that certain trainer, AKA Gold, he had taken the pleasure of venturing Canterlot Castle. Much like Ash, he was a sucker for adventure and discovering new things. His exploration led to him to the classroom since that was the nearest room. The Johto trainer opened the door, grabbing the attention of Hollow and the foals there.
"They have an entire classroom like us? This place is impressive..." Gold gawked.
"Hm?" Hollow examined Gold's appearance even further. His mind began digging for memories of anyone resembling him that Hollow had seen. Then it hit him. "Oh! Aren't you Ethan?!"
"Eh?" Gold pulled back, turning to Hollow. "Again? Am I that similar to this Ethan guy?"
"You do look like him. Only your outfit's a bit different but still kinda the same." Hollow nodded.
"You recognize him, Mr Hollow?" Dew Drops asked.
"Sure do. I don't really know too much about Ethan. I only saw him in my travels one time and heard about how he participated in the Johto League. But that's about it. Although, he's right here in front of us at this very moment."
"Ah sorry. I'm not Ethan. Name's Gold. Guess you're mistaking me for my counterpart from this combined universe." Gold chuckled as Ash, Silver and two princesses appeared behind him.
"Counterparts...?" Hollow took a moment to realize what that meant. He looked outside, staring back at the gateway that was up in the sky. Now it all made sense. "Oh...oh." He nodded his head.
"What? What is it?" A colt was confused about what he meant by that. Hollow had explained what was most likely going on to all of the students, telling them about how this was a parallel version of the trainer known as Ethan.
"Aah..." The foals all said at the same time.
"This place is so...colourful." Silver felt like his eyes were hurting from all the saturated and vibrant colours that filled this world. He couldn't look away for one second without coming across hundreds of colours clashing against each other.
"I must ask you two. Gold. Silver." Luna spoke. "If you two are from a parallel world that is based around the Pokemon World, what is it like exactly?"
"What's it like? Well, it's amazing!" Gold exclaimed. "There's so much to do and see in our world! Never a dull moment!"
"So exactly like Ash and Hollow's world." Luna nodded. "I suppose in every universe the Pokemon World is just that entertaining.
"Both of us have only really explored the Johto and Kanto region. We both ended up bumping into each other right at Goldenrod City. Next thing we know, a flash of light happened, and we both ended up here." Silver explained. "To think that some sort of Rift was capable of this."
"Say, Gold. If you've met Red, then you've battled him before right? How'd it go?" Ash questioned, curious about Gold's knowledge of Red.
"Red? Yeah. I've battled him alright. Man...It was something." Gold closed his eyes, recalling the day he battled Red on Mt. Silver. "It's a day I'll never forget. On Mt. Silver. When I first came across Red, he gave off an aura that was all kinds of scary. It was like it was telling me to make a run for it while I could."
"Ooh..." The foals leaned in, curious about this story.
"But, I wasn't willing to run away. So I challenged him."
"And then? How'd it go?" Ash grinned, wanting to know how the battle went down.
"It was intense! His team was unlike anything I've ever faced before! His Charizard, Venusaur, Blastoise, Lapras, Snorlax and Pikachu were way stronger than I anticipated. No one else has pushed me to that level before or even backed me into a corner that fast. Not even Silver."
"I believe him." Silver responded to that.
"Me and my Pokemon were getting smacked around like ragdolls by his. His team had a counter for everything I had. I'll tell ya, it's the one battle that really put my skills as a trainer to the test."
"Oh! Sounds so cool! Did you win?!" Ash asked once more.
"Yeah. Barely! It was a super close call. But luckily, thanks to my good buddy Typhlosion, we managed to hang in there at the last second and beat Red's Charizard!" Gold grinned, feeling proud of himself for defeating Red.
"Awesome!" Ash said in a giddy tone.
"Pikachu!"
"Yeah...it was pretty awesome. What about you, Ash? I mean, you're Red's counterpart after all. Did you battle him too?"
"Sure! It was a few months back too! He was something alright! But uh...we never really did finish our battle though. I'm looking forward to when we meet again, then we can battle for real!"
"Oh. Sounds like you had a blast. You're pretty different from my version of Red though. He's not really a talker, ya know." Gold smirked. "Only when he battles he says something."
"Speaking of battling, how about we have one too, Gold?" Ash requested.
"A battle? Yeah, I'm up for one!" Gold, sharing the exact energy as Ash, agreed instantly. They're both trainers who love to battle and aim to be the best, so of course, they would want to battle each other.
"Are we gonna see a battle between some top-level trainers?" Sunrise gasped.
"Looks to be that way. If you two are going to have a Pokemon Battle, best do it outside at Canterlot Gardens." Celestia went up to the two of them.
"Alright. You gonna join in, Silver?" Gold turned to his rival.
"Hm? Nah. I'll pass on a battle this time. I'll just stand back and watch. You two go crazy."
"Suit yourself. Let's have an awesome one, okay Ash?!"
"You got it, Gold!"
"Pikachu!"
The stage had been set. Out in Canterlot Gardens. Where they have all the space to cut loose and go wild. Celestia, Luna, Silver, Hollow and the students would simply just sit back and watch these two trainers go at it at their best. Arceus knows what these two will cause when they start.
"You've got 6 Pokemon with you?" Gold asked him.
"6? Nah not at the moment. I've got a brand new team so some of my Pokemon are back at Professor Oak's lab. But I'm okay with just using 5!"
"Just 5? Pretty gutsy. But I like that!" Gold held a Poke Ball in his hand as he pivoted his foot forward. "What's say we quit the chatter and start battling?"
"Read my mind." Ash tightened his gloves.
"Pika!"
"This might get a bit destructive." Luna gulped.
"Yeah...best we move back just a slight bit." Hollow and foals moved a few inches back, not wanting to become victims of the inevitable carnage that's about to take place.
"I'll start off with you. Ampharos!" Gold tossed his Poke Ball forward, sending out his first Pokemon. An Ampharos.
"Ampha!" The Light Pokemon roared.
"Ampharos, huh? Think you can take him, buddy?" Ash looked to his best pal.
"Pikachu!"
"Then in that case...Pikachu! I choose you!"
"Pika!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon ran on Ash's arm, jumping right off it as he landed with style. "Pikachu..."
The two trainers and Pokemon stared each other down for a bit, getting ready to go at it. If an Audino were here, it would hear the blood boiling and fires igniting within these two.
"Let's go! Ampharos! Use Dragon Pulse!"
"Ampharos!" Starting off strong with a mighty Dragon-Type move, the Ampharos opened up its mouth generating draconic energy from thin air.
"Use Quick Attack!" Ash pointed forward.
"Pika!" With blinding speeds, Pikachu dashed forward, leaving behind a white trail along with afterimages of himself. Before Ampharos could pull off Dragon Pulse, Pikachu had tackled its belly, causing the Light Pokemon to move back a bit.
"Pharos!"
"Ampharos! Power Gem!"
"Pha!" The Light Pokemon quickly recovered, narrowing its eyes at Pikachu. Around its body, twenty sparking rays of light in the shape of gemstones surrounded the fully evolved Electric-Type Pokemon. By command, rays of light rushed over towards Pikachu, ready to pelt and bombard him.
"Knock them away with Iron Tail!"
"Chu-Pika!" Pikachu jumped up, swinging his hardened steel tail over at the incoming gemstone-shaped rays. He managed to knock away ten of them with Iron Tail thanks to his speedy body, however, some of the gems managed to make direct contact with the Electric Mouse Pokemon. "PIKA!"
Pikachu had been bombarded with glowing rocks, forcing him back down onto the ground. Once he hit the ground, he tumbled about, taking some pretty heavy damage from Power Gem.
"Pikachu! You okay?!"
"Pika...Chu!" Pikachu stood back up, shaking his head. He was still raring to go.
"Let's have another go. Use Power Gem one more time!"
"We'll change it up! Pikachu! Spin with Thunderbolt!"
"What did he say?" Gold squinted his eyes, confused at Ash's command.
Once the glowing rays of light surrounded Ampharos once more, Pikachu got on his back, shooting out Thunderbolt as he initiated the always handy tactic of Counter Shield. Power Gem had been shot directly at Pikachu in hopes of dealing some good damage once more.
However, due to Counter Shield being active, the gems had been knocked away with much more efficiency than Iron Tail. The whips of 100,000 volts prevent Power Gem from even making contact with Pikachu.
"No way! How's that even possible?!" Gold gasped. He had never seen anything like it.
"Getting worried Gold?" Silver said to him.
"A little bit. He's definitely more unpredictable than Red, that's for sure. Ampharos! Hyper Beam!"
Opening its mouth wide, Ampharos was prepared to blast straight through the Counter Shield with the always hard-hitting and devastating Hyper Beam. Ash realized that not even Counter Shield was stopping Hyper Beam. An explosion of energy erupted from Ampharos's mouth as Hyper Beam tore through the ground itself.
"Pikachu! Dodge with Quick Attack!"
"Pika!" Pikachu had rolled forward, exiting out of Counter Shield. Seeing that Hyper Beam was coming his way, the Electric Mouse Pokemon had managed to avoid the attack by a hair thanks to the always fast-moving Quick Attack.
"Now! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu skidded on the ground, quickly regaining his balance after Hyper Beam. 100,000 volts of thunder were sent straight to Ampharos, shocking the Light Pokemon.
"How about we head in and get up close and personal? Ampharos! Rush in and Use Zap Cannon!"
"Ampha!" Ampharos shrugged off the Thunderbolt, bolting forward towards its fellow Electric-Type.
"Here it comes. Pikachu! Electroweb!" The second-stage evolution had gathered electricity around his tail, swinging it straight towards Ampharos. The net of volts had made contact, but that didn't stop Ampharos. It burst through the Electroweb as if it was nothing, summoning an even mightier Electric-Type attack in thin air.
"Pika?!" Pikachu gasped as he saw a blast of electricity race towards him. Before Ash could give off a command, Pikachu had been hit by Zap Cannon, causing the Electric Mouse Pokemon to be launched like a rocket. "KA!"
"Nice!" Gold pumped his fist.
"Pi...ka!" Pikachu being the resilient Pokemon that he was, could still stand. Although, he was looking pretty beat up right now. "Pikachu!"
"Think you can keep going on, pal?!"
"Pika!"
"Sorry. But Pikachu's fainting this time. Ampharos! Let's finish it with Hyper Beam!" With yet another devastating Hyper Beam being prepared, Ash held his breath, preparing for the worst. With pure power, Hyper Beam was fired towards the Electric Mouse Pokemon, once again, tearing Canterlot Gardens' ground apart.
"Pikachu! Hit it back with Iron Tail!"
"PIKA!" Ash was up to his crazy antics once more. He capitalized on the Steel-Types resistance to Normal-Types in the form of Iron Tail. Pikachu hardened his tail, leaping straight towards the incoming Hyper Beam. "Chu-Pika!" Swinging his tail forward, Pikachu's Iron Tail had connected with Hyper Beam.
To Gold and everypony else's surprise, it was working. Pikachu was holding the beam in place with his Iron Tail as it soon became a struggle between both Electric-Types with Ampharos still having its mouth open.
"A-Ampha..."
"Pi-Pika..."
"He's a million times more unpredictable than Red! Push through Ampharos!"
"Pharos..." Ampharos, with all its strength, had begun moving forward, slowly gaining the upper hand on its opposing Electric-Type.
"Breakthrough, Pikachu!"
"Pika...chu..." Pikachu did the same. Using every ounce of strength that he had in his glass cannon body, he pushed like he's never pushed before. Sparks were flying from their clash with both Pokemon letting out strains as their bodies were close to giving out.
Celestia and Luna noticed that their struggle was not only tearing the ground apart, but the sheer force of their battle was so intense that it would eventually reach all of Canterlot, causing a massive collapse. The two sisters realized that maybe it was best that this battle came to an end before it got really ugly. But first, perhaps protecting everypony from the impact would be the better option right now as they both put up shields.
Finally, one of the two had come out on top. That being Pikachu. That Steel-Type advantage was really a good call from Ash. With a burst of energy, Pikachu's Iron Tail smacked the Hyper Beam right back to Ampharos. "PIKACHU!"
"Ampha?!" Ampharos gasped as its mouth was still open due to Hyper Beam. The last thing it saw was its own attack coming right back at it. And the last thing it felt was the devastating impact that struck its mouth and body at the same time. An explosion of energy occurred from the reflected impact, causing the hedges of Canterlot Garden to almost fly off from their spot.
The barrier formed by the princesses was strong enough to shield everypony and the rest of Canterlot from the overwhelming aftershock. But there was a slight crack in the shields. Ash and Gold both held their hats, standing firmly on the ground as the explosion was dying down.
Once that came to an end, it was revealed that Ampharos had fainted from its own attack.
"Ampharos..."
"Oh! Ampharos!" Gold squealed.
"Yes! That did the trick!" Ash and Pikachu both jumped up.
"PIKA!"
"Would ya look at that..." Silver was surprised. Not many can really catch Gold off guard like that. Especially not in a way that sends attacks right back at his Pokemon. "This Ash guy's pretty tenacious actually."
"Return, Ampharos." Gold returned his fainted Pokemon to its ball. "Man...that Pikachu's just as fierce as Red's. Either Typhlosion or Umbreon will be good against it. I think I'll go for Umbreon next!"
"Okay! I think that's enough!" Celestia gasped as she and Luna teleported in front of both trainers. "You two have had your fun."
"Aw. Over already?" Ash groaned along with Pikachu.
"Pika?"
"Wait. We're done?" Gold raised his eyebrow. "Bummer."
"Sorry for the sudden pause. But your battle almost tore up Canterlot." Luna explained. "I suppose even battling in a space like this isn't enough to protect everypony from a Pokemon Battle."
"Oh well. I had a blast anyway." Gold nodded. "That was a good short battle, Ash!"
"Mhm! It was getting pretty close there for Pikachu! Right, pal?"
"Pikapi." Pikachu hopped back on Ash's shoulder, holding his tail. It was a bit sore from clashing with Hyper Beam after all.
"So that's what it looks like when top-level trainers battle? Awesome..." Sunrise drooled at how fast-paced that battle was. He couldn't pick a favourite moment.
"I thought we were gonna get blown away..." Sapphire breathed in and out.
"I'm just glad they didn't head on to their second Pokemon." Hollow wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"Oh...When mother and father come for a visit, let's hope that Canterlot isn't in ruins by then." Luna turned to Celestia.
"Agreed..." The older sister nodded.
"Guess we'll have this battle another time." Gold adjusted his hat. "Alright, Silver. I guess now we can head back."
"Uh...look again." Silver gawked at the sky, noticing that something was off. What took him by surprise was the fact that the gateway to their home was moving around all of a sudden. Similar to what happened back when Red and Blue first arrived. Only this time, instead of it moving about once both trainers had passed through, it was having random movements despite the fact that Gold and Silver have not yet passed through it.
"It's moving around?!" Gold gasped. "It can do that?!"
"Ah, that happened with Red and Blue actually. You might wanna catch it before it heads somewhere random." Ash warned them.
"Now you tell us! Let's go Silver!" Gold made a run for it, almost tripping on his feet. Silver, however, just simply walked at a casual pace, following his rival after the gateway. They all watched as they pursued their way home, but judging by how the gateway was moving, it might take a while for them to catch up.
But on the bright side, that leaves Gold even more opportunities to explore Equestria for himself.
"To think...Not only are there worlds parallel to ours, but even for Pokemon." Luna was starstruck.
"Mhm. It's crazy how big everything is, ya know? But that's what makes it so exciting. And that just leaves me with even more places to explore!"
"Pikachu!"
A second parallel Pokemon World has now been introduced with the gateway to the parallel Johto lingering around somewhere. Much like the gateway to parallel Kanto, its whereabouts are unknown and can only really be found via exploration. Whatever the parallel worlds are like and how they compare to this Pokemon World, there's sure to be a surprise waiting past that gateway as the journey continues.
"The ponies seem to be getting better as trainers from the looks of it." BigTime Ben was at his home, exhausted at the moment as he let out a yawn. "So many of them are learning tricks and skills along the way. Mostly the pegasi. Guess it's that warrior blood from the past, right Gothitelle?"
"Gothitelle..."
"But ya know...With the Equestria League arena almost finished, a lot of them are climbing up fast in the ranks. Some more than others at an unusual rate. By the time the arena's been fully built, a large majority of them would've already beaten all 8 gyms."
"Telle."
"Which makes me curious...I wonder who's the strongest pony trainer of them all?" He sat down on a chair, pondering to himself. "It's pretty fun to think about..."
Thoughts swirled around his ever-expanding mind. He imagined the pony trainers, at least, the best of the best so far, battling it out at their current best. Then the answer was obvious. It was staring at him in the face the entire time. An idea that was sure to put the ponies to the test to see just how far they've truly come.
"That's it!" He stood up, startling his Gothitelle. "We'll hold a mini-tournament! Where we'll see which trainers are currently the strongest and who'll really make it to Equestria League sooner than others!"
"Gothitelle?"
"Let's see the results of all their hard work! It'll be a great warm-up for the League." Ben got to work, skipping out on sleep tonight. He would have to build a tournament stage in a few days. That won't be a problem thanks to the overwhelming amount of Pokemon he owns.
The days that follow after this will spark the beginning of the first Pokemon Tournament in Equestria.
Fast forward to the present day.
News has already travelled far. And why wouldn't it? There is a tournament coming to Equestria. Located right at Canterlot of course. No better place to host it. And the ponies that were the most excited were none other than the trainers who aimed to come out on top in the Equestria League. This was their moment to really show their stuff before the big event.
"Ooh!" Rainbow Dash gawked at a flier that sponsored the tournament. "Ooh!" She showed it off to her friends, shoving it in their faces. "Oo-"
"Yes, Rainbow Dash. You're excited. We can tell." Twilight said with her eyes down.
"Excited doesn't even begin to describe it! I'm...I'm...I don't know what's greater than excited, but I'm feeling it alright!"
"A Pokemon Tournament in Canterlot. This is a big deal, ya know." Ash looked up.
"Yeah, it is!" Rainbow bellowed. "This is my chance! My chance to show everypony just how good of a trainer I am! That'll make em all know I'm more than capable of tackling the Equestria League. Whenever it's ready."
"An entire tournament that'll last for an entire week? That sounds intense..." Fluttershy commented.
"And all those ponies in one spot?" Rarity gave her Mareep a pat, feeling some shocks in the process. Although, her Mareep's electricity was oddly comforting at times. "I can only imagine how aggressive and destructive the battles will end up becoming."
"I'll say. Canterlot might get flattened with that tournament," said Applejack.
"If I win in this tournament, I'm gonna shoot up in the ranks! 4th place won't even exist anymore for me!"
"But ya know, Dash...there might be super tough trainers in that tournament, ya know," Ash warned her. "You never know who's surprisingly skilled and crafty."
"Pika."
"Ash is right." Twilight stood up. "Everypony has their own way of battling with their own unique tricks that they're hiding. Somepony can get the better of you with a strategy that you've never thought of."
"Relax. I know what I'm up against. After Sunset Shimmer, I've learned my lesson for sure. Besides, I'm aiming for the top 3. Spitfire, Daylight and Princess Luna. They're for sure gonna be there. If I beat them, then maybe, just maybe, it'll take me to number one!"
"Castform!" Castform flew out of Rainbow Dash's bag, ready to cheer her on.
"But uh...are you going to bring Castform with you?" Fluttershy asked. "She's hasn't really been in a Pokemon battle yet. Is it a good idea to have her in a tournament with so many talented trainers?"
"Castform's gonna sit this one out. Sorry, buddy. You're just not ready yet."
"Cast..." The Weather Pokemon went back inside of her saddle-bag, sulking. But it was for the best. If her first battle ended up being in a tournament, she would get steamrolled in a second.
"Instead of a normal tournament, it's to see how we're all doing as trainers, huh." Twilight pondered. "I wonder how far we've actually come."
"I'd say we've grown as trainers. Still got a long way to go." Applejack replied. "But uh...not sure how we compare to Rainbow Dash."
"Ah!" Hearing that gave Rainbow Dash a brilliant idea. At least, to her anyway. "Why don't you all you join in as well?"
"Us? Join in?" Twilight pulled back.
"Oh, I don't know Rainbow Dash. We weren't really thinking of joining the tournament actually." Fluttershy slumped on a seat. "Well..not me at least."
"I'm not sure we're fit for a tournament. But if it were a tournament around baking, then I'd enter in a heartbeat!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"Join?" Applejack thought for a moment. If she were to join this tournament, that would show her how far she's come and what she has to improve on. Lately, Applejack has been focused on Pokemon battling these past few weeks. And for good reason. In order to protect the ones she loves, she's put a ton of her dedication into understanding the art of the Pokemon Battle. So much so that her duty at Sweet Apple Acres has shifted from apple picking to battling recently. "Ain't a bad idea. I'll join it."
"You will?" Fluttershy turned to AJ.
"That's what I like to hear, AJ!" Rainbow Dash squeed. "What about you Rarity?"
"Hmm..." To everypony's surprise, Rarity was actually thinking about this. She was one of the very few ponies they'd expect to consider something like this. After a bit of thinking, she came to a conclusion. Her reason was the same as Applejack. All about family and friends after all. "Sure."
"That makes two! Yes! And you, Twilight?" Rainbow then turned her attention to Twilight.
"Well...I don't know. Am I really capable of battling against that many ponies?" Twilight scratched her mane.
"Bah. It won't be that bad." Rainbow Dash flew up. "Take a look at that." She then pointed her hoof over at the ranking boards where it shows the current ranks of Equestria's best trainers so far.
As always, she's ranked number 4. But, heading below that and further down, a lot of trainers are ranked fairly low. Mostly because not that many of them have racked up wins or participated in Pokemon battling that much. Even though Twilight and the others besides Rainbow Dash weren't on that board since she wasn't aiming for the Equestria, some of the trainers here seem to be, unfortunately, lagging behind.
So much so that a large majority of them haven't ranked up at all. Their current position has stayed the same with their win and loss count also being static.
"It hasn't changed at all?" Twilight went up to the board.
"Not one bit. I betcha they haven't been battling that often. But you have, ya know." Rainbow nudged the young alicorn. "What'dya say? You gonna join in?" Rainbow Dash was really wanting some of her friends to join in. For the sake of enjoyment with the ponies she enjoys being around.
"Well., I want to get stronger obviously. So...I guess participating in it won't be that bad. It's only for a week afterwards." Twilight had decided to join in as well. "But. If I'm joining in, I'll need to bring some Pokemon from PokePark to help. Dewott and Bisharp seem to be pretty good options."
"Perfect! I think that's good enough for me!" Rainbow Dash clapped her hooves together. "This is gonna be so awesome!"
"Even though Pinkie Pie, Spike and I aren't joining, We'll cheer you all on," Fluttershy said. "So um, when do we leave?"
"Right now! I don't wanna miss out on registration!" Rainbow Dash was already prepared to take her leave. A few select ponies from Ponyville would be participating in this tournament whilst the rest will just be there to watch.
And what of Canterlot right now? Well, thanks to Ben's Pokemon, the stage had been set. Smack dab in a space where Canterlot has zero surroundings. No buildings, nature, nothing. Which made it perfect for the tournament to take place.
Like many Pokemon tournament arena's, this one was shaped like a dome with a large hole in the middle for the skies to be seen. Millions of seats for ponies to sit on, along with screens that will show the trainers, their Pokemon and the victor. It looked like a real authentic Pokemon arena. And it's the first of its kind in Equestria.
"Amazing..." Luna gazed at the sight of the tournament setting. The only thing going through her head right now was being on that stage, battling against other ponies with her team. This was a moment that far surpassed Gym Battles to her. And a moment that made her inner filly stir up. As if Pokemon battling didn't do that already.
"Excited are we, Luna?" Celestia went up to her little sister. "I can tell that everypony else is looking forward to this.
"Excited doesn't even begin to describe it. Oh, I wish mother and father were here right now. If only they could see me now."
"They can Luna. Everywhere even." Celestia looked around the halls of Canterlot, implying that their parents were watching from every corner of the world.
"Oh, right. Well, either way! I'd best choose the best team I have! But, what about you? Won't you partake in it?"
"Me? Oh, well I'll sit out of this. I think I'd prefer to spectate."
"That's a shame. It would be interesting to see you compete at your very best."
"Well..." Celestia looked up. "I am curious on how much I've developed as a trainer. But with Passion having plasma at her disposal, perhaps it would be a better idea to sit this one out for safety reasons."
"Fair enough. I'll be outside! Make sure you watch me at my very best!" Luna squeed as she teleported out of Celestia's vicinity.
"We're in for a long week, you two."
"Kirlia."
"Arcanine."
Arriving at Canterlot, ponies from across Equestria had gathered around in this one location. Whether to spectate or partake in the tournament, either way, they'll have a blast. If you look closely, you'll see that a majority of the ponies here are mainly pegasi. Others such as earth ponies and unicorns are present but they're greatly outnumbered by the pegasi.
Each of them made their way to the stadium. Those spectating had gone straight towards the seats or were just waiting and getting some snacks while the ones participating were asked to wait in the lounge room where the trainers will be in.
"Man...I wish I could join but I'm not allowed to. Bummer." Ash lowered his head, sulking. He was really looking for an opportunity to battle in a tournament but since he's a high-level trainer, that wasn't happening.
"Don't worry. Cheer up." Fluttershy gave him a pat on the back. "You still have the World Championships to look forward to after all."
"Pikachu."
Ash and the others who weren't participating took their seats already, getting a good angle of the arena. In the middle of the arena, they noticed that the Equestria flag was plastered there to replace the usual Poke Ball that's always seen. They really changed this up to fit Equestria's motif.
"I can't wait for this to start!" Apple Bloom squeed. "What about you, Sweetie Belle?"
"Same here! But uh...I'm just waiting for the contest halls to be finished already."
"They're getting completed next week anyway. So by the time this tournament is over, Equestria would've already had its first Pokemon Contest Hall." Pinkie Pie responded.
"Contests? Tournaments? I've got a lot to catch up on." Starlight groaned.
"I'm just happy to be here!" Goh exclaimed.
"Raboot..."
It wasn't just them spectating, Team Rocket, going under their usual brilliant disguises of tourists had decided to watch this tournament for themselves.
"A tournament for ponies?" Jessie sat down.
"How fun!" said James.
"A first of its kind!" Meowth nodded.
"Wobuffet!"
Over at the waiting lounge, many of the ponies had already entered with the Pokemon of their choice decided. Since not everypony has a full team of Pokemon, some only have one at their disposal, each battle will be a 1v1 to make it simpler. Otherwise, it'd just be unfair to the poor sucker who goes up against a full team of 6 Pokemon.
Rainbow Dash examined the room, seeing the kind of ponies she'll be going up against. A small percentage of them were her friends while a large majority were either ponies she recognizes or completely new faces. From the looks of it, some of them were capable trainers.
"If I can just pick the weaker ones out like plums, it'll be smooth sailing from here." Rainbow Dash said.
"I don't know Rainbow Dash," Twilight replied. "We don't even have a clue on what kind of Pokemon most of them have. They could each own Pokemon that resists all of ours."
"One thing is for sure, I own Pokemon capable of countering each of you." Along came Princess Luna, feeling extra confident about this. Everypony turned to her, immediately realizing that they might end up going up against her if they climb up the tournament. "Will all 18 types at my disposal, I'll know which Pokemon to use against my opponents."
"Princess Luna?!" Rarity gasped. "Ooh, we should've seen this coming."
"W-We're not gonna face off against Darkrai now are we?" Twilight chuckled nervously whilst looking at Darkrai who was lurking in the corners. The Pitch Black Pokemon knew that he was capable of taking everypony and their Pokemon out on his own. His face didn't show it but deep down, he's smirking.
"Darkrai's my ace. You can expect me to use him very often of course. But do not worry Twilight Sparkle. I will be generous and use my other Pokemon against you. But I will show no mercy. I plan to win!"
"G-Great..." The Princess of Friendship gulped.
"This is a big deal Grovyle. You think you can do this?" Applejack asked her partner.
"Grovyle!"
"Alright. You're the strongest Leavanny I have." Rarity looked at a single Leavanny. This particular Leavanny was the best one compared to its brothers and sisters. And it can take a beating more than the others.
"Leavan!"
"And Mareep. This is your time to shine, darling." Rarity held her Mareep, getting a slight shock.
"Reep!"
"Alright, you three..." Twilight pulled Eve, Minccy and Vulpix in. "This is gonna be a rough one. Everypony here's a big threat most likely. Especially Princess Luna. So we're going to have to give it our all. But don't worry. Dewott and Bisharp will be there to help, right you two?"
"Dewott!" Dewott nodded with his arms crossed.
"Bisharp!" Bisharp raised his bladed arms in the air.
"So many trainers..." Scootaloo gulped. "Is it okay to panic now?"
"Don't worry, kiddo. You'll be fine." Rainbow Dash hovered over to Scootaloo. "Just hope that you don't go up against me. I already know who I've got my eyes on." Rainbow noticed that Daylight Blazer was here. Not only that, but even Spitfire was here. The ponies she was hoping for had participated.
Ben watched from behind the curtains, seeing that everypony was ready. It was probably best to begin so that they all wouldn't be kept waiting.
"Alright. Whew." Ben held his breath in. "I've never announced something big before. But it'll be fine...Alright, Gothitelle. Let's have the trainers head out the arena for the opening ceremony. It's big enough to fit em all."
"Goth." The Astral Body Pokemon raised up her hands, opening the doors to the arena. High up on the walls, a screen had the words 'Opening Ceremony' on them. Giving the sign that every trainer would have to head out so that they could see who's going up against who.
"That's our cue," Luna said to everypony. Once they were given the light from the doors, each of them had walked out in a single file.
The entire crowd watched as the competitors made their way out into the arena with Luna being the first to come out. Boy, there were a lot of them. There's a reason why this was going to last a week. If you were to count, there would be at least 100 of them. And that makes sense since most are participants in the Equestria League.
For some flash, lights shined down every last one of them with every colour imaginable. Each of the trainers were asked to bring out their ace Pokemon and let them stand side by side to them. Some had already done that since they keep their Pokemon out of their Poke Balls.
For Twilight, she chose her Espeon. Applejack her Grovyle, Rarity her strongest Leavanny, Rainbow Dash her Braviary, Luna her Darkrai, Daylight his Blaziken, Scootaloo her Ponyta and so on and so forth.
With the crowd cheering, getting all pumped up, the large screen in the middle had turned on, preparing to reveal who's going up against who for the first-round matchups. Faces of all kinds were shown, left and right. Everypony had their opposing foe already selected.
Each of the ponies looked specifically at their spot. Some were surprised by who they were about to battle while others weren't. Applejack was the most surprised of she was facing off against first. It was none other than the pony who caused her Grovyle to evolve. Roseluck and her Roserade. Not only that, but it was both of them who were the first to battle. So once this opening ceremony ends, they're up first. Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Rarity were given ponies from the Crystal Empire to go up against.
Twilight looked closely at the screen spotting an unexpected competitor who was going up against somepony from Ponyville. This was a surprise and a million. The one pony she never expected to participate had joined in. It was none other than the oldest of the three siren sisters.
Adagio.
Oh very dear.
"Adagio?" Twilight gasped as she turned around, spotting the siren in the crowd. Why was Adagio here? And why did she want to participate in the first place. Questions that ran through Twilight's head that might be answered very soon.
With the stage set and everypony having their first-round opponents, the Canterlot Tournament, the first-ever, can finally begin as the journey continues!
The Canterlot Tournament was underway with everypony having their opponents established in the first round. Ponies from across the world are participating in this tournament to see just how far they've come. Really, that's the only reason why it was made in the first place. A warm-up for the Equestria League.
A whole week of this with around a hundred ponies battling it out with their partners. All the while, the rest of Canterlot watches along with Celestia and Pyrestar.
The first round would end up being Applejack vs Roseluck. Two ponies who have battled each other before. In a few minutes, both will end up heading out to the arena to battle. But before that, in the waiting room, Twilight couldn't help but think about Adagio. Mostly because she was also in this tournament surprisingly.
"Why is she here?" Twilight shifted her eyes over at Adagio who was on the far left of the waiting room.
"What's wrong, Twilight?" Rarity went up to her friend who used to be a unicorn like her once.
"I don't know if anypony else has noticed, but Adagio's here. Just standing casually even."
"Hm?" Rarity squinted her eyes, noticing the siren-pony hybrid as well. "Would you look at that...Why is that? Is she here to sabotage this whole thing?"
"Most likely. But what kind of Pokemon would she even have?" Twilight was slowly making her way towards Adagio with light hoof-steps.
"Right. I'm actually worried for the poor pony who'll be facing her first." Rarity nodded.
Speaking of Adagio, she had spotted them looking straight at her with those same judgemental eyes. Once Adagio had noticed them, both Twilight and Rarity had gasped. "Feh. Of course, they'd be glancing right at me." As the two ponies made their way towards Adagio, the siren had immediately narrowed her eyes at them.
"Adagio. What are you doing here?" Twilight questioned her.
"Hmph! Mind your business, princess!" Adagio scoffed at Twilight, pulling back. "I'm here because I want to be, duh."
"It's impossible to mind our business if you're here. You're always up to something after all." Rarity sneered at her. "But why would you involve yourself in something such as this? You can't get anything out of all of this.
"What I do is none of your concern. And like I said...I'm here because I want to be. Get lost. Or else I'll have to start my round early." She held an Ultra Ball in her hoof all of a sudden, implying that a pretty powerful Pokemon was currently at her disposal. "So back off."
Twilight and Rarity figured that it wouldn't be smart to start a fight right here at this very moment. They'll have to wait for their opportunity if they get paired with Adagio by chance. Their guard was still up in case Adagio tried something unusual.
With Applejack and Roseluck, the two came across each other, both anticipating their inevitable bout.
"So it's gonna be the two of us first, huh?" Roseluck commented.
"Mhm." AJ nodded. "Hope one of us gets a better outcome."
"Ah, you don't have to worry Applejack. At this point, I'm already prepared to take whatever outcome I get. Win or lose. Roserade feels the same way too."
"Roserade!"
"Besides. My main goal is to show everypony that I'm really capable as a trainer and a Gym Leader. So you won't see me holding back for one second on that arena."
"I know you won't." Applejack smiled. "Grovyle and I don't plan on losing either."
"Gro!"
"Gothitelle..." Speaking of which, Gothitelle had made the call for the first round to begin. The screen flashed as it showed Applejack and Roseluck's faces. The doors opened back up, indicating that it was time to begin.
Both earth ponies and their Grass-Type Pokemon looked at each other, nodding in understanding. Following the other, they made their way outside as the sun cast a shining light over them all. Grovyle and Roserade were really feeling the sunlight's flare today. Which was good. If they were going to battle at their best, they need to be at their best. And a radiant bright sunlight is just what they needed.
"It's Applejack's battle!" Apple Bloom stood up. "See?! Look!"
"Yeah, we see it." Sweetie Belle sighed. "Wonder who's announcing this whole-" She got her response in the form of a pony announcer whose voice was booming through the speakers.
"Starting off the tournament are our two opponents! Applejack and Roseluck!"
"Good luck to both of you!" Pinkie Pie cheered from the crowd.
"The time has come for both trainers to send forth their Pokemon!"
"Roserade! Ready?"
"Roserade!" The Bouquet Pokemon jumped over Roseluck, flipping in the air with style. She put her rose arms forward, already raring to go.
"It's all you for a week, Grovyle. Go get em!"
"Grovyle!" Stepping forward was the Wood Gecko Pokemon himself, running past his trainer as he slid on the ground, screeching to a halt. "Gro!"
A unicorn from the Crystal Empire ended up being the referee who would call everything from the victor to the rules. "The rules go like this. The battle shall be a one on one. The winner will be decided when one Pokemon faints on either side. You have 15 minutes in total. Roseluck has the first move. You may begin...now!"
"Excellent! Roserade! Let's start off strong with Poison Jab!"
"Rose!" Roserade crossed her arms together as a purple aura had embedded her rose hands. Bolting forward, the Bouquet Pokemon thrust one hand forward with poison oozing out.
"Grovyle! Jump back and use Dragon Breath!" Applejack raised her hoof in the air.
"Gro!" The Wood Gecko Pokemon, using its agile body and swift movements, took the air with a mighty jump, avoiding the incoming Poison Jab. Holding his breath in, Grovyle had breathed down a breath attack full of draconic energy along with blue and purple flames surrounding it.
"Dodge it quick!" Roseluck gasped.
"Rade!" Roserade gasped, rolling out of the way from instinct. Once Dragon Breath made contact with the ground, a mild shockwave followed afterwards, causing Roserade to almost lose her balance.
"Vyle!" Grovyle made a safe landing back on the ground after using Dragon Breath. Out of his mouth, smoke from the draconic attack was coming out of him.
"They're both starting off strong already! Today's sunlight is really filling these two Grass-Type Pokemon with energy!" said the unnamed announcer.
"The Dragon Breath's still so intimidating. Roserade! Use Power Whip!"
"Rose!" Raising both her hands up, Roserade's thorns shot up from their hidden areas, emanating a purple and green stardust aura. "Rade!" The Bouquet Pokemon, flailing her thorns about.
"Block them with Leaf Blade!"
"Grovyle!" Grovyle put both of his bladed arms up, blocking the devastating attack that was Power Whip. Due to him also being a Grass-Type, the blocking helped him to a point where it didn't feel like it did much. However, Power Whip was still a pretty hard-hitting move that even Grass Pokemon feel the heavy force of. Power Whip had caused Grovyle to be pushed back a small bit even when blocking the impact of the move.
"Now, Roserade! Shoot Pin Missile from your left arm and use Power Whip on your right!" A surprising strategy from Roseluck. She capitalised on two moves in one. Something that is rarely used in a Pokemon battle.
"Roserade! Out of Roserade's left hand, sharp pins had been shot out and on the right, her poisonous thorns which she swung about like a whip.
"Grovyle! Dodge!"
"Vy!" Grovyle had made a run for it since two moves were heading his way at the same time. One which was super-effective against him. Unfortunately, despite his speed, he was unable to avoid both attacks at the same time. Once he ducked from Power Whip, Pin Missile had caught him. The pins pelted the Wood Gecko Pokemon like rain as the thorned whips from Roserade's hands flailed themselves on the second-stage evolution. "Gro!" But it kept going. Roserade wasn't stopping.
"Yikes!" Pinkie Pie covered her eyes. "Grovyle's taking a pretty nasty beating!"
"Using two moves in one? Not bad!" Ash leaned in forward.
"Pika!"
"This ain't good...Dragon Breath, quick!" Whilst Groyvle was getting assaulted by two attacks, he found an opportunity to strike. Once the next batch of Pin Missile's had ended and Roserade thorns had moved back a bit for another whip motion, The Wood Gecko Pokemon, with haste, breathed a fast-moving Dragon Breath that tore through the ground of the arena
"Rade?" Roserade was prepared to fire the next Pin Missile whilst also swinging Power Whip about. But her eyes had encountered an incoming Dragon Breath that was racing towards her. With a gasp, Roserade had been struck by Dragon Breath before Roseluck could even make a command. "Rose!"
Roserade was just as resilient as her fellow Grass-Type as she was still standing. She placed her singular thorn whip right back inside her arm, shaking her head.
"You trying to put a ton of pressure on me this early?" Applejack uttered.
"Guilty. That Dragon Breath of yours is a big threat. So I decided to use something that's a big threat too. Ever since you taught me about Roserade's unique traits, every Gym Battle I've done has been radically different. Although, I kinda feel bad since some foals leave the Gym defeated."
"Shows how much you've improved. Now let me show you my improvements! Grovyle! Head in with Leaf Blade!"
"Grovyle!" A risky attempt by Applejack. Getting in up close and personal with a Pokemon such as Roserade was a bold move.
"In that case...Roserade! Poison Jab!"
"Roserade!" With a super-effective move around her rose hands, the Bouquet Pokemon had also bolted forward.
Both Pokemon had met eyes as the collision between Leaf Blade and Poison Jab had been made. The poison had instantly hit Grovyle's arm, causing the Wood Gecko Pokemon to squirm. But this was all part of Applejack's plan.
"Grab Roserade's thorns!"
"What?!" Roseluck pulled back.
"Vyle!" The Grass-Type had dug his hands into Roserade's roses, catching the Bouquet Pokemon off guard. By grabbing onto the thorns that laid within her hands. Roserade was a bit sensitive there so, obviously, the grab had weakened her.
"Gotcha! Right where we want ya!" Applejack grinned. "Now, swing Roserade like there's no tomorrow!"
"Gro!" With all of his strength, Grovyle had pulled the thorns out of Roserade's arms, swinging them about.
Roserade was now being swung about like a ragdoll, screaming with her voice travelling in and out of each side of the crowd due to her going around in a circle. This was Applejack's payback to what Roseluck did to her back at the Gym.
"What a shock! Grovyle's snagged Roserade thorns and has begun swinging her around without her being in control!" The pegasus announcer stood up from his seat, bumping his head on the ceiling. "Ow."
"I'm getting dizzy from just looking at this!" Pinkie covered her eyes.
"I don't believe it!" Fluttershy gasped. "He's using Roserade's hidden thorns against her!"
"Heh. That's the way, AJ." Ash grinned, feeling proud of himself for teaching Applejack.
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded.
"Oh my. I was expecting everypony to show off impressive skills, but not like this." Celestia's eyes widened as she sat atop her balcony, spectating over the entire tournament.
"Roserade! Pull your thorns back!"
"Don't let go for a second, Grovyle!"
Giving it everything she had, Roserade was unable to escape Grovyle's grasp. Once she tried to pull her thorns back in her rose hands, Grovyle just tugged on them even harder. Since Roserade's thorns were sensitive and a weak spot, her focus was thrown off balance.
The Bouquet Pokemon was just getting dizzy at this point. But that's what Applejack was hoping for. If Roserade gets dizzy, she won't be able to focus and pull off her moves properly, giving Grovyle all the opportunities in the world to just go wild on her.
"Now! Slam her down, Grovyle!"
"Grovyle!" Finally putting an end to the spinning, Grovyle slammed Roserade right down on the arena ground with full force. A loud thud could be heard as Roserade took some heavy damage from that impact.
"What an impact! Is Roserade okay?!" Fluttershy leaned forward as she was currently squeezing Pikachu to death.
"Pika...Pikachu!"
To everypony's surprise, Roserade was indeed okay. She hadn't been taken out by her own thorns as she slowly got up from the ground. However, taking Roserade out with her own traits wasn't Applejack's plan in the first place. It was to get her dizzy after all.
And dizzy she was.
"Rose...Roserade..." The Bouquet Pokemon had entered a state of confusion, feeling dazed and bewildered as she was stumbling on her feet, unable to keep her usually elegant composure.
"Grovyle and I know that Roserade works best when she's acting all fancy-like. So, we took that away from her." Applejack stood up in a bipedal position, crossing her hooves with the proudest grin she's ever made.
"Gro." Grovyle did the same, mimicking her trainer's gesture.
"Ooh! Grovyle's befuddled Roserade! She can't keep still for a second!" The announcer bellowed.
"Let's go wild! Grovyle! Dragon Breath and then follow up with Leaf Blade!"
"Grovyle!" Holding his breath in, Grovyle was prepared to exhale a mighty Dragon Breath at full force.
"Roserade! Quick! Recover and dodge!" Roseluck was getting worried. A dizzy state wasn't what she needed right now. Especially if it means Grovyle can just attack her constantly.
Grovyle exhaled Dragon Breath and yet Roserade was still dizzy. Even though she heard Roseluck's commands, that wasn't going to save her. She attempted to dodge, but instead of evading to the side, she ran in headfirst into the Dragon Breath without knowing. As a result, the Dragon-Type move hit its mark, dealing some heavy damage to the Bouquet Pokemon.
"Rade!"
"Vyle!" Grovyle wasn't done of course. The follow up of Leaf Blade had been played out. With a spurt of speed, Grovlye had appeared in front of the Grass-Poison-Type, striking her with his bladed leaf arms. Obviously, a single Leaf Blade wouldn't do the trick, so Grovyle did it multiple times.
Each time the Wood Gecko Pokemon struck Roserade, the Bouquet Pokemon felt constant hits to her face and body repeatedly without rest, slowly weakening Roserade in the process.
"Grovyle's giving Roserade an all-out pummeling! And Roserade can't do anything about it at the moment!" gasped the announcer.
"Should've seen this coming. Those two are rivals in a way, ya know." Pinkie Pie nodded her head.
"And they both know how dangerous the other one can be. So big sis wants to put an end to this before it gets ugly." Apple Bloom commented.
"It's already pretty ugly..." Starlight winced.
"This is bad..." Roseluck grabbed her mane, pulling on it. That's when she remembered one extra trait about Roserade that Applejack taught her. "Unless...Roserade! Use the sweet aroma from your hands!"
Something that Roserade could do even when confused. The aroma that laid within the bouquet Pokemon's arms had flown out, spreading its delicious and enticing scent across the area. And in a matter of seconds, the scent had met with Grovyle's nose, causing him to put a stop his attack.
"Gro?" With his eyes widened, Grovyle had been put in a trance by Roserade's sweet aroma. "Grovyle..." Feeling as if he was in paradise with pure bliss, the Wood Gecko Pokemon sat on the ground with his face blushing, taking in the aroma.
"Huh?!" Applejack jerked back.
"Phew..." Roseluck wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Almost had me there, ya know. But Roserade and I are as tough as weeds. We can turn the tables in an instant. Right, Roserade?"
"Rose...Roserade..." The Bouquet Pokemon nodded whilst still trying to regain her balance. Now two Pokemon were completely out of it at the moment.
"Ugh..." Roseluck facehoofed herself.
"A Roserade's greatest weapon is their rose hands, aren't they? They hold a lot of secrets." Fluttershy said.
"But, it's crazy how even these two are. I'm actually more surprised that Grovyle's lasting this long against a Pokemon like Roserade." Goh spoke.
"That's what makes Pokemon battling so much fun! You never know what's gonna happen a lot of the time!" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"Both Pokemon are out of focus at the moment! Grovyle's enjoying some bliss thanks to Roserade's aroma but Roserade herself is still dazed! They've both countered each other!" The announcer shouted.
"Come on, Grovyle! Snap out of it already!"
"Keep your composure Roserade! Try uh... trying hitting yourself with Power Whip!"
"Grovyle...Gro?" The sweet aroma from Roserade, while effective, didn't last long it requires the user AKA Roserade to keep it steady and still for her prey to be lured in. But since she's all dazed and confused, the aroma was just moving frantically at this point, leaving the vicinity of Grovyle's nose. A bit of it was still lingering though.
The Wood Gecko Pokemon had managed to snap back into reality, getting up on his feet.
"There ya go!"
"Rose...Rade!" Roserade hit herself with Power Whip, causing a shockwave strong enough to break the confusion that was giving her so much trouble.
Now both Grass-Types were back to their normal selves, shooting their eyes over at each other.
"Nice! Now! Let's finish it!" Both Roseluck and Applejack said at the same time.
"Roserade! Poison Jab on your left! Power Whip on your right!"
"Grovyle! Dragon Breath!"
This looked like it would be the final moment of the battle. Roserade ran towards Grovyle with her thorns dragging on the ground from her right hand whilst poison oozed out of her left. Grovyle on the other hand, built up a ton of draconic energy from within, aiming to unleash the mother of all Dragon Breaths.
Everypony leaned forward to see who would come out on top and be the victor of this unexpectedly aggressive and intense first round. Applejack and Roseluck both bit their lips, wondering about the inevitable outcome.
"Grovyle!" Exhaling out of his mouth, a larger Dragon Breath from before had shot out, racing towards the Grass-Poison-Type.
"Roserade!" Roserade thrust her left hand forward as Poison Jab connected with Dragon Breath. On her right, she was raising up her Power Whip, but with Dragon Breath currently pushing her back, her arm was struggling to rise up quickly.
"You can do it, Roserade!" Roseluck gave her partner the extra boost she needed by cheering her on. Determined to make her trainer proud and prove to everypony that they were a great duo of trainer and Pokemon, Roserade used every bone in her muscle as she raised up her right arm with Power Whip swinging directly towards the Wood Gecko Pokemon.
"Pus through, Grovyle!"
"Gro...VYLE!" Grovyle gave it all he had as well. His last ounce of strength came in the form on an extra burst from his mouth. Once he breathed harder, Dragon Breath increased in power.
But, despite all of this, there can only be one winner in this round. Power Whip smacked Grovyle in the head whilst Dragon Breath overpowered Poison Jab, engulfing Roserade in its blue and purple flames.
With both attacks giving off their impacts, an explosion of energy was left behind from it. A smoke cloud emerged from the sudden explosion, causing Applejack's hat to fly up into the air with Roseluck struggling to stay firm on her hooves.
And the outcome? The victor had been decided. It had been revealed that Roserade had fainted due to the final impact of Dragon Breath sealing the deal for good.
"Rose..."
"Roserade is unable to battle! Grovyle wins! Which means that the victor is none other than Applejack!" Resounding cheers filled the entire stadium from the end result.
"Yee-haw! You did it Grovyle!" Applejack ran over, giving her partner a hug, almost choking him.
"Grovyle!" The Wood Gecko Pokemon coughed up some smoke from Dragon Breath. From above, Applejack's hat fell right back down to the earth, but instead of falling on her head, it had bestowed itself upon Grovyle. It actually suited him. He looked nice in a hat.
"Amazing job, Roserade. You were so great in that." Roseluck went over to her partner, picking her up from the ground.
"Roserade..." The Bouquet Pokemon gave her partner a hug, glad that she was always proud of her even when losing.
"You sure did prove your stuff, Roseluck," AJ said. "Like last time, you had me and my partner on the ropes. I thought Grovyle here was a goner."
"No kidding. I was sure I'd be able to get the upper hoof on you, Applejack. But it looks like I've still got a long way to go, huh?"
"Grovyle." Grovyle gave his fellow Grass-Type a pat on the back, telling her that she really gave it more than 100% in that battle.
"Rose." Roserade put her rose hands over her face, blushing at Grovyle's compliment and physical interaction.
"Such passion between both trainers and Pokemon!" The pegasus teared up, biting on his tie. "I wish my Woobat felt the same way!"
"That's my big sister! See?! See?!" Apple Bloom held both Sweetie Belle and Pikachu, squeezing the two of them now.
"C-Can't breathe..."
"Pika..."
With Applejack being the first pony to win in the first round, she'll be moving up once the second round eventually occurs. But for now, everypony else is up next with their own matchups.
"Good luck in the Canterlot Tournament. Roserade and I will be watching from the crowd, cheering you on." Roseluck put her hoof out for a hoofshake. AJ gladly took the offer as their hooves connected. "Make sure you win the whole thing."
"I'll give it my best."
Back in the waiting room, Twilight and everypony else who was watching the match were amazed at how it turned out. For the first battle in the first round, it was unexpectedly intense. Usually, it's the later rounds where things amp up and go overboard.
"I did not expect Applejack to be so crafty and skilled in battle." Luna's eyes widened. "If Ash Ketchum had taught her tricks such as that...then Twilight Sparkle and ponies from Ponyville might have something that can change the course of a battle." She bit her hoof, shifting her eyes around the room. "This might not be as easy as I thought."
"Wonderful!" Twilight clapped her hooves together. "I have to give it to Applejack. Her training with Ash really paid off. I didn't even think to grab the thorns!"
"Indeed." Rarity nodded. I'm curious about the other tricks that Pokemon can pull off with their natural bodies. I know one thing's for sure, Leavanny and I are holding secrets that are sure to help us in this."
"Leavan!"
"Yeesh. They're definitely not the same pushovers like they were before..." Adagio turned her head around. She held the Ultra Ball in her hoof, sending out the Pokemon that laid within in. What was her Pokemon of her choice?
A Pheromosa.
An Ultra Beast inside of a Poke Ball of all things instead of a Beast Ball. It wasn't impossible. Other Poke Balls are capable of catching Ultra Beasts, but Beast Balls are much more effective since they were designed to catch these alien-like Pokemon.
But this Pheromosa wasn't the same one from Manehattan. This was another one that had been sent through the Ultra Wormholes that are just roaming about in Equestria with the Swords of Justice heading out to find each of them.
"Phero..."
"These ponies are no joke, okay Pheromosa? When it's our turn, don't hesitate at all, got it?"
"Mosa." The Lissome Pokemon nodded, understanding Adagio loud and clear.
"Good. Return." Adagio had returned the Ultra Beast back in the Ultra Ball, placing it in her absurdly large and fluffy mane. Kricektot, who always hung out in her mane, making it essentially its home was a bit terrified of Pheromosa. And for good reason. Even though it may not be the same one from Manehattan, the way it absolutely overwhelmed and destroyed Twilight and her friends was engraved in the Cricket Pokemon's memory.
"Kricketot..."
Applejack and Roseluck entered the waiting room lounge with everypony congratulating both of them. For Applejack, her victory and for Roseluck her amazing show of skill.
"You two were great out there!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Thanks, Twilight. Whew. That battle's already got me tuckered out." Applejack sat down on the soft floor of the lounge.
"You'll have a lot of time to rest up, darling." Rarity went up to her. "With how many ponies are participating, the first round is most likely to end today whilst the second begins tomorrow. According to Twilight anyways."
"Mhm." Twilight nodded softly. "I can tell that the final two ponies competing in the finals will last until the 7th day. So it's all perfectly laid out! And a perfect selection of ponies too!" She squeed.
"Right. Where are those couches again?" Applejack stood back up as Grovyle carried her towards the couches. Roseluck took her leave, feeling satisfied with that battle. She was now headed straight for the seats where she can join the crowd, getting a good angle of the tournament from above.
With the next batch of ponies going up against each other, this tournament is already looking promising. 8 ponies will be going up against each other and after that, it'll be Scootaloo versus Velvetwind surprisingly. Two ponies who looked similar in appearance with Velvetwind being slightly lighter.
The tournament is shaping up to be something great as ponies from around Equestria, plus a half-siren will be giving it their all to see if they've truly improved as trainers as the journey continues.
With the first match between Applejack and Roseluck ending with Applejack taking the victory, 8 other matches took place between other ponies. Once those finish up, it'll be Scootaloo vs Velvetwind from Trottingham. The battles between those ponies had begun, giving the others a lot of time to relax and plan for their upcoming battle.
All the while, Adagio was just lurking in the corner, waiting for her turn to come by. In the lounge, ponies were given a comfortable couch to sit on as time passes by. Outside, you could hear the sounds of Pokemon moves being unleashed along with the voices of the trainers and their Pokemon echoing across the arena. Plus, they could view it on the screen anyways or just head out to the crowd and watch from there.
"Okay. Since Velvetwind's got a Drifloon, I'm counting on you to win it for me, Pachirisu." Scootaloo spoke to her Pachirisu.
"Pachi!"
"Quick Attack won't do a thing. So we're gonna have to rely on Charge Beam and Spark, okay?"
"Chirisu!" Pachirisu hopped on Scootaloo's back, giving her a small jolt.
"Good luck out there when it's your turn, alright?" Rainbow Dash flew over to her fellow pegasus.
"Thanks!" Scootaloo grabbed a cup of juice, drinking it. "Mmm."
"But uh...you might wanna keep a lookout right now," Rainbow whispered to her.
"Why?"
"Twilight and Rarity have just spotted Adagio here. She's joined this tournament too."
"Adagio? The scary siren lady?"
"That one. We don't have a clue on what she's doing here or what she could be up to. Just make sure you stay far away from her, alright?"
"Alright. But uh...why aren't Princess Celestia and Luna doing anything about it?"
"Ah-" Rainbow paused at that response, wondering that herself. Celestia might not have noticed Adagio due to their current locations. But Luna should since they're both in the same spot. "Hold on." She dashed on over to the Princess of the Night, ready to give her the information that was required. "Uh, Princess Luna. We have a bit of a problem."
"What is it, Rainbow Dash?"
"That." Dash pointed her hoof and wings over at Adagio who was just casually sitting on the couch, not doing a thing, just waiting for her turn to arrive.
"...Isn't that the Adagio pony you and your friends have been mentioning lately?"
"That's the one. She's just sitting there all quiet-like. I don't think Princess Celestia's even noticed her joining in."
"Her being completely stationary and calm is a bit unusual. I would expect her to cause some disharmony at this very moment." Luna nodded. "Allow me to speak with her." She took the option of speaking to the siren, meaning that Adagio had more company to deal with. This time, in the form of Luna.
"Hm?" She raised her eyebrow, looking straight at Princess Luna. "Not again..."
"Adagio Dazzle, is it?" Luna spoke to her whist looking down at the siren-pony hybrid.
"Yes...Can I help you?" Adagio grumbled.
"Why is it that you are here? Are you by chance up to something?" Luna narrowed her eyes over at Adagio.
"This question again? I already told your fellow princess and her unicorn sidekick that I'm here because I want to be. Nothing more to it." She slumped on the couch, crossing her hooves together.
"Really?" Luna pulled back, surprised at her answer. "Out of your own decision? Are you sure?" She as a bit sceptical, however.
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure. Besides, once I'm done here, I'm off to complete my goal."
"Taking revenge on Twilight Sparkle and her friends, correct?"
"Got that right. I still haven't forgotten about that. But, there's something else I want to gain out of all of this."
"What could you possibly gain after revenge? World domination?"
"Pssh." Adagio stood up, looking up at the alicorn princess. "That's none of my business anymore. No, I've got something else in mind. Something bigger."
"Hoh? I assume you won't tell me then." Luna was prepared to deal with Adagio since she's basically revealed that there were even bigger plans on her mind. But that wasn't the only thing that she revealed.
"Oh, I'll tell you. I want to make sure you hear this clear as day. I plan to get a wish from Jirachi." She revealed her big plans to Luna, catching the Princess of the Night off guard.
"Jirachi...? You mean the Wish Pokemon?" Luna stammered.
"That's the one." Adagio sat back on the couch.
"Aha! So you plan to have Jirachi grant you a wish that spells the end of Equestria itself! A see-through plan!" Luna smirked.
"Tch. Yeah, right. You'd wish that as the reason why I'd want a wish."
"It's not?" Luna was starting to get more and more confused. Adagio's responses weren't exactly what she expected.
"No. I'll let Ghetsis handle that. He's the one person who knows how to deal with scenarios such as that. Me? I want Jirachi's wish for one reason."
"And that is...?" Luna curved herself forward towards Adagio.
"I want to save my family and bring them all back." The truth had been revealed to Luna's ears. "They say that Jirachi Pokemon can grant any wish, no matter how ludicrous it is. It's the Pokemon I need to fix all of this."
"Wait...T-That's the reason why?" Luna was shocked at her response.
"Of course it is. I want to keep my sisters from meeting their inevitable end and bring back my mother. And I'm not gonna let Twilight Sparkle and her friends get their wish to keep this weird mish-mash of a world intact. You got that?"
"Well...this is certainly an unexpected revelation. But Adagio Dazzle. You do realize that the wish Twilight Sparkle and her friends are aiming for will end up saving you and your sisters. If they can get Jirachi to change the fate of both worlds, then you'll see that you will keep these memories within you."
"Hmph! You don't get it." Adagio scowled at Luna. "Even if these two worlds stay connected, that won't change the fate my sisters have to go through. When I get my wish and when the day comes when both worlds return to normal, we'll start over. The Battle of the Bands won't go the exact same way as before."
"And how are you sure that it shall change? Fate is a mighty and all-powerful force that nopony in Equestria can control. Not even my sister and me. It is perfectly represented by our Cutie Marks after all. Our destiny. Even when the two worlds return to normal, you will be destined to repeat history once more."
"Hoh? You think I don't know that?" Adagio gave off a smug smirk. She knew something that Luna didn't. And she'll never know. "I'm done talking to you. I've got a match coming up in a few hours maybe." The siren turned away from Luna.
"Wait! Are you telling the truth? About your sisters? Will they truly meet a horrible end?"
"Horrible doesn't even begin to describe it. But I shouldn't expect you ponies to know what I'm talking about. After all...I doubt you even have a book that has the full scope of our history." Those were the last words that Adagio spoke before laying on a couch, resting up until her match.
Walking away from Adagio, Luna had been given a multitude of thoughts that were swirling through her head right now. The conversation she had with Adagio did not go the way she planned. In that instance, the words that Adagio said almost made it sound like there was something deeper occurring within. Something that was not out of malicious intent.
Curious about all of this and still worried about the outcome of Adagio's possible victory in the tournament, Luna relied on the one Pokemon who could foresee past, present and future events. She held out a Poke Ball, sending out the Mystic Pokemon Xatu.
"Xatu..."
"Xatu. I need your help. There might be a possible disaster that is just lurking around the corner, waiting to strike. Can you please see into the future for any indication? And Darkrai, please translate for me."
"On it." Darkrai emerged from the shadows, ready to speak for Xatu.
"Xa..." The Mystic Pokemon's 4 eyes emanated a blue and purple light, putting it into a meditative state. With its amazing precognition, Xatu had seen into the future. What he saw was something that was unexpected.
From his vision, he saw the Twilight and Adagio in one spot. Where they were standing seemed to be an unknown collapsing tower that was falling apart. Inside the crumbling tower, both ponies seemed to be horribly injured without any of their friends in sight even.
Xatu couldn't see beyond that, but the last thing he saw was the image of Twilight breaking down into tears whilst Adagio was struggling to get up. Twilight seemed to be yelling at Adagio who had a sneer on her face. The Mystic Pokemon's 4 eyes returned to normal as he had left his meditative state.
"Tu. Xatu." Xatu had spoken to Darkrai, telling him what he has foreseen.
"Really now?" Darkrai's eyes widened, shocked at Xatu's revelation.
"What? What did he see?" Luna asked, curious.
"Xatu saw that both Twilight and Adagio Dazzle were standing inside of a tower that was on the verge of collapsing. Twilight was crying for some reason, yelling at Adagio as both of them seemed injured. And that was about it."
"Oh. Oh my." Luna gasped, shifting her eyes left and right. That wasn't the answer she was expecting. What could this mean? Why was Twilight crying? What happened that caused both of them to be in an injured state? And what tower were they in? Was it located in Equestria or the Pokemon World? "Is that really it?!"
"Xatu..." Xatu gave some more information over to Darkrai to pass onto their trainer.
"Even though Xatu saw into the future, it's possible that it can change. So those events that he saw might not play out or at least, they'll take different paths."
"I see..." Luna bit her hoof. She then began thinking back to what Adagio said about her sisters. Perhaps, it could relate to the vision that Xatu had seen. "Hm. I know what we can do. Darkrai. When nighttime hits and the first part of the tournament comes to an end, we'll both head into Adagio Dazzle's dream to see what is occurring with her mind."
"Got it." Darkrai hid back in the shadows, already understanding what Luna was going for.
"I still have my suspicions but..." Luna scraped her hoof on the floor. "Could she really be doing this out of a good cause?"
As those thoughts continue to swirl around Luna's head and the tournament continues whilst everypony watches and waits for the next batch of rounds to begin, up above the clouds, as always, are Lucien and Sienna who stopped by to watch this whole tournament go on.
"This is some pretty neat stuff!" Lucien grinned.
"Is it? I mean...we're gonna have to sit through this for a whole week." Sienna wasn't too ecstatic about this. Pokemon battling isn't really her thing.
"Lighten up! I've been waiting for something like this! And yeah, it's not the Equestria League but it's a start!"
"Hm. Well since we're really watching this for a week..." Sienna sat down, summoning a Skitty in her hands as she gave it a pat on the head. "Who do you think is the strongest pony trainer?"
"Skitty!"
"Isn't it obvious? It's obviously Princess Celestia. That whole Kirlia event proved it."
"I mean for who's participating in this tournament."
"Oh." He raised his head up. "Well, in that case, Luna. She's got a Darkrai. No way anyone's getting past that."
"Ah. So..." Sienna rubbed her hands together, leaning in. "You think we should meddle in this?"
"Absolutely not!" Lucien raised his voice at her, startling his fellow Rift human. "This is a full-on no-holds-barred tournament to see who's the best of them all! I've been waiting for this ever since the two worlds crossed over! It has to be done without any interruptions!"
"A-Alright..." Sienna smiled nervously as Skitty hid behind her. "You seem pretty passionate about this stuff."
"Of course I am!" Lucien stood up, crossing his arms. "I don't know if you've noticed but...I'm a huge fan of Pokemon battling. When my role as villain is up and done, I wanna become a trainer!" He summoned a Poke Ball in his hand, sending out a Charizard. "It's gonna be so cool!"
"CHAR!"
"You say that as if they're actually gonna succeed in getting Jirachi's wish." Sienna turned to Charizard.
"Well, duh. They're the good guys. There is a 100% chance they're gonna keep these worlds connected."
"Don't say that doofus. That means there's a chance they'll fail." Sienna smacked him in the head.
"Ah!" He held his mouth. "Right! Well then... there's a super good chance they'll succeed!"
"Or it might be Adagio. She seems pretty serious about getting Jirachi to grant her wish."
"Nah." Lucien gave his Charizard a head rub. "By herself, she's already set herself up for failure."
"Yeah. But that's got me thinking. You think it'll be okay if Twilight and her friends get their wish instead of Adagio?" Sienna asked a question that was descending into something huge.
"What makes you say that?" Lucien turned to her.
"I mean...If the two worlds get connected forever, then Sonata and Aria are doomed, right? Wouldn't that mean that they've sacrificed two ponies for something else?"
"Hm. I get what you mean. It'd be pretty messed up actually." Lucien chuckled. "But, what can ya do? Everything good in existence comes with a horrible side effect. Even Jirachi's wishes. Most of the time anyway..."
"Cheer up. We've got a tournament to watch all week. Oh! You wanna go up against my Charizard?" He nudged her.
Both Sienna and Skitty looked up at the Flame Pokemon and its intimidating stature. "...N-No thanks."
Getting back to the tournament, 6 ponies had already finished their match with one of each heading to the crowd to spectate over the remaining matches.
"It's almost my turn. Let's go over this one more time, okay Pachirisu?"
"Pach! Pachi!"
With Rainbow Dash, she was just biding her time until Spitfire and Daylight Blazer. They were the two ponies she had her sights set on. She had already seen how both of them battle. Spitfire once and Daylight a few times. Her main objective was to see how she could work around their Scizor and Blaziken. That is if they use the exact same Pokemon for the upcoming matches.
"If I use Braviary's Superpower on Spitfire's Scizor, that'll really give me the advantage. But I also went into Rainbow-Braviary, then that means it's a One-Hit-KO for sure! Right, buddy?"
"Braviary!" The Valiant Pokemon raised his wings up in agreement.
"And if Daylight uses his Medicham like before, I can count on Braviary again. But that Blaziken's gonna be a problem..." She thought to herself, thinking of a way around Daylight's ace.
The current match had come to an end, meaning that very soon, Scootaloo's turn was arriving. Two other ponies would be going up against each other next, both from the Crystal Empire. After that, Scootaloo and Velvetwind would be up next.
Over at the seats where the crowd spectated, Pinkie Pie was devouring huge loads of popcorn that wouldn't stop coming by.
"Weird. Where's Jade?" Ash looked around.
"Pikachu?"
"Somepony has to take care of the Cake Twins for a whole week. I'm sure Jade's got it covered!" Pinkie licked the salt from her mouth.
"Achoo!" Sonata sneezed all of a sudden.
"Caught a cold?" Aria snapped her head over at her sister.
"It's nothing..." Sonata grumbled, wiping her nose. "Ugh..."
"By the way...did anypony catch Adagio on the screen earlier?" Aria squinted her eyes.
"Did we? I didn't see her." Sonata shook her head.
"But I did. I could've sworn that she was there..." Once Aria kept thinking about it, the next match was about to start, causing everypony to pay attention.
Over at the balcony where Celestia sat and watched from above, her Kirlia noticed that Queen Pyrestar was moving about the halls of Canterlot with her eyes shifting across every corner of the castle. It didn't take long for Celestia to notice as well.
"Kirlia?"
"Still looking out for any threats?" asked Celestia.
"The Royal Canterlot Wedding ended up teaching my other half a valuable lesson. I cannot turn a blind eye to anything that may look out of the ordinary."
"You're a bit high strung about this. But that's understandable considering which reality you come from."
"I'm more concerned about any Rift actions that may be occurring. The Rift meddling in your reality means that around every corner, its influence can be in the most unexpected places." She made her horn glow, shining it across the hallway, illuminating it.
"Right..." Celestia chuckled nervously. She looked over at her Boundless Cutie Mark and then Pyrestar's. "I have a single question though."
"What is it?"
"This Boundless Cutie Mark. I know that in every universe, one reality has one thing the other doesn't. But is there something similar to this Cutie Mark somewhere in your world?"
"Not at all. A Cutie Mark that owns all other marks from the past present and future is unheard of in my world. It has always been one and one alone."
"Right. So this might really be the only world where it exists. But it's still so odd to me. When Tirek came to steal my magic, the mark had remained along with a small bit of my magic. Not only that, but it was slowly regenerating over time. I can see why Star Swirl wanted to keep any information about this mark a mystery."
"Magic regenerating? That certainly didn't happen with Tirek in my world. Perhaps this Boundless Cutie Mark holds other secrets that you haven't discovered yet."
"Most likely. My knowledge of it is pretty limited. Who knows what else it's capable of..." Celestia looked down at the mark. She continued to watch over the tournament, seeing somepony's Gengar going up against another pony's Nidorino.
The match between those two lasted a good 7 minutes before the winner had been decided. Gengar. Since that battle ended up coming to an end, that meant that Scootaloo and Velvetwind were both up next. And after that, it would be Vinyl Scratch against a pony from Manehattan.
"That's my cue!" Scootaloo squeed as she picked Pachirisu up. "I'm a bit nervous!" She breathed in and out. "But also excited! I'm gonna be in front of so many ponies...but it'll be so much fun!"
"We're up next, Scootaloo." Velvetwind walked up to her similar colour palette pony. "Good luck."
"Good luck to you too, Velvetwind. Sorry if I go a bit overboard."
"Don't worry. You can go all out however you like."
"Goth..." Gothitelle raised her hand up, calling for the next batch of contestants to step forward. It was showtime.
As the two pegasi walked out in the stadium, all eyes from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were locked on to their friend and Velvetwind. After this battle a few more, that'll be the end of the first day of this Canterlot Tournament. There's a guarantee that everypony here will be exhausted for a while. Some already were after their battles.
"Both trainers, send out your Pokemon." The referee called.
"Go and do your best, Pachirisu!" Scootaloo held her hoof out as the EleSquirrel Pokemon jumped off it.
"Pachi!"
"Here goes!" Velvetwind tossed her Poke Ball into the air, sending out, not Drifloon, but the evolved form, Drifblim.
"Drifblim!"
"Wait, Driflblim?!" Scootaloo wasn't prepared for this. She expected the smaller and lighter Pokemon. Not this. Once she took out her dex, she got all the information she needed about this one.
"Driflbim. The Blimp Pokemon. It’s drowsy in the daytime but flies off in the evening in big groups. The raw material for the gas inside its body is souls. When its body starts to deflate, it’s thought to carry away people and Pokémon. There’s a rumour that if you catch a Drifblim floating on the wind at dusk, you’ll be carried away to the afterlife. There was once an incident in which a man took a trip riding a Drifblim, only to go missing. Where do they go? Nobody knows."
"Her Drifloon evolved?!" Sweetie Belle stood up.
"I didn't expect an evolved form." Scootaloo gulped. "But it's fine. It's still the same typing after all. I can do this!" She stomped her hoof on the ground, having confidence burn within her.
With both Pokemon and trainers staring each other down, waiting for the referee to make the call, the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The current match between Scootaloo and Velvetwind is about to take place. It shall begin once the referee says those magical worlds.
"Battle start!"
"Pachirisu, use Charge Beam!" Scootaloo made the first move.
"Pachi!" The EleSquirell Pokemon lowered its head, summoning an orb of electricity in front of its face. The orb had released a bundle of charged electricity that raced towards the Blimp Pokemon.
"Driflblim! Fly over and use Minimize!"
"Drif..." The Blimp Pokemon had emanated a pinkish colour from its body as it flew over the bundled electricity with ease, evading it. And speaking of evading, that's exactly what this move was for. The pinkish aura around Driflblim had expanded for a split second before shrinking down.
"What did that do?" Sweetie Belle asked, confused.
"It's Minimize!" Ash leaned forward. "Now Drifblim's gonna be hard to hit!"
"Okay..." Scootaloo, who was unaware of what the move specifically does, had just shrugged it off as either a power boost or strength boost. One of the two. "Pachirisu! Fire Charge Beam again!"
"Chirisu!" Another bundle of charged electricity was shot towards Driflbim once more.
"Dodge and use Shadow Ball!" With even less effort this time, Driflbim avoided the Electric-Type attack without even trying. Minimize had made it so that it wouldn't need to worry about getting hit by the super-effective move constantly.
A ball of shadows emerged in front of Driflblim as it sent it straight towards the opposing Pokemon. The EleSquirrel Pokemon had been struck, getting hit first instead of Driflbim.
"Pa!" Pachirisu tumbled on the ground, already taking some pretty big damage. What didn't help was that Pachirisu is at the end of the day a Glass Cannon.
"Don't worry, Pachirisu! Let's try Spark!"
Recovering from her tumble, Pachirisu had surrounded herself in yellow electricity, raising her head directly at Drifblim. With a sudden burst of electricity, the Electric-Type rocketed off the ground as a lightning bolt-shaped trail was left behind.
"Keep on dodging and use Shadow Ball one more time!"
More dodging on Driflbim's part. But that was the obvious choice. With Minimize, Driflblim wouldn't even need to try and dodge that much. By zipping to the side and avoiding Pachirisu all together, the Blimp Pokemon had conjured up yet another Shadow Ball, preparing to fire it.
"Ah! Pachirisu! Use Spark to dodge!" A good call on Scootaloo's part. She took a strategy out of Ash's book by having her use a move to evade.
"Pachi!" Pachirisu turned around, zipping past Shadow Ball as she returned to ground level. "Chirisu..."
"Now! Keep using Spark until it lands!"
And so began a scenario that involved constant moving around. One was trying to land a hit whilst the other continued to evade the opposing Pokemon.
"This is a bit painful to my eyes!" The announcer rubbed his eyes, unable to comprehend what he's currently seeing. "Pachirisu can't seem to connect with Driflblim at all! And Drifblim's just casually dodging with ease!"
"Chi! Chi!" Pachirisu kept on trying to connect her hits but it was still no use. Minimize had really helped Drifblim out a lot.
"We have to get at least one hit in..." Scootaloo grumbled, getting nervous.
"Alright, Drifblim! Phantom Force!"
"Blim..." A thin purple portal appeared behind Drifblim as it hovered back inside of it, disappearing from the sight of everypony and Pachirisu.
"Pa?" Pachirisu gasped, shocked that her opposing Pokemon just vanished. The portal had even gone with it.
"What the? Where'd it go?" Scootaloo pulled back.
"Drifblim's gone! Whatever that move was, you can already tell that both Scootaloo and Pachirisu are worried and confused!" said the announcer.
"Phantom Force." Ash suddenly spoke. "Drifblim could appear from anywhere now."
"Pika..."
"Where is it..." Scootloo bit her hoof, unsure of where the Blimp Pokemon could pop out from. She was really feeling the tension now. The match was already in its early moments and she was struggling. That's when Scootaloo's mind had a small little spark. "Wait! If Drifblims a Ghost-Type...Pachirisu! Use Spark and move all over the place like crazy!"
"Pachirisu!" Pachirisu did just that. Surrounding herself in electricity once more, the EleSquirrel then proceeded to haphazardly move about at lightning speeds, leaving behind multiple lightning bolt trails.
"What's she planning?" This actually took Velvetwind back. Now she was the one confused. "Drifblim! Come out and attack!"
"Drif!" A purple portal had once again appeared out thin air. This time, Drifblim was coming right through it. But when it returned to the outside, Pachirisu had managed to make contact with Drifblim due to how she was just dashing about without any sense of direction in her mind. "BLIM!"
"Gotcha!" Scootaloo found her opportunity. Having Pachirisu move about with Spark was a smart move on her part.
"Ah! Drifblim!" Velvetwind gasped.
"Now's our chance! Spark one more time!" Pachirisu once again threw herself towards the opposing Pokemon. And this time, she made a direct hit. Second time in a row even. With Drifblim still recovering from the first Spark, the second one was just waiting to hit a caught off guard Drifblim in seconds.
And just as she hoped, it dealt super-effective damage, pushing the Blimp Pokemon back. The Spark had even paralyzed Drifblim, making its Minimize non-existent.
"Drifblim! Are you okay?!"
"Drif!"
"Whew. I thought Scootaloo was in the rough spot there." Apple Bloom let out a sigh of relief.
"Did she change up Drifblim's contest moves just for this?" Sweetie Belle wondered. She was curious about her next encounter with Velvetwind in a Pokemon Contest if she uses the same Drifblim which was once a Drifloon.
"That could've been rough..." Scootaloo lowered her head. "Good job, Pachirisu!"
"Pachi!"
"Drifblim! Use Minimize one more time!"
"I don't know what it is...But I won't let you get the chance! Spark!"
"Chirisu!" Pachirisu didn't give Drifblim any time to prepare Minimize. Charging towards her foe, Pachirisu smashed into Drifblim's face which was also its entire body. Pachirisu's head ended up getting stuck inside Drifblim's ghostly body as the Spark added onto the extra electric damage that the paralyze was already giving.
"Quick, Drifblim! Brutal Swing!" Realizing that using Minimize wasn't going to happen at this point, Velvetwind went on the offensive.
"Blim!" The Blimp Pokemon spun all four of its limbs that were embedded with dark energy violently, smacking the EleSquirrel Pokemon straight in the face, leaving a mark as well. A second Brutal Swing had been unleashed on her, causing Pachirisu to be knocked back.
"Charge Beam!" Whilst the Electric-Type was still airborne, she sent some charged electricity in the amount of time she was in the air.
"Shadow Ball!" Quickly countering, Shadow Ball from Drifblim had made contact with Charge Beam as the two moves cancelled each other out. As smoke emerged from the attack collision, both Pokemon stared each other down.
Drifblim looked like it would be the first to give out due to the super-effective hits and paralyze effect. But Pachirisu being the Glass Cannon she was might not be able to withstand another hit. So it all came down to who would get off the final hit and come out on top.
"Drifblim and I refuse to lose. We're going to shine just as much as we do in a contest!"
"Drifblim!"
"Pachirisu and I won't lose either! She's gonna take me straight to the Equestria League one day!"
"Pachirisu!
"Drifblim! Shadow Ball!"
"Pachirisu! Dodge with Spark and head in!"
Flying back to get some distance, Drifblim sent out a Shadow Ball to put an end to this battle once and for all. However, Pachirisu being the speedy little critter that she is, evaded the Shadow Ball by propelling herself to the side. She followed up with the electricity still surrounding her body, setting her eyes directly towards Drifblim.
"Dodge it!" Once Pachirisu dashed into the air, Drifblim just barely managed to avoid Spark as little volts had struck its limbs. "Now use Phantom Force!" Heading into a purple hole that appeared, Drifblim had vanished out of thin air, leaving Pachirisu by herself.
"Don't worry Pachirisu! Do what you did before and move around!" Scootaloo went for the same strategy that countered Phantom Force before.
"Chi!" Once again, Pachirisu had frantically dashed around the stadium, preparing to catch Drifblim off guard.
But Velvetwind wasn't ready to fall for it a second time. "Come out and follow up with Brutal Swing!"
"Drif!" Drifblim reappeared, becoming visible to the eyes of everypony.
"Ah! Look out Pachirisu!" Scootaloo gasped.
"Pa!" Pachirisu, by the skin of her single bucktooth, avoided Drifblim's limbs, but her tail had been hit, causing the EleSquirrel to lose her balance. If that had fully connected, it would've been game over for the Electric-Type Pokemon. But thankfully, a Pachirisu's tail is sturdy since that's where most of its electricity is located.
"Now go!" Scootaloo yelled, commanding Pachirisu to charge in once more. And charge in she did. With a final burst of speed, she tackled herself into Drifblim with everything she had left in her.
And that one final Spark was all that she needed. Drifblim's eyes widened as it was hit square in the face at full-force. The result was the Blimp Pokemon being launched back down to the ground whilst Pachirisu spun about, holding her head.
"Drif...Blim!" Drifblim hit the ground hard, leaving behind a huge smoke cloud. Once the smoke cleared, the outcome had been revealed to the eyes of the referee. "Drif..."
"Drifblim is unable to battle! Pachirisu wins! Which means the victor is Scootaloo!"
"Awesome! Pachirisu, you aced it!" Scootaloo ran over, giving her little Electric Rodent a hug.
"Pa...Pachirisu." Pachirisu, who was on the verge of fainting, shocked Scootaloo out of love, causing her mane and tail to spike it.
"Woohoo!" Both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom stood up, cheering for Scootaloo and Pachirisu's victory. That's a huge win for the Crusaders in their book.
"Great job, Drifblim. You performed just as well as our contests." Velvetwind went over to Drifblim, picking her partner up.
"Blim..."
"And you did an amazing job as well, Scootaloo. Pachirisu." Velvetwind congratulated them both.
"Thanks! You almost had me there. I had no idea what a Minimize was. W-What is it actually?"
"It's a pretty useful move where it helps your Pokemon dodge attacks easier without too much effort." Velvetwind quickly explained. "But I guess the paralyzation effect negates that."
"Oooh...That is pretty useful." Scootaloo nodded.
"Tell Sweetie Belle that I plan to do even better in the contests than I did here."
"I will!"
"Pachirisu!"
"Geez..." Pinkie Pie slumped on her seat. "Those Electric Rodents are lethal. First Pikachu now Pachirisu..."
"Does that mean my Plusle and Minun are just as strong?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"They gotta be. I know my Emolga is." Apple Bloom nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Gaping gills..." The announcer wiped some sweat off his forehead after that battle. "I would've thought the foals battling would mean things would be much more laid-back. Guess I was wrong."
Returning to the waiting room, Scootaloo let out a sigh of relief. Pokemon battles can really tire anyone out. Especially the youth. Now that her turn was done, allowing her to relax for as long as she wants until tomorrow, it was now time for Vinyl to step out there soon.
"What a rush!" Scootaloo sat down on a couch with her Pachirisu on her head.
"Chirisu."
"Awesome job out there!" Rainbow flew over to Scootaloo. "Had me worried for a sec, actually."
"Thanks, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo grinned.
"Just a bit more and it'll be my go." Rainbow turned around, rubbing her hooves together. Her anticipating was only increasing.
2 minutes had passed and it was Vinyl's time to battle. As usual, the two ponies sent themselves outside to the stadium to prepare themselves.
Over at the seats, Velvetwind sat down behind Sweetie Belle, waving at her fellow Pokemon Coordinator.
"What Pokemon do you think Vinyl has?" Fluttershy wondered. "I've actually never thought of that."
"Heh. She's got some pretty strong Pokemon. Two of them actually. I helped her choose her partners, after all." Ash grinned, crossing his arms. He knew exactly which Pokemon he gave Vinyl.
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Wait. Vinyl doesn't speak. How's she gonna give off any commands?" Apple Bloom scratched her mane. "Is it like Red? Are we gonna hear her speak for the first time?!"
"Well...Just wait and see." Ash calmed Apple Bloom down. They were about to witness first-hoof how DJ Pon-3 battles.
"Let's have a good one, alright?" The opposing pony from Manehattan said to Vinyl. However, she didn't get a response from DJ Pon-3. "Hm...Not much of a talker, huh? Alright then, that's fine."
"Both trainers may now bring out their Pokemon." said the Referee.
"Come out, my partner!" The Manehattan unicorn had sent out her Scrafty.
"Scrafty!"
"Ooh...Let me get a good look at that!" Sonata took out her own Pokedex, wanting to know about this shady looking Pokemon.
"Scrafty. The Hoodlum Pokemon. While mostly known for having the temperament of an aggressive ruffian, this Pokémon takes very good care of its family, friends, and territory. Groups of them beat up anything that enters their territory. Each can spit acidic liquid from its mouth. As halfhearted as this Pokémon’s kicks may seem due to it holding its shed skin, they pack enough power to shatter Conkeldurr’s concrete pillars. The one with the biggest crest is the group leader."
Vinyl did the same. One of the two partners she owned had been sent out. For this match, it was her Darmanitan.
"Darmanitan!"
"Oooh...Haven't seen that one before!" Sweetie Belle took out her Pokedex for this Pokemon she has now just discovered.
"Darmanitan. The Blazing Pokemon. Its internal fire burns at 2,500° F, making enough power that it can destroy a dump truck with one punch. When one is injured in a fierce battle, it hardens into a stone-like form. Then it meditates and sharpens its mind. Through meditation, it calms its raging spirit and hones its psychic powers."
An impressive Pokemon to look at for sure. But what was surprising to them all was the fact that Darmanitan had headphones on. Modelled right after his trainer even. From the looks of it, he was listening to some music at the moment. Most likely the same music Vinyl was listening too since both of them were bobbing their heads up and down in the same motion at the same speed.
"Headphones?" Fluttershy and the others said. This was new to all of them.
"Yeah!" Ash exclaimed, startling his friends. "WIth those headphones on, Darmanitan and Vinyl are one in the same! A perfect sync!"
"Battle start!"
The battle was on. Believing that Vinyl couldn't make a command, the Manehattan pony took advantage of this. "Scrafty! Use High Jump Kick!"
"Scra!" The Hoodlum Pokemon leapt off the ground, doing consecutive flips in the air for show. And yet, Vinyl hadn't said a word. She and Darmanitan were just enjoying the music. It looked like Scrafty's kick would connect, until the unexpected happened.
"Dar!" Darmanintan had suddenly grabbed Scrafty's leg, preventing High Jump Kick. And this was done without Vinyl saying a word. What followed was an attack. Darmanitan had used Thunder Punch with his other arm, striking the Hoodlum Pokemon straight in the face, launching him back to his trainer.
"Scrafty!" Scrafty tumbled on the ground, holding his face. "Fty..."
"Ah! Scrafty! You okay?!" His trainer gasped.
"Scra!" The Hoodlum Pokemon got back up on his feet, feeling fine. But that Thunder Punch threw him off guard.
"I don't know how you did that without saying a word...but you won't catch me off guard again! Scrafty! Stone Edge!"
"Scrafty!" Scrafty had slammed his head on the ground, causing blue crystals to pop up from the ground as they raced towards the Blazing Pokemon.
Once again. Not a word from Vinyl. Darmanitan, who was just enjoying the music, had evaded the crystal rocks with ease. He did this by jumping over them as if he was in a jungle.
"Seriously?! Try using Stone Edge again!" A second attempt was made. Perhaps more crystal stones on the battlefield will do the trick. With even more Stone Edge's filling the battlefield, it looked like Darmanitan would get hit this time.
But yet again, Darmanitan surprised everypony. While he didn't evade the crystals, he did something better. Destroying them. With the move Brick Break, the glowing blue crystals of Stone Edge had been shattered into pieces. And he did it repeatedly. In fact, the way he used Brick Break was in the same rhythm as the song he was listening to.
It was because of this rhythm that Darmanitan could perform feats that would normally require the command of the trainer to do so. The two were in perfect sync, practically unified.
"How is this possible?!" The announcer stood up from his seat. "She hasn't said a word and yet Darmanitan is effortlessly gaining the upper hoof!"
"Manitan!" Darmanitan had then grabbed the fragments of Stone Edge, flicking them towards Scrafty as the Hoodlum Pokemon had been pelted in the head by his own move.
"Scrafty! Just stay calm and use Dig!"
"Ty!" Scrafty shook his head, regaining focus. He wasn't out yet. By slamming his head repeatedly on the ground, the Hoodlum Pokemon had dug a hole, entering it. This would give him an advantage in terms of type-effectiveness and movement. Surely there was no way that Darmanitan could predict the movements of Dig when listening to music.
Except he can. Darmanitan had suddenly increased his movement speed. Which meant that the music he and DJ Pon-3 were listening to had sped up. Due to his increased speed, Darmanitan jumped up into the air, 3 seconds before Scrafty emerged from the ground.
"Darma!"
"Scrafty?" Scrafty, who had just emerged, looked up to see that Darmanitan had easily avoided him. And that wasn't the only thing he saw. Once Darmanitan came back down, he gave the Hoodlum Pokemon a swift chop to the head with Brick Break.
"MANITAN!" Darmanitan swung his big meaty hands down on the Dark-Fighting-Type, forcing him back into the ground where he dug himself up.
And that one Brick Break was just enough to put an end to this unexpected battle. Scrafty had fainted.
"Scra..."
"Scrafty is unable to battle! Darmanitan wins! Which means the victor is DJ Pon-3, Vinyl Scratch!"
"She won without saying a word?!" The announcer almost choked on his own water. "I wish I could do that!"
"Unbelievable...Not even Red could perform something like that...He had to say something to make his Pokemon attack." Fluttershy's jaw dropped. "Maybe it's like Zecora?"
"Nah. It's just that Vinyl and her Pokemon really love music." Ash explained. "They found their own unique way of battling. And that makes them one powerful combination."
"Pikachu!"
"No wonder she's ranked out #15 of 8120 trainers..." Sweetie Belle was starstruck along with pretty much everypony else. One pony who wasn't flabbergasted like the rest was Octavia, who was watching from the crowd.
"Well, I'll be...Good attempt Scrafty." The pony picked her partner off the ground as Scrafty held his head.
"Scrafty."
"And you were amazing! I couldn't even do anything against your Darmanitan."
Vinyl, even though she didn't say a word, went up to the pony as they both shook hooves. Darmanitan gave Scrafty a pat on the back, chuckling like crazy. "Dar-Dar-Dar-Manitan!"
With that match finally over, the next matchup could begin. This time, it involved Twilight Sparkle herself. But who she was going up against was something that threw Starlight off guard.
Trixie.
Because of course, she entered.
"Trixie?!" Starlight gasped. "Oh no..." She then began thinking of possible outcomes when Twilight and Trixie battle. This could end in either pure unfiltered violence or tears. One of the two will happen according to Starlight.
But before that could happen, a break was announced.
"That calls for a break!" said the announcer. "A 40-minute break and we'll be right back!"
"Time to snack on something then." Ash stood up along with other ponies. Some ponies had decided to stay and chat whilst others went for some food.
In the waiting room, Twilight was in the same scenario as Starlight. She was shocked about who she was facing off next. "I'm facing off against, Trixie?!"
"The one and only!" And speaking of Trixie, there she was. Sitting on a couch located on the right side of the waiting room. And as always, her Misdreavus was right beside her.
"Dreavus!"
"You're entering too?!" Twilight went up to Trixie.
"But of course I am. Why wouldn't I?" Trixie shrugged. "I'm more surprised that you're here."
"Ehehe...yeah..." Twilight squeed.
"But then again. A lot of familiar faces are here. Especially her." The Great and Powerful Trixie pointed her hoof at one pony who Twilight didn't expect to join, yet again.
It was none other than the oldest of the pie sisters, Limestone. Oh very dear.
"Isn't that...?" Twilight squinted her eyes.
"One of Pinkie Pie's sisters. That's right. She gave me a hard time back on that Rock Farm of hers. But this time, I'll be the one giving her a hard time! If I get matched up with her that is." Trixie grinned, feeling confident that she could beat Limestone. Even though she has no idea that Limestone owns a Tyranitar. So perhaps it might be for the best that she doesn't get matched up with Limestone Pie.
"This is gonna be a long week..." Twilight held her head. She then noticed that Adagio had gotten up, walking out of the waiting room along with everypony else. Twilight being the curious pony that she is had decided to follow Adagio wherever she may be headed this time.
With the Canterlot Tournament being on a break, once it returns, the battles are only going to get much more intense from here on as the skill level increases. The tournament that will decide who is the current strongest pony trainer carries on as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The Canterlot Tournament is currently on a 40-minute break at the moment.
With ponies taking some time to either eat or chat until it resumes. But some ponies are up to something else. Mostly two actually. Adagio Dazzle who had also surprisingly signed up for this tournament and Twilight Sparkle, who was currently following the pony-siren hybrid, curious about her.
Adagio went over to a secluded area in Canterlot, mainly the back streets, where nopony really ever visits since what is there to experience in a small spot like that?
As Twilight followed Adagio, she was hoping that she could go unnoticed by the siren. But, that wasn't happening at all. A Siren's hearing is pretty strong actually.
"I can hear you, Sparkle." Adagio spoke, stopping her tracks.
"Eep!" Twilight squealed as her Pokemon hopped in front of her, in case of Adagio tried anything.
"How creepy can you get?" Adagio turned around, facing Twilight as she noticed that each of Twilight's Pokemon were either growling or snarling at her.
"What are you up to now, Adagio?"
"Like I said before...mind your business, already!" She raised her voice at the alicorn, startling even the Pokemon. "What I do is none of your concern!"
"After what you did to my friends, everything you get up to is my business!" Twilight snapped back at her.
"Pssh. Whatever. Talking with you is just going to waste a bunch of time." She scoffed at Twilight. "And if you really want to know what I'm doing here, I'm taking a break. Duh."
"That's it?" Twilight raised an eyebrow, not expecting that answer.
"Of course, that's it. You heard the announcer. Now get lost. Just being near you is making me uncomfortable." Adagio kept on walking, heading deeper in the back street. Twilight watched as she saw the siren just casually move without causing any negativity at all. In fact, when the tournament began, for the amount of time it had been going on for, Adagio had not caused a semblance of negativity. Not even once.
"Wait! Adagio!"
"Urgh...What is it now?" Adagio groaned.
"I'm just curious..."
"When are you never curious?" The siren said under her breath.
"You haven't been spreading negativity ever since you got here. At all. Why is that?"
"Hmph." Adagio didn't actually answer that one. Not even a clever retort this time. She just simply scoffed at Twilight.
"There's a reason why isn't there?"
"Do you have to ask so many questions?!" Adagio stomped her hoof, causing Minccy to hide behind Twilight. Adagio and Twilight had stared each other down for a bit as the atmosphere was rising with tension.
But they weren't alone. Somepony was watching them. And that somepony was none other than Celestia who looked out of a window, opening it. She noticed both of them currently in a pretty heated conversation that could end up leading into something ugly if it carries on. She attempted to step in but she could read their movements, knowing that something else other than hostility will occur.
"Adagio! You can-"
"Don't! You're gonna mention friendship again, aren't you? Forget it! Spare me your cheesy drabble! I don't want anything to do with that thing you call friendship!"
"But your sisters don't feel the same way! They've managed to make friends. Friends with ponies that they never thought they'd get along with! Because of this, they're happy with all of us in Ponyville! Don't you want to be with your sisters? Why do you keep avoiding something as great as friends?"
"Why do I keep avoiding friends? Heh. You're beginning to sound a lot like your Empress self. Adagio went up to Twilight as Eve and Vulpix readied a Psybeam and Incinerate.
"What?"
"Let me tell you this, Sparkle. Do you really think that your precious Magic of Friendship can help everyone?"
"Well it-"
"Can't!" Adagio interrupted Twilight. "I'll admit this much. Friendship does bring others closer to each other and builds powerful bonds. I'll even say that it makes the whole world go around."
"That's right!" Twilight smiled. "You get it! It's because of friendship that everypony's helped each other. Whether it's in the past, present or even future. It always finds a way to bring everypony together!"
"Of course it does. I'm not stupid. I know what it's capable of. After all, it's what defeated me and my sisters back in the Battle of the Bands."
"So, if you know that...then why? Why keep avoiding it?"
"Even if I were to tell you, you'd still cling on to it like some sort of child desperately wanting their parent's attention. I know I used to."
"If you won't tell me...then I won't stop trying to get to you!"
"Hoh?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "You're just as stubborn as that Ash boy. Guess you take a bunch of pointers from your little crush. And speaking of crush. I can't wait to crush you in the tournament if I get paired with you. And if I don't, I'll just defeat you and your friends. That'll give me a ton of satisfaction."
"We won't lose! My friends and I will make sure!"
"Hmph. Better hope they can make it through the rest of the tournament then. Besides. I want Sonata and Aria to watch their big sister completely humiliate their friends right in front of them. Not only that, but you won't even try coming after me anymore after a defeat like that."
"Even if I lose. That won't stop me from trying to reach you. Just like your sisters, there's good in you."
Adagio realized that there was no convincing Twilight. "Why am I even still here? I shouldn't be talking with you for this long." She decided to leave finally, not wanting to chat with Twilight any longer.
But, Adagio did leave one final message to Twilight before she left. "I'll tell you this, Sparkle. You can cherish that Magic of Friendship that you hold so dear for as long as you want. However, there's one magic out there it'll never defeat. A magic that surpasses friendship.
"A magic that surpasses friendship? What's that?"
"Ccino?"
"Espeon?"
"Vul?"
"You seriously don't know?" Adagio chuckled. "It should be obvious. Because everyone has it." And that was that. Adagio had left, leaving Twilight behind.
"Adagio. She's something alright." Twilight nodded. "We'll have to be extra ready if we end up facing her."
With Celestia, she had decided to involve herself with Adagio. First time even. Princess Celestia was capable of reading Adagio surprisingly well. That is because both of them share something in common. Something that has yet to be revealed to Twilight herself even.
Teleporting outside, Celestia had appeared in front of Adagio, startling the siren-pony hybrid.
"Eugh!" Adagio jumped up, causing her horn to glow. She quickly noticed that standing before her was none other than the ruler of Equestria herself. "Y-You...?"
"Adagio Dazzle, is it?"
"Great...As if two alicorns weren't bothering me already." Adagio groaned. "Whatever you're about to say, forget it. I already had a chat with Twilight Sparkle over there. So don't try and lecture me."
"I won't." Celestia shook her head. "I'm not here to force anything on you. I'm here to speak to you as a neutral pony. I want to understand you better."
"Hm? You? You're the last pony I would expect to do so. Especially for someone so high ranking."
"Kir..." Passion didn't take too kindly to Adagio's words. She wanted to blast Adagio with plasma so badly right now.
"Arcanine..." Arcanine was the same. He was ready to pounce at any minute if Adagio tried anything funny against Celestia.
"Hold on, Passion. Arcanine. I just want a small talk. Nothing else. Is that okay with you?"
"Small talk?"
"Yes." Celestia nodded.
"Alright fine. We're still on break." Adagio shrugged. "Why not."
Both Celestia and Adagio had decided to talk on a lone bench that was located right near Canterlot Gardens. It was just those two and the Pokemon. Nopony else.
"Make it quick. I wanna get through this tournament already."
"Tell me, Adagio. What you said to Twilight back there. That even if she understood your reasoning for neglecting friendship, she would still cling on to it."
"Of course. I swear, she keeps that friendship thing close to her like some sort of doll."
"So that means...there must be something deeper going on, am I right?"
Adagio pulled back with her eyes widening. She didn't expect Celestia to figure it out so easily. "How did you..."
"I can tell how somepony is feeling based on their body language, emotions and how they act. I guess spending time with Passion really helped me with that."
"Kirlia!"
"So what? You know that something deeper's going on. I bet you don't know what it-"
"It's about your family, isn't it?"
And yet again, Celestia caught Adagio off guard, causing her to be flabbergasted. "W-What about it?"
"Well." Celestia took in a deep breath. "Would you believe me I said that my family has met with yours before? Specifically your mother."
"You've met my mother?!" Adagio stood up.
"Not me. No. My mother has met yours. But only once." Saying that had Adagio trying to dig into her memories, seeing if she remembered anything like that in the past. But nothing came up. Not at all.
"I've never seen a pony who even looks remotely like you! Or even your sister!"
"Well of course not. This was before you were born. And it was also around this time that my mother and father were still just a unicorn and an earth pony."
"Now you've got my attention...Tell me what you know about your mother's relation with mine."
"Very well. I'll tell you. From what I can recall." Thus, Celestia envisioned the past to Adagio.
My mother, who was known as Sunlight, was a bit of a glutton for adventure. She couldn't resist exploring uncharted areas. Even she had her studies to attend to. She was the next in line to rule Equestria after all. And like all of her adventures, this one is what led her directly to your mother. My mother Sunlight is the one pony who managed to understand family much better than anypony out there.
"Ah..." Sunlight took in the fresh air. She had a similar appearance as Celestia. Her mane and tail were just like Celestia's ethereal mane with the same colour combination of pink, blue and light green. The only difference was that since she wasn't an alicorn yet, it was just a standard mane.
Her Cutie Mark seemed to be the sun but the core was blue, indicating that it was actually meant to be a blue star instead of the natural yellow star that is always present in the world.
Currently, she was in a grassland area. The land was flat without a single hill in sight. But there was a lake there. It was a generally relaxing area as the sun was a perfect sky-blue.
"I know studying is important. But who can resist this!" Sunlight fell on her back, closing her eyes as she just let the sound of the sweet air fill her ears. That wasn't all that filled her ears. From the direction of the lake, singing could be heard.
It wasn't singing from any birds. Not at all. This was something entirely different and new. And Sunlight loves discovering new things. Her thirst for adventure was very similar to a certain individual who exists in the current day. With curiosity, Sunlight led herself towards the location of the song, feeling compelled to it.
And who was singing that beautiful song? Why none other than Vivace. Mother of the three sirens sisters. She looked a bit younger at this point in time. While Adagio resembles her mother, it's mostly Vivace's younger appearance that really matched Adagio's look.
Vivace had suddenly ceased her singing, shaking her head in disappointment. "Ugh. I've already sung that one." Vivace groaned. "I need something with more flash..."
"Um, excuse me?" Sunlight's voice had travelled through Vivace's ears, causing the siren to snap her head towards the newcomer.
"Hm?" Vivace squinted her eyes, noticing that the being that stood before her was none other than a pony. "A pony?" For Vivace, seeing a pony was something rare. Where she lives, ponies aren't exactly the most common species around.
"By my father's beard...What are you?" This was Sunlight's first time seeing a siren. She had never even heard of them before. "A giant fish?"
"AH! How rude!" Vivace scowled at Sunlight. "I am a siren!"
"Oh, terribly sorry! It's just that...you have fish-like properties." Sunlight squeed. "Sorry if that sounded like an insult."
"Hmph. It's fine. I can see the misunderstanding. But what is a pony doing here?"
"Well, due to my thirst for adventure, I ended up in this beautiful area!" Sunlight raised her hooves up, showing off the grasslands.
"Hm. Yes. It is beautiful." Vivace could agree on that.
"I was just taking in the fresh air and radiant appearance of it all. That's when I heard singing of all of a sudden. I assume it was from you?"
"Hmph. Of course, it was." Vivace put on a smug face, looking up. "You're in the presence of a siren. Masters of singing. With voices that are unparalleled.
"Amazing...so that was actually your voice. It was wonderful!" Sunlight clapped her hooves together. "What song were you singing exactly?"
"Hm? I don't name my songs." Vivace shook her head.
"Why not?"
"Why should I exactly?"
"Well, it sounds like you enjoy singing. And if it is a song that you enjoy singing more than anything else, naming it would help give it its own identity."
"Its own identity you say?" Vivace thought about it for a second. "Hm. The songs I sing are scarce in identity, actually. Perhaps I could name them from time to time."
"Excellent! I'm sure you'll end up finding the perfect names for them. And I hope I'm not being a hassle or anything...but could you sing one more time? I would like to hear that song in its fullest."
Vivace squinted her eyes, surprised at Sunlight's request. And there was a reason why she was so surprised by it. "...Hold on. Are you sure you want me to sing?"
"Yes. You have a wonderful voice. So, why not?"
"Aha." Vivace let out a slight chuckle. "I'm the first siren you've ever come across, correct?"
"Well, this is the first time I've ever heard of a siren before. So yes. You are the first."
"Hm. Then, in that case, I should warn you that my singing is not one of...amicable origin." Vivace smirked.
"Why do you say that?"
"You see, my little pony." Vivace went closer to Sunlight, casting a shadow over her. "Us sirens do not sing to entertain. Not at all. We sing to spread negativity. The more hostility there is, the healthier we become. So far, we have fed off the negativity of other species. The one we have yet to feed off are ponies."
Vivace had explained everything so casually to Sunlight. It was as if she knew that Sunlight was next in line to be affected by the sound of a siren.
"S-Spread negativity?" That definitely caught Sunlight off guard.
"Yes. You could say that our magic lies within our voice."
"But why would you want to spread negativity with something as beautiful as that voice?"
"Why? My, you are a curious little pony." Vivace lowered herself in the water. "It is because we have no choice."
"No choice?" Sunlight pulled back.
"Right. Negativity acts as a life source for us. It feeds us sirens. Without it, we are nothing."
Sunlight thought for a moment. She could already tell that this links to destiny. Similar to how Cutie Marks are predestined to a pony from birth. They both share one thing in common. Fate.
"My...that's a horrible fate." Sunlight sighed.
"It is. But, there is nothing we can do about it. We have to survive somehow. However, despite our actions, those other species somehow manage to find a way to patch things up and settle their differences."
"I understand..." Sunlight nodded her head in understanding.
"Hold on." Vivace's eyes widened. "You do?"
"Why, yes. And I am truly sorry for your entire race. Honestly."
Vivace could see that Sunlight was actually accepting of this. The other species she had come across, when she explained why she sang, they had some interesting responses. Some more aggressive than others. But not Sunlight. She had a clear understanding of what fate truly was. Vivace could tell by the look in the young unicorn's eyes that she truly felt sorry for the entire siren species.
Due to Sunlight's passive nature, Vivace couldn't bring herself to show any animosity to this pony. At all. If anything, she seemed like a sweet summer child who had just discovered the truth about the world.
"W-Well...I do not need your apology." Vivace turned around, trying to shrug it off. "What can you do anyway?"
"Nothing. I'm not sure anypony can." Sunlight rubbed her hoof. "But how come that fate exists for you and every other siren?"
"We don't have a clue ourselves. But we shouldn't try and question fate. It is out of our control after all."
"That is true." Sunlight nodded. "Well, surely you still enjoy life even with this fate right?"
"Hm? I suppose we do. It's not all gloom and doom. We sirens tend to socialize with each other on a daily basis. When we're not feeding off the animosity of other species, we just enjoy each other's company.
"Oh. It sounds like you have a lot of good friends where you come from."
"Friends? Oh, no, no. You see, my little pony, every siren is related."
"Every?!" Sunlight shot up.
"Oh yes. It all predates back to our origin. Every last one of us are brothers and sisters. In fact, the bonds I have with my family is the only force of magic that is not correlated with negativity."
"Magic of Family, right?"
"Magic of Family?" Vivace chuckled at that. "What kind of a silly name is that?"
"I know it sounds a bit childish but I consider it magic. Family is something spectacular. It can never be replaced, after all. Even when they have their differences or hardships, they still love each other, don't they?"
"Hm." Vivace thought for a moment, gently nodding to Sunlight's words. Something about this unicorn made her feel at ease. It was hard to describe. "I like you, my little pony. You're surprisingly much more tolerable than my brothers and sisters."
"Am I now?" Sunlight giggled. "I bet they don't compare to my father and his overprotective nature."
"Really now?"
"Oh yes. If I even think about chatting with somepony else, especially a colt, he would go ballistic!"
"I would say you have it easy. The younger of my family tend to bicker over the pettiest of things. You would not believe the stories that I have to tell you."
The two species went on to chat about their family experiences. They had a lot to say to each other. Good or bad. And both had gained new memories in their head. Mostly comedic ones. And in that one instance, Vivace had grown a fondness for the pony. And so did Sunlight. They chattered away for hours and hours, without showing signs of slowing down.
Eventually, they had their fun. But they both had to leave their separate ways.
"Well. It has been fun," said Vivace. "But I should get going now."
"Right. I do have studies I need to attend to after all" Sunlight stretched her hooves. "It was really a wonderful experience getting to meet you, Vivace." The two had finally gotten each other's names.
"You as well, Sunlight. But just so you know, this does not make us friends."
"I know. How about...acquaintance? I know that friendship doesn't do anything for the sirens. So perhaps a less intimate relationship can work."
"Hmmm..." Vivace thought about it for a second. Sunlight did have a point. "Sure. Acquaintance." The siren lowered herself in the water, waving her fin at Sunlight as a farewell sign.
"Wait, Vivace! Will we ever see each other again?"
"Who's to say? Perhaps in the future, our children might meet."
"Children?"
"I plan to have offsprings of my own one day. I assume you aim to carry out your bloodline, don't you?"
"Guilty. When I find that colt for me, I'll have a child of my own. And you're right. They might meet. But...would they be at odds at each due to what they each stand for?"
"Perhaps. Us sirens and our power to spread negativity can rub anyone the wrong way after all. However, you're the only creature that has managed to twist my fin. So my child may get along with yours in the future. But, fate is unpredictable after all."
"Right you are on that one. Well, one day, I believe that somepony will be able to solve this great contrast."
"Are you suggesting that somepony can possibly change fate?"
"Not necessarily change fate. That's not possible. But...I believe that there might be something out there that can find a perfect balance. I am clueless about what that perfect balance is, unfortunately."
"Maybe." Vivace nodded. "Here. Take this." She used her fin to grab some gem that sirens just casually keep around underwater. These gems were two very familiar purple diamonds.
"Oh?" Sunlight used her magic to grab the two diamonds.
"A little gift from me. You won't forget now, will you?"
"Not at all! Thank you, Vivace!"
"Hm. You're welcome." And at that moment, a familiar golden light surrounded the siren's body. It was faint and weak but it could still be seen.
And just like that, the two went their separate ways. My mother never forgot about Vivace for a second. So much so that when I was finally born into this world, she told me all about her experience with that one single siren.
Back to the present day, Celestia had finished the story on how Sunlight and Vivace had met. Hearing this had changed Adagio's entire perspective on things. Just a small bit. She saw Princess Celestia in a new light. Before, she related her to everypony else. Especially Twilight.
"I didn't know that..." Adagio spoke.
"At first, when I saw your sisters, it never crossed my mind that they were sirens. But after seeing you, it reminded me of my mother's description of Vivace."
"Well...if your mother understands why I do what I do, then that should apply to you too, right?"
"Hard to say. After all, my mother understood the importance of family better than anypony. It was her teachings that moulded me into the pony that I am today. Without her, I would've grown even more distant from Luna. I owe everything to both my mother and my father."
"Right. That's all that matters, huh?"
"Yes, family matters. But even so..." Celestia picked her Kirlia. "Friends matter as well. Perhaps not as much as the ones who have been with you since the beginning, but like you said to Twilight; Friendship does bring others closer to each other and builds powerful bonds. I've certainly built a powerful bond with these two right here."
"Canine." Arcanine had hopped on the bench where Adagio and Celestia sat. The Legendary Pokemon had changed his outlook on Adagio a bit, including Passion. But they were still highly protective of their trainer.
"Krick!" Kricketot, who always hid in Adagio's mane, popped his head up, greeting both Passion and Arcanine.
"My mother said that one day, somepony would be able to find that perfect balance. Whatever it may be."
"Perfect balance." Adagio hopped off the seat. "Well, even still. I'll still continue doing what I know how to do best. And if you do manage to find that 'Perfect Balance', then I guess I'll be stumped. But until then, I won't stop until I reach my goal. Are you gonna stop me, princess? Take away my magic?"
"Not at all. It doesn't feel right. If I did, then that would mean I would end up harming the life of another pony."
"At least you know that..." Adagio scoffed.
"I understand your struggle, Adagio. Go on. Finish your break until the tournament resumes. And I swear that I'll find a way to help you and your sisters. Without using friendship."
"Without using friendship you say?" Adagio raised an eyebrow at that. It actually sounded a bit promising. "Fine. I'll be waiting, Princess Celestia. Don't disappoint me."
Adagio had finally left, being on her own this time with her Kricketot. Celestia watched as she had seen Adagio in a new light.
Celestia now had another major goal that she aimed to accomplish. Finding a way to help Adagio. She realized that friendship wasn't what Adagio needed. But something else, as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The 40-minute break has come to an end. Thus, the Canterlot Tournament can resume.
And continuing where it left off, the next matchup can begin. Twilight Sparkle against Trixie Lulamoon. A matchup that actually seemed possible. It was bound to happen eventually. In the waiting room, Twilight took in a deep breath, preparing herself for the inevitable battle. Twilight had chosen Bisharp for this battle since he would work well against Trixie's Misdreavus.
"Okay...I can do this. Trixie's Pokemon is her Misdreavus. So Bisharp's is gonna be a huge help. Right, Bisharp?"
"Bisharp!" The Sword Blade Pokemon nodded.
"Eve. Minccy. Vulpix. Wish me luck, okay?"
"Espeon!" Eve and the others cheered their trainer on, giving her good luck in this upcoming battle.
"Good luck out there, Sparkle," Trixie smirked as her Misdreavus was beside her. "Against the Great and Powerful Trixie, you'll need all the luck in Equestria to triumph.
"Trust me. Bisharp and I are gonna ace this. No doubt." Twilight retorted.
"Gothitelle..." Gothitelle had opened up the doors for the two ponies. It was about time the tournament had resumed. Everypony in the crowd was already waiting eagerly for this. They were excited since the Princess of Friendship was about to battle as their cheers roared across Canterlot.
Starlight, however, wasn't so eager. She was terrified of the outcome. What would happen if Twilight won? What would happen if Trixie won? So many outcomes that could end up in tears or violence, according to her.
"You seem a bit shaken up, Starlight. What's wrong?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"Nothing..." She gulped. "I'm just soooo excited about this matchup."
"Same here! I can't wait to see that Misdreavus pull of some spooky antics!" Pinkie mimicked the movements of a ghost.
"I wouldn't take Trixie to be the battling type. Then again, there are a lot of ponies here who don't give that impression yet they are battling," said Fluttershy.
"Audino."
Up at the balcony of Canterlot Castle, Celestia kept her eyes on this battle especially. This was her student battling, after all, making her curious.
"Finally! We can resume the tournament" The announcer exclaimed. "This time it's Princess Twilight Sparkle herself! And uh...some unicorn named Trixie."
"SOME UNICORN?!" Trixie snapped, giving the announcer a death stare.
"Eek!" The pegasus announcer hid from Trixie's horrifying gaze.
"Hmph. Just you wait. Once I beat you and this entire tournament, I, the Great and Powerful Trixie will have a second title! Trixie! The Strongest Trainer in Equestria! No..." She thought about it for a second, thinking of a new name. "I'll think of something else."
"Get ready, Bisharp." Twilight dusted her hoof on the ground.
"Sharp."
"You may both bring out your Pokemon now." said the Referee.
"It's all you, Bisharp. Do your best!"
"Bisharp!" The Sword Blade Pokemon ran in front of Twilight, readying himself. The rest of Twilight's Pokemon stood behind her, spectating from a much closer angle than every pony else.
"Now! Prepare to be amazed!" Trixie had suddenly held a Poke Ball out, not going for Misdreavus, who was always beside her at all times. Instead, the Pokemon she had sent out was none other than the Illusion Fox Pokemon Zoroark.
"Zoro!" Zoroark made a flashy entrance, transforming herself into Twilight.
"WHAT THE?!" Twilight gasped. She was surprised by two things. One, Zoroark had transformed into her. And two, her strategy had been messed up. She was expecting Misdreavus. Not another Dark-Type.
"Zoro." Zoroark had grinned at Twilight. This was Trixie's plan from the beginning. To throw Twilight off guard. The fake Twilight was in a pouncing position, shaking her tail about as the strategy to confuse Twilight was working so far.
"I'm seeing double! Is that a second Princess Twilight?!" The announcer flew up, smashing his head on the ceiling. "Ow."
"Surprised, Sparkle? My Zoroark here is a master-class illusionist and shapeshifter. See how she's able to mimic your personality to a T?"
"Uhh..." Twilight's jaw dropped as she looked down at Zoroark. Their personalities didn't match at all since this fake Twilight had a sprightly nature. It did evolve from a Zorua after all. And this was one of the rare instances where a Zoroark keeps its personality after evolving. "Right... identical."
"Sheesh...what a sight." The referee chuckled a bit. "Alright. You may both begin!"
"I can't let it throw me off..." Twilight shook her head. "Change of plans Bisharp! Use Iron Head!"
"Bisharp!" The Sword Blade Pokemon lowered his head as the blade that stuck out from its head had hardened into a much stronger steel than he already owns. From front to back. He jumped into the air, flying directly towards the Illusion Fox Pokemon head-first.
"Zoroark! Counter!" A huge play on Trixie's part. Zoroark, who was still mimicking Twilight, had prepared herself for this. Her body was surrounded in an emanating black aura as she took the force of Iron Head with Bisharp smashing its bladed head into the Illusion Fox Pokemon.
"Zoro!" Zoroark smirked at Bisharp, returning the favour by uppercutting the Sword Blade Pokemon with her fake hoof.
"Sharp!" Bisharp really felt that one. Since he was Dark-Steel, Fighting-Type moves are a huge NO for him. The Sword Blade Pokemon had been launched back by Counter, already taking huge amounts of damage. From what everypony saw, it looked like Twilight Sparkle had given a Pokemon an uppercut. THat's something that won't leave their memory.
"AH! Bisharp!" Twilight gasped. "Are you okay?!"
"Bish...Sharp!" Bisharp was hanging in there. That Counter really did some damage. But thankfully, this Bisharp wasn't that easy to take out even with a super-effective move. After all, he does protect Queen Serperior in PokePark.
"Zoroark!" Since Zoroark had been hit once, the illusion wore off, causing her to reveal her true self.
"You look shaken up, Sparkle. Still dazed and confused about all of this?" Trixie put on a smug look.
"I won't let you throw me off guard again, Trixie," Twilight replied. "But...if I get physical with Zoroark, that Counter's really gonna mess up Bisharp. What do I do?" She thought to herself.
"That Counter really stung!" Pinkie Pie winced. "Maybe Bisharp's got something that he can use from afar?"
"Bisharp! Let's try ending this in one hit! Guillotine!"
"Sharp!" By crossing both his arms together, Bisharp had pivoted his foot back, kicking up some dust.
"Or maybe not!" Pinkie pulled her mane, preparing to freak out.
"BI!" Bisharp's eyes flashed red as his blades let out a dazzling blue light. He ran from the spot he stood on, leaving behind a huge dust trail.
"Zoroark! Dodge with Agility!"
"Ro!" Zoroark got on all fours, propelling her body to the side as she had evaded the One-Hit-KO move. Not only that, but her speed had increased.
"Sharp?!" Bisharp gasped, realizing that he had missed his mark.
"Now! Use Night Daze!" Zoroark had let loose a pitch-black shockwave that came straight from her eyes.
"Bisharp! Use your blades to block it!"
"Bi!" By turning around, Bisharp quickly put both his hands up in an X position. The shock wave of dark energy had made contact with the Dark-Steel-Type, slightly pushing him back. Thanks to him being a Dark-Type as well, this attack didn't do much. And blocking really helped nullify it a lot.
"Try Guillotine one more time!" A second attempt was made against Zoroark. Perhaps this time, Guillotine will finish the job.
Unfortunately, due to Agility, this wasn't the case. "Dodge it!" Zoroark had once again, effortlessly eluded the attack by pouncing to the side.
"Clever, Twilight. You know how dangerous Counter is to your Bisharp so you're trying to take my Zoroark out in one hit so that it never happens."
"Saw right through me..." Twilight chided.
"Well keep trying! You won't catch up to Zoroark! Not with that speed! Use Dig!"
"Ro! Zoro!" Zoroark had used those sharp claws she had to burrow her way underground, leaving Bisharp's line of sight.
"Dig?! Stay sharp Bisharp!"
"Sharp!" The Sword Blade Pokemon kept his focus, looking out for any underground hijinks that were nearby.
"Not good..." Fluttershy bit her hoof. "Zoroark has two moves that are super-effective against Bisharp. Not only that Zoroark's much faster!"
"Dino!"
"It isn't over yet. She's still got a lot of options to turn this around," said Ash.
"Pikachu."
"Well, they aren't good-looking options!" Pinkie Pie winced.
"Now...what will you do Twilight?" Celestia said quietly, anticipating Twilight's next move.
The Princess of Friendship had already entered a rough spot. Bisharp had already taken major damage from Counter. And if Dig hits, the damage won't be as lethal as Counter but it'll hurt since Bisharp is part Steel. Not to mention that Agility made the already fast Zoroark, twice as fast.
"This is risky but...Bisharp! Iron Defense!" She had gone on the defensive this time. Bisharp had surrounded himself in a silver aura, strengthening his defensive capabilities. Twilight was hoping that it would be enough to take Dig.
"Zoro! Zoroark emerged from the ground finally as an eruption of rocks flew up. The Illusion Fox Pokemon had swung her claw at the Sword Blade Pokemon, causing him to be knocked back from the spot he stood in.
"Bi!" The Dark-Steel-Type definitely felt the impact of the attack. However, since he had used Iron Defense, he was still standing.
"Good! Now, Guillotine!" Quickly recovering from the attack, Bisharp bolted forward with his bladed arms being crossed together.
"Dodge with Agility!" Once again, Zoroark had outsped the Sharp Blade Pokemon by front flipping over him. Her speed had once again increased.
"This?! Fine! Then we'll improve as well! Keep using Iron Defense!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Sha!" Bisharp had once again increased his defence, doubling it. Now both Pokemon have double speed and defence.
"Raise your defence all you want! You can't hit what you can't catch! Zoroark! Use Dig once more!"
"Ark!" Burrowing her way into the ground, Zoroark had vanished, preparing to strike at the right time.
"Not this time! Bisharp! Iron Defence yet again!" The third one in a row. Now Bisharp was at his maximum defence limit. The Illusion Fox Pokemon emerged from the ground, smashing her head against Bisharp's.
"Zo!"
"Bi!" Bisharp pulled his head back after the impact as he staggered.
"Now! Bisharp! Iron Head!"
"Sharp!" Returning the favour, Bisharp smashed his hardened head on Zoroark's, making them even. The Illusion Fox Pokemon felt that one for sure as Bisharp's defence not only meant that he was further durable, it also meant that his entire body was hard enough to be a weapon. As if he already wasn't a walking weapon.
"Zoroark!" Zoroark had been hurled back by Iron Head, leaving a pretty visible bruise as well.
"Counter!" Zoroark drifted on the ground, lunging back at the opposing Dark-Type. Her claws had that same black aura around them as she slashed Bisharp right in his bladed chest. "That should it!" Trixie grinned. She believed that was game over for Bisharp.
But it wasn't. Iron Defense really changed things up. Bisharp had one eye closed as he powered through the devastating Fighting-Type move, just slightly moving back.
"Zo?!" Zoroark's eyes opened up, shocked that Bisharp was still standing.
"Huh?!" Trixie jolted back.
"You won't be taking Bisharp down so easily! He's no pushover!" Twilight declared.
"Oh! Great job, Twilight!" Fluttershy cheered.
"Audino!"
"Had me worried there!" Pinkie Pie held her chest, breathing in and out. "Why do Pokemon battles have to be so intense?!"
"It isn't over yet! All I need is one more Counter and that's it!"
"Zoroark!"
"You might be right on that one." Twilight leaned forward. "If I can just land Guillotine once...but that won't be easy with Zoroark's speed. Unless..." Twilight had schemed something that just might work. "Bisharp! Use Night Slash in an X position!"
"Sharp!" Bisharp put both of his hands together as a black aura surrounded his blades.
"Hah! That won't do much against my Zoroark! Counter!"
Bisharp ran forward, locking eyes with the Illusion Fox Pokemon who was prepared to Counter his hit the moment he struck. The Sharp Blade Pokemon closed in whilst Zoroark readied a counter with both her claws. That's when Twilight ushered a word that Trixie didn't expect.
"Shift into Guillotine!"
"Wait, what?!" Trixie stood up.
"Bisharp!" Bisharp had changed his attack from Night Slash to Guillotine. And then, in a spurt of power, the Sharp Blade Pokemon slashed past Zoroark. At that moment, he had moved much faster than Zoroark since he pulled the move off successfully.
The sheer force of Bisharp's Guillotine cut was so monstrous that it cut the entire battlefield in half, leaving a huge gap on both sides. The referee gasped as he had almost fallen into the chasm. Not only that, but even the seats were affected. Thankfully, no pony got hurt, but they had all been separated from each other due to the intensity of Bisharp's attack.
And the result? As expected. Guillotine is known as a One-Hit-KO Move for a reason. Zoroark's eyes widened as she realized she had been defeated, falling on her knees and soon, flat on her face.
"Sharp." Bisharp stood tall, laying down both of his arms as he didn't even look back at Zoroark.
The referee, who was still terrified of the huge gap, went over to see Zoroark's current state. Those Spinda-like eyes don't lie. That was that.
"Zoroark is unable to battle! Bisharp wins! Thus the victor is Princess Twilight Sparkle!"
"We did it? YES!" Twilight flew up in victorious energy. "Fantastic work Bisharp!" She flew over to her Pokemon who was recovering fairly well after the battle. She attempted to hug him but she then remembered that the blades around him are lethal.
"Sharp." Bisharp raised his hands up to Twilight, asserting his dominance.
"Long sigh..." Trixie sighed. "Just when I thought I had it. Oh well, good job, Zoroark." The defeated trainer went over to her fallen partner
"Zoro..." Zoroark stood up, holding her neck since Guillotine tends to strike there most of the time whenever it's used. "Ark."
"Well played, Twilight." Trixie nodded. "I suppose even somepony as Great and Powerful as me, still has a long way to go when it comes to Pokemon battling."
"You battled well, Trixie. You really did catch me off guard in the beginning, ya know. I was expecting you to use Misdreavus."
"My precious little Misdreavus is too innocent to battle. Isn't that right, Misdreavus?" Trixie held the Screech Pokemon.
"Drea!"
"Innocent...sure..." Twilight winced, recalling the first time Misdreavus attacked Ponyville.
"Well. Good luck in the tournament. If you've managed to beat me then you're not allowed to lose the entire thing, alright?"
"You can count it."
"Bisharp!"
"Phew...I thought something horrible would happen." Starlight chuckled nervously. She was glad the outcome didn't end with one of them in a saddened state.
"That's the stuff, Twilight!" Ash stood up with Pikachu and Pinkie Pie.
"Pika!"
Celestia smiled, glad that her student managed to overcome a seemingly one-sided match.
Now that this matchup was over, the next was two ponies from Trottingham and then after that, it'll be Rainbow Dash's turn to battle. And she was going up against Limestone Pie of all ponies.
"So close..." Rainbow Dash squeed. Her excitement was only growing. It seemed like her matchup was so close yet so far at the same time. Once Twilight came through those doors and into the waiting room, her friends had gone over to congratulate her victory. "That Guillotine was so cool, Twilight!"
"A fine job!" Rarity nodded. "Even if you did cut everything in half."
"Thanks, girls. Whew!" Twilight looked up. "What a rush. Thanks for the help Bisharp.
"Sharp!"
"Very soon, it'll be my turn." Rainbow landed on the floor. "You don't even know how excited I am for this! What about you, Rarity?"
"Hm. Oh. I suppose I'll use my Leavanny for when my turn arrives. I'm not sure. My opponents Pokemon could be absolutely anything."
"Right you are on that. Zoroark was the last thing Bisharp and I expected." Twilight nodded.
"Speaking of which...you see how it copied you?" Rainbow Dash was prepared to laugh as she nudged Twilight.
"Mrrgh..." Twilight grumbled. She wanted to forget about Zoroark transforming into her already. And speaking of which, right behind her was Zoroark herself, transforming into the Princess of Friendship once more. "Hm?" Twilight turned around to see her fake self stand before her. "AH!"
"Zoro-ro-ro." The Illusion Fox Pokemon chuckled, returning to her true self.
"Would you cut that out!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Alright, Zoroark." Trixie chuckled. "We've had our amusement." She returned the Poke Ball as she gave one final farewell to Twilight before heading over to the crowd to spectate.
"So uh...what about the battlefield?" Scootaloo asked. There is a huge gap after all. How are they going to battle if there's a hazard just plastered on the arena?
Gothitelle had the answer to that. She went outside towards the battlefield in order to repair all the damage. Her immense psychic power was so grandiose that it was capable of grabbing both sides of the gap, pulling them together. The force of her manipulating the battlefield made Canterlot tremble as everypony almost fell out of their seats along with Celestia almost falling over.
"Woah!" Ash held Fluttershy and Pikachu, regaining his balance.
"Goth..." And just like that, in a few seconds, Gothitelle had repaired the battlefield with ease. Perhaps Psychic-Types are a bit too powerful. But then again, so is every type.
"Good job, Gothitelle!" Ben gave his Pokemon a thumbs up from afar.
"Gothitelle."
Now that the battlefield had been repaired, the tournament can go on without any technical issues. Adagio had watched Twilight's match, seeing how she battled back there. From what she could tell, Twilight can easily be thrown off guard if her strategy ends up backfiring. Adagio knows that she can do the same since the Pokemon she has at her disposal is a Pheromosa. A Pokemon that traumatized most of Twilight's friends. It was the perfect option.
Soon, the first day of the Tournament will close and follow up until the week comes to an end. The strongest trainer pony has yet to be discovered as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
As the Canterlot Tournament to test everypony's battling skills continues, the current match between two Trottingham ponies is about to come to an end. And after that, it shall be Rainbow Dash and Limestone Pie's match.
"Vikavolt! Vice Grip!" A pegasus commanded.
"Vika!" The Levitate Pokemon had grabbed its opposing Pokemon, which was a Sandlash, using its big strong jaws as it slammed the Mouse Pokemon down on the ground, causing it to faint.
"Sand...slash..."
"Not my Sandslash!" The opposing unicorn pony gasped.
"Sandslash is unable to battle! Vikavolt wins! Which means the victor is Raincharm!" announced the referee.
And with that, this matchup had come to an end. Meaning it can segway into the next battle. Rainbow vs Limestone. Two ponies who are very close to Pinkie Pie. Speaking of which, the pink pony was feeling heavily conflicted now.
"Who do I root for?! My sister or my friend?!" Pinkie curled up into a ball, unable to decide.
"Limestone, huh? I wonder how much she and Tyranitar have bonded." Ash wondered. He was the one to help her catch the Armor Pokemon back at the Rock Farm.
"Pika."
"Wait!" Pinkie shot up. "Does that mean my entire family is somewhere in the crowd?!" She scanned the seats, searching for any more of her family members. But there wasn't a single sign of any of them. It was just Limestone.
Speaking of Limestone, she had made her way out into the stadium first with Rainbow Dash following behind. Both trainers went over to their sides, standing opposite from each other.
"You're one of Pinkie Pie's friends, right?" Limestone said. "Better not disappoint. I came all the way from my home to take part in this."
"Disappoint?" Rainbow squinted her eyes. "You're gonna be blown away by what me and my Pokemon can do." Rainbow Dash held out her Poke Ball.
"Both trainers. Please send out your Pokemon."
"Get em, Tyranitar!" As expected, Limestone's Pokemon, her only Pokemon and her ace was none other than the Armour Pokemon.
"TYRANITAR!"
"A Tyranintar?!" That definitely surprised Rainbow Dash. "Okay then...Out you come! Altaria!" For Rainbow Dash, Altaria was the choice for this battle.
"Taria!"
"Alright, Altaria! Tyranitar's a tough Pokemon to get through. So keep your cool, okay?"
"Altaria." The Humming Pokemon nodded.
"I'll just cheer for both of them. Good luck you two!" Pinkie Pie blew some trumpets.
"Battle start!"
"Get a load of this! Use Disarming Voice! And keep it there" Rainbow attacked first.
"Al!" The Humming Pokemon opened her mouth, releasing a beam of purple hearts with a charming cry packed behind it. Tyranitar was being pummeled by the Fairy-Type move as Altaria was still echoing at the Armour Pokemon.
"Ty!" Tyranitar flinched from the attack as she had
"Thought somepony would go for some Fairy nonsense against my Tyranitar. Use Hyper Beam!"
"Ranitar!" Starting off strong, Tyranitar stomped her feet on the ground, causing a mini-earthquake that shook the stadium. Due to a Tyranitar being a naturally bulky Pokemon, even super-effective moves won't take it down so easily as she powered through the Disarming Voice.
She opened her mouth wide as a rupturing beam of energy had appeared. As always, Hyper Beam proved to be the go-to move to have if you want to dish out some major damage.
And major damage it dished. Once Tyranitar fired the beam from her mouth, it overpowered the Disarming Voice with ease, turning it into dust.
"Alta?!" Altaria's eyes widened as they gazed upon the mighty Hyper Beam. Before Rainbow Dash could do anything, the Humming Pokemon had been engulfed by the devastating Normal-Type move. What followed was an instant explosion of energy that startled everypony due to how loud and impactful it was.
"Ah! Altaria!" Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped.
Altaria fell out of the smoke, tumbling on the ground. She was still standing but Hyper Beam really left a mark on her. This gave Rainbow Dash a huge handicap. And the battle had just started.
"Tari..." Altaria flew back up into the air, looking tattered and shabby.
"What an impact! Tyranitar's already dealt major damage in one attack!" said the Announcer.
"Didn't see that one coming did ya? Don't worry. There's more where that came from! Tyranitar! Thunder Fang!" Limestone's way of battling was simple. Overwhelm her opponent with deadly moves, not allowing the opponent to rest for even a minute. That way of battling really worked well with Tyranitar's rampaging nature.
"Rani!" The Armor Pokemon opened her mouth wide once more, this time, running towards her opponent as her teeth gained purple volts of electricity.
"Look out, Altaria! Fly higher up!" Altaria spread her wings out, soaring higher into the air as she had avoided the deadly bite that Tyranitar had.
"Hyper Beam one more time!" Altaria's flight couldn't help her against a Pokemon such as Tyranitar who is strong against Flying-Types. Once again, Hyper Beam was being utilized.
"Quick, Altaria! Use Ice Beam!" Rainbow Dash realized that if the move hit a second time, it would've been over. So she decided to freeze the Armor Pokemon instead.
Both Pokemon charged might beams in their gaping mouths. But only one can be stronger. As the two ranged attacks were fired, they collided, entering a beam struggle.
It was strikingly clear that Hyper Beam was the superior move as it was easily breaking through Ice Beam. Altaria was being pushed back by the overwhelming force of Hyper Beam as she couldn't keep Ice Beam up for long. And Rainbow Dash knew that from what she could see.
"Not good...Fly away, Altaria!"
"Altaria!" By closing her mouth, the Humming Pokemon had stopped using Ice Beam as she zipped herself to the side, avoiding Hyper Beam.
However, the size of Hyper Beam had managed to hit her one of her cotton wings, causing the Dragon-Flying-Type to flinch a bit.
"Use Stone Edge!" Limestone's aggressive battle style continued. The Armor Pokemon summoned crystal rocks around her body as they shot forward towards the opposing Pokemon.
"Dodge it!" With haste, Altaria did her very best to avoid these incoming stones. But, due to Hyper Beam damaging her wing, she was having trouble evading these super-effective moves. As such, some of the stones hit her wings, causing Altaria to be shot out of the sky.
"Ria!" The Humming Pokemon winced as she fell down in a spiral.
"Altaria, no!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.
"Finish it! Use Hyper Beam!" Limestone was aiming to put an end to this right now. She did have a job to get back at the farm after all.
"Limestone's not letting her rest one bit!" Fluttershy squeaked.
"She really doesn't want Rainbow Dash to gain the upper hand..." Ash was sweating a bit.
"Pika..."
"That's Limestone for ya." Pinkie Pie nodded.
With Hyper Beam being fired straight towards Altaria, it looked like it would be the end right here. But Rainbow Dash wasn't about to let that happen.
"Altaria! Use Dragon Pulse on the ground!"
"Altaria!" A risky move that could end up damaging Altaria herself. By firing a dragon-shaped shock wave from her mouth, the Humming Pokemon had catapulted herself into the air, avoiding Hyper Beam by the skin of her non-existent teeth.
"Yes! Now! Ice Beam!" Rainbow Dash found her opportunity. If there was a time to strike it was now while Hyper Beam was fading away, leaving Tyranitar wide open. The Dragon-Flying-Type let a chilling Ice Beam out of her mouth as it flashed right at Armor Pokemon.
"Dodge it!" But it was too late. Ice Beam hit its mark. And as such, the attack froze Tyranitar in place.
"Oh! What a turn! After taking a pretty harsh beating, Altaria has managed to freeze Tyranitar in place!"
Finally, Altaria was no longer being overwhelmed. That was aggressive. Both Rainbow Dash and her Pokemon breathed a sigh of relief. But it wasn't over yet. They still had to defeat Tyranitar.
"Alright. Let's turn the tables, Altaria! Use Dragon Pulse!"
"I don't think so." Limestone smirked. "Hyper Beam!"
Unfortunately, being frozen in ice isn't enough to hold a Pokemon as calamitous as Tyranitar. The ice shattered instantly as a raging beam of energy raced forward. "Tyranitar!"
Both Dragon Pulse and Hyper Beam had clashed, entering yet another beam struggle. However, Dragon Pulse proved to be much more effective than Ice Beam and Disarming Voice. While it still wasn't enough to stop Hyper Beam, it was capable of holding it back.
"Al...Taria!"
"Hang in there, Altaria!"
"Breakthrough it, Tyranitar!"
"A second struggle! This time Altaria's proving to hold her own much better!"
"Hyper Beam's too dynamic!" Fluttershy gasped. "Altaria can't keep it up forever!"
"How's she gonna beat something like that?" Sweetie Belle wondered.
Dragon Pulse was starting to dwindle in power. Same with Hyper Beam, only it dwindled at a much slower rate. Rainbow realized that this wouldn't work at all. If Altaria kept on clashing beams with Tyranitar, she would lose every single time. So a decision had been made.
"Altaria! Fly around and Disarming Voice!" Altaria had exited the beam struggle, propelling herself to the side once more. This time, since Hyper Beam had dwindled from the struggle, it wasn't wide enough to chip her wings a second time, giving her the freedom of flying without any damage.
The Humming Pokemon had done what Rainbow Dash told her to do. By flying around the battlefield, she let out a shower of Disarming Voices from all sides instead of just one.
"TY! RAN!" It proved to be an effective method. One Disarming Voice wasn't enough to fight against Tyranitar. But multiple were, actually. The Armor Pokemon was slowly being overwhelmed by these constant volleys of sound waves.
"Tyranitar! Use Hyper Beam to destroy them all!" Limestone ordered. The Armor Pokemon was prepared to blow every single Disarming Voice away.
"Keep flying across the battlefield!" Altaria didn't stop for a second. Even when Tyranitar shelled out Hyper Beam which destroyed any incoming Disarming Voices, she was able to elude the Normal-Type move. But not for long.
"You can't run from Hyper Beam forever! Chase her down!"
Now, a chase had begun. Altaria had a new objective. Avoiding Hyper Beam. If her wing hadn't been damaged, it would've been easier to avoid it, but now, Altaria will have to get creative with her dodging.
The sight of a beam chasing down a flying creature was something to behold, really. Everypony was taking it in as they had no idea if Altaria would be able to elude this or if Tyranitar would eventually catch up to her with Hyper Beam.
"Spin around!" Altaria had covered herself with her fluffy wings, spiralling about whilst avoiding the attack. This worked, somewhat, as her spinning helped in evading Hyper Beam with Tyranitar trying to maintain her focus.
This evading tactic from Rainbow Dash was proving to be a bit effective. Hyper Beam was slowly weakening over time. But it still wasn't enough. Limestone really knew how to put the pressure on somepony.
"What do I do...Altaria can't keep evading forever..." Rainbow Dash growled, thinking to herself. "Gotta think...think!"
The tension was really building, putting Rainbow Dash and Altaria in a stressful situation. She looked over at Tyranitar's Hyper Beam, seeing that its range is so great that it was even capable of breaking through the clouds themselves without any signs of stopping.
That's when it hit Rainbow Dash. The clouds. It was a bold attempt, but something had to work in order to fight back against Tyranitar.
"Altaria! Hide in the clouds!"
"Tari!" Following Rainbow Dash's order, the Humming Pokemon had done what she used to do when she was still a Swablu. Concealing herself in the clouds. She covered herself once more in order to make this work.
"Oh! Altaria's decided to hide in the clouds themselves! What will Tyranitar do?!"
"Hiding won't save you! Blow the clouds away Tyranitar!"
"TYRA!" Tyranitar had changed the direction of Hyper Beam once more, this time, attacking the clouds themselves.
Altaria closed her eyes as she could hear the violent sounds of Hyper Beam echoing through the skies themselves. The crowd looked up to see the fluffy clouds being obliterated into nothing by Tyranitar's power.
"All those clouds! Gone! So much for weather duty next week..." The pegasus announcer sighed.
"Come on...where is she?" Limestone grumbled. This was proving to be a bit tricky. Altaria's disguise was proving to be effective. After all, she did trick Rainbow Dash by camouflaging as a tiny cloud when they first met.
With each cloud being destroyed, Rainbow Dash held her breath in, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Hyper Beam was slowly losing power, decreasing in size. Not only that, but Tyranitar was even getting exhausted from the constant Hyper Beams. Even a Pokemon as powerful as her needs to exhibit huge amounts of power to perform Hyper Beam.
"Hang in there, Altaria."
Altaria had snuck into other clouds without being noticed. Due to Hyper Beam blocking out the sky, it was fairly easy for the Humming Pokemon to disguise herself.
"Ty...Ran." Hyper Beam finally came to an end, leaving Tyranitar exhausted as her mouth had steam coming out. "Ranitar."
"Tyranitar! You okay?!"
"Wide open! Altaria! Dragon Pulse!" Rainbow Dash raised her hoof up, causing Altaria to finally strike.
The Humming Pokemon had revealed herself from the clouds, completely untouched by Hyper Beam. Returning the favour to Tyranitar, a dragon-shaped shockwave had been unleashed.
"Dodge it, Tyranitar!"
"Ty!" Tyranitar attempted to dodge, but she couldn't avoid it due to her being a bit exhausted from using Hyper Beam. And that led to Altaria gained the upper hand.
Dragon Pulse hit its mark, blowing the Armor Pokemon back. "Yes! Now freeze Tyranitar with Ice Beam!"
"Knock her out the sky! Stone Edge!"
Two attacks were fired at the exact same time. One from above and one from below. The crystals from stone edge raced upwards whilst Ice Beam zoomed downwards. The chilling beam made direct contact with the stones, causing both moves to cancel each other out.
"Dragon Pulse!" The Dragon-Type move flew through the smoke that was left behind from Stone Edge and Ice Beam as the sight of a Dragon's face about to bite on Tyranitar was envisioned.
"Tyranitar! Block it!"
"Ty!" Tyranitar put her arms up, shielding herself from the might of Dragon Pulse. Once it hit, Tyranitar was finally showing signs of falling.
"If we can just get that Altaria out of the sky and to us, it'll be game over! Stone Edge!" Limestone realized that Altaria's height advantage was only delaying the inevitable, according to her. Yet again more crystal stones were sent directly towards the Humming Pokemon in order to bring her to ground level.
"Then, in that case, we'll just head further down ourselves!" A risky move on Rainbow Dash's part. Altaria had directed herself to the ground instead of heading higher up in the sky. But it ended up being a good call on Altaria's part. The crystals from Stone Edge had missed since it was Altaria herself who brought herself down.
"Use Disarming Voice!" With haste, Altaria had let loose a charming cry that consumed Tyranitar's whole body.
"This is getting close! Altaria's managed to put Tyranitar on equal footing! I can hardly contain myself!" The announcer bit his hoof.
"Oh! Is it enough though?!" Fluttershy gulped as she held Pikachu, panicking.
"P-Pika!"
"Not yet. Tyranitar's known as the Armor Pokemon for a reason." Ash replied.
"Then, we'll come to you! Thunder Fang!"
"Ran!" The Armor Pokemon had finally decided to get up close and personal with the Humming Pokemon, who was now lower on the ground due to Rainbow Dash's command.
"Now's our chance! Altaria, cover Tyranitar's eyes with your wings!"
"Al!" Yet again, Altaria had utilized something she used to do when she was still a Swablu. When Tyranitar got close, Altaria had flown over her, avoiding the Armor Pokemon's thunderous bite.
Now that they were both in front of each other, Altaria had covered Tyranitar's eyes with her fluffy cotton wings, blocking the Rock-Dark-Type's vision.
"Tyran?!"
"Oh! Altaria's blocked Tyranitar's vision, throwing her off focus!"
"Shake her off, Tyranitar!"
"Tar! Ranitar!" Tyranitar shook her body around, flailing frantically, all in order to shake Altaria off.
"Don't let go of Tyranitar! Use Disarming Voice repeatedly!" Altaria made sure to keep her wings glued on Tyranitar's eyes. While she kept doing that, enchanting cries were unleashed upon the Armor Pokemon. Over and over again, Tyranitar was being hit by continuous Fairy-Type moves.
"This is getting ridiculous! Tyranitar! Let's get this over with already! Hyper Beam on the ground!" Similar to what Altaria did with Dragon Pulse, Tyranitar was going for an identical tactic.
By firing the mighty beam of energy down on the ground, a violent outburst filled with hyper energy had emerged. This explosion had managed to affect both Tyranitar and Altaria by sending them both flying into the air due to burst of energy. Rainbow Dash used her wings to fly back from the explosion while Limestone just ran. The referee gulped as he ducked for cover, not wanting to get caught up in this.
As both Pokemon were sent into the air, Altaria had been forced off Tyranitar thanks to Hyper Beam. As they were both airborne, the two Pokemon were on the verge of fainting. Tyranitar's own Hyper Beam had managed to deal massive damage to herself as well.
"Let's finish this! Dragon Pulse! Up close!"
"Alta!" Altaria got up close to Tyranitar's face, charging up one final Dragon Pulse.
"Ah! Tyranitar! Use Thunder Fang quick!" Tyranitar let out one final attempt as well. Since Altaria was close to her, a vicious Thunder Fang had made contact with Altaria's wings, making her cry in pain.
"Ta!" Altaria cringed as Tyranitra's sharp fangs had dug into her along with volts electricity running through. Altaria knew that this one Thunder Fang is what will bring her down. But she's taking Tyranitar with her. With a final burst of power, Dragon Pulse had been unleashed right in Tyranitar's face.
Up in the sky, a blue explosion could be seen, mostly due to Dragon Pulse making contact. As the smoke cleared, out of it came the Armor Pokemon herself.
HItting the ground and causing a bit of a rumble, Tyranitar had finally given out. Fainting in the process.
"Ty..."
Dragon Pulse is what sealed the deal. But it wasn't just her. Altaria had given out too. She fell from above like a feather, falling right after Tyranitar and failing after her as well.
"Alta..."
The referee looked over to see that both Pokemon had fainted. However only one fainted first. And that was Tyranitar.
"Tyranitar is unable to battle! Altaria wins! Which means the victor is Rainbow Dash!"
After an aggressive match, it had finally come to an end. And the crowd's roaring cheers made it clear that this match was the most heart-pounding one yet.
"Alright!" Rainbow Dash raised both her hooves up in the air. "Altaria! You rocked!" She picked up her fluffy friend, feeling proud of her for holding her own.
"Ria..." Altaria looked up at Rainbow Dash, giving her trainer a nice warm hug thanks to her soft wings.
"Ugh. Bummer." Limestone turned her head, scoffing. "Tyranitar. Good job anyway. You came super close." Limestone held out her Poke Ball.
"Tyran." Tyranitar got up, picking up her trainer out of compassion. Like Altaria, the Armor Pokemon had locked her trainer in a tight hug, keeping her there. "Ranitar!
"Ow! Okay! Knock it off Tyranitar!" Limestone growled, kicking her hooves about.
"Limestone!" Rainbow Dash called for her name. "That was a great battle!"
"Altaria."
"Hmph. Yeah well...You did great too. I could've won if Tyranitar didn't faint first." Limestone scoffed. Although, she wasn't wrong about that. Both Pokemon proved that they were capable of taking each other out, making them equals in a sense.
"Such great sportsmareship!" Pinkie Pie teared up. "You both did great!"
"Limestone's really improved fast ever since we gave her Tyranitar, huh?" Ash smiled.
"Pikachu!"
"I'm out of here. Got a farm to watch over after all." Limestone had already decided to leave the tournament. Not point in staying if she's out of it. "Good luck."
"Thanks!"
"Altaria!"
With that matchup done, a few more shall play out between four more ponies. And after that, it shall be Adagio's time to shine. Her opponent will be another pony from Canterlot.
"Ah! Out of snacks?!" Sonata gasped as she looked into her bucket of popcorn. "Urgh! I'll be right back."
"Don't buy too much. You already got some in my hair." Aria shook some popcorn out of her mane that was caused by Sonata's exciting movements.
Sonata stood up, eager to grab something else to eat as she left the roaring crowd. Heading out from the stadium, she looked at her hoof, giving it a slight scratch. "Eugh. Looks like my skin's falling off." She chuckled.
The snacks were located right near the waiting room featuring a variety of options that cater to both ponies and even Pokemon. Her choice of food was wavering towards popcorn once more but those cupcakes look promising as she was drooling with her face pressed on the glass where the food was being contained.
But for once, her attention was focused on food.
Instead, from the corner of her eye, she noticed her other sister. Her older sister. Much older than Aria. Adagio herself.
"Adagio?" Sonata removed her face from the glass, leaving a face-print there. "Adagio!" The young pony ran over to her older sister, grabbing her attention.
Adagio could recognize that voice from anywhere. She turned her head to spot her always excited and cheery younger sister approach her. "Hm? Sonata?"
"You're here too? Are you here to see the tournament with us?!" Sonata squeed. "I knew you'd come around eventually!" She placed her hoof around Adagio's neck whilst having a wide grin on her face.
"Ugh..." Adagio groaned, pushing Sonata back. "No. I'm taking part in this tournament."
"You are?" Sonata gasped. "Oh! That's great! I can't wait for your turn."
"Yeah sure." Adagio turned her head away from Sonata.
"But uh, the waiting room's right there silly. Where are you going?"
"I like spending time away from the ponies if you don't mind. Secluded areas are more of my taste at the moment. Keyword being 'moment.'.
"Oh... I never took you for that type. Say, if you're in this tournament, which Pokemon do you have? You still got that Kricke...Kri..." Sonata was struggling to remember Kricketot's name.
"Kricketot!" Speaking of Kricketot, out came the Cricket Pokemon from Adagio's mane, greeting Sonata.
"Ah, there it is! It's still so cute! Sonata gushed at the Bug-Type.
"Tot!" Kricketot hopped from Adagio's mane and into Sonata's instead. It wasn't as fluffy and huge as Adagio's but it was smooth instead.
One thing that travelled through Sonata's ears was the very familiar song that she and her sisters sang once during their time in the other world parallel to this. Kricketot still kept that device from BIG.Co. That song's been playing on repeat constantly since it's a song that Adagio forgot.
"I remember this song! This sure does bring back memories!" Sonata moved her head from left to right, jamming along with Kricketot. Both of them were really feeling it.
Adagio face-hoofed herself, annoyed that these two were getting along so well. But it also made her a bit happy since she was spending time with somepony that she really cared for along with a Pokemon that she somewhat tolerates.
Kricketot over the past few weeks has slowly started to gain affection from Adagio. It's not much but it's there.
"Don't you have a tournament to keep on watching?" Adagio asked.
"Oh, right! But are you really gonna battle with something this cute?" Sonata looked up at the Cricket Pokemon.
"Of course not. I've got a stronger Pokemon at my disposal. Just watch. This tournament is mine."
"Okay. Whatever you say. Sorry, little guy. Gotta go now." Sonata said her goodbye to the Cricket Pokemon.
"Krick!" Kricketot gave Sonata a pat on the head before hopping back into Adagio's oversized hair.
"But uh, Adagio. When are you gonna come and stay with us in Ponyville?"
Words that Adagio didn't wish to hear. She didn't want to associate herself with Ponyville or anything related to friendship in any way possible. Thus, she didn't answer Sonata's question. But she did say these final words before leaving. "Tell Aria to cheer me on as well."
"A-Alright. I will!" Sonata waved goodbye to Adagio who just simply walked away, not looking back. The young pony felt a bit down that Adagio was still being distant from her. But it wasn't so bad, according to Sonata. She did get to spend some time with her older sister after so long and listen to some sweet nostalgic tunes. She continued her food hunt before heading back to the tournament.
The 1st week of the Canterlot tournament nears its end with the first round matchups passing by with time. Some battles take longer than others while some only last around 2 or 3 minutes. The test to see how far the ponies have come in skill proceeds as the journey continues.
As the tournament to see how far everypony has come in terms of Pokemon battling continues, the Canterlot Tournament is slowly reaching the end of its first week.
Around the corner, Adagio's matchup was nearing. 12 ponies had gone before with their battles coming to a conclusion, including this current one.
"Nidorino is unable to battle! Mightyena Wins! Thus the victor is Pumpkinboast!" said the referee, closing off this current battle.
"That leaves only 20 trainers left until the end of the first round and the first week of the tournament!" The announcer shouted.
"After this, I might just catch myself one of those Mightyena's," Aria commented.
"If you want, I can help you find one at the Pokemon House. Although Dark-Types aren't very common there." Fluttershy spoke.
"Chikorita."
Meanwhile, Ash noticed that Sonata was somehow looking both excited and nervous. When those two emotions combine with each other, that could only mean one thing. Something major was about to occur. "What's wrong, Sonata?" He asked.
"Pikachu?"
"Mrrgh..." Sonata was shaking uncontrollably. It almost looked like she was about to explode.
"You're acting weirder than normal." Aria winced, raising an eyebrow.
Her constant shaking caused her popcorn to fall on somepony's mane, filling the seats with salty and sweet snacks. The young pony knew that if she said why she was acting like this, it would surprise everypony else. Especially Aria. So that shaking was due to her trying to hold in the truth.
She wouldn't need to hold it in for long as Adagio was about to enter the stadium. Inside the waiting room, Twilight and everypony who recognizes Adagio looked at the siren pony with disdainful eyes.
"Looks like it's my time to shine," Adagio smirked, looking back at everypony who gave her scornful looks. "Get a good look at this Twilight. I'll show you how to really dazzle an audience."
Adagio knew how to rile somepony up with the way she spoke. Especially her snarky tone. Ponies were either showing animosity to her and some were nervous, mostly the younger ponies.
"Somehow, I prefer Suri to her." Rarity whispered to Twilight.
"Hah. Why should I listen to you?" Adagio chuckled at Twilight's warning. Once the doors opened up, the pony behind her had followed, feeling a bit nervous about this since she's going up against somepony who is practically considered a public enemy to Ponyville.
Finally, once Adagio came through those doors and into the stadium, Sonata had spilled the truth in an outburst with a single word.
"ADAGIO'S BATTLING!" She roared. Realizing she had just revealed Adagio's presence to everypony else, she covered her mouth, slumping on her seat. And the reaction was to be expected from her friends.
The reactions were both shocked and confused. Shocked since Adagio is here and confused on how she even got the chance to participate in the first place.
"Adagio's in this tournament?!" Pinkie Pie gasped.
"You're kidding...right?" Aria was a bit judgemental, not sure that Sonata was telling the truth. But lo and behold, the truth was right in front of their eyes.
There she was, on the left side of the battlefield while her opponent was on the right. Adagio's presence is only known by a limited amount of ponies. Everypony in Ponyville being that limited amount. Canterlot and the Crystal Empire have zero clues on who Adagio is. They just thought she was another ordinary pony like them all.
Adagio could tell that the ponies from Ponyville were flabbergasted that she was here. As a response, she shifted her eyes to the crowd, giving a confident and cocky smirk to the citizens of Ponyville.
"Eep!" Fluttershy and Chikorita hid behind Audino, intimidated by Adagio's ominous glare.
"What's are you up to Adagio...?" Aria wondered.
Celestia kept a close eye on this particular matchup. After her chat with Adagio during the 40-minute break and giving her the information on how both their mothers knew each other, Adagio was now the pony that Celestia gave all her attention to. Not Twilight or even Luna.
"Let's have a great battle, okay?" A pegasus by the name of Speedriff said to her opponent.
"Hm." Adagio scoffed.
"Both trainers. You may now send out your Pokemon." The announcer spoke.
"Show them what you can do! Breloom!" For Speedriff, her partner was the Mushroom Pokemon.
"Bre!"
Adagio took the Ultra Ball out of her fluffy mane, looking right at it. "All I need is one Pokemon to win all of this." She casually tossed the Ultra Ball forward, sending out none other than the Lissome Pokemon. UB-02 Beauty. Pheromosa
"Pheromosa." The Lissome Pokemon crossed her arms, looking down on Breloom as if he was beneath her.
Once the Ultra Beast had come out, the reactions from Twilight and her friends was exactly what Adagio wanted.
The Mane 6, other than Rarity, were aghast at the sight of Pheromosa. So aghast that they were reminded of the horrible experience they had with Pheromosa back in Manehattan. Memories that they didn't want to remember. How they were beaten, bruised and crushed by the Lissome Pokemon were awful memories to reminisce.
Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were trembling with fear whilst Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Starlight held their breath. The only reason why Rarity wasn't too affected by it was due to the fact that she was saving Coco around the time Pheromosa attacked. But from what she heard, this Ultra Beast made her cautious and weary.
"P-Pheromosa?" Twilight stuttered. Even their Pokemon were terrified. Pheromosa did pummel them as well after all.
"Good..." Adagio was actually feeding off their fears thanks to Pheromosa's presence. That's exactly what I like to see. "Let's show them what we can do, Pheromosa.
"Mosa."
"Battle start!"
"Breloom! Let's start off with-"
"Throat Chop." Adagio interrupted Speedriff's command with no respect whatsoever. With speeds that were difficult to comprehend or even keep up with, Pheromosa left the spot she stood on as her feet were surrounded by purple energy.
And with a swift yet devastating kick, Pheromosa's foot struck Breloom's throat, causing the Mushroom Pokemon to choke.
"Loom!" Breloom's eyes widened. His vocal cords had been attacked without him even expecting it. The impact of Throat Chop was potent enough to flinch a Pokemon since their necks are the last place they'd expected to be attacked at. "Bre..." The Mushroom Pokemon staggered back, falling on his knees. There was a large red bruise on his neck due to the attack.
"Ah! Breloom!" Speedriff gasped. It wasn't just her. Everypony watching this battle was in absolute shock from Pheromosa's brutal attack. It made Tyranitar's early Hyper Beam on Altaria look like a joke.
"Now. Poison Jab." Adagio continued the attack with yet another ruthless move. Pheromosa casually walked up to Breloom, not even running, leaping or any rapid movement. A purple aura had emerged this time as the Lissome Pokemon gave a powerful boot to Breloom's face, leaving yet another bruise on the Mushroom Pokemon.
"Loom!" Breloom had been sent back, tumbling on the ground from the kick. Not only that, but he had been poisoned, unfortunately.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy covered her eyes, already unable to bear this.
"Breloom! Quick! Use Mach Punch!"
"B-Bre!" It's a good thing that Fighting-Type Pokemon are the most resilient Pokemon types of them all. They do not go down easily. The same can be said for Breloom. His fists became engulfed in a white orb as he rushed towards his opposing Fighting-Type.
"Dodge it." With ease and no effort, Pheromosa just nonchalantly moved to the side, avoiding the usually speedy Mach Punch. But in this case, Pheromosa's speed makes Mach Punch look like a joke. "Use Poison Jab to step on Breloom."
Yet another deadly command. Once Pheromosa was beside the Mushroom Pokemon she raised her legs up, smashing them down on the Grass-Fighting-Type's back.
"BRE!" Breloom had been smashed into the ground with a violet stomp from the Lissome Pokemon. With Pheromosa's brutal and destructive kicks followed with her unfair speed, this seemed to be heavily one-sided.
"Pheromosa. Keep your foot there." As if Adagio's commands couldn't get more ruthless. With Poison Jab still active, Pheromosa stepped on Breloom's back with her feet, forcing the Mushroom Pokemon to stay in that one spot.
With Breloom writhing in pain, the poison from Pheromosa's feet was slowly harming his own life. "Breloom! Get out of there by using Quick Attack!"
"L-Loom..." Breloom closed his eyes, scurrying his feet along the ground, trying desperately to break free from Pheromosa's hold.
Unfortunately, Pheromosa's feet were just that powerful that they could keep a Pokemon pinned down for hours on end. And poor Breloom was just another example of that. Not even the always speedy and useful Quick Attack could save him.
"Mosa," Pheromosa made it worse by adding more pressure to her Poison Jab kicks. The Mushroom Pokemon screams only intensified further. There was nothing he could do to escape this.
"That's it..." Adagio smirked. Her actions were causing a mix of emotions from the crowd. Horror, shock and her favourite disdain towards her.
In fact, since some of the ponies were showing animosity towards Adagio and Pheromosa's actions, the siren was feeding off of it, getting a sizable amount of negativity for herself. This was her plan from the very start.
And Celestia could tell. She now knew the true reason why Adagio entered this tournament. But there were two reasons that she could spot. The most obvious one was absorbing the negativity from everypony.
The second one, however, was out of spite. "Adagio...You're taking out all your malevolence and malice that you have against Twilight and using it here..." said Celestia, figuring out the whole thing easily.
With Ash and Pikachu, they had instantly known how this battle was going to end. They remembered a certain battle that occurred all the way back in Alola that had a similar scenario with the exact same moves. Poison Jab and Throat Chop.
"Pika..."
"Finish it." Adagio had decided to put an end to this battle. She didn't come here to have fun.
"Phero." Pheromosa raised her leg up, preparing to deliver one final Poison Jab to the Mushroom Pokemon.
"Now! Quick Attack!" This was Breloom's only chance of escape. With the last ounce of his health, Breloom moved at blinding speeds, escaping from the Lissome Pokemon's vicinity.
Pheromosa's foot had smashed the ground, leaving a crack from the impact. The Ultra Beast averted her eyes over to her opponent, standing firm.
"Energy Ball!"
"Breloom!" Breloom's time to strike was now. He had finally gotten the chance to do something. By creating an orb out of nature itself, the Mushroom Pokemon shot the Grass-Type move towards the Lissome Pokemon with all he had.
"Send it back." With ease, Pheromosa had kicked the Energy Ball with her feet, forcing the attack back to the one who fired it in the first place.
"Loom!?" Breloom gasped as he had been hit with his own attack, resulting in an explosion of green energy.
In an unexpected turn of events and a horrifying display of skill, the result was clear. Once the smoke vanished, Breloom had fainted. But not in the same way every other Pokemon has fainted so far. There were horrible bruises on his neck and back along with some poison oozing out from his body.
"Uh..." The referee had the exact same reaction as everypony else. But he had to call the battle anyways. "B-Breloom is unable to battle. Ph-" He was having trouble remembering the name of this unidentified Pokemon but Adagio's words flashed him back. "Pheromosa wins. Thus the victor is Adagio."
"That's the end of that. Return, Pheromosa." Adagio held out her Ultra Ball, returning the Ultra Beast. She didn't even stay behind to chat with the defeated pony.
And speaking of Speedriff, she was in absolute disbelief after seeing her partner take a horrible beating. "Breloom!" She flew over to her friend, picking him up from the ground. She could see that he needed to be tended to immediately. That poison was sticking to him like glue.
Returning to the waiting room, the trainers were no longer feeling anger towards the siren. Not anymore. After witnessing that, it was nothing but fear. Adagio's plan played out perfectly and exactly how she wanted it.
She walked past Twilight, giving a snarky look to the now terrified alicorn princess who was still remembering her past experience with Pheromosa. Even if the one Adagio has isn't the same one as before.
"Good luck to all you in the second round. I'll be waiting." Adagio laughed, leaving the waiting room.
"Why that..." Luna was feeling the urge to attack Adagio after what she had done. Her glowing horn was an indicator of that. But it was promptly stopped when Speedriff came through the doors, holding her fainted partner who was currently suffering from poison.
"Can somepony help my Breloom!" Speedriff pleaded. The way Breloom was injured made the pegasus tear up a bit.
"Put your Breloom down here!" Luna commanded. She had just the Pokemon that could handle status effects. Speedriff had placed her Breloom on the floor who was twisting and turning, just wanting the pain to be over with already.
"Bre..."
"I'm counting on you. Florges." The Pokemon that could solve this was none other than her Florges.
"Flor!"
"Use Aromatherapy!"
"Ges..." The Garden Pokemon had made a pink mist come out of its bouquet-like hair as it coated the Mushroom Pokemon in this beautiful mist. With ease, the poison that was seeping in Breloom had faded away, along with his stamina and energy replenishing. What a move Aromatherapy was.
"Bre?" Breloom opened his eyes, feeling revitalized in an instant. "Loom!" The Grass-Fighting-Type stood back up with boundless energy, itching for another fight already.
"Breloom! You're okay!" Speedriff gave her partner a hug, surprising the Mushroom Pokemon. "Sorry that we didn't win back there."
"Bre!"
"That's been settled but..." Luna turned her head to the outside, thinking about Adagio. "That Adagio pony. What a disgusting way to battle."
"That Pokemon...is that the same Pokemon that attacked everypony back in Manehattan?" Rarity asked a still terrified Twilight.
"Vul?" Vulpix and the rest of Twilight's Pokemon nudged their trainer, trying to snap her out of it. But it was difficult to do so. Pheromosa was a Pokemon that had truly ingrained itself in her head, among with the rest of her friends. Seeing that Pokemon again brought up a traumatic wound within.
"Twilight? TWILIGHT!" Rarity bellowed at her alicorn friend. That definitely made Twilight snap back into reality.
"Wha-" Twilight gasped with her eyes flashing.
"That experience really gave you an upheaval, didn't it? You and everypony." Rarity looked over at Rainbow Dash and Applejack next. They weren't as mortified as Twilight, but the fear in their eyes could be seen.
"It was just as terrifying as it was back in Manehattan...The way it just moves and attacks..." Twilight shuddered. Her shaking was so tremendous that she was even struggling to keep her balance. "Rarity, I-"
"Twilight." Rarity held Twilight's face. "I know you're regaining horrible memories due to that thing. But now is now the time to dwell on it. What you should be thinking about is how somepony could overcome it depending on who gets paired up with Adagio. Ash said it best, didn't he?"
"R-Right..." Twilight nodded gently. "Defeating it...But...What if Rainbow Dash or Applejack go up against it? Their Pokemon might get hurt too!"
"They won't unless we think of something. We have until tomorrow before the next battle with Adagio and her Phero-whatever it's called. You remember its typing, correct?"
"Y-Yes! Bug-Fighting!"
"Good. Then that means if you're most likely to go up against Adagio in this tournament, you'll have to rely on your Espeon for this. And if you don't end up facing her, then Rainbow Dash's Braviary is our best choice." Rarity was being the voice of reason here, encouraging Twilight.
She knew exactly what to say to break Twilight out of her state. The words of encouragement that Ash passed down really had their effects. The young alicorn shook her head, immediately thinking about a way to defeat Adagio's Pheromosa.
"Okay! Thanks, Rarity!"
"That's what I'm here for darling." Rarity smiled. "Now...my turn is around the corner. Just keep thinking about a way to defeat that Pheromosa. I would focus on that ludicrous speed first."
Rarity walked off, preparing herself for her upcoming battle. Once two other ponies finish their battle, Rarity will be going up against a pony from the Crystal Empire.
With the crowd, many of them were currently chatting and gossiping about the current battle and how brutal it was. That poor Breloom didn't even stand a chance. They couldn't even see Pheromosa's movements at all. But that was understandable. Pheromosa does move at 200km/h. Not many Pokemon can keep up with speed such as that.
"That was horrible..." Fluttershy whimpered.
"I didn't expect Adagio to battle like that," Sonata said. She was expecting Adagio to have fun in this tournament like everypony else. But that was far from the truth.
"Should've seen it coming." Aria, however, knew that Adagio would never do anything for fun. No matter the scenario. She could read her older sister's personality like a book.
"She can't just get away with that!" Pinkie raised her hooves up. "Right, Ash?!" She then turned to Ash, who had a concentrated look on his face.
"Is that why huh?" Ash silently said to himself. Like Celestia, he figured it out with ease. Adagio's battle was to make a point. Much like a certain hated boss from Alola.
"Pikapi..."
"What's wrong, Ash?" Goh asked.
"Don't worry about it. I'm just curious on the second round tomorrow." He answered.
Celestia watched as Adagio stood outside, away from everypony once more. Seeing that Adagio was aiming at playing with the emotions of everypony here, she couldn't help but wonder if there really was a way to find the perfect balance between ponies and sirens. But that wouldn't let her lose hope. Not at all.
Atop the clouds, Lucien and Sienna had gotten a good look of that one battle. Even they were surprised. Sienna especially.
"Holy moly. That was brutal." Lucien's jaw dropped.
"That poor Breloom." Sienna shook her head.
"Man...When Adagio takes all her anger and hatred out on something it shows. I can only imagine how rough things are gonna get if she sends up facing either one of Twilight's friends."
"Right you are on that." Sienna stood up. "But Lucien...should we tell her?"
"Hm?" He raised an eyebrow. "Tell her what?"
"You know...about how her sisters' fate is much different in the original timeline?"
"Nope!" He shook his head. "Can't have that. The Rift has already decided that Adagio is among one of the most interesting characters in this little world connection. So we can't tell her the truth...Well...not yet at least."
"Yeah, that's right. I'm just a bit scared about what else she could do later on."
"That's what makes it interesting, right? But I can see what you mean. Let's just keep watching this tournament. I'm looking forward to Luna's battle." He turned his attention back to the stadium, where the next battle between two other ponies was about to take place soon.
A cruel and abhorrent battle has just come to an end. With Adagio channeling all her vindictive and vengeful nature into Pheromosa, the next pony that goes up against her might have the misfortune of feeling her wrath as the journey continues.
As the Canterlot Tournament continues, only 30 minutes remain until the first day comes to an end.
Rarity's matchup is nearing. Once this current one finishes up, she will have to face off against a pony straight from the Crystal Empire. Everypony watching the tournament were still shaken up from the Pheromosa battle and how brutally it defeated Breloom.
Talk about it was still ongoing even. But with this current battle, it quickly left their minds, however, some were still dwelling on it. Ash was especially thinking about how this will all end due to Adagio bringing her vengeful nature into this tournament.
He knows how powerful and nigh-unstoppable someone can be when seeking vengeance. Wouldn't be the first time anyways. The outcome could vary between two possibilities.
The first outcome is that somepony could end up defeating Adagio. The second outcome would obviously be the opposite. With how powerful an Ultra Beast is, especially grouped with Pheromosa's insane speed and destructive kicks, Adagio might be the one to come out victorious in all of this.
All the while, this current battle is about to come to an end.
"Chesnaught! Hammer Arm!" A unicorn commanded her partner which was a Chesnaught.
"Naught!" The Spiky Armor Pokemon raised its arms up as they glowed a vibrant white, slamming it down on the opposing Pokemon which was a Galvantula.
"Gal!" The EleSpider Pokemon was smashed into the ground, feeling Chesnaught's heavy arms make direct contact with its head. And with that, this battle was done.
"Galvantula is unable to battle! Chesnaught wins! Thus, the victor is Rubystreams!"
"Woohoo!" The unicorn jumped up, rushing over to her Grass-Fighting partner. "Great stuff, Chesnaught!"
"Ches!"
"Aw bummer!" The opposing pony groaned. "Nice try anyway, Galvantula."
"Gal."
Closing that battle off, only 5 minutes remain until Rarity steps forward. Inside the waiting room, she had already decided to use her Mareep for this first round. Mareep was a fairly capable Pokemon of hers that can prove its strength.
"It'll be our time to shine, Mareep." Rarity looked at Mareep's Poke Ball, holding her breath in. Originally, she entered this tournament due to Rainbow Dash's request and the urge to improve so that she can protect her friends and family.
That was still the main reason of course, but there was a second reason involved. After Adagio, she now aims to possibly defeat Pheromosa herself. Since she wasn't there when Pheromosa attacked her friends, horribly injuring them, the unicorn has a strong disdain towards the Lissome Pokemon.
"If we go up against Adagio herself, I'll make sure that we're at our absolute best. I'll have to find a way to get past Pheromosa's absurd speed, however."
It wasn't just Rarity thinking. After she had told Twilight to prepare herself for Adagio in case she gets paired up with her, the young alicorn has also been planning a strategy.
"Okay. Poison Jab won't be a problem for Eve. And since Pheromosa's part Fighting, that can help me a lot. But Throat Chop..." She paced back and forth. "I could use Vulpix to deal with Pheromosa's other typing, Bug. But he's not much of a battler like Eve and Minccy...Maybe Dewott?"
"Espeon?" Eve looked up at her trainer.
"Sorry, Eve. I'm just a bit stuck at the moment." Twilight picked the Sun Pokemon up. "I'm also worried that you'll end up getting horribly hurt if you battle against Pheromosa. I'm not even sure we can keep up with it."
"Eon." The Psychic-Type told Twilight not to worry as she gave the young alicorn a pat on the face. No matter what, her Pokemon were here to support her through thick and thin.
Over at the crowd, Sweetie Belle was getting pumped up. It was her sister battling after all. "Here it comes..." She had a wide grin on her face, moving her hooves around. "It's Rarity's turn! Are you excited?! I know I am!" Sweetie Belle yelled in Apple Bloom's ear, returning the favour to her when Applejack battled.
"Yeah...I know." Apple Bloom held her ear. "But, can Rarity even battle?"
"Of course she can!" Sweetie Belle retorted. "You should see her Leavanny's in action! Especially her main one. Out of all 12 of them, it's unmatched."
"How does she know which one is the strongest, though...?" Pinkie squinted her eyes.
"Well, some of the Leavanny's actually appear to have height differences from what I've seen. So maybe the tallest one is the strongest." Fluttershy said. "What do you think, Ash?"
Still, Ash was in his focused state. Like Celestia, Twilight and Rarity, Adagio was on his mind. So much so that he barely paid attention to the previous matchup between Chesnaught and Galvantula.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu called for Ash, snapping him out of his thought.
"Sorry, buddy. Can't really think straight right now."
"Drink some cider. It can clear your mind easy peasy." Apple Bloom gave Ash a tiny cup of cider for support. "Oh! Here comes Rarity!"
Along came the two trainers. Rarity and a Crystal Empire pegasus by the name of Bluewind.
"Hm. Is it me, or are a lot of the trainers here pegasi?" Goh scratched his head.
"Well, pegasi kinda have a history with battling way back in the past. Warrior's blood, ya know." Ash answered.
"Pikachu."
On the battlefield, both trainers went on their own sides. Rarity on the right, Bluewind on the left. Rarity wanted to feel the excitement in this upcoming battle, but her focus on defeating Adagio was blocking that out. Bluewind, however, was psyched about this.
Once the referee gave them both the run-down of the rules, as usual, they were ordered to do the next part of the tournament.
"You may both send out your Pokemon."
"Mareep. It's all you, darling."
"Come out, Charizard!"
With both the Wool Pokemon and the Flame Pokemon being tossed out of their Poke Balls, the stage had been set for the two.
"Mareep!"
"Charizard!" The Flame Pokemon breathed fire in the air to assert its dominance. Nopony was expecting this Pokemon to appear.
"A Charizard?!" Sweetie Belle gulped. "That's a major problem!!"
"Holy smokes!" Meowth popped his head out of the crowd. "That pony's got a Charizard!"
"A real juggernaut!" James ate his popcorn.
"That fashionista's already lost!" Jessie bit on a sandwich. "Everyone knows that Charizard's a force to be reckoned with."
"Rizard..." Charizard looked down on Mareep, seeing how tiny and small he is in comparison to his dragon-like stature.
"Reep..." Mareep was shaking a small bit. Charizard was an intimidating Pokemon to look at after all.
"Don't be intimidated, Mareep." Rarity said. "After all, the safety of our friends and their Pokemon are our top priority. Taking on impossible odds is something we have to tackle."
"Ma!"
"Woah. Somepony sound super serious." Bluewind chuckled as he spread his wings out. "This'll be fun!"
"Char!"
"Battle Start!"
"Charizard! Dragon Claw!" Starting off strong was Charizard's Dragon Claw. By raising both his arms up, the Flame Pokemon gained light green draconic energy that was shaped like claws, soaring towards the Wool Pokemon.
"Mareep! Thunder Shock!"
"Reep!" Instead of its own body, sparks of electricity appeared around Mareep's ears since that's where its electric attacks usually come from. He was ready to fire, but unfortunately, Charizard was at the end of the day, faster than the Wool Pokemon.
"Char!" Striking his opponent with the draconic claws, Mareep had been sent flying by the mighty Dragon-Type attack.
"Fire!" Rarity commanded.
"Mareep!" Despite being hit, Mareep attacked anyways. When he was airborne, an electric blast shot out of his ears and eventually his own body to add extra power.
A direct hit. Charizard and his trainer didn't expect the attack to be thrown whilst his opponent had been struck. As a result, a super-effective hit was given to the Flame Pokemon.
"Zard!"
"Yes! Now, use Charge!" Rarity had decided to power up her partner. She wasn't playing around at all. An orb of electricity surrounded the Wool Pokemon's body as he had boosted the power of the next Electric-Move that he would use.
"Charizard! Flamethrower!"
"Char!" The Fire-Flying-Type opened his mouth wide, breathing an intense blast of fire forward.
"Electro Ball!" Returning the favour, Mareep's tail lit up with his body being surrounded by a golden light, letting out sparks. On top of his tail, an orb of yellow and orange electricity had been hurled forward.
Due to Charge powering up Mareep's Electric-Type moves, Electro Ball was powerful enough to match Flamethrower in strength, causing both attacks to cancel each other out.
"Have a look at that! That small and cute Mareep is holding its own against a Pokemon as fierce as Charizard! exclaimed the announcer.
"That's my big sister!" Sweetie Belle put both Spike and Apple Bloom in a chokehold, shaking the dragon and earth pony about. "Not even a Charizard can take her down that easily! You get em Rarity!"
"C-Can't...breathe..." Apple Bloom's eyes looked like they were about to pop out as she aggressively tapped her foot on the floor.
"A-Air..." Spike was desperately clawing the air, trying to break free.
"Not bad. But that Mareep of yours isn't gonna be able to take another Dragon Claw, that's for sure. Head in Charizard!"
"Char!" The Flame Pokemon spread his wings, accelerating towards the Wool Pokemon.
"I refuse to lose here. Mareep! Jump on Charizard's back." Determined to win this with vigour alongside her partner, Rarity commanded the Wool Pokemon to jump on Charizard's back all of a sudden.
"Ma!" And that's precisely what he did. By hopping off the ground, Mareep had not only avoided Dragon Claw but had personally taken a ride on the final stage evolution, shocking everypony.
And speaking of shocking. "Now! Thundershock!" The Wool Pokemon had instantly exerted 8,000 volts of electricity on Charizard, due to how physical the two of them were at the moment.
"Reep!"
"Ah! Charizard! Shake Mareep off!" Aiming to get the Electric-Type off his back, Charizard had increased his flying speed so that Mareep would end up feeling the wind aggressively blow towards him.
That amount of wind was just enough to blow the Wool Pokemon off the Flame Pokemon's back. But Rarity didn't let that bother her once. Once again, she had used Mareep's airborne state to her advantage. "Thundershock!"
"Mareep!" For a second time, Mareep had fired a blast of electricity whilst in the air. This struck Charizard, yet again, dealing heavy damage.
"Zard!" The Flame Pokemon fell to the ground, tumbling until he reached his trainer.
"Flamethrower!"
"Electro Ball!"
Yet again, the same two moves had clashed. But this time, Flamethrower proved to be the mightier force as it engulfed the orb of electricity. Mareep had managed to avoid the Flamethrower due to him reaching the ground at the right time.
"Take Down!" Charging in recklessly, Mareep went for a full-body charge, aiming to slam himself into Charizard.
"Bad move! Charizard! Use Flare Blitz!" A similar move, but much more powerful. Charizard's body had been surrounded by a red-orange fire, shooting himself towards Mareep like a missile.
"Eep! If that hits, Mareep is done for!" Pinkie exclaimed as she breathed in and out of a paper bag.
"Come on, Rarity! You can do it!" Sweetie Belle bellowed as she still held Apple Bloom who had just fainted.
"This is the end! Jump and use Thunder Shock!"
Instead of making direct contact with Charizard, the Wool Pokemon took the skies by using the speed of Take Down to give him that extra boost. Mareep had sent down his strongest Thunder Shock yet.
"Charizard! Turn around and use Flamethrower!" But it was too late. At the end of the day, it is electricity so there's a very low chance of anyone avoiding it. Thus, Charizard had been smitten from above, taking the full force of Thunder Shock.
"RIZARD!" With his eyes widening, all that followed was an explosion of thunder that shot up high enough to reach the clouds.
It looked like it was the end of Charizard once the smoke had cleared. But not at all. Proving itself to be a real juggernaut, as James describes, the Flame Pokemon was still standing. But barely.
"CHAR!" His roar blew away the smoke as well allowing Rarity's mane to flow in the wind.
"That's the stuff, Charizard!" Bluewind flew up.
"I figured as much..." Rarity clenched her teeth. Even if it isn't a Dragon-Type, it sure does have the durability of a Dragon."
"Mareep..."
"I think I've found a favourite!" The announcer shook his table. "Even though Mareep's proving to be a formidable foe, Charizard just won't go down! Oh, Fire-Types are so cool!"
"You had my wings trembling," Bluewind said, shaking his wings about. "I thought my Charizard was a goner. But that Mareep of yours is no joke."
"Shouldn't come as a surprise. Mareep and I are determined to win this for the sake of our friends. That means we can't allow anypony to stop us. Not until we reach Adagio."
"That's some spirit." Bluewind pulled back. He was intimidated by Rarity's words. "Alright, Charizard. This lady's not gonna let us win this with ease. So let's finish this quick.
"Charizard!"
"Flamethrower!" Charizard held his breath in for yet another Flamethrower, but this time, due to his ability being Blaze, the flame on his tail intensified, showing that this was gonna be a big one as his Fire-Type moves had been increased in power.
Rarity could see that clear as day. "Dodge with Take Down and use Charge!"
"Reep!" Using Take Down as a method of dodging, the Wool Pokemon had then powered up his own Electric attacks in the process.
"If distance won't do us any good then we'll just come to you. Flare Blitz!" Rocketing himself forward, Charizard left behind a trail of flames whilst heading straight for the Electric-Type Pokemon.
"Mareep! Thunder Shock!"
"MA!" Releasing a blast of electricity, Thundershock and Flare Blitz had collided. The two moves had entered a clash with one move trying to come out on top. "Ma...Reep..."
"Push through, Charizard!"
"CHAR!" Flare Blitz proved to be the mightier move as it was breaking through the Thunder Shock.
"Ma...Mareep..." Mareep was doing his very best to keep the attack back, but unfortunately, a small Pokemon like him can only do so much in his current state.
"Mareep!" Rarity bellowed for her Pokemon's name. "You're not thinking of losing here, are you?"
"Reep..."
"Both of us. We'll excel in all of this and stop Adagio, won't we? Our strength will grow to a point where we can protect our friends and family from any threat. Whether it be from this world or your own!"
"Ma!" Mareep nodded while both of his eyes closed.
"So! For the sake of the ones we love, push right through!" Rarity thrust her hooves forward.
"Ma..Ma...FLA!" With a sudden burst of energy, Mareep's body entered a golden state. Sparks were flying out of the Wool Pokemon's body, changing from yellow to blue.
"What is that?!" Bluewind pulled back.
"Mareep?" Rarity's eyes widened. She had no idea what was going on at first. But then she remembered what she learned about her Leavanny's and their interaction with the magic in this world. This could only mean one thing.
"What's going on?!" The announcer leaned forward, smacking his face on the glass.
"Is it a new move?!" Sweetie Belle shook an unconscious Apple Bloom, who managed to wake up from the light.
"I think I saw my mom and dad..." Apple Bloom held her head before shifting her attention towards the newly evolved Pokemon. "Huh?! When did this happen?!"
It wasn't a new move. Not at all. This was something even better. The clouds above had turned grey all of a sudden as they blocked out the sun itself. From the swirling clouds, a lightning bolt shot out, striking the golden-clad Mareep.
The sound of thunder hitting startled everypony, even Charizard who was suddenly finding it difficult to break through Thunder Shock. It was almost as if it was gradually growing stronger.
"Char?"
The anticipation came to an end very quickly, much like lightning itself. The bolt of lightning had dispersed along with the golden light that covered Mareep's body.
Although. It was no longer a Mareep anymore. Instead, the Wool Pokemon had finally evolved into its second stage evolution.
Flaaffy.
"Flaa...FFY!" The Wool Pokemon forced Charizard back by increasing the size and power of Thunder Shock, putting an end to the struggle.
"Zard!" Charizard cried out as he veered on the ground. He and his trainer looked forward to gaze upon this revelation. "Char?"
"Mareep...? No. Not anymore." Rarity gasped as she pulled out her Pokedex.
"Flaaffy. The Wool Pokemon. As a result of storing too much electricity, it developed patches where even downy wool won’t grow. Flaaffy’s wool quality changes so that it can generate a high amount of static electricity with a small amount of wool. The bare and slick parts of its hide are shielded against electricity. If its coat becomes fully charged with electricity, its tail lights up. It fires hair that zaps on impact."
"No way! It evolved?!" Spike shouted as everypony was thrown off guard by this.
"An evolution mid-battle! How neat is that?!" The announcer squeed.
"That is pretty neat actually..." Both Bluewind and the referee said.
"Flaa!" The newly evolved Wool Pokemon stomped his foot on the ground, displaying his revitalized state.
"Flaaffy...Very well then. Show me your newfound strength with Thunder Shock!" Rarity commanded.
"Ffy!" Flaaffy had something better in store. Upon evolving, he actually did learn a new move as theorized by Sweetie Belle. A move that was much more powerful than Thunder Shock.
Due to the clouds still being grey, they acted upon Flaaffy's will. Yellow flashes of light could be seen in the clouds with the sound of thunder rumbling. That could only mean one thing.
"Oh, right!" Bluewind snapped back into reality! "Flare Blitz! Finish it!"
Charging in once more with Flare Blitz, Charizard was aiming to put an end to this battle before things got ugly. The battle was about to come to an end for sure, but not by Charizard.
With his eyes flashing along with his tail and fleece, Flaafy had summoned an earth-shattering blast of lightning from above. The move moved much faster than Charizard as it gave the Flame Pokemon a crushing smite with the force of 30,000 volts hitting him.
"ZA!" Realizing that a greater Electric-Type attack that far surpassed Electro Ball and Thunder Shock hit him, Charizard had been knocked off balance, flying past Flaaffy as Flare Blitz completely missed. With his body rolling on the ground like a ragdoll, the outcome was clear as day.
Charizard had fainted.
"Char..."
"Charizard is unable to battle! Flaaffy wins! Thus the victor is Rarity!"
"Incredible! Flaaffy overcame a huge obstacle in the form of Charizard and evolved from it! I wish my Pokemon could do the same!" The announcer exclaimed.
"No way!" Bluewind's jaw dropped to a point where it made contact with the ground itself.
"Yes!" Rarity clapped her hooves together as she pranced over to her newly evolved partner. "Flaaffy! You were absolutely divine!"
"Fy! Flaaffy!" Flaaffy gave his trainer a jolt of electricity that caused her mane and tail to puff up. Out of love.
"SHE DID IT! WOOHOO!" Sweetie Belle flailed her hooves around, knocking Apple Bloom out once more. And she had just woken up. "Isn't Rarity the best?!"
"She actually beat a Charizard..." Goh was flabbergasted.
"Yeah...I didn't think it was possible." Spike slumped on the seat. "Ain't Rarity something?"
"Determination can do that." Ash nodded. "I've got faith that Rarity will be the one to defeat Pheromosa."
"Pikachu!"
"What a duo those two are. Oh well. I've still got a long way to go as a trainer anyways." Bluewind shrugged. "Great job, Charizard."
"Charizard." Charizard stood up, holding his head. That Thunder really did some damage.
"Bluewind, was it?" Rarity spoke to her opponent. "I apologize if I went a bit overboard back there. I completely forgot that the main point of this tournament was to have fun and improve ourselves."
"Don't sweat it. You're doing it for your friends and family, right? So it's all good. Besides, I don't think me and Charizard could compare to dedication like that. We just came here to win. Right pal?" Bluewind gave a Charizard a pat on the belly.
"Zard!" Charizard in response, breathed fire at his trainer's face, leaving it a smoking mess.
"Ugh...Thanks, Charizard..." Bluewind coughed some smoke out. "Alright. We're done here. We'll be watching you in the other rounds."
"I appreciate it!" Rarity nodded. "Let's succeed even further together, Flaaffy."
"Flaaffy!"
Returning to the waiting room, everypony had congratulated Rarity for that stunning display. The last thing anypony was expecting was an evolution during the tournament. Especially one that was in the middle of a clash.
"Rarity! That was amazing!" Rainbow Dash flew over.
"No kidding. I'd even say that was much fancier than when my Groyvle here evolved. No offence, partner."
"Grovyle." Grovyle didn't mind. He could agree on that for sure.
"Much thanks, girls." Rarity let out a deep sigh. "Oh, dear. Pokemon battling can really tire a lady out. I'll need some fresh air."
"Take as much as you'd like," Twilight said.
Rarity did just that. Returning Flaaffy to his Poke Ball, the unicorn had decided to clear her mind. Since she wasn't crazy about Pokemon battling, going through an adrenaline rush such as that battle back there was something she had never experienced before.
Heading out, who else was there, standing alone with a usual smug look on her face.
Adagio, of course.
"Not bad. Although, you mostly got lucky that your sheep friend evolved at the last minute." Adagio chuckled.
"Adagio Dazzle." Rarity scoffed at her.
"I heard what you said back there. You? Defeat me? Hah!" Adagio chuckled whilst walking up to Rarity. "That's rich."
"Don't get cocky. I've made sure to prepare myself for when I go up against your Pheromosa."
"Hoh? Even so, how are you gonna keep up with her? You saw what happened back there. No one is matching her speed at all. Especially not some sheep that got a pity evolution."
"You'd be surprised by how fast Electric-Type moves are." Rarity had clashed unicorn horns with Adagio was the two were face to face. "Then again, it's common sense to know that electricity is naturally fast."
"Hmph. You're only acting this confident because you weren't there when your precious little friends were attacked by a Pheromosa. If you had been, you would've probably taken an equally harsh beating from her. And I would've enjoyed every second of it."
"Oh? Then I suppose I can be honest and say that I've enjoyed every second of your constant losses. The Castelia City defeat is my personal favourite." Rarity smirked, hitting Adagio where it hurts.
The two of them seemed to be on an equal wavelength. If anything, they almost seemed like opposites of each other. Besides the unicorn horn. They both realized that they could settle this in the tournament if they end up going up against each other. So they separated horns whilst pulling back.
"All my hate is directed towards Twilight Sparkle. But you've certainly shot yourself up." Adagio walked off. "See you tomorrow. Make sure you don't lose to some random pony." She chuckled as those were her last words.
"Leavanny..." Leavanny came out of her Poke Ball, feeling the urge to String Shot Adagio so badly right now.
"Leave it, Leavanny. We'll have to wait until that moment comes."
With an unexpected evolution and resounding victory, Rarity's determination in this tournament has reached new heights that were impossible to predict. The final contestants prepare themselves for their upcoming battle before the day ends as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The sun was slowly setting. It gave off a tranquil and gorgeous orange light that shined over all of Canterlot, blessing it with its calm, radiant and vibrant light. Staravia's and Pidgeots could be seen flying in the orange skies, heading off to rest somewhere in Equestria or maybe even their own world.
This meant that the Canterlot Tournament was finally reaching the end of its first day. And closing off the first day were the remaining trainers. Many trainers have won or lost with each of them having their own unique battles. Some long. Some short. Some intense. Some easy-going.
But enjoyable nonetheless.
At the moment 12 remain. And among those 12 were the top 3 strongest trainers in Equestria who rank the highest.
Spitfire, Daylight Blazer and Princess Luna.
And they lived up to their title of Equestria's Top 3 strongest trainers. The opponents they had each gone up against barely stood a chance against the three of them and their Pokemon.
And they went a little something like this.
For Princess Luna, she had used her Aurorus for the first round, going up against a trainer with a Conkeldurr. Their battle was currently underway since it had just begun.
"Aurorus! Aurora Beam!"
"Aur!" The Tundra Pokemon opened her mouth wide, summoning the powers of the northern lights themselves.
"Conkeldurr! Use Bulk Up!" The opposing trainer commanded.
"Con! Kel!" The Muscular Pokemon tossed his two concrete pillars into the air as he flexed his muscles, increasing his attack and defence. Once Aurora Beam hit, Conkeldurr had tanked the Ice-Type attack as if t was nothing. The pillars came back down as Conkeldurr blew away the mist from Aurora Beam's aftermath. "Conkel."
"Sorry, Princess Luna. But you won't be getting past Conkeldurr at all. Superpower!"
"Durr!" Conkeldurr's body became surrounded in a light blue aura, channelling all his strength into the concrete pillars he owned. The Muscular Pokemon charged forward whilst dragging the pillars on the ground.
"Oh? I wouldn't get to close if I were you." Luna smirked. "Aurorus, use Earthquake!"
"Wait what?!" The opposing pony pulled back, not expecting that move to be used.
"Rorus!" The Tundra Pokemon slammed her feet on the ground, causing the ground itself to tremble the entire battlefield, throwing Conkeldurr off balance.
"Con?!" Conkeldurr had dropped his concrete pillars, getting down on his knees.
"Freeze Conkeldurr with Ice Beam!" Following up the attack, Aururos had shot a chilling beam of ice from its mouth. The Ice Beam had immediately frozen the opposing Pokemon, keeping Conkeldurr in one spot.
"Ah! Conkeldurr! Break free with Bulk Up!"
"Con...Kel..." The Muscular Pokemon had a way out of this. All he had to do was flex his muscles and that ice was long gone.
"I don't think so. Freeze the battlefield!" Continuing to use Ice Beam, the entire stadium had been frozen over by Aurorus's attack.
But during that, Conkeldurr had broken free with Bulk Up. And as a bonus, he was much stronger and had higher defence at his disposal. "Con!"
"I don't see how freezing the ground's gonna stop us. Conkeldurr! Rock Throw!"
"Durr!" By using his own concrete pillars, the Fighting-Type launched them towards Aurorus as if they were baseballs.
"Hmph. Flash Cannon!" With ease, Aurors had destroyed Conkeldurr's pillars into tiny little stone pieces with a steel-clad blast.
"Conkel?!" Conkeldurr pulled back along with his trainer. Both of them didn't expect the concrete pillars to break.
"They can break?!" The trainer gasped.
"If I were you, I wouldn't dare to lose focus! Earthquake!" Luna's strategy had come into play. By causing an Earthquake on the frozen battlefield, not only did it rupture the ground, but the ice that filled the area experienced a destructive outburst.
Huge chunks of ice erupted from beneath, smacking the Muscular Pokemon square in the face repeatedly.
"Kel! Kel!" Conkeldurr took a volley of ice chunks that wouldn't stop rising. Not only that, but tiny shards of sharp ice were unleashed as well, pelting the Fighting-Type.
"Blow them away, Conkeldurr!"
"Durr!" Conkeldurr made an attempt to blow the ice shards and chunks away with his huge buff arms. He managed to destroy the larger ones but the smaller ones were harder to deal with.
"Finish it with Aurora Beam!" The finishing blow had been delivered. By firing a rainbow-coloured beam, Conkeldurr was met with his unfortunate end as he was too distracted by the ice shards.
"Con?" Once the beam hit, a rainbow explosion followed afterwards. With a strategy like that, it wouldn't come as too much of a shock if Conkeldurr had fainted. Which he did. Once the smoke cleared, that was it. "Con..."
"Conkeldurr is unable to battle! Aurorus wins! Thus the victor is Princess Luna!"
"In less than 2 minutes, Princess Luna won her first match without her Aurorus's having a single scratch on it! That's the quickest one yet!" said the announcer.
"I didn't even get a hit in..." The pony dropped her jaw, completely taken aback by this.
"A fine job, Aurorus."
"Ro? Aurorus!" The Tundra Pokemon ran over to Luna, ready to glomp her.
"Eeugh!" Luna winced as she attempted to back away, but it was too late, Aururos somehow caught up, tackling Luna and pinning her to the ground. "Aurorus! Please!" She attempted to push the Tundra Pokemon off her, but a Pokemon's love is just too powerful.
"Ah, well. She's a princess. What was I expecting." The earth pony shrugged. "Good job anyways Conkeldurr.
"Durr." Conkeldurr looked at his hands, noticing that the one thing that makes him who he is had been destroyed. "Con...KEL!" The Muscular Pokemon got on his knees, tearing up. His pillars. Gone.
It wasn't even him losing the battle that made him upset. He could care less. What he does care about are his concrete pillars.
"Ah! Don't cry! We'll just uh....borrow some from another Conkeldurr!" She comforted her heartbroken partner, giving him a pat on the back.
"So like...Conkeldurr's pillars...Do they grow back or...?" Pinkie squinted her eyes.
"They find or make new ones." Ash and Fluttershy answered.
"Ah." Pinkie nodded.
Luna's battle was regarded as the quickest one yet, further making it clear as to why she was ranked #3. But what of Spitfire and Daylight? Their battles were just around the corner after a few more matches.
Once Daylight's battle came, he demonstrated why he was ranked number 2. Instead of finishing the battle quick like Luna, he was more on the mind-game side of things.
And the one Pokemon he owned that was a perfect representation of that was none other than his Medicham, who is well known for being a dodging expert. Mostly due to his sixth sense.
"Cham." The Meditate Pokemon was currently battling against a Talonflame was trying desperately to hit Medicham. The Fighting-Psychic-Type had successfully avoided each of Talonflame's attacks by further enhancing his capabilities with his signature move Meditate.
Not only does it put Medicham in a peaceful state, it even raises his attack up, granting him more strength.
"Tal!" Talonflame had kept on using Brave Bird to try and hit the Meditate Pokemon, but so far, not a single scratch. Not even a graze.
"This is getting ridiculous! How's it avoiding Brave Bird every single time?!" The pegasus who owned Talonflame groaned. "It's fine. If we can't hit you up close...then how do you like long-distance attacks? Talonflame! Use Hurricane!"
"Talon!" The Scorching Pokemon had flown around in the air, kicking up a mighty hurricane in less than a second with ease. Even Medicham could tell that this was a bit of a threat.
"Yikes. That's a big one. Medicham! Jump back!"
"Med!" The Meditation Pokemon had carefully eluded the incoming hurricane by simply backflipped a few times and finishing it off with a zip to the side.
"Gotcha! Aerial Ace!" Talonflame had found its opening. By moving at high speeds, it looked like the Scorching Pokemon would end up getting a hit in finally.
"Block it!" Even he knew that Aerial Ace was tough to dodge, even with Medicham's sixth sense. Talonflame's speed was no joke after all.
"Medicham!" He put one of his legs up as a defence tactic. Which worked well in his favour. Talonflame made direct contact with the Meditate Pokemon's leg, causing a mild shockwave afterwards.
"Now! Thunder Punch!"
"Cham!" Barely feeling Aerial Ace at all, Medicham had smashed his thunder-clad fists onto Talonflame's jaw, launching the Scorching Pokemon back.
"Talonflame! Use Flare Blitz!" Recovering from that devastating Thunder Punch, the Fire-Flying-Type shifted into the always effective Flare Blitz as its body was set ablaze.
"Medicham! Gravity!"
"Medi..." Instead of avoiding the attack, Medicham put his hands out, manipulating the laws of Gravity itself. There was a reason why Medicham had this move and it was to deal with its Flying-Type weakness.
"Ta?!" All of a sudden, Talon had stopped flying, crashing down onto the ground as it slid past Medicham.
"W-What just happened?!" The trainer was puzzled. "Talonflame! Try using Aerial Ace!"
"Lon..." Talonflame attempted to ascend high up into the air like it usually does, however, this is where Gravity came into play. The Scorching Pokemon had realized that it couldn't get off the ground at all. In fact, a powerful Gravity field was forcing Talonflame to stay on the ground at all costs.
"What's this?! Talonflame's can't seem to get itself up into the air!" Even the announcer was confused.
"Try Hurricane!" A second attempt was made. Maybe Hurricane might work? Not at all. For Talonflame to pull it off, it would need to fly around in the air to do so. Which it couldn't. "What gives...?"
"That's Gravity for you. It makes it so that Flying-Types are forced to stay on the ground at all times. Plus it helps against Pokemon with the ability Levitate."
"You're kidding!" The pony held her head in confusion. "How is that even fair?!"
"Look on the bright side. Just be glad that I don't have a Ground-Type move on me. Alright, Medicharm. Thunder Punch!"
"Medi!" Medicham went up to Talonflame, raising his thunder-clad fists into the air to finish the battle.
"Ah! Talonflame! Run away!"
"Lonflame!" Unfortunately, Talonflame's speed only excels in the air. On the ground, not so much. Perhaps if it was building up speed to fly, but since its natural talent has been stripped from it, that wasn't happening.
"Med!" Medicham easily caught up to the Scorching Pokemon as he smashed his thunderous fists down onto Talonflame's back, creating an explosion of lighting that followed afterwards. After something like that, the outcome was clear as day.
"Talon..." Talonflame had fainted.
"Talonflame is unable to battle! Medicham wins! Thus the victor is Daylight Blazer!"
"Gravity huh...?" The pegasus sat. "There's a Pokemon move for everything, isn't there?"
"Got that right." Daylight nodded. "Good job anyways with your Talonflame."
"Thanks." The pegasus picked up her Talonflame. "I need to figure out how these Psychic-Type Pokemon work. Manipulating Gravity...how is that even fair?"
"Flame."
With that battle coming to a close, very few remain now. And among the few trainers left until the first day of the tournament ends was none other than the highest-ranked trainer in all of Equestria. #1.
Spitfire.
Luna and Daylight have their own unique way of battling. Luna uses the battlefield to her advantage via moves that have the capability of affecting the environment. She does own a Pokemon of every type after all. So she's developed a strategy where the types that are most known for distance can interact with the battlefield. An example being her Aurorus.
Daylight prefers to utilize either a Pokemon's natural traits or even interfering with their traits. For most of his Pokemon, 5 out of 6 have moves that are focused solely on status, powering themselves up, nullifying moves etc. He's got something that can help his Pokemon exceed.
Spitfire, however, is completely different. Her battle style is similar to that of Limestone Pie. Where she puts the pressure on with an aggressive approach. However, unlike Limestone, not only does she have way more experience than her, but she's even found a perfect mix between aggressive and laid-back.
She owns Pokemon that are known for being combative and quarrelsome. Pokemon that are all about rushing in and dealing major damage Especially her Scizor, which is a Pokemon are most known for beating their enemies to a pulp until they are nothing left but scraps.
And yet somehow, she's transformed the usually advancing Scizor into a Pokemon that can also keep its cool at the same time.
And speaking of Spitfire, her battle was about to arrive. In fact, it was the final battle for the day. That sun's already disappearing over the horizon. Everypony was about to witness just how the number one trainer in Equestria battles.
The Pokemon of her choice this time wasn't actually her ace Scizor. Instead, she had one Pokemon in particular that shares a similar trait to Medicham.
"You may both bring out your Pokemon!" said the referee.
"Here goes! Excadrill!" An opposing unicorn had sent out her partner in the form of the Subterrene Pokemon.
"Exca!"
"You're up." Spitfire used her wings to send out the partner of her choice in this battle. None other than the separate final evolution of the Ralts line. Gallade.
"Gallade!" The Blade Pokemon roared.
"What is that?!" Sweetie Belle leaned forward.
"Doesn't look like Gardevoir, that's for sure." Spike shook his head.
"I gotta see this!" Sweetie Belle whipped out her dex for this seemingly alternate form of Gardevoir.
"Gallade. The Blade Pokemon. The male variant of Ralt's final form, opposite of Gardevoir. A master of courtesy and swordsmanship, it fights using extending swords on its elbows. When trying to protect someone, it extends its elbows as if they were swords and fights savagely. Because it can sense what its foe is thinking, its attacks burst out first, fast, and fierce."
"Hm. Definitely a varying look from Gardevoir." Celestia nodded.
"Kirlia." Passion looked over at the Blade Pokemon Seeing it reminded her of home and her father who was also a Gallade.
"Battle start!"
"Okay, Excadrill! Dig!"
"Exca!" Starting off strong, Excadrill's natural talent had been utilized. With its strong steel claws, the Subterrene Pokemon burrowed its way underground.
And this is where Spitfire's battling style came into play. "Follow Excadrill underground!"
"Lade!" An unexpected command. Gallade had dashed over to the spot where Excadrill originally burrowed. Since Excadrill's digging skills are superb, the hole it left behind was very visible and wide, allowing Gallade to enter it without any issues.
"Follow?!" The unicorn shot up. The same could be said for everypony else.
Whenever a Pokemon uses dig, most of the time, a way to counteract the move is to either fly into the air to evade or use Earthquake to force the Pokemon out.
Heading after the Pokemon after it dug a hole is the last thing anypony would expect. But that's exactly how Spitfire plays. She's unpredictable despite being aggressive.
"Gall!" Gallade ran over towards Excadrill who was currently in the midst of escaping the Blade Pokemon. Even Excadrill was shocked. Usually, it's other Ground-Types that chase it underground.
"Gallade! If you can hear me, use Close Combat!" Spitfire yelled.
"Excadrill! Head back up!"
Two commands were given whilst both Pokemon were still underground. Their response? For Excadrill, he made an attempt to get out of the ground as soon as possible. Excadrill was slightly faster than Gallade, but not by much.
As for Gallade, he had repeatedly struck his bladed arms everywhere underground. The force of his hits was enough to shake the ground itself. Essentially creating his own Earthquake.
Because of this, Excadrill's drilling had been interrupted as well as his exit to the surface. This gave Gallade the chance to rush in while Excadrill's guard was down. What followed next was something that everypony, unfortunately, couldn't witness for themselves.
And speaking everypony, they were all puzzled at the sudden disappearance of the two Pokemon. Once Gallade followed Excadrill underground, the rest of the battle was now a mystery to them. Even Excadrill's trainer had no idea what was happening down there. But she did hear and feel constant tremors. Most likely from Gallade's Close Combat.
Spitfire wasn't bothered at all. If anything, she knew exactly what was going down underground.
"A-Are they coming back up?" The announcer stuttered.
There was a moment of silence for a few seconds. Everypony didn't say a word. The suspense was pretty potent. But what much more potent was the eventual emergence of the two Pokemon.
Excadrill did in fact resurface, but not instinctively. Instead, it was Gallade who forced him out. Once the two erupted from the ground with a huge crater being left behind, the next thing everypony saw was Gallade continuously striking Excadrill with his blades.
"Llade! Lade! Gallade!" Over and over again, Gallade was dealing heavy hits to the Ground-Steel-Type until he finally put a stop to Close Combat by delivering a final strike to Excadrill, rocketing the Subterenne Pokemon down to the ground.
"Ex!"
"Oh! Excadrill!" The pegasus gasped.
"Alright, Gallade. Finish it with another Close Combat."
"Ga!" The Blade Pokemon made a landing with his bladed hands stabbing the ground. All he needed was one final Close Combat and that would be the end of this matchup.
"Quick, Excadrill! Iron Defense!"
"Drill!" Excadrill got back up, still having some fight left in him. Even if he was tattered. By covering himself with his own steel claws, the Subterrene Pokemon had increased his defence in order to withstand the hits from Gallade.
Unfortunately, against something as powerful as Close Combat, it won't help too much. Especially if you've already taken massive damage earlier on. Once Gallade made direct contact with Excadrill once more, two single strikes from both his blades were enough to put an end to this entire battle.
"Gallade!" With the final strike, The Blade Pokemon made Excadrill spin around in defeat as the Ground-Steel-Type landed right next to his trainer, finishing the final match of the first day.
"Exca..."
"Excadrill is unable to battle! Gallade wins! Which means the victor is none other than Gallade!"
"Gallade!" Gallade got out of his stance, declaring his victory along with his trainer.
"And with that, the final match of the first day comes to an end!" The announcer spoke. "What a way to end it! Shame we didn't get to see the rest of it underground..."
And the expected response from the crowd had been heard. Their cheers and applause far exceeded the previous ones and for good reason. For the first day of this tournament, it was a blast to sit through. Despite one particular match that made them all uncomfortable.
"Awesome work as always, Gale." The nickname that Spitfire gave her partner as she spoke to him.
"Gallade."
"I can't believe it followed you down..." The pony helped her Excadrill up from the ground. That one instance with Gallade and Dig still had her at a lost for words.
"Exca." Excadrill felt the same way. That was the last thing he was expecting from the Fighting-Type.
"Finally." Aria stood up. "I was wondering when the first day was gonna end. My back is killing me."
"It was worth all the sitting!" Pinkie and Sonata both said at the same time.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off his seat, stretching his tail and arms. "Pika..."
"What a day." Ash held his head. "But it was so exciting!"
"Ah...It's a good thing I'm all about collecting. Battles are a bit too much for me to handle." Goh spoke.
"I'm sure all of us are tired out. I know Chikorita is." Fluttershy held her exhausted Chikorita.
"Chiko."
"Now that the first day of the tournament has come to an end, I think everypony deserves a nice long rest until tomorrow!" The announcer went on. "And I surely can't wait to say a bunch of stuff next time! But my throats getting kinda sore..."
"Well, Passion. It certainly was an enjoyable first day, wasn't it?" Celestia picked up her partner.
"Lia." Passion nodded in agreement.
"Canine..." Arcanine had fallen asleep. Mostly due to the sunset. The calming nature of it tends to make him drowsy.
"Even though everypony's excited for tomorrow, I can't help but think about Adagio. You should rest up in the meanwhile. I'll be a bit busy."
"Kir."
Over at the waiting room, the trainers were feeling the exact same way. Tuckered out. With the first day closing off, they were all requested to stay inside the spare rooms of Canterlot until tomorrow. But before that, Ben had an important announcement to make as his head popped out of from the side of a wall.
"Uh. Before you leave everypony. Just a few quick words and a question. Outside, there are Rental Teams that I've brought along. Because tomorrow, we're moving it to a 2v2. Since some of you only own one Pokemon."
"2v2? I thought it was just 1v1." Twilight said.
"Yeah..." Ben grit his teeth. "Should've made it clearer that the first day was a 1V1. So for those who don't have more than one Pokemon, you're free to take any from the Rental Teams. And don't worry. They're well trained and easy to work with."
"What else is there?" Scootaloo asked.
"This one's a bit of a question that depends on you all. Would it be okay if we shuffled the matchups?"
"Shuffled?" Everypony said.
"Right. If you want, I can always randomize the matchups to switch things up. If that's okay with you guys."
"I'm cool with it!" Rainbow Dash liked the sound of that. "If it means that there's a chance I reach Spitfire and Daylight quicker."
Other ponies seemed to go along with it. The idea of switching up matchups sounded interesting. Mostly due to the fact that some of them were a bit nervous about their upcoming matches, so changing it up might be a saving grace. Keyword being 'might' since one unlucky pony might end up facing off against the Top 3.
Rarity was all for it for one reason. If by some chance she manages to get paired up with Adagio, that'll give her the opportunity to stop the siren before things get out of hoof any further. And if not, then she'll have to wait for that chance later on in the tournament.
"Then it's settled. Gothitelle."
"Telle." The Astral Body Pokemon used her psychic attributes to manipulate the tournament brackets. Her psychic power can go that far.
With the matchups being altered as everypony's faces were moving haphazardly on the screen, anticipation was building. Their opponents were now unpredictable. It wasn't just the trainers viewing this. The huge screen on the outside of the battlefield had shown the shuffling to the crowd and spectators. They were wondering who would get paired up with who.
Once the shuffling came to an end, the results were clear. Matchups that were originally not meant to happen, will end up happening. Whether it be against trainers from the same town or city as them or even trainers they hoped they wouldn't go up against, there were some visible reactions on everypony's faces.
Rarity looked over to see that it would be Twilight going up against Adagio instead. From the lineup, it looked like it would be the 20th battle tomorrow. Even if it wasn't her, she had faith in her friend that she could do it.
"Looks like I'll be facing Adagio tomorrow, huh?" Twilight gulped, feeling a bit nervous about this.
"Seems to be the case. I have faith in you, Twilight." Rarity placed her hoof on Twilight's neck. "Just make sure that you are no way paralyzed by that Pheromosa creature."
"I will. I promise Rarity."
Adagio had seen the results for herself. And to say that she was looking forward to this was an understatement. She was expecting to up against Twilight a few days later. Tomorrow sounds good to her. This is what Adagio was waiting for the most.
And with more events concerning Adagio, Luna and Darkrai looked at each other, nodding in understanding. Soon, everypony will head into Canterlot Castle, using the spare bedrooms to rest up. There, both of them will enter Adagio's dream in order to see the result of what Xatu had foreseen.
Speaking of which, everypony had scattered with some heading home for the day. They plan to come back tomorrow since Canterlot Castle's bedrooms are very limited despite how many there are. Some trainers had decided to rest in the waiting room. Those couches are pretty comfortable.
As Celestia lowers the sun whilst Luna raises the moon, the two sisters had their own plans for tonight. For Luna, it was about Adagio's dream. Celestia on the other hoof had a separate plan concerning Adagio.
Finally. Night has arrived.
The trainers and most of Equestria is asleep at this time. Which means that it was time for Luna to act. Darkrai and her were lurking in the shadows, perfectly blending in as the guards watched them pass by.
Luna's horn lit up in the darkness as she and Darkrai stood by a door that led to the room where Adagio would be resting.
Luna quietly opened the door with her magic, making sure to not cause any noise whatsoever as Darkrai was on standby. However, to her surprise, her magic aura was quickly overtaken by an orange one. More specifically, Adagio's magic.
Turns out, she wasn't asleep. At all. And it was made very clear once she opened the door herself, sitting on the bed with her hooves behind her back.
"Good evening, Princess Luna." Adagio greeted.
"You're awake?!" Luna gasped.
"Did you really think I would let you invade my dreams? You wish." She stood up from her bed. "Us sirens have exceptional hearing. I could hear your little dream scheming back there in the waiting room."
"So it would seem." Luna narrowed her eyes at the pony-siren hybrid. "In that case, I suppose I can do the next best thing. Regarding what you did to that Breloom."
"Oh, I remember. Honestly, that was my favourite moment of this stupid tournament. Seeing the horrified looks of every single pony's faces was just beautiful. And the best part, the animosity directed towards me was a good fill."
"So, you truly are here for another reason!" Luna leaned forward. "Your goal was to only feed off the negativity that you created."
"Duh. That's what I do." Adagio scoffed. "It's common siren knowledge."
"Well then. Now that I know your true intentions, I can deal with you here and now." Luna's horn illuminated.
"Hoh?" So did Adagio's. "I would rethink that. Unless you want this entire castle to come crumbling down." She held out the Ultra Ball that had Pheromosa, threatening to unleash the Ultra Beast.
The two of them were actually about to engage in conflict with both of them blasting magic towards each other. Both of their rays had been stopped by none other than Celestia herself, who used her wings to push the rays back.
"Stop!" Celestia spoke, causing both Adagio and Luna to halt.
"Sister?!"
"Feh. Just what I needed...two alicorns..." Adagio grumbled.
"Luna, wait. You mustn't engage any further. That goes for you too, Adagio."
"Why not? Her real goal is to feed off animosity from everypony in this tournament. That involves that Pheromosa creature. That is why she is even here in the first place! That whole dream babble was most likely a lie to catch Darkrai and I off guard!"
"Bite me!" Adagio replied.
"Luna. I am already aware of that."
"You are?" Luna pulled back.
"Yes. Both of you. Please restrain yourselves first before you start tearing each other apart."
"Hmph." Adagio sat down on her bed. "Whatever. I wasn't planning on doing anything tonight anyway."
"Sister. Why are you defending her? If you're already aware of what she does, why stop me? Darkrai and I could put an end to her plans right this instant."
"I know that already. What she does is horrible but..." Celestia looked to the side, not sure how to break the news to Luna.
"But? What?" Luna was curious.
"Adagio. Could you excuse the two of us for a moment?"
"Go ahead." Adagio used her magic to bounce the Ultra Ball up and down. "Doesn't concern me anyway."
"Thank you." Celestia led her younger sister outside while Darkrai simply hid back in the shadows, just in case Adagio ended up trying something.
"Well? What did you want to tell me? It must be of great importance if it involves you stopping my attack on Adagio."
"It is of great importance. Possibly larger than anything we've discovered so far."
"Then what is it? Just tell me." Luna tapped her foot, unable to withstand the suspense any longer.
"How do I put this..." Celestia was ready to tell her everything concerning the sirens. All the while, Adagio was in her room, listening to the conversation with her exceptional hearing.
What Celestia told Luna was exactly what Adagio wanted to hear. About the history between both their mothers and how they met. Including everything, she had just learned about sirens this afternoon. Once Adagio overheard this, a cocky smile graced her face as she nodded in agreement with everything Celestia was saying.
As for Luna, the reaction from her was exactly what Celestia was expecting. One that involved shock, confusion and disbelief.
"You're joking...Right?" Luna uttered.
"Not at all." The sun princess shook her head. "Everything I've told you is completely true."
"True as the sun in the sky." Adagio came out of the room, revelling in Luna's shock. "Like what you hear, Princess Luna? You'd better get used to it."
"Adagio, please." Celestia put her wing out, stopping Adagio's words against her younger sister. "Luna. I know this is a lot to take in but please try to understand something. If I hadn't known about this information in the first place, then perhaps I would've dealt with Adagio already."
"Glad that's not the case." Adagio scoffed.
"Then how is it that I never knew from the start?! I thought we were given all the knowledge we needed about sirens and their magic. And why is it that mother never told us about any of this when we were younger?"
"I thought so too. But it appears we still have a lot to learn bout the world we live in. Listen. Both of you. It's far too late in the night to continue all of this. Tomorrow, we shall continue this talk once we have another 40-minute break. Luna. I ask that you do not interact with Adagio for the rest of the night."
"...Fine..." Luna grumbled. She walked off, dismissing the action of heading inside of Adagio's dreams. In fact, her second plan was to force Adagio to sleep with Darkrai's Dark Void. But that wasn't happening anymore.
"Adagio. You are going to be completely inactive throughout the night, correct?"
"Yeah, whatever." Adagio went back into the room. "Just keep her and that freaky dark thing away from me."
"I have a name..." Darkrai spoke in the shadows.
"Good." Celestia sighed. "I'll figure out what to do about all of this. I might have to find somepony who also owns knowledge about sirens. But who?"
The first day of the Canterlot Tournament has come to an end. The remaining 6 days are sure to exceed everypony's expectations when it comes to excitement. All the while, Celestia continues her mission to solve this seemingly impossible task that she has involved herself with regarding Adagio. With further knowledge about sirens being spread to Luna, the young moon princess is essentially in the same boat as her older sister in terms of thoughts.
For now, she desires some time to rest and relax until tomorrows as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
Ponyville, 3 hours before the Canterlot Tournament began.
"Alright, Jade. It's all up to you!" Pinkie yelled.
"Hm? What's all up to me?" Jade asked in her usual bland tone.
"A lot of us are gonna be away at Canterlot for the tournament. Even Mr and Mrs Cake won't be here. So you know what means...?" Pinkie nudged Jade's wings.
"Not really."
"Silly filly. You're gonna be babysitting the Cake Twins, duh!" Pinkie held Jade's face, mushing it.
"Me? Babysit?"
"Mhm!" The pink pony nodded. "Somepony's gotta take care of Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake. Don't worry. They'll be there to help you."
"Help me? But they're babies."
"I know. But they're pretty smart. They'll know exactly how to get you started. Just keep one thing in mind Jade."
"What's that?"
"Responsibility. I made a huge mistake once thinking that just playing with the babies was all I needed to do. Boy was I wrong! There's a lot more to it. You gotta remember this."
"Responsibility. Got it." Jade nodded.
"Great! And just for safe measure, I've left behind some of my Slurpuff. Just in case."
"Pinkie! Let's go!" Rainbow Dash's voice could be heard, calling for the earth pony.
"Oh! Gotta go! Good luck!" Pinkie waved goodbye as she dashed out of the SugarCube Corner, leaving Jade with this newly assigned task.
"Alright. Responsibility. I can do that." Jade turned around to see the two babies, looking at her with their usual silly yet jolly faces.
The two of them babbled, bobbing their heads back and forth, side to side. But that was a sign that they were thrilled to have Jade here. After all, she is Pinkie Pie's friend. To them, that makes her their friend.
"Okay, you two." Jade went over to the twins. "We're going to have a fun time, okay?" She said in her usual blank expression and monotone voice.
The way Jade spoke with zero emotion actually made the two twins a bit uncomfortable. But then again, they knew that Jade was an emotionless pony so they were gonna have to go along with it. How bad could it be?
10 minutes later and everything seems to be going swimmingly so far. The Cake Twins had decided to interact with Jade by sitting on her back or just hanging off her nose. As always, Jade remained unbothered.
The Slurpuff's were tasked with giving the two something to eat. Jade can't cook so it was up the Meringue Pokemon who are skilled at baking despite the fact that they have tiny little hands that make a Tyrantrum's arms look huge. But, Pinkie left behind something for them to finish up and if they work together, they can bake.
Pound Cake had flown over to a table where three Poke Balls sat. They seemed to be Heal Balls. Special Poke Balls that allow you to catch a Pokemon and automatically restore it to full health. How that was even possible? That's a story for another day.
The baby pegasus had grabbed one Heal Ball with his mouth while Pumpkin Cake used the little bit of magic she had in her to grab the other two. Poke Ball's aren't really that heavy, they're incredibly light. So anyone can pick them up. Both of these Heal Balls belonged to Pinkie Pie since she was one day aiming to catch another Pokemon to add to her party.
"Hm? What's this?" Jade looked down at the two of them who had Heal Balls at their disposal.
"Jade!" Pound Cake suddenly spoke her name by babbling. He flew up, holding the Heal Ball as he brought it up to Jade's face. It seemed like they wanted to do something involving the balls.
"The Heal Balls? What about them?"
To help Jade understand, Pumpkin Cake used her magic to toss the Heal Ball towards a single Slurpuff. Once the ball made direct contact with the single Meringue Pokemon, it was very clear on what the two of them wanted to do.
"Puff?"
"Oh...You want to catch a Pokemon, don't you?" Saying that caused the twins to nod aggressively. Jade got the message and they were thrilled to hear her response. "Hm. So that's it." Jade picked up a single Heal Ball, looking at its pink appearance. She noticed that Pinkie Pie decorated the ball for her own liking. It had confetti all over it. Possibly even inside as well.
The two babies raised their hooves up, eager to catch a Pokemon. Seeing other ponies catch Pokemon of their own and gaining their exclusive partners was something that even these little twins desired. After all, wouldn't be the first time a baby owns a Pokemon.
Jade could see that they were anticipating her answer. Pumpkin Cake went up Jade's hooves, holding it as a plea for a Pokemon. "Alright. We'll catch a Pokemon."
The best possible answer they could ever receive. Pound Cake flew into the air out of excitement whilst Pumpkin Cake did the same but by using her own magic on herself.
"And I know one place where we can go."
The most obvious place to be. And the safest since Jade knew that she was still looking after two babies. So heading out into the wild was a huge no. And travelling through the gateways to the Pokemon World is an even bigger no.
The safest place they could be where they could also catch Pokemon was none other than the Pokemon House. Currently being guarded by Discord's Krookodile.
And so far, he was doing a decent job of running the place. Granted, the only reason why he's able to keep every Pokemon in check is due to his intimidation factor and how he asserts his rule. He is known as the Intimidation Pokemon for a reason. Not many Pokemon at the Pokemon house can go up against him.
The Intimidation Pokemon noticed that Jade was headed this way with the two babies alongside a single Slurpuff, just in case.
"Krook?"
"This is it," Jade said as she held Pumpkin Cake in her hooves. "You. Crocodile looking thing."
"Dile?" Krookodile pointed at himself, realizing that Jade was referring to him. Clearly, Krookodile didn't take too kindly to that name. The last thing he wished to be called was a Crocodile. Even though he technically is one.
"Yeah. Can you come over here and help?"
"Krook..." With all the confidence in the world and that intimidating energy he brings along with him, the Ground-Dark-Type strutted over to Jade like the big guy he is. His main goal was to do what he does best. Intimidate Jade. And once he got up to her, he worked his magic.
Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake were obviously terrified of Krookodile as they both hid behind Jade Skies. However, Jade was unphased. Mostly due to the fact that she cannot feel fear. Among other things.
Her hollow and vacant eyes followed with her always stagnant frown was so effective that it actually intimidated Krookodile himself.
"Dile..." Krookodile gulped.
"Help me catch a Pokemon for these two. Anything's good."
"Krook!" Krookodile nodded, listening to Jade's command. It seems that Jade's lifeless personality made him feel bitter. He's so used to being around colourful and expressive individuals. Whether it be Pokemon or even the newly-accustomed ponies. So something like this got under his skin and just made him feel awkward.
Helping Jade out, the Intimidation Pokemon called for a plethora of Pokemon here as if he was the boss. Which he was at the moment.
Many Pokemon gathered around, heeding Krookodile's call. They all left their zones from the Pokemon House, putting a stop to whatever it was that they were doing.
The selection of Pokemon that had all gathered seemed promising to Jade's eyes. She liked what she saw.
"Hm. Alright...Which one?" She went over the various Pokemon that graced her eyes, thinking of the best possible choice. "It has to be a Pokemon that's safe and harmless. They're babies after all. So..."
Looking for a fairly weak and small Pokemon, the options that graced her were Rattata, Helioptile, Sentret, Oddish, Combee and of course, a member of the Electric Rodent Family. This time it was a choice between Plusle and Minun or maybe Pichu."
"They're all good options. Which one do you two like?" Jade asked.
Pumpkin Cake crawled over to the Pokemon that caught her eye. She liked the look of Minun and Combee. Those caught her eye for sure. The little unicorn babbled as she placed her hoof on the Cheering Pokemon, getting a slight shock from Minun's body.
"Minun!" Minun liked Pumpkin's energy. As a response, she shared some of her energy with the little unicorn by giving her a hug. They were practically the same size with Pumpkin being slightly taller. This huge had caused Pumpkin to giggle as her tiny little sparks could be seen flying out of her mane.
Seeing that made Jade's eyes widen. Pumpkin Cake didn't really feel the sparks too much. Although her mane and tail did puff up a little bit. After all, Minun knows not to harm a baby. But Jade found this as a hazard. Then in her mind, a projection of Pinkie Pie's head emerged as it hovered over her saying these exact words.
"Responsibility....Adult stuff."
"Responsibility," Jade said quietly. She then grabbed Pumpkin Cake, pulling her away from the Electric-Type. "Sorry. But you can't choose that one."
"Minun?" Minun fell flat on her face since her hug had been broken up.
"Electric-Types are too dangerous. Same for you." Jade then turned to Pound Cake who took an interest to Plusle and Rattata. He as well received some sparks from Plusle but as a bonus, Rattata used its tiny little teeth that it always chews with.
"Rattata!"
"That involves anything that bites a lot." Jade pulled her fellow pegasus away from the Mouse Pokemon and the Cheering Pokemon.
"Rat?"
"Choose something else, please." Jade asked the two of them. The Cake Twins weren't too pleased on choosing other Pokemon. They had already made up their minds with the ones that caught their interest. As a result, they broke into tears, wailing.
"Krook?!" Krookodile wasn't used to this at all. Crying is untouched territory for him. Seeing these tiny little ponies cry made him pull back.
Jade, however, wasn't equipped to deal with crying at all. "Don't cry."
Clearly, the command of telling a baby not to cry never works. At all. However, Jade's deadpan and numb emotions were so forceful and efficient that it actually caused the Cake Twins to stop crying.
It seems that Jade's greatest weapon is her non-existent personality.
"Sorry, you two. But Pinkie Pie gave me the task of having responsibility. So that means I can't allow you two to get hurt at any costs. So you'll have to pick another Pokemon."
Both of the twins looked at each other for a moment. Plusle and Minun were the Pokemon they really wanted. It was that natural Electric Rodent charm.
And the two Pokemon felt the same way. They've been itching for some partners for a while. The previous Plusle and Minun's had already been chosen by Sweetie Belle a few months back. So these two wanted to have a trainer of their own. Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake were the only two who wanted them so far.
Pumpkin used her magic to grab Minun, bringing the Cheering Pokemon towards her. Minun had a wide smile on her face as the two of them embraced each other with a hug. And as always, Minun shocked the little unicorn.
"Wait. Don't-" Jade attempted to break it up but her attention was quickly grabbed by Pound Cake and Plusle. The little pegasus managed to escape from Jade's grasp, picking up the other Cheering Pokemon.
"Plus!"
"Min!"
Both Plusle and Minun eventually ended up shocking Jade in the process, causing her mane and tail to stand up along with her wings.
"If I could feel anger, this would be the perfect time to get mad."
An excited Pound Cake picked up the Heal Ball, ready to make this partnership official. And with his tiny baby strength, he tossed the ball right at Plusle, sending the Cheering Pokemon inside.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Plusle was caught.
And what of Pumpkin and Minun? The baby unicorn did the exact same thing by using her magic to poke Minun with the Heal Ball. And with three shakes, Minun was caught.
Jade sighed, realizing that her attempt to stop these two from interacting with Electric-Type Pokemon was a bust.
"Oh well. At least they have their own Pokemon now." Jade sat down. "Is it responsible to let them have Pokemon like that? Then again, that baby from the Crystal Empire has a Pokemon that can swap hearts." She thought about it for a second. The sparks from Plusle and Minun weren't that bad. Jade herself felt the sparks and they barely did a thing. That quickly changed her mind about things. "Oh, well. I'm sure it's fine."
A few hours later, they each returned to SugarCube Corner with two new partners on their side. The Cake Twins immediately sent out Plusle and Minun whilst riding on the Heal Balls as if they were vehicles. Jade watched as all four of them began playing around the room, having the time of their life.
Plusle and Minun went about giving each other jolts while sending small little bolts across the room with some of them hitting Slurpuff.
"Puff!" The Meringue Pokemon dropped the food meant for the twins as it landed on their heads.
The Cake Twins didn't mind it at all. This was a quicker way to obtain food according to them as they licked the mush off their faces, giggling.
"I have to do this for an entire week, huh?" Jade looked up, thinking about Pinkie Pie and the Canterlot Tournament. "I can do it. Pinkie Pie trusted me after all. This week will be a cinch."
Even if there wasn't any expression packed behind her words and face, Jade truly was determined to do her very best. A whole week of this seems like a massive challenge. But after spending a lot of time with Pinkie Pie and everypony else, she has hope that she can overcome the usual struggles of looking after a baby as the journey continues.
Meaning that the second day of the Canterlot Tournament has arrived.
The golden sun graced itself upon all of Equestria, showing off its florid orange rays along with the calming energy it brought along with it. Flying-Type Pokemon in the skies and Grass-Types nearby soaked it in perfectly. Even if it was still winter with snow falling, the sun was always something that stays prominent.
With a new day arriving, everypony had woken up, excited for the second day of the Tournament. Especially the trainers participating. This second part of the Canterlot Tournament will now include the use of two Pokemon instead of just one. BigTime Ben gladly offered Rental Teams for those who only have one Pokemon at their disposal.
Speaking of teams, Twilight was currently sitting outside, planning and pondering. Her upcoming battle was against Adagio since the brackets had been shuffled. She was trying to find a way to overcome Adagio's Pheromosa. There were only 30 minutes left until the tournament continues, so there was a lot of time to plan things out.
"Alright. If I go in with Eve, I have a higher chance of winning. I just need to watch out for that Throat Chop." Twilight said to herself. "She could also have a Fighting-Type move at her disposal so that won't be a problem. But what if she has a Bug move?"
"Espeon?"
"If I use Bisharp I'm already setting myself up for disaster. Vulpix's Incinerate is powerful but he's not much of a battler. But it could help out...Urgh..."
"Dew." Dewott hopped on the table, grabbing Twilight's attention.
"Hm? What is it Dewott?"
"Wott. Dewott!" The Discipline Pokemon pointed his scalchops at himself, asking Twilight to choose him.
"You want me to choose you as my second Pokemon?"
"Dew." He nodded.
"Wait...That might work." Twilight looked up. Thinking about it for a second, she realized that Dewott doesn't have as many disadvantages as the others. Due to him being a Water-Type, the only thing that poses a threat to the Discipline Pokemon is Electric and Grass. Everything else is just neutral.
"Wott."
"Yes!" Twilight stood up. "It's a good thing Water-Types don't have that many weaknesses."
"Twilight. Are you okay?" Fluttershy along with Audino went over to their friend.
"Hm? Oh, Fluttershy. I'm actually doing great now."
"You are?"
"Mhm! I was struggling to figure out which Pokemon I should use against Adagio's Pheromosa. But Dewott here gave me a reminder that Water-Types are neutral to every other type."
"Oh. That's wonderful. So, is it just Dewott that'll be battling?"
"Eve's joining in since her Psybeam can come in handy. It'll be these two that'll take down Pheromosa."
"I see. But what if Adagio has a second Pokemon? It could be anything." Fluttershy gave Twilight something new to think about.
The thought of Adagio having a second Pokemon didn't slip Twilight's mind. She could have another Pheromosa at her disposal or even another Ultra Beast she's never seen before.
"I didn't think of that!" Twilight gasped. "A second Pokemon didn't cross my mind at all!" It was time to panic once more for Twilight Sparkle. She felt the need to rework her battle strategy now.
"Oh, sorry! I shouldn't have said that!" Fluttershy covered her mouth.
"It's fine." Twilight held her head. "I still have a lot of time left before my match. I just hope the others don't finish their battles too early."
"Alright. We'll be cheering you on the whole way through." Fluttershy and Audino had left Twilight to think about her plan further.
"Audino."
Half an hour left for everypony to prepare themselves for the second round. The trainers who only have one Pokemon had gone for the Rental Teams that were right near the waiting room.
Since the matchups have been shuffled, many of them are rethinking their strategies and picking out the right Pokemon they believe will carry them to the finals.
Adagio didn't bother with a second Pokemon. She believed that Pheromosa was enough. And if she did need to use a second Pokemon, Kricketot was there Even though he's not much a fighter.
The siren stood outside the waiting room. She was slowly biding her time until her match with Twilight. Once the others finish up, the moment that Adagio was looking forward to would arrive. Finally, after so long, she will be able to take all her frustration and anger out on the pony who defeated her back at the Battle of the Bands.
"So close." She held the Ultra Ball in her hoof. "But I won't stop with you, Sparkle. I'll head back to that other world and deal with Sunset Shimmer as well. Just you wait and see."
Over at the seats with the crowd, Ash and the others had already been seated, looking over the stadium. They all had a great sleep last night so they were ready for whatever ridiculous and off-the-wall battles that come their way.
"Mrrgh..." Sonata was scratching her ear like a dog whilst Aria looked at her in confusion.
"What's up with you?" She asked.
"I got a weird itch all of a sudden. Not only that but my skin feels like it's coming off or something." Sonata grumbled.
"Maybe you should wear warmer stuff than just a scarf." Aria scoffed. But very soon, she felt an itch as well. "Ow!"
"Hah! You're itchy too!" Sonata laughed at her fellow siren.
"Shut up!" Aria snapped back whilst scratching her face.
"You two are so adorable as sisters!" Pinkie pulled them both in with a hug. "If you had a fourth sister like my family, then we'd be matching siblings!"
"Pikapi?" Pikachu noticed that his buddy had a serious look on his face. Most likely due to the fact that Twilight was about to battle Adagio today.
"Still focused on it, Ash?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah." He nodded in response. "We can't ignore this at all."
"Why not?" Starlight asked.
"Adagio's been wanting revenge on Twilight for months now. So there's a good chance this is her biggest opportunity. By defeating Twilight in front of everyone here."
"Oh, you're right." Fluttershy gasped. "And Twilight's been busy thinking of which Pokemon to use against her Pheromosa. She had a good idea but then I brought up a second Pokemon. Me and my big mouth."
"Well, we don't have to worry about anything right? I'm sure Twilight's got this." Starlight squeed. "I hope."
"Yeah, but that Pheromosa thing's super fast." Sweetie Belle commented. "How's she gonna keep up with it?"
"All Twilight has to do is find a way around Pheromosa speed. Even the fastest Pokemon can be beaten." Ash answered.
"Pika..."
With anticipations high and everypony preparing themselves, the 30 minutes had come and gone. Thus, the second round can finally begin. First up, it would be two ponies from Manehattan going up against each other, followed up by 9 more. Once those 9 finish their battles, it'll be Twilight vs Adagio.
Celestia made sure that she would pay extra attention to it. The battle would include her most faithful student and the siren that she's trying to save. Whoever wins will surely affect Celestia in a special way.
In fact, both her and Ash were so focused on the upcoming battle that the others completely passed them by without them even paying too much attention to it.
They heard words such as "Floatzel, use Whirlpool!" Or "Araquanid is unable to battle! Pumpkaboo wins!"
Constant commands from the trainers, declarations from the referee and the announcer just uttering words at top of his lungs.
But, they still got some enjoyment out of the battles, despite barely paying too much attention to them. Pokemon battles have that effect after all.
Meanwhile, with Twilight, she had finally come up with a strategy that she believes would be enough to get past Pheromosa and Adagio's second Pokemon. Even if she didn't have a clue which Pokemon would be her second.
"Eve. Dewott. I'm counting on you two. Alright?"
"Dewott!"
"Espeon."
"Whatever her second Pokemon is, we'll face it together. I just hope that we can get past Pheromosa without taking too much damage."
The plan to get past Pheromosa was simple, according to Twilight. She recalled the time they first encountered Pheromosa. When Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex, there was one part, in particular, that seemed to be a weakness of Pheromosa.
"Its body is thin and supple, but it also possesses great power."
That meant only one thing. Pheromosa shares the exact same qualities as Pikachu. They're both Glass Cannons. They hit hard but they're fragile. One good hit can leave a number on them.
"If Eve can land one single Psybeam, it'll give us a huge advantage. Pheromosa's speed is most likely tied to her health. We deal enough damage, she slows down."
"Espeon!" Eve nodded. She knew that her Psybeam was just what they needed. Then again, Eve only has three moves. Swift, Quick Attack and Psybeam.
Swift and Quick Attack can come in handy since they are fast moves. Their names are related to speed after all. Psybeam is the trump card in all of this.
As for Dewott, Twilight is betting on his speedy Aqua Jet and hard-hitting Razor Shell. Aqua Jet seemed to be a Water-Type variant of Quick Attack since they both share the same speed.
"Dewott. Adagio's most likely going to interrupt your Aqua Jet in the beginning. Just like what she did to that Breloom. So here's what we'll do. If you hear an A or anything beyond that like Aqua, that means you can use Aqua Jet instantly before I can finish my sentence. That way, Adagio won't be able to get the first hit on."
"Wott!"
"It's a risky attempt but it can help us against Pheromosa's speed. Now. We wait." Twilight held her breath in. They just simply let time pass until their turn arrives.
It wasn't just her. Rarity was currently thinking about the match between the two. She knows that there might be a huge chance that Twilight will lose. But if she does, then Rarity would take on Adagio instead if she gets the chance.
Time had passed. Matches had come and gone.
Rainbow Dash was currently in her second battle against somepony with a Trumbeak and a Poliwrath. And so far, it looked like it would be the end of this matchup.
"Luxio! Wild Charge!" She commanded Luxio to attack the Poliwrath.
"Lux!" The Spark Pokemon engulfed himself in electricity, bolting towards his opponents at lightning-speeds.
"Dodge it, Poliwrath!" The opposing pony commanded. But it was too late. Poliwrath had been struck by the devastating Electric-Type move. The impact rocketed him past his own trainer while Luxio took a ton of recoil damage from that.
"Pol!" The Tadpole Pokemon tumbled on the ground before crashing into the walls of the stadium, fainting. "Poliwrath..."
"Poliwrath is unable to battle! Luxio wins! Thus the victor is Rainbow Dash!"
"Yes! Great job Luxio!" Rainbow flew up.
"Xio!"
And with that, Rainbow Dash moves on to the third round tomorrow. She's definitely showing everypony why she's ranked #4 in the Equestria League board.
Adagio had actually viewed Rainbow Dash's match for herself. Knowing how high she's ranked, the siren already figured out that Rainbow was a huge threat. Luxio's speed was impressive. Not on par with Pheromosa's but with moves such as Wild Charge, it can zip around for sure.
But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was her match against Twilight. Since Rainbow had just finished hers, four more trainers will battle. And after that, it'll be just Twilight and Adagio.
Clearly, the tension was rising, and everypony else knew that. After seeing Adagio's first match for themselves, if she were to come out for the second round with that Pheromosa along with that brutal battling style, their usual cheering would be put to a halt in an instant.
Finally, after two battles between four other trainers, the time had come.
Compared to every other matchup, whether it be the Top 3 trainers or even some fan favourites, this was the battle that they were all waiting for. Whether it was good or bad.
"Here it comes," Twilight said, taking a deep breath. She was about to face one of her many fears. Pheromosa. "I knew this was coming eventually...So it's time to tackle it."
"Right you are on that, Princess." Adagio had spoken to her, walking past the alicorn as all eyes were on these two ponies alone. "I'm looking forward to this." She smirked.
"You'd better keep your expectations low!" Rainbow flew over to Adagio. "Twilight's gonna win this!"
"We'll see about that." Adagio sneered. "It'll be an enjoyable sight when your Pokemon are defeated whilst you take in the feeling of losing. But it'll be even more euphoric once all your precious little friends witness it for themselves. And all of Canterlot as well."
"I won't lose." Twilight stomped her hoof.
"That all you have to say? Okay then." Adagio giggled. "Might as well get going. It's our time to shine. Or at least, it'll be mine." The cocky siren made her way to the battlefield as the doors opened up for her and Twilight.
"Good luck out there, darling." Rarity said to her.
"It's gonna get rough out there." Applejack nodded. "But you've come back from rougher things before, much stronger."
"Perform at your best, Twilight Sparkle." Luna went up to her fellow alicorn. "Make sure you win this."
"I will. Thanks everypony."
"Esp." Eve poked Twilight's hoof, telling her that they needed to get going pronto.
"Well...Here goes." With all the support from her friends, Twilight walked out into the battlefield with confidence behind her. It was time to truly put an end to this once and for all.
The crowd went silent when they saw two important ponies set hoof on the battlefield.
Adagio Dazzle. The pony who showed a horrifying display of skill in her first match.
And Twilight Sparkle. The Princess of Friendship.
Most of the ponies here had no context behind these two and their relationship. They had no idea that this one battle was essentially a grudge match. Or in Adagio's case, a revenge battle. This was to make up for her crushing loss at the Battle of the Bands.
"This is it Sparkle. Hope you're ready to get crushed in front of all these pathetic ponies!" Adagio had a wide grin with her pupils dilating.
"I-I'm right here you know..." The referee spoke.
"I won't let you break my spirit Adagio! Not even for a second!"
"Keep telling yourself that. But you'll break alright."
All of Twilight's friends' paid close attention to this battle more than anything else. Celestia held Passion in her hooves, wondering what the outcome will be in this battle and how it'll affect both Twilight and Adagio.
By looking at both ponies and seeing how intense their looks were at the moment, the referee could finally give the call.
"For the 2v2 rules, you are allowed to substitute Pokemon. Now, you may both send out your Pokemon."
"Dewott! You're up first!" Twilight had gone for Dewott as her first choice.
"Dew!" The Discipline Pokemon front flipped over his trainer, making a dramatic entrance by stabbing one of his scalchops in the ground. "Wott!"
"Let's make this quick." Adagio used her magic to hold the Ultra Ball, sending out the Lissome Pokemon herself. Pheromosa.
"Mosa." Pheromosa, in all her vanity, looked down at her opposing Pokemon in disdain and disrespect, seeing Dewott as a being that was beneath her.
"Dewott..." Dewott gulped as he held his singular Scalchop, preparing for the worst.
Both Pokemon stared each other down along with their trainers. Finally, it was time for the battle to begin. The referee just had to say those magic words.
"Battle Start!"
Twilight pivoted her hoof back, shouting at the top of her lungs. "Aqua-"
"Throat Chop." As always Adagio interrupted.
But that is exactly what Twilight predicted. But who would dash off the ground first? In the span of three seconds, Dewott's body became surrounded in a torrent of water whilst Pheromosa moved at blinding speeds, veiling her feet with dark energy.
Twilight's one-word strategy had actually worked. The moment Dewott heard an A, he took off from his spot in an instant by lunging straight towards the Lissome Pokemon, leaving behind a trail of water.
Both Pokemon had clashed with Dewott's head meeting Pheromosa's feet, creating a mini-shockwave from their impact. It was a good start, but unfortunately, Pheromosa hadn't taken any damage. It was just a collision after all. Once that was done, both Pokemon sent each other back, veering on the ground itself.
"Dew!"
"Phero!"
"Yes! She stopped Throat Chop!" Fluttershy stood up.
"So you did anticipate me doing that, huh?" Adagio narrowed her eyes.
"Right you are on that. Razor Shell!"
"Wott!" Dewott pulled out both his scalchops, running straight towards the Lissome Pokemon.
"Use Poison Jab." Adagio wasn't bothered by Dewott stopping Throat Chop. She still had the speed advantage either way. And it showed with Pheromosa's next move. The Ultra Beast scampered across the ground, dragging her poison-clad feet with her.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa had intercepted Razor Shell by kicking Dewott's Scalchops out of his hands as they flew into the air. It was done so quickly that the Discipline Pokemon didn't even get the chance to swing them.
"Wott?!" Once he noticed his weapons were gone, he was immediately met with a swift kick to the face by Pheromosa's destructive legs. And an extra bonus of poison added onto it to make it worse. Once Dewott was hit, he felt his body zip across the battlefield, already taking some pretty harsh damage.
However, Dewott is a Pokemon that has been battling for years in PokePark, so he actually managed to recover by skidding on the ground.
"Use Water Gun!" From his gaping mouth, Dewott fired a blast of water forward without using his weapons to do so.
"Dodge it!" Pheromosa with her supple body evaded the blast of water without any trouble. "High Jump Kick!"
Pheromosa's third move had been revealed. The Lissome Pokemon took the skies, putting all of her power into her knee this time instead of her legs. "Mosa!" Similar to how fast she moves in the ground, she's almost as speedy in the air.
"Evade with Aqua Jet!" The Discipline Pokemon shifted himself to the side with a high-paced dash. The Ultra Beast came crashing down like a rocket, smashing her knee on the ground, taking a bit of damage from it.
"Sa!" Pheromosa winced at her missing High Jump Kick, causing her to hold her knee a bit.
There it was. Twilight had found a weak spot. If High Jump Kick misses, then Pheromosa will take damage herself. And so far, Aqua Jet was working in Twilight's favour. She might've found a way to turn this around for her.
"Yes! Finally some progress! Keep using Aqua Jet!"
"Relying on the same move, are we? Pheromosa! Throat Chop!"
Yet again, the two Pokemon rushed towards each other with spurts of speed. They had a second collision between their moves, forcing each other back. But this time, things were different. Dewott didn't stop using Aqua Jet, giving him the opportunity to keep up with Pheromosa.
"Poison Jab!" Pheromosa raised her leg up, going for an axe kick this time with poison surrounded her foot.
"Dew!" Dewott propelled himself back with Aqua Jet as an evasion tactic. Aqua Jet proved to be a great choice of dodging as Pheromosa smashed her foot on the ground, completely missing him.
"Mosa?!"
The Discipline Pokemon was zipping around the battlefield, leaving behind a trail of water with each bolt. At this point, he was like a cockroach. Constantly moving without showing any signs of stopping.
"OH! Dewott's managing to keep up with that alien-looking thing!" The announcer stood up, getting excited.
In fact, everypony was getting riled up due to this battle. They were expecting Pheromosa to easily win this, but so far, Twilight's managed to hold her own.
"That's the stuff! You go Dewott!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Chase after Dewott and use Poison Jab!" Adagio was actually getting frustrated with Dewott's rapid evasions. Seeing how Dewott was managing to work his way around Pheromosa's ludicrous speed irritated her.
Thus began a scenario where one Pokemon was currently in pursuit of another, trying to land a hit in. The crowd watched as all they saw was a stream of water and a white blur sprint across the stadium with such birr and animation.
Dewott noticed that his scalchops weren't too far away from here as he rushed over the spot where they laid. Finally, he managed to retrieve his weapons by grabbing them as he passed by.
But eventually, Pheromosa managed to catch up to Dewott since Aqua Jet doesn't last forever, unfortunately. Once she caught up to her prey, she smashed her foot on his stomach, launching Dewott into the air.
"Wott!"
"Finally!" Adagio grinned. "High Jump Kick!"
"Mosa!" Following Dewott into the skies, Pheromosa smashed her knee onto Dewott's stomach, yet again.
"Dew!" Dewott's eyes widened after taking such a devastating hit such as that. What followed was Pheromosa kicking the Discipline Pokemon down to the ground. Dewott wasn't out yet as he laid on his back, wincing.
"Good. Now! Use Throat Chop from above!" Adagio's brutal battling style showed itself once more. Pheromosa was aiming straight for Dewott's throat while striking from above.
"Block it with your scalchops!" Twilight gasped. She knew that an attack like that from above would be devastating. Especially if it was in the form of a dive kick.
"Dewott!" The Disciple Pokemon put his two scalchops up as a defensive tactic. A good call from Twilight's part. Pheromosa seemed to have a second weakness. Her speed seems to be slower in the air. She's still fast, but compared to the ground, the air seemed to be a handicap.
This one weakness gave Dewott the chance to block the attack at the right moment. Once Pheromosa performed her Throat Chop dive kick, it was hindered by Dewott's scalchops. The recoil was felt between the two due to the impact. Dewott felt a shudder from the recoil whilst Pheromosa's legs twitched a bit.
The Lissome Pokemon hopped off Dewott's scalchops, raising her leg up as it was trembling a small bit. "Phero..."
"Dew!" Dewott got up from the ground, shaking his hands after that hard collision between his scalchops and Pheromosa's legs.
"Phew!" Pinkie Pie let out a sigh of relief, slumping on the seats. "For a second there, I thought Dewott was a goner."
"Dewott's Aqua Jet is just what she needed!" Fluttershy uttered. "She has a chance to win this!"
"Great job staying firm, Dewott!" Twilight praised the Discipline Pokemon.
"Dewott!" Dewott responded by putting on a fighting stance.
"How annoying..." Adagio grumbled. "Pheromosa! Let's get this over with already! Poison Jab!"
"Pherom!" Pheromosa dashed forward, tearing the ground beneath her.
"Go, Dewott!" Twilight was referring to Aqua Jet. And Dewott knew that without any trouble.
"Wott!" By lunging himself forward, the Discipline Pokemon flew over Pheromosa, avoiding her poisonous kick. The Lissome Pokemon turned around, having a second try at Poison Jab. This time, she managed to hit her target by smashing her foot against Dewott's jaw. "Dew!"
Dewott shook his head, drifting on the ground whilst making it wet with the aura of water that surrounded him. He rocketed himself back at Pheromosa, clashing with her legs like always. They went back and forth with Aqua Jet continuously dashing around haphazardly.
"Keep it up, Dewott! Don't let Pheromosa rest for a second!"
"Make sure that otter doesn't get the chance to deal damage! Throat Chop!"
Finally, the two had entered their final clash with Aqua Jet connecting with Throat Chop. The two Pokemon were in a bit of a struggle with one trying to push the other back. And for once, Pheromosa was actually showing signs of struggling.
Due to High Jump Kick missing and her attack being blocked by Dewott's scalchops, her kicks weren't as destructive as before. But they can still cause some major damage.
"Come on..." Twilight grit her teeth, hoping that Dewott could win the struggle.
"Mosa..." Pheromosa's body, unfortunately, wasn't as heavy as her kicks. She was known as the Lissome Pokemon for a reason. And thanks to her taking a tiny bit of damage earlier, her strength to hold back attacks had weakened. As a result, Dewott had finally managed to turn things around.
For the first time, Pheromosa had been overpowered. Aqua Jet had beaten Throat Chop as the Discipline Pokemon crashed himself into Pheromosa.
"Dewott!"
"MOSA!"
"Yes! Direct hit!" Twilight cheered.
"WHAT?!" Adagio pulled back, shocked and confused.
"Phero!" Pheromosa veered on the battlefield, holding her chest. She had finally taken some considerable damage.
"Pheromosa's finally taken some damage after so many tries!" The announcer shouted. "Leave it to Princess Twilight to find a weakness!"
"Why you..." Adagio growled.
"Sorry, Adagio. Guess you didn't take Pheromosa's weak durability into account. It's called the Lissome Pokemon for a reason, ya know."
"Don't get cocky, Sparkle! I haven't lost yet! Poison Jab!"
"Mosa!" A slightly slower Pheromosa took the skies, covering her leg in toxic poison, aiming to seep it all inside Dewott's body. Her Poison Jab came in the form a dive kick as she came flying down like a rocket.
"Dewott! Razor Shell!"
"Dew!" Dewott raised his scalchops up, looking right up at the Lissome Pokemon. He was prepared to slash at the right moment once she got close enough to him. This time, he could see her clearly.
Adagio and Twilight's battle rages on. With Twilight finally finding a weak spot which turned out to be Pheromosa's own body, a battle that at first seemed one-sided has now turned into a match where both Pokemon are on equal footing. The winner of this second round is a mystery to everypony as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The match between Twilight and Adagio at the Canterlot Tournament resumes.
With Twilight finally finding a Pheromosa's weakness, which turned out to be its own light body, the outcome of this battle can go either way now instead of everypony expecting Pheromosa to come out on top.
"Poison Jab!" From Adagio's own command, Pheromosa had used Poison Jab in the form of a dive kick.
"Dewott! Razor Shell!" As for Twilight, Dewott put both of his scalchops in an X-formation, preparing for Pheromosa's attack.
Due to Pheromosa being weakened, she had been slowed down. Now everypony can at least see her movements with a clear-cut vision.
And for a warrior Pokemon such as Dewott, this was perfect. His concentration was always 100%. Meaning that he could see Pheromosa's attacks coming now. Once the dive kick got close enough, Dewott swung his scalchops, clashing with her feet.
"Mosa!"
"Dew!" Dewott was much more resilient than Pheromosa due to him having the durability advantage. As such, he pushed the Ultra Beast back by raising his scalchops. "Wott!"
"Rush in, Dewott!"
"Dew!" Dewott kept on using Razor Shell as a blade-like aura of water emerged from his scalchops. The Discipline Pokemon lunged himself towards Pheromosa, preparing to slash.
"Dodge it!" Pheromosa still kept her insane speed, but not by much anymore. Once Dewott slashed his scalchops down, the Lissome Pokemon barely managed to avoid the attack. She held her chest since that's where Aqua Jet struck her. If anything, the pain that was on Pheromosa's chest is what was dragging her down.
"Phero!"
"Razor Shell! Repeatedly!"
"High Jump Kick, now!"
With two commands going off at the same time, both Pokemon took the skies in unison, moving at the same wavelength. Dewott raised his scalchops whilst Pheromosa lifted her leg up. Once they both entered a clash, they stayed in the air for a while with one trying to overpower the other.
Adagio realized that Pheromosa's speed was lacking this time. Plus, Dewott's Razor Shell is powerful enough to take her out in a few hits. So it was time to improvise.
"Use your other leg for Throat Chop!" Adagio could get creative with her moves as well. By having Pheromosa use her other leg, it was her that won the clash between the two. Dewott felt a kick filled with dark energy smack his face as he was sent down to the ground.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa made a safe landing, shaking her head. The Lissome Pokemon quickly regained her composure, knowing not to lose focus even if she was frustrated that Dewott was putting up a good fight against her. "Phero."
"You're doing great, Dewott. Just hang in there a bit." Twilight said.
"Dew."
"Think you're gaining the advantage, Sparkle?" Adagio scoffed. "This battle is far from over."
"I told you, Adagio. You won't break me. Not in front of my friends. Dewott, Eve and I are gonna win this!"
"Dewott!"
"Espeon!"
"Hm...not for long..." Adagio suddenly smirked. The reason why is simple. Pheromosa's fourth move had yet to be revealed. But seeing how Twilight was filling up with hope, Adagio figured that it was the perfect time to crush it. "Pheromosa. Quiver Dance."
"Quiver Dance?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Phero!" The fourth move had been revealed to everypony. The mystical Quiver Dance. The Lissome Pokemon had suddenly performed a mystical dance, skipping across the battlefield as an enchanting green light surrounded her.
"What is that?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Quiver Dance!" Ash exclaimed. "Not good...Now Pheromosa's even stronger and faster than before!"
"Pikachu!"
"B-But she was already fast and strong enough!" Starlight gasped.
"It's fine. Pheromosa only has physical moves. But her speed's already been raised..."
"Not good! Get out of there, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie stood up.
"Whatever that is... use Aqua Jet!" Twilight couldn't get distracted by Pheromosa's beautiful dancing. She decided to attack while she was wide open.
"Dewott!" The Discipline Pokemon lunged herself forward, thinking that he could get a hit in since Pheromosa was still dancing.
"Hmph. Throat Chop."
"Phe." Pheromosa's eyes widened, spotting Aqua Jet with ease. Her speed had returned to her, but not only that, it had increased further.
The Lissome Pokemon easily sidestepped away from Dewott, avoiding Aqua Jet without any problem. That's when the one thing Twilight feared finally happened. Pheromosa's appeared in front of Dewott before he and Twilight even saw her move. With aggression and spite, the Ultra Beast smashed her dark-clad foot onto Dewott's throat.
"W-Wott!" Dewott staggered back, holding his throat in pain. "Dew..." The Discipline Pokemon got on his knees, struggling to speak due to how hard that attack was.
"Dewott!" Twilight gasped. "Get out of there quick with Aqua Jet!"
"Dew..." Dewott coughed, summoning a veil of water around him. Due to the damage, his throat took, his usual concentration had been thrown off.
"Poison Jab." Continuing the brutal assault, Pheromosa stomped on Dewott's back before he had the chance to escape.
"Phero!"
"DEWOTT!"
"Dewott! Try Aqua Jet again!"
"Dew...Dew..." Try as he might, Dewott couldn't escape. He moved his body around, twisting and turning with all his might. But nothing. It's almost as if once Pheromosa got her speed back, she was at full power once more.
"Excellent. Use Quiver Dance while on Dewott." Adding insult to injury, Pheromosa did a light dance on Dewott while her Poison jab foot was on him.
And speaking Poison Jab, the inevitable finally happened. With enough uses of it, the poison had finally entered Dewott's body, poisoning him. Now it was even harder to focus and escape.
All the while, Pheromosa's speed had been boosted thanks to Quiver Dance. On the bright side, Pheromosa didn't posses any ranged moves, so the full effects of Quiver Dance didn't go through. But her defence against ranged moves will help her a lot if anything is thrown at her from afar.
"What do I do...?" Twilight grumbled, unsure of what to do. She felt like she was being backed into a corner here.
"What now, Sparkle? Wanna quit? It's not too late."
"Dew...Dewott!" Dewott was groaning, unable to bear the pain any longer.
Twilight saw that if Dewott stayed out for much longer, that would be the end of him for sure. So there was only one thing she could do. "Return, for now, Dewott."
"Dew...." Dewott turned around, nodding in response. It was for the best as he ran over to his trainer.
"We'll get you cured after all of this, okay?"
"What a shock! It looked like Dewott was battling Pheromosa on equal levels but then all of a sudden, everything turned around!" said the announcer.
"Heh. Thought you had a chance? Guess again!" Adagio cackled.
"Just when Dewott was doing so well..." Fluttershy sighed.
"Audino..."
"Chiko."
"Cheer up. Dewott put the hurt on Pheromosa already. So all Eve's gotta do is finish it off." Pinkie said.
"Yeah, but if Pheromosa's speed is back to normal and even better than before, how's she gonna win now?" Goh spoke.
"Uh...Maybe her Espeon will evolve or something like what happened with Rarity and Flaaffy?" Sweetie Belle shrugged.
"Espeon can't evolve, though." Apple Bloom shook her head.
"Ash. You're the Pokemon expert here. What can she do?" Fluttershy asked.
"It's only gonna get tougher from here. Eve only knows three moves. Swift, Quick Attack and her best move, Psybeam." Ash replied.
"Right! Psybeam! Pinkie stood up. "That's all she needs right?!"
"I would say that but...Quiver Dance just made Pheromosa stronger against ranged moves."
"Pika..."
"Oh no...So that means, Eve's going to lose?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"It's not over yet." Ash shook his head. "Espeon's are naturally fast Pokemon. Much faster than a Dewott normally. She may not be able to match Pheromosa's speed, but with Swift and Quick Attack..."
Ash was right on that. Eve's speed was nothing to scoff at. She may be slower than Pheromosa but she was much faster than Dewott by a mile. It was all up to her now.
Celestia this whole time hasn't said a word. She's just been watching the battle closely with all of her attention glued to it. The outcome of this mattered greatly to her.
"Eve. I'm counting on you."
"Esp."
"For all of our friends..." Twilight held breath in. "You're up next!"
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon lunged forward, stepping into the battlefield with psychic abilities ready to be shown.
"Hoh? So you're going with that, are you?" Adagio smirked. "All I need is one good Throat Chop and that's game over."
"Like I'd let you...Quick Attack!"
"Esp!" With blinding speeds, Eve was the first to attack, tackling Pheromosa before she even knew it. When Ash said that Eve was much faster than a Dewott, she wasn't kidding.
"They don't call it quick attack for nothing! What speed!" The announcer uttered.
"That's some impressive speed...but it's not enough! Throat Chop!"
"Dodge with Quick Attack!"
"Phero!" Pheromosa shook her head, immediately focusing all of her strength into this upcoming kick. But despite that, Eve actually managed to avoid it by leaving behind an afterimage trail of herself. Quick Attack added onto Eve's impressive speed meant that she could cover a lot of ground in a few seconds or less.
"Psybeam!"
"Espeon!" The move that both of them were betting on. By concentrating all of her psychic power into her gem, the Sun Pokemon fired a multicoloured beam of psychic energy in the shape of a thunderbolt as it tore through the ground, heading straight for the Lissome Pokemon.
"Not good! Dodge it!" Adagio realized that this attack was trouble for Pheromosa since she was Bug-Fighting. If only the Bug part came in handy in this situation. But instead, her Fighting-Type would be her handicap against the Sun Pokemon.
"Phero!" Pheromosa zipped to the side, avoiding the Psybeam with no problem.
"Let's put the pressure on! Swift!" Twilight changed up her battling style. No longer was she playing it smart. Not at all. The new strategy was simple. Overwhelm Pheromosa. Because what better way to beat an opponent who's faster than you than to counteract them with your form of speed.
"Eon!" From her own tail. Eve fired golden stars that went in various directions due to how many there were.
"Dodge them all!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa used her supple body to zigzag past the stars, avoiding a good chunk of them. But Twilight wasn't about to let Pheromosa get out of this without taking any damage.
"Use Quick Attack!" A sudden combination of moves. Once Pheromosa dodged the final star, she was met with a tackle to face by the Sun Pokemon.
"Phero!"
"Right where I want you! Throat Chop!"
"Mo?!" Pheromosa's one eye opened as she let out a fairly creepy grin. Eve was right in front of her, giving her the chance to grab her. Or in Pheromosa's case, stomp on her.
"Get out of there with Quick Attack!" But it was too late. Pheromosa managed to slam her foot on Eve's head with darkness surrounding it.
"Es!" Eve's eyes widened as she coughed, feeling the devastating impact of Throat Chop. The move she hoped she wouldn't get hit by at all. Now she was in the same situation as the others. Pinned down by the Ultra Beast. "Eon!"
"Eve, no!" Twilight leaned forward.
"Should've kept your distance, Sparkle!" Adagio stomped her hoof on the ground. "You and your little purple cat thing are done for! Dig your feet deep into Espeon!"
"Pheromosa!" And she did just that. By increasing the pressure of her legs, Pheromosa's dark-clad foot pressed on Eve's back, causing the Sun Pokemon to strain and groan.
"Esp..." Eve was taking considerable amounts of damage. Not to mention the fact that Throat Chop was still active on the Lissome Pokemon's foot. She slammed her paws on the ground, trying desperately to break free.
"What's wrong, Twilight? Not going to escape this time?" Adagio grinned. "Good. It was useless the first time anyway."
"Come on, Twilight!" Spike stood up. "Get Eve out of there!"
"Why isn't she doing anything?!" Pinkie screamed like a monkey, pulling her mane.
"What do I do...Once Pheromosa pins somepony, they can't escape unless she removes her foot." Twilight thought to herself. "Think, think." Closing her eyes, she was doing her best to figure something out. And during that time, Eve was gradually being taken out by Throat Chop.
"Esp..." She banged her head on the ground, trying a new method of escaping. But that wasn't working either.
Twilight looked over to see Eve smashing her head on the battlefield, trying her very best. She hated seeing her partner struggle so much like this. But actually, Eve's head action gave Twilight an idea.
In fact, it reminded her of something that happened in the first round of the tournament. More specifically, Rainbow Dash's match against Limestone Pie.
"That's it...!" She gasped. "Eve! Use Psybeam on the ground!"
"Huh?!" Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"Eon...ESP!" By unleashing all of her power into one attack, the Sun Pokemon had fired a multicoloured beam on the ground as an escape tactic.
And the result? Success. Once Psybeam hit the ground, it caused an explosion of psychic energy that knocked both Eve and Pheromosa back. Eve didn't take too much damage from it since she is a Psychic-Type after all. But Pheromosa felt the aftershock for sure.
If she never used Quiver Dance before, that Psybeam could've finished the battle. But as a bonus, the aftershock had staggered Pheromosa. Since her legs took damage when she was battling Dewott, her recovery wasn't as perfect as it was before.
"Yes! Now turn around and use Psybeam one more time!"
"Espeon!" An airborne Eve blasted another Psybeam downwards at a recovering Pheromosa who still staggered.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa was engulfed in a blast of psychic energy as she went flying across the battlefield.
"It isn't over yet! Quiver Dance once more!"
"Phero!" WIth another mystical dance, Pheromosa increased her defence and speed.
"Swift" Not wanting Pheromosa to get faster, Eve pelted the Lissome Pokemon with mystical stars. But yet again, Pheromosa avoided them, but this time, by using Quiver Dance to dance around them.
"You have no chance of winning, Sparkle! This final Throat Chop is all I need!"
"I can't watch!" Fluttershy covered her eyes.
It looked like this would be the end of Eve until Twilight decided on a decision that would involve Eve's safety.
"Eve. Return." She thought it would be for her Espeon to return for now. And Eve did just that. By walking over to her trainer, she was safe from Pheromosa.
"Esp."
"Good job, out there. Take a break for now."
"Hmph. Switch your Pokemon up all you like. It won't change the outcome!"
"My heart's racing during all of this!" The announcer breathed in and out rapidly. "I need a moment to catch my breath!"
"Alright...that Quiver Dance's going to mess things up for us. If she uses it one more time, who knows how much faster Pheromosa will get." Twilight held out Dewott's Poke Ball.
"Espeon?" Eve looked up at Twilight.
"I know Eve. It's looking rough. But we won't lose. Not with you on our side. Dewott! Come out and use Aqua Jet and follow up with Razor Shell!" Twilight thrust her hoof forward with an unexpected command.
That was something Adagio wasn't expecting. Using a move the moment while choosing the next Pokemon. And that's exactly what happened. Not only that but two moves. Once the Discipline Pokemon ran past the alicorn, Dewott shot himself like a jet, smashing into Pheromosa's chest like before.
"DEW!"
"P-Phero!" Pheromosa gasped as her eyes widened. That instant Aqua Jet caught her off guard. But it didn't stop there. Dewott grabbed both of his scalchops, slashing them on Pheromosa's body with a pretty heavy knockback afterwards.
"Dew..." Dewott fell on his knees. The poison was still getting to him. "Wott..."
"Hah! You're still poisoned! Pheromosa! Finish off Dewott with High Jump Kick!"
"Mosa!" A weakened Pheromosa bolted forward with less speed this time thanks to the Aqua Jet and Razor Shell combo.
"Dodge it with Aqua Jet!"
"Dewott..." Dewott barely managed to evade Pheromosa's flying knee as he rolled to the side with an aura of water surrounding his body. That poison was really working its magic.
"Throat Chop again! Don't stop until you land!" This time it was Adagio putting the pressure on. She had grown tired of Twilight's evading antics as she was pouring all of her frustration into these upcoming attacks.
"Keep using Aqua Jet to dodge!" Twilight knew that going up close to Pheromosa right now was a bad idea. So the best option? Make a run for it.
Dewott used Aqua Jet as an escape tactic, aiming at getting far away from Pheromosa as possible. Just like before, a chase scenario had been played out. However this time, Dewott was slowly being defeated by the poison. As such, his Aqua Jet was much slower.
"Dewott can't keep this up much longer...We're gonna have to improvise. Dewott! Throw one of your scalchops!" A risky command by Twilight. Sacrificing his weapons is something that Dewott didn't want at all. But if it means defeating Pheromosa, then he'll gladly do it.
"Wott!" By turning his head around, Dewott threw a single scalchop forward as it travelled through the trail of water from Aqua Jet.
It worked surprisingly. Pheromosa felt Dewott's hard scalchop smack her in the head, putting a halt to her movements.
"Mosa!" A struck Pheromosa held her head in pain. Dewott's scalchops may look like ordinary shells, but they're strong enough to cut through steel itself. Getting hit by one is no joke.
"Dew...Dew..." Dewott breathed in and out, trying to keep himself up due to the poison.
"You shouldn't have lasted this long!" Adagio's eye twitched. "Your Pokemon should be a mess right about now!"
"We're both fighting for the safety of our friends. As such, they're doing their very best to make sure you don't win!" Twilight retaliated.
"Dewott!"
"How annoying..." Adagio caused a crack to form her stomp. "I wanted to see you struggle and suffer...Why is it that you're able to always get a one-up on me..." Adagio's frustration was building up even further. As if she wasn't frustrated already. All of this was making her blood boil to unimaginable levels.
"Dew...Wott..." However, everything had changed once Dewott's body stopped moving all of a sudden. He knew why this was the case. The poison had finally gotten to him. With his energy finally being spent, the Discipline Pokemon fell to the ground, fainting. "Wott..."
"Huh?!" Twilight shot up. Even Adagio was surprised that Dewott fainted out of nowhere.
"Dewott is unable to battle! Pheromosa wins!" The referee made the call. That was one Pokemon down from Twilight's part.
"Dewott, no!" Twilight exclaimed. She didn't want to believe that Dewott had fainted. But it was true. That poison ended up being his downfall.
"Heh..." Adagio let out a nervous smile. "Haha! Silly Adagio...Getting nervous for no reason." She chuckled hysterically. "I can't believe I was scared! Victory is still right before my eyes!"
"Poor Dewott." Fluttershy sighed. "He did his best."
"Just how powerful are Ultra Beasts?" Starlight said.
Twilight lowered her head, picking the Discipline Pokemon up with her magic as she placed him behind her. "You helped out a lot, Dewott. You deserve a ton of rest now."
"It's not too late to turn around and surrender Twilight Sparkle. But then again. I did want to humiliate you in front of all your friends throughout this entire battle. So don't go anywhere!" Adagio taunted the alicorn.
"Twilight...How will you approach this?" Celestia finally spoke.
Twilight had only one way of approaching this. She knew that this was no time to be upset with her head hung low. She still had one Pokemon left. Her partner and ace. Eve. If Eve can defeat Pheromosa, then all that's left would be Adagio's second Pokemon. Even though she had no idea what it would be.
"This is it." Twilight looked down at her partner. "Eve. We've got only one chance at this."
"Espeon."
"What's wrong? Not gonna send forth your little cat thing?" Adagio scoffed.
"Just watch Adagio. Eve will be the one to take out Pheromosa! Go, Eve!" Twilight held her hoof out.
"Espeon!" With one final go, Espeon had stepped forward. This time, she was planning to surpass her natural limitations in hopes of granting Twilight her victory. "Eon!"
"This is it! If Eve faints here...." Pinkie bit her hoof.
"She can't!" Fluttershy replied. "Twilight will make sure that they win this! Right?"
"Oh, Adagio..." Sonata sighed. She didn't enjoy seeing her sister do all of this for the sake of revenge.
"Your little Espeon is still all banged up from my Pheromosa. Mind if I finish the job with a nice little Throat Chop?" Adagio asked, laughing at Twilight's disadvantage.
"Not yet. We haven't lost yet."
"Esp!" Eve hissed at Pheromosa and Adagio.
"What can you possibly do now?" Adagio narrowed her eyes.
"This! Spin with Psybeam!" Taking a page right out Ash's many strategies, Twilight had decided to go for the one trick that always seems to be effective whenever Ash does it.
Counter Shield.
By getting on her back, Eve fired a Psybeam into the air whilst spinning. And it went exactly as she expected to. With Eve spinning, rapid-moving multi-coloured beams of psychic energy could be seen flailing about, whipping the ground in the process.
"What is this?!" Adagio pulled back. She didn't see this one coming. Not at all.
"Hmm..." Ash was impressed that Twilight managed to pick up on his Counter Shield strategy so fast. But then again, she has seen it multiple times. However, Ash still knew that this battle could go either way.
"Pika..."
"Whatever! Use Throat Chop!" Adagio ignored the Counter Shield, thinking it was just a nuisance that could be avoided.
"Phero!" The Ultra Beast dashed forward, covering her feet in dark energy in order to finish the battle once and for all. But both Pheromosa and Adagio soon came to realize that they couldn't just avoid this so easily.
Since Psybeam was moving about haphazardly, acting like a frantic whip, it was essentially protecting Eve whilst also attack every side from every angle.
As such, Pheromosa, on instinct, forced herself back to evade the destructive Psybeam.
"You're kidding!" Adagio growled.
"Try and get close now, Adagio! There's no way you're breaking through this!"
"Why you...I'll break through it alright. With this! Quiver Dance!" Adagio figured that making Pheromosa much more durable was the only way to get past the Counter Shield. "Keep doing it!"
Twilight knew that any more Quiver Dances meant that Pheromosa would become unstoppable. So perhaps, it was time to take her out for good. "Jump and fire Psybeam!"
"Eon!" Eve jumped off the ground, blasting Pheromosa is a swift Psybeam whilst she was doing her dance. A direct hit, but the Ultra Beast tanked it due to another Quiver Dance.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa skidded on the ground, almost falling to her knees. Even with Quiver Dance, taking damage from Psybeam did a number on her.
"Enough! Pheromosa! Let's finish this once and for all!"
"Eve! Let's pour all our strength into this last attack!"
"Throat Chop!"
"Psybeam!"
This looked like it would be the final clash between the two. A blast from Eve and a kick from Pheromosa. What followed was their greatest struggle yet. Even had fired one final Psybeam with all her remaining power whilst Pheromosa rushed in, pouring every last ounce of her strength into a dark-powered Throat Chop.
The two attacks met with Pheromosa kicking Psybeam, intimating a collision. Now the question remains. Which one will land their attack first?
"Esp..."
"Pheromosa..."
"Come on, Pheromosa! Breakthrough it already!"
"You can do it, Eve!"
"I can't take this anymore!" Pinkie Pie and Aria held each other, unable to take any more of this aggressive and heart-pounding battle. Nopony could. This entire thing has been intense from the very beginning. And most likely, the final hit will be just as intense of a finale.
"Phero..." Pheromosa was actually gaining the advantage. Throat Chop was slowly breaking through Psybeam as her feet kept driving through the multicoloured blast. Eve couldn't keep her at bay for much longer. Her legs were starting to veer back on the ground whilst Pheromosa was closing in.
"Esp..."
"Oh, no! Eve!"
"It's a shame that your defeat will be caused by Pokemon and not my own two hooves! Oh, well! This is the end, Twilight Sparkle!" Adagio laughed.
"Eon..."Esp." Eve lowered her head with Psybeam diminishing in size.
"Eve, please! You have to push her back!" Twilight pleaded.
"Do it, Pheromosa! End it!"
"Esp...Espeon."
At this point, it was game over. Throat Chop being a Dark-Type move meant that in any situation, it would overcome Pysbeam overall. All of Twilight's friends either gasped, covered their eyes or held their breaths. Celestia narrowed her eyes, preparing to face the outcome of this entire battle.
Even the referee and announcer had their eyes lasered onto the clash. They both thought the same thing. The referee felt like he should just call the match here.
"Please, Eve!"
The cry that Twilight boomed had echoed through the Sun Pokemon's ears. She couldn't fall here. Not to Adagio especially. After all that she's put Twilight through for the sake of revenge, Eve had decided that enough was enough. She didn't want her trainer and the rest of her friends to suffer. Neither did she want to let Twilight down.
Her drive to protect Twilight is something that can even rival that of the closest bonds in Pokemon history. And with that protective drive, something magical happened.
All of a sudden, Eve's body began to flash with rainbows shooting out of her. Her paws stayed firm on the ground instead of moving back this time.
"Espeon...Esp...Eon!" Eve let out a mighty cry that was enough to startle even a Pyroar. Why she let out this cry was for one reason only.
The Sun Pokemon's body was suddenly covered in a rainbow-coloured shine. A light so bright that it was continuously glowing, reflecting of everypony's faces.
"Eve...?" Twilight gasped.
"What the...?" So did Adagio.
"W-What's happening?" Apple Bloom stood up along with everypony else. What did these rainbows mean?
Ash knew the answer to that.
"There it is Her fourth move!" Ash exclaimed.
"Fourth?! Which one is it?!" Pinkie turned to him.
"What else would it be? It's Dazzling Gleam!"
"ESPEON!" With a sudden burst of energy from within, Eve had learned the Fairy-Type move, Dazzling Gleam. No longer did she have psychic energy with her. It was now magic.
And with all that fairy magic circling inside of her, she ended up changing her style of attack. Instead of firing a beam, the Sun Pokemon charged through her own Psybeam with the aura of Dazzling Gleam surrounding her.
"WHAT IS THIS?!" Adagio bellowed.
"Dazzling Gleam..." Twilight recognized the move as the hard-hitting Fairy-Type attack. "Go, Eve! Push through!"
"Esp!" Eve had smashed her head on Pheromosa's leg, creating another clash as rainbows flew across the stadium from the impact.
"Don't let her beat you, Pheromosa! Win already!" Adagio bit her own mane, pulling on it. She was getting nervous from all of this.
"Phero?!" Unfortunately, one thing Pheromosa didn't take into account was the fact that she was using a Dark-Type move at the moment.
And as everyone knows. Fairy beats Dark. But it gets worse for Pheromosa. She's part Fighting after all. And with Dazzling Gleam making direct contact with Throat Chop. What happened next was clear as day.
"Espeon!" Eve overpowered Throat Chop, slamming her entire body into Pheromosa. What followed was an explosion of magic that emanated a dazzling flash of rainbows that filled the entire battlefield.
The referee closed his eyes along with everypony else since it was a blinding light. The explosion from Dazzling Gleam's impact ended up creating a rainbow that went across the horizon. Starting from Canterlot and ending at Ponyville itself.
The rainbow smoke from the impact had finally cleared with Eve landing down safely on the ground. She was technically a cat after all.
As for Pheromosa. It was done. The impact of Dazzling Gleam had sent the Lissome Pokemon flying into the air, spinning around with such grace packed behind it. Even in defeat, Pheromosa still looked beautiful. She crashed down on the ground, finally reaching her limit as she had fainted.
"P-P-Pheromosa."
The referee looked down to see that it was finally over. The Ultra Beast had lost. "Pheromosa is unable to battle! Espeon wins!"
"No way..." Adagio's jaw dropped.
"We beat it..." Twilight froze for a moment. "We beat it! WOOHOO!" She spread her wings out, taking the skies out of joy, enjoying her victory. A victory that was well earned due to how hard she worked to defeat Pheromosa.
And all of Canterlot joined her by cheering along with thunderous and resounding applause. They thought it was impossible, but Twilight managed to overcome it. Both her and Eve. Boy was it close.
"Finally!" Pinkie Pie groaned. "I thought that thing was never gonna go down."
"Twilight and her Espeon are so awesome!" Goh stood up.
"And she learned Dazzling Gleam too! What a major win!" Sweetie Belle squeed as she and Apple Bloom held each other, jumping up and down.
Over at the waiting room, Rainbow Dash and the rest of Twilight friends could rest easy now. Pheromosa had lost.
"That's the stuff, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Told ya she was gonna beat that bug thing."
"Yeah. Whew." Applejack wiped some sweat off her forehead. "She needs to stop scaring us so often, ya know."
Thousands of cheers from every angle, every direction and every part of Canterlot continued to roar across the entire stadium. It truly was a major win. But despite all of that, Ash and Celestia noticed that something was wrong here. There was one major aftermath that was coming.
"Eve! We did it!" Twilight squeed. Despite her cheer, Eve didn't respond. At all. "Eve?" There was a moment of silence. The young alicorn was confused about why her partner wasn't celebrating. After all. She just took down an Ultra Beast. One of the most powerful types of Pokemon there are.
She should be going ballistic with boundless excitement packed behind her spirit. Much like her trainer and everypony. And that's when the reason why she wasn't responding was revealed.
On her last legs, Eve had fallen to the ground, fainting.
"Espeon..."
"Espeon is unable to battle! Which means that the victor is Adagio Dazzle!"
Out of nowhere, Twilight's victory had been snatched at the final moment. Eve had tired herself out after Dazzling Gleam. It burnt her out completely due to how much energy it took compared to her other moves. As such, she paid the unfortunate price.
Even Adagio was taken aback by this. She thought she lost for good. Sure she had one other Pokemon left, but that was her Kricketot. And he's not even a battler. At all. The only move he has at his disposal is Bide. And nothing else. But with this revelation, Adagio let out a grin.
"So...I won did I?" First, she chuckled for a small bit, taking some time to process this. Secondly. Once she did, she could finally drown in her long-awaited victory that she was anticipating for the longest. "YES!" And third, a thunderous cackle.
The entire crowd fell silent. Their cheers and applause had come to an end. Just when they thought that Twilight would come out the winner of this match, it all turned around in a second.
Ash and Celestia knew this the moment they saw the Sun Pokemon frozen in place.
"I win, Twilight!" Adagio boomed.
An upset and a crushing loss. One that Twilight definitely felt. With Adagio coming out of this as the victor, what happens next is something nopony could prepare themselves for after this one battle as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
Words that Adagio thundered out of her mouth with joy. And words that filled Twilight's ears with despair. But that's exactly what Adagio wanted from the very beginning.
"Finally! I've been waiting for this!" Adagio pranced on the spot. This was the largest victory she's had over Twilight. It didn't involve her losing any magic, separating from her friends or being injured. No. In truth, it was the absolute shock that filled the stadium once Twilight lost.
Adagio wanted to see everypony witness the Princess of Friendship losing right before their eyes. And that's exactly what happened.
"I...lost...?" Twilight stammered as she was frozen in place. She looked down to see her partner Eve, fainted on the floor. Not even moving an inch.
"So that's how it is..." Celestia stood up. After seeing the outcome and conclusion of this battle, she looked down at Adagio, seeing the siren fill up with unbridled excitement. She truly was waiting for this day to come where she would finally defeat Twilight.
The question is, what will Adagio do now after her long-awaited victory?
"I actually did it...I beat her." Adagio looked at her hooves and then up at the crowd. Everypony's devastating reaction to Twilight's loss was perfect to her eyes. And perfect enough to fill her magic. This was the best negativity she's had so far.
"Esp...Eon..." Eve was still on the floor, fainted. But her eyes slowly opened up, seeing her trainer with her head hung low. Despite her victory against Pheromosa, she couldn't keep her promise of making Twilight happy.
Twilight began tearing up, trying to hide her tears. But everypony could clearly see that she was crying. And it was understandable. Tiny sobs could be heard from Twilight's mouth. Which ended up being music to Adagio's ears.
Adagio has absorbed so much magic to the point where her body was actually undergoing a second transformation out of nowhere. Due to all the negativity that she's gathered from this one battle, Adagio had never felt a sensation like this before.
In fact. This was the very first time she's ever felt what revenge truly feels like at its core. It was a feeling like none other. Unparalleled and unrivalled. Almost as if all of her hardships had been wiped out from existence itself. Truly, this victory over Twilight changed everything for her.
Thus, this sensation played into her transformation. She still maintained the look of a pony but this time her fangs had intensified, returning to their normal sharpness when Adagio was still her true self. Not only that but her pupils had sharpened along with her hooves. The necklace on her neck had even strengthened.
Twilight went over to her Espeon, picking the Sun Pokemon as a mother would to its own child. "You did great, Eve. Both you and Dewott." Twilight wiped the tears off her face.
"Espeon..."
"Haha! Well. I'm certainly satisfied beyond relief! But I guess I can do a little bonus round and defeat the rest of your friends! If I get the chance that is." Adagio suddenly declared.
"I won't let you!" Twilight flew up.
"What can you do? I've already beaten you. You're practically beneath me now." Adagio turned around. "But don't worry. Once I defeat them, I'm not finished yet. I still have yet to exact revenge on another group of annoying girls somewhere else."
"...Sunset!" Twilight gasped, realizing who Adagio was referring to.
"Bingo. I was planning on stopping here at first. But after thinking about, it's their human versions that I despise more. The Rainbooms are next on my list. But their punishment will be much more severe than yours. Think of the Manehattan situation but tripled." Adagio chuckled.
"I won't let you hurt them!"
"Hold it!" A voice echoed through Adagio's ears, grabbing her attention. The one who spoke up was none other than Rarity.
"Oh. It's you." Adagio scoffed.
"Don't you even think about laying a hoof on any of them!"
"And you think you can stop me? I already defeated your precious little Princess of Friendship in front of all these ponies. What makes you think you can defeat me?"
"Rarity, wait!" Twilight yelled.
"Isn't it obvious? Even though she lost, Twilight has proved to everypony here that your Pheromosa isn't unbeatable. That gives other trainers the chance to defeat you. In fact, you might not be able to reach the rest of my friends tomorrow."
"Hoh?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "So what? That purple cat thing got lucky. Learning a new move at the last second was just a stroke of luck."
"Hm. I suppose you haven't noticed yet. But now everypony knows about your Pheromosa's weakness. It's thin and supple after all, isn't it? Perhaps a single Flying-Type move will do the trick." Rarity smirked. "And since most of the trainers here are pegasi, it shouldn't too hard to figure out which type is the most common in this tournament."
"Kh!" Adagio looked down at Rarity with scorn in her eyes.
"Sheesh..." Ben looked over at Rarity and Adagio's conversation. "I thought my nieces arguing was bad."
"Are you challenging me?" Adagio circled Rarity. "Because if you are, I'd gladly accept it and crush you as well. Of course, like before, I'll come out on top."
"Of course I am." Rarity stomped her hoof. "I'll blitz through your Pheromosa and whatever your second Pokemon might be."
"Hmph. Well, you'd best hope that you make it through the rest of the tournament. Unless a random shuffle manages to pair us up." Adagio chuckled.
"Funny you should mention that." Rarity grinned. "Because after this 40-minute break, my battle is coming up next." Saying that made Adagio perk up with her eyes widening. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Tch. Whatever. You still have a chance of losing your next match. Make sure you don't choke." Adagio lifted her head, walking past Rarity as she left the battlefield.
As Rarity watched the arrogant siren walk off, there was only one thing she could do now. She walked over to the devastated Twilight, comforting her and Eve at the same time.
"Rarity...I couldn't win." Twilight sobbed, trying her very best to hold her tears in. But it was no use. "I didn't keep my promise after all."
"It's alright, darling. You and your Pokemon truly did your best." Rarity hugged an upset Twilight. "Besides. You managed to show everypony that you can overcome impossible odds by defeating Pheromosa and her speed. If you ask me, that is a win in its own right."
"Really?" Twilight looked up at her.
"Really." She nodded in response. "Get some rest, dear. You, Dewott and Eve deserve it."
"Alright. Thanks." Twilight lowered her head as Rarity's Leavanny picked up Dewott, carrying him to the waiting room for a rest.
A 40-minute break was in session. Everypony felt like they needed one after that aggressive battle between Twilight and Adagio, which was the longest one by far. Many of them were chatting about the fight and how it ended.
Some were saying how it was unfortunate that Twilight's Pokemon fainted at the very last second, costing her the match. Whilst others actually looked at the positive. They could now see that Pheromosa was beatable. It was just her speed that was a problem and a major obstacle to overcome.
Over at the waiting lounge, Twilight had her Pokemon healed up to full strength. Eve was up and healthy whilst Dewott was cured of his poison. However, Twilight was still morose and discouraged. Her tears had faded away but the weight of defeat was still hitting her.
"Uh, Twilight." Rainbow Dash flew over to her saddened friend along with Applejack. "I just wanna say that I'm sorry. This is my fault."
"What?" Twilight turned to her.
"If I hadn't dragged you to this tournament, this would've never happened. Me and my big mouth." Rainbow Dash sighed, lowering her head.
"It wasn't your fault, Rainbow. Nopony could've predicted Adagio joining in this tournament. Or even Pheromosa making an appearance." Twilight replied.
"Twilight's right. None of us were prepared." Applejack. "If she weren't here, this would've been a smooth tournament from start to finish."
"Yeah." Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. "But it just makes me so mad. Everypony's here to see how tough they've gotten and to test their skills whilst having fun. And along comes Adagio to ruin it. She's only here to take revenge!"
"Ain't that big of a surprise." Applejack shook her head. "She's been planning to ruin us for months now. Ever since Twilight and our other selves beat her at that 'Battle of the Bands', she's been chasing us like a falcon and a rabbit."
"I just don't get how her sisters are okay with being our friends, but not her. She's just as stubborn as....me!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "What's it gonna take to reach her?"
"The answer to that is greater than you can imagine, Rainbow Dash." Luna had suddenly responded to Rainbow Dash's question, walking up to them. "Much greater than even I had anticipated."
"What do you mean by that, Princess Luna?" Twilight stood up.
"Reaching Adagio is much harder than you think it is. If anything, trying to reform her is practically impossible."
"No way." Rainbow denied that. "We've managed to reform a lot of guys. Even Discord himself. Mostly. We can totally reform Adagio as well. It's just taking some time, ya know."
"No, Rainbow Dash. When I say it's impossible, I truly mean it is impossible. This goes above even friendship itself. And I fear it is something that can truly collapse most of Equestria in a heartbeat."
"What do you mean?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "This all sounds pretty big."
"Well...I don't want to find out right now." Twilight hopped off the couch. "I need some fresh air first."
"Rest well, Twilight Sparkle." Luna turned to her fellow alicorn. "Have faith in your friend Rarity as well."
Outside, Ash, Fluttershy and the others spotted Twilight arriving with her head hung low. It didn't take long for Twilight to notice them as well.
"Twilight!" Pinkie dashed over. "Are you okay?! Please say yes!"
"A bit. Thanks, Pinkie. I just needed some fresh air." Twilight replied.
"We're worried that your loss might affect you for the rest of the day. Or even possibly tomorrow," said Fluttershy.
"Audino!"
"You don't have to worry about it lasting that long, Fluttershy."
"Well!" Sonata stepped forward. "Aria and I are here to apologize. Adagio is our sister after all So we kinda feel like, ya know..." Sonata rubbed her hoof. "It's kinda our fault in a sense." She then looked over at Aria, nudging her.
"Uh, yeah. I guess so." Aria turned her head to the side. "Sorry about that."
"Both of you don't have to apologize at all. Really."
"Pika?" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, looking up at the saddened Twilight.
"I know you're concerned too, Pikachu. But thanks to Rarity, I'm fine now. Well...a little bit."
"Pikachu."
"That's good." Ash nodded. "It's great that Rarity was there to comfort you at that moment."
"Right. Um, would you all mind if I got some alone time? I'm still a bit shaken up."
"You can head home to Ponyille and rest. Does that sound good?" Starlight recommended.
"Being back at Ponyville does sound nice. But I think I'll stay here for a while. Thanks for suggesting it though." Twilight walked off with Eve and Dewott. She truly wanted some time to think after that battle.
Pinkie was about to go after her, trying to cheer up, but Ash stopped her. He knew that this was something that Twilight could handle on her own. Even if it left a huge impact.
Celestia watched as Twilight made her way to the Canterlot Garden for some privacy and some time to just simply take in everything that has happened so far. Celestia had decided not to interrupt Twilight's alone time. But she kept on watching her.
"Oh, Twilight," said Celestia, shaking her head. There was a melancholy feeling circling within Celestia. Involving both Twilight and Adagio. She knew that Adagio needed all that negativity for her own well-being but Twilight is a pony that is extremely close to her. Almost like a paternal relationship. Feeling conflicted for a small bit, Celestia had decided to lean towards Twilight since she took a major loss this day.
Outside at Canterlot Garden, Twilight sat alone, reminiscing the entire battle. Eve and all of her Pokemon stood from afar, letting their trainer think without any interruption whatsoever.
What went through Twilight's head was one major point. What went wrong? Looking back at it, Twilight noticed that even though she had discovered Pheromosa's weakness, the Lissome Pokemon lasted much longer than she expected.
She was expecting Pheromosa to go down in two hits due to how fragile she was. But to her surprise, it kept going. Even when her attacks landed, especially neutral attacks, nothing was bringing the Ultra Beast down.
If Dewott hadn't worn Pheromosa down and Eve learning Dazzling Gleam at the last second, the battle would've been over much earlier.
Twilight had already known that Eve wasted all of her energy into a single Dazzling Gleam. And she felt like it was her fault. Twilight blamed herself for Eve fainting after Pheromosa had lost. She felt as if she was the cause of Eve's burnout.
Perhaps if her Espeon had a bit of energy left within her, she would've won. But then again, Twilight had no clue what Adagio's second Pokemon was, even though it was just a Kricketot who was constantly hiding in Adagio's mane.
She then thought to how far she's come with her Pokemon knowledge. First, she learned about the Pokemon World and its history. Then she gained the information about various moves of different types and how they work. Later on, she even managed to become a Pokemon professor herself, further advancing her knowledge about Pokemon.
In truth, although she lost, the words that Rarity spoke to Adagio reminded her of something that could lift her spirits.
"Isn't it obvious? Even though she lost, Twilight has proved to everypony here that your Pheromosa isn't unbeatable. That gives other trainers the chance to defeat you. In fact, you might not be able to reach the rest of my friends tomorrow."
Those words alone made Twilight realize that she was able to defeat Pheromosa. A Pokemon that she feared ever since Manehattan. A Pokemon that injured most of her friends horribly and practically scarred them for a while.
And she beat it. She managed to conquer her fear of Pheromosa in that one battle. Knowing that now, a smile graced the young alicorn's face. And as her mind begins to finally take every last piece of information and engrave in her memory, Twilight's current state had shifted.
"I've come a long way, haven't I?" Twilight said to herself. "I guess I really have grown as a trainer, haven't I?"
And there it was. Celestia could tell that Twilight's spirits have been lifted due to her being alone. And mostly since Passion could sense the change in emotion due to her being the Emotion Pokemon.
"I may have lost to Adagio...But it isn't over yet. Like Rarity said. Everypony has a chance to win now. Ponies that are much more skilled than me in battle. Better trainers with a battle experience that exceeds mine."
"Esp?" Eve and the rest of Twilight's Pokemon ran up to her, hoping that she had recovered finally. The way she stood up from the bench made it seem like that.
"Eve. All of you. You don't have to worry anymore." Twilight wiped a single tear off her eyes. "I'm fine now. Still a bit perplexed."
"And I'm glad that you've recovered well." Celestia appeared in front of Twilight, startling her and the Pokemon as well.
"Princess Celestia?!" She gasped, falling back on the bench. "How long were you watching?"
"All the way from the arena."
"Oh." Twilight shifted her eyes from left to right. "Guess you might think it's rare to see me act like that, huh?"
"Not at all. I've seen many ponies end up in a similar situation as you. Even before our worlds crossed over. You've managed to handle your loss fairly well. I'm proud of you."
"Thank you, Princess Celestia. I'm just hoping now that Rarity can reach Adagio. Or at least Rainbow Dash or Applejack. But even I'm getting nervous thinking about their battle against her Pheromosa and whatever her second Pokemon might be."
"About Adagio. I believe we should have a small talk about her." Celestia sat down on the bench next to Twilight.
"What is it, princess? Does it have to do with her magic and sudden transformation?"
"No, Twilight. It's something else. Something that involves Adagio and me."
"Both of you? How would you even have any relation with her?"
"I suppose it would have to be the fact that...our mothers knew each other." There it was. Celestia had dropped a major revelation to Twilight that froze her along with Eve and the others.
"Huh?! Your mother and Adagio's have met?!"
"Mhm. Only once, though. Many, many years ago."
"What happened back then?!" Twilight stood up. "Between both of them!"
"Nothing disastrous or major." Celestia shook her head. "In fact, the encounter between those two is somewhat akin to how Luna and Darkrai met. Only slightly different in terms of the outcome."
"Akin to Luna and Darkrai? Then does that mean..." Twilight thought for a bit.
"I know what you're going to respond with. But no. They were not friends." Celestia shut down Twilight's Friend answer.
"Oh. Then...they were enemies?"
"Not at all. Friend or enemy, they were neither." Celestia held Passion in her hooves.
"If they weren't friends or enemies, then what were they to each other?"
"Aqcuantices." Celestia gave Twilight the answer. "That was their relationship.
"I see. Well then, if both your mother and Adagio's mother knew each other, you must've known about Adagio later on, right?"
"I actually never knew about Adagio's existence at first. You see, they both never met up again after their first encounter. But, they did tell each other what they would name their children in the future. As you know, my mother named me Celestia."
"And for Adagio, it was her own mother." Twilight finished Celestia's sentence.
"Exactly."
"But why tell me this? I mean, it's a shocker that they knew each other in the past but..."
"The reason why I'm telling you this Twilight is because of an unfortunate destiny that every siren is bound by. Past present or future."
"Unfortunate destiny?"
"Espeon?"
"You may see Adagio's process of absorbing magic via negativity that she creates as well...evil. But in truth, there's much more to it."
"There is? What other reason would she have to absorb negativity other than to give herself more magic?"
"Twilight. Adagio's life is dependent on negativity." Finally, Celestia had given Twilight the truth behind the sirens.
"W-What...?"
"I was as perplexed as you when I found this out. I can imagine my mother felt the same. The sirens have an unfortunate fate where if they do not generate any semblance of hostility and animosity, over time, their life will be threatened. As a result, they will perish."
"I...I didn't know."
"I don't blame you at all, Twilight. Despite all the books we have about Equestria that we can easily find at any library, the fate of the sirens is an anonymous one."
"So then...Sonata and Aria. They'll..." Twilight gasped.
"Perish." Celestia stood up. "However, I promised myself I would not let that happen. I made a vow that I would find a perfect balance that would satisfy both the sirens and all of Equestria and beyond. The problem is, I haven't found that solution yet."
"Kirlia." Passion climbed on Celestia's back, giving her trainer a head pat.
"So from the start...Adagio's been trying to save her sisters all this time...?" Twilight looked down. "And that's why she wants to be the one to reach Jirachi."
"Indeed. However. If Adagio succeeds in saving her sisters, that would mean Sonata and Aria would lose that happiness they had discovered by becoming friends with you."
"But then that would mean going right back to causing animosity, right?"
"Right. I fear that she may be forcing her sisters to return to a life that they will no longer enjoy compared to the one they have now. But even still, deep down, she truly loves her sisters."
"If I had known that Adagio was doing this to save their lives, I would've helped her! But if she does save them, then our friendship would come to an end."
"I know it is a lot to take in Twilight. To be honest. I'm not sure what I plan to do with Adagio after all of this is over. I could just simply arrest her and that would be the end of it. But I don't want to stop her mission to save her sisters."
"I see..."
"I should probably get going now. You still need your 40-minute break. Just remember this, Twilight. Everypony thinks differently what they believe. Their sense of justice clouding up the endless sky. And they may oppositely see things from us."
Those were Celestia's last words to Twilight. After that, she was out of here.
"The opposite way," Twilight said in a muted tone. All that Celestia had left for her will stick like glue. Possibly for weeks and years to come.
Up in the sky, the two most prominent spectators here, Lucien and Sienna overheard Twilight and Celestia's conversation about the sirens, taking it all in.
"Hm. It's a shame really." Lucien shook his head. "If only Adagio knew that her fate never existed in the original timeline. Oh, well."
"That's why I think we should tell her!" Sienna exclaimed. "But we're not allowed to, right?"
"Right. We'll just have to wait and see how it all ends."
The revelation of the siren's fate had become imprinted in Twilight's head. Her view on everything was slowly changing. Now Adagio's wish was starting to reveal itself. However, the fear that Sonata and Aria could end up returning to their old ways was something that Twilight found difficult to take in. But it was for their own safety. Unable to decide, the young alicorn can only hope that Celestia will be able to find that supposed Perfect Balance as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The second day of the Canterlot Tournament resumes.
With the gruelling battle between Twilight and Adagio over with Adagio emerging the victor, the tournament is yet again at a 40-minute break. Once that break is over, Rarity will be stepping forth in her 2v2 battle against another pony.
And what of Rarity at the moment? Since there is a 50% chance she might be facing Adagio tomorrow if she manages to defeat her upcoming opponent, the unicorn had gone to the outskirts of Canterlot to practice until the break ends.
After Twilight managed to take down Adagio's Pheromosa, Rarity now knows that she can find her own way around the Lissome Pokemon's absurd speed. She sent out her strongest Leavanny and Flaaffy for training, preparing themselves for that one specific scenario.
"Alright, you two." Rarity spoke to them both. "If we are to face Adagio tomorrow, we'll have to improve ourselves to better match her on an equal playing field."
"Leavan!"
"Flaa!"
"Leavanny. You're the fastest Pokemon I own and the strongest out of all 12 of your brothers and sisters. You're my ace in all of this."
"Vanny!" The Leaf Wrapped Pokemon nodded.
"Flaaffy. While you're not relatively fast, your Electric-Type moves are. They'll help us greatly when facing up against Pheromosa."
"Ffy!"
"Plus...There is one final thing I'm betting on once that bug gets close to you. In the meantime, let's improve ourselves! For the sake of our friends!" Rarity bellowed. Both Leavanny and Flaaffy cried in agreement.
Thus began a training session for the remaining time they have left before the tournament continues with Rarity's match incoming. Surely, they can cover a lot in the span of 35 minutes. Which is the amount of time remaining.
"Flaaffy! Use Thunder on Leavanny! Leavanny, dodge it!"
"Flaa!!" The Wool Pokemon raised his hands, summoning a storm cloud from above. The plan was to develop Leavanny's speed so she can keep up with Pheromosa when that time comes.
Since Leavanny is part Grass, Electric-Type moves aren't a problem at all. The Leaf Wrapped Pokemon looked up to see that a bolt of thunder was ready to strike down on her.
"Ffy!" From the skies themselves, a destructive bolt of lightning came racing down at high speeds. That was Leavanny's cue. All she had to do was dodge it.
Which she couldn't. After all, it is lightning at the end of the day. Avoiding it isn't that easy. As a result, she was zapped the moment her foot even left the ground. "Vaaaannny!"
"Flaa?"
"Leavan..." Leavanny held her head, feeling a bit dizzy. Even if she did resist Electric, Thunder hurts. A lot. "Ny...Ny.."
"Oh, dear." Rarity facehoofed herself. "Let's try this again. This time, hold back a bit Flaaffy." She went over to Leavanny, giving her ace a potion to heal up.
"Leavan." Leavanny didn't mind it. She was doing this to protect her friends, so she'll go through harsh training. Even if it means getting hurt constantly.
And thus a second attempt was made. Once again, the Wool Pokemon summoned a thunderbolt from above with Leavanny trying again. If you were to look in the distance, you would spot constant bolts raining down from above, moving in random directions.
The CMC peered their head from the side of a tree, spotting Rarity's training and how Leavanny was doing her best to dodge the lightning bolts. So far, it wasn't going so well.
"Your sister's really working hard, isn't she?" Apple Bloom said to Sweetie Belle.
"Yeah. Isn't she the best?" Sweetie Belle squeed.
"I wouldn't want to be the one facing her in the tournament." Scootaloo winced.
"But...do you think she can beat Adagio?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Of course she can! When Rarity puts her mind to something, it's impossible to stop her. Trust me. I know." Sweetie Belle nodded with pride.
"You can-" Scootaloo's words were interrupted when a bolt of thunder suddenly hit the tree they were hiding behind. The tree didn't even catch fire. It was destroyed in a second. A perfect example of how powerful Thunder is. "Eep!"
"Again!" Rarity shouted.
"Lea!" Leavanny made another attempt at dodging. This time, her reaction time was improving each time she failed. After all, reflexes do play a major role when reacting to something.
By repeating the same movements over and over again with the same attack being thrown at her, Leavanny's instincts were sharpening. She was still getting hit by Thunder, but she was able to know which direction the Thunder may fall from.
"Ny!" Leavanny senses noticed that a bolt of lighting was heading her way from the right side. She zipped her body forward, but the bolt managed to catch her leg, shocking her. "Lea!"
"Do not let up, Leavanny! Keep on trying!"
"Leavanny!" Leavanny powered through the shock, continuing her training without paying any mind to the hits that she was taking.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat down on a log, spectating the entire session and how much Rarity can improve her Pokemon in the amount of time they have until the break ends.
"Wait!" Rarity shouted, causing them both to halt. "Try using Thunder on me as well."
"Flaaffy?!"
"Leavan?!"
"WHAT?!" The CMC exclaimed in unison, making Rarity aware of them.
"To advance my own reaction time as well. That way, I won't be looking at a blur of Pheromosa."
"Uh, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle jumped up. "That's not a good idea! At all!"
"Flaaffy. Do it." Rarity was serious about this. Never before had so much determination come from a single pony. And if it has it was probably long ago in the past.
"Flaa!" The Wool Pokemon had aimed the bolt of lightning directly at his own trainer this time. He was hesitant at first, but Rarity's confidence gave him the strength to unleash the attack. From above, a devastating lightning bolt came rocketing down towards the unicorn.
Rarity made an attempt which didn't work out in her favour. One hit and her entire body felt 300,000 volts strike her from all sides, spiking her mane and tail up.
"Flaaffy?!"
"No, it's fine, Flaaffy. Keep trying dear." Rarity coughed some smoke out, willing to continue despite her condition.
Flaaffy did just that. By unleashing constant thunderbolts from above which target Rarity and Leavanny, their training continued with consistent shocks that gave both of them jolts.
This went on for 20 minutes, taking up most of the break time even. Rarity and Leavanny's reaction time had been augmented from all the moving they've been doing. Flaaffy was exhausted from wasting so much energy. Thunder really takes a lot out of a Pokemon such as himself. And Rarity could see that.
"Oh, Flaaffy. Perhaps you should rest up for now." Rarity picked up the Wool Pokemon, placing him near a tree.
"Flaa."
"Alright, Leavanny. Both of our movements have improved in the amount of time we've had."
"Leavan."
"Now. Let's quickly try improving your striking strength. You only know three moves after all. Energy Ball, X-Scissor and String Shot. Those won't be enough to strike down that Ultra Beast."
"Vanny?"
"I suspect we have...15 minutes remaining until the tournament continues. That is enough time for us." Rarity picked up a nearby log, placing it upwards as it stood. "We can learn a fourth move that can greatly help us. Perhaps Aerial Ace! Can a Leavanny learn that?"
"Lea..." Leavanny thought for a moment until she remembered the answer. "Ny." She nodded. It was true. Leavanny's can learn Aerial Ace.
"Excellent. If we have Aerial Ace at our disposal, not only can we keep up with Pheromosa, but perhaps, one strike will be able to greatly damage her. Possibly even a faint!"
"Leavan."
"Let's see if we can obtain it. Leavanny, darling. Try hitting these logs repeatedly with X-Scissor."
"Lea." Leavanny put her arms in an X position, locking her eyes on the logs of wood as green energy formed in front of her. "Van!" She smashed her arms on the logs, destroying them whilst leaving an X in the middle.
Rarity gathered more logs for the Leaf Wrapped Pokemon to hit as their second training regime had begun. Each time Leavanny struck her arms on the logs, destroying them, her striking strength was gradually increasing.
A common trait of every Pokemon is that it is relatively easy to improve their strength, speed, defence and any other attributes. Some more difficult than others but for the most part, any Pokemon is capable of growing into a better version of themselves.
Ash and Pikachu noticed that Rarity was working hard with her Pokemon. It was the thunderbolts from above that grabbed their attention.
"Rarity's working hard, isn't she?"
"Pika." Pikachu nodded.
"Then, in that case, we'll have to do the same before we can reach Leon, right buddy?"
"Pikachu!"
Meanwhile, with Adagio, she was once more by herself. She sat on a lonesome bench with a proud smile on her face. After all, she did defeat Twilight. The next thing on her mind was Rarity. If by chance, Rarity manages to win her upcoming match then it'll be her against Adagio.
Compared to everypony else, Rarity was the one pony who knew how to get under Adagio's skin. If anything, she might enjoy defeating Rarity more than she did with Twilight. However, one thing Adagio knew that if Pheromosa gets defeated, her Kricketot will be the last one remaining.
Kricketot is unfortunately not a battler. The only move he knows is Bide and even still, he's too nervous to fight. All he does is stay inside of Adagio's large mane, jamming to the same song over and over again.
Whilst Adagio sits alone, away from everypony else, she and Kricketot weren't the only ones present in this very spot. Along came the two ponies or rather sirens that are close to Adagio.
Sonata and Aria.
After apologising to Twilight about their sister, the two figured that if there was any time to chat with their older sibling, it might as well be now.
"I'm having second thoughts about this..." Sonata grumbled.
"Why?" Aria looked down at her.
"What if she doesn't wanna hear what we have to say. You know that Adagio only listens to herself most of the time."
"Yeah, I kinda knew that already. Duh. But this is the most we've been near her in a few months. If-"
"I can hear you two," Adagio spoke, startling both of her younger sisters. "If you're going to talk to me, then do it."
"Oh! Right!" Sonata grabbed Aria, dashing over to the spot where Adagio sat.
"So, what do you two have to say? Make it quick." Adagio yawned.
"You go first." Sonata poked Aria. "You're great at starting conversations."
"Tch." Aria whacked Sonata's arm off her. "Listen, Adagio. We just wanted to talk to you for a bit. Ya know since we haven't hung around for a while."
"Is that it? Then why are you both so hesitant?"
"I mean you're pretty scary looking now. You're like half-siren half-pony. A total monster!" Sonata exclaimed. "Oh, sorry."
"We are monsters by default, Sonata." Adagio shook her head.
"Oh, right." She squeed.
"But, Adagio. We're kinda worried a bit. You've been doing this whole absorbing shtick on your own for a few months now without us." Aria commented.
"Hoh?" Adagio stood up. "Are you by chance, wanting to come back with me? Because if you are, I'd be glad to take you two back."
"Not really. We're just, ya know..." Aria put her hooves together, shifting her eyes to the side. She wasn't sure how to say this. Because she knew that Adagio would go off on her.
"Wait a minute..." Adagio narrowed her eyes at them, already figuring out what they truly wanted to talk about. "This is about that Ponyville place, isn't it?"
"W-What? Ponyville? Pssh! Why would we bring that up?" Sonata grinned nervously. But Adagio saw through her.
"I knew it. More of this nonsense." Adagio groaned. "I don't even know you two anymore."
"That's the thing. We wanted to tell you that we're happy at Ponyville." Aria replied. "And how you can join us there too."
"Yeah! It's a real blast! Never a dull moment, I'll tell ya that. I bet there's something fun happening there as we speak." Sonata nodded.
"Tch. You've gone soft. Especially you Aria." Adagio poked Aria. "Sonata's not that surprising considering how airheaded she is."
"Hey!"
"But you're the last siren I would expect to care about something like this. Especially if you say it brings you happiness."
"Well, it does!" Aria exclaimed, smacking Adagio's hoof away from her. This was the second time Aria's really snapped at Adagio like this, which caused Sonata to slowly back away. "And I'm tired of you pretending it doesn't!"
"What did you say?" Adagio growled.
"I'll just...stand over here..." Sonata gulped.
"You heard me. I'm gonna say it upfront. We enjoy being at Ponyville. It's unlike any place we've ever been at. Those ponies, even though they're incredibly annoying and loud, are actually just as tolerable as Sonata, if not more!"
"Oh, thanks, sis."
"I'd even say that we're glad to have friends. The best thing that's ever happened to us so far. And something we never knew we needed.
"Oh, please! You're still missing one thing you desperately need! Your singing! Come with me and I can give it back to you with ease!"
"Hm," Aria smirked. "Not anymore." Saying that made Adagio pull back. "Fluttershy's been teaching us how to sing recently. Giving us actual lessons from time to time. We're slowly getting back to our natural voices."
"Mhm! We had no idea that you could learn to sing!" Sonata shot up.
"You didn't know, Sonata. Not me." Aria facehoofed herself.
"You've been...regaining your singing abilities?" That actually surprised Adagio.
"Oh, yeah. And we're learning new tricks along the way." Sonata nodded, placing her hoof around Aria's neck.
"That's why we'll never go back to what we used to be. And you trying to force us back will only make you happy! Pretty selfish, don't you think?"
"I-I am not selfish!"
"Get real. This has always been about you. You've always been concerned about others adoring you. You never enjoyed us being around you at all times. Don't think I didn't notice when we were in that human world."
"I-" Adagio stammered, unable to finish her sentence. So far, everything Aria was saying ended up being true. "That's not true at all!"
"You've shared a lot of contempt with us. Always seeing us as beneath you. If anything, we're just minions to you."
"I wasn't serious about that." Adagio chuckled nervously. "Come on. I was just joking. That's what sisters do, right?"
"She does have a point," Sonata responded.
"Either way. I think it's as clear as day. You're nothing but a greedy, egotistical, self-centred diva. You always have been and you always will be."
Struck like an arrow, Adagio had felt defeated in that instance. If there's one thing she couldn't do, it was retaliating Aria's words. She couldn't lie out of this one.
Everything was correct to the core. What doesn't help is the fact that Aria and Sonata have been around Adagio long enough to know that.
"But..." Aria sighed. "That doesn't mean we hate you. You're still our sister. And besides. Mom and you made a promise. A promise that you would make us feel happy. And so far, you're doing a horrible job at it."
Digging into a motherly territory, Aria reminded Adagio of how their mother asked Adagio to make her younger sisters happy. As the natural responsibility of being an older sister. That responsibility was long gone from Adagio due to the path she was walking down.
At this point, Adagio felt defeated. Aria had unexpectedly defeated her completely without taking any physical action whatsoever.
And it was this exact moment that something flashed for a bit. Sonata noticed that Aria's body was glowing just a tiny bit. The light was faint but it was there.
From what the youngest siren could tell, it looked like Aria was gaining wings. But then the light vanished along with the wings, returning Aria into a normal Earth Pony.
"Come on, Sonata. Let's go. The tournament's about to continue." Aria walked off with Sonata, leaving their older sister who frozen in place after Aria's berating.
Total defeat.
4 minutes remain, and Rarity's training with Leavanny was had finally come to an end. Leavanny had destroyed a bunch of logs in the amount of time she had remaining. Her X Scissor was now much stronger than it was before. It even seemed a bit faster.
"Vann...Leavanny..." The Leaf Wrapped Pokemon sat down, exhausted.
"Splendid, Leavanny, darling!" Rarity exclaimed. "Here, drink up." She gave her partner a Hyper Potion, rejuvenating her back to full strength.
"Lea!"
"We should get going now. We don't have long until our turn." Rarity held out her two Poke Balls, sending both Flaaffy and Leavanny back inside. "Sweetie Belle! Cutie Mark Crusaders! Chop-Chop!"
"Oh! Right!" Sweetie Belle stood up from the log she and her friends sat on. The young fillies scurried off in a hurry in hopes of their seats being there without anypony else taking them.
Rarity looked at her two Poke Balls, holding her breath in. Her next opponent was a trainer who currently had four gym badges, the same amount as Rainbow Dash, so they're not to be underestimated. All she has to do is get past this trainer and tomorrow, she'll be able to take on Adagio herself.
With Rarity's Pokemon finishing up their training session and Aria finally revealing Adagio's true colours, the clock continues to tick with only 6 days remaining as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
As the Canterlot Tournament resumes with its break finally over, Rarity's match is up next.
A match that she aims to win, all for the sake of reaching Adagio tomorrow. Her opponent was a pegasus who owned the same amount of badges as Rainbow Dash. So this was one trainer she couldn't underestimate at all.
Over at the crowd, Ash and the others were joined by Twilight and her Pokemon. She was now just a spectator after losing in the previous round. All of Rarity's friends were here to see how this match will play out.
Stepping into the battlefield was a trainer by the name of Wind March and of course, Rarity herself. She stood on the left, while Wind March stood on the right.
"Good luck, Rarity! Show them how much your training paid off!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"Training? What training?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"During the break, Rarity went out of Canterlot to train on her own," Ash explained. "Both her Leavanny and Flaaffy really looked like they were giving it their all."
"Pikachu."
"Oh. Is that what those random thunderbolts were..." Fluttershy uttered.
"Both trainers. You may now send out your Pokemon!" The referee said.
"I'm going for you! Pangoro!" Wind March's first Pokemon was none other than a Pangoro.
"Pan!" The Daunting Pokemon bellowed, causing Rarity's mane to flow back a bit.
"In that case...Flaaffy! Out you come!" Rarity had chosen Flaaffy as her first Pokemon to battle.
"Ffy! Fla?" Once Flaaffy came out, he noticed that a Pangoro was staring at him in the face with its usual gruff eyes. "Flaaffy..."
"Pangoro? What's that?" Twilight pulled out her Pokedex.
"Pangoro. The Daunting Pokemon. Although it possesses a violent temperament, it won’t put up with bullying. It uses the leaf in its mouth to sense the movements of its enemies. It charges ahead and bashes its opponents like a berserker, uncaring about any hits it might take. Its arms are mighty enough to snap a telephone pole. Those who wish to become Pangoro’s Trainer have no choice but to converse with their fists."
"Don't panic, Flaaffy, darling. It wouldn't be the first time you've gone up against a big strong Pokemon." Rarity spoke to him.
"Flaaffy!"
"You're gonna be amazed at how hard my Pangoro hits. Watch," said Wind March.
"Goro!"
"Battle Start!"
"Flaaffy! Start with Electro Ball!" Rarity exclaimed, making the first move.
"Flaa!" The Wool Pokemon sparked up his tail, summoning a ball of electricity as he flung it towards the Daunting Pokemon.
"Destroy it with Hammer Arm!" Wind March shouted.
"Pan!" The Fighting-Dark-Type raised one hand, slamming it down on the incoming orb of lighting. One strike and Electro Ball was out of here as sparks of electricity flowed across the ground.
"How about we come to you? Pangoro! Head in and use Hammer Arm!" Focusing all his attention on Flaaffy, Pangoro left the spot he stood on, raising both of arms this time as they were covered in dark energy.
"Dodge and use Thunder Shock!"
"Fla?!" Flaaffy gasped as he saw a huge panda-like creature coming his way with big furry arms that could crush him in an instant. Flaaffy quick-stepped to the side, evading Pangoro's hit.
Once Hammer Arm hit the ground, a large crack formed up with dust rising. Flaaffy veered on the ground as he sent a blast of thunder from his ears. That blast struck Pangoro head-on, shocking the Daunting Pokemon with thousands of volts.
"Pango!"
"Excellent! Now use Charge to power yourself up!" Rarity thrust her hoof forward. Her partner sent a tiny little bundle of concentrated lightning forward that would power up the next Electric-Type move he would use. Which was all of them.
"Quick, Pangoro! Block it!"
"Go? Pangoro!" Pangoro put his arms up, allowing the bundle of electricity to hit him. Pangoro's not exactly a Pokemon that dodges since it's relatively slow and only aims to get up close and beat its opponents senseless by rushing in blind.
However, even though he blocked the Charge, Flaaffy still obtained a power boost with his tail lighting up.
"Are you alright, Pangoro?"
"Goro!"
"Not a single scratch on Rarity's Flaaffy! He's doing a great job at keeping his distance!" The announcer exclaimed. "Then again, most Electric-Types moves are about distance, aren't they?"
"But wait. Flaaffy only knows Electric moves and nothing else." Apple Bloom noticed.
"Right. There's no other from any other type that he can use." Ash replied. "But no need to worry. Rarity's pretty good at getting creative."
"All we need is one hit and we win. Pangoro! Swords Dance!"
"Pangoro!" Instead of attacking, the Daunting Pokemon had decided to increase its already absurd physical strength. The Fighting-Dark-Type crossed his arms together as multiple light-blue swords circled him. These swords then entered Pangoro's body, boosting his attack.
Not only that, but the energy of Swords Dance had infused itself with Pangoro's fists. Now they were glowing blue with a ton of power packed into them.
"What is that?!" Rarity pulled back. "But that blue is divine to look at!"
"What move is that, Ash?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Swords Dance. A move that lets a Pokemon hit harder than normal." Ash explained in a simple way that everypony understood.
"Watch this. Pangoro! Close Combat!"
"Goro!" Pangoro stomped his foot on the ground as he rushed over to the Wool Pokemon.
"Ah! Flaaffy! Dodge and Use Thunder!" Flaaffy turned around, making a run for it as he was currently being chased by a 6'11 panda with earth-shattering fists. Pangoro attempted to hit Flaaffy by outstretching his arms, but he missed, leaving yet another crack.
The sight of a tiny sheep being chased by a huge panda was actually somewhat comical as everypony was laughing at it. Especially the way Flaaffy ran and how Pangoro kept missing each time he struck his fists. Pinkie Pie especially was loving this.
"If only Pangoro's speed was as great as his strength. But I guess that's the eternal drawback of being large." The announcer spoke.
"Oh, this is just ridiculous." Wind March facehoofed. "Catch it already, Pangoro!"
"Goro! Pan!" Try as he might, Pangoro just couldn't catch Flaaffy. This went on for 40 seconds until a conclusion arrived. Pangoro had actually exhausted himself a small bit due to all that constant running around. As a result, the Daunting Pokemon sat down, catching his breath. "Pan...Pan..."
"What's this?! Pangoro's tired himself out!" The announcer noticed.
"Excellent. Now! Thunder!" Rarity found an opening. And a free hit. From above, Flaaffy summoned the power of a storm with his ears and tail. Unlike Pangoro, Flaaffy couldn't tire himself out so easily since he is an Electric-Type.
"Yikes!" Wind March gasped, looking up at the approaching thunderstorm. "Pangoro! Make a run for it!"
"Pango..." Pangoro raised a finger, telling his trainer to wait until he recovers. But right now, it wasn't the best time to wait.
"Ugh! Nevermind! Return, Pangoro!" A smart move on Wind March's part. To prevent her partner from getting crushed by lightning, she returned the Daunting Pokemon to his Poke Ball.
Flaaffy ceased Thunder as the clouds separated, revealing the blue skies once more.
"Whew...That was a close one." Wind March sighed.
"Well. What shall your next Pokemon be?" Rarity asked.
"Oh, just you watch." Wind March held out a Dusk Ball. "I caught this Pokemon whilst in a cave. No way your Flaaffy's getting past this!" Tossing the Dusk Ball forward sent out the Cave Pokemon. Druddigon.
"DRUDDIGON!" The moment he landed down, a tiny earthquake occurred along with his roar startling everypony with a strong wind pressure kicking up.
"Oooh! Look at that Pokemon!" Sweetie Belle aimed her dex at the Dragon-Type.
"Druddigon. The Cave Pokemon. Druddigon lives in caves, but it never skips sunbathing. When its body temperature falls, it can no longer move. In narrow caves, it squares off against its enemies and charges face-first right into them. The skin on its face is harder than a rock."
"A Dragon-Type, eh?" Rarity held her breath. "This might be a problem. Stay sharp, Flaaffy."
"Flaa!"
"Watch this. Druddigon! Dragon Tail!"
"Ddigon!" By letting out a vicious roar in the air, the Cave Pokemon's tail emanated green draconic energy. He lowered his head, locking onto Flaaffy with laser vision. Once a Druddigon sees its target, it's nigh-impossible to escape. He rushed on over, dragging his tail on the ground.
"Move back and use Thunder Shock!"
"Flaaffy!" The Wool Pokemon forced himself away from Druddigon. However, this was far different from Pangoro. Druddigon outsped the Electric-Type with its surprising speed, despite its size. He appeared right in front of Flaaffy with his teeth just near the Wool Pokemon's nose. "Fla!?"
"Dru!" Druddigon swung his tail around, smashing it against Flaaffy's stomach. But this wasn't just an average Dragon Tail. Druddigon's ability Rough Skin added some extra power to the move.
The Wool Pokemon was sent flying from the Dragon Tail as the feeling of Druddigon's rock-like skin stuck to his stomach with a tiny little bruise.
"Ah! Flaaffy!" Rarity moved forward, gasping as her partner tumbled in front of her. "Are you alright, darling?!"
"Ffy...Fla!" He got right back up, holding his injured stomach with one eye closed. Flaaffy wasn't a Pokemon that could be taken out so easily. Even though that Dragon Tail left a mark.
"Have a look at that!" The announcer stood up. "I take back everything I said! Turns out you can be huge and still move insanely fast! What speed!"
"Like that? I trained my Druddigon's speed so that no other Pokemon can catch him off guard!" Wind March crossed her hooves together, grinning. "Now he's no longer slow and laggard."
"Druddigon!"
"Hm. You're not the only pony that's trained their Pokemon for specific situations." Rarity smirked. "Flaaffy! Get in close for an Electro Ball!" A fairly risky command by Rarity.
The decision to get closer to a Pokemon such as Druddigon who also has hard skin can be considered reckless and foolhardy. However, Rarity had a plan involving something that Flaaffy had within him.
"Big mistake!" Druddigon! Crunch!"
"Druddi!" By opening up his huge gaping jaws, Druddigon bolted towards the Wool Pokemon, landing a powerful bite and possibly a free snack.
"Gotcha." Rarity suddenly said in a quiet tone.
Once Druddigon bit onto Flaaffy's head, it did in fact deal damage as Rarity expected. Flaaffy didn't even get the opportunity to pull off Electro Ball. Druddigon tossed Flaaffy aside with bite marks engraved on the Wool Pokemon's body.
"Fla!"
"Oh! That's gonna leave a mark!" The announcer winced. "But Flaaffy's somehow standing still!"
"Why did Rarity decide to get close while using Electro Ball? Wouldn't it make sense to do it from far away as usual?" Twilight scratched her mane in confusion.
"Yeah. But look closely." Ash pointed over at Druddigon.
Rarity's plan involved one single thing that would grant her a major speed advantage. It took a few seconds to process but when it did, Druddigon felt a sudden shock in his body.
"Dru?!" There it was. Druddigon's stopped moving out of nowhere with sparks of electricity surrounding his body. Flaaffy and Rarity's secret weapon had been revealed.
Static.
Druddigon was now paralyzed.
"Perfect!" Rarity stood up with joy.
"Flaaffy!"
"Oh! It was Static!" Pinkie gasped. "That's so evil but clever at the same time, Rarity!"
"Static works well as a counter to Druddigon's Rough Skin. A perfect trade." Ash nodded.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Ah! Druddigon!" Wind March squealed.
"Now, let's finish this! Flaaffy! Thunder!"
"Flaa!!" Flaaffy concentrated all of his power into one spot. Instead of using the clouds this time, the Wool Pokemon summoned Thunder from his ears and tail instead. A massive blast of electricity was shot forward afterwards.
"Quick! Dodge it Druddigon!" But it was too late. Since he was paralyzed, dodging would prove to be a difficult task. The moment Druddigon tried to move, he felt the force of 200,000 volts bombard his entire body.
"DRU!"
"Now! Electro Ball repeatedly!"
"Fla!" The Wool Pokemon jumped into the air with his tiny shadow looming over the Cave Pokemon. From his tail, a single Electro Ball was hurled at Druddigon, shocking him even further. But it didn't stop there. Flaaffy repeatedly flung electric orbs towards the Dragon-Type, non-stop without rest.
Druddigon was getting pelted by Electro Balls to the face while his body was still paralyzed. "Druddigon! Use Dragon Tail to hit them away."
A smart decision. But, again, Druddigon was paralyzed. So its reaction time wasn't as good as before. He attempted to whack the incoming orbs away with his draconic-clad tail, but the constant volley of Electric-Type attacks from the Wool Pokemon kept throwing him off focus.
"I can feel that too! Druddigon's getting pelted by those Electro Balls!" The announcer gawked.
"Finish it with a bang, darling!"
"Ffy!" Flaaffy made an extra-large Electro Ball as the final attack. With all his might, he flung the super-sized orb towards a still out of focus Druddigon whose eyes widened at the sight of the attack.
A direct hit followed by an explosion of lightning that filled the battlefield. The power of that final Electro Ball was nothing to scoff at. Once the smoke cleared, the result of Druddigon's current state was visible to everypony. Fainted.
"Drudd..."
"Druddigon is unable to battle! Flaaffy wins!"
"Flaaffy!"
"Just as planned!" Rarity stomped her hooves. "A marvellous display of skill, Flaaffy!"
"Fla."
"Taking down an entire dragon! You're the best Rarity!" Sweetie Belle cheered with the crowd. Her excitement reached a point where she accidentally uppercut Pinkie Pie, knocking her out for a bit.
"Oof!" Pinkie uttered.
"Beaten by paralyzation. Shame." Wind March shook her head as she returned Druddigon. "That was pretty crafty of you, ya know."
"Isn't it? It'll be my ace in the hole when I face off against Adagio's Pheromosa." Rarity replied.
"Yeah, well. You won't pull the same trick on me twice, I'll tell ya that! Go, Pangoro!" Out came Pangoro who was no longer exhausted.
"Goro!"
"Pangoro! Use Swords Dance and Close Combat one more time!" Wind March went for the same tactic from before. And this time, they're both hoping to land a hit in.
"Do what you did before! Flaaffy!" Another attempt at escaping from Pangoro to avoid getting hit by his glowing blue fists. A second chase scene had played out.
"Not this time. Pangoro! Hit the ground!"
"Pan!" By stopping in his tracks, the Daunting Pokemon had attacked the ground itself, causing a mini-earthquake. This tremor tripped Flaaffy who lost his balance due to Pangoro's actions.
"Now, get Flaaffy!" Pangoro immediately ran after the fallen over Flaaffy, who was just getting back up.
"Ah! Quick, Flaaffy! Dash away!" Rarity gasped.
"Ffy?!" Flaaffy turned around to see that Pangoro was right in front of him. He finally had Flaaffy where he wanted him.
"Pan..." Pangoro threw one punch that struck Flaaffy's jaw, dealing some major damage. But it didn't stop there. Once Pangoro landed a single hit, he followed up with multiple rapid-fire punches. "Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro!"
"Fla! Ffy!" With each punch, Flaaffy could feel Pangoro's heavy fists punish every part of his body. This lasted a few seconds until Pangoro finally finished it off with one final strike.
"PANGO!" By smashing his fist on Flaaffy's face, the Daunting Pokemon launched the Wool Pokemon to a far distance, passing Rarity herself even.
Flaaffy hit the walls of the stadium, shaking the seats of the crowd themselves. The Electric-Type couldn't really withstand a pummeling like that. So of course, he fainted.
"Flaaffy..."
"Flaaffy is unable to battle! Pangoro wins!"
"What a beatdown!" The announcer pressed his face on the glass.
"Aw. Just when Flaaffy was doing so well." Fluttershy whimpered.
"How do ya like that? Once Pangoro lands a hit, the battle's already over." Wind March smirked. "Right, buddy?"
"Pan." Pangoro crossed his arms, feeling proud of himself as he nodded. Unfortunately, his huge reward in defeating Flaaffy came with a risk. Since he hit Flaaffy more than once. Possibly 50 times in a row, he was gifted with the same effect that his friend Druddigon obtained.
Static yet again.
"Goro!" Pangoro fell on his knees as sparks of lightning surrounded his body.
"Are you kidding?!" Wind March squealed, pulling the pigtails that she had.
"Hmph. I suppose you ended up falling for that a second time. Now, Leavanny! Finish it off!" Rarity sent out Leavanny who was 100% healthy and raring to go.
"Leavan!"
"X-Scissor!"
"Van...!" Leavanny crossed her arms together with green energy illuminating with an X-Shape forming.
"Pangoro! Use Fire Punch!"
"Pan..." Pangoro held his head, trying to power through the paralyzing effect. He pulled one of his arms back as flames ignited around his fist.
Both Pokemon crossed paths, however, only one could pull off an attack faster than the other. And that was Leavanny, who cut past Pangoro, leaving behind a shockwave that struck Pangoro.
Leavanny stood up tall, turning around to see Pangoro feeling the effects of X-Scissor and Static. Thanks to all their training 40 minutes ago, X-Scissor was powerful enough to knock out Pangoro as the Daunting Pokemon fell flat on his face, defeated.
"Pangoro..."
"Pangoro is unable to battle! Leavanny wins! Thus the victor is Rarity!"
"A One-Hit-KO!" The announcer gawked. "And Leavanny's still healthy without a single scratch!"
For such an impressive display of skill and taking down two huge Pokemon with immense power, thunderous acclaim and praise were sent towards Rarity and her Pokemon. It was so impressive that everypony even stood up.
"That was amazing! She battled like she was a top trainer!" A pony exclaimed.
As always, Sweetie Belle was the most pumped out of everypony here. Her frantic flailing and cheering almost made her dizzy from all the excitement.
"It seems our hard work really showed itself, didn't it Leavanny?"
"Lea!"
"Good job, Pangoro. Return." Wind March returned her partner to his Poke Ball. "Pretty sneaky using that Static on me. Twice, even!"
"Apologies for that." Rarity squeed.
"But it's fine. You said you were gonna use it for that Adagio pony right? If so, then make sure you win."
"I will. Thank you, Wind March!"
Rarity's victory was something to admire. So much so that the higher ranking trainers were taken aback by how well she played. If anything, Rarity could be deemed as a major threat to them. And she wasn't even participating in the league.
"That was some mighty fine battling there, Rarity." Applejack gave her a pat on the back.
"Yeah. I'm a bit scared. A bit..." Rainbow Dash commented.
"Thank you, girls. I made sure to put in more than 100% of my effort into that battle. And any battle going forward. But for now...I need some rest. Leavanny."
"Lea." Leavanny brought out Rarity's fainting couch as the unicorn fell on it.
"I wish you all good luck with your battles. That reminds me. What is your second Pokemon, Applejack?" Rarity asked.
"Mine? Well, Grovyle's my only partner, but I got one from the rental team. A Venasaur." Applejack held a Poke Ball containing a Venasaur. "I don't know too much about it, but Ben said they were all well trained."
Speaking of Ben, he came rushing through the doors with Gothitelle. "Quick announcement!" He shouted, grabbing everypony's attention. "It took me a while to realize but... Christmas or Hearth's Warming is closing in. The tournament is put on hold for now."
"On hold?!" Rainbow Dash squealed.
"Mhm. Sorry for the inconvenience. But family and friends come first after all. No need to worry. We'll continue in the new year. That'll give all of you a bunch of time to prepare yourselves for when we resume."
"He's right ya know." Applejack nodded. "I should be home preparing for Hearth's Warming right about now."
"I should be sorting out the gifts for the Pokemon!" Rarity sat up from her couch.
Everypony was chattering about how they almost missed Hearth's Warming. They were so caught up in the tournament with all the battling that it completely passed their mind. But that just goes to show how addictive and fun Pokemon battles can be. They sure know how to take up most of your time.
The news passed on to the crowd as well. They all got a move on, planning to head back home for Hearth's Warming before it's too late.
"I can't believe Hearth's Warming almost passed our minds," Twilight said. "Pokemon battling might be a bit bad for our health."
"Espeon."
"Well. If we hurry, we can still finish up decorations and presents." Pinkie replied. "Are you gonna be here for Hearth's Warming, Ash?"
"Sorry. Goh and I are gonna be back at Kanto for Christmas." Ash answered.
"Pika."
"Yeah. It is our home after all." Goh nodded.
"Can't you convince your mom to come over?" Sweetie Belle looked up at Ash with a puppy-dog face, trying to pull at his heartstrings.
"Well, mom wouldn't mind. But, she's already got a ton of plans for some of her old friends that are coming over." Ash chuckled nervously. "But I'll see if I can find something that can work for both of us."
"That reminds me. Sonata. Aria. You've never experienced Hearth's Warming yet, have you?" Fluttershy turned to the two sisters.
"First time hearing about it. Is it about getting warm?" Sonata squeed.
"We'll explain it all to you along the way. Let's meet up with Rainbow Dash and the others quickly." Twilight walked ahead of everypony else. Her Bisharp stood in front like a bodyguard. Since Twilight was a princess, Bisharp automatically gained a powerful urge to protect her. He and his Pawniards do guard Queen Serperior after all.
Celestia returned indoors to Canterlot, taking a deep breath now that the Canterlot Tournament is on hold until next year. For the first two days, it gave everypony here a rush.
"We should probably prepare ourselves for Hearth's Warming as well, Passion, Arcanine. Or I suppose for your world I should refer to it as Christmas."
"Kirlia!"
"Arc."
Teleporting inside was Luna, who wiped some dust off her ethereal mane. "I can't believe the tournament is taking a break. I was so prepared to show off my Musharna for the first time." She groaned.
"Next year, Luna."
"Hopefully everypony remembers their brackets." She responded as she placed her Poke Balls back inside of her room. "By the way, sister. Have you talked to Adagio ever since her battle with Twilight ended?"
"No. Not yet. I'm more curious about where she'll go during the Hearth's Warming break. Or if she'll even return once the tournament continues."
"I assume that she roams around Equestria freely." Luna released all of her Pokemon from their Poke Balls, letting them roam around in her room. Her Musharna, who loved Luna to an abnormal level, hovered over the alicorn's head, glomping on it. "Musharna! Not now!"
"Perhaps." Celestia looked outside of the window, gazing at the battlefield. There were a bunch of marks plastered everywhere along with cracks and other hazards. Whether it was from Fire, Electric, Ground and even water, it was put through some intense battles. And most likely, when the tournament returns, it's only going to get rougher later on.
As for Adagio, she had actually left Canterlot after hearing the news about the tournament taking a break until the New Year. But she wasn't leaving in her usual cocky spirit. Not this time. Ever since Aria admonished her with every fault she had, the siren kept on mumbling to herself about how Aria was wrong.
"What does she know...? I'm in the right here," Adagio grumbled, trying her best to forget everything Aria said. But it was no use. Her scolding left a massive impact on her. It wasn't going anywhere for a long time. "I swear, I'll prove her wrong. All of them."
Meanwhile, the trains that led to Ponyville, The Crystal Empire, Manehattan and other locations in Equestria had taken their leave. Ponyville's train went first since it was the closest to Canterlot after all.
Inside, the CMC had fallen asleep due to their time in Canterlot along with other ponies who were just out of it lately. Pinkie Pie and Sonata had actually fallen asleep themselves.
Twilight looked out of the window, thinking about her match with Adagio. She didn't let it get to her anymore. Not after how Rarity and Celestia comforted her. She was leaving Canterlot in high spirits, confident that somepony would be able to defeat her and that speedy Pheromosa.
With the Canterlot Tournament on a break until the new year, many ponies are already setting their minds on Hearth's Warming, prepared to enjoy it all until the new year arrives. And as a bonus, everypony can prepare themselves for when the tournament resumes, working on their battling skills as the journey continues.
Ponyville, Night. 1 day Before the tournament went on break.
It was currently night in Ponyville. With the very small amount of ponies who were still here, Ponyille has never been this quiet before. The only sounds prominent at this time was the pouring rain from above and some nocturnal Pokemon here and there. Mostly Noctowl.
"Noctowl..."
Of course, not everypony was asleep. Some were still awake for other reasons. And one pony in particular, who physically cannot sleep was Jade Skies. The current babysitter for the Cake Twins.
Both Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake were about to be put to sleep alongside their two newly caught Pokemon, Plusle and Minun.
"Alright, you two. Time to clock out." Jade spoke them both in her usual deadpan face. Pound Cake babbled as he poked his fellow pegasus in the eye. "That goes for you two as well. Plusle. Minun."
"Min!"
"Plus!"
"I'm never asleep. So I'll be awake, watching you all night. So there's no need to worry."
By picking up the two twins, she placed them each in their cot beds along with Plusle and Minun, who decided to stay out of their Poke Balls instead of inside. She closed the windows to block out the sound of the rain hitting the windows.
Plusle fell asleep on Pound Cake's head whilst Pumpkin Cake held Minun like a toy as each of them dozed off. They tend to fall asleep fairly quickly. Even before anypony realizes.
Jade left the room, turning off the lights as she gently closed the door on them, leaving the four of them to sleep in peace.
"Alright. Best leave them alone." Jade spoke to the remaining Slurpuff here. "Did you make sure to save their food?"
"Slur!" Each of them nodded in unison.
"Good. That wasn't too difficult. Pinkie Pie's gonna be proud of me when she finds out about this."
"Puff. Slur..." The Slurpuff's themselves were feeling exhausted. It was only a matter of time before they decided to rest up.
"In you go. All of you." Jade held the Poke Balls that belonged to each of the Slurpuff's, lent to her by Pinkie herself. By sending them all back inside of their Poke Balls to rest, it was just Jade now. Alone at night.
At least, in SugarCube Corner. One thing Jade enjoys doing is heading out at night to enjoy the sound of the wind. Being a pegasus, the wind is naturally something that she would enjoy, however in Jade's case, it transcended from just mere ambience.
She had a strange connection to the wind itself. Almost as if she was connected to it. That might just be a result of her being a Rift pony. But she didn't know that. Heading outside, her hooves made contact with the soft snow.
At this time, animals were hibernating, along with a few Pokemon. But since Pokemon are built differently from animals, a gigantic majority of them didn't hibernate. Only a select few. Looking at the land before her, she could see how every single Pokemon go on their own adventures with their own stories.
Some were heading home to rest, some were looking for new homes and others were just enjoying the night. Mainly Ghost-Types and Dark-Types.
Which led Jade to think about something else. All of this and yet she still has no clue where she originally came from. She definitely didn't come from Cloudsdale. Twilight offered to help look into her past but there wasn't a single clue. No birth certificate, school applications, past friends, nothing.
All of her current friends saw her as a mystery. But yet, she fit right in at Ponyille. With all the other eccentric ponies that live here. And to an extension Cloudsdale as well.
"Jade?" Mayor Mare's voice suddenly passed through her ears. She had yet to fall asleep along with her always loyal Stoutland that was by her side. "Up at night again?"
"Always. I just can't sleep. Don't know why..." Jade replied.
"Ah, well. It's good having a watchful eye at night. Would be even better if it was a hundred eyes. Oh. I wonder if there is a Pokemon out there that can see everything..." Mayor Mare thought for a moment.
"Hm." Jade nodded.
"Jade, is something wrong? I know you can't feel emotion but your frown is a bit more slumped than usual."
"I've just been thinking for a while now. In fact, I've been thinking about this ever since the Pokemon Festival. Will I ever know where I came from? At all?!"
"I don't really have the answer to that, Jade. You're as much as mystery as the Pokemon themselves." Mayor Mare gave Stoutland a head pat. "But, your friends are currently trying to solve that mystery, aren't they?"
"Yeah. But they don't really have any sources to go through. I think by the time they manage to get Jirachi's wish off, my past is still gonna remain a mystery."
"Oh, don't say that. They'll find a solution for sure." Mayor Mare chuckled. "I mean. Most ponies' pasts are shrouded in mystery. Like how my mane stopped being pink in the span of 50 years. How I miss it so."
"Speaking of which. What is your name, actually? It can't be just Mayor Mare."
"My real name? Well, its-"
"LOUDRED!" The sound of Loudred stubbing its toe had echoed throughout Ponyville as Mayor Mare spoke her real name.
"Oh. Okay." Jade replied. "Well. I'll see you tomorrow morning then."
"Goodnight, Jade. Come on Stoutland, let's get some rest."
"Stout!"
As the trainer and her Pokemon returned to their home which was the entire Town Hall, Jade was left alone at night. The lights from other homes had been turned off, indicating that everypony was finally clocking out for the night.
Being unable to sleep herself, Jade decided to sit on the snow-covered ground, watching the night go by. Up in the sky, you could see a Minior fly by. Fitting as it was the Meteor Pokemon.
But very soon, Jade wouldn't be alone anymore. Some familiar company made its way towards Ponyville. A group of Pokemon that have a bone to pick with Mayor Mare.
That being Honchkrow and his goons, the Murkrow.
"Honch..." Honchkrow and his goons stood atop a tree, gazing over the quiet and peaceful Ponyville. The Big Boss Pokemon was here for one reason and one reason only. Payback against Mayor Mare.
After all, she was the one who sent him and his goons flying out of Ponyville. Both figuratively and literally. He and the mayor did make a promise that if she won, he would leave Ponyville forever.
Of course, he didn't keep his promise.
And now that he's returned, it was the perfect opportunity to steal from Ponyville once more. And as a stroke of good luck, a large majority of Ponyville's citizens weren't present at all.
"Honchkrow..." The Big Boss Pokemon commanded his Murkrow's to fly off and snatch everything they can. From food, appliances, accessories, etc. All for the sake of satisfying the boss.
"Hm?" Jade, being the only pony awake at all times, spotted the flock of Murkrow's heading this way. Seeing them didn't bother her that much. Jade was completely unaware of who these Murkrow were exactly.
After all, when Honchkrow and his goons invaded Ponyville and stole from them, the Pokemon Festival was only a few days away. Jade hadn't awoken yet. So if anything, she woke up late without hearing about one of Ponyille's natural enemies besides Togepi.
"Murk!" The Murkrow each scattered across Ponyille, breaking inside of everypony's home by mostly smashing through their windows.
The ponies who were still here heard the sounds of their windows shatter, prompting them to wake up. One of them being Amethyst Star and her Skitty.
"AH?! What was that?! She stood up from her bed, startled by the sound of the window breaking.
"Skitty!?"
"Krow!" Four Murkrow's grabbed some of Amethysts's food from her fridge with their talons and beaks, vandalizing the appliance as well. No respect whatsoever.
"Hey! My food!" Amethyst hopped off her bed, using her magic to grab the Murkrow, holding them all in place.
"Krow?! Murkrow!"
"You guys again? Didn't the mayor tell you to never come back here?" She narrowed her eyes at them.
"Murkrow!" The Murkrows weren't ready to hear Amethyst scold them. So to break themselves free, each of them used the move Feather Dance. By flapping their wings, all four of them left an empty husk of feathers shaped like themselves as they made a getaway by flying out the window.
The rest of the Murkrow's had succeeded in stealing whatever they could for their boss. The ponies who had been woken up attempted to stop them, but every single of the Murkrow's had used Feather Dance to escape.
Honchkrow had taught them all to use this move for the sake of high-tailing out of someplace whenever they make a steal. And it was fairly effective.
Inside Mayor Mare's home, Stoutland had heard the sounds of the window breaking, prompting the Big-Hearted Pokemon to bark.
"Stout! Stout!" His barking woke up his trainer who had just found the perfect sleeping position. Now it was ruined.
"Mrrgh...Stoutland, what is it?"
"Land! Stoutland!" Stoutland rushed out of Mayor Mare's room in a hurry. The first thing he laid his eyes on was some Murkrow's grabbing all of Mayor Mare's favourite foods.
Once the mayor herself left her room, she as well caught notice of this. "Hm? Ah! Murkrows?!"
"Krow?" The Murkrow's all turned around to see the one pony they hoped they would never bump into. Mayor Mare. Time to panic. "Mur!" And a perfect time to get out of here with what they've gotten so far.
A single Murkrow let out a cry that alerted the others. It was a signal that Mayor Mare had noticed them. They all got a good amount of food and other essentials in their grasp, so there was no need to stick around much longer.
Mayor Mare ran out of Town Hall, locking her eyes on every single Murkrow that was here. From the last time she saw a flock of Murkrow's, there were at least 10 of them. Now, there were 20 in total. Honchkrow's posse had increased over the past few months.
"Get back here! Stoutland! Giga Impact!"
"Stout!" Stoutland ran ahead of Mayor Mare, building up speed over time. The Big-Hearted Pokemon surrounded his body in energy as he launched himself up in the air like a rocket, heading straight for the airborne Murkrow's.
He managed to hit three of them due to how large Giga Impact's aura was. By striking them down, the rest had managed to escape. At least they had three of them here in Ponyville, fainted.
"Urgh! They got away!" Amethyst groaned.
But not all of them. Inside SugarCube Corner, some Murkrow's were still grabbing as much as they could. Since SugarCube Corner holds the most foods in Ponyville, this was the place to go.
Jade ran inside, spotting the Murkrow's raiding the fridge, causing a huge mess. "Hey. Stop that." She attempted to shout but her expressionless personality made that impossible. Jade spread her wings out, taking to the air to stop the Murkrow's.
By using her hooves, Jade tried to hold the Darkness Pokemon in place. But they were a bit too fast for her. Way too fast actually. That didn't stop Jade though. As the Murkrow's were evading whilst also grabbing pastries, the Rift pony dashed around SugarCube Corner with her hooves outstretched.
Over at the baby's room, both Plusle and Minun had been woken up from the sounds of silverware clanging, hitting the floor and even Jade crashing into the walls.
"Plus?"
"Min-Minun."
The two of them, out of curiosity, left the room where their trainers slept, heading out into the kitchen to see what exactly was going on.
Jade had managed to grab a hold of a few Murkrow's holding them in place with her hooves around their wings. She then spotted Plusle and Minun, realizing that they can be of great help in this instance.
"Plusle. Minun. Shock them."
Listening to Jade, the two Electric-Types had used Spark at the same time with volts frantically exerting out of their bodies.
Each of these volts covered the entire kitchen, interacting with the metal and Murkrow's. And of course, Jade as well. Everything in the kitchen had been electrocuted with the force of two 10,000 volts. Every single Murkrow here had fainted from Plusle and Minun's electrifying combination.
"Murkrow..." Each of them groaned.
"Thanks, you two," Jade said with her mane spiked up from the Sparks.
"Plusle!"
"Minun!"
With the amount of Murkrow's the ponies managed to round up and capture, placing them outside, Mayor Mare walked up to each of them with narrowed eyes. She wasn't too fond of the Murkrow's getting up to their usual antics again. Especially back at her town.
"Alright. Care to explain why you've decided to return here, hm?"
"Krow..." Each of the Murkrow's were shaking with fear packed in their eyes.
"You know these Murkrow, Mayor?" Jade asked.
"Indeed I do." Mayor Mare looked down at Murkrow's intimidating every last one of them. "Along with their boss, Honchkrow. Previously, they performed the same actions by stealing from Ponyville a few months ago. Seems like they've returned to do exactly that."
"Oh. Honchkrow?" Jade turned to her.
"It's basically their boss." Amethyst Star answered. "Fitting since it's known as the Big Boss Pokemon."
"Eeyup." Big Macintosh nodded.
"Alright." Mayor Mare leaned forward with her faces in the Murkrow's. "Where's your boss?"
"K-Krow! Krow!" A petrified Murkrow gave up the location of his boss out of fear. From where his beak was pointing, Honchkrow and the rest of the Murkrow's were located at White Tail Wood.
"So that's where they are. Everypony. Keep a close eye on these Murkrow. Stoutland." The mayor was already prepared to head over there and deal with Honchkrow. She and her partner made their way to White Tail Wood to meet with an old enemy of theirs.
"Stout!"
"Do we have to stand out here until she gets back?" Amethyst groaned. "My hooves are cold.
"Mmm...Some sleep would be nice right about now." Big Mac grumbled.
"Aren't you feeling tired and cold too, Jade?" Amethyst questioned.
"No. Should I?" She replied with a monotone voice.
"Nevermind..." Amethyst sighed.
Over at White Tail Wood, Honchkrow was already expecting Mayor Mare from the very beginning. He knew that the moment he and his cronies set foot in Ponyville, ransacking the entire town, his old enemy would react and take action.
The Murkrow's had brought Honchkrow what they could grab from the buildings they invaded, placing it in front of their boss. A fairly nice selection of food and objects to choose from.
But this time, Honchkrow wasn't focused on the food or items. Not at all. It was Mayor Mare who all of his attention was locked on.
And speaking of Mayor Mare, from where Honchkrow stood, he could see her galloping this way with Stoutland by her side. Perfect timing according to the Big Boss Pokemon.
"Honchkrow!" Mayor Mare yelled, stopping her tracks.
"Honch..." He's been expecting her. The Big Boss Pokemon ordered his Murkrow's to stand down. This was between him and her after all.
"Seems like you can't keep yourself out of trouble. Especially concerning my town, hm?"
"Krow..." The Dark-Flying-Type scoffed at Mayor Mare, looking at her with scorn in his eyes.
"You know what to do. Return what belongs to Ponyville."
"Honch." Obviously, Honchkrow wasn't going to do that. At all. Instead, he decided to continue stealing from Ponyville until the entire town is empty with nothing at their disposal. But first, he'll have to get rid of his biggest threat here. Mayor Mare.
The Big Boss Pokemon had attacked out spite, using the move Haze to disrupt her vision. By flapping his wings, Honchkrow released a thick black smoke that spread across White Tail Wood. But the mayor wasn't bothered whatsoever. She's fought Honchkrow before, so she knows his tricks and how he plays.
"Nice try. Stoutland! Sniff him out and use Thunder Fang!"
"Land!" The Big-Hearted Pokemon got to work. By using the natural talent that every dog-like creature has, their powerful nose, he sniffed the area for Honchkrow's scent.
Stoutland moved through the smoke of Haze as the fumes entered his nose. Even if his vision was obscured, the Normal-Type kept sniffing.
Honchkrow was moving around in the Haze, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. He made sure to avoid Stoutland at all costs by hovering high into the air.
With Stoutland sniffing from left to right, Honchkrow had decided to attack now. He went for the move Dark Pulse, sending down a beam of black and purple circles imbued with dark thoughts from its beak.
"Stout!" Stoutland was able to pick up on an incoming attack from any direction. That's when he found out that Honchkrow was in the air instead of on the ground. The Big-Hearted Pokemon jumped forward, evading Dark Pulse as it blew away all the snow.
With exceptional leg strength, Stoutland had jumped high into the air, passing right through the smoke of Haze. He opened his mouth as volts of electricity surrounded his fangs.
"Honch?!" Honckrow gasped, surprised that Stoutland can jump that high without Giga Impact being utilized.
"Stoutland!" Direct contact had been made between the two. Stoutland bit Honchkrow's wings, sending an electric shock through his entire body. Once he got a hold of Honchkrow, the Big-Hearted Pokemon dragged the Big Boss Pokemon to the ground, causing them both to crash down.
"Krow!"
"Excellent! Now! Finish it with Giga Impact!" Mayor Mare wasn't holding back for a second in this instance.
Honchkrow's eyes widened once he heard that command. And it was at this moment that he finally realized that this was not the wisest move.
Waking up Mayor Mare late at night and stealing from her town was probably a huge mistake considering how much she's improved as a trainer.
According to Honchkrow. This was a bad idea.
"STOUT!" Stoutland tossed Honckhrow off him by removing his teeth from the Dark-Flying-Type's wings. Once he did that, the Big-Hearted Pokemon charged forward with orange streaks sparking around him. A white and purple aura surrounded Stoutland as he smashed himself into Honckrow, hitting him right in his very rotund belly.
With Giga Impact landing, Stoutland did the same thing he did to Honchkrow when they first battled. By sending the Big Boss Pokemon flying out of control into the air. This time, it was in the night sky.
"KROOOOoooooooooowwww!" And that was the second time Honchkrow had been defeated by Mayor Mare yet again.
"That solves that. Excellent job Stoutland."
"Stout!"
All of the Murkrow's had noticed their boss flying off into the distance due to how high up he went. That involves the ones trapped in Ponyville.
Staying loyal to their boss, the Murkrow's followed Honchkrow into the air, leaving Ponyville behind along with everything they had stolen. There was no point in staying behind now.
Returning to Ponyville, Mayor Mare let out a yawn, ready to speak to the little number of ponies left here. Her Stoutland had dragged along all the stolen goods by carrying them on his back or wonderfully long moustache."Alright. Now that that's over with. I believe we can all head back to bed until the morning arrives."
"Uh, yeah. Just one problem." Amethyst pointed her hoof over at all the broken windows thanks to the Murkrow's intruding.
"Oh, right. Big Macintosh. Could your Machamp deal with that?"
"Eeyup." Big Mac turned to his Machamp who was already on it.
"Champ!" The Superpower Pokemon got some tools as he was dashing around Ponyville, doing his very best to fix the windows. And with all those arms, this'll be over in a few minutes, no problem.
As for everypony else, it was back to bed. Minus Jade of course.
The morning had finally arrived. Machamp in all his awesomeness had fixed every single window here overnight before returning to Sweet Apple Acres.
Mayor Mare could wake up happy, knowing that she defeated Honchkrow and sent him flying along with his goons. But one thing she and the rest of Ponyville didn't know was that today, the rest of the town was returning for Hearth's Warming preparations.
Jade continued to take care of the Cake Twins, unaware of her friends approaching.
The Pokemon at the Pokemon House got up to whatever it is they do whenever Fluttershy's not around with Krookodile watching over them all.
The remaining ponies in Ponyville went on with their day for 13 hours straight. Total silence with peace as a perfect ambience to it all.
The rainbow from Eve's Dazzling Gleam could still be seen in the sky, showing just how powerful it was. It was a fairly vibrant rainbow. Much more saturated than an average one even.
And it didn't take long until Ponyville was filled with noise once more. Mayor Mare could hear familiar voices coming this way. Voices that belonged to the citizens of Ponyville. By looking outside of her window, she saw them all. Every last one of them.
"They're back?! It hasn't been a week yet!" Mayor Mare gasped, confused by their sudden return.
"We're back!" Pinkie Pie yelled at the top of her lungs, bouncing over to the town she and everypony love so much.
"About time!" Applejack stretched her hooves, releasing all the strain from her muscles. "All that sitting can really mess up somepony's bones."
"I missed this feeling..." Fluttershy took in Ponyville's air. "Oh! I wonder how all the Pokemon are doing!" She immediately took the skies, flying off towards the Pokemon House.
"I can't wait to get back to Kanto." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"You're still gonna convince your mom to come over for Hearth's Warming, right Ash?" Sweetie Belle hopped on Ash's shoulder.
"Well, I'm sure mom wouldn't mind at all." Ash laughed.
"You're all back so soon? I thought the tournament was only supposed to last a week?" Mayor Mare went up to them.
"Yeah. Turns out a lot of us just remembered that Hearth's Warming was coming up. So it's on a break until next year." Spike explained.
"Oh. Thank Celestia. I thought everypony would miss out on this year's Hearth's Warming." The mayor let out a sigh of relief.
"Speaking of which...I need to finish up my decorations! There are only 2 days left!" Rarity took off like a rocket, rushing over to her home in a hurry.
Everypony had plans that they had to finish up until Hearth's Warming arrived. So this was no time for idle chit chat. Every last one of them scattered like cockroaches, heading off to their respected areas and homes.
Pinkie, Mr and Mrs Cake returned to SugarCube Corner, ecstatic to see Jade and the Cake Twins again. "Jade! We're back! How'd the-" Pinkie's words were stopped when she noticed that Jade had the twins, Plusle and Minun cradled up in her hooves. All four of them were having a peaceful sleep at the moment.
"Plus..."
"Minun...
"Ssshh." Jade hushed.
"Are those Plusle and Minun?" Mr Cake asked.
"Mhm. Their own personal Pokemon."
"Oh. Jade, you got them their own Pokemon? That's great." Pinkie rushed over. "You've done a pretty great job of taking care of these two little angels."
"You were the one who gave me some good advice, after all, Pinkie. Responsibility's pretty easy once you know what you're doing."
"Isn't it?" Mrs Cake nodded. "Many thanks, Jade. Now, let's hope the Pastry Palace for Hearth's Warming is still in top condition."
"Think you can babysit them again when we head back to the tournament?" Pinkie asked.
"You bet I can," Jade answered. In that instance, it looked like she was about to crack a smile. But it remained a frown. She was making progress with emotions. Slowly but surely.
Now that everypony has returned home, they can look forward to the incoming Hearth's Warming or Christmas for the human world. The tournament certainly gave them a rush of emotions ranging from excitement, shock, horror, confusion and laughter. Home is where they can just simply rest up for as long as they want as the journey continues.
Pallet Town, Afternoon. A few hours after everypony returned from the tournament.
"That's great!" Delia suddenly spoke. She was on the phone, speaking to one of her old friends. "I'll see you this Christmas, then!"
"Old friends, mom?" Ash went up to Delia in his pyjamas.
"Pika?"
"Right about that. They'll be able to make it here for Christmas. We'll have a grand old time like always."
"Sure wish dad would come over for Christmas." Ash sighed. "Guess that's not happening for a long time."
"Oh, your father and grandfather are still on their Pokemon journey together. I'm sure they celebrating each year along the way."
"Speaking of which, mom. Sweetie Belle wants me to stay over at Ponyille for Hearth's Warming. But I kinda wanna be here and meet up with old friends. I'm a bit stuck on what to choose."
"Pika-Pikachu?"
"Ah. One of these issues. No need to worry, Ash. I can come up with a perfect solution to that. Wouldn't be the first time that's happened."
"Really? Thanks, mom!" Ash grinned.
"Now. Run along. You're obviously planning on doing something today. Whether it's here or at Equestria."
"You bet! I'm really psyched to learn what our next adventure will be. Right, buddy?"
"Pika!"
As they both agreed with each other, Ash and Pikachu ran out of their home, off to experience a new adventure as always.
One he passed through the gateway to Ponyville, Ash had set foot in Equestria once more, taking in the snowy landscape that now graces the entire town thanks to the existence of Pokemon in this world.
He could see that everypony was busy moving around for Hearth's Warming as it was drawing near. Decorations had filled the streets of Ponyville. Very similar to the decorations that exist during Christmas. You could even see some that came straight from the Grand Galloping Gala.
"So, what to do today..." Ash pondered. "Is now a good time to visit that Las Pegasus place?"
"Pika...Pikachu?" Pikachu had then heard something familiar come his way. Something that involved crashing. That could only mean one thing.
"Hm?" Ash heard it too. It sounded like it was coming from above. Once he looked up, he was graced with none other than Derpy Hooves herself. Derpy crashed into Ash's head, causing him to wince as they both fell to the ground. "Ough!"
"Oh, Hi Ash! Letter to you!" Derpy squeed as she got off Ash.
"Ugh...Thanks." He held his hand out, taking the letter that Derpy had given him. "Wonder what it's about?" Once he opened the letter up, he was given some news involving him and Canterlot. The letter went a little something like this.
Dear Ash. Sorry if this seems a bit sudden but, you'll be receiving visitors over at Ponyville soon. Or perhaps your hometown in Kanto. Lately, the younger ponies have been wanting to spend some time with you due to your activities and actions across Equestria over these past few months. You've also been noticed by the Saddle-Arabians as a gratitude for helping rescue them from Ghetsis, ponies from the Crystal Empire and so and so forth. They all wish to frequent themselves with you. Hopefully, you can accept this request.
Sincerley, Princess Celestia.
"Oh, I see," Ash said, finishing the letter. "Looks like we've got something new to do, huh buddy?"
"Pikachu.
"Oooh...That looks fun." Derpy looked at the letter herself. "But that's gonna be a lot of ponies to hang around with. You sure you can handle all of them?"
"It's fine. They wanna hang out so Pikachu and I are gonna give them a fun time, aren't we pal?"
"Pika!"
"But uh...Ponyville's gonna get a bit flooded, huh?" Ash laughed nervously. "Might have to hang out over at Kanto."
"You don't have to worry about that. You know Ponyville's much bigger than it looks." Derpy replied. "I'm sure it'll be fine."
"Alright then. Wonder when they're gonna get here?" Ash looked around. The moment he said that the sounds of hundreds of hooves could be heard in the distance. They were here. Every last one of them.
All of Ponyville's attention was averted towards the approaching ponies from various locations in Equestria, wondering why there were so many of them today.
"What's up with all these ponies...?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps they're here to stay for Hearth's Warming." Rarity theorized. "Although, this far exceeds the natural number of holiday visitors."
"Yikes...That's a lot." Ash pulled back, intimidated by the gigantic number of ponies here specifically for him.
"Pikachu..."
"There! Ash Ketchum!" A pony cried out with excitement in her eyes. Once they all finally spotted him, they immediately galloped on over, passing the citizens of Ponyville who were still so confused on why there were so many of them here.
Celestia was right about these ponies. They truly were young. They ranged from two categories. Children and teenagers. Some were even close to being fully grown stallion and mares. And of course, they had their parents here with them since some of these foals can't be trusted when alone.
"That's a mighty amount of ponies." Derpy stood on Ash's shoulder.
The trainer and his partner were surrounded from all sides with the ponies huddling up. If you were a Flying-Type or a pegasus, seeing this cluster of ponies jumble around one human would be a bit bizarre.
Twilight and her friends definitely found it to be abnormal and strange.
"What is going on over there?" Twilight and the others walked up to Applejack, Rarity and their sisters.
"No idea. All of a sudden, ponies from across Equestria just started running over to Ash. Now they've got him cornered." Applejack explained.
"Do you think he has something tasty on him?" Pinkie Pie wondered. "I know I would do the same. Corner them until they cough up the treats."
"He looks a bit overwhelmed. Should we help him?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Maybe..." Twilight wasn't so sure. "By why would so many come here for him?"
Back with Ash, many ponies were asking him countless questions that he kept on answering. "You're immortal right?! Is that why you're still so young even though you've been around for so long?"
"Well no not really..." Ash answered.
"Is blue your favourite colour or something? You seem to wear it a lot."
"Actually, Dark Green's my favourite colour. But blue's slowly replacing it."
"Your name's pretty sweet! But why Ash of all things?"
"Well, mom told me that for my ancestors, Ash means 'Wisdom and Reason', but I don't really see it."
"Ooooh..."
"The way you throw a Poke Ball is so cool! And surprisingly good. How'd you learn to throw something so well?"
"When I was young I was a pitcher on my little league baseball team."
"What's your favourite Pokemon Type? Don't tell me...Electric!"
"Grass." His answer shocked them all. "Pikachu's my best buddy and we're inseparable sure, but Grass-Types are just so cool."
"Pikachu!"
"Mr Ash! Can you um...do the-the-the Greninja thing! That one!" A little filly stammered.
"The Greninja thing? Oh, Ash-Greninja!" Ash said.
"Yeah! That!" She squeed along with many other ponies who were excited to see the Bond Phenomenon.
"Ah, sorry. I don't have Greninja on me right now. He's busy helping clean up Kalos." Ash apologized for Greninja's absence.
"Aw..." The ponies who wanted to see Greninja's special form sighed.
"But no need to worry. I've got a bunch of Pokemon who you guys are gonna love. They're all special in their own way."
"Pikachu!"
"Ash!" Twilight and the others flew over, curious about the situation. "What's going on here? Why are there so many ponies from across Equestria here?"
"Oh. They're all here to visit and hang out with me. There's a lot of them I know." Ash explained.
"Pika-Pika."
"Oh! You're a celebrity now, Ash! Isn't that wonderful?" said Rarity.
"Celebrity? I didn't even notice!"
"Pika!"
"So can we go to your place and see all of your Pokemon?!" A motormouth filly asked. The others babbled in agreement, eager to see all of Ash's colourful partners.
"Sure." Ash, feeling overwhelmed, agreed to it. Though he was the one who recommended his other Pokemon. "Uh, Twilight, guys. Could you come and help me here?"
"Don't worry, Ash." Rainbow Dash placed her hoof around his neck. "We'll keep everything under control for you."
"It'll be nice to spend some time over at Pallet Town again. It has a nice aura to it." Fluttershy nodded.
"Just uh, make sure you keep them out of trouble..." Applejack whispered to him.
"No need to worry. I can guarantee that, 100%!"
"Pikachu!"
Thus began a hang out session specifically with Ash. Once they passed through the gateway, in one second, they arrived at Pallet Town. And as always, the first thing you come across is Ash's home. After all, it's only 5 feet away from the gateway.
Delia came outside to see her son and many ponies outside in a huge cluster.
"Oh, my. Ash, I didn't know you were bringing over so many of your friends." Delia's eyes widened.
"Ah, they're all from different places in Equestria. They just came over to hang out with me. But my friends are also here too."
"Hi, Mrs Ketchum!" Pinkie yelled from the crowd of ponies.
"Hm. Well, are they all going to enter inside? Your father's house can only hold so many."
"Nah. I'm heading over to Professor Oak's lab to show them all of my Pokemon." He explained. "Catch ya later mom! Ash ran off with the rest of the ponies following him with constant galloping sounds filling all of Pallet Town.
Twilight watched as he and the ponies reached Professor Oak's lab in no time. Instead of following after them, Twilight and the others just stayed where they were.
"Does he ever ran out of energy?" Twilight sighed.
"Impossible. The chances of you seeing Ash bored or uneventful is as rare as knowing the meaning to life." Delia answered.
"But it's always great seeing him so happy. " Pinkie squeed. "But has he always been like this? I mean, I was down and droopy before the Sonic Rainboom."
"Oh, he was. From the very beginning. "He's obviously calmed down nowadays but back then, trying to get him to sit still was an intense battle in its own right." Delia chuckled.
"Your family's something interesting, Mrs Ketchum. Even though we've never seen your husband." Fluttershy said.
"Oh, it's not that interesting. But if you're curious, I can show and tell you some memoirs from the past."
"Ketchum family Memoirs?! I am curious!" Twilight being a sucker for biographies.
"Then come on inside, my little ponies." Delia invited all 6 of them indoors for some juicy past experiences. Heading inside the home of the Ketchum's gave the ponies a nostalgic feeling. Something about the way it was laid out and how compact it is was just modest and cosy. Felt like home even.
Delia grabbed a memoir book containing past experiences and events involving the Ketchum family. There was a lot to uncover here, but Delia was aiming for her personal favourites.
"Holding this book again takes me on a trip down memory lane." She sighed. "I should really buy a new one for future events."
"So what's first?" Pinkie zipped around the book. "What's cooking in that Ketchum memoir book?"
"Well. I suppose I can start with Ash. Out of our family, he's in here the most." Delia opened up the book, landing on a page with a young Ash in a baseball uniform. Clearly, this was about the time Ash was a pitcher. "Ah, when my little Ash was in the little leagues."
"Ash played baseball?" Fluttershy leaned in.
"Of course. He obviously wanted to become a Pokemon Trainer from the very start, but before that, he took part in the little leagues. He was a top-class pitcher back then. His throwing skills were unmatched back then." Delia began reminiscing of when Ash played baseball.
Back in the earlier days of Pallet Town when Ash was around 7 years old, a baseball game was currently going down. It was between Ash's team and some kids from Lavender Town.
The scores were 7 to 9. Ash's team having 7 whilst Lavender Town's team having 9.
"Alright, Ash!" His coach spoke up. "You're our best pitcher here. Please...for all that is good in this world...win this. We're so close. We need one more out and that's it. Can you do it?" He was begging Ash to win this for them.
"You got it, coach! Leave it to me!" A very young Ash exclaimed with a wide grin. From this age, he was missing a tooth. The young Ash Ketchum stepped out on to the field with his favourite glove.
The crowd was relatively small due to this being in Pallet Town, but there were still around 40 people. A little from Pallet and most from Lavender.
"Woo! Come on, Ash!" A younger Delia cheered from the seats with excitement. Ash had very little supporters. Very little. There were exactly 14 people who cheering Ash on. The remaining two were actually a younger Gary and Professor Oak, back when Ash and Gary were good friends instead of rivals. Granted, they became good friends again in the future.
"Make Pallet proud, Ash!" Gary yelled.
They had banners with the words 'Go Ash, Go!' on them along with pots and pans being banged together, a little girl hitting a tambourine and some mini-drums here and there. They were small but incredibly supportive of Ash.
"OK!" Ash stomped his foot on the plate, tightening his focus. "Hope you're ready for this!"
"Quit chatting, Ketchum." The batter spoke, holding the baseball bat firmly in his hands. "Unless you're stalling cause you're scared."
"Heh! You wish I was scared." Ash turned his baseball cap around. "Watch this...I'm gonna become a Pokemon Master one day. So if I'm gonna catch em, I gotta make sure that my throws never fail!"
"Then what are you waiting for? Throw it already."
"Here goes! This is everything I've got!" Ash felt powered up as he cupped the ball in his hands with vigour. With all his might, Ash threw the ball at high-speeds that were almost impossible to keep up with.
It was moving so fast that it looked like it was causing afterimages and going off in multiple directions. The ball even caused a small wind pressure with the dust from the ground flying up.
"WHAT STRENGTH!" The hitter gasped, surprised at how potent that throw was. His reaction time couldn't keep up with the ludicrous speed of Ash's fastball.
As a result, the ball hit the glove of the catcher. But even the catcher was overwhelmed. Once the ball hit the glove, the catcher was almost blown back from the spot. Some smoke was left behind too.
"Strike one!" The umpire exclaimed.
"Say what now?!" The Lavender player's eyes widened. "It's fine. There's no way I'm missing a second time."
Ash held another baseball, bouncing it up and down with a wide grin. "Here's a second one with 200%!" Yet again, he threw it a second time with extra power. But it had less speed than the last one.
The hitter felt confident that he would hit it this time as he swung the bat forward, able to keep an eye on the ball this time. However, even when he finally managed to keep up with the ball, he still missed.
"Strike two!"
"That's the stuff, Ash!" His coach stood up along with his teammates. "Come on! Just one more!"
The Lavender Town players were getting nervous. If a third strikeout happens, that's it. They're going home.
"This time...This time! You won't strike me out, Ketchum!" The hitter exclaimed, sweating bullets. "You hear me?!"
"If you say so. Get ready for this one!" Ash let out his final throw with a twist. Instead of a ton power packed into this throw or even speed, some mind games were involved. Once he threw the ball forward, his infamous curveball had come into play.
The hitter thought he would finally connect his swing, but unfortunately, Ash's curveball was too good. So good that it almost looked like it defied the laws of gravity and physics for a split second by flying under the baseball bat.
"Strike three! That's it!" The game was over, due to the Umpire's call.
"YES!" The coach got off of his seat along with the rest of the Pallet Town players. All of Pallet Town's residents did the same with their cheering while the Lavender crowd had flabbergasted looks on their faces, speechless.
All of Ash's teammates ran over to him, giving the young pitcher a victorious team hug.
"Nice play, Ketchum!" One of his teammates gave him a noogie. They all raised him in celebration, giving Ash all the praise in the world.
"WOO! That's my son!" Delia thundered as she jumped for joy, scaring the Lavender Town citizens. She held one of her friends, shaking them uncontrollably.
"Man..talk about power..." The hitter stood there, perplexed. "Oh, well. There's always next time."
This celebration lasted for minutes until the Lavender Town team returned to their home, leaving Pallet Town. Ash had a great victory that day.
"What a sight it was." Delia laughed. "That was Ash's first major win ever. Way before the Pokemon Leagues."
"I didn't know Ash was such a good baseball player." Twilight gasped. "Did he really want to become a Pokemon Master that badly that he quit?"
"Oh, no. Being a Pokemon Master was and always will be the first thing he aimed to be. Baseball was just a minor hobby of his."
"No wonder he's so good at throwing Poke Balls." Pinkie Pie realized. "That must be some arm..."
"Hmmm..." Fluttershy thought for a moment, realizing why Pikachu is constantly on Ash's shoulder most of the time. That right arm is one powerful asset of his. "Oooh...That makes sense."
Rarity looked over at Ash's room since the door was still open. There she saw all of his outfits from his past journeys throughout other regions. Of course, she had seen them before, which is why she designed Ash's current outfit that he wears.
But even when looking at them for the second time in a row, their designs were fairly impressive. Ash's sense of style was something to admire.
"I suppose there's a story behind all of Ash's outfits?" Rarity said. "Or am I just reaching too far."
"Oh, there's a story about his hat, that's for sure." Delia stood up, walking over to Ash's room. The one hat that she picked up was the hat he wore during his adventures through Kanto and Johto. "This hat especially brings me memories that continue to haunt me to this day."
"This hat?" Applejack went up to it. "What's so special about it?"
"Well, for starters, this hat is a Pokemon Leauge Expo Hat. It has a nice stylized L on it. See?" She showed them all the hat. It was indeed true. The signature symbol that was on Ash's original hat was, in fact, a stylized green L. "You would not believe how desperately Ash wanted it."
"Oh. Did he bug you about it for weeks on end?" Twilight asked.
"Not exactly. You see, this expo hat could only be obtained via letters. Only 100 of these hats could be given away and Ash just so happened to get one by sending over a million postcards."
"A million postcards?!" The Mane 6 gasped.
"You heard me correctly. He was nuts about it." Delia began reminiscing about Ash's obsession with that one hat.
Early Pallet Town, a time when Ash was 8 years old. Close to 9 now.
Inside his room, the energetic Ash was going to town on a bunch of papers. What happened in the past was as true as the eye could see.
Ash was writing an abundance of postcards for this one single hat. Delia entered his room, wondering why her son was staying up so late at night.
"Ash Ketchum! Are you still up?"
"Sorry, mom! I gotta just write one more and I'm done for the night." He responded, rapidly designing a postcard. At the corner of his room, Delia could see a tower of postcards stacked on each other. There were over 999,999 in total and Every single one of them for the expo hat.
"It's about that hat isn't it?" Delia gasped, perplexed by the overwhelming number that filled the room.
"Yep! I just gotta have it! Can you send them all to the expo for me tomorrow? Before it ends." He grinned, looking back at his mother.
"S-Sure..." Delia agreed. There was no way she was going to talk him out of this. Once Ash sets his sights on something he desires more than anything, it's practically impossible to convince him otherwise.
"And done!" Ash finished the final postcard, officially having written one million. "I'm sure to get that hat now!"
"Right. Now please get to bed, Ash." Delia sighed.
"OKAY!" With all those postcards finished, it was only a matter of time until they would all be sent to the Expo. All for one single hat.
Two days had gone by. Over at the Pokemon League Expo building, the people that worked there were prepared to read all the postcards that had been sent to them about the hat.
"Alright. Let's see which kids are gonna be extra lucky for that hat." A man spoke as he sat down on a table with the rest of his fellow workers.
They started with opening up the first 40 postcards, wondering who to select. "Hm. A kid by the name of Misty Waterflower wants one. All the way from Cerulean City." An employee said.
By opening the various postcards, it seemed like it would just be a normal opening session with a few 100 lucky winners. Little did they know about the storm of postcards sent by Ash.
An older employee came inside, holding a gigantic parcel that looked like it was about to explode. "Here you go."
"What's up with that parcel?" A confused employee squinted his eyes.
"I have no idea but..." The parcel had been placed on the table. "Let's find out." The old employee unwrapped the stuffed parcel, curious about why it was so stuffed and puffy. Then, he got his answer. All of them did.
Once the parcel opened up, an explosion of postcards burst out, flooding the entire room as the employees were all blown back by the sudden outburst. The sudden outbreak of postcards was something they weren't expecting at all. They needed some time to recover from it due to how instant it all was.
One employee broke out of the sea of cards, gasping for air. When he opened one up from the pile, one name was obviously there from the start. Ash Ketchum.
"Ugh...Couldn't they have placed the letters in separately...?" An employee gasped. They all recovered, continuing their opening session with mild paper cuts here and there.
Whilst opening the cards, they noticed one consistent pattern to all of them. Ash's name. It was everywhere. The more postcards they opened, the more they saw the name, Ash Ketchum.
"Uhh...Why are most of these from the same kid?"
They kept going through the millions of cards that surrounded them, wondering if they would get a different child. But nope. Yet again, Ash's name showed up. Over and over again, no matter how many times they searched. All of Ash's postcards had buried other children's cards, making them non-existent.
"It's everywhere. Ash Ketchum here, Ash Ketchum there. What's with this kid?!"
All of Ash's letters each had their own words on them. And they went a little something like this.
"Can I have the expo hat, please? It'd be super cool if I got one!"
"I wanna become a Pokemon Master one day! So I gotta have an awesome hat to go with my outfit!"
"It's gonna look so cool when I turn it around!"
"Please? I wanna make it a hat of a champion one day!"
"Is the green thing on the middle a C or an L?"
He had somehow managed to find different things to say in a million postcards. He really wanted that hat.
"What should we do? We've only got 100 of them. And these are like... a million!"
"Urgh...just give one to him. We'll sort out the other 99." The main employee sighed. There was no use in denying Ash's requests. Not with the million postcards he sent.
One day later, Ash got the hat. He was the first one to get it due to him overwhelming the expo. He held the hat in his hands, gawking at it.
"Oooh! I got it!" Filled with joy, the young Ash Ketchum placed the hat right on his head. But since he wasn't 10 yet, it didn't fit him properly as it was covering his eyes. "How do I look, mom?!"
"Like a certified Pokemon Trainer. My little Pokemon Trainer." Delia giggled as she picked her pride and joy.
"Yeah!" An excited Ash raised his arms, with Delia spinning him around.
And from that day onward, Ash would go on to wear that signature hat until his adventures in Hoenn and beyond.
"Even when his excitement was too much for me, I still loved every moment with him. Still do to this day." Delia said.
"All that for one hat...I gotta respect that." Applejack held her own hat.
"Sounds like it was a hoof-full watching over Ash and his hyper years," Twilight commented.
"Oh. Indeed it was. Ash is my pride and joy after all. The apple to his father's eye. He's even the pride of Pallet."
"Pride of Pallet? How so?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, you see...Pallet Town is rather infamous for having rather weak trainers. For years, trainers from Pallet barely grazed the top 1,000 trainers of the world. But once Ash set out on his journey, he ended up becoming the best Pokemon Trainer to ever come out of our town. Hence why some of the townspeople call him that."
"Huh. Pallet Town must've had it rough for all those years." Rainbow Dash commented.
"Well, we do live in Kanto. Which is considered the boonies to some people. But it's our boonies."
"So speaking of Pokemon Trainers, what about you? Were you one as well?" Rarity questioned.
"Oh, I wanted to become a Pokemon Trainer actually. But I gave up on it?"
"What?! Why?!" Pinkie Pie stood up.
"I had my aspirations of being a trainer. Getting out there, catching as many Pokemon as I could. But that's when I was carrying Ash in me." Delia held her stomach. Around that time, a little Ash Ketchum was fertile in her. "I couldn't set out on a journey whilst carrying a baby. That'd be insane."
"So you had to stay home for months, huh," Twilight said.
"Not quite. Even though I couldn't set out on an adventure, I opened up the only restaurant here in Pallet Town." Yet another moment that Delia reminisced.
Pallet Town, the Ketchum Restaurant.
"Delia. There's one thing I don't understand." One of her friends spoke to her.
"Hm? What is it?" Delia responded as she gave some food over to some customers.
"Why give up on your dream to become a Pokemon Trainer? You were looking forward to it more than anyone in Pallet."
"Mhm." A sassy friend of Delia nodded. "Seems kinda off for you to just start a restaurant out of nowhere."
"I know it's sudden, girls. But I'm carrying a child at the moment." She gave the news to her friends.
"Oh my goodness!" A shy friend of Delia stood up. "You're having a baby?! Eeeee! We can't wait!"
"Why didn't you say so before? How long have you been carrying him?"
"For about 4 days now. In about 9 months, there'll be a new member of the Ketchum family. And the doctors have already told me that it'll be a boy. Those ultrasound machines are always right anyway."
"What are you going to name the little darling then? I bet it'll be something majestic and radiant!" The sassy friend theorized. "Perhaps Julius.
"If he's going to be a big strong and handsome man, it needs to have some strength behind it. Like Griffin." So did her shy friend.
"Or maybe, you've already decided what you want to name him, right Delia?" An athletic friend of Delia spoke.
"Indeed. I've decided to go with...Ash."
"Ash?" All her friends said in unison, raising their eyebrows. "Why Ash?"
"It follows the tradition of the Ketchum family. All of our names have a meaning behind them."
"A meaning behind them? But isn't Ash just an everyday name? What's so special about it?" Her sassy friend asked.
"Perhaps. But for our ancestors, that's not the case. My name means Flower Girl. Or Luster in some cases."
"Well, you certainly act like a flower girl during weddings." Her shy friend giggled. "So what does Ash mean?"
"Wisdom and Reason. That's what I believe my child will posses."
"Wisdom and Reason? Delia, you can't predict your child's personality traits and skills." An energetic friend of hers said. "Or can you....?"
"Perhaps. But no matter what type of person he becomes, I'll love him all the same." Delia smiled. "Along with his father."
"You sure do know how to look at the brighter side of things." Her shy friend replied, causing them all to laugh.
For the past 9 months, Delia would hold onto Ash until the day he was born.
On May 22nd. Ash Ketchum entered the world. When he was born, he was already radiating a positive aura that made both his mom and father smile with joy. And afterwards, he would continue to spread his joy to others he met and befriended.
"I'll never forget that day Ash came into my life. I knew that even if I couldn't become a Pokemon Trainer, he would be able to carry out my dream. And so far, he's surpassed that by a mile and beyond."
"That was... so touching and wholesome!" Pinkie let out a flood of tears, feeling touched by that story.
"But...I've probably rambled on for far too long, haven't I?" Delia stood up. "You've all got your Hearth's Warming to prepare after all. So do I for Christmas."
"She's right. Best finish up. Hearth's Warming's creeping up on us." said Applejack.
"Think Ash is doing well with the others?" Fluttershy asked.
"Only one way to find out," Twilight replied.
Before they would head back to Ponyville, they decided to head over to Professor Oak's lab, where Ash and everypony else were currently located.
Once they got there, they were blessed with the sight of Ash and his Pokemon hanging out and having fun with the ponies with smiles on their faces.
Ash had picked up Apple Bloom, carrying her on his back whilst some ponies played around with Snorlax's huge belly.
Charizard had taken some foals for a small flight around Pallet Town, Buizel prevented Scraggy from headbutting any ponies that he spotted.
Oshawott was being a showoff, trying to impress the ponies to make them think he was cool. But they found Oshawott to be adorable more than cool.
But the Pokemon they did find cool were Krookodile, Infernape, Gliscor, Sceptile, Staraptor and Hawlucha.
As for other Pokemon that they found adorable, Bayleef, Totodile, Bulbasaur and Snivy. They were already personal favourites.
Snivy enjoyed being praised for her cuteness whilst Totodile and Bulbasaur enjoyed the company.
Bayleef puffed her cheeks, unhappy that many ponies were hanging out with Ash as she had the urge to push them all away from the trainer she loved. Seeing Apple Bloom being held by Ash was definitely riling her up.
Ash's Torterra had some little fillies lay on its back due to how large it was. After all, there's enough room for several small Pokemon to make their nests, according to the Pokedex.
Leavanny kept the foals warm by making them tiny little coats from the leaves he gathered from the trees.
Pignite flexed his muscle whilst Gible gnawed on the head of some foals.
All of Ash's Pokemon had their own distinct personalities that made it a blast to be around them. Just like their trainer.
Ash really does have a unique aura to him that can't be described. But it truly does make others happy with full spirits inside of them.
And that was enough to make Twilight and her friends smile. And also enough to give them determination to keep these two worlds connected so that they never lose something as wonderful as this feeling.
Enough time passed and it was time for the ponies to return to their homes across Equestria. Ash's Pokemon bid farewell to the little fillies and colts.
The sun was setting with its mellow and beauteous aura and light that shined across the world. Even the snow itself would stop falling for a bit to allow the sun's final moments until tomorrow.
"Bye, Mr Ash! Pikachu!" A little filly waved goodbye to the trainer and his partner. She was the last pony to leave Ponyville.
"Bye! Take care!" Ash gave a farewell back.
"Pika-Pika!"
He watched as everypony who came to visit had finally left.
"So, Ash." Twilight flew up to him. "Your mom let us in on a bit of your past. Is it true that you sent a million postcards for one hat?"
"You bet! I don't regret it for one second." Ash said with confidence.
"You really wanted that hat, huh?" Applejack giggled.
"Mhm. Sending a million of them was the best idea I've had so far." Ash grinned. His comment made them all laugh at how ridiculous that story was.
"Hey. How about teaching me how to throw a Poke Ball like you do. Apparently, you were a pretty good pitcher right?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Sure thing. But it isn't gonna be easy. You got to really put some OOMPH to it. And throw it like you mean it! With a BAM and FWASH! Right, buddy?"
"Pika..." Pikachu wasn't sure what Ash meant by that but he just went with it.
The day went on until night arrived. Afterwards, Ash had returned to Pallet Town by passing through the gateway. His hang out time was definitely worth it after all.
He got to meet some new ponies from across Equestria, befriending them along with his Pokemon. It definitely won't be the last time a huge group of ponies come to visit and hang out with him and Pikachu. Not by a long shot. With Hearth's Warming and Christmas approaching, a whole year was closing in as the journey continues.
Equestria. One day before Christmas and Hearth's Warming.
Today, Ash had decided to visit a new location in Equestria along with Twilight and her friends.
This location was known as Evolution Valley. A valley where Pokemon evolve with one method only. Evolution stones.
"Check that out!" Ash gawked over at the valley that had numerous Pokemon that only evolve with stones. Its grandly timbered and fertile appearance was built specifically for these Pokemon as it expanded far with a lake nearby. There were hills galore with a few streams here and there. An area like this had its own gateway that led straight to Undella Town.
The Pokemon here mostly consisted of ones that could evolve with the Fire Stone, Moon Stone, Shiny Stone, Dusk Stone and Sun Stone.
Over at the valley, two Pokemon Breeders could be seen. They seemed to be the caretakers of this entire valley and the Pokemon that live here. From their similar hair and eye colour, they were most likely twins.
The girl breeder had a basket of evolution stones of all kinds with a Panpour and Eevee surrounding her. The boy breeder was currently feeding a Jigglypuff and Sunkern some Pokeblocks.
"Vee! Eevee!"
"Sunkern!"
The group made their way towards the valley to get a closer look at it. Once they got closer, the two breeders noticed them and their arrival along with the Pokemon here.
"Hm? Hey there. What brings you to Evolution Valley?" The boy asked. "You here to evolve some Pokemon maybe?"
"This place is specifically for evolution?" Twilight spoke.
"That's right." The girl answered. "Every Pokemon you see here is capable of evolving with these." She held up the basket of evolution stones.
"So, you here to evolve or sightsee? Cause I can see three Pokemon in particular who work well with evolution stones." The boy was referring to Pikachu, Minccino and Vulpix.
"Ah, no. We're just curious and wanted to check this place out." Ash answered. "So you guys the owners of this place?"
"Nah. We're just the caretakers. Well, we're actually Pokemon Breeders. My name's Forrest and this my younger sister Skye." He introduced himself and his sister.
"Hi-Hi!" Skye waved at them.
"Pokemon Breeders? Like Brock?" said Fluttershy.
"Right. But we're not average breeders. We specialize in breeding Pokemon that can only evolve with these evolution stones. And nothing else." Skye explained.
"Just the stones?" Ash kneeled, giving a Petilil a head pat.
"Peti!"
"Just the stones." Forrest nodded. "Because Pokemon that evolve with stones are some of the best around. Like Fossils. We breed these specific Pokemon and raise them to reproduce specific improvements and for better health and friendship."
"And to make these little cuties much more compatible with their stones." Skye rubbed Eevee's chin.
"Ee!"
"Aren't they already compatible?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah, normally. But a lot of them are kinda struggling to evolve. Look at this." Forrest held a Sun Stone, placing it next to the Petilil that was with Ash.
Usually, the reaction between the stone and Pokemon would trigger with lights flashing about. But not this time. Nothing happened to Petilil at all.
"See? Nothing." Forrest picked up the Sun Stone. "That's why we're taking care of these Pokemon. All of them can't evolve for some reason."
"That is pretty weird." Ash's eyes widened.
"Pika..."
"Well...it could be because we're in Equestria." Twilight theorized. "After all, Pokemon act a bit differently compared to their original homeworld, remember?"
"Oh, yeah." Pinkie nodded. "Like how evolutions look totally different."
"You think that may be it?" Forrest raised an eyebrow.
"Well, that could be a possible reason." Rarity responded, holding a Cottone in her hooves.
"Cotto!"
"This world's pretty different from ours anyway. But I didn't even think about magic being involved." Skye scratched her hair.
"So none of them have been able to evolve at all?" Fluttershy looked over at all the Pokemon who were still in their first or second stage evolutions, unable to go beyond that.
"Well...There is one breeding method that has worked so far." Forrest responded. "Whenever we breed a Pansage and a Cottonee, it works out fine. They evolve no problem. Everyone else, not so much." Skye shook her head.
"Because of that, Pansage and Cottone are the Pokemon bred the most. But that's kinda making our progress so flat." Forrest sighed.
"Have you tried breeding them both with other Pokemon?" Applejack questioned.
"Tried it. Nothing works." Forrest answered. "It's only these two."
"There has to be something we can do to evolve them." Pinkie poked a Skitty.
"Well, yesterday, we've been thinking of finding new stones. Maybe it's just these current ones that are faulty." Skye looked at the basket of stones.
"Are there any evolution stones located here in Equestria?" Ash wondered.
"Pika?"
"Not sure. These stones came straight from Unova, so they don't originate here. But, we did find a single Fire Stone nearby one time when we came here." Forrest answered him.
"Oh! Try that Fire Stone then!" Twilight recommended.
"Okay then." Forrest dug into his bag, searching for the Fire Stone that he found in Equestria. He decided to use it on an Eevee to see if it would work.
And the result? The stones were actually reacting to the Evolution Pokemon by emanating a red and orange glow.
"Ee?"
"OH!" Everypony leaned in with their eyes widening.
Eevee felt his body being engulfed in flames as the stone suddenly shattered into tiny little pieces. The Evolution Pokemon had a ball of fire around him that spun around rapidly.
Since this was Equestria, the look of an evolution process is sometimes different from the original world due to the difference in magic here.
The orb of flames scattered into the air as Eevee's Fire form had been revealed. Flareon.
"Flare!" The Flame Pokemon bellowed.
"It worked!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"No way!" Forrest kneeled, looking at the newly evolved Pokemon. "About time we made some progress!"
"So that's it!" Twilight flew up. "They can only evolve with the stones found in Equestria! That solves that problem."
"It sure does." Skye laughed. "If we had known that earlier, that would've saved up a lot of trouble..."
"Then it's settled!" Ash stood up. "We'll help you find evolution stones here in Equestria."
"Pikachu!"
"You will?" The twins turned to Ash.
"Yep! Pinkie bounced up. Anything to help somepony in need!"
"Besides, the evolution stones can't be too hard to find. They kinda stick out with their flashy looks." Twilight said.
"Oh, many thanks!" Skye smiled.
"But can we even find them here?" Fluttershy looked around.
"Well, that one Fire Stone was found here. So it's safe to say there might be others." Forrest answered. "Usually wherever there's one evolution stone, others can be found nearby."
"So we'll just search the entire valley then until we find some more." Ash nodded.
"Pika!"
The twins were relieved to hear that their evolution problem would be sorted out. It was thanks to the arrival of Ash, Twilight and the others that they were given this opportunity.
However, they all weren't alone in this valley. Someone was spying on them. Or rather, three someones.
Team Rocket. Their break had finally come to an end after so long. And because of that, they obviously went back to doing what they do best. Steal some Pokemon and hopefully, grab that special Pikachu. All three of them poked their heads out of some bushes with Oran Berries.
"Hear that? Seems like we've got an opportunity to snatch those stones before they do." Jessie spoke.
"I didn't even think about the magic messing with them at all." James shook his head. "You think maybe that would explain a few things lately...?"
"Probably. But who cares about this world's voodoo. Let's just find those stones so the boss can have evolutions up the wazoo!" Meowth exclaimed.
"Wobbuffet!"
So now there were two groups set on finding evolution stones. One for the sake of evolving the Pokemon in this valley and the other for Giovanni to keep.
The first place to start looking was the hills themselves. They were so pyramidal and steep, scaling them proved to be a bit difficult for those who couldn't fly. Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash didn't have any problems though.
Once they got past the hills, they reached the other side of the valley, searching high and low for any evolution stones. They had sent out their Pokemon to assist in this.
Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff's could prove to be extra useful here due to their sensitive nose. Evolution stones do have a distinct scent to them due to the energy they radiate.
"Pika?" Pikachu picked up a familiar scent with his nose. He knew of only one stone that smelled like that. "Pikapi!"
"Hm? You found one, buddy?" Ash turned to his partner.
"Pika." Pikachu ran over to a flower patch of daisies. He separated the daises to find the stone that he knew he recognized.
The Thunder Stone.
"Oh! A Thunder Stone!" Ash picked it up, getting the first one so far. "Nice find, Pikachu."
"Pikachu."
With the first stone being found, the others were still on the hunt for more. Applejack, Skye and Rarity came across a cave area that was engraved in one of the hills.
"Caves and underground areas usually have a Moon Stone," Skye explained. "We should be able to find one here."
Rarity used her horn to light up the cave for better clearness. Inside this cave, some Drilbur's and Boldore's could be seen along with a few Aron's.
Applejack noticed a dark blue glow coming from the corner of the caves themselves. Curious on whether it was from a stone or just some gemstones, the earth pony galloped over to see for herself.
It was indeed a stone. The Moon Stone to be precise.
"Aha!" Applejack picked up the stone with her mouth. "Got one!" She said with her mouth full.
Rarity used her magic to grab the Moon Stone from Applejack's mouth, wiping it with a cloth. "Excellent, find. This is almost too easy."
"Right you are on that!" A familiar voice rang through their ears. Well, familiar to Applejack and Rarity. Before they knew it, the Moon Stone had been snatched from above by a fast-moving figure. "Too easy!" That voice belonged to none other than Jessie.
"Ah! Rarity noticed that the Moon Stone was no longer in her possession. By turning her head around, she, Applejack and Skye had spotted Team Rocket themselves. "Team Rocket?!"
"Who are they?" Skye was confused.
"Ya'll are back to doing this?!" Applejack growled.
"Break's over! Team Rocket's back in business!" James smirked.
"Hope you don't mind, but these stones now belong to the property of the boss!" Meowth giggled.
"Sayanora, suckers!" All three of them made a run for it, dashing out of the cave as fast as they could.
"Urgh! Team Rocket! Get back here!" Applejack and Rarity pursued them, leaving a confused Skye behind.
"Hm?" It took a moment for her to snap out of it as she followed afterwards. "Oh! Wait for me!"
Back outside, Twilight, Forrest, Pinkie and Fluttershy came across an area in the valley that connected to the lake. This was where the gateway to Undella could be found.
"Slur..." Slurpuff kept using its expert nose to sniff out the stones. Unfortunately, this was all new territory for the Meringue Pokemon. It has never really detected an evolution stone before. It's always been pastries and Pokemon. But that didn't it stop it from trying.
"Ccino." Minccy used her tail to sweep away the sand nearby the lake. By moving the sand, she was hoping to find a stone buried somewhere, but there wasn't.
Eve wishes that she could take her psychic abilities one step further and sense the auras of stones, like a Lucario. Unfortunately, she wasn't that kind of Psychic-Type. What a shame.
Eventually, Slurpuff had picked up on a brand new scent that its nose had never identified before. "Puff! Slurpuff!" The Meringue Pokemon called for Pinkie Pie.
"Did you find one, Slurpuff?!" Pinkie dashed over.
"Slur!" Slurpuff nodded as it pointed its stubbly little arms over at the lake. There was possibly a stone down there.
"The lake huh? Well, your nose is never wrong." Pinkie held her breath in, ready to dive in as she jumped up into the air.
"Hold on, Pinkie." Twilight used her magic to grab Pinkie Pie's tail, stopping her movements. "You don't need to head in there at all. There's an even better way to interact with the water."
"There is?"
"Mhm. Your Spinda knows Secret Power, right?"
"Yeah!" Pinkie nodded.
"And you already know that Secret Power can work differently based on the location?"
"...Uhh..." Pinkie thought for a moment. "No, not really. Wait, how does that work?"
"Secret Power can allow a Pokemon to interact with the environment around them in various ways depending on where they are. And this lake over here definitely counts." Twilight explains. "So, you can use your Spinda to manipulate the water and possibly bring the stone out."
"Oooh...Alright then. Spinda!"
"Spin!" Spinda popped out of Pinkie Pie's mane since she hangs around there a lot.
"Use Secret Power on the lake."
"Da!" The Spot Panda Pokemon hopped off her trainer's head, looking over at the body of water. "Spin..." By concentrating all of her power into one spot, a pinkish aura surrounded Spinda's body.
Secret Power was capable of interacting with the water for sure, but not in the way Twilight and Pinkie were expecting. They were expecting Spinda to raise the water, but instead, she summoned some opalescent bubbles that rose into the air. It was beautiful for sure, but it didn't bring anything out.
"Hmm..." Pinkie squinted her eyes. "I don't see anything. Just a bunch of pretty-looking bubbles."
"Spinda." Spinda returned the bubbles to the lake.
"Strange. I thought that would work for sure." Twilight scratched her mane in confusion.
"Oh, no. You're thinking of Nature's Power, my little pony." Forrest replied.
"Nature's Power?" Twilight and Pinkie turned to him.
"Right. It's a bit different from Secret Power. The move is exactly what it sounds like. Using the power of nature itself. That's what's gonna help you really control the water itself." He explained.
"Oh, I see. Does your Spinda know Nature Power, Pinkie?" Twilight asked.
"Nope. Not that I know of anyway." Pinkie shook her head.
"Spinda can't learn Nature Power. Only Grass and Water-Types can. Sorry."
"In that case...we'll have to head underwater after all." Twilight used her magic to conjure up the spell that allows anyone to breathe underwater for about 20 minutes as purple magic aura's surrounded Pinkie, Forrest and the Pokemon. "Please don't let there be any Sharpedo's..." She was hoping.
Back with Team Rocket, they were still making a getaway from Rarity, Skye and Applejack. Jessie, James and Meowth are unnaturally fast. Probably due to all the times they've been pursuing Ash and his Pikachu.
"Leavanny! String Shot!" Rarity commanded.
"Van!" One of Rarity's Leavanny's used their string to try and grab Team Rocket. It managed to latch onto Meowth's tail, cutting the movements of the Scratch Cat Pokemon.
"Gotcha!" Rarity grinned.
"Not for long!" Meowth cackled. He easily broke free of Leavanny's thick string by using Scratch to do so. "See ya later!"
"Leavan?!" Leavanny gasped.
It looked like Team Rocket would get away until Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy noticed the trio making a run for it whilst escaping the rest of their friends.
"Hey!" Rainbow Dash quickly averted her attention to Team Rocket, forgetting about the stones completely. She made a tiny little shockwave once she dashed downwards.
"Hm? Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy heard the shockwave travel through her ears. She recognized it as Rainbow Dash's since she's the only pony to do that constantly.
The sound of something moving at high speeds could be heard through Team Rocket's ears. They weren't exactly sure what was causing it.
"Huh?" Meowth turned around, spotting Rainbow Dash who was closing in. "EEK! JE-" Before he could warn his teammates, Rainbow Dash crashed into all three of them at the same time, leaving behind a large smoke cloud. The Moon Stone they had stolen had even fallen out of their possession.
The smoke cleared as Rainbow Dash was on top of Jessie. "Gotcha!"
"Ugh! Get off me you multicoloured maned menace!" Jessie kicked Rainbow Dash in the stomach, forcing the pegasus off her before getting back up.
"Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?!" Applejack ran over.
It took Rainbow Dash interfering for them to catch up to Team Rocket.
"Alright, Team Rocket! Return that Moon Stone!" Rarity demanded.
"Hmph! You wish we would!" Jessie retorted. "We're gonna make the boss one happy trainer once he gets a bunch of fully-evolved Pokemon for free without the hassle!"
"Plus it's Equestria-Made so that ups the value!" Meowth giggled.
"All this for one guy?" Applejack facehoofed.
"Gatcha come on!" Team Rocket called for the Rocket Prize Master Gatcha Machine.
"PELL! Along came Pelliper as always, dropping the Gatcha machine from above. It almost crushed Rainbow Dash if she didn't fly back.
"Set!" James put Meowth's charm inside of the machine whilst Jessie turned the crank. Two Team Rocket Poke Balls were dispensed out of the machine for temporary use.
"Who's it gonna be?" Jessie picked up the Team Rocket Poke Ball, sending out the Snow Land Pokemon Froslass.
"Fros!"
"Out you come!" For James, he ended up getting the Lightning Pokemon Jolteon.
"Jolteon!"
"In that case...Come out, Braviary!" Rainbow Dash had chosen Braviary to deal with this.
"Viary!"
"Not so fast. Blizzard!" Jessie had made sure that Rainbow Dash wouldn't get the chance to do anything.
"Froslass!" The Snow Land Pokemon summoned a horrible beam of wind that took up most of the area that they all stood on.
This move was actually bad news for most of the Pokemon here. More specifically, Braviary, Grovyle and Leavanny as they all took a super-effective hit from it. But what's worse is that Froslass's ice can reach -60 degrees Fahrenheit when it goes all out. As such, it can freeze its opponents in a matter of seconds. Specifically, the ones who are weak to ice.
And that's exactly what happened to the Pokemon. They had been frozen. Along with the ponies and Skye.
"Too bad so sad! Jolteon! Grab the stone!" James commanded.
"Jolt!" The Lightning Pokemon dashed over at high speeds, picking up the Moon Stone with its mouth.
"Buh-bye!" All three of them said as they ran off laughing.
"Team Rocket..." Rainbow Dash strained.
"G-Grovyle...Dragon Breath!" Applejack commanded whilst speaking through the ice.
"Vyle..." The Wood Gecko Pokemon could barely move his limbs and body. But he could still pull off Dragon Breath, even when encased in ice.
A blue and purple light glowed inside of the ice as Grovyle let out a mighty roar filled with draconic energy. Draconic fire was hot enough to melt ice instantly thankfully. Grovyle was the first to break free from the ice.
"Gro!" He then turned to his friends, using Dragon Breath on their icy prisons as well, freeing them.
Once they were released, they could feel a chill run through their bodies as they were shaking uncontrollably.
Whilst the pursuit for Team Rocket continued, underwater, Twilight, Forrest and Pinkie were still searching for a possible Evolution Stone. They had to get it over with since there are only 15 minutes left with the spell.
"See anything yet?" Twilight asked.
"Nope. Just a bunch of Water-Types" Pinkie shook her head. Whilst gazing at the endless sea, she noticed a Bruxish come to her. "Oh, hello there. Are you gonna help us find the stone?"
"Brux." Bruxish had its signature beguiling grin that it always carries with it. But that same grin is what fools everyone who comes across the Gnash Teeth Pokemon.
After all, those teeth are strong and sharp enough to even fend off Mareanie's heavily lethal spikes. Not even a Shellder's shell is a match for this Water-Psychic-Type.
Thankfully, they're not mischievous Pokemon in the slightest. At times, they assist those in the sea. Which is exactly what this Bruxish was here to do.
"Xish." The Gnash Teeth Pokemon knew where to find an Evolution Stone. Two actually. The Water-Psychic-Type had looked back at Pinkie Pie, giving her the indication that she should follow along. Bruxish's gesture was fairly easy to read.
"OH, you do!" Pinkie gasped. "Twilight! Forrest! Over here!" She swam along with her Slurpuff and Spinda, following the Gnash Teeth Pokemon.
"Hm? Pinkie, wait!" Twilight and her Pokemon did the same along with Forrest. Hopefully, they would finally find some stones in this lake.
Bruxish led them to a small cave where those two specific stones resided. Once they got there, the stones had been revealed to be two Water Stones.
"Aha! Water Stones!" Forrest pointed out.
"Really? Great find, uh...whatever your Pokemon name is." Pinkie thanked Bruxish.
"Bruxish." The Gnash Teeth Pokemon gave her name to Pinkie Pie.
"Bruxish. Got it." Pinkie Pie swam over to the cave picking up the two Water Stones with her hooves.
"Now, let's go. I think I heard a Sharpedo nearby." Twilight gulped. She had developed a fear of Sharpedo's over the past few months. Then again, a lot of ponies have.
All three of them and their Pokemon made their way back to the surface, completely unaware of the whole Team Rocket situation that was ongoing. But at least they got some Water Stones for whichever Pokemon are compatible with them.
Ash and Pikachu had gathered up a Fire Stone, Shiny Stone and Dawn Stone for the past few minutes. They made some pretty good progress.
"That's good." Ash bounced the Shiny Stone in his hands. "I think we've cleared up this area, buddy."
"Pikachu." The Electric Mouse Pokemon nodded.
Whilst they continued searching for some more stones, the two came across Twilight, Pinkie and Forrest who were soaking wet from being underwater.
"Oh. Did you guys find some?" Ash asked the drenched trio.
"Sure did. Ta-dah!" Pinkie showed off the Water Stones.
"At the cost of our warmth..." Twilight was freezing a bit. Going underwater while it was winter wasn't exactly the wisest move.
"We're sure to evolve the rest of the Pokemon here in no time." Forrest nodded.
"Pikachu." From the corner of Pikachu's ear, he heard some footsteps nearby. "Pika?" He assumed it would be the rest of his friends, but that was far from the case.
Nearby, Team Rocket could be seen dashing away with the Moon Stone. They had already lost Applejack and the others with ease thanks to their absurd running speed.
"Team Rocket?!" Ash gasped.
"PiPi-Pikachu?!"
"Hm?" Jessie screeched on the ground as her teammates all came to screeching halt. "Twerp!"
"What are you guys up to this time?!" Twilight exclaimed
"Espeon!"
"Mind your own business, Twerp and Twerpette! What we do is Team Rocket classified!" Jessie crossed her arms.
"Is that a Moon Stone?" Ash noticed that Jolteon had the Moon Stone in its possession.
"Don't mind us! Just giving this to the boss!" James grinned.
"Hang on a sec! The twerp's got a lot more on him!" Meowth pointed out Ash's possession of more than one stone.
"You're right! A bonus steal! Jolteon! Double Edge!" James commanded.
"Jol!" Jolteon spat the Moon Stone out of his mouth as he set his sights on his fellow Electric-Type "Teon!" The Lightning Pokemon had bolted forward with an outline white light surrounding his body.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Ash had quickly retaliated, initiating a Pokemon Battle.
"Pika!" Pikachu left behind a trail of white lines with his own afterimages as he as well rushed over to his opposing Electric-Type.
Both Pikachu and Jolteon had butted heads, entering a clash. They had a small struggle until the two of them pushed each other back.
Due to Ash and Pikachu grabbing the attention of Team Rocket, that gave Rainbow Dash and the others enough time to catch up to the trio.
"There they are!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Eh? Geeh!" Meowth squealed. "Ponies at 12 o'clock!"
"Already?!" Jessie gasped. We'll just freeze them again! Froslass! Blizzard!"
"Lass..." Froslass was prepared to immobilize all of them for the second time in a row. But Applejack wasn't having any of that.
"Push it back with Dragon Breath, Grovyle!"
"Gro!" The Grass-Type held his breath in, building up all that latent draconic energy that he posses. Both Pokemon had unleashed their attacks with Dragon Breath clashing against a large chilling wind. They cancelled each other since Grovyle's Dragon Breath is much stronger than a normal one.
"Leavanny! String Shot on the Moon Stone!"
Leavann!" Leavanny had used her string to grab the Moon Stone from Jessie's hands, retrieving it with success.
"Huh?! Hey!" Jessie looked at her hand, realizing that the stone was gone. "Give back what we stole from you! Froslass! Ice Shard!"
"Fros!" The Snow Land Pokemon summoned a chunk of ice with a flash-freeze faster than anypony could see coming. The shard struck both Grovyle and Leavanny, forcing them to the ground.
"Braviary! Aerial Ace!"
"Brav!" By swooping in from above, Braviary had slashed his wings past Froslass whilst flying by.
"Ash! Grab the Moon Stone!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"Right!" Ash ran over, picking up the Moon Stone from the ground.
"I'll be taking that! Thank you very much!" Meowth had jumped over Ash, snatching the evolution stone before Ash could reach the Moon Stone himself.
The rest of the stones that Ash had in his possession wouldn't stay safe and undetected for long. Jessie had decided to take all of those stones from him.
"Froslass! Blizzard!" Yet again, the Snow Land Pokemon summoned a devastating wind of ice that spun around like a hurricane.
"Pikachu! Use Iron Tail to block it!"
"Chu-Pika!" Getting creative, Pikachu had ironized his tail, using the Steel-Types advantage over Ice as a means of defence. Once he put his tail up, the iron had easily absorbed the Blizzard, protecting Pikachu from any damage.
However, that didn't stop it from freezing someone else. And that someone ended up being both Minccy and Vulpix.
"Vul?!"
"Minccino?!"
Completely frozen solid out of nowhere.
"Ah! Minccy! Vulpix!" Twilight gasped.
"This is getting redundant now. Leavanny! X Scissor on Froslass!"
"Grovyle! Leaf Blade on Jolteon!"
Both Applejack and Rarity had decided to put an end to this once and for all. Both of their Pokemon charged forward with the strongest moves they had on them at the moment.
"Jolteon! Double Edge!"
"Froslass!" Ice Beam!"
Jolteon forced himself towards his opponents whilst Froslass stood from afar, conjuring up a chilling beam of ice. The Lightning Pokemon connected with Grovyle's arms whilst Leavanny's X Scissor had clashed with the beam, trying to push it back. Twilight went up to her Pokemon, trying to find a way of thawing them out.
"Vulpix! Try using Incinerate!"
"Vul..." The Fox Pokemon attempted to break free by melting the ice. But unfortunately, he wasn't as strong as Grovyle to perform it.
Ash had already found a solution to Twilight's problem in the form of the stones that he held. It was surely one effective way to break her Pokemon free.
"Twilight! Use these!" Ash tossed the Fire Stone and Shiny Stone over to his alicorn friend as an assist. "Put them near Vulpix and Minccino!"
"Alright!" Twilight nodded. She did exactly that. By placing the Fire Stone and Shiny Stone near her two partners, she was hoping that this would free them from their chilling prison.
And indeed it did with style. The stones reacted to the two Pokemon, emanating a blazing hot red and dazzling star-like shine. Everyone stopped what they were doing as they noticed the lights going off near Twilight.
All of a sudden, nine fireballs had materialized out of thin air, circling Vulpix as they were shaped like a 9. For Minccy, the star-like lights moved around like angel wings, wrapped the ice prison that encased her.
It was a beautiful sight to behold honestly. It was so beautiful that even Team Rocket couldn't help but gaze at it. The way it looked could only mean one thing.
Evolution.
Both Minccy and Vulpix were no longer their young, small baby forms. In a few seconds, they had become the better versions of themselves as a pillar of fire melted the ice whilst the stars shattered them.
Ninetales and Cinccino were here.
"Ninetales!"
"Cinccino!
"OH!" Twilight's eyes widened as she was in awe of what had just happened. Obviously, taking our her Pokedex was the next logical thing to do as she scanned her newly evolved partners.
"Ninetales. The Fox Pokemon. According to an enduring legend, 9 noble saints were united and reincarnated as this Pokemon. It has nine long tails and fur that gleams gold. It is said to live for 1,000 years. Ninetales are highly intelligent—it can understand human speech and each of its tails is loaded with supernatural powers."
"Cinccino. The Scarf Pokemon. The white parts of its coat are covered in an oil secreted from its body that helps it deflect attacks, such as punches. For people troubled by bad skin, this oil is an effective treatment. The oil fetches a high price at market."
"Oh, finally!" Pinkie squeed.
"That's another successful evolution today!" Skye exclaimed.
"Alright! Ninetales! Minccy! Let's see what you can do now. Use Incinerate and Aqua Tail on Jolteon and Froslass!"
They had something better in store. Upon evolving, both of them had learned some new moves they could use.
For the newly evolved Cinccino, it was Tri Attack. By summoning a ball of yellow electric energy, light blue ice energy and orange fire energy. As was the nature of Tri Attack. Three simultaneous attacks of three elements had been fired with Minccy's strongest move so far.
As for Ninetales, the move he had learned was none other than Mystical Fire. By breathing gently, the Fox Pokemon exhaled a special fire filled with mystical energy. Despite how gentle Ninetales breathed it, the attack itself was insanely destructive. It had the same power as a rocket going off as a red-orange stream of flames tore through the grass itself.
"Ah! Froslass! Use Ice Beam!" Jessie gasped.
"Jolteon! Discharge!" So did James.
The two Team Rocket owned Pokemon retaliated with their own ranged attacks, however, due to the rush of evolution granting a Pokemon immense power for a few minutes, Tri Attack and Mystical Fire had easily overpowered the opposing ranged attacks without any issue.
Tri Attack had hit Jolteon whilst Mystical Fire engulfed Froslass. The aftermath of both attacks hitting their marks resulted in an explosion of Magical fire, normal fire, ice and electric energy that blew Jolteon and Froslass back as they crashed into their temporary trainers at top speeds. The resulting crash sent Team Rocket into their usual airborne state.
"Done in by stones!" Jessie growled.
"Totally blown." James sighed.
"Looks like the boss is yet again gonna be alone." Meowth bit his tail.
"WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"
"Wobbuffet!"
Off they went as usual. Into the sky as a twinkle.
"Phew. Glad that's over with." Applejack sat down.
"Minccy! Ninetales! You two finally evolved! That's great! And you learned Tri Attack and Mystical Fire!" Twilight went over to hug her newly evolved partners. Once she did, she could suddenly hear Ninetales speak to her telepathically. After all, the Pokedex did say it has supernatural powers. "Ninetales...did you...speak to me?"
"Nine." The Fox Pokemon nodded.
"Talk about a huge success, huh?" Ash said.
"Pikachu!"
"A double success. We've got some stones that are finally gonna evolve every Pokemon here in the valley." Forrest responded. "That saves up a lot of trouble. Could you imagine if we never thought of searching for new ones here?"
"Please...I don't even wanna think about it." Skye held her head.
They all laughed, celebrating their small victory along with the inclusion of two newly evolved members to the group. Now all of Twilight's Pokemon that were present with her had reached their final evolutions.
But, it wasn't over yet. They retrieved some more stones laying around the valley since the number they had so far wasn't enough. Eventually, after 23 minutes, the gang had gathered up enough evolution stones for most of the Pokemon here.
Returning to the Pokemon, it was time to let them all evolve finally. They've been waiting for this for so long and now their wish shall be granted.
"Alright! Everyone scatter!" Forrest tossed all the stones in the air as they scattered across the ground. All the Pokemon ran over to the stones they were compatible with, out of excitement.
Once they did, constant chain reactions went off with various evolution appearances. For the Pokemon who were compatible with the Moon Stone, the symbol of a crescent moon flashed around them or lifted them as a platform.
For the Ice Stone, pillars of ice or even an overly large snowflake. Point is, it was beautiful to look at. Now a large majority of them had reached their final forms.
From Wigglytuff to Simipour to even the slightly ominous Chandelure.
With their work done here, Ash and the others had decided to head back home. They still had Hearth's Warming and Christmas preparations to finish up after all. But of course, they gave their farewells to Forrest and Skye.
"Thanks so much for helping us out you guys." Forrest thanked them.
"No problem. Glad you got your little problem solved." Ash replied.
"Pikachu."
"Hope that you can find some more stones for the rest of the Pokemon here. And the ones that come after." Fluttershy said.
"We will. But uh...we might have to venture past the valley if we wanna find some more." Skye scratched her hair.
"Well, if you ever need some help with that, you can come by over to Ponyville and we'll be there," Twilight reassured.
After that, they all waved goodbye to the twins and the fully evolved Pokemon, leaving Evolution Valley, in all its radiative glory.
With two of Twilight's Pokemon reaching their final evolutions and the solution to Evolution Valley's stone problem, new areas across Equestria that involve Pokemon are constantly being revealed with others waiting to be discovered out there as the journey continues.
There lies an entire island made primarily of ice structures. And on that island exists at home and a workshop in the shape of a Christmas Tree, belonging to one certain individual.
A being made entirely out of mystical energy that predates billions of years in the past when the Mew's were going extinct. In countless universes, this one entity always exists no matter what with some exceptions here and there. He goes by one name.
Santa Claus. Or Father Christmas if you wish to be formal.
Over at his workshop, he was already preparing for this upcoming Christmas. There were only 3 hours left until it was time to go. Once that clock hits 9:00, it's off to deliver presents to everyone in the entire world in 4 hours before 0:00. It would seem like an impossible task, but his sleigh is capable of moving 0.5% the speed of light.
"Let's see." He went over the list of people and Pokemon who would be getting presents. "This year's something special. Not sure why though."
This year's list was fairly interesting. Ever since the two worlds crossed, Santa now placed all of his attention on the second world that connects to his. He wasn't able to interact with Equestria and beyond once he learned about Hearth's Warming, but now this year he can. And he's already selected some pretty neat presents that he knows they'll love.
However, that would mean that his sleigh would have to go faster than it normally does. Despite how amazing it may be, it has a limit. It can only go up to 650 miles per second. And no more than that.
"Hm...That'll be tricky..." He stroked his majestic white beard. "But, nothing I can't accomplish. Now, let's see who's been the best this year."
By looking over the absurdly long list he owned that had the name of every individual that exists currently, even those that have passed away, he noticed one name that has been constantly on the top at all times.
"Ah. Why am I not surprised? Ash Ketchum." Santa looked over at Ash's name as it had a golden outline. This has happened before. Twenty-four times in fact.
Ash is constantly there for one reason. Every day, every week, and every month, he is constantly helping others with his gift of courage and happiness for all whom he encounters. Whether it's a human, Pokemon and lately, ponies. Let alone how many times he saved the worlds. It's no wonder why he's always on the list.
"Now then. What about the other side?” Santa goes through the list of ponies, griffins, dragons, and so on. There were many options regarding the other world. It wasn't as huge as the Pokemon World since the number of humans and Pokemon that live there is just comically large, but it was still a hefty amount.
A few names that stuck out from Equestria were obviously the Mane 6 themselves. From Twilight Sparkle to Fluttershy. These 6 caught Santa's eye since he knows they're another one of Ash's close friends.
Most of the ponies from Equestria were on here if not all of them. Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor, Babs Seed, Snips, Snails, Trixie and so on.
For Griffonstone, the Griffons had just recently ended up on the list. Before, Santa didn't know if he would add them, but after what Pinkie and Rainbow Dash did to change them, they won a spot.
The dragons as well. As a result of Ember becoming the new Dragon Lord, drastic changes were made. Truly, Twilight and her friends also change the world around them as much as Ash does.
Obviously, there were a lot of bad eggs here and there. Especially the changeling's Father Christmas knew about. However, there was a changeling which was an exception.
Santa had gone over every single individual in the span of a few minutes. His reading speed was something to awe at as he could process information faster than a supercomputer. So it doesn't matter how large a population is, he can know the name of everyone out there in a short amount of time.
"Now, for the tricky part... How do I get my sleigh to break its speed limit?" He thought for some time. He knew he could deliver every single present on time no problem. But getting his sleigh to improve on its usual speed would prove to be a bit of a challenge.
Every present for every human, Pokemon and pony out there had already been made thanks to his helpers who were all Jynx. A countless amount of them, not just a select few.
"I know!" Santa had a stroke of brilliance. "I'll just have to evolve my Ponyta! Of course! Rapidash travels much faster anyway. Alright! Jynx!"
He called for all of his little helpers. The Jynx's turned to their boss, responding to his call.
"Jynx?" They collectively said.
"Pack those presents up. I'll be leaving soon. Let's make some faces smile alright?"
"JYNX!"
Eventually, 9:00 had struck. It was time to go to work. Santa had already evolved his Ponyta into a Rapidash so he was ready to break past his usual speed limit. With a Pokemon like Rapidash, he'll be able to cover both worlds before they wake up.
As for the presents, it's abnormal how he's able to fit so many of them in one sack. The sack wasn't even that large. A guitar could fit in there and cover the whole thing. But somehow, in some way, he could fit over a billion inside. Possibly even a trillion. How could he do it?
Well, there was actually a reason behind it. Santa's magic is just that special.
"Alright, Rapidash!" He got on his sleigh. "We've got a lot to do this year. We're focusing on two worlds this time. And we might even do the same thing next year. You ready?"
"Rapidash!" The Fire Horse Pokemon was more than ready. Due to him evolving, he was psyched.
"Then let's go!" Santa raised his arms in the air.
"Dash!" Off they went. To do what they usually do, but multiplied this time. Ponyville, Sinnoh, Griffonstone, Galar, every location in both worlds will be visited by the embodiment of Christmas itself.
However, the ponies had no idea who this Santa Claus individual was. Nor did they know he even existed. No human has even brought him up. Until now.
Pallet Town. 21:02.
In just 2 minutes, Santa had arrived at Pallet Town with ease. And he only just left his workshop at the North Pole too. Coming across Ash's home, there wasn't a chimney that he could go through since Pallet Town doesn't have many chimney's. So, it was right through the front door.
But instead of just casually opening it by turning the doorknob, Santa had used magic to open it instead. His magic can be very convenient most of the time.
Inside of Ash's home, the entire interior had been Christmas themed already with the obviously huge Christmas tree right in the corner. The entire house wasn't too small. A good number of presents can fit perfectly inside.
Santa strolled his way over to the tree without making any sound whatsoever. By enchanting his feet, he made himself completely silent, so that no one could hear him arrive.
That would be the case, if two individuals, in particular, wasn't awake at the moment. Ash and Pikachu, both receiving a glass of water, had noticed the cheerful old man standing by their Christmas tree with gifts.
"Oh. Santa?" Ash rubbed his eye. "You're here early."
"Pika?"
"Ash, my boy." Santa greeted. "Don't mind me. Just leaving these behind." He placed his presents beside Ash's tree. Each of them was for him, Pikachu, Delia and his Pokemon. All of his Pokemon. From Professor Oak's lab to the ones he currently has on hand. And of course, he'll head out there and find some of Ash's released Pokemon as well.
Before finishing up, he realized that he was missing a few. "Oh...something's not right here."
"Deli!" Santa's Delibird held the remaining presents in his hands, giving it to his trainer.
"Ah. There we go. Thanks, Delibird." Santa had finished up on Ash's house by delivering the final gift. "Well, that's done with."
"Alright." Ash yawned. "Thanks for the presents..."
"No problem, Ash my boy." Santa dusted his gloves. "Now then...should I head over to that second world right now or should I finish up in this world?" He looked outside the window, spotting the gateway to Ponyville.
"You're giving presents to the other world too?" Ash asked.
"Pikachu?"
"Right. After all, since two worlds have crossed over, I thought it would be nice to give out some presents to the inhabitants of that world. I bet they have their own version of Santa there."
"Actually they don't," Ash answered.
"They don't?!" Santa gasped as his beard was shaking.
"Nah. I asked Twilight if she had some sort of mystical gift-giver that comes around during Hearth's Warming Eve. But she said no. They just get presents from all their friends and family. I don't even think they know of you.
"Hm. That's a shocker. Well...it'll be their first time getting some presents from me. Perhaps I should remain a mystery to them. That would actually be interesting."
"Really? Wouldn't it be better if they knew you were real?"
"Oh, indeed it would. But remember, Ash. You're one of the very few people who know that I truly exist. My presence is continuously a timeless enigma."
"Enigma?"
"Mhm. You see, people and Pokemon across the world, even species in other universes continue to debate about my existence. Am I just truly a being in reality or just a concept? It's that ongoing dialect that continues to fuel me. As long as people believe in me, I shall always be here."
"Oh...I get it now."
"Pikachu."
"Exactly. So once I enter that world, my body will let out apparition waves that'll give the ponies the vision and knowledge of me and my name. And after that, they'll debate as well whether I'm real or not."
"Is that what you always do to let people know about you?"
"Pika?"
"Oh, no. I have no control over it. It just happens."
"Alright. Well, I'm going back to bed. See you next year." Ash walked off to his room.
"Pika-Pika."
"Have a jolly Christmas Ash." Santa waved goodbye to Ash, preparing to leave to the next house. He decided to finish up on Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh first, then he'll head over to the other world.
He cleared all 4 regions in 7 minutes with his speedy Rapidash. Santa's Rapidash was actually the fastest of all Rapidash's but not that many know that part about it. They just believe it's just an average Rapidash.
Although, they're completely unaware of the fact that he was no longer a Ponyta at all.
Once he finished up with all 4 regions, it was finally time for him to set foot into the second world. Arriving back at Pallet Town, he looked over at the gateway to Ponyville, prepared to enter for the very first time.
After all, he's never been to this world before. But he does know about every single being that lives there due to his mystical abilities. Santa's magic truly is like no other.
He passed through the gateway, feeling the sensation of planewalking for the very first time. It was an odd feeling for sure. And once his foot touched the ground, pulse waves had spread across the entire world in 3 billionths of a second, affecting every living creature here.
Now all of Equestria and beyond has been ingrained the knowledge of this mysterious human.
Over at Twilight's castle, she had actually woken up from the sudden shock.
"Mrrgh...?" Twilight grumbled, rubbing her eye as she stood up from her bed. The pulse waves could still be felt through her body, giving her an odd sensation. The young alicorn looked outside the window to see what could've possibly caused that.
And there he was. Santa Claus with his newly evolved Rapidash. The jolly old man held his sack, heading to the first house in Ponyville. That being Amethyst Star's home.
"What the...?" Twilight uttered. She continued to watch the mysterious human as she noticed how he used magic to teleport inside of Amethyst's home. Santa has multiple ways of entering. Whether it's teleportation or just manipulating the doors itself etc. Twilight squinted her eyes, spotting presents inside of the sack. There was a tiny little gap that made it visible to her.
In just 5 seconds, he had finished giving Amethyst her presents, leaving her home. It was off to the next one and after that, all of Equestria.
Twilight wasn't sure what she was looking at the moment. This mysterious human had just used magic. Similar magic that even unicorns can perform. This was her first time seeing something like that.
The closest she's seen to a human using magic was Ash and his Aura. But Aura isn't magic, it's just a natural life force. But this was indeed magic. From the way it sparkled and how it had a mist-like appearance.
Once Santa finished up with a good chunk of everypony's homes, he went straight for Twilight's castle. This is where the young alicorn was put on high alert.
What does she do? Is this human a threat possibly? He just entered someones home without even knocking and came out 5 seconds later.
But he had a sack full of presents, a Delibird and a Rapidash as well so perhaps he might be a friendly individual. Twilight couldn't exactly decide. After all, this was her first time seeing Santa. And now he was coming straight for her castle.
The Princess of Friendship moved away from the window, lighting her horn up with magic. She could tell her Pokemon to wake up and prepare themselves. And even warn Starlight, Spike, Cocoa, Rosestar and Nyx as well.
But before she knew it, she heard a zap sound inside of the castle. Santa had arrived inside.
The jolly old man looked over the interior of Twilight's castle, seeing how it's been decorated for Hearth's Warming. The ponies and their holiday wasn't too distinct from Christmas. They shared a lot in common really. The only major difference is that they don't have a mystical gift-giver that comes around every year to give presents.
"Okay. Twilight Sparkle. Spike. Starlight Glimmer, Nyx, Cocoa and Rosestar." Santa spoke. His voice had reached Twilight's ears, causing the young alicorn to freeze for a moment. How did he know the names of her and her friends?
"One for Ninetales, Cinccino, Espeon and all the Pokemon at PokePark." He even knew about Twilight's current Pokemon team and the PokePark itself. What's more bizarre to Twilight was that Ninetales and Cinccino had evolved in the afternoon, not too long ago. This was all so perplexing to her. Has he been stalking her?
"I'll just leave these over here." The spirit of Christmas left behind a gigantic amount of presents for Twilight and her friends. And that was the end of that. He was gone from the castle, heading off to finish the rest of Ponyville.
Twilight ran out of her room, seeing how he had brought some presents for her and just up and left. Every single present was for everypony who lived here along with the Pokemon in PokePark. Piles of presents could be seen filling up the corner of the castle.
The young alicorn was left speechless, not sure what to think of all of this. She was tired, it's 9:10 pm and midnight had yet to arrive. She wanted to know what that was all about, but she didn't have the energy to do so.
However, she did find a tiny strand of Santa's beard on the floor. The one clue of him left behind. She picked it up with her magic as she noticed it had a mystical aura around it. That aura was weak but noticeable. Why this aura showed up now was a total mystery to her. Just like Santa himself.
She kept the strand of hair inside of a plastic bag for tomorrow. That way, she'll be able to follow up on all of this in the morning. For now, it was best to get some sleep.
The morning had arrived. Santa finished his job incredibly quickly before midnight arrived. In fact, he finished at 11:00. A new record.
Once both worlds had woken up, they were beyond excited. Just yesterday, they had gone through their usual pageants before Hearth's Warming, with Canterlot always having the largest one. And now, they could look forward to the gifts their friends and family brought them.
But little did they know, some of them didn't come from the ones they love. But the Embodiment of Christmas.
And speaking of Christmas, over at the Pokemon World, resounding joy was being repeated constantly. The humans and Pokemon always look forward to Christmas day when they wake up. Depending on where they are in the world. They've gone through this before so it's the same old stuff but still fun.
For both sides, this was also the day where they would get to hang out with their friends and family, go ice skating, decorate some unpleasant-looking Christmas sweaters to see who can make the most obnoxious yet wholesome one, kiss under the mistletoe or even see a play.
But the biggest one was the lighting ceremony. At the Pokemon World, every Christmas, a huge tree that surpasses even skyscrapers is lit up with dozens of lights exclusively at night time.
Whenever the lights appear on the tree it symbolizes the light of Arceus. Since the humans have bonded with the ponies, they figured that they should be allowed to see the beauty of the lighting ceremony. It's truly something special when one sees it.
At Ash's home, he had already woken up, jumping out of his bed with his best buddy. "Alright! Christmas day is here!"
"Pikachu!"
"Santa left a lot of this time. Wonder why?" Ash looked over at the abundance of presents. There were more than last time.
"Isn't it obvious? Every time you catch a new Pokemon, the number of presents go up." Delia explained.
"Oh, right." Ash laughed nervously.
"Pikapi..."
"By the way, Ash. I've managed to sort something out for your pony friends."
"You have? What is it?"
"You said yesterday that Sweetie Belle pony wanted you to stay over at their world, but you also wanted to spend time here instead. So, I figured that we do an hour on hour swap."
"Hour on hour swap?" Ash scratched his hair.
"Right! I had a small little chat with that friend of yours named Rarity, and we've decided to swap worlds every 2 hours. Your friends will come over and spend Christmas with us whilst we head over to their world and spend Hearth's Warming with them. And we repeat the swap until the day ends."
"Ahh... I get it! That way we'll get the best of both worlds!"
"Pika!"
"My old friends will be coming over soon. Run along now and enjoy your Christmas!"
"Alright! Let's see what we've got here!" He opened up his first batch of presents out of joy. The first gift he got was a red shirt that could go well with the outfit Rarity made for him.
The second was a special Poke Ball that could not only glow in the dark but also heat food like some sort of weird microwave. And as a bonus, Ash was given a brand new hat. Although he's happy with Rarity's hat, he might decide to switch it up here and there.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu wanted only one thing for Christmas. He used Iron Tail to open up his gift as it was revealed to be the object he loves more than anything.
A bottle of ketchup.
That's all he wanted. And it made him happy anyways.
"Pika!" Pikachu held the bottle of ketchup like it was a doll, rolling around with it.
"You guys gotta see this too." Ash sent out his Pokemon as they had presents of their own.
For Gengar, he was given an illusion ring that allows him to not only cast various unique illusions but also duplicate himself multiple times. Gengar can't actually cause illusions surprisingly. The best he can do is hide in people's shadows and send chills around 10 degrees Fahrenheit. So this ring was essentially an extra boost.
Dragonite, who was outside was given a colossal Ash plush to hug. Since Dragonite loves Ash more than anything, it was only right that the Dragon Pokemon had a gigantic plush of its favourite person. Although, the plush was a bit too big since Dragonite was outside with it. But then again, an enormous gift is deserving of an enormous Pokemon.
Farfetch'd was gifted a punching bag to further develop his training. He wasn't really a Pokemon who asked for too much. He just wanted to get stronger.
And speaking of Pokemon who wanted to get stronger, Riolu had his own present. It came in the form of a Lucario outfit, plus a Mega Lucario outfit as well.
As they all continued to open up the presents, Delia figured that it was time for Mimey to send over the rest of Ash's Pokemon their presents.
"Mimey. Could you go with Ash and give the Pokemon their presents?"
"Mime!" Mr Mime nodded.
"Ash," Delia called for him.
"No need to worry!" Ash stood up. "I'm already on it! Gengar. Everyone. Think you could stay here for a while?"
"Gar!" Gengar nodded along with the rest of Ash's Pokemon.
Over at Ponyille, the ponies had already begun opening the presents, excited to see what their loved ones brought them. Little did they know that some gifts here are from a single individual.
All of Twilight's friends had gathered over at her castle to open presents together. The young alicorn was still stuck on what she saw last night and how it surprised her.
"Sweet Celestia! Who got me this?!" Rainbow Dash unwrapped her present. It was a huge TV screen that came from the human world. Something she wasn't expecting at all.
"Is that what humans call a television?" Fluttershy flew up to Rainbow Dash. "It's a bit overwhelming."
"Did you get me this Rarity?"
"No." She shook her head. " I didn't even consider anything like that."
"Well, whoever got it for me, thanks!" Rainbow Dash grinned. "But, uh... how do you turn this thing on?"
"What do we have here?" Applejack opened up one present belonging to her next. This gift in the particular was actually a blessing. For so long, Applejack has been trying to replace Big Mac's saggy old plough. But she never really got the chance to do so, nor has she able to purchase one.
But not anymore. This was perfect for her big brother. "Oh! Finally!" Applejack jumped up for joy. "Big Mac won't have anything to worry about it anymore!"
"Ooh! But wait." Apple Bloom pulled back. "Shouldn't this have been delivered to Big Mac instead?"
"Hm. Yeah, it should." The earth pony narrowed her eyes. "Ah, at least we got it. Big Mac's gonna love this!"
The others continued to open up their remaining presents. Fluttershy had received a certain grass flute that plays a song specifically for Pokemon to calm them down. Pinkie Pie was self-explanatory. Party themed gifts everywhere.
Twilight, however, wasn't feeling the urge to open up any gifts. Instead, it was all about the human she saw use magic. Rarity went up to her friend who used to be a unicorn like her once, waving her hoof up and down in her face.
"Twilight, darling?"
"Hm?" The young alicorn had snapped out of it.
"Are you alright? You seem a bit lost in another world." Spike asked.
"I'm fine. Really." Twilight nodded. It's just that... I'm still trying to figure out who that human was?"
"What human?" Rainbow Dash unwrapped another one of her gifts, turning to Twilight.
"Last night, I saw a human use magic." Twilight got straight to the point. That certainly grabbed everypony's attention as they stopped unwrapping their presents.
"A human using magic?" Rarity uttered. "Twilight. Is the cold getting to you?"
"No, Rarity. I saw it with my own two eyes. He could perform magic like us. And this wasn't Aura or some Psychic trainer's abilities."
"Ah, this isn't the first time we've seen a human use magic." Pinkie swayed her hoof. "Remember the Shrine Maidens?"
"Yes. But they were using weapons that had Fairy magic on them. This human did it on his own without help."
"You're really stuck on this, huh? Please don't tell me you're gonna be like this all Hearth's Warming." Rainbow was getting worried.
"Nope." Twilight shook her head. "I'm still going to enjoy Hearth's Warming with you all. It's just that one thing that's taken my interest. In fact, I'm so intrigued that I'm keeping this." She brought out the plastic bag that had a bit of Santa's hair inside.
"...A piece of hair?" Starlight raised an eyebrow.
"Belonging to the mysterious human. Look closely. It has an aura to it." The young alicorn showed off the piece of hair to all of her friends. Now they had all gotten a good look at this mystical aura that surrounded Santa's hair.
They could all see how it had a red and green glow around it that was constantly flashing. But it wasn't just the sight of the beard that was mesmerizing. With all of their faces close up to the strand of hair, something had gone through their ears.
Listening carefully, they could hear bells ringing along with an unexpected laugh that went Ho-Ho-Ho. Now they as well understood Twilight's interest in this.
"What did this magical human look like exactly?" Rarity questioned.
"What did he look like?" Twilight dug deep in her mind, trying to remember the exact appearance of this human. "Well, he was pretty rotund. He had a white beard with a red coat and trousers, a white fur collar, gloves and cuffs, black boots and a hat. That's pretty much-"
"Hold on!" Pinkie suddenly stopped Twilight. "Are you talking about the guy in my dream?! Are you a psychic Twilight?!" Pinkie gasped.
"Actually, he was in my dream as well." Rarity pointed her hoof at herself.
"Mine too."Fluttershy nodded. "And I think I heard that same laugh. Ho-Ho-Ho, right?"
"Wait...you all saw him in your dreams?" Twilight looked at her friends.
"Mhm." Apple Bloom stood up." I think we got his name too. It was uh..."
"Santa or something like that?" Scootaloo spoke.
"Santa Claus! That's what it was!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"Santa, huh? I guess I'm not the only one who knows about this guy." Twilight giggled. "But I wonder how he managed to deliver most of these presents in such a short amount of time."
"Deliver? You mean it was him who gave me this?" Rainbow looked over at her TV. "Sweet!"
"It wasn't just you all. I think he's done it for everypony here in Ponyville. I can safely say that right now, everypony's about to get a gift they weren't expecting at all."
"Speaking of which, don't you wanna open yours already?" Spike whispered to her.
"Hm?" It took that one whisper to make Twilight realize that she was lagging behind. "Oh, right!"
As the young alicorn went off to open her own presents, another alicorn came along. One who was currently living in Twilight's Castle.
Nyx. Along with the company of Cocoa and Rosestar.
"You've all started opening already, I see," Nyx spoke.
"Nyx. I believe this belongs to you." Twilight brought over Nyx's present.
"Oh. Thank you, mom."
"What?"
"NOTHING!" Nyx quickly shouted, startling everypony. She had a nervous grin, trying not to reveal her relationship with Twilight from her world.
"A-Alright." Twilight stammered.
"Did I tell you girls about the Hour on Hour swap we'll be doing?" Rarity brought it up. She quickly explained it to her friends of how it'll end up benefiting both worlds. A pretty fair trade, honestly.
Meanwhile, at Canterlot.
Celestia, Luna and Pyrestar looked over at their presents that laid beside the throne room. Compared to everypony else, the three of them had the biggest presents of them all.
"Sister. I didn't know you went above and beyond this year. Usually, you only gift me two presents." Luna commented.
"I did gift you two presents. I'm not sure where the rest of these come from?" Celestia replied. She went up to her own presents, seeing how she had over 12 of them. More than she usually gets. Normally, it's only on her birthday that this many presents can be seen.
"I haven't had Hearth's Warming in so long..." Pyrestar mumbled. "I forgot how great of a feeling this all was..." She felt at peace with all of this. For centuries her world has been a constant struggle. But this world was capable of removing all of those worries in a flash.
"Kir?" Passion picked up her present. She was hoping that she would get what she wished for. By using her psychic mind to open the present, it was revealed to be a mini-replica of Celestia's crown. Made specifically for foals. But it was just the right size to fit the Emotion Pokemon.
"Darkrai. Won't you open your presents?" Luna looked over to her partner, who was lurking in the corner. Unsurprisingly, Darkrai had earned some presents due to his good deeds despite what he's cursed to do forever. Cause nightmares.
"I'll do it later." The Pitch Black Pokemon crossed his arms.
"Suit yourself."
With the students of Hollow, they had decorated the classroom for Hearth's Warming. Hollow had brought along Jewel as per a request from the little foals. To make it here whilst also having Christmas in their world, the two opened up their presents faster than normal.
"Who sent me another Z ring?" Hollow held his gift. It was the Dragon Z-Ring. Something he already owned due to him taking part in the Island trials years ago.
"Oooh! What's that Mr Hollow?" Sapphire went up to the ring.
"A Z-Ring. Ah, I shouldn't really spoil you kids about it. I was planning on showing off mine in a later lesson.
"Aw, we wanna know what it is."Sunrise sighed as he was here with his older brother Daylight.
"Gonna have to wait until next year." He grinned, placing the Z-Ring in his pocket.
Enough time had passed. The normal amount of time it takes for someone to finish opening their presents is around 10 minutes at least. Mostly due to how fast the young ones move.
Ash's Pokemon had all gotten gifts that would make them satisfied for years to come. Bayleef received something similar to what Dragonite got, but on a smaller scale. An Ash plush, but it was the same size as her.
Hawlucha was given some brand new wrestling suits. Straight from Alola, Unova, Hoenn and Galar.
Heracross's gift ended up being a bulb he could suck on for months. Not only was that a great present for the Single Horn Pokemon, but Bulbasaur as well.
It wasn't just them obviously. Goh, Professor Oak, Cerise, Chloe and more had received their own gifts.
Goh had obtained a replacement Pokedex for him to use. Ever since Manaphy destroyed his original one back at the Crystal Empire, all his progress had been wiped out.
He had to get a new Pokedex and re-scan all the Pokemon he's caught. But with this replacement dex, not only did it come as a backup, but it also had Goh's original research data with every single Pokemon he's scanned so far. Lucky break.
The time for the Hour on Hour Swap had arrived. First, it shall be Pallet Town. Where the shades of journey's awaits.
Twilight and her friends passed through the gateway as Ash and Goh were right outside of the Ketchum Household, admiring Dragonite's gift.
"A huge Ash plush, huh..." Goh squinted his eyes.
"Yeah. Guess Dragonite really wanted some like this." Ash chuckled.
"Pika..."
"Dra!"
"Hi, Ash! Pikachu! Goh! Raboot! Sobble! Dragonite! Super big Ash plush." Pinkie greeted. She paused for a second to spot the gigantic gift made out of the fabric known as pile. She could see how huggable it was. Pinkie felt compelled to hug it, but it was Dragonite's gift. Although, it was difficult to resist.
"You made it!" Delia opened the door. "Hope you're all ready for the Hour to Hour swap. Let's enjoy both holidays while they last!"
"This is gonna be so fun! I wonder what Christmas is even like?" Sweetie Belle grinned.
"You'll see." Ash ate a chocolate sweet. "Mmm."
Delia's old friends had come over as expected for Christmas. The Ketchum Household might get a bit occupied and crowded with all these visitors.
"Ooh! Is that little Ash?" A cheery friend of Delia ran over. "Look at how much you've grown!"
"Eeugh!" Ash pulled back.
Delia's cheery friend had grabbed Ash's face, squeezing his cheeks and nose. "You look just like that elusive father of yours when he was young! I could just eat you up, you're so cute! Although you still look a bit younger than you should."
"Urrgh..." Ash groaned. "Thanks..."
"Pikachu."
"And are these your pony friends? They're just as adorable!" She went over to Rainbow Dash, grabbing the pegasus's ears. "Why, I would've mistaken you for a Pokemon if I wasn't aware of your world."
"Ghhh..." Rainbow Dash grimaced.
"Sorry about my friend here. She's very chummy." Delia laughed.
"Come on in. There's a lot to do!" Delia had invited every last one of them indoors. The only ones who stayed outside were the Pokemon. But that was because they had their own plans this Christmas and Hearth's Warming.
Indoors, whilst everyone chats away, Twilight could feel something pass her by. This odd feeling was similar to that of the mysterious man who came to Ponyville last night. AKA Santa. She wasn't sure why this happening. Why she could feel his presence all of a sudden.
The young alicorn looked outside of the window to see the man himself standing there with his Rapidash. Her eyes widened as this was the last thing she was expecting.
However, it was quickly revealed to be a semblance of him. Just an apparition and illusion. Although, it really looked like he was actually there.
Twilight didn't think too much about it. She was just here to enjoy some quality time with friends.
"How about we watch an old classic!" Delia's sassy friend stood up from the table. "The Yuletide Herdier!" She showed off a Christmas movie about a Herdier.
"Again...?" Her shy friend groaned. "I'm not sure I want another run of it."
"That's fine. Besides, the ponies could watch it."
"Us? Watch a movie?" Twilight looked up.
"Oh. Do you not have movies over at your world?" Delia asked.
"Well, I just got a TV for a present today. So Nah. Never seen one. But we've been to Pokestar Studios and made movies of our own." "Rainbow replied.
"Then you're in luck. This movie's gonna keep you busy for a loooong time." The sassy friend turned on Delia's TV as she placed the tape inside of her old VHS player.
There is a first time for everything. Watching a movie for the first time is one of those. The ponies all glued their eyes to the television, wondering what could be in store for them once it starts.
Outside with the Pokemon, the shenanigans they got up to went a little something like this.
Pikachu, who was still holding onto his ketchup bottle, not wanting to let go for a second, had noticed something coming this way up the hill. By squinting his eyes, it looked like a giant snowball was rolling down at top speed all of a sudden.
"Pika?!"
By looking closely at the enormous snowball, Pikachu identified that Pinkie Pie's Spinda was inside the ball of snow. How she got herself into that mess in a short amount of time was unknown to Pikachu.
But what was known was that the impact could be devastating if Spinda keeps rolling.
"Spin-Spin-Spinda!" The Spot Panda Pokemon wailed each time she rolled down the hill.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu called for the others, warning them about the approaching snowball that looked large enough to cover an entire house.
Pikachu attempted to stop the snowball by using Thunderbolt. 100,000 volts of electricity would be enough, but Spinda had kicked up an unusually large amount of snow to the point where it reached a thickness of 451 inches. So Thunderbolt did nothing.
"Pika?!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon gasped as he quickly turned around to try to evade Spinda. Unfortunately, the snowball was too wide, so he was caught up in it as well.
Raboot and the others made their own attempts to stop the snowball. The Rabbit Pokemon tried an Ember but even that didn't work.
Eve thought that lifting it with her mind would work. But it didn't. It was way too heavy and thick.
Leavanny had a brilliant idea of using her String Shot to catch it. But snow cannot be affected by bug strings, sadly. So that failed as well.
Everything they tried was ultimately unsuccessful.
However, Dragonite was the one Pokemon in the entire group that had the power to stop the snowball. Unfortunately, the Dragon Pokemon was too busy with its Ash plush to even notice. Oh, well.
Eventually, they had all been absorbed by the snowball. Now Spinda had her friends along for the ride. Wherever the snowballs heads now is a mystery. It'll go where the wind takes it.
"Nite?" Dragonite looked around to see that Pikachu and the others were nowhere to be found. The Dragon Pokemon assumed they had gone off somewhere as an adventure. Back to hugging the Ash plush.
The Pokemon were all screaming as their faces continuously hit the snowy ground which each rollover and over again. It wasn't showing any signs of stopping as it left a trail along the way.
"E-Esp!" Eve gasped for air, poking her head out of the snow. "Espeon!" She decided to use Dazzling Gleam as a method of escaping. That could work.
And it did actually work. By channelling her Fairy magic, Eve had blown the huge snowball into bits. Although, she's still unable to control that much power. So as a result, it had blown all of her friends' sky high into the air.
Eve had also fainted since Dazzling Gleam tends to do that to her. She has a long way to go before she can control something that powerful.
But on the bright side, multiple rainbows could be seen in the skies as they swirled around in different directions.
"Look at that mom!" A little girl pointed up at the rainbows. It was a beautiful spectacle to behold.
Braviary being the resilient Pokemon that he was, quickly recovered in the air, aiming to save his friends. He used Aerial Ace to swoop in, catching Pikachu, Eve and Minccy on his back.
Altaria did the same. By using her cotton wings, she safely rescued Spinda, Flaaffy, Castform and Raboot.
As for the others, it was up to Leavanny. By spreading multiple threads from String Shot, she was able to grab The CMC's Pokemon, Fluttershy's Audino and Chikorita, Goh's Sobble and everyone else by herself.
She was Rarity's strongest Leavanny for a reason. Her string is the thickest out of all 12 of her brothers and sisters.
Gengar could save himself since he was a ghost after all. No problem whatsoever. All of them returned to ground level, catching their breath. That could've gotten ugly quick.
"Pika...Pikachu." Pikachu let out a sigh of relief. They all did. Minus Spinda since it's impossible for her to get tired. In fact, she was feeling like doing it again since it was so much fun.
"Spin! Spinda!" Spinda asked her friends if it would be okay if they did it again. This time she promises not to go overboard.
They all looked at each other, wondering if it was a good idea at all since the last one sent them flying.
"Nine. Ninetales." Ninetales had decided that as long as they keep a good eye on the troublesome Spot Panda Pokemon, it'll be okay. He seemed to be a fairly good voice of reason here
They all collectively agreed. It was a little bit fun when they were moving around. The rush of moving at top speeds was something to enjoy.
So, they did it again. By returning to Pallet Town, each of the Pokemon climbed up the hill Spinda had come down from originally.
"Pony!" Ponyta dug his face in the snow, not sure how to properly start rolling down.
"Dino. Audino." Audino had gladly shown the Pokemon who didn't know how to start snowball rolls. By using their wings, paws, claws, hooves and whatever limbs they all own, huge piles of snow had been gathered.
The party made their own snowballs as they collectively entered inside of them. Now they just relax and go along for the ride.
Back at Ponyville, Team Rocket had just recovered from being blasted off since yesterday. They were freezing due to all of this snow falling. The trio returned to Zecora's Hut to catch some warmth, hopefully.
Their mentor Zecora had been expecting them since their break had finally come to an end.
"I see that your break has reached its end. Come inside. You'll need all the warmth you can get." Zecora said.
"Thanks..." James sneezed.
She helped her apprentices get warm as they were huddled up in a corner.
"I must ask why you continue to steal from those two?" Zecora was referring to Ash and Pikachu. "Do they possess something that you are just constantly drawn to?"
"Ugh..." Jessie rubbed her nose. "It's all for the boss."
"Mhm." James nodded. "That Pikachu's one of a kind. The boss wants a rare and powerful Pokemon after all."
"And he's definitely one of them. It packs quite a punch. Mostly to us." Meowth sighed.
"Wobbuffet."
"One of a kind you say? I understand he's powerful but every day?" Zecora chuckled. "You have been doing this for 24 years, quite some time. Are you sure that this one Pikachu is really worth all this nonstop crime?"
"Team Rocket sticks to their guts no matter what!" The trio said with confidence.
Zecora smiled at that. She knew there was no convincing them to change their minds about catching Pikachu. They are what they are. Perhaps one day, they'll change drastically. But for now, Zecora can rest easy knowing that she has some fairly impressive apprentices who are also skilled in rhyming such as her.
As a show of gratitude, Zecora herself had even prepared presents for the troublesome trio. They deserve some at times.
Back at Pallet Town, the group had a swap over once 2 hours had passed. Ash and Goh hung out with the ponies in their world along with Delia's friends. The movie they had just watched had just come to an end since it was 2 hours as well.
Fluttershy was a personal fan of it as she wouldn't stop talking about her favourite parts in the movie. Which was all of them. Applejack felt like protecting Winona at all costs after watching it. She's already dedicated her life to protecting her family, but after that Herdier movie, her urge was greater than before.
Ash got a taste of some Hearth's Warming foods. He almost choked on a lot of them since they were so new to him.
Dragonite saw how badly Pinkie wanted to hug the Ash plush. So out of generosity, Dragonite allowed the pink pony to hug it all she likes.
Ash tested out his special Poke Ball to see what it could really do. There were instructions on the back telling him to heat something with it. He placed it near Nyx who was freezing and it worked like a charm. She had felt a nice warmth run through her body.
Twilight received a special Pokemon book that was actually a huge help. It contained further and higher knowledge of the Pokemon World, including the Legends and Myths. She needed this for their Jirachi search. Perhaps, this book can help them find Jirachi quicker.
Rainbow returned to Cloudsdale to see how this TV thing worked. Normally, it would physically impossible for it to work in the sky since it would need a source for the plug to go in.
Except, Santa found a way around it. He is magical after all. So essentially, she could use it whilst in the sky. All she had to do was place the screen on her wall. A perfect view to read and watch.
They continuously did 2-hour swaps from each of their worlds, hanging around, watching even more movies, eating whatever food they could stuff in their mouths, testing out their presents, some pretty neat ice skating near Saddle Lake etcetera.
Eventually, enough time had passed to the point where the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony could begin. There was one huge tree in the Pokemon World for every region to see.
But for Equestria, they wouldn't be exempt from this. Ben had decided to bring along a second tree for all of Equestria to see. It was going to be something they wouldn't forget for sure.
The tree had been placed at Canterlot since that's where things get busy. And thankfully, the tree was so large that no matter where you are in Equestria, you'll be able to see it. From Ponyville to Yak-Yakistan.
With the night sky gracing both worlds, every species out there gathered around to see the lights.
There was a moment of anticipation. Mostly for the ponies. This would be their first-ever lighting ceremony experience.
They didn't have to wait any longer as the time had come. With a countdown going from 3, 2, 1, the lights had revealed themselves.
With a sudden flash, a gentle and flattering array of lights had gleam with all the colours that exist in the world. The way they showed up was similar to that of the sun coming over the horizon as the Christmas star on top shined brighter than anything else here.
The golden star sparkled across both worlds. It shimmered the lands and glimmered the skies. No matter what part of the world they were in, these lights were impossible to miss with all their luminescence.
Gazing at them gave everyone a sense of cessation and harmony. It reminded them all that despite the hardships they had gone through, despite how little the ponies may still know about Pokemon it all turned out good. The humans were constantly helping them understand Pokemon and they were building new friendships along the way. With the year reaching its end, they could rest easy.
Santa was high above the skies, looking over both worlds by travelling through the gateways. He was truly happy that so many species of all kinds could come together for this one day for 24 hours.
"Well, Rapidash. Delibird. We've got a lot more presents to deliver next year. And the year after that. I think these two worlds will surely stay together."
"Rapidash!"
"Delibird!"
"Ho-ho-ho! Off we go!"
And with that, he took his leave, returning to the North Pole to relax until Christmas and Hearth's Warming come by once more as the journey continues.
An interdimensional spatial realm filled with crystalline meteoroids. An abundance of different worlds and dimensions can be found in this unknown space that seems practically endless.
This space may seem out of bounds but it is possible to travel to Ultra Space via Ultra Wormholes. Extraneous portals with unstable energy that can only be opened up by very few sources.
Over at Ultra Space, they share landmarks and locations similar to that of Earth itself and even Equestria to an extent.
Areas such as the Ultra Deep Sea, Ultra Jungle, Desert, Crater, Ruin and Forest. And there are even more areas that are yet to be discovered.
In Ultra Space, the Ultra Beasts reside. Mysterious creatures with unexplainable abilities that even the smartest minds struggle to comprehend. Previously, four Ultra Beasts had passed through the wormholes and ended up in Equestria. Those being Nihilego, Buzzwole and two Pheromosa's.
Ever since then, it's unclear as to how many more Ultra Beasts ended up in Equestria, but at the moment, the Swords of Justice are on duty, preventing any hostile Ultra Beasts from attacking the innocent.
Ultra Desert, the home of the Pheromosa's. A vast desert landscape filled with turquoise crystals and flowing sand. Several rocky structures and monoliths can be seen scattered around the landscape as well as a small cluster of shrubs here and there.
Every day, the Pheromosa's hunt for gemstones to keep for themselves due to their braggart and egotistical personality. They're essentially the opposite of generosity.
Whenever a Pheromosa finds a gemstone, another one of its kind will come along and fight for the possession of the crystallized rock.
Because of their constant feuds for the gemstones, many Pheromosa's are only looking out for themselves and no one else.
Except for one. A Shiny Pheromosa. This particular Pheromosa was vastly different from her kind. Instead of prowling around the desert for gems and battling it out for total control, she usually sits alone on a cliff, looking out into the distance.
Why she did this was unclear to her fellow Ultra Beasts. They found it unusual as to why this one particular Pheromosa wasn't like them at all. Despite being the most beautiful one there.
The Shiny Pheromosa actually did have her own gems in her possession, but she didn't really care for them at all. What she cares about is finding out what her future will be. Living here in a desert with barely anything going on but the constant beatdowns her kind give to each other was uninteresting to the Shiny Pokemon.
She wanted to get out there and find a new purpose in her life. But she wasn't sure what she really wanted. If anything, her wishes and dreams were a mystery to even her.
"Phero..." She sighed. Even when sitting on the highest cliff in the desert, the sounds of her kind battling could be heard over and over again. It seemed like she was destined to stay here and eventually join her sisters in their usual gem hoarding and battles.
That is until an Ultra Wormhole had opened up in the Ultra Desert. With a booming sound, the dimensional hole to another world had startled the Lissome Pokemon as she almost fell off the cliff.
"Mosa?!" Pheromosa stood up, gazing directly at the wormhole that had materialized in front of her. They were most likely opened up by Team Plasma's top scientist Colress for the sake of chaos to roam across Equestria.
To Pheromosa, it was a complete mystery to her. But she felt compelled to pass through it out of curiosity. Since it was so high up, there was only one thing to do. Jump.
The Lissome Pokemon leapt from the cliff she stood on, leaving behind a tiny little shockwave along the way. She felt like this could be her chance to finally escape and find a new purpose in life.
Once Pheromosa had passed through the wormhole, the Lissome Pokemon was met with the sight of an entire nebula full of various wormholes that lead to who knows where.
Each wormhole looked distinct from each other. Some had single halos, double halos and even flower-shaped auras. Moving through Ultra Space felt like travelling at light speed for Pheromosa. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before.
She barely had any control of her body due to how Ultra Space's gravity works. Countless galaxies swarming behind her. Many astral stars lying ahead with an ever-expanding nebula. It was truly an unexplainable feeling.
Pheromosa had finally come across one unusually large wormhole. Even if she tried to move to the side, it would be impossible to avoid it. So, she decided to go through this one instead. From its rainbow-coloured aura, it looked like a fairly inviting wormhole. Pheromosa was hoping that this is where she can find a new future.
Manehattan. The sprawling urban city located on an island just smack-dab on Equestria's eastern coast.
This was Pheromosa's first destination. Once she set foot into the land of Equestria, she was now officially a Magikarp out of water. A whole new world awaits her.
When arriving at Manehattan, the nearest location was none other than the Bridleway Theather District. Manehattan's central square.
What a place to end up in. Pheromosa took in the view of Manehattan as it was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Ever since her birth, she's only ever seen dreary, flat and joyless land. Especially the sand. It was coarse, rough and it was just everywhere.
This on the other hand was much better than the Ultra Desert. From the billboards, apartments, lampposts, skyscrapers to the famous Mare Statue that stood on a lone island on its own.
"Phero...Mosa..." Like a little kid in a candy store, the Lissome Pokemon was about to go wild. For the first time, she had felt true excitement. So far, it was worth leaving her home for this.
Out of pure joy, the Ultra Beast had gone up to the first thing that really caught her interest was the theatre. Currently, they were showing Hinny of the Hills. A widely popular live musical in Bridleway.
Since she was a Pheromosa, her speed just downright stupid. Once she ran off, a powerful gust of wind had emerged, affecting any pony that happened to be nearby as some were almost blown away.
Pheromosa left behind afterimages of herself as each time she passed by something, wind pressures could be felt by everypony close to her. The Lissome Pokemon attempted to get inside but currently, the door was closed.
The Ultra Beast doesn't exactly know how doors work. At all. She's been living in a desert this entire time so the concept of entrances was non-existent to her.
She does have the power to kick the door down due to how her overwhelming strength makes up for her frail body and defence. But, because she's not a fighter like every other Pheromosa, destroying a random piece of infrastructure would be impolite.
Although she could see through the glass windows. But nopony was there at the moment. They were all too busy watching the musical at the moment.
"Mosa..." The Lissome Pokemon wondered what was beyond these glass doors. And what a musical was. Very soon, her attention quickly turned to something else.
The Manehattan jewellery store. Now there was a catch. Even though Pheromosa isn't crazy about gems like a normal Pheromosa would be, she still found them pretty to look at. If anything, gemstones were the main thing keeping her boredom from sinking low when she was in the desert.
By pressing her face on the glass, the Lissome Pokemon gawked at the selection of multicoloured rocks with their own dazzle and shine. She stared at the jewellery for a good minute until her attention went somewhere else.
With her incredible speed, Pheromosa had explored most of Manehattan in a few minutes. At the toy store, the door was wide open so the Lissome Pokemon could finally enter one of these infrastructures.
The first thing she grabbed was a huge giraffe plush. She found it to be adorable as she put her bug arms over its soft body.
"Phero."
She didn't stop with the giraffe. Other toys stole her heart but what really got her was the floor piano.
Once her foot connected with the piano due to all her rapid movements, the sound it made froze the Lissome Pokemon in her tracks. She was shocked that an unknown sound had come out of the floor that she stepped on.
Unsure of what would happen next if she took another step, Pheromosa curiously moved her foot forward on the next key. Yet again, another note came from the piano floor.
It took two sounds to get Pheromosa addicted to this. She used her speed to jump around the piano floor, creating her own music in a matter of seconds. Although it sounded abysmal it was her first time after all.
Despite Pheromosa having a lot of fun in Manehattan so far, she was completely unaware of how everypony was staring right at her.
Pheromosa isn't exactly a beloved Pokemon in Equestria. They're popular for sure, but not for the right reasons. The first Pheromosa had horribly injured Twilight and her friends and the second one did the same thing to other Pokemon under the control of Adagio.
Because of those two Pheromosa's, many ponies fear this Bug-Fighting Ultra Beast. The foals hid behind their parents while some of the pegasi who were experienced trainers kept their guard up in case Pheromosa tried anything.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa had enjoyed her time in the toy store as she decided to see what else there is.
But everywhere she went, unpleasant eyes were locked onto her by everypony there. When she arrived at the park to view the beautiful wide fields of grass and flowers along with the swan boats, ponies sent precarious gazes her way.
At the Cantering Cook, she smelt some delicious food from the famous restaurant, wondering what they would taste like. Unfortunately, once she reached the restaurant, the ponies working there had decided to close it immediately once they saw the Lissome Pokemon arriving.
Pheromosa went all over Manehattan until she was satisfied. Well, at least satisfied with this one area. She wanted to see more. Looking over the distance, she noticed that some more areas and locations had to be discovered.
Her eyes were focused on the Northeast. And what else was Northeast but Ponyville itself? That is where Pheromosa decided to head to next. While she couldn't see Ponyville, she could already tell that the mountains and hills in the distance looked promising.
With boundless energy, the Lissome Pokemon bolted off the ground, leaving Manehattan in a few seconds. Everypony let out a sigh of relief. They thought something horrible was about to happen to them due to it being the Pokemon that was infamous for giving a horrible beatdown.
Thankfully, that wasn't the case.
Ponyville, day.
It's a brand new day in Ponyville. The sun was extra bright this time, feeding the Fire and Grass Types with some healthy energy that'll get their blood pumping.
Over at Rarity's Carousel Boutique, she had just finished taking out the leftover gift wrappers from Hearth's Warming. It was an eventful combination between Christmas and Hearth's Warming that both sides wouldn't forget.
Sweetie Belle was knocked out from all the fun she had yesterday. She looked so peaceful sleeping with a few of Rarity's Leavanny and her own Pokemon.
"Aw...look at them." Rarity gushed at the sight of it. She placed a large blanket over them all, making them feel comfortable in their sleep.
There wasn't a lot to do today. Rarity felt like taking things slowly until the New year. All of her friends were busy with cleanup at the moment. So for now, it was just her. With the presents she had been given for Hearth's Warming, it's safe to say that she'll be occupied for the time being. Unbeknownst to the unicorn, there was an approaching force that many feared. Especially her best friends.
The curious Shiny Pheromosa had arrived. In just 10 minutes she had found herself in Ponyville. Along the way, she took in the landscape of Equestria and how vibrant it was. From the wide fields, forest, mountains, waterfalls, highlands, etc. This was all a huge step up from the Ultra Deserts.
And Ponyville was no exception. So far, it was the most vibrant location she's been too. Due to Ponyville being the one area that has been heavily involved with Pokemon, the scenery has been changed a bit to fit the mould of the Pokemon World. The biggest examples were the Pokemon House and Twilight's Pokemon Lab.
Pheromosa felt right at home with this town. Even if she didn't have a clue about its heavy involvement with Pokemon. And then, that's when she came across what would possibly be her all-time favourite attraction so far.
Rarity's Carousel Boutique was the first thing that caught her attention here. The way it was structured with the colour palette it had along with its Merry-go-round appearance was appealing to her eyes.
"Mosa..." Feeling compelled, Pheromosa went up to the boutique, wanting to know more about what kind of infrastructure it was. When getting close to it, her eyes locked on to the next best thing. The dresses that were made by Rarity and her Leavanny's.
By gazing at Rarity's workroom, Pheromosa got to see the materials used for the dresses, the movable screens, the display stage and the mannequins that had the dresses on them.
The way the dresses were designed were stunning enough to distract the Lissome Pokemon forever. That's when thoughts started swirling around her head. Pheromosa imagined what the dresses would look like on her. Even if they weren't built for a Pokemon of her stature.
But that wasn't the only thing that mesmerised the Ultra Beast. Rarity herself was a prize to look at. From her fabulous purple mane and tail, her dazzling blue eyes along with her appealing Cutie Mark.
To Pheromosa, this was the most beautiful pony she has ever seen. Although, she hasn't really been paying attention to the ponies at all. Only the infrastructures and attractions. But once she did, she was smitten. Looking at Rarity was like looking at a role model.
"Phero..." She had a wide smile on her face. The widest any Pheromosa in existence has ever had. They're not exactly known for their emotions. Then again, not much is known about them other than their destructive kicks and ludicrous speed.
"Lea?" One of Rarity's Leavanny's had noticed the Lissome Pokemon staring right through the window with beady eyes. Knowing how dangerous this Ultra Beast can be and how it harmed it's trainer's friends, the Nurturing Pokemon stood up, going into high alert. "Van!"
"Hm? What's wrong, Leavanny?" Rarity turned to the Bug-Grass-Type.
"Vanny!" Leavanny, being the protective Pokemon that it was, rushed outside to confront the Lissome Pokemon.
"Phero?" Pheromosa was confused as to why Leavanny was heading straight for her. Perhaps she was here to greet the Ultra Beast according to Pheromosa.
Not at all.
"A Pheromosa!?" Rarity stood up, gasping. Once she did that, Pheromosa's attention went back to the unicorn. As a show of greeting, Pheromosa waved her bug hands over at Rarity whilst also pressing her face on the glass.
"Leavanny!" The Nurturing Pokemon called out Pheromosa name, diverting her attention away from Rarity.
"Mosa?"
"Lea..." Leavanny was already prepared to defend Rarity and anypony from harm due to the presence of this highly dangerous Ultra Beast.
"Phero." Pheromosa gave her greeting to her fellow Bug-Type with a wave. However, Leavanny wasn't here to do friendly greetings.
Once Pheromosa stepped forward to try and approach the Nurturing Pokemon, Leavanny instinctively attacked in response. By summoning an Energy Ball out of thin air, Leavanny had sent the ball filled with nature's wrath forward.
"Mosa?!" Pheromosa's eyes widened, realizing that she was being attacked at the moment. Unsure of why Leavanny would be doing this, the Lissome Pokemon moved to the side as she watched Energy Ball fly off into the distance. "Phero?"
"Vanny!" This particular Leavanny was a bit of a rowdy one since all 12 of them have their own distinct personalities that go beyond dressmakers. The Nurturing Pokemon went for a String Shot in hopes of restraining Pheromosa and keeping her in one place.
The thick string had been shot from her mouth, prompting the Ultra Beast to yet again keep her distance. Normally, this would be the part where the opposing Pokemon fights back. But because Pheromosa's not that much of a fighter, all she did was avoid.
Rarity could see that this particular Pheromosa wasn't doing anything at all. All she was really doing was evading Leavanny's attacks out of instinct. A Pokemon that is known for being highly dangerous with earth-shattering kicks was behaving like a passive individual. That's when Rarity realized that attacking it wasn't the right thing to do.
"Leavanny! Wait!" Rarity quickly rushed out to stop her partner from attacking any further.
"Van!" Leavanny was just about to head in close for a Fury Cutter for an up-close and personal battle. Even though it wasn't really a battle since the other wasn't here for a fight.
"WAIT!" Rarity appeared in front of her Pokemon, prompting the Nurturing Pokemon to stop her attack.
"Lea?"
"Phero?" Pheromosa took a moment to notice that the pony she was smitten by was right in front of her.
"Leavanny. That's enough." Rarity ordered her Pokemon to cease any further action. "This Pheromosa is not dangerous nor is it hostile."
"Mosa?" Hearing that made Pheromosa glad. Her idol had just protected her from getting hit. Even though she could easily avoid the attack anyways.
By turning around to face the Lissome Pokemon, Rarity took a deep breath. "It's alright. You're not here to start any conflict, are you?"
"Pheromo." The Ultra Beast shook her head. In truth, she just wanted to experience what was inside the boutique. Her fingers pointed directly at Rarity's dresses as if she was a child wanting a toy.
"My dresses?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. "You're interested in them."
"Mosa!" The Lissome Pokemon nodded her head aggressively.
"Hm..." Rarity thought for a moment. She recalled how Ash said that every Pokemon has their own unique personality and wants. Even Ultra Beasts. A lot of them may be hostile, but some can be friendly.
The Buzzwole that came to Ponyville just to flex off his muscles was the biggest example. In fact, Buzzwole is essentially the counterpart to Pheromosa.
Which made Rarity comprehend something. If Buzzwole enjoys flexing its muscles based on its Pokedex entry, then this Pheromosa most likely dislikes touching anything unclean and only prefers beautiful objects. Hence the nickname UB-02 Beauty.
Although, from the way she was acting, she could care less about getting her hands dirty.
"Phero..." Pheromosa quickly turned her attention back to the dresses, wanting to try one so badly.
"How would you like to come inside then?" Rarity suggested.
"Phe?" With her overly-long antennas standing up in shock, the Lissome Pokemon turned her head towards her idol, wondering if she heard her correctly.
"You seem to be interested in what I have in store. If you like what you see, you're welcome to enter my boutique."
"Mosa!" Instantly agreeing, the Lissome Pokemon rushed inside of Rarity's Carousel Boutique without wasting any time. For a Pokemon that dislikes anything dirty, she sure does kick up a lot of dirt. As seen by how both Rarity and Leavanny were covered in it due to Pheromosa's sudden takeoff.
Once inside, Pheromosa felt the same sensation she did when entering Manehattan's Toy store. But amped to a million.
"Phero!" There were so many dresses to get her sterile little bug hands on. The first was Rarity's gala dress. An oldie but a goodie. Next was the dress she wore at the Garden Party. A nice shade of yellow that Pheromosa could admire.
Her current favourite was the Princess Platinum dress that Rarity wore during the Hearth's Warming Eve play. It was the only Hearth's Warming play dress that was made by her and not the organizers.
Zipping around like a lightning bolt, Pheromosa couldn't sit still for a minute. Rarity watched as Pheromosa was unable to contain herself. It was somewhat admiring to the unicorn how this seemingly dangerous Ultra Beast could act like this.
Eventually, Pheromosa's constant moving had woken Sweetie Belle and the others up. By slowly opening their eyes, they all collectively yawned.
"Mrrgh..." Sweetie Belle rubbed her eye. "That was-" Instantly, she had been cut off, unable to finish her sentence. The reason being that a blur of Pheromosa passed her by. "Huh?"
"Oh. Good morning, Sweetie Belle. You're awake in time to see our newest visitor." Rarity said.
"Newest visitor?"
"Pheromosa! Would you like to say hello to the others?" Rarity called for the Lissome Pokemon's name, prompting her to stop.
"Pheromosa... Isn't that-" Sweetie Belle took a moment to remember the name of that specific Pokemon. And before she knew it, the Lissome Pokemon was right in front of her face.
"Pheromosa!" She greeted.
"EEK!" Sweetie Belle pulled back along with her Pokemon. The rest of Rarity's Leavanny's got in front of Sweetie Belle and Rarity, ready to defend them both from the Ultra Beast. "W-Why is it here?!"
"No need to worry." Rarity casually walked up to the Lissome Pokemon. "You don't have to be afraid of this Pheromosa at all. I mean, with a colour palette such as this, who would?" She referred to Pheromosa's Shiny colours.
"Phero."
"Oh...r-really..?" Sweetie Belle gulped. All of the Leavanny's refrained from attacking. If Rarity is being chummy with this Pheromosa, then there's no need to strike.
"Mosa." Pheromosa went over to grab Rarity's Gala dress, fitting it on the unicorn in one second flat.
"Hm?" Rarity had noticed she was in her Gala dress before she even knew it. Not only does Pheromosa move fast, but it dresses fast as well.
The Lissome Pokemon then attempted putting a dress on herself. Unfortunately, her body structure doesn't match a pony's structure so she just had a dress over her head. "Phero."
"It seems you truly enjoy dresses, don't you, Pheromosa?" Rarity looked up at Pheromosa.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa nodded with the dress still covering her face. "Mosa, Mosa!"
"Then in that case. How about I whip you up something that fits your build?" She used her magic to remove the dress off of Pheromosa's head.
"Phero?" That's what Pheromosa likes to hear. Out of joy, she picked Rarity up, giving the fashionista a stiff but heartfelt hug. She would absolutely love a dress.
"Mrrph!" Rarity's eyes widened as they felt like they were about to pop out of her head.
The Leavanny's who were still a bit cautious about Pheromosa looked like they would take action. But thankfully, Flaaffy had stopped them from trying something they would end up regretting.
Pheromosa stood still for Rarity to take her measurements. The Lissome Pokemon was a fairly tall Ultra Beast. Standing at a good 5'11, easily towering over a good amount of Pokemon.
The tricky part was finding out how to work around Pheromosa's stupidly long hair that touched the floor. Not only that but her antennas got in the way as well. This would be Rarity's greatest challenge yet.
Opal yawned as she and the rest of the Pokemon watched Rarity sort out a dress for the Ultra Beast. The last thing they were expecting today was an alien from another world taking a huge interest in dresses whilst also acting like a child at the same time.
There really is something new to see when it comes to Pokemon.
After 17 minutes of organizing, Rarity had finally come up with a conclusion. "Pheromosa, darling. I'm sorry but, I can't exactly find a dress that fits you. There are just too many complications."
"Phero?" The Lissome Pokemon's heart sank. She was hoping to wear something fabulous and dazzling. But it looks like that wouldn't happen as she lowered her head.
"Terribly sorry. But in the meanwhile, you can have this as a start." Rarity found an alternative. She used her magic to bring over a ring that had a crystal inside of it. The colour was a perfect shade of green that almost resembled the Bug-Type colours.
"Mosa?"
"This crystal, in particular, caught my interest when I went searching for gemstones. It's not much but...this is all I can work with. I hope that you'll like it." She used her magic to place the ring on Pheromosa's finger. It was a perfect fit too.
"Phero..." Even though it wasn't a dress, it was still dazzling to look at according to Pheromosa. And that's all that really matters to her. Out of love, the Lissome Pokemon gave Rarity yet another fiercely affectionate hug. That tiny amount of generosity was enough to tug at Pheromosa's heartstrings.
"O-Okay! You're welcome, Pheromosa!" Rarity was struggling to breathe.
"Mosa! Pheromosa!" The Ultra Beast raised her finger as the ring reflected off the sun itself.
"It really does like fashion, huh?" Sweetie Belle went up to Rarity.
"But of course. Pokemon at the end of the day are like us all. They have their own personal tastes, dislikes, struggles and friends. And this just shows that further." Rarity nodded.
"You're right on that. So, what are you gonna do with this Pheromosa? Is it just gonna keep moving around in here?"
"Hm. Not sure. She does have a taste for all of my dresses here. Although, she can't really put anything on due to her appearance. "
"OH! I know!" Sweetie Belle sparked an idea. "Why don't you catch her?!"
"Eh?" Rarity pulled back. All of Rarity's Pokemon stood up in shock due to Sweetie Belle's suggestion.
"Don't you see? If it's a big fan of fashion, then it's the Pokemon for you! If I were you, I'd catch it in a heartbeat!" Sweetie Belle squeed.
"Catch it..." Rarity said quietly. Thinking about it for a second, Sweetie Belle was on to something. But it depends on how Pheromosa feels. The unicorn went up to the Ultra Beast who was still admiring her ring.
"Mosa!" Mo?" Pheromosa noticed how Rarity was approaching her.
"Pheromosa. Would you...like to stay with us?" Rarity asked.
Usually, it would take a Pokemon 7 seconds or more to think about this decision. But for Pheromosa it was instant. A resounding "PHERO!" came from her mouth as she agreed in a heartbeat. Being with Rarity is something she wouldn't mind at all. Her eyes flashed like stars as she nodded her head ferociously.
"Then in that case..." Rarity got out one of her Rarity Balls as a method of capturing the Ultra Beast. "In you go!"
Once the ball hit Pheromosa's head, the red light absorbed her inside. Now for the result. Which was already a predictable outcome.
1...Gotcha! Pheromosa was caught. Not even a full shake.
By walking up to the Rarity Ball, Rarity released her newly caught partner from the special Poke Ball. "I can now say that you're one of us, Pheromosa."
"Phero!" And for the third time in a row, Rarity had received a titanic but warm hug from the Lissome Pokemon. But this time, Sweetie Belle had been caught by Pheromosa's hug along with the rest of their Pokemon. Dragonite has some competition when it comes to hugs.
With an especially joyful Pheromosa joining Rarity's plethora of Pokemon, a new friendship was made that day. Whether they be creatures from unknown worlds that can be considered alien, they can still be accepted by others who are kind enough to show love and care as the journey continues.
"Ah..." Twilight came out of her castle, taking in the fresh air of a new day. From how the wind was feeling at the moment, today could end up being smooth, calm with absolutely no sign of chaos whatsoever.
If the worlds hadn't crossed over that is.
The minute Twilight and her Pokemon had reached the beautiful streets of Ponyville, she saw that many ponies, mostly the mares, were moving around in a hurry all of a sudden.
Why they were moving around so rapidly in a hurry was a complete mystery to Twilight and her Pokemon, but one of her friends could have the answer since they were doing the same thing. That being Rarity.
"Rarity? What's going on?" Twilight asked.
"I don't have time to talk right now, Twilight! Where's my lip gloss?!" Rarity yelled in a panic, rushing off to her boutique.
"Okay...?" Twilight squinted her eyes. She didn't even get an answer. Things only got more confusing when she noticed Pinkie Pie sliding in with a trombone, drumset and accordion for some reason.
Normally, it's normal stuff when involving Pinkie Pie. But this time it was different. She was doing this just because. "Gotta hurry!" The pinky pony dashed past Twilight' leading her in the dust.
"...What's wrong with those two?" Twilight was just getting lost further. "What is going on today?"
"You didn't hear the news, Twilight?" Fluttershy flew over.
"What news?"
"Apparently today, a reporter from a magazine known as Pokemon Weekly is coming over to Ponyville to do an interview." She finally gave Twilight an explanation.
"Pokemon Weekly?"
"Yes, Pokemon Weekly!" Rarity had responded to Twilight's words, rushing over. "Look!" She held a magazine in front of Twilight's face, showing her what Pokemon Weekly was about. "It's a widely circulated publication involving both Pokemon and trainers. It features hot new moves, the latest gossip and the one I'm personally interested in, Miss Pokemon!"
"Miss Pokemon?"
"It is the magazine of my dreams!" Rarity squeed.
"Oh wow...that's...huh." Twilight shifted her eyes left to right.
"Amazing? I know! Now I have to go! I'm wasting precious time!" Rarity dashed off.
"I'm honestly surprised that Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are interested in this." Fluttershy suddenly said.
"Rainbow Dash? She cares about this too?" Twilight turned to Fluttershy.
"Well, she wants to become the best trainer in the Equestria after all. So it makes sense that any opportunity to get her name out there would be perfect to grab."
"I suppose so. It does sound somewhat interesting." Twilight nodded. "What about you, Fluttershy? Oh, wait. It's not that interesting to you is it?"
"Actually...I am a bit interested in it." Fluttershy blushed a small bit. "I'm hoping to have the Pokemon House gain more traction. After all, I hear some foals are interested in helping out with the house. It'll be so great having more helpers come by every day."
"Oh. So it gives you opportunities too?"
"Mhm. I can't wait until his arrival. Come on, Audi." Fluttershy had left to return home.
"Audino!"
"This Pokemon Weekly thing has everypony acting a bit differently, huh...?"
"Espeon." Eve nodded.
"Well, I'm sure it'll last a bit." Twilight shrugged it off, not thinking too much about it.
Little did she know how wild Pokemon Weekly interviews get. For the Pokemon World, these interviews are just normal business. But since Equestria's never experienced them before, everything will spiral out of control.
One hour passed. But that was enough time for the reporter to finally arrive. Ash and Goh stood near Town Hall, curious about why most of the ponies here looked like they were anticipating something big. Big Mac had told them everything so they got an understanding.
"Oh, it's that what is, huh?" Ash commented.
"Pika?"
"Eeyup." He nodded.
"I didn't think this small town would be so interested in something like this." Goh scratched his head.
"Well, not everything is what it seems most of the time Goh." Ash laughed.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu had spotted the reporter arriving north. You could tell he was a reporter due to that grin he had on his face that just screams getting up close and personal for some information. Fittingly, he had a Chatot on his shoulder.
"Oh! Hellooooo Ponyville!" His voice was as loud as a reporter as it grabbed the attention of everypony here.
"Chatot! Hello Ponyville!" His Chatot mimicked him.
"I've been waiting for this moment!" He took off like a rocket, dashing to the first pony he saw. Which was none other than Mayor Mare. "Being here at the Ponyville! You're the mayor, right?!"
"Yes. That's me." Mayor Mare nodded.
"Great to be here at this town! My name's Eli!" He grabbed her hoof, shaking it aggressively. "I'm looking forward to seeing all the radical ponies here!"
"Tot! Radical!"
"Radical, eh? What a saying..." Mayor Mare chuckled.
"Who's the guy yelling all crazy-like?" Starlight questioned Twilight.
"I think...that's the reporter," Twilight answered. "Eli, he said his name was."
"Huh...Well, he sure has a personality, doesn't he?" Starlight laughed nervously.
"I've been wanting to learn all about the ponies from day one, but too many complications came up! I've heard a lot of stuff about this town and I just had to come here first!" He pumped his fists up and down,
"Chat! Come here first!"
"Oh. So this is your first time visiting our world?"
"You betcha! And I wanna know what's up with those things on your flanks!" He pulled out his camera, aiming it directly at Mayor Mare's Cutie Mark.
"These? Why they're our Cutie Marks. They essentially set everypony apart from each other, making us all unique. Everypony's Cutie Mark is special in their own ways. It helps to show just what their talents are and at times our proclivity.
"OOH! That's so radical!" He began taking pictures of her Cutie Mark. "A personality defining mark! What a find!"
"Chat! What a find!"
"Explore Ponyville as much as you want, Mr Eli. It's a nice starting town for those new to our world."
"Will do, can do!" Eli took off, ready to interview other ponies. He set his sights on one pony he recognized by name. That being Rarity.
The unicorn was standing there with a brand new dress on. She really prepared herself for this since she personally knows how reporters act.
"Oooh! Talk about a real beauty of a pony!" Eli gawked at Rarity's appearance. "Radical and beautiful!
"Oh, why thank you." Rarity flipped her mane.
"Perfect shade of white!" He started taking pictures of her, zipping around the place at light speeds. "Silky smooth hair and tail! Azure blue eyes! That's the look of a model right here! What's your name, my little pony?!"
"Tot! Look of a model!"
"How sweet. My name is Rarity, thank you for asking."
"Rarity? Oh, I've heard of you!" Eli gasped.
"Have you now?"
"Yeah! You and your six friends are some of the most popular ponies around! I've been waiting to meet one of you for long! It's an honour!"
"Chatot! An honour!"
"Well, I'm truly flattered. If you want, the rest of my friends are located right here in Ponyville."
"Oh! All of them?! The Mane 6?!" Eli stood up.
"Mane 6?" Rarity found that word to be new to her.
"That's what everyone over at my world calls your friends. Mane 6. It's a nice little play on Main and how the six of you are the most popular ponies!"
"Tot! Most popular ponies!"
"Hm. I quite like the sound of that." Rarity nodded.
"Wait...what about me?" Starlight pointed her hoof at herself whilst Twilight let out a little giggle.
"So that horn of yours. Is it true that it can do magic?!"
"Correct. All unicorns are capable of magic thanks to our wonderful horns. You won't believe how useful they are in certain situations."
"Radical! I've only ever seen magic with Fairy-Types! Never pony magic!" He took pictures of her horn. So far Rarity was getting the most attention out of the reporter. "Can you do spells? You've got spells, right?! If so how many?!"
"Of course I perform spells. But if you want to know of a pony who is truly versatile in a multitude of spells, look no further than my dear friend, Twilight over there." Rarity pointed her hoof at Twilight, making her visible to the eccentric reporter.
"Huh?" Twilight's eyes widened, realizing that she had been spotted. Judging by how hyper Eli is, the young alicorn was a bit nervous about how this would go.
Eli took a moment to pause, examining Twilight's appearance. He noticed how she had both horns and wings at the same time. That's a pretty radical combo according to him.
"Oh, you're one the princesses!" Eli ran over, appearing in front of Twilight in one second flat. "Horn and wings!"
"Uh...H-Hi..." Twilight said nervously. "Curse you Rarity for getting me caught up in this..."
"Princess Twilight Sparkle, right?! This is my first time seeing a proper princess!" He started taking pictures at rapid speeds, getting every side of Twilight. "So what are you called if you have both wings and horns? A super-unicorn? Unicorn 2.0? Unicorn Prime?!"
"Well...I'm actually an Alicorn. A mixture of a unicorn, pegasus and earth pony. But I used to be a unicorn once." Twilight explained.
"Oooh! So you evolved like a Pokemon?!"
"You could say that...I had to earn my status as an alicorn by working hard alongside all of my friends and solving friendship problems."
"Wait, that's how it's done?" Starlight turned to Twilight.
"Mhm." Twilight nodded.
"So what kind of spells can you do?! What's your favourite?! Why's your horn so long?! Is your entire family's last name Sparkle?! If so then what is Rarity's family name?! Can you be born an alicorn?!"
"Uh, hold on! You're asking a lot of questions too fast!" Twilight tried to slow him down.
"Ah, sorry, sorry! I'm just so excited! This is my first time experiencing this world after all! Everything about it so far is so radical from the colours to the way the sun shines! Oh, that sun is extra shiny!"
"That would be Princess Celestia's doing. She raises the sun while her younger sister Princess Luna raises the moon." Starlight explained.
"Hold on..." Eli's jaw dropped. "There are ponies who can control the sun and the moon...? This day just keeps getting better and better! Could you show me a tour of this entire town while I take pictures and write notes?"
"Love to!" Along came Pinkie Pie with her instruments. By hearing Eli's request, she was more than ready to give the reporter a tour.
"Ah! Pinkie Pie is it?!"
"Yeah! How'd you know?"
"That pink appearance of yours gave me a wild guess. I can't believe I'm getting to meet each of the Mane 6 one by one in just a few minutes! Can this day get any better?!" He grinned.
"Well come along with us! You're gonna love Ponyville! There's a lot to see! Right, Twilight?"
"It's a small town, but sure. There is a lot. Ash can even help. He's the one human who's been here the most. Right, Ash?" Similar to what Rarity did, Twilight had made the reporter aware of Ash.
"Sure. I can do that." Ash nodded. "Human to human."
"Pika."
"Oh! Ash Ketchum!" The reporter's attention quickly went to Ash and his Pikachu. "Champion of Alola?!"
"Yeah, that's me. Guess there are still some people who remember that, huh?"
"That's right! I even hear you made a name for yourself in this world! Ash Ketchum the Hero and Pikachu the Noble, right? Such lucky names!"
"Oh yeah. We did get that, didn't we Pikachu?" Ash just remembered those nicknames that Celestia gave both of them.
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Princess, ponies and champions all in one day! Radical! And the day hasn't even ended yet! But, Ash. I need to ask you something. Why is it that you're more popular in this world than our own? Even more than your champion status."
"No idea. But I know one thing's for sure. When I become a Pokemon Master, everyone's gonna be shouting my name someday across the world!"
"Pikachu!"
"That's the kind of determination I love to see! So come on! Show me around this place more!"
"Tot! Show me around!"
Starting his tour, Eli was shown SugarCube Corner first. Getting to experience food from another world was already getting him psyched up like crazy.
"Pony exclusive food?!" Eli went up to the table with a huge selection of food. Mostly leftovers from Hearth's Warming.
"Try one." Pinkie held a Cindercake in his face.
The reporter and his Chatot took a bite out of the custom cupcake, getting a good taste of its specially made warmth that was meant to counteract the cold.
"Mmm! Feels like a fireplace! Tasty and warm!"
"Chatot! Tasty and warm!"
"My he sure has an eccentric personality, doesn't he?" Mrs Cake said to her husband.
"Is it really surprising to see somepony with that personality nowadays?" Mr Cake was referring to Pinkie Pie.
"This'll gain great traction from my world when I tell everyone about this SugarCube Corner place." Eli wrote down information about SugarCube Corner.
Hearing that made Pinkie, Mr and Mrs Cake shoot up in shock. From what he said, it sounded like SugarCube Corner was about to gain more customers that weren't just limited to ponies from now on.
"Y-You mean...humans will be coming over here more often?" Mrs Cake stammered.
"Well, yeah. I'm also kind of a promoter in a sense. If I like something I'll let everyone else know about it and see if it piques their interest too. That way, they'll decide if it's also radical!"
"Human customers..." The Cake family thought for a moment. They could see it now. How many other humans could enjoy all that they have to offer. SugarCube Corner might be going big soon.
"What's next?!" Eli stood up, eager to continue.
Next, he visited Sweet Apple Acres, interviewing the Apple Family plus Cold Colt
"Oh! So you founded Ponyville?!" Eli spoke to Granny Smith.
"Better believe it. Had to collect new seeds while selling the old to make a living." Granny Smith replied.
"Radical! I can't believe I'm talking to the founder herself!" He began taking pictures of the old pony. No matter who or what they are, he'll take pictures either way. He truly loved his job and was dedicated to it.
"Chat! Founder!" And so did his Chatot who was always by his side.
The third area in Ponyville ended up being Twilight's Castle plus her lab. There was a lot to see here this time.
"So this thing entire castle came from a tree?!" He started taking pictures of the castle, getting every spot. "That's just as interesting as the Kingdom of the Vale's castle! So radical!"
"Kingdom of the Vale. That takes me back." Ash said.
"At first, I wasn't too fond of this castle in the beginning. I kept trying my best to avoid it. But thanks to my friends, I decided to make new memories here and-" Twilight went on about her experience with the castle, but was quickly cut off when Eli snapped his attention to something else.
"Another alicorn!" He had spotted Nyx, mesmerised by her tall stature. "And a pretty tall one too! Let me-" Eli dashed over to the alternate universe alicorn like he does with everyone, but this time, Nyx had stopped him by using her magic to lift the reporter.
"Who are you?" She narrowed her eyes at the reporter.
"I'm being held up by actual pony magic! Radical!"
"Uh, Nyx. He's just a reporter here to interview and take pictures." Twilight went up to her fellow alicorn.
"Oh," Nyx placed the reporter down, giving him something new to write about.
"Sorry. He gets a bit elated over practically everything." Twilight chuckled.
"Which is why he is the perfect reporter Twilight," said Rarity. "It takes an immense amount of hard work and dedication to be able to write for a magazine. More than you can imagine."
"Does it though...?" Goh wasn't too sure about that.
"What's with all the noise?" Spike came through a door, wondering who was doing all that shouting.
And just like Twilight said, Eli gets elated over everything. Once he saw Spike, there was a new target to interview. He could immediately tell he was a dragon. No matter what universe you may be in, you can tell what a dragon looks like.
"Oooh! This world has its own dragons?!" Eli lunged over at the baby dragon.
"Eeugh!" Spike winced as he fell on his back, unsure as to why this random human is coming at him like a wild animal.
"It looks so much more different from our world's dragons!" He took pictures of Spike. "Definitely the shortest dragon I've ever seen!"
"Twilight...who is this guy?" Spike asked.
"Just a reporter Spike. Don't worry about it." Twilight sighed.
"Hm?" Eli noticed the room where Spike came out of. The throne room was now in his sights. And the first thing inside of the room that caught his attention was the Cutie Map. Likewise, he rushed inside. "What's this?!"
"This is our throne room." Twilight went up to him. "The map you see here is the Cutie Map. It reacts to our Cutie Marks for a friendship problem. It's a perfect replica of Equestria, so the map always tells us where we need to go."
"Magic maps?! Radical! I don't even think we have that in our world! At least I haven't checked." Eli snapped his camera at the Cutie Map.
"How long is this guy gonna be here for?" Starlight asked.
"Long enough, Starlight." Rarity placed her hoof on her fellow unicorn's neck. "Long enough.
Thus began a series of interviews on practically everypony in Ponyville. Eli didn't waste any time whatsoever. He managed to interview every single member in Ponyville.
"So, Big Macintosh. I asked if you were the strongest physically here. And you said Eeyup. What a way to respond! I haven't heard that since I went to the countryside to visit grandma! Radical!"
"Diamond Tiara. Your father actually shares the same name as your actual wealth. Really? Talk about a lucky destiny!"
"So DJ-Pon3. Is it true you have vampire eyes beyond those glasses? No comment? What a scoop of a mystery!"
"So you're known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders and you share identical Cutie marks?! I didn't even know that could happen! These marks are so radical!"
"So Pinkie Pie. Why are you pink?"
"Because I'm always happy!" Pinkie squeed.
It didn't 'stop at just Ponyville, he even dashed over to the Everfree Forest, completely evading every threat there until he reached Zecora. And of course, he interviewed her as well."
"So you always speak in rhymes?! Holy Arceus! That takes a lot of skill and consistency! Is every Zebra capable of it?! I gotta know!"
And of course, Cloudsdale as well. He took a ride on Ash's Dragonite to reach the area. There, he got a good look at this pegasus utopia. And the one pegasus waiting there for him was Rainbow Dash of course.
"OOOH! Your entire mane and tail are that of a rainbow?!" Eli gawked.
"Yeah. Take it all in." Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves, showing off herself to the reporter.
"Is it true that you can create an equivalent to a sonic boom but with rainbows?!"
"Totally true. It's what brought all of my friends together. And I don't mean to brag but...I'm kind of a big deal because of that."
"A pony that can fly at sonic speeds! Man, this was worth the wait!"
After interviewing a plethora of pegasi, he finally came across the Pokemon House. A sanctuary for Pokemon of all kinds, run by Fluttershy herself. But the first thing that caught his eye was Fluttershy.
"Oh! What a beauty!" He moved around, taking pictures non-stop. "You've got all the makings of a perfect idol! And your colour palette matches your partner!"
"Tot! Matches your partner!"
"Why thank you..." Fluttershy blushed.
"So you came up with this entire idea yourself?" He zipped around the Pokemon House, snapping pictures.
"I wanted to make a place where Pokemon could come and relax and have fun. That's all."
"Well, you did a great job! Look at all these Pokemon! Not even the Safari Zone compares to this!"
"He's certainly a very interesting person," Fluttershy said. "It's a bit endearing."
"Interesting is right..." Goh nodded.
"Are there any rare Pokemon here?!" He dug his head in the water.
"Well...I do have two rare Pokemon if you're interested." Rarity spoke.
"Yeah- wait, you have a rare Pokemon Rarity?" Spike turned to Rarity. "Since when."
"Behold." Rarity sent out possibly the rarest Pokemon in Ponyville. A Shiny variant of the Ultra Beast known as UB-02 Beauty, Pheromosa.
"Phero!"
"OOOH! An Ultra Beast!" Eli shot up. "I've only seen pictures of them! I can't believe I actually get to see one in person!" He got all giddy in front of the Lissome Pokemon, taking pictures.
"Mosa..." Pheromosa showed off for the camera, acting like she was a model.
"R-R-R-Rarity..." Twilight stuttered as her hoof was shaking uncontrollably, pointing at the Ultra Beast. "W-W-W-Why do you have that?"
"HOW do you have that?!" Pinkie gulped as she and the others hid behind Twilight.
"Oh, there's no need to be afraid you all. My Pheromosa is an absolute darling who wouldn't hurt a fly. Right Phero?"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa turned to Twilight and her friends, noticing how they knew Rarity. Any friend of Rarity is a friend of Pheromosa. "Pheromosa!" And thus, she rushed over, picking them all up for a lovely yet heavy hug.
"Ugh! Oh no...she's a huge hugger too..." Starlight whimpered.
"Yeah..." Pinkie's eyes widened. "Dragonite's got some competition.
"Bummer...I thought my Salamence would be the Pokemon that surprises everypony." Spike sighed.
"Salamence?" Fluttershy turned her head to Spike. "Spike, you have a Salamence?!"
"Yeah." Spike sent out his newly caught Dragon-Type.
"Sala!" The Dragon Pokemon roared.
"I was hoping that Salamence could shock the rest of you. But I can't compare to that." He pointed at Pheromosa.
"Sorry..." Rarity squeed.
"Pika-Pika." Pikachu laughed.
"Yeah. He is a pretty fun guy, isn't he?"
"Hm? Did you just understand your Pikachu!" Eli went up to Ash. "You can do that?!"
"Yep. Pikachu and I understand each other super well. Just like Fluttershy's ability to speak to every creature and understand them. Well...except Ultra Beasts. She can't speak alien."
"Seriously?!" Eli turned back to Fluttershy. "You can talk to creatures?!"
"Mhm. Animals, Pokemon and more. I wish I could speak alien actually..."
"Radical! You're by far my favourite pony!"
"Chat! Favourite pony!"
"Well..." Eli stood up. "I think I've gotten all the information I need for now."
"Wait. You're leaving?" said Twilight.
"Yep. I've still got a lot of this world to explore. But so far, this Ponyville place has really impressed me, big time. When I return to my world, I'm gonna go crazy and write about how good this town is. Plus this world will get the first taste of our magazine."
"Oh. That's wonderful! Can you please talk about the Pokemon House so it gains more attention for the little ones?" Fluttershy requested.
"Of course, I will! How could I not? Thanks for everything my little ponies."
"If you want, when you come back, we can tour you around the rest of Equestria." Pinkie suggested.
"That'd be radical! I'll be looking forward to it!"
"Chatot! Looking forward to it!"
And with that, the reporter had finished up here. But he left a lasting impression on Ponyville. The charisma he brought and how much of a pro he was at his job was something special for sure. The connection between both worlds is only going to get bigger thanks to this man as the journey continues.
One of the newly formed locations in Equestria caused by the connection of both worlds.
A combination of both a mountain range and a large ocean. Here, Fairy-Type Pokemon are the most common of all types. But living alongside them are the Bug-Types, Grass-Types and Water-Types along
With the existence of the fairies and all the love and happiness they bring, this was deemed Equestria's most soothing landmark. Even surpassing that of Ponyville.
The grass was obviously its usual vibrant green, however, due to all the Fairy magic scattered everywhere, bits of the bladed grass had gained pink tips with fairy dust flowing out them. Even the mountains and ocean were affected.
Although, due to the current cold weather, they were a bit toned down. Judging by how the wind was moving, a snowstorm might kick up.
They had a romantic and mystical aura with tiny little pulses emanating each time a Pokemon jumps out of the water or scales the mountain.
There was a lot to see here in this mountain range with many Pokemon claiming it as their home. However, one extra Pokemon-Type also resided here. The one type that can handle Fairies. The Poison-Type.
But surprisingly, the Fairies and the Poison-Types got along pretty well. There was barely any conflict between them and when there was, one Pokemon would be the voice of reason and put a stop to it. Mostly a Fairy-Type.
Ash and Pikachu, being the boundless adventurous spirits they are, went on a solo journey to explore yet another Equestria exclusive Pokemon area.
"Woah...Check out the mountain range on this place. Kinda reminds me of Kalos a little bit." Ash stood atop a mountain, gazing at the incredible view.
"Pikachu."
"Let's see what this Fairy filled place has to offer, buddy!"
"Pika!"
The two made their way towards the populated area of Pokemon as the wonderful Pocket Monsters greeted the trainer and his partner. As usual, Ash and Pikachu have a lot to explore yet again. It's always unknown how long they'll spend their time in one area. But the outcome is always filled with rush and joy.
However, besides the massive array of Pokemon that populate this area, there were currently three other species here in the Faye Mountains.
Those being the Changelings. Three Changelings had arrived at the Faye Mountains under the order of Queen Chrysalis who was also ordered by Ghetsis to send them. It went a little something like this.
"If you wish to absorb heaps of love for your entire colony, seek out the many areas filled with Fairy Pokemon." Ghetsis spoke. "According to Colress, there is a higher ratio of Fairy areas in this world than any other Pokemon type."
"Why Fairy-Types exactly?" said Chrysalis. "They're just small little creatures only made to look cute and cuddly."
"Hoh? Are you not aware. Compared to all other types, the Fairies are notorious for spreading love and joy across the world. In more ways than one." Ghetsis stood up from his throne. "Whether it's the joy dust from a Togetic or the soothing aura from a Sylveon's feelers, Fairy-Type Pokemon have no limit to how much love they can spread."
"Unbelievable..." Chrysalis's jaw dropped. "This entire time...there has a been a Pokemon-Type that I could've been absorbing all my love from?"
"Of course. If you were to steal love from a Fairy, I can guarantee that your magic will grow to levels you couldn't even begin to imagine. And you can thank Infinity Energy for that.
"So, you're sure that these Fairy Pokemon are the ones I should be stealing from, correct?"
"Indeed. Take as much as you want. You require all the love you need, right? This is an opportunity I recommend you seize."
And that leads to the present day. After gaining knowledge about the infinite love that Fairies can spread, Chrysalis had sent these three to see for herself. If they return with magic that they've never felt before, then they've got themselves a catch.
Currently, other changelings were out there in the world, searching for Fairy types and stealing all the powerful love that they hold. The information that Ghetsis gave to Chrysalis had made the changelings go on a field day.
Although, these changelings are a bit inept. They weren't exactly the strongest changelings around by a long shot. Actually, they're the youngest changelings so far until the next changelings are birthed into existence.
They could still be considered children in a sense despite them looking like every other changeling. As such, Chrysalis specifically chose these three to head to the one area where there are the least amount of Fairies due to how weak they are.
The middle one seemed to be the leader of the group who always attacks when the opportunity is there, but he tends to underestimate his prey, thinking that he can get the better of them.
The right one acts like he knows what he's doing by acting smart. When really, he's not. But he can make some clever remarks here and there.
The left one was a bit of an air-head. Easily distracted and so lazy that he barely bothers to put in any effort. Most of the time anyway.
The middle changeling spotted a purple tail with two stingers on them. Obviously, it was a Pokemon but they weren't sure which one. But they did believe that it would be a Fairy-Type regardless of its unidentified appearance
"Finally. Found one." The middle changeling spoke.
"Do we rush it?" The left changeling asked.
"No. Let's be subtle about it. The best attacks are the ones where an attack is least expected." The middle one grinned.
This could be a chance to start stealing all that powerful love that Fairy-Types posses. He approached the unaware Pokemon with his wings buzzing lightly so that he doesn't make any noise.
He bit on the mysterious tail without hesitation, landing a direct hit on the unknown tail. Unfortunately, this wasn't a Fairy-Type. But instead a Poison-Type. And there's only one Poison-Type Pokemon that owns this tail.
A Drapion.
"Drap?" The Ogre Scorp Pokemon rotated its head 180 degrees, spotting the one creature that decided to be stupid enough to take a bite out of its tail. This Pokemon was the opposite of love in every way possible.
Drapion is known as the Sand Demon due to its vicious nature. Even though it can tear foes apart with its immense strength that it takes pride in, it finishes them off with powerful poison.
So the changelings have essentially come across a Pokemon that can tear them limb from limb without even breaking a sweat or worse, torture them with poison until their last breath.
"Uh...hehehe..." The middle changeling removed his teeth from the Ogre Scorp Pokemon. "Whoops."
"I thought Fairy-Types were supposed to be small and cute..." The right changeling gulped.
"M-Maybe this is an exception?" The left one shuddered.
"Pion..." Drapion, obviously not too fond of his tail being bitten out of nowhere, felt like annihilating these three on the spot. However, due to him spending some time with the fairies, the Poison-Dark-Type has softened up. So, it'll give the three changelings a warning instead.
The Ogre Scorp Pokemon had used the move Cross Poison by slashing a poisonous blade on the ground, startling the three of them. The impact of Drapion's Cross Poison left not only a hole in the ground, but it also dissolved the grass into nothing, showing how quickly his poison can finish his prey off.
With screams of terror, the three changelings made a run for it, not wanting to get caught up in Drapion's attacks. The Ogre Scorp Pokemon rubbed his tail as he watched the trio dash off.
The three changelings got away from Drapion as they hid near a cave that was high up in the mountains with a pink glow flowing out, thinking that the Pokemon was still after them.
"Subtle, huh? What happened back there?!" The right one yelled at the middle one.
"Hey! I didn't think it would be a big Pokemon! Queen Chrysalis said that Fairy-Types are just small little creatures!"
"That didn't look small and little at all..." The left changeling shook his head.
"Ah, it's fine. It was probably just that one that was huge and scary. We'll find another one and get it for sure!" The middle changeling said with a reassuring voice. "How about inside here? There's a bunch of pink looking lights inside. " He looked over at the cave they were near.
"Let's just hurry up and get out of here. I already feel uncomfortable being in this place." The right one shuddered.
All three entered the cave in pursuit of the Fairy Pokemon. They had no idea that Drapion wasn't even close to a Fairy-Type. But they also had no idea that there were barely any Fairies inside of the caves of this mountain range.
The only Fairy-Types that exist in the caves are the Carbink's. Small little fairies that are very fragile. However, they were equally as dangerous as Drapion since they defend themselves by wiping out their attacks with destructive beams from their jewels that inhabit their body.
Every changeling was heavily clueless about Pokemon. Only Chrysalis has some minor knowledge about them thanks to Ghetsis but as for the entire hive, not at all. They were new to all of this despite encountering some Pokemon at the Royal Wedding in Canterlot.
"That!" The middle changeling spotted Carbink floating around, minding its own business. "That's small and cute. Not big and scary. This'll be an easy steal!"
"Car?" The Jewel Pokemon turned around to face the three changelings.
"Right you are on that. Let's see if these fairies really have a ton of love in them!" The right one grinned as all three of them lunged at the Rock-Fairy-Type.
"Car...Bink!" And as expected, Carbink retaliated with its signature beams of crystallized energy towards its attackers.
All three of them were hit by the same attack due to how wide of a range it had. As a result, they were blasted out of the cave from Carbink's beam. They didn't even get the chance to make direct contact with them. Their entire body had been hit with the force of 100 crystals with their wings being damaged in the process.
"Agh!" They said in collective unison. Carbink's blast sent them so far out of the cave that they went tumbling down a multitude of steep mountains. Due to how huge this area was, they would be tumbling for a while.
Meanwhile, with Ash and Pikachu, they came across a small spot that had healing magic oozing out of it. This was due to a party of Clefairy's and Sylveon's using Moonlight to heal anyone that may be injured.
The Fairy-Types look out for each other and everyone else. If they see someone in pain, they will go out of their way to help them, no matter what. Perhaps it's that defensive nature that makes the Fairy-Types so full of happiness. Among other things.
"Fairy." A Clefairy went up to both Ash and Pikachu, greeting them. "Clefairy."
"Pikachu." Pikachu greeted back, hopping off his partner's shoulder. Once he got near the healing spot, he could feel the soothing and divine energy flow through his body. "Pika..." All of his nerves were calming down because of the healing spot.
"Hm? What's wrong Pikachu?" Ash noticed that Pikachu was in an odd state. His ears dropped down as if they were melting. The trainer took a step forward, also getting near the healing spot. And just like his partner, the Fairy magic flowed through him. "Oh...This feels great!"
"Pikachu!"
The two of them laid on their back, taking in the calming aura of Moonlight. "We should bring the others here someday. This can really cool you off, huh?"
"Pika..."
A cold chill came through the mountain range since it was still winter. The Fairy-Types, unfortunately, aren't resistant to ice so they weren't good out in the cold.
"It's getting a bit a cold now." Ash shivered.
"P-P-Pikachu..."
It wasn't just getting a bit cold, if this keeps up, a snowstorm could potentially occur. And from the sounds of the roaring wind and how it was increasing in pressure, there was a good bet that this snowstorm was coming soon.
"Fairy...Clefairy." The Fairy Pokemon nudged Ash's leg, showing him a cave where they can all get away from the cold.
"Good call, Clefairy." Ash and the rest of the Fairy-Types made their way towards the various caves plastered all over the mountain range.
Inside of each of these caves, they all had the same pink glow with lights flaring out. These lights were similar to that of Moonlight's glow. Matter of fact, they also healed like Moonlight.
They all watched as the wind raged on with snow flying all over the place. The Ice-Types have really left an impact on this world.
If they're capable of causing cold weather this powerful, then once summer comes along, the Fire-Types are bound to have some fun as well.
"Whew! That was close!" Ash let out a sigh of relief along with the Fairy-Types. "This weather's been getting stronger and stronger for the past few weeks now."
"Pika..."
"Everyone alright?" Ash turned to the Pokemon. They all let out cries in response. Each of them was safe and sound inside this magical cave.
But not all were safe. The changelings were about to get the worst of this snowstorm.
"aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAH!" The sounds of the three changelings falling were getting closer and closer.
They were close enough to reach the ears of Ash, Pikachu, and the Fairy-Types that were near them. The trainer and his best friend looked outside, noticing that the changelings were falling from a high place.
"Changelings...?"
"Pika?"
The three of them attempted to fly out of this, but unfortunately, due to Carbink's blast damaging their wings and pretty much their entire body along with the fact that there was a snowstorm present, that wasn't happening.
Seeing how they couldn't force themself to take flight with their wings barely fluttering, Ash knew that if they fall, it'll be an ugly outcome. So, out of instinct, Ash had decided to do something about it.
"Ah! Dragonite, catch them!" Ash sent out his Dragonite to save the lives of the three changelings. The Dragon Pokemon immediately took flight without wasting any time.
It would be a bit of a struggle for Dragonite since it is heavily weak to anything involving the cold. Especially it's dual Dragon typing, but the Dragon Pokemon didn't care about that at all.
When focusing on saving someone, Dragonite is capable of breaking past its weaknesses for the safety of others. Essentially becoming immune to them for a short while.
The three of them noticed that a 7'3 Dragon was heading their way at high speeds out of nowhere. They assumed it was here to attack them whilst they were defenceless. So out of fear, curled up into a ball, preparing for the worst to happen. Due to that fear, their injured bodies and the sheer cold of the weather, they fainted in midair, expecting Dragonite to finish them off.
But it didn't happen. Dragonite is a kindhearted Pokemon that will selflessly help those in need if there is any potential danger. Much like its trainer and ironically enough, the Fairies which it was heavily weak to.
The Dragon Pokemon grabbed the three changelings in its big and meaty but surprisingly soft claws, saving their lives from impending doom.
"Nice catch Dragonite!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
As the Dragon-Flying-Type carried them to safety back to its trainer, the three changelings were out cold, completely unaware that their lives had been saved by Dragonite. "Dra..." The gentle Dragon Pokemon placed the trio down on the Moonlight spot, leaving the Fairy aura to work its magic.
"Good job, Dragonite." Ash went up to his Pokemon, patting it on the belly.
"Dragonite!"
The changelings couldn't feel the Fairy magic flow through their entire body since they were out cold. Moonlight was gradually healing their wounds whilst they were in a fainted state. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be able to negate the chill of the snowstorm.
"Hmm...Changelings huh? Guess they know about the love that Fairy-Types have, huh?"
"Pikachu."
"Hmm..." Ash looked down at the changelings, seeing them in this state. Being the sunny and benign person that he is, Ash couldn't help but see how defenceless they looked.
He thought back to what he learned about the changelings. How they feed on love by stealing it from others who already had it. It was clear as day to Ash that the changelings don't understand the true nature of love. Much like Queen Chrysalis.
"Pikachu..."
"You feel it too, don't you pal?"
"Pika." He nodded in response.
"Yeah. The changelings. They just want love, don't they? Reminds me of someone." Ash chuckled. For now, he and the Pokemon just waited until the changelings were back to full health.
1 hour had passed. The trio was finally waking up. Their injuries had been healed along with the wings, giving them the ability to fly again.
"Urm...Hm?" The middle one was the first to spot Ash and the other Pokemon here. And especially the huge Dragonite they saw before. "AGH! Terrified of the Dragon Pokemon, the three changelings backed up away from it, huddling together.
"You three feeling good now?" Ash asked.
"Pikachu?"
"Achoo!" The middle one sneezed all of a sudden.
"Ah, you shouldn't move yet. You're still a bit cold."
"Ugh..." He rubbed his nose. "What happened?"
"Dragonite over here saved you thanks to us spotting you three."
"Dragon!"
"What were you three doing actually?" Ash went up to them.
"Back off!" The middle one tried to stand up as he hissed at the trainer with his wings spreading. However, he was still a bit under the weather."Achoo!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu wasn't fond of the changeling snapping at his best friend like that so he was ready to attack if the changelings tried anything funny.
"Wait, Pikachu." Ash suddenly stopped him. Why he did this was for one reason only. He's had the most encounters with Queen Chrysalis besides Ghetsis and he recalls the two times they have faced each other. The first time, it was during the Canterlot wedding and the second during the Pokemon Festival.
In those two instances, Ash and Chrysalis had their own views of love. Chrysalis steals love without knowing any concept of its true power which lead to her defeat against Shining Armor and Cadence whilst Ash understands how powerful love can be when experiencing it in its purest form.
Despite all that, Ash never despised the changelings on their view of love and how they steal it. He's seen many Pokemon in his lifetime to know how to recognize something similar to this.
"Pikapi?"
"You guys are here for the Fairy love, right?"
"What else? We heard there's a lot of love here!" The middle one scoffed.
"Figured as much." Ash nodded. "You need it don't you?"
"More than anything!" The right one narrowed his eyes at Ash. "If we're gonna rule Equestria one day, we'll need to get stupid-strong!"
"Is that even a word...?" The left one turned to the right changeling.
"Come to think of it...you've got a lot of love in you from what we recall." The middle one smirked at Ash, knowing just how powerful his love is since he was able to go up against Queen Chrysalis even when she had absorbed Shining Armor and Cadence's love.
The three of them slowly walked towards Ash. But the trainer was completely unphased.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu knew from the look in their eyes, they were ready to attack and steal all of Ash's love.
"It's fine, buddy." Yet again, Ash stopped him. "You don't need to fight."
"What's the matter? Scared?" The middle one mocked.
"Nah. I don't wanna fight you guys. It wouldn't make sense to do it after you got hurt earlier."
"Don't wanna- but you've battled against our Queen twice now? Why aren't you doing anything now? Actually...why did you even save us?"
"Because you were in danger. Your wings got badly hurt so you couldn't save yourself. So I had Dragonite do it."
"You saved us...?" The left one uttered.
"Right. And so did everyone else here. Right?" Ash looked over at the Pokemon as they all let out collective cries.
"Clefairy!"
"Sylv! Sylveon!"
"Ralts!"
"Dragonite!" The Dragon Pokemon went up to the three changelings with its large shadow cast over them. This could only mean one thing.
Dragonite's famous warming hug.
The Dragon Pokemon gathered all three changelings together with its huge arms, giving them a collective hug. The trio paused for a moment, completely frozen by Dragonite's sudden hug. Not only that, but their cold was put to ease a bit.
"What is this...?" The middle one gasped. He and the other two have never felt a feeling like this before at all. It was completely new to them.
"It's so warm..." The left one's eyes widened.
"That? It's just Dragonite showing its love." Ash explained. "Dragonite hugs anyone it sees a lot. Sorry about that.
"Pikachu!"
"Nite!"
"Get off of me!" The middle one realized what was happening as he tried to push Dragonite off of him. He bit onto the Dragon Pokemon's arms, trying to feed off its love. But Dragonite's hug was just too strong. "Let me...Achoo!" He sneezed yet again.
"Dragon..." Dragonite seeing how cold they were intensified its warming hug.
In this instance, this one moment inside the cave with Dragonite's hug along with the Fairy magic, the changelings managed to get the love that they were seeking without having to do it themselves.
However, this was different. They weren't stealing love like always. It was coming to them. Not only that but from a someone who shares it.
For any other changeling, they would do everything in their power to break free, but these three are still young and the weakest of the changelings so far. So once they felt this, they also discovered what genuine love feels like.
Dragonite let them go as the three was starstruck. They were so confused that they could barely utter any words. Other than the middle one.
"You might wanna stay here for a while until the snowstorm ends."
"Wh-what was that?" The middle one asked.
"What was what?" Ash raised an eyebrow.
"That feeling...what was that?"
"Oh, you mean Dragonite's hug? Like I said. Dragonite's just showing its love, right?"
"Dragon!"
"Well...I guess you guys have never really felt genuine love before, huh?" Ash touched his chin.
"Genuine love?" The trio all said.
"Yeah. When you love someone or something for what they are. Like my family and all my friends." Ash explained thoroughly. "You guys feel the same about Chrysalis right?"
"Queen Chrysalis? Why would we?" The right one asked.
"She's your mom right?" Ash stood up. "She's the one who brought you into this world, after all."
"Queen Chrysalis is our mother?!" The left one gasped.
"You just now noticed...?" The right facehoofed himself.
"Well, we'd do anything for our queen. We'll go above and beyond to steal love with her!" The middle once exclaimed. "And I know what you're trying to do..."
"Hm?"
"You're trying to make us like those ponies. Get real. I'm getting out of-" Once he reached the outside of the cave, he was immediately met with the horrible snowstorm as he was blown back.
"It's not safe to go out now." Ash looked down at him. "Maybe just stay in here for a bit."
"Mrrgh...Fine..." He groaned.
As the snowstorm rages, the three changelings, Ash and the Pokemon sat down inside of this mystic cave, waiting for the weather to finally calm down.
The trio of changelings sat on their own side of the cave away from Ash and the Pokemon. They didn't want anything to do with them.
Ash could tell that even being inside of this cave wasn't working so well. He had to find a way to stay warm. "Which one of you knows a Fire move?" Ash asked the Pokemon.
The Bug and Fairy-Types shook their head along with a few Poison-Types. Although one Pokemon was an exception.
"Toge!" A Togepi responded. It had one Fire move at its disposal. "Togepi!
"Really? Great! Alright, Togepi. Warm us up.
"Toge..." The Spike Ball Pokemon held its breath in, unleashing an unexpected Flamethrower. Thankfully, it was a scaled-down Flamethrower not its usual huge size.
The flames from Flamethrower gave everyone inside of the cave some much-needed warmth finally. Everyone except the three changelings who decided to distance themselves.
But Ash wasn't about to let that happen. He picked up the Fairy-Type, bringing it near the trio. The three of them got defensive, expecting Ash to attack them with Flamethrower, but he didn't. Instead, he just warmed them up either way.
"Toge!"
"T-Thanks..." The middle one stuttered.
"No problem."
"Pikachu!"
Some more time passed as Togepi kept everyone warm. The trinity of changelings ended up falling asleep due to a ton of inactivity. Plus, the cold weather just made them sleepy. Along with a few other Pokemon.
A Ralts and a Swirlix fell asleep on Ash's lap whilst Pikachu rubbed his eyes, feeling the urge to clock out. Eventually, the snowstorm had passed. The sun could be seen through the clouds once more. And with that, Ash figured it was best to get going before it kicks up again.
But before that, he had one final thing he had left to do. Seeing how the changelings were still asleep together, he couldn't leave them here. By seeing how a Swadloon was amongst the Pokemon here, he hatched an idea.
"Swadloon. Could you do something for me, quickly?" Ash asked.
"Swad?"
Ash's idea was simple. Have Swadloon use its strings to keep the changelings warm continuously. And that's what it did. By weaving a large string blanket via String Shot, Ash had something to protect them in the meantime.
He placed the string blanket on the three changelings, giving them some extra warmth for the day. Ash knew that the changelings would still feel animosity towards him even after saving their lives. But he didn't mind it. Wouldn't be the first time anyway.
So, he and his buddy Pikachu simply left without a word. The changelings didn't want anything to do with them and they knew that.
Ash wasn't expecting something like this during his trip to the Faye Mountains. Changelings were the last thing he would've thought he'd come across. But instead of engaging in battle with them, he showed kindness to the injured changelings despite their conflict with the rest of Equestria. The future of the changelings is completely unknown to Ash. But one thing he does know for sure is that all they need is to find that right kind of love as the journey continues.
Currently, Ash, Twilight and the others have decided to relax at a beautiful new area in Equestria called Bidoof Beach. An area that was very close to both Lapras Lake and Ponyville.
With its calming seas and gentle Bidoof running around, it was a perfect place to relax. Not only that but many other ponies had decided to do the same. It was deserved after all the crazy events that have happened involving Pokemon over the past months. A whole year was closing in anyways.
Even Princess Celestia and Luna were here. Celestia has been taking a few breaks frequently ever since the whole Passion debacle. So this was just another one of them. Although, she still finds her royal duties much more important, even when the ponies don't mind her taking a break.
Luna was here since she was originally planning to tackle the seventh gym to advance onwards in the Equestria League. But surprisingly, the Gym Leader wasn't present at the moment. So now here she is.
They had spent hours just enjoying their time at the beach, taking in the golden sun. Some ponies were almost grabbed by Palossand. A Pokemon that is known for pulling down its prey by controlling the sand itself, and then sucks out their souls, leaving behind bones of those who had their vitality drained.
Thankfully, the Palossand here was a friendly one so no soul-sucking today. They had a blast at the beach but very soon, each of them would have to head home. Celestia and Luna still had Canterlot to be at even though Pyrestar has offered to take things from here whilst they have a short break.
"I wonder if Max and Ralts met up again..." Ash said to himself, looking in the distance.
"Hey, Ash!" The CMC cried his name out.
"Hm? What's up?"
"We were wondering you could continue from where you left off last time!" Sweetie Belle grinned. "Before we head home anyway."
"Where I left off last time?" Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, you know. When you were foalsitting us. You told us about your past adventures and how crazy they get!"
"Oh, yeah!" Ash remembered. "I didn't get to tell you the rest, huh?"
"What's this about past adventures?" Twilight's attention was grabbed by those words along with the rest of her friends.
"Ah, I remember you three telling us about it after Ash finished foalsitting you." Rarity said. "What was it again? Pirates and sea temples?"
"Oooh. I'm intrigued." Pinkie slid in. "Tell me what you know!"
"I guess I can continue. But man...there's a lot to remember." Ash closed his eyes, thinking back to all his past adventures. There really was a lot to choose from. Each with their own Legendary and Mythical Pokemon involved. In more ways than one.
"Come to think of it...we never did get to know a lot about your past adventures, Ash. We just hear parts about how you've met certain Pokemon here and there." Fluttershy flew up.
"Yeah. Give us some juicy details, Ketchum." Rainbow nudged his shoulder.
"Alright. You guys wanna hear? Then gather around. I've got a lot up my sleeve!" Ash sat down on a rock, rubbing his hands together.
Most of the ponies gathered around as if they were apart of a campfire. It even felt like a campfire story was about to be told at the moment.
"I was gonna continue to my Sinnoh experiences but I'll save it for later. Sinnoh is a whole another type of wild. I'll just skip to Unova. When I first met Keldeo and the Swords of Justice."
"Swords of Justice?" Celestia sat up from her beach chair. "Involving Cobalion?"
"Yeah." Ash nodded.
"...Go on." The Sun Princess was now intrigued as well.
"Well. Iris, Cilan and I were off to a new city as always, when all of a sudden, Keldeo showed up. In pretty bad shape too. Mostly because he was trying to escape from Kyurem."
"Kyurem?" Many ponies collectively said, unaware of that Pokemon.
"Right. You see, Kyurem wasn't too happy with Keldeo. At all. Not only that but a bunch of Cryoganal's were with him. A lot happened but I'll get to the big parts."
Roshan City, Night. The Unova Region.
Currently, at this time, Ash, Iris, Cilan and Keldeo were taking a break after finally managing to escape from Kyurem back at the train. They needed it due to how intense it was starting to get.
Keldeo was going on about how he was going to save the Swords of Justice from being frozen due to some words of encouragement by Ash. Ash, Iris and Cilan were willing to help Keldeo achieve his goal of saving the Swords whilst defeating Kyurem at the same time.
With them making a promise, they were ready to eat first and then get out there. The current dinner choice was none other than the Darumaka lunch boxes with a multitude of food inside.
"First, it's boxed lunchtime!" Cilan spoke up. "We can't battle on an empty stomach now, can we?"
"Oh, yeah! Darumaka boxed lunch, alright!" Ash raised the cover of the lunch box in excitement. "With a cool box!"
"It looks delish!" said Iris.
"Pikachu!"
"Axew!"
"Go ahead and dig in, Keldeo." Ash insisted.
The Colt Pokemon went up to the food, curious about how it would taste. He ended up sniffing it first for clarity since he's never really eaten human food before. After sniffing it, he took a single bite out of the lunch. After tasting it for a few seconds, he reached a verdict.
"Ah, delicious!" Keldeo said.
"Isn't it great?" Ash grinned. Both him and Keldeo started going to town on their lunch without showing any signs of slowing down. Unfortunately, their speed eating ended up making them both choke on the food as they grumbled and hit their chests.
"You two..." Iris sighed. "What a couple of little kids."
"Water! Water!" Keldeo cried out.
"There's plenty. No need to eat so quickly." Cilan chuckled.
Whilst they enjoy their lunch, unbeknownst to them, Kyurem was much closer than they think. Even if they managed to escape him earlier, Kyurem could easily catch up to his prey thanks to him having the always handy scent of a dragon.
An indication that Kyurem was coming came in the form of an icy mist that closed in on the city. Not only that, but this icy mist was starting to freeze the entire lake in a matter of seconds.
The Cryogonals that were also with Kyurem had shown up, flying in circles whilst being above the frozen lake. But one part of it wouldn't stay frozen for long.
Kyurem had erupted from the ground itself with overwhelming force packed behind his rise. The Boundary Pokemon came across the city, easily picking up on Keldeo's scent thanks to his dragon nose. Wherever it is.
Kyurem ordered the Cryogonals to follow him into the city as the Boundary Pokemon bolted off, picking up some speed before flying into the air.
One unique thing about Kyurem is that he used to be one whole Pokemon. The Original Dragon. Reshiram and Zekrom were once apart of Kyurem, but they had split up, weakening the Boundary Pokemon severely.
However, despite parts of his power being separated, Kyurem was still a force to be reckoned with. Not only that, but he could tap into the leftover DNA of Reshiram and Zekrom, giving him two brand new forms.
The one had currently transformed into was White Kyurem. An orb of fire surrounded the Boundary Pokemon's body whilst he was airborne. This orb then transformed into a beam of fire that followed Kyurem the higher he flew up.
The flames ended up disappearing once Kyurem picked up speed, revealing his White Kyurem form. The once Original Dragon was in hot pursuit of its prey as he would go through extreme measures to reach this one single Pokemon.
Once Ash and the others finished their lunch, they had got a move on to save the Swords of Justice from their icy prison. They weren't too far from here after all.
Whilst they walked through the city, they noticed that an icy mist was suddenly forming out of nowhere. The mist ended up freezing the fountain near them in just 3 seconds.
"Huh?!" Ash and Cilan pulled back.
"What's going on? I can't stand the cold!" Iris shivered.
"Cryogonal's?!" Cilan exclaimed.
"Careful. They're friends of Kyurem!" said Keldeo.
"Wait!" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Who's Kyurem?"
"Hm? Oh right. Well, Kyurem's the Original Dragon. He used to be both Reshiram and Zekrom at the same time, but he kinda got split up. But he can go into two forms that have Reshiram and Zekrom's DNA."
"A Pokemon that used to be one?" Twilight stood up. "What does its true form look like?"
"Uh... about that." Ash rubbed the back of his head. "No one actually has a clue on what Kyurem's true form really looks like. So all we got is White Kyurem and Black Kyurem."
"Oooh...I bet if it comes together with both of those Pokemon, it'll be the strongest ever!" Scootaloo yelled.
"You could be right on that." Ash nodded.
"So then what happened next once Kyurem found you all?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, right. Well since Kyurem managed to find us in Roshan City, it was his Cryogonal's that ended up attacking us first before he did. But when Kyurem did attack, things got pretty dicey.
The Cryoganal's initiated an attack by shooting Ice Beams towards the group. With Ash and company avoiding the Ice Beam and making a run for it, along came the Boundary Pokemon who flew beside them.
"White Kyurem!" Iris gasped.
"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded Pikachu to attack Kyurem.
"Pika...Chuuu!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon sent a bolt of 100,000 volts towards the opposing Pokemon in hopes of slowing him down.
Once the bolt hit the Boundary Pokemon, he immediately swapped forms, changing into Black Kyurem. Now an orb of lightning surrounded him whilst blue volts sparked ferociously, revealing his other form.
"It changed again?!" Cilan yelled.
"Now it's black Kyurem!" Iris exclaimed.
Kyurem growled at his prey, preparing to unleash a Dragon Pulse as fiery hot energy flared from its mouth. Once he unleashed the Dragon Pulse, the ground continued to make a run for it whilst Kyurem destroyed the part of the building they were inside.
Kyurem flew higher up into the air, changing his strategy. He went up to the city's satellite tower, pouring volts inside of it. All for the sake of overriding the entire city's energy supply.
Ash the others were unaware of what Kyurem was doing as they were too focused on escaping him and the Cryogonal's. Ash, Pikachu and Keldeo advanced forward whilst Iris, Axew and Cilan took the stairs that lead downwards.
"Hey, Ash! Where are you going?!" Iris asked.
"Cryo...." The Cryogonal's spun around whilst approaching the group. The way they were moving in unison was like a snake creeping up on its prey.
"Pikachu! Use Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Pikachu hopped off his buddy's shoulder, flying past Keldeo as he ironized his tail. "Chu...Pika!" With a swift swing, Pikachu struck one Cryogonal which caused a domino effect against the others since they were perfectly lined up.
"Thanks, Pikachu! Ash!" Keldeo thanked them.
As Ash gave a thumbs up, he noticed how there were ice crystals dropping from above. These crystals came from the other Cryogonal's as they ascended into the air, charging up an Ice Beam in front of Ash.
Keldeo wasn't about to let his friend get hit by this chilling beam as he galloped forward. The Colt Pokemon leapt up, smashing his head on the Cryogonal's, causing yet another domino effect.
"Yeah! Great Keldeo!" Ash said.
"Pika!"
"Gonal!" Even still, more Cryogonal's were on their way. The number of them seemed to be endless at this point.
"Pikachu! Electro Ball!"
"Pika! Chu-Pi!" As he built up electricity whilst running behind Ash and Keldeo, Pikachu did a frontflip whilst tossing a ball of electricity from his tail. The Electro Ball was launched from behind, striking the Cryogonal's.
Ash, Pikachu and Keldeo were eventually surrounded by the Cryogonal's as the Crystallizing Pokemon circled the trio whilst charging an Ice Beam.
"Ash! Pikachu! Grab on!" Keldeo spoke up. The trainer and his Pokemon held onto the Colt Pokemon's back as he used Hydro Pump from his hooves to fly up into the air, avoiding Ice Beam. Not only that, but it also did some heavy damage to the Cryogonal's due to the range it had.
Keldeo kept using Hydro Pump to gain a boost of speed as he, Ash and Pikachu were moving frantically across the city. Keldeo couldn't exactly fully control his manoeuvrability with Hydro Pump so it was a bit of a shaky ride.
They swayed from left to right, spun around and almost hit a wall but luckily, Ash used his legs to run up the wall, saving Keldeo from crashing. Eventually, Keldeo had stopped using Hydro Pump as he landed on safely on the ground without any casualties whatsoever.
"Hey, thanks! Let's go!" Ash dashed off.
"Pika!"
The trio continued on their way. However, despite Keldeo's rapid movements, the Cryogonal's still caught up to them thanks to their speed.
"Cryo!" The Cryogonal's used Ice Beam to freeze the water near the bridge that the trio stood on.
"Ash! We're over here!" Iris called for him as she and Cilan were on a higher level. They were lucky to be there since the ice was transforming the water beneath them.
Keldeo jumped off the bridge, landing on the icy floor as he slid on it. Whilst spinning on the ice, the Colt Pokemon fired a Focus Blast mid-slide, taking out four Cryogonal's. But it wasn't enough.
"Boldore! I choose you!" Ash joined in, sending one of his Pokemon out to assist.
"Boldore!"
The Cryogonal's surrounded Keldeo with Ice Beam, keeping the Colt Pokemon from going anywhere as the blue lights from the Ice-Type move circled the Colt Pokemon's body.
"Keldeo!" Ash exclaimed. He and Pikachu were on Boldore's back as the Ore Pokemon was sliding on the ice. Boldore acted like a means of transportation on this icy ground. "Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt! Let's go!"
"Pika...Chu!" Pikachu forced the Cryogonal's away from Keldeo with a quick burst of lightning flying forward. As Boldore closed in, Keldeo hopped on the Ore Pokemon's back, joining his friends along for the ride.
Now that Keldeo was beside them, he could also chime in via Focus Blast, taking out all the Cryogonals. The group ended up finally reaching a safe spot with Boldore landing on a wooden bridge where Iris and Cilan where.
"Ash! We're over here!" Cilan waved his arms.
"Boldore, return!" Ash returned his Pokemon. They made a successful escape from Cryogonal at the moment. But Kyurem was still around, messing with the city's power.
"Rough is right. Those Cryogonal's sure were persistent, weren't they buddy?"
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded.
"So, you guys ended up freeing the Swords of Justice, right?" Scootaloo asked. "And Keldeo defeated Kyurem and finally became an official Sword of Justice, right?"
"Well...two of those things actually ended up happening. The Swords were free, Keldeo became one of them, but beating Kyurem..."
After a long journey, the group had finally reached the area where the Swords had been frozen. Kyurem was there, expecting Keldeo to arrive for his friends. Ash and his Pokemon were tasked with freeing Cobalion, Virizion and Terrakion from their icy prison with everything they had. From a steel pipe, Pignite's Flamethrower, Boldore's Rock Smash and Pikachu's Iron Tail.
After many doubts and fears, Keldeo finally felt brave enough to challenge Kyurem for real this time. He told Kyurem the truth about their first encounter. How Keldeo wasn't an official Sword. He was just training to be one. Realistically, he had no business challenging Kyurem.
However, he did it anyway. He wanted to battle Kyurem even if he wasn't a sword. And he made that very clear due to the fire in his eyes. Ash had encouraged Keldeo, telling him that he wasn't alone in all of this. After all, he had his friends beside him to help him power through this entire debacle.
Knowing that he was never alone, Keldeo broke past his fears and worries, finally reaching his true form.
The Resolute Form.
A form of Keldeo that shows he is now a true Sword of Justice. He was ready to face Kyurem a second time.
"Here I come, Kyurem!" Keldeo said.
"Then come." Kyurem grinned.
Keldeo galloped forward, making the first move out of the two. By running straight towards the Boundary Pokemon, he fired a powered up Focus Blast due to his Resolute Form giving him an extra boost in everything.
However, Kyurem managed to cut the ball of energy in half with Shadow Claw, creating a huge explosion in the process. Kyurem dashed through the smoke, smacking Keldeo to the side with Shadow Claw still active.
As the Colt Pokemon tumbled on the ground, he made a quick recovery by running up the crystal walls with his agile movements. Due to his Resolute Form being his ultimate state, he became much swifter with hard to follow jumps.
Keldeo jumped from crystal to crystal before returning to the ground. The Colt Pokemon had used Double Team, splitting himself into multiple clones that each bolted themselves towards the opposing Kyurem.
The clones moved around in circles with each of them charging up a Focus Blast. Their rapid movements made it hard for Kyurem to really keep track of every single of them. However, he could tell when they were about to attack as he flew up, avoiding their synchronized Focus Blasts.
The Boundary Pokemon stood atop a higher platform, firing an Ice Beam from his always closed mouth. Keldeo made a run for it. However, this Ice Beam wasn't like the Cryogonal's. It was much faster and could practically be considered instant due to the speed it was moving at.
But thanks to Keldeo's Resolute Form making him swifter, he managed to evade it. Although, the aftershock definitely got him. Kyurem jumped down, unleashing a Dragon Pulse in front of Keldeo at point-blank range.
Keldeo with his heightened senses leapt into the air, avoiding the devastating Dragon-Type move. Whilst airborne, the Colt Pokemon sent yet another Focus Blast forward as it was his only way of dealing super-effective damage to Kyurem.
Finally, Kyurem had been hit by an attack. The Boundary Pokemon veered back, feeling the effects of Focus Blast really hit his body. But even with that super-effective damage, Kyurem is too durable.
"Way to go, Keldeo!" Ash cheered as he kept on trying to break the Swords free. Iris and Cilan had chimed in as well. Their efforts to free Swords was actually working with the ice slowly cracking.
Keldeo rushed towards Kyurem at full-speed, recklessly throwing his entire body at the Dragon-Ice-Type. Kyurem used the hard wings on his back to grab Kyurem, tossing him away in the process.
"You'll never defeat me with that sword!" Kyurem declared.
And so far, he was right. Despite Keldeo entering his Resolute Form, he was still struggling against this ferocious Pokemon. There is a reason why Kyurem is considered to be the strongest Dragon-Type in the world, even if no one has seen its true form yet and what it's truly capable of.
Keldeo breathed in and out, already starting to wear down due to all his constant dodging. And with how Kyurem was charging up another Dragon Pulse, it was time to get a move on yet again.
Keldeo dashed off whilst avoiding the incoming Dragon Pulse. The Dragon-Type move was destroying everything it came in contact with, even the crystal gates that Kyurem had formed.
Keldeo had to perform acrobatics that he's never done before, resulting in him almost getting hit by Dragon Pulse with each dodge. The entire mine that they were all inside was trembling from Kyurem's destructive power as even the Cryogonal's flew away.
Kyurem ceased Dragon Pulse, approaching the Colt Pokemon with an intimidating aura around him. He saw how Keldeo was already feeling fatigued as he took this opportunity to freeze the Colt Pokemon. With a hyper-fast Ice Beam, Kyurem froze Keldeo's hoof in place, forcing him to stay where he was.
"Hrrgh..." Keldeo strained, trying to pull his hoof out of the ice.
"Is that it...?" Cilan uttered, thinking that this might be the end.
And with the way that Kyurem was transforming into Black Kyurem, it might be. The Boundary Pokemon took the skies, charging up the move Freeze Shock. A ball of light-bluish and white energy formed in front of the Dragon-Ice-Type as it had both the properties of Electricity and Ice at the same time.
"Kyurem! That's enough!" Ash shouted.
"Pika-Pika!"
But Kyurem wasn't listening. It really looked like he was about to attack a fatigued and defenceless Pokemon right here, right now with a move that devastating.
"Quick, Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika! Pika..." Pikachu charged up 100,000 volts lightning within his body, ready to save his friend.
However, Keldeo fired a small Focus Blast at Pikachu, preventing him from taking any further action. He wanted to do this alone.
"Pi?"
"This battle..." Keldeo was starting to break free. "Is far...from over!" The Colt Pokemon broke out of his icy prison by using Hydro Pump to do so, showing that he still had a lot left in him. With Hydro Pump being utilized, Keldeo took the air, using the move as a means of manoeuvrability once more.
The Colt Pokemon continued his battle against Kyurem despite his current condition. By leaping forward and using Double Team along with Focus Blast, Keldeo retaliated against Freeze Shock with his own ranged attack.
Kyurem finally finished charging the Ice-Type move as he held it in his claws. The Boundary Pokemon was prepared to fire it, but Keldeo's multiple Focus Blast's actually managed to interrupt him, causing an explosion.
The aftershock of the explosion sent a powerful shockwave that even went far out of the mine, almost destroying it. This shockwave was also just enough to free the Swords of Justice from their icy prison, finally.
"Ugh.." Terrakion shook his head, removing a huge ice shard off of him. He and the other two went in front of Ash, Iris and Cilan as their towering figures could be seen.
"The Swords of Justice!" Ash exclaimed with a smile on his face.
"Pika!"
"Ash. You have our gratitude." Virizion thanked him.
"How do you know my name?"
"We heard you through the ice." Cobalion said.
"Thank you for saving Keldeo." Terrakion bowed his head.
Keldeo was happy to see the Swords of Justice free and in perfectly good shape too. That's all he really wanted since he got them into this mess in the first place.
But it's not over yet. Kyurem was still active. The Boundary Pokemon reverted to his normal form, narrowing his already narrowed eyes at the Colt Pokemon. Kyurem now knew that he shouldn't underestimate Keldeo. If he's not careful, this little Pokemon could take him out before he even realizes it.
Keldeo rushed over at Kyurem, going for an up-close body tackle. However, the Dragon-Ice-Type whacked Keldeo away like a tennis ball with Shadow Claw. Keldeo crashed against the hard icy walls, taking some heavy damage from Shadow Claw.
Even with his boundless determination and Resolute form, the battle was still heavily one-sided. Keldeo has barely managed to keep up with Kyurem. He couldn't take anymore at this rate. And the others could see that.
"Please, you gotta stop this!" Iris pleaded to the Swords of Justice.
"It's not our battle. It's Keldeo's." Virizion shook her head.
"Only Keldeo can end this." Cobalion replied.
"Ngh..." Keldeo got back up anyway. His resiliency was something to admire. And Kyurem sure did.
The Boundary Pokemon blasted a fast-moving Dragon Pulse at Keldeo's direction, but the Colt Pokemon still had a little bit of speed left in him. That Resolute form was really helping him with his swiftness.
But it wasn't just that. He was starting to remember the lessons that the Swords of Justice taught him.
"Never take your eyes off your opponent. Keep up your concentration until the very end!" Words from Terrakion. Keldeo made sure to keep his eyes on Kyurem at all costs.
"Fear is your greatest enemy. You must conquer the fear that lives in your heart." Words from Virizion. The Colt Pokemon ran up the crystal pillars, bucking his hooves backwards as he shot Hydro Pump out of them.
The pump of water was quickly frozen by Kyurem's Ice Beam with no issue whatsoever.
"It is what you learn from defeat, that is truly important." And finally, words from Cobalion. With all those words coming back to him, the Colt Pokemon suddenly gained a jolt of confidence and energy.
With a Dragon Pulse coming his way, Water-Fighting-Type ducked whilst sliding on the icy floor, using it as a way to avoid the attack. Keldeo approached Kyurem who kept on firing Dragon Pulse constantly. And with each blast, Keldeo evaded it.
The Colt Pokemon made a quick turn, running from Kyurem this time. He was planning on hitting the Boundary Pokemon from afar since getting up close and personal won't do.
With a Dragon Pulse almost hitting him, Keldeo jumped onto a crystal pillar, using two moves at the same time. He fired a single Focus Blast and then propelled himself forward with Hydro Pump.
He moved at such speeds that he became one with Focus Blast, adding some extra power to it. With a mighty yell, Keldeo smashed into Kyurem, dealing the heaviest damage he's done the Boundary Pokemon so far.
The impact was so powerful that it managed to launch a Pokemon as heavy as Kyurem in the air. A little pony like Keldeo was capable of doing that to a dragon such as Kyurem.
The Boundary Pokemon crashed on the ground whilst Keldeo flew back from his own attack, showing just how strong it really was.
The Colt Pokemon stood up with a smile on his face. He could finally see that his lessons were paying off. He never imagined that he would be able to launch Kyurem of all Pokemon.
"Keldeo is battling well." said Terrakion.
"Now if he can only use his sword..." Virizion uttered.
"Hm..." Cobalion nodded.
"Way to go, Keldeo!" Ash and Pikachu cheered him on.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash...Pikachu..." Keldeo turned to them. But it wasn't time to look at his friends. He quickly snapped his head back to the direction that Kyurem was at.
The Boundary Pokemon transformed into his Black Kyurem form once more, ready to continue this battle.
"So? What happened?" Scootaloo and the others leaned forward. "If Keldeo was able to finally to do some major damage on Kyurem, then he won the whole thing, right?"
"It would've been great but...Keldeo didn't win." Ash shook his head.
"He didn't?!" They all exclaimed.
"Heh. Guess we know who's winning a fight between a Dragon and pony, huh?" Spike grinned, nudging Twilight's hoof.
"The reason he didn't win wasn't that Kyurem was too strong. It was because he defended us from an incoming attack, instead of continuing the battle." Ash explained further. But...even if Keldeo didn't win. Kyurem was still honourable and respected him for having the courage to protect us. Speaking of which...I guess I should talk about how Keldeo finally managed to get his sword."
During the battle, Keldeo managed to obtain his sword by breaking free of the ice prison Kyurem trapped him in. He had learned the move Secret Sword in that instance.
They all believed that Keldeo could do it. He could defeat Kyurem thanks to this sudden burst of power. Although, due to their battle amping up in intensity, it was only a matter of time before Ash and the others were put in danger because of it.
Kyurem's Freeze Shock had been deflected by Keldeo's Secret Sword, but that deflection is what caused the attack to head straight for his friends. The Colt Pokemon tossed himself at the attack, cutting it in half with Secret Sword. All for the safety of his friends.
It was that self-sacrifice that Kyurem had made a verdict.
"Rather than pursue victory, you protected your friends...You have a fine sword."
"Kyurem..." Keldeo gasped.
The Boundary Pokemon turned around, declaring this battle over. There was no need to continue. Keldeo had proven himself. It wasn't winning the battle that determined him as a Sword of Justice. Not at all. Defending his friends and putting them over everything else was much more important than a scuffle.
Keldeo returned to his normal form due to exhaustion. He battled well after all. Although, it was on the fence if he could've actually defeated Kyurem if they continued.
"Keldeo!" Ash and the others ran over. "That was an amazing battle!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"And look at that! Your horn grew back!" Iris noticed.
"Axew!"
"Now you understand the true weight of the sword." Cobalion said.
"Xew!"
"Pika! Pika!"
"Right." Keldeo nodded.
Although everything wasn't smooth at the moment. Since Kyurem and Keldeo's battle went overboard, it was only a matter of time until the mines were heavily affected by the end of it all.
The Boundary Pokemon noticed that the entire place was starting to come down as some scaffolding fell over. Soon, everyone could see that it wasn't safe to be here.
"Climb aboard!" Cobalion commanded.
Iris hopped on Virizion's back, Cilan on Terrakion and Ash on Cobalion. The Swords of Justice made a run for it, hopping from platform to platform whilst everything comes tumbling down around them.
As for Kyurem, he knew that the only way to stop this was to freeze it all. It would mean that he would have to get rid of his home. However, Kyurem had a better alternative to some dusty old mine.
He transformed into White Kyurem, taking to the skies. By using the DNA splicers on his back, the Boundary Pokemon used the move Ice Burn. A combination of Fire and Ice. He sent a ferocious, circular, reddish-purple blast of energy at the crumbling mines, immediately freezing it in just two seconds flat.
Kyurem froze the mines for two reasons. The obvious first one was to prevent the whole place from falling. But the second reason was that he was creating a new home that was made entirely out of ice.
In fact, it wasn't just a home at this point. It looked like a castle. Kyurem took some liberties and made himself an entire ice castle. It was a fairly glorious sight to see. The Boundary Pokemon knew how to make something look dazzling and ferocious at the same time.
Ash and everyone looked over at the newly-created castle by Kyurem. "It's like a castle made out of ice!" Cilan said.
"It looks kinda cold though..." Ash scratched his hair.
"I hate the cold!" Iris shuddered as they all laughed.
Kyurem found this new home to be perfect. It was much better than the mine since there wasn't any dust around to get inside of his nose. Wherever it is. The Boundary Pokemon headed into a secluded area within the castle to rest. Even a Pokemon as powerful as Kyurem needed it.
"So yeah. It was by far the craziest moment I had in Unova for sure. I'd say it's in the top 5."
"Wow...Keldeo's amazing!" Sweetie Belle gawked.
"So is Kyurem!" Spike stood up. "Strongest Dragon Pokemon, right?"
"Yep. And if he's that strong by swapping forms, I can only imagine how powerful he must've been when he was whole." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
"I wish Cobalion did more...But it was still great to hear." Celestia said.
"Well...I believe we should all be going now." Luna flew up. "Your stories are something interesting, Ash. Perhaps at another time, you can continue telling us more about your many adventures throughout your world."
"Sure thing! I'd love to!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pika!"
"So like...Kyurem's castle...you think one day we could go there?" Spike nudged Ash's shoulder.
"Spike. Do you wanna go there because you plan to catch Kyurem?" Applejack narrowed her eyes at the baby dragon.
"What? Pssh...no!" Spike scoffed. "I just wanna see the strongest Dragon Pokemon of them all!"
"Maybe one day. I'm sure Kyurem wouldn't mind." Ash reassured that one day, he'll take them to see Kyurem's Ice Castle.
After hearing about one of Ash's many adventures, the ponies returned home, feeling satisfied with the day. They had fun at the beach and got to hear about an epic battle between a pony and a dragon. It was worth it all. Ash still has a lot of adventures swirling around in his head for everypony in Equestria to hear as the journey continues.
"I'm gonna clock out soon." Pinkie yawned. "Boy...Winter does take a lot out of you doesn't it?"
"Does it?" Jade turned to Pinkie.
"Oh, right. You don't get tired, Jade. Lucky. I wish I could stay up forever without getting tired." Pinkie returned her Slurpuff's to their Poke Balls whilst Spinda slept in her mane.
"Speaking of which... Mayor Mare made me the official lookout for Ponyville."
"She did?!" Pinkie shot up.
"Mhm. Since I can't ever fall asleep, I've been tasked with being a lookout every single night. And Cold to an extent."
"That's great, Jade!" Pinkie hugged the jade-coloured pony. "Look at you moving up in the world already! And you've only been around for a few months."
"Hm." Jade nodded.
"Good to know that somepony as brave as you is keeping us safe at night. We don't have to worry about a thing."
"Yeah. But uh... I might have trouble when encountering any invading Pokemon."
"Why's that?"
"I don't exactly have a Pokemon of my own, Pinkie. Everypony has at least one."
"Oooh..." Pinkie thought for a bit." I guess you are kinda Pokemon-less. Tell ya what! I'll give you one of my Slurpuff's to help you out." Out of her mane, Pinkie pulled out a Poke Ball. "Just toss him out and he'll help you take care of anything."
"Thanks, Pinkie." Jade took the Poke Ball. "Well. I'm off on Night duty. See you in the morning." Jade went outside to patrol the midnight streets of Ponyville whilst Pinkie wished her good luck.
Outside the snowy landscape of Ponyville, Jade put on some goggles along with a scarf. It was just her, Slurpuff, Cold Colt and a random Noctowl in the silent night.
Like always, there'll be a Pokemon approaching this town guaranteed. It has been happening so frequently over these past months that Ponyville has accepted it as a normal occurrence. Although, the Pokemon arriving today was one who has been here before. But they weren't in good shape.
That Pokemon was none other than Mew.
The same Mew that came to Ponyville, tricked them all into thinking that Rayquaza had arrived by transforming into it and ended up having a fun time with Pinkie Pie. Even if it was short-lived.
But Mew wasn't in its usual state at the moment. It was drained, weary and weak.
All due to Ghetsis. The same day Mew arrived at Ponyville was also the same day Ghetsis and Team Plasma found it. They had used a DNA mixer to drain the New Species Pokemon of all its energy just to give it to Ghetsis's Hydreigon, who now has access to a multitude of moves.
As such, they threw away the Mythical Pokemon like trash, leaving Mew to wander the world in a weakened state. Mew could barely fly or even transform into any other Pokemon. Over the past few months of it wandering Equestria, it had come across many obstacles that it struggled to overcome.
During the Storm Behemoth event, Mew barely survived at that one instance. If it wasn't for a cave being nearby, the already drained Psychic-Type would've met its end with all those powerful pulses going off.
Mew had even come across some Ultra Beasts that were roaming the world thanks to Team Plasma opening up random wormholes. But Mew managed to survive those as well.
Eventually, it arrived at Ponyville once more. Mew had a long journey, going through a multitude of adventures that weren't very kind to the Mythical Pokemon. But now that it was here in a friendly area, it believed that it was safe now. And due to all that journeying, Mew had fainted.
"Hm?" Jade was the first to notice the fainted Pokemon arriving at Ponyville in horrible condition. Not only that, but Mew was a bit malnourished.
It had barely been able to eat due to all the running it's been doing. Jade being influenced by her friends had decided to help the poor little thing, seeing how tattered up Mew was. The pegasus picked the Mythical Pokemon up from the ground with her hooves, seeing how damaged it was.
"What Pokemon is this...?" She said to herself. But right now, that wasn't important. The Rift Pony brought Mew indoors where it was warmer. She was completely unaware of this Mew's relation with Pinkie Pie.
Returning indoors, Jade could see that Pinkie wasn't asleep just yet. She still had a few things to clean up before she heads to bed. Hearing Jade enter made Pinkie turn her attention to the door.
"Jade? Done already? That was fast. You must be super good at your job."
"No, Pinkie. Look at this." Jade showed Pinkie Pie the fainted mythical Pokemon in her hooves. The moment Pinkie Pie's eyes locked onto Mew, she recognized it in a heartbeat.
"Mew?!" Pinkie gasped.
"Mew?" Jade raised an eyebrow.
Pinkie out of instinct grabbed Mew out of Jade's hooves, worried about her friend. "Mew! Are you alright?!"
"You know this Pokemon?"
"Mhm. Mew came over to Ponyville one day to have some fun. We become pretty good friends in a short amount of time too. Poor Mew...What happened?"
"Mew..." The New Species Pokemon was actually waking up due to the warmth of SugarCube Corners indoors. "Mew?" The Mythical Pokemon had spotted an old friend in the form of Pinkie as its eyes opened up.
"Ah, Mew!" Pinkie smiled. "Are you okay?!"
"Mew..." The Mythical Pokemon was happy to see its friend right in front of it. In response, Mew had licked Pinkie's face, making her giggle.
"You look really beat up! What happened, Mew?"
"Mew..." Mew couldn't exactly explain it to her since it can only say its name like every other Pokemon.
Except, since Mew is the ancestor of every earth-dwelling Pokemon, it has the power to turn into one Pokemon that can communicate. The New Species Pokemon transformed itself into Chatot.
"Tot...Hungry..." Instead of explaining the situation to Pinkie Pie, Mew just wanted food. It was starving after all. And due to its hunger, it couldn't stay as a Chatot for long. "Mew..."
"Hungry?!" Pinkie shot up. "You need something to eat!" She dashed off, searching for some leftover food for Mew to consume.
Mew was in luck. Some food from Hearth's Warming and Christmas was still around. And they hadn't gone bad yet, thankfully. Pinkie grabbed the slice of cake, bringing it over to the New Species Pokemon.
"Here, Mew. Eat up."
"Mew..." The Mythical Pokemon took a single bite out of the cake, tasting its sumptuous and astringent sweetness. "Mew." Already being a fan of this cake, Mew dug in, going to town on the delicacy as Pinkie and Jade watched.
"Thank goodness..." Pinkie let out a sigh of relief. "Still...I wonder what really happened to Mew before it came here?"
"Maybe it was attacked by something," Jade replied. "Probably another Pokemon."
"Yeah, probably."
"Mew!" Mew had some frosting on its face with its strength slowly returning to it. Even if Ghetsis stole its energy for Hydreigon, Mew could still replenish it. It just needed something to eat to get it back on track. "Mew! Mew!"
The New Species Pokemon had finished up the cake, prompting Pinkie to bring a second one for it to snack down on. Pinkie wanted to take care of Mew, but she had to get to bed still due to her exhaustion.
"Mrrgh... Jade. Can you take things from here? I'm too tired to stay up."
"I will. You can count on me, Pinkie." Jade nodded.
"Thanks." Pinkie returned to her room, leaving everything to Jade now. The Rift Pony watched Mew devour through the leftover cake, gradually returning to its energetic self.
Time had passed. Mew finished up all the leftovers in one night due to it enjoying SugarCube Corner's food. And all the while, Jade watched the entire thing go down.
But it went beyond that. Mew ended up eating everything. Not just the leftovers. Mew may be a small Pokemon but it eats like a Snorlax. After all, it is the ancestor of most Pokemon.
The morning had arrived. Mr and Mrs Cake came down to see that their entire fridge had been ransacked. They assumed Pinkie Pie or Spinda woke up late at night for a midnight snack, but once they spotted the Mythical Pokemon laying on its back, rubbing its belly, it was pretty clear who did it.
"Oh my..." Mrs Cake gawked.
"D-Did that thing do this?" Mr Cake pointed his hoof at Mew.
"Sure did." Jade nodded.
"Oh!" Pinkie Pie rushed down the stairs in a hurry, just to see Mew. "Is Mew doing okay?!"
"Perfectly fine." Jade poked the full belly of the New Species Pokemon.
"Mew!" Mew felt like it was being tickled by Jade as it giggled.
"Oh! That's a relief! You sure are a great lookout Jade. Both indoors and outdoors." Pinkie bounced over to the Mythical Pokemon.
"Mew!" With its energy being back to its usual hyper self, Mew flew up, hugging Pinkie Pie on the face. "Mew!"
"Why am I not surprised you know this thing, Pinkie?" Mrs Cake sighed.
"Are you feeling great now, Mew?" Pinkie asked.
"Mew!" The Psychic-Type nodded enthusiastically. In fact, Mew was so hyper now that it wanted to play around with Pinkie Pie like how they did in their first encounter.
"Wanna play around again, huh? Wish granted!" Pinkie held me up Mew as if it was her own child. With the two of them on the same wavelength, they were bound to have some fun for the rest of the day.
"Hold on...This thing won't cause a lot of damage indoors, will it?" Mr Cake gulped, knowing how dangerous Pokemon can be.
"Ah don't worry. Mew's harmless. Other than the fact that it can turn into any Pokemon out there whether they're super big or super small like Pikachu or even Wailord. But other than that, harmless."
"...R-Right..." Mrs Cake shuddered.
"I know! How about you play with Pound Cake and Pump-"
"NO!" Both Mr and Mrs Cake shouted, interrupting Pinkie Pie.
"Uh...Maybe it's not a good idea to let them hang around with that kind of Pokemon." Mr Cake winced.
"Why not? They have Plusle and Minun who have electricity with them."
"Yes but... They can't transform into other Pokemon that could tear this entire place apart in a just a few seconds..." Mrs Cake thought about a Wailord being inside of SugarCube Corner as she shuddered. She and her husband were thinking of the worst possible outcomes.
"No need to worry. Mew won't go that far. Right, Mew?" Pinkie rubbed Mew's cheeks.
"Mew!"
"Just...keep it out of trouble...The smaller ones are the craftier ones..." Mr Cake sighed.
"You're gonna love Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, Mew! They're a blast to be around!" Pinkie brought the New Species Pokemon along to the Cake Twins to give them some playtime.
Once they got there, fears starting swelling up in Mr and Mrs Cake's heads, but Jade reassured them that Pinkie Pie has got this.
Mew flew around the Cake Twins, seeing how it was alright to be visible around them due to their relation with Pinkie. After all, Mew is a Pokemon that will only show itself to someone pure of heart. Hence why Ash and Pikachu have come across Mew frequently in the past.
And with Pinkie Pie being in the same room as the Cake Twins, it was no wonder why the New Species Pokemon showed itself.
To spice things up, Mew decided to transform itself into a Lilligant for one reason. Lilligant's garland that's on its head is capable of giving off a relaxing effect. As such, it was soothing to the babies, giving the newfound bliss that they would normally feel when they age up. So this was essentially an early experience.
Wanting to spice things up, even more, Mew then transformed into a Wigglytuff next.
Now, this raised red flags for Pinkie Pie since the last time she encountered a Wigglytuff it almost trapped her and almost everypony in Ponyville in its unnaturally sticky fur. But there was no need to worry since Mew could just change back.
Mew used Wigglytuff's soft and elastic fur to entertain the babies along with Plusle and Minun. And speaking of those two, the duo of Pokemon used their electricity to interact with Wigglytuff's super-soft fur by giving it an extra fluff.
As if Wigglytuff wasn't already a huggable Pokemon. The four of them went up to Mew's Wigglytuff body, hugging it and every soft and fluffy part there was. As always, they got trapped, but they can be freed thankfully.
Mew had managed to keep the twins occupied by transforming into a multitude of Pokemon that they found great enjoyment with. From the delicious juice of a Shuckle to the harmonizing sound of a Chimecho's echoing chime, Mew seemed to be the perfect Pokemon for babies.
Eventually, Mew felt ready to head back out there in the world. Although, it was sad to say goodbye to Pinkie Pie and the others.
"Mew."
"Aw, you're leaving again?" Pinkie pouted.
"Mew." The New Species Pokemon nodded.
"Well...I guess you do have a lot to do, huh?"
"If you don't want to say goodbye to Mew, why don't you just catch it?" Jade asked.
"Hm? Well, I shouldn't really. Mew seems to enjoy being free. From what I can tell, Mew's the adventurous type. Like Ash. It wouldn't feel right keeping it here. Right, Mew?"
"Mew!" The Mythical Pokemon agreed with Pinkie Pie 100%. The two understood each other since they both have playful natures. Even though Mew had decided to continue roaming the world, it wouldn't mind Pinkie Pie being its trainer.
"You take care out there, Mew! Stay out of trouble, okay?"
"Mew!" And with that, they said their goodbyes as the ancestor of all Pokemon flew up into the skies, leaving behind psychic sparkles that fell from above like rain, meshing well with the snow.
With Mew now being rejuvenated thanks to Jade and Pinkie Pie, the Mythical Pokemon can continue its endless adventure throughout both worlds as it always has. The enjoyment it felt made it forget about what Ghetsis did to it. However, there's a chance another threat might endanger Mew, but the New Species Pokemon will be ready to tackle it as the journey continues.
"Alright. Remember, Cold. Focus. All you have to do is increase the size of this quill just a tiny bit." Twilight was speaking to Cold Colt at the moment. They were going through magic lessons to help the little colt improve on his second-rate magic capabilities.
"Sure...Focus." The young colt closed his eyes, focusing all of his magic into his horn. He wasn't planning on doing any major spells at all. Just something simple like increasing the size of an object by 2x. In this case a quill.
Eve and the others leaned in to see if the spell would be pulled off successfully. From the way his horn was radiating, it looked to be that way.
But then, for a split moment, he hesitated. He was afraid that because his magic was still destructive by nature due to him being created by the Rift, he feared the worst possible outcome. Like him making the quill so big it destroys the entire castle or he accidentally hits something.
He ended up going for it anyway, but due to his magic still being somewhat unstable even when Togetic's joy dust was given to him. Cold built up too much magic in one spot when he was supposed to just make a little bit of it. Thus, his light on his horn started to gradually increase in size.
Twilight and her Pokemon gulped as they saw how large the light was getting as it filled the entire room with its icy blue glow.
Meanwhile, outside at Ponyville, Ash was currently helping his friends improve on their battling skills as always, going over various ways they can gain the advantage over their opponents without having to rely on typings. But after a short while, they took a break to eat some lunch.
"Okay! I can't wait to eat more of that Pastry Palace! There are parts of it I haven't even tried yet!" Ash rubbed his hands together, getting psyched to eat the remaining food from Hearth's Warming and Christmas.
"Ooh...Sorry, Ash. But just yesterday, it all ran out." Pinkie apologized. A certain Mythical Pokemon ended up devouring it all in one night, unfortunately.
"Huh?!" Ash pulled back. "Bummer...Then I'll have the shortbread instead! That's just as good!" He managed to change up his option in a second.
"Shortbread it is!" Pinkie placed down a box that had a bunch of shortbread biscuits inside.
"That was some fast thinking, Ash. I thought you were going to get sad there for a sec." Rainbow said.
"Well, I've got other options besides the Pastry Palace, ya know. If I couldn't have that, it would be the shortbread or apple pie that I could have."
"You thought that far ahead?" Rarity spoke.
"Mhm! It's just like all my battles. If one battle strategy doesn't work out, I can always utilize the rest that my Pokemon and I have in store. Know what I mean?" Ash took a single shortbread, biting half of it off.
"Pikachu!"
"Mighty fast decisions. I like that." Applejack nodded.
Back at Twilight's castle, Cold was completely frozen in place, still building up a ton of power in one single spot without showing any signs of stopping whatsoever.
"Uh...Cold. I think you've got it at a good enough level!" Twilight yelled.
After hearing that, the colt unleashed the magic from his horn finally. But even when firing it, the ray didn't even make contact with the quill. Instead, it bounced off the crystal walls of Twilight's castle.
Twilight and Cold yelped as this frantic beam of magic was had so much dynamic energy going across the room. Twilight yelped as she attempted to stop it with her own magic, but it was moving too fast to keep up with.
Eventually, the beam of magic went outside of her castle by flying out the balcony. The two ponies rushed outside to see where it would land.
But it didn't land on something nor did it increase the size of it. Instead, it landed on someone and performed a completely different result that wasn't a size increase. Ash was the one who had been struck by the magic ray. But it didn't grow him 2x his size.
"Pikapi?!"
"W-What is this?!" Ash shuddered. The rest of his friends noticed how that random blast of magic came out of nowhere, hitting him when he least expected it.
Although, this magic blast had a ton of Rift energy infused in it, meaning that it was only a tiny bit of magic apart of it. And due to the unpredictable nature of Rift energy, Ash didn't grow in size at all.
Instead, he multiplied into 6.
"What?!" Fluttershy and the other's gasped.
"I see one, two, three, four, five...six Ash's!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"What the...?" Each of the multiple Ash's suddenly started speaking, wondering what just happened. After all, they had just been multiplied into 6 separate entities.
"Oops..." Cold flopped his ears down.
"Oh no." Twilight gulped. This was the last thing she was expecting. Worried in a heartbeat, she immediately teleported herself to her friends. "Ash! Are you alright?!"
"Never better!" The first Ash spoke up. "Check all of this out!" He went up to the second Ash, dashing around his double like a lightning bolt! "How cool is this?!"
"Holy moly...Did we get blasted with magic and split? Woah..." The second Ash's eyes widened as he looked up at the sky, starstruck.
"This is surreal...But nothing I've never seen before." Pinkie Pie shrugged since she's been in a similar situation like this only on a larger scale.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu was the one most perplexed by this. His favourite person in the world had just separated in front of his very eyes. But he wasn't complaining. The more Ash the better. "Pikapi!" He hopped on the first Ash's shoulder.
"Where'd that magic blast even come from?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"Sorry about that..." Cold appeared next to them, shifting his eyes from left to right. "I kinda got carried away and scared with my magic. My bad!"
"So it's Rift energy is it." Rarity nodded. "Well, you're still learning, Cold, darling. So don't be too stricken about it."
"Yeah but like...what do we do about this?" Rainbow pointed her hoof at the multiplied Ash's. "There's six of them now."
"I think it's more than that. Look." Pinkie noticed how it went above just body separation. "Their personalities have been split too!"
"Personality split?!" The rest of her friends collectively said.
"Mhm! And I can tell what's up with each of them." Pinkie bounced over to the first Ash. The one who was moving around like crazy, stretching his muscles and jumping up.
"Alright!" The first Ash exclaimed. "Let's go above and beyond for our training! If we're gonna take down Ghetsis and save Pyrestar's world, we gotta get a move on!" He punched the air.
"Ash number one is meant to be his go-getter side. He's all about getting stuff done with a bunch of momentum!" Pinkie placed her hoof around Ash's neck.
"Then what about this one?" Applejack turned to the second Ash.
"This is pretty neat... I've never had my body separated into 5 before." The second Ash grinned, rubbing Pikachu's belly and making the Electric Mouse Pokemon giggle. "Wouldn't it be sweet if you had a multiple personality split too, buddy?"
"Pika-ka-ka-chu!" Pikachu got on his back, giggling as he sparks of electricity came out of his cheeks. "Pika!"
"I can tell you about this one." Fluttershy flew over to him. "Ash number two is the side of Ash that loves Pokemon and the world around him. And possibly the simple things in life."
"Got that right." Ash 2 replied, nodding. "I'm already psyched to find a new Pokemon out there! I wonder if there's really an alicorn Pokemon out there somewhere..."
"Then I can probably tell what Ash number three has in store." Rarity turned over to the third Ash, seeing his personality and how it differs.
"Counter Shield Greninja. Counter Shield Charizard. Counter Shield Sceptile. Counter Shield Heracross." The third one was constantly spouting the same words about having Counter Shield on the rest of his Pokemon whilst having his arms crossed and eyes closed.
"This seems to be Ash's calculative side. The one who's an expert at battle strategies." Rarity explained.
"Yes!" The third Ash exclaimed. "No one is getting past that Counter Shield no matter what! Heracross's Hyper Beam's gonna help so much!"
"If there's a bunch of us now, we've got a better chance at doing everything from returning Pyrestar home, stopping Team Plasma and reaching Jirachi." The fourth Ash went to Cold Colt. "This makes things so much easier..." He started to tear up. "Thanks, Cold!" The fourth Ash picked up the little pony, getting all emotional.
"Ash number four looks like his emotional side. That's easy enough," said Applejack.
"Then what's up with this one?" Rainbow looked over at the 5th Ash who was in a somewhat similar pose as Ash number three but thinking about something else.
"Everyone keep it down a bit. Trying to think. If we split into 6 with different personalities...then we'll have to figure out how to battle in the World Championship without making things confusing for everyone. But...if we were to go up against any enemies like Ghetsis, we could psych them out by confusing them."
"Ash's administrative side from the looks of it." Twilight noticed.
"Not a bad idea!" Ash 1 ran over to Ash number five. "Ghetsis won't see it coming! It'll be like using Double Team!"
"Those all fit Ash to a T." Pinkie Pie nodded. "But wait, there was a 6th one right? Where'd he go?"
"Right there." Spike pointed his claw over at the final Ash.
This Ash was more distant than the others, standing on his lonesome without facing the direction of his friends. "It's not gonna be that easy to manage this..." He said in a toned-down voice.
"Huh?" They all collectively said.
"With all six of us, it's gonna bring up a bunch of complications. What if this just makes things worse...What if someone like Ghetsis or Chrysalis takes advantage of there being more than one of us!" He held his head with his voice rising in volume.
"Is he okay...?" Rainbow asked.
"Um. Ash number 6. You doing alright there?" Pinkie went over to the final Ash.
"Even if there's six of us now... it might mean we're not at our best. We're only half a dozen as strong..." Ash 6 lowered his head. "Then we're just weaker than ever!" He shuddered.
"So...this is the Ash that imagines the worst-case scenario's...?" Rainbow Dash examined.
"Looks like it." Twilight nodded.
"I never would've thought Ash had that kind of negative side to him..." Rarity commented.
"But it's still Ash either way," Fluttershy replied.
"Come on guys! Let's think big now! We're gonna get a lot of stuff done in one day!" Ash 1 one yelled.
"Like what?" Everyone except for the 6th Ash turned to him.
"First, we're gonna get stronger with training, travel through worlds, defeat Team Plasma, find Jirachi and we're smooth sailing from there on!"
"That's impossible! We can't do that in one day!" Pinkie shook her head.
"Then...two days! That'll do!"
"That's still gonna be beyond the bounds of possibility..." Twilight facehoofed.
"Never know unless you try! Come on, let's battle! I've got a good feeling about this!
"Hold it." Ash 3 interrupted. "If we're going to train super fast, then we'll need to think of brand new fresh battle strategies before that. We could have Pikachu re-learn Volt Tackle and combined it with Braviary's Brave Bird and Eve's Dazzling Gleam."
"Pika?"
"I think the better option is to find a way to bring you all back together," said Rarity. "Wouldn't you say?"
"Aw...do we have to?" Ash 1 groaned.
"Yes. After all, this was an accident." Twilight nodded her head. "But how do we do it...?"
"There isn't a spell that can reverse this?" Pinkie turned to Twilight.
"Well, this isn't like the magic mirror pond at all where it's nothing but clones. They're the same entity just split." The young alicorn explained. "Plus, this might be Rift energy at work here."
"Sorry again!" Cold apologized a second time.
"So then...there might not be a spell that can work if its from the Rift..." Ash 6 spoke. "We're gonna be like this forever..."
"Let's not lose hope yet, pal." Ash 1 rushed over to Ash 6. "We've got Celestia and Luna. They might know of something!"
"Pikachu!"
"You might be on to something, Ash 1. Alright. We'll head to Canterlot and see what the princesses have to say." Twilight declared.
Everyone collectively agreed except for Ash 6, who said absolutely nothing. Nothing at all.
Canterlot. Celestia's Throne Room.
"Well...this is interesting..." Celestia was bug-eyed once she gazed her eyes on the 6 different Ash's and how they each acted.
"Interesting is an understatement," said Luna.
"6 different personalities yet the same being." Celestia examined.
"So, judging by how surprised you all are by this, there's no spell for this is there?" Twilight responded in a worried tone.
"Actually, there is." Celestia reinstalled hope in their hearts. "Something similar to this would be the Body Separation spell. Except that one is only capable of splitting somepony into two."
"We're actually surprised because this is the first time we've seen something like this happen before. My sister and I have only ever heard of it in our studies." Luna explained.
"First time for everything, huh?" Ash 2 commented.
"So what's the spell that can bring them all back into one?" Rainbow asked.
"Not a spell. But by willpower alone."
"Willpower?" The Mane 6 collectively said.
"Right. The one who has been separated must accept their other-selves to become a single entity once more. That is how the spell can be undone without using any magic."
"That's no problem! We've got a strong connection to Azelf, so this'll be a cinch! Right guys?" Ash 1 looked over at his other-selves.
"Right you are on that." Ash 2 nodded. "Should we try it now?"
"Already on it." Ash 1 went over to Ash 2 as the split personalities fist-bumped. Once they made contact, a surge of blue energy erupted from both of their bodies as they were pulled towards each other, becoming one single entity.
Ash had just regained both his boundless optimism and gentle nature. Now there were only 4 left. "Yes! Success!" The double merged Ash grinned.
"Huh. Guess we don't need to overthink it at all. If it's this easy." said Ash 5.
"I can add the battle strategies I just thought of into my original self! Score!" Ash 3 rushed in, giving the merged Ash a high-five as they became 3 in 1.
"Phew...I was getting worried there." Ash 4 let out a sigh of relief. "Although, it would've been cool to have a 6-Ash team though...What a missed opportunity!" He was getting emotional again.
"Alright. Come here, pal." The Merged Ash went over to Ash 4, giving him a pat on the back as they become 4 in 1 this time.
"Well. That gets rid of all the complications. And the psyching out part, unfortunately. But hey...what can you do?" Ash 5 casually touched the shoulder of Merged Ash, bringing for a 5 in 1 Ash.
"Now that just leaves Ash 6." Twilight flew over to the final Ash. "You ready?"
"...Hmrrgh..." Ash 6 sat alone in a corner, yet again being on his own without facing anyone.
"Pikapi?"
"I don't think it's a good idea for me to go back." Ash 6 suddenly said. His response shocked everypony since that was the last thing they'd expect to hear.
"Oh come on. Don't say that." Pinkie bounced over to Ash 6. "Why wouldn't you wanna go back to being you?"
"I think I understand his theory." Celestia already got what Ash 6 meant. "If there's not a single negative side, then that creates a hyper-positive and powerful Ash.
Ash 6 stood up, feeling like his negative aura wasn't helping the mood at the moment. "Sorry. I'll be on my way now." He let himself out of Canterlot without facing anyone, yet again.
"Wait!" Twilight flew after him. "You have to go back! To make Ash whole again!"
"Thanks, Twilight but...I'm not really willing to head back. It's best if this version of Ash exists. That way nothing's gonna wear him down." Ash 6 made up his mind, continuing to walk away from Canterlot.
"Don't worry! It'll be okay! After all. It is still Ash. So he'll work things out eventually." Pinkie reassured. But Twilight wasn't so sure about that. Something felt off about Ash 6.
Over at the Canterlot Tournament Stadium, the 5 in 1 Ash or Merged Ash as he's now titled gathered his friends outside to continue their training at that specific stadium. It was wide and flat. Perfect for practice.
"Let's make this a super-effective training! And I know just how to do it!" Merged Ash yelled.
"Couldn't we just head back to Ponyville?" Applejack asked.
"This is much closer so we don't have to take a long trip. Now. Ash number 3 had a pretty good suggestion. Let's combine a bunch of moves and see how things go!"
"We did one move combination when going up against Obsidian. It was pretty neat. My Braviary looked so cool in it!" Rainbow Dash squeed.
"Can we pull it off with our new Pokemon?" Rarity wondered.
"Only one way to find out. Pikachu, help them out. Farfetch'd can join in as well." Merged Ash held out a Poke Ball.
"Pika..." Pikachu was actually feeling a bit worried at the moment. And it involved the final Ash. Despite this version of Ash having the sunny personality he loves, he felt like something important was missing.
"It's about Ash 6, isn't it?" Merged Ash said.
"Pikachu..." The Electric Mouse nodded.
"Hmm...Alright. You can sit this one out and go after him. That cool?" Merged Ash suggested.
"Pika." Pikachu agreed to that suggestion. He hopped off his trainer's shoulder, heading off to find Ash 6.
"Alright! I've got a perfect way we can make a new move combination! How about we have Grovyle use Dragon Breath, Altaria use Dragon Pulse and combine it with Eve's Dazzling Gleam! Since it's a Fairy-Type move, both Dragon moves won't affect her for a second!"
"Mhm! Then we'll have an extra addition! We'll have Audino Mega Evolve in the mix! So that's double the fairy power."
"But What will Audi do? She only has Hyper Beam to really deal any damage." Fluttershy held her Audino.
"Dino."
"That's exactly what we'll need. Plus, we can always try triple electricity with Braviary's Steel Wing. Rarity, Rainbow Dash and I will cover that part and...Wait."
"What's wrong, Ash?" Rarity noticed that Ash suddenly froze on the spot.
"Something doesn't feel right." Merged Ash shook his head. "I had a pretty flow going with the move combination plan but...feels like I'm missing something."
"Maybe you're forgetting a move or two?" Pinkie shrugged.
"No, that's not it." Merged Ash shook his head. "My plan sounds impossible to fail, something's missing from it." He sat down, sighing. "What is it?"
That's when those exact words hit Twilight's brain like a truck. When he said Impossible she knew what Merged Ash was trying to figure out. And it was pretty clear as day that it involved Ash 6.
"Hold on, everypony. I'll be right back." Twilight spoke them all.
"Where are you going, Twilight?" Applejack asked.
"To Ash 6. Don't worry, I'll make this quick." Twilight flew off in the direction both Ash 6 and Pikachu went. And that was Canterlot Gardens.
Ash 6 sat alone on a bench, not making a single word throughout the entire time he has been here. Not even a mumble. He wouldn't be alone for long as his best buddy Pikachu came along, spotting his trainer.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu called out.
"Pikachu?" Ash 6 turned around.
"Pikapi. Pikachu?" The Electric Mouse Pokemon hopped up the bench, wondering if Ash 6 was managing to sort this out according to Pinkie Pie's words.
"Sorry that you have to see me like this, buddy. Guess you're not a fan of my downside, huh?"
"Pika. Pikachu." Pikachu didn't care about any of that. Despite whatever mood Ash may be feeling or any personality that he might possess within himself, he was still the trainer that Pikachu loved to the very core. And that will never change.
"Thanks, buddy. You're always here for me." Ash 6 rubbed Pikachu's head.
"Pika..."
"Ash!" A third member joined the scene. Twilight had arrived, calling out for her friend's name. "There you are."
"Twilight?"
"Ash. I need to tell you something!"
"It won't work...I've already made up my mind Twilight. The current Ash is the best one there is. What good is a trainer who's dragging himself down with a negative side like me?"
"Ash..."
"Pikapi..."
"Besides...that gives him a better shot at achieving his dream. He can become a Pokemon Master in no time. I swore that one day I would become a Pokemon Master but...it's been how many years now?"
"But you can still become a Pokemon Master, right? You-"
"It's not even an official thing, honestly." He interrupted. "I made up the title of a Pokemon Master when I was young. Because I believed there was something greater than a Champion. I'm practically aiming for a goal that doesn't even exist." Ash 6 stood up.
"Ash. Even if that's true, you've still got a lot of goals that you can achieve. Like us reaching Jirachi or saving Pyrestar's world from Ghetsis!"
Yeah. But I ended up dragging my mess to your world. Everyone here in Equestria's still new to Pokemon. And so many of them have had their lives endangered because of it, including you and the others when Pheromosa attacked. Even Celestia took a pretty bad hit from Hydreigon once."
"You didn't rope us into this Ash. It just happened out of nowhere! Nopony could've predicted something like this!"
"Pikachu!"
"Ash... The reason why your true self can rush in the way he does is that you're a part of him, anticipating the worst-case scenario."
"What...?"
"You have your doubts sure. But that hasn't stopped you before, has it? You're always able to bounce back with determination and a smile? Don't you see? anticipate the risk for everything you do. You even manage to save the lives of others with that anticipation. That's one of the many reasons why I like about you a lot."
"Pikapi."
"For your true self to blaze on the way he does...he needs you, Ash." Twilight placed her hooves on Ash's shoulder.
"Then...it'll be alright if I come back?" Ash looked up at her.
"She's right." A voice agreed with Twilight. That voice belonging to Merged Ash. "If I didn't have you then...I wouldn't be able to make the right decisions."
"W-What?" Ash 6 stuttered.
"When I went over to the battle plan for the move combination, I felt like something was missing. After hearing what Twilight said, I think I get it."
"Pikachu?"
"I wasn't thinking about the risk that involves the others. Even if I'm confident there's a 99% chance that it'll work out, there's a 1% chance that it could lead to a bad outcome."
"Bad outcome...?"
"You're the most important part of me. The one who reminds me of what I need to be aware of. Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today."
"Then... do you think we can actually make a Pokemon Master a real thing?"
"We'll be the first and greatest master of them all." Ash gave a thumbs up. "Now bring it in, pal."
"O-Okay!" Ash 6 nodded his head as he ran over to his Merged Self. The two embraced each other with a hug as the final azure light emanated from their body.
A pillar of light rose as if it was piercing through the skies itself. The light could be seen all the way from every corner of Equestria, no matter how far.
The light spread out like wings as Ash's true self had returned. He was finally whole again.
"Yes!" He roared. "Back to being me!"
"Pikapi!"
"Welcome back, Ash!" Twilight flew over to him as both her and Pikachu gave the trainer an embracing hug
"It's good to be back." Ash carried both Pikachu and Twilight on his shoulders.
Celestia and Luna had seen the whole thing play out. And they couldn't be more proud of Twilight and Ash for helping the doubtful side of Ash.
"So. That move combination. I finally figured out what I was trying to say. Here's how it's gonna work." Ash rambled on about how the team attack will play out whilst also telling them what not to do to avoid any casualties. Even Celestia and Luna took in this information as it could help them in battle.
Ash is certainly an interesting individual. With all those ecstatic, colourful and joyful personalities he has at his disposal, nopony ever predicted him to have a side that was doubtful to a large degree.
But even still, Ash knows how to break past those doubts and always finds a way to press on. He'll always have his doubts, sure, but his earnestness, rashness, and determination have remained. Never straying from his goal, he will always remain loyal to his friends, family, supporters, and of course, Pokémon.
The timeless adventure of Ash and his partner Pikachu will always be filled with boundless energy as the journey continues.
After many months of building, the long-awaited Pokemon School was here.
A school for ponies to learn more information and knowledge about Pokemon that they never knew existed. The Pokemon World is vast and endless, so there are still a plethora of things that the ponies have yet to really experience. But that's why this school was made in the first place.
And the best type of teachers to instruct the ponies were the humans themselves. A gigantic majority of them were proficient and knowledgable in Pokemon. After all, they were born in the Pokemon World, meaning that they grew up around Pokemon their entire life. So it only makes sense for humans to be the teachers.
Celestia looked over her balcony, spotting the school in all its glory. Its appearance was similar to that of the Pokemon Summer Academy located in Sinnoh. The design was strikingly similar. The differences between the two are that this school was much bigger, had more than just two floors, the colour palette resembled that of the Poke Ball and had the Equestria Flag on top of the roof.
Ash wanted to get a good look at this place. Since it's the first Pokemon-themed school in Equestria, his curiosity came flying at him as always.
"So that's the Pokemon School of Equestria, huh? Reminds me of the Summer Academy." Ash said.
"Pikachu."
"I can't believe it's finally finished..." Twilight was starting geek out over the creation of the Pokemon School. "I'm so excited!"
"Wait, Twilight. Are you planning on studying there?" Starlight asked.
"Of course! I'd be insane not to! This is the biggest opportunity that everypony who wants to learn more about Pokemon has. The teachers are all humans so they're leagues above our knowledge of Pokemon."
"What about your Pokemon Lab?" Pinkie questioned. "Don't you have all the Pokemon information there?"
"I've got a lot. But not enough. This, however, is enough. I can't wait to sign up!" The young alicorn made her way towards the school with ecstatic energy behind her.
Ash noticed a familiar figure inside of the school by just looking in the window. This figure had a tall stature wore an all purple dress with an X on it, similar to that of Drifblim and even their hair was purple. That description fits only one person.
"Isn't that...?" Ash squinted his eyes to get a better look at this person. His eyes didn't deceive him. It was truly the person he was thinking of.
The Hearthome City Gym Leader and sophisticated Trainer.
Fantina.
"Coming out of the school, Fantina revealed herself to everypony as the first teacher to be inside the school. Her appearance was admirable by many ponies due to how simple yet effective her sense of style was.
"Hello, my little ponies!" She spoke in her usual chipper tone and accent. "Glad to see you and-" Fantina paused for a moment, noticing a familiar face in the crowd. That familiar face was none other than Ash and his Pikachu of course. "Ash!" She greeted him.
"Hey, Fantina!" Ash greeted her back.
"Pikachu!"
"Quelle nostalgie! How have you been?" Fantina asked.
"Been doing great! Thanks!"
"You two know each other?" Applejack asked.
"Mhm. Fantina's the Hearthome City Gym Leader all the way in Sinnoh."
"I should've introduced myself first." Fantina moved back for everypony to see her. "I am Fantina! The Alluring, Soulful Dancer! Ravi de vous rencontrer, my little ponies."
"She talks funny." Pinkie giggled.
"I didn't know you were going to be a teacher here, Fantina."
"Pika."
"Not just me, Ash. But many other Gym Leaders from across the regions. You will be seeing a lot of familiar faces here."
"Really, huh?" Ash thought of all the possible gym leaders that might be here. There was a lot of possibilities of who might show up.
"Oh! You must be the Mane 6 that I've been hearing about." Fantina turned to Twilight and her friends.
"Oh, you know us?" said Rarity?
"Mais bien sûr! Reading Pokemon Weekly made me aware of you and your town. Et je dois dire, it's fairly interesting!"
"Wait, Fantina. Are you gonna be teaching about Pokemon Contests?" Ash asked.
"Ah, vous avez raison. Everything they need to know about Contests will be taught by me. All for future ponies who want to become Top Coordinators."
"Everything?" Rarity shot up. "If that's the case, then Sweetie Belle could come here as well."
"Oh! Presque oublié!" Fantina clapped her hands together. "I have to prepare myself in a few minutes! But you can come inside for the school tour. A bientôt!" Fantina returned to the indoors of the school, heading off to attend important business.
Over the horizon, many ponies from across Equestria, mainly the younger ones had arrived just to sign up for this newly-created Pokemon School. First of its kind.
Originally, the biggest fear that Celestia had about this school was that it might get too overcrowded, but thanks to BigTime Ben, they managed to create enough space to fit around possibly a million students. News about the school being fully built reached them yesterday.
Once entering through the doors of the school, they were to find the trainer who would tour them around the school. After all, they'll need some guidance on where to go, where each room connects to and the other ways they can exit without using the entrance.
But of course, they took some time to admire the interior of the school. The inside was made out of polished blue and white marble tiles on the floor, walls and even parts of the ceiling. They were given the Equestria style with sparkles coming out of them as a bonus.
This was only for the first and second floor. The others have varying differences that cater to the specific teachers of each classroom that have yet to be seen.
The one who would end up giving tours to the ponies was none other than the Rustboro City Gym Leader Roxanne, who was already a teacher herself. And just like Fantina, Ash noticed her in seconds. She still looked the same after all these years much like everyone else Ash has met.
"Welcome, everyone. Happy to have you all here. I'm Rustboro City's Gym Leader and the Rock-Loving Honours Student, Roxanne." She introduced herself with sophistication. "I must say, it's really quite an honour for me right now. To be teaching an entirely different world about Pokemon.
"Hello, Mrs Roxanne." The younger ponies said in unison.
"Are you going to teach us how to become Gym Leaders?" A filly asked.
"Well, if you any of you wish to become Gym Leader's I can kindly tutor you on that. I specialize in Rock-Types for those that are curious."
"Rock's always a good place to start. That and Grass-Type gyms..." Ash said.
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"Hm?" The voice of Ash sounded familiar to the Gym Leader. Roxanne looked over at the crowd of ponies, spotting some old friends. Ash and Pikachu. "Well. If it isn't Ash and Pikachu."
"Hey, Roxanne. Good to see you again." Ash replied.
"Pika."
"Are you here to study at this school too? You're already an expert battler so I'm not sure you need it."
"Nah, I'm just here to see what this place is all about. Fantina said that I'd see a lot of familiar faces here in the form of Gym Leaders. And she wasn't wrong."
"Well, most teachers here are gym leaders with some exceptions here and there. And each of them have their own levels of experience. You can consider me as a first level."
"So, who are the rest, then?" A colt asked.
"Why don't you come along and I'll show you." Roxanne did the honours of showing everypony the rest of the school and what it has to offer.
The most glaring rooms were obviously the 18 classrooms meant to represent each Pokemon Type respectively. The first one they went to was Roxanne's classroom which had a rock-theme to it.
You had your standard table and chairs but they were made to look like a rock formation. Each table was circular with the Rock-Type symbol plastered in the middle. The classroom was still new and fresh so there weren't any decorations around.
The second classroom was a dojo of all things. That could only mean one thing. This class belonged to a Fighting-Type Gym Leader. And one that was familiar to Rainbow Dash as well.
The Dewford Town Gym Leader, Brawly.
"Brawly?!" Rainbow Dash spoke up.
"Hm?" Brawly placed a punching bag down, responding to Rainbow Dash's call. "Oh, you're Rainbow Dash, right? And I see Ash in the mix too. I'm getting a bit nostalgic here."
"Oh, you've already met this guy, Rainbow?" Pinkie turned to her pegasus friend.
"Mhm. Way back in the beginning when our worlds crossed over." Rainbow Dash nodded. "His Gym's the first one I ever went to."
"Uh-huh. I hear you decided to become a Pokemon Trainer yourself, hm? How's that been going so far? Win any Gym Battles lately?" Brawly asked.
"Good. Soon I'll take on my fifth gym which is all about the weather. And I've got this little guy to help me." Rainbow looked in her saddle-bag where Castform flew out.
"Cast!"
"By the way, Ash. Congrats on becoming champion by the way."
"You know about that?" Ash turned to Brawly.
"Pika?"
"I went over to Alola for a while to catch some sweet waves and I heard about some folks talking about a Champion named Ash and his crazy strong Pikachu. Knew it was you from the get-go."
"Oh, thanks, Brawly!"
"So!" Brawly clapped his hands together. "You kids wanna learn about a Pokemon's true strength? Just leave it to me. If anyone's a pro at direct physical action, it's yours truly."
"As if." Roxanne denied that. "Brute force doesn't determine a Pokemon's true strength, Brawly. There's more to it than just rushing in blind."
"Don't you attack with Rock-Types which is basically brute force?" Brawly lowered his eyes, replying to her.
"It's completely different. There's some distance involved with it." Roxanne smirked. "Speaking of which, you kids should fill out your Trainer Cards first."
"Trainer cards?" The young ponies collectively asked.
"Brawly. If you would." Roxanne turned to her fellow Hoenn Gym Leader.
"Hm? Oh, right. Check this out." The Fighting-Type Gym Leader held out cards that were completely blank but had six slots that represented a full Pokemon Team.
He gave them out to all the students to let them see what these cards were all about whilst Roxanne explained it.
"These are Trainer Cards. They're what helps us teachers identify all of you whilst also acting as an information card. They display your trainer ID number, name, the amount of currency you have, your badges or ribbons, Pokemon etc."
"They'll help you get around the school too. Especially for cafeteria food. You can use the currency on your card to buy whatever you want. "
"Ugh...Cafeteria food..." A colt felt like throwing up in his mouth.
"Don't worry. This is good cafeteria food. We've got some pretty adept chefs along with a bunch of Slurpuff's to make sure that it's at the best quality." Brawly replied.
"I'll take his word for this." Pinkie nodded.
"So, fill out your trainer cards and that'll confirm you all as students of this school," Roxanne said.
The students got to filling out their Trainer Cards in their own unique way. The cards at the moment were all the same, but later on, they can customize it however they want.
After they had signed up officially for the school, they came across the third class which was centred around Poison-Types. Not only that but the interior looked like a music club. Ash could tell who this class belonged to.
The Virbank City Gym Leader, Roxie. Along with two random drum players.
"Bit early don't'cha think?" Roxie jammed out on her guitar. "But that's fine! Sup kids. Name's Roxie! I'll be your teacher in all things Poison!"
"Is that it? I thought this was a classroom for music lessons." A filly scratched her mane with her wings.
"If you want, I can teach you. But if you're gonna learn some music from me, you gotta have Poison days and poison on the stage, got it?"
"I guess a lot of the people I've met really have stayed the same, huh," Ash spoke to Pikachu.
"Don't think I don't see you there, Ash." Roxie pointed out.
"Have you met every Gym Leader? Ash?" Twilight turned to him.
"Every last one of them. Well...there's still the Galar Gym Leaders which are new to me."
"Pika..."
The fourth class belonged to one of the more powerful Gym Leaders in the Pokemon World. A man who was once dejected since no worthy challengers had been able to defeat him until Ash came along.
That man was none other than Sunnyshore City's Gym Leader, The Shining, Shocking Star and Electric-Type specialist.
Volkner.
And as always, he was sitting by himself with his hands in his pockets. Volkner used to be a bit aloof and somewhat cold during his earlier days as the Sunnyshore City Gym Leader, but after Ash, he returned to his usual cheery self. Perhaps, sitting alone is something he naturally enjoys.
"Bit early, don't you guys think?" Volkner said to them all.
"Yes, Volkner we know. But we're just giving the students a quick tour at the moment." Roxanne explained. "Are the others here?"
"Not yet. It's just you, me, Fantina and Brawly in this school. The others haven't even shown up yet." He stood up from his seat.
"They're running late?!" Roxanne gasped. "They were all supposed to be here by 7:30. It's now 8:10."
"Ah, they've probably got a lot of things they need to do first, ya know." Ash spoke to Roxanne."
"Hm? If it isn't Ash. Looking sharp as always." Volkner pointed out.
"Thanks, Volkner."
"Pikachu!"
"Wait. How many gateways are near Canterlot, actually?" Rarity thought about something for a moment. "You're all Gym Leaders from separate regions, correct?"
"Well, some of us come from the same region but yeah. Some are different." Volkner nodded.
"How were you able to arrive here so early?" Rarity asked.
"Turns out...the gateways that connect to this place are closer than you think. It didn't take long for Volkner, Brawly, Fantina and I to arrive here at all thanks to where they're placed." Roxanne explained.
"Weird...I've only seen one gateway close to Canterlot and that's Pewter City. Where did the others come from?" Twilight wondered.
"Don't even worry about it," Volkner replied. "The important thing right now is that you're all ready for next week. We'll be starting classes officially, so get ready."
"Alright, but uh...who's the Principal here?" A colt moved his head around the room.
"That would be Cynthia. She was given that role." Roxanne answered.
"Cynthia?!" The Mane 6 gasped all of a sudden.
"I was just as shocked as you all. Turns out even as a champion, she's got a loooot of free time on her hands." Volkner sat back down. "So you've got a pretty good gist of what kind of people are gonna be the staff members in this school."
"Shouldn't you be a teacher here too Ash? You're an expert trainer and a champion." Applejack asked him.
"Nah." Ash shook his head. "I'm gonna become a Pokemon Master so a teacher ain't the role for me."
"Let's get a move on. I should show you the rest of the school." Roxanne continued the tour.
The ponies were led to an outside area in the school where there were two spots. One for Pokemon to hang out and the other a battlefield for those who want to partake in a Pokemon Battle.
"Right here for those battle-hungry trainers is our school battlefield. If you want to test out your skills as a trainer, this is the place to be. And right over there is the Pokemon Hangout spot. Specifically for Pokemon to hang out and relax." Roxanne explained.
"Can we let our Pokemon hang out now?" A filly asked.
"If you want to. Go ahead." Roxanne allowed it.
The young ponies all released their Pokemon from their Poke Balls, causing the entire outside to be filled with Pokemon of all sizes. They told their partners to go along and have fun at the hangout spot in the meantime. With how long this tour is looking to be, they might be here for a while.
"We'll finish the tour in at least 20 minutes. So by the time we get back, your Pokemon would already be worn out and tired. Now allow me to show you the cafeteria. Brawly wasn't lying at all about the quality of it all."
As Roxanne continued the tour of the Pokemon School, a certain trio was currently present inside of this school. That trio obviously being Team Rocket. But this time, they were assuming completely different roles that they've never tried before.
"Excellent!" Jessie exclaimed as she was in a teacher suit. "I look like a well-mannered and proper teacher, don't I?"
"Why do we have to be the janitors again? For the second time in a row." James grumbled as he and Meowth were in janitor outfits.
"What kind of babble are you gonna be teaching anyways?" Meowth asked.
"I won't be teaching anything. I signed up for the role of the Guidance Counsellor. Those little ponies with issues are going to come running to me with whatever problems they may have. I even have my own Trainer Card." Jessie showed off her Trainer Card.
"This plan seems like it might drag out too long, don't you think?" James said.
"That ain't too bad. We spent time at that Summer Academy didn't we?" Meowth reminded him.
"It'll be a swimming success! We just have to play it like officials! And we'll be bagging beasts far as the eye can see!"
"Wobbuffet!
Roxanne's tour went on for 15 minutes with only 5 minutes left until it ends. The next place they arrived at was a room where there was a bunch of Pokemon Eggs just laying there.
"Right here is our breeding room. This is exclusively for Pokemon Breeders who take good care of them. And if you're curious, yes, you can ask for the eggs."
"How long have they been like this? Have they hatched yet?" Pinkie asked.
"These are new so they have yet to hatch. But with our expert breeders, the Pokemon will come out in no time. We have people like Brock to help us with that."
"Brock works here too?" Ash shot up. "At this rate, everyone I've met is gonna be here."
"Feeling nostalgic, Ash? I-" Roxanne's attention turned over to the clock, making her realize something. "Oh! I almost missed the staff meeting! Sorry, my little ponies. But we'll have to cut this tour short. Hope you've enjoyed it anyway."
"We have! Thanks, Ms Roxanne." Some of the young ponies thanked her.
After the tour had ended, the ponies went out to fetch their Pokemon as some were planning to head home for the day. Whilst that happens, Twilight's excitement for next week was building up. She couldn't wait to start this school.
"I can't wait! There's so much to do and learn! What about you girls? Are you joining?"
"Maybe." Applejack considered it. "But I'm gonna have to see if its gonna occupy most of my day. Still got duties over at Sweet Apple Acres after all."
"We're all curious. But how long is it going to last?" Fluttershy wondered.
"A Pokemon school's schedule normally lasts 6 hours. So...it won't take up most of your day."
"6 hours huh? That doesn't sound so bad." Rainbow Dash nodded. "I might consider it."
"I as well. Although...am I too old for school?" Rarity questioned herself.
"It's great that you're all considering it. With this school, we might learn more about Pokemon that we've yet to discover." Twilight squeed. "I feel like a little filly again!"
"I can't wait to see who else works here. Gonna be a lot of memories coming back, huh buddy?" Ash was referring to the various Gym Leaders who worked here.
"Pikachu!"
The Pokemon School had been officially established. Classrooms focusing on all 18 types, club activities, egg breeding rooms, enrichment rooms, the list goes on. Roxanne didn't have the opportunity to show them all the rest of the school.
But one thing's for sure when next week comes along, the ponies will have a lot to experience here. Their knowledge of Pokemon will be heightened and put to the test to see how far they've all come as the journey continues.
"Hmm..." A sculpturer of crystals looked over at a statue he and his fellow sculptures were working on. "It's missing something."
"Missing something? But it looks exactly like her!" His fellow sculpturer pointed his hoof over at the sculpture that was of Princess Cadence's Sylveon. The appearance was close to matching that of the Intertwining Pokemon, but the main sculpturer wasn't truly satisfied.
"Maybe...but I wanted to go the extra mile. Oh, well. Looks like her anyway. Princess Cadence's Sylveon will love it all the same."
And speaking of Cadence's Sylveon, she came outside to see if her sculpture had been finished. Once her eyes locked onto the crystal creation, she was indeed satisfied.
"Well, Sylveon? How do you like it?" Cadence asked her partner.
"Syl!" She loved it. Running over to her statue, she jumped around it like a child. Well, she was technically still a child since she evolved 9 months ago.
"If only Honedge weren't so stubborn, then it would have its own sculpture." Shining Armor sighed.
"I'm sure it'll come around one day," Cadence reassured.
"So, Princess Cadence. Should we make a sculpture of your daughter's Manaphy next?" The sculpturer's asked.
"Go ahead. She would love-" Before Cadence could finish her sentence, all of a sudden, up in the skies of the Crystal Empire an Ultra Wormhole had opened up.
The booming sound of the wormhole startled everypony due to how instant, loud and unexpected it was. All eyes were on the skies, gazing directly at the interdimensional hole in space.
What Ultra Beast would be coming out of this one? Well, this time, it was none other than the Drawn Sword Pokemon with the codename UB-04 Blade.
Kartana.
"Won siht si erehw" The Drawn Sword Pokemon suddenly spoke.
"What is that thing?" A crystal pony wondered as there was constant gossip about this wormhole and mysterious Pokemon that had come through.
Cadence and Shining Armor, already being cautious of this, narrowed their eyes over at the Drawn Sword Pokemon. They weren't sure if it was friend or foe.
Kartana was a bit of a curious Ultra Beast, which is why it passed through the wormhole. And one thing that Kartana enjoys more than anything, is cutting. It has a bit of an odd obsession with cutting anything it wants. Much like how Pheromosa is obsessed with gemstones and how Buzzwole only cares about flexing and showing off.
Once the Drawn Sword Pokemon noticed the sculpture and Sylveon at the same time, it realized that it wasn't perfect enough. That had to change.
"Tuc ot tcejbo doog a ekil skool taht." The Ultra Beast made its way towards the direction of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. Some guards got in the way, ready to stop Kartana if it tries anything funny.
But Kartana saw the guards as just a mere obstacle. In fact, Kartana thought of something new that could classify as a great cut.
"Sylveon..." Sylveon was the most cautious about this one. Her ribbons flew up, ready to grab the Ultra Beast at any moment.
Just then, the Drawn Sword Pokemon moved at blinding speeds, passing the guards, Shining Armor and Cadence and the statue at the same time. The last thing they all saw was white slashes that moved around in different directions.
Kartana was behind all of them, not even facing the statue or the ponies at all. And for good reason. Its cut was so fast and precise that it could hit multiple targets in just 2 seconds. "Tcejbo sselhtrow a tuc I, erom ecno."
And just like that, Princess Cadence's hairstyle had been transformed right before her very eyes. She now had a ponytail out of nowhere.
"Huh?" Her eyes widened as she took some time to process what just happened. Once she did, she noticed how her mane changed due to Kartana's slashes. And her reaction? She liked it. "Oh, I actually quite like this."
Not only that, but the guards and Shining Armor got a mane-do as well. Shining Armor was given a perm while the guards were graced with mohawks that already fit their armour.
"A perm? Mmrgh...Not a fan." Shining Armor grumbled.
"Syl? Sylveon!" Sylveon turned around to see that her statue had been affected the most by Kartana's slashes. What Kartana did was exactly what the sculpturer wanted in the first place.
Instead of the sculpture having a standard standing pose, Kartana made it so that it looked like Sylveon was pulling off a move by standing upright with her paws outstretched.
To Sylveon, this was much better than how it looked originally. It truly was perfect." Veon! Sylveon!"
"Would you look at that..." Cadence gawked at the new and improved statue. "Thank you uh...who are you exactly?" She asked Kartana.
"Gnihtyreve tuc ot yenruoj ym eunitnoc tsum I .tnatropmi ton si eman ym."
"Uh...Wha?" Cadence had no idea what Kartana just said.
Just then, Honedge forced itself out of the Poke Ball without Shining Armor even sending him out. This is actually the first time this has ever happened before.
"Hm? Honedge!" Shining Armor gasped.
"Hone!" The reason why Honedge forced itself out was that it finally found a perfect vessel to inhabit its spirit inside. Kartana's blade was sharper than its, so if it posses the Ultra Beast, nothing will stand in its way. "Honedge!"
"Em gnignellahc er'uoY ?hoH?"
"Nedge..."
"Enim ot roirepus si edalb ruoy taht evorP .emoc neht" All of a sudden, the two of them started battling out of nowhere, much to the surprise of everypony.
Honedge flew over to the opposing Ultra Beast, swinging his blade downwards for an overhead. Kartana, who had a faster reaction time than Honedge, raised his blade, blocking the incoming overhead.
Kartana and Honedge clashed blades together, entering a small struggle. But Karanta proved to have more Oomph to his cuts. As a result, Honedge had been defeated in one single slash.
"Em taefed ot mia uoy fi og ot yaw gnol a sah edalb ruoY"
"Honedge..."
And just like that, Kartana left the area, off to cut something else out there. Shining Armor went over to Honedge, seeing how it was beaten in one single hit.
"You okay Honedge...?"
"Edge..."
"Maybe it's best if you get some rest." Shining Armor returned the Sword Pokemon to its Poke Ball.
"What was that thing...?" Cadence wondered. "And why is it so good at mane-cuts?" She admired her ponytail. Kartana definitely left an impression despite only just arriving in 2 minutes. Where it is headed next is unknown to her. But Cadence has a pretty good feeling of what it might do when it gets there.
Manehattan
Over at a barber's shop, somepony was getting their mane done, wanting a brand new look.
"What would you like?" The barber asked.
"Is it possible for you to make me look like my Staraptor?"
"Ah...you want its signature comb, do you? I understand." The barber used her horn to grab some scissors and a trimmer. "Just sit tight. I'll need more than these two. Staraptor comb has a unique look to it."
Whilst the barber searches for the necessary items, along came Kartana. After seeing how this place cuts hair, it took the opportunity to show off and surpass the skilled barbers.
The Drawn Sword Pokemon did its usual dash-cut, leaving only a swift white slash for the pony to see. "Tcejbo sselhtrow a tuc I, erom ecno"
With yet another swing of its blade, Kartana had performed a perfect, flawless cut. Not only that, but it ended up granting the wish of the pegasus who wanted his mane to look exactly like his Staraptor. And lo and behold, he now had the comb of his partner Pokemon.
"Oh, wow! You work fast!" The pegasus grinned.
"Hm?" The Barber turned around to spot that the job had already been done. "What the-"
Obviously perplexed, the barber had no clue on how that was possible. She had just gotten the necessary items and the moment she turns around, it was over.
Kartana once again left to go and find something else to cut. The Ultra Beast's blade hungers for more.
The Dragon Lands.
"Alright. How does this thing work again?" Ember held a Poke Ball in her hand. She was currently looking down at a Gible.
"Gib!"
"Just throw it, right?" She simply tossed the Poke Ball on Gible's head, absorbing the Land Shark Pokemon inside with a red light as she waited for the outcome.
1...2...Slash.
Kartana interrupted, cutting through the Poke Ball out of nowhere before Ember could even react.
""Tcejbo sselhtrow a tuc I, erom ecno""
The slash split it into tiny little pieces as Gible broke free.
"Gible?"
"Oh, you serious?!" Ember groaned. "Fine...Let's try the blue one's then. Maybe those will work."
Trottingham.
"Alright. Do not touch it at all costs. We will open it when I get back." A mare said to her husband and son.
"We promise." Both of them said in unison as the mother left the room. The two sneaky little colts looked at each other with a devious grin. The object in question that they were planning to touch was a brand new golden safe.
But before they could turn around and unlock it, Kartana had arrived, cutting it in one single strike. That was yet another object claimed by Kartana's blade.
""Tcejbo sselhtrow a tuc I, erom ecno. emit siht tuc doog ylriaf a saw taht"
"We're just gonna take a few bits from this-" The father paused as he and his son had their jaws hit the floor, seeing how the safe had been cut in half. The mother was going to annihilate them when she gets back.
Ponyville.
Over at the Pokemon House, Fluttershy and Ash along with Rainbow Dash were feeding the Pokemon after they had just finished a long battle.
"Can you two get along now?" Fluttershy asked a Shelmet and Karrablast. They were two Pokemon who had a lot in common in terms of their evolution. After all, whenever they cross paths, they receive an electrical stimulation that forces them both to evolve.
"Karra..." Karrablast pouted.
"Met!" Shelmet scoffed.
"Well, it's only natural. Some Pokemon are rivals." Ash chuckled.
"Pikachu..."
"Shel!" Shelmet, being the petty Pokemon that it was, spat out some berry seeds from its mouth, hitting Karrablast in the face.
"Blast!" The Clamping Pokemon fell back after the sudden seed snipe.
"Oh, nice shot!" Rainbow Dash was impressed.
"Ah! Shelmet!" Fluttershy snapped at Shelmet who was chuckling.
"Shel-Shel-Shel!"
"Chiko!" Chikorita decided to punish Shelmet by whacking him in the head with her leaf.
"Met!" That one hit from the Leaf Pokemon knocked some sense into him.
"So, Fluttershy. You said you wanted to go to Alola more, right?" Ash asked.
"Mhm. I'm interested in Regional Variants. Oh, and also Galar. If that's okay with you."
"Sure thing. I mean...there's a lot of regional forms I've yet to see myself. I'm so excited! Are you?"
"Very!" Fluttershy squeed.
"Pika...?" Pikachu heard a familiar sound coming this way. One he's only heard once due to the difference in worlds. He turned his head towards the direction of the sound, spotting the Ultra Beast in the sky. "Pikapi!"
"Hm? What is it bu-" Ash responded to his Pokemon's call, looking at the same direction he was. Now Kartana had graced his eyes. "Oh! A Kartana!"
"A what?" Fluttershy wondered. And just like Ash and Pikachu, she spotted the Drawn Sword Pokemon. "Oh! Look at how small it is!"
"Who's that Pokemon?" Rainbow pulled out her dex, curious on what it was.
"Kartana. The Drawn Sword Pokemon. One of the Ultra Beast life-forms. It seems not to attack enemies on its own, but its sharp body is a dangerous weapon in itself. It was observed cutting down a gigantic steel tower with one stroke of its blade. Although it’s alien to this world and a great danger here, it’s apparently a common organism in the world where it normally lives."
"Another Ultra Beast?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Guess a lot of Ultra Wormholes really are all over the place." Ash stood up.
"The dex doesn't say it's here to attack us, so that's good," Fluttershy said. "But wonder why it's come here? Oh! Is it like Pheromosa where it found something enjoyable in this world?"
"Actually, there is one likely reason. Kartana wants to cut something. Something real good." Ash explained.
"Pikachu!"
"namuh ,tcerroc." Kartana responded.
Once Kartana replied to him, Fluttershy's ears picked up on that. She can't understand Ultra Beasts since they are aliens. Which she can't speak, unfortunately. However, she noticed that what Kartana was saying sounded very familiar.
"Hold on..." Fluttershy walked up to Kartana. "Did you...speak our language?"
"Ynop elttil ym, noitcuded tcefrep."
"You are!" Fluttershy's eyes widened.
"Wait, you can understand this Ultra Beast?" Rainbow asked.
"Mhm. It's the first one. In fact...Kartana's speaking in reverse." Fluttershy noticed.
"In reverse?!" That shocked Rainbow Dash to the core.
"Ereh ma I elihw gnihtemos tuc tsum I."
"Well...if the Pokedex says that you can cut down a gigantic steel tower, let's see what other huge things you can cut down." Fluttershy recommended. "Does that sound fine?"
"Yeah, I wanna see this for myself." Rainbow Dash flew up.
"Reffo ruoy tpecca I."
To see how impressive Kartana's cutting skills really were, Fluttershy requested the assistance of Rarity and her Leavanny's.
"You want my Leavanny's to make a large ball of string?" Rarity raised an eyebrow.
"I know it sounds odd but your Leavanny's can make really strong and thick strings that aren't easy to break. So I figured that if they use it multiple times, it'll be nearly impossible to destroy."
"I see. But why do you need this exactly?"
"For this guy over here?" Ash pointed his thumb over at Kartana who revealed itself to the unicorn.
"...A piece of paper?" Rarity squinted her eyes.
"Kartana here can cut anything apparently. And he's looking for something grand to test his blade on. So I was wondering if the Leavanny's could do that." Fluttershy pleaded.
"Hm. Cut anything you say? That little thing?" Rarity giggled. "Fluttershy. It's a piece of paper. How can it-"
"Ynop, rewop ym etamitserednu uoy" Kartana didn't take too kindly to Rarity's words. So as a response, he took his blade out on her. Pheromosa was about to defend her trainer, but she then realized that Kartana wasn't doing it out of ill-intent, so she ceased any action.
"Huh?" Rarity blinked for a bit, realizing that something passed by her.
"Tcejbo sselhtrow a tuc I, erom ecno."
With the sound of a blade being swung, Rarity's mane had gotten a makeover. She didn't feel her mane getting affected, but she knew that something happened.
"What happened...? What was that?" Rarity was a bit perplexed, moving her head about.
"Oh my...Rarity...look!" Fluttershy's eyes looked like they had seen something amazing. She showed her unicorn friend a mirror to see what Kartana had just done.
By looking into the mirror, Rarity saw that her mane had been transformed into a dazzling drill-hairstyle. All from a single cut.
"Sweet Celestia...I look gorgeous!" Rarity gawked at herself. "I didn't know that this worked so well for me." She played around with her new mane-style, twirling the drills with her magic.
"So, will you let Kartana cut some thick string?" Rainbow Dash flew over.
"But of course. If it can do this, then it must be able to cut anything. Leavanny."
"Lea!" All 12 of her Leaavnny's lined up.
"A cluster of String Shot if you would. Make it extra strong."
"Van!" In unison, each of the Leavanny's focused their strength into a single spot, merging their strings together. Kartana was anticipating this ball of string, hoping that it was worth the cut.
So far, in his entire life, nothing has satisfied him. He has had good cuts that he's proud of, but every single time he manages to destroy it in a single hit. Even the other Ultra Beasts in his world cannot satisfy his endless cutting urges.
Eventually, the Leavanny's made a huge cluster of string that almost touched the ceiling of Carousel Boutique. And for an aesthetic choice, they made it look like a cocoon where bugs lay in.
"Alright, Kartana. Have a go at cutting this." Ash placed his hand on the cluster, feeling its sticky fluids. "Ew..."
Kartana hovered over to the cluster, examining its appearance. It was certainly thick and dense. But Kartana knew that this something he could easily cut through.
And so he did. But this time, he just stood in front of the cluster, swinging once. He swung so fast that it looked his blade didn't even move.
"Tcejbo sselhtrow a tuc I, erom ecno. Gniyfsitassid woh"
And just like that, every piece of string inside the cluster had been turned into tiny little bits of leftover strings.
"Leavan?!" All the Leavanny's gasped, shocked at how instant that was. Kartana didn't even make an attempt.
"How fast was that?!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"Regnorts gnihtemos tuc tsum I. hguone ton."
"How about we try Twilight's Pokemon Lab. Her Bisharp has some super strong metal." Ash recommended. That definitely caught Kartana's attention. If the metal is strong enough to rival his, then he might've found the perfect Pokemon to test his blade on.
Rarity looked on the floor, seeing how flawlessly Kartana obliterated the string. Not only that, but he didn't even make that much of a mess so there wouldn't be a lot of cleaning up left to do. Clearly, Kartana was a fairly impressive Pokemon.
After all, it is the strongest Grass-Type there is.
Twilight's Pokemon Lab was where Kartana's expectations were high. After introducing the Ultra Beast to Twilight, her curiosity spiked. Once the Pokedex identified the Drawn Sword Pokemon, Twilight learned about how potent its cuts where.
With her friends requesting Bisharp to be tested against Kartana, Twilight agreed in a heartbeat. She already knows how sharp Bisharp's body is so this will be interesting.
"Alright!" Twilight clapped her hooves together. "Bisharp's body is so sharp that it was as sharp as a thousand blades in one. So if it can even chip a piece of its steel, then I think we've got a real powerhouse of a Pokemon here."
"They're both Steel, so this is obviously gonna take more than one cut, right?" Rainbow Dash thought.
"Are you two ready?" Twilight asked the two Steel-Types.
"Bisharp!"
"Gnisimorp eb dluohs siht."
"Alright. Cut!" Twilight made the call.
"SHARP!" Bisharp raised his blades up, swinging them towards his opposing Steel-Type. Both Pokemon clashed their blades together with their own swings as the sound of steel colliding could be heard.
Rainbow Dash was actually correct. It did take more than one cut. In fact, after they clashed blades, both Pokemon had chipped each other. Bisharp's torso had a small chip whilst Kartana's blade which as surprisingly not steel but grass, had chipped a bit.
"Bisharp?!"
"elbaviecnocnI!"
"Ooh! They're even!" Twilight gasped, writing down notes. "So it looks like Bisharp's steel is so strong it can even affect otherworldly metal. Not bad, Bisharp."
But Bisharp wasn't paying attention to Twilight. Bisharp is a bit sensitive about its blade's being chipped. A Bisharp prides its blades more than anything. Mostly because if the blade on its head is chipped, it'll end up retiring as its position from boss.
Thankfully, it wasn't the head that was affected but the torso. Although, Bisharp couldn't let his Pawniard retinue see him like this.
So he started to panic.
"Sharp!" The Sword Blade Pokemon got on his knees, putting his bladed hands on his head. He wasn't sure that if a Bisharp's torso is chipped, he'll have to retire. It has only ever happened with the head.
Even though the Pawniards can't decide to retire their boss. Only Bisharp can.
"Oh, don't worry Bisharp." Fluttershy flew to him. "We can get that patched up in no time."
"Bi...sharp?"
"So, Kartana. What did you think? You satisfied?" Ash asked.
"Deredliweb ylurt ma I. htgnerts ni edalb ym hctam nac ohw eof yhtrow a ssorca gnimoc pu dne dluow I taht thguoht reven I."
"He's satisfied." Fluttershy nodded.
"Ecno ta siht tuoba nerehterb ym llet dna og tsum I." The Drawn Sword Pokemon suddenly flew off.
"Where's he going?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"He's off to tell the other Kartana's about this. Most likely, he's bringing more through. Bisharp must've been what he's been waiting for this entire time." Fluttershy translated.
"Aw...I wanted him to stay here a bit longer." Twilight pouted.
"He'll be back." Ash nodded. "They always come back anyway."
"Pikachu!"
A short visit from the sharp and mighty Kartana was definitely something that the ponies won't forget at all. From a perfect sculpture to matching Bisharp in strength, The Drawn Sword Pokemon enjoyed its time here with the most satisfying cut he has had so far.
And of course, with more Ultra Wormholes out there in the world, the possibilities of what events might grace Equestria are unexpected.
Early in the morning the artistic golden sun got up like a baby and started painting the dark black sky into a bright blue sky. The bright looking milky clouds got up from sleep and started travelling around the sky visiting the wonderful environment.
The first rays of sunlight lit up every room in Pallet. The dawn chorus of a melodic birdsong drifted in by Pidgey's and Dodrio's.
"Dodrio!"
The same Dodrio cry woke up every resident of Pallet Town. Some Pidgey's dashed across the azure skies followed by a few Spearows.
The small colourful cute Butterfree's danced all around the environment looking for sweet nectar. The flower’s fragrance filled the whole environment making the morning pleasant.
Everyone in Pallet Town got up as usual with tired and lazy faces. But once they re-energize themselves, those faces will transform into something brighter.
Pallet being a small country town meant that there wasn't much to do other than children playing outside with their Pokemon and the adults listening to Pallet Town's radio station WPOK.
And then there's Ash, who always has a lot to do, no matter what. Like always, he's off somewhere in various regions or somewhere in Equestria alongside his partner Pokemon.
A knock on the door could be heard from the Ketchum household. Delia went over, responding to whoever was knocking.
"Yes? Oh. Twilight. Good morning."
"Morning Mrs Ketchum. Is Ash home?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, sorry. You just missed him. He went over to Professor Cerise's lab a few minutes ago. But you can catch up before he goes on another research adventure."
"Phew. Not too far behind on time then." Twilight let out a sigh of relief.
"Do you need to see him about something, perhaps?"
"Well, actually...I Was hoping to spend some time with him. You know. Just me and him." Twilight dug her hooves on the ground.
"Hmm..." Delia narrowed her eyes. She knew exactly why Twilight wanted this. "I see...Well, you might want to get going before he leaves."
"Right! Thank you! Come on you three." Twilight spoke to her Pokemon as they made their way towards Vermillion City.
Twilight has been planning on spending quality time with Ash for a long time now. Sure, she's been around him a lot ever since the worlds crossed over, but most of the time, her friends tagged along. She was aiming at making this just between the two of them. Although, their Pokemon was a different story.
"It'll just be us two this time. I've been waiting for this moment! And this time, nothing is gonna stop me!"
Over at Cerise Labs, Professor Cerise showed Ash and Goh some tickets concerning Unova and their famous Casteliacone.
"Casteliacone Supreme?" Both Ash and Goh said in unison, looking at the ticket.
"Right. Before the New Year begins, Castelia City's giving out their rarest ice cream and the most critically acclaimed one across every region. The Casteliacone Supreme."
"Oooh...What's different about it from a normal Casteliacone?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"That's a mystery. You see, it's so rare that very few people have actually tasted it before. And the ones that have tasted it only get one lick in. And that one lick causes them to be so perplexed and bewildered that they drop the ice cream and completely forget what it tastes like."
"That sounds like the ultimate ice cream!" Goh gawked.
"You can consider it that. And this is your one chance to try and get a good taste of it. By running the Casteliacone Contest."
"Casteliacone Contest?" Ash wondered.
"Pikachu?"
"Right i-"
"Ash!" Twilight interrupted Professor Cerise as she had burst through the doors of the lab, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Hm? What's up, Twilight?" Ash turned to her.
"Oh, Twilight. How's your role as a fellow professor and your Pokemon Lab coming along?" Professor Cerise asked.
"It's going great so far, Professor! Hey Ash. Can I borrow you for a bit?"
"Sure. You need something?" Ash followed the alicorn outside of the room whilst Professor Cerise goes on about the Castelia Cone Contest.
"Well, Ash. This is a bit of personal thing. You see, it's almost a full year until the day our two worlds crossed over. And before the New Year arrives, I was wondering if we could hang out today until the day ends. You know, just you and me."
"Ah, I gotcha." Ash nodded. "I'm up for hanging out. But uh...I kinda wanted to go over to Castelia City and try that Casteliacone Supreme."
"That's fine. Castelia City's a good place to hang out. And I could go for some ice cream too."
"Awesome! How am I gonna break it to Goh if it's just us two?"
"I'll tell him." All of a sudden, Chloe was behind them, hearing the entire conversation go down.
"Chloe?!" Twilight yelped. "Were you watching from the beginning??"
"Mhm. I'll tell Goh about your little hangout session. You two go along and do whatever it is you're gonna do."
"Thanks, Chloe!" Ash thanked her.
"Pikachu!"
After Chloe told Goh about Ash and Twilight's hangout session, Goh had decided not to interrupt them. So, he'll just go to Unova later by himself.
Before this, Twilight hadn't even informed her friends back in Ponyville about her plans for today. Although, she did leave a note behind for them.
As for the two trainers, they took the shortcut gateways to reach Castelia. By moving through many gateways, Ash and Twilight arrived at Castelia City. The city which has skyscrapers that pierce even the clouds.
They could see how the people of Castelia were all currently competing for this special Casteliacone, just to have a chance to experience its legendary taste. That is if they can remember it afterwards.
It wasn't just Castelia City's citizens. People from many regions across the world had gathered here today to ace this contest once they learned about the Casteliacone Supreme being present today.
The contest involved an endurance test of seeing who can resist the coldest ice creams. By tasting various Casteliacones with different levels of cold, the aim was to make sure that you do not get many brain freezes. At all. If the contestants get three brain freezes, they're out of here.
And unfortunately, many of them did. Casteliacones and their cold levels were just too powerful. Left and right, people were getting disqualified in mere minutes. And some just gave up, unable to withstand even a single brain freeze.
The reason for this endurance test was to see who would end up getting the chance to taste the Casteliacone Supreme and actually remember it.
Whenever someone does obtain this ultimate ice cream they always forget what it tastes like after the first taste, dropping the ice cream. As such, people are left with this timeless mystery that may never be solved.
Out of curiosity, Ash and Twilight went over to see what happens during the contest for the Casteliacone Supreme. What kind of challenges would they have to go through that involved ice cream of all things.
"All this for one ice cream?" Twilight spoke. "Is it thattasty?"
"It's gotta be. If it's getting everyone this psyched up. I just gotta know what it tastes like!" Ash replied.
"Pikachu!"
"But if nopony's been able to finish it or even remember what it tastes like, what's the point?"
"All the more reason to try it. You don't mind if join in, do you Twilight?"
"Go ahead. I actually want to see this." Twilight allowed Ash to take part in this contest.
"Yes! Wish me luck, guys." Ash went over to the contest, aiming at tasting that Casteliacone Supreme, and hopefully, he can finish it.
Due to the scale of this contest, it could be entered at any time without having to sign up at all. So Ash just went up to it casually, preparing his taste buds for whatever comes his way.
Twilight, Pikachu and her Pokemon sat down to spectate Ash and how he performs. The first ice cream was placed in front of him which ended up being the standard Casteliacone. That was easy enough for Ash to finish off in a few minutes.
Next, he was giving an even colder Casteliacone with a bit more chill behind it. The way they get these Casteliacones to change in temperature is by having a Vanillish use its icy breath on each cone that is put in front of it.
Contestants were dropping on the table like Beautifly's, unable to withstand anymore. The contest had just started only 7 minutes ago and already, a large amount of them just couldn't handle the ramping levels of cold.
But the ones who could handle it were powering through these cones, especially Ash. They were determined to know what that Casteliacone Supreme tasted like.
The sounds of the spectators and crowd cheering them on could be heard across Castelia along with the cries of Pokemon, supporting their trainers.
"Come on, Ash!" Twilight cheered.
"Pikapi!"
"T-Too cold!" A contestant shuddered, falling on her back.
"..T-That's it for me." Another one fell sideways.
"I've been around my Glaceon for years...this is.. nothing..." Despite that, he couldn't handle two brain freezes.
"Ooh, tough break!" The announcer spoke. "We're down to 50 contestants now! And the ones who've had zero brain freezes are doing exceptionally well! Oh, but look at this kid! He's eating them all in one go! Look at him go!"
"I gotta know what it tastes like...I just gotta!" Ash said to himself, devouring all the Casteliacones that came in front of him in one go. Not once did he get a brain freeze.
The way he was devouring the Casteliacones made him look like a demon to the contestants as they were frozen in shock. Not by the Casteliacones even.
In just 3 minutes, Ash had managed to outpace the best contestants in this contest with his abnormal eating skills. How he managed to power through the cold was because of two things.
The first was that Ash has experienced much colder things throughout his journeys and the second was that he kept on thinking about every time Charizard burnt him, holding Infernape in Blaze along with his time in Alola and so on.
Not once did he get a brain freeze. The other contestants tried to mimic Ash to catch up, but unfortunately, they didn't have the same resistance to the cold as he did.
As a result, they were given horrible brain freezes. Some even had brain freezes so powerful that they fell over from the first one.
Ash was far ahead of them at this point as the crowd was now cheering for Ash since he looked like the most promising contestant there was. No one in the history of this contest has managed to finish so many Casteliacones this quickly without having a single brain freeze.
Finally, Ash came across the final Casteliacone. The coldest one there was. If he gets past this, the Casteliacone Supreme will be all his.
And that's what he did. By digging deep, the trainer dropped the entire ice cream inside of his mouth like he did the others. This one single Casteliacone was powerful enough to give him a slight shock, but nothing he couldn't handle.
"Ugh! Success!" Ash slammed his fists on the table.
"Oooh! That's all of them finished! Contestant Ash has cleared every last Casteliacone of every cold level!" The announcer gawked.
"That's the stuff, Ash!" Twilight wooed.
"Pikachu!"
"Now...he'll have the glorious opportunity to taste the greatest ice cream, not just in Unova, but the entire world. Whether it'd be Johto, Sinnoh or Galar, this ice cream is legendary! The Casteliacone Supreme!"
The time had come to reveal the world's greatest ice cream there is. They gave it a grand entrance by opening up a cooler. Once that cooler opened up, a golden glow illuminated from it as everyone was starstruck.
The Casteliacone Supreme. Its appearance had an unidentified flavour on it. One that had never been seen before. But the colouring of it was similar to vanilla.
Unlike most ice creams, this one had nothing else on it, but that single flavour. There was no cookie dough, chocolate chip, cherries, nothing.
"That's the Casteliacone Supreme?" said Twilight.
"Pika..."
"Contestant Ash. You are our most capable contestant yet. And you might be the first to tell us all what it tastes like." The announcer spoke as the ice cream was brought over to Ash.
"Alright..." Ash grabbed a hold of the cone, feeling the intimidating aura from the ice cream.
The entire crowd fell silent, leaning forward in anticipation. Could this be it? After so many years of wondering, the true taste of the Casteliacone Supreme could be revealed to the world.
All Ash needed to do was taste it.
And so he did. With a single lick, Ash had finally gotten the chance to have a sample of the ice cream's zest. And once he did, his eyes became bug-eyed in an instant.
Everyone thought that he was going to drop the ice cream and forget the taste like every other contestant who has made it this far, but that didn't happen.
The ice cream was still in Ash's hands. But the look on his face was one of awe. They all wondered if he would recover from that state at all.
And then, Ash's eyes returned to normal as he figured out what it tasted like. In fact, this flavour tastes very familiar.
"Huh...I've tasted this before."
"I beg your pardon?"
"This kinda tastes like...a mix of mom's homemade cooking and Brock's jelly-filled donuts!" Ash went to town on the ice cream, enjoying the sweet taste that felt familiar to him.
"I have no idea what that means but this is the first time someone has actually managed to tell us what it tastes like! Go into further detail, please!"
"Well, it's super sweet. But not too sweet. But it's got a taste similar to that of poffins and the spice of Poke-Puffs! And it's also got that flare from Lava cookies! I can't really continue describing it, but point is, it was worth the wait!" Ash continued to finish off the ice cream.
"Finally! After so long! We know what it's like! Although I would've liked to know more..."
"Mhm! Can I have some more please?"
"You want more?!"
"Yep! Just to give to my friends!" Ash grinned, referring to Pikachu, Twilight and the Pokemon. He wanted them to get a taste too if they could.
After the contest, and being crowned Champion, Ash gave some extra Casteliacone Supreme's to his friends, just so that they can taste it for themselves.
"I think I've figured out why no one was able to get a good taste of it until now." Twilight theorized.
"Really?"
"Yeah. They didn't finish through the others as quickly as you. Plus, you didn't look like you were struggling at all compared to every other contestant."
"Ah, well, I've been through some super cold things before. And super-hot things as well..." Ash chuckled.
"Pika." Pikachu tasted the ultimate ice cream, being the next to know what it tasted like. And just like his partner, he couldn't describe the taste but loved it anyway. "Pikachu!"
Twilight and her Pokemon did the same. The taste was unlike anything in Equestria. It was really worth coming here first for their hangout.
"Say, Ash."
"Yeah, Twilight?"
"When we get Jirachi's wish off one day. What will become of our future?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well...if both of our worlds weren't meant to meet in the first place and the timeline's been altered here and there, will we even have the same outcome as the others? For better or for worse?"
"Hm...Can't say really. Your world's still got a lot to discover about ours, ya know."
"A lot is an understatement."
"But, I can say this. Everyone from my world will be here to help yours. Just like how we've been helping Pokemon and they've been helping us for a bunch of years, we'll be there to make sure you all get through it."
"You really think so?"
"I know so. Pikachu and I help each other non-stop. I've got his back and he's got mine, right buddy?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded with ice cream on his face.
"Guess you really do know what to say after all, huh?" Twilight giggled. She looked up to notice something that caught her attention. "Oh, what are those?!"
What she was looking at exactly were none other than floating Pokemon balloons. Each of different Pokemon, ranging from Pikachu, Snorlax, Wooper, Meganium, Simisear and more.
"That must be the balloons for the new year that they're using," Ash answered
"Pikachu..."
"Let's watch, Ash!" Twilight used her magic to drag Ash along, almost making him spill his ice cream.
"Ah!"Ash wailed, almost losing his balance but Twilight's magic kept him up.
The young alicorn went over to see the balloons are more were coming into view. By gazing at these huge creations of helium with various Pokemon of all types, Twilight was enjoying herself so far. First the ice cream contest and now this.
And it was until the end of the day that she would carry on hanging out with Ash. Next, they went over to Studio Castelia, which displays and showcases many painting from artists who live in Castelia.
Most of them were inspired by the Gym Leader of Castelia, Burgh, as many artists from around Unova come to Castelia just to get some information from the Premier Insect Artist.
Twilight had the opportunity to see how artists in the Pokemon world work. Their art was completely different from Equestria's with some similarities here and there.
The studio is currently exhibiting works in the motif of legends of the Unova region, which have more to do with the myths of Reshiram and Zekrom, which caught the attention of the young alicorn.
"Aren't these...Reshiram and Zekrom?" She went up to a clay sculpture of the two legendaries.
"Yeah, that's them." Ash nodded. "I think Reshiram as Truth and Zekrom was Ideals. Is that right, buddy?"
"Pika." Pikachu nodded, confirming that Ash as right.
"Pokemon of Truth and Ideals...If that's the case, then what does Kyurem stand for?"
"Kyurem?" Ash scratched his hair, trying to remember. "Hm...Not sure actually. My Kyurem knowledge only goes so far. But I bet he stands for something awesome."
"Pikachu!"
They continued their hangout session, visiting the five ocean piers. Liberty Pier, Unity Pier which leads to Unity Tower, Prime Pier, Cruise Dock and Thumb Pier.
Next was none other than the Central Plaza also known as the Castelia Central Area, is a park located at the intersection of all the streets in Castelia City. There was a large flowing fountain that is said to bring people and Pokémon together.
Which it certainly did. Standing the middle of the plaza were three dancers that the crowd were admiring. Alongside their Panpour, Pansage and Pansear, they were giving the crowd an enjoyable sight.
They then stopped by Café Sonata. A small café on the right side of Narrow Street. Many people come to the café to relax after a tiring day of work, and to listen to the Musician's guitar rhythm, who believes that a beautiful melody makes people happy and a sad melody makes people sorrowful.
Today was nothing but a happy melody meant to close off the year for those who are anticipating the next one.
The duo and their Pokemon went over to Castelia Park. A small area enclosed by buildings. Similar to, but much smaller than the National Park in Johto. Many Wild Pokemon hang out in this park and it's always a recommended spot for trainers to catch a new partner.
"Skitty!" A Skitty popped out of the grass, chasing Buneary's tail as it found it compelling. After all, Skitty's attention is drawn by anything that moves.
"Bunear!" The Rabbit Pokemon ran around in circles, trying to avoid the Kitten Pokemon's curious and adventurous nature.
Five Ducklett's were eating some bread that an old lady gave to each of them when she came by. Out of curiosity, some Rattata's wanted in on the bread as well as they climbed up the old lady's shoulder.
Being in Castelia Park was just a nice and warm feeling overall. In fact, being in Castelia, in general, was just great.
Eventually, enough time had passed for the sun to reach its closing hours and for the moon to take its place until tomorrow.
The evening sun cast long shadows on the ground. The slanting rays of the setting sun gave a warm orange tinge to the sky. The night sky was aglow with bright city lights of all of Castelia City. Ash and Twilight looked up at the blanket of stars that stretched to infinity.
During this time, the fireworks would be going off for this world and every region out there.
"It's almost time for the fireworks. How about we see the ones here and then the others in Equestria." Ash suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Twilight was up for it.
The fireworks would take place in the Central Plaza for all to see. There were only 5 minutes left until they go off and a new year arrives for all on both sides.
Ash, Twilight and their Pokemon stood at Central Park with everyone else, anticipating the eventual storm of fireworks. The streets of Castelia was surrounded by the happiness and laughter of the anticipating audience.
Children and Pokemon danced around before the fireworks would get a chance to outshine them. A countdown began. Starting from 30 seconds.
And the same could be said for the other world. Everypony in Ponyville had already gathered around to see their fireworks go off. Twilight and her friends knew that she would be here due to the note she left behind for them. They didn't want to ruin her time with Ash at all.
Back at Castelia, the countdown was nearing its end. And so was this year.
"3...2...1..." And with the final words spoken, a new year had begun. "New Years is here!" The entire crowd bellowed with all their might. Louder than they bellowed last year.
They all looked up to see a silent spark explode into a million dazzling particles of bright lights that filled the beautiful night sky. The feeling of fireworks going off at a time like this was truly infinite.
"Beautiful..." Twilight gazed.
"Yeah, it sure is." Ash smiled.
"Pikachu..."
"Espeon..."
The Pokemon and their trainers found so much enjoyment in all of this. And with a new year upon them, the adventures they have in store are endless. A year has come to an end. But a new one beings as the journey continues.
Lucien had spoken up, standing atop a cloud, rubbing his hand together.
"Oh, we're finally going to do something else?" Sienna asked her fellow Rift creation.
"Oh, you know. I've got a few ideas boiling up. We'll start small with this." He created a spark of energy in his hand. "And then, we'll go from there."
"Ugh..." Sienna groaned. "Don't tell me we have to play the long game...?"
"Trust me on this Sienna. This is gonna be good." Lucien put the first part of his plan into motion. He zapped the grasslands of Equestria, leaving behind a cosmic spark that sank into the ground itself.
Despite Lucien saying that it was something small, this newly formed occurrence was not small in the slightest. The ground below was trembling all of a sudden, even causing the trees themselves to almost fall over due to the immense tremors underground.
The Pokemon around these grasslands made a run for it except for the ones that could fly. After all, they were in the sky. There was no possible way that the ground could affect them.
At least, that's what they thought until what Lucien had planted emerged from the ground. He had brought over the famous phenomenon that exists exclusively in the Galar Region.
The Dynamax Phenomenon. Along with those signature dens with the crimson and sometimes purple Dynamax energy flowing out of them.
"Yeah, but I went a step further. I didn't just bring it here. I connected with a certain Pokemon who's all about Dynamax."
"Certain...?" Sienna sat down on a cloud, thinking for a moment. That's when it hit her. "Oh, you mean..."
"That's right. It's not gonna show up for a while. But when it does, that's where the real fun can begin. The Rift is gonna love this!"
"Well, you've got something planned. I'm gonna go do my own thing." Sienna stood up with a proud look on her face.
"Hm? Like what?"
"All you need to do know is that it's gonna beat your long game plan by a mile. The Rift's gonna love my plan more than yours."
"Is that a challenge?"
"It sure is. Wanna put a bet on it?"
"Okay, sure!" Lucien held his hand out. "Whoever can give Equestria the better form of chaos wins uh...what do we win?"
"...Not sure. But I'll think of something. You're going down, Lucien!"
The den of Dynamax energy was already playing its part, slowly spreading its particles across the lands of Equestria. Wherever they may end up and which Pokemon they might affect is unknown. But what is known is that when it happens, it'll be impossible to ignore.
The Pokemon School, Canterlot.
The remaining teachers which were mostly Gym Leaders had shown up finally. The ones who were here early yesterday were Roxanne, Brawly, Roxie, Fantina and Volkner.
Today was an induction, where the students will come in and gain information on which rooms they'll study in during certain days, which teachers they'll have and their schedule.
Now, the remaining teachers had revealed themselves to the students who were currently present at the school today. Last time the students were here during Roxanne's tour, they were only able to see the first and second floor. Little did they know how many rooms there were in total on the other floors.
On each floor, there were 18 classes each. For the first and second it was 18. And for the third and fourth it was 36. And so and so forth. Some represented the 18 Pokemon Types whilst others were for different topics.
Roxanne, Brawly and Roxie were all on the first floor. They were perfect examples since, in their respective regions, they're the earliest Gym Leaders. The stronger the Gym Leader, the higher the floor.
And despite the classrooms being type-themed, the teachers of each classroom teach more than just typings. They're here to given the ponies lessons about everything they need to know about Pokemon and more.
However, there were only 14 gym leaders present and not all of them covered all 18 types. Some shared typings.
7 extra classrooms were focused on trainers who weren't Gym Leaders but different occupations. Such as Hollow, who teaches regularly. Along with Brock who specializes in Pokemon Breeding.
"Alright. I believe all 14 of you can meet your students now." Celestia said to the teachers.
"Well, you've already met five of us, so I believe you should meet the others." Roxanne passed it on to the others. And the list of teachers goes as followed.
From Johto, the Olivine City Gym Leader. The Steel Clad Defence Girl, Jasmine.
From Sinnoh, the Snowpoint City Gym Leader. The Diamond Dust Girl, Candice.
From Kalos, the Laverre City Gym Leader. The Maiden From A Land With History, Valerie.
From Unova, the Opelucid City Gym Leader and also Mayor of that entire city. The Spartan Mayor, Drayden.
Also from Unova, the Nimbasa City Gym Leader. The Shining Beauty, Elesa.
Also from Kalos, the Anistar City Gym Leader. The person who Makes paths with starlight, Olympia.
Also from Johto, the Blackthorn City Gym Leader. The blessed user of Dragon Pokemon, Clair.
Also from Hoenn, the Petalburg City Gym Leader. The man in Pursuit of Power, Norman.
And finally, straight from Kanto, the Vermillion City Gym Leader. The Lightning Lieutenant, Lt. Surge.
There was a pretty hefty amount of them present today. And to think that there are even more that have yet to show themselves. But they weren't here today.
And of course, the one who volunteered to run the entire school as Principal was none other than the Champion of Sinnoh, Cynthia. Originally, Leon was selected to run the school, but he turned it down. So Cynthia stepped up to the plate. Even if it meant leaving her vacation home in Undella, she was determined to teach this world about Pokemon.
Although at the moment, she wasn't present outside. Rather inside.
And with that, the Pokemon School was officially open. With high hopes and high energy, mostly from Twilight, the ponies made their way indoors to see how the first day would go.
And of course, Team Rocket being incognito with Jessie being a guidance counsellor, James and Meowth being janitors, the task of catching every single Pokemon here including the eggs in the breeding room will prove to be their greatest challenge yet.
But they do it all for the boss.
The students were all given schedule sheets on what lessons were first and how long they'll last. Surprisingly, they were fairly short.
Going from 9:30 to 12:30. At least, on a Monday. And speaking of which, some students were allowed to come in on specific days.
Some could come from Monday to Wednesday while others had no classes on Monday but instead Wednesday to Friday. Clearly, this was for certain ponies who are on different skill levels when it comes to their knowledge of Pokemon.
But just for today, all of them will be present for induction.
Along with Twilight, her friends had actually signed up to this school as well with their own Trainer Cards. Now that they know that they won't be here everyday, this allows them to get on with their usual business in Ponyville and learn more about Pokemon.
Best of both worlds.
"And here I thought it would be for 5 days straight. Thank goodness." Rarity let out a sigh of relief.
"So where are headed first?" Rainbow Dash looked at the schedule.
"Well, since the 6 of us are experienced in Pokemon knowledge to a decent degree and considering our ages, we're supposed to go over to Fantina's room first. The second floor" Twilight read the schedule.
"What about you three? Since you're younger you're on the first floor, right?" Fluttershy asked the CMC.
"The first floor is right. Who's Roxie again?" Sweetie Belle wondered.
"She was that Poison lady with the guitar and music club looking place." Apple Bloom remembered. "Are we gonna have to catch Poison-Type Pokemon?"
"Hope not. They kinda freak me out..." Scootaloo shuddered.
The Mane 6 and CMC went their separate ways with their classes being on separate floors. In both classrooms, Fantina and Roxie were waiting for the arrival of their students. They already had a lot to tell them and what they can prepare for.
First, was Fantina.
Her classroom was a perfect mixture of a contest hall and her gym over at Hearthome. There were torches illuminated by eerie grey-blue colours with stained glass windows and it even slightly resembled a cathedral. She even had a huge arena that matched a contest hall's arena.
"Hello, my little ponies! Glad you're here for the induction!" Fantina slid in with her Driflblim by her side.
"Drif!"
"Avez-vous tous été bien? I hope so. There is a lot to cover for today! Take a seat, please." Saying that made everypony apart of Fantina's class take their seats, which also resembled a contest hall's crowd stands. "Now. I assume most of you already know a lot about Pokemon, droite?"
"Mhm." They all nodded.
"Merveilleux! So your knowledge is well-versed. But you all still have a long way to go I'm afraid. There are still many mysteries about Pokemon that you have yet to uncover. But do not worry. The Gym Leaders and I will be here to help you through it."
"So what are we doing first?" Twilight got all giddy, standing up from her seat. "Are we going to learn about certain Pokemon and their culture?! Specific genes?! I can't wait!"
"What a nerd..." A mare from amidst the class mumbled.
"Quelqu'un s'excite. What we will actually be doing first is preparing you for certain types."
"Preparing?" They collectively said.
"Preparing. You see, some Pokemon Types can be délicat to handle. You can befriend them but coming across others will lead to difficult situations, tu vois. With me being your first teacher, I shall take you through the first course."
"Oh...I believe we've come across situations like that before." Rarity nodded, referring to the Dark-Type.
"So the first type, mon préféré, will be the Ghost-Type. Pokemon that are maîtres at illusions, souls, shadows and other effrayant ongoings. I can already see some of you are shuddering."
It was true. Some ponies were afraid of Ghost-Types for obvious reasons. Most of them due to the Spiritomb situation.
"Which is why you will all be carrying Ghost-Type Pokemon of your own. Drifblim. Si vous voulez?"
"Drif!" The Blimp Pokemon used Psychic to bring over a box filled with nothing but Poke Balls inside, placing them in front of its trainer. "Blim."
"Passez devant and pick your Poke Balls. One Poke Ball per student." Fantina ordered them. With that, everypony got off their seats, heading over to the box to take their pick.
It was unclear of which Ghost-Type Pokemon would be in each Poke Ball, so the best they could do was just select a random one and see what happens.
"Now. Send out the Pokemon that you have all chosen."
"I've got a good feeling about this one." Twilight held out her Poke Ball, sending out the first Ghost-Type of the class. An Aegislash.
"Aegis!" The Royal Sword Pokemon slashed the air with its bladed body.
"Oh, what is this?!" Twilight took out her Pokedex for this never before seen Pokemon to her.
"Aegislash. The Royal Sword Pokemon. Generations of kings were attended by these Pokémon, which used their spectral power to manipulate and control people and Pokémon. Once upon a time, a king with an Aegislash reigned over the land. His Pokémon eventually drained him of life, and his kingdom fell with him. Apparently, it can detect the innate qualities of leadership. According to legend, whoever it recognizes is destined to become king."
"Who's in here?" Fluttershy let out her Pokemon as did everypony else in the entire classroom. For Fluttershy, her Pokemon was a Mimikyu.
"Kyu." The Disguise Pokemon flopped its head to the side.
Applejack sent out her Ghost-Type which ended up being a Golett.
"Gol!"
For Pinkie and Rarity, they both managed to get Chandelure and a Froslass.
"Chande!"
"Fros..."
Rainbow Dash had managed to end up with a Drakloak. By taking out her dex, she read the information about this never before seen Pokemon to her.
"Drakloak. The Caretaker Pokemon. It’s capable of flying faster than 120 mph. It battles alongside Dreepy and dotes on them until they successfully evolve. Without a Dreepy to place on its head and care for, it gets so uneasy it’ll try to substitute any Pokémon it finds for the missing Dreepy."
"Lucky me. I got a Dragon-Type!" Rainbow Dash squeed, picking up the Caretaker Pokemon.
"Dra." In response, Drakloak breathed a Will-O-Wisp on her face.
"Gh!" Rainbow Dash winced. "Ugh..."
As for Starlight, she ended up with a Galarian Corsola which already made her uneasy due to the face it was making.
"Ugh... Does this have to be my Pokemon?" Starlight pulled back.
"Cors..."
"That looks like a Corsola but...all sad and weird." Rainbow turned her dex to it.
"Corsola. The Coral Pokemon. The Galarian Variant. Watch your step when wandering areas oceans once covered. What looks like a stone could be this Pokémon, and it will curse you if you kick it. Sudden climate change wiped out this ancient kind of Corsola. This Pokémon absorbs others’ life-force through its branches."
"Geeugh..." Starlight winced. "Can I swap with somepony's Ghost-Type?"
"Non, non." Fantina wagged her finger. "You will have to go with this one. It is why we're having you little ponies prepare for every other Ghost-Type in the future."
"Alright..." Starlight looked over at the Coral Pokemon.
"Alors, maintenant! With your Ghost-Type Pokemon, we will have you learning how to deal with their malicieux tricks. But first, we will have each of you get along with your new Pokemon, d'accord? And after that, we shall have a battle with them."
"That can't be too hard. Look at how cute they are!" Pinkie held up Chandelure.
"Chande...lure!" And just like Rainbow Dash's Drakloak, Chandelure fired an Inferno on Pinkie Pie's head, messing up her puffy and fun mane.
"See...?" Pinkie coughed out smoke. "Cute."
To bond with a Ghost-Type is to bond with the afterlife and spirits themselves. Although, due to their mischievous nature, Ghost-Types are tricky to befriend. But once a trainer can get past that nature and go along with it, a truly wonderful friendship is born.
For the ponies to get along with these cursed and creepy creatures, they would have to find their own way of befriending them.
"Here. You like snacks, Chandelure?" Pinkie held a cupcake in front of the Luring Pokemon. "But uh...where's your mouth?"
"Oh, désolé, Pinkie Pie." Fantina went up to her. "But not every Ghost-Type can eat real food. Some of them actually feed on souls and spirits as food."
"Lure!"
"Souls and Spirits you say? I can't bake that! Rainbow Dash. Can I borrow a bit of your soul?"
"No way!" Rainbow Dash denied Pinkie's' odd offer.
"Let's see. What moves do you have?" Twilight used her dex to see Aegislash's moveset.
"King's Shield. Sacred Sword. Shadow Claw. Iron Head."
"Pure strength, hm? You'll do great in our upcoming battle."
"Aegislash!" The Royal Sword Pokemon slashed a bit of Twilight's mane off in excitement.
"Eep!" The young alicorn squealed.
"Aw, it's okay Mimikyu. You don't have to pretend to be Pikachu to be loved." Fluttershy patted the Disguise Pokemon on the head.
"Mimikyu..."
"Lett! Golett!" Golett suddenly stood up tall in front of Applejack.
"Uh..W-What's it's trying to do?" Applejack shifted her eyes from left to right, confused on Golett's sudden enthusiasm.
"You might want to read this for the reason." Fantina showed Applejack Golett's dex entry which would explain why it was acting like this.
"Golett. The Automaton Pokemon. The energy that burns inside it enables it to move, but no one has yet been able to identify this energy. This Pokémon was created from clay by the science of an ancient and mysterious civilization. It received orders from its master many thousands of years ago, and it still follows those orders to this day."
"It seems that Golett's old master must've been similar to you in a way. Whoever it may have been. And now Golett will be loyal to you no matter what. C'est merveilleux!
"Somepony on Earth was similar to me? What are the odds." Applejack's eyes widened.
"Gol!"
Starlight's Corsola hadn't made a single action so far. It has just been sitting there, unresponsive. And that was a bit uneasy for Starlight Glimmer.
"Come on...do something." She used her magic to pick up a pen, poking the Ghost-Type. And yet, Corsola did nothing. "Ugh...Is the other Corsola like this?"
"Not really. The other Corsola is always happy and smiling!" Pinkie squeed.
"Great...." Starlight sighed.
"Fros." To get along with Rarity, the Snow Land Pokemon used its ice to create a sculpture of the unicorn right in front of her.
"Oh! Brilliant!" Rarity clapped her hooves together, impressed by Froslass's sculpture.
"Has anypony seen my Sableye?" But it was quickly revealed that Froslass actually used a Sableye as a base for her sculpture.
"Fros-Froslass." The Snow Land Pokemon giggled whilst Rarity shook her head.
Getting along with the Ghost-Types was trickier than it looked. Somepony's shadow had been possessed by a Gengar.
A Yamask had accidentaly placed its mask on the face of somepony, leaving them with the memories of its past life. Although, this Yamask's previous life wasn't too bad.
Fantina could see how most of the ponies were struggling with the Ghost-Types with only a few exceptions here and there.
"Oh, mon dieu. This will be a long school year."
With the ponies learning to get along with the Ghost-Types and preparing for their upcoming battle, Twilight couldn't help but wonder what Ash was doing at a time like this.
In truth, while Ash wasn't apart of the school since he's an experienced trainer and not a pony, he decided to just hang about the school and watch how it all goes down alongside his buddy.
Celestia flew down, seeing how Ash was relaxing nonchalantly. "Ash. Aren't you going to go inside and see how their classes go?"
"Hm? Nah. I'm good. I'm waiting for the outside stuff to happen."
"Pikachu."
"I see. Hopefully, Luna performs well in this school."
"Luna? She signed up?!" Ash stood up.
"Pika?!"
"Oh, yes. You should have seen her when she decided to join the Pokemon School." Celestia chuckled, recalling Luna's enthusiasm for wanting to join the school. It went a little something like this.
"Sister! Can I join? Can I?!" Luna teleported around Celestia repeatedly, pleading her older sister.
"Aren't you a little too old to be joining a school as a student?" Celestia raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. Yes, I am. But this is different! It's Pokemon."
"Hm. I suppose you do need further knowledge of Pokemon as well. Much like everypony in Equestria."
"Will you join me?!" She squeed.
"Oh, no. I'm unable to. You have fewer royal duties than me after all. I still have a plethora that I must attend to."
"What a shame. Oh, well!" Luna teleported in and out of the spot she stood in. She wore a Pokemon cap along with a saddlebag with tons of Poke Balls inside. "I shall ace every lesson I am in! Guaranteed!"
"Since Luna's the third-ranked trainer in the Equestria League, she's apparently been sent to a special class where she will be the only student," Celestia explained.
"The only student? Wonder who her teacher is?" Ash wondered, looking up at the highest floor of the school.
"Pika..."
"Whoever it may be, I'm sure they'll help increase Luna's Pokemon skills even further. Now I'll have to get going. In a few days, I'll finally have a chance to spend some time with Cobalion." Celestia pranced on the spot, teleporting back inside of Canterlot Castle.
"Everyone's really getting psyched and into Pokemon more, especially in the New Year, huh buddy?"
"Pikachu." The Electric Mouse Pokemon nodded.
"I'm really psyched to learn what our next adventure will be this year!"
"Pika!"
With the ponies going through their induction for the day, the Canterlot Tournament's continuation is creeping around the corner along with the inevitable Pokemon Festival, the New Year brings new possibilities and events for the ponies to look forward to. However, the Dynamax energy formed by Lucien was one even that they could never anticipate as the journey continues.
With the Pokemon School officially being open and the ponies taking part in Induction Day, the first task of induction day is for each student is to manage certain Pokemon Types that many of the ponies in Equestria have an uneasy history with.
One of these types being the Ghost Pokemon. By far the most mischievous out of all 18 Types.
For Fantina's class, they were given the Ghost-Types to handle. Currently, they were trying to get along with the Ghost Pokemon with only a few of them seeing some success.
Fluttershy has managed to win over Mimikyu's heart whilst Golett gives all of its loyalty to Applejack since she reminds Golett of its old master from ancient times.
Twilight was given a rather eccentric Aegislash who wouldn't stop swinging its bladed body around, chipping parts of Twilight's mane off. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were given Drakloak and Chandelure who wouldn't stop breathing fire in their faces.
As for Rarity, she obtained a Froslass that was constantly planning on freezing somepony or a Pokemon just to impress Rarity with a sculpture.
But the hardest one so far was Starlight Glimmer's Pokemon. The Ghost-Type that she had picked out randomly was a Galarian Corsola. A rather unresponsive Pokemon that doesn't seem to move at all as opposed to its Johto counterpart.
Once everypony else figures out how to get along with the Ghost-Pokemon, they'll head out and have a battle with them. Just for fun.
Everypony had their own unique ways of getting along with the Pokemon. Ways that they believe would work out in their favour.
"Alright, Aegislash. I'm going to polish your blade now. Please don't swing." Twilight pleaded Aegislash to hold still.
"Slash!"
"Okay..." She used her magic to hold a cloth, gently polishing the Royal Sword Pokemon up. By giving the Steel-Ghost-Type a shine, Twilight was hoping that Aegislash's incredibly sharp body doesn't make contact with her at all. Her constant shaking was clear that she was intimidated.
With Rarity, she was teaching Froslass how to properly make sculptures without using somepony or Pokemon as a base.
"Alright, Froslass. Just use Ice Shard as your base. It's big enough to be sculpted from after all." said Rarity.
"Lass?" The Snow Land Pokemon made a shard of ice with a flash-freeze behind it. She held the shard in her hands, waiting for Rarity to make another command.
"Good. Now, you made a sculpture based on me, didn't you? Try that but this time with Ice Shard alone."
As Froslass got to work, everypony else was gradually improving on handling their Pokemon. Rainbow Dash could see that Drakloak is a fairly laid-back Pokemon. Unlike its fellow Ghosts, it doesn't really rush things that much. It's a bit on the lazy side.
"Kloak..."
"You're not that energetic are you..." Rainbow Dash sighed.
"Drak."
"Well...at least you're not them." Rainbow turned her head over at the others and how they were still having trouble with their Ghost-Type Pokemon. Some of them had even become possessed in the long run.
Some ponies were integrating their way of life and what they do to the Ghost-Types such as their Cutie Mark talents. It was a bit of a rocky start, but gradually, they found a way to at least work around these issues.
But one pony who was having no luck with her Pokemon was Starlight. Her Corsola was even more unresponsive than Drakloak. Whereas Drakloak is just lazy, Corsola is motionless and ironically, lifeless.
Starlight found this to be a huge brick wall that she had to find a way to overcome. Everypony else was at least finding a way but her. That's when an idea struck that could work.
"Hm...I know." She used her magic to bring out her Poke Ball. "I'll just have Hatterene mind control it with Hypnosis. That'll work.
"Non, non, Starlight Glimmer. You cannot force a Pokemon to bond with you." Fantina took the Poke Ball away from Starlight. "It must be honnêteté, véritable and from the heart.
"R-Right. Sorry..." Starlight sighed. "But how do I connect with something that looks like it has no heart?"
Trying to figure out how to connect with Corsola was a true challenge for Starlight. A Pokemon that seems soulless and devoid of any life would be figuratively impossible in many ways.
Truly a challenge that she's never had to face before or even come across.
"Sola..." The Coral Pokemon uttered a single word. Starlight realized that she had to do at least something to make this lifeless Pokemon animated.
"Uh...Hey, I know!" She used her magic to bring over one of Pinkie's cupcakes. Are you hungry, maybe? I know you'll love a cupcake. Nopony can resist them."
"Cor." Corsola didn't respond to her at all.
"Just try a bite, please. Just one." Starlight attempted to force-feed the Coral Pokemon the cupcake instead of letting it decide. Since Corsola barely opened its mouth, Starlight was practically smearing frosting all over the Coral Pokemon's face.
"Sola..."
"Come on. Don't you want to taste some sweet delicious cupcakes?" Starlight spoke through her teeth. The only progress she was making was leaving Corsola's face a sweet and delicious mess.
"Cor."The Ghost-Type dismissed Starlight's attempts at grabbing its attention.
"Gh...Just eat it!" Starlight's eye twitched as she shoved the cupcake right in Corsola's mouth with an extra Oomph to her magic.
"Corso..." That definitely got a reaction out of Corsola. Despite its lifeless personality, it was still a Pokemon that could react accordingly to whatever action is done against it.
Finally responding to Starlight, Corsola used Ancient Power by slamming prehistoric rocks in the unicorns face out of aggravation.
"Doh!" Starlight fell on her back with a huge rock on her face.
"Maybe you can try getting along with Corsola by giving it something that it likes," Fluttershy suggested to Starlight.
"Mrrgh..." Starlight pushed the rock off her face. "Like what? It already doesn't like cupcakes at all."
"Well..." Fluttershy looked up, thinking for a moment. "If the Johto variant of Corsola loved the warm seas and its Galarian variant is a result of large-scale shifts in weather-patterns, then Corsola might need some warm water, maybe."
"Mimikyu."
"Impressionnant, Fluttershy!" Fantina clapped her hooves together. "A great deduction on Corsola's potential needs."
"Warm seas and water, huh?" Starlight looked over at the Coral Pokemon. "Does Equestria have any?"
"We do but...thanks to Ice-Types, it's not exactly warm at the moment. But, the move Scald can be of use." Twilight slid in, answering her.
"So then, which Pokemon here has Scald?" Starlight asked her.
"Désolé. But none of the Ghost-Types here have Scald on them. But, Drakloak can learn it." Fantina turned over to Rainbow Dash and the Drakloak she had.
"Hm?" Rainbow noticed that they were looking right at her and Drakloak as well. "What?"
"Rainbow Dash. I need your help." Starlight went over to the pegasus. "I need your little Ghost Dragon to learn Scald for me. Please?"
"Scald? Why? You trying to trick me when we battle?"
"Not at all. This Corsola's only gonna respond to me if it gets some warm water. So pretty please, can you do me this huge favour?" Starlight flashed her eyes at Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash understood how difficult Corsola was due to its lifeless nature so she went along with it. "Alright fine. Drakloak. We got a new move for you to learn."
"Kloak."
"Alright. If you're gonna learn Scald, then try...hm..." Rainbow Dash got to thinking. How would Drakloak learn Scald? She can't just say Learn Scald and call it a day. A Pokemon must earn a move through hard work and practice. "Hold on, let me see something. What moves can you do?" She used her dex to check Drakloak's moves.
"Hmm...Only two moves that come from the mouth, huh? That's fine. We can work with that." Rainbow Dash closed her Pokedex. "Alright, Drakloak. Try using Will-O-Wisp and Dragon Pulse repeatedly."
"Drak." The Caretaker Pokemon nodded in response. A common known fact about Pokemon is that moves can be used together to make a totally new move.
The Dragon-Ghost-Type opened its mouth white, letting out a Will-O-Wisp first by breathing ghostly fire on the floor and then Dragon Pulse next by sending a dragon-shaped shockwave down.
Drakloak held its attacks back since it didn't want to destroy the classroom after all.
"Will it even work?" Fluttershy wondered. "Will-O-Wisp is Fire but Dragon Pulse isn't Water."
"Hard to say, Fluttershy. Whenever a Pokemon combined moves to create a new one, the results may vary. Pokemon Coordinators, such as my self, do this very often." said the Gym Leader.
"This makes me wonder something..." Twilight squinted her eyes, watching Drakloak use those two moves. "How is it that Pokemon learn new moves all of a sudden?"
"A good question, Twilight Sparkle. The answer is that it involves a Pokemon's emotion." Fantina answered.
"A Pokemon's emotion?" Twilight and her friends said at the same time.
"Yes. You see... if a Pokemon is excited, furious, sad or even determined, their power increases to Incroyable levels. They even evolve as well. The most common example are Fire-Types. If a Charizard is furious, the flame at the tip of its tail flares up in a beautiful whitish-blue colour. And if an Infernape is determined to win, the flame on its head will increase in size and intensity, you see."
"Oooh..." The ponies collectively awed.
"The same can be said for every Pokemon type. Isn't that right, Drifblim my petit Pokémon chéri!" Fantina hugged her Driflbim.
"Drifblim!"
"That would explain a lot..." Twilight thought back to moments when a Pokemon's emotion correlated with their power in certain scenarios. "Like when Eve learned Dazzling Gleam against Pheromosa. She didn't want to let me down."
"Just like my Grovyle," said Applejack.
"And my Altaria." So did Rainbow Dash.
"So wait. If a Pokemon's feeling all moody it gets stronger or even evolves? That's pretty nifty actually." Pinkie commented.
"Kloak!" The Caretaker Pokemon continued to unleash both moves. Drakloak was getting somewhere with the creation of a Flaming Dragon Pulse. It looked cool, but it wasn't Scald.
"No good. I don't think we're gonna learn Scald that easily." Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"Kloak?"
"Learning a new Pokemon move is not as easy as it seems, Rainbow Dash. Even for a powerful Pokemon." Fantina explained.
Seeing how Drakloak, the one Pokemon who could access Scald wasn't going to do instantly learn it, Starlight began thinking of a better alternative.
Then something in her head snapped. It was similar to the Drakloak situation but considering Corsola's origins, it just might work.
"What if...we try and have Corsola learn Scald? It can do that right?" She asked.
"Bien entendu." Fantina nodded. "It is still a Water-Type deep down."
"Alright. Then we'll do it. We'll try and have Corsola learn Scald so that it can feel the same kind of warmth it felt as its normal self."
"Sola..." Just then, once Corsola heard Starlight's, a reaction filled with a little bit of life came out of Corsola for once.
Previously, Corsola didn't react that much to Starlight due to how she was acting around the Coral Pokemon. But now, Corsola could see that Starlight was actually determined to help it instead of just doing what Fantina said.
The once lifeless Ghost-Type started to gain a tiny bit of life in it with slight animated movements.
"Have a look at that!" Fluttershy noticed. "Corsola likes the sound of that!"
"It seems that wanting to genuinely help Corsola is what sparkled some flare in it. Comme c'est beau!" Fantina clapped. "A true showcase of potential bonds!"
"Sola..."
"I guess that makes a lot of sense...Okay, let's try learning Scald then Corsola." Starlight picked up the Coral Pokemon.
"Cor..." In response, Corsola used Water Pulse on Starlight's face, but this time out of compassion.
"Mmrgh..." Starlight's eyes were glazed along with her mane being wet. But at least it wasn't a huge prehistoric rock that hit her face.
2 hours had passed. Fantina could see that while it took a while, the ponies had managed to form a decent enough bond with the Ghost Pokemon. Some more effective than others. There were only 20 minutes left until the Induction day ends.
"Maintenant!" Fantina clapped her hands together. "I can see that you all have managed to come to a decent understanding with your Pokemon. So for the ones who have succeeded, we shall head out to the battlefield and battle away!"
"Right now?" Fluttershy held Mimikyu?
"Yes. But do not worry. I know some of you are still having problems. Which is why some of you can choose whether or not you want to battle. Tout est facultatif!"
Of course, Fantina knew that only 7 of them were up for a battle. So for the ones who weren't exactly ready, they were allowed to sit back and just watch.
On the school battlefield, Fantina's class had gathered outside to have a small battle to see how much they've learned from their new Ghost-Type partners, even if this partnership is only temporary.
Since this was an induction day and the lessons only last for 3 hours today, the battles would last around 5 minutes each due to the ponies only being able to use one Pokemon for this battle. And there was a small number of students, around 12 to fill up those remaining minutes.
As Fantina asks who would like to go first, many ponies who were battle-hungry volunteered. Mainly the pegasi. As they insisted that they go first in battle, the one classroom that was near the battlefield was Roxie's class.
Scootaloo looked outside to see the older students moving about with their Ghost-Type Pokemon beside them. Since they were all given similar tasks for their induction day, just like how Fantina's class focused on Ghost-Types, Roxie's was all about Poison-Types.
The foals in Roxie's class were tasked with managing possibly the deadliest Pokemon Type there is. Scootaloo was given a Toxel, Sweetie Belle a Grimer and Apple Bloom a Bulbasaur.
"If you're gonna live to see another day, you brats gotta learn how to handle these toxic fellas. Got it?" Roxie placed her guitar down.
"Do they have to be so clingy, though?" Sweetie Belle grumbled as a Grimer was hugging her face, getting a bit too friendly with the little unicorn.
"Grimer!"
"That just means it likes ya." Roxie laughed. "Now come on. We ain't got too long until this induction stuff ends.
The same could be said for every other class who was tasked with handling a specific type. For each classroom, they were all given the earliest Gym Leaders as their teachers due to them being novices when it comes to Pokemon.
So Gym Leaders like Roxanne, Brawly, Roxie, Norman and Lt. Surge were the ones who the ponies ended up with until they improve in the future.
For Lt. Surge's class, you could see electricity burst out of the classroom. Mostly due to somepony touching an Electric-Type the wrong way.
For Brawly's class, you could hear the sounds of something breaking. Chances are, a Fighting Pokemon must've smashed something inside the classroom.
Roxanne's class was fairly silent since she teaches like an everyday teacher. So nothing destructive going on here.
The other classrooms had zero students inside since none of them was at that level of Pokemon battling yet. Except for one exception.
Princess Luna, who also ended up signing up, was given a special class which involved just her and nopony else. Her teacher ended up being Norman. The Normal-Type Gym Leader.
Since he was the 5th Gym Leader due to where he comes from, Luna's strength as a trainer has been determined to be on his level. So she was just as strong as a 5th Gym Leader at the moment.
Luna was given the challenge of utilizing both offensive and defensive tactics, much like the Normal-Type Gym Leader himself. Despite Normal-Types being the most standard of all types, their unique arsenal of moves allows them to manipulate the course of battle even more effectively than a Psychic-Type.
Luna would be learning from him for days until she manages to perfect this style of battling. It would also help her against Daylight Blazer if she ever goes up against him. After all, he's all about strategy as well.
For an induction day, it went swimmingly with a few bumps here and there. With Fantina's class, the battles went by quickly due to the small number of students in her class.
"Drakloak! Dragon Rush!" Rainbow Dash commanded as she was going up against somepony's Frillish.
"Kloak!" The Caretaker Pokemon's body became outlined in a light blue aura as it slammed into the opposing Frillish by using its head.
"Lish!" Frillish went flying from Drakloak's devastating impact.
"Aegislash! King's Shield!" Twilight went up against a Sableye who had tried to damage the Royal Sword Pokemon with Sucker Punch, but thanks to Aegislash's King's Shield coming up, this attack was prevented. "Now! Use Iron Head!"
"Slash!" With the opposing Sableye in front of it, Aegislash used its bladed body to hit its fellow Ghost-Type, launching it aside.
"What a way to battle!" Pinkie clapped her hooves together.
"C'est suffisant! That is all the time we have today!" Fantina ended everypony's battles.
"Aw...it's over already?" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"Yes. It is an induction day after all. It is relatively short at the end of the day. But don't worry. After you all finish your Canterlot Tournament, we can return and finish up from where we left off. Then the real lessons can begin. D'accord?"
"I guess that's fair." Twilight nodded. "Will we still have the same Pokemon with us?"
"Mais bien sûr! They'll be waiting for you until you finish your tournament!"
"Guess we can continue working on Scald next time, Corsola." Starlight looked down at Corsola who she held in her hooves.
"Cor..."
"Can somepony get this Golett off me first?" Applejack sighed as Golett clung onto her. "I appreciate the loyalty and all but..."
"Golett!"
"We're going to leave now, Mimikyu. See you next time." Fluttershy said to the Disguise Pokemon.
"Kyu."
And with that, they returned the borrowed Pokemon to their Poke Balls, returning them each to Fantina's Drifblim who held the box. They would meet again for sure. So this wasn't a permanent farewell.
"À la prochaine fois!" Fantina waved goodbye to her students who were taking their leave.
"Drifblim!"
"Bye Fantina!" Pinkie Pie waved until she realized something. "Oh! Ghost-Types... Fantina...Phantom! Roxanne...Rock-Types! Oh my Celestia! All the Gym Leaders are named after their types!" Pinkie bounced up and down.
"You just now noticed?" Twilight chuckled, prompting the rest of her friends to laugh as well. They met up with everypony else outside as their classes had just finished.
The CMC had poison liquids all over their manes due to their Poison-Type shenanigans. Thankfully, if a Poison Pokemon likes someone and grows an affection towards them, the poison does not become lethal anymore. So it's safe to say that Roxie's class went well.
Some ponies had their manes shocked as they stood upright. Probably from Lt. Surge. One pony's Pokemon got a black eye from probably rubbing a Fighting Pokemon the wrong way.
Since it was just an induction day, the ponies had yet to fully grasp the full scope of the Pokemon School. But once the Canterlot Tournament ends, classes can officially begin and last until summer arrives with a few exceptions here and there.
The future of this world looks bright thanks to the assistance of Gym Leaders across various regions and as the knowledge of Pokemon continues to grow inside of everypony's mind, so does the bond between Pokemon they would never expect to get along with as the journey continues.
From almost ending Celestia's life, conquering Saddle-Arabia for a while, harming Twilight's friends and putting Manehattan into chaos, Equestria has never had to face an individual this menacing before.
According to Celestia, threats such as Sombra, Tirek and Chrysalis pale in comparison. Thankfully, his attacks on Equestria have been pushed back by Ash, Hollow and the Swords of Justice.
But his plan to conquer Equestria and both worlds won't stop due to a few defeats here and there. And with the alliance of Empress Twilight Sparkle from another world, Chrysalis and Adagio, the scale of his threat against Equestria only seems to be growing, along with the fact that he can now access other worlds to conquer.
But what has Ghetsis been doing whilst inside of Queen Pyrestar's world, which he has now claimed and conquered?
"Have a look at this." Colress, his best scientist, had shown Ghetsis a brand new possibility that he could take advantage of for himself.
Thanks to Ghetsis opening up gateways through other worlds, Colress had managed to find out that there were alternate Pokemon Worlds with their own timelines involved by studying Ghetsis's newfound Planewalking ability. Timelines that please Ghetsis.
One consistent pattern all of these timelines follow is that they all have a young upstart trainer who's set out on their own Pokemon journey. Similar to Ash.
And just like Ash, they all manage to foil any evil teams that threaten the region in any way, shape or form. With a few exceptions here and there.
Some familiar faces that Ghetsis himself didn't actually recognize where Red, Blue, Gold and Silver. Trainers that Ash had already met before Ghetsis found out about this.
Seeing Red reminded Ghetsis of Ash as they were fairly similar with Red being on the more silent side. Although, Gold could be considered closer to Ash.
And besides there being young upstart trainers, another consistent pattern was how most of them managed to come across Legendary Pokemon during the most intense moments in their world. Some even manage to catch the Legendary Pokemon as their own after their glorious victory.
With this knowledge in mind, Ghetsis had found many new opportunities to further establish his reign. Currently, Colress was showing him a universe that involved an alternate version of him.
"Have a look at this." Colress showed Ghetsis a timeline that involved not just the Unova Region, but an earlier version of him. That really grabbed Ghetsis's attention.
"What the..." He stood up from his chair.
"What you're seeing at the moment is a universe where you battled against a trainer who would end up foiling your plans to conquer Unova, similar to our plans but a different approach. And to be the bearer of bad news, you lost in this timeline as well."
"Hmrrgh..." Ghetsis grumbled.
"However, I theorize that if we interrupt each of these specific timelines during their climax..."
"We can take advantage of the situation by storming in and claiming victory for ourselves." Ghetsis finished Colress's sentence.
"And the best advantage is striking while the iron's hot," Colress said.
"Good...We'll be making a quick visit to this Unova Region. Let me show this other version of me how to properly gain victory." Ghetsis held an Ultra Ball in his hand, already brewing up many possible plans that could benefit him to incredible levels.
Unova. An Alternate region.
"Reshiram! Blue Flare!" A trainer by the name of Hilbert was currently in command of the Legendary Pokemon of Truth, Reshiram.
The Vast White Pokemon faced off against another Dragon-Type. That Dragon-Type being Hydreigon and belonging to, of course, Ghetsis.
"Hydreigon! Dragon Pulse!" This version of Ghetsis commanded.
Both Dragon-Types initiated their attacks at the same time. With Hydreigon unleashing a devastating dragon-shaped shockwave from all three of its mouths.
Reshiram as well fired an attack from its mouth but in the form of a powerful stream of light blue flames with incredible heat behind them.
Both attacks clashed, entering a small struggle for a bit. but one move proved to be superior to the other. And that was Blue Flare. The azure coloured flame burnt through Dragon Pulse, completely overpowering Hydreigon's attack.
"Drei?!" The Brutal Pokemon gasped, realizing that his entire attack had been wiped out. And just like that Blue Flare engulfed the Dark-Dragon, dealing some immense damage to the opposing Dragon-Type.
The aftermath of Blue Flare was an explosion of blue fire that caused a shockwave so immense that Hilbert held onto his hat whilst Ghetsis could barely stay where he stood.
Alongside Hilbert was his rival Cheren from the same town he came from, the champion of Unova, Alder and the adopted son of Ghetsis, N.
Once the smoke cleared, it was clear as day that Hydreigon had fainted and Ghetsis officially lost.
"Hydrei..."
"Yes! We did it!" Hilbert thrust his fist in the air with victory on his side. Reshiram let out a victorious roar to celebrate alongside the young trainer.
But Ghetsis wasn't feeling the same way at all. "My calculations...No! My careful schemes! The world should be mine!"
"Return, Reshiram." Hilbert returned the Vast White Pokemon into the Ultra Ball. "It's over, Ghetsis."
"No...I created Team Plasma with my own hands! I am absolutely perfect! I AM PERFECTION!" Ghetsis snapped at Hilbert. "I am the perfect ruler of a perfect new world!
"Now, N..." The Champion Alder went up to N. "Do you still think Pokemon and people should be separated?"
Asking that made N rethink his view on everything. After learning about his foster father's plans, everything he knew was essentially a lie.
But, Ghetsis being Ghetsis planned with a backup in case something did end up going wrong. He raised N for this exact scenario. Just in case.
"Haha! Since I couldn't become the hero and obtain the Legendary Pokemon myself...I prepared someone for that purpose. N! He's nothing more than a freak without a human heart! Do you think you're going to get through to a warped person like that?!"
"Oh, you don't have to use that failure of a son anymore." An echoing yet familiar voice responded to Ghetsis.
With a booming sound, a gateway emerged out of thin air. This could only mean one thing. The Ghetsis and Team Plasma from the other world had finally arrived at the scene.
When Ghetsis showed himself alongside his Hydregion and Team Plasma, the obvious reaction from Hilbert and everyone else was pure confusion.
"G-Ghetsis...?" Hilbert stuttered. He looked back to his world's Ghetsis and the other world's Ghetsis simultaneously. "What's going on?!"
"Hyper Beam." Ghetsis suddenly commanded his Hydreigon to attack everyone here without hesitation.
"Hy...Drei!" With a burst of power, the Brutal Pokemon unleashed a terrifying beam of energy that tore through the ground itself. Before Hilbert could react, he had been engulfed by the Hyper Beam in mere seconds. It wasn't just them, N, Alder, Cheren and even this world's Ghetsis had been obliterated before they knew it.
Ghetsis's plan was simple. Eliminate all potential threats. And eliminate he did. Once Hyper Beam faded away, Hilbert and everyone's body was no more.
The only thing left was a small piece of his hat along with the Ultra Ball since it was much more durable than a normal Poke Ball. Ghetsis picked up the Ultra Ball, seeing how Reshiram was in his possession now.
Returning to their world, Ghetsis had claimed a great victory today in the form of obtaining Reshiram. And with such ease as well.
"Hmph. I can't believe that alternate version of me was actually planning to rely on that freak without a human heart. How pathetic."
"With Reshiram on our side, shall we go to the universe where that same trainer uses Zekrom instead?" Colress suggested.
"A clever suggestion Colress. Unfortunately, you fail to realise the imbalance between the two."
"Imbalance?"
"We will of course obtain Zekrom. However, I won't be the one to hold it in my possession. Both Pokemon are representations of Truths and Ideals. Having Reshiram correlates with my truth. I have no ideals."
"Lord Ghetsis. I don't understand how that prevents you from wielding both at the same time." A grunt said.
"Haven't you heard about the Twin Heroes? The Hero of Truth and the Hero of Ideals. Before they were the masters of Reshiram and Zekrom, the Pokemon they each shared was none other than Kyurem. But since they couldn't decide on which one to pursue, Kyurem split into two, creating Reshiram and Zekrom. Thus, the Dragon Force energy that blessed their land became corrupt and chaotic."
"I see..." Colress nodded. "So because you pursue the truth and have zero ideals, having Zekrom beside Reshiram creates that imbalance you mentioned. The destructive Dragon Force."
"Exactly. Which is why instead, someone else with ideals must wield Zekrom. And I already know who."
"You don't mean..." A grunt leaned forward, hoping that Ghetsis wasn't referring to who they were all worried about.
"Empress Twilight. She follows her ideals. A perfect trade-off."
"But Lord Ghetsis. Would it be wise to give her a Pokemon that rivals Reshiram in power as well?" A grunt wasn't so sure about this.
"You think I don't know that?" Ghetsis glanced over at the grunt, intimidating him. He was already anticipating a scenario like that. "Colress. Look into further universes. The possibilities are just staring at us in the face."
"I'm already on it," Colress responded. Like Ghetsis, he too was always planning one step ahead of things.
Both Team Plasma and Empress Twilight have a plethora of plans that they have in store.
Ghetsis learning from his past defeats has moulded him into a clever person who now takes his plans a step further. This time it was on a larger scale.
Empress Twilight's story is a bit different from Ghetsis's. In her world, it was once a perfect mirror of the original timeline. But ever since that one fateful day during the Battle of the Bell, the outcome of both worlds changed drastically.
And speaking of Empress Twilight, while Ghetsis resides in Queen Pyrestar's world, Empress Twilight resides in her own universe.
Currently, she was already thinking about how to work around Pokemon. After hearing about how powerful and dangerous they can be, Empress Twilight knew not to underestimate them for a second.
Colress had given her a PokeDex, allowing the fully grown alicorn to examine what she can learn from Pokemon and which ones she should look out for.
"Gardevoir. Gardevoir has the psychokinetic power to distort the dimensions and create a small black hole. This Pokémon will try to protect its Trainer even at the risk of its own life. Its power peaks when it is protecting its Trainer. It has the ability to see the future."
"Hmph. Black holes, eh? That might prove to be a nuisance." She scoffed.
She closed the Pokedex, already thinking of a way to deal with Gardevoir. Especially since Princess Celestia owns a Kirlia which is capable of doing everything a Gardevoir can but hasn't yet evolved.
"That Kirlia of hers is a problem. However, it is also a Glass Cannon. Unable to control all of its overwhelming power. All I have to do is make sure that little creature overexerts itself. Before it can evolve."
The alicorn empress was made aware of the Pokemon World and how it has affected Equestria. Thanks to Colress's spycams, she had all the knowledge about this current timeline that she needed.
Seeing how most of it was a repeat of the original timeline and her own this made Empress Twilight more than prepared for her eventual invasion. However, the inclusion of Pokemon is what's keeping her from just invading that world already.
And of course, she was aware of possibly her greatest challenge yet. Ash Ketchum. After learning how he's made a name for himself all across Equestria along with his partner Pikachu who seems to be extra power in its purest form, the young trainer was definitely one individual that Empress Twilight shouldn't ignore.
"He certainly seems more formidable than Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis combined. This will require something extra. Luster Dawn. Get in here."
Empress Twilight, despite all of her magic and how powerful she is on her own, had an apprentice and student. A pony by the name of Luster Dawn.
Much like how Twilight was once Celestia's student, Luster was the student of Empress Twilight. Although, the conditions were very different compared to the past.
"Yes, Empress Twilight?" Luster Dawn spoke.
"I have a special requirement for you. This is your chance to prove just how much you've grown."
"I'm ready for anything, Empress!" Luster stood firm.
"I hope so. Here's your task-" Empress Twilight was cut off all of a sudden by a knock on her door. "Come in."
The pony who knocked on Twilight's door was none other than her niece and current ruler of the Crystal Empire. Although, due to Twilight's reign of the entire planet, it was now just referred to as the Crystal Kingdom.
Flurry Heart. Instead of walking in with enthusiasm and joy, this Flurry Heart looked a bit distraught.
"Um...Auntie. Sorry to interrupt you but. It's about-" Flurry Heart stuttered.
"The Crystal Kingdom, I assume?" Empress Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Y-Yes...The cold of the frozen north is getting too strong. Even for me. I can't keep it up much longer." Flurry Heart shook her head.
"If it's increasing in strength, why are you here instead of defending it?"
"I-I thought you would come over and help me, auntie. Your magic is stronger than mine." She looked down. Flurry Heart was intimidated by Twilight for good reason. "Besides...I'm not really good at running the kingdom on my own."
"Oh, Flury Heart, my darling little niece. You used to be the most powerful pony in all of Equestria even at such a young age. Now, look at you." Twilight chuckled. "Coming in at second place."
"S-So...will you help me?"
"I will. I need the Crystal Kingdom to stay active anyways."
"Thank you so much, auntie!" Flurry went in for a hug, but judging on how Twilight was looking at her, that wasn't happening at all. "Oh...sorry..."
"Head back to the kingdom. I'll be there in a short while. I'll also have to pay a visit to Adagio Dazzle soon."
"Okay, auntie." And with that, a heartbroken Flurry Heart left Twilight's throne room. Despite all her auntie has done, she still loved her since she is family. Whether Twilight felt the same was a mystery to the young princess.
"Now, Luster. What I wanted to talk to you about involves the Pokemon World."
"I've already learned about it," Luster said with a proud look on her face. "I've been keeping a close eye on all the Pokemon knowledge you've been learning about. So I'm on the same page as you."
"Mhm. Well if you're already aware, then you know about Ash Ketchum, correct?"
"The kid with the pet rat? He's not that big of a problem." Luster shrugged it off as something minor.
"Oh, but it is Luster. I've learned to not underestimate anything that may seem unimpressive. Cozy Glow was the one who made me aware of that. If you underestimate Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu, then your defeat is closer than you imagine."
"Pssh...Alright, fine. I won't underestimate them."
"Good. Now...this is what you'll do."
Both Ghetsis and Empress Twilight stand at the top of the alliance. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Queen Chrysalis and Adagio.
Chrysalis and her changelings, while massive in numbers, sadly do not compare to the overwhelming and destructive force that Ghetsis and Twilight hold.
Team Plasma, while relatively small in numbers compared to Empress Twilight's global empire, are still among the strongest thanks to their Pokemon and of course, the Shadow Triad.
But even Queen Chrysalis had an advantage over one particular pony, who was also a siren hybrid. Adagio.
Both Chrysalis and Adagio have had their current breakthroughs at the moment. One luckier than the other. After Ghetsis gave Chrysalis the knowledge about how Fairy-Type Pokemon hold the most amount of love out of any Pokemon, the changelings went on a field day, hunting for Fairy Pokemon.
And so far, they've been greatly successful. By heading towards areas in Equestria that are filled with mostly Fairy Type Pokemon, the changelings had managed to steal a ludicrous amount of love faster than they ever had in their entire life.
But what made it better was the fact that they could rely on one or two Fairy Pokemon instead of hundreds. Ghetsis wasn't lying about the amount of love Fairy-Types hold.
And thanks to the Fairy magic they've stolen, Chrysalis was sitting happy and healthy at her hive. Perhaps the happiest she's been in years.
Adagio, however, was a different story. Unlike the other three who are in the midst of breakthroughs and achievements, Adagio was in a state of defeat.
The kind of defeat she was suffering from wasn't exactly a Pokemon battle but rather from her own flesh and blood, Aria Blaze.
Currently, she was trying her very best to negate everything Aria said to her, but after a scolding like that, it was no use whatsoever.
"She's wrong, she's wrong!" Adagio growled. But try as she might, despite how hard she yells into the sky, Adagio knows when there's something she just can't recover from.
Adagio wanted to find at least one way to prove that Aria was wrong. So there was only one individual she could go to. Empress Twilight Sparkle.
Since she is a Twilight from another world who has already experienced the siren situation, Adagio was hoping that the Empress could prove Aria wrong by giving Adagio the necessary information.
Little does she know that Empress Twilight knows something that Adagio doesn't. One crucial piece of information that could change everything for her.
And speaking of Empress Twilight, she did want to speak to Adagio for a bit. Despite Empress Twilight not being able to travel between worlds before, ever since Ghetsis aided her in invading countless worlds, in one alternate version of Equestria, she managed to find a spell which allows her to access planewalking.
This version of Equestria was also one that belonged to Nyx, which did, in fact, have a spell that allows that universal travel.
And right in front of Adagio, Empress Twilight arrived with her usual imposing force surrounding her. This was Adagio's chance to prove Aria wrong, possibly.
"Adagio Da-"
"There you are!" Adagio suddenly interrupted her. "I need you to tell me something that I can shove in Aria's face!"
"Hmph. I only-"
"It'll give me the strength and confidence I need to also crush that Rarity pony once the Canterlot Tournament continues!"
"Why would-"
"So that I can show Aria that she knows nothing about what our true fate is!"
"...Oh. This again." Empress Twilight shook her head. "Oh, Adagio. Poor, poor, Adagio."
"What do you mean Poor Adagio? I'm right aren't I?!"
"Hm. Maybe here. But not everywhere else."
"Everywhere else? What are you on about?"
"Oh, that's right! I never told you." Twilight giggled.
"What didn't you tell me?" Adagio growled. "Tell me what you know!"
"Alright. Someone's a bit commanding." Twilight cleared her throat. "Adagio. This fate that you speak of...only exists here."
And there it was. The words that Adagio didn't expect to hear at all. Words that never crossed her mind once. "W-What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that the cruel fate that exists in this universe doesn't exist in the others. To put into even better context..." Twilight went up to her, getting all up in Adagio's face. "The siren's unfortunate fate is only present here. If you were to look everywhere else, other versions of yourself do not share that fate."
Hearing that made Adagio back away from Empress Twilight in absolute shock. She shook her head, refusing to believe that everything she was saying was true. "You're lying! You have to be!"
"Am I? How so? I've been through every other version of Equestria. Even the human variation of it. And in every single one of them, you and your sisters, although in some cases you're not related, survived even without any magic."
"W-What...?"
"The Battle of Bands will always play out the same way in multiple universes. But the one most consistent pattern is that the Dazzlings will end up living inside of a bus of all things. How low can three individuals fall honestly?" Twilight couldn't help but continue laughing at that.
"No way..." Adagio looked down in distraught. As if she wasn't defeated already. After learning that this cruel fate only exists for this version of her changed everything.
Which essentially means that there's a universe out there where the dazzling continue to live on without any magic whatsoever.
"If I'm being honest. I would say you got lucky in this universe. Then you wouldn't have to try and adjust to human life. But oh well."
"H-How...? How is this possible- I thought..."
"Adagio, dear." Twilight held Adagio's chin up. "Of course it's possible. That's why they're called Alternate Universes."
At this point, Adagio couldn't give out any clever remarks or retorts. Both Aria and Empress Twilight have absolutely destroyed her on the inside.
"Hm. I almost forgot why I came here in the first place. Oh, right. I wanted you to partner with Luster Dawn for something important later on. Can you do that?"
"...Yes." Adagio agreed. She didn't even deny it. At this point, what is there to deny?
"Excellent. I'll let you finish your little Canterlot Tournament first. You seem to have a bit of unfinished business. Toodle-loo~!" Empress Twilight left by passing through the gateway.
But she left a great impact on the pony-siren hybrid. An impact that hit harder than Aria's scolding and there might never be anything that will ever come close to this.
The villains have their own stories as opposed to the rest of the world. Although, their stories are less pleasant and full of excitement as Ash and his friends. But either way, all their actions, their plans and motives will come into full effect with the inevitable invasion of Equestria as the journey continues.
It was a relatively normal day today. Nothing eventful at all. Although, whenever somepony expects an uneventful day usually, something eventful does happen. It just takes time for it to really happen.
Today, Goh had actually decided to hang around more in Ponyville as opposed to travelling across every region just to research and see which Pokemon he catches.
"Hm...Nothing major going on now. Strange. Usually something big happens out of nowhere." Goh said.
"Raboot.."
"Sobble..."
"Morning, Goh." Starlight walked up to the trainer and his Pokemon. "You waiting for something?"
"Something is right, Starlight. I'm always told that every day, something eventful happens but...I don't see it." Goh crossed his arms.
"Well, give it time. I mean, the stuff that happens here doesn't compare to the Pokemon world, right?" Starlight chuckled.
"Probably. What are you up to?"
"Me? Nothing really..." Starlight dug her hoof in the ground. "Twilight and the others are probably off doing something fun and exciting as always. So it's just me."
"Didn't they ask you to come along?"
"Well, I mostly stay indoors at Twilight's castle, so before I know it, they're just gone. Doing whatever it is they get up. The same kind of stuff happens with you and Ash, right?"
"Yeah. But only in our world. For this world...there's not that many."
"Right..."
There was an awkward silence between the two. They weren't exactly that close as friends despite them sharing similarities here and there.
Both Goh and Starlight also haven't really interacted that much besides the time they went to the Crystalling. Seeing how there was nothing both of them could do now, Goh's Raboot was actually the one who decided to spice things up.
"Boot." The Rabbit Pokemon kicked Goh's leg, shoving him towards Starlight.
"Uh, I know! You've got one Pokemon. Hatterene, right?"
"Right?"
"So, why not catch another for you? Sound good?"
"Catching a second Pokemon? I guess I might need one more for extra protection."
"Right. And you can leave it to the catching expert to do so." Goh pointed at himself, looking all proud.
"Alright sure. Where do we start?" Starlight asked.
"That Saddle Lake place has some pretty rare Pokemon. I was thinking of catching some Pokemon there." Goh pointed over at the direction where Saddle Lake was. "I was even thinking of catching some myself."
"Why not the Pokemon House? They've got a buffet of Pokemon for you to catch."
"Uhh about that...?" Goh started to reminisce when he first came to the Pokemon House and how Fluttershy let him have it.
"Oh! Look at all these Pokemon!" Goh gawked at the sight of the Pokemon House and how there was a large selection of Pokemon here of many kinds. "Here's an opportunity! Poke Ball, Go!"
Goh found possibly a goldmine of Pokemon for him to catch. Once he threw his first Poke Ball, he was planning on throwing more at everyone else.
An unaware Helioptile was about to be absorbed by a Poke Ball, until Fluttershy flew in, using her wing to smack the Poke Ball into Goh's face.
"Ough!" Goh fell on his back.
"Heliop?"
"Urgh..." Goh stood up from the ground, holding his dented Poke Ball-shaped face. When he opened his eyes, he spotted Fluttershy giving him The Stare. "Geeeh!"
"What do you think you're doing?!" Fluttershy growled at him, approaching Goh with an intimidating aura around her.
"W-W-Wait!" Goh once again fell on his back, this time backing away from the incoming pegasus. "I-I can explain!"
"Think you can just go around catching whatever you feel like without the Pokemon's permission?!" Fluttershy snapped at him.
"I-I-I-I was just you know...doing Pokemon research!" Goh let out a nervous smile as he was sweating bullets. But his research reason wasn't convincing Fluttershy.
"Now, now." Ash slid in between the two. "Let's not go crazy, you two."
"Pikachu."
"Right! Come on, Ash. Tell her that it was just for you know, research purposes."
"I mean yeah but, Goh. I'm afraid that the Pokemon House isn't like the wild." Ash responded. "A lot of these Pokemon have made this place their home. So catching them out of nowhere wouldn't be the smartest decision.
"Pika." Pikachu nodded.
"Oh. My bad." Goh lowered his head. "Sorry! Deepest apologies!" He apologized to Fluttershy alongside his partner who was a Scorbunny at this point.
"Scorbun!"
"Hmph." Fluttershy landed herself gently on the ground. "If you're going to catch one, at least ask the Pokemon here first and my permission." She turned away, walking off.
"Heh..." Goh laughed awkwardly. "Not a great first impression."
"No need to worry." Ash helped Goh up. "Fluttershy's a great pony when you get to know her."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Right..."
"Wow. Bad move on your part." Starlight commented. "But can't you like talk to the Pokemon and get them to bond with you, then you can catch them?"
"Yeah. But unlike Ash, I'm not really an expert at bonding with Pokemon." Goh rubbed the back of his head. "Truth is...With all the Pokemon I've caught, I've never really had the time to chat and spend some time with them. Raboot and Sobble are the only ones who hang around me."
"Yeesh." Starlight winced. "I didn't know it was that bad. Are you really not that great at making friends?"
"Well, you remember, right? I was alone for most of my childhood, taking part in research sessions. So, I didn't really have that many friends besides a few here and there."
"Yeah, I remember." Starlight nodded. That's when Twilight's words about making new friends came into play. Perhaps, taking part in what Goh enjoys doing could work. "How about we get out there and catch that second Pokemon for me, huh?"
"Really?"
"Mhm." Starlight nudged his shoulder. "And it won't be at the Pokemon House. So you don't have to worry."
"Oh...Thank goodness." He let out a sigh of relief. "To Saddle Lake we go then!"
And so it was. Saddle Lake did, in fact, have some rare Pokemon that were not that common normally. It was a great place for trainers looking for rare Pokemon. A bonus was that the Swords of Justice often come here to relax when they're not out there saving lives.
Over at Saddle Lake, the Pokemon there were Marshtomp, Seadra, Gyarados, Cubchoo, the four Oriocorio dancing styles and many more.
Naturally, one of these Pokemon caught the interest of Goh, if not all of them.
"Oh! What is that?!" He pulled out his Pokedex for the four Oriocorio's.
"Oricorio. The Dancing Pokemon. Baile Style. It wins the hearts of its enemies with its passionate dancing and then uses the opening it creates to burn them up with blazing flames. This Oricorio has drunk red nectar. If its Trainer gives the wrong order, this passionate Pokémon becomes fiercely angry."
"Oricorio. The Dancing Pokemon. Pom-Pom Style. It lifts its opponents’ spirits with its cheerful dance moves. When they let their guard down, it electrocutes them with a jolt. This Oricorio has drunk bright yellow nectar. When it sees someone looking glum, it will try to cheer them up with a dance."
"Oricorio. The Dancing Pokemon. Pa'u Style. It relaxes its opponents with its elegant dancing. When they let their guard down, it showers them with psychic energy. This Oricorio has sipped pink nectar. It gets so caught up in its dancing that it sometimes doesn’t hear its Trainer’s orders."
"Oricorio. The Dancing Pokemon. Sensu Style. It summons the dead with its dreamy dancing. From their malice, it draws power with which to curse its enemies. When they let their guard down, it places a curse on them that will bring on their demise. This Oricorio has sipped purple nectar. Some dancers use its graceful, elegant dancing as inspiration."
"That's a lot to remember. Do you wanna catch one them, Starlight?"
"Uh...I'll pass." Starlight wasn't sure if she wanted any of the Oricorio's.
"Then in that case..." Goh held out a Poke Ball. "I'll take all four styles!" He tossed the first Poke Ball over at the Pom-Pom Oricoro.
"Co? Ori!" The Pom-Pom Style Oricorio used Air Slash to send the Poke Ball right back towards Goh, hitting him in the face yet again.
"Gah!"
"Maybe battling them would work out in your favour?" Starlight suggested.
"Ah, right! Raboot! Let's go!"
"Ra!" The Rabbit Pokemon stepped up, facing all four dancing styles at the same time.
"Use Blaze Kick!"
"Boot!" Raboot bolted forward, igniting its feet with flames. The four Oricorio's weren't too fond of Goh interrupting their dancing session, so as a response, they engaged in battle as well.
The Baile Style moved in, using its signature move Revelation Dance. By dancing around and flowing its crimson wings, the Dancing Pokemon sent a blast of scorching flames to the opposing Fire-Type.
Raboot's Blaze Kick connected with Oricorio's blast with both attacks fighting for dominance. They both seemed to be equal in power as they cancelled each other out in a few seconds.
"Raboot..."
"Cor!" The Baile Style called for its fellow Oricorio's for a coordinated Revelation dance. "Orico!"
At the same time, all four Oricorio's performed a synchronized dance with their respective elements showing around them.
A spiral of flames surrounded them all, electric bolts mixed in with the flames, a ghostly aura was layered over the flames whilst a psychic ball appeared in front of them.
"What are they doing and why is it so impressive looking?!" Starlight gawked.
"No idea. Raboot! Use Blaze Kick one more time!"
"Ra!" The Fire-Type dashed in, going for a second Blaze Kick and hoping to connect with its opponents.
Unfortunately, rushing in blind doesn't do much against a coordinated attack. And it showed once the four Oricorio's unleashed their synchronized attack.
A mix of Electric, Fire, Ghost and Psychic was all packed into this one attack as it not only overpowered Raboot's Blaze Kick, but it also ended up trapping the Rabbit Pokemon inside of the attack. That would be Pa'u Style's psychic power kicking in.
"Boot?!"
"Ah! Raboot!" Goh gasped.
"Oricorio!" At the same time, the four Oricorio's used Aerial Ace to hit their own combination attack. By smashing their talons onto the attack, Raboot was sent flying towards Goh, Sobble and Starlight with the attack still active.
Starlight attempted to teleport them all out of there, but the speed Raboot was moving was insane due to Aerial Ace's striking power. As a result, they were all hit by the combined attack, resulting in an explosion that sent them all flying into the air.
"How'd it go so wrong..." Goh sighed.
"It was a 4 against 1. Pretty one-sided from the beginning." Starlight facehoofed.
"Raboot..." Raboot shook its head in disappointment and defeat.
"Sobble!" Being hit by a devastating attack was enough to make Sobble cry. And once it cries, everyone cries.
The ponies from Ponyville could see the four of them blasting off into the distance along with a trail of smoke from Oricorio's attack. Some even mistook them for Team Rocket.
With that out of the way, the Oricorio's got back to their dancing session.
Goh, Starlight, Raboot and Sobble ended up in another part of Saddle Lake, one that was more secluded with less Pokemon around. They crash-landed safely on a bush, thankfully. But the impact of Oricorio's attack really stung.
"Mrrgh..." Goh stood up, holding his head. "What a dud..."
"Ow!-ow!" Starlight held her hoof, blowing on it. Some of the Baile Style's flames burnt her.
With all four of them recovering, they noticed that right here in this very spot, there was actually a hut. Not belonging to Zecora actually. Someone completely different owned this hut.
"Has this always been here?" Goh looked up at the hut.
"How should I know? I'm still new here in this part of Equestria." Starlight shrugged.
Out of curiosity, Goh opened the door to the hut, wondering who would be in here. If they were home at the moment. And in fact, the owner was home. But it wasn't a pony who owned this hut at all.
In fact, it was an Oranguru.
And of course, curiosity struck Goh's head like an arrow, prompting him to take out his Pokedex. "Oh, who are you?!"
"Oranguru. The Sage Pokemon. Known for its extreme intelligence, this Pokémon will look down on inexperienced Trainers, so it’s best suited to veteran Trainers. Deep in the jungle, high in the lofty canopy, this Pokémon abides. On rare occasions, it shows up at the beach to match wits with Slowking. It normally spends its time meditating in the treetops. It throws Poké Balls and gives other Pokémon orders as it pleases with its hand-made fans. If it comes across a wounded Pokémon, Oranguru will gather medicinal herbs to treat it."
"A Pokemon with a high IQ like Slowking, huh?"
"That's a pretty rare Pokemon in its own right." Starlight nodded. "So it's probably the one who lives here."
"Indeed I am."
"...Huh?" At that moment, Goh and Starlight heard a voice respond to them. By freezing for a second, they narrowed their eyes at the Sage Pokemon, believing that it was the one who spoke to them.
"Surprised?"
"Ah!" They pulled back in shock. It wasn't the first time they've heard telepathy. After all, Darkrai and Arceus are capable of speaking telepathically and Meowth exists.
But hearing Oranguru speak to them all of a sudden without any warning whatsoever gave them a slight scare.
"Oh..." Goh held his heart, breathing in and out. "I guess being a Psychic-Type sometimes comes with that perk."
"Why have you four come here?"
"Sorry for intruding, Mr uh...Oranguru." Starlight squeed. "But my friend Goh here was helping me catch some Pokemon. Well, we haven't found one I want yet and we sort of got blasted away by these Oricorio Pokemon."
"Hmmm...It was not out of malicious intent, I assume?"
"N-No! Not at all!" Starlight shook her head.
"Because three individuals came over here to try and capture the Pokemon who peacefully reside here."
"You mean Team Rocket?" Goh answered.
"Whatever they're known as. I can see that you four aren't exactly well organized as they are."
"Well organized?" Goh and Starlight said in unison.
"You were blown away by the Oricorio's, correct? Did you by chance interrupt their dancing session?"
"Mrrgh..." Starlight growled at Goh.
"Ehehehe..." The trainer laughed nervously, shifting his eyes from left to right along with his Raboot. "I was just you know...hoping to catch them since Starlight didn't want them."
"Thought so. The Oricorio's dislike it when someone throws them off focus. Deciding to catch them out of nowhere would just add fuel to the fire."
"Yeah...Kinda figured after the blast-off." Goh lowered his head.
"And what was it you said, purple pony? Your friend was helping you catch a Pokemon?"
"Yes. You see...Goh and I were trying to get to know each other as friends more. Since our friendship isn't exactly that strong. So, Goh decided to help me catch a second Pokemon here at Saddle Lake other than my Hatterene. First, he threw a Poke Ball at the Oricorio's and then they attacked, and now here we are."
"My bad..." Goh chuckled nervously.
"Raboot..."
"Hm. If you wish to catch a Pokemon, throwing a Poke Ball blindly at the first thing that catches your eye is not the best option."
"Just like Fluttershy." Goh sighed.
"The best thing you can do is find a Pokemon and simply get to know them. Throwing a Poke Ball as your first greeting may work on some Pokemon, but not all. Pokemon are similar to you humans and ponies. You must treat them how you wanted to be treated and then possibly, they'll decide to be your partners."
"Treat them how we want to be treated?" Goh looked down at Raboot and Sobble.
"I guess the same can be said for my Hatterene." Starlight sent Hatterene out.
"Tterene."
"We've only known each other for a few months but I feel like we've made a strong connection when we first met. Right, Hatterene?"
"Hatt." The Silent Pokemon nodded.
Thinking about what Oranguru said made Goh remember his own words he said to Starlight earlier at Ponyville. "Yeah. But unlike Ash, I'm not really an expert at bonding with Pokemon. Truth is...With all the Pokemon I've caught, I've never really had the time to chat and spend some time with them. Raboot and Sobble are the only ones who hang around me."
"Oh man...I've got a long way to go if I really wanna understand Pokemon."
"Do not let my words beat you two down so easily. From what I can tell, you're still young and learning. Goh. You are still a young boy. There is a lot about Pokemon you have yet to experience. And Starlight. Much like all the ponies, Pokemon are still new territory to you, even when an entire year has passed. It is from youth that you can grow and improve. And you still have a lot of room to grow."
"Right. Guess it's not just friendship I have to work on, huh, Goh?" Starlight looked up at him.
"Y-Yeah. Same here. Guess we're both rookies on the same thing, huh?"
"Oh. I would say there is one thing you two are not rookies at." Oranguru responded, grabbing their attention. "From what I can see, you two are already good friends. Just trying to help each other out after all. That is what matters currently."
"Raboot!"
"Sobble!" Sobble climbed up Goh's shoulder.
"He really is a smart Pokemon...Thank you so much, Mr Oranguru!" Starlight thanked him along with Goh.
"You're welcome. Now move along. I need my nap now."
"Oh, right!" Goh and Starlight left his hut, leaving the Sage Pokemon to carry on with his day. "So, Starlight. Wanna continue catching some Pokemon?"
"Nah. I think I'll pass for today. Maybe another time. Besides, I can't wait to tell Twilight about what I've learned today!"
"Hatterene!"
A somewhat failed attempt at catching a Pokemon today. But also a success in the form of Oranguru's teachings. Starlight and Goh still have a lot to learn and experience when it comes to both friendship and Pokemon. But with their partners by their side along with the actual friends they have, they can rest assured that eventually, they'll keep on advancing as the journey continues.
The ponies who were taking part in it immediately made their way to Canterlot to resume their upcoming battles. Unfortunately, Ben couldn't arrive to give any announcements since he was feeling a bit under the weather, so it was up to his Gothitelle to take his place.
All the ponies who were still in the tournament remembered which Pokemon they would end up using on the third day and their matchups. Some were rental teams like Applejack renting a Venasaur since she only owns Grovyle as her official Pokemon.
There were a few matches that were never seen due to the sudden break. But now that they're all back, the matches can resume and advance onwards to the third day.
As always, the waiting room was where the participants gathered up with their partners, waiting for their turn to arrive. And for the crowd, they took their seats, gossiping and chatting away about who will end up winning this entire tournament.
"Glad to be back here." Rainbow Dash sat down on the waiting room couch. "Can't believe we almost missed Hearth's Warming because of this."
"I hear tomorrow's a 3v3 this time. For the whole 3rd day." Applejack answered. Due to learning that it would end up being a 3v3 for the 3rd day, she got yet another Pokemon from the rental teams. Now she had Venasaur and a random Pokemon.
"You know. With all this battling, I think my eyes have gotten pretty-" A pony was chatting away until something had interrupted him.
That something was the entrance of none other than Adagio Dazzle herself. And with Adagio present here, silence filled the room. Whether out of animosity or fear.
But this time, Adagio wasn't absorbing any of their negativity. Not after the harsh truth, she had just been given a few days ago. Adagio didn't even pay attention to the ponies who were giving various looks at her.
"Can't believe she came back here." Rainbow Dash whispered. "I didn't think she would."
Adagio could hear all their words thanks to sirens having good hearing. But she didn't have the spirit to reply at all. She just stood on her lonesome, distant from the others.
Adagio's match with Rarity would end up occurring in 30 minutes. Right after everypony else finishes up on their matches. But now she wasn't in the mood to defeat Rarity at all.
"Krick?" Kricketot who always stayed inside of Adagio's mane was hoping that his trainer could recover from this. After all, Kricketot heard everything that Empress Twilight told Adagio. Knowing about this made the Cricket Pokemon worried about his trainer and her future.
"Not now, Kricketot," Adagio responded to him. "Not in the mood."
"Tot..." Hearing his trainer's commands, Kricketot returned inside of Adagio's huge mane.
With the tournament resuming, two pegasi stepped onto the battlefield with the crowd getting pumped up. The referee was there once again along with the announcer.
And with the addition of the Pokemon School, the Gym Leaders had come by to watch this tournament go down. Although, some of them couldn't make it since they have jobs back at their region as Gym Leaders.
But for the ones who don't get trainers around their gym that often, they were in the clear. Unbeknownst to the Gym Leaders, there was one matchup that everypony was looking forward to tomorrow.
Rarity vs Adagio.
And even more unbeknownst to them, both trainers had Ultra Beasts in their possession. So when that matchup arrives tomorrow, they'll have a battle that nopony here will ever forget.
The battle had begun between the two trainers with their Croconaw and Donphan. As always, seeing a Pokemon battle was exhilarating to the eyes. The flash of movements and the impactful sounds of attacks being unleashed was always a joy to see and hear.
Everypony but Adagio was enjoying this. Adagio naturally didn't find any interest in this tournament other than crushing Twilight and her friends right in front of everypony else, but now, even the drive to defeat the Mane 6 has essentially faded away.
Every passing second, Adagio continuously remembers those exact words that Empress Twilight told her. Words that will never leave her head.
"This fate that you speak of...only exists here."
For the entirety of the second day, she would remain like this. Completely sombre.
However, this wouldn't go unnoticed for long. Since there is one Pokemon in particular that can sense emotions on account of being a Pokemon all about emotions.
That being Celestia's Kirlia, Passion. Her ability to sense any emotion isn't limited to her trainer. Everypony present in Canterlot is radiating emotions that Passion constantly feels.
For the majority, she's been sensing positive emotions due to the tournament resuming and the exciting battle currently taking place.
However, one single emotion that is out of place can be easily identified by the Emotion Pokemon. Adagio's emotion put Passion on high alert. Not only can she sense any emotion, but she can also detect who the emotion belongs to.
"Kir! Kirlia!" Passion nudged Celestia's hoof, grabbing her attention.
"Hm? What's wrong Passion?" Celestia turned her head away from the battle, focusing on her partner.
"Lia!" Passion knew just spouting words wouldn't work, so she tried utilizing telepathy. Her telepathy is still fairly weak and she can only use it for 5 seconds at best. But it's all she has at the moment. With the amount of time she had, she uttered the words. "Adagio...is...sad." And that's the best she could muster.
"Adagio is sad, you say." Celestia stood up. If Passion mentions how somepony is feeling upset, which she rarely does, then its something that Celestia cannot ignore. "Alright. Arcanine. Stay here."
"Arca." Arcanine was already snug and cosy on the floor so he wasn't going anywhere.
Celestia knew that something was off if Adagio of all ponies is upset at the moment. Adagio was free at the moment. After all, before the tournament went on a break, she had already gone through her matchup.
By sending herself to the waiting room via teleportation, Princess Celestia appeared before everypony inside the room, causing them all to stray their attention away from the battle.
"Oh! Princess Celestia!" A pony gasped.
"Don't tell me she's participating in this tournament too?!" Rainbow Dash pulled her mane, screeching uncontrollably.
"Not at all. I'm here to see somepony important." Celestia replied, looking for Adagio. By navigating her head across the room, she spotted the siren sitting alone in the very corner. "There she is."
"Hm? She wants Adagio?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"Maybe she's finally gonna do something about her?" whispered Rainbow Dash.
With Celestia approaching Adagio, the siren looked up, seeing the alicorn gaze down upon her. "What?" She spoke to Celestia.
"Adagio. Are you alright?" Celestia asked with a genuine look on her face.
Hearing Princess Celestia ask that simple question wasn't something that Adagio could respond to with her usual prideful nature. In fact, this is the first time anyone has ever asked her if she was alright in years.
"No." She replied with actual honesty for once.
"Hm." Celestia nodded. "May I speak with you in private, Adagio?"
"Sure, whatever." Adagio scoffed.
With both Celestia and Adagio leaving the waiting room, everypony wondered why Celestia wasn't taking any action on Adagio. Although, they had no idea why these two aren't hostile with each other.
The area they sat together before was, of course, Canterlot Gardens and that one single bench.
"So tell me, Adagio. What happened that has made even you feel like this?" Celestia asked her. "You're usually so strong-willed."
"If I told you, you'd find it unbelievable."
"Not at all." Celestia shook her head. "You can ask me anything, no matter how grand it is."
"Fine." Adagio took a deep breath. "I just learned that the fate of my species, that cruel fate that endangers our lives, isn't as prominent as I thought."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean...it only exists here. And nowhere else. Apparently, in every other universe, this fate doesn't exist for alternate variations of me. So in short, the other universes that have sirens have it lucky. While I don't."
"I see..." Celestia understood what Adagio meant by that.
"It's not fair." Adagio stomped her hooves on the bench. "Why does it have to be just this world?" Thinking about it made Adagio almost tear up but she was strong enough to hold back her tears. "All this time I thought that it was something that could exist for every universe. That I was right all along. Guess that all goes down the drain."
"Fate is unpredictable, Adagio." Celestia put her wing over the distraught siren. "Unfortunately, despite it being a single force, it can have infinite possibilities. Ones that we aren't prepared for at all."
"That's an understatement." Adagio looked down. "What am I supposed to do now?"
"Hm. At a time like this, I would go to somepony who'll be there for you."
"Like who?" Adagio whimpered.
"Well. You still have your sisters, don't you? And you still love them, correct?"
Celestia's words made Adagio recall something that Aria said to her back then before the tournament broke up for Hearth's Warming and Christmas.
"But...That doesn't mean we hate you. You're still our sister."
"Yeah, I do." Adagio nodded.
"Then after the second day, go to them. Family should always be there each other." Celestia hopped off the bench. "Good job on detecting her, Passion."
"Kirlia." Passion hopped on Celestia's back.
The princess and the Pokemon left Adagio with one final advice concerning her sisters. For once, Adagio had to agree with somepony. The best thing she could do now was to head towards her sisters.
Back at the tournament, the Croconaw vs Donphan matchup had come to an end, with Croconaw finishing the battle with a mighty Ice Fang to finish Donphan off.
"Donphan is unable to battle! Croconaw wins! Which means the victor is Cloverpad!" said the Referee.
"Yes! Great job, Croconaw!" Cloverpad flew over to his partner, hugging Croconaw. The Big Jaw Pokemon returned the low back with a ferocious bite.
"Naw!"
"Ow! T-Thanks, Croconaw." Cloverpad winced.
With that battle over, it was clear that the tournament still had its usual excitement packed with it even after the break. After this, the remaining trainers came onto the battlefield to emerge victorious over each other.
There were 22 trainers left until the day would come to an end, transitioning into tomorrow. The crowd watched as all these battles went on. Some were quick, some took a while and some got so messy and chaotic that it was hard to tell what exactly was going on.
Applejack had her turn. Although, she's grown so much as a trainer that all she needed was Grovyle to win this. She didn't even use the rental Pokemon Venasaur once.
"Grovyle! Leaf Blade!"
"Vyle!" Grovyle was succeeding greatly in this entire matchup as he already took out one Pokemon by himself. He rushed in, slashing his bladed leaves on an opposing Magmar, taking it out in just two hits.
"Mag!" The Spitfire Pokemon went flying across the battlefield from that mighty Leaf Blade. Usually, it wouldn't be super-effective, but Applejack's Grovyle was strong enough to take on Pokemon that it would usually be weak against. By tumbling on the ground, Magmar fainted. "Magmar..."
"Magmar is unable to battle! Grovyle wins! Which means the victor is Applejack!"
"Nice quick work, partner!"
"Grovyle!"
"Just two hits?! How strong is that Grovyle?!" The announcer gasped.
"That's my sister!" Apple Bloom held Sweetie Belle tight, cheering for her big sister.
"Apple Bloom...P-P-Please..." Sweetie Belle was pleading for air whilst being held by an earth pony's supernatural strength.
With Applejack coming out victorious, the matches that would follow next were the ones that got everypony's excitement building. The top 3 trainers would be battling once more.
And like always, they didn't disappoint and showed off just why they're the top 3.
Spitfire and Daylight already finished their battles by using just their Medicham and Froslass. And currently, Luna was about to finish her battle off. Her Musharna made quick work of another trainer's Crawdaunt by using Energy Ball. And without losing any of her two Pokemon.
"Musharna! Use Psychic to bring Trumbeak over! Then use Hypnosis!" Luna commanded.
"Musha..." The Drowsing Pokemon forced the Bugle Beak Pokemon to come towards her by surrounding Trumbeak in a psychic aura. Once Trumbeak was pulled towards her, Musharna sent a spiral of hypnotic energy that immediately put Trumbeak to sleep.
"Beak..."
"Ah! Trumbreak!" Trumbeak's trainer screeched.
"Excellent. Return, Musharna." Suddenly, Luna returned Musharna, substituting for another Pokemon. "You're next, Excadrill!" Excadrill was sent out to finish the job.
"Drill!"
"Finish it off with Metal Claw!" By rushing in forward, Excadrill attacked a dozed off Trumbeak who couldn't really do anything to fight back at the moment.
One single Metal Claw was all it took to take down the opposing Pokemon and win the match for Princess Luna. The opposing Trumbeak was slammed into the ground by Metal Claw, causing a certified faint.
"Trumbeak..."
"Trumbeak is unable to battle! Excadrill wins! Thus the victor is Princess Luna!"
"A fine job, Musharna."
"Sharna!" Out of joy, Musharna flew over to her trainer, biting on Luna's head.
"Musharna, no!" But it was too late. Musharna was already on Luna's head.
With that battle over, the last bunch of trainers had their battles. While not as exciting as the top 3, they were enjoyable nonetheless.
And with the final battle coming to an end, the second-day matchups had finally finished up. Coming back to this tournament was worth it.
Ponies either went home or stayed in Canterlot for the night until the third day of the tournament arrives. Although, from what Gothitelle could tell, the number of trainers left might not fill up the entire week. Probably 5 days at best.
With everypony scattering across the streets of Canterlot, one pony, in particular, was waiting for two important individuals. That of course being Adagio.
Celestia's words really stuck to her. Wouldn't be the first time an alicorn ruler's words left a huge impact on Adagio. She waited for her two sisters to come out until she spotted them.
Sonata and Aria were chatting together, just being happy with smiles on their faces. Well, smiles on Sonata's face. Aria doesn't do smiling that much. But she was happy nonetheless.
Approaching her younger sisters, Adagio was ready to finally confront them without any hostility this time. Aria and Sonata quickly snapped their head towards Adagio's direction, noticing that their older sister was heading their way.
"What do you want now, Adagio?" Aria stood in front of Sonata. "If it's about-"
"It's not what you think it is." Adagio interrupted.
"Oh, really? You're not here to take us away? Then why are you here?" Sonata wondered.
Adagio would have to say words that she hoped would never come out of her move. For once, she would have to toss away all her hubris and vanity for this one situation.
"You two. We're still sisters, right?" Adagio asked with a melancholy tone.
Seeing their older sister in a state that they've never seen her in before was surreal to Sonata and Aria. But that surreal sight was enough to let them know that whatever happened to Adagio must've really hit her. Adagio is never upset. And when she is, it normally involves throwing or smashing something.
"Duh. Of course, we are." Aria replied.
"Mhm." Sonata nodded aggressively.
"You don't really hate me after all?"
"I wouldn't say hate, I'd say disappointed in you." Aria shook her head. "By the way, what's got you acting like this? This is making me super uncomfortable."
"Yeah. It's not like you to be all down and-" Sonata couldn't finish her sentence at all. That was because Adagio suddenly rushed in and gave both of her sisters an unexpected hug out of nowhere.
"I love you two idiots. I really mean it." Adagio for once showed off all her love and compassion to her younger sisters. For the first time in years.
Sonata and Aria looked at each other for a bit. At first, they were confused, but then, they nodded at each other in understanding.
At that moment, that same golden light that Adagio exhibits at rare occurrences had managed to show up once more. This mysterious gold light performed its magic once more. It made both Sonata and Aria feel refreshed. Whatever this light was, it seems to always leave that single effect on anyone that is affected by it.
"Alright." Aria pushed Adagio off. "You're gonna make me feel all mushy and I don't want that."
"I didn't know you were so good at hugging. Can you do it again?" Sonata squeed.
"You two...Will you cheer for me in my match tomorrow?" Adagio asked, trying to hold back her tears again.
"Hmm..." Aria thought about it for a second. "Eh, sure whatever. You seem like you're getting into it a bit anyway-" Just then, both Aria and Sonata noticed that Adagio was struggling to maintain her tears. "Are you... crying?"
"No! I just got out of the fountain earlier!" Adagio covered her eyes with her hoof. "See you tomorrow."
"Why would she be in the fountain?" Sonata scratched her mane.
"Forget it, Sonata. I think we've got something good to look forward to in the future."
Perhaps they do. Adagio's words to her sisters was something she never knew had to be done. Celestia watched the whole thing go down as always.
However, it wasn't Adagio telling her sisters that she loves them that got the sun princess's attention. It was the golden light that came out of Adagio's body. She recalls how her mother Sunlight once saw Adagio's mother Vivace let out that same light. But it only ever happened once. Now, Celestia was curious as to what that light really meant.
With the Canterlot Tournament finally returning and the number of trainers decreasing, the tournament to see how far everypony has come in terms of strength carries on with the anticipation of Rarity vs Adagio closing in. Although, when that matchup comes, it might play out differently than what they all imagined as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The third day of the Canterlot Tournament has finally arrived.
After a refreshing sleep last night, they were prepared for the third-day matchups. With fewer trainers, today will be shorter than the last. And the same can be said for tomorrow and onwards.
With everypony making their way towards the stadium, the waiting room was a bit smaller now due to the ponies who lost their matches on the second day.
Since this was the third day, by order of BIgTime Ben who was still here and unable to show up, Gothitelle had made it so that it would be a 3v3 this time.
So it was back to the rental teams for those who didn't have more than two Pokemon at their disposal.
The remaining trainers have proven to be formidable and truly skills so far. Even those who aren't participating in the Equestria League, such as Rarity and Applejack.
And speaking of Rarity, all eyes were on her today. No trainer was given more focus than her due to the upcoming match she has against Adagio. The one that many ponies were anticipating the most.
For the inevitable matchup between the two to happen, over 28 trainers would have to finish their matchups first. The unicorn was feeling confident about her upcoming battle with Adagio. But at the same time, a bit nervous.
"Alright. All I have to do is make sure that Pheromosa does not take out all three of my Pokemon." Rarity was planning ahead of her approaching battle.
All the while, matchups were happening outside on the battlefield. The sounds of moves shaking the entirety of Canterlot was impossible to ignore.
But Rarity had full focus and concentration that seemed impossible to break. She was truly thinking this through. Her training with Leavanny and Flaaffy ended up increasing their reaction time, specifically for Adagio.
However, with Rarity's newest partner being another Pheromosa, a Shiny one at that, her chances of defeating Adagio have risen, according to her.
"Using my Pheromosa against hers is a splendid idea but... My Pheromosa isn't much of a battler. She's akin to that of a jolly child. If it comes down to it, then I'll use Pheromosa as a final ace in the hole."
"Thinking hard, Rarity?" Applejack went up to her friend.
"The hardest I've ever thought. I'm going up against what can be considered a common enemy."
"Adagio's not common. She's pretty dodgy and rare." Rainbow Dash flew over.
"I just have to watch out for that speed. Twilight had a good strategy that helped her against Pheromosa's swiftness. She would've won if Eve didn't faint at the last moment."
"Not just that. What's the name of that dance Pheromosa does to make herself faster and tougher?" Applejack was trying to recall the Bug-Type move Pheromosa uses.
"Quiver Dance," Rainbow answered.
"That's it. You'd best watch out for that one. That vermin's already fast enough. She gets any faster, it could be trouble."
"Applejack's right. Besides, it helps Pheromosa against special attacks too. And your Flaaffy's all about special moves. Plus, Thunder's like the strongest move you've got." Rainbow Dash warned Rarity.
"I know. But I've also got something for that little nuisance. Flaaffy's Static." Rarity smirked.
"Oh yeah..." Rainbow Dash nodded. "If Static kicks in, Pheromosa's gonna have a hard time moving. Nice thinking."
"And Adagio's Pheromosa only attacks up close. So all she can do is get physical." Rarity stood up. "I just have to hope that Flaaffy can take enough hits for Static to appear."
"Wait, what about your Pheromosa? What can it do?" Applejack questioned.
"From what the dex says, this is what she can do so far." Rarity showed off her Pokedex. By selecting her Pheromosa's entry, the dex read out the moves Pheromosa can perform.
"Triple Kick. Substitute. Rapid Spin. Protect."
"That's it? Three Normal moves and one really good Fighting move?" Rainbow Dash wasn't sure about this movepool.
"I know it seems fairly weak. But believe me. I know what I'm doing."
"Well. If she says she knows...she knows." Applejack replied. "But...not sure how I know how I'm gonna win my upcoming match."
"Why not?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Don't you remember? I'm going up against Spitfire next." Applejack gulped.
"Oh, yeah! Oof. Tough luck, AJ." Rainbow placed her arm around Applejack. "But don't worry. If I get paired with them later on, I'll avenge you."
"I know!" Rarity suddenly exclaimed. "It's a perfect strategy! One that will surely guide me to victory!"
"Well, whatever it is, it'd better be enough to tank Adagio's Pheromosa and those super hard kicks." Rainbow Dash said.
With anticipation brewing, the matches raged on with ponies emerging victorious or in defeat. All the while, Sonata and Aria were now rooting for Adagio. Before they weren't due to her actions.
However, that one instance from yesterday where Adagio showed genuine love to her sisters, changed everything for them. Well, almost everything.
As for Adagio herself, she was no longer in her distraught mood. She was still heavily affected but after saying that she genuinely loves her sisters, the siren's drive to win had been sparked up once more. Whether that was a good or bad thing, is something that only Adagio express when her matchup comes along.
Celestia was in the same boat as Sonata and Aria. After seeing how Adagio confronted her sisters, she was curious as to how this matchup would go. Previously, Adagio battled out of revenge and detest for Twilight and her friends. And her battling style showed it due to how aggressive her Pheromosa was.
But now, it's a mystery. Celestia wasn't sure how Adagio would battle this time. Would she still keep her aggressive battling style since she's going up against one of Twilight's friends? Or will her short time with Sonata and Aria change that up completely?
All Celestia can do is wait and see.
With all 28 trainers finally done battling, the time had come. For Rarity and Adagio to face off. And both trainers were ready to head out there.
Adagio had already shown herself by entering the waiting room. Everypony could see that she had her usual smile on her face. But this time, in a different light.
Rarity and Adagio eyed each other down, knowing that it was time.
"So. Are you ready to lose?" Adagio smirked. "I'm not going to be as predictable as I was in my previous matchup. So it won't be easy getting a 1-UP on me."
"We'll just see about that." Rarity replied with narrowed eyes. The two knew that there wasn't any time for idle chit chat. They can let out all their urges on the battlefield.
So with that in mind, both unicorns finally made their way outside with the crowd locking eyes on them. The biggest concern here was Pheromosa. But the thought of Rarity having a second Pheromosa wasn't something everypony minus her friends weren't expecting at all.
As both trainers went on their respective sides, Rarity on the right, Adagio on the left, the referee looked over at the two unicorns, getting a bit nervous due to how intense they were making the atmosphere right now. Just from looking at each other.
"Both trainers are allowed to substitute their Pokemon. The battle will be a 3v3." The referee gave a quick summary of the rules. "You may both send out your Pokemon now."
"Hope you're ready. Because I'm in it to win it this time." Adagio used her magic to hold the Ultra Ball. "Come out, Pheromosa!"
Out came the beautiful yet fearsome Pheromosa that still leaves a huge impact on everypony present here.
"Pheromosa!"
"Hmph. Not bad. But your Pheromosa's colours pale in comparison to mine." Rarity also used her magic to levitate her custom-made Rarity Ball.
"What do you mean mine?" Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"It's time for you to grab all the attention! Come out!" Rarity knew what the obvious reaction would be once her own Pheromosa came out.
With the ball sending the Ultra Beast out, the entire crowd was met with a shocking reveal. Rarity had her own Pheromosa. A Shiny one at that.
"Mosa!" Rarity's Pheromosa lifted her arms.
"She's got a Pheromosa too?! And it's got different colours!" The announcer jumped off his seat, hitting his head on the ceiling wall. "Ow..."
"I didn't expect Rarity to own one as well..." Luna's jaw dropped as her and the other participants were shocked that Rarity had that Pokemon at her disposal. Just casually one of her teammates.
A commotion erupted from the crowd due to Rarity's reveal. And that's exactly what Rarity wanted. As for her own Pheromosa, it felt like a star being out here in the crowd. She looked like she was about to explode from excitement.
"No time to be dazzled, Pheromosa. Focus on the opponent in front of you!" Rarity shouted.
"Phero?" Once Rarity's Pheromosa turned around, she immediately spotted another one of her own kind standing in front of her. "Mosa?!"
"Phe." Adagio's Pheromosa didn't really care for another one of its kind being here as well. After all, Pheromosa's do not care for each other in any way shape or form. Although, they do enjoy beating each other up for gemstones.
While there aren't any gemstones here, Adagio's Pheromosa knows about Rarity's Pheromosa. She knows that it's basically a pacifist and a huge pushover. So Adagio's Pheromosa was going to enjoy this thoroughly.
"Where did you get one?" Adagio narrowed her eyes, confused on how Rarity owns a Pheromosa as well.
"Don't worry about the details. You should worry about your inevitable defeat." Rarity replied.
"Hmph." Adagio scoffed.
"Getting a bit nervous here..." Sweetie Belle bit her hooves, worried about the outcome. She was confident that Rarity would win but Adagio's battle style is not one she would want to see exhibited on her older sister.
"Battle Start!" And with the referee's call. The battle could officially begin.
"Pheromosa! Throat Chop!"
"Mosa!" Adagio's Pheromosa bolted forward with her legs being cloaked in a dark veil. However, thanks to all their training, Rarity's reaction time was quick enough to see Pheromosa coming.
"Use Triple Kick!"
"Phero!" Her own Pheromosa pulled her feet back, advancing to her fellow Lissome Pokemon at the same speed the other Pheromosa was moving at.
Both Ultra Beasts clashed legs, causing a shockwave just from them colliding. They seemed to be equal in strength. But that made sense since they were the same Pokemon after all.
With their striking strength being equal, both Pheromosa's backed away from each other, ending the clash.
"Use Poison Jab!" Adagio commanded. Her Pheromosa removed the dark aura and replaced it with a lethal poison that dripped on the ground, leaving tiny holes. The Ultra Beast took the skies, going straight for a dive kick.
"Protect!" Rarity decided to let her own Pheromosa defend herself instead of countering the Poison Jab. It was too risky and she wasn't hoping on getting her precious Pheromosa poisoned.
"Pheromosa!" The Lissome Pokemon's eyes glowed red as a blue forcefield surrounded her entire body. This allowed her to block the Poison Jab, eliminating the chance of being poisoned. For now.
"Kick her until her Protect goes down!"
"Mosa!" Adagio's Pheromosa repeatedly kicked Rarity's Pheromosa with Poison Jab, trying desperately to break through Protect. From the looks of it, her striking strength was almost enough to break through Protect if she kept on kicking.
"Alright. Pheromosa, return!" Rarity suddenly returned her Pheromosa to its Poke Ball. "Good job on defending yourself. Now, for my strategy to come into play. Come out, Flaaffy!" Rarity sent out Flaaffy as her next pick.
"Flaa!"
"Hmph. I'll make quick work of this sheep! High Jump Kick!"
"Phero!" The Lissome Pokemon jumped high into the air with her knees glowing purple. Yet again, Rarity's reaction time had increased to the point where she could see it coming and act quick enough to counter Pheromosa.
But this time, Rarity wasn't planning on attacking back. She was betting it all on Flaaffy's static. And there was one guaranteed way she could paralyze Pheromosa.
"Flaaffy! Use your wool to protect yourself!"
"Flaaffy..." The Wool Pokemon closed his eyes, using his wool as a defence tactic. Everypony thought that Rarity was doing this to cushion Pheromosa's hits since the wool is so fluffy and soft.
Sadly, Flaaffy's wool isn't enough to protect it from attacks, unlike Cinccino who can actually perform that. But Rarity already knew this. And there was one thing about Flaaffy's wool that could come in handy.
Once Pheromosa's knee struck Flaaffy's wool, a devastating impact pulsated through the Wool Pokemon's body. Flaaffy shuddered from the impact. It felt like his bones were about to break. However, his hard training with Rarity made sure that wouldn't happen.
Flaaffy was sent flying by High Jump Kick as he tumbled on the ground. But thankfully, he could go on. But that one attack really did a huge number on him.
"Ffy..."
"Phero." The Lissome Pokemon scoffed at Flaaffy, slightly impressed that he was able to take her attack. But then, she noticed that Flaaffy was smirking all of a sudden. And before she knew it, Pheromosa felt a powerful shock through her supple body. "MOSA!?"
"What?!" Adagio gasped.
"Just as planned. Hitting Flaaffy's wool wasn't exactly the wisest decision!" Rarity grinned.
"Of course" Twilight stood up, realizing something. "Just like Pikachu's red sacs, there's one area where the most amount of electricity is stored in. So if you hit Flaaffy's wool, there's a good chance it'll paralyze you. Smart thinking, Rarity!"
"Lucky paralyze!" Adagio scoffed.
"Oh, I wouldn't say it was lucky." Rarity flipped her mane. "You see. my darling Flaaffy's greatest weaknesses is also his greatest strength. Since he only knows Electric-Type moves, two of those moves have a chance of paralyzing his opponent. So even if Static didn't activate, I still would've had other options to paralyze."
"I see..." Adagio smirked. "Clever play, pony."
"Rarity's got this!" Sweetie Belle shot up, cheering for her older sister.
However, Sonata and Aria believed that it was best that they don't cheer for Adagio. They were afraid that everypony would give them judgemental looks due to Adagio's actions.
But Ash knew that they wanted to cheer for their sister. And he also understood that it would be hard for them to do so due to the atmosphere and tension.
"I should be frustrated but...I don't feel that anymore." Adagio said to herself. "I don't know what it is, but I feel something."
"Hm? What exactly?" Rarity asked.
"How should I know? Whatever it is, it makes me want to win this even further! Let's return the favour by poisoning! Use Poison Jab!"
"Phero!" Pheromosa readied herself, making sure that this Poison Jab would poison Flaaffy for sure. However, thanks to the paralyzing effect, Pheromosa's usually spectacular speed had been cut, causing the Lissome Pokemon to stagger with her movements.
"Flaaffy! Thunder!"
"Flaa!" The Wool Pokemon summoned the power of a storm in his tail and ears, ready to blast away.
"Duck!" Adagio knew that if Pheromosa got hit by this one attack, the result would be devastating. So, the Lissome Pokemon changed her forward kick into a sliding kick whilst also ducking.
Flaaffy's blast of thunder grazed Pheromosa's antennae, leaving some chip damage behind. Pheromosa being paralyzed really messed up her natural dodging skills. But she was still much faster than Flaaffy, even if her speed was cut.
A sliding kick was delivered to Flaaffy's leg, knocking the Wool Pokemon forward off the ground.
"Fla?!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa then smashed her foot on Flaaffy's stomach whilst getting up, sending the Electric-Type upwards.
Flaaffy fell on his back whilst crashing down. A bruise could be seen on his stomach but thankfully, the poison hadn't affected him, much to Pheromosa and Adagio's dismay.
"Flaaffy..." The Wool Pokemon got back up, holding his stomach while breathing in and out.
"Flaaffy! Are you okay?!"
"Fla!"
"That's strange..." Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Adagio's not battling the same way she normally does."
"Yeah. She's not being aggressive about it." Pinkie Pie nodded. "It's almost like she's...having fun?"
"In that case, we'll poison Flaaffy in another way. Spread the poison by swinging your legs!"
"Phero!" Pheromosa used Poison Jab once more. But this time, as a ranged attack. By swinging her legs in the air, she sent out multiple droplets of poison that zoomed towards Flaaffy's direction.
"Dodge and use Electro Ball!" Flaaffy zipped to the side, attempting to avoid the droplets of lethal poison that came his way.
"Keep kicking! And swing the poison everywhere!" Pheromosa continued to send more and more poison by continuously swinging the air. With each kick, the droplets got faster and faster.
Even when paralyzed, Pheromosa's speed is unnaturally good.
"Fla!" Flaaffy got on his back, ducking some poison that almost made contact with his face. He then spotted some more coming directly for his feet, so he jumped into the air as a means of avoiding it.
However, there was just too many droplets. And eventually, some of them made contact. Whilst Flaaffy was airborne, some of the droplets that were aimed upwards splashed onto the Wool Pokemon.
And it took that one strategy of Adagio to finally poison Flaaffy, forcing the Wool Pokemon to land down on the ground in a poisoned state.
"Flaa...ffy...
"Drat!" Rarity stomped her hoof.
"Now we're even. Let's see your Flaaffy try and keep its focus. Pheromosa. Regain your speed with Quiver Dance!"
"Phero..." The one move that Rarity actually feared would happen. With Quiver Dance, this battle might increase in difficulty. Fortunately, thanks to Flaaffy, when Pheromosa attempted to dance around, she was staggering each time with electric shocks sparking out of her. "Mosa...!"
"Hah! That's no way to dance beautifully! Flaaffy! Thunder! This time from above!"
"Ffy..." Flaaffy raised his arms, causing the entire sky to be full of grey clouds. Due to the poison, he couldn't focus as much as he closed his eyes with each movement he made.
"Hang in there, Flaaffy, darling! You can do this!" Rarity cheered him on.
"Too late!" Adagio exclaimed. Since Flaaffy was taking too long to activate Thunder, Pheromosa had managed to pull off Quiver Dance with the amount of free time she had. Now her Special Attack, Special Defence and Speed have all risen. But she was still a bit slower thanks to the paralyzing effect. "Now, use High Jump Kick!"
"Mosa!" By jumping in the air like a rocket, leaving a shockwave behind, Pheromosa outstretched her leg, going straight for another dive kick instead of the usual flying knee that comes with High Jump Kick.
"Flaaffy!" Flaaffy found enough focus to finally summon Thunder. From above a devastating blast of thunder roared down with lightning speed behind it, tearing through the skies.
Pheromosa smashed her foot on Flaaffy's head but the blast of thunder managed to smite her, causing both Pokemon to successfully land their attacks.
With the impact of both attacks, the two Pokemon were knocked back to their trainers, feeling some heavy damage after a collision such as that.
"Fla...!" Flaaffy got on his knees, trying to fight back against the poison.
"Phero!" Thanks to Quiver Dance, Pheromosa could take a Thunder. But it did leave a mark on her. "Mosa..."
"What an impact!" The announcer gasped.
"Bummer. If she didn't get Quiver Dance off, Pheromosa would've been toast already." Sweetie Belle pouted.
"Come on Adagio..." Sonata quietly mumbled, not wanting to give off the impression that she was rooting for the less popular side.
"We'll get back up to speed. Use Quiver Dance and move around whilst doing it!"
"Pheromo!" The Lissome Pokemon initiated the mystical dance once more. But this time, by moving all over the place.
"Flaaffy! Use Electro Ball repeatedly!" By using his tail, an orb of electricity emerged from Flaaffy. Even while poisoned, he could still carry on.
Electro Balls were continuously fired from Flaaffy's tail, zooming towards the Lissome Pokemon who was dancing about whilst feeling electric shocks course through her body.
Pheromosa's dancing allowed her to avoid the Electro Balls surprisingly. However, Adagio knew this would work since Pheromosa has a supple and thin body, allowing her to find perfect gaps wherever she can.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa completed the dance, boosting herself once more. With a second Quiver Dance, she was almost back to her true speed.
An incoming Electro Ball had managed to hit her once the Quiver Dance ended. However, due to it also raising her special defence, the Lissome Pokemon was still standing.
"This might be a problem..." Rarity bit her hoof. Now she had to deal with a much more durable Pheromosa unfortunately.
"Flaa..." Suddenly, Flaaffy got all wobbly, struggling to keep his balance. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time until the poison finished the job.
"Flaaffy?" Rarity leaned forward.
"Ffy...Flaaffy..." And with the last of his strength, Flaaffy had fainted, falling on the ground. "Flaa..."
"Flaaffy is unable to battle! Pheromosa wins!"
And with that, Adagio managed to get the first win over Rarity, leaving her down to only two Pokemon. Although, Flaaffy left a huge handicap on Pheromosa via paralyze, which was still active.
"What a shame! Flaaffy is out of here." The announcer shook his head.
"Just when it looked like Flaaffy would've done this all by himself." Sweetie Belle sighed.
"But on the bright side, he left a gift for Pheromosa," said Pinkie.
"Good work, Flaaffy. You've managed to help us by paralyzing her." Rarity thanked Flaaffy, returning him to his Poke Ball.
"That was a close one. I almost got a bit nervous there." Adagio smirked.
"It isn't over yet." Rarity got out another Poke Ball. "Come out, Leavanny!"
"Leavan!"
"And it's Bug vs Bug this time!" The announcer exclaimed.
"Alright, Leavanny. We worked hard for this. So let's show these two what we've managed to accomplish!"
"Vanny!
"Oh, but Poison Jab might be a big problem again!" Sweetie Belle gasped.
"Maybe...but let's wait and see," Ash replied.
"Pika..."
The battle between Rarity and Adagio is one that has many ponies on the edge of their seats. With Quiver Dance boosting Pheromosa up whilst a leftover gift from Flaaffy surrounds her body via paralyze, the heat between these two trainers is increasing as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
As the matchup between Rarity and Adagio rages on in the Canterlot Tournament, the winner of this 3v3 is still unpredictable. Although, it seems to be leaning towards Adagio's side.
With Flaaffy defeated by poison, Rarity sent out her ace Leavanny to deal with the terrifying Pheromosa Adagio owns.
"Leavan..." Leavanny crossed her eyes at her opposing Bug Pokemon.
"Phero." Pheromosa simply looked down on Leavanny like she does with every other Pokemon who she sees as beneath her.
"With Quiver Dance, Energy Ball isn't going to do a thing..." Rarity growled. "I'll have to rely on X-Scissor for this one."
"Not gonna make a move? Then allow me. Poison Jab!"
"Pheromosa!" With lightning speed, Pheromosa dashed forward whilst leaving a trail of dust behind. Thanks to Quiver Dance, Pheromosa's speed was once again difficult to keep up with, even with the paralyzing effect.
However, Rarity and her Leavanny trained for this. By having Leavanny work on her reaction time, anything that moves faster than her can now be spotted with her trained eye. And the same can be said for Rarity.
"Dodge it!"
"Lea!" By sidestepping to the side, Leavanny evaded the incoming kick from Pheromosa's poison-clad leg.
"Now use X-Scissor!" By getting up close in Pheromosa's face, Leavanny crossed her arms together, forming an X-Shaped that had been struck onto her fellow Bug-Type's face.
"Phero!" Pheromosa wailed as the X-Scissor, while not very effective, did end up pushing her back.
"Put the pressure on Pheromosa by continuously using X-Scissor!"
"We'll see about that! Use Poison Jab! Make sure Leavanny doesn't land a hit in!"
With both of those commands, the two Bug-Types were determined to get the 1-UP on each other. It started with Leavanny going in for yet another X-Scissor, however, Pheromosa used her poison-clad feet to block the attack.
Leavanny attempted to break through Poison Jab by forcing X-Scissor through, but Pheromosa kept her balance and stayed firm on the ground.
The Nurturing Pokemon jumped over Pheromosa, going for an overhead attack which she believed would end up working. But yet again, Pheromosa had a way around that. By lifting her leg upwards.
"Phero!" Pheromosa pushed Leavanny off her with an extra force added to her feet, giving the Lissome Pokemon some distance.
"Lea!" The Nurturing Pokemon rushed forward, delivering a flurry of X-Scissors by separating her arms, no longer in an X-position.
Leavanny swung both of her arms forward as if they were blades, putting the pressure on Pheromosa who continuously kept her leg up as a means of defending herself.
Each time Leavanny's blades hit Pheromosa's poison-clad leg, the Lissome Pokemon could feel her supple body shaking with each hit. Even if she put up her leg as her defence, the shockwaves will still travel through her.
Realising that it was too dangerous to keep this up, Pheromosa backflipped, kicking some poison droplets towards Leavanny.
The Nurturing Pokemon gasped as she used X-Scissor to block the poison droplets. Both Pokemon finally ceased their rapid movements with the poison disappearing and the bug energy fading away.
"What a rush!" The announcer was getting giddy. "Who knew seeing two bugs fight would be this exciting?!"
"You've been doing well so far! But it ends here! High Jump Kick!"
"Mosa!" Rocketing into the air, Pheromosa put her knee out, aiming it towards Leavanny's chest.
Rarity didn't actually command Leavanny to avoid it surprisingly. Instead, she allowed Leavanny to be hit by High Jump Kick. Pheromosa's knee smashed into Leavanny's chest, causing the Nurturing Pokemon to wince.
"Why isn't she commanding her?!" Sweetie Belle squealed, as she was hyperventilating.
"She didn't even react to Pheromosa's movements there." Twilight leaned forward. "What's she planning?"
"Direct hit!" Adagio cheered. "What now, pony?"
"Right where I want you." Rarity suddenly uttered. "Now, Leavanny! String Shot!"
"Van!" Leavanny opened one eye up, initiating Rarity's secret plan. By shooting a stream of sticky thread out of her mouth, Leavanny's string latched onto Pheromosa's knee, sticking like glue.
"Mosa?!"
"Now! Toss her off!"
"Leavanny!" Leavanny used the thread from her mouth to control Pheromosa's movements as if she was a puppet. The Nurturing Pokemon tossed the Lissome Pokemon away from her, causing Pheromosa to wail.
"What in the-" Adagio gasped.
"Swing her!"
"Lea!" Continuing the surprising attack, Leavanny, swung Pheromosa around like a shotput, moving the Ultra Beast within the vicinity of the battlefield at high speeds.
"Eep!" The referee ducked as Pheromosa's body almost hit him. Even Adagio and Rarity had to take cover.
"Mo-Mosa!" Pheromosa felt like she was going to be sick from all this spinning. Even though she moves fast, she can't really handle being forced to move fast without any control of her own body whatsoever.
"Look at that! Leavanny's got Pheromosa trapped and moving around endlessly!" The announcer pressed his face on the glass.
"String Shot is always a useful move! Go, Rarity!" Pinkie stood up, flailing her hooves around.
"Mrrgh..." Aria grumbled along with Sonata. They were hoping that their older sister could somehow come back from this.
With Pheromosa being spun around, Leavanny decided to go the extra mile by causing Pheromosa to hit the ground each time she went in a circle.
This aggravated Pheromosa which is a Pokemon that absolutely despises anything dirty. And now that dust from the ground is all over her face, it's safe to say that she's finally found a Pokemon where she can pour all her hate on.
"Break free using Poison Jab!" Adagio realized that she had to free Pheromosa immediately.
"Phero...Mo!" The only logical way to break out of String Shot was to destroy it with poison. So, that's what she did. By using Poison Jab, Pheromosa kicked the thread of string in half, freeing her from Leavanny's grasp.
However, due to all that spinning, Pheromosa was now feeling dizzy, unable to properly focus as her legs were all wobbly along with her body still feeling the after-effects of being slammed across the ground repeatedly.
"Mosa..." The Lissome Pokemon held her head, finding it hard to concentrate.
"Another one of your plans?" Adagio scoffed.
"Maybe." Rarity smirked. "I will say that it's yet another way to give us the advantage."
"Leavanny!"
"I promised that I would defeat you for the sake of my friends and their safety. So you won't get past Leavanny and me!" Rarity said with confidence.
"Really now? Rarity, was it? Tell me this then."
"Hm?"
"Is it just your friends that you're fighting for?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"If you're fighting for your friends to protect them from any future threat, then everyone else must count, right?
"Of course they do. Besides. It's not just them. But my sister too. I don't need a reason to protect those that I love." Rarity gave her answer. It was simple and short.
"I see." Adagio nodded. "In that case...Pheromosa! Quiver Dance!"
"Phero..." Pheromosa was still dazed and dizzy. Trying to perform Quiver Dance was a bit of a struggle now. But after recovering in a few seconds, her special defence, attack and speed had been boosted.
"Let's finish this! Leavanny! X-Scissor!"
"Leavan!" Believing that this would be the final blow, Leavanny rushed in with confidence. From the speed she was approaching, everypony leaned in with anticipation.
"Hmph. Poison Jab!" Pheromosa quickly raised her leg, switching out of Quiver Dance. Once Leavanny got close, Pheromosa gave a sneak attack by striking her poison-clad foot on Leaanny's stomach.
"Van?!" Leavanny gasped, feeling both Pheromosa devastating kick and poison hit her all at once. Not only that, but Pheromosa forced Leavanny away from her with an extra kick.
"Ooh! So close! It looked like that would've been the end of it all if it connected!" said the Announcer.
"Phew..." Sonata and Aria let out sighs of relief.
"Leavanny! Are you alright?!" Rarity gasped.
"Vanny..." Leavanny held her chest as she had also been poisoned thanks to that sneaky kick from Pheromosa.
"Poison..." Rarity growled. "No use in sticking in now. Return, Leavanny." By deciding to send Leavanny back to her Poke Ball, Rarity had no other choice but to bring out her own Pheromosa for this.
"Not good. Rarity's being backed into a corner here." Sweetie Belle whimpered. "What if she doesn't win?!"
"No need to worry," Ash reassured. "Just keep watching."
"Pikachu..."
"It's up to you. Pheromosa!" Rarity sent out her Shiny Pheromosa to combat her fellow Ultra Beast once more.
"Mosa!"
"Rarity's lost one Pokemon, her Leavanny's poisoned and all she has is just her Pheromosa now. I don't know about this." Pinkie shook her head, unsure if Rarity could win this.
"I'm not sure if we can keep up with her Pheromosa due to that previous Quiver Dance..." Rarity was starting to worry. "Not only that...but I have no clue on what her second or third Pokemon might be."
"This is bad..." Rainbow Dash spoke whilst watching the match. "So-so-so bad!"
"Did Adagio's Pheromosa get stronger over the past few weeks?" Luna uttered.
"What's it gonna be, Rarity?" Adagio was finally referring to Rarity with her actual name instead of just calling her Pony.
"I'll admit...my strategy's been a bit cluttered at the moment. With Flaaffy fainted and Leavanny poisoned, I'm in a bit of a rough spot at the moment. But I refuse to lose. And Pheromosa feels the same as well."
"Pherom!"
"But something's odd here. The way you're battling...It's vastly different."
"How so?" Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"I expected you to act mercilessly against me. Much like how you did with your first opponent and Twilight. And you seemed like you would do the same once we were paired up. Why battle so differently?"
"I don't need to tell you why. Besides...I don't even know why myself. But hearing you say that you want to protect your family and friends makes my head all fuzzled up."
"Are you perhaps having second thoughts about all of this?"
"Second thoughts? You wish I was. I still want to defeat you and your friends but...I don't feel that same drive as before. But either way, I'm still claiming this victory as mine!"
Hearing Adagio mention all that made Rarity think of something for a moment. The way she was battling, how she wasn't sounding as cynical or cruel as she normally speaks could mean one thing.
Rarity found out that something must've happened before this match. Something that changed Adagio a small bit. Whatever it may have been, it made Adagio almost seem bearable and somewhat respectable to Rarity.
Only 7 minutes were remaining in this matchup. And with those 7 minutes, only one pony is coming out of this winner. Both unicorns eyed each other down as their Pheromosa's prepared themselves.
"Pheromosa! Triple Kick!"
"Use High Jump Kick!"
At the same time, the two Lissome Pokemon took off like rockets with one outstretching its leg and the other thrusting its knee forward.
Their two attacks collided, once again showing that they're equal in strength at the end of the day. With the shockwaves cancelling both attacks out and forcing the two Ultra Beats back, it felt like this entire battle was about to suddenly ramp up in intensity.
"We'll surpass your speed! Pheromosa, darling! Rapid Spin!"
"Phero!" Rarity's Pheromosa got into a ballerina stance as she spun her body around at high speeds, kicking up some dust as well. She made her way towards her opposing Ultra Beats whilst also creating a dust devil around her.
"Counter with Poison Jab!"
Adagio's Pheromosa was a bit hesitant on getting close to her opponent since she despises anything unclean. Which involves a tornado of dust. But she was willing to win this battle anyway. By bolting forward, Pheromosa delivered a side-kick, striking her foot through the tornado of dust.
However, due to the dust devil spinning violently thanks to Rapid Spin, some of it had managed to get in the opposing Pheromosa's eyes, breaking her Poison Jab concentration.
Not only that, but the Shiny Pheromoa's ballerina kicks had smacked her fellow Ultra Beast in the face, forcing her out of the dust devil.
Now Rarity's Pheromosa had gained a speed increase as the dust devil separated away from her.
"Let's finish this!" Both Rarity and Adagio yelled.
"High Jump Kick!"
Triple Kick, once more!"
Adagio's Pheromosa was the first to approach while Rarity's merely prepared herself to strike at the right moment. Both Ultra Beasts looked at each other in the eye, knowing that they were both giving it everything they had. This could be their final clash.
Both of their legs clashed once more, causing possibly the strongest shockwave that has ever graced this tournament. So strong that it even affected the crowd and most of Canterlot, causing some ponies to fly out of their seats.
"You can do it Adagio!" Unable to hold it in much longer, Sonata stood up, cheering for her older sister. She expected confusing looks to glance her way but due to the immense shockwave, everypony didn't even notice.
This time, their mighty clash didn't break them up at all. Instead, both Pheromosa's managed to stay where they were. With both their legs fighting for dominance, only one of them could emerge victoriously.
"You can do it, Pheromosa!" Rarity cheered her Pokemon on.
"Pheromo..." The Shiny Pheromosa had no intentions of letting her trainer down whatsoever. She refuses to lose to the Pokemon that harmed one of her friend's Pokemon.
So to let out all she had, Pheromosa used her other leg, initiating the second kick. Once that second kick hit the opposing Pheromosa's face, a massive advantage had been revealed.
And the final kick was the big one. With the opposing Pheromosa still feeling the impact of the second kick, her leg had been overpowered by Rarity's Pheromosa who managed to not only kick Adagio's Pheromosa's leg away but also striking her face in the process.
With the third and final kick landing, Adagio's Pheromosa had been launched back, almost breaking the sound barrier from the speed she was flying at.
She passed by Adagio, causing her huge mane to flow in the wind. Even Kricketot almost fell out of her trainer's gigantic mane. Pheromosa hit the walls of the stadium, shaking the seats in the process as a loud thud could be heard from the impact.
The announcer rushed over to Adagio's Pheromosa to see the current state that she was in. And from how hard she was hit to how fast she went flying, the outcome was clear as the golden sun in the azure skies.
Adagio's Pheromosa had fainted.
"Phero...Mosa..."
"Adagio's Pheromosa is unable to battle! Rarity's Pheromosa wins!"
With a stunning victory over Adagio's Pheromosa, Rarity had dazzled the entire crowd with the amazing clash. And the thunderous roars were a good indication of just how much they enjoyed that battle.
Before, Twilight proved that it was possible to take down Adagio's Pheromosa. And Rarity just further sealed that proof. By using her own Pheromosa.
"We did it..." Rarity paused for a moment. "I didn't think I'd actually pull it off. Pheromosa! Amazing job!"
"Phero?" An excited Pheromosa rushed over to her trainer, giving Rarity a comforting yet heavy hug. "Mosa-Mosa!"
"Mrrgh! Okay! Thank you Pheromosa, darling!" Rarity found it hard to breathe with Pheromosa's crushing hugs.
"Yes!" Sweetie Belle hopped off her seat, going crazy with excitement. "Way to go, Rarity!"
"For a jolly Pokemon that Pheromosa of hers is pretty tough!" Apple Bloom gawked.
"Now all Rarity has to do is beat Adagio's other two Pokemon!" Pinkie squeed.
"I see..." Adagio walked over to her Pheromosa, holding out the Ultra Ball. "You did well. Now, return, Pheromosa."
"Adagio Dazzle. You may bring out your second Pokemon now." The referee said to her.
"Kricke-" Kricketot was ready to come out and fight for Adagio for once, even if he had Bide as his only move.
"Don't Kricketot." But Adagio stopped him. Just then, Adagio used her wonderful voice to reach the entire crowd since she had something important to say. Just two words. "I forfeit."
Words that shocked the referee, Rarity and the crowd.
"Huh?!" Rarity shouted in confusion along with the entire crowd. "You...forfeit?!"
"That's right." Adagio nodded. "Besides. I don't even have a third Pokemon at all."
"Oh...then in that case...Adagio forfeits the match! Thus the victor is Rarity!"
An unexpected victory that nopony predicted would end like that. Rarity was stunned, but not as stunned as everypony else.
"Aw..." Sonata sighed as Aria comforted her.
Ash and Celestia nodded their heads in understanding. They've seen a situation like this before and they know the full intentions behind it.
Rarity for a moment had no idea what to think. Her victory came flying in her face. "Forfeit? But why?"
"Don't worry about it." Adagio placed the Ultra Ball in her mane. "I know a worthy winner when I see one." And that's all she said to Rarity.
After that, Adagio was out of here, returning to the waiting room. But before that, Rarity had a few things to say. "Adagio, wait!"
"Hm?"
"Thank you for the battle." Rarity thanked her surprisingly, which caught Adagio off guard.
"Sure. It was a good battle." Adagio replied. And that really was the end of it. Once returning to the waiting room, the usual doubtful stares turned into pure confusion.
If there was one thing Adagio was an expert at, it was making a scene and dazzling the crowd with an array of emotions and reactions. Whether good or bad.
Sonata and Aria left their seats, just to go and talk to their older sister. How could they not after that? Once Adagio went out the streets of Canterlot, her two younger sisters had caught up with her.
"Adagio!" Sonata called out for her. "Where are you going?!"
"It's best you two don't know. I'm heading somewhere a bit private."
"But, I thought you were going to go to the top," Aria said.
"Yeah, I was planning on doing that. Guess my mind must've changed halfway through." Adagio shrugged. "See you two later."
"Are you gonna be alright? Maybe you can come and visit us sometime." Sonata asked.
"Maybe. See you two later." Adagio had nothing else to say to them. And to practically everypony else in this entire tournament.
As always, Celestia was watching her but she decided not to go after her. It was best to just let her go.
"Kricketot?" The Cricket Pokemon popped out of her mane.
"I don't know what I'll do next, Kricketot. I've still got that Luster pony to team up with apparently but...now I'm not so sure."
Adagio's time in the Canterlot Tournament had come to an end abruptly. By her own decision even. Wherever she heads to next is unknown to her sisters and Celestia. Even she has no clue what will happen in the later future involving Ghetsis, Empress Twilight and Chrysalis. But one thing's for sure, she's slowly changing as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The Canterlot Tournament's 3rd day is nearing its end, with only a few matches left.
With the rate and speed these battles are going at and how many trainers are losing, the tournament may come to an end earlier than everypony thought.
And with the dwindling number of trainers going by, Rainbow Dash was just about to finish up her current match.
"Whirlipede! Rollout!" By commanding her Whirlipede, the Curlipede Pokemon smashed its spinning body into an opposing Combusken, taking the victory. The Young Fowl Pokemon went tumbling over to its trainer, fainting.
"Busken..."
"Combusken is unable to battle! Whirlipede wins! Which means the winner is Rainbow Dash!"
"Yes! That's the 4th day for us! Awesome job, Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash cheered.
"Whirl."
And with that Rainbow Dash advances on to the fourth day by taking out three Pokemon with just her Whirlipede and Luxio. After this will be a matchup between two Crystal Empire ponies and after that will be a match that involved one of Rainbow Dash's friends.
Applejack.
But unlike Rainbow Dash, Applejack was going up against somepony who was far above her in skill and ranked high and the number one trainer in Equestria. That pony was none other than Spitfire.
Needless to say, Applejack was feeling nervous. And in the waiting room, her constant shaking was proof of that.
"Going up against Spitfire..." Applejack gulped. "Oh no."
"No need to worry, Applejack. As long as you keep your focus, you'll possibly have a chance of winning this." Rarity said to her.
"I don't know...I'm ain't too sure about this one." AJ winced. "I've only used Grovyle so far. Barely even used the rental Venusaur and I just got this third rental Pokemon."
"Oh. When you put it like that..."
"It's fine. Besides...if I lose, I lose. This is all just to see how far we've come anyway." Applejack stood up.
"That's the spirit, Applejack." And speaking of Spitfire, she replied to Applejack's words, frightening the earth pony. "Don't worry. I won't go too crazy on ya."
"Heh...Hehehe." Applejack laughed nervously, feeling a sense of dread looming over her. And that dread was bound to happen right after the next match ends. Because she'll have to go out into the battlefield and use all she has in store.
Rainbow Dash returned to the waiting room, feeling successful over her victory. From the looks of things, she might end up winning this tournament and have a chance of taking on the top 3 trainers that she's placed behind.
An impressive show of skill from the pony who first entered the Equestria League. Although, compared to the other three, she might have to do some catching up.
As for Applejack, this was no time to be shaking uncontrollably. If she wanted to get this fear and nervousness out of her, she would have to confront Spitfire.
The two Crystal Empire ponies had their 3v3 match like everypony else, further fueling Applejack's anticipation. She was hoping that the two of them would just stall it out and waste time until the day ends, but that wasn't happening since 9 minutes later, the victor had already been decided.
It was time to face off against Equestria's Number 1.
"Let's just get this over with." Applejack breathed in, preparing for the worst. As both trainers set hoof onto the battlefield with eyes on them, mostly on Spitfire, anticipation was building up in Applejack.
"Applejack's going up against the number one trainer in Equestria? I don't know if I like this..." Apple Bloom whimpered.
"You never know. She might pull it off somehow." Pinkie Pie squeed.
Applejack's friends were fairly aware that this massive difference in skill was clear as day. And once they start battling, they're expecting some unpleasant results to show.
As for everypony else, they were waiting to see what Spitfire had in store. Being number one meant that she would have to battle like the very best out of the other trainers here.
"Both sides. You may now bring out your Pokemon." The referee said.
"Your time to shine. Electivire!" Spitfire sent out her first Pokemon. None other than the Thunderbolt Pokemon Electivire.
"Vire!"
"Look at the size of that Electric-Type." Sweetie Belle took out her dex.
"Electivire. The Thunderbolt Pokemon. In terms of electrical-energy output, Electivire is one of the best among all Electric Pokémon. It discharges high-voltage currents from its tails. It pushes the tips of its two tails against the foe, then lets loose with over 20,000 volts of power and then beats down opponents with the power of its electrified fist. A single Electivire can provide enough electricity for all the buildings in a big city for a year. Its foes are burned to a crisp in an instant. When it gets excited, it thumps its chest. With every thud, thunder roars and electric sparks shower all around."
"Electric, huh? Then it's a good thing I got two Grass-Types."
"Gro." Grovyle was ready to step forward and challenge Electivire.
"Sorry, Gro. Don't wanna risk you going down early." Applejack took out a rental Poke Ball. "I'll start with this one. Venusaur!" Applejack chose Venusaur as her first pick.
"Venusaur!"
"Venusaur? That's a pretty strong Grass-Type. Applejack's got a chance!" Apple Bloom squeed.
"Venusaur. We ain't interacted at all. But I trust you to do well, right?" Applejack asked the Seed Pokemon.
"Saur!" Venusaur nodded in understanding.
"Venusaur's part Poison right? All it has to do is poison Spitfire's Pokemon and Applejack can find a way through this." Pinkie looked at the brighter side of things.
"Yeah, if it has a Poison move on it." Twilight wasn't so sure.
"Battle Start!"
"Alright, Venusaur! Seed Bomb!" Applejack decided to make the first move.
"Venu!" The Seed Pokemon used its own flower as a weapon. The centre of the flower on Venasaur's back begun glowing white, firing multiple glowing green seeds from it. These seeds were sent directly to the Thunderbolt Pokemon as if they were actual bombs.
"Rush through with Fire Punch!"
"Electivire!" Already having a dangerous move at its disposal, Electivire's fists became surrounded in a red-orange fire as it rushed forward. It used its flaming fists to not only smash the seeds into nothing, burning them away but also to get close to Venusaur.
And thanks to it being an Electric-Type, swiftness was expected as in just 3 seconds, it had destroyed the seeds and got in Venusaur's face.
"Saur?!"
"Vire!" The Thunderbolt Pokemon smashed its fist onto Venusaur's face, not once, but twice. Both punches let out a fiery explosion afterwards, forcing the Seed Pokemon into the ground.
"Ah, Venusaur!" Applejack gasped.
As the smoke cleared, Electivire removed its flaming fists away from Venusaur's face. And an unexpected result had graced the eyes of everypony.
In just one hit, Venusaur had fainted.
"Venusaur..."
"Venusaur is unable to battle! Electivire wins! Holy moly...that was quick."
"Venusaur didn't even get the chance to do anything else! Talk about brute strength!" The announcer gasped.
"How in the..." Applejack's jaw dropped.
"Surprised? You're gonna have to expect a lot of unexpected things when battling against my Pokemon." Spitfire smirked.
"What do ya mean by that?"
"All of my Pokemon fit a bunch of roles. Electivire here's my muscle. If anyone can smash stuff real good, it's him!"
"Elec! Electivire!" The Thunderbolt Pokemon spun his arms around, building up a ton of electricity.
"Grgh...Venusaur return." Applejack returned the Grass-Poison-Type to its ball. "Then, let's see you get through this!" She sent out the second Pokemon that she rented.
That Pokemon turned out to be the Twin Tusk Pokemon Mamoswine.
"Mamo!"
"Not bad..." Spitfire nodded. "Let's go, Electivirie! Use Fire Punch again!"
"Vire!" A second rush in from the Thunderbolt Pokemon with yet another Fire Punch.
"Mamoswine! Use High Horsepower!"
"Swine!" The Twin Tusk Pokemon stood on its hind legs with its body surrounded in an orange aura. Mamoswine then charged at the opposing Pokemon with a trail of energy following behind.
Both Mamoswine and Electivire clashed with moves that were super-effective on both of them. Mamoswine's head met with Electivire's fist as they had a small struggle. Mamoswine was physically strong enough to match Electivire in brute strength.
"Use your other fist, Electivire!"
"Elec!" By cleverly using its other fist that also had Fire Punch, the Thunderbolt Pokemon delivered a second blow to Mamoswine's face.
The second Fire Punch was enough to force Mamoswine away from Electivire, resulting in yet another blazing explosion that caused a mild shockwave.
However, once the smoke cleared, Mamoswine was still standing. In fact, it didn't look like it took that much damage or was even phased by the Fire Punch.
"Mamo!"
"What the?!" This even shocked Spitfire.
"Vire?!"
"Would you look at that! Fire Punch didn't do a thing to Mamoswine at all!" The announcer pointed out.
"But how come?" Pinkie wondered.
"It's Thick Fat. One of Mamoswine's abilities. It reduces the damage taken from Fire-Type and Ice-Type moves." Ash explained. "Man, it's such a handy ability!"
"Pikachu!"
"Swine..." Mamoswine wasn't just physically strong. But physically durable as well. Thanks to its ability it was protected by a layer of thick fat, making its usual Fire-Type weakness almost non-existent.
"No idea how you tanked that, Mamoswine, but good job!" Applejack congratulated the Twin Tusk Pokemon.
"Mamo!"
"Would ya look at that? Alright, Electivirie. Return for now." Spitfire returned Electivire. "Kay! Go, Flygon!" Up next was the Mystic Pokemon Flygon.
"Does that dragon have glasses on?" Sweetie Belle squinted her eyes, wondering what was up with Flygon as she used her dex once more.
"Flygon. The Mystic Pokemon. Flygon is nicknamed The Elemental Spirit of the desert because the flapping of its wings sounds like a woman singing. People continue to have their hearts stolen by its enchanting songs and find themselves stranded in the desert. This Pokémon hides in the heart of sandstorms it creates and seldom appears where people can see it."
"Dragon, huh? Then Mamoswine's good to stay in." Applejack said.
"Flygon! Use Screech!"
"F̴̯͎͈́͗͠Ľ̴̺̩̯̍Y̸̭̬͈͆͝͝G̵̖̽̓͠Ó̵͎͕O̴̦̼͇͛̌̇O̶̯̻̓̎̉O̷̢̝̠͑͐͝Ǒ̶̩͇́͂N̶̩̺̦̂̆̍!" Instead of the enchanting sound it always exhibits, Flygon instead let out a loud, irritating and piercing noise that distorted the air itself.
This sound was so powerful that it not only affected Mamoswine's poor ears, but every Pokemon in the crowd had been hit by it as well. It was a good thing that it only affects Pokemon and nothing else.
"M-Mamo!"
"Pi...Pikachu!" Pikachu covered his ears, trying to ignore the horrible sound coming from Flygon.
"Espeon!" Eve shuddered, curling up as Twilight held her.
"Spin...da!" Spinda fell out of Pinkie's mane from the horrible noise.
"D-DINO!" Audino was the most affected by this due to her amazing hearing.
There was not a single Pokemon in this crowd that wasn't affected at all by Screech. Except for some of the Ghost-Types owned by trainers.
Not only did it affect Mamoswine's ears, but it also harshly forced its defence down, taking away its usual bulk and durability.
"Now, Flygon! Use Superpower!"
"Fly!" The Mystic Pokemon flew in with its claws being surrounded in an orange aura.
"Mamoswine, quick! Use Icicle Spear!"
"Mo....!" The Twin Tusk summoned a sharp spear in front of it, ready to fire. Unfortunately, it was too late. Flygon had swiped its claw on Mamoswine's face before it could even pull off the Ice-Type move. "Swine?!"
One single strike from Superpower and even a Pokemon as heavy as Mamoswine was sent flying like a ragdoll with a large shockwave occurring from Superpower's impact.
The Twin Tusk Pokemon flew past Applejack, tumbling around like tumbleweed until it hit the walls of the battlefield, shaking the seats the crowd sat on.
Thanks to Screech lowering its defence, Superpower was all Flygon needed to take out this tank of a Pokemon as Mamoswine had fainted.
"Mamo..."
"Mamoswine is unable to battle! Flygon wins!"
"Stupid one-sided wipeout." Apple Bloom pouted.
"Guess she's got Superpower on Flygon to deal with its Ice weakness." Ash noticed.
"Pika..."
"Return, Mamoswine. Good try." Applejack returned Mamoswine. She knew that there was no chance of her winning this as she lowered her head with her hat covering her face. But she was still going to show everypony just how far she's come and go out with a bang."
"Vyle." Her partner Grovyle stepped forward, placing his hand on Applejack's hat. If there was one Pokemon who she could count on, it was her Grovyle.
"Grovyle...Alright. You're up next, partner!"
"Grovyle!" Now it was Grovyle's turn to take action.
"You lasted a pretty decent amount of time, Applejack. And you've come far in this tournament. But this is where it ends." said Spitfire.
"Yeah, I know. But I ain't leaving now." Applejack narrowed her eyes. "Grovyle! Dragon Breath!"
"Gro..." The Wood Gecko Pokemon held his breath in, building up draconic energy from within.
"Use Fire Blast, Flygon!"
"Fly..." Just like Grovyle, Flygon built up a ton of energy, this time with some blazing flames added into the mix.
"Vyle!" Grovyle fired his attack first by sending forward a purplish-blue beam.
"Gon!" Flygon did the same but instead, it was a powerful 大-shaped blast of orange fire that tore through the ground.
The moment the two attacks met, instead of entering a struggle, they immediately cancelled each other out with an explosion afterwards.
"Head in and use Leaf Blade!" With the three leaves on his forearm glowing green and transforming them all into one long sharp blade, Grovyle rushed through the smoke, revealing himself to the Mystic Pokemon as he jumped up for a swing.
"Superpower!" Flygon responded with its own physical attack by swinging his claws forward with an orange aura flowing out.
Both attacks collided with a seismic wave of wind and energy pulsating through the battlefield, almost knocking both trainers and the referee off balance.
"Gro..." Grovyle could feel himself being overpowered by Flygon's superior strength. His blades could barely hold back the Mystic Pokemon's claws, but he was hanging in there.
"Dragon Tail!" Spitfire gave off a new command whilst the two were still in the middle of a clash.
"Flygon!" The Ground-Dragon had suddenly swung its tail wildly, smacking Grovyle in the face with green-draconic energy.
"Vyle!" The Wood Gecko Pokemon was whacked away from his opponent, hurling in the air due to Dragon Tail's violent strength.
"Quick, Grovyle! Dragon Breath!"
"Gro!" By opening his eyes, Grovyle had unleashed Dragon Breath whilst airborne. This definitely caught both Spitfire and Flygon off guard as the Mystic Pokemon's stomach had been hit by the opposing Dragon-Type move.
"Gon!" Flygon fell to the ground, taking some substantial damage due to Dragon being weak to its own typing. The Mystic Pokemon veered on the ground, still able to continue.
"Yes! Now! Leaf Blade, one more time!" With confidence, Grovyle bolted forward with his bladed leaves once more. It looked like they had a chance of taking out at least one of Spitfire's Pokemon. He pulled his arms, crossing them in an X-position as his shadow loomed over Flygon.
"Fire Blast!"
But, Spitfire wasn't about to let one of her partners fall. Once Grovyle got close to the Ground-Dragon-Type, Flygon's mouth opened up with the lights of Fire Blast illuminating all over Grovyle's body, showing signs of impending doom.
"Ah! Grovyle, move back!" Applejack gasped.
But it was too late. Once Flygon unleashed the full force of the attack, the Wood Gecko Pokemon's entire body had been engulfed by a destructive flame that ended up giving off a blazing explosion powerful enough to take out an entire building in one go.
And it certainly took out someone in one go. That someone being the Wood Gecko Pokemon himself. Grovyle fell from above with a trail of fire coming out of him. He fell flat on the ground, not even tumbling once. Unfortunately, he had fainted.
"Grovyle..."
"Grovyle is unable to battle! Flygon wins! Thus the victor is Spitfire!"
And with that, Equestria's Number 1 shows just how powerful she truly is. Although, this was the first time somepony actually managed to really damage her Pokemon in this entire tournament.
"Aw..." Apple Bloom slumped. "How is this fair...?"
"Look on the bright side. She battled well, right?" Sweetie Belle squeed.
"Better than most who've gone up against Spitfire." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Good job, Grovyle." Applejack went up to her partner, helping him up. "You tried your best."
"Applejack," Spitfire called for Applejack's name. "That was some pretty sweet battling at the end there. "You're the first pony to really last this long against me."
"Flygon!"
"Really?"
"Really. You may not be in the Equestria League, but you've got the makings of an amazing trainer with all that potential."
"Oh...Much appreciated Spitfire!" Applejack smiled at her. Spitfire was right. Applejack and her Grovyle truly have something special lying within.
Their main goal was to show everypony just how much they've grown as trainers. And they definitely pulled it off. This was just the beginning of something wonderful.
With that matchup finished, the other matches could carry on until the day came to an end, transitioning to tomorrow. With all these trainers dwindling in numbers due to their losses, some ponies were actually starting to feel fatigued. Pokemon battling can really take a lot out of anyone, human or pony.
But either way, as the 3rd day comes slowly comes to an end and with the entire thing having only 4 days left, the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The 3rd day of the Canterlot Tournament had eventually come to an end.
And from how everypony was feeling currently, a fast and growing fatigue was getting to them. Luckily, they could rest for the night until tomorrow.
However, from the rate this tournament was going and how intense the battles were getting the further they went on, it was unsure if they could really make it through the whole week. Although, some had better stamina than the others so they could probably carry on either way.
As for the crowd, they either stayed in Canterlot or headed home for a rest. Those that come from Ponyville chose to head back home and sleep whilst those who live further away like in Trottingham or the Crystal Empire stayed over at Canterlot for the night.
Inside of Canterlot Castle, Ash and Pikachu fell asleep in their usual goofy manner. With Ash hanging from the side of the bed and Pikachu lying on his head with both of them snoring.
"Mrrgh...Pikachu, use Thunderbolt..." Ash grumbled in his sleep.
"Pika...Chuuu!" By instinct, Pikachu could somehow hear Ash even in his sleep. As a result, he ended up shocking his trainer, waking him up.
"Gaaagh!" Ash yelled as he fell off the bed with his body smoking. "Ugh..."
"Pikapi?" Pikachu looked down at his partner.
"I'm fine, buddy." Ash groaned. Now that he was awake, he felt like doing something to pass the time until he heads back to sleep. By getting off the floor, Ash and Pikachu took themselves out of the guest room to fetch themselves a glass of water.
When entering the hallways of Canterlot, they came across Luna who was currently grabbing a hold of her Musharna, moving around the place.
"Luna?"
"Pika?"
"Good evening, Ash. As you can see, I'm having a bit of trouble keeping Musharna still. Musharna please, stay put!" Luna tried using her magic to hold down the Drowsing Pokemon, but Musharna kept advancing."
"What's wrong with Musharna?"
"Nothing. It's just that she keeps trying to attach herself on the heads of everypony in here!"
"Sharna!" The Drowsing Pokemon used Psychic to open up the door whilst Luna used her magic to close it.
"Guess this Musharna has a different way of eating dreams. Have you tried using your Poke Ball to bring her back?"
"Of course. But she forces herself out every time!" Luna groaned as Musharna had hovered high up, causing both her and Luna to be airborne. "I require assistance, please!"
"Sure thing. Musharna!" Ash called for the Drowsing Pokemon. "Try eating my dream. You'll be full in seconds." He pointed at himself.
"Musha?" The Psychic-Type turned around, facing Ash. If he says his dream will make her full then its a dream she's willing to eat on sight.
The Drowsing Pokemon attached herself to Ash's head, beginning the dream munching process. "Musha-Musha-Musha."
Ash simply stood there, letting Musharna eat up his dream without any problem whatsoever. And what he said was true. Once Musharna had eaten Ash's dream, she was full up in a second, falling asleep in the process.
"Finally..." Luna sighed, sitting on the floor. "Your dream must be larger than I originally thought."
"Yeah, it is." Ash pointed at his head.
"Pikachu."
"Many thanks for your assistance, Ash." Luna bowed her head.
"Are you all still up?" One pony in particular who was always awake due to her being two in one was Queen Pyrestar. She couldn't fall asleep due to the conditions in her own universe, making it impossible for her to ever get tired.
"Yeah. Just got done helping Luna here." Ash replied.
"In you go, Musharna." Luna returned the Drowsing Pokemon into her Poke Ball. "That solves that problem. Until the next night that is."
"You can always catch a Pokemon with a super big dream, ya know. Like one that wants to evolve super badly. Musharna will be full in a few seconds flat." Ash suggested.
"A fairly good idea, Ash." Luna nodded. "Perhaps I have one already..."
"I know Riolu's probably one of them from how he looked at Korrina's Lucario. But uh...not sure if he would like that."
"Pikachu..."
"Are you two unable to sleep?" Pyrestar asked.
"Well, I woke up from a shock and Luna's just active at night the most."
"Not as much recently. Ever since Queen Pyrestar came to our world, my night time duties have been less frequent than they usually were."
"As they should be. After all, I volunteered to fill in both you and Celestia's duties on my own. With a few exceptions here and there. All for the sake of having you two enjoy life. There is no telling when this world's Grogar might show up."
"No need to worry, Pyrestar. You can count on a lot of us to keep this world safe." Ash responded.
"Pikachu!"
"Such confidence. I wish I had that same level of confidence back in my own world." Pyrestar sighed. "Then perhaps I would have been able to solve the issues of my world."
"Your version of Equestria is suffering since the unicorns are the only pony race left, correct?" Luna asked.
"That is correct. They're unable to perform the same actions as earth ponies and pegasi. And even if they can, they lack the strength. That is why three pony races' exist in the first place. If one or two are taken out of the equation, then it would be nothing but a mess."
"I can't even imagine what it must look like. Especially under Ghetsis's new rule." Luna shuddered. "How long do you believe it will take for you to rebuild your own Equestria?"
"I'm unable to say. I still have not found a spell that can break the seal that is imprisoning the earth ponies and pegasi." Pyrestar shook her head. When she looked over to Pikachu, she realized something. "Unless...there is a Pokemon that can."
"Pika?"
"Ash Ketchum." Pyrestar walked up to Ash. "There is a Pokemon for everything, correct?"
"Sure is." He nodded.
"Then, is there possibly a Pokemon that can break the seal? Or even perhaps restore my land?" Pyrestar pleaded as her voice sounded desperate.
"100%!" Ash gave her hope. "Fairy and Psychic-Types are actually pretty good at stuff like that. And Psychic's aren't even magic. But it's gotta be a super strong Pokemon."
"Super strong? Which ones would categorize as that?"
"Hm. Well, Celestia's Kirlia is super strong, and she hasn't even evolved yet. So she could probably do it."
"That is true," said Luna. "I can only imagine what it would be capable of as a fully evolved Gardevoir."
"But for Psychics...they're all super strong. But one Psychic-Type comes into mind that's always gonna leave an impression on me."
"Which one is that?" Luna and Pyrestar asked.
"Mewtwo."
"Mewtwo?" They both pulled back.
"Right." Ash looked up, remembering Mewtwo. "Aside from Arceus, Mewtwo's the strongest Pokemon there is. I'll never forget those moments for sure."
"Pika..."
"Well. If this Mewtwo Pokemon is that powerful, then could you possibly have it help us? You are friends with practically every Pokemon from what I can tell." Pyrestar commented.
"About that...Mewtwo and I are friends but uh...not sure if he's one to do favours." Ash chuckled nervously. "But, maybe if we cross paths again someday, then maybe he'd be willing to help out. Mewtwo's a good Pokemon by heart. And just wants the best for everyone, ya know."
"He sounds like an honest Pokemon," Luna said.
"Oh, he is for sure. He can be a bit forward and pretty strict, but he's a great guy overall. I just wonder what he's doing right now?" Ash yawned. "Anyway, I'm heading back to bed. See you all tomorrow."
"Pikachu!" Both of them returned to their guest room to continue dozing off, hoping that another electric shock doesn't happen.
"Well. This gives me even greater hope. Ash already bestowed hope to me back at the Pokemon Festival when he made a promise to retrieve my world. And now that I know a that a way to break the seal exists, I am relieved." Pyrestar sighed.
"Ash knows how to spark up hope, doesn't he? One of his many admirable traits." Luna nodded.
"Mhm. It would make sense why you are fond of him." Pyrestar exposed Luna, causing the Moon princess to freeze on the spot. "You thought I wouldn't notice?"
"I-I just admire him greatly! It is not like I am i-infatuated or anything!" Luna stuttered on her words.
"Hmrrgh..." Pyrestar narrowed her eyes at Luna.
"Alright, fine! It was when he saved me from the Nightmare Pokemon. It was also when I started referring to him as Ash instead of Ash Ketchum. It was an evocative feeling. One I've only ever experienced when mother and father were around."
"I see..."
"Please don't tell him that!" Luna covered her face.
"I promise."
Along came the morning.
The golden sun graced the sky-blue skies once more, shining its radiance over all of Equestria with its usual overflowing energy.
Although, the same cannot be said for the ponies in Canterlot at the moment. More specifically, the ones who were participating in the tournament.
Many of them were actually going through a somewhat expected fatigue at the moment. The moment they got off their beds, they felt like going back to sleep immediately.
From all that battling they've been doing, it's all taken a bit of a toll on their bodies. After all, this is far different from their daily routines. Some of them even have important jobs they have to attend to.
The ones who weren't fatigued could obviously continue the tournament, but those who were out of it and low on stamina couldn't.
BigTime Ben had just recovered from his illness, returning to Canterlot to see how things were going.
"Good work filling my role, Gothitelle. We should do it more often." Ben said to his partner.
"Goth."
"Alright. How's every-" Ben's words were put to a halt when he noticed how most of the ponies were currently feeling drained at the moment. Many of them were laying on the couches in the waiting room or even laying on top of each other or the floor. "Oh, what's wrong?"
"Nothing..." A pony grumbled, falling off the couch. "Just a bit...you know..."
"Is it the 4th day or the 6th?" A confused mare yawned, rubbing her eyes.
"Oh, dear. A lot of you are fatigued, aren't you?"
"A little bit..." A colt nodded.
"Hmm..." He looked over the sea of fatigued ponies, seeing how some of them could barely stay asleep. "I should've thought this through. Perhaps a whole week wasn't a good place to start for your first-ever Pokemon Tournament."
"Come on, Scootaloo." Rainbow Dash shook the half-asleep filly.
"W-Wha? I'm up." Scootaloo's eyes widened.
"Okay, listen. How about this? This tournament was only to see how far you've come, not really to have a certified winner. So, if you want, some of you can head home if you feel too tired to continue. How does that sound?"
Perfect to the ponies who were exhausted. They took that offer in a heartbeat. This tournament was great and all, but home sounds like a better place to be at the moment.
As such, many of the trainers here had left the tournament, heading back to their homes for a well-deserved rest. Because of this, a huge majority of the matchups had been eliminated. Although, the matchups that were remaining were major ones involving the current best trainers this tournament has to offer.
This does mean that the poor unfortunate souls who have to go up against the Top 3 are in for a rough time. So there's that problem.
News of this quickly spread to the crowd who learned about the sudden decrease in trainers. But they knew it was for the best. Pokemon battling is still something that can take up a lot of their day, completely removing the memory of their other important jobs and activities.
Scootaloo went over to her friends, joining them in the seats.
"Shame you got a bit tired through all of this, Scootaloo," said Apple Bloom.
"It's no big deal..." Scootaloo yawned.
"With how many trainers are left...that means the 5th day's the last day." Ash realized as he did the math.
"Pikachu."
"Well, might as well enjoy it while it lasts." Sweetie Belle shrugged.
The first match of the 4th day would be between two Canterlot ponies and after that, it was Rainbow Dash and DJ-Pon3. Vinyl wasn't fatigued at all due to obvious reasons.
"Bummer that the tournament got cut short." Rainbow Dash sighed. "Oh, well. I'm still gonna get a chance to face Spitfire. So I'm not upset at all. I'm still gonna win this either way!"
An abrupt moment for the tournament with the decline in trainers. However, the crowd was still looking forward to the matches that would come later. There were still enough trainers for today and for the 5th day which would be the final day as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The Canterlot Tournament continues with a shortage of trainers that have left due to fatigue.
But it was still enjoyable nonetheless.
The current match between two ponies had just come to an end, which will end up transitioning into the next match. That being Rainbow Dash vs Vinyl Scratch.
Rainbow was a bit unsure of how she would approach this certain battle. Vinyl's battling style is a unique one. Since she's not much of a talker, nopony would hear her giving out commands to her Pokemon.
At first, it was assumed that her battling style was similar to Zecora, in which she communicates with her Pokemon telepathically. However, in truth, it's the music that allows her to communicate with them.
Her Darmanitan has headphones on that it listens to. And the music playing in those headphones is the same music that Vinyl listens to. In fact, there's a good chance she made it herself.
Because of this, Vinyl and her Pokemon can battle in sync with the music without Vinyl having to utter a single word. Truly a distinct battling style. One that Rainbow Dash was trying to find a way around.
"If I knock the headphones off her Darmanitan, then it might give me a huge advantage." Rainbow Dash said to herself.
"Hey, Crash." Spitfire nudged Rainbow Dash, snapping her out of her thought. "You're up next."
"Oh! Right!" Rainbow Dash shot up, realizing that she would be running a bit late. VInyl had already gone ahead. Funny enough, she hadn't even noticed that Rainbow Dash was lagging. She was too focused on the music at the moment.
"Now for our second match of the 4th day! Rainbow Dash vs Vinyl Scratch! Or DJ-Pon3, that works too." The announcer shouted.
"The battle will be a 4v4. Both trainers are allowed to substitute and there are 13 minutes in total for this battle. You may both send out your Pokemon." said the Referee.
"You're up first! Luxio!" Rainbow's first pick was the Spark Pokemon Luxio.
"Xio!"
"I've actually never seen Vinyl's other Pokemon. She's only used her Darmanitan so far." Pinkie spoke. "Does she have her own Pokemon instead of rentals?"
"Sure does." Ash nodded. "Just watch."
"Pika."
Vinyl used her magic to hold up a Great Ball. Out of the Great Ball came out the Multiplying Pokemon Reuniclus.
"Niclus!" Once it came out, it was revealed that even Reuniclus had headphones on. Meaning all of her Pokemon have the same equipment on them.
"Is that a baby in goo?" Scootaloo took out her Pokedex along with Sweetie Belle.
"Reuniclus. The Multiplying Pokemon. When Reuniclus shake hands, a network forms between their brains, increasing their psychic power. These remarkably intelligent Pokémon fight by controlling arms that can grip with rock-crushing power. While it could use its psychic abilities in battle, this Pokémon prefers to swing its powerful arms around to beat opponents into submission. It’s said that drinking the liquid surrounding Reuniclus grants wisdom. Problem is, the liquid is highly toxic to anything besides Reuniclus itself."
"That thing's got headphones on as well, huh?" Rainbow Dash gulped. "This might get tricky..."
"How's she gonna beat something super smart?" Scootaloo wondered.
"Even smart Pokemon can be beaten, no matter how high their intelligence is," Ash explained.
"Battle start!"
"Okay, Luxio! Let's fill the area with Discharge!"
"Luxio!" The Spark Pokemon released multiple bolts of electricity from its body as they filled the entire battlefield.
"Reu!" Following the beat of the music, the Multiplying Pokemon put its huge arms out, using Light Screen to cut the effects of Discharge in half.
"Use Wild Charge!"
"Xio!" Luxio decided to get up close and personal but that was actually something Vinyl wanted. Getting up close to Vinyl's Pokemon was not a good idea since she had something to deal with anyone who tried to get physical.
Once Luxio got close, Reuniclus had used the strength of Hammer Arm to not only block Wild Charge but also grab Luxio in its clutches.
"Reuni!"
"Lu?!"
"Ni...Clus!" The Multiplying Pokemon then used its immense strength to slam Luxio on the ground as if he was a nail, causing Luxio's head to get stuck in the ground.
"Ah, Luxio!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
And to add insult to injury, Reuniclus used its psychic abilities to drag Luxio across the ground like he was being mixed in a pot.
"Luxio! Get out of there with Wild Charge!"
"Xio..." By charging up his body with volts, surrounding his body with electricity, the Spark Pokemon forced himself out of the ground by shooting himself up like a rocket. "Luxio!"
"Yes!" Rainbow Dash cheered.
"Phew. That could've ended horribly." Pinkie sighed as she laid on her back. "But, how come Rainbow Dash's Luxio keeps on using Wild Charge and Discharge?"
"Sadly, Luxio doesn't have that much in his arsenal The best he can do is Wild Charge, Discharge and Roar." Twilight shook her head. "Which is a huge shame. That means Luxio can only attack in two ways."
"No need to worry. Even with just two moves, Luxio can find a way past his opponents. Roar can help force a Pokemon back into its Poke Ball and his ability's a big help." Ash replied.
"What's Luxio's ability?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Guts. If Luxio's burned, paralyzed, frozen or even poisoned, his attack's gonna spike up." He explained.
"Pikachu!"
"You doing okay, Luxio?" Rainbow asked her partner.
"Xio." The Spark Pokemon nodded.
"Alright. Those arms of it are bad news. If I get close to it, Reuniclus' is gonna smack my Pokemon around like they're whips. Return, for now, Luxio." She decided to return Luxio.
"Cast!" Castform thought this would be its turn to battle for the very first time.
"Ah, sorry, Castform. You're still not ready." Rainbow Dash apologized.
"Form..." The Weather Pokemon returned inside of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, sighing.
"Okay. If anyone's a pro at keeping their distance, it's you. Altaria!" She sent out her next Pokemon. That being the Humming Pokemon herself.
"Taria!"
"Use Ice Beam!"
"Al...Ta!" The Humming Pokemon sent a blast of ice from its gaping mouth, not wasting any time.
The music that Reuniclus and Vinyl were listening to seemed to have changed up. Before, it was moving at an average speed. Now, the music had sped up all of a sudden. Meaning so did Reuniclus's movements.
The Multiplying Pokemon used Hammer Arm on the ground to launch itself up into the air, avoiding Ice Beam. But it didn't quite end there. Reuniclus had also used Flash Cannon by generating a silver ball of energy in front of it. Out of the ball came a white beam that roared out of it.
"Dragon Pulse, quick!"
"Altaria!" Quickly countering Flash Cannon, Altaria shot out a dragon-shaped shockwave from her mouth. Both attacks clashed, immediately cancelling each other out due to their equal power.
"Not a single hit on that Reuniclus!" Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof. "And did it get faster or something?!"
It wasn't time for Rainbow Dash to start thinking about Reuniclus's sudden increase in speed. The Multiplying Pokemon was about to fire yet another Flash Cannon.
"Tari!" Altaria snapped Rainbow Dash back into reality.
"Oh, right! Head up and use Ice Beam!"
Altaria soared higher into the air, getting a good distance from her opponent. However, Reuniclus hadn't fired Flash Cannon yet. Instead, it was bouncing the silver ball up and down with one of its overly large arms, swaying to the beat of the song.
"Al...taria!" All the while, Ice Beam had already been fired.
"Clus!" And that's when Reuniclus acted. With one hand, it finally unleashed Flash Cannon, clashing with Ice Beam. However, the second arm was utilized for something else. On Reuniclus's second arm, it had used Psychic to grab a hold of Altaria whilst she was still firing Ice Beam.
The Humming Pokemon no longer had any control of her body. Because of this, she couldn't evade Flash cannon at all. She was not only hit by the silver beam of Flash Cannon but her body was also hit with a psychic shockwave as well, making it a combination attack.
The resulting double attack caused a silver and purple explosion in the skies. Out of the black smoke, Altaria fell. The Dragon-Flying-Type had unfortunately been taken out in two hits as she hit the ground without making a huge impact thanks to her soft wings.
"Altaria is unable to battle! Reuniclus wins!"
"What a way to get defeated!" The announcer shot up in surprise.
"Poor Altaria. That Psychic and Flash Cannon combination is pretty dangerous." Pinkie shook her head.
"You did your best, Altaria. Return." By returning Altaria, Rainbow Dash was still thinking of a way to work around this. "This isn't really a good idea but...Whirlipede! Come out!" Whirlipede was her third pick.
"Whirl!"
"Let's start with Pin Missile! Go!"
"Lipede!" The Curlipede Pokemon fired three streams of white, arrow-shaped pins at his opponent as if it was an arrow rain.
Unfortunately, a super-effective move such as that was immediately crushed by Reuniclus using Hammer Arm to grab the pins, destroying them into nothing.
"You kidding me?! How strong is this thing?! It's just a baby in some jelly...slime...whatever it is!" Rainbow Dash was getting frustrated.
Meanwhile, Vinyl and her Pokemon were just jamming out to the song, having a great time so far. "Reuni!"
"Rainbow Dash is getting stressed out! She might lose if she doesn't focus!" Fluttershy gasped.
"It's fine..." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. "I'll just have to make sure it doesn't get the better of me with its crazy strength. Whirlipede! Iron Defense!"
"Whirl...Epede!" Whirlipede tensed himself up as his body was surrounded in a shining blue light. His body shined briefly, increasing his defence.
"Now! Add your defence to Rollout and smash into Reuniclus!" Rainbow Dash was using a strategy that she found to be fairly useful.
With Iron Defense boosting Whirlipede's defence, this meant that if the Curlipede Pokemon smashes into something, the impact will be harder than normal.
"Whirl!" Whirlipede rolled forward, leaving skid marks on the battlefield. He was much faster thanks to his ability Speed Boost which tends to help him a lot.
This sudden increase in speed actually got Vinyl and Reuniclus's attention. It was just as fast as their own music. Reuniclus grabbed Whirlipede with Psychic, levitating the Curlipede Pokemon.
"Use Pin Missile!" Whilst being held up by his opponent, Whirlipede took the opportunity to fire Pin Missile from above to break Reuniclus's focus on Psychic.
"Clus?!" Reuniclus's eyes widened as it had been struck by the Bug-Type move, square in the face as well. This impact broke Reuniclus's concentration, allowing Whirlipede to be free.
"Now, go!" Rainbow Dash thrust her hoof forward, commanding Whirlipede to continue with Rollout. And thanks to Speed Boost activating after Pin Missile hit, Whirlipede was now faster than Reuniclus as he smashed into the Multiplying Pokemon at high velocity.
"Clus!" Reuniclus felt Whirlipede's heavy body smash into it, sending the Multiplying Pokemon flying like a rock. That one single Rollout was actually powerful enough to take out Reuniclus, causing a faint. "Reuni..."
"Reuniclus is unable to battle! Whirlipede wins!"
"Yes! Nice hit, Whirlipede!"
"Whirl!"
"Whew...this is getting a bit stressful." Pinkie sighed.
"Now it's all even." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
Returning her Reuniclus, Vinyl didn't seem to be bothered by this whatsoever. Because she has other tricks that are waiting to show themselves. Her next Pokemon was none other than the Loud Noise Pokemon, Exploud.
"EXPLOUD!"
The moment Exploud arrived, all of Canterlot trembled. Just the action of Exploud opening its mouth could trigger earthquakes and tremors from its tubes.
"W-Whoa!" Rainbow Dash lost her balance along with many ponies sitting on their seats. The sheer power of Exploud's sounds was something to behold. And it hadn't even begun battling yet. "Exploud...Yikes. Okay, Whirlipede! Iron Defense!"
"Pede!" Playing it safe, Whirlipede increased his defence once more.
"Ex..." Exploud held its breath in, preparing to unleash a devastating sound. However, Rainbow Dash had no clue what move it was going to use.
"What's it doing?!" Pinkie ducked, covering her ears as Fluttershy made sure that Audino wouldn't hear any of this by covering her partner's ears with her wings.
"It's Boomburst!" Ash gasped.
"PLOUD!"
With a single shout, Exploud shattered the sound barriers themselves, sending a swirly supersonic wave of light blue aura towards Whirlipede. The waves of Boomburst ended up destroying a gigantic portion of the battlefield along with shattering every single glass object in all of Canterlot.
Now there were holes everywhere along with rocks scattered all over the place. That one move transformed the battlefield in an instant.
Rainbow Dash's eardrums felt like they were being blasted apart as the waves hit Whirlipede, sending him flying with just their force alone. "Oh, no! Whirlipede!"
"Whirl..." Whirlipede's body could be seen spinning in the air after Boomburst hit. It looked like that one single attack did him in, finishing off the Curlipede Pokemon.
Except it didn't.
Whirlipede recovered mid-air, landing his circular body on the ground safely. He was still able to battle. "Whirlipede!"
"Wow...Whirlipede." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. She didn't expect him to take that attack. Not after how lethal it was. "You're amazing!"
"Pede!"
"No way! How'd it survive that?!" The announcer screeched.
"Taking an attack like that from a Pokemon such as Exploud should be impossible to withstand!" Twilight was finding this hard to believe. "Boomburst doesn't even look like a physical move that could be negated by Iron Defense!"
"Alright! Whirlipede! Use Pin Missile!"
"Whirl..." Instead of going for Pin Missile, Whirlipede had learned a new move from that one Boomburst instance. The Curlipede Pokemon jumped into the air, spinning his body rapidly. The tips of his antennae started to glow white as he was only increasing in speed.
"What move is that?!" Scootaloo stood up.
"Its Steamroller! Awesome!" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"Whatever that is...go for it, Whirlipede!"
"Whirlipede!" With amazing speed, Whirlipede shot himself forward, rolling furiously as he made his way towards Exploud.
Exploud returned the favour by using yet another Boomburst against Whirlipede. The supersonic waves engulfed Whirlipede, but they didn't actually stop him at all. "EX?!"
Due to how fast Whirlipede was moving, he could barely hear most of Boomburst at all.
"Whirl!" Whirlipede landed a direct hit by smashing his hard-shelled body into Exploud's large gaping mouth, getting himself stuck in there and shutting the Loud Noise Pokemon up.
"Ah!" Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped as Vinyl even took off her glasses for this one.
"What's this?! Whirlipede's stuck inside of Exploud's mouth! That's one way to stop your opponents greatest weapon." The announcer said.
"Actually...we can work with this. Whirlipede! Use that new move you just learned inside of Exploud's mouth!"
"Whirl!" With his increased speed, Whirlipede began rolling inside of Exploud's mouth, hitting even his teeth.
"Ex! EX! EX!EX!" Exploud was unable to handle an attack like this at all.
"Now, launch Exploud!"
"Pede!" With a burst of power, Whirlipede launched Exploud with sheer force alone from his spins. The Loud Noise Pokemon was knocked back by that unexpected attack with its teeth mildly damaged.
Exploud fell on his back, completely overwhelmed by Whirlipede's new move and Rollout in its mouth. Thus, it fainted.
"Exploud..."
"Exploud is unable to battle! Whirlipede wins!"
"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash flew up in excitement. "Great work, Whirlipede! What move did you even learn?" She took out her dex to see that Whirlipede had learned Steamroller. A fairly powerful Bug-Type move. Whirlipede had replaced Pin Missile for this move. "Steamroller, huh? Nice!"
"Now Rainbow Dash has her beat by two Pokemon!" Pinkie squeed.
"That Whirlipede sure is something. I'll never underestimate Bug-Types ever again." Apple Bloom shook her head.
"Mhm." Her friends agreed, nodding in agreement.
Vinyl was at a loss for words. She didn't expect someone to charge into Exploud's mouth and attack it. But on the bright side, the next time she goes up against somepony with her Exploud, she'll keep that kind of strategy in mind.
As for her third Pokemon, out came the Sound Wave Pokemon Noivern.
"Noi!"
"Oh, she's got a Noivern?!" Rainbow Dash pulled back.
"Oh, this might be a problem..." Ash narrowed his eyes. "Noivern's already a super-fast Pokemon. I'm not sure that even Whirlipede can keep up with it even with Speed Boost."
"Just how powerful is Vinyl's team?" Twilight shuddered.
"Noivern..." The Sound Wave Pokemon looked down at the Curlipede Pokemon, ready to strike at any time.
"Whirlipede. Can you still go on?"
"Whirl."
"Then...Steamroller!"
"Whirlipede!" Charging forward and rolling furiously, the Curlipede Pokemon approached the Flying-Dragon at top speed.
"Vern!" Noivern performed a similar move but with much more power. That being Giga Impact. Its body became surrounded in a mystical invisible energy as Noivern shot itself at Whirlipede.
The two attacks didn't even match each other in power. Once they collided, Noivern instantly smashed Whirlipede into the ground, causing a huge explosion to emerge along with a smoke cloud.
However, despite that massive damage, Whirlipede was still up and active. But he looked like he could faint at any moment.
"Whirl...Whirlipede."
"Not good. Whirlipede, return for now." The decision to return Whirlipede had been made. "You were awesome. Now get some rest."
"Getting uh...Getting a little bit tense..." Starlight shuddered.
"Alright..." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. "I'm gonna reach Spitfire for sure. So all I have to do is get past this battle. I'm leaving it all up to you, Braviary!" She threw the Poke Ball with all her might, sending out her ace.
"Braviary!"
"There he is! Rainbow Dash's Braviary!" Scootaloo stood up with excitement. "I haven't seen him battle for a while now!"
"Plus, she's got Rainbow-Braviary in store. Let's see if she uses it." Ash leaned forward.
"Pikachu."
Both Flying-Types stared each other down with narrow eyes as they flapped their wings with intimidation packed behind them.
Braviary was not about to let his partner down whatsoever. If there was one Pokemon in this tournament who had pure dedication and loyalty to their trainer it was him.
Only 5 minutes remain in this battle.
"Braviary! Brave Bird!"
"Viary!" The Valiant Pokemon spread his wings out, charging towards Noivern like a missile as his body burst into flames. The fire then transformed itself into a blue aura, leaving a trail of flames behind.
"Vern!" Noivern gave its response with Giga Impact as it also charged towards Braviary at full-speed.
The two Pokemon entered an aerial battle where Braviary advanced higher into the air, leaving Noivern in the dust. However, it didn't take long for Noivern to catch up to its fellow Flying-Type.
The two of them had actually clashed with their attacks more than once by zooming across the skies of Canterlot, butting heads back and forth.
Everypony could see two trails zipping frantically with sparks flying as Braviary and Noivern kept trying to 1-UP each other. They both spun around each other in a spiral, colliding their wings against each other.
Both of them finally finished their aerial battle as both Brave Bird and Giga Impact crashed into each other, creating a large cloud of smoke from the aftermath.
"Viary..." Braviary took some recoil damage after using Brave Bird with blue sparks coming out of him.
Braviary and Noivern returned to ground level, shaking their heads after that hard impact. But a mere head concussion wasn't about to stop them.
"Use Steel Wing!"
"Braviary!" By hardening his wings with pure metal, Braviary spun around whilst heading towards his opponent. Noivern felt a bit exhausted after using Giga Impact, so all it could do was take the wing to the chest.
"Voi!"
"Steel Wing again!"
A second go at Steel Wing was performed. But this time, Noivern had recharged itself, ready to counter Braviary.
"Noi!" Noivern gave its response by using Steel Wing as well.
Both Flying-Types clashed their wings together as if they were swords, causing a sound clanging sound to occur from the impact. However, Noivern used its other wing to smack Braviary's beak, causing the Valiant Pokemon to fly back a bit.
"Aerial Ace!"
"Vi!" Braviary quickly recovered, retaliating with the always speedy and instant Aerial Ace. The Valiant Pokemon moved so fast that he seemed invisible to Noivern.
"Vern?!" Noivern looked around, wondering where Braviary was. All it could see were blurs and afterimages zigzagging all over the place without stopping at one single point.
"Bra...Viary!" Braviary reappeared behind Noivern, slamming himself into Noivern's back, sending the Sound Wave Pokemon back down to the ground.
"Yes! Now use Superpower!"
Braviary continued his attack by charging up a ton of power in his talons, soaring down towards Noivern.
"Noi...VERN!" Just like Exploud, Noivern had Boomburst at its disposal. In fact, it could be considered its signature move. Noivern's ears glowed white, sending out powerful sound waves towards its opposing Flying-Type.
Although, Noivern's sounds weren't as potent as Exploud's. But they were still devastating nonetheless. The sound waves were pushing Braviary back, preventing him from getting any closer with Superpower.
"Brav...iary..." The Valiant Pokemon struggled to break through Boomburst. The waves around him were damaging his ears, making it difficult to act properly.
Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth, trying to find a way to get around this particular situation. She could just have Braviary fly back and use Aerial Ace. But then, she gained a brand new idea. One that might work out for her. And it involved wings.
"Braviary! Clap your wings together while using Superpower!"
"Bra...vi...ARY!" The Valiant Pokemon spread his wings out, transferring all of Superpower's energy into them instead of his talons. Then, with all his might, Braviary clapped his wings together.
The force of Superpower being clapped together create a Thunderclap that overpowered Boomburst, blowing it away and Noivern as well.
"Awesome! Nice work, Rainbow!" Ash stood up.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Creating a vibration emission from just simply clapping his wings? You'd need a lot of force equivalent to a thunderstorm to even perform that!" Twilight was left speechless from that attack.
"Let's finish this! Use Aerial Ace!"
Braviary went all out for this next attack. Since Noivern was still recovering from that sudden Superpower clap, it was wide open for an attack.
And Braviary capitalized on that immediately, by disappearing and reappearing in front of the Sound Wave Pokemon, the Valiant Pokemon finished the job by striking his wings on Noivern's head, forcing the Flying-Dragon into the ground.
And with that, Noivern had fainted.
"Noi..."
"Noivern is unable to battle! Braviary wins!"
"Sweet! Now all she has to do is beat her last Pokemon!" Scootaloo squeed.
"Yeah, but that last Pokemon is her Darmanitan. And that thing's a problem." Sweetie Belle replied.
Everypony here knew just how powerful Vinyl's Darmanitan was. It was no joke that's for sure. Out of all her Pokemon, it was the one that was the most in sync with the music at all times. Not once does it ever break concentration for even a split second.
And Vinyl knew that herself. She used her magic to bring out the final Poke Ball with her ace partner. Darmanitan.
"Manitan!" The Blazing Pokemon beat his chest rapidly, already giving off a strong sense of intimidation.
"There it is. Darmanitan. You still up for more, Braviary?"
"Braviary!"
"Darmanitan...That guy's practically untouchable with its movements..." Rainbow Dash thought to herself. "Let me test something out for a bit. Braviary, Aerial Ace!"
"Viary!" Braviary dived downwards towards Darmanitan, leaving behind a white streak. Once the Valiant Pokemon got close, Darmanitan simply leaned his body to the side, flowing with the music.
"I knew it. Even fast moves like Aerial Ace won't work. So all I gotta do is break its flow and that's game set match."
"Darmanitan hasn't been hit once in this entire tournament. And it dodged Aerial Ace like it was nothing. What song is it even listening too?" Pinkie wondered.
"Whatever it is, it must be really good." Apple Bloom nodded.
"Here it comes..." Ash knew from the way Rainbow Dash was looking, the time had come to show everypony this amazing power.
"We'll just have to overwhelm him with all we have...Alright Braviary, let's make this battle 20% cooler!" Rainbow Dash announced.
"Braviary!"
Both of them suddenly raised their voices, shouting at the top of their lungs. From above a rainbow beam struck down on Braviary and Rainbow Dash at the same time. It was time for the Bond Phenomenon. The rainbow beam dispersed, scattering across the skies of Canterlot.
Rainbow-Braviary had arrived.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" The announcer jumped out of his seat. The entire crowd were at a loss for words. They had no idea what they had just witnessed. First, a rainbow beam comes down and now Braviary's appearance had changed to match the Rainbow colours of his trainer.
"There it is! Rainbow-Braviary!" Ash cheered.
"Pikachu!"
"She's finally using it in a real battle!" Scootaloo was getting all giddy.
"And Braviary's much faster like this." Twilight nodded.
"Aerial Ace!"
"Bravi!" The Valiant Pokemon moved at Mach speeds, hundreds of times faster than he normally could as a standard Braviary.
"Dar!" Darmanitan knew he had to take this seriously due to this sudden speed increase. By moving to the beat of the music, the Blazing Pokemon front flipped over Braviary avoiding Aerial Ace by the skin of his teeth.
Darmanitan hardened his head, utilizing Iron Head as he propelled himself forward, going headfirst.
"Use Steel Wing!" Rainbow Dash swung her hoof.
"Viary!" By spinning around in the air, Braviary turned around, facing Darmanitan. He hardened his wings, swinging them forward as he clashed with Darmanitan's head, causing a shockwave to occur.
Both Pokemon continued using Steel Wing and Iron Head with Darmanitan constantly headbutting forward whilst Braviary swung his wings about.
Eventually, the two of them had cancelled each other out with both moves being equal in strength.
"Superpower!" Rainbow Dash thrust her hoof forward.
Braviary charged forward like a rocket, pouring all of his power into both his wings and talons. Darmanitan raised his fist, going straight for Thunder Punch as he lunged towards his opponent.
"Uppercut him!" Rainbow Dash suddenly changed Braviary's approach of attacking. "And block with your other wing!"
"Brav!" Braviary lowered his body, flying down a bit as he pulled one of wings back. The other wing was used to block Thunder Punch whilst Superpower was still active. "Via!" And with the other wing, Braviary swung it upwards, striking Darmanitan's stomach.
"Mani!" Darminatan's eyes widened from that might Superpower uppercut.
"Use Steel Wing" Rainbow Dash spread her wings out, flapping them downwards.
Braviary mimicked her movements by using Steel Wing to smack Darmanitan back down to the ground. However, Darminatan quickly recovered on his feet, returning the favour with Flare Blitz.
The Blazing Pokemon charged upwards with an aura of fire surrounding his entire body.
"Brave Bird!"
"Bra!" Braviary performed a similar move by also surrounding himself in a blazing aura, diving down towards Darmanitan. Both Flare Blitz and Brave Bird clashed with both Pokemon butting heads. They blew each other back from the intense force exhibited from their bodies. Braviary, unfortunately, took recoil damage from the attack.
"Dar!" Darmanitan suddenly used Double Team with multiple clones of Darmanitan surrounding Braviary from all sides, beating their chests.
"Fly up and clap your wings with Superpower!"
"Viary!" The Valiant Pokemon used Brave Bird to fly up clapping his wings together whilst using Superpower, causing that same thunderclap he did on Noivern.
The thunderclap destroyed all of the clones that surrounded him, letting Braviary find the real one. "There you are! Now! Let's finish this once and for all! Brave Bird!" Rainbow spread her wings out.
"Bra...." Braviary poured all of his strength into this one Brave Bird. Instead of its usual orange aura, Brave Bird now had a Rainbow Aura surrounding the Valiant Pokemon as he charged forward, leaving behind a trail of rainbows.
"Dar...Ma!" Darmanitan gave it everything he had as well, by using a full-force Thunder Punch to take out Braviary.
Both Pokemon screamed at each as Braviary's speed suddenly increased due to how much speed he was picking up. Braviary ended up causing a Sonic Rainboom from the speed he was moving at, blowing many ponies back as he also smashed his body into Darmanitan before he could even throw his punch.
With amazing power and speed, Darmanitan was smashed into the ground, causing an explosion of rainbows to emerge from the sudden impact as Braviary flew into the air, taking recoil damage as he winced.
The smoke cleared and after an attack like that, it was fair to say what had happened to Darmanitan. He had fainted.
"Darmanitan is unable to battle! Braviary wins! Which means the victor is Rainbow Dash!"
"What a rush!" The announcer fell on his back. "That was the greatest thing I've seen in this entire tournament so far!"
"That's the spirit, Rainbow Dash! Braviary!" Ash shouted, pumping his fists up.
"Pika! Pika-Pikachu!"
"Urgh..." Rainbow Dash and Braviary both exited out of Rainbow-Braviary before they both pass out. They still didn't have full control over it so they could only use it for a short while. But they were fast enough to get the job done. "Awesome job, buddy."
"Brav."
Vinyl nodded, accepting her defeat as she went over to her partner. She was proud of Darmanitan for doing his best as she placed his headphones back on his head.
"Darman."
Vinyl wished Rainbow Dash good luck on the final day without saying any words whatsoever. But Rainbow Dash understood her body language easily.
"Sure, I will! Thanks, DJ-Pon3."
And with that, Rainbow Dash advances to the final day. Where she'll finally have the chance to face Spitfire for the very first time. To say that she was hyped was an understatement. This is what she's been waiting ever since the tournament got announced. And her chance is right around the corner as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
Currently, the fourth day of the Canterlot Tournament had reached its end with the final match coming to an end.
Because of this, the fifth and final day is closing in with high expectations. Mostly because the Top 3 will obviously be there along with Rainbow Dash and her Braviary which stunned the crowd by transforming into Rainbow-Braviary.
The trainers who weren't fatigued were still around, full of energy and ready to continue to tomorrow. Well, almost all of them. One pony, unfortunately, had reached her limit.
"Is it too late to leave now?" Rarity sighed, lying on the waiting room couch.
"Hm? What do you mean by that, Rarity?" Rainbow Dash flew over to her.
"I don't mean to kill your mood, darling but, I'm a bit worn out from this entire tournament. Especially what happened 2 days ago."
"If you're feeling fatigued, then you're free to leave and continue watching." BigTime Ben went up to Rarity, giving her the suggestion.
"Thank you. Besides. Rainbow Dash is the most excited for this. I've proven to everypony that I've come far as a trainer and defend my friends from any potential danger. I'd say I'm satisfied." Rarity nodded.
"Aw...Well, cheer me on, okay?" Rainbow asked.
"I certainly will. Now let's get some shuteye before tomorrow."
Leaving the waiting room, Rainbow Dash and Rarity joined their friends outside as Rarity told them that she would be leaving the tournament since she's satisfied with her current progress.
"Shame you couldn't continue onwards, Rarity," Fluttershy spoke.
"I wasn't in it to win in the first place, after all." She replied to Fluttershy. "I think I've made a fairly good impression in this entire tournament. Also...I'm a bit terrified of the Top 3."
"Hold on. If tomorrow's the final day, then what happens if two trainers are remaining at the last moment?" Scootaloo wondered.
"Then they have another match on the same day between the last two ponies to see who comes out on top," Ash explains.
"Which is gonna be me!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "I'm so excited!"
"From what I can tell, it'll be a 5v5 since its the final day." Twilight theorized. "Good thing you've got a total of 5 Pokemon with you."
"Yeah but uh...one of them isn't really skilled in battling." Rainbow Dash was referring to her Castform.
"Oh, right. You gonna let Castform battle?" Applejack asked. "Spitfire's most likely gonna back you into a corner, no doubt about it."
"Hmmrgh...I may not be able to battle with Castform, but I can have it set up some weather! That'll work! How does that sound, Castform?"
"Cast!"
"But uh...Castform's not super fast so I'm pretty worried that it'll get taken out before I even get the chance to use any weather."
"No need to worry. I can help with that." Ash suddenly replied to her. "I can help you train Castform up to prepare for tomorrow."
"Really? You'll do that Ash?!" Rainbow Dash flew up.
"Mhm. You're worried about Castform after all. So let's make sure that those worries can be put to rest. We can figure something out with Castform, even if it's not super-strong."
"Thanks, Ash!"
"Castform!"
To help Castform, Ash and Rainbow Dash would be practising in the Canterlot Gardens. Since that area has essentially become both a relaxation spot and a free battle area.
"Your Castform's sensitive to weather, right?" Ash asked Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah. Just the smallest thing can transform the little guy in an instant. Like this." Rainbow Dash used her hoof to pick up some snow, bringing it close to the Weather Pokemon.
"Cast...?" Castform's body cells were reacting to the snow as it felt like sneezing. Which it did. "FORM!" Once Castform sneezed, it immediately changed into its Snowy Form.
Not only that, but it ended up freezing everypony around it in an instant, showing just how irregular it is from an average Castform. It even summoned the weather effect of Hail by sneezing and changing forms, something no other Castform is physically capable of.
"Gh...T-T-T-Those are some sensitive cells..." Ash shivered as he was in an ice prison along with everypony else. "It's hh-hailing already too...?!"
"Pika...chu...!"
"N-N-Ninetales...Mystical Fire." Twilight commanded as she spoke through her teeth.
"T-Tales!" The Fox Pokemon melted the ice he was encased in, freeing himself. He did the same for the rest of his friends as they all fell flat on the ground, shaking with chills running through their body.
"Ugh...Thanks, Ninetales." Twilight sighed.
"Alright. So that's a pretty good start." Ash stood up.
"It is?" They all turned to him.
"Yep. Most Pokemon need to put a lot of focus into some of their ice moves in hopes of freezing their opponent. But Castform here can do it if it gets close to something cold. That's pretty impressive." Ash explained. "Plus it can uniquely cause weather effects.
"Pikachu."
"Castform..." The Weather Pokemon calmed down, returning to its normal state.
"If Castform can cause status and weather effects without using any moves...Wait, what are his moves?" Ash wondered.
"Hold on, let me check." Rainbow Dash pulled out her Pokedex to see what Castform is currently capable of.
"Weather Ball, huh? Hmm...it gets stronger and changes its typing depending on the weather and Castform can kinda cause weather effects without even using a move." Ash thought for a bit. "Here's what we'll do! We'll have Castform learn a weather-based move."
"Can we do it in time?" Rainbow Dash turned to him.
"Sure we can. We've got a lot of time before tomorrow. So let's make it count. And I've got a pretty good idea on what we can do. If Castform changes that easily, we'll have it use Weather Ball while it reacts to something. Might even learn a new move. How does Castform react to heat?"
"I've got that covered." Pinkie Pie stood up, taking out a Cindercake. "Here ya go, Castform." She brought up the Cindercake to Castform's face, showing everypony else how Castform reacts to anything related to heat.
"Form..."Castform closed its eyes as its body cells started to heat up all of a sudden with sweat dripping down. By reacting to the Cindercake, Castform entered its sunny form. The moment it transformed, the snow had been melted away along with Twilight and Starlight's mane's catching on fire.
And of course, Castform summoned Sunny Day without even having the move at its current disposal, making the already golden sun even brighter as the heat increased across Canterlot, warming everypony up.
"Ah-AH!" Twilight and Starlight screamed as they ran around frantically with a fire burning on top of them. Thankfully, Twilight's Cinccino put the flames out by using Aqua Tail.
"That's some fire. All the snow's gone." Applejack looked at how the flames melted away the snow in Canterlot Garden.
"Amazing.
"We've got ourselves a special Castform here. Let's try using Weather Ball with those Cindercakes." Ash was given a Cindercake by Pinkie Pie.
"Castform. Use Weather Ball!"
"Cast..." Castform formed a white ball of energy in front of it as it circled like a hurricane. Ash put the Cindercake up to Castform's face, allowing the Weather Pokemon's cells to act up, changing Castform into its Sunny Form.
Once it entered its Sunny Form, it actually affected the Weather Ball in front of it instead of everything else around Castform. Weather Ball gained a fiery aura from Castform's sudden change.
"Oh! It's working!" Fluttershy gasped as everypony's eyes widened, stunned at how that plan actually managed to work out. However, they noticed that the ball was getting bigger in size with Castform still pouring in a ton of energy.
"It's getting pretty big..." Pinkie backed up a bit along with her friends.
"Okay, Castform...I think that's good. You can cool off now." Rainbow Dash tried to get her Pokemon to halt the growing ball of fire.
"Cast...Castform!" Unfortunately, Castform was unable to stop the ball. It wasn't strong enough to do so. Instead, Castform unleashed the ball of fire, causing it to rocket into the air with ludicrous speeds.
"Holy cow! Check out that height!" Pinkie Pie gawked as everypony looked up in the sky, seeing how the ball of fire almost reached the clouds themselves. Eventually, the ball dispersed into nothing.
"Wow...I didn't know you could do that, Castform! You practically used a move without having a Fire move!" Rainbow Dash grabbed the Weather Pokemon.
"Cast."
"Let's try it again, but this time with some ice, okay?" Rainbow Dash looked for any leftover snow that was still around and hadn't been melted yet.
They began training up Castform by having it use Weather Ball whilst causing its body to react to Cindercakes and leftover snow.
In its Snowy Form, Castform created a chunk of ice with Weather Ball, whilst for the Rainy Form, they got a bottle of water and poured it on the Weather Pokemon, causing it to transform and summon some rain. Along with a sudden burst of water that made everypony here wet.
But Castform still hadn't learned a new move yet. Tackle and Weather Ball were all it still had currently. While they were able to get some good results in the form of the three random attacks Castform summons when reacting to something, it was still limited to just two moves and there's no telling if Castform will be able to react the same way once the battle against Spitfire happens.
"Still nothing yet. The attacks are good but..." Rainbow Dash grumbled.
"Learning new Pokemon moves can be difficult." Fluttershy sighed. "And Castform looks a bit cold now.
"Form..." Castform felt a chill due to the previous Ice attack it had performed.
"Nine." The Fox Pokemon went up to the Weather Pokemon, breathing some fire on it to warm Castform. However, once Ninetales did this, something new ended up happening.
Instead of entering its Sunny Form, Castform's body was surrounded by a blue and purple light that suddenly transformed into an aura of fire that emanated out of Castform. This grabbed everypony's attention as they had never seen this before.
"Woah! What is this?!" Ash stood up.
"Pika?!"
"It's not its Sunny Form...but just an aura of fire around it." Twilight noticed. "Did it learn a new move?"
"Let me check!" Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex to see if Castform had learned a new move.
And to their surprise, it did. This move was akin to that of Arceus's ability and plates.
"Reflect Type." The dex said.
"Reflect Type? What's that?" Rainbow Dash used her hoof to go into further detail on what this new move was.
"A Normal Type move. The user reflects the target’s type, making the user the same type as the target. Castform can learn this move via Egg breeding."
"Oh, yeah! I've heard of that move. But I've never seen it in action." Ash nodded his head. "A move that makes a Pokemon copy its opponent's type, huh? Pretty handy stuff."
"Pika!"
"It's just like Arceus's life plates," Twilight recalled what she learned about Arceus.
"Why didn't it turn into its Sunny Form, though? A flame was right next to it." Goh questioned.
"I guess it works differently with Pokemon moves," Twilight answered. "If that's the case, then this makes Castform's irregular cells harder to comprehend."
"No way...That's awesome! You're just full of surprises, aren't you Castform?!" Rainbow Dash squeed. "Let's try some other moves!"
"Form!"
"Use Reflect Type on uh...Pikachu!" Rainbow pointed her hoof at the Electric Mouse Pokemon.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu pointed at himself.
"Castform..." The Weather Pokemon faced the Electric-Type, summoning that same blue and purple aura around it. Pikachu's body was also surrounded by this aura as he felt a slight tingle in his body.
Castform had sparks of electricity fly out of its body as it had managed to shock everypony around him with 50,000 volts of lightning. It had indeed copied Pikachu's Electric-Typing.
"Oh yeah...it works..." Ash coughed up smoke as everyone's hair had been puffed up thanks to Castform.
"Cast!"
"We can use this. If we're going up against any of Spitfire's Pokemon, we can just copy their type and resist em. With a move like that and Castform's chaotic body, we can turn it around!" Rainbow Dash grinned.
"Actually, Rainbow Dash, I checked and there are two setbacks to Reflect Type." Twilight held out her Pokedex, going into further detail of Reflect Type. "It doesn't affect Protect at all. So if any of her Pokemon have Protect or anything like that, the move won't work. So watch out for that. And if you change Castform's forms, it'll no longer have that copied type unless its three forms are identical to the Pokemon it's facing."
"Gotcha. That won't be a problem at all. Plus, who needs moves when Castform lets out attacks from copying another type. Castform. Try copying Altaria. I wanna know what happens if its a Pokemon with two typings?" Rainbow Dash sent out her Altaria.
"Tari!"
"I'm kinda nervous about what this will do." Applejack, Rarity and Starlight hid behind the bench, unsure of how copying a part Dragon-Type like Altaria will go.
"Reflect Type, go."
"Form..." Once it had used Reflect Type on its fellow teammate, Castform's body let out a shockwave in the shape of a dragon's fangs and wings, somewhat similar to that of Dragon-Pulse as Altaria had been blown back from the attack.
"Alta!"
"Ah, Altaria!" Rainbow Dash gasped, flying after her partner as she grabbed her. "You okay?!"
"Altaria..." The Humming Pokemon was fine but that sudden shockwave really stung out of nowhere.
"Not only is it capable of reacting to objects to change its typing, but the way it uses Reflect Type is completely different," Twilight commented.
"How so?" Starlight asked.
"Look at this." Twilight showed her friends further details about Reflect Type. "It's a non-damaging move. It should be impossible for it to even give off any damage, let alone body exertion attacks."
"So...Castform shouldn't be able to do this at all?" Rarity uttered.
"Right. I think it being a special and unique Pokemon is an understatement. I know this may sound crazy, but I think that Castform's cells might be...radioactive."
"Radioactive?!" Her friends pulled back.
"Either that or it just might be another case of magic influencing Pokemon differently compared to their original world. But for now, I'm sticking with radioactive."
"So like...my Castform's a walking radiation monster...Awesome..." Rainbow Dash gawked.
"Cast! Castform!"
"That's some power your Castform's got." Speaking of the pony who Rainbow Dash would be facing tomorrow, Spitfire had witnessed Castform's sudden burst in power.
"Spitfire?!" Rainbow Dash's eyes widened.
"I saw what just happened. It came from that little guy, didn't it?"
"Yeah. Castform here has-" Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, realizing that revealing Castform's Reflect Type move would probably hinder her strategy for tomorrow. "He's uh...one of a kind."
"Is he now? Wouldn't have thought someone like him could be capable of doing that." Spitfire patted Castform's head.
"Cast."
"Looking forward to our match tomorrow. And hey, if you win against me, you won't have to be on Probation anymore."
"Really?!"
"Nah, I'm just kidding. Good luck anyway." Spitfire chuckled, taking her leave as she headed off to rest up for tomorrow."
"We'll show her. Our strategy's gonna knock her wings off. Let's work on that move, okay Castform?"
"Castform! Form!"
And so it was. With the amount of time they had left, the group helped Castform with his newly learned move, testing Reflect Type on other Pokemon.
When Castform copied Grovyle, sharp leaves flew out of his body with power similar to that of Magical Leaf. When he copied Riolu, an Aura shockwave came out of him, giving everypony, except Ash and Riolu a slight shock through their bodies.
This went on for hours until the sun had finally set, prompting the group to rest up until tomorrow.
"Even though it's another Normal-Type move, it's a super useful one that you've learned." Rainbow Dash hugged Castform, feeling proud of him.
"Cast!"
"Guess this means you're confident in Castform now," Ash said.
"Oh, yeah! I was worried about him and how he'd get seriously hurt. But now, I don't have to worry about a thing. I've got a real powerhouse on my team! I'm gonna win this tournament for sure!"
Rainbow Dash looked towards Canterlot Castle, spotting Luna who knew that eventually, Rainbow Dash would have to face her. Whether in this tournament or the near future. One way or another, they'll go up against each other at their current best.
The final day closes in with only 6 trainers remaining now. With Castform learning a new move in the form of Reflect Type and a brand new kind of attack, the upcoming battles could go either way depending on how both trainers perform as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The time had come for the final day of the Canterlot Tournament.
The remaining 6 trainers were ready to perform at their absolute best and what they were capable of at the moment. The remaining trainers were Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, Daylight Blazer, Princess Luna and two other trainers.
Excitement is overflowing on this 5th and final day as the crowd couldn't wait to see who would come out on top as the definitive victor.
The first match of the day was none other than the anticipated Rainbow Dash vs Spitfire match. The main reason why Rainbow Dash even joined this tournament in the first place among with other things.
There was no time for waiting around as both pegasi had already made their way out to the battlefield, which had currently been transformed thanks to the devastating Boomburst caused Vinyl's Exploud.
After battling their way to the top of this tournament, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire are now prepared to show everypony what they're truly capable of.
"Finally...This is what I've been waiting for." Rainbow Dash said to herself.
"I've really been looking forward to this battle with you, Crash. This'll be a fun match, I can tell. But I won't let you win it. No matter what." Spitfire smirked.
"We'll see." Rainbow retorted.
"Today's battle will be a 5v5. When all 5 of either trainer's Pokemon are unable to continue the battle will be over. Substitution is allowed. There are 15 minutes in total for this battle and onwards. You may both bring out your Pokemon now!" The referee announced.
"Let's go! Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash sent out Whirlipede first by throwing her Poke Ball.
"Whirl!"
"Come out! Sharpedo!" For Spitfire, her first choice was the Brutal Pokemon, Sharpedo. A Pokemon that is feared across Equestria and she had managed to tame one.
"Sharpedo!"
"Sharpedo? This could be trouble..." Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth.
"I can't believe she tamed a Sharpedo. Those things are brutal and relentless." Twilight stood up.
"Just goes to show what a good trainer is capable of." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
"Go get em, Rainbow Dash and Whirlipede!" Scootaloo cheered from the crowd.
"Battle begin!"
"Whirlipede! Steamroller, let's go!"
"Whirl...Ipede!" Starting strong, Whirlipede spun around on the spot, charging forward towards the Brutal Pokemon whilst avoiding the holes in the ground.
"Sharpedo! Aqua Jet!"
"Shar!" With blitzing speeds, Sharpedo bolted forward like a jet with an aura of water surrounding him.
Both Pokemon crashed into each other with robust force, entering a small struggle for a bit. They both managed to cancel each other out, flying back and returning to their trainers.
Whirlipede had increased in speed thanks to its ability Speed Boost, but he wasn't the only one. Sharpedo's hidden ability is Speed Boost, meaning that it also increased in speed. And it was already fast enough, to begin with.
"Use Crunch, repeatedly!"
"Sharpedo!" The Brutal Pokemon's teeth suddenly gained a dark purple aura as he lunged towards his opponent.
"Here it comes! Dodge and use Venoshock!"
"Pede!" The Curlipede Pokemon barely avoided Sharpedo as the Brutal Pokemon's teeth chipped Whirlipede's hard shell, making him flinch a bit. Nevertheless, Whirlipede sent a stream of purple poisonous liquid that got all over Sharpedo, causing an explosion on impact.
Despite that powerful explosion and attack, Sharpedo flew out of the smoke, continuing his Crunch assault. The Brutal Pokemon bit onto Whirlipede's hard shell, digging deep into it as he now had the Curlipede Pokemon in his grasp.
"Ah! Whirlipede!"
"Gotcha!" Spitfire grinned. "Now fly up with Aqua Jet!"
"Shar...pedo!" The Water-Dark Type used Aqua Jet to take flight whilst still holding Whirlipede.
"Holy moly! What's she planning?!" The announcer and everypony looked up in the sky, wondering what could follow next from Spitfire's command.
"Now! Use Hydro Pump to shoot Whirlipede back down!"
"Shar..." Sharpedo charged up a powerful blast of water in his mouth, ready to unload on the Curlipede Pokemon.
"Quick, Whirlipede! Use Steamroller to break free!"
"Whirli...pede!" By spinning his body inside of Sharpedo's mouth, Whirlipede's hard and durable shell managed to hit all of Sharpedo's 10 teeth at high speeds.
However, Sharpedo is known for having fangs so sharp they can crush iron and tear through a supertanker. So this did nothing to him at all. He didn't even wince or flinch once.
Unamused by Whirlipede's attempts to break free, the Brutal Pokemon unleashed a high volume blast of water under great pressure from its mouth, engulfing Whirlipede and forcing him back down to the ground. The impact of Whirlipede and Hydro Pump hitting the ground caused a bit of a drizzle to form as the battlefield was now partially moist and wet.
"Oh my! I'm not sure that even Whirlipede can handle that!" Fluttershy covered her eyes with her wings.
"Look again!" Rarity pointed her hoof forward at the cloud of smoke that was fading away.
To everypony's surprise, Whirlipede did in fact withstand that attack. But it really did a number on him, leaving him a bit weakened. "Whirli..."
"Would ya look at that?! That Whirlipede's sturdy hard shell is no joke, that's for sure!" said the Announcer.
"You okay, Whirlipede?!"
"Whirlipede."
"You did well. So come back for now." Rainbow Dash chose to return her Whirlipede. "Alright...if I send Luxio out, I should be able to deal with Sharpedo but...what if she switches out for Flygon because of that?" Rainbow Dash was starting to overthink a little bit.
"Oh no... Rainbow Dash is overthinking." Applejack noticed the unsure look on Rainbow Dash's face. She's seen it before and knew what that meant.
"She can't overthink now of all times. This is her biggest match yet and it has just started." Rarity shook her head.
"I can't risk it. I'll go for Altaria instead!" Out came the Humming Pokemon as a means to take down Sharpedo.
"Altaria!" The Humming Pokemon roared beautifully at Sharpedo as the Brutal Pokemon roared back at her.
"Okay, Altaria! Disarming Voice!"
"Altaaaaa!" As Altaria took to the skies, she let out a beautiful sound from her gaping mouth, sending pink sound waves in the shape of hearts.
"Sharpedo! Use Aqua Jet to dodge and strike Altaria!
"Shar! Sharpedo!" By propelling himself forward, Sharpedo manoeuvred himself around the sound waves, evading them with swiftness. His insane speed allowed him to instantly crash into Altaria with Aqua Jet, knocking her back.
"Tari!"
"Use Disarming Voice one more time!"
"Taaaaa!" The Humming Pokemon recovered by spinning around as she caught Sharpedo off guard, hitting him with a beautiful melodic blast of sound.
The charming sounds of Disarming Voice pierced Sharpedo's ears as he took some considerable damage from it.
"Hydro Pump!"
"Sharpe!" Sharpedo returned the favour by sending a high pressured blast of water towards the Dragon-Flying-Type.
"Ice Beam, quick!"
"Alta!" Altaria quickly countered by blasting a beam of ice that collided with the blast of water. Like most other attacks, they went into a struggle, but Hydro Pump proved to be stronger as it tore through Ice Beam, engulfing Altaria. "Altaria!"
"Now! Smash Altaria with Zen Headbutt!"
"Shar!" By concentrating all of its willpower into its head, purple energy beams formed as Sharpedo charged forward. Thanks to Speed Boost, he reached Altaria before Rainbow Dash could think of a way to counter this. Sharpedo smashed his head onto Altaria's stomach, causing the Humming Pokemon to grimace.
The force of Sharpedo's headbutt forced Altaria back down to the ground, creating a fairly large crater from the impact.
"Ah! Altaria, no!" Rainbow Dash hoped that Altaria wasn't done for. Thankfully, she wasn't.
"Altaria!" The Humming Pokemon spread her wings, separating the smoke that surrounded her.
"Dragon Pulse, let's go!"
"Finish Altaria off with Hydro Pump!"
Both Pokemon charged up their strongest moves, ready to seal the deal. As the two attacks of different elements met, Dragon Pulse proved to be capable of lasting longer than Ice Beam.
But Sharpedo's special attack proved to be superior as Hydro Pump was overpowering Dragon Pulse with the blast of water slowly approaching Altaria, who was struggling to hold it back.
"Al...Taria!"
"Hang in there, Altaria!"
"Altaria!" The Humming Pokemon tried to add some extra power to her attack, but it was no use. Hydro Pump had defeated Dragon Pulse, blasting Altaria as it engulfed her body. "Tari!"
"Altaria, no!"
An unfortunate outcome for Rainbow Dash and her Altaria. Her strength just couldn't compare to the power of Sharpedo's Hydro Pump.
However, despite the power gap, Altaria was still active as she flew out of the smoke, tumbling on the ground. She got back up with her wings being tattered. That attack really knocked the wind out of her.
"Thank Celestia..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "Return, for now, Altaria." Altaria had been returned without fainting. But now Rainbow Dash was slowly starting to be backed into a corner.
"It's great that Altaria's still able to battle but boy that Sharpedo's a problem." Pinkie said.
"Why doesn't Rainbow Dash just use her Luxio?" Scootaloo was confused.
"Because she's scared that Flygon's gonna come in and ruin that. Luxio only attacking moves are Discharge and Wild Charge." Ash explained. "That's why she was overthinking earlier."
"Oh, right. Bummer..." Scootaloo pouted.
"But...there is one move that can help her with that problem." Ash knew by the look of Rainbow Dash's smile, she had something planned. And it involved Luxio's third move.
"Let's hope this works. Go! Luxio!" Up next, the Spark Pokemon Luxio.
"Xio! Luxio!"
"Oh, so you're finally using your Luxio, eh? Return Sharpedo and come out, Flygon!" As expected, Spitfire swapped Sharpedo for her Flygon.
"Gon! Flygon!"
"Gotcha...Use Roar!"
"Lu....XIO!" Luxio's became outlined in red energy as he let out a mightly howl with invisible waves that expand outward. The sound of the Roar reached across the battlefield, affecting Flygon as the wind pressures pushed Flygon back slightly.
This roar sounded akin to that of a full-grown Pyroar instead of a little Luxio. Even the rocks around the battlefield were being blown away by this immense roar.
"Fly...Flygon!" Flygon got a bit scared of this unexpectedly fierce roar. And as expected, it retreated into its Poke Ball by its own will.
"What the?!" Spitfire gasped, looking at her Poke Ball. She then noticed that Sharpedo came out by force since he was the previous Pokemon utilized.
"Yes! Now use Wild Charge!"
"Xio!" Since Spitfire was still confused, Luxio took full advantage of the situation, bolting forward like a lightning bolt as he left a long trail of electricity behind.
Luxio smashed into Sharpedo who was confused on why Spitfire hadn't given the command to dodge or counteract. Once the Spark Pokemon tackled Sharpedo whilst also giving him an electric shock full of 60,000 volts.
"Shar!"
"Discharge!"
"Lux!" As Luxio took recoil damage from Wild Charge, he didn't let up for a second, Luxio continued the attack by surrounding the entire battlefield with a violent blast of electricity that made contact with the Brutal Pokemon.
That combination of Wild Charge and Discharge was so powerful that it was actually enough to not only give Sharpedo a run for his money but it actually made him faint as he fell to the ground with sparks of electricity surrounding his body.
"Sharpedo..."
"Sharpedo is unable to battle! Luxio wins!"
"After an intense struggle, Rainbow Dash finally takes out Spitfire's Sharpedo!"
"What was that...?" Spitfire raised an eyebrow.
"It's called Roar. It may seem like a basic Normal-Type move, but it actually forces a Pokemon to go back into its Poke Ball. Normal may be basic but simple is best." Rainbow Dash smirked with confidence.
"Lux." The Spark Pokemon nodded in agreement.
"Hmph. I'll make sure to keep that kind of move in mind in my future battles." Spitfire returned Sharpedo. "And you won't pull the same trick on me again!" She tossed her Poke Ball forward, sending out Flygon once more.
"Fly!"
"We'll just force it out again! Use R-"
"Screech!"
Spitfire was right about making sure Rainbow Dash and Luxio wouldn't pull their Roar stunt again. Flygon had the better experience with sound-based moves considering what it's known for, so it pulled off Screech before Luxio could use Roar.
"G̵͔̈́O̴̳̩͠O̶̧͔͂Ò̸̗O̵̮̿O̷̡͐̀O̶͍͉͑O̸̜̔N̷͖͗̇!" An earsplitting Screech came out Flygon's mouth, piercing Luxio's and every Pokemon's ears.
"Xio..L-Luxio!" Luxio got on the ground, covering his ears as he was trying to ignore the horrible sound of Screech, but to no avail.
"Hang in there, Luxio! Use Roar!"
"Louder!" Spitfire raised her voice, prompting Flygon to do the same. Now with an even stronger Screech beating down on Luxio, the Spark Pokemon found it difficult to ignore it. He wanted the sound to stop as soon as it could.
"Good. Now use Superpower!"
"Flygon!" Flygon put a stop to screech, charging forward with a ton of power packed into its claws as Flygon approached a recovering Luxio who's ears were vibrating after hearing Screech.
"Look out, Luxio! Use Roar, quick!"
"Lux?" Luxio took some time to hear Rainbow Dash's commands as Screech messed up his hearing a bit. He looked up to see that Flygon was right in his face all of a sudden, raising its draconic claws. "Xio?!"
"GON!" Flygon slashed Luxio with Superpower, causing the Spark Pokemon to hit the ground so hard that he went through it, making even more holes inside of the already damaged battlefield.
"Luxio, no!"
It was unsure of what happened to Luxio since he had gone through the ground due to Flygon's immense power. All the crowd could see was a hole shaped like Luxio as the Spark Pokemon was nowhere to be found.
"Is Luxio okay?!" Fluttershy stood up.
"It took the full brunt of Superpower and straight through the ground. I'm not sure anyone can withstand that." Twilight shook her head.
Now the entire crowd was wondering what had happened to Luxio and if he was still able to battle.
"Luxio! Where are you?!" Rainbow Dash called for her Pokemon, desperately trying to reach him.
"Oh...Maybe I went a bit too far." Spitfire winced.
Deep inside of the ground, Luxio had been buried there with its body still feeling the after-effects of Superpower. His ears were still vibrating after Screech as he was all tattered up and covered in dirt.
Then, Luxio could hear the voice of Rainbow Dash call for him in the ground. He could hear how worried she was for him due to her tone and how she constantly called desperately for his name.
"Lux..." Luxio knew that he couldn't be defeated in a pathetic way like this. Like many of Rainbow Dash's Pokemon, he had no intention of letting his trainer down. "Xio..."
With all the strength he had left, Luxio dug deep, trying his very best to break free from the ground. At first, he used Discharge to try and break free, but that was no good whatsoever.
He then tried to use Wild Charge by charging out of here at high-speeds. But even that didn't work. After all, Electric-Types are bad against anything ground related, much like how most Rock-Types hate going in the water. And since Luxio was inside of the ground itself, it was no wonder that he couldn't do anything.
Frustrated by his own helplessness, Luxio felt completely defeated at this point. And he hadn't even fainted yet. However, that wasn't enough to break his spirit. Luxio was a gutsy Pokemon at heart. And this wasn't about to let him just give up completely.
And that's all it took. With pure determination and vigour, Luxio had learned a new move. His tail hardened up, reflecting that of metal.
Luxio had just learned Iron Tail.
"Lu...XIO!" The Spark Pokemon began swinging his hardened tail inside of the ground frantically. Each swinging was slowly destroying his surroundings, breaking every piece of the ground there was to get back out there and battle on.
"Audi...?" Audino could hear the sounds of Luxio slowly breaking free thanks to her exceptional hearing.
The referee assumed that Luxio was unable to continue so he was about to make the call. "Luxio is-"
"Wait! Look!" Spitfire pointed her hoof at the ground, noticing how it was shaking all of a sudden. The entire crowd leaned forward to see how rocks were suddenly flying up from the tremors being caused from underneath the battlefield.
The assumed defeated Luxio had finally broken free as he swung his Iron Tail upwards, erupting from the ground as he split it in half.
"Lux!"
"Luxio! You're okay!" Rainbow Dash yelled with joy in her voice. "And you learned Iron Tail!"
"Xio!"
"Would ya look that..." Spitfire's eyes widened, impressed by Luxio's persistence. "That's one tough Electric-Type, that's for sure. We've got ourselves a battle."
"Alright, Luxio! Iron Tail! Go!"
"Luxio!" The Spark Pokemon jumped towards Flygon, swinging his tail downwards at the Mystic Pokemon.
"Use Dragon Tail!"
"Fly...GON!" The Ground-Flying used its own tail attack in the form of Dragon Tail. Both tail attacks clashed, causing a seismic shockwave that almost shattered the seats of the crowd, causing them all to almost lose their balance.
Luxio and Flygon continuously clashed their tails together like two swords clashing. Luxio's tail swing was on the faster side, packed with more ferocity compared to Flygon who was more precise with its swinging.
Luxio increased the speed of his tail swing, pouring the pressure on Flygon as he was pushing Dragon Tail back. To say that Luxio was a ferocious Pokemon was an understatement.
"Fly! Flygon?!" Flygon was struggling to hold Iron Tail back as Dragon Tail was being fended off each time they clashed their tails together.
"Xio!" Eventually, Luxio overwhelmed Dragon Tail, smashing his hardened Iron Tail onto Flygon's chest. He left his tail on Flygon's chest for a bit until he finally launched the Mystic Pokemon to the ground, causing a crater to form.
"Yes! Awesome work, Luxio!"
"Xio." The Spark Pokemon landed on the ground, standing with pride.
"Flygon." The Mystic Pokemon got back up, shaking its head. Flygon was certainly surprised at Luxio's sudden burst in power.
"You okay, Flygon?"
"Gon."
"Okay, Luxio! Use Iron Tail again!"
"Lux!" Capitalizing on his newly learned move, the Spark Pokemon charged forward with his tail being hardened.
"Flygon! Fire Blast!"
"FLYGON!" Out of its gaping mouth, Flygon unleashed a 大 shaped blast towards its approaching opponent.
"Jump!"
"Xio!" Luxio jumped over Fire Blast, barely avoiding it as some of the flames managed to hit his legs. Nevertheless, he persisted. The Electric-Type smashed his tail on Flygon's head, causing the Mystic Pokemon to wince and fall back down to the ground.
"What an impact!" The announcer exclaimed.
"That was a head-on Iron Tail! It had to have taken out Flygon!" Scootaloo spoke.
Anticipating the result, Luxio jumped back with his tail returning to normal. The dust settled as the outcome of Flygon's current state had been revealed. It was still standing, which made Luxio and Rainbow Dash gasp.
"That Flygon's something else!"
"Lux!"
"I'll admit. You had me scared there, Crash. Your Luxio's way too dangerous. Which is why I need to get rid of it quick."
"We'll see about that!"
The two pegasi and their Pokemon faced each other with their excitement growing and their blood boiling from the exhilarating rush of this battle.
The outcome of this battle is officially unpredictable and too early to call. The fiery spirit of both trainers rages with ferocity as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The battle between Rainbow Dash and Spitfire rages on with ferocity and dynamism.
The two are in the midst of a heated battle with Luxio and Flygon continuing to face off against each other. Only one of them will emerge the victor in all of this.
"Fire Blast, let's go!"
"Fly...GON!" Flygon sent an intense and fierce blast of fire towards its opponent, tearing through the ground itself.
"Dodge it with Wild Charge!"
"Xio!" Luxio used Wild Charge as a method of dodging, zipping to the side like a thunderbolt striking down. The Fire Blast missed Luxio by a mile thanks to that speedy dodge.
"Now head in and use Iron Tail repeatedly!"
"Lux! Lux!" Luxio bolted himself forward as he hardened his tail, turning it into pure steel.
"We won't let you get close! Use Screech!"
"F̶̩̊Ḻ̷̆Y̷̬̑Y̵͕͂Y̸̳͂Y̷̰͆!" Flygon brought Luxio to a screeching halt by emitting an earsplitting sound wave from his mouth.
"X-Xio!" Luxio clenched his teeth, desperately trying to make sure that Screech doesn't greatly affect him.
"Relax Luxio! Use Iron Tail to knock the rocks at Flygon's eyes!"
"Lux!" Luxio chose to strike the rocks from the battlefield instead of pursuing Flygon. By using Iron Tail, Luxio sent some rocks flying towards Flygon's direction, hoping to flinch the Mystic Pokemon with a hit to the eye.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen at all. After all, the red covers on Flygon's eyes protects it from any sand in the desert. And that includes rocks as well. So that strategy was no good.
"Rats!" Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof.
"Now, Flygon! Finish it with Superpower!"
"Gon!" The Mystic Pokemon put a stop to Screech, zooming towards Luxio with a ton of power packed into its claws.
"Here it comes...Jump with Wild Charge and land on Flygon's back!"
"Xio!" Once Flygon got close enough, Luxio used Wild Charge to take off like a rocket in the sky, evading the destructive claws of Flygon and its Superpower. The Spark Pokemon landed on Flygon's back, getting himself a ride.
"Fly?!"
"Oh, what now?!" Spitfire growled.
"Use Iron Tail!"
Whilst riding Flygon, Luxio slammed his hardened tail on Flygon's back, dealing some free damage.
"Flygon! Toss Luxio off!"
"Flygon!" Flygon took to the skies, spinning around as it was trying to get the Spark Pokemon off its back. But Luxio was holding on tight, not letting go for a second as he kept on slamming Iron Tail on Flygon's back. "Gon!"
"Don't let up! Keep using Iron Tail!"
"Lux! Luxio!" Over and over again, Luxio kept beating on Flygon with pure steel whilst Flygon was trying its best to get the Spark Pokemon off its back.
"Flygon! Ascend and let's get this over with!"
"Fly!" Flygon ascended higher into the skies, breaking past even the clouds themselves.
"Hold on tight, Luxio! You can do it!"
"Xio...!" Luxio could feel the breeze of the wind hit his face along with the sun rays which were a bit blinding. However, they weren't blinding to Flygon thanks to its red covers.
"That's way too high up!" Sweetie Belle stood up.
"Just how durable is that Flygon?" Rarity gulped.
"Now! Descend and toss Luxio off your back!"
Flygon had reached a high enough level at this point. The rays of the sun got into Luxio's eyes, making him lose a bit of his focus. Flygon turned around, tossing Luxio off as the Spark Pokemon was now airborne.
"Lux?!"
"End it with Fire Blast!"
"Fly..." Flygon was ready to finally put an end to Luxio with a fully-charged Fire Blast in store. Luxio was falling, screaming as he was unable to recover himself at the moment.
"Not good! Charge down and dodge with Wild Charge!"
"Lu...XIO!" Like a bolt of lightning, Luxio dashed downwards, passing Flygon completely at lightning speeds.
"You won't escape! Aim downwards!"
Flygon redirected itself, sending the Fire Blast downwards instead of upwards. Luxio looked up to see a devastating blast of fire coming his way.
"Head inside of the ground, quick!"
"Xio!" Luxio hopped into one of the many holes around the battlefield, avoiding Fire Blast as the Fire move exploded upon impact on the ground.
"This is getting too intense!" Pinkie pulled her mane. "I can hardly take it all in!"
"Can Luxio even take much more of this?" Fluttershy was getting worried about Luxio's well-being. He's taken some heavy damage in this entire battle and is still standing with tons of electricity building up in him.
"But look! Flygon's a bit banged up too!" Twilight noticed that Flygon's back was twitching. Mostly due to how many Iron Tails connected.
"I gotta say, Crash. It's not many that can give my Flygon a hard time. In fact, this is the first time somepony's lasted this long against Flygon. And I'm going to make sure that this is the last time that ever happens."
"Flygon!"
"Yeah, well keep dreaming! Me and my team are experts at breaking records! I'm winning this no matter what!"
"We'll see..." Flygon! Dragon Tail on the battlefield!"
"Gon!" BY raising its tail, Flygon smashed the draconic move down on the battlefield, causing the ground to shake from a single strike.
"Lux?!" Luxio, who was currently underground, could feel the tremors from Dragon Tail hitting the ground as he looked around his surroundings, waiting for Rainbow Dash to say something.
"Just stay there for a while, Luxio!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"Xio...!" Luxio kept his paws firm on the ground, not moving an inch for a second as Flygon continuously caused mini-earthquakes.
Each hit from Dragon Tail was gradually transforming the battlefield more and more in various ways. As if it wasn't already transformed enough from the previous battles. Rainbow Dash bit her lip, waiting for the right moment to act as Luxio stayed put, not making any sound.
"You can't hide forever! Use Superpower instead!"
"Fly...." Flygon switched it up by transferring Superpower into its tail, replacing it with Dragon Tail as it prepared to deliver the biggest hit on the battlefield. Luxio braced himself, ready for the absolute worst to happen. "GON!"
Flygon smashed the ground with Superpower, shattering the entire battlefield to a point where the sheer might of Superpower forced the ground to rise and tremble. Crevasse's had formed from the impact with hundreds of fractures spread across the area.
The referee squealed, jumping on a large rock to get some safe ground since the battlefield was a bit of a hazard at the moment.
Countless huge chunks rocks flew up into the air along with a massive crater being formed underneath Flygon. The battlefield now looked more like a mountainscape due to how much damage it has taken so far.
"Now! Iron Tail!"
"Lux!" Emerging from underneath the ground, Luxio appeared before Flygon, right up to the Mystic Pokemon's neck. "Xio!" With swiftness and force, Luxio uppercut Flygon's neck with Iron Tail, giving it 100% of everything he had. He even created a compression wave from the impact.
"Fly!" Flygon could feel Luxio's sharp and hard tail strike its neck as a loud clang could be heard. Luxio spun around after the uppercut, landing safely on the now destroyed ground. As for Flygon, it had fallen on its back, unable to handle that final attack.
"Ah! Flygon!" Spitfire gasped.
"F-Fly...Gon."
"OH." The referee raised his head to see how Flygon was doing. By looking at the Mystic Pokemon's current state, the outcome had been decided. "Flygon is unable to battle! Luxio wins!"
"Luxio!"
After possibly the roughest and fastest match yet, Luxio emerged the victor and overcame an impossible odd by defeating a Pokemon that had a huge advantage over him.
"Luxio! You rock!" Rainbow Dash flew up with excitement.
"Xio." Luxio grinned, glad that he managed to make his trainer proud and how he was able to hang in there. His body felt a bit weak as he was struggling to keep his balance.
"Oh! You're not looking too good right now. Get some rest, for now, okay?" Rainbow Dash returned Luxio to let him relax for a while.
"That Luxio sure is something!" Pinkie let out a sigh of relief.
"Next to Fighting-Types, Electric-Type Pokemon seem to have a plethora of resiliency and stubbornness. Even more than the Steel-Types." Rarity nodded.
"You did your best, Flygon. Good job." Spitfire brought Flygon back. "Hm. Alright then. Now that I know how tough and stubborn you and your Pokemon can be...I can take things seriously now."
"Wait! You weren't taking things seriously before?!" Rainbow Dash pulled back.
"Go! Froslass!" Out came Spitfire's third Pokemon, the Snow Land Pokemon Froslass.
"Froslass!"
"Froslass huh? That might be a bit tricky..." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes.
"Form!" Castform flew out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, deciding to face Froslass himself.
"Castform? Do you want to go up against her?" Rainbow Dash looked up at him.
"Cast!" Castform nodded as he gave Rainbow Dash an indication as to why he wanted to face Froslass.
Rainbow Dash realized that it was because Castform and Froslass have no effect on each other as Normal-Types and Ghost-Types unless Castform transforms. Plus, Froslass is a Pokemon that is heavily involved with the weather after all, so this may benefit them.
And of course, they were both thinking about Reflect Type. Despite it being a Normal-Type move it is capable of affecting even Ghost-Type Pokemon.
"Okay! You're up then, Castform!"
"Castform!"
"I think I know what she's planning..." Twilight uttered.
"Watch this...I'll make sure you don't even land a single hit on Froslass. Use Hail!"
"Froslass..." Froslass's body glowed light blue as she ascended to the sky. Thick clouds appeared above the battlefield along with a thick fog as well. As Froslass began to float in the clouds, snow started to fall, landing everywhere on the ruined battlefield. The Snow Land Pokemon was appearing and disappearing all over the place, letting out haunting cries every single time, fitting as Ghost.
"Here it is. Let your cells do the talking Castform!"
"Form!" Castform's cells reacted to the hail, allowing his body to undergo a metamorphosis. A blue and white emanated out of the Weather Pokemon as he transformed into his Snowy Form.
"Alright! Now it's time for Castform to work his magic!" Pinkie cheered.
"Oh no." Ash suddenly realized why Froslass set up Hail.
"What's wrong, Ash?" Twilight turned to him.
"If Froslass is setting up Hail...then that means its ability is Snow Cloak!"
"What's Snow Cloak?" Apple Bloom asked.
"If there's any Hail around, Snow Cloak kicks in. It's an ability that makes it harder for the opponent to hit its mark and helps with Froslass's evasion. This might get rough." Ash explained.
"That doesn't sound good..." Pinkie gulped. "How do they get rid of Hail?!"
"They don't have any Weather moves on them but...back when I battled against a Froslass, Pikachu dealt a ton of damage to her and Hail just vanished after that. So if they can just land one strong hit in..." Ash recalled his battle against Paul's Froslass.
"Pika..."
"Alright, Castform! Use Weather Ball!"
"Cast... Form!" The Weather Pokemon summoned a light-blue energy ball surrounded with ice, firing it towards his target.
"Fross..." Froslass simply stared at the incoming Ice attack as if it wasn't even that big of a deal. And it wasn't. The Snow Land Pokemon disappeared once more, causing Weather Ball to miss completely. Not only that, but Froslass appeared in front of Castform, giving him a fright with eerie howls.
"Cast?!"
"Froslass!" Froslass continued to mess around with Castform, appearing everywhere without even stopping for a second.
"Is she messing with us or something?!" Rainbow Dash growled. "Use Weather Ball repeatedly!"
"Form! Castform!" Rapid Fire energy balls of Ice were unleashed by Castform in hopes of hitting the Snow Land Pokemon with at least one of them.
However, every single of the Weather Balls continued to miss the Ice-Ghost-Type, as Froslass was popping in and out frantically without a predictable pattern whatsoever.
"Look at that! Castform can't hit Froslass at all! And I can barely see where it is most of the time!" The announcer rubbed his eyes.
"Alright, let's attack now! Froslass, use Confuse Ray!"
"Lass!" Froslass appeared above Castform as her eyes flashed purple. She exposed the Weather Pokemon to a bright flashing and sinister ray, triggering Confusion.
"Cast..." The Weather Pokemon felt dazed and befuddled after
"Looks like Castform is confused!" said the Announcer.
"Seriously?! Confusion?!"
"Let's see you try and do something now!"
"Watch us! Use Weather Ball Castform!"
"Form..." Castform could still hear Rainbow Dash's commands, although he couldn't exactly stay focused thanks to Confusion. When he tried to use Weather Ball, he ended up hitting the referee instead, giving him a sudden chill.
"Ow!" The referee winced as he held his face.
"Try again," Spitfire smirked.
"Keep firing Weather Ball until it hits!"
"Form...Cast..." Multiple Weather Balls of ice were unleashed by Castform and every single time, they missed Froslass over and over again. Not because of Froslass's Snow Cloak ability, but instead due to Confusion.
Each of the Weather Balls either destroyed a large rock or almost hit one of the ponies in the crowd, prompting them to duck for cover as the seats were frozen thanks to the ice inside of Weather Ball.
"This is bad...Stop attacking, Castform!"
"Cast..." Castform ceased his attacks as he spun around, trying to figure out which direction he was even facing right now.
"If you want, I can take out Castform right now if that's cool with you?" Spitfire chuckled.
"No need. I've got one move that'll hit Froslass for sure. And it won't matter if she's a Ghost-Type."
"Hm?" Spitfire raised an eyebrow.
"Reflect Type, let's go!"
"Cast..." The one move that Castform could actually pull off without having to focus that much was Reflect Type. Even if Froslass was part Ghost, this was the only Normal-Type move that could affect her since it works on every Pokemon.
A blue and purple aura surrounded both of their bodies as Castform gained a second type that added on to his Ice-Type. Due to his cells being radioactive, the moment he gained the Ghost-Typing, a dark and eerie shadow emerged from the Weather Pokemon's body, causing an outburst of shadows to engulf the entire area.
"Lass?!" Froslass gasped as she was engulfed by this dome-shaped shadow. It was impossible to dodge since it took up the entire battlefield and beyond. Anypony could even see it from afar even if they weren't in Canterlot.
Since Froslass is a Ghost-Type, like Dragons, their own type is super-effective against each other. And once those shadows hit the Snow Land Pokemon, they dealt some heavy damage to her. Finally, Castform had damaged Froslass.
And thanks to the super-effective damage, Froslass's Hail disappeared as the golden sun graced Canterlot once more along with the azure skies.
"Froooosss!"
"How in the?!" Spitfire pulled back
"Nice work! Return, for now, Castform!"
"Cast..." Castform shook his head, hovering back to his trainer as he returned inside of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag.
"So...that explains what happened yesterday in Canterlot Gardens." Spitfire narrowed her eyes.
"Heh. My Castform's extra special. All of my Pokemon are. And we're all in it to win it!"
Spitfire nodded her head in understanding. At first, she somewhat underestimated Rainbow Dash a bit, not taking her too seriously. But after seeing how she managed to take out her Sharpedo and Flygon whilst also showing incredible persistence as her Pokemon were too stubborn to give up, Spitfire knew that she could cut loose and give it her all.
If she wasn't careful, Rainbow Dash could take out her entire team before she even knew it.
"...Alright then. Return, Froslass." She held her Poke Ball out, bringing the Snow Land Pokemon back. "I'll finish this with just one Pokemon. It's go time! Scizor!"
Out came her ace and by far her strongest Pokemon she had on her team. The Pincer Pokemon.
Scizor.
"Sciz!" The Pincer Pokemon let out a mighty battle cry into the sky, asserting his dominance. Everypony here had heard about Spitfire's Scizor. But they've never truly seen it in full action before. This was their chance.
"Scizor...There he is." Rainbow Dash gulped. She was feeling a bit nervous about this. After all, this was the Pokemon who belonged to Equestria's Number one. Her hooves were shaking along with sweat dripping from her forehead. "Alright. Luxio! Out you come!"
She sent out Luxio in hopes of having him tank any of Scizor's Steel-Type moves. Rainbow Dash knows that he has Bullet Punch at his disposal so it was safe bet so far.
"Xio!"
"Zor." Scizor crossed his arms, looking down at Luxio with confidence.
"Luxio! Use, Discharge!"
"Luxio!" The Spark Pokemon sent a blast of electricity towards the Pincer Pokemon as the blast even tore through some rocks.
"Use your steel pincers to conduct them!"
"Scizor!" Scizor held one single pincer out, allowing Discharge to hit him instead of fighting back or dodging. The electricity of Discharge had now become apart of Scizor's singular pincer.
"Oh! Scizor simply took the attack for itself!" The announcer gasped along with Rainbow Dash and Luxio.
"I trained my Scizor for something like this. Why try and fight your weakness when you can use it for yourself?"
"Now. Attack using Swords Dance!"
"Zor!" Scizor's body illuminated light blue suddenly. He quickly zipped across the ground as two blue lights surrounded his pincers, powering up his attack power.
"Use Wild Charge!"
"Xio!" The Spark Pokemon charged in as well but with more force packed into his attack and greater speed as he took off like a lightning bolt.
"Sciz!" Scizor suddenly used his other pincer to grab Luxio's face, stopping him from using Wild Charge as he absorbed the electricity into his other pincer.
"L-Lux?!"
"ZOR!" With the extra power of Swords Dance, Scizor slammed Luxio into the ground.
"XIO!" Luxio cried out as he felt his body hit the hard ground, causing a shock to run through him.
"Luxio! Get out of there by using Discharge."
"X-Xio!" Luxio attempted to break free by shocking Scizor. But it was no use. Scizor had managed to overcome its weakness to Electric-Types by becoming a living conductor.
"It's over. Punch him!"
"Sci...ZOR!" Scizor smashed his pincer into Luxio's chest, causing the Spark Pokemon to cough. The Pincer Pokemon dropped Luxio down like a ragdoll as he shook the sparks of electricity off of him.
"L...L-Luxio..." After all of that damage, Luxio had finally fainted.
"Luxio is unable to battle! Scizor wins!"
"Poor Luxio. Type advantage didn't even matter here." Fluttershy whimpered.
"You were amazing, Luxio. Get a good rest." Rainbow Dash returned him, lowering her head. But she knew this wasn't the end yet.
"So. What's it gonna be Crash? Gonna bring out that Braviary of yours?"
"Grrgh..." Rainbow Dash held out Braviary's Poke Ball. She was tempted to bring him out, but that's exactly what Spitfire wanted. Rainbow looked up into the sky, seeing the sun rays hit on her face. That's when she sparked an idea. "I got it! Castform! You're up next!"
"Form!" Castform snapped out of his confusion, ready to go for round two.
"Gonna copy my type again?"
"Not this time. Ascend into the sky!"
"Castform!" The Weather Pokemon hovered upwards into the air, leaving Scizor behind. Both Scizor and Spitfire were wondering what she could be planning. Whatever it was, they weren't about to let Castform pull it off.
"Bullet Punch."
"Zor!" At ludicrous speeds, Scizor left the ground, leaving a shock wave and a crater behind as he held his pincer out.
"Huh?! Look out, Castform!" Rainbow Dash warned her partner to dodge.
"Ca-" But it was too late. Scizor had already caught up, smashing his hard pincers onto Castform's light and fragile body. "Form!"
"Castform, no!"
"Cast...form..." Castform fell like a feather due to him being the lightest Normal-Type. With just that single Bullet Punch, Castform had fainted.
"Castform is unable to battle! Scizor wins!"
"Castform..." Rainbow Dash's eyes were starting to be filled with dread as she flew over to her fainted partner, picking him up.
"One-shot. This isn't good." Scootaloo bit her hooves.
"Rainbow Dash's plan went nowhere. She was planning on having Castform change into its Sunny form so that it could use a Fire Weather Ball on Scizor." Ash noticed what Rainbow Dash was originally going for.
"Oh no...At this rate, Rainbow Dash only has three Pokemon left." Fluttershy gasped.
"Sorry about that buddy." Rainbow Dash had finally been backed into a corner. This is what she feared would happen. She was doing so well and now it took a huge turn. But it wasn't over yet.
Only 7 minutes remain until this battle comes to an end. She looked at Braviary's Poke Ball, knowing that it was time for her strongest Pokemon to take centre stage.
"It's all up to you. Braviary!" She tossed the Poke Ball up, sending out the Valiant Pokemon.
"Braviary!"
"That's what I was waiting for. Your Braviary." Spitfire grinned. "I saw how powerful that transformation of it was yesterday. That Sonic Rainboom it pulled off was something else."
"Well, you'd better wait and see what else Braviary's capable of!"
"Viary!"
"Hmph. Then, it's only right that I use all of Scizor's strength to take Braviary on." Spitfire held out her hoof, showing off her Mega Ring.
"She's gonna Mega Evolve?!" Twilight stood up as everypony's attention had just skyrocketed to a million.
Spitfire used her wing to press the keystone, activating it upon contact. "Evolution beyond Evolution! Scizor! Mega Evolve!"
Golden lights flared out of the ring, moving in four different directions. With Scizor, blue lights shot out of him as he closed his eyes, letting his heart respond to Spitfire's.
"ZOOOR!" The Pincer Pokemon spread his pincers out as the blue and golden lights clashed together, creating a sync between trainer and Pokemon. Scizor increased in height a bit along with his body hardening even further. As if it wasn't hard already.
Scizor's eyes flashed blue as a burst of infinity energy came out of his steel body, causing a shock wave that sent the referee flying along with most of the boulders around here.
Scizor had Mega Evolved.
"Scizor!"
"T-That's Mega Scizor..." Scootaloo stuttered as she took out her dex.
"Mega Scizor. The Pincer Pokemon. Due to the effects of Mega Evolution, its pincers have taken on a more diabolical form, ripping anything they pinch to shreds. The excess energy that bathes this Pokémon keeps it in constant danger of overflow. It can’t sustain a battle over long periods of time or its body will melt."
"Alright! Gotta get strong! Stronger than ever!" Rainbow Dash and Braviary had also synched their hearts as one. They both had the drive to take down Spitfire and her ferocious Scizor.
Both of them screamed at the top of their lungs as a pillar of rainbows came down from above, engulfing them both. Their emotions and hearts were now in sync as Braviary's eyes flashed magenta. The same colour eyes that his trainer has.
"Viary!" As he spread his wings, Rainbow-Braviary had emerged once more to the crowd as they went wild.
"There it is! That mysterious Braviary!" The announcer was getting all giddy.
"With Rainbow-Braviary, there's no way that she can lose! Come on, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo cheered her on along with her friends.
"Let's go! Aerial Ace!"
"Scizor! Use Bullet Punch!"
"Zor!" Scizor took off like a bullet, pulling his large pincers back as they hardened up with a silver aura surrounding them.
"Brav!" Braviary shot forward, leaving behind a huge dust cloud along the way. Both Pokemon met with their wings and pincers clashing. A single clash from these two created a crater underneath them, just from clashing once.
Scizor used his other pincer to smash Braviary's face, causing the Valiant Pokemon to wince as his head cocked back. Braviary returned the favour by sending Aerial Ace to his face, smashing it against Scizor's.
Both Pokemon forced each other back as Rainbow Dash held her face after that headbutt. "Superpower!"
"Strike with Swords Dance!"
Scizor was the one to approach Braviary first, increasing his attack further with Swords Dance as he raised his arms, ready to give an overhead to the Valiant Pokemon.
Braviary mimicked Rainbow Dash's hoof gesture by crossing his wings together whilst channelling Superpower in them. He used the strength of Superpower to block Swords Dance from causing any damage.
Rainbow Dash lifted her hooves, prompting Braviary to do the same as he pushed Scizor off him. Scizor veered on the ground, running to the side with Swords Dance still active. Braviary kept his eye on Scizor, attempting to predict his next attack.
"Keep your eye on him, Braviary..." Rainbow Dash was also moving her eye in sync, tracking Scizor's every movement.
"Zor!" The Pincer Pokemon suddenly dashed forward, finally going in for an attack.
"There!" Rainbow Dash thrust her hoof forward as Braviary did the same with his wings.
"Grab Braviary's wings!"
"Sciz!" Scizor used both of his pincers to grab Braviary's wings, colliding with Superpower's energy. Now Braviary was caught up in Scizor hard pincers like many of the other victims before him.
"Not this time! Ignite yourself with Brave Bird!"
"Viary!" The Valiant Pokemon surrounded his body with a rainbow aura. This aura was actually capable of matching with the Mega Evolution energy. They were almost identical in power and energy with the rainbow having something unique of its own.
Scizor's pincers felt like they were heating up due to the rainbow aura, prompting the Pincer Pokemon to back off for his own safety.
"Aerial Ace!"
Braviary disappeared and reappeared behind Scizor with blinding speeds, leaving only a rainbow trail behind.
"Night Slash!"
"Zor!" Scizor could tell that his opponent was right behind him as he surrounded his hard pincers in a dark aura, swinging them towards the Valiant Pokemon.
Their pincers and wings had once again clashed, but this time, Braviary only used one wing. The other one was used to catch Scizor off guard as Braviary slashed the Pincer Pokemon's face, knocking him away from him.
"Not enough! Use Superpower! Full Force!" Rainbow Dash raised her hoof.
"Bra...VIARY!" Braviary raised his wings, channelling every ounce of his power into this one attack.
"Getting a bit ahead of yourself there, Crash! Scizor! Use Giga Impact!"
"Scizor!" Scizor had gained an invisible aura around him as he shot himself forward, going for a full-force body charge.
The referee hid behind the largest rock there was in this entire battlefield as he was too terrified to see the outcome of the two moves colliding.
Once they clashed, they immediately entered a struggle, blowing away even the clouds themselves. Both Pokemon were fighting for dominance, trying to break through and land a powerful hit in with their strongest moves.
"Stronger! Push through!" Rainbow Dash exerted more of her energy throughout her own body and Braviary's. They were pushing the limits of their bodies to the max, far beyond what they were even capable of at the moment.
Ash stood up, knowing that this could end poorly for both Rainbow Dash and Braviary. And it wouldn't be by Scizor's actions. Not at all. "Not good! Rainbow Dash! Don't push yourself!"
"PIka-Pika!"
"Sciz..." Scizor dug his knees on the ground as he was actually struggling to hold Braviary back. It looked like the Valiant Pokemon would emerge the victor of this clash.
"That's the stuff! Pu-" And then. It happened. Just like before when Rainbow Dash first activated the Bond Phenomenon with Braviary, that same shock hit her body.
Her eyes widened as her heart suddenly began to speed up. She couldn't feel her hooves, wings or anything really. Both Rainbow Dash and Braviary's battle pulses were separating.
"What the...?" Spitfire had no idea what was wrong with Rainbow Dash at the moment.
"N-No...Not now...Not like this" Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she was desperately trying to move her body but to no avail.
"Sciz?" Scizor noticed that Braviary had stopped putting in any effort into his attacks as his pupils dilated. He stopped using Giga Impact as he knew something was wrong.
The entire crowd wondered what was going on with Rainbow Dash and Braviary, confused as to why they had suddenly stopped out of nowhere.
And just like that, they had both passed out from exhaustion, fainting at the same time.
"Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire gasped, forgetting about the battle and worrying about her friend instead. Her voice echoed through Rainbow Dash's ears, but she couldn't hear her. Not at all. Even the panicking sounds and screams of everypony wasn't enough to reach the trainer and her Pokemon.
Compared to the first time they fainted when overexerting themselves, this was by far the worst one yet. It could practically be considered fatal.
The battle had been officially put to a stop for the safety of a trainer as the outcome of Rainbow Dash and Braviary's condition is unknown.
"I can't move..." Rainbow Dash's thoughts were all that she could hear and utter.
Currently, she was in an empty, pitch-black and unexplained space with nothing but darkness everywhere. She could only look one direction and nowhere else. Her entire body had been paralyzed.
But, the other thing she could see was Braviary who was standing in front of her.
"Braviary...? What's going on? Where are we?"
Braviary didn't respond at all. Instead, he turned around, facing Rainbow Dash for a small moment. After that, the Valiant Pokemon flew up, leaving Rainbow Dash behind.
"Where are you going? Braviary? Come back!" Rainbow pleaded for Braviary to come back for her, but there was nothing else she could do. She couldn't move, look anywhere else or nothing. But eventually, her eyes started to close as she saw Braviary disappear into the darkness.
"Braviary!"
"Gah! Braviary!" Rainbow Dash gasped as she sat up, breathing in and out. She looked around to see that she was currently inside of the Canterlot guest rooms beds. Not only that, but it was night, meaning hours have already passed.
At this point, the tournament had already ended. Everypony had returned home to rest up. But, the tournament didn't have a victor since it was permanently stopped due to Rainbow Dash and Braviary suddenly fainting out of nowhere.
"Where is everypony?" She was wondering where her friends where. And especially where Braviary could be at the moment since he was nowhere to be found. Not even beside the bed. Castform wasn't even present inside of her saddlebag.
Suddenly, the door had opened up, showing that Rainbow Dash wasn't alone anymore. The one who had opened the door was none other than Ash alongside his partner Pikachu.
"Rainbow Dash? You awake?"
"Pika?"
"Ash. Pikachu. You're still here? Is the tournament over?"
"Yeah. It kinda ended hours ago." Ash replied. "Put to a complete stop. Everyone saw how you and Braviary fainted out of nowhere, so Ben called the entire tournament off."
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded.
"...Where's Braviary?!" She gasped.
"He's fine. He and the rest of your Pokemon are getting healed up right now. But Braviary might not be alright the third time."
"W-Why? What do you mean by that?"
"Rainbow. Back there, when you two entered Rainbow-Braviary, you were aiming to win it, right?"
"Right! Both of us were determined, ya know. But I don't know what happened back there. We fainted again. How come?"
Yeah, I know." Ash nodded. "But you pushed yourself too hard with Braviary. The Bond Phenomenon's strong but if you take it too far, it'll put a heavy load on both of you. And if it happens again, then it might get worse."
"Well, how do I stop it from happening again?"
"You and Braviary need to find a perfect balance. Having full control of it really helps."
"Pikachu."
"How do I do that? When I was battling Scizor, I thought I got a pretty good handle of it." Rainbow Dash sighed. "But I guess not..."
"Well...you can become Braviary!"
"...Hah?" Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes, confused on what Ash just said to her.
"It's just another way of you getting stronger. Your Pokemon are strong and they'll get stronger, but if you're gonna withstand the next transformation, you gotta get stronger yourself."
"Pikachu!"
"Oh, so you mean... If I train my body up, I can handle another Rainbow-Braviary?"
"That's right! If you're as strong as Braviary, you can use the true power of the Bond Phenomenon."
"I get you! I'll make sure that happens! Thanks, Ash! But...where's everypony else?"
"Everyone's waiting outside. Let's join em, all." Ash helped Rainbow Dash off the bed.
As the three of them made their way out of the guest room, Braviary and everypony else were standing outside of the castle, waiting for Rainbow Dash to arrive. Even Spitfire was out there since she was worried about her friend and fellow Wonderbolt.
Once Rainbow Dash came out of the castle, her Pokemon immediately rushed over to her with joy.
"Hm? Ah!" She screeched as they all dogpiled her, pinning the pony to the ground. They surrounded her, pecking and hugging her. "You guys! Knock it off!"
"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie bounced towards her. "You're okay!"
"That's good." Spitfire sighed. "Had me worried back there."
"Spitfire. Sorry that I kinda ruined our match. Went a bit too far and knocked ourselves out." Rainbow Dash apologized.
"You don't have to apologize for anything. Ash told me about this Bond Phenomenon thing and how it works. You just couldn't handle all that pressure after all." Spitfire shook her head.
"I thought I had pretty good control of it back when I battled against Vinyl. Guess not." Rainbow sighed.
"Don't even worry about it. Next time, I know you'll master that Bond Phenomenon thing soon. And Scizor and I will be waiting for a rematch in the Equestria League. Right pal?"
"Zor." The Pincer Pokemon nodded.
"We should head back now. It's way too late at night." Twilight looked up at the night sky. "Everypony else already left anyway."
"Right. Come on you guys." Rainbow Dash huddled her Pokemon together. "Let's head home." They all responded to their trainer's words, crying in unison.
The time to leave Canterlot had come along with the abrupt end to the Canterlot Tournament. Whilst a winner hadn't been revealed and the match between Rainbow Dash and Spitfire ended in shock, it was still highly enjoyable as many ponies will never forget this experience.
Ponyville, Night.
It was good to be back in humble Ponyville. Currently, everypony was asleep at the moment with the exceptions being Jade and Cold Colt.
Everypony went their separate ways with Ash and Goh returning to their own world and Rainbow Dash heading back to Cloudsdale.
At her home, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but think of what she saw in her mind. Seeing how Braviary flew away made her think thoughts that she hoped wouldn't come true.
"Why did he fly away? Maybe, Braviary doesn't see me as worthy enough to handle that transformation." She grumbled, looking up at the ceiling. "Nah, that can't be right. Braviary knows that we're compatible. But...What if Braviary leaves me for somepony else who can handle it better?"
Even if she knew that she and Braviary were inseparable, the thought of that happening haunted her. To clear her mind, she decided to head back to sleep until the morning arrives.
Whilst she dozed off in her bed, Braviary forced himself out of the Poke Ball. The Valiant Pokemon looked down on his trainer, seeing how peaceful she looked.
Just like Rainbow Dash, Braviary had similar thoughts. When he fainted, he had a vision of Rainbow Dash leaving him instead. He thought of the worst-case scenario. That he was a danger to Rainbow Dash due to their exertion, resulting in Rainbow leaving him.
And he certainly believed that for a bit. If they were to ever enter Rainbow-Braviary again in the future and push themselves too hard again, then Rainbow Dash's life could potentially come to an end.
After all, a Pokemon is built differently to a point where not even a human or a pony can compete with their capabilities since they far exceed what is possible.
To make sure this would never happen and, Braviary decided to take his focus away from Rainbow-Braviary. Instead, his new focus was working on his standard self.
He believed that if he made his normal form reach its absolute best with the peak of his power, he'll able to help Rainbow Dash throughout any battle without having to use Rainbow-Braviary.
The Valiant Pokemon flew out of Rainbow Dash's home, off to train and get stronger on his own. His method of training involved the Pokemon House. To get stronger, he would have to take on the strongest Pokemon that the house had to offer. At least, that's what he believes.
Arriving at the Pokemon House, he could see that most of the Pokemon here were asleep, aside from the nocturnal ones. All of them weren't enough to really battle on par with Braviary considering how strong he is. Except for one.
Discord's Krookodile was still awake as he acted as a bodyguard to this Pokemon House. The Intimidation Pokemon went up to Braviary, wondering what he was doing here so late.
"Krook." He asked.
"Brav! Braviary!" Braviary found himself the perfect Pokemon to battle against. Krookodile was a naturally strong Pokemon so this was perfect. He pointed his wings at the Ground-Dark-Type, challenging him to a Pokemon Battle. He told him that he needed to get stronger for Rainbow Dash's sake and her safety.
Obviously, since Krookodile's very prideful and stubborn, he was willing to take him on. Although, in this instance, after hearing how he just wanted to protect the trainer he loves, Krookodile respect Braviary, understanding his current drive. He would indeed accept this challenge but for the sake of someone else and not himself for once.
"Dile!" Krookodile told Braviary to give him his best shot.
"Brav!" The Valiant Pokemon started with Aerial Ace, by backflipping in the air and diving down towards the Intimidation Pokemon.
"Krook!" Krookodile responded with Brutal Swing. By surrounding his body in a red aura, the Intimidation Pokemon swiped his claw up at his opponent.
Braviary and Krookodile clashed their claw and wing together, entering a small struggle. Their clash caused a small shockwave that woke up some of the Pokemon in the Pokemon House.
The two Pokemon continuously collided their wings and claws together, waking more Pokemon up from their slumber. Many of the Pokemon here watched the battle, wondering why the two of them were going at it so late at night.
Both of them knocked each other back with each of their attacks hitting the two of them in the face.
"Krook!" Krookodile put his claws on the ground, using Stone Edge to attack next. Blue crystals emerged from the ground, chasing after the Normal-Flying-Type.
"Viary!" Braviary used Steel Wing to crush the crystals by swinging his wings at them. Their battling eventually reached the ears of the Hearing Pokemon Audino, who had woken up from all that noise.
"Audino...?" Audino got up from her bed, looking outside of the window, wondering what could be causing all that ruckus. She spotted the Pokemon wide awake as they were all looking at something in one single spot. She then spotted Braviary and Krookodile going at it together, battling this late at night. "Dino?!"
"Mrrgh...What is it, Audi?" Fluttershy woke up, rubbing her eyes.
"Dino! Audino!" Audino pointed outside, showing Fluttershy the ongoing battle between Braviary and Krookodile.
"Huh? Braviary? Krookodile? Why are they fighting?!" Fluttershy gasped as she flew outside to try and stop this battle, unaware of why they were even battling in the first place.
"Brav!" Braviary butted heads with Krookodile as they stared each other down. Braviary's used his talons to try and strike Krookodile, but the Intimidation Pokemon used his long tail to catch it. The two were locked in place now.
"You two! Stop!" Fluttershy flew over towards the two Pokemon. However, a Noctowl got in the way, preventing Fluttershy from stopping this battle.
"Noct." The Owl Pokemon held his wings out, shaking his head.
"Noctowl? Why are you stopping me?"
"Noct. Noctowl." He explained that they both are battling out of their own agreement. Not out of conflict or spite. He further explained that Braviary came here to improve himself for Rainbow Dash's sake, so Krookodile was helping him get stronger.
"I see. So this must have something to do with Rainbow-Braviary..."
"Krookodile!" Krookodile still had his tail wrapped around Braviary's talons as he used it to swing the Valiant Pokemon around. He then tossed Braviary off him, causing the Normal-Flying-Type to hit a tree as berries fell on his head.
"Braviary..." Braviary held his head, getting up from the ground.
"Dile!" Krookodile shouted at Braviary, asking him if this was all that he could do.
Obviously not. Braviary was capable of much more than anyone else knows. "Via!" The Valiant Pokemon spread his wings out, channelling Superpower through his wings.
Krookodile braced himself for Superpower as he put his claws out. Braviary charged forward at his opponent, focusing all of his strength on only his wings. He thought about Rainbow Dash for a split-second, knowing that he had to do everything in his power to protect her.
With pure determination, Braviary swung his wings at Krookodile, who put up a Protect as a response. Superpower connected with Protect, causing a loud shockwave that woke almost all of Ponyville up.
Fluttershy went into Audino arms as the Hearing Pokemon protected her from the shockwave. Many of the other Pokemon retreated to avoid the shock wave from hitting them.
Braviary couldn't break through Protect but he did manage to push Krookodile back a bit. "Dile."
"Brav." Braviary breathed in and out as his wings twitched a bit. He really did pour all of his power into that one attack and his wings.
"Braviary. Don't overwork yourself." Fluttershy went over to him. "You remember what happened back at the tournament?"
"Vi..." Braviary sighed as Audino healed up his wings with Heal Pulse.
"Thanks for helping him, Krookodile."
"Krook." Krookodile nodded his head.
"You came out here for Rainbow Dash, right? It's so sweet of you wanting to get stronger for her sake."
"Braviary," Braviary explained to Fluttershy that it was also because he wanted to make sure that he wouldn't have to rely on Rainbow-Braviary and improve his current form.
"I see. Rainbow Dash is lucky to have a such a loyal Pokemon like you. If she knew how hard you were working for her own safety, she'd be so incredibly proud of you right now." Fluttershy held up his wings.
"Viary."
"Well, you can continue battling against Krookodile now if you want. Audino and I will be here to heal you up.
"Audino."
"Brav!" Braviary thanked them both as he stood up, facing Krookodile one more time to continue their training until the morning comes.
Along came the morning.
Sun rays hit Rainbow Dash's face as the sounds of Flying-Types could be heard outside of her window. The pegasus got up from her bed, stretching her hooves and yawning. Her Castform had woken up as well, falling out of her saddlebag.
"Finally. Morning." She grumbled. It was a new day for her. A day that she would mostly spend time training herself and her Pokemon.
After hearing Ash's advice, Rainbow Dash was determined to improve herself and to also make herself compatible with Braviary with perfect synchronization.
Looking at her bed, she noticed that Braviary's Poke Ball was open with no sign of the Valiant Pokemon anywhere inside of her home.
"Huh? Braviary?" She picked up the Poke Ball. "Where'd he go?"
"Castform?"
She didn't have to worry about going outside to find him. Because Braviary's training overnight had finally ended. The Valiant Pokemon opened the door by himself, returning home to his trainer.
"Brav."
"There you are. Did you go out for a morning fly or something?"
"Viary." Braviary shook his head. Rainbow Dash noticed that his wings had some bandages wrapped around them as he was a bit tattered up after his battle with Krookodile all night.
"Braviary! What happened?! You look beat up!" She flew over to him.
"Bra-Braviary." Braviary laughed, knowing that Rainbow Dash had no idea why this was the case.
"You got into a battle, didn't you? Did you at least win?"
"Vi," Braviary answered the form of a head shake. In truth, there wasn't actually a winner in their training session since it was just to improve himself. But he made Rainbow Dash think so to make her feel better.
"Well, great job!" Rainbow flew over to him, hugging her partner as she felt his warm feathers on her. She then decided to bring up what she saw in her mind. "You know...I'm kinda worried that maybe...you don't see me as worthy enough, ya know. Like I'm just holding back your true power."
"Brav." Braviary knew that wasn't the case at all. He placed his feathers around Rainbow Dash to comfort her, letting her know that she wasn't holding him back at all. If anything, they were both currently struggling to bring out their best. But that's why they're working together to get stronger.
Even though Rainbow Dash couldn't fully understand Pokemon language like Fluttershy, she could tell that Braviary truly does see her as the best partner he could ever ask for. Knowing that made Rainbow Dash tear up a bit.
"Yeah. Let's get stronger together! Okay, buddy?"
"Braviary!"
A bond between a trainer and Pokemon is unbreakable. The Canterlot Tournament has come to an end. But one thing that won't end is Rainbow Dash and Braviary's drive to get stronger to reach the absolute pinnacle of their power as the journey continues.
Yet another newly formed area in the Equestria specifically for the Pokemon. This was also another location that held many Fairy-Type Pokemon and the boundless love and happiness they hold.
Unfortunately, many of these fairy locations have recently been under attack by Chrysalis and her changelings. After Ghetsis informed her about the amount of love Fairy-Types hold, the entire changeling hive had a field day.
And the Pixie Plains was one of them. Chrysalis had arrived at the plains with other changelings feeding on all the Fairy-Types present here. Even the ones that were hiding from her.
"Wonderful!" Chrysalis held a Floette up with her magic as the Single Bloom Pokemon was trying to break free. She gladly fed on Floette's love, already feeling a great amount of magic fill her up.
"Flo! Floette!"
"I could stay here for the entire day, actually." Chrysalis spun Floette around. "It would be a perfect breakfast, lunch and dinner."
As the changelings had their fill of love, Team Plasma was also present in the Pixie Plains. They weren't assisting Chrysalis and her changelings at all.
Instead, Ghetsis had sent some of his grunts to investigate something in particular. That something was none other than the many Dynamax dens scattered across Equestria thanks to Lucien's actions.
There were a few dens here and there with their red lights but one single den in these plains and it emanated a purple pillar of light, indicating that a rare and powerful Pokemon resides in it.
Colress had heard about Dynamax but he's been so focused on other projects that he never got the chance to learn more about it. But he finally had that chance at long last.
Ghetsis found Dynamaxing to be intriguing. A Pokemon growing in size due to the energy radiating from those dens was another potential tool he could utilize.
But what really got their attention was Gigantamax Pokemon. Going beyond Dynamax and changing their forms completely. Few Pokemon were actually capable of Gigantamaxing.
He even thought about Dynamaxing his Hydreigon. Imagining how huge it would be whilst asserting his rule over everyone was already giving him splendid ideas. Ghetsis himself was currently present in this world along with Colress concerning the Dynamax Phenomenon.
The grunts set foot in the Pixie Plains, watching as Chrysalis and her changelings went on with their love feeding session. They took his eyes off of that, only focusing on the real prize here.
The Dynamax Dens.
Colress had contacted the grunts with information concerning the Dynamax Dens.
"Have you found any dens yet?" Colress asked.
"Yes. But there seems to be a different coloured one up ahead over there." A grunt pointed over a small elevated piece of land that had a single den sticking out. "But...these appear to be purple instead of their usual red. Should we approach it?"
"Do it. I've found out that the two colours of each Dynamax pool represent something. Red means a weak Dynamax Pokemon whilst purple represents a rare and powerful Dynamax Pokemon."
"They do?"
"Right. Each pool has a type theme, where almost all Pokémon that can appear in that pool share a particular type; Pokémon that do not match the type theme typically have an evolutionary relative who does. A den's common pool and rare pool usually are the same type but not necessarily. Approach the den and you'll find yourself a rare Fairy-Type for sure. Use the device I gave you to Dynamax your Pokemon."
"Alright. Let's go." The grunts approached the Dynamax den, preparing themselves for whatever powerful Fairy Pokemon might emerge.
As they got closer they could see purple particles fly up from the ground and the den. When they reached the den, they could hear sounds coming out of it. Possibly from either the light of the den or the Pokemon.
"Since it'll always be Fairy-Type..." The female grunt held out a Poke Ball. "Using Poison is the way to go."
They knew that the only way they could enter the den was by entering that huge open hole with the pillar rising out. There were 4 of them in total, so they would be enough to overwhelm whatever Pokemon lies inside.
Once they set foot inside of the Dynamax den, the grunts were met with a barren and rocky landscape filled with red and purple lights flaring everywhere.
The inside of the den may be uninteresting, but the Pokemon inside wasn't. The second they arrived, the Fairy-Type in question that was inside of here was none other than a Gigantamax Hatterene.
"HATT...."
In this Gigantamax form, Hatterene looked a bit different from what it usually looks like. Thanks to powerful Dynamax energy that allowed it to assume a Gigantamax form, Gigantamax Hatterene has grown to a colossal size, while its physiology remains vastly the same.
The Silent Pokemon looked down at Team Plasma, seeing as they had arrived at her den. In this Gigantamax form, Hatterene is capable of reading emotions from 30 miles away. The minute it senses hostility, it goes on the attack. It’s known to some as the Raging Goddess. And it could feel the hostility coming from Team Plasma.
"Alright, you. Let's get this over with. Colress requires data on Gigantamax Pokemon, and you're a good catch." The female grunt said.
Those words didn't sit well with the Silent Pokemon at all. It now had a logical reason to attack them all.
"Come out! Seviper!" She had sent out her Seviper for this battle.
"Sevi!"
The other grunts sent out some Poison and also Steel-Type Pokemon to gain a huge advantage over Hatterene who was unfortunately weak to all of them. They consisted of Salazze, Aggron and Escavalier.
"Now..." The female grunt held out the device Colress gave her. It was a sort of metal bracelet that allowed her to Dynamax any of her Pokemon. Usually, Dynamax takes a strong bond between trainer and Pokemon to pull off, but with this bracelet, it forces the Pokemon to Dynamax. "Seviper! Dynamax!"
A red light burst out of the bracelet as Seviper's body started to pulsate. Its body felt the Dynamax energy swell up from within as it was distorting the space around it to change its size while affecting the world. Much like how every Dynamax Pokemon does.
Seviper's body pulsated three times until it finally reached the expected Dynamax size for any Pokemon, minus a few exceptions here and there.
"SEVIPER!"
"Good. What did Colress say those moves were called? Oh, right. Max Ooze!"
"VI!" The Fang Snake Pokemon spun its body around, gathering up lethal poison from its tail. Once Seviper swung its tail, three streams of poison flew forward towards the Psychic-Fairy-Type.
"Hatterene formed a protective barrier around her body, using Max Guard to shield herself from the Poison move. However, once she let her guard down, one of the grunts had used Toxic by shooting a ball of poison at her body, poisoning the Silent Pokemon.
"TERRENE!" Hatterene winced after being poisoned as she closed her eyes. She went on the attack this time by using its tentacles to shoot down beams of lightning towards all of the Pokemon here.
The Pokemon were ordered to dodge the beams of lightning as they then began to overwhelm Hatterene by attacking all at once. With Hatterene poisoned, a Salazzle had used Venoshock to drench Hatterene in a poisonous liquid stream which dealt double the damage due to the poison effect.
"Wrap around Hatterne and hold her down, Seviper!"
"VIPER!" The Fang Snake Pokemon slithered forward, wrapping its enlarged body around the Silent Pokemon, constricting Hatterne whilst Seviper's sword-like tail pokes her back. Even her tentacles had been caught up by Seviper.
"T-TERRENE! HATT!"
With Hatterene being held down by Seviper, this prompted the rest of the Team Plasma grunts to attack while she was defenceless. An Escavalier used Swords Dance to strike its sharp lances into Hatterene's body, an Aggron used Iron Tail to strike her legs while Salazzle used Sludge Bomb.
Hatterene tried her best to break free but every time she struggled, Seviper's grip tightened. She was bombarded by Super-effective moves, causing the Silent Pokemon to wince and cry out in pain.
"Let's finish this! Toss Hatterene up!"
"SEVI!" By using all of its strength, Seviper had moved a bit of its body back while still keeping its tail wrapped around Hatterene. The Fang Snake Pokemon then picked her up like a ragdoll, tossing Hatterne high into the air.
Hatterene didn't just go up, she had been forced out of the den itself. The ground itself was erupting all of a sudden, causing Chrysalis and the Changelings to quake along with the Fairy Pokemon.
"What is that?!" Chrysalis looked around, wondering what was causing that tremor. She then looked over to notice something arise near some of her changelings.
Hatterene flew out of the ground underneath, hitting the changelings in the process as they were knocked into the air.
"Now! Finish it with Max Ooze!"
Seviper delivered the final blow by shooting yet another stream of poison upwards through the hole that Hatterene crashed through. The ooze engulfed Hatterene and even the changelings themselves, hurting not just one individual but many instead.
Chrysalis gasped as she saw some of her changelings take the poisonous attack directly. Hatterene and the changelings fell on their back with their bodies twitching uncontrollably. Hatterene obviously was badly hurt but not as hurt as the changelings who didn't have the same resistance as a Pokemon.
The grunts hopped out of the den, ready to capture their first Gigantamax Pokemon for themselves. The female grunt held the Poke Ball in her hand, throwing it directly at the Silent Pokemon. Hatterene at first tried to whack the ball away with her tentacle but she was too injured to do so. The red light of the Poke Ball pulled her in as it began to shake.
1...2...3...Gotcha!
Hatterene had been caught by Team Plasma.
"That settles that. Dynamax battling may be slow but it's so easy." She chuckled, picking up the Poke Ball. Seviper reverted to its normal size after that battle.
Chrysalis teleported over to the injured changelings, having a worried look on her face. They had horrible scars all over their body as they were on the ground, twitching and whimpering in pain.
Chrysalis growled as she turned around to face the grunts, knowing that this was their doing. "YOU! How dare you!"
"Hm? What's your problem?" A grunt said.
"Problem?! Look at what you've done to them! Their bodies have been horribly poisoned thanks to your actions!"
"Pssh. Whatever. If you have an issue, go talk to Lord Ghetsis about it." The female grunt scoffed at her. "Let's head back."
"You ca-" Chrysalis attempted to lash out at them, but Aggron and Salazze got in her way, preventing her from attacking. Chrysalis backed off, knowing that she may end up harming herself if she battles these two.
With her changelings injured, there was one individual she could scold for this.
"Ghetsis!" Chrysalis went up to Ghetsis who was about to return to Pyrestar's world as a gateway was in front of him.
"Hm? What do you want?" He turned around.
"Look at this!" She held her injured changelings with her magic, placing them down on the ground. They still hadn't been healed yet as they were essentially suffering at this point. "The reckless action that you and your grunts did severely injured my subjects with poison scars and gashes!"
"That so?"
"Keep them in check to avoid any more of this happening in the future!"
"And why should I?" Ghetsis raised an eyebrow, shocking Chrysalis with that response.
"Why should- Do you not realize what this caused?! If we're an alliance, we need as many of our own armies as we can! This type of action can ruin that!"
"Team Plasma gets the job done. We have little time to care about casualties. Perhaps tell your changelings to move somewhere else when my men begin working."
"Why you...How can-" Chrysalis flew up to Ghetsis out of frustration and anger, however, Ghetsis pointed his staff at her neck, holding the Changeling Queen in place.
"Listen here you..." Ghetsis looked down on her with a menacing glare. "The only reason why I have kept you and your subjects around is that I find your ability to shapeshift slightly more useful than Ditto but less obvious than Zoroark. I do not care about your wellbeing or lives whatsoever."
"W-What...?" Chrysalis stammered.
"If I wanted to, I could destroy all of your subjects and you in a flash with my Hydreigon if I so willed it. Whatever happens to them is none of my concern. You should've known this from the very beginning."
"So... You were just using us then?"
"Obviously." Ghetsis removed his staff. "It shouldn't have been this difficult to figure it out. Now get lost."
"You think you can just use my subjects like that...?" Chrysalis narrowed her eyes as her horn glowed green. "Ghetsis!"
"Hydreigon. Hyper Beam." Ghetsis ordered his Hydreigon to fly over to the poisoned changelings to attack them while they were still defenceless and greatly hurt.
Chrysalis gasped to see Hydreigon opening its mouth with a blast of energy being built up in all three mouths. "Wait! Don't hurt them!" Chrysalis teleported over to her changelings, standing in front of them and protecting them from Hydreigon.
"They're already suffering. Best to put them out of their misery, don't you think?" Ghetsis walked up to her with a smirk.
"Please don't! They're defenceless! They cannot do anything right now!"
"Hydreigon. Hold your fire."
"Drei..."
"I'll let them go. But if you want them to live, you'll have to figure that out on your own. And next time, whatever happens, don't come crying to me. Or else I'll make sure your entire species is wiped from the face of the planet. This alliance is only temporary after all. After this, I won't need you anymore. Understood?"
"I-I understand." Chrysalis lowered her head, speaking in a lower tone.
"Good. Let's go, Hydreigon." Ghetsis left to Pyrestar's world by passing through the gateway.
A sense of dread and defeat had been implanted into Chrysalis. She's been defeated before but not like this. She was already terrified of Ghetsis ever since she tried to steal some love from him but now, her fears had skyrocketed to a gigantic degree.
She looked down at her changelings, seeing how they were suffering from the poison gashes continuously pulsating over and over again.
"I will get you all some help. There has to be something." She used her magic to pick up the poisoned changelings as she set off to find a cure for them.
Chrysalis had no idea where to go but she had to try somehow. If there was a Pokemon for everything, then there's certainly a Pokemon that can erase these horrible poison scars from them.
The one Pokemon type she assumed would help were the Fairy-Types due to their magical and healing nature they always carry around them.
Although, after what she and her changelings did, she didn't think that it would be a good idea to head back to the Pixie Plains and ask for their help. If anything, they'd most likely deny them.
But, Chrysalis arrived at the Pixie Plains anyway. She knew that the Fairies despised her after what she did. So there was no point in staying here. She decided to head off somewhere else.
However, to her surprise, the Fairies flew over to the changeling queen. What makes the Fairy-Type so loved is that they don't care about alignments whether its good or evil. If someone needs healing, they'll be there. Although there are some exceptions.
A Clefable used the move Refresh to erase the Poison gashes away from their bodies. A green light circled them as the changelings no longer felt any poison swelling up from within them at all. It was that easy when you're a Fairy-Type.
And to heal up their wounds, Aromatisse used Heal Pulse to get them all back to full strength. That double healing made it look like the changelings were never hurt in the first place.
"You healed them...? Even after what we did?" Chrysalis turned to the Pokemon.
"Clefairy!"
"Aromatisse!"
Chrysalis had no idea what to think for a moment. The Pokemon that she stole love from gave some love back to her by healing up her subjects to full strength. She saw how the changelings flew around, feeling better than ever.
"T-Thank you." Chrysalis thanked the Fairy Pokemon. The Pokemon thanked her back as they got on with their day.
Chrysalis had actually decided to leave this area alone. She no longer had the drive to steal love from the Pixie lands because of two reasons. The first was Ghetsis knocking her down and the second was the compassion from the Fairy-Types themselves.
She returned to the hive with her healed up changelings, glad that they were alive and alright. But now, she had a new thought circling inside of her mind. Once this alliance ends, it was hard to tell if Ghetsis meant that he'll just leave them behind or obliterate them all.
Nevertheless, Chrysalis was scared for the future. Whatever Ghetsis and Team Plasma does next is a potential living nightmare as the journey continues.
It was another one of those days. The day where Celestia is allowed to kick back, relax and take a load off. Thanks to her saving both worlds, she was allowed to take a break as many times as she wants.
Although, she does it very rarely since she cares about her subjects and all of Equestria so much. But she wasn't afraid to take a break once in a while. And what better place other than Alola to break in than Undella Town. The town of rippling waves.
"Here we are, Passion. Arcanine. Undella Town." Celestia spoke. She looked over at the many villas that weren't occupied at all. Normally, Undella Town is visited for summer vacations so the villas are unused until summer arrives.
But at the moment it wasn't summer. That didn't stop Celestia from choosing this place as her relaxation spot. Plus, the sun here is extra hot today so it was worth staying here.
Celestia brought along a chair where she could just lay on her back take in the golden sun of Unova all day long. She wasn't really planning on doing that much today. She was just going to take things slow and easy until the day ends.
Arcanine went off to lay in the sand and roll around it whilst Passion stayed next to Celestia at all times. Celestia laid the chair down, resting on as she brought along her sunglasses to fit the mood.
"Ah...There's something about the Pokemon world that gives me a special warmth." Celestia took a deep breath.
"Kirlia." Passion nodded in agreement.
"It really is a perfect place to just calm your nerves and recline."
"It truly is." A familiar voice replied to her.
Celestia turned her head to the right, seeing who it was that replied to her. She was obviously expecting a human of course, but the human, in particular, was someone she's seen before and heard about.
Cynthia.
She was also in the same position as Celestia with sunglass on as well. The Champion of Sinnoh turned around to spot the Ruler of Equestria sitting right next to her as they were finally meeting each other for the very first time.
"...Cynthia?!" Celestia stood up.
"Princess Celestia?!" So did Cynthia.
"I didn't expect to see you here. Are you here to relax as well?"
"I sure am. But, your presence here surprises me more than anything. I would've thought you were back at Canterlot, occupied."
"I could say the same thing for you. I assumed you were at the Pokemon School since you're the Principal there."
"The school isn't open on weekends so this is one of the few times I'm away from it. And I couldn't help coming back here again."
"I see. Do any of these villas belong to you by any chance?"
"Mhm. I have my own personal villa instead of a rented one. Undella Town is where I can just get away from it all. Although...for the most part."
"Hm? Why? Does something happen here that interrupts your break?"
"One consistent thing. Trainers constantly coming here to challenge me. It's hard to catch a break when you're a champion. Everyone is always seeking you. I've had possibly a hundred challengers come here constantly. I hope the other champions don't have it as rough." Cynthia sighed.
"Well, one of them certainly does. Ash has managed to have as much free time as he wants whilst being both a champion in his world and hero throughout all of Equestria."
"Oh, you know Ash? I'm not surprised by that at all." Cynthia nodded. "But I didn't know he was a hero in your world."
"Oh, he is. And for many reasons. But I've never seen a hundred trainers challenge him. Usually, he just enjoys spending time in Equestria with his friends and he occasionally battles."
"That's good. It's nice that Ash is living his best life with a ton of freedom. Wish I could say the same for me."
"Why not change your vacation spot? I hear that Alola is a perfect place to relax. I've been there once with my sister and it truly does feel like a familiar place."
"Alola does sound nice..." Cynthia thought about it for a bit. "But then again, they always find me one way or another. And I predict in a few hours, another trainer will arrive."
"Well, I can see you also have a lot of weight to hold. Apologies if being a principal at the Pokemon School makes it worse."
"It doesn't. After all, I asked to be the principal myself. Teaching a whole other world about Pokemon is something I never knew I would end up taking an interest in. I don't regret it for a second."
"I wish it was that easy when I became the ruler of Equestria." Celestia looked to the side.
"Was it not?" Cynthia asked.
"Sadly no." Celestia sighed, looking up at the sky. "If anything, I was hesitant, skittish, volatile and just overall scared. But at the same time excited and happy."
Celestia started to reminisce the day she became a true princess and the ruler of all of Equestria. It was one of those many memories that never left her mind for a second since it was such an important moment in her life.
If it wasn't for the encouraging words of my family, I would've never been able to put on that crown and tackle the grand life that was approaching my way.
A young Princess Celestia who was about Twilight's current age sat a table with a mirror in front of her.
Her mane at this point wasn't ethereal or cosmic at all. But, she was an alicorn along with her parents. In her hooves, she held a golden crown that had a purple gem inside of it. Her mother Sunlight once wore this crown, and the gem inside was a gift from a certain siren that Sunlight met.
The young alicorn was shaking uncontrollably as she looked at the mirror, unsure if she was ready to be a real princess. She whimpered and looked down at her crown, having seconds thoughts about all of this.
Her mother and father, Sunlight and Eventide came through the door, wondering why their daughter was taking so long.
"Celestia? You've been in here for a while now. Everypony is waiting outside to see you be crowned as ruler of Equestria." Sunlight said.
"Is something the matter?" Eventide asked.
"Well, I...I..." Celestia stumbled on her words. "I'm just surprised that I've made it this far in my life. I'm not sure how to feel right now."
"Ah. Nervous are we? I see." Eventide nodded.
"Celestia, dear. We knew something like this would happen eventually. Especially today." Sunlight walked up to her daughter. "Remember?"
"I remember. You and father couldn't sit still for a second. The crowning coronation was almost a complete disaster."
"...Yes. You don't need to remind us..." Eventide turned around, sighing. "I hope the future coronations don't end being disastrous as ours.
"Even though it was a complete mess, do you recall how you and your little sister Luna were there to support us both?"
"I do. You both looked silly throughout it all." Celestia laughed, recalling some hilarious moments. "But, Luna and I were happy that you two ended up becoming so important. After all, you told me that you've never dreamt of reaching this point in your life."
"Indeed." Eventide went over to the two of them. "Your mother and I were of two completely different origins. She's is of royal blood and I was just an average pony."
"But when we crossed paths one day and ended up together, we only had our sights set on a simple and peaceful future. And as time went on, we had you and later on, Luna. Even though I have royal blood within me, I was never meant to be the ruler of Equestria in the first place."
"You weren't?"
"No. Even when marrying your father. I was inconsistent with my studies, wandering off to enjoy the simple things in life and such. My teachers would always scold me once I returned. My parents already knew that from the way I behaved, I wasn't exactly fit to be a princess."
"And when I came along, she spent more time with me than her studies." Eventide explained. "And when you and Luna were born, we almost forgot about everything else and only put all of our focus onto you two."
"You did spend a lot of time with Luna and me." Celestia nodded. "But when you two became alicorns, you were always so busy. I only saw you during the morning and the evening." She lowered her head.
"And I suppose that is one of the reasons why you are so hesitant, right?" Eventide questioned.
"Yes. If I become the ruler of Equestria...will I ever get to see my friends again?" Celestia whimpered, holding the crown close to her. "I don't know if I want to be crowned."
"Celestia. Time and time again, you've proven to overcome any obstacle that comes your way even when we weren't there. And even when you struggled, you had us and Luna to support you. Just like how the two of you supported us at our coronation, we shall support you as well."
"Really?"
"Really. And when Luna is crowned, we shall give even greater support to her without question." Eventide nodded.
"Thank you. Mother. Father. I think I'm ready."
On that day, Princess Celestia became the official ruler of Equestria. It wasn't just her family that supported her. Even her own friends and teachers did the same, only boosting her confidence. Celestia would've been a completely different pony if it wasn't for the ones close to her helping the young princess become the pony that she is today.
"Just thinking about makes me so nostalgic." Celestia closed her eyes before opening them again. "Oh, sorry. I supposed I rambled on long enough."
"I quite enjoyed that. Sounds like you've had an eventful life after that." Cynthia replied.
"Eventful is an understatement. In fact, I would even say that the past doesn't compare to the present day. Pokemon are on a completely different level." Celestia picked up Passion with her hooves. "Meeting Passion is one of them. She's without a doubt one of the greatest things to ever happen in my entire life."
"Kir!" Passion put her arms on Celestia's face, mushing it around as they both laughed.
"I can see that you and your Kirlia are very close. Reminds me of how Garchomp when she was still a Gible."
"Kir. Kirlia!"
"Passion and I were close the moment we first met in Lilycove City. But it wasn't until her power started to become unstable that we really became closer as a duo."
"Lia!"
"Well. Laying around is relaxing, but I feel like taking part in some activities. What is there to do here in Undella Town, actually?"
"Well, apart from the trainers coming here for a battle, Undella is a fairly laid-back area. There isn't much to do than just relax. It is a vacation spot after all."
"I suppose so. Passion. Why don't we go for a small swim then?"
"Kirlia!" Passion liked the sound of that.
The two of them spent their time in the sea, taking in the soothing aura that it's filled with. Cynthia sent out her Milotic to swim with them. They started having a generally good time with nothing but peace filling the air.
However, that would all change soon with the presence of two particular individuals. Lucien and Sienna. For once they weren't hanging around a cloud in Equestria. Instead, they had decided to interact with Celestia herself. Or rather, Sienna decided since this was her plan.
The Rift duo were now on a Unova cloud instead, observing Celestia and also Cynthia who they were a bit intimidated by for obvious reasons.
"Alright, Sienna. This is Princess Celestia we're talking about. So whatever your plan is, it has to be effective enough to match Celestia's skills." Lucien said to her.
"Oh, it will be. Hear me out on this. I say we do something we only tried once and never again." Sienna raised her finger.
"Like what exactly?"
"Remember that time I almost ruined the day the CMC got their Cutie Marks?"
"Oh, yeah. I remember. You created a creature that's formed by someone's obsessions or struggles and it drains their life force. By accident of course."
"That's the one! Best idea I've had if I do say so myself." Sienna stood up with pride. "But it didn't last that long. So I'll just make it happen for real this time. And I'll go a step further!"
"Step further? What are you gonna do?"
"Well. How about...oh! They have one goal in mind. To gain a complete body from the host they were created from! After all, they're just living energy. So they're not that physical."
"Huh...that does sound pretty eventful. But what can they even do? They can't just walk around mindlessly."
"Hehehe. They're mindless for sure. But they've got some neat abilities with them! Let's start small first!" Sienna raised her hands, scattering three cosmic rays that went towards Undella, Humilau City which was right near Undella and Route 13 which was north from here
The three humans were hit by these rays, unaware that they were even affected since the rays don't cause any shock or impact when they enter someone. As such, they all went on with their day, oblivious to what was about to occur based on their own emotions and desires.
Humilau City was the first to be affected. A city with a population of only 32, making it a medium-sized city by Unova standards. Despite it being a resort city with calm and sparkling seas, one human was a bit uneasy. Besides everyone here who are always laid back and calm, this human was an exception for one reason.
A woman who was obsessed with a TV show she desired to be a success. This TV was small and new since she made it herself. However, it wasn't gaining any traction whatsoever. And it had been 2 months now with no attention given to it.
"Still nothing..." The woman sighed as she held her Poke Ball. "What am I doing wrong?"
The woman felt like her dream show wouldn't go anywhere at all. That it will be left in the dust forever in obscurity. That negativity and desire to be big formed the first entity.
Just like before, the creature looked exactly like the host it had been formed from. However, they had no face whatsoever. They were only a body outline made out of cosmic energy.
The entity forced itself out of the woman, causing her to fall on her back due to the sheer force of the energy-releasing out of her. She looked up in shock to see this unexplained apparition that looked exactly like her in every way shape and form. Minus the face.
"W-What are you?!" She stammered as her Corphish came out of the Poke Ball to defend its trainer.
"Corphish!"
"Dream big..." The entity suddenly spoke. It sounded exactly like the woman only with a slightly distorted voice that sounded like 7 voices in one.
The word Dream big was all it kept on saying. It was only uttering those words due to the woman's dream to be big on television. This only confused the woman even further as she had no idea how to react.
The entity began working on a way to obtain a complete body. And that's when Sienna's extra touch came in. When she said that they have abilities with them, she wasn't lying at all. Due to the woman's relation with TV, this entity had the ability to convert itself into electrons and teleport with them.
The entity transformed into living electrons, heading inside of the woman's TV, it was capable of tampering with every piece of electricity in the entire city. The inside of the woman's house had lost of all of its power, causing her bulb to explode.
Even her fridge, microwave, vacuum cleaner and other appliances were ruined by this entity's influence and abilities. And it looked like she was powerless to stop it along with her Corphish who had no idea what to attack.
She screamed as everything containing electricity was being obliterated left and right. The camera she used to film herself had been blown up by the entity's actions.
But of course, the creatures had the ability to steal the life force of the host they came from. And they all had their own way of doing it. For this particular entity, it turned on the TV, showing the woman her TV show that never made it big.
The entity could absorb the life force of its host by simply letting her watch the show. But it didn't stop with its host. It immediately went for every TV in Humilau, turning every single one of them on.
Anyone who watched the video would end up having their life force being slowly taken away from them. And after that, they would end up in a catatonic state. This was what the woman wanted in the first place. For everyone to see her TV show.
But not like this.
For the other two humans nearby, their entities had already been formed faster the woman's entity.
One young trainer on Route 13 had created an entity based on his desire to beat Cynthia herself, much like most trainers who come to Undella Town. Although, this trainer had actually battled Cynthia a few times and was coming back for a rematch in hopes of winning.
His entity was a representation of himself. But since he was a Pokemon Trainer, he came equipped with Poke Balls to represent the perfect team that he trained for Cynthia. This entity had an Omnidirectional Vision that allowed it to see in multiple places at once.
This vision ability represented his plan to defeat Cynthia as it was looking in all directions to watch out for any of Cynthia's Pokemon due to how strong and fast they were.
And the final human had their entity formed. A man who was stressed out from working at his job to support both his girlfriend and himself. He was a worker who worked at Driftveil City's Cold Storage. A warehouse where many perishable products were being kept.
He had to wake up at 5:00 in the morning and come home at 9:00 in the night. His job wasn't very kind to him. He could barely spend time with his lover who he constantly supported.
However, his time in the Cold Storage was really starting to get to him. Each time he returned home, he could always feel the chill of the storage flow through his body.
As such, the entity created from him had access to Ice-Type Pokemon and even some Cryokinesis.
These three entities got to work. The young trainer's entity set off to recklessly battle anyone it comes across on. It wouldn't care about collateral damage as it just wanted to get stronger.
And as for the worker's entity, it was planning on freezing most of Undella and Humilau and possibly all of Unova if it grows stronger.
"Done and done!" Sienna dusted her hands. "Once these three are defeated, we can use more of these living desires..." That's when she came up with the perfect name for the entities. "That's it! I'll call them Desires!"
"Desires huh...? I could've come up with something better." Lucien was not impressed.
The two Desires of the man and woman had already made some progress on their actions with most of the electronics being destroyed one by one along with Humilau City being slowly frozen over.
The young trainer's Desire had actually come across some Fishermen who were just minding their own business until the Desire decided to battle them.
The Fishermen were a bit confused on what they were looking at as they didn't really have the spirit to take on this odd walking energy creature. However, their Pokemon were there to defend them.
What fills up this Desire is that whenever it defeats someone in a Pokemon Battle, it takes some of their life force to complete its body.
The Desire sent out a Beartic that belongs to the original host. But there was something off about this Beartic. This Beartic had the same cosmic outline as the Desire, however, it actually had the visible body of a Beartic inside of being an outline.
The Pokemon belonging to the Fishermen were all defeated quickly by the fake Beartic with just a single Freeze Dry, which was a move that was even super-effective on Water-Types.
When the Beartic battled, it battled recklessly to a point where the entire Route had taken some damage with Beartic's ferocious Ice-Type moves. The way this Desire battled was not like a usual Pokemon Trainer. For starters, it even commanded the Beartic to attack the trainers themselves. Not just their Pokemon.
As a result, it ends causing great harm to others without any sense of its surroundings. All of Route 16 had been frozen over by Beartic's destructive moves as ordered by the Desire.
With that victory, the Desire had taken some of the life force of the Fishermen it had defeated, making its way towards Undella. And if it anyone else ends up seeing it, the Desire will go up against them as all well for the sake of victory.
The original host of the trainer was on the ground as he had fainted from the Desire coming out of his body. He woke up, wondering what had just happened as he looked around his surroundings.
"...What was that...?" The trainer held his head. He noticed up ahead that the entire Route had been frozen over along with the Fishermen currently being in a catatonic state with a bit of their life force missing from them.
He was unaware that an apparition of himself was on the loose, battling anyone it came across without any care whatsoever.
"Kir!" Passion could sense something wrong. Her being the emotion Pokemon made her notice that there was an odd mixture of emotions nearby.
From what Passion could tell, the emotions were moving as if they were sentient. And in fact, they were. She turned around to see the first Desire arrive. That being the young trainer's.
The Desire simply stood there with a lifeless stance. Cosmic sparkles flowed out of its body as it kept saying the word Victory over and over again. Its cosmic body let out an unnatural noise that sounded like the universe itself howling endlessly.
"Kirlia! Kir!" Passion nudged Celestia, grabbing the attention of her trainer.
"What's wrong, Passion?" Celestia turned to the Emotion Pokemon.
"Lia!" Passion pointed her arms over at the Desire, showing it to Celestia.
"What is that thing?!" Celestia gasped, unsure of what she was looking at. From what she and Passion could tell, it was a living outline of someone's body filled with cosmic energy. Truly an odd sight to behold.
The Desire turned around, staring directly at Cynthia who was resting on her beach chair with an umbrella on top, completely unaware of the approaching cosmic being that was heading her way.
"Cynthia!" Celestia shouted her name as she teleported in front of the champion, grabbing her attention.
"What is it, Princess?" Cynthia sat up, taking off her glasses. She squinted her eyes to spot the Desire walking directly towards her and Celestia.
"Victory!" The Desire screamed as it stomped on the ground, putting a stop to its eerie movements as it had found the target it wanted. Cynthia.
All three of them had no idea what they were looking at. But Cynthia could slightly recognize the outline of the Desire as it reminded her of the trainer who had battled her before.
"What are you and what do you want?" Celestia questioned.
"Victory!" The Desire responded by raising its Poke Ball, only here to battle and nothing else. It was here to battle anything that stood in its way.
All the while, other locations near Undella were being affected by the other two Desires without Celestia and Cynthia even knowing. But they have their own problem to deal with.
With Celestia and Cynthia's downtime interrupted by this strange entity, Sienna's Desire plan has already proved to be fairly effective as many humans have fainted from having their life force's stolen from them. The Rift humans continued to spectate over this event to see how it will play out as the journey continues.
Currently, Celestia and Cynthia had come face to face with a Desire. A strange entity that is formed from the obsession and negative emotions of the host they came from.
This Desire was based off a young trainer who wanted a rematch with Cynthia after losing so many times. And now that the Desire had found its target, Cynthia and only desired to defeat her by any means necessary. The Desire was mindless and didn't have the logical sense as its host, making it reckless and destructive.
"Why does it look so familiar..." Cynthia narrowed her eyes.
"You know this thing, Cynthia?" Celestia turned to her.
"I'm not sure. I recognize the outline of a trainer I've battled before but...I'm not sure why it has his outline?"
"It looks like a being made out of pure energy." Celestia noticed. "But what does it want?"
"Victory!" The Desire threw out a Poke Ball, sending the Fake Beartic out once more.
"Beartic!"
"It seems like it wants to battle. It even has the same Beartic from the last time I faced him." Cynthia stepped forward. "I'm still unsure of what you are but if it's a battle you want then I'll gladly accept. Come out, Lucario!"
Cynthia accepted the Desire's challenge by sending out the Aura Pokemon Lucario to face the Fake Beartic.
"Luca!"
"Passion. Stay far back." Celestia and her partner moved away to get some safe distance.
"Victory!" The Desire raised its hand, commanding Beartic to attack with Sheer Cold. A move capable of taking a Pokemon out in one hit.
"Bear!" Beartic's body became outlined in a light blue aura as it pulls its head back, opening its mouth. A spinning orb of bright blue energy forms in front of it. Beartic then fired a powerful light blue beam of energy with light blue snowflake-shaped sparkles from the orb at Lucario.
"Head in and use Close Combat!"
"Cario!" The Aura Pokemon narrowed his, eyes, using his ability to sense auras to dodge the beam of ice. Lucario moved at blinding speeds, appearing in front of the Freezing Pokemon, repeatedly smashing his paws and legs on Beartic's large body with fierce strikes.
Even with the ability to look in multiple directions, Lucario's Aura far exceeded that. The Desire's Omnidirectional vision couldn't compare to Aura.
"Tic!" The Fake Beartic was then launched into the air by Lucario's uppercut, dealing major damage to the Freezing Pokemon. "Bear..."
"Victory!" The Desire already knew how dangerous Cynthia could be and how nigh-impossible it was to beat her. So, to gain the upper hand, the Desire commanded Beartic to affect Undella Town itself.
Beartic had instead used Sheer Cold on the ground, spreading an absolute-zero chill across the entire town. And due to how potent the move was, it was spreading rapidly like wildfire.
"It's trying to freeze the entire town!" Celestia looked around her.
"Now I see...It looks like the trainer but it lacks the same heart like him. Lucario! Aura Sphere!"
"Lu...Ca!" Lucario puts his hands together, creating a blue ball of energy in between them. Lucario then fired the ball at Beartic as it tore through the frozen ground.
The Aura Sphere spun around, hitting Beartic's stomach as it stayed there for a bit. After that, the Aura Sphere blew up in front of Beartic, propelling the Freezing Pokemon back.
Beartic went so far that it even crashed into the Desire as they both fell on their back whilst Beartic had fainted. "Beartic..."
"V-Victory..." The Desire groaned.
The ice around Undella Town had stopped spreading due to Beartic's defeat. Not only was Beartic defeated but the Desire as well.
Its outlined body was starting to fade away with cosmic stardust floating into the air. Celestia and Cynthia watched as the strange entity vanished along with the Fake Beartic.
That Desire wanted to defeat Cynthia at all costs, but since it was the one that was defeated, it's ultimate goal had been foiled. The Desire returned to the original host, that being the young trainer who was still confused about what had happened to him earlier.
"That settles that. Good work, Lucario." Cynthia returned her Lucario.
"Cynthia. You said that it lacks the same heart like him. What do you mean by that?"
"I'm not an expert at magic like you, Princess. But from what I can tell, that was meant to be a representation of him. That trainer has always wanted to defeat me time and time again. And I suppose when that thing kept on screaming Victory, it represented that drive to win."
"So then...It's a being made out of desires?"
"That looks to be the case. But where did it come from?" Cynthia wondered.
"I think I may know where. If that being was outlined by cosmic energy then that can only mean one thing..." Celestia already knew what could've caused this.
But what she and Cynthia didn't know was that there were two other Desire's wreaking havoc nearby Undella and Humilau City. Compared to the trainer, these two desires were much stronger in every way.
The trainer's Desire obviously wanted to defeat Cynthia, but that was a desire of many trainers so it wasn't as strong. He even knew that he could just improve over time so the Desire wasn't that powerful in the first place. But these other Desire's come from hosts with personal issues that make them far stronger than the young trainer's.
For the man who was stressed out, his Desire had done a better job at freezing everything than Beartic. The Desire's ability to manipulate ice had frozen everyone in Humilau City, including its own host.
It wasn't long until Celestia and Cynthia noticed the cloud of ice rising from the East near Humilau City. They assumed it was Beartic, but Beartic had just vanished along with the Desire.
"More ice?!" Cynthia gasped.
"Something is wrong here." Celestia spread her wings as she sighed. "So much for some relaxation. Arcanine!"
"Canine?!" Arcanine sat up from the sand.
"I'll need your help in putting out the ice."
"Arca!" Arcanine nodded in understanding as he already got to work. By using Flamethrower, Arcanine melted away the ice that filled most of Undella Town. The Legendary Pokemon was definitely the right Pokemon for the job thanks to his intense heat.
"Cynthia. Could you please assist me?" Celestia asked.
"But of course. People over at Humilau City might be in danger if that cloud of ice is anything to go by. Lucario. I need your help once more."
For a second time, Lucario was sent out to assist in stopping this sudden and unexpected disaster. Both Celestia and Cynthia knew that there wasn't any time for idle chit chat. There was a problem occurring and it had to be stopped before it accelerates and gets worse.
All the while, Sienna felt proud of her work. It was going well so far. And this was only the beginning. "See, Lucien? The Desires are already putting in a ton of work. Humilau City's been frozen over and a bunch of people are passing out from watching that one TV show. I'd say I did a pretty good job, eh?"
"I mean, it is impressive. But what's up with the way they lose?" Lucien scratched his head.
"What do you mean by that?"
"That Desire based on the trainer. Once that Fake Beartic crashed into it, that was the end of it. Is that how they're all beaten?"
"Well..." Sienna puffed her cheeks. "Not really, they uh..."
"You haven't really thought these Desire things through have you?"
"No. I had the idea and what they can do but...I didn't think about how they lose. I'm still working on them, okay? Besides, these are the first three early ones. The future Desires are gonna be much better."
"I guess so. Alright, how about this? After they deal with these Desires, we work on them together and perfect them for future purposes. Sound good?" Lucien placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah! It does! This is gonna be my big breakthrough!" Sienna laughed with confidence.
Humilau City was an absolute mess. With everyone suffering from a horrible cold along with the city's power supply being destroyed along with some of them fainting on the spot, the city looked like it was on the verge of falling apart.
The two hosts who were affected by Sienna and had their Desire's manifest had also fainted. The woman's Corphish was trying to wake her up whilst the man's lover did her best to keep him warm.
Since Humilau City is known for its Water-Type Pokemon, none of them had moves that could deal with the frozen landscape around them. And they certainly couldn't handle anything electricity-related.
It looked like there wasn't anything that could help the people living here as the Desires had already taken a large amount of their life force.
The Desires were slowly regaining a physical form instead of being an outline of their host. With each life force they stole, they started to gain eyes, nose and a mouth, showing that eventually, they will have the full appearance of the host they came from. Potentially even replacing them.
However, there was hope coming their way in the form of Princess Celestia and Cynthia. Arcanine and Lucario were successfully destroying and melting the ice with Close Combat and Flamethrower.
The closer they got to Humilau, the colder it became. Passion started to feel a chill run through her body. She didn't have the same resistances as Lucario and Arcanine.
"K-Kirlia..." She shuddered.
"Here you go, Passion." Celestia used her magic to place a protective barrier around the Emotion Pokemon, shielding her from the cold and keeping her warm.
"Kirl."
They had finally reached Humilau City as it looked like an entire artic area at this point. Nothing but ice everywhere. Even the buildings had been frozen over along with the trees and parts of the lake.
"This is horrible. What could have caused all of this?" said Cynthia.
"Lu!" Lucario could sense something coming this way with his Aura. He got in front of everyone, prepared to defend them from whatever was around the corner.
What Lucario felt was none other than the Desire of the stressed-out man. It had a slightly different appearance due to its relation to ice. Snowflakes were flowing out of its body as well as the usual cosmic stardust.
Like the young trainer's Desire, it kept on saying one single word that related to the host's struggles and how he spent too much time at work and not enough with his lover. "Longer!"
"Another one?" Celestia pulled back.
This Desire was a bit more violent than the previous one. In which it attacked others by itself without using the Ice Pokemon that it had at its disposal.
The Desire ran over to Lucario and the others, outstretching its arms out so that it could freeze them all as it did to everyone else in Humilau.
"Lucario! Aura Sphere!"
"Cario!" The Aura Pokemon defended everyone from harm by blasting a ball of concentrated Aura towards the approaching Desire.
Just like Beartic, the Aura Sphere was capable of knocking it back. However, unlike Beartic, this Desire was still standing. The host it came from had stronger emotions than the trainer, making it much more resilient.
The Desire put its arm out, manipulating the ice around the entire town with just a single hand. Sharp pillars of ice erupted from the ground, racing towards Lucario and the others as they tore through other ice blocks.
"Lucario! Close Combat!"
"Arcanine! Flamethrower!"
Both Lucario and Arcanine pushed back the approaching ice pillars, protecting their trainers from any harm. The Desire then manipulated the ice from beneath them all as it planned to strike a pillar at them from where they stood. Lucario was able to sense this as he used Close Combat on the ground, shattering the ice they stood on.
"Passion! Use Mystical Fire!" Celestia commanded her Kirlia.
"Kirlia!" The Emotion Pokemon raised its arms, sending a spiral of fire imbued with mystical energy as it tore through the ice, melting it down.
The Mystical Fire engulfed the Desire, causing it to wail a small bit. Once the fire disappeared, the Desire got on its knees, dropping ice cubes from its body. The Desire looked up at them as its anger was building. The anger of the Desire was also related to the stress the host felt.
"Longer...!" The Desire groaned as he struggled to get up from the ground.
"Just like before...it's repeating one single word." Cynthia noticed.
"Longer!" The Desire was emanating stressful emotions as the Aura Sphere and Mystical Fire managed to greatly weaken it, showing just how unfinished Sienna's plan was.
"Kir?" That's when Passion noticed it. The emotions coming out from the Desire's body. The Emotion Pokemon went up to the Desire all of a sudden as if the emotions were calling to her.
"Luca?" The same could be said for Lucario. Being able to sense others Aura's meant that it read anyone's feelings with aura waves. But unlike Passion, he didn't approach the Desire.
"Wait, Passion! Don't approach it!" Celestia attempted to stop Passion from getting closer to the Desire. But Passion used a tiny bit of the telepathy she was able to maintain, telling Celestia that it was fine.
Celestia took Passion's word for it since it sounded like she knew what she was doing.
Passion looked up the Desire as it looked down at her as well, preparing to freeze her completely. The Emotion Pokemon raised her hands, touching the face of the entity.
Once Passion made contact with the Desire, she was able to connect her mind with the thoughts of the manifested emotion. Her eyes flashed white as she entered a state of Legilimency.
"What is she doing?" Cynthia wondered.
"Passion's using her magic to read the entity's emotions. Perhaps, she feels something from it." Celestia explained.
"Kirlia..." Through Passion's eyes, she could see a vision of the original host. She saw how the host was working at the Cold Storage in Driftveil City. Not only that but she could hear the words coming from the vision as they went like this.
"You look a bit spent there, pal." One of the Cold Storage workers went up to the host. "Are you doing okay?"
"I'm fine." The host replied, sighing. "Just a bit exhausted..."
"A bit is an understatement. You've been acting like this for a few weeks now. You certainly weren't this spent when you first started."
"Yeah, I know. I've only been working here for 5 weeks and I'm already acting like a fool."
"Is there something wrong? You can tell us ya know. We're all friends here in this storage." He placed his hand on the host's shoulder.
"Well, to tell you the truth...I'm not sure that I can really handle all of this. Every time I finish working here, I head home and help my lover for the entire night."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"You don't understand. We finish at 20:00, I get home by 21:30. My girlfriend's been a bit under the weather lately. So I have to stay up all night, taking care of her. I only ever get to sleep at 3 in the morning. After that, I wake up at 5:00 and arrive here by 6:30." He explained his time cycle.
"Oh. That's rough. I had no idea you had such a tight schedule and a girl you had to take care off for that long."
"Yeah. It took me until the fifth day to realize." The host held his head. "Plus...it's freezing here." He shuddered.
"Why don't you ask the chief to cut your time short?"
"I can't cut my time short. I work as a transporter. I gotta get stuff from all across Unova and bring it back here after all."
"Ah, I see. And moving around Unova takes a lot of time too. Well, the boss is fairly nice so maybe he can change up your role. But uh...that would mean another poor soul would have to be the transporter."
"I just want to get through this entire job from start to finish. That way, I'll have enough money to start my own store someday."
"Your own store? What is it?"
"I wanna be in the night entertainment business. Right at Nimbasa City. But...reaching that goal while she's ill...I'm not so sure now."
"Well, good luck anyway." He patted the host on the back. "Wish you and your lover well. Hope you get to be big in Nimbasa City one day."
"Yeah. Thanks..."
After that, Passion's eyes returned to normal. She saw everything she needed to see. Now she understood what this entity was meant to be and how to possibly solve this. "
"Kirlia! Kirl!" Passion attempted to use her telepathy to tell Celestia what she had just discovered. Unfortunately, it only lasts 3 seconds as of now.
Lucario however, could be her translator, thanks to his Aura Waves. "Luca?" He spoke to her.
"Kirlia!" Passion explained what she saw to Lucario, asking that he tells them what she found out.
"Lucario..." Lucario used his Aura Waves to inform Cynthia about Passion's discovery, giving her the necessary knowledge.
"I see..." Cynthia nodded.
"Hm? See what exactly?" Celestia turned to her.
"It seems that this entity isn't just a representation of their desires. But also their struggles. Manifested into one single being."
"So then...what does the host struggle with it?"
"From what Lucario told me, a stressful life where he has to handle his work and lover whilst also dealing with the harsh chill of the workplace. That would explain the ice."
"I see." Celestia nodded. "Excellent work, Passion."
"Kir!"
"Longer..." The Desire had been affected by Passion's magic, making it feel a bit uneasy.
"I'll handle it from here." Cynthia approached the Desire, knowing how to handle this type of situation since she's seen it before.
"Longer...!" The Desire was about to attack Cynthia whilst Lucario prepared to attack at any moment.
"I know you aren't really the actual person. Just the manifestation." Cynthia kneeled, coming face to face with the Desire to talk to it. "Your dream is to work in Nimbasa City, right?"
"Longer...?"
"But your lover is ill. And she needs you just as much as you need her."
"Longer..." The Desire looked down.
"Talk to your boss. If he is a nice person as they say, then he'll possibly work something out for you. After all, you're still new to this job, aren't you?"
"Longer..." The Desire knew that what Cynthia said was true. The original host couldn't feel this, but once the Desire returns, the man will be able to change things up by doing one single action. In truth, the host didn't really dislike his job. He just wanted to find some time to take care of his lover whilst also making enough money to make his dream come true.
The Desire was not defeated by attacks but instead Cynthia's words of encouragement. Those words made the Desire find a resolution as it was ready to return to its host. With the Desire being calmed down and reasoned with, the ice that surrounded all of Humilau had melted away into nothing, freeing those that were trapped within the ice.
Celestia was amazed at how Cynthia was able to solve this issue by just simply talking to the Desire. They didn't even need to resort to any drastic measures at all.
"Kir." But it wasn't over yet. Passion could feel one final emotion nearby that was also linked to a Desire. Except, this one was more hidden. She spoke to Lucario, telling him what she was currently feeling.
"Luca." Lucario nodded in understanding as he sent Aura Waves towards Cynthia's direction.
"There's one final emotion?" Cynthia said.
"If there is one other person with a manifested emotion left. Then all we'll have to do is reach them as well. Lead the way, Passion." Celestia looked over at her partner.
"Kirlia!" Passion nodded as she tracked down the final Desire by sensing its emotions. Humilau City was small, so their target wasn't that far at all.
Inside of the woman's home, her Corphish was doing its best to wake her up by using Water Gun repeatedly. But in this catatonic state, that move wouldn't work so well.
"Cor!"
The Desire had already manipulated every electronic object in Humilau City. The rapid-moving electrons it emitted were constantly growing. Very soon, they'll end up reaching a point where the electrons can affect other towns and cities.
Passion entered the house, grabbing the attention of Corphish.
"Phish!"
"It's alright, Corphish. We're not here to cause any trouble." Cynthia spoke to the Ruffian Pokemon. "But we are here to help your trainer."
"Corphish..."
All of a sudden, the TV started to spark, indicating that the electrons had increased in power once more. The TV was the Desire's main location since it's based on its host's dream.
"Lia!" Passion pointed her arms over at the TV, finding where the Desire was hiding.
"It's hiding inside of the TV? Just like a Rotom." Cynthia's eyes widened. "It won't be easy taking it out of the TV. None of my Pokemon have the ability to do that."
"But Passion does. There is only one way to force it out. Passion! Combine Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt to unleash Plasma!" Celestia ordered.
"Kirlia!" Passion held her hands together, combining two moves into one. She formed her signature plasma together but she held it back due to her being inside of a small house. Passion fired the small bolt of plasma at the TV, causing the electrons to go haywire.
The electrons couldn't handle Passion's plasma due to how volatile and reactive it was. As such, the Desire who hid inside of the TV had been hit with millions of volts hotter than the sun.
The Desire had been forced out of the TV, falling on the floor as it wailed and repeated one single world like the others. That being "Dream big...".
However, it was capable of saying two more words that expressed her struggle and what she desired the most. "Keep...watching!"
"Now, Passion. Look into it."
"Kirlia!" Passion went over to the fallen Desire, preparing herself to connect with the host to see what she was struggling with. With her hands touching the Desire's face and her eyes lighting up, Passion had a vision of the same area they were currently all standing in.
The woman had her camera with her along with her partner Corphish by her side. She had always dreamed of making it big in TV media as a young girl. And now that she was finally able to officially sign a contract, she could make the show of her dreams.
However, over the past 2 months, her show hadn't reached the level she was expecting with barely any traction. Practically no one had seen her show at all through the TV. And the ones that did only saw a small glimpse and then changed the channel afterwards.
But despite all of that, she continued to work on the show by herself. The only one there to support her was Corphish. She was hoping that one day, someone could sit through her show and watch it all. Even if they don't end up enjoying it.
However, she had reached a point where she was starting to lose hope. She believed that no one would watch her show ever. Not even once.
The woman sighed, holding the camera in her hands as she placed it on the table. "Still nothing. No ratings or anything. Am I doing something wrong?"
"Phish." Corphish patted her on the back to comfort her.
"Thanks, Corphish. Glad you're here to help. After all, it's still a new show so there's no need to lose hope yet. Maybe if we switch things up a bit. But I'm not sure what everyone would enjoy watching..." She grumbled.
"Cor."
"Maybe if-" She stood up, thinking she had an idea. "No...That won't work." She sat back down, sighing as she held her head in frustration."
Her show was an anthology series. A show containing different stories with different characters in each episode. There wasn't a continuous story. It was just segments of short stories contained into one show.
However, these short stories found zero success. That was because the cast size was very limited since it was just her, Corphish. But originally, she asked some of her old friends from school to help out with her show.
However, they declined as they didn't really want to involve themselves in the show since they had important things to do in their lives. They grew distant from her since they've found jobs that fill up so much time for them.
As such, the woman only had Corphish as a second actor. The stories she filmed only featured those two as she would have to make up an episode where it only showed them.
However, the woman wasn't really skilled at that. She was more experienced with multiple people after making home videos with her family. Being on her own with Corphish was just a huge step backwards as she couldn't really come up with any story ideas that involved just the two of them.
Her series only had 3 episodes so far due to the limited cast size she had and how many of her ideas couldn't be performed with just two cast members.
She had rarely been filming anymore, being stuck on 3 episodes. And her boss told her that if she doesn't continue the show, he'll, unfortunately, have to cancel it.
"What to do...What to do...?"
And that was all that Passion needed to see. Her eyes returned to normal as she turned around, telling Lucario to spread the information.
"Kirlia!"
"Luca." Lucario nodded, sending the waves to Cynthia.
"Hm. That does seem unfortunate. Having only a Corphish to help make a show for you." Cynthia said. "It seems this one is simply facing an issue that involves having little support and others to assist."
"Little support, you say?" Celestia thought for a moment. "Let me handle this one." Celestia decided to talk to this Desire herself since she had a bit of experience with something like this.
"Keep...watching!" The Desire attempted to scatter into electrons again and attack Celestia.
"I won't hurt you. Relax." Celestia calmed down the Desire by using an altered variant of the Royal Canterlot Voice. "Your TV show. It's missing cast members, is it?"
"Keep watching..." The Desire looked up.
"Hm. I recall having a friend who experienced a similar struggle once. Involving Manehattan and its many opportunities. She used to have the same issue as you. Not many ponies would assist her with her dream. And her friends were too busy to even involve themselves. As such, she almost gave up on it entirely."
"Dream...big..." The host could tell that this pony truly did share a similar experience to its host.
"However. She eventually found new ponies who were interested in her dream. These ponies offered to help her, making her lonesome dream much more populated. And those ponies ended up becoming her friends along the way. If she hadn't found new ponies to ask for help, her dream would've ended there."
"Keep...watching?"
"Your current friends may be too busy to involve themselves. However, you can find others to help you with your show. There's always going to be somepony interested in another ponies' dream. And who knows, you might make new friends along the way."
"Kirlia."
"Dream...big." The Desire realized that indeed, Celestia was right. The host has only ever known her friends from school for most of her life. Learning that they had important jobs that negated the chance of them assisting her.
It felt like her friends were becoming distant with her because of that. And with the failure of her show, she felt as if no one was really interested in it.
But after Celestia mentioned how there might be others out there who share a similar interest, that sparked the hope from within back up. After all, there are people out there who do enjoy Anthology shows.
The Desire felt at peace as it no longer had to force others to watch its show and steal their life force. It stood up, accepting its defeat and was ready to return into its host. When it does return to the woman, she'll have the idea of finding others to help be apart of her show.
Celestia and the others watched as the Desire peacefully returned inside of the woman's body as Corphish gawked at the sight of it.
"Cor..."
"Alright. Is that all of them, Passion?" Celestia asked.
"Kir!" Passion nodded. She couldn't sense any more Desires near or far. They had dealt with all of them.
"Good. Oh, dear..." Celestia sighed. "Perhaps the best vacation spot might be my room since nothing else happens in there."
"We're both tired, Princess Celestia. Why don't we head back to Undella? It's ice-free now."
"I suppose so. But won't that trainer be there by now?" Celestia said as she, Cynthia and their Pokemon left the woman's house.
"Oh. With the time we've been gone, he's probably left by now. Although...trainers can be very persistent and stay around forever." Cynthia scratched her face as Celestia laughed.
As they made their way back to Undella, chatting along the way, the woman woke up with Celestia's advice engraved in her mind.
"Phish?"
"Oh, Corphish. What was I doing, exactly?"
"Cor! Corphish!" Corphish tried to explain to her what had happened whilst she was unconscious. But Corphish was just glad to have his trainer back as he hugged her.
"Well, at least nothing bad happened to you while I was unconscious." She hugged Corphish. "Say...instead of our friends...why don't we find others to help us?"
"Cor?"
"Yeah...And if I catch more Pokemon, I'll be able to come up with Pokemon-centered stories featuring only Pokemon! And I suppose you would want to be the star, right Corphish?"
"Corphish!" Corphish liked the sound of being the main star of whatever story his trainer comes up with. He was happy that Celestia and the others had helped them. He won't forget them even if it was just a small encounter.
Celestia and Cynthia themselves had formed a small bond together. The time they had spent in Undella was the start of a somewhat mature and sophisticated friendship considering who they were and their backgrounds.
And this wouldn't be the last time they meet each other. With the Pokemon School being in Canterlot and Cynthia taking the role of Principal, it's safe to say that they'll be seeing each other again. Mostly on the weekends.
The Desire concept is still something that can be summoned at any time by Sienna. All she had to do was just spread the rays. The Rift humans will continue to spark up events that pique the Rift's interest and constantly put both humans, ponies and Pokemon to the test as the journey continues.
It was currently a Wednesday today. And for the Pokemon School, a select group of students had their lessons on a Wednesday instead of the standard Monday to Friday most schools have.
Twilight and her friends were apart of this schedule. They would attend the Pokemon from Wednesday to Friday. Quite generous actually.
Today, their teacher was the Fighting-Type expert, Brawly as they were in his dojo class. Him being a deep-thinker and comparing the scene of battle to everyday life and everything else made him a very interesting teacher that won't give the students a dull moment for even a second.
"Okay!" Brawly spoke up. "Listen up, 'cause this is gonna be the lesson that hardens your spirits as trainers!"
"It does?" Starlight said.
"Oh yeah. I'll say this once. When it comes to the thrill of the Pokemon battle, the Fighting-Type Pokemon are burning with infinite spirits!"
"I can believe that... " Twilight nodded, thinking about all the Fighting-Type's she's encountered so far.
"But there's one thing you gotta keep in mind. Fighting-Type can be very stubborn. Since they love to battle more than any Pokemon and will take on anyone on sight, they're kind hard to manage. Like Dragon-Type Pokemon. You guys have experienced something similar right?"
"Not really." They all shook their heads. All of the students in this class, apart from Rarity, don't own any Fighting-Type Pokemon. Even Twilight, who owns the PokePark, has never used any of the Fighting Pokemon that live there.
"My Pheromosa is not hard to manage at all. She's an absolute sweetheart," said Rarity.
"Hm. I see. Alright! Let me give you guys an example of a Fighting-Type's willful spirit." Brawly went over to the box of Poke Balls, sending out a Sawk.
"Sawk!"
"Most Fighting-Type trainers bond with their Fighting Pokemon in one way. By sparring with the Pokemon themself!" Brawly raised his fist in the air.
"Wait...when you mean themself...that includes a Pokemon, obviously. Right?" Twilight asked.
"Nope. I mean human vs Pokemon! Or in your case, pony vs Pokemon.
"You mean you fight the Pokemon physically without any Pokemon?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"That's right. That's how Fighting Pokemon improve most of the time. Since they're so stubborn, they need a trainer who's capable of having a spirit just as strong as theirs. I'll give you an example by sparring with Sawk. You ready?"
"Sawk!" The Karate Pokemon nodded as he got into a stance. Brawly did the same as everypony's curiosity had spiked up. They never thought they would get the opportunity to see a Pokemon and a human fight.
"Come on!" Brawly shouted.
"Sawk!" Sawk thrust his fist forward at the Gym Leader whilst Brawly put his arms up to block the Karate Pokemon's robust punches. The moment Sawk hit Brawly's arms, a tiny shock wave came out as Brawly was knocked back a bit.
"He ate that!" Rainbow Dash flew up.
"Sawk! Sawk! Sawk! Sawk! Sawk!" Sawk then threw a flurry of punches at Brawly's direction, affecting the wind himself from how fast he was moving.
All the while, Brawly managed to avoid some of them whilst also catching Sawk's fists. "Good, Sawk! Those are some defined punches!"
"I don't believe it...I thought he would've been crushed already by Sawk's destructive punches..." Fluttershy was flabbergasted. Everypony was honestly. They all expected Brawly to fall immediately.
"Wait a sec, how strong is a Sawk, anyway?" Rainbow Dash scrolled through her Pokedex, searching for Sawk's dex entry that she gathered months ago.
"Sawk. The Karate Pokemon. The sound of Sawk punching boulders and trees can be heard all the way from the mountains where they train. Tying their belts gets them pumped and makes their punches more destructive. Disturbing their training angers them. Desiring the strongest karate chop, they seclude themselves in mountains and train without sleeping. The karate chops of a Sawk that’s trained itself to the limit can cleave the ocean itself."
"So Brawly's taking punches that can slice an entire ocean in half?" Starlight's eye twitched. "But he's just a human!"
"That's the thing about training with a Fighting-Type Pokemon!" Brawly held both of Sawk's fists as they both entered a struggle. "The trainer themselves improve their body as well. The Fighting-Type is all about surpassing your limits. Do that, and you and your Pokemon will be in perfect sync. Alright, Sawk, that's enough. Great work."
"Sawk." Sawk moved his hands away as he bowed down.
"Now. We're gonna do something similar to that. Grab yourselves some Pokemon from this box and we'll do a few body training activities! To really get you all ready for tougher battles in the future! Rarity. You've already got a Fighting-Type so you can just use your Pheromosa."
The ponies were at first a bit hesitant since they might end up getting hit by a Fighting-Type Pokemon which does not sound fun at all considering how powerful they are in general. And they weren't built like Brawly who has spent years training with Fighting-Types.
But they were willing to give it a shot. The number of students in this class was relatively small so once they took the Poke Balls, many more were still left inside.
"Alright. Let's see what I get!" Rainbow Dash squeed as she was the first to send out a Fighting-Type Pokemon. Her selection was the Martial Arts Pokemon, Mienfoo.
"Mien!"
"Oh, sweet a Mienfoo! Hey, there little guy! We're partners right now."
"Foo?" Mienfoo glanced over at Rainbow Dash with a fairly crucial and sharp look. "Mienfoo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon did a backflip as it was about to kick Rainbow Dash in the face out of nowhere.
"W-What the-?!" Rainbow Dash backed up as Brawly caught Mienfoo's kick, protecting Rainbow Dash.
"Foo?"
"Woah, there, Mienfoo!" Brawly said as he lowered Mienfoo down to the ground. "You're not gonna attack my students out of nowhere."
"Mienfoo." Mienfoo scoffed, turning around as it walked away from Brawly.
"Oh...Thanks, Brawly." Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of relief. She just saw her life flash before her eyes.
"No problem. Probably shouldn't have brought that Mienfoo along." Brawly held his head.
"Why? What's wrong with that Mienfoo?" Fluttershy asked.
"Ah, well...It's a bit of a rough story. Mienfoo over there is kind of a picky Pokemon. But that's kind of an understatement."
"How picky are we talking?" Applejack went up to him.
"Picky as in she's looking for the perfect trainer. And boy, has she had some disappointments." Brawly chuckled.
"You mean she's had other trainers before?" said Pinkie Pie.
"Right. Mienfoo over there's gone through several trainers in her life, and each of them failed to live up to her expectations. It'll only choose a strong trainer that it trusts. It's pretty prideful. Much more than a normal Mienfoo, that's for sure."
"Well, then you must be that perfect trainer if it chose you." Starlight replied.
"Oh, no." Brawly shook his head. "Mienfoo was given to me instead of me being chosen. Her previous trainer traded with me since Mienfoo wasn't satisfied and barely obeyed commands at all. And uh...I'm definitely not having as much luck as the last trainer's."
"You weren't kidding when you said Fighting-Type Pokemon were stubborn." Twilight's eyes widened.
"Ah, it's no big deal." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I can get that Mienfoo to listen to me no problem."
"You sure? She's pretty hard-headed and prideful. You're gonna need to really impress her, Rainbow." Brawly crossed his arms.
"Don't worry. I know a thing or two about that kind of stuff." Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at herself, having a wide grin on her face.
Her friends nodded in agreement. Rainbow Dash and Mienfoo were both hard-headed and prideful. Although, Mienfoo seems to take it a step further.
"Out ya come." Applejack sent out her Fighting-Type Pokemon which ended up being a Riolu.
"Rio!"
"Riolu, huh? Lucky me." Applejack was satisfied with her choice.
"Let's see who we have here." Twilight ended up getting the Scaly Pokemon, Hakamo-o.
"Haka!"
"A Fighting and Dragon-Type? I'll take it!"
"Hm." Starlight looked over at Twilight's Hakamo-o, hoping that she had a powerful Pokemon like her. She sent the Pokemon out and it ended up being the Tantrum Pokemon Clobbopus.
"Clobbo!"
"...Oh." Starlight lowered her head. "Well...maybe your strength makes up for your small appearance?" She held out the Pokedex, seeing what Clobbopus had to offer.
Clobbopus. The Tantrum Pokemon. It’s very curious, but its means of investigating things is to try to punch them with its tentacles. The search for food is what brings it onto land. Its tentacles tear off easily, but it isn’t alarmed when that happens—it knows they’ll grow back. It’s about as smart as a three-year-old."
"Smart as a three-year-old, huh? Great..."
Fluttershy ended up getting a Croagunk whilst Rarity sent out her Pheromosa.
"Mosa!"
"Croa..." Croagunk was moving its body around as if it was fuddled. But that was just Croagunk's stance, even if it was very active instead of still like most other stances.
Pinkie had gotten herself the Flailing Pokemon, Stufful, who had already stolen Pinkie Pie's heart.
"Stuff!"
"Oh my...A stuffed toy Pokemon?!" Pinkie's smile was increasing in size as her hooves were shaking uncontrollably. She took out her Pokedex to see what this Pokemon had to offer.
"Stufful. The Flailing Pokemon. Stufful's cute appearance and movements - plus the fluffy feel of its fur - all combine to make it super popular. Stufful may have a small body, but its strength is extraordinary. Receiving one of its powerful hits without being prepared for it can bring down even well-trained Pokémon. Its arms and legs could knock a pro wrestler sprawling. Stufful hates to be hugged or touched in any way. It will squirm, thrash, and resist with amazing power. A touch from anyone except a known friend sends it into a surging frenzy."
"No hugging or touching..." Pinkie Pie paused for a moment until she concluded. "Ah, who cares! Come here you little stuffed bear!" She squeed, picking up the Flailing Pokemon as she couldn't resist its cuteness.
"Stu..." The dex warned her about Stufful's hatred for hugs and she took the risk anyway. That risk resulted in Stufful raised its paws as it struck Pinkie Pie in the snout.
Pinkie Pie could feel all of her teeth breaking at once as she was launched through the ceiling and out of the school in one hit from this tiny little Fighting-Type. They all looked outside to see the pink pony spinning around in the air as she had blasted off.
"Wooooorth it!
The activities the trainers would do with their Fighting-Type Pokemon included a warm-up session. The first session was a Focus Punch activity.
The ponies held up Focus mitts that they placed on their hooves. These mitts were to help the Fighting-Types improve their striking power, whether it's a kick, punch or palm strike. Plus they were super soft.
"Here's how this is gonna work." Brawly held his own mitts as he and Sawk were about to give a demonstration. "The trainer holding the focus mitts will typically call out combinations and "feed" the Pokemon good counter-force while manoeuvring and working specific skills. Sawk. Use Focus Punch."
"Sawk!" Sawk gathered energy in his fist as he pivoted his foot back, setting his eyes on the mitt only and nothing else. His fist glowed light blue as he struck it forward, striking the mitt.
The moment the punch hit the mitt, Brawly could barely feel a thing. There was a slight push-back from the impact though, but that was only natural considering Sawk's amazing striking strength.
"When wearing focus mitts it is important not merely to hold them but to actively feed them into the punches, to balance their force and prevent injury to both trainer and Pokemon. And you gotta make sure you yell commands like one, two three, okay?"
"I think I got it." Applejack nodded, understanding the explanation thoroughly. The others did as well.
"That sounds simple. Just have the Pokemon hit the pad several times. No biggie." Rainbow Dash grinned. "Wanna have a go, Mienfoo?"
"Foo." Mienfoo crossed her arms, turning her head away from Rainbow Dash. After having so many disappointing trainers who couldn't satisfy the Martial Arts Pokemon, Mienfoo's fighting spirit was a bit lacking and light.
"Alright! You may begin!" Brawly made the call to start.
"Alright, Riolu. Let's get those punches down." Applejack held the mitt forward. She wasn't too nervous since her hooves could be considered super-strong as well thanks to how much she works on the farm. "Use Force Palm."
"Rio..." Riolu held its breath in as it focused all of its Aura into its strength. The Emanation Pokemon jumped up, smashing its palm onto the mitt as a pulse of Aura travelled through Applejack's body, giving her a slight fright.
"Woo!" Applejack's mane shot up as her hat flew off. "I forgot how strong Aura can really be. Keep on using Force Palm."
"Riolu!"
"Croagunk. Use Poison Jab. But um...don't melt the mitt." Fluttershy asked.
"Croa..." Croagunk's fingertips on one of its hands illuminated purple as it jumped up, jabbing the mitt with poison.
Fluttershy closed her eyes as she whimpered, hoping that the poison wouldn't spread and melt her hooves off.
Thankfully, When the poison hit the mitt, it was still in one piece. Although there was a poison sting in the middle now.
"Oh. Thank goodness." Fluttershy breathed out. "Alright. Have another go."
For Pinkie Pie, she had returned to the classroom with a broken face, but nothing she couldn't handle. She knew that Stufful wouldn't listen to her after that hug.
Unless she bribed the flailing Pokemon. "If you hit the mitts over and over again, I'll give you a cupcake for each hit." Pinkie bribed Stufful by holding a cupcake out.
Stufful was sold. It was that easy to convince the fussy Pokemon as it got to swinging. Pinkie made sure to hold the mitt steady and firm since Stufful has the power to send a fully grown adult flying.
As for Rarity, her Pheromosa was giving off light kicks instead of heavy ones like every other Pokemon here. That was mostly due to her cheery and gentle nature that she was able to strike with little force.
Which was a huge relief for Rarity. If Pheromosa decided to kick at her usual striking strength, then there is a very high possibility that Rarity's hoof would fly off.
Clobbopus greatly surprised Starlight. She assumed that since it had the mind of a three-year-old, there wasn't much to expect from this little Pokemon.
But, like every Pokemon out there, Clobbopus wields abnormal strength as it used Rock Smash on the mitt, causing Starlight to jump up a bit as she almost lost her balance.
"Eeek!" Starlight squealed. "T-T-T-That's some good strength, Clobbopus." She said with a nervous grin.
"Clobb!"
"Hakamo-o, punch these as hard as you can," Twilight commanded.
"Haka..." Hakamo-o looked at its claws, noticing that something was wrong here.
"Ah, sorry, Twilight. But Hakamo-o is a claw-based Fighting-Type instead of the traditional punching style." Brawly went up to her. "Try using Dragon Claw."
"Alright. Dragon Claw!"
"Kamo-o!" The Scaly Pokemon summoned draconic energy on its claws as it swung them towards the mitts, hitting them repeatedly whilst Twilight kept them in place.
Everypony managed to work well with their Fighting-Type Pokemon as they were thankful that their hooves and bones hadn't been shattered into millions of pieces yet.
Almost everypony that is.
Rainbow Dash watched as they all got on with the activity but her. Mienfoo was standing in the corner, not paying any mind to the entire class or Rainbow Dash. She was only thinking about herself, which only exhibited more of her pride.
"Hmm..." Rainbow Dash got to thinking. How was she going to cooperate with Mienfoo if she is this stubborn? That's when the idea hit her. If Mienfoo shares similar traits to the pegasus, that meant there was only one way to grab her attention. The only logical way.
"Mien...Foo." Mienfoo was currently counting how many poses it was capable of performing since it prides itself with poses to improve itself.
"You know, Mienfoo...If you think you're so tough, then why don't you prove it?" Rainbow Dash held the mitts out towards Mienfoo.
"Foo?"
"You act tough but can you back it up? 'Cause so, every other Pokemon here are strong in their own way. While you're just standing there in the corner acting all cool."
"Mien..." Mienfoo narrowed her eyes as she turned around.
"But I guess if you're not that strong, you gotta make yourself look high-and-mighty so that nopony finds out that you're actually a weakling." She shrugged as she essentially labelled Mienfoo as weak.
Rainbow Dash knew the right amount of words to get Mienfoo riled up. Mienfoo is a Pokemon that is known for having a small temperament.
The right amount of words will get them going and grab their attention. Although, many trainers rarely ever try this since Mienfoo's swift movements, while weak, can really leave a number on them over time. So everyone just simply says nothing to criticize them.
Everyone except for Rainbow Dash.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo wanted to show Rainbow Dash that she wasn't weak in the slightest. The Martial Arts Pokemon truly did see itself as the better Pokemon in this entire room due to how many trainers she's had in the past.
Although in truth, a Mienfoo's natural striking power is average at best. But, what it loses in power, it makes up for in quantity and speed. The same can be said for this Mienfoo. Rainbow Dash had Mienfoo right where she wanted her.
"Mien!" Mienfoo faced the mitts as she was prepared to prove Rainbow Dash wrong.
"That's the spirit. Now attack these mitts as hard or I guess fast as you can."
"Foo!" Mienfoo got to work. She used her hidden claws to swipe at the mitts, already moving at a swift pace. Rainbow Dash could barely feel the impact of Mienfoo's hits as she let out a fake yawn, unimpressed. "Mien!" Agitated by Rainbow Dash's yawning, Mienfoo sped up her movements, switching from swipes to punches and kicks next.
The faster Mienfoo hit the mitts, the more precise her hits became. Her strikes eventually reached a point where she could throw punches and kicks more than 100 times.
Rainbow Dash was finally feeling something from Mienfoo's increasing strikes and speed. "Now that's more like it! But it's still not enough though! Is that all you can do?"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo pulled her arms back as she dug deep. Her body became surrounded in a white aura as she had just learned the Normal-Type move Mega Punch. "FOO!" The Martial Arts Pokemon thrust her fist forward as even Rainbow Dash got a bit cautious of this one.
Mega Punch connected with the mitt, resulting in a seismic wave that sent multiple shocks through Rainbow Dash's body as she shuddered. "Geeguh!" Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth. "G-Good...T-That's pretty good." She used her wings to give a thumbs up. "Let's try some harder hits."
"Foo!"
Now that Mienfoo was taking part in something, every Pokemon in this class continued to strike the mitts with focused and precise strikes to help develop their senses. Not only that, but even the ponies had improved too. Their hooves were a bit stronger now thanks to all those strikes.
The class had ended up finishing the Focus mitt activity. It was short and simple and didn't result in anypony getting hurt thankfully. The next activity was a focus on counters.
"Fighting Pokemon are great at dealing out damage whether they're swift or hard-hitting. You can never go wrong with their attacks. But the important thing to know is that they have to defend themselves as well. Besides, blocking, one of the many ways Fighting-Types defend themselves is by countering." Brawly explained. "It's time for some Counter Sparring!"
"You know a thing or two about counters, don't you Pheromosa?" Rarity said to her partner.
"Phero." She nodded in response.
"Out you come, my partner." Brawly sent out his ace Hariyama to give an example.
"Hari!"
"Counter sparring is a bit more complex than it sounds. So for simplicity, I'll just give you the basic ones." Brawly moved back as he varied the distance between him and Hariyama. "Alright, Hariyama. Half speed!" Brawly threw a punch towards his partner's face all of a sudden.
"Yama!" Hariyama anticipated his partner's attacks as he raised his left huge arm to block the punch whilst also using his right to hit Brawly's chest. "Hari!"
"Doh!" Brawly winced as he moved back, holding his chest. "Good job, pal." Brawly gave a thumbs up. "Now counter this!" Brawly did a back kick towards Hariyama's very wide and robust belly.
"Hariyama!" Hariyama lowered both of his arms as he caught Brawly's kick. Hariyama then used the force his hands to push Brawly to the ground.
"See that? Countering is a great soft technique since it involves blocking and finding an opening to your opponent. If you can block or dodge the incoming attack in time, you can capitalize and get a free hit in. Now, we're gonna have all of you put your Fighting Type Pokemon against each other. They're each going to trade counters, alright?"
"Oh, thank goodness. I thought it would be us who'd end up doing it." Twilight was relieved about that. She wasn't prepared to have a Hakamo-o's fist smash her in the face.
"Now uh, go easy on the counters, okay? Some Pokemon have more advanced reaction times like Meditite. And also, don't go too overboard. Alright, now pick a Pokemon to go up against."
The class scattered to choose the perfect counter sparring partner. Rainbow Dash put her Mienfoo up against Twilight's Hakamo-o.
Actually, Mienfoo decided to choose her counter sparring partner herself since she knows a powerful Pokemon when she sees one. So Rainbow Dash was powerless to stop her decision.
"Foo!"
"Haka?" Hakamo-o looked down at his fellow Fighting-Type, seeing how gutsy she was just casually approaching him with such pride.
"I guess we're training with your Hakamo-o then." Rainbow Dash sighed. "You don't mind, do you Twilight?"
"Not at all." Twilight shook her head. "It's kind of adorable how gutsy Mienfoo is. She's just like Dewott."
"Mien?!" Mienfoo wasn't fond of being called adorable. At all. She was feeling the urge to sock Twilight right about now, but she could take our her frustration and anger on her Hakamo-o.
The counter lessons had begun as all the Fighting-Type Pokemon faced each other whilst being in their own unique stances since they all have unique ways of countering their opponents. One poor pony had the unfortunate fate of going up against Rarity's Pheromosa with a Meditite.
"Mienfoo! Use Mega Punch!"
"Hakamo-o. Counter it with Dragon Claw!"
"Mien...Foo!" Mienfoo rushed in with a white aura surrounding her right paw. As she got up close to the Scaly Pokemon, Hakamo-o used its hard scales to block Mienfoo's Mega Punch.
"Haka!" The Dragon-Fighting-Type then found an opening as he swung Dragon Claw right at Mienfoo's face, knocking the Martial Arts Pokemon back.
"Foo!" Mienfoo veered on the ground, holding her face as she looked up with narrowed eyes.
"I didn't even think about the scales being used as a blocking technique. Nice thinking, Hakamo-o."
"Mo-o."
"Yeah well, we've just started. Right, Mienfoo."
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo stood up straight.
"Now it's our turn. Hakamo-o! Use your tail to attack!"
"Haka!" The Scaly Pokemon initiated the next attack by running up to the smaller Fighting-Type.
"Counter it with Mega Punch!"
"Foo..." Mienfoo made sure not to attack back just yet as she anticipated Hakamo-o's tail attack. Once he swung his tail towards her, Mienfoo used her feet to step on Hakamo-o's hard scaly tail.
"Hakamo?!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo found an opening as she smashed her paw on Hakamo-o's face, causing him to pull back a bit. Mienfoo got a bit greedy as she delivered a second Mega Punch to Hakamo-'s chest whilst still having her hoof on his tail.
"Okay, Mienfoo! You've already gotten a hit in." Rainbow Dash grabbed Mienfoo, holding her back from going on an assault.
"Foo!" Mienfoo looked like a child being carried by Rainbow Dash as she was punching the air, wanting to get more hits in on the Scaly Pokemon.
"That's some ferocity..." Twilight's eyes widened as Hakamo-o held his face.
Fluttershy and her Croagunk were doing fairly well since Croagunk's movements were unpredictable. The way it moved its body around like a leaf being blown in the wind. Croagunk's opponent Pancham couldn't seem to land a hit in no matter how hard it tried.
"Pan! Cham!" Pancham did its best and what it was capable of, but Croagunk continuously eluded its hit. Although, the Toxic Mouth Pokemon hadn't actually hit back yet. In fact, Croagunk was waiting for Pancham to tire itself out and then it will strike.
"Croa..."
"Pan...Pancham." The Playful Pokemon ran out of steam from all those unsuccessful hits as it sat down, catching its breath.
"Alright, Croagunk. Now you can attack. But um... go a bit easy on the poor little guy."
"Gunk!" Croagunk pulled its punches a bit, making sure to not hurt Pancham as it jabbed the Playful Pokemon in the face with Poison Jab, only making Pancham wince a bit.
"Pan!"
For Pinkie Pie, her Stufful wasn't exactly great at countering at all. Stufful was going up against a Mankey, who was continuously hitting the Flailing Pokemon without Stufful being able to block.
Due to the way Stufful was built and the fact that it was at the end of the day a stuffed bear, blocking hits was difficult, let alone countering them. However, Stufful's ability was Fluffy. Meaning that any moves that make direct contact are halved apart from Fire moves.
"Mankey!" Mankey used Karate Chop on Stufful's head, causing the Playful Pokemon to quake a small bit. That's when Stufful could actually hit back now.
By raising its arms, Stufful, sent Mankey flying into the pony they were both going up against in this session. "Stuff!"
"Mank!" Mankey and the pony were almost knocked out from that one single flail from Stufful, showing how abnormally strong it was.
"Nice job, Stufful! Here you go." Pinkie gave the Flailing Pokemon a cupcake for its hard work. Although, that wouldn't be considered hard due to how much power Stufful naturally has.
As for Applejack, she and Riolu were arguably performing the best. Thanks to Riolu having Aura, it was able to avoid any incoming hit from the opposing Tyrouge it was facing.
Tyrouge had finally managed to find an opening after so many attempts by using Mega Kick to get at least one hit in.
"Rio!" Even though Riolu's ability to sense auras was limited, it still had other ways to counter. Riolu had used the small rounded bumps on its arms to block Tyrouge's Mega Kick, surprising the Scuffle Pokemon.
"Rouge?!"
"Riolu!" Riolu delivered a counter by using Metal Claw. The Emanation Pokemon's paws lit up with a silver aura as it slashed Tyrouge's body, forcing its fellow Fighting-Type back.
Applejack was proud of Riolu for doing such a good job. And Riolu felt proud of itself as well.
Brawly watched as everypony got the hang of counter lessons fairly well. Rarity and her Pheromosa was a bit of an unfair advantage though.
For starters, it was an Ultra Beast. Secondly, out of all the Pokemon in this class, it has the hardest striking power with Sawk and Hariyama coming in second and third and thirdly, Rarity actually owns this Pokemon so she has some experience.
The poor unfortunate pony and their Meditite had been defeated by Pheromosa since her movements were too fast. Even when Rarity told her to hold back, it wasn't enough.
"Phero...!" Pheromosa kneeled, apologizing to Meditite who had fainted.
"Sometimes your strength is frightening, Pheromosa." Rarity sighed.
"You call that frightening? You haven't seen Clobbopus yet." Starlight's Clobbopus had managed to leave a hole in the floor even though it hit the air instead. How that was possible was something Starlight herself couldn't figure out.
"Alright!" Brawly spoke up, grabbing everypony's attention. That's good. We'll continue countering lessons next time. But for now, there's one final lesson. Concentration. And what better Pokemon to help us than this." Brawly went over to the box, holding another Poke Ball.
This time he had sent out the Aura Pokemon Lucario to help with the Concentration lesson.
"Cario!"
"A Fighting Pokemon needs to cool off once in a while. When they get a bit frustrated in battle, sometimes their movements start to betray them and their usual style of battling starts to weaken. That's why whether it's out of battle or during a battle, you need to have a clear and calm mind. So, Lucario here's gonna show you guys how it's done. Follow what he does."
"Lucario." The Aura Pokemon nodded as he sat down on the floor, closing his eyes. Apart from Medicham, Lucario was a Pokemon that was well-versed in concentration and focus thanks to it having a full grasp on Aura.
Everypony mimicked Lucario as they all sat down along with their Pokemon. They watched the Aura Pokemon used the move Calm Mind, which only further heightened its focus.
Lucario was emanating small aura waves from his body as they travelled through everypony's body. When a Lucario meditates whilst using Aura, the pulses it gives off are soothing to the body and mind. Much like how Sylveon uses its feelers to soothe its opponents.
"Ah...this feels kinda nice." Pinkie Pie was enjoying the feeling of Lucario's Aura. "I can't wait for Ash's Riolu to evolve so we get to feel this every day."
"Luca." Lucario suddenly sent a stronger aura wave that Applejack could actually understand.
The earth pony opened her eyes as she thought she heard Lucario talking to her with Aura. "...Did you say something?"
"Lucario."
"Ah, you must've felt Lucario's telepathic aura waves." Brawly went up to Applejack. "You know what that means?"
"Not really." Applejack shook her head.
"It means that you've potentially got some pretty strong Aura inside of you."
"I do?" Applejack paused for a moment. "I do?!" She then shot up.
"Applejack has Aura? I didn't know that," said Twilight.
"We all have Aura Twilight. Every living being on both worlds is filled with it. It's just that some have a bit more inside of them that can really be felt. Like Ash." Brawly explained.
"Bummer. Wish I had a visible aura." Pinkie Pie pouted.
"Mienfoo...!" Mienfoo suddenly shouted as she wanted everyone to keep it down. The Martial Arts Pokemon was actually getting into this Concentration session. It fit her style perfectly.
"Stufful..." Stufful yawned as it was getting kind of hungry. The Flailing Pokemon climbed up Pinkie Pie, sticking its head inside of her mane. There, Stufful had met Spinda who was currently eating the last cupcake inside of Pinkie's mane.
"Spin?"
"Stuff." Stufful was craving a cupcake as it put its arms out, attempting to grab Spinda's.
"Spinda!" Spinda wasn't too fond of that, so she pushed Stufful's arm away as she continued to consume the homemade Pinkie Pie delicacy.
"Stufful..." Stufful crossed its eyes as it was a fairly impulsive Pokemon. It wanted that cupcake more than anything right now. And it wasn't afraid to take it by force.
The Flailing Pokemon used its absurd strength to knock the cupcake out of Spinda's hands as it flew out of Pinkie's playful mane.
"Spin?!"
The cupcake flew across the room as it ended up landing on Mienfoo's head, causing the Martial Arts Pokemon to open her eyes.
"Foo?!" Mienfoo looked up to see the frosting of the cupcake drip down her face. This rightfully annoyed her as her concentration was being ruined.
But it only got worse. Spinda and Stufful were now at odds with each other. The Spot Panda Pokemon, rightfully furious at Stufful had used Secret Power to express her anger towards the Flailing Pokemon.
A white aura surrounded Spinda's body as she smashed her head onto Stufful's, causing the FIghting-Type to fly out of Pinkie Pie's mane.
And of course, by unfortunate luck, Stufful crashed into Mienfoo who was already irritated enough. When Stufful landed on Mienfoo, the Martial Arts Pokemon fell on her back, losing her concentration completely. And to make matters worse, this started a feud between Stufful and Spinda.
"Stuff!" Stufful had returned the favour by jumping on Mienfoo's head, using her as a boost to head back into Pinkie Pie's mane as the two Pokemon began fighting inside of Pinkie Pie's mane.
"Hehehe! That tickles" Pinkie giggled.
But one Pokemon who wasn't giggling was Mienfoo. She had enough of this as she jolted her head towards Pinkie Pie's mane, where Stufful and Spinda were currently going at it.
"Foo!" Mienfoo forgot about the concentration as she forcefully went after the two of them. Mainly Stufful.
"Hm? Mienfoo, wait!" Rainbow Dash gasped as she knew that Mienfoo was about to take all her anger out on those two Pokemon. But she also knew that Mienfoo couldn't fit in Pinkie Pie's mane so the result could injure Pinkie Pie.
Everypony turned around to see Mienfoo going in for a Mega Punch, right towards Pinkie Pie's head as the pink pony was completely oblivious to this.
Luckily, Rainbow Dash flew in front of Pinkie Pie, putting her hooves out as she managed to block Mienfoo's Mega Punch. The impact sent a shock through Rainbow's hooves as her bones felt like they could crack at any moment. But she endured it.
"Mien?!"
"Mienfoo, don't. It's not worth it, okay?" Rainbow Dash tried to calm her down.
"Mien...!" Mienfoo wasn't having any of that. She wanted to take her anger out somehow.
"I said don't!" Rainbow Dash raised her voice at the Martial Arts Pokemon, causing her to pause for a bit. She looked into Rainbow Dash's eyes as she saw something that she had been waiting for so long.
Mienfoo's previous trainers were all meek and deferential. Her stubborn and prideful nature didn't clash well with them at all. That is why she neglected to listen to a trainer she deemed as weak-willed.
But after seeing the look in Rainbow Dash's eyes and how edged they were, she had finally found a trainer who was essentially just like her with similar traits.
As such, the Martial Arts Pokemon listened to Rainbow Dash's orders as she calmed down, restraining her Mega Punch and ceasing her attack. "Mien."
"Good. Phew. You okay, Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked her.
"All good. Don't worry. Stufful and Spinda are just having fun."
"Not bad." Brawly went up to Rainbow Dash. "You actually managed to calm Mienfoo down. That's a first for sure!"
"Cario." Lucario nodded. He was originally planning on jumping in and stopping Mienfoo himself, but Rainbow Dash had already solved it.
"Thanks. Mienfoo's impulsive but nothing I haven't experienced before."
"Well. I think that wraps up your Fighting-Type lesson for the day. Good job, class. We made some great progress. Next time, we'll pick up from where we left off, alright?"
"Alright!" Each of the students said in unison. They were ordered to return the Pokemon to their Poke Balls since they were most likely going to use them again next time.
"Thanks for the help today, Hakamo-o." Twilight thanked Hakamo-o as she returned him.
"See you another time, Croagunk."
"Nice getting to know ya, RIolu. Also nice being able to hear Aura."
"Rio!"
"Alright, Stufful. In you go." Pinkie held out Stufful's Poke Ball. But before Stufful returns, it desired a cupcake first before returning. And with how it looked at Pinkie Pie, she couldn't resist. "Oh, alright. Here's one more." Pinkie had a spare hidden in her saddlebag.
"Stuff!" Stufful was now satisfied and at peace. The Flailing Pokemon stuck its tongue out at Spinda before returning into the Poke Ball, eating the cupcake in one go.
"Spinda...!"
"See ya, Clobbopus. You were an interesting one. Even if you have the mind of a three-year-old." Starlight returned Clobbopus.
Everypony had returned the Pokemon to their Poke Balls and placed them inside of the box. Apart from Rarity who officially owns Pheromosa.
However, Mienfoo was the only one who hadn't returned yet. In fact, she didn't want to return at all. "Mien..."
"Hey, uh, Mienfoo. It's time to head back." Rainbow Dash went up to the Martial Arts Pokemon. "You doing okay? You look a bit out of it."
"Mienfoo..." Mienfoo wasn't exactly great at being honest. Since she had found the perfect trainer for her, she wanted to show how she wanted to be with Rainbow Dash. But her prideful and stubborn nature made it a bit difficult. "Mien."
"It could be that Mienfoo doesn't want to return," Brawly said.
"Why's that?" Rainbow asked him.
"I've seen this look before. Rainbow Dash. I think Mienfoo wants to come along with you."
"Huh?" Rainbow froze for a moment. "Huh?! Really?!"
"Mhm. You're the first trainer to really get her attention and motivate her. It only makes sense that she'd choose you." Brawly nodded.
"Mien." Mienfoo crossed her arms as she was trying to hide her softer side. Rainbow Dash saw right through her, nodding in understanding.
"Alright. Mienfoo." Rainbow Dash held out the Poke Ball. "Do you...wanna come with me?"
"Foo?" Music to her ears. She didn't think Rainbow Dash would choose her at all due to how she acted in this class. But to her surprise, Rainbow was willing to make her apart of the team. "Mienfoo!"
The Martial Arts Pokemon was in. She smashed her palm on the Poke Ball, sending herself inside of it. The ball didn't need to shake since Mienfoo had already been caught in it long ago.
Rainbow Dash now had Mienfoo.
"Yes! That makes 6 members!" She raised the Poke Ball. After so long, she had 6 Pokemon at her disposal. The recommended and accurate number for the Equestria League. "Out you come, Mienfoo."
"Mien!" Mienfoo felt rejuvenated after becoming Rainbow Dash's Pokemon. Now she felt like her journey was finally beginning. And she made sure she wouldn't disappoint at all.
With the first day and the first class of the Pokemon School over and Rainbow Dash obtaining her 6th Pokemon in the form of the prideful and stubborn Mienfoo, the ponies all look forward to tomorrow and what the school has to offer with other teachers as the journey continues.
Ash and his Pokemon, as usual, were having a pleasant time hanging about in Oak's lab. Some of them were itching to on another adventure with Ash just for old times sake or to get stronger. Although, most of them are at their peak strength with some exceptions here and there.
One Pokemon, in particular, wasn't having the same amount of fun as the others. That Pokemon was Bayleef.
Out of all of Ash's Pokemon, she was the one who yearned to go along with him the most. Being here at Oak's lab was great and all, but being away from Ash for who knows how long was slowly making the Leaf Pokemon undergo lovesickness. Even befriending Ash's Pokemon wasn't enough to get rid of her lovesickness at all.
"Bay..." Bayleeef knew there was something wrong. Even if she was far away from Ash, she knew that her now-acclaimed rival was spending more time with him recently.
That rival being Twilight Sparkle. She may not have the sense of a Psychic-Type, but she could tell when Twilight was getting a bit too close. Like some sort of hidden 6th sense is within her. Although at this moment, she could feel three other ponies around her beloved trainer. And it wasn't Twilight.
Bayleef couldn't take it much longer. Staying in Oak's without being near Ash whilst her rival hangs out with him was driving her crazy. So there was only one logical thing to do.
Escape from Oak's lab and find Ash.
And that is exactly what she planned to do. Bayleef immediately took off like a rocket by running off. Obviously, the other Pokemon noticed this as she jumped over the fence of Professor Oak's lab.
The Pokemon gasped as they had just witnessed one of their friends just up and leave without Oak's permission or even her Poke Ball.
"Osha! Oshawott!" Oshawott told his friends to do something and catch her before she gets too far.
"Staraptor!" Staraptor was the Pokemon for the job. He was by far one of Ash's fastest Pokemon so it only made sense that he should go after her. The Predator Pokemon took the skies as he dashed out of Professor Oak's Lab to catch up with Bayleef.
"Bay!" Bayleef could see the gateway in the distance due to how visible it was with its cosmic aura. She couldn't wait to see Ash and knock away anyone that gets close to him.
"Star! Staraptor!" Staraptor had already reached Bayleef in a few seconds as he flew in front of her. "Star! Star!" He asked her why she had left the lab all of a sudden.
"Bay! Bayleef!" Bayleef told Staraptor that she needed to see Ash and that Staraptor needed to get out of the way since he's preventing her from advancing.
"Starap!" The Predator Pokemon understood Bayleef passion to see Ash, but she couldn't just leave without telling everyone. Especially Professor Oak since she wasn't even in her Poke Ball at the moment.
"Bay...Leef!" Bayleef had heard enough as she used Headbutt to smash into Staraptor's chest, forcing herself past the Normal-Flying-Type.
"Star!" Staraptor's eyes widened after being hit by Headbutt. Bayleef's Headbutt was disgustingly strong as it could even leave a bulky Pokemon a bit paralyzed after it hit. "Staraptor..."
Staraptor held his chest with his wings as he was on the floor wincing. Bayleef left him in the dust as she continued onwards to the gateway. To see the human she loves more than anything. Ash.
Ponyville, Day.
And speaking of Ash, he had currently been assigned with the task of foalsitting the Cutie Mark Crusaders once again. They only had the Pokemon School from Monday up to Wednesday whilst the older ponies go from Wednesday to Friday. A fair trade.
So, Ash and Pikachu were tasked with taking care of them whilst Twilight and the others attend Thursday classes.
"Where are we going today, Ash?" Scootaloo climbed up his shoulder.
"Are we going to see a new area in Unova?" Apple Bloom held his leg.
"Or a new place in our world?" Sweetie Belle jumped up and down.
"Well, I was planning on visiting Griffonstone, but since I'm taking care of you three, now I'm not so sure." Ash pondered for a bit, trying his best to come up with something.
"How about another trip to Pokestar Studios? I just got an awesome idea recently." Scootaloo grinned.
"Nah, let's go see the contest halls. They've just made the first one over at Manehattan." Sweetie Belle wanted to view Equestria's first contest hall.
"That place in Unova called Nimbasa City seems fun. Can we go there?" Apple Bloom took an interest in Nimbasa City after hearing about it.
"You three have some pretty good options. How about we-" Ash's words had been interrupted when someone came through the doors of Carousel Boutique.
That, someone, was Bayleef, who was able to track down Ash's familiar scent. "Bay!"
"Huh? Bayleef?!" Ash gasped.
"Pika?!"
"Bay!" Bayleef called out Ash's name as she stood up, glad to see him. However, her glad face quickly transformed when she saw that Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were making direct contact with him. And of course, Pikachu caught her attention like always. "Naturally, this didn't sit well with the Leaf Pokemon as she decided to force them off her trainer." Bay!"
Bayleef charged in, planning on headbutting Scootaloo and the others so that she can have Ash all to herself. She didn't care if they were kids whatsoever.
"Hm? Uh...Ah!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle's eyes widened as she realised that Bayleef was about to charge into her with a reckless-full-body tackle. Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle ran around Ash's legs, trying to avoid Bayleef's unexpected assault on them.
"Bayleef!" Bayleef attempted to use Body Slam on the two of them, by jumping up and forcing all of her full weight into this one move.
"Woah, slow down there, Bayleef!" Ash kneeled, picking both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle up, saving them from Bayleef as the Leaf Pokemon hit the floor.
"Leef!"
"T-T-Thanks, Ash." Sweetie Belle shuddered.
"Bayleef. You shouldn't just attack my friends out of nowhere like that. Usually, that's Scraggy's thing." Ash turned to his partner.
"Bay." Bayleef pouted as she didn't enjoy disappointing Ash. She knew herself that was very retentive of Ash. Over time her more extreme traits have mellowed down, but her jealous nature was still something to acknowledge. "Bayleef..."
"What's her problem?" Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes.
"Sorry. Bayleef can be a bit stubborn and clingy to me. She means well though." Ash patted Bayleef on the head, calming the Leaf Pokemon down. "And I guess you left Professor Oak's lab to be with me, huh?"
"Bay!" Bayleef enjoyed Ash's pats as she pinned the trainer to the ground, hugging him.
"Gah! Bayleef!" Ash squealed as he had been held down. Like old times. "Not this again!"
"Pikachu..."
"Talk about an obsessive Pokemon. I wish my Espurr was like that actually." Sweetie Belle said.
"Yeah but...doesn't it feel like it's a bit too obsessive? It almost attacked us just because we were near him." Scootaloo whispered.
"Maybe it's like a bodyguard?" Apple Bloom spoke. "Although he already has Pikachu and the others for that."
"Or maybe..." Sweetie Belle observed Bayleef closely. How she pinned Ash down and didn't let him get up for even a second whilst nudging her face on his. "It has a crush on Ash."
"A crush?" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo turned to her.
"Can't you see? Ash said she's clingy, she came all the way from Pallet Town to Ponyville just for him and it got mad when it saw us close to Ash. Those are some pretty big red flags."
"Ooh...Yeah, that makes sense, I guess." Scootaloo nodded.
"Does Ash know that?" Apple Bloom asked.
They turned around to see Ash trying his very best to get Bayleef off him. He believed that Bayleef was just playing around. "No, I don't think so." Sweetie Belle shook her head.
Finally, Bayleef got off Ash, giving him some space to breathe. "Whew..." Ash breathed in and out. "Alright. What was I thinking? Oh, right. What we were gonna do today."
"Pika."
"Scootaloo. You're preparing yourself for your second Gym Battle all the way at Dodge Junction, right?"
"Ah! I almost forgot about it!" Scootaloo screeched, pulling her mane.
"Sweetie Belle. You've already got some new tricks for your future contests, right?"
"Oh, no! I haven't come up with anything new!" Sweetie Belle gasped
"And Apple Bloom. You still focused on becoming a Monotype trainer? If so then we go ahead and catch some more Grass-Types for you."
"Mhm. Still want some Grass-Types!" Apple Bloom was the only one who was calm and collected since her goal wasn't as large as her friends. But she was gradually thinking of catching another type someday.
"Alright. Pikachu and I can help you guys with those before my Foalsitting role finishes. And I guess you can join in Bayleef since you're already here."
"Bay!" Bayleef liked the sound of that. If it meant being close to Ash, she was up for it.
The group had gone over to Lapras Lake to work on the Crusader's needs. For Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, tricks that they can learn for their Gym Battles and Contests. Apple Bloom was exempt since she wasn't aiming to catch a Grass-Type today. Her mind was thinking of another type.
"So!" Ash clapped his hands together. "Sweetie Belle. Your Espurr's the one you've put most of your contest moves into right?"
"Yeah. I taught her Wonder Room, Light Screen and Disarming Voice for contests. But uh... I'm not sure that the judges are gonna like the same tricks over and over again." Sweetie Belle held Espurr's Poke Ball with her magic.
"No need to worry. Espurr's got a lot of flashy moves that she can learn. Like Sunny Day or Signal Beam. Scootaloo. You said a while back that you wanted to evolve one of your Pokemon, right?"
"Oh, yeah." Scootaloo nodded. "If I can get my Horsea, Cyndaquill or even Ponyta to evolve, that'd be sweet! Then I'd have a sweet team of Seadra, Quilava and Rapidash!"
"That's the spirit. Come out and help out, Riolu. Farfetch'd." Ash held out both Riolu and Farfetch'd's Poke Bals, sending them out to assist in this.
"Rio!"
"Farfetch'd."
"Okay...Riolu. Farfetch'd. I want you to train with Scootaloo's Pokemon to help them improve. Sweetie Belle. If you want some of your Pokemon to learn new moves for contests, you can go up against Dragonite okay?"
"Okay!" Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said.
"Bay..." Bayleef pouted as she wanted in on this action.
"Alright, Bayleef. You can help out too." Ash held Bayleef's face.
"Bayleef!"
"Farfetch'd. I want you to go first and then after that, Riolu and Bayleef.
"Far. Farfetch'd."
"Riolu!"
"Out you come, you guys!" Scootaloo sent out her Ponyta, Horsea, Cyndaquill and Pachirisu to help develop them.
"All my other Pokemon have good moves but Espurr's the one with real dazzle. Come on out." Sweetie Belle sent out her Espurr.
"Espurr..."
"I'll battle against you, Scootaloo. And for Sweetie Belle, I'll lend some of the stuff I learned from watching Dawn's contest. I'm not really a contest expert, but I can tell you what Dawn showed me back then. Plus, when watching a Pokemon battle you can place some of the stuff you see into contest moves."
"Okay! Watch closely, Espurr."
"Esp."
"You ready, Scootaloo?"
"Ready. I'll go with you Ponyta."
"Pony!"
"Oh!" Apple Bloom ran up to Ash. "Can I be the referee? Please? I want to shout the same stuff the other referee did in the Canterlot Tournament!"
"Alright, you can." Ash nodded.
"Yes!" Apple Bloom pumped her hooves. "Okay, uh. How does it go?" She thought for a moment. "Oh, right! Bring out your Pokemon!"
"Our Pokemon are already out," Scootaloo said.
"Oh. Then uhh...battle start!"
"Farfetch'd! Use Night Slash!" Ash made the first move.
"Far!" Galarian Farfetch'd ran forward, raising its leek as it lunged at the Fire Horse Pokemon with a mighty battle cry.
"Ponyta! Double Kick!"
"Pony...Ta!" Ponyta reared up on his hind legs, turning around so the backside of his body is facing Farfetch'd. The Fire Horse Pokemon then kicked upwards with both of his back legs, clashing Farfetch'd's Leek.
They had a small struggle, but ultimately, Farfetch'd managed to overpower Ponyta by adding some extra force into its leek. The Leek of Farfetch'd had forcefully knocked one of Ponyta's hooves back, causing the Fire Horse Pokemon to lose his balance.
"Ta! Pony?!" Ponyta fell on his face after being overpowered by Night Slash.
"Ponyta, you okay?!"
"Pony." The Fire Horse Pokemon stood back up, shaking the sand off his face. His blazing mane started to intensify to represent his fighting spirit.
"That's some nice spirit you're showing there, Ponyta. Farfetch'd and I are gonna do the same!" Ash grinned.
"Far!" Farfetch'd spun the leek around, asserting its dominance.
"Alright, Ponyta! Flame Charge!"
"Ta!" Ponyta became outlined in orange flames as he galloped forward, charring the sand beneath him. Farfetch'd narrowed his eyes, anticipating Ash's commands whilst Ponyta closes in.
"Smash your leek down on the ground!"
"Far...FETCH'D!" The Wild Duck Pokemon slammed its thick leek on the ground, causing a mild vibration to flow across Lapras Lake.
This tremor had flowed through Ponyta's legs, giving the Fire Horse Pokemon a shiver. Ponyta's Flame Charge had been interrupted by the sudden shock wave as he yet again, lost balance, falling forward.
"Now! Brutal Swing!" Before Ponyta could hit the ground as it fell forward, Farfetch'd's leek glowed dark pink as it swung its thick leek forward, striking Ponyta's stomach.
"Far!" Farfetch'd didn't stop there. It used the leek to swing Ponyta around repeatedly.
"Ponyta!" Ponyta's eyes widened as he was being swung by Brutal Swing, going in continuous circles. "Ta! Ta!"
"Ah! Not my Ponyta!" Scootaloo gasped.
"Now release!" Ash raised his fist.
"Far...Fetch'd!" By finishing its swinging, Farfetch'd released Ponyta from its leek, sending the Fire Horse Pokemon back to Scootaloo.
"Now use Night Slash from afar!
"Fetch'd! Fetch'd!" The Wild Duck Pokemon sent a slash of blue waves from its leek, swinging it violently as the waves tore through the sand.
"Dodge and use Horn Attack!"
"Ta!" Ponyta was now much faster thanks to Flame Charge boosting his speed. He was able to avoid the waves of Night Slash with one of them clipping his flaming tail.
"Here he comes! Block with your Leek!" Farfetch'd quickly put its leek up, preparing for the worst once Ponyta made direct contact. Ponyta gained an aura of light on top of his head. This light was in the shape of a horn as he struck it towards Farfetch'd connecting with the leek.
"Far...!" Farfetch'd stood its ground by keeping its leek in one spot, making sure that Ponyta doesn't breakthrough. Thanks to the thickness of the leek, Farfetch'd was able to keep Pontya still whilst the Fire Horse Pokemon galloped its legs, trying to push through.
"That all you got, Scootaloo?" Ash smirked.
"Of course not! I'm gonna take a page out of one of your strategies! Switch into Flame Charge!"
"Po...NY!" Ponyta's eyes flashed red as it switched from Horn Attack to Flame Charge. His body ignited, causing Farfetch'd's eyes to widen in shock. With Flame Charge being active, Ponyta was capable of pushing Farfetch'd back now.
The power struggle between the two was leaning towards Ponyta as his fire aura was increasing in size. Farfetch'd winced as its leek was starting to tilt to the other side.
"Far?!"
"Farfetch'd! Let go of your leek and jump back!"
"Fetch'd!" Farfetch'd did just that. It unhanded its trusty leek which was really weighing it down due to how heavy it was. The Wild Duck Pokemon had utilized its now agile body to jump over Ponyta as it witnessed its leek being absorbed by the flames of Flame Charge.
"Pony!" Ponyta ran past the leek, turning around to face Farfetch'd who was airborne.
"Use Ember, Ponyta!"
"Ponyta!" Whilst his opponent was in the air, Ponyta shot out sparks of flames from his mouth to knock the Fighting-Type out of the sky.
"Farfetch'd! Block and grab your leek!"
"Far!" Farfetch'd put its two wings together, blocking the sparks of Ember. It was more skilled with blocking with its leek so the Fire move stung its wings a bit.
The Wild Duck Pokemon landed near its leek, picking its trusty weapon back up from the ground. Farfetch'd's leek was still on fire due to Flame Charge, but it didn't care at all.
In fact, it quite enjoyed a flaming leek. If it meant dealing some extra damage with fire included. "Now! Spin with your Flaming Leek!"
"Farfetch'd!" The Wild Duck Pokemon held onto its blazing leek tight, powering through the scorching flames that were currently burning its hand. By spinning around, Farfetch'd sprayed some flames towards Ponyta's direction like a fountain of fire.
"Look out, Ponyta! Dodge it!"
"Pony?!" Ponyta used his increased speed to evade the flames by galloping to the side. Even if he had dodged, the attack wouldn't have done that much to him thanks to his typing.
"Keep swinging!"
"Fetch'd!" Farfetch'd didn't stop swinging as there were still some flames left on the leek. Since they were flying in every direction, the flames spread out across the sand, setting it all ablaze as Apple Bloom and the others backed up.
One of the flames managed to reach Ponyta's hoof, causing the FIre Horse Pokemon to feel it just a small bit. But it barely phased him at all.
"Let's finish this, Ponyta! Flame Charge one more time!"
"Ponyta!" Ponyta saw that Farfetch'd was still swinging the leek around violently, letting the last batch of flames fly out. Since Ponyta could barely feel the flames, he decided to charge through them by igniting himself in flames. The Fire Horse Pokemon was now 3x faster as he could approach Farfetch'd at a quicker pace.
But Ash's reaction time far surpassed that of Ponyta's speed thanks to his many years of battling against speedy opponents and owning many swift Pokemon himself.
"Now, Farfetch'd! Swing your leek upwards!"
"Fetch! Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd dug its leek on the sand, surrounding it in a light blue aura. The Wild Duck Pokemon then flipped its leek upwards as a stream of sand flew towards Ponyta.
Ponyta gasped as a wall of sand had gotten in his eyes, blocking his vision of Farfetch'd. That's when Ash decided to capitalize with the next and final attack.
"Now, Brutal Swing!"
"Fetch'd!" Farfetch'd jumped into the air whilst Ponyta still had sand in his eyes. Once the Fire Horse Pokemon got the sand out, he noticed that Farfetch'd was no longer standing in the same spot as before.
Instead, Farfetch'd was above him, already having Brutal Swing ready to go. Scootaloo squealed as she had to think of something fast to keep Ponyta standing.
"Ponyta! Look up and use Double Kick, quick!"
"Pony...!" Ponyta hadn't yet realized that Farfetch'd was above him until Scootaloo gave the Wild Duck Pokemon's presence away. It was too late to counteract since Farfetch'd was already ahead of him in terms of attacks.
"FAR!" Farfetch'd slammed Ponyta down on the ground by smashing the thick leek on the Fire Horse Pokemon's back, erupting the sand around them. As the CMC felt a heavy impact rush through their hooves, that one single Brutal Swing had managed to faint the Fire Horse Pokemon.
"Goob job, Farfetch'd. But uh...maybe that last hit was a bit too hard."
"Far." Farfetch'd placed the leek on its shoulder, walking back to Ash.
"Aw...bummer. Nice try anyway, Ponyta." Scootaloo helped her partner up.
"Pony."
"Alright, Riolu. You're up next." Ash turned to the Emanation Pokemon.
"Rio-" Riolu walked forward with confidence, ready to go up against any of Scootaloo's Pokemon until a certain Grass-Type interrupted.
"Bay!" Bayleef ran past Riolu, stepping in front of Ash instead. "Bayleef!"
"Huh, Bayleef? Do you wanna battle next?"
"Pika?"
"Bay!" The Leaf Pokemon nodded aggressively.
"Ah, sorry, Bayleef. But you're a bit too strong for this. Like Pikachu." Ash rubbed the back of his head, apologizing. He had a point. If Pikachu or Bayleef went up against Scootaloo's Pokemon, it would be a bit unfair since they're experienced Pokemon whilst Riolu and Farfetch'd are still growing and new.
"Leef!" Bayleef shook her head. She wanted to battle alongside Ash once more like old times. Mostly due to her possessive crush on him. Ash knew that once Bayleef decides something, it's impossible to talk her out of it.
"Guess you won't take no for an answer huh?" Ash chuckled. He didn't want to overpower Scootaloo's Pokemon. But, he had a spark in his mind that could work out for everyone. "How about this! Scootaloo. Wanna practice with one of my Pokemon?"
"Hm? " Scootaloo shot up. "Wait, you mean...?"
"Yeah. To make things fair, I'll let you battle with either Gengar, Dragonite or Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
"Oh! Yes please!" Scootaloo squeed. "I'll take Dragonite! Dragons are strong anyways."
"Alright. Sorry about this, Riolu. Maybe another time." Ash apologised to the Fighting-Type.
"Riolu!" Riolu didn't mind at all. He did feel a bit robbed though.
"Okay, Bayleef. You've got yourself a deal." Ash sent out Dragonite for Scootaloo. "Dragonite. Can you be with Scootaloo a bit for this battle?"
"Dragon!" The Dragon Pokemon was up for it. It was already a good friend with practically everypony in Ponyville, so it'll work well with anypony who battles alongside it.
"Bayleef..." Out of all the Pokemon here, Bayleef had the most determination for one reason.
Ever since Ash finished his adventures in Johto and went on to venture new regions, Bayleef was aware that Ash had gained new and stronger Pokemon over the years. Much stronger than her.
Ash has befriended so many powerful Pokemon to a point where one of them can sync up with him and unlock an unseen transformation that links trainer and Pokemon together.
Bayleef knew that compared to guys like Infernape, Greninja, Krookodile etc, she couldn't compare. But she wanted to prove to Ash that she was still capable of being as fierce as them. In fact, she wanted to become stronger than Ash's heavy hitters one day. And she believed that this was her chance to show that she still has room for improvement.
"Alright! Continue!" Apple Bloom shouted.
"Let's go, Dragonite! Dragon Claw!" Dragonite's claws shined white, holding a bit of its strength back since it didn't want to hurt one of Ash's Pokemon severely.
"Bayleef! Use Headbutt!"
"Bay!" The Leaf Pokemon stuck her head out as she ran straight forward. Bayleef closed her eyes as her head collided with Dragonite's huge claws.
Like before, Bayleef's Headbutt was enough to even harm the bulkiest of Pokemon due to her undying love for Ash. As such, once Headbutt and Dragon Claw came into contact, Bayleef was actually starting to push Dragonite back by exhibiting more force into her attack.
"Dra?"
"She's actually pushing someone as huge as Dragonite back?!" Sweetie Belle gasped.
"Bay...Leef!" Bayleef groaned as she let out a spurt of energy, causing even the giant Dragonite to fly back a bit. The aftershock of her Headbutt was mighty enough to even ripple the waves of Lapras Lake themselves.
However, Bayleef's head was throbbing a bit. After all, she did make direct contact with a Dragon Pokemon and its mighty claws.
"Dragon?" Dragonite saw how bad the recoil was on Bayleef as it flew over to the Leaf Pokemon, asking if she was alright.
"Bay!" Bayleef told Dragonite that she was fine. She could continue even if her head was aching a bit.
"Still able to go, huh? Alright then. Bayleef! Use Vine Whip!"
"Leef!" The Leaf Pokemon used the hidden dark green vines from under the leaves around her neck as she raised them upwards.
"Dragonite! Hurricane!"
"Gonite!" The Dragon Pokemon flapped its wings, releasing multiple green crescent-shaped blades of energy from its body as they had the same force of an actual hurricane to a point where they blew away the sand and even the leaves from the trees.
"Leap up with Vine Whip!"
"Bay!" Bayleef had utilized the same strategy she used back when she fought against Gary's Blastoise. By using Vine Whip to jump above the crescent-shaped blades, avoiding them completely.
"Now, Body Slam!
"Leef!" The Leaf Pokemon retracted her vines as she spread her legs out, slamming her full body weight onto Dragonite's head.
"Dra!"
"Bay!" Bayleef bounced off Dragonite since it was heavier than her in every way as she fell on her back. "Bay..." Bayleef stood back up as her stomach was a bit sore after hitting Dragonite's hard body. And yet, she was still able to continue. Her drive to impress Ash was something to admire.
Ash could see that Bayleef was pushing herself harder than she ever has before. From what he could tell, she was going the extra mile just to prove to him that she could compare to his stronger Pokemon one day.
But Ash didn't need Bayleef to do any of that to prove anything.
"Alright. I think that's enough." Ash called off the battle.
"Huh? Wait, it's over?" Apple Bloom turned to him.
"Bayleef. You wanted to battle to show me that you can get stronger, right?" Ash went up to her.
"Bay." The Leaf Pokemon nodded.
"Thought so. Bayleef. You don't have to prove to me that you can get stronger, ya know. I already know you can become stronger. Just like everyone else.
"Bayleef?"
"I guess because I've grown so much over the years, you kinda feel that I might never battle with you ever again, huh? That I'll just use stronger Pokemon and nothing else."
"Bay." That's what Bayleef was afraid of. She didn't want to be neglected for a stronger Pokemon. Nor did she want to stay distant from Ash.
"No need to worry. I'd never neglect you." Ash patted Bayleef on the head. "Weak or strong, I'm always gonna battle alongside my best buddies. And we'll get stronger with everyone along the way."
"Bayleef!" Pleased to hear that Ash would never ignore her even if he's constantly getting stronger Pokemon every year, she pinned him down once more, hugging her beloved trainer.
"Ow! Bayleef! This again?!" Ash flailed his arms about as Bayleef kept him there on one spot.
"Pikachu..."
"I got to battle with a fully evolved Dragon. I'm satisfied." Scootaloo squeed. "Thanks, Dragonite."
"Dragon!" Dragonite was pleased with this sudden resolution with Bayleef. To show its happiness, it did what it does best. Gather everyone together for a huge group hug when they least expect it.
"Bay?!" Bayleef's eyes widened along with everypony else who had been pulled into Dragonite's embracing arms.
"Okay, Dragonite! We're happy too!" Apple Bloom laughed as she and the others melted in the Dragon Pokemon's warm embrace before it broke the hug up.
"You know...that battle between Farfetch'd and Ponyta and the Flaming Leek gave me an idea for a Contest move!" Sweetie Belle said. "I'm not sure how I'm gonna do it since none of my Pokemon carry weapons...but I'll think of something!"
"That's the spirit, Sweetie Belle!" Ash stood up. "Alright, Bayleef. We gotta get you back to Professor Oak's Lab. I'll come along with you, okay?"
"Bayleef!" As long as Ash was beside her, she didn't mind going back.
As Ash, Bayleef and even the CMC arrived at Pallet Town, they noticed that Staraptor was on the ground, still holding his chest after that unexpected Headbutt from Bayleef.
"Star..." The Predator Pokemon stood back up as he was trying to ignore the pain until it went away.
"Bay." Bayleef went up to Staraptor apologizing for hitting him with such force back there.
"Staraptor." Staraptor accepted her apology, however, now he was a bit intimidated by the Leaf Pokemon considering how long he spent on the ground, writhing in pain. Now there are a few Pokemon in Oak's lab that he fears.
They each arrived at Professor Oak's lab with Oak being completely unaware that Bayleef even left in the first place. Although, she did jump over the fence.
"Oh, Ash. And...Bayleef and Staraptor?" Oak squinted his eyes. "But you didn't come and retrieve them today."
"Bayleef kinda came to me. Sorry for the trouble Professor Oak."
"Pikachu."
"Hm. A Pokemon's yearning for their trainer can lead to scenarios such as that." Oak nodded. "Perhaps I need a larger back garden for more activities they can take part in."
"Bay!" Bayleef gave one final nudge to Ash as a way of saying goodbye. She wasn't fond of leaving Ash but she knew that he'll be back to visit her and possibly even take part in battles with the Leaf Pokemon. That was something that Bayleef could always look forward to.
With Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle's Gym Battle and contest lurking around the corner and with some new tricks and skills having been picked up thanks to the battle between Ponyta and Farfetch'd, Ash proves to be a worthy mentor to everypony by giving them something new to utilize in the future even if he wasn't a teacher at the Pokemon School.
As for Bayleef, she could rest easy, knowing that Ash will always find a place for her in his ever-growing team of Pokemon as the journey continues.
Fluttershy, Audino, Chikorita and her animal friends were currently heading back home after having a good time the whole through.
"I'm so sorry I lost track of time at our picnic. I didn't mean for us to get caught out here after dark. But there's really nothing to be afraid of. The forest at night is the same as the forest during the day." Fluttershy spoke as the wind howled violently through the forest. "Only... darker."
"Chiko..." Chikorita wasn't too fond of this atmosphere at all she climbed up Audino's head for safety. Another individual who wasn't a fan of this darkness at the moment was the bear known as Harry who got on the floor, cowering with his sharp teeth chattering.
"Still, maybe we should hurry back to the cottage-" Before Fluttershy could finish her sentence, Audino picked up on something with her ears.
"Dino?!" It sounded like something fast was moving around in the woods. Whatever it was, the sounds were getting closer.
"What is it, Audi? What do you hear?" Fluttershy lowered her head as all the animals hid behind her.
Audino could tell that this unidentified entity was moving in, heading for their direction. She tried to listen for where it was going to appear from but it was moving so fast that it was impossible to keep up with its sounds.
All of a sudden, eerie wails echoed throughout the forest, causing Audino and the others to face the direction of the noise. She had finally spotted the entity as all she could see were sharp magenta eyes that glowed in the dark.
"Ruuuun!" Fluttershy screamed at the top of her lungs as she chose the option to book it and get out of this forest as fast as they could.
As they were all dashing off, this entity had a dragon-like figure to it as it kept on howling. The unidentified creature flew up into the air as the clouds themselves shot out thunderbolts to really make the already eerie mood worse.
Before Audino could take any action, this dragon-like creature let out a mighty roar whilst the thunder clapped in the sky. The force of its roar had almost pushed Audino back, nearly knocking the Hearing Pokemon off balance. Fluttershy screamed as she hid behind Audino with absolute fear injected into her eyes.
It was after that scream, the dragon-like creature revealed itself. In fact, it wasn't a dragon at all. It was just Rainbow Dash wearing a silly costume made out of tree barks, sticks and some cloud clothing as she laughed.
"Gotcha!" Rainbow Dash's laughing intensified as she felt satisfied with her prank. She couldn't stop laughing as she fell on her back with the costume coming off.
Fluttershy hyperventilated as Harry held her close. She took a moment to breathe as a tear formed in her eyes. "That wasn't funny! You really scared me! I hope you're happy."
"Nope. You're too easy. You're scared of everything." Rainbow Dash stood up.
"That's not true." Fluttershy shook her head.
"Boo." But one single word from Rainbow Dash caused the shy pegasus to scream as she flew up to a tree, shaking uncontrollably.
Rainbow Dash's work was done here as Fluttershy's Pokemon and the animals were not amused whatsoever. But she certainly was.
Ponyville, day.
Over at Twilight's Pokemon Lab, Fluttershy was currently sitting near the fossil machine with her hooves crossed. All of her friends including Rainbow Dash had gathered up in that one spot since Fluttershy didn't take too kindly to what happened last night.
"I mean, how could you not appreciate that?" Rainbow Dash spoke to Fluttershy.
"Because I don't think being scared is very fun!" Fluttershy replied.
"I do!" Pinkie sat up from the floor. "Your heart gets all racy, your hooves get all tingly, your mouth gets all dry-ie! Actually, I don't like that part. But the rest is great!"
"See? Everypony likes a good prank! They're just jokes!" Rainbow Dash shrugged as she sat next to the entrance to PokePark.
"Now, Rainbow Dash, I don't think Fluttershy would have called us all here to talk about this if she thought it was funny. Everypony has things they like and things they don't," said Rarity.
"And scaring Fluttershy is just lazy." Applejack shook her head.
"Lazy?!" Rainbow Dash scoffed.
"A prank isn't very good if you're the only pony laughing." Twilight explained as she opened up the entrance to PokePark
"But what if it's really, really, really, really, really funny?" Pinkie dashed over.
"And I can do funny." Rainbow grinned.
"I know you can. I guess the trick is making sure that your idea of funny matches the pony you're pranking." Twilight walked inside of PokePark as she stepped inside of some fake quicksand that Rainbow Dash placed earlier today.
Not only that, but most of the Pokemon had been caught in this fake quicksand since it spread across the Cove Town.
"Audino..." The Audino of PokePark sighed as she just simply waited for the fake quicksand to fizzle out.
"Trubbish!" Trubbish, strangely enough, ate up the quicksand as if it was food to it. At least it helped with getting rid of the quicksand.
"Fake quicksand..." Twilight was unamused. "Because of course, that exists..."
"You like? I got it from a prank store in Castelia City. Couldn't resist getting it!" Rainbow Dash squeed.
"Otherworldly pranks are the best pranks sometimes!" Pinkie nodded.
"Got anymore from Castelia, hm?" Applejack narrowed her eyes.
"A bunch! Can't wait to use them all!" Rainbow Dash rubbed her hooves together.
"At least it's more innovative than the usual pranks. Usually, you'd end up going for the typical fake snake, tape on the kitchen sink nozzle and banana pranks." Rarity said.
"What's wrong with those?" Rainbow asked.
"They're simple and predictable." Applejack uttered.
"Predictable?!" Both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie both said.
"I'll have you know the banana trick is an oldie but a goodie! Like so." Rainbow Dash dropped a banana peel on the floor, causing Twilight's Cinccino to slip on it.
"Ccino!"
"See? It always works no matter what."
"Talk about zero effort," said Applejack.
"Honestly, Rainbow Dash, if you are not willing to put forth the extra effort required to pull a prank that everypony can enjoy, you may as well not pull one at all." Rarity waved her hoof around.
"Fine! If you ponies want effort, then that's just what you'll get." Rainbow Dash flew up as she dashed out of Twilight's lab, prepared to prove them wrong.
"I'm not sure she understood what we meant." Twilight shook her head as she used her magic to get rid of the fake quicksand as soon as possible.
Over at Rarity's Carousel Boutique, she and Sweetie Belle were almost ready for tomorrow with a few things needing to be worked by Rarity.
"I know you're excited about the Filly Guide Cookie Drive, but I still have to do a few finishing touches on your uniform." Rarity spoke to her.
The two sisters paused for a moment as they came across a tall cake that had a mannequin with the uniform on top of it. Rarity was confused whilst Sweetie Belle went up to the cake, taking a bite out of it. "Hmm. Not bad."
Rarity then found a note on the cake, using her magic to read it. It simply said four words as she read the following. "You asked for it."
"What does it mean?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Hmm. I assume this is Dash's idea of a prank, which can only mean she's rigged some kind of booby trap to your Filly Guide uniform up there. Leavanny. String Shot."
"Van." One of Rarity's Leavanny's used String Shot to latch onto the uniform, gently removing it so that she doesn't ruin the cake.
However, Rainbow Dash expected something like this to happen. So she had covered the mannequin with slime so that the uniform would end up being slimed up.
"Ew..." Sweetie Belle winced. "It's all ruined now."
"No need to worry. If Dash thinks I'm going to fall for whatever she's got in mind, she's got another thing coming. There are more uniforms where that one came from!" Rarity went over to her sewing machine, prepared to make another one.
However, once Rarity used her magic to interact with the machine, it was revealed that it wasn't a sewing machine at all. Instead, just a cake that looks like a sewing machine as it crumbled.
Sweetie Belle took a bite of the sculpted cake, finding it much better than the taller cake. "Hmm. The sewing machine cake is actually better than the cake cake."
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity yelled as she spotted the multi-coloured-maned mare outside her window, laughing at how she had been pranked by cake and slime of all things.
"Gotcha! Ha-ha! How's that for effort?" She flew off to find her next victim to prank. Rarity watched outside as Leavanny wiped some slime off her strings whilst Sweetie Belle continued to enjoy the cake.
Sweet Apple Acres, Night.
"Grovyle..." Grovyle laid in the corner, dozing off to have a sweet and sombre sleep throughout the whole night with no interruptions whatsoever.
Meanwhile, Applejack had set up a plethora of pots, pans, bells, ropes and a mish-mash of other objects, specifically for Rainbow Dash since she was expecting her.
"What's all this, Applejack? I thought you were gonna help me get ready for the Filly Guide Cookie Drive." Apple Bloom walked in.
"Uh, yeah, sorry about that. But Rainbow Dash has been on a pranking tear, and you can never be too careful. But luckily, Cold's always awake, so it'll be smooth sailing until morning.
"Do you really think Dash is gonna try and prank you in your sleep?"
"Not if I have anythin' to say about it." Applejack turned off the lights as Apple Bloom left. "See ya in the mornin', sugarcube."
Now she was in the same state as her Grovyle. Total peace with no sounds around. Just the calming air of the night. And with Cold Colt staying up to keep watch, she could rest easy.
Fast forward to the morning and Applejack was still snug in her bed. With the sun shining over her face, the earth pony could wake up with revitalized energy.
That is, when she woke up, something was off here. The moment she opened her eyes a Mudbray was sleeping right next to her with its usual dirt all over it.
"Mudbray!"
"Huh?!" Applejack sat up from her bed. To her surprise, it wasn't the Mudbray that surprised her, but the fact that she was outside with her bed. She stood on the edge of her bed as she lost her balance, falling on the ground. "Whoa!" The ground around her was full of mud as it got all over her face.
Her Grovyle was, unfortunately, a victim of as well. He noticed that was asleep on the outside instead of inside. Confused and puzzled, Grovyle took a step forward. But that single step got mud all over his leg.
"Gro?!"
Above the skies, Rainbow Dash could be seen laughing as she dropped one of Applejack's pans from above. "Ha! Still think I'm lazy? Gotcha! Your little night watch couldn't stop me either!"
"Urgh...Cold!" Applejack turned her head to the young unicorn.
"Sorry Applejack. She was very convincing..." Cold lowered his head in shame.
"Ugh! Rainbow Dash!" Applejack bellowed.
"Mudbray!" The Donkey Pokemon jumped off the bed, slamming itself on the mud since it just loves to get dirty. Although, it also gives them better traction for running.
The mud got all over Applejack as she just simply sighed in disappointment and frustration.
But it didn't stop with just those two. Rainbow Dash went on a rampage, pranking not just Ponyville, but even Pallet Town. Whether it was a pony, human, Pokemon and even donkeys, she spared no one.
For Cranky she replaced his wig with a Skunktank. Once Cranky realized this the Skunk Pokemon opened its mouth, shooting Poison Gas all over the room.
"Gotcha!" Rainbow Dash said outside. This wouldn't be the last time she said that.
For Spike, he had just finished sending a letter to Princess Celestia, breathing fire on it as the letter wisped off to Canterlot. There were still many more letters to send to her so he would be busy today.
But then, a second letter fell from above, hitting his head and landing on the table. Spike didn't even go for another letter himself. It just forced itself here. He was a bit confused but he decided to send this letter as well, breathing on it.
Then a third letter fell from above. So he blew on that one too. Then a fourth, a fifth and a six, and this went on until all the letters had been sent to the Princess.
And speaking of Celestia, her throne room was overflooded with thousands of letters as she, Passion and Arcanine popped their heads out of a sea of letters. And all of them she would have to read.
For Big Mac and his Machamp, it was taken a step further. The two of them were pulling a cart up the hill with little to no effort. That is until Rainbow Dash sprinkled some dust all over Machamp's face.
The dust affected the Superpower Pokemon's barely-hard-to-see nose as Machamp let out a mighty sneeze that sent him flying in the air, causing a shockwave. As for Big Mac, a large boulder was dropped on his cart, forcing him to go down the hill instead of up.
"Gotcha!"
Over at SugarCube Corner, Mr Cake was thrilled to devour a hayburger in front of him. By rubbing his hooves together, he couldn't wait much longer.
He picked up the burger, opening his mouth up to feel that nostalgic taste flow through his mouth. But once he teeth made contact, it felt like biting into a brick instead of something soft and crunchy as he held his jaw.
In fact, his hayburger actually had bricks inside of them. Much to his dismay.
"Gotcha!"
At the Ponyville Schoolhouse, Miss Cheerilee's chalkboard had been vandalized via a silly drawing of what looked to be her. This amused the students, but not her.
"Gotcha!" Rainbow Dash flew off as Cheerilee chased her down.
As for the Pokemon World, she went after Cerise Labs first.
Chloe was currently feeding her Yamper some Oran berries. She placed her hand in the bowl, expecting to hold more of them for Yamper. However, they had been switched for the very spicy Tamator Berry.
Once Yamper bit onto it, it spiked up the Puppy Pokemon's face turned red as it couldn't handle the heat, shocking everything around it. That includes Chloe, who now had her school uniform ruined from the shock.
"Gotcha!" Rainbow Dash said, standing outside of the lab.
And she went above and beyond for Goh.
Goh was currently making his way to Ponyville until he spotted something that caught his eye. In the distance, he saw an undiscovered figure that he's never seen before.
Obviously, he thought it was a brand new Pokemon so he rushed over to see what it could be. When he got close he saw that this "Pokemon" was covered in what looked to be pillows of all things. These pillows were rainbow coloured, however
Goh took a step forward as he grabbed the attention of this new Pokemon. He threw his Poke Ball forward, hoping to get a quick catch with it. If not, then it's a battle. The Poke Ball bounced off thanks to the pillows, hitting Goh in the face.
But in fact, it was actually an already existing Pokemon that he had seen before. Electrode. And when Electrode heard Goh's footsteps, it turned around, ready to explode.
Goh, Raboot and Sobble screamed as they made a run for it, expecting Electrode to go off. But it was actually just a dud. Electrode didn't explode whatsoever. Rainbow Dash ended up getting an Electrode from the Pokemon House.
The three of them let out sighs of relief as they were glad there was no explosion. But that really got them startled and off in a panic. Although, Sobble was the most affected as once it started crying, Goh and Raboot cried as well.
"Gotcha!" Rainbow Dash said from above as she dashed off.
She had one big target that she wanted to prank. Ash and Pikachu, who were over at Bidoof Beach. She spied on them by hiding in the trees, coming up with the perfect prank for these two chuckleheads.
However, when she started crafting her idea, Gengar forced itself out of its Poke Ball with its own will. Being the master of pranks, Gengar could tell when Rainbow Dash was planning a prank.
"Gen!" Gengar let Rainbow Dash know that it wasn't going to be that easy with the Shadow Pokemon always with Ash at all times.
"Rats...I forgot about Gengar. Don't worry. I'll get you guys eventually." Rainbow Dash flew off, grinning.
Over at SugarCube Corner, Pinkie Pie closed a box of cupcakes, ready to send them off, until she came face to face with Twilight, her friends and everypony that Rainbow Dash has pranked so far. Including Goh and Chloe.
"Pinkie! We need your help." Twilight said.
"Okay! For what?" Pinkie tilted her head.
"Are you honestly going to stand there and tell us you know nothing about all the pranking Rainbow Dash has been doing?" Rarity spoke.
"Did she get you, too?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, yeah! Spinda, Gummy and I all at once!" Pinkie reminisced back to earlier today were Rainbow Dash pulled off a simple prank in the form of the Boo tactic.
She hung from the closet like a bat, looking right into her eyes. "Boo."
"AAGH!" Pinkie screamed, falling on her back, laughing uncontrollably. It wasn't that huge like the other pranks she pulled.
"They got me good."
"Well, she needs to stop." Applejack replied.
"Stop? But pranks are so much fun!" Pinkie raised her hooves.
"Not for everypony. And it doesn't seem like Dash is taking the time to find out who enjoys them and who doesn't. She even pranked poor little Sobble, making it cry non-stop!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Sobble..." Sobble was currently being comforted by Audino.
"But Sobble is always crying." Pinkie shrugged.
"Uh, since you and Dash share such an, uh, affinity for pranking, we thought you might be able to get her to, um, uh... quit it!" Rarity raised her voice.
Pinkie was sweating bullets. She would have to tell her friend to stop one of the many things in life that they both enjoy together. It wasn't going to be easy at all.
Pinkie went over to Rainbow Dash's home, ready to break the news to her. "Hey, Rainbow Dash!"
"Pinkie, hey! I actually have something totally important to tell you!" Rainbow Dash flew out of her home and towards the pink pony.
"You do? Ooh! You go first!"
"Okay, so. I'm gonna try something new this time with my pranks. And it involves both worlds!"
"Both worlds? That's pretty ambitious."
"Yeah, but the big wall in the way is Ash's Gengar. As long as it's there, it'll know when to expect a prank. Gotta find a way to work around it and I was hoping that you would help me with that."
"Oh! I guess it is gonna be super-hard since Gengar's a master prankster!" Pinkie giggled until she realized why she came here. "I-I-I mean, actually, that's what I have to talk to you about."
"Here. Have a cookie." Rainbow Dash tossed a cookie over to Pinkie Pie as if it was a dog treat.
"Ooh! Thanks!" Pinkie jumped up, taking a bite out of it.
"So, I got to thinking. If I'm gonna prank both worlds, why not just prank every single member of Ponyville and Pallet Town instead of sticking to one spot!"
"Mmm, wow! Everypony at once?! That sounds amazing!"
"Spin!" Spinda knocked Pinkie Pie on the head, snapping her out of it.
"Gah, wait! I mean, it's not." Pinkie shook her head.
"You don't even know what it is yet! Pinkie, this is gonna be the best prank ever! I special ordered these joke cookies so the colours would match my mane."
"And?"
"nd I'm gonna switch them with the Filly Guide cookies. When Scootaloo and her friends sell them, everypony in both Pallet and Ponyville is gonna get a rainbow mouth courtesy of Rainbow Dash! Ha-ha! It's gonna be so awesome!" She put a cookie inside of Pinkie's mouth as a rainbow appeared all over her.
"Uh, I don't know. I mean, it doesn't really seem all that funny." Pinkie Pie went up to a pond, looking at herself as she scrunched her face.
"What?!" Rainbow gasped.
"Maybe this is a good time to stop pranking for a while. The other ponies in town really—"
"Stop?! No way! This prank is happening, Pinkie! And it's gonna be hilarious! I was gonna ask you to deal with Gengar and swap the cookies but...guess I'll have my Pokemon do that instead. Catch ya later!" Rainbow Dash zoomed off to perform the prank.
"Gengar..." Pinkie thought for a moment until she sparked something in her mind. "GENGAR!"
20 minutes later and Rainbow Dash flew over to SugarCube Corner to have another talk with Pinkie Pie.
"Bad news Pinkie. Braviary and the others weren't up for the prank so I had to swap the cookies all by myself. Bummer. I thought they would enjoy it. Guess their sense of humour is different." Rainbow Dash spoke as she went up to Pinkie's room. "So, I still kinda need you to help me with Gengar if you can."
Once she arrived at her room, she noticed that Pinkie Pie was on her bed along with Spinda. Both of them looked relatively pale as their usual vibrant colours had been dimmed down all of a sudden.
"Uh, Pinkie?"
Pinkie Pie responded by coughing and turning around to face Rainbow Dash along with Spinda as she had also taken a bite out of the cookies. As if her face wasn't a mess already thanks to the spots, now the Spot Panda Pokemon had rainbows added into the mix.
"Spinda..." Spinda groaned.
"Wow. Your face is still pretty rainbowed."
"Yeah, I haven't really..." Pinkie coughed. "Been feeling well. And these joke cookies are the only thing that makes me feel better." She looked over at the box, noticing that she and Spinda ate every last one of them. "You don't have any more, do you?!" She suddenly grabbed Rainbow Dash.
"Uh, no. I just told you, I used them all for the prank."
"Oh." Pinkie laid back down.
"Pretty soon, the CMCs will start selling them to everypony in both towns. Ponies, humans and Pokemon will open their boxes and start eating, then all of their teeth will turn rainbow-coloured, and they'll know it was me! It's gonna be so awesome! C'mon, you don't wanna miss it!"
": Actually...I don't think I can even... stand... up..." She coughed. "Unless you've got more cookies!" Her voice suddenly became raspy.
"Aah! On second thought, maybe you better stay here and rest." Rainbow pulled back.
"Yeah. You're right. Sorry to miss out. I'm sure it's gonna be hilarious. Sorry I can't help you with the Gengar situation."
"Don't even worry about it. All I gotta do is make sure that Gengar doesn't notice the cookies are jokes."
With the CMCs, Rarity and Applejack, they had all the cookies piled up in a huge wheelbarrow. Since they also decided to give out these cookies for Pallet Town as well.
They may not have any bits, but they'll be able to give them enough Pokedollars for the upcoming Pokemon Festival and all the goodies that'll be there. The Pallet Town idea was Rainbow Dash's since she suggested them to the CMC's and they took it immediately.
They'll have the best of both worlds. Bits to help the Filly Guide community and Pokedollars for the festival.
"Alright, who's ready to sell some cookies?" Rainbow Dash flew over.
"ME!" The three of them said in unison.
"Look here, Rainbow Dash. I know you promised Scootaloo you'd help out, but I don't want none of your pranks ruinin' these fillies' night." Applejack said.
"Look, I'll be with you the whole night so you can totally keep an eye on me. I'll be keeping an eye on somepony else though." Rainbow Dash was referring to Gengar.
"Come on, Applejack! Let's get started!" Apple Bloom jumped up and down.
"Yeah! We've got a lot of ground to cover!" Scootaloo nodded.
"We wanna hit every house in Ponyville and Pallet Town!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. All three of them ran off, dragging the wheelbarrow along.
"Come on! You heard her! Every house in Ponyville!" Rainbow Dash laughed. She knew exactly what was coming their way.
And thus, the cookie-selling began.
They started at Fluttershy's Cottage and the Pokemon House first. Once they arrived, knocking on Fluttershy's door, Krookodile burst out of the cottage with Brutal Swing ready to strike.
"KROOKODILE!"
The Crusaders screamed along with Rainbow Dash, but Fluttershy and Audino calmed Krookodile down, restraining him from attacking. Fluttershy gave them a single bit whilst Krookodile glared at Rainbow Dash, making sure that there was no funny business going down.
They went on a selling spree, getting everypony to easily buy their cookies without hesitation. Some even wanted more cookies such as Spike who convinced Twilight to pay up with 6 bits instead of one.
From Cranky and Matilda's home to SugarCube Corner, Sweet Apple Acres, the Schoolhouse and so on and so forth. Eventually, they entered the Pokemon World, going straight for the Ketchum Household first.
Delia gladly took some cookies as it made her nostalgic of when she was a girl scout. She gave them 300 Pokedollars, a fairly sizable amount.
They went over to Professor Oak's Lab who gave them 500, the Xanadu Nursery run by the two employees gave 400, The Pallet Town Radio Station gave them 600 and every other house had given a total of 100 each.
All the while, Rainbow Dash laughing whilst the cookies were decreasing in number as the day was slowly coming to an end. She couldn't wait for everyone to find themselves full of rainbows on their mouth's.
And the best part, Gengar was nowhere to be found. So she believed the prank would happen without any interruptions. They had covered every part of Ponyville and Pallet Town so they didn't need to give out any more cookies as there were a few left in the wheelbarrow.
"I think you three should be real proud. Y'all did a mighty impressive job for your first go-'round." Applejack patted her little sister on the head.
"You took the words right out of my mouth, Applejack." Rarity nodded. "Isn't that right, Rainbow Dash?"
"Any minute now." Rainbow Dash wasn't paying attention. She was just simply waiting for the payoff to arrive as she rubbed her hooves together.
"Uh... 'any minute now' what?" Applejack asked.
"Huh? Oh, uh, nothing! Have you guys noticed how quiet it's gotten? I mean, it's still early, right?"
"Of course it's quiet. Ponies can't talk while they're eating those fabulous cookies, heh." Rarity replied.
"You think?"
"Of course. They're probably all in a cookie coma right now. Although, I'm not sure about the Pokemon if they experience cookies differently." Rarity thought about it for a second.
"Huh... Maybe you're right. I'll go check." Rainbow Dash flew off as she was curious as to why there wasn't a slither of sound. She expected screaming by now at this point. But nothing.
She noticed that most of the buildings here had their windows shut off with wood, making it impossible for Rainbow Dash to look inside.
"What is going on...?" She then found one house that still had its glass windows there as she looked through. A bunch of the joke cookies were scattered on the floor, half-eaten along with other boxes that had yet to be opened. "Okay. Definite cookie-eating happening. But... where is everypony? They must have seen their rainbow mouths by now... They should all be running out into the streets! Unless everypony went to bed early..."
Rainbow turned around, completely unaware as to what was inside of the house. The pony who lived there was walking in one single line with a sluggish pace. Her mouth was open as her eyes appeared to be a bit glazed.
Rainbow Dash flew over to SugarCube corner, expecting Pinkie Pie to be there. Once she entered, she noticed that nopony else was in sight as the room was dark. Not even Jade was here and she's always awake.
"Pinkie? Jade" She called for their names as she took a step forward. Her hooves made contact with a cookie, getting rainbows all over them.
"The whole town got the cookies, and now everypony is shut up in their houses! You don't think there's something wrong with the joke cookies, do you?" Rainbow continued to walk around SugarCube Corner's currently dark interior, hoping that she got a response from any of the two.
Suddenly, a clatter of metal could be heard from the kitchen, which prompted Rainbow Dash to see if it was either Jade or Pinkie Pie.
Instead, it was Mrs Cake and a bunch of the Slurpuff's who made that noise. Finally a familiar face for Rainbow Dash.
"Mrs Cake! Slurpuff! Phew! Have you seen Pinkie? I was thinking I might have something to do with her not feeling great."
And yet, no response from them. The only sound that they made were chewing noises, and husky breathing.
Uh... Mrs... Cake...? Slurpuff...?" She went up to them, curious as to why they were just standing there, making sluggish movements in one spot. With a few taps to her back, Rainbow Dash had finally grabbed their attention.
But not in the way she was expecting.
"Cookies...! Cookies!" Mrs Cake suddenly growled in a droning voice. Not only was her face covered with rainbows, but her eyes had purple shadows over them as she slowly approached Rainbow Dash.
"Slurpuff....!" So did the Slurpuff's as they were lined up like drones.
"Uh, I can see you're busy! I'll come back!" Rainbow Dash whimpered as she backed away. Her hoof landed on an empty box of cookies, causing her to fall on her back near a kitchen cupboard.
Once she did, she looked up to see Pinkie Pie and Spinda inside of the cupboard, spouting the same words Mrs Cake and the Slurpuff were saying. "Cookies...!"
"Spinda...!"
"Aaaaaah!" Rainbow Dash screamed at the top of her lungs, already terrified of the current situation. Little did she know, it was much bigger than she could imagine.
"More... cookies...!" Mrs Cake growled. It wasn't just her. Even the Cake Twins had been affected with shadows and rainbows on their faces. And of course, their Pokemon as well.
"Plusle...!"
"Minun...!"
The pegasus flew into the air as she looked down with her face wincing and grimacing. But being in the air wouldn't help her since Plusle and Minun decided to spark up some electricity from their bodies.
"Plusle...!"
"Minun...!"
The two Cheering Pokemon sent bolts of electricity up at Rainbow Dash, just to knock her out of the air. Rainbow screeched as she quickly dashed off, getting out of here. The bolts of electricity chased her down as they were zapping every single part of SugarCube Corner.
Rainbow Dash ended up bumping into another fellow pegasus in the form Jade. "Jade! Thank Arceus! You gotta see this! Pinkie and the others, they're-"
But unfortunately, once Jade turned around, she had the same rainbows and shadows on her face as well.
"Cookies." Compared to the others, she seemed normal since she spoke in her usual monotone and dry voice. But that was still enough to scare Rainbow Dash due to how lifeless Jade was.
"Gyaaaah!" Rainbow Dash dashed out of SugarCube Corner, getting away from this mess as soon as she could. But this mess wasn't just limited to SugarCube Corner.
As soon as she entered the centre of Ponyville, she saw that other ponies were full of rainbows and shadows too. All of them spouting the same words over and over again. "Cookies...!"
Every corner, every house, every area of Ponyville, ponies were constantly saying cookies with no end in sight. But it wasn't the ponies that Rainbow Dash had to worry about. It was the Pokemon.
She managed to get away from them for now, but they were all searching Ponyville for any remaining cookies out there. Rainbow Dash spotted Twilight, Spike and their Pokemon sitting down near the Ponyville statue, eating some of the cookies.
"Twilight! You gotta come with me to Sugarcube Corner! Something's going on with the Cakes! Well, not something exactly. I mean, it may have something to do with these joke cookies..."
Taking to Twilight proved to be useless as she, Spike and their Pokemon had unfortunately caught the same shadows and rainbows on their faces. "Cooooooookies...!"
"Ninetales...!" The Fox Pokemon stood up with a flaming aura surrounding his body.
"Oh, no! Not like this...!" Rainbow Dash shook her head. She flew off, hoping that there was somepony who was still normal and not a cookie-crazed zombie.
She went over to the Pokemon House since Fluttershy seemed like the one pony who would still be alright. Unfortunately, once she arrived at the Pokemon House, it was revealed that every single one of the Pokemon here had taken a bite out of the cookies.
And because of that, all of them were now hungering for cookies. And even Fluttershy wasn't safe from it as she burst out of her doors, screaming for cookies along with her Audino and Chikorita.
"Fluttershy...not you too...!"
"Cooooooookies...!"
All the Pokemon went up to Rainbow Dash, outnumbering her greatly. She backed up out of fear, but even that wasn't safe at all since she ended up bumping into Krookodile who was also affected.
"Krooko...dile...!" The Intimidation Pokemon growled as he was about to grab Rainbow Dash. Luckily, the multi-coloured-maned mare flew up but the skies weren't safe either.
Flying-Type Pokemon had surrounded her as well, making it clear that no matter what Rainbow Dash went, every individual had been affected by the joke cookies.
Almost everywhere. There was one place where nopony had eaten the cookies. Her home. She quickly dashed off to see her Pokemon, but the Flying-Types chased her down.
Rainbow Dash looked behind her to see that the Pokemon was following her, not giving her any time to rest or breathe. A Noctowl had used Air Slash, clipping Rainbow Dash's wings in the process.
"Woah!" Rainbow Dash lost her balance from the Air Slash, but thankfully, she was able to recover it quickly as she increased her speed, leaving the Flying-Types in the dust.
She finally arrived home as she shut her door tight, and blocked off her windows, making sure that none of the Pokemon break inside her house.
"Please be okay you guys!" Rainbow Dash went over to her Saddlebag, hoping that her Pokemon were still alright.
Thankfully, they were since none of them had eaten the cookies. Castform was asleep inside of Rainbow Dash's bag whilst the Poke Balls were still closed.
"Thank goodness..." Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of relief. She sent Braviary and the others to break the important news to them.
"Brav?"
"Mienfoo?"
"Luxio?"
"Alta?"
"Guys! We need to-" Rainbow Dash didn't even have the opportunity to explain what was going on. The Flying-Types had easily broken through her home by using Drill Peck to do so.
"Pidgeotto...!" Pidgeotto and the other Flying Pokemon cornered Rainbow Dash and the others inside of their own home.
"Lu...XIO!" The Spark Pokemon fended off the Flying-Types by sending a violent whip of electricity their direction. This one action allowed Rainbow Dash and the others to get out of here. Mienfoo hopped on Braviary's back whilst Luxio got on Altaria's.
Rainbow Dash grabbed the saddlebag with Castform still inside as they all flew out of their own home, escaping the Flying-Type Pokemon who were all currently paralyzed thanks to Discharge.
"Braviary?!" Braviary and the others had finally been given the view of what Ponyville looked like at the moment. Cookie-crazed ponies and Pokemon everywhere.
"Gotta find somewhere safe! Come on!" Rainbow and her Pokemon took off whilst being chased down by every individual here.
Their main fears were the Flying Pokemon since they could chase them from the sky and ground. But the Electric-Types and Rock-Types were also a big threat to them as well.
But in truth, they were actually the last thing Rainbow and her Pokemon should worry about. The one Pokemon they hoped wouldn't be affected, had been affected.
That Pokemon was none other than Big Mac's Machamp. Arguably, the strongest Pokemon in Ponyville in terms of physical strength.
"Machamp...!" Machamp looked up, groaning at Rainbow Dash as he desired cookies like everypony else. The Superpower Pokemon picked up a house of all of a sudden, ripping it from the ground itself
"Oh no..." Rainbow Dash's ears dropped as she whimpered.
"Machamp...!" The Superpower Pokemon effortlessly tossed the house like it was baseball as it was heading straight for Rainbow Dash and her team.
"Gyaaah!" She screeched as they all flew over the house, avoiding it by the skin of their teeth. But this wasn't the time to pause. Machamp was already going for another object to throw at them.
"Not good...Not good at all! There's gotta be somepony else who hasn't eaten the cookies!" Rainbow Dash thought hard for a moment. She recalled the one individual who hadn't been given any cookies. "Ash! Of course! He'll be fine! Let-"
Her words were interrupted as a beam of fire grazed her mane, chipping a part of it off. That beam of fire came from Twilight's Ninetales who had used Mystical Fire.
"Nine...tales!"
"Espeon...!"
"Braviary! Speed up with Brave Bird! Return, for now, everyone else!" She returned Altaria, Luxio and Mienfoo into their Poke Balls for safety.
"Brav!" Braviary engulfed his body with an orange aura as he increased in speed, getting a good distance away from the cookie-crazed zombies.
Braviary and Rainbow Dash made their way over to Pallet Town by passing through the gateway. She was hoping that the humans haven't eaten the cookies yet.
Once she arrived at Pallet Town, Rainbow Dash immediately knocked on the Ketchum Household's door. "Mrs Ketchum! Open up, please! It's urgent! Is Ash home?!"
She got an answer but not the needed answer. Her fear of the humans eating the cookies had come true as Delia burst out of the house with shadows and rainbows all over her.
"Cooooooookies...!"
"Mime...!" Even her Mr Mime had taken a bite out of them.
"Guuh...!"
"Braviary!" Braviary flew back as he noticed that all the humans and Pokemon of Pallet Town were slowly making their way towards them, craving cookies like the ponies back home.
"Cooooooookies...!" The humans and Pokemon all cried out.
"Not you guys too!" Rainbow Dash and Braviary returned to Ponyville by flying through the gateway.
Although, it was a bad time to pass through at the moment. Because once they poked their heads through the gateway, Goh, Chloe and their Pokemon had been affected too. Even poor little Sobble.
"Cookies...Cooooooookies...!" Chloe crushed a box of cookies in her hands as she and Goh approached Rainbow Dash.
"Raboot...!"
"Sobble...!"
"Yamper...!"
"Why?!" Rainbow Dash zoomed past them all, heading off to find Applejack, Rarity and the CMC.
Thankfully, they were still unaffected by the cookies since they hadn't eaten them.
"You sure you don't mind us all comin' over?" Applejack asked Rarity.
"Oh, of course not. I think the girls have earned a little celebration for all of their hard work. And I have plenty of sewing machine cake left over. Unless anypony wants a cookie...?" Rarity used her magic to lift a box of the joke cookies.
"Don't touch those!" Rainbow Dash came flying in, kicking the box away from Rarity's hold.
"Oh! There is certainly no call for that! There's plenty for everypony." Rarity scoffed.
"Come on! We gotta get outta here!"
"What in tarnation are you goin' on about?" Applejack questioned.
"There's no time! You have to-"
"Machamp...!" Over the horizon, Machamp was running towards them at ludicrous speeds, spotting some cookies in the wheelbarrow.
"Is that Big Mac's Machamp?!" Applejack gasped.
"Run for it!" Rainbow Dash screamed at the top of her lungs. It didn't take an explanation for Rarity and the others to realize that they needed to get a move on.
They all hopped on the wheelbarrow whilst Braviary pulled on it since there was no way simple running could outpace Machamp. Braviary used Aerial Ace to boost herself, getting far enough from Machamp.
But the Superpower Pokemon wasn't the only fast Pokemon they had to worry about. Spike's Salamence had appeared from above, easily catching up with Braviary and the others.
"Salamence...!"
"Brav?!"
"Salamence...!" The Dragon Pokemon used Flamethrower to try and burn the cart into nothing. Braviary quickly drifted the cart, evading the blast of fire and saving the ponies sitting inside.
"Raboot...!" Raboot kicked a pebble up, setting it on fire as it then forced it towards the group. Upon making contact with the cart, the pebble exploded, causing a wheel to come off.
"Eek!" Sweetie Belle squealed.
Even with the cart losing a wheel, Braviary kept on dragging it with all he had.
"Why are they attacking us?! What is going on?!" Scootaloo pulled her mane.
"How did this all happen...?!" Rainbow Dash's eye twitched. She was starting to lose hope. Until she spotted the one person she was looking for.
Over at the corner of her eye, she spotted Ash and Pikachu coming out of the Everfree Forest. But they weren't showing their faces at all.
"Ash! Pikachu!" Rainbow Dash flew over to them. "I'm so glad I found you two!"
"We're glad we found you, Rainbow Dash..." Ash suddenly replied in a somewhat dreary tone. A tone that made Rainbow Dash a bit uncomfortable. She noticed that Ash's hair was rising all of a sudden.
"Uh...Ash, you sound a bit weird." Rainbow Dash backed up.
"What makes you say that?" Ash raised his head as it was revealed that his eyes were sharper along with him having shadows on his face. But no rainbows, meaning he hasn't eaten them yet.
"Pika...!" But Pikachu actually had both the rainbows and the shadows on his face.
"Ash! Get away from Pikachu quick!"
"Why? He just wants some cookies. Everyone does." Ash raised his arm as he sent out Dragonite, Riolu and Farfetch'd out.
They had eaten the cookies as well. Now the gigantic Dragonite, stern Farfetch'd and strong-willed Riolu were cookie-crazed zombies too.
"Ash...What's going on with you...?" Rainbow Dash shuddered. It took her a moment to process things until she finally realized what was wrong with Ash.
Everypony, Pokemon and human gathered behind Ash as he was essentially the leader in all of this. They all stopped at his command.
"Ash...you're behind all of this?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Go. Grab all the cookies you can from that wheelbarrow." Ash pointed at the wheelbarrow with remaining cookies as he ordered every single one of them as if they belonged to him.
"Dragonite...!" The Dragon Pokemon was the first to fly after them with its huge huggable arms now craving for cookies to be held in them.
"This way!" Applejack shouted as she led Braviary and the others to a spot she believed would be a good place to hide.
"Pika...!" Pikachu caught up to them with ease as he used Iron Tail to cut the wheelbarrow in half, separating most of the cookies as the CMC and Rarity were on the other side that hadn't been cut off.
"Riolu...!" The Emanation Pokemon got on Dragonite's back as he used Vacuum Wave to try and knock all the wheels off the wheelbarrow but missed due to Applejack's directions.
"Grovyle! Use Dragonbreath!" Applejack commanded.
"Gro...Vyle!" The Wood Gecko Pokemon gave them all the opportunity to escape by sending a blast of draconic fire on the ground. That blast caused a smoke cloud so great that it blocked everyone's vision from Rainbow Dash and the others.
They had finally managed to escape the cookie-crazed zombied. But that wouldn't last. Because of Audino's amazing hearing and Slurpuff's sensitive nose, eventually, they will find them.
They hid in the barn, locking it shut with whatever they could find as Rainbow Dash was breathing in and out "Did we lose them?!"
"Rainbow Dash! Did you prank everypony in Ponyville and Pallet Town?!" Applejack went up to her.
"Uh..."
"Did she? I couldn't tell" All of a sudden, Ash was inside of the barn, sitting on top of a pile of hay.
"Ash?!" Rainbow Dash fell on her back.
"Doesn't look like a prank to me." Ash shook his head as he hopped off the hay. "Or maybe it's an advanced one I've never seen before."
"Rainbow Dash! What did you do?!" Applejack backed up from Ash.
"Okay! So I may have switched all the Filly Guide cookies for joke cookies that were supposed to make ponies' mouths rainbow but somehow turned everypony into mindless cookie-eating zombies instead! But I didn't expect Ash to be behind it!"
"Surprised?" All of a sudden, Ash had lifted a box of cookies without holding it at all. Instead, he seemed to be using some form of dark energy similar to that of Night Shade as he levitated them in the air.
He forced the cookies inside of Rarity, Applejack and the CMC's mouths with this unexpected manipulation.
"NO!" Rainbow Dash screeched as she just saw her friends devour the cookies. But it didn't stop there. Ash had forced Braviary and Grovyle to eat some as well, making them affected too.
"Looks like your prank up and backfiiiirrrrreeeeed..." Applejack and Grovyle went up to her.
"Grovyle...!"
"Cooooooookiiiieeeees..." The CMC moaned.
"Machamp...!" Machamp punched through the doors of the barn as Dragonite simply used its full body to fly through it. Thanks to Slurpuff and Audino, they had been tracked down easily.
"Dragonite...!"
"Pika...!"
There was nowhere to run now. Salamence, Machamp and Dragonite blocked off the entrance with their overwhelming size whilst everyone else closed in on Rainbow Dash, backing her into a corner.
It was game over now.
"No, no! Stay away! They're making you sick! You don't want these!" Rainbow Dash whimpered.
"But we dooooooo... We want cookiiiiiiiieeeeeeees...!" Pinkie Pie said.
"Krookodile...!" Krookodile appeared behind Rainbow Dash, wrapping his tail around her neck as she was finally trapped.
"Nngh! Please! Stop! I never meant for this to happen! It was just a harmless prank! It was supposed to be funny! But this isn't funny at all!"
"Exactly!" Pinkie suddenly spoke in her normal tone. All of a sudden, everyone wiped the rainbows off their mouths. But the shadows were still there.
"...Huh?"
"Alright. You can come out now, Gengar." Ash commanded.
"Gen!" Gengar finally revealed itself as it flew out of Ash's body, returning the trainer to normal. Not only that, but the shadows on everyone's eyes had faded away.
"Phew. Thanks, Gengar." Ash stretched his arms.
"Gengar!"
"What? Wait... What's happening?" Rainbow Dash looked around her as Krookodile removed his tail from her neck.
"Just delighting in pranking the prankster." Rarity combed her mane.
"Yeah. How does it feel to get some of your own medicine?" Applejack chuckled.
"So... you're... not sick? None of you are?"
"Of course not, silly! Well...Gengar possessing our shadows made us feel weird though." Pinkie said.
"Gotcha!" Everyone said.
"B-B-But Ash...he-"
"Was possessed by Gengar." Ash went up to her. "Gengar went inside of everyone's shadow. That's why they all had those shadows on their faces."
"Gar."
"And it was all thanks to that device Gengar got for Christmas. After all, it can only possess one shadow at a time." Delia explained.
"So...Gengar was behind the whole thing?"
"Mhm. You should feel pretty lucky. This was just a small scale prank by Gengar. If it decides to go all out who knows what it can do." Pinkie wrapped her hoof around the Shadow Pokemon.
"Yep! And you can also thank Pinkie Pie. After you told her about your plan to prank the whole town, she got Gengar to gather everypony together and came up with a way to turn the tables on you." Applejack went into further detail.
"I have to admit, I actually enjoyed that a bit," Chloe said.
"Yamper!"
"Wow! You should see your face!" Scootaloo giggled.
"Talk about funny!" Apple Bloom chucked.
"Well, I don't think it's very funny!" Rainbow Dash scoffed. "And I'm the one that got pranked! I was really scared! I thought I made everypony sick! You can't just go around—"
"Pranking whoever you feel like?"
"Without thinking about how it might make them feel?"
"Or if they'd even enjoy it?"
"Or think it's funny?"
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash paused until she finally figured it all out. "Oh, I see what you did there."
"Pranks can be a lot of fun when everypony has a good time. I thought you just needed to see what it's like when they don't." Pinkie explained.
"I guess I did. I'm sorry, everypony. I haven't really been thinking about how other ponies, Pokemon and humans feel." She apologized to them all.
"Well, I hope you learned your lesson." Pinkie nodded.
"Totally! You ponies pulled off an amazing prank! I'll have to work extra hard to top it! Even surpassing Gengar if this one was just a simple prank!" She rubbed her hooves together.
Everypony paused for a moment as they thought she was serious for a second.
"Gotcha." But it was just a joke. And a perfect joke that actually made everyone laugh.
It has been a strange day for Rainbow Dash. What started as a large-scale prank, transformed into an even larger-scale prank that mortified her. After seeing how Gengar does its pranks by possessing everypony's shadows, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel impressed. Even if her own Pokemon were in on it.
There's a lot more to look forward too when it comes to both this world and the Pokemon World as the journey continues.
"Let's see..." Ash was currently viewing the new map of Equestria, wondering where to go next today.
"Have you found anything that's caught your interest, Ash?" Fluttershy flew over.
"This looks pretty promising. Fighting Fields." Ash pointed at a newfound area located North. "From that, it sounds like a bunch of Fighting-Types are gonna be there. I gotta see this for myself!"
"Pikachu!"
"An area full of Fighting-Type Pokemon? That sounds a bit overwhelming. But interesting too. What do you think, Audi?" Fluttershy turned to her Audino.
"Audino...!" Audino was actually fantasizing about an area like that. For one reason only. Audino found Fighting-Types to be handsome in her eyes. From the ripped Machamp and Buzzwole to the sharp-eyed Lucario and Gallade, she had a bit of a fangirl nature for them.
"What's up with her?" Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Pika?"
"Oh. Well um...Audi has a bit of an...strong fondness for Fighting-Type Pokemon. Ever since Buzzwole came to Ponyville, she gets a bit flustered when thinking about them."
"Krook?!" Krookodile heard that as he burst out of the doors, startling the other Pokemon.
"I suppose you want to go there, don't you, Audi?" Fluttershy asked her partner.
"Audino!" Audino put her hands on her face as she gently nodded. With Ash and Pikachu taking an interest to it, it was decided that they would visit Fighting Fields.
"Great. We'll have everypony else come along to see the Fighting Fields too." Fluttershy picked Chikorita up.
"Chiko!"
Krookodile's ears didn't deceive him whatsoever. He heard it clear as day. Since he himself is fond of Audino. Then again, he has an affection for any Audino. Much like the one back in PokePark.
Krookodile thought for a moment. If Audino heads over to the Fighting Fields, then there'll possibly be one Fighting Pokemon that catches her heart.
Being the prideful Pokemon that he was, Krookodile was not about to let that happen. So there was only one thing left to do. Go with them to the Fighting Fields.
"Krook! Krookodile!" The Intimidation Pokemon ran over, calling for Fluttershy's name.
"Hm? What is it, Krookodile?" Fluttershy asked.
"Dile! Krookodile!"
"Oh. So, you want to come along with us? But I thought you wanted to stay here as the bodyguard for the Pokemon House."
"Dile." Krookodile was making an exception this one single time.
"Alright. If you really want to come along. But, somepony else might have to keep watch of the Pokemon House."
"I've got that covered." Ash stepped forward, sending Dragonite out.
"Dra!"
"Dragonite. We're gonna be visiting a place called Fighting Fields today. But we kinda need someone to take care of the Pokemon House while we're gone. Think you can do that?"
"Dragonite!" The Dragon Pokemon was up for it. Not even a hint of hesitation. Dragonite will treat every Pokemon here as if it was one of their own children.
"Great! We'll be back soon, okay?" Ash and Fluttershy walked off as they waved goodbye to all the Pokemon here.
"Pikachu!"
Fighting Fields, North of Equestria. Close to Frozen North and the Crystal Empire.
It certainly did have the appearance of a field that is for sure. Although, instead of the usual grassy green fields that are very prominent across Equestria and in some cases the Pokemon World, this field was a more rocky field instead. Although, there was still some grass here and there along with a large lake.
There were rocks everywhere. Big rocks, small rocks, shattered rocks, moulded rocks, stacked rocks etc. An area with this amount of rocks was perfect for Fighting Pokemon since one of the many activities and training sessions they go through is crushing rocks with their fists, paws, legs or whatever limb they own.
And all of them were doing just that right about now. A Hitmontop shattered some rocks by spinning on its head. A Pangoro was teaching a Pancham how to effortlessly break something in half with just a slight hand gesture whilst Pancham idolized the Pangoro.
A bunch of Throh's were perfecting their throwing abilities by launching huge boulders whilst their opposites, the Sawk's, worked on the perfect Karate Chop by chopping boulders in half.
"Yep. This is definitely a Fighting-Type exclusive area." Ash nodded his head.
"Pika!"
"Audino..." Audino was already a fan of this place the moment she gazed upon it. Krookodile thought otherwise as he merely crossed his arms.
"My. Do they spend the entire day doing all of this?" Rarity narrowed her eyes.
"Well, yeah. Remember what Brawly taught us?" Pinkie bounced over to the Fighting-Types. The first Fighting Pokemon she greeted was the Pangoro and the Pancham. "Hiya!"
"Pango!"
"Cham!"
"It's great that we came here." Rainbow Dash flew up. "Mienfoo's been wanting to battle with me for the first time since I caught her. Out you come." She sent out the Martial Arts Pokemon, ready to fulfil her promise.
"Mien!"
"Take a look at this, Mienfoo." Rainbow Dash showed her the Fighting Fields with all her fellow Fighting-Type Pokemon present. "This way, we can get you prepared for my Fifth Gym battle. What do you say?"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo was already ready to as she bolted forward, but Rainbow Dash held her back.
"Woah, slow down, Mienfoo! Let's not start picking fights okay?"
"Mienfoo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon started swinging the air violently, wanting to battle someone already.
"Audino!" Audino's eyes were set on one particular Pokemon. The Blade Pokemon Gallade. To Audino, that was her personal favourite Fighting-Type.
Gallade was strong, honourable, sharp and a master of courtesy. All of those traits were enough to steal Audino completely. Although, Gallade barely even noticed at all.
Over at the lake, a familiar face could be seen, surfing on the waves whilst the sun hit their head. That familiar face was none other than Brawly.
Besides battles, surfing was perhaps his favourite activity since he's a sucker for it and his great respect for nature. Brawly had returned to land, spotting his students and Ash in the distance as he hopped off his surfboard.
"Oh, hey! You guys found the Fighting Fields, huh?" Brawly went up to them.
"Brawly! Actually...we should've known you'd be here somehow." Twilight said.
"Nice to see you again, Ash."
"Great to see you too, Brawly!"
"Pikachu!"
"You guys here to train your Pokemon up with the Fighting-Types?" Brawly asked.
"We're just visiting but I promised Mienfoo here that she'd get to have a real battle with me soon. And this is the perfect place to start." Rainbow Dash held Mienfoo up. "What about you, Brawly?"
"I come here for two reasons. To ride these sweets waves and to help some of the Pokemon here improve and then some. You came at the right time too. Today, they're all fired up than usual."
"How so?" Rarity went up to him.
"Have a look. They're all gonna learn from the strongest Fighting-Type here. Gallade." Brawly pointed over at the Blade Pokemon who was the most concentrated in this entire area. Even more than Sawk. "Gallade here is practically their mentor and boss. Every Fighting-Type here respects him. Even the stubborn ones."
"Oh, so he's a big deal?" said Rainbow Dash.
"The biggest. Today's he's gonna test and show the others just how he gets things done. You don't wanna miss this."
"Gall." The Blade Pokemon had gathered up most of the Fighting Pokemon in this area for the inevitable test. In which, Gallade will help them improve by battling against them or just watching.
There were some fairly eager Fighting-Types here. Mainly those who feel as if they're ready to take on Master Gallade and possibly even defeat him. Although, the likely hood of that happening is incredibly low.
"Foo!" Mienfoo wanted in on this immediately. With a pride arguably as big as Krookodile's, she wanted to go up against the strongest Pokemon here. So she jumped out of Rainbow Dash's hooves, making her way towards her fellow Fighting-Types.
"H-Hey! Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash cried out. "Ugh...why is she like this...?" She facehoofed.
"Dino!" Audino was thrilled to see Gallade battle. She's only ever seen one Gallade battle and that was Spitfire's Gallade. But even then, she was still fond of it. If anything, she's fond of every Gallade since they're all mostly the same. But like every other Pokemon in the world, every Gallade is different.
"Krook. "Krookodile thought that Gallade wasn't about to be that impressive as he kept his eyes glued to the scene.
"Sawk!" A Sawk had decided to go up against Gallade to prove to him that his spectacular karate chop is capable of even frightening Gallade.
"Gallade." Gallade being the respectable Pokemon that he is, accepted Sawk's challenge as they both bowed at each other. Sawk tightened his belt, pumping himself up as he knew that this wouldn't be easy.
"Sawk!" The Punching Pokemon started strong with the traditional Karate Chop. Sawk's hand glowed white and he struck downwards at Gallade with the side of his open hand."
"Llade." The Blade Pokemon blocked Sawk's devastating Karate Chop by crossing both his bladed arms together in an X-shape. The collision on Gallade's blades caused a tremor that formed a small crater beneath the two Fighting-Type Pokemon.
"Sawk!" Sawk then switched up by having his other hand use Thunder Punch whilst Karate Chop stays on Gallade's blades.
"Gal!" However, Gallade was fast enough to see the attack coming as he moved his arms at lighting-speeds, blocking both Thunder Punch and Karate Chop at the same time.
"Sawk?!"
"Gallade!" Gallade then used one of his bladed arms to push Sawk's Karate Chop off whilst the other blade did the same to Sawk's Thunder Punch. "Lade! Lade!" Gallade then used the always powerful and swift Close Combat by rapidly striking Sawk with slashes from his bladed arms.
Sawk was unable to block Close Combat due to Gallade pushing him back and attacking afterwards in just 2 seconds. The Blade Pokemon was just too fast for Sawk to keep up with as he had been cut twice by Gallade's blades. There was barely any effort put into Gallade's slashes as he deemed Sawk not worthy enough to go all out on. "S-SAWK!"
"Gall!" Gallade finished the battle by giving the Punching Pokemon an uppercut to the chin. That final uppercut was enough to take out Sawk as he went flying into the air before crashing down on the ground, fainting afterwards.
"Sawk..."
"Gallade." Gallade got back into a standard standing position, declaring this battle over.
"Audino!" Audino fangirled over how dashing Gallade looked during that battle. The way he kept his composure and how effortlessly he defeated Sawk with just three casual hits was all Audino needed to see.
"Just three hits huh? What power!" Ash grinned.
"Pika!"
"Power is an understatement..." Twilight gawked.
"This Gallade's been practising on getting the right type of slash that's able to hit pressure points and end battles quickly. It's no wonder he did it without any struggle." Brawly nodded.
Krookodile grumbled as even he had to admit, that was impressive. Three hits with no effort is something not many Pokemon are capable of doing. The ones that are capable of that are usually Legendary Pokemon.
To Krookodile, that meant that Gallade was almost as strong as a Legendary Pokemon if not on par with one. A Pokemon with that amount of strength is sure to grab a lot of attention. Especially the attention of Audino.
The Intimidation Pokemon had made up his mind. He wanted to go above and beyond by showing everypony, mostly Audino, something truly impressive.
That something was taking down Gallade in just a few hits. "Krook!" Krookodile walked forward, strutting his way over to Gallade who was currently picking the next Pokemon to challenge him.
"Mien!" Mienfoo jumped up and down, desperately wanting Gallade to choose her so that she and Rainbow Dash can battle alongside each other for the very first time.
"Dile!" Unfortunately, Krookodile shattered that wish by using his tail to whack Mienfoo out of the way.
"Mienfoooooooooooo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon went flying in the distance as everyone gasped, turning to face Krookodile.
"What's he doing?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Krook! Krookodile!" Krookodile pointed his claws at Gallade, challenging the Blade Pokemon to battle. Right here. Right now.
"Oh my." Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Krookodile has just challenged Gallade to a battle!"
The other Fighting-Type Pokemon weren't too fond of Krookodile suddenly coming up to their mentor, challenging him, knocking away a fellow Fighting-Type and acting like he owns the place.
They surrounded Krookodile, ready to force him away from Gallade or even from the Fighting Fields themselves.
"Gal." However, Gallade stepped forward, commanding them all to step back as he approached the Ground-Dark-Type. Gallade was willing to accept Krookodile's challenge out of curiosity.
"Dino! Audino!" Audino ran over since she knew how Krookodile likes to pick fights with others. But usually, he picks fights with smaller Pokemon since he loves making himself look big and strong to impress Audino.
But picking a fight with the strongest Pokemon here was another story. Especially one that was taller than him.
"Krook?"
"Audino!" Audino was about to give her usual scolding to Krookodile which always worked 100% of the time. But this time, it was different.
"Gal," Gallade told Audino it was alright. That Krookodile could face him and he wouldn't mind it at all. Once Gallade spoke to Audino, her face transformed into one of perturbation as her heart fluttered.
"Dino!" Audino looked to the side, too embarrassed to look Gallade in the eyes as she was grateful to be right next to him.
This interaction only riled Krookodile up, making his eager drive to defeat Gallade skyrocket. Fluttershy looked closely as she examined the scenario in front of them.
A flustered Audino. A begrudging Krookodile. And an honourable Gallade. After putting the pieces together, Fluttershy finally figured out what exactly was going on.
"Oh...I see what it is now." Fluttershy nodded in understanding.
"What? What is it?" Pinkie Pie asked as she held Pancham in her hooves.
"Krookodile's challenging Gallade to impress Audino. How sweet." Fluttershy closed her eyes. "But also very dangerous!" She opened them up as her pupils dilated. "Krookodile doesn't stand a chance against him!"
"I don't know...From the way Krookodile's staring at Gallade, his fighting spirit's really burning up." Brawly observed. "This could be good."
"What about my Mienfoo...?" Rainbow Dash grumbled.
"Gal." Gallade accepted Krookodile's challenge as the battle had been made official. Krookodile was going to enjoy this whilst Gallade kept a straight face, unbothered and unaware of Krookodile's true intentions. Audino backed up to make sure she wouldn't get caught up in this battle.
"Krookodile...!" Krookodile already had his claws ready for slashing as he eyed Gallade down.
"Gal!" Gallade bowed down, showing respect to Krookodile as he got into his signature stance, ready to battle against Krookodile.
There was a moment of silence between the two as everyone just simply stared, waiting for either one of them to make the first move and begin.
Krookodile was the first to attack by summoning Brutal Swing on his claws. A dark red aura surrounded them as the intimidation Pokemon bolted forward, raising them for a devastating swipe.
"Lade!" Gallade could easily see through Krookodile's attack as he casually stepped to the side, avoiding the swing as Krookodile only hit the air.
"Krook?" Krookodile took a moment to realize how easily Gallade avoided his Brutal Swing. Without even trying. The Intimidation Pokemon turned around, continuing to use Brutal Swing as he went for another swipe in hopes of connecting.
But again, Gallade found them to be predictable so he just avoided it sidestepping back. This obviously infuriated Krookodile who had then decided to continuously use Brutal Swing until it hits at least once. "Dile! Krook! Krook!"
A frenzy of swipes had been thrown towards Gallade's general direction by a rapid-moving Krookodile who kept on missing every single swing with barely any signs of him coming close. At this point, he was hitting the air and nothing else.
All the while, Gallade kept a cool composure throughout all of this. After seeing Krookodile use Brutal Swing repeatedly, Gallade could tell that Krookodile's battling style was easy to read and simple to understand.
Krookodile's style of battling was aggressive and violent whilst Gallade's was composed and focused. And it was definitely showing with this battle as Krookodile was starting to run out of breath from all this swiping whilst Gallade hasn't even broken a sweat yet.
"Seems a bit one-sided here..." Applejack narrowed her eyes.
"I'll say." Rarity nodded. "Krookodile hasn't even come close to hitting Gallade at all."
"Well, that's no surprise. Considering their styles of battling," said Brawly. "Krookodile's all about Bait and Punish. Where he'll just go for the heaviest hits and pressure his opponents and manipulate their behaviour, allowing them to punish mistakes effectively."
"So then...what's Gallade count as?"
"Gallade's an All-Rounder. He's a perfect balance of power, defence and speed. It's challenging to find a blind spot when battling him. He can hit you from far away and up-close at the same time with barely any consequences.
"Then Krookodile's a goner!" Pinkie gasped.
"Krook...! Krook...!" Krookodile was smart enough to know that Brutal Swing wasn't working at all. So he put an end to the attack, taking some time to catch his breath.
"Lade?" Gallade asked him if he wanted to call it quits now. He could see that he was just tiring himself out and he could read his every movement. Gallade didn't want to make this an unfair battle.
Unsurprisingly, Krookodile denied Gallade's suggestion due to his gigantic pride. He refused to just quit now. Especially since he hasn't landed a single hit in.
"Dile!" Krookodile switched things up by using Stone Edge next. Krookodile's body became surrounded in energy that then came off Krookodile's body, forming into two rings of white pointed energy orbs that orbited around his body. The white light then faded around the orbs, forming them into multiple glowing crystals as he then fired attack towards Gallade.
"Gall." Even a different move wasn't enough to worry Gallade. With a serene and self-controlled attitude, Gallade raised one of his arms, causing the crystals to split in half once they collided with Gallade's bladed elbows.
Gallade at this point was not only blowing Audino away with his refined skills but everyone else as well. They could see why all the Pokemon here looked up to him and why Audino is infatuated by him.
Audino was obviously cheering for both Gallade and Krookodile since one of them was her friend, but she was leaning more on the side of Gallade due to how cool he was to her. "Dino!"
"Krook?!" Krookodile's anger had reached a boiling point. Enough was enough for him. Not only could he not land a single hit on Gallade who was acting so sophisticated compared to him but Audino was showing favouritism to the Sharp Blade Pokemon instead of him.
And Krookodile knew that he was running out of steam at this point. All those Brutal Swings had worn him out. From the looks of things, it was clear that he was going to lose either way.
And that boiling point of anger was enough to push Krookodile over the edge. So much over the edge to the point where he had learned a new move that was accurate to his current emotion.
"DILE!" The Intimidation Pokemon's body was outlined in a red aura that sparked crimson bolts out of his body. This aura was not only the representation of his anger but his drive to win this for Audino.
"What's that?!" Pinkie stood up.
"It's Outrage!" Ash recognized the move, even if it looked slightly different.
"Pikachu?!"
"Krookodile!" Krookodile was now on a rampage. And the only thing eyes had locked onto was Gallade. Due to Outrage's red aura, Krookodile's vision had become a perfect example and description of Seeing Red as all his rage was targeted towards Gallade.
"Gall!" Gallade actually became alarmed from this since he knew how destructive Outrage can be. Even a composed Pokemon such as himself needs to watch out for this Dragon-Type attack.
"KROOK!" With a single step, Krookodile caused a tremor that shook a large portion of the Fighting Fields and even almost caused the lake to form a tsunami. The Intimidation Pokemon stomped towards Gallade, swinging his tail downwards.
"Lade!" Gallade's movements had increased in speed as he dashed back, avoiding Krookodile's incoming tail attack. Krookodile's tail made contact with the ground as white shockwaves come out of the ground.
These shockwaves had shattered the ground, sending huge debris into the air as Audino was caught up in this shockwave, trying to keep her balance.
"Dino?!"
"Krookodile!" Krookodile swung his tail at the debris that had now been scattered thanks to his ongoing rampage. The boulder-sized debris flew over to Gallade who had cut them in half with his bladed elbows. Krookodile moved in, opening his mouth as he was planning on biting Gallade.
"Gal?!" Gallade's eyes widened as he placed his blades in between Krookodile's side-teeth, keeping them there as the two were now locked in a struggle.
"Krookodile!" Krookodile pulled a sneak attack by using Brutal Swing to swipe at Gallade's chest whilst his blades were stuck in-between his teeth.
"Lade?!" Gallade had finally been hit by an attack after so many attempts. However, even a hard-hitting Brutal Swing wasn't enough to stop the Blade Pokemon. Gallade had been pushed back, skidding on the ground as he saw Krookodile continuing his rampage and knew it had to be stopped somehow.
Gallade looked over at Audino, seeing how terrified she was of Krookodile's current state. After seeing that, Gallade had figured out what to do.
The Blade Pokemon stood in one spot, not moving an inch whatsoever. It almost as if he was letting Krookodile come to him.
"Why's he standing there?!" Pinkie pulled her mane.
"Krookodile!" Krookodile believed he finally had Gallade where he wanted him as he put all of his power into this one single attack whilst Gallade just stood there unaffected.
The minute Krookodile got closer, the Blade Pokemon moved to the side, changing Krookodile's vision from Gallade, the one he hated to Audino, the one he loved.
"Audi!?" Audino gasped as she noticed that Krookodile was approaching her. She put her arms up, terrified of Krookodile's current rampage.
"Dile?!" Once Krookodile saw Audino, he immediately snapped out of it as his eyes returned to their normal colour. The red aura of Outrage faded away as Krookodile's final attack stopped right in front of Audino, causing a shockwave to happen behind her. "Krook?"
After using Outrage, Krookodile had fatigued himself to the point of exhaustion Brutal Swing had already burnt a lot out of him but Outrage was what did him in.
He was so fatigued that he ended passing out, falling on the ground due to spending all of his energy into Outrage as Krookodile had lost this battle.
20 minutes had passed.
Krookodile's eyes opened up as he saw both Fluttershy and Audino right above him. Audino was currently healing him with Heal Pulse as light pink sparkles rained down on his body.
"Krookodile...?"
"Oh, thank goodness. You're okay." Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief.
"Audino."
"Dile"? Krookodile sat up, holding his head. He was pleased that Audino was healing him but he was also wondering what happened during his battle with Gallade.
And speaking of Gallade, the Blade Pokemon was standing right next to Ash and the others which caught the attention of Krookodile.
"Krook...!" Krookodile was about to charge towards Gallade for a second battle, but he quickly realized that he would just end up losing again since he didn't even stand a chance the first time. So he just gave up, accepting that Gallade was above him.
"Krookodile. You didn't have to go up against Gallade." Fluttershy said.
"Dile?"
"I know you only did it to impress Audino here."
"Krooko." The Intimidation Pokemon lowered his head, knowing that he had been caught.
"But you didn't need to go that far and push yourself just to have Audino think you're amazing. She already thinks you're great since you're friends."
"Audino." Audino nodded. In truth, she may be smitten by Gallade's grace but at the end of the day, there are multiple Gallade's out there that can most likely do the same. And she'll probably meet another one someday.
But Krookodile was the one she'd end up seeing the most since they're always at the Pokemon House together. And Audino knew that no amount of Gallade's out there would cause her to ignore Krookodile.
"Dile..." Krookodile himself felt embarrassed for the first time in a while as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Gall." Gallade went up to Krookodile, putting his arm out. He gave Krookodile a bit of respect for being the first Pokemon who has lasted this long against him and almost made him to use a bit more of strength. Even if Krookodile was on a rampage.
"Krook...Krookodile." Krookodile may be prideful but he knows when to swallow his pride as he stood up, shaking Gallade's bladed arms with his claws.
"And that's how it goes." Brawly nodded. "Even with Outrage, Gallade still kept his composure."
"Poor Krookodile though." Pinkie shook her head. "Only got one lucky hit in."
"Gallade didn't use any moves either. That's a bit embarrassing actually." Applejack put her hat over her head.
"Well, it was aggression vs composure. The victor should've obvious." Rarity replied.
"Mienfoo..." Mienfoo walked back to Rainbow Dash, upset and annoyed at what happened earlier.
"Sorry, Mienfoo." Rainbow Dash squeed. "W-We can still try battling here."
"Foo!"
"Dile." Krookodile gave his apologies and respect to Gallade as he decided that he wanted to head home and rest up. Outrage was still leaving its effects on him.
"Alright. You can head home in the meanwhile. We'll come with you." Fluttershy replied as she and Audino would be heading back to Ponyville with Krookodile. "Sorry everypony. But Krookodile needs some more rest. Audino and I will be at Ponyville in the meantime."
"It's fine. We'll see you back there. Okay, Mienfoo. Now's your chance." Rainbow Dash said to her partner.
"Mienfoo!"
"Audino." Once they left, Audino told Krookodile that when he used Stone Edge differently, he looked a bit cool back there.
"D-Dile. Krookodile!" And those words were enough to get Krookodile's pride and ego back to full speed once more.
As the three of them return to Ponyville whilst the others experience more of the Fighting Fields for themselves, Krookodile now had a little bit of control with his emotions whenever Audino either gets close to another Pokemon or is fond of them. Granted, Krookodile is most likely to boil himself up with rage once more but at least next time, he'll know when to cool down as the journey continues.
The many Dynamax dens that have been planted across Equestria, thanks to Lucien, were starting to act up all of a sudden. Most of them were hidden in places where it would take a lot of exploration to find. Mostly underground or in caves.
For a while now, they haven't been too active with only one Pokemon Dynamaxing in Equestria. That being Hatterene. However, now, something had sparked them all up as the red Dynamax energy that flowed out of them were starting to darken.
The red pillars of light shot up into the air as their crimson glow was enough to reach the Crystal Empire, lighting it up with its energy.
The light beamed through the windows of the castle, heading all the way over to Princess Cadence and Shining Armor's room.
"Mrrgh..." Shining Armor grumbled as he turned his head to the side, unaware of the light outside of their Kingdom. It wasn't long until the Dynamax lights woke him up by shining tiny red dots in his face. "Who's flashing lights at this time?" Shining Armor stood up from his bed as he rubbed his right eye.
Once he opened all eyes, the Dynamax lights were now apart of his vision. His first time seeing them as well. From how unexpected and sudden these lights were, Shining Armor had no idea if they were good or bad.
"C-Cadence. Honey. Wake up!" He nudged Cadence, trying to get her to get a look at the lights as well.
"Is Flurry Heart crying again...?" Cadence groaned as she opened her eyes as she sat up.
"No...Look." He pointed his hoof to the outside of the window.
Cadence squinted her eyes, taking a moment to process the sudden pillar that was breaking through the clouds themselves. Now she was also aware of this. "What is that?"
It didn't take long for everypony else in the Crystal Empire to take notice. It was impossible to ignore the Dynamax light due to how vibrant and long it was. The light it gave off shined through every window in the empire and perfectly reflected off the crystals.
Everypony gathered outside to see exactly why this light was here. So far, nothing disastrous has actually occurred. It was there. Some even believed it was just there for show, while others were on the more cautious side.
But it was just the Crystal Empire.
Soon, various locations in Equestria had their hidden Dynamax spots act up. From Dodge Junction, Appleloosa, Manehattan, Dragon lands, YakYakistan to even Griffonstone.
All of them had hidden Dynamax dens that had yet to be discovered. Soon, most of Equestria was filled with nothing but red clouds and red pillars with the occasional purple pillar.
And of course, the one who brought Dynamax to this world was getting psyched up. That being Lucien.
"Here it comes..." Lucien rubbed his hands together, anticipating the payoff. "It'll be a Dynamax frenzy once things really kick-off!"
"It's just Pokemon growing big..." Sienna wasn't too impressed.
"It's not just Pokemon growing big! Well...some of it is. But it's how they affect everything around them! Because the magic in Equestria is so different from the Pokemon World, the Pokemon act up in unique and new ways. And it's that kind of difference that's gonna really make all of this so amazing!"
"Well, if you say so. But aren't you supposed to be helping me with my Desire plan and making it better?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just watch as the magic happens!"
"Fine...But what triggered them to act up all of a sudden?"
"What else? Eternatus is close to waking up. It doesn't even need to be fully awake to build up Dynamax energy. You can only imagine what'll happen when it does wake up."
"I don't think I do..." Sienna was a bit intimidated by Eternatus due to its skeletal-like appearance and unknown origin. But Lucien was right. Somewhere out there, Eternatus's influence was the cause of these Dynamax power spots acting up.
It was only a matter of time until something like this would occur.
Ponyville, Night.
One of the very few locations in Equestria that have no Dynamax dens nearby. The lively and jolly Ponyville. Not everypony was asleep yet. Some were staying up having fun while others were busy. One of those being Twilight, who was currently still looking for clues that led to Jirachi.
"It says that Jirachi can be found in Hoenn but...It also granted a wish somewhere near Kanto and Galar?" Twilight read more about Jirachi. "Which is it then?"
"Well, right here it says that it was first discovered in Hoenn." Spike pointed at the book where it described the first sighting of Jirachi.
"But who's to say that it's still in Hoenn?" Twilight scratched her mane. "It could be anywhere right about now."
"Then uhh...How about finding out if there's a Pokemon that can see the entire world. I mean, there's a Pokemon for everything isn't there?" Spike suggested.
"Well, yeah. There is a Pokemon for everything of course. But I don't know anything about an all-seeing Pokemon." Twilight shook her head.
"Espeon..." Eve yawned as she curled up in Twilight's bed whilst the rest of Twilight's Pokemon were prepared to clock out for the night.
"Anyway. I'll be right back." Twilight stood up as she used her magic to raise an Xtransciever. "Applejack's Xtransciever should be okay by now. Can you look after the place for me Spike?"
"No problem. Salamence and I are perfect bodyguards." Spike stood up with pride. "Mostly Salamence anyways..."
"That's good. Eve. Ninetales. Minccy. You three behave yourselves now. I know how rowdy you get when you're alone together."
"Ninetales." Ninetales nodded as he made a promise that nothing bad will happen. Although, Twilight's Cinccino knew that something might end up going wrong eventually.
"Ccino..."
With that, Twilight set off to return Applejack's repaired Xtransciever. Even if she wasn't awake, Cold will be there to retrieve it.
Entering the outside of Ponyville, Twilight could feel an unusual chill run through her body as she shuddered a bit with the wind blowing her mane and tail.
"Eeugh..." Twilight winced. "I can't wait for Spring to arrive. I hear Unova's the best in Spring." She babbled whilst making her way towards Sweet Apple Acres. "Oh, but Alola in the Summer sounds promising."
Other ponies who were outside were heading back inside of their homes for two reasons. The first was to obviously head to bed and wait for tomorrow to arrive.
However, the second one was because some heavy rain was due. To the Pokemon who enjoyed the rain, this was the perfect time to stay outside. Mainly Water and Grass-Types.
Twilight kept thinking about ways she could spend the summer in Alola or even how other regions are during different seasons. The thought of it was pleasing to the mind.
That is until Twilight felt something flow through her. A sort of enigma had perplexed her body, prompting her to stop. All of a sudden, her eyes gained an unexpected vision of something she couldn't make out. It looked to be the symbol of Mega Evolution.
This unexplained pulse made Twilight's head ache to a point where it almost made her pass out from the amount of strain that was passing through her head.
"W-What was that...?" Twilight groaned as she grit her teeth, trying to ignore the unexpected pain. When all of a sudden, the aching pain just went away, bringing Twilight back to full health.
But the pain going away wasn't due to a random headache. Instead, it was something much bigger than Twilight expected. Or rather, someone.
Right after Twilight's headache went away, her ears picked up on a mysterious sound that wasn't the rain or the sound of the wind blowing on the trees.
By turning her head to the side, she saw a familiar but mysterious figure lurking in the shadows with crimson eyes that could pierce even metal itself.
This figure was the reason why Twilight's head suddenly felt a sharp pain out of nowhere. It wasn't by magic or anything, but rather an unusual connection.
Twilight narrowed her eyes until she finally spotted what she was looking at exactly. A Pokemon. But not just any ordinary Pokemon. It was none other than the Disaster Pokemon.
Absol.
The pony and Pokemon had locked eyes, making contact with each other. One was perplexed and in awe whilst the other simply had a rigid yet mystical stare that could pierce anyone if used in a certain way.
The atmosphere immediately changed. As if Absol's presence was enough to distort air itself. The moon's light changed its direction to face Absol, giving the Disaster Pokemon a spotlight as Twilight was still frozen in place.
"Isn't that...Absol?" Twilight had heard about Absol before but she had only seen the artwork of it in a book that talks about many Pokemon myths and legends. And Absol, while not a Legendary or Mythical Pokemon, was apart of that book.
Out of curiosity, she took her Pokedex out to see what Absol was all about since her books only showed artwork of Absol. As if it was incomplete somehow.
"Absol. The Disaster Pokemon. Absol has the ability to foretell the coming of natural disasters with its horn. It is also known to protect fields from natural disasters as well. This often has the unfortunate effect of Absol itself being blamed for the disaster, notably by the elderly. The hatred for Absol was stared years by superstitions surrounding it. Despite this, the elderly are interested in its ability to predict disaster. Absol has been referred to as a Bringer of Doom. Absol is said to have a lifespan up to 100 years."
"So that's why it's known as the Disaster Pokemon." Twilight lowered her Pokedex as Absol kept staring at her.
"Absol." The Disaster Pokemon narrowed his eyes at Twilight, only intimidating the alicorn further. Absol was already a fairly intimidating Pokemon to look at.
"Wait. If you're here then that means..." Twilight thought for a moment. Absol being the Disaster Pokemon and showing up meant that a possible disaster was coming. But her sudden thinking caused her head to ache once more. "Ugh!"
"Sol..." The Disaster Pokemon's horn was vibrating at an unlikely frequency. A frequency that only Absol can sense and predict.
Twilight assumed that since Absol was here, a disaster is bound to happen due to what the Pokedex said. But she couldn't think straight since her head kept on aching without her having any control of it. "Ow...!"
Twilight got on the ground, wincing in pain as she attempted to use magic to negate the pain. But even that wasn't working. It progressed from just being a headache to even affecting her body, starting with her wings. She had no clue what was happening at all.
"Absol." The Disaster Pokemon turned around, leaving Twilight as he disappeared into the shadows without a single trace. Once Absol left, Twilight's pain had finally left. For good this time. There were no signs of it ever coming back at all.
Twilight breathed in and out as she could finally feel herself rejuvenating. However, that amount of pain was something she couldn't forget due to how sudden, harsh and unexpected it was.
She noticed that Absol was gone along with the fog as the rain had finally arrived, pouring down on Ponyville. The young alicorn was still perplexed after all of that, unable to move from where she stood. She was then reminded that Applejack's Xtransciever hadn't been returned to her, which is why she came outside in the first place.
Twilight shook her head as she continued her way to Sweet Apple Acres quickly returned to her castle and rest up for the night. But the thought of Absol had now been engraved in her mind.
"If Absol was here...then does that mean a disaster is coming?"
3 hours later.
All of Ponyville was quiet and serene as many of them slept through the pouring rain as it battered their windows, roofs and even some of their plants.
Jade and Cold were once again on Nightwatch, making sure that everything was dandy and fine at night with no threats lurking around. The downside was that they had to stand in the rain, unfortunately.
But it wasn't just those two who weren't asleep. Twilight herself couldn't sleep at all. Mainly because she met Absol 3 hours ago.
From the way Absol glared at her and the strange atmosphere that formed during his arrival, it was enough to mesmerize the young alicorn for a bit. But that wasn't the main reason why she couldn't sleep.
In truth, since Absol arrived, Twilight assumed that a disaster was approaching. If that was the case, then sleeping might not be the best decision since it could happen at any moment.
"Don't think about it too much, Twilight...The last time you thought about an incoming disaster it just turned out to be something small." Twilight said to herself whilst looking up at the ceiling. "Oh, but Absol's different. An actual disaster is most likely...no, probably coming. But where?"
"Esp...Espeon..." Eve curled up in the bed after hearing Twilight a small bit.
"If Absol came to Ponyvile...then that means the disaster might happen in Ponyville...!" Twilight's eyes widened as her mind was now building up multiple fears and worst-case scenarios.
"Wait. Cold Colt and Jade are outside as Nightwatch. I actually don't have anything to worry about if they're keeping watch. Yeah...No need to worry." Twilight chuckled nervously as she put herself to sleep, having faith in Jade and Cold to keep the town safe and unharmed.
With Cold and Jade, nothing threatening had arrived yet. The only threatening thing here was the heavy rain and occasional lightning strike. But other than that, everything was practically normal right about now.
Cold was less focused on the town and more focused on what he'll do during the upcoming Pokemon Festival that's approaching in March.
Jade took things more seriously as she had unnecessarily long binoculars with her. Courtesy of Pinkie Pie. The only other form of life Jade could spot was Cold Colt and the Pokemon that were nocturnal. Nothing unusual here.
"Hey, Jade." Cold spoke.
"Hm?"
"Did your Cutie Mark change?" Cold squinted his eyes.
"Did it? I hadn't noticed." Jade moved her binoculars around, almost hitting a Hoothoot with their ridiculous length. "Then again, I've never looked at my Cutie Mark before."
"Never once? You should see it. It's a bit hard to tell what it is though. Although...it did look a little like mine a few months back. Hm.
"Nothing up in Cloudsdale." Jade raised her binoculars in the sky, seeing only a Noctowl and Hoothoot fly by. With how simple and quiet things were, Jade felt like there was absolutely nothing to worry about tonight.
Until something finally showed up.
And that something was yet another Dynamax pillar. It didn't appear in Ponyville, but instead right over at Lapras Lake. The one new Pokemon location that was closer to Ponyville that the others.
And that prompted Jade to lock on to the red pillar of light. "I see something."
"Hm? What is it?" Cold went up to her. "Lemme see." He asked for the binoculars as the pegasus let him have a look at what she spotted. Now the power spot was visible to him as well.
"You're the Pokemon expert. What do you think that is?" Jade asked.
"Oh no..." Cold lowered the binoculars down with his jaw opened. "Those lights are Dynamax lights!"
"Dyna-what?"
"How'd it get here?" Cold scratched his mane. "There's no Dynamax in Equestria. And even for the Pokemon World, only Galar has them."
"So then what do they do? You seemed pretty shocked about them."
"Oh! Well uh, to make it simple. It's when a Pokemon grows big. Super big!"
"Those things?" Jade turned around, looking over at the red light.
"Mhm. That light's coming from a power spot or Dynamax den. That's where Dynamax Pokemon live in. Or sometimes they just accidentally step on a power spot."
"So it's a bad thing, right?"
"Well...sometimes?" Cold shrugged. "It depends on the situation. As long as a Pokemon doesn't step on a power spot and doesn't come near Ponyville, we should be okay for the night!"
"For the night maybe. But what about the morning." Jade spread her wings out. "I say we head over to Lapras Lake and make sure none of the Pokemon step on those power spot things. Get on my back."
"Uh, yes ma'am!" Cold hopped on her back. "So serious about your job."
Jade who was now carrying Cold, took off like a rocket as the duo made their way over to Lapras Lake with haste, leaving Ponyville behind.
Thankfully, no Pokemon has interacted with the power spots. Mostly since Lapras Lake is exclusive to a large majority of Water-Types who aren't on land. But some were more akin to the land. Such as Seel, Staryu, Lombre and a few more.
But even those Pokemon were asleep since not many Water-Types are nocturnal. Once the duo arrived at Lapras Lake, they were pleased to see that none of the Pokemon have grown big yet.
However, even though they can see the pillar of Dynamax energy, the den itself wasn't on land. Instead, it was underwater at this very moment.
"Oh...do we have to go underwater too?" Cold said.
"We can't ignore it. If it's underwater, then any Water-Type Pokemon might end up interacting with the power spot. Especially a Sharpedo since this lake has some of them."
"Right..." Cold sighed. "But it's still raining and we're already wet enough as it is."
"Did Twilight ever teach you that underwater breathing spell?"
"Oh yeah. She taught me every practical spell I needed to learn." Cold nodded as he got work, using his magic to create a temporary field of light that would allow them both to breath underwater for 20 minutes.
"Come on." Jade was the first to make her way towards the water. This was one of the many times where her deadpan and lifeless personality and emotions worked well. She had no fear of the water or the Sharpedo's themselves thanks to this monotone trait of hers.
Cold, however, who had more emotion than her times a million was very hesitant. He followed behind with his hooves quaking. His main fear wasn't the dark depths of the lake but instead, the Sharpedo that resided deep underneath. He was hoping that the power spot wasn't that deep.
Once they submerged in the lake, they kept their eyes on the pillar of light, swimming down to where it originated from. Going deeper in Lapras Lake led to the sight of friendly Water-Types without a trace of Sharpedo.
But one thing that Jade and Cold noticed was that the Water Pokemon were all swimming in the same direction with terrified looks in their eyes. Almost as if they were fleeing from something.
Not only that, but even the Sharpedo's were swimming alongside them. A Pokemon known for being fierce and terrifying was terrified itself. Seeing that already made Cold Colt nervous considering how fearful he was of the Brutal Pokemon.
"That's what worries me right now." Cold gulped. "What's got them so scared?"
The answer to that had revealed itself to the two ponies. Before they even entered the lake, a Pokemon had already found the Dynamax power spot.
And that Pokemon ended up being the Pincer Pokemon, Kingler. But it wasn't just a Dynamaxed Kingler. It was in its Gigantamax form. This was the Pokemon that scared off the other Water-Types.
Not because of its overwhelming size since they've seen Wailord who is much bigger. But because once Kingler Gigantamaxed, it started going rogue out of nowhere, attacking everything around it in a fit of rage.
But there was a reason behind it. Due to the Dynamax energy being influenced by Eternatus, any Pokemon that comes across a power spot and Dynamaxes will undergo an outburst of confusion and fury.
"KINGLER!" The Pincer Pokemon roared, causing the water itself to tremble as Jade and Cold Colt were knocked back by just the force of Kingler's cry.
"A Gigantamax Kingler?!" Cold exclaimed as he spun around in the ocean.
"So that's a Dynamax Pokemon?" Jade said, trying to let out a shocked expression. But even this wasn't enough to make her emote.
"GLER!" Kingler smashed its left pincer on the sea caves, obliterating them in one single strike. With its Gigantamaxed form, its left pincer has grown to an enormous size, capable of smashing even some of the hardest materials out there.
The impact of Kingler's pincers caused yet another sea tremor as the Pincer Pokemon spotted Jade and Cold Colt, floating above it.
"Oh no, it sees us." Cold's eyes widened.
"Swim up!" Jade raised her voice a bit as the two made the wise decision of getting out of here to avoid being crushed by Kingler.
But with Kingler being 430mm tall, escaping it was nigh-impossible, especially with that giant left claw it now has. The Pincer Pokemon opened up its left pincer, preparing to utilize its signature G-Max move.
G-Max Foam Burst.
A blast of soft, white yet destructive foam had been fired out of Kingler's pincer as it tore through the water, heading straight for the two ponies.
The foam from G-Max Foam Burst was unusually lethal since Kingler's bubbles are now alkaline. Any opponent that gets hit by them will have their bodies melted away. And they were certainly inside of this blast of foam.
Cold and Jade turned around to see the foam approaching them. Even if they tried to dodge, it was impossible. The attack was too wide as it took up most of the water, if not all of it.
Before they could even think fast enough to find a way to at least escape, the foam engulfed them as Kingler saw its prey being devoured by its foam.
The foam went so far up that it even flew out of the water, causing a gigantic splash that could be seen all the way from Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. Even all the Water-Type Pokemon had been caught by this attack due to how large it was.
After the attack ended, foamy bubbles above the lake, moving around and even reaching the land. As the bubbles popped, not a trace of any other Water-Types could be found. And especially no trace of Jade and Cold.
Kingler's rampage continued even after that attack as it was still in a fit of rage. The cry of Kingler echoed throughout the lake and the night sky.
But this was just one of many. Kingler wasn't the only Pokemon going on a rampage. Across every part in Equestria, Pokemon who have encountered power spots were, unfortunately, Dynamaxed and influenced by Eternatus's energy.
Soon, these Dynamaxed Pokemon will end up breaking out of the caves and hidden areas where they resided. And once they do, Equestria will be faced with a Dynamax crisis.
And, in fact, that is the true reason why Absol appeared.
"Absol."
The Disaster Pokemon Pokemon stood atop a hill, looking over Ponyville, Everfree and especially Lapras Lake. Normally, Absol only senses natural disasters like volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes etc. But this time. This disaster was on a grander scale. Far surpassing that of any natural disaster out there. Absol knew that it had to do something or else Equestria would end up being obliterated by the Dynamaxed Pokemon as the journey continues.
Across Equestria, many Dynamax dens that were hidden in secluded areas have finally gone off. And the unfortunate Pokemon who come across them are forcefully Dynamaxed under Eternatus's influence.
However, this crisis is what brought the appearance of the Disaster Pokemon, Absol. With Absol's presence here, it was guaranteed that something like this would happen.
Standing atop a hill, Absol gazed over Lapras Lake, where he first sighted a Dynamax power spot due to the tall red pillars of light they exhibit. He saw the lake covered in foam with bubbles popping and flowing across the water. But this wasn't a naturally beautiful sight.
This was the cause of Gigantamax Kingler. A Pokemon who had previously been Dynamaxed and went on a rampage out of confusion underwater. Many Water Pokemon were caught by the move G-Max Foam burst including Ponyville's Night Watch. Jade Skies and Cold Colt.
Just like the Water-Type Pokemon in Lapras Lake, their current status is unknown. The last thing they saw was G-Max Foam Burst coming right at them. And that was it.
Absol looked over at the distance, spotting another Dynamax pillar rising in the distance over at the North. He knew that he was too late for Kingler since it had already been affected. But if he hurries, he could prevent other Pokemon from reaching the power spot.
So the Disaster Pokemon hopped off the hill, dashing like the wind as he made haste to prevent this crisis from spreading.
Ponyville, morning.
It was yet another beautiful day in Ponyville like always. Or at least, in terms of the vibrant sun beaming down on the town. As for everything else, once the ponies woke up, the first thing that caught their attention was the red pillar of light coming from Lapras Lake. It was impossible to ignore.
"What's that?" Derpy wondered.
"Maybe somepony's putting on a light show? A bit too early though." Amethyst theorized.
They went on about what the red light could be with their own assumptions and theories. However, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rarity felt like they recognized that familiar red glow.
"Do those colours remind you of the Dynamax colours?" Rarity squinted her eyes.
"Same shade of red too." Pinkie nodded.
"Yeah, but we didn't see any red pillars popping up with a Dynamaxed Pokemon." Applejack shook her head. "How long do you think it's been there?"
"Who knows? Oh, but Jade and Cold do!" Pinkie shot up. "Where are they anyway?" She looked around, searching for Jade and Cold. But there was no sign of them. "Jade hasn't returned to SugarCube Corner yet, actually."
"Neither has Cold. He ain't at Sweet Apple Acres right now. Or at all." said Applejack.
"You don't think..." Rarity paused for a moment, thinking of where the two of them could be. She looked over at her two friends as they looked back at her.
The trio froze for a moment as their brains were processing the same thought. They all simultaneously turned their heads towards the red pillar of light and came to the same conclusion.
"Oh no." Pinkie's neck strained as her pupils dilated. Her, Applejack and Rarity believed that the red pillar could have something to do with Jade and Cold not being present at the moment.
Out of everypony here staring at the light, the three of them were the only ones who decided to explore it up close. Or rather, see if their friends are alright.
Once they arrived at Lapras Lake, they had graced their eyes on both the Dynamax pillar and the foam generated from Kingler's last attack. Although, they weren't aware that this foam came from an attack at all.
The lake was silent and quiet with not a single Pokemon in sight. Not even on land. The only sound the three of them could hear was the energy of the Dynamax lights and nothing else.
"It's coming from the water. You think they went down there?" Applejack got closer to the water, peering her head over.
"If they did, it's way too early to go for a swim." Pinkie replied.
"I don't think they went for a swim, Pinkie Pie. Look." Rarity used her magic to pick a familiar item. That item being the binoculars that Jade had on her last night. They had washed up on the shore with foamy bubbles around them. The foam had ruined the binoculars as they were partially melted.
"Jade's binoculars!" Pinkie rushed off as she witnessed the half-ruined binoculars. "Oh no, no, no, no." PInkie was fearing the worst as she shook her head violently. From how it looked, Pinkie feared that something horrible must've happened to Jade.
Rarity could see that Pinkie Pie was about to break into tears, but she wasn't about to let that happen since there was something they could do. "Pinkie!" Rarity shoved her hoof in Pinkie's mouth. "Now is not the time to jump to conclusions. There is a way we can work around this!"
"T-There is?"
"Right. Do you have any of your Slurpuff's on you?"
"Mhm." Pinkie nodded gently.
"Good. Use your Slurpuff's sensitive nose to track them down. If the binoculars are here, then Jade must be somewhere close."
"Alright." Pinkie held back her tears as she sent one of her many Slurpuff's out to search for their friends.
"Slurpuff!"
"Slurpuff! Please use your nose to track down Jade and Cold." Pinkie Pie pleaded.
"Slur!" Understanding her trainer's desperation and worry, Slurpuff got to work. By using its sensitive nose, Slurpuff was already picking up a trace of Jade and Cold as the Meringue Pokemon made its way towards the water. That's all the distance it needed to go as it suddenly stopped walking. "Puff! Slur!" The Meringue Pokemon pointed its stubby arms at the water.
"So they really are underwater." Rarity said. "Oh, I hope they haven't drowned!" She gasped.
"I know somepony who's resistant to water. Grovyle." Applejack turned to her partner. "Grovyle. We're heading down there together.
"Gro!" The Wood Geck Pokemon nodded in understanding as he shot his head to the water.
"I know you haven't really done much but..." Rarity reached into her saddlebag, taking out a Rarityball. "But we need your help. Feebas!" She sent out the Fish Pokemon, Feebas
"Fee..."
"Before we enter, aside from Feebas, we'll all need something to breathe underwater. Luckily, Twilight's practical magic proved to be useful." Rarity used her magic to perform the same spell Cold and Twilight used to breathe underwater for 20 minutes. "Good luck."
Each of them was more than ready to submerge themselves underwater to find the duo and see if they were alright and well. By immersing themselves in the lake, the trio could see that the number of Water-Type Pokemon was practically non-existent.
The sea wasn't in its usual lively state anymore. Not since Kingler attacked. In fact, Kingler was the only Pokemon currently residing in the sea at this point.
Speaking of Kingler, the cries of the Pincer Pokemon could be heard as the sound waves echoed throughout the sea, causing tremors that almost reached the surface.
"Not a single Water Pokemon here." Rarity commented.
"Just like on land. Where'd they all go?" Applejack wondered.
"Grovyle?"
"Slur. Slurpuff." Slurpuff picked up on a brand new scent. That being the scent of Kingler and its foam. The scent was so strong that it blocked out Jade and Cold's scent completely, making it hard for Slurpuff to continue tracking them down. "Slur."
"Found anything yet, Slurpuff?" Pinkie asked.
"Slur." She shook her head.
"Feebas." Feebas was just as lost as Slurpuff and Grovyle. Despite being a Water-Type, this lake was unnerving to the Fish Pokemon. Before Kingler, Lapras Lake was a peaceful and beautiful area. But not any more thanks to Dynamax.
But even with all that faith, finding them was proving to be a challenge. At this point, it looked like Jade and Cold weren't even here at all. But Slurpuff could still feel a tiny bit of their scent. It was faint but even with the overpowering aroma of the foam, the Meringue Pokemon hadn't lost them yet.
Their venturing continued until they came across the one area that they most likely shouldn't have come across. From the corner of Grovyle's eye, he had spotted something unusual. A large shadow could be seen around the corner, along with a red glow. This glow came with a very furious sound.
The sound of Kingler that is. The Gigantamaxed Pincer Pokemon had come out of the corner, smashing its large pincer of the corner as it crumbled into nothing.
Finally, They had all seen the Gigantamaxed Pokemon with their own eyes. Its imposing figure complimented by its large left pincer and red aura was striking to the eys.
"So it is Dynamax?!" Rarity gasped.
"Dynamaxed Kingler?!" Pinkie took her dex out which was thankfully waterproof.
"Kingler. The Pincer Pokemon. Gigantamax Form. The flow of Gigantamax energy has spurred this Pokémon’s left pincer to grow to an enormous size. That claw can pulverize anything. The bubbles it spews out are strongly alkaline. Any opponents hit by them will have their bodies quickly melted away."
"Wait...then does that mean..." Pinkie thought for a moment. She saw the bubbles on the binoculars earlier. This made her heart sink as she now believed that Jade and Cold might've met a gruesome end.
"KINGLER!" Still enraged and confused, Kingler's rampage continued as it spotted the trio of Pokemon that stood before it. Now they were its next targets as it swung its massive pincer towards them.
"Grovyle, Dragon Breath!" Applejack commanded.
"Gro!" Grovyle grabbed Slurpuff and Feebas as he swam down with them, avoiding the pincer as it caused mighty ripples and shockwaves in the water. "Gro...vyle!" The Wood Gecko Pokemon attacked back by using Dragon Breath.
A blast of blue and purple flames came out of his mouth as it went straight for KIngler. Dragon Breath may be a strong move, but against a Gigantamaxed Pokemon, it was unfortunately not enough as a tiny explosion happened in front of Kingler's face as he was slightly phased by it.
However, one extra part of the Dragon-Type move was that it has a chance of paralyzing. And that's with it did. Dragon Breath had paralyzed Kingler, slowing the Pincer Pokemon down. As if it wasn't slow enough already in its currently gigantic form.
"GLER!" Kingler, obviously now more enraged than ever, began swinging its pincer violently at Grovyle and the others whilst the Wood Gecko Pokemon held his friends close to him.
With how ferociously Kingler was attacking them, the group found it challenging to find time to pause and relax. They had to continue evading Kingler's humongous pincer whilst the spell slowly runs out of time. And if they tried to escape, Kingler was too big to avoid.
Back at Ponyville, everypony was still looking right at the pillar. It was hard not to due to how visible and out of place it was compared to everything else.
Some ponies, however, haven't woken up yet. One of them being Twilight. Although, eventually, she did wake up from her slumber. She only slept a bit longer ever since last night when she first saw Absol. Seeing the Disaster Pokemon meant a disaster would come. And indeed, a disaster was coming. But it was more a crisis.
Twilight had finally woken up, stretching her hooves as her Pokemon were all looking outside of the window along with Starlight, Spike, Nyx, Cocoa and Rosestar. They all woke up much earlier than her like most of the ponies here, they had already seen the Dynamax pillar.
"Mrrgh..." Twilight rubbed her eye. "What's everypony staring at?"
"That." Cocoa pointed her hoof over at the Dynamax lights.
Once Twilight joined her friends over at the window, she was the next citizen of Ponyville to see the power spot pillars beaming through the sky.
"A pillar of light?" Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Where did that come from?"
"No clue." Rosestar shook her head. "But it's been like that for a while now. Hasn't even moved or flashed at all."
"It's not any light I recognize," said Nyx. "Unless it's another spell exclusive to only this universe."
"What do you think, Twilight? Got any clues?" Spike asked.
"Hmm..." Twilight examined the pillar for a moment. From all the books she's read so far about Pokemon, she has yet to discover something like this. Although, seeing it made her recall something from a while back. "Spike...Does that red remind you of something?"
"Like what?"
"The way that red looks. It kind of reminds me of Dynamax a little bit."
"Oh yeah." Spike nodded. "It does have that same colouring."
"Dynamax?" Nyx turned to Twilight.
"Ah, it's just another phenomenon from the Pokemon World. They have a few. Dynamax is a temporary transformation that affects Pokémon, enlarging its size. That's all I know about it for now."
"Hm. So is that what the red light is?" Cocoa tilted her head.
"Not sure. This is my first time seeing something like this. When we saw Dynamaxed Pokemon, it was with Pikachu, Charizard, Gyarados, Drednaw and Duraludon. They all had the same red glow around them with these weird red clouds."
"...Did you say red clouds?" Nyx replied.
"That's right." Twilight nodded.
"Then in that case...you might want to take a closer look." Nyx grabbed everypony's attention by showing them what was occurring in the sky.
The clouds were starting to move, revealing the unexpected to Twilight. At first, she believed it was a coincidence that the colouring was similar to Dynamax. But once the clouds moved away and showed the full height of the pillar, her jaw dropped in shock
Indeed, it had the same red clouds as Dynamax. And once Spike saw this as well, his reaction was similar to Twilight's. Although Twilight's was on the more extreme side.
"That's Dynamax..." She said under her breath. Seeing this made the young alicorn conclude. If Absol appeared last night and there was a Dynamax pillar right here in Equestria, then the disaster has already arrived. "Oh, this is not good. This is not good at all!"
"It's not?" Cocoa scratched her mane.
"I remember what Sonia told us! Something about the Darkest Day." Twilight backed up. "How one day a great black storm covered the Galar Region and the land was assaulted by gigantic Pokemon. The same thing could be happening now!"
"I don't see any great black storms." Starlight moved her head about. It was a clear and sunny day even with the Dynamax pillar.
"Probably not for long! If Absol predicts that a disaster is coming, then it's bound to happen!" Twilight spread her wings as she was ready to leave and investigate the Dynamax pillar.
"Who's Absol?" Rosestar questioned.
"A Pokemon that can foretell disasters. I met one last night in Ponyville. And that's not a good sign at all!"
"Twilight. Remember the last time you thought a disaster was about to happen. It just ended up-" Spike was about to finish his sentence when Twilight interrupted him.
"This isn't like before Spike!" She spoke up. "An actual disaster is coming! Come on! We're going to investigate!"
"She sounds serious..." Cocoa whispered to Rosestar as she nodded in agreement.
Twilight didn't have time to sit around wondering and panicking. She could already tell that this single Dynamax pillar could lead to something horrible.
Up in the sky of Cloudsdale, the pegasi weren't strangers to it as well. They were the ones who had seen the Dynamax lights first along with the red clouds circling them. It had even woken some of them up from their peaceful sleep. Which was a shame. The rain from last night was soothing and it had been ruined.
Rainbow Dash recognized the clouds and light to be Dynamax as well. Although, her reaction to it was on the more defensive side. She had no idea what Dynamax power spots actually did just like everypony else in Ponyville. She didn't know if they were dangerous or not.
All she remembers is what Sonia told her about the Darkest Day and the four Dynamax battles she got the pleasure of witnessing. For now, she simply stayed indoors, looking outside of her window at the pillar. But she was curious about the possibility of seeing another Dynamaxed Pokemon. Perhaps even a Gigantamaxed one.
Back at Lapras Lake, the struggle against Kingler continues. All this evading was tiring the group out. They couldn't keep it up for much longer. Meanwhile, Kingler looked like it hadn't even broken a sweat yet. But then again, it's in a fit of rage and confused still.
"This is taking forever!" Applejack ducked as Kingler clipped her tail with a single strand coming off.
"Doesn't Dynamax eventually run out?! Why is it still in this state?!" Rarity screamed as she was almost hit by Kingler's pincer.
All the while, Pinkie Pie was still thinking about the possibility of Jade being melted away by Kingler. She couldn't stop thinking about those horrible thoughts as Grovyle was the one to hold her and keep her from getting hit by the Pincer Pokemon.
"KING! KINGLER!" Kingler's rage was only getting worse due to all the evading the others were doing. Even with the paralyzed effect from Dragon Breath, Kingler could still move a lot. It had decided to put an end to this feud once and for all. And the only way to do that was with its widespread move.
G-MAX Foam Burst. By opening its left pincer, a blast of foamy water formed inside of the Pincer Pokemon's claw, building up the biggest one yet.
Applejack gasped, knowing that Kingler was about to hit them with a disgustingly powerful move from how the attack was charging up. "Up! Swim-up!" She warned the others who had also taken notice of the build-up.
They all swam up with Grovyle holding on to Applejack. But, Kingler's Foam Burst was fully charged and the surface wasn't close enough. The Pincer Pokemon sent a blast of foam in their direction as it yet again covered the entire area with no room to escape.
It looked like they as well would share the same fate as the others from last night as they turned around, seeing nothing but foam in front of them. However, something came dashing in at high-speeds, tearing through the water itself.
Before they could all gasp, their bodies had been grabbed by three fast-moving entities. They were so fast to the point where they were capable of avoiding G-Max Foam Burst as the attack had finally missed its target. But, Kingler thought it connected since its prey was nowhere to be found at all, believing them to have melted into nothing.
"KINGLER!"
In truth, Applejack and the others had been saved by some Pokemon. Not just any Pokemon. But Sharpedo's. Three of the Brutal Pokemon had grabbed onto them with their sharp teeth, which weren't actually harming them this time since, like most Pokemon, Sharpedo can control how dangerous and lethal their teeth can be. Applejack and the others were surprised that Sharpedo's teeth weren't causing any damage and that they had saved them considering how they constantly attack others who are nearby.
"Shar!" All three of the Brutal Pokemon swam through Lapras Lake at top-speeds, leaving the area and entering a nearby area with a similar layout to Lapras Lake.
That being Bidoof Beach. The Water-Types returned the ponies and other Pokemon to the surface of Bidoof Beach, giving them time to finally relax as the spell was still active.
"T-T-Thanks, Sharpedo." Applejack was breathing in and out after seeing G-Max Foam Burst.
"Vyle." Grovyle shook the water off his body along with Slurpuff and Rarity. They were grateful to Sharpedo for saving their lives and preventing them from being melted into nothing.
However, Pinkie Pie wasn't feeling the same way as her friends. She was still thinking about Jade and Cold and how they could've possibly been melted from Kingler's foam. The thought of it was enough to make her break into tears and cry uncontrollably.
But she wouldn't have to cry at all. Because at the corner of her eye, Pinkie Pie noticed some familiar figures along with Applejack and Rarity.
Near the rocks of Bidoof Beach, the two ponies they were searching for had finally been found. Jade and Cold were alright along with the other Water Pokemon.
Their bodies were still healthy without any signs of there being any foamy bubbles. The same can be said for the Water-Types. Not a scratch on them.
"Jade! Cold! You're both okay!" Pinkie Pie dashed over, hugging the two of them as she did end up breaking into tears anyways. But they were tears of joy thankfully.
"Phew! That's a relief." Applejack wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Ya'll doing well?"
"Great." Cold responded by nodding his head.
"I thought Kingler got you with all that foam that can melt stuff!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"It almost did," Jade replied. "But luckily, we were saved. By Frillish and Lapras over there. They used Protect and Light Screen at the last moment to protect all the Water Pokemon here. So the foam wasn't a problem at all."
"Lapras!"
"Frillish..."
"I see. Well, I didn't except the Sharpedo's to assist us. Usually, when somepony comes by this lake, they're already on the hunt for us." Rarity looked over at the Brutal Pokemon.
"Sharpedo!"
"But now we have a problem." Jade stood up. "We're facing a bit of a Dynamax crisis right now."
"A Dynamax Crisis?" The trio said.
"Yeah. When we were brought to Bidoof Beach by Lapras, we ended up seeing another Dynamax power spot in the near distance. In fact, there's a bunch of them. Take a look." Cold pointed his hoof over at the East. A single power spot could be seen as it was only covered by a weak mist.
The weak mist was also covering more Dynamax power spots as some were harder to see due to how far away they were. It wasn't just the East. North, South and West areas had their own Dynamax pillars. Some of which were purple.
"H-How are there so many...?" Pinkie's jaw dropped.
"Not a clue." Cold shook his head. "But they're there alright. And if Kingler was anything to go by, then any other Pokemon that Dynamaxes is a problem for all of Equestria."
"He's right about that." Rarity nodded. "After all, our world isn't built for Pokemon. At least...not yet anyway. So if there are multiple Dynamax Pokemon running around..."
"They'll flatten Equestria!" Applejack replied as she shot up. "We gotta warn Twilight and the others! They should've noticed this by now! Kingler might come up from the lake too!"
"What about everywhere else in Equestria? Dodge Junction might have a Dynamax pillar there as well." Rarity questioned.
"We'll just...warn Twilight first. And then we'll all head out like we usually do! Cold. Get home now, alright?" Applejack ordered. "And make sure everypony stays inside and doesn't come out."
"S-Sure!"
Speaking of everywhere else, it was only a matter of time until there were other Pokemon who had been Dynamaxed thanks to Eternatus's influence.
Over at the Crystal Empire, the citizens there were still looking over at their own Dynamax pillar. It has been here since night and has yet to really dazzle them. For a brief moment, it had become a tourist attraction. Although, not one they're allowed to go near due to Shining Armor's orders.
"It's not harming anypony. So it might just be there for show." Shining Armor commented as he stood on the balcony with Cadence who had Flurry Heart on her back along with Manaphy.
"Seems that way. I thought it would be harmful to the eyes. But it is a bit pleasing to look at." Cadence replied.
As of now, the Dynamax pillar was deemed safe but there was still no permission to go near them whatsoever. And if it stayed that way without doing anything, then the Crystal Empire would deem it apart of the empire and a nice sightseeing view.
But that didn't last at all. Over at the Dynamax den, one of the many Pokemon that inhabit the Crystal Empire, Sableye, had come across the power spot after searching for some sweet delicious crystals.
"Sable?" The Darkness Pokemon, out of pure curiosity, decided to check out the Dynamax den. Since it had a hole where the pillar of light came from, it assumed that it would find some gemstones down there since they're usually found underground.
However, once the Dark-Ghost-Type got close, its foot made contact with the power spot. And that one single collision is all that it took for Sableye to feel Eternatus's energy build-up from within it.
"Sable? Sableye?!" Sableye felt its body growing in size all of a sudden without any control of its body. It was losing its balance due to the constant growing as its feet dug through the ground due to how sharp they were.
It didn't take long for the Crystal Empire to notice the clouds turning red along with the sky gaining a darker tint to it. Their view of the pillar had changed to focus on the sky itself.
But even that view changed once Sableye had grown to an outstanding 400m. Not close to the level of Kingler's 430m, but still huge nonetheless.
"SABLEYE...!" Just like Kingler and every other Pokemon out there, Sableye was enraged and confused thanks to the influence of Eternatus. But the citizens didn't know that. Their response to this suddenly massive Sableye was a mixture of worry, confusion and awe as they started to chatter on why there was a giant Sableye in the distance.
"What's up with that Sableye?!" A pony gasped.
"Maybe it's their mom? Pretty huge though." Another pony squinted their eyes.
"You'd think we would've noticed a while ago, if that's the case." A smaller pony said.
Whilst they all chatter about the giant Sableye, Shining Armor, Cadence and the guards were put on high alert. And for good reason. Cadence's Sylveon had read the Darkness Pokemon's current emotion and from the way Sableye was standing around, it looked like at any moment, it would go berserk.
"Sylveon!" The Intertwining Pokemon nudged Cadence's hoof, warning her about Sableye's potential rampage.
"What's wrong, Sylveon?!" Cadence turned to her. Unfortunately, Sableye's rampage had already begun thanks to the rapidly growing rate of Eternatus's energy.
"EYE! SABLEYE!" The Darkness Pokemon took a single step, shaking the entire ground as it made its way towards the Crystal Empire. It may have no control over its body, but its hunger for crystals was still there.
Now the Crystal Empire had a Dynamaxed Sableye to deal with.
As for everywhere else, Manehattan was given the introduction of a Dynamaxed Lopunny, Dodge Junction, A Dynamaxed Wooloo, Trottingham, a Dynamaxed Corvisquire, Appleloosa, a Dynamaxed Nidoking and so on.
Not everywhere in Equestria had been affected. One of them being Canterlot which had no nearby Dynamax power spots. But, that didn't mean they couldn't be seen from afar.
Celestia used her telescope to look in the distance, spotting red and purple pillars of light scattered everywhere. Like everypony, she was curious as to what those lights were.
The Dynamax Crisis had finally come into fruition as multiple Dynamaxed Pokemon towered over their respective areas, full of nothing but rage due to the uncontrollable energy within them, courtesy of Eternatus.
But, despite all of this, Absol was still determined to stop this crisis. He was already too late with the Crystal Empire and the others. But that didn't stop him whatsoever. His horn sensed another power spot coming from the Pikachu Highlands and Deerling Forest. The Disaster Pokemon was off to reach those two areas, in hopes of preventing any other Pokemon from reaching there as the journey continues.
Ponyville, one of the many areas across Equestria with a Dynamax crisis ongoing.
Twilight had arrived at Lapras Lake to see the Dynamax power spot for herself, along with Spike, Starlight, Nyx, Cocoa and Rosestar. After learning that this was, in fact, a Dynamax pillar, the young alicorn was put high-alert.
"There it is," Twilight spoke as she looked over at the lake which had the pillar underwater.
"So...where's the Dynamaxed Pokemon?" Cocoa navigated her head around Lapras Lake.
"From where the light's coming from, most likely underwater." Twilight placed her hoof in the water. "But Lapras Lake isn't that deep. So if a Pokemon were to Dynamax, we would've noticed it by now."
"Maybe a Pokemon hasn't Dynamaxed yet." Spike shrugged. "Besides, there's no great black storm in the sky at all."
"Spike's right." Starlight replied. "I mean, the afternoon's just around the corner and everything still looks bright and sunny. I mean, how big is a Dynamax Pokemon even supposed to be?"
"The smaller ones are as tall as castles and the bigger ones are mountain-sized." Twilight moved her hoof away from the water as she felt some foam get on her. "Ow." She looked at her hoof, seeing how the foam gave her a slight sting. Which normally, foam can't do that.
But that was just the result of Kingler's G-Max Foam Burst filling the lake. And speaking of Kingler, the Pincer Pokemon being the only Water-Type in Lapras Lake right now had finally ended up reaching the higher levels of the lake due to its endless rampage.
Twilight could see a shadow forming in the lake. A shadow replicating that of Kingler but much wider. She backed up as she already knew something huge was emerging from underwater and her Pokemon felt the same way as well.
After hours of rampaging, Kingler had finally reached the surface as the first thing that came out was its gigantic pincer, splashing most of the water onto the land and even getting the ponies wet.
Their jaws dropped as they had finally seen the Gigantamaxed Pokemon for themselves.
The red aura, mysterious clouds and overwhelming size fit the description of Gigantamax to a T. Twilight could safely confirm that a Pokemon did end up making contact with the power spot.
Although, things weren't exactly safe at the moment.
"KINGLER!"
"Oh my..." Cocoa shuddered as she moved back. "I-Is that a Dynamax Pokemon?"
"Yes! Yes, it is!" Twilight nodded aggressively as she hid behind her Ninetales.
It didn't take long for Ponyville to see the Gigantamax Kingler as well. Its towering size cast its dark shadow over Lapras Lake, Saddle Lake and the Everfree Forest. Although most of it came from its left pincer.
"Wh-What do we do?! We've never gone up against a Pokemon this large!" Starlight was starting to panic.
"There's only one way to stop a Gigantamax Pokemon. With a battle of course." Twilight swallowed her fears as she and Spike were ready to take on Kingler since they have some experience with Dynamax. "Spike!"
"Oh! Right!" Spike shot up as he dug into his bag. "Where is it, where is it...Ah! Here it is!" He grabbed a Poke Ball, sending out his partner Pokemon Salamence.
"Sala!"
"You three stay back! Dynamax Pokemon can get a bit destructive!" Twilight warned Nyx, Cocoa and Rosestar. But not Starlight. The trio moved back to let the experts handle this whilst Starlight just looked around, confused.
"Wait, do I have to battle as well?!"
"We could use the help if you want to. Eve! Psybeam!" Twilight commanded as she was the first to take action.
"Esp...eon!" The red gem on Eve's forehead shined and it released a multicoloured beam from it at Kingler. The beam made contact with Kingler's face, causing a tiny purple explosion due to how huge the Pincer Pokemon was.
Whilst doing little damage, Kingler was still phased by the move since it can still feel pain. Out of anger, Kingler targeted Twilight and the others next as it raised its huge left Pincer in the air. "GLER!"
"Salamance! Hyper Beam!" Spike pointed up at Kingler.
"Salamence!" A much stronger move than Psybeam. Salamence opened its mouth as an orange ball appeared in front of its mouth. It then fired a beam of hyper energy from its mouth at the Gigantamaxed Pokemon.
Once hit, Kingler took the most damage out of any attack that had been thrown at it so far. The Hyper Beam was large enough to cover most of its face as the Pincer Pokemon was given an explosion right in front of it.
"KING!" Kingler stumbled back after that devastating attack, feeling a bit perplexed. What didn't help was that it was still paralyzed. After Grovyle used Dragonbreath on it, the effect hadn't left at all.
"Eve! Dazzling Gleam!"
"Salamence! Dragon Tail!"
Twilight's Espeon hopped on Salamence's back as the two made their way towards Kingler with Salamence taking flight. Kingler shook its head recovering after Hyper Beam as it noticed the two Pokemon coming straight at it.
In response, Kingler used Crabhammer with its huge pincer, slamming it towards the duo of Psychic and Dragon. The force of Kingler's pincer moving generated a sound similar to that of a rocket going off as there was a strong wind pressure flowing through the air.
"Mence!" Salamence spun his body around as Eve held on for dear life whilst building up Dazzling Gleam. The Dragon Pokemon managed to avoid Crabhammer by flying to the side. It had the speed advantage over Kingler's huge and slow movements.
Crabhammer hit the ground instead, causing a mini-earthquake that made the ponies lose their balance along with a tremor strong enough to reach Ponyville.
"Esp!" Eve told Salamence to launch her whilst using Dragon Tail. That way, she'll have a harder impact when colliding into Kingler.
"Sala!" Understanding her plan, Salamence tossed the Sun Pokemon off his back, summoning green draconic energy onto his tail.
"Espeon!" Eve had used Dazzling as a rainbow-coloured sphere was created around her body. The Dragon Pokemon swung his tail forward, colliding with the Fairy sphere as he sent his partner rocketing forward towards the opposing Gigantamax Pokemon.
Eve closed her eyes as she braced for impact.
She could feel the wind in her face as a trail of rainbows could be seen high in the sky. The Sun Pokemon crashed into the Pincer Pokemon with full-force, feeling the rebound of the collision as her body was trembling.
But the collision was harder on Kingler who had pulled back, losing its balance and falling on its back. "K-KING?" KINGLER!"
The force of Kingler falling back on the lake was enough to cause a large splash that got water all over the Pincer Pokemon's face. Eve was caught by Salamence who saved her from falling.
"Yes! Great job you two!" Twilight yelled as she and Spike cheered for their partners. "Now, Eve! Use Dazzling Gleam again! But this time from afar!"
"Use Hyper Beam again, Salamence!"
"Espeon!" Instead of charging in like before, Eve went for a distant attack as Rainbow coloured rays of light came from her red gem, shooting at Kingler with a frenzy of rays pelting the Pincer Pokemon.
As if that wasn't enough, Salamence chimed in with an even larger attack that surpassed Dazzling Gleam in power and size.
Hyper Beam came flying out of Salamence's mouth, helping Eve's Dazzling Gleam with their attack as Kingler was being overwhelmed by these two powerful attacks.
"Look at them go!" Cocoa gawked. "When are we going to learn stuff like that, Rosestar?"
"I don't know. But it's impressive that's for sure." Rosestar nodded.
"But look. That Pokemon hasn't been defeated yet." Nyx pointed out how Kingler was still standing after getting hit with such potent moves.
The Gigantamax Kingler stood up, holding its head with its huge pincer, dazed and paralyzed from being overwhelmed. The Pincer Pokemon opened one eye, looking down at Eve, Salamence, Twilight and Spike. Its eyes focused on them for a second, making them all anticipate its next move.
But there wasn't another move incoming. Because that combination of Dazzling Gleam and Hyper Beam was enough as Kingler's eyes rolled back. The Pincer Pokemon had been defeated as its body was shrinking back to its normal size with all the Dynamax particles flying in the air.
"KING...KING...Kingler?" When returning to its original size, a Dynamax Pokemon does not faint. They still retain their consciousness. And the same can be said for Kingler who was looking around its surrounding area, confused. But at least, it was no longer in a fit of rage now. Eternatus's influence left its body once it was defeated.
As such, Kingler just got on with its day, unsure of what happened before as it walked off. "Kingler."
"Phew." Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "Disaster averted. Nice work, Eve."
"Espeon." Eve hopped off Salamence's back as the Dragon Pokemon returned to Spike.
"That's it? Hm. That wasn't too bad." Starlight chuckled nervously. "I was expecting the worst to happen."
"And here I thought a crisis was about to occur." Nyx was about to leave until the voice of somepony else had grabbed her attention.
"There's a crisis going on!" Pinkie Pie's voice shouted out as she, Rarity and Applejack arrived for Twilight specifically. "All over Equestria! Huge Pokemon! King- Oh. Kingler's not here anymore. I thought we saw it from the distance."
"We took it out. Just the two of us." Spike grinned as he felt proud of his victory.
"Wait, Pinkie Pie. Say that again. Before Kingler." Twilight went up to her.
"Oh, right. Ahem. So like, there's a bunch of Dynamaxed Pokemon scattered across Equestria and we're not really sure how many there are." Pinkie put her hooves together. "And Kingler's just one of them."
"There could be other Dynamaxed Pokemon terrorizing Equestria as we speak. So we came to you for help." Rarity said.
"I thought this was the only Dynamax power spot here. You mean to tell me there's more?!" Twilight raised her voice.
"Yep." Pinkie nodded.
"Not good." Twilight bit her hoof. "The Darkest Day might as well be real right about now! Where was the next place you saw a power spot?!"
"Uh...the nearest one looks like it's right over at Deerling Forest. The others are a bit further away." Pinkie answered.
"Twilight. Is this really the Darkest Day like Sonia described?" Applejack asked.
"It might as well be. Absol showing up just further proves that. The only thing missing is a great black storm."
"Absol? Isn't that the Pokemon that can predict bad stuff?" Pinkie tilted her head. "I thought those were super rare. You saw one?"
"I sure did. And that is never a good sign if Absol appears. Do Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash know about the Dynamax power spots too?!"
They've most likely seen it as well. And the Kingler being seen by all of Ponyville only grabbed their attention even further." Rarity replied.
"Okay...Here's what we'll do. If there's a bunch of Dynamax Pokemon scattered across Equestria, then we'll have to stop by every area and defeat the Pokemon there. What was the closest area again? Deerling Forest?"
"And after that, it looks like the next one is right over at Dodge Junction." Applejack responded.
"Then it's Deerling Forest first and after that, Dodge Junction. But this time, we're not rushing in blind. We're calling Ash for help." Twilight used her magic to take out her XTransceiver to contact Ash for assistance.
And speaking of Ash, he and Goh were at Cerise's lab like always, planning on heading out to another region for a brand new journey, until Ash's Xtransceiver went off.
"Hm? Twilight's calling?" Ash looked at his transceiver answering the call. "Yeah?"
"Ash! There are Dynamax Pokemon all over Equestria! We need help!" Twilight summarized their problem in a few words.
"Dynamax Pokemon in Equestria?!" Ash gasped.
"Pikachu?!"
"That's not possible." Professor Cerise went up to Ash. "Dynamax only exists in the Galar Region and nowhere else. How could it be in the other world?"
"No idea, Professor Cerise. But it's here. We've just got done defeating a Gigantamax Kingler and were heading out to find the others. We need a lot of help if there are too many."
"Alright. We'll be there. Sorry, Goh. Guess our trip to Sinnoh's gonna be put on hold."
"That's fine. This is more important anyways. Besides...this could be an opportunity to catch some new Pokemon!" Goh exclaimed.
"Okay! Let's go!"
"You two be careful now. Dynamax Pokemon are no joke whatsoever." Cerise shook his head.
"We will! We'll be back soon, Professor Cerise!" Ash and Goh ran off, leaving Cerise Labs in a hurry as Cerise, his assistants and Chloe watched them jet off.
"There's always something dangerous happening in that world, isn't there?" Chloe spoke.
"Well, the other world isn't built for Pokemon. But so far, new areas have been formed thanks to our worlds crossing over. I can safely say that someday, their world will eventually adjust to the Pokemon themselves. Whenever that day arrives."
The Crystal Empire. Currently dealing with a Dynamaxed Sableye who's on an enraged rampage.
The citizens of the Crystal Empire made a run for it, retreating into their homes and whatever nearby building they could enter in as the Darkness Pokemon had set foot in the empire.
"SABLEYE!"
The only ones not screaming in fear and panic were the royal guards and Shining Armor. Although, this sudden arrival of Sableye made Flurry Heart break into tears.
Cadence stayed outside since she had the only Pokemon here that was strong against Sableye. Her Sylveon.
"Sylveon! Use Moonblast!" Cadence commanded.
"Veon!" The Intertwining Pokemon spread its feelers wide open with an image of the moon appears behind her. She then formed an orb of pink energy in front of her mouth, shooting it at the Dynamaxed Pokemon.
Sableye was about to grab somepony's home to devour it completely. However, that was put to a screeching halt by Moonblast hitting the Darkness Pokemon square in the face.
"SABLE!" Sableye held its face after taking a super-effective hit such as that one. The Darkness Pokemon fell on its back, sitting on the ground as everything quaked.
That one single Moonblast seemed to be enough to take out Sableye since even if it was Dynamaxed, Sableye was still a fairly fragile Pokemon.
"Nice, work! Use Moonblast one more!"
And again, Sylveon sent Moonblast towards Sableye who was just getting back up.
However, Sableye was a smart Pokemon in which it knew not to fall for the same trick again.
Once the Darkness Pokemon stood up, it used Fury Swipes to claw the Moonblast away, causing the Fairy move to fly off, hitting a nearby building in the process.
"SABLEYE! Now aware that there was an opposing Pokemon attacking it, the Dark-Ghost-Type continued its enraged rampage, now more angered than ever after the first Moonblast.
Sableye had used Fury Swipes on the buildings, destroying parts of them, just to get itself some crystals to devour.
The huge chunks of crystals fell from above, making a loud crashing sound whenever they landed. Luckily, the citizens weren't outside for this.
But unfortunately, somepony's home had been ruined along with the guards who were outside and had almost been crushed by the incoming crystals.
Sableye went on to the next building, destroying parts of it as well as the ponies no longer felt safe inside of their own homes or whatever building there is. All the while, Sableye held some crystals in its hands, devouring them for itself.
"Sylveon! Use Moonblast one more time!"
"Sly..."
"Sable!" Sableye spotted a third Moonblast coming its way. It used the remaining crystals in its hands to toss them directly at Sylveon.
"Veon?!" Sylveon gasped as she saw sharp crystals flying towards her at high speeds. She ducked for cover, but thankfully, Cadence got in the way, using her magic to catch the crystals.
But Sableye had more where that came from.
Instead of using tiny sharp crystals, it switched up by using the huge chunks of crystals it had gathered. The Darkness Pokemon lobbed the chunks as if they were baseballs, going straight for the princess and her Pokemon.
"Ah!" Cadence gasped as she placed a protective barrier around her and Sylveon. The chunks crashed onto the barrier, breaking apart upon contact as it was a successful defensive spell.
Seeing how Cadence's magic was going to be a problem, Sableye decided to get up close and personal instead of attacking from afar. And as a bonus, it'll have the chance to devour the Crystal Heart and the castle as well.
The guards attempted to stop Sableye by tossing their spears at the Darkness Pokemon. But unfortunately, being Dynamaxed makes a Pokemon's body tougher.
And Sableye was already a hard Pokemon due to parts of its body being made out of sharp gemstones. As such, the spears broke upon contact, barely even phasing it.
The guards scattered as they avoided Sableye's footsteps, whilst the Darkness Pokemon gradually approached the castle and the heart.
Everypony looked outside of their windows, seeing nothing but a huge purple figure walking by, shaking the entire empire itself with the sounds of gemstones hitting the ground.
Sableye's shadow loomed over the castle, blocking out Cadence and Sylveon's view of most of the sky as Sableye's red aura lit up the empire once it got close enough.
"SABLEYE..."
"Get ready Sylveon..." Cadence gulped as her Sylveon was prepared to do her very best. The size difference was intimidating, but that wouldn't stop these two from trying.
Shining Armor looked over at Sableye and then right at the Poke Ball that held his Honedge. "Come on, Honedge. Please this one time, help us out."
Wanting his partner to at least cooperate, Shining Armor sent the Sword Pokemon out for assistance.
"Hone!" Once Honedge came out, it immediately went for Shining Armor, ready to possess him once more. But since this has happened so frequently, Shining Armor can predict as he used his magic to hold Honedge in place. "Edge?!"
"Honedge! Now is not the best time! There's something more important at the moment! Look!" Shining Armor moved Honedge to the direction where Sableye was at.
The Sword Pokemon saw how a Dynamaxed Pokemon was all of a sudden just here at the Crystal Empire, enraged, confused and hungry for some crystals.
"Honedge?"
"This Sableye might end up eating the entire Crystal Empire with that size. And we might accidentally get caught up in its buffet. So could you please help us out? Just this one time?"
"Edge!" Honedge asked why it should listen to him. The Crystal Empire isn't that important to the Sword Pokemon at all. So if Sableye destroys the entire empire, it wouldn't care at all.
And Shining Armor knew that. However, there was one way he could convince Honedge to chime in. And it involved Kartana who once came here to the Crystal Empire.
"You know...This could be a perfect time to test your sword skills."
"Hone?"
"Don't you remember how you lost to Kartana? You seemed pretty upset that you lost so badly."
"Edge!" That hit a soft spot in the Sword Pokemon's non-existent heart.
"If Kartana comes back, your skills aren't gonna have any major changes and you'll just end up losing again. Unless you test it out against that thing."
"Honedge!" Honedge wanted to prove Shining Armor wrong. Losing to Kartana was humiliating due to how fast it was. Since Honedge used to be a human who is now possessed by its own sword, it was a great and prideful warrior back in its time.
And being a great warrior meant that it takes its losses very seriously. As such, Honedge's inner human came out as it yearned to improve its skills so that it never loses a battle ever again.
Shining Armor had managed to finally get Honedge to do something and listen to him. "Yes! Finally! Alright, Honedge. Just follow my lead and I'll make sure you cut things real good."
"Honedge!"
Ponyville.
Ash and Goh arrived at Ponyville to meet with Twilight and the others who were already prepared to set off to Deerling Forest to stop this unexpected crisis.
They knew about the situation but had no idea how large it was at the moment. All they knew was that a Dynamaxed Pokemon could level Equestria in a few minutes considering how they're already dangerous enough in their normal states.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy joined in as well since they had seen the power spot from the Pokemon House and up in the sky. They all weren't sure what they were getting themselves into since there was more than one Dynamax Pokemon around as opposed to the single Drednaw last year.
Not wasting any time, they made their way towards Deerling Forest by having Ash's Dragonite and Goh's Flygon carry the ones who couldn't fly. The trains were currently blocked off since there were giant Pokemon running around.
But they weren't the only ones headed straight for Deerling Forest. Absol was approaching the location as well. He was determined to get there before any of the Pokemon at the forest interact with the power spot.
To gain a faster momentum, Absol jumped off of hills with gracious speeds, cutting down anything that stood in his way by using Night Slash.
Compared to other Absol's this particular one doesn't just warn others about disasters, but instead, takes action to prevent the disaster from happening. Although, this was far beyond any earthquake or hurricane that all Absol's usually sense.
Absol and the others weren't too close to each other but they were all heading for the same location.
However, with Twilight, she had suddenly gained yet another splitting headache out of nowhere as she held her head whilst flying in the air. She stopped flying, staying in midair as her friends turned to her.
"Ngh!" Twilight winced as she curled up.
"What's wrong, Twilight?!" Rarity gasped.
"It's happening again!" All this pain only made her lower herself to ground level. She got on the ground, holding her head as she was unsure why this pain had suddenly come back.
Her friends came back down with Salamence and Dragonite as they ran over to the young alicorn. Twilight's Pokemon surrounded her, worried about their trainer's sudden outburst of unexpected pain.
"What's happening?! Did something hit her?!" Starlight looked up in the sky.
"This has happened before...!" Twilight groaned as she writhed around in agony, laying on her back. Once again, like last night, she had gained visions of one single thing. That being the Mega Evolution symbol.
But after seeing a vision of that, the pain had simply gone away once more. Twilight breathed in and out as she was glad that the pain had vanished but now she had even more questions on why it showed up yet again.
She stood back up, taking some time to relax. "Why did it happen again?"
"Twilight! Are you okay now?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Does it hurt anywhere else?!" She moved around Twilight, using a magnifying glass to investigate.
"I'm fine now...but I'm not sure about later on."
"Wait. You said that this has happened before." Rarity spoke. "Why is that?"
"About that...Last night, when I was returning Applejack's repaired Xtransciever, a weird pain just started coming to me out of nowhere. It hurt less the first time but it lasted much longer."
"Out of nowhere? How's that possible? Was it an invisible Pokemon?" Fluttershy asked.
"Not sure but, at the same time, I saw Absol show up in Ponyville. And the pain only got worse from there on."
"You saw an Absol?" Ash said.
"Pika?"
"But now it's just gone." Twilight looked at her hoof. "I'm not sure why it happened a second time. And all I keep seeing is the Mega Evolution symbol."
"Sounds pretty weird." Pinkie nodded. "Weirder than usual."
"Whatever it is, I hope it's not frequent." Twilight sighed. "Come on. Deerling Forest isn't too far away from here."
They all continued on their way to Deerling Forest which was only a few miles ahead. Twilight's unknown pain hadn't come back up, but she knew that it might reappear once more without any warning. Ninetales put his tails over Twilight, giving her a nice shade and comfort.
"Tales."
"Thanks, Ninetales." Twilight smiled.
"Look. We're here." Goh pointed forward, revealing to everypony that they've finally arrived at Deerling Forest. With all the Deerling's present here, none of them have grown due to Dynamax. Neither have the Sawsbuck's.
The Deerling's and Sawsbuck's were just getting on with their day, taking in the nice soothing breeze and drinking some water right next to some of the Water Pokemon.
"It all looks fine and dandy" Applejack moved her head around. "No Dynamax Pokemon here."
"I'm not sure if the Deerling and Sawsbuck's have even noticed the power spot," said Fluttershy.
"Well if they have then they are probably wise enough to know not to go near them whatsoever." Rarity nodded.
"At least we know that-" Twilight's words were cut off when for the third time in a row, she felt that same sharp pain once more. "Ugh! Not now! Not again!" She got on the ground clenching her teeth.
"It's happening again?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Audi! Try using Heal Pulse!" Fluttershy commanded.
"Audino." Audino put her hands out, sending a pulse of pink energy through Twilight in hopes of healing her. However, not even Heal Pulse could stop the pain. "Dino?!"
"I think this is more serious than it looks! M-Maybe you should get back home, Twilight and rest up." Spike uttered.
"No I-" Twilight's pain once again, just stopped abruptly, bringing her back to full health. "Her eyes widened as she stood up, perplexed about all of this. "It's gone again. Why does this keep happening?"
The curiosity of Twilight's unknown and unpredictable pain had now circled the thoughts of all her friends. They've never heard of a pain that just comes out of nowhere and ends in an instant as if nothing happened.
Twilight herself didn't know what to think. She wasn't sure if this unexplained pain was the cause of something she ate or from a past event.
That is until she saw a familiar face once more, right over at the right side of the forest. Twilight turned her head to that side to spot none other than Absol who had also recently arrived at Deerling Forest.
"Absol...?" Twilight spoke as she and Absol once again locked eyes. And the Disaster Pokemon still had his steely gaze on him.
"Oh, so that's Absol!" Goh took out his dex, scanning Absol.
"Is that what it looks like? It's much different than I thought it would look." Rarity commented.
"Wait." Twilight thought for a moment, looking over at Absol as she put some pieces together. "The times when I had that unknown pain, Absol was there. The first time when we met and now that it was nearby this entire time..."
"You think your pain might have something to do with Absol?" Ash replied.
"I'm not sure." Twilight shook her head. "Let me try and talk to Absol." The young alicorn went over to the Disaster Pokemon who sharpened his eyes at her. The eyes made Twilight pause for a moment as she saw that Absol wasn't keen on letting her come close.
"Absol...!" The Disaster Pokemon growled at her.
"Esp!" Being the protective Pokemon they were, Eve, Ninetales and Minccy got in front of Twilight, making sure that Absol doesn't plan on attacking her all of a sudden.
"Sol." Absol turned his head, not paying the three of them any mind.
"Fluttershy. Can you talk to it? It's the one who potentially sensed this Dynamax crisis coming up." Twilight asked.
"I'll try." Fluttershy fluttered over towards the Dark-Type. Absol didn't just give Twilight a fierce look, but also Fluttershy, who was hesitant to get closer at first. After swallowing up her fears, she approached Absol, ready to speak to him.
"Absol?"
"Um, Absol. Is it true that you sensed the Dynamax crisis incoming?" Fluttershy asked him. Absol barely gave a response to her. All he really did was nod his head. "Oh, I see. Then are you here to help stop it by any chance?"
"Absol." Absol looked over at the spot where he could sense and see the Dynamanx power spot coming from. He told Fluttershy that he's going across Equestria to stop other Pokemon from interacting with the dens.
Deerling Forest was the one area where none of the Pokemon touched the power spot yet or even got near it.
"That's great! So you're helping stop this crisis from spreading!" Fluttershy grinned, but Absol gave her a knife-like glare, causing the pegasus to hide behind her Audino. "Oh, um! Yay..."
"Absol. I wanted to ask you something." Twilight spoke. "My sudden sharp pains. They only showed up when I first met you and when you were nearby, heading here to Deerling Forest as well. Do you have any idea why that's the case?"
"Sol. Absol."
"Absol says that's he's not sure. But he's been having visions of a strange symbol recently along with less-sharp pains that barely hurt him." Fluttershy translated.
"I saw the visions too!" Twilight pointed at herself. "And you've been feeling a sudden pain as well?!"
"So it really is connected." Rarity waked up to the two. "But how come it's between the both of you?"
"Not sure. But right now, I don't feel a thing." Twilight replied. "Maybe it could have something to do with Absol's horn. Perhaps you were trying to warn me, right?"
"Sol." Absol couldn't confirm that he was trying to communicate with Twilight. But he was sure that for whatever reason, he and Twilight suffer the same pain and keep on seeing symbols in their eyes. Absol was a bit weirded out by the young alicorn as he was off to continue his goal of stopping the crisis.
"Absol wait!" Twilight called for his name. "Let us help you!"
"Sol?"
"We all have the same goals as you after all. Maybe we can help stop this crisis together and not just on your own. I mean, I'd imagine it would be difficult to do all of this on your own?" Twilight smiled.
"Abs..." Absol winced back a bit. He had never met a pony like Twilight before. Then again, Twilight was the first-ever pony he met when he passed through the gateway and arrived at Equestria.
For years, Absol has been chased off by those who believe he was the one who brought disasters. As such, very few out there offer to help him. And the ones that do help him are mostly Pokemon.
But seeing how Twilight and her friends who even had humans among them were willing to actually assist Absol in its efforts to stop the crisis was a different kind of experience.
"Sol." By feeling their good-hearted nature and how intoxicating their smiles are, Absol reluctantly accepted their help by looking to the side.
"It's a deal!" Fluttershy flew up.
"Great! Let's do it together, Absol." Twilight put her hoof out. But Absol denied it without putting his paw out as he walked off. "Okay, that's fine. You're not up for that."
With the assistance of Absol who was now a temporary acquaintance, the group continued on their goal to stop the sudden Dynamax Crisis. Deerling Forest was clear and safe since the Deerlings were told by the Sawsbuck's not to go near them whatsoever.
However, other areas in Equestria still have Dynamaxed Pokemon running around with a hefty amount of them. And each one of them could end up destroying everything around them as the journey continues.
Currently, an enraged and hungry Sableye was attacking with the only two ponies capable of stopping this being Shining Armor and Cadence alongside their Sylveon and Honedge who had finally been convinced by Shining Armor.
The now enraged Sableye aims to demolish Cadence and Sylveon who originally attacked it with Moonblast earlier as the trainer and her Pokemon brace themselves, looking up at the Darkness Pokemon.
"SABLEYE!" Sableye raised its arms, going for a Fury Swipes that could be powerful enough to cut the entire castle into pieces.
"Moonblast, quick!" Cadence commanded.
"Sylveon!" Sylveon attempted to stop Fury Swipes by sending a ball-shaped attack with the power of the moon embedded with it.
However, Sableye cut the attack in half with Fury Swipes, scattering pieces of Moonblast across the empire as they exploded upon contact with buildings that somepony's were still inside of.
The Darkness Pokemon also cut a piece of the castle, chipping it as there was now a large claw mark engraved in it. Large shards of crystals fell from above, almost falling on Cadence and Sylveon as they stabbed through the floor.
Sableye went for another attack, this time in the form of Shadow Claw.
One of Sableye's claws became surrounded by a black aura with a purple outline.
The aura then took the form of a claw as Sableye swung the claw towards the duo, leaving behind light purple trails.
"Honedge! Use Fury Cutter!" Shining Armor's voice suddenly passed through Cadence's ears.
Flying out of the castle windows came the Sword Pokemon Honedge who was finally listening to its trainer, after so long. Honedge flew past Sylveon and Cadence surprising them both as the Sword Pokemon clashed with Sableye's Shadow Claw, saving Cadence and Sylveon in the process.
"Huh? Honedge?!" Cadence gasped as she was surprised to see Honedge of all Pokemon helping her.
"Edge!" The Sword Pokemon and the Darkness Pokemon went back and forth with Fury Cutter and Shadow Claw.
Both Ghost-Types were locked in a clash as the citizens of the Crystal Empire looked up to see them both going at it. Sableye had used its other claw to initiate Shadow Claw as it went in for a double swipe on Honedge.
"Spin around using Fury Cutter!"
The Steel-Ghost-Type managed to fend off both claws by spinning its body around with Fury Cutter, forcing Sableye's Shadow Claws to pull back.
"SABLE?!"
"Honedge!" The Sword Pokemon rushed in, heading straight for Sableye's face. Before Sableye could think of a way to avoid this, Honedge slashed its steel body onto Sableye's gemstone face, letting out a loud clang noise that shattered the glass and crystals of the empire.
Sableye wobbled as it held its face. Honedge's hard body really helped in this situation as the Darkness Pokemon could still feel the impact of the blade.
"Now's your chance, dear!" Shining Armor shouted.
"Oh, right! Moonblast! One last time!"
"Veon!" With one final burst of magic, Sylveon put all of her strength into this Moonblast. The light reflected off the crystals as the Intertwining Pokemon shot it at Sableye.
The force of the shot was enough to even push Sylveon and Cadence back. Honedge moved out of the way for Moonblast as the Fairy-Type move made direct contact with Sableye's already hurt face.
"S-SABLE...EYE!" That final Moonblast seemed to do the trick. Hitting the same spot again was always a good strategy. And now that Sableye had two different moves hit its face, it couldn't take it anymore.
As such, Sableye's Dynamaxed Form was starting to diminish. The citizens of the Crystal Empire watched as the Darkness Pokemon began shrinking down to size, no longer appearing a titan to them all.
Sableye, like all other Dynamax Pokemon, didn't faint, but instead, regained its consciousness whilst also having no memory of what it was doing in the first place.
The Dark-Ghost-Type sat on the ground, back to its normal self. "Sable? Sableye?" Sableye looked around in confusion. It then spotted some of the crystals it had destroyed earlier on the ground as it decided to take some of them for itself.
With Sableye running off with some free food, everypony let out a sigh of relief, glad that the sudden attack was over.
"Phew." Shining Armor lowered his head. "That could've gotten ugly fast. Great work, Honedge!"
"Hone." Honedge finally had a victory against something. Even if Sylveon assisted and dealt the finishing blow.
"Good job, Sylveon." Cadence patted her partner on the head.
"Syl!
"But, I didn't expect Honedge to actually help us. It never cared for us and the empire in the first place. Why is that?" Cadence asked her husband.
"That's easy. I reminded Honedge here that it was lacking in sword skills. After that pretty bad loss to Kartana, it wants to get back to its prime. When it was a great warrior before becoming a sword."
"Edge!"
"So...You two are getting along now?"
"Eeeeehhh...Not really? I'm just helping Honedge improve. I don't think it sees me as its friend."
"Honedge." For once, Honedge agreed with Shining Armor on something.
"Ah... Well anyways, I noticed something when Sableye returned to its normal size." Cadence turned around as the guards were doing cleanup on the Crystal Empire. Over at the distance, the Dynamax power spot was gone."See? That red light. It's no longer there."
"Oh, you're right." Shining Armor's eyes widened. "And Sableye did have a red aura around it too. You think that red light is what grows them?"
"Looks like it. But I'm not sure if it was just the Crystal Empire that has this. Canterlot and beyond might be facing some red lights as well."
"Maybe. But there's no need to worry." Shining Armor wrapped his hoof around her. "Just like us, everypony has a Pokemon that can help them out. I'm sure they'll be fine. But we should probably warn them just in case."
Lapras Lake and the Crystal Empire are the first two areas where the Dynamax Pokemon have been defeated along with the disappearance of Eternatus's energy and the power spots.
Everywhere else is still in the midst of a Dynamax attack. Whether some ponies are capable of defending themselves from these super-sized monsters is something that only they and their partners can decide on.
As for Ash, Twilight and the others who were currently accompanied by Absol, who was tentative about joining up them, were currently headed for the next area which had a Dynamax power spot.
That being Dodge Junction. Currently facing a Wooloo situation. Although, strangely enough, Wooloo was less destructive than Kingler, Sableye or even most of the Dynamax Pokemon here on account of being a very fluffy and soft Pokemon.
In fact, when Wooloo first Dynamaxed, Eternatus's influence hadn't yet fully reached the Sheep Pokemon's head. At the moment, it was just confused.
"WOO?"
The ponies of Dodge Junction weren't intimidated by Wooloo at all. Instead, they found its enlarged form to be adorable.
"Aww...ain't it just adorable?" Cherry Jubilee and other ponies gushed at the Sheep Pokemon. It was too cute to be threatening. And because of that, everypony got on with their day.
At least, that would've been the case. Because it didn't take long for Eternatus's influence to finally get to Wooloo's head. At first, it was confused, but now, like every other Dynamaxed Pokemon, it's just enraged.
Its first action was doing what it does best. Curl up into a ball and roll into anything it sees. And that's what it did. The Wool Pokemon had used the move Double-Edge to power itself up as a golden aura surrounded it.
That's when everypony realized that the cute and cuddly Wooloo was on a rampage now. The speed Wooloo was rolling at thanks to Double-Edge was so fast that it was powerful enough to deal some major damage to the buildings. The time to panic and scream was now as everypony scattered.
Wooloo smashed into a house, almost destroying it in one single hit as the pony inside trembled in fear from this one adorable Pokemon who was beloved and now feared.
Cherry Jubliee hid inside her home, breathing in and out as she heard the sounds of Wooloo smashing into a building, feeling its soft yet trembling impact quake the entirety of Dodge Junction.
Whenever Wooloo crashes into something, it mostly does it more than once instead of a single hit. And it would keep on doing this until the building was destroyed.
But even hitting one building was enough to affect all of Dodge Junction as the windows themselves were shattering bit by bit. Even the roofs looked like they would fall off at any moment.
With all this smashing and somewhat mediocre destruction, it didn't take long for Ash and the others to arrive at Dodge Junction, where their eyes were graced with the sight of a rampaging Wooloo.
"A Wooloo? Aw, look at how it rolls around!" Pinkie gushed.
"Forget about its cuteness! It's gonna flatten Dodge Junction!" Applejack pointed her hoof over at the Sheep Pokemon.
"Just like every other Dynamaxed Pokemon, it's lost any sense of itself. We'll have to-" Twilight spoke but was quickly interrupted by Absol.
"Absol!" Absol was the first to rush in, leaving the others behind as he made his way towards Wooloo.
"Wait, Absol!" Twilight leaned forward, calling for his name, but it was no use. Absol was already on the move.
The Disaster Pokemon took matters into his own paws by running up to the Sheep Pokemon who was still using Double Edge to smash into the buildings.
"Sol!" Absol attacked first by using Night Slash to do so. Absol's horn lit up, radiating a purple aura as he lunged himself towards the Normal-Type, becoming airborne.
"WOOL?" The Sheep Pokemon noticed that Absol was heading straight for it as it stopped rolling all of a sudden. Once Wooloo looked down at Absol, it was met with a sudden slash to the face that knocked the Sheep Pokemon on its back, making it roll in the process. "LOO!"
"Absol!" Absol didn't stop there. The next move it used was Dark Pulse. Absol opened his mouth as a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles appeared inside his mouth. He then fired a beam of black and purple circles from the orb, pouring it all on Wooloo.
Wooloo's body was being engulfed by a dark aura as Absol relentlessly kept Dark Aura around it, not letting the move disappear for a second.
Twilight and the others watched in awe as Absol was making quick work of this Wooloo without giving it any rest whatsoever.
As if that wasn't enough, once Absol did finish Dark Pulse, the Disaster Pokemon landed on Wooloo's stomach, looking down at the Sheep Pokemon with knife-like eyes. Eyes sharp enough to intimidate the Dynamaxed Pokemon.
"WOO-WOOLOO?!" Wooloo wailed in fear.
"Ab...SOL!" Absol delivered the finishing blow by using NIght Slash on Wooloo's stomach whilst he was still on top of the Normal-Type.
An explosion of dark energy erupted from Absol's Night Slash, as the Dark-Type hopped off Wooloo's stomach, watching the dark smoke rise.
And just like that, Wooloo had been defeated. Its body shrinking back down to its normal size, no longer being surrounded by that red energy or clouds. And of course, the power spot lost its pillar.
"Wool...Wooloo?" The Sheep Pokemon looked around, dazed and confused. Like the others, it got on with its day, rolling away back to the train tracks.
To say that everypony was shocked would be an understatement. Absol finished that in a few seconds without even trying. And not only that, he didn't even require any assistance at all.
"He blitzed through that Wooloo..." Rainbow's jaw dropped.
"Uh...I guess he really doesn't need our help? Or maybe that Wooloo just wasn't that strong." Pinkie Pie scratched her mane.
"Um. G-Great job, Absol." Twilight congratulated the Disaster Pokemon. "But wasn't that a bit aggressive?"
"Sol." Absol turned his head to the side.
"Absol said that he came here to stop the crisis. So he can't afford to waste time." Fluttershy translated.
"I guess so..." Twilight nodded. "But yikes."
"Oh! Glad that's over with!" Cherry Jubilee came out of her home. "Thanks for that ya'll! That Wooloo would've come after my home next if it wasn't so fixed on one."
"Nopony got hurt, right?" Applejack asked her.
"Not at all." She shook her head. "Besides. Wooloo's body is too soft and fluffy to hurt anypony. Even if it's bigger than my farm."
"That smashing didn't look so soft and fluffy to me." Rainbow Dash whispered to Rarity.
"Well, since Absol's dealt with this area, where do we head to next that might have a power spot?" Goh said.
"Sol." Absol had the answer for that as he spotted a nearby power spot located right over at the desert that was close to here. The Disaster Pokemon ran west, making haste as he truly didn't waste any time whatsoever.
"I suppose we just follow Absol then." Rarity sighed as she and her friends kept an eye on the Dark-Type. "It feels like he's practically taking charge."
"Well, he seems to be serious about all of this after all." Fluttershy chuckled.
"Ya'll take care now! The desert's filled with some pretty fierce Pokemon..." Cherry Jubilee narrowed her eyes as she returned indoors. Dodge Junction was safe and barely damaged thanks to Absol's efforts.
The arid deserts that connect to Dodge Junction, now home to many Pokemon who prefer the dry and sunny atmosphere of the desert.
The Pokemon here range from Rock-Types, Ground-Types and even some Grass-Types here and there along with some hidden types. As for the power spots, there was indeed one single power spot here, but it was hidden by the sandstorm in this area.
Not only that, but due to the existence of Pokemon, the entire desert has changed up a bit. Dust devils were now a frequent force along with a few quicksand traps here and there.
Because of the over-abundance of Pokemon here, this nameless desert was actually given a name for the first time. The most prominent Pokemon here are Sandile's, it was appropriately named Sandile Sands.
The group entered Sandile Sands, already being graced with the aggressive sandstorms and other hazards that fill this area. It was a challenge to see anything clearly with this sand everywhere.
"Oh, just great." Applejack squinted her eyes. "How are we gonna find a power spot with all of this?"
"I've got that covered." Goh covered his eyes as he took out a Poke Ball. He tossed it upwards, sending the one Pokemon who was built to deal with these conditions.
Flygon.
"Fly!"
"Flygon! See if you can find any Dynamax Power spots! They're red and have pillar lights on them!" Goh commanded.
"Gon!" Nodding in understanding, the Mystic Pokemon flew forward without worrying about the sand whatsoever. Thanks to Flygon's red covers it wears, not much can disrupt its vision at all.
Right now, all the others could do was wait for Flygon to find something whilst they stand out here in this harsh desert with the only thing in front of them being the dust devils and sandstorms.
Flygon passed through the strongest sand tornado this desert had to offer with ease. And if a stronger one came along, it would simply use Dragon Claw to obliterate it.
Once getting past those nuisances, Flygon did, in fact, come across a power spot. A purple one instead of a red one. Goh never said anything it being purple, but the Mystic Pokemon figured that it should go and inform him anyways.
"Fly! Flygon!" Flygon returned to Goh, telling its trainer about how it saw a purple pillar of light up ahead. But it wasn't red at all. Fluttershy was the one to translate all of this.
"Flygon says...there's a purple one instead of a red one?"
"Purple? What does purple mean?" Pinkie tilted her head.
"No idea. But it's worth checking out as well. Lead the way, Flygon." said Goh.
"Hold on. Before we do that!" Ash dug into his bag. "We're gonna need these Go-Goggles!" He took out some goggles that he, Goh, Pikachu and Raboot obtained during their own visit to a desert.
Unfortunately, there wasn't enough for Twilight and the others. They didn't have anything to shield their eyes from the raging sands.
"Aw, we have to go through this without goggles?" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"Don't worry. Flygon will use Dragon Breath or Dragon Claw to clear the way for us." Goh pointed at his Pokemon. "Alright, Flygon, go!"
"Gon." Flygon nodded as it flew in front of everyone else. They had finally gone further in the desert instead of just standing around in one spot.
Whilst they made their way to the power spot, a Pokemon had already found it. But this time, it wasn't out of curiosity, but instead, it just happened to walk by the power spot without even knowing about its true properties.
That being Camerupt who was just walking along, minding its own business, completely dismissing the purple pillar of light as a simple view in the desert.
Except it wasn't. Camerupt's hoof stepped forward once and that one single step was enough to trigger the power spot near it.
"Came?" The Eruption Pokemon looked down at the ground, noticing how a purple circle was below it. Camerupt looked at the circle for a bit, clueless to what was about to happen to it.
And that's when Eternatus's influence raced through the Eruption Pokemon, making its eyes widen as it felt an unexplainable shock run through its body.
"Rupt?! Camerupt?!" The Eruption Pokemon waddled as its body began growing in size, pulsating and shaking with sheer force.
Camerupt was already a fairly big Pokemon standing at 6'3. But thanks to Dynamax, its size was akin to that of the volcanoes that it had a relation to.
The Pokemon around the area were intimidated by this unexpectedly large Camerupt who towered over them like a giant. Most of them either ran away or dug underground to avoid Camerupt.
And as to be expected, the Eruption Pokemon wasn't in its right mind as the particles of Eternatus's put Camerupt in a confused and enraged state. And whenever Camerupt is enraged, magma bursts out of its back.
Flygon arrived at the spot where it found the power spot along with the others. And once they got there, they immediately saw a Dynamaxed Camerupt spewing lava from the humps on its back.
"What is that?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she and Goh took out their Pokedexes.
"Camerupt. The Eruption Pokemon. It lives inside the crater of a volcano. Camerupt has a volcano inside its body. A Magma of 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit courses through its body. Occasionally, the humps on this Pokémon’s back erupt, spewing the superheated magma every 10 years. The humps on Camerupt’s back are formed by a transformation of its bones. This Pokémon apparently erupts often when it is enraged. Research is underway on the cause of the eruption."
"CAMERUPT!" As the Pokedex stated, Camerupt was indeed dropping unbelievably hot magma from above. This magma was hotter than the sun itself, similar to Macargo's body temperature also being 18,000 degrees.
And with Dynamax boosting its power, the magma was enough to melt through the ground itself.
So clearly, the best option for everyone was to keep their distance and not get close to the walking volcano that is Camerupt.
All except for Absol, who like before with Wooloo, rushed in carelessly, only aiming at taking down Camerupt and stopping this crisis. "Sol!"
"Absol! Don't get too close to it!" Twilight put her hoof out, but yet again, her words didn't reach out to Absol since he acted on his own accord.
"CAME...?" Camerupt looked over, spotting Absol running straight at it with sand beating on his body.
"Abs!" Absol lunged up, going for a Night Slash, aiming at performing the same method he used on Wooloo in hopes of taking Camerupt out in a few seconds flat.
"RUPT!" The Eruption Pokemon gave out its response by using a Max move instead of a normal move like Wooloo. That being Max Flare.
Camerupt opened up its mouth, creating a ball of fire from the inside of its gaping mouth. Absol's eyes widened as he noticed that a giant fireball was right in his face as he gasped. "Sol?!"
"CAMERUPT!" Camerupt released the Max move as it instantly engulfed the Disaster Pokemon the moment it was sent forward. Absol felt Camerupt's harsh flames punish it as the blast of fire sent him rocketing back down to the ground.
Once Max Flare hit the ground with Absol, an explosion of fire occurred afterwards. It was so powerful that even managed to blow away the entire sandstorm in one go.
"Ah! Absol!" Twilight gasped in shock. She was hoping that Absol was alright after taking such a powerful attack like that.
Lo and behold, once the smoke cleared, Absol was alright, as he used Night Slash to blow away the smoke surrounding him. He did have scratches and a few burn marks on him though. He may be persistent, but he wasn't indestructible.
"Absol! Are you alright?!" Twilight flew over to him. The moment she got close, Absol immediately went in to challenge Camerupt once more, despite his current state.
"It's no use, Twilight. I think this time, we should help him in this particular situation." Rarity held out a Poke Ball.
"Right. We'll make it a raid battle!" Ash stepped forward, holding out his own Poke Ball.
"Pikachu!"
The ones partaking in this raid battle were Ash, Goh, Rainbow Dash and Spike. The accurate number for Raid Battles even if they didn't know that yet.
"Dragonite! Help out!" Ash chose Dragonite for assistance. Goh stuck with his Flygon whilst Rainbow Dash and Spike went for Braviary and Salamence. With the assistance of Absol, of course
"CAMERUPT!" Camerupt could see that others were challenging it. The Eruption Pokemon was more than capable of taking five Pokemon on, especially with its aggressively hot magma it's currently carrying with it.
Camerupt had used the move Eruption instead of Max Flare this time. Lava and smoke spewed from both of the volcanoes on Camerupt's back, also making flaming rocks fly in all directions.
"Dragonite! Dragon Claw!"
"Flygon! Dragon Breath!"
"Braviary! Aerial Ace!"
"Salamence! Hyper Beam!"
All four Pokemon who were capable of flying took to the skies under their trainers' commands. Flygon and Salamence would provide support by attacking from afar whilst Dragonite and Braviary got up close.
The rocks from Eruption were destroyed by Dragonite's Dragon Claw, perfectly slicing them in half as tiny molten rocks fell from above.
Braviary flew over the rocks and lava by moving faster than his teammates as he ascended higher into the air than the others. Dragonite and Braviary had gotten close to Camerupt's face, striking the Eruption Pokemon at the same time with their claws and wings.
"MERUPT?!"
Once they got a hit in, the two of them flew to the side, allowing Salamence and Flygon to unleash their attacks. In unison, Hyper Beam and Dragon Breath were fired, crossing streams for a while until they merged into one.
Camerupt wasn't capable of dodging the move due to it being a naturally slow Pokemon. What doesn't help is the fact that Dynamax only made it slower, so it was guaranteed to get hit. The Eruption Pokemon took both attacks to the face whilst still feeling Dragon Claw and Aerial Ace.
An explosion of draconic and hyper energy blew up in the Fire-Ground-Type's face, forcing it to move back from the knockback.
But Camerupt didn't just have Fire moves at its disposal. It had one single Steel-Type move which wouldn't be used normally. But instead, it would become a Max Move.
The Eruption Pokemon's Steel-Type move ended up giving it Max Steelspike. Camerupt stood up on its hind legs, slamming its hooves onto the ground, creating a series of jagged grey spikes that extend forward.
"Eek!" Rarity screeched as she, Twilight and the ones who weren't battling moved away from the approaching spikes.
"Salamence! Use Flamethrower on the spikes!"
"Mence!" The Dragon Pokemon flew up, avoiding the spikes whilst also breathing scorching flames from its mouth. These flames managed to melt away some of Max Steelspike.
One of the spikes was heading straight for Twilight as it bypassed the others. Thankfully, Ninetales were there to stop it by having Mystical Fire tear through the spikes, melting them down.
"Braviary! Use Superpower quick!"
"Flygon! Dragon Rush!"
Flygon's antennae glowed light blue as its body became surrounded in a light blue aura with lighter blue stripes of aura on the outside. As for Braviary, his talons were surrounded in an orange aura as both Pokemon flew in with their strongest moves.
Camerupt knew that it couldn't avoid these moves at all. So it was best to aggressively attack its opponents. The third move it had was a Rock-Type move. And that move transformed into Max Rockfall.
Camerupt's raised its head, causing a giant stone slab to rise from the ground. When the slab emerged, it hit Braviary and Flygon right in their stomach's at the right time, halting their movements towards the Eruption Pokemon.
"Smash through it, Braviary!"
"Brav!" Braviary obviously took massive damage from that Rock move. But that wasn't about to stop him. The Valiant Pokemon used Superpower to smash some of the rocks into pieces, bringing down Camerupt's defensive wall of stone.
As for Absol, he climbed up the slab by using Quick Attack to speed himself up. The Disaster Pokemon got over the slab, glaring directly at the Eruption Pokemon. Absol then used Dark Pulse whilst standing on the slab.
Camerupt took the blast of black and purple whilst Braviary obliterated the stone wall. To protect itself, Camerupt once again used Eruption as lava and flaming rocks burst out of its back.
Absol looked up to see a flaming rock coming his way as he attempted to stop it by just using Night Slash. But seeing as that was too dangerous to risk, Dragonite flew in, destroying the rock instead as it had saved Absol.
"Let's finish this! Hyper Beam!" Both Ash and Spike commanded.
"Dragon Rush!"
"Brave Bird!"
At the same time, all four attacks were initiated. Both Braviary and Flygon went in whilst Dragonite and Salamence both used Hyper Beam together, mixing them into one to create an even stronger Hyper Beam.
Camerupt's eyes widened, seeing how four different attacks were coming towards it at the same time. From the speed they were moving at, Camerupt didn't have enough time to protect or counteract the attacks. The downside to being a big Pokemon.
Flygon and Braviary crashed into Camerupt's head whilst the merged Hyper Beam went for its stomach. With those overwhelming moves hitting their mark, Camerupt had been hit with so much force that it managed to fall on its back despite it weighing 485.0 lbs.
"C-CAME-CAMERUPT!" Once Camerupt fell on its back, a loud and fairly potent earthquake filled the entirety of Sandile Sands whilst also forming a crater that matched Camerupt's Dynamaxed size.
Although, Camerupt was no longer Dynamaxed since Eternatus's influence had been washed away due to the Eruption Pokemon being defeated by that final attack combination. As such, Camerupt shrunk, returning to normal.
"Rupt? Camerupt?" A confused Camerupt looked around, forgetting what it was even doing in the first place. The Eruption Pokemon went on with its day as if nothing had happened.
"That's another one done!" Ash cheered.
"Pikachu!"
"Great job you guys! Woohoo!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she jumped up.
"That's the third one this day," said Rarity. "I haven't even fully battled yet and I already feel exhausted."
"Great job, you guys." Ash high-fived his Dragonite whilst the others returned to their trainers, getting hugs and head pats.
As for Absol, he was still feeling a bit hot after that direct Max Flare. His burn marks weren't helping at all too. "Absol. Are you alright?" Twilight went up to him.
"Sol." Absol turned away from Twilight as he was already focused on heading over to the next area despite his current condition. But once he tried to move an inch, he stumbled a bit, almost losing his balance, but Twilight caught him.
"Slow down. Maybe we should get you healed up first before you head off. Fluttershy." Twilight turned to her friend.
"Oh, right. Audi. Use Heal Pulse."
"Dino." With Twilight keeping Absol in place, Audino put her hands out, releasing pink waves of energy that pulsed through the Disaster Pokemon's body, healing his wounds.
"Absol..." Absol's eyes widened as he stood up straight.
"See? Now uh, let's not rush in like crazy okay?" Twilight tried to convince him to slow down. "The Dynamax Pokemon we might come across later could be stronger than Camerupt."
"Sol." Absol scoffed. He didn't care how strong they were. He just wanted to stop the crisis.
"My, he certainly is a different breed isn't he?" Rarity commented.
"That's an understatement." Applejack replied.
"Okay. SO we've cleared two in one in a few minutes. What's next?" Goh asked.
"Sol?!" Absol's horn was picking up on something new. But this time, it wasn't a power spot but something entirely different. His eyes were aimed North as he prepared himself for whatever was coming his way.
"What do you feel Absol?" Twilight ran to his side as she looked over at the distance where Absol was also looking.
All of them braced themselves for the worst, expecting something huge and powerful or small and speedy. But instead, it wasn't anything to fear at all. In fact, it was a friendly face instead of a new enemy.
That friendly face being four individuals. The Swords of Justice. They cleaved their way through the harsh sands, revealing themselves to Absol and the others.
"The Swords of Justice!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Princess Twilight. It's not safe to be outside at the moment." Cobalion spoke. "For all of you."
"Is it about Dynamax? We kinda know that." Rainbow Dash nodded.
"Then you should also know that everywhere else is filled with Dynamaxed Pokemon all across the area. From most corners of Equestria." Virizion chimed in.
"Most corners? How many are there?" Rarity asked.
"At least 30." Terrakion gave the exact number.
"30?!" They all screamed in unison.
"W-WE can't handle 30?!" Rarity got on the ground, biting her hooves. "Can we?"
"That's too many!" Pinkie shouted. "It'll take all day!"
"You don't have to worry about that, my little ponies. Because we've already dealt with most of them." Cobalion calmed them all down.
"You did?" Rarity looked over at him.
"Right." Cobalion nodded. "We're already knowledgable about Dynamax Pokemon and their capabilities. At times, we visit the Galar Region, so they're not a mystery to us."
"Once we saw the Galar Particles, we immediately took action and made our way towards any location that had Dynamaxed Pokemon running about," Virizion explained.
"Believe us. There were too many of them for you all to tackle." Terrakion shook his head. "So far, we've taken down 28 of them. Only 2 remain now."
"Oh. Then, in that case, you all have it covered." Rarity smiled. "This whole crisis will be over in a few minutes."
"Not really. Even if we take out the remaining 2 Pokemon, there will still be power spots all across Equestria. And the next Pokemon that goes near them will be forcefully Dynamaxed and go on a rampage." Cobalion shut her down.
"Oh." Rarity scrunched her face.
"But if we defeat the Pokemon, the power spot vanishes." Twilight pointed her hoof over at the power spot where Camerupt was.
"It is gone for now. But it will come back for sure at any moment. It's impossible to just force a power spot to stop being active." Virizion replied. "Your world is now facing something that can occur frequently without warning."
"Then a Pokemon back at Lapras Lake can interact with that same spot again! What if it's already happened?!" Fluttershy gasped, fearing for the safety of Ponyville at the moment.
"First the Ultra Beasts and now this? Give us a break..." Rainbow Dash groaned.
"No need to worry. There's only 2 left right? We'll take out the two and call it a day." said Ash.
"Pika."
"Ash! I'm not sure you heard them!" Twilight jumped up. "They're going to come back!"
"And we'll be ready for them. Where are the last two Pokemon?" Ash asked the Swords of Justice.
"The nearest one is a Dynamaxed Lopunny. All the way over at Manehattan." Cobalion answered. "The last and final one is on the move and is much more active than the others. A Dynamaxed Nidoking. It seems to be making its way towards your beloved Ponyville."
"A giant Nidoking?! Heading to Ponyville?!" Pinkie Pie screeched.
"In that case, we'll head back to Ponyville and stop Nidoking." Ash pointed over his shoulder. "Are you guys gonna handle Manehattan?"
"Spike and I will handle Manehattan." Rarity offered. "That place has already suffered enough punishment lately."
"Sure we will." Spike nodded. "We might need some more help though. Just in case."
"Count me in. I could catch that Lopunny if I'm lucky." Goh held out his Poke Ball.
"I guess I can try." Starlight shrugged. "Haven't really battled a Dynamax Pokemon before."
"Then I will come to Manehattan and assist you." Virizion went over to Rarity and the others.
"Keldeo, Terrakion and I will come to Ponyville with you. However, be careful. You may never know if more Dynamax Pokemon are resurfacing." Cobalion spoke.
"Thanks, Cobalion." Twilight nodded. "Absol. Isn't this great news?"
"Absol." Absol turned his head to the side, knowing that even if they stop the remaining Pokemon, the crisis will just come back with newer Dynamaxed Pokemon.
Thanks to the Swords of Justice, a majority of the Dynamaxed Pokemon have been stopped. However, even if there were two remaining, the power spots will always come back. Eternatus's energy still flows inside of them, slowly building up to feed the Pokemon as the journey continues.
Thanks to the Swords of Justice already taking out 28 of them, the remaining 2 are the Dynamaxed Lopunny in Manehattan and the Dynamax Nidoking who's rolling through the land, making its way towards Ponyville and beyond.
Rarity, Spike, Starlight, Goh and Virizion have decided to tackle Manehattan whilst the others head back to Ponyville to stop NIdoking and put an end to this current crisis. All the while, somewhere over at the Galar Region, Eternatus is absorbing Dynamax energy for itself, gradually growing in power.
Manehattan, Afternoon.
The Dynamaxed Lopunny so far has dealt some considerable damage to Manehattan thanks to its devastating legs. Every time Lopunny took a step, it created huge craters in the ground just by walking.
Naturally, this creates problems for the ponies living in Manehattan. Lopunny's movements were enough to shake the city and leave holes and craters in the ground.
Not only that, but a single kick of Lopunny was enough to cut an entire roof off. And that's exactly what happened. Many roofs and higher building levels in Manehattan had been cleaved off with unusual precision.
The large roofs fell from above, almost crushing any ponies that were nearby. As for the ponies on the higher levels, they made the wise decision to get out of there before they were taken out by Lopunny's kicks.
It was safe to say that Lopunny in a Dynamaxed form was a walking hammer that can also move quickly on its feet thanks to it being a rabbit at the end of the day.
Whilst everypony was panicking and scattering away from this giant rabbit, Rarity's group arrived at Manehattan to see the Rabbit Pokemon obliterating parts of buildings with just its legs.
They looked over the city, seeing chunks of roofs and glass windows scattered all over the place with craters and holes everywhere.
"I thought the Nihilego attack was bad... Rarity's eyes widened. "This blows it all out of the water."
"Lopunny is just confused and enraged." Virizion walked forward. "Just like every other Pokemon, defeating it will remove the Dynamax energy from within and return her to normal."
"Then what are waiting for. Let's have another go, Flygon!" Goh sent his Flygon forward. "That Lopunny is mine!"
"Flygon!"
"Salamence. You're up again." Spike stuck with his Salamence.
"Mence!"
"We'll have a go ourselves." Rarity reached into her Saddle Bag, taking out a Rarityball as she sent out her Pheromosa.
"Phero!"
"All I have is Hatterene. But I guess that'll do." Starlight sent Hatterene out.
"Tterene."
"LOPUNNY!" Lopunny stomped her foot through a building, shattering the windows and levelling it one go.
"Be very careful," Virizion warned. "One devastating strike from Lopunny's legs will most likely render most of your Pokemon unconscious. Its Mega Evolution does have the spirit of a warrior inside after all."
"Don't worry. We'll finish this no problem." Goh gave a thumbs up. "Flygon! Dragon Rush!"
"Fly...GON!" Flygon was the first to attack. By charging in head-first with a light blue outline surrounding its body.
But, compared to other Dynamaxed Pokemon, Lopunny had a faster reaction time and better instincts. And thanks to those big ears she carries around, she was able to hear Goh give out a command.
As such, Lopunny was already prepared to tackle anyone who challenges her. Not only that, but she had the most reflexes out of any Dynamaxed Pokemon.
So not only was she able to see her opponent coming and counteract, but she could also move out of the way with her strong legs.
And that's what she did. By using her destructive legs, the Rabbit Pokemon hopped into the air, leaving behind a shockwave whilst also avoiding Flygon entirely.
"Fly?
"LO...PUN!" Right from above, Lopunny had stomped its foot on Flygon's back, dealing some heavy damage to the Mystic Pokemon in just a few seconds.
"FLYGON!" The Ground-Dragon opened its eyes as it was sent crashing to the ground with the mark of Lopunny's foot on its back.
"Ah! Flygon!" Goh ran over to his Pokemon.
"LOPUN!" Lopunny raised her leg, aiming to smash it down on Goh who was right in her line of attack.
"Pheromosa, quick! Grab Goh and Flygon!" Rarity gasped, realizing what Lopunny was going for. The Lissome Pokemon, being the fastest one here, was able to dash over and grab Goh and Flygon before Lopunny could smash her legs down on them.
Flygon had already taken the most damage out of everyone here thanks to a single kick from Lopunny. But it was still able to continue despite the large mark on its back.
"I warned you. In some cases, it's best to keep your distance instead of rushing in," said Virizion.
"My bad..." Goh lowered his head.
"Distance is what we're all about! Salamence use Hyper Beam!"
"Hatterene! Psycho Cut!"
Hatterene raised her tentacle as it released a pink crescent-like blade of energy from its tentacles at her opponent whilst Salamence just went for the always effective Hyper Beam.
Hyper Beam outsped Psycho Cut, blitzing straight through it and making its way towards the Rabbit Pokemon. But Lopunny had a response for that.
One of its moves a Flying-Type move. And that had transformed into the Dynamax move known as Max Airstream. By channelling the move in her legs, the Rabbit Pokemon sent a stream of wind that spun around like a whirlwind by kicking.
The stream of air came in contact with Hyper Beam, blowing the energy away along with Psycho Cut which had just caught up now. The Max Airstream easily got rid of those two attacks as it had enough wind pressure equal to that of a hurricane or a tornado.
Spike, Starlight and Rarity gasped as they saw the move coming straight for them, but thankfully, Virizion had managed to stop the attack by cutting it in half with her sword.
"Are you alright?" Virizion asked them as they nodded in response. "Good. Now just stay calm and you will be able to get through all of this."
The Grassland Pokemon attacked Lopunny next by using the move Magical Leaf. Virizion's body glowed green as she jumped into the air. Light-green leaves quickly circled around her body, flying over at Lopunny.
Lopunny attempted to fend off the leaves by kicking them away, which she managed to succeed for the most part. However, Virizion sent more her way and it was only a matter of time until one of them passed through.
When some of them hit, they exploded right in front of Lopunny's face "PUNNY!"
"Pheromosa! Use Triple Kick!"
"Salamence! Fly up and use Flamethrower!"
Pheromosa and Salamence helped each other out. Just like how Eve used Salamence as a ride, so did Pheromosa by getting on the Dragon Pokemon's back.
"LOPUNNY!" Lopunny wasn't about to let that happen. So in response, it went for yet another Max Airstream to knock them out of the sky.
Thankfully,
"Sala...Mence!" Salamence breathed hot fire from his mouth whilst bringing Pheromosa up to Lopunny's face. The fire had been sprayed in a vertical angle, hitting both Lopunny's stomach and face.
"LO!"
"Pheromo!" The Lissome Pokemon then jumped off Salamence's back, going in for Triple Kick. Once she was close enough, the Ultra Beast delivered three consecutive kicks to Lopunny's face, dealing some super-effective damage in the process.
"LOPUN!" Lopunny was knocked back as she almost fell flat on the ground. The Rabbit Pokemon held her face, destroying a building behind her. "LOPUNNY..."
Frustrated and annoyed, Lopunny went for the strongest attack she had yet. One of her moves was a Fairy-Type move, most likely Play Rough.
The Rabbit Pokemon front flipped off the ground, as she raised one leg. This single Fairy-Type move had been transformed into Max Starfall.
From above the clouds had suddenly emanated a pink aura that was somewhat therapeutic to look at. Out of the clouds came five large golden stars that radiated Fairy magic.
Apart from Hatterene, this move was devastating for the other Pokemon here. The drawback to being Dragon and Fighting is that Fairy moves hurt.
"Oh no." Spike gulped. "Fly away, quick!"
Pheromosa landed back on Salamence's back as the duo flew off, trying to avoid the stars from above. Flygon flew next to Salamence whilst Virizion used her swift and agile movements to evade the stars.
Everypony in Manehattan was given the sight of large golden stars falling from above whilst two dragons and two Fighting-Types elude them. It was a bizarre but yet beautiful sight at the same time.
"Hatterene! Use Protect!" Starlight got on the more defensive side.
"Hatte!" The Silent Pokemon put her tentacle out, creating a protective shield around her as the golden star wasn't able to make direct contact with the Psychic-Fairy-Type.
As for the others, they weren't so lucky. Flygon was still feeling Lopunny's foot on its back, causing the Mystic Pokemon to fly less effectively.
And with a slower flying speed, it wasn't long until one of the stars made contact. Flygon's eyes widened as it was engulfed in a beautiful rainbow light. The move exploded upon contact, sending out multiple stars that scattered across the sky.
"G-Gon!" That one single Max Move was enough to put Flygon down for the count as the Mystic Pokemon fell from above with a trail of misty smoke with star particles.
"Flygon, no!" Goh screamed as he saw his partner faint right before his eyes. Once Flygon fell, Goh accepted that he was unable to battle.
"Flygon..."
"Good try. Return and rest up." Goh went up to Flygon, returning it to its Poke Ball.
As for the others, they succeeded in avoiding Max Starfall with all the golden stars disappearing once making contact with the ground.
"Now's our chance! Pheromosa! Triple Kick once more!"
"Salamence, use Hyper Beam!"
"Hatterene! Psycho Cut!"
Hoping to finish things off, all of them put every last ounce of their strength into their attacks. Once again, Pheromosa was on Salamence's back but this time, the Dragon Pokemon picked up Hatterene along the way, now having two Pokemon his back.
Lopunny looked down at her three opposing foes, ready to knock them out of the sky with all she had. The Rabbit Pokemon raised her leg, going for an overhead attack.
From the speed she swung it at, it looked like it was going to connect, guaranteed. But that was shut down thanks to Virizion interrupting with Sacred Sword by jumping high into the air.
"Now is your chance!" Virizion exclaimed, looking over at the trio. The three of them nodded in response as Virizion kept her sword on Lopunny's leg, keeping the Rabbit Pokemon occupied.
Salamence and Hatterene attacked from afar whilst Pheromosa got up close and personal. The Lissome Pokemon struck Lopunny's face three times whilst Hyper Beam and Psycho Cut went straight for the stomach. Virizion pitched in by slashing Lopunny's leg with Secret Sword, getting that last hit in.
Lopunny felt overwhelmed. After all, it hits hard, but like Pikachu, she's a glass cannon. All you really need is one good hit on her and that's it.
So the quadruple attack was just what the group needed. Lopunny couldn't continue, however, she was still in her Dynamax form. It seems that she was able to hang on for a while as she held her head, feeling dizzy.
"Perhaps..." Rarity took out another Rarity Ball from her saddlebag. "Terribly sorry about this Goh!"
"Hm? Sorry about what?" Goh turned to her.
Rarity was actually planning to capture Lopunny for herself. However, before the special Poke Ball could be thrown, the Dynamax energy was effecting it.
The Rarityball suddenly turned pink as it grew in size, similar to that of a Dynamax Pokemon. "W-What is this?!" Rarity held the sized-up ball in her hooves, trying to keep it up.
"Hold on!" Spike and Starlight helped Rarity hoist up the Rarityball as they felt their bones breaking. With all their combined strength, they tossed the giant ball towards Lopunny as it gained some impressive air time.
The giant Rarityball hit Lopunny square in the face opening up and sending the Rabbit Pokemon inside. Like a normal Poke Ball, the Rarityball fell, however this time when it made contact with the ground, everything trembled.
Now they had to wait for the result and to see if Lopunny had been caught as they all leaned forward.
1...2...3....
The ball was on pause for a while. They had no idea if the capture was a guarantee or not. Rarity bit her hooves as Spike and Starlight gulped.
After that short pause, the result had been revealed.
Gotcha! Lopunny was caught!
"Yes! A successful capture!" Rarity grinned as she went over to grab the Rarityball. "I didn't think it would work on Dynamax Pokemon honestly."
"Aw, Rarity! That's not fair!" Goh groaned as he wanted to catch Lopunny for himself.
"Well done." Virizion walked up to her. "Even if the city is in a bit of a rough state, I'm sure that the ponies here will repair it alongside their Pokemon."
"They certainly will." Rarity nodded in response. "Now there is only one Pokemon left. Nidoking. Have Twilight and the others reached Ponyville yet?"
"Who knows. But there's no way a Nidoking can outspeed them right?" Starlight shrugged.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Nidoking has been able to move around by curling into a ball and rolling. When it is in that state, its speed is fairly impressive and hard to keep up with most of the time." Virizion answered.
"Rolling? It might destroy something along the way!" Rarity gasped.
"Possibly. Let's hurry. We might be able to make it back to Ponyville before the situation worsens."
Speaking of Nidoking, it was indeed destroying everything in its path by rolling at high-speeds, currently in a grassland area.
When a Pokemon saw it coming, they would all scatter and hide to avoid being crushed by Nidoking's poisonous and hard body.
The scales on its back were destroying the ground beneath Nidoking, and even some of the grass in certain areas were being melted away by its poisonous body.
Nidoking wasn't directly aiming for Ponyville, it was just rolling wherever it went due to it being on a rampage. It had no end goal whatsoever. It was just confused and enraged after all.
All the while, Ash's group was chasing after the Drill Pokemon. They saw that Nidoking wasn't slowing down at all. It kept rolling at a consistent speed in one single direction. Anything in its way was struck down.
"It's moving too fast! How do we keep up it?!" said Applejack.
"There's more than one way to stop a rampaging Pokemon. Terrakion." Cobalion turned to Terrakion.
"Leave it to me! Some of you might want to stay back a bit." Terrakion looked at the ground whilst everyone else kept a good distance from him.
He had a move that could actually stop Nidoking in its tracks. But it's also capable of harming the environment around him. That move was none other than Earthquake.
The Cavern Pokemon stood up on his hind legs, bringing them down afterwards with a girthy impact on the ground. White shockwaves erupted from the ground as the entire area was trembling.
The shockwaves travelled far enough to reach Nidoking as they had enough power to even disrupt the Drill Pokemon's rolling.
"NIDO?!"
Nidoking tumbled after feeling the sudden earthquake throw him off balance as he fell flat on his face, shaking the area around him in the process. That Earthquake was stunningly effective.
"Oh. Okay, that works." Applejack nodded.
With Nidoking temporarily immobilized, Absol was, of course, the first one to rush in before everyone else. "Sol!"
"Absol! This again?" Twilight sighed.
"Leave it. He's obviously a Pokemon that acts on his own even with assistance." Cobalion walked past Twilight.
"NIDO...KING." The Drill Pokemon stood up, wondering what could've caused that sudden earthquake. Unbeknownst to Nidoking, he currently had a pursuer who was already heading straight for him.
Absol looked up at Nidoking, believing that he could take the Drill Pokemon out by himself. He stopped in his tracks, looking up at the Poison-Ground-Type.
Absol opened his mouth wide, going straight for Dark Pulse as a beam of black and purple circles came racing out. It was so small in comparison to Nidoking to where the Drill Pokemon didn't even notice it.
But what he did notice was that Dark Pulse connected, hitting Nidoking's tail and giving him a slight tickle. "KING?"
That prompted Nidoking to look around his surroundings. By navigating the area, he spotted Absol standing right next to him. He noticed that Absol was continuously using Dark Pulse, hitting the Drill Pokemon's tail repeatedly with barely any damage.
Seeing this made Nidoking direct all of its attention to Absol. Now it was a target for its rampage. The Drill Pokemon swung its tail to the side, blowing away the Dark Pulse and hitting Absol as well.
"Absol?!" The Disaster Pokemon's eyes widened as he felt Nidoking's tough tail strike him. The impact and swing sent Absol flying in the air as he was yet again the first to take damage.
Thankfully, Twilight caught him by using her magic. "I gotcha!" She carefully placed the Disaster Pokemon back on the ground, letting him rest whilst Cobalion and the others approached Nidoking who had spotted them as well.
"Sol..."
"Absol! You rushed in again!" Twilight raised her voice. "You're gonna keep on hurting yourself like this."
"Absol." Absol didn't have to respond to Twilight. To him, as long as the crisis is stopped, he'll rush in as many times as he needs to.
"Ugh..." Twilight sighed. "Fluttershy. Heal Absol up each-" Absol interrupted Twilight by standing back up, immediately charging towards Nidoking once more. "Ah! Absol!"
"Guess there's no winning with him," Fluttershy spoke.
"None at all." Twilight facehoofed.
As for the others, Ash, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Cobalion were facing off against Nidoking themselves. The Drill Pokemon, like many others, had these four as its main target since they were getting in its way. And mostly due to the enraged part.
Ash and Rainbow Dash had their Gengar and Altaria go up against Nidoking whilst Applejack just stuck with her only Pokemon. Grovyle.
"Gengar! Psychic!" Ash commanded.
"Altaria! Ice Beam!"
Gengar's eyes glow light blue as Nidoking became outlined in a light blue aura. Gengar managed to almost lift Nidoking with its mind, but Nidoking was just way too heavy. Instead, Gengar hit Nidoking with invisible blasts of psychokinetic energy.
As for Altaria, out her gaping mouth, a beam of ice came flying out as it passed by Gengar. Once Ice Beam made contact with Nidoking, the Drill Pokemon could feel bits of its body freeze.
It wasn't enough to fully freeze him, but it was potent enough to send a chill through him. In response, Nidoking used a Max Move. One of its moves of the Poison-Type.
So because of that, it gave Nidoking access to the Max Ooze. From the Drill Pokemon's mouth, a stream of poisonous ooze came flying out, spraying all over the area and melting away the grass.
"Gengar! Use Psychic to send it back!"
"Gar!" In an unexpected strategy, Gengar had used Psychic to manipulate the ooze, stopping it in place. The Shadow Pokemon then used its mind to send the poison right back at Nidoking as the Drill Pokemon was struck by his own attack.
"KING!"
"Grovyle! Use Dragon Breath!" Applejack commanded.
"Vyle!" Grovyle fired a transparent beam of energy with white rings around it from its mouth. Dragon Breath was actually capable of doing something that no other Electric-Type move can do to a ground type.
Paralyze. When Dragon Breath connected, Nidoking could feel both an explosion and his body being paralyzed. As long as the move isn't Electric, even a Ground-Type like Nidoking can be affected.
Now that Nidoking was paralyzed, this gave the others a lot of opportunities to strike. Starting with Cobalion who used Iron Head on Nidoking's leg by smashing its hardened head on him.
As for Keldeo, he used Hydro Pump by releasing powerful blasts of water from his hooves. Terrakion helped out by having Stone Edge erupt from the ground.
Compared to the others, this was the most effective Dynamax battle so far. Mostly because Nidoking could barely do that much and him being paralyzed wasn't helping at all.
Nidoking was knocked off its legs with Stone Edge rising up as Hydro Pump was blasted on his face.
"Now Gengar! Use Ice Punch!"
"Gen...Gar!" Gengar disappeared and reappeared in front of Nidoking before he fell on his back. Gengar's fist became surrounded with icy blue energy, smashing it into Nidoking's stomach.
Nothing but super-effective hits have been landed on Nidoking so far apart from some exceptions. It looked like Nidoking was on the verge of losing at this point.
"Woohoo! Good job you guys!" Pinkie cheered. "You're doing great!"
"KING...NIDO..." Nidoking barely stood a chance. All it managed to do was hit Absol and that was the end of that. At this point, the Drill Pokemon could be considered defeated as he held his head.
But, someone, in particular, wasn't ready to let this end. And that someone was the same person who brought Dynamax energy to Equestria. That being Lucien, who was always watching from above on top of a cloud with Sienna.
"Oh well. Looks like your Dynamax plan was a bit underwhelming." Sienna patted Lucien on the back, smirking. "Tough luck. But now let's focus on my Desire's."
"It isn't over yet." Lucien shoved Sienna back. "I've still got a lot of plans for Dynamax and I won't let this part end so easily."
Deciding to spice things up a bit, Lucien zapped a bolt of cosmic energy over towards the fallen Nidoking. The bolt entered Nidoking's body, fueling the Drill Pokemon with a fresh new batch of energy.
The power of the Rift merged with Eternatus's influence awakened something destructive within Nidoking. The Drill Pokemon's eyes opened up as his body became outlined in red and blue as a replication of the two energies dwelling inside of him.
"KING !" Nidoking had been rejuvenated and undergone a boost in power as it stood back up, shaking the atmosphere around it.
"Wait, it's back up?!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "I thought you guys beat it!"
"I thought so too! What gives?!" Rainbow Dash backed up as the shadow of Nidoking cast over her friends, the grasslands and practically everywhere else.
"Something has rejuvenated him. But Dynamax isn't capable of that at all," said Cobalion.
"NIDOKING!" Nidoking was more aggressive than ever. So aggressive to the point where it wasn't even confused at this point. It was just enraged and nothing else.
Nidoking used Earth Power as his fist became surrounded with a golden aura as he slams his fist into the ground, creating cracks with golden and cosmic energy that travel along the ground.
As the ground itself shook, Ash and the others made the wise decision to move away from the cracks, however, due to Nidoking's heightened strength, the cracks kept on coming, causing further destruction to the ground.
"Does that Earth Power seem stronger to you?!" Applejack screeched.
"Gengar! Use Ice Punch to stop it!"
"Gar!" Gengar attempted to stop Earth Power by freezing the ground beneath it as the Shadow Pokemon smashed its icy blue fist on the ground.
It ended up working as the Ice Punch cancelled out Earth Power whilst those that can fly just simply went into the air. But Nidoking had something greater at its disposal.
The Earth Power had transformed into Max Quake. Yet another Dynamax move. And this one was by far the most devastating one they've come across.
Nidoking slammed both his fists on the ground this time, putting some extra Oomph to it. Once hit, the ground itself was being lifted, transforming the grasslands.
A violent tremor filled the area as the ground even cracked open. Pinkie Pie held onto Fluttershy who flew up whilst Cobalion and Terrakion, who were unfortunately weak to Ground, had been hit by rising chunks of the ground itself.
"Nidoking's stronger than ever, so watch out! Fly up and use Ice Punch!"
"Altaria! Use Ice Beam!"
"KING!" Nidoking wasn't about to let that happen. It had suddenly outstretched its large hands, going straight for a grab. The Drill Pokemon was planning on grabbing anyone that was in his line of sight. Mainly Gengar and Altaria.
"Grovyle! Leaf Blade!"
"Vyle!" Grovyle attempted to knock Nidoking's arms away by slashing them with Leaf Blade, but that didn't do a thing as Grovyle ended up being caught in Nidoking's grasp. "Gro?!"
"Ah! Grovyle!" Applejack screamed.
Altaria tried to save her friend by blasting Ice Beam all over Nidoking's body. But even a super-effective Ice Beam wasn't enough. Nidoking didn't even freeze. Gengar went next, flying close to Nidoking for an Ice Punch.
But that was quickly stopped when Nidoking used his other hand to smack Gengar away, knocking the Shadow Pokemon into Altaria. "Gen!"
"Alta!"
"KING! NIDOKING!" Nidoking then went ballistic. First, it swung its tail violently, destroying the trees and hills around it in one go. Keldeo hopped over the tail using Water Pulse from his mouth to get a hit in.
But Nidoking caught the ball of Water in his hand, crushing it into nothing. Next, Nidoking shot out Max Ooze from its tail, spraying the poisonous stream all across the grasslands.
"Send it back with Psychic!" Ash tried the same tactic again. But even the poison had been powered up to a point where when Gengar used Psychic on the stream, it was actually struggling to keep it back.
"G-Gengar..."
Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash ascended higher to avoid the poison, but Nidoking went after them as well. It swung its tail upwards, sending the tail towards those that were airborne.
"Yikes!" Twilight squealed as she and Fluttershy held on to each other whilst the poison almost made contact with them.
And the third action Nidoking did was by far his biggest one. He dug his hands in the ground, having enough strength to flip it over like a table.
And that's what he did. Nidoking flipped the ground over, disrupting the natural structure of this area and also sending those that were on ground level up in the air.
"W-Woah!" Ash and Applejack screamed as they had been forced into the air by Nidoking simply flipping the ground. Gengar caught Ash by using Psychic whilst Altaria caught Applejack. "Thanks, Gengar!"
"KING!" Nidoking's fourth action wasn't as destructive as his third but it was also terrifying. It now decided to chase its prey down as it began running, shaking the earth with each step.
"Run! Or fly!" Twilight screeched.
"A fairly good idea actually." Cobalion agreed with Twilight as he and the others dashed off whilst escaping from this super-sized Nidoking.
A chase had begun. With Nidoking tearing through the environment and nature itself as he ran. They were all in his line of sight thanks to his size, so it was impossible to escape him since he could see from all angles due to how big he is now.
"Altaria! Try using Ice Beam again!" Rainbow Dash turned around, pointing her hoof over at Nidoking.
"Alta...Ria!" The Humming Pokemon turned her head, opening it up as a blast of ice was fired towards Nidoking. However, Nidoking simply smacked the beam away with its large arms. "Altaria?!"
"It's like it can't feel damage anymore!" Pinkie Pie gasped.
"W-What do we do?!" Fluttershy shuddered.
"NIDOKING!" Nidoking grabbed a nearby tree, ripping it out of the ground. The Drill Pokemon then tossed the tree over at Gengar, Altaria and Twilight, planning on knocking them out of the sky.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Ash looked back whilst running away.
"Chu...!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, appearing in front of the tree as his tail hardened. "Pika!" Pikachu cut the tree in half, saving Twilight and the others from being hit as he landed on Terrakion's back.
"When a Nidoking goes on a rampage, it's impossible to stop them unless there is a Nidoqueen nearby. However, that is unlikely, so we'll have to try a different approach." Cobalion was staying calm during all of this.
"Sol!" Absol was getting tired of running away as he felt brave enough to take on a powered-up Nidoking as he stopped running.
"Hm?" Twilight turned around to see Absol facing Nidoking. "Absol, don't!"
Absol yet again was ready to take on something stronger than him without thinking about his own well-being. He grabbed Nidoking's attention by using Dark Pulse on the Drill Pokemon.
Of course, this Dark Pulse barely scratched Nidoking the first time and it definitely didn't work the second time. Nidoking turned his attention to the Disaster Pokemon whilst still having Grovyle in his hands.
The Drill Pokemon tried to stomp on Absol, but the Disaster Pokemon used Quick Attack to avoid it whilst also firing yet another Dark Pulse. And even that didn't do anything.
Absol then climbed up Nidoking's body by using Quick Attack whilst Nidoking followed his every movement. Grovyle was trying to break free by using Dragon Breath, but it was no good. Nidoking wouldn't budge.
Once Absol got close to Nidoking's face, he believed he would be able to get off a Night Slash. But sadly, he couldn't. Nidoking had taken Absol by surprise by headbutting the Disaster Pokemon.
"S-Sol?!" Absol could feel the weight of Nidoking travelling through his body as the shock of the impact made him shudder. Everyone gasped as they saw Absol fall from above, seemingly defeated.
"Absol!" Twilight and Fluttershy flew over to try and grab Absol. But once they got close, Nidoking used its tail to smack them away.
Twilight and Fluttershy were launched through the air as they also felt the weight of Nidoking punish them. The duo crashed into a tree, harming their backs in the process.
"Twilight! Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack gasped, turning around.
But when they took their attention away from Nidoking, the Drill Pokemon swung its tail over at them as well. "Gengar! Stop it using Ice Punch!"
Luckily, Ash's Gengar managed to hold back the tail from reaching the three of them with Ice Punch connecting. But connecting with Nidoking's body made Gengar tremble a bit. "G-Gar!"
"Gengar! Fly up to Nidoking's hand!"
The Shadow Pokemon went straight for the hand where Grovyle was being held. Nidoking tried to grab Gengar, but the Ghost-Poison-Type made itself intangible as a method of evading.
Gengar arrived at the hand, using Ice Punch on it. This Ice Punch managed to have the freeze effect behind it as a bit of Nidoking's hand felt a small chill run through.
That chill made his grip less focused as Grovyle could finally find a way to break free. Gengar grabbed Grovyle with Psychic, freeing the Wood Gecko Pokemon from Nidoking's grasp.
"A-Absol..." Absol was still on the ground, still feeling the weight of Nidoking thanks to that headbutt. The same could be said for Twilight and Fluttershy after hitting the tree.
Audino rushed over to the three of them whilst a ferocious battle happens in the back. She used Heal Pulse on them, but even Heal Pulse wouldn't help that much. It would recover them for sure, but the shock would take some time to vanish.
"Absol..." Absol stood back up, brushing off the damage he had taken. He tried to get back in there but Twilight used her magic to hold him in. "Sol?"
"Absol, don't!" Twilight winced. "You haven't recovered yet like us. If you rush in again, you'll just end up taking more damage!"
"Absol...!"
"You can't tackle something like this on your own, Absol. Even if you're determined to stop this crisis as soon as possible, you're just one Pokemon against many."
"Sol," Absol growled.
"But if you coordinate with us, then we can stop it together. So won't you please slow down a bit?"
"Abs." Absol could steel feel a shock in his legs. What Twilight was saying true. If Nidoking hits him hard one more time, there's no telling how much damage Absol will take and how less effective Heal Pulse might end up being.
So he had no choice but to coordinate for the time being. Even if he was a Pokemon who worked on his lonesome without needing much help. But he certainly needs it now.
"Alright. We'll make sure that this crisis comes to an end, okay?" Twilight nodded.
But even if Absol was now cooperating with them, the issue of taking down Nidoking was still there. Just when Nidoking looked like it would've been defeated, cosmic interference had boosted its strength. Being the last Dynamax Pokemon around, Absol and the others face off against an aggressive opponent as the journey continues.
Back with the others, their battle against Nidoking was 50/50. Ash, Cobalion, Terrakion and Keldeo were able to hold their own whilst Rainbow Dash was just struggling.
Pinkie Pie's Spinda had used Secret Power on the area, trying to get Nidoking to fall asleep due to this being a grassland area. But Nidoking was able to stay up without any issues.
"This could go on forever!" Keldeo said. "The other Dynamax Pokemon weren't this strong!"
"Whatever it is that is heightening him, it's made him into an entirely different Pokemon." Cobalion replied.
"Hitting him hard doesn't work either." Terrakion shook his head. "What do we do?"
"Sol!" Absol ran forward, standing beside Gengar and Keldeo. This time, he wasn't rushing in.
"N-NIDO...!" Nidoking was actually getting fatigued from all of this. That's when Cobalion and Ash finally found a way to come back from this.
"Aha! Gengar! Circle around Nidoking!"
"Gar!" The Shadow Pokemon approached Nidoking who locked eyes with the Ghost-Poison-Type. Nidoking tried to grab Gengar but was quickly met with disappointment when Gengar used its intangibility to phase through his arms.
Nidoking tried it again but Gengar disappeared and reappeared behind him. The Shadow Pokemon was much faster than him, so this was no problem. This went on with Nidoking having no success catching the Ghost.
The others could see what Ash and Gengar were doing as they finally figured out a way to defeat this powered-up Nidoking. By simply tiring him out.
"Oh...I get it." Twilight nodded. "Eve! Distract him with Psybeam!"
"Espeon!" Eve grabbed Nidoking's attention by firing a super-effective Psybeam at the Drill Pokemon's legs.
"NIDO?!" Nidoking was easily distracted by that as predicted.
"Dragon Breath!" Applejack's Grovyle did the same but on Nidoking's tail. That also grabbed his attention. Now he tried to focus on three Pokemon at once.
And that quickly became four when Twilight had her Cinccino use Aqua Tail on its foot. Nidoking roared as he stomped his foot about whilst also trying to grab the elusive Gengar.
Rainbow Dash's Altaria had used Ice Beam to deal even more super-effective damage, which only irritated Nidoking even further.
"Absol!" Absol played his part by continuously firing Dark Pulses at Nidoking's tail alongside Grovyle. Nidoking had no idea what to do in this situation.
They were all moving around and attacking in different directions. Their plan on fatiguing Nidoking was proving to be effective. When Nidoking tried to slam or swing his tail, Absol and Grovyle would just jump over.
When Gengar got close, he would Ice the back of Nidoking's head or even go up in his face at times. Altaria had it easy since she can just keep her distance with Ice Beam. The same goes for Eve who had no problem firing Psybeam from afar.
Keldeo had used Hydro Pump to keep Nidoking's attention plastered on the ground at all times. The Drill Pokemon didn't know if it should look up or down.
From Ice Beam, Ice Punch to Psybeam, all three of those moves were super-effective enough to the point where Nidoking couldn't think straight at all.
As for Cobalion and Terrakion, whilst their moves weren't really super-effective, they had other ways of dealing massive damage to the Drill Pokemon.
At the same time, the two of them had dug their swords in the ground, flipping it over as they used Nidoking's own element against him as huge chunks of the ground crashed into the Drill Pokemon's knees.
"K-KING! NIDOKING...!"
"Alright! Let's wrap this up! Gengar! Psychic!"
"Gengar!" Gengar finally stopped zipping around Nidoking since the plan to distract and fatigue the Drill Pokemon was already a smashing success. Invisible waves of psychokinetic waves had attacked Nidoking's mind, causing him to wince a bit.
But it didn't stop there. Gengar kept using Psychic whilst the others chimed in. Eve and Altaria used Psybeam and Ice Beam whilst Grovyle used Dragon Breath.
None of them stopped firing their attacks as they poured it all on the Drill Pokemon. Nidoking couldn't actually push this one back like he did with the others. Mostly due to fatigue.
Nidoking fell on its knees as it had finally taken enough damage to the point where it was on the verge of defeat. Even the Dynamax energy within him was weakening.
"Yes! It's working!" Pinkie jumped up. "Please let it be the end for real this time!"
"Wait..." Cobalion put his hoof out, making sure that no one got greedy with their attacks as they anticipated Nidoking's next action.
The cosmic energy was harming Nidoking more than Eternatus's Dynamax energy. Too much of it was dwelling inside of him.
The Drill Pokemon looked over at his opponents, seeing that they have indeed gotten the better of him and his defeat was inevitable at this point. All they had to do was just breathe on him and he was done for.
But he wasn't about to go down without taking one of his prey out. By using its sharp claws, it dug into the ground, Earth Power from its claws. But Nidoking made sure that this attack was silent and swift.
Absol could sense the incoming Ground move thanks to his horn. The golden light of Earth Power was coming straight for Twilight who was completely unaware.
"Sol!" Absol instinctively knocked Twilight out of the way with Quick Attack whilst also using Dark Pulse to attack Nidoking.
As Twilight yelped, Absol's Dark Pulse was just the right amount of power needed to finally defeat Nidoking as a dark explosion emerged in front of the Drill Pokemon's face.
But at a cost, Earth Power ended up hitting Absol instead of Twilight as the Disaster Pokemon felt a hard rock hit his chest. "A-Absol!"
"K-KING...!" With Nidoking taking that final Dark Pulse, the cosmic energy and Dynamax energy from within was finally fading away. And what was also fading away was his size.
By shrinking back down, Nidoking had finally returned to normal, reverting to his 4′07 height. And of course, like the other Pokemon, he was just confused and lost on what had happened.
In truth, the battle against Nidoking should've been over long ago since their first battle with it went smoothly. But of course, Lucien intervened and their second battle was a bit stressful.
And speaking of Lucien, he was sitting above the clouds with Sienna, feeling satisfied with this conclusion.
"Alright. Are you happy now?" Sienna asked him.
"Yep. That's much better." Lucien had a cheesy grin as he nodded in response. He just wanted a better outcome to this crisis. And he got one. Until the next time Dynamax pops up again.
"King? Nidoking?" Nidoking stood up, holding his head as he walked off as if nothing had happened.
"Phew. Finally." Ash sat down, as he and the others were glad that it was over.
"Pika..."
"Absol..." Absol hung in there as his stomach was injured from Earth Power. His resilience was fairly impressive compared to others.
"Absol! Are you okay?" Twilight flew over to him.
"Sol." Absol shook it off, trying to regain his composure. He was surprisingly good at staying sharp and serious even after taking a heavy hit. He did struggle to stand firmly on his feet due to the hit, but Twilight used her magic to keep him steady.
"Thanks for saving me back there. That horn of yours really is a great asset, isn't it?" Twilight thanked him.
"Absol..."
"We can safely call this crisis over for now. There will still be other Pokemon who will interact with the power spots plastered across your world." Cobalion said. "But we'll be there to make sure that they're promptly stopped."
"That's right. Thanks for helping us out, all of you." Terrakion turned to them. "That could've ended ugly if we didn't have any extra support."
"Right...That Nidoking got strong out of nowhere." Keldeo sighed as he was also feeling fatigued. Most of them were actually.
The power spots had finally died down. Even though eventually, they'll rise back up, for now, there was a time of peace and rest. Something that Equestria needed after that sudden Dynamax attack.
Virizion's group returned, seeing the others and how they've sorted out the Nidoking situation. Although, their battle did end up damaging the grasslands, which Virizion wasn't too fond of at all.
"Seems like you've won. Albeit with casualties..." Virizion observed the area.
"It was totally Nidoking's fault. Not ours." Keldeo was partially telling the truth. "What about your battle with Lopunny?"
"A smashing success and a new partner to boot." Rarity smiled with confidence as she held up the Rarityball which she caught Lopunny in.
Goh was clearly unamused since he wanted Lopunny for himself, but that capture ended up being snatched by Rarity. "My Lopunny capture..."
"Sobble..." Sobble patted Goh on the back.
"You're all a bit tired out. Return home and rest. We'll deal with any future Dynamax issues that come up." Cobalion ordered. "Just like the Ultra Beast situation.
"Right. Thanks, Cobalion." Twilight nodded. She then noticed that Absol was walking away, leaving everyone here behind without even saying goodbye. "A-Absol! Where are you going?"
"Sol." Absol replied to Twilight by giving her a small Thank You in the process. The nicest thing he's said so far.
"He says Thank you." Fluttershy translated. "But I'm not sure where he's going."
"Wherever he wants," Virizion replied. "Absol will only show up again if another disaster comes up. After all, they are fairly lone Pokemon at the end of the day."
"It's not surprising that he would leave after this was all over." Cobalion walked forward. "The path he walks on is all dependent on him."
"I suppose so." Twilight nodded. "I'm still a bit curious about why my head kept on aching when I met him the first, second and third time."
"Aching? How so?" Cobalion asked.
"When Twilight first met Absol, her head hurt like crazy." Pinkie Pie popped up behind Cobalion. "Happened yesterday and today."
"And Absol was suffering the same thing as well," Fluttershy said. "They were both also having visions of the Mega Evolution symbol too. We're not sure what that means."
"...Hm." Cobalion looked over at his fellow swords. Terrakion shrugged whilst Virizion shook her head. Keldeo was just confused. But Cobalion did have a possible answer that could relate to their sudden pain. "I'm not sure myself but...it could be that you and Absol might share an unusual connection?"
"Unusual connection?" Twilight looked up at him.
"Mhm. That's all I can say. If you ever come across Absol again, you might get the answer. For now, we'll be off." Cobalion turned around along with the other swords.
They waved the Swords of Justice Goodbye as they saw the four swords walk off into the sunset fittingly. As for Twilight and her friends, they could finally put a close to this Dynamax crisis until it sprouts back up.
It was certainly hard to ignore now ever since the first one came up in Lapras Lake.
Ponyvile, late afternoon.
Returning to Ponyville was just what they all needed. For Ash and Goh, it was Kanto that they required to have some rest and relaxation. All the while, Rarity got herself a brand new partner in the form of Lopunny.
Twilight returned to her castle, but she didn't carry on with her day at all. Instead, Twilight was now thinking about Absol and nothing else.
Ever since they first met and how they both had a similar vision and pain, questions started to swirl around Twilight's mind constantly.
What Cobalion said only heightened it further. He might be right when he said that Twilight and Absol have an unusual connection. But then again, Cobalion himself wasn't so sure about it.
Twilight was wondering if she would see Absol ever again. It was a probability since the Dynamax power spots were still around. They're not just going to go away permanently when the Pokemon is defeated. They'll be back for sure. And Absol will be there.
And speaking of the power spots, after that experience, Twilight now wanted to look into the Dynamax Phenomenon herself.
"If I can learn more about Dynamax, it could benefit us a lot in the future." Twilight stood up. She used her magic to teleport out of her castle and into her Pokemon lab, where all the necessary information could be found.
Over at the stack of Pokemon books, there were many categories for specific things. Moves, Legends and Mythicals, types, etc. One of them being stories and information about certain regions ranging from Kanto, Johto and onwards.
She was able to find a book concerning the Galar Region and its many mysteries and lore that it has to offer. She was still stuck on the Sinnoh book since it had a lot of lore to unpack. But just this once, she would skip a book and go for a new one she has yet to discover.
By scrolling through the pages, she was searching for any information concerning Dynamax.
"Let's see here. Glimwood Tangle, Macro Cosmos..." She went through the book until she finally found what she was looking for. "Aha! The Dynamax Phenomenon."
By reading the page that held Dynamax information, the young alicorn read it alongside her Pokemon. And what she found caught her interest. She already knew about how Dynamax distorts the space and world around the Pokemon themselves. But this new information was something to pay attention to.
"The Dynamax Phenomenon can also be traced back to...Wishing Stars?" Twilight scratched her mane. "A source of Dynamax energy which can be fit into a Dynamax band, allowing a trainer to Dynamax their Pokemon. Oh, just like what Ash, Leon and others own."
"Espeon..."
"Did these Wishing Stars come from above?" She turned the page, looking for further information. "The Wishing Stars did not come from above. But instead, they came from the unknown Pokemon that is the main cause for Dynamaxing. This Pokemon was defeated long ago by a hero of legend and as a result, the energy from the Pokemon leaked out during its slumber, in the form of Galar Particles."
Turning the page, she was given the sight of two humans as the art style resembled that of a Mural. "Eternatus's energy would've destroyed a part of the Galar region with a large meteor falling from above, however, a mysterious Pokemon riding a steed saved the early people of Galar."
Learning about two new mysterious Pokemon piqued her interest. What also piqued her interest was how there were two heroes in this book yet the Wyndom Stadium has a statue of one single hero.
After reading more into how Gigantamax is different from Dynamax, Twilight came across the name of the Pokemon who is the cause for the Dynamax Phenomenon in the first place.
"This Pokemon has only ever appeared once and disappeared during its defeat. It has been identified as Eternatus." Finally, she had the name and the source of Dynamax as a whole. "So this is the pokemon that causes Dynamax. Did it also power Nidoking up?"
"Tales?" Ninetales looked over at the page that had Eternatus on it. The artwork was a bit messy. It looked like someone tried to get a picture of Eternatus but only got the face and nothing else.
Opening this book right after the crisis was the best decision she had made so far. Now she has a decent grasp on Dynamax, what triggers it and where it originally comes from.
Unfortunately, there was no further information about Eternatus or Dynamax. All it did was just tell her about Max Moves, G-Max Moves and some strange soup that works on certain Pokemon. After that, Twilight closed the Galar Book, placing it back with the others.
Twilight called it a day. She was still a bit beat up after Nidoking hit her so she needed the rest. Twilight returned to her lab where her Pokemon were waiting for her.
The impact of the tree could still be felt on her back too. The sun was setting as it had an orange glow that flashed over the entirety of Ponyville.
The young alicorn looked outside the window, wondering where Absol could be right now. If the Pokedex says that they normally hide in the mountains, then surely he might be in any mountain located here in Equestria, biding his time and waiting for the next disaster to come up.
That one single thought about Absol actually made Twilight's head sting a bit. But not as much as the other times. In fact, this headache was tamer compared to the rest. Almost as a sign that it was calming down. Why that was the case was a mystery that Twilight couldn't solve.
Perhaps the mystery of Pokemon stretches far beyond than just appearances and capabilities. But it is that very mystery that gives the world of Pokemon it's distinct feeling as the journey continues.
On this day, both the younger and older ponies, are all outside instead of being indoors this time. Cynthia, the principal of the school was currently the only human with them at the moment, but the teachers were apart of this incoming activity that the ponies would be taking part in.
"Alright, my little ponies. Listen up. Because this can benefit every last one of you." Cynthia spoke. "Today, we'll have you all approach and interact with certain Pokemon in the right way. That includes all 18 Types."
"Approaching Pokemon? We already know how to do that though." Rainbow Dash whispered to Rarity.
"Not quite, Rainbow Dash," Cynthia replied as she made Rainbow shoot up in shock. "We're already aware of your current experience with Pokemon. Especially during the earlier days of our worlds crossing over. Your experiences were less than pleasant and safe. Some of you were put into mortal danger even."
"If only she knew..." Rarity shook her head.
"Which is why you will all be heading off to a forest filled with the 18 Pokemon types. Ranging from Dragon to Fairy."
"All of them?" Diamond Tiara spoke.
"All of them," Cynthia nodded. "I won't go into further detail about which Pokemon you'll encounter. All you need to know is that the teachers will be there as well. The Pokemon are bound to interact with you in various ways, but if things get a bit risky, the teachers will protect you."
"Um. All the Pokemon there are tamed, right?" Twilight asked.
"Some of them. Some belong to the teachers whilst others are just wild Pokemon." Cynthia said with a pleasant smile whilst the students were frozen with fear plastered inside of their heads. But from the way Cynthia was smiling, she knew something for sure.
"Oh." Twilight gulped.
"Wait. Are there really only 18 Types in total?" Starlight replied. "Is it possible that there might be more out there somewhere?"
"Well..." Cynthia looked up. "I'll just let the future decide that."
"Aw..." The students groaned as they were curious about the existence of more types that go beyond Dragon to Fairy.
"The goal of this lesson is that no matter what the Pokemon, big or small, you'll be able to tackle any of the 18 types in the near future, wherever and whenever. The vital thing to know is that every Pokemon behaves differently. Some in ways that no one would ever expect to encounter. How you react accordingly to these behaviours depending on the Pokemon is up to you."
"Oh, I think I get it." Fluttershy nodded. "It's a test of courage."
"Great deduction, Fluttershy. Now. You may all team up with fellow classmates and make your way towards the forest. You can find it just South from the Pikachu Highlands. Good luck. And if you spot a medal, grab it. There are many of them all over the forest."
And with that, they all scattered, finding and creating their own teams. Twilight and her friends stuck together as always whilst the Cutie Mark Crusaders did the same but with the inclusion of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
"A forest with all 18 Types? I'm surprised many of the Pokemon there get along," said Rarity.
"Well, it might be similar to the Pokemon House where even Dragons can get along with Fairies." Fluttershy smiled.
"Yeah, but you've got Krookodile keeping watch of the place. I bet some of them aren't really great pals at all." Rainbow Dash replied.
"In any case, with the number of experiences we've had with Pokemon, good or bad, I'm sure we can interact with them the right way," Twilight commented.
"Hope so. I'm a bit nervous around Ghost's if I'm being honest." Starlight scrunched her face.
With the teams gathered, they were all ready to set out towards the forest near Pikachu Highlands. But they weren't the only ones heading there.
The school's guidance counsellor, Jessie or Jessamine as she's now known as, the two janitors, James and Meowth, have decided to tag along but in secret this time.
"All of them? That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen." Jessie spoke as she and Team Rocket were hiding inside of the Canterlot Garden hedges.
"I wouldn't say that. You'd be surprised by how well opposites attract." James raised a finger.
"Yeah. I'm looking at the biggest example right here." Meowth shifted his eyes over at Jessie and James.
"If there's a load of Fairies there, just think about all of them that I can have!" Jessie began fantasizing about the Fairy Pokemon. One of her personal favourite types. "Not only will their beauty match mine...but I'll even have the chance to bring some of them to my contests!"
"Is that all you're thinking about?" James turned to her.
"And snagging them too, obviously. Don't you two have fantasies of certain types?"
"I'll be honest. Choosing a favourite is difficult. I have so many great memories with all my Pokemon." James remembered his Cacnea, Growlithe, Mime Jr, Mareanie, Carnivine and more. "I can't choose! All of them are special to me!" He was tearing up just thinking about them.
"Amateurs." Meowth scoffed. "It ain't about the type. It's about looks."
"You're one to talk. You'll go all googly eyes over any Pokemon that just looks pretty to you." Jessie shook her head.
"I'm a sucker for love! There's a bunch of gals out there who could be for me." Meowth began fantasizing about having a good time with a Gardevoir, Lopunny, Gothitelle, Purrloin, Alolan Ninetales, any Pokemon that just looks beautiful to him.
"Well, in any case, we'll have plenty to choose from when we get there! Let's get rolling!" Jessie and Team Rocket stood up from the hedges, almost getting caught by Cynthia.
"Wobbu-" Before Wobbuffet could finish his sentence, Team Rocket shoved him down as they all hid back in the hedges whilst Cynthia turned around, spotting no one.
The Forest located south of Pikachu Highlands. Also nicknamed Frenzy Forest due to there being a frenzy of Pokemon with various types around.
Due to the size of this forest, a large number of Pokemon could be found here with enough space for all of them to find a territory and spot of their own.
Once the students arrived at the forest, they could already feel an odd chill run through their bodies as something about this forest was screaming Unpredictable.
"I-Is it too late to back away now." A pegasus said.
"Alright, girls. I was thinking of which Type we should tackle first. Fire." Twilight said to her friends.
"Fire? Why Fire?" Applejack asked.
"Well, Fire's one of the more dangerous types due to you know...Fire. If we can get past them, then other types won't be a problem. Besides, I already have a Fire-Type of my own right here." Twilight looked over at her Ninetales.
"Tales!"
"I thought we would've gone for Dark or Poison-Types first." Rarity said.
"Eh...I'm a bit iffy around Dark-Types." Twilight rubbed her hoof, looking to the side. "They're still a bit off for me."
"Well, Fire ain't too bad." Applejack agreed with going for Fire-Types. "It's simple enough anyway."
"Um about simple...I was thinking we could've started with Normal-Types first." Fluttershy gave her own recommendation.
"Why Normal-Types? They're like the Toast-Sandwich of Pokemon." Rainbow Dash chuckled. "N-No offense, You guys. And Braviary too." She referred to Audino, Minccy, Castform and Spinda.
"Audino..." Audino narrowed her eyes at Rainbow Dash.
"Cinccino..." As did Minccy, but Spinda and Castform didn't mind it at all.
"I was thinking of going Normal too!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Normal may be simple, but simple is best."
"I honestly haven't decided on a Type myself." Rarity shook her head.
"Uh...I'm still not really well versed in Pokemon so..." Starlight shrugged.
"Okay. So some of us either have a type we want to see or we're just undecided." Twilight thought for a bit. "How about this. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. You two can go for the Normal Pokemon."
"Deal!" Pinkie wrapped her hoof around Fluttershy's neck.
"Applejack and I will take Fire."
"With ya already." Applejack went over.
"Rarity and Starlight, you two can go for whichever one you want."
"Great! I might learn a thing or two about types." Starlight squeed.
"And Rainbow Dash..."
"Meh. I haven't chosen yet. But...I do have some personal faves." Rainbow grinned.
"Then it's settled. Let's get exploring!" Twilight raised her hoof as the others did the same in unison, forming a perfect circle.
The lesson had begun.
For Twilight and Applejack, they set off to find some Fire-Types. The type they consider to be the most volatile of them all. Even more than Dragons.
The whereabouts of the teachers in the forest were currently unknown. But there was a guarantee that some of them were here somewhere. As for those shiny medals Cynthia mentioned, there was no sign of them anywhere. Not even a sparkle.
Twilight and Applejack had come across their first Fire-Type Pokemon which was also part Normal. They peeked their heads through a bush, spotting a Litleo and two Pyroars. The Litleo, they already knew of but the Pyroar's were new territory to them.
"Ooh. Who are those two?" Twilight took her dex out as she noticed that the two Pyroar's were different. One had a majestic and wide mane whilst the other had a longer one.
"Pyroar. The Royal Pokemon. Male and Female. The male with the largest mane of fire is the leader of the pride. In contrast, a female has a long mane and protects the cubs. A male Pyroar is usually lazy but will protect its friends at the risk of its own well-being. Pyroar viciously threatens any challenger with a fiery breath exceeding 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. However, it prefers its meat raw and does not use its breath on its prey."
"A Pokemon family? How cute!" Twilight squeed.
"S-Should we be getting close to something that eats anything raw?" Applejack gulped as the dex entry made her a bit cautious about Pyroar. "And what's with all these Fire-Types being hotter than the sun?"
"Come on. Let's greet them." Twilight was eager to meet the Fire family as she hopped out of the bush. Applejack tried to stop her but it was too late.
"Py?" The female Pyroar heard the sound of something coming out of the bushes nearby as she instantly turned her attention towards the direction of the noise.
Once turning her head, she spotted Twilight Sparkle, alongside her three Pokemon. The female was a bit defensive, especially when it comes to brand new faces.
As such, she got in front of her cub, growling at the pony and her Pokemon, forcing them to halt in place.
"Uh!" Twilight froze. "H-Hello."
"Pyroar...!" Pyroar's naturally view any other species as a threat or even food. The female was protective of her young Litleo cub, fearing that a stranger might come along and harm or even steal the little Pokemon.
"C-Cinccino..." Minccy hid behind Ninetales as she was intimidated by Pyroar's sharp eyes and teeth. Ninetales and Eve weren't as intimidated but they were cautious.
"Pyroar..." The Royal Pokemon stayed in one spot whilst the Litleo stood up, looking over at Twilight and the other Pokemon that had reached this territory.
"Litleo?"
"I don't think this is the right way to approach them..." Applejack whispered from the bushes.
"Probably...What do I do now?" Twilight spoke through her teeth.
"Don't approach too closely. Any mother's gonna protect their baby no matter what. Different circumstances trigger different behaviour. Try giving them lots of space first."
"A-Alright." Twilight took Applejack's advice as she held her breath in. The young alicorn slowly took one step back whilst her eyes were still clashing with Pyroar's.
"Py!" The female Pyroar could see that Twilight was moving away from her at a slow pace. A wise decision according to Pyroar. But she was still territorial and cautious.
The best option against a Pyroar is to not run. Not only are they fast and can cover a lot of ground in a few seconds, but even in the air, none of their prey are safe thanks to their endless access to Fire moves.
As Twilight continued to step back, the female Pyroar stopped snarling at her. But, she did mess around with them by doing a mock charge. By running forward, Twilight squealed as she hid inside of the bush.
That made the female Pyroar chuckle a bit as Twilight could see that Pyroar made her jump on purpose, getting a good laugh out of it. "Did I just get tricked by a lion...?"
"Sure did." Applejack giggled.
"Pyroar." The male Pyroar suddenly stood up, taking notice of this current situation. From what he could see, Twilight wasn't here to cause any harm to his family whatsoever. "Py." He told the female Pyroar that it was okay for them to approach. There was nothing to worry about.
"Lit! Litleo!" Litleo stood up on its hind legs as it was curious about Twilight and to an extent Applejack. This was its first time seeing a pony along with its family.
"Esp. Espeon." Eve could see that they were now inviting instead of territorial and cautious. The Sun Pokemon hopped out of the bush, making her way towards the Lion Cub Pokemon.
The female Pyroar kept her eyes on Eve. Just in case she tried anything funny. Her protective nature can rival that of even some of the most caring mothers out there in both worlds.
"Leo!" Litleo greeted Eve as it poked her on the nose as a sign of saying Hello. Although, Eve felt a slight burn on her nose.
"Eon!"
"I guess that means...we can approach them now," Twilight said as she stepped out of the bush. She noticed that this time, the female Pyroar wasn't immediately snarling, growling or narrowing her eyes at them, ready to attack. It just stood there alongside the male Pyroar.
Seeing that she wasn't getting defensive anymore, Twilight went over to the father and mother of Litleo whilst still feeling a bit nervous around them. "H-Hello. Nice to meet you."
"Pyroar." The male Pyroar greeted back at her. As did the female.
"Guess we're in the clear too." Applejack and her Grovyle came out of the bush next, feeling safer around this area now. They were greeted by the two Pyroar's as Grovyle and the rest of Twilight's Pokemon went over to Litleo.
"Leo!" Litleo was curious about Ninetales's many tails, so, being the adventurous Pokemon that it was, it jumped onto the Fox Pokemon's tails, feeling its soft yet mystical fur. "Lit!"
"Nine." Ninetales had heated his body, making his golden fur glow, just for Litleo.
Twilight's Cinccino tried to do the same, but when she got close, she immediately felt a powerful heat run through her body as she jumped back. "Cinccino!"
"Huh. I guess this is the right way to approach a Pyroar," said Twilight.
"Eeyup." Applejack nodded. "Principal Cynthia said that every Pokemon behaves differently. I took one look at the female and saw how defensive she got over that Litleo. Kinda reminds me of how I am when something happens to Apple Bloom."
"Ah... So is that how you were able to know what to say to help me?"
"Nope. That was just normal advice for when you come across a lion. Any lion really. Pokemon or not."
"Oh." Twilight paused for a moment. "Well, I think it's about time we got going. There are still other Fire-Types that act differently after all. Great meeting you two."
"Pyroar." The two Pyroar's nodded in understanding.
"Alright, you three. Let's go. We've got a lot more to cover." Twilight said to her Pokemon. Ninetales stopped glowing as he told Litleo they would be leaving now.
"Lit." Litleo rolled off Ninetales's tails, waving goodbye to him and the others.
With the first Fire-Type Pokemon done with, Twilight and Applejack have learned how to approach a Pyroar. Especially the females. The next time they come across another group of Pyroar's, they'll know what to do.
With Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, they were feeling extra confident about their pick. Normal-Types are common and appear practically everywhere no matter what.
A large majority of them are peaceful without having any hostile intent whatsoever. As such, they seemed easy to approach, however, there are some exceptions.
"Normal-Types are easy. You can make friends with them in an instant. Isn't that right, Spinda?" Pinkie said to her partner.
"Spin!"
"Although...it does seem odd that they have the most variety out of any other type." Fluttershy looked up. "Can they really be considered normal?"
"Ah, nothing's normal with Pokemon, anyway."
"Dino. Audino!" Audino picked up on the sound of two Pokemon as she pointed North.
"Oh! You found some Pokemon? Great Audi. Lead the way." Fluttershy uttered. Her partner led them to the area where she heard the two Pokemon.
In between some trees, they stopped to find a familiar and brand new Pokemon right in front of their very eyes. As they peeked whilst hiding behind the trees, they spotted a Tauros and Bouffalant staring each other down.
Bouffalant was the newest Pokemon they've seen, so Pinkie instinctively took her dex out for this. "Who's that?"
"Bouffalant. The Bash Buffalo Pokemon. Bouffalant's fluffy fur absorbs damage, even if they strike foes with a fierce headbutt. They charge wildly and headbutt everything. Their headbutts have enough destructive force to derail a train. Bouffalant with more hair on their heads hold higher positions within the herd. Bouffalant that betray the herd will lose the hair on their heads for some reason."
"Bouf!"
"Tauros!"
The two Pokemon with similar stature's were currently having a showdown between each other. As a sort of territorial encounter. Fluttershy could immediately tell from the way they were staring at each other.
"What are we waiting for? Let's approach em!" Pinkie Pie hopped out of the bush.
"W-Wait, Pinkie Pie!" Fluttershy gasped as she tried to stop Pinkie by grabbing her tail, but her bouncing strength was too great as Fluttershy ended up being dragged along.
Tauros and Bouffalant both charged at each other, kicking up some dirt along the way. They both reached impressive speeds as they stayed in one consistent line.
The Wild Bull Pokemon and the Bash Buffalo Pokemon smashed their heads into each other, generating seismic waves just from their collision. These waves were enough to tremble the surrounding area as the trees themselves were almost destroyed.
"W-Woah!" Pinkie could feel the waves as she stopped bouncing immediately. She almost lost her balance whilst Fluttershy shuddered at the mere tremor of these two heavy Pokemon butting their heads.
Bouffalant and Tauros were fighting for dominance as the two kept their heads against each other with one trying to push the other back.
They seemed to be evenly matched in strength as neither of them could 1UP each other. Due to their equal strength, they both knocked each other back, coming out of their clash as both Pokemon shook their heads.
They both went for another head charge with some extra power added into their charges this time as they yet again shook the area around them upon contact.
"They're fighting for dominance at the moment, Pinkie Pie. It's best that we don't approach them like this."
"Why not? If they're having a little contest, why don't we cheer them both on!" When she raised her voice, that prompted Tauros and Bouffalant to take notice.
"Uh..." Fluttershy raised her hoof, shaking her head aggressively. But it was too late. The two Pokemon had already been alerted as their eyes were now focused on the two ponies. From the way they were looking at them, it seemed like they found new objects to charge into. Which doesn't spell good news for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.
"Bouffa!"
"Taur!"
"Ehe-he-he...Hi." Pinkie laughed nervously, slowly waving her hoof.
Both Pokemon had put their battle on hold to focus on the two of them since they had interrupted what can essentially be seen as an important moment for the two.
They both scraped their hooves on the ground, getting ready to smash into the duo along with their Pokemon as well as the pink pony gulped.
"Pinkie Pie. Just stay calm." Fluttershy whispered. "If you make any hyper movements, they're sure to charge."
"O-O-Okay..." Pinkie Pie kept her body still as she didn't bounce, zip or do any of the usual speedy movements she's capable of since she didn't want to get thrashed by the two of them. "Now what?"
"The best way to approach them is with a gentle nature." Fluttershy walked out of the trees, gently making her way towards the two Pokemon.
Fluttershy had been spotted by Tauros and Bouffalant as well. However, they could see that she wasn't as hyper or fast-moving as Pinkie Pie. So they didn't think about charging at her.
Pinkie didn't move an inch as she just made her eyes follow Fluttershy's movements. She could see that Fluttershy could easily approach these two juggernauts without budging an eye. But more importantly, Bouffalant and Tauros didn't seem like they were planning on attacking Fluttershy at all.
Once Fluttershy got close to them, she placed her hoof on Bouffalant's soft and fluffy fur, which the Bash Buffalo Pokemon somewhat enjoyed.
"Lant!"
"See? If you approach the larger Pokemon, it's best to do it slowly and gently. Too many hyperactive and loud movements will startle them. They're not as playful as the smaller Pokemon."
"Oh. Okay..." Pinkie nodded as she slowly approached Tauros and Bouffalant.
"Taur." The Wild Bull Pokemon snorted at Pinkie Pie, causing her to freeze for a bit.
"D-Did I do something wrong?" Pinkie stammered.
"Not at all. Tauros is just being cautious." Fluttershy shook her head. "Isn't that right, Tauros?"
"Ros!"
"I'm surprised you can handle the bigger Pokemon so well, Fluttershy. The best I've gotten is a Beartic somewhere near Yakyakistan."
"Well, most Pokemon are similar to the animals in our world. They share similar traits, behaviours and even appearances at times. So it's not difficult for me to know what to do around certain Pokemon."
"Oooh...That makes sense." Pinkie Pie nodded.
"Tauros."
"Oh. You're about to continue your competition?" Fluttershy translated.
"Bouf. Bouffalant." Bouffalant nodded its head.
"Alright then. Let's give them some space." Fluttershy flew back, allowing the two Pokemon to finish what they started earlier.
As the two ponies stood back, they were now spectators of this little competition. Bouffalant and Tauros took their positions as they started charging into each other once more.
As they watched the Wild Bull Pokemon and Bash Buffalo Pokemon go at it, Fluttershy's Chikorita picked on a very alluring scent coming from the west.
"Chiko?" This scent was almost similar to that of honey. It was so alluring that the Leaf Pokemon felt enchanted and compelled to go over to it. She left Fluttershy presence, using her nose to track down wherever this honey scent was coming from.
"Hm? Chikorita?" Fluttershy took notice of her Pokemon suddenly wandering off. "Where are you going?"
The pegasus and her Audino followed the Leaf Pokemon whilst Pinkie kept her eyes on the duel. She found it amusing that whenever the two of them smashed their heads into each other, Bouffalant's fur jiggled and bounced a bit.
"You know, Flutter-" She turned around to face Fluttershy, but she was no longer there. "Fluttershy?" She looked, seeing that even her Pokemon weren't present at the moment. "Where'd she go?"
"Chiko...!" Chikorita's nose was getting closer to the scent of honey. She couldn't wait to taste it for herself since it was so enticing.
"Chikorita. What are you picking up on that's so-" It didn't take long for Fluttershy to finally obtain the scent of the honey. She could now see why Chikorita wandered off. The aroma was potent.
"Dino..." Even her Audino enjoyed the scent as well, feeling compelled.
The trio continued their way towards the location of the scent until they finally came across the main source of it all. A gigantic beehive. Not just any beehive, a beehive filled with an abundance of the Tiny Bee Pokemon Combee.
"Combee! Com!" An impossible number of them were flying about as they simultaneously flew out of the beehive, in search for more honey to bring to their leader.
"Oh, it's just some Combee searching for more honey. I'm not sure what type of honey they're gathering, but it smells amazing."
"Chikori." Wanting to taste it, the Leaf Pokemon approached the beehive carelessly. But Fluttershy picked her up, stopping Chikorita from advancing any further.
"Sorry, Chikorita. But we can't just taste their hard-earned honey. Not unless we get permission from the queen."
"Hey, Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie's voice travelled through the ears of Audino, Fluttershy and Chikorita. She was able to track them down by having Slurpuff pick up on their scent. "You three just ran off without saying a word. What's up?"
"Sorry, Pinkie. But Chikorita and now Audi and I picked up an enticing honey scent."
"Slur..." Slurpuff could see what Fluttershy meant as the Meringue Pokemon enjoyed the scent of the honey around this area.
"Honey?" Pinkie took a moment to pick on the honey herself. Once she did, her mind accelerated along with her senses. It was possibly the best honey her nose has ever come across. "Ooooh! That is enticing! Where can I taste some?!"
"From there." Fluttershy pointed her hoof over at the beehive. "But I'm afraid we can't. The Combee worked hard to get that honey and I'm pretty sure that the Vespiquen of this beehive wouldn't be too fond of us just tasting her honey without asking."
"Well, then why don't we just ask her? I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we get one lick." Pinkie approached the beehive, eager to taste the honey for herself.
She was expecting to see a Vespiquen here as the ruler, sitting on a throne, but instead, she was given a completely different result. There was indeed a Vespiquen but she was currently tied up by her own string.
"Q-Quen!" The Beehive Pokemon squirmed around, trying to free herself from the string as she wriggled on the ground. But it was no use.
"Uhh..." Pinkie Pie took a moment to process the ruler of the hive being tied up. But she was also curious about who could've done this.
The answer was revealed to her once she took her eyes off of Vespiquen. She looked ahead to spot four Pokemon keeping the honey for themselves.
Those four were 3 Nickit's and 1 Thievul. Pokemon that were completely new to Pinkie and Fluttershy since this is their first time seeing them.
"Who are you four?" Pinkie took out her dex.
"Nickit. The Fox Pokemon. Cunning and cautious, this Pokémon survives by stealing food from others. Aided by the soft pads on its feet, it silently raids the food stores of other Pokémon. It erases its tracks with swipes of its tail as it makes off with its plunder."
"Thievul. The Fox Pokemon. It secretly marks potential targets with a scent. By following the scent, it stalks its targets and steals from them when they least expect it. With a lithe body and sharp claws, it goes around stealing food and eggs. Boltund is its natural enemy."
"Did they overthrow the Vespiquen?" Fluttershy wondered. She noticed how they had some jars to place the honey inside. Most likely, they found a nearby jar and stole it.
"Vul. Thievul." Thievul had spotted Fluttershy and Pinkie, alerting the three Nickits. They were hoping that no one else other than the Combee would come in here and catch them in the act, but clearly, someone did.
"Nickit!" The Nickit's realized that they've been caught. So they used their tails to store the jar inside as they were ready to make a run for it.
"Quen! Vespiquen!" Vespiquen shouted at Pinkie and Fluttershy, telling them to do something already since she had been overthrown and betrayed by her own Combee thanks to the arrival of Thievul and Nickit.
"They overthrew and betrayed their own queen?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"What?! Nopony steals somepony else's tasty food like that!" Pinkie Pie growled. "Spinda, use Dizzy Punch!"
"Da!" The Spot Panda Pokemon jumped out of Pinkie Pie's mane, immediately taking action. A rainbow-coloured orb appears around Spinda's fist as she ran over towards the four Pokemon.
"Nickit!" The Nickit's responded to Spinda's attack by simply not attacking in the first place. Instead, they used Quick Attack to make their escape as they dashed the past the Spot Panda Pokemon, making her Dizzy Punch miss.
"Spin?"
"Thiev." As for Thievul, he used his tail to whack Spinda away, making his getaway as well.
"Chikorita, quick! Use Vine Whip!" Fluttershy commanded.
"Chiko!" Two green vines came from the bud necklace on Chikorita's neck as she sent them towards the four Pokemon. She only managed to grab two Nickit's by wrapping the vines around their tails. But the other Nickit and Thievul managed to escape.
"Ah! They're getting away!" Pinkie Pie yelled.
"Not for long. Audi! Toss Chikorita!"
"Dino!" Audino went over to the Leaf Pokemon, picking her up whilst the vines were still wrapped around the Nickit's. With all her strength, she tossed Chikorita like a baseball.
The Leaf Pokemon was soaring through the air whilst the Nickit's were dangling beneath her, screaming in fear as they were also along for the ride.
Thievul and the other Nickit looked behind them to see the incoming Chikorita heading straight for them like a missile as they both gasped.
"Chiko...Ri!" Chikorita then flipped herself over, slamming the other two Nickit's onto the backs of Thievul and the single Nickit. The impact caused them all to drop their jars of honey out of their tails whilst also forcing them to the ground.
"Thie!"
"Nick!"
"Nice shot." Pinkie was impressed by Audino's great throwing and Chikorita's precise aim. She had her Slurpuff remove the string from Vespiquen, finally freeing her.
"Ves...pi...!" Clearly, Vespiquen wasn't too chipper and jolly at the moment. The second she was freed, the Bee Hive Pokemon hovered over Pinkie, Fluttershy and the others as her eyes were glowing red.
Slurpuff slowly backed away as she didn't want to get in the way of Vespiquen's wrath. The Bee Hive Pokemon dashed through the air, setting her sights on Thievul and the Nickit's. The things she was going to do to them were unimaginable. But the situation would be worse for the Combee once they return.
"W-Wait!" Fluttershy got in the way of Vespiqueen's charging as she put her hooves up.
"Quen?"
"Let's not go crazy now, um your highness. Maybe attacking them isn't the best form of punishment." Fluttershy tried to reason with her.
"Vespiquen." She asked what would be a better alternative. Plus, she also wanted to deal with the Combee's when they return with fresh new honey.
"Maybe a punishment that's less physical?" Fluttershy squeed.
"Vespi..." Vespiquen thought about it for a moment. She could just obliterate them here with any of her Bug-Type moves. But since it was really the Combee that she was mad at, she would go a bit easier on the Nickit's and Thievul. But not by much. "Quen."
"Okay, good. I'm sure they won't come by and steal from your hive ever again. Right you four?" Fluttershy turned to them.
"N-Nickit!" They nodded aggressively as they didn't want to feel the wrath of Vespiquen. Not only that, but Chikorita intimidated them by keeping her vines around their necks this time.
"Thiev!" So did their ringleader.
"But uh...if you don't mind. You could side some honey our way, eh?" Pinkie Pie held out a jar, shaking it in front of Vespiquen's head.
"Quen!" The Bee Hive Pokemon slapped the jar out of Pinkie Pie's hoof, startling the earth pony.
"Goodbye, Vespiquen." Fluttershy waved over at her. "Good luck with your hive!"
"Vesp." Vespiquen gave her regards. Now that Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were gone, she had the four criminals all to herself. Even though Vespiquen didn't have a mouth, anyone could tell that she had a devious look on her face. The things she was about to do made the Pokemon shudder.
The lesson is currently ongoing with some ponies already finding ways to interact with Pokemon who behave differently. What Pokemon they might encounter and how they face them has many possible outcomes. For better or for worse as the journey continues.
The lesson on how to approach and interact with certain Pokemon continues. So far, the results have mostly been good for the students.
Whether it'd be a family of Pyroar's and Litleo, a Tauros and Bouffalant butting heads or a Vespiquen being betrayed by her own Combee's along with a group of Nickit's and a Thievul, this lesson has given the ponies new experiences so far.
Currently, with the CMC, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, they've ended up in an area in the forest full of Dragon-Type Pokemon. Of all the types they managed to bump into, it ended up being the most destructive Pokemon Type of them all.
"Oh! Look at all the Dragons!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she and her friends gawked at the sight of the Dragons.
From the ferocious Haxorus to the steel-hearted Kommo-o, the Dragon-Type Pokemon are majestic as they are dangerous. Not even size could bring them down. Even the smallest Dragons were fierce.
However, whenever a group of Dragon-Types are close to each other or in the same area, most of the time, they break out into fights. Similar to how Fighting-Type Pokemon battle each other to test their strengths, Dragon Pokemon take part in similar sessions but on the more destructive side.
But this time, they weren't battling each other for dominance. Instead, from what the girls could see, the Dragons were shuddering and silent. Which is unusual considering how fearless they are.
"Is it me or are they...shaking in fear?" Silver Spoon squinted her eyes.
"Hm? Dragon Pokemon? Shaking in fear? Yeah, right. Dragon-Types aren't afraid of anything." Scootaloo shook her head. "Are they?"
"They look pretty shaken up to me. What about this Pokemon?" Sweetie Belle went over to the Dragon Pokemon. The first one she approached was a Haxorus. She could see how Haxorus was staying completely still as if something had petrified it. She took out her Pokedex to see Haxorus's dex entry.
"Haxorus. The Axe Jaw Pokemon. They are kind but can be relentless when defending territory. They challenge foes with tusks that can cut steel. These Pokémon are covered in hard armour."
"H-Haxorus..." Haxorus shuddered.
"What's gotten them so scared?" Sweetie Belle wondered.
"I don't know. But it must've been something really big if they're all moving like this." Apple Bloom looked over at a Gabite that was curled up into a ball.
"Well, I'm sure it's not that big of a deal. Besides. This makes approaching them a lot easier than being sneaky about it." Scootaloo went up to the curled up Gabite.
"G-Gabite..." Once Scootaloo got close to the Cave Pokemon, Gabite immediately stood up, moving away from the young pegasus.
"Uh...okay," Scootaloo uttered, confused on why Gabite would be scared of her. In fact, when the girls approached each Dragon Pokemon, they all either backed away or just shuddered even further. As if they weren't allowed to make contact with them.
"Something's not right here." Diamond Tiara could tell that something was amiss. "There's somepony doing this to them."
"Like who?" Silver Spoon asked.
"Somepony so controlling that it has all the Dragon-Types acting differently. Which means that whoever it is, they've forced to stop acting like their true selves." Diamond Tiara answered.
"What, like, another Dragon?" Sweetie Belle turned to her.
"Worse. I think it's something much less intimidating than a Dragon. A Fairy."
"Oh yeah..." Scootaloo nodded. "Fairies are immune to Dragons. I can see them being afraid of that Pokemon Type."
"I still don't get how Fairies can beat Dragons..." Apple Bloom went over to a bush where a Bagon was hiding.
Just then, Apple Bloom noticed a pink glow coming from the deeper part of the forest. That mysterious glow met with Apple Bloom's eyes as her pupils suddenly transformed into hearts. Almost as if it was enchanting her.
The young-earth pony moved past Bagon, unable to resist this glow at all. She left her friends behind along with all the Dragon-Type Pokemon.
Bagon didn't even try to stop her. Because it knew of what was dwelling deep within the forest and what the pink glow was.
"I still don't see those shiny medals Principal Cynthia mentioned." Silver Spoon looked around. "Did you all find any yet?"
"Nothing. I thought I saw one earlier but that was just a Chingling reflecting off the sun." Scootaloo replied as she searched inside of tree stumps, but found nothing.
"It'd be funny if we came across a Pokemon that looks like a medal. Right Apple-" Sweetie Belle giggled as she was about to laugh in Apple Bloom's direction. But once the young unicorn turned her head, she noticed that her friend wasn't present at the moment. "Apple Bloom? Where'd she go?"
"Hm?" Hearing that grabbed the attention of Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. "Now they were aware of Apple Bloom's missing presence.
"Did she go ahead of us or something?" said Diamond Tiara.
"Hold on." Scootaloo went into her bag, taking out her Xtransceiver to contact Apple Bloom. By selecting her friend's number, she made the call, waiting for Apple Bloom to pick up her Xtransceiver.
But she never did.
And naturally, that kind of non-existent response can really make a friend worry. Which what the others did. With Apple Bloom missing, they were starting to panic a small bit.
"Okay...so she's not picking up." Scootaloo gulped. "No need to worry as Ash and Dawn say."
"Where could she be?! We didn't even hear her leave!" Silver Spoon screeched.
"Something's not right here for sure." Diamond Tiara bit her hoof. "Let's start searching. She couldn't have gone far."
Speaking of Apple Bloom, once she reached the deepest part of the forest where the pink glow came from, her senses were slowly returning to her.
But even with that, she was still far away from her friends and definitely all the other students for sure. Once she snapped out of it, Apple Bloom looked around her surroundings, seeing that she had lost herself.
"Huh?" Apple Bloom shot up with her pupils reverting to their usual look. "What happened? Where am I?" Dazed, confused and unsure of where she was, Apple Bloom was now a lone pony, separated from the students as she was in uncharted territory now. "Girls! Where are you?!" Even calling for her friends wouldn't work at all. It was just her.
Or at least, it seemed that way. Until an ominous yet familiar voice called for her. "Toge..."
That voice sent chills down her spine. It was an uncomfortable feeling that Apple Bloom wished she would never feel. The source of the voice wasn't too far away. In fact, it was closer than Apple Bloom thought.
By shifting her eyes to the side, from the corner, she noticed something in the shadows. As she squinted her eyes, the young earth pony took a moment to see who exactly was lurking in the shadows.
Instead of approaching it, the individual came out themselves, emerging from the dark parts of the forest. Lo and behold, it was none other than the demon in an angel mask.
Togepi.
"Toge-ge-Toge." She cackled.
"You?!" Apple Bloom gasped.
"Toge...Pi!" Topgei raised her arms, calling for her minions which she surprisingly had. Very soon, it was revealed why the Dragon-Types were terrified.
Because Togepi had them under her beck and call. Her minions were a Gabite and a Fraxure who stood beside, acting as bodyguards. They had no choice but to listen to her for obvious reasons.
One being the fact that she is a Fairy and two, she does have the power to charm anyone. Although they aren't really under mind control at the moment, they're just being threatened.
"I'm not up for this..." Apple Bloom shook her head as she backed up slowly, planning on getting out of this part of the forest and back to her friends.
Unfortunately, Togepi knew something like this would happen, so she had more minions. When Apple Bloom backed up, she bumped into a group of Fraxure's who prevented her from escaping. They didn't want to force Apple Bloom to stay here, but they had no other choice.
"Togepi..." Togepi grinned as she finally had a captive with her. Since Apple Bloom was from Ponyville and Togepi has a bone to pick with that town and its mayor, having one of its many citizens here gave Togepi many opportunities to get her revenge. "Ge! Togepi!"
Togepi commanded the Dragons to restrain Apple Bloom so that she doesn't try anything to escape. They all closed in on the young earth pony as she was corned from all sides. From the Fraxure's the single Gabite, it looked there was no escape.
"Uh...Uh..." She lowered herself on the ground, trembling in fear as she reached inside of her saddlebag. "Emolga, help!" Apple Bloom sent out her Emolga for assistance.
"Emol!" The Sky Squirrel Pokemon sensed the cry of its trainer as it immediately used Swift on the Dragons by spinning its body around to attack from all sides.
The Dragons gasped as stars came flying out of Emolga, forcing them to move away from Apple Bloom. "Thanks, Emolga! Carry me up!"
"Molga!" Emolga lowered herself whilst Apple Bloom raised her hooves, allowing the Sky Squirrel Pokemon to pick her trainer up from the ground. "Emol...!" Emolga struggled to lift her a bit but she had enough strength to pull through.
"Pi! Togepi!" Togepi wasn't about to let her hostage escape. She commanded all of the Dragons to knock Emolga out of the sky at once.
Each of the Dragons used Dragon Breath and Dragon Rage to try and force Emolga and Apple Bloom back down to the ground.
Swirling twisters of draconic energy and purplish-blue flames filled the air as the Sky Squirrel Pokemon used Double Team to evade the attacks.
All of them missed seemingly thanks to Emolga agile evasion as the Electric-Flying-Type managed to get some good distance away from Togepi and her minions.
In truth, the Dragons were barely trying to hit Emolga and Apple Bloom at all. Since they had no issues with them whatsoever, they pulled their punches and only put a little bit of effort in their attacks to try and convince Togepi.
But there was no convincing her. She could see that they were holding back. This enraged Togepi as she watched Emolga and Apple Bloom escape.
Frustrated and annoying, Togepi took her anger out on the Dragon Pokemon by shooting a Dazzling Gleam from her tiny little hands. Rays of rainbows were fired at the Dragons, causing them all to cower in fear.
"Togepi!" Togepi shouted at the Dragon Pokemon, telling them that they were pathetic excuses for Dragons since they couldn't bring themselves to harm a little girl and her partner.
The Spike Ball Pokemon would have taken matters into her own hands. Which involved heading out of the darkest parts of the forest.
Emolga and Apple Bloom landed safely on the ground, entering a new part of the forest. They were positive that they had escaped Togepi and the Dragons. But even still, Apple Bloom knew that there was a massive threat lingering around the forest.
"I gotta warn the others! Togepi knows we're here now!" Apple Bloom shouted. "Return, for now, Emolga." She returned Emolga to its Poke Ball.
However, now she had no idea which part of the forest she was in now. From her surroundings, she could see that there were a ton of Psychic-Type Pokemon. Meaning this was a Psychic area.
She wasn't sure how far away she was from her friends. But distance didn't matter right now as Apple Bloom set off to find the others and warm them.
Meanwhile, with Rarity and Starlight, they weren't searching for specific types like the others. They were just seeing which Pokemon they would end up bumping into along the way.
Starlight was especially nervous since she's not really an expert at approaching Pokemon. Not to mention her being a rookie to Pokemon in general.
Everypony else has had time to learn about Pokemon in many unique and different ways. At this point, they can be considered exceptional trainers, even if they still have a long way to go. Starlight, however, not so much.
She and Rarity came across two Pokemon they had never seen before. It was small, pink and looked like it had bat wings. This Pokemon matched the description of the Wily Pokemon Impidimp.
"That's a new face." Rarity took out her dex for this. "What can you tell us about this one, Dexter?"
"Impidimp. The Wily Pokemon. Through its nose, it sucks in the emanations produced by people and Pokémon when they feel annoyed. It sneaks into people’s homes, stealing things and feasting on the negative energy of the frustrated occupants."
"Dark and Fairy. That's a combination I thought I'd never see." Rarity said as she closed her dex. "But in any case, let's try and approach those two.
"S-Should we?" Starlight shuddered. "I'm not sure I'd get close to a Pokemon that steals and eats negative energy."
"No need to worry, Starlight. After all, this lesson is to help us interact properly with certain Pokemon and their behaviours. Even the mischievous ones."
"Yeah, I know..." Starlight shifted her eyes rapidly.
Rarity examined Starlight's facial expression. She could see that her fellow unicorn was actually very hesitant in not just approaching Impidimp, but possibly every Pokemon in this entire forest. "You're nervous, aren't you?"
"Me? Nervous?" Psssh..." Starlight tried to shrug it off, but she wasn't fooling Rarity. "No. Not at all...A little bit."
"Understandable. But something confuses me. You own a Hatterene which has an...interesting response to those who emote too much. You approached her the first time you two met, correct?"
"Not really." Starlight shook her head. "You see, Hatterene actually came to me instead. It was a... pretty interesting experience honestly." She laughed nervously. "Especially when I first met her when she was still a little Hatenna."
"I see. Well then. Just stay behind me at all times. I'll have my Pokemon here protect you as well."
"S-Sure, you can go ahead. Oh, but wait. Let me quickly call-" Starlight used her magic to grab her Xtransceiver, but came to find out that it wasn't there. And worst of all, Hatterene's Poke Ball was missing too. "Huh? What in the...?"
"What's wrong, Starlight?" Rarity turned around.
"It's gone." She looked inside her bag, seeing that there was nothing inside of it. "Both of them are gone!" She screeched.
"What's gone? What did you lose?"
"My Xtransceiver and Hatterene's Poke Ball! They're both gone!" She showed Rarity the inside of her bag as it was empty.
"Oh!" Rarity's eyes widened.
"I haven't taken anything out yet! Where did they-" Before Starlight could finish her sentence, she and Rarity heard giggles coming from the tree above them.
By raising their heads to follow the noise, the unicorns noticed that three Impidimps were standing on the tree, cackling and giggling. "Impidimp!"
But most importantly, from what Starlight and Rarity could tell that they were the reason why Starlight's Xtransceiver and Poke Ball had gone missing. Because they were in the hands of these three little troublemakers.
"My Poke Ball and Xtransceiver..." Starlight muttered under her breath by clenching her teeth. "You thieves!"
"Dimp! Impidimp!" The three of them blew their tongues out at her, only incurring Starlight's wrath. In response, Starlight used her magic to grab the trio of Impidimp's, forcing them down from the three as the purple unicorn narrowed her eyes at her. "Imp?!"
"Hand them over!" She ordered.
"Impidimp-dimp." Despite Starlight's raised voice and how she grabbed them each, the Impidimp's were simply laughing at her, seemingly unphased by Starlight's anger.
"Now, Starlight...Let's not do anything rash." Rarity tried to calm Starlight down. But it was soon revealed why the Impidimp's were laughing.
It turns out, the other two Impidimps that they had come across were already planning on stealing from Rarity as well when she wasn't looking.
And that's what they did. By using their small bodies and grubby little hands, they managed to open up Rarity's saddlebag without making a sound.
The other Imipidimp's snickered as they tried to not expose their teammates. But Rarity had seen a situation like this before. It wasn't new to her. As such, she turned her head around, catching the other two Impidimp's in the act.
"Aha!"
"Dimp?!" The two of them gasped as Rarity held them in place with her magic.
"Thought you could get the better of me, hm?" Rarity smirked as the Impidimp's were finally starting to get nervous.
Seeing as they had been caught red-handed. It was time for the next best option. Use Fake Tears to make them feel flustered.
All five of them suddenly broke into tears, crying at the top of their lungs as Starlight was indeed flustered, meaning that Fake Tears was working its magic. "Dimp! Impidimp!"
"Huh?!" Starlight pulled back. She didn't expect them to just start crying out of nowhere. Starlight hasn't really ever come across something like this before. "Oh, no-no! Don't cry! I didn't mean to shout!" She tried to calm them down. "Stop crying!"
"Impidiiiiiimp!" They increased the power of their crying, making Starlight feel bad in just a few seconds.
"Rarity, help me out here!" Starlight turned to her friend. But when she did, she noticed that Rarity was both unphased, undaunted and unamused.
She was so unamused that she looked down at the Impidimp's with a shadow casting over her face as her eyes could pierce through metal and even scare the toughest of Pokemon if they look into it.
"...Do you think I'm some sort of silly filly?" Rarity narrowed her eyes as the Impidimp's shuddered. "I know Fake Tears when I see them. Cut the act."
"I-Impidimp!" The Impidimp's were perplexed that Rarity was overpowering them like this. Their heist had come to a bust now.
"Those were Fake Tears? Looked pretty convincing to me," said Starlight.
"Put them back in. Now." Rarity ordered as her attitude was enough to make the Impidimp's listen to her every command.
"Dimp!" The Dark-Fairy-Types placed all of the items they stole back inside of their saddlebags. From the Poke Balls to the Xtransceivers, not a single thing was left behind or hidden.
"Good." Rarity closed her saddlebag as the Impidimp's all backed away from her.
"Wow, Rarity...You did that flawlessly..." Starlight was impressed. "With just a look and a few words?"
"Sometimes, there are certain Pokemon where you have no choice but to be strict on them. Much like how Fighting-Types enjoy strict trainers since it helps them develop more. Brawly taught us that."
"Ooh...So does this count as a way to approach a Pokemon?"
"I believe so. Come on then. Let's see if we can find those medals somehow."
Whilst they continue their lesson, Apple Bloom searches for her friends, trying to warn them about the presence of Togepi. All the while, her friends are also looking for her. But unbeknownst to the others, Togepi is on the move, ready to exact its revenge. But whether that revenge ends up succeeding is a mystery as the journey continues.
There are four situations currently ongoing. The first is the lesson of how to approach certain Pokemon, Apple Bloom searching for her friends to warn them about Togepi, her friends also searching for her, and Togepi who is currently on the loose.
How this all turns out is undecided. But more importantly, Rainbow Dash on her own, searching for a Pokemon that she's never seen before so that she can approach them, instead of just going towards any Pokemon like the others.
"I've already seen most of these Pokemon" Rainbow Dash yawned. "When am I gonna see something new and cool?
She was currently in an area with mostly Ground-Type Pokemon. Rainbow Dash had already seen the Pokemon here and gathered their information on her Pokedex. She wasn't aware of how differently some of these Ground-Types behave in different situations. She was just searching for a brand new Pokemon.
As Rainbow Dash continued walking, her hoof came in contact with something unexpected. She was right near some mud, and the moment her hoof stepped on it, something clamped onto her hoof.
"Ow!" She winced as she flew up. Rainbow Dash looked at her hoof, blowing at it to ease the pain. "What was that?!" By looking over at the mud, she could see that a Pokemon emerged from it.
That Pokemon being a Galarian Stunfisk, who had a cheeky grin on its face after catching Rainbow Dash off guard like that.
"Stun-Stun!" It laughed.
"A Stunfisk?" She took out her Pokedex for this different looking Stunfisk.
"Stunfisk. The Trap Pokemon. Galarian Variant. Living in the mud with a high iron content has given it a strong steel body. Its conspicuous lips lure prey in as it lies in wait in the mud. When prey gets close, Stunfisk clamps its jagged steel fins down on them."
"Yeah, well I wasn't lured in whatsoever." Rainbow closed her dex. She brushed Stunfisk's sneak attack off, even though she did, in fact, get caught off guard. "Maybe I should find Applejack and Twilight. They're searching for Fire-Types and those are always cool."
Believing that she could find new Pokemon in the form of Fire-Types, Rainbow Dash flew off to search for Twilight and Applejack.
But, her being in the skies made her find somepony else. That pony ended up being Apple Bloom who was worried and in search of her friends.
"Apple Bloom?" Rainbow Dash returned to ground level, approaching the young earth pony.
"Rainbow Dash!" Apple Bloom dashed over to her. "Trouble! Togepi! Lost! HELP!"
"Slow down!" Rainbow Dash shoved her hoof in Apple Bloom's mouth. "What was that part about a Togepi?" She removed her hoof.
"My friends and I came across an area full of Dragon-Type Pokemon! They were all acting weird and were afraid of something!"
"That something being...?"
"I think it's Togepi. Since she's a Fairy-Type after all."
"Is it the same Togepi that tricked us in Ponyville?" Rainbow Dash leaned forward.
"I think so." She nodded in response. "I'm trying to find the others and warn them but...I got lost."
"No need to worry. I'm here now." Rainbow patted her head. "I'll see if I can find them for you." She took out her Xtransceiver, selecting Scootaloo, trainer number as she made the call.
With Scootaloo, her Xtransceiver was ringing, prompting the little pegasus to pick it up and answer. "Rainbow Dash? Hello?"
"Scootaloo. You all doing okay?"
"Uh, yeah. We're fine. We're just looking for Apple Bloom right now. She just went missing all of a sudden."
"I'm fine. See?" Apple Bloom moved her face in front of Rainbow Dash's.
"Oh! That's a relief." Scootaloo sighed. "Where were you? You just up and vanished."
"Not sure. One minute I'm with you and the next I'm in some dark part of the forest."
"Did you see any new Ghost-Types there?" Sweetie Belle mushed her face next to Scootaloo, coming into view of the Xtransceiver screen.
"No. But I did see Togepi and a bunch of other Dragon-Types. Might be the same Togepi that came to Ponyville?"
"That one? Eugh, I remember her." Scootaloo winced.
"That would explain a few things..." Diamond Tiara nodded. "She's probably the reason why the Dragons are acting like this."
"She's somewhere in this forest now. I think Togepi might be coming for us now that she knows that ponies are here." Apple Bloom gulped.
"Ah, it's not that big of a problem. We'll just thrash her if we bump into her." Scootaloo brushed it off.
"About that..." Apple Bloom clenched her teeth, looking to the side. "That part about...a bunch of other Dragon-Types. They're...working for her."
"Oh." Scootaloo's eyes widened. "That's a big problem then."
"Where are you all even? We'll come to you." Rainbow Dash asked.
"We're at uh..." Scootaloo looked at her surroundings, seeing that she and the others were at an area for Water and Grass-Type Pokemon. "Someplace with a bunch of Water and Grass Pokemon."
"Alright. We'll be there in no time." Rainbow Dash reassured as she hung up the call, turning off the Xtransciever. "Hop on, Apple Bloom."
"Okay!" Apple Bloom hopped on Rainbow Dash's back. Due to her earth pony strength, Rainbow Dash's bones trembled a bit.
"Mmmrph!" She scrunched her face, trying to shrug the pain off. "O-Okay. Let's go. Ow...!" As Rainbow Dash took to the skies, the duo set off to find Scootaloo's group.
With Team Rocket, they're here to find themselves their own Pokemon. And of course, snag some of the students' Pokemon but more importantly their own.
Jessie desires Fairies, Meowth seeks good-looking Pokemon whilst James is just content with whatever kind of Pokemon he comes across. But so far, Jessie and Meowth haven't really come across any Pokemon that they prefer. But James certainly has.
"Seeing this Cacnea reminds me of my own." James kneeled to look at a Cacnea. "Ah, the memories..."
"Cac!" The Cactus Pokemon enjoyed James's positive energy. So as a response, it latched itself onto James's face with its spiky body. "Nea!
"Aaagh!" James screamed in pain as he held Cacnea, trying to get it off him.
"Yeah, well don't get too attached. There has to be a Fairy spot around here somewhere." Jessie looked around. "Meowth, get digging."
"I ain't digging through all of this. My paws are too pure to get dirty." Meowth held his paws up along with his sharp claws.
"Oh, don't start complaining. You've gotten them dirty when the moment calls for it. And the moment is now!" Jessie picked up Meowth. "Learn Dig!"
"It doesn't work like that!" Meowth shouted back at her. "James, help me out here!"
"Bit occupied right now!" James still had Cacnea on his face.
Team Rocket's constant babbling and yelling grabbed the attention of every Pokemon here. But more importantly, it also grabbed the attention of the two ponies who had ended up arriving here. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.
"Hm? Isn't that the school's Guidance Counsellor Jessamine?" Fluttershy spoke.
"And the janitors too. They look like they're having fun!" Pinkie exclaimed.
Her shouting ended up reaching the ears of Team Rocket as they paused for a moment. By turning their heads, the spotted Pinkie and Fluttershy standing before them as they were hoping their cover hadn't been blown.
"Twerpettes!" They thought to themselves in unison.
"Are you three here for the lesson as well?" Fluttershy went over.
"Uh..R-Right!" Jessie nodded nervously. "We're here looking for Pokemon ourselves that's for sure! For me personally, it's the wonderful Fairy-Types!"
"Oh! But wait...why are the janitors here?" Pinkie asked.
"Same reason!" Jessie squeezed Meowth's face as the Scratch Cat Pokemon groaned. "We can't wait to catch some of our own!"
"That's great. What kind of Pokemon do they want?" Fluttershy flew up.
"A beauty's for me. And nothing else." Meowth nodded his head.
"I'll take anything! Cacnea please!" James was still trying to get Cacnea off his face. Fluttershy went over to help him as James was finally free. "Oh...thank you."
"If you're looking for some Pokemon, we can help out. Right Fluttershy?" Pinkie Pie offered.
"Sure!" Fluttershy nodded. "But um...Won't it get in the way of our lesson?"
"Pssh! Nah!" Pinkie flailed her hoof. "It'll be fine. Besides, it counts as teachers being beside us too!"
"Then it's official!" Jessie dashed over, placing her arms around Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. "Let's get searching!"
"Okay!" Pinkie Pie shouted with her as they all raised their hooves, arms and paws along with their Pokemon.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Cacnea!" And Cacnea was along for the ride since it was attached to James.
Their combined shouting was loud enough to reach all the way over to the nearest group of students. That being Twilight and Applejack who were still on their Fire-Type search.
"Did you hear that?" Twilight looked up.
"Hear what?" Applejack responded.
"Nevermind. Do you see any new Fire-Types yet?"
"I saw something over there." Applejack pointed west as her hoof was facing a hill located in the forest. "Looked all mystical."
"Mystical you say?" Twilight looked up at the hill. "Think it might be a Psychic or Fairy-Type?"
"Wanna find out?"
"100%" Twilight was already up for it as the two agreed on checking it out. Even if it was unknown what was really located up that hill.
Whatever was up that hill may be a mystery, but what was just as mysterious was how when Twilight and Applejack advanced further up, the grass itself was somehow whispering in their ears by flowing with the wind. The words were hard to pick up on, but the two of them knew that somehow, it was speaking to them.
"Did the grass just talk to us?" Applejack whispered.
"I heard it too. Maybe there's a Pokemon that can do that. Or maybe, the Pokemon is the grass itself!" Twilight looked down on the grass, but that wasn't the case. "No nevermind."
As they continued walking, Applejack noticed that behind them, the view of the lower part of the forest was getting smaller all of a sudden. "Uhh...Twilight." Applejack nudged Twilight's tail. "Look."
"Hm?" Twilight responded to Applejack, by facing her direction. She too had seen how the area they were previously at had shrunk out of nowhere. "What is this?!"
"No clue. Something ain't right about this forest..." Applejack rapidly moved her eyes around as she was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable but not by much.
"Which is exactly why we need to see what else it has to offer!" The young alicorn was feeling adventurous as she continued up the hill. Applejack, however, wasn't too sure about this, but she went along with it anyways.
Their walking had finally led them to something new. Once they reached the top of the hill, their eyes were gifted with two sights.
The first one was long overdue. A teacher had been found. It was none other than Olympia. The Anistar City Gym Leader and one of the higher-level teachers.
And the second sight was a wooden hut with fire surrounding it. Olympia was currently looking inside of the hut, despite being very close to the fire.
"Ms Olympia?" Twilight said. That prompted Olympia to turn around and face the students and their Pokemon.
"Ssshh." Olympia hushed her as she wanted them both to stay quiet for a moment. She looked back inside of the hut, continuing to spectate whatever was inside.
This piqued the curiosity of Twilight and Applejack so they had to see this for themselves. Once they looked inside the window of the hut, they found the reason why this part of the forest was so off.
That was because a Delpox lived here. This hut belonged to her. Delphox was a new Pokemon to them, but they recognize it as a part of the Fennekin evolution line.
"Is that Braixen's final evolution?" Twilight said quietly as she took out her Pokedex.
"Delphox. The Fox Pokemon. It gazes into the flame at the tip of its branch to achieve a focused state, which allows it to see into the future. Using psychic power, it generates a fiery vortex of 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit, incinerating foes swept into this whirl of flame."
"Delphox..." Delphox was currently waving her branch around, conjuring a spell on another Pokemon that was present inside of the hut with her. A Kecleon. A spiral of purple magic surrounded the Color Swap Pokemon as it stood very still, making sure to not move at all.
"What's it doing...?" Applejack narrowed her eyes.
"She's trying to focus on her spell right now with all her magic. It's best not to interrupt at the moment." Olympia replied.
"Magic? But I thought Psychic-Types use their mind instead of magic." Twilight looked up at Olympia.
"Most of the time, the mind is the source of a Psychic-Type's stellar power. However, there are certain Pokemon who require magic to be able to perform amazing feats. Such as the Fairy-Types."
"K-Kecleon..." Kecleon closed its eyes, waiting for the spell to be over.
"Phox!" Delphox had finally found enough focus to initiate her spell. The spell that had been cast on Kecleon was a Projection spell.
She had managed to show Kecleon it's potential Mega Evolution form by just affecting its genes. Since every Pokemon can potentially Mega Evolve, Delphox was able to bring out what Kecleon could achieve one day.
"This Delphox helps other Pokemon see their future and what they can strive and achieve. Mega Evolution is considered the peak of a Pokemon's power after all. And some Pokemon wish to break past their natural limitations." Olympia explained.
"Oooh..." Twilight gawked. "You think Delphox would do the same for my Pokemon as well?"
"You might have to ask her then. Delphox is a welcoming Pokemon so you will have nothing to fear whatsoever."
"You sound like you've been here before, Ms Olympia." Applejack said.
"But I have been here before. The same goes for other Gym Leaders in our world. We all come to this forest for our own reasons. Mine is to help the Psychic Pokemon here, much like how I help trainers who have Psychic abilities in my gym."
"You teach trainers with Psychic abilities?" Twilight was stunned. "Tell me more...!"
"The Anistar City Gym is also a school for Psychics as well. To help them reach their full potential alongside their Pokemon. You could say that I am a teacher of two schools."
"In that case...do you think the same applies to my Espeon?" Twilight picked up Eve.
"Esp."
"It does," Olympia responded immediately with a nod. "I've already foretold your future, Twilight Sparkle. Your Espeon may not look like it, but she has a promising future." Olympia rubbed Eve's neck.
"Eon..."
"Really?!" Twilight squeed. "That's great! So, one day, could you teach me and Eve to grow together?"
"Sure. You won't even need to advance in the Pokemon School. Eve and you can come to me at any time and I will help you both unlock your full potential."
"I can't wait!" Twilight had a wide grin on her face. "Oh, right. I almost forgot about Delphox."
Finally remembering about Delphox, Twilight and Applejack entered the hut, coming face to face with the Fox Pokemon at last. And what Olympia said was true. Delphox is a welcoming Pokemon who didn't mind any newcomers in her hut. Although, she does read their mind and determines if they are good or bad.
"Del." The Fox Pokemon greeted them.
"Esp."
"Uh...Hello, Delphox." Twilight greeted her. "Nice place you've got here."
"Phox." Delphox suddenly held her branch out, pointing it at Twilight. The young alicorn was unsure of what Delphox was planning to do with her branch as she froze for a bit.
Out of Delphox's branch, an instant flash of light zoomed forward, passing through Twilight. "Huh?" Twilight gasped as she had just reacted to the zap.
The magic from within Delphox's branch had outlined Twilight's body in a purple light as the Princess of Friendship could feel something about her body change. In fact, it was changing physically. "W-What's happening?!"
"T-Twilight?" Applejack and the Pokemon backed up as they witnessed their friend suddenly change right in front of their very eyes. But Olympia and Delphox remained calm throughout all of this.
Then, the spell had been revealed to be a transformation spell. But Twilight didn't turn into anything unexpected that she's never seen before. In fact, this transformation was something she has experienced more than once.
Her body got taller, her hooves became slender and her wings and horn vanished. To Applejack and the Pokemon, this looked like body horror.
And after that, a flash of light filled the hut, giving a small light show in the mix. Twilight's transformation had been revealed to her friends.
She had been transformed into a human.
But not just any human. It was the appearance of her other form when she passes through the mirror to enter the alternate Equestria where Sunset Shimmer resides.
Delphox had managed to bring out that specific form of Twilight without even being to the other world herself.
"Oh." Twilight looked at herself, recognizing this look. "She turned me into this?!"
"Ha-hauuuuugh" Applejack was speechless as she backed up with her hooves shaking uncontrollably. She sat down on the floor as she didn't know what to make of this. "T-Twilight?"
"Hello." The human Twilight grinned. That prompted Applejack to scream in horror as her mouth was wide open, almost as wide as an Exploud. "It's okay. I had the same reaction as you when I saw myself like this."
"You'll have to forgive Delphox." Olympia walked inside. "She tends to astonish newcomers most of the time."
"Phox." Seeing that Applejack was breathing in and out uncontrollably, Delphox decided to return Twilight to normal by zapping her once more, restoring the young alicorn.
Applejack stopped hyperventilating as Grovyle held her up to prevent her from fainting. "Gro."
"Psychic-Types sure are something. I wonder what else they can do?" Twilight looked at her hooves.
"Much more than you can ever imagine, my little pony. Allow me to give you a demonstration of what us humans are capable of with our minds." Olympia held her hand out, ready to showcase the extent of her Psychic capabilities.
She did this by generating a vibration wave that was strong enough to lift the entire hut and most of the trees surrounding this part of the forest and even beyond. Applejack felt wobbly as Twilight flew up whilst Delphox remained calm.
Soon, before they knew it, the hut was in the air whilst Olympia remained perfectly still. With just a single hand she could lift an entire hut and hard-rooted trees from the ground as if they were feathers.
Olympia returned the hut and trees down, placing them perfectly in their positions as the trees had been rooted once more as if they had never been removed in the first place.
To say that Twilight and Applejack were shocked would be an understatement. Before, they had only known a few things about what humans were capable of compared to Pokemon.
They knew that Pokemon and humans used to be one in the same once. They're aware of the existence of Aura and how it links to everything, Dragon trainers having a strange mystical connection with Dragon Pokemon and even the knowledge of humans having psionic capabilities.
But now with what Olympia displayed, the possibilities of what humans are capable of are seemingly endless in the eyes of Twilight and Applejack.
"Impressed?" Olympia smiled.
"Uh-huh." The two of them nodded in unison. They sure were impressed after something like that.
"There is a lot more for you all to discover when it comes to us humans. But for the time being, your lesson must continue. Take this." Olympia used her telekinesis to bring over an object that was laying on Delphox's table.
This object is what Cynthia mentioned during the brief today. Of how there were medals scattered across the forest in certain areas. And that's exactly what Olympia managed to bring over.
"One of the medals?" Twilight held her hoof out as the medal was placed on top of her hoof. "Thank you so much, Ms Olympia."
"You're very welcome. Now run along. Your lesson time is limited after all."
"Right. Come on, Applejack. There might be some more Fire-Type's we've yet to discover like Delphox!" Twilight ran out of the house whilst Applejack and her wave goodbye.
"And I will be waiting for our Psychic lessons one day. Twilight Sparkle."
All seemed fine and dandy with Twilight and Applejack. And the same can be said for most of the groups. But of course, with the presence of Togepi, that wouldn't last much longer.
And speaking of Togepi, she brought along some of the Dragon-Type Pokemon she had at her beck and call since she knew that even with her cunning and sly tactics, she couldn't conquer alone. She is still a baby Pokemon after all.
Knowing about how there were ponies in this forest now had made the Spike Ball Pokemon find brand new opportunities for her plans. Originally, Togepi was planning on just overtaking this entire forest when she first came here.
So far, only the Dragon Pokemon have submitted to her. She plans to conquer the other types eventually as she continues to bide her time. But with the ponies being present here, time can wait as she had a score to settle with them.
Mainly the Ponyville ponies. Togepi's has two rivals in her life. Brock's Happiny and Mayor Mare. One has matched her in strength whilst the other has defeated her.
Since Mayor Mare is the mayor of Ponyville, Togepi came to a brilliant conclusion that could benefit her and grant her revenge against Mayor Mare, even if she wasn't here.
Her main plan was to kidnap all of the ponies who come from Ponyville and hold them hostage until Mayor Mare takes notice. What she does next with the ponies, she already had many ideas swirling inside of that sinister mind of hers.
Lucky for Togepi, she didn't have to search for hours, since she had already found her first victims in the form of two students who were completely oblivious to what was approaching them.
Togepi was going to enjoy this as she ordered the Dragon Pokemon to capture them as she threatened them all with Dazzling Gleam.
As Togepi went on with her wicked business, the sounds of ponies screaming could be heard from across the forest due to the Dragon Pokemon approaching them.
Those screams alerted most of the students here as they had chills run through their spines. They were positive that scream meant that somepony had ended up in a bad situation, but they weren't sure how.
The one individual who heard this the most was Audino who stopped to look around after the scream. "Dino...?" The Hearing Pokemon sensed it coming from the North from what her ears could tell. "Audino!" Audino pointed North.
"So it was North, was it?" said Fluttershy.
"Should we head over and check?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"No way. Anyone knows that if you hear a scream like that in a forest, it's a clear red flag and a sign to not go towards the sound." Jessie shook her head.
"Mhm." James and Meowth nodded in agreement.
"What if somepony's in danger?" Fluttershy bit her hoof. "It could be one of our friends!"
"I ain't going near whatever's over there," Meowth spoke.
"Well...Principal Cynthia did say that the teachers were here. So I guess there's nothing to really worry about." Pinkie thought about it for a moment.
"Right. Now, let's get moving. That suns looking a bit tired." Jessie looked over at the sun. "Come to me my precious Fairies!"
They chose not to investigate the source of the sound even if it did sound a bit ominous. They left it up to the teachers but so far, only one of them has been identified, Olympia.
One group, however, did decide to investigate. That being Rainbow Dash's group. She and Apple Bloom finally met up with Scootaloo's group, reuniting Apple Bloom with her friends.
However, their reunion was cut short after the sounds of the pony screaming reached their ears. They suspected it had something to do with Togepi since she was present in this forest.
As such, they knew that Togepi had to be stopped or else the outcome of this lesson might be vastly different from what they were all expecting. Rainbow Dash took charge, making sure that the fillies wouldn't be harmed in any way as she was up in front.
"I think it came from down there." Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof over at a sloped hill in the forest that leads to another area.
"Should we really be checking this out?" A nervous Silver Spoon wasn't so sure about this. "I mean...I wouldn't want to mess with Togepi after what happened the first time she came to Ponyville."
"It's fine. Besides. Togepi by her own isn't that tough. She needs lackeys to get where she is." Rainbow Dash advanced towards the slope as she put her hoof in her saddlebag, ready to send out of any of her Pokemon. "We'll make quick work of her."
With Rainbow Dash ready to tackle Togepi head-on, if she was there, the fillies stayed behind her, anticipating the Spike Ball Pokemon's appearance.
At the nearby bush, there was indeed someone there as it was rustling. They expected it to be Togepi herself as Rainbow Dash was oh-so ready to just unload on the Fairy-Type the moment she pops out while the others shuddered and quivered.
But, it was soon revealed that it wasn't Togepi. It was just a Venonat.
"Veno!"
"Ugh..." Rainbow Dash lowered her head whilst the others let out sighs of relief. "Just a Venonat."
"You know just for safety measures...I think I'll call Ash." Silver Spoon took out her Xtransceiver, searching for Ash's trainer number.
"You don't have to." Rainbow Dash said as that made Silver Spoon pause. "Ash told us that he's not gonna be there all the time to protect us from any Pokemon issue. We gotta protect ourselves now."
"Mhm." Sweetie Belle agreed with that by nodding. "Besides, he taught us some pretty neat tricks to help us in battle. What did he teach you two?" She asked Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara.
"Uh..." Diamond Tiara rubbed the back of her mane. "We're not really the battling type. Just like you Sweetie Belle, I'm only in it for the Pokemon contests but I don't have any battling experience."
"Me neither." Silver Spoon shook her head. "You won't see me pulling off any crazy antics with my Pokemon, that's for sure."
"Well, when we get back, I can have Ash teach you some tricks. He's always got something new." Rainbow Dash offered. Just as she said that she heard another rustle coming from up ahead.
Rainbow Dash assumed it was just another Venonat or random Pokemon that was lurking inside of it. But lo and behold, the Pokemon that popped out of the bush ended up being a Fraxure.
Seeing Fraxure made Scootaloo and the others freeze for a moment. If Fraxure is here, then that means she is here too.
Emerging from the shadows with her Dragon minions was the conniving and controlling Togepi who had finally found more Ponyville residents to hold captive for her own personal gain.
"Toge-Toge!"
"Togepi!" Rainbow Dash growled as she took out her Poke Ball, ready to confront the Fairy-Type since she already knew how dangerous she was.
"There she is...She's still so cute yet cruel at the same time." Diamond Tiara winced.
"Yeah...Kinda reminds me of somepony." Silver Spoon replied as she was referring to Diamond Tiara, who turned around, with an unamused face. "Kidding!"
"I'll make quick work of you! Braviary!" She tossed her Poke Ball up, sending out her ace Braviary to handle Togepi.
"Braviary!"
"Togepi...!" But Togepi remained calm. She let out a devious grin, knowing that she was about to get the jump on Rainbow Dash and the others.
Togepi didn't just come with smaller Dragon-Type Pokemon like Gabite and Fraxure. This time, she brought the heavy hitters.
Right behind Rainbow Dash's group, a large shadow had been cast over them, prompting them all to take their focus away from Togepi. As they turned around, they found out that Haxorus was right behind them.
"Haxo."
The fillies screamed whilst Braviary flew in front of them, facing Haxorus. "Viary!"
"Toge!" Togepi gave the command to capture them all and restrain them as all the Dragon-Types listened to her every command, even if they didn't want to.
"Haxo!" The Axe Jaw Pokemon spread its arms out, going for a grab. However, like all of the Dragons here, Haxorus was holding back its strength. After all, Haxorus are kind Pokemon unless they're defending their territory. So it had no qualms with the group or Braviary.
And Braviary could see that. Being a Pokemon that had a brave disposition, the Valiant Pokemon understood Haxorus's reason for holding back as he and the Axe Pokemon looked each other in the eye.
As for the other Dragon Pokemon, they were yet again holding back, trying not to harm the ponies whatsoever. But with Togepi threatening them, they had to do it. Togepi has each of the Dragon Pokemon whipped. And with a powerful Pokemon-Type on her side, her revenge might end up causing mass destruction one day as the journey continues.
Frenzy Forest, 2 hours left until the lesson ends.
Togepi currently has Rainbow Dash's group surrounded with Dragon Pokemon that bend to her will. Her revenge against the residents of Ponyville and to a larger extent, Mayor Mare, her archnemesis, begins now with this powerful Pokemon Type at her side.
Braviary was out to defend them as he looked Haxorus in the eye. This Haxorus, like all the Dragon Pokemon here, was hesitant to harm the ponies for no reason, and Braviary could see that.
"Toge!" Togepi ordered them to grab and restrain the ponies as the smaller Dragons such as Gabite and Fraxure moved in but at a slow pace. Togepi, frustrated at how they were moving so slowly and barely even trying, shot a small Dazzling Gleam at their feet, prompting them to speed up.
"Brav!" Braviary and Rainbow Dash looked at each other in the eye as they knew what to do in this scenario.
For a split-second, the two of them went into Rainbow-Braviary as a pillar of rainbows came down from the skies above. The force of the pillar engulfing them both was strong enough to force the Dragon-Types back as they didn't want to get caught up in the field of multi-coloured energy.
"Toge?!"
With Rainbow-Braviary being summoned, the Valiant Pokemon grabbed his trainer and the fillies as he moved at quicker speeds thanks to the transformation.
Braviary took the skies, as he was just a blur now, difficult to keep up with as the other Dragon Pokemon could only see a stream of rainbows fly by. All except for Haxorus.
"Good job, Braviary!" Rainbow Dash said whilst being in her Pokemon's wings along with the fillies. "Now! Use Steel Wing on Togepi!"
"Viary!" By holding his right wing out, he let Rainbow Dash go. The right wing had hardened up, glowing white as Braviary flew down towards Togepi whilst also carrying the fillies with his left wing.
"Toge!" Togepi decided that since the Dragon Pokemon were acting like a bunch of Slowpoke's, she would have to do all the dirty work. The Spike Ball Pokemon hopped on Haxorus's head as she looked up at the Valiant Pokemon with a grin.
Togepi knew that there was no way that she was stopping Braviary head-on since he's vastly stronger than her. So instead, she decided to go for the one trick that works most of the time.
Attract.
"Togepi!" Togepi waved her arms at Braviary, releasing yellow hearts from its body at it in hopes of controlling Braviary.
"We're not falling for that!" Rainbow Dash moved with Braviary's body in unison as the Valiant Pokemon flew under the hearts, avoiding them without an issue.
"Toge?!" Seeing that her Attract missed, Togepi hopped off Haxorus's head and hid behind the Axe Jaw Pokemon.
Steel Wing ended up colliding with Haxorus's instead of Togepi. However, the Valiant Pokemon held back against Haxorus's making sure to not harm him.
"H-Haxo!" The Axe Jaw Pokemon winced.
"Toge!" Togepi was a bit intimidated by Rainbow-Braviary as she ran over to the other Dragon Pokemon. "Togepi! Toge!" She ordered them all to attack Rainbow-Braviary instead since it was the biggest threat here.
Hesitant, the Dragon-Types all let out weak and pathetic Dragon Breaths from their mouths. Togepi held out a Dazzling Gleam and threatened to blast them all with it. Terrified of that, the Dragon's put some extra Oomph to their Dragon Breaths.
"Blow it away!" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings. That motion prompted Braviary to do the same with his wings. He flapped them so hard with such power that it created a pressure of wind that blew in the opposite direction. The Dragon Breaths had all been blown away along with the smaller Dragon-Types that were beside Togepi.
"Toge?!" Togepi watched as the Dragon-Types had been sent flying by Braviary just simply flapping his wings, demonstrating just how powerful he really is in this form.
And now, Togepi was getting a bit nervous. She was essentially going up against an unstoppable force at this point. If only Haxorus could comply. Even if she were to use Attract, Haxorus was smart enough to close his eyes.
In fact, that's the main reason why the Dragon-Types haven't submitted to Togepi yet. They all closed their eyes when they first came across Togepi's Attract.
Braviary landed on the ground, still having Steel Wing active as he approached Togepi with a steely-eyed look in his eyes that were strong enough to intimidate even the cruel Togepi.
"Braviary...!"
"T-Toge?!" Togepi winced as she backed up whilst Braviary's shadow cast over him. "Togepi!" She tried calling for Haxorus, but the Axe Jaw Pokemon simply stood there, as he decided not to do so. "Togepi!" Togepi called him a Worthless Dragon as she growled at Haxorus.
"Hax?!" Haxorus actually took that to heart as he curled up into a ball, trying to forget what Togepi said to him.
"Game over, Togepi." Rainbow Dash landed down as she and fillies approached the Spike Ball Pokemon. "Guess your little forest takeover flipped upside down since we came here."
"Yeah!" Scootaloo blew her tongue at Togepi.
"Pi..."Togepi!" Seeing that she was now outnumbered on her own, Togepi decided to do the most obvious action next. Make a run for it.
She did so by using Dazzling Gleam. Togepi let out a bright light that was blinding to the eye as Braviary covered his eyes with one wing whilst also using the other to cover Rainbow Dash and the fillies' eyes.
Once the light faded away, they could see that Togepi was gone. She had made her getaway.
"Ah! She got away!" Apple Bloom groaned.
"Leave it. She's not worth the chase." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Good job Braviary."
"Brav." Braviary nodded as he returned to his normal state.
"Hm?" Due to Braviary's flapping from earlier, Sweetie Belle had spotted something that caught her eye. An object had been forced out of the bushes by Braviary's wind pressure. That object ended up being one of the many medals that Cynthia mentioned. "Oh, look!" Sweetie Belle used her magic to grab the medal.
"Oh, finally." Rainbow Dash and the others turned to her. "I was thinking they weren't here."
"Do we only need one?" Sweetie Belle hung it on her nose.
"Yeah, I think one is good. Besides, I've still got a lot of Pokemon to see." Rainbow Dash was ready to continue with her search until Haxorus grabbed her attention by walking up to her and the fillies.
"Haxo."
"Eep!" They were all still intimidated by Haxorus as the fillies hid behind Braviary and Rainbow Dash.
However, the trainer and Pokemon knew that Haxorus wasn't here to do any harm. None of the Dragon-Types were. Since Togepi had been defeated, the Dragon Pokemon were grateful to Rainbow Dash.
"You all doing okay?" Rainbow Dash asked them.
"Xorus!" The Axe Jaw Pokemon nodded as the other Dragon Pokemon did the same. They were in Rainbow Dash and Braviary's debt from this day onwards. A Gabite even chomped on Sweetie Belle's head. As a show of gratitude of course.
They couldn't stick around with the Dragons forever since they had a lesson to finish. But they promised they would come by Frenzy Forest from time to time and hang out with them.
Moving away from that, Fluttershy's group along with Team Rocket had finally come across something new. More akin to Jessie's taste.
An area for Fairy-Type Pokemon only. Much like how many Fairy exclusive areas in Equestria all have the same mystical energy and pink healing spots plastered around, the same can be said for this part of the forest.
However, instead of them being small little spots, the healing magic was in the form a pink lake that the Fairies swam in. Their magic had managed to influence the lake of this forest and just transformed its usual water properties for magic.
"Finally!" Jessie dashed over to a group of Marill's. "Look at these little darlings!" She placed her hands on Marill's face, which didn't sit well with Aqua Mouse Pokemon.
"Ma...Rill!" In response, Marill blasted Jessie's face with a violent Water Gun, messing up her ridiculously long hair.
"Is this some sort of magic lake?" Fluttershy went over to the lake, placing her hoof inside of it. Once she did, she could feel all her nerves suddenly vanish as the lake had a soothing magical aura embedded in it. "Aaah..."
"Chiko." Chikorita hopped off Fluttershy's head. She landed in the lake of Fairy magic as it splashed all over Audino. Once she entered the lake, the Leaf Pokemon gained the same sensation that Fluttershy was feeling. "Chiko..."
"Audino..." Same can be said for Audino who sat down near the lake.
"Looks delicious!" Pinkie got out a cup as she scooped the Fairy liquid up. Immediately, she drank the entire thing one go, finishing the cup. "Hmmm..." She felt the taste of the Fairy magic for a bit, wondering if it was delicious or not.
And the result was surprising. By drinking Fairy magic, Pinkie Pie's eyes had suddenly changed into stars as her body was zigzagging across the forest, bumping into the trees as she was moving like a rocket.
"Pinkie Pie?!" Fluttershy gasped as she ducked from Pinkie's high-speed movements. All the Fairy-Types ducked for cover whilst Team Rocket hid inside of a bush.
Pinkie was moving an uncontrollable pace. So uncontrollable that not even she can stop it. "Woo-hoo!" She cheered. All that moving made her Spinda fall out of her mane.
"Spin!"
"Pinkie Pie! You're going too fast!" Fluttershy squeaked.
"Sorry! Can't do anything about it!" Pinkie grinned. It looked like she would be like this forever without any signs of stopping. However, someone came along to put a stop to this.
That, someone, was one of the teachers. Valerie. "Sylveon. Catch her."
"Sylv!" With perfect precision and eye focus, Sylveon was able to catch Pinkie Pie with her ribbons when she flew by, putting an end to her lightning-fast movements.
"Whew...What a rush!" Pinkie grinned as she was shaking uncontrollably. Sylveon placed Pinkie Pie down as the pink pony was still feeling the urge to move around.
"Ms Valerie?" Fluttershy went up to her.
"It wasn't really a wise decision to drink from the Fairy lake. At least for the first time." Valerie said.
"Really? Why is that?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, the lake is filled with an overwhelming amount of Fairy magic." Valerie got on one knee, placing her finger in the Fairy lake. "That amount of magic is too much for someone who isn't well-versed in it. As a result, any interaction with it will lead to results such as that."
Valerie pointed at Pinkie Pie and how she was gyrating and unnatural levels. She also pointed over at her eyes and how they had stars in them.
"Hm? Me?" Pinkie pointed at herself.
"Right. Your eyes, for example, are now supernatural due to their new look."
"Supernatural eyes? How?" Pinkie asked.
"Try looking up at the sky for a moment." Valerie pointed up.
"Hm?" As Pinkie raised her head, she noticed that she could suddenly see a physical representation of Fairy magic. The sky itself was filled with corporeal pink wisps the size of trees as they flowed across the forest, leaving behind pink stardust. Naturally, Pinkie Pie was stunned by this. "Woaaaaaahhhh...!"
"What do you see, Pinkie?" Fluttershy wondered.
"I don't know but I like it!" Pinkie let out a wide grin. However, all of a sudden, her star-shaped pupils were fading away, along with her supernatural vision. The effects were limited after all. "Huh?! Where'd they go?!"
"Unfortunately, for first-time users, the effects run out after a while," Valerie explained.
"Aw..." Pinkie pouted. "Wish it lasted forever."
"It can last forever. If you're well-versed with Fairy Magic."
"What do you mean by that?" Fluttershy turned to Valerie.
"You've already had your first experience with Fairy magic. Now it is officially apart of you."
"You mean...I have Fairy magic inside of me now?!" Pinkie Pie's eyes widened as she was about to take off again but this time with actual control.
"So the pink pony's a Fairy now?!" Jessie screeched.
"Half-Fairy." Valerie stood up. "As you can see, I am also an example of someone with Fairy magic inside of me. I may not have the full capabilities of a Fairy-Type Pokemon but I can speak to some Pokemon."
"Really? That's amazing! So then, does the same thing apply to Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy asked.
"I can't answer that. Trainer's who have Fairy magic lurking inside of them tend to have varying abilities. Very few share the same. So your friend might have something special that she has yet to discover."
"Well, I'm itching to discover it! Let me get another drink!" Pinkie held out her cup, however, Sylveon grabbed the cup with her ribbons, taking it away.
"Sylveon."
"Apologises. But it's not actually a wise choice to drink more. One drink is already enough."
"Aw, why not?" Pinkie groaned.
"Too much Fairy magic is dangerous for the body. Especially since this lake is overflowing with it. If you were to drink from it again, who knows what might happen to you."
"Oh." Pinkie had a poker face. "Well, it was tasty while it lasted. And on the plus side, I have magic now! I wonder if I'm going to grow a horn?!"
"Congratulations, Pinkie." Fluttershy clapped her hooves. "I think you might be the first pony to have Fairy magic in you."
"The third," Valerie replied, prompting them all to turn to her. "For you see, the actual first one is you, Fluttershy."
"M-Me?!" Fluttershy pulled back. "I-I...Huh?"
"I understand it would be hard to tell since nothing has really changed about you. But in truth, something has changed."
"I didn't drink any of the water here. Or was putting my hoof in the lake what caused it?!"
"A little bit." Valerie shook her head. "The true answer lies with your Audino over there." She pointed at the Hearing Pokemon.
"Audino?"
"Audi? How's she the cause?"
"I can see here that you both own Keystones." Valerie held Fluttershy's hoof, showing the Mega ring and keystone. "Your Audino can Mega Evolve, correct?"
"Yes?" Fluttershy nodded.
"Then there is your answer. Since this world has a larger emphasis on magic than our world, newfound and never-before-seen experiences can come from it, mostly with ponies. When you first Mega Evolved with your Audino, your body became linked with Fairy magic without you even realizing it."
"Nice!" Pinkie dashed over. "Looks like you're breaking records, Fluttershy! But wait...who's the second?"
"That would be your ruler, Princess Celestia. She as well isn't aware of it yet."
"Oh. So then...how will we know when our Fairy magic is demonstrated?" Fluttershy questioned.
"It's hard to know when Fairy magic is involved. But, I can help you with that." Valerie picked up her Sylveon. "If you wish to know and practice your hidden magic, you can come to me at any time and I'll help you. Isn't that right, Sylveon?"
"Syl!"
"Really? We get to learn more about Fairy Magic? Sign me up!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Doesn't this sound amazing Fluttershy?!"
"Sure. I wouldn't mind taking Fairy lessons myself."
"Look at how lucky you two are." Jessie crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks. "I want to have Fairy magic too!" She rushed over to the lake, ready to drink the Fairy magic inside.
"Oh, sorry. It doesn't really apply to us humans." Valerie apologised to Jessie.
"What?!" Jessie screeched. "Why not?!"
"Sorry!" Valerie bowed her head. "There's still a lot I don't know about this world's magic and how it works!"
"Ugh...Whatever." Jessie sat down, putting her hand inside of the lake. Once it was inside, she felt something hard and round connect with her fingers. "Hm?" Curious about what it could be, Jessie grabbed the mysterious object out of the lake. It was revealed to be one of the many medals across the forest. "Oh!"
"Ah, Ms Jessamine! You found one of the medals!" Fluttershy flew up.
"Shiny...!" Jessie grinned as her eyes were locked on to the dazzling medal.
"You only have, say...43 minutes until the lesson ends." Valerie gave them the amount of time they had before school finishes. "If you wish to head back to the school right now, you are welcome to do so."
"Nah. We'll stick around and find our friends." Pinkie put her hoof around Fluttershy's neck. "There's still a lot more stuff I wanna see in this forest."
"Then stay as long as you like. You might even see certain Fairy Pokemon who act in fresh new ways. Like that Togepi over there." Valerie pointed over at Togepi who had retreated to this spot after escaping from Rainbow Dash and the others.
"Toge-Toge..." Togepi breathed in and out as she thought they were still chasing her. But they weren't.
"...Hey...Ain't that?" Meowth pointed his paws at Togepi.
"I think so..." James nodded in understanding.
"To?" The Spike Ball Pokemon overheard their words as she turned around to face them. Just when she thought she wouldn't see any more familiar faces, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Team Rocket were right here. "Toge?!"
"It's you!" All five of them gasped, recognizing this specific Togepi.
"Oh. You all know this one Togepi?" Valerie asked.
"All too well! This little demon!" Jessie growled.
"Toge!" Togepi looked at them with disdain in her eyes.
"What are you up to this time?" Fluttershy narrowed her eyes at the Spike Ball Pokemon along with her Chikorita.
"Toge! Togepi!"
"What'd she say?" James asked Meowth and Fluttershy.
"She said that she could capture all of us here and now and tie us up with the other ponies she's caught." Fluttershy translated.
"But she's feeling too tired and out of it?" Meowth did the same.
"Toge!"
"Well, if you're giving up today, cough up the ponies you captured!" Pinkie dashed over as she and Togepi looked each other in the eyes, growling as their energies were clashing.
"Togepi!" Since Togepi and Pinkie were in each other's faces, Togepi slapped Pinkie Pie out of nowhere, which prompted everypony to gasp as Pinkie now had a slap mark on her face.
"Ow..." She held her cheek.
"Spin!" Rightfully enraged, Spinda hopped out of Pinkie Pie's mane, standing in front of her and facing Togepi. "Spinda!"
"Togepi!"
"This might be the perfect opportunity to find those captured ponies..." James whispered to Fluttershy.
"Oh, right. Audi. See if you can hear them." Fluttershy said to her partner.
"Audino." Audino got to work as her, Fluttershy, Chikorita and Team Rocket slowly backed away whilst Spinda and Togepi locked eyes.
"Spin..da!" Spinda did exactly what Togepi did to Pinkie Pie. Slap Togepi in the face with her arms.
"To!" Togepi bobbed back like a bobblehead as she herself didn't expect that to happen. "Toge!" Togepi returned the favour by slapping Spinda as well.
"Da!" And thus, a cycle had begun. When Spinda slapped Togepi back, Togepi slapped her back. Over and over again whilst Pinkie, Valerie and the other Fairy-Types watched this cute bloodbath occur.
After visiting different areas and having their own experience with certain Pokemon, it didn't take long for Twilight and the rest of her friends, minus Pinkie Pie, to finally meet up again.
They all met at the same single spot. That being the Electric-Type area of the forest, where the energy here was hyperactive and with constant volts rushing through the trees and water itself.
"Twilight! Everypony! Glad we bumped into you!" said Fluttershy.
"Yeah, its-" Twilight paused for a moment, noticing how there were three unexpected tagalongs with Fluttershy. "...Is that the school Guidance Counsellor and the two janitors?"
"Oh, yes. They were interested in this lesson too. They're just tagging along." Fluttershy nodded.
"Hiya!" Jessie let out a wide grin as she and Team Rocket waved at the others.
"Anyways. We're searching for some captured ponies that Togepi took and Audi's hearing led to somewhere near here."
"You bumped into Togepi too?" Rainbow Dash spoke. "How'd it go? Were you hurt?"
"No, not really. She said she was too tired to capture us. Right now, she and Spinda are having a slap-fight. So we snuck out of the Fairy area to find the captives."
"That egg again?" Rarity groaned.
"Audino..." Audi finally found out where the ponies were being held captive as she advanced up north with everypony else following behind.
What Togepi had done to them, no injury was involved whatsoever. Thankfully, all she did was tie them up and leave them on the ground. Originally, she planned to have the Dragon Pokemon surround the captured ponies, but since they resisted and couldn't bring themselves to do so, the captives were left without anyone else there.
Eventually, Audino found them as it was two residents of Ponyville, Amethyst Star and Carrot Top. "Are you two okay?!" Twilight asked them.
"Fine. We've just been sitting here for a while." Carrot Top yawned.
"That capture wasn't too bad, honestly." Amethyst Star looked up. "I expected worse. But on the plus side, we found a medal nearby thanks to that Togepi." She held the medal up with her magic.
"Gro." Grovyle cut the rope by using Leaf Blade, freeing the two ponies from their lackluster capture.
"I think mostly everypony's gotten a medal of all 18 types by now, right?" Applejack said.
"Probably." Starlight looked up at the sky, seeing how the sun was already prepared to set at any moment. "School's almost over anyway. Think we should head back."
"I think so. Besides...I haven't fed Eve, Minccy and Ninetales yet." Twilight bit her hoof. "Sorry, you three."
"We can head back with the medals we got no problem." Rainbow Dash held the medal of Dragons up. "But uh...is this forest gonna be okay with Togepi just being here? She made those Dragon Pokemon look like pushovers."
"There's nothing to worry about. Togepi seems to give up on one area whenever things don't go her way after all." Fluttershy responded. "From what I can tell."
"Well, I don't want to involve myself with Togepi at any opportunity we cross paths." Twilight walked off. "But I wouldn't mind a Togepi of my own that isn't evil."
With Amethyst Star and Carrot Top freed, the number of medals gathered by everypony was a success. Twilight's group received the Psychic Medal, Fluttershy's the Fairy Medal, Rainbow Dash's the Dragon Medal and Rarity and Starlight managed to find themselves the Dark Medal.
As for Togepi, her slap fight with Spinda came to an end. The Spike Ball Pokemon called it a day as both her and Spinda had slap marks on their faces along with a bit of an aching head.
Although it was hard to tell when Spinda was in pain most of the time.
After a rather eventful day at Frenzy Forest, the students returned to school, finally. And Cynthia was still there, waiting. Her patience was something to admire since she didn't even think about leaving this spot.
"Hm..." Cynthia inspected everypony's medals. She saw that there were indeed 18 of them in total. They had managed to find them all. "That's all of them. Well done, my little ponies."
"Thanks...Boy, I'm tuckered out..." Pinkie yawned. "What are these medals for anyway?"
"I'll explain them another time. Right now. All of you should get back home. Make sure to look forward to next week's activities."
"I'm already on it. The way the sun looks right now is just making me tired." An exhausted Rainbow Dash flew off along with other ponies.
Team Rocket had returned, tuckered out themselves. They didn't really accomplish their goal of catching a Pokemon of their own. However, they found something else that made them happy. They somewhat enjoyed hanging out with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie for the time they spent.
Frenzy Forest is yet another Pokemon location exclusive to Equestria. But so far, it seemed to be the most expressive and populated Pokemon area with a lot to discover.
From the Vespiquen hive, Pyroar's territory, Delphox's hut and possibly even more spots that have yet to be discovered, the ponies are now beginning to feel the same kind of excitement Ash and Pikachu feel whenever they go on a new adventure in a new region as the journey continues.
At long last, the first contest hall in Equestria had been fully built. And it only took a few months.
Built like most contest halls across Hoenn and Sinnoh, this one took up a lot of space in Manehattan. Some renovations had to be done for the city to even fit the building.
And of course, the one pony who was the most excited for this was Sweetie Belle as she came along with her friends to this contest. Which is another way of saying, she woke them all up early and dragged them here.
But, unlike Sweetie Belle's first contest back in Chrysanthemum Island, there weren't two competitors involved in this contest. Instead, there were now more contestants involved. A total of 24 contestants.
"Finally...!" The little unicorn had the largest grin on her face with her pupils expanding. "My second contest! Eeee!" She pranced about whilst looking at the exterior of the contest hall. "Come on! I gotta sign up!" The hyperactive unicorn dashed off, blitzing away from her friends.
"She couldn't wait until the afternoon sessions?" Applejack rubbed her eye.
"Excitement and anticipation never waits for anyone," Ash said.
"Pikachu..."
Once they entered inside of the contest halls, something caught the attention of Sweetie Belle. And it wasn't the interior. Instead, it was a familiar face to all of them.
Dawn was here. Along with Piplup.
She was currently looking through the curtains of the waiting room, seeing the contestants who were present here today.
"Dawn?" Sweetie Belle said.
"Hm?" The Sinnoh Trainer heard her name, prompting her to turn around. Dawn was graced with the sight of Ash and the others. "Ash! Everyone!"
"Piplup!"
"You're here too? Are you gonna take part in this contest as well?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"No. I'm just here to spectate. After all, this is the first contest in Equestria, so I just had to check it out for myself. I heard you're taking part in it as well, Sweetie Belle."
"Mhm!" Sweetie Belle nodded. "I've worked hard to prepare myself for upcoming contests. And I'm ready to win my second ribbon!"
"Great to hear. Let's hope that hard work paid off. There are some pretty formidable looking coordinators here." Dawn looked back inside the waiting room.
"It will! Scuse me!" Sweetie Belle rushed over to sign up for this contest before it was too late.
"You all helped her learn some tricks for her contests, right?" Dawn asked.
"Well, Ash helped her with some stuff. Most of it was just her." Scootaloo answered.
"But even if it was all her, she's managed to come up with some amazing tricks on her own." Rarity commented.
"Hm. But I am a bit worried about one thing." Dawn put her finger on her chin.
"What's that?" Fluttershy questioned.
"How'll she'll end up reacting to her first loss." Dawn brought up something major. "I'm just hoping she doesn't take it too badly."
"Well, we don't have to get nervous now. After all, weren't you the one who created the No need to worry catchphrase? Sweetie Belle's gonna be fine." Pinkie flailed her hoof.
"I hope you're right. Anyway, I'll see you in the crowd!" Dawn ran off with Piplup to take her seat whilst Sweetie Belle had just finished signing up, dashing over to the waiting room.
Dawn mentioning how there were formidable-looking coordinators here wasn't an understatement. When Sweetie Belle entered the waiting room, she could see how everypony here had heavily stylized costumes along with Pokemon that are just screaming style.
Despite them being rookies like Sweetie Belle, they all had their own kind of skills and tricks that they are more than ready to show in this contest.
"Ooh..." Sweetie Belle looked around, seeing the coordinators alongside their partners. One coordinator stuck out in particular since she had a Pokemon Sweetie Belle hadn't seen before. Or rather an alternate form of a Pokemon she's already seen.
An Alolan Vulpix.
"Aaah...!" Obviously stunned by this altered Vulpix, Sweetie Belle had to take out her Pokedex to know about this one.
"Vulpix. The Fox Pokemon. Alolan Form. After long years in the ever-snowcapped mountains of Alola, this Vulpix has gained power over ice. It exhales air colder than -58 degrees Fahrenheit. Elderly people in Alola call this Pokémon by an older name—Keokeo. If you carelessly approach it because it’s cute, the boss of the pack, Ninetales, will appear and freeze you. If you observe its curly hairs through a microscope, you’ll see small ice particles springing up."
"Wow! There's still a lot of regional forms that I haven't seen yet." Sweetie Belle went over to the coordinator and her Alolan Vulpix.
"Hm?" The blue-maned earth pony focused her attention to Sweetie Belle. "Oh. Vulpix. You like the look of?"
"Sure do." Sweetie Belle nodded. "It's just as pretty as the normal Vulpix. I wonder what Ninetales looks like when it evolves."
"Great. A good thing to hear." The earth pony smiled. "Meeting you is nice. Fellow coordinator." She held her hoof out as Sweetie Belle noticed how her speech pattern was different from everypony here.
"Uh, nice to meet you too." Sweetie Belle connected her hoof with the other pony. "My name's Sweetie Belle.
"Sweetie Belle? Gelidity. That is me." Gelidity introduced herself. "The Performance Stage. Hope to see you pass through it."
"Same to you, Gelidity. Oh! I better send out my Pokemon then. Out you come." She sent out her Teddiursa.
"Ursa!"
"Alright, Teddiursa. Let's make this count! You're gonna have to really show those judges just how impressive your skill can be, okay?"
"Teddiursa!"
With all the trainers signed up, the contest could officially begin. The announcer was the same woman who's very present during contests. Marian as she was ready to introduce everypony and human here to the contest.
"Welcome, my little ponies and humans to the first-ever Equestria exclusive contest here in Manehattan! And as a bonus, it's live!" She announced. "The winner of today's contest will receive this." Marian held up a newly crafted ribbon. "The Manehattan Ribbon."
"Ooh! It looks like a unicorn horn!" Pinkie gawked.
"Our coordinators are aiming to win a total of 10 different ribbons and earn a spot at the Grand Festival!"
"That ribbon is mine!" Sweetie Belle stomped her hoof.
"Alright then. Now it's time for a word from our judges!" Marian introduced the three usual judges that are just as present as her.
The organized Mr Contesta, the remarkable Mr Sukizo and a random Nurse Joy that comes straight from Camphrier Town in Kalos.
"I've been wanting to see how multiple ponies perform in contests. Especially in their homeworld." Mr Contesta commented.
"Coming here to this world was also worth it since Manehattan does look remarkable," said Mr Sukizo.
"Oooh...did you see how cute the little ponies looked in their dresses?!" Nurse Joy gushed.
"Okay! Without further delay, it's time for our first round! The Performance Stage! And here is contestant number one!"
The first coordinator to come out of the curtains was Gelidity. "Vulpix. First up. That is you." The earth pony tossed the Poke Ball up, sending out her partner.
But when she sent Vulpix onto the floor, a stream of ice came out of the Poke Ball to instantly dazzle the audience with the very first opportunity. The stream of ice then swirled around as Vulpix emerged from it, shattering the ice.
"Vulpix!"
"Oooh!" Seeing this new form of Vulpix for the first time prompted Twilight and the others to take their Pokedexes out.
"Vulpix. Aurora Beam. Use that one."
"Pix!" The Fox Pokemon opened its mouth as a multicoloured orb emerged in front of it. Vulpix kept the orb in place, waiting for Gelidity to make another command.
"Extrasensory. That one next."
"Vulpix!" Vulpix's eyes let out a dazzling blue and gold light as a purple aura surrounded the orb of Aurora Beam. The psychic properties in Extrasensory were manipulating the orb, giving everypony the illusion of the orb multiplying and growing in size.
"Up. Send them up." Gelidity raised her hoof in the air.
The Fox Pokemon then utilized Extrasensory to send all of the orbs into the air at once. They all spun around in a circle with their beautiful aurora lights shining across the floor.
"Release!"
"Vul! "Vulpix released Extrasensory and Aurora Beam at the same time. Once both moves went off, the psychic power of Extrasensory had destroyed the orbs of Aurora Beam, causing a rainbow explosion with stardust falling all over the place.
"Great use of Aurora Beam! Keeping the move in place whilst also using Extrasensory to lift it is a great example of two types working well with each other!" Marian said.
"Vulpix. Splendid job." Gelidity congratulated her partner.
"Vulpix."
"Using the advantages of Psychic moves to levitate and give off an illusion is a nice show of intuition!" Mr Contesta spoke up.
"Remarkable, that's for sure!" Mr Sukizo nodded.
"I can tell how well that Vulpix has been raised if it's able to use two powerful moves with such a small body." Nurse Joy clapped her hands together.
"Oh...That might be a bit tricky to compete with." Sweetie Belle bit her hoof. "But it's fine."
"Psychic moves really do help with contests, don't they?" Ash said.
"Pika."
"It's either that or Fairy!" Dawn raised her finger.
"With skills like that, I'm a bit worried for Sweetie Belle..." Rarity uttered. "And that was just the first coordinator."
"No need to worry, Rarity." Ash grinned. "Sweetie Belle's got some new tricks that'll really stun em, for sure!"
"Pikachu!"
"Okay! Moving right along!" As Marian announced the next coordinator, many performance's had come and gone.
From a Sentret lighting up its white ring by using Charge Beam, a Jumpluff expanding its cotton whilst letting our rays of light from the insides and a Swadloon creating a statue of its trainer made out of string and also using Electroweb to give it decorations. Everypony had something unique to show and present.
It didn't take long for Sweetie Belle to finally have her turn. "Next up, let's welcome Sweetie Belle!"
"Yes!" Sweetie Belle rushed out of the curtains. "Come on out, Teddiursa!" For the Performance Stage, Sweetie Belle chose Teddiursa.
"Ursa!" Once Teddiursa came out of the Rarityball, moon-shaped symbols that represented Teddiursa's own symbol flowed out of the ball.
"Stay cool, Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo and the others cheered her on.
"Teddiursa! Use Night Slash!"
"Teddi...!" The Little Bear Pokemon held its paws out, surrounding them in a dark aura. "Ursa! Ursa!" Teddiursa then swung her paws upwards, sending streaks of purple energy in the air. The Night Slashes stayed airborne for a while as they were moving around like razor blades.
"Now use Hidden Power!"
Following up with Night Slash, Teddiursa then used Hidden Power Normal. Teddiursa's body became outlined in a white light as he hit the floor, sending a force strong enough to launch himself upwards.
"Oooh...!" The crowd watched as they saw the Little Bear Pokemon ascend whilst leaving behind a while trail.
"Teddi!" Teddiursa came in contact with the Night Slashes's, waiting for Sweetie Belle's command.
"Now! Hit them all fast with Thunder Punch!"
"Teddi...Ursa!" The Little Bear Pokemon's paws erupted with electricity as it repeatedly swung its paws with Thunder Punch involved.
The speed that Teddiursa was swinging made Thunder Punch send out sparks of electricity all over the place. Not only that but when the move connected with Night Slash, the Dark aura and the Electric volts merged into one, creating a mixture of purple and yellow.
"Let's finish it with one extra strong Thunder Punch!"
"Ursa!" Teddirusa finished things off by using one last Thunder Punch. By striking its paws on the mixed Dark and Electric energy blades, Teddiursa caused the blades to scatter as they each shot out lightning bolts.
The lightning bolts hit the ground whilst having a dark aura around them as Teddiursa returned to the floor, leaving behind a streak of lightning as if it was a lightning bolt itself.
"Have a look at that! It looks like five great thunderbolts are crashing down at the same time!" Marian gawked.
"That's the stuff, Sweetie Belle!" Pinkie Pie stood up. "Woo!"
"It really paid off. Nice." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Reminds me of the time I was startled by a thunderstorm long ago! Horrific memory! Great performance!" Mr Contesta exclaimed.
"It gave a whole new look to Thunder Punch that really made move at lightning-speeds. Remarkable!"
"I never took Teddiursa to be that agile. Very impressive!" Nurse Joy said.
"You were great, Teddiursa!" Sweetie Belle squeed.
"Ursa!"
With Sweetie Belle and others impressing the judges and crowd in the performance stage, they all stayed in the waiting room, anticipating the results and who will end up advancing to the second stage.
Sweetie Belle held Teddiursa in her hooves as she sat down with the Little Bear Pokemon. "Here it comes..." Sweetie Belle scrunched her face as she kept her eyes on the TV, waiting to see if she managed to succeed.
"Sorry for the delay! Here are the victors of the first stage!" Marian in the TV shouted. "Here are the results! The 8 coordinators moving on to the second stage!" The TV shifted to a results screen as all the coordinators held their breaths in, leaning forward along with the crowd.
On the upper row, 4 coordinators made it. One of them being Gelidity. And on the lower row, the others were starting to pop up.
One coordinator made it, but Sweetie Belle's face hadn't been seen yet. A second one, but no Sweetie Belle. The third, still no Sweetie Belle.
The young unicorn, her Pokemon and her friends were getting a bit nervous. Sweetie Belle and Teddiursa closed one eye, waiting for the final face to pop up on that screen.
And once that fourth face showed it was revealed that the eight coordinator who made it was none other than Sweetie Belle.
"Whew!" Sweetie Belle let out a sigh of relief. "Got a bit nervous there."
"Teddiursa..." Teddirusa laid on its back.
"Now, let's shuffle the coordinators and see who'll face off against who in round two! Our computer will give it a random shuffle!" The faces of the coordinators had all been shuffled around in random positions.
Everypony here would be facing off against someone here. And Sweetie Belle's opponent was none other than Gelidity herself. Not only that, but it was also the first matchup on the screen.
"Us two going against each other first." Gelidity walked up to Sweetie Belle. The best of luck. I wish to you and I. Right Vulpix?
"Pix!"
"Same to you!"
Over at the crowd, Rarity slumped on her seat, glad that Sweetie Belle made it to the second stage. "That had no right being so nerve-wracking."
"Sweetie Belle's got this in the bag!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "She's already got the makings of real good coordinator! Though I don't know about contests myself.
"I'll say." Dawn nodded. "Her skills are pretty promising, aren't they Piplup?"
"Piplup!"
"Now it's time to see how much she's improved when it comes to battling!" Ash leaned forward.
"Pikachu!"
"It's time for our second round contest battle! In just 5 short minutes, 8 coordinators will work to show off their most beautiful moves whilst shrinking their opponent's total points as much as they can! Now for our first matchup!"
The first matchup between Gelidity and Sweetie Belle was about to begin as both little ponies were ready to head outside.
"It's Sweetie Belle on one side and Gelidity on the other!" Marian pointed over to how Sweetie Belle was on the left and Gelidity on the right.
"With how she used that Night Slash and Thunder Punch combo, Sweetie Belle's sure to win this!" Scootaloo grinned.
"Yeah, but that Gelidity and her Vulpix have some pretty impressive skills of their own," said Twilight.
"Watch closely everypony...I'll show them all that I'll make it big." Sweetie Belle said to herself.
"You all have 5 minutes, my little ponies. Let's go!" Maria raised her arm, giving the signal as the battle had begun.
"Teddiursa! Go!" Sweetie Belle once again sent out her Teddiursa.
"Teddiursa!"
"Vulpix. Go out there." Gelidity rolled her Poke Ball forward as out came the Fox Pokemon once more.
"Vulpix!"
"Don't mind if we go first, Gelidity. Teddiursa! Use Night Slash!
"Teddi...Ursa!" Just like before Teddiursa swung out purple streaks of energy but this time, it was forward instead of upwards.
"Flip over and shine! With Aurora Veil!"
"Pix...!" Vulpix used its small body as an advantage as the Fox Pokemon flipped over the streaks of Night Slash whilst rolling in the air multiple times. At the same time, Vulpix used Aurora Veil as its body became surrounded in a veil of rainbow-coloured aura. Not only that, but any further attacks have been cut in half.
"Use Thunder Punch!"
"Ursa!" The Little Bear Pokemon rushed in as her paws had been sparked up with 10,000 volts.
"Extrasensory. One both you and Teddiursa!
"Pix!" In a surprise, Vulpix had not only controlled its own body using Extrasensory to stay airborne, but it had also grabbed Teddirusa as well whilst still having Aurora Veil active.
"That Vulpix is strong if it can do three things at once!" Pinkie gasped.
"T-Teddi?!" Teddiursa had no control over its body as she was now floating in the air.
"Ah! Quick Teddiursa! Use Hidden Power to break free!"
"Teddi...Ursa!" Teddiursa curled up into a ball as her body became outlined in white energy. It tried to break free by sending a blast of Normal Energy forward, but Vulpix had them both held firmly in one place.
"Up! Throw Teddiursa!"
"Vul!" Vulpix then used Extrasensory to send the Little Bear Pokemon high into the air whilst still having full control over her.
"We have to break free somehow. Use Night Slash!"
"Uras!" Teddiursa channelled dark energy in its paws as it swung violently at the field of psychic energy. Night Slash being a Dark move worked against the Psychic move that Teddiursa was trapped inside.
The Extrasensory field had shattered with purple shards falling from above like rain. That was also enough to dazzle the audience.
Despite that, Sweetie Belle had lost more points that Gelidity, who had lost little points due to how her Vulpix was performing.
"That Vulpix has full control over Teddiursa with Extrasensory!" Apple Bloom bit her hoof. "Teddiursa hasn't landed a hit in yet!"
"Okay! Aurora Beam! Go for that one next!"
"Vul..." Vulpix charged up Aurora Beam as it kept its focus on the Little Bear Pokemon.
"I don't think so! Thunder Punch on Aurora beam, go!"
"Ursa!" Teddiursa came falling from above whilst also charging up its paws with electricity. Both Pokemon looked like they would enter a clash as Vulpix fired a beam that looked like an aurora from its mouth.
"Pix!"
"Teddiursa!" Teddiursa's paw of lightning connected with Aurora Beam as an electric and rainbow shockwave emerged from the clash.
"Push through, Teddiursa!" Sweetie Belle leaned forward.
"Teddi..." The Normal-Type clenched her teeth as she was trying her very best to break through the Aurora Beam.
"Apologies!" Gelidity bowed her head. "Extrasensory! Force Teddiursa in it!"
"Vulpix!" Yet another surprising command from Gelidity who never fails to amaze. Vulpix controlled Teddiursa once more with its mind.
But this time, Vulpix forced Teddiursa to fly into Aurora Beam, making her paw that had Thunder Punch slip. "Teiddursa?!"
Before she knew it, Teddiursa had been engulfed by Aurora Beam as a beautiful rainbow connected with the ceilings itself.
"Teddiursa, no!" Sweetie Belle gasped.
"Ursa...!" Teddiursa fell from above as she tumbled on the floor. "Ur!"
"Are you alright?!
"Teddi...!" The Little Bear Pokemon had one eye closed as she got up from the ground as her body stung from that Aurora Beam and Extrasensory combo. She looked over at Vulpix, seeing how the Fox Pokemon hadn't been touched once. Teddiursa felt a drive to at least get one hit in, but unfortunately, that combination move was enough to cause her to faint. "Ursa..."
"That's all she wrote! Forcing Teddiursa into Aurora Beam was both beautiful and fierce at the same time!" Marian announced. "And with that, Gelidity and Vulpix are on to the third round!"
"Vulpix!"
As the crowd cheered at that amazing display, Sweetie Belle froze for a moment as she had just realized that she lost this contest along with Teddiursa.
"I...lost?" She said to herself.
"This is what I was afraid of..." Dawn said. "But how will she take it?"
"Oh, Sweetie Belle." Rarity shook her head, devastated that her little sister had lost her second contest like that.
Normally, Sweetie Belle would break out into tears after losing this match. However, with her experiences with Rainbow Dash's third Gym battle and her friend from Trottingham Velvetwind, Sweetie Belle managed to power through and understand that at times, you just can't win them all.
As a result, she held back the tears and went over to Teddiursa. "Nice work, Teddiursa. Bit overwhelming wasn't it?" She picked her up.
"Ursa..." She nodded in agreement.
"That's how it's done." Ash was proud of Sweetie Belle for taking the loss so well. "Great job, Sweetie Belle!"
"Pikachu!"
"I'm so glad to have such a strong-hearted little sister!" Rarity was the one who ended up breaking into tears.
"Gelidity. Good luck in the finals." Sweetie Belle said to her opponent.
"Luck. We'll have it all. Sorry for beating you. I apologize." Gelidity bowed her head.
"No need to worry. This just means I have a lot to work on after all. I'll be back with better skills and I'll for sure meet you in another contest!"
"Teddi!"
After that, Sweetie Belle called it a day. The other battles carried on with coordinators emerging victorious. But the true winner of this entire contest was none other than Gelidity. The Manehattan Ribbon now belonged to her officially.
"Here you go. A marvellous job well done!" Mr Contesta gave out the ribbon to Gelidity.
"Shiny...Very shiny." Gelidity gawked as she took the ribbon, gazing at its glory.
"You and your Vulpix were remarkable!" Mr Sukizo nodded.
"And we all look forward to seeing you in the next contest here in Equestria, Gelidity," said Nurse Joy.
"Many thank you's!" Gelidity bowed.
"And that wraps up the very first contest in Equestria! Thanks to you all for coming by for all the fun and excitement! And we'll be keeping a sharp eye for you in the next contest!" Marian bid her farewells as everypony and human here had left the building.
Sweetie Belle looked at Teddiursa's Poke Ball, already planning on ways to improve herself in the next contest she partakes in.
"It's great that you're not beat up by it, Sweetie Belle." Apple Bloom said as she and Scootaloo walked beside her.
"Mhm. Seeing you all have your bad days really made me prepared for something like this." Sweetie Belle squeed. "Like all of you, I just have to improve. But uh...it might mean I have to stay up at night again. A bunch of times."
"Or..." Dawn suddenly stopped walking. "I can help you."
"Huh?" Sweetie Belle turned around to Dawn. "You...help me?"
"Mhm. I'm pretty well-versed in Pokemon contests, ya know." Dawn said with a confident grin and her hand on her hips. "When you're not in the Pokemon School learning from Fantina, you can come and visit me and I'll be glad to help!"
"That's great! Thanks, Dawn!" Sweetie Belle jumped up in joy. "I get to learn from two experts now! Where can I find you?!"
"You can just call me anytime with the Xtransceiver. And I'll be there."
"Piplup!"
"Gotta get going now! See ya!" Dawn ran off as she waved goodbye to the others along with her Piplup. As Sweetie Belle and the others waved back, they all made their way back to Ponyville as soon as they can.
Sweetie Belle may have lost the Manehattan contest, but it's that loss that'll drive her to improve in the near future. With the Pokemon Contests established in Equestria, she would have to expect many coordinators who are skilled in their own way, much like the formidable and untouchable Gelidity as the journey continues.
"This'll do." A smiling Lucien said as he looked over at Sienna who was holding a purple energy orb in her hands. "I think these new and improved Desires will work out."
"It should be! I worked hard on this!" Sienna nodded.
"We worked hard on this."
"Right, right. Let's see who gets lucky with these!" Sienna raised her arm as millions of purple lights scattered all across Equestria, each searching for hosts to invade.
Once they do invade them, they will officially have Desires inside of their bodies. Once somepony out there in Equestria is feeling a certain way, whether they desire something or are struggling, the Desire's will show themselves.
But they didn't go undetected whatsoever.
All the way over at Canterlot, Passion was able to sense the Desires thanks to her experience with emotions in general. She believed that she could only sense it in the Pokemon World, but now Passion could sense it here in Equestria.
"Kir! Kirlia!" Passion nudged Celestia's tail, grabbing her attention.
"What's wrong, Passion?" Celestia asked.
"Kir!" Passion tried to use her limited telepathy to speak to Celestia. She's improved since last time. Now she's able to use it for 7 seconds. "Same...thing...from Undella...Here!" She used the best of her abilities to speak.
"Same thing from Undella?" Celestia took a moment to process this. Knowing what Passion meant by Same and Undella, the Sun Princess picked up on it immediately. "I see."
"Kirlia."
"So, they're able to exist here as well...I'll have to call Twilight and the others." Celestia decided to call Twilight, Ash and their friends for this specific situation. She had something special planned.
It didn't take long for the group to arrive as they got Princess Celestia's letter to meet them here immediately. They all entered through her throne room doors along with their Pokemon.
"Princess Celestia! What happened?!" Twilight asked. "Is there something invading?!"
"Glad you could all make it." Celestia stood up from her seat. "I've called you for something rather concerning."
"It's always concerning. And we solve it no problem." Rainbow Dash scoffed.
"I know." Celestia nodded. "But listen up. Because this concerns both of our worlds. Celestia made her way over towards them, leaving her throne. "You see, Passion here had sensed something familiar enter Equestria. Something that we've encountered during our short time in Undella Town."
"Is it...a Pokemon?" Fluttershy spoke.
"Not quite." Celestia shook her head. "In fact, I would say that it's a mixture of humans, ponies and Pokemon. Possibly even more. You see, when we were at Undella, we came across these three strange entities who were representations of obsessions and needs. Each of them had something they desired. Victory, success and relief. All of those needs manifested into an entity that matched their appearance by outline."
"I beg your pardon?" Rarity pulled back. "What kind of creature's are these?
"I'm not sure what they're called honestly. This is new territory for both our worlds...Since they are manifestations of what somepony wants more than anything, I shall title them Desires. These Desires can be highly dangerous. They each have different abilities based on what they've experienced in their life."
"And you want us to take them out. No problem." Rainbow Dash grinned.
"There's more to it than just taking them out, Rainbow Dash, believe me. And besides, even though I've summoned you all here, Passion and I will be joining you in this."
"Huh? You're gonna help us with these Desires?" Pinkie pointed at Celestia then herself.
"Mhm. Passion here can interact with the Desires by connecting the original host's mind. She'll be able to help let us know exactly what is currently ongoing in their life."
"Kirlia!"
"Great! So we can get started right? Where are the Desires anyway?" Pinkie moved her head around the room.
"About that. It's unknown when they'll show up. They'll most likely appear if somepony is currently going through something difficult or has a personal need. But when they do show up, Passion will be able to sense their birth. For now, return home and relax. I shall call you when needed."
"Lia!"
"And be warned. The Desires are capable of destructive feats depending on the host. Any one of them could put a life in peril in a few minutes or less."
"Got it," Ash replied. "We'll be looking extra close!"
"Pikachu!"
The existence of the Desires was now known to Ash, Twilight and their friends. At any moment, they could show up depending on the individual and what is going through their mind.
Although, some took Celestia's suggestion a bit too seriously. Rainbow Dash was already zipping out, getting up close to ponies and in their face, trying to see if there were any signs of Desires.
"You got something you need?!" Rainbow Dash asked Amethyst Star.
"...I need my personal space." She replied.
"Alright..." Rainbow Dash backed up.
"Rainbow Dash. I'm pretty sure Princess Celestia didn't mention anything about getting in ponies' faces," said Applejack.
"She said that they're capable of destructive feats. If any of them can pop out of nowhere at any moment, then we should always be checking extra close!" Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves.
"Even so...Nopony here looks worried at all today." Rarity observed Ponyville and how it was just a normal day with nothing crazy going on. "After all, Princess Celestia did say that it's unknown when they'll show up. So it might not even be today."
"Whenever it is, be ready," Twilight said as she entered her lab. Everypony else went their separate ways, anticipating the arrival of the Desires. Whenever they show up that is. Twilight went over to 6 Poke Balls that were laid out on the table as she grabbed them all with her magic. "Alright, out you all come."
The Pokemon were for the trainers who were coming by to get their Starter Pokemon as they consisted of the following.
Treecko, Tepig, Squirtle, Tangela, Houndour and Spheal.
"Alright, you six. You've got some new trainers coming to choose you. So I want you all to be on your best behaviour, okay?"
"Squirtle!" Squirtle responded by shooting Twilight in the face with a Water Gun.
"Ugh..." Twilight wiped the water off her face. She got the necessary equipment for the trainers out of a cabinet. From the Pokedex, Poke Balls and even the Xtransceiver.
She did all this whilst still keeping a lookout for the Desires. The same goes for Spike and the Pokemon. But, as Rarity said, nopony looked worried whatsoever.
Even Princess Celestia herself wasn't so sure on when they'll show up. It could be now, later, tomorrow or even months. They're unpredictable on when they might pop out.
All the while, Lucien and Sienna spectated over the world, biding their time and waiting for the Desires to strike and pop out. Sienna especially since it is her creation.
"Waiting kinda hurts but I can guarantee it'll be worth it." She said with a cocky grin and her arms crossed whilst looking up.
"Hope so. Not many in this world can get upset that easily." Lucien scratched his hair.
"Heh. Who said they need to be upset for the Desires to come?"
"Hm?" Lucien raised an eyebrow.
"I added a little something extra to the Desires to make them more present." Sienna stood up with pride. "Sometimes, they'll show up for different reasons other than just feeling all down and gloomy. It's gonna really make the Desires pop!"
"Really?" Lucien nodded his head. "Well, this could be interesting then."
"You bet!" Sienna whacked Lucien's back, causing him to fall off the cloud.
"Ah-Aaaah!" Lucien screamed as Sienna gasped, realizing what she had just done. Thankfully, Lucien forced himself back up by teleporting. "Mrrrgh...." He growled at Sienna.
"Hehe...Sorry." Sienna twiddled her fingers.
Back at Twilight's lab, six trainers had arrived to get their Pokemon, equipment and start as trainers or coordinators. One of the two.
"Hi, there! I've been waiting for you young people!" Twilight said to the little ponies. "Welcome to my Pokemon Lab. I'm the Pokemon Professor here. Professor Twilight. Or Professor Sparkle as some ponies call me. I'm currently studying about the world of Pokemon. From their environments, how they live, evolve and more."
"Oh! I bet you've seen a lot of Pokemon and been to a bunch of places in the Pokemon World!" A colt said.
"Sure have. But I'm still discovering brand new things about the Pokemon World. From ancient civilizations and the history of certain regions. There's so many to unpack that I've practically lost count. Anyway, over here on the table are six Poke Balls, and they each contain a potential partner for you. Go ahead, choose."
Twilight sent out the six Pokemon, revealing them to the little ponies. They made their decisions by thinking about it for a while. One of these Pokemon was for each of them, and for sure, they would choose on that speaks to them.
Twilight watched as the young trainers chose their partners, holding them up on placing them on their backs.
"Good choice! I'm sure you'll go far as partners! But you'll need something extra to make it through your journey. Spike."
"I got it!" Spike brought over the Pokedex, spare Poke Balls and the Xtransceiver for the trainers.
"You'll need these for sure. The Pokedex is the perfect encyclopedia, the Poke Balls will help you find new friends and the Xtransceiver will always let you stay in contact with others." Twilight explained. "So get out there and have fun!"
"Thanks, Professor! Or do we say, princess?" A filly wondered as she ran out with the other upstart trainers, leaving Twilight's lab.
"Okay. That's that." Twilight turned around, facing the entrance to PokePark. She used her magic to pull the lever, opening the hatch to PokePark as the Pokemon there greeted her and Spike as always.
So far, everything was going smoothly today. Even with the knowledge of the Desires entering their heads, things seemed fine and peaceful here in Ponyville, which made Twilight relieved.
"You know, Spike. I get the feeling that Rarity's theory on the Desires showing up some other time instead of today might be right. If it is, then we won't have to worry about panicking so soon."
"Right. Besides, Celestia didn't say they would show up right now. We're smooth sailing today." Spike held Salamence's Poke Ball.
"You said it. Ponyville's looking fine." Twilight smiled as she sat down, opening up a book, continuing to read more about Sinnoh history. The young alicorn flipped through the pages, just calmly relaxing and reading about new information about the Pokemon World.
However, Twilight's mind decided to move back a few seconds. When said Ponyville's looking fine, it made the Princess of Friendship realize something that she hadn't taken into account. Her pupils shrunk along with her ears flopping down.
"Espeon..." Eve was about to enjoy a peaceful nap as she curled up on the floor. But that didn't last when Twilight let out an outburst.
"What if they're not in Ponyville?!" She screamed, startling all the Pokemon inside of the lab and over at PokePark, including Spike. "I didn't think about that! If the Desires aren't in Ponyville, then they're probably somewhere else in Equestria right about now! And Princess Celestia said that it concerns both worlds...which means they're probably in the Pokemon World too!"
"T-Twilight?" Spike stuttered.
"We've been sitting here without thinking about other locations, Spike!" Twilight dashed over to Spike, grabbing him by the face. "The Desires could already be causing havoc as we speak!" She bit her hoof, already starting to worry.
"Not this again..." Spike groaned. "But I guess that actually kinda makes sense. It wouldn't be just Ponyville."
"Anywhere could have a Desire right now! I'd better tell the others!" Twilight took out her Xtransceiver, attempting to contact her friends.
Unfortunately, only 2 of them were available at the moment. Ash and Rainbow Dash. Their Xtransceivers were near them most of the time whilst everypony else simply puts them away. They don't really carry them around like Ash, Twilight and Rainbow Dash.
"Twilight? What is it?" Rainbow Dash picked up her Xtransceiver along with Ash as there were three faces on the screen right now.
"We might have a problem! I thought since there wasn't anything wrong in Ponyville, the Desires just hadn't shown up yet. But I didn't take into account how other locations might have Desires already!" Twilight screeched. "Are there any in your world, Ash?!"
"Uh, no. Nothing here." Ash shook his head.
"Pikachu."
"Nothing here over at Cloudsdale either," said Rainbow Dash. "Everything looks fine, Twilight."
"Maybe there, sure. But we can't say the same for everywhere else! You're all still keeping a close eye on things right?"
"Yeah," Ash replied. "But if you say that it could be everywhere else, then what do we do?"
"We uh..." Twilight thought for a moment. Well...Princess Celestia said that she'll come to us when Passion senses them but if its multiple areas..."
"Relax, Twi." Rainbow Dash scoffed. "The princess told us to chill until she calls us. We've got some time before those Desire things show up."
"Mhm. But if there's already some of them across Equestria, then I guess it wouldn't hurt to check things out." Ash looked up.
"Pika."
"No. You're right, Rainbow Dash. I should just relax and wait for Princess Celestia to make the call. But, I'll call you if something's wrong." A worried Twilight hung up, already thinking about what the Desires could be doing at this very moment if some of them had already shown up.
"Nine..." Ninetales and the others were worried about their trainer and how she was acting at the moment. They understood her fear though.
It was hard to say if any Desires had already shown up across Equestria. Although Celestia hasn't summoned them yet, even still, Twilight couldn't help but panic.
But surprisingly, it was Twilight's own panicking and worrying nature that actually caused Ponyville to receive its first Desire. She was one of the many ponies who had been affected. Twilight's body froze as she felt an unusual pulse flow through her body.
"W-What's going on?" Her body felt like it was being split open as she got on the ground, holding her head in pain. Her Pokemon and Spike all gathered around her, seeing how their friend and trainer was suffering all of a sudden.
"Twilight! Are you okay?!" Spike asked. "Is Absol nearby?!"
"N-No! This is different! I don't know what's happening!" Twilight growled. She believed this pain would go on for a long time, but in reality, it was fairly short yet still agonizing.
With her being one of the main ponies affected, her Desire had finally come out of her. This Desire was exactly what it looked like. A purple outline of Twilight, much like the first three humans who had their Desires come out.
The pony-shaped Desire flew out of Twilight's body as the young alicorn fell on her back, no longer feeling that agonizing pain anymore.
And as to be expected, all the way over at Canterlot, Passion had sensed the birth of a new Desire.
The sight of the first pony Desire captivated Spike and the others whilst Twilight was still recovering after that body separation.
"Espeon...?" Eve gazed at the Desire as it felt like seeing double Twilight.
"Nine?"
"Ccino?"
"Twilight...?" Spike tilted his head, feeling a bit confused right now.
"Yeah?" Twilight got up as she held her head. The young alicorn noticed how her friends were all looking in one single direction as if something had caught their attention. And something did catch their attention, and very soon Twilight herself.
She looked to where they were facing as Twilight had been graced with the sight of her Desire. The manifestation of her emotions had been realized.
"What if...!" The Desire Twilight suddenly spoke. Much like the first three Desires, its vocabulary was very limited. Sienna didn't think or bother to give them an extensive vocabulary.
"What the..." Twilight stood up as she had no idea what to think of this. There was a second her. But an outline instead of a full-body entity. "Who are you...?"
"What if!" The Desire gave a response to Twilight. But one that was of violent intent. Every Desires main goal is to complete their body and replace their host entirely.
The Desire Twilight spread her wings out, intimidating everypony here as it was already slowly absorbing the life force of Twilight without her even realizing.
"W-What does it want?!" Spike backed up.
"Stay behind me, Spike!" Twilight got in front of him, putting her wing out. "If it came out of me and looks like me...then this must be a Desire!"
"Espeon!" Eve and the others stood beside Twilight, growling at the Desire.
"If...What if!" But surprisingly, the Desire Twilight wasn't planning on attacking Twilight. Its main objective was to head out and cause as much chaos as it can.
And that's what it did. Instead of using the wings that it came with, the Desire instead used some of Twilight's magic to teleport out of here, leaving their line of sight and the entire Pokemon Lab.
"Where'd it go?!" Spike looked outside.
"Teleportation." Twilight narrowed her eyes. "It could be anywhere by now. Let's go!"
"Right now?"
"Yes, right now! No time for idle chit-chat! Who knows what kind of destruction it could cause!"
The Desire had already arrived outside. Much like its original host Twilight, it wasted no time getting to work. The last three Desires were capable of freezing areas, manipulating electronics and battle intuition due to who they originally came from.
Twilight's Desire was based on one thing. And that one thing was also represented by the single phrase it said. "What if..."
The Desire set its sights on the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who weren't ready for what was about to come their way. That's when the Desire revealed what it was capable of.
This Desire is based on Twilight's constant state of worrying and thinking about the worst-case scenarios without having much time to relax. Thus, the ability of this Desire was being able to create actual worst-case scenarios by making them a reality.
By hiding in the shadows and concealing itself, it started by zapping all three of the Crusaders at the same time with one magic beam that caused a chain reaction through their heads.
The CMC froze for a bit as their minds were being invaded by cosmic energy and the essence of Twilight to an extent. The energy from the Desire searched for every memory that the three of them owned, seeing which one it could utilize.
That's when it found something juicy. The energy left their minds as it had found three memories from their past experiences.
These memories had concluded long ago as the worst-case scenario never happened. But since the Desire intervened and dug into their memories, it twisted the ending of that experience into something worse.
"Ugh, my head..." Scootaloo and her friends felt a bit woozy. They weren't sure what happened, but they felt like somepony had invaded their minds without their permission.
"Whew...!" Sweetie Belle shook her head. "That was weird. What do you think haaaaaaaaaaa!" She gasped all of a sudden as her widened eyes had seen something unexpected and horrifying.
"What? What happened?" Apple Bloom asked as she held her head. Very soon, she saw the same thing Sweetie Belle had seen as they were both looking at Scootaloo. "W-Waaaah?!"
"What's wrong with you two? You look like you've seen a-" And finally, Scootaloo saw it as well. Her reaction was similar to that of her friends.
What did happen exactly?
It was simple. The memory the Desire invaded ended up being the time the CMC finally got their Cutie Marks. It took that entire memory and gave it a horrible twist.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders no longer had their Cutie Marks.
As to be expected, they freaked out as they each let out ear-piercing screams that could shatter windows. "W-W-Where's my Cutie Mark! Where's your Cutie Mark?!" Sweetie Belle screeched.
"I don't know!" Scootaloo bit her hoof as she ran around like a dog chasing its tail, trying to see if she could spot it. But there was nothing.
"W-What do we do?! Is this bad?! It is isn't it?!" Apple Bloom whimpered.
"Uh...Uh..." Scootaloo looked around, seeing if she could find some help. She spotted Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon nearby. Two very good friends of theirs. "Diamond Tiara! Silver Spoon!"
The CMC dashed over to the duo, grabbing the attention of them both. "Hm?" Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow.
"You gotta help us! Cutie Marks! Gone!" Apple Bloom aggressively poked her hoof on Sweetie Belle's flank.
"Knock it off!" Sweetie Belle knocked her hoof away.
"Our Cutie Marks suddenly disappeared! See? Look!" Scootaloo and her friends showed how they no longer had their unified marks at all.
"Why are you showing me something that never existed in the first place?" Diamond Tiara replied as her response shocked the three of them.
"Huh?" They raised their eyebrows in unison.
"You're acting weirder than normal. Blank Flanks." Diamond Tiara chuckled as she and Silver Spoon walked off, leaving the CMC flabbergasted.
"W-What?" Sweetie Belle stammered. "What just happened?"
To the trio, they had no idea what was going on or why Diamond Tiara suddenly reverted to her old self. But the Desire, whilst being mostly mindless with a small semblance of the original host's intellect, knew the reason why.
Because it had twisted the original outcome of that one scenario, the hard work the CMC had done was essentially altered. Diamond Tiara never became their friend and they were never able to help her or earn their Cutie Marks.
This Desire had the ability to manipulate important events as long as it finds a memory it can interact with. After messing with the CMC, the Desire had gained some extra life force as it scattered into cosmic particles, off to find somepony else to ruin.
Twilight arrived outside, searching Ponyville for her Desire. She took the skies, seeing if she could find it with a birds-eye-view. But nothing so far.
"Not here. Where could it have gone?" Twilight wondered. At ground level, Spike and the Pokemon were also searching, but they couldn't spot the Desire anywhere.
Even if it had a very out there appearance with that dazzling outline, the shadows were an excellent place for the Desire to hide.
Twilight and Spike did spot something unusual other than the Desire. They saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders and how they no longer had their Cutie Marks on them.
Naturally, this caught their curiosity as Twilight and Spike approached the trio. "Cutie Mark Crusaders! What happened to your Cutie Marks?!" Twilight asked.
"I-I-I-I don't know!" Scootaloo stuttered. "They just vanished out of nowhere!"
"We didn't even see it happen!" Apple Bloom shook her head.
"Well...we did feel something weird in our heads and then we saw that they were gone. And this little beam from somewhere." Sweetie Belle said.
"Weird in your heads...Beam..." Twilight stayed on those words for a bit. She added that up to their missing Cutie Marks and came to an obvious conclusion. She knew that the Desire was behind this somehow. "Tell me. Did you see what fired the beam in the first place?"
"No, we didn't see who did it. We were just hanging out." Scootaloo whimpered. "Then this happened." She looked over at her flank, already missing her mark.
"Then that means...The Desire might have the ability to remove Cutie Marks."
"Remove Cutie Marks?!" Sweetie Belle squealed.
"W-What's a Desire?" Scootaloo asked.
"Princess Celestia said that they're manifestations of obsessions and needs. My Desire is currently roaming about. But I'm not sure how stealing a Cutie Mark relates to me."
"It most likely doesn't." A familiar voice passed through Twilight's ears. That familiar voice was none other than Princess Celestia, who had already shown up here with Passion.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Passion has sensed a Desire being born here. And I take it it's yours."
"Looks like it. My own Desire came out of me. Can't believe I was the first..." Twilight lowered her head.
"I'm so confused! I just want my Cutie Mark back!" Sweetie Belle wailed.
"Your Cutie Marks are most likely linked to the Desire. If we stop it, the damage it caused will fade away. Passion, have you found it yet?" Celestia asked her partner.
"Lia. Kirlia!" Passion had sensed the Desire as it was still present in Ponyville. "Kir!"
"Good. Come along, Twilight. Before it causes more harm." Celestia followed Passion's directions as the Emotion Pokemon acted as a radar for Desires.
"R-Right!" Twilight and Spike followed along with their Pokemon.
The hunt for the Desire had begun. At first, it seemed difficult to track it down. But with Passion here, being able to sense it from any direction, they would be able to find it with no issues.
There was no telling what else Twilight's Desire could do. After changing the outcome of the CMC's scenario with Diamond Tiara, the Desire seemed to hold abilities that were comparable to the most advanced spells out there.
It had found a second target to intervene against. That being Pinkie Pie. The Desire stood in the shadows that were cast by SugarCube Corner as it looked through the window, spotting the pink pony.
"Check out Spinda's new move. Use Metronome Spinda!" Pinkie commanded her partner.
"Spin!" The Spot Panda Pokemon raised her hands, waving them back and forth as Jade and the Cake Twins leaned in to see what this Metronome move was all about. Spinda's arms began glowing white as it had found a random move to use.
The move that Metronome gave her was the signature move of Chesnaught. Spiky Shield. Spinda curled up as a round green shield surrounded her body. Out of the shield came spikes that extended, almost hitting Pinkie and Jade in the face.
"Oooh...So it's a random move every time?" said Jade.
"Yup! That's what they told me. Can you imagine what Spinda can do now?!" Pinkie picked up Spinda who came out of Spiky Shield.
"Da!"
As Pinkie babbled on about her Spinda, the Desire took the opportunity to invade her memories by zapping through the window, leaving a small hole and crack in it.
The beam of cosmic energy entered Pinkie Pie's mind, forcing the pink pony to stop talking. Jade raised an eyebrow as she had an odd tingling sensation flow through her. As if something related to her was nearby.
"Pinkie?" Jade tilted her head.
"Aaaah....!" Pinkie was numb as she stood there like a zombie, frozen and dull with barely any movements. All the while, her mind was being invaded.
The Desire had struck gold with Pinkie Pie's memories. So many of them were pivotal and important moments in her life that either made her the pony she is today, moments that involve the ones she loves etc.
The Desire was actually having a tough time choosing. Until it decided to just invade whichever and it will still have a huge impact either way.
However, since the Desire was by origin a being of cosmic energy, Jade, who was also a being made out of cosmic energy, could sense something off as her mane started flowing up.
The Rift Pony had once again gone through a moment where her inner Rift energy kicks in without her knowing. She could sense where the familiar energy was coming from as she turned her head to the window, spotting the Desire.
"What is that?" Jade pointed her hoof over at the window where the Desire stood at.
But even after noticing it, Pinkie's mind was still being invaded as the Desire was digging into the memory of when she went to the Mirror Pool and brought out multiple clones of herself.
If the Desire meddles with this memory and changes the outcome, then Pinkie Pie would end up being replaced by a clone. Whether that was good or bad was a mystery in its own right.
However, Jade could also see that Pinkie was being influenced by Desire. That beam was engraved in her head as it was forcing Pinkie to act motionless.
Jade made the wise decision of pushing Pinkie Pie away from the beam as the Desire couldn't finish meddling with the memory thanks to Jade's actions.
"Hoo...boy." Pinkie felt a bit doozy as her eyes and tail spun around. "That felt funny, ya know."
"Pinkie Pie. Look." Jade turned Pinkie's attention to the Desire that was still standing outside near the window.
"Twilight?" Pinkie squinted her eyes, getting a better look at the Desire.
"What if..." The Desire had seen how its cover had been blown thanks to Jade being aware, thus, it slowly backed away, attempting to find another victim.
But it wasn't just Pinkie and Jade who had spotted her. Celestia, Twilight, Spike and Passion had found the Desire thanks to Passion tracking it down.
"There you are," Celestia said, startling the Desire.
"What if?!"
"I don't know how you did it, but give the Cutie Mark Crusaders' Cutie Marks back!" Twilight lit up her horn.
"What if..." The Desire obviously wasn't going to listen to its host, whatsoever. Since infiltrating Pinkie Pie's memories was a failure thanks to Jade, a different victim had to be found.
Luckily for the Desire, it had a few to choose from that were standing right in front of it. Feeling lucky, the Desire turned around to face Spike, choosing him as its next target. A beam of cosmic energy shot out of its head, connecting Spike's as Twilight and Celestia gasped.
"O-O-Ooooh...." Spike entered the same motionless state the CMC and Pinkie Pie were put in earlier.
The Desire was prepared to find any juicy memory in Spike's head but was promptly stopped thanks to the interference of Celestia, who knocked away the Desire's beam with her magic, freeing Spike from its clutches.
"Ow!" Spike held his head, feeling a bit woozy.
"Spike! Are you okay!?" Twilight went over to him. "What did it do to you?!"
"No idea...I think it was getting in my head." Spike groaned.
"What if..." The Desire growled, seeing how Celestia was about to be a huge nuisance that might end up getting in its way. Which she would for sure.
"Let's finish this as soon as we can. If we can weaken it, then Passion will be able to approach it." Celestia's horn lit up, ready to weaken the Desire.
This scenario didn't go unnoticed. Pinkie and Jade came outside to see exactly what was going on. The sight of two Twilight's was a bit odd for Pinkie Pie's eyes. Especially since one is just an outline and nothing more. At least, at the moment.
"What if!" The Desire didn't just have Twilight's magic at its disposal. It backed away, entering daylight as it was no longer hiding the shadows. Another way of having a sort of offence and defence was how the Desire also came with Pokemon of its own.
Being the manifestation based on Twilight, it had her Pokemon as well. By just willing it, the Desire had created three Pokemon identical to Twilight's out of thin air as particles of cosmic energy swirled around, bringing these Pokemon to reality.
From, Eve, Ninetales and Minccy, they all had the same outline as the Desire, but their bodies were more complete than the Desire.
"D-D-Did it just...?" Twilight raised her hoof, stuttering.
"It's your Desire. Meaning that it comes with everything you possess." Celestia explained as she stepped forward, facing the Desire. "And I suppose with the Pokemon beside it, this won't be easy whatsoever.
"Wait, I'm confused. What's going?" Pinkie moved her head to Twilight and the Desire, wanting an explanation. "Is that what a Desire looks like? Can it just create Pokemon like that?"
"What if...!" The Desire commanded its Pokemon to attack Celestia and others so that they won't get in its way of plans to alter scenarios.
"Here they come...Prepare yourself, Passion."
"Kirlia...!"
"If! What if!" The Desire raised its hoof, commanding its own Ninetales to attack by using Quick Attack to do so. The Fox Pokemon moved at lightning speeds, leaving behind a trail of energy with silver streaks.
"Passion! Hold Ninetales!"
"Lia!" The Emotion Pokemon put her arms out, staying firmly in one spot. Once the Fox Pokemon got close, Passion used her mind to hold Ninetales in place as a pink outline overlayed Ninetales's purple cosmic outline.
"Nine?!"
"Now send Ninetales back!
"Kirlia!" Passion then forced Ninetales back at its trainer by controlling the Fox Pokemon with her mind. The Fire-Type was rocketed back at high-speeds, crashing into the Desire, along with the other two Pokemon that were beside it.
"What if?!" The Desire groaned as it tumbled on the ground, along with its Pokemon. "What if...!"
"Let's see if we can enter inside of the Desire at this point. Now grab the Desire, Passion!"
"Kirlia!" Passion moved in, ready to put an end to this as she hovered.
"What if!" But the Desire wasn't about to let itself lose here. Not until it had found another memory to alter. The Desire stood up, aiming to affect Passion herself.
A beam of cosmic energy was sent out of its horn, racing towards the Emotion Pokemon. "Dodge it!" Celestia commanded.
"Kir!" Passion flew over the beam, avoiding it as it almost hit Spike, but it just missed. The Emotion Pokemon appeared in front of the Desire, putting her hands out as she used psychic capabilities to hold the Desire in place.
"What...if?!"
"Kirlia...!" Passion was ready to get this all over with. Like how she did with the previous Desire's, the Emotion Pokemon linked her mind with the Desire's and essentially Twilight to an extent.
She put herself and the Desire in a meditative state as her eyes flashed. She was expecting to find something, but to Passion's surprise, there was nothing.
It wasn't that there wasn't anything inside of the Desire's mind that relates to it having the ability to create the worst-case scenarios, instead, Sienna and Lucien had fine-tuned the Desires whilst working on them.
Before, they could be stopped by just entering their minds. However, the two of them had made it so that only a few of them can be defeated via mind infiltration.
Like the first Desire which was based off a random trainer who wanted to win against Cynthia no matter what, The other Desires require different methods to stop them. And this Desire was one of them.
"K-Kirlia?" Passion backed up, confused as to why she couldn't see inside of the Desire.
"What's wrong Passion?" Celestia asked.
"What if...!" The Desire slapped Passion with its hoof, sending the Emotion Pokemon flying back to her trainer.
"Kir!"
"Passion!" Celestia caught Passion in her hooves. "Why didn't it work?"
"What if...!" The Desire, now more violent than ever, commanded all three of its Pokemon to attack at the same time. And that's what they did. The fake Espeon, Cinccino and Ninetales all ran past their trainer, aiming at subduing the ponies so that the Desire can infiltrate their minds.
"Quick, Eve! Use Dazzling Gleam!" Twilight gasped as she commanded Eve.
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon created a rainbow-coloured sphere around her body as she launched herself at the three Pokemon.
The fake Espeon also used Dazzling Gleam, showing that it had also mimicked Eve's moves as well. Not just her appearance. The two Dazzling Gleam's collided as they both entered a small struggle. Their strengths were also equal as well.
"Passion! Use Plasma Bolt!" Celestia had come up with a name for Passion's plasma since it was exclusive to just her.
"Kirlia!" Passion hopped out of Celestia's hooves as she spun around, creating plasma itself in her hands by combining Mystical Fire with Thunderbolt. She then put her hands out, sending a blast of plasma downwards that struck both Ninetales and Cinccino at the same time.
Eve had managed to win over the fake Espeon by just edging out and gaining a small bit of extra strength. With that boost, the Sun Pokemon broke through Espeon's sphere, shattering it. The Fake Espeon had been hit by Dazzling Gleam, sending it flying back to the Desire.
"What if...!" The Desire could see that it was losing horribly at the moment. Celestia's Kirlia had already managed to heavily damage its Pokemon with Plasma Bolt and Eve proved to be superior over the fake Espeon.
All three of its Pokemon had been sent towards the Desire, already on the verge of fainting.
"Now then." Celestia took one step forward, startling the Desire. "Let's try this again."
"W-What...What if..." The Desire backed up as it was actually intimidated by Celestia. The Sun Princess narrowed her eyes at the Desire, only intimidating it further.
But, that intimidation from Celestia was also a catalyst for the Desire. Since this Desire was the manifestation of Twilight imagining the worst-case scenarios, one of the many things that involve those scenarios, if not most of them, is mainly Princess Celestia.
Twilight at times fears scenarios that go wrong which involves Celestia herself. Whether it'd be the test she took during the Crystal Empire, when Celestia faced Ghetsis for the first time or when Passion's own explosive power was threatening to destroy both worlds, Twilight always thought about Celestia and how something horrible could happen to her.
And that's what it took. The method of defeating this one single Desire wasn't infiltrating its mind. Instead, it was to defeat it with its own machinations.
The Desire was now acting like Twilight herself. In a sense that it was thinking about the worst-case scenarios that could happen to itself. Mainly involving Celestia and what she might do to it.
"W-What...If-What-IF!" The Desire was suddenly stuttering, shaking uncontrollably as it looked like it was malfunctioning in a sense.
"What's it doing...?" Spike said.
"No idea...This is new to me." Celestia shook her head.
"If...! IF! What if?!" All of a sudden, out of nowhere, the Desire just self-destructed where it stood. An explosion of cosmic energy erupted from that spot as it was almost large enough to hit the buildings, but not quite.
Celestia placed a protective barrier around them, shielding her friends from the explosion as everypony was startled by it. It was impossible to ignore something like that.
It seemed like the Desire had been finished off by its own traits. However, one single cosmic particle managed to survive as it flew out of the cosmic smoke, showing that Twilight's Desire was still alive and around.
As for the rest of the Desire's body, it was gone. That explosion took itself out. It couldn't bear to think about the worst-case scenarios. So as a result, it self-destructed from overthinking.
"W-What happened?!" Twilight leaned forward.
"I believe it may have self-destructed." Celestia and other citizens of Ponyville went over to the spot the Desire used to be as a small crater had been formed. "Whatever may have happened must've caused it to breakdown."
"Kirlia..."
"S-So...does this mean it's gone?" Spike stammered.
"Possibly. Let's check." Celestia turned her attention to the Cutie Mark Crusaders since they were the first to be heavily affected by the Desire.
The CMC all felt a tingling sensation inside of them as they were jittering about. They thought that their minds were being messed with again by the Desire, but that wasn't the case.
Due to 99% of the Desire being destroyed, the effects it created had been reversed. As such, the CMC's regained the Cutie Marks once more as flashes of light surrounded their flanks.
Naturally, they were overjoyed.
"Yes! Oh, it's so good to have these back!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"I was about to breakdown there for a second!" Sweetie Belle laughed nervously.
"Thank Celestia!" Apple Bloom fell on her back, feeling relieved.
"It's gone." Celestia nodded her head. "But it seems that like the first Desire we encountered...there are other ways to defeat the Desires. I'll keep that in mind."
"Phew." Twilight sighed. "I can't believe I ended up creating my own Desire. That's what I get for panicking..."
"No need to worry, Twilight." Celestia put her wing over her fellow alicorn. "Just be glad that it's over. For now. Other Desires could still show up after all."
"Kirlia!" Passion hopped on Celestia's back as the two were ready to call it a day and head back home via teleportation.
With the Desire's effects on the CMC gone, this also meant that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had returned to their current selves. The outcome of that specific scenario had been restored.
"Oh, my head...What happened?" Diamond Tiara went over to the CMC who backed up away from her. "What's wrong with you three?"
"Nothing..." Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes.
"Hm. I had a huge case of Deja vu for some reason..." Diamond Tiara groaned as she walked off.
"Guess it wasn't just us feeling weird, huh?" Sweetie Belle grinned as the CMC laughed in unison.
The fourth Desire had been defeated, but a semblance of it remained. The 1% was floating somewhere in Equestria now, merely a tiny piece of stardust with a bit of Twilight Sparkle inside of it. Whatever happens to it next is a mystery.
Whether it be in Equestria or the Pokemon World, the Desires are bound to show up and cause different problems for everyone around them. All it takes is a few negative emotions and some obsessions. But there will be those who will be there to stop the Desires as the journey continues.
Classes had just finished for the students as most of them were heading home. Keyword being most.
The ones who stayed behind were Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. For one reason that correlates back to their experience in the Frenzy Forest.
They stayed behind to learn more about Psychic and Fairy. More importantly, the latent Psychic energy and Fairy magic that lays dormant in them.
The two teachers who would instruct them were fittingly Olympia and Valerie, who had enough time to teach them all they needed to know.
For Twilight, Olympia would be teaching her and Valerie would be handling Fluttershy and Pinkie respectively as they were each in separate classrooms. Twilight had her Espeon out since it is her only Psychic-Type Pokemon she always has beside her.
In Olympia's classroom, it was designed like an Occult room but with Psychic themes instead. The symbol of the Psychic-Type logo was everywhere. On the walls, ceilings and even floor, as if there were eyes constantly staring at all times.
Not only that but most of the wall was designed after Olympia's cosmic cape to give it that extra flare. And mostly because Olympia thought it would look nice.
"Glad you could make it, Princess Twilight," Olympia spoke to her and Eve. "We have enough time to cover a lot until the schools close."
"I'm so excited! It'll be like having a secondary magic!" Twilight squeed.
"Espeon!"
"I'm glad you've taken an interest to this. But, princess. For teachings such as this, you'll need to have 100% focus. Psychic requires the peak and full concentration of the mind to make progress."
"Yes, Ms Olympia!"
"Eon!"
"Right. Now let's get started. But first. You must know about the 4 levels. It is highly important."
"4 levels? What are those?"
"The first one is the most common. Psionics. Most Psychic-Types can learn this without any problems whatsoever. Even if they're not powerful at all. That is where you and your Espeon are currently at."
"Esp?" Espeon looked up at Twilight.
"The second one is more advanced and one that I possess. Absolute Psionic. Many High-Class Psychic trainers, such as myself fit into this category. This level is the one you must strive to achieve the most. Absolute Psionic lets you tap into the raw psionic might of the Psychic-Type. Much like how Dragons are the rawest form of magic out there."
"Ooh...But wait. If you're only at the second level, what about the rest? Are there trainers much better than you?"
"Unfortunately, the second level is the maximum limitation for trainers. The third and fourth are exclusively for Pokemon only. The third level is for Pokemon such as Slowking, Reuniclus, Metagross and Alakazam. Pokemon with high intelligence. One of the many traits that come with the third level is being able to speak with telepathy."
"Oh, yeah. I know about that one." Twilight nodded. "But wait, Darkrai's not a Psychic-Type. And he can speak with Telepathy."
"There are some exceptions. At times, you don't need to be a Psychic-Type to speak with telepathy. Besides. Telepathy is just the simpler part of the third level. It is much more complex. But not as complex as the last one. Psychopotence. Very few Psychic-Type Pokemon can achieve this level. And I mean very few."
"W-What's Psychopotence capable of?"
"Ah, you'll have to work hard to know about that. But the one thing you should know is that the only Pokemon capable of Psychopotence are Legendary Pokemon. The pinnacle of Pokemon."
"R-Right." Twilight nodded.
"Right now, let's focus mainly on the first level. We'll start with something simple. Levitate an object up."
"That's it? Pssh. That's easy." Twilight's horn lit up as she was aiming for a pen.
"Without using magic."
"Huh?" Twilight's horn stopped glowing.
"Psychic is all about the mind. Therefore you must only utilize your mental capabilities without using your magic. Like so." Olympia held her hand out, bringing over a Poke Ball with her mind as she grabbed ahold of it.
"No magic...Okay." Twilight took a deep breath. "But how do I do it exactly? I mean, I'm not sure if I've got some Psychic in me at all."
"Your bond with your Espeon grants you the minimum essence of a Psychic. Therefore, you should be able to perform simple and easy Telekinesis. Let your Espeon give you an example."
"Esp." Eve closed her eyes as she focused her attention on the pen. By using her psychic capabilities, Eve lifted the pen with ease as she placed it back down.
"Telekinesis is connected to the mind of the user. It can either be activated and controlled through conscious effort and concentration, through willpower and emotions or even a state of discipline and serenity. You must focus on what you want to control."
"Focus on what I want to control. Okay." Twilight felt ready this time. She wasn't sure what it would feel like using psychic abilities for the first time, but she was prepared to embrace it.
The young alicorn closed her eyes as she was only thinking about the pen. She had a strong urge to use magic right about now since it would be a lot easier. But she took this lesson seriously so Twilight refused to use any magic.
She puffed her cheeks as her face was turning red. The minimal psychic energy that laid dormant in her was starting to build up for the very first time.
Twilight felt an odd sensation rush through her entire body as if something new had just been discovered in her. In a way, it was similar to her magic. Only it was on a more spiritual level.
Eve locked her eyes on the pen, wondering if Twilight was actually going to pull it off whilst Olympia just watched. And lo and behold, Twilight managed to achieve something.
She was able to lift the pen up in the air and hold it there. Twilight had learned the first two basic levels of Psionics. Binding and Levitation.
"Esp! Espeon!" Eve nudged Twilight's hoof, telling her to look at what she's doing right now.
"Hm?" Twilight opened one eye as she kept her concentration firm. Once she opened that eye, Twilight saw how she had actually managed to control the pen, keeping it in place. "Oh! Ah!" Twilight opened up her other eye as her jaw dropped. "I did it!"
And at that moment, she lost her concentration, forcing the pen to land back on the table. "Hm. A fine job." Olympia nodded. "You've achieved Binding and Levitation. A good start, Princess Twilight."
"Thank you!" Twilight held Eve in her hooves.
"Now. Let's try it again. But this time on slightly heavier objects."
"Okay!"
Twilight's lesson had just begun and already she was starting to make progress. She's for sure a pony who knows how to focus and concentrate on something when she puts her mind to it. So it's no wonder why a semblance of Psychic energy lays with her.
As for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, their lesson with Valerie about Fairy-Types was much different from Twilight's Psychic-Type lesson. Instead of the Pokemon, the trainer was the largest focus of this. Mostly because Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are now part fairies. Their lesson was on the more laid-back and explanatory side compared to Olympia's focused and active side.
Valerie's classroom was shaped like a heart with butterfly wings, meant to mimic the Fairy-Type logo. There was an overwhelming abundance of pink, everywhere. Whether it was the walls, the floor, ceiling or even Valerie, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Audino themselves.
"Okay." Valerie sat down. "Now that you two are Half-Fairy, that means I can teach you about Fairy Physiology."
"Fairy Physiology?" Pinkie and Fluttershy said at the same time.
"Mhm." Valerie nodded. "Or Fey Physiology as some like to call it. It essentially means that you are now two species in one. Your original pony selves and a Fairy."
"Ooh..." Pinkie looked at her hoof. "So what does that mean if we're part Fairy?"
"Well, for starters, a fairly impressive one is that you are only slightly harmed by Dragon-Type attacks." Valerie dropped a shocker on them.
"Slightly?!" Pinkie gasped.
"Mhm. For example, if say a Dragon Pulse was sent your way, the attack would hurt, however, your Fairy Physiology enhances your conditions. Since you have Fairy magic within you, the Dragon Pulse would only slightly harm you, whereas, with anyone else, the attack would cause them great pain. Your bodies are now made of magic."
"I see. That's..." Fluttershy thought for a moment. "That's actually useful now that I think about it."
"Audino."
"Yeah, it is!" Pinkie dashed over. "We're extra built now! Now no Dragon's gonna stand in our way!" She flexed her hooves.
"That just comes naturally with Fairies. Another thing that comes naturally is your connection to the world and Pokemon itself. Like how I can communicate with some Pokemon, like my Sylveon. But I know you're already experienced in that Fluttershy."
"Oh, yeah. Fluttershy got the creature communication thing down from Day 1." Pinkie placed her hoof around Fluttershy's neck. "She's a real expert!"
"Then, in that case, I won't need to teach you about that part. But I will teach you about the common traits that come with Fairy magic. Let's start with something small. Fluttershy, try Mega Evolving your Audino."
"Okay." Fluttershy nodded as she put her hoof out, looking at her Mega Ring. She activated the keystone, which interacted with Audino's keystone as two separate lights clashed against each other whilst the transformation took place.
Once the Mega Evolution occurred and Mega Audino showing up, Valerie could now teach Fluttershy about some fairly useful tricks that come with being Half-Fairy.
"Dino!"
"Good. Now let's go over the two applications. Fairy Empathy and Sensory Scrying. The second one is also important for you too, Pinkie Pie. First, we'll look at Fairy Empathy. Being able to understand and feel Fairy emotions."
"What's different about Fairy emotions?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, Fairies tend to have a lot of emotion building up within them. Whether they're good or bad. Princess Celestia's Kirlia is the best example of that. Especially once she finally becomes a Gardevoir."
"It's kinda taking a long time for her to do so..." Pinkie whispered to Fluttershy.
"If you can understand the true emotions of a Fairy, you'll be able to understand any emotion of all Pokemon without even having to get close to them."
"Oh, okay. So how do I start?" said Fluttershy.
"Try touching Audino and see what happens."
So that's what Fluttershy did. By placing her hoof on her Audino's stomach, the pegasus was immediately put into a meditative state as a pulse of pink energy flowed through her body, filling the entire room.
Before she knew it, Fluttershy could sense all of Audino's emotions at once. Not just a single emotion. The number of emotions being sent to her head was a bit overwhelming as Fluttershy backed away, gasping. "W-What was that?"
"Audino?"
"Sorry." Valerie bowed her head. "I should've warned you about how overwhelming it can be. But right now, you have just felt every single one of Audino's emotions at the same time instead of one. Fairy Empathy allows you to read emotions faster than you can imagine. It's also a great help in battles."
"Sweet!" Pinkie shot up. "Sounds perfect to me!"
"Almost perfect. It does come with its limitations. The biggest one is that you can be easily possessed by spirits and Ghost-Type Pokemon, as they are beings bound by emotions. Also, it has no effect against Psychic Pokemon and trainers since they're the true experts of the mind."
"Oh. That Ghost part doesn't sound so fun." Pinkie slumped.
"Right. But even that can be counteracted. With Fairy Aura."
"Fairy Aura?" Both Fluttershy and Pinkie said in unison.
"Mhm. The best example of this is the Legendary Pokemon Xerneas. The Life Pokemon. Xerneas can create an aura of Fairy energy around its body and use it to either expel certain attacks or fill an opponent or oneself with happiness and bliss."
"That would explain some Fairy-Type moves..." Fluttershy nodded.
"Fairy Aura is similar to that of Lucario's Aura. Although, my knowledge about that kind of Aura is limited. But I do know that they both allow the user to sense the Aura of others and the surrounding area, read the thoughts and actions of beings and such."
"This is a lot to take in. I knew Fairy Pokemon were all about magic but..." Fluttershy looked at her Audino.
"Ah! Am I making it too complex! Sorry!" Valerie apologized.
"It's fine! We're kinda getting it." Pinkie Pie said. "What else is there?"
"Well um...Let's try...Oh! I should probably mention this. Depending on your partner, you can borrow a few of their traits."
"Borrow? Like what?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Well, Audino's greatest asset is her enhanced hearing. So, Fluttershy. Thanks to your bond with Audino, you can learn her hearing trait. It won't be as impressive as Audino's, but it'll definitely help you in certain situations."
"You can borrow traits form Pokemon?" Fluttershy thought for a moment. "Oh, right. I did hear that Aura Guardians can use Aura Sphere too."
"And Pinkie Pie. You can learn how to enhance your sense of smell thanks to your Slurpuff."
"I can learn how to smell tasty stuff from far away..." Pinkie gasped as her pupils expanded. She was already thinking of all the ways she could utilize that potent sense of smell.
"For example, I have a strong bond with my Sylveon. I have one single trait from her and that's being able to soothe the mind. Like so." Valerie went over to Fluttershy, putting her hands on her face.
Fluttershy then felt a soft and relaxing wave pass through her body, putting her into a soothing and relaxed state. "Aaah..."
"See? Very soon, you can hear and smell better than you normally can." Valerie removed her hands.
"Great! When can we get started!" Pinkie jumped.
"Well actually, I can't help you with that one. Only your Pokemon can. You already have a strong bond with them. So all you have to do is build further on it. But I can teach you sensory scrying. In which you can see through the eyes of your Pokemon. It helps make you sync well with your partner."
"Like Ash-Greninja and Rainbow-Braviary?" Fluttershy said.
"Like those two yes. Now then. We don't have long until the school closes for the day. So we'll wrap up with a simple breathing exercise. It works well with Fairy magic."
"Okie Dokie! I wanna learn how to have Slurpuff's sense of smell already!"
Valerie's class with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie was more laid-back and calm, compared to Olympia's class with Twilight and Espeon.
And speaking of those two, Twilight had now learned to levitate heavier objects with her mind. She was currently levitating a book and a chair at the moment. Two objects in one. Although, Twilight had to puff her cheeks to even maintain control.
"Mrrrph..." Twilight groaned.
"Very good, Princess Twilight. Now you can try the slightly more advanced form of Telekinesis. Try bringing the objects over to you.
"A-Alright..." Twilight put more focus on her thought as she attempted to bring the book and chair her way. It looked like it would be successful since the objects were slowly moving her way. However, perhaps she was focusing too much.
Since she was pushing herself with her mind, she ended up levitating another object in the form a table. At first, it seemed impressive to Olympia. But it was then realized that Twilight was starting to lose control over her own abilities.
Her control was so loose that she was even managing to shake the room itself. And if she continued any further, things might get a bit destructive.
"Princess Twilight. You might want to relax a bit." Olympia warned her.
"Hold on...I think I've got it...!" Twilight believed she could do it and that prompted her mind to accelerate. However, due to that pressure, Twilight's mind went through a bit of expenditure.
Before she knew it, Twilight lost her concentration as she almost passed out from all that power. "Ow!" Twilight held her head, feeling a splitting headache come to her.
"Espeon?!" Eve went over to her partner to see if she was alright.
"I-I'm fine, Eve. I think."
"That was impressive lifting three heavy objects, but...a bit too much," Olympia said.
"Sorry. Guess I pushed myself there."
"I should've warned you about the limitations at first. The mind of a Psychic can be highly-dangerous, Princess Twilight. But so far, you've proven to be a capable Psychic. For most Psychics, it takes weeks for them to even lift two objects. But you've mastered it in a few minutes and even bumped up to three."
"Really? Yes!" Twilight felt successful in that category.
"In fact, I think you're somewhat ready to tackle the slightly challenging ones. If you feel ready that is."
"I feel ready!" Twilight nodded.
"If you say so. Hold still for a second, princess." Olympia ordered. Twilight sat perfectly still, wondering what Olympia was planning to do. The teacher went up to the princess, placing one hand over Twilight's head.
"Esp?" Eve tilted her head.
"Are you reading my-" Twilight's words were cut off as her eyes flashed purple along with Olympia having a blue outline around her body.
What Olympia was doing was similar to what Passion can do against the Desires. She was interacting with Twilight's mind. But it was different than that.
Instead, Twilight was entering her own mind via the actions of someone else. Olympia could make Twilight see her own mindscape, much to the young alicorn's surprise.
Twilight had just arrived in her mindscape from Olympia simply allowing her to do so. And once she got there, she found out what it really looks like inside of her mind.
"W-Where am I...?" Twilight gawked as she gazed at her surroundings. Where to begin with her mindscape.
The environment was a perfect replica of Ponyville and Canterlot. Two very important locations for Twilight since she holds the most memories there.
Although, there was one thing that wasn't a perfect replica was the sky. It was purple for some odd reason. Twilight definitely knew she never thought of the sky being purple once at all.
"Ponyville...and Canterlot in the same place? Why's the sky purple?" Twilight wondered.
"You're currently in your mindscape, Princess Twilight. Olympia spoke as it was revealed that she was here as well. "Your own inner world and personal reality. This is where everything you love, remember and fear dwells. All in one area."
"Oooh...I think I remember Princess Celestia heading into Passion's mindscape once. I never knew I had my own."
"We all do. Whether it be daydreams or dreams in the night, everyone has a mindscape of their own. But we Psychics can go a step further with it at times."
"Esp." Eve was here as well along with Ninetales and Minccy. "Espeon!"
"Hey, Twilight!" It wasn't just them. Pinkie Pie and the rest of her friends waved over at Twilight since they were permanent parts of her mindscape.
"So...you brought me here?"
"Yes. The mindscape may seem like just a world you can escape to at times. But it can also act as a method of assistance. The friends here are perfect replicas of your real friends. Meaning they can give you advice in the same way."
"Oooh..."
"What's more, the mindscape is usually where Psychic trainers look for ways to improve their battling skills. If you stay here and train for a certain amount of time, your psychic capabilities will increase and enter reality."
"Amazing. There's so much more to the Psychic-Type than I thought. So I can come here and ask for help at any time?"
"If you want to. But I can guarantee your real-life friends might be the better option. Mindscape creations tend to exaggerate the personalities of the originals."
"Okay." Twilight nodded.
"Eventually, you'll be able to learn an ability such as this. Right now, your psychic abilities aren't increasing since I am the one who brought you here. But soon, this will be your own personal training room for you and your Espeon."
"And I can't wait!"
"Unfortunately, this is all the time we have for our lesson. The school is about to close. But you can come at any time and we shall continue, alright?"
"Right! Thank you, Ms Olympia!" Twilight said with a soft smile as the world around her was fading away, showing that the mindscape was coming to an end. The last thing she saw was a flash of light and that was it.
With the school closing, the remaining students and teachers inside took their leave. Cynthia watched as Twilight and the others returned home after they've finished their After-school lessons.
She could see that the future with the ponies and their involvement with Pokemon was bright. With the humans here to help them along the way and to a certain extent protect them, more about the Pokemon world and what mysteries it brings to those who interact with it continue to amaze them as the journey continues.
The region where Dynamax is the most prominent and present. And of course, the one region which holds the Pokemon responsible for the Dynamax Phenomenon.
Eternatus.
A Pokemon of unknown origin and alignment. One that had seemingly faded in obscurity centuries ago, supposedly from the efforts of either one single hero or two heroes.
But either way, the defeat of this Pokemon was only temporary. As it was only a matter of time until the day would come where it would finally regain the strength to cause havoc across the world as it did in the days of old.
However, Eternatus was currently being kept inside of a strange orb-shaped core at a hangar. As if it was a baby in an egg. But this hangar didn't just have Eternatus present there. The sphere was surrounded by scientists who were assigned to study and keep watch of the core.
The hangar let out a constant alert noise that wouldn't stop playing, indicating that something was definitely wrong, most likely relating to Eternatus. And the one overseeing this whole operation was none other than their boss and the director of Macro Cosmos.
Chairman Rose. Alongside his secretary, Oleana.
They had currently arrived at the hangar to check up on Eternatus after getting the alert. Despite how serious this seemed, Rose maintained a calm demeanour and face when entering the hangar.
"What's wrong?" Oleana said.
"When we had the core absorb Galar particles, it started overloading." A scientist answered.
"That's why we have the hangar then, isn't it obvious?" Oleana raised an eyebrow.
"Well...the energy tore through the hangar." The scientist replied.
"You intend to release it again?" Oleana crossed her arms. She seemed to take this much more seriously than Chairman Rose in terms of Dynamax and Eternatus.
Suddenly, the sphere lit up with red and purple energy, dazzling the entire hangar. Everyone turned their attention to the sphere as 10 Dynamax lights suddenly flowed out of the sphere.
This was a sign that Eternatus was finally starting to wake up as the raw energy of the mysterious Pokemon was so intense that it summoned Dynamax power spots that erupted near Hammerlocke.
However, these power spots weren't like the previous ones in which there is just one of them each and that's it. Instead, because of Eternatus, a single pillar of Dynamax energy was actually capable of creating more Galar Particles.
The purple pillars rose high enough to pierce the clouds as they each sent out streaks of Galar Particles that scattered across the Galar Region.
Rose simply smiled as he watched them fly off into the night sky. But the particles weren't just scattering across Galar. They had a second destination.
Eternatus always reacts to Dynamax energy, wherever it may be. The Galar Region is the only region filled with Dynamax power spots, so it was natural for it to focus on Galar and no other region
However, thanks to the actions of Lucien bringing Dynamax to Equestria, Eternatus now has a second location where it can absorb Dynamax energy as some of the purple streaks were heading straight for Equestria.
"Hurry and reinforce the hangar," Oleana ordered.
"Ma'am!" The scientists replied in unison.
"Truly unlimited energy..." Rose said to himself. "Marvellous."
Equestria, night.
"It's time," Lucien said as he opened his eyes, standing on top of a cloud with Sienna as always.
"What? What time?" Sienna asked him.
"This is what I've been waiting for." He rubbed his hands together as the night sky cast a shadow over his face, giving him a sinister appearance. "Time for the true Dynamax Phenomenon to show itself!"
"Oh! Is this when Eternatus finally wakes up?!" Sienna gasped. "I didn't think we'd be here so soon. This should be fun."
"It's more than just fun," Lucien smirked. "Don't you see what this means?"
"Uh..." Sienna looked at him with a poker face. "N-N-No not really." She shook her head.
"In the original timeline, Etenrnatus reached its peak power after absorbing all the energy in the Galar Region, entering a state of overload. But, now that Equestria has Galar particles here..."
Sienna took a moment to process what Lucien was talking about. It didn't take long since it was easy to understand what this all meant. "Oh no..." Her eyes widened.
"Oh yes. Sit back and relax, Sienna. This is where the fun begins!"
Cerise Labs, Vermillion City, Night.
"Rock, paper, scissors!" Both Ash and Goh said as they were having a small game of rock, paper, scissors on who would get the highest part of the bunk bed. Goh ended up winning with rock and Ash with scissors.
"I win!" Goh exclaimed. "Off you go, then."
"Darn." Ash groaned as he walked towards the door. "I'll just turn off the lights then.
"Okay!" Goh nodded as Ash turned off the lights.
Ash now had to navigate himself in the dark, but his best buddy Pikachu was there to help as the Electric Mouse Pokemon summoned an electric field around him, giving Ash some light. "Pi...!"
"Thanks, Pikachu." Ash thanked his buddy for helping him out.
But Pikachu's electric field wasn't the only source of light in the room at the moment. Inside of Ash's bag, a mysterious reddish glow emanated out of it, grabbing the attention of Ash, Pikachu and Goh.
"Pika?"
"Hm?" Ash, curious by what was going on, went over to his bag to check inside. Once he looked inside, he noticed that the source of the reddish light was none other than his Dynamax band. He picked up the band, looking at it as he wondered why it was glowing now of all times.
He wouldn't have to wonder much longer. He knew of the one person who could help give him an answer to this. The owner of Cerise Laboratory, Professor Cerise himself.
Luckily, he was still awake and available due to him being a Pokemon Professor after all. They rarely sleep most of the time anyway.
"Hmm...This is new." Cerise looked at the band that was now in his hand. "I know that trainers in the Galar Region use these bands to Dynamax and Gigantamax their Pokemon. But still, there are many things unknown about the exact mechanism."
"I was wondering about it for ages, too," Goh said. "Why do Pokemon Dynamax to begin with?"
"Yeah now that you mention it..." Ash crossed his arms.
"I thought it was limited to Wild Areas and Stadiums but Equestria has some of their own." Goh scratched his hair. "I don't really understand it..."
"Right." Ash nodded.
"There have been a number of exceptions, actually." Chryssa, one of Cerise's assistants replied.
"Exceptions?" Ash turned to her.
"Even before the two worlds crossed over and our connection with Equestria, Pokemon Dynamaxing outside of Wild Areas and Stadiums has happened before." The other assistant Ren further explained. The computer he was facing showed off the Galar map as multiple signs of Dynamaxing had been seen popping up. "There have been many reported cases as of late."
"I wonder if it has something to do with my Dynamax band shining." Ash looked over at his band.
"Anything we're curious about, we go straight to check it out!" Goh grinned. "That's our job as fellow researchers, yeah?"
"He's right," Cerise replied. "Goh. Ash. Head to the Galar Region to solve the mystery of Dynamax. There's also someone there who can be of great help to you."
"Got it!" They both said in unison.
"Pika!"
Meanwhile, at Equestria, Galar Particles have already interacted with the world itself.
The power spots plastered on different locations from Manehattan to Dodge Junction were reacting to Eternatus's energy. But this wasn't like before where Eternatus was only slightly influencing the energy due to it still being in a somewhat weakened state.
Instead, with a highly-active Eternatus who now seems to be getting back to full strength, its influence was much more present than before.
So present that when the streaks of Galar Particles flew in the air, a horrible chill filled the atmosphere, as if it was giving Equestria a warning.
Mostly everypony in Equestria couldn't feel this chill since they were asleep along with many Pokemon minus the nocturnal ones who weren't.
One Pokemon, in particular, definitely sensed it. The Pokemon who showed up when there was a Dynamax Crisis occurring in Equestria.
That Pokemon was none other than the Disaster Pokemon, Absol, who was, of course, living in the mountains on his lonesome. His horn already picked up on the presence of brand new Dynanax energy arriving here in Equestria. But it also sensed some over at the Pokemon World as well.
"Absol..." Absol growled as he felt the uncomfortable chill more than anyone. He knew that this wouldn't be like the previous Dynamax Crisis. From how intense and violent these Galar Particles were, whatever happens next will blow the previous crisis out of the water.
Absol knew that he had to set out and do something immediately. He wasn't sure that he could stop this due to his horn telling him the scale of this disaster, but Absol was willing to try anyways as he left the mountains, off to stop this second crisis.
And of course, the two ponies who can never sleep, Jade Skies and Cold Colt, felt this chill run through their bodies. And it wasn't the chill of the night, that's for sure.
The duo looked up to see red streaks pass by as Cold believed it was just a shooting star. But Jade wasn't so sure about that. She noticed that it was most likely going to land somewhere that wasn't close to Ponyville but much further.
Not at Lapras Lake, Bidoof Beach, Saddle Lake or even the Everfree Forest. Its landing spot was unknown to her, but she made sure to remember it. Everypony else in Ponyville hadn't even noticed or felt the chill that filled their town.
At least, most of them anyway. There was one other pony who was still asleep but could still feel something relating to Dynamax.
That being Twilight Sparkle was currently tossing and turning in her sleep. She didn't think too much of the chill as she thought it was just the night having a strong wind pressure at the moment.
That is until her head decided to ache out of nowhere. Although, this time, the cause of it wasn't a mystery to her. The headache ruined Twilight's perfect sleep as the young alicorn's heart started racing all of a sudden.
"Ow...!" Twilight sat up from her head, holding her head as a splitting pain came to her. She could automatically tell that this had something to do with Absol as she had visions of the Mega Evolution symbol like before. "Again...? Is Absol near?"
Curious if Absol was nearby, Twilight hopped off her bad as she looked outside the window, wondering if she could see the Disaster Pokemon.
But there was no sign of him. He wasn't even close to Ponyville at the moment. However, the visions of the symbol and constant headaches was a dead giveaway that she and Absol were currently feeling something together on two separate parts of Equestria.
Absol knew what was coming, but Twilight, not so much. She assumed that it was just another Dynamax crisis, and it technically was. However, she had no idea how large scale this second crisis could be at all.
No one does.
Galar Region, near Wedgehurst, day.
Ash and Goh were on a train to Wedgehurst under the orders of Professor Cerise. To find out about the mystery of Dynamax, they would have to meet one particular person in Wedgehurst who can give them some necessary answers.
"Train journeys have a special charm to them, don't they?" Goh looked outside the train window.
"For sure!" Ash agreed. "Since we're in the Galar Region, I just had to get these!" He dug his hand in his bag, grabbing out some scones that he bought earlier. "These nice-smelling tiny thingies!" Ash held two scones in his hands. "We've gotta kick things off with some of these! Here, Pikachu, have one."
"Pika!" Pikachu was given a scone as he and Pikachu were about to take a bite at the same time.
"You mean scones...?" Goh raised an eyebrow.
"Time to eat!" Ash exclaimed as he and Pikachu went to town on the scones, chomping and chewing away. Ash got a little bit too ambitious as the thickness of the scones got stuck in his throat "G-Gogh!" His face puckered out.
"Here, have some milk tea." Goh gave him something to clear his throat.
"T-T-Thanks...!" Ash grabbed the milk tea, drinking it aggressively.
"Honestly, did you forget why we're here, Ash?"
"I remember for sure! We're going to Wedgehurst to meet a friend of Professor Cerise, right? Her name was..." Ash tried to remember what her name was.
"Professor Magnolia." Goh gave him the answer as he showed Ash an image of Professor Cerise with Professor Magnolia on his Rotomphone. "The number one Dynamax Researcher."
"Oh, yeah, right!"
Just as the train was going along, there was an announcement that interrupted the ride. "We apologize for the inconvenience. The train will stop here for some time due to a thick fog up ahead."
"Fog?" said Goh.
The train had promptly stopped. And for once, it wasn't by any Wooloo's. Ash opened the doors as he and Goh looked outside to see this supposed fog.
But there was nothing there. "Hm...Don't really see anything from here." Ash squinted his eyes.
The announcement continued further with new information. "We're expecting to be here for a long time, so we will open some of the doors."
"What a mess. We get held up here when we're so close." Goh sat back down as the other train doors opened up. They had no choice but to wait here until the train got a move on.
"Well...if we wanna pass the time, we can always head back in the Board Game World and help out Dusknoir and Kathleen." Ash took out the board game from his bag.
"Maybe..." Goh closed his eyes as he slumped on his seat.
Things seemed slow for a bit until a Bunnelby showed up in front of them all, eating one of the scones.
"Bunnel. Bunnel."
"A Bunnelby?" Goh narrowed his eyes at the Digging Pokemon along with Ash and the Pokemon.
"Bun..." Bunnelby noticed that they were looking right at it. It tried to be sneaky and grab the scones without anyone noticing, but that was an instant failure. So, the best option now is to make a run for it. And that's what it did. "Bun!"
The Digging Pokemon hopped out of the window whilst still having the scone in its mouth. Normally, that would've been the end of it, but Goh being the eager fellow that he is, decided to catch Bunnelby.
"Oh! I haven't caught Bunnelby yet actually!" Goh stood up. "Wait!" He immediately went out, chasing after the Digging Pokemon.
"W-Wait up, Goh!" Ash followed him as well.
"By! Bunnel!" Bunnelby made its way to the forest as its way of hiding. Goh stopped to check the name of the forest on his Rotomphone.
"It's called the Slumbering Weald...What a name." Goh closed his phone as he continued to purse Bunnelby. He and Ash were now entering uncharted territory in the Galar Region.
The Slumbering Weald.
A forest that was full of fog and trees that are close to each other at all times. This is most definitely where the fog was coming from as seen by how thick it was. But because of the thick fog and entering this forest for the first time, they had currently lost sight of Bunnelby.
"This fog's thicker than I thought..." Goh uttered.
"Bunnelby!" Ash called out for Bunnelby's name.
"Pika!"
"Hm?" Just then, Goh spotted his target. Bunnelby. Turns out, it didn't get too far at all. The Digging Pokemon hopped along, not noticing Goh right behind it. "There!"
Eager to catch it, Goh chased after Bunnelby whilst Ash kept on calling Bunnelby's name. But whilst he called for it, his Xtransceiver started to ring.
On the screen it showed Twilight's face, indicating that she was the one calling him. Ash answered Twilight's call, wondering what it could be about. "Hey, Twilight. What's up?"
"Ash. We might have a problem." Twilight.
"Problem? What happened now?"
"Well, I was in bed last night and I started getting those same headaches and visions of the Mega Evolution symbol."
Like with Absol?"
"Mhm." She nodded. "I think Absol's sensed another disaster recently. But...I'm not sure what."
"Another disaster? Could it be...Dynamax?" Ash thought of connecting Twilight's call with his glowing Dynamax band.
"No idea. But if Absol sensed it then it must be something huge."
"Alright. I'll head over there and check it out as soon as I can. Gonna have to put my Dynamax research on hold then."
"Dynamax research?"
"Yeah. My band starting glowing all of a sudden last night, so Professor Cerise told me and Goh to head over to Wedgehurst and find Professor Magnolia. She's the number one Dynamax Researcher!"
"Number one Dynamax Researcher?!" Twilight exclaimed with her voice raised as she pressed her face on the screen, startling Ash and Pikachu.
"Ah!"
"Pika?!"
"Why am I now hearing about this?! There's someone who's an expert on Dynamax?!"
"Ah, I just learned about it too, Twilight." Ash rubbed the back of his head. "I had no idea who she was until Professor Cerise told us."
"If she's the best, then she'll give us all the answers we may need! Stay there, Ash! We'll come to you!"
"What about Equestria and the potential disaster?
"No need to worry. We've got gateways after all. If Dynamax Pokemon show up in Equestria whilst we're in the Pokemon, we'll be able to cover a lot of ground depending on which gateway shortcuts we take. So, be right there!"
"Alright." Ash nodded as he and Twilight both hung up on each other. "Guess we've got a lot more to do today, huh?"
"Pika..."
Ash turned around, noticing that Goh was no longer here. He was long gone, chasing after the Bunnelby. "Hm? Goh!" Ash called out for his name. Now he'll have to find him in this forest full of fog.
"Pika!"
And what about Goh?
He managed to finally catch Bunnelby after a short chase with his special curveball. "Gotcha! I caught it, Ash!" But as he turned around, he as well noticed that Ash wasn't with him.
With their separation, Goh would be forced to go through this foggy forest and search for Ash himself. Which was unfortunate but inevitable considering what kind of forest they were in.
Back at Ponyville, Twilight was getting ready to find Ash and Goh. The gateway to the Galar Region was a bit further away from Ponyville compared to others such as Kanto, Unova and Kalos.
The nearest Galar gateway was located near Trottingham. And that one was connected to the booming metropolis city of Wyndom. But getting to Trottingham was a long trip in itself.
"Do we have to be in such a hurry?" Starlight asked Twilight.
"Yes. If Absol senses something, then we can't afford to waste any time." Twilight placed her equipment in her saddlebag. Ash and Goh are already at Galar right now, searching for someone named Professor Magnolia. If we hurry, we can catch up to them."
"But Trottingham's so far away though..." Spike groaned. "Are we even gonna make it in time?"
"Don't worry about that. If we went to Trottingham the normal way, it would take up most of the day. Which is why I've got a better idea." Twilight smirked. "We'll take a bunch of shortcuts through each gateway by going through the ones that connect to different parts of Equestria."
"Oh, I get it." Spike understood what Twilight meant. "We'll go in and out of different gateways leading to Equestria and the Pokemon World, right? That is some pretty easy travel."
"I've already told the others and they're ready to go too. We can maybe learn about Dynamax and help Absol with the incoming crisis, whenever it shows up."
"What if we don't have enough time then?" Starlight asked.
"That's fine. The Swords of Justice will be there to help Absol like before. Equestria's in good hooves with them around."
"I guess so...I'm just a bit worried, ya know." Starlight bit her hoof.
"I feel ya." Spike nodded.
"We'll have fewer things to worry about once we know how Dynamax really works. Let's go."
With Twilight, Spike and Starlight heading out of the castle, their friends were already waiting for them, ready to get a move on. They understood that the situation might be dire considering the connection Absol and Twilight, so they were already raring to go.
Back at the Slumbering Weald, Ash and Goh were still searching for each other, but with zero luck so far.
"Goh! Where are you?" Ash continued to call for his name, but nothing.
"Pikachu...Pika?" The Electric Mouse Pokemon suddenly stopped as he sensed something nearby.
"What's wrong, Pikachu?"
"Pi...!" Whatever it was, it was enough to get Pikachu in a stance where he was prepared to defend Ash from whatever could be near.
A mysterious and eerie howl echoed throughout the forest, grabbing the attention of Ash and Pikachu's ears. It was unlike anything Ash and Pikachu have experienced before, even with the insane adventures they've been on.
That howl wasn't just the wind playing tricks on Ash and Pikachu, not at all. Instead, a Pokemon was causing it. But the howling didn't sound like it was apart of the living world. It almost sounded like it came from a spirit.
That's when the Pokemon behind those sounds revealed itself. And as a plus, it was a Pokemon Ash has never seen before once.
This Pokemon had a wolf-like-appearance with a cyan fur colour and sharp yellow eyes. It had a pink tail and pink braids going down the side of its body. Two pink fringes of fur were present on its back. Battle scars were visible on its sides, and part of its left ear is missing as if it had been through an intense moment in its life.
This mysterious Pokemon stared at Ash and Pikachu, not making a single sound whatsoever as the fog surrounded its body.
"Pika..." Pikachu had electricity come out of his sacs as he was prepared for the worst.
"A Pokemon I've never seen before..." Ash dug into his pockets, taking out his Pokedex to see who this Pokemon was.
However, surprisingly and unexpectedly, the Pokedex couldn't properly scan the mysterious Pokemon as there was no information for it at all. "No matching Pokemon found in past data." The dex informed.
"So it's a new species of Pokemon?!" Ash was surprised. Never before has he come across something like this before. All the other Pokemon he's met have data based around them. Even Arceus himself.
This was the first time the Pokedex was stumped and clueless.
All of a sudden, the mysterious Pokemon's eyes lit up as it lunged at Ash and Pikachu whilst letting out a howl.
Similarly, Goh had a mysterious encounter of his own. He heard the howling from the forest, unsure of where it was coming from. That's when he met a Pokemon that was identical to the one that Ash was currently with.
This Pokemon had magenta coloured fur along with the same yellow eyes as the other one. Compared to the other Pokemon which had a slimmer frame, this Pokemon had a bulkier frame and a ponytail on its head. Its forelimbs, tail, and ponytail were all a deep blue. Its body was covered in battle scars, like the other one and part of its right ear was missing too. Its head and neck have thick fur resembling a shield.
Naturally, Goh was curious about what this Pokemon was. "What's that...?" Goh took out his Rotomphone to scan it.
But just like the other one and Ash's Pokedex, the data for this Pokemon was also unavailable. "No registered data for this Pokemon! Unable to analyze!"
"That means...it's a new species of Pokemon?!" And just like with Ash, the unidentified Pokemon lunged at Goh with its eyes flashing yellow.
Back with Ash, he and Pikachu had just managed to avoid the lunge from the cyan Pokemon. "Pika?!"
"Heh! Just what I hoped for!" Ash grinned as he held his hat. "Let's battle!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Ash put his arm out.
"Chu..." Pikachu jumped in the air, performing a backflip as his tail hardened up with a white glow on it. "Pika!" Pikachu then swung his Iron Tail forward, expecting to hit the unidentified Pokemon.
But to his shock, he went right through it along with Iron Tail. "Pika?!"
"Huh?!" Ash gasped.
Over with Goh, he instead tried to catch the Pokemon instead of battling it as he already had a Poke Ball. "I'll catch you! Go!" He tossed the Poke Ball. But even that phased right through the magenta Pokemon, tumbling on the ground. "W-What?!"
The magenta Pokemon stared at Goh, not moving an inch at all. Raboot kicked up a pebble, already knowing that some work had to be done against this Pokemon. "Boot..."
"Oh, right! Raboot! Use Ember!"
"Ra!" Raboot kicked the pebble two times as it was set on fire. "Boot!" The Rabbit Pokemon then sent the Ember right towards the Magenta Pokemon. But even that one failed and went through it. "Ra?!"
"It went right through?!" Goh pulled back. Confusion and bewilderment started to fill his head as he had no idea what was up with this Pokemon.
First, the Poke Ball goes through and now the Ember. It was as if this Pokemon along with the other one with Ash wasn't actually here. But just merely an apparition.
And speaking of Ash, his attempts to land a hit on this Pokemon failed miserably as the cyan Pokemon stared at him and Pikachu.
"What's going on?"
Just as Ash said that those same haunting howls came in. But not only that, the fog in the forest suddenly enveloped the entire area, thickening all of a sudden. For both Ash and Goh.
As if these Pokemon weren't mysterious enough. It seems as if they had control over the fog in some way. Pikachu stayed close to Ash whilst Sobble and Raboot stayed close to Goh as the fog started to the close in on them.
With Twilight and her friends, they were already making their way to Trottingham and Galar.
They did this by taking the gateway to Lumiose City which had a nearby gateway located East at Route 16. That Route had its own gateway that led to Neighagra Falls. And of course, that one had its own nearby gateway which led straight to Virbank City.
Obviously, with all these connections, getting to certain destinations had never been this easy before. If anything, the Rift had managed to gift Twilight and her friends the best form of transportation yet.
"So, this Professor Magnolia person. She's like the best with Dynamax?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Apparently. If we had known about her existence in the first place, we would've gone to her and learned more about Dynamax before the crisis." Twilight replied.
"At least we'll be meeting her for the first time." Fluttershy smiled.
"But which part of Galar are we gonna end up in even? And couldn't we have just taken the plane from Kanto?" Applejack asked.
"This is much quicker. As for the location in Galar...I'm not too sure about that one." Twilight shook her head. "We'll have to wait and see."
They continued on their way to the Galar Region by passing through the next gateway. Trottingham was nearly within their reach at this point, along with the gateway to Galar.
Along the way, they were already worried about other parts of Equestria They feared that Dynamaxed Pokemon had already resurfaced. But their fears had been quickly subsided once they remembered that the Swords of Justice were around.
Back at the hangar, one of the worst possible scenarios was occurring.
The core that Eternatus resided in was starting to break apart, showing that it was no longer able to hold the mysterious Pokemon any longer,
Eternatus has been absorbing Galar Particles from not just Galar but Equestria as well. As such, it's power has built up to such as a large level that the core was starting to look useless now.
In the original timeline, Eternatus reached its peak by absorbing all of the Dynamax energy from Galar. But now, with Equestria energy involved, the peak of its power was at a higher level.
The core was starting to crack with red lights shooting out of it. This prompted the scientists to pay close attention as they were all startled by this. They didn't expect the core to crack this soon.
With Eternatus almost breaking free of the core, the scientists all made a run for it as they weren't ready to be caught up in whatever chaotic shenanigans that might ensue with this Pokemon breaking free.
The hangar had been evacuated as more Galar particles flew out of the core, setting off to find some Pokemon to Dynamax instantly.
Over at the Slumerbing Weald, the outcome of Ash and Goh wasn't anything that involved them getting hurt once the fog had finally closed in on them.
However, the fog was capable of knocking them out as they had been unconscious for a while. It didn't take long for them to wake up as the heavy fog seemed to have subsided.
"Mrrgh..." Goh got up first, holding his head. "Where am I?" He took a moment to process why he came here in the first place. "Oh, right! Ash! Ash! Where are you?!" Goh tried calling for Ash's name, but no luck. "Ash!
Seeing how his calling wasn't effective at all, Goh decided to wander about in the forest until he could find his research friend.
That's when he got himself a call. But not by Ash. Instead, it was from Twilight. The Xtransceiver and Rotomphone could thankfully share trainer numbers. "Hm? Twilight?" Goh answered his Rotomphone.
"Goh! Glad I could answer you! I've been trying to reach Ash but nothing!" Twilight bellowed. "Where is he? Isn't he supposed to be with you?"
"About that...I've kinda lost Ash too. We're in this Slumbering Weald forest in Galar with all this fog." Goh looked around the forest. "We got separated once we came in here."
"Did you say a forest with fog?" Fluttershy moved her head to the screen.
"Mhm." Goh nodded.
"Funny story!" Pinkie went in front of Twilight and Fluttershy. "We just spotted one from super far away!"
"Eh? Eh?! Then does that mean you're close?"
"I think so." Starlight was now the focus of the screen. "Hold on. We'll be right there!"
"Okay. See ya soon." Goh hung up on them as he sighed. "Thank goodness...But where is Ash? Maybe he went back to the train without me?"
Speaking of the train, the sounds of it honking passed through Goh's ears, making the researcher's eyes widen. That could only mean one thing. The train was about to leave.
"Oh no!" Goh gasped as he ran to the direction where he heard the honk. He and his Pokemon ran as fast they could to try and catch up to the train, but unfortunately, it was already too late.
The train had left, leaving Goh behind and to an extent Ash as he and his Pokemon watched the train slink away, heading off to another location in the Galar Region.
"Curses." Goh sighed, feeling defeated that he had lost the train. However, his defeat soon turned to a semi-victory as his running led him out of the Slumbering Weald, finally.
And that prompted Twilight and the others to notice him. "Goh!" Twilight waved at him.
"Oh, finally. Some familiar faces." Goh felt relieved. So far this day has been a bit more eventful than he expected. Little did he know what was coming his way.
After passing through so many gateways, they had finally made it to the Galar Region. Trottingham's gateway led to a train track close to the Slumbering Weald from the looks of it.
"Goh. Have you found Ash yet?" Starlight asked.
"No..." Goh lowered his head. "I think he might've gotten on the train already but, I'm not so sure."
"You guys got lost in there?" Pinkie pointed her hoof at the Slumbering Weald.
"Right. That place is kinda creepy...I passed out all of a sudden from all the fog, I think. I'm not too sure."
"Well, we're here now right." Rarity said. "Where is this Professor Magnolia?"
"Well...that train was meant to take us to Wedgehurst but..." Goh sighed.
"Don't worry about it." Pinkie appeared behind Goh, patting him on the back. "We'll find both Ash and this Professor Magnolia person in no time." She reassured him.
"Esp?" Eve's ears perked up as she looked up in the sky. She was the first to see the purple streaks of Galar Particles flying shooting in the sky. "Espeon. Esp." Eve nudged Twilight's hoof.
"What is it, Eve?"
"Eon." The Sun Pokemon raised her paw, showing Twilight and her friends the sight of the Galar Particles and how they were passing by.
"Those purple lights..." Fluttershy gawked.
"They kinda look like Dynamax lights." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. With her mentioning Dynamax, this gave everypony the conclusion that there was indeed a second Dynamax crisis heading their way.
But before they could decide what to do next, all of a sudden, a pink car almost crashed into all of them, causing each of them to jump in shock as they had been startled.
"H-Huh?!" Goh pulled back whilst Starlight and Rarity fell on their backs.
The person inside of the pink car was none other than Sonia, who had binoculars out, looking straight up at the sky. "Oh dear, even out here?" Sonia said.
"S-Sonia?!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Hm?" Sonia turned her attention to the one who called her. Very soon, she had seen so many familiar faces along with an extra one right in front of her. "Oh! My little ponies! Are you here investigating the Galar particles too?"
"Something like that. We're actually heading to find this Professor Magnolia person." Starlight replied.
"Professor Magnolia?" Sonia thought for a second. "Oh, you mean my grandmother!"
"Grandmother?!" They all shouted in unison, not expecting Sonia to be the granddaughter of Professor Magnolia. But, they've technically struck gold now and found an easier way to reach Professor Magnolia.
As for Ash, he had just woken up after being knocked out. He and Pikachu stretched their limbs, feeling a bit refreshed after that. "Why was I sleeping here?"
"Pika..."
"Where's that Pokemon?!" Ash looked around for the Pokemon as he still remembered seeing it. "We'd better get back to the train soon, Pikachu."
"Pikachu." Pikachu hopped on his partner's shoulder, ready to leave this unknown forest since it was already starting to make him feel sleepy again.
The duo ventured in the Slumbering Weald, trying to find a way out of here whilst also searching for Goh. "Goh! Are you here?! Goh!"
"Pika! Pika!"
"I won't make it aboard in a time like this. Goh could've gone on ahead. I'll have to take the chance."
"Pi. Pika?" Very soon, Pikachu and Ash would end up noticing the streaking purple lights in the sky themselves, making them aware of it. Still, where they'd up landing was a mystery. But one that Ash and Pikachu would end up following.
The closest Dynamax light to them seemed to be heading straight for a small town where the people there were unbothered by anything at the moment.
"Centi! Here's some Oran Berries." A little girl was giving a Centiskorch some berries to eat the moment alongside her father.
"Skorch!" The Radiator Pokemon took a bite out of the berries, getting the wonderful taste of them in its mouth. "Centiskorch!"
The Centiskorch, the little girl and the father seemed happy due to how peaceful it was here. But unfortunately, that peace wouldn't last at all.
A Galar Particle had found its way here at the small town. Despite it being a random streak of light, it still had the ability to aim and find a target due to Eternatus being apart of it.
The streak of light crashed down on Centiskorch, catching the Radiator Pokemon off guard. "Centi?!
"Ah!"The little girl backed up as her father held her.
"C-Centiskorch?" The father stammered.
"C-CE-CENTI!" That's when it had begun. Centiskorch was one of the first Pokemon to Gigantamax as its body was pulsating, growing in size as the skies around the town turned red all of a sudden. "CENTISKORCH!"
"W-What's going on?!" A townsperson said as they were all looking up at the Gigantamaxed Centiskorch. "Gigantamaxing in the middle of town?!"
"I don't know either!" The father replied, holding his daughter.
"SKORCH!" The Fire-Bug-Type bellowed as it suddenly coiled its body up. The circles on it started glowing bright yellow as massive fireball then forms before its body.
This prompted the townspeople to make a run for it as soon as they can as they were panicking and screaming. "No, Centiskorch!" The father screamed as he ran away.
"Centi!" The daughter called out for the Radiator Pokemon. But with Eternatus being in control, any sense of reason was knocked out of the park.
The fireball was released from Centiskorch's body as once it made contact with the ground, the nearest building had been wiped out in one go, leaving nothing but a small pile of rubble with fire spreading.
But Equestria wasn't safe from this either.
Over at Canterlot, they were all unaware of what was coming their way as well.
Daylight Blazer was currently at his home with his Medicham out as they were having a small conversation at the moment. "Alright, Medicham. We're going to swap out Fire Punch with Calm Mind. So let's train hard, okay?"
"Medi!" Medicham agreed to learn a new move if it means that he and Daylight can become stronger together. However, their moment of peace had been interrupted once a Galar Particle came flying in, breaking through the windows and choosing Medicham as its target. "Cham?!"
"Huh?!" Daylight backed away. "Medicham?!"
"Ch-Cham...Medi!" Just like Centiskorch and all the other Pokemon across the land, the Meditate Pokemon was growing in size, unable to control its body as he was in immense pain. "MEDI...CHAM!"
Medicham broke through the ceiling of the house, startling everypony as the skies turned red. They were all graced with the sight of a super-sized Medicham.
Daylight and Sunrise ran out of their homes before it crumbled into pieces. Daylight wasn't so sure what was going on or why his Medicham suddenly gigantified out of nowhere. "Medicham! What's wrong?!"
"C-Cham...Medicham!" Enraged with violent energy boiling from within, Medicham stomped its feet on the ground, causing a mini-earthquake to occur.
The buildings in Canterlot trembled with some of them having the windows shattered and ceilings falling off just by Medicham stomping his feet.
Naturally, it didn't take long for the Royal Sisters to notice the super-sized Fighting-Psychic-Type just standing there. After that commotion and sudden earthquake, it was impossible to ignore.
"What is that?!" Luna gasped.
"No idea..." Celestia narrowed her eyes. "But, I have an uneasy feeling about all of this."
"Kirlia..."
The second Dynamax crisis had finally begun. All across Galar and Equestria, Dynamax Pokemon were spreading like wildfire at an unfathomable rate. Eternatus was no longer slumbering. The time for it to finish what it had started centuries ago had begun as the journey continues.
A Gigantamax Centiskorch is currently on a rampage, terrorizing the town that it grew up in and was taken care of with tons of love. Now it was just another catalyst for Eternatus to reach its peak power.
The Radiator Pokemon crawled across the town, spreading destruction from just its movements alone. The townspeople watched in shock and horror as they saw Centiskorch going on a rampage from a far distance. The ones more distraught by this was the father and daughter who had a close bond with Centiskorch.
It seemed like the entire town would be destroyed by Centiskorch, however, thankfully, hope came in the form of Ash and Pikachu who tracked the purple streak here to this town.
"Sorry, coming through!" Ash exclaimed as he had entered the small town.
"Pi!"
"This isn't the Wild Area or Galar Stadium..." Ash narrowed his eyes. "So did that light streak cause this?"
"It glowed red and Dynamaxed all on its own..." The father said to Ash. "Then it stopped listening to me, its trainer..."
"What happened to you, Centi?" The daughter whimpered. "You were so friendly before."
"What is that...?" Ash took out his Pokedex to see who this Pokemon was.
"Centiskorch. The Radiator Pokemon. Gigantamax form. When it heats up, its body temperature reaches about 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. It lashes its body like a whip and launches itself at enemies. Gigantamax energy has evoked a rise in its body temperature, now reaching over 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. Its heatwaves incinerate its enemies. The heat that comes off a Gigantamax Centiskorch may destabilize air currents. Sometimes it can even cause storms."
"We'll sort it out!" Ash put his Pokedex away. "Everyone wait here!"
"Stop! Don't be so reckless!" The father warned him.
"I'll be fine!" Ash and Pikachu ran off to stop Centiskorch's rampage.
"H-Hey! Kid!" Trying to stop Ash was impossible when he sets his sights on something.
From the direction Centiskorch was facing, it was most likely prone to go on a rampage across the entire region instead of just this one small town. Dynamax Pokemon under Eternatus's control are unable to think for themselves. They only seek to rampage at this point.
"Centiskorch! Stop it!" Ash called out Centiskorch's name.
"Cent?" The Radiator Pokemon turned around.
"Everyone's worried and scared! So please, you gotta stop rampaging!"
"Pika!"
"Cent...CENTISKORCH!" Unable to listen to reason, Centiskorch attacked Ash and Pikachu by slamming its head on the ground.
Luckily, Ash and Pikachu managed to avoid it, but the shock of the impact made them tumble and fall on the ground. "No good...It's just like before in Equestria. Centiskorch's confused and mad." Ash stood up.
"Skorch..."
"I have to do something...Pikachu! Let's do it!"
"Pika!"
"Riolu! You too!" Ash sent out his Riolu to help.
"Rio!"
"Pikachu, use Electroweb! Riolu! Vacuum Wave!" Ash pointed up at Centiskorch who was staring them down.
"Pika-Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu jumped up, summoning a web of electricity as he flung it towards Centiskorch's face. "Chu-Pika!"
The web of electricity stuck on to the Radiator Pokemon's face, causing Centiskorch to shake its head about. "C-Centi...!"
"Rio...Lu!" Riolu chimed in by creating a light blue wind around his palm. The Emanation Pokemon jumped up, firing the concentrated wind in the form of a beam.
The Vacuum Wave connected with the Electroweb as the beam smacked Centiskorch in the face, forcing the Electroweb further in. "S-Skorch!"
But it would take a lot more than that to take out a Gigantamaxed Pokemon. Especially one that's being controlled by Eternatus. Because very quickly, Centiskorch managed to recover as it broke the Electroweb from its face.
"Uh-oh!" Ash stood back.
It was Centiskorch's turn to attack by using a Max move known as Max Flutterby. Multicoloured sparkles of light appeared around Gigantamax Centiskorch's upper body, forming into light green orbs of energy.
"Dragonite! I choose you!" Ash sent out his Dragonite for assistance.
"Dra!" The Dragon Pokemon roared whilst Centiskorch was building up power with Max Flutterby.
"Dragonite! Hurricane! Pikachu, use Electroweb! Riolu, use Vacuum Wave!"
All at once, the three Pokemon worked in unison whilst Centiskorch had finished charging up. The orbs then burst, releasing blasts of light green energy and multicoloured butterfly-shaped energies towards the trio.
Pikachu, Dragonite and Riolu initiated a coordinated attack as a combination of electricity and wind were sent towards the Max Flutterby.
The moves had clashed with the Max move, entering a small struggle for a little bit. But it was then revealed that their combined power was enough to rival the strength of Centiskorch's Max Flutterby as they cancelled each other out, resulting in an explosion.
"Man...Dynamax Pokemon can really take hits like they were nothing...This is gonna be a bit tougher than I thought." Ash growled.
"Centi!" Centiskorch was about to pull off its signature G-Max Centiferno once more as it coiled its body up whilst building up heat.
"Not good!" Ash realized that standing next to this attack was a bad idea. "Run for it!" As they turned around whilst the fireball had been conjured up, Dragonite swooped in to grab all three of them in its large hands, saving them from the imminent fireball.
Centiskorch was still building up as it looked like it would end up being the biggest one yet. If it were to be released, the destruction of the town could be catastrophic.
Luckily, Ash wasn't the only one trying to prevent any further destruction.
"Charizard! Rock Tomb!" The voice of Leon could be heard nearby. All of a sudden, multiple large boulders came falling from above, outlined in white energy as they had interrupted Centiskorch's charging.
"Skorch...!"
"Huh...?" Ash looked up to see who could've possibly stopped Centiskorch's attack like that. And lo and behold, it was indeed Leon who was riding on his Charizard. "Leon!" Ash gasped.
"Ash! Leave the rest to me!" Leon waved at Ash as he and Charizard closed in on Centiskorch.
"Okay! Dragonite, we can stand back now."
"Dragon!" The Dragon Pokemon understood as it carried its friends away from the battle, leaving everything up to Leon and Charizard now.
"Centi...?" Cenitskorch turned around, locking its eyes onto Charizard and Leon.
"Charizard! Air Slash!"
"Char!" Charizard's wings glowed light blue as he dived down. He then flapped his wings, firing multiple light-blue glowing blades of energy from them. The blades rained down on Centiskorch, dealing heavy damage to the Radiator Pokemon as Charizard flew by.
And surprisingly, that one single Air Slash was enough to finish off Centiskorch as the Radiator Pokemon was beginning to shrink back down. Eternatus's energy was leaving its body.
"Leon is so awesome..." Ash gawked.
"Pika..."
"C-Cen...Centiskorch...?" The defeated Centiskorch was back to normal. And like every Pokemon when they're knocked out of Dynamax, the only thing left is utter confusion. Which is exactly what Centiskorch was feeling right now as it looked around.
"Centi!" The little girl ran over, tearing up as she gave the Radiator Pokemon a sudden hug. "I'm so glad you're okay! Centiskorch!"
"Skorch..."
"Thank you. You saved us..." The father sighed, going over to Ash. "Centiskorch. We were worried about you."
"Oh! Champion Leon!" The little girl exclaimed, noticing Leon walking over here.
"The odd gleam in its eyes have left too," Leon said. "That's good that Centiskorck is okay."
"I'd expect nothing less from Champion Leon!" A member of the town exclaimed.
"You really are the hero of Galar!" Another one spoke, praising Leon.
Multiple Thank you's flowed through Leon's ears. But that wasn't what he was focusing on right now. Like Ash, he was here for the same reason involving Dynamax.
"I only did what any champion would've done," Leon replied. "As for the string of rampaging Dynamax Pokemon lately...I hope to find the cause of it as soon as possible and make sure it doesn't happen again. So until then, everyone, please prioritize your own safety."
"Yes!" They all collectively listened to Leon.
"Charizard, let's go." Leon looked at his partner.
"Zard!" The Flame Pokemon nodded in understanding as Leon got on Charizard's back.
"Wait, Leon! Where are you going?" Ash ran over.
"To stop the Dynamax Pokemon that are rampaging everywhere."
"Then, let us help you too!" Ash insisted.
"Pika-Pika!"
"I appreciate the sentiment but..."
"Please!" Ash never backs down from the opportunity to help others in dire situations. The serious and sharp look in his eyes was full of fire and electricity from what Leon could see. Telling Ash otherwise was impossible. And Leon could tell.
"Understood." Leon accepted Ash's offer. "Let's get going then!"
"Sure!"
And so it was. Two champions would set off to stop the rampaging Dynamax Pokemon as they both rode on Charizard and Dragonite, high in the skies.
A somewhat perfect duo.
Meanwhile, with Twilight, Goh and the others.
They were all collectively inside of Sonia's pink car. Due to the size comparison of the ponies to the humans, all of them could fit inside of it. Especially Spike.
However, they had the unfortunate opportunity of having Sonia be their driver. Mostly due to the fact that her driving skills are a bit chaotic and unbalanced.
The car would shake, fly high over bumps and even almost go off-road. Right now, the ride was rickety for all of them as the ponies were holding on to dear life whilst Sonia advances towards Wedgehurst at high speeds with the car hitting constant speed bumps and going airborne.
The sounds of them screaming in fear, praying that Sonia doesn't bring them to their inevitable doom whilst Sonia just kept a straight face as if this whole thing was not a problem whatsoever.
"A-Aaah...!" Applejack's eyes widened as she held onto Rarity.
"I should've flown..." Rainbow Dash's head was sticking outside of car window as she felt sick from Sonia's unpredictable driving. "Ugh..."
"S-Sonia! Is driving your speciality?!" Twilight stuttered as she and Starlight held each other whilst closing their eyes.
"Don't worry! T-This is just a beaten-up car! I'm an expert at this!" Sonia's words didn't make any of them feel better.
"Mmrrgh...Is Ash available now?" Twilight whimpered.
"L-Let me check!" Goh grabbed the seats firmly as he took out his Rotomphone, calling for Ash. "Rotomphone. Call Ash."
"Okay! Calling Ash!"
The call from the Rotomphone managed to reach Ash as they weren't exactly too far away. They were in the same region after all.
"Incoming call from Goh." The Rotomphone said repeatedly.
Ash picked up the phone, answering his friend. "Hello? Goh? Where are you?"
"YOU PICKED UP!" Goh suddenly screamed in Ash's ear. "Same, to you Ash! Where have you been?!"
"I-I'm headed to stop the rampaging Dynamax Pokemon with Leon.
"You're with Leon?!"
"The Champion Leon?!" Pinkie suddenly said as her voice travelled through the phone.
"Hm? Pinkie Pie?" Ash raised an eyebrow. "Oh! Did you all meet up?"
"Yeah. All of us. We're headed somewhere else instead of Wedgehurst right now. Turrfield with Sonia." Goh explained.
"Sonia...?"
"Yeah, remember? From Wyndon Stadium!" Goh exclaimed. "The woman we met by the statue of the hero!"
"Oh, yeah! Wasn't she investigating a legend or something?"
"Yeah. The Dynamax Pokemon rampaging in Galar right now seems to be connected to the legend of the hero."
"I remember reading about that in the Galar book!" Twilight spoke on the phone. "Guess it was a good idea to skip ahead for once."
"So we're headed straight for Turrfield and the ruins there with Sonia to solve the legend," Fluttershy added her voice to the phone.
"Got it! And Equestria?"
"We haven't checked up on yet. But we're sure that the Swords of Justice and Absol are doing their best to protect it." Twilight replied. "We'll meet up with you later, Ash!"
"Okay! Take good care!" Ash nodded as he and Leon were approaching an area where a Dynamax Pangoro was present as the sky turned red.
"Ash! It's in sight!" Leon exclaimed.
"Oh! Right! See ya later!" Ash hung up on Goh.
"W-Wait...Ash!" Goh tried to speak to him more, but it was too late. "Honestly..."
Both sides were on their own missions but they promised each other that they would meet up eventually once each problem is somewhat sorted out. Galar and Equestria are both in the midst of a Dynamax Crisis, mainly Equestria since this is its second crisis.
Equestria, Canterlot.
Daylight Blazer's Medicham had been Dynamaxed by force thanks to an approaching Galar Particle that came straight from the other world, courtesy of Eternatus.
The Meditate Pokemon was on a rampage like many others, as the ponies of Canterlot backed away from this suddenly super-sized Pokemon.
"Medicham! What's gotten into you?! And how'd you get so big?!" Daylight bellowed, looking up at his Pokemon. "Return, Medicham!" He held out Medicham's Poke Ball, attempting to return him.
But unfortunately, with Dynamaxed Pokemon under Eternatus's control, that wasn't possible at all. Medicham's Poke Ball could not bring the Meditate Pokemon back inside, much to Daylight's dismay.
"Medi...CHAM!" Medicham was about to pull off a Max move. Specifically the move Max Mindstorm. By raising his hands, the Meditate Pokemon summoned a spiral of psychic energy from its head.
The buildings of Canterlot were starting to levitate as the power of Max Mindstorm was enough to control all of Equestria as all the ponies were now airborne unable to control their bodies.
Celestia and Luna managed to resist it thanks to their alicorn magic, but the force of Max Mindstorm was still overwhelming as their hooves were struggling to stay on the ground.
"I'm not sure what's going on but...Somepony has to subdue that Medicham!" Celestia growled. "Passion! Use Thunderbolt!"
"K-Kirlia...!" Passion was also being levitated by Max Mindstorm but she could still act and utilize moves. The Emotion Pokemon cupped her hands together as she sent a bolt of 100,000 volts forward.
The thunderbolt broke through the windows of the castle as it went straight for the unaware Medicham. Medicham was about to slam the entirety of Canterlot by using Max Mindstorm to do so as the castle was slowly being ripped out of the ground.
But, that didn't happen since Thunderbolt connected with the Meditate Pokemon's face, throwing him off his concentration as Max Mindstorm disappeared, bringing everything that had been levitated back down.
"CHAM?!"
"We'll just put it to sleep! Darkrai! Use Dark Void!" Luna ordered as Darkrai emerged from the shadows.
"On it." The Pitch Black Pokemon spoke as he flew out of the castle, phasing through it. Darkrai put his hands together, creating a crimson ball as he held it above his head, releasing multiple smaller balls from the larger one all around its body.
The Dark Void was a success as the moment it made contact with Medicham, the Meditation Pokemon's entire body was engulfed in a pink crimson bubble that was fading away into a dark crimson.
That one single Dark Void was enough to put Medicham to sleep with ease. Truly a very useful move indeed. Medicham was now asleep, immobilized but still in its Dynamaxed state.
"Phew...Thanks, Darkrai." Daylight sat down.
"Daylight Blazer. Are you alright?" Celestia flew over to him.
"Princess Celestia? Yeah, I'm fine." He nodded. "Not sure about Medicham though."
"Tell me, is there any reason why your Medicham is acting like this?"
"No idea." He shook his head. "One minute we're about to train and learn a new move and the next thing I know, Medicham suddenly gets big out of nowhere."
"Which was awesome!" Sunrise exclaimed as Daylight pushed his little brother back.
"I tried putting him back in his Poke Ball but..." Daylight held the Poke Ball out, attempting to return his partner. "It won't work for some reason. I don't get it."
"Hm..." Celestia went up to the sleeping Medicham for further investigation. She noticed how Medicham had an ominous red energy around his body.
This red energy reminded her a bit of the red pillars of light she saw through her telescope a few weeks back. Celestia wasn't sure what it meant since she hasn't heard of Dynamax yet, but she could tell that this red energy could be the cause of Medicham growing all of a sudden.
"Everypony stay back," Celestia ordered the citizens to not get close to Medicham. She could already feel something eerie about this energy as if it was telling her to be cautious at all times.
"What do we do now, sister? We can't just leave a giant Pokemon out here?" Luna went to her older sister. "Do we try and carry it away?"
"Hmm...This is a bit of a predicament. Medicham could wake up at any moment as well...Perhaps we should ask Hollow when he arrives here. He might know what this red energy means."
"You won't have to wait." Daylight said as he pointed his hoof over at the south.
The moment they mentioned Hollow's name, he had arrived at Canterlot, instantly spotting the Dynamaxed Medicham. Anyone would be able to notice it if they arrive here. It practically takes up most of Canterlot.
"Whaaa...?" Hollow squinted his eyes, gazing right at Medicham. "A Dynamax Pokemon? Here? How?"
"Hollow!" Celestia teleported to him. "Glad you're here. You might be able to help us in this situation. If you know whatever this means." Celestia turned to Medicham.
"...How is there a Dynamax Pokemon here?" Hollow pointed over at Medicham.
"Dynamax?" Celestia, Luna and Daylight both said at the same time.
"What is this Dynamax you speak of?" Luna asked. "And what do you mean by How is there a Dynamax Pokemon here?"
"Ah. Guess I should explain it first. Well...Dynamax is another of our world's many phenomenons. It's when a Pokemon changes size due to either a Dynamax den, a Dynamax band from the trainer or a Power spot."
"Dens? Power spots? I don't see any of those." Daylight moved his head around.
"Well, that's because Dynamax is only exclusive to the Galar Region and nowhere else. In fact, it should be impossible for a Dynamax Pokemon to be here. Did you Dynamax Medicham in my world first and then bring it here?"
"No." Daylight shook his head. "He just grew right inside of our home and things got a bit messy after that."
"If this Dynamax phenomenon is only meant to exist in the Galar Region...what could've caused it to occur here?" Luna wondered.
"We'll figure that out later. Hollow. How do we return Medicham to its original size?" Celestia asked him.
"Well, if a Pokemon Dynamaxes by the trainer's will, they'll return to their normal size in a few minutes. But if it isn't by the trainer's will and the Pokemon just randomly Dynamaxes out of nowhere, the only way you can return Medicham is by knocking it out. That way, all that Dynamax energy will leave its body pronto."
"Just knock out Medicham?" Luna turned to the Meditation Pokemon. "Hmph. This should be easy. Darkrai."
"Yes." Darkrai flew in front of Luna.
"Let's finish this in one go! Use Dark Pulse!"
"Hm!" Darkrai ascended to the sky as he crouched together, extending his arms quickly, making a wave of purple circles come out of its claws towards the sleeping Medicham.
However, it didn't take long for Medicham to wake up as the Meditate Pokemon could sense an attack coming its way. "Medi!" Medicham had woken up, noticing that it was being attacked at the moment.
As a response, the Meditate Pokemon put his arms out, blocking the Dark Pulse with its enlarged hands. "Rats! If it had just stayed asleep a bit longer..." Luna growled.
"CHAM!" Medicham's rampage continued, but this time, it was even more aggressive than before. Medicham was now utilizing its yoga skills to destroy as the Meditate Pokemon kicked an entire roof off in one go.
The roof was forced off the building it came from as Medicham directed it towards Darkrai. The Pitch Black Pokemon gasped as he instinctively moved out of the way, but the flying roof was still threatening Canterlot as it could crash anywhere.
The roof looked like it would crash into a house from the direction it was about to land as the ponies inside the house made a run for it.
"Passion! Mystical Fire!" Thinking quick on her hooves, Celestia ordered Passion to save that house by destroying the roof itself.
"Lia!" The Emotion Pokemon sent a spiralling blast of fire forward, incinerating the entire roof into nothing as the house was safe and sound, thankfully.
"MEDI!" Medicham didn't stop at roofs, however. He then started to levitate four buildings with his mind, using them as weapons that he could throw.
Which he did. And unfortunately, some ponies were still inside of the buildings and now their lives were being threatened by this sudden psychic levitation.
"Not good...!" Luna gasped as she was trying to think of a way to save the ponies inside whilst also stopping Medicham. But before she could think of something, Medicham tossed the four buildings as if they were baseball, endangering the lives of the ponies inside.
They held onto whatever piece of furniture appliance or solid object they could find as the ponies closed their eyes, bracing themselves whilst screaming in fear.
"Darkrai! Phase through and catch the ponies!" Luna came up with a way to potentially save the ponies. By using Darkrai's ability to phase through objects like a Ghost. Even if he wasn't a Ghost-Type.
Darkrai knew that this was risky and he couldn't save all of them that fast, but he took the risk anyway for the greater good. The Pitch Black Pokemon went for the closest house there was as he phased right through it with ease.
The two ponies inside saw Darkrai arrive as a smile graced their faces. They had faith in Darkrai since he was beloved in Canterlot by practically everypony here.
"I got you!" Darkrai grabbed the two ponies as he blasted a hole through the house with Dark Pulse. The hole was just big enough for him and the ponies to fit through as the Pitch Black Pokemon managed to save them both from their doom without a scratch.
However, he couldn't stop them all. He was just one Pokemon after all.
But that's why he has allies in the form of friends. Celestia knew that Darkrai couldn't do this alone so she pitched in to help alongside Passion.
"Passion! Catch it!"
"Kirlia!" The Emotion Pokemon was also capable of saving some lives thanks to her amazing Psychic abilities that far transcend a normal Kirlia.
Passion had used her mind to grab a house as a purple outline surrounded it. That was yet another building saved, but there were others still being thrown.
That's where Celestia and Luna came in. With their partners already catching two buildings, it was time for them to do the same.
Thanks to their amazing alicorn magic, they were just strong enough to catch two more buildings by holding them in place with their magic.
And with that, all four buildings had been saved, with the ponies being 100% alright. Albeit with a side of motion sickness and a racing heart.
"Arcanine! Quick! Use Flare Blitz!" Celestia ordered whilst she was still holding the building in place with her magic.
"Arc!" Since Arcanine wasn't holding any buildings or ponies, he was free to attack Medicham. The Legendary Pokemon's body became surrounded by red-orange fire as he shot at the Meditate Pokemon like a missile.
"Medi...Cham!" Medicham saw Arcanine coming as he was prepared to use Max Mindstorm on the Fire-Type by putting his hands out.
"I won't let you!" Hollow took out a very familiar Poke Ball. That being the Luxury Ball. And there was one particular Pokemon inside of it. "Come out and use Shadow Ball!"
The Pokemon that had been sent out was once a threat to Equestria but was now a tamed Pokemon who belonged to Hollow.
It was none other than Spiritomb. The Forbidden Pokemon.
"Spiritomb!" A purple-black ball formed in front of Spiritomb's mouth as the Forbidden Pokemon was actually listening to Hollow's commands. Mostly due to them spending some time together and a small part of it being the effects of the Luxury Ball.
The Shadow Ball flew towards the Meditate Pokemon whilst he was still focused on Arcanine. Thankfully, the assistance from Spiritomb was of great help as Medicham turned his attention towards the incoming ball of shadows.
Medicham couldn't actually do anything to Shadow Ball thanks to him being a Fighting-Psychic-Type. So, as a result, the Ghost-Type move smacked him in the face, dealing super-effective damage.
Not only that, but that immediate damage allowed Arcanine to attack without Medicham having enough time to stop him as the Legendary Pokemon smashed his fiery body into Medicham, dealing some heavy damage himself. "Canine!"
"M-Medi!"
Thanks to Arcanine and Spiritomb distracting Medicham, this allowed Celestia and the others to safely place the buildings back down without any interruptions at all.
The ponies of Canterlot were still safe, but their homes were a bit of a mess since they flew through the air, meaning the inside was a disaster right now.
"Excellent job, Arcanine." Celestia landed down next to her partner along with Passion.
"Arcanine!"
"Let's put an end to this as soon as we can before it causes any more destruction!" Luna put her hoof forward.
"Right. We'll end this in one go. Passion! Use Plasma Bolt! Arcanine! Flamethrower!"
"Darkrai! Dark Pulse!"
"Spiritomb! Shadow Ball!"
In perfect unison, all four Pokemon attacked from a great distance with their strongest special attack moves that they had to offer.
From Shadows, Darkness, Fire and Plasma itself, the four moves combined into one single move with a mixture of all kinds of different elements.
Medicham noticed that if this attack hits, it's game over. So as a way to protect himself, he had used the one move that was on the more defensive side.
Since he had the move Meditate, which wasn't an offensive move, Medicham was given access to the defensive Max move, Max Guard.
The Meditate Pokemon put his hands out, creating a light blue barrier of energy in front of itself. Medicham was expecting Max Guard to negate the attacks completely.
However, due to them being four attacks in one and one of them was pure plasma, they were actually able to affect the barrier, much to Medicham's dismay.
The combined force of all four attacks had broken through the Max Guard, surprising Medicham as the unified attack struck him square in the face.
He felt the scorching heat of pure plasma and fire and the sinister energy of shadows and darkness beat on his face at the same time, completely overwhelming the Meditate Pokemon.
And that overwhelming attack was just enough to seal the deal as Medicham couldn't take anymore. The Dynamax energy within him had faded away as he shrunk back down.
"C-Cham...Medi?" Medicham felt dizzy as he held his head. Usually, a Pokemon as focused as him rarely gets dizzy, but when he does, it stings.
"Medicham!" Daylight ran over. "Are you alright?!"
"Medicham...?"
"Return, for now, buddy. And get some rest." Daylight returned Medicham to his Poke Ball. "Whew..."
Finally, Canterlot could rest easy as the red sky returned to its normal azure colour as the sun shined through the clouds, beaming all over Canterlot.
"That solves that. Good job, Spiritomb." Hollow went over to the Forbidden Pokemon.
"Tomb!"
"Will your Medicham be alright, Daylight?" Luna asked him.
"I hope so. I'll just let him rest for a while, just in case. But uh..." Daylight looked over at his home, seeing how it was semi-destroyed. "What am I gonna do about my home?"
"No need to worry. We'll handle it." Celestia reassured. "But now that you've mentioned how Dynamax isn't supposed to be here, Hollow...I think I have a fairly good assumption as to how it arrived in our world."
"Really?" Hollow turned to her.
"Mhm. The only force that knows both of our worlds too well. The Rift. It has the power to control our worlds in any way it sees fit. "
"Oh, you're right." Luna nodded. "I didn't think about that possibility actually."
"So, what do we do then? Go up to it and stop it?" Daylight shrugged.
"Unfortunately, that seems impossible." Celestia shook her head. "The Rift far exceeds all of us in every way possible. Besides. We're not sure where it really resides. It could be anywhere."
"In the meantime, if this Dynamax thing forces Pokemon to grow out of nowhere without any control, what about the rest of Equestria?" Luna wondered. "It could be in great danger!"
"Possibly. But we won't have to worry. Cobalion and the Swords are without a doubt already on the job." Celestia smiled reassuringly. "But just to be safe, we'll search the rest of Equestria and see if any other Dynamax Pokemon have shown up. Luna, Hollow. Come with me."
"Right now?" Hollow pointed at himself.
"Yes. Right now." Celestia nodded. "Lessons can wait another day.
And so it was. Now another group was taking action to deal with the Dynamax crisis affecting both worlds as the trio set off to find out if any other Dynamax Pokemon have emerged.
Turrfield, Galar. A town within the nurturing bowl of many terraced farming fields.
Finally, Sonia, Goh, Twilight and the others had arrived after that nightmarish driving from Sonia. They all felt drained as they thought their lives would end right there.
Pinkie Pie was on the floor, Rarity and Spike held each other whilst Starlight shuddered uncontrollably. At least it was finally over.
For now.
Although, Applejack felt refreshed since Turrfield reminded her of home due to its familiar nature of being a farm and all. So she was alright.
"Ugh..." Goh groaned as he lowered his head.
"Are you all okay?" Sonia asked them, unaware of what she had caused.
"F-F-Fine..." Twilight stuttered.
"Those driving skills aren't okay..." Rainbow Dash said under her breath.
"Have a look at this, all of you," Sonia said to them as their attention had been pulled to something new.
Sonia had shown them a Geoglyph that was apart of Turrfield's expansive, lush green fields. It was hard to describe what this geoglyph was due to how erratic it was.
It had some form of a huge creature, most likely a Pokemon that was Dynamaxed along with this swirling thing next to it, possibly meant to resemble the vortex that always comes with Dynamaxed Pokemon from above.
And right below the supposed creature were smaller creatures being hit by what seemed to be a bolt of electricity. Most likely, the smaller creatures were humans or Pokemon being attacked by the Dynamaxed Pokemon.
"This is the Turrfield geoglyph?" Twilight gawked.
"They say it depicts the legend of Galar," Sonia replied to her.
"Let's see..." Goh narrowed his eyes as he was thinking back to what he had learned about the Darkest Day. "When the Galar Region was engulfed by a black vortex, gigantic Pokemon rampaged. Then a lone hero wielding a sword and shield appeared, and quelled the raging beasts."
"If it's lone, then why does my book mention two heroes?" Twilight wondered.
"That still has my curiosity." Sonia looked up. "Was it really one hero or two heroes who stopped the Darkest Day? If it was either of them, they must've had the power to stop the Darkest Day either way."
"And you're investigating the connection between that legend and Dynamax, right?" Fluttershy asked her.
"Mhm. It's my grandmother's homework for me. What does this geoglyph look like to all of you?"
They all observed the appearance of the geoglyph. Despite its obscure appearance, they were all able to tell what it was meant to represent considering why they're here in the first place.
"Gigantic Pokemon rampaging?" Starlight gave her answer.
"Oh! Is that giant swirly thing the vortex?" Pinkie pointed her hoof at the spiral.
"Possibly. Don't you all think it resembles the current situation a lot?" Sonia turned to them.
"It does." Twilight nodded. "That sure does look familiar to us."
"Perhaps the black vortex that brought about the disaster, the Darkest Day, is about to appear again? But this time in both worlds." Sonia theorized.
"A black vortex... the Darkest Day." Goh thought for a moment, recalling the first time he saw a black vortex.
"I thought I could figure something out by coming here..." Sonia grumbled.
"It looks like what happened back then. When Ash and I met Lugia." Goh recalled that moment. The only time he saw a black vortex was when Lugia first arrived at a Raid Battle.
"Lugia?! Amazing!" Sonia gawked.
"The clouds formed a black vortex back then too. Maybe vortexes form whenever a Legendary Pokemon shows up!" Goh gave his own theory. "So the Darkest Day might be connected with some crazy powerful Pokemon or something."
"Good point..." Sonia nodded her head. "This could be a real breakthrough!"
"Come to think of it..." Rainbow Dash was also thinking back to a past event. "When we first came to Galar to see Leon battle...we all saw a massive Pokemon in the clouds."
Rainbow Dash and her friends recalled their first trip to Galar by plane. From when the sky suddenly darkened in colour and how there was red lightning raging through the skies.
They all saw the body of an unknown Pokemon back then. But that was no unknown Pokemon. That was Eternatus itself, flying high above the clouds without them all even knowing who it was.
"Maybe that one has something to do with this." Twilight pointed her hoof at the geoglyph. "That could be what the giant Pokemon looks like."
"Looks like we've got a lot to work on. Let's head over to my grandmother's lab at Wedgehurst." Sonia was about to head back into the car as everypony shuddered, not wanting to head back inside that death trap.
"Y-You know...I-I think some of us will just fly." Rainbow Dash flapped her wings as she, Twilight and Fluttershy took flight, saving themselves from imminent doom.
The Underground Energy plant in the hangar. Beneath where Eternatus resides in the core.
Team Rocket were currently there, under the disguise of miners dragging coal along. They weren't here to work, whatsoever. Instead, this was a request from Giovanni himself with matters concerning Eternatus.
"Intel was that this plant hides the strongest, evilest Pokemon..." Jessie said, crossing her arms.
"But where is it?" James looked around whilst pushing the wheelbarrow full of coal.
Their answers were given to them once a tremor had startled them all. This tremor wasn't caused by a Dynamax Pokemon at all.
It was something far worse.
After absorbing a large amount of Dynamax energy from Galar and Equestria, Eternatus could finally break free of its prison at long last.
Hundreds of Galar particles emerged from the core as it was breaking apart with all the scientists inside backing away and making a run for it.
The particles flew off, searching for new targets to Dynamax. One of them ended up being a Coalossal who was just minding its own business.
But that wasn't important right now.
Eternatus was free.
The core had shattered into millions of tiny pieces as this overwhelmingly powerful Pokemon had finally awakened, emerging from the shattered core.
"Yes...! This is much better than I expected!" Rose gazed at the sight of Eternatus. "Is this not incredible, Oleana? Finally, Eternatus can become the saviour of Galar's Future by overcoming the Darkest Day itself."
"S-Sure..." Oleana stammered as her eyes widened, gazing at the overwhelming size of this Pokemon.
With Eternatus being free, the Gigantic Pokemon flew up, breaking through the hangar with ease as it was off to finish what it had started.
When Eternatus moved, Galar Particles began shooting out of its body, as if it had to let it all out constantly due to how much power is building up within it.
The force of Eternatus moving was enough to tremble Hammerlocke and any other location nearby. The skies turned red as the people of Hammerlocke looked up to see this behemoth of a Pokemon emerge and cloud the sky with its crimson colours.
Any nearby Pokemon made a run for it after seeing Eternatus for the first time whilst the people of Hammerlocke did the same, along with Team Rocket, who weren't ready for this whatsoever.
Eternatus's pressure was so immense that it was reaching other locations in Galar as well. One of them being near Sonia and the others.
For once, it wasn't Sonia's driving that was the most chaotic thing here, nor was it causing the car to act all wobbly.
"W-What's that pressure?!" Rarity gasped as she held on the seats.
"No idea!" Sonia kept her focus on the road, trying to ignore the immense pressure. But it was too difficult thanks to Eternatus exerting too much of it.
They couldn't exactly see what was causing it, other than Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Fluttershy who could fly. Since they were in the sky, above the car, they were the first ponies to see it all for themselves.
"What is that?" Fluttershy shuddered as she looked back.
"The entire skies turning red!" Rainbow Dash looked up to see how the energy of Eternatus was spreading across the skies, painting all the clouds red as any semblance of the colour blue was engulfed by the Dynamax Energy.
Twilight noticed a large figure in the clouds as she squinted her eyes. She looked closely, but she couldn't quite make out what she was looking at due to how chaotic this Pokemon looked.
It had a vaguely draconic shape and a skeletal appearance which was largely dark violet with red highlights. Its main body and tail was long, thin, and resembled a spinal column as it had four small, thin limbs ending in claws formed from spindly appendages attached at right angles.
Its torso was formed from a cage of appendages resembling ribs, and inside is a glowing pink core that serves as Eternatus's energy source, absorbing energy to sustain it.
Its head was triangular in shape and had a pair of white, eye-like markings in the form of three connected circles, as well as a spindly lower jaw with several diamond-shaped teeth.
Over its head was a translucent red film held between five long spikes extending toward its body's rear. Eternatus also had a pair of thin tendrils extending from its back, formed from numerous triangular segments.
"W-W-What is that thing...?" Twilight was horrified by this alien-like Pokemon as she kept on flying. She couldn't abandon her friends to check out that current scenario since they were already closing in on Wedgehurst. But her worries were starting to build up.
Eternatus was free at last.
Much earlier than the original timeline. The Darkest Day had finally arrived and threatened both Galar and Equestria itself. As Sonia and the others race to Wedgehurst, Celestia's group, Cobalion's group with Absol and Ash and Leon out there stopping Dynamax Pokemon, the fate of both worlds was currently unknown as the journey continues.
Eternatus has awakened and freed itself, hovering high above the skies of Galar as its shadow was cast over all of Hammerlocke.
Eternatus had already sent hundreds of Galar Particles that had spread across Galar the moment it broke free. And some of them had even travelled to Equestria, only worsening the situation even further.
However, due to how much power Eternatus had absorbed, it decided to cool off for a bit by concealing itself in the clouds. The Gigantic Pokemon flew high up, hiding inside of the clouds for the time being.
People of Hammerlocke watched as Eternatus had left their sights, but the crimson sky remained above Hammerlocke and the Wild Area. Eternatus was just taking a moment to process all this overwhelming power since it had never felt anything like this before.
They believed that the Pokemon had left them, thinking that there was now peace. But that was far from the truth. Eternatus was still affecting the world around it even with minimal movements.
Pokemon all across the Wild Area had been hit with Galar Particles, forcing them all to Dynamax as they were all going on a rampage now.
It wasn't limited to the Wild Area either. Towns across Galar had Pokemon who belonged to trainers suddenly Dynamax before their very eyes, losing all sense of reason as the sounds of people screaming and Pokemon roaring could be heard for hours.
Luckily, some would try their best to stop this disaster. Two of them being Ash and Leon who were flying from area to area, subduing any Dynamax Pokemon they come across.
Over at the Galar mines, Ash and Leon had come across another Gigantamaxed Pokemon. That being Gigantamax Coalossal.
"Ash! Do you see it?" Leon said to him.
"Oh. Who's that Pokemon?" Ash took his dex out for Coalossal.
"Coalossal. The Coal Pokemon. Gigantamax Form. It’s usually peaceful, but the vandalism of mines enrages it. Offenders will be incinerated with flames that reach 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit. While it’s engaged in battle, its mountain of coal will burn bright red, sending off sparks that scorch the surrounding area. Its body is a colossal stove. With Gigantamax energy stoking the fire, this Pokémon’s flame burns hotter than 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit. When Galar was hit by a harsh cold wave, this Pokémon served as a giant heating stove and saved many lives."
"Here we go! Stay alert, Ash!"
"Got it!" Ash nodded as he and Leon closed in on Coalossal, ready to confront and return it to normal.
Meanwhile, with Sonia and the others, they were still making their way towards Wedgehurst, with only a few of them being aware of what was going on at the moment. That being Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy who were flying beside the car.
"Uh, Sonia. What are these?" Goh asked Sonia as he had an image to look at that was of great importance. Applejack and the others leaned in to have a look at this image as well.
"They're four tapestries we found in the Hammerlocke City Vault. Turns out that the two heroes theory might be just as possible as the single hero theory." Sonia replied.
The image they were looking at told a story about the Darkest Day as Goh began reading the words on them.
"Two youths gazing at the sky."
"A disaster occurs before the two bewildered youths."
"The youths looking on at the Sword and Shield that stopped the disaster."
"The youths being crowned."
"It's said that they tell the story of the birth of Galar," Sonia explained further. "Mind telling me what you all may think of it?"
"It's a bit creepy..." Pinkie Pie shuddered as Applejack and Rarity nodded in agreement.
"This story might be the most likely one." Starlight pointed her hoof at the images. "Maybe it really was two heroes instead of one."
"But it wouldn't make sense on why there was a statue of one hero but another legend tells of two heroes." Rarity said. "Is the single hero merely a myth?"
"Or maybe, they're the same person!" Pinkie sat in-between them all. "Like Queen Pyrestar. They could've fused and become one super-amazing hero!" Pinkie mashed her hooves together.
"Which is it?" Applejack took off her hat. "Is it one or two?"
"Who knows. Over the years, people may have made mistakes retelling the legend."
"Oh...that does happen sometimes for certain legends." Starlight nodded.
"But whichever legend is true, one thing's for sure, a hero will rise and save the Galar Region from the Darkest Day. And Equestria too. You all agree, right?" Sonia looked out the window, talking to Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.
"Listen, Sonia. We saw something nearby earlier." Twilight flew closer to Sonia.
"Saw what?"
"I think...we saw the Pokemon that's behind the Darkest Day. Just up North." Twilight pointed her hoof over at the North direction.
Despite Eternatus filling the sky with red, not all of Galar had been affected just yet. The crimson skies were still spreading. They'll catch up eventually.
"You saw it?!" Sonia gasped. "What did it look like?"
"Uh...It's a bit difficult to describe honestly."
"But we noticed that most of the sky had turned red all of a sudden." Fluttershy flew close. "Maybe, the Darkest Day really is coming?"
"Maybe. Which is why we need to see my grandma as soon as we can! I'm getting excited just learning and theorizing even more!" Sonia had sped up, forcing Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to keep up and accelerate themselves.
"A-A-Aaah...!" Applejack held on to her friends as Sonia was putting them in peril once more.
"Once I report all this to my grandma, I'll pass the test with all this research, and become a Pokemon professor myself!" Sonia grinned. "Yeah right. I'm reaching a bit too far there. Grandma's way too strict."
"Why do you want to be a Pokemon Professor, Sonia?" Goh asked.
"Huh? Well...part of it is wanting to be with grandma but...Mostly because of Leon, I guess."
"Leon?" They all said in unison.
"Leon and I are childhood friends," Sonia recalled a time where she and Leon would both go on their own journey. They were younger with Leon's Charizard being a small little Charmander back then.
"We both loved Pokemon and dreamed of becoming strong trainers." As she continued to reminisce, she recalled when they would grow up together, improving themselves as Charmander had now become a Charmeleon.
"When we were younger, I taught him about battling...But after he made his trainer debut it became clear real fast that he was a natural." She then remembered how Leon rose to the top at an incredible rate with his now fully evolved Charizard.
"And before I knew it...he was the champion." Another part of her memory was seeing how many people surrounded Leon who was in a smaller champion suit at the time.
Leon received so much praise and attention for his amazing skill as a trainer to the point where Sonia became far more distant from him. Their time together had abruptly ended ever since Leon became a champion, much to Sonia's dismay.
"Try as I might, there's no way I could beat Leon in a battle. So I thought I'd try working with Pokemon in an entirely different way."
"Oh...I see." Twilight nodded. She understood Sonia's struggle of having to grow distant from your friend due to their large amount of success. Twilight fears that one day, that might happen to her friends as well.
She worries that she might reach a point in her life where she's at the absolute best and peak of her life to the point where her role as a princess might eventually become similar to that of Princess Celestia and Luna. Where she will have many royal duties to attend to.
That was something she wasn't betting on, nor did she hope it would ever come true.
With Leon and Ash, they were currently dealing with the Gigantamax Coalossal at the moment.
Leon had sent out one of his Pokemon to assist him in battle. That being a Dragapult. Ash as well brought some assistance in the form of his Gengar.
"Dragapult! Dragon Darts!" Leon commanded.
"Pult!" Dragapult fired a pair of Dreepy from the holes on its horns as if they were missiles. The Dreepy's seemed to enjoy that surprisingly.
The smaller dragons crashed into Coalossal, exploding upon contact. "C-COAL!"
"Gengar! Shadow Ball!" Ash commanded Gengar.
"Gen...Gar!" Gengar pitched in by sending a ball of shadows directly at Coalossal's face.
"Ssal...! COALOSSAL!" Further enraged, Coalossal used Max Rockfall by summoning a large wall of stone from the ground itself as the miners there made a run for it, screaming.
Coalossal's attack missed the duo as the large wall of rock only crashed down on the ground, ruining the entire mine in the process.
Large shards of rocks came flying down as they threatened to harm the miners who couldn't run fast enough from the rocks as they screamed in fear.
"Gengar! Psychic!"
"Gen! Gen...Gar!" Thankfully, Gengar had saved their lives by manipulating the rocks with its mind.
"The longer this takes the more damage it'll cause. Ash! Let's finish this!" Leon turned to Ash.
"Yes!"
"Dragapult! Dragon Rush!"
"Gengar! Shadow Ball!"
Both Ghost-Types had attacked at the same time. With Dragapult diving down with a draconic blue aura surrounding its body and Gengar conjuring up a ball of shadows, tossing it, Coalossal was smacked in the face by the energy of a dragon and struck by an exploding ball of shadows at the same time.
"COAL!
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt, let's go!"
"Pika!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's hat, flipping in the air as he built up electricity from his body. "Pika...Chuuu!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon sent a blast of 100,000 volts downwards, smiting Coalossal from above.
Coalossal screamed as Dragonite flew by, allowing Ash to catch Pikachu mid-air. The Thunderbolt from Pikachu was enough to defeat Coalossal as the Coal Pokemon was shrinking with all the Dynamax energy leaving its body.
"C-Coal...Coalossal?" And of course, once Coalossal went back to its normal size, it was confused and unaware of what just happened as it stood up and went on with its day.
"Gengar! Return!" Ash landed back on the ground as he raised his arm up, returning Gengar to its Poke Ball.
"Dragapult, come back!" Leon did the same for his Dragapult.
As Coalossal walked off, the miners were mad at the Coal Pokemon for almost crushing them and ruining the mine overall as they started throwing rocks at it. "You messed up the mine!"
"What were you thinking?!"
"Get out of here!"
"Hm?" Ash noticed how they were throwing pebbles at Coalossal as he rushed over. "Wait! Cut it out!" Ash took the rocks for himself. "It's not Coalossal's fault! It couldn't control itself!" He put his arms out.
The miners scoffed as they returned to the inside of the mine to continue their work. Leon went over to Ash, placing his hand on the young trainer. They did a fine job together.
"Pika!" Pikachu hopped on Ash's shoulder.
There was a moment of peace as some clapping could be heard, heading to the general direction of Ash and Leon. That clapping came from Chairman Rose who was rather impressed by what he saw.
"Remarkable! I knew I could depend on the strongest champion!" Rose applauded. "And the young trainer who has his respect."
"Chairman Rose?" Leon turned to him. "Why are you here?"
"I just happened to be here for an inspection."
"Ash. Allow me to introduce you. This is Chairman Rose of Macros Cosmos." Leon introduced Ash to Rose. "The company behind the development and supply of energy for all of Galar. He took notice of me when I started as a trainer and raised me. I owe him a lot for that."
"Oh, well I'm..."
"Ash, yes?" Rose finished Ash's sentence "Leon told me about you. He said you showed great promise as a battler. I have wanted to meet you."
He went over to Ash to give him a handshake, but Pikachu was rather defensive and unsure of whether he could trust Chairman Rose.
"I-It's a pleasure." Ash stuttered as he had a somewhat similar feeling to Pikachu.
"Pika..." Electricity came out of Pikachu's sacs as he was ready to attack at any minute.
"Chairman Rose. Haven't you found out why the Dynamaxed Pokemon are running rampant?" Leon asked him.
"I did look into it extensively, but I couldn't find a clear answer. Is this a threat to Galar...or is it...simply a trial necessary for our future?"
"Hm. Well, we need to do something fast. At this rate, the lives of Galar's people and Pokemon will crumble. Ash. What about your friend's world?" Leon asked Ash.
"Hm? Oh, right!" Ash took out his Xtransceiver, calling for Rainbow Dash to see if they had returned to Equestria yet.
With Rainbow Dash, she answered her Xtransceiver, seeing that it was Ash calling her. "Hello? Ash?"
"Rainbow Dash. Are you guys back in Equestria yet?"
"Nope. We've just arrived at Professor Magnolia's lab. But it kinda took a while..." Rainbow Dash lowered her head. "We'll just finish up here and head to Equestria soon. What about you?"
"Leon and I are still dealing with some Dynamax Pokemon around Galar. Not sure how many are left."
"Uh...about that..." Rainbow Dash was a bit hesitant to tell Ash about the new Dynamax problem. "We kinda have a problem."
"Hm?"
"T-Twilight you tell him."
"Ash!" Twilight appeared in front of Rainbow Dash. "Bad news! I think the Pokemon that started the Darkest day is loose!"
"Eh? For real?!" Ash gasped. Hearing that grabbed Chairman Rose's attention since he definitely knows that Eternatus is free right now.
"Mhm!" Twilight nodded. "I saw it right in the distance! It looked exactly like what we saw on the plane when coming to the Galar Region."
"Has anything bad happened?!"
"Nothing yet." Fluttershy went in front of Twilight. "Oh, sorry Twilight. It showed up but it hasn't done anything yet...I think. We're far away from it now and in Wedgehurst anyway."
"Did you say the Pokemon that started the Darkest Day?" Leon came in front of the screen, blocking Ash.
"Champion Leon?" Fluttershy pulled back.
"Oh yeah!" Rainbow Dash got in front of the screen. "If it's the real thing, then we're in big trouble!"
"Hmm...This might make things worse if the Pokemon behind the Darkest Day is free." Leon looked up. "Where did you all see this Pokemon?"
"We saw it up North near someplace called..." Twilight was trying to name the city she saw Eternatus above.
"Hammerlocke," Sonia answered for her.
"Hammerlocke! That's it! We're not sure if it's in the same place anymore. It could be moving around right now."
"Okay. We'll check it out." Ash nodded as his stomach was growling. "But I gotta snack on something quick..."
"Pika..."
"Haha!" Rose laughed. "How about dinner to commence our meeting? I'll treat you to plenty of Galar's most famous dishes."
"Famous dishes?!" Ash's eyes became starry-eyed as he liked the sound of that. Pinkie Pie heard Chairman Rose speak about famous dishes as she pressed her face on the screen.
"Aw! Lucky!" Pinkie groaned.
"It'll be a good opportunity to join them, Ash. I'll help fix the mine and head over to Hammerlocke to see this Pokemon." Leon insisted.
"No way! I wanna help too!" Ash exclaimed, but his stomach said otherwise. "But eating first sounds good anyway...Rainbow Dash you guys finish up with Wedgehurst and make it to Equestria as soon as you can."
"Okay!" Rainbow Dash nodded as she hung up on Ash.
With Sonia and the others finally arriving at her grandmother's home, the opportunity to learn more about Dynamax was here.
"Alright. Grandma can be a bit hard, so be on your best behaviour alright?" Sonia asked them.
"No problem." Applejack flailed her hoof. "I've dealt with strict grannies before. Ain't nothing to-" Applejack's words were interrupted when out of nowhere, something came crashing down from the sky, causing a fairly large impact on the ground which startled everypony here. "Huh?!"
"W-What was that?!" Twilight's wings stood up along with her horn lighting up. They all turned to the face the spot where the crash occurred, expecting a Pokemon to be there.
But that wasn't the case. Instead, it was some sort of rock with red and purple energy around it, similar to the colours of Dynamax. This rock was also shaped like some sort of star as they all went over to the crash site to see it for themselves.
"A meteor?" Pinkie tilted her head.
"That's one small meteor." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Oh! Amazing!" Sonia gawked. "Its..."
"A Wishing Star." Her sentence had been finished by one person in particular who was very close to her. That person being the main reason they all came here.
Professor Magnolia. "They're said to fall into the hands of those who bear earnest wishes," said Magnolia as she stood there with a stern face.
"Grandma!" Sonia exclaimed.
"Professor Magnolia!" Goh stood up.
"Hm. You've brought along quite a colourful cast, Sonia." Magnolia observed Twilight and the others.
"Hiya!" Pinkie waved her hoof as she dashed over to Magnolia. "Professor Magnolia, right? Nice to meet ya!" She was about to shake Magnoliga's hand with her hoof but judging by how the old Pokemon Professor was glaring at her with those sharp eyes, that wasn't happening. "Oh, sorry..." Pinkie backed away.
"Sorry if it's a lot of them. And if they crowd up your lab, grandma. But we're here for something major."
"I came here from Cerise Labs in Kanto with my friend to learn about Dynamax even further," Goh said. "If it's okay with you, could you tell us all you know? You are the number one Dynamax researcher after all."
"I can." Magnolia turned around. "I'd be happy to share all the information I know to you young ones. Come inside."
Magnolia was glad to let them all in despite them hearing that she was fairly strict and stern, but when it comes to topics she enjoys and knows a lot about, she can be inviting.
"So, you came from Professor Cerise's institute? Is he doing well?" Magnolia asked Goh.
"Yes!" Goh nodded. "He's the one who recommended us to come here so that you could tell us more about Dynamax."
"Hm...There are still many things we do not know about Dynamax that have yet to be discovered. But what we do know is that a special power which only exists here in Galar is linked to the Dynamaxing Pokemon. We call them Galar Particles."
"About the uh...only existing part. Dynamax just recently came to our world not too long ago." Rarity interrupted.
"Did it now? That shouldn't be possible." Magnolia narrowed her eyes. "Dynamax is only for Galar and originated in Galar."
"But what are these Galar Particles anyway?" Spike asked.
"Galar Particles are found within the red lights that are released from special power spots," Magnolia explained further. "They bring out the power from within Pokemon and trigger Dynamax."
"Power from within Pokemon..." Goh said under his breath.
"And further research has revealed that the wishing stars falling from the sky likewise contain Galar Particles."
"Really?" Twilight gawked. "Wait...That Pokemon I saw had a somewhat alien-like appearance. If it's related to that Pokemon, does that mean that Dynamax, the Wishing Stars and the Pokemon come from space?"
"Possibly. But I haven't seen this supposed Pokemon for myself to give you any knowledge. But I do know this. Wishing Stars are capable of attracting and drawing in Galar Particles. I thought that making use of the capability should enable us to control the gigantification of Pokemon. And so I cooperated with Chairman Rose from Macros Cosmos and together we succeded in developing Dynamax Bands."
"Oh, so you helped create them?" said Fluttershy.
"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash squeed.
"And on that note..." Sonia walked over holding in her hand 9 Dynamax Bands. "Ta-dah! For all of you! Some presents!"
"Ooh!" Pinkie shot up, looking at Sonia's hands with her friends. "You're giving us Dynamax bands?!"
"Mhm! I took apart the Wishing Star and used 9 pieces of it to make these. Since Dynamax now exists in your world, I think you should have something to really protect yourselves from any crazy-strong Dynamax Pokemon."
"Thanks so much, Sonia!" Twilight took one band as she saw how Sonia made it so that they could fit on both hooves, hands and dragon claws.
"And you know...if Dynamax was never meant to come to your world since it's impossible, I figured that I might travel to Equestria one day and research why and how it's there myself." Sonia twirled her hair.
"You're welcome to visit any time!" Rainbow Dash put a Dynamax Band on herself. "Nice!"
"How do we activate them, though?" Spike tapped the band.
"Power Spots." Magnolia stood up. "That is the only way you, the trainer, are capable of Dynamaxing your Pokemon by will. As long as there is a Power Spot somewhere, Dynamax will occur."
"Oh. So if we go to Lapras Lake, we can just stand near the Power Spot and Dynamax there." Pinkie looked at the band.
"But it must also be done by the bond between you and your Pokemon. Galar Particles conceal much potential which can be linked to the trainer and Pokemon themselves. Remember that, my little ponies."
"Yes ma'am!" They all said in unison.
"After all, Chairman Rose and I researched how to turn that power into energy and..." Magnolia looked down with regret in her eyes.
"And?" Twilight leaned forward.
"Did something happen, grandma?" Sonia asked.
"Nothing. In any case, Sonia. If you're planning to go to Equestria, I hope you've finished your homework first. Haven't forgotten it now, have you?"
"Ah!" Sonia shot up.
"Please show me the results of your research into the legend."
"Okay!"
Equestria, Fillydelphia.
One of the many locations that have been unfortunately affected by Dynamax.
A Vanilluxe that belonged to a trainer had been Dynamaxed by force as it was already destroying the entire city with some of the most potent ice out there.
"VANIL!"
The Snowstorm Pokemon had managed to freeze most of the ponies and buildings in Fillydelphia in just about 8 minutes flat. They were immobilized as their bodies were freezing uncontrollably with 21 degrees Fahrenheit torturing them.
Not only that, but a violent blizzard had filled the entire city, freezing anypony that it manages to catch. And even if there wasn't a pony outside, the blizzard would just freeze the buildings themselves, trapping the ponies in an icy prison.
A few ponies had managed to last long enough to a point where Vanilluxe's ice hadn't frozen them yet. One of them being Vanilluxe's trainer.
But due to how aggressive the blizzard was, they couldn't avoid it for much longer as they hid behind large blocks of ice. The entire ground had been frozen solid, making it difficult to even walk around without slipping.
Vanilluxe roared as it was about to pull off the move Max Hailstorm. By controlling the weather itself, the Snowstorm Pokemon had managed to summon 5 gigantic blocks of ice from midair as they cast a large shadow over Fillydelphia.
The remaining ponies gasped as they witnessed 5 large blocks of ice appear in the sky. If these blocks fall, not only will they most likely crush them but it would also end up crushing the ponies who were frozen and unable to move.
The 5 ice blocks came falling as the remaining ponies held each other, ready to embrace their potentially inevitable doom.
But thankfully, help had arrived.
The ice blocks were all cut in half suddenly in a perfectly symmetrical shape. However, this only meant that a slightly smaller chunk of ice would fall and that was still enough to crush the ponies.
Luckily, the cuts didn't stop there. They were in fact cut numerous times at blinding speeds as they were no longer giant chunks of ice, but instead tiny little ice cubes that you could fit inside of a coffee cup. Bonus points for style.
The ponies gasped as they wondered who could've done something so impressive and save their lives at the same time whilst also looking stylish.
None other than the Swords of Justice themselves.
Virizion was the one responsible for it since she's the fastest out of the 4 swords, which would explain why her cuts were so lightning-fast.
"Are you all alright?" Virizion turned to the ponies as they nodded in response. "Good. Now then." Virizion turned to face the Snowstorm Pokemon.
"LUXE! VANILLUXE!"
"Stay here and don't move," Virizion ordered as she got out her sword, rushing over to the Ice-Type. Vanilluxe noticed that the Grassland Pokemon was headed straight for it with its sword being active and ready to slash.
As a response, Vanilluxe turned all of its attention to Virizion, using the full force of its rampage against her. Vanilluxe was about to perform yet another Max Hailstorm and crush Virizion and the entire city in one go.
But thanks to Virizion's amazing speed, that didn't happen. The Grassland Pokemon blitzed past Vanilluxe at such speeds that Vanilluxe didn't even see her perform the slash.
Which she had already done. Before the Snowstorm Pokemon knew it, Sacred Sword had landed as an aftershock struck its body, dealing immense damage.
"L-LUXE!"
That one single Sacred Sword was enough to actually defeated Vanilluxe as the Snowstorm Pokemon was shrinking back down to its normal size.
"V-Vani...Vanilluxe?" Vanilluxe looked around in confusion as to what just happened.
But even with Vanilluxe defeated, many of the ponies here were still frozen solid in ice, unable to move their bodies as they were freezing.
But Virizion had that covered as well. She kept her sword out as she was aiming to free every single pony here from their icy prison.
Now normally, this would take a while considering how populated Fillydelphia is. But since Virizion is so freakishly fast, this was lightwork.
The Grassland Pokemon bolted across the city as she rapidly swung her sword about. She made sure to carefully hit the right spots so that she doesn't end up shattering the ponies inside the ice.
Each time she slashed her sword, ponies were being freed as small little pieces of ice fell and filled the solid ground as they all looked at their hooves, glad that they were okay and still alive.
In just 3 minutes, Virizion had saved all of Fillydelphia without breaking a sweat. And as a bonus, she got rid of the ice that was on the floor and buildings as well, making sure she didn't destroy them either.
"That settles that." Virizion sighed as her horn faded away. The ponies were obviously grateful for what Virizion had done for them. She had just saved their entire town on her own.
However, some were furious at Vanilluxe for freezing their home and going on a rampage.
"What gives?! Freezing our entire home like that?!" A pegasus yelled.
"You jerk!" A unicorn used her magic to throw some rubble at the Snowstorm Pokemon.
"Luxe?!" Vanilluxe cowered in fear.
But, Virizion swiftly got in front of Vanilluxe, cutting the rubble in half as the unicorn gasped.
"Do not take your anger out on Vanilluxe," Virizion said. "It wasn't in control of itself. No Pokemon is when they are forcefully Dynamaxed. Remember that."
"Oh, S-Sorry." The unicorn backed away as Vanilluxe's original trainer ran over to hug the Snowstorm Pokemon, glad that it was alright.
Virizion looked up in the sky, seeing more Galar Particles fly by as they were heading for more locations and targeting more Pokemon with Eternatus taking the wheel.
Virizion could only hope that her fellow swords were doing their best to protect Equestria.
And indeed they were.
Over at Las Pegasus, a Dynamax Swanna was wreaking havoc as well.
The damage that Swanna had done to Las Pegasus was arguably worse than what Vanilluxe did. Mostly because Swanna had flooded the entirety of Las Pegasus with its rampage.
It was a horrifying sight to behold. Many unfortunate ponies were caught in the overwhelming flood, as the ones who were safe had managed to protect themselves by hiding inside the buildings.
The same couldn't be said for the ponies outside. Some of them were capable swimmers who managed to swim up for air, gasping uncontrollably.
But others weren't swimmers at all. The best they could do was hold their breath. The ponies that could swim offered to help those who couldn't by bringing them up to surface level, giving them some air.
However, that wouldn't last as Swanna had used a Max Geyser to make the situation worse than it already is. A blast of water had been shot downwards, adding more water to the flood and making things harder for the ponies.
Even the ponies who were capable of swimming couldn't keep it up due to the added pressure of Max Geyser. Very soon, they would end up succumbing to the overwhelming pressure of Swanna's water.
The ponies who couldn't swim couldn't hold their breath for much longer. As such, some of them gave entirely as they had passed out in the process.
Not even the buildings were safe from Swanna. Due to her immense size, she could easily crush them with even her very light feathers as the White Bird Pokemon approached some buildings with her shadow casting over the city.
Everything looked hopeless until another Sword of Justice came to the rescue.
This time it was Keldeo who was possibly the perfect Pokemon for this scenario. Due to him being part Water, he could easily swim better than anypony here and also breathe underwater.
So that's what he did. When he arrived, his first instinct was to lower the water level. It would seem impossible but Keldeo and many Mythicals are capable of performing the impossible.
Keldeo did this by transforming into his Resolute-Form for extra power. The Colt Pokemon then unleashed his sword as it grew to the length of a lamp post
Keldeo then swung his sword on the water with such force and power that it had split the entire flood in half, similar to how a Sawk can cleave the ocean in half. Perhaps it's just natural for Fighting-Type Pokemon to just cut things in half.
With the water being sliced in half and losing most of its liquid as it flowed somewhere else, many of the ponies inside of it had flown out, landing on the ground as they were either gasping for air or were unconscious.
Thankfully, some ponies knew CPR so Keldeo didn't have to perform something he had no idea how to do. But he wasn't done yet. He also had to save the ponies who were still inside of the water and drowning.
Luckily, Keldeo's swimming abilities were top-notch as he forced himself back inside of the flood. The Colt Pokemon carried ponies on his back whilst clearing a path with his signature move Secret Sword.
With courage and bravery, Keldeo had saved Las Pegasus from being an underwater city. But it wasn't over yet. There was one final obstacle to clear.
Swanna.
"I gotcha." Keldeo placed a little filly down on the ground as he faced the White Bird Pokemon. The Colt Pokemon ran over to Swanna, firing a small Water Pulse whilst he galloped.
That Water Pulse smacked Swanna in the face, making the Water-Flying-Type aware of Keldeo's existence. "SWAN?!"
Seeing Keldeo attack made Swanna switch her rage towards the Colt Pokemon instead of the city itself. Swanna was about to use the move Max Airstream as she created a whirlwind by flapping her wings aggressively.
Keldeo gasped, seeing that this move could blow him away with ease if he wasn't careful. So instead of avoiding it, Keldeo was planning on tackling the Max Airstream head-on.
He used Hydro Pump to boost himself in the air as he approached his fellow Water-Type with his sword still out. Swanna unleashed Max Airstream as a devastating burst of wind zoomed towards him. It was enough to almost blow away the buildings themselves due to the overwhelming pressure from the stream of wind.
Keldeo narrowed his eyes as he yet again did the impossible. He used his Secret Sword to cut the Max Airstream in half. Not only could he cut water but he could even slash the wind itself.
Naturally, that amazed the ponies and startled Swanna.
But what's more impressive was the shockwave from Keldeo's slash. It was so powerful that it knocked Swanna out in one single hit.
Keldeo didn't even make direct contact with Swanna at all. All he did was cut the Max Airstream in half and the shockwave just happened to finish the job.
"S-Swanna..." Swanna was thankfully back to normal as her trainer ran over to her.
"Phew." Keldeo sighed. "I aced that."
"That was amazing!" A filly bellowed as many ponies gathered around Keldeo, praising him and thanking him for saving their lives.
This was the most amount of praise Keldeo had ever gotten in his entire life. And it was worth it as he felt proud of himself at the moment.
But he couldn't soak in all the praise for long. He knew that there was still some more Dynamax Pokemon out there that needed to be stopped. Just like him, the Swords of Justice were working hard to save Equestria.
Back at Wedgehurst, Professor Magnolia's lab.
Magnolia had gone over Sonia's research and what she had to offer so far. There were some pretty juicy finds, much to Magnolia's pleasure.
"I see." Magnolia adjusted her glasses. "There were two heroes and the Darkest Day was caused by a Pokemon...A truly fascinating discussion. You did well Sonia."
"Really?" Sonia grinned. "Thanks, grandma! But to be honest...I did get some help from my friends here."
"Way to go, Sonia!" Pinkie hopped on Sonia's shoulder, congratulating her.
"But I cannot yet say that you have passed." Magnolia suddenly shut Sonia down.
"Huh?!" Sonia winced along with Pinkie and the others.
"Where are the sword and shield from the legend? How was the disaster prevented? You need to solve all the mysteries if you wish to pass."
"Aw..." Sonia sighed. "Figured as much..."
"She really is strict..." Twilight gawked.
"No need to worry. You just have to research it thoroughly Sonia." Fluttershy flew up.
"I suppose. I'll give it my all!" Sonia smiled. "You all should get going and protect your world."
"Oh, right!" Rainbow Dash's wings shot up. She and her friends were about to leave and head back to Equestria. "Now that we've got Dynamax on our side, this'll be easy!
"Hold on!" Twilight stopped Rainbow Dash and the others from dashing off suddenly. "Maybe some of us should split up."
"Split up?! Why?" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.
"If both worlds are currently facing the Darkest Day, then we'll need to help out in more than just one place. Some of us have to help Ash and Leon."
"Twilight's right. If the Pokemon that caused the whole Darkest Day event is free, then Ash is gonna need a lot of help." Rarity said.
"I guess so. Then...I'll head back to Equestria and help out." Rainbow Dash offered.
"Same here." Applejack said.
"Then we'll help out Ash then." Rarity and Spike were going to stay here. "What about you, Fluttershy?"
"Me? Oh um. I'll take the safer route and come to Equestria." Fluttershy squeed.
"And I'll come along!" Pinkie dashed over.
"Then Starlight and I will also head over to Ash." Twilight made her decision. "And you Goh?"
"Well, I'm going to continue helping Sonia out with her research. It's why I came here after all." Goh replied.
The groups had been decided. One will head off and help Ash, the other will head back home to Equestria to see if everything is okay and the other will continue helping out with research about Dynamax.
Meanwhile, up in the skies, Eternatus had been refreshed.
After getting used to this newfound power, the Gigantic Pokemon was ready to officially continue its carnage. However, something was grabbing its attention.
Eternatus obviously recognizes the energy from Galar since it came here 20,000 years ago in a meteorite that fell from above. So it could easily absorb the Galar Particles from the entire region.
However, the energy from Equestria was something that Eternatus wasn't familiar with. In fact, that was the main reason it retreated into the clouds in the first place.
Learning about this made Eternatus make a decision. It was going to pay a visit to Equestria itself. Eternatus only seeks to cause chaos. And causing chaos in a brand new world is quite pleasing for a cruel Pokemon such as Eternatus.
So it was. Eternatus flew out of the clouds, separating them all as its movements sounded like a tornado ripping through the sky.
Eternatus's shadow cast over Hammerlocke and the Wild Area as it brought the red sky along with it. But even if Eternatus was leaving this world, it was still able to forcefully Dynamax random Pokemon by spreading more Galar Particles.
The carnage it brings is endless. And nothing can stop it.
Eternatus hadn't reached Equestria yet, but already, Celestia and Passion could feel an ominous chill run through their bodies as if their own bodies were warning them.
Celestia stopped walking as Luna and Hollow turned around to face her. "Sister? What's wrong?"
"Something malicious is coming this way." Celestia's eyes widened as her boundless Cutie Mark was flashing aggressively. Passion held on to Celestia's hoof, feeling fearful of whatever this imminent threat could be. "L-L-Let's keep going."
The trio continued on their way to find other Dynamax Pokemon running amok and on a rampage whilst Celelestia and Passion still had that uneasy feeling inside of them.
Wyndon. The booming metropolis and the second-most populous area in the entire Pokemon World, just behind Lumiose City.
Currently, at Rose Tower, Ash and Pikachu were enjoying the best gourmet food that Galar had to offer whilst sitting with Rose and his secretary Oleana.
"This is great!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pika!"
"Hm...I love the view here." Rose suddenly said, looking out the window. "Each and every one of these lights houses countless lives and dreams. Galar itself is what lifted me out of poverty and let me reach my current life. And I intend to do everything within my power in order for this marvellous view to last a thousand years."
"Oooh..." Ash gawked.
"Oh, right. By the way, Ash. I strive to guide talented trainers like Leon so that they can reach the top and have a promising future. What do you think?"
"Huh? Me?"
"I would support a strong trainer like you with everything I have. Please stay by my side, as well, and help me protect Galar's future."
"Oh, you're so lucky!" Oleana clapped her hands together. "Getting an offer like this from Chairman Rose!"
"Hmm..." Ash thought about it for a second. It sounded promising, everything that Rose was offering. But Ash had already made up his mind about how he'll reach his goal to the top long ago. "Sorry. I'll pass."
"Huh?" Rose's eyes widened.
"I wanna travel the world with my own two legs, meet loads of Pokemon and friends and become stronger with them!"
"....I see." Rose accepted Ash's decision and respected it. "Very well. I understand."
"Hehe." Ash chuckled as they were both on good terms. But, one person in particular who wasn't pleased with Ash's answer was Oleana, whose face was full of destructive intent with her hair flowing up as if there was an intense fire blazing behind her. "Eek!"
After their dinner, Ash was offered to stay at the hotel rooms of the tower to relax a bit.
"Pikaaaaa!" Pikachu and Ash hopped on the bed, landing face-first as they took in the comfortable feel of the bed for themselves. "Chuuuuu...."
"So nice and soft!"
"Pika-Pi!"
"Everyone's missing out on this!" Ash grinned as he and his best buddy laid on his back.
And the moment he mentioned his friends, he had gotten a call from Twilight by his Xtransceiver. He picked it up, wondering where Twilight and the others were at with their progress as he answered the call.
"Yo, Twilight. How's it going so far?"
"Ash. We've got all the info we need from Professor Magnolia." Twilight responded. "Right now, Starlight, Rarity, Spike and I are coming to help you out."
"Hm? What about the others?"
"We've split up. Rainbow Dash and the others are heading back to Equestria to see if everything's okay and Goh went with Sonia to continue researching Dynamax." Spike went in front of Twilight. "And check it out!" Spike showed his Dynamax Band.
"Oh! You've got a Dynamax Band?!" Ash gasped.
"Pikachu?!"
"Not just me. Everypony's got one now thanks to Sonia. Now, this Dynamax thing's gonna be a cinch for us." Spike grinned.
"Ash." Twilight went in front of Spike. "What about you? Did you see the Pokemon that's causing the Darkest Day?"
"Actually..." Ash looked outside the window. "I don't see it at all. The sky's pretty normal to me."
"Pika..." Pikachu pressed his face on the glass as a Staravia flew by.
"Really? I would've thought it would cause a ton of destruction now that it was free. Or maybe it's just a random Pokemon and not the cause of the Darkest Day..." Twilight thought.
"In any case, we can't be too careful." Rarity said, appearing on the screen. "You're at Wyndon, right?"
"Yeah. Right in a hotel room at Rose Tower. The bed here is super comfortable!" Ash laid on his back. "Where's Goh headed with Sonia?"
"They said they're going to someplace called Stow-on-Side. It has some ruins that further help with their Dynamax research." Twilight answered. "But Ash. You said you were at Rose Tower, right?"
"Yeah?" Ash nodded.
"Well...before we all left, Professor Magnolia told us one last thing," Twilight recalled the last words Magnolia said to them all back at Wedgehurst.
"Sonia. I need to tell you...why I broke off my partnership with Chairman Rose. It was because I could sense madness in his gaze. Chairman Rose will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. The recent incidents of Dynamax Pokemon rampaging could have his involvement. I have no proof, but I have a bad feeling about this. And that is why Sonia...You need to make haste in uncovering the truth behind the legend."
"And that's all she said." Twilight finished reminiscing. "Be careful Ash. If what Professor Magnolia is saying is true..."
"No need to worry. I'll be fine." Ash gave a reassuring smile and a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped on his head.
"Alright." Twilight knew that was a high possibility considering how well she knows Ash by now. "See you there soon." She hung up.
Ash placed his Xtransceiver back in his bag as looked up at the ceiling, thinking about what Twilight told him that Magnolia warned them about. "Chairman Rose...madness in his gaze?"
"Pika..."
Ponyville, late afternoon.
"Mrrgh..." Scootaloo rubbed her eyes as she felt exhausted. "I don't wanna sleep right now."
"Same here..." Sweetie Belle yawned.
"If you two feel tired...I'll feel tired." Apple Bloom grumbled.
Peace was the only thing existing in Ponyville at the moment. The day was slowly coming to an end as many ponies were just minding their business, unbothered.
That is until something broke that peace.
The sound of a horrifying roar echoed throughout the town, sending chills down everypony's spine as the windows had almost shattered from this unknown roar.
The ponies all looked around to see what could've caused that roar at all. They didn't have to look any further but North. They noticed that a crimson sky was filling Ponyville, even reaching all the way up to Cloudsdale. This only meant one thing.
Eternatus was approaching.
The Gigantic Pokemon let out its horrifying scream once more, piercing the ears of everypony here. The citizens of Ponyville and Cloudsdale looked up in shock and horror, seeing this humongous Pokemon cast a large shadow over them.
When Eternatus flew by, a powerful wind pressure was created, almost knocking the buildings of Ponyville out of the ground. Eternatus's large body had chipped Twilight's castle, destroying a small part of it.
The end of its body whipped the top of Town Hall off as it had almost crushed somepony from above.
"What is that?!" Scootaloo was both mortified and intrigued as she took out her Pokedex.
"Eternatus. The Gigantic Pokemon. The core on its chest absorbs energy emanating from the lands of the Galar region. This energy is what allows Eternatus to stay active. It was inside a meteorite that fell 20,000 years ago. There seems to be a connection between this Pokémon and the Dynamax phenomenon."
Hearing that made Scootaloo and her friends fear that Eternatus might be here to destroy their own world.
But Eternatus wasn't going to do the dirty work itself. Instead, it had spread Galar Particles across all the sky to do so. The particles scattered, searching for random Pokemon to Dynamax.
A Galar Particle had found one Pokemon to affect with Dynamax. And that was the lovable Pokemon who belonged to Mayor Mare.
Stoutland.
The Big-Hearted Pokemon had been hit by the Galar Particle, forcing him to Dynamax without any control as he was groaning in pain.
"Stoutland?!" Mayor Mare backed away, seeing her partner grow right in front of her very eyes. All the attention was given to Stoutland as the Big-Hearted Pokemon was now in a state of rage like every Pokemon who are forcefully Dynamaxed.
"S-STOUT!"
Eternatus's rampage is only just beginning. With its existence in Equestria, which was not built for Pokemon whatsoever, the destruction and carnage it'll end up bringing is unknown and honestly terrifying to imagine as the journey continues.
Eternatus had just arrived and had already forced a Pokemon to Dynamax in the town.
That Pokemon ended up being Mayor Mare's partner, Stoutland, who now had no control over himself and was bound to go on a rampage, destroying everything in his path.
"STOUTLAND!" The Big-Hearted Pokemon already got to work, stomping its paws on the ground as it caused a mini-earthquake that rumbled the entirety of Ponyville.
"Stoutland, stop! What's gotten into you?!" Mayor Mare exclaimed, trying to talk to her partner.
But it was no use.
Dynamax Pokemon under Eternatus's influence cannot listen to reason at all. All they seek is to rampage and destroy until there is nothing left.
Stoutland used its massive moustache as a weapon by swinging it about and destroying the upper part of Ponyville's Town Hall.
The upper part fell on the ground as Stoutland continued to whip its moustache about, destroying numerous buildings in the process.
The ponies inside of their own homes ran out as Stoutland had then destroyed the upper part of SugarCube Corner, causing Mr and Mrs Cake to run out with their two babies.
"Stoutland, please! You have to stop!" Mayor Mare persisted on reasoning with her partner. But it was all for nothing.
Soon, Stoutland would end up using Max Moves. One of its many moves was Thunder Fang, giving him access to Max Lightning.
The fur of Stoutland began to rustle as 500,000 volts of electricity were building up from within his body. The sound of a thunderstorm approaching could be heard as ponies were starting to make a run for it, seeing the sky flash with lightning.
Even the ponies of Cloudsdale flew away, knowing that this cannot end well whatsoever. "STOUT!"
Stoutland sent down a gigantic bolt of lightning from above, tearing through the sky as Mayor Mare's glasses had the reflection of lightning on them.
She was too horrified of her partner's current actions to even move an inch. Just behind her, multiple buildings had been obliterated into nothing due to the Max Lightning.
Mayor Mare's mane and tail flew up from the devastating shockwave as she could bear to see her Pokemon like this. She knew that Stoutland would never cause destruction like this.
But unfortunately, he was.
The buildings that had been hit by Max Lightning were gone as the ponies all looked back to see their homes wiped off the face of the planet with just one single attack.
But it didn't quite stop there. An electric terrain had been formed thanks to Max Lightning, making the entire ground a hazard field now.
And Mayor Mare was standing right on that hazard field with the electricity harming her hooves. But she was too focused on her partner to even care right now.
Stoutland was ready to unleash yet another Max Lightning as the skies were rumbling once more. The ponies could see that Mayor Mare wasn't moving at all and she was most likely bound to be hit by this next Max move.
"Mayor Mare! You gotta move!" Lyra yelled as she tried to run over there. But if she even dared try to get close, she could end up feeling the effects of the electric terrain as 500,000 volts were threatening her and everypony. BonBon pulled Lyra back as they all watched the lightning build from above.
"Gotta do something..." Scootaloo dug into her saddlebag, getting a Poke Ball out. "Ponyta! Come out!" She sent out Ponyta for help.
"Pony!"
"Use Flame Charge and grab Mayor Mare quick!" Scootaloo pointed her hoof forward.
"Ta!" The Fire Horse Pokemon understood clearly as he looked over at the field of lightning, seeing how the mayor was immobilized.
By surrounding his body in fire, Ponyta took the risk of going through the electric terrain, even if it means he'll end up getting hurt himself. The Fire Horse Pokemon galloped forward, feeling 500,000 volts punish his body as he winced.
But Ponyta's resilience is one of a kind. After all, when they're born, they can barely stand. However, by chasing after its parent Rapidash, their galloping speed increases.
And the same can be said for this Ponyta for sure. The time he had spent with Scootaloo has increased his hoof strength as he was able to take the 500,000 volts of electricity.
The Max Lightning had finally been unleashed as it was now a suddenly close moment between Ponyta and the lightning. But, Ponyta proved to be a bit faster as he used all of his extra strength the moment he got close to her.
In a burst of speed, Ponyta flipped Mayor Mare on his back whilst also avoiding and saving her from the Max Lightning as the devastating blast of lightning struck the ground, creating a gigantic crater with sparks flying out.
The sparks scattered across Ponyville, shocking anything that was even close to them. More buildings suffered from these sparks as they were being demolished left and right.
The ponies closed their eyes and covered their ears with either their hooves or wings as the horrible sound of thunder striking pierced the town, shattering any form of glass there was.
Ponyta returned to Scootaloo with Mayor Mare safe on his back. "Pony!" He let Mayor Mare off his back.
"Good job, Ponyta! Mayor Mare! Are you alright?!" Scootaloo asked her.
"My Stoutland..." Mayor Mare whimpered as she didn't even respond to Scootaloo. All she was thinking about was Stoutland as she watched her partner rampage mindlessly.
"LAND! STOUTLAND!"
"What do we do now?!" Sweetie Belle gulped. "We can't take on a giant Pokemon!"
"I'm getting out of here, that's what!" Carrot Top exclaimed as she made a run for it.
However, Stoutland didn't just use Max Lightning only. He also had a Steel-Type move in the form of Iron Head. That Steel move transformed into Max Steelspike. Which spelt a horrible outcome for Ponyville.
Stoutland slammed his paws on the ground, creating a series of jagged spikes that extended forward. With destructive intent, the spikes tore apart the buildings of Ponyville with ease.
SugarCube Corner had been torn apart along with Town Hall itself. Everypony tried to escape from the spikes with their lives as Scootaloo and her friends hopped on Ponyta's back.
But try as they might, the spikes were moving too fast, ripping the ground apart as Mayor Mare looked back whilst running, horrified that her Stoutland was doing all of this.
From the speed the spikes were moving at, it looked like there was no way the citizens were going to escape. Until...
The spikes had been stopped by a magic barrier as the impact between the spikes and barrier caused a shockwave that crumbled the ground beneath Ponyville.
The pony who had put up the barrier was Nyx, who had saved the ponies from imminent doom thankfully. "I think not!" She growled as she used her magic to blow away the spikes.
"Nyx!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.
"I would've never thought that the lovable and kind Stoutland would cause this much destruction," Nyx said.
"He wouldn't!" Mayor Mare shouted.
"In any case, it's clear that he needs to be stopped. Or else he'll just continue rampaging across Equestria." Nyx's horn lit up as she approached the Big-Hearted Pokemon.
"STOUT!" Stoutland locked his eyes on Nyx since she was the one who stopped his attack. The Big-Hearted Pokemon responded by going for yet another Max Lightning as sparks hovered over Nyx.
Nyx looked up to see the lightning above her as she had the instinct to interrupt it by sending a blast of magic that struck Stoutland's face.
"STOUTLAND!" Stoutland couldn't pull off Max Lightning thanks to Nyx interrupting him. The alicorn closed in, sending more and more magic rays at the Normal-Type, bombarding him with constant magic attacks.
Mayor Mare didn't enjoy seeing her partner getting hurt this much. But she knew that this rampage had to be stopped somehow.
Nyx got closer and closer to Stoutland with her magic beams getting larger with each hit. She saw how Stoutland was taking all these attacks and was only wincing afterwards.
"How strong are these Pokemon creatures...?" Nyx said under her breath as she poured more power into her magic, trying to force Stoutland down.
But no matter what, Stoutland wouldn't fall. Even if he wasn't in his right mind, he was still a Pokemon who can stand firm without even showing any signs of falling over.
"LAND...!" Once Nyx got close, Stoutland capitalized on the situation. He used his massive moustache to whack Nyx's entire body as a surprise attack. Not only that, but he added a bit of Max Lightning to his fur, making it electric.
Nyx's eyes widened as she felt 500,000 volts hit her directly. With such a devastating hit, Nyx was sent crashing to the ground whilst the sound of thunder boomed afterwards.
"Ah! Nyx!" Scootaloo tried to run forward, but Apple Bloom bit her tail, forcing her back since it was too dangerous.
Stoutland walked over to Nyx who was currently on the ground with electricity surrounding her body as she twitched in the crater she was in. "U-Ugh..." Nyx groaned.
"Stout...Stout...STOUTLAND!" Stoutland's eyes flashed red as his attacks grew more aggressive. He was about to finish off Nyx by stepping on her with his full strength as Nyx was still writhing on the ground with the electricity wearing her down.
"Stoutland no!" Mayor Mare screamed as she rushed in, trying to stop her partner and save Nyx at the same time.
It looked like it would be the end for both of them. Mayor Mare had gotten under Stoutland's paw as a large shadow had been cast over the two ponies.
That is until somepony else arrived.
"Braviary! Aerial Ace!" The voice of Rainbow Dash had bellowed.
With lightning-fast speeds and sharp precision, a blur had flown past the citizens of Ponyville faster than they could react. Braviary had swooped in, grabbing both Nyx and Mayor Mare at the same time whilst also using one of his wings to smack Stoutland's paw.
"Brav!"
"S-STOUT?!"
Braviary ascended high into the crimson skies as he safely rescued Nyx and Mayor Mare. And of course, if he was here, then that meant only one thing.
Rainbow Dash was here.
Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie arrived at Ponyille in the nick of time.
"Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo grinned.
"Applejack!" So did Apple Bloom.
Braviary returned to Rainbow Dash, placing Nyx and Mayor Mare down on the ground safely. "Viary."
"Good job, Braviary." Rainbow Dash said. She then looked over Ponyville, seeing how it was a complete mess thanks to the actions of Stoutland.
It was a horrifying sight for her and her friends to see. Pinkie Pie saw how SugarCube Corner missing its upper part and how there were massive holes inside of the building.
"SugarCube Corner...?" Pinkie gasped.
Many buildings here had been affected in some way. Whether by the sparks or jagged spikes from Stoutland. So many nostalgic and familiar structures were no longer in perfect shape.
The crimson sky wasn't making it any better since it just made the mood depressing for everypony else. Applejack saw that not everything had been harmed by Stoutland. But there was still a hefty amount that had been affected.
"Stoutland did all of this...?" Fluttershy looked up at Stoutland in shock and horror.
"And it's all that giant Pokemon's fault that Stoutland's like this..." Rainbow Dash stepped forward.
"G-Giant Pokemon?" Mayor Mare stuttered.
"We'll explain later. Braviary!" Rainbow Dash called Braviary to her side.
"Viary!"
"This is gonna be a first...But I'm sure we can do it." Rainbow Dash held her hoof out, showing her Dynamax Band.
"You've got a Dynamax Band?!" Scootaloo gawked. She then noticed that Fluttershy, Pinkie and Applejack also had bands on them too.
"Here goes..." Rainbow Dash held out Braviary's Poke Ball as she returned him. She was ready to utilize Dynamax for the first time to be on an even playing field. "Braviary! Dynamax!"
The Poke Ball turned red as it started growing in size by Rainbow Dash and Braviary's bond. The weight of the ball had increased, making Rainbow Dash's body almost lose balance, but she was able to pull through.
With all her strength, she tossed the super-sized Poke Ball into the air as the ponies watched in amazement.
That's when for the first time, a trainer had Dynamaxed their Pokemon in Equestria. Once Braviary came out of the Poke Ball, he started to grow himself.
Bigger and bigger and bigger, the Valiant Pokemon reached a size that was slightly larger than Stoutland, in terms of height. With his eyes flashing red, Dynamax Braviary was here at last.
"BRAVIARY!"
"Awesome..." Scootaloo sat down gazing at the Dynamaxed Braviary.
"Stay back ya'll. This might get ugly for both sides." Applejack put her hoof out as everypony except for Rainbow Dash moved further away.
Two giant Pokemon were about to face off in a ruined Ponyville with the skies being full of crimson energy. The sight of it was something the ponies of Ponyville thought they would've never seen before.
Braviary narrowed his eyes at Stoutland whilst the Big-Hearted Pokemon snarled at the Valiant Pokemon. They were more than ready for each other.
"Alright. Braviary! Use Superpower!" Rainbow Dash went first.
"BRAV!" Braviary spread his wings out, harnessing energy from within. This was his first time battling in a Dynamaxed form which was a different experience for the Valiant Pokemon.
Braviary is most known for his agile and speedy movements, just like Pikachu. So this big and girthy form was a bit of a handicap for him.
However, as a bonus, this meant that his naturally heavy strength was heightened as his wings glowed red. Instead of this being Superpower, this was the Max Move known as Max Knuckle.
Braviary approached Stoutland who was already prepared to use Max Lightning on the Normal-Flying-Type. But even with their enlarged sizes, Braviary was still the faster Pokemon overall.
"VIA!" The Valiant Pokemon smashed his powered-up wing on Stoutland's face, stopping him from performing Max Lightning and dealing super-effective damage to the Big-Hearted Pokemon.
The impact of Max Knuckle was so immense that it caused a seismic wave that shook Ponyville and Cloudsdale at the same time whilst knocking Stoutland back.
"S-STOUT...!"
"One more time!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"VIARY!" For a second time, Braviary used his other wing to attack. A second Max Knuckle smashed into Stoutland's face with Braviary's strength increasing each time.
"STOUT...LAND!" Returning the favour, Stoutland had decided to switch out from its Max moves and just regular moves instead. Stoutland used Iron Head as he smashed his hardened face onto Braviary's beak.
"B-BRAVIA?!" That really stung Braviary as his head cocked back with a red bruise on his beak.
"Ah! Braviary!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"V-VIARY!" Braviary recovered quickly, despite his beak having a bit of a sting now.
"Fly up Braviary!"
"BRAV!" The Valiant Pokemon spread his wings out, taking to the skies with his huge size. The force of Braviary flying was enough to send some ponies flying as well due to all the wind he was creating from his wingbeat.
Stoutland looked up to see his opponent ascend above him. But this was the perfect opportunity to use Max Lightning from above. And that's what he did. With his moustache tingling, clouds circled Braviary with sparks showing.
"Not good...!" Rainbow Dash recognized it as an Electric-Type attack. "Braviary! Use Steel Wing to absorb it!"
Using their smarts and battle strategies, Braviary and Rainbow Dash went for the good old fashioned metal conductor tactic. By using Steel Wing instead of Max Steelspike, Braviary allowed the blast of lightning to hit him instead of just moving away or interrupting Stoutland.
Once it made contact, Braviary's metal wings had conducted the lightning, making them a part of him. "Brav!"
"Now! Smash Stoutland with it!"
"Brav...VIARY!" Braviary smashed his electrified metal wings onto Stoutland's face, dealing the heaviest damage that Stoutland had ever felt in his entire life.
500,000 volts and pure steel punished the Big-Hearted Pokemon along with Braviary's increased strength thanks to Max Knuckle.
And with that final hit, Stoutland couldn't take anymore. After minutes of rampaging, being blasted with magic beams and taking two super-effective hits and one combination attack, Stoutland reverted to his normal size as he shrunk down.
Everypony watched as the Dynamax energy left Stoutland's body as the Big-Hearted Pokemon was back to his lovable and huggable self. Although, he was greatly confused like every other forcefully Dynamaxed Pokemon.
"Stoutland!" Mayor Mare ran over to her partner, tearing up a bit, seeing that he was back to normal. "Are you alright now?!"
"Land...?" Stoutland wasn't sure why his trainer had such a worried look on her face. But he was glad to see her anyway as he licked Mayor Mare out of love.
And fittingly, Braviary ran out of time with Dynamax as he returned to his normal size as well. "Good job, buddy." Rainbow Dash went over to the Valiant Pokemon.
"Braviary."
"They're no longer giant but...." Scootaloo looked around to see the damage that Stoutland had caused to Ponyville.
"Ponyville's nothing but a mess now." Mrs Cake said.
The once beautiful Ponyville was now tarnished with devastating effects. All from Stoutland being affected by Eternatus's influence.
As such, many of the ponies were actually now fearful of Stoutland as they backed away. What they saw as a lovable and brave-hearted Pokemon was now a monster that had demolished most of their beloved town in mere minutes.
Mayor Mare looked back to see the horrified faces of her townsfolk. She knew that Stoutland wouldn't do it on purpose. He loves this town as if it was his own home.
But Mayor Mare concluded as to why Stoutland suddenly went on a rampage. And it involved the arrival of Eternatus earlier.
"Everypony." Mayor Mare stood up. "Don't hate Stoutland for this. I know he's destroyed most of everything we love around us...But I can assure you. It wasn't his intention. It was most likely from that dragon-like creature that showed up earlier."
"Dragon-like creature?" Fluttershy shot up. "Wait, it arrived here?!"
"You've seen it before, Fluttershy?" Mayor Mare turned to her.
"Mhm. Just earlier, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and I saw it for the very first time over at Galar. We think it might be the Pokemon behind Dynamax. But we're not sure what it's called."
"Oh!" Scootaloo remembered that she got Eternatus's data on her Pokedex earlier. "I think I got it!" She grabbed everypony's attention, showing them all the data for Eternatus. "Look!"
As they all read Eternatus's dex entry and seeing how it has some connection to the Dynamax Phenomenon, the ponies of Ponyville were now fully aware of why Stoutland suddenly went on a rampage. It wasn't his fault at all.
"Yeah. That checks out alright." Diamond Tiara nodded. "Wait...is it from space?"
"See? My Stoutland would never do anything like that on purpose. Isn't that right?" Mayor Mare pinned Stoutland down, giving him belly rubs. "You're a good boy at heart! Such a good boy!"
"S-Stout! Stoutland!" Stoutland panted, enjoying his trainer's usual belly rubs as he held his tongue out.
"A good boy that hits like a train..." Nyx grumbled as she held her head.
"So if you saw this...Eternatus Pokemon, where'd it go?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well, when it showed up and Dynamaxed Stoutland, it looked like it was going North." Sweetie Belle answered them.
"North it is then." Applejack nodded. "Now that we know it's the real deal, we can catch that juggernaut and stop him. Ya'll stay here and call us if any other Dynamax problem shows up."
"Okay." Apple Bloom replied. "But um...What about Ponyville?"
"We'll have it fixed." Mayor Mare patted Apple Bloom's head. "That's for sure."
Suddenly, the roar of Eternatus could be heard from far away, indicating that it was already causing more chaos at this very moment and there was no time to stand by and chat.
"We gotta get moving!" Rainbow Dash spread her wings out. "If it's heading north, then Canterlot might be next!"
The pursuit of Eternatus had begun. Rainbow Dash's group would end up being the ones tackling the biggest threat here. The Pokemon that causes Dynamax itself.
Galar Region, Stow-on-Side.
Goh and Sonia had just arrived at the town, ready to investigate the ruins that apparently holds further information and knowledge about Dynamax.
Most of Galar seems to have at least one spot that holds Dynamax lore and history. Whether they're big or small. So far, Sonia's research was going swimmingly.
Before, she had given her grandma Professor Magnolia a ton of material to investigate and look over, such as the mural images of the two heroes found in the Hammerlocke Vault and the mysterious Geoglyph found at Turrfield's lush green fields.
As a bonus, thanks to Twilight and the others helping Sonia with her research before splitting up into groups, she had more to work with and show her grandma. However, she needed to show Magnolia further evidence if she wanted to pass her homework.
However, Goh and Sonia weren't alone.
From the very beginning when Sonia planned to investigate all of this for her grandma's homework, she was being followed by subordinates who were working for Macro Cosmos.
Ever since Magnolia warned Sonia and the others about who Chairman Rose really was and what how he'll stop at nothing to reach his goal, the subordinates were ordered by Oleana to pluck out any weeds as soon as possible.
They wouldn't allow anyone to know about their intel and stop Rose's plans or even expose him to the entire Galar Region and how he has some involvement with the Eternatus situation.
Arriving at Stow-on-Side, Goh and Sonia went over to the mural located at the higher steps of Stow-on-Side. However, compared to what Sonia has researched so far, this mural seems to be nothing but utter confusion to her as she and Goh had no idea what they were looking at.
"The Stow-on-Side mural...It's not what I expected." Sonia said as she looked at the mural. It had multiple colours just splattered everywhere with no clarity on what it was trying to be. However, if someone were to look closely, it looked like a human holding two objects. "It looks like it was painted long after the time of the legend."
"Looks more like a doodle," Goh spoke.
They continued to observe the painting, trying to figure out what it meant. It was related to the legend apparently from what is known, but how? At this point, they believed that they couldn't solve this one at all. "Guess that's a miss." Sonia chuckled.
"Don't worry about it! Let's go investigate at the next ruin!" Goh reassured.
"Can't let you do that!" Someone replied to Goh, grabbing his and Sonia's attention. That voice belonged to one of the subordinates of Macro Cosmos ordered by Oleana. They've been following them for a while now. "You'll come with us."
"Who are you?" Sonia questioned as she saw the suited man walk up the steps.
"Do as I say and you won't get hurt." He grinned.
"You have to be kidding about that!" Sonia exclaimed.
"Hm. Raboot." Goh went in front of Sonia to protect her along with Raboot.
"Boot!"
"Not gonna listen to me, eh? Then I've got no choice." The subordinate revealed in his hands both a Poke Ball and a Dynamax Band as there was already Galar Particles flowing out of the band, affecting the Poke Ball. "Come out! Gigantamax Garbodor!"
The subordinate tossed the super-sized Poke Ball up, bringing out his Pokemon in the form of a Giganatamax Pokemon. He was already prepared for this as a Gigantamax Garbodor fell from above with the skies turning red as always.
"GARBODOR!"
"G-Gigantamax?!" Goh stammered. "Wait, is this a Power Spot too?!"
"Ah!" Sonia turned around to see the Galar Particles behind her and near the mural. "There's Galar Particles coming from the mural!"
"Which means..." Goh thought for a moment as his brain struck an idea. "Come back, Raboot!" He returned Raboot, looking right at his Dynamax Band. He knew what time it was. "Dynamax!"
Goh's Dynamax Band was activating for the first time as his Poke Ball began growing in size with a red aura. "We just gotta give it a go, yeah?!" Goh tossed the giant Poke Ball upwards.
Once he did, out came a Dynamaxed Raboot in a flash as the Rabbit Pokemon was now on an even playing field with Garbodor.
"RABOOT!"
"Alright, Raboot! Let's use Max Flare! Go!" Goh commanded by pointed upwards.
"BOOT!" By reaching into its pockets, Raboot grabbed a giant rock that had also been affected by Dynamax which it carries at all times for a quick and easy Ember.
Dynamax Raboot kicked the rock, setting it on fire, and then kicked it again, launching it towards its opposing Dynamax Pokemon.
A direct hit on Garbodor's body, but it wasn't enough as Garbodor only slight cocked back from the giant ball of fire. "Garbodor! Use G-Max Malodor!"
"DOR!" Garbodor released a wave of green sludge from its body, filling the entire ground with it all as Raboot had backed away, trying to avoid the sludge.
"RABOOT...!" Raboot's wasn't as agile in its Dynamax form, which proved to be an issue for the Rabbit Pokemon. Raboot had ended up backing up so far that it had crashed into the mural without noticing, destroying it and the large rock that it was apart of.
Goh, Sonia and the subordinate moved away from the destruction as rocks from the stone fell from above. "Ah, Raboot!" Goh gasped.
"Ra...!" Raboot stood back up, carefully manoeuvring his body to the side.
However, when Raboot moved away from the spot of the now destroyed mural, it was revealed that there was something greater hiding behind it the entire time.
Four statues.
"Impossible! There were statues behind the mural?!" A flabbergasted Sonia said.
What they saw shocked them.
The 4 statues consisted of two Pokemon holding a sword and shield in the mouths and two humans wearing crowns, standing behind the two Pokemon.
"Two humans... and a Pokemon?" Sonia gawked.
"Those Pokemon..." Goh recognized one of the Pokemon as the statues. The one holding the shield looked very familiar to him.
"Hey! We can chit-chat later!" The subordinate yelled. "Garbodor! Knock them down with Max Steelspike!"
"GAR...BO!" Garbodor slammed its hands onto the ground, creating a series of sharp grey spikes that raced forward at Raboot.
Raboot had been hit by the spikes as the Rabbit Pokemon was knocked on its back, sitting down. "Ra...!"
"Raboot! Are you okay?!" Goh ran to Raboot."
"Boot!" Raboot nodded, looking down at Goh.
"Alright! Then use Max Knuckle!"
"Ra! Ra! Raboot!" Once the Fire-Type got up, Raboot ran straight towards Garbodor, pulling its paws back. The Rabbit Pokemon smashed its paws onto Garbodor's face, finally pushing the Poison-Type back.
Garbodor went sliding on the ground as it almost crashed into the subordinate, but instead, crashed into a stone wall. "GARBO!"
"Watch it! Finish them off with G-Max Malodor!"
"We'll finish you off first! Raboot, Max Flare!"
At the same time, both Pokemon pulled off their attacks with Raboot kicking up a large rock, igniting it and Garbodor summoning a pillar of poison.
In the end, it was Raboot's Max Flare that seemed to be faster as it had reached Garbodor whilst it was still charging G-Max Malodor.
The ball of fire made contact, engulfing the Trash Heap Pokemon with scorching flames. Afterwards, an explosion of fire emerged with smoke covering most of Stow-on-side.
It was then revealed that Garbodor had been defeated first As Goh stated earlier. The Trash Heap Pokemon not only returned to its normal size, but it also ended up fainting in the process. "Garbodor..."
"AH!" The subordinate gasped.
"How's that?! Want some more?!" Goh grinned as Raboot glared at the subordinate with its towering size. The Rabbit Pokemon stomped its feet near the subordinate, making him wince in fear.
"Y-You'll regret this!" He made a run for it whilst returning Garbodor to its Poke Ball.
"Goh! That was great!" Sonia congratulated him.
"Yeah. Guess it went well for being my first Dynamax battle." Goh smiled. Raboot returned back to its original size as the Dynamax energy had left its body. "Raboot! Great job! That's my Pokemon for ya!"
"Raboot."
"Oh, right! The statues!" Sonia remembered the real meat of this scenario. The statues that had been revealed once Raboot crashed into the stone walls.
They now had new research information to gather. They observed them closely as Goh could only think of the unidentified Pokemon he and Raboot encountered back at the Slumbering Weald.
"You know... I met a Pokemon that looked a lot like this statue." Goh went up to them. "Though it didn't have a sword or a shield. When I tried to catch it, my Poke Ball went through it and the fog got worse. Before I knew it, I fell asleep out of nowhere."
"Ooh..." Sonia nodded.
"Is that why it's called the Slumbering Weald?" Goh wondered as he climbed up the large rocks to get a closer look at the statues.
"And then?" Sonia wanted to know more.
"When I woke up, the Pokemon was gone."
"Hmm...What a bizarre experience." Sonia also climbed up the rocks.
Just then, Goh noticed something in the rocks that caught his eye. "What's this?" A plaque. Plastered right on the foot of the statues themselves. Sonia and Goh looked closely, observing what words were on this plaque.
"It looks like their names." Sonia noticed. "It says the one holding the sword is Zacian and the one with the shield is Zamazenta."
"Now we know for sure!" Goh took a picture of the statues. "The legendary hero wasn't one person, but two!"
"And they both had a Pokemon with them." Sonia continued Goh's words.
"Which were Zacian and Zamazenta!" Goh finished the sentence as he continued to read the plaque.
"The black vortex that once covered the sky was a Pokemon titled the 'Darkest Day'. It nearly wiped out Galar." He then put the pieces together by thinking back to the other images he had seen.
"But the two heroes and their partners, Zacian and Zamazenta quelled the calamity."
"Yeah. That about summarizes it." Sonia nodded. "Wait till Twilight and the others hear about this."
"Okay! There they are!" Suddenly, their time observing the statues had been cut short as more of Oleana's subordinates had arrived to capture Goh and Sonia. "Catch them this time!"
"Those guys again?" Sonia gasped.
"They don't give up..." Goh groaned.
"What do we do, Goh?"
"Times like these..." Goh grabbed Sonia's hand. "You gotta rush right through 'em!" He ran straight towards the subordinates whilst dragging Sonia.
"Ah-Aaah!" Sonia screamed.
"Raboot!" Raboot cleared the way by jumping up and kicking all of the subordinates in the head whilst Goh and Sonia rushed past them. That one kick from Raboot knocked them all out, thankfully.
The trio entered inside of Sonia's car, ready to head off to their next destination. Or at least, somewhere away from Oleana's subordinates.
"Where to?!" Sonia asked, buckling her seatbelt.
"The Slumbering Weald!"
"To do what exactly?"
"If the legendary heroes really quelled the Darkest Day, Zacian and Zamazenta might lend us their help!"
"Okay!" Sonia put her car into full gear as the engine was revving like crazy. Unfortunately, she put too much force into it. As such, the exhaust pipe let out a tiny puff of smoke with small flames. "Oh..."
"Hm?" Goh then noticed that the subordinates had already recovered, appearing in front of the car. "Oh, come on!"
"Hold on tight, Goh!" Sonia gave it another go. "This time the car actually decided to start up as Sonia stepped on the pedal, getting a move on.
She was aiming at scaring the subordinates by pretending to run them over with her car as she honked her horn aggressively. The subordinates actually thought she might do it due to how reckless her driving was as they screamed whilst scattering.
The car was now long gone, leaving the subordinates in the dust. But there was a 100% guarantee that they'll chase them down for sure. All for the sake of concealing Rose's plans.
Wyndon. Rose Tower.
Twilight, Starlight, Rarity and Spike had arrived to meet up with Ash who was waiting outside. He already had his Dragonite ready for takeoff.
"Ash!" Twilight ran over.
"Hey." Ash waved at them. "Nice timing, guys!"
"Pikachu!"
"I knew you'd be okay! I was a bit worried that something might've happened to you since you were with Chairman Rose." Twilight smiled at him.
"Told ya there was no need to worry." Ash gave a thumbs up. "Alright. If Rainbow Dash and the others are off at Equestria to see if everything's okay, then we'd best do the same."
Just then, Ash was getting two consecutive calls on his Xtransceiver One from Rainbow Dash and the other from Goh. "A double call?" Twilight peered her head over. "Which one are you gonna answer?"
"It's fine. The Xtransceiver works with four screens. Check it out." Ash answered both Goh and Rainbow Dash at the same time.
"Ash!" Both of them said his name as they heard each other. "Hm?"
"Yeah? What's up? How are things going so far with the research and Equestria?"
"Big news! The-" They both spoke at the same time before realizing that they were talking over each other.
"Oh, you go first, Goh." Rainbow Dash said.
"Thanks. Ash. When we got split up in the Slumbering Weald, did you happen to meet a strange Pokemon?"
"Hm? Yeah, I did!" Ash nodded, remembering how he saw what looked to be Zacian back there in the Slumbering Weald. "How'd you know that?"
"I saw one too. It looked like this." Goh showed Ash and Rainbow Dash the image of the statues over at Stow-on-Side.
"Oh yeah! Just like that!" Ash exclaimed, recognizing the build.
"Lemme see." Spike hopped on Ash's shoulder, getting a good look at the image as Twilight and the others did the same.
"Oooh! They're like wolves!" Fluttershy squeed as she got in front of Rainbow Dash's face.
"Is that wolf holding a sword in its mouth?" Rarity squinted her eyes.
"Their names are Zaciand and Zamazenta," Goh revealed their names.
"Zacian and Zamazenta?" Ash and everypony collectively said.
"Those Pokemon are linked with the legend of the hero."
"So was it really one hero who just owned two Pokemon?" Twilight asked.
"Nope. In fact, there really were two heroes and Zacian and Zamazenta were their partners and wielded the Sword and Shield themselves!"
"Would ya look at that then..." Applejack gawked.
"The black vortex was the Darkest Day, a Pokemon. And it was quelled by Zacian, Zamazenta and the two heroes. At least, that's what we found out."
"Wait, the Darkest Day is a Pokemon?" Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like what we heard."
"What did you hear?" Goh questioned.
"Turns out the Pokemon behind the Darkest Day isn't called the Darkest Day. It's actually known as Eternatus." Fluttershy answered.
"Eternatus?" Ash and Goh both said.
"It showed up in Equestria and Dynamaxed Mayor Mare's Stoutland by force. Ponyville right now is well..." Fluttershy whimpered.
"Not looking too peachy, that's for sure." Pinkie shook her head. "Even SugarCube Corner..."
"We're chasing down this Eternatus Pokemon before it Dynamaxes another Pokemon out of nowhere. But it moves super fast!" Rainbow Dash was currently flying low in the air.
"Darkest Day...Two Heroes...Eternatus." Ash said to himself.
"Pika..."
"What do we do now?" Spike wondered. "Do we head back to Equestria or keep helping out here?"
"Hm..." Ash thought for a moment before making up his mind. "Dragonite. Change of plans. We're heading back to Equestria."
"Gonite!"
"Eternatus is over there after all. And a Pokemon that dangerous is gonna need a lot of help!" Ash and Pikachu ran off suddenly.
"A-Ash! Pikachu! Where are you two going?!" Rarity yelled.
"To find Leon! You guys head on back to Equestria! we'll catch up! Wait here Dragonite!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"But Ash-" Twilight tried to call for him but it was no use. Ash was already off. "Oh geez. Alright. It's back to Equestria then. To stop Eternatus. I just hope everypony else is okay..."
And so it was. Equestria was the main destination since the main threat Eternatus was currently there, flying about and spreading a crimson red sky everywhere it went.
And speaking of the crimson red sky, it didn't take long for all of Wyndon to be covered in it along with Hammerlocke and soon all of Galar if this continues.
Eternatus wasn't even here and it was already heavily affecting the Galar Region anyway.
The South of Wyndon. Near the entrance.
Leon was there, already getting prepared to take off as he got on Charizard's back. He looked up to see all of Wyndon covered in nothing but red. "Alright, Charizard. We've got a lot more work left to do. Let's clear out all the Dynamax Pokemon we can."
"Char!"
"Leon!" Ash called out his name, waving at him.
"Hm? Ash?"
"Leon, wait!" Ash skidded on the ground, screeching to a halt. "You gotta hear this!
"Pikachu!"
"Hear what?"
"It's Equestria. The Pokemon behind the Darkest Day is there! Eternatus!"
"Eternatus...?" Leon thought of a moment, feeling as he recognizes that name. Which he did. Because Chairman Rose kept on mentioning it to him, but he's never seen it for himself. Just heard names. "You mean the Pokemon from the hangar?!"
"You know of it?"
"Mhm. Chairman Rose mentioned something about a Pokemon known as Eternatus. About how it'll be the saviour of Galar's future. You're telling me that it's in the other world, right now?"
"Yeah! It's already forced Stoutland to Dynamax and rampage. My friends and I are already gonna head to Equestria and help stop Eternatus. It'd be a ton of help if you came along, Leon!"
"Pika!"
"Hmm..." Leon thought for a second. "Chairman Rose said it was for Galar's future. But forcing Pokemon to Dynamax and rampage...?" Leon knew that Eternatus wasn't exactly the great saviour of Galar that Rose kept repeating. "Alright. I'll take any opportunity to help those in need."
"Awesome! Just follow me! I know a way there!" Ash ran off to return to Dragonite so that he and Leon can get this started and hopefully reach Equestria in time.
The Crystal Empire.
Eternatus was indeed heading north according to Sweetie Belle. And up north is possibly the most visible location in that direction.
The Crystal Empire.
Completely unaware of the horror that was coming their way. They had just recovered from a previous Dynamax attack last week. They were ready for any other Dynamax Pokemon that might pop up soon.
But they weren't ready for Eternatus. That's for sure.
"M-Mana...!" Over at Flurry Heart's bed, Manaphy was starting to cry all of a sudden, flailing her body around. The same goes for Flurry Heart as she too started crying out of nowhere.
"Flurry! Manaphy! What's wrong?!" Cadence exclaimed as she and Shining Armor rushed in to see what was making them upset.
Manaphy's antennae's were twitching uncontrollably. As if they were sensing something ominous coming this way. And indeed, something ominous was heading this way. But ominous is an understatement.
Due to how fast Eternatus was, it didn't take long for the Gigantic Pokemon to arrive. And when it did, it knew how to make an entrance.
Aside from its overwhelming shadow and how it constantly looms over every area that it's at, one thing about Eternatus that is absolutely bone-chilling is the horrendous and gruesome ear-piercing roar that it lets out and the disturbing skeletal-like appearance it has.
Not to mention that every time it flew by, wind pressures equal to that of a hurricane were being created, sweeping many Pokemon off the ground from just passing by them.
The ponies of the Crystal Empire looked up to see this horrifying Pokemon arrive here as they all collectively screamed at Eternatus's terrifying appearance.
Eternatus was much worse than the Dynamax Pokemon. When it goes on a rampage, the destruction it creates makes a Dynamax Pokemon's destruction look like child play as it went straight to work. This time, it didn't bother to Dynamax a random Pokemon at all.
It was just planning on destroying the Crystal Empire by itself with its own power whilst also absorbing the Galar Particles near here.
Anywhere there was a semblance of Galar Particles, Eternatus will come. After all, they did originate from it. So it is just merely retrieving what was once its own whilst also wreaking havoc upon the earth, the land and soon the sea and sky.
"What is that...? A dragon?!" Cadence held Flurry Heart in her hooves, gazing at the Gigantic Pokemon.
"Mana...Mana!" The reason why Manaphy and Flurry Heart were constantly crying was because of Eternatus's presence. They both sensed the malevolent nature this Pokemon possessed.
And Sylveon could feel it too. The Intertwining Pokemon shuddered as she hid behind Cadence's hooves. "S-Sylveon..."
"Sylveon?" Cadence turned to her Pokemon.
Everypony was preparing for the worst since they already had a Dynamax Sableye attack them last week. Unfortunately, their preparations couldn't help them this time.
Mostly because Eternatus didn't waste any time whatsoever. It came here to destroy, not to sightsee. And destroy it did.
The Gigantic Pokemon started strong by charging headfirst into a building, obliterating it in one go. Luckily, the pony inside managed to run out before that happened, but her home had been wiped out in just one hit.
"Not good!" Shining Armor gasped as he quickly ran out of the castle, seeing that Eternatus was not here to just float around.
With the sounds of ponies screaming and panicking, Eternatus's violent rampage continued at the Crystal Empire. The Gigantic Pokemon used Flamethrower to breathe fire on its surroundings.
The crystals of the Crystal Empire had been melted away by Eternatus's flame which had the heat of 1610 oC. So many ponies had lost their home from Eternatus's hot breath as they watched this Pokemon destroy it all in front of their eyes.
Shining Armor appeared with the royal guards, attempting to put a stop to Eternatus's actions. But Eternatus had quick reaction time. It could sense when someone was threatening it.
As such, it had used the move Poison Tail to attack any aggressors that come near it. The tail of Eternatus glowed purple as the Gigantic Pokemon swung it violently, melting and destroying the crystals that surrounded it.
The guards gasped as they were hit by the Poison Tail with the poison melting away their armour in just one hit. Shining Armor gasped as he was incredibly lucky that he hadn't been hit.
The same couldn't be said for the guards as they had crashed into some crystals without their armour being there to protect them thanks to Poison Tail.
Seeing how Eternatus used a Poison move, Shining Armor decided to use the one Pokemon here who is immune to Poison. Honedge.
"I'm counting on you! Honedge!" Shining Armor sent Honedge out.
"Honedge!"
"Use Fury Cutter!"
"Edge!" Honedge locked on to Eternatus and no one else. It was the biggest target here. Therefore, there was no way Honedge could miss.
The Sword Pokemon hovered up towards the Gigantic Pokemon, ready to cut Eternatus up real good. But Eternatus wasn't that easy to attack.
The Gigantic Pokemon knew its own weaknesses. As such, it could counteract anything that is thrown its way. And it countered Honedge by using Flamethrower to do so.
Intense flames came out of Eternatus's gaping mouth and towards Honedge. The Sword Pokemon glared as it noticed that this Flamethrower was absurdly wide.
Even if Shining Armor told him to dodge, it would be impossible since it takes up so much space and Honedge was already close enough.
As such, Honedge had been engulfed by the devastating flames of Eternatus's Flamethrower. And just like that, Honedge was taken out in one single hit as his body fell from above with the flames almost melting him away.
"Ah! Honedge!" Shining Armor caught Honedge in his hooves, saving him from crashing.
Just like that, Eternatus took out a Pokemon in just one go. Now it was time to continue obliterating everything in its path. And the biggest target here had to be the castle itself.
A perfect object to destroy for Eternatus. But the Gigantic Pokemon wasn't going to fly in and do it. Instead, it would destroy the castle from afar.
Eternatus was preparing a Hyper Beam as an orange ball of hyper energy emerged in its mouth, building up heaps amount of power.
Shining Armor gasped as he saw that Eternatus was aiming for the castle which still had Cadence and Flurry Heart inside along with many other innocent citizens.
"Oh no!" Shining Armor used his magic to teleport up to Cadence out of desperation. But even that wouldn't stop Eternatus at all.
The Gigantic Pokemon was pouring heaps amount of power into this one Hyper Beam as it was still going. Shining Armor stood in front of Cadence and Flurry Heart, facing Eternatus and the Hyper Beam directly.
"Quick! Sylveon! Use Moonblast!" Cadence commanded with fear in her eyes.
But it wasn't just her. If anything, Sylveon was the most afraid of Eternatus by a large margin. More afraid than she's ever been.
Eternatus was a Dragon for sure. However, it was also part Poison. Which is not good news for the Intertwining Pokemon. But either way, Sylveon swallowed her fears, summoning a ball of pink energy that borrowed power from the moon itself.
"Syl...VEON!" The Intertwining Pokemon fired Moonblast towards Eternatus, in hopes of interrupting its attack.
But then. The worst-case scenario happened.
Once Eternatus fired Hyper Beam, the gigantic blast of energy obliterated the Moonblast into nothing. The Hyper Beam was wider than any Hyper Beam that has ever existed as it was wide and tall enough to engulf the entire castle and the Crystal Heart.
Shining Armor held his family close to him as they braced themselves for the worst to happen. In which, the worst did in fact happen.
Hyper Beam consumed the castle and the Crystal Heart all in one go. The ponies of the Crystal Empire watched in shock and horror as their beloved castle and heart had been hit.
The Hyper Beam travelled so far that it tore through the Frozen North and obliterated most of Mount Everhoof in just one go. A horrible sound echoed throughout the land as the Pokemon nearby retreated into their caves to hide from this horror.
After Hyper Beam had gone far enough, it faded away, leaving behind an explosion so vast it could be seen from possibly even space itself.
A large smoke cloud was the final aftermath of Hyper Beam as it covered the entire empire. Horror, fear, dismay and dread had filled the hearts of the Crystal ponies.
Once some of the smoke had cleared away, it was revealed that the entire Castle had been destroyed. Nothing remained whatsoever.
There was no sign of Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart or even their Pokemon.
The feeling of despair kicked in, causing most of the Crystal Ponies to tear up. They didn't want to believe that their beloved royal family had been wiped out like that. But from how things were, that looked to be the case.
Millions of ponies wailed as their cries echoed across the empire and the Frozen North as well. It truly felt like somepony important in their lives had left.
But Eternatus was still here surprisingly.
That's because it knew that something wasn't right. The remaining smoke was starting to clear as the Gigantic Pokemon looked closer to see the true outcome.
Lo and behold, the Crystal Heart was still intact.
But it wasn't by any magic whatsoever.
Instead, Cobalion and Terrakion had arrived, using themselves as meat shields to protect the Crystal Heart. Since they're resistant to Normal Attacks, the Hyper Beam merely tickled them.
As for the royal family, Virizion and Keldeo saved their lives thanks to their superior speed. They jumped out of the smoke with the royal family on their back, still intact and in one piece.
Flurry Heart giggled as she pulled on Keldeo's mane, thanking him for saving her life. "Ow!" Ow!"
Joy returned to the face of the citizens as they saw how the family and Crystal Heart were both safe and sound, thanks to the Swords of Justice.
"Are you all hurt in any way?" Cobalion asked them.
"We're fine. Thank you so much Cobalion!" Cadence thanked him.
"Good. Leave the rest to us. This Pokemon will most likely head somewhere else in a few minutes." Cobalion stepped forward. "We'll stop it before it rampages any further."
Eternatus looked down at Cobalion and the Swords of Justice. One look at them reminded the Gigantic Pokemon of Zacian and Zamazenta in a way.
The Dragon-Poison-Type noticed that it required more energy. Staying in this one Power Spot wasn't helping since Equestria's Power Spots are less consistent than Galar's.
As such, Eternatus flew off, searching for more energy to absorb and of course, rampage even further. This prompted the Swords of Justice to get a move on as they were now in pursuit of Eternatus as the journey continues.
Eternatus's rampage continues. It had recently caused havoc at the Crystal Empire, destroying many buildings there and even the castle itself.
The Crystal Heart was also threatened by Eternatus, but thankfully, the Swords of Justice had come to the rescue, saving Shining Armor, Cadence, Flurry Heart and the Crystal Heart too. Shame they couldn't save the castle.
Eternatus had flown away from the Crystal Empire to both cause more destruction across Equestria and absorb the remaining Power Spots scattered across the world. Thus, the Swords of Justice made chase.
But they weren't the only group after Eternatus.
Twilight's group, Rainbow Dash's group and Ash had all met up once more in the same spot with almost everyone being back together. Goh was still researching with Sonia about Zacian and Zamazenta. But, they had an extra member with them.
Champion Leon, who was more than ready to help them out with their Eternatus situation.
Since Sweetie Belle said Eternatus was heading somewhere up north, that's where they were all heading. But they weren't really sure which North.
Eternatus was a fast-moving Pokemon. It can go from land to land in just a few minutes or less. As such, it's hard to keep up with, but one way to find it is by listening for a familiar roar, which Fluttershy's Audino played a huge part in.
Also, there was the fact that the skies were turning red in every part of Equestria due to Eternatus moving around, so it was sort of a trail in a sense.
Up in the skies, Leon was on his Charizard, Ash was on his Dragonite with Applejack and Pinkie Pie sitting behind him whilst Spike used his Salamence to carry him, Rarity and Starlight whilst Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash just flew.
Thanks to Audino's hearing, they could track down Eternatus by its roar, but keeping up with the Gigantic Pokemon was another story entirely.
As they flew over the land, Ash and everyone had witnessed the carnage and destruction that was caused by Eternatus and the Dynamaxed Pokemon.
From levelled mountainscapes, craters that expand far and wide, forests that have been torched by possibly a Dynamax Fire-Type, or even some melted grasslands from either Eternatus or another Poison-Type.
It was a dreadful sight to look at as many of the Pokemon living in most of these areas had their homes destroyed by the rampaging Dynamax Pokemon and Eternatus.
"Did Eternatus do all of this...?" Fluttershy gasped at the horrible sight.
"Possibly. It already made Stoutland wreck most of Ponyville anyways." Twilight replied. "I'm a bit worried about everywhere else."
Twilight was starting to think about how some of her other friends might be in danger. Since they were heading up north, the Crystal Empire would most likely be their next destination.
She was worried that her brother, old foalsitter and niece had been caught up in this mess. Or worse, perhaps Eternatus might end up appearing in Canterlot where Twilight's parents reside.
Judging by how much destruction had been spread, that fear was stirring in her. As they continued to fly over the land, Ash noticed some familiar faces below.
Those faces were Celestia, Luna and Hollow, who were also on their own Dynamax mission to find any other Dynamax Pokemon.
"Hm? Down there!" Ash pointed at the trio below, grabbing everypony's attention.
Dragonite, Charizard and everyone else descended, approaching the journeying trio. "Kir?" Passion noticed them arriving as she nudged Celestia's tail. "Kirlia!"
"Hm?" Celestia turned her head to face her subjects or rather friends along with a brand new face in the form of Champion Leon. "Oh, Twilight. Everyone."
"Princess Celestia! This is urgent!" Twilight landed down. "You have to hear this! A-"
"There's a Dynamax Crisis ongoing across Equestria, I know." Celestia nodded.
"I-" Twilight paused for a moment. "You do?"
"Right." Luna walked up to Twilight. "We've already had our own Dynamax encounter back at Canterlot. Daylight Blazer's Medicham suddenly grew and almost destroyed Canterlot in the process."
"What?! Are my parents okay?!" Twilight screeched.
"They're fine. Everypony is. Along with Medicham." Celestia reassured. "Right now, we're currently in search for other Dynamax Pokemon that are on a constant rampage."
"So far, we've only seen the aftereffects of Dynamax Pokemon rampaging." Hollow referred to how the landscape had various types of destruction scattered all over the place. "Not sure how many there are right now..."
"Well, we're doing the same thing." Rainbow Dash spoke. "We're after the Pokemon behind all of this. Eternatus."
"Eternatus?" The trio said in unison.
"Turns out that it's the cause of Dynamax itself." Leon hopped off Charizard. "It recently escaped from the Galar Region hangar and apparently came over to your world."
"Oh! Champion Leon?!" Hollow gawked as his eyes lit up.
"You mean that it's somewhere here in Equestria?!" Luna navigated her head around. "Where did you all last see it?"
"About that..." Pinkie rubbed the back of her head. "We haven't found it yet. BUT! We can track it down no problem!"
"We're following the red sky and trail of destruction." Leon pointed up. "Fluttershy's Audino's also being a great help with her hearing and all that."
"We do know that it seems to be heading North." Rarity pointed her hoof at the North. "But other than that, it's too fast for us to keep up with."
"Too fast is an understatement..." Starlight sighed.
"Hmm...In that case." Celestia thought for a moment. "We'll come with you. Since this Eternatus Pokemon is the source, then we'll focus on it mainly. We all have the same goal after all, don't we?"
"Can we even keep up? If it's as fast as you say it is..." Luna pondered.
"Perhaps chasing it directly won't do if it can outspeed us all. But..." Celestia smirked, averting her eyes to the West. "There are such things as shortcuts."
Indeed they were. Ruling over Equestria for so long meant that Celestia knew her way around the land, even with the newly created Pokemon areas that have been popping up recently.
One of the many perks of being the Ruler of Equestria.
The Slumbering Weald, Galar.
Goh and Sonia had arrived to see if Zacian and Zamazenta would be there to help them in this second Darkest Day event.
"Zacian! Zamazenta!" Goh called out their names.
"Come out!" So did Sonia. They tried, but the two Pokemon didn't respond at all. Not even some howling to indicate that they were listening. Or at least, that seemed to be the case, until the fog showed up once more. "Fog?"
"It's just like before! Maybe they can actually hear us." Goh looked around as he ran off. "Zacian! Zamazenta!"
"Ah! Goh, wait!" Sonia ran after him.
"Can you hear us?!" He shouted out. "Eternatus has revived! And the Darkest Day!"
"Both Galar and Equestria will be wiped out if we don't do something!" Sonia bellowed. "Please!"
"Come on out please!" After many attempts of calling out for Zacian and Zamazenta, finally, there was a legitimate response.
Eerie howling echoed throughout the forest as Raboot heard the sound of footsteps closing. Those footsteps were as familiar as the howls themselves.
And there they were. Zacian and Zamazenta. Both of them in the same spot instead of separate areas in the forest. The two mysterious Pokemon came out of the heavy fog, glaring at Goh and Sonia as they had responded to their cries.
"Zacian...Zamazenta...!" Sonia gawked.
"You really showed up!" Goh had a wide grin on his face.
The two Pokemon didn't say anything at all to Goh and Sonia's words. Instead, they just turned around all of a sudden, walking away without a word.
"Hold on!" Goh yelled.
"We need your help!" Sonia requested. They chased after the two wolf-like Pokemon, walking behind them. Zacian and Zamazenta didn't seem to mind this at all.
But that was because they were actually leading them somewhere. Somewhere that'll bring about the end of the Darkest Day.
The further they advanced in the forest, the thicker the fog became as Zacian and Zamazenta suddenly vanished out of nowhere.
"Boot!" Raboot suddenly ran towards the thick fog.
"Ah! Raboot?!" Goh chased after his partner along with Sonia. Raboot could tell that Zacian and Zamazenta were trying to show them something. The disappearing part was a mystery, however.
But what was an even bigger mystery was what lied beyond the thick mist. The trio soon arrived at an altar of all things, just laying here in the Slumbering Weald, perfectly disguised by the fog.
"Huh...?" And of course, Goh and Sonia were both surprised on what they had discovered beyond the mist. The altar was obviously old with moss surrounding it along with parts of it being broken off.
In fact, most of it was broken off, making it seem like an incomplete altar when really, it had just been here for so long it eventually lost some of its structure, leaving only an A shaped structure instead.
"I never knew this was here..." Sonia stepped up to the altar with go.
Goh noticed how there were leaves covering something that laid next to the altar. Curious, he swept the leaves away, wondering what they were hiding.
There were two objects.
A rusted sword and a rusted shield. "A sword and a shield..." Goh said under his breath.
"Are these the sword and shield from the legend?" Sonia leaned forward.
"Yeah. They must be." Goh nodded. "This must be what Zacian and Zamazenta were trying to show us." Goh picked up both the sword and shield.
"What now?"
"Well, we've got both the sword and shield now. I guess we use them to stop the Darkest but..." Goh looked at how beat up and old they were.
They looked like they wouldn't even be able to cut through paper from how they look as of now. Goh suddenly placed the sword inside of the shield. "What are you doing, Goh?"
"If the sword and shield belong to Zacian and Zamazenta, they may have some hidden powers." Goh stood up, placing the two objects on the back of his bag.
"Oh, I get it. Maybe they can help us stop the Darkest Day and Eternatus."
"Let's hurry to Equestria! That world's not built for Pokemon so we gotta be quick!"
"Right." Sonia nodded as the two of them made haste.
And what about Eternatus?
The Gigantic Pokemon was still on its seemingly never-ending rampage across Equestria as it constantly filled the naturally beautiful azure skies with a dreadful crimson.
Flying-Type Pokemon evaded Eternatus any time it got close to them or even if it was seen within their reach. And even if they did evade it, Eternatus's pressure was enough to knock them out of the sky.
Eternatus was still collecting Galar Particles from across Equestria and Galar at the same time. Granted, Equestria was currently giving the Gigantic Pokemon more power since that was the location Eternatus was currently in.
However, the Gigantic Pokemon sensed one area that not only had a gigantic amount of Galar Particles but was also connected to Galar.
That location was none other than Trottingham. The city which also has a gateway that leads to Galar. Eternatus found the jackpot.
If it absorbs all the energy from Trottingham, it might end up reaching its maximum power. Thus, Eternatus would be in its prime once more.
The Gigantic Pokemon knew that some would try and stop it. And at this very moment, Eternatus was being pursued by two groups. Celestia's group and the Swords of Justice.
However, that didn't matter to Eternatus. It would succeed in its goals one way or another. And nothing will stop it from reaching its goals, no matter what.
That is until a brand new individual decided to get in Eternatus's way.
This individual was a Pokemon who wasn't actually with any of the two groups. But on their lonesome, since they prefer to work alone.
And no other Pokemon fits that bill than Absol, who was standing on top of a hill, anticipating Eternatus this entire time.
Ever since the second Dynamax Crisis began, Absol had obviously set off to stop as many Dynamax Pokemon as he could. However, once his horn sensed something major, his attention averted somewhere else.
Absol could tell that somehow in someway, Eternatus was the cause for all of this. The fact that Eternatus always brought a crimson red sky with it wherever it went helped Absol come to that conclusion.
Absol growled, seeing that Eternatus was about to fly by him. When the time is right, Absol would strike, planning on performing a sneak attack on the Gigantic Pokemon.
As for Eternatus, it wasn't aware of the Disaster Pokemon at all. All it cared about was reaching Trottingham and that was it. If it did see a Pokemon, it would most likely either forcefully Dynamax it or just destroy it.
Eternatus got close to the hill that Absol stood on. The time was finally right. Absol was ready to strike. And he did this, not by hitting Eternatus from afar with Dark Pulse, but instead, Absol jumped off the hill and landed on Eternatus's back.
"Absol!" The Disaster Pokemon hitched a ride on the Gigantic Pokemon's back, going for physical contact. Although, this was the opposite of a sneak attack since Eternatus had noticed that someone was on its skeletal back. The Gigantic Pokemon turned its head around to see the Disaster Pokemon, locking eyes with him.
"Ab...sol!" Absol began attacking Eternatus's skeletal back by using Night Slash. By slashing on Eternatus's back, Absol was barely doing that much damage to the Gigantic Pokemon due to how freakishly powerful Eternatus was at the moment and how it kept absorbing Galar Particles from both worlds to build its power.
But even if Absol did little damage, he was still able to get a reaction out of Eternatus. The Gigantic Pokemon knew that if Absol kept using Night Slash, eventually he'll manage to really put the hurt on the Dragon-Poison-Type.
So the obvious thing to do now was to throw Absol off, which Eternatus attempted to do. The Gigantic Pokemon tried the classic flying upside-down trick, but Absol held on tight, using his sharp claws to dig inside of Eternatus's skeletal body.
Whilst holding on for dear, Absol fired a Dark Pulse from his mouth, blasting Eternatus's back. Dark Pulse had a slightly better result than Night Slash. Since Dark Pulse has a chance to make an opponent flinch, it could come in handy for a scare-tactic move.
Eternatus actually managed to flinch, but it wasn't scared at all. Instead, it almost lost its balance when flying, crashing into a mountain thanks to Dark Pulse flinching it. Absol held on, closing his eyes as Eternatus's body demolished an entire mountain upon contact.
"A-Absol!" Large boulders fell from the mountains above, almost crushing the smaller Pokemon below. Eternatus then hatched an idea that could work.
The Gigantic Pokemon used the mountains as a means to get Absol off its back. It did so by dragging Absol's body on the mountains whilst flying past them.
The Disaster Pokemon wasn't going to let that stop him either. He endured the pain, allowing himself to be dragged across the mountains whilst Eternatus gradually destroys it.
By opening his mouth and closing one eye, Absol released yet another Dark Pulse. He wasn't going to let up. He never does. Eternatus could see that Absol might be the most persistent Pokemon it has come across yet. Not even Zacian and Zamazenta acted like this.
The Gigantic Pokemon took the skies, deciding that the best way to get rid of Absol was to make him feel the true pressure of the wind.
By ascending high into the skies of Equestria, Absol could feel a fierce and overwhelming great turbulence hit his entire body due to how fast Eternatus was going.
With all this wind, his claws were scraping on the back of the Gigantic Pokemon, almost causing the Disaster Pokemon to actually fall off.
But he didn't. Absol proved how stubborn he can be by using his teeth to latch onto Eternatus's back. That actually got a roar out of Eternatus as the Dragon-Poison-Type spun around in the air, doing everything in its power to get this Dark-Type off its back.
But Absol wasn't going anywhere as he unleashed Dark Pulses whilst having his teeth sink into Eternatus's skeletal body.
It was now a seemingly endless struggle at this point. Eternatus couldn't focus properly thanks to Absol's constant attacking. And Trottingham was so close. Eternatus now had one major problem that it had to deal with along the way.
West of Equestria.
The large group had now taken a shortcut that would apparently get them to the north much faster. Celestia knew what she was doing, so everypony put their trust in her.
Through Audino's ears, she could hear Eternatus roar in the far distance. She noticed that it wasn't coming from the North, but instead, from the East, indicating that Eternatus was changing directions.
"Dino! Audino!" Audino called for Fluttershy.
"What is it, Audi?"
"Audino!" Dino-Dino!" Audino flailed her arms around, telling Fluttershy that Eternatus had changed its direction from North to East.
"Eternatus is going East now?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Audino!" Audino nodded.
"Seriously?!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "We're already gone this far to the West!"
"Why would it be changing directions now?" Rarity wondered. "Unless it's just another one of those Pokemon that is just erratic and goes wherever."
"If it's heading East now, it might end up in Trottingham," Twilight said. "Eternatus might be heading East because it senses a Power Spot there."
"Wait, Trottingham?" Starlight noticed something. Trottingham has a gateway that connects to the Galar Region and is so far the only place in Equestria that has the quickest route to the Galar Region. Starlight thought this was a hunch but it could be possible. "I think I know why Eternatus is heading East."
"You do?" Pinkie and everypony turned to her.
"Remember what Scootaloo's Pokedex said about Eternatus? That the core on its chest absorbs energy emanating from the lands of the Galar region to help it stay active."
"Yeah...?" Rainbow Dash nodded her head slowly, trying to figure out what Starlight was getting at.
"If Trottingham is the one area in Equestria that connects to Galar, then that means Eternatus has a higher chance of gathering more Galar Particles for itself. The closer it is, the faster it'll regain power."
"Oh, I see what you mean..." Twilight looked up.
"Mhm." Starlight nodded. "Eternatus must've come here to Equestria since it sensed Galar Particles here. Our worlds were never meant to cross in the first place after all. So maybe back in the original timeline, the energy from Galar was all that it could absorb."
"And since this timeline has new Power Spots with more Galar Particles to consume, possibly as much as Galar, Eternatus wants to absorb every Power Spot that exists. " Rarity finished Starlight's sentence.
"And with Trottingham being so close to Galar...It'll be an infinite power source for Eternatus!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Princess Celestia! We have to go East now! Quickly!" Twilight screeched.
"Don't worry. The West can still help us." Celestia replied.
"It can?" They all said.
"I didn't say it only had a shortcut to the North," Celestia smirked. "Come along. We might be able to beat Eternatus to Trottingham."
And so they continued West, despite Eternatus heading East. They trusted Celestia to get them to Trottingham with this supposed shortcut.
However, Celestia hasn't yet revealed to them what this shortcut looks like. Because so far, all they've been doing is heading West in a straight line and that's it.
Some of them, mainly Twilight and Starlight, were starting to worry that this shortcut wouldn't actually be that effective and they're just wasting time.
Until they came across a cave system that they all stopped at.
"In here." Celestia pointed her hoof at the cave. "This will get us to the East at a quicker rate."
"A...cave?" Spike tilted his head.
"Princess." Twilight walked up to her fellow alicorn. "Are you sure this is a quicker way? It looks a bit..." Twilight looked inside of the cave, seeing how unearthly and dark it uncanny it was.
"Distrustful?" Celestia finished Twilight's sentence. "I know. But you don't have to worry about a thing. Just stay next to me or your Pokemon and you'll be fine." Celestia entered the shady and dubious cave. "Besides. I've been here before a few months ago."
"She's the princess. No arguing there." Rainbow Dash flew inside of the cave as the others did the same.
The ponies either stayed close to their Pokemon, Ash, Leon, Hollow or Celestia for protection. They weren't sure what was lurking inside this shifty cave, waiting for them.
Celestia used her magic to light up the place with a golden glow, allowing everypony to see better. And that also allowed them to see what the style and structure of these caves.
There were over 12 pathways in this cave system, each leading to various uncharted areas. Around the walls, blue and purple crystals were either on the ceiling, walls or floor as they seemed to emanate the same colour as the Rift. They gave this eerie cave a somewhat mystical feeling with beautiful blue and purple lights illuminating all 12 pathways.
Some Pokemon could be found here, unsurprisingly. The most common of which are Zubat and Woobat. Some Noibats could be seen trying to fly and some Sableye's were resting near the crystals.
Oddly enough, despite this cave having somewhat of a long history and being an old area in Equestria, the crystals seemed to be brand new due to their Rift coloured lights.
"You use this place as your means of taking a shortcut?" Luna said to her older sister.
"That's right, Luna. See all those pathways? They each lead to either North, South, East and West. Its complex design, however, is why not many ponies come here. It's easy to get lost."
"Lost?!" Fluttershy screeched.
"No need to worry, Fluttershy." Celestia put her wing over Fluttershy. "I've been here a few times, so I'll guide you all. I would recommend we go through either the 10th pathway or the 11th. They both head East."
"Well, I'm sticking with you all." Pinkie dragged her friends towards her. "So I say we go for the 10th one!"
"10th sounds good to us." Applejack nodded as the rest of the Mane 7 agreed.
"Sticking together is the best option. So we must head for the 10th pathway, sister." Luna said.
"Alright. We will choose the 10th one." Celestia nodded in understanding. The 11th one does have a fun ramp though..."
The 10th one it was. By advancing towards the 10th pathway and arriving there, they were all greeted with a colony of Joltiks, Durants and one single Galvantula.
Looking at this area gave Rainbow Dash and Applejack not so pleasant memories of when they were sucked inside of a board game and one of the many areas looked exactly like this one.
"Ugh...Durants..." Applejack winced as she stayed close to Grovyle whilst also looking down at the Durants, Joltiks and Galvantula.
But it wasn't just Applejack and Rainbow Dash having unpleasant memories. Luna as well saw something very familiar that she never wanted to see again.
A group of Ludicolo's.
Ludicolo is a common Pokemon so something like this is to be expected. Although, Ludciolo's aren't necessarily Pokemon that live in caves that much.
But the reason why it was so unpleasant for Luna was that it reminded her of the time the Ludicolo's at the Pokemon Festival tossed her around whilst dancing. She had developed somewhat of a fear of Ludicolo ever since then.
"Urrgh..." Luna shuddered as she hid behind Darkrai. "Ludicolo's..."
There was something odd about this pathway and the cave in general. Rarity looked at the walls to see a painting that almost spelt out the words Phero. Almost as if it was trying to say Pheromosa.
Rainbow Dash saw a rock formation that looked a lot like Spitfire, Daylight Blazer and Princess Luna. Three ponies who she's competing against in the upcoming Equestria League.
"Okay um...Something ain't right here..." Applejack shook her head.
"I'll say. Is anypony feeling a bit of deja vu at the moment?" Rarity gulped.
"Ah. I should've probably mentioned. When I came here a few months ago, I made a discovery." Celestia turned her head to them all. "The crystals here seem to affect anypony or Pokemon that enters this cave."
"How so?" Twilight asked.
"They seem to bring out illusions of what you love, hate or are neutral with. Just keep trotting. They're only here to throw you off guard." Celestia explained.
She was right. The illusions can't really do anything. They're just illusions at the end of the day. However, they were capable of stirring up memories and getting reactions out of ponies, that's for sure.
As they journeyed through the pathway, Ash's Xtransceiver was ringing with Goh making the call, prompting Ash to pick it up.
"Hello. Goh, how's it going so far?" Ash asked.
"Ash! Great news! I found something that might help us against the Darkest Day and Eternatus!" Goh yelled on the phone as he had grabbed the attention of everyone there.
"Really?! What'd you find?!"
"Pika?!"
"Zacian and Zamazenta led us to this altar place that had a sword and a shield. They're pretty rusted though, but I think they might have some sort of hidden power that'll work when facing Eternatus!"
"Oooh..." Ash nodded his head.
"Are you still in Equestria?"
"Yeah. We're heading over to Trottingham right now. It's got a gateway that connects to Galar. Eternatus looks like it's heading there too."
"Oooh! Perfect!" Goh exclaimed. "Sonia and I will meet you there! Wait...which part of Galar does the gateway lead to?"
"I think it leads to someplace called...Axew's eye." Pinkie went up to the Xtransceiver.
"Oh. That's in the Wild Area near Motostoke." Leon gave out the actual location.
"Motostoke. Got it! See ya there!" Goh hung up on Ash, giving him and everypony a set destination.
Back with Eternatus and Absol, their struggle continued.
Absol still hadn't let go of Eternatus as he kept firing Dark Pulses onto Eternatus's back along with some Night Slashes here and there.
Eternatus screeched as it was getting frustrated with Absol at this point. Everything that Eternatus tried proved to be futile as no matter what, Absol stayed on the Gigantic Pokemon's back.
So many Dark Pulses and Night Slashes have been unleashed by now. And yet, Eternatus hadn't fainted once. Although, the repeated Dark Pulses have managed to make Eternatus flinch a couple of times.
And that flinching made the Gigantic Pokemon lose focus. Eternatus's crimson sky was filling the area as it could spot the biggest Power Spot yet right in front of its eyes.
The duo had eventually reached Trottingham after constant movements that involved mountain crashes and dark explosions in the sky.
Their constant battling alerted the ponies of Trottingham who witnessed the sky turning red along with a gigantic 20.0 m skeletal dragon approaching.
Trottingham had already gone through their own Dynamax attack during the crisis. And they were all not up for a second one. Especially from a Pokemon of that size.
Panicking and screaming, the ponies of Trottingham scattered, taking shelter in their homes as Eternatus had finally reached its destination after so long. But Absol was still on its back, attacking constantly.
After trying everything from flying high into the sky, smashing Absol and dragging him on mountains ranges, spinning around, nothing seemed to be working.
Eternatus thought that Absol would never get off until the Gigantic Pokemon had an idea. Threatening the lives of the ponies in Trottingham.
Eternatus figured that if it endangers the lives of others, Absol would rush over and help no matter what.
Which is exactly what it planned to do. By using its signature move.
Dynamax Cannon.
Eternatus gathered Dynamax energy in its core, preparing to fire at a couple of small houses nearby.
"Ab?!" Absol gasped, seeing how Eternatus was planning on destroying innocent civilians on the spot with a move that devastating. As such, Absol stood up, jumping off Eternatus's back. Which is what Eternatus planned to happen.
Knowing that made Absol change its focus to Trottingham instead of Eternatus. But that is exactly what Eternatus wanted. With Absol's guard down, his claws and teeth no longer digging into Eternatus's skeletal body and only focusing on the city now, Eternatus could finally get rid of this nuisance.
The Gigantic Pokemon did so by instead shifting the aim of Dynamax Cannon to face Absol who was in Eternatus's line of fire.
"Ab?!" Absol's eyes widened as he was now free-falling in the air. He noticed a red and purple light shining behind him as he turned around, seeing that Eternatus was going for him instead.
Absol was ready to tackle this attack head-on by using his own. In the form of Dark Pulse of course. Absol opened his mouth as a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles appeared inside it.
With all his might Absol then fired a beam of black and purple circles from the orb inside its mouth, sending it straight towards the opposing Pokemon.
Eternatus gave its response by unleashing Dynamax Cannon, sending its own beam forward. Through its mouth a powerful red and purple beam burst out of Eternatus, tearing through the air itself.
The two beams clashed, causing a shockwave that spread across Trottingham, shattering roofs, windows and even bricks themselves due to how powerful their clash was.
However, it wouldn't last long at all. Dynamax Cannon overpowered Dark Pulse by consuming it whole. Absol gasped as he saw how easily his attack had been negated.
The last thing he saw was a red and purple beam come towards him as he had been engulfed as well. "ABSOL!" The Disaster Pokemon screamed as he felt his body being hit with Galar Particles. But they weren't being used to grow him. Instead, Eternatus just wanted to get rid of Absol.
With the beam fading away, Absol fell from above, on the verge of fainting as a smoke trail came from him as he fell. The ponies of Trottingham gasped, seeing how Absol crashed onto the ground, causing a semi-large crater upon impact.
"Ab...sol..." The Disaster Pokemon cried out with a weak voice. He opened one eye, seeing that Eternatus was now hovering over Trottingham. He knew he couldn't just lose and give up here. Absol, despite his injured body and horrible state, stood back up.
But his legs were weak at the moment. He could lose his balance and faint at any minute now. But he would continue to stay up and stop Eternatus. No matter what.
Back with the group.
The 10th pathway was short and quick, despite being seeming somewhat long at first glance. Celestia knew her way around this place so it was lightwork for her. The illusions may have been distracting, but they weren't enough to slow them all down.
Finally, they exited out of the cave and had arrived at the East side of Equestria. And it turns out that their little cave crawl went beyond just getting them to the East.
It actually brought them near Trottingham AKA the Griffish Isles. Much nearer than they expected. Just up ahead, they could see the city of Trottingham in all its glory and how it had a purple Power Spot in the distance.
It was impressive how close the 10th pathway brought them here as Twilight and the others were impressed. However, that impression soon turned to shock as they noticed their main target had already beaten them here long ago.
By looking up in the sky, they spotted the Pokemon behind all of this. The one who brings the Darkest Day.
Eternatus.
The dreadful red sky had occupied all of Trottingham's airspace in just a few seconds. Not only that, but the roar of Eternatus reached their ears. They didn't even need Audino to pick it up. It was a truly ferocious and loud roar.
"There it is!" Ash gasped, looking up at Eternatus. "Eternatus!"
"That's Eternatus?!" Leon's eyes widened.
"Oh my..." Luna backed away, seeing how overwhelming this Pokemon was.
All of them were and rightfully so. This Pokemon was difficult to describe and judging by its dex entry and appearance, it seems to be a Pokemon that was not from this planet. Much like the Ultra Beasts.
Only on a larger scale.
"I-It sure is..." Applejack gulped, lowering herself on the ground. "Big...!"
"No time to be scared!" Celestia stepped forward. "We came here to stop Eternatus and that is what we shall do."
Celestia, Ash, Hollow and Leon were already prepared to step up to Eternatus since they were the only ones not intimidated by its disturbing and weary appearance.
Twilight noticed Absol in the distance, seeing that he was badly injured and on the verge of fainting with scratches on his entire body. "Absol!" Twilight flew over to assist the injured Pokemon.
But when she got close, Eternatus let out a bloodcurdling roar that stopped Twilight in her tracks.
Eternatus was gathering an unnatural amount of energy in its core. More energy than it had ever dreamt of. The original timeline doesn't compare to the amount of power that Eternatus is gaining right now.
"We'll stop Eternatus. The rest of you protect everypony else!" Celestia ordered as she, Ash, Hollow and Leon were about to head towards Eternatus, but not before one more individual joined the scene. Or rather two.
"I think not." A familiar voice rang through their ears, mainly Leon and Ash's ears. The four of them came to a screeching halt, wondering who was the one who told them to stop.
By turning around, they noticed the man who had taken part in this whole Eternatus situation from the beginning.
Chairman Rose. Alongside his secretary Oleana as always.
"Chairman Rose?!" Leon exclaimed.
"Ah...this is much better than I expected." Rose walked forward, passing Luna and the others. "The enormous power it's displaying is even beyond my expectations. " He looked up at Eternatus. "I'm honestly also surprised that Power Spots even exist here honestly."
"Professor Magnolia was right about this guy...he's kinda sketchy." Rainbow Dash whispered.
"Leon. We often discussed the future of Galar together, remember?"
"Now's not the time Chairman Rose!" Leon replied. "Eternatus will end up destroying this world and soon Galar!"
"No, no. This is all for Galar's future."
"What do you mean?" Leon stepped forward.
"I found that in the near future, Galar's energy will be exhausted. I racked my brains on how I could solve this issue and discovered that Galar particles could serve as a new energy source."
"Wait..does that mean..." Rarity narrowed her eyes at Chairman Rose. "You're the one who's been feeding Eternatus from the very beginning?!"
"Yes, my little pony. And more than that. I learned that Eternatus was the Pokemon of my dreams, infinitely creating Galar Particles!"
"But those beams cause Pokemon to Dynamax and go on a rampage!" Pinkie bellowed at Rose's direction.
"Yes. It is very troubling." Rose nodded. "That's why I've guided talented trainers like you. Yes, Leon. You will be the one who shall catch the revived Eternatus and control it! As I desire!"
"Why are you doing this?!" Spike exclaimed.
"Why? To prevent further suffering in the future of course. My father, he worked in the mines. He worked day and night to extract the energy source and to support our family. But after an unforeseen accident, he never came back. But what do you think? If we have Eternatus nobody will ever need to suffer as I did and we'll have infinite energy."
"That's..." Fluttershy was about to say something.
"See?" Rose spread his arms out. "I'm thinking of the Galar from a thousand years from now! Leon...I've watched over you and nurtured you since you were young, all for this very moment. You can't turn me down now."
"Hmph. I'll catch Eternatus." Leon suddenly replied with a stern face.
"Ah- Leon?!" Pinkie and the others gasped, facing Leon.
"Excellent! And you'll be a true hero of Galar!"
"But...I'll only catch it to calm it down." Leon suddenly shut Rose down. "Eternatus has already caused major damage to this world that never deserved this in the first place! So many ponies have had their homes destroyed by this Pokemon and I can't let that happen again! Not to both worlds!"
"Hm, hm, hm." Rose suddenly chuckled. "How naive you are. And it looks like Eternatus's full revival is near. Now, Leon, you're up! Only you can control Eternatus!"
"Even if it creates Galar Particles for more energy, Eternatus is far too dangerous!" Leon exclaimed. "I'll catch it and seal it away!"
"Hmm..." Rose's smile turned into a frown after those words.
"Everyone, let's go." Leon turned to Ash, Hollow and Celestia.
"Okay!" Ash nodded.
"I think not!" Rose held out some Poke Balls along with Oleana. "You've greatly disappointed me, Leon. You as well Ash. I could've turned you into the world's greatest trainer!"
"I'll get there on my own!" Ash replied to him.
"Hmph." Rose sent out all four of his Pokemon. A Copperajah, Escavalier, Ferrothorn, Perrserker and Klingklang.
Oleana did the same, sending out her Milotic, Froslass, Salazzle and Tsareena. "No one is allowed to ruin Chairman Rose's plans!" Oleana's hair flared up.
"This just had to become more difficult, huh?" Applejack sighed.
"Ah, who cares." Rainbow Dash flew in front. "Ash, everyone. Leave these two to us." She took out her Poke Ball. "Eternatus is all yours!"
"Alright! Thanks!" Ash ran off with the others.
"Pikachu!"
"You all intend to make my effort all for nought?" Rose raised an eyebrow.
"Like we'd let you cause any more damage and have innocent Pokemon rampage!" Applejack growled.
"My poor little ponies. You're not from my world, so you'd never understand." Rose shook his head. "Perhaps, Eternatus could one day help your world as well."
"It's helped enough! Go Braviary!" Rainbow Dash sent out her Braviary.
"Viary!"
"Out you come, you three!" Rarity sent out her strongest Leavanny, Flaaffy and Pheromosa.
At this point, it was inevitable for a huge brawl to break out. The battle with Eternatus and the battle against Chairman Rose and Oleana.
On the plus side, it would mean that the ponies of Trottingham would have the opportunity to see possibly Equestria's most chaotic Pokemon battle yet as they observed from their windows.
Through the gateway connected to Galar and Trottingham, Sonia and Goh had finally arrived, expecting to see their friends there.
And well, their friends were indeed there, that's for sure. But some weren't really friendly faces at all. Mostly Eternatus.
"W-What is that thing?!" Goh winced as he had no idea what kind of Pokemon he was even looking at.
"Is that...Eternatus...?" Sonia gawked. She noticed that Trottingham might be the area where the final confrontation against Eternatus occurs. "Goh! You have the sword and shield! Head on and help!
"Huh...?" Ah, right!" Goh stuttered as he ran off to assist with Raboot on his side. "Guys! I got the sword and shield!" He called out for his friends.
"Hm? Goh?" Starlight turned to Goh.
"Now we can stop Eternatus with Zacian and Zamazenta's help!" Goh grinned. "Lucky!"
"I think not! Surround him!" Oleana exclaimed as she had her Milotic Salazzle and Milotic surround Goh, preventing him from moving.
"Eh?!" Goh came to a screeching halt.
"Raboot...!" But thankfully, his partner was here to protect him from whoever tried to harm Goh.
"Do you all have any idea how much money Chairman Rose has spent to revive Eternatus?" Oleana narrowed her eyes. "His dream is also my dream. I won't allow some random ponies and kids from who knows where to stop that dream!"
"Just our luck..." Goh groaned as he looked up at Eternatus. "Ash, you'd better be pulling off one of your crazy stunts to win this..."
The final confrontation with the Darkest Day and Eternatus has arrived. The fate of both Galar and Equestria is now being decided by two opposing forces and one chaotic force.
As Eternatus builds up tons of power high in the sky, Twilight helping Absol up and carrying him to safety, Rainbow Dash and the others dealing with Chairman Rose and Oleana as Ash, Hollow, Celestia and Leon heading off to stop and catch Eternatus, the ponies of Trottingham held their breath in as the journey continues.
The final confrontation against Eternatus is here. Two sides each having their own mission. One side will deal with Chairman Rose and Oleana whilst the other handles Eternatus.
As the Gigantic Pokemon gathers energy from both Galar and Equestria, Eternatus was nearing its peak power. Possibly even sooner than it expects.
"Alright!" Leon tightened his gloves as he returned Charizard to its Poke Ball. "We'll battle with Gigantamax!" Leon was planning on ending this battle pronto as he wasn't holding back for a second.
The Galar Particles emanated from his band, travelling into the Poke Ball as the time to Gigantamax was now.
However, in an unexpected turn of events, Eternatus had absorbed the Galar Particles from Leon's Dynamax Band, preventing him from even trying to Dynamax.
"W-What?!" Leon noticed that the particles were leaving his band, entering Eternatus's core instead. "It absorbed my Dynamax Band?!"
Eternatus was doing all of this to reach its final form. And once it does reach its final form, it would be nigh-unstoppable, a much bigger threat than it already was.
"Then we'll battle it without Dynamaxing! Passion! Use Thunderbolt!" Celestia commanded as she made the first move.
"Kir!" The Emotion Pokemon hovered into the air, putting her hands together. 100,000 volts of Electricity had appeared in her hands as she was building up power to make it really have that extra Oomph.
"Pikachu! You use Thunderbolt as well!" Ash pointed up.
"Pika...CHU!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, summoning the force of 100,000 volts within his body. Both him and Passion had unleashed a dual Thunderbolt forward, merging their moves as one.
The move looked like it connected, which it did, but it barely did anything to Eternatus at all. Thanks to the massive amounts of energy it had absorbed, the Gigantic Pokemon could now take more hits than it usually could as the Thunderbolts shrunk.
"Charizard! Dragon Claw!"
"Delphox! Come out and use Psychic!" Hollow sent out his Delphox as Charizard flew up with green draconic energy in the shape of claws emerged around his own natural claws.
"Phox!" The Fox Pokemon had conjured up psychic power from within its wand with its eyes flashing blue.
Charizard went up to Eternatus's face, swinging Dragon Claw towards the Gigantic Pokemon, but Eternatus had instinctively dodged Dragon Claw, returning the favour to Charizard by smacking him away with his tail. "CHAR!"
Shockwaves of invisible Psychic energy were sent towards Eternatus from Delphox's wand as they passed by Charizard. But Eternatus reacted to that as well by flying over the shockwaves, getting to a higher level.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
"Passion! Plasma Bolt!"
Pikachu hopped on Charizard's back as he took a ride on the Flame Pokemon, allowing him to get closer to Eternatus as his tail hardened.
Passion combined Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt, creating pure plasma in her hands. As always, it was difficult to control due to how overwhelming it was as Passion strained and winced. "K-Kir...!"
"Chu...Pika!"
"Charizard!"
Both Charizard and Pikachu attacked Eternatus with their hardest hitting moves. But Eternatus had a response for that. The Gigantic Pokemon butted heads with the two moves instead of countering with its own move.
Once Eternatus's head clashed with Iron Tail and Dragon Claw, both Pokemon felt their bodies tremble as they could see just how powerful Eternatus had become. Or in this case, how much more powerful it will become very soon.
Eternatus's headbutt forced Pikachu and Charizard back as they were both sent flying. "Pika!"
Luckily, Charizard had recovered, catching Pikachu with his claws. "Zard!"
"Kirlia!" Finally being able to hold it, Passion sent a bolt of plasma forward, tearing through the sky as the amount of force was so great that even Passion herself had been pushed back.
The plasma bolt actually connected with Eternatus, hitting the Gigantic Pokemon square in the face as 14,500° of heat had been poured onto it.
Passion's Plasma Bolt was surprisingly effective as Eternatus had actually cocked back. Not even it can easily withstand something hotter than the sun.
Obviously, Eternatus didn't take too kindly to that. So the Gigantic Pokemon became much more aggressive with its attacks. And it showed this by charging up a Hyper Beam.
"Delphox! Protect!"
"Del!" Delphox got in front of the other Pokemon, putting up a green barrier around them to shield them all from Hyper Beam.
Eternatus fired the devastating beam of energy as it was much louder than any other Hyper Beam out there. Everyone ducked for cover as Hyper Beam made direct contact with Protect.
The beam split in two due to Protect preventing the attack from hitting. However, once they were split into two, the remaining Hyper Beams tore through the ground, almost hitting the buildings of Trottingham.
"D-Delphox...!" The Fire-Psychic-Type kept the Protect barrier up as she felt the pressure of Hyper Beam beat on the barrier. But thankfully, most of the time, Protect always comes in handy as the attack had been negated.
Delphox let down the barrier as trying to hold back Eternatus's Hyper Beam was a bit of a struggle, even when using Protect.
"It's strong enough to almost break through Protect..." Ash said. "We're gonna need some extra help. Come out, Riolu!" Ash sent out Riolu to help out.
"Rio!"
Eternatus roared as it was oh-so-close to its final form. But to test out just how much more powerful it has become so far, the Gigantic Pokemon decided to see what it was capable of.
And it did this by firing multiple Dynamax Cannons into the air. It was planning on raining down destruction from above as several red and purple beams could be seen blocking out the moon itself.
"Not good...! Dodge Charizard!" Leon gasped, knowing that this was going to get destructive.
"That'll hit the buildings! Dragonite! Gengar! Farfetch'd! Save everyone!" Ash sent out the rest of his Pokemon, thinking about the safety of the citizens of Trottingham first instead of continuing to tackle Eternatus.
All of his Pokemon, including Pikachu and Riolu, scattered across Trottingham to rescue the ponies from being hit by the raining Dynamax Cannons.
The devastating red and purple beams were unsurprisingly, highly calamitous as one single hit had destroyed a building in one go. Dynamax rained down from above, terrorizing and obliterating everything that it came across.
Gengar phased through some buildings, grabbing the ponies inside with Psychic whilst Farfetch'd broke through their doors with Brutal Swing.
Pikachu used Quick Attack to zoom around, avoiding the raining Dynamax Cannons and also using Iron Tail to knock some of them away.
Riolu used Vacuum Waves to try and fend the Dynamax Cannons off, but he wasn't strong enough as one of them broke through his Vacuum wave.
With the others, they watched as Dynamax rained down from above, desolating everything around it with a horrifying sight and sound.
"Look at that! Isn't Eternatus amazing?!" Rose exclaimed. "And it hasn't even reached its final form yet!"
"You call that amazing?!" Rarity growled. "Everypony's homes are being destroyed because of that thing!"
"Yes. But with all the energy it posses, very soon, this world will have the pleasure of-"
"You talk too much! Braviary Superpower!" Rainbow Dash interrupted him.
"Viary!" The Valiant Pokemon flew forward, channelling all his strength into his wings.
"Copperajah! Zen Headbutt!" Rose ordered.
"Copper!" The Copperderm Pokemon clashed with Braviary by surrounding its head with its own mental power as Copperajah had managed to easily overpower Braviary.
"Bra?!"
"Escavalier! Swords Dance! Ferrothorn! Power Whip!" He ordered more of his Pokemon. His Escavalier had a white aura around its lances as its attack had been boosted.
"Esca!" Escavalier charged forward, aiming at striking all of the Pokemon at once with its long lances.
"Pheromosa! Triple Kick! Quick!" Rarity ordered.
"Phe!" Pheromosa defended her friends by blocking Escavalier's lances with her legs. The two Pokemon locked eyes as the Cavalry Pokemon began swinging ferociously at Pheromosa, who used her legs to perform Triple Kick as the two of them entered a back and forth clash.
"Ferrothorn!" Ferrothorn's large spiked feelers had risen, aiming directly for the ponies instead of the Pokemon.
"Grovyle! Use Leaf Blade!" Applejack exclaimed as Grovyle quickly moved in, blocking and protecting his friends from Power Whip as his bladed leaves clashed with Ferrothorn's spiked feelers.
"Darkrai! Put them all to sleep with Dark Void.!" said Luna.
"I think not. Klinklang. Wild Charge." Chairman Rose's Klinklang surrounded itself in electricity as it launched its own body forward.
Before Darkrai could pull off Dark Void, the Gear Pokemon smashed into the Pitch Black Pokemon's body, causing some recoil on itself.
"Salamence! Use Dragon Claw!" Spike pointed.
"Hatterene! Psycho Cut!" Starlight exclaimed.
"Now, Perrserker. Metal Sound." Rose smirked.
"Per...SEEERKEEER!" Perrserker let out a horrifying blast of sound that pierced the ears of the Pokemon whilst also pushing the ponies back as well. Everyone had been stopped by Metal Sound, including their attacks as Salamence fell.
"S-Salaaa...!
"A-Audino...!" Audino took the worst of it due to her sensitive ears as she got on the ground.
"Ph-Phero...!" Pheromosa's battle with Escavalier had been interrupted by Metal Sound as she held her antennae's. This allowed Escavalier to strike whilst her guard was down. The Cavalry Pokemon slashed Pheromosa with Swords Dance, knocking the Lissome Pokemon back.
"Gr-Gro! Grovyle!" Grovyle was feeling the same way. With his guard down, Ferrothorn had smacked the Wood Gecko Pokemon to the side with its feelers.
"B-Braviary! U-Use...!"
"Copperajah. Flash Cannon."
"Rajah!" Before Rainbow Dash could give out a command, Copperajah had sent a silver beam made out of metal forward as it had engulfed all of the Pokemon in front of it.
"Guys!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
The smoke cleared as they all leaned in to see the status of their Pokemon. They were still active and able to battle, thankfully. But that Flash Cannon did some damage, that's for sure.
"If I were you, I'd give up," said Rose. "I've been Pokemon battling for years, whilst you all have only known Pokemon for one year. You're outmatched."
"You'd wish we'd give up!" Spike growled.
"You don't stand a chance against an experienced trainer such as myself. Even if you have a Mythical Pokemon on your side. Let me show you!"
With Goh, he was currently dealing with Oleana and her Pokemon. He and his Raboot had the misfortune of going up against a Milotic and Salazzle while the rest of Oleana's Pokemon were standing by, ready to jump in at any moment.
"Raboot! Use Blaze Kick!" Goh commanded!
"Boot!" The Rabbit Pokemon's feet become surrounded in red-orange flames, dashing towards the two opponents in front of it.
"Salazzle. Grab Raboot."
"Salaz!" The Toxic Lizard Pokemon used its tail to suddenly wrap around Raboot's feet, nullifying Blaze Kick as she had the Rabbit Pokemon in her clutches that easily.
"Ra?!"
"Now, Milotic. Aqua Tail."
"Milo!" Milotic and Salazzle had teamed up on Raboot with Salazzle holding her fellow Fire-Type in place whilst Milotic approached with a tail veiled in water.
"Raboot! Break out of there with Quick Attack!"
"B-Boot...! Ra!" Raboot managed to slip out of Salazzle's slimy tail by using Quick Attack to do so as the Rabbit Pokemon became a blur that moved back. "Raboot!"
"Now! Double Kick!"
"Boot!" Raboot flipped up in the air, preparing a Double Kick.
"Salazzle! Fire Lash!"
"Lazzle!" The Toxic Lizard Pokemon stuck her tongue out as it suddenly ignited in flames. Salazzle then swung its blazing tongue towards Raboot as it clashed with the Rabbit Pokemon's feet.
"Boot?!"
"Water Pulse Milotic."
"Milo...!" A large ring of water appears around Milotic's body and expands, firing it at Raboot.
"Ah! Raboot! Dodge again!"
"Ra?" But it was too late, Water Pulse had hit its mark as Raboot was sent flying by both Water Pulse and an extra hit by Salazzle's tongue with Fire Lash. "Raboot!"
The Rabbit Pokemon tumbled on the ground, taking heavy damage after that sudden move combination attack. "Raboot! Are you okay?!"
"Ra...boot!" Raboot stood back up, still being able to continue.
"Great! Let's keep going!"
It was utter pandemonium in Trottingham.
The Dynamax Cannons were still falling from above, destroying Trottingham until it was nothing but a desolate wasteland. Ash's Pokemon had managed to save them all thankfully, but the damage had already been done to their homes, unfortunately.
With Eternatus, it wasn't going well for Celestia, Leon and Hollow. Not with how much stronger Eternatus was now.
"Delphox! Psychic one more time!"
"Charizard! Dragon Claw!"
"Passion! Teleport above and use Plasma Bolt!"
But they tried their best anyways. Charizard approached Eternatus whilst Passion teleported above the Dragon-Poison-Type. Delphox focused all of its psychic energy into one point, planning on using its full strength.
But Eternatus didn't let any of that happen. It was now at 90% full power as it let out a pulse of Galar Particles that had blown all three Pokemon back along with their trainers.
"Kir!"Passion spun in the air.
"Char!" Charizard was sent crashing down.
"Del!" Delphox was knocked off its feet.
Celestia strained as she used her magic to keep herself steady. Hollow and Leon almost lost their balance as they looked up to see that Eternatus somehow looked much bigger than it previously was as if it had grown out of nowhere.
The remaining Dynamax Cannons fell from above as they still hadn't stopped at all. Celestia gasped as she noticed that one Dynamax Cannon was heading for her.
She used her magic to put up a barrier around her, Leon and Hollow as the beams of Dynamax energy rained down on the barrier.
As for their Pokemon, Charizard had luckily recovered, catching Passion mid-air, saving her life as he returned to Leon's side whilst also avoiding the Dynamax Cannons.
Eternatus roared as it had then used Flamethrower out of nowhere. By opening its mouth, the Gigantic Pokemon sprayed flames across Trottingham, setting it all ablaze the moment the fire made contact with the ground.
Celestia's barrier couldn't stay up forever as the Dynamax Cannons had managed to create cracks around it. And there were still more coming.
"This is getting rough! Return, for now, Delphox!" Hollow returned his Delphox, sending out his Scrafty next.
"Scra!"
"Use Zen Headbutt!"
"Scrafty!" The Hoodlum Pokemon lowered its head as purple energy begins to form in front of its forehead. It charged in headfirst with the power of its mind being displayed.
But getting too close was far too dangerous at the moment. Once Scrafty approached Eternatus, it was given a sudden knockback with Eternatus exerting more of its power as Galar Particles pulsated out of it.
"Fty!" Scrafty went flying back from the particle outburst.
Ah! Scrafty!" Hollow gasped.
"If we can just land one good hit on it..." Celestia said under her breath.
Ash had returned after his Pokemon ended up saving everypony, taking them to a safer area that wasn't here. He could now continue to help out.
"Everyone! Go!" Ash pointed up at Eternatus, commanding all of his Pokemon at once.
Farfetch'd rode on Dragonite's back whilst Pikachu, Gengar and Riolu were about to attack from afar. Dragonite closed in on Eternatus, using Dragon Claw while Farfetch'd went for Night Slash.
Eternatus had taken a super-effective Dragon Claw to the face and a neutral Night Slash that didn't do much at all. Even the Dragon Claw wasn't enough.
As a response, Eternatus used Poison Tail to whack Dragonite and Farfetch'd back down to the ground. The Gigantic Pokemon couldn't be stopped by super-effective attacks, unfortunately.
All of a sudden, Eternatus was going for yet another Dynamax Cannon rain. The Gigantic Pokemon unleashed a double rain of Dynamax cannons, this time they were larger in size and the numbers were greater.
"You're kidding!" Leon gasped.
"Run!" Celestia exclaimed, knowing that this Dynamax Cannon rain was far worse than the last. They all made a run for it as the ground was being bombarded with Dynamax Cannons as red and purple explosions could be seen in the distance, tearing up the already demolished Trottingham.
And these new Dynamax Cannon rains threatened not just those 4, but everypony else here. The cannons rained down from above, landing in between Braviary and Copperajah as everyone's battle had been put to a screeching halt.
"What was-" Spike's sentence was cut off when a Dynamax Cannon almost hit him, but Rarity had grabbed the baby dragon, saving his life as the cannon grazed her tail.
Rarity and the others saw the barrage of Dynamax Cannon's rain down from above as they made the clever choice of making a run for it.
All of them and their Pokemon scattered, trying their best to avoid the cannons whilst Chairman Rose watched the chaos unfold. He smiled, knowing that Eternatus was truly one of a kind. A Pokemon that was overflowing with infinite amounts of energy.
"Yes...! This is the power of Galar's saviour!" Rose exclaimed.
Escaping from the Dynamax cannons was proving to be difficult. Their increased size and faster movements meant that they were almost unpredictable.
Pinkie Pie had almost been hit by a Dynamax Cannon as one exploded right near her. The force of the explosion knocked the pink pony back along with her Spinda as they both tumbled on the ground. "Ow!"
"Pinkie-" Rainbow Dash gasped as an explosion of Dynamax energy happened near her as well, knocking her back too along with her Braviary.
Applejack watched as her friends were being knocked down by the explosions. Soon, there looked like there was nowhere else to go.
The Dynamax Cannons were filling up most of Trottingham and everywhere was just a hazard zone with craters being formed left and right.
She ducked for cover as Grovyle had stood over her, protecting his trainer from any harm. Audino did the same by holding Fluttershy whilst Braviary and Rainbow Dash went into Rainbow-Braviary to better defend themselves.
Darkrai, Salamence and Hatterene also covered their trainers as Darkrai used the shadows themselves to create a field of darkness around them all.
Salamence had taken some Dynamax Cannons from defending Spike as his back was being pelted by super-effective Dragon moves that wouldn't stop coming down.
Rarity's Leavanny used her string to wrap Rarity, Flaaffy and Pheromosa in thick strings, hoping that they would be enough to protect them.
But they weren't.
The Dynamax Cannons soon overwhelmed the area where Applejack and the others were as they all covered their eyes, holding their Pokemon tight as the sounds of constant explosions filled their ears.
Twilight watched as she saw her friends being surrounded by Dynamax Cannon rains. Very soon, the red and purple explosions were all that could be seen as Twilight's eyes widened. "Everyone!" She screamed out in fear.
One Dynamax Cannon landed near her, almost knocking the young alicorn back as she held onto Absol. "A-Absol...!" Absol lost his balance as he fell out of Twilight's hooves, tumbling on the ground.
Finally, the aggressive Dynamax Cannon rain had stopped. For now.
The smoke was clearing as Twilight rubbed her eye, hoping that her friends were alright.
And indeed they were. Darkrai's shadow field managed to protect them all, thankfully. But the Dynamax Cannons did a number on the Pitch Black Pokemon. In fact, it was revealed that Darkrai's back had been hit, making him the one Pokemon here who was badly injured.
"Ugh!" Darkrai grunted. "S-Sorry for being that reckless."
"Darkrai!" Luna held her partner up.
"Impressive how you can all still stand." Rose nodded.
"You'd best believe it." Rainbow Dash stood up along with Rainbow Braviary. "W-We're not done yet." Rainbow Dash grunted as she was struggling to keep her balance.
"But unfortunately, this is the end. Copperajah. Knock them out with Power Whip."
"Copper!" Copperajah was about to knock every last one of them out by raising its trunk for the final blow.
"I won't let you! Ninetales!" Twilight tossed her Poke Ball forward, sending out Ninetales. "Mystica Fire!"
"Nine...TALES!" The Fox Pokemon unleashed a blast of magical fire that flew past Twilight's friends, engulfing Copperajah in the process.
"C-Copperaj!" The Copperderm Pokemon was pushed back.
"Get away from my friends! Eve! Dazzling Gleam! Ninetales! Mystical Fire!"
"Don't get too confident, my little pony. Copperajah. Earthquake!"
"Copper...RAJAH!" The Steel-Type had promptly stopped Eve and Ninetales's moves by slamming its huge trunk down, shaking the entire ground as shockwaves erupted from the ground below, striking Ninetales and Eve.
"Esp!"
"Nine!"
"Ah! Eve! Ninetales!"
"Flash Cannon."
"Rajah!" Copperajah continued attacking by sending a silver beam towards Eve and Ninetales while they were still recovering.
"E-Espeon?" Eve looked over to see Steel Beam approaching. Ninetales got in the way of Flash Cannon, using his resistance to Steel to protect Eve from any harm.
"Ninetales...!" Ninetales took all the damage from Flash Cannon as it wasn't very effective. However, thanks to the Earthquake from before, Ninetales was feeling a bit weary. "Nine..tales...!"
"Esp!" Eve helped Ninetales up.
"Copperajah. Power whip on these Pokemon." Rose pointed at the Pokemon in front of him. "Escavalier. Klingklang. Ferroseed. Perrserker. Finish off those." He pointed at Eve and Ninetales.
"I won't let you! Salamance! Block them!" Spike exclaimed.
"Sala!" Salamence, using all the strength he currently had, got in the way, preventing the Pokemon from harming his friends. Unfortunately, because he got in the way, it was him that ended up taking the damage instead.
The hard steel of Escavalier struck onto Salamence's head whilst Ferrothorn slammed Salamence down to the ground. "Ferro!"
"S-Salamence!"
Things were looking rough now. Rose had the upper hand as his opponents were all tattered from the Dynamax Cannon rain and his superior battling skills.
"I told you. You should've just given up." Rose shook his head. "Shame. Perhaps when this is all over, I can turn you all into great trainers too."
"N-No way! We've already got an amazing teacher who's much better than you!" Rainbow Dash stammered.
"So, nyeeeh!" Pinkie blew her tongue out at them.
"Oh well. Do it Copperajah."
"Copper!" Copperajah swung its trunk down as the ponies closed their eyes, preparing themselves for the worst.
But then, all of a sudden, Riolu had rushed in to save them as he held up Copperajah's trunk. "R-Rio!"
"Riolu...?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Rajah?"
"It isn't over yet!" Ash stepped up, holding Pikachu in his hands. Dragonite held Gengar and Farfetch'd but Riolu seemed to have more resilience than them all.
"Such persistence, Ash," Rose smirked. "But it's not enough. Escavalier! Drill Run!"
"Esca!" Escavalier was about to attack Riolu whilst he was still holding up Copperajah's trunk. But thankfully, someone was there to save Riolu.
"Gro! Grovyle found some extra strength within him as he grabbed Escavalier's lances, holding them in place. "Grovyle...!"
"Grovyle?" Applejack sat up.
"How can they still have this much left in them? Klinklang! Paralyze them with Zap Cannon!"
"Klinklang!" To put an end to all of this, Klinklang's body charged up, preparing to make its opponents immobile and paralyzed.
But yet again, someone was there to save them. Flaaffy also had some strength left in him as he ran forward, grabbing Klinklang, trying to stop him from using Zap Cannon. "F-Flaaffy!"
"Flaaffy!" Rarity gasped.
"How many...Perrserker! Metal Sound!"
"Per-!" Perrserker went up next, but even it had been stopped thanks to Darkrai who used a Dark Void to put Perrserker to sleep. "Serker..."
"I don't think so..." Darkrai stood up as he held his chest. There were still some Pokemon able to continue.
With Goh and Oleana, Raboot was getting pummeled by Milotic and Salazzle as it looked like there was no chance of victory in this current battle as the Rabbit Pokemon tumbled on the ground.
"Boot!"
"Raboot!" Goh leaned forward.
"Ra...!" Raboot stood back up.
"Your Raboot can't keep this up forever. Just give up."
"Raboot! You're pushing yourself too-" Goh tried to stop his partner, but Raboot wouldn't back down. Raboot kicked up a pebble, attempting to use Ember despite the massive type disadvantage. "Raboot?"
"Boot!" Raboot kicked an Ember towards them, but Milotic simply slapped it away with its tail, proving that Raboot's efforts were futile.
So far, everything looked like it was reaching its worst. Eternatus was 97% close to its full power and most of everyone was exhausted by now.
Smoke covered the area as the crimson sky was darkening in colour.
Celestia got up from the rubble as her crown had fallen off. Leon and Hollow had been saved by their Charizard and Scrafty, but they themselves had taken damage from the Dynamax Cannon rain.
"Passion! Where are you?!" Celestia looked around for Passion.
"Kir...Kirlia!" Passion got out of her own rubble as she breathed in and out. "Unfortunately, her fragile body meant that she couldn't keep this up for much longer. She had the power but not the durability. "Kirlia...!"
Eternatus roared as it was now 99% at its peak power. The Gigantic Pokemon decided to go for one more attack to cause even further destruction before it reaches its true form.
And that was the mother of all Hyper Beams. Eternatus was aiming it at every single individual here From pony to human and Pokemon. They were all in Eternatus's line of fire as it was building up the strongest Hyper Beam yet.
"Ab..sol!" Absol turned around, seeing how Eternatus was about to blast everyone away with Hyper Beam. He wanted to try and stop it, but he was too weak to do so as Twilight carried him.
"Don't Absol! It's too dangerous!"
"Absol..."
Eternatus had finished building up power as it fired its full-power Hyper Beam forward. The beam was so large in size that covered all of Trottingham and even tore through the already ruined ground, making it worse.
Charizard and Scrafty got in front of their trainers whilst Twilight and Absol stared at the incoming beam of hyper energy. It looked like it was all over as Celestia closed her eyes.
Until Passion had suddenly got in front of the Hyper Beam, putting her arms out and using her mind to hold the beam in place.
"K-Kirlia!"
"Passion?!" Celestia opened her eyes.
"Kirli...!" Passion wasn't about to let some random Pokemon harm her beloved partner and friends. Not one bit. She didn't care if she was badly injured and exhausted. She would do anything to protect the ones she loves.
And the same can be said for Riolu and the others. "R-Rio!" Riolu and the other Pokemon put all they had left into their bone strength, trying to protect their friends.
"RIolu! Don't push yourself too hard!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pika!"
"Riolu..." The Emanation Pokemon got on his knees as Copperajah was starting to overpower him. It was clear as day that a baby Pokemon like Riolu cannot beat a bulky Pokemon like Copperajah.
Until...
All of a sudden, Riolu, Passion, Grovyle and Flaaffy, all four of them were suddenly glowing as their bodies pulsated. This pulse even grabbed the attention of Eternatus.
A blue aura erupted from Riolu's body as his eyes flashed red. Grovyle had a storm of leaves surrounding his body whilst Flaaffy had three great thunderbolts come down from above, smiting him.
Passion's body became surrounded in a gigantic ball of fire that was identical to the sun itself as a golden glow illuminated Trottingham, giving the ruined city some flair and beauty.
"What the...?" Rainbow Dash gawked.
Raboot was undergoing something similar. The Rabbit Pokemon got on one knee, running out of energy whilst Milotic and Salazzle were healthy.
That is until a pillar of fire erupted from Raboot's body, startling even Salazzle and Milotic. "R-Raboot...?" Goh gawked as he wasn't sure what was going on.
No one was.
And just like that, all four Pokemon and their respective auras had suddenly burst with high amounts of force. So much force that it knocked away all of Rose's Pokemon, the rubble around them and even Eternatus a small bit.
A unification of Fire, Grass, Lightning and Aura filled Trottingham as it could even be seen from space itself. All four Pokemon's eyes flashed red, pink, orange and yellow simultaneously. With something as stellar as that, that could only mean one thing.
They had evolved.
"Lucario!" Lucario roared as aura surrounded his entire body.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile had millions of leaves rise from the ground itself, moving like a tornado.
"Ampharos!" Ampharos's body was supercharged with a violent amount of volts.
"Cinderace!" Cinderace's eyes were on fire along with its arms and legs as the fire dispersed.
"Gardevoir!" Passion spun around in the air as a golden light circled her body.
"Oh finally!" Pinkie exclaimed as she shot up. "They all evolved!"
"Yes! Lucario!" Ash pumped his fist!
"Pikachu!"
"W-Who are you...?" Rarity took out her dex for Ampharos.
"Ampharos. The Light Pokemon. Ampharos gives off so much light that it can be seen even from space. People in the old days used the light of this Pokémon to send signals back and forth with others far away.
"Oh! Who's this?!" Goh took out his Pokedex for this new look.
"Cinderace! The Striker Pokemon. Fire-Type! It juggles a pebble with its feet, turning it into a burning soccer ball. Its shots strike opponents hard and leave them scorched. It’s skilled at both offence and defence, and it gets pumped up when cheered on. But if it starts showboating, it could put itself in a tough spot."
"Passion...You evolved...?" Celestia gawked.
"Voir." The Emotion Pokemon nodded.
"Would ya look at that?" Leon stood up.
"Yeah..." Hollow nodded.
"Garde!" Passion turned her attention to Eternatus, glancing at the Gigantic Pokemon with sharp piercing eyes. Eternatus was actually intimidated by Passion.
"Alright! Lucario! Use Vacuum Wave!" Ash thrust his fist forward.
"Lu!" But Lucario had a different idea. By using the aura waves to communicate with Ash, he instead told his trainer to use the newest move he had learned.
"Huh?" Ash's eyes widened as he understood Lucario. "Ah, I gotcha! Aura Sphere!"
"Lu...CA!" Lucario puts his hands together, creating a blue ball of energy in between them. Lucario then fired the ball at Copperajah at speeds so quick that the Copperderm Pokemon couldn't react in time.
"RA-" An explosion of blue energy engulfed Copperajah's entire body as even a big Pokemon such as Copperajah was sent flying.
As the Copperderm Pokemon tumbled on the ground, that one single Aura Sphere was all it took as Copperajah had fainted.
"Okay...Sceptile! Dragon Breath!"
"Ampharos! Use Thunder!"
"Ampha...!" Ampharos suddenly opened his mouth up.
"Scep...!" It wasn't just Lucario who learned a new move. Sceptile and Ampharos no longer had Dragon Breath at their disposal. They had something much better.
Dragon Pulse.
A Dragon-shaped shockwave came out of both their mouths as they combined into an even larger Dragon Pulse. Rose's Pokemon looked in shock and awe as they saw a giant Dragon come directly at them.
"It will be fine! They're Steel-Types so there's no chance that-" Rose spoke too soon.
Once the Dragon Pulse got close enough, it crashed into all of his remaining Steel-Types. An explosion of draconic energy occurred as Rose's Pokemon were sent flying like ragdolls. They hadn't fainted but that did some heavy damage.
"What?!"
"Cool..! We can do just as good! Salamence! Hyper Beam!" Spike pointed up.
"Darkrai! Dark Pulse!" Luna groaned.
"Sala...mence!" Salamence and Darkrai finished off the remaining Pokemon by sending a Hyper Beam and Dark Pulse their way.
Even if none of these moves, other than Aura Sphere, were super-effective, their combined might was just enough to make all of Rose's Pokemon faint.
"Yes! Way to go guys!" Ash ran over to his Lucario. "Awesome job, Lucario!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Cario!" Lucario and Ash gave each other a fist bump.
"Ampharos! That was wonderful!" Rarity hugged her Ampharos, feeling proud of him.
"Pharos!" Ampharos shocked Rarity out of love.
"Great job, partner!" Applejack went up to her newly evolved partner.
"Scep." Sceptiple crossed his arms, feeling proud of himself as he nodded. It was an unexpected victory against Chairman Rose, one that pleased the eyes of Twilight who had a wide grin on her face.
As for Cinderace, the tides turned as well. "Alright, Cinderace! Pyro Ball!" Goh commanded.
"Cinder! Cinderace repeatedly kicked a rock, igniting it into a flaming soccer ball. "ACE!" It then kicked the fireball, launching it at the two Pokemon.
"That won't do that much to these two!" Oleana exclaimed. But just like Chairman Rose, she spoke too soon.
Whenever a Pokemon evolves, they undergo a 5 minutes power boost that makes them 10x stronger than usual, allowing them to do unnatural damage in just a few minutes. After that, it's back to normal.
And thankfully, Cinderace had all the time it needed as that one single Pyro Ball, once it exploded upon contact, knocked both Salazzle and Milotic out with just one hit.
"Huh?!" Oleana stepped back.
"Yes! You did it, Cinderce!" Goh ran over to his partner.
"Cinder!" The Striker Pokemon did a handstand as it, high-fived Goh, with its feet. After that, it went over to hug its trainer.
"Alright! Time to get that sword and shield there pronto!"
"Ace!"
Passion's face-off with Eternatus was one that had a lot of tension behind it. Eternatus had actually become motionless after sensing Passion's presence.
Intimidated by Passion, Eternatus decided to attack by using Flamethrower. The Gigantic Pokemon breathed intense fire from its mouth, aiming at scorching Passion into nothing.
"Passion, look out!" Celestia stood up.
"Garde." But Passion wasn't bothered at all. Instead, she did the unexpected. The Emotion Pokemon held her arm out, looking directly at the incoming blast of fire.
With an unbelievable jump in power, Passion created a mini-black hole out of thin air, surprising Leon, Hollow and Celestia at the same time.
The Flamethrower had been absorbed by the black hole as it was now floating in an endless void of nothingness thanks to Passion.
"Did she just summon a black hole?!" Hollow screeched.
"Amazing...Alright, Passion! Let's see what else you can do now! Use Thunderbolt!"
"Gardevoir." Passion turned around as she suddenly communicated with Celestia by using telepathy. Before she could only use it for a few seconds.
But now as a fully evolved Pokemon, she could communicate much longer. Passion said these exact words to Celestia. "Let me use Dazzling Gleam, please."
"Dazzling Gleam...Alright. Use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Gar!" By putting her arms out, Passion created a small ball of rainbows in her hands, aiming them at Eternatus. Out of the small ball came multicoloured rays that dazzled as they flew towards Eternatus.
Eternatus had been pelted with these rays of rainbows as each time they hit, they seemed to get stronger every second. Even if Eternatus's Poison-Typing made it resist Fairy, Passion's attacks have been elevated to a large degree as the Gigantic Pokemon roared.
"Garde."
"What strength! Amazing work Passion!"
"Gardevoir."
For once Eternatus was looking like it was wearing down as it lowered its body. That one Dazzling Gleam from Passion was just that powerful, even if it was only neutral to the Gigantic Pokemon.
"Now, Leon! Catch it!" Celestia exclaimed.
"Oh, right!" Leon took out an Ultra Ball. "Thanks for wearing it down, Passion! Ultra Ball, go!" With all his strength Leon tossed the Ultra Ball up at the Gigantic Pokemon in hopes of catching and sealing it away.
The Ultra Ball connected as it absorbed Eternatus, placing the Gigantic Pokemon inside as the Ultra Ball fell back down. Everyone, who had just finished up their own battles, arrived at the scene to see that Leon had just used the Ultra Ball on Eternatus.
And now they all wait for the result.
"Stay back!" Leon put his arms out.
They noticed that even though Eternatus was inside the Ultra Ball, it wasn't shaking at all. They held their breaths, hoping that there would be at least one shake.
But that never happened.
Eternatus broke out of the Ultra Ball, sending a destructive pulse of Galar Particles across the city. Charizard got in front of everyone, shielding them from the pulse as he ended up taking the brunt of the Galar Particles.
The capture was a failure. Eternatus had grown too powerful. In fact, it had grown so powerful that it seemed to be taking on a new form.
With Trottingham and Galar fueling its core, Eternatus had finally reached its true form at long last.
Everyone had been blown back by the Galar Particles as they watched a red and purple light expand across Trottingham with Eternatus's body starting to change shape.
The Gigantic Pokemon took the skies, creating a dark purple vortex above its head. The sky was no longer a deep crimson, but just dark purple instead.
"The sky!" Fluttershy gasped.
"You're too late now!" Rose exclaimed. "Eternatus has finally reached its true form!"
Eternatus's appearance was no longer familiar. In this form, Eternatus's shape drastically changed. Its body became incredibly long and serpentine with most of its body forming a massive coil.
Its entire body glowed red in this form, and present at regular intervals across its length are black rings with spikes extending outward. Its back tendrils now curl around its main body. Its energy core rests at the centre of the coil inside a cage of violet spikes.
Eternatus's head takes on the form of a giant hand, with its fingers covered in black armour with spikes extending from the back of each segment. At the tip of each finger is a glowing pink eye. It was larger than even Wailord, the largest Pokemon in existence.
This was Eternamax Eternatus. Eternatus's true form.
After absorbing all of the energy in Equestria and Galar, it was now in a state of power overload. Infinite amounts of energy pour from this Pokémon’s enlarged core, warping the surrounding space-time.
"Is this its final form?!" Luna said.
"Show them your power! Eternatus!" Rose shouted.
"Doesn't matter what size it is. We'll stop it either way!" Ash stepped forward with Pikachu and Lucario.
"Pikachu!"
"Lucario!"
"If this is its final form, then defeating it here will be the end of it all. Ready yourself, Passion!" Celestia and everypony were ready to confront Eternatus for the final time.
"Garde!"
With some of the Pokemon fully evolved and Eternatus at its absolute peak, the final face-off was here as the journey continues!
Eternatus was at its absolute peak with its power overloading. It was now in its Eternamax Form. The form it took during the first Darkest Day many centuries ago.
The final confrontation against Eternatus was here. If they stop Eternatus now, the Darkest Day comes to an end and they can all go home and laugh about this.
Audino had healed all of the Pokemon that were injured here, giving them the extra strength they needed to continue. Meanwhile, Eternatus was in perfect condition and at its full strength. The absolute peak of its power.
"Let's use all we have at full power! Everyone! Go!" Ash commanded all of his Pokemon. From Pikachu to Farfetch'd.
Ash gave off the first command, which prompted everyone else to command their Pokemon as well. It started with some ranged attacks.
From Thunderbolt, Plasma Bolt, Aura Sphere, Hyper Beam, Dragon Pulse, Ice Beam and so on. All of these attacks were thrown at Eternatus, flowing together in perfect unison.
But even with their combined might, once their attacks connected, they just fizzled out all of a sudden. Even Passion's Plasma Bolt faded away despite how powerful it was.
"Nothing?!" Applejack stepped back.
"Then let's try getting up close!" Rainbow Dash flew up. "Braviary! Use Brave Bird!"
"Braviary!" Rainbow-Braviary surrounded itself in a rainbow aura as he charged towards what might be the largest Pokemon in existence.
But even Rainbow-Braviary couldn't get this thing to budge at all. Once he smashed his head into Eternatus, the Gigantic Pokemon didn't even move an inch.
"Viary?!"
"Dragon Claw!" Both Ash and Leon commanded Dragonite and Charizard. The two Flying-Types engulfed their claws with draconic energy. By dashing over at Eternatus, they swung their claws at its face, hoping to budge the Gigantic Pokemon.
But Eternatus still didn't move at all.
Hollow's Scrafty went in for a Zen Headbutt but to no avail. Darkrai tried putting Eternatus to sleep with Dark Void, but even that failed as Eternatus simply stood there with the Dark Void fading away.
"None of our attacks are having any effect?!" Rarity stepped back. "Why?!"
"Just how strong is it now...?" Luna said to herself.
Eternamax Eternatus seemed indestructible as more attacks were thrown at it. Passion teleported up to Eternatus's face, using Plasma Bot from up close. Not even an attack that was hotter than the sun could work on Eternatus now.
And yet, they persisted.
Gengar used Ice Punch whilst Darkrai used Ice Beam with both of them trying to freeze the Gigantic Pokemon, but with no luck.
Everything they tried was futile. From super-effective moves to neutral moves, Eternatus just stood there, floating endlessly as it just let the attacks come to it.
"Is it indestructible or something?!" Hollow exclaimed.
There was a moment of peace between them. Seeing how Eternatus was just floating there, not moving an inch made them all weary.
Was it unresponsive? Taking a nap? Nopony knew why Eternatus was acting like this. Was this just apart of its Eternamax form?
Turns out, Eternatus wasn't actually being unresponsive. Instead, it was both observing its opponents movements and charging up an attack at the same time.
The Gigantic Pokemon finally did something as it had used its signature move.
Eternabeam.
Eternamax Eternatus fires a purple beam of energy from its hand and multiple smaller, similar beams from around its body. These smaller beams scattered across Trottingham, targeting the innocent civilians who were all watching from afar.
The ponies of Trottingham gasped as they saw the Eternabeam race towards them. They held each other, covering their eyes as they expected the worst to happen.
"Darkrai! Grab them!" Luna turned her attention to the citizens, ordering Darkrai to save them instead of focusing on Eternatus.
The Pitch Black Pokemon went into the shadows, making himself move faster that way. He managed to outpace the Eternabeams as he manipulated the shadows, creating dark shadowy hands that grabbed some of the ponies.
The Eternabeams rained down as Darkrai held the ponies with his shadows whilst also trying to avoid the rain of Eternabeams from above.
"Hatterene! Help Darkrai!" Starlight ordered.
"Hatt!" Hatterene nodded in understanding as she went over to save the civilians.
As for the others, Audino put up a Protect by standing in front of everyone, shielding them all from Eternabeam. The purple beams blew upon contact with the barrier as numerous explosions cluttered the field.
"A-Audino...!" Audino managed to hang in there as she took a bit of damage from the aftershock of Eternabeam.
The sheer force of this attack was powerful enough to sweep everyone off their feet as they all either held on to their Pokemon or the ground.
They all screamed as they felt their bodies being blown back by Eternabeam's shockwaves as Audino did her best to keep the beam from breaking through.
"D-Dino...!"
Eternatus knew that Audino's attempts were futile. So to add insult to injury, the Gigantic Pokemon used another Eternabeam whilst the current one was still being blocked by Audino.
"Audi?!" Audino's eyes gasped as she saw the second Eternabeam heading her away. Even Protect wasn't enough to stop a second one since the first one was already proving to be difficult.
As such, the second Eternabeam broke through Audino's Protect, shattering the barrier. "Audino!" The Hearing Pokemon went tumbling as the Eternabeams blew upon contact with the ground, knocking everyone away like ragdolls as they had all now witnessed just how powerful Eternatus was now.
"Ugh!" Ash rolled on the floor as everypony else tumbled. Even if they hadn't been hit by Eternabeam, the shockwave was enough to injure them as they all had scratches on them.
"I-Is everyone okay?!" Celestia got up from the ground as her regalia had been chipped.
"We're fine." Spike held his head as Salamence broke out of some rubble.
"Sala!"
"So strong..." Goh got on one knee. "Now I wish we were just battling the original timeline Eternatus..."
"Cinder..."
"It's almost as if it's an entirely different Pokemon now." Rarity said as her Pheromosa helped her up. Things were getting difficult now.
Even with some newly evolved partners in the form of Lucario, Gardevoir, Cinderace, Sceptile and Ampharos, Eternatus was still proving to be quite the challenge.
Ash noticed that the sword and shield Goh brought along had fallen to the side after all those devastating hits. But he also noticed that they were both glowing red and blue all of a sudden.
"The sword and shield!" Ash got up, running over to them both. "Let's see if they can actually come in handy like you said, Goh." Ash held the sword and shield in his hands.
"But they're all rusted! What can they even do?" Starlight said.
"Let's find out. Over here, Eternatus!" Ash called for Eternatus, grabbing the attention of the gigantic Pokemon.
When Eternatus turned to Ash, it recognized the sword and shield from the first glance. And that sparked up some memories that Eternatus wasn't too fond of.
Eternatus roared in Ash's direction as seeing Ash reminded Eternatus about the two kings who fought alongside Zacian and Zamazenta long ago. It was ready to take out Ash by charging up another Eternabeam.
"Ash! Don't get too close to close to it!" Twilight shouted.
"No need to worry! I can tell that Eternatus doesn't like the look of these two weapons!" Ash grinned. "I don't know how, but I'm gonna beat it with just these two!"
"Ridiculous!" Luna stood up. "You can't defeat something like that with-"
Just as Luna was about to tell Ash why that was physically impossible, the sword and shield were emanating their colours once more. But this would be the final time they glowed since they were reacting to something from far away.
And that something came from the Slumbering Weald and the altar that laid there. Two lights similar to the colour of the sword and shield emerged from the altar for one reason.
They were reacting to something familiar. Someone was fulfilling the legend. That someone, of course, being Ash and his friends.
And because of that, the two Pokemon who fought alongside the two heroes from long ago had finally awoken, returning to the land of the living.
Zacian and Zamazenta.
Two beams of energy shot up from the altar, moving at speeds faster than light itself. These two beams managed to go from the Slumbering Weald to Trottingham in just 2 seconds flat.
The two beams got in the way of Eternabeam, halting the move and saving Ash's life. "Pika?!"
Everyone gawked as the Eternabeam was being held back by these two mysterious lights. Suddenly, the sword and shield left Ash's hands, flowing over to the two lights as they responding to their rightful owners. "Huh?"
The sword and shield entered the energy domes as Zacian and Zamazenta revealed themselves. A flow of beautiful red and blue energy spread across Trottingham, giving it a beautiful view despite its current state. They both held the sword and shield in their mouth's just like what the statues depicted.
And with the sword and shield reacting to Zacian and Zamazenta, their true forms had been revealed, just like Eternatus's true form.
Zacian now had fringes of fur on its back become wing-like armour as its braids grow to resemble ribbons. Additionally, its head is covered by a golden helmet, and it carries a golden sword decorated to resemble Zacian's colours.
Zamazenta had a set of golden armour covering the front of its body like a shield that resembled its colours; while the side portion covered its forelimbs. Its ponytail also grows to cover most of its backside.
These were their Crowned Forms. Their true forms.
"Would ya look at that..."Ash gawked along with everypony else. "The heroes of legend!"
Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex to see what these two Pokemon had on them. Before, there was no data on Zacian and Zamazenta back in the Slumbering Weald.
But now that their true forms had been revealed, the Pokedex had something on them finally.
"Zacian. The Warrior Pokemon. Now armed with a weapon it used in ancient times, this Pokémon needs only a single strike to fell even Gigantamax Pokémon. Able to cut down anything with a single strike, it became known as the Fairy King’s Sword, and it inspired awe in friend and foe alike."
"Zamazenta. The Warrior Pokemon. Its ability to deflect any attack led to it being known as the Fighting Master’s Shield. It was feared and respected by all. Now that it’s equipped with its shield, it can shrug off impressive blows, including the attacks of Dynamax Pokémon."
"Wait...So the heroes of legend who wielded the sword and shield... were the Pokemon themselves?!" Twilight screeched.
"Alright!" Ash grinned. "Let's do this! Let's finish this Darkest Day and stop Eternatus!"
"Pikachu!"
"Right you are on that, Ash." Leon stood beside Ash along with everypony else. "Let's finish this in one attack! Charizard! Dragon Claw!"
And so it had begun. An intense struggle between Eternatus and everyone. Pikachu hopped on Dragonite's back whilst Eve hopped on Charizard's.
Eternatus fired Eternabeams from above, raining down destruction in hopes of hitting its targets. Dragonite and Charizard evaded the Eternabeams as they were closing in on the Gigantic Pokemon.
Zacian and Zamazenta were about to use their signature moves. Behemoth Blade and Behemoth Bash. Zacian's sword glows blue and grows in size whilst Zamazenta's extended its shield on its chest as it glowed red.
Dragonite and Charizard both smacked Eternatus in the face with super-effective Dragon Claws whilst Pikachu and Eve hopped off, using Iron Tail and Psybeam to continue the damage chain.
Eternatus was about to blast them all away with Hyper Beam, but Salamence came to the rescue, blasting his own Hyper Beam point-blank.
Eternatus had been interrupted thanks to Salamence as Zacian and Zamazenta had their turn. Zacian slashed Eternatus once with its enlarged sword as 5 hits happened in one single slash.
Zamazenta launched itself, ramming its hard shield onto Eternatus's body, causing the Gigantic Pokemon to move back a bit as it roared.
Sceptile and Ampharos both combined their Dragon Pulses as Eternatus was now being overwhelmed by attacks, not getting the chance to counteract.
They all kept the pressure on as Eternatus was being bombarded with Ice Beams, Dragon Pulses and more. With all this damage alongside Zacian and Zamazenta's strength, Eternatus was finally weakening.
"It's working!" Ash exclaimed.
"Then let's finish it! Passion!" Plasma Bolt!"
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt! Lucario! Aura Sphere!"
"Cinderace! Pyro Ball!"
With their unified might, the four attacks smashed into Eternatus, flinching the Gigantic Pokemon as Darkrai was above Eterantus, using Ice Beam to distract the Dragon-Poison-Type.
Eternatus wanted to attack Darkrai, but its attention had been averted by Braviary carrying Scrafty. Braviary tossed Scrafty towards the Gigantic Pokemon as it had used Zen Headbutt, making direct contact with Eternatus by smashing its head with the Dragon-Poison-Type.
Eternatus had finally come out of the sky as its enormous body was now on a lower level instead of high into the air. This made it easier for Pokemon who couldn't fly to get more hits in.
Which they did. Pheromosa ran up to Eternatus's face, giving it a Triple Kick before running off. Eternatus roared, shooting out a Flamethrower from its mouth, spraying the fire across the ground, preventing anyone from getting close.
But that didn't matter to some Pokemon. Charizard flew threw the flames, using Dragon Claw on Eternatus's eye. Once Charizard hit the eye, Leon noticed how affected Eternatus was by that as it let out the loudest roar yet.
"Ah! It's the eye! Aim for the eye!" Leon exclaimed, giving out Eternatus's weak spot
"Then in that case...everypony aim for the eye!" Celestia ordered.
"Pika!" Pikachu and everyone did exactly that. All of the Pokemon here either rushed over towards Eternatus or stood afar, attacking from a distance as Zacian and Zamazenta passed by them with superior speed.
All at once, they all used their strongest moves to only focus on its eye and nothing else. Eternatus didn't have time to think of a way to fend all of them off. They were all gathered around it and were already too close to it.
As such, all of their attacks struck Eternatus's eye at the same time. This was all they had. All of their current strength poured into these final attacks. They had all essentially gone past their natural limitations for this one moment.
And it all paid off.
The result of all attacks hitting Eternatus's eye sent out streams of various colours that flowed into the sky. Whether they came from Zacian and Zamazenta or a combination of moves, it was beautiful nonetheless.
A red and blue explosion could be seen from afar as the ponies of Trottingham closed their eyes the entire city had been engulfed by this strange energy.
The energy had faded away as smoke covered the city with all the Pokemon being launched back at their trainers after the explosion knocked them away.
Eternatus had finally reached its limit. Hitting its eye was the ticket as its large hand crashed on to the ground, causing a mini-earthquake.
"Now might be the right time...!" Leon dug into his pocket, getting out an Ultra Ball. Once he got it out, the Ultra Ball reacted to Eternatus's energy, growing in size. "Ultra Ball, GO!"
Hoping that this was the final time they had to battle Eternatus, Leon put all of his strength into this one single throw as the giant Ultra Ball absorbed Eternatus inside.
And now. They had to pray and wait for the outcome. Before, the Ultra Ball didn't shake, but now, much to their pleasure, it was actually shaking as they all held their breath and anticipation.
1...
2...
3...
Gotcha! Eternatus had been caught as the Ultra Ball returned to its normal size.
"Yes!" Leon grinned as he picked up the Ultra Ball. "I got Eternatus!"
"Finally!" Rainbow Dash fell on her back, feeling exhausted. "That felt like forever!"
It was finally over. With Eternatus captured, the dark vortex in the sky had faded away, restoring it to its natural colours as the sun was starting to set.
Everyone was exhausted. They wanted to celebrate but they were too tired to move around so they all either sat down or laid on their backs.
"I thought that would never end." Starlight chuckled.
Zacian and Zamazenta had done their job. They reverted to their previous forms as the sword and shield were dropped. By surrounding themselves in red and blue energy, the two Warrior Pokemon flew off, returning to the Slumbering Weald.
"Ah! Zacian! Zamazenta! Wait!" Twilight called for them, but they were already long gone.
The defeat of Eternatus meant that Dynamax Pokemon across Equestria and Galar were returning to their normal sizes as Eternatus was no longer affecting them.
The Darkest Day had officially come to an end. The black clouds were gone. Just like in the legend. Ash went over to the sword and shield, picking them both up as they were back to their rusted states.
"Thanks, Zacian. Zamazenta." Ash said whilst looking at the sword and shield.
"Wait. If we saved both Galar and Equestria like in the legend, does this mean we're..." Spike pointed at himself.
"Legendary heroes? That's right." Leon nodded.
"Sounds good to me!" Spike grinned.
"Things got a bit aggressive back there, didn't they Passion?" Celestia giggled.
"Gardevoir!" Passion nodded as she hugged Celestia.
"Now we've got some even stronger partners on our side." Applejack took her hat off, placing it on Sceptile's head.
"Scep!"
"Dragonite!" Relieved that it was finally over, Dragonite pulled everypony in for a massive hug, having them all in its clutches.
"Oof! D-Dragonite...!" Twilight's eyes widened as she smacked her hoof on Dragonite's claws. Dragonite released them all, allowing them to breathe. Although, Pinkie PIe stayed for more hugs.
Twilight then noticed that Absol was walking away. Just like before, with the disaster over, he had no reason to be here anymore. But due to how much damage he had taken, his walking speed was relatively slow.
"Sol..." The Disaster Pokemon held his head, trying to ignore his injures.
"Absol, wait!" Twilight teleported next to him.
"Ab?"
"How about we heal you up first before you head back into the mountains. You've been hurt pretty badly after all." Twilight smiled.
"Absol." Absol expected something like this to happen. Twilight constantly coming towards him and offering to help with every opportunity she had.
However, this time, instead of being reluctant, Absol grew to admire Twilight's care for him. Whenever he gets hurt, Twilight is always there, thinking about his health instead of everything else.
She did this during the first Dynamax crisis and even for this one. Because of this, Absol was no longer reluctant being next to Twilight.
If she would help him get back to full health all the time, then Absol is grateful to her.
More grateful than Twilight expect.
"Absol." The Disaster Pokemon went up to Twilight, taking a Poke Ball out of her saddlebag.
"Hm?" Twilight saw Absol grab the Poke Ball from her bag, holding it in his mouth as he dropped it on the ground afterwards. "Absol?"
"Sol." Absol put his paw on the Poke Ball, rolling it to Twilight.
Twilight didn't need Fluttershy to understand what Absol was trying to tell her. By looking at the Poke Ball and Absol's eyes, Twilight knew what this meant.
"Absol...Do you...want to come with me?"
"Absol." The Disaster Pokemon nodded. Twilight had won him over after all.
A wide grin graced Twilight's face as she felt like she was about to explode but she calmed herself down. Twilight used her magic to raise the Poke Ball, tossing it to Absol. "Alright then!"
The Poke Ball absorbed Absol with its red light as Twilight waited for the triple shakes. However, there was no triple shaking. Once Absol was pulled in, it was a critical capture.
Absol had been caught the moment he was sent inside of the Poke Ball, making it seem like this capture was destined to happen.
Twilight smiled, picking up the Poke Ball as she released Absol from it. She now had a new partner who could be by her side at all times.
"Absol."
"Espeon!" Eve was happy to have a fourth teammate and new friend. Albeit one who is somewhat intimidating as she ran around Absol, welcoming him to the team.
"What do we do now?" Goh wondered.
"Guys!" Sonia's voice reached their ears as she ran over. This entire time, she had taken shelter since the battle between Eternatus was just too chaotic for someone to stand out in the open, especially if they're not battling.
"Sonia...?" Leon recognized his old friend.
"You did it! I thought that would never end!" Sonia sighed. "Where's Eternatus?"
"In here." Leon showed her the Ultra Ball. "It won't be causing any more Dynamax issues for a long time. But where to put it...?"
"Leave that to me! Grandma will handle that!" Sonia pointed at herself, knowing the one place that they can seal Eternatus in.
The next day.
Professor Magnolia's lab, Wedgehurst.
"That must've been quite tough." Magnolia drank some tea. "And Chairman Rose's whereabouts are still unknown?"
"Yes. Though Leon's helping search for him."
"Hm. Although Eternatus remains asleep, contained beneath the earth, the possibility remains that it may awaken. We need to look into countermeasures should that ever happen again. I'll be counting on you for that...Professor Sonia."
"Of course!" Sonia smiled as she was wearing the traditional Pokemon Professor lab coat. "I'll do my best to live up to this professor's coat you gave me!"
The Ultra ball containing Eternatus was hidden beneath the earth itself with a metal safe containing it. Not even Ground-Types would be able to reach it. But even if they did, they knew that it meant bad news if it was being locked up like that.
As for the sword and shield, they had been returned to the altar where they originally belong as Ash placed them both down. "Thanks again, Zacian. Zamazenta. Let's battle someday!"
"Pikachu!"
"Luca!"
"And I hope to catch one of them someday!" Goh exclaimed.
"Cinder!"
"I'm glad that's over with." Luna yawned. " I require some rest now...Darkrai carry me."
"Guess you won't have the chance to ride on my back anymore, Passion."
"Garde." Passion was actually upset about that one. The one thing she'll miss from being a Kirlia.
"You're gonna love Ponyville Absol. But uh...maybe not in the state its currently in." Twilight laughed nervously.
"Sol."
"But at least the Pokemon House is still intact. We can have every Pokemon there chime in and have Ponyville repaired in at least 1 week!" Fluttershy said.
"4 days if Big Mac's Machamp doesn't act lazy again." Applejack chuckled, prompting everypony else to laugh as they left the Slumbering Weald, heading back home for some rest.
With this grand case revolving around Galar's legends behind them, Ash, Twilight and everyone have all grown once more, advancing as trainers.
And with Absol joining Twilight, they essentially have their own personal danger detector and possibly their most resilient and stubborn friend so far.
The door to another adventure surely awaits them all as the journey continues!
Currently, Ponyville is not in the best condition right now.
Ever since the Darkest Day happened and Eternatus caused chaos across Equestria, many locations had unfortunately been demolished. The one area that had been ruined the most was without a doubt Trottingham since Eternatus stayed there the most.
But Ponyville was one of them. Whilst its destruction pales in comparison to Trottingham's, it was still in a horrible state with so many buildings and structures obliterated due to Stoutland rampaging.
As such, everypony got together to try and repair what was destroyed. And with the help of Pokemon, something that would normally take months can be done in a few weeks or less, depending on the Pokemon.
Many jobs were put to a halt to repair Ponyville as all the focus was on the buildings and nothing else. So far, they've managed to repair and redecorate most of the houses since they were fairly easy to manage.
Over at Twilight's castle, which was slightly damaged during the Darkest Day, she was currently showing her newly caught partner Absol around.
"Well, what do you think Absol?" Twilight said to him. "Much different from living in the mountains, right?"
"Sol." Absol looked around the interior of Twilight's castle. It was definitely a change of scenery for him.
His entire life, all he's seen are mountains, lakes, forests, grasslands and anything that exists on the outside. He's never been inside of a building before. Let alone an entire castle.
It was certainly something he would need to get used to. He's been living in the mountains for so long after all and only comes out of it when a disaster occurs.
This would be his new home. And even if it was brand new territory, there was something familiar and welcoming about it that Absol felt.
As the tour of the castle continued, Absol was introduced to Nyx, Cocoa and Rosestar in a separate room. After learning about how Twilight and her friends had saved Equestria, further respect for Twilight had been gained.
The trio noticed Twilight's new partner by her side. Absol. To Cocoa and Rosestar, Absol was a pleasant Pokemon to look at, albeit intimidating.
But to Nyx, the moment she set her eyes on the Disaster Pokemon, she was captivated immediately. "Oh!" The alicorn dashed over to Absolm getting up and close in his face.
"S-Sol?!" Absol jerked back as his personal space was being invaded.
"Who is this?!" Nyx liked the look of Absol. There was something about him that just resonated with her but she couldn't quite figure it out. But she loved the look of it either way.
"You remember how I mentioned about a Pokemon who could sense disasters? Here he is." Twilight introduced Absol to them all.
"So this is Absol? Wonderful!" Nyx nodded.
"Absol..." Absol winced as he wanted Nyx to move away since her shadow was towering over him. Already, he was a bit uncomfortable around her, and Twilight could see that.
"Absol needs a bit of time to get adjusted to all of this extra company." Twilight got in between Nyx and Absol. "He's been living alone in the mountains after all."
"Oh. My apologies." Nyx backed away.
"So!" Cocoa appeared next to Twilight. "If this guy over here can sense disasters, then does that mean we won't get surprised by any future threats."
"Most likely. With Absol's ability to sense potential future disasters, we'll be able to prepare ourselves for whatever threat comes our way or even prevent it before it even happens."
"That seems like a nice alternative to precognition." Rosestar nodded.
"Anyway. I need to help out with repairs. You can explore as much as you want, Absol! See ya!" Twilight teleported out of the castle, leaving Absol to venture in here himself.
Outside, repairs were going smoothly for Ponyville. Someponies were thinking about giving their homes new looks. But others wanted to keep it identical to their old homes without changing that much.
SugarCube corner was one that was having a slight makeover. All of Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff's were pitching in to rebuild it with some brand new additions.
"You sure you don't want to keep the same as it was before?" Jade asked.
"Of course, you silly filly!" Pinkie rubbed Jade's head. "You'll have your own room now thanks to all this redecorating! Even though...you can't sleep."
"What about your party cave? Did it get destroyed in the rampage?"
"Nope! I checked. It's still in one piece!" Pinkie squeed.
"Some luck." Jade nodded. "Guess there's always something that manages to survive during dangerous events such as the Darkest Day."
"But ya know, Jade...With all these threats popping up, from Ghetsis to Eternatus and who knows what else is waiting for us, I'm...feeling kinda..."
"What is it, Pinkie?" Jade turned to her.
"Well, you know..." Pinkie twiddled her hooves. "I don't know if you've noticed but...I'm kind of like the milk and water of my friends recently."
"Milk and Water?" Jade raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. The toast sandwich. The wobbly one. The-"
"You mean the weakest one?"
"That's it!" Pinkie nodded.
"Pinkie Why would you think that?"
"When that whole Darkest Day thing happened, everypony battled against Eternatus with all they had. Some of them even evolved! Everypony did a lot of work...except for me." Pinkie lowered her head.
"But Leon said you were all Legendary heroes now. So you must've done something to help out."
"I helped out, but not that much. My Slurpuff's and Spinda's aren't really fit for battle ya know. They're just lovable little goofballs with silly faces!" Pinkie hugged her Spinda.
"Spin! Spinda!"
"Well, you sound like you're fine with that. So what's the problem?"
"The problem is that I don't have a Pokemon fit for battling! I'm a total pushover! Even Fluttershy's Audino can do some big with Hyper Beam and Mega Evolution!"
"Oh, I see what you mean. So you want a Pokemon that can battle, right?"
"Bingo!" Pinkie nodded her head aggressively. "If I can get just one Pokemon that's a real rabble-rouser, then I won't have to work less during a major battle!"
"Hm. I guess that's something you might need." Jade thought for a moment. "But what Pokemon do you need, actually?"
"Not a clue." Pinkie Pie squeed. "But we've got the Pokemon House so let's get to searching for my powerhouse!"
"Right now?"
"Right now!" Pinkie grabbed Jade as she dragged her along. Pinkie's need for a Pokemon that can be her muscle was potent. After the whole event with Eternatus and how everypony except her managed to put in a lot of work, she didn't want to lag behind her friends at all.
Like most Pokemon Trainers, Pinkie wants to improve herself to protect her friends and family from whatever future threats might come their way.
Even her family over at the Rock Farm have their own powerhouse that can defend them in the form of Limestone Pie's Tyranitar.
Spinda and Slurpuff were helpful but they're more skilled in everyday activities rather than the thrill of the battle. They can still battle for sure, it's just that they tend to come up short compared to everyone else who can push past their natural limitations at times.
Even Spinda's Metronome wasn't always something Pinkie Pie could rely on. Metronome is a wildcard. It's unclear whether she'll get the right move at the right situation, thus it's a last resort move.
The Pokemon House.
"Glad you were thinking about, Pinkie Pie. There's a lot of Pokemon to choose from. Along with some newcomers." Fluttershy said. "So feel free to choose whichever one you want."
"Will do, can do! And Jade! You might find a Pokemon for you too! Let's get searching!" Pinkie dashed around the Pokemon House whilst Jade simply trotted.
Any Pokemon here has the potential to be a powerhouse in their own right. Some are obviously better than others and have higher potentials but for the most part, they can all perform the impossible.
And that one Pokemon with hidden potential is just what Pinkie Pie was searching for. If she gets it, that is.
Sweet Apple Acres.
Just like the Pokemon House, Sweet Apple Acres hadn't been touched by the Dynamax rampage at all. It was in tip-top condition with no signs of destruction whatsoever.
Definitely one of the luckier places to be untouched by the Darkest Day.
Inside, Applejack had given Sceptile his own hat that looked a lot like hers. After evolving into a Sceptile during the Darkest Day, Applejack felt like she was seeing her own child grow up.
Because of that one moment, Applejack's hidden motherly instincts kicked in as it seemed to give her the idea of gifting Sceptile his own hat.
Which worked well on the Forest Pokemon. A perfect fit.
"Looking good, Sceptile!" Applejack said.
"Scep!"
"Now that you're at your best, what say we keep on getting better, huh?" Applejack nudged Sceptile.
"Tile!"
"You too Apple Bloom. I know you ain't got any big goals like Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, but you're still on that type catching thing?"
"Mhm!" Apple Bloom nodded. "But I was actually thinking of trying other Pokemon Types. But I'm still going with Grass."
"And you, Cold?" AJ turned to Cold Colt.
"Who me? Well, I wanna try something with my Cubchoo one day but other than that, I've got nothing major planned." Cold bit into an apple.
"What about you, Big Mac? Got anything planned with Pokemon involved?" Applejack asked.
"Nope." Big Mac shook his head.
"Nothing, huh? I guess not everypony wants to involve themselves with Pokemon a lot." Apple Bloom sat down. "Other than battling, though."
"Come to think of it..." Applejack realized something. "Big Mac. How come your Machamp has never battled before?"
"Hm?" Big Mac's ears shot up after hearing that.
"If we're being honest, you've kinda got the strongest Pokemon in Ponyville and it's never battled once." Applejack narrowed her eyes.
"Oh yeah. Machamp only helps out on the farm and that's it." Apple Bloom held an Applin in her hooves. "I thought it'd just battle all the time."
"If it did, then a lot of our problems would've been solved easy peasy." Cold grabbed another apple, planning to take a bite once more. However, he ended up grabbing an Applin as the Apple Core Pokemon breathed a small Dragon Rage in his face.
"Ain't it obvious?" Granny Smith suddenly spoke, sitting next to her Drampa. "That Machamp's a big ol' softy. Ain't got the backbone of an average Fighting-Type, that's for sure."
"Yeah. Big Mac's Machamp is kinda gentle for having so many muscles and being so strong," said Apple Bloom. "
"Course he is." Big Mac suddenly replied. "Machamp's all scared that he'll destroy Ponyville if he battles."
Big Mac gave them all a clear and understanding answer as they all collectively nodded. What Big Macintosh said was true. If Machamp took part in any battle, there is a very high possibility that he'll end up destroying the entire town in mere seconds. Possibly even faster than a Dynamax Pokemon.
"Yeah. It'd be pretty useful if he did battle though." Applejack nodded.
"Champ." Machamp came in the room, holding a large box as he overheard everypony speak about this. "Machamp...?" He used one of his arms to point at himself as he thought they all saw him as a pathetic excuse for a Fighting-Type despite his tough exterior.
Applejack screeched as she saw that Machamp had been affected by their words, showing how easily a Pokemon such as himself can be affected with just a few words.
"Ah! Machamp!" Applejack dashed over. "I-I ain't saying you're weak! Don't get all beat up!" She chuckled nervously, patting Machamp on the back.
Macham may be a forbearing Pokemon compared to every other Machamp out there in both worlds, but deep within, like most Pokemon, when it comes to the safety of the ones it loves, there will come a time when Machamp will step up to the plate.
Twilight's Castle.
Absol's solo tour of the castle had led him to what could be considered the most comfortable room in the castle. Twilight's Room.
There, he witnessed how Twilight had a large assortment of books containing various information and lore about the Pokemon World.
Absol has seen very few things in his life. The only things his eyes have graced are Pokemon of all different shapes and sizes, humans, locations and more recently, ponies.
He felt like a fish out of water due to how new and untrodden this place was. Although, it still had an accustomed feeling to it that eased Absol.
The first thing the Disaster Pokemon decided to do was lay down on Twilight's bed. Of all things. By inviting himself on to the empty bed, Absol's first time knowing what a bed feels like had been revealed to him.
The mattress underneath was delicate and smooth, having zero bumps or clamorous parts that stick out. Twilight always made sure that her bed was neat at all times.
The bedsheet and blanket were just as pleasant as the mattress as it was enough to cover Absol's entire body. Absol decided that this was a good place to take a nap.
For years, Absol's only bed were leaves on the hard ground of the mountains. No matter how many leaves he would cover himself in, the wind would just blow them away, sending chills down Absol's spine.
The only time Absol gets the opportunity to sleep on something soft is when it snows. But even that turns out horrible since Absol can't stand the cold and the wind just gets colder because of the season.
But a bed was a game-changer. It was soft at all times, had something that could cover the entire body without being randomly blown away and Absol didn't have to worry about the cold since the sheet and blanket were enough.
As such, Absol took a nap here, feeling at peace as he dozed off, tossing and turning his body as he crumpled up the bedsheets, making some of it slide off the mattress ever so slightly.
Eve entered the room, feeling tired herself. She couldn't wait to lay down and rest her head. Until she spotted something that normally wasn't that big of a deal, but to Eve, it was a big deal.
She saw Absol sleeping on the bed, all cosy and peaceful. But that didn't matter to Eve. What did matter was the state of the bed.
Thanks to Absol's movements, Twilight's always flat, polished and tidy bed had been slightly ruined. All it took was the sheet being moved to the side along with some wrinkles.
"Espeon...!" The Sun Pokemon growled. "Esp!" She ran up to the bed, jumping onto it and landing near Absol. "Esp! Espeon!" She shouted in his ear.
"Sol?" Absol opened one eye, turning to her.
"Espeon!" She told him that he had ruined Twilight's perfectly neat and tidy bed by crumpling it, giving him an earful.
"Absol," Absol told her that it wasn't that big of a deal. But he also told her that she actually ended up crumpling the bed herself by jumping onto it.
"Esp?" Eve looked down to see that indeed, she had played a part in ruining the bed. Her rule of keeping things tidy, much like Twilight's Cinccino, had been broken by her. "Espeon?!" She gasped, hopping off the bed.
"Absol-sol." Absol chuckled before going back to sleep.
"Esp!" Eve puffed her cheeks as she left the room, leaving Absol to his own devices. From this day on, she would have to live with him from day to night.
Back at the Pokemon House, Pinkie Pie's search for a Pokemon she believes will be her muscle was still ongoing. The selection of Pokemon, despite how varied they may be, wasn't enough to capture Pinkie Pie's attention.
"Hm..." Pinkie picked up a Helioptile, looking it in the eyes.
"Heli!"
"Electric-Types are fast..." Pinkie nodded. "But I don't know..."
"Still having trouble choosing?" Jade flew over.
"Yeah. I like all of these Pokemon. Some of these are so cute!" Pinkie hugged Helioptile.
"Tile! Helio!"
"But something's making me all picky." Pinkie slumped. "I'm sure any of these little guys and gals can be super strong but...I don't know."
"I never knew you'd be the kind of pony to have trouble deciding," Jade said as a Starly landed on her head.
"Even party pony's get stumped. I've definitely had a lot of problems deciding on stuff before." Pinkie placed Helioptile down.
"Helio."
"Stuff..." Pinkie said to herself, nodding slowly. "Stuff..." Her brain then started to kick up with a revelation. The word Stuff was reminding her or something very familiar. Something that could be the answer to her problem. "Stuff...!"
"You okay Pinkie Pie?" Jade went over to Pinkie, placing her hoof on her back.
"Stufful!" Pinkie exclaimed, making Jade pull back as she was startled. "That's who I need!"
"What about Stufful?" Jade raised an eyebrow.
"Where's my Pokedex?" She dug into her saddlebag, searching for her Pokedex. "Here it is!" She took it out as she moved her hooves in a hurry.
Pinkie Pie went through the list of Pokemon that her Pokedex has recorded so far, searching for Stufful's dex entry. She went all the way down to the bottom until she found it.
"Here it is! Dexter. Can you tell me which part of Stufful is the part where it's super strong?" Pinkie requested the Pokedex to read a specific part of Stufful's dex entry.
"Stufful hates to be hugged or touched in any way. It will squirm, thrash, and resist with amazing power." The Pokedex read out a specific part.
"Yes! That's who I need!" Pinkie Pie squeed.
"Stufful? That little thing's super strong?" Jade pointed at the Pokedex.
"Very!" Pinkie Pie nodded. "We met during one of Brawly's classes. And boy did it love my cupcakes. If I can win it over with more cupcakes, I can make Stufful my own Pokemon!"
"Oh. Wait, doesn't it belong to Brawly though?"
"Maybe. I don't really know. But next time I head to the Pokemon School for Brawly's class, I'll ask him!"
"So I take you're satisfied now?"
"Mhm!" Pinkie bounced. "100%! What about you, Jade? Did you find a Pokemon that you like?"
"Not really." Jade shook her head. "Maybe I'm just not fit to have a Pokemon."
"Don't say that. I'm sure one day you'll find a Pokemon that totally speaks to you. Right now, let's hang out at the party cave. I've still got some of that Hearth's Warming Cake left!" Pinkie hopped away.
"Is it still safe to eat something that old?" Jade followed her.
"With the Slurpuff's, totally!" Pinkie giggled as she and her emotionless friend left the Pokemon House.
Repairs were steady yet effective. Ponyville was slowly returning to its natural form with some slight changes here and there. With their Pokemon by their side, they'll have their town back in no time.
Some well-deserved rest for them all. The Pokemon World may be harsh on their world due to how different Pokemon are from anything they've ever experienced, but gradually, they're starting to become in sync with it as the journey continues.
A powerful form of Pokemon evolution that is part of Kalos Region lore.
Some wonder if Mega Evolution might be a kind of test between trainers and Pokemon. There are still to this day, so many questions to be answered.
Is Mega Evolution something that occurs with all Pokemon? Will there ever come a time where all Pokemon are capable of Mega Evolving?
The mystery of these Mega-evolved Pokemon, who unleash dormant powers and change their shapes, which allows them to break their limits and reach new levels of strength and magnificence.
Mega Evolution. One of the many phenomenons that the Pokemon World gifts. But perhaps, there are other phenomenons out there, waiting to be discovered.
Canterlot, Day.
"Gardevoir." Passion was currently looking at the two Mega Stones that allows her to Mega Evolve.
The Gardevoirite.
Ever since she had reached her final evolution, this meant that Passion will now have full access to Mega Gardevoir. What most would consider, the peak of a Gardevoir's strength.
Celestia and Passion already have a powerful bond, so they're already well-equipped to handle the sheer power of Mega Evolution.
"So." Celestia held the Mega Stones up with her magic. "I suppose soon we'll have to test out Mega Evolution for ourselves, wouldn't you say?"
"Garde." Passion nodded.
Celestia placed the two Mega Stones in brand new forms of accessories. Celestia had placed the Gardevoirite in a necklace that could fit Passion and she placed the keystone inside of a hoof ring that goes on her arm.
They meshed well together. They both had that same golden appearance that really compliments the Gardevoirite's colours.
Passion placed the necklace on her neck whilst Celestia put on the hoof ring. The way the sun shined on their accessories gave it a dazzling shine that was close to that of the sun itself.
Now to simply put Mega Evolution to the test. And there was one place where she could get some further information about this amazing Pokemon Phenomenon.
The Pokemon School.
Currently, it was a Wednesday. Everypony there was already in class, learning what they needed to know and do in the future thanks to their stunning Gym Leader Teachers.
Today, they weren't expecting the arrival of Princess Celestia or even the Mega Evolution that was about to occur today in the middle of their classes.
The Sun Princess teleported in front of the door that led to a class being taught by someone who knows quite a lot about Mega Evolution.
Olympia.
Olympia was currently in the midst of teaching Twilight about her potential growth as a Psychic-Type trainer and her Espeon.
Through her own psychic senses, Olympia could sense the presence of another psychic type just behind that door. "You may come in if you wish," Olympia spoke.
"Hm?" Twilight turned her head to the door. "Is somepony there?"
"Sorry if I'm interrupting." Celestia opened up the door, entering inside with Passion and Arcanine.
"Princess Celestia?" Twilight stood up. "Are you here to see my lessons?!" She squeed.
"Actually, Twilight. I'm here for some further knowledge about Mega Evolution. And I heard that Olympia knows more about Mega Evolution than every teacher here."
"That is true." Olympia nodded. "I may not have a Pokemon that is capable of Mega Evolving, but my friend Diantha has given me the necessary knowledge I need if I ever do catch one that can Mega Evolve."
"Then, in that case, I was wondering, can you teach me about Mega Evolution?"
"I can do just that. And I can see that you have the perfect Pokemon for me to teach." Olympia looked over at Gardevoir.
"Oh yeah. Gardevoir is part Psychic." Twilight said.
"Not just that." Olympia walked up to Gardevoir. "My friend Diantha also owns a Gardevoir of her own. One that can Mega Evolve as well. Seeing this Gardevoir reminds me of hers."
"Voir?"
"But there is one important thing to know before you Mega Evolve. Certain Mega Evolutions have a risk that comes with them. Not everything is instantly safe."
"How so?" Celestia asked.
"This does not apply to every single Pokemon, but whenever a Pokemon Mega Evolves, their first experience with all of that power can lead to a prospect of harm."
"Harm? But Fluttershy and Audino used Mega Evolution for the first time and nothing bad happened to them." Twilight said.
"Mega Audino has no drawback to its Mega form. Neither does Mega Gardevoir." Olympia shook her head.
"If Passion has no drawback as a Mega Gardevoir, why tell me this?" Celestia wondered.
"The drawback of your Gardevoir isn't just linked to only Mega Evolution. But something greater than that."
"Something greater?" Celestia's attention was really grabbed by that.
"I had a discussion with Cynthia a while ago that involved Passion actually. Both of us were able to see something special inside of her."
Olympia began reminiscing of the time she and Cynthia talked specifically about Passion in Cynthia's principal room.
"Princess Celestia's Kirlia? What about it?" Olympia said to Cynthia.
"I thought you would've sensed it by now, Olympia. I'm already aware that Princess Celestia and essentially everyone in Equestria knows about Passion's amazing power. How she was able to affect both worlds for being such a small little Kirlia."
"I recall that." Olympia nodded. "To think that she could match the strength of a fully-evolved Gardevoir without even being at her final evolution." She put her hand on her chin. "The potential there is outstanding."
"Outstanding is an understatement." Cynthia stood up. "I believe that Passion might have a larger than life destiny waiting for her. One that is solely exclusive to her and her alone."
"Larger than life destiny you say? How so?"
"That, I don't know. After all, I'm not capable of seeing the future like you. But I do know what she is capable of. Much like how Ash's Infernape was destined for something greater. And Ash helped him reach that goal. The same can be said for Passion. But her path might be different than Infernape's."
"Ah. That reminds me a bit of Greninja. Are you implying that Passion might have something similar?"
"Probably. But we'll have to wait and see. If you ever get the chance, I want you to help Passion and Celestia. Psychic is your speciality after all."
"If Cynthia herself says that your Gardevoir has a larger than life destiny, then you can be assured that is indeed factual."
"Incredible..." Celestia gawked. "But what does it have to do with the supposed drawback."
"It's simple. Your Gardevoir is hiding an outstanding amount of latent and dormant power that has yet to be unleashed. Power so great that it can match that of Legendary Pokemon."
"Oooh!" Twilight shot up, listening in on this. "I knew she was strong but not like that!"
"Espeon!"
"Passion almost destroying both of our worlds was the first major sign of her hidden potential. Not many Pokemon can come close to performing feats such as that. Let alone a small and young Kirlia."
"Passion's mother did say that she was a point one percenter now that I think about it." Celestia also began reminiscing what Passion's mother who was also a Gardevoir said to her.
"What is actually occurring is simple. Kirlia here has managed to somehow obtain the capabilities of a Gardevoir. However, since she's still a Kirlia, her body can't handle all that power. The mind is strong but the body is weak. But, that is to be expected from my daughter. She is a point one percenter after all."
"Point one-percenter?" Twilight questioned.
"You see, for every Pokemon, out of the vast amount of species that exist, one of each Pokemon species is a one of a kind. A special Pokemon if you will. They exceed the normal limitations of what they're capable of. Essentially becoming the best of their entire species. Some even gain unique abilities that are rare to come across. I can already sense one other among you all." Gardevoir pointed over at Pikachu.
"Pika?"
"Ash's Pikachu?" Fluttershy turned to him.
"That's correct. Like my daughter here, that Pikachu is much more powerful than the rest of its kind. A rare find."
"Hear that buddy?" Ash scratched Pikachu's chin.
"Pikachu!"
"A point one-percenter. Passion is one of those many examples according to her mother." Celestia looked over to her partner.
"And she indeed fits that description well. However, this is where the drawback manages to show itself." Olympia's tone suddenly became serious.
"Garde?"
"Passion may be a fully-evolved Gardevoir, however, the one major flaw about special Pokemon is that their power discharge has a greater risk than most Pokemon. A risk that can endanger that lives of both trainer and Pokemon."
"Oh! I know what you mean!" Twilight exclaimed. "Like with Rainbow Dash and her Braviary! At the last match of the Canterlot Tournament, Rainbow Dash pushed herself too hard with Braviary when they used the Bond Phenomenon. It ended up causing them both to faint on the spot!"
"I saw it as well." Celestia nodded. "And I believe you told me that it occurred during the first time she used it, correct?"
"Mhm!" Twilight replied. "And I can safely say that Ash and Greninja experienced the same thing before in the past."
"My, oh my. You two do seem to have your knowledge." Olympia was impressed. "Then you must know that your Gardevoir has yet to really control its true power."
"Garde?" Passion pulled back.
"You may have full control over your plasma, however, there are still many latent abilities you hold that you have to fully grasp. If you cannot control what lies within, your body will reject you. Especially if you tap into the sheer power of Mega Evolution."
"Voir..." Passion shuddered a bit.
"Unstable power must be conquered by the wielder to create perfect harmony. Without it, there is disharmony. You understand, don't you?"
"Yes." Celestia nodded with confidence.
"Hm." Olympia smiled. "Then, in that case, we can begin. If you are to use Mega Evolution, then you must take part in a battle. More specifically, you must battle me."
"Battle you?"
"Garde?"
"Of course. I'm happy to help those who wish to grow stronger after all, especially if it involves a Psychic-Type. Mega Evolution exists for battle. Therefore, it can only be harnessed through battle."
"I understand. What about you, Passion?" Celestia asked her partner.
"Voir." Passion understood clear as day.
"Excellent. Apologies if your lesson has to be cut short, Princess Twilight."
"It's fine. If it involves Princess Celestia then I don't mind." Twilight shook her head.
"Than let us begin."
Canterlot Gardens.
The gardens had essentially become both a sightseeing spot and a battlefield at this point. Because of this, someponies often come by to either see a Pokemon Battle or take part in one.
Olympia stood on the left whilst Celestia stood on the right of the gardens. Twilight and her Espeon sat on the single bench that was always here, spectating the battle for themselves.
Someponies inside the classrooms had noticed Celestia and Olympia outside from the windows, curious as to what they could be doing together.
The royal guards were keeping watch of the area, making sure that nopony interrupts Celestia's important training session. These could be compared to her studies from when she was a little filly.
"I shall use the Pokemon I currently have against your Gardevoir. Does a 3 on 1 sound fair to you, Princess Celestia?" Olympia asked.
"Completely fine. We can handle a 3 on 1."
"Garde!"
"Very well. Olympia took out her first Poke Ball. "I choose you as my first pick! Come out!" Olympia sent out her first Pokemon to battle.
A Sigilyph.
"Sigiliyph!"
"What is that?" Twilight said curiously, using her Pokedex to scan this somewhat hard to look at Pokemon.
"Sigilyph. The Avianoid Pokemon. Psychic power allows these Pokémon to fly. Some say they were the guardians of an ancient city that always flew at the same route while keeping watch for invaders. Others say they were the guardians’ emissaries. A discovery was made in the desert where Sigilyph fly. The ruins of what may have been the ancient city were found beneath the sands."
"A Psychic-Flying-Type? That means Passion's Thunderbolt is a good pick here." Twilight noticed.
"Passion. We'll be going up against a seasoned trainer. Are you feeling a bit nervous?"
"Gardevoir." Passion was honest. She was a bit worried. Trainers who have been battling for years can be intimidating and for good reason. But the Emotion Pokemon was ready as she stepped up to take on the challenge. "Garde!"
"Very good. I can sense the fire burning within your Gardevoir. This will be a good battle. I can tell. Princess Twilight, would you like to be the referee?"
"Hm? Me? Referee?!" Twilight teleported away from the bench, appearing next to Celestia and Olympia. "I would love to! Ahem." Twilight cleared her throat. "Battle start!"
"Sigilyph! Start with Air Slash!"
"Sigil!" The Avianoid Pokemon's body was outlined in a white aura as it released multiple light blue glowing saw disc-like energy blades from its body.
"Passion! Use Mystical Fire!"
"Garde...voir!" The Emotion Pokemon countered the Air Slash by forming a ring of red-orange fire in front of herself, releasing a red-orange stream of fire forward.
The two attacks connected, with Mystical Fire breaking through Air Slash and engulfing it in its crimson flames as Sigilyph gasped.
"Lyph?!" Sigilpyh's body was consumed by the magical flames as an explosion of fire happened afterwards, knocking the Avianoid Pokemon out of the sky. "Sigil!"
"What power..." Olympia's eyes widened. "Sigilpyh! Use Heat Wave!"
"Sig! Sigilyph!" Recovering from Mystical Fire, the Psychic-Flying-Type spun its body around, creating an orange gust of heat that was sent towards the Emotion Pokemon.
"Dodge it and use Thunderbolt!"
"Garde!" Passion narrowed her eyes, focusing on only the gust of heat that was coming her way. With her heightened senses as a Gardevoir, she skipped on the ground, dashing past the Heat Wave.
"Chase her with Heat Wave!"
"Lyph!" Sigilyph moved its body around, causing Heat Wave to follow Passion as the flames were burning away the grass of Canterlot Gardens.
The ponies at the nearest classroom watched through the window as they had the pleasure of spectating this entire battle for themselves.
Meanwhile, Twilight stepped back so that she wouldn't get burned alive by the moving Heat Wave. Passion's speed helped her greatly here. Since she was faster than Sigilyph, she could outrun the Heat Wave without issue.
"Gar!" Passion then put her hands together, creating a bolt of 100,000 volts. She stopped running as she turned around, firing the bolt towards Sigilyph.
Heat Wave and Thunderbolt ended up clashing for a small bit, fighting for dominance over each other. But Passion's Thunderbolt proved to be superior as it broke through the Heat Wave, smiting Sigilyph with 100,000 volts of thunder.
"S-Sigilyph!" Yet again, Sigilyph had been hit by an overwhelming amount of power that far surpassed its own attack as a super-effective hit landed.
However, this time, Sigilyph couldn't recover from this one. Passion's Thunderbolt might even be beyond 100,000 volts. The Avianoid Pokemon was no longer able to stay in the air as it fell to the ground, fainting.
"Sigil..."
"Sigilyph is unable to battle! Passion wins!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Amazing job, Passion!" Celestia congratulated her partner.
"Garde!"
"Outstanding..." Olympia was taken aback by Passion's performance. Two moves and that was it. And Passion had yet to Mega Evolve. She was certainly a promising Pokemon in Olympia's eyes as she returned Sigilyph. "Let's see if you can keep up this streak. Come out, Slowking!"
Up next was the Royal Pokemon Slowking.
"Slow..."
"Stay sharp, Passion! Slowking's intellect is incredible!"
"Voir!" Passion readied herself against her fellow Psychic-Type.
The battle between Olympia and Celestia had quickly gained traction from other ponies, not just from the Pokemon School, but Canterlot as well.
It didn't take long for some of them to enter the Canterlot Gardens, spectating how their princess will battle with her newly evolved Gardevoir.
"Now, Slowking. Disable."
"Slowking." Slowking became outlined in light blue as Passion as well started to glow light blue herself.
"Voir?" Passion looked at herself, wondering what this blue outline meant.
"Use Thunderbolt!"
"Garde...!" If Passion uses one Thunderbolt, Slowking might end up going down in one hit, faster than Sigilyph. However, when Passion tried to summon Thunderbolt, nothing happened. "Gardevoir?"
"Passion? What's wrong?" Celestia tilted her head.
"Gardevoir?" Passion tried shooting Thunderbolt again, but nothing came out. The reason being was that Disable did exactly what its name suggests.
It had disabled Thunderbolt.
"What move is Disable?" Twilight her Pokedex to scan Slowking's moveset as the dex gave her the description on what Disable does.
"Disable. A Normal-Type move. Using a strange power, the user stops the opponent from attacking with moves for a while."
"A move like that exists?!" Twilight screeched. "How is that even fair?!"
"Now, Princess Celestia. Passion. What shall you do?" Olympia asked.
"Hm." Celestia closed her eyes before opening them again. "We don't need moves to battle. Passion! Rush in and attack!"
"I beg your pardon?" Olympia raised an eyebrow.
"Voir!" Instead of using any other moves, Passion instead ran towards Slowking, planning on using her bare fists and legs as a means of attacking.
"Slow?!" Slowking gasped as he knew there was no chance of him avoiding Passion due to his unfortunate speed.
"Gardevoir!" Passion suddenly kicked Slowking in the face, causing the Royal Pokemon's eyes to bulge out as he had a kick mark on his cheek.
"Sl-Slow!"
"Voir!" Passion then gave Slowking a sudden uppercut to his neck, sending the Royal Pokemon up in the air with sheer physical power alone.
"Sweet Celestia!" Twilight gasped as she and everypony else gazed in the sky, seeing Slowking being launched.
"Slowking, quick! Use Shadow Ball!"
"K-King! Slowking!" Slowking, despite its low speed, was capable of recovering midair as he created a ball of shadows with his mind.
"Passion! Grab it!"
A risky move considering Passion's typing, but she took the risk anyway. The Emotion Pokemon held her hand out as she focused on the approaching ball of shadows.
Passion dug her feet firmly on the ground as she had managed to catch the Shadow Ball with her bare hands. "G-Gardevoir!" But since it was a Ghost-Type move, holding it was hurting Passion's hands. "V-Voir!"
"Throw it back!"
"Garde!" Passion's eyes flashed yellow as she pivoted her foot back. With all her current might, the Emotion Pokemon sent the Shadow Ball back at Slowking, creating a shockwave from the force of the throw.
"King?!" The Royal Pokemon, understandably shocked and surprise, had been hit by his own attack as an explosion of darkness could be seen in the sky.
Just like Sigilyph, Slowking had been knocked out of the sky, as that one super-effective Shadow Ball which was originally his own had made him faint.
"Slowking..."
"Slowking is unable to battle! Passion wins! A bit aggressive with those last two attacks..."
And with that, Passion has taken out two of Olympia's Pokemon without even taking any damage whatsoever. Even with her moves being disabled for a while, she could still emerge victorious over her opponent.
This pleased the small crowd of ponies who were cheering Celestia and Passion on for their amazing performance. Olympia returned Slowking, seeing that with how formidable Passion was, Olympia was actually getting a bit nervous.
"Truly a one of a kind Pokemon." Olympia took out her 3rd and last Poke Ball. "Now, Princess Celestia. The time has come for you to unleash Passion's Mega Evolution for the first time."
"Right!" Celestia nodded.
"Let us see just how far Passion can go as I demonstrate my own full power! Meowstic! Come out!" Olympia sent out her final Pokemon.
A female Meowstic.
"Meow!"
"Meowstic?" Twilight took out her dex.
"Meowstic. The Restraint Pokemon. Female Form. Females are a bit more selfish and aggressive than males. If they don’t get what they want, they will torment you with their psychic abilities. If it doesn’t hold back when it unleashes its psychic power, it can tear apart a tanker. Its unfriendliness is part of its charm."
"I would have my other Meowstic assist since that is when I am at my absolute best. But this is a single battle so-"
"Bring the second Meowstic out." Celestia suddenly interrupted.
"Hm?" Olympia's eyes widened.
"I want to challenge you at your absolute best. If both of us are to get stronger as trainer and Pokemon, we need to be able to go up against those who are also giving it their all."
"Such determination." Olympia was stunned by Celestia's drive. For a moment, Olympia could see a bit of Ash inside of Celestia, as if the two of them had many similarities with each other. Olympia smiled after seeing that. "Very well. If you wish to battle against two at the same time, then so be it, Princess. Meowstic! Assist her!"
By tossing her Poke Ball up, the second Meowstic emerged, landing right next to the female one.
"Stic!"
Twilight was curious about the male variant and what it had to offer.
"Meowstic. The Restraint Pokemon. Male Form. Revealing the eyelike patterns on the insides of its ears will unleash its psychic powers. It normally keeps the patterns hidden, however. The defensive instinct of the males is strong. It’s when they’re protecting themselves or their partners that they unleash their full power."
"So it's finally time." Celestia held her hoof out, looking at her hoof ring. Passion did the same holding her necklace up as they both knew that the time had come. "Are you prepared, Passion?"
"Gardevoir." Passion nodded as she herself was ready to tackle Mega Evolution, even if the results are a bit dangerous.
"Keystone. Respond to mine and Passion's heart!" Celestia tapped on the keystone as a golden light dazzled from it. "We'll show just how much we've grown from the start! Mega Evolve!"
The golden light flew into the air as Passion's Mega Stone unleashed azure lights that chased after the golden ones. The two lights collided, connecting as one as they ended becoming one.
Just then, Celestia had noticed that her body was suddenly being outlined in a golden light. Something that has never happened before when a trainer utilizes Mega Evolution.
Passion's body became surrounded in mega energy as she was overflowing with power so great that her aura took up most of Canterlot Garden.
"Garde...VOIR!" With a burst of golden energy, Mega Gardevoir had arrived at last, in all her glory. She was a stunning Pokemon to look at. From her slightly-altered hairstyle to her bridal gown, Mega Gardevoir can only be described as an utter beauty.
And everypony thought so too. Some stallions were even getting all googly-eyed over Mega Gardevoir as if they weren't googly-eyed before when she's just an average Gardevoir. This made most of the mares a bit jealous that they've been outdone by a Pokemon.
"At last. Mega Gardevoir. Can you feel it, Princess Celestia? Passion. The amazing power that flows within?"
"I feel it..." Celestia looked at her body. "But why am I glowing? I've never seen this happen with the other Mega Evolutions I've witnessed."
"That...I actually have no clue." Olympia shook her head. "But perhaps, you will be able to find out once we continue battling."
"Right. Get ready, Passion!"
"Gar!" Passion narrowed her eyes.
"Now! Meowstic! Use Helping Hand and Dark Pulse!"
"Meow!" The male Meowstic stayed completely still whilst the female made some movements by forming a dark purple orb of energy in her hand.
With the male Meowstic using Helping Hand, the female's power had been increased, making Dark Pulse have some extra Oomph to it as beams with black and purple circles were fired.
"Passion! Mystical Fire!"
"Garde...!" Passion put her hands together, gathering up power in her Mega state for the first time. And the difference in power begun to show.
When Passion summoned a sphere of fire in hands, a large aura of flames suddenly surrounded her body as well as Celestia's surprisingly.
This aura of fire acted as a defensive aura as the moment Dark Pulse got near Passion, the fire aura burned it away, shocking the Meowstic's and Olympia.
"Impossible!" Olympia gasped.
"Amazing...It didn't even connect at all." Twilight gawked.
"Voir!" Passion had finally released Mystical Fire as it had more power than ever before. The moment it was released, the speed of it caused a small sonic boom that shattered any nearby windows, burning away the grass itself as well as even affecting everypony around her.
The ponies were heating up as their bodies were sweating uncontrollably from Mystical Fire. It was like the sun itself had been brought to the planet.
"Dodge it!" Olympia managed to keep up with that ludicrous speed along with her Meowstic's.
The two Restraint Pokemon used their cat-like reflexes to flip away from the Mystical Fire. The beam of fire went so far that it left Canterlot, almost hitting a building in the process.
The buildings managed to catch on fire from the aura of Mystical Fire as many ponies ran out of their homes, quickly getting out their Pokemon to put this sudden fire out.
The Mystical Fire broke through the clouds, finally reaching its limit as it faded away in front of a Pidgey that was flying by. Everypony looked in shock and awe as they had just witness Passion perform something so fierce and potent.
And that wasn't even her strongest move.
Olympia looked around, seeing how the Canterlot Gardens had some of its grass burnt away along with the ponies sweating uncontrollably. To say that she was stunned was an understatement.
Celestia was taken aback as well. She never expected Passion to get this strong. "Passion! That Mystical Fire of yours was incredible!"
"Garde..." Passion didn't respond to Celestia as she was suddenly frozen in place, looking at her hands.
"Passion?" Celestia wondered why Passion was so motionless all of a sudden.
"Garde...Garde..." Passion herself had just witnessed how powerful she was and what her future potential might be. She looked around to see how she managed to cause some miniature destruction with just a single Mystical Fire.
Over at the distance, even though Mystical Fire didn't hit the buildings, some of them had actually caught on fire just from Mystical Fire passing by. But luckily, the Water Pokemon dealt with that.
Passion could also feel her power rising, overflowing. Everything that she could do now was beyond what she could've ever dreamt of.
It was so overwhelming that it was actually terrifying for her. So terrifying that she was actually unsure of this newfound power.
"Voir...Gardevoir..." Passion breathed in and out as her face suddenly transformed into one of fear. A fear that can only be linked to her feelings on her own power.
Suddenly, Celestia could feel Passion breathing in and out as her heart was beating at the same rate as her partner, which took Celestia by surprise.
Celestia wasn't sure why she and Passion's hearts were linked but there was one thing the Sun Princess knew from looking at Passion.
She was scared.
Scared of her own power.
The energy overflowing in Passion went beyond the natural limitations of Mega Evolution. It was unstable. So unstable that Passion couldn't control it all.
Mega Evolution, despite being powerful, has its limits. Limits that are too dangerous to be broken, as they can result in further harm to the Pokemon's body.
"G-GARDE!" Her body suddenly became surrounded in a purple aura as the ground beneath her was shaking, causing everypony to wobble and lose their balance.
"P-Passion?!" Celestia gasped.
"GARDEVOIR!" The purple aura around Passion's body had darkened, causing her entire body to become a silhouette. It felt like there was a giant monster rising from the ground due to how aggressive this tremor was.
Passion's eye flashed red instead of its usual purple as Celestia watched her partner be engulfed by this unrecognizable energy.
All of Canterlot was trembling as every lesson in the Pokemon School had been interrupted.
But it didn't stop at Canterlot. It spread across Equestria at a rapid rate, spreading like wildfire. This was similar to how Passion had a power overload when she was still a Kirlia.
Celestia shuddered as she witnessed her partner started hovering mid-air with this aura increasing in intensity. It looked like it would go on forever, but eventually, the aura faded away along with Passion's Mega Evolution as she returned to normal.
"Gardevoir..." Passion got on her knees as Canterlot stopped trembling.
"Passion!" Celestia ran over to her partner. "Are you alright?!"
"Gardevoir." She shuddered.
"I see...Meowstic. Return." Olympia returned her two Meowstic's as she approached Passion and Celestia. "That was just the first example of wielding unstable power."
"I can see that..." Celestia helped Passion up.
"G-Gardevoir." Passion took off her necklace, tossing it and the Mega Stone on the ground. "Voir!" She backed away from the necklace and stone, sitting down as she huddled her knees together, shaking uncontrollably.
"P-Passion."
"Gardevoir...!" That one experience with Mega Evolution had truly left an impact on her. From just one single move, she endangered all of Equestria, just like how she did before as a Kirlia.
Passion thought that now that she was a Gardevoir, she could have better control over her tremendous power. But it turns out, that wasn't the case.
Celestia looked over at the Mega Stone and necklace as she realized why Passion threw them down and what she was feeling right now.
Passion was terrified of Mega Evolution.
But worse. She might be terrified of what lies beyond Mega Evolution if she ever reaches that point. Celestia picked up the necklace and stone, knowing that these two objects were most likely never going to be put on Passion's neck for a while now.
"Passion..." Celestia went up to her shuddering partner. "Are you terrified of Mega Evolution?"
"Voir..." Passion whimpered. She spoke with Celestia with telepathy, telling her that she almost harmed everypony with just one move. If she had continued battling, who knows what could've happened next?
She also told Celestia that she felt an ominous power fill her body. As if there was something dangerous lurking inside of her that was waiting to come out.
This ominous power was the cause behind the tremor that spread across Equestria. And Passion could tell that it might've taken her over as in that one moment when her eyes flashed red, she felt a sudden instinct that she couldn't describe.
Passion lowered her head, feeling a bit guilty until Celestia suddenly hugged her. "Gardevoir?"
"It's fine now, Passion. You're safe now." Celestia reassured her partner as Passion hugged her back.
"I believe this is where our training ends," Olympia said. "Princess Celestia. It seems that I have underestimated Passion's true capabilities. From what I saw at that moment, a terrifying power dwells within her."
"Terrifying?"
"A power that is the complete antithesis to Passion. One that goes against Passion's natural loving nature. Whatever is lurking within her, I fear that if Passion were to Mega Evolve once more, that strange power might be truly unleashed."
"Gardevoir." The worried Emotion Pokemon looked up at Olympia then back at her necklace and stone. Olympia was right. Passion didn't feel like herself back there and she didn't want whatever horrible force was lurking within her to come out.
"We'll control it." Celestia suddenly replied.
"Hm?"
"I may not know what this unknown power is but...If my centuries of experience with magic has taught me something, is that what seems to be uncontrollable can be controlled."
"Voir? She looked up at her partner.
"If we can overcome your power overload when you were a Kirlia, we can definitely do the same as a Gardevoir." Celestia let out a reassuring smile.
That's all Passion needed to see. The heart on Passion's chest reacted to Celestia's emotions as she let out a smile as well. She had absolute faith in her partner, but she still was terrified of Mega Evolution at the moment.
"Good." Olympia nodded. "That is what a bond between a trainer and a Pokemon looks like. I hope to see you two eventually overcome that power and make it your own."
"We shall!" Celestia stood up, nodding.
"Gardevoir!"
An unexpected flow of power that Passion had never thought to possess has now been seen by Celestia, Olympia and Twilight.
A power that was so terrifying that it could make Passion lose absolute control. But with Celestia being by her side, the Emotion Pokemon and her have a new goal to achieve and conquer as the journey continues.
The strange and mysterious creatures that inhabit our world.
Whether it be in the forests, the skies, the seas, and even space itself, you can find them all over the world. No matter how far you may be.
In a vortex of complete chaos and nothingness, a single egg comes into being, which then hatches into Arceus, the first Pokemon in existence and the creator of the Pokemon universe itself.
While Arceus is the first Pokemon in existence, there is one Pokemon who is the ancestor of the Pokemon living on Earth. A Pokemon that is said to hold the genes of all Pokemon.
Mew.
Pokemon School, Canterlot.
Today, the students are having their break with some of them heading home for the day. And the best two places to hang out for the meantime is either the canteen or Canterlot Gardens.
Ash was currently here as well, wanting to observe the school for himself and to see what goes on in there. Unfortunately, he arrived a bit too late to see most of the classes, but he'll definitely have the opportunity to see more later on.
But for the meantime, he and his friends were just hanging out alongside Celestia and Luna, just for fun and as friends and nothing else.
"Is it safe to eat these?" Pinkie raised a poffin.
"I believe only Pokemon are allowed to eat it, Pinkie." Rarity used her magic to take the poffin away from Pinkie Pie, giving it to her Pheromosa.
"Mosa."
"Ash. Do you have any plans for the Pokemon Festival that's coming soon?" Twilight asked.
"Plans? I got one plan. Just have a bunch of fun!" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"That's the spirit!" Pinkie appeared behind him. "I heard this year's Festival is gonna be longer than the first one. For 2 weeks!"
"2 weeks?" Luna looked up, thinking about what she could do at the festival for just 2 weeks. "Hmmm..."
"2 weeks is correct." Celestia nodded. "But you should also know that other species will be joining us at the second festival."
"Others?" Spike turned to her.
"The Dragons and Griffons have taken a further interest in Pokemon from what I've heard. Along with the yaks. You can expect brand new faces to join the festival very soon." Celestia explained.
"The more the better." Ash stood up, stretching his arms. Just then, his Xtransceiver started ringing. He picked it up to see that it was a call from Goh. "Hm? Goh?"
"Pika?"
By answering the call, he wondered what news Goh had to offer today. "Yo, G-"
"ASH! You gotta hear this!" Goh screamed in Ash's ear, startling everyone around him. "This is major news!"
"Ah...W-W-What is it, Goh?" Ash stuttered as everypony leaned in.
"There's been psychic energy detected somewhere that might belong to Mew!"
"Eh? Mew?!" Ash gasped.
"Say what?!" Pinkie Pie jumped up as she hopped on Ash's shoulder. "Mew?!"
"For real?!" Rainbow Dash flew up.
"Who is Mew?" Celestia wondered.
"Mew..." Luna thought to herself for a moment. "I thought it's real name was Mewtwo..."
"I've heard of that thing. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Twilight met it before, right?" Applejack said.
"Oh yeah. It tricked me into thinking it was a Rayquaza one time." Rainbow Dash nodded.
"It got me too," Twilight spoke.
"I met Mew twice!" Pinkie said with a proud grin.
"Professor Cerise has arranged a boat for us to head to the island where Mew might be! I might get a chance to catch it!" Goh exclaimed. "It's located on an island called Cello Island! Apparently, it's an isle surrounded by steep cliffs that keep people away. It's very mysterious!"
"Sounds like an adventure!" Ash smiled. "What do you guys think?" Ash turned to face the ponies.
"A chance to see Mew again? Sure!" Pinkie was already up for it.
"It's the ancestor of all Pokemon. There's still a lot I want to know about Mew! So I'm in!" So was Twilight.
"Rarity and I haven't gotten the chance to see Mew yet so sure." Applejack nodded.
"Mew might be our chance to break Grogar's seal in Pyrestar's world..." Luna stepped forward. "Sister. We'll go with them."
"We?" Celestia turned to Luna.
"A while back, Pyrestar and I were told by Ash about how Mew had the Psychic power to break the seal in Pyrestar's world. If Mew truly is there, then we can request its assistance."
"I see..." Celestia nodded gently. "Plus, Mew sounds like it already has a good relationship with Pinkie Pie. Very well." Celestia and Luna stepped forward. "We'll come along with you all."
"Huh? That's a pretty big crowd.." Goh gawked. "But it's fine. Let's hurry! I wanna meet Mew so badly right now!"
"Yeah! I'm getting all fired up!" Ash bellowed.
"Pikachu!"
And so it was.
They were all set on a path to find Mew at Cello Island. Their anticipation was building. But little did they know, they would find something beyond Mew.
Cello Island.
Ash was the first one to set foot here with everypony else exiting the boat that brought them all here. They were definitely far away from home now. From both the populated side of Kanto and Equestria.
This was uncharted territory for them.
"So this is Cello Island." Ash looked up at the cliffs of the island and how tall they appeared to be. "Mew's somewhere here."
"What are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Pinkie hopped on Ash's hat as she bounced ahead of everypony else. Pinkie Pie is the only pony who has met Mew more than once, much like how Ash has also met Mew a couple of times during his many adventures.
Passion helped Celestia off the boat as they all made their way towards the further reaches of Cello Island. But they weren't alone.
Two other visitors decide to stop by at Cello Island. The only two who seem to enjoy spectating over everything and continue to plan many ways to affect Equestria.
Lucien and Sienna, who were both now finally on ground level instead of just being in the sky all the time. They were looking forward to this since they've seen how this moment in the original timeline plays out.
For once, they wouldn't have to use cosmic energy to intervene since the ponies were involved in this.
"Things are just getting better and better. I can't wait until they bump into him." Lucien smiled.
"What do you think will happen? Has he ever even seen ponies yet?"
"Maybe. But I don't think he's left this island in a long time. Come on. I wanna see how this turns out." Lucien ran off with Sienna following behind.
Meanwhile. The party had come across the expansive wilderness that dwelled in Cello Island, viewing its verdant beauty for themselves.
"Alright!" Ash tightened his gloves. "Where should we start?"
"I saw we go North!" Rainbow Dash flew up. "North is always the best direction!"
"I got a solution to that." Goh dug into his pocket, pulling out his sensory device. "Ta-dah! We're close enough that my special sensor can pick up Mew's psychic energy."
"Oooh..." Pinkie gazed at the device.
Goh looked at his device, seeing that it was beeping but with nothing detected so far. "Huh? Nothing detected?"
"Then let's just look wherever!" Ash patted Goh on the back before running off.
"Audi will make sure that her ears pick up on Mew's cry." Fluttershy walked off with her Audino and Chikorita.
"Audino!"
"This wilderness is fairly expansive." Celestia narrowed her eyes. "Will we be able to find Mew so quickly?"
"Mew's a playful little fella! It could be anywhere! So let's get going!" Pinkie Pie dashed off.
Soon, everyone began exploring this gigantic jungle in hopes of finding the Ancient Pokemon Mew.
"Hup!" Ash jumped off a cliff, sliding down it as everyone had followed him. The first spot of this jungle-like island they came across gave them the sight of Pokemon living here.
Audino kept her ears focused on Mew, searching for its cry. But all she could hear so far were just other Pokemon cries not related to Mew.
Rainbow Dash preferred to fly and oversee from the skies. She believed that a birds-eye view was the better way to spot something.
Just as they were walking along, the first Pokemon to encounter them was a Sandslash which popped out of the ground after burrowing.
"Slash!"
"Oh, hello there, Sandslash. Have you seen a Pokemon named Mew around?" Fluttershy said as she walked up to the Mouse Pokemon.
"Sand...Slash!" Sandslash suddenly swung its claws, cutting a strand of Fluttershy's mane off as well as almost hitting her face.
Fluttershy gasped as she backed away from Sandslash, falling back onto Audino's arms. "Huh?! " "Slash!" The Mouse Pokemon targeted all of them, running at them with a hostile intent with its claws being sharpened.
"Ah! Poke Ball, go!" Goh quickly tossed a Poke Ball, hitting Sandslash in the face. The Poke Ball absorbed Sandslash, saving them from being cut as it began to shake.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Sandslash was caught.
"Phew. First catch of the day." Goh picked up the Poke Ball.
"Sandslash are usually so welcoming..." Fluttershy sighed.
"Hey. That cave over there seems pretty secluded." Spike pointed at a cave. "Maybe a Pokemon as important as Mew might be there."
"Good thinking, Spike. And just to make sure we don't bump into anything in there..." Rarity took out her Poke Ball, sending out her Ampharos.
"Pharos!"
"Ampharos. Light up for us won't you dear?" Rarity requested.
"Ampha!" The Light Pokemon emanated a golden light from his tail as he was now the perfect flashlight that could guide them through the dark.
By entering the cave, they were greeted by more Ground-Type Pokemon other than Sandslash. A group of Drilbur's gasped, startling at the sight of the approaching trainers as they dug underneath the ground, running away.
Ampharos went ahead of everyone else, looking around his surroundings to make sure that nothing would end up attacking them out of nowhere.
Caves tend to have fairly hostile Pokemon.
From above the ceiling, the never unpredictable Zubat hovered above the trainers, spotting them as they spread their wings out.
"Zu!" The Zubats came down from the ceiling, going straight for the trainers as they always do.
"Another attack?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Sol! Absol!" Absol came out of his Poke Ball, getting in front of Twilight, defending her as he used Dark Pulse to blast the Zubats away, fending them off.
"Whew. Thanks, Absol." Twilight thanked him.
"Absol."
"We just got here and already some Pokemon are trying to attack us." Applejack sighed.
"They're just startled by newcomers that's all," Fluttershy replied. After all, didn't Goh say that this island has steep cliffs that keep people away? Perhaps they're not used to seeing us, especially if we're ponies."
"Probably. But one of them almost cut your face off, darling." Rarity flipped Fluttershy's mane. "And they got a bit of your mane."
"Garde..." Passion could feel the hostility of Pokemon that were nearby. Some of them were timid and afraid, mostly the smaller ones, but the larger ones weren't afraid to attack if they got the chance.
They walked near a lake that was inside of the cave, unaware of what was coming up from beneath. Apart from Audino, that is.
"Audi!" Audino heard a Pokemon rising from the lake as she pulled Fluttershy and Chikorita back.
Out of the lake, a Crawdaunt had shown itself. "Craw!"
"Crawdaunt?!" Twilight screeched.
"Craw...!" The Rogue Pokemon was about to blast them all with a Hydro Pump as an orb of water appeared inside of its claws.
"Ampharos! Thunder!" Rarity commanded.
"Ampha...ROS!" The Light Pokemon transferred all of his electricity into his ears as he blasted Crawdaunt with 100,000 volts of electricity, sending the Rogue Pokemon back into the lake.
"That's three in a row. Are we sure the reason why people don't come here is because of the cliffs?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"Now, now. They must have a reason as to why they keep attacking us." Fluttershy responded. "There always is one after all."
"It'd better be a good reason." Rarity walked ahead of Fluttershy, trotting beside her Ampharos.
They reached the exit of the cave where a large body of water was waiting for them. There, there was a large rocky slope that led to the higher parts of the island.
"Pharos." Ampharos's job was done here. They were in daylight so there was no need for his light.
"Thank you, Ampharos. Return." Rarity returned Ampharos.
"Oh! I know of an easy way to track Mew!" Pinkie took out a Poke Ball. "Since Mew and I are friends, My Slurpuff's can recognize Mew's scent since they've met it twice as well. "Out ya come."
Out came a single Slurpuff who was about to put that nose of hers to good use as always. "Slur!"
"Alright, Slurpuff. Get to sniffing!" Pinkie latched onto Slurpuff's back.
"Puff!" The Meringue Pokemon got to work, using its potent nose to track down anything that resembled Mew's scent as now they were all following Slurpuff this time.
They all set hoof, foot and paw on the slope, walking upwards as Slurpuff didn't want any interruptions whatsoever. Since her nose was so potent and she could sense the scent of all her friends, Slurpuff, at times, controls its nose in a certain way that allows the Meringue Pokemon to focus on only one single scent instead multiple familiar ones.
Absol kept his guard up, making sure that no other Pokemon tries and attack Twilight and her friends. He made sure that he kept Dark Pulse ready at all times.
Deep beneath the slope, there was another water-dwelling Pokemon that had sensed the presence of unfamiliar individuals.
And Absol could sense the approaching threat from below. He peered his head over to the side, seeing how the lake that the slope was apart of had a giant fin moving about.
"Absol! Sol!" Absol called for Twilight.
"What is it, Absol?" Twilight turned to him.
The Disaster Pokemon pointed his paw over the slope, aiming at the lake. Twilight went over to see what Absol had sensed that made him so cautious.
It was then revealed that a Gyarados was the one who sensed them as the Atrocious Pokemon arose from the water, creating a huge splash.
"GYARADOS!"
"Now it's Gyarados?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Dos!" The Atrocious Pokemon went back underwater, planning to attack them all in a different way than just going up close.
"Gar!" Gardevoir and the other Pokemon readied themselves for Gyarados, anticipating what it might do next.
"Pika...!" Pikachu sparked electricity from his red sacs.
"Where's it coming from?!" Rainbow Dash looked around, tracking Gyarados's movements in the water. She noticed that Gyarados was no longer on the left or right side. Its fins had disappeared along with its shadow.
There was a moment of silence as they were all staying perfectly still. Audino's ears twitched as well as Slurpuff's nose. Absol's horn was tingling whilst Chikorita grabbed Fluttershy's hoof.
Then, Gyarados had finally made a move. But it didn't come out of the water and attack. Instead, the Atrocious Pokemon had gone so deep underwater that it was attacking through the slope itself.
A crack emerged underneath the group as Passion was the first to sense this approaching attack. She used psychic abilities to put up a barrier around her friends and trainer, expecting Gyardos to rise.
But instead, Gyarados had both shattered the slope, separating the ground from each other and splitting the slope in half. Everyone was either sent flying into the air or had fallen off the slope.
As the Atrocious Pokemon jumped out of the water, It charged up a Hydro Pump, ready to blast them all away with a high volume of water.
"Gyara...!"
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted whilst on his knees.
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu jumped up, sending a blast of 100,000 volts from his body, smiting Gyarados from above.
"Dos!" A super-effective hit and enough to knock Gyarados out as the Atrocious Pokemon fell back into the lake.
However, things weren't so fine and dandy. Due to Gyarados splitting the slope in half, it revealed the extended part of the lake. Which ended up being a waterfall.
This waterfall was hidden perfectly by the slope, but now that Gyarados had broken it, it was revealed and highly active with fast running water.
And unfortunately, the ones who fell instead of being launched up had gotten themselves near the waterfall. That being Pinkie Pie and Applejack.
"W-Woah!" Applejack flailed her hooves about as she took a Poke Ball out. "Sceptile!" Help!"
Out came Sceptile who immediately used his vines to grab ahold of Pinkie and Applejack whilst also latching onto a nearby tree.
"Scep!" The Forest Pokemon saved them both as she zoomed towards the tree his vine had wrapped around, landing on top of it.
"Phew." Ash let out a sigh of relief as he sat down near the edge of the broken slope. "That was close."
"Why does every Pokemon here have it out for us...?" Spike groaned as he fell flat on his face.
"I can't actually say anything about that one..." Fluttershy breathed in and out as Audino helped her up. They all took a moment to rest after that sudden Gyarados attack.
With how things were so far, they were expecting yet another Pokemon attack out of nowhere. It wasn't impossible to think so since every Pokemon here either runs away or goes in for an attack.
"Slur...Puff?" Finally, Slurpuff had picked up on something major as she sat up. "Puff! Slurpuff" The Meringue Pokemon had finally found something similar to Mew's scent as she ran off.
"Hm? Slurpuff! Wait!" Pinkie stood up, running after her partner.
"Can't we just rest a bit...?" Spike lowered his head.
"No time! This might be Mew!" Rarity picked up Spike, placing the dragon on her back as everypony followed Slurpuff, hoping that Mew was close.
Because the longer they stay here, the more Pokemon will come after them.
Slurpuff's tracking led the group to what could be considered the most secluded part of the island. A dry land where the sun shines the most.
This dry land was hidden amongst the jungle roots had an unusual green to it as if it was almost capable of making anyone fall asleep.
This was where Slurpuff's nose tracking came to an end. "Puff!"
"Here? You sensed Mew in this spot?" Pinkie looked around.
"Slur." Slurpuff nodded. Her nose never betrays her so she was positive that Mew was here at this very spot. But when everypony also looked around, they spotted other Pokemon that weren't Mew.
Some Patrats, a Mareep, Mudbray, Skiddo, Skitty and Buneary were currently playing, running around the large tree that was smack dab in the middle of this part of the island.
"Aw, how cute!" Fluttershy gushed at the Pokemon playing. But her gushing and voice had alerted the smaller Pokemon, prompting them to notice the group of trainers.
Like the many other smaller Pokemon in this island, they were startled by these newcomers as well as terrified. They all huddled together, putting an end to their playing as they whimpered.
"What happened?" said Ash.
"W-Was it something I said?" Fluttershy gulped.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu hopped out of Ash's arms, heading over to his fellow Pocket Monsters.
"Still no Mew..." Rainbow Dash facehoofed. "What was the point of coming here?!" She exclaimed, scaring the smaller Pokemon as they all ran away. "Ah! S-Sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"Too late Rainbow. They ain't coming an inch near us at all." Applejack shook her head.
"Strange. This place seems so beautiful yet so far our experience has been less than stellar." Luna commented.
"Sometimes first-time visits to certain locations aren't exactly picture-perfect as we envision." Celestia chuckled.
"Is Mew really not here at all...?" Pinkie was getting a bit upset. She wanted to see Mew more than anypony, even more than Goh.
Even with Slurpuff's nose and Audino's hearing, there wasn't a single sign of the ancient Pokemon anywhere. Much to Pinkie Pie's dismay.
"No need to worry." Ash went to her. "Maybe we won't find Mew here today. But one day, we might see it again together. That's for sure."
"Pikachu!"
"I guess so." Pinkie nodded. "I really wanted to see Mew again though..."
"No research on Mew today..." Twilight grumbled. "Bummer"
"Esp. Espeon." Eve patted her on the back, letting her know that it's okay.
"Absol." Absol shook some water off himself, wanting to head home right now since this whole thing seemed pointless.
That is until Absol, Passion and Audino picked up on something. "Voir?!" Passion turned around as she felt an overwhelming force coming from above.
Celestia could feel it as well as she quickly raised her head to face the air. "What is that?!"
Celestia's words grabbed the attention of the others as they witnessed Passion, Audino, Absol and Celestia looking up at the same spot, as if something was descending.
Since they've been attacked by three Pokemon so far, they were expecting the same thing to happen as they all collectively looked up in the air, ready to see what Pokemon was prepared to get the jump on them.
But it wasn't one they were expecting.
The sun had masked this mysterious Pokemon's full appearance, only giving them the sight of a silhouette. But they could make out what it looked like.
A bipedal humanoid Pokemon with a primarily grey, long, purple tail. On top of its head are two short, blunt horns, as it had purple eyes.
A tube was extending from the back of its skull to the top of its spine, bypassing its neck. It had a defined chest and shoulders, which resemble a breastplate. The three digits on each hand and foot have spherical tips. Its tail is thick at the base but thins before ending in a small bulb.
Only one Pokemon fits this description to a T.
The Genetic Pokemon.
Mewtwo.
"Why have all you come here?"
Their attention was 100% focused on this never before seen Pokemon to most of them. The only two who really recognized this Pokemon were Ash and Pikachu.
Although, Pinkie could actually tell that this Pokemon resembled Mew in some sense. But instead, it looked like a taller and more built version of the usually small and simple Mew.
"...Mew?" Pinkie said under her breath.
"What in Equestria is that?" Rarity gawked.
"I asked why have you all come here?" Mewtwo landed down on the soft grass, as all the Pokemon who ran away from before were hiding behind him.
"It talks...?" Applejack noticed.
"Ash. Have you seen this one before?" Twilight turned to Ash and Pikachu. However, she noticed that the two of them were frozen in place, constantly locking their eyes on Mewtwo as if they were stuck in a trance. "A-Ash? Pikachu?"
"What's gotten into you two? You okay?" Rainbow Dash waved her hoof in their faces. Suddenly Ash stepped forward once with his face having the same emotion as he uttered a word that caught everypony off guard.
"Mewtwo."
"Pika."
"Wait...That is Mewtwo?" Luna turned around, finally realizing that Mew and Mewtwo might be separate Pokemon instead of the same being with different names.
"Ash...you know this guy?" Spike pointed at Mewtwo.
"Ash Ketchum." Mewtwo narrowed his eyes.
"Mewtwo. It's great to see you again!" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"Hmph. Why is it that you are the one human I always manage to re-encounter?"
"Beats me." Ash chuckled.
"Pika-ka!"
"But wait...where's Mew?" Pinkie looked around, unable to spot Mew. "Unless...you're friends with Mew aren't you?!"
"Hm?" Mewtwo raised an eye.
"My name's Pinkie Pie! I bet Mew's told you a lot about me and my friends, right? I guess you must be like its evolution or something like that!"
"So...these are ponies?" Mewtwo observed the ponies individually. From the 2 earth ponies, 2 pegasi, 1 unicorn and the three alicorns.
"Mewtwo!" Luna stepped up. "I heard you had enough psychic power to be able to break seals themselves! If I may make a request...please help break the seal of another world parallel to ours!"
"Say what now?" Pinkie turned to Luna.
"Hmm...Why should I?"
"What?" Luna pulled back.
"Well, you're Ash's friend aren't you? So you have to at least help us in one way." Twilight grinned nervously.
"Ash Ketchum is indeed one of the very humans in this world that I can call a friend. I will never forget what he did for me many years ago."
Mewtwo reminisced about how Ash saved his life once. He remembered how Mewtwo was horribly injured after exerting so much power.
But Ash was there, along with his Pokemon to help Mewtwo along the way by carrying the Genetic Pokemon. The words they exchanged together solidified their friendship and made Mewtwo see Ash as something else.
"Why? Why are you helping me?"
"Well for one thing you saved my Pikachu. That's a good reason."
"The only one?"
"Do you always need a reason to help someone?"
"Perhaps you are unique. A unique human. One of a kind."
"You're one of a kind too. Everybody is."
"I could say that I had become a better Pokemon because you, Ash. I was once devoid of compassion until I met you."
"Oh geez." Ash grinned, rubbing the back of his hair.
"Pikapi!"
"That's great!" Pinkie Pie bounced up. "I thought you were all scary and serious and well...you kinda are...but you're just like every other Pokemon! Nice and friendly!"
"Hm. And I can see that you ponies share many similarities with humans. Curious."
Goh pulled out his sensor device, seeing that the amazing psychic power was coming from Mewtwo all along and not Mew since Mew wasn't even here.
"So this is the Pokemon exhibiting that much power. I guess it really does look like Mew."
"Mew. Why are you all seeking it that it led you all here?"
"I'm here to catch Mew of course!" Goh exclaimed. "Catching every Pokemon is my dream to reach Mew!"
"Hoh." Mewtwo's eyes sharpened when facing Goh. "How will catching every Pokemon possibly mean reaching Mew?"
"To catch a Pokemon is to understand. That's what I believe. I want to catch all sorts of Pokemon and learn more about Pokemon too! If I understand every Pokemon, I can reach Mew, who holds the genes of every Pokemon!"
"Hmph."
"Mewtwo...You're a Pokemon, right? Which means..." Goh took a Poke Ball out. "I can catch you in a Poke Ball!"
"Catch Mewtwo?!" Ash jerked back.
"Pika-Pika?!"
"I want to learn more about you. So...I'll catch you!"
"What an absolute child. Do you have any idea how powerful I am? I was created to be the world's strongest Pokemon." Mewtwo clenched his hands.
"I don't know Goh..." Spike gulped. "Something about this guy is telling us to back away right now.
"Hm... I guess this is a good a time as any." Ash turned to face Mewtwo. "Mewtwo! We've never had this opportunity before! But...I wanna battle you! I wanna beat the strongest Pokemon in a battle, to get closer to my dream of being a Pokemon Master!"
"Pikachu!"
"Read my mind." Rainbow Dash landed down next to Ash. "If this guy's the real deal, then this is the best time to see how good I've gotten if he's the strongest."
"Hm. You ponies have dreams of your own I see."
"Of course we do. I want to know more about the Pokemon World and explore it with my friends." Twilight gave her own dreams involving Pokemon
"And we want to stick by Twilight through everything." Applejack said.
"And get stronger so we can protect those close to us." Rarity turned to Spike.
"And what about those two? The taller ponies." Mewtwo referred to Celestia and Luna.
"Us? I..." Luna looked at the ground. "I'm not sure what my dream truly is. But I do know that I want to help Pyrestar's world and save it from Ghetsis. And since you apparently have the power to break the seal, if I defeat you in a battle, you must help us break the seal!"
"Hmm..."
"My goal is similar to that of my sister's. Although, I wish to protect my world from any potential threats that involve Pokemon whilst also befriending Pokemon as well. And becoming stronger with my Gardevoir." Celestia gave her dream out.
"Gardevoir."
Mewtwo took a moment to process all of their dreams. After listening to every single of them, he looked at them in the eyes. He saw one single drive of emotion behind all of their eyes.
Determination.
All of them had their own dreams and goals that they are still striving towards. Some have already somewhat accomplished parts of their goals like Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts, but even she has future goals she wishes to achieve.
Originally, Mewtwo would've had no response to them whatsoever. He would've seen them all as pointless and meaningless.
However, ever since Ash taught him compassion and more about life, Mewtwo could finally understand what it means to have a dream that you strive towards.
And that made the Genetic Pokemon smile.
"Hmph. As you wish." Mewtwo accepted their challenge. "Then...Put those dreams of yours on the line and face me!" Mewtwo prepared himself for battle.
"Heh!" Ash grinned as everyone prepared themselves. "Let's go Pikachu!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder.
"You're up, Absol!" Twilight went for Absol.
"Sol!" The Disaster Pokemon stepped forward.
"Come on out, Cinderace!" Cinderace flipped out of its Poke Ball.
"Ace!"
"Pheromosa! Outshine them!" Pheromosa spun out of her Poke Ball.
"Mosa!"
"It's not a Dragon but I'll take it on anyway. Salamence!" Spike held his Poke Ball, sending out his Salamence.
"Mence!"
"Go, Sceptile!" Applejack flipped her hat up, sending Sceptile's Poke Ball out of it as the Forest Pokemon appeared.
"Tile!"
"Let's do this! Braviary!" Braviary soared out of his Poke Ball.
"Aviary!"
"I will make sure you help us. Darkrai!" Darkrai emerged from the shadows, appearing in front of Luna.
"No better opponent than the world's strongest right, Passion?"
"Gardevoir!" Passion dashed forward, stepping up to challenge the Genetic Pokemon.
"We'll just stay back and support you all," Fluttershy said as she and Pinkie Pie weren't taking part in this.
"Come. Show me what you can do."
"Iron Tail!"
"Blaze Kick!"
"Brave Bird!"
Three Pokemon went up first instead of all of them at once. Pikachu, Braviary and Cinderace advanced with Mewtwo standing completely still.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped up, hardening his tail. "Chu...Pika!"
"Cinder...Ace!"
Both Pikachu and Cinderace struck their tail and feet towards Mewtwo, but the Genetic Pokemon put up a light blue barrier to block their attacks from properly connecting.
"Bra...viary!" Braviary's body engulfed in an orange aura as he smashed into the barrier with full force. But even Brave Bird wasn't going to break through it.
Mewtwo then suddenly controlled all three of them with his mind, forcing them to fly back to their trainers as Ash caught Pikachu.
"Pika!"
"Ace!" Cinderace was caught by Goh as the two of them fell over.
"Dark Pulse!" Both Luna and Twilight commanded.
The two Dark-Types, in perfect unison, sent a beam of black and purple circles towards the Psychic-Type Pokemon, but Mewtwo was still unbothered, even by a super-effective attack.
"You'll need more than type matchups to defeat me." Mewtwo had cancelled out the double Dark Pulses by using one hand to hold them without even using any moves whatsoever.
"Pheromosa! Triple Kick!"
"Sceptile! Leaf Blade!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa moved at high speeds, passing her fellow teammates as it looked like she was actually about to be the first one to land a hit in by how fast she was moving.
But not at all. Mewtwo used his tail to grab Pheromosa's leg as he sent the Dark Pulse's back at Absol and Darkrai, hitting them both with their own beams.
"Scep...!" Sceptile jumped over Pheromosa, going for a slash, but Mewtwo used his tail to toss Pheromosa upwards, causing her to crash into Sceptile. "T-Tile!"
"Mosa!"
"Passion! Dazzling Gleam! Rapid-fire!"
"Garde...! Passion created a sphere of rainbows in front of her as she focused her aim on her fellow Psychic-Type. Out of the sphere came mini-beams of rainbows that flew towards Mewtwo.
Mewtwo returned the favour by firing a single Shadow Ball. That one Shadow Ball powered through the barrage of dazzling beams in one second whilst also connecting with Passion, dealing super-effective damage.
"Voir!" Passion was knocked back as Celestia caught her.
"Passion!"
"Let's see how you handle a dragon then. Salamence! Dragon Tail!" Spike shouted.
"Salamence!" The Dragon Pokemon took flight, surrounding his tail in draconic energy as he approached the Genetic Pokemon, swinging his tail violently.
Yet again, Mewtwo showed little worry in his eyes. The Genetic Pokemon grabbed Salamence's tail as if it was a feather, holding the Dragon Pokemon in place as he slammed Salamence on the ground.
"S-Sala!"
"Ah! Salamence!"
"Strong as ever Mewtwo..." Ash got up along with Pikachu. "Pikachu! Quick Attack!"
"Sceptile! Dragon Pulse!"
"Pika!" Pikachu moved at lightning-speeds, becoming a blur as Sceptile sent a dragon-shaped shockwave that flew next to Pikachu, moving at the same speed he did.
Mewtwo capitalized on this as he was still holding onto Salamence's tail. With no mercy, Mewtwo used Salamence as a meatshield, allowing him to be hit by Quick Attack and Dragon Pulse.
"Pika?!" Pikachu gasped.
"M-Mence!"
Mewtwo finally let go of Salamence by whacking Pikachu with Salamence, sending the Electric Pokemon flying as he then tossed the Dragon Pokemon into the air.
"Pika!"
"Quick, Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Salamence! Hyper Beam!"
"Pika...Chuuuu!" Both Pikachu and Salamence recovered midair as Pikachu sent a blast of 100,000 volts downwards.
Sala...Mence!" Salamence did the same with his Hyper Beam merging with Thunderbolt, creating a unified attack.
Mewtwo was about to deal with those two combined moves but through the corner of his eye, he noticed that Absol and Pheromosa were both approaching him.
"Absol! Night Slash!"
"Pheromosa! Rapid Spin!"
"Absol!" Absol raised his horn with a dark aura surrounding it whilst Pheromosa spun her legs around, moving like a ballerina.
Mewtwo had an answer for that as well. He used Shadow Ball to clash with Thunderbolt and Hyper Beam with his left hand whilst using his right hand to grab Absol and Pheromosa's horn and leg.
"Ab?!"
"Phero!"
Mewtwo humiliated them by tossing Pheromosa and Absol into the Hyper Beam, Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball, causing an explosion to occur above him as he still hadn't moved from the spot he was in. The two moves cancelled each other out with Pikachu and Salamence landing down.
"Oh no, Absol!" Twilight gasped.
"Pheromosa, darling!"
"Absol!" Absol flew out of the smoke as he tumbled on the ground.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa spun around in the air as Rarity caught her.
"Pheromosa! Are you alright?!"
"Phero...!" While Pheromosa could continue, she was a bit on the weaker side at the moment.
"Rest for now. Fluttershy, heal her." Rarity sent Pheromosa over to Fluttershy and Audino. "You're up next. Ampharos!" Rarity sent out her Ampharos next.
"Ampha!"
"What strength..." Celestia helped Passion up. "He hasn't even moved from that one spot at all."
"Mewtwo's still as strong as ever." Ash grinned. "It's got my blood pumping."
"Let's try a huge combination attack. There's no way even he can handle it." Rainbow Dash suggested.
"Quick Attack!" Both Ash and Twilight commanded.
"Pika!" Pikachu rushed in alongside Absol.
"Sol!"
"Darkrai! Dark Void!"
Darkrai submerged himself in the shadows, attempting to sneak behind Mewtwo whilst the others approach Mewtwo head-on.
Mewtwo stopped Pikachu and Absol with his mind but that was all according to plan. Darkrai emerged from the shadows, appearing behind Mewtwo as he fired a black orb of darkness as a sneak attack.
But that was in vain as Mewtwo sent Absol and Pikachu into the Dark Void, causing them both to fall asleep.
"Pika...Pikachu."
"Ab-Absol..."
"Dragon Pulse!" Both Applejack and Rarity yelled.
"Steel Wing!"
"Blaze Kick!"
A combination of Dragon Pulses shot out of Sceptile and Ampharos's mouths as Braviary and Cinderace ran beside them. The two Dragon Pulses then merged to become an even bigger Dragon Pulse with Darkrai attempting another Dark Void.
Mewtwo appeared behind Darkrai with teleportation using his tail to whack Darkrai into the Dragon Pulses, causing an explosion that blocked Braviary and Cinderace's vision.
"Bravi?!"
"Ace?!"
The two Pokemon missed their attacks as they flew by Mewtwo, tripping and stumbling. There was a slight pause in the battle, giving everyone other than Mewtwo some time to breathe. Throughout all of this, Mewtwo has not taken any damage in the slightest.
"Hmph. Is rushing in blind all you can do?"
"Pikachu!" Ash ran over to Pikachu, picking him up as he was still asleep.
"Pikapi..." Pikachu groaned in his sleep.
"You did your best, buddy?" Ash placed Pikachu down next to Pheromosa, allowing him to rest. Twilight did the same, leaving Absol with Fluttershy and Audino.
"Sol..."
"My..." Fluttershy bit her hoof. "Mewtwo is...unnaturally strong."
"No kidding. To think that him and Mew are related." Pinkie Pie said.
"My battle capabilities were raised to the ultimate level. You will need to bring your absolute best if you wish to overcome me."
"Absolute best, huh? Fine!" Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof. "Braviary! Let's make this battle 20% cooler!"
"Braviary!" Both Braviary and Rainbow Dash tapped into the Bond Phenomenon as a pillar of rainbows came from above, engulfing the Valiant Pokemon as Rainbow-Braviary had arrived.
"Lucario! I choose you!" Ash sent out his Lucario for assistance.
"Lucario!"
"Eve. Your turn!" Twilight went for her Espeon this time.
"Espeon!"
The battle had been resumed.
"Let's combine everything! Lucario! Aura Sphere!"
"Dazzling Gleam!" Both Twilight and Celestia commanded.
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Dark Pulse!"
"Pyro Ball!"
"Steel Wing!"
"Hyper Beam!"
All at once, each of them, except for Braviary had attacked from a distance with a combination of Fairy, Fire, Dragon, Dark, Fighting and Normal had been unleashed.
Braviary flew ahead of the beams as they all crossed streams with each other whilst the Valiant Pokemon's wings hardened up.
Mewtwo realized that he might have to put in some extra effort for this one considering how dangerous it looked. So he did this by utilizing his signature move.
Psystrike.
Mewtwo created a white force field that expanded rapidly from his body as it had clashed with all of the moves and Braviary's body.
That one single forcefield was powerful enough to clash with every single one of their attacks with ease. Braviary crashed into the forcefield, trying to break through it as well as his friends who were pouring all they had into their ranged attacks.
"B-Braviary...!" Braviary knew not to push himself since Rainbow Dash will get hurt but he wasn't even putting a dent in the forcefield.
All of them were struggling to push Psystrike back. It was just one single move but yet it could easily match multiple moves, possibly even surpass it.
Which it did.
Mewtwo put some extra effort into his Psystrike as the forcefield expanded faster, engulfing Braviary and all of their attacks in just a few seconds.
All the Pokemon gasped as they witnessed the expansive field of energy heading towards them. Darkrai knew he would be fine since he's immune, but everyone else, not so much.
But Mewtwo had an answer for that as well. He used his other hand to fire a swift Shadow Ball towards Darkrai, catching him off guard as the Psytrike hit everyone else, causing a psychic explosion upon contact.
The trainers were almost blown away by the explosion as Ash and Applejack held onto their hats with Rainbow Dash feeling the damage that Braviary had taken.
Most of the Pokemon were on the verge of fainting as they either tumbled, rolled or flew from the aftershock of Psystrike.
"S-So strong." Rainbow Dash held her stomach, wincing along with Braviary.
"Viary..."
"Way too strong..." Applejack winced as her hat fell off.
"Darkrai! Are you alright?!" Luna went over to Darkrai.
"I'm fine." Darkrai flew up. "How can one Pokemon be this strong?"
"It's not over yet!" Ash exclaimed as he and Celestia stepped forward. "Right, Celestia?"
"Right!"
"This might be greater than Eternatus...but that won't pull me down!" Luna and Darkrai stood beside Celestia.
The remaining 3 trainers who still had enough energy to continue along with their Pokemon were Ash, Celestia and Luna.
"Hoh. It seems that you 3 hold massive amounts of potential. How promising."
These were the last 3 standing who still had vast amounts of energy left to take on the Genetic Pokemon whilst the others were still feeling the devastating effects of Psystrike.
They stared each other down, anticipating each other's next movements. Although Mewtwo was most likely the faster thinker of them all.
As Audino was healing and tending to the Pokemon who had been injured, her ears picked up on a brand new noise that was nearby this area.
"Audino?"
Mewtwo sensed this as well. There were two more individuals on this island. Individuals who were definitely not like Ash and his friends.
Mewtwo turned his attention to a large pile of bushes, sensing the presence of the individuals as he put the battle on hold for a while.
"I know you're there." Mewtwo put his arm out.
By using his amazing psychic power, he forced to the two unidentified individuals out of the bush, revealing them to Twilight and the others.
Lucien and Sienna were caught as Mewtwo held them up with his mind.
"Eeek!" Lucien winced.
"P-Put me down!" Sienna stammered.
"Who are they...?" Goh squinted his eyes. "Did they come along with us?"
"Wait..." Twilight recognized Sienna a small bit. She and the others recalled the time they first encountered Emerald Aura during the Darkrai event.
They were able to see Emerald clearly, but not Sienna. But they did manage to see her hairstyle and how it was in the style of a drill.
"Aren't you..." Pinkie raised her hoof gently.
"Rift Humans," Mewtwo revealed them.
"Rift Humans?!" They all collectively yelled along with their Pokemon.
"Y-You know about u-us?!" Lucien groaned as he tried to break himself free.
"Your actions under the Rift's orders continue to jeopardize both worlds. All for the sake of enjoyment. How disgusting."
"W-Well...You're..." Sienna tried to think of a comeback.
"Wait...I recognize you! Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "You were with Emerald Aura! And your voice sounds super familiar! Were you the one with Cold?!"
"Rift Humans..." Celestia thought for a moment before realizing something. "That would explain why the Desires exist. Obsidian can't do anything...so it must've been these two!"
"I should put an end to you all right now for what you've caused." Mewtwo tightened his psychic grip on them.
"Y-You wish!" Lucien lifted his finger as he sent a gigantic bolt of cosmic energy towards Mewtwo.
However, Mewtwo had cancelled the bolt of cosmic energy out with ease by just using psychic aura to do so.
"T-That's not suppose to happen!" Sienna's eyes widened.
"Mewtwo's stronger than the power of the Rift?!" Twilight gasped.
"Not good...What do we do?" Sienna was getting nervous.
"It'd be so easy to annihilate you here and now...but I suppose Ash's kindness has rubbed off on me." Mewtwo lowered them, letting go of the two Rift humans as they breathed in and out.
"I thought...! I was a goner!" Sienna wheezed.
"M-My throat!" Lucien held his throat.
"Leave this island immediately. But know that your identity and presence are no longer a mystery to Ash and the others."
"You jerk..." Sienna stood up, blowing her tongue out at Mewtwo.
"We'll remember this!" Lucien raised his arm as he and Sienna had already decided to leave this island as soon as possible since they didn't want to mess with Mewtwo at all.
Mewtwo lowered his hand, getting rid of that short nuisance with ease. Him revealing Lucien and Sienna had finally given Ash and everyone the answer to a few things.
From the Desires to how Dynamax managed to enter Equestria. Now they had something else to focus on once they get back home.
"Shall we finish this battle?"
"Of course!" Ash grinned. "Let's go past 100%! Celestia! Luna!"
"Right!" Celestia and Luna both said in unison.
"Double Team and then use Force Palm!"
"Passion! Get up close and strike Mewtwo with Dazzling Gleam!"
"Darkrai! Ascend and use Dark Pulse!"
"Garde!"
"Lu!"
Passion and Lucario rushed in whilst Darkrai ascended into the air. The Aura Pokemon multiplied himself with clones whilst Passion held a rainbow-sphere in her hand.
"Voir!" Passion swung her arms at Mewtwo, shooting out rainbow beams out of her sphere as well. Mewtwo swayed his head to the side, avoiding the swing and beams as he kicked Passion back whilst also using his tail to block the Force Palm from all the clones.
"Cario...!"
Mewtwo pushed Lucario away with a mild-shockwave before summoning a shadow ball to counteract the Dark Pulse that came from above. The Shadow Ball overpowered Dark Pulse as Darkrai was knocked out of the sky.
"Don't give up! Mystical Fire!"
"Reversal!"
"Ice Beam!"
"Gardevoir...!" Passion slid on the ground as she fired a beam of magical fire whilst recovering.
"Lucario!" Lucario rushed back in with his body being outlined in an orange aura while Darkrai planned on freezing Mewtwo in pure ice.
Mewtwo used Psychic to control the Mystical Fire as he redirected it towards Lucario instead. Luckily, Darkrai's Ice Beam got in the way, clashing with Mystical Fire as the two attacks cancelled each other out.
Lucario jumped through the smoke of explosions as he ferociously swung his palm towards the Genetic Pokemon. However, Mewtwo caught his palm, cancelling out Reversal as he held Lucario in place.
"Thunderbolt!" Both Celestia and Luna commanded.
At the same time, Passion and Darkrai combined their Thunderbolts, creating 200,000 volts of electricity that bolted towards the Psychic-Type.
Mewtwo tossed Lucario into the Thunderbolt as he was the one who had been hit instead. "Cario!"
Mewtwo then appeared in front of Passion and Darkrai with his teleportation as Celestia and Luna had just registered his sudden movements.
Mewtwo grabbed both Passion and Darkrai with tail, tossing them towards their trainers. "Garde!"
"Ough!"
"Passion!" Celestia caught Passion.
"Darkrai!" Luna did the same for Darkrai.
"Cario...!" Lucario had recovered from that double Thunderbolt as he skidded back to Ash.
"It's not over yet! Lucario! Double Team into Aura Sphere!"
"Passion! Use Plasma Bolt!"
"Darkrai! Dark Pulse!"
It was coming down to the wire now. They had to do something to make Mewtwo budge at least once. All three of them put everything they had into this one final attack.
Lucario advanced as Passion and Darkrai began building up power. Passion and Darkrai created plasma and darkness in their hands whilst Lucario took to the skies with all of his clones using Aura Sphere simultaneously.
Passion and Darkrai merged their two attacks, creating a hybrid of darkness and plasma as it rose into the air, hovering above Lucario.
"GO!" All three of them shouted.
With a burst of energy, they unleashed their strongest attacks all at once. Multiple Aura Spheres came raining down as they circled the giant beam of darkness and plasma.
Everypony else backed away as they knew this impact was about to be a big one. Twilight put a defensive spell around her friends as the moves all made contact with Mewtwo, resulting in a fiery explosion that had plasma sparks shooting out along with blue and dark lights.
Ash held his hat whilst Celestia and Luna's ethereal mane's flowed in the wind. But their Pokemon had been sent flying from the overwhelming wind pressure of their own attacks.
"Did they get him?!" Rainbow Dash leaned forward. With an attack that powerful, it must've surely done something.
But to everypony's surprise.
It didn't.
Mewtwo had put up a barrier that had shielded him from the damage, making all that hard work pointless. But it was a sign that Mewtwo had to actually defend himself against a move combination that strong.
Everyone's jaw dropped. Mewtwo casually said No to their attacks with a barrier that wasn't even that wide. It barely engulfed most of Mewtwo's body.
"My turn."
Mewtwo flew into the air, figuring that it was time for him to show off his own full-on attack. He did this by summoning a Shadow Ball so large that it was almost as big as a 5 oak trees.
Lucario, Passion and Darkrai were too spent on energy to even have the chance of fighting back against an attack this gigantic.
To finish the job, Mewtwo sent the enormous Shadow Ball down as it was wide enough to engulf not just the trainers and the Pokemon, but even the ones who weren't battling anymore.
Everyone closed their eyes, bracing themselves as once the Shadow Ball hit the ground, it then transformed into a blue explosion, consuming everything around it.
Luckily, Mewtwo had controlled the power of Shadow Ball to make it so that it wasn't capable of destroying any of them into pieces.
The smoke cleared as they were all on the floor, groaning and wincing as Mewtwo descend, approaching his defeated opponents.
"You spoke of your dreams before. Ash." Mewtwo said to him.
"Huh...?" Ash and everyone sat up as they all looked at Mewtwo.
"The world is vast. There exist many Pokemon you cannot even begin to imagine. Pokemon that far transcend your expectations and reality. Pokemon that can wipe you off the face of the planet with minimal effort. Knowing that, will you all still chase your dreams?"
"Of course!" Ash exclaimed as he stood up. "Because I have my friends!"
"Pika!"
With confidence brimming in his heart along with an eternal fire that blazes on, Mewtwo couldn't convince Ash. And he knew that for sure. All of Ash's friends stood up as they all stood beside him, ready to confront Mewtwo once more.
"It seems you all truly formed powerful bonds properly."
"Mareep!" Just then, the Pokemon from before all came towards Ash and the others instead of running away life before. "Reep!" The Mareep went up to Ampharos as it connected its tail with his, creating a small electric connection.
"Buneary!" Buneary hopped over to Fluttershy, landing in her hooves as Ash patted a Skiddo on the head.
"Skiddo!"
"I guess you're not so afraid of us anymore." Fluttershy nuzzled with the Buneary.
"However...not everyone forms bonds such as yours. Some, the absolute opposite."
"Hm?" They all turned their focus back at Mewtwo.
"Do you mean that when they were scared of us, it's because they'd been hurt by humans?" Ash turned to the Pokemon.
"I get it..." Pinkie held up a Skitty. "Mewtwo rescues Pokemon like that from people."
"This is not a place for humans to tread. The same can be said for ponies."
"What? Why?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"You and the humans are alike in practically every way. Some of you are good. Pure of heart. Kind, benevolent, generous, loyal and honest. But, just like the humans who hurt them, I know that there are ponies who will hurt those for their own personal gain. My battle with Mew taught me that not everything is in black and white."
"Yeah...that's fair." Twilight nodded.
"However, I have enjoyed today more than anything in a long time." Mewtwo brought the Pokemon over to him with his mind. "I'm afraid this is where we must part ways."
The time for them all to leave had come as Mewtwo created a psychic field that would allow them to escape into hiding, hoping not to be disturbed by humans and ponies again.
"Mewtwo! Wait!" Ash exclaimed.
"About that Pyrestar world. I have decided to one day help you once you figure out universal travel. After all, Ash. You said those words clearly to me. 'Do you always need a reason to help someone'? Was that how it went?"
"Mewtwo! Even if you don't wanna be disturbed! Can we hang out sometime! As friends?!" Pinkie Pie pleaded.
"I can see your affinity for Mew applies to me in some way. Perhaps one day we'll have time to loaf around together."
"Wait, Mewtwo! There's still a lot I have yet to learn about you!" Twilight shouted.
"I didn't get to have a full-on battle with all six of my Pokemon!" Rainbow Dash tried to fly. The light of the psychic field was getting too bright as they all closed their eyes.
"You are all frail, fleeting immature..."
"Hold on!" Goh stood up, getting a Poke Ball out, but the light threw him off focus.
"But that is exactly why you all possess infinite potential."
"Mewtwo!" They all called out his name as the last thing they saw was the light consuming them whole.
"Your journey has only just begun."
Kanto, Pallet Town, Night.
The group had woken up later to find themselves in Pallet Town, right outside of Ash's house. They seemed to have been asleep for quite some time since the moon was already up.
They all looked into the night sky, perplexed and dazed after what happened back at Cello Island.
"Mewtwo...He was super strong." Ash uttered.
"Yeah." Rainbow Dash nodded. "We've still got a long way to go."
"Wait..." Rarity sat up. "Isn't this Pallet Town?"
"Did Mewtwo bring us here?" Fluttershy looked around.
"Mewtwo." Pinkie looked up to see a shooting star fly by. "I hope we'll see it again someday."
"We will. Count on that." Ash reassured her.
"Ash!" Delia suddenly exited out of the house. "Look at you all! You're an absolute mess!" Delia pointed out how they all had tatters on themselves.
"Oh. I suppose we are." Celestia looked at her hoof. "We should get going. Arcanine gets a little upset if I'm gone for too long."
"I didn't get to research about Mewtwo..." Twilight pouted as she and her friends made their way back to their world by passing through the gateway.
"Maybe next time, Twilight." Applejack chuckled.
"Ash Ketchum. You're not thinking of sleeping in that state, are you?" Delia raised an eyebrow.
"Nope! I'll get started with cleaning myself!" Ash rushed back inside of his home as he waved goodbye to his friends. "See ya guys!"
"Pikachu!"
As they all went their separate ways, Mew was high above the night skies, giggling as it knew that yet again, its existence will always be a challenge to discover for many.
"Mew!"
Ash, Twilight and everyone will keep running towards their dreams. Now then everyone, a world of dreams and adventures awaits in the world of Pokemon as the journey continues.
These 7 have constantly helped those across Equestria, whether through teaching them about Pokemon or saving their lives as well.
Ash and Pikachu. A duo who are inseparable with their selfless and infinite drive to help those in need with their honourable and honest hearts that continue to burn.
Hollow. Sharp on the eyes but a charitable and altruistic nature to those who may seem unnerving to others whilst also spreading as much knowledge as he can.
Keldeo. Young and brash, but with a clear drive to grow and better himself for the safety of others as flows like the water.
Terrakion. With unparalleled strength and immense charging skills.
Virizion. With great speed and a clear sense of justice.
And Cobalion. The leader of the Swords of Justice. Cool and calm with a body of heart and steel.
These four are legendary as they are heroic. And they've rightfully cemented themselves as some of Equestria's greatest heroes, even if they've been around shorter than most legends.
And with those legends, comes fame.
This is one story that involves fame, focusing on Ash and Pikachu this time.
Ponyville, day.
"Alright!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she was currently inside of the Cutie Mark Crusaders treehouse. "The Ash Ketchum Fanclub is officially open!"
The CMC, mainly Scootaloo, had made a second Fanclub. The first was Rainbow Dash, the second ended up being Ash and to an extent Pikachu.
It was bound to happen eventually. However, the members of this Ash Ketchum Fanclub were much more varied than usual. Instead of it being very young fillies, the other selection of ponies were teenagers surprisingly.
And instead of them all being from Ponyville, some came from different parts of Equestria. Ash had really built a following from his various actions.
Being that this a Fanclub focused on Ash and involves Pokemon, things are bound to be vastly different than the usual Fanclub.
Although, despite this being created by mostly Scootaloo, they had actually taken inspiration from the Pokemon Fanclubs plastered all over the Pokemon World.
This could be considered a Pokemon Fanclub, although most clubs don't involve the humans but just the Pokemon alone. So in a sense, this was Equestria's first Pokemon Fanclub, even if it wasn't official.
"Just to make it fit..." Scootaloo held in her hoof a replica of Ash's hat. All of them did. The hat was a sort of member certification. Putting it on means that they were true members of the Ash Ketchum Fanclub and to indicate as to which club they're apart of.
"Fits pretty well!" Apple Bloom said.
"First order of business! We're gonna hang out and talk about Ash and then we're gonna...Umm..." Scootaloo pondered for a bit. "Ah, I'll think of something later!"
The Fanclubs activities could officially begin. All they were focused on doing at the moment was just having fun, chatting about Ash, showing off their hoof-made clay sculptures that they made of him back home and some of his Pokemon.
Outside, Twilight and the others had seen how there was now the label, Ash Ketchum Fanclub next to Rainbow Dash's name, making it a double Fanclub.
"Ash Ketchum Fanclub...huh?" "Twilight said.
"It was gonna happen one day." Rainbow Dash flew up as she wanted to see this Fanclub for herself. "I don't mind having a partner Fanclub."
"Does it count as one of those Pokemon Fanclubs?" Pinkie climbed up the ladder with Rarity, Applejack and Spike.
"Only one way to find out." Fluttershy had opened up the door, seeing what ongoings were occurring inside of this Fanclub.
So far, it was fairly tame for something being related to one of the most hyperactive beings out there. They were all chatting, showing off their Ash-created objects whilst Scootaloo and her friends think about what to do next.
"We can't just keep chatting about Ash...We need to do something active." Sweetie Belle crossed her hooves.
"Yeah, yeah I'm thinking." Scootaloo nodded. "
"Well, would you look at all of this?" Twilight commented, walking up to the trio. "Guess you couldn't resist making this, huh?"
"Twilight? Everypony?" Scootaloo turned to them. "Ah, well, I had to do it sometime. ya know."
"We were gonna call it the Ash Fanclub but using his last name rolls off the tongue more." Sweetie Belle grinned.
"Does Ash know about this?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, uh...Nah." Scootaloo shook her head. "Guess we should've told him first."
"But he's gonna notice it for sure. So many ponies are gonna come here because of him." Apple Bloom spoke. "Like the other ones coming later today."
"There's more?!" Twilight's eyes widened. "I don't think there's enough room for more ponies in here."
"Yeah, we know." Scootaloo sighed. "But we gotta open our Fanclub somewhere. "Our treehouse is the only real place we each own."
"It's what we got so far." Apple Bloom adjusted the hat on her head.
"Then how about..." Applejack thought for a moment. "We just build a new one?"
"Build a new treehouse?" Apple Bloom looked up at her big sister.
"Or even better. Built a bigger and new Fanclub!" Pinkie bounced up.
"Oh. Yeah okay, that works!" Scootaloo nodded. "But where are we even gonna put it?"
"We'll handle that. Right now, you all can focus on this Fanclub at the moment. Small and niche are fairly fun in their own ways." Twilight looked around as she went up to an Ash doll made out of wool.
"What are you three even planning for a Fanclub about Ash?" Rainbow asked them.
"Well, I wasn't too sure at first. But I think I've got something!" Scootaloo stood up. "Since Ash is participating in the Pokemon World Championships in his world, we're gonna do everything we can to support him!"
"Yeah! If he beat Leon, then he'll be the strongest trainer in the world!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"So we're gonna make a bunch of cheering objects for him!" Apple Bloom nodded aggressively.
"Now you're thinking big!" Pinkie appeared behind them. "If you want somepony to help you with cheering objects, then leave it to me!"
"Really? Thanks, Pinkie Pie! You wanna wear this?" Scootaloo held a hat in her hoof.
"Ash's hat?" Pinkie took the hat.
"It's to let everypony know you're apart of our Fanclub. Do you wanna become apart of our Fanclub?" Sweetie Belle adjusted her hat.
"Well..." Pinkie looked at the hat, squinting her eyes at it. "I've never had the chance to join a Fanclub before so...Yes please!"
"If you're going to be supporting him in the World Championships, then you'll need to really display something that boosts his confidence." Rarity suggested.
"Doesn't Ash always boost his own confidence?" Rainbow Dash turned to her.
"Yes, but you can never be too safe." Rarity nodded her head.
"I got that one! Pom poms work well, ya know!" Pinkie Pie took out some pom poms. "I make a pretty good cheerleader, you know."
"And Rainbow Dash! We wanna help you with the Equestria League! We're gonna be focusing on both you and Ash!" Scootaloo grinned.
"All at once? Thanks." Rainbow Dash rubbed Scootaloo's head. "And if you get to that point, then I'll cheer you on when you also end up reaching the league."
"You're already off to a good start with supporting Ash." Twilight flew over. "I'm sure he'll love it."
"Thanks. So when is this new Fanclub building gonna be made?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Uhh..." Twilight began to do the math. If they were to build a new building with the assistance of their Pokemon, especially Big Mac's Machamp, then it would be done in possibly a few weeks. "I'd say a few weeks."
"Actually, hold on." Applejack raised her hoof. "Forget what I said about building a new treehouse...I think I've got a better idea."
Outside Ponyville, right near the Everfree Forest.
The Mane 6 and the CMC had all gathered around at one spot as Big Macintosh's Machamp had come along. Whatever Applejack had thought of that could be better than just building a new Fanclub must good.
"What exactly is your better idea?" Rarity wondered. "With Machamp's muscles, we could get to work and finish it in a short amount of time."
"I know." Applejack nodded. "But I've got something that hasn't been used yet." Applejack looked down on the ground.
"...The ground?" Pinkie tilted her head.
"Nah." Applejack shook her head. "You see, Cold told me about how he and Emerald had a secret hideout that they would hang out in, bringing stuff over from the Rift's request. Apparently, they left that hideout a long time ago when Darkrai found them. So it's just been there without anypony entering anymore."
"Wait. Underground? A secret base? Like my party cave?" Pinkie gawked at the ground.
"Something like that. Alright, Machamp. Get to work." Applejack commanded.
"Champ!" The Superpower Pokemon dug two of his arms into the ground, breaking through them as he got to searching. He flailed his hands about, trying to find something solid besides some rocks.
It didn't take long for his hands to feel some sort of wood-like substance. He took a moment to feel it as it wasn't rough wood like a tree but instead it was very smooth wood, like the walls of a house.
That made Machamp tear open the grass itself as a huge hole had been made by his hand movements. The ground trembled, almost making every pony lose their balance as it almost reached most of Ponyville with the trees nearly falling over.
With Machamp tearing the ground apart into a perfect circle, the secret base that had long been abandoned had finally been revealed to everypony at last as they all peered their heads over the hole.
They looked down to see that even though it had been abandoned, it was still in perfect shape after all these months of living underground.
It still had two seats, mostly for Emerald and Cold since they were the only ones who used to be here more often, a hilariously long table that stretched across the entire room with nothing on it at all and as for the room space itself, it was impressively spacious.
From how spacious it was, at least 100 ponies could fit inside of it. Seeing this also made Applejack and the others think that maybe at one point, there were going to be 100 Rift ponies instead of the usual 3 they know of.
"This is perfect!" Pinkie exclaimed as she jumped into the hole, landing face-first on the wooden floor. "It's large enough to hold all of Ponyville!"
"There's not a single sign of it being dirty at all." Rarity used her magic to float down gently into the base. "Is this the work of cosmic energy?"
"This place ain't got any doors." Applejack showed how there was no entrance in this entire base, minus the newly-created hole that Machamp had created. "Cold and Emerald would use their cosmic energy to get out of here. So this place ain't got a lick of cobwebs or nothing."
"Well, this is certainly an amazing suggestion, Applejack." Twilight nodded. "We might need to do some major renovation for this to look like a Fanclub."
"We'll have to get rid of this wooden floor first. It's smooth but..." Rarity scraped her hoof on the floor.
"Hey, everypony. Look at this." Spike called out for his friends as he had spotted a piece of paper on the table that had something very familiar on it. Spike held up the paper, showing it to all of them.
This paper wasn't just an ordinary paper. It was the same paper that Cold Colt and Emerald Aura used to select who to bring back as a threat for Equestria.
They realized this since one of the many names on that list was none other than Ghetsis.
"Ghetsis?!" They all gasped, spotting Ghetsis' name.
"Let me see that!" Twilight exclaimed as Spike gave her the list, getting a closer look at it. Her eyes didn't deceive her at all. Ghetsis's name was indeed on that list. "I don't believe it...Why is Ghetsis here?"
"I think I know why." Applejack said. "Remember what I said about Cold and Emerald telling the Rift to bring stuff over. And I think that list is why. Got a whole bunch of stuff that they were planning on using against us and Equestria."
"That's awful..." Fluttershy whimpered.
"Yeah." Applejack nodded. "Shame that Cold is kinda apart of the reason as to why Ghetsis is here. But I ain't gonna hate him forever because of that.
"We know who Ghetsis is but...who are these other people?" Rarity pointed her list at the other names besides Ghetsis.
These were the names that were all on the list, referring to people who had never been brought back by the Rift.
Cyrus.
Hunter J.
Phantom.
Zero.
Marcus.
Vicious.
Annie and Oakley.
Lawrence the Third.
Alva.
Grings Kodai.
And finally Lysandre.
Every single one of these people on this list has had two fates that have occurred for them. They have either been arrested and put in jail or worse, they had been destroyed. One of them was even from centuries ago.
"So if they never chose Ghetsis, then some of these guys would've been picked instead." Twilight observed as she noticed how Ghetsis's name was crossed out.
"Are they worse than him?" Spike asked.
"I don't want to know how bad they were or even think about it." Twilight shook her head. "Let's just be glad this was scrapped after Ghetsis." Twilight crumpled the paper ball, tossing it away.
"To think that the Rift can just bring anypony dangerous back...It's a bit scary to think about it." Sweetie Belle shuddered.
"Yeah...What if it brings somepony worse than Ghetsis...?" Apple Bloom quivered as she and her friends were starting to think of the worst-case scenario.
"Then we'll be there to protect ya'll." Applejack pulled her little sister towards her. "No need to worry."
"A-Alright." Apple Bloom stuttered.
"Let's take our minds off that and start thinking about how we'll design this second Fanclub. I've already got something in mind myself." Rarity said with pride.
"We're gonna add a lot of stuff here since this is much bigger!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"We'll have to build some sort of ladder or slope to let everypony come down here." Applejack recommended.
"Make it slide!" Pinkie wrapped her hoof around Applejack's neck. "That way it'll be extra fun when coming in!"
"Then, in that case, we'll need the smoothest materials out there. A porcelain floor might work for this." Twilight nodded.
"I was thinking the stuff that bouncy castles were made of!" Pinkie giggled as her friends did the same. They discussed the many ideas they had brewing for this Fanclub as Twilight and her friends had unknowingly become members of the Fanclub in a way.
Ponyville, late afternoon.
The day was coming to an end.
Twilight and everypony had left the secret base in the ground as Machamp patched it up, making sure nopony falls in it by accident.
The ideas for the future Ash Ketchum Fanclub had been cemented with new ones lurking inside of their heads as they all returned home to rest.
However, inside of the base, the crumpled piece of paper had been lifted by the cosmic energy of the Rift. The paper had been uncrumpled, floating in the air as the Rift itself had arrived at the base.
Ever since Spike found the piece of paper, its interest had been piqued. The Rift wasn't planning on bringing any of these people back since it felt like Ghetsis was perfect enough.
Ghetsis had already made himself to be Equestria's largest threat due to how sinister he is compared to everyone else. He was the perfect pick.
However, the Rift did feel like bringing back one person, who wasn't as dangerous as Ghetsis, but dangerous enough to create interesting scenarios for its own amusement.
It created a cosmic hand out of thin air as it moved its finger across the paper, wondering who it wanted to bring back to stir up some chaos.
"I think I will pick...you."
The Rift had chosen someone as the paper faded away into cosmic dust, no longer being needed anymore. Whoever the Rift had brought back is sure to amuse it for the coming days in both worlds as the journey continues.
The city of peaceful strolls. A city nestled between the cliffs and the sea overlooked by steep bicycle racecourses.
At the moment, it was nighttime for Kalos and most of the Pokemon World as well. The people of Cyllage City were either asleep or were just about to clock out for the night.
Over at the Hotel Cyllage, a trainer and his Pokemon were about to do just that. With the trainer turning the lights off and his partner Carbink.
"Good going on today's Gym Battle, Carbink." He said. "I was a bit nervous going up against Grant but that Gyro Ball really helped."
"Bink! Carbink!" The Jewel Pokemon bounced up and down on the bed.
"Let's do our best tomorrow." He picked up his partner, adjusting the bed so that Carbink would have someplace to rest due to its rocky and hard body.
The Jewel Pokemon hopped on its partner's shoulder, watching him adjust the bed as Carbink let out a grumbled and exhausted yawn.
The way the moon shined through the window made Carbink's body shined, showing off its beautiful crystals which lit up the room and gave it some enchanting and relaxing sparkles, which the trainer enjoyed very much.
However, that enjoyment was cut short when Carbink could sense something nearby. "Car?" The Rock-Fairy-Type knew that this wasn't anyone friendy like the hotel employees such as the bellboy or room service. Instead, this was someone who was a mystery yet had an ominous feel to them. "Bink...!"
"What's wrong, Carbink?" The trainer asked. He couldn't sense it like Carbink but from the way his partner was acting at the moment, something unwarranted was nearby. "Where do you sense it?" He navigated his head across the room, seeing if he could spot whatever Carbink was sensing.
Just then, he could hear footsteps. Or rather, the sound of hooves moving around. Those were the sounds that reached the trainer and Pokemon as they turned their attention to the direction of the sound.
But when they turned around, they nothing. The only thing they were able to spot was a blur that had a green trail behind it. They weren't exactly sure what this green trail was as they kept searching.
Just then, the trainer's body had been outlined in a sudden light blue aura as he was suddenly frozen in place. "W-What?!" He gasped as he tried to move his limbs. "I-I can't move!"
"Carbink?!" Carbink noticed that its trainer had been surrounded by this mysterious aura, unable to move at all. Carbink was about to use Gyro Ball to make its trainer move but that was quickly stopped when a nylon rope had wrapped around the Jewel Pokemon, holding it in place. "C-Carbink!"
"Ah! Carbink!" The trainer bellowed as he kept trying to break free. He attempted to get his other Pokemon out, struggling to reach his pockets, but that was no use.
"Bink...Car...!" The nylon rope had been tightened, putting extra pressure on the Rock-Fairy-Type as Carbink couldn't use any of its moves due to how thick this rope was.
Once the rope had been wrapped around Carbink enough, the Jewel Pokemon was suddenly pulled out of the hotel room, flying out the window. "Carbink!"
The trainer had finally been released as he was dropped on the floor with the mysterious light blue aura fading away. "Ugh...!" He held his head, recovering in a short amount of time. The trainer ran towards the window, looking outside to see if he could spot his partner. But there wasn't a sign of Carbink anywhere. "Carbink!"
Carbink was gone. Stolen from its own trainer. But it wasn't just him. Most of the lights in Cyllage City had been turned on as everyone there had unexpectedly experienced something similar to the trainer.
Many of them were screaming out loud for their Pokemon, asking them to come back or for whoever stole them to return their partners as many of them came outside to find nothing. Not a trace of them.
The people of Cyllage City have just had their Pokemon stolen from them.
But what's worse, this wasn't limited to Cyllage City.
Whoever these mysterious bandits are, they were getting a move on. The only thing that the people could spot that indicated that someone had stolen them was a green blur. But that was it.
Anything else was a mystery.
Ponyville, Day.
"Hot..." Ash rested his head on a table. "How'd it heat up so quickly today?"
"Pika...chu..."
"Well, you two did run around a lot today." Fluttershy patted Ash on the head. "And summer's approaching faster than we expected. But it's probably normal in the Pokemon World."
"Oh. That reminds me." Ash raised his head from the table. "Fluttershy. You said you wanted to visit Eindoak Town, right?"
"Mhm." Fluttershy nodded. "You told me that's where Victini lives. I really want to see Victini again!"
"Okay! Eindoak's pretty far away so it'll take a bunch of days to get there. We can probably finish the Pokemon Festival and then head to Eindoak later."
"Pikachu."
"Or, Victini might come for the second festival just like how it did for the first. We could meet up again there."
"Ah, yeah that's true." Ash nodded his head along with Pikachu.
"Pikachu."
"Well." Ash stood up. "We've got I think...1 week or less before the festival starts? I can't remember. But I'm psyched either way! I wonder if I'll meet some new Pokemon I've never seen before!"
"Me too!" Fluttershy squeed. "It's so exciting isn't it?"
"Yeah!"
"Pikachu!"
"Audino...?" Audino's ears tingled as she heard a brand new sound coming towards Ponyville.
"What do you hear, Audi?" Fluttershy asked.
"Audino." Audino focused her attention on the noise, trying to figure out what it was. By getting the right frequency, it sounded a lot like a motorcycle. "Dino-Audino?"
"A motor...cycle?" Fluttershy tilted her head.
"Motorcycle? Here?" Ash squinted his eyes.
"Pikachu?"
Ponyville's never had a motorcycle come by before. They haven't even been invented in Equestria yet since their world is somewhat lagging behind the Pokemon World.
But this was the first of many.
Everypony could hear the motorcycle due to its unusual and violent noise as it got closer to the town. They were all wondering what that noise could be since they've never heard it before in their lives, minus Ash and Pikachu.
It was then revealed that the individual riding on the motorcycle was none other than an Officer Jenny alongside her Herdier. Specifically, one of the Officer Jenny's of Kalos judging by her cop uniform.
"Officer Jenny?" Ash recognized her in a heartbeat
"Pika-ka-Pikachu?"
"Hm?" Jenny turned her attention to Ash as she hopped off her motorcycle. "Oh, it's you. Ash right?"
"What are you doing here in Ponyville?" Ash asked with curiosity. It was somewhat surreal to see Officer Jenny of all people here in Equestria.
"Sorry if coming here in this small town seems a bit sudden. But I'm currently on a search right now."
"What are you searching for?" Fluttershy went up to her.
"I'm here searching for thieves." Jenny gave her reason. "And Herdier's tracking led me to this world."
"Herd."
"Thieves?!" Fluttershy gasped. "W-What did they steal?"
"Not objects, that's for sure. These thieves have been going around stealing Pokemon from trainers."
"Stealing Pokemon? Like a Pokemon Poacher?!" Ash exclaimed.
"Something like that. The other Jenny's from every other region have been on this case for a while now. We're just now starting to get somewhere."
"You mean that this has been happening frequently?" said a worried Fluttershy.
"Unfortunately. These thieves are much like Pokemon Poachers. They sell Pokemon for a profit and their own personal gains. But what makes them different from the poachers is that they don't go for Wild Pokemon. Instead, they go after Pokemon that have trainers. Many trainers from different regions have had their Pokemon outright taken from them, but only during the night."
"You said that Herdier's tracking led you here. Are they somewhere in Ponyville?" Ash questioned.
"They're not from your town. However, we've found out that they're relatively close to Ponyville. Which is why we've stopped here."
"Somewhere near Ponyville?" Fluttershy looked around, wondering which of the many landmarks the thieves were residing in. "Could somepony be stealing without us knowing?!"
"Even though these thieves are a mystery, they made the same mistake every thief does." Jenny dug into her pocket, pulling out a yellow strand of hair. "They left evidence as always."
"Pika..."
"We had our best forensics team take a look at this mane and we can safely say from all the possible culprits, none of them are from Ponyville."
"Oh thank goodness..." Fluttershy let out a deep sigh of relief.
"But they're certainly from this world. Herdier's tracking isn't over yet. These thieves are fairly elusive since we haven't caught them all yet." Jenny put the strand of hair in front of Herdier's face.
"Then we'll help you find them!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Huh?" Jenny raised an eyebrow.
"Stealing Pokemon from trainers isn't something we can just ignore, ya know. We helped before with Malamar. So let's help you again!"
"Pika!"
"Count me in too." Fluttershy hung on Ash's shoulder. "I can't sit by and let something like that just happen without anypony doing something.
"You two..." Jenny paused for a moment. She expected Ash to obviously join in but not Fluttershy. But it wasn't too out of the ordinary for her. "Alright. You obviously know this world better than I do so you can help me around."
"Great!" Ash exclaimed. "You said that they steal Pokemon at night right?"
"Right." Jenny nodded. "They seem to prefer acting in the dark. You won't catch them moving around in the day, that's for sure."
"And you said that they sell Pokemon for a profit. Do they go after Pokemon that have something valuable with them?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well...Despite them stealing Pokemon of every kind...the three Pokemon they seem to focus on the most is Persian, Clamperl and Carbink. Those three Pokemon can either create money or have valuable items apart of them. Like Clamperl's pearl or Carbink's crystals."
"So they're gonna for those kind's of Pokemon, huh? Then I've got an idea!" Ash put his hands together, already coming up with a plan to catch these thieves. "If they're close to Ponyville and they're going for guys like Carbink then there's only one thing left to do."
Night, Ponyville. White Tail Wood.
Ash's plan had been created. What did he come up with exactly?
Well, for starters, he requested the assistance of Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff to help track down the thieves by using its amazing nose. Slurpuff's sniffing abilities were more versatile and advanced than Herdier's.
He had also requested assistance from Rarity and her Pokemon. Since the thieves tend to go for the Pokemon with valuable objects with them most of the time, Rarity had decorated her Pokemon with necklaces that had gems on them.
And as a bonus, she had Ampharos out for the night, so that if the thieves get close, Ampharos can shine his tail and reveal them.
Audino was once again a huge team player thanks to her amazing hearing and this time, Twilight and her Absol were joining in. In a sense, this could be seen as a disaster to Absol, albeit a smaller scale one.
Ash, all of his friends and Officer Jenny were following Slurpuff who was tracking down the thieves by using the yellow mane as a source. Herdier helped out as well.
"Think we're close enough yet?" Applejack asked.
"Hopefully. Keep those jewels on you at all times, Pheromosa." Rarity said to her partner.
"Phero."
"I didn't know there were those who sold Pokemon for a profit by stealing them. That's awful." Twilight said.
"There are a lot of criminals in our world, unfortunately. Whether it's for profit, power or just for a ruse, there's always someone who'll take advantage of a Pokemon at any moment." Jenny replied. "The Pokemon Poachers are a huge example of that."
"Yeah..." Ash nodded. He was thinking about how many people he's met that have either taken advantage of a Pokemon's trust or used them for further power.
"Slur."
"Herdier."
Slurpuff and Herdier had stopped walking as they had finally hit the jackpot. Their scents had picked up on something potent as they both faced west.
"What did you two find?" Jenny kneeled.
"Herdier!" Herdier could sense something underground, telling his trainer that whatever they've found was deep underneath.
"Underground you say...Alright. Herdier, use Dig!"
"Dier!" The Loyal Dog Pokemon got to work. By rapidly using its paws, Herdier had dug into the ground, kicking up tons of dirt from White Tail Wood.
Audino's ears were picking up on something underground. It sounded like water flowing to her. Absol's horn wasn't acting up, meaning that there was no immediate danger nearby. But there was truly something major underneath.
After, digging a large hole, Herdier and everypony had peered their heads over, seeing something new to them, but not new to Twilight.
"This is..." Twilight gawked. "This is where Adagio captured me!"
Indeed it was. It the same damp cave that Adagio had brought Twilight to when she had the Alicorn Amulet on her. However, this time, it seemed to be occupied with tables. On those tables were Poke Balls, most likely belonging to the trainers that the thieves had stolen from.
Jenny and everyone hopped down, entering the cave as Ampharos lit his tail up, adding some glow to the area for a better view on things.
"So this is where they've been hiding out," Jenny observed as she went up to the table, picking up a Poke Ball. "Using an underground cave is rarely used by thieves actually."
"Are these all Pokemon that once belonged to their trainers?" Pinkie went up to the table.
"Looks like it. They've probably been sitting around for the entire day. Who knows how many of them used to be here and have been sold already."
"But...I don't see the thieves anywhere." Spike said. "You think they've gone out already?"
"They only act at night. So they're already out there somewhere, stealing more trainers' Pokemon." Ash replied.
"Audino...?" Just then, Audino picked up on another sound. But this time, it was the sound of a Pokemon instead of water flowing. "Dino!"
"Audi hears a Pokemon somewhere in here!" Fluttershy flew up.
"She does?!" Jenny gasped. "Where?!"
"Audino!" Audino pointed south of the cave as she quickly ran in that direction. They all followed her, wondering what Pokemon she ended up hearing. It sounded like the Pokemon was moving about with rustling being heard.
The closer Audino got, the more noises she heard. It wasn't just one Pokemon. It was multiple. And they certainly weren't coming from the Poke Balls.
By reaching the corner of the cave, they had all found multiple Pokemon that were restrained with large metal rings, nylon rope or knocked out on the ground. All of them belonged to trainers.
And one of them was the Carbink from Cyllage City, who, for the last 24 hours has been trying to blast away the rope from its body, but it was too tight. Tighter than rope can actually get.
"C-Carbink!" The Jewel Pokemon writhed on the ground, trying to break free.
"So this is where they are...Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Ash commanded.
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu went up to the restrained Pokemon, using his Iron Tail to cut the metal rings and rope in half, freeing the Pokemon that were restrained.
"Bink?" Carbink fell flat on the ground after being released. The Pokemon who had been freed looked at themselves, seeing that they no longer had restraints on them. What a relief. Their worried and whimpering cries turned into that of joy as some of them gathered around Pikachu, thanking him.
"Pi-Pika?!"
The Pokemon who were knocked out were a different story. It seems that they had put up a fight against the thieves, but were ultimately subdued in the process as some of them had scratches on their bodies, showing that there was a struggle.
"Are you all alright?" Fluttershy went up to the Pokemon who had been freed whilst Audino tended to the Pokemon who were knocked out by using Heal Pulse on them.
"Tatta! Ratta!" A Rattata and many other Pokemon chattered about their capture and how they were fine now thanks to Jenny and the others coming to rescue them.
"They were going to sell all of these little darlings?" Rarity picked up a Cottonee.
"Cottonee!"
"Seems like these are Pokemon who prefer to stay out of their Poke Balls," Jenny said.
"Well then let's grab the Poke Balls too and get out of here." Applejack suggested.
"Wait." Jenny suddenly stopped Applejack. "We're at their underground base during the night. Which means that once their usual nighttime heist is over, they'll come back here with more Pokemon."
"Then what do we do?" Spike asked.
"I say we smash em when they get back here!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Here's what we'll do." Jenny stood up. "They're going to notice the giant hole in their base thanks to Dig. They most likely enter the cave using another entrance. There's probably another hole somewhere inside of this cave they come in and out of."
"Or maybe we don't use a hole at all."
An unfamiliar voice echoed through their ears. That prompted everypony to jolt up with the ears alerted and awareness being risen to the highest level.
"Sol...!" Absol's horn was tingling. Someone of erroneous nature was nearby. Audino's ears were trying to pick up on where the voice was coming from, but to her surprise, she couldn't find a proper direction. It was almost as if the voice was coming from all directions.
"Who's there?!" Jenny shouted as her Herdier stood beside her
"Thought you could be all sneaky and sly? Sorry, but that's our thing."
"Where's that voice coming from...is it magic?" Twilight grumbled.
"Since you're here with the Pokemon...how about you join them? Secret Power."
The voice had just given off the command for a Pokemon move. It seems that they owned a Pokemon of their own and they were in hiding, unavailable to the eyes of everypony else.
Multiple green tentacle-like energy surrounded the ground, flowing up as they towered over everypony and the Pokemon here.
"W-What Secret Power is this?!" Fluttershy whimpered.
"It's the Secret Power that puts you to sleep!" Jenny realized as she and the others were starting to fall asleep due to the aura of the tentacles.
"N-Not like this...!" Rainbow Dash growled as she was struggling to stay awake.
"I don't wanna sleep now..." Pinkie Pie grumbled as she held onto Slurpuff, trying to stay up.
"If I'm generous I'll toss you all out of our base. Minus the Pokemon obviously."
"Pika..." Pikachu's eyes were almost closing shut from the browsing energy as it looked like he would fall asleep without a doubt. "C-Chuuu!" But thankfully, he found the extra strength he needed as he shocked everyone around him with 100,000 volts of electricity.
That amount of electricity was enough to keep them awake due to how potent it was. But the Secret Power had to be dealt with somehow.
"Audi! Safeguard!" Fluttershy made the right call.
"Audino...!" Audino used Safeguard by creating a protective green barrier around everyone, preventing them from falling asleep.
"Phew." Rainbow Dash sighed. "That was close."
"You're going to show yourself so I can turn you in!" Jessie growled.
"I'd like to see you try." The voice chuckled.
"If we can't see them...then it has to be an illusionary spell. Two can play at that game." Twilight lit up her horn to see if she could find this supposed unicorn with her own magic.
Twilight being an alicorn meant that her magic was superior to many unicorns with some exceptions here and there as she expelled a purple pulse of magic that filled the entire cave.
And indeed, it was an illusionary spell that was allowing the thieves to stay hidden as the spell had been cancelled out by Twilight's.
Thus, the thieves were revealed. Three of them actually.
All of them seemed to be wearing the same suit. Pitch black with green lines on the side and bottom of their hooves as there was a hole in the middle of their suit so that they could see.
"Accursed alicorn magic." The unicorn in the middle scoffed.
"Found ya!" Rainbow Dash stomped her hooves.
"I don't recognize them at all. Who are they?" Pinkie tilted her head.
"Carbink..." Carbink hid behind Fluttershy and Rarity along with the other Pokemon.
"Who are you three?!" Jenny ordered them to tell her their names.
"You won't get our real names, that's for sure. But what you need to know is that we're the Umbrage Thieves. That's all." The middle one wiped some dust off her suit.
"Umbrage Thieves?" Twilight said.
"The last thing I wanted was the Princess of Friendship getting involved." The middle one narrowed her eyes. "But if she has an Absol of all Pokemon..."
"Absol...!" The Disaster Pokemon growled at them.
"You three sicken me. I'll be bringing you all in and returning the Pokemon to their rightful owners!" Jenny and Herdier stepped forward.
"You can try." The middle one's horn began to light up, indicating that she was planning on teleporting out of here with the others. Which actually explained how they were able to enter and leave without using a hole. Much like how Adagio did the same when in here.
"No, you don't!" Twilight used her own magic to zap at the unicorn, but the stallion on the right got in the way, taking the hit for her.
"Buh-Bye." The unicorn flailed her hoof around as she teleported her fellow thieves out of the cave, without leaving a single trace at all this time.
"Wait! Jenny exclaimed. She tried to run after them, but there was no point since they used teleportation to go who-knows-where.
"See ya around~!" The unicorn's last words were in a sprightly and teasing tone as she giggled with her voice echoing throughout the cave.
"Darn it!" Jenny felt defeated.
"No need to worry." Ash went up to her. "We've saved the Pokemon here. That's all that matters right now. Now that we know who's behind it, we'll get them next time for sure."
"I suppose." Jenny sighed. "I could've finally arrested one of them."
"Who were those three anyway?" Rarity wondered.
"They looked like a unicorn, pegasus and earth pony from what I saw." Applejack replied.
"And the one the middle one was the tallest of them all. Hard to believe that only three of them were capable of stealing all of these Pokemon." Spike said.
"It's not just three," Jenny responded. "I never know about their name being Umbrage Thieves. But I and the many other Jenny's knew about their existence. There's multiple of them."
"Multiple?!" Spike screeched.
"It's hard to say how many of them there truly are. There could be some we don't even know about. Jenny put her hand on her head. "We've been chasing this case for months now and just when I thought I'd capture at least one of them..." Jenny was getting frustrated.
"Herdier..." Her partner looked up at her.
"Sorry, Herdier. I know you don't like seeing me like this." Jenny patted Herdier's head. "All of you. Thank you so much for your help. I'll return these Pokemon to their trainers immediately."
"What about this base? Now that they know we've found it..." Pinkie spoke.
"They're obviously not going to come back here at all." Jenny shook her head. "They must have other hideouts somewhere else in this world. And unfortunately, My sisters haven't really been here that often. This is my first time here among with many others."
"You can leave it to us, Officer Jenny," Ash reassured. "If we find any, we'll call you for sure! The gateway to Kalos isn't that far anyway!"
"Pikachu!"
"Thank you, Ash. Everyone. My sisters and I will be coming to this world more often because of this. Now, let's get these Pokemon back home."
Officer Jenny took everything from here. She was doing all the hard work on getting the Pokemon back to their trainers by having her sisters help her out. It took a while, but eventually, the trainers were reunited with their partners.
However, many Pokemon are still out there, missing and have been sold off due to the Umbrage Thieves. A strange and unexpected new threat involving Pokemon had originated from Equestria, but that won't be the only threat that they will all have to encounter and deal with as the journey continues.
Currently, there was a train heading there with Twilight, Ash, Spike and Starlight inside. Twilight looked outside the window with excitement in her eyes.
"I hope Shining Armor and Princess Cadance don't think it's too soon for me to come back to the Crystal Empire for a visit. But I just know Flurry Heart's grown so much already. I wonder if I'll even recognize her."
"She's the only baby they have, Twilight. I think it'll be pretty easy to figure out who she is." Starlight replied.
"Mrrgh." Twilight made an annoyed grunt.
"Sorry. I know you want to visit your niece as much as possible, and I'm excited to see Sunburst again. I just don't wanna fall behind on my friendship lessons back home."
"Starlight, your work in Ponyville isn't going anywhere. Besides, I think we all know you can learn about friendship anywhere. Right, you three?" Twilight turned to Ash, Pikachu and Spike.
"Hm?" The three of them had food in their mouths. "Mrmprhphgh!" They spoke whilst their mouths were full.
"Swallow you three." Twilight sighed.
"Mrrgh...!" The three of them swallowed their food. "Ugh..! Yeah, totally!" Ash nodded.
"Definitely." Spike grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"You boys..." Starlight shook her head.
"Where'd I put my disguise again?" Spike looked around.
"Disguise? For what?" Twilight asked.
" Last time we came to the Crystal Empire, there was a lot goin' on with the new baby and the Crystalling, but I still got mobbed in the street." Spike dug into the bag he brought along with him.
"I wouldn't say mobbed." Starlight replied.
"And this is just a family visit. I wouldn't want the presence of Spike the Brave and Glorious to turn it into some kind of circus."
"We get it. The Crystal Ponies adore you." Starlight rolled her eyes.
"He did save the Empire. Twice. But still, I don't think your presence will turn our visit into a circus." Twilight leaned in.
"Not if I find the right disguise, it won't." Spike dug deeper into his bag.
"But when we get to the Crystal Empire, won't it look a bit different?" Starlight realized something.
"What do ya mean?" Ash ate some more food.
"I heard it was attacked by Eternatus during the Darkest Day. The whole castle was blown away and the Crystal Heart would've been destroyed if the Swords of Justice didn't show up."
"It is undergoing repairs, that's true." Twilight nodded. "But I'm sure by now they've fixed most of the castle. Hopefully." Twilight rubbed Eve's back.
"Espeon..." The Sun Pokemon purred as the train continued to the Crystal Empire.
Finally arriving there, they expected to see some ponies at the train station as usual.
But when they got there, they noticed that it was empty with nopony there. The wind howled throughout the empty train station as it was practically a barren wasteland now.
"Uh, disguise or not, Spike, I don't think you need to worry about being mobbed. Nopony's here." Starlight said as a tumbleweed passed by.
"Mandi!" The sound of a Mandibuzz flying by was the only other living thing present here.
"It's like a ghost town," Spike replied as he and the others started walking towards the empire.
"I've got a bad feeling about this. Absol, come out." Twilight sent Absol out of his Poke Ball.
"Sol."
"There might be something wrong here. Keep a good look-out, okay?"
"Absol." The Disaster Pokemon nodded as his horn was ready to detect whatever might be lurking nearby.
Arriving at the Empire finally, they noticed how even the streets of the Crystal Empire were empty, just like the train station. Even with the buildings being repaired after the Darkest Day, nopony was outside.
The castle was almost done being repaired since it took the worst damage from Eternatus after all.
"Nothing...?" Ash looked around. "I don't even see any guards out right now."
"Pika..."
"I guess I don't need a disguise after all." Spike felt safe now.
But that safety was quickly diminished when all of a sudden, the crystal ponies dashed out of their homes, surrounding Spike. They were all going crazy, cheering and squealing as they picked him up when he least expected it.
" It's Spike the Brave and Glorious!" A pony shouted.
"He's come to save us yet again!" So did another.
Soon, they all started chanting his name whilst raising him and down constantly. "Spike! Spike! Spike! Spike!"
"S-Save you from what?" Spike stammered.
"Did something come here?" Ash tilted his head.
"Why is everypony hiding?" Twilight scratched her mane.
"Absol." Absol didn't feel anything ominous at all. His horn didn't act up whatsoever.
Two ponies of the Crystal Empire noticed Ash, Twilight and Starlight as their excited faces suddenly shifted into worried and doubtful ones as they started to talk behind their backs.
"Oh, it sure looks like Princess Twilight, Ash and her pupil." She whispered.
"But how can we be sure?" The pony whispered back at her friend.
"We can't! Either one of them could be the... you know!" Another pony joined in on their conversation as he zipped away.
"What if this..." The first pony grabbed her friend by the face as she gasped repeatedly. "isn't...the real Spike?!"
"Everypony, run!" The second pony exclaimed which prompted them all to dash off, dropping Spike.
"Ow!" Spike winced as he held his head. "Oooh..."
"Okay. Something strange is definitely going on." Twilight said.
"Ya think?" Spike groaned. Pikachu helped him up as they all advanced towards the castle. The citizens may be acting off today but they believed that Shining Armor and Cadence weren't. They probably knew what was going on.
However, once they arrived near the castle, two guards stood in front of them, holding their hooves out. "Who goes there?" The first guard said.
"Um, you don't recognize the Princess of Friendship?" Starlight pointed her hoof at Twilight.
"Of course we recognize her."
"But that doesn't mean it's really her." The second guard leaned in.
"Esp." Eve didn't take too kindly at that notion, so she hissed at them.
"It's okay, guys. They're with me. And any friend of Spike the Brave and Glorious is a friend of the Crystal Empire, am I right?" Spike walked up to them.
"Huh. It does look like him." The second guard rubbed his chin.
"Well, it would, wouldn't it? I'm sorry, but we'll need to see some proof of identification." The first one wasn't so convinced as he negated entrance to the castle.
"We'll take care of things from here." Thankfully, Cadence, Shining Armor and Sunburst had arrived, knowing that it was actually them.
"Oh, Cadance, thank goodness!" Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "What's going on?"
"We can explain, Twily... if it really is you." Even Shining Armor was acting odd to his own little sister. He looked over at Cadence, nodding at her as she knew what to do to make sure that it really was Twilight.
Cadence went up to Twilight, knowing that there was only one thing that could give them clear answer that this was indeed Twilight Sparkle.
"Sunshine, sunshine..." Cadence started.
"...Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Twilight did the same as they finished their little signature dance. They hugged each other afterwards with Cadence being relieved that it was Twilight.
"It's okay, everypony. It's her." Shining Armor said as Sunburst brought along Flurry Heart who was currently asleep with her Manaphy.
"Of course it's her! What's all this about?" Starlight asked.
"A changeling's been spotted nearby." Sunburst gave them the answer and reason why everypony was acting so secluded and judgemental recently.
"A changeling?!" Twilight gasped.
"That's not good." Spike chimed in.
"No, it's not." Cadence shook her head. "After Queen Chrysalis took my place at our wedding and invaded Canterlot with her army of minions and attacked during the Pokemon Festival, we're not taking any chances."
"Changelings feed off of love. And ever since Flurry Heart's Crystalling, the Empire is filled with more love than anywhere in Equestria. It's possible they've come for the baby." Sunburst rubbed Manaphy on the head.
"Phy..."
"That's why we posted the extra guards, and why we're—" Shining Armor was about to finish his sentence.
"Checking everypony's identity." Twilight finished it for him.
"I'm sorry for all of this. Flurry Heart's really been looking forward to seeing you." Cadence turned to her daughter.
Flurry Heart cooed as she and Manaphy wrestled each other. "Oh, she's gotten so big!" Twilight gushed at her. Ash, Starlight, Spike and I will do whatever we can to help protect her."
"To be honest, having you here is already a big relief. And this is Absol, right?" Cadence went up to Absol, seeing him for the first time. "I hear you're a really big help thanks to your ability to sense disasters. You must've been protecting Twilight a lot recently."
"Absol..." Absol turned his head away, trying to act all cool like he normally does.
"Espeon." Eve nudged Absol's leg, trying to tell him to act proper and polite in front of a princess.
"Sol." But Absol wasn't about that at all as he scoffed.
"Someone's a bit stubborn." Cadence giggled. "Say hi, Sylveon."
"Sylveon!" Sylveon went up to Absol to greet him. But when she did, Absol backed away, feeling intimidated by Sylveon since she was a Fairy-Type.
"A-Absol...!" Absol winced, slowly backing away.
"Veon!" Sylveon was eager with getting to know Absol as she began following him with light footsteps.
Very soon, Absol and Sylveon initiated a chase sequence with Absol running around and Sylveon chasing him. He seems to not like being near Fairy-Type Pokemon at all.
"Aw, they're getting along already." Starlight said as she and the others watched the Fairy-Type chase the Dark-Type around. The guards whispered in Shining Armor's ear, telling him something that involves the supposed changeling that was around.
"Hmm. The royal guards were wondering if Spike the Brave and Glorious would like to join in the search for the changeling." Shining Armor said what they told him.
"Really?" Spike turned to him.
"Uh, I don't know if that's such a good idea, Spike. It sounds dangerous." A very unsure Twilight grumbled.
"Come on, Twilight, this is Spike the Brave and Glorious you're talking to. Have you ever known me to run from danger? Besides. I've got Salamence on my side, so I'll be fine." Spike held his Poke Ball out.
"I guess so..." Twilight looked down. "If things get rough, then Absol will be able to pick it up."
"Right." Spike sent Salamence out.
"Salamence!"
"We'll have this whole changeling thing sorted out in no time." Spike hopped on Salamence's back as the guards did the same.
"Mence!" The Dragon Pokemon took flight, heading off to the frozen north to seek out this mysterious and elusive changeling.
The Frozen North.
Spike, Salamence and some of the Royal Guards had arrived to search for the changeling as the Dragon Pokemon landed gently on the cold ground. Although, Salamence didn't take too kindly to all this snow considering what his typing was he was freezing.
"S-Sala..." The Dragon Pokemon shivered.
"Oh, sorry, Salamence. Return for now." Spike returned Salamence.
"Spike the Brave and Glorious, you've faced the evil changelings before. What can you tell us?" A guard asked.
"Oh, uh, well, they are changelings, so they can... change." Spike gave a mediocre answer.
"You hear that? These monsters can look like any of us, so be on guard, guards! Even more than normal." But the guards actually went with it.
"And they could be anywhere." Spike pointed in all directions. "So we should cover as much ground as possible. You, search that way!" He pointed west as some of the guards zipped away in that direction. "
And you, search that way!" He then pointed east, causing the other guards to dash off, leaving Spike to be on his own. "And... I'll... just search... here, I guess."
He got to searching like the others, although he was on the more sluggish side. "Not many places to hide." He then spotted a rock. Unless that rock is a changeling. Okay, rock. How do I know you're really a rock?" He was eyeing down a rock of all things.
"Hmm. Not talkin', huh? Well, you can't fool me!" He kicked the rock, but all he got in return was some quick pain as he ended up falling through the snow.
"A-Aaaah!" Spike was now falling down a snow slope in the underground with the rock he kicked, falling into the snow hole with him. He was moving so fast that he could see a part of the underground area where there was a cliff with a deep chasm.
"Salamence! Help!" Spike sent Salamence out for assistance.
"Sala!" The Dragon Pokemon ignored the cold for the sake of saving his trainer. Salamence bit onto Spike's tail, saving him from falling down the chasm as the rock had been destroyed when it crashed into the Dragon Pokemon's body.
Salamence veered on the ground as the snow was so slippery he almost fell, but he was able to maintain his balance, fortunately.
"Whew...Thanks, Salamence." Spike let out a sigh of relief.
"Mence." Salamence dropped him.
"Okay. Maybe it's time Spike the Brave and Glorious went back to, uh, protect those guards." Spike was about to hop on Salamence's back when he noticed from the corner of his eye, he saw something very familiar.
"Sala?" And so did Salamence. With both of them turning their heads, they spotted a second Spike right in front of their eyes who had the same surprised expression as him. But not only that, there was a second Salamence as well, which certainly took the Dragon Pokemon by surprise as well.
"Gah!"
"Salamence?!"
For a split second, they were both freaked out, but they quickly assumed it was just a mirror. "Oh. Just our reflection." Spike went over to Salamence as the apparent reflection mimicked their movements, except for when one of them seemed to wince when the reflected Spike got on the reflected Salamence's back.
"Sala?"
"Huh?" Spike squinted his eyes as he noticed that slight delay and different action. "Hm..." Spike wanted to see if this was really a reflection at all.
He did this by flailing his eyes around and the reflected Spike did the same. He then grabbed Salamence's horns, flipping over them as the reflected Spike did the same to the reflected Salamence.
He went a step further with both him and Salamence waving their tongues and heads around like absolute lunatics. And the reflected versions of themselves did the same.
"Huh. Just my imagination I guess. Salamence. Use Flamethrower to get us out of here." Spike and the reflection turned around.
"Sala." The Dragon Pokemon breathed fire out of his mouth, melting away the ceiling of snow. But that's when Spike noticed something.
He turned around to see that the reflected Salamence wasn't using Flamethrower at all as the reflected Spike was still sitting on its back.
"Hey..." Spike raised his arm, pointing over at the two of them.
The jig was up. These weren't reflections at all. Instead, they were separate entities. A blue and pink light surrounded the reflected Spike and Salamence, revealing their true forms.
A changeling and a Zorua.
"A-Aaaaah!" Spike screamed, prompting Salamence to turn around, seeing how two different entities were right in front of them. "Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changeling!"
"Salamence!" Already getting defensive, Salamence stomped its foot on the ground, snarling at the changeling and Zorua.
"Zoru!" The Tricky Fox Pokemon hid behind the changeling.
"Wait, hold on!" The changeling spoke to Salamence who was on the verge of attacking at any moment. He took a step forward which alerted Spike who was still panicking.
"S-Salamence! Use Dragon Tail!"
"Sala..." Salamence embedded his tail with green draconic energy as the changeling and Zorua backed away.
"D-D-Don't attack!" The changeling waved his arms around.
"Rua...!" Zorua, who was more terrified than anyone in this area, whimpered with fear, holding the changeling's hoof tightly.
"Mence?" Salamence could see how the Zorua was practically defenceless as he didn't utilize Dragon Tail.
"Huh?" Spike noticed it too as he stopped panicking, noticing how the Pokemon was genuinely terrified of Salamence whilst also clinging on to what seemed to be its trainer.
"It's okay Zorua. See? We're completely untouched." The changeling said to the Tricky Fox Pokemon.
"Zo."
"That Zorua...is your Pokemon?"
"Uh...not really." He shook his head. "We're just friends who hang out with each other."
"Friends? Whuh..." Spike thought for a moment. "I don't understand. Changelings are supposed to be evil... right?"
"Evil? Oh, not me. All I've ever wanted is a friend. And I found one in the form of Zorua." He patted Zorua on the head.
"Rua!"
When the changeling said that, he started to recall his past a bit. "From the moment I first split my egg in the nursery hive..."
He remembered being born as the first things he saw in his life was Chrysalis and every other baby changeling that surrounded the hive.
"I was part of the attack on Canterlot during the royal wedding, but I'd never seen true friendship like that! And I couldn't just steal it and feed on its love. I wanted to share it!"
He also remembered when Ash and all of his Pokemon defended Canterlot from the Changeling invasion as he was amazed by how Ash had such a powerful bond with every last one of them.
"After that, I knew I couldn't live with my kind anymore. I set off looking for love to share, but..."
"But... what?"
"I'm starving! And there's so much love in the Crystal Empire right now. It's what drew me here! But it's drivin' me crazy!" He was twitching as his body moved uncontrollably.
"That would be from the royal Crystalling. It's pretty much a giant outpouring of light and love for a new baby." Spike placed his claw on the changeling's face, making his uncontrollable shaking come to an end. When he did that, the changeling suddenly hissed at him, prompting Spike to back up.
"Oh, sorry! I'm just so hungry! My friendship with Zorua is what's keeping me going but it's not enough since he's my only friend. And I don't think the Crystal Ponies want to be friends.
Spike thought for a moment. Seeing how this changeling befriended a Zorua made him realize that there was a possibility that he could befriend more than just one individual. "What if I told you there was somepony they respect and admire so much, he could convince them to give it a try?"
"If only that were true." He sighed.
"It is! I mean, I am! It's me, Spike!" Spike stood proud with his Salamence standing behind him. But the changeling didn't respond. He and Zorua just had a blank look on their faces. "Spike the Brave and Glorious? I'm sure you've heard of me."
"Nope. But I was raised by an evil queen. I'm Thorax. I can't believe you want to help me." He gave out his name.
"Why? Hasn't anypony ever just been nice to you?"
The kindness emanating from Spike reached Thorax which prompted him to hiss at the baby dragon yet again. "Uh! S-Sorry! Kindness like that kind of brings it out. Do you still wanna be my friend?"
"Of course! And I am one hundred percent sure I can get the whole Crystal Empire to be your friend too. I mean, I pretty sure Salamence over here now sees you as a friend. Right, buddy?"
"Sala!" The Dragon Pokemon licked Zorua.
"Z-Zorua..." Zorua shuddered after that lick.
"The whole Crystal Empire?" Thorax picked up Zorua.
"Mhm. But uh...maybe I should talk with them first." Spike grinned as there was now a new mission in mind.
The Crystal Empire.
Spike had returned with Salamence as he had told the guards about how he had managed to work his way around the changeling he encountered underground, which heavily confused the guards.
"What do you mean? Did you see the changeling?" A guard said, puzzled.
"Did you defeat the evil creature?" Another one asked.
"Defeating a changeling would be brave, but do you know what would be glorious?" Spike leaned himself onto Salamence's leg.
"Defeating two changelings?"
"Defeating all the changelings?"
"Not having to fight the changeling at all! Because I made friends with him." Spike exclaimed. Saying that prompted all of the guards around him to burst out in laughter after hearing words such as that.
"Oh, wow! For a second I thought you were serious!" A guard chuckled.
"Could you imagine? Friends with a changeling?" Another wheezed.
"I am serious. He wants to be friends!" Spike crossed his arms. But that just made them laugh louder, unfortunately.
"Not only are you Spike the Brave and Glorious, you're also Spike the Hilarious!"
"I'm not joking! The changeling is nice!" But that only prolonged the laughing, unfortunately. Salamence shook his head, letting Spike know that they weren't going to be convinced at the moment.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think it's funny." Shining Armor entered the room, prompting them all to stop laughing as they put on their serious faces. "The Changeling Queen Chrysalis kidnapped Cadance and cast a spell on me. There's no such thing as a nice changeling."
"You're right, Shining Armor. Sorry. That was a... bad joke." Spike smiled nervously.
"Mence." Salamance patted Spike on the back. That was a complete dud and a failure.
Spike returned to the underground snow area as Thorax was pacing back and forth, waiting for some results. He noticed that Spike and Salamence had returned as he was eager to hear the news.
"So? So? Uh, what did they say? How many new friends do I have?"
"Well, it didn't go exactly the way I thought." Spike hold his arm, feeling bad for his failure to give Thorax some new friends.
"I understand." Thorax groaned. "Well, thanks for trying. I-I guess it's not surprising. How can you expect ponies who looks like this..." He suddenly transformed into a regular everyday Crystal Pony. "to trust something that looks like this?" He returned to his normal form.
Just then, brilliance had struck inside of Spike's mind. "I think I might know!"
A new plan and approach had been created.
Spike returned to the Crystal Empire, but this time with Thorax under the disguise of this random pony alongside his Zorua. They entered the castle with Spike giving the hand motion that said the coast was clear as Thorax peered his head through.
"Spike." Twilight suddenly spoke, startling Spike and Thorax. "If you're done searching for the changeling, Starlight and I could use your help. We're working on a protection spell for Flurry Heart, and nopony takes notes like you."
"Uh, actually, Twilight, I, uh, wanted to introduce you to my friend, uh..." Spike stood in front of Thorax as he was sweating bullets, trying to come up with a name. First, he saw a crystal. "Uh, Crystal, uh..." Then he looked at Twilight's hooves. "Hoof! Crystal Hoof!" Spike chuckled nervously. "My good friend, Crystal Hoof." A fake name had been created by just those two things.
"Nice to meet you." Thorax or Crystal Hoof greeted Twilight with a hoofshake.
"Oh. Well, it's, uh, nice to meet you, too. How do you know Spike?" Twilight asked him.
"Oh, uh, Spike and I go way back."
"To the Equestria Games! That's when we met. We've been pen pals ever since." Spike squeed.
"Pen pals? Spike!" Twilight got in Spike's face, liking the sound of a pen pal. "You could have been using my pen pal quill set! Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well, I... I pretty much only write to him when you and Starlight are... studying."
"I like to brag to all my friends about my letters from Spike the Brave and Glorious." Thorax stammered.
"Yeah." A nervous Spike laughed along with Thorax as Eve was a bit creeped out by this, hiding behind Twilight.
"Zorua." Zorua hopped off Thorax's back, greeting Eve.
"Espeon."
"Zo!" Whenever a Zorua greets someone or meets someone new, the most common action is transforming into the person in front of them. Which is what he did, by transforming himself into Eve.
"Espeon?!"
With a small giggle, Zorua transformed back. "Zo-Zo-Zorua!"
"Well, I'm sure Starlight and I can manage if you want to spend time with your friend."
"Great! Crystal Hoof promised to take me around the city."
"Hm. Come on Eve." Twilight walked off with Espeon jumping on her back.
As Twilight left to return to Flurry Heart, Spike and Thorax could deem this as a stunning success. "Oh, that was amazing!" Thorax shouted with an excited tone.
"Told ya." Spike grinned, feeling proud of his success. But this was just the beginning.
Spike then started to give Thorax a tour of the Crystal Empire from the outside as the disguised Changeling had the face of a child in a candy store.
Absolutely ecstatic.
Many ponies had mellowed down since there was no sign of the changeling that they all feared as they approached Spike and Thorax.
With Spike being Thorax's cover-up and Salamence acting as a sort of bodyguard, things were going swimmingly as they were chatting with the crystal ponies so casually.
The crystal ponies wanted Spike's autograph on their photos of him and that's what they got. Spike signed his autograph whilst Thorax and Zorua passed the many photos to spike.
Ponies were starting to talk to Thorax which also went smooth as some of them found Zorua to be amazingly cute from its shady yet small appearance.
Eventually, Thorax saw something that caught his eye more than the empire itself. Or rather, someone. That, someone, was Ash who was currently teaching a young crystal pony new battle strategies for their upcoming gym battle.
"A-A-A-A-A-A...." Thorax aggressively poked Spike on the back, trying to grab his attention.
"Ow!" What is it?" Spike turned around.
"A-A-Ash..." Thorax stammered as he was frozen when he saw the trainer.
"Yeah, it's Ash alright." Spike nodded. "What's the big deal?"
"I've been wanting to meet him! Especially how he managed to affect the others!" Thorax grinned.
"Others?"
"There were three changelings who've met Ash a while ago after the Royal Wedding. When they came back to the hive, they kept on talking about how Ash was so kind to them. I mean they didn't like it from what I heard but I certainly did."
"Really now..." Spike's eyes widened.
"I think I can talk to him in my normal state." Thorax was about to approach as a normal changeling but Spike held him back.
"H-Hold on! Maybe doing it in public isn't the best way to go."
"Oh, right." Thorax moved back.
"But are you sure it'll be okay to just show your true self to Ash?"
"Well...they said that Ash didn't care who or what they were. But that just creeped them out. So he won't mind at all...I hope."
"Hmm..." Spike thought for a bit. "I guess Ash is super understanding. Alright. But let's do it somewhere quiet."
"Alright." Thorax nodded as he and Spike approached Ash with heavy confidence in their hearts. Well, most of the confidence is brimming within Thorax.
"Use that and you won't have to worry about Flame Body," Ash said to the little pony.
"Okay! Thank you. Mr Ash!" The little pony thanked him, before running off with her parents.
"Alright. Shining Armor said he wanted me to help him go beyond being mutual with Honedge. So..."
"Pikachu."
"Ash!" Spike called out his name as Thorax stood behind Spike.
"Oh, Spike. How'd it go? Did you find the changeling yet?"
"About that...Can we talk to you in a more private area...? With my friend over here." Spike requested.
"Sure." Ash nodded as Pikachu climbed up his shoulder. He noticed how Thorax was shaking uncontrollably as if he was about to explode at any moment.
They went to a secluded area in the empire with a fairly small gap that can be considered a back alley to some humans if they ever come across it.
"Alright. Go, Thorax." Spike gave the call.
"Okay." Thorax held his breath in as a blue light consumed his body with Ash and Pikachu watching closely. Out of the blue light came the true Thorax instead of the disguised Crystal Hoof as he revealed himself to Ash.
"Oh! A changeling?!" Ash gasped.
"Pika?!"
"D-Don't freak out! Thorax here is my friend!" Spike squeed. "He just wanted to meet you that's all."
"Yeah! I've been looking forward to this!" Thorax nodded aggressively. "I've heard great...even though they didn't like it...things about you, Ash! From the other three changelings!"
"Other three changelings...?" Ash thought for a moment, recalling when he had met three changelings in the Faye Mountains during his trip there. "Oh, yeah I remember them." Ash nodded. "Are they doing well?"
"They're uh the same as usual like every other changeling. But they're less aggressive nowadays. I think it's from when they met you."
"Wait. That whole changeling meetup thing was real?!" Spike shouted.
"Mhm," Ash replied. "We ended up meeting each other at the Faye Mountains. They were out searching for Fairy love, got into a bit of a mess and I helped them recover thanks to the Fairy Pokemon."
"That's why I wanted to meet you! Ash." Thorax placed his hoof out. "W-W-Would you be my friend?"
"Hm?" Ash looked at Thorax's hoof. "This is all so sudden. I'm kinda surprised that you and Spike are friends. And you've got a Pokemon of your own. I thought changelings didn't want Pokemon." Ash rubbed Zorua's chin.
"Zorua..."
"Zorua's not my Pokemon. We're just friends. He's my first friend anyway."
"Oh, I getcha."
"Ash...You're actually okay with this?" Spike was taken aback.
"Yeah. He's your friend after all. Then I'll consider him a friend too."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu greeted Zorua.
"Rua. Zorua."
"Guess I should've expected this. But I didn't think you'd accept him so easily, Ash." Spike said. "You did battle against Chrysalis's entire army on your own after all."
"Yeah, I know. But doubting others is way too easy. I learned that when I went to Alamos Town and met the Darkrai that lived there."
"Oh yeah..." Spike thought for a moment. "I guess Darkrai is kind of a misunderstood Pokemon."
"Most Dark-Types are." Ash picked Zorua up. "But just like your friend Thorax, they make some pretty great friends."
"Zorua!" Zorua poked Ash's nose.
"So we're actually friends?!" Thorax grinned.
"Oh, yeah. Nothing more to it."
"See? Told ya we'd make friends easily." Spike nudged Thorax.
"This is wonderful! But...What about the others?" Thorax was still unsure about everypony else. Ash was easy due to his accepting nature over every species, but ponies like Shining Armor are going to be hard to get through.
"Don't worry. If we can become friends with Ash, then there's no doubt that Twilight and the others can be your friend too!" Spike reassured.
"Yeah, but be careful, Spike." Ash suddenly replied. "Everyone's on full alert. If they see a changeling, then it's go-time."
"He's right, Spike. What if they're not as accepting as Ash?" Thorax shuddered.
"Uhh..." Spike pondered. "I uh... I don't know but...we'll have to try. Maybe stick to Crystal Hoof for the meantime, okay?"
"Alright. And thanks, Ash. For being my friend."
"No problem." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pika!"
Ash was easy enough. It was light work to make friends with him considering who he is.
But everypony else, that's another story.
Spike and Thorax, now in the form of Crystal Hoof, re-entered the castle as they were going to try and make more friends. This time with the princesses and Shining Armor. And possibly to an extent Flurry Heart.
"I don't know Spike..." Thorax suddenly spoke. "I was okay with showing my true self with Ash but...I can't keep pretending to be a crystal pony forever."
"Relax. You're winning them over. Pretty soon, nopony will care that you're a changeling." Spike replied. They made their way towards the throne room where Twilight, Shining Armor, Cadence, Flurry Heart and the royal guards were.
"Spike!" Cadence exclaimed. "Twilight told me you were off with a friend."
"Uh-hehe-ha..." Spike chuckled nervously.
"And any friend of Spike the Brave and Glorious is a friend of mine." Cadence smiled as she allowed Thorax to see the baby for himself.
The undercover changeling went up to the crib, spotting Flurry Heart and Manaphy as his pupils expanded from the sight of them. Flurry Heart cooed as Manaphy rested on her head.
"Oh, she's so beautiful!" Thorax gushed. There's so much l-love around her...! I... I...!" The amount of love radiating from Flurry Heart was abnormally overwhelming. So overwhelming that Thorax couldn't take it.
He backed up, feeling his body being perplexed by the love of this one single pony who was a baby as he couldn't focus on his transformation at this rate.
Thus, his true form had been revealed as he reverted to his changeling self.
Naturally, they all gasped as Thorax hissed by instinctive nature.
"I..." He began stuttering as he backed away, trying to control and restrain himself with repeated hisses. "I'm so......sorry...! I can't..." The hissing just wouldn't stop no matter what. "Can't...stop!"
"Spike! Get away from the changeling!" Twilight exclaimed as she used her magic to pull Spike away.
"Esp!" Eve jumped in front of Twilight, snarling at Thorax as she was ready to attack. However, strangely enough, Absol didn't do anything. He just observed instead.
"Wait, no! You don't understand!" Spike tried to explain himself.
"This changeling replaced your friend to get close to the baby! What other explanation could there be?!" Sunburst said.
"I..." Spike was left speechless as he saw how everypony had narrowed their eyes at Thorax along with Eve and Sylveon whilst Thorax kept hissing. "...I don't know."
Hearing that made Thorax whimper as he teared up. There was no point in staying here at this moment considering the hostility that filled atmosphere.
All he could do now was leave as he fluttered away. Zorua chased after his partner since he was most likely seen as an ally to an enemy.
"After it! Don't let the changeling escape!" The royal guards chased Thorax down.
"I hope your friend is okay," Cadence spoke.
"Yeah... Me too." Spike said silently, tearing up.
"Sol..." Absol had observed the entire situation. From the first look and how Thorax was acting, the Disaster Pokemon had already come to a simple conclusion.
Thorax was now being hunted down.
Guards were now plastered everywhere across the empire as they were on the lookout for Thorax. All the while, Spike had his head lowered, walking in the streets as he felt guilty for not sticking up for his friend.
With his head low and his only view being the ground, he ended up bumping into Ash and Pikachu, falling on his back. "Ow!"
"Oh, sorry Spike. You okay?" Ash helped him up.
"Fine...at least physically." Spike stood up, sighing.
"What's wrong?"
"Pikachu?"
"You were right, Ash. It wasn't that easy...Not even close. I barely did anything back there."
"It's about Thorax, right? I guess something must've happened that made all these guards come out here."
"I don't know what I was thinking. I could've said something but...now he's probably long gone from here."
"Got nervous, right? I know how ya feel. Trying to stick up for someone who's not so liked by others can be pretty tough to get by."
"How do you do it, Ash? You seem to make friends with pretty much anyone." Spike sighed. "I'm just..."
"The same." Ash kneeled. "You already made friends with him in a short amount of time. That's some Grade-A friendship skills if you ask me."
"Pikachu-Pi!"
"Really...?" Spike looked up at him.
"You're already awesome at making friends. Even with ones no one else expects. Guess being heroic isn't the only thing so magnificent about you." Ash gave Spike a light nudge.
"Gee...thanks, Ash."
"No problem. Go on." Ash stood up. "You can still catch up to him if he just left."
"R-Right! I think I know where he might be!" Spike sent out his Salamence.
"Mence!"
"Let's go, Salamence!" Spike hopped on Salamence's back.
"Sala!" The Dragon Pokemon already knew where he had to go and what needed to be done as he took flight, creating a shockwave that almost blew Ash's hat off.
"W-Woah...!" Ash held his hat as he saw Spike and Salamence fly off into the distance. "Guess we'd better see how things are inside."
"Pikachu."
And that's what they did. They already knew with how cautious the empire was, now that the changeling had been revealed in front of their very eyes, they've gone above and beyond cautious as even the inside of the castle was flooded with guards.
Left and right, zooming and searching every part of the castle, even the parts that hadn't been repaired yet thanks to Eternatus, there was no time for rest whatsoever.
Needless to say, Ash and Pikachu were amazed by how active the guards were right now. More than they usually are.
"Ash! Pikachu!" Twilight flew over to them. "Are you two okay?"
"Yeah. We're fine." Ash nodded. "But uh...Can't say the same for everyone here. I've never seen them move around this fast before."
"They have to. The changeling had just been found. Even if it looks like a bit much, it could be anywhere. Have you seen it anywhere?"
"Well, Spike's gone after Thorax to talk to him so searching here's a bust. But I guess this psyches them all up more than ever."
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded.
"What?!" Twilight gasped.
"Spike's gone directly to the changeling?!" Shining Armor exclaimed as the royal guards surrounded Ash.
"He could be in trouble!" Cadence bit her hoof. "All by himself...!"
"Nah he's fine." Ash shook his head. "Besides, he's got Salamence with him."
"Where is he?!" Shining Armor asked.
"The Frozen North. But I think we should let them talk instead of interrupting."
"What?" Twilight pulled back. "Ash! Why would we let Spike just go to him and talk?"
"Because they're friends."
"Pika."
"Friends? There's no way anypony can become friends with a changeling." Shining Armor shook his head.
"Spike sure did. So did me and Pikachu." Ash rubbed Pikachu's chin.
"Chu!"
"Ash...you really made friends with a changeling?" Starlight said.
"Mhm. It ain't so bad, ya know! Plus Thorax and Zorua kinda work well with each other. Even if Thorax and Zorua aren't like Pokemon trainers. Guess they don't know about Poke Balls yet." Ash chuckled.
"Pika-ka-ka."
"Friends..." Twilight thought for a moment.
"Absol." Absol responded to Ash's words, walking up to Twilight. "Sol." Absol looked Twilight in the eyes. Even if he couldn't communicate appropriately with Twilight, much like many Pokemon, the eyes can somehow be the best translator.
Twilight stared into Absol's eyes, seeing how the Disaster Pokemon was seemingly agreeing with Ash. Then, something hit Twilight's head.
Absol had essentially reminded Twilight about the words that Queen Serperior once said to her in PokePark. Words that were kindly translated by Fluttershy.
"Queen Serperior says that for many years, the ancestors of most Dark-Types have been the cause of terrible outcomes that affected the future. It's due to their actions that their descendants are misunderstood or even shunned. The Dark Aura that lays within them spreads to all Dark-Type Pokemon as the years go by."
And she even remembered how she replied to Queen Serperior's words when Fluttershy translated them.
"So, that's why they have a bad reputation...huh. But still! We've seen some Dark-Types be accepted by others. Luna's Darkrai is a friend to most of Ponyville and Canterlot, and these Bisharp here ended up saving our lives when the other Bisharp's attack. There has to be a way to get everypony to know that not all Dark-Types are bad."
And looking at Absol, Twilight remembered his dex entry and how he had been misunderstood since people thought he brought about disasters. When in reality, he was just trying to warn them. As with many Absol's throughout the years.
"Oh," Twilight said. "Cadence. Shining Armor. I think Ash is right. Maybe we should let Spike handle it on his own."
"Why?" They both turned to her.
"Well, like Ash said. Because they're friends."
Meanwhile, at The Frozen North, underground.
Spike and Salamence returned to find Thorax if he was still here that is.
"Thorax!" Spike called out for his friend's name. "Thorax! Zorua!" He then tried calling for Zorua as well.
"Zo." Spike got a response as Zorua revealed himself by hiding behind a pile of rocks. "Zorua?"
"Oh! Zorua!" Spike hopped off Salamence's back, running up to the Tricky Fox Pokemon. "But where's Thorax?"
"Right here," Thorax responded as he was lurking in the shadows, right near the darker parts of the underground. "Why'd you come back here?"
"Because you're my friend. I just wish I had been one to you. I should've said at least something, ya know..." Spike sighed, feeling very guilty.
"It's okay, I know it's hard. Everyone in the Crystal Empire loves you. I couldn't ask you to give that up for me." Thorax lowered his head.
"You don't have to ask." Spike turned around, walking with confidence as he got on Salamence's back. "Get on."
"What are you gonna do?"
"What I should've done in the first place."
With 100% confidence, Spike returned to the Crystal Empire with Thorax by his side. This time, he had a ton of poise assurance in his heart as he was ready to defend his friend.
He came face to face with everypony, ready to speak his mind and say what he had to say. Twilight, after reminiscing about her experiences and lessons revolving Darkrai, approached Spike with something different in mind.
"Spike. Listen...I know you're probably not happy about us chasing your friend out and all...but if you have something you need to say then go ahead."
"Twilight?"
"Out of all the lessons I forgot, it had to be the one that Queen Serperior taught me. You know what I mean, right?"
"I know what you mean. Honestly, becoming friends with Thorax reminded me a lot about Dark-Types. In a way, changelings are like Dark-Type Pokemon. Sure some of them are cruel to the core like Malamar and Ghetsis's Hydreigon, but others can be great and a blast to be around, like Darkrai and Absol."
"Sol." Absol nodded.
"Just like those two...I can't judge someone based on some bad eggs from their group, ya know. And I know some of you guys still don't trust Thorax or any changeling, but, if that's the case, then I'll keep defending him and I'll stick by him at all times. Because he's my friend."
"...Yeah. Spoken like a true Pokemon trainer." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Well. If Queen Serperior were here, she'd be proud of you, just like how I'm also proud of you Spike." Twilight smiled. "You're both a great Pokemon trainer and a worthy hero.
"Aw geez..." Spike squeed as Salamence licked him.
"As the Princess of Friendship, I try to set an example for all of Equestria. But today, it was Spike who taught me that a new friend can come from anywhere. I guess everypony still has things to learn about friendship. Even me! And if Spike says Thorax is his friend, then he's my friend too." Twilight put her hoof out.
Seeing how Twilight was actually offering a true hoofshake made Thorax walked up to her to do the same. With confidence, a certified hoofshake was made.
"Thank you." Thorax wiped a tear.
"On behalf of the Crystal Empire, I would like to extend my hoof in friendship, and I'm sure all of my subjects are eager to do the same." Cadence suddenly spoke.
"Zo!" Suddenly, right beside Cadence, there was a second changeling just standing next to her. This startled Cadence as it was then revealed to be Zorua who giggled afterwards. "Zo-zo-zo-Zorua!"
"And Zorua too." Cadence patted Zorua on the head as all the guards let out resounding cheers. Absol felt at peace, knowing that someone he can relate too had also found their own form of peace as well.
"Absol."
"And Absol. I guess I should apologise to you as well." Twilight turned to her partner. "Becoming your trainer should've made me-"
"Sol." Absol put his paw on Twilight's mouth. She didn't have to say anything else. Plus, Absol could do without the whole heart-warming touchy-feely stuff since the room already has enough of it.
"Welcome to the Crystal Empire, Thorax. I'm sorry we didn't take the time to get to know you. Maybe we can change that now." Shining Armor said to Thorax.
"That'd be so amazing! I want to know all about friendship, and maybe one day I can take that knowledge back to the Changeling Kingdom! If my kind learned how to create love for one another, maybe they wouldn't have to take it from others!"
"To Spike the Brave and Glorious!" A guard exclaimed, prompting the others to cheer even further.
Dragonite came out of its Poke Ball, enjoying the positive vibes here whilst Starlight's Hatterene wasn't feeling fond of it all. She was like Absol, but her feeling on positivity was a bit more on the extreme side as Dragonite hugged Thorax and everyone near him.
"Looks like you were right after all." Starlight turned to Twilight.
"Right about what?"
"Friendship lessons can happen anywhere."
With a brand new and unlikely friend being gained thanks to Spike's own efforts, a new kind of bond had been formed between a dragon and a changeling and now very soon, ponies. With Thorax being the first changeling to make a hefty amount of friends, the future seems unpredictable for them from now on as the journey continues.
The time had come for Celestia to raise the sun as she let out a tiny yawn whilst rubbing her eye.
"Pokemon Festival is in just 4 days. " She said to herself whilst still building up energy within. She used her magic to do what she normally does. Raising the sun.
She expected today to end up being peaceful and normal until the Pokemon Festival arrives which is when things get hectic. But Celestia, her little sister Luna and to an extent Pyrestar had no idea what was coming their way.
"Ugh..." Luna came out of her room, slumping on the floor as Celestia noticed.
"What's wrong, Luna?"
"Musharna...I had to give chase to her for 4 hours last night. I was only able to receive 5 hours of sleep..." Luna groaned. "I wish she wouldn't be so hyperactive during the night. It doesn't help that she comes out of her Poke Ball by force."
"No need to worry." Celestia helped her little sister up. "I'm sure you will find a way around Musharna's night-time escapades. If it's even possible."
"Mrrgh..." Luna grumbled as she nodded.
Just then, a royal guard came over with a letter at his disposal. "A letter your majesty. You uh...might want to see this more than anything."
"Hm?" Celestia took the letter from the guard, opening it up. He said they might want to see this more than anything so it must be important.
It was important. But not in the way they expected. One look at the letter as their eyes bulged out, their wings stood up as their horns were flashing aggressively.
"OH!" Both of them screamed. What they saw took them completely off guard as they both said these words in unison. "Mother and Father are coming for a visit?!"
"Arcanine..." Arcanine licked his paws as he overheard their words. But he didn't think too much of it so he just went back to sleep with Philomena landing on his head, creating a symbiotic relationship.
"They're visiting?! Now?! Of all times?!" Luna screeched.
"Who's visiting?" Darkrai emerged from the shadows beneath the floor.
"Mother and Father! They just had to pick a timeline such as this to come back..." Luna bit her hoof, shaking uncontrollably.
"And with Pokemon nonetheless..." Celestia looked up.
"Why so worried? They're just your parents. Aren't you thrilled to see them again?"
"You don't understand, Darkrai!" Luna grabbed Darkrai's face, pulling him close. "Them being here with Pokemon involved would be a disaster!"
"Why? Don't they already know we exist? You said that they see everything in Equestria."
"Oh, they do. But interacting is a very different story! I'm not sure they'd be able to withstand this new word. Especially mother."
"What exactly do you mean?"
"Well...There was this one moment in time when Celestia and I were still young." Luna began to reminisce of the past.
"Luna. Can you bring your sister over? She'll want to see this." Their mother Sunlight spoke to a very young unicorn Princess Luna.
"Hrrmmm...Why do I have to fetch her?" Luna grumbled.
"You don't have to!" A young unicorn Princess Celestia exclaimed as she came running into the room. "I heard about it! Mother! You brought me a-" Just then, Celestia ran a bit too fast as her hoof scraped on the edge of the door. "Ow!" It didn't hurt that much. Just a slight bump.
But to her mother, that slight bump wasn't slight at all. The moment she saw Celestia's hoof taking a tiny amount of damage, she lost it.
"CELESTIA!" Sunlight screeched. "MY SWEET CELESTIA HAS BEEN INJURED! MY ANGEL-" Sunlight suddenly passed out as her husband Eventide caught her.
"Eh! Sunlight!" Eventine gasped. "Sunlight!"
"It's just a bump..." Celestia blew on her hoof as Luna giggled afterwards.
"So your mother is amazingly strong yet super delicate emotionally?"
"Yes...Especially when it comes to family." Celestia sighed.
"Which is why with Pokemon involved, who knows what her reaction will be once she gets here. In fact, since she's been overseeing this new world along with father, she must've passed out so many times whenever we were in danger!" Luna gulped.
"Hm. Then you sort that out on your own. I can't meddle in family business." Darkrai returned to the shadows, going off to who-knows-where.
"Should we have everypony in Equestria keep the Pokemon inside of their Poke Balls?!" Luna turned to Celestia. "Find a way to seal off the gateway to the Pokemon World?!"
"No-no-no." Celestia shook her head. "Besides, you said it yourself, Luna. She's seen everything we've done involving Pokemon. She's most definitely seen my battle with Ghetsis and how I was injured severely."
"That's what I'm afraid of! What if she casts a spell that forces Pokemon to stay in their world?! She already knows how dangerous they can be!"
"Without a doubt she does. But she's also seen how we've bonded with our Pokemon as well." Celestia went over to Luna, putting her hoof around her little sister. "I'm sure she'll love Pokemon when she and father get here."
"I suppose. Oh, speaking of father...would he love or hate Pokemon I wonder?"
"Father has a very curious nature. Whether for better or for worse. We will just have to wait and see what happens."
The parents of Celestia and Luna. Also known as Eventide and Sunlight. Them visiting today can be considered a special occasion.
They haven't been seen for centuries ever since Celestia and Luna reached their teenage years. Their whereabouts remained a mystery to many with no trace of them being left behind.
Before Celestia, they were the two rulers of Equestria until their oldest child took over. But even with their century-long absence, many ponies of Equestria, even the modern-day ones, know about their existence thanks to history books.
Celestia and Luna stood near the balcony, expecting their parents to appear there since it was always their favourite spot to stay at together.
A beam of light shot down from the skies themselves, breaking through the clouds as Celestia and Luna had the biggest grin on their faces.
And why wouldn't they? They were going to see their parents once more after so long as the beam of light hit the balcony, spinning around like a turntable.
However, once the light dispersed, it was revealed that only one of them showed up. That being their mother. The former Queen of Equestria, Sunlight.
Looking almost like Celestia with slight differences, but one major thing that stuck out was how her body was constantly surrounded in this golden aura.
And what a delight it was to see their mother once more. Their faces were taken over by wide grins as they looked like their younger selves for a moment there.
"Celestia! Luna!" Sunlight suddenly rushed over to her daughters, hugging them with possibly the greatest embrace there was.
"Mother!" They both exclaimed as they took in their mother's warm embrace.
"My little ponies! It feels so wonderful to physically see you again!" Sunlight raised them up with her own strength since she was taller than them both.
"It's great to see you as well, mother!" Celestia grinned as she and Luna had been put down. "It's been actual centuries since we've seen you!"
"Indeed it has! Although, your father and I have been watching you every single day. Well, apart from when we sleep. I can finally interact with this brand new world at last! Where are those Pokemon of yours?" Sunlight moved her head around.
"Oh. Right. I believe you've already seen Passion and Arcanine right?" Celestia turned her head to her two Pokemon who had just seen Sunlight come in.
"Garde?" Passion's head peeking out as she was a bit shy and nervous to see the mother of the trainer she loves so much.
"Arc." Arcanine was more upfront than Passion as the Legendary Pokemon could sense the same positive vibes from Sunlight, much like his trainer as he went up to Sunlight, licking her. "Arcanine!"
"Aww!" Sunlight giggled as she put her hooves on Arcanine's fur. "So hot yet so soft at the same time! What a good boy!"
"Canine! Arcanine!"
"Passion. Come and say Hi." Celestia said to her partner.
"Gardevoir?" Passion scooted over to the side. She revealed her full self to Sunlight as she had no idea how to approach her. This was a bit similar to how Passion first met Celestia back in Lilycove City.
"Oh, come here you!" Sunlight welcomed her with open hooves. Her positivity radiated well with the Embrace Pokemon. It was so potent that Passion's shyness went away.
"Voir." Passion went up to Sunlight as she was then met with a surprise hug, which she enjoyed very much. "Gardevoir!"
"And where's that Darkrai fellow of yours, Luna? Hiding in the shadows again?"
"Oh, Darkrai? Well, Darkrai isn't so forward with greetings. He mostly meets others during the night or certain situations."
"Ah, so he's the bashful kind, I see." Sunlight giggled. She knew exactly what to say to get Darkrai out of the shadows.
"Bashful?!" Darkrai emerged from the shadows.
"There you are! Darkrai! I've been wanting to meet a Pokemon such as yourself!"
"Ah-" Darkrai realized that Sunlight tricked him into coming out of the shadows. "Urgh...Hello."
"Oh, someone's a bit of a grump." Sunlight appeared behind Darkrai. "You remind so much of Celestia's more rebellious years!"
"They weren't rebellious, mother..." Celestia pouted. "I was just a bit doleful, that's all."
"All of you. Thank you so much for protecting my little Celestia and Luna!" Sunlight pulled in Passion, Arcanine and Darkrai, giving them each her own loving hug.
It truly felt like the warm hold of a mother. Darkrai didn't want to make it seem like he was enjoying this at all. Even though he was.
"By the way...where is father, actually?" Luna looked around as she just realized that Eventide, their father, hadn't shown up.
"Hm? Oh. Your father's gone off to possess the body of that Ash Ketchum boy." Sunlight casually answered.
"He WHAT?!" Luna screeched. "Why?!"
"Well for three reasons. Your fondness to Ash, how Ash saved your life from those Nightmare Pokemon and because he's just curious about what a human body feels like."
"He cannot just do that! Ash's body is his own, it is off-limits from anypony!"
"Anypony except for you?" Sunlight teased.
"Mrrgh...!" Luna grumbled, looking away as she blushed.
"Don't worry. I'm sure they'll get along swimmingly. But right now...Let's catch some Pokemon!" Sunlight raised her hooves, flailing them about.
"Catch some Pokemon?" Celestia and Luna both said.
"Of course! You didn't think I'd miss out on this opportunity, did you? There's a 50% chance that both worlds will remain connected or will separate with everything returning to normal. So it's best to enjoy everything life has to offer before that happens! And involving myself with Pokemon is just what I might need! It looks so enjoyable from what I've seen!"
"She's right..." Celestia nodded. "Can't-miss an opportunity."
"Let's get rolling!" Sunlight cheered as she spread her wings out, ready to explore this new world for herself as her daughters followed.
Ponyville, day.
"Mienfoo! Mega Punch!" Rainbow Dash was currently training with Ash by having her Mienfoo go up against Ash's Lucario, to help Mienfoo improve and prepare for her future battles.
"Lucario! Block!"
The Martial Arts Pokemon thrust her paws towards Lucario while the Aura Pokemon caught her paw, blocking the Mega Punch.
"Foo-Foo!-Mienfoo!" Mienfoo repeatedly used Mega Punch whilst Lucario kept on casually preventing her from landing any hits. Lucario noticed that Mienfoo was getting feisty as she didn't see this as training anymore but an actual battle. "Mien!"
"Lu." Lucario, realizing that Mienfoo was getting a bit too adventurous, used his aura to push her back, forcing her to stop her assault.
"Mienfoo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon fell on her back.
"Mienfoo." Rainbow Dash flew over to her partner, helping her up. "It's just a training exercise, not a real battle, ya know."
"Foo." She crossed her arms, essentially saying that if it was a real battle, she would've mopped the floor with Lucario. Rainbow Dash chuckled at how stubborn Mienfoo was.
"But that's good." Ash put his hand on Lucario's shoulder. "Just shows how much Mienfoo wants to get stronger."
"Cario." Lucario nodded.
"Well, don't waste too much energy you two." Twilight flew over. "The Pokemon Festival is in four days and you'll need all the energy you can get. This second one's going to be longer than the first after all."
"Right. We'll be fully pumped up for it." Ash and Rainbow Dash bumped their hooves and fists together. "Alright, Dash. Let's try Dragonite and Altaria now."
"Sure!" Rainbow Dash dug into her saddlebag, ready to take out Altaria's Poke Ball. But from the corner of her eyes, she noticed a dark blue light shooting towards this direction. "Hm?" She raised her head, turning to where her eyes spotted this light.
The dark blue light was closing in, aiming directly for Ash from what she noticed. Naturally, this prompted Rainbow Dash to act fast. "Ash! Look out!" She shoved Ash out of the way, expecting to take the impact of this mysterious light herself.
But she was juked. The light transformed into a wisp as it flew over Rainbow Dash who ended up falling flat on her face. The wisp had then reached its target as it forced itself inside of Ash's body.
"Woah!" Ash gasped as he was frozen in place.
"Ash!" Everypony exclaimed as they witnessed this wisp suddenly enter Ash.
"Pikapi!"
They all watched as Ash suddenly lowered his head with his hat almost falling off. They believed that something horrible had happened to Ash as he was unresponsive all of a sudden.
But before they could act, Ash stood up tall, adjusting his hat and jacket as he looked like he was back to normal. Until he spoke.
"Hm. So this is what a human body feels like." Ash's voice was suddenly different. His normal voice could still be heard but it was layered with a deeper sounding voice that none of them have ever heard before.
"A-Ash? Are you okay?" Pinkie asked in a worried tone.
"Hm? Oh, no-no-no." Ash shook his head. "I'm not Ash Ketchum. I'm just possessing his body."
"Posse-" Twilight froze for a second before lighting her horn up. "Who are you?! Get out of Ash!"
"Who am I? You don't recognize my voice? Oh, well I suppose there's nothing in the Canterlot Library that allows somepony to hear the voices of the past after all. Unless..." Ash put his finger on his chin.
"Pi-Pikapi?"
"Voices of the past? Who are you exactly?" Rarity asked.
"Ahem." Ash cleared his throat. "I am King Eventide! The former ruler of Equestria alongside my wife Queen Sunlight!"
"..." They all froze for a minute, trying to process what they had just heard. Almost all of them had no idea what they had just heard except for Twilight, who recognized the name Eventide and Sunlight.
"...Who?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"King Eventide?!" Twilight screeched, startling all of her friends.
"Just Eventide. I'm no longer king anyway."
"Who's King Eventide?" Starlight turned to Twilight.
"How do you all not know of him?! He and Queen Sunlight were once the rulers of Equestria before Princess Celestia took over! I know he's centuries-old but we have records about him and Queen Sunlight!"
"Oooh..." They all nodded gently in unison.
"This generation's ponies are much more lively than my generation's. Ah, but that's not important right now. What is important is this body. I've never felt like this before!"
"Pika?"
"It's so flexible! So free and light yet it wields heavy amounts of power behind it! I could get used to this!"
"Y-You're not planning on possessing Ash's body forever, are you?" said Fluttershy.
"What? Of course not. I just wanted to test this out for myself. These humans are a species that greatly interest me. How they're able to tame these mighty beasts known as Pokemon. And speaking of which, hello there my little electric friend."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped on his shoulder. Even if it wasn't Ash, just the body, he could still feel a bit of his trainer.
"Pokemon are such interesting creatures..." Eventide scratched Pikachu's chin. "It was worth leaving the Ambrosial Plane for this!"
"Ambrosial Plane?" Twilight squinted her eyes. "I've...never heard of that before."
"Well, it only makes sense. You won't find it in any books, ruins, countries or any source of history there is. It's an entirely different plane of existence with the highest dimension our world has to offer."
"A different plane of existence?" Twilight gawked.
"Only Sunlight and I have been there. It sounds lonely but it is actually thrilling with endless possibilities. But you don't want to hear me ramble. I suppose I should properly greet the boy who saved my daughter." Eventide finally left Ash's body by flowing out as a tiny little wisp.
"Ugh..." Ash held his head, feeling a bit woozy. "Hoo boy."
"Pikapi!"
"What happened...?"
"That." Starlight pointed her hoof at the wisp which was now taking form. The wisp spun around, forming a spiralling pillar as a silver aura emanated from it.
After the wisp had been dispersed, the former king of Equestria had been revealed. Eventide. Identical to his youngest daughter, Luna, showing which side of the family Luna gets her genes from as Eventide had a silver aura around him.
"Oooh!" Ash gawked. "Who's this?!"
"The one who just possessed you earlier. So this is King Eventide?" said Twilight.
"Feels wonderful to be back on solid ground once more. I haven't introduced myself to you, boy. My name is King Eventide. Or Eventide. No longer King."
"King...?" Ash observed Eventide's appearance as he noticed how he resembled Luna. Ash came to one possible conclusion. "Wait! Are you-"
"Celestia and Luna's father? You'd be correct." Eventide nodded.
"Awesome!" Ash grinned. "Wait you possessed my body? Just as cool too!"
"Hah! I like your enthusiasm and energy, boy!" Eventide went over to Ash, patting the human on the back. "Reminds me of my younger years! Wish I could gain that kind of energy back actually..."
"But wait. Why show up now?" Starlight asked.
"Ah, Sunlight and I were just curious. Curious about the same thing. Pokemon. These creatures, big or small, we've been observing them from the Ambrosial Plane." Eventide went over to Pikachu.
"Pika!"
"You too?" Fluttershy flew over to him. "They're amazing aren't they?!"
"Amazing doesn't begin to describe it. Out of everything I've seen in Equestria, from the past to the present, I have never come across a group of creatures that are so versatile in everything. Makes my many years of studies look pathetic actually."
"Wait, you said that you've been observing us from the Ambrosial Plane. Have you been watching everypony this entire time?" Rarity pondered.
"Right. I suppose the one benefit of transcending to the Ambrosial Plane is that you gain full omniscience. But um...it does get a bit uncomfortable being able to see everything."
"Lu..." Lucario knew how Eventide felt. Whilst Aura isn't on the same level as omniscience, every Lucario could still find out things that they preferred they never knew about by using aura to read trainers.
"Oh well. I'm rambling again. I came here to experience Pokemon for myself. Where to begin..." Eventide looked around.
"Shouldn't you be with your daughters?" Applejack squinted her eyes.
"Oh!" Eventide gasped. "Curses! My curiosity has ruined me! I forgot about my own daughters...!" Eventide was suddenly near a tree, curled up into a ball as he huddled. "They must hate me for being absent. I must be what the new generation call Deadbeat Dads..."
"No need to worry." Ash patted Eventide on the back.
"Pika-Pika,"
"You're right!" Eventide stood up. "I shall enjoy Pokemon whilst spending time with my daughters! The perfect balance! Ash Ketchum. You're the biggest Pokemon expert currently in this area. Mind touring an old relic such as my self."
"Sure thing! We'll have a blast!" Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Excellent! I sense that Sunlight and my daughters are..." Eventide was picking up on their presence due to his horn glowing blue. "They're hearing straight towards the Pikachu Highlands. I believe that's what it is called."
"That's not too far." Fluttershy looked at Pinkie Pie. "We can catch up to them easily."
"Correct! But we won't need trotting to do so. Everypony. Gather around me." Eventide commanded. And that's what they did.
Ash and the other's gathered around whilst Eventide's horn started to emanate. In no amount of time, Eventide had brought them near the Pikachu Highlands with an outstanding teleportation spell.
It took 5 seconds for everypony to realize that they had just been teleported as Eventide casually walked off. The teleportation was so fast that it took a while for them to process and register it.
"P-Pika?!"
"W-Whuuu-Huh?" Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she and her friends almost lost their balance.
"Ooh. May have missed the mark. We're not directly at the Pikachu Highlands. I'm getting a bit rusty." Eventide sighed.
"That...That was fast..." Twilight looked at her hooves. "Is that what advanced alicorn magic is like?"
"Come on you all. We can probably beat them to the highlands first." Eventide called for them all. They all shook their heads with their brains finally processing the teleportation speed as they followed the former king to the highlands.
With Sunlight, Celestia and Luna, they had stopped by at Deerling Forest which was close to the Pokemon Highlands. Sunlight found the Deerling to be too cute to pass by.
"How precious!" Sunlight held a Winter form Deerling's face.
"Deer!" The Season Pokemon nuzzled its nose on Sunlight. "Deerling!"
"To think that I had almost missed out on something as amazing as this. Thank goodness the existence of Pokemon has been keeping the Rift entertained."
"She's still so excited isn't she..." Luna said.
"Hm." Celestia nodded. "Centuries later and not much has changed."
"Of course not." Sunlight had managed to hear them both. "The only time you will ever see me change is by appearance. After all, it took quite a while for my mane to become ethereal."
"I do wonder about that..." Luna tilted her head. "Our manes becoming ethereal at a certain age. How is it that it took much longer for you and father?"
"Who knows?" Sunlight shrugged. "Speaking of which, Celestia." She dashed over to her oldest daughter. "How goes your relationship with that Cobalion you love so much?"
"Hm? Well...It's...Unfortunately, I've been missing many opportunities to spend some time with him." Celestia lowered her head. "But I'm not sure that Cobalion minds at all."
"Oh. Don't feel so down, dear. It takes time. When I first met your father, it took about 12 years for us to get together, after all. Mostly due to many situations that just had to get in the way."
"I suppose. But I swear someday I'll find the perfect time. I just have to hope nothing important shows itself." Celestia sighed.
"Haha!" Sunlight chuckled. "Celestia, dear. Something important always shows up. No matter what. Anyway, let's head on over to the Pikachu Highlands. Those are by far my favourite Pokemon, even if I haven't met them yet!"
Excited as she can be, Sunlight trotted onwards to the Pikachu Highlands, waving goodbye to the Deerling's as her two daughters followed.
Eventually, the two groups ended up crossing paths with each other once they had arrived at the Pikachu Highlands together.
Ash and the others got to see what Celestia and Luna's mother looked like. And indeed, the genes were very effective as Sunlight was a near-perfect mirror of Celestia.
"Oh! You're Celestia and Luna's mother, right?!" Ash exclaimed as everypony else gawked at her.
"Pika?!"
"Oh! A Pikachu!" Sunlight appeared in front of Pikachu, standing next to Ash.
"Pi-Pikachu?!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon was startled as Sunlight ended up grabbing him with her hooves. "Pi?!"
"This is my first time holding one!" Sunlight brought Pikachu up to her face, rubbing her face on his as she squealed. "So soft and-"
"Pika...CHUUUU!" Pikachu responded by sending a blast of 100,000 volts of electricity that affected everyone in the entire area, minus the Pikachu's who either ate it up or weren't that affected.
"Electrifying..." Sunlight wailed as she coughed out smoke.
"Pikachu."
"100,000 volts of electricity from something so small..." Eventine groaned. "That is more than enough to restart a heart..."
"Pika!" The other Pikachu's called for Ash's Pikachu, welcoming him back to their wonderful highlands.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu waved back at his fellow Electric-Types as Sunlight placed him down. Pikachu ran over to them, deciding to do some catching up to his Pikachu pals. "Pika-Pika. Pikachu. PIKA!"
"Pika?!"They jerked back. "Pikachu?"
"Pika." Ash's Pikachu nodded.
"Oh, really?!" Fluttershy gasped with a wide smile on her face.
"What? What did they say?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Pikachu asked them if they wanted to join the upcoming Pokemon Festival and they all said yes! This is getting exciting!" Fluttershy translated as she squeed.
"All those Pikachu's in the festival...?" Spike began thinking of what that scenario might end up being. He pictured repeated sparks of electricity filling the festival in every location they go to. The skies might be covered in electricity by that point.
"Aw...I want a Pikachu of my own." Sunlight gushed. "Then I could bring it back with me to the Ambrosial Plane."
"Why not?" Pinkie bounced over. "You can have one right now!"
"I could but unfortunately...that's not possible..." Sunlight shook her head.
"What's not possible?" Rarity went up to her.
"Well, you see, there's a reason why we've been so absent from Equestria and only residing in the Ambrosial Plane." Eventide spoke. "It's our bodies."
"Your...bodies?" Twilight blurted.
"You see this aura around us?" Sunlight stood up, referring to the golden and silver aura that they had around them. "This aura is a sign of our current state."
"Before our leave to the Ambrosial Plane, we had both become Transcended Alicorns. Alicorns that have far transcended the natural laws of this world." Eventide spread his hoof around the highlands.
"There's...there's something higher than a regular Alicorn?!" Twilight gasped.
"Believe it or not." Sunlight nodded. "Our bodies are overflowing with magic. More than anypony can comprehend. It's because of this power that our bodies are constantly displaying the magic power. This aura is the pure manifestation of that."
"Unfortunately, because of our overwhelming magic power being shown at all times, being on this world is damaging and dangerous." Eventide changed the tone.
"Sadly, yes." Sunlight closed her eyes. "Our magic aura, if it stays in this world for too long, it will slowly destroy it bit by bit. We realized this when an entire mountainscape was wiped out once we reached this state."
"We thought there was no way to control such overwhelming power. But then, we learned about the one place where Transcended Alicorns can reside without harming anything. The Ambrosial Plane." Eventide raised his hoof into the air.
"Th Ambrosial Plane was built for Transcended Alicorns. However, strangely enough, we are the only ones there. We expected to see more Transcended Alicorns." Sunlight giggled.
"Our aura is perfect for that plane of existence. The magic there is healthy enough to overpower our own overwhelming magic. Thus, we chose to live there."
"Oooh...I always wondered where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's parents were..." Rarity said to herself. "Now I know why they weren't present at all times."
"Being away from our daughters was difficult. A major flaw of being a Transcended Alicorn is that those around you will barely get the chance to see you again." Sunlight went over to Celestia and Luna.
"Aww..." Pinkie slumped. "That's a big bummer.
"Bummer indeed." Rainbow Dash nodded.
"However!" Eventide suddenly grabbed their attention. "That is no longer the case."
"It's not? How come?" Twilight questioned.
"Isn't it obvious? Look around you." Sunlight pointed her hoof at the entirety of the Pikachu Highlands and even Deerling Forest.
"...The Pikachu Highlands and Deerling Forest?" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What part do they play?"
"Simple. The existence of Pokemon is constantly transforming this world. Since our world was never built for the Pokemon World in the first place, the Pokemon themselves have been changing the world around us, making it so that it fits their physiology and way of living." Sunlight explained.
"And since Pokemon are beings with incredibly destructive power, Equestria itself has grown stronger than it ever has. And because of this, our overwhelming magic power is no longer capable of damaging the world since it is much more durable than it normally is." Eventide smiled.
"So does that mean..." Celestia thought for a moment. "You will be coming by frequently now!?"
"That's right." Sunlight nodded. "Unfortunately, I still cannot bring a Pikachu to the Ambrosial Plane. It is for Transcended Alicorns only after all. Aah...what a shame! Pikachu is the perfect partner for me!"
"Maybe you can't bring a Pikachu along...but you can always come back to them at any time now that you can stand on this world without damaging it," Ash suggested.
"Oh! Good point, Ash!" Sunlight exclaimed. "Then in that case..." She turned over to the Pikachu's grinning at them. "I'll take my fill!"
"Oh, um!" Fluttershy flew in front of Sunlight. "S-Sorry, Queen Sunlight-"
"Please. Call me Sunlight. I'm no longer a Queen."
"Oh, okay. Sunlight. But um, the Pikachu's actually prefer to be here at their home. The Highlands. So, I'm not sure catching one is such a good idea."
"Eeeeh...? What a shame." Sunlight pouted as she quickly formed a smile on her face. "Then! I'll just find another Pikachu in the wild! Problem solved."
"She sure is chippy isn't she?" Starlight said to Celestia.
"That's our mother for you." Celestia giggled. "It's wonderful that father and she will be coming by more often. I can thank Pokemon for that."
"Mhm." Luna nodded.
"Ash. We didn't finish our training." Rainbow turned to Ash.
"Ah, right, right. Dragonite and Altaria, right?" Ash took out Dragonite's Poke Ball.
"Hm? Are you two planning to have a Pokemon Battle?" Eventide turned to them. "Oh, I've wanted to be next to a Pokemon Battle to see how they truly feel. Unfortunately, watching from another plane of existence doesn't give you the usual feelings and rush of emotions."
"You don't?" Pinkie said.
"We can see the battle from the Ambrosial Plane. Doesn't mean we can feel it. But this is different." Sunlight explained.
"Then in that case...let's show them what a Pokemon Battle really feels like up close." Ash grinned at Rainbow Dash.
"Sure thing!" Rainbow Dash used her wing to hold out Altaria's Poke Ball.
The two trainers backed up from each other as the Pikachu's of the Pikachu Highlands sat down to watch this battle along with everypony else.
"Alright. Al-" Just as Rainbow Dash was about to send Altaria out, Mienfoo forced herself out of the Poke Ball, knocking Altaria's Poke Ball out of Rainbow Dash's wing.
"Guess she wasn't satisfied with today's training session..." Fluttershy giggled.
"Ugh..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll put you in an actual battle since you're so insisting."
"Mienfoo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon got into a battling stance.
"In that case...Lucario! I choose you!" Ash sent out Lucario since he could tell that Mienfoo wanted to get a 1UP on the Aura Pokemon.
"Lucario!"
"Are you two ready?" Twilight, being the referee, looked over at both of them.
"Ready!" They both said.
"Alright. Battle Start!"
"Kay, Mienfoo! Use Mega Punch!"
"Foo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon ran towards Lucario, making the first move.
"Lucario! Force Palm!"
"Lu!" Lucario returned the favour by running up to Mienfoo as his right paw turned light blue
The two Fighting-Types clashed their paws against each other, releasing a burst of blue energy from it on contact. Mienfoo was blown away by this blue energy with Lucario proving to have the superior striking strength. "Mien!"
"Mienfoo! Recover and use Fury Swipes!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo recovered by sliding on the ground. She then brought out her hidden claws as they started to glow. "Mienfoo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon lunged straight towards Lucario with her claws being spread out.
"Double Team!"
"Ca!" Lucario juked Mienfoo out by creating multiple copies of himself.
"Mien?!" Mienfoo ended up swiping a clone as it vanished. She was now surrounded by multiple Lucario's from all sides.
"HIt them all Mienfoo!"
"Foo!" Not being intimidated by the clones, Mienfoo used Fury Swipes to rapidly strike every clone of Lucario around her. Her speed was her greatest asset since Mienfoo's naturally dominate with an onslaught of flowing, continuous attacks.
The clones of Lucario were being taken out by each swipe as Mienfoo was picking up in speed. "Lucario! Force Palm!"
The Lucario's that were remaining raised their arms, striking them down towards Mienfoo as each of them hit the Martial Arts Pokemon from all directions. "Cario!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo was sent flying back from that multiple Force Palm impact as an explosion of blue energy was left afterwards with smoke trailing from her.
"We're not done yet! Rush in with Agility! Then use Mega Punch!" Rainbow Dash thrust her hoof out.
"Foo!" Mienfoo bolted forward with her speed being increased as she was moving so fast it looked like there were three copies of her as she concentrated all her strength into Mega Punch.
"Aura Sphere!"
"Lu...Ca!" Lucario puts his hands together, creating a blue ball of energy in between them. Lucario then fired the ball at Mienfoo who was still approaching.
"Mien...Foo!" Mienfoo struck her paws onto Aura Sphere, trying to push it back as she entered a small struggle with the blue ball. "M-Mienfo...!"
"Wide open! Force Palm one more time!"
"Lucario!" Lucario capitalised on this moment. With Mienfoo trying to send the Aura Sphere flying, the Aura Pokemon rushed in as his body was outlined in orange energy.
"Ah! Quick Mienfoo! Get away!"
"Foo?!" Mienfoo gasped as she turned her head, noticing that Lucario was right next to her.
"Luca!" With a heavy and concentrated blow, Lucario smashed his paw onto Mienfoo's face, rocketing the Martial Arts Pokemon as Aura Sphere could finally move again.
The last Aura Sphere connected with Mienfoo, creating a final blue explosion as the Martial Arts Pokemon tumbled on the ground.
That was all it took as Mienfoo had fainted. "Mi-Mienfoo..."
"Mienfoo is unable to-"
"Foo!" Suddenly, she got up in a heartbeat, surprising everypony and the Pikachu's here. "F-Foo..." But, she still wasn't strong enough so she fainted legitimately this time.
"..." Twilight paused, waiting for Mienfoo to get up. But she didn't. "Uh...Mienfoo is unable to battle! Lucario wins! Which means the victor is Ash!"
"Yes!" Sunlight stood up. "That was worth it all!" She startled the Pikachu's. "Now I want to involve myself in a Pokemon Battle! Come on, Eventide! We have some old disputes we have to settle!"
"Hm? Us? Battle?!" Eventide jerked back.
"Of course! I've already borrowed one of Luna's Poke Balls, so let's start catching some Pokemon and settle our many arguments!"
"W-When did she-" Luna looked at her saddlebag.
"Hmm...I'm not too sure." Eventide crossed his hooves. "It's been centuries..."
"Hoh?" Sunlight had a smug face. "Could it be that because you're no longer king, you've lost that warrior's spirit?"
"W-W-What?!" Of course not! I still have that spirit burning from within!" He stood up.
"Hm. Then prove it." She grinned.
"Fine! But I have a better way to approach. Ash Ketchum. Allow me to borrow your body once more to battle!"
"Father! You can't just-" Luna was about to say something until Ash cut her off.
"Sure!" Ash agreed.
"What?!" Luna gasped.
"Just leave the battling skills to me, Eventide." Ash pointed his thumb at himself.
"You are a great team player, Ash Ketchum!" Eventide entered Ash's body once more as his voice changed. "Now then, shall we commence battle?"
"Hmm...no fair." Sunlight pouted. "You're possessing the body of a champion. I'll pass on a battle." She sat back down.
"What?!" Eventide flew out of Ash. "Ugh...nevermind." He groaned as he laid on his back whilst everyone, including the Pikachu's laughed.
Canterlot, late afternoon.
The two alicorns enjoyed the rest of their visit by viewing the preparations for the Pokemon Festival which was in just four days from now.
Most of the necessary decorations for the festival had been set up with some of BigTime Ben's Pokemon bringing in the objects in crates.
In the meantime, they were given the pleasure of having some free food that would be at the festival, but it wouldn't hurt to have a few small bites.
Eventide went to the Canterlot Library to fuel his nostalgia as he re-read many of the books he rarely ever put down in his younger years.
Sunlight decided to goof off. When she was young, she barely attended most of her studies, and it seems as if she was still the same adventurous pony as before as he viewed all of Luna's Pokemon she currently had.
The day was coming to an end and Eventide and Sunlight had tired themselves out. They were planning on heading back to the Ambrosial Plains now.
"What a day. It feels so nostalgic and heartwarming to be physically here in Equestria..." Sunlight sighed.
"Mhm." Eventide nodded. "Unfortunately, this is where we take our leave."
"Aw...Will you come back?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well..." Eventide put his hoof on his chin. "We are interested in that Pokemon Festival..."
"Of course!" Sunlight screeched, startling her husband. "Thanks to Pokemon, we can come here as much as we like! So don't you worry."
"That is a relief. It's wonderful to have you back. Mother. Father." Celestia smiled.
"You two take-" Sunlight didn't finish her sentence due to one reason. She spotted Pyrestar watching from a distance. Pyrestar being the fusion of Celestia and Luna from another dimension meant that she was essentially another daughter of Sunlight.
"Hm?" Pyrestar looked over.
"I almost forgot." Sunlight went over to Pyrestar. "A fusion of my two beloved daughters." She let out a soft smile. "You look just like them...but sharper."
"Thank you. I can see myself in you as well. Truly a mother figure." Pyrestar nodded.
"Hah!" Sunlight chuckled. "But of course. I'm technically your mother, after all."
"Oh. I should have probably mentioned this. In my universe, I have a different mother and father."
"...Eh?" They all froze after Pyrestar's words. Out of everything that has happened today, this was the most shocking event yet. "EH?!"
"They are Queen Galaxia and King Cosmos. You see in alternate universes, it is more than just outcomes that are different."
"No way! That's awesome!" Ash gawked.
"Pika!"
"Nevermind Pokemon being the most amazing thing I've experienced today..." Eventide's eyes widened.
"Uh-huh..." Celestia and everypony nodded.
"But...I can see you being my mother as well." Pyrestar smiled. "You remind me of my own anyways. And I suppose King Eventide reminds me of my father as well."
"Just Eventide!"
"When we show up for the Pokemon festival, we'll all enjoy ourselves to the fullest! I'll actually get to experience it instead of spectating!" Sunlight squeed. "Eventide, dear! We'd best be going now!"
"Oh, right." Eventide walked towards his wife. "We shall see you all eventually at the festival." A bright yellow light surrounded them both.
"Good luck!" Sunlight gave off her final wave which prompted the others to wave back as the two Transcended Alicorns disappeared with a dazzling dispersion of light.
And that was it.
"Seems as if a gargantuan hole in our life has been repaired. Right sister?" Luna said to Celestia.
"Most definitely." She replied with a single and simple nod.
The visit from Eventide and Sunlight, formerly known as King Eventide and Queen Sunlight has been a success and not the trainwreck that Luna was expecting.
With the Pokemon World transforming Equestria and beyond, Eventide and Sunlight can now return frequently to this world without causing any further damage to it as the journey continues.
Everything has already been set up across Equestria. From Canterlot to the Crystal Empire. Even major areas that had been affected by the Darkest Day had been patched up thanks to the hard work of Pokemon, allowing those locations to take part in the festival.
But this year, it's different. Instead of humans, ponies and Pokemon, this time, the cast of species has increased. Now dragons, yaks and even griffons have been added into the mix. Plus the neat addition of the Pikachu's from Pikachu Highlands.
Going beyond the last one's single week, this festival aims to go on for 2 weeks with more to explore and do and hopefully, there are absolutely no universe hopping shenanigans like last time.
Canterlot.
Where the real meat of the festival is. With the Pokemon Festival officially starting, it was already lively with a plethora of Pokemon being here. The layout of Canterlot's part of the festival was similar to the first one but now there were new attractions added into the mix.
The relief zone where many of the Pokemon come here to relax and feel some relief was here too along with the addition of more than just lush green jungles.
Needless to say, it was looking more promising than the first one.
Celestia opened up the windows to gaze out at the festival as she already saw many ponies, humans and Pokemon having as much fun as they can. Her Gardevoir and Arcanine joined her to see the festival, mainly Arcanine, who has never heard of the Pokemon Festival before, so this will be his first time experiencing.
"I have an amazing feeling about this year's festival you two," Celestia said to her partners.
"Gardevoir."
"Arcanine."
"Let's not waste any time. Arcanine. This will be your first Pokemon Festival. Are you excited?"
"Canine!" The Legendary Pokemon licked Celestia's face in response. "Arcanine!"
High hopes filled Celestia's spirit. She was looking to enjoy herself in this festival to the very end with her friends and nothing else. Plus, during the festival, her parents will show up. Although it's unclear which day they will arrive.
And of course, the two who were looking forward to this the most were Ash and Fluttershy. They already had a ton of enjoyment in the last one, so they were bound to get some more and beyond.
The train was heading over to Canterlot with Ash and his friends apart of the ride since they didn't want to miss out of the second festival.
Joining them on the ride was the addition of Chloe, who was very hesitant to come along since she felt like it would get in the way of her school work. But when she found out that some of her friends from school would be joining the festival along with her teachers, she decided to give it a try.
"Pika..." Pikachu laid on Ash's lap.
"2 weeks this time, huh?" Ash spoke. "We can get a lot done in 2 weeks, ya know!"
"That is if we're not too caught up in one particular city." Rarity replied.
"I'm psyched to see Ember and the other dragons since they're joining in as well." Spike grinned.
"Did they set up the festival at the Dragon Lands...? How would all of that look...?" Pinkie Pie wondered what an area like the Dragon Lands would look like in the style of the Pokemon Festival."
"Yeah well, you guys think about all the stuff you're gonna see." Rainbow Dash smirked. "I'm in it for something different."
"Like?" Twilight asked Rainbow Dash.
"My fifth Gym Battle. I found out that the Gym's been added into the Pokemon Festival for trainers who wanna enjoy the festival and earn their gym badge too. So I'm shooting for that one."
"That's a pretty nifty shortcut." Applejack nodded.
"Shortcut? Nah." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "It's been a long time coming anyway."
"Well I don't know about you all, but I'm in it for the Pokemon," said Goh. "What about you, Chloe?"
"Hm?" Chloe looked up at them with her yamper on her lap. "Me? I guess I can enjoy myself a little bit."
"Little bit?" Pinkie appeared behind Chloe. "Come on! This'll be a blast! Who wouldn't want to go to a festival with Pokemon?!"
"I mean, it does sound promising..." Chloe rubbed Yamper's belly.
"Yam! Yamper!"
"Chikorita. This will be your first festival. Are you excited?" Fluttershy said to her Chikorita.
"Chiko!"
"Can we even clear all of Equestria in 2 weeks?" Applejack wondered as she was being held by Sceptile. "Festival's pretty big after all."
"Watch us." Rainbow Dash flew up. "We'll enjoy the whole thing in no time!"
"Come to think of it. Rainbow Dash. Your Castform and Mienfoo. This'll be their first Pokemon Festival along with yours as well Starlight."
"Yeah. But um...I'm worried that Hatterene might go a bit crazy." Starlight winced. "She's not a huge fan of happy vibes, remember?"
"Well, she's around us a lot. So I'm sure she's managed to control her composure." Fluttershy responded.
"Hehe...yeah...hopefully." Starlight chuckled nervously as she looked outside the window, noticing how they were close to Canterlot. Very soon, they would involve themselves in the second festival.
But they had no idea how many familiar faces would pop up in this year's festival.
Canterlot.
They had finally arrived at the real flair of the Pokemon Festival. Compared to everywhere else, Canterlot seems to have the most going for it with the festival.
That's not to say that the others are lacking. They have their own flash and uniqueness that can give anyone a great time. But Canterlot just has a lot more going for it.
The first thing that caught their eye was the gigantic balloons that were modelled after the Swords of Justice as they were floating high above the skies of Canterlot.
"Looks like the swords are getting more recognition, huh?" Twilight looked up.
"Mhm." Ash nodded.
"We're finally here!" The CMC's dashed out of the train, rushing off to do whatever they can in the festival as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon just walked instead, following them.
Celestia and Luna flew over to greet Ash and the others as they seemed to have their regalia off. Mostly since they want to enjoy this festival without feeling important.
"Everypony. You made it." Celestia said.
"Princess Cel- Where's your regalia?" Twilight asked.
"Hm? Oh, we've decided not to wear them at all. We're going to experience this festival as fellow ponies without having any source of importance following us." Celestia explained.
"Correct," Luna responded. "Besides...they get a bit hard on the neck sometimes..."
"Besides. We're feeling a bit adventurous today. And we can't wait for our parents to show up and join us. It will be an amazing catching up session of 2 weeks!" Celestia pranced on the spot.
"Then let's get started. I wanna see if there are any battles to be found." Ash did a chipper stride as Pikachu hopped off his shoulder.
"OH! I wonder if Victini is back!" Fluttershy flew off to the relief zone.
"Let's get that 5th Gym Badge! Where is it?!" Rainbow Dash flew up, navigating her head around Canterlot.
"Rainbow Dash! Wait up!" Pinkie Pie bounced after her.
"Already, they've split up. Starlight. Mind sticking with me?" Twilight asked.
"Hm? Oh uh, sure." Starlight nodded. "You know this festival better than me anyway."
"And I'll be enjoying all the cake this festival has to offer!" Celestia squeed as she pranced off.
"Perhaps if I play things quietly this time during my battles..." Luna looked around, walking off to do whatever she plans to do.
"Well. It seems that it's just us now, Spike. Come along then. I have a rematch with that Lopunny." Rarity and Spike were paired up.
"Rematch? You mean dancing? Aw, I don't wanna dance though..." Spike followed her. And that was the last of it. All of them had split up to their respective areas.
While Canterlot was where all the flair and main attractions are, across Equestria, new and exciting experiences can be found there.
But in Canterlot, something new has decided to involve itself in the festival. That being the teachers of the Pokemon School of course.
Hearing about this Pokemon Festival piqued their interested. Since they teach at the Pokemon School in Canterlot, it's relatively close at all times.
And as a bonus, they won't have to worry about their roles as Gym Leaders since the festival will be lasting 2 weeks. So they'll have enough time to be at their gym and come back for more of the festival.
After all, they're young, most of them anyway, so they must create new adventures by having fun. And something as lively as a festival is just one of those many possibilities.
"Pretty nice synergy going on here, huh?" Brawly commented.
"Mhm." Roxanne nodded in response. "It's nice to take a break from being a teacher and just enjoy yourself."
"Well, I'm already off to enjoy myself in the best way possible!" Roxie exclaimed as she brought along her band from her gym to cause some noise.
"Hm? Are you planning on playing here?" said Roxanne.
"Yeah?" Roxie turned around.
"Your music's a bit too...rough for Equestria don't you think?"
"Pssh!" Roxie scoffed. "Duh! It's meant to be rough! These ponies have already seen some tough Pokemon so they can handle it, no problem!"
"No use trying to convince her, Roxanne." Brawly placed his hand on Roxanne's shoulder. "We should just have as much fun as we can, okay?"
"I suppose. But...you might want to help me with that."
"Hm? Why?" Brawly wondered.
"All my life I've been teaching others about Pokemon non-stop whilst partaking in Gym Battles. I'm a bit caught up in the zone I need some help to freshen up my experiences."
"Gotcha covered on that." Roxie slid over to Roxanne. "I know how to have some real fun! Leave it to me!"
"Oh, yeah. We're experts in having a blast." Brawly grinned. "We can get started right now."
"You two? You're both always on edge..." Roxanne winced. "But I'll learn from both of you."
"Great! Here, hold this!" Roxie gave Roxanne a guitar.
"Eh?" Roxanne looked at it.
"Let's see you jam out with us!" Roxie pumped her fist into the air.
"Jam out? I can't play music at all!"
"That's why I'll show you the ropes miss busybody!" Roxie patted Roxanne on the back, dragging her along. "Brawly! You can jam out with us too if you want!"
"I only ever played the drums when I was young though..." Brawly put his hand on his head as he followed the duo to rock out wherever they can in Canterlot.
Relief zone.
The relief zone made a pleasing return with all the Pokemon from before coming back with new ones showing up as Fluttershy was eager to see if she could find Victini here again.
"Victini!" Fluttershy called out. "Victini, are you here today!" Her voice only attracted other Pokemon that weren't Victini at all. "Do you hear Victini, Audi?"
"Audino..." Audino couldn't pick up the familiar sounds of the Victory Pokemon anywhere.
"Guess I shouldn't expect Victini to be here immediately. Maybe tomorrow.." Fluttershy giggled.
"Audino." So did Audino. But that's when she heard something unusual. "Dino?"
"What did you hear, Audi?" Fluttershy hopped on Audino's back.
"Audino!" Audino pointed over North as she ran towards the source of the noise with Fluttershy on her back and Chikorita following behind.
Fluttershy and Chikorita believed that it could be Victini since Audino described the sound as a crunchy sound. And Victini does love to eat those macarons.
However, when they got to the north section of the relief zone where there was a small lake, they quickly found out that it wasn't Victini who was eating.
But instead, it was Adagio, snacking on some Lava Cookies.
"Mmmrgh." She chewed on the cookie before noticing that she was being watched by some new faces. "Hm?"
"A-Adagio?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Audino?!"
"Chikorita?!"
"Oh, it's the shy one." Adagio finished her lava cookie.
"W-Why are you here?" Fluttershy hid behind Audino, whimpering.
"Why? Well, I promised Sonata and Aria that I'd spend some more time with them someday. And this whole festival thing's a pretty lucky way to do that." She used her magic to grab another lava cookie which was inside of a box full of them.
"Oh." Fluttershy peeked her head out. "That's all?"
"Why? You scared of me?" Adagio stood up as she flashed her eyes and magic at Fluttershy, startling her. Adagio laughed at how easy it was to make Fluttershy jump. "Haha! Too easy to scare!"
"Mrrgh!" Fluttershy pouted. "Well, as long as you're here to see your sisters and not anything bad."
"Feh." Adagio sat back down. "I'm not in the mood right now. I just want to see my sisters. That's all. But these lava cookies know how to occupy a girl."
"I thought it was Victini eating here..." Fluttershy lowered her head.
"Victini? You mean that V-shaped thing from earlier?"
"Ah! Yes!" Fluttershy shot up. "You saw it?!"
"Mhm. Just missed it. I have no idea where it is now." Adagio devoured another Lava Cookie.
"Aww...I knew I should've shown up earlier."
"Probably. But I was lucky to get some of these from Victini." Adagio referred to the box of lava cookies.
"Victini gave you that? Oh...Victini must be so sweet if it even trusts you."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Adagio shifted her eyes at Fluttershy
"Eep! S-Sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"Hah!" Adagio chuckled. "Kidding. I should probably do this to your human self one day. Anyway..." Adagio sat back down, ready to consume another lava cookie. "Get lost and go back to your little loud festival, anyway."
"Oh um okay. But won't you technically be apart of the festival too since you're seeing Aria and Sonata?"
"Please. I'm not going out in public. Everypony here already hates me so I'm only talking to my sisters in private. You should know what I mean." Adagio bit a cookie.
"Well...I don't hate you as much as I do now."
"Hm?"
"Well, you still scare me with your very...sharp teeth and...sharp eyes." Fluttershy gulped. "But if Victini trusts you and you're here to spend time with your sisters then-"
"Don't say it." Adagio turned around. "Don't you dare!"
"I won't." Fluttershy giggled.
"Tch." Adagio scoffed.
"But you know..." Fluttershy sat down next to Adagio. "I saw your battle with Rarity at the Canterlot Tournament and how it ended. I think that Rarity found some respect for you."
"Hm? Oh, right that. I guess I respect her too. It was a pretty good battle, I'll admit." Adagio nodded as she noticed that Chikorita was attempting to eat from her box of lava cookies. "Hey! Sneaky little-!"
"Chiko!" Chikorita ran over to Fluttershy. "Chi..."
"Sorry about that. Chikorita can get a bit greedy sometimes."
"You could at least ask. Here." Adagio used her magic to give Chikorita a lava cookie for the hungry Leaf Pokemon.
"Rita!" Chikorita grabbed the lava cookie, chomping on it as she laid on her back.
"Just don't get greedy." Adagio held the box close to her. "And why are you still here?"
"Oh. Sorry. I guess I got a bit caught up talking to you. And I still think that Victini is just invisible right now. Maybe that's why I haven't seen it yet."
"Well, if that's the case, you might wanna explore this entire zone. Might find that little thing."
"Ah, that's right. More areas were added from what I heard. I wonder how they're able to create new land so easily." Fluttershy pondered.
"Probably some Psychic shenanigans. Now go."
"Alright. Thank you, Adagio. Good luck with your sisters." Fluttershy hopped on Audino's back. "Audi! Chikorita! Let's get rolling!"
"Audino!"
"Chikorita!"
As Adagio watched the three of them walk off, that same golden light that rarely shows up appeared once more as it outlined her entire body, making Fluttershy, Audino and Chikorita feel at peace all of a sudden.
Adagio continued to eat her lava cookies as she was waiting for the right time to meet up with her sisters. More preferably, night, when most ponies will be asleep and it'll be less populated.
Just like the first festival, things were going smoothly in the beginning with enjoyment filling the air as it was only going to get more exciting in the coming days.
But much like the first festival, something was approaching. Something that could ruin the entire festival in mere minutes depending on the situation.
Lake Valor. Sinnoh.
A peaceful lake where the Legendary Pokemon Azelf resides.
But this peaceful lake has one horrifying result that still somewhat lurks in the lake to this day. What lies in this lake, other than Azelf, was something terrifying.
So terrifying that the Rift itself had arrived here with a blue and purple cosmic dome filled the lake itself. And it all relates to what it saw back at the secret base underneath Ponyville.
"You're not as horrifying as Ghetsis...but you're cruel enough to entertain me even further. It's time for you to return to the land of the living."
Stardust from the Rift's presence filled the grass of Lake Valor. The Pokemon there could sense an ominous energy rising as they all fled in fear.
And rightfully so. The stardust, while beautiful, had malice embedded within it. Malice that only seeks to cause chaos as the stardust was suddenly creating the form of a human.
The human figure was being materialized out of thin air as if the Rift was forcing life into existence. Or rather, it was bringing life back to the land of the living.
Not just any life.
"I look forward to seeing what interesting scenarios might come up with you involved."
"Pokemon Hunter J."
"Ah!" J gasped as her eyes widened with shock and adrenaline rushing through her body.
A human that was long gone from this world had been revived. J, for many years, could finally feel her body once. An odd experience to wake up to.
She looked at her arms and legs, noticing that her entire body was here. Not only had she been mysteriously brought back, but she also noticed that she was completely healthy.
As if she's only been gone for a few minutes.
"W-What happened...?" She muttered under her breath. The last thing she remembered was how her ship had crashed into Lake Valor when it had been hit by a Future Sight attack from Uxie and Mespirit.
"That's right. My ship crashed." J clenched her hands together, getting familiar with her body once more. She also noticed that the gadgets she carries on her were also in one piece.
Her arm cannon that allows her to turn Pokemon and humans into stone, putting them in a permanent state of petrification unless someone uses Hidden Power or they're placed in a special case.
The cases she uses to carry the Pokemon she turns to stone as they were laying on the ground around her.
And her goggles with many abilities, which allow her to detect heat and camouflaged or transformed Pokemon as it was on the ground next to her.
Even her Poke Balls had been brought back by the Rift.
However, one important object that hadn't been brought back was her airship. The ship that she used to travel the Pokemon world with her crew.
The ship and the crew had perished in the crash along with the many petrified Pokemon that were still inside of the ship. They had all met their end as the Rift decided not to bring them back.
Confused and perplexed on how she came back, J knew one thing that only mattered right now. Since she was alive once more, she could finally pick off where she left off.
"I don't know how I'm alive but...If I'm getting a second chance, I'll take it." J stood up. She then noticed that at the corner of her eye, a gateway was close to her.
This only confused J even further. First, she comes back to life, second, all of her equipment and Pokemon are back minus her crew and ship and third, she's still healthy as if nothing had happened to her.
She believed that some mysterious force was the cause behind this. And she'd be right. J was curious about the gateway. She thought that perhaps it might relate to her sudden revival.
Having no ship to fly, J decided to travel through the gateway to see where she would end up. Once she did, Hunter J ended up in Equestria for the first time.
The current location she was in was Appleloosa. One of the many locations involved in the Pokemon Festival. Which was something J wasn't expecting to see.
But what she also wasn't expecting were ponies.
Being brought back, this was an entirely new view for her. The appearance of the ponies confused her greatly. They were all so colourful with marks on their flanks along with the fact that they were standing alongside Pokemon, something that J was greatly familiar with.
it would take a lot of time to get adjusted to a sight such as this, especially considering her sudden awakening. But one thing that caught her attention really made J's befuddled energy shift drastically.
By heading over to a stand that sold Pokemon-themed toys of either random Pokemon or famous trainers across Equestria, one toy caught J's attention.
An Ash toy.
She came up to the stand, putting her hand on the toy as she picked it up. Even if she was gone for years and had just woken, she could never forget the face of the boy she despises so much.
"Uh...that'll be 5 bits, ma'am, for the Ash toy." A stallion said to her.
J tightened her grip on the toy, popping its head off as it landed near a young filly who was planning on buying one of the toys as the filly screamed, running away.
"Hey! You cant-"
J cut him off by giving him a steel-piercing gaze that forced the stallion to jerk back into his stand. J dropped the Ash toy as her confusion transformed into anger. She could tell that Ash was somewhat famous in this other world from how many toys of him there were.
This angered J greatly. She was unsure how long she was gone for but she knew that with all that time, Ash has been out there, making a name for himself whilst she seemingly met her devastating end.
But, that rage quickly transformed into confidence as she found an opportunity. If this was a completely different world with the creatures here co-existing with Pokemon, then she can continue her work here as well.
"You." J turned to the stallion.
"Y-Yes?!" He stammered.
"Where is your nearest airport?"
"W-What's an airport...?"
"Are you daft? I asked where your airport was!" J slammed her hand on the stand.
"I-I don't know! Only the Pokemon World has those, that's all I know!"
"Only..." J turned around to face the gateway she came through. Hearing how there wasn't an airport in this world and how the ponies here were so small as she towered over them and how this town was very old-fashioned, even more so than Johto in most cases, J came to a brilliant discovery.
This world was potentially easy to take advantage of as she smirked. "I see. Thank you for that." J walked off, leaving the toy stand as the stallion was no longer shaking uncontrollably.
J was a bit of an opportunist, at least in this situation.
This world being somewhat old-fashioned and less advanced than the Pokemon World meant that J, with her vast knowledge, could possibly get what she wants in this world whilst also seizing many opportunities with ease.
She hadn't forgotten her role as a Pokemon Hunter. She petrifies and steals Pokemon and adds them to her collection, which no longer exists due to the crash.
Which meant that she can potentially steal the Pokemon here from these ponies. And considering how tall she is in comparison, J knew that this would be like taking candy from a baby.
But first, she would need more than just her gadgets and Pokemon to get around in this new world.
Canterlot.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu suddenly shuddered as he felt an odd chill run down his spine.
"You feel it too, buddy?" Ash said to his partner.
"Pika." Pikachu nodded.
"Yeah...Weird. I guess it's still winter though. Come on. If we hurry we can see Rainbow Dash's Fifth Gym Battle happen. It's just up ahead!" Ash ran off as Pikachu followed.
Rainbow Dash's Fifth Gym Battle was apart of the festival surprisingly. The gym was originally located at Las Pegasus, but the festival decided to move it here so that trainers can advance in the Equestria League and enjoy the festival at the same time.
A perfect balance.
The gym didn't come with a building. Instead, to make it work with the Pokemon Festival, it was set in the Canterlot Gardens since it had essentially become a free battlefield at this point.
The Gym Leader whose entire theme is all about the weather was none other than a familiar face to Rainbow Dash. That being Soarin, of all ponies.
"Soarin! It's you?!" Rainbow Dash screeched.
"Yeah. It's me." Soarin nodded.
"B-But...I thought you were joining the league! How did you-"
"Oh that. Yeah, I'm still taking part in the league even though I'm a Gym Leader."
"How? Are you just gonna give yourself the Gym Badge?"
"Nope. You see, there's a spare Gym Leader who can also take my role. And she's just as skilled as me. So if I'm not available, she'll be the Gym Leader instead."
"Ooh..." Rainbow Dash nodded. "That's pretty nifty. But anyway! I came here for my fifth badge! So let's rumble!"
"Ah! I'm already going up against this little guy here." Soarin went over to a colt. "You're gonna have to wait until I'm done Dash."
"Urgh. Fine. I'll just watch." Rainbow Dash groaned as she flew over to the bench to spectate. If she watches the battle, she might get some insight into how she could approach Soarin when it's her turn.
Ash and Pikachu arrived to get a look at this outdoor Gym Battle due to them being hungry for battle like Rainbow Dash. Although, Ash couldn't really participate in this since he's not in the Equestria League. So the best he could do right about now was watch.
But he'll take that too.
"Did you finish your Gym Battle, Dash?" Ash went up to Rainbow Dash.
"Not yet. Gotta wait for this one to end. If I'm lucky, I might find the other gyms across Equestria during these 2 weeks. I'll skyrocket to the league!"
"That does sound like a good opportunity." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu..."
"Oh, I almost forgot. I pro-" Just then, Ash could feel that ominous chill run through his entire body as he could hear a familiar voice ring through his head.
"Hm? You say something, Ash?"
"...Azelf?" Ash uttered.
"Azelf?" Rainbow Dash tilted her head.
"Ah, it's nothing. Nothing. Thought I heard an old friend." Ash chuckled. But he had a suspicion that it wasn't just some random noise that came back to his memories.
This ringing was very familiar and current as it was capable of making Ash connected with someone familiar on a psychic level.
But it wasn't new to Ash.
He could tell that this ringing belonged to Azelf. The Willpower Pokemon.
Ash and Azelf share a powerful psychic bond. Azelf chose to connect with Ash because of Ash's strong willpower to protect Pokemon.
Much like how Twilight is learning about the capabilities of a trainer who owns a Psychic-Type Pokemon with hidden potential, Ash and Azelf have already reached that level long ago. Even if Ash doesn't know that yet.
Ash could tell that somewhere in Lake Valor, far away from here, Azelf was trying to communicate with Ash. But it was very faint and weak to reach him at the moment considering their distance from each other.
The Pokemon Festival was just beginning. With the first 20 minutes being a blast, everyone has a lot to look forward to for 2 whole weeks. But they should also be cautious of what is lurking around Equestria in the form of Hunter J as the journey continues.
The second Pokemon Festival is currently underway.
With only 20 minutes passing by, humans, ponies and Pokemon are already enjoying themselves. A whole 2 weeks of this sounds good to them.
With all the groups going on their own little adventures in the festival, it can be hard to keep up with it all due to how gigantic it is. And this is just Canterlot.
Scootaloo's group being the more adventurous group out of the others arrived at one of the many attractions plastered across the festival, specifically the ones in Canterlot at the moment.
Or rather, it couldn't be seen as an attraction, even though it was. The attraction that they had decided to take their interest in was something known as the Pokemon Camp.
"Pokemon Camp?" Scootaloo said as she and her friends gawked at the sight of this attraction.
"Hm." Sweetie Belle looked over to see what this Pokemon Camp was all about. "Curry-Cook-Off? What's that?"
"I think it's that." Diamond Tiara pointed her hoof over at a table full of the bizarre food known as curry. Bizarre to them at least. "Looks tasty but..."
"Can we even cook?" Silver Spoon said.
"Says here we don't need to know how to cook." Sweetie Belle read the instructions. "It's pretty simple. Just toss the ingredients inside, fan the flames, stir and...pour all your heart into it?"
"Well, if it's that easy, I wanna know what that stuff tastes like." Scootaloo went up to the table. She looked at the curry as she got a good whiff of it. It was already making her hungry as she almost took a bite out of it.
"Ey." The man running the curry stand grabbed her attention. "If you wanna eat it, you'll have to cook it first."
"Oh, sorry." Scootaloo backed up.
"You five. You interested?"
"Mhm!" They nodded in unison.
"Well, in that case, you can take part in the cook-off. If you want, that is. No pressure."
"Oh, sure! If it's that easy to just make some curry, I'll take it!" Apple Bloom slid past her friends.
"Hah! Then you'll have to bring your A-Game. Cause you'll be going up against someone who's been doing pretty well in this even though she just started."
"Who?" They asked.
"Her." The man pointed over at a very familiar face to all five of them. That familiar face was the pony from Manehattan. Babs Seed.
"Hm?" Babs shifted her attention to the five of them whilst having some curry in her mouth. Right beside her was what seemed to be her partner Pokemon. A Chespin.
"Babs?!"
"Mrrmph!" Babs had a mouthful of curry, rendering her unable to speak at the moment. "Mrrmpmrp!"
"W-We can't understand you." Apple Bloom shook her head.
"Mrrr!" Babs closed her eyes as she swallowed the entire curry down, gasping afterwards. "Aah...I said how ya doing?"
"Oh great! Wait, you're in this too?"
"She sure is." The man replied. "It's only been 12 minutes since she started and she's already a natural. This curry right here is her's." He pointed at the curry.
"It's pretty easy and nice, ya know." Babs nodded her head. "But I kinda learned a thing or two about cooking back home too."
"Chespin!"
"They weren't kidding when they said so many familiar faces would be here." Diamond Tiara whispered to Silver Spoon.
"Oh. Well if that's easy, let's get started! What do we use?" Sweetie Belle looked around.
"Right there." The man guided them towards a large cooking pot. "Curry is a great delicacy in the Galar Region. We couldn't go a day without it!"
"Hm?" Scootaloo noticed that there were a plethora of various ingredients used for the curries. The most common were berries of all kinds. "This stuff is used to make curry?"
"Oh yeah. All the ingredients you need are here. And each one of them can make something interesting." The man picked up a bag of pasta. "For this contest, you'll have to shoot for the highest class."
"The highest class?" Apple Bloom turned to him.
"Mhm. There are 5 classes. Koffing Class. Wobbuffet Class. Milcery Class. Copperajah Class. And the big one, Charizard Class. Depending on how good your curry is, that's the class it'll be determined by."
"Oh, so you're gonna taste them and judge them?" Silver Spoon said.
"Nah. You and your Pokemon are the judges. You're each gonna have to make some curry and let your opponents eat it to let them judge. That's how it goes."
"I tasted a bunch of 'em and a lot of 'em weren't all that." Babs shook her head. "But mine tasted pretty good. Check it out." Babs held out a Copperajah Class medal, showing how good her cooking was.
"Oooh!" They all gawked at it.
"I'm trying to get that Charizard Class medal. So I'm gonna keep cooking until I get it!"
"So. Now that you know how it goes, you all ready to compete against each other?"
"Yeah!" They all shouted in unison, ready to get this cook-off started.
All of their Pokemon had been sent out since the Pokemon are the judges as well. They all gathered up on separate tables with no teams. The CMC couldn't partner up in this so they had to go against each other for once.
They each grabbed themselves their own ingredients that they believed would be very effective and delicious and would surely get them either a Copperajah Class medal or a Charizard Class medal.
Scootaloo chose a boiled egg as her main ingredient.
Apple Bloom chose a fancy apple.
Sweetie Belle went for a salad mix.
Diamond Tiara selected a large leek.
Silver Spoon decided on mixed mushrooms.
And finally, Babs chose instant noodles.
"I want some spicy food!" Scootaloo then held up some Cheri Berries. Simple berries that are easy to use even for novice cooks. It's spicy hot taste is addictive. Scootaloo dumped the berries into the stew whilst her Pokemon watched.
Ponyta, Cyndaquill and Horsea were looking forward to tasting something hot, but Pachirisu, not so much as the EleSquirrel Pokemon was trembling.
"Is this berry sweet, spicy or sour?" Diamond Tiara looked at a Lansat Berry. A very rare berry that is said to bring joy. It has an intriguing flavour that makes it distinct. "Oh well." She tossed it in the pot anyway as her Purrloin watched.
"Granny told me that sweet's always the way to go!" Apple Bloom chose some Papaya Berries. A berry with a sweet flavour and juicy fragrance. The rounder the berry swells, the sweeter and juicier it gets.
"Hm..." Sweetie Belle was looking at what some might consider the rarest berry of them all. A Starf Berry. A berry that's considered a myth. It's said to have extremely strong power. Its delicious flavour is otherworldly.
Not knowing what this berry was capable of, she tossed it inside anyway out of curiosity.
Speaking of curiosity, Silver Spoon used Enigma Berries as her extra source of ingredients. The enigma berry is rare and a completely enigmatic berry. It doesn't have a specific set taste as it's always random. "Works for me!" She slammed it in the pot.
As for Babs, she went for the Babiri Berry. A berry that's incredibly hard and spicy. It was used as medicine in the past. They all placed their final ingredients inside, finalizing their decision.
Now it was time to fan those flames.
"Ponyta. Cyndaquill. Ember." Scootaloo chose her Pokemon to start the fire.
The two Fire-Types sprayed out flaming projectiles onto the rocks beneath the cooking pot as a fire started to boil from underneath. Everypony else just used traditional fire to start it up.
To fan the flames, they would use a giant Magikarp fan to do so as they used their mouths to move the fan. Although, Sweetie Belle used her magic instead.
Most of them weren't sure how fast they were meant to fan the flames to really make the curry pop, so they either went a very slow pace or just moved like lightning.
Babs knew what she was doing so she fanned the flames at a medium and perfect pace.
Scootaloo wasn't sure if she was doing it right. Fanning the flames whilst using her mouth was a bit tricky, especially if she's trying to focus. She looked at her flames and decided that they weren't big enough.
"Hmm..." Scootaloo dropped the fan. "Needs more fire maybe. "Ponyta. Cyndaquill. Another Ember."
"Pony...?"
"Cynda?" Ponyta and Cyndaquill looked at each other, unsure if more fire was the right decision. But, they listening to their trainer anyway as they added more fuel to the fire by shooting Ember.
The flames underneath began to rage as they grew in size, causing Scootaloo to back away. "Oh, yeah! That'll do!" Scootaloo then began fanning the flames as fast as she could.
As for the others, Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon had reached the stirring stage. They bit onto the stirring stick to hold it in place, although, it was going to be a bit tricky to stir the stick due to them being smaller than the pot.
"Glameow." Silver Spoon's Glameow used her springy tail to help her trainer up so that she can stir at the right height.
"Thanks, Glameow!"
"Emol!" Emolga picked Apple Bloom up, allowing her to stir whilst Emolga floats in the air.
"Good thinking, Emolga."
Sweetie Belle reached that stage but all she had to do was use her magic. And even if her magic wasn't strong enough to stir, her Espurr will help her out with its own psychic capabilities.
Scootaloo, however, was going to town on the pot by rapidly stirring the pot faster than all of her friends. She was stirring so fast that some of the stew flew out as Pachirisu jumped up to taste it.
"Pachi!"
The rest of the flying stew managed to end up inside of everypony else's pot without them even noticing. The curry they were all making attracted many of the ponies nearby.
It had pulled them all in like magnets as the ponies were intrigued by this beautiful scent. Some of them being Pinkie Pie and her Slurpuff's with their very sensitive noses. The ponies had stopped what they were doing to come and see if they could get a bite out of these curries.
"Oooh! Watcha doing?!" Pinkie bounced over to Scootaloo's pot.
"Making curry! I need a ton of focus right now!" Scootaloo was stirring at an aggressive speed as some of the stew got on Pinkie's face.
The pinky pony licked it, getting a quick taste of what the full thing might be like. "Mmmm! Can't wait!"
The ponies stood by, watching the six of them make their curries as they were already feeling the urge to eat some, even if they weren't competing.
12 minutes later, after fanning the flames and stirring the stew, and apparently pouring a ton of heart into it, however that worked, the five curries had been made.
Scootaloo made a Spicy Boiled-Egg curry. The spicy taste of the curry roux helps to bring out the abundant umami in the egg. One of the ultimate curries.
Apple Bloom made Sweet Apple Curry. The meeting of sweet curry roux and sweet apple. The sweetness strikes the tongue and heart so profoundly, it leaves the individual feeling almost numb.
Sweetie Belle made what seemed to be ordinary Salad Curry. But due to the strange nature of the Starf Berry, it was unknown what it might taste like.
The same can be said for Silver Spoon's curry. Thanks to the Enigma Berry, her Mushroom Medley Curry was unpredictable. Could it be spicy, sour, bitter, dry? There was only one way to find out.
Diamond Tiara had made some Leek Curry. Thanks to Lansat Berry, it was now Spicy Leek Curry. The fruit-like sweetness of the savoury grilled leek creates an exquisite balance with the spicy curry roux.
And finally. Babs made some Spicy Instant Noodle Curry. A taste preferred by young people. The spicy curry roux and the instant noodles create an unexpectedly good match.
"Ooh, these look good." The man observed. "What does everyone else think?"
"Mhm!" The crowd nodded as they were drooling by the mere sight of these curries. They wanted to taste them so badly right now.
"Now that you've made your curries, it's time for the taste test. Swap your dishes around and grade each other. Everyone else can have a taste later."
"Alright. I'll give you mine." Sweetie Belle swapped with Scootaloo's, Apple Bloom swapped with Diamond Tiara whilst Silver Spoon swapped with Babs Seed.
At the same time, they took deep breaths, feeling a bit nervous about what each of these dishes could taste like. They could either be wonderful and enchanting, mediocre and average or downright horrendous.
For them to physically eat, Sweetie Belle could easily use her magic whilst the others would have a bit of trouble. Luckily, they had their Pokemon to help.
Glameow used her springy tail to hold the spoon and scoop up the curry as the others did the same. At least, the ones who could stand in a bipedal position.
And if that didn't work, Sweetie Belle's Espurr had their back with its psychic levitation. By having the curry near their mouths, they collectively took a bite out of their curries. Although, they did have alternative approaches as some decided not to use the spoons.
The first to experience true bliss was Silver Spoon and Glameow who instantly fell in love with Babs' curry, showing just how good she was at this.
"Mm!" Silver Spoon began going to town on the curry by rapidly slurping up the noodles.
"Glam! Glameow!"
"Hm..." Sweetie Belle noticed that Scootaloo's curry had a bit of heat coming out of it. It was probably from either the effects of Ember or the Cheri Berries. She scooped up the egg curry, seeing that spoon was melting.
Quickly, she bit the egg along with her Pokemon. And the result was as expected. The moment her taste buds responded to the curry, Sweetie Belle's face suddenly turned red in a heartbeat.
"M-Mmmm!" She whimpered as she was sweating bullets along with her Pokemon. "HOT!" She breathed fire from her mouth, torching the face of the man.
Her Pokemon experienced the same thing as the aggressive heat of Ember and the Cheri Berries revealed themself. But despite that, it was still pretty delicious either way.
The other experiences were fairly normal. Diamond Tiara chomped the apple in front of her without having to rely on a spoon.
The apple curry Apple Bloom made was almost comparable to the apples back at Sweet Apple Acres. But they were a bit lacking as the sweetness was too much. Despite that, it was still pretty good. "Mmhmm!"
Apple Bloom looked down at the leek curry on the spoon, seeing how the effects of the Lansat Berry were almost melting the leek itself due to its spicy nature.
It was best to eat it quickly before it all melts. And that's what she did. She had never eaten a leek before, considering that this leek belonged to a Galarian Farfetch'd due to its large size, so when she did, she found herself a brand new favourite food to eat from now on.
"So good..." Apple Bloom slumped on the table, chewing the rest of the leek. She then ended up devouring something as large as the leek as if she was a bird gulping down its food.
Babs enjoyed the mushrooms by slamming her face onto the plate and scarfing it all down with ferocity. Her Chespin was a lot like her in which he did the same. Both of their faces were now a mess. "Pretty good!"
"Pin!"
And finally, Scootaloo, who slammed the table, causing the salad to fly into the air. She opened her mouth wide, letting the salad fall into her mouth like some sort of mailbox.
When she ate the salad, the effects of the Starf Berry kicked in. For a split second, Scootaloo could feel her mind accelerate along with her eyes suddenly flashing repeatedly.
From her reaction, it was safe to say that the salad was great. But the question was, how would they rank each of them?
Each of the 5 classes will dictate how good the curry truly is.
Koffing for downright bad.
Wobbuffet for decent.
Milcery for pretty good.
Copperajah for great.
And Charizard for outstanding.
"So...what are your decisions?" The man asked as everypony leaned in. They wanted to know the quality of the curries so that they could taste the right ones when they get the chance.
"Well, Scootaloo's was hot but pretty good. I'd say it's Milcery Class!" Sweetie Belle ranked it.
"That apple curry from Apple Bloom wasn't as good as Sweet Apple Acres's apples, but just as sweet. Even if it's too much. I'd give it a Wobbuffet Class."
"Sweetie Belle's salad was uh...it was something." Scootaloo nodded. "But great! That's a Copperajah from me!"
"I ain't a fan of mushrooms. But...That one was kinda neat. I'd say Milcery." Babs had her say.
"Well, I don't know about all of you...but those noodles...were soo good..." Silver Spoon was starting to melt as she laid on her back. "Charizard Class...Easy."
"It's that good!?" The rest of them exclaimed as Babs had a proud smile on her face.
"What a natural." The man picked up Babs. "With curry skills such as that, you could make it big in the Galar business one day, kid."
"Really? Yeah!" Babs hopped on the man's shoulder.
"Chespin!"
"Enough chit-chat!" PInkie suddenly yelled as she and the ponies had some dinner napkins on. "Slide them over. I wanna taste one so badly right now!"
"Alright, alright. You can have the leftovers. And if any of you are interested in making your own, just ask."
By being introduced to the potential of Pokemon Camp, they all found something to occupy themselves as they were each eager to try new curry recipes.
Back at the streets where the lively parts of the festival are, Roxanne, Brawly and Roxie with her band were about to indulge in some music with Roxie being their teacher.
Roxie gave Brawly some drum sets whilst Roxanne received a guitar like Roxie's. Brawly had some experience with drums when he was a child. Although, he only played them for 8 minutes and afterwards he just gave up and focused on exercising.
Roxanne is a complete novice to playing the guitar. She was a very sophisticated person who has spent her entire life teaching others about Pokemon whilst participating in Gym Battles against upstart trainers from Hoenn. A guitar is the last thing she'd ever play, but here she was.
"How does something like this work...?" Roxanne looked at the guitar strings.
"Don't even worry about it," Roxie said.
"I'm already worried about it. Is there any criteria I should follow?"
"Criteria?" Roxie raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. Criteria. That's always important when learning something new." Roxanne nodded as her teacher side was showing.
"Ugh...I guess tone quality, weight, shape and neck size is pretty important. So us girls pick ones with thinner necks. But ah, what do I know? I was a natural when I picked up my first guitar!"
"...Were you now?" Roxanne squinted her eyes.
"But who cares about appearance. It's all about the energy!" Roxie raised her fist into the air. "But you know, you can just start with the first two chords, that's cool too. In just 10 minutes, you'll be rocking out like me and my band!"
"You honestly expect me to make a rock song in just 10 minutes...?" Roxanne grumbled. "Alright." She made her first attempt.
By placing her fingers on the E chord, the first sound that came out of the guitar was not great at all. It didn't sound right and was completely off.
"Hold on!" Roxie dashed over, tuning the guitar with a guitar tuner. "Okay, go."
"Hm." Roxanne made another attempt. This time, when her fingers went across the six strings from the thinnest to the thickest.
By interacting with the frets, the sound that Roxanne was making ended up being below average at best. It sounded like thunder rumbling as any nearby humans, ponies and Pokemon got a sudden chill through their bodies.
"Eeugh..." Brawly winced.
"Hmmm...!" Roxie puckered her lips as she observed Roxanne's finger movements.
Roxanne herself was already aware of how dry her music sounded, and she would just give up here. However, Roxanne's nature did not allow her to stop.
Roxanne can be seen as a go-getter at times. When she says that she can do something, she will spend hours trying to show everyone that she can achieve whatever goal is in front of her.
So Roxanne didn't stop playing the guitar as she put all of her focus into getting it right. Roxie didn't even try to stop her. Because she saw how much passion and effort she was putting into it.
"What was that you said again? It's all about energy?" Roxanne growled as she followed Roxie's simple and short instructions. "I'll show you energy!" All of a sudden, the usually composed and calm Roxanne was beginning to act like a full-on rocker.
"Ooh..." Roxie's eyes flashed as she was starting to see great potential.
"It's always the calm ones isn't it?" Brawly said under his breath.
Roxanne was completely in the zone now. Her practice turned into something personal as she was starting to create better sounds now. The sounds coming from the guitar were actually somewhat decent.
Decent enough to get Roxie moving a small bit.
"That's it! You're doing great!" Roxie exclaimed as she was feeling the passionate energy from Roxanne.
Unfortunately, even if she was displaying impressive skills that have yet to reach their full potential, Roxanne could only keep it up for so long.
"Ow!" She chipped her fingernail as she finally stopped playing. "Oh..." She looked at her nail, blowing on it.
"That was pretty neat!" Roxie slid behind Roxanne, putting her arm around her neck.
"It was?" Roxanne turned her head to Roxie.
"Oh yeah!" She gave a thumbs up. "I thought I was a natural when I was a kid. But looks like you've also got some natural guitar talents as well. Pretty neat."
"Right." Brawly nodded. "I didn't think you'd have that much energy boiling inside of you."
"Hmph. Well, of course, I have that much energy. I may be composed but I am still a Pokemon Trainer after all. We need strong energy from the get-go."
"Right on that." Roxie grinned. "Wanna have another go? And if you get super good, I could let you join my band."
"Join? I'm not fit for a metal band actually..."
"You'll come around." Roxie went back to her guitar. "Now come on. Brawly. Get ready to play those drums."
"I thought you would've forgotten..." Brawly sighed as he went over to the drumset. Some smooth progress was being made thanks to Roxanne's surprisingly decent guitar skills that she has yet to release.
Back with Ash and Rainbow Dash at the Canterlot Gardens, they were watching as Soarin was finishing up his battle against the colt he was going up against.
Long story short, he beat the colt who failed to achieve the 5th Gym Badge.
"Good try, buddy." Soarin gave the colt a pat on the head. "But maybe next time, you'll get it."
"Okay! Thanks!" The colt spread his wings out as he flew off, leaving the Canterlot Gardens.
"Alright, Dash. You're up." Soarin turned to Rainbow Dash.
"Alright!" Rainbow Dash flew off the bench she sat on. "I've been waiting for this! Let's make this a good one, Soarin!"
"Woah, slow down! My Pokemon need to rest first."
"Oh. Sorry." Rainbow Dash landed down.
"Out you all come." Soarin had sent out all of his Pokemon, which consisted of Corviknight, Snover, Archeops, Buizel, Torkoal and Boltund.
Soarin let them all have a break to recover themselves. Even though they won against their opponent, the young colt's Pokemon were formidable and shouldn't be underestimated at all.
"Sorry, Buizel. Maybe next time you'll get to pull off Swift Swim." Soarin said to his Buizel.
"Bui-Bui."
"He didn't use those two..." Rainbow Dash noticed that two of Soarin's Pokemon were not used that she's never seen before as she took out her dex to know who they were.
"Boltund. The Dog Pokemon. This Pokémon generates electricity and channels it into its legs to keep them going strong. Boltund can run nonstop for three full days. It sends electricity through its legs to boost their strength. Running at top speed, it easily breaks 50 mph.
"Archeops. The First Bird Pokemon. Said to be an ancestor of bird Pokémon, the muscles it uses to flap its wings are still weak, so it needs a long runway in order to take off. This ancient Pokémon’s plumage is delicate, so if anyone other than an experienced professional tries to restore it, they will fail. It runs better than it flies. It takes off into the sky by running at a speed of 25 mph."
"Checking out my Pokemon?" Soarin said to Rainbow Dash. "You know, it's not gonna be easy just because you saw me battle and all."
"Hm? I didn't say that." Rainbow Dash whistled. "Besides. I've got a counter for most of your Pokemon anyway."
"I know you do. You've been really making a name for yourself as a trainer in Equestria. Especially since you're the first pony to take part in the Equestria League."
"Yeah, I know." Rainbow Dash nodded with a proud grin. "Too bad being the first doesn't mean I'm number one. How'd Spitfire even get so many wins...?"
"Oh, Spitfire's wins? She didn't tell you about how she climbed the ranks so fast?"
"Huh? Wait, did she tell you?!" Rainbow Dash got up close to Soarin, causing him to fall on his back.
"Y-Yeah. She did. Most of us Wonderbolts know.
"Tell me! How'd she get so many wins in a few months!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as Ash and Pikachu leaned in to hear this.
"Well, you could say that she went on a rampage."
"Rampage?" Both Rainbow and Ash said.
"Pikachu?"
"Mhm. You see, everypony in the Wonderbolts academy took interest in the league too. Most if not all pegasi did. And Spitfire took the most interest in it out of all of us. She wanted to reach the top from the get-go, so she immediately put all of her focus into battling."
"But how did she battle 8120 ponies with 8119 wins and only one loss. And it was only for a few months and she won all 8 gym badges. Back then, it wasn't even a full year yet!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"That. Well, it's simple. First, she took on all of the ponies in the Wonderbolts Academy and mopped the floor with us. That gave her the first couple of a hundred points."
"Uh-huh...?" Rainbow Dash nodded slowly.
"Then, she used the gateways to take shortcuts around Equestria. She battled all the trainers who were taking part in the Equestria League and annihilated them too."
"Woah! She really did go on a rampage. But how in a few months? She's still the chief of the Wonderbolts, so shouldn't she be busy?"
"Yeah. She should. But that's the thing. Spitfire didn't battle at just morning. She battled at night too. She went over to cities that were more lively at night and took on the trainers there. Left and right, she was beating so many trainers that it bumped her win ratio up to the thousands."
"Talk about persistence..." Ash gawked.
"Pika..."
"And the Gym Battles? Well...let's just say most of them lasted around 7 minutes at best."
"Only 7 minutes to beat a gym..." Rainbow Dash gulped. "So then...who did she lose to?"
"Who? Well, there was one pony who really gave a rough her a time and finally cut her winning streak off." Soarin had actually remembered this pivotal point in time since he was there and he saw the battle himself. He began reminiscing on how it went.
This pony already beat all 5 of Spitfire's Pokemon without breaking a sweat at all. And she wasn't even that high on the leaderboards. She was ranked 750. Way lower than Spitfire. And yet, she smacked her Pokemon silly with just her Aggron. She hadn't even revealed the rest of her Pokemon yet.
"Sciz...Scizor!" Scizor got on his knees as he was already pretty beat up by his opponent which was a single Aggron who had taken out all of his teammates. Scizor was on the verge of fainting from how heavy he was breathing in and out.
"Aggron." The Iron Armor Pokemon growled, intimidating Scizor.
"Don't give up, Scizor! We can turn this around somehow!" Spitfire yelled.
"If I were you I'd just call it quits. Just accept your loss." The mysterious pony said.
"No way! We aren't out of the picture yet! Scizor! Superpower!"
"S-S-Scizor...!" Scizor got up as he surrounded his pincers in an orange aura, running forward. "Zor!" The Pincer Pokemon jumped up, using all of his strength with this one single attack.
"Fire Punch." The mysterious mare commanded.
"Ggron!" Aggron moved faster than Scizor due to Scizor being tired out. The Steel-Rock-Type engulfed its arms in a pale red aura with flames bursting out of them.
The Iron Amor Pokemon then smashed its fiery fists onto Scizor's stomach, hitting him before Scizor could even land Superpower.
"Z-Zor!" The Pincer Pokemon's eyes widened as an explosion of fire happened afterwards, launching Scizor back as he tumbled on the ground with a fiery trail coming out of him."
"Scizor, NO!" Spitfire bellowed. She watched as her partner Scizor, who was seemingly unstoppable since he had never fainted once before nor has ever been backed into a corner once, fall to the ground, defeated.
"Sc-Scizor..."
"I told you it would only take one Pokemon to win this. Return, Aggron." The mysterious pony smirked as she had given Spitfire the taste of defeat.
The pony really put a mark on Spitfire. She was the first one to beat her in a battle and in a pretty rough way too. Spitfire didn't even stand a chance.
Because of that one loss, Spitfire decided that one day, she would meet up with that pony again and challenge her in a rematch and win for sure.
So she's been getting stronger and training harder than ever before. She even got herself a Mega Stone for her Scizor too, ya know.
"Who was this pony that gave her such a hard time?" Rainbow asked.
"Hm? Oh, I think her name was Skyblue Shine or something like that. Yeah."
"Skyblue Shine...To think there's somepony else stronger than Spitfire." Rainbow Dash said under her breath.
"She may be number one, but there's always a bigger fish out there." Soarin nodded.
"Then..." Rainbow Dash thought for a moment. "That just means I have something bigger to shoot towards!"
"Hm?" Soarin turned to her.
"I thought that if I beat Spitfire, that was it. I'm the strongest trainer in Equestria. But now that I know that there's somepony tougher, I just gotta aim higher than ever before!"
"That's the spirit, Rainbow Dash!" Ash exclaimed as he nodded vigorously. It was like seeing a father being proud of his daughter.
"Just you wait, Soarin. I'll beat Spitfire one day and then I'll beat Skyblue Shine too! But first, I gotta win my badge from you!"
"Well...Somepony's fired up." Soarin's eyes widened. "But okay." He stood up. "I think we've had enough chit-chat. Let's get this Gym Battle started."
"Yeah!"
The stage had been set.
Rainbow Dash on the left. Soarin on the Right. And one referee in-between. They were both looking forward to going up against each other for a second time.
Due to the history between Rainbow Dash and Soarin, this battle will be on the more fun side instead of the traditional Gym Battle in which the only main objective is to win and nothing else.
Although, Rainbow Dash was aiming to do that too.
"The battle between Challenger Rainbow Dash and Gym Leader Soarin will be a 5v5 and a Double battle!" The referee exclaimed. "The battle will be over once five Pokemon on one side are all unable to continue. Only the challenger is allowed to substitute for this challenge. You may both bring out your first two Pokemon."
"Let's set em up. Your time to shine, Castform."
"Form!"
"Castform! Mienfoo! Let's go!" The first two she sent out were Castform who flew out of her bag and her Mienfoo.
"Mienfoo!"
"Those two huh...?" Soarin smirked. "Okay then. Buizel! Snover! You know what to do!" He sent out Buizel and Snover first.
"Bui!"
"Snover!"
When Snover was sent out, its ability had been activated. Snow Warning. By just entering the battlefield, a hailstorm had been summoned, filling the entirety of Canterlot Gardens but strangely enough, only Canterlot Gardens and not all of Canterlot.
One of the many mysteries of Pokemon yet again.
Not only that but due to there being hail now, Castform's body was reacting to the weather change. With The Weather Pokemon's cells being shifted, Castorm transformed into his Snowy Form.
"Castform!"
"I know what you're planning and it won't stop me, Clipper!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"We'll see about that, Crash!"
"Battle Start!"
"Mienfoo! Rush in with Agility and use Mega Punch on Snover! Castform! Tackle on Buizel!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo and Castform both charged forward with the Martial Arts Pokemon running ahead of her teammate.
"Buizel! Sonic Boom on Castform! Snover, use Reflect!"
"Sno!" The Frost Tree Pokemon raised its arms, covering both him and Buizel's body in a red veil that halved the physical attack of the opposing Pokemon.
"Bui!" Buizel's two tails glowed white as it flipped around, sending a large white shockwave at Castform.
"Cast!" Castform had been knocked out of the sky by Sonic Boom as it was a direct hit.
"Mien!" Mienfoo got in front of Snover, striking her paws onto the Frost Tree Pokemon's slightly rotund body with a strike packed with heavy power behind it.
"Ver!" Snover cocked back, but thanks to Reflect, Mega Punch didn't hurt as much.
"Use Wood Hammer, Snover!"
"Snover!" Snover leaned its body forward as its arms were surrounded in the energy of nature itself.
"Move back, Mienfoo! Castform, Weather Ball, go!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo gasped as she used Agility to dash backwards, avoiding the swinging arms of Snover's Wood Hammer.
"Cast...Form!" Castform created a blue ball of energy that was full of ice as he shot it towards the opposing Buizel.
"Destroy it with Ice Punch, Buizel!"
"Buizel!" Buizel shattered the Weather Ball by smashing its ice-covered paws onto it. "Zel!"
"You two doing okay?" Rainbow Dash asked her Pokemon.
"Mienfoo." Mienfoo whacked the Hail away from her face.
"Cast!"
"We've just started and I'm already feeling pretty tense." Rainbow Dash grinned as she let out a single sweatdrop. "He's gonna try and break my focus with all this hail probably. But that Buizel's pretty fast and thinks fast too. Alright, Castform. Return for now!"
"Castform!" Castform flew back inside of Rainbow Dash's bag as he reverted to his normal form.
"Luxio! You're up next!" She used her wings to toss the Poke Ball, sending out the Spark Pokemon.
"Luxio!"
"Just you watch, Soarin! That 5th Gym Badge is ours!"
As the first day of the Pokemon Festival is still in its early stages, Rainbow Dash is about to experience a heated battle against Soarin for her 5th Gym Badge. But she'll have fun battling him in the long run as the journey continues.
The first day of the Pokemon Festival continues and currently, Rainbow Dash is in the midst of getting her 5th Gym Badge against the Gym Leader Soarin.
"We'll hit all of them at once! Luxio! Discharge! Mienfoo! Fury Swipes!"
"Lux...!" Luxio was building up power for Discharge since it's great for hitting multiple targets at once whilst Mienfoo rushed in with her hidden claws coming out of her paws.
"Snover! Get in front of Buizel and use Protect!"
"Ver!" The Frost Tree Pokemon stood in front of his teammate as he put up a green barrier to defend him and Buizel from any damage.
"Xio!" With a raging bolt coming out Luxio's body, the Discharge had connected with the barrier of Protect. The attack had been cancelled out, but it did push Snover back a little bit.
"Foo!" Mienfoo suddenly jumped over Snover, ignoring Protect as she was focused on attacking from behind. "Mienfoo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon swiped both of her claws down on the two opposing Pokemon two times in a row.
"Sno!"
"Bui!"
Both of them were knocked back by Mienfoo's surprise attack from behind as they tumbled on the ground. But they weren't out yet.
"Both of them are pretty big threats to Buizel and Snover." Soarin thought for a moment. "Times like these where I wish the Gym Leader could substitute Pokemon."
"Hey!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Aren't you gonna do something, Soarin? You're kinda dazed out there."
"Hm? OH!" Soarin's eyes widened. My bad, my bad!" He chuckled before he cleared his throat. "Ahem. Alright. Snover! Let's make it harder for them to act! Use Icy Wind!"
"Ver...Sno!" With his eyes flashing blue, Snover kicked up a chilling gust of air to further ruin the concentration of Rainbow Dash's Pokemon. It was already hailing and now things were made worse thanks to Icy Wind.
"Trying to ruin my focus? Yeah right! Luxio! Charge in with Wild Charge! Mienfoo! Hop on Luxio's back and use Mega Punch!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo jumped on her teammate's back, catching a free ride on Luxio.
"Luxio!" By surrounding his body in electricity whilst also making Mienfoo jolt up a bit with her fur standing up, the Spark Pokemon bolted forward as if he was a lightning bolt.
"Here they come...Now Grab them with Wood Hammer! Buizel! Get ready and use Ice Punch!"
"Sno!" Snover was still the only one attacking at the moment as he put his arms out with green energy surrounding it. Once Luxio got close with Wild Charge, Snover used the Grass energy of Wood Hammer to nullify Luxio's electric attack as he grabbed the Spark Pokemon, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Ver!"
"L-Lux?!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo hopped off Luxio's back, going straight for a Mega Punch that was targeted at Buizel. But Buizel was ready for that too in the form of Ice Punch.
"Bui!" Both Pokemon ended up clashing their paws together, creating a tiny little shockwave afterwards. The two of them cancelled each other out from their own punches, prompting them both to jump back.
"Snover's got you right where he wants you, Dash!" Soarin grinned.
"You sure about that...?" Luxio, Iron Tail!"
"Luxio!" Using a second attack whilst being held by Snover's Wood Hammer, Luxio controlled his tail which had hardened up like iron as he swung it towards Snover.
"Sno?!" Snover gasped, realizing that he was being attacked from the side with his hands currently being occupied with Luxio. As such, Iron Tail connected, dealing massive damage to the Frost Tree Pokemon as he dropped Luxio. "S-Sno!"
"Ah! Snover!" Soarin gasped. He watched Snover tumbled on the ground like a bouncy ball after getting hit with such a hard attack.
Unfortunately for Snover, using Wood Hammer before also damaged him since It is a recoil move. And the Iron Tail only added to that damage.
With such a fragile body, Snover had unfortunately fainted.
"Snover..."
"Snover is unable to battle! Luxio wins!" The referee exclaimed.
"Bui!?" Buizel gasped to see its teammate fainted and knocked out. Because of Snover's defeat, the Hail had disappeared as well.
"Yes! Nice job, Luxio!"
"Xio!"
"Just you wait, Soarin! We're taking out your Buizel too!"
"Aw...Return Snover." Soarin sighed as he returned Snover to its ball. "You did good, pal."
"Sneak attacks are always pretty nifty, aren't they?" said Ash.
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"Hmm...How am I gonna do this?" Soarin began thinking yet again, which was only wasting time even further. Which Rainbow Dash didn't take kindly too.
"Soarin!" She yelled his name. "Are you out of the zone again?"
"Hm? Ah, sorry. I kinda get all thoughtful when I'm in a Pokemon Battle and one of my Pokemon faints." He chuckled. "It's kind of a bad habit of mine."
"Bad habit? I wouldn't say that." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Sometimes I get stuck on something during a battle. But uh...Not for that long."
"Sorry that I'm delaying our battle. Weather stuff is kinda complicated and needs a ton of focus, ya know."
"Just put all that focus into this battle!" Ash yelled from the bench.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Right. Thanks, Ash." Soarin took a deep breath before realizing how he can win all of this. "Okay. All I need is this one Pokemon to win. Torkoal, let's go!" Up next was his Torkoal.
"Torkoal!" Once Torkoal came out, its ability had been activated. Drought. The sun had suddenly intensified thanks to Drought being activated by Torkoal.
With the sunlight being harsh and brighter than ever, all Fire-Type moves had been boosted now. Mainly Torkoal's.
"I know! I'll just stand back and attack from afar. Mienfoo. You focus on Buizel okay?"
"Foo!"
"Hmph. Sorry about this, Buizel. Torkoal! Earthquake!" By surprise, Soarin had given off a command that spelt horrible news for all the surrounding Pokemon, especially Luxio.
"Tor...KOAL!" Torkoal slammed its legs on the ground with a hard impact, creating a fissure of white shockwaves that came out of the ground.
"What?!" Rainbow Dash screeched.
"Lu-Luxio!" Luxio had been hit by these shockwaves along with his partner Mienfoo. Even Buizel had been hit by Earthquake due to it always hitting every single opponent.
"Mien!"
"Bui!"
With a triple hit on all three of them, each of these pre-evolved Pokemon were sent flying into the air after Earthquake had hit them all.
They all took heavy damage, but none took the most damage than Luxio as it was a super-effective hit. Unfortunately, an attack so destructive not only took out Luxio but even Buizel, who wasn't even weak against Ground moves.
Ah!" Rainbow Dash screeched as she saw them all fall back down, crashing onto the shattered ground. Luxio got the worst out of Earthquake. Because of that damage being super-effective, the Spark Pokemon had fainted.
But it wasn't just him. Poor Buizel had fainted as well, which was something that Soarin didn't plan either.
"Uh-oh." Soarin realized that he took out one of his own Pokemon as well. He expected Earthquake to just slightly hurt Buizel, not take him out entirely. "Oh, I messed up!" He also screeched, pulling his mane as both Pokemon aside from Mienfoo had fainted.
"Luxio..."
"Buizel..."
"Both Luxio and Buizel are unable to battle!"
"Ah, Buizel! I'm sorry! I didn't plan for that to happen!"
Bui..." Buizel looked back at Soarin, telling him that it was okay. He then went back to being knocked out.
"Is it just me...or is Soarin's battling style inconsistent..." Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes.
"Castform." Castform nodded in agreement.
"He did so well against that one colt earlier...Hey Soarin!" Rainbow Dash bellowed for his name.
"Hm?" Soarin turned around, returning Buizel to his Poke Ball. "Ah, sorry about that Dash." He sighed. "I'm just you know...kinda having a bit of a sloppy start, ya know."
"You weren't like this in your previous battle, what's going on?"
"Not sure honestly." Soarin sighed. "This wouldn't be the first time this has happened."
"You mean this has happened before?" Ash stood up.
"Oh yeah." Soarin chuckled. "The first battle goes well. I'm totally in the zone, at my best and just cleaning house. But when the second battle comes along, I'm kinda..eehhh out of focus?"
"Is that why you didn't join the Canterlot Tournament?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yep. But after the second battle, I get my groove back in the third one. Then I get clumsy in the fourth and you see where this is going."
"How's that possible? Has that ever happened to a Pokemon Trainer before?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"But it's fine. Even when I'm inconsistent, I can still come out on top, ya know. But I guess Pokemon battling makes me feel a different way."
"You sure? You know, Soarin. If you're feeling kinda off, I can just come back another time when you've got your groove back." Rainbow Dash suggested.
"It's fine. But uh...It can get a bit exhausting having to battle so many trainers one after the other. But as a Gym Leader, I gotta take those risks. You came to earn a Gym Badge after all."
"I know. But I wanna face somepony at their best. I gotta really earn my gym badge, ya know!"
"Hm, I get what you mean but..." Soarin thought for a moment.
"I got it!" Ash put his fists together. "How about we just relax and have fun at the festival to get your spirit back up?"
"Hm?" The two pegasi turned to him.
"In situations like these, you gotta take it easy. Sometimes trainers just need some downtime so then, after they can really get fired up for a battle!"
"Pikachu!"
"Hm...I did wanna enjoy this festival and eat all the pies here..." Soarin pondered. "And I'm afraid somepony might beat me to it!"
"If it's gonna get you back to full strength then sure." Rainbow Dash nodded. "I wanna beat you at your best, Soarin!"
"Hah! When at my best I'm unstoppable!" Soarin grinned. "U-Unless I'm battling Spitfire that's a different story." He lowered his head.
"Then let's get going. We've got 2 weeks after all so there's a ton of time!" Ash pumped his fist into the air.
"Pika!"
With the Gym Battle put on pause, for now, more involvement in the festival's other activities was decided between Ash, Rainbow Dash and Soarin. At least until Soarin gets his energy back up.
But moving away from that group, Rarity's group, more specifically Rarity and Spike had come across something that piqued their interest. Something that had many ponies lining up.
"Pokemon Connoisseur Compatibility Booth?" They both said. They were currently standing in a large booth, multiple of them actually that were plastered in front of them.
They weren't exactly sure what Pokemon Connoisseur was. It sounded very new to them. They know of a normal Connoisseur but one that involves Pokemon is a bit out there.
Rarity noticed that there was a sign that described what a Pokemon Connoisseur was. She read the following.
"A Pokemon Connoisseur use their knowledge and experience to assess the bond between trainer and Pokemon. and from there give advice on how to strengthen their partnership. The process of checking Pokémon and Trainer compatibility is known as an evaluation, with methods including field observations, skin condition, and aroma. Connoisseurs can also help choose what Pokémon would be compatible for beginning Trainers who have not yet chosen their first Pokemon."
"That's a thing?" Spike said. "How do they do it? Do they just look at our Pokemon?"
"We'll have to find out. Let's try...this booth." Rarity chose the booth in front of her and Spike as they were curious as to how this whole Pokemon Connoisseur thing works.
When they entered the booth, they were met with the first Pokemon Connoisseur of the day. Or rather, a Pokémon Connaisseuse, the female equivalent.
One who was new to them but definitely not someone random. It was none other than the bratty, obnoxious yet somewhat endearing Connaisseuse.
Burgundy.
"What do we have here?!" She spoke. "A pony and a dragon? I'm not supposed to have more than one customer inside but I'll take it!"
"I assume you're a Connoisseur?" Rarity asked.
"A Connaisseuse is the right term. My name is Burgundy. And I may not look like it, but I'm a highly-skilled Connaisseuse ranked by the Pokemon Connoisseur Association."
"Pokemon Connoisseur Association?" Spike sat down on the chair.
"Mhm. So, you two have taken an interest now, have you?" Burgundy sat down. "Let's see your Pokemon and leave the judging to me." She smirked. "And besides compatibility, you can also ask me about preparing Pokemon food, battle strategies and even the choice of accessories."
"Alright then. I suppose you can judge..." Rarity was thinking of who to show off first. "How am I with my Pheromosa?" She chose Pheromosa first.
"Mosa!"
"Oh! An Ultra Beast?!" Burgundy stood up. "And a beautiful one at that too!" She began zipping around the booth, observing Pheromosa for herself.
"Phero?"
"Hm. Tall. Thin. Supple. And it's got an interesting aroma to it." Burgundy observed. "Like a pheromone?"
"Well? How compatible are we?" Rarity questioned.
"Hmmm...!" Burgundy put her finger on her chin, squinting her eyes at the Lissome Pokemon. She had eventually concluded. "The partnership between you and your Pheromosa is..."
"Is...?" Rarity leaned in.
"You're both similar in beauty, that's for sure. But other than that, your Pheromosa's aroma is a bit too potent. Its body is too tall for its own good, that hair is way too long and the eyes are constantly in a slanted state which only weakens some of the beauty."
"Phero?!" Pheromosa jerked back.
"If I were you, I'd get some accessories that can at least mask the busy appearance of your Ultra Beast."
"Mosa..." Pheromosa curled up into the corner after hearing criticism such as that.
"Ah, Pheromosa!" Rarity turned to her partner. "Rude!"
"It's a Connoisseur's job to be critical, my little pony."
"Hmph." Rarity went over to Pheromosa, comforting her. "Don't listen to her Pheromosa."
"What about you, dragon boy?" Burgundy turned to Spike.
"Oh. Well, I'm aiming to be a Dragon Trainer so I'm going for Dragon Pokemon only. Can you tell me what you think about my Salamence?" Spike sent out his Salamence.
"Sala!"
"Geugh!" Burgundy backed up as Salamence took up a ton of space inside of the booth. "Ahem. I can judge a Dragon. No problem."
"Salamence."
"Hm..." Burgundy got up close to Salamence, getting in his face as Salamence shifted his eyes about. "Hm...It's definitely fit for battling..."
"Right?" Spike grinned as he nodded.
"But it's got a pungent smell. Like burning charcoal that won't stop burning no matter what. Have you ever considered bathing Salamence?"
"Sala?"
"If you're planning on distracting your opponents with that smell then that's one crafty battle strategy."
"Sala..." Salamence didn't take too kindly to Burgundy's words. She essentially said that he reeked. And Salamence took that personally. "Mence!" He gave his response by breathing Flamethrower on Burgundy's face.
"Gyaaaah!" Burgundy screamed as her face had been charred by Salamence.
"Ah!" Spike gasped. "Return Salamence!"
"Grr! My precious face." Burgundy held her face as it was now full of smoke. This prompted Pheromosa and Rarity to laugh a small bit. "That accursed dragon of yours needs to watch where it breathes its fire next time!" She flailed her arms and legs about.
"Well, he's obviously not going to take kindly to you insulting his scent." Rarity replied. "The smell of somepony else shouldn't determine compatibility. Those are trivial and minor things. Pokemon compatibility should be from the heart of both trainers, I believe."
"Mosa."
"Huh?! Are you trying to out-connoisseur me?!"
"Hmph. I don't need to be a connoisseur to know how compatibility between trainer and Pokemon works." Rarity went up to Burgundy, smirking at her.
"Grrgh...!" A vein showed up on Burgundy's head. "Why you-" Before Burgundy could pop off and go ballistic, someone else opened up the curtains to the booth.
"Starting up trouble again, Burgundy?" A new face to Spike and Rarity had been seen but definitely not to Burgundy.
The familiar face that opened up the curtains was considered to be a well-versed connoisseur who is ranked high and can actually judge Pokemon properly. Burgundy knew this person very well and had a bit of a dislike to them.
"...Cilan!" Burgundy growled.
"That's me." Cilan smiled.
"Hang on. Did you say your name was Cilan?" Rarity said as she and Spike recalled Ash mentioning the name Cilan when he told them about his past adventures.
"Right. Cilan the Pokemon Connoisseur. At your service." Cilan bowed down.
"You're Ash's friend, right? Or are you just another guy named Cilan?" Spike spoke.
"Ah, so you know Ash. Yep. I'm that Cilan. A pleasure to meet you."
"Enough with the introductions!" Burgundy bellowed. "Hear to embarrass me again?!"
"What? No-no-no." Cilan chuckled as he shook his head. "There was just a lot of noise coming from the booth next door so I came to see what was wrong?"
"Hmph. It was just me judging the compatibility between these two and their Pokemon. And it's not great at all."
"Salamence and I are best buddies! You don't know a thing!" Spike pointed at her.
"Are you doubting a connoisseuse?!" Burgundy gave him the stink-eye.
"Now, now." Cilan walked in between them. "I can sense some heated energy slowly building up. Burgundy. Maybe the best thing to do is to not rile up your customers."
"Hmph!" Burgundy crossed her arms, turning away.
"How about I judge your Pokemon instead? You all don't seem satisfied anyway."
"Will you be less cruel?" Rarity asked.
"A Pokemon Connoisseur must be honest at all times. However, they must also maintain a balance of honesty and kindness without harming the trainer and Pokemon's spirit."
"Hm. That sounds fair to me. What can you say about my Pheromosa then?"
"Mosa?"
"An Ultra Beast, eh? Well, your Pheromosa..." Cilan began observing Pheromosa.
"Pheromo..." Pheromosa was getting a bit nervous. She believed that Cilan would give her the same result that Burgundy did.
But he didn't. It didn't even take that long for Cilan to conclude.
"Your Pheromosa...such excellent energy she's exhibiting. That energy is similar to that of an excited child. But in a good way. I can tell that you and Pheromosa share a splendid bond, one that can't be broken that easily."
"Mosa!" Pheromosa picked up Rarity, hugging her trainer.
"Oof!" Rarity's eyes bulged.
"I'd go as far as to say there's nothing wrong with her at all. She's perfectly compatible with you. Although the pheromones she's exhibiting can be a bit intoxicating."
"Many thanks, Cilan. Do you hear that Pheromosa? Isn't that wonderful?"?
"Pheromosa!"
"And what about me and my Salamence!" Spike sent his Salamence back out.
"Salamence...Dragon Pokemon are a bit tougher to judge but it's a challenge I'm willing to take." Cilan went up to the Dragon Pokemon to see what he could inform.
"Salamence..." Salamance gave Burgundy a death-stare, prompting her to move back as she shuddered. "Mence..."
"Eep!" Burgundy squealed.
"Hm...Salamence. Usually, a Pokemon that is hard to control because of how excited it gets when it reaches its final evolution. They go on a rampage, destroying everything in their path and are completely uncontrollable until they tire out."
"Sala."
"But, looks like you've overcome that. Your Salamence is under complete and total control." Cilan put his hand on Salamence's face. "Not many can tame Dragon-Types, let alone a Salamence. That just screams a powerful bond."
"Awesome!" Spike hopped on Salamence's back. "We're living large Salamence!"
"Salamence!"
"But, it does need a bit of a bath. Just a quick one will do." Even Cilan spoke about a bath. But Salamence didn't take it too personally like with Burgundy. He did sort of smell.
"Alright. Later at night, we'll clean you up, okay buddy?"
"Mence!"
"See, Burgundy? You can still point out a Pokemon's flaws without being so cynical and harsh about it. That way, the Pokemon can still see that it has something to improve on without any drawbacks happening to you." Cilan explained.
"Hmph!" Burgundy puffed her cheeks.
"So, I take it that if you two know Ash and you're here at the festival, does that mean Ash is here as well?" Cilan asked.
"Sure is." Spike nodded.
"Splendid! I've heard about how he's gotten super popular in this world. Earned the title of Hero as well. It'd be great to meet him again."
"Well, you'd better get searching. This festival is highly-crowded," said Rarity.
"Alright. Catch up with you later, Burgundy. And remember my adv-"
"Yeah, yeah I remember." Burgundy interrupted. "Just you wait. I'll have a trainer leaving this booth smiling with great advice."
"Okay then." Cilan chuckled. "So you two. Tell me. What's Ash been getting up to in this world?" He asked as they both walked out of the booth.
"Well...there was the whole split-personality debacle. We can tell you what happened during that mess." Rarity began to babble on as they both set out to find Ash for Cilan.
But Cilan wasn't the only familiar face in this festival.
With Twilight and Starlight.
They were currently over at a Pokemon Attraction. More specifically, the rollercoaster from the first Pokemon Festival.
"This'll be your first time on a rollercoaster Starlight. And my second time as well." Twilight said.
"Yeah um..." Starlight looked up at the coaster. "Is that safe?"
"It is." Twilight nodded. "But it can leave you feeling all woozy!" Twilight rolled her pupils around.
"Right. I'd better make sure that Hatterene doesn't get sick. It'd be best if I kept my Poke Ball out and away from something like that." Starlight decided to place her Poke Ball at the nearest table.
As she ran off to the closest table that was nearby her, she ended up bumping into someone who was also running. But instead of it being a pony, it turned out to be a human instead, as they both fell on the floor.
"Ow!" Both Starlight and the human said. "Urgh...my head!"
"Watch where you're going!" The human exclaimed.
"Me?!" Starlight growled. "I could say the same to you!" She snapped back at him. The human she saw was someone new to her, but not new to one of her friends Trixie.
Trixie mentioned how Starlight was her newest friend since she's had some who came before her. Ash and Misdreavus being the very early ones.
After Starlight, Zoroark was her next friend, but before Starlight and in between Misdreavus Trixie had one other friend. A friend who can be a bit hyperactive.
Almost on the same level as Ash. He was very impatient, highly competitive and he just loves bumping into people when rushing out of doors. Although in this case, it was out in the open. Only one trainer fit this bill.
Barry.
"Hah!" Barry stood up. "Then, in that case, pay up!"
"Pay up?" Starlight raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah! I'm gonna have to Fine you for bumping right into me! You've got 7 seconds!"
"Wait...fine?" Starlight took a moment to remember one of the few things Trixie mentioned about Barry from time to time. The whole Fine part was one of them, and how he loves bringing it up. Judging by how he bumped into her, there was no mistaken on who this was. "Wait...are you, Barry?!"
"Hm? Yeah, that's me. What of it?"
"You're Trixie's friend, right? So am I!" Starlight stood. "I'm Starlight Glimmer!"
"Oh, so you're Starlight? Hm. I guess I can drop the Fine then."
"Did you need it in the first place...?" Starlight slanted her eyes.
"Starlight, what's taking so long?" Twilight went up to her as she noticed Barry. "Who's this?"
"Twilight, this is Barry. One of Trixie's early friends."
"Oh! Are you one of those princesses that they keep talking about!" Barry gawked at Twilight's wings and horn.
"Uh..yeah. That's me." Twilight squeed.
"Oh cool! But wait. Your hair's not flowing, what gives?"
"Um...I don't know?" Twilight shrugged.
"Hm. I was looking forward to seeing that. Bummer!"
"Yeesh. You're just as hyperactive as Ash but on the more loud side." Twilight winced.
"Ash?" Barry recognized that name. "Oh yeah. He's super popular in this world, isn't he? He's definitely worthy of being my rival Grrr! I wanna be a hero too! There's gotta be something I can do to get that same status!"
"Rival? You know Ash as well?" Twilight pointed her hoof at Barry.
"Oh yeah! Ash and I are bonafide rivals, ya know! We go way back from our adventures in Sinnoh, ya know."
"So you're a friend of Trixie and a rival of Ash..." Twilight nodded slowly. "You're certainly on the same level as energetic as him that's for sure."
"Where is he?" Barry searched high and low. "I came here for a battle cause I heard this festival has some of those!"
"Well, Ash is off doing his own thing like everypony else. But he's got a pretty recognizable appearance. You can't miss him." Twilight explained.
"Neat. Catch ya later!" Barry dashed off, leaving behind a dust cloud. "Ash! I want a battle, wherever you are!"
"I have a feeling it's not just us who'll be seeing a lot of familiar faces," Twilight said to Starlight.
"Mhm." She nodded in agreement. "Oh, right. Hatterene." Starlight placed the Poke Ball on the table next to her. "Alright, I'm ready now."
"Great. Just hold on tight. It can get pretty aggressive." As Twilight and Starlight went over to the rollercoaster, the sun has moved after precisely 12 minutes.
The day is still young. Very young. The Pokemon Festival certainly isn't ending anytime soon, that's for sure. These 2 weeks are bound to be the best 2 weeks of their lives yet but they can't rest too well, knowing that there is something out there, waiting to ruin this fun experience at any moment, as the journey continues.
In the unknown reaches of time, strange and wonderful creatures appeared on this planet.
We call them Pokemon.
A wealth of creatures that grace every nook and cranny of the beautiful world they live in.
Some are masters of the heavens above.
Caretakers and helpmates of the earth below.
Watchful eyes and ears throughout recorded history and beyond. Living shoulder to shoulder with people and ponies while others live solitary lives in their natural environment.
And then there are Pokemon who form vast communities, all expressing life in their own unique way.
Over the years countless varieties of Pokemon have developed. Researches have identified hundreds of different types, thousands probably, perhaps even millions and beyond with many more that are yet to be discovered. With numbers too vast to even comprehend. To meet and bond with a Pokemon is an experience like none other.
Each of these spectacular species possesses amazing powers and attributes that set them apart from one another in ways to numerous to list.
But unique as they are individually, together they make up the incredible world of Pokemon. In all of its many shapes and forms.
Many tales have been passed down of the extraordinary adventures the humans share with their Pokemon friends. There have been conflicts too, but over the ages, they have learned to live together in harmony.
And so the story continues.
Today, there are heroes who collect Pokemon and train hard in battle. Some of them even dream of becoming Pokemon Masters.
It is an exciting journey. But full of challenges too. Being a trainer requires dedication and spirit. This road can certainly be long and difficult.
But those who travel it will certainly find many friends along the way. Together, humans, ponies, dragons, griffons, yaks and other hidden species out there in the world will carry on the story. Facing new challenges and sharing new adventures that will become the tales of tomorrow.
The world of Pokemon. It truly is a world of wonder. And there are Pokemon out there that have yet to be discovered.
Capturing the fantasy of many, including a certain young man, who along with his partner Pikachu is battling his way to earn the title of Pokemon Master.
His path to becoming the very best has been a long one but a journey that has been filled with excitement, intensity and blood boiling events that never slow down once.
His journey, while long, is only just beginning as he shares it with his many friends. Whether they be human, Pokemon, pony or dragon, he's sure to create new tales and form new friendships in his timeless adventure.
The Pokemon Festival. Still on its first day on the first week and brimming with energy. With a plethora of activities to do and explore, it's safe to say that everyone here will surely be occupied for these remaining 2 weeks.
There are a plethora of ways to enjoy this festival and everyone here has their own unique way of doing things. Some take enjoyment in the festival by having a bite to fill their hunger up.
Like Celestia. She was enjoying all the cake this festival had to offer whilst her Pokemon were just enjoying themselves all the way.
"Mmm!" Celestia swallowed some cake as her face was full of icing. "I'm so glad I don't have my regalia on. It gets in the way sometimes when I'm eating some delicious cake!"
"Arcanine." Acranine went up to the cake, getting a good sniff of it as he decided to take one single bite.
"Gardevoir." Passion did the same as she swiped some icing. She tasted the icing, already melting with its wonderful taste that Celestia also enjoys so much.
"And I cannot wait for mother and father to show up so that we can enjoy this festival together," Celestia said.
And as soon as she said that, along came Sunlight and Eventide, formerly known as King Eventide and Queen Sunlight as two rays of light landed right next to Celestia.
Once the light dispersed, they decided to show themselves as they had finally arrived to spend some quality time with their daughters.
"We're here!" Sunlight whistled.
"And we see it's still early! Wonderful!" Eventide grinned.
"Mother! Father! You made it!" Celestia stood up as she still had cake in her mouth.
"Celestia. What did I say about talking with your mouth full of cake." Her mother replied.
"Oh." Celestia swallowed the remaining cake. "Sorry."
"Bah, let us forget about that." Eventide pulled his wife and daughter in. "It is time for us to focus on enjoying ourselves at the festival. Such trivial things such as that cannot be focused on."
"You're right dear. Besides. This will be our first Pokemon Festival. We spectated the first one and it was gratifying. But now we're here in physical form!" Sunlight squeed as she pranced on the spot.
"Where is Luna? It shall be perfect if it was all 4 of us." Eventide looked around.
"Luna is a bit lost on what she wants to do in this year's festival, actually," Celestia replied.
"Haha! Then she needn't be lost anymore! Being the entertaining father that I am, she will surely enjoy herself to the fullest for these 2 weeks!" Eventide chuckled.
"If we were to start somewhere, I'd say the attractions would be a sure-fire option. Perhaps the ones here at Canterlot or even the Crystal Empire."
"Oh. About that. You've never met Shining Armor, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza or Flurry Heart yet." Celestia realized. "Now that you can physically walk in our world once more, I'll have to take you there to meet them someday. In physical form instead of spectating that is."
"We cannot wait. Now enough with the chatter. How about we..." Eventide looked around as he spotted Ash in the distance with Rainbow Dash and Soarin, eating some pies. "Aha! There's a fellow who knows how to have fun!"
"Hm?" Sunlight and Celestia turned to where Eventide was facing.
"Ash! My boy!" Eventide called out for Ash's name by using a small bit of his Royal Canterlot voice.
"Huh?" Ash turned around whilst having some pie in his mouth. "Eventide?"
"Pikachu?"
"Come hither boy!"
"Hold on!" Ash grabbed some pies as he and Pikachu went over to the royal family.
"I know Luna has a fondness for him, so she'll generally be pleased to be around him especially if they bond here!" Eventide exclaimed.
"Forcing love again, dear?" Sunlight nudged Eventide.
"Oof! S-Sorry. Force of habit."
Ash slid over to them, almost dropping the pies, but his Gengar thankfully caught them for him.
"Gen!"
"Thanks, Gengar."
"Just the lad I wanted to see. Ash Ketchum." Eventide walked up to him.
"Great to see you guys again. You're just in time to really enjoy the festival!"
"Pikachu!"
"Mhm!" Sunlight stepped forward. "There is so much to do. It's hard to decide. That rollercoaster over there seems like it would be an absolute thrill."
On the rollercoaster, Twilight, Starlight and other ponies were screaming for their lives as the rollercoaster was speeding up and moving haphazardly.
"Or we could participate in the many attractions here. I've already seen some that grab my fancy," said Eventide. "But you are the master of entertainment, Ash Ketchum. What say you?"
"Me? Well..." Ash thought for a moment. "Just do whatever. Like Sunlight said. There's so much to do. You won't be bored for a second!"
"Pikachu!"
"Hm-hm." Eventide nodded. "I suppose that is a simple and straightforward action. Come!" Eventide put his hoof around Ash's neck. "Let us see what we can get ourselves into!"
"Your father is more excited than he's ever been isn't he?" Sunlight chuckled.
"Mhm." Celestia giggled as they all followed Eventide to do whatever they can.
Twilight and Starlight had just finished their little Rollercoaster ride as they were out of it. Starlight was frozen in fear since this was her first experience. Her mane stood up as she was still processing what had just happened.
"Urgh..." Twilight felt woozy as she fell off the train, landing flat on her face. "Still fun the second time. That was a blast, right Starlight?"
"Mmrgh...Mmm..." Starlight grumbled as she could barely speak.
"I guess you're gonna need to recover a bit." Twilight used her magic to take Starlight out of the rollercoaster as she noticed Ash passing by with Celestia, Sunlight and Eventide. "Oh! Ash!" She called out for him.
"Hm? Twilight?" Ash turned to her.
"Pika?"
"Perfect timing!" She flew over to them. "I was just thinking about something that involves us two."
"Really? Like what?"
"Well..." Twilight scraped her hoof on the ground. "I know it's nothing new to you but...I was wondering, for the third time, you and I could you know...spend some time together?"
"Oh just like what happened during New Year, huh? I gotcha!" Ash nodded in understanding. "But I promised to also hang out with Celestia, Sunlight and Eventide."
"Pikachu."
"Oh, that's fine. We can hang out at night. If you have the time that is."
"Baha!" Eventide chuckled. "Why wait? We're all friends here! Twilight Sparkle. You can join us on our little fun hunt before the night strikes."
"Hm? Oh, I wasn't really planning on doing that...I mean! I could do it, don't get me wrong I-"
"It's fine, Twilight." Sunlight nodded. "We've already decided that we'll just have fun however we want with whatever we can involve ourselves in. Ash. You can go along with her. We'll be fine on our own."
"Really?"
"Trust in our ability to entertain ourselves, my boy." Eventide grinned.
"We still have 2 weeks of all of this after all. So there's no pressure." Celestia shook her head.
"Alright then. Let's do this Twilight!"
"That's wonderful!" Twilight smiled as she turned around, pumping her hooves. "Yes!" She said quietly.
"That rollercoaster ride you were on does take our interest. I've always wanted to know what it would feel like to be on one." Sunlight set her sights on the rollercoaster. "Come on you two. I'm all for getting my adrenaline going." Sunlight made her way towards the rollercoaster.
"Won't it make our heads ache though...?" Eventide squinted his eyes as he and Celestia followed Sunlight.
"If you ride on it a few times that is." Celestia chuckled as the three of them had left, leaving only Ash and Twilight now.
"Okay! What's first?" Ash asked.
"Come with me." Twilight used her magic to grab Ash. "There's a lot we can do together!" Twilight trotted along whilst carrying Ash along.
"W-Woah! D-Do you have to drag me though?"
"Pikachu..."
Meanwhile, Some prefer to just kick back, relax and take a load off with the calming air of the festival.
Like Applejack for example.
She and Sceptile were doing this by themselves instead of forming a large group like the others.
Applejack and her Sceptile had taken interest in these very large yet soft and absorbing pillows that seem to ease all the pain in the world.
They had both laid down on the Snorlax-shaped pillows as they were pulling them both in. It felt like they were sinking into the pillows themselves.
"Ah...I can get used to this." Applejack sighed as her hat fell on her face, blocking her vision of everything else.
"Sceptile..." Sceptile felt pure bliss with these pillows. If he could buy one, he would take it home with him. He normally enjoys sleeping on a nearby tree, but this might be even better.
The two of them were so caught up in these pillows that they may get distracted and forget about the entire festival as a whole.
Applejack was at complete and total peace until she heard something familiar coming her way. Something that is somewhat recent but by a few weeks. They were small little footsteps from most likely a very small Pokemon.
She removed her hat to see that someone was standing right in front of her. That, someone, was the Automaton Pokemon.
Golett.
More specifically, the Golett from the Pokemon School that grew attached to Applejack the moment they first met. All because Applejack reminds Golett of its old master from long ago.
"Gol!"
"Huh? You?!" Applejack gasped. "Did you follow me or something?!"
"Golett!" Golett stood up tall, basically confirming that he did indeed follow her.
"Scep?"
"Uh, I appreciate the love, Golett." Applejack picked him up. "But sneaking out of your Poke Ball like that just to see is a bit uh..."
"Golett!" Golett raised its arms, immediately pledging allegiance to Applejack on the spot, without her even asking for it. And Applejack could actually understand him. She didn't need Fluttershy for this as Golett's movements made it pretty clear for her to understand.
"Oh, you're a clingy one, aren't ya?" Applejack lowered her head as she sighed. "Sceptile was like that when he was still a Treecko but..."
"Tile. Sceptile." Sceptile nudged Applejack, telling her to let Golett tag along for a bit. It wouldn't hurt anyone, even if Golett is very clingy.
"Hm? You want me to let him tag along?"
"Sceptile." He nodded.
"I don't know...Ain't he Fantina's Pokemon? Does she even know you're missing?"
"Gol." Golett shook his head. Fantina wasn't even here today. She'll probably be in by tomorrow.
"Uh-huh...Fine. You can tag-along." Applejack reluctantly agreed to let Golett join the group. "But just don't cause any trouble for anyone, okay?"
"Golett!" The Ground-Ghost-Type could declare this a stunning victory. He had a sort of medieval personality to him. Mostly because he was a Pokemon from the past. The very far past.
Whoever Golett's previous trainer was, they most likely shared a similar presence to Applejack, which is the only reason why Golett is so drawn to her. Whoever it was, is a mystery for now.
Some of the trainers here prefer to just explore the festival and see what they can find.
More specifically Fluttershy, who was still on the search for Victini by heading into the resort zone which had new areas ranging from jungles to a surprise pool where some Pokemon like to go for a dip.
And yet, no Victini.
"Hm. I guess Victini isn't here today. Maybe tomorrow." Fluttershy sighed as she sat down.
"Audino." Audino patted her on the back, letting Fluttershy know that she would have better luck next time.
"Chiko!" Chikorita on the other hand, liked the sound of a pool as she hopped right in it. The pool here was generated by the move Scald.
So not only does it act like a pool, but it even functions as a hot spring. The perfect combo. At least for most Pokemon, some Pokemon could do without this hot and cold combination.
Fluttershy pouted, feeling a bit down that she didn't get to see Victini today. But her disappointment quickly faded away once she spotted a brand new Pokemon she had never seen before.
The head of this Pokemon popped out of the pool as it gave Chikorita a slight scare. This Pokemon wasn't Victini but could be considered just as special.
This Pokemon was none other than the Melody Pokemon.
Meloetta.
In it's Aria Forme too.
"Etta?" The Normal-Psychic-Type looked around, spotting Fluttershy looking right at her. "Meloett?"
"Oh! Who's that!?" Fluttershy gawked as she dashed over to the Melody Pokemon.
"Meloetta?" Meloetta would normally run away from anyone who sees her in a heartbeat since they're normally shy Pokemon. But this Meloetta didn't because she felt comfortable around Fluttershy.
Or rather, Fluttershy's presence reminds her of someone.
"What's your name?" Fluttershy asked.
"Meloetta." She gave her name.
"Meleotta? That's a truly wonderful name. My name's Fluttershy. "I've never heard of you before. I love meeting new Pokemon!"
"Etta..." Meloetta circled Fluttershy, seeing if she could recall why Fluttershy's presence was so familiar. After sensing her aura, Meloetta then realised why it was so familiar. "Etta! Meloetta!"
"Hm? I remind you of someone?"
"Melo!" She nodded.
"Oh. Who?"
"Etta! Meloetta!"
"My presence reminds you of Ash? Oh, do you know Ash as well?"
"Meloetta!"
"That's great! I guess it's exactly like Victini. Well, I have amazing news Meloetta. Ash is here today. If that makes you happy."
Indeed it did. Once she heard that, Meloetta's excitement began to rise to an insurmountable level as her pupils expanded with her eyes being filled with stars. "Meloetta...?" She had come to the Pokemon Festival's resort zone since she could feel how calming it was. But she didn't expect Ash to be here.
"I suppose you want to see him?"
"Melo!" Indeed she does. In an instant, the Melody Pokemon dashed off, setting off to find Ash somewhere in the festival.
"Oh! Wait!" Fluttershy chased after her. "Meloetta!"
"Chiko?" Chikorita realized that Audino and Fluttershy had left. She would go after them, but the pool was too calming. She decided to catch up with them later as she was going to enjoy the warm and comfortable aura of the pool. "Chikorita..."
Adagio was still at the Resort Zone as she saw Fluttershy, Audino and Meloetta dash by her whilst she kept on eating her Lava Cookies.
"Hm." She grumbled as she didn't think too much about it.
Meloetta was surprisingly fast. Although, her light and small body allows her to move at swift and nimble speeds. Especially when she enters her Pirouette Form.
However, Meloetta soon remembered that she was going out in public to see Ash and she was still a bit shy with her being able to approach very few trainers that she has met. Fluttershy being the newest.
So, to see Ash whilst also concealing herself, Meloetta turned invisible, just like Victini. It seems that all Psychic-Type Pokemon can just do that from the looks of it.
At least the Mythical Pokemon can.
Now, Fluttershy had lost track of Meloetta as she couldn't see her anymore. "She can turn invisible too?"
"Dino..." Audino had Fluttershy covered. All she had to do was follow Meloetta by using her sensitive ears. Or even better. All they had to do was find Ash and they'll find Meloetta.
Easy.
Although, due to the large number of ponies, humans, Pokemon and eventually other species that will show up here, that might prove to be an issue.
Speaking of Ash, he and Twilight ended up reaching the spot where the Pokemon Camp Curry Cook-off was happening.
Right now, Pinkie Pie had devoured a plethora of curries after many other participants decided to make their own special curries. More specifically, the CMC, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon and Babs Seed.
They seemed to be into curry now which some being more natural than others. Some referring to Babs of course who seemed to possess hidden curry cooking skills.
Ash was attracted to the beautiful scent of curry as he was enchanted by it. "Mm...Smells good..."
"Pika..."
"I know right?" A full Pinkie Pie said as she laid on her back with her hoof on her belly. "Whew, I'm stuffed."
"Did you eat all of these?" Twilight looked at the many plates around Pinkie Pie and how they were all clear with only stew on them.
"Mhm." Pinkie nodded. "I'm gonna be out for a while. But it was totally worth it."
"Well, I'm gonna chow down on some myself!" Ash went over to Scootaloo, seeing how she was making some new curry along with her friends. "What are you making?"
"Oh, hey Ash. Just making some new curry. Apparently, there's like 151 of these! And I'm kinda curious!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"Me too!" said Apple Bloom.
"Me three!" As well as Sweetie Belle. "This curry stuff is easy!"
"Pikachu." Pikachu looked over at a plate that still had some of Scootaloo's curry. He decided to take a bite out of it and was immediately met by the spicy effects of the Cheri Berries that Scootaloo added onto them. "Pi...PIKA!" He breathed fire out of his mouth from the heat but it tasted so good in the end. "Pikachu..."
"I'm running out of berries here!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed as Purrloin got some new berries for her.
"Purr."
"Thanks, Purrloin!" She placed the berries inside as she continued to stir the pot. "This is gonna be my best one yet!"
"For them to be cooking at such a young age..." Twilight gawked.
"Espeon."
With Ash and everypony else looking forward to some curry, mostly Ash since this will be his first time eating some, the scent of the curries kept on drawing others in.
But one other individual was also being drawn in. But not by the food. But instead, the presence of another. Of course, Meloetta is the one who was drawn to this spot as she was searching for Ash.
She didn't have to search any longer as she had found him standing right there. Needless to say, Meloetta was thrilled to see Ash again as she no longer remained invisible.
"Meloetta!" With glee, the Melody Pokemon flew over to Ash, going straight for a hug.
"Hm?" Ash recognized a familiar voice coming his way. He turned around, curious as to what he was feeling. Once he did, he spotted an old friend in the form of Meloetta. "Meloetta?!"
"Pikachu?!"
"Etta!" The Melody Pokemon hugged Ash's arm as she was already glued towards him, much like their first encounter.
"Eh?" Scootaloo and the others turned around to spot this brand new Pokemon that they've all never seen before. "Oh! Who's that Pokemon?!"
"Oooh!" Pinkie sat up, spotting Meloetta. "Looks pretty!" She and the others took out their Pokedexes to read about this new Pokemon.
"Meloetta. The Melody Pokemon. Aria Forme. Its melodies are sung with a special vocalization method that can control the feelings of those who hear it. Many famous songs have been inspired by the melodies that Meloetta plays."
"A music Pokemon? Those are pretty rare!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "And it looks so beautiful!"
"Meloetta. It's good to see you again!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Melo." The Melody Pokemon clung onto Ash's arm as she looked like she wasn't about to let go. Ash knew that Meloetta acted like this, similar to how Bayleef acts. Although Bayleef can't physically grab Ash.
"How's Ridely doing?" Ash asked her.
"Etta! Meloetta!"
"Chu! Pikachu!"
The three of them were happy to see each other again as they were all feeling nostalgic. Some good energy was being radiated between them as the others could feel it.
But not everyone. All except for Twilight were feeling the positive energy waves.
"Mrrgh..." Twilight grumbled as she could see how Meloetta attached herself onto Ash the moment she showed up. She was feeling vibes that were opposite to that of what everypony else was feeling. "I don't know what I'm feeling, but I don't like it one bit."
"Esp?" Eve could tell what Twilight was feeling thanks to her being able to sense Twilight's emotions.
"Twilight. Everyone. This is Meloetta. A pretty good friend of mine." Ash introduced her to them all.
"What Pokemon isn't a good friend of yours, Ash?" Apple Bloom ate some berries.
"You guys should meet her too." Ash sent out the rest of his Pokemon as he almost forgot to let them enjoy the festival as well.
"Etta." Meloetta flew over to all of Ash's Pokemon, greeting them as well. Anyone who was a friend of Ash was a friend of Meloetta as well. "Melo!"
"Hm? Oh, yeah. Interesting. So, Ash." Twilight decided to mimic Meloetta by going over to Ash and using her hooves to cling onto his arms. "Tomorrow. How about we head over to the Crystal Empire?"
"Etta?" Meloetta noticed this and just like Twilight, she wasn't too fond of someone being close to Ash. Even though Pikachu is always next to Ash at all times, there was something about how Twilight clinging on to him that didn't bode well with Meloetta. "Melo..." She puffed her cheeks.
"Hm." Twilight blew her tongue out at Meloetta, knowing exactly what she was doing. Which infuriated the Melody Pokemon. So she decided to cling onto Ash's arms as well.
"H-Hey! You two!" Ash could feel two different entities hold onto him as he was getting all wobbly. "How am I gonna eat like this?!"
"We'll eat alright..." Twilight narrowed her eyes at Meloetta.
"Melo..." So did Meloetta to Twilight.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu chuckled as he could see that the curry was ready. At least, Babs's curry was done ready to be eaten. She had made some Spicy Smoked-Tail Curry, made entirely from a Slowpoke Tail. The sharp bite of the spicy curry roux helps with the overpowering heaviness of the tail, making it easier to eat.
"Done here!" Babs exclaimed.
"Chespin!"
"Ooh! That looks so good!" Ash gawked as he rushed over to the curry whilst Twilight and Meloetta were still on his arms, eyeing each other down. "Uh, Twilight. Meloetta. I kinda need to eat with my arms so..."
"Hmph." Twilight got off Ash as so did Meloetta, allowing him to be free.
"Meloetta..." The two of them weren't so fond of each other already their gaze sparked lightning that clashed between them. Meanwhile, Ash didn't notice as he was just focused on the curry.
"Oh...it looks just as good as mom's Slowpoke Tail cooking..." Ash drooled.
"Pikachu...!"
"Hehe...Yeah." Pinkie Pie nodded as she had the same facial expression as Ash.
"Eat up. Tastes good when spicy." Babs ordered.
"Don't mind if we do!" Ash grabbed a spoon as he and Pinkie Pie took a single piece. "Thanks for the food!"
"Pika!"
At the same time, Ash, Pinkie Pie and Pikachu took a bite out of the Smoked-Tail-Curry. One bite and their mouths were being met with the force of 10 volcanoes going off at once.
Their eyes widened as they each breathed blazing flames out of their mouth. For once it wasn't Scootaloo's cooking that made them do that.
And just like Scootaloo's cooking, it's delicious as it is hot as the trio felt pure blazing bliss inside of their mouths, prompting them to fall over.
"Ah...Just as good when it's spicy..." Ash uttered.
"I hear ya." Pinkie nodded in agreement.
"Pikachu."
Whilst those three are in curry heaven, Twilight and Meloetta were still eyeing each other down as Eve realized that this might get intense if these two continue to be at odds with each other.
Eventually, they turned away from each other, seeing that since they share a similar interest to Ash, it was nigh-impossible for them to get along.
Keyword being Nigh.
Fluttershy and Audino finally arrived to see that Meloetta had her arms crossed along with Twilight having her hooves crossed with them sharing a similar expression.
"Oh, dear. Did something happen between you two?" Fluttershy went up to them.
"You could say that..." Twilight scoffed.
"Etta."
"I don't have time to be standing here and arguing with some random Pokemon. Ash." Twilight picked Ash up with her magic. "Let's do something else."
"Eh? But I wanted to try out some more curries. That first one was super delicious!"
"Pikachu!"
"Melo!" Meloetta flew over to Ash, offering a song to him. "Etta. Meloetta."
"It looks like Meloetta wants to sing for you, Ash." Fluttershy translated. "Oh, I didn't know it could sing! I suppose that would explain her name and appearance."
"Sing? That's great Meloetta. Your singing's always awesome to hear."
"Hm!" Twilight dashed over, standing in front of Meloetta. "I can sing for you too, Ash! If you don't mind that is."
"Melo..." Meloetta growled as she flew in front of Twilight. But then, Twilight ended up doing the same as well. Soon it became a back and forth of two individuals trying to 1UP each other by continuously standing in front of each other.
"Oh my." Fluttershy realized what was going on now. "I see..."
"Audino."
Ash watched the two of them go at it as if they were competing over one thing. He laughed awkwardly, seeing how they were both getting fairly competitive.
Ash remembered a similar situation to this back in the past. Although, he didn't expect to see it happen between Twilight and Meloetta. A truly odd combo.
But his focus on that was quickly shifted to something. Not by the curry, but by a very familiar face who was running up to him. Who else but his old rival, Barry.
"Huh? Barry!" Ash gasped.
"Pika?!"
"Hey, Ash!" Barry came charging in like a rocket as he kicked up dust behind him. "I looked everywhere for you! Guess I should've known that you were gonna be at the place with a ton of food."
"You bet! Great to see you again, Barry!"
"Great to see you too! It's nice meeting old rivals again. And speaking of rivals, you know exactly why I'm here Ketchum!" Barry pointed at Ash, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Oh, I know from the get-go." Ash grinned. "I was itching for a battle anyway."
"Pikachu...!"
"Hold on. You're gonna battle here? Where all the curry is?" Silver Spoon turned around.
"Nah. We'll battle at the Canterlot Gardens." Ash pointed over at the direction of the garden. "I wanna see just how strong you've become Barry."
"Same here! I'm gonna- Woah what is that?!" Barry's attention quickly changed to the sight of Meloetta. "Is that the Mythical Pokemon Meloetta from Unova?!"
"Sure is." Ash nodded. "Say hi, Meloetta."
"Melo." Meloetta flew over, landing on Ash's shoulder as she gave a cocky smirk to Twilight.
"Hmmrgh!" Twilight's eyes lit up along with her mane rising like fire.
"So cool...An actual Mythical right in front of me!" Barry zipped around, observing Meloetta.
"Done!" While Barry was observing Meloetta, the rest of the curries had been finished as they were ready to be eaten.
"Phew." Apple Bloom placed the curry on the table. "I think that's the last curry I'm making today."
"Same here. I'm already pretty tuckered out." Scootaloo yawned. "But I'm definitely getting a Charizard Class medal for this Sweet Toast Curry."
"Barry. Before we battle, how about a quick bite?" Ash suggested.
"Sure thing! A full stomach makes a trainer stronger after all. I can't wait to snack on em!" Barry had googly eyes on the curry as everypony else went up to the plates of curry waiting for them.
"Sounds delicious." Fluttershy hummed as she and Audino went over to grab a bite as well.
Twilight and Meloetta watched as everyone gathered around to eat some curry while they just stood there, still thinking of how they'll be close to Ash at all times.
The curry had an enchanting effect. Anyone who picked up on its scent would immediately feel a strong sense of hunger invade their bodies.
Which is exactly what Twilight and Meloetta felt.
Both of their stomachs were rumbling as the curries were calling for them with their addicting and soothing scent and aura. The two of them were starting to melt from it.
"It does look tasty..." Twilight muttered.
"Meloetta..."
The two of them decided to stop fighting for the time being as they went over to the table, going for a bite of curry themselves.
Everyone had their own fill of their preferred curry. They grabbed a bite to eat and tasted the sweet, spicy, sour, bitter and dry curries that were all so different from each other.
"Mmmm!" Twilight became ecstatic.
"Meloooo!" So did Meloetta.
Ash, Pikachu, Barry and Pinkie Pie started to devour the curry like maniacs by eating it at high speeds while everyone else ate it at a normal pace.
"You know!" Barry was talking fast while eating fast. "I've heard about you being a hero in this world, Ash!"
"Oh yeah?" Ash devoured a large portion of the curry.
"Mhm! Lucky! I wanna be a hero too!"
"You're gonna have to work for it!" Pinkie exclaimed as she slammed her face on the curry plate.
"Pikachu!"
"You four eat like maniacs..." Silver Spoon shuddered.
"Okay!" Ash finished his curry as he stood up, slamming his hand on the table. "Barry! Let's battle!"
"Pika!"
"Mm!" Barry swallowed the last of his curry as he and Ash had finished at a similar pace. "Oh yeah! I've been waiting for this! Just you watch, Ash! My skills have gone through the roof when we last met! Get ready to lose, Ketchum!"
With their stomach's being full, Ash and Barry were ready to battle for old-times sake. And to see how each one of them has improved.
The ponies who had some of the curries had decided to come and watch this battle, especially Twilight and Meloetta, who were still having a petty feud against each other.
"I'll do the referee stuff!" Apple Bloom slid over. "Do your best you two!"
"Twilight. Meloetta. You two don't seem too friendly with each other right now." Fluttershy said.
"We aren't? I didn't notice." Twilight closed her eyes.
"Melo." Meloetta scoffed, crossing her arms.
"Oh, dear." Fluttershy laughed awkwardly.
"I'm sure they'll work it out." Pinkie giggled. "Oh! The battle's starting!"
"Empoleon! Go, go!" Barry sent out his first Pokemon in the form of Empoleon.
"Empoleon!"
"Empoleon?" Sweetie Belle noticed how it looked like her Piplup as she took out her dex.
"Empoleon. The Emperor Pokemon. The three horns that extend from its beak attest to its power. The leader has the biggest horns. It swims as fast as a jet boat. The edges of its wings are sharp and can slice apart drifting ice. It avoids unnecessary disputes, but it will decimate anything that threatens its pride."
"It's good to see you again, Empoleon." Ash held out a Poke Ball. "Alright! Lucario! I choose you!" Ash sent out his Lucario.
"Ca! Lucario!"
"Battle Start!" Apple Bloom yelled.
"Alright! Empoleon! Head in there with Drill Peck!"
"Pol!" Empoleon's beak and crown glowed gold as it spun around like a drill, jumping at its opponent.
"Lucario! Force Palm!"
"Lu!" Lucario stood in place instead of rushing in as an orange aura outlined his body. He put his palm out forward as he let Empoleon's crown collide with his paw. "Luca...!"
"Empol!" Empoleon began spinning rapidly on Lucario's paw, trying to push through.
"Use Aura Sphere with the other arm!"
"Cario!" By using his other free arm, Lucario blasted the Emperor Pokemon with a swift ball of concentrated aura that blew up upon contact.
"Empoleon!" Empoleon was sent flying after being hit by a move like that. But, the Emperor Pokemon was able to recover by sliding on the ground. "Pol!"
"Aura Sphere one more time!"
"Lu...Ca!" This time Lucario used both his hands, sending yet another Aura Sphere forward.
"Send it back using Steel Wing"
"Em! Empol!" Empoleon's wings shined white as they were now as hard as steel. Empoleon used its hardened wings to hit Aura Sphere back, which took Lucario by surprise.
"Cario?!" Lucario gasped as he was hit by his own attack, which dealt super-effective damage back at him instead of Empoleon. "Lucario!"
"Awesome! Now use Hyper Beam!"
"Em..." Empoleon began charging the always effective and always devastating Hyper Beam as an orange ball of energy formed in the middle of its mouth.
"Lucario! Double Team!"
"Lu!" Lucario recovered as he made multiple copies of himself that spread across the gardens, surrounding Empoleon from every side. "Luca!"
"Pol?"
"Hah! Like that's gonna throw us off our game! Empoleon! Spread it! Spread it! Spread it!"
"Empol!" Instead of firing at one spot, Empoleon fired Hyper Beam and moved its body around, spreading it like a whip. Each Hyper Beam destroyed the Lucario clones one by one as the real Lucario had yet to be revealed.
"Here goes! Flip over and use Aura Sphere!"
"Luca!" The remaining Lucario clones flipped over the Hyper Beam as they each had Aura Sphere charged up.
"Up! Shoot up, Empoleon!"
"Poleon!" With Hyper Beam still being active, Empoleon raised its head, directing the Normal-Type move upwards.
"Lucario!" Each of the Lucario's fired their Aura Sphere's as the Fighting Move clashed with the Normal move. They entered a small struggle but they both cancelled each other out, forming a large smoke cloud afterwards.
The force of the explosion blew away all of Lucario's clones, releasing the real one as he landed back down on the ground. With Hyper Beam being finished, Empoleon needed to take a break due to using so much power.
"Pol...Pol...!"
"Wide open! Lucario! Force Palm repeatedly!" Ash took advantage of this.
"Lucario!" By bolting forward, Lucario went up to a recovering Empoleon.
"Uh-oh!" Barry screeched.
"Pol?!"
"Ca!" Lucario began to pummel the Emperor Pokemon by rapidly swinging and striking his energized palm on to the Water-Steel-Type's slightly rotund and large body.
Each hit Lucario landed was a super-effective as his strikes became afterimages due to how fast they were moving. And they seemed to pick up in speed.
"Empol!" Empoleon had finally recovered after using Hyper Beam and it could use a second attack now.
"Hydro Cannon, Quick!"
"Pol!" Empoleon quickly formed a blue flash of light from its mouth.
"Lu?" Lucario looked up to see that Hydro Cannon was right in front of him. This instant flash of light fired a large ball of water that interrupted Lucario's frantic strikes. The Aura Pokemon had been engulfed by Hydro Cannon as it carried him away from Empoleon. "Ca!"
"Use Reversal, Lucario!"
"Luca!" Lucario veered on the ground as he lunged right back at Empoleon with his arm being pulled back.
"Quick! Drill Peck!"
"Empol...!" Empoleon got into position as it bolted forward, spinning around like a drill once more.
Both Lucario and Empoleon were caught in yet another clash as they were both now fighting for dominance over each other.
"Come on, Ash!" Scootaloo cheered.
"Meloetta!"
"How'd'ya like that Ash?! I'm a million times better than I was before!" Barry laughed. "Haha!"
"You've gotten super strong too, Barry! That's the kind of stuff I like to see! But I ain't no slouch either! Lucario! Uppercut Empoleon!"
"Luca!" Yet again, Lucario used his other arm that wasn't occupied as he gave the Emperor Pokemon an uppercut, breaking Empolemon out of Drill Peck.
"Pol?!" Empoleon's eyes widened as it was being held up by Lucario now.
"Aura Sphere!"
"Lucario!" Lucario's body was being outlined in blue energy as he used the arm that held Empoleon up to unleash Aura Sphere.
"Uh oh! Break free-Break free!" Barry screeched.
"Empol!" Empoleon flailed its wings around, beating on Lucario's arm, but it wasn't making the Aura Pokemon budge.
"Lu!" Lucario then engulfed Empoleon in a blue ball of aura that perfectly matched Empoleon's size as the final blow had been delivered.
The Aura Sphere blew up once it had engulfed Empoleon as the explosion was so strong that it even knocked Lucario back himself. "Cario!"
Ash held his hat, Barry tried to keep his balance whilst everypony else almost flew off from the force of the aura explosion. The smoke cleared as the Emperor Pokemon fell out of the smoke, unfortunately fainting.
"Empoleon..."
"Empoleon can't battle anymore! Lucario wins! Which means Ash wins too!
"Alright! Awesome work, Lucario!" Ash pumped his fist up.
"Pikachu!"
"Lu." Lucario turned around, nodding at his trainer.
"Bummer." Barry sighed as he went over to Empoleon. "We'll get him another time, Empoleon."
"Poleon."
"Etta!" Meloetta clapped, cheering for Ash's success.
"That was wonderful, Ash!" Twilight clapped her hooves.
"Espeon!"
"Gee, Ash!" Barry stood up. "You sure do know how to catch someone off guard!"
"Sure do! One of my favourite ways to battle!"
"Pikachu!"
"Lu!"
"Anyway!" Barry shouted, startling everyone. "I came here to have more fun at this festival and I'm gonna have some more! What's next?" He navigated his head around the area.
"Anything really. I was just thinking of trying out some of those attractions! That Decidueye Shooting Attraction looks like a bunch of fun!" Ash pointed south.
"Hah! That'll be a cinch! Watch me ace it!" Barry walked off with stride as Ash and the others followed, laughing at Barry's eccentric personality.
"Listen here, you beautiful creature." Twilight and Meloetta got back to their usual squabbling. "Hooves or arms off! He's mine!"
"Etta!" They smashed heads against each other, growling like cats.
"Now, now." Fluttershy got in-between them. "Let's not fight you two. We're here to enjoy the festival. So let's enjoy it while it lasts."
"Right?" Pinke appeared behind Twilight. "We're all friends here! Even faces we don't recognize!" She shoved a cupcake in Twilight's mouth.
"Mm!"
"Esp." Eve nudged Twilight's hoof, telling her to just enjoy the festival and forget about her petty squabbles with Meloetta since it'll just get in the way of her fun.
"You're right Eve. I guess I was getting a bit too distracted...But I'm watching you, Meloetta!" She pointed her hoof at the Melody Pokemon.
"Melo!" Meloetta scoffed at her.
"These 2 weeks might be longer than we thought..." Fluttershy chuckled, knowing that the festival had only just begun at this point.
And it truly was just beginning with more to experience and more to discover. But they are yet to be aware of the approaching threat that is the now revived Pokemon Hunter J.
Whether they're prepared to one day encounter such a foe is a mystery for now. But nevertheless, the only thing on their mind is the joy of excitement and being with friends and potentially even family as the journey continues.
It is now the afternoon during the Pokemon Festival.
Still far away from being the end of the first day. Which means that time is barely an issue until night arrives.
So far, Canterlot has had a lot to offer. From the fan favourite attraction, Lopunny Dance Inferno to new but familiar attractions that were first seen in Ponyville such as Decidueye Shooting, Escavalier Jousting, Poke-End and Ditto Art, each introduced before the second Festival had begun.
Speaking of Ditto Art, Team Rocket, under the disguise of their Pokemon School clothes, decided to give this a try for themselves.
"Here we go!" Jessie drew her own dream Pokemon, showing it to Ditto. It looked to be some sort of golden peacock that had stars inside of its feathers and eyes as they also looked like they could detach from the peacock. "Transform into this!"
"Ditto..." Ditto wasn't sure what it was looking at, but it was going to give it a try anyway. It transformed into that same golden peacock but with a clearer appearance. The stars in its feathers and eyes really popped as they were almost as bright as the sun.
"Oooh!" Jessie gawked. "That's the Pokemon for me! What can this thing come up with?" Jessie took out her Pokedex to see what fake information it can give her about this made-up Pokemon.
"Lumifowl. The Bedazzling Pokemon. Fairy-Flying. Often vainglorious and a show-off, Lumifowl spends most of its life going from region to region, showing off its amazing dance moves. It uses its stars to bedazzle its enemies with a blinding light. This Pokemon has a fierce rivalry with Oricorio but yet it seems to work well with Ludicolo."
"If only you were real..." Jessie felt like tearing up.
James took interest in something else other than the Ditto Art attraction. His focus was on the famous yet very risky Pokemon Slot Machine.
"I have some unfinished business with this!" James rubbed his hands together. "This time, I'll have it all in the bag!"
"It ain't worth it James!" Meowth exclaimed. "These things will pick out your pockets faster than you can think!"
"All the more reason to beat it!" James held out a coin, placing it inside of the machine. "Here we go!" He pulled on the lever as the reels started to roll.
He let out a cheesy grin as he was hoping for the best possible outcome. He was aiming for a triple 7 to really hit the jackpot.
Unfortunately, he didn't get that. Instead, he was given the R symbol. Which stands for Replay and his payout resulted in nothing instead.
"Gah!" James screamed as he pulled his hair. "That was my skilled spin and it failed!"
"Best to just call it quits now," Meowth suggested.
"I think not!" James held out another coin. "I'll just have to put some extra Oomph into it!" He went a second time as the gambling problem had begun.
Replay, Replay, Replay. That was all that he was getting and nothing else. Only payouts that amounted to 0 at best. No matter how many coins he tossed inside or how skilled his pulling skills were, James received nothing.
"Curses!" He got on his knees, screaming at the sky in defeat.
"What are you screaming about?" Applejack went over to him with Sceptile by her side along with the tagalong Golett.
"Genius over here blew all his cash on this slot machine," Meowth explained.
"Not one single cent..." James lowered his head. "I've lost to these once more...What a cruel fate."
"Don't feel too bad about it." Applejack patted him on the back. "It's the same problem all the way back at Las Pegasus."
"Tile."
"You're right!" James stood up. "I can't let something like this shatter my pride! Even if I can't roll anything but Replays..."
"...Or." Meowth suddenly got his claws out. "How's about we rig this thing and grab all the cash inside!"
"Absolutely not." Applejack stopped him. "You can't be that desperate."
"You're right." Meowth lowered his head.
"Well, I'm low on Pokedollars..." James saw that his pockets only had 2 coins left. "There has to be something to fill them up again."
"Well, there's that Escavalier Jousting thing. Prize money is either 5000 Pokedollars or 20 bits." Applejack recommended.
"Hoho!" James grinned as he put his finger on his chin. "Jackpot!"
"I was about to head over there and try it myself. Wanna joust against each other?" Applejack nudged his leg.
"Deal! I'll have you know that when I was young I-" James was about to go on about his past but Applejack already went over to the Escavalier Joust attraction. "H-Hey! Wait for me!"
With Sunlight, Eventide and Celestia.
Eventide had taken interest in the Decidueye Shooting attraction as he was already prepared to tackle this challenge with his magic holding onto a bow.
"Hm. Childishly simple." He scoffed. "That large Emboar plush is as good as mine! Luna will surely enjoy it." He aimed the bow carefully at the targets which were mini-Darumaka statues.
"Decidueye," Decidueye told Eventide to hold the bow steady so that he doesn't end up hitting someone else.
"Hmm...Aha!" He fired the arrow from the bow as he took out a triple stack of Darumaka statues. "Lightwork!"
"Ah, not bad. Not bad at all." Sunlight spoke. "Let me have a shot." She used her magic to take the bow off of Eventide. "All I have to do is hit something right? Should be easy enough."
"Eye. Deci."
"Here goes..." Sunlight aimed as she started firing much differently from Eventide.
Whereas Eventide had decided to have perfect focus and precision on what he was looking at, Sunlight decided to just fire them rapidly and hope that she hits something.
And that's what she did.
By firing multiple arrows consecutively every second, she missed so many targets that the arrows either stuck on the wood or ended up bouncing off and almost hitting somepony.
The arrows went flying across the festival as many ponies saw their lives flash before their eyes with arrows nearly piercing them. Many yelps and screeches were heard from the ponies who evaded Sunlight's frantic arrows.
"Come on...!" Sunlight groaned as she sped up her firing speed.
"Deci?!" Decidueye could see that this was getting out of hand so he quickly grabbed the bow, taking it away from Sunlight before she commits a heavy crime. "Eye!"
"Aw...I didn't hit a single one." Sunlight sighed as she slumped on the table.
"Well...you tried your best?" Eventide shrugged as he laughed nervously. He then noticed that Ash along with Barry, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, the CMC joined by Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon and Babs Seed and the surprising Meloetta came over here to try this attraction. "Ash, my boy! Taken an interest?"
"No, but Barry has. I wanna see this for myself." Ash replied.
"Watch and learn." Barry cracked his fingers. "Hand me the bow."
"Decidueye." The Arrow Quill Pokemon gave Barry the bow, allowing him to have a shot at this attraction. He was hoping that Barry was less destructive than Sunlight as he held his breath in.
"Get a good look." Barry pulled his arm on the bow, aiming directly for the largest Darumaka statue there was. When he fired the arrow from the bow, he wasn't as reckless as Sunlight, but his aim was downright awful.
Each of his arrows barely even grazed the statues as they kept on sticking to the walls with not a single one landing at all. ut at least no one was threatened by arrows this time.
"Eugh..." Diamond Tiara winced at how horrible Barry's aim was.
"Hm. Just a slip-up." Barry grabbed two bows this time. "There's no way I can miss!"
"Two?!" Ash gasped.
"Pika?!"
"Oh, I should have thought of that." Sunlight said.
"Here goes!" Barry started to go crazy on the targets by rapidly shooting from two bows this time. Even though his aim was still horrible, all those flying arrows actually managed to hit a few statues because of their frantic movements. "Haha! Got some!"
"Did that even take any skill...?" Twilight said to herself.
"Meloe..."
"Hm?" But Ash's attention was drawn somewhere else. From the corner of his eye, he noticed something oddly familiar that he didn't expect to see.
Right near the Lopunny Dance Inferno attraction, he noticed a clown of all things. Normally, a clown isn't one of the many things he would ever remember, but something about this clown sparked some memories in him.
Especially since the clown looked back at him, giving Ash a thumbs up.
"Hey isn't that...?" Ash went over to the clown as Twilight and the others noticed.
"Hm? Ash. Where are you going?" Twilight wondered as they all followed his movements. He looked like he had spotted someone he hadn't seen in years.
And actually, that was true. It was someone who he hadn't seen in years.
Ash approached the clown looking up at him as he recognized those signature blue eyes that matched well with the clown disguise. Ash took a moment to process who he remembered that dressed like that whilst also having blue eyes. Then it hit him.
"Wait...aren't you-" Ash gasped.
"Pika...!"
"Long time no see, Ash." The clown took off his disguise by removing the red nose, hat and silly clown suit to reveal his true self.
"Who is this?" Pinkie tilted her head as he saw the mysterious man reveal himself as someone completely different.
"Jack Walker. Call me Jackie please." That, someone, was the Pokemon Ranger mostly known as Jackie and a very old friend of Ash, even predating Barry
"Oh, it is you!" Ash exclaimed. "Jackie!"
"Pikachu!"
"Jackie...?" Scootaloo and the CMC took a moment to remember a time when Ash mentioned that name. They recalled the time when Ash mentioned how there was a time he wished to be a Pokemon Ranger. And someone named Jackie was an inspiration to him. "Oh wait aren't you that Pokemon Ranger person!"
"Spot on!" Jackie nodded.
"What are you doing here?!" Ash asked.
"I'm on a mission right now. Two actually." Jackie tossed his disguise aside. "And it's all in this world right here."
"Mission? What kind of mission?" Pinkie appeared behind Ash.
"Well, the first one I'm sure you all know about. I'm tracking down Ghetsis and all of Team Plasma since they seem to show up in this world more than the Pokemon World. And the second one is tracking down the Umbrage Thieves. I think Officer Jenny let you know about that, Ash."
"Oh, yeah!" Ash nodded. "We helped her out a few days ago."
"Pikachu!"
"Good. My search for them led me to here. Canterlot. Turns out that we've got a major lead on the ringleader of the Umbrage Thieves."
"Ringleader? Here in Canterlot?" Fluttershy looked around.
"If any of you see anything that looks a bit odd, let me know. Right now..." Jackie miraculously put his clown disguise on. "I need to keep myself incognito."
"Alright, Jackie! We'll keep a real good eye out!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pika-Pika!" Ash and Pikachu waved goodbye to him as Jackie was off to continue his job.[
"Did you know that there were thieves here in Canterlot?" Celestia turned to her parents.
"There were? Hadn't a single clue." Sunlight shook her head. "Perhaps they must be that good at their job."
"They only appear at night from what we've heard. " Twilight answered. "So we won't be able to spot them in the day or afternoon."
"Then that calls for my expertise!" Eventide exclaimed. "Luckily, I have already devised a strategy for our midnight marauders."
"Oh no...another one of his long sentence plans..." Sunlight sighed.
"First, I, being the previous alicorn to raise and lower the moon shall take the role as Nightwatch, along with the many royal guards around here. We will have watchful eyes on the festival even at night. Then, when the thieves decide to strike, we shall pretend to be completely inactive, thereby lulling the enemy into a false sense of security. When they lower their guard and believe that nopony is aware of them, we strike and-"
"Alright!" Sunlight stopped him. "Dear. I understand what you've devised. Just please keep it short."
"Apologies. Force of habit." He chuckled.
The afternoon was still ongoing. Now that the knowledge of the Umbrage Thieves being present here had been shared, the night will most likely be a bit chaotic when the Umbrage Thieves decide to strike.
Speaking of the night, one pony who was waiting for the festival to reach its late hours was Adagio, still eating those lava cookies in the Relief Zone.
She was only going to see her sisters during the night and that was it. The day and the afternoon would mean having to be seen clearly in public whereas, in the night, she can keep a low profile.
However, sitting in the same spot, eating the same cookies over and over again can get a bit repetitive and honestly boring to Adagio. Her Kricketot inside of her hair was having the time of his life listening to the same music over and over again.
"Ugh..." Adagio sighed. "Running low." She looked inside the box to see that only 12 lava cookies remain. "I can't keep sitting here...when's the moon gonna pop up?"
"Krick. Kricketot." Kricketot popped out of Adagio's mane.
"Hm..." The siren turned her head to the side, looking at the direction of the festival. She knew that while everyone is having the time of their lives, enjoying the festival to the fullest, she was just sitting around, eating cookies.
Knowing that her sisters were also enjoying themselves made Adagio feel a bit jealous as she grumbled. She wanted to see them at night but from what she could hear, the festival sounded very tempting.
"Maybe if I just check it out once." She stood up. "I just have to keep a low profile, that's all. Come on, Kricketot."
"Tot!"
A risk she didn't want to take at first. Adagio wasn't exactly the most beloved individual in Canterlot. Or even all of Equestria. Especially considering what happened during the Canterlot Tournament and even Castelia City.
If she steps out there, she believes that she'll be met with judgemental eyes. Her sisters and Celestia were the only three that she feels comfortable around.
But her Kricketot would always be there for her no matter what like the loyal Pokemon he is.
Once she set hoof into the streets of Canterlot, she braced herself for the worst to happen.
However, when she did arrive at the streets, she noticed that not many were actually even paying attention to her. They were all too caught up in the festival to even care. It is a fun festival so it makes sense why no one would notice.
Adagio looked around to see that only a few of them were looking at her, but they were humans from other regions who had never seen Adagio before. They just thought she looked like a pretty pony with surprisingly sharp teeth.
"Hm. I expected worse..." Adagio spoke.
"Krick."
Now that she was here, in full public, Adagio wasn't sure what to do first. She honestly didn't think she'd get this far. Now was the time to act. But how?
Adagio didn't have to stand around wondering, because she spotted something that perplexed her immediately. Obviously, she recognized Princess Celestia since they've had their interactions, even if they were short.
However, next to Celestia was her mother Sunlight. Adagio had heard from her own mother about how she and Sunlight met once. Sunlight was the one pony that found a mutual relationship with a siren, but that was it. Nothing more.
Because of this, a bit of that mutual relationship had affected Adagio from her younger years to the present day. Which is why she is mutual around Princess Celestia.
And seeing Sunlight and how identical she was to Celestia, but taller, made Adagio immediately realize who this was. It was a dead giveaway from the start.
"Is that...?" Adagio gawked as she slowly approached Sunlight as if she was put in some sort of mystical trance.
"Tot?"
Adagio pushed through many humans, ponies and Pokemon, not even noticing that she had nudged them. Her fixation on Sunlight was already locked.
And Sunlight could sense this indeed. She sensed the presence of someone familiar. Someone who wasn't Vivace but her offspring who had a similar presence.
She turned her head, spotting the spitting image of Vivace's herself. Hair eyes and everything. The only huge difference was the fact that Adagio wasn't shaped like a siren at all.
But of course, since Sunlight has been watching over Equestria ever since her departure to the Ambrosial Plane, she is well aware of who Adagio was.
"Well. This is a pleasant surprise." Sunlight smiled at Adagio, prompting her to stop. "Hello, Adagio."
"Uh." A perplexed Adagio uttered.
"Hm?" Celestia was alerted by that name, forcing her to look over at her mother's direction. Indeed, Adagio was here, right in front of them. "Adagio?"
"I never thought I would have the chance to ever physically meet you." Sunlight walked up to the siren-pony-hybrid. "And now that I have a clearer look at you, you truly do look like your mother. Albeit, with a pony's appearance."
"You're...Sunlight?" said Adagio.
"Mhm. Your mother and I have met. Even if it was once. But it was a pleasing experience."
"I..." Adagio was still a bit stuck on how to feel about all of this.
"Don't be shy. You can speak your mind as much as you want to me." Sunlight let out a soft motherly smile that reminded Adagio of her own mother.
"Um. I...I wanted to say that...Nevermind, it's nothing." Adagio retracted her words.
"Hm." Sunlight laughed. "I'm sure you'll spill it eventually. But it's wonderful that you've decided to join the festival, despite your fears of everypony here being hostile to you."
"I thought they would be but, they don't even notice me."
"Oh. They've noticed." Eventide nodded as he pointed his hoof over at Ash, Pikachu and Fluttershy spotting her. Twilight and the others hadn't noticed yet, however.
"Right now, Adagio. You're not an enemy here." Sunlight shook her head.
"I'm not?"
"Not at all." Celestia walked up to her. "I can tell that you aren't here for malicious reasons. But there is a reason anyway, right?"
"Hm. Yes. I'm here to spend time with my sisters. But I'm only planning to do it at night. It's less populated at that time."
"Why wait till the dawn ends?" Eventide chuckled. "There is plenty of family bonding to be had during the morning, afternoon and night! One must seize each opportunity of happiness they can have!"
"What my father said. I understand you're only choosing the night to avoid any hostile eyes?" Celestia wondered.
"Yeah but, none of them are even looking my way. Is this festival really that distracting?"
"It's more of the case that it is enchanting!" Sunlight exclaimed. "Normally, I'm always distracted by something else rather than focusing on my studies. In fact, that is how I first met your father. Granted, I always got myself into trouble with my teachers for skipping my studies frequently."
"Trouble is an understatement." Eventide shook his head. "But you became Queen either way alongside me becoming a king!" Eventide pulled Sunlight, Celestia and Adagio in for a large hug with his gigantic hooves. "Thinking about it just makes me want to reminisce of the good old days!"
"Ugh...! Of course, father!" Celestia winced. "Your grip is still something to admire."
"Where is Luna, still? We have yet to find your elusive younger sister?" Eventide looked around. "She's not normally this frantic. But she did move around a lot when we planned to give her braces once. Bahahaha!"
"Urgh...Is your father this brazen?" Adagio sighed.
"I'm afraid so." Celestia squeed as they were all still within Eventide's clutches, hearing his girthy laugh.
Ash and the others were spectating Eventide's wide hug, seeing how they were getting along with Adagio. But Ash was the one who seemed to put a larger focus onto it as he had this odd look in his eyes.
"Ash? What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked. "Are you alright?"
"Pikachu?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just, seeing Eventide and Celestia reminds me of my dad." Ash said. The minute he spoke those words, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Barry and everyone's attention, had been grabbed by Ash's words.
"Your father?!" Twilight gasped as she also noticed that Adagio was here. "Adagio?! Wait-first your father, I need to know now!"
"Meloetta!"
"Yeah...it really takes me back." Ash began remembering a small moment with his dad that had always stuck to him to this very day.
When I was little, I'd get laughed at by my friends because of my dreams. And whenever I'd start sulking my dad would say this to me.
"The map to your goals is inside you. If you give up now then your dreams won't come true."
"Guess family moments really get me started, huh?" Ash chuckled.
"Pikachu..."
"We still haven't seen him though." Pinkie Pie pouted.
"Come Adagio Dazzle! Join us in our festival escapades!" Eventide bellowed.
"You want me to join you? With them involved?" Adagio looked over at Twilight as the two of them locked eyes. "Twilight Sparkle."
"Adagio." Twilight narrowed her eyes as well.
"I sense heavy hostility between the two of you." Eventide said. "But let us not partake in this festival as enemies! Bur rather friends and family, wouldn't you agree?!"
"The family part sure..." Adagio scoffed. "Just keep your distance Sparkle."
"Hmph!" Twilight turned around. "I already have Meloetta to deal with."
"Bahaha! This festival has just gotten a lot better!" Eventide erupted with laughter. "Come, Adagio Dazzle! Let us reunite with your sisters!"
"C-Can you at least drop me first!" Adagio yelled as she was now bound to this group. More specifically, the seemingly unavoidable clutches of Eventide's hooves.
With the afternoon gradually reaching the end, the first day of the Pokemon Festival is slowly coming to an end. But as if that would lessen the experience. 2 weeks is still an impressive amount of time for a festival. And all that time will be spent to the fullest with everyone here as the journey continues.
The afternoon has not yet reached its end during the Pokemon Festival.
But it's getting there ever-so-slowly.
Recently, the revelation of the Pokemon Ranger Jackie has given everyone the knowledge that thieves are lurking around somewhere.
More specifically, the Umbrage Thieves. Knowing that they only show themselves at night. And some of them seem to be lurking in Canterlot and is most likely to strike at night.
But right now, that is not on the mind of Ash and the others. All they have in mind is enjoying the festival until they come across the thieves at night.
And judging by how far the sun has moved, it might take a while for the night to really appear.
"Adagio!" Sonata exclaimed as she had lunged over to Adagio, giving her older sister an overwhelming hug. "You made it here!"
"Grrh! Get off me!" Adagio bellowed as she struggled to push her little sister off.
"You actually came here?" Aria said.
"Yeah!" Adagio put her hoof on Sonata's face, holding her back for a bit. "But I didn't expect to show myself at this time! Get off!"
"This means that we get to spend time together for 2 weeks! There's a lot we have to catch up on!" Sonata squeed as she flailed her hooves about, trying to reach Adagio.
"Family reunions and gatherings are always a treat!" Eventide exclaimed. "Come! Let us revel in this festival while it lasts! I have yet to try these other attractions."
"What attraction do we try?" Fluttershy flew up. "Oh. Applejack looks like she's enjoying the Escavalier Joust."
Indeed she was.
Currently, Applejack and James were taking part in the Escavalier Joust attraction by getting on Escavalier's back and putting a helmet on whilst the Escavalier do all the charging.
"You ready?" Applejack said as she was on the right Escavalier.
"Hold on!" James adjusted his helmet as he was on the left Escavalier. "Ready! Those 5000 Pokedollars are all mine!"
"Hmph. We'll see." Applejack smirked. The person in charge of the Escavalier attraction blew the whistle to let the joust begin.
"Esca!" Both Escavalier had already gotten a move on. They both bolted forward, holding their arm lances out at each other whilst the wind hits Applejack and James's face, even with the helmets on.
The two riders braced for impact, covering their eyes as the Escavalier's were ready to smash into each other without any thought of how the impact will turn out.
Once those lances made contact with each other, only one of them came out the victor. Applejack's Escavalier managed to overcome James's Escavalier by striking its lance onto its fellow Calvary Pokemon's torso.
The resulting impact was indeed strong. So strong that not only did it knock James and his Escavalier down but it also nearly made Applejack fall off as she hung on for dear life.
"W-Woah!" She stammered as she held her helmet.
"Ow!" James crashed onto the ground as he had lost the joust. With the human managing this attraction, she blew on the whistle to declare Applejack the winner. "Ough...My 5000 Pokedollars."
"You okay?" Applejack got off the Escavalier, walking up to the defeated James.
"Urgh...In good condition." James groaned as Applejack helped him up.
"Guess those bits belong to me." Applejack smirked. "Unless you're up for another round?"
"I'll pass." James chuckled before holding his back. "Ow!"
"If you two are done making faces at each other, check that out." Meowth jumped in front of them, showing the duo something he had just spotted. Meowth pointed his claws over to the south, right where the castle was located.
He spotted a fairly tall unicorn, almost alicorn size, moving around in a shifty manner as if she was trying to keep a low profile.
The tall unicorn noticed that she was being watched as her eyes made contact with Applejack and the others. But she didn't respond to them. Instead, she continued to move around suspiciously.
Meowth, being a Pokemon who normally moves around in a shady way alongside his human partners, could tell what that pony was up to immediately.
"She's moving all weird-like." Applejack said.
"Curious." James nodded.
"Those movements mean something's afoot here. No one acts all slippery in daylight." Meowth pointed out.
"What do you think she's up to?" James asked Meowth.
"Something interesting, that's for sure." Meowth grinned. Whatever this unicorn was up to, he took interest in it. Perhaps she had found some sort of treasure that Meowth would enjoy getting his paws on. "Those eyes are screaming up-to-no-good."
"Right with ya on that." But Applejack had something different in mind. "Something ain't right about how she's acting..."
"Sceptile."
She was certainly an odd one. Once a few ponies passed by her, the mysterious blue unicorn had suddenly vanished the moment the ponies moved out of the way, making Applejack and the other's flash their eyes.
"Huh?" Applejack rubbed her eyes.
"Scep?"
"That ain't right," said Meowth.
"Indeed. Disappearing that easily never spells anything safe and harmless." James nodded.
"Hmm..." Applejack got a bad feeling about this. She wasn't sure what that sudden disappearance meant. AJ was planning to continue enjoying this Festival, but now she was put on alert. "Might be nothing. Wanna try out another attraction, you two?"
"Anything to fill these pockets back up!" James agreed to tagalong with Applejack. He wasn't as focused on the mysterious blue pony like Applejack, but his attention was there.
But for Applejack, seeing that pony gave her bad vibes. Even though that unicorn wasn't near here, the fact that her presence alone was enough to make the earth pony shudder was already a fairly large red flag. One that Applejack isn't sure that she's ready to approach so soon.
But she wouldn't have to think about it for long, since her friends had come over after spotting her and James after their little Escavalier Joust.
"Applejack?" Pinkie appeared behind AJ. "You're out of the zone there, you okay?"
"Hm?" Applejack snapped out of it, seeing her fellow earth pony. "Oh. Pinkie. Everypony. I'm just-" Applejack's words were cut off once she recognized a familiar yet not-so-friendly face, Adagio. "Why's she here?" AJ narrowed her eyes.
"Tch." Adagio scoffed at Applejack. "Don't give me those eyes."
"She is just here to spend some time with her sisters." Sunlight chuckled nervously. "Absolutely nothing wrong here."
"This Escavalier thing seems pretty fun! I've always wanted to joust!" Sonata went up to the attraction. "Come on, Adagio! Let's joust!"
"Pass. I'm not getting my hair all scruffy from some jousting." Adagio denied Sonata's offer.
"I'll joust with you!" Pinkie dashed over. "Never got to try it myself!"
"Boring..." Adagio yawned, feeling uninterested in all of this
"If that doesn't interest you, there are a lot more attractions to discover for yourself." Eventide said. "And this is only Canterlot. Other locations have their own attractions that are waiting to be attempted."
"Hm." Adagio turned her head to the side. "Doubt I'm gonna like any of them."
"How straightforward..." Fluttershy giggled.
"Then...How about that?" Ash pointed over at something he thought would match Adagio's fancy.
It was related to Roxie, Roxanne and Brawly, who were still in the midst of their little music lesson with Roxie being the teacher.
This entire time, Roxie has been teaching the two of them about certain instruments she feels will work well with them. And so far, the guitar has matched with Roxanne while Brawly was just getting used to the drums.
"Huh." Adagio froze for a moment. As Ash predicted, that did, in fact, resonate with the siren. She loves music, so the sight of that would grab her attention.
Adagio seeing Roxanne Brawly and Roxie reminded her of when she and her sisters were humans back in the parallel world of this one, participating in the Battle of the Bands.
Her love for music made her feel compelled to the sight of those three and their instruments.
"Is that an attraction?" Twilight asked Ash.
"Actually, I just think it's just them playing some music." Ash rubbed the back of his head.
"Melo!" And speaking of someone who loved music, Meloetta was another individual who also resonated with what she saw. Both her and Adagio could relate to one single thing and that was music.
"That looks..." Adagio was about to finish her sentence but she paused for a moment.
"Tempting, isn't it?" Sunlight went up to Adagio. "You love music. And you're not going to let your chance to enjoy some music slip away aren't you?"
"No way. Besides. I've been stuck hearing the same songs over and over again thanks to this guy here." Adagio looked up at her mane, referring to Kricketot and that music memory device he constantly carries with him.
"Tot!"
"It's about time I hear something else."
"So..." Aria slid over to Adagio with a smirk on her face. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I too am thinking what you're thinking that she's thinking." Sonata grinned, appearing beside Adagio.
The older siren had a poker face as she knew where this entire thing was going. From how her sisters were looking at her, she had no choice but to say it.
"Urgh! Fine...we'll sing." Adagio groaned.
"Yes!" Sonata jumped up. "Like old times! The Dazzlings back together!"
"I'm getting a bit nostalgic." Aria smiled.
"Alright, don't get too excited you two. We'll only do it for a short while and-" Adagio was about to finish her words until Twilight interrupted.
"Oh wait. Sonata, Aria. You two haven't gotten your voices back yet...have you?" Twilight squinted her eyes.
"Well...We've uh..." Sonata twiddled her hooves. "We've been practising and improving but...I've kinda taken some breaks and haven't been keeping up with my training."
"Same here." Aria sighed. "I've gotten too distracted recently to practise my singing. Doesn't help the fact that whole Eternatus, Spiritomb and other weird stuff got in the way."
"You two have been getting your voices back?" Adagio turned around to them.
"Mhm! We'd be singing beautifully by now if we weren't slacking with our singing lessons. Sorry." Sonata squeed.
"Hmmrrgh..." Adagio growled. "Unacceptable. You two. We're practising right now. Until dusk."
"Huh?!" Sonata and Aria both exclaimed.
"Right now? But I've still got a lot of the festival to look forward to! I was gonna joust too!" Sonata groaned.
"I haven't even tried all the attractions yet. Can't it wait?" Aria asked.
"You'll enjoy your festival once you get to a moderate level. Now come along." Adagio used her magic to hold them both, dragging them to a spot where they can practice in private.
"Aww..." Sonata whimpered. "No fair."
"Oh well. It's 2 weeks so I'm not too mad about it." Aria crossed her hooves, trying to shrug it off. But in reality, she was fairly upset by this.
"She certainly shares your sense of determination, doesn't she, Twilight?" Celestia giggled.
"Wh- No!" Twilight denied any possibility that she and Adagio were similar in any way.
"Baha!" Eventide laughed. "Let them bond as a family! Right now...I've always wanted to involve myself in jousting. Who will join me in a friendly duel? Dear. Let us settle our feuds with this joust!"
"No way." Sunlight shook her head. "You get a bit too competitive sometimes, honey."
"I'll do it!" Pinkie offered up. "Let me! Pick me!"
"Then it's settled! Let us joust, Pinkie Pie!" Eventide went with her offer.
"Okay!" Pinkie hopped on the closest Escavalier to her.
"Cava!" The Calvary Pokemon almost lost its balance from Pinkie hopping on its back.
"This should be entertaining." Eventide got on the left Escavalier's back. Due to him being the biggest pony in Equestria, more than even Sunlight who was already taller than her daughters, his weight had unfortunately affected the Bug-Steel-Type.
"C-Cavalier!" Escavalier's eyes bulged out, trying to hold the male alicorn up.
"Just for safety." The woman placed steel helmets on Eventide and Pinkie Pie's head for protection. Although, Eventide most likely didn't need it thanks to that silver light that is always around him.
"20 bits just for some jousting? Easy money!" Pinkie grinned as the visor of the helmet came down. "Alright, Escavalier. If you've got Iron Defense then use it to give momma some quick cash!"
"Escava!"
"I warn you Pinkamena Diane Pie. I may not look like it, but I have the spirit of a warrior inside of me!" Eventide bellowed.
"But he's only ever been in a battle once..." Sunlight whispered to her daughter as she giggled.
"Best of 3 you two?" The woman asked them both.
"Make it best of 7!" They both chose a different playoff format. These two were getting competitive with each other.
"Alright then. Begin!" She blew the whistle, allowing them both to begin as the two Escavalier's readied themselves.
"I'm itching for another battle though," Barry grumbled.
"If you're eager for more battling, the Crystal Empire has a battle spot that you can enter from what I hear," Celestia said.
"Oh! Realy?!" Both Ash and Barry yelled.
"Guess we really are heading to the Crystal Empire tomorrow! So psyched!" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"And I will have a chance to meet the royal family." Sunlight said. "That precious Flurry Heart looks like such an angel!"
"I'm not sure I'd say angel just yet..." Celestia laughed awkwardly as she witnessed Eventide knock Pinkie and her Escavalier down with his own Escavalier.
"The first round is mine! Baha!"
"Hmph!" Pinkie got off the ground and back on the Escavalier. "We'll see in round 2!"
"Hm. I do wonder what everypony else is up to?" Twilight thought about Rarity and the others. They were all in their own little groups or going solo in this festival. So she wondered what activities they've involved themselves with.
Rarity and Spike were still with Cilan.
Originally, they were looking for Ash, but they got sidetracked immensely when they came across something, or rather, Rarity came across something that caught her attention. Something she did once and it almost drove her mad. And it all relates to one Pokemon.
Furfrou.
More specifically, a Furfrou Stylist attraction.
Previously, when Rarity first went to Kalos with Applejack, she took interest in the Pokemon Furfrou. The fact that it was a Pokemon that can have its fur be stylized into anything the stylist wishes drew her in.
But that is exactly what pulled Rarity in the first time. She got so caught up in stylizing many Furfrou's that belonged to other trainer's that she almost went insane and nearly decided to stay in the Lumiose City Friseur Furfrou shop. Luckily, Applejack was there to snap her out of it.
But now that she has come across this Pokemon a second time, this could only spell disaster.
"F-F-F-Furfrou!" Rarity stammered as she was already having powerful urges to stylize the Furfrou's here.
"Interested?" The woman managing this attraction said.
"YES!" Rarity bellowed, startling her. "Oh, sorry. Yes. I would."
"Great. You'll have to go up against someone else to really involve yourself in this."
"I see. Spike." Rarity turned to Spike.
"Me?! I can't stylize fur!"
"Hm. Cilan?"
"Sorry. I'm not skilled in that at all." Cilan shook his head.
"Hm. Completely stuck." Rarity sighed.
"But not to worry. There is a backup for situations such as this." The woman raised her finger.
"There is?" The three of them said.
"Mhm. Unfortunately, I don't have it with me."
"Gh!" Rarity winced. "Then why bring it up in the first place...?"
"Maybe tomorrow, somepony will be here, Rarity," Spike said.
"Perhaps." Rarity was about to accept defeat until something crossed her mind. "Unless..." She took out two Poke Balls from her saddlebag. "Pheromosa! Leavanny! Out you two come!" She sent the two Bug-Types out.
"Leavanny."
"Pheromosa."
"A simple and quick question. Which one of you is skilled in fur or hairstyling?" She asked her partners.
"Mosa." Pheromosa pointed at Leavanny. Leavanny could potentially stylize hair thanks to her knowing the move X-Scissor and utilizing it carefully without hurting anyone.
"Alright. Thank you. Return, Pheromosa." Rarity returned the Lissome Pokemon. "Leavanny. If you don't mind. Would you like to compete against me in this attraction?"
"Lea!" Leavanny was up for some friendly competition.
"Great!" The woman clapped her hands together. "You two can get started. You have about 10 minutes to come up with a style. The reward for this is 40 bits or 7000 Pokedollars."
"40 bits you say?" Rarity got in front of a Furfrou. "Let us begin then!"
"Van!"
"Alright...Ready...Go!" The woman gave the command to let the styling begin.
"You may be my Pokemon, but I won't lose to you!" Rarity got to work by using the scissors that were on the table to stylize Furfrou's hair. The way she was able to stylize Furfrou's fur at high speeds with magic alone was impressive.
"Vanny!" But Leavanny was equally as impressive due to her lightning-fast arm movements. Creating clothing from strings really comes in handy in situations such as these.
As Spike and Cilan watched them go at it, something of interest caught the baby dragon's ears from two ponies who were passing by. The words went like this.
"Did you hear? Someone's going around, turning Pokemon into stone."
"Hah? That's pretty scary. Is it Team Plasma maybe?"
"Hopefully not. That Ghetsis person scares me."
"...Turning Pokemon into stone?" Spike uttered. Hearing that didn't sound like good news. Especially since Team Plasma was brought up. A nervous feeling came through him.
Unlike most of his friends, Spike has never really met Ghetsis before. He's only heard of him and what he looks like at best. He wasn't even there during Manehattan unfortunately.
So if there was a chance that he could come across Ghetsis, he wouldn't want it to be now or ever. But he knew that it could happen.
So a horrible feeling rushed through his body.
But he wasn't the only one.
Inside of Absol's Poke Ball, the Disaster Pokemon could sense that something was amiss at this very moment. What he was sensing wasn't an immediate disaster, rather a precursor to it.
And it wasn't limited to Absol and Spike either.
Lucario, who can sense the aura of every living thing in both worlds and Passion with her amazing psychic abilities that seem to have no end also picked up on this unsettling presence.
They weren't sure what it as, but they knew it wasn't anything that could be deemed as a friendly whatsoever. But that wasn't the only thing that didn't have a friendly presence to them whatsoever.
The unicorn that James, Applejack, Meowth, Sceptile and Golett spotted had entered the Pokemon School of all places instead of Canterlot Castle.
She wasn't here to gawk at the school and what it has to offer. Or even sign up. Not at all. This unicorn was here for a different reason.
With the school being empty right now with not a single human, pony or Pokemon present, the unicorn was on her own. Which she wanted personally.
Her trotting led her to the second floor, where the Pokemon Breeding Room was. Many eggs with Pokemon that have yet to hatch from them, mostly Baby Pokemon or First Stage Starter Pokemon were all kept in an incubator to tend the egg.
The incubators were made out of the wings of a Skarmory since it is a Pokemon that sheds its feathers very often. So it wasn't difficult to find enough feathers to craft hard incubators to protect these eggs.
It was a genius idea. If anyone were to try and steal the egg inside by melting the metal away by using a Fire-Type move, they would risk damaging the egg since it's so fragile and it doesn't help that Fire-Type Pokemon are naturally highly destructive.
The same can be said for other types such as Fighting or Ground. They made these incubators out of Skarmory's wings for those specific disadvantages. Keeping them in a hard material that any thief would risk breaking with just a single Pokemon move was a clever tactic.
The unicorn came across the room, seeing how the door was completely locked since no one was present today. Meaning no keys at all.
As if that mattered to her.
She took out a Poke Ball from her saddlebag, sending out one of her Pokemon. Klefki.
"Klef?" The Key Ring Pokemon turned around to see the unicorn stare at it with an intimidating grimace.
"You. Unlock this door immediately." She ordered with a stoic and harsh tone.
"Ki...Klef." Intimidated by the unicorn, Klefki listened to her commands. Klefki has keys of all kinds that it collects. So it would naturally have one for this door.
The Steel-Fairy-Type used a fitting key to easily open up the door to the Pokemon Breeding Room, allowing the unicorn full access to it.
"Excellent..." She smirked. "You did your job. Return." By returning Klefki to its ball, the mysterious unicorn entered the Pokemon Breeding Room, looking over the vast quantities of Pokemon Eggs inside of their incubators.
Her interest was focused on the incubators and nothing else.
"Hmph. How clever." She placed her hoof on an egg incubator. "Using Skarmory wings to keep them extra protected. Unfortunately, it's not all perfect." She dug into her saddlebag, sending out yet another Pokemon to assist her.
This time it was Dusclops.
"Dusclops...?" The Beckon Pokemon looked at its surroundings. Dusclops looked confused as it noticed that right in front of it was the mysterious unicorn who seemed to be its trainer. "D-Dusclops?!" Just like Klefki, Dusclops seemed intimidated by her.
"Stop wincing. Pull them in." She ordered. "All of them."
"Dus!" The Beckon Pokemon did what she ordered. By opening up its mouth, revealing its hollow body, Dusclops had pulled in all of the incubators with the force of a black hole as the unicorn watched with confidence.
In just a few seconds, all of the incubators in the Pokemon Breeding Room had been sucked up, now dwelling inside of Dusclops.
And for them to leave Dusclops's body, Dusclops itself must release them by will. Whenever Dusclops manages to absorb something into it, there is seemingly no escape.
"Good. Keep them in there until I need them. Return." With the eggs stolen, she returned the Beckon Pokemon to its Poke Ball. "Hm...They actually thought I would act at night." She chuckled. "But they have so much more to look forward too when night arrives.
"They will. But definitely not you." Suddenly, the unicorn wasn't alone as a second voice filled the room.
"What?" She quickly turned around to find that there was a shadow lurking behind her. A shadow that was larger than hers and had an overwhelming size.
She turned around to find that Darkrai was behind her with his imposing appearance looming over here.
The Pitch Black Pokemon had his claws over her head, preparing to fire a Dark Void at any point in time with the unicorn freezing in place.
"D-Darkrai." She stammered, showing signs of worry.
"Release your Dusclops and spit the incubators out," Darkrai ordered as the orb of Dark Void was getting larger.
"Curses..." The unicorn knew that with the position she was in, Darkrai had full control of the situation. One Dark Void and that was it. Not to mention that Darkrai was manipulating the shadows around her as well, only intimidating the unicorn even further.
She listened to him by using her magic to send out Dusclops from its Poke Ball.
"Dusclops."
"There. It's out." She said. "But you should know that once something enters Dusclops, it can never come back out. So making my Dusclops come out was essentially pointless." The unicorn smirked with confidence. "Those eggs are stuck there."
"Hmph." Darkrai flew over to Dusclops as he pulled off the impossible.
He shoved his hand through Dusclops's mouth all of a sudden. "D-D-Dusclops!!"
"What the?!" She gasped. "How is that possible?!"
Darkrai being a Dark-Type was already a major advantage over Ghost-Types. But what Darkrai really excels at it manipulating all forms of shadows.
That includes Ghosts.
The unicorn could see that Darkrai was arguably the largest threat here. Especially if it's during the night. She realized that approaching the situation as it is now was most likely a bad idea.
So she decided to rethink her plans. And to do that, the mysterious unicorn would have to teleport out of here.
Without Dusclops.
"Hmph. Take the incubators back. I'll remember how to deal with you...Darkrai." She gave Darkrai her last words for now as she used her magic to teleport out of the room, leaving Dusclops behind along with its Poke Ball.
"She didn't even take her Pokemon with her..." Darkrai said to himself. He could instantly tell that the unicorn did not care for her Pokemon whatsoever if she is willing to leave them like that.
"C-Clops! Dusclops!"
"Hmph." Darkrai decided to put an end to this by pulling out all of the incubators inside of Dusclops's hollow body by using his claws to grab a hold of them.
Dusclops was powerless in this situation as the Pitch Black Pokemon used Dark Void inside of Dusclops's body to stop it from flailing around.
With Dusclops asleep, Darkrai could easily take out the incubators without having to deal with Dusclops's constant moving and writhing.
Because of that, Darkrai had saved the incubators from being trapped forever as he placed them back on the table they were all on previously."
"That settles that. But what to do about this one..." He looked down at the sleeping Duskclops. With the unicorn abandoning it, Dusclops was just on its lonesome now. The Poke Ball remained, however.
And that's how Darkrai decided to solve the problem. He picked up the Poke Ball, looking at it as he knew that sending Dusclops inside of its ball would eliminate any threats of it waking up.
So that's what he did.
Like a Pokemon Trainer, Darkrai returned Dusclops to its Poke Ball, keeping the sleeping Pokemon inside. But now he wondered what he should do with the ball.
Does he send it back to its original trainer who has no care for it? Or does he keep the Poke Ball somewhere else so that Duskclops has no chance of causing any further trouble?
He actually went for a third option. The one that he deemed the best. Darkrai went into the shadows with the Poke Ball still in his claws, heading to the one place for Dusclops to be at.
Luna's room.
Luna had many Pokemon. Darkrai being one of them. She has caught a Pokemon of every type and is most likely determined to catch more of them to exceed in the Equestria League.
So Darkrai felt like giving Luna a gift in the form of a free Dusclops. He felt as if Luna would treat this Pokemon better than its previous trainer who abandoned it.
Maybe.
Darkrai placed Dusclops's Poke Ball right next to her Frillish since Luna likes to keep her Pokemon out of their Poke Balls when they're indoors.
"Frill?" The Male Frillish looked at the Poke Ball.
"Frillish. Keep this Poke Ball close and protected, understood?" Darkrai ordered.
"Lish!" Frillish nodded instantly. He and all of Luna's Pokemon here had a sense of respect and deference to Darkrai. He was like a leader to them. So they were compelled to listen to him.
"Good. And stay alert at night. I'll be there to help." With that, Darkrai descended into the shadows once more, heading off to continue his duty as a guardian.
Darkrai could be enjoying the festival like everypony else, but he knew that there is always some unknown threat lurking and he has to be ready no matter what.
The festival was now reaching its late hours. The sun was emanating an orange glow as it was on the lower side now, indicating that the first day was about to come to a close.
And the night was ready to reveal itself. And only at night, will the Umbrage Thieves strike. Not only will Darkrai be ready, but Jackie, Ash and everyone else who had gained knowledge of their existence as the journey continues.
The sun was going down. Soon, the dark blue skies of the night would come out and envelop the entire world, transitioning into nightfall.
But even then, that wouldn't stop everyone from enjoying the festival. Although, there was one thing to consider when the night arrives.
"Victory is mine, Pinkie Pie. But well played." Eventide had just finished his Escavalier Joust with Pinkie as he helped her up from the ground.
"Aw!" Pinkie pouted. "I got wiped." Let's compete against each other in the next attraction!"
"Deal!" Eventide laughed as he looked up. "Hm. It's already close to nightfall. What say we-" When Eventide turned to face the others, he realized that they had already left. Off to take part in other festival activities. "Hm?! They've left already!"
"They're probably having loads of fun right now!" Pinkie climbed on Eventide's back. "We can keep on having loads of fun too!"
"Aye. Come, Pinkie Pie. There is much to do before the day ends." Eventide and Pinkie went off to do whatever it is they can involve themselves in.
Ash and the others had split up long ago, going their own separate ways to enjoy the festival. Some are still sticking in groups instead of going solo.
Speaking of Ash, he and Pikachu were being followed by both Twilight and Meloetta who have been giving each other looks for a long time now. Alongside Fluttershy who was intrigued by Meloetta.
"You know, you two have been acting pretty weird with each other." Ash pointed out. "You okay?"
"Hm? Fine. Totally fine." Twilight let out a fake grin.
"Meloetta." So did Meloetta. They both tried to play it off like there was nothing wrong, but clearly, there was. Once Ash turned around, the two of them got back to giving each other disdainful looks as they also growled.
"Oh my." Fluttershy's eyes widened. "I hope this doesn't last the entire festival."
"Audino."
"I should also check up on Chikorita. She must still be enjoying that pool." Fluttershy nodded.
"Pika...Pikachu..." Pikachu yawned, feeling the calming aura of the orange sunset. That was an indication that he was running low on steam for the day after having so much fun.
"Feeling tired buddy?" Ash said to his partner.
"Pika."
"Alright. We'll get you to bed up there." He pointed up at the castle, referring to the many guest rooms inside.
"I'll put him to bed, Ash." Fluttershy flew up to him.
"Thanks, Fluttershy." Ash gave Pikachu to Fluttershy, allowing her to take it from here. Seeing Fluttershy take Pikachu and hold him in her hooves made Twilight and Meloetta realize that Ash was flying solo now.
Pikachu, for the most part, is always by Ash's side and they are rarely apart from each other. So with this revelation, the two of them decided to take advantage of the situation. As their eyes met, they were thinking the same thing. But it was a matter of who would pull it off first.
Once Fluttershy left with Pikachu, it was just these three.
"Okay..." Ash took a deep breath. "What to do before I clock out?"
"Oh!" Twilight flew over to him. "Ash! Before you rest, we can both head to the balcony and watch the sunset together. At night, the stars look extra beautiful, especially here in Canterlot!"
"Melo?!" Meloetta gasped.
"Really? That'd be nice to look at actually." Ash grinned as he was considering it.
Which didn't bode too well with Meloetta. And she didn't have anything that could 1UP Twilight's suggestion, which almost made it seem like Meloetta had lost this time.
"Hm." Twilight rotated her head to face Meloetta as she had a smug look on her face, knowing that she had bested the Melody Pokemon.
At least, that's what she thought.
"Etta." Meloetta landed on Ash's shoulder, insisting that she could come along.
"Hm? Meloetta? Do you wanna come along?"
"Huh?!" Twilight screeched.
"Meloetta." She nodded gently whilst having one eye close and the other looking over at Twilight with cockiness involved within it. She let out a tiny little chuckle that riled Twilight up. "Etta-Etta."
"Alright. We'll all go up to the balcony then."
"Meloetta!"
"Yeah, great..." Twilight growled as she then started to whisper to Meloetta whilst they all made their way towards the castle. "You haven't won yet, you hear me? You can't convex him for long. I'm going to spend time with him one way or another."
"Etta. Melo. Meloetta." She whispered back with her own disdainful words.
But Ash was thinking about something else himself.
"Wonder what Rainbow Dash and Soarin are doing right now? Did they continue their Gym Battle?"
With Rainbow Dash and Soarin, they were both just casually hanging out instead of continuing their Gym Battle. They had already involved themselves in attractions and other activities and with the sun going down, they decided to just take things slow.
"I can see why you like them so much." Rainbow Dash said as she ate a pie with Soarin.
"Mhm!" He nodded in response whilst munching down on his favourite food. "Say, Rainbow Dash. I got a quick question."
"Yeah?"
"This whole Equestria League. Why do you wanna win it so badly? Besides becoming the first champion anyway?"
"Hm. That's easy. I just wanna win it and come out on top. That's all."
"Oh. I guess I should've expected that. Much easier than everypony else's?" Soarin devoured a pie.
"What about everypony?"
"Mmm!" He swallowed the pie. "Some of them wanna be the champion for completely different reasons, ya know. Way different than having fun."
"Like?"
"I don't know." Soarin consumed three pies at once. "But I can tell you that some are more personal than others."
"Huh. Personal..." Rainbow Dash began to think about something for a moment. About what she'll end up doing if she becomes the first champion of Equestria.
It's a huge goal but one that seems to be the be all end all of a Pokemon Trainer aside from the fabled and rare Pokemon Master role.
Rainbow thought about how Ash himself is a champion but he hasn't stopped going on countless journeys and creating new memories.
Ash himself even said that even if he becomes a Pokemon Master one day, he'll most likely never stop going on brand new adventures. After all, Ash knows that there is always something else out there waiting to be explored. It's why his adventure truly seems timeless.
But for Rainbow Dash, she wasn't so sure. If she wins, does she retire, continue being the champion until somepony beats her or something entirely unexpected.
That was up in the air for her.
But for now, she was going to keep on advancing through the ranks until she reaches the Equestria League and goes up against the best of the best.
"What about you, Soarin? Why do you want to be the champion?"
"Hm? Nah. I'm not planning on being the champion."
"You're not? Then why are you taking part in the Equestria League?"
"Not sure myself. I guess I'm doing it for the same reason you are. Just to have fun. Minus the champion part."
"Well...What are you gonna do when you become the champion?"
"Eh..." Soarin winced. "No clue. If I do become the champion somehow then...I guess I'll keep battling until I find somepony stronger who can beat me. Or I'll just chill and relax like Cynthia."
"Hm. I guess that would work..." Rainbow Dash said under her breath.
"Anyway...I'm slumped." Soarin yawned. "Might have to go to the Crystal Empire tomorrow for some new attractions."
"Aren't you gonna stay here and run the gym?" Rainbow asked.
"Hm? Nah." He shook his head. "The other pony's gonna take my place. I wanna enjoy this thing to the fullest, you know what I mean?"
"I hear ya." She nodded. "But we're still gonna finish our battle right?"
"Oh sure." Soarin ate the last pie. "I'll be at my best and we'll have a blast."
"Great. Then get yourself to bed, Gym Leader."
"Okay! But uh...Mind if I have a few more pies?"
"Sure..." Rainbow sighed before laughing afterwards.
Inside of Canterlot Castle.
"Alright, Pikachu," Fluttershy spoke as she placed the Electric Mouse Pokemon on a guest room bed. "You get yourself some great rest."
"Pika..." Pikachu stretched his arms, feeling the soft and comfortable mattress of the bed he was on. He placed his arms behind his back, wagging his tail as he was in pure bliss right now.
"We should check up on Chikorita. Audi. She must've fallen asleep in the pool by now."
"Dino."
The trainer and Pokemon left the room, leaving Pikachu to rest his nerves away as they turned off the light, closing the door in the process.
But they weren't leaving the castle just yet. Not because they wanted to stay around for a little while longer, but because Audino's feelers were picking up on something.
"Audino?" Her head turned east.
"What is it, Audi? What did you hear?"
"Audino..." What she heard sounded like someone falling to the floor. Soon, she and Fluttershy spotted a very familiar green glow right around the corner with familiar tentacles as well.
They looked at each other, knowing what move that was. Secret Power. More specifically the Secret Power that causes sleep. Which means that the sound that Audino heard was the sound of someone falling asleep without full control.
They quickly rushed to the corner to see that the guards of Canterlot Castle had all been put to sleep. Most likely just now since the green energy was fading away.
"Oh, dear!" Fluttershy gasped as she flew over to the guards. "Um, wake up please." She gently nudged the sleeping guards with her hooves, trying to wake them up.
"Dino." Audino did the same but she made no progress either.
"Oh. I wish Refresh also worked on sleep effects...But who could've done this?"
"Audino." Audino reminded Fluttershy of how Jackie mentioned that the Umbrage Thieves were here in Canterlot. And previously, their first encounter with them involved Secret Power that was meant to put them to sleep.
"Oh right. The Umbrage Thieves. But it's not yet night." Fluttershy looked around. She noticed that other than the guards and her and Audino, nopony else was present inside of Canterlot Castle.
At least, that's what they thought.
Because behind them, a shadow loomed over, which already gave the two of them a horrible vibe and uneasy feeling. Fluttershy gasped as Audino quickly got in front of her trainer, ready to protect her from whatever threat would cause any form of harm.
But it was quickly revealed that it wasn't a threat.
The shadow was just Darkrai rising back up as he towered over Audino and Fluttershy.
"Oh, Darkrai. You scared me." Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief.
"Sorry. But it seems I was too late." Darkrai spoke. "They certainly know how to disappear with barely any trace. All I can see is some sort of a swift blur."
"Who? You mean the Umbrage Thieves?"
"Hm? Do you know of them?"
"Mhm." Fluttershy nodded. "We first met them back near Ponyville. And they used the same Secret Power to try and put us to sleep. Pokemon Ranger Jackie told us that they'd be here."
"So I'm not the only in pursuit of them then..."
"They strike only at night, but the sun hasn't fully gone down yet." Fluttershy looked out the window.
"Whenever they strike, they're slippery. I've only managed to find one of them earlier this afternoon. I sensed more of them but now they've just suddenly vanished."
"Dino..." Audino tried to chime in by using her feelers to pick on any trace of the Umbrage Thieves. But she didn't get a single thing.
All her ears picked up on were the sounds of the guards snoring and mumbling in their sleep.
"Audi can't find them either." Fluttershy pointed out.
"They're most likely using a Pokemon to mask their presence. The previous thief used a Dusclops to try and steal the eggs from the Pokemon Breeding Room. But I'm not sure which Pokemon they're using for Secret Power or completely vanishing."
"Well..." Fluttershy stood up. "Officer Jenny revealed that they can sometimes leave a trace of hair behind. Like how one of them left a yellow strand of hair."
"Yellow strand of hair you say?" That caught Darkrai's attention. The pony he encountered earlier had a yellow mane and is most likely apart of the Umbrage Thieves. "Fluttershy. Audino. Will you help me find them?"
"Of course!" Fluttershy flew up "I can't let them get away with stealing Pokemon! Especially Pokemon who belong to trainers!" Saying that made Fluttershy realize that both Chikorita and Pikachu were alone without Fluttershy or Ash being present with them. "Oh, no...Chikorita! Pikachu!"
Worried, she rushed towards the guest room where Pikachu was resting, hoping that he hadn't been taken by the Umbrage Thieves.
Thankfully, Pikachu was fine and snug in the bed.
"Pikachu..." The Electric Mouse Pokemon sighed.
"Oh thank goodness..." Said a relieved Fluttershy. "But what about Chikorita?! They could've grabbed her from the Relief Zone!"
"Audino!" Audino told Fluttershy that Chikorita was fine since she could still hear the snoring of the Leaf Pokemon from afar by the pool
Thanks to Audino being inside of Canterlot Castle and instead of outside, she was able to focus her feelers clearly on one specific sound rather than having to try and navigate her hearing through the crowded streets of the Pokemon Festival.
"Oh. Okay. But I'm still worried. Let's pick her up as soon as we can! Oh, but I don't want to leave Pikachu here!"
"Don't worry, Fluttershy. I can solve this." Darkrai flew over to her.
"Y-You can?"
"All of you. Come out." Darkrai had suddenly ordered for the arrival of Luna's Pokemon who were all still inside of the Moon Princess's bedroom.
From Luna's room, her Pokemon had exited. From Frillish phasing through the walls to the others just simply using the door to exit, they all listened to Darkrai since he had so much authority over them.
"Frill!"
"Excadrill!"
"Gli!"
All of them spoke rapidly, wondering why Darkrai had called them out.
"All of you. I need you to keep a lookout. For a certain group of ponies called the Umbrage Thieves. Their main objective is stealing Pokemon, specifically ones that are already owned by trainers."
"Oh! And they wear these black suits with green lines around them!" Fluttershy went into a bit more detail.
"Right. That too. Keep the guards safe and one of you is going to give me the signal if you catch them. Chatot. You're the loudest out of all of us, so you'll know what to do."
"Chatot! Know what to do!" Chatot replied.
"Thank you so much, Darkrai!" Fluttershy flew up to the Pitch Black Pokemon, surprising him with a loving hug.
"Mrrgh..." Darkrai grumbled at the hug. "Just go and get your Chikorita."
"Right! Audi, let's go quick!" Fluttershy hopped on Audino's back.
"Audino!" Like a trusty steed, Audino made a run for it. She wasn't the fastest Pokemon but she tried her best.
"Xatu. Those 4 eyes of yours can always come in handy." Darkrai spoke to Xatu. "I can most definitely count on you."
"Xatu..."
"I'll continue searching for them. And remember, give me a signal." Darkrai said his last words to them as he descended into the shadows, off to continue his search for the Umbrage Thieves.
The Relief Zone.
Finally, the sun had set. It was time for the moon to arrive.
Over at the area with the pool, Chikorita was fast asleep with her head poking out of the pool. It was a good thing she was a very light Pokemon.
All the Pokemon near here had already fallen asleep themselves due to the calming aura of the late afternoon that then transitioned into the night.
With the relaxing sound of the pool moving about, it seemed peaceful and sombre here with barely anything to break that peace.
The trees of this relief zone were met with an ominous and violent wind, one that was enough to wake the Leaf Pokemon up from her rest.
"Chiko?" She opened her eyes to see that it was now night. But that wasn't all. Chikorita felt as if something was off the moment she woke up.
From how the wind was blowing on the trees along with an unknown howl, the Grass-Type had gotten an uncomfortable feeling run through her.
"Chiko!" She called out for her trainer Fluttershy. Chikorita is a bit of a little child. In which she can get terrified easily over anything that may seem suspicious or unknown.
And she had every right to be a bit terrified. The ominous wind had suddenly stopped abruptly. The eerie howling in the wind had ceased with pure silence filling the air.
Chikorita thought that everything was clear now as she got out of the pool.
"Chikorita!" The sound of Fluttershy echoed through her ears.
"Chiko?"
"Chikorita!" Fluttershy and Audino had arrived in time to see their friend completely fine and still in the same spot. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Chiko!" The Leaf Pokemon hopped into the arms of Audino.
"Audino!"
"Phew...I suppose they only really strike at a very late night." Fluttershy smiled.
"Rita?"
"I'm just glad that you're alright. And all the Pokemon here as well."
"Audi." Audino nodded in agreement. But once again, her feelers were picking up on something new. This time, it sounded like a whimper. "Audino?"
The whimper wasn't too far away since it was approaching the direction of Audino, Fluttershy and Chikorita. They could each hear it now as it was revealed that a Klefki was making those whimpers.
"Klefki..."
"Oh, a Klefki. What's wrong?" Fluttershy flew over to the whimpering Key Ring Pokemon, seeing that it was in a state of sadness.
"Ki...Klefki." The Key Ring Pokemon closed its eyes, giving a sort of apology to Fluttershy and her Pokemon.
"Hm? What do you mean by... I'm sorry?" Fluttershy translated as she tilted her head, wondering why Klefki would say that.
"Ki." The reason why the Steel-Fairy-Type apologized was because of one reason. When it opened its eyes, a blue outline of Psychic energy surrounded the bodies of Fluttershy, Audino and Chikorita.
"Audino?!"
"Chiko?!"
"H-Huh?!" The shy pegasus gasped as she and her Pokemon were now being held in place by the Psychic grasp of this small little Key monster.
"Bravo, Klefki." It wasn't Klefki doing this on purpose. Instead, it had been ordered to use Psychic on the three of them.
And the trainer who ordered the Key Ring Pokemon was an Umbrage Thief. More specifically, the one that Fluttershy and her friends first encountered down in the caves. From her tall stature to her lengthy horn.
"Y-You?!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"The ability to hear anything. From how somepony is feeling or an egg hatching." The Umbrage Thief went up to Audino, circling the Hearing Pokemon. "We could use that."
"D-Dino?!"
"You're not getting your hooves on my Audino!" Fluttershy growled.
"Hmph." The unicorn smirked underneath the mask as she looked over at Chikorita.
"Chiko...!"
"Hm. Nothing special about this one. We'll just sell it."
"Chiko?!"
"I don't think so! Audi! Hyper Beam!"
"Audi..." A ball of energy formed in Audino's mouth as a means of escaping the hold of Psychic. She didn't want to harm Klefki but she wasn't about to let this thief sell her friend and use her for personal gain.
"Slam them."
"K-Klefki!" Klefki closed its eyes as it slammed all three of them down on the ground, interrupting Hyper Beam as the trio felt some pain enter their system from getting slammed onto the solid ground.
The Key Ring Pokemon kept them on the ground with their faces being flat on the ground. They were unable to move as all they could see was the ground now.
"Hm-hm." The unicorn chuckled. "Easy." She walked up to Chikorita and Audino, already having a way of capturing them each.
The unicorn wasn't alone. From the shadows, other Umbrage Thieves revealed themselves. Eighteen of them in total as they all surrounded Fluttershy and her Pokemon.
But they couldn't see the thieves since they were just in a face-flat position.
"Y-You won't get away with this! Darkrai-"
"Oh, we're aware of Darkrai." She interrupted Fluttershy. "The Pitch Black Pokemon who's capable of nightmares? We've dealt with that."
"But Darkrai can go into the shadows of everypony! You can't-"
"Ah, but there is only one Darkrai here. We took the pleasure of distracting him." She walked up to Fluttershy, raising her head, revealing the rest of the Umbrage Thieves to her.
"S-So many..." Fluttershy gawked.
"Yes. Our black suits are what will keep that Dark pest out of our manes...They're not just for show you know."
"Yeah!" A pegasus flew up to Fluttershy. "These babies are made out of-"
"Hush." The unicorn shoved her hoof in the pegasus's mouth, forcing her to stop before she reveals their secret. But these suits were indeed capable of masking them from a Pokemon such as Darkrai. The best that Darkrai can spot is a blur.
Fluttershy picked up on that fast. Darkrai mentioned that he could only see a swift blur. Even with a Pokemon such as himself, he couldn't trace the Umbrage Thieves.
This would also explain why the Officer Jenny's had so much trouble tracking the thieves down until one of them left a mane that allowed them to get a trace of the Umbrage Thieves.
Which led Fluttershy to theorize how they were able to do it.
"You used magic..." Fluttershy uttered.
"Perhaps." She chuckled. "Alright. Time to go." The unicorn, seemingly the leader of the group, approached Audino and Chikorita as her horn was glowing.
"No!" Fluttershy exclaimed. She tried to reach for her Mega Ring but Psychic wouldn't let her.
"Sssh...Go to sleep now. Orbeetle. Hypnosis." The unicorn uttered as an Orbeetle descended from above, floating in front of the unicorn.
"Orb." The Seven Spot Pokemon sent hypnotic waves of psychic energy that travelled from its eyes. Fluttershy tried to close her eyes, but the unicorn used her magic to keep them open.
"No closing them." She grinned.
Hypnosis had put Fluttershy into a drowsy state, causing the shy pegasus to feel exhausted immediately. She was powerless in this situation.
At least, it seemed like that was the case.
Until Darkrai arrived.
"Found you!" He emerged from the shadows, firing a barrage of Dark Voids that rained down from above.
"What?!" The unicorn gasped as she witnessed multiple black orbs of darkness heading straight towards her. She quickly put a defensive barrier to shield her from the Dark Void but the others weren't so lucky.
Each of the other Umbrage Thieves were hit by Dark Void, putting them all into a slumbered state. Klefki had been hit by the Dark Void as well.
"Accursed Darkrai...!" Knowing that Darkrai had found them despite their seemingly perfect plan to hide and distract him had failed, the unicorn decided to leave without her fellow thieves.
Orbeetle got in the way by using Protect to shield the unicorn from the rain of Dark Voids from above. This plan was a failure thanks to Darkrai.
She used her magic to teleport away, abandoning not only Klefki and her fellow thieves, but even Orbeetle who got in the way to protect her.
"Beetle?!" The Seven Spot Pokemon noticed that she had abandoned it, causing Orbeetle to let its guard down. And once it did, Dark Void hit it, putting the Psychic-Bug-Type into a sleep state.
Fluttershy was freed from the grasp of Psychic due to Klefki falling asleep as Darkrai looked over, noticing that one of them had escaped. More specifically the tall unicorn.
"Ugh..." Fluttershy groaned as she quickly got off the ground.
"Fluttershy! Are you alright?!" Darkrai descended.
"Audino...Chikorita..." Fluttershy whimpered as the thought of her Pokemon almost being stolen like that hit her so hard that she fainted from the shock.
Darkrai caught her with his claws, preventing her from falling onto the ground. The Pitch Black Pokemon saw how Audino and Chikorita were a bit injured from Klefki slamming them onto the ground.
It was wonderful that Darkrai came to their rescue.
With Fluttershy fainted and the others asleep, Darkrai now had a lot that he had to do. His first decision was making sure that the thieves don't go anywhere when they wake up. And the second decision was getting Fluttershy to a bed so that she can rest.
But, he thought of a better idea. He flew over to Audino, giving the Hearing Pokemon her trainer. "Get her to the guest room."
"Audino!" Audino understood clearly as she and Chikorita made a run for it whilst Darkrai would stay here in the relief zone, keeping an eye on the thieves.
A heroic save from Darkrai. But the mysterious unicorn who seems to be the leader of all of this was now a major red flag to take notice of.
It is unclear if this unicorn was still in Canterlot after her plan managed to result in a huge failure since Darkrai found her. But with the rest of the thieves asleep here in Canterlot, Darkrai has a lot of information to give out while the first day of the Pokemon Festival slowly comes to an end as the journey continues.
The second day of the Pokemon Festival had arrived. Previously, the first day had come to an end.
For most, it ended on a great note with tons of excitement. But not all ended their first day on a great note. And one of them was Fluttershy.
Currently, she was in the Canterlot guest room. Last night, she had fainted after a horrible shock, leaving her unconscious for many hours.
But not anymore. Now she was finally waking up. Her eyes slowly opened as the first thing she saw was the face of Audino and Chikorita.
"Mrrgh...Audino? Chikorita?"
"Audino!"
"Chiko!"
The two of them piled on their trainer, giving her a loving hug whilst also being greatly relieved that she was okay. Fluttershy noticed that it wasn't just her Pokemon in the room. But the rest of her friends were here as well.
"Fluttershy!" They all said in unison.
Fluttershy saw how even Eventide and Sunlight were here. The only exception being Celestia and Luna who weren't present with them.
"Are you alright?!" Rarity zipped around Fluttershy. "They didn't lay a hoof on you did they?!"
"I'm fine now." Fluttershy nodded. "Thank you. But what happened last night?"
"You fainted, remember?" Twilight said. "Audino carried you back here to safety after the Umbrage Thieves tried to steal them from you."
"Ah!" Fluttershy sat up. "I remember! What-"
"The thieves had been taken care of." Twilight interrupted. "Darkrai kept watching over them the entire night. Right now, they're being investigated and detained in the dungeon."
"Oh. Okay. I never got to say thank you to Darkrai. For saving me."
"You don't have to." Speaking of Darkrai, he was by the corner this entire time, perfectly hidden in the shadows.
"Darkrai!" Fluttershy let out a wide smile as the Pitch Black Pokemon flew over to her.
"Are you recovering well?" Darkrai asked.
"Mhm!" She nodded. "Thank you so much for saving us! I don't know what would've happened if you weren't there."
"Hmph. Those thieves honestly thought they could forever mask themselves from me. The shadows are my speciality."
"About that. You had trouble finding them earlier but then later you found me with them." Fluttershy wondered. "How come?"
"I only work best in total darkness. The festival had a plethora of lights, but the Relief Zone has no lights, so I can work with the shadows at a better rate."
"Oh...Well, I'm glad you were there to save us anyway." Fluttershy surprised the Dark-Type with an unexpected yet loving hug that caused Darkrai to jolt up a bit.
"Urgh...Y-You're welcome." Darkrai took her thanks. "But one of them managed to escape. I suspect that one might be their leader."
"If she shows up again, I'm gonna flatten her!" Rainbow Dash smashed her hooves together.
"But at least we have the others. Jackie's taking them to the nearest Officer Jenny, right over at Pewter City." Ash said.
"Pikachu."
"Glad you two are okay." Fluttershy pulled in Audino and Chikorita. "Sorry that I couldn't properly protect you both myself."
"Audino."
"Chiko."
"Don't beat yourself up Fluttershy." Rarity walked up to her. "There were too many of them anyway."
"I know. I just don't want to go through that experience again." Fluttershy whimpered.
"Then let's get it off your mind," Ash spoke. "Some of us are heading to the Crystal Empire next for the second day. Sunlight and the others are already getting a head start."
"Pikachu."
"The Crystal Empire?" Fluttershy turned to Ash. "That'd be nice to see what attractions they have."
"Shouldn't you rest a little bit more?" Twilight thought.
"Meloetta?"
"No-no. I'm fine now. I just fainted from a shock that's all. I won't let that stop me."
"What energy!" Pinkie dashed over. "Look at how far you've come!"
"You can all go along and continue your festival. I'm going to stay here and continue keeping watch over Canterlot." Darkrai was about to submerge into the shadows.
"You're not gonna join in, Darkrai?" Applejack turned to Darkrai.
"There's always something lurking in the shadows. You can never be too careful..." Those were Darkrai's last words as he vanished into the shadows, off to continue his duty.
"So serious..." Spike shuddered.
"Oh! I almost forgot, Ash!" Rarity exclaimed. "A friend of yours wanted to meet up with you again. Cilan."
"Huh? Cilan's here?!" Ash gasped.
"Pika?!"
"Mhm. We split up once the late afternoon came around and he didn't have the opportunity to meet you on the first day. But now might be a good opportunity."
"That'd be great!" Ash grinned. "Barry's already headed to the Crystal Empire too. I wonder if I can get Cilan to tag along as well!"
"You'd better hurry. The train to the Crystal Empire's gonna leave soon. Cilan's already headed there too." Spike pointed out.
"Oh." Ash nodded aggressively. "Then I can't waste any time!" He dashed out of the room with Pikachu.
"Stay with us, Fluttershy." Twilight helped Fluttershy off the bed. "There's strength in numbers after all."
"Alright." Fluttershy let out a soft smile. "But um, I might need something to drink first before we leave."
"Well, I've still got a gym battle to finish with Soarin." Rainbow Dash flew up. "I'll catch up with you guys later."
The Canterlot train station.
There, two familiar friends of Ash were waiting. Barry and Cilan. This was also their first time meeting and being in the same area as one another.
"Keeping me waiting like this...!" Barry tapped his foot aggressively on the ground. "I'm gonna have to Fine all of them afterwards!"
"Someone's impatient." Cilan chuckled. "I can see a bit of Ash in you."
"Hm? No way." Barry crossed his arms. "Ash and I are nothing alike!"
"Sure." Cilan nodded his head. "And speaking of Ash..." Cilan noticed the arrival of Ash and the others minus Rainbow Dash who was preparing for her battle with Soarin.
"Cilan!" Ash ran over to him.
"Pika!"
"Long time no see, Ash. Pikachu." Cilan replied.
"So you really are here. Awesome!" Ash got all giddy. "I'm getting pretty nostalgic seeing a ton of familiar faces lately."
"Enough chit-chat!" Barry exclaimed. "THat Crystal Empire place has a battle spot that need to put myself in and beat you, Ash! So let's go-go-go!"
"You know I'm psyched to take part in it too!" Ash grinned as he and Barry quickly entered the train ahead of everyone else.
"Wait for me!" Pinkie bounced inside of the train.
"Is having triple hyperactive individuals a bad thing?" Rarity asked.
"Maybe." Applejack responded as she and the others casually walked up to the train instead of rushing like Ash, Pinkie and Barry.
By entering the train, they were the last passengers to climb aboard. Fluttershy being behind them all. Despite her recovering from fainting last night, the thought of what happened still lingered in her head.
The Umbrage Thieves came incredibly close to stealing her Audino and Chikorita with her being completely powerless to do anything until Darkrai arrived.
Fluttershy feared that even with her having a Mega Ring and some battle experience, by herself, she might lagging behind her friends.
But her Pokemon looked up at her to reassure the pegasus that she wasn't lagging at all. It wasn't her fault that the Umbrage Thieves almost stole her Pokemon. She was even clever enough to try and defend herself with Mega Evolution and Hyper Beam but Psychic didn't let that happen.
"Chiko." The Leaf Pokemon climbed up on Fluttershy's head, giving her trainer a nice pat on the head. Both her and Audino gave their trainer comfort and a boost in confidence.
A Pokemon will always be there to make their trainer feel better, no matter what the situation or what happened before. And that is just another one of the many reasons why Fluttershy loves them so much.
But there was one other thing that plagued her mind.
The Klefki from last night.
Before it held all three of them with Psychic, it said that it was sorry. Almost as if it as apologizing for holding Fluttershy and her Pokemon in place.
Fluttershy, despite being perplexed by the sudden Umbrage Thief attack, noticed that, before she fainted, the unicorn had left behind her Klefki and Orbeetle without even taking them with her.
This made Fluttershy think that this unicorn might not care for her Pokemon and there's a high chance that there are other Pokemon that she has that might be getting little care as well.
She didn't want to think about the Umbrage Thieves any further. But she is definitely worried about the Pokemon owned by that mysterious unicorn.
Canterlot.
Rainbow Dash stayed behind instead of going with her friends. She would catch up eventually, but there was one thing she needed to do.
Win her 5th Gym Badge.
Soarin was at his absolute best this time. Meaning that he was capable of batting Rainbow Dash without anything slowing him down. They wasted no time and got to Canterlot Gardens where the Gym Battle would take place.
The referee was there as they were both on their own sides already. The Ref didn't need to break the rules down for them since this is their second time at it.
"You may both bring out your Pokemon." The Ref said.
"Let's mix things up a bit! Mienfoo! Luxio! Go!" Rainbow Dash sent out Luxio and Mienfoo instead of the first time when it was Mienfoo and Castform.
"Mienfoo!"
"Luxio!"
"I'll try something new myself. Torkoal! Archeops!" Same with Soarin. Instead of Snover and Buizel like the first time, it was Torkoal and Archeops up first.
"Torkoal."
"Archeops!"
Once Torkoal came out, its Drought ability kicked in, intensifying the sun and boosting Torkoal's Fire-Type moves.
"That Torkoal's got a mean Earthquake...Can't let Luxio get hit by it no matter what..." Rainbow Dash thought to herself.
"When I'm at my best, nopony's stopping me." Soarin also thought to himself.
"Battle Start!"
"Okay, you two! Wild Charge into Archeops and use Mega Punch on Torkoal!"
"Lux!" The Spark Pokemon went ahead first by outlining his body in electricity, propelling himself towards the First Bird Pokemon.
"Foo!" Mienfoo went next by bolting straight for Torkoal on a lower level.
"I don't think so! Archeops! Dragon Claw! And Torkoal, use Iron Defense!"
"Arc!" The First Pokemon gave a response to Mienfoo by summoning draconic claws with green energy around its wings. It used these claws to clash with Luxio's head, preventing Wild Charge from fully connecting. The two entered a struggle with one of them trying to overpower the other.
Torkoal just stood there. Unfortunately, it was one of the slowest Pokemon in the world. So the chances of it dodging are nigh-impossible with some expectations.
However, its defence helps it greatly as the Coal Pokemon pulled all of its limbs into its shell, protecting itself. His defence had been raised sharply. "Tor."
"Mien!" Mienfoo approached Torkoal with ferocity as she smashed her paw into Torkoal's shell. But when she hit the shell, Torkoal barely felt it. The best that Mienfoo did was making its shell wiggle a small bit. "Mienfoo?"
Not satisfied with getting zero hits in, Mienfoo began striking her paws on the shell repeatedly, hoping to make Torkoal come out of its shell.
"Heh. Rapid Spin Torkoal!"
"Torkoal!" Using its shell as a weapon, the Coal Pokemon spun its shell around like a saw blade. These rapid movements clashed with Mienfoo's fast-moving paws, causing some sparks to fly out.
"Cheops!" The struggle between Luxio and Archeops had been decided. Archeops came out on top as Dragon Claw overpowered Wild Charge, launching Luxio back down to the ground with an impactful crash.
"Xio!"
"Ah! Luxio!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"L-Lux!" Luxio quickly got back up from the ground.
Mienfoo didn't have the same amount of trouble. Her attacks always get faster the more she strikes, making their precision sharper each time.
Even with Rapid Spin, Torkoal wasn't fast enough to match Mienfoo's paw strikes as the Martial Arts Pokemon found an opening.
"Mien!" She smashed her paw inside one of the holes of Torkoal's shell which surprised both Rainbow Dash and Soarin as their attention was focused on those two.
But after seeing that, Soarin let out a slight smirk, knowing that it wasn't the wisest decision for Mienfoo to put her paw inside of Torkoal's shell.
"Heh. Gotcha!" Soarin exclaimed.
"M-Mien!" The reason why it wasn't the wisest decision was that Torkoal's hollow shell was full of blazing coal that had been found from many mountains.
The heat of this coal was enough to sear Mienfoo's paws as she quickly pulled her arm out, backflipping away from the Coal Pokemon.
Torkoal stopped spinning as its speed had been increased a bit thanks to Rapid Spin.
"Foo! Foo!" Mienfoo blew on her own paw.
"Good attempt, Mienfoo. But I guess touching those holes is a bad move." Rainbow Dash said.
"Mien."
"We'll finish this in a few hits. Torkoal! Earthquake! And Archeops, use Stone Edge!"
"Tor..." Torkoal was about to let out the devastating Earthquake as it stood up on its hind legs. Meanwhile, Archeops summoned multiple glowing crystals around its body.
"Here it comes..." Rainbow Dash growled. "Mienfoo grab Luxio and toss him at Archeops."
"Say what?!" Soarin jerked back.
"Mien!" The Martial Arts Pokemon suddenly grabbed Luxio's tail as they both put their faith in each other. With all her might, Mienfoo spun Luxio around before launching the Spark Pokemon into the air, allowing him to avoid Earthquake.
"Koal!" Torkoal slammed its legs down, causing the ground to shatter as destructive white shockwaves emerged from the ground.
Mienfoo, unfortunately, had to take this damage, but she would be neutral to it since she wasn't an Electric-Type like Luxio.
"M-Mienfoo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon was engulfed by the white shockwaves.
"Archeops!" Meanwhile, with Luxio and Archeops, the Rock-Flying-Type hurled the stones towards Luxio who was being sent right at it thanks to Mienfoo's throw.
"Now use Iron Tail!"
"Lux!" Whilst airborne, Luxio's tail hardened up as he smashed it onto the stones, shattering them into pieces whilst also sending some of them back at Archeops.
"Arc?!" Archeops was pelted by its own rocks as Luxio's long tail helped him reach Archeops before he fell. With a swift move of his tail, Luxio slammed Iron Tail onto Archeops's head, dealing super-effective damage.
"Ops!" The First Bird Pokemon was sent crashing down by Iron Tail as it hit the ground hard on its head. "Arc!"
"Luxio!" Luxio returned to ground level, returning his tail to normal.
"You won't catch me off guard like that again! Torkoal! Lava Plume!"
"Koal!" The Coal Pokemon caused an explosion around it, creating a mix of smog and fire to cover the area.
"Xio!?"
"Mien?!"
Mienfoo and Luxio looked around to see that they were surrounded by fire and smog from all sides as they stood back to back from each other. The scarlet flames seemed to be getting closer, acting like actual lava by moving.
"That doesn't look good..." Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth as she was trying to find a way out of this one. She saw how tall the fire was compared to her Pokemon and how aggressive it was.
It took up the entire battlefield as the fire was so large that Rainbow Dash, the Ref and Soarin had to back away to avoid this intense fire.
This was Soarin's plan. To fill the battlefield with Lava Plume.
"Right where I want you..." Soarin smirked. "Archeops, use dig!"
"He's using Dig with all this fire around?!" Rainbow Dash winced.
"Cheops!" Archeops slammed its wings onto the ground, burrowing underground despite there being a violent plume of fire everywhere.
"This might get rough...Unless...Mienfoo! Pick up Luxio and hold him over you!"
"Mienfoo!" Taking a hold of her teammate once more, this time, Mienfoo picked Luxio up with her paws, protecting him from the Ground-Type move.
"Lux?"
"Cheops!" Archeops came out of the ground, smashing its wings onto Mienfoo's stomach as the Martial Arts Pokemon once again, took damage for Luxio.
"Gotcha! Iron Tail!"
"Luxio!" Whilst still being held by Mienfoo, Luxio hardened up his tail as he swung it towards Archeops, avenging Mienfoo by slamming Iron Tail onto Archeops's stomach.
"C-Cheops!" Archeops's eyes widened as it was sent flying through the flames, tumbling on the ground. That Iron Tail combined with flying through the fire was enough to take out the First Bird Pokemon as it had fainted.
"Archeops..."
"Archeops is unable- Hot! Hot!" The Ref backed away further. "Unable to battle! Luxio wins!"
"Yes!" Rainbow Dash flew up. "Nice hit Luxio! And good job tanking that Dig, Mienfoo!"
"Luxio!
"Mienfoo!"
"Return, Archeops." Soarin returned Archeops. "Sorry I didn't get the chance to pull off Sandstorm. Drought is already active. Alright, Rainbow Dash! You took out my Archeops sure. But what are you gonna do about the fire around your Pokemon?"
"That's easy. Mienfoo. Luxio. Return." Rainbow decided to return them both, swapping them out for another duo. "I'll deal with your fire and Pokemon at the same time. Braviary! Altaria! Let's go!"
The next duo ended up being the Flying-Type partners, Braviary and Altaria. Once they both came out, they appeared high in the air, avoiding the flames of Lava Plume.
"Braviary!"
"Altaria!"
"Oh, clever." Soarin nodded. "But I can deal with those two. Boltund! Out you come!" Soarin's third Pokemon was Boltund who would be assisting Torkoal in battle.
"Boltund!"
"That's Boltund," Rainbow said to herself. "I don't know what its capable of, but it's obviously super fast since it's an Electric-Type."
"Bolt..." Boltund was already getting fired up with sparks flowing through its fur.
"Let's get rid of this fire first. Use Superpower to blow it away!"
"Viary" Finding a way to get rid of this arena covering fire, Braviary used Superpower while clapping its wings together.
With that amount of power, Braviary created a powerful thunderclap that was strong enough to blow the flames of Lava Plume away.
The shockwave was even strong enough to reach Torkoal and Boltund, almost making them lose their balance as Torkoal hid in its shell in a responsive instinct.
"Tor!"
"She's sending Braviary out this early?" Soarin gulped. "I thought she'd save her strongest for last. Oh well. Boltund! Electric Terrain!"
"Bolt!" Instead of attacking, the Dog Pokemon's body became covered in yellow electricity as it fired a beam of electricity from its body. The electricity then formed into a dome-shaped cage of electricity that went over the battlefield.
"Brav?"
"Alta?"
"What's this?!" Rainbow Dash had never seen this move before.
"You'll see. Torkoal, Iron Defence!"
"Koal!" Whilst still inside of its shell, Torkoal boosted its defence up once more while Boltund just stood there, waiting for more commands.
"Let's smash em flat! Superpower on Torkoal! Ice Beam on Boltund!"
"Viary!" Braviary went ahead first by surrounding his wings in energy whilst Altaria charged up a beam of Ice.
"Torkoal another Iron Defense! Boltund counter with Thunderbolt!"
"Tund!" The Dog Pokemon sent out 100,000 volts of electricity from its body, clashing with Ice Beam as the two attacks cancelled each other out.
As for Torkoal, it was still in its shell, building up its defence. Braviary smashed his wings onto Torkoal's shell as a powerful Fighting-Type move connected with the increased defence of a Steel-Type move.
Torkoal's already stellar defence combined with Iron Defense had made the Coal Pokemon more durable than it usually is as Superpower barely even phased it.
"Brav?" Even Braviary was surprised by this as he flew back.
"Koal." Torkoal finally came out of its shell with its defence being through the roof now.
"Ain't no way you're breaking past my Torkoal's defence now, Dash! You're gonna need a lot of power to take him out!"
"Hah! I've got a lot of power! Braviary, lets-"
"Viary!" Braviary suddenly interrupted Rainbow Dash. He stopped her because he knew what Rainbow Dash was trying to do.
"Huh? Braviary?"
"Vi. Braviary." Braviary looked back at Rainbow Dash. He knew that Rainbow Dash wanted to use Rainbow-Braviary in this battle. But Braviary wanted to show that he can get stronger without having to constantly rely on Rainbow-Braviary.
Plus, using it against somepony as formidable as Soarin would most likely harm Rainbow Dash's life once more, but on a more critical level.
"Braviary..." Rainbow Dash paused for a moment as she nodded in understanding. "I gotcha. Then we'll keep using Superpower! And Altaria! Dragon Pulse!"
"Vi!" Braviary was planning on endlessly striking Torkoal with the same move repeatedly in hopes of getting past its amazing defence. Meanwhile, Altaria prepared a Dragon Pulse by opening her mouth.
"Nah-Nah. I don't think so. Discharge!"
"Bolt!" Boltund acted faster than Altaria and Braviary combined thanks to its superb speed. The Bolt Pokemon sent a violent whip of electricity that went from point A to B in one second as both Flying-Types were hit by Discharge's violent electricity.
And thanks to Electric Terrain, this already powerful attack had been boosted. Altaria resisted it thanks to her being part Dragon but Braviary got the worst out of it.
Both of them were knocked out of the sky because of Discharge, allowing Soarin to capitalize and pull off more attacks.
"Now, Torkoal! Lava Plume and Discharge once more!"
"Quick! Fly up you two!"
"Vi!?" Braviary and Altaria both opened their eyes as they quickly spread their wings out. They saw how Torkoal sent an explosion of fire and smog around the area. Another whip of Lightning was sent their way as well.
Yet again, they had been hit by Discharge because of how wide and fast it was as Lava Plume filled the battlefield once more.
With Discharge yet again forcing them down, they had been surrounded by the flames of Lava Plume as they were now on a lower level.
"Urgh..." Rainbow Dash growled, realizing that things were slowly turning for the worst. "That Boltund's too fast...! This would be so much easier with Rainbow-Braviary but..."
"What now, Dash?" Soarin grinned.
"Hm. Torkoal's defence is only great physically...but with ranged attacks. I got it! You two! Switch places quick!"
"Switching won't help! Discharge one more time!"
"Block it with Steel Wing!" Rainbow Dash expected Soarin to use a move as useful as Discharge, so she counteracted by having Braviary harden his wings with metal.
"Viary!" The Valiant Pokemon got in front of Altaria, protecting her from Discharge. Braviary's steel wings became conductors of electricity, allowing him to nullify the Discharge. "Brav!"
"Absorbing my electricity are you? Then I'll come to you! Use Double Edge!"
"Bolt!" The Dog Pokemon became surrounded in streaks of white aura, charges into the opponent with great force.
"Keep those wings up!" Rainbow Dash allowed Braviary to keep blocking with Steel Wing whilst Altara stayed behind Braviary, waiting for her turn to strike.
Boltund crashed into Braviary's wings at full-force, creating a loud clang sound in the process. Braviary's body felt some vibration but not as much as Boltund, who took heavy recoil from it.
"B-Bolt!" Boltund staggered back after connecting with Braviary's hard wings whilst using a double-edged sword move like Double Edge.
"Gotcha. Slam and pin Boltund with Superpower!"
"Vi!" With Boltund staggered, Braviary raised its wings with an orange outline forming as the Valiant Pokemon smashed Boltund's back, causing the Dog Pokemon to crash on the ground with a crater forming.
"Ah! Boltund!"
"Here we go! Now unload Dragon Pulse on Torkoal! And don't stop!"
"Taria!" Altaria flew up whilst Braviary had Boltund pinned on the ground. A Dragon-shaped blast was fired and due to Torkoal being slow, it was not avoiding this attack at all.
"Torkoal! Get in your shell!" Soarin gasped.
"Tor!" Torkoal quickly hid its limbs and head in its shell, but it was only bulky in a physical sense. When it comes to special attacks such as Dragon Pulse, not so much.
As such, the Coal Pokemon had been engulfed by Dragon Pulse with Altaria pouring it on the Fire-Type. Boltund managed to break itself free from Braviary's wings thanks to its superior running speed, but Torkoal was still being overwhelmed.
Eventually, Dragon Pulse came to an end as an explosion of draconic energy occurred. The smoke cleared up and it was revealed that Torkoal had fainted.
And with Torkoal down, Drought had vanished.
"Torkoal..."
"Torkoal is unable to battle! Altaria wins!"
"Yes! And I'm still sitting pretty with no fainted Pokemon!" Rainbow Dash squeed.
"Pinning my Boltund like that was a good call...Return, Torkoal." He brought Torkoal back its ball. "You did good, pal."
"Phew." Rainbow Dash wiped the sweat off her forehead. "That got a bit too stressful. Your Boltund's pretty fast, ya know. Then again, it's an Electric-Type so I should've seen that coming."
"Oh, Boltund's more than just fast. Just you wait and see." Soarin smirked. "This Gym Battle's far from over." Soarin held out another Poke Ball.
Rainbow Dash was expecting to see either Snover or Buizel up next as she was prepared to tackle them both. Even if Braviary and Altaria might have some trouble against Snover.
But in truth, Soarin had swapped Snover for someone else.
"Come out! Eiscue!" Soarin tossed the Poke Ball, revealing a new Pokemon to Rainbow Dash in the form of the Penguin Pokemon Eiscue.
"Eiscue!"
"What is that?!" She was shocked that it wasn't Snover at all as she took her dex out for this Pokemon.
"Eiscue. The Penguin Pokemon. Ice Face. It drifted in on the flow of ocean waters from a frigid place. It keeps its head iced constantly to make sure it stays nice and cold. It fishes for its food, dangling its single hair into the sea to lure in prey."
"Get ready, Dash. Because this is where things change!"
Rainbow Dash's Gym Battle with Soarin is far from over. Even with two of his Pokemon defeated, Soarin is still proving to be a formidable and tricky opponent as the journey continues.
The second day of the Pokemon Festival is still young and Rainbow Dash is in the midst of her fifth Gym Battle with Soarin.
She had previously taken out two of his Pokemon. Archeops and Torkoal. Now she is facing off against Soarin's Boltund and the newly-discovered Eiscue.
She knew she couldn't underestimate it due to how silly it looked. Usually, it's the silly Pokemon that perform the wildest moves.
"I don't know what that thing is capable of..." Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes, looking at the Penguin Pokemon. "But I ain't taking any risks. Braviary. Altaria return."
Knowing that Braviary and Altaria, especially Altaria, take heavy damage from Ice-Types and considering there was an Electric-Type in the mix, Rainbow Dash returned the two of them for safer options.
"Don't mind if I get a head start. Use Hail!" Soarin commanded.
"Eiscue!" The Penguin Pokemon started up the weather effect of hail by creating a gust of cold air from its body, causing snow to start falling.
"If its Ice, then...Whirlipede! Mienfoo! Go!" Out came the Curlipede Pokemon and the Martial Arts Pokemon to handle these two opposing Pokemon.
"Whirlipede!"
"Mienfoo!"
"Watch out for Boltund's speed you two! And I don't know what that Eiscue's capable of." Rainbow Dash warned her partners as the hail started to beat on her Pokemon.
"That's not all you should be worrying about," Soarin said under his breath.
"Mienfoo! Rush in with Agility and use Fury Swipes on Boltund! Whirlipede! Rollout on Eiscue!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo pulled out her hidden claws as she aggressively charged towards Boltund.
"Pede!" Whirlipede rolled on the spot, aiming at Eiscue for some super-effective damage. Both Whirlipede and Mienfoo were moving side by side with each other.
But Soarin had something crafty under his wing.
"Eiscue! Use Soak! Boltund! Fire Fang!"
"Cue!" Eiscue didn't move from the spot it stood at. It was going to let Whirlipede smash into it. However, not only was its defence high so it could still stand after being struck by a super-effective move, but the move it was about to pull off can change the entire battle.
"Mien!" Mienfoo and Boltund had their own battle with Mienfoo's claws clashing with Boltund's Fire Fang.
"Bolt!" Boltund bit onto Mienfoo's claws, swinging the Martial Arts Pokemon away, however, Mienfoo recovered thanks to her flexible movements. Her speed had also been increased thanks to Agility.
"Foo!"
"Whirl!" The Curlipede Pokemon smashed into Eiscue, creating a meaty impact as the block on Eiscue's head came off, revealing its true face. Its Noice Face.
"E-Eiscue!" But even with a super-effective hit such as that, Eiscue still stood with the only major result being that it staggered back a bit.
The Penguin Pokemon then raised its flippers, pulling off what might be the most game-changing move that Rainbow Dash would ever have to come across.
A blast of water came out of Eiscue's mouth, covering the entire area as it engulfed both Whirlipede and Mienfoo. But from how light the water was, it was a non-damaging move as the best that it did was just get Mienfoo and Whirlipede wet.
"Mien?" Mienfoo looked at herself, seeing that she had now gotten wet.
"Whirl?"
"Making them wet? That's all it does?" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, confused at what Soak was.
"You'll see..." Soarin nodded, knowing what Soak really does.
"Okay then. How about I switch up again? This time, Mega Punch is gonna deal some big damage on Eiscue and Rollout's gonna put the hurt on Boltund!"
"...Uh." Soarin paused for a moment as he tried to process something. "Rainbow Dash. You do know that Mega Punch is a Normal-Type move right?"
"Hm? What are you talking about? It's a Fighting-Type move."
"No." Soarin shook his head. "It's Normal. Don't let that name deceive you."
"Hah! No way!" Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex to check Mienfoo's moveset. She selected Mega Punch as she found out what it really was.
"Mega Punch. A Normal-Type move. The target is slugged by a punch thrown with muscle-packed power."
"Mien..." Mienfoo whistled, trying to pretend like she didn't know it was Normal herself.
"Dash. Don't you always check the typing of moves?"
"Yeah but..." Rainbow Dash grumbled, looking to the side. "I just assumed it was Fighting so I never checked it. I just looked at the name."
"I guess that can be a bit misleading." Soarin chuckled. "That's why I always check the typings of my Pokemon's moves, ya know."
"Ugh..." Rainbow Dash lowered her head. "It's fine!" She quickly jolted up. "We'll just learn a Fighting-Type move in the future! Right now, let's finish this battle!"
"Oh, I agree. This is where things are gonna get interesting."
"Whirlipede! Iron Defense! And Mienfoo! Attack rapidly with Fury Swipes!"
"Mien!" While Mienfoo rushed in again with her speed being increased thanks to Agility from before, Whirlipede stayed where he was, increasing his defence.
Soarin didn't let Eiscue move because he was only focusing on Boltund. But for good reason. The reason why he chose to use the move Soak was about to be revealed.
"Discharge." He said it casually.
"Bol...TUND!" Even with Mienfoo's increased speed, Boltund was still faster. And much quicker at attacking. An instant blast of lightning that went multiple ways raged out of Boltund's body. Normally, this would be just neutral against Mienfoo and Whirlipede.
But not anymore.
Mienfoo's eyes widened as her path to Eiscue was being blocked by Discharge. Before she could properly react, Discharge had shocked the Martial Arts Pokemon. Not receiving neutral damage. But instead, something bigger.
It had dealt super-effective damage.
"M-Mienfoo!" And Mienfoo definitely felt it.
"W-Whirl!" Whirlipede as well thanks to Discharge being a widespread move. Both of them had been given super-effective damage which wouldn't be possible normally.
"Ah! Whirlipede! Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash gasped as she witnessed her Pokemon take an unusual amount of damage. Before she knew it, both of them had suddenly fallen flat on the ground.
She expected it to be powerful, but not that powerful. But what she really didn't expect was the aftermath of what happened to her Pokemon
They weren't getting back up.
The reason was simple. They had fainted.
"Whirlipede and Mienfoo are both unable to battle! Boltund wins!"
"H-Huh...?" Rainbow Dash flabbergasted. She had no idea what she had just witnessed in front of her eyes. Her Pokemon had fallen that easily with a single Discharge. "B-But how...?"
Little did Rainbow Dash know that Soak was the reason why her Pokemon were taken down so easily. Soak is a move that changes the opposing Pokemon into a Water-Type. It does more than just make them wet.
But Rainbow Dash, unfortunately, did not know that at all. It was a new move to her after all. She was now down to 3 Pokemon in this 5v5 Gym Battle.
"Told ya. This is where things get interesting." Soarin grinned, knowing that he played her for a fool. He didn't even reveal what Soak did, leaving Rainbow Dash befuddled.
"You two...Return." Rainbow Dash lowered her head, returning her partners to their Poke Balls. "Sorry about that. I don't know what happened..."
"Cast?" Castform poked his head out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, looking up at his trainer.
"No need to panic now..." Rainbow Dash raised her head. "All I have to do is get rid of the fastest one here! Let's go! Luxio! Braviary!"
She had sent those two out instead of the usual Altaria and Braviary combination she had previously. She knew that if she sent Altaria out with Eiscue in the mix, things would get hairy fast.
"One hit is all we need! Iron Tail on Eiscue! Superpower on Boltund!" Rainbow Dash was starting to play aggressive. And depending on how she battles, her Pokemon will mimic her style.
Both Braviary and Luxio had energy surround their tail and wings as they bolted forward to their opposing Pokemon.
"Here they come." Soarin didn't choose to intercept but rather wait for them to get close.
"Brav!"
"Lux!"
Both of them raised their tail and wings, expecting to land a solid clean hit on both of their opponents. But once again, Soarin changed everything up.
"Soak!" Eiscue got in front of Boltund, allowing itself to take all the damage as the Penguin Pokemon sprayed water over Braviary and Luxio.
Both Superpower and Iron Tail smashed into Eiscue's body, dealing 4x super-effective damage to the Penguin Pokemon. Eiscue sacrificed itself to allow its partner to finish the job as the Ice-Type was sent flying, landing right next to its ice cube.
"E-E-Eiscue..."
"Eiscue is unable to battle! Luxio and Braviary win!"
"Whew." Rainbow sighed. "I got really scared there for a sec. But there's no need to worry. We've got this!"
"Return, Eiscue." Soarin returned the Penguin Pokemon, looking at the Poke Ball. "You did your job. Now let Boltund and Corviknight handle this. Go!" Soarin's 5th and final Pokemon, his ace and strongest partner on his team, Corviknight had come out.
"Corviknight!"
"We just gotta take out Boltund and Corviknight and that 5th Gym Badge is ours!"
"Braviary!"
"Lux!"
"Hmph." Soarin nodded slowly as he knew that this battle was in his favour already. "Metal Sound!"
"Corvi...kniiiiiiight!" Corviknight let out a horrible sound like scraping metal was emitted, reaching the ears of its opponents.
"B-Braviary!" Braviary lowered himself to the ground, raising its wings as it cringed at the horrible sound.
"L-Luxio!" Luxio cowered, putting his paws in his ears as he writhed on the ground.
"Let's finish this! Boltund! Discharge!" Soarin raised his hoof.
"Tund!" The Dog Pokemon capitalised on the current state of its opposing Pokemon by releasing a violent whip of lightning.
"Dodge it quick!" Rainbow gasped.
But it was too late. Metal Sound had them completely perplexed. It didn't help that Discharge was incredibly fast. The blast of lightning hit both Luxio and Braviary at the same time.
It was already super-effective against Braviary, but now thanks to Soak, Luxio took super-effective damage himself, no longer being an Electric-Type.
Rainbow Dash watched as her Pokemon were overwhelmed by Metal Sound and Discharge. What really took her by surprise was the fact that after Discharge dispersed, Luxio had fainted whilst Braviary had been paralyzed.
"L-Luxio..."
"Luxio is unable to battle! Boltund wins!"
"No way...Luxio didn't tank it?" Her jaw dropped. She was speechless. This battle at first looked like it was in her favour and all of a sudden, things rapidly change.
She was now down to just two Pokemon. Braviary and Altaria. The last time Rainbow Dash had a Gym Battle this rough was when she went up against Sunset Shimmer. This is looking to be just as rough as that one but on a different scale.
"Gotta make this count...I can still win this. Altaria, let's go!" She sent out Altaria as her last hope.
"Taria!"
"Braviary!" Rainbow Dash called for Braviary's name.
"Brav?" The Valiant Pokemon turned around.
"Come on! Just this once, let's go into Rainbow-Braviary! If we-"
"Vi!" Once more, Braviary denied changing into Rainbow-Braviary.
"Braviary...?" Rainbow Dash pulled back. She was surprised at how neglectful Braviary was with the Bond-Phenomenon. She knew that Braviary wanted to get stronger at his normal state but she didn't expect something like this.
"Viary..." The Valiant Pokemon winced as he narrowed his eyes at Boltund and Corviknight.
"Looks like they're having some problems...Oh well. Let's end this quick! Use Steel Wing and Discharge!"
"Cor!" The Raven Pokemon hardened his already metal wings with extra steel while Boltund prepared yet another Discharge. However, this time, it was revealed that Soarin had taken inspiration from Rainbow Dash's metal conductor tactic.
When Corviknight flew powered, Discharge connected with his metal body and wings, perfectly mimicking Rainbow Dash's strategy that she learned from Ash.
Naturally, this threw Rainbow Dash off guard.
"Wait that's- Quick! Block it with Superpower!"
"B-Bra!" Braviary was lagging a bit thanks to Discharge paralyzing the Valiant Pokemon. Nevertheless, Braviary still managed to ascend and put his wings together whilst gathering high amounts of energy in them.
He went in front of Altaria, acting as her shield. The effects of Discharge almost made him lose focus, but he was strong enough to keep his focus steady.
Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for when the attack landed. Corviknight crashed into Braviary's wings with a combination of Steel and Electricity.
The moment he made contact, Braviary's body trembled, adding more pressure to his body that was already present thanks to Discharge.
Braviary's wings took serious damage as they were unable to withstand a heavy combination of two attacks. One that was naturally hard and the other being super-effective.
"V-Viary!" Braviary, as a result, was knocked back by the devastating combination of a very familiar tactic. With him being knocked back, Altaria was wide open.
"Tari?!" Altaria gasped as she was next in line. Corviknight didn't stop at Braviary. Once he knocked the Valiant Pokemon away, he immediately smashed his wings onto Altaria's neck. "Alta!"
"Altaria! Braviary!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.
"Now! Flash Cannon!" Soarin continued with a distanced attack. Corviknight opened his mouth wide, sending a silver beam of energy full of metal.
"Dodge it quick!"
But there wasn't enough time to dodge since Corviknight fired the attack right after he knocked both of his fellow Flying-Types away.
Braviary and Altaria each looked in the same direction. The last thing they saw was a massive beam of silver energy right in front of their faces and that was it.
The explosion was a result of metal energy scattering across the gardens of Canterlot. Shards of metal even rained down from above, showing just how much energy was put into that attack.
The smoke cleared as it was revealed that both Braviary and Altaria had fainted.
"Braviary..."
"Altaria..."
"Braviary and Altaria are both unable to battle! Corviknight and Boltund win! Which means the victor is the Gym Leader Soarin!"
"Yes!" Soarin raised his hooves in victory. "Told ya I'm unstoppable when I'm in the zone."
"Mrrgh..." Rainbow Dash face-hoofed as she took the force of defeat once more. However, she wasn't hit too hard by it. She did manage to take out most of Soarin's Pokemon after all. It was just that some slight mishaps caused her defeat.
She's learned to take losses better this time so she wasn't too beat up like with her third Gym Battle. Then again, this is the second time she's lost a Gym Battle so it shows that not only has she improved but she still has a long way to go.
"Viary..." Braviary and Altaria both sat up, feeling a bit of electricity run through their bodies as they noticed their trainer coming up to them.
"You two...You tried your best. And Braviary. I get that you don't want to always use the Bond Phenomenon but..."
"Don't let that loss get to you too hard, Dash." Soarin flew over. "You put up a great battle against me and my Pokemon, ya know."
"Yeah. I guess so." Rainbow Dash nodded as she held Altaria. "But what was that Soak move of yours?"
"Oh Soak? I'll let you know what it does. It turns the opposing Pokemon into a Water-Type. That's what it does." He explained shortly.
"Say what?! That kind of move exists!?"
"Mhm." Soarin nodded. "When I found out a move like that was possible, it helped me through so many of my battles. Isn't that right, you two?"
"Corvi."
"Bolt. Boltund!"
"Guess there's still a lot I don't know about Pokemon, huh?" Rainbow Dash laughed a bit. "When you come over to Rainbow Falls, you can have your rematch with me."
"Rainbow Falls? The Gym moved?"
"Sure did. Luckily, the gym has a solid floor that my Non-Flying-Types can battle on."
"Oh. Alright. Return you two." Rainbow Dash returned Braviary and Altaria. "Next time, I'm definitely gonna win. I'll get stronger with new moves at my side and we're gonna flatten your gym and earn that fifth badge!"
"I'll be waiting! Right now, I wanna check out the Crystal Empire." Soarin returned his Boltund and Corviknight.
"Then come with me. My friends are there so I'm heading there myself."
"That's what I like to hear. Gonna leave this gym to the spare Gym Leader." Soarin grinned.
"And if they don't want to run the Gym anymore? Will you come back?"
"Nah. They've got more than just one spare, ya know. Pretty convenient that so many trainers are on equal levels lately. But uh...don't know how much things are gonna change when they get stronger."
"Nevermind that. Let's head over to the Crystal Empire already. In the meantime, you can tell me all about moves. You seem to be a pro at it."
"Sure thing." Soarin began walking with Rainbow Dash. He began babbling about moves as the two of them made their way towards the train station to the Crystal Empire.
Even with Rainbow Dash's loss, she has a lot to improve on and more to learn. Whether it's moves that change a Pokemon's type or moves that aren't what they seem.
There are many moves that Rainbow Dash has yet to discover or experience after all. Some more surprising than others and some that can be predictable but still tough to go against. And perhaps, that must be one of the many reasons why she loves Pokemon battling. And she'll continue to love them for days to come as the journey continues.
Like everywhere else, the Crystal Empire is taking part in the Pokemon Festival. The second day is now reaching the afternoon, but it still felt as if time was moving slowly for a special event such as this. For 2 whole weeks.
Arriving at the Crystal Empire was the hyperactive duo of Ash and Barry who got off the train first.
"Made it!" They both said as they came to a screeching halt.
"Oh! This is the Crystal Empire?!" Barry gawked as he immediately started zipping around the place. "But why aren't they crystal like I heard? They just look like normal ponies to me." He observed the citizens.
"You gotta wait for the Crystalling for something awesome like that to happen." Ash walked by Barry.
"Hah? How long does that take?" Barry followed him.
"I cannot wait to meet them in physical form!" Sunlight squeed. "Especially little Flurry Heart!"
"Now that I think about it..." Twilight paused for a moment. "This is Flurry Heart's first Pokemon Festival. She must be ecstatic right now."
"That's what I'm fearing..." Eventide grumbled as he knew how destructive Flurry Heart can get out of nowhere.
"Oh. Almost forgot." Ash stopped walking as he took all of his Poke Balls out. "You all should explore this for yourself. Come out!"
Ash sent out all of his Pokemon to enjoy what the Crystal Empire has to offer. Seeing that prompted Twilight and the others to allow their Pokemon to run freely out in the open.
"Let's have a blast, you guys. We're gonna have just as much fun her like we did in Canterlot" Ash said to his Pokemon as they all nodded in understanding.
"Gen-Gen." Already, Gengar was up to no good as the Shadow Pokemon descended into the shadows, planning to cause as much mischief as it can.
"Garde." Passion decided to group up with her fellow Pocket Monsters as most of them were planning on exploring the Crystal Empire since they have yet to see the full scope of it.
"Nine. Ninetales!" Ninetales pointed his paw over at the castle, which was close to being repaired thankfully. All it needed were a few finishing touches and it would be back to normal. That seemed like a good place to venture.
"Sol..." Absol shuddered as he looked at the castle. He had a very bad feeling about this. Not because of the castle, but what was in the castle.
Or rather, who was in the castle.
"Esp." Eve knew what Absol was afraid of inside of that castle as she nudged the Dark-Type forward, telling him that there was absolutely no reason to be scared of her.
"Twilight!" The voice of Princess Cadence echoed through Twilight's ears. Along she came with her daughter on her back along with the semi-mischievous Manaphy.
"Cadence!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Glad you could make it and-" Cadence froze for a second for one reason. She had spotted Sunlight and Eventide in a heartbeat. Seeing these two new alicorns who were taller than even Celestia herself surprised her. "Uh...W-W-Who are they?"
"Cadence. These two are my mother and father." Celestia introduced. "I mentioned you to them. And now, here they are."
"It's wonderful to meet you in full physical form, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!" Sunlight dashed over, shaking Cadence's hoof aggressively. "You're roughly the same height as my younger self when I was still a unicorn."
"Y-You're Sunlight?" Cadence stammered. "Oh. You really do look like Aunt Celestia. And I can see a lot of Luna in...Eventide right?"
"Correct!" Eventide bellowed. "It's wonderful to meet my niece in full form! And her...impulsive yet precious daughter." He shuddered at the sight of Flurry Heart.
"I didn't think I'd get to see you." Cadence shook her head. "My...you are taller than I expected." She laughed nervously, feeling very intimidated by the massive height difference.
"We're glad to be here." Sunlight grinned as she went up to Flurry Heart. "Look at this precious little angel."
"Don't get too close dear..." Eventide gulped.
Flurry Heart cooed at Sunlight as Manaphy latched on to the face fo the former Queen of Equestria. "Mana!" Sunlight was curious about Manaphy's Heart Swap as she wanted to experience what it would be like to swap bodies with somepony else.
"Sylv!" Sylveon spotted Absol, which is exactly what the Disaster Pokemon was fearing from the very start. This is why he shuddered at the mere fact of coming here.
"A-Absol..." Absol backed away as he saw Sylveon approach him. He let out a grimace while Sylveon had an enchanting smile on her face.
But to Absol, nothing was enchanting about that smile at all. His horn was shaking violently, indicating that this was a giant disaster.
Somehow.
"Melo. Meloetta." Meloetta held Ash's arm, deciding to go along with him instead of going along with Ninetales and the others. She knew that if she had gone with them, then Twilight would have Ash all to herself. And to Meloetta, that couldn't happen, no matter what.
"Meloetta? You're not gonna go with the others?"
"Etta." Meloetta quickly shook her head.
That alerted Twilight, who's eyes and head flashed over to face Meloetta. She saw how the Melody Pokemon had that same smug look on her face which was always effective in riling Twilight up.
"Hm?" Cadence took notice of this. Her eyes observed how Twilight and Meloetta were eyeing each other down. In just 5 seconds, she was able to assess the situation and understand what was going on. "Oh, I see." She nodded.
"What's that over there?" Rarity spotted something that caught her eye. An attraction that was focused around PokeStar Studios.
"Oh, that," Cadence spoke. "That's the PokeStar Studios attraction. Apparently, they brought a bit of it here but it's not the full thing."
"OH!" Cilan shot up. "Pokestar Studios?!" Cilan was an obvious fan of Pokestar Studios so he immediately dashed over to see this for himself.
Rarity decided to involve herself in this attraction since she was a fan of Pokestar Studios. She also knew that her Pheromosa would most likely enjoy this.
"Sylveon!" Sylveon managed to have Absol in her grasp as she had pinned the Disaster Pokemon down to the ground.
"A-Absol!" Absol writhed as he could feel the Fairy aura cover him. He looked up at Eve, pleading for help.
"...Esp." The Sun Pokemon let out a cheesy grin. She wanted some payback after Absol continuously kept on messing up Twilight's bed, so this was all that she needed for satisfaction.
"Sol!" Absol growled as he vowed to get his revenge on Eve one day.
Soon, everyone went their own separate ways with their own groups. But one of them went solo, that being Barry.
Barry had already reached the battle spot as he looked over at the sea of ponies who were participating in this combative attraction. Being the unstable walking battery that he was, he was already itching for a fight.
Sunlight and Eventide wanted to spend time with Cadence, Flurry Heart and very soon Shining Armor whilst Twilight chose to stick around Ash so that Meloetta doesn't get the chance of obtaining any form of victory.
Pokemon Battle Spot.
Barry, Ash and Spike chose to involve themselves in this one. Being the battle addicts that they are, they never hesitate to involve themselves in a battle.
However, they noticed that these battles were very calm and slow. The trainers here were most likely new to Pokemon battling and had just started. The Crystal Empire isn't too focused on battling but after the Darkest Day and the entire Eternatus debacle, they've decided to involve themselves in battling more often.
"Just new trainers?" Barry raised an eyebrow. "Come on! I wanna take on some skilled trainers!"
"That'd be a bit overwhelming, ya know." Ash laughed.
"You know I can-" Spike's sentence was suddenly interrupted when out of nowhere, something clamped onto his head without warning.
Or rather, someone.
A Gible.
"Gible!"
"A-Ah!" Spike screeched as Gible was gnawing on his head, causing the smaller dragon to freak out. "Get it off!"
"Pika?!"
"A Gible?!" Ash, Barry and Twilight gasped.
"Gible, no stop!" Just then, the trainer of Gible had come along, grabbing the Land Shark Pokemon and saving Spike from being eaten alive.
"Ow..." Spike held his head, feeling greatly relieved. But he could still feel Gible's fangs in his head. "Thanks for that." As Spike looked up, the trainer of Gible was quickly revealed to be none other than the current Dragon Lord of the Dragon Lands, Ember. "Oh! Ember?!" Spike sat up, spotting his fellow dragon.
"Hey. Sorry about Gible. No matter what I do I can't get him to stop."
"Gib!"
"It's fine." Spike stood up. "Ash's Gible does the same thing too. But it didn't hurt like that..."
"Sure does." Ash nodded.
"Ash?" Ember turned over to spot Ash involved with Spike's group. "You're Ash?!"
"Hm?" Ember observed Ash, seeing if he was exactly what the rumours described him as. "Hm. I thought you would be taller. I mean you're taller than me, that's for sure."
"I'm still growing ya know." Ash grinned.
"So it's true? The dragons really are joining in on the festival?" Spike asked.
"As true as it looks." Ember nodded. "Well, most of them are kinda staying back at the Dragon Lands but they're still taking part. I thought I'd come to other parts of the festival."
"Well, we're glad to have you here," Twilight said. "And your Gible."
"Yeah. I was thinking of battling with Gible for the first time. But if I can just get him to stay still for one second."
"Gible!"
"Haven't you tried putting him back in his Poke Ball?" Barry asked.
"Oh, I tried. But he always comes back out no matter what. But it is pretty cool to have him by my side, so I'm not complaining."
"Hm...Ah!" Ash took his bag off, placing it on the ground. "I know what'll get him to stop biting." Ash dug into his bag, getting out some Pokemon Food. "This'll do the trick. Have these Gible."
"Gib?" The Land Shark Pokemon hopped out of Ember's claws, looking at the food in Ash's hands. "Gible..." He gave it a quick sniff before deciding to bite on Ash's entire hand. "GIBLE!"
"Oh! Ash!" Twilight gasped.
"Meloetta!"
"I-It's fine!" Ash winced as he powered through the pain. "You get used to it!"
"Gible!" The outcome was a success. Gible enjoyed the Pokemon Food as he scarfed the food down in one go. Gible fell on his back, patting his belly as he felt satisfied.
"There we go." Ash flailed his hand. "That always does the trick."
"That's it?" Ember's eyes widened. "It was that easy?"
"Didn't you feed him before?" Spike turned to her.
"I did. But he doesn't eat gemstones." Ember shook her head. "You ready to really battle now, Gible?" She picked Gible up.
"Gible!"
"Nice! Then how about we battle each other?" Spike slid over. "I don't know if you've noticed but...Salamence and I have gotten pretty strong lately. Right pal?"
"Sala!" Salamence licked Ember.
"G-Good to see you too, Salamence..." Ember shuddered. "But are you sure you wanna battle me? You've got a fully evolved Dragon after all."
"Don't worry. Salamence will go easy on you." Spike and Salamence both let out cheesy grins. Those grins were a bit suspicious since Ember knew that Spike himself knew he could easily win considering just how powerful Salamence is.
"...Y-You know. I think I'll battle someone else. Who won't demolish me."
"Aw." Spike slumped.
"But all of you look like pretty strong trainers." Ember thought for a moment. "I've been missing out on this whole Pokemon battling thing."
"No need to worry, Ember. We can work around this. How about you and Gible watch us battle?" Ash recommended.
"Yeah-wait." Spike paused for a moment as he turned to Ash. "You and I battle?"
"Oh yeah. We've never gone at it before so this'll be our first go."
"Pikachu!"
"I guess that kinda works." Ember nodded. "You're the expert here anyway."
"Dragonite. I'm gonna need you for this one, okay?" Ash turned to his own Dragon Pokemon.
"Dragonite!"
Inside the castle.
"Oh...So that's where you've been all these centuries." Cadence said. "But you've been overseeing all of us for so long?"
"Of course!" Eventide exclaimed. "However, even if we've been observing you all from the Ambrosial Plane, in truth, we have had our personal preferences."
"Eventide and I have our favourites. We tend to watch over Canterlot the most." Sunlight spoke.
"And all that aura coming out of your bodies? It's all your magic power leaking out?"
"More like its constantly showing itself." Sunlight held Flurry Heart in her hooves. "They can be beautiful to look at but a bit of an annoyance at times."
"Unfortunately, we're not capable of turning it off." Eventide sighed. "Perhaps if we just find a spell to fix that..."
"Or create a new one in the Ambrosial Plane." Sunlight turned to Eventide.
"Create a new one?" Both Celestia and Cadence said.
"Oh!" Eventide quickly covered Sunlight's mouth. "You're not yet ready to know about, young alicorns."
"No-no!" Celestia jolted up. "You have my curiosity right now. Are you saying that you can make new spells in the Ambrosial Plane?"
"Mhm!" Sunlight nodded whilst still having her mouth blocked.
"Ugh...I suppose there's no risk in telling you that. Yes. What you heard is true. In the Ambrosial Plane, you'll be able to create new spells that had never existed before."
"Really...?" Celestia and Cadence gawked as they nodded slowly.
"But that's all you two ever need to know! Besides. You are still young and have a long way to go. And it is far too complicated to understand."
"That reminds me of something. Mother. Father." Celestia was prepared to bring up a glaring phenomenon that was hard to ignore. "Do you know about this?"
She showed off the Boundless Cutie Mark. A Cutie Mark that has been on her ever since she finished battling Ghetsis that one time in Saddle-Arabia.
Indeed, Sunlight and Eventide do know about it. From seeing it pop up on their daughter after her battle with Ghetsis and the knowledge they had of it prior.
"Oh. We know of it. Even before we became alicorns." Eventide nodded.
"But unfortunately, our knowledge of it is fairly limited at best." Sunlight shrugged. "You're very lucky to have found Starswirl's short words on it in his Unfinished Spells book."
"I guess...So it's still a complete mystery." Celestia looked at the mark. "All I really know about it is that it automatically recovers any magic for me. Even when Cadence, Luna and I sacrificed our marks to keep them away from Tirek, mine regenerated."
"I saw it. That was bizarre my eyes lit up." Eventide pointed his hoof at his eyes.
"If it helps recover magic at all times then it might be a blessing. Although...why it has every Cutie Mark from the past present and even the future is what has me the most curious." Sunlight said.
"How does it all fit exactly?" Cadence squinted her eyes, trying to see how many Cutie Marks she could spot.
"I believe it somewhat rotates on a rare occasion," Celestia replied.
"Well!" Eventide raised his voice, startling everypony. "Never forget that mark at all! It might show promise one day! In the meantime, where is that husband of yours, Cadence?" He navigated his head around the room.
"Shining Armor? He's off with Honedge to try and better their relationship. I think you're already aware of how those two are." Cadence explained.
"Oh, but they've gotten better, haven't they? Before Shining Armor would have to constantly pray that Honedge wouldn't possess him. Now they're separate from each other more often." Sunlight squeed.
"Yes but...They're very mutual and at times Honedge has the urge to possess him. I just hope it's going well."
Pokestar Studios attraction.
Cilan was a massive fan of Pokestar Studios. So to have one here was a joy for the Pokemon Connoisseur as he had already grabbed a ton of props and costumes with a multitude of ideas filling his mind.
"Yes, yes!" Cilan held up a Tyranitar and Rillaboom costume. "These can work!"
"Somepony's a massive fan." Rarity said as she was looking for something that would fit her Pheromosa. But due to Pheromosa's unique build and tall stature, dressing the Lissome Pokemon up was nigh-impossible.
"Ampha." Rarity's Ampharos dug his head into a box of props as he found something that really piqued his interest as his body was vibrating a bit. "Ampharos!"
"Hm? What did you find, Ampharos?" Rarity went up to the box of props, spotting what Ampharos had spotted.
It seemed to be some sort of long necklace that had a ton of Mega Stones on them. One of them being the Ampharosite, which is why Ampharos's body was reacting oddly.
"What is this?" Rarity gasped as she used her magic to lift the necklace. She noticed how some of them were duplicates but most of them were for at least 10 different Pokemon.
She was able to tell that this necklace wasn't for show. She saw how Ampharos's body was twitching with sparks of electricity rushing through his fur.
The Ampharosite was also flashing a golden colour but it was very faint. These weren't props but real and legitimate Mega Stones.
"Ah!" One of the employees of the attraction rushed over to Rarity. "Please do not touch that!" She grabbed the necklace.
"Hm?" Rarity looked up.
"Oh thank goodness...I thought I'd never find them..." She let out a sigh of relief.
"Did you misplace these?" Rarity asked.
"Not me, but my boss did. Sorry about that. We lost it during our visit to Pokestar Studios 4 days ago. I suppose a prop box is one place we should've started. Thank you for finding them."
"Not a problem. What a shame though. It would've been nice to wear something like with all those Mega Stones. Does your boss have a Pokemon for all these stones?"
"Oh, no. He doesn't." She shook her head. "The only Pokemon that he has that can Mega Evolve are Beedrill and Swampert. The rest are for other trainers."
"Other trainers?"
"Ampha."
"Mhm." The employee safely placed the necklace on the table. "Only capable trainers who can prove themselves get to have these stones. We run a Mega Evolution camp all the way in Hoenn."
"Mega Evolution Camp? A camp all about Mega Evolution?" That got Rarity's attention.
"I can see you're curious. Maybe one day, you can come for a visit. It's just near Sootopolis City in Hoenn."
"Mega Evolution Camp..." Rarity began thinking for a second. Before she continued her Pokestar Studios plan, she asked one major question. "Just one quick question. Which Pokemon are capable of Mega Evolving?"
"Oh. There are quite a lot of them. But one of them is your Ampharos over here." The woman turned to Ampharos.
"Ampharos. Got it. Alright, thank you very much for that." Rarity gave her thanks as she had something new to reveal to her friends which could benefit them all in the future.
Pokemon Battle Spot.
Ash and Spike were already prepared with both of their Pokemon standing in front of them whilst Ember, Twilight, Meloetta and Barry spectated.
There was a single referee who would be overseeing this battle.
"The battle between the Challengers Ash and Spike will be a 1v1 battle. The battle will be over when one Pokemon from one side faints. You have 10 minutes in total."
"10 minutes is all we need." Ash tightened his gloves.
"Watch, Ember. Ash's battling style is one of a kind." Twilight spoke to her.
"I heard great things about him so I guess I'm gonna see it here. You watching closely, Gible?"
"Gible!"
"Battle start!"
"Okay, Salamence! Let's go with Hyper Beam!"
"Sala!" Salamence went first by opening its mouth as an orange ball appeared in front of its mouth, bursting out of his mouth.
"We'll counter that Hyper Beam with our own Hyper Beam!"
"Dra!" Dragonite's eyes flashed white with an orange ball forming in front of Dragonite's mouth. The ball then turned into a beam as it was fired.
Both Hyper Beams cancelled each other out due to their equal strength as the result was an explosion that was so loud that it alerted most of the ponies in the Crystal Empire.
Dragonite and Salamence both had to take a break after using Hyper Beam, so there was a slight pause as a large smoke cloud filled the area.
"The battle's just started and already they're this close to causing massive damage to the Crystal Empire." Twilight shuddered. "Dragon-Types are scary..."
"Hah!" Barry exclaimed. "Just you wait. Things are gonna get interesting."
Both Dragons had eventually regained energy after using Hyper Beam as the smoke had cleared from the area. Ash and Spike were both ready to let out their next commands.
"Dragon Claw!"
"Dragon Tail!"
At the same time, the two Dragons spread their wings, taking to the skies instead of continuing their battle on the ground level. With green draconic energy surrounding their arms and tail, Dragonite and Salamence could now be seen by everypony in the Crystal Empire.
They both began a back and forth clash of Dragon moves with Dragonite's claws connecting with Salamence's tail, creating green sparks of draconic energy that rained down from above.
Each time Dragonite would go in for an attack, Salamence would block with his tail. And each time Salamence went in for his own attack, Dragonite's claws would collide. It was like two swords clashing against each other with the sparks coming out.
"Hm?" Rarity looked up as she had a Weavile crown on her head. "Spike and Ash are battling against each other. This is a first. Go Salamence!" She cheered Salamence on.
"Sylveon..." Sylveon, who was still on top of Absol, looked up to see the two Dragons scrimmage in the sky along with Absol who just wanted to break free already.
"Dra!"
"Sala!"
Eventually, both Dragon-Flying-Types came to a deadlock. Their tail and claws were being pushed against each other as they were each trying to push through.
"Oooh..." Ember gawked as she was witnessing two full-on Dragons going at it but in a way Ember never thought she would ever see in her life. It was almost magical to look at.
"Gible..."
"Salamence is tough for the right reasons." Ash grinned. "Dragonite! Toss Salamence down!"
"Gonite!" Dragonite suddenly switched from pushing its claws on Salamence's tail to grabbing its fellow Dragon's tail instead.
"Mence?!"
"Dra!" With heavy force, Dragonite tossed Salamence down like a ragdoll, causing Salamence to spin around whilst falling.
"Flamethrower quick!"
"Salamence!" Salamence quickly recovered mid-air as he responded to Dragonite's attack by sending an orange stream of fire from his mouth.
"Gon?!" Dragonite gasped as it put its arms up, blocking the Flamethrower as it wasn't very effective on Dragonite at all.
Salamence landed on the ground as he stared up at Dragonite who had shrugged off the Flamethrower.
"Let's try another Hyper Beam, Salamence!"
"Sala...!" Salamence was ready to blast another Hyper Beam as he was charging up.
"Here it comes..." Ash grinned. "Dragonite! Spin with Dragon Dance."
"Gonite!" Instead of countering with its own Hyper Beam or just flying out of the way, Dragonite chose to increase its power and speed as its body became surrounded in orange energy as it spins around several times.
This was the same strategy used against Korinna's Mienshao and it was a means of powering through attacks while also increasing power and speed.
The Hyper Beam engulfed Dragonite who simply kept on spinning either way. The beam pierced through the clouds as a large explosion of energy followed afterwards.
From how powerful it was and how it was capable of blowing the clouds away along with any nearby Flying-Types or pegasi, most would've thought that Dragonite would be done after that.
"Dra!" But lo and behold, Dragonite blew the smoke away from its body by flapping its wings and roaring. Dragonite was now stronger and faster than ever.
"Oh!?" Spike jerked back.
"Sala!?"
"Okay, Dragonite! Dragon Claw!"
"Gonite!" Dragonite's speed had been increased, meaning it could fly faster than normal this time as it created a shockwave the moment it flew downwards.
And Salamence had to wait to recharge. He wasn't yet at that level where he could fire Hyper Beams repeatedly without rest. Not many Pokemon are anyway.
"Sal?!"
"Dragonite!" With increased strength now, Dragonite smashed both of its Dragon Claws onto Salamence's head as a sort of clapping attack.
"Sa!" Salamanece felt his head ring after being clapped by Dragon Claw. He actually ended up flinching from the attack as his head bobbled around. "S-S-Salamence!"
"Dra!" Dragonite let out one major Dragon Claw by smashing it onto Salamence's head, rocketing its opposing Dragon-Type to the ground.
Salamence hit the ground hard, causing a small tremor to occur as a large dust cloud emerged from the impact, causing ponies to back up and cover their eyes.
As the dust settled with the smoke clearing, Salamence had unfortunately fainted.
"Salamence..."
"Salamence is unable to battle! Dragonite wins! Thus the victor is Ash!"
"Great job, Dragonite!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Gon? Dragon!" Dragonite, as always, enjoyed being praised by Ash. So it responded by flying over for yet another hug. "Dra!" The Dragon Pokemon grabbed Ash, holding him in its clutches.
"Ah! B-Bit too hard this time Dragonite!" Ash winced.
"Good work, Salamence." Spike helped Salamence up. "We need to learn some new moves ourselves."
"Mence."
"That...That was amazing!" Ember stood up with the largest grin on her face, before sitting back down, realizing she was more excited than usual. "Is that how it looks when two Dragon-Types battle?"
"Sure is!" Ash nodded. "It's a real shakeup of a battle every time."
"So like...Gible and I can battle like that one day?"
"Mhm." Spike slid over. "You're looking at a future Dragon Master right here too."
"Sounds good to me. We've got a lot to do, Gible." Ember looked down at the Land Shark Pokemon.
"Gib!"
"You look pretty motivated now, Ember," Twilight said to Ember.
"Sure do." Ember nodded. "I can't wait to see how far we go."
The arrival to the Crystal Empire showed much promise with new attractions that catered to everyone's personal taste.
There are still more attractions to be found here with lots more to do as the afternoon was still young with a good amount of days left. However, not all is fine. J is still somewhere out there. Whether they encounter J during the festival is unknown. But only time will tell as the journey continues.
While everyone enjoys the Pokemon Festival, some are more focused on different matters. Matters that can be boiled down to personal matters between two individuals.
And no duo represents this better than Shining Armor and Honedge. Currently, on the outskirts of the Crystal Empire, the two of them were having a bit of a bonding session. They had a very mutual relationship with each other.
They respected one another but they weren't ready to see themselves as trainer and Pokemon yet. More like minor acquaintances. Their relationship has barely improved. Only by a little amount.
But only one of them seeks to really improve it. Shining Armor that is. But he knew how to grab Honedge's attention. By vowing to help him improve with his sword skills. And that was enough to make Honedge cooperate, even for just a bit.
To work with Honedge, Shining Armor had crystal pillars act as training dummies for Honedge to slash away at. They were hard enough for a Steel-Type like Honedge to actually work hard to cut.
"Okay, Honedge. Go." Shining Armor gave the command to start.
"Edge!" The Sword Pokemon got started. He went up to the crystal pillars, swinging away by using Fury Cutter to do so. Honedge's steel-body meant that he could easily chip off crystals in a heartbeat.
Honedge was thinking about one thing. Surpassing Kartana and become the best sword user to ever exist. Before he became a Honedge, the man from medieval times had some history with swords.
According to Honedge himself, he was adept with a sword when he was still human. Although, his past is still unknown to Shining Armor. But now as a Honedge, a living sword, he would have to swing his sword differently. AKA, his entire body. Which can be tricky at times.
Honedge's slashing strength was increasing in power due to the effects of Fury Cutter. The crystals were coming apart and some of them were even being designed by Honedge as a sort of inspiration from what Kartana did to the Sylveon statue.
"Nice, nice!" Shining Armor nodded. "Let's try some harder crystals." He used his magic to bring the harder pillars over.
"Hone!" Naturally, Honedge switched over to the harder crystals pillars, using his increased strength thanks to Fury Cutter.
Honedge's constant slashing grabbed the attention of the Sableye, who snuck in to grab all the shards that came out of the crystals each time they were struck for a quick bite.
But they weren't the only ones that Honedge dragged in.
Cobalion had taken notice of this himself.
He observed Honedge's slashes, seeing how he performed on the crystal pillars. From what Cobalion could tell, Honedge's sword skills are fairly good and precise from how he was quickly cutting the pillars. But that was mostly from Fury Cutter.
However, Cobalion could also see that Honedge could get a bit reckless along the way. In the beginning, he's clear and focused but as he continued to slash, his movements shift into a fast and loose style of swinging.
And the drawbacks began to show.
Eventually, Honedge reached a limit where he tired himself out cutting another hard pillar. He even ended up chipping a part of his own bladed body as well.
"H-Honedge..." Honedge took a breather.
"Maybe these ones are a bit too hard." Shining Armor went up to Honedge. "You even chipped yourself."
"Edge."
"You'll keep on harming yourself if you swing in that way." Cobalion said as he walked up to the duo of Pokemon and Trainer.
"Hm? Cobalion? Have you been watching us this whole time?"
"Just recently. I saw how your Honedge was using its sword. Or rather its entire body."
"Oh, yeah. We're practising to improve Honedge's sword skills. Or...get them back I think makes more sense. But he kinda chipped himself there."
"Hone."
"It's only natural that he'd chip his blade. Getting reckless along the way can cost you a great risk."
"Really?" Shining Armor turned to Honedge. "What do you mean by that?"
"Honedge seemed to be doing well at the beginning with precise slashes. But as he went on, his blade became wild and breakneck, resulting in sloppy accidents such as that chip."
"Honedge?" "Honedge looked at its bladed body and the pillars that he chipped himself on.
"I guess reckless slashes can be a pretty big risk..." Then Shining Armor realized something. With Cobalion right here in front of him, an idea sparked. "Oh! Cobalion!"
"Hm?"
"You're a sword master, right? Think you can help me and Honedge?"
"You want me to train you two?
"Mhm." Shining Armor nodded. "You know a lot about swords anyway. Plus, it'll really help boost Honedge's confidence if a Sword of Justice is training him. He wants to beat Kartana one day, ya know."
"Honedge!"
"Hm..." Cobalion scrunched his eyes as he was making a decision. The last time he trained someone was Keldeo and that was the end of that. It has been years after Keldeo's training since he's a certified Sword of Justice now.
But it wouldn't hurt to teach someone new. Even if it wasn't a Sword of Justice it still counts as someone training to be a great sword user.
"I suppose I can teach you while I'm here." Cobalion took Shining Armor's offer.
"Yes!" Shining Armor exclaimed. "We'll be sword experts in no time, Honedge."
"Hone!"
"But. I assure you that I won't go easy on you for being novitiate, understand?"
"Oh sure. We're ready."
"Edge!"
"Then come." Cobalion suddenly summoned his sword, startling Honedge and Shining Armor. "We'll start simple with a short battle."
"T-That's your way of simple?" Shining Armor gulped. "Alright then...We can hold our own against you, I know it. Let's go Honedge!"
"Hone!" The Sword Pokemon got in front of Shining Armor, ready to face off against his fellow Steel-Type.
The Sableye and some ponies who were just arriving at the Pokemon Festival in the Crystal Empire decided to get a good look at this for themselves.
"He's a Fighting-Type...so that sword of his isn't gonna do a thing to Honedge. Use Fury Cutter!"
"Hone!" The Sword Pokemon went on the offensive, rushing in with a white aura surrounding his body. With sharp and concise movements, Honedge swung like a true adept.
However, Cobalion easily blocked it with his sword, creating a loud clang noise from the impact as the crystals around them shattered.
"Edge! Edge!" Honedge began doing what he does best. Swinging violently with Fury Cutter as his strength was increasing.
Each swing was faster and stronger than the last, but even with that growth, Cobalion was easily deflecting and blocking Honedge's hits by doing absolutely nothing except for standing in place.
Cobalion barely even budged. Even with Honedge's strength increasing with Fury Cutter, the Iron Will Pokemon stood still on one single spot, unphased.
Naturally, for Honedge, this aggravated him. He was putting all this effort into his slashes and he was making zero progress. So, Honedge decided to get aggressive with his swings, shifting from his sharp movements to ferocious movements.
"Predictable." Cobalion said as he decided to fight back. But he didn't use a move to do so. Instead, Cobalion emanated a potent shockwave from his sword, essentially showing off his fighting spirit.
This shockwave pulsed through the area, scaring off the Sableye and making the ponies tremble as it sounded like a loud gong going off.
Honedge shuddered as its metal and spectral body was ringing from the shockwave. "H-H-H-Hone-Honedge?!" This overwhelming shockwave caused Honedge to not only stop attacking but it even made him faint. "Edge..."
"Ah! Honedge!" Shining Armor gasped.
"Hm." Cobalion lowered his sword as he had already displayed just how powerful he was in comparison. "Again. Your slashes shift into ferocity along the way."
"Honedge..."
"Your Honedge is easily irritated. What seems to be promising and clear-cut slashes transforms into a battling style that can be considered unpolished."
"Yeah, I figured." Shining Armor sighed. "But he did so well against the Dynamax Sableye." He helped Honedge up.
"But. That flaw is just another example of determination. But that frustration might lead to his downfall if it is not controlled at all."
"Well, I think that Honedge gets frustrated when it involves somepony who's a better sword wielder than him. He's still pretty mad about that Kartana encounter."
"Edge..."
"Honedge shows great promise. All he needs to do is restrain himself. Ferocious and violent swings are powerful, yes. But they're raw and unrefined. It's the same reason why Dragon moves do not affect Fairy Pokemon. One is raw magic and the other is focused magic."
"So...does that mean..."
"If Honedge can control his frustration, he will be an expert swordmaster in no time. A Pokemon such as himself is already harbouring great potential."
"That might be a problem." Shining Armor chuckled nervously. "Honedge's temper is uh...not great."
"Hone." Honedge scoffed.
"Try again. But this time, focus properly." Cobalion offered them a second chance.
"Again? Okay. We can try again." Shining Armor nodded. "Let's try and keep it cool, okay, Honedge?"
"Edge!" Honedge hovered up, already preparing to strike Cobalion with his body. He wasn't exactly emanating a calm and collected aura like Cobalion.
"Let's try something else. Attack with Swords Dance!"
"Hone!" Honedge tried a new approach due to Shining Armor's commands. But whether he would be able to perform differently was up to Cobalion to judge as the Sword Pokemon bolted forward.
Honedge may have little control over himself but he took Cobalion's advice to heart. He attempted to relax when swinging at the Iron Will Pokemon.
Once more, Cobalion decided to stay on one spot whilst blocking with his blade. Honedge's increased strength still couldn't compare to the sheer might of Cobalion.
However, instead of getting riled up like before, Honedge decided to keep his frustration in and attack in a different way. Instead of fast and swift slashes, Honedge slowed himself down instead of rushing in blind.
"Good." Cobalion actually complimented Honedge's new approach. "Keep that up."
"Hone! Hone!" Honedge's new approach and focused slashes were actually enough to make Cobalion move just a tiny bit. The Iron Will Pokemon could see that Honedge was starting to clear his head of any aggression.
"Okay, nice! Now let's try using Fury Cutter with that boosted strength!"
"Edge!" Honedge's strength was larger than ever now. The Sword Pokemon suddenly used its ghost intangibility to phase through Cobalion to attack him from behind.
"Hm?" This caught Cobalion off guard a small bit since he wasn't really expecting that to happen.
"Honedge!" Honedge used the powered up Fury Cutter to attack Cobalion's back.
But even that wasn't enough to get the best of the Iron Will Pokemon as Cobalion, in the blink of an eye, turned around and blocked Honedge's blade with his own.
They both locked eyes as Honedge was trying to push through Cobalion's sword with his own. But Cobalion was way too durable.
Cobalion could see that Honedge was showing some promising progress. So he decided to put an end to this battle by showing off what might be his most impressive cut yet.
First, he blew Honedge back by exerting that same potent shockwave from his sword. But this time, Honedge was able to withstand it as he was still standing.
"H-Hone...!"
Cobalion then swung his sword downwards, sending a cutting wave of light that flew past Honedge and Shining Armor. This wave of light was instant and hard to track. It moved faster than light as all that could be felt was a loud tremor from the sheer force of it.
With utter disbelief, when Shining Armor and Honedge turned around, they witnessed that the entire mountainscape of the Frozen North had been cut in half as the sun rays beamed down on Cobalion.
"O-Oh..." Shining Armor shuddered.
"That should do it for battling." Cobalion returned his sword.
"Huh? We're done training?"
"Not quite. I merely wanted to test you out in a battle. I'll put you in a different training position. Similar to what you two were doing before I came up to you."
"Oh. You mean us cutting the crystals?"
"Precisely. Instead of cutting the crystals from up close, I want you to try and cut it from afar."
"...Eh?" Shining Armor scrunched his eyes. "You mean like how you cut the Frozen North in half? I'm not sure that Honedge can do that. Can he?"
"It's not impossible at all. Moves such as Night Slash are physical and up close. However, with the right amount of focus, they can become living energy. Like so." Cobalion demonstrated by lighting his sword up. He released a small cutting wave of energy that split some crystals in half.
"Hone?"
"The true weight of the sword has many possibilities. Like with all Pokemon, there is no limit to what they are capable of at all."
"I believe that." Shining Armor nodded as his stomach started to growl. "Ah but first...can I grab a bite? I' 'm starving?"
"Fine. I'll be waiting here." Cobalion sat down on the ground.
"Thanks! Return, for now, Honedge." Shining Armor brought Honedge back into his ball as he ran off to grab himself a bite to eat.
While Shining Armor went off, Terrakion, Virizion and Keldeo approached Cobalion. They had been watching the entire training session occur.
"I thought your training days were over?" Terrakion said. "You're teaching those two?"
"They hold promise, those two. At times, I feel compelled to help teach those who want to become swordmasters." Cobalion responded.
"Oh like how you all trained me, right?" Keldeo spoke.
"Right, Keldeo." Virizion nodded.
"It's good that there are those who wish to become better trainers. Their world still has yet to experience the many grandiose threats our world holds." Cobalion stood up. "It's best to prepare for those threats as capable trainers."
"Especially Ghetsis and Team Plasma." Terrakion turned to Virzion and Keldeo. "If he decides to make another move on Equestria then..."
"Pssh! We stopped him once we'll do it again." Keldeo grinned.
"Perhaps not as easily the second time Keldeo." Cobalion shut him down. "Ghetsis is an adapter. Like Ash, he takes notice of his failures and grows from it. There's no telling what he could be planning now."
"Oh...yeah I guess." Keldeo scrunched his face.
"If only we could travel to other worlds ourselves." Virizion sighed. "We could have saved Pyrestar's world by now."
"If only. Right now. We'll have to wait and hold our patience until the time comes." Cobalion uttered as the sun rays beamed down on him. There's always something going through Cobalion's head. But usually, it's for the good of others. Much like his fellow swords.
The Crystal Empire.
"Need a bite." Shining Armor entered the castle as his stomach kept on growling.
"You're back. How did your bonding exercise with Honedge go?" Cadence asked.
"It's still going on. Cobalion's teaching us."
"Cobalion?!" Celestia flew up as she bumped her head on the ceiling. "Ow."
"Mhm. He's teaching me and Honedge, mostly Honedge, to become better swordmasters. It's going alright. Right now I-" Shining Armor paused as he had finally seen Sunlight and Eventide for the very first time.
He saw how identical they looked to Celestia and Luna but with slight differences here and there as he also noticed their superior size to Celestia who was normally considered the tallest pony in Equestria.
"W-Who are they?" He stuttered.
"Oh, right." Celestia descended. "Shining Armor. These are my parents. Sunlight and Eventide."
"Hello!" Sunlight waved her hoof.
"Aha!" Eventide teleported, appearing behind Shining Armor and frightening him. "Boy! I've been wanting to meet you!"
"H-Hello..." Shining Armor gulped as he was overwhelmed by Eventide's insane height. "My you are tall."
"Aren't I?" Eventide placed his hoof around Shining Armor's neck, squeezing him in the process as the unicorn's eyes bulged.
"Oof!"
"Come. We have a lot to discuss!"
"U-Uh, actually! I came here to eat quickly and h-head back to Cobalion for more training." Shining Armor flailed his hoof around.
"Eventide, dear. You're strangling the poor boy." Sunlight said.
"Oh!" Eventide removed his hooves from Shining Armor. "Apologies."
"It's fine..." Shining Armor breathed in and out as his neck was now strained. "Need food..."
"Here. Eat this." Cadence used her magic to bring over some surprising curry. Somepony from Canterlot brought this as a gift. It's Mushroom Medley Curry."
"Thanks..." Shining Armor went over to the curry as he held his neck.
"I hope you don't mind but..." Celestia slid backwards. "Would it be alright if I went to see Cobalion?" She squeed.
"Sure. No pr-" The moment Eventide said sure, Celestia took off like a rocket, leaving the castle in a flash as she went to find Cobalion. "Oh."
"Mmm!" Shining Armor devoured the curry like a maniac. He was truly starving. "So good!"
"So. Is it true?" Sunlight went over to Shining Armor.
"Hm? What's true?"
"That your Honedge used to be a human that was slain by the sword that ended up becoming Honedge?"
"Oh, it's true." Shining Armor nodded. "I think it's for every Honedge."
"It still baffles me that a Pokemon can be formed in such a way." Cadence looked up. "I wonder who Honedge really was in his previous life. Or what his name was."
"Who knows. But it's neat to have an ancient warrior on our side." As Shining Armor continued to devour the curry, inside of the Poke Ball, Honedge had heard the entire conversation.
However, instead of shrugging it off as nothing important, instead, this conversation about Honedge was very important. Honedge heard how they mentioned his past.
From what he's told them over these past few months, he described himself as a great warrior who was an experienced knight with a sword.
Or at least, that's what he says.
In truth, Honedge's past was vastly different from what he's told Shining Armor and Cadence. Thinking about it made Honedge reminisce about his past. But it has been so long that his memories are very vague. There was little he could remember. But there was one memory that forever stuck with him.
3,000 years ago. Kalos Region. During the Kalos War.
Honedge at the time wasn't actually an amazing and legendary swordsman as he constantly says he is.
Instead, he was just a squire back in the day. Simply training to become a knight in the future. This moment in time was the most important event in Honedge's memory
Because this was the day Honedge was slain as a human.
He had been thrust into the Kalos War at such a young age. And as the role of the squire, he had to accompany the knights and their Pokemon on the battlefield by carrying the knight's flag into battle with his master.
He had dreamed of being a knight himself and to become a master of the sword. However, he had entered the war before he got the chance to reach that point in time. But he had hope that once this war was over, he would end up ranking up and finally emerge as a knight, albeit a novice one.
Unfortunately, during the Kalos War, he had been struck.
But it wasn't actually a sword that took him out like the Pokedex describes a Honedge.
Instead, a Draco Meteor crashed onto him, engulfing the young squire.
And that was the end of this young squire's time. His body had been charred up by Draco Meteor as he was on the ground with severe meteoric draconic heat slowly destroying his body.
The last thing he saw was the constant battling of the war going on. After that, he had passed on while the war continued.
Once the Kalos War came to an end, many of the fallen humans and Pokemon had their deceased bodies scattered across the battlefield. So many had perished on that day.
Some of the fallen humans and Pokemon were given new life. Some were turned into Gastly's, others became Yamask's. They all were given second lives.
One of them being the young squire.
However, unlike the many fallen soldiers and Pokemon who had been turned into Ghost Pokemon in under an hour after the battle, it took the squire a Millennium for his spirit to link with a Ghost.
Next to his skeleton, which was buried underneath the ground, a sword was nearby, belonging to one of the many fallen soldiers in the war. It too was also buried in the ground with the skeleton.
The squire's spirit was devastated. His dream of becoming a great swordmaster had been wiped out the moment that Draco Meteor fell from above. All his hard work was for nothing.
This distraught emotion was enough to link the spirit of the squire with the sword. It was almost as if the sword had responded to the squire's cry.
Because of this spectral link, a Honedge had been born. After centuries, a link had been formed.
The sword had transformed itself into a Pokemon on that very day.
And ever since then, the squire, now a Honedge, had been travelling the land, searching for some lifeforce to absorb. The one in control was Honedge. Not the squire.
Because Honedge was in control, it only sought lifeforce energy and nothing else. But despite that, the spirit of the squire was still in there. And that lone spirit was still, deep down, wishing for the chance to be a swordmaster once more.
It ventured the lands for months until the day arrived when the Rift crossed the two worlds over. Which all leads up to the present timeline.
Those were memories Honedge never wanted to remember. But they were the most prominent and effective so it was impossible to forget.
At the end of the day, Honedge wasn't a grown man but a young boy who never got the chance to achieve his goal. Until he met Shining Armor, that is.
"Okay." Shining Armor finished his curry. "Cobalion's waiting for me. This time, we're gonna make our slashes ranged or...something like that."
"Just don't forget to enjoy the festival too," Cadence said to Shining Armor as she saw her husband run out of the castle to continue his training.
With Cobalion, he was having a small chat with Celestia who came dashing here just to meet him.
"You know...there's a special holiday known as Hearts and Hooves today. I'm not sure if you've heard of it but..." Celestia whistled as she dug her hoof in the snow.
"Hm." Cobalion nodded as he closed his eyes. He quickly opened them up once he spotted the return of Shining Armor as he stood up. "So. Are you ready to learn how to emanate your fighting spirit?"
"Yes sir!" Shining Armor replied.
Just then, Honedge forced himself out of his Poke Ball, for once. "Edge!"
"Hm, Honedge? You're already raring to go?"
"Hmm." Cobalion narrowed his eyes.
"Honedge!" Honedge was acting differently this time. Obviously, he was ready to continue improving himself, but after he reminisced his past, his determination skyrocketed at an unexpected level. And Cobalion could see that.
"Good." Cobalion said. "That drive is already a major step into unleashing your spirit. Come. Let us begin." Cobalion went over to the hardest pillars. The same pillars that chipped Honedge in the beginning.
"Hone."
"Remember. You must release your fighting spirit with this. Your cuts will be versatile in both physical and special range if you can learn this."
"We got it. You ready, Honedge?"
"Edge!"
"Then. You may begin."
"Hone...!" Honedge began tightening his focus. He set his eyes on the many pillars in front of him. When concentrating Honedge began thinking of his past and how he never got to become a master swordsman. "Edge!"
But, now that he was the sword himself, Honedge knew that his dream could still be possible. He was emanating two types of aura.
One was the manifestation of his final days as a human and how he perished in the Kalos War. That aura was sadness.
But the second aura was his perseverance manifested. Even if he was no longer human and cursed to live in this bladed body, he was still aiming for his dream even in this restrictive form.
"Oh! You're doing it Honedge!" Shining Armor gawked. "Now slice!"
"Honedge!" The Sword Pokemon released the cutting wave embedded with Honedge's spirit. Or rather, the squire's spirit. This spirit was strong enough to leave large marks on the ground as it went towards the pillars.
The wave made contact with the pillars, but he only managed to chip off shards of the pillars instead of cutting them in half. It wasn't enough.
"Again." Cobalion said.
"Hone!" Thus began a consecutive series of slashes. Honedge began slashing the air, sending light cutting waves from his bladed body.
The waves kept on chipping the pillars little by little. None of them were able to take out a sizable chunk at all. Shining Armor could see that Honedge was acting differently this time. He wasn't sure what it was but he could feel something new in Honedge that he had never felt before.
Honedge kept releasing his spirit, trying his very best to cut through the pillars with everything he had. But all he could do was chip away small shards.
"Go, Honedge!" Shining Armor was suddenly cheering him on.
"Edge?"
"You can do it! Cut right through those pillars! You wanna be back in your prime as a legendary warrior right?!"
"Hone!" Honedge hadn't received praise before. The Sword Pokemon knew that Shining Armor had taken all of the false information and lies he gave to his trainer. About him being a legend.
But he could also see that Shining Armor was genuinely trying to help him succeed. Even if he was unknowingly helping Honedge reach his true goal. To become a swordmaster.
He may have tricked him to help battle against the Dynamax Sableye due to him sparking up his loss against Kartana, but Shining Armor was, in fact, preparing him for his seemingly inevitable rematch with Kartana.
Honedge could now see that Shining Armor might be worthy as his Pokemon Trainer. After rejecting him for so long, Honedge saw Shining Armor as a partner. At least, a partner that he could go beyond tolerating, but not yet friends.
And it was this sudden revelation that the unexpected occurred. All of Honedge's body began to glow, engulfing the sword Pokemon in a silver light as Shining Armor backed up.
Suddenly, millions of swords rose from the silver light, flying into the air as the skies were covered with glowing blades. Cobalion and the others watched as the blades circled the sky like a tornado.
These swords then came flying back down towards the glowing body of Honedge as they consecutively stabbed into the Sword Pokemon.
Once they stabbed Honedge, an explosion of infinity energy erupted, forming into a pillar that blew Shining Armor back whilst Cobalion and the others stood firm.
The pillar of light had been cut in half as the second form of the Steel-Ghost-Type had finally been revealed and was here at last.
Doublade.
"Doublade!"
"Huh?!" Shining Armor sat up as he was shocked to see that Honedge had evolved. "He evolved? W-W-Where's my dex!" He quickly pulled out his Pokedex, reading the data of his newly evolved partner.
"Doublade. The Sword Pokemon. When Honedge evolves, it divides into two swords, which cooperate via telepathy to coordinate attacks and slash their enemies to ribbons. The complex attack patterns of its two swords are unstoppable, even for an opponent greatly accomplished at swordplay. The two blades rub together to emit a metallic sound that unnerves opponents. The two swords employ a strategy of rapidly alternating between offence and defence to bring down their prey."
"Excellent." Cobalion smiled, knowing how that evolution was possible.
The two blades of Doublade were not just twins. But instead, one was the spirit of the squire and the other was the spirit of the sword itself. They seem to have truly linked together, at least for now.
"Okay." Shining Armor stood up. "Doublade! Swing at your best!"
"Dou!" With a boost in power, Doublade had learned a new move. Night Slash. Both of Doublade's blades had illuminated a purple and white aura, to represent the link between the squire and sword.
With a mighty swing, streaks of energy had been swung, sending multiple purple and white blades of energy at the pillars.
With lightning speed, Doublade's fighting spirit was wide enough to hit all the pillars at once. Each of the streaks flew past the pillars with sheer destructive yet composed force behind them.
Instead of shards, they had been split in half, one by one, like a sort of a domino effect. Shining Armor was amazed at how wonderfully Doublade had cut the pillars apart with those tiny little streaks.
"Amazing!" He rushed over to Doublade. "Doublade that was incredible!"
"Blade."
"I didn't think you'd evolve during this but...I'll take it! Wait till Cadence and Twily hear about this." Shining Armor squeed.
"An excellent display of strength." Cobalion walked up to them both. "I can say that your progress has reached a substantial level, you two."
"Thanks, Cobalion. I don't know what it was but I could feel something strong in Doublade here."
"That means your connection as trainer and Pokemon is growing. Keep growing that connection and soon you'll become an amazing duo of trainer and Pokemon."
"Sounds great to us. Right, partner?" Shining Armor finally referred to him as a partner.
"Dou. Doublade." Doublade could accept that Shining Armor was his partner as he began swinging wildly, itching to cut some more objects in half.
"Okay. Slow down there." Shining Armor halted him. "Before we continue cutting things apart, let's enjoy the festival together, how does that sound?"
"Doublade." Doublade took Shining Armor's offer. He would have all the time to cut objects whenever and wherever he wants now.
With his dream slowly becoming a reality, Doublade's new evolution meant a bright new future for him. Although his past life ended too quickly due to his young age and the Kalos War, his new life seems to show much promise. With a partner like Shining Armor on his side, things are looking up for the young squire now turned blade as the journey continues.
Unbeknownst to a few ponies, today was Hearts and Hooves day. Or as it's known in the Pokemon World, Valentines Day. Normally, this would be the time where everyone focuses on their special someone/somepony etc. But the festival had them occupied. It truly was addicting.
However, there were a select few individuals who were focused on this special day because they have someone special that they adore.
The four main candidates were Twilight, Meloetta, Spike and Celestia. These four have their own interests but some are more passionate than others.
Those some being Twilight and Meloetta who have been at odds with each other ever since they had both met during the first day of the Pokemon Festival.
They both have an affection towards Ash. And neither of them were ready to let the other achieve victory. Apparently, to these two, this was considered a battle of some sorts.
As for Ash, he was enjoying the festival, too pulled into it to even notice. Although, Ash did sense an odd presence through him. Almost as if someone from Kanto was heading his way.
"I got an odd feeling..." Ash looked up in the sky.
"Pika?"
"Mrrgh..." Twilight was sitting near the battle spot, thinking about Ash and Meloetta at the same time. Mostly Meloetta since she was the one riling her up the most. "That Meloetta...She's really irritating." A vein appeared on Twilight's head.
"Espeon?" Eve's gem shuddered from Twilight's emotions. Unfortunately, Eve couldn't do anything about this since she's not an expert with this sort of affection.
But Eve could tell that if this fiery feud between Twilight and Meloetta continued further, there is a very good chance that someone is going to perish in all of this.
"I have to do something." She shifted her eyes around. "If I can just spend some time with Ash for one day..."
"Eon?"
Twilight began digging deep into her mind, trying to find out how to have Ash for herself. "Maybe I could cast the Want-it-Need-it spell on me? No, that'll just drag others in."
"Esp."
"Hmm..." Then, something struck Twilight's mind. She remembered that there was one Pokemon that could be the answer to all her problems. "Wait a minute." Twilight quickly took out her dex, searching for the Pokemon she recalled. "Here it is!"
"Luvdisc. The Rendezvous Pokemon. Luvdisc lives in shallow seas in the tropics. This heart-shaped Pokémon earned its name by swimming after loving couples it spotted in the ocean’s waves. Luvdisc’s heart-shaped body is a symbol of love and romance. It is said that any couple meeting this Pokémon is promised a loving relationship that never ends."
"That's it!" Twilight's widened before shrinking. "Oh, wait. I saw a Luvdisc on my own." She sighed as she closed the dex. "Joy."
"Espeon?"
"Then I'll have to take matters into my own hooves." She flew up. "I won't let Meloetta best me. I'll have my time with Ash before the day ends!"
"Esp." Eve had a very bad feeling about this.
The young alicorn flew over to Ash, ready to do what she believes will guarantee her the victory over this small yet extended feud.
"Hey, Ash."
"Yeah?" Ash turned around to face Twilight.
"I was wondering. If we could spend some time together. Like how we did during the New Years, remember?"
"Oh, yeah, I remember." Ash nodded. "You wanna go through that again with just us?"
"Mhm." Twilight smiled. "I've got a pretty great feeling about today."
"Hm." Ash thought for a moment. He wasn't really occupied at the moment. He had just finished up a battle and could use something else to do. "Sure. It's always a blast anyway."
"Pikachu!"
"Yes!" Twilight pumped her hooves. She looked around to see if Meloetta was looking. Instead, Meloetta was chatting with Ash's Pokemon at the moment. So Twilight took this opportunity to use magic to grab Ash while she was distracted.
"Oh!" Ash looked at his body and how it was surrounded by magic now.
"Come on! I know where to start!"
To get Ash away from Meloetta, Twilight used teleportation as a means of escaping. But Meloetta could tell that Twilight went off with Ash due to the sound of magic being used.
"Melo!" Meloetta growled, knowing that Twilight had snatched Ash away, according to Meloetta herself.
The Melody Pokemon thought about a few possibilities to get Twilight back. Turning invisible and messing with Twilight was a strong possibility.
But instead, Meloetta sparked something genius. She spotted a stand that was selling Scented Pokemon jar. More specifically, jars that had Sweet Scent in it.
Not just any Sweet Scent. This was a special product known as Sweet Scent Supreme. A Pokemon Coordinator and Breeder's best friend.
It was the only Sweet Scent Supreme jars here since the others were just normal Sweet Scent jars. Not as potent as the Supreme one.
Meloetta had hit the jackpot. She knew exactly how this would benefit her.
The Melody Pokemon turned herself invisible, floating over to the stand where they sold the Sweet Scent jars. The person running it would never see Meloetta coming while the rest of Ash's Pokemon were wondering what she was up to.
With perfect stealth, Meloetta carefully grabbed a single jar of Sweet Scent instead of multiple. All she needed was one and that was it. Now it was time for her plan to play out.
But what was her plan? Simple.
If she were to pour Sweet Scent on Twilight, all the Pokemon nearby will be drawn to her, giving Twilight zero opportunity to be alone with Ash.
Inside the Crystal Empire Castle, Cadence was observing Meloetta's shenanigans and Twilight dragging Ash along. She had observed everything ever since they came here. The look on her face was one of disappointment.
"Pathetic." She uttered as she looked down on them all. Cadence also knew what kind of unbridled chaos would emerge from this.
But she was going to watch it instead of intervening.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, while Twilight and Meloetta were creating disharmony, Spike and Rarity created the opposite. Harmony.
Spike had come over to the Pokestar Studio attraction since Rarity was currently there. Rarity had just finished making a short movie with Cilan and Pheromosa and it turned out well for them.
"How'd the movie go?" Spike asked.
"Smashing." Rarity replied. "Although, Cilan seems to have tired himself out from all that hard work." She turned her head to Cilan who was on the floor, exhausted and knocked out.
"Aha..." Cilan mumbled in his sleep.
"Sala?" Salamence detected something unusual in the corner of his eyes. He spotted a jar of Sweet Scent flying in the distance. He wasn't exactly sure how that was possible but his superb dragon nose picked on the scent of Meloetta. "Salamence?"
The Dragon Pokemon didn't think too much about it. He thought that he was just out of it since he had finished having a fierce battle with Dragonite not too long ago. So he just shrugged it off for now.
However, even though the jar of Sweet Scent Supreme hadn't been opened up yet, its scent was powerful enough to grab the attention of any nearby Pokemon. Not necessarily bring them towards the Sweet Scent, but make them aware.
Once that liquid comes out of the bottle, then a flood of Pokemon will be drawn into wherever the scent is coming from. Which is exactly what Meloetta was hoping for.
But Pheromosa had also spotted the floating jar of Sweet Scent. Pheromosa wasn't a dragon so she couldn't pick up on the scent and know that it was Meloetta.
However, her pheromones were potent enough to cancel out the scent of Sweet Scent. So while every other Pokemon here noticed the faint scent, Pheromosa didn't due to her pheromones.
Just like Eve, Pheromosa had a bad feeling about this.
Speaking of Eve, she was keeping an eye on Twilight in hopes that nothing would go wrong. But with how her gem was shaking, she could tell that somehow, in some way, things were going to wrong eventually.
She just didn't know when.
Strangely enough, Absol didn't sense any potential problems popping up. But then again, he was too busy being followed around by Sylveon to pay attention to anything else.
"Say, Twilight..." Ash wanted to ask Twilight something as he was being dragged along by magic instead of having any control of his body.
"Yes, Ash?"
"You and Meloetta. You two haven't been given each other the best looks recently. Something wrong?"
"Huh?" Twilight shot up from that question. "O-Of course not! There's nothing wrong! Meloetta and I are just...you know...I just have a bad feeling about her."
"Bad feeling about Meloetta? How come? She's fun to be around, ya know. Especially when she sings." Ash grinned. But that didn't sit too well with Twilight at all. She wasn't too fond of hearing Ash praise Meloetta. It rubbed her the wrong way.
"I can sing well too..." Twilight said under her breath. Unbeknownst to Twilight Sparkle and Ash Ketchum, Meloetta had caught up to them.
But she wasn't here to steal Twilight's spotlight. Not yet at least. Instead, Meloetta was planning on drawing Twilight away from Ash with the potent scent of Sweet Scent.
But she didn't go undetected. Pikachu and Eve spotted the invisible bottle of Sweet Scent floating in the air. Naturally, this greatly confused them.
"Pika?"
"Espeon?"
The jar of sweet scent was heading straight for Twilight as the invisible Meloetta crept up on her. All she needed to do was drop it on Twilight and watch the chaos unfurl.
"Pikapi! Pika!" Pikachu called for both Ash and Twilight's names, warning them about the impending sweet scent.
"Hm?" With Pikachu's warning, the duo faced the direction the Electric Mouse Pokemon was pointing at. And the moment they did that, Meloetta's cover had been blown.
So she panicked and spilt the Sweet Scent frantically in hopes of getting it on Twilight.
But it didn't land on Twilight.
Instead, it landed on Ash.
Whoops.
"Ugh..." Ash winced as he rubbed the Sweet Scent off his face. But the damage had already been done. Now the potent aroma of Sweet Scent could work its magic.
With this plan being a huge failure, Meloetta made a tactical retreat by flying away whilst still being invisible as she dropped the jar.
"What was that all about?" Ash tilted his head.
"Meloetta..." Twilight narrowed her eyes, knowing who was the cause of it. "Hah! Nice try but you missed!" She taunted Meloetta by raising her voice.
"Etta." Meloetta showed her physical form as she hid behind a bench. If there was an accurate time to panic, it was now.
The Sweet Scent was meant to hit Twilight, not Ash. A flop in Meloetta's eyes. The Melody Pokemon knew how powerful Sweet Scent was. And now that it was on her favourite human of all time, things are going to go south instantly.
"Slur...Slurpuff." All of Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff's were the first to sense Sweet Scent thanks to their sensitive noses. Each of the Meringue Pokemon started moving in a single line like zombies as they left their trainer Pinkie, focusing only on that scent.
"Hm? Hey! You guys! Where are you going?!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. But it wasn't just them. Spinda jumped out of her mane, falling for Sweet Scent as well.
"Spinda..."
"Spinda? You too?!"
Soon, many of the Pokemon here in the Crystal Empire had been drawn to Sweet Scent, leaving their trainers and not listening to their cries at all.
Some Pokemon even came out of their Poke Balls, showing just how powerful one single Sweet Scent was. After all, they're very popular with Pokemon Coordinators for obvious reasons.
"Hm. That's an odd sight to witness." Rarity's eyes widened.
"Where are they all going?" Spike said as he was on Salamence's head. Surprisingly, Salamence and Pheromosa did not follow the Pokemon as well.
For Pheromosa, it was because her pheromones helped knock some sense into her. But for Salamence, that was a mystery for now.
Unfortunately, Rarity's Leavanny's and Ampharos had been pulled in by the scent. No matter how far, the aroma would pull the Pokemon in.
"Audino..."
"Chiko..."
"Huh? Audi? Chikorita? Where are you going?" Fluttershy stuttered. She flew up to witness the sea of Pokemon moving like zombies. All focused on one thing only "Oh my..."
"Gardevoir..." Passion was floating towards the scent alongside her teammate Arcanine.
"Arca..."
"Sylveon..." Sylveon finally got off Absol, freeing the Disaster Pokemon from her endless pin. But unfortunately, Absol himself had been pulled in. And eventually, the rest of Twilight's Pokemon. No one was exempt from this.
"Absol..."
"Ninetales..."
"Cinccino."
"Uh, Sceptile? Golett? What's gotten into you two?" Applejack stood up, witnessing Sceptile and Golett walk off like drones.
It didn't take long for the Pokemon to track down the source of the Sweet Scent. Ash was now a walking target who could pull in so many Pokemon by just being here.
And this is where everything was slowly starting to shift.
Ash and Twilight spotted the sea of Pokemon coming this way, seeking the sweet scent and nothing more. At first, the sight was a bit intimidating to look at but then it just looked silly to them.
The fact that the Pokemon were all letting out mutters and mumbles made them really feel like mindless zombies. Perhaps Sweet Scent is a bit too potent.
The Pokemon surrounded Ash, shoving Twilight out of the way as they saw her as a mere obstacle. "Ow! Hey!" Twilight fell.
"Uh..." Ash froze for a bit, seeing how Pokemon of all types, sizes from different regions and different trainers had cornered him. "This is a pretty weird feeling...Maybe this is what I felt earlier?"
"Pikachu..." Pikachu climbed up Ash's shoulder for safety.
"What is all of this?" Twilight rubbed her head. She tried to make her way towards Ash but the number of Pokemon was just ridiculous. And there's a very good chance that more Pokemon will show up since the festival is ongoing.
"Twilight. What's going on?" Applejack went up to Twilight. "And why are there so many Pokemon around Ash?"
"I-I don't know?" Twilight shook her head. "They all just suddenly swarmed towards us."
"Think he's got something tasty on him?" Pinkie appeared in the middle of the Pokemon crowd as she had somehow slipped in.
"Ash looks a bit overwhelmed," Fluttershy said. "How did this happen?"
"Pikachu?"
"You've got me, buddy. This is new territory for me." Ash chuckled.
The trainers of each of the Pokemon came over to retrieve their Pokemon. They used their Poke Balls to return their partners as it seemed like an easy fix to a potentially chaotic solution.
Except it wasn't.
Immediately, the Pokemon came out in a heartbeat, shocking the trainers. The Pokemon refused to stay inside of their Poke Balls since they were so attracted to the scent.
As long as Ash was here, they weren't going anywhere.
If Ash made any sudden movements, the Pokemon will surely follow him. He was a walking target and there was hypothetically no escape.
"Esp. Espeon." Eve brought over the jar of Sweet Scent that had been dropped, showing it to Twilight and the others.
"Hm? This jar?" Twilight used her magic to lift the jar as she saw the name of the jar. "Sweet Scent...Supreme?"
"Oh, that makes sense now." Fluttershy nodded. "They're drawn to the Sweet Scent. But...did some of it fall on Ash?"
"...Sure did." Twilight sighed. "Meloetta dropped some on him. She planned this from the start that crafty little-" Twilight was about to go off until Eve calmed her down.
"How do we stop this then? Nopony's gonna get their Pokemon back at this rate?" Applejack wondered.
"I think we might have a solution to that. Pinkie Pie!" Twilight called for Pinkie.
"Yes?" Pinkie slipped out of the crowd, appearing in front of Twilight.
"Have all of your Slurpuff's use Sweet Scent in unison. That way, all these other Pokemon will be drawn away from Ash." Twilight explained.
"Okie Dokie!" Pinkie slipped back into the crowd, heading to her partners. "Slurpuff! I know you're focused on Ash, but you think you can use Sweet Scent for just a bit?"
"Puff. Slurpuff." Even if the Pokemon were all drawn to Ash, they can still mostly listen to their trainer's commands. And yet, they won't get back in their Poke Balls.
One major problem though.
For the Slurpuff's to use Sweet Scent, they would have to move away from Ash in the first place. Except, like most of the Pokemon here, they are unable to separate themselves from the human.
They had still used Sweet Scent by emanating a pink aroma, but that only worsened the situation since the Sweet Scent Supreme had combined with the normal Sweet Scent.
The Sweet Scent Supreme overpowered the normal Sweet Scent by a gigantic margin. It wasn't even close. The best the normal Sweet Scent could do is become one and add more potency to the Supreme variant.
Now Ash was an even larger target. Everything was going horribly wrong.
"Oh." Pinkie made a poker face.
"This might be a problem." Fluttershy gulped.
"Grrgh...Meloetta..." Twilight's horn was flashing aggressively. Her alone time with Ash had been foiled.
Originally, this was close to what Meloetta was actually planning. But Twilight was meant to be the target, not Ash. So in a way, it was basically a clear guaranteed sign that the plan would've actually worked if it landed on the right target.
Ash decided to walk away and get some space, but that was no good. The Pokemon all followed him either way. He was no longer free to have his own space.
"How'd I get here..." Ash said to himself as he lowered his head.
"Pikachu..."
Twilight grumbled as she and her friends followed the army of Pokemon, trying to come up with a plan to get them away from Ash or at least cancel out the Sweet Scent.
Celestia, Cadence, Sunlight and Eventide had observed everything from the outside. It was truly a bizarre sight but somewhat enjoyable. Something was satisfying about seeing a trainer have many Pokemon follow them. It almost made Ash look like a true Pokemon Master, the goal he is still aiming for to this day.
"Hm. That's peculiar." Eventide narrowed his eyes.
"Mhm." Celestia and Sunlight both nodded. "How did this happen?"
"...I think I know how." Cadence knew from the start. She had been watching Meloetta's actions from the very beginning. She saw the Sweet Scent Supreme and how Meloetta and Twilight were not on the best terms. So she figured something like this would eventually happen."
"You do?" All three of them turned to her.
"Oh yes. We'll standby for now and see what happens."
Cadence knew that there was a solution to all of this. Twilight and her friends just haven't found it yet. Especially Twilight. But Cadence does. And yet, she found this so amusing that she decided to spectate. She seems to get giddy on Hearts and Hooves day for obvious reasons.
Ash decided to sit down and chow down on some food just to clear his head. Unfortunately, it was hard to do so because of two reasons.
One, so many Pokemon were surrounding him and two, Ember's Gible was biting on Ash's head as he had been drawn to the Sweet Scent as well.
"Mmmm..." Ash grumbled as he continued to eat, trying his best to relax. But that would prove to be a challenge.
"Okay. Does anypony have a plan?" Twilight pulled her friends in for a group huddle.
"Well...I saw a stand that sold Sweet Scent jars earlier." Applejack said. "That might be where that Supreme jar came from. We could buy all of those and pour them somewhere else for the Pokemon."
"That does sound great but...we need these Pokemon to go back to their trainers." Twilight wasn't too sure about it.
"We could try spraying the Sweet Scent on everypony's Poke Balls. That way they'll all want to go back inside." Fluttershy added on to Applejack's plan.
"Hm...That does sound clever. Although, that might make it difficult for anypony who wants to have a battle...but it's worth a shot anyway." Twilight decided to go with the plan. "Let's go!"
Each of her friends, minus Rarity and Spike who were still at the Pokestar Studios attraction, dashed off towards the Pokemon Sweet Scent stand. The source of all this trouble.
The old man over at the stand had seen the entire sea of Pokemon go after Ash already. He knew that it had to be the work of Sweet Scent. Mostly because he noticed that his Sweet Scent Supreme jar was no longer here.
Twilight and her friends went up to the stand, spotting 10 bottles of Sweet Scent.
"Excuse me, sir. Could we buy these Sweet Scent jars? How much do they cost?" Twilight asked.
"Oh. You're buying them to sort all of this out now, are you?" The old man said, rocking back and forth on his chair.
"Mhm." Fluttershy nodded. "Our friend Ash is a bit overcrowded right about now. And we want to give him back his space."
"Heh. Good luck. I'll let you have them for free since it's pointless to try."
"Pointless?" They all said.
"Yep! That Sweet Scent Supreme's too powerful, I tell ya. Ain't no way a regular Sweet Scent's gonna beat it out, that's for sure."
"So it doesn't matter how many we pour? Just how powerful is that Sweet Scent Supreme?!" Pinkie screeched.
"Hah! It's a rare jar. Very few of 'em exist in our world. Gonna have to find a new alternative to even match the Supreme's scent."
"Ugh!" Twilight groaned. "We'll take them just in case!" Twilight grabbed all of the jars. "I'm not gonna let any of this ruin my time with Ash...No matter what!" Twilight suddenly used her Royal Canterlot Voice which startled everypony else.
She was serious about fixing this and getting back to Ash. Meanwhile, Meloetta was hiding from all of this. She knows she was the cause of this and felt guilty about it.
"Melo..." Meloetta pouted as she peeked her head out of the side of the bench.
At first, it looked like there was absolutely no way this situation could get worse. Ash was already a large target. The Pokemon won't go back to their trainers no matter what.
It seemed as if this debacle had reached a peak.
That is until Ash heard very familiar sounds coming his way.
"...Huh?" His ears twitched as his pupils expanded. This sound he was hearing was closing in on him. It was insanely familiar. So familiar, that he could instantly tell that it belonged to one of his Pokemon.
But it wasn't Pikachu. Because he was on his shoulder. Most of his pre-evolved or smaller Pokemon have that same cute and playful walking sound, like Pikachu.
And one Pokemon who also fit that bill was none other than the very obsessive Leaf Pokemon.
Bayleef.
"Bay!" Lo and behold, Bayleef had shown up as she had arrived at the Crystal Empire.
"Huh?! Bayleef?!" Ash gasped. "Did you follow me all the way here?!"
"Pika?!"
"Bay! Bay! Ba-" Bayleef came to a screeching halt by skidding on the ground. The reason being was that when she got close enough, her eyes locked onto something she despised more than anything.
Pokemon around Ash. But in this case, it wasn't just Pikachu like always. It was hundreds. Perhaps even thousands of Pokemon surrounding her favourite human.
"Bay?!" She was distraught by this. Her worst nightmare had come true. Pikachu, she could live with. But a gigantic number of Pokemon, not at all.
Naturally, in Bayleef's case, she was aggravated by this. So aggravated that she decided to attack all of the Pokemon that were surrounding Ash.
This is where things began to spiral out of control.
An enraged Bayleef had used the move Vine Whip to wrap around the tail of a Linoone.
"Noone?" The Rushing Pokemon notice that a vine was wrapped around its tail.
"Bayleef!" With unusual strength, Bayleef had lifted Linoone off the ground for one tactic that could certainly separate the Pokemon from Ash.
She swung Linoone around, hitting all the other Pokemon with the Rushing Pokemon's body, using Linoone as some sort of mace.
"L-Linoone! Noone" Obviously, Linoone didn't enjoy being used as a weapon.
The Pokemon, mostly the smaller ones, were being sent flying from Bayleef's rampant swinging as she was picking them all out like flies one by one in a short amount of time.
Twilight and the others watched as Bayleef was going on a rampage, attacking the Pokemon with such vigour and aggression.
"W-Wait, Bayleef!" Ash stuttered as he tried to stop Bayleef.
"Bay!" But Bayleef as too focused on cleaving them all away. She knew that she would need someone larger and heavier than Linoone to take care of the big ones.
So she tossed Linoone aside, switching for a larger Pokemon. Obviously, the Pokemon weren't okay with this at all. They didn't take too kindly to Bayleef's sudden attack on them. Especially the Pokemon who had already been hit by her.
"Marill!" An enraged Marill fired a Water Gun at Bayleef's face out of anger. But this only escalated the problem.
"Bay!" The Leaf Pokemon wrapped her vines around a Klang, which was already a larger threat than a Linoone.
Klang is a heavy and hard Pokemon. That's no surprise since it is a Steel-Type. The type that has the least weaknesses and is well known for being the most defensive Pokemon Type there is.
So if Klang is swung around, someone's gonna get hurt.
And somehow unsurprisingly, Bayleef was strong enough to lift a Steel-Type with just vines alone, showing how she's a cut above other Bayleef's.
"K-Klang?"
"Bayleef, don't!" Ash rushed over, barging through the crowd of Pokemon around him. "You're gonna really-"
"Leef!" It was too late for Ash to stop the swinging. The moment she swung the Gear Pokemon around, she ended up hitting Ash instead of the Pokemon.
"GOUGH!" Ash's eyes widened as he had been hit square in the stomach. That amount of force was powerful enough to send him flying.
Which it did.
Ash was launched, screaming as everyone in the Crystal Empire witnessed him blast off into the distance, becoming nothing but a star in the sky.
"Bay?!"
"Pikapi?!"
"Melo?!"
"OH!" Twilight and everypony gasped.
"Wow!" Barry slid in, looking up at the sky. "Talk about a home run! What a slugger of a hit!"
"Poor Ash." Fluttershy shook her head.
"A-Ah..." Twilight dropped the jars of Sweet Scent as she was flabbergasted. Her alone time with Ash had not only been interrupted by many Pokemon but now Ash had been flown far away from her. Who knows where he's ended up? "This isn't how I imagined my first Hearts and Hooves day to turn out."
"Bay..."
"Melo..."
Bayleef and Meloetta felt the same as Twilight. What a shame.
On the bright side, this meant that the Pokemon would stop following Ash since he was very distant from them now.
"Ugh..." Ash groaned as he had landed face first in some snow, unfortunately. But he had quickly recovered thanks to his years of taking severe punishment. "What a day."
The young trainer sat up, holding his head as he shook the snow off his face. He was definitely far from the Crystal Empire now. In fact, Ash noticed that he was currently in a new location that was also taking part in the Pokemon Festival.
Yakyakistan.
As noted by the large number of yaks moving around with their own Pokemon, taking part in attractions. Although some of the attractions had been destroyed.
"Huh? Did I land all the way here?" Ash looked around as he wiped the snow off his hat.
"Ooh..." The voice of a yak travelled through Ash's ears, grabbing the attention of the young trainer as he turned around. A young yak girl came up to Ash, gawking at him. "Who are you, stranger?"
"Ah, sorry." Ash stood up, putting his hat back on. "I kinda crash-landed here in...is this Yakyakistan."
"Yes!" The yak bellowed. "Yona saw you fall from high up. Even going over the gates!" She revealed her name to be Yona.
"I flew that far?!" Ash gasped. "Man...Has Bayleef been training this entire time...?"
"Oh!" Yona's pupils widened as she took a good look at Ash. "Are you Ash Ketchum?!"
"Yeah, that's me?"
"Ah! Where's Peekaachoo?!" Much like all the yaks, they pronounce Pikachu's name differently.
"I kinda got separated from him after I got launched. I gotta get back to the Crystal Empire."
"Aw. Can't Ash stay behind for festival in Yakyakistan?"
"Hm? You want me to stay?" Ash turned around.
"Yona would enjoy having a hero here! So would all yaks!"
"Hmm...This is still apart of the Pokemon Festival. But Pikachu's probably worried about me..."
"Please?" Yona made a puppy-dog face to try and get Ash to stay behind.
"Uh." Ash knew that this tactic was always used on him by Sweetie Belle and most of the time, it proves to be highly effective. "I guess I can hang around for a while. I wanna see these new attractions. The ones that aren't broken anyway."
"Hooray!" Yona jumped up, making the ground tremble a bit. "Ash should meet Yona's partner Piloswine too!"
"Swine?" Speaking of Piloswine, the Swine Pokemon popped out of the ground, moving its head around.
"Hey, Piloswine." Ash kneeled, rubbing the chin of the Ice-Ground-Type.
"Pilo!"
Before Ash would return to the Crystal Empire, he decided to experience what Yakyakistan has to offer. It also counts as his first time here so that's a fairly neat bonus. Surprisingly, Bayleef's rampant swinging led him to a discovery for a new adventure.
Truly a happy little accident.
Back at the Crystal Empire, Meloetta had decided to come forward and explain to Fluttershy and the others that she did in fact cause this from the start.
"Melo...Meloetta." Meloetta lowered her head, feeling guilty and responsible for this mess as she gave the honest truth to everypony.
"Meloetta said that she was planning on spilling the Sweet Scent on Twilight, but it backfired and landed on Ash." Fluttershy translated.
"What?!" Twilight screeched.
"Etta! Melo!"
"She says that she didn't mean for all of this to happen. Honestly."
"Yeah, well, I'm still not fond of you trying to ruin my time with Ash." Twilight scoffed.
"Etta..." Meloetta apologized to Twilight with all her heart. The Normal-Psychic-Type confessed that her jealousy had gotten in the way.
"Bay..." Bayleef sat down, looking at the sky, waiting for Ash to come back. Unlike Meloetta, she wasn't apologetic at all. Bayleef would never apologize to her rivals.
"Ugh..." Twilight sighed. "I guess I understand. I'm a bit jealous of you too, Meloetta. With your history with Ash after all."
"Jealous?" Pinkie paused for a moment as she was processing that information. Then it hit her. "Oh! Twilight! Are you-"
"Gh!" Twilight shuddered as she was caught slipping. Using the word Jealous was a dead giveaway. "N-N-No, wait! I mean I'm jealous of-"
"Yeah, that makes sense now." Applejack nodded as she understood everything from those words.
"Um. If it's okay with you, Twilight. I knew from the start." Fluttershy hid behind Audino.
"I-I...I don't!" Twilight cowered on the floor with her face turning red.
"You like him?! That's wonderful, Twilight!" Pinkie dashed over. "I always knew you two were a good match!"
"Now that makes a lot of sense actually..." Spike pondered.
"Okay! You've got me!" Twilight exclaimed. "Now can we please figure out how to solve this?! Ash is obviously coming back and that Sweet Scent is just going to pull the Pokemon back in!"
"Well, we still ain't got nothing that might really work..." Applejack shook her head. Even with Ash being set off in the distance, they still didn't have a plan for the Sweet Scent debacle.
That is until Rarity sparked something up that just might work.
"Unless..." Rarity uttered as she turned to face Pheromosa. "Pheromosa, darling. How strong are your pheromones again?"
"Mosa-Mosa. Pheromosa." Pheromosa shrugged as even she herself had no idea how potent her pheromones were.
"I think the Pokedex has like extra information on the Pokemon." Spike hopped on Rarity's back, pulling her Pokedex out. "From what I heard anyway."
"Really now?" Rarity took the Pokedex with her magic, activating it. She quickly selected Pheromosa's dex entry as she found out that there was indeed an extra page that goes into further detail about Pokemon. "Hm. How useful."
With the revelation of a second page, Rarity selected it as the dex read out further information about Pheromosa.
"Pheromosa. The Lissome Pokemon. According to the Aether Foundation, Pheromosa also produces a sort of disarming pheromone which was described as "previously unknown to science" that causes those nearby to become awestruck by its presence. Whether good or bad."
"Oh!" Rarity gawked. "An unknown pheromone you say?!"
"It's that big of a deal?" Pinkie dashed over to Pheromosa to test it out herself. But when she got close, she couldn't smell anything at all. "Hm...I don't smell any pheromones."
"I think Pheromosa has to let the pheromones out," Fluttershy said. "Like a perfume bottle."
"Mosa." Pheromosa pointed at the tips of her antennae, revealing where the pheromone actually comes from.
"If even scientists can't measure it, then it has to be powerful, right?" Spike spoke.
"It must be. But I'm curious about one thing." Fluttershy turned to face Salamence. "How come Salamence wasn't affected at all? He's one of the biggest Pokemon here and I didn't see him."
"Ah-" Spike froze for a bit. "Hm...That's a good question. Salamence, why didn't you go to Ash."
"Sala. Salamence."
"Salamence says that apparently, a Dragon isn't so easily charmed by scents." Fluttershy translated.
"Oooh. Nice." Spike gave a thumbs up.
"Well then, I think I know what the perfect plan for this is." Rarity rubbed her hooves together. "Spike. Let's go find Ash, shall we?" Rarity returned her Pokemon as she got on Salamence's back.
"Okay!" Spike hopped on his partner Pokemon, joining Rarity. "We'll be right back."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu quickly ran over, joining Spike and Rarity at the last second, just to see if his best buddy was alright as Salamence took the skies, flying off.
Twilight and Meloetta looked at each other suddenly. Twilight could see that Meloetta, a Pokemon that Ash describes as kind and caring can have a drastic shift in personality due to jealousy.
Twilight knew that one day, she might end up like Meloetta due to her crush on Ash. Someone who can be so sweet with their special someone but immediately finds disdain and shifts personalities when their special someone is with another who is interested in them.
"Say, Meloetta," Twilight spoke to the Melody Pokemon.
"Melo?"
"You don't really hate me, do you?"
"Etta." She shook her head.
"Yeah, figured. I don't hate you either. I guess we're both just possessive of Ash when it comes to somepony else, huh?"
"Melo." She nodded in understanding.
That small conversation they had was a sign that the two of them can actually get along and bond despite their affection towards the same person. It was slow, but it was there.
Yakyakistan.
Ash had enjoyed the attractions that this part of the Pokemon Festival had to offer. From Hariyama Wrestling where he and Yona were strapped onto two Hariyama's and they duke it out like sumos.
An attraction that was known as Rampage Rollout where two Donphans that they picked had to take multiple laps around the snowy track and sending snow tornadoes at each other for victory.
And a personal favourite that was still enjoyable, Poke-End, which Ash absolutely crushed Yona in. Needless to say, they were having some fun together.
"That Rampage Rollout got a bit destructive there." Ash sat down as he was chatting with Yona.
"Yona was almost buried down there!" Yona's eyes widened. "But it was a lot of fun with Ash!"
"Sure was!" Ash grinned as he patted Yona's head. "Well...I think I should get going." Ash stood up. "Been a real blast meeting you Yona."
"Aw..." Yona pouted. "Ash is leaving now?"
"Yep. My friends are all waiting for me after all. Can't leave them worried, ya know."
"Yona understand. But Yona will see Ash again someday, right?"
"Of course! Now that I know where this place is, I can come and visit you any time! Count on it!"
"Yona will count! Thank you, Ash!"
"No problem!" Ash ran off, waving goodbye to his yak friend he had just met due to an accident caused by his own Pokemon. How peculiar.
Ash ran out of the gates of Yakyakistan, sliding on the snow as he looked up in the sky. He knew it was a long way back to the empire. After all, Bayleef hit him far.
"Wonder if there's a sledge somewhere here..."
Ash wouldn't have to walk back to the empire at all. Because up in the sky, he noticed something approaching him. None other than Salamence who had Rarity, Spike and his best pal Pikachu.
"Ash!" Rarity and Spike both yelled.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu hopped off Salamence's back, relieved to see that his partner was alright and in one piece.
"Guys!" Ash put his arms out as he caught Pikachu, hugging his best buddy. "Great to see you again!"
"Pikachu!"
"I should've expected nothing less from you, Ash." Rarity spoke. "You always find some way to stay in one piece."
"No need to worry, Rarity!" Ash grinned.
"Well, I have good news for you Ash, darling. We might be able to solve your little Sweet Scent problem with all those Pokemon following you."
"You can? Awesome! What is it?"
"Pheromosa. Come out." Rarity sent out Pheromosa as the potential problem solver of all of this.
"Mosa." The Lissome Pokemon landed on the ground.
"Use your pheromones on Ash."
"Pheromones?" Ash tilted his head.
"Mosa...!" Pheromosa's antennae twitched as they were aiming at Ash like some sort of weapon. Pheromosa for the first time released its pheromones as they came out of the tips of he antennae's.
"Oh..." Ash looked around himself, seeing a pink mist cover him completely. The pheromones of Pheromosa clashed with Sweet Scent with both of them fighting for dominance.
"Let's hope this works..." Rarity bit her hoof. She was hoping that the pheromones don't end up becoming a second Sweet Scent in which more Pokemon will be attracted to Ash.
The pheromones and Sweet Scent had finished their scuffle as the outcome was that none of them emerged as the victor. Instead, both aromas had cancelled each other out due to their potency.
Ash no longer had a potent scent around him thanks to that clash as the pink mist vanished.
"D-Did it work?" Spike stuttered.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu sniffed his partner to see if Sweet Scent was still there. Thankfully, it wasn't. Ash was back to normal now. "Pikachu!" He hopped on Ash's shoulder.
"Success!" Rarity picked up Spike, hugging him out of nowhere. "It's wonderful that you informed me of that second page of the Pokedex, Spike!"
"Oof! N-No problem, Rarity." Spike gave a thumbs-up as he was enjoying this hug.
"Phew. I need that." Ash let out a sigh of relief. "Now let's get back. Still a lot I wanna do before the day ends."
"Pikachu!"
The Crystal Empire.
Once Ash returned, none of the Pokemon were pulled towards him at all. Pheromosa's pheromones ended up being the saving grace of this whole debacle.
Bayleef, Meloetta and Twilight went up to Ash, relieved that he was alright.
"Ash! You're okay!"
"Bay!"
"Melo!"
"Yeah. It's gonna take a lot more than that to stop me. Feels good to have a ton of space too."
"Melo. Meloetta." Meloetta flew over to Ash, bowing her head as she gave multiple apologies to him.
"Don't worry." Ash took Meloetta's apology. "But Bayleef..."
"Bay?!" Bayleef was fearful that she was going to get scolded by Ash.
"Bayleef. You ran away from Oak's lab again?" He kneeled, patting Bayleef on the head. "Attacking all the Pokemon like that was a bit much. But I guess it's a good sign that you're getting stronger every day."
"Bay."
"I know you mean well, Bayleef and you wanna see me, but sometimes you can go overboard a lot, ya know."
"Bay." Bayleef lowered her head.
"No need to worry. But, it's also pretty awesome that you came from Kanto to here. You've gotten way faster too!"
"Bay!" Bayleef liked the sound of Ash praising her development quite a lot. Twilight watched as the two Pokemon surrounded Ash. But this time, she wasn't feeling jealous. Mostly because they were apologizing instead of crushing on him.
And of course, Ash knew how to not only accept their apology but help them grow in the future. It was one of the many reasons why Twilight adored Ash so much.
"Anyway." Ash stood up as he saw the sunset. "I'm beat." He yawned. "Think the Crystal Empire has some rooms?"
"Sure does." Twilight went over to Ash. "I'll take you there."
"Thanks, Twilight."
"Heh." Twilight turned around, facing the other two Pokemon. Even after that small chat with Meloetta, Twilight was still competing with her and Bayleef for Ash as she turned around, sticking her tongue.
"Melo?!"
"Bay?!"
Meloetta and Bayleef gasped. They realized that despite all that they've done, Twilight was the only one who didn't give an apology to Ash since she hadn't done anything to cause him so much trouble like spilling Sweet Scent or hitting him with another Pokemon.
The two Pokemon accepted defeat this time. But that didn't mean they were giving up. They now saw Twilight as their definitive rival. And very soon, it'll transform into a game of 1UPing each other in the future as the journey continues.
Rainbow Dash and Soarin had just arrived at the Cyrstal Empire. They missed out on the whole Sweet Scent debacle that happened during the afternoon.
"What did we miss?" Rainbow Dash asked as she and Soarin went up to Rarity and the others.
"Not much honestly. But there was a fairly entertaining situation with Ash." Rarity replied.
"Sure was." Spike nodded. "Especially on Hearts and Hooves day."
"Oh, it's today?" Soarin said. "Geez, this festival's distracting."
"And that train was so slow..." Rainbow sighed. "It's almost already night right now."
"Ah, but the day isn't over yet. There's still a lot to do before midnight." Rarity walked off.
"Well. Guess this is where we part ways, huh?" Soarin turned to Rainbow.
"Mhm." Rainbow flew up. "See ya in our next Gym Battle. Or back at the academy, I don't know."
"See ya too." Soarin and Rainbow Dash bid their farewells as they went their separate ways, most likely to see each other again somewhere else.
Many trainers were deciding to clock out of the day as well. They had their own eventful day as their Pokemon had also been involved with the whole Sweet Scent debacle. Their own Pokemon almost left them for some fragrance.
The calming aura of the orange sun slowly setting was enough to make anyone drowsy. Even the Pokemon that are nocturnal by nature.
"Chiko..." Chikorita yawned as she was placed on a Crystal Empire guest room bed by Fluttershy.
"There you go," Fluttershy said to her partner. "Get some good rest. We might head over to another location tomorrow. Maybe." She put the bedsheets over the Leaf Pokemon.
"Ko..."
"Audi. Can you stay here and watch over Chikorita for me?"
"Audino!"
"Good. I'll be right back." Fluttershy fluttered out of the room, leaving everything to Audino as a caretaker to Chikorita while she goes off to finish a few things up before midnight.
With how the sun was setting, it looked to be a peaceful and calm night like usual. But, something was amiss. Chikorita began to doze off, letting the orange glow of the sun be her method of sleeping as Audino kept watch.
As for others who were tired themselves, they had entered the guest rooms for some rest with their Pokemon.
Bayleef, who had come all the way from Kanto to meet Ash wanted to stay here and be with Ash, refusing to head back to Professor Oak's lab.
But Ash had gone to the guest rooms for some rest. Bayleef didn't want to disappoint Ash and make him upset any further, so she willingly took herself back home.
If she can come from Pallet Town to the Crystal Empire in a few hours then it wouldn't be a huge problem for the Leaf Pokemon to return to Oak's lab.
Celestia decided to set the sun herself while all the way back in Canterlot, Pyrestar would be the one to raise the moon instead of Luna, who's whereabouts are still unknown.
Overall, the last and final hours of the second day had been fairly slow and calm in contrast to the hyperactive morning and early afternoon shenanigans that occurred.
But sometimes, the night can get just as wild.
Along came the night. The festival was still lively at night but not as much as in the morning or afternoon. Lights were everywhere to illuminate the darkness. Most of it was actually coming from Rarity's Ampharos due to him being the ultimate light source.
Up in the night sky, a shooting star could be seen passing by. Although, there's a 50% chance that it could just be a Minior. It was still beautiful to look at.
Fluttershy was out with Twilight and the others, just having a normal chat and discussing what they would end up doing for tomorrow.
So far, they were all tempted to head over to Manehattan since they were curious as to what that part of the festival has to offer for them. Everywhere, there's a different attraction with some reoccurring ones after all.
As for their Pokemon, most of them had split up to do their own thing instead of hanging around their trainers like they always do.
Sometimes, at night, the Pokemon have their own adventures that they get up to when their trainers are either asleep or chatting with each other.
"Aaah..." Pikachu stretched his arms as he came out of the castle. "Lucky for me, I didn't get any Sweet Scent on me." The Electric Mouse Pokemon, unlike his trainer Ash, got off easy from the Sweet Scent Event.
He couldn't begin to imagine what would've happened if some of it got on him. He would have Pokemon of all kinds chasing him which wouldn't spell well for a Pokemon of his size.
"It's not close to midnight yet." Pikachu looked up in the sky. "What to do..." He began pondering on the spot. Just then, along came Absol who looked completely out of it as he was groaning.
"Urgh..." The Disaster Pokemon walked past Pikachu.
"What's wrong, Absol?"
"Mrrgh..." Absol fell flat on his face. "That Sylveon...Sticking to me for most of the day...What did I do to deserve this?"
"No need to worry." Pikachu patted Absol on the head. "Wait. Does that mean you won't be doing your night watch like usual?"
"No way." Absol shook his head. "Not this time. I don't wanna stay awake with Sylveon around." He shuddered. "I'll just head to bed instead. Hopefully, we head somewhere else tomorrow.."
"Well, I heard earlier that we might be heading to Manehattan. You're gonna love it!"
"Really?"
"Oh yeah!" Pikachu nodded. "It's a real blast! Kinda reminds me of Castelia City a bit."
"As long as it means getting away from Sylveon..."
"Getting away from who?" The voice of Sylveon reached Abosl's ears, startling the Disaster Pokemon. Sylveon was right behind Pikachu and Absol alongside her fellow Eeveelution, Eve.
"Gah!" Absol jumped back. "Y-You're not asleep with your trainer?!"
"Not at all!" Sylveon grinned.
"Why are you so scared of her?" Eve wondered. "Sylveon here doesn't look that harmful at all."
"It's not the look..." Absol growled. "It's the Fairy magic. It just makes me uncomfortable..."
"Oh, that makes sense now?" Eve nodded. She understood that being a Dark-Type meant that Fairy magic was a bit of a hazard for him.
"Aw, my Fairy magic isn't bad at all. It's soothing. Here. Let me show you." Sylveon approached Absol.
"No...Stay back...!" Absol's legs quaked as he slowly backed away from the approaching Fairy-Type.
"Don't be scared, Absol. Embrace it!" Sylveon lunged at him.
"A-Ah!" Absol used Quick Attack to evade but Sylveon also used Quick Attack to chase after him. "Get away from me!" Very soon, the two of them entered a chase sequence with Absol trying to escape from Sylveon as if his life depended on it.
"You can't run forever, Absol~!"
"She's a bit different with Absol, huh?" Pikachu said.
"Well, it's obvious. Sylveon's not what she seems." Eve nodded.
"She's not?"
"Not at all." Eve then shook her head. "Behind that cute and adorable face is a fiendish Pokemon who enjoys making others her playthings for her own amusement.
"...Oh." Pikachu's eyes widened as he gulped.
"But she means well. I think."
"Yeah...Hopefully" Pikachu laughed nervously.
Whilst he and Eve had a midnight chat, all the way back inside of the guest room, Audino was trying her best to stay up to keep watch of Chikorita.
"Can't...fall...asleep," Audino grumbled as she leaned back on the wall. Unfortunately, she wasn't exactly a nocturnal Pokemon, despite those sensitive ears she has.
The same goes for Chikorita and most Grass-Types since being out at night in the harsh cold can be a bit unhealthy for them at times, depending on the Grass Pokemon. Except for Oddish who loves moonlight.
However, this night was different.
Chikorita was having a case of somnambulism. Also known as sleepwalking. "Mmm..." The Leaf Pokemon sat up from her bed, undergoing her first-ever sleepwalking case.
"Hm?" Audino could hear Chikorita getting off the bed as she noticed the Grass-Type walking out of the guest room. "Chikorita? Where are you going?"
"Aha..." She didn't respond to Audino at all.
"Wait..." Audino figured it out as she lowered her voice. "Is this sleepwalking?!" She knew not to raise her voice since waking up a sleepwalker, while not exactly dangerous, can lead to some disorientation.
However, the major difference between a sleepwalking Pokemon to say a sleepwalking human or pony is that if a Pokemon wakes up after sleepwalking, the results could be destructive.
"Ah..." Chikorita mumbled in her sleep.
"What to do..." Audino bit her hand. She decided to follow Chikorita, making sure that she doesn't end up harming herself. When someone is sleepwalking, their movements tend to be complex and unpredictable which can prove to be a problem for someone trying to stop them from harming themselves.
The sleepwalking Chikorita wandered the halls of the Crystal Castle as she gained the attention of the guards who were stationed to keep watch at night.
They saw how Audino was gently running towards Chikorita, trying not to wake her up but also attempting to keep her away from any harm.
Audino's large body compared to Chikorita's small size meant that she had to keep a safe distance away from the Leaf Pokemon without making any direct contact.
Eventually, Chikorita's sleepwalking and Audino's pursuit led the duo to the outside. But instead of going through the main castle doors, they ended up at the less well-known back doors. Out there, they were behind the castle itself and a bit distant from everyone else at this point.
"Behind the castle?" Audino turned around. "We can't get too far away...Fluttershy doesn't even know about this part of the castle."
It wasn't time to panic yet for Audino since Chikorita was still in one piece and unharmed. But moving further away from the castle and the festival as well was a bit of a red flag for the Hearing Pokemon. She was hoping that this would end soon.
Chikorita's little adventure led Audino further away from the Crystal Empire. The Hearing Pokemon looked at her surroundings as she noticed that they were entering a snowy area that wasn't the Frozen North since they've technically gone South instead.
This could be considered uncharted territory to them as the snow here, while not as violent as the frozen north, was still aggressive and harsh.
So harsh that it was kicking up a mist that covered the area, making it harder for anyone's vision to work properly. Unless it's a Pokemon with amazing eyesight. Unfortunately, Audino and Chikorita don't exactly have amazing eyesight and Chikorita's still sleepwalking.
"Oh, dear..." Audino gulped as she noticed that the view of the Empire was being blocked out by the mist around her. If there was any time to panic, it might be now. But Audino was keeping her cool.
"Fluttershy..." Chikorita spoke in her sleep.
"Oh, I wish I had Psychic-Types moves right about now...." Audino whimpered. She knew not to make contact with Chikorita as she is now but if this keeps up throughout the entire night until morning whilst treading in uncharted territory, there might be heaps of trouble coming their way.
And indeed, in an area like this, there was trouble lurking around the corner. But for once, the trouble wasn't a horde of Sableye scampering around.
It was something much worse.
Audino stopped as she noticed a familiar figure in the mist. The silhouette of the figure was in the shape of a spike ball with arms and legs sticking out.
Just one look and Audino already knew exactly who it was. And it immediately made her shudder as a voice came from the familiar figure.
"Well! How convenient!" That voice belonged to the rival of Mayor Mare and the demon in angel's clothing, Togepi as the mist revealed the Spike Ball Pokemon.
"Togepi?!" Audino gasped as Chikorita suddenly stopped while still asleep.
"Out alone here, are you?" Togepi grinned. "Too bad."
"Why of all times...?" Audino groaned as she looked down at Chikorita who wasn't walking anymore. But she was still in a sleepwalking state.
"Hm?" Togepi herself also noticed how Chikorita was asleep on the spot, out in this cold weather which was bad for a Grass-Type Pokemon. Especially one as young as her. Togepi felt like taking advantage of the situation around her because of this.
"Why are you here?" Audino got in front of Chikorita.
"Pssh. None of your business. But since I bumped into you two..." Togepi eyes were shining as she was about to use the move Mega Punch. "I'll keep you two in my custody for the time being!"
Togepi planned on keeping Audino and Chikorita as her captives for the same reason as always. She wants to grab the attention of Mayor Mare since Audino and Chikorita are essentially citizens of Ponyville.
Any chance of getting back at her archenemy was a catch in Togepi's eyes as she rushed towards the duo.
"Oh, no!" Audino screeched as she now had to figure out how to fight Togepi off while protecting Chikorita.
The Spike Ball Pokemon raised her stubby arms, ready to smash them onto the Hearing Pokemon. Audino decided to use Protect as a means of defence. A green barrier formed in front of her and Chikorita, blocking the Mega Punch from succeeding.
"Heh." Togepi grinned, knowing that Protect can't save Audino from her forever. The Spike Ball Pokemon jumped back as she had other means of attacking.
Perhaps her most useful move was Psychic, allowing her to manipulate her opponents with her mind. Physically not mentally, much to her dismay.
The Fairy-Type's eyes illuminated blue as she lifted Audino and Chikorita with her mind, holding them both in place. Thankfully, Chikorita hadn't woken up since Psychic isn't about physical contact but this was still a bad situation.
"Gotcha!"
"Not for long!" Audino opened her mouth as she was about to fire off Hyper Beam as an orange ball of energy formed inside of her mouth.
But obviously, Togepi wouldn't let herself get hit by such an attack. So, when Audino fired Hyper Beam which tore through the air, the Spike Ball Pokemon used Substitute to avoid it.
Togepi moved back quickly when the Hyper Beam came close as she created an afterimage of herself. When the afterimage was hit, it had disappeared.
But not only did it hit the afterimage, but the ground as well. Any time Hyper Beam hits the ground, there is bound to be some hefty destruction.
Which is what was happened right about now.
The snow around the ground had been blown away by the explosion of Hyper Beam as a massive crater had been formed. But it didn't stop at just an explosion and a crater, the snowy hills around the area had crumbled as the ground itself was shaking.
Audino was losing her balance as she realized she put too much power into that Hyper Beam. Now the ground was covered in more snow that fell from the hills.
"Missed!" Togepi taunted. "Now it's my turn!"
"Ugh..." Audino fell on her knees, as she had to take a rest after using Hyper Beam, unfortunately. This allowed Togepi to strike while the iron was hot.
And she did so by using Dazzling Gleam. By creating a rainbow sphere in her arms, Togepi sent a large array of rainbow beams towards the defenceless Audino who still hadn't recovered after using Hyper Beam.
Audino gasped as she put her body over Chikorita without making contact with her, hoping that she could withstand the beams of Dazzling Gleam while protecting Chikorita too. From how fast they were moving, she knew that this might pummel her violently.
She was prepared for the worst to happen.
"Mmm..." But then, as Chikorita grumbled in her sleep, something unusual happened. A piece of her leaf came out, flowing in the wind as it landed on Togepi's head.
From Togepi's point of view, she witnessed the multiple beams of Dazzling Gleam bombard Audino and Chikorita, making it a direct contact.
The beams were pouring on them as multi-coloured explosions graced Togepi's eyes. It looked like her attack was a success and she had successfully knocked them both out.
But that's when the unexpected happened. Togepi's eyes had suddenly blinked as an instant flash happened before her eyes. The Spike Ball Pokemon rubbed her eyes, wondering what that was flash was.
Once she got done rubbing her eyes, it was revealed that Dazzling Gleam hadn't hit Audino and Chikorita. Almost as if they had missed. Which was odd.
But even more unusual, Togepi said something she had already said earlier.
"Missed! Now it's my turn!" That's when it hit her. "Huh...? Didn't I say those words earlier?"
"What...? What happened?" For Audino, it was a different experience. While Togepi thought that the attack had missed, Audino realized that Togepi never fired the attack in the first place.
"Must've been a dud. Let's try this again!" Togepi sent more Dazzling Gleam beams towards the duo once more. She was expecting to hit them this time.
"Mrrgh..." Once again, Chikorita grumbled as another tiny piece of leaf came off her, landing on Togepi's head.
That same mysterious flash happened to Togepi's eyes as the moment she rubbed them, she saw that yet again, Audino and Chikorita were completely fine.
"What's going on?!" Togepi screeched. "Let's try a new attack then!" She switched it up, going for Flamethrower this time. A blast of fire came out of Togepi's mouth as she knew that an attack this wide was unlikely to miss. The raging fire melted the snow around the area as an orange glow illuminated Audino's back.
Audino covered her eyes as a third tiny piece of leaf came out of Chikorita's head, phasing through the fire itself as it landed on Togepi's face.
The fire had engulfed Audino and Chikorita as the Hearing Pokemon cried out in pain. From how she was screaming, Togepi thought that it was a success since Audino generally sounded like she was being burned by intense flames.
But lo and behold, the flash happened once more. And to Togepi's shock, Audino and Chikorita were fine yet again. They looked like they hadn't taken any damage whatsoever, their bodies weren't burned and what's more, the snow hadn't been melted by Flamethrower like what Togepi saw.
Naturally, this freaked the Spike Ball Pokemon out. She slowly backed away, flabbergasted and confused about what was going on.
It was almost as if something was changing the outcome that was less favourable to Togepi and more favourable to Audino and Chikorita.
Similar to changing fate itself.
Audino shook her head as she herself had no idea what was going on, so she quickly stood up as she was about to perform something very risky. She was going to make contact with the sleepwalking Chikorita.
"Sorry about this, Chikorita." Taking the risk, Audino placed her hands on the Leaf Pokemon, raising her as she made a run for it.
All the while, Togepi stood there, confused, befuddled and lost on what she had just witnessed. She could've sworn that Dazzling Gleam and Flamethrower connected.
If the attacks missed, then she would've seen them miss. But instead, each time she unleashed an attack, this mysterious flash happened in front of her eyes as she also noticed that a leaf came close to her.
Togepi quickly snapped out of it as she chased after Audino and Chikorita. "Come back here!"
"Just have to find the castle! If I can pick up on the sound of the festival..!" Audino exclaimed as she turned around to see Togepi running after her.
"You won't get away from me!"
"Mrrgh..." Being grabbed by Audino meant that Chikorita had been woken up, breaking out of her sleepwalking. "A-Ah-Ah..."
"Chikorita?"
"AH!" As expected, waking up a sleepwalking Pokemon resulted in less than stellar results. Not only was Chikorita's heart beating fast, but she released a ton of Grass Infinity energy from her body, creating a powerful pulse of energy that spread across the area.
This was one of the many reasons why no one ever wakes up a sleepwalking Pokemon. The Infinity Energy inside of their body will overload and they'll unleash an energy pulse so destructive that it surpasses their limitations. Especially the pre-evolved Pokemon.
This pulse was so strong that it not only destroyed the ground beneath Chikorita, Audino and Togepi, but it also made each of them fall into the large hole.
Well, Togepi used Substitute to save herself from falling as she watched Chikorita and Audino fall instead, hearing their screaming.
"Hmph. It's better if they're left deep down there...." Togepi grimaced as she used the move Ancient Power to block off the hole with large ancient rocks of the past.
After being woken up and exerting all of her energy, Chikorita had gone back to sleep due to that power overload. But she and Audino were still falling down a seemingly endless abyss.
Audino screamed as she had let go of Chikorita. "Chikorita! You're going back to sleep now?!"
"Mmmm..." She smiled in her sleep.
"Ah!" Audino curled up as she saw that there was no end to this fall. It could go on forever. She closed her eyes in instinctive response because of this. "Not like this!"
"Mmmrgh..." Chikorita grumbled in her sleep as yet again, the leaf on her head was acting up. But this time, instead of one, two tiny pieces of leaves came out of Chikorita's leaf as they both flew over to Audino who hadn't seen the leaves fly over to her.
Once the leaves touched her head, that same mysterious flash forced Audino to open her eyes as she had seen it appear before her eyes.
This flash lasted longer than what Togepi saw from what it seems. About 5 seconds. Almost as if an explosion was going off. And the last thing Audino saw was a green light and that was it.
"Ugh..." Audino had woken up after the flash, seemingly alright and in one piece. But there was an even better result than just being okay and healthy.
Audino sat up as she noticed that not only was she in one piece with Chikorita by her side, but she was safely on the ground as if the impact had been cushioned mysteriously.
Even the rocks that Togepi created were gone too.
"W-What happened...?" A befuddled Audino stammered.
"Mrrgh..." Finally, Chikorita was waking up, no longer in a sleepwalking state. She didn't let out any infinity energy since she woke up by her own will without contact. Once she opened her eyes, the Leaf Pokemon noticed that they were in an underground area all of a sudden. "Huh? What? Audino?"
"Chikorita. You're awake?"
"Mhm." She nodded gently. "Where are we?"
"Far from the Crystal Empire and the Pokemon Festival. Underground too. But we're okay...somehow. You were sleepwalking and we ended up here from me following you."
"Oh. Okay." Chikorita yawned. "I didn't know I could sleepwalk. That was my first time."
"Hopefully, it's the last." Audino stood up as she picked Chikorita up. The Hearing Pokemon noticed that they were at the absolute bottom of the underground.
Whatever saved them from having a horrible landing, brought them to safety at the lowest part of the underground.
Audino couldn't even see the entrance. Mostly because the main problem was that this hole was unnaturally deep. with only a small ray of moonlight beaming through. That moonlight wasn't enough to cancel out the darkness, unfortunately.
After all, Audino did see it as an endless abyss when she was falling. But obviously, there was a way out of here somehow. So the two of them would most likely have to search for a way out.
But that didn't need to happen because they weren't alone underground. Right next to them, a group of Drilbur's popped up, startling the duo.
"Howdy!" The group greeted.
"Ah!" Chikorita and Audino jumped back.
"You two lost?" A single Drilbur spoke.
"Lost?" Then after that, they all spoke in unison.
"Oh, um yes." Audino nodded. "We've fallen underground sadly. And now we're just looking for a way out."
"Ah, that's easy enough!"
"Easy enough!"
"We'll get you out of here in no time. Where do you two wanna pop out?"
"Just up near the Crystal Empire. Oh, but, you don't know what that is, do you?"
"Oh, that large place with those crystals and stuff? We know it. Pretty shiny!"
"Pretty shiny!"
"We'll get you there lickety-split!"
"Lickety-split!"
"Neat!" Chikorita squeed. They had the perfect guide out of this underground in the form of Drilbur's who were already drilling experts. How lucky.
The Drilbur's didn't need to dig in order to guide them out. Since they've dug in this underground area so frequently, many holes are plastered all over the place with their own exits and entrances. Although they might have to dig a hole when they reach their destination.
Along the way, Audino noticed that Chikorita looked a bit different. The leaf on her head was missing a few bits. It looked like a Rattata had nibbled on it.
"Say, Chikorita..." Audino spoke.
"Hm?" Chikorita turned around.
"What happened to your leaf? It's missing some parts."
"Oh?" Chikorita looked up. "Ah! My leaf! Is this bad?! Am I in danger?!"
"I don't think so." Audino shook her head. "But it is a bit surprising."
"Mrrgh..." Chikorita grumbled. "Fluttershy's going to be so upset when she sees this."
"But, one thing that has me curious...those flashes. Where did they come from?" Audino wasn't sure what caused those sudden flashes.
But what she could tell was that somehow, in some way, these flashes saved her and Chikorita from being hurt. Not only that, but Audino noticed how the number of flashes that she saw was identical to the number of leaves that Chikorita leaf was missing.
Audino thought it was a coincidence as she shook her head. She believed that the reason why they were still in one piece was due to a Pokemon that was so fast they could only see it as a flash of light.
At least, that's what Audino believes.
The helpful Drilbur's eventually led them out of the underground as they appeared right underneath the house of a crystal pony.
"We're here!" A Drilbur popped up. "All safe and sound."
"Safe and sound!"
"Thank you all so much." Audino thanked them as she and Chikorita climbed out of the hole, finally reaching the surface as they were back in the Crystal Empire.
"Catch ya later!" All the Drilbur bid their farewells as they descended underground, getting back to work.
Audino and Chikorita decided to return to the guest room by acting all stealthy. They were hoping that Fluttershy didn't already know they had left the guest rooms. The last thing they want is the Stare.
But, since they were gone for a while, Fluttershy already knew as she spotted her Pokemon walking at a slow pace, trying to be sneaky.
"Audi! Chikorita!" Fluttershy exclaimed as she flew over to them. They had been caught in the act by their trainer.
"Dino?!"
"Chiko?!"
"Where have you two been?! I've been so worried about you?!"
"A-Audino..." Audino gulped as she was fearing the worst.
"And..." Fluttershy also ended up noticing Chikorita's leaf was different. To Fluttershy, she thought that a smaller Pokemon attacked it.
"Chiko..." Chikorita hid behind Audino.
"Audi! You were meant to keep watch of her! What happened?!"
"Audino..." Audino whimpered as she knew she had to spill the truth to her. "Dino. Audino..."
"Sleepwalking?"
"Audino." She nodded.
"Hm." Fluttershy sighed. "I guess that would explain it...But what about her leaf?"
"Audino..." She didn't know. Audino couldn't answer the part about Chikorita's leaf.
"Okay...As long as you two are alright. That's what matters the most. Come on. Let's get to bed. We're heading to Manehattan tomorrow."
Their fear of being scolded by Fluttershy almost came true which is something Audino and Chikorita would never want since they're so well-behaved.
But, after a simple explanation, Fluttershy understood the scenario. But still, the biggest mystery to Audino were those flashes. There might be a chance they'll show up again and perhaps, they'll save her from harm once more.
The second day of the festival comes to an end as the group are setting off to Manehattan next. But along the way, a certain Pokemon Hunter may have a chance of crossing paths with them. Who knows. Right now, they're just going to enjoy this festival through and through as the journey continues.
And the next choice of destination is the bustling Manehattan. Ash and the others had already bid their farewell to Cadence, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart as they were on the train to Manehattan, looking forward to what it could hold.
However, while everyone is excited to go to Manehattan, Audino is a bit worried. The reason involving Chikorita's leaf and how it had bits of it missing. And to an extent, Fluttershy as well.
Since they both had no idea how Chikorita lost bits of her leaf, they were starting to worry. Mainly Audino since she was there with Chikorita last night.
On that night, mysterious flashes occurred that Audino herself saw. Those flashes were a mystery. But what was known about them was how they seemed to save Audino and Chikorita from harm.
But, during all the times they've been in situations where they could get hurt, Audino wondered why of all times would the flash be showing up.
It never showed up during Eternatus or Spiritomb at all.
"Audino..." A confused Audino looked down at the floor.
"Audi?" Fluttershy grabbed the attention of her partner.
"Dino?"
"Are you alright? You look a bit down and out of it? Is this because of what happened last night?"
"Audino." She told Fluttershy that there was no need to worry.
"If something's wrong just tell me, Audi." Fluttershy flew over to her partner, patting her on the back.
"Dino...Audino." Audino decided to tell Fluttershy about what she saw last night that really confused her. She explained how she saw these mysterious flashes appear before her.
These flashes happened at a precise moment where it looked like Audino and Chikorita would end up getting hurt from what she could remember.
Audino also told Fluttershy about how for some odd reason, the number of leaves missing on Chikorita's leaf is the same as the number of flashes that occurred. She also explained that these harmful moments occurred when they bumped into Togepi who threatened to hold them hostage.
But every time Togepi attacked them, the flashes happened, saving them from any harm.
"Flashes of light, you say? And they saved you?"
"Audino." She nodded.
"Hm..." Fluttershy pondered. "I'm a bit lost on that myself. These flashes saved you? How's that possible?"
"Audino." She didn't know.
"Fluttershy. What's wrong?" Twilight went up to her.
"Oh, Twilight. Audi's telling me about what she saw last night. Togepi came along and-"
"Togepi?!" Twilight screeched. "She didn't hurt any of you did she?!"
"Oh no. I wasn't there. But Audino and Chikorita were. Togepi tried to hold them hostage. But Audino described how these flashes of light had saved them from any harm."
"Flashes of light saving them from harm?" Twilight scrunched her eyes. "That's odd..."
"Odd is right. Audino herself couldn't tell how it happened. All she saw were the flashes."
"Audino..."
"Hm...Well as long as you're all okay, that's all that matters." Twilight stood up. She noticed that the train had stopped, meaning they had reached Manehattan at last. "Oh, we're here! Come on. I know I'm excited at what Manehattan has to offer."
Finally arriving at the bustling Manehattan, Eventide was the first to exit the train as his silver aura shined across the ground.
"Hmm...!" He took in the fresh air of Manehattan. "I've never been to a city of this scale. This should be interesting!"
"Don't go too crazy, dear." Sunlight hopped off the train.
"Pardon me." Rarity scooched past Sunlight and Eventide.
"Mrrgh..." Rainbow Dash grumbled as she flew out of the train. "Can't believe I came in late yesterday."
"At least you're here now" Applejack replied.
As the rest of them came outside, they saw how extra bright this sunlight was, compared to the Crystal Empire and even Canterlot itself where Celestia was born.
When Chikorita came outside, something miraculous happened. The bits of her leaf that had been torn off were suddenly regenerating in a few seconds as Fluttershy and Audino ended up witnessing this.
"Chikorita! Your leaf!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Chiko?" The Leaf Pokemon looked up to see that what was once lost had been returned. Her leaf was back to normal will all the missing parts restored. As if it had never changed in the first place. "Chiko..."
"Audino..."
"Oh, I get it." Fluttershy looked up. "Bright sunlight regenerates your leaf. Of course! Oh, that's a great relief, Chikorita!"
"Chiko!" Chikorita jumped around, relieved and pleased that her leaf had regenerated. She thought that the damage would be permanent. But not at all.
"Looks like there was no need to worry, after all." Fluttershy picked the Leaf Pokemon up. "Come on. Let's enjoy this festival!"
"Chikorita!"
With that little issue gone and Chikorita's leaf restored, they could enjoy the festival without having to worry about anything that could be potentially troublesome. At least for now that is.
Manehattan's attractions, much like everywhere else, had something new to offer. But more importantly, the attractions here were more about fashion and style which fit Manehattan's energy perfectly.
Some more Pokestar Studios was here alongside Pokemon Contests, showcases and even the famous Pokemon Musical from Nimbasa City in Unova which is a more modified version of contests.
Although, there was something action-packed here. The Pokeathlon. Straight from Goldenrod City in Johto. Clearly, Manehattan was showing off, as it usually does.
"Awesome! The Pokeathlon's here!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"What's the Pokeathlon?" Applejack asked.
"It's a competition where Pokemon take part in a bunch of athletic competitions. This takes me back." Ash explained.
"Did you say athletic?!" Rainbow Dash got up in Ash's face, scrunching her nose on his.
"Mhm." Ash nodded.
"Excellent..." Rainbow Dash had a devious grin on her face as she was rubbing her hooves together. "First one there!" She dashed off.
"Hmmm..." Ash looked at Gengar's Poke Ball. "It's been a while, but I'll let Gengar and the others try this Pokeathlon too. Let's hope we're not rusty, buddy."
"Pika!"
"I'll take you on, Ash." Applejack offered to try the Pokeathlon. "Sounds fun to me. Right, Sceptile?"
"Tile!"
"Then in that case, out you come guys." Ash sent out all of his Pokemon to not only enjoy what Manehattan has to offer but to also take part in the Pokeathlon.
"You all are athletic, right?" Twilight turned to her Pokemon.
"Esp..." Eve wasn't so sure as she squinted her eyes.
"Sol." Absol nodded. He was a fairly nimble fellow.
"Nine." Ninetales was just here to have fun. He didn't even care how athletic he as.
"Ccino." Minccy was athletic but she wasn't sure about dirtying herself. All of Twilight's Pokemon had varying responses.
"You guys..." Twilight shook her head. "Alright. We'll see who'll go when we get there."
"Well, I think I'll be joining Rarity," Fluttershy spoke. "We both decided on the Pokemon Musical. But I'm not sure Audi and Chikorita can sing. Can they?"
"We'll see how it works. Come along Fluttershy." Rarity walked off with Fluttershy following behind.
"Aha!" Eventide bellowed as he spotted Luna in the distance. "There is that elusive Luna! Finally!"
"Has she been here all this time?" Celestia tilted her head.
"Come, you two!" Eventide placed his hoof around their necks, dragging them along. "We have a lot to catch up on with her!"
"Out of the way!" Barry yelled as he and the CMC dashed out of the train, leaving behind a trail of dust while Cilan casually walked out of the train instead.
Everyone had something they wanted to do. Most of the attention was geared towards the Pokeathlon, however. It was very tempting. For both humans and ponies alike as well as a different species which are currently here.
The Pokeathlon.
A type of competition involving Pokémon racing and similar athletic competitions, with a total of 10 events. All of it taking place on the outside.
It tests everything about a Pokemon. From Synchronicity, Speed, Power, Skill, Stamina, and Jumping capabilities. And it tests all of those stats at the very same time, making it a challenging competition.
Arriving there, they already saw how there were many humans and ponies gathered here to take part in this competition. But more importantly, some griffons could be seen in the mix too.
Ash already explained the rules to Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Applejack since he's taken part in it before. Like in Pokemon Contests, four competitors participate at once as each uses a team of one Pokémon in each event. The Pokémon and trainers that take part are known as Pokéathletes.
By winning events in the Pokéathlon, the participating Pokémon will earn medals for their species. Their Trainers earn points for the competition based on how well the team did and if they qualified for any of the several bonuses. The Trainer with the highest score wins, with a tie settled with a random draw by the Pokéathlon host.
The Pokéathlon was confirmed to have started in Johto, with the current Pokéathlon being the first to be held in Manehattan. The Pokéathlon was a qualifying match, with the winner moving on to compete in the regional competition.
All they had to do to participate was register.
"This seems a bit challenging, doesn't it?" Twilight gulped.
"Sure does! That's what makes it fun!" Ash tightened his gloves.
"It ain't gonna be a problem for Sceptile here. He's a versatile fella if you haven't noticed." Applejack placed her hoof on Sceptile.
"Scep."
"Pssh." Rainbow Dash scoffed. "If anyone's versatile it's Braviary. All of my Pokemon are. See that Hurdle Dash over there? We're blazing that for sure."
"Ah!" An employee slid over, responding to Rainbow Dash's words. "No Flying-Types or any Pokemon that can fly are allowed in the Hurdle Dash."
"Wh-" Rainbow Dash froze. "Aw...Fine. I guess I'll stick with Luxio, Mienfoo and Whirilipede for the Hurdle Dash."
"You think you've got it rough?" A familiar voice reached the ears of Rainbow Dash. One that was also familiar to Twilight and Applejack but not Ash.
That familiar voiced belonged to Gilda.
"I can't use my Pokemon for this either." Gilda shook her head.
"Gilda?!" The three of them exclaimed.
"Oh!" Ash gasped as he dashed over. "A griffon?! Awesome!"
"Pikachu!"
"Hm?" Gilda looked up at Ash. "You...You that Ash guy?"
"Mhm. That's me." Ash nodded.
"Definitely taller than the other griffons think you are. At least Gabby does..."
"Oh, yeah I remember. Griffons are apart of this too. So you actually came, Gilda?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Sure did. But right now I can't do anything cause my Pokemon can't take part in the Hurdle Dash." Gilda sighed.
"What Pokemon do you have?" Twilight asked.
"Only one. Come out." Gilda took out a Poke Ball, revealing her partner which ended up being a Shiny Staraptor.
"Staraptor!"
"Gonna have to wait for the other events to use Staraptor. Which blows." Gilda groaned. "But when I get my chance I'm gonna ace these events no problem. Staraptor here has been looking forward to something like this, right girl?"
"Raptor!"
"She seems...different from when we last saw her..." Applejack whispered.
"A lot happened when Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash went to Griffonstone from what I'm told..." Twilight responded. "She's back to being Rainbow Dash's friend too. Or...she always was."
"Don't sweat it, Gilda. When you get the chance, let's go head to head in uh..." Rainbow Dash was looking at one of the events she and Gilda could take part in. "Goal Roll!"
"Sure. I'm looking forward to that." Gilda nodded.
An extra friend of Rainbow Dash being apart of this was always a nice feeling. But another friend who came along was none other than Goh, who had just caught up.
"Ash! Guys!" Goh screamed as he ran over.
"Hm? Goh?" Ash turned around.
"Yeesh...Finally caught up..." Goh breathed in and out. "I got too distracted in Canterlot's Relief Zone. Couldn't even catch any Pokemon there." He sighed.
"No need to worry!" Ash grinned. "You're just in time for the Pokeathlon."
"Hm? Pokeathlon? Oh, I've heard of that! It's here?!" Goh shot up. "Nice opportunity..." Goh rubbed his hands together.
"Oh! I forgot to register!" Ash bolted off along with Rainbow Dash. The first event, Hurdle Dash was already about to begin so there was no time to waste whatsoever. Gilda would be sitting this one out along with her Staraptor.
As they registered their names, they were officially apart of the Pokeathlon. This would end up being Manehattan's first Pokeathlon although, to Applejack and Rainbow Dash, they were fairly familiar with something like this.
The first event, Hurdle Race was about to begin as over 10 Pokemon were selected to race against each other, each with their own trainer.
Ash chose Pikachu for this since he's very nimble, Twilight went with Absol, Applejack's only choice was Sceptile, Rainbow Dash chose Mienfoo and Goh stuck with his Cinderace.
The hurdles were stretched across the streets of Manehattan. And despite how many there were, it wasn't enough to fill the entire city, showing just how massive Manehattan truly is.
But before they could start, the Pokéathletes were all given the necessary synchronization eye vizor gear that they were all required to wear. The Pokemon themselves were given headgear instead.
"What are these?" Rainbow Dash tilted her head, looking at the device. She wouldn't have to wonder since the announcer was about to explain the rules.
"Now that each trainer has received their devices, I'll quickly explain how they're used. You'll notice that each of your Pokemon have been equipped with a video camera. The image from that camera will be visible to the trainer using the goggles that they've been given."
"Ooh..." Rainbow Dash put the vizor on along with everyone else. Once they put it on, they could see that everything was green and red. The scenery was green while the trainers and Pokemon were red.
"As each Pokemon runs, hurdles will suddenly appear on the track. However, these hurdles will be visible to the trainers before their Pokemon. At the appropriate time, the trainers will jump which then transmits a signal to their Pokemon, signalling them to jump. Success in the third round Hurdle Dash will depend on the perfect timing and execution of those jumps. And remember, no flying, everyone."
"Bit hard on the eyes this little doo-hickey." Applejack grumbled.
"It's amazing!" Twilight squeed. "I wonder if I can sell these anywhere!"
"Let's ace this, buddy!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Let's start the countdown!" The announcer raised her arm.
"3"
"2"
"1"
"START!"
"Pika!" Pikachu and the Pokemon instantly got a move on, bolting off the ground. All the while, the trainers were standing by, waiting for the hurdles to appear.
Out of all the Pokemon here, Pikachu's years of experience made him the fastest as he was ahead of everyone else, including the speedy Cinderace.
Once the Pokemon reached a certain distance, the first hurdle appeared in the device of the Pokéathletes, right before it showed up for the Pokemon.
"There!" Ash uttered as he jumped up which ended up prompting the device on Pikachu's head to react to Ash's movements.
"Pika?" Once the device beeped, Pikachu saw the hurdle appear into reality. "Pika!" With nimble agility, the Electric Mouse Pokemon jumped over the hurdle with ease. "Pika!"
"I see one!" Rainbow Dash ended up seeing a hurdle through her device. Since she wasn't allowed to fly, she could only jump for this.
"Mien?" Once she did, Mienfoo's device beeped as a hurdle appeared in front of the Martial Arts Pokemon. "Mienfoo!" By showing off, Mienfoo front flipped over the hurdle in front of her instead of a simple jump.
"Sol!" Absol easily jumped over since he was just as nimble as his friend Pikachu.
But Sceptile and Cinderace might prove to be a problem. They're much bigger than their friends to they tall statures might end up costing them the event.
Luckily, despite their larger figures, both of them were able to work around the hurdles easily. Cinderace at the end of the day is a rabbit-based Pokemon. So it's obviously going to be an expert at hopping.
As for Sceptile, being naturally built to move around in an area such as a forest meant that every Sceptile could leap great bounds with no issue.
Which is exactly what Sceptile did here. By leaping over the hurdle with a single bound. That jump was enough to make the Forest Pokemon get ahead of its contenders.
The Pokemon would have to run around Manehattan where there will most likely be buildings blocking the view of their trainers. But it certainly proved to be a challenge for them.
The further they got, the faster the hurdles were starting to pop up. Other Pokemon had different means of jumping over the hurdles.
A Spoink just did what it does best by just bouncing continuously, a Scrafty headbutted the ground, propelling itself upwards, a Hitmonlee used its springy legs to jump up and so on.
But Pikachu was still in the lead with superior speed. But as he noticed, from the corner of his eye that Sceptile and Cinderace caught up to him since their speed could match his. "Pika?!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile beat out Cinderace in speed by just a bit as he was neck and neck with Pikachu as they all jumped over the hurdles.
"Ace?!"
This time, it wasn't just more than one hurdle, it had increased to two hurdles this time. Two was a bit of a challenge, but nothing that the Pokemon couldn't achieve as their trainers jumped at the right time the moment they spotted the hurdles.
But here's where things get tricky. Not only were three layers of hurdles added, spiking up the difficulty but now the hurdles weren't far apart from each other. Instead, they were closer to each other now, making the gap tighter as the Pokemon were forced to change things up.
This meant, getting closer to their fellow Pocket Monsters. For the smaller Pokemon, this was a problem since the larger Pokemon could easily squish them.
"Mienfoo?!" Mienfoo looked around her to see that a Heatmor and Heliolisk were very close to her, casting a shadow over the Martial Arts Pokemon.
Mienfoo, being the temperamental Pokemon that she is, was feeling the powerful urge to slug both of these Pokemon right here so that she can clear some space. But she knew it would most likely disqualify Rainbow Dash, so she restrained herself.
As for the other Pokemon, the tight gap and extra layer of hurdles were proving to be very challenging as some of them tripped over the hurdles, losing speed and momentum, sadly.
Seeing that things were getting harder from here on, the Pokemon sped up as they were aiming at crossing the finishing line before it gets worse for them.
The increasing number of hurdles popping up in a short amount of time forced the Pokeathletes themselves to jump faster without taking many breaks.
Some Pokeathletes couldn't react fast enough since the hurdles were popping up faster than expected. So their jumps were heavily delayed, causing their Pokemon to jump at the wrong time with delayed beeps.
Although, there was one Voltorb that just simply ploughed through the hurdles since it just kept on rolling. The hurdles weren't a problem for it at all.
"They're going too fast!" Goh screeched as he was having trouble timing his jumps when a hurdle showed up in his device.
"Are we at the finish line yet?!" Applejack yelled.
Ash and Rainbow Dash were able to time their jumps properly compared to everyone else. Rainbow Dash was able to do this since her reaction time is so great thanks to her amazing speed.
Ash was able to do it because of his many years of experience with fast Pokemon and high-speed battles. And all that journeying across regions for years really helps with the legs and eyes.
It was neck and neck between Pikachu and Mienfoo with Sceptile being behind them both as he outsped Absol, Cinderace and the other Pokemon.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Mien!"
"Sceptile!"
The finish line was right there. Victory lies before their eyes as the three of them were giving it all they had, unleashing their energy in a final spurt of speed.
But out of nowhere, they had all been outdone by Voltorb, which had just been rolling this entire time without slowing down. It had passed all of them, just barely beating Pikachu out by an inch as it passed the finish line first.
"Voltorb!"
"Pika?!"
"And that's that!" The announcer exclaimed as the Hurdle Dash had come to an end with all the Pokemon came to a screeching halt. "With that, the winner of the first event is Voltorb in first place!"
"Huh?!" Twilight took off the device along with everyone else. "Voltorb won?!"
"Would ya look at that..." Applejack removed the device and took off her hat. "Always the one you'd least expect, huh?"
"Mhm." Ash nodded with Pikachu and the others.
"Pika."
"That's my boy!" Voltorb's trainer dashed over, hugging his partner.
"Voltorb!" The Ball Pokemon responded by self-destructing in front of its own partner out of love.
"We're not done yet!" The announcer yelled. "Soon we'll be heading on to the second event! Ring Drop! So get ready Pokeathletes!"
"We'll ace the next one for sure, Mienfoo." Rainbow Dash tried to cheer Mienfoo up. "If it's your speciality that is."
"Foo!" She crossed her arms, upset at losing.
Even if Voltorb won the first event, there were still more events to come and more opportunities to seize victory in the Pokeathlon. So all was not lost for those who couldn't win the Hurdle Dash as the next event was the Ring Drop.
But before that, there was a short break.
Meanwhile, with the Cutie Mark Crusaders alongside Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, they were running along searching for something to do while Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were just casually walking by.
But as they were zooming across the city, Apple Bloom spotted something that was right near a back alley. Something that really caught her eye.
"Hey girls!" She stopped running. "Look at this!" Her words prompted her friends to come over as they looked at where Apple Bloom was facing.
"Hm?" They all said in unison.
What Apple Bloom had seen along with all of her friends was certainly something that seemed unusual, but in reality, it was something that was horrifying.
Orange stone statues of Pokemon could be seen in the alley. These Pokemon statues all had petrified faces on them as if they were running away from something. Not only that, but they spotted statues of ponies as well, who had a similar expression on their face.
"What's up with these statues?" Scootaloo went up to a Phanpy. "They look kinda freaked out."
"This doesn't look like the best place to put statues." Sweetie Belle scratched her mane. "You think somepony misplaced them."
"I don't know...Something about this is rubbing me the wrong way." Silver Spoon slowly backed up.
"Hm." Diamond Tiara noticed a Ribombee statue that fallen over as she picked it up. When she did, she could hear sounds coming from the statue. Very faint sounds.
"Ribombee..."
"Huh?" Her eyes widened as she stepped back. "D-Did it just talk?!"
"Talk?" Silver Spoon turned to her friend. "I don't hear anything."
"It'd be cool if these statues could talk though." Scootaloo nodded.
"Bombee..."
"Seriously...You don't hear them talking? Cause I do!" Diamond Tiara gulped as she was starting to get uncomfortable.
"They shouldn't be talking." Just then, an unfamiliar voice reached their ears, prompting the young fillies to turn their heads to the source of the voice.
The main reason why the statues were here and had petrified faces on them wasn't because they were here for show. Not at all. Instead, Diamond Tiara hearing the Ribombee statue speak wasn't something she imagined. That was because this Ribombee was an actual living Ribombee. Along with all the other Pokemon statues and ponies here. And the one person who did this to them had arrived to collect the statues.
J.
"Then again, not many can barely hear them," J smirked as she intimidated the fillies.
"U-Uh! H-Hello, miss!" Apple Bloom shuddered at J's sharp eyes as she and her friends huddled near each other. "A-Are these statues yours?"
"Hm? Oh, yes." J nodded as she went up to a Starly statue. "I was just about to collect them and bring them back with me, you see."
"All of these? Aren't they a bit too big and a lot to carry?" Silver Spoon asked.
"Oh, not at all. I have that." J pointed behind her as she showed the young fillies a carriage. Two of them actually. Both of them were being pulled by her Pokemon. Her Salamence and Drapion.
"Dra."
"Sala."
Both her Pokemon glanced at the fillies, causing them to shudder.
"I'll be placing them all inside. Besides, they're small enough after all." J chuckled as she picked up a petrified pony. A small cry travelled through the ears of Diamond Tiara as she once again heard the statues let out a sound.
J had her Drapion come along, using its sharp tail to latch onto the statues as she sent out her Ariados to use String Shot on the petrified ponies and Pokemon.
Diamond Tiara was very uneasy as she watched J and her Pokemon take these supposed statues away. The fillies just stood as they watched this intimidating woman take them all away alongside her intimidating Pokemon.
But as the final statue was being taken away by J, Diamond Tiara noticed that a crack suddenly formed on a Meditite statue. This crack had some light beaming out of it. It was faint but it was there.
All of the statues were placed in J's carriage as she tossed them like ragdolls. Diamond Tiara wasn't so sure about this J character. Something about her demeanour and how she tossed the statues made her very skeptical.
So, Diamond Tiara took out her Xtransceiver, using the camera function to take a picture of J. She wanted to get a picture of the Medittie statue but it was lost in the pile of other statues, unfortunately.
J looked back at the ponies, pondering for a minute. She saw that they weren't getting in her way at all since none of them, at least from what she could tell, were suspicious of her. They just seemed intimidated.
Which was good. As long as no one interferes with J's plans, they won't suffer the same fate as the ponies and Pokemon she petrified.
In fact, these statues were all trainers who tried to oppose J since they saw what she was up to, turning Pokemon in the wild to stone. As such, J turned them to stone as well.
J was smart enough to know not to blow her cover in a populated place such as this especially during a festival with more species being involved. So she'll just play it cool and be subtle.
"See ya later, kids." She said her last words to the young fillies as her Pokemon got a move on. But J wasn't gone without something that they can remember her by.
Diamond Tiara got J's image on her Xtransceiver. But she noticed how J didn't have a trainer number at all. But that should be obvious. She's a Pokemon Hunter, not a trainer.
But with the image of J on her Xtransceiver, Diamond Tiara felt like this could come in handy someday in some way. The intimidated fillies returned to the festival as most of them didn't think too much about it. But they knew something was amiss.
As J looked back at the festival and the number of petrified Pokemon and ponies she had captured, she got out scot-free. J had her own secret base of operations that she formed in this new world. Wherever it was, her presence in Equestria was certainly there as the journey continues.
With the Pokeathlon on a short break, other attractions are active right about now with trainers and their Pokemon finding fresh discoveries.
One of which being Rarity and Fluttershy who went over to the Pokemon Musical since it really caught their eye.
The Pokemon Musical. Much like the Pokemon Contests and Pokeathlon, this also acts as a perfect alternative to battling in case the trainers end up getting exhausted alongside their Pokemon.
"Hm." Rarity looked over at the rules of the Pokemon Musical. "Seems simple enough. Just dress up our Pokemon and dance away."
"I thought the Pokemon actually sang." Fluttershy looked at the rules. "Oh, well. It still seems enjoyable! Let's get you two dressed up."
"Oh!" An employee slid in. "Sorry. Only one Pokemon is allowed for each trainer, sadly."
"Oh." Fluttershy's ears dropped down. "That's a shame. Then...Which one of you would like to try it?"
"Chiko." Chikorita insisted that Audino should try.
"Dino?" Audino pointed at herself.
"Good thinking, Chikorita." Fluttershy flew up. "It'll be like us being in stardom! Oh, but...smaller stardom. That's a bit better."
"Why on earth would you want smaller stardom?" Someone replied to Fluttershy's words, prompting her and Rarity to turn around.
The one who replied to Fluttershy was none other than the Pokemon Coordinator and the rival of Dawn, Ursula, alongside her Plusle, but not her Minun since only one Pokemon was allowed.
"You should be aiming for top stardom," Ursula spoke.
"Oh, um. It's just not for me. Sorry." Fluttershy whimpered.
"Hmph. Odd." Ursula dressed her Plusle up in a Straw Hat. "Hold this, Plusle." She gave her Plusle a Colourful parasol.
"Plus!"
"Hm." Rarity looked at a scarlet cape that was fairly long. "This cape could look good on anypony. "Which one of you would like to try it out?"
"Pharos..." Ampharos shook his head. He wasn't exactly the show business type. But he was interested in the Pokeathlon and other attractions that involved action. Which he hoped that Rarity would take him too. "Ampharos."
"Ampharos, darling. If you're not interested, you can go off and do your own thing." Rarity said.
"Ampha?" He turned around. Did she really mean it?
"Mhm." Rarity nodded, insisting that her Pokemon go along and have the time of their life. "You should enjoy what you want after all."
"Ampharos!" The Light Pokemon bolted off with excitement as he thanked Rarity.
"Leavanny. Pheromosa. Do any of you wish to go along or stay here?"
"Leavan..." All of Rarity's Leavanny's looked at each other, trying to decide what they wanted to do. Some Leavanny's decided to stay here while others chose to go along and do whatever they want.
Since there were 12 of them in total, 6 of them split up while the other 6 stayed behind.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa was a sucker for something like this so she decided to stay along and volunteer for the musical as she placed the scarlet cape on.
"Nice cape." A random trainer said as they were passing by.
"Hmmm..." Ursula grumbled as she looked at Pheromosa. She saw how her beautiful appearance was complimented by the cape. Made her look like a superhero which made Ursula a tad bit jealous.
She wanted to 1UP her competitors by making her Pokemon out best Pheromosa's appearance. So she snatched the Straw Hat off of Plusle's head and replaced it with a Horned helm.
"Plus!"
"This'll do! And some of these!" She gathered some black wings, sticking them on the Cheering Pokemon's hat with vigour, forcing Plusle to hold a toy sword as she also added a black cape, just to mimic Pheromosa.
"Plusle?!"
"Aha! How's this?! Ursula crossed her arms. "My Plusle looks like a real threat now, don't you agree?!"
"That look is too busy." Rarity dismissed it.
"Too busy?!" Ursula screeched.
"It's all about simplicity. Normal may be basic but simple is best after all." Rarity nodded as Pheromosa nodded along.
"Phero."
"Kh! We'll let the musical decide." Ursula scoffed as she already found Rarity to be a massive threat. "My Plusle will surely beat out this...thing..." Ursula was having a hard time describing Pheromosa.
"Ah!" Rarity gasped as she and Ursula clashed heads, creating a mini-shockwave. "She has a name and a species, excuse you!"
As they both growled at each other, Fluttershy, Chikorita and Audino huddled together, witnessing the sparks beginning to build up and fly.
"Oh my." Fluttershy gulped.
Fluttershy, Ursula and Rarity were the main competitors with one extra pony in the mix as the 4 competitors prepare themselves.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the spectrum, the Pokeathlon has finished its break and the next event is about to happen.
Ring Drop.
This event requires only four Pokemon to be on a fighting ring at all times instead of every single one of them. If all of them joined, then it would be a problem.
The rules for this were simple. It was a lot like the Hariyama Wrestling attraction, minus being strapped onto a Hariyama. In which the Pokémon compete by tackling each other, trying to knock opponents out of the ring while staying in the ring themselves.
And the best part is that the Pokemon can actually be in teams of three so it's not a solo act with one Pokemon and one Pokeathlete.
Stamina was key in this event. Fatigue was sort of the be all end all in for the Ring Drop as the Pokémon can get fatigued when they are hit by tackles, which decreases their resistance to launching.
A Pokémon who is very fatigued will start to sweat, and a Pokémon who is extremely fatigued will faint, becoming immobile and losing a great deal of launch resistance for a few seconds.
Pokémon can be switched out, but only when the Pokémon is near the team's starting corner. Pokémon who are switched out can rest up and restore their stamina with whatever method they can find. When a Pokémon falls off the ring or is switched out, the next Pokémon takes its place.
It was a straightforward knockout event that any Pokemon could do. Ash and the others looked at the Recommended Pokemon list which told them which Pokemon would work best in this event.
The Top Six Pokemon chosen were Quagsire, Slowbro, Vileplume, Wobbuffet, Shuckle and Ursaring. Weirdly enough, only one of them looked intimidating and that was Ursaring. The rest were a bit unexpected.
"Aren't like 5 of these pretty goofy..?" Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes.
"You'd think there'd be heavier Pokemon in this." Applejack replied.
"They've got pretty good stamina so it makes sense." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
"Well, we don't have any of those but we can still manage without the recommended Pokemon. Ninetales. Eve. Absol. Let's have a go on this one." Twilight said to her Ninetales, Absol and Espeon.
"Ninetales!"
"Esp."
"Sol."
"Wait, three Pokemon?!" Gilda groaned. "Ugh...Are you kidding me? I only have one Pokemon...This is getting frustrating."
"Uh...Maybe the next event then?" Rainbow Dash shrugged.
"Yeah...sure." Gilda sighed.
"Count me out. I only got Sceptile." Applejack wouldn't be taking part in this event. "And this uh...Golett that's tagging along too."
"Gol!"
"Dragonite, Lucario. Gengar. I'm counting on the three of you." Ash said to his Pokemon.
"Dra!"
"Luca!"
"Gengar!"
Obviously, with all these Pokeathletes, some of them will get their turn in packs of 4. The first ones up were Ash, Rainbow Dash, Goh and Twilight for this one.
Rainbow Dash chose Mienfoo, Whirlipede and Altaria since she believes that Altaria's fluffy wings could be of great use in this tackling competition. Whirlipede would work great since his rolling could come in handy and Mienfoo was just here for some satisfaction after losing the Hurdle Dash.
They all have their own plans of winning this while Gilda watched, disappointed that she couldn't join due to her having only one Pokemon, Staraptor.
"Alright. Which one of you three has the longest stamina?" Twilight asked her partners.
"Esp..." Eve thought for a moment. "Espeon." She pointed at Ninetales, believing his stamina is greater than hers.
"Nine? Tales. Ninetales." Ninetales chose Absol since he pointed out how Absol was constantly on the move during the Dynamax Crisis and the Darkest Day.
"Sol?"
"Hm...Absol does run for a long time..." Twilight nodded. "Okay! Here's the plan. We'll start with you Eve. Then Ninetales and then finally Absol. We'll build up and take them by surprise. We've only got 60 seconds in this event anyway so we gotta move fast."
"If anyone's great at building speed, it's your Whirlipede. Just do what you do best and it'll be a cinch, okay?" Rainbow Dash grinned.
"Whirl!"
"Cinderace. Darmanitan. Scyther. No pressure on this okay?" Goh spoke.
"Cinder!"
"Dar!"
"Scyther!"
Four Pokemon in total got on the ring, each belonging to one trainer. The first ones up were Dragonite, Eve, Scyther and Mienfoo. The stage had been set as the countdown started.
"3"
"2"
"1"
"Go!"
Without having their trainers say anything, the Pokemon all moved the moment the sound of GO had been uttered since it was all dependent on the Pokemon in this event.
The first one to get a move on was Whirlipede since his rolling capabilities were his greatest asset here. The Curlipede Pokemon rolled towards Scyther as his first target.
"Scyther?" Scyther gasped as he was the first to be tackled by the Bug-Poison-Type. "Scyt!" Scyther nearly fell on its back as the other Pokemon got a move on.
"Esp!" Eve tackled Dragonite but soon came to find out that it barely did anything. The moment she tackled the Dragon Pokemon, she bounced back unexpectedly. "Eon?!"
"Dra!"
"She bounced back?!" Twilight screeched.
"Hehe." Ash cackled. "No way you're getting past Dragonite that easily!"
"Using Dragonite's rotund belly as a way to push anyone back. Ash, you crafty little..." Twilight grizzled her teeth. "We'll just hit Dragonite over and over again then!"
"Esp!" So that's what she did. Eve continuously tackled herself into the Dragon Pokemon, trying to make it budge at least once. All the while, Dragonite stood there, bouncing Eve back with its round stomach.
As for Whirlipede and Scyther. Scyther was at a disadvantage. Not because of its type, but because Whirlipede seemed to be getting stronger each time he and Scyther tackled each other.
Sadly, the same does not apply to Scyther. The trainers couldn't give commands since it was up to the Pokemon themselves so all they could do was stand by and cheer for their Pokemon.
"Gonite!" Dragonite let out a single tackle which sent Eve flying out of the ring with ease, eliminating the Sun Pokemon from the ring.
"Esp!"
"Ah! Eve!" Twilight gasped.
"Espeon! Out!" The announcer said. "20 points to Ash!"
"Nice, Dragonite!" Ash gave a thumbs-up as he and Pikachu cheered Dragonite on.
"Pikachu!"
As for Scyther and Whirlipede, the Curlipede Pokemon put so much pressure on Scyther that the Mantis Pokemon accidentally slipped, falling off the ring.
"Ther?!"
"Scyther! Out! 20 points to Rainbow Dash!"
"Aw...!" Goh groaned.
"Worked like a charm!" Rainbow Dash grinned.
"Return...Scyther." Goh sighed, returning Scyther to its ball.
"We don't have much time left...Ninetales go!" Twilight chose Ninetales next.
"Nine!" The Fox Pokemon jumped into the ring, immediately going after Dragonite. "Tales!" Like Eve, Ninetales smashed into Dragonite's belly.
But, Ninetales was able to slightly budge Dragonite thanks to him being bigger than Eve herself.
"Dra?" Dragonite decided to take things a bit seriously with how Ninetales budged it. The Dragon Pokemon tackled Ninetales, pushing him back but he wasn't out yet as the Fox Pokemon charged back in.
Goh chose Darmanitan next as the Blazing Pokemon ended up clashing with Whirlipede, who was getting faster each time he tackled into Darmanitan.
Only 35 seconds remain and the points were in Ash and Rainbow Dash's favour. Ninetales decided to switch things up by attacking Whirlipede instead.
"Nine!"
"Dra?"
The Fox Pokemon tackled Whirlipede's blindside as the Curlipede Pokemon didn't see it coming at all. "Pede!" Whirlipede had been launched by Ninetales who attacked him from the side.
"Oh! Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she saw her partner fly out of the ring at such a high height. "Urgh! Ninetales you...!"
"Whirlipede! Out! 20 points to Princess Twilight Sparkle!"
"Smart thinking, Ninetales!" Twilight squeed.
"Tales!"
"Don't get too distracted." Ash grinned. The reason why he grinned was that Dragonite pulled a sneak attack on Ninetales and Darmanitan, tackling them both.
"Ninetales!"
"Dar!"
The sheer weight of Dragonite was something to be intimidated by as a single tackle almost knocked both Fire-Types off the ring as they were struggling to keep their balance.
"Here's your chance. Get in there, Altaria!" Rainbow Dash went with Altaria next.
"Taria!" Altaria hopped in, going straight for Dragonite who was the biggest threat here. Once she and Dragonite tackled each other, Altaria's soft and fluffy wings ended up cushioning the blow, allowing her to only move back a bit.
"Gonite?!"
"Huh..." Gilda watched as she saw all the Pokemon tackle each other with only 20 seconds left on the clock. She found this whole event to be highly entertaining as she also saw how much fun the others were having with smiles on their faces.
It was a shame that she only had Staraptor. Gilda was hoping that the next event would allow her and Staraptor to finally do something.
"Dragon!" Dragonite tackled Altaria who kept using her wings to cushion the impact. Unfortunately, that wouldn't work forever since Dragonite could keep putting the pressure.
"Darman!" Darmanitan almost knocked Ninetales off the ring by adding its own pressure to the Fox Pokemon.
"Tales! Tales!" Ninetales was being pushed back by Darmanitan's aggressive approach as he was close to falling off. Until he came up with the brilliant idea of using his tails to cushion the blow, just like Altaria.
"Dar?" Darmanitan's eyes widened as it got a face full of tails. Nine of them to be exact.
"Nine!" Ninetales caught Darmanitan off guard as he performed a full-force tackle which almost knocked his fellow Fire-Type off.
"D-Darmanitan...!"
"Time!" Those 60 seconds were up as the Pokemon came to a screeching halt with Altaria crashing into Dragonite's belly.
"Alta!"
"Darman." Darmanitan sat down, letting out a great sigh of relief.
"Let's see those points." The announcer looked up to see the total tally. The total was 20 points for Ash, Twilight and Rainbow Dash while Goh, unfortunately, received zero.
"Aw! Zero?!" Goh sighed.
"Tough break." Applejack patted him on the back. "Better luck in the next event."
"That was a bit stressful..." Twilight sighed as she sat down. "What's next?"
"Next?" Ash slid over. "Block Smash!"
"Pikachu!"
"Dragonite!"
"Block Smash? Do you like the sound of that, Mienfoo?" Rainbow Dash asked her.
"Foo!"
"We'll get the next one for sure!" Goh kept his spirit up despite gaining no points in this event. The other Pokeathletes were still here so their turn was up next. So Ash, Twilight, Goh and Rainbow Dash took a break until this event ends.
This was also a good time to snack on something in the meanwhile. Gilda was getting impatient as she was waiting for her turn already. She couldn't take part in the previous two events since Staraptor wasn't allowed in the Hurdle Dash and she only had one Pokemon for Ring Drop.
But the Block Smash is without a doubt something her Staraptor can do. No problem. Every Pokemon is capable of joining this. Even the ones that don't have limbs.
Meanwhile, The CMC, alongside Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had just returned to the festival after seeing Hunter J for the first time without knowing her true intentions. J ended up lying to all five of them, saying that the petrified ponies and Pokemon were just statues she was coming to pick up. And they believed it.
All except for Diamond Tiara who was very unsure. She still remembered hearing the cries of a Ribombee from the Ribombee statue she saw.
Diamond Tiara was so judgemental that she used her Xtransceiver to take a picture of J. J didn't have a Trainer ID since she's a Pokemon Hunter but her face had been captured.
Diamond Tiara was a bit nervous. She felt like she should've probably gone after J. But it was too late now. She was long gone from here.
"Diamond Tiara? Hey. Hello?" Sweetie Belle waved her hoof in front of the earth pony's face.
"Hm?" Diamond Tiara snapped back to reality. "What?"
"Are you alright? You looked pretty dazed there. Is this festival a bit too much?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"No, it's not the festival." She shook her head, "Hey um...did you girls find that lady back there a bit odd."
"Who? You mean the lady with the awesome arm cannon and visor?" Scootaloo grinned. "If how cool she looked counts as odd then yeah, she's pretty odd."
"Yeah her. Something about her doesn't sit right with me..."
"Like?" Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon both said.
"I don't know...I can't describe it." Diamond Tiara shuddered. "I still think that Ribombee and all those other statues weren't statues at all."
"Then what were they?" Scootaloo wondered as she and the others stopped walking.
"Well...do you think they might just be petrified ponies and Pokemon?"
"You mean they've been turned to stone?" Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow.
"Mhm." Diamond Tiara nodded. "Something about it just makes me think that..."
"You think she's a villain?!" Scootaloo screeched.
"I don't know..." Diamond Tiara grumbled. "I just have a gut feeling you know."
"Well, she's long gone now." Silver Spoon shrugged. "We're probably never gonna see her face ever again."
"Actually," Diamond Tiara took out her Xtransceiver. "I took this picture before she left." She showed her friends the picture of J as they now had a permanent view of what she looked like.
"Those eyes are pretty sharp and menacing..." Apple Bloom nodded.
"But Diamond Tiara...Do you really think she's a bad person?" Sweetie Belle asked. "We don't know anything about her at all."
"I know I can't say anything since we just met her but it's a feeling I can't describe. Purrloin felt it too." Diamond Tiara held out her Poke Ball. "I could feel Purrloin shaking in fear. It was like she knew something horrible was close to us. And when she left, the shaking stopped."
"Shaking? Inside of the Poke Ball?" Silver Spoon leaned forward at the Poke Ball.
"You sound pretty serious about it Diamond Tiara. Maybe it's a good idea you took a picture of her. If what you're saying is true then we have this as a backup of her." said Scootaloo.
"Yeah. I just hope it doesn't come back to bite us..." Diamond Tiara shuddered.
"No need to worry!" Sweetie Belle slid over. "We've got a bunch more days left till the Pokemon Festival ends so let's have fun and forget about it for now. Oh, look! Rarity's over at the Pokemon Musical! I wanna see that!" She dashed over.
"Cheer up, it'll be fine." Apple Bloom grinned as she walked off, following Sweetie Belle as Scootaloo and Silver Spoon did the same.
Despite her the reassuring and hopeful words of her friends, the young earth pony was still very anxious about all of this. She turned off the Xtransceiver as she was going to let the thought of what J possibly is, escape her mind.
But she had every reason to be worried.
Somewhere near Manehattan near a calm and quiet lake, there lived a few smaller buildings in a secluded grassy area that was away from the bustling metropolis that is Manehattan.
It was peaceful and silent and had a lot of Grass-Type Pokemon here who enjoyed the tranquillity of this small area with very few buildings.
But unfortunately, yesterday, that tranquillity was disturbed.
By Hunter J.
She had made this secluded area her base of operations for the meantime. She did this by using her arm cannon on the ponies that lived here, turning them into stone.
That way, none of them could interfere with her plans. And if the Pokemon tried to stop her, she would just turn them into stone as well, making them apart of her collection. This entire town now belonged to her as she placed the statues inside of the home of the pegasus living here in each house.
"That settles that." She dusted herself. "How fortunate that my luck is turning around this effectively. I don't know how I returned, but I'll take it."
J had plans in this world. But of course, she couldn't forget about her own world since she had plans for that as well. She was aware of the gateways being the link between this world and her own.
J may have her gadgets and Pokemon back but she was still missing her original means of transportation. Right now, all she could rely on were horse carriages that her Pokemon pulled.
But J was smart enough to start from the ground up. These gadgets are her creation after all. She may not be on the intellectual level of Colress or most Pokemon scientists but she knew how to build something to benefit her.
It will take a while, but it will all pay off for her. Right now, with this collection of ponies and Pokemon at her disposal, J was obviously going to continue her Pokemon collecting spree but she was also planning on selling some of them for a profit. Including the ponies.
Back at the Pokemon Festival, Ash felt another odd chill run through his body. "Ugh..."
"Pika?"
"Meloetta?" Meloetta flew over to Ash, asking him what was wrong.
"I felt that chill again..." Ash shuddered. "Weird."
"Chill? In sunlight this bright?" Rainbow Dash looked up. "That's a bit weird."
"If you're feeling a chill like that, Ash, then is something wrong?" Twilight asked.
"It's like that chill's telling me something bad's coming our way."
"Pika..."
"Is it Ghetsis?!" Goh shot up.
"No idea." Ash shook his head. "Mrrgh...I can't really describe it!"
"What are you on about...?" Gilda squinted her eyes.
"You could just relax, Ash." Applejack suggested. "The next event ain't gonna happen for a while."
"Nah, it's fine. Just gotta keep myself sharp, ya know."
"Pikachu!"
But just like Diamond Tiara, Ash had all the reasons to have that chill run through his body as well as being worried. He wasn't aware of J's return. At least not yet. But even if he wasn't sure what it was, he wasn't going to let it ruin his fun as the journey continues.
The third day of the Pokemon Festival continues with the Pokeathlon still undergoing its events along with the Pokemon Musical.
And with so little time left too.
Over at the Pokemon Musical attraction, Fluttershy, Rarity, Ursula and a random pony were about to compete as both Rarity and Ursula were at odds with each other.
They would have to settle their little feud in the Pokemon Musical as they both aimed to come out on top while Fluttershy just watched the sparks fly.
Sweetie Belle and her friends came over to see Rarity's part in the musical even if it hadn't started yet. But they did see how she and Ursula were at odds with each other.
"Sis, who's this?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Oh, hey that rhymed."
"Just someone I can't wait to defeat." Rarity answered.
"Hah!" Ursula scoffed. "In your dreams!"
"D-Did we come at a bad time?" Scootaloo stuttered.
"Ahem." The employee in charge of this attraction slid in. "It's time to head on the stage, competitors."
"Perfect timing! Pheromosa! Let's go!"
"Mosa!"
"We'll show them up, Plusle!" Ursula picked her Plusle up.
"Plusle."
"Oh, dear." Fluttershy gulped. "Let's try our best Audi."
"Audino." As Fluttershy, Rarity, Ursula and the 4th competitor with their Inkay went on stage, tensions were high between the two competitors.
They went through a curtain that had a small audience of humans and ponies, waiting to see the musical take place. One of them being Cilan who was a big fan of the Pokemon Musical much like Pokestar Studios. He seems to just enjoy anything that involves flair.
Their Pokemon were sent out since they were the main stars of all of this. Despite it being a Pokemon Musical, very few singing is involved to a point where it is non-existent. It isn't even in the rules, but at times the Pokemon do decide to sing if they choose.
All they had to do was perform stunning dance moves, maybe sing in harmony and let the audience awe with spectacle. And sometimes, the trainers can join in.
Pheromosa had her own way of dancing due to her destructive and rapid legs. Plusle too for being an Electric-Type which are always bursting with hyperactive energy. Audino has little dancing experience apart from being at the Gala once and Inkay is just a mystery.
With the music starting up and the spotlight being on all four of them, the musical could begin. The small audience began to watch these Pokemon perform for the first time, especially Pheromosa and Audino, who were thankfully not nervous in this situation. Pheromosa craved stardom while Audino is just here for fun.
Sweetie Belle and the others watched the dance moves take place with Pheromosa and Plusle trying to 1UP each other. They were enjoying the view, all except for Diamond Tiara who was still stuck on J. Not even this happy-go-lucky music could get her mind off it.
And that look on her face really grabbed the attention of Rarity who was at first focusing on the musical, admiring Pheromosa ballerina-style dancing, prioritizing the feelings of somepony else.
"Diamond Tiara, darling. What's wrong?" Rarity went up to the distraught earth pony.
"Oh, Rarity." Diamond Tiara shot up. "Guess this face draws everypony in, huh?"
"Seems that way You seem distraught. Did something happen?"
"Well..."
"I can say it!" Sweetie Belle slid in. "I'll speak for Diamond Tiara."
"Thanks, Sweetie Belle."
"It's about this lady we saw earlier and living statues!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"I beg your pardon?" Rarity raised an eyebrow.
Sweetie Belle began explaining everything that she nad her friends saw and what Diamond Tiara felt. She mentioned how Diamond Tiara believed those random statues in the alley weren't normal every day statues.
Instead, Diamond Tiara believed they were alive and they had been turned to stone. And she suspects that the mysterious lady is the reason why. She also mentioned how Diamond Tiara took a picture of J, keeping her permanently on the Xtransceiver.
After that quick rundown, Rarity understood the situation and understood why Diamond Tiara would be so worried especially considering the threats that are lurking around Equestria nowadays with Pokemon involved.
All the while the musical was going on with Plusle and Pheromosa trying to out best each other while Audino just mimics their movements since she's lacking in dancing skills. No one can really tell what Inkay was doing but it was interesting to look at.
"I see..." Rarity nodded. "I can understand your fear, Diamond Tiara. So you truly did hear the Ribombee statue speak?"
"Positive. I know it sounds crazy but-"
"It's not crazy at all, darling." Rarity shook her head. "After all, we all live in a Pokemon World now. Nothing seems impossible nowadays."
"Pretty true." Scootaloo and the others nodded in agreement.
"It was clever of you to take a picture of this lady. That way, we can show it to Officer Jenny if she's really suspicious. Good on you for having sharp attention."
"Thanks for understanding, Rarity!" Diamond Tiara squeed as she ran over to Rarity, giving her a surprise hug.
"Oh!" Rarity was shocked by that. "Y-You're welcome." She patted her on the head. Just as the explanation had been finished, the musical had come to an end.
"This has to be my victory for sure!" Ursula grinned.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" Rarity screeched as she dashed over, peeking her head through the curtains. She saw the crowd clap as she had missed the rest of the musical.
Pheromosa and the other Pokemon took a bow from the applause. Now it was time for them to head back through the curtains and to their trainers.
"Phero."
"Pheromosa! I'm so sorry I missed the rest of it! I was just talking to-"
"Mosa." Pheromosa interrupted, shaking her head as she was essentially telling Rarity that it was alright.
"Oh..." Rarity let out a sigh of relief. "Bless you for being so sweet, Pheromosa."
"So! Did we win?!" Ursula dashed over to her Plusle.
"Even if I didn't see it, I know that my Pheromosa performed perfectly." Rarity looked up at her partner.
"Hah! You weren't even watching! You should've seen how graceful Plusle was. I haven't even shown off my other Pokemon." Ursula scoffed.
"Oh, um actually," Fluttershy spoke. "I looked at the rules one more time and saw how it doesn't have winners like most other attractions."
"It doesn't?!" Rarity and Ursula both exclaimed.
"Not at all. It seems like it's only made for fun with the only sort of victory being crowd appeal."
"Audino!"
"I could've sworn there was a reward in all of this..." Ursula was flabbergasted.
"There is an award!" The employee popped in. "This Prop Box!" She showed off a pink prop box each for all four competitors. "The judges rated each of your styles too. Pheromosa was Elegant, Plusle and Audino were cute and Inkay was Quirky. So congrats!"
"Ah." Rarity scrunched her face as she used her magic to take the prop box. "Well, at least it was enjoyable even if I didn't see it all. Plus we have this nice prop box."
"Phero."
"But there is a major benefit in all of this." The employee raised her finger. "Since you've gained a target audience from your musical, you'll be offered roles in more Pokemon business."
"Go on!" Rarity and Ursula dashed up, getting in the employee's face.
"W-Well...If you've been to Pokestar Studios, for example, you'll have premium options due to your reputation."
"Oh! I've been to Pokestar Studios! My friends and I have made movies. Does that apply to me as well?" Rarity asked.
"Yes." She nodded
"What about me?!" Ursula shoved Rarity to the side. "What does it mean for a coordinator such as myself?!"
"Well...Nothing really changes with the Pokemon Contests but you do get to be a judge like Fantina."
"Kh." Ursula pulled back. "Bit anti-climactic but I'll take it."
"That's great, Rarity!" Fluttershy flew over. "You're slowly becoming a popular Pokemon celebrity for the Pokemon world."
"Looks that way. This and Pokestar Studios can be highly addictive."
"Wait, hold on..." Ursula paused for a moment. "You're Rarity?" She scrunched her eyes, getting a good look at Rarity and to an extent Fluttershy. "And you look like that Fluttershy pony."
"Oh, um yes. That's us." Fluttershy nodded.
"Oh...Oh!" Ursula suddenly became energized. "I had no idea! Forgive me for being so rude!" She bowed as an apology.
"What's with the tone shift?" Scootaloo whispered.
"I had no idea they were you! You look so much more different than your human fan arts!"
"Hm? Oh yes, those little things." Rarity recalled how she and her friends had marketing merchandise about themselves.
"I get to meet them here...!" Ursula got all giddy as she screeched.
"I take it you're a big fan?" The employee asked.
"Of course I am!" Ursula bellowed at her. "I have all the merchandise about the Mane 6 back at home. I had to go through so much effort to collect them if you didn't know!"
"D-Did you now...?" Rarity stuttered.
"I'm such a huge fan of you especially, Rarity! I have the most merchandise of you specifically."
"Oh." Rarity made a poker face.
"I'm so sorry! I should've recognized your hairstyle!" Yet again, she bowed as an apology, this time at an aggressive pace.
"I-It's fine." Rarity chuckled nervously.
"I didn't think about what every human thinks of merchandise based on us." Fluttershy looked up.
"Audino..."
"Chiko..."
"I'm Ursula by the way! Major fan!"
"Ursula. Pleasant name." Rarity smiled.
"So, what now sis?" Sweetie Belle asked as she was picked up by Pheromosa.
"Oh! This is your little sister?! How adorable!" Ursula screeched as she dashed over to Sweetie Belle, placing her hands on her face.
"Eeugh..." Sweetie Belle winced as her face as being mushed.
"Pip!" Sweetie Belle's Piplup came out of his Poke Ball, using Aerial Ace to slap Ursula''s hand away. "Lup!"
"Ow!" Ursula held her hand. "Rude!"
"Piplup!" Piplup crossed his arms together, acting as Sweetie Belle's bodyguard.
"Kh." Ursula scoffed. "That Piplup reminds me too much of DD..."
"Well, Ursula. It's been a pleasure meeting you. Especially a fan. And I'm sure our Pokemon enjoyed themselves."
"Phero."
"Sure did. Right, Plusle?" Ursula asked the Cheering Pokemon.
"Plus?" Plusle had just processed her words. "Plusle!"
"Oh, before we go. A quick question." Rarity had one thing to say.
"Hm"?
"Do you know where we can find the nearest Officer Jenny?"
"Nearest Officer Jenny? Oh, they're everywhere." Ursula chuckled as she flailed her hands.
"Everywhere?!" The fillies exclaimed.
"Right. No matter where you go, you'll always find an Officer Jenny. Just like how there's always a Nurse Joy out there."
"I see. So any gateway we pass, we'll eventually find one guaranteed." Rarity nodded. "It's quite fortunate that the Pokemon World has so many benefits..."
"You think the Jenny's are even gonna notice one cool looking lady?" Scootaloo wondered. "I mean, I would for sure."
"Cool looking lady?" Fluttershy tilted her head.
"Oh, right." Rarity turned to Fluttershy. "You aren't aware of Diamond Tiara's little find. One of you can make a quick breakdown if you will."
"I got it!" Apple Bloom slid in, offering to explain everything as she cleared her throat. Just like Sweetie Belle, she gave Fluttershy a quick and easy rundown of what she and her friends discovered in the alley. From statues to the image Diamond Tiara took of the woman.
It was quick and simple for Fluttershy to follow as she understood where Diamond Tiara was coming from. In fact, something caught her attention.
"Wait. Diamond Tiara." Fluttershy spoke. "You said you heard the voices and felt Purrloin's Poke Ball shake?"
"Right. That's what I experienced." Diamond Tiara nodded.
It was at this moment that Fluttershy could 100% believe Diamond Tiara's suspicion of this mysterious lady. Much like how Fluttershy can understand Pokemon and will soon have the same hearing capabilities as her Audino one day and the ability to sense feelings instantly, the pegasus was able to see what Diamond Tiara had experienced.
"Hm. And nopony else heard it?"
"Nope." Scootaloo popped up, as she and the others shook their heads. "Didn't hear a thing."
"Well, I think you've got a talent that involves Pokemon, Diamond Tiara. Maybe you can feel things others can't. Maybe."
"You think so, Fluttershy?"
"It could just be a hunch. But it's wonderful that you kept something this important in mind. Anything involving Pokemon is possible after all."
"We'll keep this Cool looking lady in mind. Come along, my little ponies." Rarity spoke. "There's still much left to do at this festival."
Now the thought of J had been spread out further to Rarity and Fluttershy. With the knowledge of there being Officer Jenny's in every part of the world minus Equestria, it wouldn't be that hard to find a Jenny at all. With a police force as gigantic as the Officer Jenny's and the technology of the Pokemon World, they might be able to find J with facial recognition or mugshots.
But right now, they weren't 100% sure if this mysterious woman was some sort of criminal since she's brand new territory to all of them or even if the statues were actual living ponies and Pokemon.
But with what Diamond Tiara felt and how wild anything involved with Pokemon can get, it's not out of the realm of possibility. They were going to continue enjoying the festival while still thinking about J and the statues. And when they find a Jenny, they'll see if they can get anything.
With, Eventide, Sunlight, Celestia and Luna.
The alicorn family had decided to sit and have something to eat while they continue to catch up with each other. Well, the only ones who were doing any actual catchup were Celestia and Luna since Sunlight and Eventide had been watching them all this time.
"So, my little Luna!" Eventide bellowed. "I know you're working hard to emerge as the victor in the Equestria League, correct?"
"Right. That's correct, father." Luna nodded. "I'm aiming to be the first champion of Equestria. My love for Pokemon plays a huge part in that."
"It certainly does." Sunlight ate some cake. "It seems like a hard road. But nothing you can't tackle. When you finally reach the league, we'll be cheering for you along the way."
"Thank you. To be honest, the Equestria League and Pokemon itself have really changed my life in pleasant ways." Luna smiled.
"How so?" Eventide asked.
"Well...Being a Pokemon trainer, catching Pokemon and battling are just a treat in general. I've never felt so much excitement before! But more than that, the simple things about Pokemon is something that I really admire as well. You understand what I mean, sister?"
"I do," Celestia replied. "The battles are fun and exciting but the Pokemon themselves and their entire lifestyle just add their own enjoyment." She rubbed Arcanine's belly.
"Arca! Arcanine!"
"Hm." Luna nodded. "No better way to describe it. Which is why I can't afford to let this link between our worlds come to an end. Ever."
"Luna?" Eventide and Sunlight both said.
"Both worlds returning to normal is something I can never accept. I've made friends with the Pokemon I've caught so far. The thought of just forgetting about them entirely and their existence is just..." Luna's thoughts were starting to bring out her fears.
"Oh, Luna." Sunlight got close to her daughter, putting her hoof around her neck.
"Darkrai and everyone will just go back to their own world. And all of this would've never happened if the Rift decides to leave when satisfied..." Luna looked down. "I'll never be able to see them again."
"Don't say that, dear. After all, there's hope isn't there?" Sunlight let out a soft smile.
"But of course!" Eventide exclaimed. "We heard about that Jirachi Pokemon and how it can grant any wish. Wishing for the worlds to stay connected is the best-case scenario in our eyes."
"Yes but...can we even find Jirachi in time? And we're still not sure when the Rift will decide to leave. There is just so much to worry about..."
"I'm sure you can." Sunlight reassured. "Your friend Ash has already sparked that hope up in you. In everypony even. From what we've seen of what he's done so far, he'll make it possible for sure."
"Along with Twilight Sparkle's many books on the Pokemon World!" Eventide raised his hoof. "She has many potentially great leads!"
"I believe that," Celestia replied. "I don't want to say goodbye to Passion and Arcanine either. There's nothing pleasant about friendships that will cease to exist."
"Garde..."
"Ah. I should've expected answers like that." Luna giggled. "I must say, it's truly wonderful that there is a Pokemon for everything." After that, Luna gained some high spirits as she stood up from the bench, holding a Poke Ball out. "I'm feeling the mood to catch another friend!"
"Right now?" Sunlight leaned back.
"Mhm!" She nodded. "I know you've seen me catch some Pokemon from your presence all over Equestria, but how does witnessing it in physical form sound, mother, father?"
"Splendid!" Eventide roared as he almost broke the bench. "I've been looking forward to this!"
"If you don't mind...Would you be so kind to lend us some Poke Balls of our own?" Sunlight grinned. "We wish to catch our own Pokemon if possible."
"Oh. Certainly." Luna gave her mother and father some Great Balls to use. "Sister. Do you want one as well?"
"No, I'm fine." Celestia shook her head. "I'm not exactly planning on catching another Pokemon yet anyway."
"Suit yourself. Another friend means more opportunities to become the champion!"
With Luna having a sudden surge of excitement in her spirits, she and her family went along to find some Pokemon to catch. Didn't matter which type, honestly. Luna already has a bunch of Pokemon of various types after all.
The sun was starting to set. A sign that the third day was slowly coming to an end. The second event of the Pokeathlon had finally ended meaning that the third event could finally begin and one that Gilda and her Staraptor could actually participate in.
Block Smash.
An event that sets four Pokéathletes, one from each team, against a stack of ten cement blocks. The Pokémon must demonstrate its might by breaking through them as quickly as possible. Straightforward and a personal favourite amongst Fighting-Type Pokemon. It was yet another test of a Pokemon's stamina but it also involved power and skill as well. This event lasts for 30 seconds, making it shorter than the rest.
The score is determined directly by the number of blocks broken. Breaking 80 blocks will earn the Pokeathles the 1st place event record, and breaking 130 blocks earns the trainer a Potential trophy. Athlete Points for the event are simply equal to the number of blocks broken.
This was one that Mienfoo was looking very forward too. She was built for something like this as she aimed to out best everyone here including Ash's Lucario.
This might be the last event of the day if there's enough time left that is.
"Finally...I've been waiting for this." Gilda grinned as her Staraptor was upfront. "This'll be easy, right Staraptor?"
"Star!"
"How's Staraptor gonna break blocks with wings?" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow as she wasn't sure about this being possible.
"Staraptor's got some pretty heavy wings, Dash," Ash replied. "They're really tough!"
The four Pokeathletes were Ash, Rainbow Dash, Gilda and a trainer with a Croconaw. The blocks were already placed in front of them as the Pokemon were tightening their focus for this one. The only downside was that no moves were allowed but that was understandable since some moves are just downright overwhelming and unfair.
"Ready...?" The announcer prepared them all as the Pokemon narrowed their eyes. "3...2...1...Start!"
Already, the four Pokemon got started by raising their arms and wings as they channelled all the strength into these flurry of smashes.
"Mien!" Mienfoo looked like she would have the best advantage since Mienfoo's are known for their fast strikes. One strike from Mienfoo wouldn't destroy the blocks but continuous strikes could do the trick. Her rapid strikes were cracking the blocks bit by bit at high speeds.
"Luca!" As for Lucario, he also had an amazing advantage. He was both fast and strong at striking. A perfect mixture of two skills. Lucario easily broke through the first bricks in one single smash.
"Nice, nice, Lucario!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Star!" Gilda's Staraptor, at first, may not seem like it can break through the blocks since she was wings. However, Staraptor's have incredibly sturdy wings. Wings so sturdy that they can potentially smash through steel. And these blocks were no exception as three strikes and Staraptor was able to shatter them with the next pile coming in.
"Yeah, that's the stuff! Go, Staraptor!" Gilda cheered her partner on.
"Croco!" The Croconoaw belonging to the trainer actually used their chin to smash the blocks. There were no limitations to what limb a Pokemon could use since some of them have either tentacles, scythes for hands and some don't even have limbs at all. So the Pokemon could use anything as long as they can break the blocks.
Being only 30 seconds, the Pokemon were a bit under pressure as they had to destroy as many blocks as they could in a short amount of time.
Mienfoo was especially feeling the pressure. Her fast strikes were enough to break the first blocks in under 8 seconds. Meanwhile, Lucario could break them in under 1 second while Staraptor can go for 3 and Croconaw can go for 5 thanks to its strong jaw.
"Foo...!" A frustrated Mienfoo knew that her competitors were besting her. Being a hot-headed and short-tempered Pokemon, this did not sit well with the Martial Arts Pokemon at all.
No matter how fast she moved, it wasn't enough to keep up with the others. She had just finished the first blocks and was now onto the second one. And her competitors were racking up points based on how many blocks they've broken so far without showing any signs of stopping in the little amount of time they all have.
"Come on, Mienfoo..." Rainbow Dash bit her hoof.
"Foo! Mien!" Mienfoo's eyes were lighting up as her body was surrounded in a blazing gold aura, putting her in a state of high tension as she was pushing herself to come out on top.
Mienfoo let out a mighty warcry as her stamina wasn't actually decreasing but increasing. Normally, Mienfoo can chop with its arms more than 100 times. Now it was going above and beyond. Potentially reaching the thousands as her chops were now nothing but a blur.
10 seconds remain and they were each amping things up. Mostly Mienfoo, who refused to lose this. Her aura was growing larger as she was finally managing to break the blocks in under 5 seconds. Equal to Croconaw. The display of speed was impressive to the eyes but it didn't last forever as time was up.
"Time!" The announcer exclaimed as the Pokemon all stopped with their limbs or jaw almost hitting the last block. "Yikes. That got a bit aggressive in the end."
"I'll say. You okay, Mienfoo?" Rainbow Dash flew over.
"Mien!" An energized Mienfoo nodded as she raised her paw, showing it to Rainbow Dash. From how fast she was striking, her paws were smoking as they looked red from all those consecutive hits.
"Let's see those points!"
The points began to show as it revealed who came out on top. Normally, the recommended blocks to break were around 130 which gives the winner a trophy. But these Pokemon went above and beyond the 100's and broke into the 1000's.
Lucario has broken 4800 blocks giving him 4800 Points. Staraptor broke 2400 and Croconaw and Mienfoo tied with 1200. Overall, Lucario emerged as the winner, granting Ash the trophy.
"Nice!" Ash jumped up.
"Second place. I'll take it." Gilda nodded. "Good, job Staraptor."
"Starap!"
"Tied..." Rainbow Dash grumbled. "At least we managed to catch up. You're not taking it too badly, are ya, Mienfoo?"
"Mien." Mienfoo shook her head. She was a bit bummed out that she tied and didn't reach first place. But, she was able to improve in that short amount of time, so it wasn't too bad.
"Nice go, Croconaw." The trainer got down, petting her Croconaw.
"Naw!" The Strong Jaw Pokemon responded by gnawing on her head out of love.
"Here you go." With Ash coming in first place, he was rewarded the winner's trophy as he held it high.
"Awesome!" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"Cario!"
"Hmph. I got to do something finally...and it was pretty worth it." Gilda nodded. "Can't believe us griffons were missing out on fun stuff like this!"
"Oh, you don't know the half of it!" Rainbow replied. "With Pokemon, we get a lot of awesome stuff. Stuff I didn't know I needed so much until I got it."
"Looks like it. A bit late but whatever. At least we have Pokemon battles back at Griffonstone."
"Oh! You battle too?!" Rainbow Dash gasped. "That's great! How good are you?"
"How good am I?" Gilda smirked. "The best in Griffonstone obviously. Not many griffons are good at battling with their Pokemon except for me. Well...there are some exceptions."
"The best you say? In that case." Rainbow Dash went up to Gilda. "Wanna prove it?"
"You wanna battle me? Sure. I've been looking forward to something like this ever since I got Staraptor."
"Huh? Mienfoo?" She looked down at the Martial Arts Pokemon.
"Mien-Mienfoo!" She pointed her paw at herself, indicating that she wanted to battle instead.
"Huh? You wanna battle Staraptor? But you're like at a type disadvantage."
"Foo!" She didn't care about type matchups whatsoever. She wanted a fight no matter what. And Rainbow Dash knew how stubborn Mienfoo can get.
"Alright..." She sighed."You'll battle Staraptor."
"Mien!"
So it was. These two friends would battle each other for the first time. Rainbow Dash was curious about how strong Gilda was since she says she's the strongest back in Griffonstone.
But they couldn't battle here in Manehattan. They would have to go somewhere else where they could spread less destruction. So they chose the outskirts of Manehattan to battle.
Ash, Twilight and the others wanted to see this for themselves as they came along. Ash especially since he always enjoyed seeing how different species battle with Pokemon. Even if so far, he's only seen ponies battle alongside a single dragon. So this was going to be something new.
"I gotta say, it's kinda a good thing that we don't have any Fighting moves right now, right, Mienfoo?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Mien."
"You done talking? Staraptor here's getting impatient and she wants a go already." Gilda and Staraptor tapped their talons on the ground.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Twilight. Can you make the call?" Rainbow asked.
"Sure thing!" Twilight slid in between them. "Battle Start!"
"Mienfoo! Run in and use Mega Punch!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo made the first move. By bolting forward with a white light around her paws, the Martial Arts Pokemon approached the Predator Pokemon as she jumped up.
"Staraptor! Close Combat!"
"Raptor!" Staraptor retaliated with her own physical move. Staraptor stood there as her wings connected with Mienfoo's paws which had been thrown at the Normal-Flying-Type.
Once they met, Staraptor and Mienfoo both started to repeatedly throw consecutive strikes with their paws and wings as sparks were flying from the clashes.
"Mien-Mien-Mien!" Mienfoo was surprisingly throwing over 1000 Mega Punches in a few seconds, going above her usual 100 or more count. That moment in the Block Smash had really increased her speed.
"Star-Star!" But Staraptor was no slouch either. She was fast enough to keep up with this highly nimble Pokemon.
"Hah! Speed is Mienfoo's thing! No way you're beating her in that!" Rainbow Dash grinned. "Combine Mega Punch with Agility!"
"Foo!" As Mienfoo kept clashing her paws with Staraptor's wings, the Martial Arts Pokemon's body emanated a silver aura as her speed was increasing. Her paws were already a blur but now they were harder to keep up with, even for Staraptor.
"S-Star?!"
"Mienfoo!" Eventually, Mienfoo found an opening as she smashed her paw on Staraptor's beak.
"Raptor!" The Predator Pokemon had been pushed back by that Mega Punch but it wasn't enough to knock her off her talons.
"Not bad." Gilda nodded. Staraptor! Use Brave Bird!"
"Star....!" Staraptor pulled in her wings as she dived down at her opponent like a missile. Her body burst into flames as she pulled out her wings with her body becoming surrounded by a blue aura. "Raptor!"
"Not good! Dodge it with Agility!"
"Foo!" Knowing that there was absolutely no way they were going to counter Brave Bird up close considering Mienfoo's typing, the decision to evade it was made as the Martial Arts Pokemon used Agility once more.
"Fly to the side, Staraptor!"
"Staraptor!" Staraptor saw how Mienfoo dashed over to the side, prompting her to change directions as Brave Bird as Staraptor zigzagged over to Mienfoo.
"Foo?!" Mienfoo's eyes widened as she saw how Staraptor changed directions. Before Rainbow Dash could make the command, Staraptor smashed into Mienfoo with full force, causing the Martial Arts Pokemon's eyes to widen. "M-Mien...!"
"Carry her up!" Gilda raised her claw to the air.
"Star!" But Staraptor didn't stop there. She used Brave Bird to carry Mienfoo up into the sky as a trail of aura flew behind her.
"Ah! Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"M-Mien...Mienfoo!" Mienfoo aggressively beat her paws on Staraptor's back, trying to get her off.
"Now slam her down!"
"Star!" But that wouldn't make Staraptor budge. Instead, now that she was high up in the air with her, Staraptor was going to smash Mienfoo down on the ground by diving like a missile.
"Not good! Try using Mega Punch! Or Fury Swipes!"
"Mien! Mien!" She kept on beating on the Predator Pokemon's back, using Mega Punch and Fury Swipes desperately. All the while, Staraptor was diving down at high speeds with both her and Mienfoo catching on fire.
"This doesn't look good!" Twilight gulped.
"I can't watch." Applejack put her hat over her eyes.
"What do I do...?!" Rainbow Dash was starting to panic. Mega Punch and Fury Swipes weren't working as Mienfoo was essentially in Staraptor's hold.
"Foo...!" Mienfoo closed her eyes as she was bracing herself for impact.
"Staraptor!" Brave Bird finally came to an end as Staraptor smashed Mienfoo onto the ground with devastating force, creating a crater as Staraptor bounced back by her own move. She took heavy recoil damage from it.
"Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Mien...Mienfoo!" Mienfoo took a lot of damage from that. She slowly sat up as there was a bruise on her stomach. Her body in tatters with scratches as she looked like she was on the verge of fainting.
"Nice, Staraptor." Gilda praised her partner.
"Mienfoo! Can you keep going?"
"Foo..." The Martial Arts Pokemon stood back up but she got on one knee. "Mien..." She looked up at Staraptor, seeing how much of a disadvantage she was at right now.
"Starap."
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo wanted to win this battle at all costs, despite the matchup. Just like back at the Block Smash, she was reaching a state of high-tension. "Mien!"
"Oh! You've pumped up again, Mienfoo? Alright! Then use Mega Punch!"
"Mien...!" Mienfoo was about to do something better. That drive to win as her high-tension aura was growing had given Mienfoo something new.
She had learned a new move.
Reversal.
A wave of orange energy burst out of the ground around Mienfoo as her fists became covered in orange energy. With amazing speed, she dashed forward, leaving an orange trail behind.
"Use Brave Bird one more time!"
Again, Staraptor was about to use Brave Bird. And this next Brave Bird might take Mienfoo out for good as Staraptor dived down like a missile with a fiery blue aura around her body.
"Mienfoo!" But Mienfoo wasn't going to let herself get hit by that move again. So when Staraptor got close enough, Mienfoo front flipped over Staraptor, juking the Predator Pokemon out.
"Star?"
"Foo!" With Mienfoo being above the Normal-Flying-Type, she smashed her paw onto Staraptor's back, landing Reversal for the first time. Reversal always gets stronger depending on how much damage the user has taken and that Brave Bird from before really powered it up.
"S-Staraptor!" Staraptor's eyes widened as she was smashed down on the ground by Mienfoo who had returned the favour to her. There was even a crater as well like the one Mienfoo had been formed in.
"Foo!" Mienfoo backflipped away as she looked at the large smoke cloud formed from her own impact.
"Yes! That's a sure-fire hit!" Rainbow Dash grinned. "And you learned Reversal too!"
"Mien!"
"She learned Reversal? Excellent!" Twilight clapped her hooves together.
But it wasn't over yet.
"Giga Impact!"
"Star!" Staraptor recovered from the ground at an alarmingly fast rate as her body became surrounded with invisible energy as she bolted forward with spiralling light yellow streaks around her.
"Here she comes! Use Reversal one more time!"
"Foo!" Both Pokemon rushed at each other with their strongest attacks. Mienfoo was going to put everything she had into this one attack as a sort of counter.
Mienfoo's paw connected with Staraptor's beak as the two moves collided. But only one of them was able to breakthrough.
And that was Staraptor, who easily charged through Reversal as she slammed into Mienfoo with great force, creating an explosion from the impact.
Rainbow Dash was almost blown back by the impact along with Gilda as Ash and Applejack held their hats, protecting them from the flowing wind.
Staraptor flew out of the smoke as she breathed in and out after using a move as powerful as Giga Impact. If Mienfoo withstood this, then she would get a free hit on Staraptor who needed to rest after using a move that powerful.
Luckily for Starptor, that didn't happen. The smoke cleared as Mienfoo had fainted.
"Foo..."
"Mienfoo is unable to battle! Staraptor wins! Which means the victor is Gilda!"
"That's how it's done," Gilda smirked as Staraptor flew back to her. "Awesome job, Star."
"Staraptor!" Staraptor and Gilda ended up bumping their talons together.
"Aw...!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "Just when I thought we had it." She flew over to the Martial Arts Pokemon picking her up.
"Mienfoo..."
"Mienfoo. Sorry that you've been kinda falling behind today. I'm gonna go my bad on that one."
"Foo." Mienfoo accepted that it wasn't Rainbow Dash's fault. It was her own since she insisted on taking on a Flying-Type which was a major disadvantage to her.
"But you learned, Reversal! Your first Fighting-Type move!" She hugged Mienfoo. "Now we've got something extra to work with!"
"Mien?!" Mienfoo wasn't a huge fan of hugs.
"Nice battle, Dash." Gilda and Staraptor came over. "Your Mienfoo kinda reminds me a bit of you."
"Yeah. She's pretty hot-headed, that's for sure." Rainbow Dash rubbed Mienfoo's head. "Aren't ya, Mienfoo?"
"Foo..." Mienfoo crossed her arms as her temper was rising.
"Seeing a battle always gets me pumped...Twilight, let's battle!" Ash exclaimed.
"Huh?!" Twilight jerked back. "No way! M-Maybe another time."
"Aw..." Ash sighed.
"Pikachu."
"All these battle skills are really gonna pay off when we get to the Equestria League. Right Staraptor?"
"Star!"
"Wait..." A frozen Rainbow Dash made a poker face. "Y-You're joining the Equestria League...?"
"Well, yeah. Other griffons are. Like we'd miss out on this chance."
"Staraptor."
"Oh no..." Rainbow Dash turned around. "I didn't even think about other species taking part! This is gonna make things tougher...but more awesome!"
"That's the spirit, Dash." Ash slid over, giving a thumbs up. "I kinda wish I could join it..." He lowered his head.
"When I catch some more Pokemon, I'll have a team that's all kinds of strong. That way nothing's gonna stop me at all." Gilda patted Staraptor on the back.
"Yeah well!" Rainbow Dash zoomed over. "You ain't seen nothing from my entire team yet! We're getting stronger together and we'll knock the socks off of anypony in our way!"
"We'll see," Gilda smirked. "We'll have another battle sometime, Dash!"
"You bet! And next time, I'm winning!" The two of them gave each other a hoof-to-claw shake like they always used to do. A new rivalry had been established.
With the revelation that other species are taking part in the Equestria, not just ponies, Rainbow Dash has even more reasons to train and get stronger.
After battling Gilda who was exceedingly strong with her Staraptor, it gave Rainbow Dash a good indication as to how powerful the trainers are getting and how much more are popping up. The third day is coming to an end but the festival was far from over as the journey continues.
"There..." Luna's head popped out of a bush along with her sister and parents. Currently, they were on the search for a new Pokemon for Luna to catch. And to an extent, Eventide and Sunlight.
They had come across their first Pocket Monster in the form of a Karrablast.
"Karra. Karrablast." The Clamping Pokemon was waddling along the grass as Luna observed it. She already had a Poke Ball out and ready.
"Is sneaking up on the poor little thing the best option?" Sunlight asked. "Wouldn't it be better to just go up to it?"
"Probably...But!" Luna jumped out of the bush. "Some of them like to play hard to get!"
"Blast?!" The Bug-Type turned around, spotting Luna.
"Karrablast! You're mine!" Luna declared.
"Karra! Karrablast!" Karrablast knew that someone was going to try and catch it one day. And that day is now. So in order for Luna to prove herself, Karrablast was about to test Luna with a battle.
"Go! Gligar!" She sent out her Gligar to battle.
"Gli-Gli!"
"I still think the peaceful approach is the best option..." Sunlight pouted.
"Gligar! Acrobatics!"
"Gligar!" Gligar went first with his body glowing light-blue, as he quickly zipped through the air multiple times, moving so fast that he seems to leave behind two afterimages.
He was too fast for Karrablast to follow as the Clamping Pokemon had been smashed by Gilgar's claws at blinding speeds, dealing super-effective damage. "Blast!"
Karrablast went flying after being hit by Acrobatics, tumbling on the ground as Gligar ascended to the sky. Karrablast looked like it was in a good position for a catch.
"Here's my opportunity!" Luna raised the Poke Ball with her magic. "Go! Poke Ball!" By using her magic to launch the ball, Karrablast had been hit with the Poke Ball absorbing the Clamping Pokemon inside.
As the ball landed on the ground, it began to shake with the four alicorns leaning in to see the result.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Karrablast was caught.
"Hmph. Simple as that." Luna flew over, picking up the Poke Ball as she gained herself a new Pokemon. "Come on out now, Karrablast."
With Karrablast caught, she sent the Clamping Pokemon out of its PokeBall as Gligar descended to greet his new teammate.
"Karra?"
"Welcome to the team, Karrablast." Luna looked down at the Bug-Type. "It's wonderful to have you."
"Gligar!"
"Karra!" Karrablast was in for the ride. Luna outclassed it anyway with just one single hit from Gligar's Acrobatics. Plus, he knew this day was coming eventually so why not go along with it.
"She makes it seem so easy..." said Sunlight.
"Bahaha! That's our girl!" Eventide chuckled. "There's nothing she can't accomplish, I tell ya! Now! Let us do the same and find our own Pokemon, dear!"
"Where exactly?" Sunlight looked around the area, searching for some Pokemon.
"Oh, I should've mentioned," Celestia spoke. "From what we've found out, highly-populated areas don't exactly have that many Wild Pokemon nearby. It's usually the smaller areas such as Ponyville that have many Wild Pokemon near."
"Ah. So we're limited here..." Eventide sighed.
"Who cares about limitations?" Sunlight scoffed. "If there is a Pokemon nearby, we'll catch it."
"Karra. Karrablast." Karrablast went over to the alicorns, deciding to help them find a Pokemon to catch. "Blast."
"Garde?" Passion kneeled to face Karrablast.
"Karrablast. Karra." The Clamp Pokemon was giving Passion information so that she can pass it over to Celestia.
"Voir." Passion nodded in understanding. She stood up, using her telepathy to communicate with Celestia as she said these words. "Karrablast knows of an area where we can find more Pokemon, apparently."
"Really now? An area with more Pokemon, you say?" Celestia said. "Many thanks, Karrablast."
"Blast."
"How lucky." Sunlight puffed her cheeks. "Having telepathy with your own partner. Now, this just makes me want a Psychic-Type Pokemon first!"
"Lead the way then, Karrablast," Luna spoke.
"Karra!" Karrablast would be their guide to catching more Pocket Monsters. At least for Eventide and Sunlight, Luna was fine with the current capture she made today.
While they were following Karrablast, Celestia was thinking about how Adagio was doing back in Canterlot. She was obviously with her sisters now, but without Celestia herself being there, she feared that something horrible might be happening at the moment.
In truth, that wasn't the case.
Canterlot, The Pokemon Festival, 17:20.
The orange sunset was beaming across Equestria. Very soon the third day of the festival will end. But not until some more fun is had before some head to another location or just clock out for the night.
Although, one group has been doing the same thing over and over again since the first day and it had transitioned into the third day too.
Of course, they were the sirens. The three sisters who were still here in Canterlot. Adagio had been teaching her younger sisters to sing better since the first day and she has barely given them any rest besides night time.
"Mrrgh..." Sonata yawned as she rubbed her eye. "Adagio. Can we finish now?"
"We haven't even had the chance to enjoy most of the festival..." Aria laid on a bench. "And we've got like...how many days left?"
"You two want to get your expert singing back, don't you?" Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Sonata nodded slowly. "But my throat's sore..."
"Come on, Adagio. Can we at least enjoy the festival, please?" Aria groaned.
"Hm..." Adagio looked at her sisters, seeing that they were tuckered out and exhausted. "Do you two even have the energy to go on for the night?"
"Totally." Sonata grinned.
"Living in Ponyville with all the Pokemon shenanigans going on kinda gives you more energy," Aria explained. "We can go through the night, no problem."
"Alright. If you say so." Adagio chose their decision.
"Great!" Sonata jumped up as she grabbed both Aria and Adagio, dragging them close to her. "I've already got a lot of plans for us to do before the day ends!"
"Y-You're not dragging me into this are you?!" Adagio winced.
"Totally am! Isn't that right, Aria?"
"There is some pretty fun stuff here, Adagio. You should try it." Aria nodded.
"There is absolutely no way you're forcing me to take part in this festival."
"You forced us to practice singing. All's fair in love and war! Let's go!" With hyperactive speed, Sonata dragged her older sisters along for the sake of having fun together as a family.
Aria was up for it but Adagio not so much. But if it made her sisters happy, she would go along with it either way. Unfortunately, due to the day almost coming to an end, many of the attractions here were closed until tomorrow. So their options were very limited at the moment.
But there was one big attraction that only happens in the late afternoon and can be considered a lucky break for Pokemon trainers and their Pokemon.
A Pokemon massage parlour.
Free massages will be given out to trainers and their Pokemon, courtesy of the Pokemon Groomers who have many years of experience. Although they can get a bit painful out of nowhere it's scarce.
"Massages...?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "That actually sounds a bit pleasing."
"I've always wanted a massage! Come out, you two." Sonata sent out her Buneary and Eevee.
"Bunear!"
"Eevee!"
"How about you get one too." Aria sent out her Popplio.
"Pop!"
"Not sure how it works on creatures with no fur but...Kricketot, you can have one too." Adagio offered Kricketot a massage.
"Krick!"
"Say, Adagio," Sonata spoke. "Where's that Pheromosa thing you had during the Canterlot Tournament? Aren't you gonna bring it out too?"
"That thing? No way." Adagio shook her head. "It's way too violent to keep out."
"But I thought you tamed it," Aria said. "So aren't you in charge?"
"Pssh. I wish. I never tamed Pheromosa in the first place."
"Huh?" Sonata jerked back. "Then...how did you command it?"
"It was caught by Ghetsis. If anything, he ended up taming it. And other Ultra Beasts that he's captured. That Pheromosa's only listening to me because Ghetsis said so."
"Oh..." Sonata nodded slowly. "About that...are you still working with that Ghetsis guy?"
"Yeah, Adagio." Aria followed. "You heard how dangerous he is, right? They keep saying that he's like Equestria's biggest threat or something. Totally pure evil."
"Duh. Of course, I know. He's not exactly secretive about it anyway." Adagio answered.
"But you're still working with him?" Sonata said.
"Huh?" Adagio grumbled as she looked to the side. "I stopped following him long ago."
"Really? When?" Sonata asked.
"It happened a few months ago. I ended up coming across Chrysalis..." Adagio began reminiscing about a fairly important point in time that she witnessed.
This happened weeks after Empress Twilight revealed the horrible truth about the sirens and how this terrifying fate only existed in her world and nowhere else and before her battle with Rarity.
Naturally, Adagio was very heartbroken and devastated by it. The young siren was clueless about what she could do now that she knows the truth.
She ended up wandering the land with low spirits. But during her travel, she ended up reaching the changeling hive which Adagio constantly tries to avoid but seems to always end up in by some strange coincidence.
"Ugh...here again?" Adagio sighed as she sat down on the ground. She was already tired and upset from all that walking so she figured rest was needed.
Through her mind, she could only think about what Empress Twilight revealed to her. Those words have now been ingrained in her head.
"The siren's unfortunate fate is only present here. If you were to look everywhere else, other versions of yourself do not share that fate."
"It's not fair..." Adagio whimpered. "Why is it only my world?" The thought of that devasted her. If all other Adagio's across different worlds can continue living their life without magic then what does that make this world's Adagio? Or even her sisters.
However, despite all of this, Adagio's stubborn nature was somehow a great positive. Because it allowed her to bounce back from something like this.
"Forget it!" Adagio stood up. "I'll keep on living like my other-selves. No matter what." A semi-confident Adagio wasn't about to let those words knock her down at all.
But, something else grabbed Adagio's attention other than Empress Twilight's words. She turned around as she noticed that something was off with the Changeling hive.
Usually, they're all rabid and making constant hissing noises that make Adagio want to smash her hoof through the ground itself.
But right now, most, if not all of them were in a silent state at the moment. In fact, they all looked like they were down in the dumps. Just as much as Adagio herself.
Many of the changelings were on the floor, feeling ill from what Adagio could tell. Perhaps they've come under some sickness that affects them all.
A curious Adagio walked deeper into the hive, wanting to know what was going on.
"Hey. What's going on here?" Adagio asked a changeling on the ground.
"Urgh..." The changeling groaned. "There..." He pointed his hoof north from here as he seemed to be in unbearable pain. This was more than just some sickness.
Adagio went North, seeing how each changeling was suffering from seemingly no reason whatsoever. But there might be a reason if Adagio finds it.
She saw how the changelings had this dark green aura around them. Very different from the usual green they're posses. Almost as if their magic was being corrupted in a way.
Adagio had never seen the changelings like this ever. Usually, they always have a mean look on their face like they're trying to pick a fight with someone. But not this time.
Eventually, going North led Adagio to where Chrysalis mainly resides. Her throne room. And entering the throne room, that same dark green glow was there.
But instead of it being small like how it is on the changelings, this glow was large. So large that it filled up the entire throne room to a point where it could be seen from outside.
"What...is this?" A confused Adagio looked around the throne room. What really caught her eye was the throne that Chrysalis sat on.
Chrysalis herself was the one emanating this powerful glow. She was the main source of it, unsurprisingly. But from how she had her head down, quietly whimpering with her ears dropped, it looked like she wasn't doing this on purpose.
"Chrysalis?" Adagio spoke.
Hearing Adagio made Chrysalis raise her head, spotting the siren who stood in front of her. "What do you want, Adagio Dazzle?"
"What's with all of this?" She raised her hoof, moving it across the room. "Your subjects are acting all weird because of this glow. Coming from you from what I can see."
"I see it. But I can't stop it..." She lowered her head back down.
"You can't? How come?"
"I don't know..." Chrysalis shook her head. "I've never experienced this before." She then looked at her hooves. "What is this feeling?"
"Magic you've never experienced before?" Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"I can't control it. No matter what I try the magic won't stop growing..." Chrysalis shuddered.
"When did this even happen?" Adagio was curious about when this glow occurred.
"...When?" Chrysalis thought back to how this all began. And her memories led her to a certain point in time. A fairly important one.
The day she had seen the true colours of Ghetsis. She remembered how Ghetsis essentially revealed that he was using them this entire time. Honestly, Ghetsis wasn't subtle about it since he's very straightforward with what he does. She remembered the words he said to her that left her truly terrified of Ghetsis.
"Listen here you...The only reason why I have kept you and your subjects around is that I find your ability to shapeshift slightly more useful than Ditto but less obvious than Zoroark. I do not care about your wellbeing or lives whatsoever. If I wanted to, I could destroy all of your subjects and you in a flash with my Hydreigon if I so willed it. Whatever happens to them is none of my concern. You should've known this from the very beginning."
After that one moment, when Ghetsis returned to Pyrestar's world, Chrysalis went over to the Pixie Plains where the Fairy Pokemon healed her subjects who were injured greatly by the Max Ooze from Team Plasma.
But more importantly, once her subjects were healed and she returned to her hive, one day later, that's when the glow began.
Overnight, Chrysalis couldn't sleep at all. The words of Ghetsis, much like the words of Empress Twilight had stuck to her, just like how the same had happened to Adagio before.
Knowing that at any point in time, Ghetsis can just dispose of Chrysalis and her subjects in an instant with his Hydreigon or any of his Pokemon really, terrified the changeling Queen.
She was already terrified of Ghetsis after trying to absorb his love but soon finding out that his love is highly toxic and essentially a hazard. But that moment just made it worse for Chrysalis.
Because of this, she couldn't sleep at all. And that's when the dark green glow occurred. Different from her usual magic, this mysterious magic had first appeared and spread across the changeling hive.
Ever since then, the changelings have been suffering from this horrible magic that was unidentified. But what they could tell was that it essentially acted as the opposite of how they feed on love. It was draining all the love they had instead.
With that, Chrysalis raised her head once more, realizing why this was happening. If Adagio hadn't asked, she would've taken longer to realize.
"...Ghetsis." Chrysalis gave her answer. "We're expendable to him."
"Ghetsis? Expendable?"
"I should've known. How could I not see that he will just toss us away when he's accomplished his goal?"
"Wait...Are you referring to just your changeling hive and you or-"
"I am referring to all of us, Adagio Dazzle. Including you. Don't you see? Ghetsis's goal, if he accomplishes it, he'll have no use for us. Our alliance is only temporary to him. And if we even go against him and Team Plasma..."
"Wait...do you mean he'll-" Adagio stepped back.
"Right. He'll destroy us. Every last one of us. He might even do it once he succeeds but..."
"That can't happen! What about my goal to-" But then, Adagio quickly realized that her goal was almost impossible after what Empress Twilight revealed to her. "Oh. Nevermind. But you're not going to let him control you are you? You can just break off the alliance easily."
"I could but...What if he comes after us? If we break off the alliance, will he see us as an enemy?" Fears were starting to swirl in Chrysalis thoughts. "Ghetsis is too powerful to betray." She shook her head. "Him and Team Plasma"
"Well, that-" Adagio couldn't argue against that. It was true. Ghetsis is on a league of his own. The only one who can compare to him is possibly Empress Twilight with the heaps of alicorn magic she has stolen.
If any of them even dared go against those two, there is a 100% chance they would be obliterated. The grunts of Team Plasma are powerful enough to destroy the changelings and Adagio along with Empress Twilight's overwhelming empire that she has at her disposal.
"I can't argue at that." Adagio stomped her hoof.
"It's best to just follow him, Adagio Dazzle. And nothing more. As long as he achieves his goal and we show no signs of betrayal, then perhaps we'll li-"
"No way!" Adagio exclaimed, startling Chrysalis. "I'm not gonna forever follow that guy, are you crazy?! And why should you? If he sees us as trash waiting to be thrown out after he succeeds then there's no way I'm listening to him."
"Adagio?"
"So what? He's not even from our world in the first place. I'm already separating myself from this alliance because of this. And I'll do things on my own and-"
Adagio couldn't finish her sentence since she was slowly starting to realize that at this point, she was reaching the lowest point in her life.
Being defeated constantly by Twilight and her friends, learning the truth about her fate, the approaching and inevitable doom of her sisters and the lurking threat of Ghetsis who could wipe her out made Adagio feel weaker than she has ever been. All she could do now was continue feeding on negativity.
But strangely enough, the negativity coming from Chrysalis and the changelings weren't suitable for Adagio at all as she rejected it.
"Oh...who am I kidding?" Adagio sighed.
"If you wish to absorb all of our negativity, go ahead. It might be enough to give you all the magic you need."
Adagio raised her amulet, looking at it. It wasn't absorbing the negative vibes at all. Adagio then took a moment to look at Chrysalis who was scared of what Ghetsis could do to them all.
If Ghetsis does decide to destroy them all, there is no chance of them surviving due to Ghetsis's ruthless and cruel nature. One that has never been seen before throughout Equestria.
For once, Adagio saw true emotion flow through Chrysalis. She could feel genuine fear from her. And for the first time, Adagio felt empathy for her.
At this moment, she and Chrysalis were on the same wavelength together. She understood Chrysalis fears. The fear of her and her changelings perishing. Adagio experienced something similar. The loss of her entire species when she and her sisters were still young.
"Good luck," Adagio said. Those were her last words to Chrysalis before deciding to leave the hive. There was nothing she could do about this at all. Chrysalis's dark green magic would continue harming every changeling here.
That is until Kricketot jumped out of Adagio's mane all of a sudden. "Tot."
"Hm? Kricketot?" Adagio looked down at her partner.
"Tot. Kricketot." Kricketot much like most Pokemon, have a powerful sense of compassion for others. Usually, the smaller Pokemon seem to be the ones willing to help others.
The Cricket Pokemon went up to Chrysalis with the music device in his hands, still to this very day. Chrysalis watched the Bug-Type come up to her as she wondered what Kricketot was up to.
"Kricketot." Kricketot decided to cheer Chrysalis up by putting the music device up to her face. She was able to hear the music coming from the device for the first time. AKA, the same song that has been playing for a year now. But it was catchy.
Chrysalis listened to this song as she saw Kricketot get on top of her head, bobbing back and forth. The song Under our Spell reminded Chrysalis of how she put Shining Armor into a spell herself. It was bringing back somewhat nostalgic memories.
Plus, the lyrics were obviously manipulative which Chrysalis very much enjoyed. So much so that she smiled from the song, also bobbing her head back and forth. A song about manipulating and controlling others was her interest.
"Hm." Chrysalis smiled a bit. "This song is a bit catchy...This is your voice, Adagio?"
"It was a one time song." Adagio scoffed. "A song that he won't stop playing...Where's the off button on this thing?" Adagio went over to Chrysalis and Kricketot.
"Kricke!"
"Come on, Kricketot. Let's go." Adagio grabbed the Cricket Pokemon.
But before they left, Kricketot did one final thing. He decided to give up his music device, lending it to Chrysalis instead. "Tot."
"Hm?" Chrysalis looked down at the device. "You're giving this to me?"
"Kricketot." Kricketot nodded. He was insisting that she kept it so that Chrysalis and the entire hive could hear it.
"You're seriously giving this up?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "Of all times?"
"Krick!"
"Well, thank you, I suppose." Chrysalis took the device.
"Well. I'll somewhat miss listening to that sound. Alright, Kricketot. We're leaving now."
"Tot!" The Kricket Pokemon hopped back into Adagio's mane as the two of them finally made their leave. They left the hive but not without leaving something behind for Chrysalis.
Even if it was somewhat small and insignificant to Chrysalis, being gifted something by someone is a new experience. It made her feel a bit grateful even. Being given something to cheer herself up is definitely new to her.
Because of this, the dark green glow around Chrysalis was starting to diminish. It had shrunk, retracting back into Chrysalis's body as the changelings lost the dark green glow as well. They no longer felt that horrible pain because of its disappearance. Nothing was draining them anymore thankfully.
Adagio looked around to see that the glow had just up and vanished with the changelings being back to normal and healthy once more.
"Hm. Odd." She said as she kept on walking.
But Chrysalis didn't find it odd at all. This small experience with Kricketot and even that one moment with the Fairy-Type Pokemon in the Pixie Plains had given Chrysalis the realization that there are those out there who will show her compassion despite being a changeling. This made Chrysalis have polarizing thoughts as all she could think about was the future and nothing more.
"So yeah. I'm not working with a guy that dangerous." Adagio shook her head.
"Good on ya, sis" Sonata hugged Adagio. "I knew you were smart enough to know that!"
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Adagio growled, shoving Sonata off.
"Well, it's great that you're not following him anymore," Aria said. "But what about that Chrysalis lady?"
"Her? No clue what she's doing right now. And I don't really care. I'm just wandering the world right now."
"Oh! Are you like an adventurer?!" Sonata squeed.
"Sure. Whatever." Adagio shrugged. "But...I am kinda worried a bit about something..."
"About what?" Both Sonata and Aria asked.
"Ghetsis, of course. He's definitely gonna find out about my departure from that alliance of his. I could be in hot water right now. Real hot water."
"Don't say that!" Sonata screeched. "You're away from that guy now aren't you?"
"Yeah, but he's still a big threat, duh." Adagio knocked Sonata on the head. "If he wanted to, he could destroy me on the spot, weren't you paying attention? He might come after me or enslave all of us if he succeeds in his goal."
"That's not going to happen." Aria shook her head. "Ash and everyone won't let that happen, no matter what."
"Mhm!" Sonata nodded.
"You two...Do you really trust them that much? These humans and ponies?"
"Sure do. They're not as bad as we thought them to be, ya know." Aria walked up to Adagio. "I thought that all ponies were the same until well...we came to Ponyville for the first time."
"They're really great to be around. Especially when you have a Pokemon with you!" Sonata picked up her Pokemon.
"Vee!"
"Bun!"
"Yeah...I guess you'd think that." Adagio sighed. "Let's just get this massage already. I'm getting tired of feeling moody right about now."
And so they went off to get a massage to cool themselves off. Especially Adagio. With what she had told her sisters, Adagio herself was fearing what Ghetsis might end up doing in the future.
If he succeeds, then there is a strong chance that he'll enslave Adagio and her sisters as well. A very strong chance. For now, Adagio was being more cautious than she's ever been.
But, it wasn't just her. Adagio was being watched by what seemed to be a random pony. But it wasn't. Once Adagio entered the Massage parlour, the pony quickly revealed herself to be Chrysalis. She was here for a reason but one that was unknown at the moment as the journey continues.
Midnight has arrived. Meaning the fourth day is here. And right on time. The festival calmed down during this time but it was still active with many ponies still being up and awake.
One of them being Rarity who was at the moment enjoying some midnight delicacies with her Pokemon alongside her little sister, Sweetie Belle and her own Pokemon.
"Ampha." Ampharos dug his face into some Spicy Pasta Curry, getting his face all dirty with stew. "Pharos?"
"Oh, Ampharos. Try moving your face gently instead." Rarity used her magic to grab a tissue, cleaning Ampharos's face. "You too, Sweetie Belle."
"Hm?" Sweetie Belle looked up as her face was covered with curry as well. "Sorry!"
"Piplup." Her Piplup helped clean off her face of the curry.
"Thanks, Piplup." Sweetie Belle patted Piplup on the head. "Say. Where are we headed next, Rarity?"
"Next? Not too sure honestly. I haven't really discussed our next destination with my friends. Perhaps maybe...Las Pegasus probably?"
"Oooh..." Sweetie Belle gawked. "Can we go there?! It sounds so much fun!" She squeed.
"Hm..." Rarity thought for a moment. "I suppose so. I'll have to tell the others I'll be separating from them. Would you like to bring your friends along too?"
"Sure if they want to." Sweetie Belle picked up Espurr. "I wonder if there's a Pokemon Contest there too."
"Pheromosa..." Pheromosa yawned as she was feeling tired herself, laying on her back. Leavanny helped make a string blanket to keep her warm and cosy, thankfully.
Most of Rarity's Pokemon were feeling tired, especially after eating a midnight meal. Sweetie Belle's Teddiursa had already fallen asleep on one of the many Leavanny's laps.
Over at the corner of her eye, Rarity noticed a familiar face who would obviously be here in Manehattan. None other than her friend Coco Pommel and her loyal Glaceon.
"Coco!" Rarity called out for her.
"Hm?" Coco had been alerted, turning around to face her friend from Ponyville. "Oh, hello, Rarity."
"Glaceon!" Glaceon rushed over to them with Coco just casually walking.
"I would've thought you were asleep at this time, Coco dear."
"Oh, yes." Coco nodded. "But Glaceon enjoys the midnight because of the chill it brings. So recently, I take her out for midnight strolls."
"Ceon!"
"Oh! A Glaceon!" Sweetie Belle dashed over.
"Sweetie Belle. This is my friend from Manehattan that I had mentioned. Coco Pommel. And her Glaceon, of course."
"Oh. So, you're Rarity's little sister that she mentioned?" Coco looked down at Sweetie Belle. "Nice to meet you, Sweetie Belle."
"Hi-Hi!" Sweetie Belle greeted.
"Are you enjoying Manehattan's attractions so far?" Coco asked.
"Yes. But unfortunately, we'll be heading off to another location once morning arrives." Rarity answered. "But so far, everything here has been enjoyable. Actually, I'd say the entire festival has been enjoyable. Much like last year."
"Sure is!" Sweetie Belle nodded aggressively.
"Oh, about that. I was wondering...if I ever bumped into you here, I'd be able to ask you something, Rarity."
"Hm? Yes, what is it?"
"If you're going all over Equestria for the Pokemon Festival, do you think Glaceon and I could tag along maybe?"
"Tagalong?" Rarity shot up.
"Oh yes! It'd be nice to spend time at the festival with more friends if that's okay with you. Um, I hope I won't be a bother to you though."
"Oh, ridiculous. You won't be a bother at all, Coco. If you wish to tag along with us then sure. Nothing is stopping you after all. More friends are a pleasure anyway."
"So I can really come along?" Coco had a wide smile on her face. "Yes! I can't wait! But um...will we run into danger? I mean, I know that things tend to get hazardous on your adventures with your friends."
"No need to worry. If anypony threatens you and Glaceon, My Pokemon and I will make sure they get an absolute thrashing!"
"Ampharos!"
"Leavan!"
"That's great. But where are we going in the morning?" Coco asked.
"Ah. Well, we've decided on Las Pegasus next." Rarity answered.
"Las Pegasus?!" Coco's eyes widened as she let out a fairly long gasp. "What a place to be!" She pranced on the spot. "It's so flashy and extravagant but too exciting to pass up!"
"Las Pegasus it is." Rarity nodded. "Come Coco. Sit with us." She tapped her hoof on the bench.
As Coco came over, she had a lot of things to say to Rarity until the morning. "So I heard you have a second boutique over at the Pokemon World, right?"
"Mhm. Lumiose City. I should actually check up on all of them more often. If you want I could-" They continued to chat the night away as Sweetie Belle ended up falling asleep on top of Glaceon.
Only 6 minutes into midnight. That was a clear indication that the fourth day would be slower than the rest and possibly the upcoming days as well. This festival is most likely going to burn them all out in more ways than one.
Canterlot. 00:17
Over at the guest rooms, the three siren sisters had already gone to sleep long ago after having a very comfortable massage.
They haven't slept together for months now so this was a nostalgic feeling to each of them. And the positions were still the same always. With Sonata's hoof hitting Aria's face, snoring obnoxiously and Aria's tail over Adagio's face, they slept chaotically.
Like sisters.
Their Pokemon also slept on top of them, seeing their trainers as the best form of pillows there are.
Total silence is all they needed together. Despite their positions, they could sleep surprisingly easy since they've gotten used to this over the years.
Although, there is one difference. Due to Adagio being separated from her sister for a while now, her sleep schedule has been altered drastically.
To a point where she has essentially become nocturnal along with her Kricketot. She only managed to sleep for 3 hours at maximum. But for now, she was enjoying her sleep with her sisters.
At least, that was the case, until a very familiar green glow shined through the room, prompting Adagio to wake up. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Aria's tail covering her face.
"Mrrgh..." Adagio grumbled as she flipped Aria's tail off, focusing on the green light. From first glance, she could tell that this glow belonged to Chrysalis, of course. "Chrysalis?"
Indeed, Chrysalis was here. After all, she did disguise herself as a random pony just to sneak into the festival. But she wasn't here to cause trouble for once. She was here for something bigger.
She came out of the shadows, letting down her green glow as she transformed back into her normal form. "Good. You're awake."
"You're here of all times?" Adagio rubbed her eye. "You'd better not be trying to ruin this for me..."
"I'm not here for that. I'm here for something. Something that can benefit both of us?"
"What?" Adagio teleported out of the bed and in front of Chrysalis. "What do you mean?"
"When you were at my hive, I told you that Ghetsis was too powerful to betray. Him and Team Plasma."
"Yes, I remember. What of it?"
"Well...I believe I may have found a solution to our little problem. This solution can help us against Ghetsis. Most likely?"
"...Huh." Adagio narrowed her eyes. "You've come with a spell to deal with this?"
"Not exactly a spell that can defeat Ghetsis. No-no." Chrysalis shook her head. "It involves Empress Twilight mostly."
"Her?" Adagio pulled back. "She's just as dangerous and-"
"I know." Chrysalis interrupted. "She has countless amounts of alicorn magic within her that she has stolen. Perhaps she may be the strongest alicorn there is. But...that is exactly why we need her."
"We're going to make her turn on Ghetsis? Won't she do that herself?" Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"Correction. We're going to steal her magic."
"...Oh." Adagio's eyes widened. Hearing that idea sparked some energy within her. "Oh, that might actually work now that I think about it. Urgh! But the jar that siphons magic is back in the parallel world with Sunset Shimmer!"
"We won't need some pathetic jar for this. All we need is-" Chrysalis paused for a moment. "Did you say it siphons up magic?"
"Sure does." Adagio nodded. "Just open it and the jar will do all the hard work for you. But I lost it in the other world." Adagio stomped her hoof.
"Hm..." Chrysalis took that in mind. "Well...We'll keep that jar in mind. Just for backup."
"I can just sneak over and get it now. But what's your original plan anyway? Gonna use a spell to absorb her magic probably?"
"Are you insane? Her magic is on a completely different level. She'd overwhelm me with ease. I could only dream of casually absorbing her magic right in front of her. Instead, we'll take a different approach."
"Alright, I'm listening."
"Excellent. Now, this plan isn't fully complete. It only has an end goal but everything else is a vague void that needs to be filled. So here is what we could do."
Chrysalis began explaining the plan, or at least, the end goal, to Adagio while the others were somehow still asleep during all of this chatter. Although, Aria's ears were picking up on the noise.
Aria opened up her eye to see Adagio speaking with Chrysalis. She made sure not to make a single sound as she stayed in one position, keeping one eye open.
Her ears were able to tell that Adagio and Chrysalis were forming a plan. However, Aria was surprised to hear that it was a plan involving defeating Empress Twilight and Ghetsis both.
Hearing this made Aria a bit relieved that her sister was aiming at taking a greater evil out. But alongside Chrysalis was still a red flag since she couldn't really trust her at all.
"Sounds risky but...it's not impossible." Adagio shook her head. "I'll make sure to get the jar as soon as I can."
That's when Aria heard words that gave her a clear insight on what is coming in the near future as these words came out of Chrysalis's mouth.
"Good. Remember. Empress Twilight will invade this world in 2 months as part of her endless conquest. We need to be ready for when that day comes."
An invasion was clearly coming as Aria's eyes widened. She knew it would happen but not in 2 months. Not at all.
"The plan isn't perfect. Not at all." Chrysalis shook her head. "It may change over time. But the end goal is still the same. She and Ghetsis are too dangerous to roam in our world."
"Tell me about it..." Adagio scoffed. "Just leave the magic stealing to me. That jar will suck it all up in seconds."
"I hope so. I'll be waiting for that day, Adagio Dazzle. In the meantime, stay cautious." Chrysalis said her last words as she used her magic to transform into a random pony. She left the guest room without acting too suspicious to anypony.
"I'd best get going then." Adagio was planning on heading to the other world to retrieve the jar. That was her main priority and her greatest asset.
She believed that she would leave this room and world without being noticed but in truth, Aria noticed for sure as she kept her eye open the entire time.
Adagio exited the room, prompting Aria to get off the bed, planning on going after her. But before she did so, she looked back at Sonata who was fast asleep, hugging her Buneary as they both grumbled.
She knew that hiding something important from her sister was never a wise decision. So Aria decided to wake her younger sister up by nudging her.
"Sonata...Sonata. Wake up."
"Mmm...Aah..." Sonata wriggled in her bed. "Tacos..."
"Ugh." Aria groaned. She had alternatives to waking Sonata up.
One alternative involved Aria's Popplio which always worked. She picked up her Popplio, squeezing the Sea Lion Pokemon's tail which prompted Popplio to wake up.
"Pop!" Popplio's eyes widened as she instinctively sprayed water on Sonata and her Pokemon.
"A-AH!" Sonata screamed alongside her Pokemon. She was now awake due to the cold water over her. "I'm awake..."
"Good. We're getting a move on now."
"What? Why?" Sonata groaned.
"It's Adagio. She's heading to the other world."
"Right now? Is she leaving us?! But I thought she was going to stay behind and-"
"I'll explain everything along the way." Aria grabbed Sonata as she didn't want to lag behind. Her Pokemon jumped off the bed, wondering what on earth was going on right now.
If they don't catch up to Adagio, they could lose her in the human world. Adagio herself was unaware of her sisters following her at all. She was only focused on getting to the portal and finding the jar which was in the custody of Sunset Shimmer.
The room that held the mirror portal was locked but it was no problem for Adagio since she can just use her magic to open it up.
But it wasn't just Aria and Sonata following their big sister. Darkrai was lurking in the shadows, spying on all of them. He was already cautious of Adagio from the beginning as he had been watching her every moment when she entered the castle into the guest room.
He was essentially Equestria's greatest night watch. Alongside another pony who is always awake at night. That pony was none other than Queen Pyrestar, who was eyeing their movements down.
Adagio used her magic to open the locked door, unlocking it and granting her access to the room. Aria and Sonata hid behind a wall, making sure that Adagio wouldn't notice them.
She did in fact turn around, thinking that the coast was clear since nopony else was in sight. At least, that's what she thought. With the door open, she entered the room with her sisters quietly following her.
Adagio was ready to return to the human world. The same world where her magic had disappeared in the first place. In fact, this was the one world Adagio hated the most since that is where everything started going downhill for her.
But that didn't matter right now. She took a deep breath, looking over at the mirror in front of her. With Kricketot waking up, noticing that the background was different, Adagio entered the portal with her body vanishing once she passed through. She was no longer in this world anymore.
"A portal?" Sonata gasped. "Where does it even go?"
"I think...it leads to the human world. The same world where we lost our magic." Aria answered.
"That world?!" Sonata screeched before shoving her hoof in her own mouth. "I've got a bad feeling about this..."
"So do I. But Adagio's up to something. We can't ignore it. Let's go." Aria went ahead with Sonata shaking in fear. The two of them pursued their sister as this would be their first time passing through the portal instead of how they originally ended up in the human world in the first place.
Darkrai watched from the shadows as he observed everything occur. He was tempted to go after them by passing through the portal. He knew that if he did, he would be leaving this world behind unguarded. But he was willing to take the risk.
Once Aria, Sonata and their Pokemon passed through, Darkrai did the same by emerging from the shadows. He didn't have the opportunity to tell Luna but she was far away from here and there was no time at all.
Canterlot High. Night.
Just like its parallel world, this world is undergoing its midnight phase. Mostly everyone here was asleep with a few of them being awake with their lights on.
Adagio set foot onto the grass as she shuddered, resenting that she was back in this world she despised so much. She was back as a human yet again.
"Ugh..." She winced. "Everything about this place..." She quickly slapped herself. "Focus. I just need to find Sunset Shimmer's home and get the jar back. That's all."
"Kricke?" The Cricket Pokemon popped out of Adagio's hair.
"Go back to sleep, Kricketot. This doesn't concern you."
"Tot..." The Kricketot Pokemon sunk back into Adagio's large hair, going back to sleep.
"Where does she even live...?" That was one major issue. Adagio doesn't exactly know where Sunset Shimmer's home is. At all.
Even though Adagio has been here before with her sisters as they were trapped here until the Rift brought them back to Equestria, she only knew a few places in this entire area. Canterlot high being the biggest of them all.
Everything else was a mystery. But, Adagio figured that Sunset Shimmer's home couldn't be too far if she could make it to school. Sunset's home was actually located in an urban neighbourhood in this world's Canterlot. Which was just a suburban city at the end of the day.
It could be a long trip, but Adagio was willing to take it. She was hoping that she could return to her own world, back in the guest room before Aria and Sonata notice that she's gone.
But they already knew.
As Adagio started making her way to the suburban city, Aria and Sonata had come through the portal. Just like their big sister, they were in their human forms once more after so long.
"W-Woah..!" Sonata felt wobbly as she was trying to remember how to walk with these types of legs while Aria figured it out since it hasn't really been that long to her. "I miss hooves already."
"Gonna have to get used to this again. Let's get a move on." Aria helped Sonata up from the ground. The two of them would have to be stealthy in all of this as they returned their Pokemon to their Poke Balls.
Adagio was still clueless about her sisters following her here. Even Kricketot hadn't noticed at all. But, Aria and Sonata themselves weren't aware that another had passed through the portal after them.
Darkrai.
This was his first time being here but that didn't matter to him. He's used to appearing in odd places, even before the worlds crossed over. Even in this brand new world, the shadows were completely under his control as he submerged in them, blending with the night.
There were now three objectives from different groups.
Adagio, who is currently searching for Sunset Shimmer to retrieve the jar. Aria and Sonata pursuing their older sister. And Darkrai who was pursuing all of them at once.
Truly, the 4th day was going to be a long one. And the night wasn't even close to ending.
Sunset Shimmer's home. 2:15.
Fast asleep and in peace. Sunset Shimmer was in a state of relaxation. Nothing could ruin this serene and cosy silence. Sunset actually sleeps with her Pokemon, much like the Dazzlings.
She held her Litleo tight, Fletchinder rested on her head and Braxien hugged Sunset from behind. Before the worlds crossed over, Sunset used to live alone. But with her Pokemon, she essentially had a family with her at all times now. A wonderful feeling that Sunset was missing from her life.
But unbeknownst to Sunset Shimmer, her night was about to be interrupted without any warning whatsoever from an unexpected return of an old foe.
It took 2 hours, but Adagio had finally found Sunset Shimmer's home after walking through the suburbs of Canterlot during the cold night.
Adagio stood outside with her face looking through the window, spotting Sunset sleeping up at her bed which was always high up.
"Finally," Adagio spoke. "Let's get this over with."
The plan was simple. Sneak into Sunset Shimmer's home, retrieve the jar, high-tail it out of this world and mission accomplished.
Disappointingly, Adagio knew that the simple plans always somehow in someway end up wayward and wild. They always do. So she was going to play this extra carefully.
Opening the door to Sunset Shimmer's home was just the first step. She held her hand out as a golden glow of magic emanated from her hand, circling the door handle.
Meanwhile, Aria and Sonata had caught up to their older sister as they were hiding behind the buildings from across the street, peeking over at Adagio as they saw her use magic.
"So...that's the house..." Aria scrunched her eyes.
"W-Why? What's in that house?" Sonata whispered.
"My guess is this is where Sunset Shimmer lives. And if she's there that jar must be there as well."
"Oooh..." Sonata nodded. "But should we breaking in someone's home."
"If she's doing it then we'll do it too." Aria watched Adagio enter the house as she and Sonata crept over, making sure not to make any sudden sounds.
All the while, Darkrai was moving through the shadows, already catching up to them with ease.
Adagio had finally entered Sunset Shimmer's home for the first time. She made sure her footsteps were silent and practically non-existent.
The lights were off, giving this room total and complete darkness. Adagio heard the sounds of Pokemon snoring as she looked up to see Sunset resting with her partners.
"Where's that jar...?" Searching for the jar would be a large task on its own. It could be anywhere in this house. So Adagio got searching.
She started by searching Sunset Shimmer's overly-sized wardrobe that she had. She opened it up, only to find clothes and nothing more. No one is obviously putting a magical siphoning jar inside of here. It's too spacious after all.
Adagio gently closed the wardrobe as she continued searching. Sunset's table with her computer and spears, her drawers, cabinets, none of them had the jar anywhere.
Adagio decided to try and search in the cardboard boxes laid out across her room. Perhaps they have the jar inside. Adagio used her magic to bring the cardboard boxes over, opening them up and taking a look inside. But they were just more clothes and trinkets.
"Come on..." Adagio growled as she was getting a bit frustrated. She dug her hand into the plants themselves, getting soil on her hands. But as she dug in, no jar was found.
She looked behind the TV, but nothing there. Her options were very limited right now. Sunset Shimmer didn't exactly have the largest house. In fact, it was somewhat small in comparison to everywhere else.
Eventually, Adagio's movements were enough to alert Litleo who was the first to hear random noise echo throughout the house.
"Lit...Leo?" The Lion Cub Pokemon sat up, rubbing its ears and eyes with its paw.
The first thing he saw was the sight of Adagio Dazzle rummaging through Sunset Shimmer's home. Naturally, this put him on high alert.
"Leo! Litleo!" The Fire-Normal-Type roared.
That roar startled Adagio who quickly turned around, spotting Litleo being awake. "No...Not now...! Shut up..! Shut up...!"
And that prompted Sunset Shimmer herself to wake up. Litleo's roaring made her jump out of the bed instead of a normal and slow waking-up sequence.
"Urgh...What is it Litleo?" Sunset grumbled with her hair being an absolute mess.
"Leo! Leo!"
Litleo drove Sunset Shimmer's attention to the intruder of the night, Adagio. Those eyes locked on to her immediately. It took a while for Sunset to process who she was seeing since she had just woken up from all that roaring.
But eventually, in a short amount of time, Sunset recognized it was Adagio Dazzle herself. And of course, her reaction was as followed.
"Adagio?!" She bellowed with her pupils expanding and her jaw-dropping.
"Stupid lion..." Adagio growled.
"You!" Sunset hopped off her bed. "What are you doing here?!"
"None of your business!" Adagio scoffed.
"It is my business...Cause it's my house!"
"Litleo!"
"Alright fine. I guess I can tell you since you know where it is. I need that jar. Give back what is rightfully mine." Adagio answered.
"The magic siphoning jar? Yeah, right. As if I'd let you have that back. You've got a lot of nerve coming here and causing a ruckus." Sunset's hands were starting to glow with magic.
"Ugh." Adagio winced. "This is what I was hoping I'd end up avoiding..." Her arms started to glow with magic as well as she knew this was going south rapidly.
Retrieving the jar is going to be a lot harder than was to be expected. With Sunset Shimmer awake, Adagio is in a rough spot right about now. Her sisters quietly watch as Darkrai observes from the shadows themselves.
Time is ticking. The morning isn't too far away. While the festival continues, this little scuffle is about to occur. That is if they decide to go against each other as the journey continues.
Between Adagio Dazzle and Sunset Shimmer. Adagio came here searching for the jar that siphons magic and unfortunately, Litleo had woken up, alerting Sunset about Adagio's presence and how she has intruded.
Naturally, this sparked up some conflict. The two of them are not fond of each other at all. There's a high possibility that Adagio's hate for Sunset is on par with her hate for Twilight. Possibly.
"You tell me where the jar is and we don't have to do this," Adagio spoke.
"No way. I know how powerful you can become with that." Sunset responded.
"Litleo!"
"Tch. It'd be so wonderful to have all that magic pouring in me...but that's not why I'm here for it."
"Whatever the reason is, I know it can't be good!" Sunset raised her arm, ready to blast Adagio with her magic as Adagio did the same.
Aria and Sonata noticed that this could get ugly fast if someone doesn't stop this. Plus, the house is very small and condensed so the destruction won't be pretty. And if the house is destroyed, there's a good chance the jar itself will be obliterated in the chaos. Wherever it may be.
"Wait!" Aria rushed in as she had the instinct to stop this. She ran in between Adagio and Sunset, sliding on the floor as she almost tripped over.
"Aria?" Adagio gasped as she let her magic down instinctively so that she doesn't harm her own sister.
"Huh?" Sunset raised an eyebrow.
"Don't fire!" Aria put her arms out to both of them.
"What are you doing here?!" Adagio exclaimed. "Did you follow me here?!"
"Uh...no!" Sonata spoke. Now her presence was known by Adagio and Sunset. "We didn't! We uh...got here before you, yeah!" She grinned.
"You two..." Adagio facepalmed. "Stay out of this! This doesn't concern you two!"
"It totally does!" Aria went up to Adagio. "I heard you back at the guest room. You were with Chrysalis, speaking about a plan, weren't you?"
"So you heard everything back there?"
"Sure did. You want to siphon up Empress Twilight's magic, don't you? That's why you need the jar."
"Empress Twilight?" Sunset tilted her head.
"Okay, sure you figured it out. But you shouldn't be here." Adagio poked Aria. "And if you heard us speak back there, you should also know that this is way too dangerous for you two to get involved!"
"I don't care!" Aria whacked Adagio's hand away. "It's a danger to you as well! This is Empress Twilight and Ghetsis we're talking about here. The same ones who you said could wipe us out with ease?"
"I know I said that!" Adagio snapped back at Aria. "That's why I'm going through with this plan! It's the only possible way we can prevent what's coming soon!"
"Wait? What's coming soon?" Sonata scratched her hair.
"An invasion," Aria answered. "In 2 months, Empress Twilight will come to our world and add it to her many world's that she's conquered. Isn't that right, Adagio."
"Hmph. Guess you really did hear everything." Adagio scoffed.
"Uh..." Sunset paused. "H-Hold on a sec. Invasion? 2 months? Empress Twilight? W-What are you talking about?"
"Leo?"
"This is a larger than life threat you're going against, Adagio. Let us help you." Aria put her hands on Adagio's shoulders. "Cause there's no way you and the changelings are gonna stand a chance, let's face it."
"I know that..." Adagio groaned. "But-"
"We're your sisters, ya know. We always stick together and help each other out at the end of the day." Aria reassured.
"Yeah!" Sonata slid in. "Even if we haven't been hanging out as much recently." She squeed.
"You two...You don't even have any magic left." Adagio shook her head. If you get involved in any way, I won't be strong enough to save you two."
"Uhh...she's actually got a point there." Sonata nodded. "We don't have any magic left, Aria."
"Even if we don't have magic, we can still help you. In any way, we can." Aria's eyes did all the real talking. She's certainly a different siren when she's not her cynical self.
"Mmmm..." Adagio growled. She knew that Aria was just as stubborn as her in many ways. Saying no is futile since Aria will most likely involve herself either way. "Fine. Just make sure you never make direct contact with Ghetsis and Empress Twilight, got it?"
"We're not that dumb," Aria smirked.
"Yeah! Wait-" Sonata paused.
"Hold on a second!" Sunset shouted, grabbing their attention as she had some questions that needed to be answered. "What are you three on about? What's this about an invasion? When did Twilight become an Empress?!"
"...Should we tell her?" Aria nudged Adagio.
"I don't know. Should we?" Adagio narrowed her eyes at Sunset.
"There's a Twilight Sparkle from another universe who's working with this Ghetsis guy and they're gonna invade our world like they did with every other world in just 2 months!" Sonata ended up spilling everything to Sunset which made Adagio and Aria facepalm.
"...Huh?" Sunset was a bit perplexed. But she was able to process it all. "You're joking...right? You're just trying to catch me off guard aren't you?"
"They're not joking at all." A voice replied to Sunset. Of course, the final member who had passed through the portal when he spotted Adagio and the others sneaking towards it.
Darkrai, of course.
He emerged from the shadows, startling everyone inside of the house as they all fell on their back, looking up at the Pitch Black Pokemon who towered over them.
"Darkrai?!" The three sisters exclaimed.
"W-W-W-What is that?!" Sunset Shimmer was freaking over the sight of Darkrai. But, priorities came first as she pulled out her Pokedex, raising it to scan Darkrai.
"Darkrai. The Pitch Black Pokemon. It can lull people to sleep and make them dream. It is active during nights of the new moon. Folklore has it that on moonless nights, this Pokémon will make people see horrific nightmares. To protect itself, it afflicts those around it with nightmares. However, it means no harm."
"Darkrai...Is this the Pokemon that Princess Luna owns?" Sunset gawked.
"Oh, you tagged along with us as well?!" Sonata stood up, dashing over to the Pitch Black Pokemon.
"You could say that," Darkrai replied. "Anyway. Sunset Shimmer. What they're saying is true. Every last bit of it."
"I-It is...?" Sunset stuttered. "There's really an invasion coming to Equestria?!"
"Oh yeah!" Sonata nodded. "Straight from the comics."
"Empress Twilight could take over our world in...I don't know a few seconds maybe?" Adagio shrugged. "From what I can tell, she's the strongest alicorn in existence by a mile."
"And she's working alongside Ghetsis. You know of him, don't you?" Darkrai questioned.
"I heard words about him when coming to Manehattan as a Gym Leader. He injured Princess Celestia greatly that it almost ended her life and he conquered Saddle Arabia right?"
"Right you are on that. With him and Empress Twilight joining forces as one large alliance-" Darkrai was about to finish his sentence.
"Then we're all done for." Sonata finished it for him.
"Get it now? I...we need that jar." Adagio held her hand out. "If we're gonna stop an alicorn that powerful, the strongest alicorn from what I can tell, we need the jar to siphon up her magic. All of it."
"How do I know you're not gonna keep all of her magic for yourself once you siphon it all up?" Sunset was still cautious about Adagio and even her sisters.
"No way." Adagio crossed her arms. "That's too much power, even for me to handle. We're keeping it locked up in that jar forever."
"Okay..." Sunset said slowly, still a bit cautious. "But, if that's the case, then I'll be there as well."
"Hm?" They all collectively said.
"Even if I've chosen to live in the human world, Equestria is still my home at the end of the day. I can't let anyone just come over and invade it for some conquering nonsense. I'm sticking with you Adagio, just in case you don't try anything funny."
"Tch. I don't need your company." Adagio scoffed.
"Don't you have like school stuff here? That principal Celestia's gonna be pretty ticked off if she finds out you aren't showing up." Sonata chuckled.
"She'll understand. I'll get the jar now." Sunset went over to her bed as she was about to reveal where she hid the jar. By climbing up her bed, Sunset dug her hand into Braixen's tail which made the Fox Pokemon giggle in her sleep.
"Braixen..."
Sunset then pulled the jar out of Braixen's tail, holding it high.
"Alright, I've got it. But can you like, wait until morning when I've told everyone I'm leaving? Plus I'm tired..." Sunset yawned.
"Huh? Wait?!" Adagio jerked back.
"Like I'd let you just run off with the jar right now." Sunset narrowed her eyes as she and Adagio were eyeing each other down with sparks flying.
"What do we do...?" Sonata gulped, asking Aria.
"I can fix this." Darkrai had a solution to this problem. It was simple. Use Dark Void on them both. And that's what he did. Two black orbs consumed Adagio and Sunset Shimmer, placing them into a state of sleep in an instant as they dropped on the floor, lying flat on their faces while snoring.
"Oh. Okay, that works." Sonata nodded.
"So much for a peaceful festival..." Aria sighed. "We can never catch a huge break can we?"
"As long as we stop Empress Twilight and Ghetsis then we can have all the peace in the world," Darkrai said as he watched the two of them snore. "
"Lit?" Litleo nudged Sunset Shimmer's face. Surprisingly, Fletchinder and Braixen hadn't woken up despite all this ongoing noise. Truly they were heavy sleepers.
"So...now what do we do?" Aria kicked the floor.
"Hm...Oh!" Sonata noticed the TV and game console next to them. "I've heard about these! I've always wanted to experience them! Come on! Sit right here, you guys!" She patted the floor. "We can pass the time with this!"
"Right now?" Aria and Darkrai both said.
"Oh yeah! We're still in the festival spirit after all!"
"Pass. My claws won't work with those." Darkrai denied.
"Isn't it kind of illegal to do this in her own home?" Aria wasn't so sure about this.
"Is it?" Sonata's pupils shrunk. "Oh, well." She turned on the console, wanting to try it out herself. Darkrai would keep watch while Aria just stood by, waiting for time to pass.
Darkrai's Dream Realm.
Both Sunset Shimmer and Adagio were in the same realm together since Darkrai hit both of them at the same time. Now they shared one dream. The area they were in was a recreation of Canterlot High.
"He could've just asked..." Sunset crossed her arms.
"Great. Now I'm stuck here with you." Adagio sat down on a bench.
"At least I can keep a good eye on you now." Sunset grinned. "I still don't trust you with that jar. Even if you say you won't use it."
"Of course you don't trust me." Adagio turned around. "Not many do anyway. I can't blame them honestly. Not after what I did to Equestria and the Pokemon World."
"What did you do there?" Sunset was curious. She knew of what Adagio did in the human world with the siphoning jar but not what she did in Equestria or the Pokemon World.
"Let's see I..." Adagio raised her fingers, counting what she has done so far. "Stole the Alicorn Amulet and tied Twilight Sparkle up and imprisoned her, enslaved the humans of Castelia City along with the ponies who came to visit there and caused some destruction there as well, mercilessly beat down a trainer and their Breloom with an Ultra Beast and...actually, I think that's about it."
"Yeesh..." Sunset grimaced at that.
"Yeah I know it's bad," Adagio growled. "Not many trust me because of what I've done. The only reason I haven't been locked up yet is because of her."
"Who?"
"Celestia. She's the one pony I tolerate the most."
"Princess Celestia tolerates you? How?"
"Family stuff. Her mom knew my mom way back then." Adagio looked up at the dream sky.
"Oh, so they were friends?"
"No way!" Adagio shouted. "They were not friends! Just...two species who knew each other and had a short talk that's all. Like my mom would ever make friends. Or any siren really."
"What makes you think you can't make friends?"
"Do you have to keep asking so many questions?" Adagio groaned. "I just can't. But...I guess that doesn't hold up since Aria and Sonata don't have a problem with it."
"Your sisters have friends?" Sunset's eyes widened as a huge smile appeared on her face. "That's wonderful!"
"Yeah...of course you'd find it wonderful..." Adagio sighed. "Everyone thinks that friendship is wonderful."
"Well, it is wonderful, ya know." Sunset sat next to Adagio. "Why wouldn't it be? Having a friend is an amazing feeling that would make anyone feel good. I never knew I needed a friend until I made some of my own."
"Ugh...This really is a nightmare world..." Adagio facepalmed.
"Now that you mention it...?" Sunset looked around. "Where are the nightmares? Everything looks fine to me."
Spoke too soon.
The moment they brought it up, a nightmare sequence had occurred. It seems that the nightmares can also be triggered on command, surprisingly. Although most of the time, Darkrai is the one who activates it.
However, Darkrai's nightmares follow a simple pattern. They always focus on the most important thing going through the victim's mind. In this case, it was Empress Twilight Sparkle and Ghetsis. Both of them at the same time.
The skies themselves were shattering which immediately startled them both. They stood up from the bench, watching the azure skies turn grey and dark as sky shards were falling from above. Adagio moved back as a shard of the sky stabbed into the ground. It was raining shards as they were sharp enough to pierce through anything. Sunset and Adagio instinctively evaded the raining shards as they were plastered everywhere, going through buildings.
Soon, out of the shattered skies themselves, a gigantic ship or rather multiple ships, millions, possibly billions of them broke through, turning the once beautiful azure skies into a distorted and fractured black space.
That gigantic ship with the purple aesthetic was the one that stuck out the most. It was larger than the rest. And perhaps, it might be Empress Twilight's ship since it's the most glaring one there.
Billions of ships covered the sky, casting synchronized shadows over Canterlot High and practically the entire town and beyond. They were all representing the coming invasion.
This entire nightmare sequence was a prophetic dream of what was potentially coming soon in just 2 months. Along with the ships came dark purple shadows that flew past Adagio and Sunset, letting out horrible screams as they caused mighty wind pressures.
They sounded like ponies screaming each time they flew by. But more importantly, the screams were identical to Celestia, Luna, Cadence and even another Twilight. It sounded like all four of them were suffering. That just worsened the mood for the duo.
What's worse, millions of them could be heard. It wasn't just four of them. Instead, it was 4 million and possibly even more inside. And they all kept screaming without end.
"Oh my..." Sunset Shimmer gawked as she almost tripped on the bench. "I know this isn't real but..." She ducked as a purple shadow flew over her head, blowing the bench away as it was devoured by another shadow. The bench no longer existed.
The shadows flew over to Canterlot High, devouring the entire building in mere seconds. It was as if these shadows consume everything in their path while those horrifying and uneasy screams continued to echo across the land to no end.
"That mark..." Adagio noticed how all the ships had Twilight's Cutie Mark on them. It was a clear red flag that this was indeed Empress Twilight's fleet.
And from the largest ship here, the purple one, the hatch from above had opened up as they both stared at that one ship. Out of the hatch, they were expecting to see Empress Twilight herself.
But instead, they got somepony different. It was a silhouette that was hard to see. But it was clearly a pony. Since this world was just the Dream Real, the effects of the real world didn't apply either, meaning that the pony didn't transform into a human at all.
This silhouette was unknown to Sunset, but Adagio was able to recognize it. It was none other than Empress Twilight's protege and her best student.
Luster Dawn.
The pony that Empress Twilight said that Adagio should team up with. Obviously, that wasn't happening anymore since Adagio separated herself from the alliance already.
"W-Who is that?" Sunset gawked.
"Luster Dawn," Adagio answered.
What followed next was Luster Dawn looking down at both of them with a snarky and cocky look on her face. Fitting since she is Empress Twilight's student after all.
But then something else happened. The hatches of the other ships began to open up. They were expecting soldiers since they were the ones piloting the ships with Luster Dawn having the more extravagant and flashy one.
And they certainly did get soldiers emerging from the hatches. But the ships that were in the front of every other ship and beside Luster Dawn's ship revealed something new and unknown but yet somehow familiar to Adagio and Sunset.
New silhouettes of three new ponies. Or rather, familiar ponies. But in a completely different way.
One of them looked like Rarity but she was taller and her mane was slightly different and longer. In fact, she had the same height as an alicorn even her mane had the ethereal look to it.
Another one looked a lot like Princess Celestia. Only, her ethereal mane was on fire from the looks of it. A fire that matched the sun itself.
And there was one other silhouette that matched Starlight Glimmer. She was also the same height as an alicorn. Identical to the Rarity silhouette. And of course, she had the ethereal mane as well.
These three mysterious ponies naturally confused Adagio and Sunset. They looked like the ponies they knew but there was something off about them. Almost as if they had been corrupted. Just like Nightmare Moon.
This was more than just a nightmare. This was a prophetic nightmare. A nightmare that was essentially showing Adagio and Sunset the possible future. It was going to be more than just Ghetsis and Empress Twilight. There were potentially more members of their alliance that weren't limited to Chrysalis and formerly Adagio.
What's worse is that Adagio could see that two of them were alicorns and one was just a unicorn. But the thought of there being two extra alicorns other than Empress Twilight was uneasy.
The silhouettes didn't say anything at all. This was just a prophetic nightmare after all. But at the same time, all of their horns suddenly lit up with magic in unison.
"Uh..." Sunset stammered.
"M-More..." Adagio was the one who was the most surprised about this. "There's more of them...?" She wasn't predicting anything like this. Allies to Ghetsis and Empress Twilight that she had no idea existed and they were potentially from alternate universes as well.
A mixture of three lights flashed across the area. Lights so bright they could blind anyone at first glance. Naturally, Adagio and Sunset covered their eyes to look away from the blinding light, even if it couldn't actually blind them in the Dream Realm.
And that was the last thing that they saw in Darkrai's Dream Realm.
Reality. 6:30.
"There's more of them!" Adagio gasped as she woke up from the nightmare, startling everyone there. Sonata was thrown off balance whilst playing on Sunset Shimer's console.
"Ah!" Sunset Shimmer had also woken up, returning to reality and out of Darkrai's realm.
"You're finally awake," Darkrai said. "Perfect timing as well."
"Whuh..." Adagio and Sunset groaned as they looked outside. They saw the bright blinding rays of the sun pierce through the windows. Despite them being in the Dream Realm for a short amount of time, it was day already. It felt like it had only been 10 minutes at best.
After waking up from Darkrai's Dream World, their bodies felt cold and uneasy. Just one of the many side effects of Darkrai's nightmares. They have a high probability of occurring.
"...I-It's morning?" Sunset stuttered. "Were we there for that long?"
"Doesn't feel like it." Adagio looked at her hands.
"Boy, those nightmares must've been rough." Sonata slid over, putting the controller down. You were going all crazy, wriggling in your sleep."
"They weren't that rough..." Adagio stood up. "It didn't even feel like a nightmare. Just a nuisance."
"Hold on, Adagio." Aria went over to them. "When you woke up, you said something about how there was more. What do you mean by that?"
"We saw something in our dreams," said Sunset. "A huge fleet of spaceships I think. It looked like there were...I couldn't really tell how many ships there were. But we saw-"
"More alliance members." Adagio interrupted. "I thought that it was just limited to me, Ghetsis, Twilight and Chrysalis but...There's more. What's worse is that two of them were alicorns."
Adagio didn't want to think of alicorns anymore. One alicorn was powerful enough for her to handle. Empress Twilight is just on a whole completely different level. But these two other alicorns were a problem. Because even though it was a nightmare, Adagio could feel the intense and malicious magic pouring out of them.
The fact that they were apart of the alliance made things much more complicated. Three alicorns is a massive red flag. But not only that, Luster Dawn and the unicorn that looked like Rarity also had huge amounts of magic that could be felt. And they were just unicorns.
The horrifying screams from those purple shadows and how they sounded like millions of alicorns trapped inside of them was just uncomfortable and a bad omen.
"Uh...s-should we be worried?" Sonata twiddled her fingers together.
"You had a prophetic nightmare," Darkrai said. "At times, my nightmares are capable of giving warnings to those I affect."
"Give me that." Adagio snatched the jar from Sunset's hands. "Now I need this more than ever."
"Hey! Rude!" Sunset crossed her arms. "But yeah...I can see what you meant by an invasion...there were so many of them. And they're all going to invade Equestria?"
"Probably. I've been to her world before. She's got ships all over space. As far as the eye can see." Adagio nodded. "And if they all come here and invade, then there's a good chance we'll all lose. Miserably."
"You underestimate what we're capable of." Darkrai suddenly countered Adagio. "It's going to take more than an entire empire to stop us Pokemon.
"Litleo!" Litleo agreed.
"Whatever. If you're that confident then sure. But with this..." Adagio looked at the jar. "We can stop our world from being conquered. And maybe, we can stand up to Ghetsis."
"That's gonna be a lot of magic..." Sonata gulped. "Can the jar even contain it all?"
"It has to." She placed the jar in her large mane. "We're leaving you two. We can't afford to waste time at all. I know it's 2 months but-"
"Slow down! Let me get ready first!" Sunset dashed off.
"Get ready?" Adagio scrunched her eyes. "You can change out of your pyjamas later!"
"2 months is still far away from now." Sunset opened up her wardrobe. "I know how serious this looks, yeah. But we've got a lot of time to plan and prepare."
"She's right you know." Aria nodded. "They won't be showing up for a while, ya know. Take it easy, Adagio. Besides. We still have the festival to enjoy together."
"Ugh." Adagio groaned as she facepalmed. "Fine. But after the festival ends, we're jumping straight into the plan."
"Oh, right!" Sunset put her jacket on. "This means I get to join in the festival too! Lucky!" Sunset grinned.
"Oh, brother..." Adagio sighed. "You know you can just trust me with the jar anyway."
"I still have my doubts about you. But...You do sound pretty genuine about trying to stop a larger threat so..." Sunset went up to Adagio. "I guess this'll be my first time teaming up with you."
"We're not teaming up." Adagio shook her head. "You're just acting as a nuisance and deadweight."
"But it'd be great to have a new friend tag along!" Sonata slid over.
"Hm?" Sunset turned to her. "Wait...you see me as a friend?"
"Sure!" Sonata nodded aggressively. "Any opportunity to make a new friend is a steal in my book! Plus you've got some neat stuff here!"
"Wow. Thanks, Sonata I-" That's when Sunset noticed her TV was on. "Wait. Did you touch my stuff while I was asleep?" Her tone shifted.
"Uhh..." Sonata froze.
"Tried to warn you." Aria shook her head.
"Let's just get going already." Adagio made her way towards the door whilst Sunset returned her Pokemon to their Poke Balls.
Darkrai submerged himself back into the shadows while Sunset turned everything off since she was going to be gone for a while. But before that, she had to say goodbye to her friends and that she would be leaving for something important. She couldn't just leave them all behind without saying a word after all.
But Sunset was also nervous about something important. Normally, she returns to her original world to act as the Gym Leader there but she mostly does it while hiding from Princess Celestia since the two of them have a somewhat shaky history.
And now that she would be in her original world more often for 2 months until the invasion her fears were starting to build up on what Celestia would do to her. But she was willing to take that risk.
With the fourth day going into full swing, that meant the Pokemon Festival was active once more. But unbeknownst to them all, they would have to face an inevitable invasion. Luckily, Darkrai will be there to tell them everything he's gathered as the journey continues.
"You're leaving?" The human Fluttershy spoke. This was regarding Sunset's departure to her original world. She was going to keep an eye on Adagio who had the magic siphoning jar with her to make sure that she doesn't use the magic for herself.
"Yeah, I know it's sudden," Sunset replied. "But it's for something really important. For 2 months."
"2 months is pretty long but...not that long." Applejack thought.
"I'll be back once this whole situation is sorted out. But I'm gonna really miss you all."
"We're gonna miss you too, ya know." Rainbow Dash went over. "But uh...Are you sure it's safe to stick around with them?" She pointed over at the Dazzlings.
"Aria and Sonata are...fine from what I can tell. But Adagio's the one I'm really cautious about. She's the reason why I'm leaving. I have to make sure she doesn't use all that magic she takes from the jar for herself."
"Makes sense." Rarity. "But might I ask? What is...that in the shadows?" Rarity was referring to Darkrai who could be seen blending in with any shadows nearby.
"Oh, that's Darkrai. Don't worry about him, he's harmless...Mostly." Sunset thought to when Darkrai put her to sleep. "Tell Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna that'll I'll be gone for a while."
"Take us with you!" Pinkie Pie grabbed Sunset's leg. "I've always wanted to go to the other world! Please!"
"Sorry Pinkie! It's too risky!" Sunset winced. "It's best that you stay here with everyone."
"Aw..." Pinkie let go as she fell flat on her face.
While Sunset was saying her goodbyes to her friends, Adagio watched as she kept tapping her feet, waiting for them to get going already.
"Ugh...I don't see why she has to come along. All because of what? Trust issues?"
"You do have a pretty shady track record, Adagio," Aria said.
"Mhm." Sonata agreed.
"Yeah, I know." Adagio sighed. "I just don't want her being next to me 24/7."
"Well, it won't be just you and her. We're helping you too, remember?" Aria pointed at herself and Sonata.
"Yeah!" Sonata nodded. "We'll be sticking with you a lot more now! Isn't that exciting?!"
"Hmph. In that case, you're aware that you'll have to come with me to Chrysalis's hive eventually, won't you?"
"We do?" Sonata shot up.
"Did you really expect me to just continue the festival without thinking about what's coming our way soon? We need to go through the plan, obviously. Chrysalis and I already agreed that the jar is our ace in all of this."
"We'll go." Aria agreed. "Who cares about some hive anyway?"
"With all those changelings in one spot?" Sonata gulped.
Finally, Sunset finished saying her goodbyes as she walked over to Adagio and the others. "Alright. I'm ready to go."
"About time." Adagio turned around. "Alright, enough standing around. I was already tired of this human body anyway."
"It's gonna be so weird being back for so long..." Sunset muttered under her breath.
"Yeah, whatever." Adagio grabbed Sunset's arm as she didn't have all day. She dragged her along, passing through the portal as Sonata wave goodbye to everyone there.
Finally, they had left and returned to their original world, leaving the human world behind.
By entering their original world, their bodies transformed back into ponies with Adagio remaining a siren-pony-hybrid. Sonata's hooves felt wobbly but Aria was there to help her up.
"I'm actually glad to be back in this form..." Adagio sighed as she looked at her hooves and scales.
"It's the fourth day, right?" Sonata stood up. "We don't have too long until the festival ends."
"And only 2 months left until the big day." Aria shook her head. "You know...we should tell Princess Celestia and Luna about this. But they're kinda far away from here."
"I'll tell them," Darkrai said. "Pyrestar's here as well so she'll inform all of Canterlot."
"You do that. I have the jar now. That's all that matters." Adagio took the jar out of her mane. "Now all we have to do is wait for that day to come and we'll siphon it all up."
"Why not just do it sooner?" Sonata asked.
"Hm?" Adagio turned to her.
"You've met with this Empress Twilight lady before. Why don't you just go to her or let her come to you so that you can suck up all her magic?"
"Good point. Why don't you just do that?" Aria raised an eyebrow. "It would save us a bunch of time, ya know."
"Hah! Do you think I'd be stupid enough to do it right in front of her face? No way. Chrysalis and I have agreed on how we'll siphon it. When she never sees it coming."
"So...From behind?!" Sonata exclaimed.
"Wrong. Outnumbering her, of course."
"Uh, she has like...how many soldiers? You said her empire was massive. How are you gonna outnumber that? With Chrysalis and her changelings?" Aria questioned. "They're not enough...at least I don't think they are."
"Or..." Sunset thought for a moment. "Are you planning on having her be on her lonesome so that you and the changelings can surround her and then you can siphon her magic."
"You're smarter than you look, Sunset Shimmer," Adagio smirked. "When the invasion happens, everyone's going to be too busy focusing on fighting each other. While that goes on, Chrysalis, the changelings and I will head for Empress Twilight. She's always in her throne room by herself so we'll outnumber her with ease."
"That doesn't sound too bad. But isn't she super powerful? What if she blows you all away?" Sonata asked.
"Kh!" Adagio winced. "It's a work in progress plan, okay?! I know she's strong but...if we act unassuming she won't suspect a thing..."
"And if she catches you?" Aria raised an eyebrow.
"Then...I don't know! Look! Point is! This jar is gonna depower her! Okay?! I know she's strong. Stupid strong even. But we can't afford to let someone that dangerous have all that magic especially when she's teaming up with a human just as dangerous as her!"
"Yeah..." Sunset scratched her mane. "But if this is Twilight we're talking about then-"
"Then acting unassuming will just cause her to be cautious and on guard at all times." Suddenly, Pyrestar walked into the room, interrupting Sunset Shimmer.
And speaking of Sunset, this was her first time seeing Queen Pyrestar. The fusion of Celestia and Luna from another universe. Right in front of her.
Naturally, her reaction was that of shock and confusion. She didn't expect to see another princess Although, she wasn't aware that Pyrestar was a Queen instead.
From her crimson appearance, she seemed like somepony completely new even though she was two recognizable and familiar individuals in one.
"A Princess..." Sunset gawked. "Princess Celestia? No, wait, Princess Luna?"
"She caught us!" Sonata hid behind Aria. "I was only following Aria cause she was following Adagio!"
"Hey!" Aria snapped at Sonata.
"You need not worry." Pyrestar walked up to them. "I was already aware of your journey to the otherworld." She then saw that Sunset Shimmer was here. An old student to the Celestia inside of Pyrestar. "Sunset Shimmer."
"Oh..." Sunset gulped. "I-I don't recognize you. But I mean, I do but-Who are you?"
"I look familiar because I am two in one. My name is Queen Pyrestar. The fusion of Celestia and Luna."
"Fusion?!" Sunset screeched as her mane spiked up. She quickly put her hooves in her mouth. "Oh sorry...Fusion?"
"Right. I too come from another world that is identical to this Equestria. A world that is unfortunately ruled by Ghetsis. All under his complete control while it struggles as well."
"Oh." Sunset shifted her eyes. "I...I've missed a lot haven't I?"
"Darkrai. Adagio Dazzle. Explain to me everything that you two have learned, will you?" Pyrestar requested.
"Right." Darkrai nodded. "This is what we've learned so far." Darkrai and Adagio were ready to give Pyrestar all the information she needed. Mostly Adagio since she had the nightmare with Sunset Shimmer.
They explained everything. From the invasion, the mysterious ponies who were apart of the alliance as two of them were other alicorns that looked like Celestia and Starlight Glimmer and one extra who was a unicorn that resembled Rarity but taller.
They even mentioned that they will arrive in 2 months and Chrysalis and Adagio have already made plans that are in the works. The jar being their trump card in all of this and the ultimate weapon that'll stop Empress Twilight and possibly be enough to stop Ghetsis too.
"I see..." Pyrestar nodded.
"I was a bit overwhelmed by it too." Sunset chuckled.
"Celestia and Luna will know of this as well," said Pyrestar. "Of the invasion coming in 2 months. I also heard you before I entered the room. Outnumbering her will not work. Not for an alicorn as powerful as her." Pyrestar shook her head.
"Then what else can we do huh?" Adagio scoffed.
"I will deal with her." Pyrestar declared. That shocked everyone.
"Y-You?!" Adagio exclaimed.
"Kricketot?!"
"I cannot let this world go through any more hardships such as mine. I will be the one to handle Empress Twilight when I get to her."
"Uh...T-That sounds..." Aria stuttered.
"My world has already suffered and is currently under the control of another. It is already in a poor state. No longer the beautiful and vibrant Equestria I used to know. Which is why... I promised Celestia, Luna and everypony else that I would not let the same thing happen to this world. And I shall not let a Twilight Sparkle from another universe who has gone crazy with power conquer it."
Pyrestar stamped her hoof, startling the little ponies as Sonata squealed. She was serious about finishing this soon before it evolves into a disaster.
Adagio took a moment to think. Pyrestar is an alicorn at the end of the day. But she is two alicorns in one. More importantly, she has been around longer than this world's Celestia and Luna, making her a more experienced alicorn.
Adagio then thought that if Pyrestar were to go up against Empress Twilight then perhaps there might be a better chance due to her years of experience. But then again, Empress Twilight has stolen a plethora of alicorn magic. She was most likely stronger than Pyrestar by light-years.
But considering how dangerous this was, it was probably best that an alicorn should be the one to deal with an alicorn. Adagio certainly can't do it.
"Are you sure? She's stolen from so many Celestia's Luna's, C-"
"I'm sure." Pyrestar didn't care about the power gap at all. She made her decision final.
"Alright...I can take you to her. But I can't activate the gateways on my own. Only she and Ghetsis can do that. And I can't just call for her."
"Then...how are we gonna get there?" Sunset asked.
"Hm," Pyrestar grumbled. "That is a bit of an obstacle. Is there by a chance a time when either Ghetsis or Empress Twilight will show up in this world again?"
"They only show up if they have something important to do. But other than the invasion, I don't know when they're going to make their next move in this world."
"We're hitting a ton of brick walls here." Sonata sighed.
"But..." Adagio thought of something that could work. "The Team Plasma grunts show up here the most under Ghetsis's orders. The gateways always open for them. And I was also told to work with a unicorn by the name of Luster Dawn too. So there's still a chance of the gateways showing up. And Ghetsis seems to come over to the changeling hive to clear his mind sometimes."
"Excellent." Pyrestar turned to Adagio. "We shall use that to our advantage."
"But like...right away?" Sonata winced.
"Of course not. She will arrive in 2 months, correct? Then we shall prepare ourselves in a span of 2 months as well. Twilight is already an exceptional planner. So we will just have to best her in her own game."
"Is that even possible?" Sunset asked. "Outplanning Twilight?"
"Do you not remember? Half of me is Celestia. I've been teaching Twilight for years now. I know how she can be."
"Good point." Sunset nodded.
"Adagio Dazzle. I request this of you. Are Ghetsis and Empress Twilight aware of your departure from the alliance?"
"Not at all.." She shook her head.
"Then, here is what you shall do." Pyrestar had a plan laid out for Adagio. One that involved even Chrysalis herself since she was still apart of the alliance. Sunset was obviously going to stick around for this since this is still her homeworld at the end of the day despite her liking to the human world.
But more importantly, since Adagio told Pyrestar about Luster Dawn and how she was meant to be working with her, Pyrestar was going to use that to her advantage. Luster Dawn is without a doubt coming to this world as a teammate to Adagio under Empress Twilight's orders. And since she is Empress Twilight's protege and number one student, Adagio knew that Empress Twilight would open up gateways exclusively for her. The plan was being laid out.
Manehattan, 7:30.
A new day for the festival.
Rarity was speaking to her friends about heading to Las Pegasus with Sweetie Belle alongside the new tagalong Coco Pommel.
"Sorry if this is an inconvenience." Rarity said.
"No need to worry." Ash shook his head. "It's all good."
"Pikachu!"
"Have fun at Las Pegasus! We're gonna stick around in Manehattan for a little longer!" Pinkie grinned.
"Many thanks, all of you. How about we all meet up back in 2 days at let's say..." Rarity bit her lip. "Dodge City?"
"Sounds good to us." Applejack nodded. "We'll be there before ya know it."
"Excellent. Right." Rarity turned around. "Sweetie Belle! Time to go!"
"Hm?" Sweetie Belle turned around as she was chatting with her friends. "Okay! So yeah, I'll be back soon. See you, girls, later!" She dashed off
"Catch ya later!" said Scootaloo as she and the others waved goodbye. "Bring us back some neat stuff from Las Pegasus, okay?!"
"Alright!" Sweetie Belle shouted back as she slid over to Rarity and Coco. "I'm ready!"
"Mind if I come along?" Spike slid in with a cheesy grin on his face. Rarity rolled her eyes as she saw this coming from a mile away, but went with anyway.
"Indeed you can, Spikey-wikey."
"Yes!" Spike pumped his fists.
"Let's get rolling!" Rarity whistled as she returned all her Pokemon to their Poke Balls. By saying goodbye to their friends, they made their way towards the train station which would lead them to Las Pegasus.
"Boy..." Ash yawned. "Last night still drained me a bit."
"Need some more rest?" Applejack asked.
"Meloetta?"
"Nah. I'm good." Ash stretched. "But I'm gonna take it easy for today. Something about this 4th day feels pretty slow."
"Mhm." Pinkie nodded.
"There's a wonderful place where you can rest up, Ash." Twilight flew up to him. "It's just on the outskirts of Manehattan. I can take you there if you want."
"Melo?!"
"Really? Thanks, Twilight." Ash thanked her. " I really need it."
"Then let's get a move on." Twilight grabbed Ash's arm, grinning deviously at Meloetta while Applejack and the others watched the sparks of rivals fly.
"Eugh..." Applejack winced as they watched Twilight drag Ash along to the outskirts. "You know. I was thinking of heading back to Ponyville."
"Huh?" Pinkie tilted her head. "You're leaving the festival so soon!?"
"What? No." She shook her head. "I just wanna enjoy the attractions that Ponyville has. Plus, there's an attraction that Cold wants me to do with him back home."
"Oh...okay!" Pinkie squeed. "What about everypony else?"
"We'll stay here in Manehattan for now. I think Audi and Chikorita might be able to take part in the next Pokeathlon events." Fluttershy said.
"Chiko!"
"Audino!"
"I'm gonna go train with my Pokemon. We've got a lot of work to do if we wanna beat Soarin." Rainbow made her decision.
"You know what I'm off to do." Goh held out a Poke Ball.
"Everypony's got something they want to do. Great! Oh! I wanna see if I can make a Pokestar Studios movie of my own!" Pinkie dashed off, going after the movie attraction while everyone else scattered to focus on their own personal enjoyments.
None of them were aware of what was going on in Canterlot right about now. Way too focused on the festival after all. That goes for everypony else including the dragons, yaks and other species since they weren't even aware of there being an Empress Twilight at all. But they certainly knew about Ghetsis, that's for sure.
Especially the invasion that was coming their way in just 2 months.
But even still, horrible chills were lurking within the wind. And one individual who could feel these uneasy chills was Passion who was currently with Celestia and her family.
"Garde...?" She looked up in the sky, curious as to what caused that chill.
Speaking of Celestia, she watched as her parents had fallen asleep completely. Eventide laid on a bush while Sunlight laid on top of a tree.
"All that hard work and not a single Pokemon was caught." Luna shook her head. "What a shame."
"You do have to give them credit. They are masters at putting in a ton of effort.." Celestia giggled. "Right, Passion?"
By turning to her partner, Celestia noticed that her Gardevoir was zoned out, gazing into the azure sky as she was trying to figure out why she was sensing this unusual chills. "Voir..."
"Passion?" Celestia called her name.
"Garde? Gardevoir." Passion snapped out of it as she laughed awkwardly.
"I worry about you sometimes." Celestia walked up to her partner. "Come on. Let's wake them up."
Passion quickly forgot about it as the chill suddenly disappeared. But it wasn't to be ignored. It was an indication that something was about to happen somewhere.
Pyrestar's world. Ghetsis's throne room.
"Hm. Did she now?" Currently, Ghetsis was having a chat with Colress at the moment.
"You can have a look for yourself." Colress showed him what his hidden spy cameras had captured. He obviously had them plastered across Equestria but there were also cameras hidden in the changeling hive that Chrysalis herself hadn't found yet.
The cameras have been capturing everything that the changelings have been doing ever since they became apart of the alliance. They have a plethora of information to view.
And one of them was very critical. This information happened 5 days after Adagio and Kricketot showed up to the changeling hive, wondering what that dark green magic was. This was the aftermath and what Chrysalis said.
"The only way I can stop Ghetsis is by fighting him with a greater force. If I can somehow steal Empress Twilight's magic...then maybe..."
"How disappointing." Ghetsis shook his head. "It's more disappointing that it is happening so soon."
"What should we do?" Colress asked.
"Hmph." Ghetsis stood up from his throne. "I'm still keeping them for the shape-shifting capabilities they have. But it seems that...I'll have to set an example."
"An example?" Colress raised an eyebrow.
"Hydreigon. We're going." Ghetsis turned to his ace.
"Hy!"
"Colress. All of you will stay here. I'll deal with this myself." Ghetsis put his only arm out. He used the rift energy within to open up a gateway that led to Equestria.
"Again?" Colress sighed. "I need to explore and improve my scientific capabilities eventually, Ghetsis."
"You'll have your chance one day." Ghetsis smirked. "But now is my chance to strike once more." With a lot going through his mind, Ghetsis and his Hydreigon passed through the gateway, leaving Pyrestar's world.
After learning about Chrysalis's betrayal, Ghetsis has decided to take matters into his own, well, only hand. He was going to continue using Chrysalis and her changelings for his own means as they were all still his pawns.
Once Ghetsis set foot into Equestria, he arrived at the one area he seems to show up the most. The outside of the hive.
He stood on a cliff, looking down at the changeling hive with his Hydreigon already itching to have a go at some horrifying destruction.
"Dreigon..."
"Calm down, Hydreigon. You'll get your destruction. Just not up close." Ghetsis chuckled gently.
He was obviously aiming at setting an example to Chrysalis. Ghetsis knows that someone will obviously betray him. He's betrayed others in the past before and he's not apologetic about it one bit.
Chrysalis was just another one of those individuals. And to an extent, the entire changeling hive as well. Ghetsis knew that they weren't a fan of him. Every time he showed up to the hive, they would all cower in fear over his imposing aura and presence. Which Ghetsis greatly enjoyed.
And there was one other kind of fear he enjoyed the most. And that was about to show with this one single command he gave to the Brutal Pokemon.
"Draco Meteor."
"Hy...DREI...GON!" A sphere of dark purple energy formed inside of Hydreigon's mouth as it was fired into the sky. This purple sphere was large enough to block out the sun.
In fact, this was a Draco Meteor larger than a normal Draco Meteor. This was one was filled with destructive and malicious intent. Which meant only one thing.
The changelings were unaware of what was hovering above them. Neither was Chrysalis. No one in the changeling hive could've predicted what would happen next.
The sphere exploded, releasing countless spheres of energy. that were all the size of meteors. The sound of the explosion was like thunder booming through the sky as that startled all the changelings.
That's when the meteors fell.
"W-What was that?!" Chrysalis gasped as she looked around. She was about to get up from her throne to see where the sound came from.
But it was too late.
The first meteor cast a large shadow over the hive along with the malicious dark energy flowing inside of it. The meteors rained down from above, bombarding the entire hive in mere seconds as the changelings immediately started panicking and screaming.
The first meteor was enough to blow away a huge portion of the hive as the changelings had scattered in fear. They were confused and afraid as they never saw this coming at all.
It wasn't just the hive, but the land itself was being obliterated by Draco Meteor. Each time there was an explosion, it sounded like a dragon roaring afterwards.
Changelings were being caught up in the explosions as some of them had either been engulfed by them or had meteors drop onto them.
Some of the changelings watched their fellow species get hit over and over again as purple explosions covered the hive completely.
Chrysalis was the most worried about this. She believed that Ghetsis had found out about her plan to betray him. Indeed, she was right.
She could hear the sounds of changelings screaming and explosions going off as her entire hive was being obliterated at a hyperactive pace.
"W-What's happening?!" She looked around her throne room in fear. Where she was right now, she couldn't see the explosions. But it wouldn't take long for a meteor to reach her.
One Draco Meteor crashed near her throne room, creating an explosion that wiped most of it away. Chrysalis gasped as she moved back. The explosion almost caught her as most of her room and even the eggs that she placed had been obliterated. Most of the destruction was happening out of her throne room. The moment she came out of her throne room, she saw the explosions continuously combust without any sight at the end.
The meteors kept falling, changelings kept getting caught up in the explosions as it was nigh-impossible to escape from destruction this horrifying.
All the while, Ghetsis watched with a cold look on his face. He watched the land being covered by these explosions. His Hydreigon was about to fire another Draco Meteor just to make things worse.
"Leave it, Hydreigon. One is enough." He stopped him.
One truly was enough. Any more would just be the end of the changelings in general. But at this rate, from how violent the destruction was, it might as well be.
The skies were turning grey from the destructive aura of Draco Meteor as the shockwaves were so potent that they affected anything from 50 miles away, scaring off any nearby Pokemon.
Chrysalis lowered her head as she covered her ears. She had never been so terrified before in her life as the sounds she was hearing were so unpleasant to her.
One meteor caused an explosion that was able to reach Chrysalis as the last thing she saw was a dark purple blast coming her way.
And just like that, the changeling hive had been engulfed by one final explosion.
The dust was settling. The meteors had come to an end. Ghetsis wasn't even planning on wiping them out. Just setting an example to them.
But, even for that example, the result was catastrophic.
Many changelings were disturbingly injured. The destructive malice of Draco Meteor had managed to perform horrifying feats.
Some changelings had their horns blown off or even their wings or ears. Many of them were on the floor, unconscious or writhing in pain.
But what's worse is that some were more unfortunate than others. The changelings that had been engulfed by the Draco Meteor or crushed by the meteors had lost their life. Those changelings, unfortunately, met their end from this cataclysmic event.
Chrysalis groaned as her eyes opened up. Miraculously, she was still alive. It looked like the explosion would've consumed her whole but it didn't.
But even then, her body was injured as well. Her wings were horribly damaged but they weren't as bad as her subjects who had lost their wings instead. Her horn was still fine but it had been chipped with a horrible twitching pain going through it that made Chrysalis wince. And the final result was her crown which had been destroyed in the process.
Once she saw the dust settle and everything clear, the changeling Queen saw how her subjects had suffered from this horrible meteor strike. Never before had she seen them in a state this dreadful before. So many of them had been lost by the explosions with their bodies ceasing to exist while others were downed.
Chrysalis couldn't get up at all. Not from something that chaotic.
Ghetsis walked over as his shadow cast of Chrysalis. His Hydreigon was beside him, ready to tear Chrysalis apart but Ghetsis held him back.
"G-G-Ghetsis..." She groaned with a weak voice.
"You should've known better." Ghetsis said as he grabbed Chrysalis by her hair, lifting her from the ground. Chrysalis tried to flail her hooves but she was too weak at the moment to do so.
"U-Ugh..." Chrysalis whimpered.
"Even when you knew just how powerful I was you still decided to try and betray me. I'll admit. That's some bravery."
Chrysalis couldn't say anything back. She was too beaten to do anything and her twitching horn made it hard to use her magic. "S-Sorry. I-I will never do it again, I promise."
"Save it." Ghetsis tossed her to the ground like a ragdoll as she tumbled. "I've made up my mind. Once this is all over and I've conquered Equestria, I'll make sure your entire race is wiped out by the end. But for now, I will continue using you. Understood?"
"I...I understand."
"For your sake, I hope you do." Ghetsis opened up a gateway to Pyrestar's world. He noticed that Hydreigon was about to tear apart a changeling while he wasn't looking.
"Hydrei." Hydreigon grabbed the changeling up with his right head as the sharp teeth of the Brutal Pokemon dug into the changeling's skin as they cried out in pain.
"Hydreigon. Drop it."
"Drei." Listening to Ghetsis, he dropped the changeling as a huge bite mark was left on them.
Ghetsis had proven his point and made an example. He had shown Chrysalis and the changelings just how dangerous he truly was as he passed through the gateway.
Chrysalis curled up into a ball as all that she could do now in this obliterated wasteland was cry. Her hive was gone. Many of her changelings had been lost to the Draco Meteor assault.
All of this destruction and despair was enough to make Chrysalis faint out of shock and horror. The changeling hive was no more. Just a desolate wasteland. The future of the changelings looks bleak. Only 2 months remain until that fateful invasion as the journey continues.
"Queen Pyrestar sure knows how to make a plan doesn't she?" Sunset spoke as she and the Dazzlings had left the castle, coming out to the Pokemon Festival.
"I'll admit that." Adagio nodded. "It sounds like it might actually work in all honesty."
"But do we really have to wait for 2 months?" Sonata asked. "I say we just go there and give her a real good thrashing!"
"You chucklehead!" Aria bonked Sonata on the head. "Rushing in blind is the worst mistake you can do."
"Ow!" Sonata whimpered.
"But Adagio...I'm surprised to see you actually working hard to stop a bigger threat," said Sunset.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Adagio turned around, narrowing her eyes at Sunset Shimmer.
"Ah...well, uhh..." Sunset chuckled nervously. "I didn't really see it coming, ya know. I mean, you were even cooperating with Queen Pyrestar who's like one part Princess Celestia and the other part Princess Luna."
"That's because of the Celestia part of her." Sonata slid over. "Adagio and Celestia friends!"
"We are not friends!" Adagio screeched.
"Really? Then what are you?" Aria questioned.
"We're just..." Adagio thought for a moment. "What do you call someone who you respect and tolerate?"
"An acquaintance?" Sunset answered.
"That's the one. We're just acquaintances. That's all."
"You're trying really hard to deny that you're potentially friends, aren't you?" Sunset chuckled.
"Ugh!" Adagio groaned. "2 months of this...? And you're stuck to me like glue."
"Sure am." Sunset nodded. "I can never be too careful, ya know. But so far, you seem to have mellowed down the last time we met."
"You have no idea!" Sonata exclaimed. "You should've seen her during the Canterlot Tournament! At first, she was all aggressive and brutal!"
"But then when we had a break and came back for the tournament she got all calm and so-" Aria was about to finish her sentence until Adagio interrupted.
"Don't remind me!" Adagio screeched. "Let's just...go on an attraction or something!"
"Oh! About that!" Sonata placed her hoof on Aria's neck. "Aria and I decided that we wanted to go somewhere else in the Pokemon Festival."
"Canterlot's fun and all but there are more attractions out there that we wanna try." Aria nodded. "What do you say, Adagio?"
"Hm. I'm not going to object to that. I did promise to spend time with you two...Minus her." Adagio shifted her eyes at Sunset. "Where to?"
"Manehattan!" Sonata bellowed as Aria nodded in agreement.
"Manehattan, huh? Fine." Adagio accepted their request. "I do want to make myself look good. My hair's been a bit aloof recently." She lifted her mane as Kricketot popped out of it.
"Oh, who's this little guy?" Sunset took out her Pokedex.
"Kricketot. The Cricket Pokemon. Its legs are short. Whenever it stumbles, its stiff antennae clack with a xylophone-like sound. It shakes its head back to front, causing its antennae to hit each other repeatedly. These sounds are fall hallmarks."
"Tot!"
"This is Adagio's best friend in the whole world!" Sonata grabbed Kricketot. "Isn't that right, Adagio?"
"Kricket!"
"Hm!" Adagio shot up from that. Sonata had gotten her in a trap. She couldn't deny that Kricketot was her best friend because she genuinely loves Kricketot.
But she also didn't want to admit to Sunset Shimmer and her sisters that Kricketot was like a friend to her. Even if she doesn't believe he's a friend. So it was a rough spot for her.
After all, Kricketot has been there for Adagio all the way. He's stuck beside her no matter what she has done and their relationship and bond have evolved to a point where Kricketot was not an acquaintance, liability, deadweight or even a bother at all. Calling him any of that would just be an insult to a truly loyal Pokemon.
"Kricketot?" The Cricket Pokemon turned to his partner.
"...Mmm. Yeah. Kricketot and I are close." She chose her words carefully.
"Tot!" Kricketot jumped off of Sonata's hooves, latching onto Adagio's face. "Krick!"
"Aww..." Sunset gushed. "You really do have a friend."
"I do not-"
"Then what is Kricketot to you?" Aria asked.
"He's...uh..." Adagio groaned. Looking at Kricketot's cute face and how much love he was exhibiting made it impossible for her to break his heart. So she improvised with one of the most common words used for a Pokemon and their trainer. "He's my partner."
"Kricketot!" Kricketot enjoyed those words as well as he tightened his grip.
"Ow! Kricketot!"
"That means he's totally a friend of yours, right?!" Sonata squeed.
"Let's just go to Manehattan already!" Adagio groaned as she was trying to break out of this conversation. But from how Adagio acted when with Kricketot and how she was yelling her words, Sunset, Aria and Sonata could easily tell that she did in fact have a friend but she didn't want to admit it.
Manehattan. 9:00.
Speaking of Manehattan, it took a whole hour for them to reach it due to the train ride. Not too long and a fairly short ride honestly.
Adagio and her sisters set foot into Manehattan with the sun beating on their faces. The extra sunlight today was a bit too powerful.
"Ugh..." Adagio raised her hoof over her face. "Too bright..."
"Manehattan, here we are!" Sonata jumped over Adagio.
"First time being here in a place this big. I've got a good feeling about this one." Aria nodded.
"This is my first Pokemon Festival..." said Sunset. "I'm so excited!" She pranced on the spot. "There's so much to do and explore I can't wait! I mean this is all new territory for me since the festival isn't over in the human world! Oh! What if I-"
"I can't listen to any more of this." Adagio walked off while Sunset kept on talking. But since Sunset vowed to stick by Adagio, that didn't matter because she immediately followed after the siren. "You're seriously going to follow me for 2 whole months?"
"Yes?" Sunset replied.
"A bit creepy, don't you think?"
"I-It's not creepy!"
"It is a little bit creepy I'll admit." Aria nodded as Sonata slid in.
"Yeah! Maybe you can try a different approach, Sunny. Oh!" Sonata shot up. "I like that! Can I call you Sunny from now on?"
"...Sure." Sunset squinted her eyes. "And what other approach is there?"
"Uh...Do you have an Xtransceiver?" Sonata asked.
"I do but...does she?"
"No way. I'm not a trainer." Adagio shook her head. "And I didn't ask for your company, Sunset Shimmer. This is supposed to be a time where I hang out with my sisters and nothing else."
"Kricke?" Kricketot popped out of Adagio's mane, seeing that things might get heated between Adagio and Sunset Shimmer.
"All because of what? Some jar that I never intend to use on myself?" Adagio scoffed.
"You can never be too careful but..." Sunset took a deep breath. "I guess I am kinda being a bit invasive. But I'm also here to help my world. If it's being invaded in 2 months, I have to be here. I was born here after all. You all know what I mean right?"
"Of course I do," Adagio replied. "This is my home too. And I won't let some random Twilight Sparkle from another universe who thinks she's all that conquer it!" She stomped her hooves which startled her sisters, Sunset Shimmer and Kricketot who hid back in her mane.
"My oh my. Such fire." The voice of Sunlight responded to Adagio's blazing words of anger and fury. That was because Sunlight, along with Eventide, Celestia and Luna were coming up to them. "I'm curious if your mother was the same."
"Hiya!" Sonata waved at them as a way of greeting. The three sisters, mainly Adagio were glad to see some familiar faces here. Adagio especially when it comes to Celestia and Sunlight.
But for Sunset Shimmer it was a different outcome. Seeing Sunlight and Eventide, two new alicorns was already surprising to Sunset even though she had seen a fusion of Celestia and Luna in the form of Pyrestar earlier. Especially since they look a lot like Celestia and Luna.
But what was more surprising was that the actual Celestia was here. In full form. Which Sunset feared the most. This was what Sunset was worried about in the first place. Coming to Manehattan as a Gym Leader, she was hoping that Celestia would've never figured out that she had been coming in and out of this world frequently but only for a short period of time.
Sunset still fears Celestia after what she did many years ago. And she also fears that Celestia would punish her if she ever caught Sunset Shimmer one day.
And that day was today.
"P-Princess Celestia..." Sunset shuddered.
"Sunset Shimmer?" Celestia turned to face Sunset as her attention was focused on her now.
"Gardevoir?" Passion was wondering why Celestia's tone had shifted all of a sudden.
"Oh, this was probably a bad idea..." Sunset hid behind Sonata.
"What's the matter with you?" Adagio raised an eyebrow at her fellow orange pony.
"Oh, right. This is Sunset Shimmer, correct?" Sunlight shot up. She then took a moment to read the atmosphere as she saw how her daughter was glaring at Sunset Shimmer. "Oh. I'll...let you sort this one out yourself."
"Why so nervous? You met with Pyrestar who's like both of them in one." Sonata asked.
"Mmm..." Sunset grumbled. "But this is my world's Celestia and...we didn't exactly end off on the best note."
They certainly didn't. While Sunset was looking at Celestia with fear and worry in her eyes, Celestia was looking at Sunset as if she was judging her.
This was their first time reuniting with each other in so long. Sunset wasn't sure that she was considered Celestia's student anymore after what happened in the past. From how Celestia opened up her wings and kept that same stern glare at Sunset Shimmer, there was a possibility that this reunion wasn't going to end up being so heartfelt.
Passion and Arcanine looked over at their trainer, wondering what Celestia's response would be. They had no idea what Sunset and Celestia's history was. Passion has only ever known about Sunset by name thanks to the Equestria League Leaderboards.
Sunset realized that things weren't going to get any better by just having a staring contest with her potentially former teacher. So she decided that now was her chance to apologize after so long. She took a deep breath, moving away from Sonata as she prepared herself.
"Princess Celestia," Sunset spoke. "The last time we saw each other, I was your snide little pupil who betrayed and abandoned you."
"M-Maybe that's not the best way to start things off?" Sonata winced as she slowly backed away. "I think she means-"
"I mean that I appear before you a changed pony." Sunset cut Sonata off. "Humbly asking for forgiveness, guidance and knowledge."
"Snide?" Adagio narrowed her eyes. "I would've loved to see that."
"Adagio..." Aria nudged Adagio.
"Should we-" Eventide was about to make a suggestion but Sunlight quickly stopped him. This was between student and teacher only.
After hearing that, Celestia lowered her wings as she walked towards her previous pupil. Seeing the alicorn princess approach her made Sunset a bit shaky as she was about to go behind Sonata once more. The shadow of Celestia cast over Sunset Shimmer, which didn't make things better for her at all.
"Or I can...just go somewhere else and...you never have to see me again." Sunset whimpered. She believed that there was no forgiveness coming her way.
But that wasn't the case. Suddenly, Celestia placed her hoof on Sunset's chin, raising it as they both looked at each other once more. Celestia's frown transformed into a soft smile.
"I've missed you Sunset Shimmer." There it was. Forgiveness did come her way. Ever since Celestia found out about Sunset being involved with the League by seeing her name on the leaderboards, she had been yearning to see her once more.
And that time was now. Seeing that Celestia had forgiven her despite what she had done gave a warm feeling in Sunset's heart. And now it was time for her to say those words she never got the chance to say.
"I'm so sorry." Apologizing for the past is what she was missing as Sunset went up to Celestia as they both embraced each other with a hug.
Reunited at last.
"Phew." Sunlight wiped the sweat off her forehead. "I was worried there for a moment."
"Ah! But that just goes to show just how well we've raised our daughter!" Eventide chuckled. "It's a wonder to meet you, Sunset Shimmer."
"Wait...who are you two?" Sunset asked.
"The parents of your lovely teacher! Wait." Sunlight slid over to Celestia. "Celestia, dear. Do you still consider her your pupil?"
"Hm...Sure." Celestia nodded.
"Parents...?" Sunset froze as her mind just clicked on why they looked so similar to Celestia and Luna. "Ooooh...Okay, that makes sense. My, You're much taller than Princess Celestia."
"Is it possible for me to grow even further, mother, father?" Celestia questioned.
"Sad to say that won't be the case." Eventide shook his head.
"Drat." Celestia stomped her hoof. "Anyway, I assume you're here for the Pokemon Festival, Sunset Shimmer? Is this your first or second one?"
"Oh, this is my first one! I'm pretty psyched." Sunset grinned. "I'll get to interact with Pokemon even more than the human world!"
"Are there not that many Pokemon in the human world?" said Sunlight.
"Well, there are a ton of them. It's just our world is still adjusting to Pokemon whereas this one has already figured it out. I mean, if Arceus didn't show up things would've just been a huge trainwreck!"
"Hm. I didn't take into account what the parallel world would be like with Pokemon. I hope nothing horrible has happened." Celestia said.
"Nothing. I mean, every time I finish my Gym Leader job and head back, everything seems fine and not completely obliterated." She chuckled nervously.
"Well, you're going to enjoy your time here. And maybe later, you can show me how a Gym Leader battles," said Celestia.
"I can show you now. I'm a pretty good Gym Leader if I do say so myself. Some ponies even consider me the first real roadblock for them." Sunset smiled with confidence. "Well...all except for Princess Luna. I was demolished."
"Mhm." Then Luna was the one who smiled with confidence.
"Well, some evil part of me would like to see you battle against one pony. Just for fun." Celestia giggled as she already had an idea swirling in her head.
"Who?"
Outskirts of Manehattan.
"I needed this..." Ash was laying on a tree, relaxing and letting the slow energy of the 4th day go by. It truly was a slow day. Possibly the slowest the festival has been so far.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu did the same along with all of Ash's Pokemon who just wanted to take things slow and steady. No rush whatsoever until they feel like it.
"Feeling relaxed, Ash?" Twilight walked over to him.
"Sure am. It's nice to cool off once and a while, ya know."
"Pika."
"But tomorrow, I'm gonna go wild!" Ash raised his fist to the sky. "Las Pegasus doesn't sound so bad since Rarity thought of heading there. Might get some awesome battles there too."
"You sure do love your Pokemon battles, don't you?"
"Sure do! I never get tired of them for one bit. Even when I started my journey as a Pokemon trainer."
"And it's for your goal as a Pokemon Master, right? And beating Champion Leon?"
"Mhm." Ash nodded. "Beating Leon, the strongest trainer in the world is one step closer to becoming a Pokemon Master."
"Pikachu!"
"Leon is a bit intimidating after hearing what he's done to reach the top...but I guess the more impressive the trainer the more psyched you'll get, right?"
"Ain't that the truth! Strong opponents really get me pumped up, ya know! No matter who it is, I'm always looking forward to battling them!"
"Even if they beat you?"
"Yeah. It doesn't matter if I win or lose my battles. Cause I always wanna share them all with my friends by the end of it, ya know. I'll always and forever be doing well, but despite my efforts, I can't guarantee you."
"I guess that's true." Twilight nodded.
"But all the time and every day, I'll live honestly and true. Cause I've got some great friends by my side." Ash looked over at Pikachu who climbed onto his shoulder.
"Pikachu!"
"Guess nothing keeps you down, doesn't it?" Twilight giggled.
"Oh, yeah! Ya know, I'm feeling energized from talking about strong opponents. So why don't we have a battle, Twilight?"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"This again, Ash?" Twilight pouted. "You know I'm nervous to battle because of how strong you are. Why don't you just go and help Rainbow Dash with her training?"
"Absol." Absol went up to Ash and Twilight as he responded to Ash's request. "Sol. Absol."
"Hm? What is it, Absol?" Twilight asked him.
"Sol. Absol" Absol was referring to how Twilight was nervous to battle against Ash. But Absol wasn't nervous at all. Not one bit.
"Don't tell me you want to..." Twilight grimaced as her wings shot up
"Absol's itching for a battle, huh? Nice!" Ash nodded.
"Absol!"
"Of course I have to have one Pokemon who's battle-orientated." Twilight sighed. "Well, can I at least battle somepony else? If that's okay with you, Ash."
"Fine with me. I'm up for watching battles too. Just gets me more excited, ya know."
"Pikachu."
"Phew...Dodged a big one there..." Twilight felt relieved that she wasn't going up against Ash. "I can't wait to head back to the Pokemon School where they can teach us about battling more. Oh, but you already do that with us, don't you, Ash?"
"Sure do. But other trainers always have something new to teach you that I can't. Every Pokemon trainer's a teacher in their own way."
"That is true..." Twilight nodded. "Alright! Time to put all my skills to the test!"
"Pika!"
Now she just had to find somepony to battle. To find a trainer, she would have to head back to the festival where thousands of trainers were having the time of their life. There, she would most likely find somepony who is at least around her level.
It could take a while since everypony is occupied with all the attractions here since they are so heavily addicting. But since the fourth day is so slow, she has all the time in the world that she needs.
The Changeling Hive. 9:50
Or at least, there would be a hive here. But there wasn't one anymore. Not after what Ghetsis and his Hydreigon did by obliterating it with Draco Meteor.
The hive no longer existed. It had been wiped out from the face of the planet, much to the dismay of Queen Chrysalis and the changelings.
They now lived in a wasteland at this point. A dry, soulless and damaged wasteland with craters formed by Draco Meteor. They no longer had a home.
The changelings were all at the lowest point in their life. Perhaps the lowest it'll ever get. It was hard to say if they could recover from this.
Wings that have either been broken or destroyed, damaged horns, missing ears and just a plethora of horrible injuries that they have all suffered from.
But it wasn't just the hive that was lost. Many changelings had perished during the Draco Meteor rain. Those that had perished met their unfortunate end with their bodies being wiped out.
Not even the changeling eggs survived the onslaught of meteors from above. So many future changelings could never be born in this world. Chrysalis was without a doubt the one who had been the most affected by this as she was unconscious from shock and horror.
Chrysalis had never felt so defeated before in her life. Her previous losses do not compare to this. Her greatest loss came from someone she had allied with. If she were to wake up there is a guarantee that she would mourn what she has lost to Ghetsis.
Once again, that dark green glow emanated from her body, affecting every changeling around her, even when knocked out. However, after experiencing that horrifying event, she finally understood what this strange magic was. This magic was an emanation of her sorrow and fear.
This was truly the darkest day for the changelings overall. They could no longer defy Ghetsis. If they do, the next Draco Meteor will surely wipe them all out.
That's when another gateway opened up.
But this gateway wasn't Ghetsis's doing. Instead, it was by Empress Twilight Sparkle, who was here in response to this Draco Meteor assault that wiped out the hive.
The Empress casually trotted towards Chrysalis as she watched over the destruction. The sound of her dominant hooves were enough to wake Chrysalis up from her unconscious state, making her conscious once more.
As Empress Twilight navigated her head, she saw how horrifying a Pokemon's power can truly be. Or rather, how horrifying Ghetsis can be. One move and an entire hive had been wiped out of existence with barely any effort. Truly a mortifying display of power.
"Pitiful." She said as she stopped in front of Chrysalis who looked up at her.
"H-Help..." Chrysalis groaned.
"Hm." Empress Twilight noticed something of intrigue right near her hoof. Small bits of metal were on the ground with a small little camera mixed in with them.
Due to the massive destruction that Draco Meteor brought it also destroyed the many spycams that Colress had plastered around the hive. So now there were no more spycams to spectate over the changelings.
Empress Twilight used her magic to grab the tiny bits of metal and the camera up, observing it. If these spycams were never around in the first place then perhaps, none of this would've ever happened. However, Ghetsis is one to predict betrayals either way.
Chrysalis saw the spycam as she finally realized how this had happened. She took all the blame since the spycam picked up on her plan to overthrow Ghetsis. In her eyes, this was all her fault.
"It's all my fault..." She whimpered and mourned. "Please...help me..."
"Hm. Hahaha!" Empress Twilight suddenly burst out into laughter from Chrysalis's words. "You honestly think I'd help you? You were attempting to betray me as well just to stop Ghetsis." She continued to laugh.
"I..."
"Oh, poor, poor Chrysalis." She raised Chrysalis's head with her hoof. "But, I suppose I can still find some use for you. In one special way. Perhaps in 2 months when I conquer this world or maybe even earlier. But for now...you're on your own. Toodle-loo!" She dropped Chrysalis before walking off to the gateway, leaving her in an even worse state.
At this point, Chrysalis had no hope left.
No one was there to help her. All she could do now was follow orders from Ghetsis and Empress Twilight and nothing more.
However, she noticed that there was one changeling egg that survived the Draco Meteor rain. It was the only surviving one here. That one single changeling egg hatched early due to the destruction that came to this land.
A tiny baby changeling popped out of the egg as a new life was brought into this world.
Unfortunately, it didn't have a place to call home since the hive had been destroyed. But, even without a home, it had something greater than that. Chrysalis was here to take care of it. Even if her hive had been destroyed, she would still take care of the hatched changeling either way. As a mother normally does. Because of this, the dark green glow had diminished away. After seeing that, Chrysalis could also see that this dark green glow only fades away when happiness is formed.
But even with that happiness, the horrifying dread of Ghetsis remained. Chrysalis had made up her mind. She would have to find a new home now. One where she and the changelings could continue living on. Chrysalis and the changelings went on a journey with the small little changeling baby in her hooves. They weren't sure where they could go now in Equestria since they've had one home in one location for so long. But they would surely end up somewhere as the journey continues.
"Cut!" Pinkie Pie screeched as she held a megaphone in her hooves. Her amped voice caused some ponies to freeze in place. This was because these ponies were assisting Pinkie Pie with her Pokestar Studios film. "Give it more fluff. It'll look way more satisfying when landing on it!"
"Ow..." The ponies rubbed their ears after being blasted with that booming sound from Pinkie Pie.
"I could get used to being a director." She laid back on a chair, adjusting some neat black sunglasses she found in the prop box. She took in the glorious sunlight as she watched the ponies help make her movie for her while she gave out instructions, advice and directed them.
"Spinda?" Spinda popped out of her mane, watching the movie being made.
"Just you wait, Spinda. This'll be a movie to remember. I hope I get famous in the Pokemon World too." Pinkie grinned as she rocked back and forth on the chair.
"Spin!"
But while this was all going down, from the corner of her eye, she spotted Ash and Twilight walking by as she gained the idea of involving them in their movie. "Oh! Twilight! Ash!"
"Hm?" They both turned to face her.
"Do you wanna help me out with my movie?!"
"Sorry, Pinkie Pie," Twilight replied. "But I'm kinda searching for a Pokemon battle right. We can help you out later if that's okay with you."
"Sure is! Have fun with your battle!" Pinkie waved. They would help her out later on but first, they had to find somepony to battle.
They wouldn't have to search for too long since a majority of the trainers here are battle-orientated or at least are interested in battles. Mostly due to the existence of the Equestria Leauge.
One of which was a very close friend to Twilight who only frequently comes to Manehattan to fulfil her role as a Gym Leader. And luckily, that same friend had also decided to take part in a battle and was also their first Pokemon Festival.
That was, of course, Sunset Shimmer, who was alongside the Canterlot Royal Family and the Dazzlings. They immediately spotted Twilight and Ash in their vision as both Sunset and Twilight let out wide smiles.
"Sunset!"
"Twilight!"
The two of them were pleased to see each other once more as they both embraced with a warm hug. "It's great to see you here! During the festival too!"
"I know right?" Sunset grinned. "It's my first one too! Oh, Hey Ash! Good to see you too."
"Great to see you too, Sunset." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"This is getting a bit too crowded for me..." Adagio winced.
"Well since it's your first Pokemon Festival, you've got a lot to look forward too! Just look at all the attractions here." Twilight moved her hoof around. "Take your pick."
"Actually, Twilight. I was just looking for a Pokemon Battle. Or rather, Princess Celestia wants to see me battle as a Gym Leader."
"I certainly do." Celestia nodded.
"Battle?" Twilight gasped before realizing how perfect this moment was. "Oh! The same goes for me. I'm looking for a Pokemon battle too. But for a different reason."
"Hm. Hold on..." Celestia said to herself as she sparked an idea. "I think I see a golden opportunity here." She walked up to her two students.
"You do?" They both said whilst looking up at their teacher.
"I certainly do. A little evil part in me would like to see you two battle against each other. If that is something you can consider."
"Oh..." They both nodded gently before realizing that this was the perfect opportunity since they were both in search of the same thing right now. And with them being close friends, it only made sense that they would test each other out as trainers. At least, in the context of Pokemon.
Seeing that this opportunity was right in their faces, they decided to agree on battling against each other with one final nod. It had been settled.
And there was only one place where they could battle. The Manehattan Gym which Sunset Shimmer normally occupies. A perfect place for their battle to take place. It wasn't being used for any attractions so it was for free to use.
But before they started throwing Pokemon moves at each other, Twilight requested that she had some time to prepare. She wanted to make sure that she had a battle strategy that would guide her to victory.
So she had a chat with her Pokemon, coming up with ways to work around Sunset Shimmer's Pokemon. She's already seen her battle against Rainbow Dash before so she knows what she's up against and what to expect.
"Alright, you four. Let's go over this one more time." She spoke with her Pokemon, still preparing for the Gym Battle.
In the meantime, while Ash and the others were sitting down, Adagio stood up from the seats as she saw this as an opportunity to leave while Sunset Shimmer was about to have a battle.
"Once they start their little battle, we're leaving you two," Adagio said.
"We are?" Sonata turned to her.
"Why?" Aria asked.
"Because I personally don't want her following me around just because she doesn't trust me with this." Adagio took out the jar from her mane. "This was supposed to be between the both of us anyway."
"Oh...isn't that..." Celestia and Luna both recognized the jar that Adagio was holding up with her magic. They had indeed seen it before. "The Magic Siphoning Jar?!"
"Yeah, this. You two know it?"
"Know it? We have been searching for it for years!" Luna stood up.
"We thought we had lost it when a creature of Everfree attacked us. How did you manage to find it, Adagio?"
"Oh. Some old sales pony gave this to me." Adagio twirled the jar around. "I guess it makes sense on why it would be lost now that I think about it..."
"Well, at least it's here now." Luna went over to Adagio. "You may return it to us."
"Sorry. I can't do that." Adagio pulled the jar away from Luna.
"I beg your pardon?" Luna jerked back.
"I need this jar for something important one day. I'll give it back when I've done my job with it."
"Important, you say?" Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What do you possibly mean by that?"
"Well-"
"Adagio's gonna suck up Empress Twilight's magic with the jar and use it against Ghetsis to stop him for good!" Sonata revealed everything by sliding in-between them.
"...Thank you, Sonata." Adagio sighed. "Yes. It's to stop both of them. Ghetsis is way too dangerous. And the only way we can stop him is by gathering up all the alicorn magic Empress Twilight has stolen. Even Ghetsis won't be able to handle that much. So I won't give it up until I've dealt with both of them."
"It's also why Sunset Shimmer's here. She doesn't trust Adagio so she's sticking to her like glue for 2 months until the invasion happens." Aria explained.
"I'm sorry, did you say invasion?" Eventide scrunched his eyes.
"Oh yeah!" Sonata was about to ramble on again. "There's gonna be a super big invasion in just 2 months! Queen Pyrestar's already made a plan that's gonna work out in 2 months too!"
"...Uh-huh..." Celestia, Luna, Sunlight and Eventide nodded while Ash and his Pokemon were frozen in shock. And Empress Twilight. Who exactly is that?"
"Some random Twilight from another universe or something." Aria shrugged. "She's been teaming up with Ghetsis and has stolen a bunch of alicorn magic. Apparently."
"Is that who that was we saw?" Eventide thought back to when he and Sunlight were still in the Ambrosial Plane where they were able to oversee all of Equestria. They remembered seeing Adagio speaking to Empress Twilight when she first arrived at this universe so she wasn't a complete mystery to them.
"Then we'll have to prepare ourselves too, won't we?" Luna looked up at her older sister.
"Obviously," Celestia replied. "This concerns us as well. It is an invasion after all. And this Empress Twilight...This is my first time hearing about her."
"Same. We don't know a ton about her except for Adagio since she's been around her before." Aria shook her head. "All we know from Adagio's words is that she owns a massive empire and has some protege named L-Luster Dawn I think?"
"Queen Pyrestar will let you know the whole thing!" Sonata waved her hooves.
"You get it now? I'll be able to take out two birds with one stone with this jar." Adagio raised the jar. "Plus there's a plan involving it. So it's staying with me."
"That jar is not your property, Adagio Dazzle. You shall-" Luna narrowed her eyes, raising her voice, but Celestia stopped her little sister.
"Adagio. You would enjoy it if Sunset Shimmer was out of your hair, wouldn't you?" Celestia asked.
"I'd love it..." Adagio groaned. "That way I wouldn't have to put up with her for 2 months."
"And you're using the jar to stop a larger threat too..." Celestia nodded.
"And after that, I won't need this jar anymore. Nothing but trouble anyway. But apparently, I'm not trustworthy to her. Eugh." Adagio stuck her tongue out while having a grimace.
"Then, you'll have to have Sunset Shimmer truly witness your resolve." Celestia smiled.
"Say what now?" Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"Adagio. I trust you." Celestia put her hoof around Adagio's neck.
"Wait...You really trust me with this jar?" Adagio's pupils shrunk.
"I certainly do." She nodded. "While I can't say the same for Luna and especially Twilight, I'll put my faith in you to do the right thing." Celestia was truly trustworthy of Adagio. And to an extent, so were Eventide and Sunlight. They decided to put their faith in her as well since they could see how genuine Adagio was being.
"Nice, Celestia." Ash gave a thumbs up. "If you'll put your faith in her, then I will too."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed along with Ash's Pokemon.
"All of you..." Adagio scooted back. "Even after all I've done you...really trust me?"
"We both wanna protect what we love, right?" Ash said.
"Pika!"
"Alright! We're ready!" Twilight exclaimed as she and her Pokemon separated from their group huddle. "Let's do this, Sunset Shimmer."
"Oh, finally, it's starting!" Ash grinned as he and his Pokemon leaned forward.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Oh!" Sonata hopped off the seats, landing on the battlefield. "I'll be the referee! Me! Uh...how do they start things off." She thought to herself as Aria was the one who explained the rules for her.
"They use whatever number of Pokemon they've got on their team and if all Pokemon on one team faints the other team wins," Aria explained.
"Oh, right. What she said. Twilight's got 4. Are you gonna use 4 as well, Sunny?"
"Sure am. I've got one Pokemon who's been itching to battle for a while now." Sunset looked at a Great Ball that she had in her bag.
"Four huh? That's fine. That will give all my Pokemon a chance to battle." Twilight said.
The two students of Celestia stood on their respective sides. Twilight went right while Sunset went left. Twilight's Pokemon stood beside her while all of Sunset's Pokemon were inside their Poke Balls.
"Alright, you two! Choose your first Pokemon!" Sonata exclaimed.
"We'll fight Fire with Fire. Ninetales, go!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales was up first as the Fox Pokemon lunged over Twilight as his body was blazing with fire outlining him.
"Ninetales, huh? That's pretty intimidating. But I've got an answer to that with my own fox. Braixen!" Sunset also sent out her own Fox Pokemon in the form of Braixen.
"Braixen!"
"Ooh..." Sonata looked at the two Fire Pokemon who were both coincidentally foxes. "Okay then...Wait. Sunny, are you allowed to substitute in this?"
"Even though I'll be battling as a Gym Leader...I kinda do wanna switch out so I'll substitute in this." Sunset nodded.
"Got it! Battle Start!" Sonata gave the call to start.
"Let's use your new move, Ninetales! Extrasensory!"
"Ninetales...!" Ninetales's eyes illuminated up, showing a dazzling gold and purple glow that emanated from them. He then released a rainbow-coloured beam from his eyes.
"Braixen! Use Psybeam!"
"Braix!" Braixen pulled out the stick in her tail, waving it about. Sparks of purple energy flew out of the stick as she pointed it forward with a streaky blue beam that had pink circles bursting out.
The two Psychic beams had clashed, entering a small struggle as they were shaking about from contact. They were evenly matched as they cancelled each other out, causing a purple explosion of psychic energy.
"Let's move in! Use Quick Attack!"
"Tales!" The Fox Pokemon bolted forward as a white and silver trail is created behind him. He was moving so fast that he was disappearing and reappearing consecutively while moving through the smoke at blinding speeds, appearing in front of Braixen in an instant.
"Braixen?!" The Fox Pokemon gasped as her fellow Fire-Type tackled her before Sunset could give a command, showing just how fast Ninetales was. "Xen!" Braixen was knocked back by Quick Attack as she slid on the floor.
"You alright, Braixen?!"
"Braixen!" Braxien stood up tall as she adjusted her tail, gripping her stick with vigour.
"Great. Then in that case...let's show Ninetales some love. Use Attract!"
"Braixen..." Braixen was ready to use her ace in the hole. Attract. She spun around before winking at Ninetales, sending multiple pink hearts to fly and surround Ninetales like a tornado.
"Nine? Nine?" Ninetales looked around him.
"This is what I was waiting for..." Twilight smirked. "Burn them away, Ninetales!"
"Nine...Tales!" By using the fire within him, Ninetales summoned a pillar of fire that erupted from his body, burning the pink hearts away into ash.
"Braixen?!" Braxien gasped.
"Oh!" Sunset jerked back."
"You won't swoon Ninetales that easily!" Twilight grinned. "I was there when you battled Rainbow Dash after all. So I've come up with a way to deal with all of your Pokemon."
"Hmph. We'll see. Return, for now, Braixen." Sunset returned Braixen to her Poke Ball. "I'll make sure that Attract lands next time. Then there's no way we'll lose this. You're up next, Fletchinder!" Up next was Fletchinder as Sunset used her magic to launch the Poke Ball upwards.
"Fletchinder!"
"Use Aerial Ace, quick!"
"Chinder!" Fletchinder dived down at his opponent as he flapped his wings once. Once he did, he moved so fast he became a blur with a clear aura around him.
"Quick Attack!"
"Nine!" Ninetales used a speedy move himself by using Quick Attack once more to also become a blur. Both Pokemon were moving at high speeds as their heads clashed against each other.
Once they did, Ninetales and Fletchinder entered a back and forth clash with Quick Attack and Aerial Ace. Their heads continuously met with small shockwaves coming out every single time.
Fletchinder ascended into the sky to build up more speed as he dived down towards his fellow Fire-Type. But Ninetales played it smart as he didn't rush in for another head clash. Instead, he used Quick Attack to evade Fletchinder, juking the Ember Pokemon.
"Chin?!" Fletchinder's eyes widened as the speed he had built up a few seconds ago came back to bite him as he took a pretty hard hit on the floor by accident. "Fletch!"
"Ninetales!" With Fletchinder distracted, the Fox Pokemon moved in, slamming himself into the Ember Pokemon.
"Chinder!" Fletchinder was sent flying from that Quick Attack as he spun around in the air.
"Fletchinder! Flame Charge, quick!"
"Fletch!" Fletchinder quickly recovered midair as he ignited himself with fire surrounding his body. With a burst of speed, Flethcinder charged towards his fellow Fire-Type with a trail of fire following behind.
But this is what Twilight was expecting as she didn't even give a command to Ninetales at all. She just stood there along with the Fox Pokemon.
But there was a reason for this.
Not because Ninetales resists fire. But because of his ability. Once Fletchinder got close enough, Ninetales's body glowed red as he was suddenly absorbing all the heat from Fletchinder's Flame Charge.
Fletchinder noticed that his fiery aura had been absorbed as he no longer had flames surrounding his body at all. Instead, it had all been pulled into Ninetales.
"What the?!" Sunset gasped, confused about what just happened. "What happened to Flame Charge?!"
"That's a good question. What actually happened?" Aria wondered.
"It's Ninetales's ability, Flash Fire!" Ash exclaimed. "Flash Fire absorbs heat from its surroundings or Fire attacks that hit it, powering up its Fire-type attacks."
"It does what now?!" Sunset had heard this as she grimaced.
"It's our turn now! Mystical Fire!"
"Tales..." Ninetales summoned an orb of fire that gaped out of his mouth as the orb was increasing in size.
"Not bad, Twilight. But it isn't over yet! Use Double Team!"
"Fletch! Fletch!" Flethcinder still had ways to work around his opponent. The Ember Pokemon's body glowed white, creating multiple copies of himself that filled the air, throwing Ninetales off guard.
"Nine?"
"Focus, Ninetales! Blast them all!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales unleashed Mystical Fire as a red-orange stream of fire burst out of the orb. As Mystical Fire raced forward, Ninetales moved his head around, causing Mystical Fire to move as well by his will.
The clones of Fletchinder were being burned away by the moving stream of fire as Ninetales was searching for the real Fletchinder.
"Now, Fletchinder! Aerial Ace!"
"Chin!" The real Fletchinder was revealed as the last of the clones had been burnt away by Mystical Fire. Fletchinder evaded Mystical Fire by ascending to the sky with a white aura surrounding his body. He then dived down with a burst of speed as he was aiming straight for Ninetales's stomach.
"Here he comes...Extrasensory!"
"Tales!" Ninetales ceased Mystical Fire as he quickly switched to Extrasensory next. A blast of psychic energy came out of his mouth as it made direct contact with Fletchinder and his Aerial Ace.
"Fl-Fletchin!" Fletchinder was trying to break through Extrasensory as he was pushing himself with Aerial Ace.
"Nine...Tales!" But Ninetales proved to have the superior power overall as he added some extra Oomph to his attack. The Extrasensory grew in size, overpowering Fletchinder's Aerial Ace as the Ember Pokemon was engulfed by the large blast of psychic energy.
Afterwards, a purple and gold explosion occurred due to the aftermath of Extrasensory as Fletchinder was seen falling from the smoke. That Extrasensory hit like a truck and it really showed since Fletchinder tumbled on the floor. He wasn't able to withstand it as he had fainted.
"Fletchin..."
"Fletchinder's down and out! Twilight wins!" Sonata announced.
"Yes! Excellent work, Ninetales!" Twilight jumped for joy as all her other Pokemon cheered for their fellow teammate.
"Nine-Ninetales."
"Return, Fletchinder." Sunset returned Fletchinder to his Poke Ball. "You did good, pal. That Flash Fire's gonna be a problem...Unless..."
"Come back, for now, Ninetales."
"Tales." Ninetales returned to Twilight as a switch was about to happen.
"She might choose either Braixen or Litleo next. Or maybe that fourth Pokemon she hasn't shown yet." Twilight said. "Minccy. You'll go next, alright?"
"Cinccino!" Twilight's Cinccino was chosen next as she ran forward, lifting her fur.
"Cinccino...Then I guess it's a good enough time to use you. Go! Volcarona!" She used her magic to send out her hidden Pokemon which was none other than the Sun Pokemon Volcarona.
"Volcarona!"
"Oh! Who's this?" Twilight gawked as she quickly took out her Pokedex for this one.
"Volcarona. The Sun Pokemon. This Pokémon emerges from a cocoon formed of raging flames. Ancient murals depict Volcarona as a deity of fire. When volcanic ash darkened the atmosphere, it is said that Volcarona’s fire provided a replacement for the sun. As it flies, it scatters its flaming scales. It was feared by ancient people, who referred to it as The Rage of the Sun. It appeared during a bitterly cold winter and saved Pokémon from freezing."
"A deity, huh?" Twilight placed her Pokedex back. "Pokemon lore is just so interesting!" She squeed.
"Ccino!" Minccy told Twilight to focus.
"Oh, right!" Twilight snapped out of it as she began talking to herself. "If we use Tri Attack, the burn effect won't work on Volcarona. But Paralyze and Freeze might."
"Volcarona! Use Quiver Dance!"
"Vol!" Using its signature move, Volcarona's body began to glow white. She then started dancing around, leaving behind afterimages of herself. Her attack, special attack, special defence and speed had just risen.
"Okay..." Twilight bit her lip. "Use Tri Attack, Minccy!"
"Ccino...!" Minccy raised her arms as she charged an orb of energy above her head, all with different colours. The beam was then fired with three different elements mixed inside of them as Twilight was hoping to freeze or paralyze Volcarona.
"Charge through with Wild Charge, Volcarona!"
"Caro!" The Sun Pokemon forcefully propelled herself towards Tri Attack while surrounded in bright gold electricity with white static around it.
Volcarona smashed into Tri Attack head-on without any worry of being frozen or paralyzed. In fact, her Wild Charge was so powerful that it broke through Tri Attack as Volcarona was now heading straight for Minccy.
But it was too late. At a breakneck speed, Volcarona smashed into the Scarf Pokemon with Wild Charge at full-force. When she made contact with Wild Charge, the electricity around her gathered where Volcarona collided with Minccy, forming into a white orb of sparkling energy, which then exploded.
Volcarona took some recoil damage from Wild Charge as she was sent flying. But not as hard as Minccy who was launched like a rocket after being hit by it.
"Cci!"
"Minccy!" Twilight exclaimed as she saw her partner fall from above, worried that she might have fainted. Luckily, the Scarf Pokemon was still able to battle as she used her soft scarf to land safely on the floor.
"Ccin! Cinccino!" She growled.
"Phew..." Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "Alright. If we attack up close we should be fine. Quiver Dance doesn't raise physical defence thankfully. Minccy! Use Aqua Tail!"
"Ccino!" The Scarf Pokemon's tail glowed light blue as she spun it around. When she did, a spiral of water emerged spiralling around her tail. Minccy flipped towards Volcarona as she started swinging her tail as if it were a vicious wave in a raging storm.
"Psychic!"
"Vol!" Volcarona immediately stopped Minccy in her tracks by using Psychic to hold her in place as the Sun Pokemon's eyes flashed blue.
"C-Ci!? Ccino?!"
"Volca!" Volcarona then slammed Minccy on the ground with her Psychic hold, causing the floor to slightly shake.
"CinccI!"
"Not good!" Twilight growled, realizing that Psychic was going to be a major problem as she was trying to figure out how to break free of this. Then she thought of a fairly risky approach. "Get up close to Volcarona!"
"Cinccino!" The Scarf Pokemon did just that. She lunged towards Volcarona, waiting for Twilight's next command.
"Try Tri Attack one more time!"
"Ccino...!" A second attempt at Tri Attack was made. She was hoping to get one of the status effects off this time as she fired the triple coloured beam of elements towards the Sun Pokemon.
"Fire Blast through it!"
"Volca...! Rona!" Volcarona released a powerful stream of red-yellow fire that formed in front of her at her opponent. As the flame travelled at Tri Attack, the front of the flame forms into a 大-shaped blast.
The two attacks collided, but it was clear which one was superior in power. Volcarona was already powerful when it comes to Special Attacks. But with Quiver Dance and a move as powerful as Fire Blast, it didn't come as a surprise when Fire Blast engulfed Tri Attack completely.
With Tri Attack consumed, Minccy's eyes widened as before she knew it, she had been hit by Fire Blast, becoming engulfed in the raging flames. A destructive blast of fire happened afterwards, causing a bit of a shockwave that almost blew everyone back, just from how powerful it was.
Twilight and Sunset both covered their eyes as the smoke was starting to clear. Twilight gasped as she herself knew that there was no way that Minccy would be able to withstand an attack that violent.
She's a glass cannon, so getting hit by something like that was bound to make her faint. But surprisingly, when the smoke vanished, Minccy was still standing.
"Ccino...Ccino..." She breathed in and out as she had one eye closed with scratches and burn marks all over her.
"No way!" Sunset screeched.
"Vol?!"
"Minccy! You're okay!" Twilight let out a wide smile.
"What durability..." Luna's eyes widened.
"Mhm." Celestia and the others nodded in agreement.
"Alright, Minccy! Let's get it one more go! This time, use Quick Attack!"
"Cin...Cinccino..." Suddenly an orange glow emanated around the Scarf Pokemon's body as sparks were flying out. This was an indication that a new move had been learned.
"Oh! What move is this?!" Twilight took out her dex to see what she could've learned.
"Focus Blast. A Fighting-Type move. The user heightens its mental focus and unleashes its power."
"Amazing! Alright! Use Focus Blast, Minccy!"
"Cin...Cin...Cinccino." But unfortunately, Minccy eventually gave out as she fell to the ground, fainting finally.
"Cinccino or...Minccy is done for! Volcarona wins this one!" Sonata exclaimed.
It was now even between the two. They had both lost one Pokemon.
"Alright. We're still safe, Volcarona." Sunset said.
"Caro."
"Minccy..." Twilight walked up to the fainted Scarf Pokemon, picking her up. "You tried your best. And you learned a new move too."
"Ccino..." She whimpered.
"Get some rest, okay?" She brought Minccy over to the seats, placing her down next to Aria.
"We're even now, Twilight," Sunset spoke. "Ready to see what else my Pokemon are capable of?"
"This isn't over yet, Sunset." Twilight flew back. "There's still a lot my Pokemon have to offer. Eve. You're up."
"Espeon!" Up next was Eve as she ran forward with her gem glowing. The battle between Twilight and Sunset was only just beginning at this point.
Hunter J's secret base. 11:00
That same secluded lake with the small buildings still had the ponies who lived there turned into stone thanks to Pokemon Hunter J.
They've been stuck like this since yesterday and they're most likely going to be stuck forever. All because J needed a place to make her base of operations, especially in this new world.
However, at the moment, J wasn't present here. She had currently left to continue her dirty deeds as her base was now completely silent with the water of the lake producing calm and relaxing sounds. But these sounds would be perfect if the ponies and Pokemon weren't suffering as petrified statues.
J hid them in one house and that house belonged to a pegasus. She made sure to lock the door so that no one would ever find these statues in her base which was basically this entire small village with the lake. But with J gone for the moment, new faces arrived at the secluded town. Or rather, familiar faces.
Chrysalis and her changelings had arrived at the secluded town.
They were searching desperately for a new home after their hive had been obliterated by Draco Meteor. Their journey led them here. Chrysalis saw how silent and quiet this small village was. She believed with how small it was, she would be able to impersonate herself as a random pony and live here.
She wasn't going to live peacefully with the ponies as she was aiming at feeding on their love to fuel herself. The same can be said for the changelings as well. They were lucky that during their journey, they didn't run into anything that would endanger them. No creature of the Everfree or a random Pokemon attacked them. So their safe journey was the only good thing that has happened to them in a while.
However, upon further investigation, Chrysalis noticed that there was nopony in sight at all. She looked in the windows to see that each house was empty and quiet. There weren't even any Pokemon. She was a bit nervous about this. She and the changelings explored this small village to see if there was at least one pony here that they could be aware of.
But their search was pointless since all of them were gone. Or rather, placed in one room and locked up. Seeing that it was empty and quiet, Chrysalis determined that this would be the place to make their new hideout. It was no hive, that's for sure. But it had to do. She couldn't just build a hive after all.
Chrysalis declared this place as their new home. For now.
The absolute silence that filled this village is what made Chrysalis decide. She wasn't a fan of the lush green grassland and beautiful lake but she would have to put up with it. Little did she and the changelings know that yet another dangerous individual resides here. J. And soon, they will see her for themselves eventually as the journey continues.
The battle between Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer continues.
Currently, both of them have lost one Pokemon each. Twilight's Cinccino and Sunset's Fletchinder. The score was even. Now it was Twilight's Espeon vs Sunset's Volcarona.
"Espeon..."
"Volcarona..."
The two Pokemon were eyeing each other down, anticipating the commands of their trainers. Twilight was thinking of a way to approach Volcarona since it was so powerful and so far had a lot of variety with its moves.
"The only Bug move she has is Quiver Dance... but not attacking ones." Twilight thought to herself. "None of my Pokemon are really threatened by any of her moves...But still..."
"Why are they not moving, exactly?" Luna asked Celestia.
"Twilight and Sunset are both assessing the situation right now," Celestia explained. "One of the few things they both have in common, I've noticed."
"That Volcarona's got a lot of stuff to deal with her Pokemon, doesn't it?" Aria said.
"Yeah, but only Psychic and Fire Blast won't work on Absol and Ninetales," Ash replied.
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded.
"Alright...I know what I can do." Twilight smiled.
"Hey uh...Are you two gonna continue battling or what?" Sonata asked them.
"Yeah, we will. Eve! Use Dazzling Gleam and fire it up!"
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon became surrounded in a rainbow-coloured sphere as she sent multi-coloured rays into the air instead of directly towards Volcarona since Dazzling Gleam is originally a physical move.
"What's she planning?" Sunset Shimmer looked up. She saw how the rainbow rays covered the ceiling before raining down from above. Then, she realized that this was a bombardment attack instead of a direct head-on attack. "Not good...Dodge them quick!"
"Volca!" An attempt was made to dodge the raining rainbow-rays. Volcarona's speed had already been increased thanks to Quiver Dance. So there was a chance of her dodging these raining Dazzling Gleams successfully.
Volcarona flapped her wings ferociously, evading the rays of Dazzling Gleam with a beautiful dance. It almost looked like she was performing yet another Quiver Dance.
As the rays were evaded, they hit the ground, creating large rainbow smoke clouds upon contact. These smoke clouds continued to form each time a Dazzling Gleam fell by missing Volcarona.
However, this is what Twilight wanted. If all of the Dazzling Gleams didn't hit Volcarona in the end, she would still have something to bank on. And indeed, none of them hit the Bug-Fire-Type so it was time for her second plan to be put into action.
As the rain of Dazzling Gleams came to an end, rainbow smoke clouds filled the battlefield, obstructing the vision of Volcarona and Sunset Shimmer both.
"Can you see them, Volcarona?" Sunset asked her partner.
"Rona..." Volcarona navigated her eyes across the field but she couldn't spot Eve so far.
"I can't see a thing either." Eventide narrowed his eyes, trying to find the Psychic-Type.
"Using the smoke as a means of camouflaging is a perfect way to keep your opponent on their feet!" Sunlight clapped her hooves together. "Or in this case...stinger?"
"Quick Attack!" Twilight suddenly yelled.
"Espeon!" Suddenly, out of the smoke, Eve appeared moving at lightning-speeds under Twilight's command. Volcarona gasped as she had been tackled by her fellow Sun Pokemon.
"Caro!" Volcarona had been knocked back. But Eve didn't stop there. She was going for another Quick Attack as she became masked in the smoke of rainbows.
"That's what she was up to!" Sunset realized. "Ascend, Volcarona!"
"Vol!" Volcarona shook her head as she flapped her wings ferociously, ascending into the air as she avoided the second Quick Attack in time.
"Espeon?" Eve looked up as she faded into the smoke of rainbows.
With Volcarona being high above the air, she could get a better view of the battlefield. She was able to spot Eve's silhouette inside the rainbow smoke, moving around with Quick Attack. While Sunset couldn't see it since she was on ground level, Volcarona certainly could.
"This is risky but...Fire Blast!"
"Volca!" Volcarona summoned a stream of red-yellow fire that was shaped like an 大. The large blast of fire could be seen by Eve who was still masking herself in the smoke.
She used Quick Attack to cleverly evade the Fire Blast while remaining in the rainbow smoke. However, once Fire Blast hit the floor, it caused an explosion so violent that it obliterated the rainbow smoke in one go with a furious flame.
With the smoke gone, Eve had finally been revealed as she was no longer being masked by the rainbow smoke thanks to Fire Blast.
"Eon?"
"There you are! Psychic!"
"Caro..." Volcarona's eyes flashed gold as she sent out a light blue beam of invisible Psychic energy from her body.
"I don't think so. Psybeam!
"Esp!" Eve countered with her own Psychic move by shooting Psybeam from the gem on her forehead.
The two beams of Psychic energy clashed as they entered a struggle. This time, they didn't cancel each other out at all. Both of them were fighting for dominance in a beam struggle.
"Vol...Volcorona...!"
"Esp...Espeon...!"
"Oooh!" Sonata gawked as she was eager to see who would come out on top in this struggle with her head moving from left to right rapidly. "Oh!"
"Come on, Volcarona!" Sunset exclaimed. "You can do it!"
"Push through, Eve!" Twilight bellowed as the rest of her Pokemon were cheering for their teammate.
"Esp...! Espeon...!" Eve's legs were jittering back as she was struggling to overcome this struggle. The same could be said for Volcarona. Despite Quiver Dance boosting her special attack, Eve was still very formidable.
Both of their beams were growing in size as the entire gym was lighting with purple and blue energy flowing all over the place, showing how intense their struggle was.
But only one of them could come out victorious. And that was Eve. She ended up winning the struggle with her eyes flashing blue as her Psybeam grew to a size that was larger than Volcarona's Psychic. The enlarged Psybeam engulfed the Psychic along with Volcarona.
"Vol!" Volcarona didn't take too much damage from Psybeam since she was part Bug but it certainly did knock her back due to a psychic explosion.
"Oh! Volcarona!" Sunset gasped.
"Now charge in with Dazzling Gleam!"
"Espeon!" Eve created a rainbow coloured sphere around her body as she lunged forward with a dazzling shine coming out of the sphere.
"Fire Blast!"
"Carona!" Volcarona quickly recovered as she immediately summoned a destructive blast of fire instead of charging it up. Eve was right in front of her face so the moment she fired Fire Blast, both Dazzling Gleam and Fire Blast collided, causing a violent and furious explosion that blew both Pokemon back.
Both Sun Pokemon tumbled on the floor after that explosion knocked them away as both their trainers gasped, hoping that their Pokemon were alright.
"Eve! Are you okay?!"
"You alright, Volcarona?!"
"Espeon..." Eve stood up from the floor, shaking her head as she was still standing even after an explosion that fierce. However, there was a downside to this.
Eve now had a burn effect after Fire Blast hit her directly as a burst of fire engulfed her body for a moment, causing Eve to yell in pain.
"Rats! Burn effect...!" Twilight stomped her hoof on the floor.
Luckily for Volcarona, she didn't get any status conditions since Dazzling Gleam doesn't have any. Plus, she resisted Fairy so she immediately got back up. "Volca."
"This doesn't look too good..." Twilight grumbled. "Eve can't take much more."
"Absol!" Absol went up to Twilight suddenly. "Sol!"
"Huh, Absol?" She looked over at him.
"Ab. Absol!" Absol was requesting that Twilight should swap Eve out for him.
"You want to swap?"
"Sol." He nodded.
"Esp!" But Eve refused. She wanted to win this by herself without anyone weakening her opponents for her. Absol respected her choice so he backed away.
"Alright, Eve. It's all you!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Espeon!"
"I thought she would've switched out by now..." Sunset was impressed. "This is getting me excited. Let's keep this up, Volcarona!"
"Vol."
"Psybeam and Dazzling Gleam won't do a thing. So we're going all-in for this one. Eve! Use Quick Attack, repeatedly! And don't stop!"
"Espeon!" Espeon was going to use just one move continuously without end in hopes of knocking Volcarona out. Moving at lightning-speeds and becoming a blur, the Sun Pokemon approached her fellow Sun Pokemon.
"Ascend and use Quiver Dance!"
"Volca!" Volcarona ascended to the sky, avoiding Eve's Quick Attack. Once she did, she did a mystical dance in the air, once again, raising her Special Attack, Special Defence, and Speed all at once. She was now stronger than ever. However, her physical defence remained the same since Quiver Dance does not raise it all except for everything else.
"Now use Fire Blast!"
"Ca!" Volcarona was about to fire a stream of flames towards Eve but the Psychic-Type kept moving around without staying in place whatsoever.
Using Quick Attack, she was disappearing and reappearing all over the battlefield without any signs of stopping. This was a bit tricky for Volcarona to follow but she released the attack anyway in hopes of landing a hit.
But unfortunately, she missed as Fire Blast hit the battlefield without making contact with Eve. With an explosion emerging, Eve used the smoke to her advantage, moving in and out of it.
However, because of the burn condition, Eve was slowly taking damage every single time, even when running all over the place. But she didn't let that stop her as she kept on dashing about.
"Ca...Ca...Volca." Volcarona was finding it hard to keep up with her.
"Keep firing Fire Blast!" Sunset commanded.
"Volcarona!" Perhaps the better way to hit Eve was to continuously fire attacks to try and catch her. And that's what Volcarona did. She repeatedly unleashed Fire Blasts that formed in front of her, trying her best to hit Eve who was on the run.
The Fire Blasts rained down from above, exploding repeatedly as the entire battle was being covered in smoke at this point. This was only making Volcarona's vision worse as she was starting to get tired.
"Volca...Volca..." She breathed in and out as she had no success in landing Fire Blast.
"Espeon!" Finally, Eve decided to strike as she poured all of her strength into this next Quick Attack. She leapt from the floor with a burst of speed so gallant and powerful that it almost looked like Giga Impact.
She had picked up so much speed from all that running to a point where it was nigh-impossible to keep track of her. Especially for Volcarona who was exhausted.
Eve smashed into Volcarona with all her might, creating a powerful shockwave that flew across the gym. Eve gained a bit of a concussion after that powerful hit as Volcarona was sent flying so far that she hit the ceiling.
"Ca!" The Sun Pokemon gasped upon impact!
"Oh, no! Volcarona!" Sunset screeched.
"Volca..." With that hard impact on the ceiling, the Bug-Fire-Type fell from above with her eyes closed. Eve watched as her fellow Sun Pokemon descended from above while spinning. Volcarona hit the floor, tumbling for a small bit. She didn't get back up which meant only one thing. She had fainted.
"Volcarona..."
"Owch!" Sonata winced. "Volcarona's been squashed! Eve wins!"
But the moment Sonata declared victory for Eve, one final burst of fire surrounded the Psychic-Type as Eve suddenly fell over, fainting as well. The Burn condition did her in.
"Espeon..."
"Oh." Sonata winced. "Eve's also out! Which means uh...Double knockout! Which means the score's even! I think."
"Aw! Double knockout?!" Both Twilight and Sunset groaned, raising their heads.
"Stupid burn effect..." Twilight grizzled her teeth as she flew over to Eve. "Well done, Eve. Sorry that you ended up getting a burn."
"Espeon." Eve licked Twilight's face.
"Return, Volcarona." Sunset returned Volcarona. "Thanks for getting that burn on Espeon. Really saved us from having a disadvantage. You know, Twilight! Using only 3 moves with your Pokemon and still coming out on top is no small feat!"
"Yeah. I could've used Double Team in that instance but I didn't think about it." She laughed nervously.
"But do all of your Pokemon have Quick Attack?" Sunset asked.
"Oh, uh...about that." Twilight scrunched her face. "My Pokemon don't exactly have the most versatile moveset out there."
"They don't?" Sunset jerked back.
"Uh..." Twilight turned around.
"Hold on." Sunset Shimmer pulled out her Pokedex to see what Twilight's Pokemon were capable of. She soon came to find out that only two of them have a full moveset and each moveset had one consistent move that kept showing up.
"Espeon. The Sun Pokemon. Psybeam. Quick Attack. Double Team. Dazzling Gleam.
"Ninetales. The Fox Pokemon. Extrasensory. Quick Attack. Mystical Fire. Incinerate."
"Absol. The Disaster Pokemon. Dark Pulse. Quick Attack. Night Slash."
"Cinccino. The Scarf Pokemon. Tri Attack. Quick Attack. Aqua Tail."
"...Oh." Sunset's eyes widened. "All of them have Quick Attack?"
"Ehehehe..." Twilight squeed. "Gotta have Priority, ya know. But I swear I'll give them all new moves eventually! I was thinking of giving Ninetales Wonder Room."
"Nine?" Ninetales, who was licking his paw, looked up after hearing that.
"You work on that. As for my Pokemon, we've got a lot of variety." Sunset took out her next Poke Ball. "It's your turn again! Braixen!" Out came Braixen for the second time.
"Braixen!"
"Braixen again, huh? Do you wanna go up against her again, Ninetales? Or should we give Absol a shot?"
"Tales!" Ninetales offered to go against his fellow Fox Pokemon once more as he dashed forward.
"Oh, we're still going?" Sonata shot up. "Okay then!"
"If you're thinking about trying to land Attract again, we'll just burn those hearts up, Sunset!" said Twilight.
"We'll see..." Sunset grinned. "We've got a lot more to offer. "Braixen, use Psybeam"
"Braix!" Braixen pulled her stick out of her tail as she pointed it at her fellow Fox Pokemon. From the stick, a peculiar ray of psychic energy burst out, racing towards Ninetales.
"Dodge it with Quick Attack!"
"Nine!" Ninetales's body was outlined with a silver aura as he used Quick Attack to dash to the side, avoiding Psybeam. Not only did he avoid it, but he also rushed in with Quick Attack, tackling Braixen and knocking her back.
"Xien!" Braixen whimpered as she skidded on the floor.
"Now use Extrasensory!"
"Tales!" Ninetales followed up with a second attack by shooting a beam of psychic energy from his eyes as Braixen watched it approach her.
"Psybeam, again!"
"Braixen!" Braixen held her stick out to try and counter Extrasensory but it was too late. Ninetales's move had connected before Braixen could pull it off, further knocking Braixen back and harming her more. "Braix!"
"She's really getting aggressive with Ninetales, isn't she?" Aria said.
"Twilight's trying to end this battle quick from the looks of it." Ash noticed.
"Pika."
"Alright, Ninetales! Looking good!" Twilight and her Pokemon cheered for Ninetales.
"Ninetales!"
"Braixen..." Braixen puffed her cheeks as she saw how she was getting outplayed by Ninetales. Which didn't sit well with her. So far, Ninetales was proving to be the superior Fire-Type who was also classified as the Fox Pokemon. She was getting frustrated to a point where her fur was lighting up with fire.
"Keep your cool, Braixen" Sunset calmed her down. "Let's try something new! Run forward while using Shock Wave!"
"Xien!" A new approach was made. Instead of standing in one spot and attacking, Braixen held her stick out and ran towards Ninetales while charging a blast of rapid electricity.
"She's getting up close?!" Twilight gasped. "Ninetales! Blast her away with Extrasensory!"
"Tales!" Ninetales stood up tall as he fired a rainbow-coloured beam from his eyes. The moment he did that, Braixen unleashed Shock Wave from her stick as it clashed with Extrasensory.
But things were different. Because Braixen was running towards the attack while firing Shock Wave, she was actually able to slightly push Extrasensory back. However, Extrasensory was still strong enough to match as she was trying to also keep her footing while in a beam struggle.
"X-Xien...!" Braixen used both of her hands to hold her stick as she was slowly pushing Extrasensory back.
"Nine...!" Ninetales wasn't about to let himself get bested. So he started to walk forward himself while firing Extrasensory. Very soon, both attacks were getting smaller in length with both Pokemon getting closer to each other.
"Oh, they're getting close to each other!" Aria stood up.
"If those two attacks meet at such a short distance..." Sunlight shuddered.
"Braixen..." Braixen was losing her footing as she couldn't keep this up for long. Her grip on her stick was weakening as the distance between her fellow Fire-Type was diminishing. "Xien...!"
It was very clear which Pokemon was superior in power. Ninetales was just a cut above Braixen. Unfortunately for Braixen, she wasn't able to match Ninetales's superior special attack as Extrasensory was eating Shock Wave entirely. She closed her eyes, waiting for the attack to finish her off.
But Sunset was betting on this as she let out a small smirk.
"Now! Attract!"
"B-Braix...Xien!" By opening one eye, Braixen sent a stream of hearts forward while still holding back Extrasensory. This is what Sunset Shimmer was planning. She did say that eventually, she would get Attract off on Ninetales.
And with Ninetales focused on using Extrasensory, his eyes were exposed to the hearts as he had finally become infatuated as his pupils shifted into hearts. "Nine?!"
"Uh oh!" Twilight gasped.
"Yes! It worked! Now, go Braxien!"
"Braxien!" With Ninetales infatuated, Braixen was able to push Extrasensory back. The two moves were equal in power as an explosion occurred, blowing the two Fox Pokemon back. But now things were different.
Ninetales was now madly in love with Braixen as he was wagging his tails back and forth repeatedly. "Tales! Ninetales!" He wasn't in his right mind at all at the moment.
"So that's why she wanted Braixen to get close..." Twilight sighed.
"Told you we'd get it off, Twilight." said a proud Sunset Shimmer.
"Braxien." Braxien crossed her arms, also feeling proud of herself.
"Alright. Well played. Ninetales, Re-"
"Nine!" Twilight couldn't finish her sentence because Ninetales suddenly dashed towards Braixen out of nowhere, kicking up a ton of smoke from his speed.
"X-Xien?!" Naturally, Braxien was surprised as she witnessed Ninetales coming her way. She saw how huge his heart-shaped pupils were as she made a run for it.
"Ninetales!" Very soon, Ninetales was in hot pursuit of Braixen as he was chasing her down, running across the entire battlefield.
"Ah! Ninetales!" Twilight gasped. "Stop!"
"Oh." Sunset made a poker face. "Usually they just stand around and take hits but...I didn't take this into account."
"Ninetales come back!" Twilight called for Ninetales to return. But he didn't return. He was too madly in love with Braixen to attack her.
"Braix!" Unfortunately for Braixen, this all backfired on her heavily since Ninetales was naturally faster than her. So it didn't take long for him to catch up which terrified Braixen since it seemed that she couldn't outrun him no matter how fast she ran.
"Pokemon battles certainly have many unique scenarios, don't they?" Celestia said as everyone nodded, agreeing with her.
"Braix!" Braxien jumped onto the seats as a means of getting away from Ninetales. But of course, Ninetales jumped onto the seats as well, continuing to pursue her. "Xien!"
"Wait...we can use this..." Twilight came up with a brilliant idea. "If Ninetales wants to get close to Braixen then so be it. Quick Attack!"
"Nine!" That was a command that Ninetales could get around since it involved getting close to Braixen. With a burst of speed, Ninetales bolted off the ground as he lunged towards Braixen.
"Braixen?!" Braxien looked back to see Ninetales right in front of her face. Before she knew it, Ninetales's head smashed into hers, creating a heavy collision as both Braixen and Ninetales were sent flying back. But Braixen certainly had the larger knockback.
And that knockback was enough to seal the deal as Braixen tumbled on the seats, finally fainting after a long and hard battle.
"Braixen..."
"Oh!" Sonata walked up to the seats to see Braixen's condition. With those swirly eyes, it was clear that she was done for. "Braixen's finished! Ninetales wins!"
"Ninetales..." When Ninetales's head smashed into Braixen's head it actually knocked him out of the Attract due to how powerful the impact was. "Ninetales?!"
"That's why it's always best to improvise!" Twilight grinned as Sunset's jaw dropped.
The odds were now in Twilight's favour. She had 2 Pokemon remaining, whilst Sunset was down to just one. Her Litleo, who was essentially her ace and strongest Pokemon despite being the smallest of the rest of her Pokemon.
"Return, Braixen." Sunset returned Braixen to her ball. "Sorry that the Attract backfired. Get some rest."
"Hm." Luna raised her head. "This is where Twilight Sparkle will experience a true challenge with Sunset's next Pokemon."
"Really? But I thought you aced the Gym, Luna?" said Ash.
"Pika?"
"I did. I effortlessly defeated her Braixen and Fletchinder. But her Litleo is a force to be reckoned with. It knows how to keep you on your hooves."
"We've seen it from the Ambrosial Plane." Sunlight spoke. "How can something so adorable be so lethal?"
"Never underestimate your opponent dear." Eventide placed her hoof around Sunlight. "No matter what their appearance may be."
"Just one Pokemon left...Litleo..." Twilight said to herself.
"Here goes." Sunset looked at Litleo's Poke Ball. "Let's show Twilight what we can really do. Go! Litleo!" She tossed the Poke Ball forward, sending out the Lion Cub Pokemon.
"Litleo!"
"There he is." Twilight grinned. "Let's keep this up, Ninetales! Extrasensory!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales's eyes widened after being freed from Attract as he was ready to continue battling. He cocked his head back before unleashing a mighty beam of psychic energy forward.
"Let's go, Litleo! Charge through it with Strength!"
"Leo!" The Lion Cub Pokemon's body became surrounded by a red aura as his body seemed to grow larger. Litleo bolted forward with pure power surrounding his body.
This raw strength was enough to let Litleo charge through Extrasensory as if it was nothing. He ran at mediocre speeds but exhibited raw power.
"Nine?!" A surprised Ninetales was shocked that Litleo could effortlessly charge through Extrasensory like that. Litleo let out a mighty roar as he smashed his head onto Ninetales with Strength, dealing some devastating damage. "T-Tales!" Ninetales's eyes widened as he was sent flying from that Strength.
"Now! Use Crunch!"
"Lit!" Litleo's battling style was vastly different from his teammates. He was aggressive and unrelenting compared to his friends. Litleo ran after Ninetales with his teeth being embedded with a dark aura.
"Quick, Ninetales! Recover and use Quick Attack!"
"...Nine!" Ninetales opened his eyes as he was able to successfully recover by veering on the ground. He then became surrounded in a silver light, using Quick Attack to boost himself forward.
Both Pokemon were approaching each other with Ninetales moving faster than Litleo. The Fox Pokemon smashed into the Lion Cub Pokemon, causing a seismic wave to fly across the battlefield.
But even with a hit that powerful, Litleo did not fly back as expected despite his small body. Instead, he was able to keep his footing as he bit onto Ninetales's fur.
"Tales?!" Ninetales gasped as his fur had been hit with an explosion of dark energy occurring after Crunch made contact with him.
It was Ninetales who was sent flying once more. Not Litleo. Ninetales could barely keep his balance after that Crunch bit into him.
"Ninetales! Extrasensory!"
"Smash it with Strength!"
"Nine!" Ninetales could see that things were getting aggressive as Litleo was proving to be a challenge. Ninetales quickly let out an instant Extrasensory that was a bit weaker since it was faster and less focused.
"Litleo!" Litleo, yet again, surprised everyone with how fierce and formidable he was by smashing his head into the beam of psychic energy with Strength. Upon contact, Extrasensory had imploded on itself from the sheer power Litleo was showing off.
"No way!" Twilight gasped.
"So much pressure is being put on Ninetales!" Celestia stood up.
"This is exactly what I had to deal with." Luna narrowed her eyes. "That Litleo is too fierce for his own good. His strength is almost otherworldly in a sense."
"There's more where that came from! Go crazy with Bulldoze!" Sunset Shimmer stood up in a bipedal position as she allowed Litleo to go ballistic with his attacks.
"Leo!" And that's what he did. Litleo's body became surrounded in an orange aura as he stood on his hind legs. He then stomped his front two feet on the floor, creating an orange ring of aura pulsating from where he stomped, causing the floor and entire gym to shake. Fierce white shockwaves then crashed towards Ninetales.
"Dodge it, Ninetales!"
"N-Nine!" Ninetales winced as he attempted to dodge this Ground-Type move. He tried to run away, but the shockwaves were everywhere, making it impossible to escape. The destructive shockwaves eventually engulfed Ninetales. "Nine!
"Ninetales!" Twilight bellowed as she witnessed her Pokemon fly into the air by the sheer force of the shockwaves.
"Jump and use Strength!"
"Leo!" Litleo hit the floor with Strength, launching himself into the air with the amount of power he exhibited. He then continued his attack as he was above Ninetales.
"Tales?!"
"Ninetales! Quick! Use Quick Attack to dash down!"
"Nine...tales!" Ninetales, with haste, turned around, using Quick Attack to dash back down to the ground, escaping from Litleo.
"You won't get away! Combine Bulldoze with Strength!"
"Litleo!" Litleo fell from above as he continued to put pressure on his opponent. The moment his paws hit the floor, he combined Strength with Bulldoze, creating an even larger array of shockwaves that raced towards Ninetales.
There was no way he could work around an attack this devastating. The mighty shockwaves engulfed the entire battlefield, covering the Fox Pokemon entirely.
Twilight closed her eyes as she could hear the explosion going off, knowing that Ninetales took some serious damage after that. But she was hoping he was still standing.
But once she opened her eyes, Ninetales was seen flying out of the smoke, rolling on the floor. He wasn't getting back up after that. Not at all. He had finally fainted.
"Ninetales..."
"Holy moly..." Sonata went up to Ninetales. "He's definitely out! Litleo won that one!"
"Ah..." A perplexed Twilight was speechless. The last time she saw Litleo battle, he wasn't that aggressive and ferocious. "Huh..."
"That's how it's done." Sunset crossed her hooves together as if she was still in the human world.
"Leo!"
"That was a bit one-sided," Adagio said. "But you know...this is actually a lot of fun to watch..." She smiled. "I could get used to these Pokemon battles."
"Now it's just down to one Pokemon each!" Ash was getting excited as he sat up.
"Pikachu!"
"Ninetales?" Ninetales looked back at Twilight who flew over to him.
"Nice job, Ninetales." She helped him up. "Sorry. But I didn't expect Litleo to be so fierce...He definitely wasn't like this with Rainbow Dash."
"Tales."
"Absol. Sol-Sol." Absol ran over as he didn't need Twilight to tell him that he was up next. "Sol!" He growled at Litleo who growled back at him.
"Leo!"
As Twilight placed Ninetales on the seats next to Eve and Minccy, it all came down to just Absol and Litleo. And in a sense, Absol is potentially just as fierce as Litleo. They're both aggressive when it comes to battling so this battle was already bound to be fast-paced and fierce.
"Alright, Absol. This will be our first real battle together." Twilight said. "Are you ready?"
"Absol!" He nodded.
But the moment Absol and Twilight prepared themselves for battle, Twilight suddenly got the vision of the Mega Evolution symbol once more as well as Absol.
It was just like their first meeting and during the Darkest Day as even the headaches had returned. But they weren't as violent. This time, the headaches were more akin to normal headaches that are just annoying instead of frustratingly painful.
"That vision again..." Twilight breathed in and out slowly. "Don't lose focus, Twilight."
"Alright, you two. Last battle. Let's go!" Sonata gave the call for the last battle to begin.
"Litleo! Use Strength!"
"Leo!" Litleo was the first to approach his opponent as that same red aura surrounded his body with his size slightly increasing.
"Here he comes! Use Night Slash Absol!"
"Sol!" Absol bolted forward with his horn lighting up with a dark aura around it. Once both Pokemon approached each other, their attacks had clashed with Absol's horn colliding with Litleo's paw.
"Leo!"
Both Pokemon were fighting for dominance by pushing their horn and paw forward. However, Absols's naturally amazing attack power allowed him to gain the upper hand as he pushed Litleo back, beating out Strength. "Absol!"
"Again!" Sunset commanded.
"Leo!" Litleo slid on the floor as he ran back at Absol, going for Strength yet again. Absol kept Night Slash up as both he and Litleo began going back and forth with Strength and Night Slash.
Each time Litleo's paws collided with Absol's horn, the floor beneath them was slowly shattering with each hit, showing that things were already getting destructive early on.
Litleo raised both of his paws, going for an overhead smash. But Absol, without Twilight's command, used Quick Attack to evade the incoming overhead as he zipped to the side. He then lunged forward, slashing his horn onto Litleo's back.
"Lit!" Litleo winced as he was knocked back.
"Block with Strength!"
"Leo!" When Absol rushed in for another Night Slash mixed with Quick Attack, Litleo used Strength to block the next hit as his paws were on Absol's horn. Absol growled as he used Quick Attack to force himself back.
"Is it me...or is Absol acting on his own?" Aria noticed.
"Ah." Eventide nodded. "I've noticed it as well. Twilight Sparkle hasn't given out another command yet. Absol seems to be truly acting on his own accord."
"Sol!" Absol went in for another attack as he lunged in the air, getting ready to slash Litleo from above.
"Calm down, Absol!" Twilight yelled as she noticed that Absol was getting a bit too greedy with his attacks.
"Ab?" Absol listened to Twilight as he ceased his attack, landing down as he looked at the Lion Cub Pokemon with menacing eyes. If Twilight hadn't told him to stop, Absol would've kept on attacking ruthlessly.
"He's just as wild as Litleo..." Sunset pulled back. "Litleo! Use Overheat!"
"Lit...Leo!" The Lion Cub Pokemon's body glowed red as fire then surrounded his body. Litleo then unleashed a big stream of fire from his body at Absol.
"Use Dark Pulse!"
"Absol!" Absol returned the favour by opening his mouth as he then fired a beam of black and purple circles from inside his mouth.
Dark Pulse and Overheat cancelled each other out but instead of waiting for Twilight to say something, Absol took the opportunity to use Quick Attack while there was smoke covering the battlefield.
"Sol!" Absol used Quick Attack, dashing through the smoke as he smashed into Litleo with blinding speed.
"L-Leo!"
"Hey! Cheap shot buddy!" Sunset growled.
"Absol!" Twilight gasped. "Oh...Why does he keep acting on his own?"
"Alright! If that's how you're going to play then we won't pull any punches! Litleo! Strength at full power!"
"Litleo!" Litleo was going all-in for this next attack. He poured all of his power into his body as he ran forward, going straight for a devastating headbutt.
"Let's capitalize! Jump and use Dark Pulse!"
"Absol!" Instead of charging in and clashing with Litleo like usual, the Disaster Pokemon jumped into the air, charging up a Dark Pulse in the process.
"Leo!" Litleo looked up to see that he was about to be met with a blast of dark energy. But he wasn't about to let that happen. He kept Strength active as he stood firmly on the ground, waiting for Absol to fire.
And when Absol did fire Dark Pulse with a large dark beam falling from above, Litleo gathered all of his strength into his head as he headbutted the Dark Pulse directly.
The contact between Dark Pulse and Strength created a new outcome. In which, a potent shockwave flowed through Dark Pulse, hitting Absol out of the air. "S-Sol!"
But there were repercussions for Litleo. Headbutting Dark Pulse left his head a bit injured due to direct contact with it. Litleo can sometimes get a bit carried away with his headbutts.
Litleo unfortunately, was a Glass Cannon. Like Pikachu. He's a hard hitter but his defence is lacking severely. As such, he fell on his back, feeling a bit dizzy.
"Ab!" Absol recovered from the ground as he was ready to attack Litleo with Night Slash.
"Absol, don't!" Twilight stopped him from attacking without order.
"Sol?" Absol turned to face her.
"Don't rush in like that. Wait for my command."
"Absol."
"You doing okay, Litleo?"
"Leo..." Litleo stood up, shaking his head.
"Let's finish this with all we have! Bulldoze, go!"
"Leo!" Litleo smashed his paws on the floor, sending potent white shockwaves towards the disaster Pokemon. If Ninetales couldn't avoid this then Absol surely couldn't avoid them either.
"This is risky but...Rush through with Quick Attack!"
"Ab!" Absol was ready to take the risk of charging through the shockwaves of Bulldoze. His body was outlined in a silver light as he bolted forward, bracing for impact.
When he came across the first shockwave, his body was consumed entirely by it as it was a direct hit. He couldn't just power through something that potent. Not at all. As a result, he was blown back by Bulldoze.
But yet again, without heeding Twilight's commands and waiting, Absol rushed in with Quick Attack after being hit by Bulldoze. Seeing Absol approach him made Litleo gasp as he was tackled by Absol who moved at blinding-speeds.
"Leo!"
"Overheat!"
"Litleo!" Litleo, rolled on the floor as he immediately recovered, jumping into the air as he fired a stream of concentrated fire forward.
"Dark Pulse!"
"Sol!" Yet again, Dark Pulse and Overheat clashed with both attacks imploding on each other. But when the attacks cancelled each other and a smoke cloud formed, Absol randomly fired a Dark Pulse without letting Twilight say anything.
"Why does he keep acting on his own...?" Twilight said to herself.
"Blow it back with Strength!"
"Litleo!" Litleo smashed his paws on Dark Pulse with Strength, destroying it completely.
"Let's finish this!" Both Twilight and Sunset yelled.
"Use Night Slash!"
"Finish it with Overheat!"
"Absol!" Absol charged in while Litleo stood in one spot. A stream of deadly fire came out Litleo's mouth as Absol's horn had clashed with the stream head-on.
There was now a struggle between the two. Absol was trying to push through Overheat with Night Slash while Litleo was trying his best to engulf Absol.
Absol's horn was being burned by Overheat since he himself was trying to push through it. Absol winced as he could feel the heat flow through his horn as his body was also sweating.
But Litleo wasn't looking too great either. His little body meant that he couldn't keep this up for much longer. He was still a cub at the end of the day.
Because of this, Absol was able to overcome Overheat by sliding his horn through the stream of fire with Night Slash. Absol actually managed to cut Overheat in half as he slashed past Litleo in the process. Overheat, which was now split in half, scattered across the battlefield as Litleo could feel Night Slash pierce right through him.
"L-Leo!" An aftershock happened once Litleo had been hit by Night Slash. It felt like 10 blades cutting him at once as his eyes widened with a shockwave coming out. That final Night Slash was enough to put an end to this as Litleo had fallen over, fainting. "Lit...Litleo..."
"Litleo is out cold! Absol wins! Oh wait....that's like 4 Pokemon gone. Then that means...Twilight wins!" Sonata made the call.
"Oh, finally it's over..." Twilight sighed as she sat down, exhausted.
"Aw!" Sunset groaned.
"How enjoyable!" Celestia flew up, enjoying that battle from start to finish. "Having this battle happen is one of the best decisions I've made so far!"
"Thank goodness that I did not have to experience this myself..." Luna let out a powerful sigh of relief.
"Great work, Absol but...please don't rush in and attack without my word." Twilight pleaded.
"Sol."
"Good job, Litleo." Sunset went over to the Lion Cub Pokemon. "Maybe we'll win next time, buddy."
"L-Leo..." Litleo was glad that Sunset was proud of him. He was a bit upset that his little body meant that he had a ton of limitations and couldn't continue battling for much longer. He wished he could evolve into a Pyroar already.
"An amazing battle you two!" Celestia teleported in between Twilight and Sunset. "I can see that you two are truly formidable Pokemon trainers!"
"Thank you, Princess Celestia." Twilight said. "I won't lie, I got a bit nervous back there. Going up against a Gym Leader who's also in the Equestria League."
"Yeah but uh...Your Absol seemed to keep attacking without you saying a word at times." Sunset pointed out.
"Yeah, I know." Twilight nodded. "I guess because Absol's been in the wild for so long his instincts just kick in?"
"That usually does happen at times." Celestia chimed in. "But besides that, you two enjoyed yourselves, didn't you?"
"Sure did!" Twilight and Sunset both said.
"This just makes me wanna battle again...!" Ash grit his teeth as he was psyched up from seeing that battle.
"Pikachu?"
"That was pretty fun..." Adagio smiled. "But, I actually wanted Sunset Shimmer to win that one."
"You enjoying yourself now, Adagio?" Aria asked.
"Yes. I'll admit it." Adagio gave in. "I could get used to these 2 weeks."
"Kricketot!"
Their Gym Battle had ended. And despite how intense and long it was, the 4th day was still in its early stages. In fact, it was currently 12:00.
Barely any time had really passed, showing just how slow and relaxed the 4th day was. No matter what they do, this day will take its time. Although, it was hard to tell if the next days would be at this pace.
Pinkie Pie had just finished making her movie with the ponies she was working with at the Pokestar Studios attraction. Although, the ponies were exhausted since they worked so hard.
"This'll really catch em!" Pinkie looked at the film reel in her hooves.
"Spinda!"
Pinkie then spotted Ash, Twilight and the others, seeing that they had finished their little battle as they were walking by the attraction.
"Oh! Did you finish your battle, Twilight?" Pinkie asked.
"Sure did." Twilight nodded as she patted Absol's horn. But she quickly gained a burn on her hooves since Absol's horn was still smoking from Overheat. "Ow!"
"Sorry we couldn't help you with your film, Pinkie." Ash went up to her.
"Pssh, that's fine." She flailed her hooves. "Besides. I was planning on making a second just now! Wanna help out with this one?"
The ponies quickly heard that Pinkie was making a second one as they all immediately dashed off, not wanting to go through that torture again.
"Oh! Sunset! I didn't know you were here!" Pinkie dashed over to Sunset.
"Yeah. My first festival too and-"
"Well if it's your first then you've gotta start with this! It'll be a real blast!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"This? I can't make a movie." Sunset shook her head. "I don't have that much experience anyway."
"No need to worry. I can teach you everything I've learned just now." Pinkie Pie grinned. Although it was a grin that would make anyone worried.
The 4th day is now in the afternoon stages. The Festival is not yet close to ending. But who's keeping track anyway? It's all too much fun to even notice how slow time was moving as the journey continues.
Rarity, Spike, Sweetie Belle and Coco Pommel have just arrived here after going on the train. Although, Pheromosa suggested grabbing them all and running at high speeds to Las Pegasus. But Coco was nervous so they took the train instead.
"Here we are." Rarity said as she gently walked off the train.
"Las Pegasus!" Sweetie Belle hopped off the train.
"What's up with this sunlight?" Spike covered his eyes from the beaming rays of the sun.
"Alright then." Rarity looked around. "Where to begin?"
"Oh-Oh!" Sweetie Belle jumped up. "There's a Pokemon Contest here, remember? Let's go there! I could win my next contest ribbon!"
"Alright, alright." Rarity nodded. "Spike. Coco. Would you like to come along with us?"
"Oh, well, I was thinking of umm..." Coco scrunched her face. "I kind of...want to take part in Pokemon Contests too."
"You do?" The three of them said.
"Mhm. Well actually, I've already started. Just 3 weeks ago, I won my first contest ribbon. Glaceon and I worked really hard for it and it paid off."
"Glaceon!"
"That's wonderful, Coco!" Rarity slid over. "You know, all this buzz about Pokemon Contests is almost tempting me to get involved as well."
"Wait. Does this mean we're competitors against each other?" Sweetie Belle tilted her head.
"Looks like it. We might have to go up against each other at some point." Coco went up to the little unicorn. "That doesn't bother you at all, does it?"
"Not at all! It's great going up against friends sometimes!" Sweetie Belle grinned. "We can get started right away!"
"Well, I'm kinda looking for something else, ya know." Spike navigated his head around Las Pegasus. The attractions here were interesting but not something that could really strike his fancy.
Then, Spike noticed something that could really pull him in. Just North from here, right next to the Contest Hall, straight from Castelia City, it was the Pokemon Battle Plaza.
It had just recently come to Equestria and is considered the perfect place for Pokemon Trainers to test their skills and go against each other. Mainly for those entering the Equestria League.
"That's what I'm talking about! A Pokemon Battle Plaza!" Spike pointed at the Pokemon Battle Plaza. "That's the stuff for me! You don't mind if I head there, do you?"
"Of course not, Spike." Rarity replied. "Go on and enjoy yourself. We'll be there eventually and hopefully, we'll have the chance to see you battle."
"Sweet!" And just like that Spike took off like a rocket, leaving his friends to get on with their entire contest business.
"Right then. Let's hope we're not too late. Come along then you two." Rarity went ahead with Coco and Sweetie Belle following her to the Contest Hall.
Pokemon Battle Plaza.
Inside, a battle was already occurring. Spike entered to see which Pokemon were going up against each other as the battle looked like it was reaching its end.
It was a battle between an Electivire and a Manectric with many humans, ponies and even dragons watching this entire battle go down. But this Electivire belonged to someone familiar. And it wasn't Spitfire who actually owns her own Electivire.
Instead, it was Paul's Electivire.
"Electivire! Use Brick Break!" Paul commanded.
"Electivire!" Electivire rushed over to its opponent with one hand pulled back.
"Manectric! Use Psychic Fangs!" A stallion commanded.
"Etric!" The Discharge Pokemon opened its mouth, lunging forward as psychic energy surrounded its teeth. Both Electric-Types ended up getting in front of each other, but only one of them pulled off their attack successfully.
Electivire juked Manectric out by sidestepping to the right, causing Manectric to bite nothing but the air. Manectric gasped as he just realized that he had been tricked.
"Vire!" Electivire found an opening as he smashed his hands onto the Discharge Pokemon's back, slamming its fellow Electric-Type to the floor.
"Mane!" Manectric gasped as it was forced into the floor with a devastating impact. That one Brick Break was enough to finish the Discharge Pokemon off but that didn't come as surprise considering how powerful Paul's Electivire is. Manectric had fainted. "Manectric..."
"Manectric is unable to battle! Electivire wins! Thus, the victor is Paul!" The referee, who was a random Don George made the call.
"That's that. Good job, Electivire. Return." Paul returned his Electivire. "Nice battle, you."
"Uh, thanks." The stallion helped his Manectric up. "Bit too strong for me though. You okay, Manectric?"
"Mane. Manectric."
With that battle over, the next battle could begin. The way this Battle Plaza worked is that trainers had to register to battle. They, unfortunately, couldn't just jump in and start battling each other. Since this plaza is on a smaller scale compared to Castelia's larger plaza which was currently being rebuilt, the battlefield could only hold two competitors. So turns had to be taken.
"Next! Can Lucky Latch and Skyplay come on to the battlefield?!" Don George called for the next trainers to step up.
"Oh. Do I have to sign up or something?" Spike asked a nearby trainer.
"Sure do. But uh...I think you came in a bit too late, pal. Registrations are closed."
"Aw! Already?!" Spike jerked back as he groaned. "Come on...That train ride wasn't even that long. What's with this day being so slow?"
Spike had just missed out on his opportunity to have a battle here. Which was a shame since he was really looking forward to it alongside his Salamence.
"Sorry, pal." Spike looked at his Poke Ball. He then noticed Paul walking by him since he had just finished up his battle. Spike figured that if he couldn't battle here in the Plaza, he could always just battle somewhere else with someone random. And what better than the previous competitor who had just finished his own battle. "Oh, hey, wait!"
"Hm?" Paul turned around to face Spike. "Yeah?"
"I know you just got done battling but uh...you wouldn't mind battling me would you?"
"A battle right now? Are you registered?"
"Oh, uh...no. I kinda came in late so it's full. But I'm talking an outdoor battle that's just between you and me."
"You're asking a lot from someone you just met, kid," Paul responded.
"Yeah uh...my bad." Spike winced as he rubbed the back of his head.
"But...I'm not one to turn down a battle. At least not frequently. If you wanna battle then sure. The only reason I came to this festival anyway."
"Alright!" Spike jumped up. "Where can we battle uh..."
"My name's Paul." He introduced himself. "And there's a small little lake just near this entire city. That's where we'll battle."
"Paul, huh? My name's Spike. "And I'll be there for sure! Salamence and I are just itching for a battle, ya know."
"Spike, huh?" Paul froze for a moment as he took a moment to observe Spike and how he was a dragon. Paul has been visiting this world frequently for the sake of catching new Pokemon to get stronger.
But during his ventures in Equestria, he has heard from many ponies across the land about a certain someone, who Paul is very familiar with. That of course, being Ash.
But more importantly, he also heard about the Darkest Day and how Ash and a bunch of his friends helped save Equestria from Eternatus during the Darkest Day. One of those friends being a baby dragon by the name of Spike alongside his Salamence.
The Darkest Day has become a sort of a popular event in Equestria. So popular that it can be considered a pivotal point in Equestria history. It's hard to not know about it since it almost brought about the destruction of Equestria in just one night.
And Paul could tell that this was indeed that same Spike who helped stop Eternatus.
"So you're another one of Ash's friends. Guess I can't stop bumping into them in this world..." Paul sighed.
"Sure am." Spike nodded aggressively. "Wait, how'd you know who I was?"
"Ponies here kept talking about some Darkest Day and how you were beside Ash and some others. I'm not too surprised he's popular here, honestly."
"You know him?"
"Sure do. All the way from my adventures with Sinnoh. Ever since these two worlds crossed over, I didn't think I'd hear his name so often recently."
"Oh, wait! You're that Paul guy Ash mentioned before!" Spike realized. "That means I'm gonna battle against one of Ash's rivals today...? Awesome!"
"Just as energetic as him too..." Paul mumbled. "Alright, let's quickly get this over with. I wanna continue battling in this Battle Plaza soon."
"Right! But uh, let me just get myself ready. You're Ash's rival so that must mean you're super strong. Salamence and I gotta prepare ourselves."
"I can wait. I also wanna prepare myself too." Paul replied as he and Spike both walked out of the Battle Plaza to prepare themselves for their upcoming battle which will happen in just a few minutes.
Although, Paul is a heavy strategist so his planning can last a while and take up a lot of time. But either way, he'll still find time to battle.
They would battle near a lake that was just on the outskirts of Las Pegasus and right near the train station as well. Originally, this area did not exist. But of course, thanks to the Pokemon changing Equestria day by day, this was a brand new area exclusive to Grass, Water, Flying and even Psychic-Types.
It was a bit unfortunate that they couldn't battle in the Pokemon Battle Plaza at all due to Spike being late.
But the same can be said for the Contest Hall.
"Out of slots?!" Rarity screeched.
"Deepest apologies." The lady bowed her head as an apology. "But the registration slots closed off 2 hours ago. Seems you were a bit too late. Sorry."
"Ugh! What is wrong with this fourth day? Feels like somepony is slowing down time on purpose..." Rarity growled.
"So...I can't enter the contest?" Sweetie Belle pouted.
"Sorry. All slots are full."
"Aw..." Sweetie Belle whimpered.
"Don't worry, Sweetie Belle." Coco patted Sweetie Belle on the head. "We still have tomorrow to look forward to. Are there slots open then?"
"There will be." The lady nodded. "So you still have a chance."
"Yes!" Sweetie Belle jumped for joy. "Phew! I was really worried there for a sec! But...now what do we do? Wait until tomorrow."
"Of course not. We're in Las Pegasus after all. The possibilities here are endless." Rarity replied.
"Well...We could use all this time to practice." Coco suggested. "I've been wanting to make sure my contest moves are sharpened up enough. If that's okay with you."
"Sure. It's okay with me." Sweetie Belle nodded. "This day's pretty slow anyway, so we can have a lot to do."
"Right then." Rarity walked in-between them. "I believe I know of a place where we can practice. There's a small little lake near the train station we can use. Come along, you two."
And so it was. Now there were two groups headed for that one secluded lake. Due to an unfortunate turn of events, late arrivals and occupied slots, they had to capitalize on the outdoors instead of the indoors.
It was a 6-minute walk to that secluded lake area. A small group of Meditite's who were practising with a Medicham noticed the arrival of the two groups from different sides. East and West.
They weren't the only ones who noticed an arrival. The moment the two groups arrived at the lake, their paths had crossed as they spotted each other immediately.
"Oh! Spike, darling. You're here too?" Rarity said to him. "Aren't you supposed to be at that Battle Plaza?"
"Yeah, but I was late for registration. I thought you were supposed to be at Pokemon Contest Hall with Sweetie Belle and Coco."
"We were...but the slots were full." Sweetie Belle pouted. "We came out here to this lake to practise contest moves together."
"Mhm." Coco nodded. "What about you, Spike? Why are you here?"
"I'm here to have a battle with this guy right here." Spike pointed at Paul. "This here's Paul. That guy that Ash mentioned once. Remember?"
"Paul...?" Rarity lowered her eyes, digging through her memory as she remembered Ash bringing up Paul's name once. "Oh! This is that Paul?!"
"Why's it such a big deal?" Paul raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry." Rarity laughed. "I suppose it's somewhat of a huge deal to meet one of Ash's rivals. So. You and Spike will be having a battle here."
"We sure are!" Spike chimed in, sliding over to Rarity. "Oh. Wait, that's not gonna be a problem for your contest practice is it?"
"Well, that depends. I think we're all aware of how destructive Pokemon battles can get. So battling and practising contest moves might throw us all off focus." Rarity said. "How about we each have our own turns?"
"Turns?" Spike looked up in the sky. "Uh...I guess we can take turns. But who's going first?"
"Oh! Let us go first!" Sweetie Belle raised her hoof, jumping repeatedly.
"Is that alright with you two?" Rarity asked.
"Go ahead. I can wait." Paul turned around, accepting their request. "I've got some planning to do anyway."
"Thanks!" Sweetie Belle bellowed. "Alright, Coco! Let's do this!" She took out her Poke Balls as she and Coco were ready to practise against each other for tomorrow whilst Paul and Spike took their time.
"Out you come." Coco had another Pokemon other than Glaceon that she doesn't exactly send out that often for reasons that were about to be revealed. From out of her Poke Ball, a Mawile came out.
"Mawile."
"Oooh...Who's that?" Sweetie Belle was obviously intrigued by this Pokemon that was new to her eyes as she immediately took out her Pokedex.
"Mawile. The Deceiver Pokemon. Mawile’s huge jaws are actually steel horns that have been transformed. Don’t be taken in by this Pokémon’s cute face—it’s very dangerous. Mawile fools the foe into letting down its guard, then chomps down with its massive jaws. It has two mouths. The big jaws on the back of its head can’t taste anything, so that’s the mouth it uses to eat foods it doesn’t like. It can chew through iron beams."
"Aw...it's so cute!" Sweetie Belle gushed as she got a bit too close to the Steel-Fairy-Type.
"Wile?" Mawile noticed Sweetie Belle getting close as she instinctively forced her jaws to snap at Sweetie Belle, forcing the little unicorn back.
"Eep!" Sweetie Belle squeaked as she hid behind Rarity.
"Sorry about that. Mawile's a bit cautious of others." Coco went up to her partner. "But she's really sweet when she gets to know somepony new."
"Maw."
"No need to worry. We'll get along well. Come out all of you. Sweetie Belle sent out all of her Pokemon for practice and to greet Mawile of course. But Mawile was still cautious and mostly defensive of Coco.
While they prepare to plan out their contest moves and how they can dazzle the judges tomorrow, if they get the chance to register, Paul and Spike were biding their time, waiting for their turn to arrive.
Paul observed Spike's Salamence. He saw how Salamence was the only Pokemon on Spike's team, meaning that he had many options to deal with this Dragon Pokemon. Meanwhile, Spike only knew about Paul's Electivire after seeing his battle. It only used Brick Break so Spike had no idea what to expect.
While they were with their Pokemon and Sweetie Belle and Coco were training together, Spike was curious about Paul's rivalry with Ash. Maybe learning from one of Ash's rivals could help him improve as a trainer.
"Hey, Paul," Spike said to him.
"Yeah?" Paul responded.
"I'm kinda curious. What's it like being a rival to Ash? I really wanna know. It must've been intense!"
"You do, huh?" Paul tapped his foot on the ground, looking up in the sky. "Guess I can say something about us."
"Oh yeah! If you're Ash's rival, you must be a real big deal! Ash is super strong after all."
"You're right on that. He's one formidable opponent. That's for sure." Paul let out a small smile as he closed his eyes. "Can't even imagine what it would've been like if we never crossed paths. Would I still be a great trainer?"
"Hm? You mean you wouldn't be the same if you never met Ash?" Spike tilted his head.
"Probably." Paul looked over at a Slowpoke resting near the lake on its belly. "I would've gone a different path if that happened. Guess it all came down to our final battle that really changed everything."
"Final battle?!" Spike hopped on Salamence's head. "What was that like?"
"Sala?"
"Hmph. Timeless to me. I can still remember how it all went down. Every last bit of it." Paul started reminiscing about his final battle with Ash during the Lily of the Valley Conference. AKA the Sinnoh League.
It was his greatest battle to this day and really put his rivalry with Ash to the test. Especially when it came to the battle between Infernape who used to belong to Paul when he was just a Chimchar.
11 years ago. The Lily of the Valley Conference.
The battle between Ash and Paul was one to remember. All of their Pokemon gave everything they had on that day. It was hard to tell who would come out on top since they were so even in skill. They were practically the same person but with different ideals.
And no battle represented that more than Infernape vs Electivire. The final Pokemon they each had during the Sinnoh League since all of their other Pokemon had fainted.
Dawn, Brock and Barry were there to watch the battle alongside Team Rocket who were in disguise, the Champion Cynthia and Paul's Brother Reggie who was watching from home. This was the climax. Where Infernape would give it his all. "Alright! Electivire! Thunder Punch, Go!" Paul commanded.
"Electi...!" Electivire charged forward with his fist surrounded by yellow electricity while being accompanied by yellow sparks.
"Infernape! Mach Punch!"
"Infer...!" Infernape did the same with his fist glowing light blue.
Both Pokemon put all of their strength into these two punches as their fists met with each other. Upon contact, white sparks of energy flowed out as a bright light formed in the middle of their punch. Sounds of electricity could be heard flowing out of the light as the two Pokemon stared each other down for a bit.
Afterwards, a dynamic explosion forced them both back as their attacks cancelled each other out.
"In! Infernape!" Infernape recovered by backflipped whilst Electivire just slid on the ground.
"Vire!"
"Flamethrower, Go!"
"In...fernape!" Infernape breathed in as his chest stuck out. Afterwards, he let out a stream of flames from his gaping mouth.
"Protect," Paul ordered.
"Elec!" The Thunderbolt Pokemon put his arms out as a green barrier of protective energy formed around him. Flamethrower made contact with Protect as the flames split into different directions upon contact. The flames then died out as they had been blocked.
"Gh!" Ash grit his teeth.
"Thunder!"
"Elec...tivire!" Electivire put down his protective barrier as he smashed his two fists together. His body was outlined by volts of electricity as he then released a bolt of electricity up in the sky. That bolt then split into multiple thunderbolts as they were all approaching the Flame Pokemon at a rapid pace.
"Infernape, Dig!"
"Infer!" Inferape quickly jumped up, smashing his fists on the ground as he created a hole to dig through. He managed to evade Thunder in time due to Dig as he was now moving through the battlefield. However, Electivire kept Thunder up as the multiple bolts were surrounding the battlefield like a cage, making sure that Infernape would get hit by at least one Thunder. This was a mimic of Ash's Counter Shield from how it was acting.
"And both Pokemon use powerful moves!" The announcer said.
"Infer!" Infernape then emerged from the ground, giving Electivire a sudden uppercut to the face. Supereffective damage was dealt as Electivire was sent flying from the uppercut.
"Vire!" Electivire definitely felt that impact as he tumbled on the ground, creating a dust cloud from his body impact alone.
"A great example of a perfect dig!"
"In!" Infernape jumped back as his body twitched, taking some damage since Toxic Spikes had affected him earlier during the battle. "Fer!"
"Did it work?!" Ash wondered.
But as the smoke cleared, it was revealed that Electivire got right back up as if it was nothing. It showed that even super-effective moves weren't enough to keep Paul's Electivire down.
"Amazing! Electivire's still standing!"
"Good," Paul smirked.
"Hm." So did Ash as he knew this battle was far from over.
But Dawn, who was watching this entire battle play out was getting a bit nervous as her pupils were shaking uncontrollably all of a sudden.
"I know I've seen battles between Ash and Paul before. But for some reason, there's something completely different about this one." A worried Dawn said.
"Use Flamethrower!"
"Fer!" In a flash, Infernape let out a quick Flamethrower from his mouth.
"Brick Break! Go!"
"El..ectivire!" Electivire quickly raised his hand as he cut Flamethrower in half.
"It may be because they're finally facing off against each other in the same state of mind," Brock replied to Dawn's words.
"What do you mean?" Dawn asked.
"Reggie once called them two sides of the same coin. Mirrors of each other. They may have the same goals, but they've always taken different paths to reach them. Now they're really battling face to face. Head-on. And I think they both realize that." Brock explained.
And it was really showing. Infernape and Electivire were going back and forth at high speeds. They were moving so fast that they were becoming speed lines and nothing else. They punched each other back and forth, moving across the battlefield as both of them were even.
Infernape and Electivire exchange a fury of Mach and Thunder Punches, respectively. They each land an attack before yet another Flamethrower by Infernape is blocked by Electivire's Protect.
In a way, Infernape and Electivire were perfect representations of Ash and Paul themselves.
"Just thinking about it is making me all pumped. Guess a bit of Ash got into me," said Paul.
"Oh, sweet...!" Spike's eyes became starry. "I wish the worlds crossed earlier so I could've been there to see it! Then what happened?!"
"Well, it was an intense battle from start to finish, that's all. But I guess one moment that really stuck out is when I lost. It wasn't just me losing that was so important though. It was seeing Infernape and how truly strong he was." Paul continued to reminisce about the battle.
Infernape was down on the ground, not yet knocked out. He was really beaten up however as he was trying to get up from the ground.
"Infer..."
"Electi. Electivire!" Electivire taunted Infernape, telling him to get back up since he knows the Flame Pokemon can still go on.
"So I guess that's the best you can do then, huh?" Paul said. "You're pathetic just like always."
"Infer...nape!" Infernape's eyes flashed as he gained the strength to get back up.
"Afraid not!" Ash smirked.
"Huh?" Paul turned to see Infernape's sudden ascension as he and everyone else gasped since they thought Infernape was done for.
"Alright! Infernape! Time to show Paul just how strong you are!"
"In...fer...NAPE!" Infernape's ability Blaze had awoken. A ferocious and gallant burst of fire emerged from behind Infernape as the flame of his head grew to a gigantic size. He let out a powerful yell as his flames engulfed the entire battlefield whole.
"Yes!" Ash was waiting for this.
"And Infernape is back with a vengeance, showing the stadium incredible will and fighting spirit!"
"It's Blaze!" Barry exclaimed.
"Reaching the absolute limits of Infernape's endurance has actually brought out its greatest strength," said Brock.
"But with all of the damage Infernape's taken, he'd better finish this up quickly!" Dawn followed.
"Piplup! Piplup!"
"Infernape's up! So are we!" Team Rocket began cheering. "A happier team you'll never see! Help that twerp! Make the bad guy drool and slurp!"
"So this is what Ash was going for all along!" Reggie smiled.
"Time for the real battle! Alright, Infernape! Flamethrower!"
"Infernape!" Infernape's Flamethrower was much more powerful than it had ever been. In fact, it no longer looked like a stream of fire but instead, a devasting blast that matched that an infra-red beam.
"Infernape's more powerful than ever so head's up! Thunder!"
"Electi...vire!" Electivire tries to hold it back with Thunder, but it can't stand up to the sheer power as Thunder was obliterated by Flamethrower with Electivire being engulfed.
"Mach Punch, go!"
"Fernape!" Infernape jumped out of the smoke as he then used Mach Punch, which hits and sends Electivire flying back. Knowing their Pokémon are now at their limits, they get ready to finish it.
"Let's finish this!" Ash and Paul both said.
"Use Thunder Punch!"
"Electivire!" Electivire rushed in for one last Thunder Punch.
"Flare Blitz, go!" Infernape ascended into the air with a large aura of fire surrounding him. That red-orange aura then transformed into blue fire, signifying just how powerful Infernape has truly become.
He then bolted himself forward as Flare Blitz and Thunder Punch both connected. The two Pokémon, battling like they've never battled before, landing their attacks on each other, creating a maelstrom of fire and electricity that was streaming into the sky, illuminating the stadium.
This struggle lasted a while with a devastating wind blowing through the stadium. They both growled with each of them trying to gain the upper hand. But only one of them was coming out of this the winner.
"In...Infernape!" Infernape pushed himself further as he dashed past Electivire with sudden instant speeds, ending the exchange. Infernape felt the recoil as a delayed reaction caused Electivire to feel the explosive force of Infernape's Flare Blitz, throwing up a thick blanket of smoke.
"Electi...Electivire!" The smoke clears and reveals Electivire still standing with his eyes flashing red through the smoke as the two Pokémon and their Trainers stare each other down. The two Pokémon remain perfectly still with anticipation at an all-time high.
"Infernape!"
"Vire..." Electivire finally fell, fainting to the ground.
"Electivire is unable to battle! Infernape wins! Which means the victory goes to Ash of Pallet Town!" The referee declared.
"Alright!" Ash let out a cry of victory.
"And that's all she wrote! Fantastically fierce full 6 on 6 battle, the winner of today's attack-fest is Ash!"
"Alright, Ash won!" Dawn raised her arms with joy as she and the others screamed out in elation for Ash's victorious win over Paul while Brock is overwhelmingly pleased.
"Piplup! Pip-Piplup!"
"I'm so stoked I can't stand it!" Barry scratched his hair aggressively. "Those two are awesome! They're the coolest!"
"You finally beat him...wow," Brock muttered.
"What a battle that was." Paul smiled. "If I hadn't neglected Infernape when it was still a Chimchar, things could've been different back then. But...Thanks to that battle, I'll recognize all of my Pokemon's strength."
"So cool...! Kinda makes me a bit nervous to go up against you but still!"
"Just don't go too overboard. This is a small area after all."
"Oh, right! I think those two are nearly done." Spike looked over to see Coco and Sweetie Belle's training.
"Mawile. Use Fairy Wind."
"Wile." The Deceiver Pokemon began spinning rapidly, creating strong gusts of sparkling wind that flowed into the air.
"Okay, Espurr. Use Disarming Voice on Fairy Wind." Sweetie Belle commanded.
"Espurr..." The Restraint Pokemon opened her mouth, sending a pink soundwave towards the gusts of sparkling wind. The two Fairy moves had collided, creating a spiral of pink energy that matched the shape of a drill. But unfortunately, it quickly died out.
"Aw..." Sweetie Belle sighed.
"Guess they're a bit unbalanced. But that's fine." Coco said. "Let's try something else. Mawile. Use Shadow Ball."
"Mawile." Mawile hurled a shadowy blob of darkness from the large jaws she had, sending it forward.
"Let's try Light Screen this time! And jump into Shadow Ball!"
"Purr!" Espurr put a protective aura of light around her as she rushed over towards the ball of shadows. It was risky but she was willing to take the risk.
Espurr jumped into Shadow Ball, closing her eyes as she braced for impact. But Mawile made sure that the attack wouldn't harm Espurr in the process. Once the Restraint Pokemon entered Shadow Ball, the aura of Light Screen was giving the ball of shadows some shine.
It looked like a disco ball going off from how the lights were flying around the area as the lake was being illuminated by a mixture of bright and dark colours.
"Ooh! That's the one!" Sweetie Belle grinned.
"I'll say." Rarity nodded. "But you two should also focus on creating new contest moves by yourself. After all, it's hard to tell if you'll be facing each other tomorrow."
"Oh! Right!" Sweetie Belle gasped. "Guess we forgot."
"That's fine. I've gotten some new ideas from training with you anyway, Sweetie Belle." Coco replied.
"I suppose now is the best time to take a break. Spike! Paul! You two can battle it out now!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Finally! It's our time to shine!" Spike smirked.
"Then let's get this over with." Paul immediately walked to one side of the lake while Spike did the same. Rarity and the others decided to sit back and watch the battle from afar.
They had both made their pick. Paul held out his Poke Ball which wasn't actually Electivire's Poke Ball since it couldn't properly deal with Salamence due to the Dragon-Typing resisting Electric.
Spike was obviously going for his only Pokemon, Salamence. At least the one he currently owns now while his Goomy is out there training with Dragon Trainer Avaun.
"You ready, Salamence?" Spike asked him.
"Salamence!" He nodded.
"Alright. Aggron! Stand by for battle!" Paul sent his Aggron out to deal with Salamence.
"Aggron!"
"Oh. Who's this guy?" Spike took out his Pokedex.
"Aggron. The Iron Armor Pokemon. Aggron claims an entire mountain as its own territory. It mercilessly beats up anything that violates its environment. This Pokémon vigilantly patrols its territory at all times. The more wounds it has, the more it has battled, so don’t take it lightly. Aggron has a horn sharp enough to perforate thick iron sheets. It brings down its opponents by ramming into them, horn-first. Long ago, there was a king who wore a helmet meant to resemble the head of an Aggron. He was trying to channel the Pokémon’s strength."
"Steel and Rock huh? That Rock-Types gonna make Flamethrower look weak. Spike was a bit bummed out that Aggron wasn't a pure Steel-Type. That way, Flamethrower would've worked splendidly. "Hey, Paul! Mind if I go first?"
"Sure." Paul agreed to let Spike go first.
"Alright! Salamence! Use Flamethrower!"
"Sala..." Salamence ascended to the sky, holding his breath as he then let out a stream of fire.
"Hmph," Paul smirked. "Metal Claw on the ground!"
"Aggron!" The Iron Armor Pokemon suddenly smashed its claws onto the ground, causing a wall of stone and grass to emerge as it blocked the Flamethrower. Paul was already starting strong.
"Mence?"
"Now, Metal Sound!"
"Aggrooooon!" The two horns on Aggron's head started to glow white as they move back and forth quickly, causing a loud ringing sound to be released. The horns then released light blue sound waves from them that filled the entire lake.
"S-Sala!" Salamence could hear the horrible ringing sound of Metal Sound as he winced, descending to the ground as it was lowering his Special Defence. Any nearby Pokémon that hears the sound gets a loud ringing sound that echoes in their ears as well.
That includes the Pokemon belonging to Sweetie Belle and Coco.
"E-Espurr!" Espurr covered her ears as she and the other Pokemon writhed on the ground, trying to ignore this sound.
"Are you all okay?!" Sweetie Belle gasped.
"Oh, dear! That sound is reaching all the Pokemon here!" Coco noticed that the Pokemon from the lake were also being affected by Metal Sound.
"Now, use Double Edge!"
"Ggron!" Aggron rushed at the Dragon Pokemon, leaving behind a silver trail, with its body turning gold. As it charges, its body returns to normal colour and it becomes surrounded by a white aura.
"That's gonna do a lot of recoil! Salamence! Block it with Dragon Tail!"
"Salamence!" Even though all of Salamence's moves weren't really that effective against Aggron, he still had to do something.
He flew forward with his tail being surrounded in draconic energy. He and Spike were betting on the recoil damage to really put the hurt on Aggron since it'll hurt itself upon impact.
Salamence's tail clashed with Aggron's head as a white field of energy formed in-between the two, knocking them back with an explosion.
"Sala!" Salamence was sent back by the explosion as his tail was twitching upon making contact with the Iron Armor Pokemon. But Salamence and Spike believed that Aggron was the one who took the most damage thanks to the recoil of Double Edge.
However, as the smoke from the explosion cleared, it was revealed that Aggron did not take any recoil damage from Double-Edge at all as it was still standing.
"Aggron."
"What the?!" Spike and Salamence both gasped. "But I thought-"
"Rock Head." Paul smiled. "It's Aggron's ability. Any move that has recoil is instantly prevented at all times."
"Oh no." Spike's pupils shrunk.
"Now, Aggron! Flash Cannon!"
"Aggron!" Aggron opened its mouth as a silver ball appears in front of Aggron's mouth. Aggron then fired a silver beam from the ball at the Dragon-Flying-Type.
"Quick! Flamethrower!"
"Salamence!" Salamence quickly released a red-orange stream of fire from its mouth as Flamethrower and Flash Cannon ended up colliding.
Flamethrower burned through Flash Cannon, surprising Aggron and Paul. The Iron Armor Pokemon then saw how Flamethrower was approaching it as the emission of fire engulfed it. "Aggron!"
"Yes!" Spike was glad that he finally got a hit in. "Now use Hyper Beam! Full power!"
"Sala..." Salamence formed a ball of orange energy in his mouth, charging it up at full power.
"Here comes Hyper Beam! Use Flash Cannon one more time!"
"Aggron!" Aggron yet again used Flash Cannon to counteract the incoming beam of hyper energy. Both Pokemon, at the same time, released their attacks as two beams travelled forward.
The beams ended up colliding but they didn't enter a struggle nor did one of them overpower the other. Instead, they just cancelled each other out.
The water of the lake rippled aggressively as some of the trees were starting to topple over from this very impactful and heavy battle.
"Sala...Salamence...!" Salamence needed to take a breather after using Hyper Beam. It was looking a bit rough for him. None of his attacks were great against Aggron, unfortunately.
"Salamence's worn out..." Spike thought to himself. "If I can just hold out for a bit longer..."
"Metal Claw."
"Ggron!" Aggron charged through the smoke as his claws were lit up with silver energy.
"Sala?!" Salamence gasped as he knew he had to take the hit because of Hyper Beam tiring him out and needing to recharge himself.
"Aggron!" Aggron smashed its claws onto the Dragon Pokemon's head once, causing a shockwave to form as the trees around the lake were starting to crumble.
"Mence!" Salamence felt Metal Claw hit his head but it didn't stop there. Aggron let out one final Metal Claw by uppercutting Salamence, sending the Dragon Pokemon flying back as the ground beneath them shattered. "S-Salamence!"
"Oh, no! Salamence!" Spike gasped as he witnessed his partner fall back, tumbling on the ground. That one single Metal Claw was just powerful enough to seal the deal as Salamence couldn't continue battling any further.
"Salamence..."
"And that's that. Thanks, Aggron. Return." Paul returned his Aggron.
"How short..." Rarity sighed. "I suppose going up against a rival of Ash will lead to such an outcome."
"Sorry, Salamence. We didn't really have anything to really damage them." Spike went up to his partner.
"Sala..."Salamence got up with his tail twitching.
"You did good, kid." Paul walked over to Spike. "Even though you didn't have any moves to handle my Aggron, I could tell you were still trying your best."
"Thanks. Guess I'm lacking in the moves department huh."
"Don't let it get to you. There's still a ton of room for your Salamence to grow, anyway."
"Guess so. I'll have Salamence learn new moves that'll deal with any Pokemon."
"Salamence."
"I'd better head back to the Battle Plaza. Thanks for the battle, Spike." Paul turned around as he was taking his leave. "Say hi to Ash for me. You as well, Rarity."
"We'll certainly tell him about our encounter with you." Rarity stood up. "Perhaps we'll have another chance to meet up again. Possibly somewhere else during this festival."
"Maybe. See ya." Paul waved goodbye to the ponies as he was off.
"He's so cool...!" Sweetie Belle gushed. "I can see why he's Ash's rival."
"Mhm." Coco nodded. "So. Do you want to keep practising? If that's okay with you."
"Sure! Let's practice till the moon rises!" Sweetie Belle bellowed.
"I don't know about that, darling." Rarity patted her little sister on the head as they all let out small laughs. Currently, only 45 minutes have actually passed.
Rarity's assumption about someone making this day slow on purpose might not be an exaggeration. But eventually, the fourth day will come to an end and there might be a chance that the upcoming days might be fast or just as slow as this one as the journey continues.
The secluded village near Manehattan. Now the new home of the changelings for now. 15:40
The changelings now occupy this entire village and each of the buildings here. Most if not all of them were laying down on the beds, recovering. They needed the recovery after the horrifying Draco Meteor rain that horribly wounded all of them.
Currently, some rain had started pouring from a weather change. It was fairly heavy as it was beating on the roof of each building and the nearby trees. Although, it was a very calming sound.
Normally in this town, before it had been overrun by a certain Pokemon Hunter, this would be pleasant and relaxing to be apart of. The Grass-Types would especially sit by the tree, sleeping as the rain pours on them. Rain is very healthy to most Grass-Type Pokemon.
Chrysalis resided in the tallest building in this village. Which wasn't that tall at all but it was more than the others here. She was taking care of the newly hatched changeling baby who had no clue what was going on since she was just a baby at the end of the day.
Chrysalis wanted to help her changelings by healing them. Unfortunately, she didn't have a spell for that. But she did know of one way. Fairy-Type Pokemon and potentially Grass-Type Pokemon will have the power to heal them with ease. Just like what happened at the Pixie Plains. However, after walking for miles in injured states, Chrysalis needed time to recover as her hooves were aching after the walk.
This village might end up being their new home. It was no hive but it would have to do. It's not that easy building an entire hive anyway. But, this entire village was actually a hideout for someone else in particular.
Pokemon Hunter J.
J has no idea that her hideout had been overrun by changelings and Chrysalis had no idea that someone actually resides here. Chrysalis assumed since it was quiet and empty without anypony in sight for hours, it was free for the taking. The only reason why it's so quiet is because of J turning all the residents and Pokemon here into stone, locking them inside of an extra room.
It had been hours since J last departed. And now, she was returning to her hideout with brand new statues of Pokemon that she had collected. Most of them belonged to trainers while some were wild Pokemon.
The sounds of J's Salamence and Drapion pulling the carriage could be heard from afar, grabbing the attention of Chrysalis and the changelings. They were all put on high alert because of this.
Because of their injured state, the changelings decided to stay quiet and hidden from any new faces. They were still traumatized by Ghetsis to a point where they weren't their usual fierce and intimidating selves
Chrysalis remained quiet as she slowly peered her head through the window, spotting Salamence, Drapion and of course, J But one thing that really stuck out to her was what was inside of the carriages her Pokemon were pulling.
Statues of Pokemon could be seen inside. All unfortunate victims of J's endless Pokemon hunting spree that she never gave up even when being brought back by the Rift.
Chrysalis moved back so that J wouldn't spot her. But little did she know that the building she resided in was J's main place to be.
J got off the carriage, heading into the back as she took out the first few statues. One of the many objects that weren't brought back with J's revival were her capture cases. Those cases normally hold a captured Pokemon inside. But since they were gone, J had to use other ways of carrying the Pokemon.
The changelings made sure that J would not notice them at all. Something about her aura was very imposing. Even from first glance, they could tell something was wrong with her.
J returned her Pokemon to their Poke Balls as she was making her way towards the tallest building here. Her hand came in contact with the doorknob, which instantly startled Chrysalis.
The instinct to elude J was going through her head at the moment. After what happened to her hive, she was not up for any more problems at all. At this point, she wanted peace.
Chrysalis quickly looked around the room as she saw that she could head upstairs and hide. But that wouldn't conceal her from J permanently. But she could use the bed as a means of hiding.
Chrysalis quickly used her magic to teleport out of the lower floor and into the upper floor in an instant, evading J as she opened up the door.
J was unbeknownst about the changeling presence that filled this secluded area. She truly believed she was on her own here with no interruptions. And if there were interruptions, she would just turn anyone into statues. Simple.
Chrysalis quickly hid under the bed as she heard the footsteps of J coming up the stairs. Chrysalis held the baby close to her while underneath the bed. The baby changeling felt an ominous presence as it was on the verge of crying.
"Sssh-Sssh..." Chrysalis silenced the baby as she was hoping that no noise would be made. Thankfully, J did not hear the sound of the baby whimpering as Chrysalis made sure not to make any heavy breathing, even when underneath the bed.
J entered the room, still unaware that she had unwanted company. Although, she was technically the unwanted company to the ponies who lived here before being turned into statues.
Speaking of the ponies turned to statues, J opened up the extra room where the statues were being kept. Chrysalis was able to witness this by shifting her eye up. She saw how J placed the statues inside of the room.
Through her ears, Chrysalis could hear something unusual. A voice was echoing out, but it wasn't coming from J. Instead, it was coming from one of the stone statues inside of the extra room.
It was faint but she could hear sounds echoing out of a Ribombee statue specifically. Almost as if it was a cry for help. That Ribombee statue let out a silent cry that only Chrysalis could hear. Similar to how Diamond Tiara was only able to hear the cries of the Pokemon.
"Ribombee..."
"What a hassle..." J spoke. "My arm cannon is running out of power...and this room won't be able to hold all these Pokemon eventually." J tossed the statues in the extra room, having no care for them as some of them, mostly the smaller Pokemon, had cracks forming around them. "I'll just use the other houses next time. But first...I'll need an upgrade. Being brought back is wonderful but...I'm still lacking many things..."
J slammed the door as she left the Pokemon in the extra room, adding the new ones to her collection. The sound and force of the door slamming were enough to startle Chrysalis and especially the baby, who wasn't too fond of it.
Because of that slam, the baby was about to cry as it started by whimpering. Chrysalis let out a silent gasp as she realized that this could be a problem if J hears the baby crying.
She was unable to rock the baby since she was currently in a position where that would be difficult and would just make the bed shake instead. Any action would just alert Hunter J and things would spiral downwards. Chrysalis's heart was racing. Her hooves were getting weak, she was sweating and all this pressure was only making her injuries worse.
That is until fate decided to bless the changelings with luck. J had left the room to continue her work. She still had a lot to do and finish since she was brought back by the Rift. Her work was far from over as she left the room.
Chrysalis stopped sweating as she came out of the bed with the baby, letting out a sigh of relief as she was glad that J had left. For now, that is.
Chrysalis heard the door slam yet again as J had left the house, heading over to the carriage to head off somewhere else in Equestria, most likely. All the changelings still stayed hidden, waiting for J to leave.
J was indeed heading somewhere, but it wasn't in Equestria. Instead, she was heading back to the Pokemon world for a few reasons. Reasons that could benefit her to a large degree.
"You two. Let's get a move on. Those gateways seem to lead to different parts of our world. Not just Sinnoh." J said to her Pokemon. "I think we're going to make a quick stop at Unova. They've got some technology that can help us greatly."
"Salamence!"
"Drapion!"
Both of her Pokemon got a move on as J was off to find a gateway that led to the Unova Region. Any part of Unova would do for her. Whether it be a town, city, forest or mountain.
With J gone, the baby could finally cry to her heart's content as she burst out into tears. Chrysalis was glad that nothing horrible happened. They've already been through the worst part of their life anyway.
"Ssh. Don't cry. It's okay." Chrysalis rocked the little changeling baby back and forth, trying to calm her down. Her rocking was enough to soothe the little changeling.
But after the crying came to an end, something surfaced in Chrysalis's mind. That voice she heard from the extra room that was just behind that door. She didn't just hear it once. That same Ribombee cry kept on flying through her ears.
The sound of the Ribombee crying out managed to enchant Chrysalis to a point where she was drawn to it. Not only that, but she was curious about the other room anyway.
She approached the door with the changeling baby in one hoof. By using her magic, she opened up the door to see what J was storing.
All of the Pokemon that J had turned into stone statues, even the ponies who originally lived here were all grouped and stacked on each other. All of them were motionless but they still had life. They could only look in one direction and barely speak. In fact, most of them couldn't utter a word other than Ribombee who could only let out faint cries.
This sight was a bit horrifying to Chrysalis. But seeing the ponies here made her realize why this entire village was so deserted in the first place. It wasn't hard to tell that these were living beings instead of just art and display.
"Ribombee..."
Yet again, Ribombee cried out for help. She was the only one who was able to say at least something. Everyone else was silent. Ribombee's cries drew Chrysalis in as she approached the statue. That cry for help was easy to pick up on as Chrysalis could tell that the sound meant help.
Chrysalis saw the Ribombee statue and how she had one expression on her face. The expression of fear. Much like everyone else in this room.
Seeing Ribombee in such a hopeless state reminded Chrysalis of what happened earlier this day. With how the Draco Meteor Rain came and harmed her and the changelings. She could resonate with the Bee Fly Pokemon as she kept on hearing its cry for help.
Unfortunately, Chrysalis did not know of a spell to break someone out of stone. In fact, most of Chrysalis's spells aren't exactly used for helping others. Which was a shame since she wished she could heal her changelings with her own magic. But thankfully, she had the Fairy Pokemon who could help her.
However, that's when the unexpected happened. The baby changeling, who was cooing and giggling had suddenly surprised Chrysalis by lighting up its own horn.
Chrysalis witnessed the baby changeling's horn emanate a bright green magical light from her horn that filled the entire room at such a young age. She had just been born today even and her magic was already large.
This bright magic let out a dazzling flash that forced Chrysalis to close her eyes as it engulfed the entire room and house, giving it a beautiful emerald glow.
Once the glow faded away, Chrysalis slowly opened up her eyes as she saw how the baby changeling had gone to sleep. It seems that using that much magic puts her in a resting state.
But that green light wasn't just for show. It had done something. Or rather, it responded to something inside of this statue-filled room.
"Bombee?"
"Hm?" Chrysalis's ears picked up on a clearer noise. She turned her head as she spotted something different. Instead of the statue of Ribombee, it was the full-body Ribombee in pure physical form. "You...?"
"Ribombee!" The Bee Fly Pokemon flew around, feeling overjoyed with happiness since she was free from the stone statue prison.
She was so overjoyed that she flew over to Chrysalis and the changeling baby, granting them some sweet pollen grains that it sprinkled. The pollen puffs of Ribombee are made from pollen and nectar. Each of them have their own ingredient and flavour that makes them distinct and truly nutritious.
And Chrysalis could feel it. The puffs landed on her nose as she immediately felt the amazing nectar grace her. It was a soothing and wonderful feeling. So soothing that it actually calmed down all of Chrysalis's nerves.
"What is this...?" She said, perplexed by this tranquil feeling. Chrysalis was frozen in place because of this pollen. "It actually feels amazing..."
Not only did the pollen soothe Chrysalis's nerves but it also did the same to the baby, who wasn't actually feeling uneasy but the pollen was still great to have. The baby babbled, waking up as she spotted Ribombee floating in front of her.
RIbombee enjoyed the good vibes that the little changeling emanated as it flew around Chrysalis and the baby with joy, granting them even more nectar.
This was Ribombee's way of thanking someone. She was very grateful to Chrysalis and her baby for finding her, even if it was unintentional.
However, Ribombee knew that things weren't all dandy and fine. After all, she did get captured and turned to stone by J in the wild out of nowhere. Along with the other stone statues here. Most of them were other Ribombee statues. These Ribombees were definitely in a hive together.
"Bombee!" Ribombee flew over to the statues as some of the Pokemon here were her friends who had been caught up in J's actions. She nudged on the statutes, trying to see if they would respond. But there was nothing. She called out their names but there was still no response.
"Ribombee..." Ribombee tried to free them by using Aromatherapy. She released a mystical green light that had a soothing scent to it. This was potent enough to heal status conditions but no one here was under a status condition at the moment, so Aromatherapy failed.
But she wasn't about to give up. She kept using Aromatherapy, even though the move has zero effect on the stone statue. Ribombee was just wasting her energy at this point.
Chrysalis could see how futile Ribombee's attempts to save her fellow Bee Fly Pokemon were futile and had zero progress behind them. It was very pitiful to look at and was just killing Chrysalis's mood which was already fairly low.
But then she recalled how the only reason this one Ribombee was able to break free from the stone statue was because of the baby changeling suddenly showcasing a large display of magic. Although, it wasn't large enough since it only freed one victim.
"Perhaps you can free them." Chrysalis looked down at the baby changeling. "Anthophila." It was then revealed what the baby's name was known as.
Unfortunately, the baby was unable to pull off what it did minutes ago as it just grabbed Chrysalis's face, mushing it about as it cooed and giggled.
"Maybe not..." Chrysalis sighed. "Was it just on impulse then?"
"Ribombee..." Ribombee looked over at her fellow Bug-Fairy-Types, saddened that they were still in this state while she was free.
"Sorry." Chrysalis went up to the Bee Fly Pokemon. "Ribombee, was it? You should leave here while you still can. Before she returns. If she sees you again, she'll surely turn you into stone once more."
"Ribom?"
"And I suppose I should probably leave this village as well. If I had known someone like that would be here..." Chrysalis grumbled as she knew that she had to leave this village despite just getting here today.
"Bomb!" Ribombee shook her head as she refused to leave the others behind. Plus, going out into the rain was not good for a Pokemon like Ribombee. Ribombee's absolutely hate getting wet or rained on. Rain makes pollen damp, so Ribombee hates rain. When it sees ominous clouds, it finds a hollow in a tree, where it waits stock-still.
Ribombee would continue trying to get everyone out as she continuously used Aromatherapy to do so, not knowing how pointless it all was. But Ribombee did not give up at all.
Again and again, Aromatherapy kept failing as the Bee Fly Pokemon was getting exhausted. She breathed in and out as her wings were flapping at a slower pace and beat now.
"Why is it that you continue trying?" Chrysalis wondered as the sight of Ribombee trying her best to free them made her feel abject. She took a step forward, but due to her injured state, moving was even a struggle for her as her hoof twitched. "Agh!"
Chrysalis pulled back, sitting on the bed as she winced. She despised how pathetic she was now. Never before in her life has this ever happened to her. She still needed a lot of time to recover before she can get out there and find a bunch of Fairy-Types to heal her changelings.
However, there was one Fairy-Type right here who could help. Ribombee noticed how Chrysalis had bruises on her horn and legs.
Ribombee knew that with how Chrysalis was at the moment, she couldn't ignore her injuries. She even decided to put her current action on hold, even if it was going nowhere.
"Ribombee." The Bee Fly Pokemon flew over to Chrysalis, deciding to heal her out of further gratitude. The move Aromatherapy would sound like the perfect move to use here. But what Chrysalis was experiencing weren't exactly status conditions.
Luckily, Ribombee had one move that acted as both an attack and a healing move. Pollen Puff. Ribombee made a sweet, yellow ball of pollen out of thin air.
"Bombee." Ribombee kindly offered both Chrysalis and Anthophila the pollen. Chrysalis looked at the pollen while Anthophila flailed her hoof at the pollen, trying to reach it.
Chrysalis decided to take the pollen, wondering if it would taste different from the natural pollen that Ribombee gave to her earlier. She took a bite, getting to experience its unique taste for the first time.
Immediately, Chrysalis got to experience the wonderful taste of Pollen Puff when it's not being used as a weapon against others. "Delicious."
It wasn't just delicious. It, of course, had the power to heal. A green light surrounded Chrysalis's body with pollen dust flying out of the light. Chrysalis looked around her to see this light and dust as she noticed how her hooves were suddenly gaining a new feeling.
Not one of pain but the complete opposite. The red bruises on her hooves were being dealt with by the healing energy of Pollen Puff. It wouldn't immediately heal her wounds since Draco Meteor was just unbelievable destructive and left a lot on her but it would gradually heal her, which Chrysalis was grateful for.
"Thank you so much." Chrysalis thanked the Bee Fly Pokemon as she watched Anthophila devour the pollen.
"Ribom."
"I suppose going out will just ruin the nectar, won't it?" Chrysalis looked outside the window.
"Bombee." She nodded in response.
"That would explain it." Chrysalis then looked over at the stone statues. She then saw how Ribombee went over to try and free them once more by using Aromatherapy.
Chrysalis couldn't stand seeing Ribombee trying to achieve an impossible task that she was unable to perform. Out of pity, Chrysalis decided to break it down to the Bee Fly Pokemon.
"Ribombee." She called for Ribombee's name. "Don't waste your energy. It seems that you cannot bring them back with that move of yours."
"Ribombee..." Ribombee whimpered.
"There is only one way but..." Chrysalis looked down at Anthophila. "I'm afraid it may only act on impulse. Maybe. They can be freed but Anthophila won't react to them like it did to you."
Speaking of, Anthophila had gone back to sleep after eating all the pollen. Turns out that using magic isn't the only thing that puts her to sleep.
Chrysalis could leave with her changelings to find a new hideout, but she quickly decided upon two things. Number one. The pollen can heal all of the changelings here without having to go to the Pixie Plains to do so. And two, Chrysalis felt compelled to help Ribombee.
Even when she knew that J, a highly dangerous individual, would return here, Ribombee's generosity and kindness had affected Chrysalis in a way she's never felt before.
"But maybe, you can help my changelings." Chrysalis requested. "All of them have been horribly injured and some of them met their unfortunate end. Ribombee. Would you please help heal them?"
"Ribombee!" She didn't need to ask for help. Ribombee immediately got to work as she flew off to help the other changelings by healing their wounds.
She visited every building here, creating balls of pollen repeatedly. Even when exhausting herself with Aromatherapy, she still had a ton of strength left to use Pollen Puff.
And as a wonderful bonus, Ribombee is an insanely fast Pokemon so she was able to get around the houses at breakneck speeds. The changelings were at first, surprised by Ribombee's arrival as they backed away, thinking that she was going to harm them.
But she wasn't. She was just here to heal. She started by spraying pollen and nectar all over them which calmed them down. Then, she dropped the balls of pollen on the bed, flying off to the next house to do the same.
The changelings each took a bite out of the pollen since they enjoyed the smell of the nectar. Once they bit on it, not only did they experience the taste of Pollen Puff, but their wounds were slowly being healed too. It was truly a great gift from Ribombee.
Ribombee had no relation to the changelings at all so she didn't need to go to such lengths to help them out. Especially during a first meeting. But she was a Fairy-Type. There are barely many reasons to help someone unless it's highly specific.
However, someone else who doesn't need a reason to help someone was approaching this part of Equestria while still in the Pokemon Festival.
Footsteps could be heard in the rain. That immediately alerted the changelings and Ribombee. They assumed it was J again, but this didn't sound like carriages moving at all.
But, Ribombee still flew back inside the house with caution as she and Chrysalis made sure to stay quiet and thankfully, Anthophila was asleep.
To see if it was J, Chrysalis and the changelings peered their eyes and head over the window out of curiosity and caution. But they quickly came to find out that it was someone else.
Ash.
"Nice spotting this village, Dragonite," Ash said to his Dragonite.
"Pikachu."
"Dragonite!"
"Why is he here...?" Chrysalis wondered. She was glad it wasn't J but arguably, to her, Ash was worse considering their not so friendly history with each other and the few conflicts and battles that they have had in the past. Which was a year ago of course.
The changelings were intimidated by Ash but not by much. They still remember how he absolutely defeated all of them with his Pokemon so he was already a big threat to them as they all moved back inside of the buildings.
"Luca." However, they couldn't hide for long. Lucario could sense the auras of many in this village.
"What do you sense, Lucario?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"Cario." Lucario sent a pulse of aura that travelled through Ash's head as the two of them were communicating.
"Everywhere? Well, I guess that makes sense. It's a village after all." Ash chuckled. "But it's kinda quiet. Then again it's raining so..."
Ash decided to explore this small village out of his endless curiosity. He was just with Twilight, Meloetta and the others a while ago but he went ahead and found this village.
Unlike J, Anthophila could sense a positive and bright aura coming out of Ash. One that was incredibly inviting and warm. This made Anthophila giggle as she flew out of Chrysalis's hooves.
"Ah! Anthophila!" Chrysalis gasped as she witnessed the baby use magic to teleport out of the house. Chrysalis was on the verge of panicking while Ribombee was confused.
Anthophila cooed as she was attracted to Ash's positive energy. Her babbling and giggling were enough to grab the attention of Ash and his Pokemon as they turned their head, spotting the changeling baby heading over to them.
"Pika?"
"A changeling...baby?" Ash tilted his head. He then quickly saw that the baby, who was flying, was about to divebomb into him at surprisingly fast speeds. "W-Woah!"
Ash was too late to stop it as Anthophila tackled him to the ground, latching onto the trainer like glue while his Pokemon watched. "Pikapi?!"
"O-Ow...! Talk about strength!" Ash laughed as he was pinned down. Anthophila was surprisingly strong for her young age. AKA, just being born today.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu went up to the changeling baby, greeting her.
"Ash." Anthophila was able to understand Pikachu's words as she uttered her first word. Ash.
"Pika?!" Pikachu was blown back by that.
"Ash!" Anthophila babbled as she jumped on Ash's stomach.
The changelings all looked out to see Anthophila interacting with Ash in a way they would never expect. Especially Chrysalis, who was initially worried about this.
She decided to head out since she was more terrified of Ghetsis than Ash. The changeling queen, along with all the other changelings in this village, exited the houses as they all approached Ash.
"Luca!" Lucario was very cautious along with Farfetch'd and Gengar.
"Gengar!"
"Far!"
"Hm?" Ash sat up, noticing the array of changelings around him all of a sudden. That would explain the baby changeling being here. "You're all here? In this village?"
"Pika?"
"Ash Ketchum. Why have you have come here?" Chrysalis demanded to know as she wasn't about to let any chances of her changelings being harmed any further.
Two paths have crossed on this rainy day as the fourth day is slowly coming to an end, finally. The interaction between Ash and all the changelings is yet to have an outcome as the journey continues.
"Ash Ketchum. Why have you come here?" Chrysalis said to Ash who was currently pinned down by the changeling baby, Anthophila.
"Chrysalis..." Ash replied. "And every changeling? You're all here?"
"Pikachu?"
Ash sat up, seeing all the changeling surround him and his Pokemon. But Ash noticed something different about them all that was very noticeable.
All of them were wounded. Broken wings, missing wings, scratches, bruises, chipped horns, etc. Not only that, but their expressions were vastly different. Instead of hissing, they all stood there with a somewhat bewildered expression. Normally, they'd act very hostile to Ash and his Pokemon right now. But that wasn't the case.
"What happened to you all?" Ash held Anthophila in his hands, which didn't sit well with Chrysalis.
"I asked why you have come here?" Chrysalis demanded to know as she tried to intimidate Ash by lighting her horn up. But she was still in an injured state, so using any magic would mean instant pain as her horn twitched. "Ugh!"
"Pikachu?"
"Farfetch'd...!" Farfetch'd held his leek out as he was ready to smash the changelings flat.
"Wait, Farfetch'd." Ash stopped Farfetch'd as he knew that something was off.
"If you've come here to battle us...just take us to Canterlot as prisoners. That will be easier and without pain."
"I'm not here to do that. Dragonite just spotted this village and I wanted to check it out."
"Dragonite!"
"Tch. Well then hurry up and finish your sightseeing. Then leave." Chrysalis held her horn.
"Wait. This is another changeling hive?" Ash looked around.
"It's not. There is only one Changeling hive...At least...there used to be." Chrysalis lowered her head. Thinking about what happened to her hive just sparked horrible memories in her mind. Memories that she wished she could get rid of.
"Luca."And this is where Lucario's Aura came into play. Since Lucario can read the aura of others and their feelings and even tell what they're thinking.
By using his Aura pulse, Lucario was able to know about what happened to Chrysalis's hive. He learned about how Ghetsis destroyed it when he found out about her plans to defeat him and how many changelings perished during Ghetsis's attack.
Lucario then decided to pass this knowledge onto Ash by sending Aura pulses his way. Now Ash was ingrained with this horrible memory and emotion. He could feel Chrysalis's sadness and despair because of the Aura pulse.
"Woah..." Ash pulled back a bit. "So that's what happened. Your home was destroyed by Ghetsis?"
"...Yes," Chrysalis admitted it with honesty. "All of it. Nothing is left. Ghetsis came and rained down these horrible meteors from his Hydreigon..."
"Meteors? You mean Draco Meteor?"
"Pika?"
"Whatever they were!" Chrysalis turned around. "I never want to think about them again. Even bringing them up disgusts me! I've lost almost everything. All I have left are the remaining changelings who were injured. And Anthophila." Chrysalis went over to the baby changeling.
"Pikapi." Pikachu looked up at Ash. Pikachu, just like his trainer, could tell that all of this was too much for the changelings. Their entire home had been destroyed by an unfortunate Draco Meteor rain.
"Ghetsis..." Ash clenched his fist.
"It doesn't concern you, Ash Ketchum. You don't have a reason to care about us changelings anyway." Chrysalis sighed.
"Yeah. Probably." Ash nodded. "But I do care."
"What?" Chrysalis turned to face him. "You care?" She was highly confused about why Ash would care about her and the changelings so much. "But why? Why do you care about us changelings?"
Curious and confused about why Ash would care about them in any way, Chrysalis saw how Ash's facial expressions spoke louder than words. But he said words either way.
"I have a friend who's a changeling too. Thorax. I care about him, ya know. And he cares about all of you too. You're his family after all. Besides. You guys are all pretty hurt and you lost your home. That-"
Anthophila climbed up Ash's shoulder, growing very attached to Ash as she was pulling on his face while babbling and cooing.
"O-Ow!" Ash groaned as his face was being stretched.
"Ash!" Anthophila called out his name again.
Those words that Ash said concerning Thorax and all the changelings unexpectedly struck Chrysalis. She understood why Ribombee would help her because of her small experience with Fairy-Type Pokemon. But Ash was surprising considering that they have battled before.
"I suppose we are..." Chrysalis said to herself.
"You..." A familiar voice reached the ears of Ash. Three familiar voices actually. Those voices prompted Ash to turn around as he immediately saw three changelings staring right at him.
"Hm?" When Ash saw the changelings, he instantly recognized the three of them. These were the same changelings that he met in the Faye Mountains. "Oh! You three!"
"Pikachu!"
"You three been doing well?" Ash walked over to the three changelings while Anthophila kept on messing with Ash's face.
It has been a while since they've met. Even if this was their second official meeting. Meeting Ash again, under these specific circumstances was something entirely new.
The trio of changelings at this point would take anything that would make them happy after the horrifying meteor assault on their hive. And the presence of Ash and what he did for them back at the Faye Mountains was enough to grant them that spark of happiness.
"We've been doing great." The left one said.
"Mhm." The right one nodded.
"Pssh. We're fine." The middle one scoffed. "But we could be doing better right now."
"Sorry about your home you three. All of you." Ash looked at all the changelings. "I didn't think that Ghetsis would-"
"Ash!" Anthophila tugged on his eyes.
"Ow-ow!" Ash grimaced as Dragonite flew over, grabbing Anthophila and hugging her.
"Dra!"
"So this village. You're living here now?"
"No. This village is only temporary. We no longer have a home after our hive was destroyed. Now we're just wandering changelings searching for a new home. Few of them even."
"So then, where are you gonna find a new home?"
"How should I know? That hive was our only home in the world. Now it's all gone..." Chrysalis's tone was shifting. Her voice was getting weaker as she was on the verge of tearing up. That truly was her only home. The one place she could go for comfort.
That same dark green light was about to show itself yet again. But then, Pikachu walked up to Chrysalis, nudging her leg. "Pika-Pika."
"You?" Chrysalis looked down at the Electric Mouse Pokemon. The Pokemon that used to give her so much trouble was now being compassionate towards her.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu gave a tiny thumbs up to Chrysalis, trying to cheer her up. Pikachu's attempt to make Chrysalis happy was charming to the Changeling Queen.
Obviously, with how positive and happy Ash was, this would be the perfect opportunity to eat up all of his love. Especially the love he has for his Pokemon which is tremendous. However, this was not the case. Instead, Ash's love reacted to the changelings differently.
Ash showing concern for the changelings was just one of the many reasons why the reaction was so different. And Chrysalis could especially feel that. She saw how Ash was chatting with the three changelings and Ribombee along with Pikachu. Dragonite was playing with Anthophila by tossing her up and down while the rest of the changelings were no longer intimidated by Ash at all. His calming aura was enough to erase their hostility towards him.
In fact, Chrysalis could tell that this was the complete opposite of Ghetsis's love. Whereas Ghetsis's love was toxic and baneful, Ash's love was healthy and bright. Chrysalis hadn't tasted love this powerful before. Not even with the Fairy Pokemon. The only two who matched Ash when it came to love were Shining Armor and Cadence.
Ash approached them but they were no longer afraid. Although, some of them were still wary. But, they were feeling confident in interacting with Ash without any potential issues. He saw how some changelings had specific injures that not even Pollen Puff could fix. So he decided to help them to the best of his abilities.
If he can casually talk to three changelings then he can surely talk to them all. For once, the changelings felt safe. Because of this safety, many of them could approach Ash normally. They all gathered around him as he was helping them with their injuries. Ash's Pokemon decided to help out as well with what they can do.
Ash dug into his bag, grabbing some bandages as he wrapped them around any bruise he could find. All the while, Pollen Puff was slowly healing them from the inside while Ash handled everything on the outside.
Seeing Ash help all the changelings with their injuries made Chrysalis find a newfound respect for Ash. His selflessness was highly admirable as the love he was giving off was incredible to bask in.
"Ash Ketchum," Chrysalis called for his name.
"Yeah?" Ash turned to face her.
"Why are you helping me? After what I caused during the Canterlot Wedding and during that first Pokemon Festival. I don't understand."
"Don't really need a reason to. Ya know?" Ash wrapped a bandage around a changeling's ears. "There we go. I'm kinda running out of bandages here.
"You don't?" Chrysalis walked up to Ash.
"Nope." Ash shook his head as Gengar lent him some extra bandages he stole from the houses. "Thanks, Gengar."
"Gengar."
"Dragonite." Dragonite picked up some of the changelings with its large arms. The changelings were exposed to Dragonite's amazing and warm hugs for the first time as they instantly melted in them.
"So warm..." Some of them said.
Chrysalis grumbled as she was unsure of how to feel right now. She had never felt this kind of love before. It was all-new and vastly different from the love she's used to. This wasn't actually the first time she's been given love without her taking it. The Pixie Plains and Ribombee already gave her that experience.
But something about Ash was unique. Not only was he giving love to her and all the changelings without them having to steal it, but he was also showing them all what actual love truly was. And he did all of this with his actions and a few of his words.
Because of this, Chrysalis let out a soft smile while looking at Ash. The one person who she was aggravated by since Ash had defeated her two times in a row became someone that Chrysalis went beyond just tolerating. Chrysalis saw Ash as someone to relish.
"Thanks, Ash." A changeling thanked him.
"No problem." Ash stood up. "How's it going you guys?" He asked his other Pokemon.
"Cario." Lucario had just got done putting bandages on the other changelings.
"Far..." Farfetch'd was just laying next to a tree, not caring about this one bit.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash." Chrysalis walked up to him. "Since you are willing to help us...perhaps there is something or someone else you can help."
"Hm, who?"
Chrysalis led Ash to the room where the statues were being kept. There, he met Ribombee, who was the one assisting in healing the changelings from their pain. But the Ribombee wasn't what caught Ash's attention at all.
Once Chrysalis opened the door, Ash and Pikachu were met with a very familiar and haunting sight. One that they hoped they'd never see again.
The stone statues of captured Pokemon. And now to an extent, ponies.
"N-No way!" Ash's eyes widened as he was in absolute shock. "These?!"
"Pikachu?!"
"You recognize these types of statues?" Chrysalis asked.
"I do." Ash nodded as he approached the statues. "I thought I'd never see them again but...How is this possible? Is there another Pokemon Hunter in Equestria?"
"Pokemon Hunter?" Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. "Is that who that lady was?"
"Lady?!" That really grabbed Ash's attention. "What was her name?!"
"How should I know? I never got her name at all." Chrysalis shook her head. "But if you want some description, she had silver hair and blue eyes. Is that good enough for you?"
"Silver hair and blue eyes..." That description matched the person Ash suspected to a T. Obviously, only one person could've done this. The most notorious Pokemon Hunter there is. "J."
"Pika."
"J?"
"But I heard she crashed in Sinnoh..." Ash said to himself. "Unless...Did the Rift bring her back?"
"Pikachu?"
"If you recognize these, then you must know of a way to release them from this state. Anthophila has the power to do so but her magic only worked on Ribombee. And it hasn't come up ever since."
"I do." Ash walked up to the statues. "Hidden Power can free them or a special case."
"So then use it. Use that Hidden Power move."
"Sorry." Ash shook his head. "But none of my Pokemon know Hidden Power."
"Ribom..." Things were sounding pleasant to Ribombee's ears. She was glad that there were ways to free the others from their stone prison but they would need a certain move to do so.
"So J's been here? Has she seen you guys?"
"No. We've been concealing ourselves from her. She is the reason why we are deciding to leave this village and find another place to dwell."
"Then this village belongs to these guys..." Ash looked over at a statue of a unicorn. He now knew what he had to do. "Alright. I'll get these statues to the Pokemon Festival and see if someone knows Hidden Power. That way, they'll be back to normal."
"Ribombee?!"
"Yeah. No need to worry, Ribombee." Ash picked up three statues while Pikachu and all his other Pokemon did the same. "We'll get them back to normal for you."
"Bee! Ribombee!" Ribombee nodded as she was willing to go outside in the rain despite it ruining her pollen.
"Chrysalis. You all should get going before J comes back. We'll take everything from here."
"Pikachu!"
"Right." Chrysalis nodded as she saw Ash and his Pokemon run out with the stone statues.
The trainer and his Pokemon got a move on as they were determined to get these ponies and Pokemon back to their normal state. But they weren't going without a tagalong. 2 tagalongs rather. One of them was Ribombee which was to be expected but the other was surprisingly Anthophila, who used her magic to teleport out of the house and into Ash's bag without him noticing or even Chrysalis.
Chrysalis was about to leave with her changelings until she noticed that Anthophila was missing. "Anthophila?" She began searching for the little changeling baby by starting in this room. She was right behind her and all of sudden, she just up and vanished.
"Anthophila!" Chrysalis shouted her name, trying to reach her. She searched for her in this entire house but couldn't find her. Then, she went to every other house to try and find her. And since there weren't that many, it took a short amount of time to do so.
"Where are you?! Have any of you seen her?!" She asked the changelings.
But none of them knew where she went. After all, she was with Chrysalis the most so they couldn't have seen her leave. Mostly because she teleported. However, one changeling noticed something that might be a key.
"Well...I saw a green flash shine in Ash's bag." A changeling said.
"...Oh no." Chrysalis understood now. Anthophila was already drawn to Ash because of his amazing positivity and the high amounts of love he emanates. Chrysalis then realized that if Anthophila, a small changeling baby were to go out in the open of a populated area with ponies, the results may not be the best at all.
But Chrysalis had to leave this place with her changelings and find a new place to live. But they weren't leaving without Anthophila. So, there was only one thing left to do.
"All of you. Come along. We're going after them." Chrysalis flew out of the house.
"We are?" The changelings all said.
"Yes!"
Outskirts of Manehattan. 17:00
The sun was slowly setting as an orange glow shined across Manehattan. Many had left Manehattan to go on and try new things in new places in the Pokemon Festival.
Twilight and Meloetta were wondering where Ash had gone since he had separated from them. They hadn't seen him since. The last place they saw him was this small little acre of trees just on the outskirts.
"Still no sign of Ash." Twilight looked around.
"Melo."
They wouldn't have to keep on wondering where Ash had gone. Because just up ahead, he and his Pokemon were running along, carrying the stone statues with them. They were clearly in a hurry.
"Ash!"
"Meloetta!"
"Hey, guys!" Ash slid over as he came to a screeching halt. "Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry!"
"Wait! W-What are those statues you're carrying?" Twilight asked. "Are they for the festival?"
"No." He shook his head. "These are living ponies and Pokemon that have been turned into statues."
"Huh?!" Twilight and her Pokemon jerked back along with Meleotta. "So they're-"
"I'm trying to bring them back with Hidden Power. But none of my Pokemon know that move. So I was hoping I could find someone who can help and has Hidden Power."
"Pikachu."
"Melo? Meloetta." Meloetta flew over to Ash as she had great news to tell him concerning Hidden Power. "Melo!"
"Hm? What is it Meloetta?"
"Meloetta. Melo." Meloetta pointed at herself, essentially telling Ash that she had the answer to his little problem. And Ash was able to tell what Meloetta was saying.
"Oh! You know Hidden Power?!" Ash gasped. "That's great!"
"Pikachu!"
"Wait. How does Hidden Power work in all of this?" Twilight questioned.
"Hidden Power can return them all to normal." Ash and his Pokemon placed the stone statues down. "That way, this whole stone thing's gonna get wiped away in no time. Alright, Meloetta. Use Hidden Power on these statues, please."
"Etta." The Melody Pokemon flew in front of all the statues, gazing at every last one of them. She would have to make sure that Hidden Power interacts with all the statues and not a single one was missed.
Luckily, she was powerful enough to make sure that would happen. Meloetta's body became surrounded by a white aura as rows of small white orbs circle around it. All of the stone statues were also surrounded by a white aura as they were lifted into the air.
The orbs then fired out of Meloetta, engulfing all of the statues. Every last one of them. Not one of them was left out as the orbs merged to form one larger orb. The light was a bit blinding, prompting them to squint and cover their eyes as the orb circled at rapid speeds.
Chrysalis, who had made pursuit of Ash because of Anthophila, spotted Ash, Twilight and Meloetta in the distance as she and the changelings hid behind an acre of trees as they witnessed the orb.
Before they knew it, the orb had diminished as the best possible outcome happened. The ponies and Pokemon who were originally turned into stone were back to their full form once more.
"Ugh..." An earth pony groaned as he held his head. "What was I doing...?"
"Lotad?" A confused Lotad looked around.
"Yes! Nice job, Meloetta." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Melo!" Meloetta hugged Ash.
"I could've done that too...Maybe." Twilight puffed her cheeks.
"Hey..." A unicorn looked at her hooves. "We're no longer stone...Oh yes!" With that revelation, they all were relieved that they were back to normal and no longer in a stone prison. They knew about Ash and his Pokemon carrying them alongside Meloetta who broke them all free.
So naturally, they were grateful to all of them for helping return them to their normal state and saving them from being apart of J's collection. Or worse, even being sold.
"Thank you so much!" A pegasus thanked them.
"Ribombee!" Ribombee flew over to her fellow Bee Fly Pokemon, hugging them all as they had a heartfelt reunion. "Bomb! Bee!"
Chrysalis watched how they had all been freed from Hidden Power. She was mostly focused on Ribombee who had been reunited. Seeing the Bee Fly Pokemon reunite with her fellow species resonated well with Chrysalis. And this only further made Chrysalis respect Ash. Now she understood why Anthophila was so drawn to him.
Speaking of Anthophila, she managed to open up Ash's bag as she popped out of it with a bunch of Pokemon food around her as she babbled and said Ash's name. "Ash!"
"Hm?" Ash turned around, spotting the baby changeling and he found out that she was in his bag the entire time. "Eh! Anthophila?!"
"Ash!" The baby flew out of the bag, latching herself onto Ash's face.
"Oh!" Twilight gasped as she was surprised to see a baby changeling just here, right in front of her face and on Ash's face.
"You should be with Chrysalis and the others ya know...?" Ash laughed nervously. "They're probably worried about you, ya know."
"Pikachu."
"Chrysalis?" Twilight froze for a moment. "Chrysalis is nearby?!"
"Mhm. Well, she and her changelings are probably off to find a new home. They can't have gone too far."
"We haven't gone far at all," Chrysalis said as she walked up to Ash, feeling brave enough to approach him and even Twilight who was standing right there.
"C-Changelings?!" The ponies screeched.
"It's fine, guys." Ash calmed them down. "They're okay."
"Pikachu."
"Hey, Chrysalis!" Ash held Anthophila in his hands. "Sorry. I don't know she got in my bag." He went over to Chrysalis to return the small baby changeling.
"That's fine." Chrysalis took Anthophila back. "But...it's no surprise why she's drawn to you, Ash Ketchum."
"Hm?" Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Listen. Before we leave, I should probably say this before it's too late." Chrysalis whimpered as she mustered the strength to say those words to Ash. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Ash replied with a grin as a bit of the Pokemon food got in his eye. "Ow." He rubbed it off. "Hope you find yourself a new home. And don't you worry. I'll stop J and smash Ghetsis flat, ya know!"
"Pikachu!"
"I know you will." Chrysalis nodded. "And we've thought of a place where we could continue living. A land full of Fairy-Type Pokemon."
"Oh. Like the Faye Mountains?"
"Wherever there's Fairy magic. It seems like it would be a better option for us than a village. We could start anew there. And hopefully, we'll be far away from Ghetsis."
"That's not a bad place to live." Ash nodded. "Alright. Good luck."
"Mmm...Ash!" But Anthophila wasn't ready to say goodbye to Ash as she immediately teleported away from Chrysalis, appearing on Ash's head.
"Huh?" Ash looked up.
"Pika?"
"Seems like she doesn't want to leave you," said Chrysalis. "Perhaps, we can stay around for a while longer. Away from the village that is."
"Yeah. But I need to deal with J first. When she comes back, she'll just turn the residents into stone again."
"S-So we can't head back to our home." A pony shuddered.
"You can but...I've got an idea!" Ash rubbed his hands together. "Chrysalis. I'll need you and the changelings to help me out with this. Is that okay?"
"You've helped us. So it would only be appropriate if we returned the favour." Chrysalis and the changelings were up for helping Ash.
"Nice! Here's what we're gonna do." Ash had a great plan in mind. With J back, he would have to put all of his efforts into keeping others safe.
But other than that, a new type of bond was formed on this day. A newfound respect for Ash was created from Chrysalis's point of view. At this point, they are no longer mortal enemies as the journey continues.
The former changeling hideout. Now back to being a normal village. 18:00.
Finally. Nighttime. After so long the sun had set as the moon had risen. A dark blue aura filled the skies of Equestria as the sun's final hours arrive.
The village was silent. But not for the same reasons as before. The ponies who used to live here along with the Pokemon had been restored from their stone statue prison thanks to Meloetta's Hidden Power.
The actual reason involved J. The one who put them into that state in the first place. Ash, who had been given the knowledge that J was back, hatched a plan. That plan was the reason why the residents hadn't returned.
J had returned to the village after her visit to Unova. This time, she didn't have any new stone statues with her. She had only gone to Unova to retrieve necessary items that would get her back on her feet as a Pokemon Hunter.
Those necessary items came from one place that is prominent everywhere in the Pokemon World. The Black Market. Normally, J goes there to sell off the stone statues that she obtains. But this time, she bought items instead of selling them.
"This'll do nicely." She got off the carriage as multiple items resided in her jacket pocket. The items inside of her pockets would not only help her with hunting Pokemon but they would also help her in this new world. "Return." She returned her Drapion and Salamence into their Poke Balls.
She approached the tallest building here. The main place where she resides and her official base. She expected to just head there and call it a day.
However, when she entered the house, she smelled something unusual. Something rather nutritious and delicious. Which definitely caught her off guard. She immediately recognized what this smell was.
"Pollen...?" J said.
Confused about why there would be pollen here, J just ignored it as she turned on the house lights. She could officially call it a day and prepare her next escapade tomorrow morning. This world was still new to her so locations are very scarce. If she had a map, that would make things easier for her.
As J entered the upper floor, she removed her goggles, ready to place them down along with her gloves. But once she got to the upper floor, something caught her attention.
The door to the extra room where she keeps the statues had been opened.
"What?!" J gasped as she noticed how the statues were completely gone. No longer apart of this house at all. Naturally, J was shocked and confused. But mostly frustrated.
She knew that someone broke in and took the statues. They couldn't have just broken free on their own and walked away. Although, someone did break them free and they indeed walk away.
"What freeloader did this...?" J growled. If she ever found out who did this, well naturally, J would do everything in her power to make them pay. No matter what they are. Human, pony or Pokemon.
"Hehe." A small giggle passed through J's ears which immediately prompted her to turn around. And once that head rotated, J saw the silhouette of the person she despised the most. The one person she hoped she'd never see again in her life.
Ash Ketchum.
Alongside his partner Pikachu who also appeared as a silhouette. There were also silhouette's of what looked to be the stone statues J had collected.
"...You." J snarled at the two of them. Her spite had already reached a maximum level. And her first instinct was a very physical one. "Even this world...you still find a way to be nothing but an absolute nuisance!"
Out of rage, J pointed her arm cannon at Ash, ready to blast him. She's been wanting to turn Ash into stone ever since their interactions in Sinnoh. And now, this could be the moment it finally happens and Ash will be out of her hair forever.
But once the beam was fired, they passed right through the silhouette's, phasing and hitting the walls instead. And once that was over, the silhouettes of Ash and Pikachu disappeared into the shadows without a trace.
"Huh?!" J pulled back. That sight was a bit bewildering to her eyes. She at first thought that it was just her mind playing tricks on her.
But then, out of nowhere, the silhouettes of Ash and Pikachu showed up once more. This time, they weren't standing in one place. Instead, they were moving as it was quickly revealed that they were alive and not just shadows.
Once the moon cast a light through the window, the full colours of Ash and Pikachu were revealed. From blue to yellow. The two of them stuck their tongue out before dashing out of the bedroom, leaving J in a befuddled and confused state.
And of course, J's hate for Ash meant that would happen anyway. J ran out of the bedroom to pursue Ash, just to turn him into stone and possibly retrieve the statues that he took.
"You brat!" J now believed that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her as she then pursued Ash and Pikachu out of the bedroom. "Return those statues to-"
However, when she got outside, the silhouette vanished out of thin air. This time it wasn't by J's arm cannon. It was as if the shadows were never here.
"Me...?" J stopped running as she was befuddled by this. "Am I seeing this...?" She held her head, thinking that this was the cause of her massive hate for Ash. She obviously hates Ash to a high degree but she never expected it to give her illusions of him.
But then, she saw another silhouette of Ash and Pikachu appear once more as they were moving in the shadows. But it was more than just that. There were two silhouettes of Ash and Pikachu running next to each other.
This wasn't the moon acting strange. Not at all. Just then, J could see some colour in the silhouettes, giving her the realization that this wasn't just the shadows playing a trick on her. Although, to an extent, it was in a way.
"Two of them?!" J screeched.
Both Ash silhouettes dashed off along with their Pikachu's. Just then, the silhouettes uttered something that threw J off guard. "Bet you can't catch me!"
"Come back here!" An enraged J was now chasing down two Ash's instead of one. The two Ash's jumped off the stairs, entering the lower floor and running out of the house afterwards.
More silhouette's of Ash and Pikachu were showing up around the house, prompting J to look around. She quickly lost track of the shadows that she was chasing down as she stopped to look at the new shadows that popped up out of nowhere. What didn't help was that these shadows were speaking which would be physically impossible unless a Ghost-Type was at play here.
All of the shadows were saying multiple words such as "Over here" or "Too slow" and even more words that were meant to taunt J.
"Shut up! Shut up!" J exclaimed as she already couldn't stand the sound of Ash's voice. She quickly ran outside to try and avoid these sounds.
Once J exited the house, she was met with an even more bizarre sight than just silhouettes. Something far worse that Hunter J hoped to never witness. This time, J was met with the real deal. In full physical form. No shadows. No silhouettes.
Instead, there were Ash Ketchum's and Pikachu's everywhere.
There were Ash's hanging around on the rooftops with another Pikachu by his side as he waved at J whose confusion was only rising even further.
"What the..." J's jaw dropped. "
"Pikachu!" The Pikachu's waved their arms around.
But it didn't stop there.
A fourth one suddenly appeared on another rooftop. Then a fifth. A sixth. Seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and so on with seemingly no end.
Ash on the roof. Ash in the trees. Ash inside of other houses. Ash laying down on the ground. Ash bouncing a Poke Ball up and down. Ash. Ash. Ash everywhere.
Nothing but Ash's and Pikachu's were popping up left and right all over this small and quaint village, surrounding it and J as well. Everywhere she looked, there were Ash and Pikachu's just plastered all over the place. And to make matters worse for J, they all started talking simultaneously with noises filling J's ears.
"I'm over here! The real Ash!"
"No here! I'm Ash!"
"No way, it's me!"
"I'm as real as they look!"
"Is this what it feels like to have hands?"
"This is pretty nice, ya know!"
"Pikachu!"
"Pika-Pika?"
"Pika!"
"What...is...this...?" The three words J uttered from her mouth. The person she hated the most was all that she could see and nothing else. The sight of Ash never escaped her eyes.
And then, all of the Ash's came together to say one single word that would just push Pokemon Hunter J over the top and blow her fuse.
"Long time no see, J!"
"You...You...! YOU BRAT!" Full of boiling rage, J took out her Poke Ball as her anger had been pushed to the limit in such a short amount of time. She tossed the Poke Ball, sending out her Salamence to deal with this issue.
"Salamence!"
"Salamence! Destroy them all! Hyper Beam!" She raised her voice, pointing at all of the Ash's.
Sala...Mence!" The Dragon Pokemon opened its mouth up, creating an orange ball of hyper energy. Out of that ball, a giant beam of energy burst out of it as it raced towards all of the Ash's and Pikachu's.
"Uh oh. UH OH!" The Ash's all widened their eyes as they witnessed a Hyper Beam large enough to consume them heading towards them.
"Lucario! Aura Sphere!" Suddenly, the voice of another Ash echoed with a command.
"Lucario!" Lucario appeared in front of all of the Ash's as he held his arm out, creating a ball of aura.
The Hyper Beam made contact with Lucario's Aura Sphere as the tiny ball of aura was powerful enough to hold back the devastating beam of energy. The Aura Sphere then cancelled the Hyper Beam out as a wild explosion happened in the middle of Salamence and Lucario.
"A Lucario?!"
"Luca!" Lucario blew the smoke away as he stood firm, defending the multiple Ash's and Pikachu's.
"Gengar! Ice Punch!"
"Gengar!" Gengar emerged from the shadows behind Salamence. The Shadow Pokemon's arms were surrounded by a frosty aura as Gengar smashed Ice Punch onto Salamence's back.
"Mence!" The Dragon Pokemon was sent flying with a super-effective hit occurring. J gasped as she witnessed Salamence tumble on the ground.
"Phew..." All the Ash's let out sighs of relief. Eventually, the real Ash Ketchum had revealed himself by jumping off a roof and landing next to his Lucario and Gengar.
"Nice hit, Gengar." Ash complimented his Pokemon.
"Gengar!"
"Salamence! Dragon Pulse!" J ordered.
"Salamence!" Salamence got back up, immediately, releasing a dragon-shaped shockwave towards the large group of Ash and Pikachu's.
"Lucario! Stand in front of it!"
"Luca!" Lucario got in front of everyone as he took the Dragon Pulse head-on. Thanks to his Steel-Typing, Dragon Pulse barely did a thing to the Aura Pokemon as an explosion of draconic energy emerged with Lucario still standing without a scratch on him.
"Dra!" Dragonite appeared from above, holding its arms out as green energy claws surrounded its arm while Gengar used Ice Punch once more as both Pokemon approached Salamence.
"Gen...Gar!" Both Gengar and Dragonite struck Salamence with super-effective moves as their attacks hit the Dragon Pokemon in the face.
"S-Sala...Mence!" Salamence was sent launched by Ice Punch and Dragon Claw, flying by J and crashing through an array of trees at high speeds while J witnessed it all.
"Why you..." J turned around with her eyes seething with rage.
"Long time no see, J." This time only one Ash had spoken as he smirked.
"Pikachu!"
"You...! What is going on?!" J growled. "Which one of you is the real one!"
"Right here." The Ash standing in front of everyone pointed at himself. Once he did that, all of the other Ash's quickly revealed themselves.
They weren't Ash's at all.
They were just changelings in the disguise of Ash. Every single one of them revealed their true form like a domino effect with multiple green lights flashing all over the place.
They were only able to transform into Ash because he shared their love with them. Genuine love even. J was flabbergasted as she witnessed these creatures just change form. She had never seen a changeling before. Only ponies.
Her maximum anger was about to break past its limits. But despite how furious J was, she knew how to dial her temper down even when face to face with someone she despises.
"Tch." J scoffed. "You really know how to rile me up, kid. I'll admit. It was clever of you tricking me with these...things." She sneered at the changelings who all hid behind Ash.
"They're called changelings," Ash replied. "And I can't believe you came back. I thought it was someone else..."
"You'd better believe I'm back! I don't know how...but this is a clear sign that I've got a second chance! And I won't let you get in my way again!"
"We'll see about that!"
"Pika!"
"But I don't have time for you now. I'm already limited in what I can do at the moment...Salamence!"
"Sala!" Salamence got up as it slammed its head on the ground, creating a small tremor. This tremor then formed into a massive dust cloud that emerged, filling the entire village. Ash and everyone covered their eyes, coughing from the smoke as J hopped on her Salamence.
This was a tactic to get her away from Ash and everyone here since she had been caught and found. Which meant that she would have to find a new base of operations. They were long gone from here in a few seconds.
"Ah!" Twilight's eyes opened up as she and everyone else saw how J had fled. "She's getting away!" Twilight spread her wings as she was about to pursue J down.
"Leave it, Twilight!" Ash put his hand out.
"Mrrgh..." Twilight grumbled as she moved back.
"Is she gone?" A resident from the village popped their head out from the side of a tree.
"Coast is clear." Ash turned around, giving a thumbs up and a clear assurance that their town was now Hunter J Free.
"Oh, finally!" The rest of the residents came out, relieved that their home was now free from harm. Ash's plan was a success despite it being fairly short. But perhaps its short duration was an example of how effective it was.
No longer did they have to hide as they had their home to themselves once more. The ponies and Pokemon who lived here made a wonderful return to their home all thanks to Ash's plan.
The changelings were relieved themselves that they had avoided a potential major threat in the form of J. They had no attachment to this place since they've only been here for a few hours instead of months or even years but they were grateful for their own safety.
"That gift you got for Christmas really came in handy, right Gengar?" Ash said to his partner.
"Gengar!" Gengar agreed as Ash was referring to the item that allowed Gengar to pull off more tricks that it never could in the first place. The silhouettes were all Gengar's doing and the item affected all the changelings here.
"Well. That plan went well." Chrysalis walked up to Ash. "But she is still out there."
"Yeah, I know." Ash nodded. "Now we've got a lot more problems to think about."
"Pikachu..."
"But it's nothing you can't solve. Right?" Chrysalis said to him.
"Right! I've got some experience with J and Pokemon hunters. So there's no need to worry.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Does this mean the Officer Jenny's will get involved?" Twilight flew over to him.
"The Jenny's from Sinnoh have been chasing down J for a while. And I guess now that J's alive again they're gonna start up that chase."
"Well..." Chrysalis looked up at the sky. "I believe we've overstayed our welcome in this village. It doesn't belong to us anyway. It's best we left to find a Fairy-Type home now"
"Yeah. I guess that's best. But the ponies here are pretty thankful for your help." Ash turned to face the ponies. "You kinda played a big part in helping them get their home back."
"I suppose so. But we'd prefer to be on our own."
"Mmm...Ash!" Anthophila sensed that her departure with Ash was closing in as she wriggled around Chrysalis's back.
"Again?" Chrysalis faced Anthophila. "Seems she just doesn't want to detach herself from you."
"Yeah." Ash kneeled to face the little changeling baby. "Sorry, Anthophila. But you have to get going now. You've got a new home waiting for you. But this won't be the last time we see each other, ya know."
"Pikachu."
"Mm...Papa!" Anthophila poked Ash's nose.
"Papa?!" Twilight screeched along with Meleotta.
"Melo?!"
"It seems she's a bit too attached..." Chrysalis's eyes widened.
"Take care, Anthophila. Alright?" Ash patted the baby changeling on the head.
"Gehehe. Papa!" She babbled, flailing her hooves on Ash's face.
"All of you." Ash stood up, looking at the changelings. "Good luck out there."
"Hmm..." Chrysalis looked back at Ash and then back to Anthophila and then she faced the rest of the changelings. She could see how grateful they all were to Ash and how attached Anthophila was. "Well...It wouldn't hurt to stay until tomorrow, would it?"
"You're not leaving yet?" Twilight pondered.
"Perhaps walking through this vast land during the night might not be a wise idea." Chrysalis was making an excuse up for her and the changelings to stay around a while longer. "The best time to leave is the morning, wouldn't you agree?"
"Hm...I guess so." Ash crossed his arms. Meanwhile, Twilight could tell that they were just trying to stay a while longer. "Alright. If that's what you want."
"Let's have a blast before the morning, okay?" Ash said to Anthophila.
"Blast!" She mimicked his words.
The changelings could accept staying before morning arrives. They had a lot they wanted to ask Ash and wanted to hang around him a bit longer. But more than that, the residents of this village had decided to chat with the changelings as well. After all, they were grateful to them as well.
The ponies kindly offered them to stay in their homes and rest up till tomorrow. They needed the rest even with Pollen Puff healing them from the inside. Ash's Pokemon decided to interact more with the changelings alongside the ponies. Dragonite grabbed a bunch of them for the sake of giving them all a warm hug which never fails.
Pikachu decided to be a light show to the changelings by sparking his body up with electricity, illuminating the small village as the changelings gawked. Lucario and Farfetch'd being the serious guys that they were decided to stand and lay by a tree. To the changelings, Lucario and Farfetch'd were cool.
Chrysalis watched as her changelings, for the first time ever, were generally having fun. She had never seen them so happy before. Especially considering what happened earlier today. It was a heartwarming feeling that she's never experienced until now.
However, Chrysalis knew that with the events that happened today, her plan against Empress Twilight has gone down the drain. And her ally Adagio is unaware of it. Things would have to change drastically. The plan to siphon Empress Twilight's magic was still in effect since the jar is a massive ace in the hole. But the way the plan will play out would need to be altered.
"Ribom." Ribombee flew over to Chrysalis as she held a pollen ball in her hands, offering it to Chrysalis.
"Thank you." Chrysalis kindly took the pollen ball for a late-night snack as Ribombee flew around her.
"So. Is this what true love actually feels like?" Chrysalis looked at the pollen ball and over at Ash and the changelings. After that, she let out a soft smile. "It truly is a wonderful feeling."
Along came midnight. And with that, the fifth day had finally come, closing off the fourth day which lasted longer than the previous days.
The ponies, Pokemon and even changelings were fast asleep at this time. The changelings had never slept with other species before so this was the first of many. One individual who was more asleep than anyone else was Anthophila who dozed off earlier than everyone. She was fast asleep in Dragonite's arms.
But not everyone was asleep at this time.
Chrysalis was one of them. She couldn't sleep for a few reasons. One major reason was because of Ghetsis and Empress Twilight. Mostly Ghetsis. Despite this moment of happiness that had graced her and the changelings, she was still cautious to an extreme.
All she could do was look out at the night sky, wondering what her future may be. Another reason for her staying awake was that she was planning to talk to Adagio about their plan to siphon Empress Twilight's magic. Now that she knows about their plan, the two of them would need a massive overhaul.
And another reason was on the more hopeful side. Concerning Ash. After Ash promised that he would deal with Ghetsis and Empress Twilight both, a ray of hope sparked up in Chrysalis. She had faith in Ash that he'd avenge some of her fallen changelings who had perished because of Ghetsis.
And the final reason involved experiencing what true love actually feels like. Time with Ash has exposed Chrysalis to the true nature of love itself.
Speaking of Ash, he was still awake alongside Pikachu as they both approach Chrysalis who was gazing into the night sky, zoned out.
"Can't sleep?" Ash said.
"Hm?" Chrysalis turned to him. "No, not at all." She shook her head. "A few things are keeping me up."
"Pika?"
"But, I shouldn't worry about them too much. Especially when I know that there's a way to fix all of this. What was that you said earlier? You'll smash them flat?"
"Sure will." Ash sat down. "If I can reach them, ya know. Twilight's teaching Cold so that he can tap into this Rift magic. That way, we'll be able to pass through gateways to other worlds."
"That's nice. I hope you do it soon because...I fear that Ghetsis will...No. He most certainly will come after me once he has accomplished his goal."
"Pikachu?"
"It could be argued that betraying him wasn't the wisest decision but...Involving myself with someone like him would just further endanger us all. You understand, right Ash?"
"I get ya." Ash nodded. "It's just like the same decision N made back then."
"Pika..."
"I just hope it can be done in time. They already know of my betrayal anyway." Chrysalis sighed. "Our world may never experience a threat as dangerous as those two combined."
"No need to worry." Ash suddenly said. "You're not alone in this. Everyone back at Ponyville, Canterlot and the Crystal Empire are just as determined to protect their world."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu climbed up on Ash's shoulder.
"You know what to say, don't you?" Chrysalis laughed as she saw how much hope and confidence Ash could spark up in someone with just a few words. "Before the changelings...or rather I should say, my children leave, I should speak with Adagio first. Our plan will need an overhaul."
"You're in luck. Adagio's not too far away from here. She's at Manehattan right now." Ash pointed north.
"Good. And after that, we'll be on our way. And that one location you mentioned might be the perfect place to start our new hive. Faye Mountains, was it called?"
"Mhm." Ash nodded. "It's a pretty neat place to be. But then again, a lot of areas in this world are neat to be in."
"Pika..." Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder, laying on his back as he looked into the night sky.
"Anyway." Ash yawned. "I'd better clock out for the night. Hang in there, Chrysalis."
"Wait, Ash. Before you sleep..." Chrysalis stopped him.
"Hm?"
"I was wondering. If there was a possibility that it might happen...would you consider me a friend?"
"You don't have to wait for that to happen." That reply from Ash made it clear and confirmed that Ash did in fact see Chrysalis and every changeling as a friend.
"Pikachu!"
"Hm. I should've seen this coming..." Chrysalis smiled. "And here I was worried that friendship would be the end of my species. Turns out it was something else entirely. But you don't want to hear me sulk and brood, do you?"
"Let out what you feel. Makes it easier to get stuff off your chest." Ash replied as he stretched his arms. "Anyway, I'm beat. Let's clock out, buddy."
"Pika."
The two of them decided to rest by a tree since all the beds here were occupied. But with their many adventures, sleeping outside near a grassy area, especially one with trees is something they've adapted to.
Chrysalis watched the duo doze off with Ash resting his head on a tree and Pikachu laying on his best friend's lap. And just like that, with the two of them in a perfect position, they dozed off, falling asleep for the night.
Now it was just Chrysalis on her own. But eventually, someone like her will feel the need to go to sleep. And that time was now. If she were to travel to another land for a new home, she would need all the sleep she could get, especially considering how eventful and long the fourth day was.
But Chrysalis didn't sleep on her own. Instead, she went over to Ash and Pikachu, deciding to sleep with them. She felt more comfortable around Ash and Pikachu after how much they've helped her in just one day and a few hours.
When the morning comes, she'll have to depart from them. But not before chatting with Adagio about their plans. But while everyone sleeps, Twilight took a peek outside the window of a house, spotting Chrysalis lying next to Ash. The sight of it didn't sit too well with the young alicorn. For obvious reasons. But luckily for Twilight, Chrysalis would be leaving soon anyway.
Manehattan. 7:00
After a long and well-deserved sleep, Ash, Twilight, Chrysalis and the changelings were approaching Manehattan. However, the changelings were still not beloved by the rest of Equestria. So heading into the Pokemon Festival with that many ponies could spark up some problems.
So, Chrysalis decided to talk to Adagio in private instead of out in the open. Adagio herself wasn't too busy today besides hanging out with her sisters while Sunset attaches herself onto Adagio like glue. Although, she was also planning on heading somewhere else with her sisters today, potentially.
"Make this quick. I've got a lot I want to do with my sisters. Plus, that Sunset Shimmer's starting to creep me out." Adagio spoke to Chrysalis in a back alley.
"Right. Right. I just wanted to tell you that our plan will need a complete overhaul." Chrysalis replied.
"An overhaul? What? Is the siphoning jar not enough?"
"No." Chrysalis shook her head. "We will still need the jar. It can come into great play later on."
"Then...What part of the plan needs an overhaul?"
"I regret to say this, but Ghetsis and Empress Twilight know of our plan. Especially the jar." Chrysalis revealed the news to Adagio.
"They found out?!" Adagio jerked back. "Urgh! It was probably those annoying spycams..."
"Our approach needs to change. Which is why I am requesting that we both come up with a new plan that could help us stop both of them. Any possible ideas?"
"Well...Yes, I've got something You're not gonna like this but...it involves working alongside Canterlot and ponies. That Queen Pyrestar pony and I had a chat and-"
"That's fine." Chrysalis was alright with that which made Adagio freeze.
"...I beg your pardon?" A confused Adagio tilted her head.
"Working with them is completely fine. They're aiming to stop the same threat we're fighting against too after all."
"Uh..." Adagio stood there with a befuddled look on her face. "Y-Y-You're okay with working with the ponies...? Where did this come from?!"
"It's a bit of a long story. Point is, I am willing to work with anyone. We're all against one or rather two common enemies who are great dangers to our world. So we will need all the help we can acquire."
"Tch. Guess that rules out any issues."
"This new plan...how does it play out?" Chrysalis asked as she was curious.
"Alright. Listen up." Adagio moved closer to Chrysalis as she was ready to tell her everything that Pyrestar gave to her.
Meanwhile, Ash was waiting for Chrysalis to finish up so he could say his farewells to the changelings when they head off to the Faye Mountains as their new home. Along with one extra thing that he had to do before they left.
But in the meanwhile, Ash and Twilight noticed how Pinkie Pie was dashing around, carrying large presents in her hooves with her Slurpuff's and Spinda's helping out. She seemed to be in a hurry.
"Pinkie Pie. What's wrong? Is it about your Pokestar movie?" Twilight flew over, asking her.
"Oh no. I dealt with that already. This is something bigger! My friend Danyelle over at the Pokemon World's got a birthday today! And I can't be late! Have I got everything?"
"Looks like a good amount of presents." Ash looked at a tower of gifts. "She's gonna have a lot to open."
"Pika."
"Oh no, silly." Pinkie appeared behind Ash. "Some of these are for her Pikachu, Tessa. It's just enough!"
"More than enough..." Twilight gulped as she saw how the presents looked like they were going to topple.
"All I gotta do is head to Kanto in Vermillion City, celebrate her birthday and it'll be back to the festival." Pinkie squeed.
"Hah...Hah..." All of a sudden, Barry walked over to Ash as he was in a state of exhaustion. His knees were weak, his hair was messy. Messier than normal anyway and he looked like he had the soul sucked out of him. Cilan was supporting him so that he doesn't faint. "Finally."
"Oh, hey Barry. You look out of it." Ash said.
"Yeah..." Barry nodded as he breathed in and out. "Boy. Those attractions really know how to put you through the wringer."
"Maybe going above 100% of your effort in such a small attraction might not be the best idea." Cilan laughed as he patted Barry on the back.
"Man. I kinda wanna see what attraction you were in!" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"You do that." Barry sighed. "Phew. The attractions weren't this tough during the first festival back at Canalave City. Talk about a difficulty spike."
Just then, when Barry uttered those words, Ash, Twilight and Pinkie Pie all had their ears on high alert as they simultaneously froze, glaring at Barry.
"Wait. Did you say back at Canalave City?" Twilight raised her hoof at Barry.
"Yeah." Barry nodded. "Last year's festival had easier attractions back at Canalave City."
"Hold on!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "You mean the festival isn't just limited to this world?! It's in the Pokemon World too?!"
"I-I thought you guys knew!" Barry stammered.
"We've been missing out!" Pinkie screeched. "There could be a bunch more stuff waiting for us in the Pokemon World we haven't seen yet! More attractions! More-" She was starting to hyperventilate.
"Let's not panic, Pinkie!" Ash picked Pinkie Pie up, calming her down. "We've got 2 whole weeks remember? We're not even done with the first week yet."
"Pikachu!"
"R-Right..." Pinkie slowed down as she nodded gently. "2 weeks...It's fine. Even if the Pokemon World's got a lot of places...a ton of places."
"There's still a lot of time to experience a plethora of them," said Cilan. "And even if you can't experience them all, you can always look forward to the third festival. No rush."
"Right. No rush. But I need to get that birthday done first!" Pinkie gathered all the presents around her. "I've gotta get going. I'll meet you guys at uh...Where's the nearest gateway to Vermillion City again?"
"Well...Canterlot connects to Pewter City which is close to Vermillion City and Professor Cerise's lab is there too." Ash replied. "So we'll meet up in no time."
"Gotcha! Slurpuff! Spinda! Time to go!"
"Slur!" All the Slurpuff's said.
"Spinda!"
Pinkie and her Pokemon rushed off as they were in a hurry to get to Vermillion City as soon as they can to celebrate their friend's birthday before it's too late.
Meanwhile, Ash and Twilight had new plans. After learning about how the Pokemon World is experiencing the Pokemon Festival as well, they just had to check it out for themselves. A change of plans had been made.
And speaking of a change of plans, Adagio had finished explaining everything Pyrestar told her to Chrysalis. Everything from start to finish. And from what Chrysalis heard, most of it seemed to involve the Pokemon as they were going to play a big role in all of this when the day of the invasion comes along in just 2 months.
"That plan...it might actually work." Chrysalis nodded. "It is a bit risky, I'll admit."
"All plans are risky." Adagio scoffed. "As long as it works and those two are dealt with, that's all that matters."
"And we'll play our part as well." Chrysalis pointed her hoof at herself. "Well. I've said everything I needed to say. It's time we made our departure." She looked back at Anthophila who was chewing on Chrysalis hair.
"Right. You do that. Good luck with reaching your new home." Adagio replied as she and Chrysalis made their departure from each other.
They might not see each other for a while. The changeling hive no longer exists and Adagio knew the exact path and directions needed to reach it. Now it was just a wasteland. The Faye Mountains were new to Adagio and their whereabouts were unknown to her for now. But their departure wasn't happy, sad or bittersweet. It was just neutral at best.
But one departure, in particular, wasn't neutral. Something greater than that. Once Chrysalis met up with the changelings on the outskirts of Manehattan, they were ready to leave.
But not before Ash came running over as he had to say his goodbyes. "Wait up!" Ash exclaimed.
"Hm? Ash?" Chrysalis and the other changelings turned to face him.
"Papa!" Anthophila giggled, flailing her hooves towards Ash's direction.
"Too close!" Ash came to a screeching halt.
"Come to say your farewell?"
"Mhm!" Ash nodded. "Made it just in time too. But I know Anthophila's gonna be sad when she leaves so...I'll give her this to remind her of me." Ash removed his right glove as he revealed his friendship bracelet which was next to his Dynamax band.
"Pika?"
"Here." He took off the friendship bracelet from his hand as he walked over to Anthophila, placing it on her horn. "Keep this. So that you're never away from me." Anthophila blurted random words as she looked up at the friendship bracelet that was now around her horn.
The golden aura of the sun beamed on the bracelet, giving it its extra shine as it illuminated the shadows with a radiant blaze.
"Gehehe!" Anthophila clearly enjoyed it a lot despite how small it was. "Papa!"
"Take care." Ash patted the changeling baby on the head, giving his farewell. "All of you. Good luck along the way."
"Pika-Pika."
"Thank you, Ash. And we'll certainly have a safe trip to the Faye Mountains. After all. We have her by our side." Chrysalis turned to Ribombee who decided to come along since she had grown attached to Chrysalis.
"Ribombee!"
"I know you will. Safe trip everyone!"
"Pikachu!"
With that, they each waved goodbye to each other, giving their farewells. Anthophila was the one to give off the most waves with her hoof flailing around at hyper speeds. Normally, she would break into tears. But the bracelet that Ash gave let the baby changeling know that he's always close to her.
"You gave up your friendship bracelet?" Twilight's voice reached Ash's as it was revealed that she had heard their small conversation and farewell. Along with Celestia, Luna and their parents.
"Yeah. But it's fine. Pinkie made a spare just in case." Ash replied.
"That was some excellent kindness there, Ash Ketchum," said Eventide.
"That changeling baby was so adorable!" Sunlight gushed.
"Can we still trust them?" Luna asked, cautious of the changelings.
"We sure can." Ash nodded, giving perfect assurance that there would be no need to worry.
"Pikachu!"
With the changelings on the way to their new home, the fifth day of the Pokemon Festival is in full swing now. The knowledge about the festival also occurring in the Pokemon World had caused some changes to be made.
Pinkie Pie had already left to celebrate her friend's birthday in Vermillion City. All the while, Ash had decided he wanted to check out the Pokemon World's version of the Pokemon Festival. All the while, he wished the changelings good luck on their journey. He knows they'll make it to the Faye Mountains safely.
Rainbow Dash had just finished up her training with her Pokemon after so long. Now she was ready to head somewhere else at the festival before she soon found out that the Pokemon World is taking part in the festival as well.
This grabbed everyone else's attention. Especially Fluttershy, who is always ecstatic to go to the Pokemon World. Needless to say, many of them were excited alongside Adagio who rarely gets excited.
It didn't take long for Pinkie Pie to reach Vermillion City and her friend. All of her Pokemon from her Delphox, Litten, Heliolisk, Flareon, Pidgeot and Pikachu had all received gifts from Pinkie Pie as she made sure to choose the right one for the right Pokemon.
As for everyone else, they were off to experience the festival in new locations. The decision to go to the Pokemon World had been made. Mostly by Sunlight who was the most intrigued by it while Ash recommended Sinnoh as a good place to start. But staying here in this world a bit longer wouldn't hurt anyone.
But not all is well. After all, J is still out there. Even with her retreat, she was still persistent in her goal. She may be low on resources and equipment, but she is still a force to be reckoned with. One who can easily get back on her feet at any time.
The fifth day had a strange energy behind it. One that was more energetic than the fourth day. Whether it meant that it was fast or slow was still a mystery and something that had yet to be experienced as the journey continues.
The Pokemon Contest of the fifth day was about to begin. Sweetie Belle and Coco had already registered for today's contest since they ended up missing the first day. With their names registered, they were now able to participate in this one and have a chance to win the Las Pegasus Ribbon.
The performance stages were already underway. Many coordinators had already shown off their Pokemon's talents and skills, hoping to advance into the battle stage.
Sweetie Belle was preparing herself for her turn in the performance stage since after the next two coordinators finish up their performance it'll be her turn.
"It's your time to shine. Plusle. Minun." Sweetie Belle said to her Pokemon.
"Plus!"
"Min!"
"Are you going with just Plusle and Minun for this one?" Rarity walked up to her little sister.
"Just for the performance stage. After all, this contest lets you use two Pokemon instead of one. So if I get into the battle stage, I'll use Teddiursa and Espurr."
"Piplup?!" Piplup popped out of his Poke Ball, shocked to hear that Sweetie Belle wouldn't be choosing him. "Piplup! Lup!"
"Sorry, Piplup. But I have to give the others a shot too. I'll let you perform next time." Sweetie Belle picked the Penguin Pokemon up.
"Piplup..." Piplup sulked.
"Phero!" Pheromosa was about to dash out and involve herself with the Pokemon Contest but Rarity quickly stopped her by using her magic to do so.
"Oh, no Pheromosa! You can't go out there, dear!" Rarity said. "We're not in the Pokemon Contest or even registered. Only coordinators can join."
"Pheromosa..." Pheromosa sighed, sitting down.
"There are still many opportunities for you to look forward to here at Las Pegasus." Rarity patted the Lissome Pokemon on the back. "Has Coco prepared herself?"
"I'm ready!" Coco dashed over with her Glaceon and Mawile. "Everything's all set up for me. I only have two Pokemon so Glaceon and Mawile are my only selections here."
"Glace!"
"Maw."
"Well, it seems you'll be having your own go right after Sweetie Belle since you signed up after her." Rarity replied. "If by chance, you two will go against each other, I'm expecting a healthy battle between both of you."
"Totally!" Sweetie Belle nodded. "We're gonna have a blast competing against each other! If that happens...But we'll still have fun competing against everypony else."
"Mhm." Coco agreed.
"Wonderful. But before you do..." Rarity suddenly started to brush Sweetie Belle's mane, adjust her dress, wipe her face and even brushing Plusle and Minun's fur. "Smoothen your mane, make sure there are no crumples on your dress, wipe your face and of course, your Pokemon need to be in tip-top shape in front of the judges."
"Mrrgh..." Sweetie Belle grumbled as she rubbed her eye. "I got it. I got it."
"Hm. Hm." Coco giggled. Both she and Sweetie Belle would have to wait until their turn came along. But as they were in the waiting room with the other coordinators, they noticed a familiar face walk in. And it wasn't Spike.
Instead, it was Paul of all people.
"Paul? What are you doing here?" Rarity asked.
"I'm here to watch the Pokemon Contest of course." He replied.
"You're here to watch the contest? I didn't think a guy like you would be interested in that kind of stuff." A confused Sweetie Belle spoke.
"I'm not really interested in it. I'm only here to see what moves I can adopt."
"I beg your pardon?" Rarity squinted her eyes. "What do you mean by that? Adopt?"
"Some of my battle strategies come from watching coordinators in Pokemon Contests. Their complex choice of move combinations really sparks an idea up in my head, ya know."
"Oh. I get what you mean." Coco understood. "I'm not a Pokemon battler but I can see how that helps."
"You're in luck!" Sweetie Belle jumped up in Paul's face. "I've got a bunch of creative moves that I'm gonna use in this contest! Ash even taught me some tricks!"
"Did he now? Then, in that case, I'll pay extra attention to that." Paul responded. "Good luck out there, kid." He walked by her, heading straight for the seats.
As he walked over to the crowd, the current coordinator had just finished their performance. Now it was time for the next coordinator to head out and after that, it'll be Sweetie Belle's turn and then Coco Pommel.
10:00.
It was now time for Sweetie Belle to take the stage. The judges were anticipating her arrival since they've already seen her compete before in previous contests. Even if she's only been in 3 so far.
"Now please welcome, Sweetie Belle from Ponyville!" The announcer Marian called for Sweetie Bell as the little unicorn came out of the curtains.
This crowd was larger than most crowds since this is Las Pegasus after all. So, Sweetie Belle had a lot she wanted to do that'll impress them all. But the judges, Mr Contesta, Mr Sukizo and Nurse Joy are the ones she has to really impress.
"Let's go. Plusle! Minun!" She tossed her Poke Balls into the air, sending out the duo of Cheering Pokemon. Once they both came out of their Poke Balls, sparks of electricity flew around the arena.
"Plusle!"
"Minun!"
"Let me see what you can do..." Paul said to himself as he observed Sweetie Belle.
"Okay. Just like we planned. Plusle! Light up with Discharge! Minun! Spin while using Swift!"
"Plus...!" Plusle went first by lighting his body up with a sparking yellow aura. He became a walking ball of light as he illuminated the area.
"Minun!" Meanwhile, Minun ended up jumping on Plusle's head while Discharge was being used. Since both Plusle and Minun were Electric-Types, being around the electricity of another wasn't a huge problem.
Minun then spun around while sending out several stars that flew in multiple directions. These stars were given extra shine thanks to the large aura of Plusle's Discharge.
"We're not done yet. Bigger!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"Plusle!" Plusle made his aura larger as bolts of electricity flew out of the aura, connecting with the stars of Swift. Now the stars all gained an electric aura around them.
"Oooh..." The crowd gawked at the electric-covered stars that were floating in the air.
"Now let's make it big! Plusle! Minun! Use Double Team!"
"Plus!"
"Min!" Both Plusle and Minun duplicated themselves to add some extra flair. Now that there were multiple Plusle's and Minun's things were different. Each of the cloned Plusle's changed their yellow electricity into blue electricity, shooting them up at the stars.
With yellow and blue mixing together, they created green electricity right in front of everypony's eyes as the contest hall was illuminated with dark green sparks.
"Let's finish it! Minun! Use Headbutt on all of the Swift's!
"Minun-Min!" All of the Minun clones leapt up with their heads surrounded by a golden aura as there were enough Minun's to hit all of the Swift stars.
With perfect synchronization and unity, the Minun's smashed their heads onto the electric-covered stars. The direct contact with the stars caused a yellow, blue and green explosion as the clones returned into Plusle and Minun. This triple coloured explosion sent out tiny multi-coloured sparks of electricity that fell on the floor.
"Have a look at that! A nice mix of yellow blue and dark green!" Marian gawked. "What do our judges think?"
"Mmm..." Mr Contesta closed his eyes. "Reminds me of an ice cream I used to enjoy as a kid...I wish they made them again. That brought me back!"
"Plusle and Minun always work well with each other as Duo Pokemon. So it's no surprise that they're able to perform in perfect sync with each other. Remarkable!"
"I was worried about Minun jumping on her teammate's head. But there's wasn't any need to worry since they pulled it off splendidly," said Nurse Joy.
"That sounds like a win in my book! Great job you two!" Sweetie Belle hugged her Pokemon.
"Plus! Plusle!"
"Minun!" Filled with joy, Plusle and Minun both shocked their trainer out of love.
"Gah!" Sweetie Belle screeched as she coughed out smoke. "T-Thanks you two..." She wheezed.
"Not bad." Paul smiled. "I'll be looking forward to the battle stage..."
As Sweetie Belle and her Pokemon returned to the waiting room, Rarity dashed over, feeling proud of her little sister. "Oh! You looked simply gorgeous out there! Perhaps staying up late and refining your skills isn't such a bad idea as I thought."
"Told ya! But my eyes are kinda getting baggy a lot lately." Sweetie Belle pointed her hoof at her eyes.
"Congratulations, Sweetie Belle." Coco went past Sweetie Belle. "Guess it's my turn now. This'll be my chance to win my second ribbon. Wish me luck."
"Do your best out there, Coco!" Sweetie Belle flailed her hooves around as she, Rarity, Plusle and Minun were cheering for Coco.
"Our next coordinator is Coco Pommel from Manehattan!" Marian announced, pointing at Coco who came walking over instead of running like everypony else does.
"Okay." Coco looked at both of her Poke Balls. "I'm counting on you two to help me through this. Out you come." By tossing her Poke Balls into the air, out came Glaceon and Mawile.
"Glaceon!"
"Mawile."
When they exited their Poke Balls, a mix of cold wind and fairy dust spread across the arena, much like how every coordinator's Poke Ball shows something special when the Pokemon is sent out.
"Hm." Paul would end up observing Coco as well as he'll take any opportunity to improve his strategies and tactics as a trainer. Doesn't matter how he does it in the end.
"Okay. Glaceon. Use Barrier!"
"Glace!" Glaceon went first by summoning a purple orb of psychic energy around her. The Fresh Snow Pokemon was now encased in this orb as she was waiting for her teammate to make the next move.
"Now Mawile! Raise her into the air with Fairy Wind!"
"Wile. Mawile!" Mawile opened her large jaw up, sending a tornado full of Fairy magic. This pink tornado wrapped around the purple orb and Glaceon, carrying the Fresh Snow Pokemon into the air.
Everypony Oohed and Aahed at the sight of a pink tornado carrying a purple barrier with a blue creature inside of it while fairy dust scatters across the area.
"So far so good. Alright, Glaceon! Icy Wind inside of the Barrier!"
"Ceon!" While being surrounded by the barrier and the pink tornado, Glaceon opened her mouth as a gust of cold wind flew out.
But since the Barrier was around her, instead of continuing forward, the Icy Wind ended up filling the entire Barrier as now its purple colour shifted into an icy blue colour.
Now the sight had changed. It looked like a blue orb of ice was floating in the air with a pink tornado carrying it. That's when something new came along.
The power of Icy Wind ended up breaking the Barrier, shattering it in one go. Purple shards flew all over the place. But that wasn't the main attraction at all. The real attraction was how Icy Wind merged with Fairy Wind.
With two different wind attacks merging together, their colours mashed and created a purple tornado that was much wider than both Icy Wind and Fairy Wind combined. Glaceon, however, was still being carried even with the Barrier gone as the purple tornado stayed in place. The Fresh Snow Pokemon was floating in the air thanks to the merged wind.
Unfortunately, the raging purple tornado was a bit too much for Glaceon to handle. More than she and Coco actually expected. "G-Glaceon...?" Glaceon noticed that the tornado was getting more violent as it was no longer staying in one place.
Now, the tornado was moving all over the place, completely out of control. Not only that, but Glaceon was sent flying as the tornado launched her away. Everypony gasped as they saw Glaceon fall from a high place, but luckily, Mawile caught her using her large jaw.
"Maw!"
But the tornado was still moving at a violent pace without anyone there to control it. The crowd witnessed the tornado raging violently as they also saw how it was approaching them as well.
Its haphazard movements meant that it could go anywhere it wanted. Thus, panic ensued as most of the crowd stood up, ready to make a run for it before the tornado ends up carrying them.
From how powerful it was, it seemed that it was already affecting the arena itself. A highly destructive wind pressure was formed with manes and tails being blown. The curtains were being ripped off the walls as even the waiting room was being affected. If this kept up then the contest hall could be in shambles.
"I-I didn't plan for this to happen..." Coco whimpered as she moved back from the tornado.
"Mosa!" The Lissome Pokemon immediately came out of her Poke Ball, moving at lightning speeds as she created a greater wind pressure than the tornado itself from her speed alone.
The Ultra Beast then pulled her leg back before swinging it forward. With one single kick, Pheromosa had split the tornado in half. The violent tornado had come to an abrupt end thanks to Pheromosa's actions but not without going out in a bang.
The split tornado had suddenly combusted from the imbalance of energy. Thus, a purple explosion occurred in the arena with purple stardust flowing across the contest halls as everypony watched.
And that was the end of that.
"Oh boy..." Marian stood up as her hair was a mess. "That was something for sure. What do our judges think?"
"Well..." Mr Contesta adjusted his bowtie. "I have to say...it's certainly the first time raw power has been shown in a contest."
"Hm. I wouldn't say it was remarkable but..." Mr Sukizo grumbled.
"At least no one got hurt..." Nurse Joy placed her hat back on as the judges had finished their words.
It was a bit of a bewildering experience. Paul, who had seen the entire debacle go down from start to finish, walked off as he had seen enough. Whether it was for better or for worse.
Coco was rightfully hit by this. From the way the judges spoke and how everypony was in a state of shock, she believed that she messed up to a large degree. Glaceon whimpered while Mawile just turned around, making sure that no one would see her facial expression and only her large maw.
"T-Thank you. Glaceon. Mawile" Coco lowered her head, returning her partners to their Poke Balls. Upset and worried about her potential place in today's contest, Coco headed back into the waiting room.
"Coco, darling. Are you alright?" Rarity asked.
"Mmm..." Coco mumbled. "I will be but...I'm not sure I'm making it into the battle stage."
"It was just a slip-up," said Sweetie Belle. "It wasn't your fault that the tornado went crazy."
"Maybe but...It was worse than my first contest." Coco turned around. "That one was a bit rough."
"But you obtained the ribbon, didn't you?" Rarity replied.
"I did but...It almost went wrong and Glaceon nearly got hurt. I'm worried that one of these days, Glaceon and Mawile will be in danger because of me. I might be a bad trainer!"
"You're not a bad trainer." Rarity shook her head. "You said it yourself yesterday. You worked really hard for your first contest ribbon and it paid off, right?"
"Mhm." Coco nodded. "I was nervous in the beginning, but Glaceon and I pulled through at the end and got our first ribbon."
"Then that just makes it clear you're a good trainer. We all have difficult and strenuous moments. I'm certainly positive Pokemon Trainers are no exception to this at all. What's important is that you can improve. Winning that first ribbon was a clear sign that you have what it takes."
"Right..." Coco nodded. "Thanks, Rarity."
Her spirits had been lifted thanks to Rarity. However, for her to advance to the next stage is hard to say. As the other coordinators pull of their performances, time was ticking as Coco was getting anxious.
With all the Coordinators completing the performance stage, it was time for the results to show who would be advancing into the battle stage.
"And here are the results for the Coordinators advancing to the next round!" Marian pointed at a screen as the faces of each coordinator began to slowly reveal themselves one by one.
A total of 24 Coordinators were in this contest but only 8 of them will be able to qualify and make it into the battle stage. Right now, 6 faces had been shown. The 3rd face was revealed to be Sweetie Belle as she made it and was able to advance towards the battle stage.
But Coco's face hadn't shown up yet as the faces kept going. The results were reaching the end. Coco held her breath in as she was shuddering. She believed that there was no chance of her getting in because of what happened.
However, once the final face showed up, the 8th coordinator was revealed to be Coco. She had actually managed to make it through to the second stage, which took her by surprise. After her performance, it was hard to see her continuing in this contest.
"I...made it?" Coco's jaw dropped.
"You certainly did!" Rarity dashed over with the widest grin on her face. "Well done, Coco!"
"Ah...Oh." Coco was malfunctioning as she was still trying to process this. She didn't think it would be possible. The previous action did not mesh well with the outcome. But it happened anyway. "I made it!" She screeched before toning her voice down.
"These are the coordinators going up against each other in the next round." Then the screen shuffled the faces along into brackets, showing who was going up against who.
Coco and Sweetie Belle weren't actually facing off against each other in the next stage. But their faces were close to each other. If they can defeat the coordinators next to them, they'll definitely face off in the next battle stage.
"Now we'll have our coordinators take a short 20-minute break and we'll be right back!" Marian announced. Before they would all advance into the battle stage, some down-time was needed first.
Outside of the Contest Hall. 10:40.
"Congratulations on advancing to the second round you two." Rarity spoke as she was walking alongside Coco and Sweetie Belle. "Especially you, Coco."
"Thanks, Rarity. My heart was pounding rapidly back there...I didn't think I'd make it." Coco giggled.
"But you did. Those judges have rather kind judgement most likely. " Rarity theorized.
"Mhm. But now I'm more worried about the battle stage." Coco suddenly stopped walking. "What if something goes wrong when I'm battling? It might be worse than the performance stage!" She shuddered as she bit her hoof.
"Aw, Coco..." Sweetie Belle's ears dropped.
"Hm. I suppose that is something to worry about. The performance stage did have an unruly outcome..." Rarity thought for a moment.
"But it's fine." Coco gulped. "I was able to make it to the battle stage after all. But what if it was by sheer luck I made the cut out of everypony else? Am I even qualified?"
"What do we do, Rarity?" Sweetie Belle looked up at her older sister. "At this rate, Coco's gonna lose the spirit to continue."
"I know." Rarity nodded. "But it's not hard to see why. Coco, darling." She went up to the earth pony. Are you sure you're going to be alright?"
"Um...I think so." Coco muttered. "All I have to do is make it through this entire contest and hopefully win the ribbon, right? Then it'll be over."
"Right on that." Rarity nodded. "It was definitely not sheer luck that granted you to the spot in the second stage. Even before the tornado went out of control, your performance was truly impressive. No doubt about that."
"R-Really?" Coco stammered.
"Honest. Besides. The judges themselves, while ambiguous with their opinion, certainly didn't dismiss your performance. You do have a shot as a Coordinator. After all, you only started 3 weeks ago, right?"
"Yes. I'm still new to all of this." Coco grumbled. "I might be able to make it through this one but...what about the other contests?"
"Hm...Oh! I know!" Sweetie Belle came up with a great idea as she dashed over to Coco. "You can have Dawn teach you!"
"Dawn?" Coco turned to the little unicorn.
"Mhm! Dawn's like my Coordinator teacher! She offered to help me with my contest skills! Even though we haven't actually started yet... but she can help you too!"
"Nice thinking, Sweetie Belle." Rarity patted her little sister on the head. "But there are even more options."
"Ye- There are?" Sweetie Belle tilted her head.
"One of the teachers over at the Pokemon School, Fantina seems to be adept in Pokemon Contests as well. Perhaps she can assist you as well. That way, you'll have two teachers who can help you."
"Wow! That's amazing!" Coco squeed. "Just what I need! Thanks for the recommendation you two!" Her spirits had been lifted once more thanks to Sweetie Belle and Rarity. "Oh! Before the break ends, let's stop by for something to eat. Mawile gets a bit greedy after a while."
Paul had watched Coco's descent into worry and rapid ascension into hope. Because of this new energy sparking in Coco Pommel, he'll be looking forward to seeing her and Sweetie Belle's skills in the battle stage so he can use those contest skills for himself.
The 20-minute break went on. It was hard to say if Sweetie Belle or Coco would be able to make it through to the end since the contest was on a break. Only 8 competitors will be going against each other and the winner of that ribbon is unknown at the moment, but they're all shooting to achieve it as the journey continues.
The 20-minute break was over. It was time for the coordinators to continue the contest in hopes of obtaining the Las Pegasus Ribbon. Sweetie Belle and Coco had qualified for the second stage as only 8 coordinators would be facing off against each other.
The main limit for the battle stage is that it only lasts 5 minutes. So the coordinators and Pokemon will have to give it their all while beating out the 5-minute time limit.
Speaking of which, Sweetie Belle had managed to defeat her opposing coordinator with the help of her Espurr and Teddiursa in just under 3 minutes. She was obviously advancing to the next round.
As for Coco, thanks to Rarity and Sweetie Belle's words of encouragement, she was able to regain her confidence and absolutely demolish her opposing coordinator with high spirits and energy.
Because of those two obtaining victories over their fellow coordinators, the next round, the semi-final round. And it'll be a battle against Coco and Sweetie Belle, which Rarity was looking forward to the most since this was a close friend and her little sister going up against each other.
"Alright...Keep it in." Rarity took a deep breath. "It's just two ponies who are close to you going against each other. That's all. No need to worry."
"You look like you're worrying a lot, Rarity." Sweetie Belle pointed out. "It'll be fine. It's just a friendly competition. Even though...we're both aiming for the same ribbon."
"You're right. It's just a friendly competition. Even if one of you wins or loses, I know you'll both come out of it smiling."
"Sure will!" Sweetie Belle nodded. "But if either of us wins then we'll have to go up against that really strong coordinator. What was her name again?"
"Premium, wasn't it?"
"That's Premium Polish to you." Speaking of which, the pony they were chatting about, Premium Polish, was standing right behind them.
"Oh, uh...Hi there." Sweetie Belle greeted. "Premium Polish."
"Sweetie Belle," Premium replied to her. "Good job with your performance and battle. You sure do live up to your reputation."
"Reputation?" Sweetie Belle pulled back. "Wait? I'm popular in Pokemon Contests?"
"Sure are. Not the most popular but you're up there, that's for sure."
"Oh!" Sweetie Belle's excitement was boiling up. "You hear that Rarity?!" She grabbed her older sister's face. "I'm popular! I might be a Coordinator Celebrity!"
"Not as popular as yours truly though." Premium suddenly shut Sweetie Belle down. "You're looking at the best coordinator in Equestria so far."
"You?" Sweetie Belle turned around to face Premium.
"That's right. Observe." Premium tapped her hoof on the floor which prompted large stallions who acted as bodyguards for the little unicorn to reveal themselves as they have been hiding in the shadows this entire time.
"Oh my." Both Sweetie Belle and Rarity said.
"Alright. Back in you go." She ordered the bodyguards to return as they dashed off, disappearing into the shadows. "I'm that kind of popular."
"Yeah...I can see that." Sweetie Belle nodded.
"But don't let it intimidate you. Especially when we go up against each other."
"Coco might go up against you, though." Sweetie Belle walked forward.
"Coco? You mean the pony that almost hurt everypony else during her performance?"
"She didn't mean to! It was just a slip-up, that's all." Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"Of course it was a slip-up. Nopony does it on purpose. But she did look good during her battle stage. If I go up against her, I'll have something interesting to look forward to."
"And me?" Sweetie Belle pointed her hoof at herself.
"Sure, you too. It'll be interesting enough. After all, you're the sister of one of the ponies who saved Equestria from Eternatus, right?"
"Uh..." Sweetie Belle turned to face Rarity who grinned back at her. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."
"Great. See you in the semi-finals, Sweetie." Premium walked past Sweetie Belle and Rarity.
"Hm. Charming child. She certainly has a passive-aggressive nature to her, doesn't she?"
"That's for sure." Sweetie Belle sighed. "She was right about the intimidating part. I am a bit intimidated. I mean, she has bodyguards for Celestia's sake."
"Who's to say you don't have bodyguards of your own? Observe" Rarity sent out all of her Leavanny's.
"Leavan!"
"Thanks, Rarity. But I don't need bodyguards."
"Suit yourself." Rarity returned all of her Leavanny's to their Poke Balls.
"The next matchup is Sweetie Belle vs Coco Pommel! Please enter the stage you two!" Marian called out for the two coordinators.
"That's our cue." Coco walked over. "Let's make it a good one, Sweetie Belle."
"Okay!"
The semi-finals could finally begin as only 4 competitors were remaining in the Las Pegasus Pokemon Contest. And those remaining 4 were Sweetie Belle, Coco Pommel, Premium Polish and a pegasus coordinator who went by the name Wispy
Speaking of Sweetie Belle and Coco Pommel, their time had come. The moment they've been waiting for and the moment where Rarity would have to cheer for both sides at once.
They had only 5 minutes in the battle stage and only 5 minutes to decrease each other's points before the clock runs out. It's a fairly harsh time limit but it does push the coordinators to really go all out.
"It's Sweetie Belle on the Right side and Coco Pommel on the left! You all have 5 minutes, my little ponies! Let's go!" Marian raised her finger, giving the call to begin the battle.
"Okay! Teddiursa! Espurr! Out you two come!" Sweetie Belle was the first to send out her Pokemon.
"Teddiursa!"
"Espurr."
"Here goes. Mawile! Glaceon!" And finally, Coco sent hers out.
"Glaceon!"
"Maw-Mawile."
"If you don't mind, Sweetie Belle. I'll go first. Mawile! Run in and use Brutal Swing! And Glaceon! Use Icy Wind!"
"Maw." The Deceiver Pokemon ran forward with her large jaw enveloped in a dark-reddish aura. Mawile then began spinning around with Brutal Swing as the dark red aura covered her entire body, including the large jaw she had.
"Ceon!" Glaceon helped her teammate out by shooting a whirlwind of Ice out of her mouth.
This whirlwind of ice made contact with Mawile's Brutal Swing as the light blue colours meshed well with the dark red. Now, there was an approaching Mawile who was swinging her jaw around while being carried by a tornado of ice.
"Here they come! Alright, Teddiursa! Use Night Slash! Espurr! Boost Teddiursa forward with Disarming Voice!"
"Ursa!" Similar to Mawile, Teddiursa's paws and claws were enveloped in a dark aura as she bolted forward.
"Espurr!" Espurr opened her mouth which doesn't usually open wide as pink sound waves came out. The soundwaves of Disarming Voice mixed with the darkness of Night Slash as Teddiursa now had the power of Dark and Fairy at her disposal.
Both Pokemon ended up clashing with Teddiursa's paws colliding with Mawile's gigantic jaw. When they collided, Teddiursa could feel the weight of Mawile's jaw as her paws twitched from the collision.
"T-Teddi!" She winced. And to make matters worse, Mawile's jaw was strong enough to push the Little Bear Pokemon as Teddiursa went flying from a deadly shockwave. "Ursa!"
"Esp?" Espurr noticed that Teddiursa was coming towards her from the direction she was launched at. The Restraint Pokemon gasped as her partner crashed into her, prompting both Pokemon to tumble on the floor. "Purr!"
"Ah! Teddiursa! Espurr!" Sweetie Belle gasped.
"Wile." Mawile stopped spinning as the dark-red and light blue aura faded away from her as her jaw snarled at Espurr and Teddiursa.
"You two okay?!"
"Espurr...!"
"Teddi...!" Both of them were able to continue as they held their heads, getting a small concussion.
"Okay! How's about we handle this from afar? Teddirusa! Hidden Power! Espurr! Wonder Room!"
"Ursa! Teddi!" The Little Bear Pokemon raised her paws as her body was outlined with a glistening silver aura. Then, small white orbs emerged, circling Teddiursa as her aura rose into the air.
"Espurr!" Espurr played her own part by summoning a large light purple rectangle with light blue and white transparent walls and ceiling appear around the battlefield.
Everyone was now encased in Wonder Room as the Defence and Special Defence of Mawile and Glaceon had been swapped with Espurr and Teddiursa.
Teddirusa then fired each of the orbs as they flew forward. Their glistening white lights shined around the Wonder Room as silver rays emanated out of the rectangle, giving the contest hall a bright and wonderful light show akin to that of a disco room.
"Wile...!" The Deceiver Pokemon swung her jaw around as she sent an instant blue light that shot out of her mouth, passing the orbs of Hidden Pokemon.
"Glace!" Glaceon did the same by sending Ice Beam out of her mouth. The beam of Ice combined with Guard Swap as two different blue energy beams merged as one, creating an azure-coloured beam instead of a traditional light blue. As a bonus, the beam grew wider to a point where it would be able to hit multiple targets instead of one.
The merged beam had two properties behind it that were about to be discovered. The beam collided with Hidden Power, creating a tiny struggle as a fissure appeared in the middle of them.
This fissure was wobbling about, creating a pulse that caused the walls and floor to glisten along with Coco and Sweetie Belle's manes. They look a little bit like Crystal Ponies because of the glow.
Unfortunately, for Teddiursa, Hidden Power couldn't hold back two combined beams at once, so eventually, the merged azure beam engulfed the orbs of Hidden Power, hitting Teddiursa and Espurr both due to its size increase.
Both of Sweetie Belle's Pokemon had not only been frozen in place by Ice Beam, but their defence and special defence had returned to normal. The effects of Wonder Room had been cancelled out as the guards had been swapped.
And to make things extra difficult for Sweetie Belle, Mawile had not only regained her defence and special defence since she was the one who fired the attack in the first place, but because the merged beam hit both Pokemon at the same time, Mawile got a double boost in defence and special defence, but not Glaceon, unfortunately.
So now, Mawile had her original defence and special defence along with both Teddiursa and Espurr's. And they were all just for her. It didn't help that Teddiursa and Espurr were now frozen in an icy prison.
"Uh-oh!" Sweetie Belle's eyes widened.
"She got around Espurr's Wonder Room!" Rarity gasped.
"Not bad." Paul nodded. "Causing a move like Ice Beam that only hits one target to hit multiple due to size increase is pretty clever. Guess she's a completely different pony when she's all energized."
"This is looking rough..." Sweetie Belle was getting nervous now. Not only were her partners frozen, but her points had decreased more than Coco. Not to mention that time was running short and 4 minutes had just transitioned into 3. "But there's no need to worry. This is risky...but it's the only way to break free of this ice."
"What's she planning?" Paul asked Rarity.
"Oh no." Rarity knew exactly what was about to happen. "She's going to let Espurr cut loose..."
"Wasn't she doing that already?"
"Not quite. Have a look, Paul." Rarity showed Paul Espurr's dex entry.
"Espurr. The Restraint Pokemon. The organ that emits its intense psychic power is sheltered by its ears to keep power from leaking out. It has enough psychic energy to blast everything within 300 feet of itself, behind that blank stare is an intense struggle to contain its devastating psychic power. There’s enough psychic power in Espurr to send a wrestler flying, but because this power can’t be controlled, Espurr finds it troublesome."
"Hm. So if Espurr removes its restrains..."
"Espurr! Release all of your strength!"
"Purr..." Deep inside of the ice prison, The Restraint Pokemon responded to Sweetie Belle's command. If Espurr releases her true psychic power then it's an instant fraught with danger. She'll be going for broke and moving on slippery ground. But, she took the risk for the sake of her trainer's victory. "Es...ES! ES!"
The entire contest hall was suddenly trembling, prompting everypony to lose their balance along with the judges and Marian. Nothing was safe from this trembling as the walls were cracking.
Beneath Espurr's ears are two ring-shaped yellow organs. These organs emit Espurr's intense psychic powers. Psychic pulses kept emanating out of the icy prison as it sounded like a heartbeat going off. These pulses came straight from Espurr's organs.
The outside was no exception. The buildings near the contest hall were being affected by Espurr's potent psychic pulses as everyone in the festival could feel and hear this heartbeat pulse echoing through the city. Windows were shattering, hooves and legs were shuddering, everyone stopped what they were doing as they all looked at the contest hall where the pulse was coming from.
Everyone around 300 feet were being affected by the pulse to a large degree. Everyone except Mawile, who was able to resist the psychic pulse because of Steel-Typing and some Dark-Types owned by trainers. The same couldn't be said for Glaceon. Because of this powerful pulse, Espurr was actually taking points off of Coco's side without having to do much.
And of course, with a pulse this powerful, the ice prison had shattered, freeing both Espurr and Teddiursa. Unfortunately, Teddiursa was affected by the pulse as well.
"Alright, that's enough, Espurr!" Sweetie Belle gave the call for Espurr to stop.
"Es?" Espurr put an end to her psychic power by restraining them once more.
However, the aftermath was highly aggressive. Because of how potent the pulses were, Glaceon and everyone else had been given splitting headaches, minus Mawile and Teddiursa. The ponies and humans weren't too affected by the headaches but the Pokemon certainly were.
"Ugh..." Sweetie Belle winced as she put her hoof on her head. "Worth it. Can you go on, Teddiursa?"
"Ursa..." Teddirusa held her head as she got up from the floor. It was clear that Espurr releasing her psychic energy was a huge risk and reward scenario. Even though her opposing Pokemon, minus Mawile, received headaches, that meant that her teammate suffered the same fate. It was more of a double-edged sword than the move Double-Edge.
"You just stay back for now. Alright, Espurr! Spin with Disarming Voice!"
"Espurr!" Espurr quickly regained her composure as she started spinning around, blasting pink soundwaves from her mouth. The spinning caused these soundwaves to move in various directions as melodic sounds were passing through every direction of the contest hall while heading straight for Mawile.
"You're all we have left! Mawile! Bite!"
"Wile!" Mawile being unaffected by the psychic pulses meant that she was Coco's last hope since Glaceon is currently out of commission via a splitting headache. It was just a one on one battle now.
Mawile's jaw became engulfed in a dark veil as it opened wide, going for the biggest bite it's ever done yet. The voracious and deadly force of Bite had connected with Disarming Voice in a unique way.
The pink soundwaves had been split in half because of Mawile's Bite. Fairy stardust had glistened all over the teeth of Mawile's large jaws, giving them a fairly neat shine. As a bonus, Mawile was now carrying some condensed fairy magic in her mouth.
"Send it back!"
"Mawile!" Mawile then used that condensed Fairy magic as a retaliation weapon. She opened her mouth up as she sent her own Disarming Voice back at Espurr.
"Es?!" Espurr gasped as she had been hit by her own attack which had been sent right back at her. Espurr cowered on the ground, covering her ears as the points on Sweetie Belle's side were decreasing.
2 minutes now remained.
"It's not over yet! Fire Disarming Voice on the floor!"
"Esp! Espurr!" Instead of aiming forward like usual, the Restraint Pokemon aimed downwards, using Disarming Voice as a means to launch herself up into the air as a large pink soundwave lifted the Psychic-Type. Espurr was now airborne as a spiral of Fairy magic could be seen standing like a tower that dazzled the audience and judges.
"We'll follow her! Use Brutal Swing on the floor!"
"Mawile!" Mimicking Espurr, Mawile slammed her large jaw on the floor, launching herself up as she even shattered a bit of the floor from the impact. The Deceiver Pokemon was now heading straight towards the Restraint Pokemon.
"Espurr!" Espurr's eyes widened as she had been hit in the chest by Mawile's head. Thankfully, it wasn't her jaw that made contact with Espurr.
"Disarming Voice, again!"
"Esp...Espurr!" Even with Mawile crashing into her stomach at high-speeds, the Restraint Pokemon still had enough to keep on going.
With all her might, Espurr let out one more Disarming Voice by opening her mouth. This soundwave was larger than the last as it engulfed Mawile, forcing her back down to the floor while it sent Espurr further into the air.
"Wile!" Mawile hit the ground hard because of Disarming Voice forcing her down. Even though Disarming Voice barely does any damage to Mawile, the impact of her hitting the ground was enough to make up for it.
"Espurr!" Espurr landed down on the floor with her stomach in a bit of pain due to Mawile smashing into it. Unfortunately for Sweetie Belle and Espurr, because of the Guard Swap that Mawile used, she was more durable than ever.
Even with that heavy impact on the ground, Mawile got right back up. The combined defence and special defence of Espurr and Teddiursa were helping her greatly. What was once a somewhat fragile Pokemon was now a walking tank.
"You're amazing Sweetie Belle!" Coco suddenly said. "I know this is only my second contest but I'm having so much fun!" She pranced on the spot.
"Glad you're having fun, Coco. Even if you're making things rough for me. But I'm still winning this! Are you good to go now, Teddiursa?"
"Teddi!" Teddiursa was back up as the headaches had ceased.
"Can you still go on, Glaceon?"
"Ceon!" Glaceon as well had recovered from the headache. Since Espurr did not use all of her true psychic power, the headaches were very temporary. Now the full team was back in action.
"Teddiursa!" With all her might, Teddirusa's body suddenly erupted with a destructive burst of lightning that surrounded her paw. The Little Bear Pokemon bolted forward with her teammate summoning a golden aura around her.
"Mawile, use Bite! And Glaceon! Icy Wind!"
"Glaceon!" Glaceon helped her teammate out as well. By using a cold wind of ice to carry Mawile, she gave her teammate a boost in movement as Mawile's jaw was chomping away, ready to bite onto Teddiursa.
With one final hoorah with both points on both sides being at critical points, the final clash between both teams had occurred with Teddiursa's electrified paws clashing with Mawile's dark-covered mouth along with a gust of ice. Teddiursa's paw ended up getting caught by Bite.
Their struggle lasted longer than before this time. Teddiursa was giving everything she had as sparks of electricity flew out of her paws. Meanwhile, Mawile, who's jaw had caught Teddiursa's paw, was sending out rays of darkness instead.
"Teddi...Ursa!" Teddirusa could feel Mawile's sharp jaws bite onto her paws, the chilling cold beating on her body and sending shivers through her, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. She had a lot to prove and a strong drive to win for Sweetie Belle.
But the same could be said for Mawile, who shared Coco's passion for victory. Because of this, both Pokemon absolutely refused to let their trainer down and guide them to the very top. Their identical goals clashed with each other as the sparks from Thunder Punch were increasing in numbers.
Soon, millions of lightning bolts were flying across the contest hall, prompting everyone to keep an eye out for any approaching lightning bolt that may shock them.
But with how many there were, someone was going to get hit either way. With each hit on each crowd member, they were met with 40,000 volts of electricity. Paul wasn't too bothered since he just stood there with his hands in his pockets as every lightning bolt avoided him.
"Ursa!" With a mighty roar akin to that of a full-grown Ursaring, Teddiursa drove her paw into Mawile's large jaw. The sparks from Thunder Punch ended up filling Mawile's jaw as Teddiursa let out one last spurt of energy that caused a shockwave that launched both her and Mawile back. The shockwave was so potent that even Glaceon and Espurr had been launched back, despite them not being in the middle of the clash.
As both Pokemon tumbled, the time limit had been declared over as Marian shouted. "Time! What a rush! That last moment really amped up! But let's see who came out on top!" Marian pointed at the screen to showcase the winner. "And the winner is..."
Sweetie Belle, Coco and their Pokemon each stopped what they were doing to focus on the screen in front of them. The points were very low from the back and forth of both Pokemon, but one of them really stuck out.
Thanks to the extra addition of Espurr's psychic pulses, Sweetie Belle had emerged as the winner as she beat out Coco by a smidge. But Coco came very close despite the psychic pulses coming into play.
"Sweetie Belle!"
"Yes!" Sweetie Belle ran over, hugging both Espurr and Teddiursa. "We're making it to the finals!"
"Ursa!"
"Espurr!"
"Good job, you two. We came really close." Coco went over to her partners.
"Glaceon."
"Mawile."
"Whew..." Rarity sighed. "That last moment had no reason being so aggressive."
"Hmph. What a battle." Paul smiled. "I'm looking forward to the finals."
"Great work, Sweetie Belle." Coco went up to her fellow coordinator. "You and your Pokemon."
"Thanks, Coco." Sweetie Belle stood up. "Sorry about the psychic pulses. That was a bit cheap of me."
"It's fine. You were just using everything you had." Coco giggled. "Good luck in the finals. I know you can win it."
"Right! I will!"
With Sweetie Belle succeeding in the semi-finals, she could advance to the finals. Her next opponent is without a doubt Premium Polish who is definitely a coordinator who can really show her style to the fullest.
Premium watched as she knew that Sweetie Belle was her next competitor. She was really looking forward to going up against her fellow unicorn especially considering both her and Sweetie Belle's status as the journey continues.
The finals of the Las Pegasus Pokemon Contest were about to begin. With the remaining coordinators being Sweetie Belle and Premium Polish. Two fairly popular coordinators in Equestria's Pokemon Contests with one being more popular than the other, AKA Premium Polish.
Premium's reputation was something to take notice of, even if Sweetie Belle was only hearing about her for the first time. But if she's Equestria's most popular coordinator, then without a doubt, she's the most skilled out of them all.
"This is it, Sweetie Belle." Rarity said to her little sister. "Your chance to win that Las Pegasus Ribbon is right before your eyes."
"Sure is but...I'm going up against what might be the best coordinator yet. Probably the strongest or I guess most skilled. Bit nervous but I'll be fine."
"The best and most skilled? Yes." Premium replied to Sweetie Belle as she was behind her once more. "Strongest? No."
"Y-You're not?" Sweetie Belle stammered. "But I thought you said-"
"I said I was the most popular coordinator. I'm only the best at putting on a real show. Other than that, there are coordinators out there who can wipe the floor with me easily. Like I'd be able to be the best with those kinds of ponies around." She scoffed.
"She certainly is honest..." Rarity whispered.
"My mother, Skyblue Shine, expects me to be the strongest because I'm so skilled, but that is just completely unlikely." She scoffed. "So don't expect me to be all crazy-strong. But I am gonna give you a hard time, that's for sure." Premium cackled.
"Ehehehe...." Sweetie Belle laughed nervously. She then looked at her Poke Balls, deciding that she wanted to swap Espurr out with someone else. She sent out Espurr, ready to tell her the news.
"Espurr."
"Sorry, Espurr. But I'm gonna let you sit this one out."
"Purr?"
"The previous match against Coco made me want to try a different approach. You don't mind, do you?
"Esp." Espurr didn't mind at all.
"Great. Alright, Piplup." Sweetie Belle looked at her Poke Ball. "It's time for you to shine."
"It's time for the final round!" Marian announced. "For two coordinators to earn themselves the Las Pegasus Contest Ribbon. Will Sweetie Belle and Premium Polish both come up to the stage!"
"That's our cue, Sweetie. Have fun!" Premium smirked as she pranced along.
"Right." Sweetie Belle nodded as she was ready to finish this contest and hopefully obtain the Las Pegasus Ribbon.
The final matchup of the Las Pegasus Pokemon Contest was here. Only one of them would earn that ribbon. Two little unicorns going against each other while everyone watches. Including, Rarity, Paul and now Coco, who decided to stay and watch this match to the very end.
"It's time for our final round to begin! Remember, girls! Only 5 minutes on the clock!" Marian exclaimed. "Give it your best shot, okay?"
"We certainly will. Get out here you two." Premium was the first to send out her Pokemon. Which ended up being Swanna and Masquerain. When they both came out, circles of light shined across the stage.
"Swanna!"
"Masquerain!"
"Last go! Teddiursa! Piplup! Go!"
"Teddirusa!"
"Piplup!"
"She's apparently the best, right?" Paul asked Rarity.
"The best at putting on a show. Not relatively strong. However, in the case of the Pokemon Contests, I suppose putting on a show is the superior approach. They're not like traditional Pokemon battles."
"Mhm." Coco nodded.
"So if looking all flashy is what wins you this and this Premium pony's the best at looking good, then she'll have a hard time with this one." Paul turned to face Sweetie Belle.
"Just you watch! Sweetie Belle will certainly succeed!" Rarity was confident in her little sister's victory.
"Watch. We're going for something more intimidating and fierce while still being beautiful. Masquerain! Scary Face! Swanna! Secret Power!"
"Mas...Masq! Masquerain!" The Eyeball Pokemon made the first move. By using the eye patterns on her large antennae, Masquerain conjured up a large illusion with a purple aura of its face as red and black streaks of energy came out of the illusion.
Then, it went above and beyond. Instead of just showing off a large illusion of a face, Masquerain then caused the Scary Face to sprout shadowy wings that matched that of a Skarmory.
"Swan!" As for Swanna, she played a massive part in this. By using Secret Power as a white aura surrounded her body, she made the aura flow towards Scary Face instead of her opponents.
Secret Power had merged with Scary Face, transforming an illusion move into a physical move that could actually make contact and deal some damage. And thanks to Secret Power's shine, the shadowy wings gained glistening sparkles as an extra pattern.
This exactly what both of them were aiming for. The giant shadowy face with large sparkling wings flew over towards Teddiursa and Piplup as it opened its intimidating mouth, showing sharp jaws that could pierce through them.
"It's like a dragon!" Coco gawked.
"As if Scary Face wasn't intimidating enough," Paul said. "Now it looks like it can actually cause some damage."
"Like Sweetie Belle would let that happen!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Oh, that's amazing!" Sweetie Belle gawked as she quickly snapped out of it. "Okay! Piplup! Aerial Ace! And Teddiursa! Join him with Thunder Punch!"
"Piplup!" Piplup's tiny little arms emanated a silver aura as he held it out. Meanwhile, Teddiursa did the same with her paws lightning up with electricity.
Both Pokemon put their arms and paws together, creating a new kind of synergy. At the same time, they both ran forward with two different physical moves at their disposal.
With the merging of Aerial Ace and Thunder Punch, a beautiful stream of wind and electricity emerged while the two Pokemon ran towards the physical Scary Face.
The large Scary Face went for the bite while Teddiursa and Piplup swung their flipper and paw forward. Scary Face ended up consuming both Teddiursa and Piplup, seemingly holding them within its grasp.
"Oh! Did it get them?!" Marian gasped.
"Hmm..." Premium knew that it wouldn't be that easy. Not at all. Because the moment Scary Face devoured the two Pokemon, white and yellow sparks of energy emanated out of the Scary Face Monster.
The combined might of Aerial Ace And Thunder Punch was strong enough to fight against the Scary Face Monster. So strong that the two moves were not only pushing the monster back, but they had also shattered Scary Face, decreasing points from Premium's side.
"Teddi!"
"Piplup!"
"Alright! Now head in!" Sweetie Belle bellowed.
They weren't done using Thunder Punch and Aerial Ace. The two of them advanced, heading straight towards Swanna and Masquerain.
"That's what I like to see." Premium grinned. "Swanna! Feather Dance! Masquerain! Quiver Dance!"
"Masq!"
"Swan!"
At the same time, both Flying-Types had used two different dances as a means of avoiding their opponents. Both Pokemon spread their wings which then emanated two different glows.
For Swanna, it was pure white and for Masquerain, it was multi-coloured. They both flew backwards, avoiding Thunder Punch and Aerial Ace.
Once they flew backwards, they both ascended into the air, spinning around each other as they created a beautiful silver-multi-coloured spiral that matched that of a DNA symbol.
This DNA Symbol then dispersed, scattering rainbow and silver dust across the stage. Some of the stardust even got on the crowd, giving them some shine.
"Ooh!" Marian looked at her arms as she was now sparkling along with the crowd. "I'm a fan of this!"
"Now! From above! Scald and Silver Wind!"
"Querain!" Masqueiran flapped her wings as she released a cyclone of wind that had silver crescents in it.
"Swanna!" As for Swanna, she released a stream of scalding hot water surrounded by steam from her mouth.
Silver Wind spiralled around Scald, giving the boiling blast of water a beautiful aura with crescent moon symbols emanating out of it.
"That looks bad! Piplup! Bubble Beam! And Teddiursa! Jump on the bubbles and use Thunder Punch!"
"Pip...Lup-Lup!" Piplup shot out beams of bubbles from his mouth as they made contact with Scald and Silver Wind. Bubble Beam could only hold back the two moves for a limited amount of time, so Teddiursa had to act fast.
"Ted!" And that's what she did. The Little Bear Pokemon jumped on the bubbles that Piplup kept firing repeatedly, using them as a platform to ascend. Each time Teddiursa jumped on a bubble, they kept popping while Piplup was doing his best to keep Scald and Silver Wind at bay.
"Oh! Is she going to make it?!" Coco gasped.
"Hmmm..." Paul narrowed his eyes.
"Teddiursa!" Teddiursa jumped on one last bubble with a spurt of energy as she gained enough height to jump over Scald and Silver Wind without coming into contact with them. As she leapt over the attacks, Teddiursa was now above both Masquerain and Swanna who were both still clashing with Bubble Beam.
"Swanna?!"
"Masq?!"
"Ursa!" With the two of them wide open for attack, Teddiursa smashed her sparking paws onto both of their heads, dealing super-effective damage. Thunderous sparks of electricity burst out once Teddiursa made contact with both Flying-Types as Swanna and Masquerain were sent flying down to the ground.
"Nice!" Sweetie Belle roared as she jumped for joy. Because of that super-effective hit, Sweetie Belle was ahead with more points while Premium's decreased.
"This is more like it! I've been waiting for a real challenge!" Premium had a wide grin on her face. It was as if she had been yearning for something like this. "Okay, you two! Let's show her some quality flash! Brave Bird and Psybeam!"
"Swanna!" Swanna ascended into the sky, flapping her wings ferociously as she was kicking up some potent wind pressure. Her body then burst into flames with a golden aura that quickly transformed into a blue aura.
"Querain!" Masquerain then played her part by firing Psybeam towards her teammate. Psybeam engulfed Swanna, adding its purple psychic glow onto Brave Bird's azure aura. The two colours mixed forming a violet-blue aura that illuminated the contest halls and could even be seen from the outside.
"Swan!" Swanna then dived down like a missile as her aura was large enough to hit both Teddiursa and Piplup at the same time. The violet-blue aura came streaking down as Swanna's opposing Pokemon held their breaths.
"We'll add our own flash to it! Double Team into Thunder Punch and Drill Peck!"
"Ursa!" Teddiursa rapidly duplicated herself as each of the clones sparked their paws up with electricity, jumping towards Swanna.
"Piplup!" Piplup jumps into the air as his beak glowed white, also growing in size. The Penguin Pokemon also jumped towards Swanna, spinning his gigantic beak around like a drill.
Upon contact, the clones of Teddiursa smashed their sparking paws onto Swanna's beak while Piplup's gigantic spinning beak also clashed with Swanna's beak. Sparks were flying as a silver fissure was created in-between them all. They proved to be equal in strength, pushing each other back as the clash had been cancelled out by each of their moves. All of the clones of Teddiursa fizzled out because of the clash.
"Secret Power and Psybeam!"
"Swan!"
"Masq!"
Masquerain using Psybeam to send a purple beam into the air, Swanna used Secret Power by sending a blue beam towards Psybeam. The two moves collided as they created something entirely new. Because of the effects of Secret Power, Psybeam's appearance had been altered.
Psybeam had been transformed into wings of all things because of Secret Power's influence. These wings matched that of a pegasus as each time they flapped, purple psychic glowing feathers fell from above.
"Oh wow...She really is the best at putting on a show..." Sweetie Belle's pupils expanded.
"Of course I am! Now ascend into it, Swanna!"
"Swan! Swanna!" Swanna then flew over towards the Psybeam Wings. Once the Water-Flying-Type entered the Psychic Wings, she became apart of it, using the attack as a vessel.
Now Swanna had a Psybeam armour as her wings perfectly matched with the wings of Psybeam. They were even a perfect fit.
"Now we can make our move. Brave Bird!"
"Swanna!" With the Psybeam armour, Swanna added the blue aura from Brave Bird onto it. Now the purple Psybeam wings had a blue aura outlined around the wings, giving it extra flash.
With this added strength, Swanna dived down towards Piplup and Teddiursa, leaving behind a blue and purple trail of energy.
"That's some power! Alright, Teddiursa! Launch Piplup! And Piplup! Aerial Ace!"
"Ursa! Teddi!" Teddiursa suddenly picked up her teammate with all her might. And with a mighty yell, she tossed the Penguin Pokemon like a rocket, sending him straight towards his fellow Water-Type.
"Piplup!" With Piplup being launched, he gained some extra speed. And that speed was amplified when he used Aerial Ace as a stream of blue wind trailed out, spiralling around as Piplup and Swanna locked eyes.
Once both Water-Types came into contact with each other, a back and forth happened between Aerial Ace and the Psybeam-clad Brave Bird. Each time Piplup and Swanna's beaks clashed against each other, the Psybeam Armor was slowly being destroyed.
The purple energy from Psybeam started flying all over the place as it was now raining Psychic energy.
"Oh! It's raining Psybeam!" Marian exclaimed.
"Pip...lup!" Unfortunately, Piplup couldn't hold back the Psybeam-powered Brave Bird, even with the boost from Teddiursa. Swanna broke right through, knocking the Penguin Pokemon back. "Pip!"
"Ah! Piplup!" Sweetie Belle gasped.
"Now! Flap your wings ferociously, Swanna!"
"Swan! Swan! Swan!" Swanna then flapped both her wings and the Psybeam wings at a ferocious pace. The wingbeat was so fierce that the Psybeam armour sent mini Psybeam feathers from above, aiming for Teddiursa and Piplup.
"Yikes!" Sweetie Belle winced. "Hit them back with Thunder Punch and Aerial Ace!"
There was absolutely no way they were avoiding the barrage of mini-Psybeams that were falling from above. So instead, they were going to fight back against them by using their paws and fins.
With Thunder Punch and Aerial Ace, Piplup and Teddiursa were knocking the mini-Psybeams back at Swanna. But that wouldn't guarantee a hit as Swanna's ferocious wingbeat was powerful enough to send the Psybeams back whilst more of them came flying down.
"Now it's a back and forth to see who can land a hit next! Look at those Psybeams' move!" Marian said.
"That Premium pony's pretty good at keeping Sweetie Belle on her hooves," Paul spoke. "Even if Sweetie Belle attacks from afar or up-close, she has a counter for everything."
"I-Is Sweetie Belle going to lose?" Coco stuttered.
"Absolutely not!" Rarity bellowed. "There's still time for her to work around this...!"
"There's no way I can match her in flash and flair..." Sweetie Belle said to herself. "But even still...Night Slash through the Psybeams, Teddiursa!"
"Ursa!" Teddiursa quickly changed moves by switching into Night Slash. The Normal-Type Pokemon had a Dark-Type move on her paws which would help greatly against the Psychic-Type move such as Psybeam.
Because of the type advantage, the Psybeams had been split in half, scattering all over the place. Each time Teddiursa swung her paws, she took out the Psybeams that rained down from above. All the while, the Psybeam wing armour was diminishing.
"Now, go!" Sweetie Belle yelled at the top of her lungs.
"I don't think so! Silver Wind, Masquerain!"
"Que! Querain!" Masquerain wasn't about to let Teddiursa get the chance to land a hit on Swanna as she sent a stream of powdery crescent-shaped scales.
"Bubble Beam!"
"Lup-Lup!" But of course, Piplup wouldn't let her teammate fail as she counteracted by sending out a spray of bubbles that were forcefully ejected.
Bubble Beam actually managed to capture the crescent shapes of Silver Wind, encasing them inside. Now there were bubbles with moons inside of them that were floating all over the contest halls.
This entire matchup wasn't just two coordinators going up against each other. They were also complementing each other's skills by making each of their moves stand out and increase in quality.
Time was ticking. Only 50 seconds on the clock remained.
"Teddiursa!" Teddiursa finally got close enough to Swanna as she raised both her paws up with Night Slash's aura growing in size.
"Swanna!" Swanna put all of her strength into the Psybeam Wings. She swung the Psychic Wings towards Teddiursa while the Little Bear Pokemon swung her paws towards Swanna.
Both their wings and paws had collided upon contact. But only one of them would actually emerge superior. And that was Teddiursa thanks to Night Slash working well against Psybeam. With a spurt of strength, Teddiursa shattered the Psybeam armour.
"Swan?!"
"Now! Thunder Punch!"
"Ursa!" Teddiursa quickly shifted moves once more. Now that she was up in Swanna's face, she could go all out. By changing into Thunder Punch, the Little Bear Pokemon smashed her paws on Swanna's head, dealing high amounts of damage.
"S-Swan!" Swanna was sent flying like a rocket as sparks of electricity flew across the stage. These sparks went a step further. They connected with the bubbles that had Silver Wind inside of them. Once the sparks connected with Bubble Beam, they caused a powerful chain reaction.
The electricity travelled through the bubbles, mixing with the crescents themselves, giving them a beautiful and radiant golden glow.
"Not my Swanna!" Premium gasped as she witnessed Swanna tumble.
"It isn't over yet! Let's go with Hidden Power and Bubble Beam!"
"Piplup!" Piplup once again sent a spray of bubbles out of his mouth as Teddiursa fired orbs of white light via Hidden Power. But this time, Bubble Beam caught the orbs, giving them a white outline. Now they were identical to the bubbles that had caught Silver Wind.
And speaking of Silver Wind, the bubbles with Hidden Power were much larger. Once each of the bubbles with different attacks inside of them met with each other, the bubbles unified, creating a compromise. Now the size had increased even further along with the power. With Hidden Power and Silver Wind being merged, the strength increase had gone up the roof.
"Oh, my...!" Premium stepped back, witnessing the gigantic array of bubbles that filled the air.
"Take a good look, Premium! This is what hours of staying up at night and practising can pay off! Now, Piplup! Teddiursa! Strike them!"
With perfect sync and unity, Teddiursa and Piplup both used Night Slash and Aerial Ace to hit all of the bubbles one by one, sending them towards their opponents.
"That's Premium Polish to you! Dodge with Quiver Dance and Feather Dance." An attempt was made to avoid the approaching bubbles as both Flying-Types used their elegant dances as a means of evading the bubbles.
It was coming down to the wire now.
"Don't let them escape! Use Thunder Punch to throw the bubbles."
"Ursa!" Teddiursa then shifted into Thunder Punch, using her sparking paws to grab the bubbles instead of hitting them. With two bubbles in her paws, the Little Bear Pokemon tossed them like baseballs.
The bubbles were now moving at a faster pace with lightning trailing out of them, making it harder for Swanna and Masquerain to avoid them as Teddiursa kept frantically tossing them all.
"Swan! Swanna!"
"Mas! Masque!"
The two of them were being pressured by this new approach from Teddiursa as the Little Bear Pokemon was going absolutely insane with her throwing. No matter where Masquerain and Swanna flew, the bubbles would be there.
"Piplup! Keep firing! And Teddiursa! Merge them all!"
"Teddi!" Teddiursa then gathered all the bubbles that Piplup had fired, bringing them close to her as she embedded them with electricity along with the ones that had Hidden Power and Silver Wind in them.
By bringing all the bubbles together, Teddiursa created a single gigantic bubble that was larger than all of them. All the bubbles had merged to create the apex bubble that had Silver Wind, Hidden Power and Thunder Punch inside of them as everyone gawked, looking up at the humongous bubble.
"Sweet Celestia..." Premium squeaked.
"Time for the big finish! Piplup! Strike it with Aerial Ace!"
"Lup!" Piplup ascended into the air with a burst of speed, raising his flippers. Piplup then smashed Aerial Ace onto the gigantic bubble. With a huge amount of force, Piplup managed to send the bubble flying towards Swanna and Masquerain.
"Not good! Push it back with Scald and Silver Wind!"
There was a 0% chance of them avoiding an attack this massive. So the best option was to fight back at it with a boiling blast of water and a beam of powdery dust.
However, upon contact, the Large bubble overpowered the two attacks with ease. The sheer size of it and the many attacks that were inside of the bubble made it an unstoppable force of nature as Swanna and Masquerain both gasped, knowing that there was no way they could stop this attack.
Thus, the giant bubble connected with them. And once it did, it popped upon contact, creating a violent and loud explosion of powder, electricity and light energy that was blinding to the eyes. Everyone looked away as the explosion even blew the Pokemon back. Sweetie Belle and Premium stayed firm on the floor with their dresses flowing frantically along with their manes.
"TIME!"
And with that, 5 minutes were up.
"Oh!" Both coordinators moved their heads towards the screen to see which one of them came out as the victor after that aggressive finish. Everyone else held their breath as they also looked at the screen.
"And the winning coordinator on the final stage is...!" Marian kept everyone in suspense as she finally revealed the winner. "Sweetie Belle! Which of course means that Sweetie Belle is the winner of this day's Pokemon Contest!"
"Oh." Sweetie Belle had a poker face before realizing she had won. "Oh yes!" She was overjoyed, as to be expected. So overjoyed that she levitated herself with her magic.
"Piplup!"
"Teddi!"
Just as overjoyed as their trainer, both Piplup and Teddiursa rushed over to Sweetie Belle's side, hugging her with enough force to bring her to the floor, which is exactly what happened as they all laughed. Thunderous applause came from the crowd as they had witnessed possibly their favourite contest match yet.
"Yes!" Rarity bellowed, startling everyone near her. "I knew it!" She ended up hugging Coco out of excitement.
"That felt more like a traditional Pokemon battle than a contest," Paul smirked. "I've got a lot of new things to try thanks to this final match."
"What a way to win!" Mr Contesta exclaimed.
"Packing all of those moves into one single bubble to really give it an extra hit is truly remarkable!" Mr Sukizo chimed in.
"Right!" Nurse Joy nodded.
"Beaten by a bubble..." Premium sighed. "Mom's not gonna be happy with this but...it is what it is. Swanna. Masquerain. Good job, you two."
"Swan..."
"Querain..."
"Hey, Premium!" Sweetie Belle called her name.
"Hm?" She looked up at her fellow unicorn coordinator.
"Thanks for the fun battle! It was a real rush!" She grinned.
"That's Premium Polish to you. And yeah. It was exciting. I had a total blast from start to finish." Premium smiled back at Sweetie Belle. "And thanks to you, I've got a larger reason to get invested in contests now."
"You do?"
"Oh yeah. I was totally bored with how easy things were for me in the beginning. But now that I've met you, I've got a real challenge now. Which means the next time we meet, I'll win for sure."
"We'll see." Sweetie Belle knew that she and Premium were going to cross paths again someday because of this one single match.
With Sweetie Belle's victory, she was rightfully ready to be granted the Las Pegasus Ribbon by Mr Contesta. She stood side by side with her Pokemon, looking at the ribbon that Mr Contesta had in his hands.
"Sweetie Belle. For performing and battling so well with your Pokemon, I can thankfully and proudly say that you have earned the Las Pegasus Ribbon." He gave the ribbon to the little unicorn.
"Thank you so much!" Sweetie Belle took the ribbon, placing it in her ribbon case.
"And that wraps up today's Las Pegasus contest! Unfortunately, that was the last spare ribbon, so we won't be available tomorrow and onwards! But we'll certainly be at other contest halls in Equestria with more chances to win those ribbons! Thank you all for coming like always!" Marian slid in as she waved goodbye to the crowd.
Outside, 11:30.
"What a day...but it's still morning." Sweetie Belle said as she walked out of the contest hall with Rarity, Paul and Coco.
"We still have a lot to do," Coco replied. "What now?"
"Well...We've completed the contest just now. So perhaps-" Before Rarity could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by the scream of a very familiar individual.
Jessie, who was undergoing the disguise of Jesselle, rushed over as she was obviously here for the contest. Little did she know that it was too late.
"Out of my way!" Jessie slid on the ground, stopping next to Sweetie Belle and the others. "Have I made it on time?!"
"Oh, um..." Rarity scrunched her face. "Sorry, Jesselle. But you're a bit too late...They've just finished today's contest."
"Huh?!" Jessie screeched before regaining her composure. "That's fine! I still have tomorrow to look forward to! Then I'll-"
"They've run out of spare ribbons." Paul shut her down. "Plus this thing's not gonna be open from tomorrow and onwards. So there's no point."
"A-Ah..." Jessie felt defeated as she got on her knees. "This can't be..."
"No need to worry!" Sweetie Belle went over to her. "They said that there's still more contest halls in Equestria. So there's still a chance to win some other ribbons instead."
"Hm!" Jessie shot up with her hair rising. "You're right! Thanks, Twerpette!" She patted Sweetie Belle on the head. "I'd better get searching then!" Jessie then dashed off, searching for the next location where there might be a contest hall out there.
"I'm a bit tired..." Sweetie Belle yawned. "Pokemon Contests sure do take a lot out of you..."
"Then, how about some downtime. We can return to Ponyville in the meantime for some relaxation. How does that sound?" Rarity suggested.
"That'd be nice..." Sweetie Belle nodded.
"Oh! Can I come along?! I've always wanted to see your boutique, Rarity!" Coco asked.
"Certainly." Rarity agreed. "What about you, Paul?"
"Pass. I'm off to somewhere else for the festival. But it's been fun hanging out with you all. Tell Ash I said Hi."
"We shall. Oh. We should probably fetch Spike as well. Where could he have gone?" Rarity wondered as she navigated her head, searching for Spike.
Spike had actually passed out with Salamence after eating too much. They found a buffet of food and just went to town on it all. They had already exhausted themselves out as Spike was laying on Salamence's stomach while they both snored in sync. Like trainer like Pokemon.
With Sweetie Belle's newest contest Ribbon obtained, her progress as a coordinator is going smoothly. And as a bonus, she had formed a new rival in the form of Premium Polish. The road to a Top Coordinator is not an easy one. There are bound to be many unavoidable obstacles that will come her way. But Sweetie Belle is ready to tackle them as the journey continues.
The Resort Area. Sinnoh Region. The Pokemon Festival. 14:00.
The Resort Area. A city that attracts Trainers who know there are other ways of enjoying Pokémon than battling. It was just Northeast of Sinnoh.
And just like Equestria, it was also apart of the Pokemon Festival along with every other region across the Pokemon World. It was great that Barry brought this up or else a lot would've been missed out.
Already, many ponies had arrived here to check out the festival in the Pokemon World to see what it had to offer them as opposed to Equestria
Ash, Twilight, the royal sisters and their parents, alongside Barry and Cilan had arrived at the Resort Area. Sunlight was the one who wanted to come here the most after hearing how historic Sinnoh was for being the first region while Ash was the one who recommended it.
"Ah...Sinnoh. It's been a while." Twilight took in the fresh air of Sinnoh.
"Feels great to be back," Barry said.
"Sinnoh. This is the region with all the lore, isn't it?" Luna asked Ash.
"Sure is!" Ash nodded. "Sinnoh's got a lot to explore and learn, ya know. Twilight's even borrowed some books from Canalave Library here in Sinnoh."
"Arceus is well known in this region, isn't he?" said Celestia. "I'm a bit interested in learning more about the Pokemon World because of him."
"Seems we might be in luck. Have a look." Cilan pointed his finger at something that would most definitely grab the attention of Celestia and the others regarding Arceus.
There was an entire attraction plus stand that was dedicated to Arceus himself exclusively. A domed building that had the colour palette of Arceus. From White to Gold. It was even emanating a golden glow that was meant to represent Arceus's infinite light.
It seemed to be some sort of Arceus Attraction. What lies inside is yet to be revealed.
"I heard that Arceus wasn't too well known beyond Sinnoh. Which is why some call it a Mythical Pokemon." Cilan looked up at the attraction.
"Hm? You mean not everyone thinks Arceus is real?" Barry turned to Cilan.
"Nope. Some of them even think he's just a figment of our imagination." Cilan shrugged.
"Well, he is as real as they come. We've witnessed him before." Luna replied, walking past Cilan.
"Are we gonna see Arceus in here?" Ash wondered as he and Pikachu had entered the dome. When they arrived, they found out that the interior resembled that of a high-quality museum. Albeit, a museum that only had Arceus and nothing else.
"Oh! A museum?!" Twilight squeed as she was already a fan of this place. As if her knowledge of Pokemon couldn't go any further. Now there was a museum. Little does Twilight Sparkle know, that across every region, many museums are waiting to be discovered and experienced.
"For a Pokemon, most people don't think is real...they sure put a lot of effort into this to make it really stand out." Barry crossed his arms, looking around the museum.
There was a lot to discover in this Arceus museum. From the giant golden Arceus statue coupled with smaller silver Arceus statues, artwork depicting what Arceus could actually look like, replicas of Arceus's symbols in the form of pendants and there was even a gift shop that had some Arceus pendants and other accessories.
There were interactive holographic videos that showcased theories on who Arceus might be. Since Arceus is considered a major myth, not many actually know much about Arceus. In fact, some interpret Arceus in different and unique ways. Even the appearance of Arceus varies from person to person. Some think he's just a ghost-like creature with only red eyes while others think he has a humanoid appearance.
But of course, despite many theories and myths about Arceus, one thing that was consistently known is that Arceus shares a strong relation to Dialga, Palkia and Giratina. In fact, despite this solely being an Arceus museum, the three Pokemon that were related to the Alpha Pokemon had their own sections as well, albeit minuscule. They were just as important to the Pokemon World as Arceus.
"Hm. This is different from what the books from Canalave Library had." Twilight looked at a section that went through a possible theory on the history of Arceus.
Instead of the traditional origin of Arceus emerging from a single egg in an endless void, this theory described Arceus as the embodiment of the Pokemon World. That Arceus was birthed from the core of the planet and is considered the planet's will.
Twilight firmly believed that the book from Canalave Library was the definitive book that held all the necessary and factual information on Arceus. The chapter in the book containing Arceus information was known as The Original One.
"All of these theories. Is Arceus really that rare?" Eventide said.
"The rarest there is," Ash replied. "But even so, Arceus is still seen by others, ya know. I know of a few who've seen him before."
"I believe Sunset Shimmer mentioned how Arceus arrived at the human world once the Pokemon World had connected with it." Luna chimed in. "I'd say we're one of the lucky selections to have seen Arceus with our own eyes."
"Lucky!" Barry exclaimed. "It'd be so cool to meet Arceus too!"
"But who are these three, exactly?" Celestia went up to Dialga, Palkia and Giratina's section.
"Oh!" Twilight teleported over. "Those are Dialga, Palkia and Giratina! The Creation Trio! I actually met one of them." She proudly grinned.
"Creation Trio?" Celestia looked up at the statues of the three Dragon-Type Pokemon. "By that...do you mean...?"
"Mhm!" Twilight nodded. "Dialga created time. Palkia created space. And Giratina created Antimatter. According to the Legends of Sinnoh, hey were simultaneously created by Arceus, when the universe and Sinnoh region began at Spear Pillar. Dialga and Palkia were given control over their representative dimensions, time and space respectively, while Giratina was banished to the Distortion World, I think it was called."
"Antimatter? What's that?" Barry asked.
"It's similar to matter but has opposite properties and charges," Cilan explained. "It's pretty destructive."
"I saw these Pokemon during the Tantabus actually," Luna said. "Ash, weren't you the one who dreamt of them?"
"Sure did!" Ash nodded. "They're as real as the eye can see."
"Dialga also helped us once when Starlight travelled through time. I don't know what we would've done without Dialga!" Twilight chuckled nervously. "Things would've been so much more different!"
"Oh! Have a look at these!" Cilan's attention had been drawn towards the Arceus gift shop. The items here really caught his eye and everyone else's.
"Oooh!" Sunlight pressed her face on the glass with Cilan. "That pendant looks divine! Think it would fit on me?"
"These prices are pretty harsh..." Ash winced at an Arceus crown that cost 800,000,000 Pokedollars.
"Pika..."
"Those prices mean nothing, Ash, my boy!" Eventide patted Ash on the back. Although...They are pretty intimidating..."
"That is a pretty nice crown..." Twilight gawked at the crown as she spoke to herself. "Maybe if I put it on, Ash will find me cuter..."
"I'll take that one! That one looks affordable!" Ash pointed at an Arceus cape. "And pretty neat too! Only 40,000 Pokedollars? That's a real steal!"
Luna picked up an Arceus figure that had a purple cross-like wheel attached to its body by its round abdomen instead of the usual gold that he's always seen with. She also noticed how there were more of them with different colours. Luna then read the tag, figuring out what it really was.
"Poison-Type...Arceus?" She then picked up another Arceus toy that had a dark colour instead. "Dark-Type Arceus? How unique. They all come in different types. Innovative."
"Oh, that's just what Arceus normally does," Ash mentioned as he was shuffling in his bag for Pokedollars.
"What do you mean?" They all asked him.
"Oh, right! You guys don't know!" Ash placed his bag down. "You see, Arceus has the power of all Pokemon types!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"The power of all Pokemon types?!" Barry screeched. "That's so cool! But...how's that possible?"
"Well, Arceus has these Life Plates that he carries around with him. There's a plate for each type except for Normal since Arceus is kind of a Normal-Type by default, ya know. With these plates, he can like change typings in battle whenever he wants to! It's pretty awesome!"
"At will?" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "H-How does that...does he do it instantly?"
"Obviously, you've seen it in person haven't you, Ash?" Celestia picked up an Arceus figure that was Dragon-based.
"Sure have. He can just switch up so casually too! Which is already pretty awesome!"
"Pikachu!"
"I see why he lives up to his status as the Pokemon Creator." Sunlight twirled around an Arceus necklace. "How about we personally experience those interactive attractions of Arceus?"
"They're meant to capture how Arceus created the Pokemon Universe, right? But how were they even able to record that kind of info?" Twilight wondered.
"We didn't!" An employee shouted out, replying to Twilight. "We just guessed!"
"You guessed?" Luna turned to them.
"Mhm! You see...this museum was created by us! Arceus fanatics!" She bellowed. The moment she mentioned Arceus Fanatics, multiple employees appeared behind her, flashing tons of Arceus-themed items with confetti flying all over the place as they cheered.
"Fanatics is right..." Luna's eyes widened.
"Us Arceus Fans built this entire museum based on our love for Arceus! The Alpha Pokemon! We've been fans of Arceus ever since we were all so young!"
"All of you? Did you all grow up together?" Eventide asked.
"Nope." The employee shook her head. "We just happened to come across each other when researching about Arceus!"
"That's right!" Another employee said. "You can think of this as our dream! We're so interested in Arceus that we all thought of making this place possible!"
"All these theories. Have you all even met Arceus?" Luna questioned.
"Well technically...no." The employees lowered their heads. "But one of our fellow Arceus Enthusiasts had a dream and just drew an image of what Arceus looked like. And he said that's the most likely look for Arceus." The employee pointed at the large golden Arceus statue that matched the Alpha Pokemon's actual appearance.
"As long as they're happy with what they've made." Celestia chuckled.
"And for being first-time customers, here's a free Arceus necklace!" An employee went over to Twilight, placing a necklace around her neck that fit perfectly.
"Oh, wow! Thank you so much!" Twilight thanked her. "Hey, Ash. How do I look?"
"Nice fit!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Really?" Twilight blushed from it. "Well, I'm certainly keeping it now."
"Say..." An employee slid over to Celestia. "You'd make a fairly good Arceus in the play!"
"I'm sorry. Play?" Celestia turned to her.
"Mhm!" She nodded. "We're having a play later this night about Arceus and the Creation Trio. And we were looking for worthy candidates. And you definitely fit the bill to take part in it.
"Oh!" Celestia shot up. "Really?!" She was getting all giddy as she pranced on the spot. "Me being in a play?! Now that's a fantastic idea!"
While the sun princess pranced around with her Pokemon watching, Sunlight and Eventide had worried look on their faces for one specific reason.
Celestia can't act.
"Oh no." Both of them said.
"A play sounds pretty neat." Ash nodded.
"Pika."
"I get to be in a play for the first time!" Celestia bellowed before coming to a halt. "Wait. Did you say I'd make a perfect Arceus?"
"That's right! The employee replied. "You'll be the star of the show! Right in front of everyone!"
"Oh. Well...your invitation is very kind...but are you certain it's wise? I have no acting experience." Celestia shook her head.
"Don't even worry about that. For this play, we had experienced acting tutors come in. Just in case something like this happened." The employee pointed over at two tutors. "But you know, for good measure, how about we go through a test run first."
"Well...if you're sure...Then I'd be delighted to join this play!"
"Gardevoir." Passion cheered Celestia on along with Arcanine.
"Arcanine!"
"Say this line and we'll see how good you can really get." The employee cleared her throat. "Ahem. Let there be light!"
"Okay..." Celestia nodded gently. "That seems simple enough. Ahem." She also cleared her throat. "Let there be light..."
"Uh. A bit on the quiet side. Think you can bump it up a bit?" An employee asked. "Your delivery was great but the audience needs to really hear it. Especially those in the back row."
"Oh, yes, yes." Celestia chuckled nervously. "Oh, I know! My Royal Canterlot voice!"
"Your royal what now?" An employee scrunched their eyes, unaware of what was heading towards their ears as Celestia spoke with a booming voice.
"LET THERE BE LIGHT!"
Her voice made everyone stumble as some of the Arceus artifacts almost shattered because of her thunderous voice. Some even got dizzy from the noise.
"Pi-Pika..."
"O-Okay...You need lessons right away." The employee groaned. "But that loud voice of yours can come in handy maybe..."
"Hehe. Sorry." Celestia squeed as she returned her voice to normal.
The play surrounding Arceus would need a decent-sized cast. Celestia was going to be playing Arceus but there needed to be someone willing to play as Dialga, Palkia, Giratina.
This play was most likely not 100% accurate since no one really knows how Arceus created the Pokemon universe. But the knowledge about him doing it is there. But even so, it was just as fun to come with speculation on how it was done. Part of the reason why the Arceus Fanatics and museum exist is that they enjoy the mystery behind Arceus. That's why they're so drawn to him in the first place, despite never seeing him once.
The roles of Dialga, Palkia and Giratina had been assigned with the roles being Luna, Eventide and Sunlight. The entire family. Luckily for those three, the Creation Trio don't speak so they won't have to do much as compared to Celestia who was playing a Pokemon who can 100% speak.
But three other extra roles were just as important. The Lake Trio Guardians. Someone needed to fill in for Azelf, Mespirit and Uxie. Pikachu chose to be Azelf, Eve chose to be Mespirit and Ninetales chose Uxie. So now the roles were filled. There just had to be preparations. For starters. Outfits.
There were already outfits for the Pokemon since they were pre-made for this play. However, for the ponies, it was different. There weren't any current costumes that could fit Celestia and the others.
Sure, there may be Pokemon that stand on all fours, but the ponies of Equestria have different builds. The closest Pokemon to them are Rapidash and Ponyta. But Rapidash is much larger than anypony in Equestria and Rapidash wasn't even apart of this play.
So, the employees got to work. They took a picture of Celestia and used it as a reference to create a new Arceus costume that perfectly fit her size and stature.
Meanwhile, Celestia was taking acting lessons. The two tutors would help her out, no problem.
"Alright, Princess Celestia. It's actually simple. The most that you have to really do is speak a specific set of lines, perform specific movements and just let everything else work its magic. For example, the light of Arceus will be special effects, so don't worry about that." A tutor said.
"Oh. The light effect won't be a problem. I've got that covered." Celestia lit her horn up as a golden glow emanated out of it.
"Hm. That's convenient." A second tutor spoke as she nodded. "But maybe make it a bit brighter. Arceus's light is said to be incredibly radiant! Brighter than the sun itself!"
"Brighter than the sun itself? Alright then." Celestia bumped it up. Her horn emanated a stronger and brighter glow that was powerful enough to blind someone as everyone covered their eyes.
"T-Too bright!" The male tutor bellowed as he fell on his back.
"Oh!" Celestia scrunched her face as she stopped showcasing her magic. "Apologies..."
"Okay..." The tutor stood up. "Let's try improvisation first! Unscripted actions can sometimes be a blessing!"
"Improvisation, eh?" Celestia looked up. "Would it be alright if my Pokemon assisted me?"
"Of course!" The female tutor responded. "You can have as much help as you need!"
"Wonderful. Alright, Passion. Arcanine. Help me through this, will you?"
"Garde."
"Canine!"
While Celestia undergoes acting lessons, Twilight was about to inform her friends about the Arceus play taking place in the Resort Area by using her Xtransceiver to contact them all.
"A play?" Rarity said through the Xtransceiver screen.
"Mhm! Later this night at um...W-What time is it?" Twilight asked Cilan.
"Apparently, it's at 21:30. So fairly late." Cilan answered.
"21:30. It'd be great if you could all make it here."
"That'd be great!" Pinkie exclaimed. "But like, how far is the Resort Area?"
"Hm. Well, this place is located Northeast and um...Ash, you've been here before. What's close to the Resort Area?" Twilight asked Ash.
"Yeah and the fastest way to get there." Applejack spoke.
"Well, it's close to Veilstone City. And you can really get there quick by going through Canalave's gateway. Both cities aren't too far away from each other."
"We'll find our way there, no problem." Rainbow Dash replied. "And we'll be there in no time."
"Thanks, girls. I'll see you all here soon." Twilight turned off the Xtransceiver. "Alright, Eve. Ninetales. I'll need you to perform your Psychic moves in sync as Mespirit and Uxie, okay?"
"Espeon."
"Ninetales!"
Meanwhile, with Sunlight and Eventide, they were having a look at their soon-to-be Dialga and Palkia costumes. Eventide took on the role of Dialga while Sunlight was Palkia. Despite them have zero lines in their script, they still had to perform actions. Mostly involving time and space.
"We've seen what Dialga can do with time, but Palkia?" Eventide looked at the script. "If it uses space, how would that exactly look?"
"Sure is." Ash nodded. "Whenever Palkia interacts with space, it's got these sweet looking purple particles. But really light purple."
"Light purple you say?" Sunlight lit her horn up, changing its usual golden colour to a light purple colour instead as tiny purple particles akin to stardust came flowing out. "How's this?"
"Pretty close!" Ash gave a thumbs up. "What about you, Luna?" Ash turned to the moon princess.
"I don't understand why this Giratina costume has to be so tight?" Luna grumbled as her Giratina costume had already been made. She tugged on the costume as her horn was sticking out from the top of the Giratina costume. "Does it even look good on me?"
"Looks fine to me," said Ash.
"Pika."
"Oh really? Well, I do look wonderful in it, don't I?" Luna enjoyed Ash's compliment to her. "So. Antimatter. What exactly does it look like? Might I ask?"
"Hm well..." Ash began thinking as he dug into his memories. From all of his experiences with Giratina, he recalled how the Antimatter energy appeared. "Oh right! It's like black and red!"
"Pikachu!"
"Black and red?" Luna lit her horn up, trying to emanate a black and red aura. But instead, she only got her usual dark blue aura. "Mmmrgh...No good."
"Let me help you, dear." Sunlight went up to her daughter, using her own magic to interact with Luna's magic. Sunlight's superior magic had temporarily transformed Luna's dark blue aura into a black and red aura, perfectly matching Giratina's Antimatter energy. "There."
"Alright!" Barry shouted as he and Cilan held out fliers that were meant to promote the play. "Time to go to work! We'll spread these out in no time!"
"Not by ourselves, of course," Cilan responded. "There's only two of us doing it after all."
"I've got ya covered, guys." Ash went up to Barry and Cilan. "We've only got a few hours until the play starts. We can clear out the Resort Area pretty quickly."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Mind helping us out, Meloetta?" Ash asked the Melody Pokemon.
"Melo!"
"I'll help too!" Twilight teleported in front of Ash, blocking Meloetta from viewing him.
"Etta?!"
"Great. Lucario and the others are gonna pitch in. If we can get all these fliers out, then I'll still have a chance to experience the rest of the museum, ya know!"
"Pikachu!"
Everything was being put into motion. From the fliers, costumes, script, tutoring, this Arceus play would soon be in full swing by late night. While Ash and the others head out and spread fliers, Celestia's acting lessons are currently underway at a medium pace.
Because of Celestia's non-existent experience in acting, this was proving to be a challenge for the tutors who were seeing that the progress being made was a bit rough. Passion and Arcanine didn't boost it at all. They weren't actors either after all.
But they were still making progress either way. Albeit slow progress.
21:25
The time had come.
Many had come to see this Arceus play. From humans, ponies and Pokemon. Arceus was definitely a Pokemon that could spark interest because of the myths surrounding it. So obviously, many wanted to see this play, despite some believing Arceus isn't real.
It was a sold-out house here in the Resort Area. Those fliers were fairly effective in getting a crowd for this one specific play that may only last once.
Behind the curtains of the stage that was inside of the museum, the cast were ready. Celestia and Luna were looking through the curtains, anticipating the beginning of the play.
"Are you sure your tutoring lessons went well?" Luna asked Celestia.
"Certainly. They told me to just be myself since I'm somewhat as important as Arceus."
"Uh-huh...Let's just hope this goes. This'll be my first time acting anyway."
On the outside with the crowd, Ash, Twilight and the others were sat down next to the rest of the Mane 6 since they had managed to arrive here on time.
"Oh, he's apart of the play," Ash answered. "So are Eve and Ninetales too."
"Oooh! I'll get to see Pikachu in a tiny costume then?!" Fluttershy squeed.
"Can they even act...?" Rainbow Dash scrunched her eyes.
"No need to worry," said Twilight. "This'll turn out just fine. Watch."
The play was about to begin as all the lights had been turned off. Everyone remained quiet as they were ready to see all of this unfold.
The play began with the curtains opening up as there was a black backdrop meant to represent the endless void that existed in the beginning before the Pokemon universe was made. There was a singing voice emanating from the stage. That was coming from Meloetta who was offered a role. Not only that, but Cilan was offered a role as well. As a Narrator.
"In a vortex of complete chaos and nothingness, before the Pokemon Universe even came into existence, there was absolute silence. But then, in that endless dark void, a single egg came into being."
A tiny white and gold egg appeared in the middle of the dark background as it had a mystical silver glow surrounding it. This glow was made possible by Passion who was using Dazzling Gleam to give it that glow. No one knew what Arceus's egg looked like so they just came up with their own design.
"And then, that egg hatched into Arceus. The first Pokemon in existence and the Original One."
The custom-made egg began to tremble as it completely shattered with a flash of light. Out of that light came Celestia, who had been given an Arceus costume that actually fit her. Her flowing ethereal mane had been stylized to fit the top of Arceus's head as she was given the same golden wheel around her stomach.
When Celestia emerged from the light, she got into a standing position on her hind legs as the people behind this play theorized that Arceus came out of the egg with a powerful pose such as that. Celestia was shaking up a bit as a sweatdrop fell from her face, but she had the courage to keep her composure.
"Arceus emerged in the black void of chaos and nothingness. All on his own. But that wouldn't last forever as he would then create life itself."
"Let there be light!" Celestia bellowed with a tiny bit of her Royal Canterlot Voice as her horn illuminated up with a golden shine that covered the entire stage.
"With that radiant light, Arceus created three Pokemon from his light. Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, to administer the power of Time, Space and Antimatter."
Once the light faded away, Sunlight, Eventide and Luna teleported in as the Creation Trio. The backdrop had also changed to fit space.
"Where Dialga and Palkia created the basis for the Pokemon Universe, Giratina was a fairly different story."
It was Luna's cue to start a conflict with Celestia. Since the legend goes that Giratina was banished away by Arceus, Luna would have to initiate a pretend battle with her older sister.
Conveniently, this has happened before. Celestia did end up banishing her sister and they did battle before the banishment occurred, so the roles were essentially perfect. Luna was getting a strong case of Deja Vu because of this.
Both Celestia and Luna ascended into the air with their horns glowing. Thanks to Sunlight, Luna was able to emanate antimatter in the form of black and red.
The two of them held back their magic since they didn't want to cause mass destruction in the museum. After all, this was just a pretend battle.
Luna fired a beam of black and red magic towards her older sister while Celestia fired gold magic from her horn as the two beams clashed. The stage was lit up with three different colours because of their clash.
"Giratina had a violent nature as it would cause violence frequently with Dialga and Palkia the most. Even heading into their own realms to start a conflict. Giratina, as punishment for its destructive nature, was banished by Arceus to the Distortion World."
Celestia increased the size of her beam as it had overpowered Luna's black and red beam, engulfing it and Luna as well. Luna had disappeared in a flash of light, but in truth, she just ran behind the curtains.
"Dialga and Palkia retreated to their dimensions, while Arceus continued his mission, creating three Lake Guardians. Azelf, Mespirit and Uxie."
Sunlight and Eventide flew away from each other as the cue for Pikachu, Eve and Ninetales had arrived. Ninetales looked a bit silly in the Uxie costume but he was happy nonetheless. The backdrop changed into Earth as the trio popped out of the backdrop.
"Oh...they're so cute...!" Fluttershy gushed.
"Pika-Pika." Pikachu gave the cue to Eve and Ninetales to use their Psychic abilities.
"Esp."
"Nine."
A blue psychic glow surrounded all three of them thanks to the efforts of Eve and Ninetales as they levitated themselves and Pikachu who made sure not to break character.
"Arceus then used its many life plates to create even more Legendary Pokemon. Each of these Legendary Pokemon were created to fit specific roles, much like Dialga, Palkia and Giratina. From the Earth, the Land the Sea and Sky, the Pokemon world gained more life beyond Azelf, Mespirit and Uxie."
The backdrop then changed with silhouettes of Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza being placed on the backdrop which also showcased, sea, land and sky. The main elements that they're known for.
The employees of the museum played a huge role in this with their own Pokemon as they used their Water, Ground and Flying-Types to create the illusion of these elements happening.
"And with the Pokemon World finally finished, the first species of Pokemon emerged from them. Mew. Which heavily populated the planet in plentiful numbers."
The artist rendition of Mew from cave paintings in the very far past had been shown across the Earth backdrop. Multiple of them to give the scale of how many Mew's existed before they became so rare.
"Oh! You see that? Mew!" Pinkie nudged Applejack.
"I can see it, Pinkie..." Applejack said.
"The Era of Creation drew to a close as Arceus went into slumber as his work had been done. Since then, the Mew population reduced as they were all evolving into new species of Pokemon, mostly the prehistoric Fossil Pokemon. The first humans also appeared around this time."
Celestia flew into the air, disappearing from the stage in a flash of light as she really just went behind the curtains, just like Luna and her parents.
The employees also had Fossil Pokemon at their disposal since they've been planning this play for years now and had to travel to many regions to even make this possible. That just goes to show how devoted they are to this.
"Unfortunately, most of these fossil Pokemon were wiped out by a meteorite and only Archen, the First Bird Pokemon and the Prototurtle and ancestor of all turtle Pokemon were left to thrive and marked the beginning for a new line of Pokemon."
The fossil Pokemon disappeared via a return to their Poke Balls.
"Centuries, millenniums had passed with many evolutions being birthed, human's settling in most of the world and worshipping several of the Legendary Pokemon, the Pokemon World continued to advance. There have been many conflicts, word-shaking events such as the battle between Groudon and Kyogre.
Millions of lights shined as to give the illusion of these conflicts that apparently lasted for centuries and decades with barely any end.
"But despite all that, the world thrived as people and Pokemon bonded together through the years, bringing us to today. And it was all thanks to Arceus for making this possible. The End."
The play had been closed off as it was relatively short. Meloetta stopped singing as the curtains came together, concealing the backdrop.
And with that finished, obvious applause filled the museum as they did thoroughly enjoy that presentation. It was wonderful seeing so much effort being put into this play throughout the love for one single Pokemon. The cast came out of the curtains for their applause as Celestia let out a wide grin. That was her first play and she did surprisingly well. All she really had to do was be herself since not many know how Arceus acts.
Twilight stood up as she was proud of her Pokemon for playing so well, even if they only had a few seconds to show themselves on stage, she was happy nonetheless.
"Aw...I wanted it to be longer?" Pinkie sighed.
"Maybe another play." Fluttershy chuckled as she kept clapping.
The play went well with little error whatsoever. It's short runtime meant that there wouldn't be any struggles. If it was an hour-long play, then there would've been a problem, no doubt about it.
Many were leaving the Resort Area since the play had finished.
Celestia and the others took off their costumes as they were a bit exhausted. Especially since the fifth day was coming to an end.
"Great job, all of you." Ash picked up Pikachu.
"Pikachu!"
"Thank you, Ash," Celestia replied. "Glad it went well."
"It sure did." Applejack nodded. "I had no idea Arceus was that important."
"Me neither." Fluttershy shook her head. "It's been a while but, I hope we get to meet Arceus again. I have a lot to tell him since he created all these wonderful creatures!"
"Might be a long time for you to see him again," Cilan spoke. "Arceus is the rarest of them all."
"We'll meet him again for sure." Ash tightened his gloves. "But man...I'm tired..."
"You and me both," Luna yawned. "This is the fifth day, isn't it?"
"Right. I suppose the Pokemon Festival has tired us all out. And we're still in the first week after all." Celestia looked over at the others.
"Maybe we should get some rest now. We can head back to Ponyville quickly." Twilight suggested. "How does that sound?"
"I just sent Sweetie Belle there since she was tired herself so...sure." Rarity agreed and so did the others.
"Wonder what else we'll see at the festival?" Pinkie Pie wondered. "Oooh...two whole weeks!"
"Now that we know the Pokemon Festival continues in the Pokemon World, we have more to discover and explore. I think we should visit Hoenn or Unova next. Or maybe Kalos!"
"Let's rest first before we do that," Twilight grumbled.
"Oh, right. Sorry."
The end of the 5th day was nigh. The play was enjoyable, the Arceus Museum was a treat to explore and there was a lot more to look forward to in the Pokemon Festival. Arceus himself couldn't witness this since he was in a great slumber at the moment.
But Arceus knew that they truly loved him and he loved them back as the journey continues.
It was time to take things slow. The Pokemon Festival can certainly tire anyone out especially considering this year's festival was longer than the first, beating it out by 2 weeks this time.
The amount of excitement they've all had can be seen as clear as day. So far, many experiences in this year's festival have varied in unique ways.
From battling and meeting with old rivals and friends, getting surrounded by Pokemon thanks to a powerful Sweet Scent, enjoying some curry, befriending the Changelings, Contests, Gym Battles, the Pokeathlon, taking part in an Arceus-based play and so on.
Point is, there hasn't been a single dull moment.
But with all that excitement, it was inevitable that exhaustion would come their way. Sometimes, it's good to take things slow and steady. And that's exactly what they were going to do today. And what better place to take things slow than Ponyville.
"Kicking back is pretty good too, ya know," Ash said as he and his Pokemon were laying on the ground.
"Pika."
"Mhm..." Rainbow Dash nodded. "But you know, I'm itching for some action later on. You know what I mean, Ash?"
"Sure do."
"You two just can't stay out of a battle, can you?" Applejack went up to Ash and Rainbow Dash.
"Nope!" Ash sat up. "Gotta get stronger for the World Coronation Series. So I can beat Leon!"
"Pikachu!"
"And I gotta get stronger for the Equestria League! And become the first Champion in Equestria!" Rainbow Dash flew up.
"Alright, alright. I hear ya." Applejack replied.
"But right now...we can't just sit around and wait for the right time for some action, right?" Rainbow asked Ash.
"Hm..." Ash began to ponder. There was obviously something they could do in the meantime whilst still taking things slow and steady. Then it hit Ash. "Well, there's the PokePark..."
"Oh, right!" Fluttershy zipped over. "We never got to fully explore the PokePark. I wonder what else we'll find in there?"
"It's mostly Unova Pokemon, isn't it?" Rarity turned to Applejack.
"Mhm." AJ nodded in response.
"Well, you guys can head to PokePark. I'm just gonna stay here." Ash decided to stay in Ponyville instead of heading to PokePark.
"Yeah, I'm with Ash here. I wanna spend some more time with my family. And uh...this guy." Applejack looked back at Golett who was still attached to her.
"Gol!"
"That Golett still came along with you?" Rarity said.
"All the way from Canterlot...I told him he can only stay until the festival's over. Which means 2 whole weeks of him being stuck to me."
"Golett!"
"Hm." Ash took out the boardgame from his bag as he was curious about something. "Wonder how Dusknoir and Kathleen are doing? Might have to check up on them."
"Pika?"
"I think everything's still peaceful in that world." Fluttershy flew over to the board game. "All the people inside of the game were freed, weren't they?"
"But what if they're lonely?!" Pinkie screeched. "They've probably got nothing left to do!"
"No need to worry. I promised I'd return to them after all." Ash opened up the cover. "Plus, the world's pretty relaxing to look at."
"Ooh!" The CMC jumped up at the board game. "Can we go there?!"
"Sure thing!" Ash nodded. "It's gonna be fun heading back in there. Last time we were sucked in, things almost got pretty chaotic in there."
"Did someone mention chaotic?" Once Ash mentioned anything regarding chaos, the Lord of Chaos himself appeared above them all, Discord. "What was that you were mentioning, Ash?"
"Discord?" Fluttershy looked up.
"Of course you'd show up via a single word mention." Rarity lowered her eyes.
"Actually, how come you didn't show up when other chaotic stuff was going down?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"Oh. I was occupied then. But not this time. So what was that you were saying just 7 seconds ago, Ash?" Discord appeared behind Ash, looking at the board game.
"It's just this board game over here. We were planning on heading back inside of it."
"Inside of it? This thing?" Discord's eyes multiplied as they scanned the game. "Looks like just a standard and mundane boardgame."
"It looks like that from the outside. But on the inside, there's an entire living and breathing world." Fluttershy explained. "All made possible by Dusknoir."
"Is that so? Well, that's actually impressive." Discord nodded.
"Sure is. Kinda makes me curious if there's more of these out there." Ash spun it around. "Or is it just this one with Dusknoir?"
"Whatever it is, let's head in already. We might get up to a new adventure." Pinkie hopped on Ash's shoulder.
"Would you like to join us, Discord?" Fluttershy suggested. Once she said those words, the others suddenly grimaced with their manes and tails standing up as they aggressively shook their heads.
"Me? Join? Oh, well I don't know about that. I mean, I do enjoy myself some games but..." Discord made Pokemon cards of different values appear in his paw.
"It'll be a blast!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash...Pikachu...Fluttershy...Please, for all that is good in this world..." Twilight winced as she closed her eyes.
"Oh, alright. I was curious anyway." Discord agreed to join in, which immediately made the rest of the gulp. They knew that they couldn't convince Ash and Fluttershy to leave Discord out, no matter how hard they tried, so they were stuck with him.
"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pika!"
"But I know of a way we can spice things up." Discord raised his paw as his finger suddenly elongated, stretching into the sky. Discord's elongated finger then came down, stretching all the way down as it touched the board game. Once his finger connected with the board game, everyone was suddenly sucked in without Dusknoir having to do it himself.
It was time for Discord's chaos to finally show itself once more. This time in the form of another world inside of a game.
The Boardgame World.
"Ugh..." The sound of Twilight groaned was emitted. At first, she saw nothing but darkness. But soon, once she opened her eyes, she was able to witness the vibrant blue sky.
Waking up, she felt that something was off. Something was definitely not right here. However, strangely enough, Twilight also felt something very familiar. As if she's experienced this before.
"A-Are we in the game?" Twilight stuttered as she sat up on the bright green grass. Once she did, that's when she noticed the oddity as she looked at her hooves.
Or rather, her paws.
Not just any paws, Espeon paws.
She was an Espeon yet again. This time, it didn't take Manaphy's Heart Swap to make this possible.
"Huh?! This again!?" She screeched before sighing. It wasn't too surprising to her since it had already happened before. So Twilight just went with it.
But seeing herself as an Espeon once more in the game world made Twilight realize something. Obviously, this was Discord's doing. That much was clear. However, this meant that all of Twilight's friends had been affected themselves. Coming to that realization, Twilight immediately turned around to see what had happened to her friends.
And her eyes didn't tell any lies.
They had all become Pokemon themselves.
Ash was a Lucario, Rarity was a Pheromosa, Applejack was a Sceptile, Fluttershy was an Audino, Rainbow Dash was a Braviary, Spike was a Salamence, Scootaloo was a Ponyta, Sweetie Belle was an Espurr, Apple Bloom was an Emolga and Pinkie Pie was surprisingly not Slurpuff or Spinda, but instead a Mew of all things
"Oh, sweet!" Ash looked at his new form. He noticed that Pikachu was still here on his shoulder. Even as a Pokemon, Pikachu would still be there with Ash. Then again, this isn't the first time Ash has been turned into a Pokemon.
"Sweet is right! Look at this!" Spike gushed. "Wings! This is amazing!" Spike took to the skies, enjoying his new wings.
Surprisingly, no one was upset by this despite them being fearful of what Discord could've done. It turned out fairly neat in the end.
"I'm not complaining actually. I like this. Is this what it feels like to have fingers?" Rarity looked at her hands. She also noticed that she was the tallest of the group here thanks to Pheromosa's size.
"Not bad at all." Applejack crossed her arms together as she nodded.
"I've always wanted to be a Pokemon! Next to a tree of course!" Fluttershy was hyperventilating. "This is the best day ever...!"
"As long as I can fly this time, I'm cool with it." Rainbow Dash took to the skies.
"I don't really feel too different," Scootaloo said as she was still just a pony in this form. "But it is cool to have a flaming mane and tail!"
"Doesn't that hurt?" Sweetie Belle asked as she looked up at Scootaloo due to her being the same size as an Espurr.
"Nope." Scootaloo shook her head. "It's actually pretty warm and comfortable."
"Looks like we're all our partners." Apple Bloom flew over. "How neat is that?"
"Very neat!" Pinkie bellowed as everyone turned to her. They all noticed that while they were all their partner Pokemon, Pinkie Pie was a different story.
She came out as Mew instead of Slurpuff or Spinda, which everyone was expecting since she owns those species of Pokemon.
"Pinkie Pie? How come you are Mew, exactly?" Rarity asked.
"No idea. But I'm not complaining!" Pinkie flew around. "Oh! I bet I can transform! Watch this!" She was able to tap into the genes of Mew who can transform into any Pokemon. By doing so, Pinkie transformed into a Tyranitar, immediately roaring at her friends before turning back. "Nice."
"See? Doesn't this feel more immersive and appropriate for your Pocket Monsters?" Discord appeared above them with his hands detaching and latching onto Ash's shoulders.
"Sure does. Thanks, Discord!" Ash thanked him.
"Yeah!" Pikachu suddenly spoke.
The words that came out of Pikachu's mouth immediately prompted everyone to freeze and turn their attention towards him. Out of everything that surprised them from Discord's Chaos Magic, this topped them all. They all jerked back with unified gasps as Pikachu just looked at them with confused faces.
"What? What is it?" Pikachu asked.
"Is that what he sounds like...?" Rainbow Dash whispered.
"His voice certainly matches what we constantly hear, doesn't it?" Rarity replied with her own whisper.
"Alright then." Discord gave himself a Trainer hat, bag and Poke Balls, resembling a Pokemon Trainer. "Let's get this going already. Where exactly are those gyms you speak of?"
"Oh, it's not that kind of world Discord. This world's a bit older than the one we have. Like in the way past." Ash explained.
"Hm. That's less interesting." Discord made the trainer gear disappear. "I'm more fond of modernity after all. So where do we exactly begin?"
"Well, we can go ahead and visit Kathleen and Dusknoir first. Their castle is just up ahead." Pikachu pointed over at the castle in the distance. They noticed that its usual dark and grim colours had changed for something much brighter and vibrant. Mostly Kathleen's decision.
"A reunion? That's no fun. Where's the excitement? This is a fantasy world, right? Something fantastic should be happening!"
"Well...we're kinda just here to catch up with old friends." Pinkie Pie squeed. "But Ash and Rainbow Dash are gonna have some action later. Whenever that is."
"Maybe when we get to Kathleen and Dusknoir, they'll have something new planned for us. Kathleen does enjoy games. So in the meantime, you can explore this world for yourself." Fluttershy recommended.
"Yeah. And when we do get something, we'll go wild!" Ash exclaimed.
"Hm. Fine. I'll see what I can find here." Discord created a Rapidash in his own image as he got on it. "I'll call you when I find something interesting!" He whistled as he made Rapidash gallop along, only for him to just disappear in a blaze of fire.
"But uh...How are we gonna explain to Kathleen and Dusknoir that we're Pokemon now?" Rainbow Dash looked at her wings.
"They'll understand. Let's go." Twilight responded as she led the group along. Everyone would have to get used to their new walking methods.
Although, for some of them, it was fairly easy. Lucario is a humanoid Pokemon so that was no problem for Ash and Ponyta, despite being a completely different creature was still at the end of the day, a pony, so that was no issue for Scootaloo.
Rainbow Dash could get used to it because of the obvious wings, but as for everyone else, that's where things end up being a problem.
Most of their Pokemon stand upright. Rarity was stumbling and struggling the most due to her very long legs as a Pheromosa and supple and thin body as well.
Fluttershy took baby steps as an Audino. She was waddling about, trying her very best not to fall over. The same can be said for Sweetie Belle and Applejack. All they could do was waddle until they got used to it.
Pinkie didn't have to face these obstacles since she could just fly as Mew. Or even better, she could choose to become any Pokemon who stood on four feet. If anything, she had the best Pokemon option out of all of them since she was now every Pokemon in one.
Lucky.
Journeying through this world once more felt nostalgic. It had undergone some changes when they were last here. Many familiar locations remained. The rock cave, the maze, the underground and the Joltik-Durant lair were still here.
The real major changes were that there was now an ocean with what seemed to be a pirate ship in the distance. Pirates are always fun. When they're not pillaging anyway. This pirate ship was massive. It took up a majority of the ocean as it had a colour palette that was similar to a Bisharp.
With the addition of an ocean, more Pokemon can be found. Before the amount of Pokemon in this world was very limited to a few types. Very little Water-Types existed with only some of them being Dual-types.
Along with the inclusion of deserts, a labyrinth, jungles, marshes and an entire colosseum. A lot has happened since last year, that's for sure.
Dusknoir has been busy. And it really shows how much variety was here. With this world being under his complete control, he can make anything he wants.
They had arrived at Dusknoir's castle by opening the gates. Once they opened up, the interior gained some colour as well. It still had the familiar eerie nature of Dusknoir looming around, but with Kathleen's influence, the whole castle went through a bit of an overhaul.
"Hello! Dusknoir! Kathleen!" Ash called out their names. "You here?"
"Ash! Everyone!" With a response as fast as lightning, Kathleen came running through the doors of the throne room, recognizing the voice of her friends in an instant. But even when recognizing her friends, she was surprised to see a bunch of Pokemon instead. "Oh. Huh? I thought I heard Ash here..."
"Sure did. I'm right here." Ash spoke once more, giving Kathleen clarity that it was indeed him.
"Oooh!" She gawked. "You're a Pokemon now?! Then does that mean..."
"We're all Pokemon," Twilight answered. "Every last one of us."
"And it's great!" Pinkie flew in circles.
"Oh well...It's great to see you all again!" Kathleen hugged Ash.
"Great to see you too." Ash patted her on the head.
"But you all came at the right time. Things aren't really peachy so far." Kathleen pouted.
"No, not really." Kathleen shook her head. "They're actually sorta bothering everyone else in this entire world. And they're really good at making a scene."
"Well, who is it?" Applejack asked.
"Pirates!" Kathleen raised her arms.
"Oh! Pirates?!" Ash and Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up. They found pirates to be fairly interesting.
"Mhm! Pirates! They're super scary...but they're the best part of this world so far! They make things super fun every single day!" Kathleen jumped up and down.
"Uh...That's a good thing?" Applejack scratched her head as she looked outside of the window, spotting the pirate ship.
"Bothering everyone here doesn't exactly sound fun..." said Rarity.
"No. It's not. But it's just so much fun seeing new things happen. But I don't want anyone else in this world to be sad because of them. And I was really hoping you all would encounter them someday since I wanna see you go against the pirates! That'd be so fun to watch! And you can save everyone!"
"Well...We were gonna take things really slow today but looks like some help is needed." Ash said.
"Are they pillaging?" Twilight asked.
"Yep!" Kathleen nodded ferociously. "They go across the entire world and pillage everywhere! Even the new locations aren't safe from them."
"Pillaging...are we all up for that? This is brand new territory we're stepping in." Twilight turned to her friends.
"Yes please!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I'm up for some extra adventure!"
"I've come across some pirates myself." Ash grinned, recalling Phantom. "So this isn't new to me."
"Wait. We actually get to experience this?" Scootaloo gasped. "Awesome..."
"We're not seriously going up against pirates, are we?" Sweetie Belle gulped. "I've heard a lot about them. They're pretty scary..."
"Oh, they're scary for sure! But some of them are super cute too!"
"They are?" Fluttershy turned to Kathleen. "Who exactly are these pirates?"
"They call themselves the Bisharp Pirates! They ride on a super big ship called The Dark Steel! And their crew members are gigantic in numbers! I think there's like... a hundred?"
From how Kathleen described these pirates, they were a big deal. Everyone looked outside as they saw the Bisharp-themed ship outside the window. Seems they were fairly close, so the journey wouldn't take too long.
"Bisharp Pirates, huh? Alright. We'll get on it right away!" Ash nodded. "I know it's gonna be a real blast!"
"I was afraid you'd say that..." Rarity sighed. "Oh, well. There's no turning back now that you've made up your mind."
The decision had been made. So much for a slow and relaxing day. Pirates were a big enough drive to get into some action. But it was mostly to make Kathleen happy. They hadn't seen her for a while and they would do anything to make this little girl smile.
"By the way...where's Dusknoir?" Twilight asked Kathleen.
"Oh, Dusknoir got captured by the pirates." She grinned.
"Oh, he's playing along? How cute!" Fluttershy gushed.
"Nope! They just barged in here and captured him! He seemed pretty scared though, so can you get Dusknoir back please?"
"Sure will. Alright! Let's go find us some pirates!" Ash raised his arm in the air.
"Yes sir!" Pikachu jumped up.
The Dark Steel Ship of the Bisharp Pirates was just sitting out in the ocean, completely stationary. It was unknown if there were any crew members on board at the moment.
But even still, Ash and the others decided to approach it. At first, it seemed close, however, because of its gigantic size, it gave off the illusion that it was near. In truth, it was actually far away. Walking there would take an hour or more.
"I could just fly super-fast over there. Would save a ton of time." Rainbow Dash suggested.
"And with my amazing speed and powerful kicks, we could retrieve Dusknoir and defeat the pirates in no time." So did Rarity.
"We don't know what these pirates are capable of. So rushing in blind isn't the best option." Twilight restrained them both from acting instantly. "After all, Kathleen said there might be hundreds and she's not even sure how many there truly are."
"I could probably try and hear them from this distance. Being an Audino is so amazing!" Fluttershy clapped her hands together in excitement. "I can hear so much! The sounds of the Pokemon and their tiny feet moving across the ground as they make a squishy noise and-"
"Focus, Fluttershy." Twilight snapped her out of it. "Can you hear how many there are?"
"Oh, right!" Fluttershy began using Audino's amazing feelers to try and sense the sounds coming from the ship. While the ship was far away, Fluttershy was able to at least pick on something, despite her distance.
The sounds she was picking up on were faint and weak. She could definitely hear chatter coming from the direction of the ship. From what she could hear, there weren't actually hundreds of Pokemon onboard.
Instead, there were thousands. Thousands of pirates on this behemoth of a ship. And it made sense. For a ship that large, having a hundred wouldn't be fitting. It needed to have a crew that could populate an entire country.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy stopped walking. "There are thousands of them on board!"
"Thousands?!" Everyone gasped.
"Big and small Pokemon alike. There's probably even Pokemon of all typings on board too."
"...T-Then...if there's so many of 'em, how come we can't see them on the ship?" Applejack looked over at the Dark Steel Ship. "Should at least see a couple of hundred of 'em in the distance."
"What do we do? A thousand's way too much." Scootaloo shuddered. "They're gonna have some Water or Rock-Types that'll crush me!"
"Or even me!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Well, now that we know how large the numbers are, we're gonna need a new approach." Twilight began thinking. "How do we deal with that many pirates? Actually, how do we deal with pirates in general?"
"Hmm..." Ash got to thinking along with the others. A crew that gigantic is just overwhelming. There is a very good chance that they could easily overpower Ash and the others in terms of number alone. But obviously, there was a weakness to exploit.
However, whilst they were thinking of a plan and approach, the unthinkable and unexpected happened.
The ship suddenly began to fly as it ascended from the ocean. This grabbed the attention of everyone who immediately turned to face the flying ship. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before. It just casually took to the skies as it was hovering. The sheer sight of it was baffling to their eyes. And the icing on the cake was that it even sprouted pitch-black wings, just for show.
"It flies?!" The CMC bellowed.
"So cool!" Ash gawked.
"What happened while we were gone from this world..."? Twilight's jaw dropped.
The airborne ship was clearly going somewhere since it was on the move. But usually, ships move on the water instead of the sky. But then again, this is a fantasy Pokemon World. Anything is possible. Even without Discord's influence.
With a sudden burst of speed, the ship flew off, creating a sonic boom and shockwave all at once as the wind pressure reached Ash and the others, almost knocking them back. The Dark Steel was now long gone from here.
With the ship suddenly flying with wings, heading off into the sky to who-knows-where, the plan had radically changed for everyone. Now they had to come up with yet another approach.
Luckily, some of them could fly. Unfortunately, some of them couldn't and not all of them could be carried by Rainbow Dash and Spike or even Pinkie Pie.
"...Alright. Now, what do we do?" AJ shifted her eyes around.
"We go after them," Ash replied. "All we gotta do is get to the sky like them."
"You make it sound like it's that easy Ash." Twilight turned to him. "That was an entire ship that just sprouted wings and took the to skies! How are most of us going to get up there?"
"And where are they even going?" Sweetie Belle looked up. "And why the sky?"
"Yeah." Scootaloo nodded. "It totally doesn't make any sense to sail a ship in the sky. Unless..." Scootaloo and her fellow Crusaders slowly turned around as they looked at each other.
"There's a Sky Island!" The three of them said.
"A sky island? Seriously?" Spike replied.
"It's not out of the realm of possibility. This world is completely unpredictable. Plus, Cloudsdale exists, so who's to say that a Sky Island wouldn't exist either." Rarity agreed with the Crusaders.
"Let me check!" Rainbow Dash decided to check for herself as she ascended into the sky, causing her own shockwave that was similar to the Dark Steel.
Once ascending to the skies and moving at a fast pace, Rainbow Dash couldn't actually see the Dark Steel yet. It was definitely moving faster than her as it was long gone from here.
Rainbow Dash ascended higher as she had never gone this high before in her life, even all the way back at Cloudsdale. Due to this world being larger than Equestria and possibly even the Pokemon World itself, the skies here were insanely vast. Even a ludicrously fast Pokemon couldn't clear it in a short amount of time.
Rainbow Dash broke past the clouds as she was far away from her friends and the ground at this point. Now, she was somewhere else entirely. But she wasn't just in the skies. Not at all. She quickly found out that the CMC's theory on there being an island in the sky wasn't just for fun and jokes.
There actually was an island in the sky.
From 80,000 metres above the ground was an entire civilization of Pokemon, living in the skies themselves. An absolutely gigantic mass of clouds that had constructed buildings of all sizes resting on top of them.
The number of buildings here was equal to that of Castelia City itself. And Castelia City is gigantic. One of the largest cities in the Pokemon World after all.
All of this was floating in the atmosphere itself. Even higher than Cloudsdale.
"Awesome...." Naturally, Rainbow Dash was absolutely stunned by this. This wasn't too new to her since Cloudsdale and other pegasus locations exist but it was still very impressive. In fact, this location resembled a city with how many buildings there were. This was easily above and beyond anything she had seen in the sky so far.
She had to tell her friends, immediately as she returned to the ground in a few seconds.
"Did you see the ship?" Fluttershy asked.
"...No. But I saw something even cooler...There's an island city in the sky!"
"Seriously?!" Twilight pulled back.
"Seriously!" Rainbow Dash replied.
"Knew it!" The CMC bellowed.
"Okay. So there's an entire city in the sky." Spike turned around. "Can we even stand on it? How are we gonna get there?"
"Well, I think I may know of a way." Fluttershy had an idea. And it involved a certain Draconequus who was currently undergoing his own adventure in this world. However, something quickly stopped that idea from taking action.
"Wait!" Kathleen had run out of the castle as she had caught up to her friends, yelling and screaming their names. She had grabbed their attention as they all wondered why she was out here.
"Kathleen?" Ash and Pikachu said.
"I almost forgot!" Kathleen slid on the ground. "Dusknoir left you all something! If you all came back here and dealt with the pirates, he wanted to give you all this to make things more fun!"
"Give us what exactly?" Rarity asked.
Kathleen then ran towards the ocean, stopping near it as she looked at the vast blue sea, holding her breath in as she yelled at the top of her lungs. "You can come up now!"
With that command, from under the sea itself, another absolutely massive ship had emerged, rising from the ocean as it separated the waves. Everyone gawked as they saw that this ship had the colour scheme of Dusknoir.
"Ta-dah!" Kathleen raised her arms. "Dusknoir made this all for you guys! It's called The Noir Pride!"
"Okay...That works too." Fluttershy nodded.
"Do all the ships in this world fly?" Applejack questioned.
"Nope. Just these two. Dusknoir made this for the whole pirate thing. That Bisharp ship was for the pirates and this one's for you all! Now you can go after them to the Sky Borealis!"
"That's the name of the island?" Rainbow Dash looked up. "Alright then. If it can get us up there, then we'll take it."
"Great! Have fun, everyone!" Kathleen jumped up and down.
Now that they had their own ship that could fly into the sky, they could follow the Bisharp Pirates to the Sky Borealis and rescue Dusknoir from them. This supposed slow day quickly escalated to something unexpected.
There was no way they were expecting something like this. They were just going to take it easy. But of course, in the World of Pokemon, excitement is always present, no matter what. Even in a game.
Everyone boarded the Noir Pride as they were ready to take off. They thought to themselves of who would steer this ship. But they didn't have to worry about that. The ship was under Dusknoir's influence, so it could steer itself. Like an autopilot.
Everyone held on for dear life as the ship was starting to ascend from the sea as it sprouted its own wings that were a shadowy violet, fitting for the colour of a ghost.
Just like Dark Steel, the Noir Pride left with a burst of speed, taking off instantly as Kathleen waved them all goodbye, wishing them good luck and hoping that they bring Dusknoir back as the journey continues.
The quest to stop the Bisharp Pirates and rescue Dusknoir had begun. And it would take place in the sky of Sky Borealis. The ship was moving at amazing speeds as everyone was holding on for dear life while the ship travels the azure skies.
"T-Too fast!" Twilight yelped as she was holding onto Ash. Thankfully, since Ash was now a Lucario, his Steel-Body gave him the power to stand firmly on the ship's floor without being blown back.
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Scootaloo groaned.
Thankfully, the ship was made to withstand intense pressures such as this. So even at ludicrous speeds, it will not break apart, no matter what. The Noir Pride had a second burst of speed as it had accelerated all of a sudden. The clouds below and behind the ship had been separated from the speed boost as a sonic boom trailed behind.
The crew all noticed that up ahead, a large array of clouds was in the way, right in front of them. They closed their eyes as the ship broke through the clouds.
The ship was finally slowing down for one reason. The crew had reached their destination in a short amount of time. It took approximately 20 seconds to arrive here.
And once they did, they witnessed what Rainbow Dash saw earlier. The vast and wonderful Sky Borealis in all of its gigantic and aerial glory.
The ship was now floating on the clouds themselves as it stayed airborne while its shadowy wings were flapping. But that wasn't important right now. With a gentle pace, the ship was moving forward in the air, approaching the sky island.
What was really important was the view of the Sky Borealis.
"Oooh...Pretty..." Sweetie Belle gawked.
"You weren't kidding, Rainbow Dash. An entire city in the sky!" Ash exclaimed.
"Uh-huh!" Pikachu nodded.
"It looks a lot like Castelia City. Just as big too." Twilight noticed. "Does anypony spot the Dark Steel Ship?"
"Nope! Too busy checking this place out!" Pinkie Pie hovered up, gazing at the city.
"The ship looked as big as this one. It can't be that hard to miss." Rarity said. "Unless...this entire city is so massive that the ship is masked in it all."
"Look big enough to hide it." Rainbow Dash nodded. "Say, Fluttershy. You hear anything in that city?"
"I do!" Fluttershy jumped up. "I can hear so many voices talking! It's an entire civilization over there! I can't wait to get there! I wonder if the Pokemon there have their own jobs!"
"We're just here to save Dusknoir and stop the pirates. So let's not get-" Before Twilight could finish her sentence, the entire ship suddenly came to a halt as it smashed into something, making the Noir Pride tremble. But not only did it tremble, but it also bounced back as if it had hit something soft. "Woah!"
"W-What did we hit?!" Apple Bloom stuttered.
"We're not even at the city yet. Did we hit a solid cloud or something?" Rainbow Dash looked around.
The ship didn't hit anything that was in the city since they weren't there yet. But they did hit something solid that was in the way. But it certainly wasn't a solid cloud, although that would be impressive.
Instead, they soon came to find out that the Noir Pride had hit a magical forcefield instead. A forcefield that was so wide that it protects and covers the entirety of the Sky Borealis.
"A forcefield?" Twilight walked forward, looking at the bubble-like forcefield.
"It looks soft." Pinkie flew over to the forcefield as she used her tail to make contact with it. Once her tail touched the forcefield, it was immediately bounced back and covered with magic dust. "Oooh! It's super bouncy!"
"Guess they're blocking us out of here," Pikachu said. "Let's breakthrough it!" He lit his tail up for an Iron Tail.
"Slow down there buddy." Ash restrained Pikachu. "They're probably put this up cause they don't want any intruders. If we break-in, they're gonna be real suspicious of us."
"But if the pirates went through here, aren't they already dealing with intruders?" Scootaloo placed her hoof on the bubble.
"I say we just pop it." Rainbow Dash was ready to use a Steel Wing. "The pirates are a bigger threat anyway."
"Hmm..." Twilight looked at her Espeon paws as she decided to test something out. By gently raising her paw, she came into contact with the forcefield without using a ton of force.
Once she gently made contact with the forcefield, she quickly found out that her paw had gone through it as a satisfying pop sound was made.
"Oh!" Twilight shot up. "We can actually go through it!"
"Really?" Rarity went up as she did the same. Her Pheromosa arms went straight through the bubble without them bouncing back. Because every Pheromosa's real strength lies in their legs, the arms could easily move through without being pushed back by the forcefield. "Well, would you look at that?"
"So all we have to do is just be gentle and we can go through? Pssh. That's easy enough. Let me steer." Rainbow Dash went over to the helm.
"Rainbow Dash. You ain't got any hooves anymore remember. You're a Braviary now." Applejack reminded her.
"Oh...Right."
"I got this one." Applejack decided to steer. "Sceptile's hands are pretty easy to get used too. Ain't that hard."
"You sure you can do it gently, sis?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Sure can. Watch me." She gripped onto the helm as she was ready to drive the ship through this forcefield at a slow and steady pace without being bounced back.
She began moving the ship forward but without putting too much force into it. Applejack had to be as soft and gentle as possible if she and her friends were going to make it through this forcefield and into the Sky Borealis.
The ship was piercing through the forcefield as the sound being made was identical to rubber being stretched. The weight of the Noir Pride Ship certainly didn't make this easy at all since it was large as the Dark Steel Ship.
The forcefield itself was being pushed in by the moving ship. If Applejack were to put too much force into it with how deep she was in the forcefield now, the rebound would be absolutely insane and it would most likely send them all flying great distances. That's exactly what Twilight was fearing as she was shaking uncontrollably, holding to Ash's leg.
But there was no need to worry since they all had faith in Applejack. And Applejack had faith in herself, so she was 100% fixated and focused on getting through this forcefield.
And with complete focus with zero distractions, Applejack managed to drive the Noir Pride straight through the forcefield without sending the ship back as they had all officially entered Sky Borealis.
"There!" Applejack exclaimed. "Done and done! Told ya I could do it!"
"That's my big sis!" Apple Bloom with her Emolga body jumped up and hugged her big sister. However, because she was now an Emolga, she couldn't control her electricity so she ended up shocking Applejack. Thankfully, since Applejack was a Grass-Type, that wasn't an issue.
With the ship finally through and in the Sky Borealis, they really get a good look at how majestic this entire area was. This entire aerial domain could now be explored as Applejack stopped the ship right near a platform where her friends could stand on.
"Finally, we're here!" Ash grinned. "I wonder what new stuff we're gonna see here?!"
"I can't wait!" Pikachu got all giddy. Both Pikachu and Ash hopped off the ship as they were the first to land on the platform. Their thirst for adventure kept on being fueled.
Everyone else followed by landing on this platform. These were uncharted yet somewhat friendly territories they were stepping into.
However, there was one thing they needed to be clear of. Could they stand on the clouds or does this world follow the same logic as the pegasus?
Ash tested this out and the answer was revealed. They could walk on it without having the ability to fly. "Oh sweet! These are solid clouds! But they're also pretty soft and fluffy too!"
"It's not like the clouds back in our world, that's for sure." Fluttershy patted on the clouds.
"Nope!" Scootaloo decided to roll on the clouds. Surprisingly, her flaming mane didn't set the clouds on fire.
"That's good to know." Twilight began walking on the clouds. "Let's see if anypony there has seen the Bisharp Pirates. Before they get pillaged too."
Everyone's curiosity was locked onto the city that resembled Castelia. In fact, the resemblance was a bit too uncanny. Almost as if it was a picture-perfect replica of Castelia City but in the sky and a bunch of fantasy elements.
A coincidence? Maybe.
By arriving at the Sky Borealis, they were given an instant greeting, but not one of fondness. Instead, the greeting they were all given was one of hostility as a group of Gallades wearing red and white capes came jumping out, surrounding Ash and everyone as they pointed their blades arms at them.
And just like Pikachu, they could be understood along with all of the Pokemon in this world. This was only possible because of Ash and the others becoming Pokemon themselves.
"Halt!" The Gallade's all said as the crew were surrounded and frozen in place. "Who goes there?!"
"Not the best meeting I was expecting..." Fluttershy gulped.
"Gallade's...lots of them." Twilight squealed.
"You came in that ship, didn't you?" A Gallade spoke. "Pirates."
"Pirates? Us?" Scootaloo whispered. "Actually that'd be super cool."
"You're coming with us!" The Gallade's used Psych Up to increase the power of their blades. Obviously, this was a threat. If things escalate then an eventual battle will take place.
"Hold it!" But, the Gallade's were promptly stopped by the word of a superior. One who is essentially the boss of them all so that they don't step out of line.
A Gumshoos was the Pokemon that stopped them and was in charge of all these Gallade's as he casually walked over. The Gallade's lowered their arm blades, ceasing any action. But they were still very cautious.
"Let's not get hasty now, boys," Gumshoos said as he stood in front of Ash, exhibiting a powerful aura of dominance as he observed the newcomers. Because of Gumshoos, a potential conflict was avoided. "Now. What do we have here?"
"W-Who's gonna explain it to him?" Apple Bloom said.
"I will." Twilight stepped forward. "Apologies for bargaining in, Gumsh-"
"That's Officer Gumshoos to you." Gumshoos corrected her.
"Oh uh, sorry. O-Officer Gumshoos. But we're not here to cause any trouble. We're here searching for some pirates."
"Pirates, you say?" Gumshoos's non-existent eyes widened. "You're not with them, are you?"
"No-no!" Twilight shook her head aggressively. "We're not pirates! We're just here to try and stop them and we figured they'd be here."
"Hmmm..." Gumshoos began to judge them. He noticed that they were much smaller in numbers than the pirates that came here.
None of them really wore anything that screamed pirates. Although, Gumshoos noticed that Ash and Applejack had hats. But not hats that would belong to the pirates anyway.
But other than that, there was one thing that really caught Gumshoos's attention. And that was Ash. Gumshoos's nose was picking up on something unusual.
"You. Lucario." Gumshoos pointed at Ash.
"Hm? Yeah?" Ash turned to him.
"...You smell like a human. Why is that?"
"Oh, that's because I am," Ash responded casually. "My friends and I got turned into Pokemon when we came here. It didn't happen the first time though."
"Is that so...?"
"Well, we're actually ponies." Pinkie said.
"And I'm a dragon but...not a Pokemon Dragon a totally different dragon." Spike chimed in.
"And I'm still an ordinary Pikachu! And so is Golett!" Pikachu pointed at Golett who was underneath Applejack's hat this entire time.
Gumshoos found this to be a bit bizarre to him. These revelations made him incredibly curious. But, they didn't seem to really pose a huge threat. However, Gumshoos wasn't too fond of humans. Especially one who had been transformed into a Pokemon.
"You're here to stop the Bisharp Pirates specifically, correct?"
"Yeah! Those are the ones!" Scootaloo bellowed. "We're gonna thrash 'em and then we're gonna save Dusknoir!"
"I see." Gumshoos had made a decision. "Well, you came at an appropriate time. The Bisharp Pirates are already here. But they have not yet attacked us."
"They haven't? How come?" Pinkie asked.
"They're cunning pirates. They don't just rush in blindly with aggression. That captain of theirs knows how to plan. I've been wanting to catch that Bisharp for years now but to no avail. He and his crew elude us still."
"Well, there's like a thousand of them so it'd be pretty hard, ya know." Rainbow Dash shrugged.
"Thousands? Hah! That's nothing compared to our millions!"
"Millions?!" They all exclaimed.
"I know, it's impressive. But even with those millions, those pirates continue to escape and best us! Accursed pirates!" Gumshoos yelled at the clouds in the sky. He took a deep breath as he had a fairly short temper. "But enough talk. We all share the same goal, correct? To defeat the Bisharp Pirates."
"Mhm." They all nodded.
"Then come with us. We have a lot to discuss."
Aerial Commune.
Sky Borealis's main residential district, composed entirely of clouds. This bustling area of clouds contained a wharf, houses, and many shops. They could see millions of Pokemon of all types living in this city as they all wore very old-school clothing that would exist way more than 10 decades ago. Perhaps around 270 years in the past.
The Pokemon seemed completely fine despite there being pirates nearby. They were just getting along with their day. The city and its buildings were old fashioned as well, just like the clothing here. It was clear as day that this part of the board game world resembled a region in the past. Mainly Galar.
"So. Your goal to defeat the Bisharp Pirates. Do you have a long history with them as well?" Gumshoos asked.
"Not really." Rarity answered. "We're mainly after them to rescue our friend Dusknoir and bring him to Kathleen. After that, we'll be returning to our world."
"Hm, Dusknoir you say? The ruler of the Noir Castle?" Gumshoos nodded. "I wouldn't have expected you all to be friends with him. He doesn't strike us as the type to make friends anyway."
"Well, he's actually really sweet deep down." Fluttershy squeed. "After all, he made this entire world possible for his dearest friend."
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Gumshoos turned around.
"Uh, nothing!" Twilight exclaimed. "Let's talk about how we're going to beat the Bisharp Pirates. Or even find them."
"Hm. Well, normally, we'd be able to find them in broad daylight. They love to hide in the shadows, but for some reason, they're more elusive than ever. A ship that massive should not be hard to find."
"Guess we really are on the same page..." Rainbow Dash whispered.
"And at night, it's not better. They're practically invisible!" Gumshoos bellowed. "Even when we've encountered and battled them over and over again, we still fail to see through their elusive stealth."
"But if you've battled them plenty of times, you must've at least caught some of them as prisoners, haven't you?" Rarity questioned.
"I wish. Still to this day, we do not have a single crew member of the Bisharp Pirates. We have prisoners from other pirate crews, but not theirs. It infuriates me to no end!" Gumshoos's body was turning red out of anger, but one of the Gallade's calmed him down.
"They must be like the best pirates in this world! So cool..." Rainbow Dash gawked.
"But today shall be the day I officially put an end to those obnoxious pirates! And being the master strategist that I am, I have already begun devising a plan. A plan so great that it will-"
"Sir. With all due respect..." A Gallade interrupted as he sighed. "Your plans haven't really been too successful. Bisharp has managed to outsmart you and our entire navy time and time again. We have already lost so many ships because of this. And they have an entire backup grand fleet that they can call upon at any moment."
"Yikes. Is it really that bad?" Pinkie winced.
"Nonsense!" Gumshoos yelled. "My plans are still perfect! It's just that...Bisharp can be unpredictable. That is all."
"I have to agree with him, sir." Another Gallade chimed in. "To be completely honest...you're a terrible strategist."
"Oh!" Gumshoos jerked back as he had been stabbed by words.
"You've gotten most of our ships destroyed." A third Gallade spoke as all the Gallade's were giving their honest opinions about Officer Gumshoos and his plans.
"Gah!" He was stabbed yet again.
"Our only remaining ship is still recovering from the previous battle and it still has yet to be repaired after months."
"Oof!"
"And we have retreated from them so many times, that we've lost count. These aren't even battles any more. They're essentially one-sided annihilation."
"Mmmrgh!" Gumshoos turned around as he bit his hand.
"You all have it rough, don't you?" Rarity said to them.
"Mhm." All the Gallade's nodded.
"Alright! I admit it!" Gumshoos faced them as he looked into the sky. "My plans have continuously been derailed and demolished time and time again! And they have seen little success...and Bisharp has always come out the victor...and we have yet to win. But I can guarantee that victory shall be ours-"
"We only have one ship left and it's still being repaired." The Gallade's interrupted and shut him down.
"Ah!" Gumshoos took the final stab as he got on his knees. "You're right...I'm a complete failure of an officer. How shameful and embarrassing!" He wailed in the sky.
"Talk about giving up so easily..." said Applejack.
"Cheer up, pal!" Pinkie Pie teleported in front of Gumshoos. "You can't win with that attitude!" She grabbed his face, lifting it. "We can work around this no problem!"
"We can?" Gumshoos mumbled.
"Mhm! No shame in having a strategy! Even if they fail." Pinkie Pie squeed. "But don't worry! We've got somepony here who's great at planning herself!"
"Who?"
"Twilight, of course!" Pinkie turned Gumshoos's head to Twilight. "She's super great at making plans for stuff like this! But uh..not too sure about pirates though. Those are new."
"Really? Are you great at making strategies yourself?" Gumshoos asked.
"Well, when it comes to battle strategies, that's Ash's expertise," Twilight replied. But I can still come up with a plan regardless. Pirates or not. We're all in this to stop the Bisharp Pirates anyway and rescue our friend!"
"Mhm! So don't give up yet!" Pinkie mushed Gumshoos's face. "With the best planner on our side and an amazing party pony planner as well, this whole pirate problems' gonna be over in-"
But, before Pinkie could finish her sentence, the unexpected happened. Or rather, it was to be expected. But definitely not this early. Everyone would've expected it to happen far later. At least at night.
The question of where the Dark Steel Ship could be located wouldn't have to be thought upon any longer. Because it ended up crashing through a store, causing everyone to stop what they were doing as the Pokemon who owned the store, bolted out after the ship crashed through.
The Bisharp Pirates were here.
And standing on the ship, front and centre with an imposing shadow being cast over the city was the fierce, cunning and mighty captain himself. Bisharp.
"Long time no see! Sky Borealis!" Bisharp spoke as he immediately instilled fear into the citizens of the city.
"They're pillaging now?! But it's too early!" Twilight gasped. "I haven't come up with a plan yet!"
"Accursed Bisharp Pirates...they always know how to catch you off guard when you least expect it!" Gumshoos growled.
"Glad to be here again," Bisharp smirked. "I have a lot of unfinished business in this city. Especially with all the sweet treasure that you're all keeping here..."
As Bisharp looked down at the city and the citizens, his entire crew had been revealed. Most of them anyway. And the theory of there being a Pokemon of every type wasn't wrong. Bisharp's crew was incredibly varied in Pokemon-Types. From Fire, Ghost, Water, Ground, Flying etc. They were all here.
From imposing Pokemon to cute and adorable Pokemon. But those adorable Pokemon had looks on their faces that did not give any indication that they were friendly whatsoever.
The crew members all wore Bisharp-palleted bandanas and scarves, just traditional pirate appearances along with some nice sashes. But the one who stood out the most was Bisharp.
With a sleek red and black jacket that was long enough to almost touch the floor, a grey and gold wide-brimmed hat that went well with his coat.
Unfortunately, there was no peg leg or eyepatch at his disposal.
But he did have a Chatot on his side, so that was a bonus.
"Alright, you lot!" Bisharp raised his voice. "We're here for one reason and one reason only! Go wild and grab what you can find!"
"Aye, captain!" The crewmates said in unison as they all jumped off the ship, ready to cause some mayhem. They were here to loot and pillage, that much was clear. Their goals were simple and they were experts at executing said goals.
Very soon, the streets of Sky Borealis were flooded with the Bisharp Pirates in mere seconds as they got to work. This isn't their first time here, so the Pokemon of this city were naturally terrified of these pirates as they immediately made a run for it, aiming to get away from the pirates pronto.
The pillaging had already begun.
"So much for a plan! Guess we're gonna have to improvise!" Ash said as he and the others were ready to take action.
"Right!" Pikachu's red sacs were sparking up with electricity.
"But there's so many of them!" Sweetie Belle gulped. "Do we go after the captain or all of them?!"
"Even if we split up, the numbers are too vast for even us..." Rarity said.
"Way too vast...Unless..." Twilight turned to Gumshoos. "Officer Gumshoos! You said that you had millions of soldiers, right?"
"All apart of the wonderful navy!" Gumshoos replied.
"Then let them help us. We'll need a million if we want to beat a thousand."
"I would but...We've been constantly losing to them repeatedly. My soldiers are unable to match up to the Bisharp Pirates." Gumshoos sighed.
"Let me handle that. Ash. Everyone. Can you deal with the pirates in the meantime?" Twilight requested.
"Sure can! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
"Okay!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder as he immediately got to action. By sparking his body up, Pikachu sent multiple blasts of 100,000 volts from his body as they scattered, aiming at some of the pirates.
The pirates that were hit by Thunderbolt had been alerted and made aware of Pikachu's presence. But not just his presence alone. This included Ash and the others who were standing up against the pirates.
In the meanwhile, Twilight and Gumshoos left to gather more soldiers as the Gallade's stayed to help Ash and the others since they are still guards and soldiers at the end of the day.
"Hoh? What do we have here?" Bisharp noticed the ones that were opposing him and his crew. "I see some familiar faces in the crowd but...who are you lot?"
"Doesn't matter!" Rainbow Dash spread her wings. "Cause we're gonna flatten you and your crew and get our friend Dusknoir back!"
"Hm." Bisharp nodded. "That so?" Bisharp then jumped off the ship, landing in front of his crew as he crossed his arms together. Upon landing down, he formed up a dust cloud and made the ground tremble a bit. "I'd like to see you try! I've got a thousand by my side! Yur numbers pale in comparison!"
"He's right about that one..." Fluttershy hid behind Ash.
"It doesn't matter if he's got thousands, millions or billions of crewmates! We'll beat him either way!" Ash exclaimed.
"Hm? You smell like a human..." Bisharp and his crewmates were also able to pick up on a human's scent. "Curious. Oh well. All of you! Scatter!"
With that command, the pirates all scattered in this large city to pillage and loot whatever they could find. There were too many of them to keep track of and it would be impossible to go up against a thousand of them, even with the support of the Gallade's, who were only 12 members.
But even so, with these overwhelming numbers, Ash knew that they had to tackle this issue either way. Thankfully, Twilight and Gumshoos were off retrieving the million navy soldiers that reside in this city as the journey continues.
Outside the Board Game World, Ponyville. The Pokemon Festival 11:50.
On the outside, the board game was just casually lying on the ground while the Pokemon Festival goes on. But that was to be expected. After all, entering the Board Game World doesn't bring the box along with the players.
"Melo?" Meloetta, who had originally gone for some ice cream to bring to Ash, came back to find that he was completely missing. Along with her rival Twilight and her friends. She was unaware that they had actually gone into the board game world via Discord's influence.
The Melody Pokemon flew away, searching for Ash, just to share the ice cream with him.
But with the board game just lying on the ground, it wouldn't go unnoticed. Everyone who passed by it could obviously spot it, but they don't really think too much about it.
All except for one earth pony who has a secret admiration for board games. Although, it's not a secret because everypony knows about it.
That was Big Macintosh of course.
Curious and interested in what he was seeing, his love for board games had compelled him to approach this particular board game on the ground.
And with the game enchanting him, Big Mac couldn't resist getting his hooves on it. But, he didn't want to seem too obvious, even though everypony knows his secret.
He used his sisters' rope to grab ahold of the board game, dragging it along. The game didn't suck him in since it didn't make direct contact with Big Mac.
He brought the board game all the way back to Sweet Apple Acres, where he could indulge himself in its enjoyment. Little did he know that this board game is not what it seems.
But very soon, he was about to find out as he placed it on a table with his Machamp coming over to see what he had brought over.
"Machamp?"
Big Mac was raring to get into this game. Both figuratively and literally. The excited Earth pony was ready to get this started as he decided to place his hooves on the board game for the first time.
And once he made direct contact with it, he would soon find out that this game was not what it seemed to be. A flashing light came out of the board game as it had engulfed both Big Macintosh and Machamp in one go. Both of them let out echoing screams and that was the end of that.
Granny Smith and her Drampa came into the room as she thought she heard both Big Mac and Machamp yell. But quickly came to find out that there was nopony in here.
Little did she know that they were both in another world.
The Board Game World, Sky Borealis. 11:52
The Bisharp Pirates were here and they were already pillaging this entire city in the sky. But of course, there were those that would stand up to the pirates. Mainly Ash and his friends alongside the Gallade's who are soldiers.
The pirates had already scattered with their pillaging, which prompted the Gallade's to scatter as well as Ash and his friends decided to confront Bisharp with the CMC staying close to them all as protection. Going straight for the captain and defeating them can most of the time guarantee an immediate surrender of the entire crew unless there's a first or second mate involved.
Thankfully, Twilight and Gumshoos were already bringing along the navy million soldiers who reside in this city as they were formulating a plan on how to defeat the Bisharp Pirates.
"Wait. You're challenging me?" Bisharp said to Ash. "You should know that it's not a wise idea to challenge the captain first if you don't know what you're getting into, boy."
"Yeah, I get that a lot!" Ash grinned. "That's not gonna stop me from stopping you!"
"I like your spirit, boy!" Bisharp chuckled. "But you're way in over your head, you know that?"
"Over your head!" Chatot repeated.
"We'll see! Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
"On it!" Pikachu hardened his tail as he immediately went for Bisharp by jumping into the air and spinning around, going for an overhead hit.
But Bisharp didn't react at all nor did he attempt to block Pikachu's Iron Tail. This was because one of his crewmates, a Toxicroak had defended Bisharp from being hit by using Poison Jab to block Iron Tail.
"Huh?!" Pikachu gasped.
"Sorry. But you're not touching the captain!" Toxicroak pushed Pikachu back.
"Alright. You lot handle this. I've got my own task to accomplish." Bisharp turned around, leaving everything to his crewmates as he walked off back to his ship.
"Yes, captain!" Toxicroak said as he stood in front of Ash and Pikachu, preventing them from reaching his captain.
"Guess it's not gonna be that easy to get to him, huh...?" Ash said to himself as he knew what he was getting himself into.
But, Ash loves excitement and in truth, despite this being a somewhat serious scenario, this was just another one of Dusknoir's fun creations. The whole point of this was to just have fun. Although, rescuing Dusknoir from the pirates was fairly serious since Kathleen did want him back.
As for the other pirates, the situation had already escalated. Since they've all scattered, some of them went into groups. Being that there were thousands of them, it would be a bit of a mess if they all gathered in one spot."
All the buildings were no longer occupied since the residents made a run for it, so the pirates were free to loot everything inside without the owners being here.
"What do we do...? There's too many of them. And Twilight hasn't come back yet..." Apple Bloom gulped.
"No need to worry. I've got something that can keep all of these pirates occupied." Ash grinned as he turned to face Sweetie Belle.
"Hm? Why are you looking at me?" Sweetie Belle wondered. But she quickly found out that the reason why everyone was facing her was because of what Pokemon she currently was. An Espurr. And there is one thing Espurr is known for that it regrets. "Oh...I gotcha!"
"Whatever you're planning won't work!" Toxicroak ran over to the group as he was ready to attack them all at once with Poison Jab.
"I think not!" Rarity dashed past everyone with her amazing Pheromosa speed as she used Triple Kick to block Toxicroak's Poison Jab. "Sweetie Belle! Do it!"
"Okay!" Sweetie Belle nodded as she knew what she had to do.
This could be considered their ace in the hole. Of course, it was obviously Espurr's latent psychic energy that can blast everything within 300 feet.
For this to be done, Sweetie Belle opened her ears up which showcased the yellow organs. Once the organs had been revealed, she could finally unleash all of that dormant energy.
And release it she did.
Just like with what happened back at Las Pegasus during Sweetie Belle's third contest, a destructive pulse of psychic energy shook the entire area in seconds. The entire Sky Boreali was not safe from the psychic energy of Espurr, even with its amazing size and scope.
Everyone in the entire city stopped what they were doing as these pulses were attacking everything. Unlike the Las Pegasus Contest, Sweetie Belle wasn't planning on dropping the psychic energy until she's defeated all of the pirates.
Thankfully, Fluttershy used Protect by standing in front of her friends, shielding them from the devastating psychic waves that Sweetie Belle was emitting.
The pirates felt this immense psychic energy flow through the city as they were being pushed back by Sweetie Belle's sheer power. All the loot they had collected had been dropped instantly because of their balance being thrown off. Not even the residents were safe from this.
The one who was the most affected was Toxicroak because of his Fighting-Poison-Typing, so he was immediately sent flying like a rocket because of these blasts.
But Bisharp wasn't affected at all because of his Dark-Typing.
Either way, Sweetie Belle had managed to put the pillage on pause because of this one action. However, Sweetie Belle couldn't fully withstand the overwhelming psychic power that Espurr wields. So as such, she couldn't do it forever. But before putting an end to these pulses, she went out with a bang by releasing a seismic wave of psychic energy that engulfed the entire city.
"Ow..." Sweetie Belle felt dizzy as she wobbled around
"Excellent work, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity picked up her little sister who was still recovering from using all that Psychic power.
"Ugh..." As expected, many of the pirates had been affected by Sweetie Belle's attack. Most of them were confused and befuddled by it. All except for the Pokemon who could resist the Psychic-Type.
Sweetie Belle managed to seriously damage at least hundreds of them. Not a thousand but it was still very impressive and it greatly helped to make this battle a bit easier.
But even better, because the Gallade's were also Psychic-Types, they resisted this, so they had an advantage over their opponents now.
Bisharp looked down as he had witnessed the entire thing occur. He could see that Sweetie Belle was a major threat to his entire crew since she can attack them all at a ridiculous range.
"Finally. A challenge." Bisharp said. "I've been waiting for something like this."
"Here. Let me heal you." Fluttershy went over to Sweetie Belle as she was about to use Heal Pulse.
"Alright! Now's our chance! Let's head straight for the ship! Dusknoir's on it!" Ash had already bolted off with Pikachu, heading straight for the ship.
Not many could stand in his way now because of Sweetie Belle's actions. Many of the Pokemon were too dazed to stop Ash. But there were still those who were able to continue and prevent anyone from reaching their ship and captain.
A Solrock and a Lunatone descended together as they both used Stone Edge to attack Ash and Pikachu at the same time. But that was quickly dealt with because of two reasons. Now seeing that he was a Lucario, rocks were essentially not a problem for Ash and Pikachu just had Iron Tail.
Ash charged through the glowing crystal stones as they did absolutely nothing to him whilst Pikachu jumped over his partner, using Iron Tail to hit both Solrock and Lunatone at the same time with a swinging motion.
"Nice, Pikachu!" Ash said to his partner.
"Thanks!"
Rarity, who was now the fastest among her friends, ran past Ash and Pikachu while everyone else followed behind. Whether it was the ground or the sky.
All the while, Bisharp saw that they might actually have a chance of getting close to his ship. And he did not want to let that happen. Yet at least.
And of course, none of his crewmates would allow that either.
"Ah-Ah!" A Chandelure appeared in front of Rarity, startling her. "I'm afraid you can't do that!"
"Ah!" Rarity came to a screeching halt as she phased through Chandelure, almost losing her balance.
Chandelure cackled as he used Psychic to hold all of them in place, preventing them from advancing any further towards Bisharp's ship.
"You're forbidden to go anywhere near our captain," said Chandelure. "Isn't that right, fellas?"
"Right!" A group of Starmie's suddenly surrounded the group as they each added on their own Psychic to Chandelure's Psychic. Now things had become increasingly hard for them.
"Great..this is just what we needed...!" Rainbow Dash growled.
"Now restrain them!" Chandelure ordered.
As if things couldn't get any worse, a swarm of Yanmega's used String Shot to further keep Ash and the others restrained from doing anything. Now the thick strings of String Shot had been added on to the Psychic's that were holding them.
"N-No fair!" Scootaloo groaned.
"I-I can't use any moves!" Rainbow Dash squirmed around as she was unable to use Steel Wing to break out of this.
"Hm. How disappointing." Bisharp scoffed. "I was expecting something more. Thought I was finally gonna get a real challenge from all of you. Oh, well. All of you! Put everything on board! We're leaving!"
"Wait!" Ash exclaimed, grabbing Bisharp's attention. "It isn't over yet...! You've still got a friend of ours on board! We're not leaving without him!" Ash had one major advantage as a Lucario.
Aura, of course.
He was exhibiting high amounts of aura from his body, similar to Sir Aaron's since they both share the same Aura. This powerful and dominant aura was just enough to combat the large array of Psychics and String Shots that were holding him and his friends.
The strings had been vaporized as Ash's aura blew away all of the Starmie's and Yanmega's that were surrounding him and his friends. Chandelure managed to stay firm, however.
"That's more like it!" Bisharp nodded as he was thrilled that they hadn't lost yet. "You're showing great signs of endurance! All of you! Let's keep this up!"
"Keep it up! Chatot mimicked.
"Keep this up?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. "I'm a bit lost. Aren't we facing off against each other?"
"Sounds to me like he's only doing this for fun," said Applejack.
"Hah! Of course, I am!" Bisharp chuckled.
"Wait! This is just for fun?!"
"Precisely! If there's one thing I enjoy as a pirate...it's having pure uncontrollable fun!" Bisharp raised his arm. "Especially if it's someone who can really match against my crew! I've spent years trying to find someone worthy enough to go against me and my crew. But no one has even come close. I was afraid that my journey as a pirate would end up being lacklustre with no challenge whatsoever. Not even this navy with a million soldiers are fun. They lose so easily. But you lot...you're different."
"Different!" Chatot repeated.
"I can feel it. There's something about you all that's incredibly promising! I've been looking for a challenge all these years! And you all might just be the ones to give me that challenge! And best of all, you're only a small group compared to my thousands!"
"Hold on!" Spike interrupted. "You mean that none of this is serious?!"
"Of course it's serious. I just dislike it when there's no challenge. If everything were easy, it would be no fun at all."
"He's got a point." Ash nodded.
"Mhm." Pikachu did the same.
"Since you've all shown so much promise lately and have managed to take out most of my crew with just one Pokemon...I can finally up the anty a bit. Send out the chains."
"Chains?" Ash and the others said.
The second Bisharp uttered the word chains, the Dark Steel Ship had opened up multiple holes on the side. Out of these holes, strange purple chains that were harder than even Bisharp's entire body came flying out at high speeds, immediately slamming into the Sky Borealis's ground.
The impact of the chains' were powerful enough to make the entire island tremble as they even went through some buildings, breaking them apart. These chains latched onto the Sky Borealis, restraining the entire city as the chains wouldn't stop coming.
Everyone was losing their balance from the tremors being caused by the chains. No one knew what Bisharp was planning except for Bisharp himself and his crew. But from how the chains were latching onto the Sky Borealis, there might be a possibility that Bisharp is trying to utilize the island in some way.
The Bisharp Pirates who were on the Sky Borealis were suddenly leaving the city instead of staying behind. But there was a good reason why they were leaving, which would soon be revealed.
"W-Woah!" Rainbow Dash, Spike, Pinkie Pie and Apple Bloom, the only four who could fly, immediately took to the skies to avoid the tremor. That only made sense.
However, Bisharp with his years of experience came prepared for opponents who can fly. From the holes in his ship, some extra chains came out as they served a different purpose.
To capture opponents in the sky. More specifically, the chains flew at a different angle. This time, the chains rapidly circled the Sky Borealis like a cage. In fact, it essentially was a cage as these chains were thinner than the chains that latched onto the ground but they were superior in numbers.
These chains went into the millions as they had incredibly close gaps with thin appearances but were just as hard as the wider chains that were smaller in numbers.
Very soon, the entire island was caged and restrained by these mysterious chains. Not even those that can fly could escape from here.
With Twilight and Gumshoos, they were inside of the naval office.
The plan to gather all the million soldiers to go up against the pirates was still being laid out. Mostly because Twilight soon came to find out that all of the soldiers here aren't exactly acting like soldiers.
They were all afraid. Afraid of the Bisharp Pirates, that is. Because the navy has been constantly losing to the Bisharp Pirates without even having a single victory over them for all these years made the once proud and brave navy highly fearful of the Bisharp Pirates.
And rightfully so. Bisharp and his crew have a lot to offer other than just massive numbers, even if they're not as large as the millions of navy soldiers in the navy. Those mysterious chains were just an example of the mysteries that the Bisharp Pirates wield.
Twilight could see that it would be difficult to convince these soldiers since they're so terrified of the pirates. And Gumshoos certainly couldn't do anything either.
"This is a tough one. " Twilight sighed. "None of you are willing to fight against the pirates? What happened to the usual fighting for your home and country?"
"Against them? No thank you." A Mightyena shook his head.
"They're a lost cause, as you can see," said Gumshoos. "All these constant losses have really degraded my soldiers and decreased their morale. No matter what I try, I simply cannot get their spirits up."
"Losing over and over again to one enemy without any success can be humiliating and morale damaging..." Twilight turned around before facing the soldiers once more. "Even with your million numbers surpassing their thousands?"
"It's not the number difference at all..." A Seismitoad replied. "The Bisharp Pirates may have fewer members than our entire navy, but they wield a wide arsenal of weapons and equipment that continue to overwhelm us."
"An arsenal?"
"Ah, I should've probably mentioned that." Gumshoos nodded. "Yes, it's true. Those pirates have more than just cunning natures with them. They seem to have an antithetical response to every possible situation. Bizarre contraptions that I cannot even understand."
"Such as?" Twilight asked as she was curious. Very soon, all the soldiers began spouting out the vast arsenal that the Bisharp Pirates wield, one by one.
"They possess massive chains that can drag entire islands and imprison them!"
"Their ship can shoot out large steel spikes that can also explode after a certain amount of time!"
"Their Dark Steel Ship can even harden up like steel itself!"
"It can blend in the shadows, even in daylight somehow."
"Well...this isn't a contraption but...they can call upon a gigantic Tyranitar that dwells somewhere in this land."
"Huh..." Twilight had heard enough. Those few revelations were enough to make her realize that the Bisharp Pirates are way worse than she initially thought.
She didn't expect them to wield such ferocious objects from what the navy had ended up telling her. Her plans would have to go through an overhaul yet again.
But before she could think of a new plan, the entire navy office felt a tremble as everyone inside wobbled from the sudden tremor. This tremor was of course from the chains that had latched onto the island.
"What was that?!" Twilight gasped.
"They've sent the chains out..." Gumshoos whimpered. "That can only mean one thing. They're planning to bring the island with them."
"Bring the...You mean they're going to drag it along?!" Twilight screeched.
"That is correct." Gumshoos nodded. "The Bisharp Pirates do not just steal treasures. They steal islands and cage them up for their own collection and possession. Many islands have been captured by them. And still to this day, they are trapped. They're most likely going to do the same to the Sky Borealis as well."
"I knew this day was coming! We're doomed!" A Breloom started to panic along with the entire navy. They had essentially accepted defeat because of the intimidating Bisharp Pirates. There was nothing they could do to stand up to them and their large arsenal.
"Not yet..." Twilight wasn't about to give up just yet. She knew that there was a way around this. "It isn't over yet."
"It practically is..." Gumshoos replied.
"Not if you keep thinking that it is. There's a way around this. And I can come up with a few ideas that might work. Everything they use other than the Tyranitar is primarily steel, correct?"
"Well..yes and no. See, they use a very specific type of steel. One that is so powerful that it cannot be destroyed by any Fire or Fighting Pokemon at all. "
"What kind of steel is that?"
"It's called Virulent Steel. And it's more than just durable."
Back on the outside.
With the entire city caged along with the island, the residents believed that their days of freedom had finally come to an end because of the Bisharp Pirates.
"Pssh! You think these are gonna stop us?" Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Watch this!" She was about to use the move Superpower to break through these chains.
Little did she know that Superpower would prove to be ineffective against the Virulent Steel. And Bisharp was waiting for someone to try and hit the steel. Not just because it was super-durable but because of the effects it gives to anyone who makes contact with it.
Rainbow Dash let out a mighty roar as she smashed her powered-up wings onto the steel chains but quickly came to find out that not only did her wings bounce off the chains with zero damage as the chains didn't even shatter or shake, but she had also been poisoned.
"Gah!" Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as the poison immediately hit her. It had a similar effect to the move Toxic from how instant the poison was as Rainbow Dash fell from above, landing on the ground.
"Rainbow Dash!" Her friends gasped as Fluttershy ran over to her.
Fluttershy saw how Rainbow Dash was writhing and squirming on the ground as a purple blush appeared on her face, giving a clear indication that she had been poisoned. This was Rainbow Dash's first time being poisoned ever and naturally, she wasn't very fond of it as she was suffering greatly.
"Hold on!" Luckily, Fluttershy could fix this by using the move Refresh as she cast a green aura around her friend. The green aura engulfed Rainbow Dash's body as the poison within had been wiped out, curing Rainbow.
"Ah..." Rainbow Dash breathed in and out as she could no longer feel the horrible poison from within. "T-T-Thanks Fluttershy..."
"I'll just burn it down then!" Spike said as he held his breath in, ready to use the move Flamethrower. He breathed out scorching flames that would usually melt steel in mere seconds. But not this steel. When the fire was released onto the Virulent Steel, nothing happened. It was as if Flamethrower didn't connect at all. "...Oh that's not normal..."
"Now!" Bisharp stomped his foot. "So far, you've all impressed me as of late. Now let's see if you can keep it up by overcoming my Virulent Steel!"
"Virulent Steel?" Pikachu said.
"Right. And I assume you're all smart enough to know what it does from the name and your friend over there."
"These chains are poisonous?" Ash navigated his head, gazing at the chains. "If they're poison then..." Seeing that he was a Lucario, a part Steel-Type, all poison would have zero effect on him. He tested it out himself by smashing his paws onto the chains and of course, he wasn't poisoned.
Rarity was a similar case. Being a Pheromosa, a part Bug-Type, the poison wouldn't really do much to her. She'd get affected but not by much. As for everyone else, the best thing they could do was stay away from the chains. But they were trapped now and they had to get out. But the only way out is by getting through these chains.
"We're in a real rough spot now..." Applejack spoke.
"Alright! Start moving!" Bisharp ordered for the ship to get a move on as he was about to drag the entire island with him as stated by Gumshoos.
The Dark Steel, which had the Sky Borealis in its clutches, began to move, aiming at heading somewhere else. And as to be expected, the movement of the ship forced the Sky Borealis itself to start moving as well.
The Sky Borealis was now a moving island that was being contained by the Bisharp Pirates and so far, there was nothing they could do to get through this. But ideas were already brewing up.
The Noir Pride seemed to have a mind of its own since it was the one that brought Ash and the others up here in the first place. This ship was brimming with Dusknoir's spirit. And because of this, it could sense when its friends were in danger.
So, with a mind of its own, the Noir Pride turned around, facing the Dark Steel as it immediately bolted forward, leaving behind a shockwave that separated the clouds behind it.
With blinding speeds, the Dusk Noir suddenly smashed into the Dark Steel at full-force, penetrating the side of the ship and leaving a massive impact on it. The crew were obviously surprised by this sudden impact as the ship moved so fast, they never saw it coming.
"What?!" Bisharp gasped as he got on his knees, turning around to see the Noir Pride currently next to his own ship.
"Ooh! Nice hit, Noir!" Pinkie clapped.
But it didn't stop there. Since Dusknoir made this ship specifically for Ash and the others and as a way to go against the Bisharp Pirates, it came with its own specialities that could potentially counteract the Bisharp Pirates' vast arsenal. This is Dusknoir's world after all and he makes the rules. Even if he's currently being held captive.
"Oh, so this is your ship is it?" Bisharp stood up. "Excellent! I knew you'd all continue to impress. A living ship with a mind of its own is definitely something else!"
"Uh...I don't think that part is all our work though..." Scootaloo chuckled.
The Noir Pride backed away from the Dark Steel as it was going for a different approach. It was now aiming at getting Ash and the others out of there. And it had one way of doing that.
By attacking of course. The Noir Pride had its own weapons designed specifically to battle the Dark Steel and other ships of course. It too had holes on the side of the ship as they shot out the traditional pirate cannonballs.
These cannon balls were much stronger than a traditional cannonball since they were packed with Ghost-Type energy. Upon contact, the cannonballs blew on the Dark Steel, already leaving some more damage to the ship. The Bisharp Pirates could now see that they had to face off against a living ship with a mind of its own and this greatly pleased Bisharp who was looking for excitement.
The Dark Steel obviously had those steel spike weapons as stated by the navy soldiers. There were extra holes on the ship that did not hold the chains this time. Out of the holes, steel spikes with explosive energy came flying out of the Dark Steel.
The spikes ended up stabbing into the Noir Pride as any normal spike would. However, after 3 seconds, the spikes then combusted with a fierce explosion.
But even with a sharp spike and an explosion going off, the Noir Pride barely took that much damage, making it clear that this was a ship made to withstand devastating results, which further increased Bisharp's enjoyment.
An official battle in the sky was about to take place between the Noir Pride and the Dark Steel. All the while, Twilight was still coming up with a plan to get these soldiers motivated as the journey continues.
Shifting away from the Sky Borealis where Ash, Twilight and the others were busy dealing with the Bisharp Pirates, one other individual or rather, two individuals had been pulled into this world by interacting with the board game.
Big Macintosh and his Machamp, of course.
However, just like Twilight and her friends, when being pulled into this world, Big Mac's appearance changed greatly. Not only that, but his Machamp wasn't present here. And that because of one obvious reason.
Big Mac had become a Machamp as he was waking up.
"Ugh..." He groaned as he sat up from the ground. He seemed to be in a forest instead of the usual starting place of the board game which is a standard grassland area.
By opening his eyes, Big Mac was already lost and confused about where he was. He could obviously see this was a forest but that still befuddled him. He was also curious about where Machamp was.
"Machamp? You there?" Big Mac asked, unaware of his current condition. "Machamp!" He continued to call out for his partner.
Big Mac would soon come to find out what had happened as he scratched his head. And with that single scratch, it hit him. His head didn't feel like his hair anymore. Neither did his hooves. In fact, he didn't have hooves anymore.
With his brain being put on pause and his eyes slowly moving up to see what he scratched his head with, Big Macintosh was finally aware of what he had become. From the muscular arms and the 5 fingers, he found out that he was a Machamp.
"Ah...! AH!" Naturally, he panicked and screamed. Having a new kind of body akin to that of a human along with four arms would terrify anyone who isn't used to this at all.
Big Mac's screaming echoed throughout the forest, alerting some of the Pokemon there, who were very curious as to why there was a random Machamp screaming in the sky. But his screaming alerted someone else who was in this world.
Discord.
"What are you screaming on about?" Discord teleported above Big Mac. "I'm a bit busy here. So I need absolute silence during my work."
"D-Discord?!" Big Mac fell on his back.
"Oh, it's you. Applejack's goliath brother. Not used to having some of these?" Discord held a Machamp arm in his paw which freaked Big Macintosh out since he thought that his arm had been ripped off. But it was just a random Machamp arm.
"D-Did you do this?!"
"Pssh. This world? I wish. This has always been a cursed board game that sucks up any poor sucker that gets their limbs on it. But I am guilty of this." Discord wiggled the Machamp arm around.
"I gotta get out of here!" Big Mac stood up.
"And miss out on all the fun your sisters and friends are having here?" Discord had grabbed Big Mac's attention.
"Applejack? Apple Bloom? They're here?!"
"Off to see a friend. But right now, I wouldn't say they're in the best situation." Discord made some binoculars appear in front of Big Mac, allowing him to view from afar.
As Big Mac grabbed the binoculars, Discord raised his head high, showing him what was occurring in the sky. Currently, a sky battle was happening. But not a traditional sky battle in which two Pokemon who can fly go against each other, instead, the Noir Pride Ship and the Dark Steel Ship were battling it out in the sky at this very moment for control over the Sky Borealis.
"Hm. Doesn't look too good does it?"
"Nope!" Big Mac shook his head as he tossed the binoculars aside. "Hold on ya'll! I'm coming!" Like the big brother he is, Big Mac got a move on as he was worried about the safety of his little sisters.
"You go on then, champ." Discord was currently wearing some construction gear. It seemed that he had plans for this world since it had really grabbed his interest when Ash and Fluttershy gave him a suggestion to come along. "You know...this place isn't half bad. Now, where was I?"
The Sky Borealis. 12:30.
The battle between the Noir Pride and the Dark Steel was currently raging on with explosive steel spikes and ghost-powered cannonballs being fired from both ships.
The spirit of Dusknoir that dwelled inside of the ship was putting up a great fight against the Bisharp Pirates and their versatile ship while the Sky Borealis was still trapped via the Virulent Steel chains.
The Bisharp Pirates could see that the Noir Pride was persistent and their explosive steel weapons might not be enough to fully take it down since the cannonballs were equally as strong as their steel.
"That's some ship!" Bisharp smirked.
"Some ship!" Chatot repeated.
"Harden the ship up!" Bisharp ordered.
"Aye captain!" The crew members all said as they changed up their battle strategy. Over at the Orlop, the lowest deck of the ship, a Meditite pulled on a large lever by using its Psychic mind to do so.
This lever would act as the method of giving the ship some high extra defence akin to that of Bisharp himself. Once Meditite used its mind to pull on the lever, the ship began to change in texture.
Starting from the back, the oak wood around the ship was being overtaken by a hard metallic substance that started spreading like a virus at lightning speeds.
Very soon, the Dark Steel had lived up to its name as the entire ship was now made entirely out of steel. More specifically, Virulent Steel. The same exact steel that was also highly durable and apart of the chains. With this massive increase in defence, the Ghost-cannonballs weren't as effective anymore. Upon contact, they barely managed to damage the ship, even when the Ghost energy erupted out of it after the explosion.
With the cannonballs no longer dealing that much damage, the Dark Steel had a major advantage as they were now the ones coming out on top as the steel spikes had been enhanced because of the ship's hardening. Now the spikes were strong enough to really leave an impact on the Noir Pride. And of course, they were packed with Virulent Steel as well.
"Oh my! The cannonballs aren't working as much anymore!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Darn it! There has to be a way we can help!" Ash began shaking the Virulent Chains, frustrated that nothing was breaking or melting it at all.
"It won't burn at all!" Scootaloo said as she and Spike were trying everything to get past these chains. "What do we do?!"
"My Iron Tail won't even work!" Pikachu said as he kept trying to break through the chains with Iron Tail. Thankfully, Iron Tail was a Steel-Type move, so the Poison didn't reach Pikachu.
"Come on think..." Ash was digging deep in his head, trying to find a way to break everyone free of the chains and help the Noir Pride.
Then it hit him. Years of experience can always benefit someone. And Ash is just one of those many examples of a seasoned trainer.
He looked over at Pinkie Pie specifically and hatched an idea.
"Pinkie!" Ash called for Pinkie.
"Yeah?!"
"Turn into a Ghost-Type and phase through the steel!"
"Huh?" Pinkie took one second to receive those words. "Oooh! I get what you mean!" She understood what Ash was getting at as she transformed herself into a Shuppet.
It was true that not even a Fighting-Type or Fire-Type could even hope to breakthrough or melt the Virulent Steel. However, at the end of the day, the chains are physical solid objects and if there is one major advantage that all Ghost's have is that they can phase through any physical matter with their intangibility.
And that's exactly what Pinkie Pie did. By becoming a Shuppet, she phased right through the Virulent Steel chains, escaping them Sky Borealis as she could finally move around freely.
"I'll head on board to see if I can find Dusknoir..." Pinkie Pie whispered, not trying to grab Bisharp's attention. Luckily, Bisharp was focused on the Noir Pride and Fluttershy with her Audino feelers could pick up on it.
"Okay...Good luck." Fluttershy nodded as Pinkie Pie flew off.
But, she was in hot water right now. Because the steel spikes were still being fired from the ship with constant explosions going off. So for Pinkie Pie to even reach the Dark Steel, she would have to evade the spikes and even the Noir Pride's cannonballs.
Luckily, Shuppet is a relatively small Pokemon so it wouldn't be too much of a problem and she still had her intangibility to rely on. However, the spikes and cannonballs were moving at high speeds and the explosion of Ghost energy from the cannonballs will most certainly affect her due to its wide radius.
"Wagh!" Pinkie Pie screamed as she was almost grazed by a passing steel spike. She would have to avoid more than just one as they were flying by like lightning.
As for the Noir Pride, despite it taking a beating from the enhanced steel spikes, it wasn't going down so easily. However, if this keeps up, the Noir Pride will surely be the first ship to fall in this sky battle.
So, the ship decided to change its approach. There was no way its Ghost cannonballs were breaking through the metal of the Dark Steel. However, sometimes the best form of attack is using an opponents' own attack against them.
Since the Noir Pride was essentially just Dusknoir in the form of a ship with its spirit lurking within, this meant that it carried its traits. And one of those traits is what Dusknoir is famous for.
The cannons inside of the Noir Pride retracted as the Ghost cannonballs had stopped firing at the Dark Steel. This made Bisharp curious as he was wondering why the ship had stopped attacking them.
The holes inside of the Noir Pride stayed open because it was soon revealed that it had a second weapon source that complimented the Gripper Pokemon Dusknoir.
Out of the holes, shadow hands came flying out as they resembled Dusknoir's hands. These Ghost hands passed by Pinkie Pie who watched them fly by while leaving a shadow trail.
These Ghost hands then grabbed onto the steel spikes that were heading towards the Noir Pride, gripping onto them like how Dusknoir grips onto its foes.
"Oh!" Bisharp's eyes widened as he did not see this coming. Neither did Pinkie and the others who were witnessing this sky battle.
But it went a step further. The shadow hands threw the steel spikes right back at the Dark Steel at full-force, using their own weapons against them.
And of course, the steel was sharp enough to pierce through the Dark Steel as they were made from the same substance after all. One of the spikes ended up stabbing into the holes where the spikes would come out, plugging it.
"Oh! It's plugged some of our holes, captain!" A Nidorina said.
"This ship's not just alive...it's smart. I like that!" Bisharp cackled.
"Now's my chance..." Pinkie Pie saw that there were fewer spikes flying out of the ship this time and no cannonballs. This gave her a better chance at making it onto the Dark Steel.
Pinkie advanced as she used intangibility to avoid some of the remaining spikes. With Shuppet's small body, she was able to move at a nimble pace as she either swayed, ascended or descended to evade the spikes.
Finally, thanks to the Noir Pride's efforts on plugging the holes, Pinkie Pie was able to reach the Dark Steel Ship. But she didn't enter on top. Instead, she passed through the lower decks, trying to act stealthily so that no one spots her.
The Berth. The sleeping and living quarters below the main deck or built-in bed on a ship where the pirates rest for the night after a hard day of work.
Pinkie entered here instead as no one was resting here at the moment since they were all too occupied on battling the Noir Pride. A perfect opportunity to sneak in.
Once inside, Pinkie immediately turned herself back into a Mew as she was ready to search for Dusknoir.
"Dusknoir! You in here?!" Pinkie Pie called for her friend, hoping for a response. But so far, she didn't receive one. So Pinkie decided to venture in the Berth to find Dusknoir, if he was in this part of the ship, that is.
The aura the ship was giving off just radiated menacing vibes. A hollow and eerie sound echoed through Pinkie Pie's ears. It was almost as if the ship was telling her to leave.
While Pinkie Pie was floating through the Berth, she could hear the battle happening outside as the Noir Pride was still sending some of the spikes back at the Dark Steel. Each tremble made Pinkie Pie pause before continuing to float on.
To really know how fierce this battle was, one of the spikes managed to travel straight through the Dark Steel almost hit Pinkie Pie as she squealed. The spike that nearly hit her travelled through the entire ship, flying off to who-knows-where.
Seeing that she had almost been taken out by that passing steel spike and that she was in enemy territory while a ferocious battle in the sky is raging on, Pinkie knew she had to get a move on fast and find Dusknoir.
Meanwhile, back outside, Bisharp could see that the Noir Pride might end up emerging victorious if they keep following the same approach. A change in strategy was needed.
"Feh! Latch the chains on that ship!" Bisharp order.
"Latch!" Chatot mimicked.
With that order, the crew members who were operating the equipment switched from the spikes to the chains. The spikes were no longer being fired from the ship which prompted the Noir Pride to keep its shadowy hands on hold, for now, anticipating the next attack. Although, the hands still had some steel spikes in their grasp as they were using them as extra weapons.
It wouldn't have to wait much longer as the same Virulent Steel spikes that latched onto the Sky Borealis were sent towards the Noir Pride as well.
Naturally, the Noir Pride was ready to grip onto these chains to prevent them from restraining. The shadow hands managed to catch some of the chains, but not all of them.
The chains that managed to get past the hands had latched onto the Noir Pride, just like how they latched onto the Sky Borealis. The chains had hit the parts of the ship that were already damaged as the Noir Pride was starting to weaken little by little.
"We've got you right where we want you..." Bisharp muttered. "Now! Ascend at once!"
"Aye, captain!" The crew members said in unison.
The plan was simple. Restrain the Noir Pride. With the Dark Steel now latching onto the Noir Pride with its chains, it had both the ship and Sky Borealis in its clutches.
However, the Noir Pride wasn't giving up so easily. It still had some chains and spikes being gripped by its shadow hands. It wouldn't allow the Dark Steel to hold it back.
"Seriously?!" A Wartortle gasped. "Those were all of our chains! That ship is-"
"Excellent!" Bisharp interrupted. "This is what I need!"
"What I need!" said Chatot.
"That ship...it wouldn't hurt to add to our fleet actually..." Bisharp smirked as he chuckled. He was truly impressed with how the Noir Pride acted. It was almost as versatile as his own ship, perhaps even on the same level or more. Having a ship like that would make them stronger than ever.
But while Bisharp was thinking of adding it to his fleet, the Noir Pride was about to pull off a highly risky move. The ship was fully aware of the chains inside of it as it had a functioning mind somehow.
With enough time, the ship had finally figured out how to free the residents of the Sky Borealis. It did this by using the shadow hands that had the spikes in their grasp and throwing them directly at the chains that held the Sky Borealis.
Bisharp gasped as he saw the spikes travel at blinding speeds, moving in a different direction that wasn't aiming at their ship. In just a few seconds, the steel spikes had connected with the chains, exploding upon contact when hit.
The steel spikes were potent enough to actually rattle the Virulent Chains. But it didn't actually break through the chains. The ship knew that and that is why it actually threw the spikes at the chains to weaken them instead of breaking them.
The chains had been chipped with slight cracks forming around them. It was a clear sign that the steel spikes from Bisharp's ship were the ace in the hole.
With the chains weakened, they were no longer in perfect condition as they were now at a much weaker state than they were before.
"That ship's a pretty fast adaptor..." Bisharp looked over at the Sky Borealis and the Noir Pride. Now that the Noir Pride knew of a way to break the chains, Bisharp decided not to use the spikes any further. The Noir Pride will just capitalize on it and simply free the Sky Borealis.
"What do we do now captain?" A Sneasel asked.
"Hold your fire." Bisharp stepped forward as Chatot flew off his shoulder. "I'll be commandeering that ship..."
Bisharp decided that the only way to stop the ship from attacking was to control the entire ship itself. So, he went over to do just that by jumping high into the air.
The Noir Pride could tell that Bisharp was heading straight for it, so as a defence mechanism, it used its shadow hands to try and stop the Captain from landing on board.
But Bisharp had his own counter in the form of Night Slash. With his bladed arms being surrounded in dark energy, Bisharp slashed the shadow hands each time they even got near him. Left and right, up and down, Bisharp's precision was immaculate with heavy focus.
With the NIght Slashes fending off the hands, Bisharp had landed on board of the Noir Pride, commandeering it for himself.
"Now then!" He bellowed. "I'd like to see what you have in-"
Before Bisharp could finish his sentence, the ship continued with its efforts of stopping Captain Bisharp, even if he was on board. The Noir Pride decided to flip itself upside down which obviously shocked Bisharp as he didn't expect that.
"W-Woah!" Bisharp's eyes widened as he had been outplayed by a ship while he was currently falling through the air.
"CAPTAIN!" The entire crew yelled in unison as they witnessed their captain fall.
"N-Not bad... you accursed ship!" Bisharp paid his respects to the ship as he fell through the clouds. With their captain falling through the sky, the pirates immediately ceased attacking the Noir Pride as they focused on getting their captain back.
The Dark Steel Ship was angled downwards as they were going after Bisharp. If it were to move, the Sky Borealis along with the Noir Pride will be dragged along because of the chains.
"Now's our chance!" Ash saw that the chains were weak because of the Noir Pride throwing the spikes onto them. He took the opportunity to try and see if he could break through them as they are now.
Ash put his hands together, creating a blue ball of energy in between them. This wasn't the first time he had ever conjured up a ball of aura, but it would certainly be the first time he's fired one.
Ash then fired the Aura Sphere from his hands as he was pushed back by the strength of his own attack. The Aura Sphere travelled at Mach speeds as it made contact with the Virulent Chains. Thanks to the Noir Pride's actions, the Aura Sphere actually managed to break through the chains, obliterating them into nothing. Now there were open spots for them to freely move in.
"Yes, it worked!" Ash cheered.
"Wait, really?" Spike turned to the chains as he decided to try and use Flamethrower to see if the chains would melt this time. Lo and behold, when he breathed those scorching flames onto the Virulent Chains, they melted apart. "Oh, great!"
"In that case..." Rarity started going wild as she used destructive legs to kick each of the chains apart. Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash and Pikachu started doing the same with Ember, Steel Wing and Iron Tail.
All the while, the Dark Steel Ship had found the right angle as it was ready to fly off. However, the Noir Pride wouldn't let that happen as it used its shadow hands to grab onto the ship, holding it in place. The crew turned to see how the hands of the Noir Pride were restraining them in somewhat cruel irony.
With the ship restrained, that gave Ash and the others plenty of time to continue destroying the chains that were holding down the Sky Borealis.
"What about the chains underneath?!" Sweetie Belle asked. "They haven't been hit by the spikes!"
"She's right. They're still in perfect condition!" Rarity replied as she broke some more chains.
"Then we'll break them ourselves!" Ash turned to face the Dark Steel Ship and the Noir Pride.
"What do you mean by that, Ash?" Fluttershy questioned. "You're not going to try anything daring again, are you?!"
"No need to worry! I've got an idea! But it involves us getting on that ship. Sweetie Belle. Get ready for another Psychic pulse."
"Okay!" Sweetie Belle nodded in understanding.
"You all go on along." Rarity shattered a chain. "Spike and I can clear out the rest of the chains here.
"Alright! Thanks! Let's go!" Ash was about to yet again perform another risky move like he always does. This time, alongside Rainbow Dash.
Ash and Pikachu jumped on Rainbow Dash's back as she was going to fly over towards the Dark Steel. They were heading into deep enemy territory now as they left the Sky Borealis, heading straight for the enemy ship.
Applejack used the vines of Sceptile to latch onto the Dark Steel Ship as Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Emolga held on to her as a ride. Applejack took off by using the vines as means to propel herself forward while Rarity and Spike continued to destroy the chains with Fluttershy using Refresh to heal Rarity of the poison status each time she hit the chains.
It didn't take long for Rainbow Dash, Ash and Pikachu to reach the Dark Steel thanks to Rainbow's increased flying as a Braviary, so they were already at their needed destination.
Ash and Pikachu jumped off of Rainbow Dash's back as they both readied themselves for a Thunderbolt and Aura Sphere from above.
The pirates all turned their attention away from the Noir Pride and towards Ash and Rainbow Dash who were above them all. Rainbow Dash was going to use Superpower while Ash and Pikachu would use Aura Sphere and Thunderbolt.
At the same time, Ash and Rainbow Dash pulled off their moves, with Rainbow Dash diving down with her talons ignited with energy and Ash tossing a large ball of Aura down. With their combined might their moves connected with the metal of the ship, causing a powerful shockwave that unfortunately, wasn't enough to fully break the metal but was powerful enough to blow the crewmates away.
Sweetie Belle pitched in by using Espurr's hidden psychic abilities to once again send powerful blasts of psychic energy that filled the entire ship with aggressive pulses. Only the Pokemon who were either immune or able to resist the psychic pulses weren't that affected. But the ones who couldn't handle it were temporarily stunned or either blown back by it depending on the type.
Ash and the others then landed as they were all on board the ship with menacing grins on their faces. From how they were smiling, now that they were on enemy territory, they had all the time in the world to just go absolutely wild on this ship. But not too wild. Pinkie Pie is still on here and potentially Dusknoir.
"You're gonna give Dusknoir back to us now!" Rainbow Dash hardened her wings by using Steel Wing.
The pirates, for the first time, were actually showing signs of struggle. Their captain had just fallen off, a ship was currently restraining them, the chains they used to hold the Sky Borealis down had been destroyed and they were now under attack, even though they outnumber Ash and his friends.
But even that number didn't matter since Sweetie Belle's psychic blasts had already dealt with so many of the crew members in just a few seconds.
The pirates decided that if they wanted to get their captain back without any interruptions, they would have to deal with the current situation. Starting with Ash's crew.
Meanwhile, with Twilight, she and the entire navy had felt the tremors of the battle. All this chaos happening up in the sky was enough to make Twilight curious about the current situation as her plans were put on hold.
"A-Are they winning?!" Gumshoos stuttered.
"Hold on!" Twilight quickly ran outside to see what exactly was going on. She was hoping that her friends were succeeding against the pirates and they weren't being beaten in a one-sided match.
By rushing out of the navy office, Twilight Sparkle quickly came to find out that the battle was currently in favour of her friends. She saw the Noir Pride holding down the ship and the spikes with its shadow hands along with Rarity and Spike breaking and melting apart the remaining chains that were right in front of them. Except for the lower ones, that is.
Seeing this made Twilight realize that this is what she needed to motivate the soldiers. The only reason they were really scared of the Bisharp Pirates was because of their nigh-unbeatable arsenal. She ran back inside to break the good news for them.
"Alright, you all! You'd better get those spirits back up. Because we're winning!"
"...We are?" A Swellow said.
"Sure are. My friends have already broken and melted most of the chains! You know...those Virulent Steel chains that were apparently unbreakable?"
"Impossible! We've never managed to overcome them at all!" A Heliolisk shook his head. "Cannons don't even work on them!"
"Well take a look for yourselves and tell me if it's impossible." Twilight led Gumshoos and the entire navy to witness what was currently ongoing.
Once she brought them outside, they were gifted with the glorious sight of Twilight's friends going up against the Bisharp Pirates and actually succeeding. What they thought was impossible, was truly possible. Naturally, their jaws dropped.
"See? Not so unbeatable are they? My friends are limited in size compared to your millions and they're out there doing their best to save this city and rescue another friend of ours. And they were winning too! If they can do it, can't you?"
With those words, Twilight was able to spark something up inside of the navy soldiers who were all so intimidated by the Bisharp Pirates. But seeing Twilight's friends perform actions such as these and considering that they didn't have millions of members, neither were they apart of the navy, made it a bit embarrassing to the actual navy soldiers as their courage had just left them.
But Twilight's words brought that courage back.
The soldiers each looked at each other, knowing that there was absolutely no way they should be outperformed by those who aren't even apart of their navy. The seemingly unbeatable arsenal of the Bisharp Pirates was being counteracted as shown by the steel spikes stabbing into the Dark Steel Ship and the broken chains.
With their courage back, the navy soldiers decided to stand tall and continue fighting for what they stand for as they all faced Twilight and Gumshoos with proud faces.
"That's more like it." Twilight nodded. "Are you all ready to finally put those pirates behind bars?"
"Yes, ma'am!" They all said in unison as they immediately readjusted their armour before rushing off to grab the only ship they had left. It was in poor condition and still being repaired but it was all they could use. And now with their courage back, they were willing to risk everything to protect what they love.
"I don't know how much I can thank you, Twilight Sparkle. Oh, sorry. Princess Twilight Sparkle." Gumshoos bowed his head. "You've sparked up the bravery and spirit within my soldiers once more. I am in your gratitude!" He began tearing up.
"You're welcome, Officer Gumshoos. Now if you'll excuse me. I need to help my friends out." Twilight ran over to her friends.
Back inside of the Dark Steel, Pinkie was still searching for Dusknoir.
He wasn't on the Berth, much to Pinkie Pie's disappointment. So she had to search somewhere else. All the while, a ferocious battle was happening on the ship right now because of her friends crashing down on it.
Pinkie searched many of the compartments from the Orlop deck to the caboose. But so far, she couldn't find the Gripper Pokemon anywhere.
"Mmmrgh...Where is he?" Pinkie Pie grumbled. "This ship's shaking too much and I'm getting super hungry..." Seeing that he wasn't here, Pinkie thought of one possible place Dusknoir might be at.
The Captain's Quarters.
"Aha! Duh!" Pinkie smacked her head. By transforming into a Misdreavus, she phased through the ship once more, this time, heading straight for the captain's quarters.
She still had to keep a low profile, even as a Ghost since this ship was massive with millions of crew members on board. However, thanks to Ash and Rainbow Dash arriving, they were all occupied at the moment.
But, that's exactly why she chose to transform into smaller Ghost-Pokemon like Shuppet and Misdreavus instead of the really big ones that stand out like Chandelure and Cofagrigus.
She was expecting to find Dusknoir in the captains quarters since Pinkie thought it would only make sense that they would keep someone as important as him in a place where another important individual normally resides.
However, when Pinkie Pie got to the captains quarters, yet again, Dusknoir was nowhere to be found. And the room wasn't even that wide or spacious. It was fairly compact and enclosed. This shocked Pinkie Pie as the trail was colder than ever now.
"What?!" She screeched. "He's not here?! Where is he?!"
On the outside of the ship, Ash and the others were currently keeping the pirates occupied by battling every single one of them. They did not care about the number difference whatsoever as they took the risk, despite the potentially disastrous outcome.
Rainbow Dash smashed her wings together by using Superpower which caused a mighty wind pressure that blew away many of the crew members while Ash was keeping most of them away with repeated Aura Spheres.
Applejack used her vines to grab some of the pirates as she swung them around, hitting their fellow crewmates as well while the CMC hid behind Applejack, helping out with Scootaloo shooting Ember from the side, Apple Bloom using Charge and Sweetie Belle used Disarming Voice.
Pikachu spun around, using Counter Shield to fend off any approaching pirates while also shocking them with 100,000 volts in the process.
The ship was being torn apart because of this raging battle as the pirates noticed that their victory was slowly slipping away from them. And at this rate, they wouldn't have the chance to reach their captain.
The jungle. 1:30
Big Macintosh was still trying to find a way to get up to the Sky Borealis so that he could see that his little sisters were alright and safe. But he wasn't getting anywhere since he was stuck on the ground.
He was expecting to just have a fun day during the Pokemon Festival while playing a seemingly harmless board game. Turns out, that's not happening.
"How am I gonna get up there...?" He sighed as he lowered his head. This day had suddenly escalated into something unexpected.
But what was even more unexpected is what fell from above. While Machamp was walking through the jungle, the chains from the Dark Steel that had been destroyed came flying down, crashing near Big Mac as he squealed.
It was raining Virulent Chains as upon contact with the jungle, they immediately obliterated any tree or bush they landed on. Some chains fell on Big Mach but because of his Machamp body, he barely felt it, but he was still concerned.
He believed that things couldn't get more bizarre than this. But to his surprise, but not by much, things did get more bizarre as something else fell from above. And this time, they weren't chains.
Instead, it was Captain Bisharp.
He crash-landed on the ground, causing a mild shockwave that scared away the nearby Pokemon and even caused a wind pressure to almost blast the trees away. Big Mac, however, didn't budge from this sudden crash and shockwave.
"Ugh..."Bisharp stood up after being smashed onto the ground at full-force. It was almost as if he wasn't hurt one bit. "I've still got it."
"Uhh..." Big Mac was so lost at this point. He was at a loss for words. Especially when he just heard Bisharp talk, which he surely didn't expect. But perhaps, with him being able to understand Bisharp, he could ask him questions.
"Hm?" Bisharp turned around, facing Machamp. "What do you want?"
Big Mac had just come across Captain Bisharp who ended up falling from the sky during the Sky Battle between his ship, the Dark Steel and the Noir Pride. Now he was facing Big Macintosh, who searching for his sisters.
Big Mac discovered that since he was a Machamp now, he could understand Pokemon fully now. With that knowledge granted, he decided to ask Bisharp about his sisters.
"Pardon me but, did you see my sister and friends up there?" Big Mac asked. "They're up on that island with that ship, ain't they?"
"Sisters?" Bisharp cleaned the dust off his jacket as he put his hat back on.
"Eeyup!" Big Mac nodded. "They got up there and I think they're apart of that battle in the sky. One of 'em wears a hat and-"
That caught Bisharp's attention since, among the group who were opposing his crew, two of them wore hats. And he was also the third individual with a hat. Not to mention, the opposing ship, the Noir Pride, was on the side of the 12 individuals who came to the Sky Borealis and opposed him and his crew. He quickly put the pieces together as he put all of his attention towards Big Mac.
"And you wanna get up there, do ya?"
"Eeyup."
"Well, you ain't getting up there on your own without a ship. Your sisters and their friends are too occupied with my crew. Actually, they should've come down for me by now." Bisharp looked up.
"Your...crew?" Big Mac also looked up. He remembered seeing how the colour palette of one of the ships was identical to the Bisharp in front of him. "Does that mean..."?
"Right you are, I'm the captain of that amazing ship in the sky! That I've been flung out of, unfortunately. That ship's a real genius."
"You haven't hurt my sisters, have you?!" Big Mac got sensitive on that note as he stepped forward.
"Pah! Not a blade's been laid on them. But I gotta say, your sisters and friends have been giving me the most excitement I've had in a long time! And if you're related to them...can you give me that same enjoyment?" Bisharp grinned as he was planning on challenging Big Mac himself.
"Uh..." Big Macintosh stepped back a bit as he wasn't anticipating this at all. From how Bisharp was looking at him with a devious smirk on his face, it was obvious that he was looking for a fight. A challenging one at least.
"You're a tough-looking fellow, aren't you? You're a Machamp after all." Bisharp chuckled.
Big Mac gulped as he wished he could just head back home and continue enjoying the Pokemon Festival. However, his family came first before anything else. And now that he knows that Bisharp was going against them, he had to swallow his fears.
"Hoho. That's a nice face you're making there." Bisharp pointed his bladed arm at Big Mac. "But I can tell...you're not all that."
"Huh?"
"You're nothing but a big softie deep down." Bisharp lowered his arm. "You don't have the real guts to face me or my crew, do you?"
Big Mac shared many of Applejack's traits. One of which being honesty. And at this moment, he would admit that he is certainly soft despite his bulky stature, both as a pony and a Machamp.
"Unless..." Bisharp saw that Big Mac had high potential to show him a challenge. So he hatched a plan that would drive. "If I were to harm your sisters, what would you do?"
That sparked a reaction in Big Mac. Despite him being a Big Softie, when it comes down to it, he'll stand up and defend his family with all he has. And with that, Big Mac went from nervous to furious as he raised his four arms. "Don't you touch them!"
As he yelled, he smashed all four of his arms on the ground. Upon contact with the ground, he immediately caused an earthquake so vast and powerful that it not only shook the entire jungle and beyond, but it had also split the entire ground in half with white shockwaves coming out and erupting.
"Oh...Oh!" Bisharp almost lost his balance as the shockwaves nearly made contact with him. He had definitely struck a nerve. "Excellent! That's what I like to see!"
With Big Mac now showing his strength towards Bisharp because of the threats he made to his family, an inevitable battle between the two of them was about to happen in this jungle. Bisharp readied himself as he immediately lunged towards Big Mac.
"Uh oh." Big Macintosh then realized that he had initiated a battle that he was now a part of as he wasn't planning for this to happen. And the Pokemon living here knew to get out as soon as they could before these two start clashing.
And speaking of clashing.
The Sky Borealis. 1:40.
Ash and the others had cleared out a ton of the pirates by knocking them out successfully. Very few pirates remained and it was all thanks to Sweetie Belle releasing all of that Psychic power that immobilized many pirates.
Not only that, but Ash and the others had received some extra support in the form of the Sky Borealis Navy, who were originally terrified of the Bisharp Pirates but now had regained their courage thanks to TWilight showing them the current battle and how it was favouring their side.
They went for the only ship that they had left which was being repaired. However, they would have to cease repairs since they have a city to defend and some pirates to bring in. Even if it was banged up and in a poor state, they were going to utilize its full capabilities anyway.
It would help Ash and the others greatly along with the Noir Pride which was restraining the Dark Steel from flying off with its shadow hands gripping on tight.
The navy soldiers got on the beaten up ship as the gates were opening. With Gumshoos standing at the helm, they were ready to head out and assist the others. The Gallades who were also apart of this got on the ship as extra support. They need all the support they can get.
The pirates on the Dark Steel could see that with most of their members immobilized and getting absolutely trounced by Ash and the others, decided to change their approach. They were still loyal to their captain and were aiming at getting him back. However, this distraction was a massive problem.
The only way to get to their captain is to fly down, even with some of the remaining chains still left on the Sky Borealis which haven't been broken yet or even weakened. If they flew off, it would mean dragging the entire island with them. But that was the original plan anyway.
However, they only do it under the captain's orders. But in this case, with the captain off the ship, the first mate, who was a Darmanitan, decided to take charge as he was ready to order the ship to fly down with the Sky Borealis and get their captain back.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was unable to find Dusknoir inside of the ship. She truly believed that he would be in here. But to her surprise, he was nowhere to be found.
"This isn't good..." Pinkie clattered her teeth. "Where could he be? Kathleen's super worried right now!"
As she was panicking while floating around in the captains quarters, a Nuzleaf came crashing through the room after being hit by a Superpower by Rainbow Dash, which startled Pinkie.
"Eep!"
"Ow..." Nuzleaf groaned as he had been knocked out. With a hole left inside of the captain's quarters, Ash spotted Pinkie Pie floating about.
"Pinkie! Did you find him?!" Ash was holding back a Jolteon from biting him.
"No! He's not in here at all!" Pinkie shook her head.
"What?!" Ash and everyone screeched as they went on pause for a moment.
"Too bad for you!" Darmanitan spoke up as he looked down at Ash and the others. "You actually thought he was on board! How silly!"
"He's not?!" Applejack gasped.
"You mean...we've been on a wild goose chase...?" Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped.
"So then where is he actually?" Sweetie Belle said.
"Guess your little search for your friend went nowhere, right you lot?!" Darmanitan taunted as the rest of the pirates laughed at Ash and the others.
"You jerks..." Scootaloo's blazing mane started flaring with aggression.
"It's fine!" Ash calmed Scootaloo down as he was immune to the taunts. "We'll find Dusknoir either way...but right now. We're freeing the Sky Borealis from you guys!"
"Pah! What's stopping us from dragging the Sky Borealis along with the ship?" Darmanitan scoffed.
"Watch me!" Ash was yet again about to pull off something risky that only he would ever dare to try even if it meant the cost of his entire life.
He suddenly jumped off the ship by using Force Palm on the floor to propel himself forward as he flew high into the air while everyone gasped. From where he was headed, he was going straight for the Noir Pride.
"What's he doing?!" Apple Bloom screeched.
"Something cool, like always!" Scootaloo squeed.
"Noir Pride! Pass me a spike!" Ash suddenly spoke to the ship itself, asking it for one of the steel spikes it was carrying. The ship responded to Ash's words as it could also hear everything, especially the words of a friend.
The shadow hands of the Noir Pride tossed two spikes over at Ash for him to catch. Because they were Virulent Steel Spikes with poison and Ash being a Lucario gave him immunity, touching it would be fine.
It was clear what Ash was trying to do. The Virulent Steel Spikes were the only thing capable of damaging the Virulent Steel chains by weakening them to make them frail. Fighting fire with fire sometimes works.
With all his might, Ash used Force Palm to give himself some extra strength to really launch the spikes. Once the spikes got close to him, Ash grabbed a hold of them both as he used his Aura to concentrate on the chains.
Knowing what Ash was planning, the Bisharp Pirates quickly realized that if Ash breaks the chains, they'll lose control of the Sky Borealis. And they're already low on chains anyway.
"Don't let him break it! Start steering!" Darmanitan ordered.
"I don't think so! Now Sweetie Belle!" Applejack turned to Sweetie Belle.
"Got it!" Sweetie Belle, yet again, was the greatest ace in the hole in this situation. She once again released a mass psychic blast that went 300 feet, covering the entire ship and beyond.
All of the pirates and even her friends had been affected by this psychic blast, but mostly the pirates since she directed the blasts directly at them. Many of the pirates fell as their numbers were getting lower than ever as Ash threw the spikes with all of his might.
Thanks to his Aura concentration, the spikes stabbed into the edge of the island, breaking through two chains and weakening them.
Ash was airborne for a small bit before falling back down. But thankfully, he landed on one of the chains that were connected to the Dark Steel and Sky Borealis, using it as a platform.
"Rarity! Spike!" Ash called for two of his friends. "Now's your chance to break and melt them! And use the remaining spikes to weaken the others!"
"On it!" Rarity saluted as she used Pheromosa amazing speed to kick the weakened chains, shattering them in one hit while Spike used Flamethrower on the chains that had just been weakened thanks to Ash.
But there was a further advantage. Rarity placed her hands on the spikes that Ash had thrown, using them as extra weapons. Her Bug-Typing gave her a resistance to the poison but it still affected her. Luckily, Fluttershy was there to use Refresh on her.
The spikes were heavy however as the body of Pheromosa was only strong in the legs. Not the arm department as Rarity was struggling to lift it.
Luckily, Spike chimed in by using his head to pick up Rarity, giving her the necessary boost needed to pull the spike out of the ground.
"Many thanks, Spike!" Rarity thanked her as she and Spike were now taking a new approach. With Spike carrying Rarity who had a Virulent Steel spike in her hands, he flew off with her as they would be able to damage and destroy the chains at the same time.
Their teamwork was impressive as Spike flew over to the chains underneath the island. Rarity used the steel to smash onto the chains, weakening them while Spike melted them into nothing. They would keep on doing this until all of the chains had been destroyed.
"Ugh..." Darmanitan held his head as he was slowly getting up. Not many were left to move the ship or even continue battling thanks to Sweetie Belle. "D-Don't let them...break the chains..."
"That's enough out of you!" Applejack knocked Darmanitan out with a quick smack on the head.
To say that the tides were turning would be an understatement. Ash and everyone had turned the tables on the Bisharp Pirates through excellent teamwork and coordination. The chains were being obliterated by Spike and Rarity, the Noir Pride was keeping them from moving and most of the crew members had been knocked out because of Sweetie Belle.
The residents of Sky Borealis witnessed this amazing display of teamwork as they had never seen anyone go against the Bisharp Pirates like this and actually gain a massive advantage. Not even their navy could perform this.
And speaking of the navy, they had finally sailed their weakened ship into the sky, here to assist the others and to take in the pirates as Gumshoos was standing front and centre on the ship.
Rarity and Spike had destroyed the last of the chains as the Sky Borealis was finally freed from the hold of the Dark Steel after many attempts. Ash quickly jumped back on the Sky Borealis as all of the chains fell through the air. Now the pirates were in hot water.
"This is bad! We don't have any control over the island anymore and our numbers keep decreasing! What do we do?!" A Wartortle asked the second mate in command of this ship who was a Loudred.
"Leave it!" Loudred replied. "We'll leave this island and go after the captain!" It had been decided. They were practically fighting a losing battle at this point. If they stayed behind any further, it would be game over for the Bisharp Pirates. A wise decision as the pirates had given up on the island and continued showing their loyalty to their captain.
With that knowledge, the Noir Pride removed its shadow hands, allowing the Bisharp Pirates to finally move freely without anything to hold their ship down. Rainbow Dash and the others decided to leave since they've already done a great job and freed the Sky Borealis.
The CMC got on Applejack's back, Pikachu hopped on Rainbow Dash's back while Pinkie Pie immediately flew off with Applejack used Sceptile's vines to latch onto the Sky Borealis.
They quickly left the Dark Steel by swinging and flying as the ship was finally getting a move on. However, the navy wasn't going to allow them to leave at all as they were pursuing the Bisharp Pirates.
The Dark Steel was actually not in the best condition because of the Noir Pride using the ship's own weapons against it. Thus, the Virulent Steel had been weakened, allowing the navy to actually deal some damage. Now their cannonballs were of actual great use this time as both ships disappeared into the clouds.
Finally, the city was free of conflict as Sweetie Belle sat down, feeling exhausted from all of that mess. Especially considering the times she let out psychic energy.
"Finally... It's over..." Sweetie Belle sighed as the residents of the city cheered for their victory and relief that they were safe from being imprisoned and captured by the Bisharp Pirates. They all gathered around Ash and the others, giving their many thanks and appreciation.
"Is this what the Pokemon feel all the time when they battle?" Applejack adjusted her hat. "Pretty nice feeling actually."
"Are you all alright?" Twilight went over to her friends who had worked hard to accomplish this.
"Yeah. We're still in one piece." Ash nodded.
"Mhm!" Pikachu hopped on Ash's shoulder.
"But...we still didn't find Dusknoir." Pinkie whimpered.
"Thought he'd be on the ship." Rainbow Dash said. "Where else would they keep him if they captured him?"
"Who knows. At least we dealt with the pirates." Twilight replied. "It was great that the Noir Pride weakened the ship enough for the navy to be able to stand a chance. I just hope Dusknoir knows that his ship was a great success."
"Wait. Are you all referring to the Dusknoir over at the castle below?" A Smeargle spoke.
"Yeah? Did you see him?!" Pinkie dashed over to him.
"I saw him just 3 minutes ago down there before all of this ended," Smeargle explained as he pointed down.
"3 minutes ago...?" Ash looked up, squinting his eyes. "Hey...when did Kathleen say Dusknoir was captured by the Bisharp Pirates?"
"She didn't say when." Pikachu shook her head.
"But the Dark Steel Ship was in the distance on the sea when we returned to this world," Spike uttered. "It's only been an hour I think?"
"Soon to be 2 hours." Rarity followed up. "If the ship was out there in the ocean, then perhaps..."
They all put the pieces together and concluded on one thing. Perhaps, Dusknoir was never on the Dark Steel Ship in the first place as they all looked at each other. They made a decision. To check up on the castle.
Meanwhile, back at the jungle, Bisharp and Big Mac were currently going at it.
However, it wasn't exactly a normal battle between two formidable foes. Instead, Big Mac was evading Bisharp who kept using Poison Jab to try and hit him.
"Stand still!" Bisharp yelled as he smashed his hand into the ground, creating a crater.
"Eenope!" Big Mac replied as he was booking it running through trees with Machamp's amazing speed and bulk. All the while, Bisharp was cutting everything down to reach his foe.
Big Mac had never been in a battle before. Even when Ponyville was under attack by Spiritomb, Tirek, Nihelgo etc. He and his Machamp look like the type that would be fit for battle, but as Granny Smith and Bisharp said, they're nothing but big softies, unfortunately.
Bisharp pursued Big Macintosh without end. And the further he chased him down, the further he got from his crew, who were currently searching for their captain.
The Pokemon of the jungle were expecting a battle to go down. But after seeing Big Mac avoiding Captain Bisharp, it was clear that their jungle wouldn't be harmed too badly. But it was still being destroyed by body charges and Poison Jabs.
Big Mac ran through a cave as he found it as an opportunity to escape from Bisharp. Hopefully. This cave was fairly large so there was bound to be a corner for him to hide in. That is if his huge Machamp body doesn't take up a lot of space.
Big Mac quickly ran to the nearest corner as he put all four of his arms together, making sure that they don't spread out. Because Machamp's do have wide and long arms naturally. He also made sure to keep his breathing to a minimum so that Bisharp wouldn't hear him.
Captain Bisharp entered the cave with a menacing aura emanating out of him as his intimidating figure meshed well with the darkness of the cave. His bladed arms were glowing with purple poison energy as he was ready to strike at the first opportunity.
"Where'd you go, big guy?" Bisharp spoke as his metal footsteps echoed throughout the cave. All the Pokemon inside of the cave could feel Bisharp's aura as they decided to elude him as well with Big Mac's heart beating at a nervous rate.
To get a scare out of him, Bisharp smashed his arms onto the walls of the cave, making it tremble and leaving a hole in it too. This did in fact get a scare out of Big Mac, but not one that would make him scream or reveal himself. All it did was just make his heart beat faster.
Bisharp kept smashing his arms on the cave walls while venturing it, trying to bring Big Macintosh out so that they can continue their bout. Big Mac was even sweating. He just wanted to go home with his sisters and enjoy the festival with them. He didn't ask for any of this.
"What's gotten you so pent up?" Suddenly, Discord's mouth appeared from the side of the wall as his full body emerged next to Machamp.
"Ah-" Big Mac got a jumpscare from Discord's words as his left arm instinctively shut his mouth. He then began to speak a quiet tone to Discord. "Discord...Please don't make a sound...he'll hear me."
"Who?" Discord took out of his eyeballs as he rolled them on the ground. His eyeballs ended up rolling to where Bisharp was currently moving as he spotted the Pirate Captain. "Ah..." Discord's eyes then flew back to him. "I see."
"Please, Discord. You gotta help me with this..." Big Mac pleaded.
"Help you? You absolute comedian." Discord bonked Big Mac on the head. "You're one of those, um...Fighting-Type Pokemon as they're called. You have an amazing advantage over that waking chess piece."
"I know but..." Big Mac gulped. "I'm not ready to battle a Pokemon...I've never battled a Pokemon before actually. Not even with Machamp and not in this form..." He whimpered.
"Oh, you absolute softie." Discord shook his head. "You were so determined to see if your precious little sisters were alright. And now look at you. Completely shaken up by a Pokemon who you could obliterate with the flick of your finger."
"Mmm..." Big Mac grumbled.
"You wouldn't want to let your sisters down now, would you?" Discord stretched his head out as he wrapped around Big Mac like a snake.
"Eenope." Big Mac shook his head.
"And you certainly won't let someone who's just a being inside of a made-up game world prevent you from seeing them, hm?"
"Eenope."
"You know, I think that deep down in that hulk of a body you have..." Discord made an arrow point at Big Mac's chest. "Past that little soft and gentle attitude lies something fantastic."
"Y-You think so?" Big Mac stuttered.
"I know so. After all, only a friend would be able to tell what their friends are really capable of. At least, that's what I've heard. We're friends, right?"
"Hmm..." Big Mac looked at the arrow as he began to rethink everything.
"Well. You sort this out. I've got some work to do~" Discord was about to leave this area.
"Wait, Discord." But Big Mac still had some things to say. "Can't you just teleport us out of here?"
"Pssh. That would ruin the fun for them all. They've already got that ghost child to entertain anyway. Besides. I'm busy working on something riveting that'll really pop and stick to this world. Toodle-loo~!" And with that, Discord vanished by walking through the wall, leaving Big Mac.
Surprisingly, Discord's words were enough to encourage Big Macintosh. He had the power at his disposal. The power of a Pokemon and his partner nonetheless.
He wanted to see his sisters again but he also knew that Bisharp was a threat to them. So he finally swallowed his fears and decided to stand up as he used Machamp's amazing strength to destroy the cave walls around him.
"Hm?!" That grabbed Bisharp's attention as he rotated to face where the source of that sound came from.
The walls that had been destroyed created some dust smoke that filled the area. And standing in that smoke was the silhouette of Big Macintosh, who then revealed himself to Captain Bisharp.
"Haha. There you are." Bisharp grinned as Big Mac was finally showing his serious face. "Now that's a face I like to see. Hope you're ready to give me the fun I was anticipating!"
Big Mac took a deep breath as he was about to perform actions he had never done before in his entire life while being his own partner. This would technically be the first time Big Mac and Machamp have battled together, but this time as one. With courage building up from within Big Mac was ready.
"Eeyup."
"Perfect! Show me what you've got!" Bisharp immediately lunged towards with a Poison Jab ready and charged up with poison trailing from his arm.
Big Mac decided to finally fight back as he closed his eyes, preparing for the worst. With instinct and a loud yell, Big Macintosh used two of his four arms to smack Bisharp right in the face before he could land Poison Jab.
The impact of Big Mac's smack was so powerful that it not only sent Bisharp flying like a rocket, but it also shattered most of the cave around him and caused Bisharp to fly out of the cave at lightning speeds.
"Oh." Big Mac looked at his hands, seeing just how powerful that one single smack was. If something that minor could cause that much damage, then Big Mac was in a good spot.
However, Captain Bisharp is not that easy to take out. Even with Fighting being highly effective against him, he stood up from the ground as if it had barely done much to him as he wiped the dirt and rocks off his jacket. "Hah! That all?"
"Hm?"
"I've trained my body over the years through rigorous and harsh methods just to resist and handle severe and heavy damage! It'll take more than that to really put the hurt on me, boy!" Bisharp held both his hands out as he was going for a Psycho Cut.
Big Mac simply stayed at the same spot, preparing himself for Bisharp's next move. Big Mac knew his type matchups as Psycho Cut was a big red flag for him as a Machamp as he put all four arms up for protection.
Bisharp laughed as he slashed his bladed arms towards Big Mac with sharp cutting psychic energy emanating out. The Psycho Cut grazed Big Mac's arms, causing him to slide back as his arms definitely felt the slash.
But Bisharp didn't stop at one cut. He went for some more as he started delivering a flurry of Psycho Cuts towards Big Mac who kept his arms up, defending himself. But he couldn't keep this up for long.
Each slash from Bisharp kept pushing Big Mac further back, forcing him out of the cave as he was sent through the walls from Bisharp's pressure. Bisharp was going for an extra-strong Psycho Cut as he raised both arms.
This gave Big Mac the chance to hit his wide spot as he used his two lower hands to push Bisharp back. He wasn't really going for any punches. Just pushes and smacks. But it was his first time battling anyway so he was bound to take baby steps.
Bisharp veered on the ground as he easily recovered from the push. He saw that Big Mac, despite finally stepping to face him, was still taking a fainthearted approach with his simple pushes and smacks.
With that in mind, Bisharp decided to attack at a different angle. He jumped over Big Macintosh, taking him by surprise as he used Psych Cut on his back instead.
Big Mac's eyes widened as he had taken some serious damage from Bisharp's Psycho Cut from behind. This attack ended up forcing Big Mac on his knees as he had never felt so much pain before. But he had to endure it, even if he despised it.
Bisharp was going in for another Psycho Cut from behind by charging it up this time. Big Mac gasped as he quickly got up from the ground. However, this is where the traits of Machamp really kick in.
When Big Mac got up, he was aiming to jump away from the Psycho Cut. But he didn't jump normally. Not at all. Now that he was a Machamp, his jumps were unreal as the moment he went for one, Big Mac leapt great distances in a single bound as he was now travelling North from the direction he was headed. Bisharp looked up as he could hear the sound of Big Mac screaming.
"Hm. Someone's unaware of their own strength. How interesting!" Bisharp immediately pursued Machamp as he still wanted his challenge.
Unbeknownst to Bisharp, he had strayed further away from his crew who were still looking for their captain while fleeing from the navy as well.
Dusknoir's Castle. 2:30.
The Noir Pride had returned to the ocean where it was originally found as it had landed down, allowing Ash and everyone to get off the ship. They came back for one reason that obviously involved Dusknoir. They were highly curious about something, especially with what the Smeargle back at the Sky Borealis said.
"You're back!" Kathleen ran over to them. "I saw the whole thing! It was amazing!"
"How'd she see it from ground level...?" Rarity squinted her eyes.
"You really showed those pirates and got those navy Pokemon back to full spirit!" She jumped up and down.
"It's about Dusknoir. Pinkie Pie checked the Dark Steel Ship and she couldn't find him anywhere." Ash kneeled to her.
"Nothing!" Pinkie shook her head.
"But a Smeargle said that he saw Dusknoir 3 minutes earlier before we finished our battle with the Bisharp Pirates. Did you see Dusknoir earlier?"
"Oh about that. I lied!" Kathleen said with an innocent grin as everyone was immediately shocked by her response.
"Eh?!"
"I just wanted to see you all go against the pirates! And it was worth it! Dusknoir was inside of the ship the whole time helping you all! He wanted to join in on the fun too!"
"...W-Was he now?" Twilight turned around, looking outside the window to see the Noir Pride as it used its shadow hands to spell out the words I am so sorry you went through that.
"Next time, let's do...um..." Kathleen bit her finger. "Let's do a rescue quest! I like those a lot! Oh, we can do it right now-"
"Maybe next time. Please." Rainbow Dash put her wing over Kathleen as she sighed.
"At least we had something fun to do. Guess our slow day doesn't exist anymore, huh?" Spike shrugged.
"Mhm." Pikachu nodded.
"Well. If you wanted us to join in you could've just-" Before Ash could finish his sentence, out of nowhere, or actually, from above, Big Mac came crashing through the roof, startling everyone in the castle as he veered on the floor, almost losing his balance.
"W-Woah!" He stammered. Upon entry, everyone turned their attention to the random Machamp that just burst through the castle, leaving some massive damage in the process.
"A Machamp?" They all said.
"Hm?" Big Mac managed to regain his balance after that super jump. After taking a deep breath, he turned around to see that some Pokemon and a human child were staring right at him while being in this colourful castle.
However, by taking a good look at the Pokemon, he noticed something peculiar and familiar. A Lucario and a Sceptiple both wearing hats. More specifically, Ash and Applejack's hat. But Machamp also noticed that Pikachu was next to Lucario with the Ash hat. Seeing this made Big Mac a bit confused.
"Sis? Everyone?" He said as his voice was highly familiar to all of them.
"Big Mac?" Applejack and Apple Bloom both said as their voice was familiar to Big Mac as well.
"Eeyup!" With a loud response and his eyes tearing up, he rushed over to his sisters, picking them both up with his four arms and hugging them with all the love he had. "I'm so glad ya'll are okay!" He started wailing.
"Urgh...! W-We're fine Big Mac...!" Applejack squirmed. "D-Did you touch the board game...?"
"Eeyup!" He nodded as he placed them both back down. "You gotta listen! Right now, some crazy pirate is after me!"
"Pirates? You mean the Bisharp Pirates?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Eeyup! Captain was a Bisharp!" He nodded.
"Guess he must've fallen near Big Mac then," Ash said.
"Yeah," Pikachu replied.
"Right now I-"
Before Big Mac could finish his sentence, along came Bisharp who cut through the doors of the castle, once again, startling everyone.
"There you are!" Bisharp grinned as he stood before many Pokemon and Kathleen. The door had been perfectly cut in half as Kathleen hid behind Fluttershy with a squeal. "Hoho. I see some familiar faces in the crowd. How interesting!"
Bisharp now had arrived at Dusknoir's Castle, ready to continue his battle and obtain further excitement. The Bisharp Pirates may have failed to capture the Sky Borealis but their captain was a different story. Everyone was already highly cautious of the captain as his menacing aura filled the room. Although, Kathleen knew that something fun was going to happen as she giggled.
With Dusknoir being alright and not captured at all and Bisharp pursuing his target Big Mac which led him to Ash and everyone else while the pirates escape from the navy and Discord is up to who-knows-what, the climax is approaching as the journey continues.
Captain Bisharp of the Bisharp Pirates had found his way to Dusknoir's castle after pursuing Big Macintosh to finish their battle. But he ended up coming across Ash and everyone else, which made him more intrigued with his excitement building up.
"I like the look of this." Bisharp grinned. "Familiar faces who also know how to give me an actual challenge! I assume you've defeated my crew, have you?"
"Sure did! We flattened them!" Scootaloo blew her tongue at him.
"Ah! So I was right about you all." Bisharp pointed his bladed hands at them all. "Good! Good! But you should know that my crew don't give up so easily. We lose, we come right back in a few minutes tops."
"Heh! Not this time!" Rainbow Dash scoffed. "The navy's chasing them down so they're gonna be occupied. But you're all ours. If we beat you then this whole pirate thing's over."
"If you can, that is." Bisharp's bladed hands began to sharpen as the sun beamed down on it, giving it a radiant shine.
"I just wanna go home already..." Big Mac sighed.
"No need to worry!" Pinkie flew over Big Mac's head. "After this, we'll head back to the real-world and party through the rest of the Pokemon Festival!"
"Hm?" That caught Bisharp's attention. "What do you mean...Real-World?"
"Uh...nothing." Pinkie zipped her mouth shut.
"Oh!" Kathleen stepped forward. "My friends here are from another world outside of here! It's also where my home is!" She had revealed everything to Bisharp.
"K-Kathleen, why?!" Twilight screeched.
"Consarn it..." Applejack put her hat over her face.
"Hm? was it something I said?" Kathleen tilted her head.
"So...there's another world out there, huh? And you lot come from this other world, do ya? Hehe." BIsharp cackled. "Excellent...I was getting bored since I've almost finished exploring this world. But now that there's somewhere else for me and my crew to explore...I'm about to live the high life! More places to pillage!"
"Like we'd let you!" Ash's aura starting emanating while Pikachu's red sacs sparked out lightning.
"Then put your world on the line and defend it!" Bisharp immediately went on the attack without wasting any time as he used the move Swords Dance to strike.
Ash was the one up in front so Bisharp went straight for him. But Ash was prepared to go up against Captain Bisharp as he put his arm out, blocking Bisharp's Swords Dance slash.
Everyone stepped back as Ash used his Aura to push Bisharp back, but only a little bit. Bisharp was glad that there was someone here who would actually face him for real.
Bisharp decided to use Psycho Cut next as he sent cutting waves of psychic blades forward. This time, they were aiming for everyone as they scattered across the room.
Ash put an Aura Sphere forward to protect everyone while Fluttershy did the same by using the move Protect to shield her friends.
"Ooh!" Kathleen was already enjoying this as she was clapping her hands.
"Let's just get this over with already!" Rarity ran past Ash and the others, going straight for a Triple Kick to put an end to this little battle.
But again, Bisharp is not one to go down so easily. Even against super-effective moves. Being a pirate, he didn't exactly follow the rules of natural Pokemon battling where most of the time, 4 moves can be used. Bisharp can use whatever he wants as long as it grants him victory.
He was able to see Rarity coming, even with her intense speed. He swung his bladed arms forward with Swords Dance, clashing with Rarity's leg. But that was just the first kick. Rarity went for another kick but Bisharp blocked that as well, this time with his head which was very sturdy.
Rarity then went for a sweep with the third kick, but Bisharp was able to avoid the last one by jumping over Rarity. And as a counter to her, he used Air Slash to strike back as blades of air that could slice even the sky came flying out of his bladed arms.
Rarity was knocked back by the blades as the wind had carried her away, dealing super-effective damage to her. The wind ended up smashing her against the wall.
"Rarity!" Spike gasped as he growled at Bisharp, targeting all of his anger at him. With Flamethrower building up in his body, Spike breathed in, preparing to unleash a wide and ferocious flame.
Ash and Rainbow Dash approached Bisharp with Force Palm and Superpower in their palms and wings, believing that two Fighting moves would seal the deal.
Bisharp smirked as he put both his hands out, sending out dual Psycho-Cuts towards his opponents. Force Palm and Superpower connected with the cutting blades of psychic energy as their wings and palm were pushed back by Psycho Cut.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded as he slid on the ground. Pikachu quickly jumped in the air, doing a frontflip before surrounding his body in fierce lightning. At the same time, Spike was ready to unleash Flamethrower alongside Pikachu.
In unison, both of them released 100,000 volts and scorching flames from their bodies and mouth as the two ranged moves merged, racing straight towards Bisharp.
"Haha!" Bisharp cackled as he used Night Slash to cut both of the moves in half, separating them in different directions. "This is what I've been waiting for! You're all amazing!" Bisharp ran over to Ash and Rainbow Dash with Psycho Cut in his hands.
"It's times like this where I wish Psychic could affect Dark...Applejack! Try holding him down!" Twilight said.
"On it!" Applejack used the vines of Sceptile as they raced out of her back. The vines had wrapped around Bisharp's body, stopping him before he could land a hit on Ash and Rainbow Dash as he was restrained.
"Hm?!"
"I gotcha! Now ya'll go!" Applejack yelled.
"Okay!" Ash and Rainbow Dash went for another Force Palm and Superpower. Meanwhile, Rarity had recovered from the Air Slash as she ran back for another Triple Kick. Bisharp was now being attacked from both sides whilst being restrained by Applejack's vines.
Bisharp would have to take the hit this time as all three Fighting-Type moves made direct contact with his front and back. With all three moves crashing onto him, Bisharp's eyes widened as he definitely felt that.
Even a seasoned pirate such as himself would take a lot of damage from a combination such as that. But of course, he wasn't out yet.
"N-Not bad!" Bisharp suddenly made his body sharper while exerting his aura as he cut the vines apart with his body, freeing himself.
The aura even pushed Ash, Rainbow Dash and Rarity back a bit, but not by much as they resisted it. "More!" Show me more!" Bisharp raised his blades into the air.
"He's insane!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Does he really like difficult stuff that much?"
"Looks like it." Apple Bloom nodded.
"But I'm not satisfied." Bisharp pointed his blades at Twilight. "Not all of you are joining in. Come on! Fuel my excitement more!"
"No way!" Twilight denied. "None of my moves won't do a thing to you!"
"Same here." Applejack shook her head. "Big Mac. You've got the advantage. Get out there."
"Uh...Eeyup!" Big Mac stepped forward.
"I've got fire. I'll just stay here!" Scootaloo grinned.
"And I'll support you all from this distance," said Fluttershy.
"Excellent! Let's see how you all respond to this!" Bisharp combined Swords Dance with Aerial Ace, greatly increasing his strength as this move was a threat to most of them here.
The battle between the two continued as Bisharp targeted Rarity next, moving at blinding speeds that could confound anyone upon contact.
But Spike appeared in front of Rarity as he used Dragon Tail to block the Aerial Ace, preventing Bisharp from advancing any further. Ash stood back, charging up an Aura Sphere while everyone else played their part.
Rainbow Dash went for another Superpower by using her talons, however, Bisharp used Aerial Ace to move back, avoiding the impact. But, when Superpower hit the floor, it caused an earthquake that rumbled the castle.
Big Mac picked Rarity up as he tossed her over towards Bisharp. Rarity then went for Triple Kick once more whilst being airborne. Bisharp cackled as he headbutted Rarity's leg, clashing with her Triple Kicks as he smashed his head on her legs three times.
"How durable are you?!" Rarity gasped as she moved away from Bisharp. Spike and Scootaloo both breathed fire from their mouths with Scootaloo's being smaller and Spike's being larger.
Bisharp put his arms up in a blocking stance as he took the dual Fire-Type moves directly. The combined flames were super-effective against him as his silhouette could be seen inside of the raging aura of fire.
But Bisharp separated the fire by spinning around with Aerial Ace, creating a gigantic whirlwind that not only blew away the fire but went towards Ash and the others as a method of attacking.
Twilight quickly prevented the whirlwind from hitting her friends as she used Dazzling Gleam to do so. Flashing beams of rainbows came flying out of her as they pelted onto the whirlwind, pushing it back towards Bisharp. The captain gasped as his own whirlwind had been forced back at him.
The whirlwind ended up catching Bisharp, picking him up as he was now being spun around in it. "W-Woah!" The whirlwind carried him across the entire castle as the windows had been blown away along with parts of the walls.
"Now's my chance!" Rainbow Dash capitalized on this scenario as she and Pikachu were ready to attack Bisharp while he was in the whirlwind. Pikachu hopped on Rainbow Dash's back as they both closed in on the spinning captain who was trapped within his own whirlwind.
Rainbow Dash charged herself up with Superpower while Pikachu was ready for a Thunderbolt from above. Bisharp saw the two of them closing in on him as he was still trying to break free from the whirlwind.
Pikachu jumped off Rainbow Dash, spinning in the air as he sent a blast of lightning down from above which ended up smiting Bisharp. The Thunderbolt even managed to paralyze him, making his movements slower. The whirlwind even got a fancy appearance with Thunderbolt lightning it up.
And up next came Rainbow Dash who flew into the whirlwind without any worry. She was able to resist it because of the Flying-Typing as she smashed both of her talons onto Bisharp with Superpower. The impact of Superpower managed to destroy the whirlwind and send Bisharp crashing down as a large crater was formed because of it.
Rainbow Dash caught Pikachu as she flew back to her friends, believing that the final hit of Superpower sealed the deal and Bisharp was down and out.
But lo and behold, Bisharp wasn't done yet as he stood right back up. But he's definitely taken a lot of punishment and damage because of this entire battle. He was durable but not invincible.
"Yes! This is truly the greatest day of my life!" Bisharp cackled as his entire metal body had scratches and chipped parts. "But...all good things must come to an end."
His body suddenly sparked up as he was about to use the move Guillotine to finish this battle once and for all. He could've used this from the very beginning, but Bisharp enjoys a challenge after all. With all of his strength, he jumped up from the air, raising his blades for one final hurrah and attack.
Ash put his hands together, creating an Aura Sphere to counteract this incoming one-hit move. This Aura Sphere was larger than the ones before as it was almost as large as Spike as a Salamence. Everyone braced for impact as they knew the result would be explosive somehow.
"This is the end!" Bisharp swung his arms down as the mere movement of his arms moving was enough to cut the ground and walls around him without even making contact.
"Yeah, for you!" Ash replied as he released the gigantic Aura Sphere forward. The two moves clashed as Bisharp's blades stabbed into Aura Sphere with blue lights streaking out.
Ash held the Aura Sphere in front of him as both of them were fighting for dominance, trying to 1-UP each other and win this clash. Seismic waves of wind were emanating from their clash as the castle was slowly coming apart. A fissure of energy was even made in-between as both Ash and Bisharp's aura waves were clashing against each other.
"Grrgh...!" Ash grunted as his leg was moving back a bit. Clearly, this was his first time experiencing a clash such as this. But one he was determined to win.
Bisharp had a maniacal look on his face as Guillotine was slowly managing to break through the Aura Sphere. But even he was struggling as he was putting everything he had into this.
Ash closed his eyes as he was trying to let out more aura to win this clash. But he wouldn't have to do it alone. Twilight helped out by adding Dazzling Gleam into the Aura Sphere, giving it some extra strength. And soon, all of his friends did the same as they were here for him.
Applejack fired a Dragon Pulse, Scootaloo used Ember, Apple Bloom used Charge while Sweetie Belle added Disarming Voice. The Aura Sphere gained multiple colours around it thanks to the assistance of Ash's friends. But there was even more.
Spike and Fluttershy both pitched in by using Hyper Beam in unison, increasing the size and power of the Aura Sphere. Pinkie Pie used Psychic and Pikachu used Thunderbolt to complete the ranged combination while Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh handled the physical part.
At the same time, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Big Mac used their strength to push the Aura Sphere forward with their legs, talons and four arms.
With their combined might and teamwork, they each used all of their strength as the powered-up Aura-Sphere grew large enough to cover the entire hallway.
Bisharp's eyes widened as he noticed that his Guillotine was no longer piercing through the Aura Sphere anymore with how powerful it has become. Knowing that, he let out one word.
"Uh oh."
And with that, the Aura Sphere had consumed him. Dusknoir appeared from beneath as he knew the explosion was coming, so he covered Kathleen, protecting her.
What followed next was a multi-coloured and azure blue explosion of pure aura that was so powerful that it not only blew everyone back from the intense force it exhibited, but it even destroyed the entire castle as a pillar of blue aura rose into the sky, penetrating the clouds.
The skies were covered in a beautiful blue aura and a rainbow that spread out in the world.
The aftermath of the battle really did a number to the castle as it was all gone now. Dusknoir successfully protected Kathleen from the explosion as she was completely unharmed. The duo looked over to see Ash and the others on the ground, still conscious, even after that wild explosion.
"Ugh..." Ash held his head. "Everyone okay?"
"Yeah, a bit..." Pikachu groaned.
"Eeyup." Big Mac stood up as he helped his sisters up from the ground.
"D-Did we get him?" Scootaloo looked over at the large cloud of smoke as everyone did the same. The smoke was clearing as they were waiting for the outcome. Hopefully, the best possible one.
Once the smoke cleared, Bisharp was revealed to be standing there with his arms crossed and his jacket blowing in the wind. Everyone gasped as they didn't expect him to still be standing after something that powerful.
"W-Well...done." Bisharp suddenly spoke as his tone had lowered. "You all did excellently...That was the most f-fun I've had in a long time..."
"Huh?" Pikachu sat up.
"But...next time...If you come back here...I'll be more than prepared for you all. And I'll find a way to your world. One way or another." After those words, Bisharp had fainted by falling on his back. He had finally been defeated.
"Oh. Now it's over..." Spike laid on his belly, relieved and exhausted. They all were. Some more than others.
Finally, after a wild battle against the pirates up in the Sky Borealis and against Captain Bisharp, they could put this little adventure to a close.
But of course, the Bisharp Pirates came for their captain as their ship was seen flying by. They had finally found their captain as they used the last remaining steel chains to grab him. Meanwhile, the navy was still chasing after them. Bisharp was pulled back inside of the ship as the navy ship fired cannonballs at the Dark Steel, damaging it even further.
Officer Gumshoos looked over at Twilight and her friend as he and the soldiers saluted them for assisting them in saving the Sky Borealis as their ship continued to pursue the Dark Steel.
"That was the best one yet!" Kathleen jumped up and down. "Thank you so much! Let's do that again! But next time in the labyrinth! That one has a lot of stuff to do in!"
"Maybe another time...please." Fluttershy whimpered.
"Oh. Sorry." Kathleen whimpered as she gave everyone some time to breathe. But one individual who wouldn't give anyone time to breathe was Discord, who had shown up once the entire thing had ended.
"Splendid work everyone!" Discord created hundreds of hands that applauded Ash and everyone's victory. "I could really feel the passion in those last few seconds."
"Now he shows up?" Rainbow Dash groaned. "We could've used your help earlier, ya know."
"Too occupied, sorry." Discord shook his head. "But it would've been less interesting with me along, honestly."
"Ooh...who's that Pokemon?" Kathleen gazed at Discord in amazement.
"That's not a Pokemon." Dusknoir quickly corrected her. "Are you all okay to leave now?"
"Give us a few minutes." Pinkie said as she laid on her back. "We'll stay here a bit longer."
"What were you even doing Discord?" Spike asked.
"Watching you all, of course. Among other things. You were honestly right to invite me to this world. The possibilities are endless!"
"Yeah, as long as Dusknoir allows it. I'm gonna take a small nap now." Pinkie laid on her back. "Wake me up when we're back in the real world."
The battle was over and they could relax while staying here for a bit with Kathleen and Dusknoir. To pass the time, they talked about how the whole pirate event went down. Some of them were even showing off their Pokemon moves.
Kathleen decided to play with the CMC in the meanwhile as Ash, Pikachu and Dusknoir sat together, watching everyone relax and mess about. But, Dusknoir had something important he wanted to tell Ash. Concerning Kathleen.
"Ash." Dusknoir spoke as he looked at Kathleen who was riding on Scootaloo.
"Yeah?"
"I think you saw this coming yourself but...I need you to do me a favour."
"I'm all ears."
"This world. It's the only place where Kathleen can truly keep on living forever and even interact with others. Others except for her parents. I feel guilty for taking her away from them ever since I cursed this board game. I did it without warning either. To make up for it..."
"I gotcha." Ash nodded as he understood what Dusknoir was trying to say. "I'll take it back to them. Floaroma Town, right? I'll head there right after-"
"Not right away." Dusknoir interrupted. "This might be the final time Kathleen and I will ever see you all again when she returns with her parents. I want you to keep the board game for a bit longer before you return it."
"You sure you wanna wait, Dusknoir? It'd be great if her parents were able to see her and come to this world too. They haven't seen her for years. So I should get to Sinnoh pronto."
"Mhm." Pikachu nodded.
"I know. They should be allowed to see their child as soon as possible. But I'm certain she'll miss you all once that happens. And so will I."
"But it's for the best. After all, they'll get to see Kathleen again after so long." Ash patted Dusknoir on the back. "They'll even get to explore this world too whenever they want."
"That's what I'm hoping for. But I'll truly miss you all. And so will Kathleen."
"We'll miss you too buddy."
"Maybe we'll get to see you again someday!" Pikachu hopped on Ash's shoulder.
"Maybe. Thank you so much for being here for Kathleen. All of you." Dusknoir's words reached Fluttershy's ears as she overheard the entire thing. She would now be able to tell her friends about Dusknoir's departure.
But she wasn't the only one who heard it. Kathleen, without having amazing hearing abilities, had heard Ash and Dusknoir discussing. Concerning her parents and returning home to Floaroma Town. She went up to them as she saw how Dusknoir was really feeling the impact of a soon-to-be heavy departure.
Surprisingly, it was Dusknoir that was the most scared to leave Ash and everyone as Kathleen looked up at her best friend, giving him a reassuring smile.
"Don't be sad, Dusknoir." She said.
"Kathleen?" He looked down at her.
"I'm sad and scared of leaving Ash and everyone too. But it'd be really great if I could see mom and dad again. I know they miss me a lot. And I want them to have fun here too."
"Will you be alright after saying goodbye to everyone?" Dusknoir asked.
"Sure will!" She nodded. "But I know how we can make everyone happy!"
"You do?" Ash and Dusknoir both said.
"I can ask mom and dad if Ash and everyone can come and visit Floaroma Town and have play dates! That'd be great!" She had a wide grin on her face that gave great reassurance.
"I suppose you thought ahead of me, didn't you?" Dusknoir patted Kathleen on the head. "Alright. I can count on you to return it, Ash. Right?"
"Sure can! We'll be there in no time!"
"Yes sir!" Pikachu exclaimed as he and Ash both raised their arms in unison. With enough time passing, the departure from the board game world had arrived.
Sweet Apple Acres. The Pokemon Festival.17:30.
They had finally returned to the real world. Back in their normal forms and everything. From hands, hooves, wings and horns. Although, Scootaloo still felt the same, minus a flaming mane and tail.
And because they were back to normal, their Pokemon had separated from them as they were all a bit woozy and befuddled after all of that action.
"Man...what a rush." Ash shook his head as he stood up.
"Pikachu." Pikachu was now back to saying his name.
"I miss my wings already." Spike sighed. "I wish I had my own..."
"Maybe one day, darling." Rarity patted Spike on the back.
"It'd be so cool if I kept the fire..." Scootaloo grumbled.
"What are ya'll doing on my floor?" Granny Smith came into the room with Drampa.
"Granny!" Big Mac, relieved that he was back to normal, went over to hug his grandma as he teared up. His Machamp did the same as he picked both Granny Smith and Big Mac up.
"W-What's got you two so happy?"
"At least she didn't touch the board game." Applejack sighed.
"Melo!" Meloetta was pleased that she had found Ash after searching for so long. She came flying in, hugging him as she almost knocked him over.
"W-Woah!"
"I wish we'd stay a bit longer in there..." Twilight growled.
"Great to see you again, Meloetta. Anyway." Ash took the board game from the table. "We're gonna get this all the way to Floaroma Town, pronto."
"Pika-Pika!"
"You can go on ahead, Ash. We'll stay here..." Rainbow Dash yawned.
"Right. Come on buddy. We can get to Floaroma Town quicker if we go through Oreburgh. The gateway's still close to Canterlot."
"Pika."
"I'll fix that. Don't want you falling asleep along the way now, do we?" Discord decided to help Ash out by snapping his fingers.
In just an instant, he brought Ash and Pikachu to the nearest gateway that led to Floaroma Town, saving up a bunch of time of walking through many gateways.
"Thanks, Discord!"
"Pikachu!"
"You're welcome. Now hurry along and get it over with. I want to visit that world again someday."
"Alright. Let's hope their still home." Ash and Pikachu both passed through the gateway, hoping that Kathleen's parents were still here. A lot can happen over the years. Perhaps the same people might have travelled somewhere else. But Ash was willing to go anywhere just to find them.
Floaroma Town. A vivid and scented town where the flowers are constantly emanating wonderful perfumes.
Returning here was nostalgic for Ash. But he wasn't focusing on that right now. He had to find Kathleen's home. Whichever one it was.
He and Pikachu went around asking the residents if they know about a family who used to have a daughter named Kathleen years ago.
Thankfully, Floaroma Town is relatively small so everyone knew each other here, no problem. Kathleen's home was located right near the Flower Shop as it looked just as humble as every house here.
Ash knocked on the door with the board game in his hands. He took a deep breath as he was hoping for someone to respond. All the while, Dusknoir was ready to show himself when the parents were revealed.
And someone did in fact respond.
The father opened up the door as he witnessed Ash and Pikachu for the first time. "Hello? Can I help you kid?"
"Hi. Sorry if I'm interrupting but...I've got something super important to give back to you."
"Hm?" The mother walked over. "Such as?"
"Th-" Ash didn't get to finish his sentence because Dusknoir wanted to talk to the parents first. A ghostly aura surrounded the board game, causing an Ominous Wind as Dusknoir emerged from the game as a wisp.
Naturally, seeing this made the mother and father receive countless flashbacks as they didn't expect to see both Dusknoir and the board game once more. They immediately recognized him at first glance.
"Dusknoir?!" They both gasped.
"Yes." Dusknoir nodded as he lowered his head. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"Long enough." The father replied. "We thought you vanished forever back at the hospital. Along with Kathleen."
"I did but...I came to confess." Dusknoir was ready to say what he needed to say. "I'm sorry. I pulled her into the board game without your approval. And I forcefully took her away from you for so many years. I wanted to continue making her happy as you wanted me to ever since I was still a Duskull. That was the only solution I came up with. The only way I could keep Kathleen alive."
"So is that what actually happened?" The mother asked. "She's been inside of the board game for so long?"
"Enjoying herself to the fullest." Dusknoir responded. "Alongside Ash and Pikachu here. And the rest of my friends. I've been doing everything in this game to keep Kathleen happy. Non-stop. But even with her excitement, I still felt guilty for taking her away from you. This is why I've come back to you. So that you can see her again."
"W-We can...We can see her again?" The father stuttered as he and the mother were both stunned by those words. "How?"
"By going in yourself. I want you to experience the world with Kathleen. Even if she still not apart of this world, you can always see her here. Anytime you want. I want to give back what I took from you and-"
"You don't have to say anything else Dusknoir." The father interrupted. "We understand."
"You do?"
"Sure do. We did say that we wanted you to make her happy at the very beginning. And you merely stuck to that promise ever since." The mother uttered. "We know we'll never have Kathleen back but...any chance to see her again would be wonderful either way."
"Come on." The father took the board game. "Let's see her again. We know you've always been great at keeping her happy. So you don't have to worry."
"You two..." Dusknoir was hit by that. He didn't expect it to go so well. He was really expecting to receive punishment for his actions. But none at all. He was so struck by it that he turned around, making light noises that almost sounded like crying.
"Dusknoir? Are you crying?" The mother noticed.
"I'm not crying...It's liquid pride." Dusknoir grumbled.
"Come on you. Let's go." The father chuckled as he patted the Gripper Pokemon on the back. After wiping his tears away, Dusknoir affected the board game, pulling the parents and even Ash and Pikachu inside of the board game to see Kathleen once more.
The Board Game World. Dusknoir's castle. Still in ruins after the battle with Bisharp.
At long last, after many years, the parents would finally have the chance to see their beloved daughter they had lost once more. They had entered this world as a mage and a paladin due to Dusknoir's choice.
And the moment they arrived at the world, they immediately saw their daughter running over to them. Still a child because of how time works in this world. But she looked healthy and happier than ever.
"Mom! Dad!" She yelled as she was moving at high-speeds.
"Kathleen!" So did her parents. With a pleased and relieved look on their faces, the family had been reunited once more as they both picked Kathleen up with a hug.
"I thought I was going to see you tomorrow but this is better!" Kathleen squeed.
"Oh, look at you! Still so young and healthy!" The mother exclaimed. "It feels great to be with you again."
"Mhm! And it's great you're here! This place is a load of fun! Way better than playing it on the outside!"
"I can believe that." The father nodded. "Dusknoir made this possible after all."
"Dusknoir's the best!" Kathleen bellowed. "And so are Ash and everyone! A lot of fun stuff happens here. And I want you all to see and do stuff here!"
"We'd be glad to experience it to the fullest. We're sorry that we'll never get to see you grow up..." The mother sighed.
"That's fine. Dusknoir can fix that. Right?"
"Hm?!" Dusknoir shot up. "Uh... I don't know about that..."
"Either way. We're just glad to see you back. And happier than ever." The parents placed her down. "Dusknoir. Ash. Pikachu. Thank you so much for this. This beats out the Christmas gift a few months back."
"No problem!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Oh! Can Ash and everyone come over and play sometime? It's really fun when they join in." Kathleen asked her parents.
"Of course they can. Any time they want." The parents accepted it easily. "Now then. Where can we begin?"
"Well, I was gonna show you the castle but it's kinda ruined. But there was an amazing battle here! But you missed it. Oh! I can show you the Noir Pride!" Kathleen dragged her parents along as her voice was fading in the background. "It's Dusknoir's ship and it's really cool! It's got shadow hands that come out and can grab stuff really easily like-"
"Well. I'll see you soon. Ash. Pikachu." Dusknoir turned to the duo.
"Yeah. Good luck, buddy." Ash nodded as he and Pikachu were starting to return to the real world.
"Pikachu!"
"How about next time, I make it sci-fi?"
"Oh! That'd be so awe-" Before Ash could finish his words, he and Pikachu had been sent back. And that was the end of that.
Dusknoir flew over to Kathleen and her parents, ready to discuss a lot that they had missed out on and to guide them in this world. He promised to protect them all from now on and to continue making them all happy.
And he was good at it as well. This wasn't an eternal farewell as Ash and everyone will surely meet them again whenever they come over to Floaroma Town for a new adventure as the journey continues.
Celestia and her family had returned to Canterlot for a slower-paced day as the fifth day was coming to an end. They were still looking forward to the rest of the festival, especially the remaining two weeks. But for now, some downtime was needed.
Luna had entered her room, rubbing her eye as her mane was a complete mess. Inside, her Pokemon were already preparing to clock out for the night. All except for Darkrai and Frillish who are always up.
"Rest well, all of you." Luna yawned. "We don't have too long until this all ends."
"Gligar..." Gligar fell asleep on top of Stufful as everyone ended up in hilarious sleeping positions that made Luna giggle a bit. She placed all of their Poke Balls on the side since they don't stay inside of them when in Luna's room.
However, Luna, with her sharp eye, noticed something unusual. The number of Poke Balls she put to the side all belonged to her Pokemon. Every last one. There was a Poke Ball for all of her Pokemon here except for one that was the odd one out.
"That's odd." She looked over at the corner of her bed, spotting another Poke Ball that didn't belong to any of her Pokemon here. "Did I catch a Pokemon I was unaware of? She scratched her mane. "I caught Karrablast but...His Poke Ball is still with me."
"Oh, right." Darkrai emerged from the shadows. "I should've mentioned. I placed this Poke Ball here."
"Darkrai. You did? Why exactly?"
"I'll let him explain." Darkrai picked up the Poke Ball as he sent out the Dusclops that belonged to the mysterious unicorn who had abandoned him.
"D-Dus...Dusclops?!" Naturally, once he came out of the Poke Ball, Dusclops was terrified and confused the moment he saw Darkrai and everyone else as he backed up into the corner.
"A Dusclops? Luna squinted her eyes. "A friend of yours?"
"Clops...Dusclops!" The Beckon Pokemon was shivering with fear.
"Why is he so terrified?"
"That would be because of me. I caught him and his trainer trying to steal the eggs from the Pokemon Breeding Room over at the Pokemon School. But...his trainer abandoned him."
"Abandoned?!" Luna gasped.
"Right. Without even showing any indication that she would want to take him back. Seems as if she was only using Dusclops to store the eggs and nothing else."
"Dusclops..."
"Is that so?" Luna faced Darkrai before facing Dusclops once more. Luna then decided to approach Dusclops, which only terrified the Beckon Pokemon even further.
"Clops!"
"It's alright," Luna said. "I won't harm you, Dusclops."
"Dus?"
"Darkrai. You're scaring him." Luna whispered over to the Pitch Black Pokemon.
"My apologies." Darkrai submerged into the shadows.
"No need to worry. You're in safe hooves now, Dusclops." Luna placed her hoof on Dusclops.
"C-Clops?" Dusclops's shivering calmed down as he could feel how gentle Luna was compared to his previous trainer. From how Luna was interacting with him, she didn't have a sense of hostility emanating from her.
"Being abandoned by your own trainer must be terrible. I can't imagine why she'd use you as just an object.
"Dusclops...Dus."
"He said that she wasn't his original trainer." Darkrai suddenly emerged from the shadows once more.
"Hm? She wasn't? But this is her Poke Ball, isn't it?" Luna used her magic to bring the Poke Ball over.
"Clops! Dusclops!" Dusclops aggressively shook his head.
"Apparently, that Poke Ball belonged to Dusclops's original trainer. That pony seemed to have stolen it from her."
"Clops." He nodded.
"I see. So you're far away from home now at this point."
"Dusclops..."
"Hold on." Luna turned to face Darkrai. "I heard days ago that there were these Umbrage Thieves who steal Pokemon that belong to trainers across both Equestria and the Pokemon World."
"Right. It's said that they don't go directly for wild Pokemon. Only Pokemon that have trainers. The same can be said for Dusclops here."
"So then does that mean..." Luna was starting to put the pieces together. "That unicorn. Was she an Umbrage Thief?"
"Most likely. I first encountered her in the Pokemon School. She had sky-blue fur, a yellow mane and tail along with golden eyes. And one of the Umbrage Thieves over at the Relief Zone was also a unicorn with golden eyes. Same tall stature, voice and everything."
"That sounds like a clear culprit to me." Luna nodded. "Did you catch her name?"
"I didn't. But I saw her Cutie Mark before she acted during the night. If we can find someone with a mark like that..."
"Then we'll have an Umbrage Thief at our disposal. I wonder...Canterlot is mostly home to many unicorns. Does she live here by any chance?"
"No." Darkrai shook his head. "I've been patrolling Canterlot since last year and there's not a single unicorn here who looks like her."
"What a shame. But at least you caught her appearance. All we have to do is find out who she really is by name. But other than that, we should probably return you to your trainer, Dusclops. They're obviously worried about you."
"Dus." Dusclops appreciated Luna's offer but he had something very important to tell her, concerning the mysterious unicorn.
"Hm?!" And when Darkrai heard Dusclops's words, his attention had shot up. "We don't have to wait to find out her name anymore."
"We don't?" Luna faced Darkrai.
"Dusclops has just given it to us. Her name is Skyblue Shine. That's the unicorn we should be watching out for."
"Skyblue Shine...Well, they're certainly not from Canterlot, that's for sure. You've been with her, Dusclops. Where does she live?"
"Clops. Dus. Dusclops."
"Over at Vanhoover. That's where she lives."
"Vanhoover. Noted." Luna nodded. "Thank you so much, Dusclops. Now, let's get you back to your original trainer right away. Where are they?"
"Dusclops."
"Hoenn. Over at Mossdeep City."
"Then we're off. Rest will have to wait." Luna returned Dusclops to his Poke Ball as she was ready to leave to Hoenn even if she was exhausted. Luckily, Darkrai would be there to assist her along the way.
1:20 AM The sixth day was here.
Noticeably, the festival had simmered down at this time. More than usual. The previous Pokemon Festival lasted 1 week and during that single week, the sixth day was the slowest while the seventh day was the end of it all.
The same energy was flowing in the second festival as well. But it wasn't identical to the fourth day. However, this day would most likely be the time where the entire festival calms down with less hyperactive energy filling it all.
More people, ponies and Pokemon had fallen asleep this time. Things were getting quieter now. Although, this won't last. Especially when the second and final week comes along.
Sunlight and Eventide had already fallen asleep, along with Arcanine and Celestia. But strangely enough, Passion wasn't asleep or present with them. She had gone somewhere else.
And that somewhere was Deerling Forest. Home to many Deerlings and Sawsbucks. At night, the Deerlings and Sawsbucks were asleep too as a group of Morelull ended up revealing themselves.
They only show up at night and for good reason. They give this forest an extra beautiful shine during the night. As if it wasn't beautiful already.
"Lull. Morelull." They all lit up the forest with their hypnotic lights. They were powerful enough to send viewers to sleep. Morelull are helpful to those that find it difficult to sleep during the night.
As for Passion, the reason she was here was simple.
It was about the massive potential that Cynthia, Olympia and her own mother saw in her. And to an extent, the dormant and destructive power that was shown during her battle against Olympia and her two Meowstic.
Passion came out here to better herself. To get stronger for Celestia's sake. And to control that destructive power so that it never overcomes her. Or else, the outcome would be disastrous for everyone.
"Gardevoir." Passion took a deep breath as she began her training. She put both her arms together as she generated a ball of Psychic energy.
She made sure to put all her focus into this ball as she was clearing her mind. Her body was outlined in a pink aura as the trees around her were flowing.
"More?" The Morelull noticed this.
"Voir...!" Passion already had great control of her psychic energy for the most part. So this was simple enough for her as the Psychic ball was flowing with high amounts of infinity energy.
Passion then fired the ball into the distance as it slid on the water, creating rising waves as a pink streak could be seen trailing from it. The Psychic energy ball then rose into the air, blending in with the starry night sky as it blew up afterwards with pink dust falling from above.
Passion smiled as she knew that she had a great chance of easily mastering her Psychic side. And the Fairy side might be on the same level as she created a Dazzling Gleam in her hands.
She spun around as millions of rainbow-coloured rays flew out of her body, dashing everywhere and filling the entire forest. They even blended in with the glow of the Morelull.
The Dazzling Gleams ended up connecting with the trees as they didn't explode when touching them. Instead, the energy within was healthy for trees as the entire forest gained an extra boost in life.
Passion was both skilled in Psychic and Fairy. But what about plasma? The combination between Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt that only Passion can do. Aside from Reshiram and Zekrom and to an extent, Kyurem.
She crossed her arms together, using Thunderbolt on her right and Mystical Fire on her left. By using two moves at once and mixing them, she created plasma.
Plasma was a bit harder to control than Psychic and Fairy energy. Especially when she was still a little Kirlia. But now as a Gardevoir, her control over it has improved to a point where the amount of energy needed to pull it off is minimal but still there.
However, plasma was still the hardest force for Passion to maintain. Summoning it made her body twitch a small bit, but she was able to overpower it quickly.
"Gardevoir!" Passion fired a beam of plasma, aiming it upwards into the sky. The beam of plasma made a sound identical to both Reshiram and Zekrom's roars as it flew so far that it looked like it would reach space.
The amount of power flowing through Passion's body when using plasma was significantly greater than her Psychic and Fairy moves.
The beam of plasma broke through the clouds, even setting them on fire as it had finally diminished. That was as far as it could go. After using that much amount of plasma, Passion took a deep breath. She didn't lose too much energy, but the energy loss was still fairly potent.
After seeing how powerful she can get by putting Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt together, she wondered if she could do the same with Dazzling Gleam and other move combinations.
So that's what she did. She used Dazzling Gleam on one hand and Mystical Fire on the other. This would be her first time trying something new without Celestia herself being here.
However, when Passion summoned both moves on both hands, she could already feel that a somewhat destructive and violent aura was emanating out of them. Which was very unusual. It was almost as if her own body was telling her that this was too risky to put these moves together.
Then, she started thinking back to what Olympia said to her and Celestia after their battle and how Passion almost went berserk.
"Princess Celestia. It seems that I have underestimated Passion's true capabilities. From what I saw at that moment, a terrifying power dwells within her."
"Terrifying?"
"A power that is the complete antithesis to Passion. One that goes against Passion's natural loving nature. Whatever is lurking within her, I fear that if Passion were to Mega Evolve once more, that strange power might be truly unleashed."
Knowing and reminiscing about that, Passion was hesitant to try this. Perhaps, this move combination would bring out that antithesis to her. Olympia did say that if Passion Mega Evolved, that ominous power would return but Passion was feeling that same power with these two moves in hand.
"Hesitant?" But, surprisingly from within the shadows, Cobalion had shown up, startling Passion.
"Garde?!"
"Why do you hesitate? You certainly didn't hesitate with the last two moves you had used earlier." Cobalion asked.
"Voir..." Gardevoir showed him Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt. She explained to him how there was this violent force within her that could seemingly show itself and overtake Passion if she's not careful.
It could only happen during Mega Evolution, but these two moves together seem to hold a faint sense of that same force. Albeit, on a smaller scale. Passion had even considered trying to eliminate this violent force from within her, if possible.
"Is that so?" Cobalion understood her fears. "Well, I suppose it's impossible to avoid it."
"Garde?"
"You were born with that much power from the start. Whether it is dark or not. Trying to deny it is to deny your full potential. Unless you accept it."
"Gardevoir."
"Darkness is not inherently evil, Passion. It is a powerful ally. If you can learn to befriend and embrace the darkness that's within you and accept your imperfections, then nothing will hold you down."
"Garde..." Passion looked at the two moves in her hands. She no longer hesitated as she put the two moves together for the first time.
As Mystical Fire and Dazzling Gleam merged, the result wasn't anything disastrous so far. Passion's body felt a new kind of twitch, but not one that would unleash that force from within.
When the moves merged, they ended up creating a ball of magical flames with Fairy magic oozing out along with a multi-coloured shine around it. It seemed to be harmless so far as Passion held it in place, trying to maintain it.
Cobalion watched as he was ready to deal with any potential disaster that might occur from this. Even if Passion won't hesitate, that wouldn't mean the power would just stay inside and not come out ever. So he stayed on guard.
Passion closed her eyes as she could already feel this new flow of power enter her. By closing her eyes, she could also feel a sense of that violent force from within. It seems that Mystical Fire and Dazzling Gleam together can somehow emanate that same aura.
As Passion's eyes were closed, she could see flashes of herself. But in a different light. In fact, there were two of them. One where she looked like her Mega Evolution but with a flowing ethereal hair that matched Celestia's colours. She could also see Celestia's Cutie Mark as apart of her Mega Evolution.
But the second one was unlike the first one. Instead, Passion could see herself on fire. But not in a harmful way. Instead, it looked as if she was apart of the fire. It was hard to tell since it was a silhouette, but her hair was similar to the ethereal hair in the first vision but there seemed to be flames coming out.
Passion gasped as she opened her eyes. She was unsure of what those two visions meant. The first one seemed somewhat natural but the second one was akin to that ominous force that she was so fearful of.
Because of this, Passion accidentally released the two moves together without doing it on purpose. Once both Mystical Fire and Dazzling Gleam were released, their power was identical to that of the sun as a destructive blast of fire emerged from the ball.
The blast made a horrifying sound that sounded like screaming and the inside of the sun itself. A vile and aggressive aura emanated out of the beam as it was threatening the entire forest.
Cobalion could see that this attack would be enough to destroy all of Deerling Forest. So he immediately summoned his sword as he dashed over to the sunbeam.
The Iron Will Pokemon swung his sword down as he cut the entire attack in half. His slash was so powerful that it actually destroyed the attack, rendering it non-existent as Passion fell on her knees after using it.
"V-Voir...!"
"Perhaps it's greater than I thought." Cobalion went up to Passion. "I can tell you fired it without your own command."
"G-Gardevoir." Passion stood up as her body had recovered from it. She noticed that when she fired it without her own will, it was almost as if someone was taking over her body, forcing her to do so.
She explained that feeling to Cobalion, letting him know that potentially, this ominous force goes beyond just Passion losing control. There might be something more than that. Something that not even she can fully understand.
"Hm..." Cobalion thought for a moment. "I'm not sure how to respond to that. Sorry. But, perhaps Princess Celestia can understand it."
"Gardevoir?"
"Her sister went through something similar many years ago, didn't she?" Cobalion turned around. "There's no better source to ask than your own trainer."
"Garde..." Passion looked down. Cobalion had done all he could as he was leaving to either rest up for the night or continue patrolling and protecting Equestria.
As for Passion, she decided to return to Canterlot under Cobalion's suggestion. That last attack had already taken a lot out of her. Possibly more than the plasma.
"Goodnight. And stay safe." Cobalion said his last words as he vanished into the shadows.
Canterlot. 2:00 AM.
Passion returned to Canterlot Castle with the guards greeting and wishing her goodnight.
The Embrace Pokemon entered Celestia's room, where she saw her trainer asleep alongside Arcanine and Philomena. Now probably wouldn't be the best time to ask her about what happened last night. She seemed so peaceful, sleeping in her bed.
Passion herself was exhausted so she needed some sleep as well. Luckily, ever since she became a Gardevoir, her bed had changed from Kirlia-sized to Gardevoir-sized.
Passion looked over at the Mega Ring that was right on Celestia's table. Seeing it made her think of many possible outcomes if she were to Mega Evolve while using both Mystical Fire and Dazzling Gleam. Passion was known for worrying about worst-case scenarios, much like Twilight. She can't help but fear the worst every single time.
But thankfully, Celestia, much like Ash, was there to make sure that all her worries would forever begone. They made this vow together during Passion's overflow of power that threatened to destroy both worlds. And they even further established this vow during the battle with Olympia.
So Passion knew she was in good hooves with Celestia. But still, she kept herself aware of this force that seems to have the potential to not only overtake her but fully control her and rob Passion of her own free will. The Embrace Pokemon decided to clear her mind of it as she went over to her bed, clocking out for the night.
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. The city where Pokemon are cherished. 4:00 Am.
Luna and Darkrai had arrived at Mossdeep City in Hoenn after a fairly long trip that involved travelling through many gateways to do so.
Dusclops came out of his Poke Ball as he knew which house belonged to his trainer. He was more than ecstatic to return and see the trainer that he cherished so much.
It has been over 2 months since Dusclops has been separated from his trainer because of the Umbrage Thieves. This was a well-needed reunion. Dusclops reached the home of his trainer as he passed through the door without needing to knock at all.
"Dusclops!" Dusclops called for his trainer.
"Hm?" The trainer responded to the very familiar sound of his partner as he turned around to see Dusclops passing through the walls. Shocked and stunned by what his eyes had seen, he was naturally overjoyed, much like Dusclops, to see his partner again. "Dusclops!"
"Clops!" Both Dusclops and his trainer reunited once more with Dusclops grabbing onto his trainer's head as a way of showing love.
"I missed ya so much, buddy! I knew you'd find a way back here, easy!" He laughed.
"Clops! Dusclops!" But, Dusclops obviously couldn't have made it home on his own. He had help. Great help in the form of Darkrai and Luna. The Beckon Pokemon dragged his trainer out of the house to show him the ones who reunited them.
"Huh?" The trainer looked over, spotting Luna and Darkrai. Darkrai was the one that caught his attention the most. "Oh! A Darkrai?!"
"Dus. Dusclops!" Dusclops went over to Luna and Darkrai, explaining to his trainer that they are the ones who saved him. Darkrai retrieved the Poke Ball just for Luna to find and return it.
"Um. Deepest apologies for interrupting during the night but...I believe this also belongs to you." Luna used her magic to bring out Dusknoir's Poke Ball.
"My Poke Ball?" The trainer's eyes widened as the Poke Ball fell in his hands. "Wait...did you two-"
"Clops!" Dusclops nodded aggressively, giving the clarity that Luna and Darkrai brought him here.
"Oh...! Thank you so much!" The trainer bowed his head multiple times as a show of thanks. "Millions of thanks! I mean it!"
"A-Alright." Luna stuttered. "You're welcome, citizen. You should really thank Darkrai for this the most. He was the one who came up with the brilliant idea to keep the Poke Ball safe and away from the thief who stole it from you in the first place."
"It was nothing." Darkrai scoffed.
"I'm just glad to have Dusclops back." The trainer sighed. "Come on, pal. There's a lot I want you to catch up on."
"Dusclops!" Dusclops clapped his hands together. But before he went back inside with his trainer, he said his farewell to Luna and Darkrai, thanking them for reuniting him with his trainer.
"Stay safe, Dusclops," Luna said. "And goodbye."
"Dusclops!" Dusclops used its powerful hands to grab both Luna and Darkrai, hugging them with love.
"Ugh!" Darkrai squirmed.
"O-Okay! Y-You can let us go now!" Luna's eyes were about to pop out as Dusclops let them both free. "Ah..."
"Dusclops!" And with that, Dusclops returned home with his trainer after so long. Luna and Darkrai could close the page off with this little story, but there was still more to finish off.
Now that they know the unicorn's name, Skyblue Shine and where she lives, they have an amazing lead thanks to Dusclops's time with her. There were still many Pokemon out there stolen by the Umbrage Thieves who have yet to return to their original trainers.
But now Luna and Darkrai, much like Ash, Fluttershy and the others along with the Officer Jenny's have made a vow to catch the thieves and retrieve all the Pokemon they had stolen from others. Wherever they may be as the journey continues.
The city lit by a flash of lightning. A bustling city of entertainment, with many theme parks and the third most populous city in the Pokemon World, just behind Lumiose City and Wyndon.
Home to many wonderful sites such as the Small Court for Tennis and the Big Stadium for some Unovan Football along with the Pokemon Musical and so much more.
Today, Ash and everyone had ended up here for the Pokemon Festival. And what a place to be. Next to Canterlot and Las Pegasus, Nimbasa City had the most energy during the Pokemon Festival.
They had just got done watching a football game at Big Stadium between the Poliwrath Fleet and the Swampert Legends. Now, they were going to take a small break before getting back into all the action.
"Hey, Ash." Twilight nudged Ash's shoulder.
"Yeah?"
"How about we go on that Ferris Wheel over there?" Twilight referred to the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel. A couples-only Ferris Wheel that Twilight had noticed.
"Oh, the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel? Sure that sounds-"
"Meloetta." But of course, Meloetta was here to interrupt without giving Twilight the chance to be with Ash.
"You..." Twilight growled as she and Meloetta yet again, were at it as lightning sparked out of their eyes, clashing against each other.
"This again?" Applejack sighed. "We gotta put up with this for until this Festival's over?"
"But isn't it so perfect?" Rarity gushed. "Love triangles are amazing, aren't they? The tension in them is so rich!"
"I don't know about that..." Rainbow Dash winced.
"Say. Are you two really gonna be okay around each other?" Ash asked them both.
"Hm? Sure-sure!" Twilight nodded with a happy yet suspiciously ominous grin as Meloetta did the same.
"Meloetta!"
"Pikachu..."
"We just have our differences that's all. Isn't that right, Meloetta?"
"Etta."
"Uh..." Ash was getting a bad feeling about this as he could see the fire in both of their eyes despite them being closed.
"You know, before you, two start tearing each other apart..." Rainbow Dash flew over. "How about we do something together first before that happens?"
"Like?" Twilight asked.
"Oh!" Ash stood up. "I just remembered! Nimbasa City's got something super cool. The Battle Subway!"
"Battle subway?" His friends each said.
"Oh yeah! Get this...It's a train and a battle facility at the same time. You can go anywhere while having a battle with the two guys who run it. Emmet and Ingo? How neat is that?"
"Is that safe? Battling on a moving train?" Rarity questioned.
"Totally." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
"You've already got my attention!" Rainbow Dash flew over to Ash. "Where is it?!"
"Over at Gear Station. Better hurry before the train leaves." Ash stood up, tightening his gloves. "They don't stick around forever after all."
"Pika!"
Gear Station. A location in Nimbasa City that connects all of Unova's train lines. It's highly famous for having the Battle Subway. The Unova equivalent of the Battle Tower, led by the Subway Bosses Emmet and Ingo.
At times, for someone to battle against Emmet and Ingo, they'd have to take part in the Stamp Rally to do so. But, there's also the other option. In which, they can request a battle with both of them without any requirements to reach them. That is if they're not busy.
However, from the moment Ash and the others arrived at Gear Station, they could see that it was currently closed. There was a sign saying Sorry. The Battle Subway is undergoing maintenance and renovations. We apologize for the inconvenience.
"Aw seriously?!" Ash pulled back.
"Pikachu?!"
"Are you kidding me?!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "I wanted to go on the Battle Subway..."
"Sorry." A staff of Gear Station went up to them. "It had just gone under maintenance 2 weeks ago. Just a bit too late."
"Bummer..." Ash sighed.
"But. Emmet and Ingo are still available for a battle. You can find them over at the Small Court and Big Stadium. They're doing special challenges as a replacement for the Battle Subway. There are even unique prizes involved.
"We just got done watching a football game at Big Stadium. Do they show up after the game?" Twilight asked.
"They certainly do. If you want your chance, then you'll have to hurry. A lot of trainers are most likely going to be there just for the Subway bosses."
"Then we can't waste any time. Come on Ash!" Rainbow Dash grabbed Ash's arm.
"Ow ow! That hurts, Rainbow!" Ash squealed as he was being dragged along by a hasty Rainbow Dash who desperately wanted to involve herself with the Subway Bosses, one way or another.
"You all go on ahead. We'll catch up and watch your battle," said Fluttershy as she waved goodbye to both of them. "Oh. What are the prizes that they'll gain?"
"I can't list all of them." The staff wagged her finger. "But one of them involves a special kind of ship here in Unova. But maybe, you're all aware of it."
"No, not really." Rarity shook her head.
"Then it'll be a great surprise once you find out. Plus, the ship is apart of the Pokemon Festival. So whoever gets the chance to experience it will be greeted to an amazing premium cruise for a few days!"
"Premium Cruise?!" Rarity gasped as she liked the sound of that. "Ash and Rainbow Dash... need to win!"
"Well, I wouldn't mind a premium cruise ship. It'd be a nice follow up after what happened back in the board game world." Fluttershy squeed. "You know...with the Bisharp Pirates."
"But your friends will have to give it 100%. Because before they can challenge Emmet and Ingo, they'll have to go up against the two cheerleaders of our wonderful Nimbasa City. They're practically unbeatable."
"Cheerleaders?" Twilight and everyone faced the staff as they were curious about these unbeatable cheerleaders.
"They call themselves Kay and Ali. Dual Cheerleaders who always support each other. They're what you could describe as a dynamic duo. And they're also the reason why the Battle Subway's under renovation after their recent battle got a bit too destructive."
"How much damage could two cheerleaders do?" Spike scoffed.
"Oh...you'd be surprised."
Big Stadium. 12:10.
Big Stadium is used by professional baseball, soccer, and gridiron football players to practice and compete. Occasionally, games are played, which bars the player from entering the field for a couple of hours. Depending on the sport of the day.
And one of those is of course the most popular sport in the Pokemon World which even surpasses that of soccer. Pokemon Battling.
And the ones running those sport are Emmet and Ingo, the Subway Bosses. Due to the Battle Subway undergoing maintenance, they've had to switch things up a bit. Challengers have been popping up left and right at fast rates. The two of them have been highly occupied with many battles these past few days with little rest in-between.
Luckily, the two cheerleaders, Kay and Ali were there to help. They were formidable trainers who are the reason why the entire subway had been closed recently. But, it only made sense. Their strength was something to be recognized with.
Ash and Rainbow Dash arrived just in time to have their opportunity to join in on this Big Stadium Challenge.
"Made it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Ow..." Ash held his arm. "Did you have to be so rough?"
"Pika-Pika." Pikachu patted Ash on the head.
"Hm?" With a familiar voice ringing through, Emmet and Ingo both turned around, spotting an old face that they haven't seen in years. "Ash!"
"Long time no see. Emmet. Ingo." Ash greeted them.
"Pikachu!"
"If you're here, that means you've come specifically for us, haven't you?" said Emmet.
"Sure have!" Ash nodded as he wiggled his arm about. "Battle subway's closed anyway. You're giving it a new look right?"
"New look is right. But that's not the main reason it went into maintenance." Ingo shook his head.
"It's not?" He looked up. "Then why?"
"Those two are the answer." Emmet and Ingo both pointed their thumbs over at the two people responsible for this. The Cheerleading Duo Kay and Ali. Kay was the one with pink hair while Ali had scarlet hair.
"Cheerleaders?" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "How'd they close it off?"
"Well, it only happened 2 weeks ago. They came to battle us in the Battle Subway. It was an entertaining battle, but..." Emmet looked up.
"Things got carried away." Ingo lowered his hat.
"Well yeah. Having a battle inside of a train would destroy it wouldn't it?" Rainbow Dash chuckled.
"Our train was specifically built to handle Pokemon battles. So for it to break down would be impossible." Emmet shook his head. "But those two are an exception."
"They must be pretty strong..." Ash gawked.
"Strong is right. They're both participating in the Pokemon World Coronation Series as Super Class Trainers. It stands to reason that they'd be so strong." Ingo explained.
"Wait, they're both teaming up for the Championship? Is that even allowed?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Of course not." Emmet shook his hand. "Once they reach the Ultra Class, they'll go their separate ways and face each other as rivals."
"It'd be awesome to battle then!" Ash grinned.
"Pika!"
"You don't have to wait for that Ash." Ingo put his hand on Ash's shoulder. "Because they're the ticket to us. Since we're so exhausted from battling so many trainers these past few days and especially last week, we've chosen these two as our substitutes."
"Since they also live in Nimbasa City, they're here very frequently. Since they're the substitute Subway Bosses, you'll be going up against them instead. And maybe you can battle us next."
"Awesome!" Ash raised his fist. "I'm gonna win this one for sure!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Do we get something out of this?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"You certainly do." Emmet grabbed a box of prizes. "Such as this." He then took out a golden ticket that was all about a premium cruise on the Royal Unova.
"Ooh!" Ash and Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up.
"And these." Ingo took out special Pokemon gems that boost the power of many Pokemon Types. "If you're interested in boosting the power of your Pokemon, depending on their type. And much more."
"A Premium cruise doesn't sound so bad." Ash nodded. "What do you want Rainbow Dash?"
"Uh...Do you have a gem that's about Flying-Types?"
"Certainly." Both Emmet and Ingo replied.
"Yes! Let's do this, Ash!" Rainbow grabbed his arm again, dragging him towards the cheerleaders.
"Ow-Ow!" Ash wailed as he was under Rainbow Dash's control at this point.
The Cheerleading Duo of Kay and Ali were currently practising their own cheerleading skills. When they're not battling, they're busy learning how to further pump up the spirits of their fellow Pokemon Trainers.
As well as pumping each other up as they both stuck together at all times. When they reach the Ultra Class, whoever wins between the two, the other will cheer them on to the very end. At times, they even cheer their opponents on during battle. And it was definitely going to show as they saw Ash, Pikachu and Rainbow Dash approach.
In the meanwhile, Twilight and the others managed to get here on time. They were prepared to see this battle take place. But it wasn't with the two subway bosses Emmet and Ingo. But two cheerleaders.
"Hi-Hi!" Both of them said with high pitched voices and high energy to boot as they waved their pompoms at Ash, Pikachu and Rainbow Dash. "You here for a battle?"
"Sure are! You're apart of the Pokemon World Coronation Series too, right?" Ash said. "Maybe after this, we can have a championship match."
"I just want a normal battle, that's all." Rainbow Dash shrugged.
"Oh my gosh! You're like, totally in luck! We've got you both covered on that." Kay crossed her arms as she had a proud smile on her face.
"We can like, give you the best of both worlds. And cheer you on too, ya know!" Ali raised her pompom.
"Cheer us on? Aren't you going up against us?" Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes.
"Oh yeah." Kay nodded. "But when we battle, we want our opponents to be at like full strength so we can like, have a good time battling and all that stuff. But if you can battle at full strength, either way, that's, like, totally fine. Totally."
"Sounds fair to me." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pika-Pika."
"I'll pass." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "We're fighting at full strength all the time anyway."
"Alright. You all look ready." Emmet and Ingo walked up, becoming the role of referee. "Let's get this started pronto. You can each send out your Pokemon now."
"Let's show them how in sync we really are, kay, Kay?" Ali turned to her friend.
"Kay!" Kay exclaimed.
"3 2 1, GO!" The subway bosses gave the call for both trainers to send out their Pokemon.
"Let's go! Gengar!" Ash tossed Gengar out.
"Go, Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash chose her Whirlipede.
"Let's go-go-go!" Both Kay and Ali spun their pompoms around as their Poke Balls flew out of them. The Pokemon that they each sent out were very unexpected and took both Ash and Rainbow Dash by surprise.
They were the Axe Jaw Pokemon Haxorus and the Freezing Pokemon Beartic. Two very ferocious Pokemon that were owned by such chippy girls.
"Haxorus!"
"Beartic!"
"Oh, that's a fierce duo!" Ash shot up.
"Pika!"
"I-I thought you'd have like Oricorio's or something!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"We do. But they don't battle. They cheer us on. Isn't that right you two?" Kay turned to face the two Oricorios who were sitting on the crowd seats, cheering their partners on. One of them was a Shiny Oricorio. That being Ali's Pokemon.
"Ori!"
Twilight and the others sat with the Oricorio's as they spectated over their friends, cheering them on as well. "Come on you two! Put on a good show!" Pinkie cheered.
"Corio!"
"And win that ticket!" Rarity stomped her hooves, scaring the two Oricorio.
"Battle Start!"
"Let's power up! Whirlipede! Iron Defense!" Rainbow Dash went first.
"Whirl!" Whirlipede started by making his body glow with a silver aura. This silver aura increased his defence greatly as the dust around him had been separated from the force of the aura.
"Gengar! Use Ice Punch on Haxorus!" Ash thrust his fist forward.
"Gengar!" The Shadow Pokemon began zigzagging towards Haxorus, moving at blinding speeds while preparing a frosty-cold Ice Punch.
"Don't think so! Let's go-go-go Haxorus! Crunch!" Kay exclaimed as she commanded her Haxorus.
"Xorus!" Haxorus was more than ready for Gengar as she opened her mouth with a dark aura surrounding it. The moment Gengar got close and swung Ice Punch forward, the Axe Jaw Pokemon bit onto the Ice Punch with Crunch.
"Gen?!" Gengar definitely felt that as its arm had already taken huge damage from Crunch. However, Gengar didn't come out of it without its own impact.
"H-Hax!" The chill of Ice Punch got to Haxorus as her mouth had already been affected by it. She as well took huge damage from the hit as both Pokemon pushed each other back.
"Beartic! Hit em with a Bulldoze!" Ali shouted, commanding Beartic.
"Bear!" Beartic went next by stomping aggressively, creating an orange pulsating shockwave on the ground. The shock wave then crashed through the ground, racing towards both Gengar and Whirlipede as it was actually highly dangerous to both of them.
"Gengar! Ascend and use Psychic to lift Whirlipede from the ground."
"Gar!" Gengar decided to avoid this move while also helping Whirlipede up. By ascending into the air and surrounding the Curlipede Pokemon in a Psychic aura, Gengar just managed to get itself and Whirlipede away from the shockwaves of Bulldoze.
"Now, Whirlipede! Rollout!"
"And Gengar! Toss him!"
"Gen...Gar!" Working as a team, Gengar used Psychic to launch Whirlipede forward whilst the Curlipede Pokemon began spinning around in the air at incredible speeds.
Thanks to Iron Defence from before, Whirlipede's ability Speed Boost had kicked in as it gave Rollout some extra Oomph. Whirlipede was moving so fast that his body gained a blazing aura.
Whirlipede smashed right into Haxorus, but that's exactly what Haxorus was hoping for as Kay was capitalizing on Whirlipede getting close.
"Now use Counter!" Kay jumped up.
"H-Haxor...!" Haxorus took the hit from Whirlipede directly as she flinched a bit. But instantly, she managed to recover as she returned the favour by smacking the Curlipede Pokemon's body with a Counter, sending Whirlipede flying.
"Whirlipede!"
"Ah! Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Freeze em up with a nice and cold Ice Beam, Beartic!"
"Bear...Tic!" The Freezing Pokemon created a ball of light blue energy in his mouth as he fired a chilling beam of Ice out of the ball.
"Gengar! Night Shade!"
"Gar!" Gengar counteracted by firing a dark crimson beam, outlined in red from its eyes. The beam clashed with Ice Beam as they both cancelled each other out.
"We're much faster now! Whirlipede! Pin Missile!"
"Pede!" From the little tendrils on his body, Whirlipede shot out white orbs with trailing green streams of light that soon transformed into arrows, racing towards both Haxorus and Beartic.
Because of Speed Boost, the pins moved fast than normal. So fast that before Kay and Ali could give out a command, Haxorus and Beartic had both been struck by Pin Missile as an explosion occurred after the impact.
But after the smoke cleared, Haxorus and Beartic barely moved an inch as they were still standing with their eyes glowing through the leftover smoke.
"Those little pins are like, totally not gonna work on us! Haxorus! Dragon Claw!"
"Hit them with a nice and hard Stone Edge, Beartic!"
"Xorus!" Haxorus came to her opponents this time instead of staying at one spot. She approached Gengar while Beartic slammed his paws on the ground, summoning light blue stone crystals that dashed towards Whirlipede.
"Breakthrough the stones with Rollout!"
"Ice Punch, let's go!"
"Gengar!" Gengar immediately summoned an Ice Punch as the Shadow Pokemon ended up clashing with the Axe Jaw Pokemon's Dragon Claw. Both of these moves went back and forth with each of them trying to gain the upper hand.
"Whirl!" Meanwhile, Whirlipede immediately rolled forward with his speed at a high level at this point. He set his eyes on both the crystals and Beartic, aiming to power straight through them both.
Whirlipede crashed through the stones with ease, shattering them since Rollout increases in power each time it hits. And thanks to Iron Defence and the friction of Speed Boost, Whirlipede was moving so fast that he had the same destructive capabilities as a full-force pebble.
"Tic?!" Beartic, seeing that Whirlipede broke through his stones, gasped as he had been struck by Whirlipede's Rollout right in the stomach, receiving super-effective damage. "B-Beartic!"
The amount of power built up was so great that Beartic actually went flying from that one single Rollout, tumbling on the ground. But he hadn't fainted yet.
"OMG! Not my Beartic!" Ali gasped.
"Gengar!" Gengar and Haxorus's back and forth Punch and Claw clash seemed to last forever until Gengar decided to outplay the Axe Jaw Pokemon. Gengar did this by zigzagging behind Haxorus instead of continuing the attack from the front.
"Hax?!" Haxorus quickly turned around. But when she did, she found out that Gengar had disappeared once more.
"Gar!" Gengar had zigzagged once more, appearing beside the Axe Jaw Pokemon with a wide look on its face. With Haxorus's guard down, Gengar took the opportunity to hit her wide spot as Ice Punch was smashed onto the Dragon-Type's face.
"Xor!" Just like her teammate, Haxorus was launched by Ice Punch. But she didn't tumble, instead, she skidded on the ground while her face was given an icy chill.
"Oh! Haxorus! You're doing okay right?!" Kay asked.
"Haxo...!"
"Nice hit, Gengar!" Ash exclaimed.
"Gen-Gen-Gen!" Gengar chuckled.
"Now we're stronger, faster and extra-durable! Awesome job, Whirlipede!"
"Pede!"
"You two are amazing!" Ali suddenly said. "The best challengers we've had so far! Guess we really don't need to cheer you on since you're so good."
"Thanks. You two are awesome too." Ash complimented. "But we're just getting started. Right, Dash?"
"Right!"
"Too bad for you...this is where it ends!" Both Kay and Ali said at the same time as they both had ominous grins on their faces.
"Eh?" Ash and Rainbow Dash were both creeped out by their grins as they had no idea what was coming next.
"Get a load of this!" At the same time, Kay and Ali both removed their pompoms to reveal the unexpected. On their wrists, they were wearing Z Rings.
"Oh! You've got Z-Rings!" Ash screeched.
"Pikachu?!"
"That can't be good..." Twilight's eyes widened while her pupils dilated.
"Totally! We like, worked super hard to get these in Alola. They're our ace in the hole!" Kay squeed.
"Totally. No way you're beating this. It's game over for you two!" Ali smirked.
"We'll see..." Both Ash and Rainbow Dash growled.
"Let's show 'em our stuff, kay Kay?"
"Kay!" Kay nodded as she and her teammate were ready to unleash the full might of their Z-Moves onto their opponents as they held their arms out. In unison, they each placed the Z Crystals into the Z Ring as they spouted words together.
"Vividly shining light..." Kay crossed her arms together. "Take flight! Carve the greatest name into this battlefield with raw magical power!" She pulled her arms back, cupping her hands together as Haxorus separated her arms. A purple aura surrounded Kay as it went onto Haxorus as well.
"Hax!"
"From the above, the snow descends quietly..." Ali also crossed her arms as her Beartic did the same. "Crystals of water..." She moved her left arm to the side first and then after that her left arm as well. "Constantly shimmering! Blanketing the world with a chilling Z-Power!" A frosty blue aura surrounded Kay's body as it went over to Beartic as well.
"So like...is there a way to stop Z-moves...?" Spike gulped.
"I hope so..." Fluttershy shuddered.
"Let's go! Use Devastating Drake!"
"Use Subzero Slammer!"
"Haxorus!" Haxorus formed a purple orb of energy in front of her body as she thrusts her head forward, firing the orb at the opponent. The orb then changes into the shape of a dragon with a ferocious roar.
"Beartic!" Beartic created a platform of ice that rises from beneath his feet., giving him a high ground. He then fired a large blue and white beam of cold energy from his mouth, covering the battlefield in ice. The ice around the opponent grows outward, ready to burst out towards Gengar and Whirlipede.
"Let's go! Gengar! Charge in with Ice Punch!"
"Whirlipede! Rollout at full-force and speed!"
"Are they crazy?!" Twilight stood up.
"Gengar!"
"Whirlipede!"
Both Poison-Type Pokemon bolted forward, charging head in at the Z-Moves instead of avoiding it. This was obviously a very risky approach that could cost both Ash and Rainbow the entire match.
Gengar started the Dragon in the face with Ice Punch ready while Whirlipede rolled up the platform of ice, approaching Beartic, hoping to hit him before the ice bursts out.
The dragon opened its mouth, aiming to devour Gengar. But the Shadow Pokemon was ready as it willingly entered the Dragon while still having Ice Punch active. They weren't just charging in recklessly. They had a way to work around these potent and destructive moves.
Once Gengar entered the Devastating Drake, it immediately struck Ice Punch whilst inside of the Z-Move. As for Whirlipede, he reached the top, coming face to face with Beartic as the ice burst out of the ground.
Whirlipede narrowed his eyes as he used the full-force of Rollout to charge right through the ice, shattering it as he got closer to Beartic.
Gengar, at the last moment, used its intangibility to phase through the Devastating Drake while Whirlipede broke through every last ice spike that came his way.
Finally, the Z-Moves had made contact with the Pokemon as a dual explosion of energy mixed in with Ice and Draconic energy emerged as the field of Big Stadium had received this ferocious explosion.
Emmet and Ingo held onto their hats along with Ash. Rainbow Dash, Kay and Ali stood firm on the ground, trying not to fly away from this intense shockwave and wind pressure.
The smoke was clearing as the trainers each leaned forward to witness the outcome. Out of the smoke, both Beartic and Haxorus came flying out as they fell on the ground.
"Haxorus..."
"Beartic..."
"Haxorus and Beartic are both unable to battle! Gengar and Whirlipede win! Which means the victors are Ash and Rainbow Dash!" Emmet and Ingo both declared.
"Yes!" Ash and Rainbow Dash immediately celebrated their victory as they bumped fist and hoof together before putting their arm and hooves around each other's neck while laughing.
"No way! Like, how did they even...?" Kay's jaw dropped.
"Easy!" Ash raised a finger. "Gengar used its intangibility inside of the Devastating Drake at the last second."
"And Whirlipede's boosted speed combined with Rollout's increase, Iron Defense and Speed Boost just made it tough enough to break through that ice." Rainbow Dash grinned. "It's all about the setup...sometimes."
"Man...Ghosts are so totally lucky that they can do that." Ali sighed.
"But it was like, fun either way, wasn't it?" Kay smiled.
"Totally!" Kay agreed. "Good job you two."
"Haxorus..."
"Beartic...
"YES! THAT PREMIUM CRUISE IS OURS!" Rarity shouted from the seats as her voice echoed throughout Big Stadium.
"Well done, both of you." Emmet and Ingo went up to them. "That was a fine battle. Makes me wish we could've had it in the subway."
"Actually...I'd prefer it if we didn't. I wouldn't want those Z-Moves inside of the train..." Ingo lowered his hat.
"Anyway. The prizes are yours." Emmet brought the box over. "Take your pick."
"Which one's the Flying Gem?" Rainbow Dash dug her face in the box as Ingo gave the Flying Gem. "Nice!"
"And I'll take this." Ash took the ticket as Rarity's eyes lit up. She was about to leap over and grab the ticket, but Applejack held her back from doing so.
"Nice! A free premium cruise on the Royal Unova!" Ash raised the ticket.
"Pikachu!"
"Rarity's gonna love this." Ash nodded.
"I certainly do!" Rarity yelled from the crowd.
"You'll be sailing on large waters with that ticket. Are you up for that?" Emmet asked.
"Sure are! Adventure's always where I belong!" Ash placed the ticket in his bag.
"You got that right, Ash." Rainbow Dash gave Ash a noogie.
"Well, they don't have to worry about it. After all, the captain commanding the Royal Unova is Drake." Ingo said as that immediately caught Ash's attention.
"Drake...You mean the Elite 4 Drake?!"
"Pika?!"
"That's the one. You're in good hands with him." Emmet gave a thumbs up.
"When's the ship gonna start sailing?" Ash stood up, questioning.
"It doesn't leave until tomorrow. So you have plenty of time. The Royal Unova's just at the nearest port here too." Ingo explained.
"Aw, lucky! You like, totally get to go on a super fabulous cruise ship with a premium ticket!" Kay moaned.
"We could've totally won that ticket too..." Ali whimpered.
"You'll have just 4 days on the Royal Unova. That enough to fill in the gaps for the Pokemon Festival." Emmet asked.
"Sure does! Thanks for everything. Emmet. Ingo. And thanks for the battle, Kay and Ali." Ash put his bag on his back.
"Like, no problem Ash! But if we met each other again for a Pokemon World Coronation Series match, we're like, so gonna win, ya know." They both said.
"I'll be looking forward to it. Alright! Let's have ourselves a grand cruise!"
"Pikachu!"
After an exciting and fierce battle against the cheerleading duo of Kay and Ali, Ash and Rainbow Dash have won themselves some prizes. One of which being a free ticket for a premium cruise on the Royal Unova. It already sounds promising enough, so their excitement is already building up as each of their friends can't wait to experience it as the journey continues.
"Skyblue Shine, was it?" Celestia spoke. Currently, she was looking at the ranking board for the Equestria League, searching for the unicorn known as Skyblue Shine. They eventually found her under Rank 750. "She's the one apart of the Umbrage Thieves, correct?"
"Right." Luna nodded. "Thanks to Dusclops's time with her, we were able to find out who she was and where she resides. Vanhoover. Darkrai and I are heading there to find Skyblue Shine immediately."
"We'll make this quick and simple once we get to Vanhoover," Darkrai said.
"You, mother and father can continue enjoying the festival. We just have to clear up this little issue first."
"By yourself? Luna, sweetie. Are you sure?" Sunlight asked.
"I'll be fine, mother. I have my Pokemon beside me after all. So there's no need to worry."
"Saying that just makes me worry the most..." Sunlight sighed. "But alright. You catch yourself a criminal and put an end to this whole Umbrage Thieves nonsense."
"I certainly will. Let's go. Darkrai."
"Wait. I could just take you there with instant teleportation." Eventide suggested.
"Thank you, father. But we've decided to come up with a plan whilst on the train. "Heading there now might make Skyblue Shine spot us and recognize Darkrai."
"Very well. Go on." Eventide stepped back.
"Right. We can catch the train to Vanhoover on time." Luna began to walk off. "We will meet you all back here at Canterlot very soon."
"Good luck, Luna!" Celestia and her parents waved goodbye to her, wishing her and Darkrai good luck on their short mission to catch the Umbrage Thief Skyblue Shine.
Along the way, Luna and Darkrai were devising a plan. Rushing in blind wasn't an option they usually take. They had to carefully plan it out. After all, Darkrai himself knows how cunning Skyblue Shine can be, even if he was able to overwhelm her and the Umbrage Thieves.
The train to Vanhoover. 1:00.
"Musha..." Musharna was currently asleep on Luna's head, resting away until they reach their destination. In the meanwhile, they could discuss their plan along the way before they get to Vanhoover.
"So. The Pokemon she owns are just for her own personal gain, correct?" Luna said to Darkrai.
"Not all of them. Just like Dusclops, some of the Pokemon aren't hers. Yet she'll use them for advantages either way. Who knows how many she has currently."
"However many she has, we'll retrieve them all and find their original trainers."
"If some of them are still there. The Umbrage Thieves sell some of them for a profit. Remember?"
"Oh. Right. But where would they even sell them? Does Equestria have a black market that we're not aware of?" Luna grumbled as she worried about the Pokemon who had already been sold off.
"You don't have to worry about that. Your mother and father have been overseeing Equestria for so long, haven't they? They've probably seen where they've gone."
"Probably. Oh, I should have asked them about that before leaving!" Luna groaned before realizing something. "Although...Adagio Dazzle mentioned that she found the Magic Siphoning Jar from an old sales pony." She started reminiscing the Fourth Day.
"Oh. Some old sales pony gave this to me. I guess it makes sense on why it would be lost now that I think about it..."
"Could they be with that old sales pony by any chance?" Luna was shooting for the stars with assumptions and theories at this point. But she truly was unsure of where the sold off Pokemon could be at this point.
Luna's plan involved all of her Pokemon. In fact, she created multiple plans for each of them. If one plan fails, her other Pokemon can initiate the next plan. And if that plan fails, more of her Pokemon will just go onto the next one.
Her major players for these plans were Darkrai, Musharna, Xatu and Frillish since Psychic, Dark and Ghost Pokemon are excellent when formulating plans due to their deceptive and unpredictable nature.
Darkrai's Dark Void is always a go-to move and an excellent way to immobilize an opponent. However, since Skyblue Shine knows about Darkrai and his Dark Void, the same trick might not work twice. But it was worth a shot.
Vanhoover. The Pokemon Festival. 1:40.
They had finally arrived at Vanhoover. The home of Skyblue Shine and where all the captured Pokemon are currently being kept at.
Luna and Darkrai exited the train with Musharna waking up after the ride. Now that they were here and had enough time to plan, they could get down to business to retrieve the Pokemon and find Skyblue Shine.
"Alright. Now we just need to locate her home." Luna's eyes began shifting around. " I'll ask the citizens here. That will save time. Out you come, Frillish." Luna sent Frillish out.
"Frillish."
"You can get to searching as well."
"Lish." Frillish phased through the ground with his intangibility as he played his part as well. Darkrai also did the same by blending in with the shadows. That way, he can move around at a faster pace.
Luna went over to the first pony she saw, ready to ask them about the whereabouts of Skyblue Shine and her domain. If she was home, that is. Darkrai's upper body could be seen right next to Luna as he stuck by her side.
"You there. Citizen." She spoke to the Earth Pony. "Do you by chance know about a unicorn by the name of Skyblue Shine who lives here?"
"S-Sky-" The earth pony suddenly scrunched his face when he heard the name Skyblue Shine. But he scrunched it even further when spotting Darkrai. After that, he just turned around and walked away, ignoring Princess Luna.
"Hm? Wait! You have not yet answered my question!" Luna called out. But the earth pony didn't respond as he kept walking off. "How odd..."
"Was it my appearance that got to him?" Darkrai pointed at himself.
"Don't be ridiculous, Darkrai. It's not you." Luna shook her head. "Let's try somepony else."
Perhaps the other citizens of Vanhoover would have the answer they were searching for as Luna went over to the next pony she spotted, asking about Skyblue Shine's whereabouts.
But the moment they spotted Darkrai and heard about Skyblue's name, just like the first pony, they all just ignored and separated themselves from Luna each time she brought her name up.
"Can you tell me where-"
"If by chance do you know-"
"The pony by the name of Sky-"
"I just need one answer regarding Skyblue-"
One after another, no one wanted to answer Luna at all. Naturally, this was riling the moon princess up as she despised being ignored like this. All she wanted was just an answer or at least an indication of where Skyblue Shine's home could. Aggravated, Luna decided that the only way to really get them to answer was by using her Royal Canterlot Voice.
"WE WILL NOT BE IGNORED ANY FURTHER! ANSWER US IMMEDIATELY! WHERE IS THE HOME OF SKYBLUE SHINE?!"
Her voice echoed throughout Vanhoover and beyond as any nearby glass shattered instantly. The ponies all cowered and froze with their bodies shuddering from Luna's voice. Luna breathed in and out after using her Royal Canterlot Voice. She hadn't used it in the longest. With her anger getting through to Vanhoover, one pony actually decided to fess up out of fear of Princess Luna.
"I-I know where she lives..." A petrified pegasus mumbled.
"You do?!" Luna immediately teleported in front of the pegasus, getting up in her face with a wide smile. "Where exactly?!"
"Mmm!" The pegasus covered her eyes. "She lives in the mansion just near the lake South of here! It's the only house here that's far away from every other structure here!"
"A mansion, eh? That's different." Luna nodded. "Many thanks!" She shook the hoof of the pegasus.
"Y-Y-Y-You're welcome...!" The pegasus squealed.
"Alright. South towards the lake. Now we have our location. But there's something that confuses me..why is it that rest of you evaded my question?"
"We..."The pegasus gulped. "We were told by Skyblue Shine not to speak with you. Or your Darkrai. No matter what."
"Not to speak with us? How come? We won't harm you."
"I don't think that's the reason..." Darkrai interrupted. "It might have something to do with me."
"You?" Luna turned to her partner.
"After what happened back at the Relief Zone, it makes sense as to why she'd be so cautious. Skyblue Shine expects me to come after her since I'm aware of her actions. So the one place where Skyblue Shine resides, she wouldn't want anyone to know that she lives here. So telling an entire populous to stay quiet about her is one of those methods of concealing herself."
"But why exactly? Why hide it from us because of her words?" Luna wondered.
"She said...she'd take our Cutie Marks if we revealed her home to you.
"Steal your..." Luna gasped before growling. "Why that sick-hearted...Darkrai. Musharna. Frillish. Let's go."
"Frill." Frillish popped out of the ground as he didn't have to search anymore.
"Musha!"
South of Vanhoover. Near the lake.
The pegasus was right. There was indeed a mansion here. All of it belonged to Skyblue Shine as it was sitting here alone, far from the rest of Vanhoover.
As they stood before the mansion, Luna and her Pokemon could already feel an eerie and ominous aura emanating out of it. But strangely, there was a positive aura coming out of it. It was almost inviting.
"Well. This is it." Luna said whilst gazing at the mansion.
"Is she even home at this time? The Pokemon Festival has everyone moving around the place." Darkrai spoke.
"Only one way to find out." Luna used her magic to pick up a tiny pebble. She used that pebble as a means of knocking on the door without actually approaching it.
With three knocks, she replicated the sound of someone knocking on the door, hoping to get a response from someone. Mainly Skyblue Shine.
The knocking had been received from the inside of the mansion, meaning that someone was indeed home. From within the mansion, a voice passed through the doors. One that sounded like a child.
"Coming!" The child-like voice rang out. Hearing that made Luna and Darkrai narrow their eyes as they shook their heads. Luna was expecting a mature voice. But Darkrai didn't expect a voice such as that, since he's encountered Skyblue Shine twice and he knows what she sounds like.
"My, her voice is...lighter than I would expect..." Luna laughed nervously.
"That's definitely not her." Darkrai shook his head.
"Oh? Then who?"
The question that Luna gave was answered as the door was opening. Quickly, Luna and Darkrai's attention was glued towards the door as they were ready to tackle whatever shows itself.
However, the pony who opened the door wasn't Skyblue Shine. Instead, it was the popular and well known Pokemon Contest Coordinator.
Premium Polish.
"Hm?" The little filly spotted Luna and Darkrai. Immediately being recognizable, Premium's eyes lit up with her pupils shrinking as she let out a prolonged gasp. "Oh! Princess Luna? Here at my home?" She then let out a bloodcurdling fangirl scream that was powerful enough to shatter eardrums. "Aaah!"
"W-Well, it's nice to meet you, little one. I hope we're not intruding at this time but...We want to ask you something."
"You're not intruding at all, Princess Luna!" She shook her head. "You're free to ask me anything! What is it anyway?"
"Thank you. I want to ask you about somepony. Is there a unicorn by the name of Skyblue Shine present in this mansion at the moment?"
"Hm?" Premium tilted her head. "You mean mother?"
"Mother?!" Luna and Darkrai both exclaimed.
"She's not here at the moment. Do you need her for something?"
"Hmm..." Luna and Darkrai both looked at each other for a moment before nodding in unison. "Give us second, little Premium." Luna and Darkrai went into a group huddle together. "Well...This might be hard to tell her..."
"Right on that." Darkrai nodded. "I didn't expect her to be a parent...Should we tell her the truth about her mother's night-time activities?"
"That's difficult to decide on...She's just a little filly but...perhaps she already knows about her mother's occupation."
"Maybe...If she's in on it then I'll put her to sleep instantly." Darkrai held out a Dark Void.
"Darkrai...! She's a child...! Let's just ask her something else before jumping to conclusions." Luna and Darkrai separated from their group huddle. "Ahem. So she's not here is she?"
"Not at all. She said she was going to keep on enjoying the Pokemon Festival and that's it. I was about to head out too. Did you need something from her?"
"Well..." Luna bit her hoof. "May we come in for a while?"
"Oh yes!" Premium jumped up for joy. "You can always come inside Princess Luna!" The little unicorn dashed into her mansion, allowing Luna and her Pokemon to enter. And once they did, they were given the scope of this mansion and how wealthy Skyblue Shine and her daughter appeared to be.
Having six different floors with a balcony at the very top, this interior was already giving off an empyreal and aristocratic feeling. The mansion was all smooth marble and tall glass windows that gave a view of the lake and the rest of Vanhoover in the distance.
The furniture, while a bit too much, was appealing to the eyes with how there was a soft elongated couch that looked like it could wrap around someone with their length like a snake. Solo chairs that work well with all ages, especially the rocking chair for any grandmas and grandpas out there.
The way the marble shined thanks to the sun made it look as if it was otherworldly. Marble isn't usually this smooth and bright. But this one certainly is as the chandelier on the ceiling complemented its shine without even being on.
The outside that was left to the mansion and behind it was no different. The grounds have multiple spacious areas to relax among the gardens, fountains, and pools. There are fountains and tall well-kept trees along the back entry path.
With all of these six floors, there were many rooms that each served their own purpose. Whether for luxury or more practical reasons.
"My...This is..." Luna was stunned. It was almost as impressive as Canterlot Castle. Perhaps even on par. The fact that Skyblue Shine lived here was just as surprising.
"It's great isn't it?" Premium smiled. "It's so wonderful, I rarely leave the house. And my Pokemon think so too. Isn't that right, all of you?"
"Swanna!" Premium's Swanna was on the outside, resting in the fountain along with her Masquerain in the trees.
She had more Pokemon than those two. Pokemon that she obviously uses for Pokemon Contests. An Inkay, Smeargle, Steenee and a Flareon.
"Is my mother being chosen for something important, by any chance?" Premium hopped on the couch.
"Not quite..." Luna shook her head. "It's for more pressing matters."
"Hm?" Premium rolled off the couch. "Like?"
"This will be hard to say, Luna..." Darkrai said.
"I know." Luna cleared her throat. "Little Premium. This might be an odd question but...does your mother have a certain occupation?"
"Occupation? Hm..." Premium looked up at the ceiling as she laid on her back, thinking about her mother's role. "Well...She's apart of the Equestria League but...is being a Pokemon Trainer an occupation?"
"Yes. It is." Luna nodded. "But I suppose I need to be more specific. What is her job?"
"Oh her job." Premium stood up. "She doesn't really tell me what she does but...she's got a job for sure. I just don't know what it is."
"...I see." Luna scrunched her eyes. "What would you possibly suppose it may be?"
"Well, her job is super late at night, so I have a chance to spend time with her in the afternoon but..."
"But?" Luna leaned in.
"I never get that chance. Even though her job starts at night, she does a lot of planning in the afternoon. So it's only the morning I get to be around her."
"Oh really?" That caught Luna's attention. "Might I ask where she plans?"
"Well, In the afternoon, my mother goes down into the basement all the time but...that's all I know."
"Basement eh? Premium. Can you take us there?"
"Ah! I can't do that!" Premium shook her head aggressively. "Mother says that I'm forbidden to go in there! Only she's allowed. And some of her friends she brings over."
"She won't allow you in yet her friends are guaranteed access?" Luna raised an eyebrow.
"Well, they're friends from work. So it's related to her job. But that's all I know."
"Hm. Very well then. Since you're not allowed inside...we'll enter the basement ourselves. There is some rather important investigation that we need to clear."
"You'll enter? Oh...mom's not gonna be happy about that...if she finds out, she might take away my Contest Ribbons! Or worse!"
"It will be short and simple, little Premium. Please. It is crucial that we investigate." Luna still wasn't revealing the truth about Skyblue Shine to Premium since she feared breaking the little unicorn's heart.
"Well...If it's important Canterlot business then sure. I can at least show you the door."
It was decided. Fearful of her mother's response, Premium Polish decided to instead, lead Luna and her Pokemon to the door of the basement that dwelled in this large mansion.
Compared to the grand, luxurious and dazzling appearance of the mansion's interior and exterior, the staircase to the basement was the complete opposite of all of that.
Frugal, plain and murky with an unsettling aura. The stairs to the basement didn't help as they weren't as smooth as the rest of the stairs in the mansion. They were rough and clamorous. They even looked like they were on the verge of breaking at any moment.
Naturally, Luna and Darkrai were highly cautious of this. This could be where many of their questions get answered very soon, depending on what lies inside that basement.
"Here we are." Premium stopped by the door that led to the basement. "My mother's basement. It's a bit creepy so I don't wanna stand by it for too long."
"We'll be quick and finished up before your mother returns."
"Um...Princess Luna. Just a quick question. All of this about investigating...Is my mother in trouble for something?"
"Oh." Luna shifted her eyes to the side. She was still hesitant on revealing the truth to Premium Polish. It would be so easy to do so but to Luna, Premium is still such a young foal who might not be able to take it. "Well...We'll give you the confirmation after we're done."
"A-Alright. I'll be in my room." Premium walked off as she left everything to Luna and her Pokemon, hoping that things would turn out alright in the end.
Now it was just Luna, Darkrai, Frillish and Musharna, standing before the basement door. They weren't sure what they were about to witness inside of this basement. But they were more than prepared to tackle it as teammates.
Luna took a deep breath as she used her magic to unlock the door. Once the door had been unlocked and opened, they were given the sight of the basement for the first.
Immediately entering, it was incongruously plain and bare. There was barely any light in this basement as there was wet moisture in the corner. The walls resembled that of a castle. A fairly ancient and abandoned one at that. It was almost as wide as the upstairs of the mansion despite it being located on the lowest floor of the mansion. It was not a tight space at all like most basements.
The basement had numerous desks, chairs, and several shelves containing an array of books. Most notably, Pokemon-Based books. In fact, the whole room was filled with Pokemon related books and a few of them being magic related.
Already, this entire basement was just dismal to be in. It felt like the joy and happiness was being sucked out of Luna and her Pokemon. But there was nothing too suspicious, other than the Pokemon books laid out here.
"Nothing too out of the ordinary. Does she really do all her planning in this room?" Luna spoke.
"Seems secluded enough for that." Darkrai went over to the bookshelves, gazing at the Pokemon books. Luna flew over, standing beside Darkrai. Luna used her magic to grab one of the books that went over certain moves. It was a bit odd that the Pokemon books would be here of all places and not in her own room or anywhere else in the mansion.
For now, Luna and her Pokemon started searching for one important thing. The other Pokemon Skyblue Shine had stolen. Wherever they may be. The Poke Balls couldn't be seen nearby. But perhaps, they could be found deeper in the basement.
"Nothing important here. Let's advance deeper." Luna pointed her hoof to the north. Musharna stuck herself on Luna's head once more while Darkrai and Frillish just moved in the shadows for faster travelling.
The further they went into the basement, the more the darkness closed in on them. Looking at the walls, Luna could notice that there was a painting hung up.
But not a painting of ponies. Instead, a painting of a human scientist who seemed to be from the Pokemon World. And standing next to that scientist was a little girl who resembled a human. Most likely, the creation of the scientist in the painting. The little girl had yellow hair and blue robotic skin, showing that she was not yet finished.
Why this would be in a basement in Equestria was unknown. But perhaps, the dirty, torn and ancient appearance of it made it fit to be in here. But it was ominous nonetheless as Luna turned away from the painting.
However, the moment she did so, in the painting, the eyes of the scientist moved, staring directly at Luna and her Pokemon with them being unaware.
Darkrai himself noticed something that caught his eye. Over at a table, there was a blueprint of all things. "Luna. Come take a look at this." He called for his partner.
"What is it? Did you find the Pokemon?" Luna flew over.
"No. But I found this." Darkrai pointed his claw over at the blueprint. Luna peered over, getting a good look at the blueprint for herself. Her Frillish and Musharna also set their eyes on it.
This blueprint wasn't for any structures. But instead, it looked to be a blueprint for a pony of all things. And a plus, it was a filly. "A blueprint... for a pony?"
"Frillish?"
"Musha?"
Luna used her magic to lift the blueprint. But once she did, a second blueprint was revealed. This time, it was of a human. Noticeably, a little girly.
"Why would she have any of these?" Luna wondered as she started reading the blueprints to see what they were all about. This was her first time diving into something such as blueprints. She's already dealt with the complexities of magic so now it was time for her to experience the complexity of science.
The blueprints had text on them as the names, information and description were all listed down. Unfortunately, they were covered in what seemed to be oil. The oil had been smeared on the paper for a seemingly long amount of time. Thus, many of the words were lost.
Luckily, there were a few minor words that weren't affected by the oil. Luna was able to read these words as she was working with what she had so far.
"Foal version...20?" She raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean, exactly? Version 20? Darkrai, do you know?"
"Don't look at me. I'm new to this as well." Darkrai shook his head.
"Hm. None of this really relates to the Pokemon. I fear that the Pokemon may have already been sold off..." Luna gulped.
"Let's not lose hope yet. There's still more of this basement we have yet to discover."
"Right. Let's keep moving forward."
And so, they kept on moving through this spacious and seemingly endless basement. The further they went, the darker it became.
Along the way, Luna found a suit. The Umbrage Thief Suit that is. She picked it up with her magic, seeing that it had large ripped holes through it. It was probably here because of its condition and had been replaced by another.
She also found more blueprints. This time it was of a mare instead of a filly, titled Mare V.2. However, there were still no signs of other Pokemon or even any Poke Balls. And yet, the basement still had more to explore.
Strangely, the basement itself was starting to change but with very subtle signs that none of them could notice. It wasn't just the darkness increasing, but it felt like someone was watching from within the shadows. And it wasn't Darkrai.
Eventually, the group came across something that might be the answer they were finally looking for after so long. It seemed to be the farthest part of the basement as there was a single door where blue lights were coming out of it.
"There!" Luna went over to the door, curious about the lights as her Pokemon followed. For there to be a single door in this long and spacious basement with blue lights coming out meant that there was something special in there.
Without hesitation, Luna opened the door with her magic, rushing in to hopefully find the stolen and missing Pokemon. But what she found was something unexpected.
A gateway.
Just like the many gateways that were located across Equestria, leading to different parts of the Pokemon World, there was one right here inside of a basement of all places.
Naturally, Luna was greatly confused as this was the last thing she expected to see.
"A...Rift Gateway?"
A shocking reveal that Luna and her Pokemon were not expecting to see. A gateway that no one else knows about, located in this lone basement. This had transformed from being an investigation to retrieve the stolen Pokemon to something else entirely As the journey continues.
A shocking reveal had been discovered by Luna and her Pokemon. There was a gateway inside the furthest part of the basement. But there was something different about this gateway.
The Rift Gateways all have a bluish appearance to them. Every last one of them. But this one was on the more purplish side instead. A fairly dark purple as well. And unlike the blue gateways, this one was emanating sounds that could be heard. The noise of this gateway sounded like a black hole. Like an endless echo of howling was coming out of it.
"A gateway...here in this basement?" Luna gawked.
"Frillish...?"
"Musha...?"
"And it's all here in the deepest part of this basement," Darkrai said. "A strange convenience that it would appear here of all places.
"Does Skyblue Shine herself even know of this?" Luna approached the gateway.
"Where does it lead to?" Darkrai asked.
"Not sure. Whichever part of the Pokemon World this gateway leads to, she must use it as a means of faster transporting such as we do for the other gateways. But why here of all places?"
"Sharna!" Musharna could sense some delicious dreams just beyond that gateway as she flew off Luna's head.
"Ah! Musharna!" Luna gasped as she witnessed her partner fly into the gateway. She wasn't planning on passing through the gateway but seeing her Pokemon just dash into it, Luna had to. For Musharna' safety. She didn't hesitate as she flew in herself. "Musharna come back!"
"Oh! Luna!" Darkrai's eyes widened as he and Frillish followed Luna into the gateway for the safety of their trainer. Very soon, all four of them had passed through the gateway, uncertain as to which part of the Pokemon World they would end up in.
Except, once they passed through the gateway, they were given a completely different feeling, unlike anything they had felt. Unlike the other gateways, when passing through it just made your body tingle a small bit, this one felt as if gravity was beating on them.
They could feel their bodies being affected by an unknown heavy force that existed within the gateway. The inside of this eerie wormhole was emanating those same black hole sounds but this time they were torturing the ears of Luna as she closed them and her eyes.
This was unexplainable in every possible way as Luna was gaining a sense of fear just by being in here. Not only that, but this gateway seemed to take longer to pass through than the others. Luna, terrified, had been shielded by Darkrai.
"Darkrai...?!" She looked up at her partner.
"It's alright. There's no need to be afraid. Because I am here." Darkrai gave Luna great reassurance and safety as he held her. Frillish was held by Darkrai as well as they each braced themselves for whatever may come next.
Upstairs in the living room of the mansion.
Premium Polish was wondering why Princess Luna and her Pokemon were taking so long to finish their investigation as she laid in her room where her many trophies including her Contest Ribbons resided.
"Princess Luna said it'd be short and simple, but it's been an hour," Premium said as she rolled around in her bed. "What would mom even keep in the basement?"
As she kept wondering about Princess Luna's, she could hear the door to the outside opening up. That meant only one thing.
Skyblue Shine was home.
Hearing the door open up, Premium quickly sat up from her bed with her ears on full alert. With her mother home, she quickly realized that this was the time where she would head into the basement for her supposed job. But right now, Luna and her Pokemon were still inside.
And Premium knew that her mother absolutely forbids that anyone other than herself and the ones she brings along are forbidden to enter the basement. Luna certainly didn't count since she went in on her own accord.
"Oh no...Mother!" Premium shouted as she hopped off her bed, quickly running out of her room to her mother.
"Hm?" Skyblue Shine, who had just returned home, looked up to see her daughter running down the stairs. "No running down the stairs, Premium Polish."
"Sorry!" Premium came to a screeching halt as she stood before her mother. "Um...Are you heading into the basement once more?"
"Of course, I am. It's almost nighttime. Why else would I be here at this time?"
"Oh well..." Premium scrunched her face. "I was just wondering mother...since we're still in the Pokemon Festival, why don't we spend some time together in the afternoon for once?"
"No. You know I don't have enough time for that." Skyblue walked past Premium.
"Maybe just once!" Premium hopped in front of her mother. "The only time we spend together is in the morning but that rarely lasts long at all. Let's just-"
"I said, I don't have time." Skyblue narrowed her eyes. "I have work to get to, Premium."
"Wait! Before you head to the basement for work, can you at least watch me show off my new contest moves?" At this point, Premium was prolonging Skyblue's approach towards the basement. "I mean, it might take a long time but that's not a problem right?"
"Perhaps in the morning. This conversation is over." Skyblue would not allow herself to be stalled by Premium Polish as she used her magic to grab her own daughter, placing her on the couch.
"Aw..." Premium pouted as she witnessed her mother head towards the stairs that lead to the basement. Premium then whispered so her mother wouldn't hear her. "Sorry, Princess Luna...".
Skyblue Shine herself was unaware of Luna's presence here. Especially Darkrai. The Pokemon that thwarted her plans back in Canterlot a few days ago. There were intruders in her home that she would definitely not want at all.
However, when Skyblue Shine approached the basement door, she noticed that it was slightly open. That hit her curiosity immediately. But she thought to herself that she may have forgotten to fully shut it earlier. Either way, it was still suspicious.
And what of Luna and her Pokemon?
They had finally passed through the gateway and ended up on the other side with Darkrai holding tightly onto Luna and Frillish as a guardian.
Because of Darkrai, Luna's fears had been diminished as she was safe. No longer did she have to listen to those horrible sounds and feel that harsh weight of the gateway any longer. But now, they were finally through the gateway and in this new location. However, it was unlike anywhere they've been before.
"Mrrgh..." Luna slowly opened her eyes. Darkrai was still holding onto her as a shield. "Did we...make it?"
"We sure did," Darkrai replied. "But you might want to look at this."
"Hm?" With Luna's eyes being fully open, she was able to see what Darkrai and Frillish had seen as well. When passing through the gateway, they expected to end up in a random region in the Pokemon World.
Whether it was a grassland, mountain area, marshland, plains, city, town etc, that were the most common places to end up when passing through the gateways.
However, this was neither of those.
Instead, they had ended up in a very familiar area. The indoors of Canterlot.
"W-We're in Canterlot?!" Luna's eyes widened. This was bizarre. A gateway from Equestria that led to her home also in Equestria was the last thing Luna expected to witness.
"Lish?"
"How is this possible...? It should've led us straight to a place in the Pokemon World, correct?" Luna walked forward.
"That's what the gateways usually do." Darkrai nodded. "But I suppose this is some sort of exception."
"This can't be right." Luna shook her head. "Has she been sneaking into Canterlot this entire time with this gateway? No. If she was, then I'd notice her during the night. And neither of my Pokemon have been stolen from me...Or even any Pokemon from Canterlot...So then why?"
Confusion sparked up yet again in Luna's head. It seems that this entire investigation of Skyblue Shine's basement continues to amaze her. And the gateway leading to Canterlot was just the cherry on top.
However, as Luna was pondering and ready to search for Musharna, she placed her hoof on the floor and for the first time, she noticed that something was off.
The floor felt vastly different than before as Luna paused. She knows what Canterlot's floors feel like after walking on them for so many years, even when being banished on the moon. They have smooth tiles of concrete that are indistinguishable.
Except, this time, they felt like metal. More specifically, aluminium. A very rare metal in Equestria. This caught Luna off guard as she wasn't expecting to feel this at all.
"Metal?" Luna raised her hoof whilst looking at the floor. "That can't be right..."
"What's wrong, Luna?"
It wasn't just the floor that Luna felt was off. While the interior was familiar, everything about this felt somewhat alien and different. The windows were what caught her attention next.
She approached the windows, expecting to see the beautiful buildings of Canterlot and the Pokemon Festival as well. However, once she got there and looked out the window, she saw something different entirely. Although, it could be considered familiar to Luna because of her time on the moon. Her pupils shrunk, her gasp became prolong and her amazement had exceeded its limits. Why?
Because they were in space.
"W-We're in space?!" Luna screeched.
"We are?" Darkrai and Frillish flew over to the windows to see for themselves.
"Frill?"
Their eyes did not deceive them. They were indeed in space without a shadow of a doubt. Just like their partner, they were confused and amazed. Somehow, in some way, Canterlot Castle was in space.
They could see countless planets, stars, galaxies, sights that have never been seen by pony eyes. However, Luna was the only one who's seen the stars before because of her time on the moon. But she's never seen galaxies and other planets before.
"If we're in space then...Does that mean..." Luna looked around the castle. "Canterlot Castle itself is in space? But how can this be?"
"Musha-Musharna!" Just then, the sounds of Musharna could be heard from across the castle. She was the main priority since she passed through the gateway after sensing a wonderful dream nearby.
"Oh! Musharna!" Luna shot up. She quickly remembered about her partner as she drew her attention away from the window and to where the sound of Musharna came from. Luna galloped away, searching for Musharna whilst moving in this familiar yet odd Canterlot Castle as Darkrai and Frillish followed along.
Searching for Musharana further showed Luna and her Pokemon the rest of this strange and different Canterlot Castle as they were starting to witness brand new sights. It wasn't just the floor that was aluminium, but the walls as well and even the ceiling. Everything here was metal.
Luna felt like she wasn't at home at this point, even if looked like home. But this was proven further by when she spotted a multitude of doors on the side of the walls, spread out in a perfect line. Doors that had never existed before as they each had serialized numbers on them. Ranging from 1 to 7,000,000,000.
Canterlot Castle never had these many doors before, despite how large it was. In fact, Canterlot Castle wasn't actually large enough to have these many doors at all. The maximum limit was 50. They also noticed that the castle had a slight tint of purple added on.
They managed to easily find Musharna as she was floating about in the hallway. It seems that Musharna had not yet found that wonderful dream it was sensing.
"Musharna!" Luna called for her Pokemon.
"Musha?" Musharna immediately responded to the call of her trainer as she turned around, spotting Luna and her teammates. "Musharna!"
"There you are." Luna came to a screeching halt. "I beg of you. Please do not go off on your own so much." Luna held the Drowsing Pokemon as she sighed.
"Sharna!"
"At least you managed to force us through the gateway. Return for now." Luna returned Musharna to her Poke Ball. She took some time to breathe after passing through the gateway and searching for Musharna,
Luna still didn't know what to make of any of this. So much has already happened on this sixth day and it doesn't look like things are going to slow down at this point. This was supposed to be a small mission to capture Skyblue Shine and take her in. But it turns out, fate had other things in mind.
A clear sign that this day would not let Luna rest for much longer, hoofsteps could be heard coming towards Luna and her Pokemon. But these hoofsteps were different from anything they've ever heard. They sounded heavy and metal. Probably because they were metal.
Luna's ears twitched, picking up on the hoofsteps as she could tell how foreboding they were. In fact, there were multiple of them, heading her way. Luna, in a bit of an anxious state, decided to try and find a place to hide so that she and her Pokemon aren't seen.
Thankfully, Darkrai had her covered on that. He grabbed Luna and Frillish both, allowing them to blend in with the shadows just like him as Darkrai entered the nearest shadows which were in the corner.
These foreboding and metal hoofsteps belonged to a large group of ponies who all seemed to be dressed in the same outfit. Most likely guards. But these weren't the traditional Canterlot Guards. Their armour was different from what Luna knew.
Their armour instead was made out of the same metal that was apart of this entirely different Canterlot Castle. While the Canterlot Guards back at Luna's home had armour that fit their current time, these guards had armour that would mostly fit in the far future. They had a futuristic armour suit of plates reinforced by plasteel hung on an aluminium chassis.
They seemed heavy to wear as each of the armoured ponies marched in a single line with perfect unison. Just like the Canterlot Guards, they all a stern look on their faces. Although theirs seemed to be fiercer.
Luna witnessed these guards march by her Darkrai and Frillish whilst hiding in the shadows. Not only was the castle barely familiar to her but even the guards themselves and how they appear to be was different. At this point, Luna was convinced that she wasn't actually home.
Luna began to think that because there exists a hidden gateway in Equestria that leads to Canterlot but different, made Luna realize a high possibility.
This was not her Canterlot.
With that realization in mind, Luna was more nervous than ever as Darkrai held her tight, shafting her fears as the guards continued to walk by.
However, the guards suddenly stopped marching as they could hear something that was not apart of them. Their armour seemed to pick on various sounds as they immediately picked up on the sound of nervous breathing. They all turned their heads to the right of the wall in perfect unison as they were looking in the direction of Luna.
"!" Luna, rightfully shocked, decided to tone down her breathing so that the guards do not discover her presence. But they could certainly sense something as they kept looking at the wall, unknowingly staring at Luna as well. Luna was sweating profusely as she was wishing that the guards would turn away.
Darkrai could see that these guards might not leave this spot until they find what they had sensed. So, Darkrai decided to draw their attention elsewhere. He manipulated the shadows as he caused a small dark explosion to occur on the left side of the wall.
The guards all turned to the left, reacting to that quick explosion. With their attention drawn somewhere else, Darkrai moved with Luna and Frillish through the shadows, escaping from the array of guards. Darkrai's shadow trip took his friends to the downstairs of Canterlot Castle, hopefully far away from any more guards.
Darkrai emerged from the shadows with Luna and Frillish moving out of it. "Oh...thank you so much, Darkrai." Luna breathed deeply.
"Frill."
"You could feel it too, couldn't you? The danger of those guards."
"Certainly." Luna nodded. "Not even our own guards back home walk with such an intimidating presence...Actually...I'm convinced this isn't our home at all."
"What do you mean?"
"Darkrai. I think we're in an Alternate Canterlot." Luan theorized. "The different feel of the interior, the fact that we're outside in outer space, these never before seen doors, the altered appearance of the guards, this is not our home. And I think that gateway should've been clear from the beginning. This is-"
"An Alternate Universe." Darkrai finished her sentence.
"Exactly. Just like how back in Canterlot, Ash met a human by the name of Gold. Apparently, in his world, he's already met Gold, but that Gold came from another Pokemon Universe. But why does this gateway lead to an Alternate Canterlot and not the Pokemon World?"
"Well..." Darkrai crossed his arms. "If this is alternate Canterlot Castle, then obviously, there's another you in this world, isn't there?"
"Possibly." Luna nodded. "Even if this may seem different, it's still Canterlot at the end of the day. Perhaps we can speak to this world's variant of myself for some answers."
The decision had been made. This was still related to the investigation of Skyblue Shine since this world connects to her basement of all things.
Luna, Darkrai and Frillish arrived at Luna's room. It was still here even in this alternate universe. But that only made sense. They weren't sure if it was morning or night since they were in space so it was hard to tell if this world's Luna was awake or not.
But, to get an answer for themselves, Luna opened her door, ready to great her other-self. But once she opened it, she wasn't met with an alternate Princess Luna.
Instead, it was her older sister, Princess Celestia, who was currently cleaning the room. "Sister?"
"Hm?" The alternate Princess Celestia turned around, dropping the broom with her magic. This Celestia still looked like the one Luna knew, except for a few differences. Her regalia wasn't on her, she was wearing a dirty cleaning dress with her body having scratches and more importantly, her Cutie Mark was gone as seen by the hole in the dress. "Luna?"
"Oh! I am glad to see a very familiar face here!" Luna flew over to her big sister with a smile on her face. However, Celestia had a completely different reaction face.
When Luna approached Celestia, she suddenly moved back from her younger sister, as if she was avoiding her. Luna quickly noticed that Celestia was moving away from her as she had an anxious look on her face.
"Sister?" Luna raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright? Why are you wearing such clothes and...where are your regalia and Cutie Mark?"
"Is it really you, Luna? Truly?"
"Well...yes. It truly is me." Luna nodded. "Why? What is wrong?"
Luna took a moment to really look at her older sister. For whatever reason, Celestia seemed to be flabbergasted by the sight of her own younger sister, which certainly befuddled Luna. They know each other, so Celestia shouldn't be surprised by this.
But she was. Luna's eyes shifted around because of this unexpectedly awkward silence and long pause that was caused by her sister, until, suddenly, Celestia ran over and hugged Luna like she's never hugged her before.
"I missed you so much!"
"Oh!" Luna's eyes widened. "A-Alright...A hug is always a great welcome, I suppose." Luna patted Celestia on the back.
"I thought I'd never see you again!" Celestia was starting to tear up as she prolonged the hug.
"A-Aren't we in the same castle?" Luna asked. "And sister. Where on earth is your Cutie Mark? And why are you such a mess?"
"You don't remember? Luna?" Celestia broke off the hug.
"No." Luna shook her head. "Mostly because well...I'm not exactly your Luna."
"Not my Luna? What do you mean?" A confused Celestia asked.
"This might sound unbelievable and beyond the imagination. But I am a Princess Luna from an Alternate Universe."
"An Alternate...Universe?" The natural reaction was given to Celestia as her attention had been grabbed immediately.
"Yes. A universe that is different but yet similar to this one. I hail from that universe alongside my Pokemon. I may be Princess Luna to you, but I am not your universes' Luna. And the Celestia in my world is my own Celestia. If that makes sense."
"I...I understand clearly." Celestia nodded in understanding. "I'm not unaware of Alternate Universes."
"You're not?"
"No. After all, Empress Twilight Sparkle has travelled through many over the past few months recently." Now Celestia was the one who had grabbed Luna's attention the moment she brought up that name. The name that strikes just as much fear as Ghetsis.
"Empress...You mean this is...?" Luna began to put the pieces together. Now she understood why they were in space of all places.
"I suppose being new here, you wouldn't know. We're in the Castle-Ship of Empress Twilight Sparkle and her Twilight Imperium Empire. Ruler of the Universe. This is her main ship."
Luna wouldn't have to wonder any longer. She was now in heavy enemy territory. Not only was she in space, but she was also inside the main ship of the alicorn who is working side by side with the most dangerous human ever. It didn't help that it also connected to the basement of Skyblue Shine. At all.
Luna and Darkrai looked at each other, knowing that they were essentially in hot water at this point. And staying here for a long period of time is just asking for trouble.
"But you shouldn't be here, Luna." Celestia shook her head. "It's far too dangerous. I don't want you to share the same fate as my Luna.
"W-What happened to your Luna?" A curious Luna asked. "And why are you in this horrible state?"
Being asked that question, Celestia decided to answer Luna with small revelations of why Celestia was in this state with a missing Cutie Mark and what happened to this world's Luna. She couldn't go any further than that.
"I lost my role as ruler of Equestria to Empress Twilight." Celestia turned around. "The moment she gained unprecedented amounts of magic from the Bewitching Bell was when we had already lost. I was forced to be a cleaning maid with 95% of my magic being stolen from me. Cadence had been turned to stone alongside Shining Armor and you...well...you were locked up in Tartarus. "
"Locked up in Tartarus?!" Luna shuddered.
"The same goes for all potential threats to Empress Twilight. They were all either forced to accept her new rule or perish in the end. Of course, many denied this, especially her friends, who tried to stop her, much like us. But, she had transformed something as wonderful as friendship into something else entirely that can be considered as a horrifying force of magic and a way for her to install complete control and fear."
"What do you mean by she transformed friendship? How is that even possible? What did she do?"
"I can't speak any further...she's might be watching us..." Celestia looked around the room. "She probably knows that you've arrived here. You must return to your universe immediately. Where it is safe. For the time being."
"Sister..." Luna knew that she probably had to get going since Empress Twilight might know about her presence here. But seeing Celestia in a state such as this, she couldn't leave her here in such a horrible world. Then, Luna made a risky suggestion. "Why don't you come with us?"
"What?" Celestia, who picked up the cleaning brush, dropped it once more. "Come with you?"
"I can't stand to see you in this state. Even if you're not my universes' Celestia, you're still my sister. And I want to see you smile instead of being subjected to a cleaning maid of all things."
"Oh, Luna...I wish I could but I can't." Celestia whimpered. "I can't defy Empress Twilight. Not at all." She shook her head.
"Why not? She took away your Cutie Mark and most of your magic and even robbed you of your rule over Equestria. Shouldn't you-"
"You don't understand. Her magic is horrifying beyond compare. It's as if millions upon millions of alicorns are constantly fueling with overwhelming magic. She far exceeds any form of magic in this universe. To a point where it even transcends all concepts of magic. That's how she was able to conquer other planets as well."
"Conquer other planets?" Luna looked outside the window, gazing at space.
"Please, Luna. Return to your universe. And find a place to hide before she comes after your world. Just like how she has done with many other worlds before."
"We should listen to her, Luna," Darkrai said. "We weren't originally meant to be here. And we're not prepared for this. Not until the 2 months arrive."
"I know but...I can't leave you here!"
"You have a Celestia in your own world. Go to her. And keep her safe. Safe from Empress Twilight when she comes. My fate has already been sealed at this point."
"I refuse!" Luna stomped her hoof. "I absolutely refuse to leave you here in this universe! You don't deserve this! Please! Come with us!"
"Why are you so stubborn, Luna? I already told you that I can't defy her! Her magic-"
"I don't care how powerful she is! Even if we're from different universes, we're still sisters! Aren't we?! We're supposed to make each other happy, remember?!"
"Luna..."
"So, please. For your own happiness. If I were to leave now, I could never rest well knowing that there is a universe where you're struggling like this."
"Luna. I understand your sentiment but...there's no point in it." Celestia shook her head. "She'll come after your universe and conquer it either way. So what is the point of retreating there?"
"It won't be conquered," Luna replied. "No matter what."
"You don't understand the amount of magic she wields, Luna. There's probably not a force out there that can stop her. Not with what she's capable of.
"There is. You're looking right at them." Luna turned to face Darkrai and Frillish.
"You mean...these creatures?"
"They're called Pokemon. And they're the greatest friends that ever could be found. And they're certainly powerful enough to stand against Empress Twilight. Without a doubt."
"You're shooting for the stars but I can believe it." Darkrai nodded.
"Frillish!"
"These creatures are powerful enough to stand up against any threat from what I've seen. Especially a certain trainer back home. We've already been made aware of Empress Twilight's arrival in 2 months and are formulating a plan. We'll be more than prepared for when the time comes."
Luna's words were reaching Celestia. She was still terrified of defying Empress Twilight as she knew just how powerful she was. But with how much confidence Luna was exhibiting, Celestia believed that there might actually be a universe that could stand a chance against the Twilight Imperium. Possibly. However, she still could not leave here.
"Alright. I believe you..."
"Really! Then-"
"But I will not leave still." Celestia shook her head. "But I have great faith in you and your friends that you can put an end to this whole Imperium and succeed where many others have failed."
"Sister..."
"Go. Return to your universe and continue preparing yourself for the inevitable invasion. I know you'll win, Luna. And when you do, you may come for me." Celestia made up her mind as Luna accepted her sister's decision.
"Alright. You can count on me, sister! Darkrai! Frillish! Let's go!" With that, they finally left the room as they were heading straight for the gateway they came through.
Celestia closed the door, wishing her sister and her Pokemon good luck as she put all her faith and hope into this one universe.
"The gateway is not too far from here!" Luna said whilst flying. "Let's just hope that when we pass through we'll-"
"Going somewhere?" A familiar voice replied to Luna, prompting her to turn around. The voice was all too familiar to her ears. But it wasn't Celestia coming out of the room to speak with her.
Instead, it was the one pony that Luna and her Pokemon hoped they would never bump into. The Ruler of this Universe. From the planets, stars, galaxies and beyond. An alicorn overflowing with more magic than anypony could ever hope to achieve and the tyrannical Empress.
Empress Twilight Sparkle.
Alongside her soldiers who were all standing behind her. Indeed, she knew that Luna had arrived from the very beginning. There was a reason why the gateway was connected to the basement in the first place.
Empress Twilight's Universe. The Canterlot Castle Ship. 16:30.
An encounter that Princess Luna hoped wouldn't happen so soon. But was practically unavoidable considering where she currently was.
She had encountered Empress Twilight Sparkle, unfortunately, along with her many soldiers who stood behind her on guard. But she didn't really need guards due to how powerful she was.
She was on her ship now, in her universe, her territory. Already, Luna could feel the pressure flowing in her direction. But she had her Pokemon by her side to protect her.
"Well. How unfortunate is this?" Empress Twilight spoke.
"Empress Twilight..." Luna muttered.
"Luna. Or, I suppose in your universe you are still classified as Princess Luna. Seems you've managed to find your way here. Most likely from the gateway that connects to her basement, obviously. But perhaps going into the basement in the first place was your first major mistake."
"Frillish...!" Frillish was ready to unload a ton of attacks on Empress Twilight but Luna held him back. "Lish?"
"Pardon the interruption." Luna narrowed her eyes at Empress Twilight. "But I have no intention of staying here for much longer. Not in your universe anyway."
"Hmph. So you're not here for a pre-emptive strike, are you? Then why have you decided to come to my universe in the first place."
"It was just a mere accident from my own Pokemon. But coming here involves another pony that is of no concern to you but my world instead."
"Hoh? Are you referring to Skyblue Shine?" Empress Twilight shocked Luna with that response. Skyblue Shine was the main reason why this situation had even occurred.
"You know her?"
"Of course, I do. After all, this is her home. Her universe. Ah. But I suppose, you weren't aware of it at first, were you?" Empress Twilight chuckled as Luna's expectations kept getting surpassed as she now learned of Skyblue Shine's original home. "I specifically told her to keep the basement's gateway a complete secret from anypony else other than the rest of the Umbrage Thieves. But I suppose that was no good."
"So! Are you the main reason for the Umbrage Thieves existing?!" Luna bellowed. "All of those innocent Pokemon, stolen from many trainers across the world, was that your plan to command them to do so?!"
"Hm? Who me?" Empress Twilight looked up as she twirled her mane. "I'm not really a huge fan of these Pokemon. But, they do interest me, I'll admit. Your world is so lucky to have such Strange and Wonderful Creatures. Wonderful enough for me to involve myself with them."
"And enough for you to try and steal them?" Luna growled.
"Oh, I never said I stole them. If anything, having a Pokemon would be a bit of a bother. Although..." Surprisingly, out of nowhere, Empress Twilight made an Ultra Ball appear out of thin air with her magic, which shocked Luna.
"An Ultra Ball?!"
"This Pokemon is a bit of an exception. I'm truly grateful for Ghetsis for lending it to me, I'll say." She spun it around. "Oh and about your stolen Pokemon...if you're searching for them, you're far too late. Skyblue Shine has already beaten you to most if not all of them."
"What do you mean?"
"Like I'd tell you." Empress Twilight made the Ultra Ball disappear. "The bigger question is...what can I possibly do with a second Luna?"
"Kh!" Luna scoffed.
"Should I place you in Tartarus, much like my universe's Luna? Or would it be more comfortable and nostalgic for you to live on the moon once more? Your decision." Empress Twilight stepped forward once as all of her soldiers did the same in perfect unison.
"Don't you touch her!" Darkrai was ready to fire a Dark Void just in case.
"Don't engage, Darkrai!" Luna exclaimed.
"Your best option is to engage. Besides, I wouldn't just worry about what's in front of you as well..."
"In front of...?" With that response, Luna slowly turned around to see that there weren't just many soldiers in front of her, but also behind her. They had all snuck up on her without the sound of their heavy metal armour going through her ears.
She was surrounded on both sides now. But what's even worse was that there were even soldiers who could fly as they were hovering above Luna, covering her from front to back to even above. She was lucky that there wasn't anypony below her.
Luna did not want to engage with Empress Twilight since she knows how outclassed she is by a mile. But at this point, now that she was surrounded with Empress Twilight herself being present here, they might have to take drastic measures for their own safety.
"So much for avoiding conflict..." Darkrai whispered. "I think we should actually take her word and engage. It's probably our only way out."
"Probably..." Luna nodded gently as she, Darkrai and Frillish stood back to back. "But with this number difference, I fear we may be in our most difficult situation yet."
"What's the plan then?"
"You may act on your own volition. Frillish and I have will find our own approach..."
"Right. I'll get to work." Darkrai decided to make the first move as all the guards were put on high alert.
Darkrai decided to use Dark Void as he created an orb of darkness in his claws. Out of the orb, multiple spheres of darkness came flying at high speeds from all directions. Up, down, left and right.
The soldiers gasped as many of them had already been hit by Dark Void, instantly being put to sleep upon contact and granted horrible nightmares. The soldiers in the air managed to avoid the Dark Voids by flying away from Darkrai since he was essentially being protected by an array of Dark Voids.
Empress Twilight stood there, watching the Dark Voids fly by. However, none of them even touched her as she kept her composure. Completely unbothered by this. And if a Dark Void came close to her, she would just sway her neck to the side, avoiding it with ease.
"Hmph. On second thought...I'll handle it." Empress Twilight decided to deal with this situation herself as she used her magic to hold a single Dark Void in place.
With her magic holding the one Dark Void, Empress Twilight decided to give Darkrai a taste of his own medicine as she sent the Dark Void back at Darkrai while he was facing the other direction.
Before he knew it, Darkrai had been struck from behind by his own attack as the orb of darkness had consumed him. "Ah!"
"Darkrai!" Luna gasped as she witnessed her partner fall to the floor, entering a nightmare state. The Dark Voids ended up vanishing because of Darkrai's inactive status at the moment.
"Simple enough." Empress Twilight said as she walked over the sea of ponies who had been put to sleep, approaching Darkrai. "That Dark Void is truly a useful move. Perfect for restricting your opponent while making them suffer. You have an amazingly powerful ally by your side Luna..."
"Darkrai! Wake up!" Luna went over to Darkrai, shaking him. "There's no way you're capable of getting nightmares! Is there?!"
"Which is why I'll be taking him for myself. The power of nightmares is always a treat."
"Don't you dare touch him!" Frillish! Shadow Ball!"
"Frill...Lish!" Frillish conjured up a ball of shadows as he hurled it towards Empress Twilight. But, Empress Twilight was still showing an unimpressed face as she once again, used her magic to hold the attack.
But this time, she switched it up. Instead of sending it straight towards Frillish, she made the Ghost-Type move disappear and reappear right behind Frillish, hitting the Floating Pokemon from behind with his own attack as Frillish suffered heavy damage from Shadow Ball. A shadowy explosion happened afterwards. "F-Frill!"
"Frillish!" Luna screeched as she saw Frillish fall out of the explosion.
"Frill...Frillish..." The Floating Pokemon twitched as black sparks were emanating out of him after being hit by Shadow Ball. Now both of Luna's Pokemon were down on the floor.
"R-Return, Frillish!" Luna held out Frillish's Poke Ball, attempting to return him.
"Ah-Ah." But, Empress Twilight shot a tiny bolt of magic that ended up destroying the Poke Ball. "Wouldn't want any intruders escaping now, do we?"
"L-Lish...!" Frillish looked up at Empress Twilight as he could barely move. Meanwhile, Darkrai was twitching as he himself was experiencing nightmares for once in his life.
"Now then. What will be, Luna?" Empress Twilight stepped on Frillish's appendages. "Even you're smart enough to know that you can't possibly stand a chance against me. Celestia made that very clear back in your room, didn't she?"
"Frill!" Frillish screamed after being stepped on.
"I refuse to give up!"
"Wrong answer." Empress Twilight suddenly surrounded Luna's body in a purple light as she forcefully increased the gravity on Luna, causing her to fall flat on the floor.
"Agh!"
"But then again, you've always been so resilient, Luna. If there's anypony who absolutely refuses to give up, it's you. I'd consider that a blessing and curse for you." Empress Twilight increased the gravity by 2X. "You should know when to back down."
"Ugh!" Luna groaned.
"Anyway. Enough about that. It wouldn't hurt to steal your magic as well. I can tell you're a bit different from the many Luna's I've stolen magic from. This might be a treat." The Tyrannical Empress gave off a devious smile as she was planning to rob Luna of all her magic and keep it for herself.
"You will not do such a thing!" Luna struggled to get up from the floor as she was fighting against the heavy gravity. "We're making it out of here and we'll stop you once those 2 months arrive!"
"Hm. Sure." Empress Twilight increased the gravity on Luna by 8x, causing her even further pain. "Grab her."
The soldiers who were remaining and hadn't been hit by Dark Void went up to Luna, ready to grab and take her in. They gathered around the downed moon princess, who was still trying her very best to break free from Empress Twilight's gravity hold.
"C-Curses...!" Luna banged her head on the floor. "Xatu!" She then called for Xatu, who was still in his Poke Ball. Xatu responded to the cry of his trainer as he forcefully came out of his Poke Ball by himself.
"Xa!" The Mystic Pokemon emerged out as he immediately used Ominous Wind to blow away the soldiers who surrounded his trainer, sending them flying with a purple gust of repulsive wind.
However, the wind did not affect Empress Twilight at all. The best it did was make her mane flow. The gravity hold was still on Luna.
"Tu!" Xatu then turned his attention to Empress Twilight, focusing all of his anger on the one who harmed his trainer. He used Psychic to attack the Tyrannical Empress by surrounding her with a strong telekinetic force.
"Hm?" Empress Twilight, still unbothered, looked at herself as she noticed her body being surrounded by a blue outline of Psychic energy. "Not bad."
But she quickly countered by using her magic to hold Xatu whilst still holding Luna at the same time. Xatu had been slammed into the wall by Empress Twilight's magic, causing damage to the Mystic Pokemon.
"Xatu!" The Psychic-Flying-Type was pinned to the wall.
"You might want to be careful, Luna. At this rate, you'll end up running out of Pokemon if you continue this struggle."
"M-M-My Pokemon and I will continue to resist...!"
"Then they're just as stubborn as you. A perfect match." Empress Twilight giggled a small bit as the soldiers got back up after Ominous Wind. Not only that, but the soldiers who had been hit by Dark Void had gotten back up, faster than most victims of Darkrai's Dark Void.
"T-They're up already?!" Luna gasped.
"My soldiers have been trained to show no fear. If you think some nightmares are going to stop them, think again."
Very soon, all of the soldiers had recovered and surrounded Princess Luna while she was being held down by heavy gravity and her Pokemon were either down or pinned.
Luna could feel her bones breaking from the intense amount of gravity as she let out a horrifying scream that could be heard across the entire ship.
Empress Twilight only made this worse by bumping the gravity up to 14x. Luna's wings were starting to break and bend as she was finding it hard to break free with her face being dug on the floor with barely any chance of raising it.
Frillish tried to get up and help his trainer, but Empress Twilight added gravity onto him as well, forcing the Floating Pokemon to stay down. "F-Frillish!"
The soldiers grabbed Luna with their armoured hooves as Empress Twilight made sure that the gravity spell would only affect Luna and her Pokemon and not her own soldiers. Luna was picked up whilst still having a field of gravity beat on to her. She couldn't move any of her limbs because of this.
"P-Put me down!" Luna bellowed as she tried to kick her hooves around. But it was no use. She couldn't use any magic since she couldn't focus properly with all this gravity.
Her Frillish would be restrained as well as some of the soldiers used aluminium cuffs to hold him. The cuffs were placed onto Frillish's appendages as they even had an electric shock factor to them. And since Frillish was a Water-Type, this did not bode well as the electricity was already running through her body, causing the Floating Pokemon to scream.
"Urgh...!" Darkrai was starting to wake up as one eye of his opened up. Nightmares weren't too effective on Darkrai since there's not much he really fears. But he definitely fears for Luna and his friends' wellbeing. "L-Leave them alone!"
"My. I suppose my soldiers aren't the only ones trained to resist fear." Empress Twilight was impressed as seen by her light nodding.
Darkrai got up from the floor as his dark aura was rising with rage. More rage than usual. Seeing Luna in such a position while being harmed was enough to spark up aggression in the Pitch Black Pokemon as his aura was filling the hallway with darkness. All the while, Empress Twilight was once again, not bothered by this. She showed no signs of fear. With unbridled rage, Darkrai emanated a pulse of Darkness from his body as it knocked away the soldiers, forcing them to drop Luna and Frillish.
Celestia, who heard all the commotion outside, came through the corner of the hallway to see the current scenario. She witnessed Empress Twilight and her soldiers surrounding her little sister who was in immense pain while Darkrai stood in the middle with seething rage.
This was Luna's first time seeing Darkrai's aura in its full glory as it looked like it was oozing out of him. She had never seen her partner in a state such as this. "Darkrai...?"
"Then again, I suppose Mythical Pokemon are a cut above the rest aren't they? It would only make sense" Empress Twilight smirked as her horn lit up.
"You'll see that my teammates are a cut above the rest as well." Darkrai shifted his eye towards Frillish who was still on the floor. Both of them nodded at each other as they knew that something had to be done to break free of this.
"F-Frillish!" Frillish slammed his head on the floor which confused Empress Twilight. Why would Frillish inflict pain on himself? It was soon revealed why that was the case.
Frillish opened his mouth while facing the floor as he used Whirlpool. Out of his mouth came a spiral of water that quickly spread across the floor. A fast, vicious whirlpool quickly filled the entire hallway as it carried the soldiers and even Empress Twilight.
"You sneaky little...!" Empress Twilight was actually shocked by that as she didn't expect someone to pull off a tactic such as this.
Darkrai grabbed Luna, Frillish and Xatu with his claws as he hovered up to avoid the Whirlpool. The soldiers who could fly approached Darkrai as they weren't going to allow him to escape.
But Luna's Pokemon were persistent as Xatu flew out of Darkrai's claws to fend off the soldiers. He used Air Slash by flapping his wings, sending blades of air that could slice even the sky itself.
The pegasi soldiers were knocked out of the sky as the Whirlpool raged on. Darkrai decided that to really give them a high chance of escaping, they would need more than just Whirlpool.
So, he used Thunderbolt to boost their chances as he held his claw out, sending a bolt of 100,000 volts onto the Whirlpool. Once the Thunderbolt connected with Whirlpool, the volts were travelling through the violent flow of water, shocking the soldiers.
Since they were wearing metal, it wasn't very pleasant for them as even Empress Twilight Sparkle was affected by this. But she had a high resistance to it as she merely growled at them.
The Whirlpool and Thunderbolt combination didn't just affect the soldiers on the ship. It was affecting the machinery as well. Power was being shut off because of this as the lights had been turned off. But only the lights since Twilight's main ship was not that easy to take out.
The unicorn soldiers fired quick blasts of magic towards Darkrai and the others, aiming to take them out of the air. But Darkrai quickly counted by using Dark Pulse to cancel them all out. A large smoke cloud formed after the two moves cancelled each other out as that also helped to conceal Darkrai and his friends.
"Let's go!" Darkrai exclaimed as now was the perfect time to leave. Both he and Xatu flew off while the Whirlpool dealt with everything else. However, Empress Twilight wasn't about to let them leave so easily.
"Like I'd let you!" She used her magic to blow away the Whirlpool as if it was nothing. Her next course of action was to use her gravity spell on Darkrai and the others once more.
Celestia could see this from her horn lighting up as she knew that their chance of escaping might be thwarted by the gravity spell. So, for the safety of her little sister and her friends, Celestia used the most amount of magic she could use as she fired a tiny bolt of magic from her horn.
The bolt of magic ended up hitting Empress Twilight's eye, throwing her focus on Darkrai and the others off as she screeched and winced.
"Ah!" Empress Twilight pulled back as Celestia concealed herself by moving back into the corner of the hallway and running off. That one single action from Celestia was enough to let Darkrai and the others escape as they passed through the corner.
But to make sure there would be no slip-ups, Darkrai turned around as he used Ice Beam to create a wall of ice that filled the door, blocking off any entrance. That is until someone broke through it.
But in the meantime, they were safe as they had finally passed through the gateway, escaping from this universe.
Empress Twilight held her eye as the pain was unbearable to her. Despite her immense durability, the one consistently vulnerable part of any creatures' body is always the eye. No matter who you are, the eyes are always a good place to strike.
The Empress knew exactly who fired that bolt of lightning as she turned around to see if she could spot Celestia. But Celestia had already left. Even still, Empress Twilight knew that some punishment was needed.
"Do we make chase, Empress?" A soldier asked.
"No. You all stay here. That will just ruin our 2-month plan." Empress Twilight replied as she used a healing spell to heal her injured eye. "I'll handle this. The rest of you should fetch Celestia immediately."
Empress Twilight quickly regained her composure and coolness as she did not break out into a fit of rage. She knew that Luna and her Pokemon escaping was obviously a failure. And she wasn't afraid to admit it.
But, she wasn't done yet and she now had new plans after that small encounter.
Skyblue Shine's basement. 17:40.
They were finally safe. Darkrai hid in the corner with Luna, Frillish and Xatu as they could finally breathe. Darkrai could see that she was suffering after the gravity spell.
Her wings were broken and injured. Most of her bones had been damaged and she found it difficult to move. What's worse is that her hooves had taken the most damage out of any other body part. She couldn't move her limbs or anything really as she twitched.
"I...I can't move...." Luna whimpered. "It hurts..."
"It's alright. We'll get you home immediately." Darkrai turned around as he used Ice Beam to block off the gateway. However, immediately, when he made the ice wall, it had been shattered by a blast of magic. "What?!"
The ice wall being shattered revealed Empress Twilight, who had passed through the gateway. It did not take her that long to get here. The two ice walls she had shattered weren't that difficult to break considering her magic.
"I'm not done with you yet." She said.
"F-Frill?!"
"Xatu?!"
"No intruders shall leave my ship. At all. Fairly clever of you to use that Water move and Electric move while inside of my ship. That's a genius tactic that I've only seen happen on the outside."
"U-Ugh..." Luna winced.
"But, it's not enough." Empress Twilight, once again, used her gravity spell. But this time, she used it on Darkrai since he was the biggest threat here.
"Agh!" Darkrai was forced onto the floor as he was being held down by 30x gravity.
"You put up a good fight, Darkrai. Luna. And those two as well." Empress Twilight approached them. "I'd say you've done better than most Luna's I've encountered.
"C-Curse you...!" Luna growled as she was trying her very best to move.
"I'll enjoy taking your magic..." With a cocky and maniacal smile, Empress Twilight cast a sleep spell on Luna and her Pokemon, putting them all to sleep with ease.
Darkrai managed to keep his eyes open for a while as he was slowly falling asleep last. He knew that at this point, things looked bleak. But he had one way of guaranteeing hope. With the last of his conscious, Darkrai manipulated the shadows as he used them to grab Musharna's Poke Ball. He was aiming to send it out of the basement and to safety.
However, Empress Twilight quickly caught onto this as she used a light spell to blow away the shadows, negating Darkrai's control over the darkness.
And with that, Darkrai fell asleep last as he and his friends had been defeated by Empress Twilight Sparkle.
"Ugh. Glad that didn't evolve into even more frustration." Empress Twilight sighed as she shook some of the leftover water from Whirlpool off her.
Through the door of the basement, Skyblue Shine had entered as she was wondering what all that noise was. When passing through the gateway, she noticed that Empress Twilight was here, along with Luna, Darkrai, Xatu and Frillish as well as Musharna's Poke Ball.
"E-Empress Twilight!" Skyblue Shine quickly bowed. "I didn't expect you to show up here so early!"
"Nevermind that." She replied to the unicorn. "Skyblue Shine. I hope you can explain why they were able to find this gateway all the way down here."
"Ah!" She gasped. "Apologies! It seems that during my night-time escapade at Canterlot with the rest of the Umbrage Thieves, Darkrai had discovered us. And I expected them to pursue me by searching for my home in Vanhoover."
"Mhm." Empress Twilight nodded. "I don't need to hear anything else to know how this all occurred. Perhaps, we may need to change the location of this gateway."
"Change it, Empress?"
"With Luna missing, Celestia will obviously start searching for her little sister. And there will be no other place for them to arrive at than this. We will find a new area to place the gateway for little interruptions."
"I understand, Empress."
"Good. Now carry on with your mission. And gather as many Pokemon as you can. I'll be busy with-" Before the Empress could finish her sentence as she picked up Luna and the others with her magic, Darkrai was waking up once more.
"Urgh...!" Darkrai's eyes widened as Skyblue Shine stepped back in fear.
"You again...You sure are a stubborn one aren't you?"
"I...refuse to let you win!" Darkrai, once again, let out his dark aura as it blew Skyblue Shine back and only slightly moved Empress Twilight.
"Hmph. Ghetsis was right about Mythical Pokemon being major threats..." Empress Twilight scoffed.
Darkrai stood before Empress Twilight with his aura rising. His body was still in pain after the gravity that had been forced onto him. But he was tough enough to power through the pain.
"Put them down," Darkrai ordered.
"I think not." Empress Twilight was ready to use her gravity to force Darkrai to the floor, but the Pitch Black Pokemon quickly manipulated the shadows, causing them to smack the Alicorn Empress in the face.
"Kh!" Empress Twilight winced as she and Skyblue Shine were being carried by the shadows because of Darkrai's shadow manipulation. "Crafty, are you?"
Darkrai then put his hands together, creating a Dark Void to put Empress Twilight in a deep sleep while using the shadows to hold them in place. With all his might, Darkrai fired the Dark Void forward, but the Empress easily diminished it by putting up a protective barrier.
"You interest me, Darkrai. You might be the second Pokemon that I'll end up using next to the one Ghetsis lent me. You show much promise."
"I belong to Luna, not you!" Darkrai fired a Thunderbolt towards his opponent.
Empress Twilight yawned as she used her magic to create a small pulse that was potent enough to blow away the Thunderbolt and shadows that were holding her.
"Alright. I'll entertain you a small bit." The Empress decided to toy around with Darkrai for a while before returning to her universe.
And with that, the two of them started a short scuffle, with Darkrai firing another Thunderbolt towards her. Empress Twilight quickly flew into the air as she was fast enough to avoid the bolt of lightning.
Darkrai looked up, firing yet another Thunderbolt as he tried to hit her. But yet again, she evaded it, as the Thunderbolt broke through the ceiling, leaving a large hole in the roof.
Darkrai then switched up as he used Dark Pulse, his most powerful move by far. He sent a blast of darkness that began following the Alicorn Empress as the ceiling of the basement was being demolished. Skyblue Shine quickly ran out of her basement as she knew that it was being destroyed at this point.
Empress Twilight was humming as she was easily evading Darkrai's attacks without barely trying at all. As she flew around, dodging Dark Pulse, the basement walls had been obliterated along with the rest of the ceiling.
Darkrai could see that he was getting nowhere with this, so he decided to switch it up by holding a Dark Void in one hand as he flew over towards Empress Twilight.
The Empress narrowed her eyes, as she used her magic to hold Darkrai in place, preventing him from getting closer. But Darkrai wasn't that easy to stop. He used the Dark Void in his claw, sending it forward as a projectile.
But, the Empress swayed her head, avoiding it as it passed through the remaining walls of the basement. Darkrai was then sent flying back by a telekinetic push from Empress Twilight's magic as he crashed into the wall.
Darkrai wasn't performing as well as he usually does thanks to the effects of the gravity spell from earlier. He wishes he was at his absolute best right about now.
But that wasn't happening as Empress Twilight then fired a large blast of magic that engulfed the Pitch Black Pokemon. The blast destroyed the entire basement with ease as Skyblue Shine moved out of the way.
The blast of magic ended up exploding after engulfing Darkrai for a certain amount of time. The explosion of this blast was so powerful that not only did it obliterate the entire basement, but it even shook the entire mansion itself, startling Premium Polish who was up in her room. Skyblue Shine used a barrier of magic to protect herself. Her barrier almost cracked from the explosion, though.
The aftermath of the explosion was devastating. But what was even more devastating was Darkrai's condition. He had visible injuries on himself after the magic blast with smoke coming out of his body.
The Pitch Black Pokemon was breathing in and out as he was surprisingly still standing instead of fainting or being knocked out. "Is that all you've got?"
"You're still standing!?" Even Empress Twilight was shocked by that.
"I won't let you take them!" Darkrai winced as he felt wobbly.
"You've got a ton of bravado and resilience. But obviously, that's your downfall. Accept defeat, and it'll be less painful for you. But, I would say you're actually incredibly lucky. Despite all the alicorn magic I've stolen, I have to fully master them all. Which is why when I invade your world, I would've mastered each of them in just 2 months."
"Gh!" Darkrai held his arm as he knew this was practically one-sided at this point. Even if he had a powerful drive to win, he was smart enough to know when he was on the verge of defeat.
He couldn't defeat her. Not with how he was currently. So, Darkrai figured that there was only one thing left to do. He was going to give himself up for Luna's safety. But he wasn't going to tell Empress Twilight.
Instead, Darkrai, with the last of his strength, manipulated the shadows once more as black claws came flying out of the floor while charged towards Empress Twilight as well.
"Approaching me? How foolish!" Empress Twilight was about to shine her light once more to obliterate the shadows.
Darkrai knew that he couldn't let Empress Twilight gain ahold of Luna. His friends came first before anything else as Darkrai unleashed the full force of his dark aura by letting out a powerful flash of darkness that was enough to go against Empress Twilight's light.
Both of their flashes collided as they were each struggling for dominance. But, Empress Twilight's flash seemed to be greater overall as it was pushing Darkrai back.
Musharna knew that there was something due to all the commotion as she came out of her Poke Ball by herself. She witnessed the scene right before her very eyes. From Luna, Frillish and Xatu on the floor to Darkrai facing off against Empress Twilight, this was a sight that the Drowsing Pokemon didn't want to see as she was tearing up.
"Musha...Musharna...!" Because of this, Musharna could not allow anything horrible to happen further to her teammates as she emitted a psychic field around her body. Both Darkrai and Empress Twilight turned their heads towards the Drowsing Pokemon.
"Musharna?!" Darkrai gasped.
"Tch. What now?" Empress Twilight scoffed as she was still overpowering Darkrai's flash without even properly focusing.
"Musha!" WIth a flash greater than both Darkrai and Empress Twilight's flash combined, a bright pink light covered the entire basement in one fell swoop.
The last thing Darkrai, Empress Twilight and Skyblue Shine all witnessed was this pink light as they had been consumed by it as well. Along with the entire mansion.
The citizens of Vanhoover witnessed this spectacle occur in the far distance as they were wondering why there was a pink light out in the open all of a sudden. Premium Polish had also been caught up in this as well.
The light faded away as the aftermath wasn't anything destructive. In fact, nothing had been destroyed at all. The entire mansion was still here and Skyblue Shine and Empress Twilight were still in one piece as they opened their eyes. But they quickly found out that something was off.
Luna, Darkrai, Xatu, Musharna and Frillish had all vanished. They were gone without a trace whatsoever.
"T-They're gone!" Skyblue Shine gasped.
"Hmph...Most likely Teleport. Well played, Musharna." Empress Twilight nodded.
"Empress! I shall pursue them and-"
"No." She stopped Skyblue Shine from taking action. "You shall not pursue them, Skyblue Shine."
"Oh. U-Understood." Skyblue Shine stepped back.
"Besides...my 2-month plan is still underway. But this brief experience has given me a lot to work with. I knew Pokemon were powerful but this could prove to be troublesome."
"Shall I continue stealing Pokemon for you, then?"
"Go on. I need to continue my research about Pokemon at once. These creatures are a far greater threat than I expected. Bring as many as you can, understood?"
"Understood. Empress."
A fierce encounter that ended in the safety of Luna and the others had finished. For now. Empress Twilight Sparkle had already made a large impression as she had almost captured Luna and her Pokemon. Luckily, Musharna using Teleport was an amazing saving grace at the end of the day.
However, it was clear that this was far from the end. Empress Twilight was still planning to invade in just 2 months. However, knowing that Pokemon have a high potential of defeating her with how much potential they wield, the Alicorn Empress's plans will be going through a bit of an overhaul while the Umbrage Thieves continue to bring Pokemon for her plans as the journey continues.
A wonderful ferry that sails in the Unova Region, usually from Castelia City's Cruise Dock every day, but this time it's in Nimbasa City. The ship set sails in the evening which starts when the day begins visually fading into night and ends when daylight is completely gone.
But, over the years, the ship has been getting upgrades that really benefit it in many ways. It has evolved so much to a point where it couldn't be considered a ferry. Now, it was a full-on cruise ship.
Today, Ash and the others were going on a premium cruise on the Royal Unova due to the ticket that was won when battling Kay and Ali back at Big Stadium. Obviously, only Ash could enter the premium cruise but he was allowed to bring some guests along. Aka his friends. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, who had just got here after exploring the route near Nimbsa City, were invited to join the cruise via Ash's will.
And the captain of this wonderful ferry was none other than one of the Elite 4 members and the esteemed Dragon-Type Trainer, Drake.
Currently, it was close to evening, so Ash and everyone had already arrived at the Nimbasa City Cruise Dock. Just in time for them to enter the Royal Unova.
"Alright, we're here," Ash said, looking at his premium ticket.
"A premium cruise...!" Rarity let out a long gasp. "Especially in the Pokemon World...!"
"Lucky doesn't begin to describe it...!" Rarity squeed. "Well done on winning that battle for the ticket, Ash!"
"Uh...I helped in that battle too ya know." Rainbow Dash chimed in.
"What's on a premium cruise?" Apple Bloom asked.
"No idea. But we're gonna find out very soon. Hope it's as good as they say." Applejack replied.
"Let's not waste any time! I can't wait to see what'll happen!" Ash ran up the stairs of the ship as his friends followed by either walking or flying.
"Pikachu!"
"A premium cruise sounds..." Twilight was about to finish her sentence until Rarity finished it for her.
"Romantic? I know you'd love to take the chance to spend some quality time with Ash. Especially in this scenario."
"Ah!" Twilight squealed. "I-I wasn't gonna say that! It was totally going to be something different!"
"No need to worry. We'll make sure it's just you and him on whatever room you two end up in."
"Mrrgh..." Twilight covered her eyes with her saddle-bag as they had all entered the ship.
Inside the Royal Unova. 18:00
Despite this being a premium cruise, normal passengers were on the ship for a regular cruise. They would stay in the normal decks while Ash gets the premium deck all to himself.
Waiting inside of the ship to greet the premium ticket winner was Drake. Or Captain Drake as he'll be known as during this cruise. Drake saw a very familiar face walking into this suite in the form of Ash Ketchum and his partner Pikachu.
"Ash. Ah, it's good to see you again."
"Drake!" Ash came to a screeching halt. "Great to see you too!"
"Pikachu!"
"Here for the normal cruise, I assume?"
"Nah. Check this out." Ash held the premium ticket in his hand. "I won the premium ticket! So I'm here for the premium cruise!"
"Ah, congratulations. You have a lot to look forward too on this 5-day cruise."
"It's for 5 days?" Fluttershy said as her head poked out. "That will take up most of the second week of the Pokemon Festival."
"If you're hesitant to spend that much time on the ship, then you are free to leave." Drake offered.
"Oh, no. It's fine." Fluttershy shook her head. "I actually don't want to miss out on something this big."
"So, are we gonna just sail around Nimbasa City for like 5 days?" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.
"We'll be sailing across the seas of Unova and more. Travelling from city to city. And after that 5th day, when you've all finished your cruise, I'll be setting off on my own for a special Pokemon. So enjoy this while it lasts."
"Special Pokemon?" Ash was curious. "Which Pokemon?"
"Pika?"
"You see, just recently, there have been sightings of a Haxorus with a different colour. One that I aim to catch myself."
"Oh! A Shiny Haxorus?!" Spike shot up.
"Not at all." Drake shook his head. "I've seen a shiny Haxorus before. But this Haxorus is different. More special and rare than any other Haxorus so far."
"That sounds so cool!" Ash gawked. "Where is it?!"
"All the way over at Rainbow Valley," Drake answered. "Just close to Route 4."
"Rainbow Valley. That's where all the Cottonee are." Ash recalled his time at the Rainbow Valley. "I really wanna check this Special Haxorus for myself!"
"Pika!"
"You wish to stay a bit longer then?"
"Sure thing! If it means seeing that Haxorus, ya know." Ash nodded.
"Your thirst for adventure is undeniable. You're welcome to come along with me to Rainbow Valley. And I'll catch that Haxorus without a doubt."
"Oh...a Special Haxorus..." Spike looked up, imagining what this Special Haxorus might look like.
"Enjoy yourself. We'll start sailing in just 3 minutes. Your Premium Room is just up ahead." Drake walked off, heading back to the control room to get this cruise started.
"Alright Thanks, Drake. I wonder if they've got something tasty in that premium room." Ash rubbed his hands together.
"Oh, by the way, Ash." Twilight walked up to Ash. "I was wondering if I could come with you to the premium room. If you want, that is?"
"Oh sure. I wanna check it out with you guys as well. Sounds good to me!"
"Actually, Ash, darling. We'll stay here in the normal deck instead." Rarity said.
"What?! But what about all the tasty stuff that's in-" Pinkie was about to finish her sentence until Rarity shoved her hoof in her mouth to keep Pinkie quiet.
"You three go on ahead and enjoy yourself. 5 days after all. And technically 6." Rarity squeed. Pinkie then noticed why Rarity stopped her from finishing her full sentence as she nodded in understanding. "But if you feel the need to spend time with all of us, we'll be waiting here."
"Do you always have to run?" Twilight sighed as she flew after him. "I'll catch up with you all later." She waved goodbye to her friends.
Now it was just the rest of Twilight's friends in the normal deck. But the normal deck had a lot to offer as well so they weren't missing out. The Royal Unova was the best place to be if they wanted some rest.
Before the ship was about to set off, on the outside, Team Rocket were currently bolting towards the Royal Unova, while disguised as tourists this time, as Jessie yearned to go on a cruise ship.
"I can't miss out on this!" Jessie screeched. "No matter what!"
"S-Slow down!" James breathed in and out. "She's lucky to have such long legs...!"
"You two are lucky to even have long legs!" said Meowth with his short legs.
"W-Wobbu...Wobbuffet...!" And poor Wobbuffet was lagging behind.
"Almost there! Just need that extra boost!" Jessie was booking it as she was going as fast as she could. Time was running short as the Royal Unova was about to leave. The stairs were being pulled back into the ship. Jessie found her potential boost in the form of a trainer's Tangela. "Aha!"
Spotting the Tangela, Jessie grabbed James, Meowth and Wobbuffet at the same time as she used her unnaturally superhuman strength to pick them all up.
"A-Ah!" James, Meowth and Wobbuffet gasped. "Jess, wait!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Tange?" Tangela looked over to see Jessie and Team Rocket approaching at lightning speeds. "Gela?!"
"That cruise...is mine!" Jessie, with all her might, jumped onto the Vine Pokemon's head, using Tangela as a pedestal and an extra boost.
"Tangela!" Tangela's head was being squished as Jessie used that squish as a means of getting some height. Jessie then jumped off of Tangela's head, causing the Vine Pokemon's head to wobble around as Team Rocket had gotten a great boost in height.
James, Meowth and Wobbuffet were screaming through the air while Jessie had the widest grin on her face. Tangela and its trainer looked up, witnessing Team Rocket in the air as they themselves were wondering if they would make the jump before the stairs vanish.
And to their surprise, they did make the jump as Jessie landed safely on the stairs while still holding onto her friends. She didn't even feel the recoil of her legs landing from that height.
"Made it!" She laughed as she quickly bolted inside of the ship, succeeding in her mission to enter the cruise.
"Hm. Impressive." The trainer said.
"Tangela."
The Royal Unova was finally about to set sail. All passengers were ready to get this started. Since the ship was apart of the Pokemon Festival, there's a lot to look forward to. And there's even a little something for everyone. From kids to adults. The Royal Unova has changed over the years and has gotten major upgraded to really give it its own flair and pizazz.
Ash and Twilight entered the premium cabin room as they were gifted with the sight of an entire luxury living room fit for royalty. It matched your traditional cruise ship room but with major advantages and perks over the normal rooms. It was larger than the other cabins and was big enough to throw a party in here.
Huge picture windows plastered everywhere and a gigantic balcony with a personal jacuzzi, all located on the top floor, which was also where the premium cabin was located. Anyone could get an amazing view because of this height advantage.
But perhaps the best part of this was that there was a special courtyard on the outside of the premium cabin. For more relaxation with an even larger swimming pool, daybeds, loungers and a glass dome overhead that can be slid closed if it was raining during the cruise. And of course, there was a TV and computer for the Pokemon Trainer.
None of this would be possible if the Royal Unova was never upgraded. But the upgrade really helped to make this ship stand out from other regional ships.
Because of its premium status, it is never overcrowded. So Ash and Twilight have all the freedom in this place right now. That is until Ash decides to invite his friends.
"Oh. Nice!" Ash nodded as he walked inside, immediately sitting on the couch.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, also laying his back on the couch.
"Premium is right." Twilight gawked. "This is amazing! The Pokemon World really is on a league of its own."
"Espeon."
"All this for 5 days? Sweet. Come out all of you." Ash sent out the rest of his Pokemon to enjoy this cruise.
"You all have to see this for yourself." Twilight did the same with the rest of her Pokemon as she sent them out.
"Okay. We've got this cabin all to ourselves right now. I can just rest up now without no need to worry." Ash put his arms behind his head.
"Yeah. The double battle really took some energy out of me. Plus this couch is super comfortable. What are you gonna do, Twilight?"
"Well, I didn't really plan ahead for a cruise. Especially on a premium one. I'm not sure what I want to do now? What haven't we done during the Pokemon Festival?"
"There's a bunch." Ash sat up. "We've still got some days left until it's all over and there's still a whole lot of stuff we haven't done yet. The Royal Unova's probably got some amazing stuff other than this premium room too!"
"Yeah. You're correct on that, Ash." Twilight nodded. "I think that's another reason why I'm so interested in your world. The possibilities are just endless."
"They sure are. Great you've got a lab to learn about it a lot more too." Ash rubbed Pikachu's belly.
"Pika..."
"Mhm. But there's probably a lot more I've yet to discover. Pokemon are unpredictable after all. But I guess that's not a problem for you since you've been involved with Pokemon the most."
"Oh yeah. But my journey's just beginning, Twilight. There's still a lot more I've yet to really discover. And I guess I can thank Alola for that. It's just like what Mewtwo said." Ash began remembering Mewtwo's words to him and his friends.
"The world is vast. There exist many Pokemon you cannot even begin to imagine. Pokemon that far transcend your expectations and reality.
"Mewtwo, Alola and even our worlds crossing over helped me see that my journey's still not at an end. The road to a Pokemon Master's a long one. But it's one I'm super pumped and ready to reach. No matter how long it takes."
"Think you're gonna at least grow some more hair in the future?" Twilight giggled.
"Man, I wish! It'd be so cool if I had a beard!" Ash crossed his arms as he looked up at the ceiling. "But at least I'm getting taller! What about you, Twilight?"
"I wouldn't mind being tall. I mean, now that I'm an alicorn, I'm sure to grow some height without a doubt."
"As tall as Princess Celestia?"
"I wouldn't go that far, Ash. Although..." Twilight let out a grin with a cocky look on her face.
"It'd be pretty neat, right?" Ash slid over, also having a grin on his face.
"Ah! it'd be too convenient! What if my horn grows too long as well? I might not be able to fit in my lab or castle anymore!"
"Then all you gotta do is just bend, slide or use a spell to fix that!" Ash raised a finger. "Easy."
"It's not that easy, Ash!" Twilight nudged Ash which caused him to laugh. The two of them had their banter, exchanging discussions over the smallest things. And yet, they were entertained either way.
It's the small things that really make them bond, even if it's insignificant and barely lasts long. Their Pokemon are affected by this as well. They get on with their own chitchat that can be considered small as well.
Normal deck.
The normal deck, while not as fancy as the premium cabin was still enjoyable in its own right as seen by the many passengers who were all deciding on what to do on the ship.
The Royal Unova had an entire sports deck. For those who tend to be competitive or just enjoy some thrill. There was a zipline, flow riders, a large water slide known as the Gyarados stream which is also a great travel alternative for those who don't want to use the elevator, a tennis court like in little Stadium, a dodgeball court and of course, the most popular sport, Pokemon Battling.
"Dodgeball? I kinda want to try that again, it's pretty addicting." Rainbow Dash said while looking down at the sports deck.
"Good thing I'm small so I'm not a big target. But those things hurt at full-speed..." Spike laughed nervously.
This was Rainbow Dash and to an extent, Spike's forte and preference. But there were many options for everyone else. There was, of course, a banquet deck that had foods of all sorts. From fruits, grains, meat, vegetables and pastry. There was something for everyone and Pinkie Pie was one of those as she was interested in the pastry part. And the food here wasn't just the traditional looking food. All of the food options here had their own distinct look. Mostly Pokemon-themed.
"Hehe..." Pinkie's tongue was sticking out as Applejack closed her mouth. "The Pokemon World's something else, huh?"
"Sure is. Kinda..." Applejack's stomach growled. "Kinda getting to me too."
There was something for Fluttershy, and of course, it involved Pokemon. Similar to the Relief Zone, there was a small park where a ton of Pokemon were all gathered here, having the time of their life. A majority of them were actually Shiny Pokemon and regional Pokemon, which Fluttershy hadn't seen yet.
"Oh!" Fluttershy pressed her face on the glass, wanting to enter the park. But it was only open from 9:00 AM to 7:30 PM
Not just Fluttershy, but James was a fan of this as well as he also had his face pressed on the glass, admiring the Pokemon as he wished to enter too. Even though Twilight was with Ash, there was a library deck as well.
There was also a Vitality Deck, AKA, a spa for those who want absolute relief and comfort with their tension being wiped away as well as an extra salon. The three individuals who had entered here were Jessie, Rarity and Sweetie Belle, but Sweetie Belle got the children's spa treatment because of her age.
"Eek!" Rarity winced as her back was being massaged by a Machamp. "T-That hit the spot...but...can you be a bit gentle?"
"Champ?"
"What's wrong? Can't handle a Machamp massage?" Jessie taunted as she laughed. But the moment she did so, Machamp ended up giving her the same sensation Rarity was given. "Gyaha!"
"Lucky...that looks like it feels way better." Sweetie Belle pouted as a Tyrogue was giving her a small massage.
Overall, there was a lot that everyone on this ship could enjoy. And it was all free until the Pokemon Festival comes to a close. Granted, it was night so many of the options here were closed until the morning. But when the morning does arrive, there's a lot to look forward to as Drake was mostly set on getting himself that Special Haxorus as the ship was finally moving.
The Bridge. 20:10.
On the ship's main control room where Drake, the helmsman, the watchkeeper aided by an able seaman, the captain was staring in the vast ocean, seemingly anticipating something.
"These remaining days will be worth it for our passengers." Drake crossed his arms. "Especially when it shows itself."
"For what to show, captain?" The helmsman asked him.
"Why...The magic that lives in the seas of Unova. Or rather the rest of the Pokemon World."
"Magic? Where?" The helmsman looked outside.
"You're not seeing it because we haven't reached it yet. You see, the other world may have been affected by ours the most with the large and vast number of Pokemon now inhabiting it. But we've gotten ourselves a fair trade in all of this world crossing debacle."
"A fair trade? What do you mean captain?"
"Magic from Equestria has been passed over to this world. The seas are filled with Equestrian Magic, mainly the seas of Unova and Hoenn. While the other world was given a popularity increase in Pokemon, we've been given Equestrian Magic."
"And you can sense it, captain?"
"Of course, I can. We Dragon Trainers can sense magic, after all. And the seas we're sailing in are brimming with Equestrian Magic. Once we reach a certain point, it'll show itself and put on an amazing show for the passengers. What all the Equestrian magic will show them, I have no idea. But that's what makes it exciting."
"Oh, I see." The helmsman nodded. "Wait. Is this the reason for this Special Haxorus and why we're searching for it?"
"You catch on quick. That Haxorus is more than just a different colour as you'll soon find out. Keep heading North. We'll be coming across a heavy magic area soon. In fact, I think that Special Haxorus is closer than we thought..."
Drake already knew what was coming. What he said was true. Equestrian Magic had ended up in the Pokemon World. A fair trade between both worlds ever since the worlds crossed.
Twilight's world receives Pokemon while Ash's world receives Equestrian Magic. What the magic looks like in the Pokemon World and how it acts is unknown, which is exactly why Drake is eager to see and show it off to the passengers as well. The Royal Unova Cruise was just beginning as an exciting new adventure was being experienced as the journey continues.
The ship had left Nimbasa City and was now sailing North during the night. Very soon, the ship will reach an area where high amounts of Equestrian Magic is currently flowing. And Drake, the captain in charge of this ship, knows that they'll arrive there and there'll be a spectacle for the passengers. Whatever that spectacle might look like.
Everyone was having a blast. Pinkie Pie had gathered all the pastry she could find as she was ready to chow down on it all until she knocks herself out with a full stomach.
"Where to begin...!" Pinkie rubbed her hooves together as she was panting like a dog. "You want some, Fluttershy?"
"Oh no. I'm just waiting for the small Pokemon Relief Zone to be open. I can't wait to go in there with all those Shiny and Regional Pokemon! This person next to me is just as excited." Fluttershy was referring to James.
"Hm?" James shot up as he turned to Fluttershy. "Oh yes, I am!" He nodded. "More than excited! I spotted new Regional Variants that I've never seen before. I wonder how they feel?"
"I know right?!" Fluttershy shot up! "That Meowth looked like it had such soft fur! Like a beard of some sorts. Wonder which region it came from."
"Ain't as soft as mine." Meowth scoffed.
"Mmm!" Pinkie devoured some food. "You think there's gonna be some Regional Variants for Equestria?"
"Regional Variants for Equestria?" Fluttershy gasped when hearing that. "That'd be amazing! But, I'm not sure that's possible."
"Nothing is impossible when it comes to Pokemon, my little pony!" James raised his finger. "Everyone knows that!"
"And if it ain't possible yet then someone's gotta make it possible." Meowth wagged his paw.
"Oh. I suppose you're right!" Fluttershy nodded. "No shame in getting my hopes up then. Say. You've probably seen a lot of Regional Pokemon yourself. Can you tell me about the ones you know?"
"I sure can. My time in Alola can help with that." James kneeled as he pointed over at the Pokemon over at the small park, ready to tell Fluttershy amazing facts about the Alola Pokemon.
Over at the premium cabin, Ash and his Pokemon had fallen asleep after tiring themselves out. The same goes for Twilight's Pokemon, although, she and Absol were still awake.
Twilight wasn't fully asleep yet. She still had a bit of energy left in her. She was busy reading more about the Pokemon World while also looking outside the window. Hearing the seas move during the night was peaceful to the ears and gives a great sensation to the body.
That wasn't the only noise Twilight was hearing. Outside, the festival was continuing throughout the rest of the ship with music playing and passengers having a good time. Twilight was tempted to join but spending time with Ash, even if he was asleep, was a bit more worth it.
"I'm gonna be the greatest master of them all..." Ash spoke in his sleep as he raised his arm, pretending to hold and throw a Poke Ball.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu was in sync with Ash's dream as he pretended to use Iron Tail in his sleep.
Twilight used her magic to lift both Ash and Pikachu from the couch, slowly carrying them over towards the bed with care. She placed the duo on the bed while also using her magic to grab the bedsheets. With precision, Twilight put the sheets over Ash and Pikachu.
She watched them both sleep in perfect unity, knowing they had a brother-like bond, even if they weren't related. Twilight looked over at her Pokemon as well, knowing that she had a powerful bond with them, but maybe not on the same level as Ash and Pikachu. Absol was a good example of that. Even after becoming Twilight's Pokemon, the Disaster Pokemon still has a bit of work for bonding since he's been living in the mountains by himself for so long.
"You're gonna keep staying up, Absol?" Twilight went up to the Dark-Type.
"Sol." He nodded. Absol would keep watch because of his sensitive horn. If any threats come along, he'll be ready to take action as soon as possible.
"Alright. I'm counting on you to keep watch." Twilight patted Absol on the back.
"Absol." Absol nudged Twilight as he nodded.
"Alright. Time for some shut-eye." Twilight went over to the windows of the cabin, using her magic to close them as the breeze stopped coming through. She wanted to close the curtains, but the moonlight was too beautiful to miss out on. So she left it on.
Feeling exhausted, Twilight was ready to clock out and head to bed while Absol takes everything from here. But, before she went to bed, something else would end up grabbing her attention.
As Twilight approached the couch, suddenly, a strange and enigmatic titillation ran through her body as she froze in place from this sensation. Her eyes widened, her wings had spread out and her horn was glowing automatically.
Twilight didn't forcefully cause her horn to light up. It was almost as if something was forcing her to do so. Twilight's wings were flapping aggressively from the tingling sensation as she couldn't help but jitter.
"Esp?!" Eve was also going through the same sensation as she had woken up from her sleep. The gem on her forehead was flashing uncontrollably all of a sudden.
"Sol?" Absol was unaffected as well as the rest of Twilight's Pokemon, including Ash and his own Pokemon.
"Woooh! W-What's happening?!" Twilight shuddered as sparks of magic were flying out of her horn. This sensation wasn't painful, it was just bizarre and frankly, fairly harmless. But Twilight wasn't sure why she was feeling this way and what was causing it.
But one person, in particular, knew the reason for this.
And that was Captain Drake, of course, who let out a confident grin that graced his old face. There was a reason why Twilight and her Pokemon's bodies were acting strange and only Drake knew why. Because he was so in touch with Dragon-Type Pokemon, he could sense magic from all around him.
But he wasn't the only one who was in touch with dragons. Spike as well, who was in the Sports Deck, drinking some berry juice, felt that similar sensation as he tingled.
"Eeugh!" Spike jittered as he almost spilt his juice. "Hoo! Hoo!"
"You okay there, Spike?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Did something get you?" said Scootaloo.
"I-I'm fine. I feel a bit woozy though..." Spike held his head. He wasn't sure why he was getting this tingling sensation. He thought that it was only a one-time thing but quickly came to find out that it wasn't. Because as soon as he held his head, he started breathing out green fire. "Blah!"
He did this constantly as his berry juice had been heated up by his own flames. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo witnessed Spike breathe out fire uncontrollably as he kept breathing it ever 5 seconds. He couldn't finish his berry juice because of this.
Suddenly, Rainbow Dash and Braviary both were going through a sensation too as Braviary came out of his Poke Ball, waking up from his sleep.
"B-Braviary!" Braviary's feathers were being rustled as he had no idea what was going on. He kept shaking his body around with some of his feathers flying off him.
"Guhh!" Rainbow Dash winced as she and Braviary were both flapping their wings in unison. Not only that, but a rainbow aura was coming out of both her and Braviary. "I feel totally weird!"
"Uhh...what's going?" Scootaloo looked around, confused. She moved back as she wasn't sure why this was only happening to them and not her.
But it wasn't just Twilight, Eve Rainbow Dash, Braviary and Spike. Two more individuals were feeling this sensation. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were the extra two.
Because of their Fairy Physiology that they now had, they were also undergoing strange actions themselves. Fluttershy's wings were flapping furiously while Pinkie Pie was bouncing up and down, similar to how she reacts with her Pinkie sense.
Alongside that, Both Chikorita and Audino were reacting differently, much like their trainer. Chikorita's leaf was spinning like a hurricane while Audino's feelers were shuddering.
"D-Dino...!"
"Chiko...Chiko!"
"Oh...my!" Fluttershy's eyes widened.]
"Are you alright?!" James gasped.
"This is pretty f-f-f-fun!" Pinkie Pie was moving all over the deck as passengers watched in confusion.
Noticeably, they were the only ones being affected by this strange sensation. No one else was experiencing this. Not Applejack, the CMC or even Rarity, which made it all the more confusing.
And this sensation seemed to increase the further the ship was sailing. There was something closeby that was influencing them without warning. But it wasn't inherently harmful to them. It just made them feel off and funny.
Eventually, they each simmered down with their strange actions coming to an end. Spike stopped breathing fire constantly, Twilight's magic wasn't acting up on its own, Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing and so on. After their actions had stopped, each of them felt wobbly as their eyes and heads were spinning.
"Oh..." Twilight sat down on the couch with her hooves quivering. "What a rush..."
"Espeon..." Eve's eyes were moving about as she laid on her back.
"That feeling" Twilight breathed in and out. While she was unsure of why this suddenly happened, she had a fairly good theory for the cause. "It was a magical reaction."
"Esp?"
"I thought it was Pokemon magic but...it felt so much like Equestrian Magic instead. That's odd." Twilight was on a very good hunch with her theory.
"Espeon?"
"Sol?"
"Well, maybe it was just a coincidence." Twilight laughed nervously. "I mean, Everything about Pokemon is unpredictable. Even the magic itself even if it's so small compared to other forms of energy."
Espeon and Absol looked at each other, both showing unsure and nervous looks on their faces. Seeing their trainer suddenly spark magic out of nowhere while making wacky sounds was a bit of a red flag to them. But since Twilight had calmed down, there was seemingly no need to worry. But they were still put on high alert.
2 hours had passed and everything had calmed down once more. No one was bouncing around, emanating a rainbow aura or even breathing fire repeatedly. Then again, the entire Pokemon Festival, especially on a cruise ship, wasn't really calm in the first place.
Pinkie Pie had fallen asleep after eating a ton of pastry, lying on the stomach of Audino since she can be considered a very soft pillow. Rainbow Dash was resting in Braviary's feathers as she was only half-asleep. Not yet fully.
James and Fluttershy were bonding since they both shared a strong love for Pokemon, much like how fast Ash and Fluttershy bonded. James even went beyond Alolan Pokemon as he even taught Fluttershy new facts about familiar Pokemon that she had never learned before.
"You sure do know your Pokemon um..."
"Oh uh...my name is...J...Jonathan!" James made a fake name on the spot.
"Nice save," Meowth said.
"Jonathan. Are you a Pokemon Professor by any chance?"
"Me? No, no." James shook his head. "I could never be a Pokemon Professor. That'd be too much work. Even for me to handle. But I certainly have the smarts of one."
"And your friend here?" Fluttershy turned to Meowth.
"Count me out. I'd rather do the talking to the Pokemon than do all the studying." Meowth raised his paw.
"Chiko..." Chikorita yawned while resting on Fluttershy's back.
"Let's get you someplace comfortable." Fluttershy grabbed Chikorita. "Um...Where to rest you..."
"Rest on this." James patted the nearby couch, prompting Fluttershy to place the Leaf Pokemon on the couch. James helped out by using his jacket as a coat.
"Rita..." Chikorita became cosy on the couch with James's jacket.
"Thank you so much, Jonathan. I'd better get some rest as well." Fluttershy rubbed her eye.
"There's a good amount of sofas over at the library deck from what I've checked." James pointed his thumb towards the south.
"Alright. You'll show me what the Alolan Pokemon are capable of in the morning, right?"
"Certainly." James nodded in agreement, making a promise with Fluttershy.
"Great! I can't wait!" Fluttershy flew off with excitement, anticipating the morning.
"Smooth, James." Meowth patted his partner on the back. "That shy pony's not so bad, ya know."
"Not so bad at all. If Growlie likes her then she's good in my book."
"Wobbuffet!"
The Bridge. 3:00 AM.
On the bridge, Drake could tell that the mood was starting to turn. But for the better. He was waiting for the moment when the Watchkeeper would notice it.
And notice it he did. The ship's watchkeeper, aided by the able seaman, who was keeping watch aboard the Royal Unova, noticed something peculiar starting to reveal itself with his binoculars.
"Hm. That's curious..." The Watchkeeper spoke.
"What do you see?" The able seaman asked.
"They look like...wisps?" The Watchkeeper further enhanced his binoculars to see what on earth was in the distance. Once he did, he witnessed the unexpected.
There were millions upon millions of blue wisps floating out of the ocean and appearing in the far distance. These wisps that were emanating a blue light, lit up the ocean and even the night sky as the Watchkeeper gawked at the sight.
"Oh! Captain!" The Watchkeeper exclaimed. "Do you see this?!"
"I see it. We're entering Equestrian Magic Territory now." Drake smirked.
"W-What does that mean, captain?" The helmsman questioned.
"They're here to take us."
"T-Take us?"
All of a sudden, the millions of blue wisps started to move as they all faced the Royal Unova, locking onto the cruise ship, which made the helmsman, watchkeeper and able seaman back up as they were a bit intimidated.
The wisps then flew towards the Royal Unova, like millions of fireflies flying together in the night. That is essentially what it replicated. Drake was unbothered as he knew that this wouldn't be harmful whatsoever. He was just waiting for something like this to happen so that the passengers can have a wonderful view.
The blue wisps, once getting close to the Royal Unova from the front, suddenly split into three directions. One on the left, one on the right and one above the ship. The wisps also seemed to leave blue trails of light each time they moved. Whether large or small.
The wisps were all circling the ship, lighting it up as their light shined through the windows. The sounds the wisps made were unnatural and unidentifiable. It sounded a bit angelic to the ears. It even sounded like singing.
Naturally, everyone noticed this outside the glass windows or even just the open windows without curtains. Immediately, their eyes were glued. The angelic sounds were enough to wake up those that were asleep as the wisps were giving everyone a chance to witness this spectacle.
They were actually waking everyone up with their angelic sounds instead of the passengers waking up of their own will as the wisps continued to follow the ship while circling it.
Pinkie Pie's eyes opened up at lightning speeds as they immediately saw the wisps floating around the ship lighting it up. Spinda came out of her mane, also witnessing this light show.
"Ooh! What's this?!" Pinkie dashed over to the window.
"I have no idea. It's beautiful." Fluttershy gawked.
"Beautiful is right." James nodded along with Meowth.
"Audino...!" Audino was able to hear deeper into the wisps because of her amazing feelers. And what she heard was wonderful to the ears. She had a wide smile on her face because of this.
"If Audi's this happy, then these wisps must sound beautiful from within," Fluttershy said.
"But where did they come from?" James wondered.
"Who cares? They're so pretty!"
On the sports deck, Rainbow Dash, Spike and Scootaloo witnessed the wisps floating about, showing off their azure radiance. That and every other Pokemon Trainer who were battling on the sports deck, put their battle on pause, for now, to witness this sight.
"Awesome..." A starstruck Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah." Both Spike and Scootaloo agreed by nodding together.
Rarity, Jessie and Sweetie Belle all pressed their faces on the window glass, locking eyes on the wisps that surrounded the ship. Their eyes lit up from the wisps as they found them to be truly beautiful.
"Gorgeous!" Rarity and Jessie said together as they were taking each other's space up while Sweetie Belle stood on Jessie's head for a better view.
And of course, up at the premium cabin, Twilight witnessed this along with her Pokemon. Ash was slowly waking up as the blue wisps cast a beautiful light upon him.
"Ash! Wake up! You have to see this!" Twilight shook Ash, even though he was waking up either way.
"Mrrgh..." Ash grumbled as he sat up with Pikachu also waking up. "What's up?"
"Pikachu...Pika?"
Both Ash, Pikachu and his Pokemon had woken up, just on time to also spectate the event that was happening just outside of the Royal Unova. Noticeably, the wisps were closer to the premium cabin as some of them flew inside instead of staying outside.
"Woah!" Ash got up from the bed. "When did this happen?!"
"Just now! Look at all these wisps! They're so beautiful!"
"And they look kinda familiar..." Ash felt like he had seen these wisps before as he witnessed two wisps fly over him and Twilight respectively.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu raised his arm, trying to see if he could make contact with the wisps. But his hand went right through the wisps instead.
The cabin was lit up as well by the wisps as it was like a disco in here because of their presence. They even had a unique trait in which they made everyone's hair or fur shine. A shame that it doesn't affect those who don't have hair. Like Gengar and Dragonite.
The two wisps flew around Ash and Twilight for a bit as they seemed to be pulled towards the both of them specifically. They let out angelic voices while spinning around the human and the pony as they dropped tiny little blue stardust on them. After that, the wisps then flew back out, joining the other wisps.
Soon, the wisps had all flown away, heading back to where they first appeared to perform one final action before disappearing. Everyone looked outside the ship to see where the wisps were going.
The wisps all lined up in a perfectly straight line instead of spreading out in random different directions. Then, the wisps all shot out blue beams in unison as the beams all flew into the water.
Soon, the entire ocean was covered with these blue beams while still facing the Royal Unova. The passengers watched as the beams were pinning the ocean like chains.
After a few seconds, something unimaginable happened. The ocean was starting to rise. But not in the traditional sense like a tsunami. Instead, the ocean was rising and transforming at the same time.
The ocean had transformed into some sort of gate that stood in front of the Royal Unova. The beams had also lit up the ocean, giving it an azure glow as the ocean gate was filled with the beams, adding some colour to it.
This was only the start of something wonderful. And that gate was the entrance to the unimaginable and unexplainable as Drake smiled.
"W-What is that...?" The helmsman gawked.
"That is the Ocean Gate. It'll lead us to the heart of the Equestrian Filled Sea."
"Where is that, exactly?" The Watchkeeper asked.
"The Arcane Sea."
"Arcane Sea?" The helmsman and Watchkeeper each said.
"Full speed ahead!" Drake ordered. "We're passing through that gate."
"Aye, captain!"
The decision was made. They were going straight through the gate. What lies beyond that gate is something that Drake wanted everyone to see and experience for themselves on this cruise during the Pokemon Festival.
The ship had increased in speed as it was now travelling at a faster pace, locking onto the Ocean Gate. Ash and everyone witnessed the gate as they themselves were wondering what was beyond it with their eyes lighting up.
"We're heading straight for that gate-looking thing? Is it safe?" Apple Bloom asked.
"No clue." Applejack shook her head. "Drake's gotta know what he's doing if he's gonna send us through."
"Looks safe to me." Coco appeared with her head in-between Applejack and Apple Bloom.
Drake did know what he was doing. There was a reason why he was chosen to command the Royal Unova out of any other captain out there.
The ship had approached the Ocean Gate with everyone holding their anticipation in. They were wondering if they were going to go straight through it like ordinary water.
But instead, the Ocean Gate actually opened up like an actual gate. They were not going through it like normal water. There was something truly unique about this part of the ocean.
The ship had passed through the Ocean Gate without making any contact with it. Once the Royal Unova passed through, that's when things started to change.
As the gate behind them had closed, the millions of wisps from before had all flown back to the ship once more. But this time, they weren't surrounding them. Instead, the wisps all grew in size as they each let out bright flashing blue lights that were aimed directly at the Royal Unova.
Everyone closed their eyes as the blue lights ended up engulfing the entire ship, perfectly creating a sphere around it. But Drake didn't close his eyes at all because he knew what was coming.
"Pikachu...?" After the flash, the lights had vanished, prompting everyone to stop closing their eyes. With the wisps gone, they were given a spectacle, unlike anything they've ever seen before.
They were in space, but there was an entire ocean as well. Various streams of water flowing in its space, and dwelling within these waters are a large variety of Water-Type Pokemon. But these Water-Type Pokemon were all given blue auras, similar to the wisps.
The water itself was a perfect shade of blue, similar to the wisps as the stars in the background were blue as well with stardust flowing everywhere, giving the ocean some blue sparkles in the mix.
"What is this?!" Twilight gasped.
"Awesome!" Ash grinned. "It's a space ocean!"
"Pikachu!"
"Espeon!"
"Finally, we're here!" Drake said as he turned on the ship's announcement audio. "The Arcane Seas!"
"Arcane Seas?" Everyone on the ship said.
"What you're all looking at is the result of Equestrian Magic merging with Pokemon Magic. Two different forms of magic coming together to create one beautiful phenomenon." Drake explained. "Get ready. Everything here is unpredictable."
"Equestrian Magic and Pokemon Magic created this?!" Twilight's head looked around. "I didn't even know that was possible!"
"Unpredictable, huh? That sounds like a load of fun! Right buddy?!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
The Arcane Seas had been discovered by many at this point in time. What happens next is a mystery that the Royal Unova and everyone on board will get to experience themselves as the journey continues.
A sea in space. Perhaps not the actual space of the Pokemon World, but space nonetheless. A beautiful site with water flowing around the cosmos with Water-Type Pokemon surrounded in a blue wisp-like aura swimming about in it.
This sea was made possible by the merging of Pokemon Magic and Equestrian Magic. Everything here is unpredictable so there was a lot to expect in this sea as the Royal Unova was sailing on it while being airborne at the same time.
"Twilight! Ash!" Pinkie Pie ran into the premium cabin, startling her friends. "Are you seeing this?!"
"Yeah. We see it for sure!" Ash nodded. "Pretty awesome!"
"Pikachu!"
"Pinkie Pie!" Rarity grabbed Pinkie. "You can't just barge into a premium cabin without-" She then noticed that the premium cabin was the closest to the Arcane Sea along with the water as well. "Oh, this is nice!" Rarity herself entered the premium cabin.
"So this is all Equestrian and Pokemon magic as one?" Fluttershy walked in.
"I knew it!" Twilight exclaimed. "I thought that sensation from earlier felt familiar! And I guess Drake felt it too!"
"But did we even know that Equestrian Magic was coming here?" Rainbow Dash flew in.
"Maybe it passed through the gateways or something." Pinkie landed on the soft couch. "Oooh...soft..."
"This could've happened when the worlds first crossed over. It must've taken some time for the Equestrian Magic to actually come here and merge with the Pokemon world's magic." Twilight theorized.
"Neat!" Pinkie replied.
"Wonder if it feels different from normal water?" A curious Apple Bloom put her hoof, wanting to make contact with the water of the Arcane Sea.
"Apple Bloom wait!" Applejack gasped as she ran over, grabbing her little sister and dragging her back. "You can't go touching it willy-nilly! You heard what Captain Drake said! It's unpredictable!"
"Sorry..." Apple Bloom pouted.
"If it's unpredictable, let's test it out then. Lucario. Use a tiny little Aura Sphere." Ash said to his Lucario.
"Lu." Lucario nodded in understanding as he put his arm out, generating a tiny ball of Aura that was the size of a pebble. The Aura Pokemon then fired the tiny Aura Sphere as everyone watched, wondering what would happen upon contact.
When the Aura Sphere met with the waters of the Arcane Sea, it immediately caused a magical reaction. The water of the Arcane Sea ended up flashing twice before shooting billions of tiny aura spheres into the air.
These billions of tiny Aura Spheres ended up raining down from above, landing in the pool of the premium cabin. They didn't actually cause any damage despite how many of them there were as Ash and everyone witnessed the raining Aura Spheres.
"It multiplied them?!" Twilight immediately got out a notebook and quill, writing down the first result of interacting with the waters of the Arcane Sea. "Amazing! Somepony try something different!"
"Let's try...Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash sent out her Whirlipede.
"Whirlipede."
"Use Pin Missile on the water outside!"
"Whirl!" Out of Whirlipede's tendrils, multiple white arrows came flying out as they passed Ash and the others, entering the outside of the Royal Unova.
Each of the arrows entered the water of the Arcane Sea as they themselves were also undergoing a magical reaction to the water. In just 3 seconds, out of the water, a single gigantic arrow flew out as all of the Pin Missiles had merged to create one large Pin Missle.
"And it can also merge moves as well!" Twilight wrote down her second information as she looked up at the giant singular Pin Missile with eyes that were starstruck. But her expression quickly changed when she realized that the pin was about to fall on the ship. And from how large it was, it could actually deal some damage. "Uh oh."
"I got it! Iron Tail!" Ash commanded.
"Chu-Pika!" Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder, lighting his tail and hardening it as he swung it onto the large Pin. His Iron Tail ended up shattering the pin, saving the ship from taking any damage.
"Nice, buddy!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu landed safely in the pool.
"Okay. So they're both safe and dangerous. Unpredictable is right." Twilight said. "Does anypony feel like having a go with these waters?"
"I'm not sure if the result could good or bad for us, darling." Rarity replied. "How are we sure which outcome will occur if we interact with the Arcane Sea?"
"Bit too big of a risk." Applejack shook her head. "But it's kinda tempting..."
"Tempting is right! I kinda wanna have a go!" Ash exclaimed as Rainbow Dash flew beside him.
"Same here! I wonder if I'm gonna multiply or grow too?!" Rainbow Dash squeed.
"I want bigger hair!" Pinkie Pie bellowed.
"Pikachu-Pi!"
"Hold it you four!" Twilight held all four of them back from trying anything dangerous. "We know what it can do to Pokemon moves. Living creatures might be a different story!"
"Aww..." All four of them sighed.
"Pika..."
"But what would happen?" Sweetie Belle wondered. "And how'll we know if it'll be good or bad?"
"Hold on." Twilight began to think. "Those tiny Aura Spheres weren't dangerous...but the giant Pin Missile was. So maybe, there might be a 50/50 chance that it'll be good or bad."
"Really?" Applejack tilted her head.
"The first one was safe. The second one was dangerous. Then the third might be safe as well." Twilight theorized. "Hopefully. Let's try another test run. Eve. Use Dazzling Gleam."
"Es...peon!" Eve summoned a Rainbow-Sphere around her body with Fairy Magic. Out of the sphere, multiple rainbow rays came flying out at the same time, flying towards the Arcane Sea.
The Dazzling Gleam rays entered the waters of the Arcane Seas, vanishing, just like Aura Sphere and Pin Missile. However, unlike those two previous moves, nothing was happening so far.
There was an abrupt silence in the premium cabin as they were all wondering why there wasn't a magical reaction happening within the water. Eve and Twilight looked at each other, confused at the lack of action. All they could hear was the water flowing and the Royal Unova sailing.
"Maybe it's taking a-" Before Pinkie could finish her sentence, out of the water, multiple rays of fire burst out, letting out a roar that sounded akin to that of a dragon roaring as it startled everyone in the premium cabin. Pinkie Pie fell on her back after the sudden roar.
"Okay...M-Maybe it's not 50/50." Twilight stuttered. "Maybe it's just completely random..."
"Uh-huh." The others nodded.
"It changed the Dazzling Gleam into Fire...so cool..." An amazed Spike said.
"Alright. Maybe we shouldn't mess around with them anymore." Twilight was about to close the curtain.
"Oh come on, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash flew over. "This entire water is so cool! I wanna see what else happens with other moves!"
"I still want my big hair!" Pinkie Pie screeched.
"You still want to try? It's way too unpredictable! Who knows what'll happen next? Might be something major that really harms the entire ship!"
"Well, the Royal Unova's currently sailing on those same waters right now," Fluttershy said. "And it seems fine. But I guess you're right. It's too risky."
"We don't know the nature of these waters." Twilight shook her head. "Even though...I kinda wanna learn more about them." She bit her lip, shifting her eyes towards the Arcane Sea.
"Pretty tempting, isn't it?" Pinkie nudged her.
"I'll admit. It is tempting..." Twilight nodded with guilt. "Alright! We can try and see what else we can do with them. But if there's any danger, we immediately deal with it, okay?"
"No need to worry. We've got it." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pika-Pika!"
"What about the Pokemon riding on the water?" Scootaloo spoke. "Nothing weird's happening to them."
"But they're glowing, aren't they?" Apple Bloom pointed her hoof at the glowing Water-Type Pokemon. "So maybe there water's affecting them too."
"It has to," said Sweetie Belle. "Unless they were like that before."
"So all those Water-Type Pokemon...do they have Equestrian Magic now?" Spike asked.
"If that's true, then I gotta catch one to see for myself!" Rainbow Dash took out a Poke Ball, aiming it directly at a Tympole that was swimming along.
"Tympole. Tym."
"Go, Poke Ball!" Rainbow Dash used her wing to smack the Poke Ball as it raced towards the Tadpole Pokemon.
"Tym?" Tympole turned around, noticing that a Poke Ball was heading straight for it. "Tympole!" In response, Tympole opened its mouth up, presumably going for a Water-Type move like Bubble Beam or even Water Gun.
But instead, out of the Tadpole Pokemon's mouth, the move Flash Cannon came out as a silver Beam burst out of Tympole's mouth, obliterating the Poke Ball.
"Oh!" Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped as she saw the remnants of her Poke Ball fade away. "F-Flash Cannon?"
"I didn't know that Tympole could learn Flash Cannon..." Fluttershy gawked.
"It can't..." Ash shook his head. "Unless..."
"The water gives Pokemon moves that they can't use naturally!" Twilight easily solved the question with her fast-thinking mind as she wrote down new information about the water.
"Gengar!" Gengar was interested in the Arcane Ocean after seeing the current results of interacting with it. The Shadow Pokemon, out of pure curiosity, flew out of the cabin and towards the waters.
"Oh! Wait, Gengar!" Twilight gasped.
"Gen!" Gengar dived headfirst into the water, startling some of the Water-Type Pokemon as they swam away from the Ghost-Poison-Type.
Upon contact, an instant magical reaction happened to Gengar. Since Gengar wasn't a Water-Type like all the Pokemon swimming in this sea, everyone was expecting Gengar to have a different kind of aura around it.
But when the Shadow Pokemon emerged from the water, something about Gengar changed. Before, Gengar was just dark purple, bipedal Pokemon with a roundish body.
Now, Gengar was a bright yellow bipedal Pokemon with a body that was still roundish but flowing with electricity. Gengar's natural ghostly-appearance had shifted into one that matched a being of living electricity. In fact, Gengar's entire body was now electricity. Similar to the Storm Behemoth. Living Voltage.
"Gen? Gengar?" Gengar looked at its newly sparking body. "Gengar!"
"It changed Gengar's appearance..." Twilight dropped her notebook and quill, flabbergasted.
"I-I-Is Gengar now an Electric-Type?" Scootaloo stammered.
"Hold on!" Ash took out his Pokedex to check if Gengar had a new typing.
"Gengar. The Shadow Pokemon. A Ghost-Poison-Type."
"Oh, it's still the same!" Ash gasped.
"Gar! Gar!" Gengar was pretty impressed by its new look. The Shadow Pokemon didn't think it was half bad. To celebrate, Gengar decided to do its usual zigzagging around. But when it did so, Gengar was much faster than it was before.
One single zip and it was instantly inside of the cabin in one second as it had no control over its new speed. Gengar left a streak of lightning as the sheets of the bed were blown away by its speed.
"Gyah!" Rainbow Dash moved back as she was almost hit by Gengar's electric body.
"Gen?" Even Gengar was surprised by its own speed.
"Talk about speed!" Ash gawked. "Gengar you've got a big upgrade!"
"Pikachu!"
"Gengar!"
"Brav?" Braviary himself was super curious as he rotated his head to face the waters. He looked back at his trainer who nodded back at him, allowing the Valiant Pokemon to have a go. "Viary!"
Excited to see what would happen to him, Braviary flew out of the cabin, spreading his wings out as he closed his eyes, bracing for impact. The Normal-Flying-Type flew into the water as the magical reaction happened as seen by the flashing blue lights that occurred each time someone or something connected with it. And emerging out of the water was a completely different Braviary while remaining the same Braviary everyone knew.
Braviary suddenly had red draconic scales and multiple horns jutting from his head. Along with hypnotic eyes, notably large and vicious claws and exceptionally large wings. He was breathing out what seemed to be a smoke of wind that resembled clouds. Braviary had transformed into a dragon-like creature while still keeping a bit of his avian-like appearance.
Naturally, Rainbow Dash found this to be awesome, of course. Her partner had been transformed into a Dragon-like Pokemon while remaining a Normal-Flying-Type.
"Oh, Braviary look at you!" Rainbow Dash flew to her partner. "You look so cool! Like a dragon!"
"Braviary!"
"Nothing bad happened to them. Is it okay to jump in?" Pinkie grinned at Twilight.
"Well...it's still random but the effects seem to benefit those that enter the water so...Sure go ah-" The minute Twilight said that Pinkie took off like a rocket, dashing over to the Arcane Sea.
"Wheee!" With joy, Pinkie bellyflopped into the water. However, unlike Gengar and Braviary, Pinkie Pie has no method of flying. Which mean that she couldn't fly out of the Arcane Sea. However, even if she couldn't fly, she could swim. Pinkie Pie is a fairly good swimmer. Although, this was a space ocean instead of the traditional kind of ocean.
The magical reaction happened. The sea was suddenly emanating a pink light as something mystical was happening from within the waters as the Water-Types all turned their attention towards the pink light.
Submerging from the water was Pinkie Pie, who had not changed at all, much to everyone's surprise. She was the still same Pinkie Pie as they all knew. And Pinkie looked at herself, noticing zero change.
"Nothing?" Rainbow said. "Lame."
"I was certain something wonderful would've happened to her." A confused Rarity spoke.
"Maybe it doesn't affect ponies..." Twilight pondered. "At least nothing harmful happened. Sorry that you didn't get anything Pinkie."
"It's fine." Pinkie's voice suddenly emitted a highly enhanced sound wave of a high amplitude that was so powerful that it reached the cabin and shattered the glass as well. The wave even blew some of her friends back as well making the room tremble a small bit.
The CMC and Spike went flying while Applejack and Fluttershy crashed into Ash. The chairs in the premium room were also blown back as they almost hit Twilight and Rarity both.
The immense air pressure of the soundwave ended shortly since Pinkie Pie didn't scream. But it was still powerful as Pinkie put her hooves in her mouth.
Twilight looked back at her friends and then back to Pinkie Pie, realizing what had just happened to her.
"Pinkie Pie...you have a Sonic Voice!"
"I-" Pinkie Pie was about to speak but she realized that it would only cause another powerful sound wave as she scrunched her mouth, lowering her voice. "I do? Sweet!" Tiny soundwaves came out.
"The power to generate an extremely powerful sound of high amplitude for a variety of purposes from the vocal cord." Twilight wrote down new information. "And here I thought your mane would change or something!"
"Same here! But this is pretty neat too!"
"The possibilities could be endless with these seas," said Fluttershy. "Oh! I wonder how the rest of the Pokemon will react to it?!" She squeed.
"Is this the work of Equestrian Magic or Pokemon Magic that's doing this?" Rarity wondered.
"It has to be Pokemon Magic." Twilight nodded. "A Sonic Voice similar to that of something like Hyper Voice. An Electric and Dragon-like body. Not even Equestria has anything remotely close to that. I mean, the closest we've gotten is the Power Ponies comic book we went in."
"Well, either way, you gotta admit. It's pretty awesome, right?" Ash pointed his thumb at the water.
"Yes. Yes, it is." Twilight agreed. "Alright. Who's next? I need to write down all I can?"
With the revelation that the Arcane Seas can change anyone and anything the moment they enter the water made this cruise all the more enjoyable. Everyone else was already thinking of what could happen to them if they went inside of the Arcane Seas with millions of fascinations being spread.
However, while they discuss and prepare themselves for a fun time on the Arcane Seas, over at the Bridge, Drake knew that something else was about to occur.
The Bridge. 2:55.
Drake and his crew watched the Arcane Seas, witnessing all the Water Pokemon moving about, using moves that they could theoretically and logically never use. But in the Arcane Seas, it was an exception.
The crew were stunned by this but Drake, not so much. He was still impressed by it though. The Royal Unova was surprisingly unaffected despite interacting with the water of the Arcane Seas. However, the water the ship was sailing on seemed to connect with the seas of Unova while the water flowing in the air was disconnected from the Unova sea.
Either way, as long as the ship was fine and still in one piece, everything was okay and smooth sailing from here as the passengers and crew were given a beautiful sight.
However, Drake then sensed something unusual and off.
"Something's coming," said Drake, which alerted the crew to get serious and prepare themselves for whatever was coming.
Drake noticed that a series of extremely strong currents were forming up north, directly in front of him and coming out of the streams of water that were everywhere in the Arcane Sea. The Royal Unova was also approaching these strong currents as they were wide enough to make it difficult for the ship to avoid it.
But that wasn't the alerting problem. In fact, it was only just the pre-cursor. The herald for something larger. Out of the strong currents, a slender figure of a Pokemon was emerging.
This figure was completely made out of water as it flowed beautifully out of the ocean with grace and elegance. And that only made sense since this Pokemon was shaped like a Milotic.
Actually, it was a Milotic. But made entirely out of the ocean's water itself as its length was as long as Rayquaza with its eyes glowing purple along with a purple outline surrounding its liquid body.
Gazing at the Milotic was a bit enchanting. Anyone who witnessed it might have a chance to be completely bewitched by its dazzling gaze. Especially the crew, who's eyes were lighting up with a purple aura. But Drake quickly snapped them out of it with a powerful stomp.
"𝓜𝓲𝓵𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓬..." The Milotic let out a beautiful howl from its mouth as the sound echoed throughout the vast spacious ocean of the Arcane Sea. It was loud enough to pass through the entire ship.
"Is that...a Milotic?" The Watchkeeper narrowed his eyes.
"Check out the length on it!" The helmsman gawked.
"Just an example of the seas working their magic." Drake smiled. "This Milotic might not be so fond of us being here."
"𝓜𝓲𝓵𝓸!" Milotic was showing heavy signs of hostility towards the Royal Unova as its purple eyes suddenly transformed into blazing red eyes instead. Its beautiful cry transformed into something that was still beautiful but a bit damaging as the soundwaves were strong enough to make the entire ship tremble. A step up from Pinkie Pie's Sonic Voice.
"Then come. And face us if you dare." Drake was challenging the Milotic.
"EH?!" The crew gasped as they realized that their captain was prepared to take on this unique Milotic, issuing a battle with it.
"𝓛𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓬!" Accepting Drake's challenge, the Tender Pokemon began slithering towards the Royal Unova, ready to attack and dismantle it.
"Come forth! Altaria!" Drake sent his Altaria out to battle the Milotic.
"Altaria!"
"Fly up and use Aerial Ace!"
"Taria!" The Humming Pokemon flew out of the ship by passing through the doors, instantly going straight for the long Milotic. A white aura surrounded Altaria as it flew at blinding speeds, heading straight for the Tender Pokemon.
"𝓛𝓸!" But Milotic was prepared for any attack. When Altaria came close, Aerial Ace didn't exactly hit Milotic. Instead, Altaria passed straight through Milotic because of its liquid body, dealing no damage.
"Alta?"
"Straight through. As to be expected from a creature of pure water..." Drake narrowed his eyes.
"𝓣𝓲𝓬!" Milotic then attacked next by wrapping its entire body around the Royal Unova, encircling it in about 8 seconds. Because of its stellar size and length of a Rayquaza, it was able to wrap around the ship multiple times instead of once.
The Royal Unova was being coiled by this Pure Liquid Milotic as it shook the cruise ship and everyone in it. Many trembled and almost lost balance because of this sudden attack on the ship. Some of the water from the Milotic was getting onto the ship as well.
"W-What was that?!" Twilight almost fell over but Absol caught her. Everyone looked outside to see that there was a long stream of water that had appeared and was currently pressing onto the Royal Unova.
"The water's pressing on the ship?!" A confused Rarity exclaimed as the ship trembled once more.
Milotic's coil seemed to tighten even further, showing that as a body of water, it could still crush objects with its body. Even a large ship.
"If it's pure water then...Altaria! Use Solar Beam!" Drake ordered.
"Altaria!" The Humming Pokemon ascended, spreading its wings out as it started drawing light all the way from beyond the Arcane Ocean and back at Unova as green beams of light were flowing into the Dragon-Flying-Type.
Meanwhile, Milotic was coiling up the ship further as it was about to use a move while wrapped around the Royal Unova. It opened its mouth, preparing to use a Hydro Pump on it. A huge volume of water was being charged up by the Tender Pokemon as Hydro Pump was powerful enough to break through even metal. Which is exactly what the Royal Unova was made out of.
"Alta!" But before Milotic could even have the chance, Altaria finished gathering up light as it blasted a bundled green beam of Solar Energy from its mouth.
The Solar Beam moved at lightning speeds as it actually made direct physical contact with Milotic, despite being a body of water. Even with its unique form, Grass could still affect it either way.
"𝓜𝓲𝓵𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓬!" Milotic definitely felt that hit as its focus and grip on the ship had been broken by Altaria's Solar Beam, prompting its coil to weaken.
"Excellent! Return, for now, Altaria!" Drake returned his Altaria. "Now, go! Salamence!" Out came his next Pokemon and his ace, Salamence.
"Salamence!"
"Thunder Fang!"
"Mence!" Salamence flew forward with its teeth sparking up with volts of electricity. With ferocity, the Dragon Pokemon bit onto the Pure Liquid Milotic's aqua body, making contact and sending a pulse of electricity through. Both Solar Beam and Thunder Fang were excellent moves that worked well against the Tender Pokemon. It was still a Water-Type at the end of the day and the pure body of water wasn't helping.
Milotic's grip on the Royal Unova was loosened as it came off the ship, floating back whilst Salamence hovered over the Water-Type.
Aggravated, Milotic decided to increase its aggressiveness and destructive capability by using the move Dragon Tail as its liquid tail was surrounded by green draconic energy, ready to swing towards Salamence this time.
"Thunder Fang once more!"
"Sala!" The Dragon Pokemon moved in yet again with lightning sparking in its teeth. As the Dragon Tail had been swung, Salamence bit onto Milotic's Dragon Tail, creating an instant collision between the two moves. Salamence's Thunder Fang was strong enough to travel through Milotic's liquid body, however, Dragon Tail also managed to leave an impact on Salamence's teeth.
As such, while Milotic was shocked, Salamence flew back with its teeth twitching. Milotic could see that Salamence and to an extent Altaria were both a huge threat to it. The Tender Pokemon used its long height to its advantage by using the Dragon move Twister.
Milotic spun its elongated body around, whipping up a vicious tornado that formed in the middle of the Arcane Sea as it had a purple draconic energy embedded within it.
The tornado was powerful enough to affect the nearby streams of water, causing them to fly up and even get to some of the Water-Type Pokemon swimming in the water.
"Such aggression! Salamence! Push it back with Flamethrower!
"Salamence!" The Dragon-Flying-Type breathed out blazing flames from its mouth, sending it straight towards the tornado.
The Twister was moving straight towards the Royal Unova and Salamence at the same time since it was wide enough to hit those two targets at the same time.
Salamence could feel the raging tornado as it was strong enough to almost throw the Dragon Pokemon off balance. Salamence's Flamethrower was capable of holding back the Twister as they were equal.
Everyone looked outside to see what exactly was going on outside. That's when they each collectively spotted Salamence holding back a Twister with Flamethrower along with a long Milotic that was made out of an ocean with eyes that were constantly glowing.
They were both amazed and confused by the sight of this Unique Milotic that they had never seen before. Even though its entire body was made out of water, the shape was still recognizable. And the eyes only added to that familiarity.
"A Milotic?!" Twilight said.
"A liquid Milotic!" Ash chimed in.
"A very long Milotic!" Pinkie hushed.
"Why's it attacking the ship?" Rarity wondered.
"It must not want us here." Fluttershy shook her head. "Maybe we should go back to the normal ocean...?"
"Too late for that! We're already deep in here! And that Salamence is holding that Twister back!" Pinkie pointed her hoof at the clash between Salamence's Flamethrower and Milotic's Twister.
"That's Drake's Salamence!" Ash noticed. "Flamethrower and Twister are gonna be clashing for a while now...!"
"Pika!"
"Sorry for the abrupt moment." Drake suddenly spoke through the ship. "But there's a wild Milotic attacking the ship right now. Stay calm, don't panic and I'll have this done soon."
"What do we do then?" Spike turned to Ash.
"Gen!" Gengar called for Ash. "Gar! Gengar!" The Shadow Pokemon pointed at itself.
"Gengar. You wanna help out?" Ash asked.
"Gar!"
"Oh right! Gengar's pure electricity now. If it makes contact with Milotic's liquid body then...well I'm sure you already know." Twilight said.
"Gengar!" Gengar volunteered itself to help stop the Milotic as it flew out of the ship on its own without Ash having to say anything.
With its body now pure electricity, Gengar moved at lightning speeds, appearing outside in an instant. Gengar knew that if it would just charge into Milotic and stay in its liquid body, the results would be more than super-effective.
The Shadow Pokemon, at lightning speeds, blitzed past Salamence who didn't even see Gengar fly by as the Ghost-Poison-Type smashed itself onto the body of the Tender Pokemon.
"𝓜𝓲𝓵𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓬!" Naturally, Milotic felt this. And it felt it to the core. With Gengar, a being of pure living electricity, residing inside of Milotic, a being of pure liquid, hundreds of volts were shocking and moving rapidly inside of the Tender Pokemon as it let out a scream.
Gengar flew out of Milotic as it watched the Water-Type fall back because of the aggressive electrical shock that it had received.
"Sala!" Salamence's Flamethrower managed to cancel out Twister as the clash between the two moves had finally come to an end with a cloud of smoke forming in the Arcane Sea. "Salamence!" Salamence thanked Gengar for helping out.
"Gen-Gen!"
"Oh...that's an interesting looking Gengar." Drake's eyes widened.
"𝓛𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓬...𝓜𝓲𝓵𝓸!" Surprisingly, even after getting hit by super-effective Electric-Type attacks and even being attacked by a living being of electricity who resided inside of it, Milotic was still standing. Or floating in this case.
Its rage was building up as the hostility towards the ship had now increased along with Salamence and now Gengar. It seems that Milotic absolutely refuses to let them advance any further.
Gengar and Salamence readied themselves while the crew anticipates what happens next in these wild waters that are unpredictable to the core as the journey continues.
That was all Luna could see for a while. But not forever. Eventually, her eyes were starting to open after so long. However, they weren't opening up to reality or a sunny blue sky. Or even the night sky.
Instead, Luna's eyes woke up to see what seemed to be a strange space where there was an endless flow of aether and cosmic energy flying about. In fact, this was similar to what Celestia saw when she opened her eyes after a disastrous event.
Her Mindscape.
And Luna remembered Celestia mentioning it when she herself was unconscious.
"This place...isn't it...?" Luna wondered.
"Your Mindscape, Luna." A voice replied to her. Just like her older sister, a voice spoke to her while in her Mindscape. And that voice belonged to an unknown entity whose true form cannot be conceived. So it takes the form of someone they love.
However, this was different from what happened to Celestia when she was almost destroyed by Ghetsis. Instead of that unknown entity who seems to share some similarity to the Rift, a familiar figure appeared who used to be Luna once. But it wasn't Nightmare Moon.
It was Lunar Ire.
"You...!" Luna gasped. "You're the result of the Sorrowful Rage Magic!"
"Ah, so you do remember me..." Lunar Ire flew over to Luna leaving behind a dark crimson trail of magic. "I thought I was merely a fabrication to you. Consigned to oblivion for so many months."
"Why are you coming to me now in my conscious?"
"Don't you remember? Your attempt to escape from Empress Twilight resulted in harsh injuries. Being forced down by heavy gravity that damaged your wings and bones as well...And yet you escaped."
"I remember." Luna nodded. "Everything that occurred at that separate universe that was connected to Skyblue Shine's home. And Darkrai stood tall to defend me."
"He certainly did...But it wasn't him who saved you. It was that Musharna creature." Lunar Ire flew around Luna. "If it hadn't had used Teleport, the outcome would've been less than pleasant. Besides, there was no chance of you defeating her. Not even your Darkrai could stand up to Empress Twilight."
"Darkrai! Is Darkrai alright?!"
"He's certainly in a better state than you. He'll recover. But you...perhaps not as well."
"W-What do you mean?"
"You've taken more damage than you've ever felt in your entire life...It's why you're still unconscious. You can thank your Pokemon for being such wonderful helpers, correct?"
"Yes...I owe them so much for being there for me."
"Ah, but that's the thing. At this point, Pokemon are all that you can rely on..."
"What?"
"They are all that you have to defend yourself from any high threat that exists out there..." Lunar Ire flew through Luna. "You and so many of Equestria's inhabitants have become very dependent on these creatures to the point where you can barely defend yourselves..."
"That is not true!" Luna bellowed as she followed the movements of Lunar Ire who was moving around like a wisp. "I can still defend myself, even without my Pokemon!"
"Perhaps in the original timeline...but not in this timeline. Any Pokemon...even the small and adorable ones are capable of destroying you at any moment. And should I even mention the incoming invasion of Empress Twilight Sparkle? Or the one all of Equestria fears. Ghetsis. Do you believe you are powerful enough to stand up and defend yourself against threats such as these?"
"N-No..." Luna herself was honest and knew where she was compared to other powerful beings. "Empress Twilight, Mewtwo and Eternatus made that very clear.
"And even the ones you love can suffer as well. You recall when Ghetsis almost ended the life of your sister?" She whispered into Luna's ear. "At Saddle-Arabia, that could've been the end of Celestia for good if Cobalion hadn't shown up. Even your sister relies on Pokemon to protect her. As do all ponies nowadays. And you're not strong enough to even compare to these Pocket Monsters, let alone hold a candle to them. Unless...you were to find a power that could match them hoof to hoof."
"What are you...saying?"
"Accept me, Luna." Lunar Ire hovered above Luna. "Accept your true power and embrace the Sorrowful Rage Magic."
"Absolutely not! You're just like Nightmare Moon, after all!"
"Oh, I'm nothing like Nightmare Moon..." Lunar Ire appeared around Luna with multiples of herself showing. "Nightmare Moon was just the entity formed by your jealousy and bitterness. Absolutely trivial. Whereas I am beyond that. Something much more."
"How are you different in any way? Sister told me that you would consume me in the end. The only thing different about you and Nightmare Moon is that you can never fade away!"
"That's the point. Nightmare Moon is weak and can be cast away forever. But I am eternal. I will always be apart of you from beginning to end. I am your true power. Everything that you hold from within but have yet to unleash. But if you can accept me and embrace what you truly wield, who cares what threats may come your way?"
"My true power?" Luna looked at her hoof as the words of Lunar Ire were fairly persuasive and tempting. She wasn't sure to accept this since it might be a repeat of Nightmare Moon but a bit different. And Celestia did warn her. But Luna truly does want to get stronger. Not just with Pokemon. But by herself as well.
"You want to protect those that you love, don't you? I can help you with that. So...what will it be, Luna?"
The Arcane Sea. 3:20.
The Pure Liquid Milotic was still showing aggression towards the Royal Unova as it was facing off against Drake's Salamence and Ash's Gengar who was now a living being of electricity after diving into the water of the Arcane Seas.
"Guess we've got no choice. Gengar! Crash into Milotic repeatedly!" Ash commanded from the window on the premium cabin as Drake heard Ash's commands, realizing that this was his Gengar.
"Gar!" Gengar moved at lightning speeds as it entered Milotic with its sparking body. Milotic couldn't react to Gengar's absurd speed since it was now as fast as lightning. As such, it was hit as electricity flowed through the Tender Pokemon's body as an electric aura came out of Milotic.
"𝓛𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓬!" The Tender Pokemon cried as it was getting shocked constantly by Gengar.
"Excellent work, Ash," Drake said under his breath. Salamence! Thunder Fang!"
"Mence!" Also having electricity on its side, Salamence charged in with its fangs sparking with volts of electricity as Salamence went straight for Milotic's tailfin. Salamence's fangs bit onto Milotic, adding extra damage as Thunder Fang mixed with Gengar's electricity.
"Is it enough?!" Scootaloo leaned forward to see if Milotic would go down after an attack that powerful.
"𝓛𝓸...𝓜𝓲𝓵𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓬!" But to everyone's surprise, Milotic still didn't faint even after being attacked by constant Electric attacks. It would not go down. The Tender Pokemon then retaliated by using Twister as it spun its long liquid body around.
"Gengar?!" Since Gengar was still inside of Milotic and Salamence's teeth were still on its tail, they were both being swung about by Milotic's circular movements.
"Sala?!"
Milotic spun around at a faster pace this time as the Twister hadn't come out yet. Instead, Milotic was building it up while messing with Gengar and Salamence. The Tender Pokemon's plan was simple. Make Gengar and Salamence dizzy and attack them with Twister at the right time.
Both Gengar and Salamence were caught up in Milotic's spinning as they were already getting dizzy because of Milotic's sudden speed increase.
"Get out of there, Gengar!"
"Gen!" Gengar used its lightning speed to fly out of Milotic's body. However, all that spinning had befuddled the Shadow Pokemon as it was now wobbling about. "Gengar..."
The same can be said for Salamence who was flung off Milotic's tailfin. Salamence wasn't as dizzy as Gengar but it was definitely a bit woozy. "Mence...Sala..."
Now that Gengar and Salamence were dizzy and off of Milotic, the Tender Pokemon decided to unleash its charged up Twister. Once it did, instead of firing the move, it became the Twister itself as a Tornado-covered Liquid Milotic was now heading straight for Gengar, Salamence and the Royal Unova.
"If that Twister hits we're done for!" Pinkie Pie hushed as she was trying to keep her Sonic Voice in check.
"That' why it's not gonna hit! If Milotic's spinning, then we'll spin too!" Ash grinned.
"What? What are you on about, Ash?" Twilight turned to him.
"Watch this! Gengar! Let's spin around too!"
"Gar!" Gengar nodded in understanding. Mimicking Milotic, Gengar started to spin around as well. But Gengar was much faster than Milotic because of its lightning-like body.
The Shadow Pokemon spun its entire body around as it caused a different reaction as opposed to Milotic's Twister. Instead, Gengar was creating an electric tornado from its lightning-fast spinning.
Sparks were flying out of the Lightning Tornado as Gengar was now approaching Milotic's Twister. An inevitable clash was about to happen while Salamence flew back to avoid this.
The two tornadoes ended up clashing against each other. Normally, when two tornadoes collide, they merge into a single tornado. But that wasn't happening yet. Instead, both tornadoes were locked in a struggle, spinning against each other with sparks flying out. Both Pokemon were fighting for dominance at this point.
The tornadoes themselves were enough to affect the area around them as the waters of the Arcane Sea were either being blown away by Twister or electrocuted by Gengar's spinning lightning.
Milotic looked like it was winning the clash as the Twister was starting to push Gengar's lightning back a bit. But not by much. Gengar was holding on.
"Hang on, Gengar!" The CMC yelled.
"Perhaps some assistance is needed. Salamence! Distract Milotic with Dragon Rush!"
"Sala!" Responding to its trainer, streams of a bright blue aura start to form around Salamence's body as it then grew to cover most of its body, with a black shadowy aura inside the bright blue aura as it expanded. With the aura growing, Salamence ascended into the sky, aiming for a dive attack from above.
And at full-force, Salamence charged in, leaving a shockwave behind as it was aiming straight for the Twister that Milotic was in while trying to avoid hitting Gengar.
"𝓜𝓲𝓵𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓬?!" Milotic looked up to notice that Salamence was right above it, diving down at high speeds with Dragon Rush. Obviously, Milotic was a little bit occupied with Gengar, trying to push its lightning tornado back, so it couldn't do anything about the incoming Dragon Rush. All Milotic could do was spin and look up.
Thankfully, because its body was pure water, Dragon Rush would just go straight through. However, Milotic was still surprised by the approaching Salamence to a point where it lost focus as Salamence passed through Milotic. Milotic was startled as it actually thought that Dragon Rush would connect but it didn't.
"Gar!" And with that one moment of lost concentration, Gengar capitalized on the situation by advancing onto Milotic who was still surprised by Salamence's charge.
With the loss of focus, Milotic was hit by the lightning tornado as well as being pulled into it. Now Milotic was the one being spun around as its liquid body was also being shocked by volts of electricity at the same time, repeatedly.
This was more than just super-effective damage being dealt as Gengar had released all of the electrical energy from within its new sparking body. And with a sudden burst of energy, Gengar ended the lightning tornado as it blew up, rocketing Milotic back and even affecting Salamence a small bit.
Some of the remaining thunderbolts almost hit the Royal Unova, but they just missed, saving everyone from immediate danger.
"Gen...Gengar...!" After an attack, that powerful, Gengar was spent. So spent that when the lightning and smoke cleared, it was revealed that the Shadow Pokemon had returned to its original form. Seem that all the electricity around it had been used in that one final attack. "Gen?"
"Gengar's form is gone!" Twilight noticed. "Was it all in that one lightning tornado?"
"Excellent work. Return, Salamence." Drake returned his Salamence, praising his partner. "Get yourself some rest."
"Milotic..." Milotic had fainted after an attack that powerful. But not only did it cause Milotic to faint, but all the electricity had also destroyed its liquid body, reverting the Tender Pokemon to its original form and size as Milotic woke up one second later. "Tic? Milotic?"
"Milotic's back to normal too. Guess this magic goes away if something big happens to the Pokemon." Scootaloo said as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom nodded.
"Woohoo! Victory!" Pinkie Pie popped some confetti, trying not to raise her voice. She really wanted to yell at the top of her lungs though.
"Awesome job, Gengar!" Ash said to his partner who flew back to the premium cabin.
"Pikachu!"
"Gengar!"
"A Pure Liquid Milotic! What do you think we should call it?!" Fluttershy squeed.
"Pure Liquid Milotic...?" Coco suggested.
"Oh. That's good. I like that." Fluttershy nodded.
"Electrified Gengar sounds good. Doesn't it pal?" Ash fist-bumped Gengar.
"Gen!"
Everything had calmed down, for now. The passengers could let out a sigh of relief as the potential destruction of the Royal Unova had been averted thankfully. Pinkie Pie threw a short celebratory party while maintaining her Sonic Voice from just booming out. It was a bit of torture that she couldn't cut loose with her usual bellowing. But since Gengar returned to normal, perhaps the Sonic Voice will run out eventually. Now the cruise could continue while exploring the vast wonders of the Arcane Sea.
In the meanwhile, Team Rocket, who were apart of the cruise, had witnessed the entire thing occur. From the Pure Liquid Milotic to the Electrified Gengar, they were taken aback and stunned the most.
"Hey...Did you see that?" Jessie's eyes widened as she pointed out.
"Seen it we have," James nodded. "Seems the captain wasn't bluffing when he said these waters were unpredictable."
"You know what this means, right?" Meowth turned to both his teammates.
"What?" Jessie and James each said.
"This whole ocean's hiding some pretty unique looking Pokemon! That pretty Milotic and Gengar sure ain't look normal but we could still recognize them."
"Mhm." Both of them nodded.
"Just imagine what would happen if we brought some of those Equestria-filled Pokemon back to the boss? That might be better than the twerp's Pikachu!"
"Nothing's better than the twerp's Pikachu. But a Pokemon influenced by Equestrian magic is still a score!" Jessie got giddy.
"Hold on." James scratched his head. "It isn't permanent though. That Milotic and Gengar went straight back to normal, remember?"
"Oh yeah." Jessie put her finger on her chin. "Drat. That'll be an issue. But they only returned after Gengar spent all that electricity and Milotic was knocked out, right?"
"Then we just make sure they don't do much, see?" Meowth grinned. "Problem solved!"
"Indeed! Now how are we going to get out there and grab some?" James looked outside the window.
"Both of you start building a boat pronto. I want to catch myself an Equestrian Pokemon. But it has to be pretty like that Milotic!"
"What about my catch?!" James pointed at himself.
"You can get whatever you want." Jessie waved her finger. "Now let's get to work! I still have that Super Rod with me!"
"Wobbuffet!"
As Team Rocket were making plans to snag themselves a Special Equestrian Pokemon, another Team was currently in this ship such as them. But it was only one individual instead of 3 or 4.
Watching from the Vitaly deck, wearing a long trench coat, was a Team Plasma Grunt, who chad their hat off so that they weren't that obvious.
He had snuck onboard the ship and had grown a great interest in the knowledge of Pokemon Magic combining with Equestrian Magic. All the while, having a secret camera and microphone placed in his trench coat, courtesy of Colress. He had gotten everything so far. From the Ocean Gate, the Arcane Sea and how it influences the Pokemon here.
All of this was in the name of Ghetsis and further plans to overtake Equestria.
Canterlot Nursing Room. 4:00.
"Ah!" Luna gasped as she had woken up after being in her Mindscape and meeting with Lunar Ire. She was currently in the bed of the Canterlot Nursing Room after what had happened.
"Oh, Princess Luna! You're awake!" The nurse said as she went up to Luna.
"I...oh." Luna looked around her, realizing where she was as some bed sheets were on her. She could already feel different after waking up. Like something was wrong. And she knew what it was because of her small interaction with Lunar Ire in her Mindscape. "My bones and wings...they're broken aren't they?"
"They're um...Not in the best condition. We've had our Chansey's try and heal you, but things haven't been going smoothly so far." The Nurse pointed her hoof over at her Chansey.
"Chan." Speaking of Chansey, Heal Pulse and Aromatherapy were being used, but nothing was working. However, it had worked on Darkrai and Frillish who had also been hurt by Empress Twilight, as they were both sat on the Nursing Room bed as well.
"We've seen damage taken to bones and wings before. But not on this scale." The nurse shook her head. "It's almost as if gravity was pushing down onto them."
"You're not wrong..." Luna sighed.
"We're not sure how long it will take for you to recover. It might take many months or more. But you can still utilize your magic and your front hooves a bit."
"I see..." Luna nodded as she knew she was already in a poor state at this point. But as she looked down, she noticed a familiar entity right beside her in the form of a floating head
Lunar Ire of course, who was a floating head like a wisp.
"How pitiful...To be in a state such as this..." Lunar Ire spoke into Luna's ear.
"Why are you here?" Luna whispered.
"Have no worry. I am merely staying by your side in the meantime. Until you accept me that is."
"You chose to come out while I am in this condition?"
"You will need me. You may not accept me for the time being, but I can still give you an ounce of my strength. After all, you were the one who forced me to come out."
"Me? How? I didn't-"
"Ah, isn't it obvious? It's your rage, Luna. Your rage against Empress Twilight. The one who had put you in this horrible state, to begin with. Similar to how you summoned me when Ghetsis horribly injured your sister, remember?"
"So that's how you appear..."
"I will suffice you with spare power in your current state. Unless...you want to be back to full strength and accept me, that is?"
"Bribe me all you want. I won't accept you and transform into...that. I'll wait and recover."
"And you're certain that is a wise idea? The nurse herself said it would take many months or more...And the invasion is in only 2 months. You'll still be an actionless pony by that time. Defenceless against her empire...And what are your Pokemon going to do? They're certainly not enough to stand against her, after all, let alone an entire empire. Unless you were to use my boundless strength to gain the greatest advantage."
"I told you... I don't need you!" Luna bellowed as it startled the nurse, Chansey, Darkrai and Frillish.
"Uh...Are you alright, Princess Luna?" The nurse asked.
"Hm? I-I-I'm fine!" Luna stammered.
"You can deny me all you want..." Lunar Ire was starting to fade away. "But you'll need me eventually. And you can't avoid that." The manifestation of Luna's sadness and rage had faded away, for now.
Luna could now relax with nothing bothering her. But this wasn't how she wanted to relax. She wanted to do it during the Pokemon Festival with her family. But that wasn't happening. Her sister and parents hadn't returned to Canterlot yet to see what has become of their youngest member of the family.
But her Pokemon were there for her as Musharna came flying into the room, latching onto Luna's head. "Musha!"
"Musharna?" Luna looked up at the Drowsing Pokemon.
"She was the one who brought us to safety," Darkrai spoke. "She used Teleport at the very last moment."
"I know. Using Teleport to save us all was brilliant. Thank you so much, Musharna."
"Sharna!"
"Have my sister, mother and father returned yet?"
"Not yet." Darkrai shook his head. "They're probably still somewhere else in the festival. They have no idea what has happened to you."
"I see. Well, when they return, I can tell them everything we've learnt from our time in the other universe. And what we've seen."
"You don't seem too bothered by your broken wings and hooves."
"I am actually distraught by it but...I can't let it get to me. Or else she'll show up again." Luna was referring to Lunar Ire.
"Who?"
"It's nothing. You, Musharna and Frillish can go. You've recovered better than me anyway."
"We're still a bit injured so we'll have to wait a few more hours until we're back to full strength. But we'll stay here beside you."
"Frillish!"
"Thank you all so much. But what do I do now? In the state that I'm in now, I cannot perform my duties as a princess."
"You won't have to." Pyrestar suddenly walked into the room. "I'll take that position for you. I've already been raising the sun and moon more frequently as of late."
"Pyrestar?"
"You stay here and leave everything else to Celestia and me. We will handle everything while you recover."
"Thank you. But I can still use my magic. My ability to lower and raise the moon might still be present."
"Maybe. But I will still do the favour of controlling the moon. However...you did say you would tell your family about what you've learnt and seen in the other universe. How about you inform me first?"
"Oh, right!" Luna nodded. "Well...where do I begin?"
Luna began to tell Pyrestar everything. From where the gateway to the other universe was located, Empress Twilight, her big sister Celestia and her current status along with Cadence and Luna and more, based on what the other universe's Celestia told her.
The Pokemon Festival's first week was coming to an end and will soon transition into the second week. Both sides have different stories with different outcome and events. But they're just beginning as the journey continues.
The ship was still sailing in the Arcane Sea on these unpredictable waters. Everyone had recovered from the Pure Liquid Milotic attack from earlier. Now it was just smooth sailing from here on.
Although, everyone, but Drake, was unaware of where they were heading now. These seas were unpredictable. Anything could happen at any moment without warning. And the Arcane Sea seemed to be endless since it represented space. But, Drake obviously wasn't going to stay here forever. He just wanted everyone to take in the sight of the Arcane Sea and beyond.
But all is not truly well within the ship. A Team Plasma grunt, who had snuck on board, was currently incognito as he had heard and witnessed everything that happened so far while reporting it all to Colress via a hidden camera in the trenchcoat and a microphone.
And Colress had gotten a lot of valuable information that he could use. Pokemon Magic and Equestrian Magic merging as one had greatly piqued his interest. And it will certainly grab the attention of Ghetsis as well.
The Team Plasma Grunt now had a new objective. Retrieve one of the Special Pokemon affected by the Arcane Seas and return it to Colress for further investigation and research.
But he wasn't the only one aiming to get a Special Pokemon. Team Rocket were in the midst of building a small ship, just to catch a Special Pokemon for either themselves or their boss Giovanni. How they were going to get it to sail in a space like this was yet to be seen.
But right now, while all of that goes on, Ash and Twilight along with the rest of their friends who ended up sticking around in the premium cabin during the Milotic attack, were now all enjoying themselves.
Pinkie still had her Sonic Voice so she had to be as quiet as possible and could only whisper. Although, the effects of the Equestrian and Pokemon magic seem to be temporary as Gengar and Milotic had reverted to their original forms. But Braviary was still this dragon-like creature while Pinkie's Sonic Voice was still present.
"Hm." Twilight was examining Pinkie Pie and Gengar at the same time. "So it hasn't yet left, has it?"
"Nope." Pinkie Pie whispered as she shook her head.
"But for Gengar, it's completely gone."
"Gengar."
"I've got it!" Twilight figured it out instantly. "Perhaps it only leaves the body when all of the magic is spent."
"Bummer...I wish it was permanent!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "Then I could have an awesome Dragon Braviary by my side! Oh well. Better enjoy it while it lasts."
"Braviary!"
"How long are we gonna be here in this Arcane Ocean place?" Sweetie Belle sat on the soft couch. "Ooh, so soft..."
"Can't be too long. Unless Drake wants to continue sailing here until he heads to Rainbow Valley for that Special Haxorus." Rarity replied.
"I hope he does!" Fluttershy squeed. "I want to see more Special Pokemon! Oh! I wonder if there's a Special Eevee! Or even a Special Audino!"
"Where are we even headed?" Scootaloo looked outside the window. "This whole place looks like space right? So there's nowhere else to go, is there?"
"Maybe he's just going with the flow?" Apple Bloom asked.
"No need to worry. I'm sure Drake knows exactly where to go and what he's doing." Applejack nodded in absolute confidence as Ash had fallen asleep on the bed with Pikachu once more.
The Bridge. 5:10.
Drake did in fact, know what he was doing. He was more than capable of guide this ship after all. And his main destination is still Rainbow Valley and that Special Haxorus.
The Arcane Sea seemed vast and endless because of its appearance being similar to space, but it was unknown if it was as vast as space itself. So far, it was wide but too early to tell. However, Drake's draconic senses were picking up on something.
"Hm!" Drake's eyes opened up.
"What is it now, captain?! Is it the Milotic again or another Pokemon?!" The helmsman asked.
"Another Pokemon. And the one I'm aiming for..."
"You mean the Special Haxorus."
"Precisely. It seems that it's closer than I thought. I can sense its movements from afar."
"Really? So we'll be seeing it soon?!"
"Precisely. But...it's moving rapidly. Most likely in some sort of hurry. So there's one thing left to do. We're going to chase it down."
"Chase it down? So does that mean heading back to the normal waters?"
"Not exactly. We might be able to get to Rainbow Valley quicker with these seas. I didn't become a captain for no reason. There isn't a sea out there that I won't master."
"But these are new waters captain! How can we be so sure about where to go in such a vast space?"
"Trust me, boy. A captain's intuition is never wrong." Drake tapped his head. "Now, all of you! Head on to North East! If we come across anything troublesome, I'll deal with it. And to an extent, Ash."
"Aye Captain!" Putting all their fate into the captain, they would advance further, just to reach that Special Haxorus, located in Rainbow Valley as Drake's senses were also a great guide and compass.
The Royal Unova was now heading North East.
The Drink Deck for the younger passengers. 5:20 AM.
Meanwhile, with Team Rocket, their shipbuilding activity wasn't exactly panning out at the moment. Usually, they're experts at creating since they've created many mechanisms that are perfect for almost any situation except for when Ash and his Pokemon destroy it in the long run.
But they've run into a few problems. The main one was the most obvious. Getting the ship to sail in an area such as the Arcane Sea which was just space but with water all over the place. It wouldn't be so difficult if most of the water weren't streams that were away from the Royal Unova, leaving large gaps that look like they lead into an endless abyss.
Some of the streams of water were even above the Royal Unova, raining down on the ship. The closest body of water was the one the Royal Unova was sailing on which was a continuous path to water that went in multiple directions. But they'd need their ship to be so thin that the Royal Unova doesn't knock into it when moving. It didn't help that the path the Royal Unova was sailing on was also fairly thin.
Naturally, that was a major problem. If they were to use their ship with how things were at the moment, they would risk falling into the seemingly endless abyss of the Arcane Ocean. And that was something Team Rocket weren't looking forward to.
"Add jet boosters onto it! That way, we'll fly in this ocean!" Jessie suggested.
"We ain't got the parts for that, Jess!" Meowth shook his head. "Best we can do is a land boat."
"Perhaps we can get the boat on top of the ship!" James exclaimed. "A good view and we might even snag some of the Pokemon above on those upper streams!"
"Oh! Nice thinking there, James!" Jessie nodded. "We just have to make sure no one's too suspicious. Especially the twerps and twerpettes."
"Relax!" James crossed his arms as his glasses shined. "I've got a perfect way around that! Before you know it, we'll be sailing without a single eye on us while we pocket ourselves some monsters!"
"Pocket what monsters, mister?" A voice replied to James which startled Team Rocket overall, causing them to screech, jump and turn around to see who said that.
It was Apple Bloom, alongside Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
"Ooh! You guys making a boat?!" Scootaloo gawked. "Sweet!"
"Twerpettes?!" Team Rocket said in unison as they were hoping no one would spot them. But of all the passengers to find them, it had to be possibly the three nosiest ponies out there.
"Are you gonna sail somewhere in this ocean?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"W-Well, yes, of course!" James stuttered while rubbing the back of his head. "Just a small little sail in our dinghy, that's all."
"You're going out in the Arcane Sea with this little thing?" Scootaloo went up to their boat which was made out of wood so far as she placed her hoof on it. "Looks like it could fall apart at any minute."
"The water's too thin too." Apple Bloom looked up at James. "Is it safe?"
"Of course not." James shook his head. "We're not crazy after all."
"Anyway. It's not your business to get involved." Jessie said. "Get lost, kids."
"Aww! But we wanna help!" Sweetie Belle pouted.
"Help?" Jessie raised an eyebrow.
"Oh yeah! Building a ship sounds really fun!" Scootaloo shook her head aggressively.
"Hah! Yeah right! Like you three could-" Jessie was about to mock the CMC until James slid in, putting his hand over her mouth and interrupting. "Mm?!"
"Hold on! Could you three give us a moment?" James asked.
"Sure!" The trio each said.
James gathered Meowth, Jessie and Wobbuffet for a group huddle as he had something important to say that could benefit them. "Jess. I don't think you understand how lucky this is!"
"Lucky? They're children! They don't have an absolute clue on how to build a ship. The best they can do is a toy constructible ship."
"I would think so too. But these three are smarter than they look?"
"He's right, ya know." Meowth nodded. "James and I have seen what those three can do?"
"You have?" Jessie was now curious.
"Whenever we're walking around the Everfree Forest, we see what kind of mishaps those three get themselves into. They can build some impressive stuff for their age." James answered. "Even if they end up breaking and failing after a few minutes or hours."
"We could use a bit of their hoofwork. But most of the building's gonna be us since we don't want a broken ship because of those three."
"They're really that smart are they?"
"Honest!" Both James and Meowth said.
"Hm...Alright! But if anything breaks its both of your faults for getting them involved!" Jessie broke the group huddle up. "Alright, you little twerpet- I mean...darlings. You can help with our little dinghy."
"Woohoo!" The CMC howled in unison as they were now apart of this little dinghy building activity The CMC would only help out with minor things while Team Rocket handle the major parts since they can't risk three kids breaking their boat.
All of this would be done in the Drink Deck while everyone else enjoys themselves on the Royal Unova. Although, judging by the time, some were still asleep so the silence was a bit more present. The CMC, Team Rocket, Ash and the others were the few passengers still awake.
Along with the Team Plasma Grunt.
If anything, he was the most active on the ship. Even though he had gathered up valuable information about the Arcane Sea, he still needed more. Sitting around wouldn't help, so he decided to get a move and find further information. One place that could prove to be effective might be the Sports Deck, where most of the outside can be seen, besides the windows.
The Team Plasma Grunt, walking in a very shady manner while concealing his hat since everyone at this point knows who Team Plasma is, from Unova to Equestria, went up to the sports deck to get a wider view.
Looking over at the Arcane Sea, the grunt observed the streams of water and the Pokemon inside of them. After all, the Pure Liquid Milotic and Electrified Gengar were enough to essentially make it clear that these waters change a Pokemon in some way.
So paying attention to them was crucial. And when he spots a Special Pokemon, he'll have plenty of Poke Balls to snag one, plus a Pokemon of his own to do most of the dirty work.
Upon reaching the Sports Deck, he heard some very valuable and new information that he could benefit from greatly. And it came from two Gorebyss's that were swimming in the same spot.
"Byss! Gorebyss!" The two Gorebyess seemed to be arguing about something from their facial expressions and how they were clashing their mouths onto each other.
At first glance, this seemed like an average everyday fight between two individuals that will end up getting resolved in the end or escalate to a high degree as always. And that was certainly the case. Except, there was a massive twist in this.
Both Gorebyss's backed up from each other as they were about to battle it out to sort their problems. As a Pokemon normally does.
However, what came next shocked the Team Plasma Grunt and those on the Sports Deck who could see most of the outside.
The Gorebyss's both used moves they could never use in the first place. Dragon Pulse and Flare Blitz. The first Gorebyess fired a dragon-shaped shockwave while the second Gorebyss charged in with an aura of fire around it.
Flare Blitz crashed into Dragon Pulse as the two moves cancelled each other out, giving the passengers a free battle to witness between two Pokemon who pulled off unexpected moves.
"Woah! I didn't know Gorebyss can learn Dragon Pulse and Flare Blitz!" A pony exclaimed.
"It can't!" A human bellowed. "These waters are something else, aren't they?!"
"Yeah but it's a real shame that it's temporary...I want a Special Pokemon that lasts forever too..." Another human sighed.
Now that was something to report to Colress. Moves that Pokemon cannot use in any way shape or form but they could now use because of these mysterious waters in the Arcane Sea.
Originally, the grunt was aiming to catch the Pokemon that looked different. Now, he has the option to catch any Pokemon and there wouldn't be a difference. Obviously, as the trainer said, it's temporary. So it won't last forever. Meaning that a Pokemon that looks different would be the grunt's best option. However, that's where Colress can come into play. Like with how he's researching Dynamax at the moment, which is also temporary in its own way, the grunt knew that their excellent scientist would find a way to make it permanent.
But, there was one problem.
And it's the same problem that Team Rocket are facing themselves. For the Plasma Grunt to get the Pokemon in the Poke Ball, it would mean getting outside in the vast spacious area of the Arcane Sea. Which the grunt certainly couldn't do on his own. And the Pokemon he had couldn't fly or levitate. And his throwing skills aren't exactly highly accurate like Ash's.
So there was a large obstacle to overcome. For now, he would focus on the Special Pokemon who have different appearances instead of the Pokemon who use moves they can never normally use. All the while, Colress was gathering new information all the way in Pyrestar's world which now belonged to Ghetsis.
Back at the premium cabin, Ash and Pikachu were still asleep while their friends continue to have fun. But they themselves were getting tired.
All except for Pinkie Pie, who still hadn't lost her Sonic Voice. She couldn't sleep without letting one single bellow out. It was highly tempting and a pony such as Pinkie Pie can't hold back the temptations for much longer.
There was one major possibility to rid the Sonic Voice and it's what Twilight theorized. Using all of it in one massive go. And Pinkie Pie was planning to do that. But if she did, she would end up causing major destruction to the Royal Unova. And no one wants that.
Luckily, Twilight, being the genius that she is, found a way around this.
"Alright." She clapped her hooves together. "It took some time, but I think I've found a way to get rid of that Sonic Voice without causing too much damage."
"Really?"
"Mhm. Obviously, we're not going to use it in one powerful shout. That'll be too catastrophic. Instead, we'll use it with your normal voice bit by bit. That way, you'll gradually lose it. At least, that's my theory."
"What like, every second?" Rainbow Dash said.
"No. More like every 5 minutes. That way we'll avoid less destruction." Twilight answered. "I hope. Try talking normally, Pinkie."
"Okay..." Pinkie Pie cleared her throat as she could finally speak without having to hush herself. "Feels good to speak."
Just a few words and she had already blown her friends back by her Sonic Voice as sound waves pushed them back. The room was obviously affected as it was like a tornado came in here. It even reached the outside, affecting some of the nearest decks and cabins in the Royal Unova, sending a powerful wind pressure through.
And yet, somehow, Ash and Pikachu were still asleep.
Audino's feelers took a lot of damage from that as she fell on her back with Fluttershy and Chikorita rushing over to their fallen friend.
"O-Okay...good!" Twilight gasped as she got up from the ground. "Just wait 5 minutes and speak again okay?"
"Okie Dokie, Lokie." She squeed.
"That's curious." Rarity noticed something as she straightened her out after the Sonic Voice. "Rainbow Dash. I've noticed that your Braviary's completely unmoved by it."
"Oh yeah! You think it's the dragon scales on him that's doing it?" Rainbow Dash flew over to her partner, patting her hoof on his scales. When she did, she could feel its aggressively hard texture as her hoof had been injured upon contact. "Ow! Oh..yeah...it's the scales alright...Ow!"
"Yeah well, all this Arcane Sea stuff's making me a bit sleepy too." Applejack yawned as Sceptile picked her up. "Kinda want some relaxation right about now."
"Then head on down to the Vitality Deck." Rarity suggested. "You'll be soothed in no time, darling."
"Mmm...Aunt Hillary...More Mac and Cheese please..." Ash spoke in his sleep again, dreaming of food this time.
"Pikachu..."
"Look at those two." Rarity gushed. " A shame you haven't confessed to Ash yet, Twilight. Even before we came into the premium cabin. It's not that difficult is it?"
"It's pretty difficult, Rarity. I'm kinda new to this so cut me some slack." Twilight grumbled.
"Oh, it's fine. I know you'll do it someday, Twilight. Even if it takes a while." Rarity replied.
"Hopefully soon. I want to get to Jirachi as soon as possible so that we can keep these worlds together. Or I might never get the chance to tell Ash how I feel."
"Or, an even better scenario. He finds out how you feel. How does that sound?" Rarity smirked.
"Ash figuring it out? No-no-no-no. Impossible." Twilight shook her head. "Although..."
"Gack..." Rainbow Dash felt like gagging from all this talk about romantic crushes. The same can be said for Absol, who was resting in the corner, overhearing everything.
However, Absol's hearing of romantic crushes would soon come to an end as his horn was vibrating, meaning that he was detecting a potential disaster nearby.
"Sol?!" The Disaster Pokemon stood up in a heartbeat as he was already prepared to take action.
"Absol? What's wrong?! What's coming?!" Twilight flew over to her partner, knowing that whenever Absol's horn shakes, the mood shifts from calm to serious. 100% of the time. Sometimes 99%.
Everyone's attention was put towards Absol as they themselves were ready for whatever was coming their way. And Absol wasn't the only one to know this.
Drake himself was aware too. As always. But these weren't his draconic senses kicking in. Instead, his eyes were what gave him clarity of what potential disaster was close by.
From the perception in front, Drake spotted yet another unexpected sight in these unpredictable waters. But it was something he was fairly familiar with.
A gigantic tsunami crest that was floating in the Arcane Sea and was wide enough to engulf the entire Royal Unova and more was right in front of them, raging with ferocity.
This tsunami was as large as an entire Pokemon City. Its size was comparable to that of Vermillion City. So it was definitely not small at all.
Not only that, but this tsunami, like everything else in this sea, had a special trait to it. And surprisingly, it wasn't the sheer size of it. Instead, this tsunami had something other than water.
It was a Flaming Tsunami. Of all things.
Drake had never seen a tsunami this wide or unique. It could devour an entire region from how wide and gigantic it was in size. Truly a spectacle to behold.
"A tsunami!" The Watchkeeper exclaimed.
"It's gigantic!" The helmsman gasped. "And on fire?!"
"This sea continues to impress! Seems as if it is challenging us! Excellent!" Drake simply laughed at this as his crew were confused on why he would laugh in the face of danger such as this. "But, we'll just simply overcome it like always!"
"W-W-We're not gonna sail through it...are we?" A crew member gulped.
"Of course not. We're going to ride it!" Drake exclaimed.
"That doesn't sound any better..."
"Captain! The Royal Unova is made out of metal! It'll surely melt if-" The helmsman tried to convince Drake.
"You underestimate the Royal Unova's capabilities, boy. This ship is a tried and true ship. Made to withstand even fierce Pokemon attacks. As if a Flaming Tsunami is going to stop it."
"But will it be enough?"
"We'll see. Besides...we have our Pokemon to assist us. All of you! Ride on that Flaming Tsunami! The sooner we get past it, the closer we get to that Special Haxorus!"
"Aye captain!" Once more, by captains orders, the crew got to work while Drake sent out his Kingdra.
"Kingdra!"
"Kingdra! Let us see you overcome odds once more! Head out and use Surf on that tsunami!"
"Dra!" The Dragon Pokemon flew out of the ship to assist in dealing with this Flaming Tsunami with its own powerful cress. Kingdra's eyes glowed blue as it created a huge wave of water that it then rode on, heading straight for the Flaming Tsunami.
Riding on the Flaming Tsunami would mean defying all odds. But that's exactly what Drake and all of the Pokemon World was known for. Performing the impossible.
The ship was already very close to the Flaming Tsunami since it was actually moving towards them. Kingdra was actually the first to interact with the Flaming Tsunami with Surf being a catalyst for Kingdra's method for riding on the blazing wave.
Since Kingdra was a Water-Dragon-Type, Fire was essentially non-existent as it could barely harm the Dragon Pokemon at all. Thus, Kingdra would have an easier time with this as it was now riding on the Flaming Tsunami while using Surf as a surfboard.
Somewhere out there, Brawly is grinning with joy.
But the question was; could the Royal Unova ride on the tsunami without being melted. There was only one way to find out as the heat of the Flaming Tsunami was already reaching the inside of the ship without even making contact.
Passengers were starting to feel hot all of a sudden as they hadn't yet seen the Flaming Tsunami. But, they could spot an orange aura outside, coming straight from the flames of the Flaming Tsunami.
Kingdra's Surf was powerful enough to combat the Flaming Tsunami as some of the water was putting out the flames, diminishing the size of the Flaming Tsunami. But it wasn't enough yet.
"Good work, Kingdra! But we'll need more to stop this behemoth of a tsunami! Dragalge! Assist him!" Drake sent out a second Pokemon for assistance. His Dragalge.
"Dragalge!"
"Head out and use Hydro Pump!"
"Galge!" The Mock Kelp Pokemon flew out of the ship, heading off to help his fellow Dragon-Type.
The Poison-Dragon-Type hovered above the Royal Unova as its body was outlined in a blue light. Then, out of its mouth, a powerful blast of high volume water came flying out, connecting with the Flaming Tsunami. The water of Hydro Pump helped to diminish the flames as the ship would have less potential problems.
Everyone looked outside, finally seeing the Flaming Tsunami as they were both amazed and terrified and for all the right reasons. A normal tsunami is bad enough. A tsunami with fire is just too much.
Team Rocket and the CMC each gulped in unison as they realized that their little boat building plan might come to an end since there was a tsunami on fire outside. The dinghy would be obliterated if they even thought about sailing out into the Arcane Sea with that behemoth of a tsunami.
And those in the premium cabin had their own reactions too.
"Oh, that is so cool!" Rainbow Dash gawked.
"But highly dangerous! Where did it come from?!" Rarity gasped.
"We're going straight for it! Why are we going straight for it?!" Twilight screeched.
Indeed, they were going straight for it. It was already in front of them and the ship certainly wasn't fast enough to avoid it from all sides. So there were no other options.
Drake narrowed his eyes as he saw the Flaming Tsunami diminish in size gradually because of his Pokemon. With their chances of making it through increase, the Royal Unova sped up as it finally came in contact with the Flaming Tsunami.
Just like Kingdra, the Royal Unova was riding on the Flaming Tsunami, however, not as easily as Kingdra. When riding on it, the flames were already affecting the metal of the ship. Mainly the lower part.
As the Royal Unova rode on the tsunami, the ship had tilted, prompting many of the passengers to fall sideways as they were all screaming at this sudden angle shift. Objects inside of the ship were affected by the angle shift, but Drake's crew made sure that they wouldn't tilt too hard.
The ship hadn't fully titled over as it was now stuck at an Acute Angle. The little dinghy that Team Rocket and the CMC were making was almost destroyed by this tilt, but thankfully, James managed to grab it.
"I'm gonna be sick..." Apple Bloom groaned.
"Kingdra!" The Dragon Pokemon turned to his fellow Dragon-Type, speaking about how they were going to further overcome this Flaming Tsunami.
"Draga! Galge!" Dragalge had an idea that he believed would work. And it would require both of them to combine their moves.
Upon agreement, the two Pokemon decided to merge their strongest Water-Type moves as one. Both of them had Hydro Pump and if they were to merge them to create a larger Hydro Pump, then the results would be glorious.
The Dragon Pokemon surfed off the Flaming Tsunami as he hovered over to Dragalge. Both Pokemon looked at each other, nodding in understanding as they looked over at the Fire Tsunami which was right in front of them. The heat didn't bother them at all despite being this close.
By holding their breath in, and in perfect unison, both of Drake's Pokemon blasted high volumes of water from their mouths as the two Hydro Pumps merged to create a stronger, faster and larger Hydro Pump.
The powered-up Hydro Pump clashed with the Flaming Tsunami, instantly showing better results than the previous Hydro Pump and Surf. In just a few seconds, the flames of the tsunami were diminishing at a lightning-fast rate as the Royal Unova was slowly reaching the top.
"That's good! Keep it up you two!" Drake exclaimed. "Increase the speed further! We're going above that tsunami!"
"Aye captain!"
The speed had been further increased as the Royal Unova was still maintaining balance while Hydro Pump was destroying the Flaming Tsunami.
Everyone on the ship held on as they looked outside to see that they might actually make it through this Flaming Tsunami unharmed. The ship might be a little bit damaged by it, but the Milotic from earlier already damaged it anyway.
However, the tsunami seemed to have a mind of its own as it increased in ferocity, pushing the Hydro Pump back as it was not going to let the Royal Unova pass at any cost. Drake could see that the Arcane Sea was in fact trying to stop him and the ship. But as if he'd let that happen. Now the Hydro Pump and Flaming Tsunami were fighting for dominance.
"Are we gonna make it?!" said Applejack.
"Hopefully! It's good in the middle but once they get to the top of the tsunami that'll be a problem!" Rainbow bellowed. "Can't this ship go any faster?!"
"Faster...?" Hearing that made Twilight come to an amazing realization. There was a way to fully break through this tsunami and Pinkie Pie was the key. "Pinkie Pie! Yell as loud as you can from the outside!"
"What? But that'll cause big damage to the ship!"
"Not as much as damage as this tsunami's going to cause! If you do it facing away from the ship, it'll boost it and cause less damage that way! Quick!"
"Alright!" Pinkie Pie ran outside, standing near the jacuzzi of the premium cabin as she looked into the vast space of the Arcane Sea. She held her breath in, preparing to unleash everything that she wanted to say for a while now out loud.
"A Sonic Voice was cool at first but now it's just a big inconvenience!" With that one sentence, she emitted a sound wave so powerful that it reached 120 decibels, just as loud as thunder.
The sound wave blew Pinkie Pie herself back, but it also helped greatly by giving the Royal Unova the necessary boost to break past its natural speed limitations and completely zoom across the Flaming Tsunami.
Kingdra and Dragalge stopped using their Hydro Pump as they themselves were affected by this sound wave, rocketing in the same direction as the Royal Unova.
The ship had finally reached the top of the Flaming Tsunami. But not only did it reach the top, but it also flew over it, becoming airborne and everyone in the ship were now floating because of the airborne status of the Royal Unova.
And yet, Ash and Pikachu were still asleep.
They had finally passed the Flaming Tsunami, avoiding a major disaster as Pinkie Pie's mouth was smoking. She groaned as she realized that powerful sound waves weren't coming out anymore. Meaning that she had spent all of her Sonic Voice in that one attack.
"Oh...! Finally...!" Pinkie Pie was relieved.
"D-Did we make it through?!" Spike stammered.
"More than that...look!" Twilight had pointed her hoof outside as she had spotted something in the distance.
The Flaming Tsunami was hiding something from the Royal Unova. Which is why it was such a large obstacle in the first place and why Drake was determined to get through it. And it was soon revealed to everyone what it was hiding.
There was an entire planet that was being concealed by the Flaming Tsunami.
A planet that was vastly smaller than Earth but just around the same size as the moon, but slightly smaller. It seemed to have a Grass-Type theme to it. It had a gargantuan tree that was visible from the space of the Arcane Sea and wrapped in two intersecting vines.
"A Planet..." Fluttershy and Coco both gawked.
"T-This is just a sea...right?" Applejack's jaw dropped.
"Mrrgh..." Ash and Pikachu were finally awake as they woke up at the right time. A shame they missed out on the Flaming Tsunami. "Hey, guys...what's going on?
"Pika?"
"Ash...Pikachu! You have to see this!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Hm?" Both Ash and Pikachu walked over to their friends to see what they were staring at. As they rubbed their eyes, they themselves were graced with this wonderful sight of a planet in the Arcane Sea. "A Planet?!"
"Pikachu?!"
Everyone was stunned, even Drake. Many were convinced that they were actually in space at this point and that planet was enough to convince them. Drake smiled as he knew his Special Haxorus had moved somewhere near here and there's a chance it could be on that planet.
Coming across a brand new sight, the Royal Unova and everyone on board had witnessed an entire planet floating in the middle of this sea. And it was all hidden behind the Flaming Tsunami that they had just overcome.
The Royal Unova was airborne for a bit after passing through the Flaming Tsunami as it was finally returning to the water by slowly falling. Thankfully, the impact upon the water wasn't hard. It was surprisingly soft, but there was a bit of trembling afterwards. But nothing too major.
Everyone was taking a moment to bask in the sight of the Planet which had a very heavy Grass Theme. There were bound to be Grass-Type Pokemon present there.
The Royal Unova was slowly sailing towards this planet since the water path connected to it. According to Drake's senses, the Special Haxorus could be on that same planet instead of Rainbow Valley. But it was too early to tell.
"Is this the cause of Pokemon and Equestrian magic too?" Rarity asked.
"Maybe," Twilight replied. "For an entire planet to be created, it must be Pokemon Magic that's doing most of the work."
"How cool is this?!" Ash had a wide grin on his face along with Pikachu, Spike and Rainbow Dash. "I wonder if there are any new Pokemon on it!"
"Oh! Are we gonna see alien Pokemon?!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "I bet they're different from Ultra Beasts!"
"Although...that planet looks a bit...familiar, doesn't it?" Fluttershy narrowed her eyes.
"Familiar? You sound like you've been here before, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash chuckled.
"Now that you mention it..." Ash squinted. "It does kinda remind me of something a bit."
"Pikachu..."
"Attention passengers." A voice spoke through the ship. "We'll be making a quick stop at this mysterious planet. Order to stay onboard has been for the time being until the captain can make clear evidence that it is safe to tread on."
"That's our cue!" Spike hopped on Ash's head. "That Special Haxorus might be here if Drake's going out! I can't wait to catch it!"
"Wasn't Drake the one who wanted to catch it? You're not going to compete against him, are you?" said Twilight.
"Nope. Instead, I'm gonna beat him to it! I'll catch that Special Haxorus and become a greater Dragon Trainer. But I'm not looking forward to battling Drake."
"But we're not allowed to leave the ship until Drake makes sure that it's safe," Fluttershy uttered.
"Oh yeah...drat!" Spike sighed. "Maybe there's two Special Haxorus's at least.
"No need to worry, Spike. Come on. Let's get a closer look at it." Ash looked up at Spike, walking to the outside of the premium cabin to give him, Spike, Pikachu and his Pokemon a clearer view of this Verdant Planet.
The Pokemon Festival journey has certainly taken an unexpected turn. They went from a kingdom, cities, a sky island in a board game and now a space-like sea area with unpredictable waters that also had a flaming tsunami and now a mini-planet just floating about.
They're certainly going to remember this as it has already surpassed the first Pokemon Festival by a mile.
Team Rocket and the CMC looked outside to see the Verdant Planet as their little boat building process had been halted because of this. However, this could be considered their lucky break since this area seemed safer than the previous ones. Although, Drake still had yet to finish making his decision on its safety.
But one who did not care about its safety status was the Team Plasma Grunt still onboard. To him, this was also a lucky break. Now he would have somewhere solid outside to walk on and potentially capture a Special Pokemon in the process, returning to Colress. And if not, then he can just catch the other Pokemon that don't change in appearance but utilize moves they can never learn or use.
The ship had entered the planet's atmosphere as it felt like mystical nature energy was pulsating through it, giving everyone inside a bit of a refresh.
Being that this was a location full of grass, there was bound to be some water to obviously support the nature on this Verdant Planet. The water here seemed to resemble the streams of water that were all around the Arcane Sea with their unpredictable nature.
The Royal Unova was safe to park here for the time being as the waters were safe. But what of the land itself?
Drake got off the Royal Unova as he returned his Kingdra and Dragalge to their Poke Balls. It was only him that left the ship while his crew and everyone else stayed on the Royal Unova.
But he wasn't the only one. The Team Plasma Grunt decided to get off the ship and explore this lush green world for himself as he was ready to catch himself many Pokemon that were special in their own way.
Drake got to see what this planet was really all about up close. It resembled a perfect mixture of a grassland, forest and jungle. Normally, these types of areas are never in the same place and always separated from each other. But on this planet, they were one cohesive and connected location.
And to be expected, there were indeed Grass-Type Pokemon on this planet. They were the dominant and most present species here with a few Water-Types living in the water streams and Flying-Types soaring about.
The Grass Pokemon here did not have that same strange blue glow that the Pokemon back at the Arcane Sea had, but the Water-Pokemon do since they were inside of the water, getting affected by both Pokemon and Equestrian Magic.
The air was breathable, much like the space of the Arcane Sea, so it was fine to breathe in the air. And the grass itself was surprisingly soft. Perhaps because it was seemingly a new location that had been created presumably not too long ago, everything here was fresh.
The Pokemon here didn't seem too bothered by Drake's presence and appearance. In fact, these are Pokemon that have already lived with humans. They have obviously somehow ended up on this mysterious planet. Although, the population of the Pokemon living here was fairly short. Seemingly around 130 at best. Very small for an entire planet. But then again, the planet itself is very small. Smaller than the moon and the Pokemon World too.
"Hm. Seems more than fine actually." Drake said. "This planet is oddly energetic." He put his hands on the grass, feeling the resounding energy of the planet. He could see why Haxorous would potentially retreat to here. It seemed to be a very nice place to live in.
Drake had deemed this planet safe to tread on as he could now start searching for that Special Haxorus. He looked back at the ship, raising his arm to give the signal that the passengers could choose to walk on this planet if they wanted to.
With that confirmation, there was another announcement through the ship. "Attention all passengers. The captain has officially deemed this planet safe. For those who wish to explore it, you may come outside. But for those who wish to stay on the ship, you are free to do so."
"Nice!" Ash said. "Let's get you that Haxorus, Spike!"
"Yes sir!" Spike exclaimed, ecstatic to have his chance to catch that Special Haxorus. If Drake doesn't get there first that is.
With that, few passengers decided to walk out onto the planet while many more chose to stay behind and enjoy the rest of the Royal Unova.
They themselves, the ones who decided to come outside, were given access to experience the beauty of this planet and just how unusually soft this grass was. It was almost a bit eerie because grass isn't meant to be this soft.
Those that came out just wanted to explore while some had other plans. Drake and Spike wanted that Special Haxorus while Team Rocket and the one Team Plasma Grunt were aiming to catch Special Pokemon themselves.
Entering the outside, Applejack's Sceptile felt like he was at home because of this trinity of a grassland, forest and jungle all in one. "Tile? Sceptile?"
"Like it, don't'cha pal?" Applejack said to him.
"Sceptile!"
"Then run along now and have some fun, why don't ya?"
"Tile!" Sceptile liked the sound of that as he used his vines to latch onto a tree, already heading off to perform whatever actions Sceptile's do on a regular daily basis.
"I'm still shocked that an entire planet was made by both our world's forms of magic coming together," Twilight said as she looked around the area.
"You think a Legendary Pokemon did this?" Rainbow Dash thought as she flew beside her Braviary who was still in his Special Equestrian Form. "Seems like that would make a lot more sense."
"Well whoever or whatever caused it, it's wonderful!" Fluttershy gushed. "Ohh! Should we start looking for that Special Haxorus together?"
"You guys can do whatever you want." Spike hopped off Ash's head. "I'm searching for that Haxorus on my own."
"On your own?" Rarity pulled back. "A bit risky, don't you think, Spike? Special Pokemon seem to be naturally stronger and fiercer than their normal selves. At least, from what we've seen so far.
"Yeah, but I wanna try it solo this time. I might become a better Dragon Trainer from this, ya know. And I'll have all the bragging rights of owning a Special Haxorus."
"Hoh?" Drake, the one that Spike feared to go up against, had heard Spike's words as he approached the baby dragon. "You seek the Special Haxorus, as well?"
"Uh..." Spike, knowing who had just spoken right now, slowly turned around to see the Elite 4 Dragon Trainer standing behind him with an imposing figure and stature, staring right at him.
"You sound ambitious boy. I hope you're not thinking of going against me, are you?"
"I-I wasn't planning on, sir. I mean captain!" Spike gulped. "B-But I'm really determined to get that Haxorus...if that's okay with you?"
"Okay? Hah!" Drake bellowed with a slight chuckle. "I love myself a good competition. Major or minor. Don't worry. I don't intend to battle you, boy."
"Phew! Thank Celestia..." Spike smiled with relief.
"Unless it comes down to it." Drake's tone shifted which startled Spike. "Just kidding!"
"Ugh..." Spike was relieved once more as Drake scared him there.
"Anyway. We won't have to search for long. There are effective ways to bring out certain Pokemon." Drake turned around.
"Like?" Coco asked.
"I'll use my own Haxorus to call for it!" Drake held out a Poke Ball. "Haxorus's can't resist a battle. Especially when it comes to territory. Come out!" He threw the Poke Ball and sent out his own Haxorus.
"Haxorus!"
"Alright, Haxorus." Drake went up to his Pokemon. "That Special Haxorus we've been searching for is near. You know what to do. Let out an Alpha Call."
"Haxo!" He nodded in understanding.
"An Alpha Call?" Pinkie tilted her head.
"An Alpha Call is a special type of roar that is used to call and summon other creatures for aid, usually the creatures that aren't Alphas like the caller," Fluttershy explained. "But sometimes, it can be a challenge if the other creature is an alpha as well."
"Ooh..." The pinky pony nodded.
"𝗛𝗮𝘅𝗼𝗿𝘂𝘀!" With a mighty call, Haxorus's roar immediately spread across the entire planet. From the grasslands, forests and jungles to even the lakes, rivers and ponds located here.
All the Pokemon present on the planet certainly heard it. They could tell what an Alpha Call was and immediately, the Pokemon here, who weren't alphas, which essentially 99% of them, came running to the Axe Jaw Pokemon.
From Bulbasaurs, Skiplooms, Lotads, Deerlings etc, they all came rushing to Drake's Haxorus, leaving their respective territories. Applejack's Sceptile watched as all the Pokemon were flocking to one spot because of one roar.
"Scep?"
"Hmm..." Drake narrowed his eyes, waiting for the arrival of the Special Haxorus as he watched over the army of Pokemon coming his way. Since the population here was so minuscule, he wasn't expecting a sea of Pokemon to be seen.
"Aww...look at all of them!" Fluttershy's eyes shot up as she went over to the Pokemon who had gathered here. "I should have Krookodile back at home try an Alpha Call frequently."
The few passengers who came off the boat decided to interact with the Pokemon living here alongside their own Pokemon as well. But there was no Special Haxorus among them. Some of the Pokemon decided to return to their territories after seeing that it was essentially a false alarm.
"I see Grass, Water and even Flying. But no Dragon." Pinkie Pie navigated her head. "Maybe it's moving slow."
"Probably. Haxorus aren't exactly the fastest Pokemon." Drake replied. "And this planet is relatively small too."
"Well, I'm gonna take this chance!" Spike ran off. "That Haxorus is mine!"
"Hmph. We'll see." Drake stood there as he didn't bother following Spike. He was just going to stay here with his own Haxorus, preparing to let everything play out. "Stay on guard, Haxorus."
"Haxo!"
Meanwhile, with the Team Plasma Grunt, he was already on the move.
Every Pokemon here could be considered special, especially the ones who were in the water. He could see that some of them were returning to their territories after Haxorus's Alpha Call while others were still with Drake and the others. This was the perfect time to take action.
"Right then. Let's get started." The grunt dug into his pockets, already prepared to get to catching.
"Skip. Skiploom." A group of Skiploom's had returned to their territory for a quick drink. Specifically, from the magical waters that were unpredictable.
Each of the Cottonweed Pokemon stopped by the lake, drinking the mystical liquid from it for a nice refreshing cool off. Even though this world has an odd and unseen energy that can refresh the body either way.
When they drank the water, they were immediately given some of its magical attributes. They each received that same blue glow that surrounds all the Water-Type Pokemon.
"Loom!" The first Skiploom felt great as it celebrated by using Synthesis. Except, the move it used wasn't Synthesis but instead, it was Shadow Ball as it accidentally shot a blob of darkness from its mouth. "Skip?!"
"Skip-Skip!" The second Skiploom went through a different change as well. Its body had become transparent all of a sudden.
The third Skiploom became hard as steel as it dropped on the ground, making its fellow Skiplooms shake a bit and the rest underwent their own bizarre changes.
Despite how odd it looked, the Skiplooms seemed to enjoy it. They're usually carefree Pokemon who don't worry about that much at all.
But there was one thing to worry about as the Team Plasma Grunt approached the group of Skiploom's who were just minding their own business.
"Loom?!" However, one of the Skiploom's could already sense an ominous presence close to them. It turned around to see the Team Plasma Grunt standing before its fellow Skiplooms, warning them immediately. "Skip! Skip!"
"You certainly look different." The grunt said as he held out some Poke Balls. "Colress is going to enjoy examining all of you."
"Skip!" Not wanting to get involved with the grunt, the Skiplooms began to skip away out of fear. However, fleeing wouldn't help the situation as the grunt had a Pokemon to deal with them.
"Come out! Drapion!" He sent out his Drapion.
"Drapion!"
"After them." The grunt hopped on the back of his Pokemon.
"Pion!" Drapion didn't need to use any moves to catch up. That's because Drapion is naturally faster than a Skiploom by default as it began chasing the Skiplooms down while its trainer sat on its back as a ride.
The Skiplooms were skipping about as they looked behind them to see the Ogre Scorp Pokemon and the grunt approaching them at high speeds. Drapion used its large claws to destroy any tree that got in its way and it could even crawl up on the trees if it wanted to for extra mobility.
It didn't take long for the Poison-Dark-Type to catch up as one of the Skiplooms was already in grabbing range as it wasn't faster than its brethren.
"Drap!" As such, Drapion managed to grab the first Skiploom in its right claw.
"Sk-Skip!" The Skiploom had been caught within the grasp of Drapion as its fellow Skiplooms heard the cry of their brethren as they looked back to see that Drapion had already claimed one of their kind.
"In you go." The grunt tossed the Poke Ball, hitting the Skiploom and sending the Cottonweed Pokemon inside of the ball as it shook three times.
One Skipoom had been caught as the others looked back in horror as they continued to skip along, hoping that they wouldn't be caught next.
"Skip!" However, one Skiploom was feeling vengeful as it stopped skipping, changing into a ferocious expression as it was about to lash out at Drapion and the Grunt.
"Dra?"
"Brave, are we?" The grunt scoffed.
"Skip...Loom!" The Skiploom that could now use Shadow Ball, used its newly obtained Shadow Ball by shooting it out from its mouth as a black blob travelled towards the Ogre Scorp Pokemon.
However, Drapion stood there, knowing that Shadow Ball could barely do a thing to it because of its Dark-Typing. When Shadow Ball connected, an explosion of Ghost energy occurred.
The smoke was slowly clearing. But while it was fading away, out of the smoke came Drapion's claw, which latched onto the heavy and hard Skiploom. The claws then seeped poison into the vulnerable Cottonweed Pokemon. Drapion did find it a bit difficult to hold this Skiploom since its weight had been transformed.
"Skip...!" Skiploom had been poisoned, invoking further fear into the other Skiploom. Even the brave one. Because of this, it made it easier to catch the Cottonweed Pokemon.
The other Skiplooms continued to move as they witnessed yet another one of their brethren being placed inside of a Poke Ball by the grunt as he held two Poke Balls containing two Skiplooms.
But no matter how fast they skipped, Drapion would still catch up to them with ease. They decided to think off their feet and try to find a way to avoid their predators.
But they would have to think fast because Drapion was closing in on them. They spotted other Pokemon nearby as they warned them of the imminent danger that was pursuing them and might even pursue all the other Pokemon here as well.
"Loom!" The warning sound had been made by the Skiploom as the nearby Pokemon were alerted by the threat here. The other Pokemon turned around, spotting Drapion and the Team Plasma Grunt approaching at high speeds, already trying to grab the next Skiploom in front of them.
With that, the Pokemon themselves started to run. Poison-Types are one of the many things they all fear. And for good reason. Especially if it's a Drapion. Some even dived into the water to avoid the Drapion. But that only made the grunt more determined to capture them.
"Hmph. This'll be a problem. No matter. I know of a way to slow you all down. Drapion! Use Cross Poison on the ground!"
"Dra...Pion!" The Ogre Scorp Pokemon crossed its arms above its head, hands and pincers start to glow purple. Drapion then slashed the ground with an X formation.
The moment Cross Poison hit the ground, a deadly poison began spreading. In just a few seconds, the lush and vibrant green grass of the planet was being contaminated and polluted by the poison made by Drapion.
The grass was transforming into a vile purple as the Pokemon who could fly made the wise decision to ascend and avoid this horrible spreading. But the Pokemon who couldn't fly were the unfortunate ones.
The blades of grass had been destroyed by the poison as many of the Pokemon who were on the ground had been hit, instantly getting poison seeped into their bodies the moment it made any contact with them.
Not even the trees were safe as the wood had been melted away by the festering venom that seemed to have no end. The Pokemon resting on the trees were planning on jumping to escape the poison, however, it was on the ground as well, so there would be no point. Seeing that they were deadlocked, they as well had been caught by the poison.
The grunt hopped off of Drapion's back as he had a lot of Pokemon to choose from since the poison had affected around 30 of them so far. And it was still going. Now would be a perfect time to catch all the Pokemon here poisoned. And he had enough Poke Balls to do so. He wouldn't be able to capture every single Pokemon on this planet but he would still have a good amount.
He got to work, walking over to Pokemon who were moving slowly because of the poison hurting them from inside. He tossed the first few Poke Balls in numerous directions as they each hit the nearest Pokemon, sending them inside and capturing them with ease.
Drapion cornered a Sunflora, pinning the Sun Pokemon to a tree. "F-Flora!"
"Dra! Dra!" Drapion used its other claw to hold up a Petilil who was squirming while being hurt by the poison.
"P-Petilil!"
"Ivy!" Thankfully, the one Pokemon unaffected by the poison was Ivysaur thanks to it being part Poison and its large seed absorbing all the toxins.
The Seed Pokemon fired an Energy Ball at Drapion, which didn't hurt when it made contact. But it did grab the attention of the Ogre Scorp Pokemon. "Dra?"
"Ivysaur!" Ivysaur was standing up to Drapion. The Seed Pokemon continued to attack from afar by using repeated Energy Balls which weren't very effective, but could still deal damage. Just not that much to a Drapion.
The grunt saw how an Ivysaur was trying to stop his Drapion, so he decided to intervene. He had already caught all the Pokemon nearby and soon, he'll catch the rest.
He approached the Ivysaur from behind with silent footsteps as the Seed Pokemon was focusing on Drapion alone. But that was a grave mistake, as the grunt had grabbed onto the bulb, hitting a sensitive spot of Ivysaur and throwing the Grass-Poison-Type off focus.
"S-Saur?!"
"Can't have you ruining everything." The grunt grinned as he tightened his grip on Ivysaur's bulb.
"Ivy!"
"Drapion! Iron Tail!" With all his might, the grunt tossed Ivysaur towards Drapion, allowing the Ogre Scorp Pokemon to utilize its tail this time.
"Dra!" Drapion's tail hardened as it raised its tail, getting ready to slam it onto Ivysaur. The Seed Pokemon's eyes gasped as it couldn't avoid this attack since it had been flung. And with a heavy impact, Drapion slammed its Iron Tal onto Ivysaur's head, plummeting the Grass-Poison-Type to the ground.
"Ivysaur!" Ivysaur cried out in pain as Drapion's tail rested on its head, pinning the Seed Pokemon there.
"Hm..." The grunt went up the Ivysaur. "Sure. I'll catch you too. You might have some of the water in you. If not, then you can always be tested on by Colress in different ways." He held out a Poke Ball, ready to catch Ivysaur.
"Saur! Saur!" Ivysaur refused to be captured by someone like him. The Seed Pokemon would prefer to be caught by a worthy trainer instead of a thief. Ivysaur squirmed around, trying its best to break free from Drapion's Iron Tail, but it was no use.
As the trainer was getting ready to throw the Poke Ball, the Seed Pokemon closed its eyes, knowing that it had failed to protect its friends and itself as well.
It seemed that all hope was lost for Ivysaur and the Pokemon here, until, from above, a Dragon Pulse came from above, landing in between Ivysaur, Drapion and the grunt, blowing them both back along with some of the nearby trees.
"Dr-Dra!" Drapion went flying along with the Pokemon it had in its hold while the grunt rolled on the ground.
"Ugh!" The grunt groaned as he crashed into a tree that hadn't been poisoned yet since the poison had slowed down for now. He knew that a Pokemon had fired that Dragon Pulse, but he was wondering which Pokemon.
As he looked up, he spotted a silhouette of the Pokemon who fired the Dragon-Type move. And standing on a healthy tree was none other than Applejack's Sceptile.
"Tile!"
"Gh! A Sceptile?!"
"Scep!" Sceptile used his vines to grab Ivysaur, Petilil and Sunflora, getting them away from Drapion who was just recovering after Dragon Pulse.
"Ivy...saur?" Ivysaur looked up at Sceptile.
"Scep, Sceptile!" Sceptile told Ivysaur and the others that there was no need to worry. He had already seen the destruction that was being caused by Drapion's Cross Poison as it was still spreading from land to tree. Even the water had been poisoned, affecting the Water-Pokemon as well.
Luckily, Sceptile are Pokemon that are naturals at moving from tree to tree with amazing agility. So if one tree gets affected, he can just move to another in a heartbeat.
Sceptile essentially rules the forest. Even though this was also a jungle and grassland.
Luckily, Sceptile also had a way to stop the poison from spreading. In the form of Fluttershy's Audino. He could stay here and defeat Drapion and the grunt, but the poison would hinder him greatly since it was already closing in. Or he could head to Fluttershy and request assistance pronto.
However, Sceptile found a third alternative. While having his fellow Grass-Types on his vines, he used Dragon Pulse once more firing it while hopping from tree to tree. He was going to damage Drapion while heading back to his friends.
"Drapion! Dark Pulse!"
"Dra!" Drapion quickly countered Dragon Pulse with its own pulse as a purple beam with black circles around it was fired from Drapion's mouth, cancelling out the Dragon Pulse.
Sceptile was heading in the direction of Fluttershy while firing Dragon Pulses from his mouth, moving across the trees. He made sure to avoid the trees that were infected and to the ones that were still healthy for the time being.
The Dragon Pulses continued to hit the ground as they created many smoke clouds, hindering Drapion's vision, which annoyed the grunt and the Ogre Scorp Pokemon too.
"Dra!" Drapion swung its claws violently, blowing away the smoke clouds to try and see Sceptile. But because Sceptile had the upper advantage in a grass-themed area such as this world, he was already long gone because of his amazing agility and speed.
"Got away!" The grunt stomped on the ground.
"Drap!" Drapion, feeling aggravated, was planning on chasing Sceptile down.
"Drapion! Don't bother!" The grunt prevented Drapion from taking action. "We can deal with that Sceptile later. Let' just get the rest of the Pokemon and we'll call it a day."
"Dra."
The decision was made to capture the rest of the Pokemon with the number of Poke Balls there were left. Those that were poisoned were up for grabs as the poison continued to spread, slowly destroying this beautiful planet.
West of the Verdant Planet.
Spike, who was on a quest to find that special Haxorus, was unaware of what was happening to the forest. Along with many of the passengers here. But he did hear sounds in the distance. Most likely from Drapion and Sceptile.
"Haxorus, Haxorus...where are you? It's gotta be the biggest Pokemon in this forest. Can't be too hard to miss." Spike said. He tried climbing up the trees to see if he could get a better view, but he was unable to do so.
Spike noticed that there were a surprisingly low amount of Pokemon in this area. On the planet in general. Perhaps, because the planet is new to this existence, the population would be minimal.
"Hm." Spike stopped for a moment until he thought of something that could work. "I got it! Drake's Haxorus did an Alpha Call...so I'll just have my Salamence do the same!" He sent his Salamence out.
"Salamence!"
"Okay, Salamence! You're an Alpha, right?"
"Sala...Mence?"
"You know? An Alpha. Like uh..." He snapped his fingers. "Like the top of the hierarchy or something like that, I don't know."
"Mence." He shook his head. After all, Salamence was once a Bagon who was instantly turned into a Salamence in under a few seconds without warning or even going through the process of being a Shelgon thanks to Lucien and Sienna.
He wasn't exactly an Alpha. He was brave and fierce but not on the same level as Drake's Haxorus. But perhaps he had the potential to become an Alpha.
"Salamence." Salamence nodded as he looked up in the air, getting ready to perform a roar. He held his breath in, closed his eyes and let out a call. "𝙎𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!"
Salamence's roar wasn't an Alpha Call at all. But it was ferocious either way. The roar was fairly short and wasn't wide enough to go over the entire planet.
However, Salamence's call did summon a few Pokemon. Mainly a Ferroseed and a Pidgey. But that was about it. No other nearby Pokemon responded to the call.
"Aw..." Spike groaned. "Alright. We'll just keep searching for it. It's probably heading towards Drake's direction and-"
"Axew." Suddenly the voice of an Axew passed through the hard-to-find ears of Spike and Salamence each as they paused for a moment. This was an exclusively Grass-Water and Flying planet. For there to be Pokemon of other types would be a bit out of place.
But that didn't matter. Because the moment Spike heard the sound of an Axew, he realized he had a golden opportunity to catch himself an Axew and develop more as a Dragon Trainer.
"Oh! An Axe-" However, when turning around, he was given a surprising reveal. The Pokemon he was looking at was still an Axew but way different than he normally sees them.
"Xew?" The mysterious Axew tilted its head, curious about Spike.
"...An Axew...?"
To an unexpected surprise, Spike had come across an Axew of a different appearance. His interest has been skyrocketed to a high level at this point. But unbeknownst to spike and the passengers, their time on this planet might be short with the poison from Drapion spreading, as the journey continues.
Spike and his Salamence had just had an unexpected yet seemingly lucky encounter with a vastly different looking Axew that exists on this small planet among Grass, Water and Flying-Types.
"Axew?"
"You're an Axew...but you look totally different..." A starstruck Spike said while pointing at the Tusk Pokemon.
"Axe!" Axew gave his greetings by waving as its mere appearance still perplexed Spike and Salamence. Mostly Spike. Then the baby dragon started to realize something.
Coming across an Axew of a different appearance that did not match a normal Axew on a brand new undiscovered planet where there is seemingly a Special Haxorus also located here, made Spike put the pieces together. Fairly quickly a well.
"Oh! Are you the child of the Special Haxorus here?!"
"Xew?" Axew tilted its head.
"Awesome! Talk about my lucky day!" Spike squeed. "I can get myself a Special Axew and a Special Haxorus! Beat that, Drake!"
"Xew. Axew."
"Sala?" Salamence's eyes widened as he had heard something surprising about the Axew standing in front of him."Mence! Salamence!"
"What is it, Salamence?" Spike turned to his partner.
"Mence!" Salamence seemed like he had something important to tell Spike which would rock his world even further. Spike and Salamence could slightly communicate with each other as fellow Dragons, even if they were of different worlds. They had their own unique ways of going about it. Mainly charades.
"The Axew? What about him?"
"Sala!" Salamence decided to try a charade as he made a face resembling when he used to be a Bagon. Then he popped his face back into his usual Salamanece expression.
Spike narrowed his eyes as we watched Salamence switch from his Bagon face to his Salamence face in a few seconds, trying to figure out what Salamence was talking about.
Spike looked back at the Axew, then back to Salamence's Bagon face and then back to Axew and then back to Salamence's normal face.
By seeing both Dragon Pokemon back and forth, the realization hit Spike like a meteor as his pupils shrunk, his jaw dropped as he let out a prolonged gasped.
"Wait. Are you- Did you..." Spike slowly pointed at the Axew with his arm shaking.
"Axew!" The Tusk Pokemon nodded as he knew what Spike had figured out.
"You De-Evolved?!" Spike gasped.
"Xew!" Axew gave a thumbs up for confirmation.
"That can happen?! Can that happen?!" Spike turned to Salamence.
"Sala...?" Salamence didn't even know that was physically possible. But then again, he went from a Bagon to a Salamence in one day without having to become a Shelgon midway.
"Xew! Xew!" Axew, much like a Haxorus, is a kindhearted Pokemon. He went up to Spike, grabbing him by the claw and giving him a claw-shake greeting. Axew was around the same height as Spike so they were on the same level.
"So you're the Special Haxorus but you somehow de-evolved. Is it the magic in this world that's doing that?"
"Axew!"
"Well...it still counts as the Special Haxorus so...This is a total win for me! Say, Axew. How would you like to come with us, huh?"
"Axe?"
"I'm training to be a Great Dragon Trainer. And it'd be great if I had another Dragon on my side to help me reach that goal. So will you help out?"
"Xew..." Axew glared at the Poke Ball in Spike's hand. But his attention was quickly averted to something else as his head turned to the left. "Axe!"
"Hm? Is that a yes or a no?"
"Axew...!" Axew growled. He knew something was not right at the moment. The diamond patterns on Axew's body were suddenly emanating a golden light as if to give out signal warnings of some sort.
"Sal? Salamence!" Salamence had spotted what Axew had seen and sensed as well.
By looking over the small hill, the Dragon Pokemon finally noticed the poison caused by Drapion's Cross Poison as it was slowly approaching their direction, infecting the grass and trees in front of it. It showed no signs of stopping as very soon, Spike as well saw the poison approaching as it engulfed the hill.
But it wasn't just the poison approaching. Terrified Pokemon were fleeing from the poison, screaming and wailing. It wasn't just the poison they were running from. The Team Plasma Grunt and his Drapion were capturing Pokemon that already been poisoned. They weren't seen on the hill, but they were somewhere here in the forest.
"Oh! Poison!" Spike gasped as he hopped on Salamence's back, knowing that the poison would seep into him if he stayed on the ground. He looked at Axew, seeing that he couldn't fly either. The poison would surely infect him too if he did not leave the ground. So Spike decided to save Axew from imminent poisoning."Axew! Hop on!"
"Xew!" But Axew didn't listen. Instead, he continued to growl at the approaching poison, which confused Spike since growling at poison was practically useless. It's not like poison can be intimidated.
However, that's when Axew did something that an Axew is not normally capable of doing. The Tusk Pokemon held his claws out, showing the diamonds that were on the palm of his claws.
The two diamonds were shining brighter than the rest of the diamonds on his head and knees as a golden aura engulfed the Special Axew. Spike and Salamence witnessed Axew shine as the grass beneath him were being influenced by the mysterious golden light.
"Axew!" Then, with a mighty cry, Axew released a flash of light that came out of his body as it travelled towards the direction of the poison. The sound the light made sounded similar to the angelic echo the blue wisps back at the Arcane Ocean make.
The light of Axew had come across the poison, pushing the virulent substance back as if the light was fending the poison off from spreading any further. The light seemed to be using a large portion of Axew's energy as his eyes were flashing green from the amount of force he was exerting.
Parts of the poison were being destroyed while the rest were being pushed back instead. Spike and Salamence had gazed upon the light and how it was pushing the poison back, but not fully destroying it, since it seemed that Axew's light wasn't enough. "Woah..."
"Sala..."
The poison's progress had been pulled back. The grass and trees were still infected but the ones beyond were safe for the time being. It seemed that this Axew has the amazing power to push back poison itself. Afterwards, the light vanished with tiny golden sparkles flowing into the sky.
"Xew..." The Tusk Pokemon suddenly fell over as he had fainted. Using that one single light attack drained a ton of his energy, enough to knock him out. A second golden light surrounded Axew as his body had reverted to its original Unovan form from an attack that strong.
"Oh! Axew!" Spike went over to the fainted Dragon-Type. He helped Axew up from the ground, putting his arm over the Tusk Pokemon. Thankfully, Axew also weighed the same as Spike, so he was easy to carry.
The Pokemon who were escaping from the poison had stopped as they saw that Axew had prevented it from moving. For the time being. But they didn't know that. They thought it was permanent. They let out resounding cheers targeted towards Axew, who was out cold so he couldn't hear all the praise and cheering.
The Grass-Types went up to Axew who was being carried by Spike, ready to thank him and also heal him after his good deed and saving them from being poisoned.
"Cheru." A Cherubi decided to be the one to heal Axew as it had used Heal Pulse to do so, emitting a pulse of green energy that covered the Tusk Pokemon specifically. But it was wide enough to affect Spike, even if he didn't need the healing.
With a beautiful aura filling him, Axew's body was being healed. But not only that, he gained a second aura around him. Specifically, the same golden light he used against the poison.
Everyone backed up as they saw a ball of light engulf Axew's body while he was being healed and recovered by Heal Pulse. The light around Axew was forming into the shape of a dragon as the brightness was intensifying, prompting everyone to close their eyes.
The dragon-shaped light spiralled for a bit in the air before coming back down and devouring the orb of light it originated from, creating an even brighter flash.
The flash had faded away, causing everyone to open their eyes. When they did open their eyes, everyone, mainly Spike and Salamence were surprised to see that Axew had transformed back into its Equestrian Form because of the flash.
"Xew...?" The Tusk Pokemon woke up, seeing that Spike was carrying him along with many Pokemon surrounding him.
"You can change in and out of that form? Awesome!" Spike exclaimed.
"Axew." He nodded.
"I thought it was temporary after seeing what happened to Milotic and Gengar...Guess that must mean you're extra special, huh?"
"Xew."
The Grass-Types could finally thank Axew now that he was awake. They believed that he had permanently stopped the poison from spreading. Even Spike did as well. While he certainly destroyed bits of it and halted its progress, the poison wasn't anywhere near close to finishing its vile job. After all, it will continue to spread later on.
"Is everyone else okay?" Spike asked the Pokemon around him. They were all healthy and safe thankfully. However, the same could not be said for the Pokemon who had been caught by the poison.
And of course, the one who caused the poison to fill the planet in the first place. The Drapion who belonged to the Team Plasma Grunt. And speaking of the Team Plasma Grunt and Drapion, their catching spree was linear since the poison was spread in one direction with a wide radius.
The grunt was following that direction and caught all the Pokemon who had been poisoned along the way. He was running out of Poke Balls. Only 4 of them were remaining at his disposal.
And his search eventually led him to Spike, Salamence, Axew and the remaining Pokemon who were escaping from him, Drapion and the poison.
"Well." The grunt slammed his foot with a heavy impact. "I see something interesting."
"Huh?" Spike heard the sounds of someone's foot hitting the ground along with a voice travelling through his ears. Him, Salamence and all the Pokemon turned to see the grunt and his Drapion, holding an Oddish in its claws.
"Odd...Oddish!"
The Grass-Types all hid behind Salamence since he was a big and strong Pokemon, so they felt like they would feel safe around him and perhaps even Axew after that light move. They were all terrified of the grunt and Drapion. And for good reason. They were the ones who did this to their forest after all and had captured many of their friends.
"Salamence..." Salamence snarled, knowing that this grunt was not to be trusted.
"W-Who are you?" Spike stuttered.
"Doesn't matter. But what does matter is what you're carrying with you." The grunt pointed at Axew. "That Axew's something special. Never seen anything like it."
"Axew..." Axew himself was also cautious, much like Salamence and the Grass-Type Pokemon behind Salamence. The sight of these two and their menacing grins made it clear that they were trouble at first sight.
"I was hoping to catch a Special Pokemon instead of the standard ones here that have just interacted with the water. That's certainly a Special Pokemon by appearance. Ghetsis, but mostly Colress, would enjoy researching it." The grunt smirked. "I'll have a lot to report back!"
"Ghetsis...?" The name that struck fear into all of Equestria. The most dangerous individual Equestria has ever faced and ever will face had just been mentioned. Hearing that, Spike's heart skipped a beat as he realized who he was talking to right now. "You're...You're Team Plasma!"
"But of course." The grunt put his hat on as he removed his trench coat, revealing his full Team Plasma outfit. "Now move aside. Unless you wish to be pummeled by my Drapion."
"Drapion!" Drapion intimidated Spike by clapping its claws together.
"No way!" Spike refused as he gulped. He knew he was stepping into hot water with this interaction with a Team Plasma grunt.
"Hoh?" The grunt raised an eyebrow.
"Like I'd let someone like you catch Axew...I won't let you have him or any of the Pokemon here! Isn't that right, Salamence?"
"Salamence!" Salamence stepped forward, standing next to his trainer.
"You've got guts for a creature the same size as that Axew...but do you think it would be smart to battle me now? The poison will start moving again soon."
"Then I'll just beat you before that happens! Salamence! Let's go! Use Hyper Beam!"
"Sala...!" Salamence opened his mouth as an orange ball, appeared in front of his mouth.
"Split it with Iron Tail, Drapion!"
"Dra!" Drapion turned around as it hardened its tail to match that of Iron.
"Mence!" Salamence then fired a beam of orange energy that tore through the ground, making a loud booming sound as it approached the Ogre Scorp Pokemon.
"Pion!" Drapion swung its Iron Tail in the middle of Hyper Beam which caused the powerful Normal-Type move to split into two directions. The split Hyper Beam obliterated the trees on the side as Drapion's Tail took little to no damage from the attack. An explosion of smoke occurred after the beam was cancelled out.
The Grass-Type Pokemon all shuddered as they backed away from this battle. They didn't want to get caught up in all of this since these were two very powerful Pokemon going against each other. Even Axew ran off with them as they all watched the battle from afar.
"Heh! Drapion! Ice Fang!"
"Dra!" The Ogre Scorp Pokemon moved through the smoke with its fangs lighting up with light blue icy energy. Salamence had to recharge because of Hyper Beam, so he couldn't retaliate.
As such, Drapion then bit down on Salamence's neck with a chilling fang as it caused the Dragon Pokemon to scream in excruciating pain. "Sala!"
"Drapion!" Drapion dug its fangs into Salamence's neck, sending a chill through his body as he wouldn't let go of the Dragon Pokemon.
"Salamence!" Spike gasped. "Quick! Use Dragon Tail!"
"S-Salamence!" Salamence had regained energy as his eyes flashed green. His tail lit up draconic green energy, ready to swing it.
"Toss Salamene away!"
"Drap!" Drapion quickly prevented Salamence from pulling Dragon Tail off as the Poison-Dark-Type loosened its fang grip on Salamence's neck, tossing the Dragon Pokemon aside.
"M-Mence!" Salamence screamed as he tumbled on the ground. The Dragon Pokemon crashed through some trees after being flung by Ice Fang which was already highly painful against a Dragon-Flying-Type such as himself.
"Now! Iron Tail, go!"
"Drap!" Drapion ran over to Salamence, hardening its tail as it was going to beat the Dragon Pokemon while he was down.
"Here he comes..." Spike was preparing for a perfect time to counterattack as Salamence laid on his back, spotting Drapion who was approaching him with an Iron Tail that would most definitely hurt upon contact.
"Pion!" The Ogre Scorp Pokemon then turned around, raising its tail as it was aiming to strike Salamence's vulnerable stomach since he was laying on his back.
"Now, Flamethrower!"
"Sala!" The counterattack had arrived. First, Drapion had slammed Iron Tail onto Salamence's stomach which caused the Dragon Pokemon's eyes to widen as he coughed. But, Salamence could now strike back as the moment he had been hit by Iron Tail, he breathed out a red-orange beam of scorching fire from his mouth, which engulfed the Ogre Scorp Pokemon, who still had its tail on Salamence's stomach.
"D-Drapion!" Drapion was the one screaming as Flamethrower was forcing the Poison-Dark-Type away from Salamence while the flames pour on its body.
"Yes! Pour it all on Drapion!" Spike raised his arms.
"Salamence!" Salamence did exactly that by increased the heat and size of the Flamethrower, not giving Drapion any time to have some free space.
"Kh! Annoying brat...!" The grunt growled. He decided to let Drapion take Flamethrower without bothering to do anything to fight back against it. Instead, he was going straight for Axew as he ran over, passing Drapion and the Flamethrower as well.
"Axe?" Axew looked over to see that the grunt was coming straight for him.
"Gotcha!" He held his arm out, expecting to grab the Tusk Pokemon. But to his surprise, Spike had stopped him by jumping on the grunt's head and using his claws to block his vision.
"No, you don't!" Spike said as he was now on top of the grunts head, blocking his vision.
"Hey!" The grunt exclaimed as he was now walking without clear eyesight, waddling and wobbling around. "Get off!" He tried to grab Spike to get him off. But Spike had a solution to that. He bit the grunt's finger the moment his hand got too close to him, causing the grunt to scream in pain. "Gah! Why you...!"
Aggravated, the grunt decided to find new ways to get Spike off his head. He then thought of something that would give Spike a scare. And that involved the Flamethrower that was still engulfing Drapion who couldn't do anything at the moment.
The grunt decided to run over to the Flamethrower, planning on jumping into the fire with Spike. "Ah!" Naturally, Spike wasn't a fan of that. So he hopped off the grunt's head while the grunt stopped before he could get himself into the fire.
"Heh!" The grunt grinned as he looked back at Spike, holding the finger Spike bit. "Nice try."
"It's not over yet!" Spike got up from the ground. "You still won't get your hands on Axew, no matter what!"
"That should be the least of your problems..." The grunt pointed his finger to the north, showing Spike something that he and the others had forgotten about for a while.
The poison was moving once more. It had already been on the move 3 minutes ago. Right around when Drapion bit into Salamence's neck. It was closing in on them as the Grass-Types immediately started running once more, just to avoid being poisoned.
"Not good...!" Spike winced. "Guess I've got-" Before he could turn around and make a change of plans, the grunt had snuck up from behind while Spike wasn't looking. With his guard down, the Team Plasma grunt grabbed Spike by the head, lifting the baby dragon from the ground. "Ah!"
"You're not going anywhere! A troublesome brat like you shouldn't meddle in my business! Let's see how you like being poisoned!" The grunt was about to toss Spike towards the poison as a means of getting rid of him.
"W-Wait!" Spike gasped, but it was too late. The grunt tossed Spike with all his might sending him through the air as the baby dragon was screaming.
"Sala?!" Salamence stopped using Flamethrower as he saw his partner in imminent danger. Without hesitation, he immediately flew off the ground, dashing forward, just to save his friend as Drapion was free. However, the Ogre Scorp Pokemon had been burnt in the process.
"AA-AH!" Spike closed his eyes as he could see that he was about to fall into the poison. Luckily, he had an amazing partner by his side as Salamence caught Spike on his back.
"Mence!"
"Oh! Salamence!" Spike had a wide smile on his back, grateful for his partner coming to save him at the right moment as Salamence avoided the poison by ascending.
However, the grunt was counting on Salamence to save Spike from danger for only one reason. To get Spike far away so that he would have the opportunity to grab the Special Axew.
Drapion snuck from behind, just like how its trainer snuck up on Spike a few seconds ago, using its claws to grab onto Axew, catching the Tusk Pokemon by surprise.
"X-Xew?!" Axew!"
"Drap! Drapion!" Drapion's claw dug into Axew's skin as the Grass-Type Pokemon watched from afar, seeing Axew in Drapion's clutches.
"Excellent!" The grunt held out a Poke Ball, ready to capture Axew.
"Uh oh!" Spike' eye widened as he witnessed Axew's current situation and the Poke Ball in the grunts hand. "Quick, Salamence! Hyper Beam!"
"Sala...!" Salamence was about to fire Hyper Beam once more until Drapion pulled a dirty trick. The Poison-Dark-Type held Axew forward, putting him in front of the Ogre Scorp Pokemon and using him as a shield. "Mence?!" This prompted Salamence to cease his attack as he didn't want to hurt Axew.
"Axe! Axew!" Axew squirmed around.
"Heh. Too easy." The grunt cackled as he casually tossed the Poke Ball towards the Tusk Pokemon. Salamence wanted to fire an attack but he would risk hurting Axew. And Spike himself knew that. So instead, they were going to charge in and grab Axew as Salamence shot downwards like a rocket, causing double shockwaves as he raced towards Drapion and Axew.
But it was too late.
The Poke Ball hit Axew's head, sending the Tusk Pokemon inside as Salamence came to a screeching halt. The ball landed on the ground as it was starting to shake.
1...2...
"Axe!" Axew broke out of the Poke Ball, surprising the grunt and Drapion as the Poke Ball didn't give them a full guarantee capture.
"Dra?!"
"Curses!" The grunt stomped his foot.
"Oh sweet!" Spike bellowed.
"Sala!"
"Xew...!" Rightfully enraged, Axew targeted all of his anger towards the Team Plasma Grunt and his Drapion for trying to capture him. The happy and cheerful Axew quickly shifted its personality and feelings in a heartbeat as it glared at Drapion and the grunt, dead in the eye.
"Feh. What are you gonna do about it?" The grunt taunted him.
"Ax..." At the spur of a moment, a golden light surrounded Axew's body once more. But this time, he wasn't reverting to his Unovan form. Not at all. This was something different.
And it was definitely showing as the skies were suddenly shifting to a night-time aesthetic all of a sudden which prompted everyone to look up, confused as to why the night was arriving so soon in the morning.
But it wasn't the night.
Instead, they were dark blue clouds forming from the glow of Axew's golden aura. The sound of thunder rumbling could be heard as the ground itself was trembling. Cracks were forming, lightning formed in the clouds. Any form of water on this planet was rising as a wind pressure equal to that of a storm was being generated.
"W-What is this?!" The grunt got on his knees as he couldn't handle the trembling.
It wasn't just him. Everyone on the planet was feeling the tremor. In fact, the planet itself was shaking because of what Axew was doing. The Pokemon themselves were falling over and screaming. Trees were being ripped out of the ground, toppling over, the terrain itself was being transformed.
"What's going on?!" Ash said.
"Where's this tremor coming from?!" Twilight screeched as she looked around.
"Haxorus..." Drake held his hat, knowing what Pokemon was causing this mighty tremor.
Axew kept screaming as his body was suddenly growing in size. His aura was expanding as a massive crater was being formed because of his size increase. And yet, the spot he stood on was untouched by all this rumbling. Even the sky itself was shaking.
The passengers on the Royal Unova as well had been affected by the trembling as the ship was also losing balance. The rumbling even went far enough to reach the space of the Arcane Sea itself.
The streams of water were being risen as the Water-Pokemon inside had almost fallen out of the water and to their potential doom in the seemingly endless abyss of the Arcane Sea. But thankfully, they all managed to keep themselves steady.
The poison itself had been pushed back once more because of this sudden aura increase, halting its progress once more as parts of it were being obliterated by the rising aura.
"Ax! AX! AX...XORUS!" With a mighty bellow through the top of his lungs, Axew's voice changed as his aura erupted, forming a devastating explosion that pushed everything around it back.
"D-Drap?!" Drapion was hit by the eruption of the aura as he was knocked back by its force.
Spike and Salamence were trying to keep their balance in the sky as this storm-like pressure was trying to force them down. Luckily, Salamence was strong enough to keep it together as the light of Axew was fading away. Although, Axew wasn't the same anymore. He didn't revert to his normal form. Instead, he went further beyond.
The Special Haxorus had finally been revealed. In all of its draconic and ferocious glory. Spike, the Team Plasma grunt and all the Pokemon nearby, all witnessed the transformation and appearance of the Equestrian Haxorus.
"Woah..." Spike gazed as he had finally seen the Special Haxorus for the first time. "The Special Haxorus..."
"A-A-Aaaah...!" The grunt himself was perplexed by this as he did not see this coming.
"D-D-Drapion?!"
"Haxorus...!" With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound, the Dragon-Type shot his eyes towards the grunt and Drapion with his eyes glowing green.
"E-Excellent!" The grunt grinned as he was shaking. "I'm definitely catching you without a doubt! A Pokemon like you deserves to be with Team Plasma!"
"Xorus...!"
"Drapion! Ice Fang!"
"Dra!" Drapion was about to head in for another Ice Fang as it opened its mouth wide with an icy blue aura forming in its fangs.
But this time, Haxorus wasn't bothered. Instead, when Drapion approached him, he used both of his hands to grab onto Drapion's fangs, holding Drapion in place as Haxorus could barely feel the cold aura from Ice Fang.
"P-Pion?!"
"Xorus!" Haxorus got the first hit off by smashing his head onto Drapion's, creating a powerful shockwave from the impact.
"Drap-Drapion!" Drapion yelled in pain.
"Xo-Xo-Xorus!" Haxorus repeated the process by continuously smashing his head against Drapion with unrelenting fury.
"Pion!"
"Haxorus!" Haxorus then used an overwhelming around of strength to lift Drapion off the ground before slamming the Ogre Scorp Pokemon back down on the ground.
"D-Drap!"
"Xorus!" And he kept doing this. He raised Drapion once more, slammed him down yet again, and kept repeating the cycle over and over again.
"Kh! Use Iron Tail!"
"D-Drapion!" Drapion closed its eyes as it used its Iron Tail as a means to escape by swinging it towards Haxorus. The Iron Tail connected onto Haxorus's knees but the Axe Jaw Pokemon barely felt a thing. "Pion?!"
"Xor!" Haxorus, completely unmoved by Iron Tail, decided to change his approach of attack, by involving the grunt. He spun Drapion around, forcing the Ogre Scorp Pokemon to become dizzy. Then, after a short amount of time, Haxrous let go of Drapion, sending it towards the grunt.
"Oh!" The grunt gasped as he had been hit by his own Pokemon. He felt the bodyweight of Drapion fall on him as he had been pinned to the ground. The Poke Balls that the grunt had used to catch the Pokemon had fallen out of his pockets as they rolled on the ground because of Drapion crashing onto him.
"Haxo!" But Haxorus wasn't done yet. He ran over to the grunt and Drapion with his diamond patterns shining as if to intimidate them.
"Ah! I-Iron Tail!"
"Drap!" Drapion quickly got off its trainer as it hardened its tail, knowing that Haxorus might end up dealing massive amounts of damage if he lands a hit. So Drapion wasn't about to let that happen.
"Xorus!" Haxorus had used Dragon Claw as he swung it towards Drapion's Iron Tail, which had also been swung. The two moves had clashed, creating a loud clanging sound that shattered the wood of the trees.
The two of them went back and forth with their claw and tail, but Haxorus seemed to be the one getting the upper hand as his Dragon Claw's were much more ferocious and potent than the average Dragon Claw.
Drapion's tail was taking damage, even when using Iron Tail as it caused the Ogre Scorp Pokemon's hits to become weaker and slower, giving Haxorus the greater edge. "D-Drap! Drapion!"
"Amazing..." Spike gawked as he quickly snapped back to reality, realizing what he needed to do. Retrieve the Pokemon that the grunt had stolen. "Alright...Salamence. Let's get close to that Team Plasma guy."
"Sala!" Salamence saw Haxorus as an amazing Pokemon and even idolized him. Physically, Salamence was an adult, but mentally, he was a child because of his instant evolution months back. He quickly snapped back as well as he flew over to the grunt who was too fixated on Haxorus.
"How strong is this thing?!" The grunt growled. "If it's gonna be this difficult, then I'll-"
"You won't be doing anything!" Spike said as he made Salamence land down right behind the grunt. The grunt almost lost his balance as the shadow of Salamence was towering over him with eyes that could pierce through steel.
"Salamence!" The Dragon Pokemon snarled at the grunt.
"Ah!" The grunt fell on his back while looking up at Salamence. He noticed that the Poke Balls had rolled away from him after Drapion had fallen on him. All those Pokemon he caught were no longer on him as Salamence blocked him from reaching them.
"We'll be taking all those Pokemon back from you!" Spike hopped off Salamence's back as he went over to the Poke Balls. Salamence made sure that the grunt wouldn't try anything funny. "You guys! Come get your friends!" Spike held three Poke Balls up as he was encouraging the Grass-Types to help out.
The Grass-Types could see that Drapion was being overwhelmed and Salamence was keeping the grunt in check. So that meant that they had a golden opportunity to help retrieve the Poke Balls that their friends were all captured in. With that knowledge, they all ran off towards the scattered Poke Balls while Salamence intimidated the grunt with a Flamethrower burning in his mouth.
Spike released the first three Pokemon from their Poke Balls while the Grass-Type used whatever limbs they had to grab ahold of the remaining Poke Balls scattered across the ground. They didn't hesitate because of Haxorus and Salamence keeping the grunt and Drapion busy.
"Hey! You-" The grunt attempted to try and stop Spike, but Salamence breathed a Flamethrower near him, forcing the grunt to stay back.
The Pokemon who had been caught by Team Plasma had been released left and right by their friends. Soon, the planet was being filled with its original inhabitants once more because of their freedom. They even used their moves to destroy the Poke Balls, so that the grunt wouldn't have the chance to return their friends inside.
All the while, Haxorus had overpowered Drapion by using Dragon Claw to grab Drapion's Tail, holding the Ogre Scorp Pokemon in place. "Haxo!"
"Dra?!"
"Xorus!" Just like how Haxorus slammed Drapion up and down when grabbing its teeth, he then proceeded to do the same thing with its tail, but this time, in a different direction.
Haxorus slammed Drapion left and right, front and back on the ground repeatedly like a ragdoll. Each time Drapion was slammed on the ground, craters were being formed as Drapion was screaming. "P-Pion!"
"Hax!" Haxorus then dragged Drapion across the ground, slamming the Ogre Scorp Pokemon into a tree next, destroying the tree with one hit. Haxorus was ferocious and unrelenting now. Very different from the jolly and happy Axew from before.
"D-Dra!"
"Haxo!" Haxorus then stepped on Drapion's stomach, driving the Ogre Scorp Pokemon into the ground and forming more craters. Haxorus repeatedly stomped on Drapion's stomach, making the hole in the ground deeper and deeper with each hit as Drapion was getting the pummeling of a lifetime.
"P-Pion! Drap!"
"Xo!" Haxorus then grabbed his foe's face, tossing Drapion into the air and getting ready to finish this once and for all. He was going to end this battle by using Giga Impact to do so. An invisible white aura formed around the Axe Jaw Pokemon as the rocks around him were rising and floating around him.
Drapion's eyes widened as it realized that if Giga Impact hits, that's game over. And with how badly it had been beaten, it could barely do anything to defend itself, except for firing a Dark Pulse from above. Out of Drapion's mouth, Dark Pulse had been fired, in hopes of stopping Haxorus from landing Giga Impact.
But it was too late for that.
With a sound equal to that of thunder, Haxorus bolted off the ground, shattering a large portion of it as it raced towards Drapion. It immediately destroyed the Dark Pulse with Giga Impact's aura as Haxorus let out a ferocious roar while approaching Drapion who was absolutely terrified.
"D-Drap!" Drapion closed its eyes, accepting its inevitable defeat as it was ready for Haxorus to crash right into it.
However, to its surprise, and the surprise of Spike and the grunt, Haxorus's body was engulfed by the golden light once more as he was slowing down all of a sudden. He slowed down to a point where he wasn't able to smash into Drapion at full-force. This was because, just like before when he was still an Axew, too much energy can be a massive downfall for him. And it was showing.
The light eventually faded away as it was revealed that Haxorus reverted to a Unovan Haxorus, no longer in its Equestrian Form. Too much energy had been drained because of his ferocious attacks. And Giga Impact just further drained the Axe Jaw Pokemon.
"X-Xorus..." Because of this, Haxorus stopped right in front of Drapion with his axe head just slightly poking the Ogre Scorp Pokemon. Not only did it burn a lot of energy out of Haxorus to a point where he was no longer in his Equestrian Form, but he even transformed back into a normal Axew instead of the Equestrian Axew. "Xew..."
Axew was now falling from above with Drapion falling next. "Ah! Axew!" Spike gasped as he ran over to catch Axew while Salamence turned his attention away from the grunt to see Axew and Drapion falling. With Salamence distracted, the grunt took the opportunity to kick the Dragon Pokemon in the face and dash out of there.
"Mence!" Salamence winced from the kick as he looked over at the grunt running off.
"Return!" The grunt made the wise decision to return his Drapion since at this point, the Poison-Dark-Type had taken way too much damage from Haxorus and to an extent Salamence who also damaged Drapion before Haxorus attacked. Drapion had been returned to its Poke Ball before it hit the ground as the grunt took off.
"I gotcha!" Spike managed to catch Axew, saving the Tusk Pokemon from hitting the ground as he held his fellow Dragon in his claws. "Phew...Too close."
"Xew...Axew..." That was it for Axew. "He was out of commission for the time being. It seemed that he has his limits. Very visible limits that hold him back from unleashing his full power. Axew was thankful to Spike for saving him and helping out yet again as he gave a grateful smile to his fellow dragon.
Spike sighed as he placed Axew down. He himself was exhausted because of this entire debacle. He sat down on the half-destroyed ground, breathing in and out as Salamence flew to his side.
"Sala!"
"He got away, did he?" Spike looked at his partner. "It's fine. The Poke Balls have been destroyed, so he can't take them back anymore. Great job, by the way, Salamence."
"Mence!" Salamence licked Spike out of compassion.
"Xew!" Axew hugged Spike, regaining his jolly personality. When he's not a ferocious Haxorus, he's a lovable little dragon.
"Ow! Okay, thanks, Axew!"
It was finally over. The Team Plasma hunt had come to an end and everyone was safe and still on the planet. At least, it all looked fine at first.
The poison was still here. And the Pokemon who had been poisoned just to be caught easier by the grunt were still under the poison status effect as they felt highly ill. Spike himself could see that the Pokemon needed immediate care and healing, pronto.
And thankfully, the two who could cure them had arrived at the scene after witnessing all the chaos from afar. Fluttershy and her Audino, along with Ash, Drake and the others, had arrived and had just missed out on something special.
"Spike!" Twilight cried out. "Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine but...the rest of the Pokemon here...not so much." Spike pointed over at the poisoned Pokemon.
"We know. Sceptile came jumping over and told us what he saw," said Applejack. "Team Plasma did this, right?"
"Yeah." Spike nodded. "They were a real problem. But Salamence, this Axew over here and I dealt with the whole thing. No problem."
"An Axew? I thought this was specifically a Grass-Water and Flying-Type planet." Rarity replied.
"Oh right." Spike stood up. "You guys aren't gonna believe this! This Axew...is the Haxorus that Drake and I were aiming for!" Spike patted Axew on the back.
"Axew!"
"Used to be?" Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes. "Uh, Spike. Pretty sure it has to evolve into a Haxorus first, but even then, how could've been a Haxorus then back to an Axew?"
"It de-evolved."
"De-evolved?!" Twilight let out a prolonged gasped. "Wait! That can happen?! Pokemon can de-evolve?!"
"Only one of them can," Ash said. "Slowbro can de-evolve but...I didn't know Axew could do the same. Unless..."
"Xew! Axew, Axew!" Axew was explaining everything for Spike as Fluttershy was ready to translate it all.
"What did it say?" Pinkie asked Fluttershy.
"It said that it can go in and out of its Axew and Haxorus form by will." Fluttershy translated. "That's how it's able to de-evolve. But this time it didn't do it on purpose."
"That's right. That's not all he can do. Show them, Axew."
"Axe!" Axew nodded as he was ready to show the entire group what he was capable of. With the golden light engulfing him, Axew transformed from his Unovan form to his Equestrian form, showing off Equestrian Axew. "Axew!"
"Ah!" Drake bellowed along with everyone else. "So, this is the Special Haxorus?!"
"Sure is! He can do a bunch of cool stuff. Form changing and evolution switching." Spike and Axew gave each other a high-five.
"Hm. Well, what do you know..." Drake took his hat off. "These waters will never cease to surprise us, will they?"
"Ah! Fluttershy! The Pokemon!" Ash reminded Fluttershy and Audino.
"Oh, right!" Fluttershy nodded. "We should probably do the entire planet too. And I know just the thing." She held out her hoof, showing her Mega Ring as she was ready to Mega Evolve her Audino. "Are you ready, Audi?"
"Dino!"
"Okay. Let's make it an extra-wide Refresh. Mega Evolve!" Fluttershy activated the keystone, initiating the Mega Evolution process. Golden and blue lights flared out of Fluttershy's ring and Audino's neck ring simultaneously as they clashed together before engulfing Audino's body.
"Audino!" With a burst of energy, Mega Audino was here. And with no time wasted, she immediately used a radius-sized Refresh to cure not just the Pokemon, but the planet itself.
The Hearing Pokemon raised her arms as waves of green energy came out of her, pulsating across the ground, The Pokemon and the planet were being covered in the green natural light of Refresh.
The poison was being erased as its purple venomous colour had been overpowered by Refresh's green colour. The trees were being healed up. They were still wilted, but with Refresh eliminating the poison, they would eventually grow back to a healthier state over time.
The contaminated water was cleared as all the Water Pokemon inside could swim safely once more. The Pokemon were cured of their poisoned status as they could breathe properly, move properly and didn't have to worry about anything else thanks to Audino and Fluttershy.
Thus, the planet was healed as a beautiful green glow could be seen from the space of the Arcane Seas.
"Audino." Audino's work was done here as she reverted to her normal form.
"Great work, Audi." Fluttershy flew over.
"Axew! Axew!" Axew jumped around, pleased that everyone and everything was cured here. "Xew!"
"Hm?" Fluttershy's ears shot up once she heard what Axew had said.
"What is it now, Fluttershy?" said Applejack.
"He said...thank you for healing grandpa too."
"Grandpa?" Ash looked around. "There's a grandpa Haxorus here somewhere? I don't see him."
"Pika?"
"Oh! An old Haxorus with a beard!" Pinkie Pie imagined a Haxorus with wrinkly scales and a scraggly old beard.
"I beg your pardon?" Both Twilight and Rarity said.
"What do you mean the planet?" Drake asked. "If you're saying that then would that mean..."
"Oh!" Ash's hat flew off his head before landing back as he finally realized something. "Now this whole place looks super familiar!"
"It does?" His friends turned to him.
"Yeah! We're not on a planet! We're on a Super-Large Torterra!"
"A Torterra?!" They all looked to the ground and the sky.
It was indeed true. This entire time, they've been standing on a gigantic Torterra, which would explain the giant tree that could be seen. It wasn't a Dynamaxed or Gigantamaxed Torterra. Instead, this was another case of the Arcane Sea changing a Pokemon into something different.
"TORTERRA."
Torterra was clearly pleased with the healing. He had taken a lot of damage because of the battle. Craters were around him, holes had been formed and it was just generally not a pleasant feeling for him. Especially when he was poisoned. That was considered the absolute worst. But he was fine now that Audino healed him, so he would recover swimmingly.
"It was worth coming here, wasn't it?" Coco said. "I wonder if there are more Special Pokemon somewhere on this plan- I mean...Torterra."
"Honestly, I think I need a break from all these Special Pokemon." Rarity held her head. "We haven't even finished the festival yet. We're still on the...Wait. Is it the sixth day or the seventh day currently?"
"Seventh." Her friends answered.
"Right. Thank you. We're still on the seventh day. I'm both excited and worried about what the second week will bring."
"No time to rest yet. That Team Plasma Grunt is still running rampant, correct?" Drake said. "He has nowhere else to go but on the Royal Unova."
"Oh yeah." Ash nodded. "He's gonna wanna head back to Pyrestar's world."
"He'll probably hide somewhere in the ship too. It's a pretty big ship so he could be anywhere inside of it." Twilight replied.
"Right you are on that. The Royal Unova is massive. Much larger than what it used to be years ago. It could be considered a city." Drake uttered. "He'll be nervous to fully show himself now so he'll up his stealth, just to make sure no one finds him."
"Team Plasma's super known in Unova too, right?" Pinkie Pie asked. "They used to do bad stuff in the region, like you said, Ash."
"I say we just fly in there and knock him out!" Rainbow Dash smashed her hooves together. "Then send him flying back to-"
"Or perhaps...we try a different approach." Drake slowed Rainbow Dash down. "There are Officer Jenny's across the entire Pokemon World. If we head back to Nimbasa City, we'll have that grunt locked up with the Officer Jenny of Nimbasa City."
"And all we have to do is catch him, right?" said Twilight.
"Yes. But it won't be easy in a ship as large as the Royal Unova. My crew and I will immediately start searching for him. Even if it lasts until the end of the festival."
"Audi. Can you hear him?" Fluttershy questioned.
"Audino." Audino couldn't hear the grunt at the moment. There were far too many sounds going on and the grunt was making sure to keep quiet so that no one would hear him.
"We'll get him. He can't hide forever." Drake put his hat back on. "We should be on our way very soon. Back to the seas of Unova."
"What about your quest for the Special Haxorus. He's right here in the form of Axew." Fluttershy pointed her hoof at Axew.
"Axew?"
"Hmph. I would take my chance but...it seems that Axew over here has found an attachment already." Drake was referring to Axew and Spike.
"Attachment? To me?" Spike pointed at himself.
"I don't know the details of what happened here with you and the grunt, but I can tell that Axew is grateful to you for helping him in some way."
"Xew!"
"Oh. You're welcome, Axew! It was no problem." Spike had a proud grin on his face. "But wait...does that mean...?"
"I think it means what it really means." Drake nodded. "Spike. Axew has chosen you as his trainer. And I cannot take that away." Drake kneeled to face both Axew and Spike. "Do you accept Axew's offer?"
"Axew?"
"Yeah, I do!" Spike bellowed as he dug into his small bag, searching for a spare Poke Ball. He found himself a Great Ball instead. "Alright! Great Ball, go!"
Spike tossed the Great Ball into the air as Axew looked up at its imminent capture. "Xew!" The Tusk Pokemon jumped up, smashing his head onto the Poke Ball as a red light pulled him inside. The ball was now on the ground as it was ready to shake.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Axew was caught!
Spike went over to the Great Ball, picking it up as he released Axew from his ball. "Good to have you with us, Axew."
"Axew!" Axew and Spike gave each other a high-five, solidifying their new friendship. Spike was now advancing as a Dragon Trainer.
But despite how happy everyone was at the moment, the grunt was still free and currently on the move. He had escaped from Spike, Salamence and Axew while losing all of the Pokemon he had captured.
Except for one.
He held out a Poke Ball that hadn't fallen out when Drapion landed on him. This Poke Ball was what he would bring back to the Harmonia Kingdom. But he knew that heading back would be a bit troublesome now that his presence is known.
"Accursed dragons..." The grunt growled as he hid behind a tree. "But it's fine...I've got all the knowledge I need. And one Pokemon with all that jumbled up magic inside of it."
He looked over towards the direction of where the Royal Unova was. Just North from here. He knew that his Team Plasma outfit wouldn't help at all. So he placed his trench coat back on and took his hat off. However, Spike, Salamence and Axew now knew what his disguise was.
But as long as no one else finds out, he could be in the clear. Before he could run off, the grunt heard some voices nearby, so he stayed behind the tree to be cautious. The voices were getting closer as they sounded like a group of 6.
AKA Team Rocket and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
They had just finished making the small dinghy and were ready to let it set sail. But first, they were highly curious about this planet, which was actually a giant Torterra. Everyone found that out very quickly when they heard the cry of Torterra. The grunt himself was planning on catching Torterra, but that would be a horrible idea since Torterra was the entire planet. And capturing him meant falling into the abyss of the Arcane Sea.
"To think this whole planet's a Torterra. How great is that?!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"Marvellous!" James replied. "But also a bit nerve-wracking if you ask me. This goliath of a Grass-Ground-Type could spell our doom if someone were to accidentally drop a Poke Ball on it."
"Mhm..." Apple Bloom quivered as she held onto James' arm, terrified of the thought of Torterra being caught and them all falling into the abyss.
"Oh, but of course, no one's foolish enough to do that!" James laughed as he patted Apple Bloom on the head, reassuring her safety.
"So are you still gonna sail with that thing?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"In a minute," Jessie grumbled. "I'm more interested in this place if anything. I wonder if a beautiful Special Pokemon is somewhere waiting for me!"
"Don't count on it." Meowth chided as they all continued on their way, exploring the forest for themselves. The grunt breathed deeply as he was in the clear for now.
Now all he had to do was get onto the ship and wait it out until the Royal Unova returns to Nimbasa. But he wouldn't be leaving empty-handed or even without intel. Thanks to the microphone and camera, even though he didn't catch the Special Axew, he still had a lot to offer Colress who had over see the whole event.
With Axew being Spike's new friend and Dragon partner and the grunt currently aiming to get back to the Harmonia Kingdom via a trip on the Royal Unova without being caught, the Pokemon Festival's seventh day is underway while the second week is creeping up on the corner as the journey continues.
The Royal Unova. The Verdant Planet AKA the Gigantic Torterra. 8:00.
"Alright, all of you." Drake was speaking to his crew. "We've got an unwanted guest on this ship. Part of Team Plasma. Our main objective now is to get back to Nimbasa City and hand him over to Officer Jenny."
"Aye captain!" They all exclaimed in unison.
"This isn't the first time we've dealt with stowaways and trespassers. But with the size of the Royal Unova, it'll be harder to find him than the others from before."
"So do we make an announcement on the ship about a Team Plasma Grunt?" The helmsman asked.
"Do so. That'll get a scare out of him. But he won't show himself obviously, not in the state he's currently in. Stay sharp and on high alert. We're not the only ones searching for him anyway. Now, prepare to sail soon. We'll be avoiding the Flaming Tsunami this time."
Drake was right on that. Ash and the others had offered to help search for the Team Plasma Grunt on the Royal Unova. It might take a while, probably until they reach Nimbasa, but they were determined to catch him. Alongside Spike's newly caught dragon partner, the Equestrian Axew, who was currently in his Unova form at the moment. Since Axew was the same size as Spike, he was out of his Poke Ball since he preferred to stay out in the fresh air.
"Okay so...where do we start?" Rainbow Dash asked. "He could be anywhere, ya know."
"Audi still can't pick up on him," said Fluttershy. "There's a lot of noise on the Royal Unova so it'll be tough for her to find the right frequency."
"Audino."
"We'll find him." Twilight nodded. "Let's all check every deck there is and thoroughly. Pinkie Pie. Have your Slurpuff's sniff him out."
"Oh, sorry, Twilight! But my Slurpuff's haven't had the time to really get the grunt's scent down. They gotta be extra close to somepony before they can really sniff 'em anywhere."
"I got that covered." Spike chimed in. "The grunt and his Drapion grabbed me and Axew both. So you can just use us."
"Axew!"
"Oh, Okay. That makes it easy then!" Pinkie Pie squeed.
"Don't think he'll stay in one spot. He'll obviously try and move around the ship for the sake of further making his presence obscure." Rarity warned.
"Then in that case..." Twilight thought for a moment. "We'll all split up! There's enough of us for all the decks in the ship, right?"
"Looks like it." Ash looked around the ship. "Other than the cabins, there are enough decks for all of us to check out."
"Pikachu."
"If we can get at least one Team Plasma member, we'll get even closer to freeing Pyrestar's world from Ghetsis." Twilight looked at her friends. "If anypony finds him, use your Xtransceiver's okay? Or just call for Audino's name with a loud yell. She'll hear it for sure."
"Pika!" Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder, ready to split up on his own.
"I'll get started! This'll be like a fun mystery hunt!" Pinkie Pie sent her Slurpuff's out as Spinda popped out of her mane. "Meet you back here in the lounge!" She took off, being the first one to start searching as her Slurpuff's stuck together, focusing on Axew and Spike.
Everyone had split up into different directions. Some deciding to stick in groups. Now it wasn't just Drake's crew searching for the Team Plasma Grunt. The search for the grunt was now on.
Vitality Deck. 8:12
"Okay!" Pikachu rubbed his hands together as he entered the Vitaly Deck. "If I wanted to hide, I'd go to the lowest part of the ship. I think..."
Pikachu started searching the Vitality deck since it was one of the lower decks. The grunt might hide in a dark area. And no area gets darker than the lower section the further one goes.
Pikachu watched as ponies and humans were getting their backs massaged by the Machamps here or even getting a free hot sauna bath with a Macargo as the main source of heat. If he were to continue north of the Vitality deck, he would reach the next room.
"Hm?" A Machamp who was massaging a unicorn noticed Pikachu wandering around. "You lost kid?"
"Hm?" Pikachu looked up at Machamp. "Nah. I'm just looking for someone right now with my friends."
"You mean that grunt that was announced on the ship?"
"Yeah, that one! Have you seen him? He was wearing a trench coat to disguise himself! I think he's still wearing the coat right now!"
"Trench coat, hm?" Machamp hit the unicorn's sensitive spot with one arm, making him tingle while he used his other arm to hold his own chin. "I saw some jackets come in but no trench coats. None of our patients wore any. Did they, bro?" Machamp turned to the other Machamp beside him.
"Trench coat?" The second Machamp turned to his fellow Superpower Pokemon while massaging a human. "Yeah, I saw some guy in a trench coat."
"You did?!" Pikachu shot up after hearing that.
"But that was hours ago." Machamp quickly shot him down.
"Aww..."
"Sorry kid. Maybe you can try somewhere else." The first Machamp said. "But you ain't alone in this so you're gonna have some luck finding that guy."
"Right." Pikachu nodded. "I'll try the next room then!" Pikachu dashed towards the next room, hoping to make some great progress soon.
"Ah, wait! It ain't a good idea to-" The Machamp's tried to warn him, but it was too late. Pikachu opened the door to the next room and was met with an unwelcoming surprise.
The next room was where they kept the hot towels for passengers who want to stay warm in the cold or a deep way to clean the skin. The Machamp's were tasked with grabbing them since they were powerful enough to maintain the heat and versatile enough to hold many towels. Pikachu however, was not as the hot towels that were packed in the room fell on him like a landslide.
"Gah!" Pikachu gasped as the hot towels engulfed him, drowning the Electric Mouse Pokemon in a sea of towels that were each focusing their heat onto Pikachu's body.
Pikachu could feel the heat of the hot towels getting to him as he was not enjoying himself right now. Hot towels are meant to be enjoyed with just one. Multiple is just pain. Which is what Pikachu was going through right now.
Luckily, the Machamp's went over and grabbed the pile of towels at high speeds, freeing Pikachu from further pain as they put their massage for the human and unicorn on hold.
"O-ow..." Pikachu's body was a bit burnt after that as he was on the floor with his body steaming. That many hot towels on a small Pokemon like him can leave a lasting effect that might take hours to get through. "Hot! Hot!"
"That's a shame." The first Machamp crossed his arms.
"A real shame indeed." The second Machamp nodded his head. "Alright, kid. You're gonna need to cool off before continue playing detective." He picked Pikachu up.
"O-Okay..."
Before Pikachu could continue his search, he needed to be cooled off and healed from the heat that was currently punishing his body. Luckily, just like how they have a sauna in the Vitality Deck, they also have a reverse sauna where it's cold instead of hot.
"Aah...That's good..." Pikachu was placed inside of the cooling room's little pool where he could recover himself from the heat while also feeling refreshed.
He was about to get out of the pool and continue his investigation, but after having so many burns, he still needed a little more time before he can get out here. "Ow-ow! Not done yet..."
"Did the towels land on you too?" A Buizel spoke to him.
"Yeah...my bad on that one." Pikachu sighed. "I gotta cool off fast and keep on searching. Before we get back to Nimbasa. Hope the others are having better luck than me."
Normal Deck. 8:30.
Eve and Absol had grouped up, searching the Normal Deck for the grunt. Absol was trying to see if his horn could pick up on the grunt, but unfortunately, it only really picks up on actual disasters and incoming disasters. And the grunt isn't really a threat right now because of what happened back at the Verdant Planet, AKA the Giant Torterra. They asked other Pokemon if they had by chance seen the grunt.
"What does he look like?" A Sentret asked.
"Well the main thing he hides in is a trench coat. So have you seen anyone wearing a trench coat here?" Eve asked.
"Trench coat...Yeah, I saw a guy with a Trench Coat." Sentret nodded. "Not long ago actually."
"Really! That's great!" Eve grinned. "Where did he go?!"
"I saw him go south but that's it. I just stuck by my trainer the entire time."
"South. Got it. Thanks a lot, Sentret. We've got a lead now, Absol."
"Good. Let's snag him." Absol faced south as he was ready to charge in if he ran into the grunt. He and Eve went south after gaining knowledge, hoping to find the grunt as soon as possible. By themselves, they weren't planning on tackling him. Although, Absol is a different story.
By heading south, they arrived at the Drink Deck, which connected to the Normal Deck. So far, no sign of the grunt but rather people just enjoying their drinks, despite the knowledge of there being a Team Plasma Grunt onboard somewhere.
But their little venture in the Drink Deck quickly changed into something else, when Absol noticed a shady figure standing in the corner, camouflaged in the darkness.
"Who's there?!" Absol exclaimed which startled Eve.
"You looking for someone?" The shady figure, which turned out to be a Sneasel spoke. "I can help you with that."
"You can?" Eve said.
"Sure I can. I know of a place that'll really help you find that grunt person you're looking for real quick." Sneasel nodded.
"Oh, that sounds-"
"Yeah right." Absol cut Eve off as he was very cautious of Sneasel. "You already sound slippery. How do we know that you know there's a place where we can find him quicker?"
"I'll let you in on something that not many know about." Sneasel snickered. "On this ship, a bunch of us Wild Pokemon have ourselves a little sub-deck of our own. One where that tall captain can't even find us."
"Hold on! Are you a stowaway?" Eve narrowed her eyes.
"That's not important right now." Sneasel shook his claws. "You wanna find your guy, right? Trust me on this one and you won't be disappointed."
"Hmmrgh..." Absol's horn was flaring up.
"Well...Let's see this sub-deck that you're hiding first." Eve stepped forward. "But no funny business, okay?"
"There ain't no funny business here. Just watch." The decision was made. Sneasel led them to this secret sub-deck by pushing the corner of the wall with his claws.
It seemed that the corner of the wall had already been damaged as Sneasel could easily push through it. When he did push through it, a secret passageway with stairs had opened up as it was wide enough to fit Pokemon that are mostly around Absol's height. Meaning that large Pokemon such as Dragonite will be unable to enter.
Sneasel looked back at Eve and Absol before jumping into the secret passageway and sliding on the stairs by using his ice to do so. Eve and Absol looked at each other as they were ready to brace this together. Instead of jumping down like Sneasel, they just chose to walk down the stairs as they faded into the darkness, undetected by anyone else.
And once they got past those stairs, they were given the revelation of this sub-deck that Sneasel mentioned.
It was an entire party room with many Pokemon, mostly from the wild, residing here. The main room was a combination of a sit-down cafe and a discotheque, with the main attraction being a cabaret stage where Pokemon can perform whatever they want on it. There was even a large array of Pokemon food laying on the tables with the Pokemon themselves enjoying them.
There were also colourful lights in this sub-level, almost like a Christmas room with how many of them were flaring. Eve was stunned while Absol was aggravated by the bright colours. The Pokemon were just having fun down here in secret without Drake and his crew even knowing about its existence.
"Mom! I want it!" A Pikipek wailed to her mother who was a Trumbeak.
"All that moaning won't guarantee it to you. Just have patience, okay?" Trumbeak replied.
"Trubbish! Dump your stuff somewhere else, okay?!" A Steenee was yelling at a Trubbish.
"Sorry... I can't help it." Trubbish whimpered.
Every Pokemon here had their own story in this sub-deck. They had made this secret spot their new home. The Royal Unova could be considered their home technically since that's where they've all migrated to.
"Oh!" Eve gawked. "Pretty!"
"It's all so....colourful..." Absol closed one eye as the lights were shining in his face.
"What? Did you think it was gonna be shady and dark?" Sneasel laughed as he jumped on a table. "You're in Pokemon Paradise right now!"
"Pokemon Paradise..." Eve's jaw dropped. "It definitely feels like it. So this whole place was founded by Wild Pokemon?"
"Sure was. We wanted to find our own new way of having fun without needing a Pokemon Trainer. So the boss came up with the awesome idea of sneaking onto this ship and making all of this possible. This totally beats living in the wild 24/7."
"Ooh! New friends!?" A group Maractus bounced over to Eve and Absol.
"Would you like to buy something? I have some power-boosting accessories you might benefit from." A Purrloin held out a box of jewellery as she also approached Eve and Absol.
"No thanks." Absol said. "This place is nice and all but we're here for the grunt not all of this. You gonna tell us or what?"
"Right, right. Such a need to be in a hurry." Sneasel replied. "You can count on our surveillance expert Duosion to get you what you need."
"You have surveillance down here?" Eve was impressed.
"Sure do. We snagged half of the surveillance from the ship and brought it all here. Helps a lot to feed on the ship's main surveillance system so we can all see what is going on from all levels in the ship."
"Wait, snagged?" Eve narrowed her eyes. "It's stolen?!"
"Yep."
"Why would you steal it? And how did you even get it without breaking any of the machinery?"
"Don't even worry about that. Besides, we get to watch some entertaining stuff on those screens. Especially when Duskull and the other Ghost-Types come out at night to mess with the janitor. It's always a joy to watch!" Sneasel laughed.
"I see..." Eve winced. "Well..can you at least show us where it is?"
"Sure thing. Right through that door over there." Sneasel led Eve and Absol to the room where they needed to be.
By opening a door that was on the left, Sneasel brought both of Twilight's Pokemon to the surveillance room. There, many monitors were plastered on the wall, each having its own screen that could oversee most of the ship. There were some exceptions since half of the monitors had been stolen.
And sitting right in the middle was a Duosion who was monitoring everything and acted as the eye of the Pokemon Paradise and to an extent, the Royal Unova.
"Hm?" Duosion turned around as she heard the door opening, spotting Sneasel along with the newcomers of Eve and Absol. "Sneasel! All's good here! Who are your friends?"
"Real quick. These two over here are looking for someone. Team Plasma Grunt, was it?"
"Wearing a trench coat as a disguise too." Eve chimed in. "My friends and I are all searching for him right now. And we need all the help we can get to find him."
"Probably hiding somewhere dark," said Absol. "I'd do the same if I wanted to hide."
"What they said. Can you track down this guy in a trench coat?" Sneasel asked.
"Uhh..." Both of Duosions brains, which are divided into two, started thinking and going against each other. "There's a lot of passengers on this ship and finding one specific person will be tricky...but these monitors show extra parts of the ship that the other monitors in the main surveillance room don't. Like really dark corners and places. Which is why we stole only these monitors."
"So can you?" Absol questioned.
"Ah!" Both of Duosion's brains came to an agreement. "Sure can! Just leave it to me!" Duosion used her psychic abilities to control all of the monitors at the same time. She didn't need to use her limbs or even evolve into a Reuniclus to manage the monitors. Although that would benefit a lot.
The monitors in the Pokemon Paradise showed the Generator Room, which was located on the east side of the lower deck, the storage room where all the necessary supplies are kept, the ship's rudder and so on. These monitors mostly covered the obscure parts of the Royal Unova with a few of them being public areas.
Duosion alternated between screens, searching for anything that might catch the interest of Eve and Absol. Both of Twilight's Pokemon were shifting their eyes across the screen, searching for the grunt.
That's when something really caught their interest. On their left, they noticed that one of the cabins had a Poke Ball next to it just laying there. And the door of the cabin seemed to be a bit cracked as a hand with a black glove came through it, picking the Poke Ball off the floor.
"Oh! There! What about that!?" Eve pointed her paw at the screen that showed a cabin.
"Hm? Oh, that's the Aft Cabin." Duosion pointed out.
"Aft Cabin?" Eve and Absol both said.
"They're the cabins on the back of the ship," Sneasel explained. They're kinda fragile at the moment. It hasn't been fixed it yet so no one goes there to rest. But Duskull and the others like to mess around there when the janitor's nearby."
"No one goes there to rest, huh?" Eve smirked. "And yet there's a hand, Poke Ball and an open door. I think we've got our lead! Thank you so much, Duosion! And Sneasel."
"You're welcome!" Duosion exclaimed.
"Not gonna stick around here? This place is amazing." Sneasel said.
"Maybe later. After we've caught him. Let's go, Absol! We can tell Twilight and everyone else. I'll start calling for Audino."
"You do that. I'll head over and knock him out flat." Absol took off on his own as he ran out of the surveillance room.
"Oh! Absol!" Eve groaned. "On your own?! I thought we were going to stick together! Ugh...Anyway! Thanks again for helping out?!" Eve waved goodbye to Sneasel and Duosion as she left the room as well.
Absol ran out of the Pokemon Paradise as he was already ahead of Eve, heading straight for the Aft Cabin with blistering speed. Absol, despite having a trainer now, was still a bit of a wild Pokemon. Living in the mountains for years, especially in a wild habitat, greatly affected his behaviour and personality. But that's just who Absol was.
"Audino!" Eve called out for Audino's name as she exited the Pokemon Paradise with Sneasel standing guard outside, closing the passageway as he watched both of Twilight's Pokemon move in a hurry.
Meanwhile, with Axew's group, they were actually on the right track themselves.
Because the grunt and his Drapion had interacted with Axew and Spike, the Slurpuff's had a great lead. They were already heading towards the direction of the Aft Cabin with one Slurpuff standing in front of her fellow Meringue Pokemon.
However, one Slurpuff was greatly distracted, as her nose was picking up on a more alluring scent that was pulling her in. She turned away from her friends as she walked over to the right, heading for the source of that scent.
"Mmm...something smells good." She was so enchanted by the scent that she was even floating towards it. But thankfully, one of her fellow Slurpuff's grabbed her before she could lose herself in the mission.
"Focus!"
"Ah!" She fell flat on her face. "I'm focusing! Something just smelled really good!"
"I smell it too. But we're almost there. Let's finish this first and then we can eat whatever's there. Just keep following Spike and Axew and we'll have the grunt where we want him."
"Right." She snapped back to reality, focusing on Axew and Spike as they continued their path towards the Aft Cabin.
However, Axew himself had also picked up on that delicious scent coming from the right as he paused for a moment. "Mmm... that smells good..."
The Tusk Pokemon was enchanted as he was now floating towards the direction of the smell. But once again, the other Slurpuff's put a stop to that as they needed to focus.
While they were moving at a steady pace, Absol was moving at a lightning-pace, wanting to put an end to this whole grunt debacle immediately.
"Hm?" Audino had heard Eve call for her name, which was a very clear sign that the grunt's whereabouts had been found. Audino had stopped walking as she immediately changed her direction course. "Oh, they've found him!"
Responding to Eve's cry, Audino went straight towards the source of the cry, holding her feelers up as she could hear Eve constantly shouting her name out. Audino's large body hindered her speed, unfortunately, so she would always be a bit later. Thankfully, Eve was moving while screaming Audino's name, so there was no need to worry.
"Ah..." Pikachu was healed up without any burns after spending some time in the cooling room. Now he was ready to continue his search. "Okay. Where to next? Maybe Ash has already found him."
Pikachu rubbed his ear, walking out of the Vitaly Deck. The Electric-Mouse Pokemon entered the Normal Deck, aiming to ask questions on where the grunt could be. But before he could do so, Absol bumped into him after moving at high speeds, causing them both to fall over.
"Ough!" They both said as they fell on their backs.
"Ugh!" Absol got up, shaking his head. "Sorry about that, Pikachu!"
"Ow...No problem. Did you find him?"
"Sure did. He's at someplace called the Aft Cabin."
"Aft Cabin?"
"Can't waste any time. I'm heading there to knock him out!" Absol dashed off.
"Oh! Wait!" Pikachu stood up. "We should probably-" It was too late. Absol was already far away from Pikachu. That and he refused to listen to anyone trying to stop him. Pikachu sighed as he lowered his head. "At least we know where he is now. Audino!"
With the knowledge of where the grunt was, Pikachu also called for Audino's name. But he also called for Ash's name since he knew that Ash would respond as well.
The Aft Cabin. At the back of the ship.
Completely off-limits as no one is allowed to enter because of its current status. Its fragility was high, meaning it could fall apart easily with the whole cabin coming crashing down on the passenger who resides there. But right now, there was indeed someone residing there.
The one who held the Poke Ball was indeed the grunt. Only he would go into the forbidden cabin to conceal his presence. But unfortunately for him, thanks to Duosion, his presence had been made clear.
The Poke Ball he picked up had a Cherubi inside of it as he released the Cherry Pokemon. This Cherubi had some of the mixed magic inside of it, so it was worth bringing back to the Harmonia Kingdom for research.
But right now, the grunt ordered the Cherubi to heal his Drapion with Heal Pulse. The Cherubi was scared of the grunt and his Drapion, despite how beaten up it looked after what Axew did to it, so it was intimidated to listen to him.
It had used Heal Pulse to heal Drapion back to full strength, eliminating all the damage that Axew had dealt when he was in his Haxorus form.
With Drapion back to full strength, the grunt now had a way to defend himself once more. He returned Cherubi to its Poke Ball as he was now ready to give Colress a quick status update on what has happened so far. He left his Drapion in the lounge room while he went into the bedroom to chat with Colress.
"Feh." Drapion cracked a few of his muscles. "Those dragons...I could've totally beaten them." He was clearly unpleased with how his battle with Salamence and Haxorus turned out.
The Ogre Scorp Pokemon was feeling a bit of revenge in him as he was eager to get out there for some payback. However, he had to stay behind until he returned to the Harmonia Kingdom in Pyrestar's world.
But, as Drapion was standing by, he could hear footsteps moving rapidly towards the Aft Cabin. It was clearly someone running. And that someone was Absol. Drapion could hear Absol talking about how he was going to put an end to this by knocking out the grunt when he got to the cabin.
Knowing that a threat was heading this way, Drapion decided to deal with the threat himself. He grinned as he stood by the corner of the door, readying his claws and tail for Absol's inevitable arrival.
Absol jumped over the barricade and tape that blocked off the path towards the Aft Cabin, ignoring the warning about it being off-limits. With Absol now in the Aft Cabin, his horn flared as he was ready to pummel the grunt relentlessly. Knocking him out for hours would give Drake's crew enough time to reach Nimbasa City and have Officer Jenny come for the grunt.
However, when Absol walked through the door, he was immediately met with a sudden claw grab from Drapion, who dug his sharp claws into Absol's neck. "Agh!"
"Gotcha!" Drapion exclaimed as he lifted the Disaster Pokemon from the floor. Absol was squirming as he could feel the claws dig into his skin. Drapion used his other claw to hold Absol's mouth, preventing him from firing any attacks from there while he also used his tail to hold Absol's horn.
"Mrrmgh!" Absol growled as he was trying to break free. He tried to use Quick Attack, but that wasn't working. Now he was completely captured.
"Shouldn't have come to a closed-off area." Drapion cackled as he dug some poison into Absol's body from his claws. "Wonder if you've got anything special in you?"
Absol winced as he was now poisoned and defenceless. Coming here on his own was ambitious as he had the right idea, but it was executed poorly. Thankfully, the Aft Cabin had been discovered, so his friends were on the way. But right now, he wasn't in the best state.
The grunt was still in the room, telling everything to Colress while Drapion had a captive in his clutches. Absol's friends were on their way towards the Aft Cabin while everyone else continues to search for the grunt as the journey back to Nimbasa City continues.
Drapion had caught Absol after a sneak attack from the corner of the door. Absol had been poisoned by Drapion and was a captive now.
"Grrgh!" Absol was squirming about, trying to break free of Drapion's grasp. He even tried to use his moves but the claws, tail and poison were making sure that wouldn't happen.
"Got a trainer?" Drapion cackled. "Bet they'd be scared and worried if they found out you've been caught like this. Especially when we get you back to base."
Absol had a lot of things he wanted to say to Drapion, probably words that weren't pleasing to the ears of younger individuals. Drapion knew that with Absol poisoned, he was in a weak state to really fight back. Obviously, with Absol now in Drapion's hold, the grunt would eventually come out of the bedroom and turn all of his focus towards the Disaster Pokemon.
Which didn't spell good news for Absol. The grunt is searching for Special Pokemon. And if he believes Absol to be one, then there'll be a good chance that Absol will never see Twilight or any of his friends ever again.
Drapion could hear new footsteps nearby, meaning that someone else was arriving here. If someone new or more would come into this room and spot Drapion holding Absol, potential issues could spark up. So, Drapion decided to drag Absol away from the door so that no one would pick up on his muffling.
Outside the Aft Cabin, Pikachu came up to the barricade and tape that blocked off the Aft Cabin as he looked up at it. He saw Absol run through this direction since he heard that the grunt's hiding place had been found.
"Did he go through here?" Pikachu wondered while gazing at the barricades and tapes. "I guess if I wanted to hide, I'd go someplace blocked off."
"Pikachu!" Just then, the voice of Eve called out for Pikachu. The Electric Mouse Pokemon turned around to see that Eve and Audino were both heading his way.
"Eve! Audino! Glad you're here!" Pikachu said.
"Did you learn about the Aft Cabin too?" Eve came to a screeching halt.
"Yeah. Absol came running and told me that he was gonna go there and knock the grunt out."
"Did he have to run off on his own?" Eve groaned. "I thought the two of us were going to stick together. We're not even sure if it's actually the grunt in there or someone else. The place is barricaded too."
"No need to worry. I can check." Audino went up towards the barricade as she was about to use her feelers to her advantage. She raised her right feeler, seeing what she could pick from beyond the barricade.
Audino's ears were indeed picking up on something. Muffles, squirms and groans could be heard. Very familiar ones. Audino's hearing can go beyond just hearing from great distances. She can also identify certain tones, pitches and vocal cords of those she has met.
And the muffling she picked up on belonged to her friend Absol. Even if Drapion moved away from the door, Audino's feelers were still potent enough to pick up on the sounds.
"Absol!" Audino gasped as she pulled back. "He sounds like he's in trouble!
"Then we're heading in there!" Pikachu faced the barricade with sharp eyes.
"Hold on! Let's-" Eve tried to slow Pikachu down before he jumped in there, but it was too late. Pikachu used Iron Tail to cut the tape in half as he jumped over the barricade.
"We're coming Absol!" Audino didn't hesitate to go after her friend and save him as she ran through the barricade, destroying it with ease.
"Craft a plan..." Eve sighed as she followed them through the destroyed barricade and sliced tape. "Action first I suppose..."
"Absol!" Pikachu pushed the door open as he skidded on the floor with Audino coming in next. The moment they both entered the cabin, they were met with the sight of their friend being held by Drapion whilst under a poisoned status.
"Hm?" Drapion glared at the duo. "How'd you hear me?!"
"Let him go!!" Pikachu sparked up electricity in his red sacs, ready to blast Drapion. But Absol was still being held by Drapion so blasting him with electricity means hurting Absol as well. And Pikachu didn't want that.
"He's poisoned!" Audino noticed.
"This your friend right here?" Drapion looked at Absol. "Pretty stupid of him to come here alone, especially in a place like this."
"Mrrgh!" Absol's anger was being pushed to the limit at this point. Eve ran in to see her fellow teammate and friend being held and poisoned by a Drapion. Just like Pikachu and Audino, she was shocked. In fact, Eve was more shocked since she's been around Absol a bit longer.
"Absol, no!" Eve gasped. All the while, the Team Plasma Grunt in the bedroom was still feeding information to Colress, completely unaware of what was going on outside.
Seeing Absol poisoned and restrained in such a way really struck a nerve in Eve. More so than usual. Usually, Eve is the more reserved one and never jumps straight into the action without a plan first. Much like her trainer. However, this was a very different case.
"You drop him, right now!" An angered Eve used Quick Attack out of instinct as she bolted from the spot, moving at lightning speeds and leaving afterimages behind. She smashed her head onto Drapion's stomach, causing a surprisingly hard impact for a Pokemon as small as her.
"Agh!" Drapion actually felt that one as he was knocked back by Quick Attack. Eve's impact on Drapion with Quick Attack shook the fragile cabin as some of the wood around here had fallen off. This cabin was off-limits for a reason.
Drapion's grip on Absol had been weakened a bit. But not by much. The Disaster Pokemon still could not break free from Drapion's hold. Naturally, that hit on Drapion forced the Ogre Scorp Pokemon to target all his anger towards Eve and the others.
"Why you!" An aggravated Drapion decided to retaliate as he opened his mouth, shooting out a Dark Pulse towards Eve. Eve gasped as she closed her eyes, expecting to be hit by Dark Pulse.
Luckily, Pikachu jumped in, using Iron Tail to block the Dark Pulse from hitting his friend. Once Iron Tail blocked Dark Pulse, a small explosion happened that destroyed more of the wood in the cabin.
"Thanks, Pikachu!" Eve thanked Pikachu for saving her. Just as the explosion cleared, Pikachu and the others could feel the cabin rocking as they almost lost their balance.
"W-Woah!" Pikachu waddled about as he noticed that the floor itself was shattering along with the walls. Even Drapion could feel the trembling of the cabin. Audino couldn't maintain her balance as she fell over, falling flat on her face.
Drapion, irritated, charged towards Pikachu and the others while dragging Absol's face on the walls of the cabin. But that actually caused more wood to fall off as the cabin was shaking once more. Drapion was going for an up-close Dark Pulse this time.
Pikachu stood firm as he sparked his body up with electricity. He was planning on countering Dark Pulse with Thunderbolt to further protect his friends. At the same time, both Pokemon fired their own attacks. Thunderbolt and Dark Pulse.
The two moves clashed against each other, creating a fissure in the middle. That fissure, just like the last two moves from before, shook the cabin and broke some wood. But this time, it was different.
Eve noticed that the floor of the cabin was starting to break apart. The clash of moves was gradually destroying the walls and floor, but mostly the floor since that seemed to the most fragile thing here.
Already, right behind Audino, a portion of the floor had been destroyed by the fissure, startling the Hearing Pokemon as she looked back to see that there was now a large hole right behind her and in-between the entrance to the door. "Ah!" Audino screamed.
"It's coming apart..." Eve said under her breath. "Wait! Pikachu! The cabin is-" It was too late to warn Pikachu. He was already in the midst of a clash, trying to overpower Dark Pulse.
But that didn't matter since both moves were not only equal in strength, but the inevitable had happened. The floor of the Aft Cabin ended up shattering beneath everyone. Pikachu, Absol, Eve, Audino, Drapion and even the Poke Ball that had Cherubi in it, all of them, minus the grunt who was in the bedroom, had been met with an empty floor.
"Huh?!" Pikachu and Drapion's moves had cancelled each other out as they both looked down to see what had happened beneath them.
Before the rest of them could react properly, at the same time, they all fell through the large hole formed on the cabin floor, which was now non-existent as they screamed.
The grunt came outside as he had heard the entire thing. It wasn't difficult to ignore that since there was a lot of chaos happening in one spot. He put his call with Colress on hold for now. He noticed that the floor in this room was gone as he stood on the edge, almost falling over. He also saw that the Poke Ball and his Drapion were gone, obviously falling through the large hole.
The grunt's eyes widened as he had no idea what to do about this situation. Especially now that the Poke Ball and his Drapion were no longer here.
Everyone was screaming while falling, although Absol couldn't scream since Drapion's claws were still holding his mouth shut. Speaking of Absol, the grip that Drapion had on him had greatly weakened because of how they were all falling. With the grip weakened, Absol had freed himself from Drapion's grip. Claws and tail included.
"Not like this!" Audino screamed as she held onto Eve.
The fall to the bottom obviously wasn't endless but it was fairly deep. From what everyone could see, if they were to continue falling, they would end up in the engine room. And the engine room had a metal floor, so direct contact from this height would be more than just painful.
Drapion used his claws to latch onto the walls, using them as a means to save himself as he was now hanging in the air while his claws dug into the walls. He watched Pikachu and the others fall along with the Poke Ball that had Cherubi in it.
"So long, losers!" Drapion laughed as he started climbing back up.
"I-It isn't over yet!" But Pikachu wasn't ready to let this end. Acting like his trainer, he used Electroweb to his advantage. Pikachu created an orange-yellow orb of electricity on his tail. He then flung the orb, which then transformed into a circular yellow electrical net.
The net hit the floor of the engine room, acting as an electrical trampoline that can be used for extra mobility. Pikachu readied himself as he used Quick Attack to boost himself downwards for extra speed.
The Electric Mouse Pokemon landed on the Electroweb, causing a downward force to emerge, similar to how bouncing on a trampoline works. With the downward force being created, Pikachu looked up as he was about to pull off yet another incredible feat.
During the contact time, Pikachu experienced a large upward force of the Electroweb as he was shot into the air with the Electroweb bouncing up. Pikachu gained amazing acceleration as he shot his eyes towards Drapion.
With a mighty roar, Pikachu hardened his tail, going straight for Iron Tail as he was shooting towards Drapion like a rocket. Drapion gasped as he noticed how fast Pikachu was moving towards him.
"Hah!" Pikachu, with all of his might, did an overhead smash on Drapion's head with Iron Tail, dealing so much damage that not only did it shatter the wall that Drapion latched onto with a shockwave alone, but it also forced the Ogre Scorp Pokemon off the wall as he was now falling once more.
"A-Aaah!" Drapion screamed while falling as Pikachu also fell, closing his eyes. The Electroweb didn't last forever as it eventually fizzled out. Now there was nothing safe to land on and the metal floor seemed imminent.
Luckily, that's where Eve came in. She closed her eyes, focusing all of her Psychic energy into her mind for the safety of her friends. Her eyes flashed purple as she released a psychic pulse that was able to hold Audino, Pikachu, but not Absol because of his Dark-Typing.
Eve was now floating along with Audino and Pikachu, but Absol was on his own. Luckily, Absol's experience of being in the wild for so long can always pay off in the end for him. Absol used Dark Pulse, firing it straight towards the ground as he used the blast as a means to negate his falling speed.
Drapion did the same, also using Dark Pulse from above to slow himself down so he doesn't splat like a pancake. Soon, everyone managed to recover safely on the ground without suffering any major injuries.
They were now in the Engine room, where most of the power for the ship resides.
"Phew! That was close!" Pikachu let out a great sigh of relief. "Is everyone okay?!"
"We're fine!" Eve nodded. "Absol! What about you?!"
"I-I'm fine!" Absol was clearly not fine since he was still poisoned and he had holes in his neck because of Drapion's claws. Plus, being dragged on the wall didn't help.
"You're not fine! Let me heal you!" Audino ran to Absol's side to use Refresh and Heal Pulse while Pikachu and Drapion were staring each other down.
"You brat...!" Drapion growled as he swayed his tail around, showing high levels of hostility towards the Electric-Mouse Pokemon. "You and your pals have got a lot of nerve showing up and ruining everything! I'll just poison all of you like I did the forest! But much worse!"
"So it was you that poisoned the forest?!" Pikachu had more reasons to attack Drapion thanks to this new information.
"We would've gotten all of the Pokemon there if it wasn't for so many inconveniences. But this time, I'll make sure no more funny surprises show up anymore! Staring with you all!"
Immediately, Drapion moved on the offensive by using Iron Tail to get in there and attack as his tailed hardened up. Pikachu got on all fours as he also used Iron Tail.
Both Pokemon approached each other with their hardened tails as they were about to clash in the engine room, which could spark some problems.
Upon meeting face to face, Pikachu and Drapion both clashed their Iron Tail's together. They pushed their tails against each other for a small bit before being separated from the amount of pressure they were both exerting. They didn't stop there. They continued to clash their Iron Tail's together, like two swords going at it.
Drapion swung his tail overhead, aiming to smash Pikachu through the floor. Luckily, Pikachu's little body gave him great mobility as he rolled to the side, avoiding Drapion's Tail. The floor of the engine room had been smashed by Drapion's Iron Tail, leaving a visible crack.
Pikachu rushed in while Drapion's tail was still on the ground. With blinding speeds, he smashed Iron Tail onto Drapion's face, knocking the Ogre Scorp Pokemon back. Drapion roared out of anger as he fired a Dark Pulse from his mouth towards the Electric Mouse Pokemon.
Pikachu combined Quick Attack with Iron Tail as he jumped over the Dark Pulse with Quick Attack while heading in for Iron Tail, smashing the Steel-Type move onto Drapion's head.
Audino had used Refresh on Absol to cure him of the Poison and Heal Pulse to heal him up from any damage that had been dealt. "There! You're all fine now!"
"Thanks for that!" Absol stood up as he immediately turned his attention towards Drapion. "Now where was I?"
"Be careful this time, okay?!" Eve scolded Absol. "If we hadn't had shown up, you could've been taken away! Or the poison would've gotten to you eventually!" She said this while Pikachu and Drapion were going at it.
"You worry too much." Absol scoffed. "Just watch as I finish this like how I was supposed to minutes ago!" Being the stubborn Pokemon that he was, Absol was about to rush in recklessly once more.
However, before he could do that, Pikachu was sent by a sneaky Iron Tail from Drapion. The Electric Mouse Pokemon screamed as he crashed into Absol, causing them both to fly into the walls of the engine room. "Agh!" They both screamed as their bodies hit pure metal.
"Pikachu! Absol!" Audino gasped as she looked back at them.
"Better not look away!" Drapion was approaching both Eve and Audino with an Iron Tail, changing his line of attack towards them both.
Luckily, Eve could react fast, as she used Quick Attack to not only avoid Drapion's Iron Tail which was swung from the side but to also hit Audino, knocking her out of the way.
"Ugh!" Pikachu groaned as he got up from the floor, still feeling the impact on his back. He wasn't done yet, as he filled his body with an electric aura, firing a Thunderbolt towards Drapion.
Drapion was about to swing Iron Tail towards Eve and Audino once more before he was met with a blast of 100,000 volts that attacked him from the side. "Why you!" Drapion growled as he snapped his eyes towards Pikachu.
The Ogre Scorp Pokemon used Cross Poison as he crossed his arms in front of Drapion's face as his claws started to glow purple. A purple 'X' then appeared in front of his crossed arms, opening his hands and firing the 'X'.
Pikachu jumped over the X while Abslo cut it in half with Night Slash, separating the poison. Since the engine room had metal everywhere, the poison did not affect it, thankfully. However, everything else was a different story.
Pikachu, Eve and Absol stood next to each other as they would act as the ones attacking Drapion while Audino would help them from afar with healing and perhaps a potential Hyper Beam if she can connect it.
"Please tell me that Ninetales and the others know about the Aft Cabin?" Eve turned to Pikachu.
"Sorry. Don't know. I just followed Absol here." Pikachu replied. "But Axew and Spike could lead them here because of Slurpuff's scent. Hopefully."
"Axew?" Drapion's interest shot up. "Good! If he gets here...I'll take revenge and capture him at the same time!"
"You can try!" Absol narrowed his eyes at Drapion while his fur was flaring.
"Let's go!" Pikachu took charge as he, Eve and Absol both charged in.
Pikachu made the first move by jumping up with an Iron Tail from above but Drapion swayed his body to the right, avoiding Pikachu's downward Iron Tail while also using his own Tail to knock Pikachu back.
Absol came in for a Night Slash up-close but was quickly blocked by Drapion using Iron Tail. Drapion then rotated his head 180 degrees, firing a Dark Pulse towards Eve who was attacking him with Quick Attack from behind.
Eve gasped as she saw Dark Pulse heading her way, so she used Quick Attack to zip to the side, avoiding the pulse of darkness. Drapion pushed Absol away with Iron Tail while also swinging it towards Eve from behind.
Absol rolled on the ground as Audino healed him with Heal Pulse, giving him his strength back. Eve had been hit by Iron Tail as she was sent flying into pipes of the engine room.
Drapion laughed as he fired a Dark Pulse directly at Eve while she was still on the pipes which had been dented and bent because of the impact she made on it. The Sun Pokemon's eyes widened as she saw Dark Pulse approaching her. She had eventually been hit by it, which caused a dark explosion that affected both Eve and the pipes, damaging them even further.
Pikachu jumped in the air with his tail sparking up. He tossed an Electroweb from above, aiming to trap Drapion in it while also shocking him as well.
Drapion rotated his head as he used Iron Tail as a way to defend himself from Electroweb. He raised his tail, using the metal to conduct Electroweb as it had absorbed the attack.
But Pikachu didn't stop there. He was still airborne as he was getting ready to use Thunderbolt as a follow-up. And Drapion was ready to have his Iron Tail conduct the attack as well.
However, his focus was quickly thrown off when Absol appeared beside him by using Quick Attack to do so. Drapion gasped as his eyes shifted towards Absol, who seemed to be going for a Dark Pulse. And that one moment of distraction is what Pikachu needed as he fired a blast of 100,000 volts from his body while Absol fired a pulse imbued with dark thoughts from his mouth.
Drapion was hit from both sides. He was sent flying because of the double ranged attacks from Pikachu and Absol. Just like Eve, he also crashed into the pipes, but he caused more damage to them because of his body weight and size.
"Ugh!" Drapion groaned as he held his head after hitting the pipes. The Ogre Scorp Pokemon's anger was rising even further. He witnessed Audino healing Eve while Pikachu and Absol were ready to advance on him.
4 against 1 would obviously prove to be an issue for Drapion, considering that two of the Pokemon here are extremely powerful. Pikachu and Absol, of course.
So, Drapion decided to improvise. And he did this by using his tail to rip one of the pipes off, further damaging the Royal Unova's engine room.
"Dodge this!" Drapion shouted as he tossed the metal pipe towards Pikachu and the others.
The pipe was moving at high speeds as they each used Quick Attack to avoid it. The metal pipe passed by Audino, hitting the wall and even leaving a hole in it. Drapion didn't stop there. He used both of his claws to grab more metal pipes, using them as weapons.
He went up to Pikachu and the others with the pipes in his claws as he started swinging at them violently. Drapion's method of attack had changed, which surprised Pikachu and everyone else.
The Electric Mouse Pokemon hardened his tail, using Iron Tail to block the steel pipes that were being swung at him. However, Drapion could swing faster than Pikachu could block because of both his claws moving instead of one.
Pikachu was finding it hard to block both of them at the same time with just one Iron Tail. Because of that, Drapion found an opening as he swung his right claw, smashing Pikachu with the right pipe, hitting his waist.
Pikachu went flying into the air as he was moving so fast he was sent through multiple metal pipes before crashing into the boiler.
"Pikachu!" Eve and Audino both yelled as they saw how hard Pikachu went through the pipes. Audino immediately rushed to Pikachu's side to heal him.
"You're next!" Drapion raised the pipes towards Absol, going for him next. Absol's eyes widened as he used his horn to block the first pipe swing, but was unable to stop the second one as he was hit from the side.
Absol coughed as Drapion then hit his face with the pipes, causing the Disaster Pokemon to fall back as his face had been bruised. Absol was now laying on his back as Drapion was about to smash the pipes on him while he was down.
Luckily, Eve came running to Absol's rescue as she used Dazzling Gleam in a new way. Instead of firing multiple rainbow rays, she emitted a powerful flash from the sphere of Fairy magic that surrounded her. The flash of light was aimed directly at Drapion's eyes, blinding the Ogre Scorp Pokemon upon contact
"Agh!" Drapion screamed as his eyes had been attacked by light. With Drapion befuddled, Absol used this opportunity to get up and move away from the Poison-Dark-Type. Absol then opened his mouth, firing his own Dark Pulse which engulfed Drapion.
"Ugh...!" Pikachu groaned as he really took some hard hits after flying through the pipes. Audino was healing him but the impacts were still present even with Heal Pulse.
"Pikachu! I think we should head back and warn everyone!" Audino said.
"They'll get here..." Pikachu got up from the ground as he was breathing in and out. "For sure. But not until we beat him first! Try using Hyper Beam when he isn't looking."
"If I do, it might cause a lot of damage to this room. It's already taken damage so far because of this battle."
"Yeah, that's true. If the engine room takes too much damage, then that'll really mess with the Royal Unova."
"Then what do we do?"
"Ah!" Eve had been smacked by a metal pipe as she went rolling to Pikachu's side. Drapion with those metal pipes as an extra weapon was proving to be an even greater foe than before.
"Eve!" Audino went over to the Sun Pokemon.
"This might go on forever..." Eve groaned. "I wish I had Ground-Type move like Dig right about now..."
"If we can just knock those pipes out of his claws and deal some really big damage, that's game over for him." Pikachu helped Eve up while Audino healed her.
"But he's so flexible. And his tail doesn't make things any better for us," said Eve.
"No need to worry!" Pikachu sparked up an electric aura around him. "Even if we don't beat him here...everyone will make it!"
While Pikachu plans his next approach, Absol was still going against Drapion who was trying to hit his fellow Dark-Type with the pipes. But with how violently Drapion was swinging, Absol was finding it difficult to really get some good space and time to breathe.
"What's wrong!?" Drapion taunted as he swung the pipes onto the ground, further shattering them. Absol kept moving back as he couldn't find time to attack since Drapion's swinging was so fast. All Absol could do now was back away.
Eventually, Absol was backed into a corner, right near one of the boilers as Drapion's shadow cast over him. The Disaster Pokemon bumped into the boiler as he realized he was in a fairly rough spot now.
"It's over!" Drapion raised the pipes, ready to smash them onto Absol. But the Disaster Pokemon refused to let it end here as he used Quick Attack to move underneath Drapion while lowering his head.
Drapion smashed the pipes down but he didn't hit Absol. Instead, he ended up hitting the boiler. And that's where things took a turn for the worse. The moment the pipes hit the boiler, not only was there a dent, but a crack and hole had been formed. Water started leaking out of the boiler as Drapion rotated his head, facing Absol.
Little did Drapion and everyone else know that the broken boiler might end up being a major problem for them. And potentially, the Royal Unova. Hot water came out of the boiler, spilling all over the floor. Even some steam was starting to show itself as the boiler kept making whistling sounds.
Drapion looked behind and below him to see that the water from the boiler was leaking out, filling the floor of the engine room at a gradually fast pace. Even he could tell that things might get worse from here during this battle. And so did Absol.
Knowing that the situation was intensifying and the battle seemed to have no end, Drapion decided to switch things up again. Drapion tossed the metal pipes towards Absol, both of them as he tried a new approach.
"Oh!" Absol gasped as he used Quick Attack to avoid both pipes. The pipes broke through some tubes because of how hard they were thrown.
Drapion then, unexpectedly, used his tail to grab the boiler of all things. With his amazing might, he ripped the boiler from where it was placed, using it as his new weapon.
"Oh give me a break..." Absol sighed as he knew this was just getting ridiculous.
"If you wanna make things easier and end this, you'll give up and come with us back to the Harmonia Kingdom."
"Pssh! As if!" Absol growled. "Guys like you are just asking to be thrashed!"
"Don't know when to give up, do you?!" Drapion ran towards Absol as he was now swinging the boiler at him. Absol moved back to avoid the boiler, however, things were different.
The hot water from the boiler had been sent out each time Drapion swung it. And because of that, some of the hot water got onto Absol's eyes, causing the Disaster Pokemon to yell as he now had hot water in his eyes.
Absol couldn't focus properly, prompting Drapion to grab him with his other claw as he lifted the Disaster Pokemon from the floor. Absol was able to open one eye, but that was it.
"Give up now?" Drapion held Absol tight.
"N-No way..." Absol groaned as his eye was twitching. He looked over at the boiler, seeing that if it made direct contact with him, chances are, it will hurt a lot more than the pipes.
So, Absol pulled the riskiest move yet. His horn flashed white as he fired a single, small yet lightning-fast Night Slash towards the boiler. The Night Slash cut through the boiler as Drapion's eyes shifted towards the boiler the moment the attack passed through.
With the boiler cut by Night Slash, only one thing could come next. A ferocious explosion emerged from the boiler as both Drapion and Absol were caught in it.
Pikachu and Eve were running towards Absol and Drapion until they saw the explosion go off, which prompted them to both come to a halt. But the explosion was fairly large as it even reached them both as well, engulfing the duo. Audino, who was the slowest one here, also saw the explosion coming straight towards her.
By instinct, she used Protect by summoning a green shield in front of her as she closed her eyes. Soon, the entire engine room had been lit up by the explosion as it could even be seen from below through the large hole in the floor.
The explosion could be heard from some of the decks while the Royal Unova trembled because of it. The Poke Ball that contained Cherubi had almost been hit by the explosion, but thankfully, it wasn't wide enough to engulf the entire engine room.
The Pokemon Paradise. 9:20.
The Pokemon Paradise was still active with Pokemon there having the time of their life in this sub-level secret deck. Nothing could ruin their fun right now.
That is, until, Sneasel heard some rumbling coming from the walls. He knew that something was coming as he and the other Pokemon could feel a small little tremor shake their paradise. No one thought too much of it, but Sneasel did. He was highly cautious as he gazed at the wall.
And he had a reason to gaze there. Because straight through that wall, Pikachu, Eve, Absol and Drapion came flying crashing through the walls of the Pokemon Paradise, startling everyone.
"Agh!" Pikachu yelled as he tumbled on the floor while Absol and Eve ended up crashing into some chairs and tables while Drapion almost crashed into some Pokemon.
The Pokemon here all moved back, staring at the four Pokemon who just came crashing in here with a not-so-pleasant landing. Sneasel recognized Eve and Absol since they've been here before.
They all managed to withstand the explosion, but they took some serious damage from it. Pikachu stood up, shaking his head, along with Drapion. Eve was finding it difficult to stand, but thankfully, Absol helped her up.
"Curse it all!" Drapion bellowed as he scared all the Pokemon here.
That explosion not only dealt large damage to him but it also just spiked his anger up even further. Now he had no intention of bringing Absol and the others back to the Harmonia Kingdom. He now wanted to destroy them on the spot after what had happened to him as the journey continues.
Due to one of the boilers blowing up, the ship had suffered its first major loss. With one of the boilers destroyed, it was now moving slower with less power. And not only that, the explosion could be felt across the ship, especially on the Bridge where Drake and his crew were.
"W-What was that?!" The helmsman stuttered as he fell on his knees.
"That came from the boiler room..." Drake could tell where that explosion originated from. "Contact the engineer officer of this ship, now!"
"Aye, captain!" A crew member instantly responded as he rushed to speak with the engineer officer via the phone. Drake could tell that things could change for the worst now. They had just avoided the Flame Tsunami by changing their path of sailing, so they were in the clear for that.
However, this is still the Arcane Sea and anything can happen. There's no guarantee that they'll come across the same problems since before they even reached the Verdant Planet, AKA the giant Torterra, the Arcane Sea itself was fighting against the Royal Unova with hazards such as the Pure Liquid Milotic and the Flame Tsunami. And there's a good chance that something else will pop up, just to challenge the Royal Unova once more.
But of course, Drake was ready to tackle it like always. He'd never let the sea itself get the better of it. If anything, he and one other person, in particular, ruled the sea.
Outside the Aft Cabin, Axew had arrived with Spike and the Slurpuff's after tracking the source of the grunt and Drapion's scent. They had come across the barricade and tape that blocked the Aft Cabin but had already seen that someone had cut through and run through it. Obviously Pikachu and Audino.
Spike began to wonder if going through there meant that they would find the grunt. After all, Slurpuff's sniffing led them here. Spike decided to take the risk as he walked through the broken barricade while Axew and the others followed.
"Something about this doesn't feel right..." A Slurpuff said. "Maybe we should go back to Pinkie Pie and tell her what we found. Or maybe she's found something better!"
"No way." A second Slurpuff shook her head. "We've come this far. This ship is really huge and wide. Pinkie could be far away by now. Let's just find that grunt and then we can alert them, okay?"
"Well hurry...I'm getting hungry right here." A third Slurpuff's stomach was rumbling as the other Slurpuffs agreed with their stomachs rumbling as well.
"Mmm...Same here." Axew was drooling as he was imagining what kind of food he would get to eat once this whole search is over. He can already imagine himself tasting some of the food here on the cruise since the scent of it was enough to distract him and one other Slurpuff.
Or even better, when the Pokemon Festival ends, he'll have the chance to eat home-made quality food back at Ponyville. All these thoughts were so pleasant to Axew's head. Perhaps a bit too pleasant as he was so lost in that when they all reached the Aft Cabin, Axew nearly fell through the large hole that was made on the floor.
Thankfully, Spike pulled him back as they all looked down at the broken floor. "W-Woah!" Axew waddled as he and everyone witnessed the destroyed floor.
"Holy moly!" The Slurpuff's collectively screamed. "What happened here?!" They all kept their distance, along with Spike who was just as confused and shocked as them.
But more importantly, the Team Plasma Grunt who resided in the Aft Cabin was currently in the bedroom. The only safe place to be in right now since the lounge is a hazard at this point. As such, he would not come out until he found a way to get past the large gaping floor while also retrieving Poke Ball and Drapion. Currently, he was devising a plan with the assistance of Colress who was smart enough to help him with that.
But even with him inside the bedroom, the Slurpuff's knew that he was here because they were able to pick up on his scent. He was 100% in the Aft Cabin.
"He's here!" A Slurpuff cried out. "We're sure of it!"
"Through there?" Axew looked over at the cabin. "Oooh...through that hole?"
"Well...we're not going through that! Who knows where it'll lead!"
"Looks like it's not endless. See?" A Slurpuff leaned over, looking over the hole as she noticed the bottom, which led to the engine room.
"But that's a pretty big fall...Let's see what Spike thinks." All of the Slurpuffs and Axew turned their attention to Spike, who was currently fixated on this.
"If this place is off-limits and the Slurpuffs came here with this giant hole in the floor...then he has to be in here! But I don't know if I wanna jump down there..."
"Maybe we can try again tomorrow when they fix the floor?" A Slurpuff squeed.
"No, wait! Hold on!" The first Slurpuff's nose was picking up on the grunt once more, this time, with a clearer direction. "I don't think we have to jump...Right there." She pointed her paw north, aiming it at the single door that was still standing, even with the large broken floor.
The Slurpuffs, Axew and even Spike turned to face the door as each of the Meringue Pokemon could also pick up on the grunt's smell. With them facing the door and their noses reacting at a high level, it was confirmed. They had found the grunt and they knew where he was.
"There he is!" The fourth Slurpuff exclaimed. "Finally!"
"Now we can tell Pinkie Pie and the others, right? Or do we just head in there?" The fifth Slurpuff asked.
"We're telling. No way we're heading in there with this floor. Let's head back to Pinkie Pie and-"
"Well, I'm heading in!" Axew suddenly interrupted. "That jerk's still gonna pay for what he did to grandpa and everyone!" A very determined Tusk Pokemon was about to jump towards the door and break it down, just to get some payback against the grunt as he jumped.
"Wait!" The Slurpuffs gasped along with Spike as they each pulled Axew back before he would attempt something risky. They all almost fell into the hole because of how they leaned their bodies up to catch Axew.
They all fell on their back after retrieving the Tusk Pokemon. If Axew had jumped any further, then they would've surely fallen.
"C-Can you please not do something so risky...?" The first Slurpuff breathed in and out.
"Oops. My bad!" Axew laughed as he didn't make a big deal about it, showing his carefree nature.
With the revelation of the grunt's actual whereabouts, the decision to tell the others had been made. Little did Spike, the Slurpuffs and Axew know was that their friends were beyond the large hole and currently going through a rough and fierce battle against Drapion.
Pokemon Paradise. 9:22
Drapion's feud with Pikachu, Absol, Eve and Audino continues. This time, it had led them to the Pokemon Paradise, disrupting the enjoyable fun in the process. Each of them apart from Audino had taken heavy amounts of damage, especially from the boiler exploding.
Pikachu and the others already felt weak from the explosion. Thankfully, because they were so resilient and durable because of their battle experiences, the explosion didn't fully take them out. They've been hit by far worse things. But it did hinder them greatly.
"You two?!" Sneasel gasped. "What's going on?!"
"Sorry, Sneasel." Eve shook her head. "Our battle kind of got carried away and ended up here..."
"What's this?" Drapion looked around, noticing the interior of the Pokemon Paradise as he also noticed the secret passageway via the stairs. "Hoh...So others have been hiding out here, have they? I'd say I'm getting lucky finding more and more Pokemon for the Harmonia Kingdom."
Those words intimidated the Pokemon here as they moved further away from Drapion since he was currently the biggest Pokemon here. They weren't expecting something like this to happen. They were just having fun and minding their own business in a place they call paradise.
"Hey!" Eve exclaimed. "I thought you said you only wanted Special Pokemon! Leave them out of this!"
"It ain't just Special Pokemon we want." Drapion cackled. "Every Pokemon's got a purpose for the scientist Colress. The more we grab, the more weird upgrades he gives them."
"What do you mean by upgrades?" Absol said.
"I don't have to tell you any further! You brats have already ticked me off enough as it is!" Drapion put his arms together as he was going for a Cross Poison.
Everyone in the Pokemon Paradise gasped as they realized that a battle was about to ensue here. As such, they all started to scatter as Drapion fired an X-Shaped Poison blast from his claws, sending it straight towards Pikachu and the others.
Instinctively, Pikachu and his friends moved out of the way, avoiding Cross Poison. However, there was some consequence because of their dodging. The Cross Poison had hit the walls of the Pokemon Paradise instead. And unfortunately, these walls weren't made out of steel but wood. Only the ceiling was made of something different. Marble.
Because of that, the poison started to spread, just like how it did back at the Verdant Planet, which further created more panic within the Pokemon Paradise. The poison moved across the walls and floor as the Pokemon knew that they would end up getting poisoned if they made contact with it. The wood was being dissolved because of the intensity of Cross Poison.
"Our paradise!" Sneasel gasped.
"Sorry about this, Sneasel!" Eve said while turning to face the Sharp Claw Pokemon. "We didn't intend for this to happen!"
"Too late for that!" Drapion hardened his tail for an Iron Tail. He smashed his tail onto the wooden walls of the Pokemon Paradise, further adding more damage that was not needed since the poison was slowly destroying the place.
The Ogre Scorp Pokemon swung his tail violently around the Pokemon Paradise with full rage in his attacks. Not only was he destroying parts of the interior, but he was also causing collateral damage in the process.
Wooden planks from the wood that had been hit off by Iron Tail were sent flying, almost hitting some of the Pokemon but just barely missing. Drapion was obviously targeting the wood towards Pikachu and the others while having no care for his surroundings.
Drapion also used his tail to smack a table towards Pikachu, but the Electric Mouse Pokemon cut the table in half with Iron Tail. Drapion continued to smack tables and also chairs towards his opponents which almost hit some of the innocent Pokemon here.
The Trio used Quick Attack in unison to break through the tables and chairs as they each charged through the furniture, heading straight for the Ogre Scorp Pokemon. Drapion's eyes widened as he had been hit in the face and stomach by three Quick Attacks.
Drapion was forced into a wall because of the triple Quick Attacks as he knew that if he were to take one more powerful hit, that was game over for him. There would be no recovering from this.
"Gugh!" Drapion groaned as he held his face, reaching his limit. He could also see that Pikachu and the others were wearing down themselves. But their condition was better than his. Drapion is most likely to faint first than them.
Just then, Drapion decided to amp his dirty tricks once more. He could already see that his Cross Poison trick was doing great as many Pokemon had already been caught by the poison while trying to get away from this battle. Not only that, but Drapion forcefully stood where the exit was, preventing any of the Pokemon from even having the chance to escape.
But Drapion wasn't done yet. With terrifying malice, he fired a continuous Dark Pulse from his mouth, shooting it everywhere instead of at a specific target. He was aiming to bring the entire Pokemon Paradise down. And it was working as the ceiling itself was falling apart with large marble blocks falling from above while the beams that supported parts of the sub-deck were being destroyed.
"Oh no!" Pikachu gasped as he looked around him to see that the whole place was coming apart. "Eve! Absol! Let's focus on getting everyone out first!"
"R-Right!" Eve agreed with Pikachu as that was the best option right now. Pokemon were already poisoned and needed immediate care. And the collapsing ceiling sub-level was not helping.
A large block of marble was about to fall on a Bounsweet until Pikachu came flying in with Iron Tail, destroying the marble block and saving Bounsweet from any potential pain.
Eve did the same thing by using her mind to move the marble away from any Pokemon that were nearby, placing them on the side. Even Absol helped by cutting the marble in half with his horn.
However, that's exactly what Drapion was hoping.
While Pikachu and Eve focus on saving those, Drapion pulled a cheap shot and fired a triple Cross Poison from his claws, tail and mouth while they weren't looking. Because of their distraction and Drapion's sneak attack, Pikachu, Eve and Abso had each been hit by Cross Poison from behind.
All three of them were knocked back into the walls, getting affected by the other poison that was still spreading. Because of that, Pikachu, Eve and Absol had all been poisoned as they were now in a weaker state.
"Ugh!" Pikachu groaned as he got on all fours.
"C-Curses!" Absol growled as he glared at Drapion with hateful eyes while all the Pokemon watched the trio suffer from the poison after they saved their lives.
"Gotcha!" Drapion cackled. "That poison should do the trick! Now you won't be scurrying about anymore! This is the-" All of a sudden, Drapion himself felt a sudden shock in his system. His eyes widened as he recognized this strange feeling.
He had been poisoned too.
"Heh...gotcha..." Eve mocked Drapion as she smirked at him.
"W-What is this?! What did you do?!" Drapion stammered.
"S-Synchronize!" Eve groaned as she was trying to keep herself stable. "It passes on a burn, poison, or paralysis to the foe. The attacker will receive the same status condition...instant payback!"
"Why you...!" Naturally, Drapion was aggravated as he had just been outplayed by his own move and an Ability.
"Absol! Pikachu! Let's finish this!" Eve ordered.
"Okay!" Both of them said in unison as they stood by the Sun Pokemon whilst still poisoned. They were ready to end this battle once and for all.
But instead of charging in with physical attacks, they were going to attack from afar. With Thunderbolt, Dark Pulse and Dazzling Gleam. Pikachu surrounded himself in an electric aura, Eve had a rainbow-sphere around her while Absol opened his mouth with a black ball forming.
Drapion could tell that this might be it if those three attacks land. And he didn't want that. So he decided to find a way to overcome this and walk out scot-free. He ran to the side, but the trio faced him while charging their attacks up. They made sure to keep their eyes on the Ogre Scorp Pokemon.
Desperate and afraid, Drapion decided to yet again, play dirty. This time, by using one of the innocent Pokemon. He used his long tail to grab a nearby Scatterbug, raising the Scatterdust Pokemon off the floor and holding it in front of him. He also used his long arms to grab a Skitty and Fletchling as well, holding three Pokemon as meat shields.
"Hold it!" Drapion said whilst showing the Bug-Type to the trio, prompting them to halt their attacks. Scatterbug and the other Pokemon were squirming about as Drapion's pincers dug into their skin, sending some poison through them. "That's as far as you three go!"
"You coward!" Eve exclaimed.
"Hehe...! Now stay there and don't move...Unless you want these three to have their heads pop." Drapion tightened his grip on them. At any moment, he could end their life right here with a single action. But the poison was already slowly doing that.
Pikachu and the others wanted to end this battle immediately but they also didn't want to risk hurting the innocent Pokemon that Drapion was holding.
Audino had finally arrived with full health since she was unaffected by the boiler explosion because of Protect. She had seen how Drapion was holding three Pokemon who were poisoned while the interior of the Pokemon Paradise was both being destroyed by poison from the walls and how the ceiling was half-destroyed.
She didn't want to make any sudden movements for the sake of the Pokemon as she stood behind Drapion. Audino could see that things were bad and they would not get better if something wasn't done. Knowing that Drapion wasn't aware of her being behind, Audino was ready to go on the offensive.
She wasn't going to use Hyper Beam since that would just cause more destruction than there already is. Instead, she was going to charge in.
"Here I go!" Audino screamed at the top of her lungs as she closed her eyes, charging straight towards Drapion who had heard Audino's voice.
"Hm?" The Ogre Scorp Pokemon turned to witness the Hearing Pokemon running straight towards him at speeds she rarely ever goes at. "Wha-"
Before Drapion could finish his sentence, Audino smashed her body at full-force onto the side of Drapion, dealing surprisingly efficient damage as the Ogre Scorp Pokemon's grip on the three Pokemon had been loosened, allowing them to break free.
"Oh!" Sneasel could see that his friends were free, so he decided to grab them while he had the chance. By using his amazing speed, the Sharp Claw Pokemon jumped off a table, grabbing Scatterbug, Skitty and Fletchling from the floor while Drapion fell over because of Audino's tackle. "Now! Do it!"
"Oh right! Thanks, Sneasel!" Eve thanked the Ice-Dark-Type as she and her friends now had the chance to finally attack Drapion without any distractions.
Once more, they charged up Thunderbolt, Dazzling Gleam and Dark Pulse at full power. And this time, Drapion couldn't act fast since he was still recovering from Audino smashing into him. Because of that, they could finally unleash their attacks.
A blast of 100,000 volts, multiple rays of rainbows and a beam imbued with dark thoughts were all fired at the same time, merging as one to create an even stronger move.
"No-no-no-no-no!" Drapion shook his head aggressively as he was too late to stop this attack from landing. With incredible power, the three combined moves crashed into the Ogre Scorp Pokemon, creating a triple explosion of electricity, fairy magic and darkness.
The triple explosion blew almost everyone back while Audino used Protect to shield herself yet again from another explosion. Thankfully, it wasn't as destructive as the boiler room, so not much damage was caused.
After the explosion cleared, it was over. Drapion had fainted. That was all that he could handle after all. After being shocked, tackled, blasted, smashed in the head and slammed about multiple times in one day, the Ogre Scorp Pokemon had fallen. But what a challenge he was.
"Oh thank Arceus, it's over...!" Eve sat down as Pikachu and Absol fell on their backs, relieved that the battle had come to an end.
And so were the Pokemon. They cheered as they knew that Pikachu, Eve and Absol were just trying to protect them all this time. It was very clear whose side they were on. Thus, they themselves were relieved as well. But they were still poisoned so they couldn't celebrate too hard.
Luckily, Audino was here as she had used Refresh around the interior of the Pokemon Paradise. Her massive Refresh bathed everything and everyone in a calming green light as their poison afflictions were being erased along with the poison on the walls.
"Ah...That's good..." Absol nodded as he was free of poison along with everyone else.
"Pikachu! Eve! Absol!" Audino ran over. "Glad you three are okay! Let me heal you all up." She was about to use Heal Pulse.
"Yeah!" Pikachu sat up as his body was being healed up by Heal Pulse. "And thanks for knocking him down. That could've gotten really ugly fast."
"You all." Sneasel went up to the four of them along with the rest of the Pokemon here. "Thank you all so much for saving us."
"You're welcome. But we're sorry about the Pokemon Paradise. We didn't intend for this to happen." Eve replied.
"It's fine." Sneasel shook his head. "Besides, we haven't seen a good battle in a while. We can fix this place up fast. The same way we stole some of the surveillance monitors without damaging them."
"Hm?" The Cherubi who was inside of the Poke Ball had come out out of confusion and fear of what was going on. She saw that Drapion was on the floor defeated and she was no longer in possession of the grunt. With that knowledge, she destroyed the Poke Ball with Razor Leaf and started bouncing away. "Woohoo! Freedom!"
"But what do we do about this guy?" Absol went up to Drapion.
"He's with the Team Plasma grunt. So we have to take him in as well. He definitely can't stay here." said Eve.
"We'll help you get him out. Nothing too heavy all of us can't carry together." Sneasel offered.
"Really? Thanks, Sneasel!" Eve squeed. "Wait till Twilight and everyone hear about this!"
And indeed they have.
Thanks to Spike, Slurpuff and Axew, they had found their location. They now knew where the Team Plasma Grunt was and they quickly informed Drake and his crew.
"Hm. So, through here, eh?" Drake said as he stood before the Aft Cabin.
"What happened here?" Ash wondered.
"Hey!" Drake shouted out. "We know you're in there!"
"Eek!" The grunt squealed as he had just been found whilst still in the bedroom.
"Thought you could hide forever, hm? I've issued a full lockdown on all doors in the Aft Cabin and nowhere else. You'll be sitting there without any chance of getting out."
"B-But I can't get out either way! There's a large hole in the floor! I'll go plummeting if I step outside!"
"He's right about that." Spike nodded.
"Axew."
"Hm. Well, in that case, sit tight until we return to Nimbasa. You'll have a freshly stable floor back in jail, okay?"
"...Aye captain..." The grunt sighed as he admitted defeat.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu and the others came running over with the Pokemon from the Pokemon Paradise carrying Drapion in unity.
"Pikachu! Guys!" Ash turned to face his buddy. "Came at the right time!"
"Eve! Absol!" Twilight hugged both of her Pokemon. "I got a bit worried after I felt and heard that explosion. Glad you two are alright."
"Espeon!" Eve nuzzled her nose on Twilight's while Absol scoffed. He wasn't a big fan of hugs, clearly.
"Audi!" Fluttershy jumped into Audino's hands.
"Audino!" The Hearing Pokemon gave her partner a bear hug.
"Oh!" Spike climbed on Ash's shoulder. "And you got the Drapion too?! Nice stuff."
"Xew!"
"A splendid team effort." Drake nodded. "We'll be moving slower now that one of the boilers has blown up, unfortunately. But we'll still make it to Nimbasa City either way. In the meantime, why don't you all relax and leave everything to us. You've earned it."
"Thanks, Drake." Ash adjusted his hat while Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder.
"Pikachu!"
Finally, the entire Team Plasma Grunt debacle had come to an end. At least, until they get to Nimbasa where Officer Jenny can take them in. But for now, they can relax while Drake and his crew take everything from here.
However, they still had to prepare for the Arcane Sea and what they'll pull next. Resting is never easy when on these waters as the journey continues.
Canterlot Nursing Room. The Pokemon Festival. 11:00 AM.
Luna was still in the nursing room in an injured state. She could hear the ticking of the clock as it somehow overpowered the sound of the Pokemon Festival happening outside.
Unable to re-join the Pokemon Festival, Luna was obviously upset about that. However, because of how long she's been sealed in the moon, her patience is legendary.
Luckily, she had something to pass the time. From her birthday that happened months ago, she had that small little game console to enjoy herself with. And it certainly kept her occupied while her body was slowly healing.
"Yes!" Luna exclaimed as she was having a blast playing the game. "I am unstoppable in every sense of the word!" But she couldn't get too excited or move around since her body was still greatly wounded. "Ow-ow!"
Luna had to stay on that bed without too many movements. The amount of gravity used on her was already devastating enough. Even when playing this game, Luna was actually waiting for Celestia and her parents to return. She had already given what she had experienced in Empress Twilight's world and Skyblue Shine's basement to Pyrestar. So Pyrestar will be able to pass on information to Celestia, Sunlight and Eventide, saving Luna all the trouble.
But, she can only imagine what would happen if her family saw her in this condition. Obviously, they will be distraught, but Luna was worried about one thing. When Celestia was injured by Ghetsis, it awoke the Sorrowful Rage magic within Luna and brought out Lunar Ire.
If either her sister or parents saw her like this, then there might be a chance that they'll end up receiving the Sorrowful Rage magic as well, depending on how they react.
Speaking of her sister and parents, they had finally returned to Canterlot by bursting through the door and scaring Luna which made the moon princess drop her game console.
"Wah!" Luna screeched.
"Luna!" The three of them all exclaimed with worry in their voices.
"Oh, finally...you're back." Luna let out a sigh of relief as Sunlight rushed over, hugging her daughter while tears were flying out of her like a fountain.
"My little Luna! Thank goodness!" Sunlight wailed.
"C-Can't breathe...mother!" Luna's eyes were bulging while being hugged by her mother's surprisingly potent hold.
"We heard everything from Pyrestar!" said Eventide. "Have your bones healed from the gravity?!"
"No. I'm afraid it's moving at such an incredibly slow pace." Luna shook her head. "The slowest form of healing I've ever seen."
"That Empress Twilight..." Celestia growled as she turned her head. Clearly, she had built up anger and rage towards this alternate universe Twilight for what she did to her younger sister.
Luna was worried about this. She was worried about Celestia unleashing Sorrowful Rage magic herself. However, she noticed that her older sister's mane was flaring up, almost as if it was being set on fire. But, Celestia managed to regain her composure as the flaring stopped.
"I knew we shouldn't have let you go on your own. It was far too dangerous considering the background of the situation." Eventide uttered as he stomped his hoof.
"Perhaps. But it's fine now! Besides...now we know where Skyblue Shine resides and what she's hiding!" Luna exclaimed as her wings twitched. "Ow..."
"It's clearly not fine." Sunlight denied. "Your bones are broken, your horn is damaged and you can barely utilize your wings. The best you can do is move your front hooves."
"I know." Luna sighed until she sparked an idea."But perhaps...Mother! Father! You've exceeded natural alicorns! Perhaps you have a spell that instantly heal me, correct?! And you can make sure that my body isn't affected by gravity anymore!"
"Well, we do have healing spells that are more efficient than Equestria's spells since they come from the Ambrosial Plane." Sunlight nodded.
"And?!" Luna had a wide smile on her face as she was thrilled to hear what would come next.
"But for something such as gravity...we're not so sure." Eventide quickly shut her down. "Protecting yourself against a force like that is truly difficult and not that easy to achieve."
"Oh." Luna's smile transformed into a frown once more. "Shame on me for thinking that would be so easy...I suppose gravity will forever be an issue then."
"However, we can still perform a spell that can protect you from something such as gravity." Eventide sparked some hope back up in her.
"R-Really?!"
"Certainly. This is the only spell that is fit for this scenario. There is no other like it in Equestria so it's highly rare and unique. Especially considering its potency." Eventide said.
"Whatever it is, I'll take it. If it means I'll stand a better chance against her gravity spell when the invasion arrives in just 2 months."
"Alright then. Let's get this started." Eventide stood beside Sunlight as they were both ready to cast a grand healing spell that surpasses all other healing spells in Equestria. It was made in the Ambrosial Plane after all.
A gold and green light shot out of both their horns, merging as one to create a single ball of magic that hovered over Luna. The amount of magical energy the ball was exerting was enough to pose a threat to all forms of magic, no matter the origin.
Luna looked up to see the ball of magic as it entered inside of her. She closed her eyes, ready to embrace whatever feeling it might give her. Once the ball entered the moon princess, her eyes flared with golden and green lights that shined out of her, outlining her body as well.
Celestia, Passion and Arcanine closed their eyes since the light was a bit blinding to the eyes. But not to Sunlight and Eventide. The magic lit up the nursing room as Luna was now floating because of it. She wasn't doing this out of her own will. The lights shot out of Luna before causing her to fall back on the bed.
"Oh...my..." Luna felt a bit dizzy after that.
"There." Eventide went up to his youngest daughter. "The greatest benefit from that spell we cast isn't the healing, but instead what it prevents from within.
"Prevents from within?" Luna looked over at her father.
"Your body will still take damage like normal. However, no other variations of magic will enter your body. Be it dark magic, chaos magic etc." Sunlight explained. "Not sure about Pokemon magic, however..."
"S-So I cannot be afflicted then?!" Luna gained a bright smile.
"Yes." Eventide nodded. "This is to make sure that gravity magic does not affect you anymore. But remember. On the outside, you are still vulnerable. So stay safe."
"I will!" Luna immediately got up from the bed. "I feel so different now! My limbs still feel a bit sore, but it's a relief to finally walk and fly once more. A shame I can't move around as much now..."
"It's also a relief to see you so happy again!" Celestia hugged her little sister.
"Right. I'm just glad to be mobile once more. But I should probably continue staying here for a while for a bit more relaxation. Especially to clear my head after what happened in the other universe. The Pokemon Festival certainly won't allow me to take things slowly with how active it is."
"You can just head to your room in the meantime." Celestia pointed her hoof in the direction of Luna's room. "We'll make sure that you receive all the privacy that you need.
"Thank you, sister. You too, mother and father. I don't know what I would do without you all. Really. That could've been the end of me here and there..."
"But to think there's a universe where Twilight Sparkle becomes that warped. And putting my sweet Celestia in such a degrading state as her own personal cleaning maid." Sunlight shuddered.
"Alternate universes can be terrifying sometimes..." Eventide nodded.
"I'll have Skyblue Shine turned in immediately," said Celestia. "Along with keeping the entire mansion on lockdown with guards surrounding it. Nopony will be allowed to pass through that gateway."
"Wait! What about Premium Polish!" Luna shot up.
"Who?" Celestia turned to her.
"The daughter of Skyblue Shine. She's clearly innocent and unaware of her own mother's actions. To a point where she is forbidden to enter the basement. What about her?"
"Hm...We'll probably have to get her a new home. It's not safe for her to stay there with that mansion connecting to the gateway. Or Vanhoover in general, actually." Celestia decided. "Perhaps she might have a relative she can stay with. If they're not in on the Umbrage Theif debacle."
"That's good. But revealing the truth about her mother to her might be a greater challenge in of itself..." Luna grumbled.
"I'll handle it. In the meantime, how about we bring you food, gifts or anything from the Pokemon Festival? We revisited the Arceus Museum and brought some fairly attractive trinkets if you want." Celestia suggested.
"Oh, sure." Luna nodded. "Just please don't over-fill my room. The Pokemon already occupy it enough." With that, Luna made her way towards her bedroom to get some more rest as she needed to adjust to things for a while.
Everything would be left up to her sister and her parents at this point. Luna was glad to be back. Being able to fly, run, use magic or any major form of movement was a relief. She was still vulnerable on the outside and any powerful attack will certainly put her back in the nursing room. But for now, on the inside, she was safe.
But one entity came out of Luna. Of course, it was Lunar Ire. The manifestation of the Sorrowful Rage.
"Seems as if you've managed to receive something beneficial...How lucky" Lunar Ire spoke while in the form of a wisp, floating beside Luna.
"You again. I do not need to speak to you anymore. I'm fully healed, even without you possessing me."
"Indeed. And was done so easily too. However, you're not invincible and you'll have a chance to be put in the nursing room once more."
"Absurd. Mother and father have made it so that afflictions do not harm me. At least, seemingly for the time being. This was their first time utilizing it anyway."
"Time being is right. Like many spells, it won't last forever, sadly. Such is the consequence of magic. Unless...Empress Twilight can somehow ignore that?"
"What do you mean?!" Luna stopped walking as the guards watched her talking to what seemed to be air. But really, she's the only one who can see Lunar Ire's wisp form.
"She has stolen magic from countless alicorns remember? She wields many spells exclusive to other universes and some she has not even mastered yet. Which is why she's using those 2 months to perfect them all. She might have a spell that ignores what your parents have done. But I might be reaching, right...?"
"Why would you invoke something akin to fear in me?"
"I'm not just your sorrow and rage, Luna. I'm more analogous to you than you think. If you accept me, you have no idea how much it will benefit you. Empress Twilight's many spells will be nothing more than child's play."
"I told you, I will never accept you! Now leave and never bother me again!" Luna bellowed as she startled all of the guards around her.
"Um...Are you alright, Princess Luna?" A guard asked.
"Hm?" Luna's ears shot up as she looked around her to see the guards giving her awkward gazes. "Hahaha!" She laughed nervously. "No need to worry! Everything is fine!"
"Keep telling yourself that. But you should know this, Luna. The permanent nature of Sorrowful Rage magic isn't a burden. In fact, you're the reason why I am still here." Lunar Ire was fading away. "Your mind says no, but your body knows what is coming. And I'll be ready for that fateful day." She vanished, returning inside Luna once more.
"Tch! What a nuisance." Luna scoffed before looking at the floor. "But...could she actually be right?"
The Royal Unova. Arcane Sea. 12:00 PM.
The ship was nearing the Ocean Gate, where they'll return to the seas of Unova and also turn in the Team Plasma grunt to Officer Jenny. All was well now.
They've passed the Flaming Tsunami and so far, no odd events have attacked the ship. It was all smooth sailing right now. But obviously, Drake never lets his guard down.
Ash and everyone got to enjoy themselves some fresh and delicious food from the Royal Unova. The same food that Axew and the Slurpuffs were almost distracted by when searching for the grunt.
"Mmm! This is good stuff!" Ash said while eating an entire buffet alongside Pikachu, Pinkie Pie, the Slurpuffs and Axew.
"Pikachu!"
"So good!" Pinkie Pie felt great ecstasy eating all this gourmet-class food. She and her Pokemon were getting to experience this wonderful food for themselves.
As for Twilight and everyone else, they were just relaxing in the lounge room nearby. They didn't want to worry about anything else at this point.
"As much as I love the Arcane Sea with how mystical and unique it is, I can't wait to leave here and return to normal and ordinary seas," said Rarity, resting on a couch. "There's only so much a lady can handle."
"Drake only came here for the special Haxorus, right?" Applejack sank into the soft couch. "Spike beat him to that already."
"Maybe one day, we can come back here and explore these seas more," Fluttershy said. "I want to see more Special Pokemon myself!
"Melo..." Meloetta was currently asleep, laying next to Fluttershy's Chikorita.
"Just one more week left..." Rainbow Dash yawned. "And it'll all be over."
"Mhm." Twilight nodded. "That is until something crazier comes up. Let's face it. With Pokemon, the times we get to rest are so minuscule it's insane."
"I'll say." Rarity replied. "We can't go an entire week without something large-scale occurring. Good or bad."
"But it's fun either way, right?" Rainbow Dash grinned.
"Yes. It is pretty fun." Rarity giggled.
"Lucky." Coco appeared in-between Rarity and Rainbow Dash. "Maybe I'll get to go on my own wild adventures too."
"Let's not get too ambitious now." Rarity patted Coco on the back as they all laughed along with most of their Pokemon. It was all very casual on the Royal Unova at this point as the relaxing waves could be heard from the outside.
And speaking of the outside, Team Rocket along with the Cutie Mark Crusaders were about to test out their dinghy which had upgrades that only Team Rocket would be capable of pulling off.
"It's ready! Let's get this baby on water now!" Jessie got in the dinghy as they were standing on top of the Royal Unova while the breeze of the Arcane Sea could be felt, despite having a space-like appearance.
"This is gonna be great!" Scootaloo jumped up and down with glee. "What do you think will happen to me if I jump in the water?"
"Or me!" Sweetie Belle slid in.
"Or what about me?!" So did Apple Bloom.
"Slow down there, my little ponies." James suddenly stopped them. "It's just us three going on a sail, remember? We can't bring you along."
"Aww! Why not?!" They each sighed.
"Like we'd be crazy to let such young kids sail on waters these strange and wacky." Jessie got on the boat. "Way too dangerous."
"What does that make the twerp then?" Meowth whispered to Jessie as he was referring to Ash.
"That twerp's obviously not normal. Some sort of superhuman." Jessie scoffed.
"Sorry. But leave this to the adults okay?" James kneeled to face them.
"But we wanna come along too. Please?" Apple Bloom pouted, giving puppy dog eyes to James.
"Guh!" James winced back as the eyes were super-effective on him.
"We promise not to cause any trouble!" Sweetie Belle also used the puppy dog eyes on Jessie.
"Mmmrgh..." Jessie grimaced at Sweetie Belle's face. The eyes were very tempting and it didn't help that Scootaloo joined in as well, just adding more power to the faces. Eventually, Jessie gave in. "Alright! But don't touch anything! That's our job since we're catching Special Pokemon for ourselves. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am!" The trio exclaimed.
"Seriously?!" James and Meowth screamed as they faced Jessie.
"Just go with it okay?!" Jessie bellowed back at the two of them.
"Yes ma'am..." The decision had been made. The CMC were joining this small little boat ride as they as well were hoping to catch Special Pokemon of their own.
They all got on the boat as they were aiming at sailing on the streams of water that were above the ship instead of the ones that were further away. Sailing on top was the better option since they'll be closer to the Royal Unova without having to worry about falling off.
"Set on!" Meowth pressed a tiny little green button that was plastered on the front of the boat, activating the special upgrade that'll allow it to sail in an area such as this.
From the bottom of the boat, rocket boosters came out as the small dinghy was being lifted into the air and towards the streams of water. The CMC gawked as they witnessed the boat fly up.
"Now let's get great direction." James pulled out a small controller that seemed to control the boat. It was clear that this was not an ordinary boat at all.
By hovering towards the stream with James' control, the dinghy removed its rocket boosts, pulling them back inside as the boat was carefully sent down without too much force added into it. The boat landed on the stream of water that was above the Royal Unova as they were now sailing on the unpredictable waters of the Arcane Sea.
"Success!" Team Rocket exclaimed as the CMC cheered.
"Alright then!" James got out a fishing rod that had Poke Ball bait on it. "Let's see if my fishing skills are still top-notch!"
"Oh. I didn't bring my own fishing rod!" Apple Bloom gasped.
"We don't have fishing rods." Sweetie Belle turned to the earth pony.
"And...go!" James got to work as he had already sent the reel into the water from afar. Now he had to wait for a Pokemon to hook on the rod. Meanwhile, Jessie already had a Poke Ball out for the occasion as soon as James pulls a Pokemon in.
Meowth also got out some sweet scent jars to try and attract the Pokemon towards them. They were obviously going to try various ways to get themselves a Special Pokemon. If they could.
And it was working. Pokemon nearby immediately swam over to the sweet scent coming out of the jar. But one problem was that most of the water streams were separated instead of conjoined. So unless some of the Pokemon can fly, it'll be a bit hard to get close to the sweet scent.
Sweetie Belle was too busy gazing at the stars of the Arcane Ocean to even focus on catching the Pokemon. They were too beautiful to look at.
But something even more beautiful was about to happen at this very moment.
The same blue wisps that allowed the Royal Unova to pass through the Ocean Gate and enter the Arcane Sea had shown up once more with Sweetie Belle being the first to witness them.
"Huh Hey! Look!" The young unicorn exclaimed, grabbing the attention of everyone here apart from James who was still fishing.
The rest of them turned around as they saw that the blue wisps were now floating everywhere in the sky, surrounding the Royal Unova once more.
"What are they gonna do now?" Scootaloo wondered.
"Beats me." Apple Bloom shook her head.
The wisps were here to do two things, similar to what they did before as they let out their angelic voices. They were going to put on a farewell show to the Royal Unova and the passengers on board.
Everyone inside of the ship looked outside to gaze at the wisps once more and all their beautiful glory. They knew the wisps were here to impress. But they weren't alone. From beneath the ship, a very familiar individual had returned.
The Pure Liquid Milotic made a reappearance.
But this time, it wasn't here to attack. Instead, it was putting on a show alongside the blue wisps. There was no hostility against the ship this time.
"𝓜𝓲𝓵𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓬!"
Everyone gazed as they saw the Pure Liquid Milotic fly next to the ship, showing off its wonderful body to them all once more. But it was about to get better.
The wisps then all flew towards the Milotic, entering its liquid body all of a sudden. Once inside, they gave the Pure Liquid Milotic a wonderful dazzling shine that emanated out of it and lit up the Arcane Sea. All the millions of wisps inside of the Tender Pokemon really fit with its long body as it looked like it had spotted dots as a pattern on it.
"Would ya look at that..." The helmsman gawked.
"Mhm." Drake nodded. "Seems that sea's trust us now. And they're giving their farewell."
Indeed they were. Milotic then ascended higher, floating above the Royal Unova as everyone looked outside the window, wondering what it would do next. Suddenly, the Flaming Tsunami had returned, but this time it was in the form of a spiral.
The spiral flame flew over, becoming one with Milotic by outlining its liquid body in fire, giving it an extra flair and beauty that everyone enjoyed. This was akin to Pokemon Contest moves. And speaking of contest moves, Sweetie Belle and Coco Pommel were making sure to remember this moment, just in case.
As Milotic let out one final and beautiful cry with a burst of fire and light shining out of it, in front of the Royal Unova, the Ocean Gate could be seen.
It was time to go.
"Buh-bye!" Pinkie Pie waved her hoof rapidly at Milotic along with everyone else. It was also a farewell to the Arcane Sea as well.
"Hm?" Jessie noticed that they were leaving. "Oh! Time to go!" She grabbed James, pulling him away from his fishing rod as he almost dropped it.
"Ah!" James gasped. "What about our Special Pokemon?!"
"We'll come back here another time when we make a better boat! Now let's go!" Jessie said as the dinghy was being directed back to the Royal Unova for safety.
The Arcane Sea was truly an experience. And yet, they've barely even scratched the surface of what these mystical seas are capable of. But now that it's accessible and Drake knows where it's located, anyone can visit and there is a very good guarantee that the results will be vastly different because of its unpredictable nature.
The Royal Unova passed through the Ocean Gate as it had finally left the Arcane Sea.
Nimbasa City. 12:30.
"There." Officer Jenny placed the Team Plasma Grunt in handcuffs as the arrest was a swimming success. "Many thanks for finding him. The Pokemon Ranger HQ is also gonna love this."
"Don't get too confident..." The grunt scoffed. "Team Plasma will eventually take over both worlds and I'll be scot-free sooner than you think."
"I'd like to see that happen. Let's go." Jenny placed the grunt in the car with her Herdier inside of it, keeping guard. She entered the car as her work here was done for now. "If you find any more of them, let us know."
"Alright," Ash said.
"Pikachu."
As the car drove off, Ash and the others were about to return to the Royal Unova to finally relax and forget about anything else that may be seen as a threat.
"Glad that's over with..." Twilight sighed. "And I'm glad we're sailing on normal seas this time."
"Mhm." Her friends nodded in agreement.
"But I'm gonna miss the Arcane Sea." Pinkie Pie pouted. "When are we gonna come back here, you think?"
"Sorry I kinda took your Special Haxorus from you Drake," Spike spoke to Drake while walking up the stairs.
"No need to worry, boy." Drake shook his head. "You've earned it. And because of that, I can see that you'll become a great Dragon Trainer very soon."
"Really? Yes!" That was music to Spike's ears.
"Axew!"
Now, it was time for some normal sailing on the Royal Unova. Nothing unpredictable will come back up. And frankly, many of the passengers enjoyed that thought. In something as large as the Pokemon Festival combined with the Arcane Sea, something small is needed as the journey continues.
Meaning that the Pokemon Festival was slowly coming to an end. A shame but inevitable. But this means there's an even larger reason to fully experience this festival to the end.
Right now, Adagio and her sisters alongside the tagalong of Sunset Shimmer were on a train that was heading somewhere related to the Pokemon Festival. On that same train, Chloe, alongside her Eevee was also there. Encouraged by her friends, she had been getting into the festival quite a bit. It's a nice form of enjoyment that anyone can jump into.
"Wait. Where are we headed?" Sonata looked at the window.
"Some countryside, I think?" Aria said. "Apparently, it's apart of the Pokemon Festival, somehow. But it sounds pretty boring. Right, Adagio?"
"I don't know. A countryside doesn't sound too bad." Adagio replied. "It's way less noisy after all."
"Sounds like you've been to one before," Sunset said to Adagio.
"Yeah, when we were banished to the human world. Any countryside is the only good thing about that world honestly."
"The food there's pretty great though!" Sonata squeed.
"Music's good too." Aria nodded.
"Okay, one of the few things good about that world." Adagio groaned.
"It's not just an ordinary countryside. But a Pokemon Exclusive one." A man sitting nearby said to them. "Just another result of the Pokemon changing this world as they go."
"Oh! That makes things better!" Sonata gasped. "What do you think it's going to be like?! Is it Type-exclusive?!"
"Could be one of those Fairy places. Hear those are pretty comfortable." Aria closed her eyes, imagining being at a Fairy-Type exclusive location.
"Wait. What's this about exclusive locations?" Sunset was confused.
"Same here. Can you say that again? And changing the world as they go?" So was Chloe who leaned in.
"You two are pretty slow," Adagio smirked. "If you didn't know, because of the existence of Pokemon, Equestria's been going through some changes. The Pokemon transform the land just to feel more at home and create new areas that fit them best. And other stuff like that."
"It also makes Equestria look bigger!" Sonata exclaimed. "But it was already pretty big before so like...Woah..."
"They're pretty nice to look at too." Aria nodded.
"Ooh..." Sunset Shimmer and Chloe nodded.
"Yamper!"
"Now I'm interested." Sunset sat back down. "How long till we get there?"
"Won't be long now. Look!" Sonata pressed her face on the window as the view of the countryside could finally be seen.
A peaceful open sight with green and placid land far as the eye can see. Pidgeys, Starlys and other Flying-Type Pokemon chirped as they flew over the hills. Much like every other Pokemon-exclusive location, it had a wonderful and calming aura that was unexplainable. Countless Normal, Grass, Flying, Water and even Bug-Types could be seen residing here alongside the small buildings with residents.
The sun shining through on this one lonesome countryside only added to its calming nature. And the Grass-Type Pokemon enjoyed it for sure.
"Oh, I've been missing out..." Sunset's jaw dropped.
"Sure have." Adagio stood up, ready to exit the train at any moment.
"Yamper! Yamper!" Yamper was barking at the landscape of the countryside, mainly towards the Pokemon living there. The train was about to come to a stop since their destination was close enough.
The train announced that it was stopping here permanently. It would not move again until tomorrow. Thankfully, there was a second train just in case.
The Sparkling Countryside. A mishmash of an already existing area in Equestria merged with the Pokemon World. Compared to many other locations, this one was on a smaller scale instead of being wide and gigantic like the Kingdra Durance or Faye Mountains.
"Woohoo! Let's get rolling!" Sonata jumped off the train as she was the first to exit. She immediately sent out her Buneary and Eevee to enjoy this experience with her.
"Buneary!"
"Eevee!"
"Yam!" Yamper hopped off Chloe's arms as it wanted to mess around with its fellow First-Stage Evolution Pokemon.
"Is the town the only thing we're going for?" Aria sent her Popplio out
"Only thing here. Unless you want to move around those freakishly long mountains," said Adagio. "Come on. I'm curious about these new attractions. Even if they might be smaller than the rest."
"Krick?" Kricketot popped out of Adagio's mane, looking over the countryside.
Everyone else got off the train as the residents of the town greeted the newcomers since not many come by here. Strangely, this small little countryside still had some snow left. Whether it was the weather acting up or the cause of an Ice-Type Pokemon, it was here regardless with a ton of it just scattered around the place.
"Look at all this snow. How's there still so much?" Chloe placed her hand in a large pile of snow, creating a perfectly-shaped handprint on it. "Oh! Cold!" She pulled her hand back as she held a snowball.
"Yamper!" Yamper, Buneary, Popplio and even Kricketot jumped into the pile of snow, creating holes in it as they were frolicking around in its soft and white glory.
"Bunear!"
"Vee!"
"Tot!"
The four Pokemon played around in the snow before immediately feeling a rush of chilling cold flow into their bodies, causing them to freeze. Thankfully, Sunset Shimmer's Braixen came out of her Poke Ball to melt away their icy prisons.
"Spheal!" A group of Spheal's inside of the snow greeted them as well by freezing the party once more and even Braixen as well. That was just their way of saying hello.
With such a small town, very few greeted the newcomers. But then again, the train only had 12 passengers at best so they didn't have many to say hello to. So far, the second week is off to a slow start.
As for their trainers, the further they approached the town, the more they got to witness. Obviously, the usual was here. Attractions, foods, events, etc. But one thing this place had that actually grabbed the interest of the Dazzlings and Sunset Shimmer, mostly the Dazzlings was a singing attraction.
And that singing attraction had a Primarina which was the mascot and ruler of this particular attraction. Much like how Lopunny is the ruler of its own attraction which is Lopunny's Dance Inferno. The name of this Attraction was known as Primarina's School of Aria.
"Oh...What's this?" An interesting Adagio gawked at the attraction which was really just a podium near a large lake.
"School of Aria? Oh, that's you, Aria!" Sonata nudged Aria.
"Haha...I get it." Aria let out a sarcastic and unenthusiastic laugh.
"You like what you see?" A festival employee asked.
"Sure do!" Sonata exclaimed. "A singing school?! By a Prima...how do you say it?"
"Primarina...It kinda looks like..." Aria took out her Pokedex, scanning the Primarina.
"Primarina. The Soloist Pokemon. It controls its water balloons with song. The melody is learned from others of its kind and is passed down from one generation to the next. Its singing voice is its chief weapon in battle. For Primarina, every battle’s a stage. Its singing and the dancing of its balloons will mesmerize the audience. This Pokémon’s Trainer must prioritize the daily maintenance of its throat at all costs. Any injury to its throat can become a grave problem."
"Pop?" Aria's Popplio overheard this as she waddled over to her trainer.
"So that's what Popplio will turn into?" Aria looked at her partner.
"Hm." Sunset took a closer look at the words on the attraction sign. "The Songstress Primarina's School of Aria. A perfect place to train both the trainer and Pokemon with their singing skills. Popplio and Brionne are good Pokemon for this attraction."
"Lio!" Popplio clapped her flippers together as she jumped towards the attraction, heading straight for Primarina.
"Rina?" The Soloist Pokemon looked down at her First Stage Evolution. The other Pokemon apart of the class looked over at the Sea Lion Pokemon as well.
"Popp! Pop!" At first glance, Popplio was already pulled towards this attraction and Primarina. More than the Dazzlings combined potentially. She clapped her flippers together right at her Third Stage Evolution.
"Looks like your Popplio's found the attraction for her, huh?" Sonata nudged Aria.
"Looks like it." Aria nodded in agreement. "Guess this is the best way for it to grow into a Primarina, right? Learning from an actual Primarina."
"The best part is that it can teach others." Sunset pointed her hoof at the sign. "How lucky is that?"
"Oooh! You think we could also take singing lessons from her to get our skills back?" Sonata squeed.
"Probably." Aria narrowed her eyes. "It's got my interest for sure."
"Pssh!" Adagio scoffed. "As if. I'm already a good enough teacher. Wonderful even. You don't need anyone else to teach you how to sing properly."
"Too late. Already decided." Aria said as she walked alongside Sonata, approaching the attraction and Primarina.
"Ah! Hmph!" Adagio sat down, crossing her hooves together.
"So, you'll take the lessons?" The employee asked them both.
"Mhm!" Sonata nodded aggressively while Aria nodded gently.
"Good. Good. You're just in time too. Our previous learners had just finished up." The employee pointed over at those who had just finished taking part in the School of Aria.
One of those learners was none other than Jewel, who was here with her husband Hollow, who was currently asleep on a chair, dozing off.
"I'll actually have another go!" Jewel dashed over to the employee.
"Oh, nevermind. I suppose we have one extra left to go." said the employee.
"Oh. Good to see you all again!" Jewel waved at Adagio, Aria and Sonata. "Especially you, Adagio."
"Hm." Adagio gave a small remark while still sitting down with her hooves crossed.
"Prima!" Primarina lifted Popplio all of a sudden, looking dead into the eyes of the Sea Lion Pokemon. "Rina!"
"Pop?"
"Seems like the Songstress is very interested in your Popplio here. Pretty fast actually...faster than others." The employee narrowed her eyes.
"Really? How come?" Aria asked.
"The Songstress is a world-renowned pop-star, ya know. No other Primarina's as good as her. So if she sees something good in this Popplio here, I think a successor might be right in front of her eyes."
"Seriously?" Aria actually shot up from that. "Would ya look that...You're really lucky Popplio."
"Pop!" Popplio clapped her flippers together, wanting to get this class started.
"Are you all ready for the School of Aria?" The employee questioned.
"Yes please!" Sonata bellowed.
"Sounds like fun. But, I don't know if I'll need it." Sunset stayed out of it.
"Hmph," Adagio growled. "Could've just let me do it..."
"Great!" The employee clapped her hands together. "Now, you'll need these." She pulled out headphones. "The school can be fairly harsh on the ears."
While Aria and the others prepare to practice their singing skills with the help of Primarina, Chloe decided to explore the rest of the small town by herself with Yamper.
She actually wanted to eat something first before interacting with the attractions around the festival. Although, the School of Aria wasn't exactly for her so that one was ruled out.
She came across one food stall that caught her interest. It was merely titled Cozy Concession Stand with the face of a very happy looking pegasus on it.
"Cozy Concessions...Sounds delicious." Chloe said while looking at the logo.
"Sure does!" The owner of the stall opened the hatch up, startling Chloe as she revealed her face. The pegasus behind this was none other than the same pegasus Paul and Aria once met.
Cozy Glow.
"Oh. You startled me there." Chloe sighed while Yamper's fur stood up after seeing Cozy Glow.
"Yamper..." The Puppy Pokemon suddenly growled at the pegasus.
"So!" Cozy whistled. "You need something to bite miss? Everything here's good for spring. Ice Cream Cones, Marshmallows in the shape of bunnies, Garlic Fries and Fruit Punch." She squeed.
"Aren't you a little too young to be selling food? Drinks I understand but..." Chloe pointed at the little pegasus.
"No!" Cozy suddenly bellowed with a booming sound before returning her voice to a normal level. "No. No, I'm not. Besides, my uh...parents let me do this." She closed her eyes, letting out a somewhat uneasy smile.
The moment she said parents, the sounds of banging and muffled screams could be heard from inside the stall where Cozy Glow resided. Chloe could hear this as the stall itself was shaking all the while, Cozy Glow kept that smile up as if there was nothing odd going on.
"Ignore that. That's just my pet messing about as usual." She grinned.
"...Oh. Okay. I'll take that Marshmallow Bunny then. However much that costs."
"Great!" Cozy Glow slammed a jar of marshmallows on the table with aggression. "That'll be 4 bits. But if you don't have any then I'll take Pokemon money too. Loads of it."
"Alright" Chloe looked in her bag as she pulled out 10 Pokedollars. "Will this do?"
"Golly! It sure will!" Cozy nodded as she bit the Pokedollar, taking it off Chloe's hand. "This'll get me a ton of Poke Balls and a ton of chances to catch all the Pokemon I need.." She said in a somewhat sinister voice.
"Hm? Oh. Pokeballs actually cost around 200 Pokedollars."
"2-?!" Cozy Glow wheezed as she dropped the Pokedollar. "200?!"
"Mhm. For just one. You want to catch a lot of Pokemon, then you'll need more than 200 Pokedollars."
"That's ridiculous! Your world would charge that much for some stupid-" Cozy growled before maintaining her composure once more. "I mean. Golly. Would you like to buy more from me so that it equals up to 200, miss?"
"Uh...Sorry. I'll just take the Marshmallow Bunnys instead." Chloe picked up the jar, walking off. "Good luck with your business."
"Yamper...!" Yamper snarled at Cozy Glow while Chloe was walking away, showing obvious disdain for Cozy Glow as the Puppy Pokemon knew there was something off about her.
"Kh! Useless human...200, are you insane?" Cozy Glow scoffed as she blew her tongue out at Yamper. She could still feel the stall shaking as it was starting to get on her nerves.
She walked to the back of the stall, opening the bottom hatch which revealed two ponies who were tied up with their mouths restrained. These two ponies looked at Cozy Glow with horrified eyes while they were squirming about.
"Cut it out!" Cozy yelled. "I'll let you free as soon as I get enough cash to buy all the Poke Balls I need. Then I'll catch a ton of Pokemon and blah-blah-blah, you already know this. So sit tight, okay?" She let out an innocent yet cruel smile as she closed the hatch, returning to the top of the stall, waiting for more customers. Hopefully humans.
The School of Aria had begun. But the lessons weren't exactly what Aria and Sonata were expecting. Instead of just sitting about like most singing lessons, Primarina took it to the next level that gives enjoyment to everyone.
"First!" The employee raised her finger. "Learning a singing move!"
"Learning a singing move?" Aria turned to the employee.
"Mhm. The first rule of the School of Aria. Your Pokemon must have a singing move to advance. And if they don't, they can just learn one. Simple as that."
"Okay but...how exactly? Do we need to battle?" Sonata asked.
"Not at all. Pokemon moves can be learned without needing to battle."
"Oh yeah!" Sonata's ears shot up. "Fantina taught us about something like that, remember?"
"Hm. She did." Aria remembered now.
"Prima!" Primarina gave the order for everyone to follow her exact movements. The move they were going to be learning first was Hyper Voice.
And Primarina already knew Hyper Voice among many other sound-based moves. She started by holding her breath and aiming at the lake that she and everyone else were facing.
"Marina!" Marina took in a deep breath as her body was glowing light blue. She then exhaled as in the inside of her mouth, a glowing aura of white transparent energy and a beam of wind with turquoise rings inside them came out with a beautiful and harmonic hum echoing throughout the area.
The beam of sound was so great that it manipulated the lake itself, causing it to rise as the water was dancing to Primarina's humming. Naturally, this made the others gawked in amazement. Primarina had just manipulated a large body of water by just humming.
The water returned to normal after the humming came to an end. And now it was time for everyone else to practice their humming. Aria was going to work alongside her Popplio of course. Sonata would work with her Eevee and Buneary while Jewel chose her Lopunny. All of them began humming, ready to learn a sound-based move.
If they're lucky, they can learn Hyper Voice immediately. But the most common move to learn on a first try is Sing or Echoed Voice. But since Jewel has taken this class already today, her Lopunny was pulling it off with excellence as she already knew Hyper Voice.
"Hrm!" Sonata cleared her throat as she was trying to get the right hum. Thanks to the lessons from Adagio, Sonata didn't sound like a cat being choked anymore, but instead, a fairly good singer. The same can't be said for her Pokemon though.
"Vee! Vee!"
"Bun!" The two of them weren't exactly angels when it came to singing. But they were giving it their best. As for everyone else, some were struggling while some were getting the hang of it.
Those that got the hang of it learned Disarming Voice, a move comparable to Echoed Voice but with a bit more flair in the eyes of Primarina at least. It's definitely the Fairy magic that makes it special.
"Tot!" Adagio's Kricketot was too invested in this as he jumped over Adagio and onto the platform, joining everyone in this humming lesson.
"Pop...Pop!" Aria's Popplio was giving it her all as she seemed to be the one student putting in more than 100% effort because of how she looked up to Primarina. She doesn't want to disappoint her idol after all, especially if Primarina sees something amazing in her.
Everyone else had already learned new moves such as Sing and Echoed Voice, but Popplio hadn't learned anything yet. In fact, each time she tried to sing, she only ended up creating large water bubbles.
"Come on, Popplio." Aria encouraged her partner. "You can do it. Try copying me instead."
"Lio?"
Aria offered to show Popplio instead of letting the Sea Lion Pokemon improvise on the spot since it was not working for her right now. Aria started humming as Popplio carefully followed her trainer's actions. And learning from her partner was actually effective as Popplio was no longer creating large water balloons but instead, she was starting to hum, albeit very gently.
Because of that, white energy started forming in Popplio's mouth. A clear sign that a sound move was about to be learned. And with the energy being white, it was obvious that Hyper Voice was waiting to come out. But as Popplio increased her tone, she ended up learning Hydro Pump instead of Hyper Voice.
The high volume of water came flying out as it even pushed Popplio back. It then engulfed Primarina, which made everyone gasp at the sight of it.
"Pop!" Popplio fell on her back before getting back up. "Lio?" The Sea Lion Pokemon then noticed that she had accidentally blasted her idol with Hydro Pump. "L-Lio?!"
"Prima..." Prima gazed at Popplio as the water was slowly dripping down from her. Everyone held their breath as they were terrified of what Primarina's reaction would be. "Rina!" Thankfully, Primarina could tell what an accident was and congratulated Popplio for learning a new move. Even if it wasn't the right one.
"Popplio!"
"Mmm.." Some of the water got on Hollow, prompting him to wake up. Surprisingly, it wasn't Primarina's Hyper Voice that woke him up. He noticed three familiar faces in the form of Sonata, Aria and Adagio. He rubbed his eyes, getting up from the chair as he yawned. "Oh. I need something to bite from those stalls. Haven't slept properly since last night."
"It's not a singing move but it's good progress." Aria patted Popplio on the head.
"Lio!"
"Good, good!" The employee clapped. "Now let's see you all control the water with your voices. Just like how Primarina did with Hyper Voice Doesn't have to be anything major. It can be a small drop of water even as long as it can be manipulated via the voice."
"That is pretty impressive..." Adagio shifted her eyes rapidly. "Why can't my voice do that...?"
"If we're lucky, perhaps a super rare Pokemon will show up here." said the employee. "Now let's see that water move, everyone!"
"Popplio!"
Back at the food stalls, Hollow was about to grab himself something to eat. And the only food stall that seemed to be open here was Cozy Glow's Concession Stand. And nothing else.
"Oh!" The little pegasus spotted Hollow approaching as she rubbed her hooves together, hoping to get a ton of Pokedollars.
Knowing how much Poke Balls cost now, she decided to bump the price up to 200, the right amount for one Poke Ball. As for bits, she kept them the same since she didn't need bits. All the while, the two ponies beneath were still trapped.
"Hello, mister!" Cozy greeted."Want some food or drinks?!"
"Hm?" Hollow narrowed his eyes. "Aren't you a little too young to be running a food stall?
"Mrrgh!" Cozy Glow twitched after hearing that, but she kept her cool. "Mommy and daddy let me run it, so it's perfectly fine."
"Oh okay." Hollow nodded. "I'll have that." He pointed at the Garlic Fries which cost 200 Pokedollars.
"Okay! You want multiple Garlic Fries?" She squeed, wanting Hollow to answer with multiple.
"No, just the one." Hollow shook his head.
"One huh?" She twitched again, upset that he didn't choose multiple. "That's fine. Here you go." She took out the box of Garlic Fries while Hollow gave her 200 Pokedollars. "Pleasure doing business with you mister!"
As they swapped objects, Cozy Glow realized that if she added the 200 Pokedollars to the 10 Pokedollars she got from Chloe, she'll eventually have enough to buy multiple Poke Balls for her own secret and personal gain.
But before Hollow could walk off with his Garlic Fries, along came one individual who was very suspicious of Cozy Glow. Of course, it was Chloe's Yamper, who was charging towards the food stall.
"Yamper! Yamp!" The Puppy Pokemon barked at Cozy Glow while running at full speed.
"Gh! You?!" Cozy Glow winced.
"Yamper! Wait!" Chloe exclaimed while chasing her partner.
"Hm?" Hollow turned around, spotting Yamper approaching as he was in the way. "Oh!" He quickly raised his leg, letting Yamper through as the Puppy Pokemon came to a screeching halt in front of the food stall.
"Per! Yamper!"
"Feh! Stupid dog..." Cozy chided.
"Yamper!" Chloe breathed in and out as she caught up to her partner. "What's gotten into you?"
"Yamper!" The Electric-Type wouldn't stop barking at Cozy Glow. But more importantly, Yamper was also sniffing the bottom of the food stall while barking at the same time.
"Your dog's bothering me. Could you pleeeaase deal with it?" Cozy said while maintaining a smile.
"Sorry." Chloe bowed. "Maybe Yamper's just hungry for something right now. Are you, Yamper?"
"Per!" But Yamper wasn't hungry at all. It knew something that the others didn't. Yamper stopped barking, but that didn't mean its time around the food stall was over.
Instead, Yamper was going to attack the food stall with Spark. The Puppy Pokemon lit itself up with an electric aura that surrounded its body.
"Oh!" Chloe and hollow both gasped while Cozy Glow's eyes widened.
"Yam...per!" Yamper then bolted forward with an electrically charged tackle, heading straight for the bottom of the food stall.
"Waagh!" Cozy Glow screeched as she jumped out of the way, not wanting to be a victim of an Electric-Type move.
Once Yamper smashed into the bottom of the food stall, the bottom hatch had been obliterated by the sheer impact, leaving behind some volts that were crackling around the stall.
And once that hatch and bottom half was destroyed, the two tied up ponies had been revealed to the eyes of Chloe, Hollow and Yamper as they were muffling and squirming about.
"What the...?" Hollow dropped his box of garlic fries.
"Yamper! Yam!"
"Uh oh." Cozy Glow made a poker face as she gulped.
"Yamper...is that why you came here?"
"Yamper!"
"I-Ignore that! Mom and dad are just playing around!" Cozy Glow tried to lie her way out of this.
"Mmm!" The two ponies aggressively shook their head, denying any relation to the little pegasus. With that realization, Hollow and Chloe looked up at Cozy Glow with shocked faces.
"Oh well. Fun while it lasted. I've got other ways to get Poke Balls anyway." Cozy Glow shrugged. "Thanks for the Pokedollars, by the way!" She took off in a heartbeat, flying away to avoid any consequences.
"Yamper!" But Yamper, being the stubborn and persistent Pokemon that it was, decided to chase the little pegasus down.
"Yamper!" Chloe was about to follow her partner again, but she had to untie the ponies who were beneath the stall first along with Hollow.
Both of them helped untie the two ponies, freeing them from their restraints as the duo gasped, glad that they could move and open their mouth at last.
"T-Thank you!" They each said while breathing in and out.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Hollow asked.
"That filly is insane!" The mare screeched as she stood up.
"She came here and-and-and..." The stallion was stuttering. "Acting like she runs the place...which she did for a while!"
"Someone that young and small did this? But why?" Chloe questioned.
"Something about catch a ton of Pokemon with a lot of Poke Balls." said the stallion.
"She took over our food stall and started profiting from our hard work." The mare uttered. "Just 3 days ago. I'm starving here..."
"Oh." Chloe grabbed her marshmallow jar, giving it to the stallion and mare. "Here you go."
"Ah!" The two of them were pleased to see food as they immediately snagged the jar, beginning to grab the marshmallows as they were devouring them like maniacs. They were truly starving.
"Guess I shouldn't doubt Yamper's intuition anymore." Chloe stood up before remembering that Yamper was chasing Cozy Glow down. "Oh! Yamper!"
"Yamper!" Yamper was in hot pursuit of Cozy Glow, chasing the little pegasus down without showing any signs of stopping whatsoever. "Yam! Yamper!"
"Stupid dog! Get lost already!" Cozy Glow screeched as she found it difficult to escape from the Puppy Pokemon. She looked in her saddlebag as she actually had 2 Poke Balls. One that she stole from Paul, and the other she snagged from a random trainer.
Speaking of stealing, that's what Cozy Glow was going for. Since the food stall plan had been foiled, it was back to stealing Poke Balls from random trainers. The little pegasus noticed the train nearby as she decided that the train would be her getaway vehicle.
"Excellent!" Cozy Glow grinned while looking back at the Puppy Pokemon. "So long, loser!" She blew her tongue out at Yamper before flying into the doors while they were closing.
"Per! Yam!" But Yamper wasn't about to give up. Pokemon that are based around dogs tend to be incredibly persistent for the sake of justice. As such, Yamper used Spark one more time to gain an extra boost in speed.
With lightning blitzing out of it, the Puppy Pokemon immediately caught up as it had also entered the train before the doors could even close.
"Huh?!" Cozy Glow screeched as she didn't expect that to happen. The doors had closed, meaning the train was about to leave. And she was currently locked in with Yamper since no one else other than the conductor was on this train.
"Yamper!" The Puppy Pokemon started barking aggressively at Cozy Glow.
"Yamper! Chloe followed the footsteps of her partner which led her and Hollow to the train station. If anyone could find Cozy Glow, it was Yamper because of its great intuition and sniffing. "Where are you?!"
Wondering where her Pokemon was, the train was finally moving as it was headed somewhere else. But as Chloe wondered where Yamper went, she wouldn't have to wonder any longer as she spotted two individuals in the window while the train was moving.
Yamper and Cozy Glow.
"Oh! Yamper!" Chloe held her hand out, trying to call for her partner, but it was too late. The train had already picked up enough speed to leave her behind.
Now Yamper was stuck in a train with Cozy Glow, heading off to another location. A perplexed Chloe's jaw dropped as she didn't predict anything like this going down.
"That's a shame. Alright then. We'll just pursue them as well." Obviously, now that her partner was in the train with a somewhat cruel pegasus, Hollow decided that the best option would be to give chase to the train.
"But how? The train's already gone."
"No need to worry." Hollow rubbed his hands together, hatching up a plan. "There are other ways to travel. We're going by sea."
Currently, Yamper has Cozy Glow trapped in a train with it.
After an awkward and suspicious revelation that involved a food stall, restrained ponies and Pokedollars, Yamper and Cozy Glow had ended up in this situation because of those two very specific events.
"Yamper! Yamper!" The Puppy Pokemon barked.
"You're a real bother you know that!" Cozy Glow growled at Yamper. "But it's fine. I've got my own way of dealing with you." She pulled out a Poke Ball. "I worked really hard to catch you, so you'd better not disappoint!"
The Pokemon she sent out was a very familiar one. Not to Yamper, but one who's been active and is fairly known in Equestria. At least, in Ponyville.
That Pokemon was Togepi. The same Togepi who has a bitter rivalry and hatred towards Mayor Mare and all of Ponyville. She had actually been caught by Cozy Glow. And not too long ago.
"Toge?"
"Alright, you! Let's get this started! Fry that dog with Flamethrower!" Cozy Glow commanded.
"Ge? Toge!" Togepi refused as she scoffed, turning away from Cozy Glow.
"Huh?! Hey! I gave an order! So attack! That's how this works!"
"Togepi!" Togepi further scoffed at Cozy Glow, aggravating the little pegasus.
"Why you...!" Cozy Glow flew over to Togepi. "You did this before! Why won't you listen to me?!"
"Toge! Togepi-To!" Togepi approached Cozy Glow as the two of them butted heads. Apparently, this isn't the first time this has happened. And it certainly won't be the last.
"Listen here you mutated egg! I'm your trainer, so you gotta do what I say!"
"Togepi!" But Togepi refused to listen as for the longest time, she's been a solo Pokemon acting on her own. The fact that she had been captured just angered her more than anything.
The two of them had their heads clashing against each other, with one refusing to listen and the other annoyed by her partner's denial. Ironically, their real enemy, Yamper, was right in front of them, looking at the duo squabble and bicker.
"Yam?"
"Toge!" Togepi suddenly slapped Cozy Glow in the face, further accelerating the hostility that filled the train. As if it wasn't hostile enough. The Poke Ball Cozy Glow held fell out of her hoof and rolled underneath one of the seats of the carriage.
"Ah..." Cozy Glow cocked back as she now had the imprint of a Togepi on her cheek. Never before has she been slapped. Let alone by a Pokemon who is arguably the same age as her.
"Toge-ge-ge!" The Spike Ball Pokemon laughed after seeing Cozy Glow's reaction. To her, it was priceless and she enjoyed the little pony's absolute shock.
"Why you...!" Cozy Glow, clearly not happy about the sudden slap to the face, decided to retaliate. She did so by grabbing one of the pillows on the train and smacking Togepi in the head with it.
"To!" The Fairy-Type bounced up and down after being hit by the pillow, prompting Cozy Glow to make a cocky smile as she knew it felt good to get Togepi back.
Naturally, this only fueled the fire between them even further. And infuriated Togepi also chose to retaliate as well. And she did so by pouncing on Cozy Glow, initiating in an inevitable fight. Once Togepi pounced on Cozy Glow, the two of them entered a scuffle where they were rolling around on the floor, trying to 1UP each other.
"Per? Yam?" Yamper was just enjoying the view. Originally, the Puppy Pokemon was going to get involved by stopping Cozy Glow. But with how things are turning out now, perhaps waiting to see how it will all end is the better and more enjoyable outcome as Yamper sat down, watching the chaos unfurl.
"Knock it off!" Cozy Glow tossed Togepi off her as her mane had been ruffled up because of the rolling tussle.
"Gepi!" Togepi tumbled on the floor because of Cozy Glow's toss. The Spike Ball Pokemon stood up, shaking her head as she wasn't done yet. Instead of getting up close and personal with Cozy Glow, she was going to attack the little pegasus from afar.
And she was going to use the move Flamethrower to do so as her mouth was already flaring with fire. Obviously, even Cozy Glow knew that she couldn't really do anything against this as she gulped with a nervous look on her face spawning.
"H-Hey..." Cozy stuttered. "You're not gonna really use it on me, are ya?"
"Toge!" Togepi's mouth flared with stronger fire, showing that she was determined to do it.
"Guess you are..." Cozy Glow laughed nervously before turning around. There was only one thing left to do. Run or fly. Either way, none of them would matter because of the range of Flamethrower. "Aah!" Cozy Glow chose to fly as Togepi started breathing fire from her mouth.
"Yam?!" Yamper knew that any flames inside of a train were already a huge red flag. And now that it was being used as a weapon, there's a good chance the entire train will be destroyed, along with everyone in it.
The fire went in a straight line and thankfully, it hadn't hit the furniture or walls of the train. Yet. But if it carries on, then the train would be in a horrible state.
The small countryside. 13:00
The School of Aria was still going on. Right now, the lesson on learning how to control the water with singing alone was ongoing with Primarina giving an example. Aria, Sonata, Jewel and the others taking part in this attraction paid close attention to what would happen next.
"Prima-Primarina-Prima-Rina!" The Soloist Pokemon was about to use her signature move. Sparkling Aria. Primarina stood up on her tail as she started singing. She then formed an orb of water with multiple bubbles surrounding it above her head. The orb then flew towards the lake while a beautiful and harmonic melody that could soothe any soul continued playing.
Once the orb entered the lake, the water was being manipulated by the singing of Sparkling Aria as it rose. The water was dancing to Primarina's aria as everyone gazed at the water moving in a smooth and majestic manner.
"Amazing..." Aria gawked.
"Yeah..." Even Adagio was impressed as she nodded slowly.
"Isn't it?" The employee walked up. "This music that Primarina plays is known as Oracion."
"Oracion?" Sonata turned to the employee.
"It means Prayer. Primarina learned it when visiting Alamos Town in Sinnoh. It's a song that has the power to calm and soothe even the fiercest anger. And this is just Primarina singing it. In Alamos Town, it's even greater..."
"I believe that..." Sunset Shimmer nodded.
Primarina's singing was so powerful that not only was it controlling the entire lake, but it was even echoing throughout the countryside and beyond. All humans, ponies and Pokemon nearby or afar heard this beautiful song flow through the skies.
Flying-Type Pokemon were even being soothed as the song reached them. Even Adagio could feel this beautiful song calm her. As if all of her hatred for ponies were being soothed. Her hatred was still there, but this song was strong enough to make her forget about it for a while.
Oracion was powerful enough to even heal the land and anything that was destroyed. The food stall that Yamper charged into had been repaired by the sound of Oracion. But since this was just Primarina singing it, it didn't go too far.
But it was far enough to reach the train since it had just stopped at another train station that was near the countryside's train station.
Inside the train, Togepi, Cozy Glow, Yamper and the conductor could feel and hear Oracion. Even two individuals such as Togepi and Cozy Glow couldn't help but calm down after hearing this beautiful symphony.
Togepi looked up as she stopped using Flamethrower on Cozy Glow while Cozy Glow descended from the air, taking in the sound and aura of Oracion. For a minute, their fighting had come to an end.
Those at the School of Aria had almost fallen asleep because of Oracion. Thankfully, Primarina put an end to it before everyone was knocked out from the sound.
Hollow and Chloe had arrived after hearing that song. They were originally running towards the lake, but Oracion caused them to start walking.
"That was beautiful..." A perplexed Chloe said.
"Pop...!" Popplio had an even larger reason to look up to Primarina after that beautiful performance.
"Marina..." Primarina knew that after that song, someone was coming. The employee did say before that sometimes, Primarina's singing can summon a super rare Pokemon because of how beautiful and harmonic her singing is.
And what she was right.
Because the moment the water returned to normal, no longer being controlled by Primarina's singing, the lake was rumbling. A very important Pokemon had responded to Primarina's song. And that Pokemon was the one who expanded the seas of the Pokemon World, the Pokemon who battles with Groudon at times, one of the members of the Weather Trio and the personification of the sea itself.
Kyogre.
The Sea Basin Pokemon emerged from the lake, causing the water to form a dome-shape because of Kyogre's gargantuan 4.5m height. It cast a large shadow over the countryside, grabbing the attention of everyone currently residing there.
"K-Kyogre?!" Hollow and Jewel stuttered.
"What is that?!" A curious Sunset Shimmer took out her Pokedex.
"Kyogre. The Sea Basin Pokemon. Kyogre is said to be the personification of the sea itself. A mythical Pokémon said to have swelled and widened the seas with rain and tidal waves. It can summon storms that cause the sea levels to rise. It battled with Groudon as each sought to gain the power of nature."
"Like always! Songstress Primarina's singing attracts Kyogre once again!" The employee exclaimed
"This isn't the first time this has happened?!" Jewel gasped.
"Nope. And it certainly won't be the last. Kyogre always shows up nearby whenever Primarina sings Oracion. And it certainly moves fast."
"That's some speed..." Hollow gawked before snapping back to reality, remembering why he came here. "Oh, right! Back on track!"
"What is it dear?" Jewel asked.
"Just a tiny problem. But we're trying to catch a train with this girl's Pokemon inside of it." Hollow pointed at Chloe. "We're gonna go by sea via a Poke-Ride."
"My Yamper's currently with someone who trapped two ponies underneath the food stall and started profiting from their own hard work. Yamper knew something was wrong, so now it's pursuing that little kid. Of all things..." Chloe explained.
"Ooh! What's a Poke Ride?" Sonata slid in, curious about the existence of a Poke-Ride.
"I can tell you later when I get back. Do I have my Sharpedo with me?" Hollow thought for a moment.
When they mentioned Poke-Ride, the circumstances they were currently facing which involved Cozy Glow and Yamper and catching up to a train via a ride on the sea, Kyogre suddenly let out a powerful cry that alerted everyone.
"D-Did it have to roar out of nowhere?" Adagio groaned.
"Prima?"
"Oh! Really?!" The employee gasped.
"What? What is it?" Aria looked at the employee and Primarina.
"Marina. Prima."
"Seems as if Kyogre would like to lend some small assistance." The employee translated.
"Hm? It would?" Hollow looked back at Kyogre, then back at the employee, then at Primarina. "Seriously?"
"Kyogre's in the mood. So of course." The employee gave a thumbs up. "Won't be too long anyway."
"Wait a sec...getting a ride from a Legendary Pokemon sounds a bit overwhelming, don't ya think?" Chloe laughed nervously.
"You'd be crazy not to," said Adagio. "I'm not into Pokemon but if I was, I'd take this opportunity in a heartbeat. You wanna get to your Yamper, do you?"
"Well, I'm not super into Pokemon either but...I am really worried for Yamper, so okay!" Chloe nodded.
"Primarina!" Primarina decided to help out by having Hollow and Chloe get on Kyogre's back. It is a large Pokemon so getting on top of it would not be easy whatsoever. The Soloist Pokemon did this by once again, singing to the lake and manipulating the water.
The water moved with Primarina's voice as it was approaching both Hollow and Chloe. The two of them stood perfectly still as the water encircled them, swooping the duo off the ground and carrying them both.
"O-Oh...!" Chloe felt a bit unbalanced and queasy by being carried by water of all things This was an entirely new feeling for her. But for Hollow, it wasn't too unusual. Then again, he's interacted with Pokemon more than Chloe has.
"Lucky!" Sonata pouted as she wanted to experience something like that as well.
The waters of Primarina's humming had guided them both to Kyogre while singing a song in the process. With a gentle elegance, the dancing water had placed Hollow and Chloe on Kyogre's back as the song had come to an end.
"Oh...Is this what Kyogre's back feels like? How soft and...squishy?" Chloe felt the back of Kyogre. Its skin was unlike anything she had ever felt before.
"The train's probably already left the current station far from here. Which means its next stop is near a large lake. That'll be a good place for Kyogre to travel on." said Hollow.
"Good luck with your little um...what's this about? Children, food stalls and a Yamper?" Jewel spoke.
"It'll be fine." Hollow raised his arm. "Plus I get to ride on Kyogre. How cool is that?"
With one final cry, Kyogre was ready to pursue the train via sea travel. The Sea Basin Pokemon submerged its body. But it only did it halfway so that Chloe and Hollow could have the chance to breathe. Kyogre controls the sea, meaning that not only is it much faster in it, but it knows where any living creature or even object may be.
Because of that, the Sea Basin Pokemon knows where to go as it got a move on, leaving large wave ripples as Chloe and Hollow waved goodbye for now to the countryside.
Back on the train.
Since Oracion had ended and Cozy Glow and Togepi had calmed down, everything looked peaceful at first, but unfortunately, it didn't take long for something to spark up again.
"That was beautiful..." Cozy Glow gushed. "I kinda forgot what we were fighting about."
"Toge..." Togepi nodded before remembering why they were fighting in the first place. Remembering the reason, Togepi struck first blood by whacking Cozy Glow on the head. "Togepi!"
"Ow!" Cozy Glow wailed. "Grgh...now I remember. Look! I'm not in the mood to fight you...since I want to live and all, but we should work together right now."
"Toge?" Togepi asked why.
"Cause the real problem's right in front of us!" Cozy Glow pointed her hoof at Yamper.
"Yamper?"
"Gepi." Togepi didn't have any relation or squabble with Yamper so she found it pointless to fight against him.
"Tch. Of course, you'd say no to that. What's the point of being a Pokemon Trainer if your stubborn and stupid Pokemon won't even listen to you?!" Cozy Glow shoved Togepi.
"Toge!" That one shove only escalated the conflict as Togepi was about to reply with another Flamethrower from her mouth.
"Yamper!" Yamper realized that if it didn't do something, this train would be destroyed by the flames of Togepi. Or something worse. Thus, the Puppy Pokemon had to step in.
It did this by running towards, Togepi and tackling her to the floor before she could unleash Flamethrower from her mouth. Yamper successfully stopped Flamethrower from coming but had ended up granting Cozy Glow's wish.
"Toge!"
"Yamper! Yamper Yam!" Yamper barked at Togepi, telling her to stop before she causes any further damage to the train with her and Cozy Glow's petty antics.
"Togepi!" Togepi told Yamper to stay out of her way, or else she'll have to deal with the Puppy Pokemon as well. Obviously, Yamper was here for a reason, so for it to stay out of Togepi's way, would be impossible.
"So, you gonna work with me now? This dog's the real problem here." Cozy Glow flew over.
"Togepi!" Togepi still refused to work with Cozy Glow, but she was willing to deal with the nuisance that was Yamper.
"Yam! Yamper!" Yamper kept on barking as its hair stood up with electricity flaring.
"Ge!" Togepi found Yamper to be annoying. Thus, she went on the offensive by using Flamethrower on the Puppy Pokemon instead of Cozy Glow.
"Per!" Yamper saw that Togepi was attacking, so it was time to act. The Puppy Pokemon used Spark to charge right through the Flamethrower, using the electric aura as a shield. Yamper ended up smashing into Togepi upon contact with Spark, knocking the Spike Ball Pokemon into the little pegasus.
"Toge!"
"Gouh!" Cozy Glow and Togepi both tumbled on the floor.
"Toge...!" Togepi pushed Cozy Glow off her as she quickly regained her composure. Enraged, Togepi then started using the move Yamper feared. Flamethrower. This time, she got to pull it off as she started spraying scorching flames around the interior of the train.
Immediately, the seats had caught on fire, along with the walls, floor and ceiling. Exactly what Yamper was worried about. And it had happened. Yamper looked around to see that the train had already been met with flames that were burning to seemingly no end.
Right now, Yamper couldn't focus on Togepi. Instead, it had to focus on putting the fire out before it worsens. It did this by forcefully launching itself towards the fire, bellyflopping on the seats that had flames bursting out. "Per!"
"Toge?"
"Yamper!" Naturally, Yamper took some damage by interacting with the flames without something to protect its body. As such, when it bellyflopped on the seats, its stomach caught on fire, causing the Puppy Pokemon to fall on its back as it was whimpering.
"Togepi!" Togepi saw an opening as Yamper was running around, trying to get the fire off. The Spike Ball Pokemon took the opportunity to attack by using Dazzling Gleam. She raised her arm as a rainbow orb formed.
"Per?!" Yamper gasped, spotting the rainbow orb on Togepi's arm, realizing that another attack was coming soon. The Puppy Pokemon quickly ran as multiple beams of Fairy magic were shot out of Togepi's arm.
The rainbow beams started to chase down Yamper throughout the train, seemingly homing in on the Electric-Type. Yamper ran through the open door, entering the next carriage while the Dazzling Gleams made chase.
One of the Dazzling Gleams managed to hit Yamper from behind, causing the Puppy Pokemon to squeal and lose balance, falling on its belly. "Y-Yam!"
With Yamper on the floor, the rest of the Dazzling Gleams had enough time to bombard the Electric-Type as rainbow explosions came flying out each time the Dazzling Gleams hit.
"Yes!" Cozy Glow cheered. "That should deal with that problem." She thought that Yamper had been knocked out, but to her surprise, the Puppy Pokemon jumped out of the rainbow smoke, revealing to be alright and still conscious as it was now approaching Togepi.
"Toge?!"
"Yam! Yam!" Yamper was building up speed as it was about to use Spark once more. Volts of electricity sparked around Yamper as it seemed as if it was going to crash into Togepi.
"To!" Togepi was ready for that, however. She used the move Ancient Power by summoning large rocks from thin air. She sent those rocks flying towards Yamper, hoping to crush the Puppy Pokemon with them.
"Yamper!" Yamper wasn't actually going for Togepi. Instead, it used its amazing speed to put out the fire by running on the walls and ceiling that had flames on them. It was a smart decision since it was an effective way to take out the fire.
However, even when Yamper took out the flames, there was one problem. The rocks of Ancient Power only made things worse as they had missed Yamper. Because they missed Yamper, they hit the walls of the train, which was not a good sign. Ancient Power was powerful enough to not only cause damage to the train but also derail it.
"Gepi!" Togepi, frustrated that she couldn't catch Yamper, decided to try Ancient Power once more while Yamper moves around the train, putting out every last fire. And as it kept moving at high speeds with Spark, the rocks of Ancient Power kept missing and continued to cause damage to the train.
"Yamper?!" Yamper noticed this as there were already large dents in the walls of the train. Not only that but the carriage itself was shaking, prompting the Puppy Pokemon to focus on a new problem. "Yamper!" Yamper turned around, knowing that Togepi had to be knocked out first before any further damage would occur.
So, it went for the Spike Ball Pokemon next by using Spark once more. Togepi sent the rocks towards Yamper since the Puppy Pokemon was closer this time. Yamper used the agility of Spark to jump from rock to rock as it got closer to Togepi with its speed.
"Toge!" Togepi, realizing that Ancient Power wasn't working, went for the next best move. Flamethrower. Once Yamper got close enough, Togepi opened her mouth, sending a scorching blast of fire out. Yamper's eyes widened as it had been engulfed by the Flamethrower.
The Flamethrower expanded, engulfing the seats as well as Cozy Glow gulped, moving away from the fire as she didn't want to get caught up in the carnage.
But she was already apart of an inevitable carnage. All the damage done by Ancient Power had already caused large damage to the carriage of the train. But Flamethrower only accelerated that damage.
Cozy Glow noticed that the carriage was starting to melt away because of the damage done by Flamethrower. Yamper wasn't able to put them all out, unfortunately. Thus, the inevitable happened
"Uh oh! Cozy Glow gulped as Yamper was smashed into the walls of the carriage after being hit by Flamethrower. Eventually, all the damage done to the carriage had caught up as it was starting to derail.
Cozy Gow could feel a large misbalance as she looked outside the window, seeing that the view was tilting. Which meant that the carriage was tilting. There was a high chance they were going to derail at this rate. The train was also on a cliffside area where a large body of water could be seen surrounding it from below.
"Yamper!" Yamper got back up as it shook its head, still able to continue.
"Toge!" Togepi despised how resilient Yamper was. So, it was ready to use another Ancient Power to crush it.
"Hey! Knock it off!" Cozy Glow exclaimed. "You're gonna ruin the carriage!" Cozy Glow searched for Togepi's Poke Ball as she found it underneath the seat of the carriage.
"Toge!" Togepi already fired the first few rocks she summoned up. And the moment she did that, Cozy Glow quickly returned the Spike Ball Pokemon into its Poke Ball, preventing any further attacks from happening.
But it was too late. The rocks were still there as they ended up smashing into the wall, missing Yamper since there was no focus after Togepi had been sent back in.
And that final Ancient Power is what did it. The carriage had been derailed. It immediately came off the tracks, separating from the other carriages and the entire train in general.
The carriage fell off the track as it also fell off the nearby cliff that the track was on. Yamper and Cozy Glow could feel the turbulence as they were now falling with the carriage screaming.
"A-Ah!" Cozy Glow screeched at the top of her lungs, terrified and afraid. She started crying as Yamper was trying to figure out how to get out of this. But so far, nothing was proving to be effective at the moment due to the current state of the situation.
"Yamper!" Yamper tried using Spark, but it couldn't accelerate forward. It didn't have any other moves that could help, unfortunately. Cozy Glow was crying uncontrollably as it looked like the carriage was destined to crash into the water. Until...
Submerging with grace and glory, Kyogre had appeared, along with Chloe and Hollow on its back. It made it just in time to catch up to the carriage as the Sea Basin Pokemon knew that something went wrong. And it was right. The carriage was currently falling.
"Oh!" Chloe and Hollow noticed the falling carriage. And in that carriage, Chloe spotted her partner, Yamper.
"Yamper!" Chloe gasped.
"Yamper! Yamper!"
"Not good...!" Hollow quickly took out a Poke Ball. "Delphox! Catch the carriage!" He sent out his Delphox while on Kyogre's back.
"Delphox!" The Fox Pokemon had arrived as she immediately got to work with her eyes flashing blue. She looked up to see the falling carriage, noticing that it was picking up speeds that would be devastating upon impact. "Del!"
Delphox raised her stick, pointing at the approaching carriage and focusing on the two individuals inside, plus the Poke Ball as well. With her body being outlined in a blue light, the Fox Pokemon had used her mind to catch the carriage as it had stopped right in front of her face.
"Yam?" Yamper noticed that the carriage had stopped, prompting the Puppy Pokemon to smash into the seats. "Yamper!"
"H-Huh?" Cozy Glow, who couldn't stop crying, noticed that things had calmed down now as she fell into a seat. "What?"
"Delphox." With careful movements, Delphox safely brought the carriage back down, landing it on Kyogre's back.
"Great job!" Hollow gave Delphox a high five.
"Del!"
"Yamper!" Chloe quickly ran over to the carriage, trying to open the doors so that she could see her partner. Unfortunately, since it wasn't connected to the train anymore, the carriage would not open.
Thankfully, Delphox could help with that as she used her psychic mind once more to open up the doors by force, helping Chloe out.
"Yam! Yamper!" The Puppy Pokemon jumped out of the carriage and into the arms of Chloe.
"Yamper!" A relieved Chloe exclaimed as she embraced Yamper, hugging the Puppy Pokemon with huge amounts of love. "Thank goodness! You had me so worried!"
"Yamper!" Yamper responded with a lick to her face, causing Chloe to giggle.
"Mmm..." Cozy Glow came out of the carriage to see where she was at the moment. She sniffled as tears were rolling down her eyes. Naturally, she'd cry over that since at such a young age, falling from that height would be terrifying.
Once she came out, she spotted Hollow and Chloe looking down at her. The little pegasus gulped as she ended up in the worst-case scenario right now.
"Eugh." Hollow winced as he saw Cozy Glow's current expression. He was going to bring her back, but that crying face was a bit effective on him. "Alright, you. Let's go." He picked the little pegasus up. "Better hope they have just juvie. Don't want to send you to Officer Jenny."
Kyogre knew that work had been done here. So now, it could return to the countryside and listen to Primarina's singing once more. The Sea Basin Pokemon let out another powerful cry as it submerged halfway, sailing back to the countryside while still having a carriage on its back. Although the carriage fell off later on.
The countryside. 14:10.
Cozy Glow had been dealt with. There was no juvie here, so the only current option here was to give back all the money she had profited off of the two ponies' hard work and take part in some small community service. Everyone knew about Cozy Glow and what she did, so lying was a bad option here.
"Oh, you...!" The stallion twitched uncontrollably. "I have a lot of things to say!"
"Save it. She can make up for it by helping the town out. Now that everypony here knows what you've done, you won't try any funny business now, will you?" The mare asked.
"N-No, ma'am!" Cozy Glow stuttered as Hollow gave her tissues to clean her face.
"Good. Thank you both for helping us." The mare thanked. "And we should also thank this little guy right here." She went up to Yamper.
"Yamper! Yamper!"
"No problem," Hollow said. "Worth waking up for this, ya know."
"So how was it?!" Sonata dashed over. "Riding on a Legendary Pokemon! Was it cool?!"
"A bit overwhelming but it was a fun and safe experience," Chloe replied.
"Sweet! I wanna ride on a Legendary Pokemon too! Maybe one day I can ride on that uh...Ho...what do you call it?" Sonata was struggling to remember its name.
"Ho-oh," Aria answered while her Popplio and the others were practising with Primarina, trying to manipulate the water with their voice.
"Ho-oh! That's it!"
"Still really hungry though..." Hollow held his stomach.
"Don't worry. We'll get you something." The stallion said. "We'll get you those garlic fries, alright?"
"Yes!" Hollow pumped his fist in excitement, relieved that he could still have a bite to eat.
"So is this guy just gonna stay here or something?" Aria looked over at Kyogre.
"Kyogre enjoys listening to Primarina's songs. It won't leave until it hears one. So it's here to stay." The employee explained. "Legendary Pokemon absolutely love beautiful songs from what we've discovered so far.
"Prima!"
"Then in that case...let's learn this water controlling thing fast, Popplio. That way we can both sing together at our best someday." Aria encouraged her partner.
"Pop!" Popplio was psyched up because of her partner's words of encouragement. Because of that, she started putting in more than 100% of her effort with her voice, trying to manipulate the water with her singing. However, because she didn't know any sound-based moves yet, that wasn't happening.
"Uh...maybe learn a sound move first." Aria chuckled.
"Popplio!"
The School of Aria continued as the small little Cozy Glow issue had been solved thanks to Yamper, Hollow, Chloe, Delphox and Kyogre. Successfully too without any casualties.
However, even when undergoing punishment, Cozy Glow knew that she wouldn't let herself give up this easily. As she was sweeping the floor near the food stall while Hollow gets his food, she started planning, already thinking of ways to get back at those who ruined her plans. And to also hopefully control Togepi.
The School of Aria continued with the Pokemon trying their best to master controlling the water by just singing while Kyogre sits by, waiting for a wonderful song to happen. The Pokemon who had already learned sound-based moves could perform this, however, some hadn't learned sound-based moves yet.
One of them being Popplio, who was still trying to learn a sound-based move. Everyone else was getting the hang of it, except for her. On the plus side, she had learned Hydro Pump so it wasn't all bad.
"Popp!" Try as she might, Popplio wasn't able to let out any sound moves. Neither Sing, Echoed Voice, Disarming Voice or even Hyper Voice was coming to her. Meanwhile, everyone else was already ahead of her.
Some were even starting to slightly move the water with their voices. But only slightly. The best they could do was two drops of water from the lake. But it was something at least. The same could not be said for poor little Popplio, who was really trying her best.
She could hum, but that was it. After all, humming isn't exactly a Pokemon move. Unless somewhere out there, a move like that exists that hasn't been found yet.
"Oh, Popplio," Aria said. "Guess it's super hard for you out anyone else here, huh?"
"Pop..."
"Tot!" Adagio's Kricketot decided to try and encourage Popplio along with Sonata's Buneary and Eevee.
"Eevee!"
"Bun!" The trio tried to help by using their own humming as Popplio copied them. But unsuccessfully, sadly. She was having trouble getting the hang of it, even when following her friends and her idol Primarina.
"Is there like a quicker way to get Popplio to learn a sound move? Everyone else here seems to be doing just fine with it." Aria asked.
"It's easy for some Pokemon, but not all Pokemon, sadly." The employee shook her head.
"Popplio..." The Sea Lion Pokemon whimpered.
"But...there's always the second-best option." The employee grinned.
"Really?!" Aria and Popplio shot up as they got in the face of the employee. "What is it?!"
"Popplio?!"
"W-Well, isn't it obvious?" The employee laughed nervously while Aria and Popplio were up in her face. "A battle, of course. That's one of the many efficient ways to learn a move."
"Oh...Okay, that makes sense." Aria nodded. "But, who are we gonna battle actually?"
"Options are available. You can either go against the Songstress Primarina or anyone else here."
"Oh!" Sonata slid over. "Aria! How about we battle each other?! Sound good?"
"Me? Battle you?" Aria raised an eyebrow.
"Mhm! Been a long time coming, don't ya think?" A sassy Sonata nudged her big sister. "We're both trainers here. We can help each other out."
"Can you even battle?" Aria asked. "Like, really focusing on the battle?
"Of course, I can! I've copied everything I've seen. From Ponyville to the Canterlot Tournament." Sonata let out a proud smile. "I'm a pretty decent battler if I do say so myself."
"Eevee!"
"Buneary!" Her Pokemon jumped on her head and back, showing off with their trainer.
"Hm...Alright. But just because we're sisters, I won't go easy on you. Got it?"
"Understood 100%! This is gonna be so awesome! I'm gonna battle just like Ash!"
"Just like Ash? Sounds impossible." Aria shook her head.
"Pssh. It's not that difficult." Sonata scoffed. "Just go wild and make up neat tricks along the way. That's how Ash does it, right?"
"...Sure." Aria glazed her eyes. "You gonna watch us, Adagio?"
"Watch you two go at it? Yes please!" Adagio stood up. "Even if it's between your Pokemon, I want to see this without a doubt. Been wanting to know which one of you's most likely to fall first in a worst-case scenario. Just in case..."
"Kinda evil don't ya think..." Both Aria and Sonata said in their minds.
"Then!" The employee clapped her hands together. "Let's get this started. The lesson will continue either way. But you'll still have the chance and all the time to learn from the Songstress either way!"
"Prima!"
"Right! Let's do it!" Sonata put her hoof around her big sister, excited and raring to go. And the same can be said for Aria.
The two of them stood on their respective sides afar from each other.
The employee would act as the referee while a few of the town residents would come by and watch this small battle. And by a few, it was almost all of them because of how small this town was.
Kyogre was waiting for the song to show up, but it could also kill some time to watch a random Pokemon battle as well. Over the years, Kyogre is definitely a Pokemon with great patience.
"You have two Pokemon as opposed to her single Popplio. Should we make it a 1 on 1?" The employee asked.
"Hmm...Whaddya think Aria?" Sonata questioned.
"Meh. I can handle 2 Pokemon." Aria shrugged.
"Alright then. Your choice. Both of you may send your Pokemon forward!"
"I'll start with you! Eevee!" Sonata chose her Eevee first.
"Eevee!" The Evolution Pokemon jumped over Sonata.
"We're learning a sound move...and I don't care which one it is. Let's go. Popplio. The first time we're in a battle so do your best."
"Popplio!" The Sea Lion Pokemon waddled forth, ready to make her trainer proud.
"Battle...start!"
"Okay, Eevee! Let's get up close! Tackle!"
"Eevee!" Eevee went first by running straight towards her opposing Pokemon.
"Let's stand back instead. Popplio! Use Water Gun!"
"Popp...Lio!" Popplio stayed on the same spot she stood as she puckered her mouth, squirting out a forceful blast of water.
"Vee?!" Eevee gasped as she had been hit by Water Gun, getting soaked and being forced back as she skidded back to Sonata's side. "Eevee!"
"Ah! Eevee!" Sonata gasped.
"Now it's our turn to get close! Use Aqua Jet!"
"Lio!" The Sea Lion Pokemon engulfed herself in an aura of water as she lunged towards Eevee at a speed that made her almost invisible.
"Quick! Eevee! Use Swift!"
"Vee!" Eevee had her own fast attack. The Evolution Pokemon swiped her tail, spraying star-shaped rays that flew towards the opposing Pokemon.
"Manoeuvre through them, Popplio!"
"Pop!" Popplio spun around, using Aqua Jet as a method of evading and advancing as well. She flew over and under, side to side, dodging the star-shaped rays that were thrown her way. With the stars avoided, Popplio crashed into Eevee, leaving behind a watery explosion as the Evolution Pokemon had been knocked back.
"Vee-Vee!" Eevee flew back as she had fainted mid-air.
"Not my Eevee!" Sonata shook her head aggressively as she witnessed her Pokemon fall to the ground, landing flat on her face, fainted.
"Eevee..."
"Eevee is unable to battle! Popplio wins!"
"Just a few hits...bummer..." Sonata lowered her head. "Good job anyway, Eevee."
"Eevee..."
"Lightwork," Aria smirked.
"Popplio!"
"Oh! Aria's pretty good isn't she?" Sunset applauded.
"Hm. Pretty good. Or Sonata's just not that good." Adagio shook her head.
"Hey! I'm good!" Sonata puffed her cheeks. "Just my first battle that's all...Besides. I haven't had the chance to use Ash's battling style yet. Where I go crazy, ya know."
"Hm." Aria nodded before looking at Popplio. She then began thinking in her head. "Still no new moves. Maybe against her Buneary, I might learn something."
She then looked to the side, seeing how some of the Pokemon had just learned how to manipulate more than 2 drops of water as they were learning quick. Some were even starting to ride on their manipulated streams of water. Albeit, 2 feet off the ground.
Aria also noticed that Popplio was gazing at the Pokemon who were successfully progressing in the School of Aria with Primarina giving them praise. Popplio, while a bit sad, knew that she would be able to make Primarina praise her as well since she sees great potential in the Sea Lion Pokemon.
Seeing that her partner was just as determined as her, perhaps, even more, Aria was fixated on making sure that Popplio succeeds and learns a sound-based move instantly. Just to make her friend happy.
"I won't let you down, Popplio. So you can smile proudly in front of your idol..." Aria then turned to face her little sister once more as her eyes flashed. "Are you ready for round 2, Sonata?" Her tone suddenly changed.
"Eugh! Where's this energy coming from all of a sudden.?" Sonata winced as she pulled back a bit. "But yeah...I'm ready. And I'm gonna win! Let's go Buneary!"
"Buneary!" Buneary stood on her head with her as she bounced over Sonata, landing in front of her. "Bun-Bun!"
"We'll get you a move that'll let you sing, Popplio," said Aria.
"Popp!"
"You scare me sometimes, Aria...but I won't lose! Alright, Buneary! Jump really super high and use Dizzy Punch!"
"Bunear!" The Rabbit Pokemon used her ears to bounce off the ground, ascending high into the air with impressive hop strength. "Buuuun!" Buneary then started spinning in the air with her ears lighting up as she was spinning so fast, she looked like a drill while creating a mini-hurricane around her.
"We'll shoot her down! Hydro Pump! Go!"
"Lio...!" Popplio opened her mouth, creating an orb of water that was charging up high amounts of water, waiting to be released.
"Bun!" Buneary rocketed downwards while spinning around and having the mini-tornado around her.
"Now! Fire!"
"Popp!" Popplio fired the Hydro Pump from her mouth as a high volume of water came streaming out of the Sea Lion Pokemon's mouth.
"Not today! Use Agility to dodge and get in there!"
"Neary!" Surprising Aria and Popplio, Buneary had used a second move while utilizing Dizzy Punch in the air. Buneary's body and mini-hurricane were surrounded in a white light as she used the rhythmic energy of Dizzy Punch and speed of Agility to gracefully spin around Hydro Pump.
"Oh!" Aria gasped as she witnessed Buneary spiralling around the blast of water.
"Bunear!" Buneary moved faster than Hydro Pump as she appeared in front of Popplio in seconds. After getting past Hydro Pump, the Rabbit Pokemon smashed both her ears onto the head of the Sea Lion Pokemon.
"Pop...Popp!" Popplio's head bounced after the hit as she was knocked back.
"How's that?! I learned that trick after watching some Pokemon Contests! Now, follow up with some more Dizzy Punch! Super-fast!"
"Bun!" Buneary followed up as she didn't allow Popplio to have any time to breathe, immediately running towards her foe while her ears lit up.
"Water Gun, go!"
"Pop!" Popplio was luckily quick enough to retaliate as she started shooting out shots of water towards the Rabbit Pokemon. However, thanks to Agility and Dizzy Punch's rhythmic and unpredictable nature, Buneary was able to evade Water Gun by replicating what Popplio did against Eevee's Swift.
"Buneary!" After successfully dodging Water Gun since it wasn't that fast of a move, Buneary then proceeded to continuously strike Popplio in the face with rapid-fire Dizzy Punches via her ears as her movements were blinding like lightning. "Bun-Bun-Bun-Bun-Bun-Bun-Bun-Bun-Bun-Bun!"
"P-Pop!" Popplio couldn't fight back as she was getting pummeled by repeated Dizzy Punches.
"Bunear!" Buneary then dealt one final blow with a powerful uppercut to Popplio's face, sending the Sea Lion Pokemon flying into the air.
"Lio!"
"Oh!" Sunset Shimmer gasped as she and Adagio looked up.
"We're looking good, Buneary! Let's wrap it up Bounce!"
"Bun!" Buneary hopped on her head once more, bouncing high up with her ears already holding a ton of power behind them.
"We won't lose...Not until we get the voice we need! And achieve Popplio's dream! Aqua Jet!"
"Pop!" The Sea Lion Pokemon, despite taking a barrage of punches to the face, could still and carry on. She closed her eyes as she charged downwards with a stream of water surrounding her.
Popplio and Buneary clashed heads, creating a tiny little fissure. Upon contact, they both managed to give each other fairly painful head concussions as they both were knocked back by their collision They were both now falling from above.
"Now's our chance...Hydro Pump, full blast!"
"Lio!" Popplio proved to be the more resilient one as she faced Buneary who was falling side by side with her. A large orb appeared in front of the Rabbit Pokemon, ready to be unleashed.
"B-Bun?! Buneary!" Buneary started flailing as she was running on air, trying to get away.
"Uh oh!" Sonata realized that they were in a bit of a rough spot. Popplio was too close and Buneary doesn't have the right momentum to use Dizzy Punch in the air. She also doesn't have any ranged moves, sadly. "Uh! Quick! Buneary! Use uh..."
Too late. Popplio was ready to fire.
"Popplio!" With no hesitation, the Sea Lion Pokemon shot out a potent blast of water that consumed the Rabbit Pokemon as Hydro Pump sent Buneary back to the ground.
The volume of water hit the ground, causing a bit of a tremor along with a liquid explosion occurring after the impact. Since Popplio fired it downwards, she was able to slow herself down so that she could land safely. Which she did.
The water was clearing as the outcome had been revealed. Buneary couldn't withstand that Hydro Pump. As such, she had fainted.
"Buneary..."
"Buneary is unable to battle! Popplio wins! Which means the victor is Aria Blaze!" The employee declared.
"Aw...!" Sonata pouted as she sat down. "That settles it...Aria's one tough trainer."
"Bun..." Buneary nodded as she stood up.
"Wow! For her first battle that was incredible!" Sunset was stunned.
"Yeah..." Adagio agreed with a nod.
"Good work Popplio. Did you learn any new moves from that?"
"Popplio!" Popplio turned around, glad that she made her trainer proud. But as for a new move, that was yet to be discovered. The Sea Lion Pokemon held her breath in, ready to perform another hum in hopes that she had gained a sound-based move.
Adagio, Sunset, Sonata, Aria, Buneary, Eevee, Kricketot and the employee leaned in to see if Popplio could pull it off and finally advance in the School of Aria.
"Pop...!" And the result? She did actually learn a new move. But not the one she wanted. Out of her mouth, bubbles came flying out, showing that she had learned Bubble Beam instead of any normal sound-based move. Bubble Beam was her fourth move learnt. "L-Lio?"
"Seriously?" Aria's eyes widened as her eyebrows angeled into a less happy state. "Just Bubble Beam?"
"Well at least she learned a new move, so it's not a complete failure right?" Sonata went over to Aria.
"Yeah but...not the one she wanted is it?" Sunset shook her head.
"Hm. That's a real shame, actually." Even Adagio felt bad for Popplio.
"Hm...perhaps a second try?" The employee shrugged. "There's not always a 100% guarantee it'll learn the move it wants most of the time anyway."
"Yeah. I noticed." Aria sighed. "Sorry, Popplio. Maybe a second battle?"
"Pop." Popplio sat down, feeling a bit exhausted after the battle with Sonata. She was a bit distraught from not learning any sound-based move. Her Pokemon species is genetically capable of learning sound moves considering what the final evolution is, but so far, there's been no luck.
"Maybe no more battling for a while. Let's get you some rest first." Aria said. "You're still pretty beat up. Are there any potions nearby?" Aria decided that it would be best if Popplio didn't battle for a while. She could get some rest instead. And perhaps, just practising without battling might work out.
17:50.
The sun was now giving off an orange glow as it was on the horizon. Aria and Popplio were still trying to learn a sound move. But there was still no luck. Everyone else had gotten far enough. They were able to manipulate the water by controlling a few small streams with their voices. But that was as far as they all went. They had their limits currently.
"Popp!" Popplio didn't give up. She kept trying to learn a sound-based move.
"Bit slower this time." Aria encouraged her partner. "You're getting there!"
"Lio!" Even if she hadn't learned a sound-based move, her humming was still fairly pleasant to the ears with a nice melody. It showed that Popplio had the potential to sing beautifully eventually. After all, that's the nature of the Popplio evolution line.
Popplio was tiring herself out. Even with her determination and passion, she was still little and fragile. The Sea Lion Pokemon sat down, trying to catch her breath.
"No good, huh?" Aria sighed. "Maybe you'd like another battle with someone else?"
"Pop..."
"Marin?" Primarina noticed this, seeing how Popplio had failed to learn a sound move despite her efforts. Obviously, she could try again, but seeing Popplio in this state was unpleasant and just made Primarina show high amounts of pity and empathy for the little Popplio.
"Lio..." A disappointed Popplio sighed as she saw that the sun was now on the horizon. She could be here all day at this point as she looked down at the ground.
"Prima." The Soloist Pokemon went over to the Sea Lion Pokemon.
"Pop?" Primarina looked up at her idol.
"Ma. Marina." Primarina put her flipper over Popplio, comforting her fellow Water-Type. She knew at this point, Popplio's hope was slowly fading away. So she decided to cheer her up along with Aria. "Prima!" The Soloist Pokemon was about to use her signature move.
Sparkling Aria.
She hummed a small song which ended up creating a large orb of water with bubbles and sparkles surrounding it. However, her singing so far to the point where it duplicated into two. The orb flew over to Popplio and Aria, placing them both inside of the Sparkling Aria all of a sudden.
"Huh?" Aria looked down to see that she was now inside of the orb as it was floating, carrying her up.
"Pop?"
"Priiii!" Primarina made more orbs that went towards Sunset, Adagio and Sonata, carrying them and their Pokemon as well. Soon, everyone in the countryside had been picked up by the orbs. Very little considering the size of this place.
"Ooh!" Sonata gawked at the beautiful orb surrounding her.
"What's going on?" Sunset looked around the orb that she was being carried by. Primarina continued to sing as she was controlling the orbs of Sparkling Aria with her voice.
Popplio and everyone were given a calming melody while also being sent high into the air. But for a reason. Primarina Sparkling Aria wasn't sending them up or even causing music to come out. The sparkles from the orbs multiplied as some of them flew off.
The sparkles then flew over Kyogre, landing in the lake. Once the sparkles multiplied and flew over to the body of water, the entire lake had been given millions of dazzling sparkles that could be seen over the horizon. Popplio and the others were given a high view of this as they saw how far the sparkles stretch out onto the horizon.
The way they shined with the orange glow of the sun while illuminating the lake was beautiful to look at. And to Popplio, it was more beautiful than anything as her eyes lit up from seeing this sight while also listening to the melody of Primarina.
And this melody is what Kyogre needed. It was finally getting to hear a song from Primarina. The Sea Basin Pokemon let out a low-pitched cry that somehow went well with Primarina's singing.
"Pretty!" Chloe gawked.
"Yamper!"
"Countryside always has the best music in one way, right?" Hollow said.
"Mhm." Jewel nodded in agreement.
Everyone was stunned. But none were more stunned than Popplio. The song was so enchanting to her as well as the melody. So enchanting that her eyes were flashing all of a sudden while her mouth was twitching.
"What a view...Guess this is her way of cheering Popplio up. It's great isn't it Popplio?" Aria turned to her partner. But when she did, she noticed something different about Popplio.
"Pop..." Popplio's tone was suddenly shifting. Something was definitely happening to her. As Primarina's song increased in volume, further escalating the beauty, Popplio felt enchanted to join in, just like Kyogre.
Popplio began singing to Primarina's melody as she felt the urge to do so. At first, it looked like her usual humming. However, not this time. Because Aria saw something magical.
Inside of Popplio's mouth, a pink glow was emanating, slowly trying to come out. Aria gasped as she recognized which move that resembled.
It was Disarming Voice.
With all of her energy, Popplio had used Disarming Voice as a charming cry came out of her mouth, mixing well with Primarina's melody. She had finally learnt a sound-based move as Popplio's Disarming Voice was apart of Primarina's song, which Kyogre enjoyed greatly.
Primarina had noticed this as she was proud that Popplio had managed to learn a sound-based move at last. In fact, this was one of the many options the employee didn't mention. Sometimes, moves can be learned in the spur of moments such as this.
Popplio's singing was even starting to move the water itself. She was already advancing in the School of Aria without even noticing herself, showing just how fixated and focused she was right now. The small streams of water flew around the orb that surrounded Popplio as it was all gravitated towards her.
Primarina's song was slowly coming to an end as Popplio followed the Soloist Pokemon's slow movements to make Disarming Voice flow well with it. The song came to a resounding end with a peaceful hum at the end of it. One that was enough to soothe the soul. It certainly soothed Kyogre's soul.
The orbs gently placed everyone down as they had popped, leaving behind falling sparkles.
"Popplio! You did it!" Aria, more excited than usual, ran over to pick up her partner as she gave the Sea Lion Pokemon a beloved hug. "You learned Disarming Voice!"
"Popplio!"
"Spur of the moment. Nice." The employee nodded.
"So that's what it took for her to learn a sound move? Worth if it you ask me." Sunset Shimmer said.
"About time," Adagio replied. "Kinda glad for her actually.
"Woohoo!" Sonata dashed over, hugging both Popplio and Aria at the same time. "Congrats you two! I feel so proud right now! But not as proud as Primarina over there."
"Prima." Indeed she was. The Soloist Pokemon went over to Popplio, showing a proud smile on her face. "Marin! Marina!"
"Popplio!" And of course, Popplio felt a great achievement because of this. Gaining a sound-based move was by far the best moment in her life. For now. There was certainly more to come.
However, the Sea Lion Pokemon yawned, showing that she was too tired to continue today. That soothing song definitely did it for her as Aria picked her partner up.
"Oh, sorry. Guess we should get you to sleep. Maybe tomorrow, you can continue. Are you still gonna be here tomorrow?" Aria asked.
"We sure are. Until Wednesday of course." The employee answered. "We look forward to what you'll do tomorrow!"
"Prima!"
With the song over, Kyogre could finally leave. That was all it wanted. The Sea Basin Pokemon let out a farewell cry that alerted everyone as it turned around, fully submerging its body into the sea.
Everyone waved goodbye to Kyogre as they had enjoyed its company. Plus, they got to see a Legendary Pokemon, so that was a huge plus in their book. Kyogre was most likely heading back to the seas of Hoenn as the journey continues.
It was currently the second day of the second week of the Pokemon Festival. Tuesday for short. Only 5 days left to go until the festival ends. Everyone's aiming to get the most done before it ends.
But not everyone.
Arriving at Vanhoover were the guards of Canterlot. Ordered and sent by Princess Celestia, the guards were here for one reason only. And that involved the mansion of Skyblue Shine. And of course, Skyblue Shine herself. After hearing everything from Pyrestar, they were here to stand guard around the mansion and also deal with Skyblue Shine by taking her in.
And they came in large numbers. Large enough to surround the mansion, which was already large and wide. The residents of Vanhoover saw how many of the Canterlot guards were walking in perfect unison, straight towards the mansion. It was a bit intimidating to look at.
There were three main goals in this mission. Arrest Skyblue Shine. Get Premium Polish a new home to live in, possibly with a relative and keep guard of the mansion so that no one uses the gateway in the basement.
The guards had arrived at the mansion, immediately gazing at the front door. Before they could surround it, they had to get Skyblue Shine and Premium Polish as well. Thus, when approaching it, one guard knocked on the door, hoping to get a response.
They did get a response, but not from the pony they were hoping for. Instead of Skyblue Shine, it was Premium Polish who opened the door. Yet again.
"Hello?" Premium Polish opened up the door, looking up at the guards. "Oh! Canterlot guards?! So many too..."
"Morning, miss. Sorry for the interruption. Premium Polish, right?"
"Mhm! That's me!" She nodded. "D-Do you need something? Is Princess luna back again?" The little unicorn looked around.
"No-no-no." The guard shook his head. "We're here for you. And your mother as well."
"Me?" Premium pulled back. "What happened? Oh!" She gasped suddenly. "Did I do something wrong?!"
"No. You're clear and fine." The guard reassured.
"Oh...Phew." She let out a sigh of relief.
"But, we cannot say the same for your mother."
"Eh?" Her eyes quickly shot up along with her ears. "W-What do you mean by that?"
The guards each looked at each other as they knew what had to be done. Princess Luna wasn't able to tell Premium Polish about the truth of her mother when she came here, worried that she would break the heart of a little filly. The guards were obviously in that same boat. However, they were more upfront about what they do as opposed to Luna's gentle care towards fillies and younger individuals in general.
As such, they had to say it once and for all so that it would be over.
"Sorry, little miss. But, your mother's the one who is coming with us. We're here to arrest her. You see, she's an Umbrage Thief."
"What?" Premium raised an eyebrow. "A thief? Uh...You're joking, right?" Premium looked around.
"Not at all. We said what we said. Your mother is being arrested under the revelation of being a thief. Plain and simple."
"We're here because of what she committed. Plus, being involved with a potentially dangerous enemy who'll be coming here in just 2 months." said another guard.
"She'll be coming with us. She's already been judged and set to be locked up in the dungeon."
And just like that, Premium's heart immediately sank in a heartbeat, her breath started to slow down because of what she had heard. Without any hesitation, the guards had told her the truth. And it hit hard. But it was inevitable. After hearing those words, Premium froze in place. However, she actually refused to believe it. "You're lying."
"Not a lie at all." The guard replied. "What we're saying is true. Your mother has been stealing Pokemon from other trainers alongside the Umbrage Thieves which she leads. Because of Princess Luna arriving here-"
"Mm-mm!" She persisted and denied what the guard was saying. "Mother's not a thief! She wouldn't steal Pokemon, you're making it up!"
"She-"
"No!" Premium cut them off as she kept furiously shaking her head.
"Saw this coming...what do we do now?" A guard asked.
"I don't know...We've never dealt with a situation that involves children." Another guard shook his head.
"You have a child of your own. So you should know what to do right?"
"Yes, but not in a scenario such as this with criminals involved..."
"It's unavoidable." The first guard said. "She has to hear it. Young lady. We know this because of Princess Luna's experience. She came here to investigate and found a plethora of evidence. One that severely injured her in the process. Your mother is not only stealing Pokemon but she is also using a gateway to connect to another world. Working alongside somepony and giving them the stolen Pokemon instead."
"Mm...!" Premium grumbled as she closed her eyes.
"Your mother told you never to go in the basement, correct?"
"Y-Yes..."
"Then you haven't seen everything that Princess Luna had seen. We know it's hard to take in but it's the truth. Your mother is taking part in illegal practices that are impossible to ignore."
"Well...I was suspicious when Princess Luna came by but still...mom wouldn't do anything like that. She's really honest and kind!"
"You may see it that way, but Princess Luna and especially her Pokemon do not. She was injured during her visit here, after all."
"I-I didn't know that. I mean...I was wondering why she didn't come out of the basement and..."
"Her Musharna saved her and the others. Perhaps we'll explain everything to you inside. From what Princess Luna and Darkrai have told us from their experiences."
The guards went inside to tell Premium Polish everything. They did not hold back at all. They were upfront and honest and let the little unicorn know everything. From the alternate world, the near capture of Princess Luna and how she almost lost her magic and how her mother Skyblue Shine operates at night. And only night.
After hearing that, Premium Polish, despite defending her mother, knew that all of this would explain why she never lets her in the basement and why she only works at night and never at any other time. It was easy for her to put the pieces together. But she still didn't want to believe that her mother would be involved with actions such as that.
The little unicorn was about to cry, but she held back her tears for now. But it was difficult to do so since she didn't ever expect to hear about her mother in this way. However, strangely, her tears seemed to be black. Almost as if it was oil. But the guards assumed it to be makeup.
"So you see...that's why we've come here." The guard said.
"Mm..." Premium whimpered as she couldn't hold back the tears, unfortunately. Her Pokemon came to her, seeing that she was tearing up and upset after hearing the news about what her mother has been up to. "Not gonna cry...Mother says I'm a big girl...!"
"Eeugh...This might be difficult to watch. I'll be outside." A guard stood up, walking out of the mansion.
"Please say that it's somepony that just looks like my mother...please." She wanted every chance to make sure that her mother wasn't who she thought she was.
"Sorry. We've identified her in more than one way. From her Cutie Mark and her ranking on the Canterlot League ranking board. It's as clear as day."
And Premium Polish could see it. From the way the guards were looking at her, this was the real deal. It had all been set in stone and was fully confirmed. She wanted to keep trying to deny her mother's true actions and quote-on-quote job, but at this point, it would just be eternal denial.
"So...Mother...Mother's going to be locked up in a dungeon?"
"Afraid so. It's what's right. But it will not last forever, of course. She'll have years. How many there are, we're not sure. Only Princess Celestia knows and can decide."
"Then...what about me?" Premium started breathing rapidly as her eyes were turning red. "I can't live without mother I-"
"It's fine. You won't be alone. You'll be assigned to another home with a relative of yours. Do you have a grandmother, grandfather, uncle, aunt or anyone nearby?"
"W-What?" Premium looked up with teary-red eyes.
"Relatives. Somepony who is family and related to your mother. Or even your father. Speaking of which, is your father around and does he know of this?"
"I don't..." Premium wiped her eyes. "I don't have any other relatives other than my mother."
"...Eh?" The guards were all shocked after hearing that.
"Um...Did we hear you correctly about...no other relatives? Must've slipped our ears."
"No, that's what I said. I don't have any other relatives other than my mother." Premium restated as her Pokemon got her tissues to wipe her tears.
"W-Wh-Then what about a cousin? Any nearby?"
"No."
Her answers further shocked the guards. Hearing that the only relative she had was her mother really perplexed them to another level. They all looked at each other, then to Premium Polish and then back to each other, at a loss for words. They all decided to have a group huddle, chatting in secret so that Premium Polish doesn't hear.
"What do we do? We weren't prepared for this..."
"If she doesn't have any relatives other than her mother, then where do we send her?"
"She could just stay here. After all, this is a nice place to live in after all and it's cosy enough..."
"But on her own? She needs at least one pony to take care of her. Especially if there's a gateway connecting to another universe. Far too dangerous for a little foal."
"Hold on." One of the guards turned around. "Kid. What actually happened to your father? Why is he not here?"
"Hm? I-I just don't have one." Premium answered.
"...Hm." The guard nodded before turning back to his fellow guards. "Alright. This is proving to be too large of a problem."
"When she says she doesn't have a father, does she mean that her father left at a young age such as birth or..."
"Are you thinking her father just doesn't exist? That makes no sense." A guard shook his head.
"Whatever the case on what happened to him, something has to be done. There are always more options than relatives." The guard turned to the little pony once more. "So, no other relatives at all then...How about your foal sitter? Every foal has one after all."
"I don't have a foalsitter...But I do have bodyguards."
"Bodyguards? Are any of them available?"
"No. They only show up when I'm going to a Pokemon Contest. But that's it. I don't know what else they do when I'm not around them. Only mom knows since she hired them."
"Ah..." More problems were being created for the guards as they had no idea how to solve this issue. "This is no time to panic..."
"I'm already feeling the urge to panic though." A guard sighed.
"Well, it's not all hopeless." A guard realized something. "After all, we're going to be surrounding the mansion to prevent anypony from interacting with the gateway. So in a sense, we can also guard her as foalsitters in a way."
"You think we should take that task?"
"What else is there?"
"Well, we won't be doing it forever. After all, when the invasion comes and hopefully ends in 2 months, she'll be on her own again."
"True. True. And even before the invasion, if Empress Twilight passes through, there's no chance of us beating her..."
"We've hit a brick wall, haven't we?"
"Not yet. We may not know what to do in this situation, but one pony certainly does..."
"Princess Celestia?"
"Princess Celestia." The guard nodded. "She'll know what to do. This is far out of our league anyway." The guards had all agreed to leave it to Princess Celestia while they handle everything else.
"Alright, kid. We'll be standing guard around your house from now on. When your mother returns, we'll have to turn her in, unfortunately. It's for the best. You have to understand."
"I...I understand, but...can I at least talk to my mom before you arrest her? To see if it's true?"
"Sure. We can allow that."
The decision had been made. One guard will head back to Canterlot to inform Princess Celestia about the complications with Premium Polish while the rest of the mission will continue to be carried out.
The guards all surrounded the mansion, preventing anypony from entering while also waiting for the arrival of Skyblue Shine. Thanks to information from Luna and Darkrai, they know exactly when Skyblue Shine will return home. This meant that the guards would have to stay out for hours until the right time. Skyblue Shine will arrive in the afternoon for planning and go on her midnight escapes at night.
Vanhoover 15:00.
The afternoon was ongoing. Which meant that Skyblue Shine would be arriving soon, possibly with the rest of the Umbrage Thieves. Obviously, the thieves would have Pokemon at their disposal to defend themselves from any threats.
But the guards were prepared as well.
Last year, Celestia wanted to give the guards their own Pokemon so that there can be better defences for Canterlot and essentially all of Equestria. That Pokemon was Golurk.
And just last month, they had all received a Golurk of their own. Although they could only keep them in their Poke Balls since Golurk is too big for Canterlot Castle, unfortunately. On the bright side, some small renovations will be made to make the Golurks all fit.
So the guards had their own way of dealing with opposing Pokemon with their own Pokemon. A fairly strong and bulky one as well. Speaking of Golurk, they immediately sent all of their Golurk out to also stand guard and surround the mansion. Now it was truly heavily guarded at this point.
Meanwhile, Premium Polish looked outside the window to see that her house was essentially off-limits for the time being. In all her life, she had never thought something like this would happen. She was still crying over what had been revealed about her mother, even if she tried so hard to ignore and deny it. But the pieces were perfectly matched together from what it seems.
Her Pokemon stayed by her side, giving her tissues to wipe her face. They were there to comfort her even after the truth about her mother. But one thing that really made Premium think wasn't actually her mother's actions, but instead, about her family status. When the guard brought up relatives and especially father, Premium started to really think like she's never done before.
"They have a point." Premium sniffled. "Why don't I have a dad?"
"Swanna." Swanna put her wing over Premium, comforting her. The little unicorn looked around the mansion, knowing that her mother and she alongside the Pokemon were the only ones who live here. Except for a father.
It took this one moment for Premium to wonder why she didn't have a father present here. She had only her mother. Everypony that Premium Polish has met and befriended have relatives of their own. Tons even. They've had siblings, a mother and father, grandparents, uncles and aunts and even cousins here and there.
But not her. It was just her mother. The only other example of a family were her Pokemon, who are always by her at all times.
And speaking of mother, Skyblue Shine was approaching.
But she wasn't arriving by train. Skyblue Shine is a highly cautious unicorn. She knows that at this point, Luna has already informed Celestia about her and the alternate universe. So she might as well be a wanted pony, even at her own home in Vanhoover.
Before, not even the ponies in Vanhoover that she threatened to keep quiet about her whereabouts to Luna, knew about what she really does, especially at night. But to Skyblue Shine, after what happened with Luna, believes that they might know. If Celestia has spread the news already that is.
So instead, Skyblue Shine took the small woods in Vanhoover that were close to her mansion at the back, concealing herself from everypony else. Just in case. A major advantage to taking this path was that there was a large hill that allowed Skyblue Shine to oversee everything from above. Her balcony back home can also do that but not to this level.
And it was that one single hill that let her see what she would end up coming across if she had advanced in a linear path. The moment she walked up the hill, Skyblue Shine saw the Canterlot guards along with a group of Golurk.
All of them surrounding her home, acting as a blockade.
"Tch." Skyblue Shine scoffed. "Princess Celestia certainly does act fast. Let's see...Multiple Golurks blockading my mansion along with the less intimidating Canterlot guards. It's a simple defence...but not good enough."
The unicorn already had a solution to this problem. With all those Golurks blocking her way, the most obvious thing was to clear them all out away from her mansion.
And what better way than to use a Pokemon to do so. She already had her saddlebag which stored many Poke Balls with Pokemon inside. However, because she hasn't stolen any new Pokemon yet until the night, the Pokemon inside of her bag were her official Pokemon. Ones that she caught herself with her own Poke Balls.
And she had a Pokemon to deal with the Golurks and guards as she used her magic to take out a Poke Ball. She then tossed the Poke Ball, sending the Pokemon outside. That Pokemon being Avalugg!"
"Avalugg!"
"Seems as if we have some unwanted intruders. Let's quickly deal with them, shall we? Use Avalanche."
"Ava...!" Avalugg's body glowed light blue as it stood up on its hind legs before stomping them down on the ground. The moment Avalugg did that, the woods were trembling.
Vanhoover already had a ton of snow for being a cold location in general. But thanks to Avalanche, it was about to get even more snow now. But in the worst way possible. The trembling was so strong that it reached most of Vanhoover, making everyone almost lose balance because of it.
But the residents there didn't have to worry about anything since Avalanche wasn't targeted towards them. Instead, it was targeted at the guards and the Golurk, of course. The guards and the Golurk were the ones to mostly feel this since it was aimed directly at them.
"What's going on? An avalanche?!" A guard said.
"Not possible! We're not in an Avalanche-prone area so there can't be one!"
"Then what is this feeling?"
"G-Golurk!" The Golurks were wobbling about because of the tremor.
Even though it was impossible for there to be an avalanche here, Pokemon moves, as usual, say otherwise. Suddenly above the guards and Golurks, dark clouds appeared above them all and the mansion too.
And from those dark clouds, large chunks of clear ice with heavy snow around them then rained down as they were large enough to engulf most of the mansion. The Golurk and guards gasped as they realized they were being attacked from above. This did not spell good news for them.
Especially for the Golurk.
"Golurk!" The Golurk were being pelted by the large chunks of ice since they were bigger than all of them combined. Despite their immense size, they were falling fast like a hail storm.
But even with the move being super-effective on them, the Golurk had the instinct to defend others. The Automaton Pokemon each spread their arms out, protecting the Canterlot guards from any further damage as they all acted like shields to their trainers. Golurk are protectors first after all.
The huge ice chunks were so aggressive that they eventually covered most of the mansion in snow. Premium Polish stayed inside with her Pokemon as she covered her ears and closed her eyes, scared and confused about what was going on as the avalanche was even blocking out the windows, showing darkness.
The guards themselves closed their eyes as the Golurk were all being bombarded with heavy piles of snow ice as their bodies were slowly being covered and lost in the snow. Even the mansion wasn't safe. Soon, the entire area had become a mountain of snow.
Skyblue Shine watched as she saw the last of the snow fall. Once that was said and done, she casually walked over, knowing that she had got them all in one single attack with a wide radius. "Excellent work, Avalugg." She said as she returned the Iceberg Pokemon.
When arriving at the mansion, she had a smug grin on her face. She used her magic to blow away tiny parts of the snow as she knew the result of the guards and the Golurk and what happened to them. Once she blew a bit of the snow away, the Golurk and guards had all been buried by the huge pile of snow. They were freezing and some of them had already been frozen in an icy prison.
"A nice blockade. But not good enough. Especially if you wanted to corner and capture me." Skyblue Shine said as she taunted the guards and Golurk in their helpless state.
"S-S-S-S..." One of the guards was trying to speak as he and his Golurk were only half-frozen.
"Hm." Skyblue Shine looked at her mansion. "Perhaps I overdid it. Clearing all of this up will be a nuisance."
She wasn't even worried about the guards, showing how much control over the situation she had. The guards could barely do anything in their current state.
The door to the mansion wasn't covered in snow thankfully. Which meant that Premium Polish could come outside with ease. And that's what she did. The little unicorn opened the door as the first thing she saw was her mother.
"Mother!"
"Good afternoon, Premium Polish. Head back inside before the snow gets in. I already have to clean up most of this mess. Caused by me, of course."
"Y-Yes. But mother...I-I-i have something to ask..." Premium rubbed her hoof as her heart was beating fast, nervous to say what she wanted to say.
"What is it?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Is it true..." She gulped as she was trying to muster up the courage. She had a brave and confident heart, so she was able to say it with all her passion. "Is it true that you're a thief?"
"Hm?" Skyblue's eyes flared after hearing that.
"Those Umbrage Thieves that are being talked about...is it true that you're the leader of them? Have you really been stealing Pokemon all this time? Please tell me it's not true, mother!"
"So, you told her everything." Skyblue said in her mind as she looked at the guards before looking back at her daughter. "Premium Polish. Go back inside."
"Just tell me! Because everything seems like it might be perfectly true but I don't want it to be true. I don't want to believe that you'd do horrible things like stealing Pokemon or even being involved with hurting Princess Luna."
"Premium Polish. I'm not having this conversation."
"Well, I just want to know okay!" She raised her voice at her own mother. For the very first time in ages. "And why don't I have any other relatives?! And why don't I have a father?!"
"I said-"
Before Skyblue Shine could finish her sentence, the guard whose body was half-frozen had mustered up the strength to give his Golurk a command. "F-Flash Cannon."
"G-Gol!" The Automaton Pokemon used its only free hand to shoot a bright silver beam of Steel energy. The beam of metal wasn't 100% accurate because of Golurk's condition, so it didn't directly hit Skyblue Shine.
But it did land near her, causing an explosion to occur upon contact with the ground as Skyblue Shine's eyes widened. Premium Polish closed her eyes and ears after hearing the explosion as she was almost pushed back by the wind pressure.
The half-frozen guard and his Golurk looked over to see if they had at least done enough damage to knock Skyblue Shine out. Unfortunately, they didn't since she was much more resilient than she looks. However, it did do one thing that shocked everyone.
As the smoke was clearing, the guards, Premium Polish and her Pokemon saw something they did not see coming. Except for the Golurk since they can actually relate to this. Why exactly?
"Y-You c-c-crafty little..." The smoke cleared as it was revealed that Skyblue Shine had a robotic eye that was exposed along with a single robotic ear and two of her hooves. All had been blown off by Flash Cannon.
A shocking reveal had been made. One that perplexed the Canterlot guards and most importantly, Premium Polish. Her mother had robotic parts sticking out that had been blown off because of Golurk firing a Flash Cannon near her.
Her body was twitching with sparks flying out of the exposed parts. She had an eye that was glowing blue as opposed to the green eye colour she seemingly had before the Flash Cannon explosion. Flash Cannon really left an impact despite not directly hitting her.
"Mother?" A confused, shocked and befuddled Premium Polish uttered with her jaw dropped and pupils shrunk along with her widened eyes.
"Y-Y-Y-You." Skyblue Shine was stuttering as sparks were coming out of her eye. She turned her attention to the guard and Golurk who had done this to her, clearly aggravated. She then looked back to Premium Polish, seeing how mortified and lost her daughter was.
Even her Pokemon were at a loss for words as they all gazed at Skyblue Shine's seemingly true form. All the guards who had seen it knew that at this point, they could be in trouble. From how Skyblue Shine was looking at them, this was meant to be something nopony was supposed to see. And the ones frozen in an icy prison were unable to close their eyes or look away because of their frozen status.
"You've all seen too much." Skyblue Shine used her 'magic' to take out another Poke Ball, sending out one of her Pokemon that officially belongs to her instead of being stolen. She sent out a Bronzong.
"Bronzong!"
"Use Hypnosis."
"Zoooong!" The Bronze Bell Pokemon eyes glowed multicoloured as multiple mini-circles were released off its body. The circles all locked onto every single one of the guards and Golurk here, putting them all in a trance.
The guard who was half-frozen was the only one who was able to resist the Hypnosis by closing his eyes since he wasn't fully frozen like his fellow guards who couldn't do anything but stare. The rest of them had been put to sleep by Hypnosis, unfortunately.
The awake guard tried to stay awake, but it was no use. Hypnosis was already taking its full effect as even he and his Golurk fell asleep.
Now that the guards had fallen asleep, there was one other thing she had to focus on. Her daughter, Premium Polish. And the way she turned to her, she was obviously not pleased that her daughter had seen her in this current state. "Premium Polish."
"Mm!" Premium Polish stepped back as she saw how her mother was gazing at her with her robotic eye. Her Pokemon stood by her side, now intimidated by her mother.
Skyblue Shine approached her daughter as the little unicorn was now terrified as her mother's blue eyes were staring right at her. Because of her exposed hooves, her hoofsteps sounded different as they stomped on the snow, leaving heavy sounds of metal in the process.
"I-I didn't mean to look! I didn't! I swear!"
Skyblue Shine stopped in front of her daughter, staring her down. Her twitching was coming to an end as she was no longer stuttering with her words. Skyblue Shine could see how terrified her daughter was, cowering in fear.
"I-I promise I won't tell anypony else I-"
"It's not your fault." Skyblue Shine suddenly said which prompted Premium and her Pokemon to look with even further confused look on their faces.
"Huh?"
"You were never supposed to see me like this, Premium Polish. But circumstances led to this." Her tone suddenly changed when speaking to her daughter. She knew that her daughter was not at fault here. "Do not blame yourself for something that was not in your control, alright?"
"R-Right. But, mother...Is everything about you that I know not true? Are you really an Umbrage Thief and not who you seem to be?"
"You've already seen me in this state, so there is no point in hiding it. I'll admit it. All that you've heard from the Canterlot Guards is true. Every last bit of it."
"So...you really do steal Pokemon after all?" Premium Polish's tears were kicking up again. "But why?"
"For Empress Twilight Sparkle. Everything I do is for her. She is of great importance to me. And so is her empire."
"But what about me?! What does that make me?!" A distraught Premium Polish sobbed as tears were dropping in the snow. By this point, she didn't know what to think. A rush of emotions was filling her and there's a good chance she won't be able to take anymore.
"They're important to me. But not as much as you." It was those words that Skyblue Shine said that gave the little unicorn hope once more.
Her frown was slowly transforming into a smile after hearing what her mother had said. Knowing that she treasures her over everything was enough to fill her distraught heart with something warm and comfortable.
"R-Really?" Premium mumbled while wiping her face and nose. "You mean it?"
"You're my daughter. It should be obvious, don't you think?"
"Mother...!" The little filly had a teary-eyed grin as she hugged Skyblue Shine by latching onto her neck.
"But...I'm afraid you won't ever remember this moment ever again."
"W-What?"
"Hypnosis."
"Brooon..." Just like what it did to the guards and Golurk, Bronzong had cast Hypnosis on Premium Polish along with her Pokemon as well, putting them all into a trance.
And just like that, Premium Polish had fallen to the ground, put to sleep by Bronzong's Hypnosis. But Premium was the last to fall asleep as she looked into her mother's eyes once more.
"Mother..." And that was that.
Skyblue Shine sighed as she did not expect this day to turn out in this way. But, she wasn't too bothered by it. Then again, she's rarely bothered by anything. The unicorn looked down at her daughter, knowing that all of this knowledge she had gained was an issue for Skyblue Shine.
"Sorry, dear." Skyblue Shine put her hoof on her daughter's head. "But those new memories you've made, need to be erased at once."
Skyblue Shine was clearly planning on wiping the memories of today away from Premium's mind. But she didn't use a spell to do so. Instead, she did something different from just ordinary spells.
As Skyblue Shine used her magic on her daughter, There was a tiny little rectangular hole in the side of the young unicorn's head that had opened up. Just next to her right eye.
Skyblue Shine used her magic to take out what seemed to be a small little chip from Premium Polish's head. Skyblue Shine looked at the chip as she used her magic to toss it away.
She then went into her saddlebag, getting out a second chip all of a sudden. That second chip was the same size as the previous one as Skyblue then placed it back inside of the hole of the little unicorn as it had closed up. There was a faint sound of electronic beeping that passed through her ears.
"There. This memory chip should at least rewind your memories to five hours ago." She said as she wiped some snow off her daughter's horn. "Sorry, little one. But it's for the best."
"Finally." Skyblue Shine was close to wrapping things up here. "Now to deal with them." She turned her attention to the guards and Golurk who were still frozen. "I'm certainly not keeping them here. Instead, I believe that Empress Twilight would enjoy some extra additions to her empire."
They would be sent to the alternate universe and forced to work under Empress Twilight. In a sense, betraying Celestia and Luna. Which is something none of them wanted considering how loyal they are. But unfortunately, they couldn't do anything about it because of their current state.
"Excellent work, Bronzong. Now quickly. Get them inside and through the gateway before the Empress finally decides where else she wants to place it."
"Zong."
Every issue had been cleared for now. Everyone was asleep and only Skyblue Shine and Bronzong remained. She looked at the window, seeing her exposed metal parts caused by Flash Cannon.
The only individuals to see and hear all of this go down were the Pokemon of Premium Polish. They had witnessed everything and their views had changed drastically. They now understood the situation and who Skyblue Shine truly was.
And to an extent, their own trainer.
As they witnessed Skyblue Shine and Bronzong bring Premium Polish and the guards and Golurk inside of the mansion, the Pokemon then turned their attention to something greater.
The chip that Skyblue Shine had thrown away. It was still on the ground outside. From what they heard, they instantly knew that the chip was important. Highly important.
All of them heard how Skyblue Shine referred to it as a memory chip. Because of that, they could tell that the chip on the ground contained the memories Premium Polish had obtained today. And the chip inside of her now would give her new memories when she eventually wakes up.
But they weren't the only ones. Even though all the guards and Golurk had been frozen, there was one who was buried in the snow as opposed to the others who were above or in-between the snow. One guard had been missed by Bronzong's Hypnosis. He was the only one that stayed awake and went under the radar.
He had heard everything and seen everything from the small little hole in the snow that was there. But other than that, he couldn't do anything. He was still in an icy prison-like the others. The only difference was that he was deep inside of the snow. But he and the Pokemon had something to remember. But unlike the Pokemon, he was aiming at sharing this newfound information.
If he could get out, that is. Obviously, he'll eventually thaw out, but not for a while. Possibly hours considering Vanhoover's temperature. The other guards will thaw out but they will remain asleep because of Hypnosis. It looked to be a dreadful situation already.
Canterlot. 18:30.
The one guard who was sent to Canterlot to inform Princess Celestia about Premium Polish's family status had finally arrived there. But unbeknownst to him, all of his fellow guards have been captured by Skyblue Shine at this point. He wasn't even aware of her true identity.
The guard had given Celestia all the information he knew. About how Premium Polish did not have a father or any other relatives aside from her mother. It seemed as if they were the only members of their family. Plus, the bodyguards weren't reliable at all since they only show up for Pokemon Contests.
"No other relatives..." Celestia was obviously star-struck by that.
"None whatsoever. We're not sure what to do with her if there's nopony capable of taking care of her." The guard said.
"Well, that certainly complicates things." Celestia bit her hoof before concluding on what to do with the little unicorn. "Alright. If she has no other relatives, then the best we can do is take care of her for the time being."
"Take care of her?" Sunlight and Eventide turned to their daughter.
"Well, we cannot just leave her alone. Especially if there's a gateway connecting to Empress Twilight's world. She'll need somepony to take care of her. But not in Vanhoover."
"You're suggesting here in Canterlot?" Sunlight went up to Celestia. "Are you perhaps thinking of being her surrogate mother in a way?"
"M-Me?!" Celestia jerked back.
"Because if so, then that would be perfect. You can even have that dashing and fairly virile Cobalion as a surrogate father."
"M-Mother!" Celestia blushed as she turned her head. "Well, I've certainly decided to give her a surrogate mother and father. But I never said it would be me. Although, I could try."
"You don't need to try. You're already perfect for the role!." Eventide chuckled. "You already have the capabilities of a mother. Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle and Passion are already good enough to take care of young individuals."
"Your father is right." Sunlight nodded. "Can't think of anypony better for the job. Besides. We can't exactly bring a child to the Ambrosial Plane."
"Hm. That's impossible to argue against. I suppose I'll take care of her for the time being. And when the invasion is over, she can return to Vanhoover." But just then, Celestia was having second thoughts. "Oh! But she'll be distraught if she's taken away from her home!"
"Oh no..." Eventide and Sunlight both knew that Celestia's fears were once again kicking in.
"No...it's for the best. To keep her safe. Oh, but she'll probably resent and hate me for arresting her mother!" Celestia gulped as she was going back and forth with fears and resolutions.
"So...do I head back and inform the others?" The guard shifted his eyes around.
"Oh!" Celestia shot up. "Yes. Do that. See if they've arrested her already. If not then report back to me immediately and I'll see what else I can do."
"Understood." And just like that, the guard left to return to Vanhoover to see if the job had been done. He was hoping that Skyblue Shine had already been arrested at this point.
While he left the castle, Celestia kept thinking about Premium Polish and how she didn't have a father at all. Not even a father figure in her life.
"To not have a father at all or even other relatives..." Celestia said to herself.
She couldn't imagine what it would be like to have no father figure in anyone's life. Especially if the mother is rarely there for the child and indulges in shady practices. Little does Celestia know, Premium Polish has both known and forgotten about her mother's true identity in just one day.
Vanhoover. Skyblue Shine's Mansion. 20:00.
The moon had come up. Meaning that the night was here. And this is around the time Skyblue Shine takes action.
The guard returned to Vanhoover to see if the arrest of Skyblue Shine had finally been made. If so, then his fellow guards would be back at Canterlot by now.
But they weren't.
"I've given all the information so far to Princess Celestia! Have you all-" He said, expecting to speak with his friends. But they weren't there when he got back. "Oh. Nopony's here. Must've already returned."
He assumed that they had left the mansion and were on another train back to Canterlot. Sadly, that was not the case. It was something far worse. But the guard didn't know that.
Assuming that the arrest had already been made, he was ready to leave. But before that could even happen, his hoof had suddenly been grabbed by another hoof that came from the ground as it had been wrapped around him.
"Aaaah!" The guard screeched at the top of his lungs as his mane shot up along with his helmet flying off his head. He almost shattered the windows because of his scream.
Thankfully, it wasn't an enemy. But instead, the guard who had managed to avoid Skyblue Shine and Bronzong's Hypnosis. He had finally thawed out as he burst out of the snow, gasping for air.
"Ugh!" He gasped as he was breathing in and out rapidly.
"A-Are you okay?! What happened?!" The guard asked.
"R-R-R-Robot! E-Empress! Head thing! Help...!" He started yelling words uncontrollably as he held onto his fellow guard while freezing. He desperately needed something to keep himself warm.
"You can't talk in that condition! There has to be something to warm you up..." The guard looked around for anything that would help his friend.
"I-I-I-" It was impossible to talk in this condition. It would take forever for him to explain everything at this point.
"Oh, this isn't working. We're getting you somewhere warm." He held his fellow guard up as he approached the mansion door, attempting to open it. But he quickly found out that the doors were locked, unfortunately. "Locked. Alright. We'll ask the citizens instead."
To gift the guard warmth once more so that he could speak properly, one of the homes of the citizens here would do. And since they're here by Canterlot decree, they are most likely to have their requests accepted in a heartbeat.
One resident was kind enough to let the guards in so that he could have his friend warm up near the fireplace. Vanhoover is full of fireplaces because of where it is located and how it's constantly cold.
The fireplace was a gift for the guard as all the chilling ice that was still around him was melting away as he had a blanket cover him. He was experiencing bliss at the moment as the pony living here brought him a warm drink.
After that, he and the other guard came out of the house, thanking the pony for helping them. As a bonus, they might get something special from Canterlot once they head back, which the pony living there would greatly enjoy.
"Oh...I needed that." The relieved guard sighed.
"Good. Now. Can you tell me what you really wanted to say?"
"Oh, right! You need to hear this." He pulled his fellow guard in, ready to spill everything that he had seen and witnessed. From Skyblue Shine's true appearance, Premium Polish's memory chip and the potential outcome for the other guards becoming apart of Empress Twilight's Empire.
He broke down everything from what he saw and heard. He didn't skip anything or try and exaggerate things. He only gave out what he truly experienced when frozen and looking straight through that hole in the snow.
And at this point, it was practically confirmed that the arrest did not happen. Meaning that this whole thing was one large failure at the end of the day.
"Huh." The first guard sat down, taking all of it in. "That is certainly something...I was hoping to return to Canterlot to give out good news but this is..."
"What do you suppose we do? If you ask me, I think we should head in there and get them all back."
"Ah!" The guard put his hoof out, stopping him. "You've already told me about the others and how they'll be sent into the gateway for Empress Twilight. It's been hours and they're probably already through it. It's too dangerous to go after them."
"R-Right." The second guard sighed.
"For now, let's head back and report to Princess Celestia. We'll save them all." The decision had been made. It was time to leave and return to Canterlot.
But before they return to Canterlot, there was one thing the second guard had to bring along. The memory chip from before that was located back at the mansion.
"We'll need this." He used his hoof to clear out the snow, trying to find the memory chip. But once he cleared it out, it was gone. No longer in the same spot as it was before. "Eh?! It's gone! But it was right here!"
"Let's forget about it for now. We should get back. We can probably try and find it later."
"R-Right..."
It was off to Canterlot to inform Celestia about everything. And she needed to know everything. Information such as this changes everything. While it doesn't heavily affect this world, it is still something that must be given attention. And thankfully, there was a witness to give out that information. More witnesses as the Pokemon at the mansion had experienced it themselves.
Skyblue Shine's mansion. 21:00.
"Mmm..." Premium Polish, who had been placed in her bedroom, was finally waking up. Her eyes blinked as the first thing she saw were her Pokemon who were all surrounding her.
"Swan! Swanna!" Swanna and the others cried, witnessing their trainer waking up.
"Oh. Everyone." The little unicorn grumbled, rubbing her eye
"Masq! Masquerain!" Her Pokemon suddenly closed in on her, giving Premium an unexpected group hug. One that was certainly needed, even if Premium Polish herself was unaware of why it came out of nowhere. But hugs are always nice.
The Pokemon were all letting out their own cries as they were hugging Premium more than they usually do. In fact, harder than they usually do too.
"What's gotten you all so emotional all of a sudden?" Premium chuckled as her Pokemon would not separate themselves from her after a while.
After 12 seconds of hugging, the Pokemon finally let Premium Polish breathe as they moved away from her. She looked outside to see that it was currently night. She was asleep for a while yet it felt like time was a bit different for her.
"Oh, right. Mother's out right now doing her job." Premium sat up from her bed. "I wish I knew what she does at night...Oh well. Mother never sees my contests so I guess it's all fair game."
"Swan. Swanna." Before Premium Polish could go off and do whatever she wants, Swanna wanted to show her something important.
"Hm? What is it, Swanna?"
"Swanna." The White Bird Pokemon held her wing out, revealing the memory chip from before. She had picked it up and kept it. After all, this chip had the previous memories of today. All stored inside.
"...What is this?" Premium Polish tilted her head as she raised an eyebrow. She wasn't sure what she was looking at. Unfortunately, Premium wasn't aware of what was inside of her and how this one chip once resided in her head for essentially a long time.
"S-Swanna?" Swanna was hoping that Premium could somehow notice it. But she couldn't, which made the White Bird Pokemon and the rest of the Pokemon nervous.
"Hm...I don't know what this is but...if you're giving it to me then it has to be important." Premium took the chip either way. She used her magic to bring her saddlebag over, placing the memory chip inside. "I'll keep it safe, okay?"
"Swanna..."
"Anyway. Let's get ready for tomorrow. I want to try new attractions somewhere else. Maybe Ponyville has something interesting?" She began to chatter about tomorrow.
She was back to her old self once more. Even if she had her memories reset. For now, her Pokemon knew secrets that they weren't supposed to discover, but eventually did. And those secrets only go deeper.
Both Skyblue Shine and Premium Polish are not who they seem. One knows what they truly are while the other is unaware and clueless. And two opposing sides, the guards and the Pokemon, are the only ones who experienced it for themselves. What happens next during these remaining days of the Pokemon Festival continues to be unexpected in every way. And it will stay like that even when the Pokemon Festival ends as the journey continues.
"Can't believe they got to go on a cruise ship and I didn't..." Barry sulked as he sat on a table, eating some cookies.
"Maybe next time." Cilan patted him on the back. "There's always the next festival next year."
"Man!" Barry slammed his hands on the table. "Ash is so lucky sometimes! I swear, that guy and Paul always love being one step ahead of me, don't they?!" He grizzled his teeth while furiously eating his cookies.
While Barry devours his food as Cilan laughs, Ponyville was getting some new arrivals for the Pokemon Festival. Straight from various parts of Equestria or even the Pokemon World as well.
One of which was Premium Polish, who decided to come to Ponyville next for the Pokemon Festival. She wasn't here for any Pokemon Contests since Ponyville doesn't have a contest hall.
Meaning her bodyguards weren't with her right now. Mostly because she went out without informing her mother So this time, she was on her own with her Pokemon by her side at all time.
Right now, her mother wasn't home. She was off partaking in the usual activities that Premium will never know about. For multiple reasons that involve a certain chip.
"Finally. Ponyville." She said, coming across the small town. "Small and simple. I like it." Having a good feeling about this place and knowing this is where her rival Sweetie Belle normally resides, the little unicorn was ready to explore and do whatever she can in this town by taking part in attractions.
There weren't many attractions here in Ponyville. Very few actually, but they were enjoyable either way. Her Pokemon had been sent out to enjoy Ponyville and what it had to offer. However, her Pokemon weren't exactly in the same happy mood as her.
Not after what happened yesterday, after all.
Her Pokemon made sure to stay extra close instead of wandering off somewhere. After all, the memory chip inside of Premium Polish's saddlebag is by far the most important thing here as it reminds them of what happened that very night.
But Premium Polish didn't know that. Neither does she even remember. But for now, she'll create new memories today on the third day of the second week of the Pokemon Festival.
The little unicorn got started by eating some of the same cookies that Barry had eaten. They were made in the Pokemon World so their taste was vastly different. But still delicious either way.
She went over to a face-painting booth, getting herself a Delcatty face paint. Her Pokemon were given the same treatment as they received face paints of their pre-evolved forms.
They also took part in the fairly popular tug-of-war attraction but quickly lost because of the opposing teams' superior strength. Seemingly in numbers. They were involved with the Dodgeball attraction but the Pokemon came out on top for obvious reasons and they even participated in the difficult, tense and addicting Poke-End game.
Needless to say, they were having a blast. Well, Premium was having the most fun. Her Pokemon, yes, but they were still a bit affected from yesterday. But seeing their trainer smile and have so much fun was enough to almost make them forget about yesterday.
But they couldn't.
The next form of entertainment they came across was different from the attractions. It wasn't actually an attraction even. It was a wishing stand. Run by an employee wearing shrine clothing that looked to resemble the colours of Jirachi.
"Wishing stand?" Premium said as she looked at all the notes that were on the table. Each of them having multiple wishes on them.
"Right. Are you interested in making a wish?" The employee asked.
"Sure. Sounds fun. What are all these notes for?"
"Oh." The employee lifted the notes. "These are wishing notes. All written by those who have their own wishes that they want to be granted one day. By Jirachi."
"Jirachi? Who's that?"
"The Wish Pokemon. And the one Pokemon that is capable of granting any wish, no matter what."
"Oh!" Premium shot up. "Really? A Pokemon like that exists?"
"Certainly does. There's a Pokemon for everything as they say. And wishing is no exception. Everyone wants a wish from Jirachi. It's a highly popular Pokemon despite being rarely seen. Although, that's to be expected from a Legendary Pokemon."
"I bet I could get a wish from Jirachi if I ever meet it," Premium smirked. "So, does it look at the notes and grant the wishes?"
"Not quite. You see, for Jirachi to grant a wish, you can't just ask it. You need to place the note on its head so that Jirachi knows what to grant when it wakes up."
"Ah...When does it wake up?"
"Every thousand years."
"Thousand?!" Premium shot back.
"But! There have been more frequent sightings of Jirachi recently. The same can be said for most Legendary Pokemon. So perhaps Jirachi's thousand-year sleep isn't as frequent anymore. Which is why there are so many notes than usual."
"Phew..." Premium Polish sighed. "Don't know if I can go a thousand years waiting for a wish..."
"So, what will it be? Do you have any wishes you would like?"
"Any wishes? Hmm..." Premium began to ponder what she would wish for. Her current lifestyle is seemingly perfect. The large mansion she and her mother live in is already a major example of that. "What do I want?"
"I know what I want." Just then, someone else had come over, already knowing what wish they wanted. And that someone was Delia Ketchum. From the gateway next door connecting to Pallet Town. Right now, she was wearing black shades and a sunhat for one reason.
"Great. Just write it down and we'll have something new for Jirachi. Hopefully, it doesn't get too overcrowded here soon on the table." said the employee.
"Well, only three notes can fit on its head, isn't that what they say?" Delia grabbed a note and the pen on the table. "I'm hoping for an early wish, after all." She slightly lowered her glasses, showing a bit of her face.
And the moment she did that, Premium Polish could recognize the face of Delia Ketchum from the first glance. Just from the eyes as well even.
"Oh! You're Delia Ketchum!"
"Eep!" Delia squealed as she quickly turned to face Premium. "H-Hello..." She nervously waved with a grin.
"Wow!" The little unicorn's eyes shined. "I can't believe I'm standing next to the mother of Ash Ketchum!" She screeched as she pranced on the spot.
"Yes...That's me." Delia sighed. "Ash's mother."
"Lucky me! I get to stand next to the-"
"Um. Perhaps keep it down a bit. For a few reasons." Delia hushed Premium as she took off her glasses, looking around the area. "I want to keep myself secret for the time being."
"Trying to keep yourself hidden?" The employee asked.
"Yes." Delia nodded. "Unfortunately, being the mother of a hero tends to draw in a large crowd to your home. It was fun and nice at first being so popular but now it's just overwhelming..."
"Oh. Sorry. Am I being a bother?" Premium pouted.
"Not at all." Delia shook her head. "As long as it's not multiple crowding around me, one is fine. Now, for my wish."
"Oh! What would a Ketchum wish for?" Premium asked questions out of pure curiosity because of how she viewed Ash, his mother and to an extent, his Pokemon. "Something grand, huge, awe-inspiring, marvellous?!"
"No. Just to wish my husband good luck on his journey as always."
"Huh?" Premium paused.
"It's the one wish I always go for." Premium wrote on the note. "Even before I knew about Jirachi. Wishing my husband good luck is the only wish I ever use. So does Ash, even if he hasn't seen his father for years now. The Pokemon World is vast and unpredictable, even for some of the best trainers out there. It's always nice to wish those that you love good luck on their journeys. Or anything, really."
"That's a wish everyone can get behind." The employee agreed.
"Okay. That's a good wish too." Premium nodded.
"What about you, dear? You must want something large. What's your wish?" Delia asked.
"Oh. Hm." Premium shifted her eyes around. "I haven't decided yet. I really don't know what I want. Never wished for anything before. I think I've got everything I need. At least for now."
"Everything you need for now sounds perfect and fine in itself." Delia placed her glasses back on. "I know if I had everything, I wouldn't wish for much, save for a few things."
"Guess so. But I do still want to try and wish for something at least. Maybe better luck in my contests?"
"Swan!" Just then, her Pokemon decided to act on this. They actually had a wish they wanted to grant for Premium Polish only. Swanna flew over to the table, picking the pen up with her beak. Her Masquerain also flew over, bringing the paper over to Swanna as she started writing the wish down.
"Huh? What are you two doing?" Premium looked at her Pokemon as Swanna and the others agreed what the wish would be.
"Seems like your Pokemon have a wish they want for you." said the employee as she observed the mannerisms of the Pokemon.
"Really? For me?" Premium looked down at the paper that Swanna was writing on. However, Swanna doesn't exactly know how to write, so the words on the paper weren't even words. Just crooked and jumbled up lines and scribbles.
"Swanna!" Swanna showed Premium the wish despite how there were barely any words on it.
"Uh, thanks but...I can't really understand this." Premium chuckled. "But it's nice that you all want to wish me something. Whatever it is. Wait, can Pokemon get wishes granted to?"
"Maybe." The employee shrugged. "History and legend only tell of humans having their wishes granted by Jirachi. Although, Salamence can grant its own wish as a Bagon."
"Wish I could speak Pokemon. Then I'd really know what they wanted. Is there a way to do so?"
"Um..." The employee bit her finger."Well, we do have translators but they're not here in Ponyville at the moment..."
"Oh!" Delia clapped her hands together. "I know! Mimey can translate for you!"
"Who?" Premium turned to Delia.
"Mimey! Come in here!" She called for her Mr Mime.
"Mime!" One single call and the Barrier Pokemon came dashing over, wearing some tourist clothing. "Mime-Mime!"
"Mimey here can help. Mr Mimes' are known for their top-notch pantomime skills, after all. And Mimey's been practising some handwriting pantomime. If not everything."
"Mime!"
"Oh. Okay, that can help. I really want to know what they wished for anyway. Maybe something about my contests!"
"Mimey. See if you can write down their wish for their trainer over here." Delia pointed at the Pokemon and Premium.
"Mime-Mime!" Mimey understood what it had to do. Ask the Pokemon what their wish was and write it down for them. Simple enough.
And that's what it did. Swanna and the others revealed the wish to the Barrier Pokemon and Mimey got to work. It started writing down the wish as Premium Polish was anticipating it.
Premium's Pokemon wanted only one wish. And that involved family matters. The memory chip wasn't apart of the wish because it can be solved by physical means. The real wish can also be solved by physical means but it is more special to Pokemon in their opinion.
"Mime!" Mimey finished writing down the wish, showing it to Premium Polish and the others. The little unicorn then started reading what was written down.
"To give our trainer a father." Premium read. "You all want me to have a father?"
"Swanna!"
"Masq!"
"Flareon!"
"Steenee!"
"Wow. That's actually something I didn't think of." Premium looked at the paper with a deep stare as the thought of a father was swirling her mind now.
"Oh. Do you not have a father?" Delia asked.
"Mime?"
"No..." Premium's tone was shifting. "Come to think of it...why don't I have one?" Just like yesterday, those same reactions and thoughts were coming in. Even if there was a new memory chip in her head, she would still react the same way to everything she either hears or experiences.
"Well, I'm not sure wishing for a father is a very common wish. Especially for Jirachi." The employee scratched her chin. "But it's a wish nonetheless, right?"
"Well, I was thinking of maybe making my luck in Pokemon Contests even better but..." Premium used her magic to bring the paper over. "I actually do kind of- no. I really want a father."
"Flareon!" Flareon and the others nodded in agreement.
Premium stared at the wish for a while as she had already fully agreed that this was the wish she wanted. More than anything really. Having a father would practically make her seemingly perfect life completely whole and even more perfect.
"Okay then. Just place the note here." The employee patted the table.
"Right but..." Premium Polish was starting to think about something else. "Maybe it's best that I don't add this in."
"Swan?" Swanna and the others pulled back after hearing that.
"Hm? Why is that?" The employee asked.
"Well, I'm not sure if this is something I want Jirachi to grant. I mean, it can grant any wish but..." Premium Polish was trying to figure out what she wanted to say. She was finding it difficult to put it into understandable words.
But from how she was speaking and her emotion, Delia could immediately decipher what the little unicorn was trying to say as she finished her sentence for her.
"You want it to be natural, right?"
"Huh?" Premium looked up at Delia.
"Having a father isn't something that you want to be given to you by a higher form of power." Delia kneeled, looking down at the little filly. "You want a father in a genuine way. The same way everyone does, right?"
"Oh...that's it!" Premium nodded. "It was a bit hard to say it, but thank you, Miss Ketchum. That's how I want it!"
"Well, I hope you'll receive it very soon." Delia patted Premium on the head. "Perhaps you can chat with your mother and see if a step-father is possible."
"Sure will! Thank you!" Premium ran off to continue experiencing the festival as her Pokemon followed. Delia watched Premium Polish run off as she herself was wondering about the whole father situation.
She wouldn't be the first to wonder about Premium Polish's father. Not at all.
Pallet Town. Ketchum Household. 13:00.
Delia decided to come back for a little while before getting into more of the Pokemon Festival. Previously, she had already done a lot in the first week of the festival and the second week might burn her out. She, unfortunately, doesn't have as much energy as her son.
As she entered her home and took her disguise off, she looked over at the wall which had pictures plastered on. One of those pictures was of Ash's father and her husband.
Seeing it also reminded her of Premium Polish and her unknown father. In a sense, just like Ash, her father's presence near her is non-existent. But unlike Ash, she has never seen her father before.
Delia was also wondering when her husband will return one day. She knows that Ash's father and his grandfather are still out there on a journey somewhere with the aim of becoming Pokemon Masters themselves. That journey seems endless at this point and even Ash is pursuing that goal too.
"Maybe when you get back, Ash will be a Pokemon Master by then. Or maybe you've beaten him to it." Delia grabbed the picture frame of Ash's father, looking at him.
At times, if not all the time, it feels like this timeless adventure might as well be truly eternal and neverending for her family. Even if she knows that her husband is safe out there, she can't help but worry sometimes.
Taking care of Ash as a child was difficult, but thankfully, over the years, he's been able to take care of himself with others helping. But even with Ash and how he is now, Delia is still a worried mother for both her son and husband. And the wishes are just an example of that.
But even with her worries, she knew that in some way, her family always finds a way to make it through whatever life-threatening obstacle or event may come their way. And yet, it's still natural for her to worry.
"Come back soon." Delia placed the picture back on the wall. She knows that one day, he'll return.
Whenever that day comes, She and Ash will be here to see him once more. And as a bonus, Ash's Pokemon will have the chance to see their trainer's father for the first time. Until then, that fateful day will arrive someday as the journey continues.
So far, there have been two attempts to stop Skyblue Shine that have failed horribly.
The first was Princess Luna, who had received broken bones by Empress Twilight and almost had her magic stolen while nearly being trapped in the alternate universe. She was thankfully saved by her Pokemon and was healed by her parents.
And the second were the Canterlot guards who had unfortunately been kidnapped and sent to the alternate universe by Skyblue Shine to serve under Empress Twilight. Only two managed to come back safely.
Now the third attempt, and hopefully the last, was about to commence. And it was going to be done by Princess Celestia.
Celestia had received everything. After what the guard had seen and heard back at Skyblue Shine's mansion, Celestia's attention had skyrocketed as now her worries were closing in.
She had decided to stop taking part in the Pokemon Festival for now and focus on this situation only. Some of her guards had been kidnapped and taken to the alternate universe and now she's just learned of what Skyblue Shine and Premium Polish truly are.
All of this information was given to her yesterday. And now, on this current day, with all the knowledge she had gained, Celestia herself was going to tackle this head-on. But she wouldn't be doing it alone as she already prepared to leave.
"Sister! You shouldn't go!" Luna exclaimed. "You're already aware of what happened to me when I went to the mansion remember?"
"I do. But I'm not heading for the basement that has the gateway. I will just focus on the mansion alone and not the alternate universe."
"I suppose that is safer but...be careful. I don't want you to suffer the same fate as I did. Or even the guards who had been kidnapped. Or even-"
"I'll be more than careful, Luna." Celestia interrupted. "No need to worry. Passion and Arcanine feel the same way after all."
"Gardevoir."
"Arcanine!"
"Tell mother and father that I'll be back soon. Possibly by midnight. Let them enjoy the festival without too much worry."
"I will." Luna nodded. "Good luck."
It was time to put an end to this. Arresting Skyblue Shine would mean stopping the entirety of the Umbrage Thieves since she is their leader.
Celestia was off to Vanhoover with her Pokemon by her side. But she also brought some other Canterlot guards along for the arrest. But she didn't bother to use the train, fly or walk there. She was simply going to teleport there and wait for Skyblue Shine to return.
She knows that Skyblue Shine is the most active at night and she's more likely to return home past midnight or more. Which is why Celestia is going to purposely wait at her mansion, playing the waiting game. Without wasting any time, she instantly teleported out of Canterlot as her sister watched golden sparks fly out the moment she used her teleportation spell.
All Luna could do now was hold her breath and hope for her sister's safe return.
Vanhoover. Skyblue Shine's Mansion. 20:00.
"Ponyville was fun, wasn't it?" Premium Polish said as she laid on the couch with her Pokemon.
"Swanna!" Swanna and her Pokemon agreed.
"I got to meet the mother of Ash Ketchum. I already feel lucky enough. Wait till everypony else hears about this when I head back to school."
Having a story to tell, albeit a very small one, Premium Polish was looking forward to boasting about it when the Pokemon Festival ends. From meeting Sweetie Belle to Delia Ketchum.
"But anyway." She rolled off the couch. "Let's practice for the next contest. If the next one only allows one Pokemon then-" But before she could finish her sentence, a knock on the door could be heard. "Oh! I'll get it!"
Running over, Premium Polish was yet again about to answer the door to somepony for the third time. Although, to her, this feels like the second time because of the new memory chip in her.
Premium's Pokemon were alerted by the knock of the door as they believed that someone else from Canterlot was coming here. After all, the three groups that visited and knocked on the door have all been ponies from Canterlot. First, it was Princess Luna and then next it was the Canterlot guards. And they were right. It was another Canterlot member.
This time, it was Princess Celestia who was knocking on the door as Premium Polish opened it to see the ruler of Equestria herself alongside her Pokemon Passion and Arcanine. The guards weren't here with her, surprisingly They were waiting on the train which was on standby as ordered by Celestia. Meaning that the train would not move until the arrest was made.
"Oh! Princess Celestia!" The little unicorn gawked.
"Evening. Sorry for the intrusion." Celestia greeted. "But I'm here on an important vocation."
"Oh, it's fine! If it's you, you're really welcome here! Princess Luna came here a while back. Are you also here for the basement?"
"No." Celestia shook her head. "Something else entirely." Celestia then began to speak to herself in her own mind. "She won't remember the guards showing up because of that memory chip inside of her. Neither does she recall the truth about her mother. I'll let her know everything when this is all over."
"Gardevoir." Passion looked to Celestia as they communicated telepathically together. Passion already knew that Celestia was planning on telling Premium the truth after she apprehends Skyblue Shine herself. But Passion suggested that she told Premium Polish the truth right now.
"I suppose you're right, Passion." Celestia communicated back. "It could be a repeat of what happened yesterday, but that might be considered inevitable."
"So...are you going to come in? Because if so, that'd be great. Then I'd have even more to boast about back at school."
"I will be coming in. And I will stay for a while until your mother returns home."
"Oh! Lucky me! Is it a sleepover? Am I going to have a sleepover with a princess?!"
"No. It's..." Celestia took a deep breath. "Let me come in and explain everything."
Knowing that Premium had to know the truth about her mother, Celestia was ready to repeat what the royal guards said to Premium Polish when they came along. Although, her wording will be different while still being upfront about it. She would not add any fluff to it.
"Premium Polish." Celestia sat down with the little unicorn. "I have to say this immediately. I'm here to apprehend your mother." She went straight to the point and continued to speak what needed to be said. "She has been confirmed to be the leader of the Umbrage Thieves and has been stealing Pokemon from other trainers during the night."
"Huh?" Premium Polish immediately froze.
"Because of this, we cannot ignore it in any way. Your mother has committed crimes that are unacceptable and greatly harm others. I'm sorry, but I must do what needs to be done."
Compared to the royal guards, Celestia gave the quickest breakdown and explanation in just a few seconds. And compared to her little sister Luna, her hesitation was practically non-existent because of how upfront she was.
And unlike the guards, the reaction Premium Polish had was actually slightly different from the previous one from yesterday. The little unicorn looked at Celestia's face to see that she was not joking around and was 100% serious about what she meant.
And Celestia certainly does not hold back when it comes to situations that are concerning and crucial. At all. Everypony in Equestria knows this.
"M-Mom's a criminal?" Premium stuttered as she was starting to tear up. It was almost a full-on repeat of yesterday, only with different words. Her Pokemon also noticed this as they were now fearing the worst.
"You needed to hear it. I'm sorry. Honestly. But what she has done is inexcusable." Celestia shook her head. "Previous events have already cemented that. One that you yourself will no longer remember."
Premium Polish couldn't make any proper responses. All she could do was cry now as her tears resembled that of oil as Celestia observed. The little filly couldn't stop her crying after hearing what Celestia had said. Even when she tried to act strong and hide them. She could be like this for hours.
Thankfully, Celestia comforted Premium by putting her wing over her. She felt great sympathy for Premium Polish for more than just who her mother was. But even with what she revealed to the little filly, Celestia had a silver lining.
"She'll be put in the dungeon for her crimes. But, you will have the chance to see her again."
"M-Mmm?" Premium sniffled, looking up after hearing what new words Celestia spouted out.
"I don't intend to keep her there forever. Theft is a crime that lands a specific amount of time in the dungeon. Around seven or more. At some point in time, she will be let out. But considering her background, you cannot be with her anymore."
"R-R-Really?"
"Really. But, as for you, you cannot stay here. Not on your own."
"Why not?"
"A child should not live on their own. You will need somepony to look after you while your mother is apprehended. Somepony who can act as your caretaker in the meanwhile."
"Caretaker?" She wiped her eyes.
"This mansion as well. I'm afraid you can't stay here either. Not with what is connected here."
"Why? What's wrong with the mansion? What's here?"
"It has something to do with the basement that you are forbidden to enter. And there is a good reason why your mother forbids you from entering it. There exists a gateway that leads to a world that you would rather not interact with."
"A gateway in the basement?" By this point, Premium Polish was receiving many questions that were being answered by Celestia. The ruler of Equestria certainly knows how to make something complex and long sound simple and short.
"Sorry if this is too much for you to take in. But prolonging something as inevitable as this would only cause more complications and harm than good. I hope that you understand that your mother needs to be punished for her actions."
"I-I understand but..." Premium couldn't help but let out more tears as her Pokemon brought her more tissues. "Mother. She's not a bad pony. Is she?"
"Gardevoir." Passion communicated with Celestia, telling her that it was best that Premium Polish should be left alone for a while.
"Alright." Celestia got off the couch. "Perhaps, head to your room until this is all over. And if you want to say anything to your mother before I bring her in, feel free to do so."
"Okay..." Premium Polish whimpered. As her Pokemon surrounded her, helping the little unicorn to her bedroom, Celestia and her Pokemon were now waiting in the living room for Skyblue Shine's return. They were not going to leave no matter what.
Celestia was determined to put an end to this once and for all.
3:30.
Skyblue Shine had returned.
Alongside other Umbrage Thieves who were beside her. She had just gotten back from the Pokemon World with new Pokemon at their disposal via the cages that were made out of the same metal that the guards from Empress Twilight's world use.
"That should be a good amount." Skyblue Shine said as she took her mask off. The robotic parts that had been exposed yesterday seemed to be repaired as they were no longer sticking out.
"Are these Pokemon good enough for the empress?" A fellow thief asked.
"They most certainly are." Skyblue Shine took out a Pokedex, going over the Pokemon that she had stolen today. "Especially the Helioptile we obtained. That one Pokemon will be enough to power her ship as long as it's near the sun. And there's no closer place to the sun than space after all."
"Heliop!" Speaking of Helioptile, it and the other Pokemon were trying to break free as they all let out constant cries. Not even their Pokemon moves were capable of breaking through these aluminium cages.
"One Helioptile is enough. But if we can get multiple, then the empress's entire fleet will receive endless energy. Not just her main ship."
It was clear that the assumption that the Umbrage Thieves only steal Pokemon for their personal gain was somewhat false. In truth, it was all for the empress. But the rest of Equestria did not know except for a few.
Skyblue Shine and the rest of the thieves arrived at the mansion, ready to send the Pokemon through the gateway for the empress. But little did they know, a very special pony and her Pokemon were waiting for them.
"Remember. The empress will change the destination of the gateway soon. Time schedules will need to be altered understand?" Skyblue turned around.
"Yes." The thieves nodded in understanding.
"Good. Now, quietly. Time will still feel different for my daughter after the memory chip change. She might be still awake." Acting cautiously, Skyblue Shine gently used her magic to slowly turn the door handle, hoping to not wake her daughter up.
However, that should be the least of her worries.
Because the moment she opened the door, Skyblue Shine and the Umbrage Thieves were met with a very unexpected and frankly terrifying visitor. The light of the moon shined down on the visitor and her Pokemon as it showed their faces for a split second before passing by. But from the first glance, the visitor was immediately recognizable as they all said the same name in unison.
"Princess Celestia?!" She and everyone said as they pulled back.
"We finally meet," Celestia said with a serious tone as the purple eyes of Passion glowed in the darkness behind Celestia with fire being seen coming out of the darkness, most likely from Arcanine's fangs.
The Umbrage Thieves all moved back as they weren't expecting to see Princess Celestia standing in front of them. Naturally, they were prepared for almost everything, except for the ruler of Equestria.
Immediately, some of the thieves fell on their backs because of their reaction to Princess Celestia while others were frozen in fear. But Skyblue Shine wasn't too affected. She was stunned, yes, and certainly intimidated, but not terrified like the others.
"Umbrage Thieves." Celestia walked forward, forcing the thieves to move away from the approaching alicorn. "For your crimes against ponies, humans and Pokemon, you are all hereby under arrest."
"Enough with these surprise guests already..." Skyblue Shine growled.
"If you want to resist, go ahead. That will just add more time to the dungeon sentence I will give to you all. If I were you, I'd give up now and I may be a bit lenient." Celestia intimidated them as most of the Umbrage Thieves were actually thinking of giving up since they weren't anticipating going up against Princess Celestia of all ponies.
"So. What will it be?" Celestia's eyes flared as she clearly showing high levels of hostility. The one time she was this fierce was when she first encountered Ghetsis.
"Tch! Sorry, but I don't listen to you. I only take orders from a higher form of royalty." Skyblue Shine was referring to Empress Twilight as she used her magic to take out her Poke Ball. "I serve an Empress, not a mere princess."
"So that's your response..." A bit of Celestia's Royal Canterlot Voice was coming out.
"Bronzong! Come out and use Hypnosis!" Skyblue Shine resorted to action as she tossed the Poke Ball, sending out her Bronzong.
"Bronzong!" Coming out, the Bronze Bell Pokemon was ready to put the princess and her Pokemon to sleep.
"Arcanine! Use Flare Blitz!" But Celestia was more than fast enough to react at the right moment.
"Arca!" With a gigantic aura of fire bursting around him, the Legendary Pokemon immediately bolted off the ground like a rocket, charging straight towards Bronzong while leaving a trail of flames behind.
"Zong?!" Bronzong was certainly not fast enough to react to such blazing speed which resulted in the Bronze Bell Pokemon being struck by a blitzing Arcanine with great force, causing the Steel-Psychic to be sent flying with smoke trailing out of it. "Broooon!"
"Ah! Bronzong!" Skyblue Shine turned around to see her Pokemon crash through many trees and tumble on the ground before falling into a nearby lake.
"Canine." Arcanine took a bit of recoil damage from it. But not that much.
"Don't just stand there! Stop her!" Skyblue Shine ordered the rest of the thieves to try and attack Princess Celestia as she backed away.
"R-Right!" They all followed Skyblue Shine's order as they stepped forward, sending out their own Pokemon to deal with Celestia.
"Don't try it. Passion! Clear them all out!"
"Garde...Voir!" Passion put her hands together, creating a mini-black-hole on the spot. The moment the black hole was created, a powerful gravitational force was pulling in the Pokemon that had been sent out as well as the thieves.
The gravity was being pulled downwards by Passion manipulating it as the thieves were trying to hold onto the ground and trees near them. But it was no use. The Pokemon and thieves didn't have time to react as with one hand, Passion's body flashed purple as she caused the black hole to implode, sending the Pokemon and thieves flying, just like Bronzong.
And similar to Bronzong they had all tumbled on the ground near the lake while some of them had even fallen in the lake. In just a few seconds, Celestia had defeated 99% of the Umbrage Thieves with barely any effort.
Naturally, Skyblue was flabbergasted by that as Arcanine went over to the cages, using his fire to try and melt them away and free the Pokemon inside.
Celestia then lit her horn up with magic, shooting a tiny spark into the air. That spark then combusted, creating multiple little projectiles of light that scattered. It was a signal for the guards to come out of the train and arrest the Umbrage Thieves, immediately.
"T-This wasn't supposed to happen...!" Skyblue Shine backed away while Celestia approached.
"You've already lost," Celestia spoke as her eyes were flashing, showing signs of her magic building up.
Premium Polish, who was still awake and crying, had witnessed most of the Umbrage Thieves getting defeated by Celestia and her Pokemon. She also saw how Celestia had come face to face with her mother, which was already a very conflicting moment for her.
The little unicorn looked at her mother, seeing how she was indeed wearing an Umbrage Thief suit. It was practically 100% confirmed at this point. And that just further hurt Premium Polish, who didn't want to accept her mother as a criminal. But her eyes don't lie.
"Mother...why?" A saddened Premium Polish uttered.
"I only answer to Empress Twilight Sparkle. Not to you!" Skyblue Shine gave a rebuttal as she sent out her next and second strongest Pokemon against Celestia.
Aggron.
"Aggron!"
"Aggron! Use Metal Claw!"
"Ggron!" The Iron Armor Pokemon ran towards Celestia with its claws lighting up. Celestia was not intimidated by Aggron approaching her whatsoever.
"Garde!" Passion slid in front of Celestia, standing before her trainer as she put her arm out, using her psychic mind to hold Aggron in place.
"A-Agg?!"
"I refuse to forgive you for what you, the Umbrage Thieves and to an extent, Empress Twilight have done. From stealing Pokemon of other trainers, kidnapping my royal guards just to force them upon a new rule and more importantly, involving yourself with harming my little sister!"
"Gardevoir!" Passion blew Aggron back with a psychic push, causing the Iron Armor Pokemon to crash into Skyble Shine as they both fell on the ground with the weight of Aggron resting on Skyblue Shine.
"Agh!"
"Agg!"
"Passion! Plasma Bolt!"
"Gardevoir...!" Passion spread her arms out, creating Mystical Fire on her left and Thunderbolt on her right. She then clapped her hands together, creating pure plasma as her hair was flowing because of the immense pressure being generated.
"Grh...Aggron! Use Metal Burst to absorb it! Quick!"
"Aggron!" Aggron got off Skyblue as his body emanated a metallic light. Aggron then put his arms out, forming a white ball in front of its mouth. The white ball had one job. To absorb the attack.
But then again, absorbing Plasma is a very risky move.
"Gar!" With fury, Passion fired a raging beam of plasma that tore through the ground, melting the snow and burning away the grass nearby as the sound of the sun roaring could be heard.
"Agg!" Aggron held his breath in as the Plasma Bolt connected with the white ball of Metal Burst. However, for once, Metal Burst was having a hard time containing a move.
The sheer power of Plasma Bolt was so intense that the white ball was trembling and rippling, trying to contain the attack as Aggron was being pushed back because of it.
"G-Gron?!" The Iron Armor Pokemon gasped as he was struggling to absorb the attack. His feet slid on the ground as he could feel his focus slipping while the bolt of pure plasma was getting stronger each passing second.
"Voir!" With one small spurt of energy, Passion added some extra power to the Plasma Bolt, causing it to overwhelm the white ball.
With a heat greater than the sun itself, Aggron couldn't contain it any longer as the white ball of Metal Burst blew up in his face, causing the Iron Armor Pokemon to fall back. "Agg!"
"Accursed princess!" Skyblue Shine yelled. "Aggron! Get up and use Fire Punch!"
"Aggron!" Aggron immediately recovered since it was a highly defensive Pokemon which benefited him greatly in this scenario. The Steel-Rock-Type sparked his arms, gaining a fiery aura around them. Frustrated at Passion for 1UPing him, Aggron targeted all of his anger towards her by charging at the Embrace Pokemon.
"Passion, go!"
"Gardevoir!" A move command was not even given out by Celestia. It was just simply Go. The Embrace Pokemon ran forward before jumping over Aggron and avoiding his first Fire Punch.
"Agg?!" Aggron missed as he looked up to see Passion flipping over him.
"Voir!" Passion then landed on one hand, performing a handstand. In that handstand pose, she spun her leg around like a ballerina, repeatedly kicking Aggron in the back of his head.
"A-Agg! G-Gron!" Each hit made Aggron stutter as the back of his head was essentially a punching bag that was being repeatedly kicked.
"Grab her leg!"
"A-Aggron!" Aggron looked for a split-second of freedom and found it. He quickly turned around before getting met with a kick to the face instead of the back of the head. But after being smacked in the face by Passion's kick, Aggron then grabbed the leg of the Embrace Pokemon, finally putting an end to her frenzy of ballerina kicks.
"Gar?"
"Aggron!" Aggron chuckled, even though he had been losing to Passion so far with very little sign of gaining the upper hand.
"Levitate with him!" Celestia ordered.
"Gardevoir!" And that disadvantage only continued as Passion let out her next attack. Her eyes flashed purple as she used her psychic mind to lift both her and Aggron into the air. Passion was strong enough to lift a Pokemon this heavy, surprisingly.
"A-Agg?! Aggron?!" Aggron obviously did not expect this as Skyblue Shine gasped, witnessing her Pokemon being levitated right now. The Iron Armor Pokemon's eyes scanned the area as he noticed that Passion was bringing him to a high level instead of a low one.
"Now! Send plasma through Aggron!"
"Gardevoir!" Passion then put her arms on Aggron, sending plasma straight through him. The Iron Armor Pokemon was being shocked as he screamed out in pain.
"A-Aaaaggron!"
"Now send Aggron down!"
"Gar!" Passion had been freed from Aggron's grip because of her counterattack as she returned the favour to the Steel-Rock-Type by grabbing his arm and throwing Aggron over her shoulder.
Aggron was sent crashing down by a shoulder throw from Passion as he hit the ground, causing a crater to form while Skyblue Shine was almost blown back by the impact alone.
"Plasma Bolt!"
"Voir!" Passion wasn't done. She crossed her arms together before separating them, creating pure plasma once more as her body was surging with power.
"Aggron! Stop her with Hyper Beam!"
"A-Agg...!" But Aggron was still recovering after being shocked and slammed. He didn't have enough time to retaliate against Passion.
Thus, Passion fired the bolt of plasma as the Iron Armor Pokemon could do nothing but take it. Upon contact, an explosion of plasma occurred after Aggron had been hit. The sound of the sun roaring came out of the explosion as Skyblue Shine covered her eyes while Celestia just watched.
Once the smoke cleared, Aggron had fainted after an attack that powerful. Passion landed down with grace as she dusted the smoke off herself.
"Gardevoir."
"C-Curses...Return, Aggron!" Skyblue Shine returned her Aggron as that was one of her strongest Pokemon by a margin.
"Arca." Arcanine had managed to free all of the Pokemon trapped within the cages by successfully melting them away with his fire.
All the freed Pokemon, naturally overjoyed, went over to Celestia's side since they felt safe around her after seeing what she had done to the Umbrage Thieves.
"I win." Celestia declared. And just as she said that the Canterlot guards had arrived to arrest the knocked out Umbrage Thieves after they received the signal from Celestia's magic.
Skyblue Shine was now surrounded from all sides as her eyes observed. Her team was down, the Canterlot guards were here and she was currently being stared down by Celestia and a group of not-so-happy Pokemon that they had stolen as well as Celestia's own Pokemon who were extremely powerful in their own right.
By this point, it seemed like a losing scenario for her. She was outnumbered and overpowered. And yet, despite that, she refused to give in.
"You may have won but I still won't submit to you!"
"Hoh?" Celestia narrowed her eyes. "Don't be a fool and try to fight back."
"My work cannot end here. Not until I've satisfied the Empress!" Skyblue Shine then decided to resort to something that was full-on risky and life-threatening. "I'll take you all out in one blaze of glory!"
"What?" Celestia pulled back.
Just as Skyblue Shine uttered those words, her eyes were suddenly glowing blue. The same colour that her robotic eye had when exposed. And once those eyes were flashing, these specific words could be heard.
Ｓｅｌｆ－Ｄｅｔｏｎａｔｉｏｎ Ｉｍｍｉｎｅｎｔ
"Oh!" Celestia and everyone else gasped.
"Scared now?" Skyblue Shine smirked as a countdown was going off with constant beeping. "The explosion won't destroy me due to the wonderful robotics that I have been given. But they will certainly obliterate you all sky-high! Including all of Vanhoover in one go!"
"Are you insane?!" Celestia exclaimed. "You'll destroy your home and your daughter as well!"
"You think I don't know that? My mansion may be gone, but my daughter? She can just be rebuilt."
"Re...built?" Premium Polish uttered.
"My daughter and I will continue living on in harmony under the rule of the Empress. But I cannot say the same for you, princess!" The beeping was getting faster as the explosion was almost ready.
Celestia started to panic as the Canterlot guards immediately got a move on while having the Umbrage Thieves restrained. All the Pokemon as well decided to get away from this area before the explosion consumes them all.
All except for Princess Celestia and her Pokemon.
"Your Majesty! Get away!" A guard exclaimed.
"Garde!" Passion communicated with Celestia, giving her advice that might prevent the explosion from going off.
"You think that Thunderbolt will do the trick?"
"Voir." She nodded, knowing that the electricity can override it.
"Alright. Use Thunderbolt!"
"Gardevoir!" Passion put both her arms out, sending 100,000 volts of electricity towards the unicorn.
"W-What are you doing?!" Skyblue winced as her body was being affected by Thunderbolt. Right now, the volts of Thunderbolt creating an emission of electromagnetic energy.
This energy was actually powerful to mess with the inner workings of Skyblue Shine's body. The unicorn's eyes widened as she was starting to jitter uncontrollably.
"S-S-S-Stop it!" She yelled while jittering.
"Gar!" But Passion didn't stop. She added more power to Thunderbolt, however, the maximum limit was 100,000 volts. So, to amp it up, she added Mystical Fire into the mix, using plasma to override her.
And with just plasma itself, an electromagnetic pulse was created as everything inside of Skyblue Shine had been disrupted. Her eyes were constantly flashing red as the beeping had stopped. The pulse was so great that it actually blew Passion back.
"V-Voir!"
"Passion!" Celestia caught her partner.
"Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-" Skyblue Shine was trying to say something but her body was letting out sparks of electricity as her robotic parts were being revealed. The attack had been a success.
So much of a success that Skyblue Shine's glowing red eye faded away as she fell to the ground without saying another word. The sound of something powering down could be heard as well.
"Mother!" Premium Polish gasped as she had witnessed her mother fall to the ground.
A blast of plasma from Passion had caused an electromagnetic pulse to go off, overriding and disrupting all of Skyblue Shine's inner workings, causing the unicorn to fall over without a word.
"Mother!" Premium Polish ran outside to see her lifeless and unresponsive mother on the ground. The little unicorn was distraught and mortified from what her eyes had witnessed.
The guards themselves who were arresting the rest of the Umbrage Thieves were glancing over at the scene where Skyblue Shine was down and out.
Premium Polish went up to her mother with gentle hoofsteps. There was dead silence coming from the area. No one was making a sound except for when Premium spoke.
"Mother?" Premium uttered as she got closer to her mother. "Mother, wake up." She put her hooves on Skyblue Shine, trying to see if she could wake her up. "Please?" But her physical contact and shaking weren't working. Skyblue Shine was not responding at all. "You have to wake up...There's still a lot I want to tell you."
"Arcanine..." Arcanine tried to step in but Celestia stopped him.
"You're not a bad pony, right?" Even when seeing everything from the outside, she still believed her mother to be a good pony due to how kind she is to her. All of this just made Premium tear up once more as she was whimpering.
Even the guards had to take a moment of silence for this. Premium's Pokemon came out of the house, slowly walking up to their trainer to comfort her. Premium kept shaking Skyblue Shine but it was just useless at this point.
"Mommy." She mumbled.
Celestia knew that this was just an unpleasant and horrifying situation to be in. Especially considering how it was her and Passion that caused Skyblue Shine to shut down completely.
Passion herself felt the most guilt since she was the one who recommended the idea, but they had to do something or else Vanhoover would've been destroyed by the self-detonation. But she wasn't expecting a shutdown. Only an override that would potentially stop the explosion.
But all was not lost.
"Passion." Celestia suddenly spoke. "Restart her with Plasma Bolt."
"What?" Premium sniffled as she turned to face Celestia. "R-Restart?"
"If plasma can shut her down. Then perhaps, it can start her up again." Celestia theorized. But she was definitely theorizing the right way.
"Gardevoir." Passion put her arms out as she focused all of her energy towards the downed and lifeless body of Skyblue Shine. Premium Polish and her Pokemon backed away to avoid Thunderbolt.
Out of Passion's hands came out pure plasma that solely targeted Skyblue Shine's body and nothing else. The plasma, upon immediate contact, had already entered Skyblue Shine's body without wasting any time. Celestia wanted to spark up hope back in Premium Polish even after what had just happened a few minutes ago.
And spark up hope she did.
A new sound came from Skyblue Shine. The sound of something booting up could be heard as Passion stopped firing Plasma Bolt since any more would probably just cause more problems due to how powerful plasma can be.
Premium Polish's eyes widened as her frown was slowly transforming into a smile when hearing sounds coming from her mother.
Everyone stood back without making any sounds. The Pokemon were terrified of Skyblue Shine potentially waking back up as many of them held onto Arcanine and Passion's leg.
One eye was slowly opening. Skyblue Shine's blue robotic eye was lighting up once more. But it was just the one eye as her hooves were starting to move.
And witnessing her mother moving made Premium Polish smile.
"Urgh..." Skyblue Shine groaned as she looked up at Celestia with hatred in her eyes. "Celestia...!"
"Mother!" Running without hesitation, Premium Polish was glad to see her mother was awake and back up once more."
"Premium Polish?" Skyblue Shine twitched.
"Mother! You're okay!" She hugged her downed mother who could barely get up from the ground.
"H-Have you been watching everything this entire time...?"
"Mhm." The little unicorn nodded. "I was told everything from Princess Celestia and I saw everything from outside. Mother. I want to ask you so much. Why would you do this? Why would you steal Pokemon from other trainers? You're not a bad pony, are you?"
"I was afraid this would be brought up again...I never wanted you to find out about this. Especially not a second time."
"W-What do you mean a second time? And why did you say rebuilt back there?" The little unicorn wiped her tears. "There's so much I want to know that I don't know."
"T-This is all your fault, Celestia...!" Skyblue growled at Celestia. "None of this would've happened if-"
"If you never started stealing Pokemon from others." Celestia cut her off. "And to an extent, working for a universe that is also working alongside Ghetsis and Team Plasma. You brought this upon yourself."
"Kh!" Skyblue Shine scoffed.
"Y-You've been working with Team Plasma?" Premium Polish said. "Why? Please. Tell me everything." The little filly was desperate to know everything at this point.
"I can't..." Skyblue Shine stood up as she wobbled around.
"Why not?!"
"You're too young to know. And you shouldn't know."
"I don't care if I'm too young! You've been hiding a lot of secrets from me! So I should-"
"Shouldn't know." Skyblue cut her off. "Everything I do is for the Empress. All the crimes I have committed are for the Empress. Because of how she helped me. You wouldn't understand and you shouldn't know the truth of it all. At least, not at your current age. You wouldn't be able to handle it."
"So...she's more important to you than me." Premium lowered her head.
"What? No. You're more important to me than the Empress, Premium." Skyblue went to hug her daughter but Premium Polish backed away suddenly.
"But you'll do all of this bad stuff for her?! What about me?! You never do anything for me! You don't even spend time with me...You're never there for me when I just want to have fun with you...But I thought it was alright because of how hard you were working but...now that I know you've been stealing Pokemon from others..."
"Premium..."
The little unicorn was finding it hard to finish her sentence as she couldn't stop crying. Premium Polish then looked with red eyes and tears flying all over the place.
"I hate you!" In the spur of the moment, Premium Polish spouted out a disdainful word that no parent would wish to ever hear. And with that, the little unicorn ran off, heading back inside of the mansion, not wanting to interact with her mother from this point onward.
Skyblue Shine, who barely changed her emotion, looked down after hearing all that her daughter had said to her. Even Celestia felt sympathy for this family. She found it hard to listen to the conversation itself.
The Canterlot guards had surrounded Skyblue Shine, closing in on her and ready to arrest the leader of the Umbrage Thieves. Skyblue Shine knew that she had been greatly weakened so there was no point in fighting back if she could barely keep her balance.
Thus, she had been arrested.
"Celestia...!" Skyblue Shine looked up at Celestia. "I'll remember. What you, your sister and your guards ended up causing. And don't think you can hold me in your dungeon forever. The Empress will come for me. Sooner than you think."
Celestia didn't say a word. She just looked at Skyblue Shine with pity in her eyes. Meanwhile, Skyblue had hatred in her eyes instead as she was taken away by the guards along with the rest of the Umbrage Thieves.
Celestia sighed, turning to look at the mansion to where Premium ran in. She already knew that the little unicorn was crying her eyes out at this point, showing hatred towards her mother and betrayal. Celestia knew that locking Skyblue Shine away was the right thing to do. However, she couldn't help but feel as if something wasn't right here.
The sun princess slowly entered the mansion by opening the door. And the moment she did so, she could already hear Premium crying upstairs in her room. Celesta herself felt a bit of guilt as she believed that she may have caused a large crevice in the relationship between a mother and her daughter.
"Gardevoir?" Passion, who could feel emotions, knew about Celestia's semblance of guilt.
"Let's go, you two," Celestia said to both her Pokemon. "It's best that we don't overstay our welcome here."
Celestia, her Pokemon, the stolen Pokemon and the guards were about to leave Vanhoover finally. But Premium Polish's Pokemon would be the only ones to approach their trainer. They would be there for her, especially in a time like this.
Premium Polish, who was holding her pillow, was thinking about how she said she hated her mother. Truth was, she didn't hate her mother at all. But she did hate how she had kept so many secrets for so long and how distant her mother has been from her, working as a criminal and paying more attention to somepony else from another universe.
The little unicorn sat up, wiping her tears as she tried to act big. But all she could do was cry.
Canterlot. 5:00.
Skyblue Shine had finally been brought in as she was ready to be put in the dungeon for her crimes. But before that could happen, Celestia had a decision she wanted to make.
"Skyblue Shine." Celestia approached the unicorn.
"What?" Skyblue Shine scoffed.
"I have decided to reduce your seven-year sentence to just 5. And I will also allow you to take part in community service from time to time."
"Tch!" Skyblue sneered. "How benevolent can you be? Even after all I've done, you'll show magnanimous emotion towards me, hm? I'd say that's a major weakness of yours."
"Call it a weakness if you want," Celestia replied. "But that's my decision. After seeing what had happened back at Vanhoover."
"I don't want your sympathy. After all. It's your fault that any of this happened. You and Canterlot couldn't help but interfere, could you? Everything would've been safer for Premium Polish as well if you never meddled in the first place."
"You've mentioned Premium's safety before. Why is that? You're clearly hiding something from her that you're not revealing."
"Of course, I am. She's far too young to know everything. A filly of her age will most likely collapse if she knew what she was and why she was made that way."
"Into what you and her both are?"
"Android is the correct term. We're androids. But she doesn't know. And she shouldn't. Not until she is ready to join me..."
"Join you?" Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"That's something you certainly don't need to know. And you'll never know. Unless you're lucky that is." Skyblue Shine turned around. And with that, the guards had sent her to the dungeon.
But Skyblue Shine wasn't worried. Not at all. She was expecting Empress Twilight Sparkle to come for her. Sooner than Celestia thinks, apparently.
Celestia wondered what Skyblue meant when she said that Premium Polish was not ready to know the truth until she was ready to join her. Everything by this point was just cryptic and abstruse.
There was only one thing left to do now. Bring Premium Polish to Canterlot and take care of her for the time being. But Celesta decided that she needed more time.
"Gardevoir?" Passion asked Celestia if she was going to be alright.
"I'll be fine, Passion. I just need a moment to clear my head of all of this. You and Arcanine can continue enjoying the Pokemon Festival, alright?"
"Voir." Passion understood Celestia's decision as she and Arcanine went off, leaving their trainer to clear her head by herself.
She needed to.
And during that, a few of the guards had gone somewhere else instead of sending the Pokemon back to their trainers. A few of them were already off to bring Premium Polish to Canterlot.
Canterlot Dungeon. 5:10
In the Canterlot Dungeon, Skyblue Shine had been officially locked up. Her magic had been restrained by magic inhibitor cuffs. She was unable to perform any spells from here on as she would be on her lonesome.
At least, that would be the case. But there was one more individual who was locked up in this dungeon. A certain Rift Pony who had caused trouble in both worlds by creating a behemoth made out of electricity itself.
That pony was Obsidian.
The Rift Pony looked up, noticing that he was getting a new dungeon mate in the form of an android as Skyblue Shine was placed in the cell next to Obsidian.
She was now locked up.
"Hm. Finally some company." Obsidian smiled as he looked to the side. "I was wondering when someone else would eventually be caught."
"Kh. I was hoping for no company..." Skyblue Shine turned away from Obsidian, ignoring him.
"So, what did you do?" He grinned as he started rambling on. "Was it on par with what I did? If you didn't know, I was the one who was the cause for the Storm Behemoth. You know? The 500 ft being of electricity that kept getting bigger and almost levelled Equestria and technically the second world.
"I don't care..." Skyblue Shine sighed.
"Cause of a major blackout too. I gotta say that was my best work yet. But my real best work has yet to really show itself in the form of Jade Skies. She's the ace in the hole in my master pl-"
But while Obsidian kept jabbering about his accomplishments and what was coming, Skyblue was waiting for the Empress to arrive. Any minute now even. She paid no attention to Obsidian's babbling as she stared at a wall, biding her time.
As for the Pokemon that were stolen, Celestia ordered for the guards to help the Pokemon return to their original trainers. Darkrai volunteered to assist since he was a perfect translator. There were a few Pokemon so it wouldn't take too long.
Everything seemed to be wrapping up now. The Umbrage Thieves had been caught with all of them locked up. The Pokemon that had been stolen last night were being returned. It seemed as if this was the end of the Umbrage Thief debacle.
But in truth, it was only just beginning.
Because right in front of the eyes of Skyblue Shine and Obsidian, a gateway had opened in the dungeon. A gateway that greatly resembled the one in the basement. That could only mean one thing.
Empress Twilight Sparkle was here.
The Empress passed through the gateway, appearing before her loyal servant Skyblue Shine and the confused Obsidian who had just witnessed a gateway open in front of him.
"Empress!" Skyblue Shine immediately bowed down.
The intimidating alicorn's hooves gently connected with the floor without making any sound. The leaves around her even scattered as a mortifying and fierce presence filled the air.
"Wait, Empress?" Obsidian's brain was processing for a bit. "Oh! Are you Empress Twilight Sparkle?!"
"Skyblue Shine. It seems that you and the rest of the Umbrage Thieves have been captured. A complete and total loss, I can consider this one. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Y-Yes! My deepest apologies! My empress! I didn't intend for this to happen! Forgive me!" She lowered her head. "Circumstances that I was unable to fully control led to this!"
"Mhm." Empress Twilight nodded. "An expected response. It's fine. Clearly, I've been so focused on receiving the Pokemon that I haven't been paying attention to you yourself. You're lacking many qualities that need to be added."
"Huh?" Skyblue Shine looked up.
"Some fine-tuning will be needed back at the lab. Your self-detonation function and magic won't be the only thing that will defend you."
"You mean...you're going to upgrade me, Empress?"
"Precisely. I can't have you losing here after all."
"Wait! Take me with you!" Obsidian exclaimed.
"Hm?" The empress quickly snapped over to the Rift Pony. "I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Obsidian. A Rift Pony. And I'd do anything to get out of here! Please?"
"Rift Pony you say?" Empress Twilight's interest was piqued.
"That's right! Well, actually...I can't use my Rift magic anymore since the Rift has stripped me away from using any of it...but I'd still like to break free from here."
"Hm. No Rift magic at all? You've lost my interest already." Empress Twilight turned away from Obsidian, shutting him down.
"Gouh!" Obsidian felt defeated as he lowered his head.
"Although...You are made out of pure cosmic energy, right?" She then found an alternative.
"Uh-huh?" He nodded.
"Then, in that case, I could actually use you. What's inside of you, that is."
"Yes! Wait, what's that supposed to mean."
"Now then..." Empress Twilight suddenly managed to make the bars of the cell disappear with a magic spell that seemed to decay the bars.
"A decaying spell?!" Skyblue Shine backed away.
"You'd be surprised at how many unique spells exist in each respective universe. Such variety that I can't get enough of." Empress Twilight giggled as she had crumbled the steel bars into dust. "Come along you two. We have much to do."
It was time for them to leave. But not before a single Canterlot guard came into the dungeon via the stairs. He was here to do standby duty for the day, but the moment he came down the stairs, he spotted Empress Twilight Sparkle escaping with the two prisoners as the gateway had closed. The guard froze in place as he realized that this was a clear problem.
"Uh oh." He said.
A successful break out that only lasted a few minutes. Skyblue Shine didn't even last that long in the dungeon. Her words about Empress Twilight to come and retrieve her came true in a short amount of time.
But Celestia just thought that Skyblue Shine was just saying that to sound hopeful. When in fact, she was right. Celestia wasn't even thinking of her escape. She was only thinking of what had happened last night.
She is aware that Premium will remember this moment in her life when she grows up. Celestia could only imagine if she was in Premium's hooves and a similar situation with her own mother. But, Celestia did what she felt was right. Sending Skyblue Shine in was the decision she made. One that Celestia could barely pull back, but there was a minuscule part of her that would.
In a way, Celestia's benevolent nature was possibly her greatest weakness but also her greatest strength as well. A true double-edged sword depending on the scenario. She's dealt with serious situations before. But never one that heavily involves a child.
"I shouldn't linger on it," Celestia spoke. "I need to accept and make difficult decisions as my status as Ruler of Equestria." But Celestia was capable of powering through it. She is the Ruler of Equestria for a reason after all.
Clearing her mind, at last, Celestia came out of her room, ready to continue tackling the day. Her first order of business was to have Premium Polish feel comfortable in Canterlot when she arrives.
"Your majesty!" Abruptly, the sound of a royal guard could be heard calling for Celestia. More specifically, the guard that had witnessed what had happened in the dungeon.
"Hm?" Celestia turned to face the guard. "What has happened?! You look and sound like you're in distress!"
"Skyblue Shine and Obsidian! They're both gone."
"What did you say?!" Celestia bellowed.
"A gateway opened up and the pony with them took them both away!"
"Pony...gateway...Empress Twilight." Celestia easily put the pieces together. Empress Twilight is currently the only alicorn who can open up a gateway to this world and her own world.
Celestia was hoping that Skyblue Shine would be kept here for the sake of having Premium Polish visit her mother in the dungeon from time to time. But now, not even that was going to happen.
Celestia went over to the dungeon to see that it was empty. No prisoners here. Not to mention that two of the cells had been destroyed. As if something had decayed them away. All that was left were tiny bits of the bars that were also being decayed.
Celestia used her magic to lift the bar that was being decayed, seeing how Empress Twilight had used some sort of decaying spell to perform this. Obviously, with two prisoners freed, this just creates further complications and problems that are not necessary.
Annoyed to the point of frustration, Celestia closed her eyes, holding all of her anger back in. She had just cleared her mind of a previous situation a few minutes ago. So she needed to clear her mind of this. Because she had faith that this could be solved. Celestia is an optimist after all.
"Alright. Thank you for informing me." She thanked the guard. "I have to prepare and handle this situation on my hooves. But I'll certainly fix this. All of this. No matter what."
Right now, the fifth day of the Pokemon Festival had arrived. Only 2 days remain until this all ends. But what a ride it has been so far.
The Royal Unova was currently sailing on the waters of Castelia City, where it originally came from. Very soon, this ship would stop sailing, but some were thinking of getting off the ship early before the next day.
And one of those was Twilight, who was currently in the premium cabin with Ash. Right now, most of her friends are asleep, save for a few. Ash, Pikachu, Twilight, Fluttershy and Meloetta were the only ones awake at the moment.
"Pika...Pikachu." Pikachu yawned while laying on his back in the jacuzzi.
"Eat up, buddy." Ash held some Pokeblocks in his hand, feeding them to his partner.
"Pika!" Pikachu took a bite out of the Pokeblocks, getting a quick midnight snack to fill him up. "Pikachu!"
"Wonder what these taste like...?" Ash stood up, looking at the Pokeblocks, curious and tempted to taste them.
"Don't do that! It can't be good for you if it's only for Pokemon!" Twilight flew over, cautious for Ash's safety.
"Hah! My bad! Got a little tempted there." Ash laughed as he placed the Pokeblocks back in the case. He then stretched his arms, feeling a tiny bit of fatigue as he let out a small yawn. "Might clock out soon."
"Pikachu." Pikachu got out of the jacuzzi, shaking his body as the hot water was flying out of him. "Pika-Pika-Pika!"
"In the morning, let's look for a Pokemon World Championships match," Ash said as Pikachu climbed up his shoulder. "Can't let Kay and Ali get ahead, right?"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
As Ash and Pikachu were ready to catch some shuteye for the night and prepare for tomorrow as always, someone opened up the door. That, someone, was Fluttershy alongside Meloetta since they were also still awake.
"Ash? Twilight? Pikachu? Hope we're not interrupting anything important right now."
"Melo?"
"Oh, Fluttershy? Meloetta? What is it?" Twilight asked while placing her Cinccino on the couch.
"Well, we were both wondering if you wanted to come and see the show that'll be playing on the lounge deck very soon. A famous entertainer is on board apparently."
"Oh!" Ash slid in. "Sounds fun!"
"Pikachu!"
"Twilight? What about you?" Fluttershy asked.
"Hm Oh. You all can go ahead and watch it. I'll just stay here." Twilight sat down, yawning.
"Oh, right. Shut-eye. Got it." Fluttershy nodded.
"Melo." Meloetta saw this as an opportunity. Twilight wouldn't be with Ash in this scenario so she capitalized on it, deciding to stick by Ash by grabbing on his arm. She also hummed a sweet little melody to his ears. "Etta!"
"Huh? This again?" Ash looked down at Meloetta.
"Oh, aren't you an opportunist...!" Twilight narrowed her eyes while Meloetta stuck her tongue out.
"Um." Fluttershy shifted her eyes to Meloetta and then Twilight, seeing that tension was slowly rising via jealousy.
"Pika?" So did Pikachu.
"M-Maybe we should go right now." To avoid potential conflict, Fluttershy pushed Ash and Meloetta forward while Pikachu followed.
She then turned around to see a somewhat fatigued Twilight who laid on the side next to her sleeping Ninetales and Espeon. Twilight sighed as it was clear that she wasn't experiencing an urge to go to sleep, but rather something else. And Fluttershy could tell.
"Are you alright, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.
"Hm? I'm fine." Twilight looked over. "Just a bit out of it right now...On this cruise plus the Pokemon Festival after all. It can be a bit taxing."
"Well, it's longer than the last one which was just one week. Everypony's feeling a bit of lag at the moment."
"Mhm." The young alicorn nodded. "Maybe I just want to head back to Ponyville. I think we've done everything we can in the Pokemon Festival so far. Aside from the other regions, we haven't visited. If only we knew about that sooner."
"Then maybe, we can all head back to Ponyville tomorrow morning," Fluttershy suggested. "We're closing in on the end anyway. How does that sound?"
"I'd like that." Twilight stretched her hooves. "And just relaxing back at the castle with my Pokemon, revisiting PokePark and learning even more about Pokemon as a Pokemon Professor. Hm. That's quite a lot now that I think about it. Almost as much as this festival."
"Well, I'll let everypony else know. See you soon, Twilight!" Fluttershy whistled as she flew off to join Ash and the others.
Now it was just Twilight, her Pokemon and the rest of Ash's Pokemon. The young alicorn decided to go outside, standing at the balcony of the premium deck to take in the air of Castelia City and the Pokemon World overall.
Right next to the Royal Unova were the bustling streets of Castelia and the calming seas of the ocean. Twilight witnessed the many colourful lights that were shining from the city as they reflected off the ship and water itself. A Lumineon also gave off its own shine as it swam beside a school of Goldeen and Alomomola.
She looked over the complete and total harmony between people, ponies and Pokemon, acting more as a family than partners. Pokemon relationships can go that far to be considered family after all. Twilight wanted to continue taking in this view and feeling.
Somehow, she was gaining a nostalgic feeling from this. Perhaps, since it's been a year since the world's first crossed over, in the future, all of this will be heavily nostalgic. From how the world she had known for so long was beginning to change and thrive because of the mere existence of Pokemon. And as time goes on, things won't exactly be the same.
At first, Twilight was unsure of the worlds crossing over. It was deemed as a volatile danger and could result in the potential destruction of both worlds. And that almost seemed to be the case when she witnessed how powerful and destructive Pokemon can truly be.
However, with the existence of Ash and the Pokemon trainers, that fear had been blown away. Especially Ash, who Twilight feels safe around at all times. In Twilight's eyes, Ash was the best thing to come out from this entire world crossover.
And because of this, Twilight was now dreaming about Ash by herself, while standing out on the balcony, thinking that no one else was watching. Funny enough, this isn't the first time this has happened and it won't be the last.
"Absol," Absol spoke.
"Aah!" Twilight screeched as her wings flapped furiously with her horn shooting magic all over the place, almost hitting Absol. She quickly turned around to see Absol behind her. "Oh. Absol. It's just you..." She sighed, feeling relieved.
"Absol?" Absol was confused as to why Twilight was standing out in the open, making a weird face. Absol was like Ash. He didn't quite understand the other variation of love aside from bonds.
"It's fine. It's fine." Twilight squeed as she flew back into the room while Absol stared at her with confusion on his face. "Thanks for being a great night watch by the way. Look forward to the morning. We could be heading back to Ponyville very soon."
"Sol." Absol turned around, continuing to stay on guard for the night."
"You sure are protective and cautious, aren't you Absol?" Twilight sat on the couch.
"Absol."
"Guess years of dealing with disasters can do that." She yawned as she was finally ready to clock out. "Anyway...see you in the morning, Absol."
"Sol." Absol understood as he watched his trainer fall asleep on the couch peacefully. Absol would continue to stay on guard so that no one gets close to his friends or threatens them. He would close the window, but he doesn't know how to, unfortunately.
Now it was just Absol awake in the cabin with everyone else around him asleep. Meanwhile outside, everyone else is having the time of their life. Both on the Royal Unova and outside in Castelia City. Thankfully, the noise wasn't loud enough to reach her. So Twilight could sleep peacefully.
Castelia City. The Pokemon Festival. 9:00.
Along came the morning.
The Royal Unova had currently stopped on the Castelia City Cruise Dock, where it originally docks. Some people were getting off the ship. They knew the festival was ending so some decided to head home a bit early before the next and final day.
And one of them was the group of Ash and everyone.
"Aaah! Man what a ride that was!" Ash and Pinkie Pie both said as they came out of the ship, breathing in the air of Castelia City.
"Pikachu!"
"Spinda!"
"I'm going to miss this ship." Rarity sighed.
"Yeah. But I was gonna get really homesick if we stayed on it longer," said Applejack as many passengers were walking past her and her friends after getting off the Royal Unova.
"It'll feel great heading back home." Rainbow Dash flew up. "Plus, we can still be a part of the festival back at Ponyville, right?"
"Right. Can't wait to head back to Pallet Town too." Ash adjusted his hat. "And I guess you're gonna return to Ridley at the village, aren't you, Meloetta?"
"Melo." Meloetta nodded.
"You gotta return to the Pokemon School, you." Applejack said to Golett who was on her back. "Fantina might know something's wrong."
"Golett." But Golett didn't seem like it was going to leave, much to Applejack's chagrin.
"I feel satisfied. I got myself a Special Equestrian Axew which can transform!" Spike grinned while having his arm around Axew.
"Axew!"
"We could've gotten one if we stayed there a bit longer." Apple Bloom pouted.
"Yeah, but there was no way we were gonna catch one out in the middle of some space sea," Scootaloo replied. "Maybe that Giant Torterra could've worked.
"Mm-mm!" Sweetie Belle shook her head. "That's way too dangerous! But it'd be pretty great actually..."
"I'm also satisfied." Fluttershy nodded. "I got to see different Pokemon yet again. Oh, I wish Regional Pokemon would come to the Pokemon House someday! Maybe there's a way to have multiple shinies too. Even if they're super-rare."
"About that. Do you think we're gonna see those weird waters from the Arcane Sea again?" Rainbow Dash wondered. "I mean, they've got magic from Equestria in them. So there might be some back in Equestria too."
"Maybe." Twilight looked up. "That'd be interesting to look into. How all of this mixing was even possible in the first place is something I'm curious about too."
"Wish I got to go in the water." Ash crossed his arms while walking beside his friends. "Would've been so cool to see what I would get."
"Pikachu..."
As they walked through the streets of Castelia City, they saw how very few attractions were left while some were being taken away, signifying that the festival was reaching its end very soon.
And many ponies along with a few dragons sprinkled here and there were heading back to their world by passing through the gateways nearby. And many of these ponies and dragons had actually made friends with the humans of this world during the time they were able to spend in Castelia. And there's a good chance the same has happened across other regions and beyond.
Team Rocket also came off the ship, exhausted and tired themselves. But not in the traditional way where they fail to capture a Pokemon and get sent blasting off. This time, they were exhausted in a good and satisfying way.
Because of this, Team Rocket could head back to the Everfree Forest and Zecora's hut, feeling satisfied and relaxed. The last time they've felt like this was during their time in Alola.
"Shame. Not a single special Pokemon." James sighed. "Would've been great to bring an Equestrian-Influenced fellow back to the boss."
"Does he even know about Equestria?" Jessie scratched her hair.
"It ain't all so bad," Meowth said. "Look at this!" He held out a cup that had a single droplet of water in it. Jessie and James leaned in to look at the cup.
"Hmm...what's this supposed to mean?" Jessie narrowed her eyes.
"Before we got snagged back in the ship, I snagged a drop in this cup right here," Meowth explained. "We got one piece of that Equestrian magic stuff, no problem!"
"Oh!" James's hair stood up before returning to normal. "But it's just one drop..."
"One drop counts. Zecora's gonna love this!" Meowth laughed.
"Huh?!" Jessie picked Meowth up. "We're going to use it all for ourselves! Not for anyone else! Who knows what she'll do to this kind of magic with her own!" She shook Meowth around.
"J-Jess!" Meowth stammered. "The cup!"
"Whoops!" Jessie realised that she almost spilt the single droplet of magical water in the cup. It's minuscule, but it's something. Team Rocket officially had a bit of the Arcane Sea in one cup. They aren't sure what will happen when they eventually get around to using it.
But there's a solid chance the outcome could go either way. For better or for worse.
Ponyville. The Pokemon Festival. 10:00.
Finally. Back at Ponyville and the gateway that connects to Pallet Town. Two very comfortable and small towns that Ash and the others have returned to once more. It was home sweet home.
And speaking of him, there was Delia and Mimey, spotting Ash and Pikachu from afar. Alongside Barry and Cilan.
"Ash! Pikachu!" Delia whistled, waving at her son and his teammate.
"Oh hey, mom! Guys!" Ash and Pikachu ran over.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"I heard you went on the Royal Unova from Barry and Cilan! How was your time on it?"
"Great! You're gonna love the stuff we got to see on it! I gotta tell you guys about the Arcane Sea!"
"Arcane Sea?" said a curious Barry.
"I'll go first!" Pinkie appeared on Ash's shoulder. "Oh, do you wanna go first, Ash?"
"We'll both go. Listen to this!" Ash and Pinkie Pie were ready to tell Delia, Mimey, Barry and Cilan everything that they had experienced. And they had a lot to share. From the Ocean Gate, the Arcane Sea and all the special Pokemon they had discovered, including Spike's Axew who can transform two different times.
Twilight went over to her lab to see that Nyx, Cocoa and Rosestar were currently present there, speaking with the Pokemon of PokePark. By opening the door, Twilight had alerted them all.
"Sharp? Bisharp!" Bisharp, deciding that his role was now Twilight's own personal royal guard, rushed over to the young alicorn's side, bowing down to her as he welcomed her back. "Bisharp!"
"Oh, uh..." Twilight pulled back before laughing. "Good to see you again, Bisharp. And you three as well. You look like you've gotten comfortable with the Pokemon of PokePark here."
"Sure have!" Cocoa nodded. "Found a way to open this place up when we were snooping around your lab, ya know."
"Snooping around?" Twilight uttered as she narrowed her eyes.
"I tried to stop her. Sorry." Rosestar shook her head. "But it was worth it. The Pokemon here are great. I tried to catch one but...they're not huge fans of that."
"Glad that you've returned home safely mo- I mean, Twilight," Nyx said while walking up to her fellow alicorn. "You've probably experienced more thrills than we have during this entire Pokemon Festival, correct?"
"Sure have. You will not believe what happened from the first week to the second!" Twilight placed her saddlebag down on the table as all of her Pokemon walked inside, heading over to chat with the Pokemon from PokePark. "I don't know where to start!"
"Espeon..." Eve just wanted to relax as she laid down on the comfortable marble floor of the lab while Twilight rambled on about what she had experienced.
And over at the Pokemon House. Fluttershy, much like Ash, Twilight and Pinkie, was going off on what she had experienced during her time on the Royal Unova. And not just the Royal Unova. Even before that. But mostly the Royal Unova since that's where all the true action had been experienced.
"There was a Milotic that was so beautiful! All liquid from inside and outside!" Fluttershy gushed while talking to Angel Bunny and the rest of the Pokemon here. "And the Torterra! We thought we were just on a normal planet but it was an entire Torterra! How amazing is that?!" She got up in Krookodile's face.
"Krooko..." Krookodile backed up.
"Now Spike has his own Special Pokemon too." Fluttershy picked up Angel Bunny. "Makes you wonder what kind of Pokemon we're all missing out on!" Fluttershy was too excited to calm down as she kept telling the Pokemon about her current experiences so far.
She flew over to Pokemon to Pokemon, chattering away as she was finding it hard to contain her excitement. But the Pokemon here were all up for listening to her story since they love seeing her happy.
And the same can be said for everyone else. Over at Sweet Apple Acres, Golett was still latched onto Applejack, not leaving her for a second. But aside from that, Applejack as well as Apple Bloom had some stories to tell Big Macintosh, Granny Smith and Cold Colt.
Rainbow Dash could boast and brag about all of this back at Cloudsdale too. She even wished she could go back to the Arcane Sea and catch herself a Special Pokemon. But, aside from that, she sent out her Pokemon for the sake of training them for their inevitable rematch with 5th Gym Leader Soarin'.
Pinkie Pie, after spilling everything with Ash, went back to SugarCube Corner to tell the Cake Family and Jade what had happened. She burst through the doors with hyperactive energy, immediately hugging Jade as a greeting. Meanwhile, Jade kept a straight face but was honestly enjoying the hug. Even if her face wasn't showing it.
The Everfree Forest. 10:12.
"We're back!" Team Rocket collectively said while opening the door to Zecora's Hut.
"Welcome home you three," Zecora replied as she turned to face them. "Any stories and new experiences to tell me?"
"Home? I wouldn't go that far." Jessie shook her head.
"Nothing too out there." James closed the door. "But we did go somewhere interesting."
"And got something neat too." Meowth looked at the jar as Jessie's head instantly snapped towards it, hoping that Zecora doesn't interact with it.
Zecora simply squinted her eyes while looking at the jar with one drop of water. She was actually confused as to what made it so special.
"Don't worry about it!" Jessie slid in. "Just a little souvenir!"
"Hm." Zecora only said one word as she turned around.
"Ain't nothing bad about telling her, ya know?" Meowth whispered to Jessie.
"Probably...but you know how she gets when she finds something interesting...!" Jessie whispered back. However, Zecora could hear them from behind.
"There could be a great bonus." James joined in. "She could know what makes this water work and we could have a bunch of it without having to go out to those Arcane Seas."
"Oooh...good thinking." Jessie tapped her head.
"Unfortunately, I cannot multiply, if that is what you were hoping." Zecora suddenly spoke, startling Team Rocket. "But perhaps, for this one little drop of water, I could involve some purifying."
"Purifying?" Team Rocket looked at each other before letting out cheesy and creepy grins. "Sounds good to us!"
"Wobbuffet!"
Pallet Town. The Pokemon Festival. 10:30.
"Melo..." Meloetta felt a bit lucky right now as she had passed through the gateway, entering Ash's hometown for the first time.
"What an adventure," Delia said after Ash had told him everything.
"Sure was." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
"Can't wait for the last day of the festival tomorrow. What a rush it's been." Ash took his hat off as the sun was beaming down on him.
"If the next one is 3 weeks, I don't think I can handle it." Delia sighed as she took off her sunhat, sweating a bit.
"Oh well. Better enjoy it while it lasts. Hey Meloetta! Come check this out!" Ash and Pikachu ran off, prompting Meloetta to follow and join in.
"Pika!"
"Ta? Meloetta!" And follow she did. Delia slowed down as she watched Ash and Pikachu run off to enjoy the Pokemon Festival here at their home.
Ashs' Pokemon were also outside for the festival since Professor Oak allowed them. And since they were all on the outside, Ash was immediately run over by his own herd of Tauros who were running about.
"Agh!" Ash yelped as he was forced onto the ground. "Ow..."
"Pikapi?"
"Melo!" Meloetta gasped after witnessing Ash being galloped on. Worried about his wellbeing, Meloetta flew over to see if she could help.
"I'm fine." Ash sat up laughing as he put his hat back on. "No need to worry."
"Melo..." Meloetta sighed.
More of Ash's Pokemon had noticed their trainer from a close distance since Pallet Town is not that large, to begin with. One of those Pokemon was Bayleef, who immediately ran to Ash's side while also spotting Meloetta next to him.
"Bay!" Bayleef cried out.
"Hm?" Ash rotated to spot the Leaf Pokemon coming towards him. "Hey, Bayleef."
"Bay!" Bayleef lunged, smacking Meloetta out of the way and jumping on Ash as she tried to replicate a hug, but it failed miserably.
"Ough!" Ash was yet again forced onto the ground. "B-Bayleef! This again!"
"Etta? Mel!" Meloetta, knowing what Bayleef was all about this time, tried to pull the Leaf Pokemon off Ash with her arms, but she wasn't strong enough. "M-Meloett!"
"Bay!" Bayleef kept Ash on the ground, not giving him a chance to break free.
"Come on, Bayleef!" Ash writhed with his arm raised.
"Melo...!" Meloetta, obviously not a huge fan of this, decided to use another way of getting Bayleef off. By using her alternate form. Her Pirouette Forme.
The Melody Pokemon jumped back as she crossed her arms together with a bright light coming out of her. Ash, Pikachu and Bayleef turned around to see this sudden light appearance.
"Meloetta..." The light engulfed Meloetta as she was spinning and dancing around in it. She also sang a beautiful melody while inside the light as sound waves were flowing out. The light then turned into a multi-coloured sphere as Meloetta's hair was flowing and transforming along with her dress.
And after that, out came Pirouette Forme Meloetta.
"Oh! Pirouette Forme!" Ash's hair stood up.
"Pika!"
"Melo!" Having 10x the courage in this form, the Melody Pokemon went up to the Leaf Pokemon, telling her to get off Ash already.
"Bay!" But Bayleef refused.
"Melo...!" Meloetta and Bayleef's eyes were clashing with lightning coming out. It was clear that an inevitable battle between the two of them would take place.
"Bay...!"
"Not this again...Can I get up please?!" Ash groaned as Pikachu tried to stop the conflict between the two of them by stepping in.
"Pikachu! Pika!" But, Pikachu can't get in the way of romantic rivalries. It's nigh-impossible to stop them. However, there was one Pokemon that Ash had who could stop conflicts all together.
That Pokemon was Bulbasaur, who came running over after seeing the sparks between Bayleef and Meloetta start flying all over the place.
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur slid in stop this. "Bulbasaur!" The Bulb Pokemon used its vines to keep a distance between Bayleef and Meloetta as it started talking to them to try and ease them both down.
"Bayleef!" Bayleef tried to move forward, but Bulbasaur's vines made sure to keep her where she is. "Bay?"
"Etta!" Meloetta as well was blocked from the vines. She started chattering away about Bayleef and how she kept on blocking her way to Ash while Bayleef went on about how no one else should be next to Ash like that.
"Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur did not care as it simply called both of them Petty Pokemon. And that really stung them both. Bulbasaur started scolding them both, telling them that their petty antics and squabbles only further harm Ash, and it was talking to them like a disappointed parent.
Both Bayleef and Meloetta scoffed as they turned their heads after listening to Bulbasaur's words. But they knew the Bulb Pokemon was right about how they harm Ash constantly. Even Twilight could be involved in this. Even if she wasn't here right now. The lesson they learned back at the Crystal Empire was almost forgotten if Bulbasaur didn't do something.
After receiving a heavy scolding from Bulbasaur, the two of them agreed to be tolerant of each other. They both looked at each other with less disdainful faces this time. Yet again, Bulbasaur solves another conflict.
"No one does it better than Bulbasaur, huh?" Ash stood up as he was finally free from Bayleef's pin.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu nodded.
"Anyway! Let's not look so down you two." Ash said to both Bayleef and Meloetta. "Let's have fun at the festival before it ends okay?"
"Bay...Bayleef!"
"Meloetta!" Both Bayleef and Meloetta could get behind that. If it meant spending more time with Ash, they'll take it. But they'll have to get used to the large company of Pokemon that will eventually surround Ash once he gets to all of his Pokemon.
The last day of the Pokemon Festival is tomorrow. But most likely, nothing too vital will happen. After all, the last day is when everything simmers down. From this point on, it was just going to be comfortable and relaxing fun.
"Okay. Is this thing on?" Twilight said as she was currently holding a standing camera that was pointing to her face. "Ugh, how do you work this thing?"
"I think the red light needs to be flashing, right?" said Starlight who was with her along with Spike.
"I got it!" Twilight gasped as she backed away from the camera as it was now recording. "Alright!" She clapped her hooves together. "Hello! Princess Twilight or...d-do I say Professor Twilight in this instance?"
"Uh...Any works?" Spike shrugged along with his Axew.
This'll be the first go at making a Pokemon Research film! And way to make myself a better Pokemon Professor. We're gonna see how the Pokemon really live their life in their natural habitats. And the best place to start is Frenzy Forest. An entire Pokemon civilization of some sorts. This will all be research, and I'll be joined here with my Pokemon, my assistant and student Spike and Starlight Glimmer. Say hi, everyone!"
"Hm? Oh, uh...!" Starlight looked at the camera as she was sweating, not used to being apart of something like this. "H-Hi!" She waved her hoof nervously.
"Heya!" Spike and Axew waved their claws.
"Axew!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales got up in front of the camera as well as Eve and Minccy. But Absol didn't. He just stood to the side instead.
"Absol..."
"The Pokedex already tells us a lot about Pokemon. But I want to go a step further really experience it instead of just looking at the dex and books. It'll be first-hoof primary research!"
"How long is this going to be?" Spike asked.
"I don't know how long this will be. Might last until the moon rises, but we'll have a blast filming it all. And this camera lent to me by Ash's mom Delia will get everything! Let's get this started!"
Normal-Type section. 12:15.
"The most common and basic type of Pokemon that you'll always find wherever you go," Twilight spoke as Starlight was carrying the camera with her magic. "From what I've found out so far, there are currently 126 Normal-Type Pokemon with 71 being Single-type and 55 being Dual-type. Obviously, that's the amount I know so far, so there's obviously more out there that we've yet to discover. Let's start with those Rattata over there!"
Starlight aimed the camera at a mischief of Rattata as the Rattata were all conversing with each other. One Rattata among the group had ridiculously long incisors. Larger than all the other Rattata around it. This one single Rattata seemed to be the ruler of the mischief just for its incisor count along.
"Tatta! Ratta!" The head Rattata spoke as he seemed to be giving an order.
"A Rattata's incisor's are special. They're not just for show. They grow continuously, so it gnaws on hard things to whittle them down. If not, then it'll be hard for the Rattata to continue living since they'll have teeth so long that it'll be impossible to eat anything for survival."
"Sounds pretty rough," Spike said.
"It is." Twilight nodded.
"Ratta!" The Head Rattata exclaimed as all the other Rattata's scattered, climbing up the trees of the Normal-Type area, startling the Pidgey's in the trees.
"Pidgey!" The flock of Pidgey's all flew back when the Rattata's reached the top of the trees.
The mischief of Rattata all stood on the very top of the tree branches, simultaneously looking south from where their heads were pointing. All the trees had been occupied with lookout Rattata.
"Seems as if they're on the lookout for something. Looking at the far South too." Twilight observed. "Let's get a closer look!" Twilight suddenly spread her wings, taking flight as she as well headed for one of the trees a Rattata was standing on.
"Oh!" Starlight gasped as she used her magic to make herself levitate along with the camera, following Twilight. "Do we have to get a closer look like this?"
"Mhm! Primary research! The far south goes all the way to the Poison-Type area."
"Why would they be looking there?" Starlight questioned.
"Hmm...Could be for one reason. They're preparing for their predators."
"Predators?"
"Small Pokemon get a lot of predators and are really easy prey." Twilight got out binoculars looking in the same direction the Rattata's were all looking. "So without a doubt, the one Poison-Type that would come after Rattata could be Seviper."
"Gey!" The Pidgey's from before, weren't too fond of Rattata suddenly barging in and taking their resting places. The flock of Pidgey all flew above the trees, narrowing their eyes at each of the Mouse Pokemon.
Rattata did have predators. And one of those predators were Pidgey. Or rather, Pidgeotto but Pidgey was still capable of the natural predator or enemy to Rattata. And because of that, they attacked from above.
"Pidgey!" All the Pidgey dived by using Wing Attack, aiming straight for the trees that the Rattata stood on.
"Ta?" The Rattata's all looked up to see the approaching Pidgey with Wing Attack being utilized. Seeing that they were being attacked, the Rattata's instantly jumped and ran off the trees to avoid being hit.
All except for one individual who wasn't a Rattata. That being Twilight who hadn't noticed that she was currently prone to be hit by an approaching Wing Attack, as well as Starlight since she was in the same tree as them.
"Hm?" Twilight noticed how the Rattata were all moving now. "Wait, are they advancing to the Poison-Type area instead of sta-" Before Twilight could finish her sentence, she and Starlight were both hit by a double Wing Attack from a divebomb Pidgey.
"Pidgey!" With a mighty cry and an even mightier impact, the Tiny Bird Pokemon had caused an explosion which made Twilight and Starlight blast off into the distance with their screams fading away.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!
"Oh! Twilight! Starlight!" Spike gasped as he and the rest of Twilight's Pokemon along with his Axew ran after their friends. They seemed to have been sent flying to the North East.
And at the North East, the Psychic-Type area could be found there.
Psychic-Type Area. 12:30.
Currently, an Alakazam and Slowking were having a contest of intellect. Alakazam's ginormous 5,000 IQ vs Slowking's world problem-solving brain.
"Ala...!"
"Slow..."
Both Psychic-Types had their Wit-Off by emanating their own brainpower from their heads as two purple waves came out of them. These waves were their brains showing off their intellect as they clashed against each other, creating a field of Psychic energy that was powerful enough to possibly alter anything.
And right next to them, Twilight and Starlight were currently falling in this direction because of the Pidgey from before, still screaming as well. But that screaming quickly stopped when Twilight managed to spot the Wit-Off from above. And that caught her eye.
"Ooh! Starlight! Point the camera down!"
"H-Huh?!" Starlight stammered, confused as to why Twilight would ask this right now of all times.
"There's a Wit-Off happening! I hear only Psychic-Types are capable of this type of contest and battle!" Twilight squeed. "I've wanted to see this happen for a while now!"
"Can we stop falling first?!" Starlight screeched.
"Oh, right." Twilight then remembered she had wings as she saved herself. She also used her magic to catch both Starlight and the camera, saving them both.
"Thanks..." Starlight let out a sigh of relief as Twilight brought her down safely to the ground.
"Alright!" Twilight grinned. "Let's see this Wit-Off! I want to know which one of them has the superior intellect!"
"So they don't actually battle?" Starlight adjusted the camera to face the two Psychic-Types.
"Their brain waves are clashing against each other, so it's kind of like a battle. Alakazam has an IQ of 5,000 because of its infinitely multiplying brain cells."
"It keeps multiplying? Then shouldn't it go past 5,000?" Starlight scratched her mane.
"That would be the case, but there's a reason why 5,000 is the maximum limit for an Alakazam." Twilight pointed her hoof as the demonstration as to why 5,000 was the best Alakazam could go was about to be shown.
"K-Kazam...!" Alakazam seemed to be losing the Wit-Off as he was twitching along with his spoons. Meanwhile, Slowking wasn't showing any signs of losing. If anything, he was the one who might most likely prevail in all of this.
"Slow."
"Ala...Alakazam...!" Alakazam refused to lose to a Pokemon that forgets everything it thinks of. So, to come out as the victor, Alakazam decided to go a step further and try to surpass his 5,000 IQ.
And that is where his biggest mistake was shown. The moment he went past his 5,000 IQ, the inevitable happened. Alakazam's head was suddenly growing in size as a sign of his brain increasing. But not in a good way.
Multiple thick veins were showing as Alakazam's head couldn't handle so much brainpower. His cells, despite being infinite were starting to scramble all over the place instead of staying organized as they usually are.
"King?" Slowking's eyes widened as he noticed the growing head of Alakazam along with Twilight and Starlight.
"Sweet Celestia..." Starlight gawked as her jaw dropped.
"If Alakazam goes past its 5,000 IQ, then its head will become far too heavy to support with its neck." Twilight explained while looking casually unbothered by the veiny head expansion of the Psi Pokemon.
"Uh...Twilight..." Starlight then noticed that Alakazam's head was wobbling to the side, most likely on the verge of falling onto something because of the little amount of balance that he had now.
"Slow...!" Slowking noticed this as well as he backed away, knowing that something would be crushed by Alakazam's head.
"You'd think it would mean that Alakazam's head would explode but thankfully that's not the case." Twilight turned around, closing her eyes as she began to explain further while Starlight backed away with the camera. "You see, despite the limitations, deep within Alakazam, its Mega Evolution is what's keeping it from exploding."
"Alaka...!" Alakazam looked like he was going to fall right on Twilight with his gigantic brain while Twilight kept chattering away as a large shadow was cast over her.
"Because it's capable of Mega Evolving, the Mega energy inside is most likely protecting Alakazam since Mega Alakazam has an IQ so vast that having traded away its muscles, Alakazam’s true-"
"Alakazam!" Unable to contain his balance any further. As a result, he fell directly towards Twilight. And unbeknownst to Twilight who was still talking for the camera, she had been flattened by Alakazam's expanded head, cutting her speech off.
"Ough!" Twilight yelped.
"Eeugh..." Starlight winced at the sight of it.
"Slow." Slowking went up to Alakazam, using Psychic to lift the Psi Pokemon off Twilight.
"S-See...?" Twilight groaned as her mane was a mess. She then looked up at the camera, continuing the documentary. "A-A-All those muscles come from the brain...Mega Alakazam makes it softer and...ugh!" Twilight then slammed her face on the ground.
"Slowking." Thankfully, Slowking helped once more by using Heal Pulse to heal up Twilight.
"Alakazam..." Alakazam's head was shrinking back to its normal size as the cells inside were automatically reorganizing themselves. "Kazam..."
"Ugh..." Twilight stood up. "Thanks, Slowking."
"Slow."
"Okay. Moving on." Twilight shook her head. We're not done yet with Alakazam."
"We're not?"
"Nope. There's one last thing that I personally want to try out. Well, this is something Pinkie Pie asked for. Alakazam's spoons."
"What about them?" Starlight titled her head.
"Apparently, If it trusts someone deeply, it will let them have one of its spoons. Anything you eat with that spoon is apparently delicious."
"Anything?"
"Right. So all I have to do is make good friends with Alakazam and I'll muster up the courage to eat...Quesadillas..." Twilight shuddered after saying that. "I was even brave enough to buy one from Pinkie."
"Alakazam..." Alakazam felt a bit woozy after his brain expansion. He picked up his spoons from the ground as he accepted his loss of the Wit-Off by turning around and bowing to his fellow Psychic-Type. "Alakazam."
"Slowking." Slowking bowed back to him.
"Hold on!" Twilight dashed over. "Before you head off, I'd like to try out those spoons quickly."
"Kazam?"
"They can make anything taste good right? So..." Twilight took out a quesadilla from her saddlebag as it was wrapped in aluminium foil. "Think I could test them out myself."
"Ala..." Alakazam looked at Twilight's grinning face and then at Slowking.
"Slow." Slowking actually suggested that Twilight should try out his spoons. Twilight seemed to be harmless, especially considering that Alakazam had fallen on her.
Alakazam first apologized to Twilight for falling on her because of his increased head. He did not intend for that to happen as he was just getting carried away in the Wit-Off. He didn't deeply trust Twilight, but he was kind enough to lend her one of his spoons for a short while. As a second way of apologizing to her.
"Alakazam." Alakazam offered the spoon up as an apology.
"Thanks!" Twilight squeed as she used her magic to hold the spoon. "Alright...here goes." The young alicorn gulped, looking at one of the many things in life she fears. "I've been avoiding you for years now...But I'll be able to conquer you once and for all."
With courage, the Princess of Friendship dug the spoon into the quesadilla, getting a single piece from it. The spoon was twitching since Twilight was still cautious of this delicacy she had been avoiding for so long.
And with the spoon getting near her mouth, Twilight took one bite.
And when she did, her eyes lit up as magic was flying out of her horn, shooting a gigantic beam into the sky that broke through even the clouds themselves.
"This is...this is..." Twilight's body was twitching as she was struggling to finish her sentence. She looked like she was about to explode from how fast and aggressively she was twitching.
Alakazam, Slowking and Starlight all distanced themselves away from Twilight, afraid that she might combust unexpectedly. And arriving at the scene along came Spike and Axew with all of Twilight's Pokemon.
They had just arrived in time to see their friend twitching and shaking while holding a spoon and quesadilla of all things. Naturally, the sight befuddled their little eyes.
"Uh...What's happening?" A nervous spike pointed at Twilight.
"I don't know." Starlight nervously flew towards Twilight, putting her hoof out to check up on her friend and teacher. "Twilight are you o-"
Just as soon as Starlight's hoof got close to Twilight, the young alicorn suddenly started devouring the quesadilla with the spoon at hyperactive speeds like a maniac. She didn't even finish her sentence on how it tasted.
But from how she was rapidly using her magic to scoop up pieces of the quesadilla, getting her face messy and making sounds that sound like a dog aggressively biting on a chew toy with no remorse while her eyes become bloodshot red, it was safe to say that it tasted wonderful.
A terrified Alakazam saw his spoon being violated by Twilight's rabid and monstrous eating. Something that Twilight had avoided for so long with hatred was now being consumed and embraced with a feeling on par with hatred.
Twilight paused, realizing that everyone was staring at her with mortified looks on their faces while she also being caught on camera too. The young alicorn awkwardly moved her eyes about before swallowing the current quesadilla piece and letting out a sheepish yet adorable grin while her face was an oily mess.
"Hehe..." Twilight giggled before giving Alakazam his spoon back. "M-Moving on."
Steel-Type Area. 15:00
Arguably the roughest part of the Frenzy Forest as there were steel spikes scattered across the ground. Some were well hidden and somewhere not, making this area of the forest the most painful to be in.
All except for one part which was actually so beautiful that it couldn't be considered a part of the Steel-Type area but instead the Grass-Type Area as it was just as lush as them.
And the one Pokemon that resided in that lush spot was an Aggron of all Pokemon.
"Ggron. Aggron." Aggron was currently tilling the soil by using its claws to do so, acting as a rake. Aggron was also taking out weeds and crumbling the soil into smaller pieces to help improve the aeration. Some fruits were planted on its territory but Aggron only eats iron so they've just been sitting there. Still fairly healthy and fresh.
"Oh..." An impressed Starlight gazed at the surprisingly gentle Aggron acting like a gardener.
"Shocked? I was too." Twilight nodded as she faced the camera. "Aggron may look big and scary, but it's actually gentle, considerate and protective of its environment. It commonly uses a mountain as its environment but right now, this forest seems to be a good substitute for it. And just like a mountain, if its territory is ravaged by a landslide or a fire, this Pokémon will haul topsoil to the area, plant trees, and beautifully restore its own territory."
"So it's like a defender too? Does it defend other Pokemon from the landslide and fire?" Spike asked.
"Uh...not sure." Twilight looked up to the sky, squinting her eyes. "It doesn't like anyone else near its territory at all, so I don't know if it would protect other Pokemon from trouble. Maybe its own kin?"
"Huh. Well if I was in big trouble, I'd find the biggest Pokemon to hide behind. Right Axew?" Spike turned to face his partner but quickly found out that Axew was gone. "Axew?"
"Xew!" Axew's position had been revealed as he was actually approaching Aggron's territory. He was heading there for one reason. The fruits.
"Ah! Axew, no!" Spike gasped, witnessing his partner carelessly enter Aggron's territory.
"Axew!"
"Agg?" Aggron, who was about to crumble some soil, spotted Axew entering its territory from the corner of its eye.
"Xew! Axew!" Axew started grabbing fruits off the ground, tossing them into the air. He opened his mouth as he let the fruits fall in while Aggron watched. Axew swallowed the fruits, tasting their sweet and juicy textures. After swallowing the fruits and going for another, Axew finally noticed Aggron staring right at him. "Axe?" The Tusk Pokemon turned around.
"Aggron..."
"Axe...Axew!" Axew was surprisingly not terrified of Aggron and didn't do anything to get out of its territory. Instead, Axew grabbed a fruit, raising it and offering it to the Iron Armor Pokemon as a gift. "Axew!"
"Oh!" Twilight and the others shot up.
"Ggron?" Aggron tilted its head.
"Xew-ew!"
"Ab-" Absol was about to step in along with all of Twilight's Pokemon, but Twilight stopped them from advancing as she noticed how Aggron wasn't actually attacking.
Everyone observed Aggron and Axew as the camera was pointing directly at them. Twilight's Pokemon were ready to jump in at any time as well as Spike who was prepared to send Salamence out.
"Aggron." However, instead of attacking, Aggron shook its head, denying the fruit since it only eats iron. But it appreciated Axew's offer while also understanding that Axew, who is essentially a baby despite being able to transform into a full-grown adult, was just hungry and wanted a bite.
Aggron is not only gentle but also understanding and less prone to attack unless it truly feels threatened.
"Axew!" Axew understood as he ate the fruit.
"Phew..." Twilight and everyone felt relieved after that. "Okay...apparently, that territory part has some exceptions."
"Uh-huh..." Spike went over to his Axew. "Axew, please don't do that again, you had me super worried."
"Xew!" Axew shoved a fruit in Spike's mouth, allowing him to experience the juicy taste of the fruits.
"Mm!" Spike pulled back as his eyes expanded. But as Axew shoved it in his mouth, Spike was immediately given bliss from the taste. "Mmm...Oh yeah, it was worth it. Good thinking Axew."
"Axew!"
Delphox's Hut. 16:00
"And straight up ahead is Delphox's hut," Twilight spoke to the camera as she and her friends had approached the hut that belonged to the famous Delphox of this forest. "Applejack and I have been here before and the feeling that one gets when coming here is surreal. Like the talking grass."
"Talking grass?" Starlight aimed the camera down at the grass. And just like with what happened to Twilight and Applejack, Starlight, Spike and the Pokemon could hear whispering from the grass. But the words were still difficult to make out.
"Oooh..." Spike and Starlight gawked.
"And it gets stranger. Because when you walk up the hill, this happens." Twilight and the others walked up the hill, right behind them, the view of the lower part of the forest was getting smaller. At first, it looked like they had shrunk but that wasn't the case.
"That's a bit messy to the eyes..." Starlight aimed the camera at the current view, blinking and rubbing her eyes with her hoof. "So, what's so special about this one Delphox?"
"You're about to find out." Twilight grinned as they all came across the hut that belonged to Delphox. "The Delphox here is an amazing magician who can perform some cutting-edge spells. Like showing a Pokemon its potential Mega Evolution or even transform you into a human!"
"Wait what?!" Starlight exclaimed after hearing that.
"There's probably more. But wait till you see what wonders Delphox has to-" Right before Twilight could say the final word when she stood next to the door of the hut, the door had suddenly opened. And the one who opened it wasn't Delphox, but a Ledyba instead.
"Ledyba."
"AH!" A horrified Twilight flew into the air with a terrifying shriek.
"Ledy?" The Five Star Pokemon looked up to see Twilight hanging on to a tree, shaking at a hyper-fast pace while having a mortified look.
"L-L-L-Ledyba...!" Twilight jittered as Starlight pointed the camera up at her.
"Uh, Twilight? It's just a little Ledyba."
"That's the problem," Spike whispered to Starlight.
"It is?" She turned to face her friend.
"You see, Twilight's afraid of ladybugs and Ledyba's are like 10x the same size of ladybugs so..."
"Ah..." Starlight understood.
"Ledyba!" Ledyba, being a friendly Pokemon, greeted Spike and the others in front of it. It then turned around to greet Twilight as it began flying towards her.
"Getitawaygeitawaygeitawaygeitaway!" She spoke at a fast pace while squealing.
"Delphox." Thankfully, Delphox came out of her hut, seeing Twilight's fear of Ledyba as she picked up the Five Star Pokemon.
"Ledy?" Ledyba turned to face the Fox Pokemon.
"Phox." Delphox shook her head, telling Ledyba that it would be best if it would get some clear distance from Twilight.
"Ledyba!" Ledyba understood as it went back inside of the hut.
"Whew..." Twilight exhaled as she gently flew back down. "Thanks."
"Oh, this is what a Delphox looks like?" Starlight focused the camera on the Fox Pokemon.
"Delphox." Delphox waved to the camera, introducing herself.
"Okay. Delphox." Twilight descended. "We're currently on a Pokemon Research task. So we were wondering if we could research more about your species. If that's okay with you."
"Delphox." Delphox accepted the offer as she invited Twilight and the others in. But Twilight made sure to stay behind her Pokemon as Ledyba was still inside of the hut.
But very soon, Twilight's attention would be taken away from Ledyba as her eyes spotted something else that caught her interest as well as her friends.
A Pokemon Egg.
One that had peculiar patterns on it as it was sitting on the table alone. The patterns looked similar to a Togepi egg but it wasn't a Togepi egg.
"You're keeping an egg here, Delphox?" Twilight said as Starlight focused the camera on the egg.
"Phox. Delphox." Delphox used her wand to bring over a quill and paper. She would use this to speak to Twilight and the others.
She wrote on the paper "This is a special Pokemon egg that is unlike any other egg out there."
"Really? What makes it so special?" Starlight focused the camera on the paper as Delphox wrote down new words.
"Inside of this egg, for the first time ever, a fully-evolved Pokemon is inside."
"A fully-evolved Pokemon?!" Twilight echoed. "Seriously?! You mean a Pokemon that's already reached its final evolution?! But I thought Pokemon who can evolve only start out as babies when in an egg."
"Not this one." Delphox wrote. "This is the only exception. I found it near some odd body of water that had magical properties to it."
"Magical properties...?" Twilight began processing those words as it all clicked to her. "You mean the Arcane Sea?!"
"Is that what it's called? It seemed more like a lake to me." Delphox replied.
"Arcane Sea?" Starlight said. "Oh, you mentioned that yesterday, Twilight."
"Sure did. So I guess Rainbow Dash was right. Some of the Pokemon and Equestrian magic is here in our world too." Twilight approached the egg, staring at it. "When does it hatch?"
"Delphox." Delphox shrugged, not knowing when it'll hatch.
"Axew." Axew hopped on the table, tempted to touch it.
"Skipping through an entire evolution process..." Twilight slowly placed her hoof on the egg. When she did, she could feel a vibration move through her as the egg was letting out a pink light. "Oh!"
"Axew!" Axew shuddered as he felt a horrible chill flow through his body, causing him to fall off the table.
"Axew, are you okay?!" Spike ran over, seeing that his partner was watching after being exposed to that pink light. But Twilight wasn't experiencing the same thing. Instead, she was mesmerised by the light and pulse. But also, a tear seemed to be forming in her eyes.
"Xew..."
"Delph?" Delphox turned to see how Twilight couldn't take her hoof off the egg as the pink light was going through her. "Delphox..."
"Uh, Twilight?" Starlight faced the camera at Twilight and the egg.
"Sol?" Absol got on the table but was quickly pushed back by the light of the egg as well. But he didn't take as much as an impact as Axew. But it still stung.
"Twilight!" Spike yelled, snapping her out of it.
"Ah!" Twilight gasped as she pulled her hoof away as her tears faded away.
"What happened? When you touched that egg you were just in the zone there."
"I heard crying..." Twilight uttered.
"Crying?" Spike helped Axew up. "From the egg?"
"Yeah, I think so." Twilight looked at her hoof. "Weird."
"Delphox." Delphox went up to the egg as she wrote down some new words on the paper that said; "You're not the only one that could feel the egg crying."
"You've felt it too?" The young alicorn looked up at the Fox Pokemon.
"Delphox." She nodded as she put her hand on the egg, feeling the crying coming from it. The pink light and waves were also flowing out again as Axew hid underneath the table, petrified.
"What Pokemon is inside of this egg, Delphox?" Twilight asked.
"Well it kinda looks like a Togepi egg, doesn't it?" Spike climbed up the table. "But the colour's a bit different. It's more bluish. Is it a Togetic?"
"Delphox." Delphox shook her head as she gave them an answer by writing on the paper as the words said; "This is a Togekiss egg."
"Togekiss?" This was the first time Twilight and the others heard about this Pokemon. Twilight quickly took out her Pokedex as she used it to scan the egg. It's nifty that the Pokedex's scanning is so advanced on how it captures data of a Pokemon in any form.
"Togekiss. The Jubilee Pokemon. Togekiss flies around the world to seek out places of peace. As everyone knows, it only visits peaceful regions, bringing gifts and blessings to those who practice respect and harmony toward one another and avoid needless strife. These Pokémon are never seen anywhere near conflict or turmoil. In recent times, they’ve hardly been seen at all."
"Can I feel it too?" Starlight brought the camera up close to the Togekiss egg as she also put her hoof on it. She could also feel the crying coming from the egg as well as she pulled her hoof back. "Woah..."
"Ninetales!" Ninetales, Eve and Minccy went up to the egg, putting their paws and noses on it to sense the crying as well.
"Espeon?"
"Cinccino?"
"Why's it crying though?" Spike wondered.
"No idea...It has to be upset about something maybe." Twilight theorized.
"Del." To soothe the crying, Delphox used Hypnosis on the egg, putting the Togekiss inside to sleep as the crying had stopped.
"Oh!" Twilight clapped her hooves together. "Just like Spike's Special Axew, I've been wanting to learn more about the fused magic from both worlds! Still have no idea what to call it...but this egg is also good to work on! Delphox!"
"Del?"
"Uh, if it isn't a bother..." Twilight twiddled her hooves around. "But could I borrow this egg for a bit? For research, of course, I'll give it back."
"Phox." Delphox was fine with that as she nodded. Twilight shared her enthusiasm for discovering and researching so she allowed the young alicorn to borrow the egg for the time being.
"Yes!" Twilight used her magic to hold the egg. "Just give me a few weeks with this egg. And I think this is good enough to move on to the next part."
"Aren't we going to research Delphox?" Starlight asked.
"Oh, right! Delphox. Looking at the tip of your branch allows your species to gaze into the future with a focused state. How does that work?"
"Delphox." Delphox gave them a demonstration by moving her wand close to the camera, allowing Twilight and the others to see for themselves. The group each leaned forward, fixating their eyes on the branch.
Her wand lit on fire as it immediately put Twilight and everyone into a state of zen as their eyes were flashing. Once that occurred all of them were given a vision of the future.
From what Twilight had witnessed, she saw a vision of what seemed to be a tower on the verge of collapsing. And on top of the tower, Ash and Ghetsis were both standing there as they were both holding onto something while gateways were opening around them. And right next to Twilight was Adagio too.
That was as far as the vision went as Spike and Starlight also shared the same vision as Twilight but from different angles and perspectives. The Pokemon only saw gateways in their vision. After that, their eyes returned to normal.
"...Woah." Twilight, perplexed and taken aback, rubbed her eyes as she was still trying to process what had just happened.
"Delphox?" Delphox asked them how it felt and what they saw.
"Espeon..." Eve needed some time to clear her mind out as her gem was shaking after witnessing the vision.
"That was...something..." Twilight shook her head. "At least we know what it feels like."
"S-Should we be worried about that?" Starlight shuddered.
"I'm sure it's fine!" Twilight squeed. "I mean, it's probably something that could result in an unfortunate and untimely devastating event that endangers countless lives and spreads mass destruction...But if Ash is there then there's no need to worry. Right?"
"...Sure." Spike nodded nervously along with everyone else.
"A-Anyway. We should move on to the next part of our research. Thanks for the help, Delphox! I'll bring this egg back soon!" Twilight walked off with her friends, waving goodbye to Delphox.
"Delphox!" Delphox waved goodbye.
"Ledy!" Ledyba landed on Delphox's shoulder, waving goodbye to them as well as Twilight shuddered.
"Eeugh...!"
Coming outside, they noticed that the sun was close to setting. Despite the few Pokemon they had filmed and researched so far, walking from area to area took some time. But, they were planning to see this whole thing through. And they were going to film as many Pokemon as they could until they tire themselves out.
They came across a Happiny that was carrying a bunch of Steel-Type as if they were made out of paper with its abnormally superb strength. Happiny could also run surprisingly fast with them as it almost ran into Spike and Axew.
A Palossand was nearby on a sandy area, trying to trick Pokemon into walking into it so it could pull its prey down into the sand by controlling the sand itself, and then suck out their souls. But no one was falling for it. And Twilight and the others made sure to stay far away from Palossand as possible, not wanting to be bony victims afterwards.
Very small Pokemon were jumping into the ports of a Hippowdown, using them as little resting places. Hippowdon didn't mind the small Pokemon using its ports as it created a symbiotic relationship between them. Spike and Minccy snuck into the ports as they found it to be a good substitute for a resting spot. They were surprisingly comfortable for such a rugged Pokemon.
A group of Pancham were trying to imitate a Pangoro since they look up to the Pokemon as a hero. They were desperately trying to intimidate opponents like Pangoro by pulling off a very cute and adorable scary face. The Pokemon couldn't take them seriously with how adorable they were so the Pancham were just aggravated by that point.
Starlight also found the Pancham to be so adorable when they tried to pull off an intimidating face as she gushed at them. But that only prompted one of the Pancham's to sock Starlight in the face with a surprise Sucker Punch as Starlight fell on her back afterwards.
Her Hatterene came out of the Poke Ball on her own, furious at the Pancham's for hitting her trainer as she threatened them all with her claw, telling them that she would squeeze their heads until they popped into a red mist. The Pancham, naturally terrified, ran away to their Pangoro boss while Starlight held her face.
And finally, the last Pokemon they got to experience and research were the same Rattata from before, dragging a group of Seviper that had fainted. Turns out, Twilight was right. They were going after their predators. And they won with the Seviper desperately trying to escape from the clutches of the Rattata.
The moon was up. And that was their cue to leave.
"Okay!" Twilight said as she and her friends were leaving Frenzy Forest. "I think we've got enough good research. That was a great first run!"
"Sure was...Even if some of us got hurt along the way." Starlight replied. "But this Pokemon research thing is kinda fun, ya know."
"Isn't it?!" Twilight squeed. "Everything apart from the Ledyba was just a blast to experience! And we even got ourselves an egg affected by the magical merged water to research on. We'll soon see what kind of magic we're really dealing with here. Hopefully."
"Just keep it away from Axew. He gets a bit woozy from touching it." Spike said to his partner.
"Axew."
"Wait till everypony sees what we've gotten on camera. But we should probably get it back to Delia first."
"So same thing next week?" Starlight asked.
"Sure. Next time, I could research my own Pokemon! And the Pokemon at PokePark! Or just the entire area of PokePark itself! How does that sound to all of you?" Twilight grinned at her partners.
"Espeon..." Eve knew that Twilight's Pokemon Professor job was about to be taken to the next level by this point. And this filming process was just the beginning.
But, either way, Eve and the rest of Twilight's Pokemon were looking forward to helping their trainer as the journey continues.
"I didn't think through..." Sunset Shimmer said with a disgruntled look on her face. Currently, she was at the home of Aria and Sonata alongside Adagio who had also found herself in this scenario.
"Of course you didn't...Because of you, I'm in this pathetic place..." Adagio growled.
"Isn't this great?!" Sonata pulled both Adagio and Sunset together with a hug. "Adagio's finally here in Ponyville!"
"I don't wanna be here!" Adagio exclaimed. "But this lunatic keeps following me because of trust issues!"
"Can you blame me?!" Sunset twitched. "I'm also here because Equestria's in danger of an invasion, ya know! And we're supposed to be working together!"
"I could be out there preparing, but instead I'm here. How did I even get here in the first place?" Adagio facehoofed.
"Well..." Sonata stood up, recalling how they got here. "On the last day of the festival, you two got really excited and started partying like crazy! And you partied so hard that you both fell asleep on the floor, so Aria and I had to carry you back here."
"Oh...right." Both Sunset and Adagio said.
"I blame you for that. Getting me into it and everything." Adagio pointed her hoof at Sunset.
"Heh. Or maybe you were just genuinely having fun at that last moment, ya know?" Sunset let out a cocky smirk which agitated Adagio.
"Why you...!"
"Can you three keep it down?" Aria spoke. "Popplio's training and she needs all the focus she can get."
"Pop-Popp!"
"I shouldn't be here...Especially with Twilight Sparkle and her precious little friends! I should be um.." Adagio bit her lip. "Somewhere....!"
"But where? The wild?" Sonata said. "Oh, do you have a super-secret base somewhere?!"
"Ssh!" Aria hushed them.
"Well...no." Adagio lowered her head. "The only place I stick around the longest is the Changeling Hive. But that place doesn't exist anymore because of Ghetsis."
"Sounds to me like you're better off here." Sonata slid in with a wide grin. "Ponyville's super comfortable and cosy and feels like home."
"It's not my home though..." Adagio crossed her hooves. "But this bed is pretty cosy."
"Right?" Sonata squeed. "And if you live here with us, we can be an entire family!"
"Mmrgh..." Adagio grumbled.
"I know you don't like everypony here...or mostly Twilight and Sunset, but please?" Sonata gave puppy-dog eyes to her big sister. "At least stay for a while and make your mind up?"
"My mind is already made up." Adagio chided. "I don't want to spend another second in this place and that's final."
"Then where are you gonna go? The Faye Mountains? Cause if so, you're gonna have to get used to all the love and happiness there. And you're not a fan of it, are you?"
"Kh!" Adagio growled. But Aria was right. Aria always knew what to say to really get Adagio going.
"And you're definitely not thinking of roaming the world. Ghetsis and Empress Twilight are gonna come for you too, you know that?" Aria picked Popplio up. "If they even find you, you might end up getting a worse result than the previous Changeling Hive."
"Aria's right. And we don't want that!" Sonata shook her head. Adagio listened to Aria's words, realizing that she made an amazing point.
If Adagio were to roam the world right now, there is a good possibility that Ghetsis and Empress Twilight will deal with her. They know that she's conspiring to work against them. The only reason she hasn't been caught yet is that she's been around a plethora of people, ponies, Pokemon and other species during the Pokemon Festival.
"I hate it when you're right..." Adagio sighed, knowing that it was too dangerous to go alone. "Fine! I'll stay with you, but as long as I don't get to be all buddy-buddy with anyone here. I've got one goal and that's to perfect my plan for when the 2 months finally arrive, got it?"
"You can count on us!" Sonata saluted. "We'll keep you safe here until this whole invasion thing blows over!"
"But you never know...you might like it here." Aria nudged Adagio.
"Hmph," Adagio remarked. "At least the bed is comfy..."
"What about you, Sunny?" Sonata asked.
"Hm? Well...it's only 2 months and I'm here so...I guess I can do a lot of catching up with what I've missed in Equestria. Besides, the Pokemon Festival kinda made me realize how much more Pokemon stuff there is here."
"You all go and do whatever you want. I'm sitting here with my Kricketot and planning things through."
"Sounds boring." Sonata wrapped her hoof around Adagio's neck. "But you can always look outside the window. There's something sweet always happening here. Like right now!" She moved Adagio to the window to show her what event was taking place right now.
Outside, Ash was taking part in a Pokemon World Championships match against a random trainer. It was Pikachu against a Dodrio.
"Dodrio! Use Tri Attack!" The trainer commanded.
"Dodrio!" Dodrio opened its beaks and positioned its heads so that each beak became a corner in the shape of a triangle. An orb of energy then formed inside Dodrio's beaks, the right one was coloured green, the top one indigo and the left one red. Once the triangle started to turn indigo, The Triple Bird Pokemon fired the triple triangles towards Pikachu with different effects.
"Here it comes! Advance with Quick Attack!" Ash pointed.
"Pika!" Pikachu bolted forward in a burst of speed with after images and a white light coming out of him. The Electric Mouse Pokemon moved at blinding speeds, zigzagging past the three triangles.
"Now sweep and strike with Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Once Pikachu got past the Tri Attack and close enough to Dodrio with Quick Attack, he turned his tail into iron, sweeping it as he knocked the Triple Bird Pokemon off its feet.
"D-Do?!" Dodrio gasped as it was about to fall flat on its three faces.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu then followed up with one more Iron Tail by doing a backflip, hitting the middle head while Dodrio was falling over, forcing the Normal-Flying-Type back up with the tail to the head.
"Drio!" Dodrio was then sent into the air because of the Iron Tail uppercut.
"Now! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu surrounded himself in an aura of lightning ready to blast it upwards.
"Quick, Dodrio! Use Payback!"
"Do!" Dodrio, while airborne, had a black aura around it as it sent black and red tendrils of darkness from above as they were powered up because of the damage dealt previously.
"Chu!" Pikachu then sent 100,000 volts of electricity upwards as the volts clashed with the tendrils as they were both going at it like whips. Thunderbolt managed to overpower Payback with superior power behind it as Dodrio's eyes collectively widened when seeing that it was about to be hit head-on.
"Dodrio!" Dodrio had been struck by Thunderbolt from below, feeling 100,000 volts shock it. With some super-effective damage, Dodrio fell to the ground, fainted and defeated. "D-Dodrio..."
"Dodrio is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! Thus the victor is Contestant Ash!" The Rotomdrone said.
"Alright!" Ash and Pikachu pumped their fists in the air.
"Pikachu!"
"Nice-Nice! Ash!" Pinkie waved around a flag of Ash's face along with the Cutie Mark Crusaders who were a part of the Ash Ketchum Fan Club.
"Yay!" Fluttershy cheered.
"Based on the results of this battle, the Pokemon World Championships rankings will be updated!" The Rotomdrone flew off, leaving this world.
Ash looked at his Rotomphone, seeing that his rank had gone up because of this victory. He and Pikachu high-fived each other because of it. The trainer that Ash defeated went up to him and Pikachu, congratulating him and shaking hands with Ash.
"See? How fun was that?!" Sonata shook Adagio.
"I mean, it was pretty impressive to look at..." Adagio slowly nodded. "But that's not enough to convince me to head out."
"Suit yourself! I'm heading out!" Sonata immediately took off like a rocket, leaving the house while Aria and her Popplio were off to practice singing some more.
"Well...I can do some catching up with Twilight." Sunset hopped off the bed. "You're not gonna do anything with that jar, are you?"
"Would you just forget about the jar for once..." Adagio groaned.
"Alright, alright." With those last words, Sunset Shimmer walked outside to Ponyville, leaving just Adagio and Kricketot now, alone.
Twilight's Castle.
"Go!" Twilight exclaimed as she was currently teaching Cold Colt more magic and to better improve himself. The sooner they can learn how to open up gateways, the better.
"Okay!" Cold, who strained less with his magic, but still strained, either way, was able to now levitate not just himself but other objects surrounding him. He lifted a bookcase, table, and even all of Twilight's Pokemon as well as Twilight herself off the floor with his magic. The doors were even being affected as they were opening and closing rapidly.
"Good job!" Twilight congratulated as Cold placed everything back down, exhaling after using his magic. "You've gotten really good being able to lift so much!"
"Thanks!" Cold grinned.
"Alright now, how about we focus on casting spells. That'll get you closer to opening gateways...Hopefully. This Rift magic is still so confusing to me."
"No need to worry." Cold tapped his horn. "You can count on me."
"Twilight!" Along came a new visitor, opening up the door. That visitor was Sunset Shimmer.
"Sunset!" Twilight gasped as she ran over, hugging her fellow student of Celestia. "You came to Ponyville?"
"Yeah. Well, not by choice. I was kinda carried here because I got fell asleep and everything. But I'm gonna be here for a while until that invasion blows over."
"Oh pretty..." Cold gushed at Sunset Shimmer.
"Who's the kid?" Sunset pointed her hoof at Cold Colt.
"Oh, this is Cold Colt. Currently one of my two students and the one pony here who has the potential to open gateways."
"For real?!" Sunset's ears and mane shot up. "He does?! This little guy?"
"Mhm! He's a Rift Pony. Created and made out of Rift Energy." Twilight explained. "He's our ace in the hole for opening the gateways. Until he learns it that is."
"Yeah, that's me." Cold leaned on the wall to act cool, but he just looked adorable to the eyes of Twilight and Sunset.
"That's actually pretty nifty. How until he learns how to do it?" Sunset asked Twilight.
"Well, his magic potential is great in its own right and so far he's able to levitate a few or more objects around him. And next to that, since he's got some Rift magic in his horn, things can get unpredictable a lot of the times."
"Unpredictable?" Sunset raised an eyebrow.
"His Rift Magic is what we're trying to work on the most. One zap of it and things just spiral out of control. Like when Ash was hit by it. He was split into 6 different Ash's!"
"Really?!"
"Oh yeah. I can do anything but uh...not on purpose." Cold scrunched his face. "Before, I could only cause problems cause that's why I was made. But thanks to Togetic's Joy Dust, I've got some good luck. Still can't properly control it though."
"We were just about to do that now actually. You can watch if you want."
"Oh, sure. I'd like to see some Rift magic occur."
"Great! Alright, Cold. Let's work on that Rift Magic. The switch-up trick's gonna work again in this."
"Switch-up?"
"It's a little trick Cold and I came up with together. We use normal magic first and then next Rift magic. And then after that, it's back to normal magic, Rift magic and so on. It's a good way to find some balance." Twilight explained it.
"Yeah." Cold nodded. "It works out great. I used to get really nervous when going for Rift magic, even with Togetic's good luck, but that trick really helps a lot."
"Okay. Let's see it then."
Cold was about to show off what he could do with his Rift Magic as Twilight and everyone stood back. Nyx, Cocoa and Rosestar poked their heads through the door, noticing that another Rift session was about to take place. Knowing that and the hijinks that seem to occur in this castle during this session, they left the door, finding a place to hide.
Cold closed his eyes as he lit his horn up with cosmic energy. Rift Magic had a distinct look to normal magic because of the space-like aura that it holds. Cold's entire body was also surrounded by that same energy as his hooves left the floor.
The entire room was darkened up because of the cosmic energy that was emanating out of Cold as a small little wind pressure was being kicked up as well. The little colt's eyes opened as they were flashing and out of his horn, a beam of cosmic magic was shot out.
But the beam of magic didn't hit anything to trigger a spell. Instead, it went off in the middle of the air midway with pulses coming out. Once it went off, the Rift magic ended up transforming the floor and even the outside of Ponyville's ground into soap. Of all things.
"Soap?!" Twilight and Sunset gasped as they were now standing on a floor of soap. Surprisingly, they weren't falling through it, but Twilight was cautious as she flew up.
Twilight's castle, from the upper floor to the lower floor was full of nothing but soap as well as Ponyville. Naturally, the residents were greatly confused by this but also somewhat amused, especially Ash, Pinkie and Sonata since it was fun to stand and walk on a soap ground.
"Woops." Cold made a poker face, realizing what he had just done to the area.
"Uh...G-Good job, Cold. That's yet another fairly big feat of yours." Twilight grinned. "But uh...can you turn it back to normal, please?"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales was surfing on the soap with Minccy.
"Cinccino!"
"After they finish having their fun," said Twilight.
Back with Adagio, she looked out the window to see how everything on the ground had been turned to soap all of a sudden. Without warning as well.
Not only that, but the house she was in had its floor turned into a soapy sea. She stayed on the bed, unsure if she wanted to make contact with the floor anymore.
"What's with all the soap?!" Adagio yelled.
"Tot!" Kricketot jumped out of Adagio's mane, deciding to interact with the soap instead of avoiding it.
"Kricketot, no!" Adagio gasped, fearing for the safety of her partner. But there was no need to worry as Kricketot was laying on his back on the soap without falling through.
"Kricketot!" The Cricket Pokemon swam on the floor of soap while on his back, finding it fun and having the time of his life.
"Oh..." Adagio was surprised that this wasn't dangerous at all. She thought for sure that Kricketot would just fall right through the floor somehow. But not all.
The siren decided to try and interact with the soap as she gently placed her hoof on it. Once she did, it gave her a somewhat nostalgic feeling. Like she was back home at the sea of sirens. Adagio then got off the bed, putting all her hooves on the soap.
"Hm. Not bad." Adagio was impressed as she laid on her back too, finding the soap to be comfortable. Just like Kricketot, she started swimming around in it too, finding enjoyment out of it. Little things in life are capable of making Adagio feel happy as that golden light came out of her once more. It seems to only show up when Adagio is experiencing or giving happiness to others.
"Kricketot!" Kricketot jumped around in the soap before landing on Adagio's stomach.
"Oof!" Adagio's eyes widened as she didn't expect the impact to be a bit hard from a little Kricketot. "You little...!"
"Tot!" Kricketot hugged Adagio's face, quickly making the siren happy once more.
"Aw..." Gushing at her partner, Adagio patted Kricketot on the head as she hugged him back. Once she did, the golden light got brighter afterwards.
In fact, her light became so bright and potent that it reached outside of the house. And when it did reach the outside, it immediately affected the nearest ponies and Pokemon.
A sense of comfort and warmth was given to the nearby ponies and Pokemon because of the golden light. Their minds were being cleared all of a sudden as they felt most of their worries fade away.
"Hm...Something feels amazing..." Lyra sighed.
"Yeah..." Bon Bon nodded in response.
"Oh! My bruise is healing!" Silver Spoon noticed that the bruise that was on her hoof was being healed by the golden light with ease. "Sweet!"
"Where's it coming from? Pretty comfortable, if you ask me," Ash said as he was taking in this light.
"Pika...!"
"I think it's coming from there." Spike pointed over at Aria and Sonata's house.
"Axew?"
"Our home?" Aria and Sonata both said.
The source of the wonderful light had been found. Everypony was able to spot where it was coming from because of how wide and vibrant it was. Sonata swam over to her home, wondering what was generating that much light. And when she got there, opening the door, she saw that Adagio was the one creating it.
"Adagio!? It's you?!" Sonata exclaimed as everypony was alerted by Adagio's name.
"Gh!" Adagio winced as her golden light faded away once Sonata called her name and basically made the entire town aware of her existence here. Once that was done, that comfortable feeling was gone.
Adagio slowly opened the door as she glared at Sonata with upset eyes for blowing her cover. And Sonata laughed nervously, knowing that she messed up.
"Hehe...whoops..."
"Adagio? How long have you been here?" Fluttershy asked.
"Too long if you ask me..." Adagio grizzled her fangs. "Way to blow my cover, Sonata."
"Sorry..." Sonata pouted.
"Were you the one making that super pretty and feel good light, Adagio?" said Pinkie Pie.
"What light?" Adagio narrowed her eyes.
"You didn't notice?" Sonata spoke in a confused tone. "It's all bright and gold and it was super wide!" She spread her hooves out. "And it was coming straight from you."
"Hm. Well, I didn't see any light." Adagio shook her head.
"You mean you can't see it?!" Sonata gasped before getting in Adagio's face. "Then how come we can see it?!"
"I don't know!" Adagio yelled back. "But now that you all know that I'm here, I don't want any of you getting in my business or talking to me apart from my sisters."
"What about Sunny?" Sonata brought Sunset up.
"Gr!" Adagio growled. "Her too if she stays away from me! By the time these 2 months blow over, I'm out of here and I never want to see you all or this town ever again, got it?!" Adagio slammed the door in front of Sonata, startling everyone.
"Sheesh...What a grump," said Cranky.
"Oh, it's fine!" Sonata shrugged it off. "Adagio may be harsh, but she's super nice when you get to know her. You should see her when she's with Kricketot! So cute! Right, Ash?"
"She does have a great bond with Kricketot. And she's not that bad, ya know." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"You seriously trust her, Ash?" Lyra asked.
"Mhm." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Yeah well, friendly or not, If she wants to be left alone then that's her choice." Amethyst Star backed away from the house. "But some more of that golden light would be nice."
"It healed my bruise see?" Silver Spoon showed it to Diamond Tiara. "I think it's some sort of healing light too."
"Ooh..." Diamond Tiara gawked.
"If Adagio's here then...We should get to know her better!" Pinkie Pie climbed up Ash's shoulder.
"Oh, um, maybe it's best we left her alone." Fluttershy chimed in. "I mean, she wants to be alone after all so we can respect her privacy? Plus, it might be dangerous to get involved."
"Hah!" Cranky wheezed as he walked off. "Like Pinkie Pie will let her have privacy..."
"Well..." Pinkie thought about it for a moment. "It'd be nice to talk to her some more but I'll stay back for a while."
"Adagio just needs some time that's all." Sonata flailed her hoof. "But honest! She's great! Even if she doesn't show it..."
Adagio had heard everything from the outside was she wanted to permanently close her ears off from all this talk about her. She didn't want anypony's company aside from her sisters. Adagio, wanting to forget about this, curled up on the bed with her Kricketot, deciding to get some more sleep.
"I hate them all." She murmured as Kricketot climbed up on her head, entering her large mane as Adagio took a nap.
18:00.
Sunset came into the house with Aria and Sonata, slowly opening the door to make sure that they don't wake up Adagio.
"Good work today, Popplio," Aria whispered to her partner.
"Lio."
"Is she still asleep?" Sonata uttered. "I thought she was going to make some plans for the rest of the day."
"After the last day of the festival, it's no wonder she'd fall asleep again. I've never seen her so active before." Aria whispered as she quietly closed the door. But Adagio could hear them since she was about to wake up. But she kept her eyes closed for a bit more rest."
"She looks kinda peaceful when asleep, huh?" Sunset looked at Adagio's peaceful sleeping.
"Sure does." Sonata nodded. "But she'd look even more peaceful if she wasn't so grumpy all the time."
"Can you blame her?" Aria patted Popplio on the head. "After what happened years ago, if I were still in her position, I'd be surly for a really long time. Especially against ponies."
"Why? What happened years ago?" Sunset asked as the atmosphere in the room changed from that question. Aria and Sonata paused after hearing those words.
"Well..." Sonata twiddled with her hooves.
"I'll say something, don't worry, Sonata. And I'll make it quick and simple." Aria placed Popplio down. She stood up, swivelling around to face Sunset as she was confident enough to tell her the truth. "You see...Adagio hates ponies because of what they did to our species. And our mother."
"Huh?" Sunset sat down, ready to listen in on this. Adagio's ears twitched after hearing what Aria was about to say.
"Our mother and the rest of our species were all sent or driven away by seven ponies one day. While the three of us were younger back then. We saw how these portals were being opened up to send the other sirens away. It was a totally one-sided battle the whole way through. They were either lured into it, tricked or knocked back through the portals. And each time they were sent through it the portals would close on them."
"That's the same way you came to the human world, right?" Sunset asked.
"Yeah, years later. But not before seeing our own mother fall into one as well. She stopped attacking to protect us from harm and to just get us to safety away from the portals. It was really scary. Seeing mom like that and everything. She managed to save us but ended up getting caught by a portal as we watched. And the last thing we got from her was her pendant. The one that Adagio wears."
"Your mother's pendant?" Sunset looked over at Adagio's neck.
"Mom..." Sonata whimpered when Aria broke the story down to Sunset Shimmer.
"And then, years later, we were found by those same seven ponies and you know how it ends. Just like our mom and everyone else, we were sent to the human world. But ever since then, we've never found our mom. Or any other siren at all."
"Popplio?"
"I-I didn't know that. "Sunset rubbed her hoof. "I-I'm sorry..."
"Don't be." Aria was strong enough to hold back her tears but Sonata wasn't. "It's not your fault anyway, so don't blame yourself for something you didn't do."
"Still...I didn't know that you lost your mother and species like that and never found them. And I guess that's the main reason why Adagio hates ponies, right?"
"No other reason. But, even if she hates ponies, we don't. We hate those seven ponies for what they did. But we don't hate you at all. Or anypony here even. After all, you didn't cause it anyway."
"And you're all so super nice too!" Sonata dashed over to Sunset, hugging her.
"Having friends and being here kinda changed everything. We've never been so happy before because of this and we've even managed to keep on living without disharmony. It's an odd feeling for sure. But one we never knew we needed."
"Popplio!" Popplio hopped into Aria's hooves.
"But...we still miss our mother." Aria's tone changed. "If we could see her again, if she's still around, that'd be great. Greater than anything really."
"And everyone else too. If they're out there somewhere in the human world, then maybe one day, we can see each other again." Sonata smiled.
"Hm." Sunset nodded. "I understand. I can see why Adagio hates us now. If I had known-"
"Nopony else could've known." Aria shook her head. "Well, Celestia knows now. And Chrysalis too I think. So I guess it's becoming more common."
"Hmm..." Sunset looked over at Adagio, seeing her in a vastly different light. "Well, I should probably get some sleep myself right now."
"Same here. I'm spent..." Sonata yawned as she climbed on the bed.
"Don't take up too much space this time, okay?" Aria said to Sonata.
"Pssh! I don't take up space!" She babbled back as the two of them were getting up to their usual bickering once more. They all decided to rest up until tomorrow while Adagio had received everything. Including Sunset's words.
Minutes later, Sunset, Aria and Sonata had put themselves to sleep as the moon had risen finally. The night had arrived. Adagio was awake at this time as she got off the bed with her Kricketot also being asleep.
Adagio was not going to do anything during the night. Instead, after hearing the conversation between her sisters and Sunset Shimmer, the young siren could only do one thing.
She started tearing up as she wiped her eyes, sniffling and trying to keep it down so that her sisters and Pokemon could sleep. But, similar to Adagio a few minutes ago, Sunset could hear Adagio's sniffling and whimpering from her eyes as she had one eye awake. The young unicorn then heard Adagio say one word while she tried to hold back her tears.
"Mom," Adagio whimpered.
Hearing that, Sunset turned around, closing her eyes as she felt great empathy for Adagio. She went back to sleep, leaving Adagio to herself now.
But she wasn't the only one feeling a certain emotion. Adagio had gained something new as well. From how Aria said she doesn't hate all ponies, just those seven ponies specifically and Sunset's apology even if she didn't need to apologize for anything, the entire conversation made Adagio aware that her hatred for all ponies might be a bit erroneous.
After all, she actually did not hate all ponies. There were three major exceptions in the form of Celestia, Sunlight and Eventide, who Adagio was thinking about right now. But her hatred for them was still there.
She still held bitterness to them all and especially those seven who she hates more than even Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer. But strangely, her disdain for Twilight and Sunset was somewhat weakening. And the final word that also hit Adagio was how Aria said that she and Sonata have found happiness here. And that happiness is how they were somehow still living on.
Adagio shook her head, trying to ignore everything she had just heard. But at this point, everything around her was changing. From Celestia, Sunlight, Eventide, Chrysalis and even to an extent Ash and Rarity, Adagio was no longer the vengeful and cruel siren she was. And she knew it.
"Forget it," Adagio said as she walked outside of the house to clear her head.
When she came outside, she could see how everypony here were just smiling and having fun with their friends, family and Pokemon. Seeing how happy they were, took Adagio back to Aria's comment on ponies overall. Even after what she did here in Ponyville and how ruthless she battled in the Canterlot Tournament, Adagio was not hated, despite her own hatred for the ponies.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu came to Adagio, holding some food in his hand.
"Hm?" Adagio looked down at Pikachu.
"Pika?" He offered his food to her.
"You're giving me some...?"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Pikachu's full and can't eat anymore." Ash walked up to Adagio. "And so am I too. I'm stuffed!"
"Hm...Thanks." Adagio used her magic to take the food from Pikachu's hand.
"Alright, buddy. Let's head home now."
"Pikachu." Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder, ready to leave.
"See ya soon!" Ash and Pikachu waved goodbye to Adagio, returning back to their world by passing through the gateway to Pallet Town.
It was back to the school since the Pokemon Festival had ended. And further lessons can continue. But right now, there was a teachers meeting going on, so the students were on their own this time and could do whatever they want so as long as they don't cause too much trouble. Some could even work without the teachers here by following the project brief of their respective class.
"You're here now. You can head back to your Poke Ball, okay?" Applejack spoke to Golett who was still clinging onto her even after the Pokemon Festival had ended.
"Golett!"
"According to this brief right here, we'll be doing possession soon." Twilight looked at the project brief for Fantina's class.
"Possession?" Fluttershy looked at the brief. "You mean we'll have Ghost-Type Pokemon enter us eventually?"
"I don't know if I like that..." Starlight grumbled.
"But if it makes us understand Pokemon better, then I'll take it." Rainbow Dash laid on her back.
"We could get a head start." Pinkie appeared in between. "Golett's a Ghost-Type so maybe we can see what it's like. I mean, I've never been possessed by a ghost before."
"Lett?" Golett looked over at Pinkie Pie.
"Eh? Eh?" Pinkie Pie was offering a chance to be possessed by Golett if she could.
"Gol." But Golett couldn't actually perform it. "Lett."
"Golett says that it can't possess anyone. It's not that kind of Ghost-Type." Fluttershy translated.
"Huh?!" Pinkie pulled back. "Seriously?!"
"I guess not all Ghost-Types can possess others. Golett here's hard as a rock. Or ground...somehow." Applejack patted Golett on the back, feeling its solid body.
"Gol."
"So what do we now? Just sit about?" Starlight asked.
"Well, I'll be working on the brief," Twilight said. "What about all of you?"
"Don't know actually." Rainbow Dash yawned. "I mean, we know a lot about Pokemon now because of what we've been through."
"Right." Fluttershy nodded. "Even before the Pokemon School came along. But I guess right now, we're just learning how to survive against certain Pokemon Types and that's it."
"There's always something new to learn." Twilight stood up. "Mewtwo himself said it best. The Pokemon World is vast after all. There's still a lot we don't know that is out there. So having this school with so many experienced trainers is what we need, really. They can teach us so much."
"Guess so." Starlight replied.
"By the way, Twilight. I heard you found an amazing egg the other day at Frenzy Forest." Fluttershy said. "One that has a fully evolved Pokemon in it!"
"Mhm. A Togekiss." Twilight nodded. "Right now it's at my lab, resting. Hopefully, it doesn't hatch soon cause I think Delphox wants it back in its egg form. But anyway, let's try one of these tasks from the project brief."
"Like possessing?!" Pinkie grinned.
"M-Maybe. We have other Ghost-Types to choose from anyway."
The Principal's Office, Teacher's meeting.
Cynthia and all the teachers here had gathered for the meeting as they were currently discussing matters that only focused on the students.
"So it's agreed?" Cynthia spoke. "To take our students to the next step as Pokemon Trainers, we take them to the new Kalos Training Facility in Shalour City."
"Most of my students in my class are capable trainers," Fantina said. "They've been around Ash the most so they already know a lot about Pokemon by this point."
"She's right on that." Brawly raised his finger. "By this point, we won't have much to teach them if we go on."
"Then the training facility's the best place for them to go," Olympia replied to Brawly. "It has an entire simulation room that replicates many Pokemon habitats. It's perfect for the students to learn how to act through disaster situations."
"Can't we just use the Frenzy Forest like before?" Roxie asked while holding her guitar. "It's the real deal anyway, so wouldn't that be better."
"It's simply just a forest and nothing more. The simulation room has entire environments of different varieties. From mountains, dunes, marshes and all sorts." Roxanne explained.
"Oh. Okay, I guess that's better." Roxie nodded.
"Good. The training facility had just opened up 4 weeks ago, so it's relatively new and fresh. I believe this is a good opportunity to have them have a small test run now before the practical, wouldn't you all agree?" Cynthia asked everyone.
And they all agreed. Today, the students all had something to look forward to. Something they won't expect at all. A simulation of all things. With the agreement, the teacher meeting came to an end as they were all preparing to head out and bring the students along to Shalour City.
But before, that one other thing had to be done with every class and student here.
Fantina opened the door to announce two things. The first being about the training facility and the second was yet to be revealed.
"Attention à la classe!" Fantina exclaimed as she grabbed everypony's attention. But when she entered the class and called for the students, she noticed that something was off.
One of the students was possessed. And that student was Pinkie Pie as she was currently on the ceiling, moving around like a spider with her eyes and pupils being completely back and hollow. Fantina noticed a Poke Ball on the ground. One of which came from the box of Poke Balls that had Ghost-Type Pokemon in them.
Pinkie stuck her tongue out as it was purple as she kept crawling around the ceiling while Twilight and the others had a poker face while staring at Fantina.
"We uh..." Applejack came forward and told the truth. "We were gonna test out that whole possessing thing on that brief. We sent out a Duskull and this happened..."
"ʂαƚɾσɱ ყɳσρ ƚɳҽʅσʂɳι ,ყƚιʅαυϙ ƚʂҽԋɠιԋ ҽԋƚ ϝσ ყɾƚʂαρ ԃɳα ʂҽƙαƈρυƈ ҽɱ ɠɳιɾႦ ʅʅιɯ υσყ!" Pinkie Pie spoke undescribable words that were hard to understand.
"I see." Fantina nodded in understanding. "Alright, stand back." She dug into her pockets, bringing out a Poke Ball to deal with this odd and eerie situation. "Dusknoir! Aidez-nous!" Out came a Dusknoir when she tossed the Poke Ball upwards.
"Dusknoir!"
"Could you be a dear and help remove the Duskull inside of Pinkie Pie over there?" Fantina pointed over at the possessed Pinkie Pie who was licking the ceiling while standing on it.
"Noir." Dusknoir understood as it flew up to the possessed pink pony who had its first stage evolution inside of her.
"Hυԋ?" Pinkie looked up at the Gripper Pokemon with soulless eyes.
"Dusk...Noir!" Not wasting any time, Dusknoir shoved its hand into Pinkie Pie's mouth, going straight for Duskull as everypony gasped.
"Bɯααɠԋ!" Pinkie Pie squirmed as she could feel something being ripped out of her body while Dusknoir's hand was through her throat and stomach.
But Dusknoir wasn't grabbing any of her body parts. Instead, it pulled out a purple stream of Ghost energy from Pinkie Pie's mouth, flying back as the stream got longer.
"Oh my..." Fluttershy closed her eyes.
"Urgh..." Rainbow Dash felt like she was going to be sick as she was on the verge of hurling.
"Dusknoir!" Effortlessly, Dusknoir pulled the purple stream out as it transformed back into a Duskull, freeing Pinkie Pie of her possession.
"Mm...Mm?" Pinkie Pie blinked as her usual eye colour was back to normal and everything. And what was also back to normal was her non-existent ability to climb up on walls. It took a few seconds for Pinkie Pie to realize what position she was in. "Uh oh."
After coming to that realization, she fell from the ceiling screaming. But thankfully, Dusknoir grabbed her with one hand while having Duskull in its other hand.
"Dusk."
"Phew...Thanks." Pinkie Pie sighed as she was placed down.
"Return." Fantina returned both Duskull and Dusknoir to their Poke Balls, solving the issue fairly quickly with ease. "Ah. There. Simple enough."
"Sorry Ms Fantina." Pinkie Pie and her friends apologized.
"C'est Bon. At least now you know what to expect very soon. But never mind that right now. I have two important news to give out now."
"Oh?" The students all gathered up.
"First. We'll all be heading to Shalour City in Kalos for some training. Training that involves certain disasters in habitats if you understand what I mean. Us teachers will explain everything along the way."
"Disasters? Oh, I get it!" Twilight and Starlight understood immediately.
"But before we leave, we need to one little thing first!" Fantina rubbed her hands together, building up suspense for everyone here. "First, I'll have you decide on a class representative."
Oh!" Everypony immediately burst out with sound, minus a few after hearing those words.
"Me too!" Amethyst Star aggressively waved her hoof.
"I'd like to attempt it too!" Rarity chimed in.
"Well being a class representative sounds-" Fluttershy was about to speak until Twilight smashed her hooves onto a table.
"Yes please!" Twilight shouted.
"Right here! Look at me!" Pinkie Pike was blowing confetti everywhere, trying to be the loudest in the classroom. Then again, mostly everypony here was hyperactively loud with constant bellows and screams filling the place, even going as far as to be heard from the outside of the class.
James and Meowth, who were acting as the janitors of the school, were passing by on duty as they heard all the commotion nearby in the room to their left.
"Calmez-vous..." Fantina settled everypony down. "We'll just vote on it instead of random choosing. Besides, all of you know each other well so I trust you can find the right pony for the role. Just don't vote for yourself, compris? It needs to be done quick before we leave."
"Yes, Mrs!"
8 minutes later.
The votes were in. Everypony had decided who they were going for via papers. The decision of who would be the class representative had been made. Including a deputy class rep.
The one who won was Twilight who received 14 votes. And right behind her was Fluttershy who obtained 10.
"Yes!" An overjoyed Twilight flew up, feeling successful for gaining the role. She seemed to be the one most determined to receive it anyway. She aggressively clapped her hooves together, feeling like a little kid at this moment. "Knew I could get it!"
"Oh." Fluttershy made a poker face, surprised that she actually received second place. "I didn't think I'd get that far..."
"Zero votes..." Rainbow Dash placed her face on a table, feeling defeated.
"Castform..." Castform came out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag to pat her on the head and comfort the pegasus.
"Aww!" Pinkie Pie pouted. "Just 6 votes?
"Surprised I even got 7..." said Starlight.
"C'est décidé! Princess Twilight is the class rep and Fluttershy is the deputy class rep!"
"That's not so bad," Lyra said. "Really works actually."
"She's already the Princess of Friendship so it makes sense, right?" BonBon replied.
"Every time she 1UPs me..." Just like Rainbow Dash, Amethyst Star felt defeated when Twilight came out on top.
"Alright then. Now that we've finished that. It's time for us to leave for the training facility. Let's not waste any time, okay?"
Shalour City, Kalos. The City of Awakening. The seaside home of the Tower of Mastery, where the legend of mysterious Mega Stones lives on.
Everyone was currently on a bus since the training facility was fairly far away and couldn't be easily accessed by just passing through a gateway. During the ride, Fantina and the other teachers had broken down everything to the students along the way, so that they know what they're getting themselves into.
"A simulation of Pokemon environments? Boy, the technology in the Pokemon World sure is advanced, isn't it?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Kinda scary too..." Applejack grumbled.
"We've only been to a few environments with Pokemon right?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, but most of it is just forests, mountains, islands and grasslands. And one desert." Pinkie rambled. "We might get to go on a volcano today! Or maybe even a tropical savanna! That'd be fun!"
"From Terrestrial, Marine and possibly even the skies themselves." Twilight listed what the teachers told her and the other students. "It's a good thing we're allowed to bring our Pokemon with us. I know Absol will be great in this because of his time in the wild."
"Sceptile's been through a lot of forests and is like the king of them or something like that. So I ain't got nothing to worry about." Applejack laid on her back on the seats.
"I've got 3 Pokemon that can fly no problem." Rainbow grinned. "The skies are mine."
"Not sure how different Ultra Space is from our world but...Pheromosa might have an easier time there," said Rarity. "If not then I can also count on my Leavanny's and Ampharos."
"Easy for you all to say. None of my Pokemon have that much experience." Pinkie Pie pouted. "My Slurpuff's and Spinda's aren't like yours. But I'm not scared. I've got Spinda's Metronome to ride on."
"Isn't a bit of a wild card that move?" Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes.
"Very unpredictable in every way. Are you sure you want to use a move like that in any of the environments?" Twilight questioned.
"No need to worry. I'm totally 100% sure that Spinda won't let me down. We'll get moves that won't cause too much damage. Right, Spinda?"
"Spinda." Spinda popped out of Pinkie Pie's mane, nodding in agreement.
"If it doesn't end up being 100% it might as well be 50%." Rarity wasn't sure about the safety of Metronome when they get to the facility.
None of them knew what to expect either way. The environments they've been to so far have all been tame, gentle and safe. Like the Pikachu Highlands, Deerling Forest, Evolution Valley, Lapras Lake etc. All places where anyone can settle down and relax. They have yet to really come across a location that can be considered life-threatening.
Not yet at least.
Over at the back of the bus, the teachers were there conversing with each other. Their job was to keep the students safe and protected at all costs in case something goes out of hand.
And since so far, the Pokemon School only had students who were at lower levels as of now, the only teachers that came along were Roxanne, Brawly, Roxie with the exception of Fantina who is a higher level than the three of them considering her role in Sinnoh.
"I kinda wanna try that facility out myself..." Brawly closed his eyes, wanting to involve himself with the training if he wasn't a teacher.
"You've already been through harsh environments, Mr surfer. You've even surfed on a tsunami. Why would you need it?" Roxanne asked.
"You surfed on a tsunami?!" Roxie gasped.
"Hehe!" Brawly grinned, feeling really proud of himself. "Sure did. It was light work. No problem at all."
"Yeah with some destruction in the process..." Roxanne shook her head.
"But are we just gonna stand there and watch? Can I rock out there to kill some time?" Roxie asked.
"We're there to keep them safe. So there's no time for anyone to 'Rock Out'." Roxanne wagged her finger. "The safety of the students is more important."
"Mmm...Still wanna rock out anyway." Roxie slumped on the seat.
"No need to be so strict, Roxanne." Fantina placed her hand on Roxanne's shoulder. "Learn to cut-loose and have some fun from time to time."
"I-I know how to have fun." Roxanne stammered.
"You sure do. Like when you went crazy on one of my guitars during the Pokemon Festival, remember?" Roxie reminded Roxanne. "You were really getting into it."
"It was just the heat of the moment." Roxanne tried to play it cool by crossing her arms.
While the teachers and students had their own exchanges, the bus was finally approaching the Pokemon Training Facility that was located on the far North of Shalour City.
Everyone looked through the window to see the facility in the distance. It was a dome-shaped building that scaled so high it could be considered an entire landscape of its own. Many trees surrounded the building as well as a huge blockade made entirely out of Skarmory wings.
The windows were all transparent so they got a quick glimpse of what was inside the dome and what to look forward to. Pinkie pressed her face on the window, gazing at the facility as well as everyone else.
Pokemon Training Facility.
Entering the facility, they were all greeted by the workers here as the entire room was a plan and flat white room that was seemingly empty. Definitely confusing to the eyes since the students all thought they had seen environments when looking through the window.
"Welcome to the Pokemon Training Facility!" The workers greeted. "Glad to have you here."
"Wait...where are the environments? Were we looking at the same thing outside?" Rainbow Dash moved her head around the flat white room.
"It's just...empty," Twilight said as her voice echoed through the room along with Rainbow Dash's voice.
"Ah, don't worry. You'll be seeing them very soon." One worker clapped his hands together. "This is just the room that starts the simulation."
"Starts?" All the students said. They did not understand how any of this works since this would be their first time being in a simulation. Ever.
"Get this." Brawly raised a finger. "This whole place is gonna change into a bunch of different environments with just a click of a button. Like you're being transported into another world or something."
"Oh? Really?!" Twilight's mane shot up. "That easily."
"Show them." Roxanne gave the order.
"Right!" With that, the workers all collectively pressed the same button, kicking off the simulation. The entire flat room suddenly changed as its white texture became black with green lines everywhere.
Twilight and everyone could feel the atmosphere around them changing as well as the area itself. As they all gasped, they looked around to see that various forms of landmass were being generated in front of their very eyes.
Titanic trees, hills, mountains, glaciers and even volcanoes appeared in just a matter of seconds that towered over everything and almost passed through the generated clouds of the generated sky.
And there was more than just the traditional green and lush forests, grasslands and islands that they were all so used to seeing. Dusty dunes, marshlands, icy tundras, shrublands, crags and so much more, all had various Pokemon living there. Everything here was disaster-prone.
These were all meant to replicate actual habitats that exist in the Pokemon World where the Pokemon live. And the cause for these disaster-like events is mostly the Pokemon because of their existence alone and what they do on a daily basis.
Needless to say, they were greatly impressed by what they were seeing. And what they had just witnessed. It was like experiencing the creation of an entire planet. Truly surreal to the eyes.
"It's all new and fresh so this is just a test run. Remember that." Roxanne said to the students. "Your practical for this has yet to come."
"So you're gonna spend some small time and go for the easier environments first. But if you wanna go big and wild for the rougher environments then knock yourself out." Brawly suggested.
"And don't worry. Everything here is fake as well as the Pokemon." Fantina shook her head. "But be careful. Parts of this simulation can still be nuisible. The Pokemon there won't go easy on you on as well."
"But we'll be there to help if things get rough. But then again...it's only gonna last for 20 minutes anyway..." Brawly adjusted his goggles.
"20 minutes is fine by us," said Rainbow Dash.
"Well then? What are you all waiting for? Let's see how you do against disaster situations then shall we?" The worker spoke as everyone immediately got a move on.
For safety measures, they all sent out their Pokemon early to protect them. But in this case, some of their Pokemon would have to learn how to act against these disaster situations themselves. Most of them aren't built for this with the only exceptions being Absol and Pheromosa who have both lived most of their lives in harsh conditions. So this will be a lesson for the Pokemon too.
First were the crags.
A mostly rocky area that had Rock-Types residing here. It had a black ground with bright speckles, large crystal outcroppings, gems and jewels everywhere as well as large rolling black hills and craters with fluorescent sparkles. Instead of trees, there are occasional crystal structures in a sort of tree shape, as well as large hooked crystalline structures and smaller bush-like structures. Large boulders could be seen scattered across the ground as they were larger than all the trees here by 2X.
Unfortunately, the crystals, gems and jewels were all fake so there was no point in taking them. But they felt real. Everything did.
"Oof..." Rarity could feel the rocky substance of the ground as she was with Applejack in this area. The rocks, despite being fake, felt authentic and real, like they were actually stabbing into their hooves. "They sure did go the extra mile of making it feel authentic, eh?"
"I'll say. I don't understand this tech stuff but it's impressive." Applejack replied as she kicked the rocks away with her hoof. Alongside her were Sceptile and Golett while Rarity had her Pheromosa out first. "So, when's the disaster gonna start?"
"Sceptile..." Sceptile narrowed his eyes, trying to spot where the direction of the disaster could occur. He hopped onto the trees via his speciality as he got to higher ground.
"Mosa." Pheromosa was getting a bit of odd nostalgia from being here. The gems and jewels reminded the Lissome Pokemon of her home.
For a while, there seemed to be little action happening while they wandered the rocky area of the crags. They were already far away from most of their friends by this point.
But, this simulation was not programmed to hold back at all even for newcomers. And it was new itself. The trick of the simulation is that it lets everyone feel the stillness of the atmosphere, making it seem like nothing eventful will happen for a long time. And then, it strikes at the right moment.
And that moment was now.
Coming straight from the rolling black hills, rumbling could be heard. But not the usual rumbling like an earthquake. Instead, to the ears of Rarity, Applejack and their Pokemon, it sounded like something was rolling so hard it was creating a force equal to that of an earthquake.
"What's that? Where's it coming from?" Rarity stopped walking as Applejack bumped into her because of the sudden halt.
"An earthquake?" Applejack adjusted her hat. "Nah. This doesn't feel like any ordinary earthquake."
"Tile...Sceptile?" Sceptile was the first to notice what was causing this since he had the high ground.
And what he noticed was a large cloud of black dust that was moving forward across the hills, acting a little bit like a hurricane as well. And in that gigantic dust cloud, there were large boulders being carried and currently airborne because of the hurricane properties, slowly on the verge of falling and crashing if given the chance.
And what was causing this dust cloud? A herd of Donphan were the cause. Their rolling was so aggressive and fast that they were forming up the black dust cloud themselves. And the large boulders managed to become airborne because of their actions.
"Don-don-don-don-don-don-don-don-don-don-don-don-don!" Each of them cried while rolling.
"Sceptile?!"
"What in tarnation is that?!" Applejack screeched as she spotted the Donphan and the black dust cloud large enough to consume this entire area. But the boulders were the biggest threat here as they were twice the size of the trees.
"Whatever it is...Run!" Rarity made the right call. Pheromosa quickly picked up Rarity, Applejack and Golett, using her amazing speed to run off while Sceptile utilized the trees around the area.
The black dust cloud consumed the nearby trees as the boulders were finally flying out of the dust cloud, falling from above. The boulders crushed the trees with their overwhelming size, leaving nothing but small pieces of bark behind.
Sceptile looked back to see that the trees behind him were dwindling in numbers as very soon, he wouldn't have any to jump and swing from when it's all said and done. But for now, he kept moving on by using the remaining trees in front of him, trying to outpace the approaching dust cloud.
But the cloud isn't what he and the others should worry about. Because two of the large boulders managed to get ahead of the others, heading straight towards Sceptile's direction.
"Tile?!" The Forest Pokemon looked up to see two boulders coming his way as they were in a perfect position to crush Sceptile. Seeing that in all likelihood, he would be crushed by the boulders, Sceptile decided to prevent that from happening.
He stopped by the nearest tree, halting his escape for a moment as he held his breath in, building up draconic energy inside of him. Meaning that he was about to use Dragon Pulse.
"Sceptile!" By exhaling with all his might, Sceptile fired a dragon-shaped shockwave from his mouth. This time, wider than what he usually has.
The Dragon Pulse was the right move for the job as it not only stopped the boulder from hitting Sceptile, but it shattered it into tiny little pebbles upon contact. Sceptile moved his mouth, redirecting the Dragon Pulse to hit the second boulder, obliterating it as well.
With those two boulders gone, Sceptile could keep moving forward. But there were still many more boulders within the cloud as it was getting closer by the minute.
Pheromosa, thanks to her amazing speed, was able to easily get a great distance away from the dust cloud as Applejack looked back to see her partner destroying the two rocks that almost crushed him, making Applejack sigh in relief.
"Excellent job, Pheromosa!" Rarity said. "But how are we going to stop it? It looks like it won't stop advancing."
"Ain't it obvious? We stop the Donphan's don't we?" Applejack replied. "As long as they stop that dust cloud's not a problem anymore."
"Oh, good point." Rarity nodded. "But they're all moving at such intense speeds. Any suggestions on how to slow them down?"
"Hold on let me think..." Applejack thought. She had to think fast because her partner was still on a high probable scale of being crushed or consumed by the dust cloud. And Pheromosa noticed that even with her amazing speed, she couldn't run forever.
But in truth, none of that mattered. Because the tides were beginning to change. The large dust cloud wasn't just coming from the front of the hills and behind them.
There was another. One that was coming from the side. And there were other Donphan's there as well with more boulders being seen.
"Mosa?!" Pheromosa and the others noticed that there was a dust cloud coming from both sides now instead of behind, further making things a bit trickier for them.
"More?!" Rarity gasped.
The boulders inside both dust clouds flew out earlier than the one behind them as multiple were raining down from above instead of just two this time.
The boulders couldn't catch up to Pheromosa but they didn't need to. Because of their overwhelming size, the second they crashed onto the ground, they created tremors. Tremors strong enough to disrupt Pheromosa's balance when she was running.
"P-Phero!" Pheromosa almost tripped because of the tremor and nearly dropped Rarity, Applejack and Golett with a loose grip and her very supple and light body. But thankfully, with great vigour, she was able to maintain her composure, holding onto her friends as she kept running.
The same couldn't be said for Sceptile. With three dust clouds near him, he was getting himself into a rough spot. And it was only going to worsen from hereon as one of the boulders crash-landed near him.
It created a tremor powerful enough to affect the trees themselves. The nearest tree that Sceptile wrapped his vines around had been toppled, breaking the Forest Pokemon's flow.
"T-Tile!" Sceptile's vines fell off as he no longer had any momentum.
"Ah! Sceptile!" Applejack noticed this as she saw her partner fall to the ground as the tree next to him fell over.
"Pheromosa! Turn around!" Rarity ordered, thinking about the safety of her friend first rather than continuing without Sceptile.
"Mo!" Understanding the situation, Pheromosa quickly veered on the ground before swivelling around. With a second burst of speed, the Lissome Pokemon ran to Sceptile's side while leaving her own dust cloud behind.
Pheromosa came across some falling boulders that almost made her lose balance when they crashed on the ground. Not only that, but one of them was heading straight for Pheromosa and the others, most likely to squish them all.
"Triple Kick!" Thankfully, Rarity had an answer for that.
"Pher!" Pheromosa quickly turned to the side, facing the boulder that was coming her way. Once the boulder got close enough, the Ultra Beast smashed her foot onto it with a single kick, shattering the boulder to pieces.
"Scep...tile?" Sceptile got up from the ground, feeling the tremors as the dust cloud was closing in on him.
"Sceptile! Bring your vines out!" Applejack commanded.
"Tile!" Sceptiole held his hand out, sending a single vine out as it targeted at Pheromosa. This was the result of teamwork in play as Pheromosa grabbed onto Sceptile's vine.
"Mosa!" With Pheromosa holding onto a vine from Sceptile, she could bring her friend along by dragging him. And that's what she did. She curved herself once more, gaining a third burst of speed as she took off, this time, dragging Sceptile along.
Sceptile was now surfing on the ground with Pheromosa pulling the vine. A downside was that Sceptile would have to feel the hard rocks scrape on his feet. The Donphan were still rolling along, causing the dust clouds to grow more ferocious.
"Sceptile! Use Dragon Pulse!" Applejack finally found a way to potentially stop the Donphan and their movement.
"Scep...Tile!" Rotating his head, Sceptile fired a single Dragon Pulse forward, only going for the Donphan in the cloud instead of the rocks this time.
"Don?!" Dragon Pulse had connected with one Donphan only. But that one Donphan was a good start. The Armor Pokemon lost its balance, exiting its curled-up position.
Donphan tumbled on the ground, which prompted the other Donphan's behind it to come across an unfortunate little debacle. The Donphan behind the one Donphan that was tumbling ended up crashing into their fellow Armor Pokemon. That's when the chaos began.
The moment the other Donphan crashed into each other, it created a somewhat sideways domino effect. The Donphan at the back had all lost their momentum, weakening the dust cloud they created.
Not only did it weaken the dust cloud, but it also made the boulders around them drop. And since the boulders were closer to the Donphan than anyone else, the tremors affected them the most.
Soon, all of the Donphan from the back had all lost their momentum, crashing and smashing into each other as the black cloud of dust had faded away with each of the Armor Pokemon falling over.
"Nice!" Applejack cheered.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile felt proud of himself for stopping that avalanche of boulders, smoke and Donphan.
But it wasn't over yet. There was still the left and right avalanche that they had to deal with. And they were closing the gap faster than the one behind.
"There are other ways to escape from situations such as this..." Rarity came up with her own idea. "Pheromosa! Smash through the ground!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa nodded as she tossed Applejack, Rarity and Golett into the air while still holding onto Sceptile.
"W-Woah!" Applejack yelled.
"Golett!"
"Pheromo!" The Lissome Pokemon raised her leg, channelling all her strength into one juggernaut of a kick as her friends were currently airborne. Sceptile noticed that he had suddenly stopped moving because of Pheromosa. Thankfully, he didn't have to worry about the back since he stopped the Donphan from behind.
But he did have to worry about the sides since the gap was being closed at a very aggressive pace. Almost as fast as Pheromosa's speed.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa then smashed her foot on the ground, creating a large hole from the sheer impact of it. This is what Rarity was planning. Deep within that hole, a small little cave system with glowing gems and jewels could be seen.
"Now, jump in!"
"Phero!" Pheromosa, after making a hole, jumped off the ground as she grabbed Rarity, Applejack and Golett with one arm while still holding onto Sceptile and his vine.
"S-Scep?!" Sceptile was being lifted because of Pheromosa's jump as he held on for dear life. With the three of them in Pheromosa's hold, the Lissome Pokemon jumped into the hole while bringing Sceptile along.
The Forest Pokemon was the last to enter the hole as the dust clouds finally closed the gap, merging as one stronger black dust cloud. Thankfully, Sceptile entered at the very last second, escaping the clouds as one of the large boulders ended up clogging the hole, wedging itself in.
Everyone was safe as Pheromosa landed safely on the ground. Sceptile's landing wasn't as pleasant as his face and stomach hit the ground.
"T-Tile!"
"Whew..." Applejack exhaled as she climbed out of Pheromosa's hooves. "Way too close...that was just the first one..."
"No need to worry." Rarity was placed down along with Golett. "It's just for 20 minutes. And so far, I'd say we responded well to that disaster. Hopefully, that was the right way to do it actually."
"Mosa." Pheromosa helped Sceptile up, apologizing for harming him a bit with the dragging and falling into the hole parts.
"Sceptile..." Sceptile said it was fine.
"Now. Should we head on to the next location and see how we do?" Rarity asked.
"Doesn't this cave count?" Applejack stood up.
"I suppose so. But what disaster would a cave have?"
"Hopefully no more of that dust clouds." Applejack walked forward. "Let's hope everypony's having an easier time in their areas."
"Hopefully." Rarity nodded in agreement as she, Applejack and their Pokemon got a move on, advancing in the cave.
Just 14 precious minutes remain until the Pokemon Training Facility test run focused on disasters is over as the journey continues.
Where the students are going under a small little test run on how to deal with disasters they are sure to come across. Whether it is the Pokemon World or their own world where Pokemon-exclusive locations exist. And of course, the cause of these disasters come from the Pokemon themselves and their own actions.
Twilight, who was grouped with Starlight and Fluttershy, came across a tundra area. A mostly ice and snow-themed environment with small boulders and long, narrow crevasses to steep cliffs and tall mountain peaks. The mountains were clearly avalanche-prone, but they all had sharp and overwhelmingly large ice shards formed by Pokemon, plastered on them like decorations. Albeit decorations large enough to crush a house. Some of the Pokemon here even eat these gigantic ice shards for food. But it was a very little amount.
Many Ice- Types populate the landscape, despite how rare the Ice-Type is and how few of them there are, in this area, they are plentiful. There was also an ocean that developed slippery sheets of ice and large icebergs may be found just offshore.
"Well, I think we know which disaster we can expect here, right?" Starlight spoke.
"An Avalanche," Fluttershy responded. "But there might be something different. There could be a disaster we've never seen before."
"Or maybe some terrifying form of temperature. I know we're still in the flat room but it still feels so cold." Twilight shuddered. "They really did a great job at making this simulation feel real..."
"But...when is it going to show up?" Fluttershy stopped walking, wondering why the disaster hasn't shown up yet. If there was to be a disaster in a Tundra, the most common one would be blizzards, avalanches or even seismic earthquakes.
But so far, none of those were showing up. But something was coming and it was bound to cause a ruckus. And Audino's ears were the first to pick up something approaching.
"Audino?" Her feelers could detect that whatever was coming their way, it was from below the tundra. "Audino!"
"Below?!" Fluttershy gasped as she and Twilight quickly flew up while Starlight used magic to levitate herself. Once hearing that something was coming from below, they made sure that they wouldn't be hit by whatever disaster was heading their way.
Audino couldn't fly so she could only stay on the ground. Thankfully, Twilight used her magic to levitate the Hearing Pokemon as well as her own Pokemon. They held their breath in while Absol was ready to strike at any given time.
And from the ground emerged something they weren't expecting.
A group of Spheal with their round heads sticking out of the ground.
"Spheal! Spheal!"
"Oh. It's just some Spheal..." Twilight sighed. "Guess all their rolling must've caused some rumbling."
"That's some strong rolling..." Starlight closed her eyes.
"Spheal!" Each of the Clap Pokemon clapped their fins in unison, looking directly at Twilight and the others with cute faces.
"What are they doing?" Starlight wondered.
"The Spheal usually clap their fins to show their pleasure after eating something. Their mealtimes are very noisy." Fluttershy explained as the Spheal kept clapping without no ned.
"Spheal!" Just then, more Spheal showed up by emerging from the ground, right behind Twilight and the others. Then another showed from the sides. And they were all clapping as well.
Then more on the back, more on the front, more on the side and so on. For some odd reason, Spheal were just showing up in this one spot around Twilight and her friends, clapping their fins continuously.
It was a bit off-putting, seeing a sea of Spheal just clapping in unison while having one expression without even blinking once. Twilight and her friends felt really uneasy about this. They didn't know what to make of this situation. So far, it seemed harmless but highly ominous.
"Uh...I'm kinda getting scared now..." Starlight gulped as she spotted more Spheal just popping up and clapping their fins.
"They um...must've eaten an amazingly good meal?" Fluttershy squeed, trying to make the situation better.
"But why surround us? We didn't make anything." Twilight said. No one knew yet why the Spheal were doing this. Specifically around them.
But they wouldn't have to wonder for long as the collective clapping of thousands of Spheal was reaching a sound decibel of 40, which can be very harsh on the ears.
And especially Audino's ears.
"A-Audino!" Audino fell on the ground, holding her feelers as she was being attacked by 40 decibels of sound that had no signs of stopping.
"Ah! Audi!" Fluttershy gasped as she flew over to her partner. But very soon, with 60 decibels being generated from the clapping, Fluttershy, along with Twilight, Starlight and their Pokemon, felt this painful increase in sound with more Spheal showing up. "A-Agh!"
"T-Too loud!" Twilight yelled, covering her ears. But it was no use. Not with more Spheal showing up. She and her friends got on the ground, squirming with their ears being punished.
And as if things couldn't get any worse, all the decibels coming from the constant clapping was powerful enough to trigger an avalanche.
"Oh come on!" Starlight groaned as she looked at the approaching avalanche.
"A-Audino!" Audino's ears were on the verge of taking permanent damage. If that happens, then Audino may suffer from heavy hearing problems for a long time. One that even involves going deaf.
Thankfully, the Spheal had stopped since the avalanche was heading this way and not even they were safe from it. So it was time to bail. The Spheal all rolled away as they had already caused enough damage at this point.
"Audi! Are you okay?!" Fluttershy helped her partner up.
"D-Dino..." Audino's ears had taken a lot of damage, making the Hearing Pokemon groan and strain as her feelers were now ringing. Any other sensitive sound will only make the pain worse. Like Fluttershy's screaming. "Audino!"
"Oh, I'm sorry..." Fluttershy closed her mouth.
"We can stop that Avalanche...!" Twilight stood up. "Ninetales! Mystical Fire, go!"
"Nine...!" The Fox Pokemon's eyes flared red as magical flames were bursting out of his mouth. There was only one logical thing to do against an avalanche and that was to use fire on it. By opening his mouth, Ninetales sent a spiralling stream of red-orange fire with a mystical aura around it.
Obviously, being a powerful Fire-Type move in a natural ice-based environment, Mystical Fire absolutely overwhelmed the avalanche by melting it in mere seconds. Usually, it takes a while for snow or ice to melt when coming across heat, but not when Pokemon moves are in play.
As such, the avalanche was easily stopped. But what wasn't easily stopped were the gargantuan house-sized ice shards that had been knocked off when the avalanche first started. They weren't that easy to stop as they were rolling down the hill they came from, heading straight for Ninetales and the others.
"Tales?!"
"Those shards will crush us!" Starlight gasped.
"Not if we destroy them first! Ninetales! Mystical Fire one more time!"
"Ninetales!" A second time, Ninetales had fired Mystical Fire from his mouth, going for the rolling shards. The Fire-Type move was powerful to definitely hold the shards back, but Ninetales was only one Pokemon.
Thankfully, the first ice shard had melted from Ninetales' Mystical Fire, but he still had to deal with the rest of them that were heading their way.
"Drat! Not enough for all of them!" Twilight exclaimed. "Fluttershy! Can Audino use Hyper Beam to blow them all away?"
"Sorry Twilight. But Audi's in pain right now. Her feelers have been really injured. And too much noise will only make it worse."
"Audino..."
"Then in that case...we'll make it a combined effort." Twilight made sure to tone it down so that she doesn't harm Audino's ears. "Eve, Dazzling Gleam. Absol, Dark Pulse. Minccy, Focus Blast. Ninetales, Mystical Fire once more."
"Hatterene, use Psycho Cut."
In unison, all 5 of their Pokemon collectively fired their strongest attacks at once, aiming for each of the shards that were in their line of fire.
Fire, Fighting, Psychic, Dark and Fairy energy came flying out, crossing the streams between each other, but they didn't merge as most moves do. But it was probably for the best since merging would only deal with one large ice shard.
All 5 attacks collided with the shards in front of them. And upon contact, they had the right amount of power to either melt, slice or shatter them completely. With Mystical Fire melting them, Psycho Cut slicing them into pieces, Focus Blast shattering them and Dazzling Gleam bombarding them with rainbow rays until there was nothing left.
A combined effort was just what they needed to stop the disaster from getting to them. Thus saving them from the first disaster and keeping Audino safe from harm since she was a bit unresponsive and inactive right about now. The cold smoke was settling, finally.
"Okay...That puts an end to that." Twilight sighed. "Not so bad for our first disaster response, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess..." Starlight laid on her back.
"Espeon..." Eve and the others felt the same as they all sat down.
"Did those Spheal do that on purpose?" Starlight wondered.
"The Pokemon here are made to cause disasters for us to handle, so I guess so." Twilight nodded. "But I didn't think that's how they'd do it. Why are the smaller Pokemon the biggest troublemakers?"
"Is it healing up yet, Audi?" Fluttershy asked.
"Audino..." Audino's feelers would take some time to recover. She would have to stray away from loud sounds in the meantime.
"Maybe we should rest a bit before we continue any further," Fluttershy suggested.
"This whole thing only lasts 20 minutes total. I'm sure we'll be done soon," replied Twilight. "And it's just a test run too."
"Audino..."
"But...maybe a few minutes won't hurt." Twilight squeed, seeing that Audino certainly needed the rest.
But the simulation certainly doesn't allow any rest. Right now, it was all about putting the pressure on. After the ice shard avalanche disaster came to an end, it was already preparing for the next disaster. In the very far distance, one particular disaster was still ongoing.
The same disaster that involved the Donphan and the rain of large boulders in the dust cloud. And from how it was moving and which direction it was heading in, it could end up in the tundra with this group.
9 minutes remain.
And speaking of other groups, the rest of the students had come across their own disasters caused by Pokemon. But most of them chose the easier ones while little went for the difficult ones. And, in a sense, Twilight's group had a somewhat in the middle option with the Spheal and shards. It wasn't too difficult but neither was it easy as well.
There were toxic spills on the terrain by Poison-Types, Kingdra's creating whirlpools by simply yawning, Exploud's that just caused mass environmental damage with their voices alone and even Dugtrio with their unpredictable potential to cause deadly earthquakes.
Although, most of the students had avoided those environments after spotting them in the distance. They definitely didn't feel like they were ready to tackle any of them yet.
But one individual who felt more than brave enough was Rainbow Dash who was partnered up with Pinkie Pie. She believed that she could take on the toughest environments early on. And her Pokemon would be there to assist her through it.
The area they came across was a bizarre amalgamation of two different disaster-prone areas. Volcanoes and ferocious downpours filled with heavy rainfall and strong winds with high chances of lightning.
This wasteland-like area had flat regions from hills to sharp mountains, filled with large giant black outcroppings and rivers and pools of deadly lava. There are few trees here, and only the toughest and hard-ridden Pokemon can survive this harsh and cruel terrain. The Pokemon in this area weren't limited to one type. They actually varied.
The biggest thing here was the gigantic volcano smack-dab in the middle. It was obviously going to erupt. But it was up to the simulation to decide when it will erupt. This one wasteland area was the closest to the tundra.
"Did you hear that?" Rainbow Dash's ears had picked up on some sounds earlier.
"Hm? Hear what Pinkie Pie replied.
"I heard a bunch of clapping coming from somewhere. Ah, it's probably nothing too big."
"We've got like 9 minutes to go, Rainbow Dash! Let's make it count! How about that volcano?"
"Already ahead of you!" Rainbow Dash instantly flew up, leaving behind a shockwave as her Braviary, Altaria and Castform followed her since they were able to fly as well. "Just wait! I've read a bunch of Daring Do comics to know how to deal with a volcano..."
"Oh. Okay. I'll be down here if you need me!" Pinkie bounced along with her Spinda and single Slurpuff. Unbeknownst to them, the volcano isn't what they should be worrying about.
From both the ground level and sky level. The atmosphere in this area was already thick and dense, but it was about to change very soon as Rainbow Dash ascended with her Pokemon, waiting for the volcano to act.
"Come on...Erupt already..." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, biding her time.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Pinkie Pie was just enjoying herself, unphased by these disaster-prone areas as she bounced on the harsh rocks which didn't even harm her. After all, she used to live on a rock farm, so this was nothing. Her Slurpuff think otherwise.
"Hmm-hmm!" Pinkie Pie started humming and singing along the way while bouncing near pools of lava. "A kid from Pallet Town with a brand new world to see...Hmm-hm-hm-hmm-hmmm!"
As she bounced through this amalgamation area of lava and wind, Pinkie Pie bounced into a small little cave system that had jewels and gems glowing inside, which greatly caught her attention.
"Ooh! Pretty!" She gawked at the glowing cave, surprised that something like this would be in a harsh environment. If only they were real. She knew that Rarity would love to grab these and Spike would enjoy chomping down on them.
And speaking of Rarity, Pinkie Pie could hear very familiar voices nearby in this cave. Two familiar voices actually. One belonging to Rarity and the other Applejack.
"Oh! Rarity?! Applejack!" The pink pony shot up as she let out a prolonged gasp. Hearing her friends, she immediately dashed off to reunite with her friends while also losing distance from Rainbow Dash.
And speaking of Rainbow Dash, while in the air, she could feel the downpours trying to force her Pokemon out of the sky and back down on the ground. This would be similar to what happened in Griffonstone, although ever since that experience, the same mistake won't happen again. The same couldn't be said for Altaria and Castform, especially Castform with his light body. But thankfully, Braviary was there to help them.
"We've got like 7 minutes left here. How come this thing isn't erupting?" Rainbow Dash grumbled, flying towards the volcano. "Hey! Erupt already!" She smashed her hoof on the volcano, trying to trigger it. But it did nothing.
The volcano was lifeless now instead of active. Not even a slight rumble. However, something did trigger, but it came from above instead of the volcano.
The clouds had responded to Rainbow Dash's action as they were rumbling with blue lights flashing in them. That only meant one thing. A thunderstorm was due.
And due it was. With a flash of light that only Rainbow Dash and Braviary could react to in time, a vicious bolt of lightning came from the clouds with thunder booming and cracking the sky with its devastating sound.
"WAH!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she and Braviary managed to avoid the lightning bolt in time with Braviary holding both Altaria and Castform in his wings, saving them.
"Braviary!"
While they managed to avoid the lightning bolt, something worse was coming their way. Three things to be exact. The first was that more lightning bolts were coming out of the sky since a thunderstorm was now taking place, forcing Rainbow Dash and Braviary to get a move on.
The second was arguably the worst as one of the lightning bolts hit the volcano square in the middle. Upon contact, an electrical discharge was formed, mingling with the lava and fragmenting particles of volcanic ash.
This was known as Volcanic Lightning. The powerful bolts of lighting inside of the volcano were just strong enough to trigger the volcano as it was finally rumbling. A large cloud of volcanic ash started coming out of the volcano as Rainbow Dash and her Pokemon back away.
The volcanic ash was large enough to block out a majority of the sky in this area and possibly even beyond because of how large it was and how much more was coming out.
Not just that. Sparks of lightning could be seen in the cloud while the volcano's rumbling intensified. A darkness so great and intense that it even diminished the glow of the gems and jewels in the caves. It was as if the environment was being drowned in darkness but it had some light within the ash.
But not the best kind of light as lightning bolts flew out of the volcanic ash cloud, almost hitting Braviary's wing. The lightning bolt hit a nearby mountain, shattering it and cleaning the top part off with ease.
But that wasn't the worst part. Even with all the lightning bolts flying out from the volcanic ash and clouds above, the volcano was what truly mattered as it had finally erupted.
And with a thunderous and virulent sound, a plume of lava came bursting out with lightning bolts surrounded it, only boosting its destructive capabilities.
"Uh...Time to go!" Rainbow Dash, realizing that this was a bit too extreme, even for her, decided to dash off from this disaster as far away as possible. And so did her Pokemon as the lightning was also chasing them down, destroying the landmass in the process.
And finally, the third one, which wasn't as bad as the dust cloud from the crags that were making their way here. The Donphan had recovered as they continued their rolling process.
If that merges with the volcanic lightning, an amalgamation of disasters would be born and would surely level this area, the cave and the nearby tundra where Twilight, Fluttershy and Starlight were.
Rainbow Dash looked back to see that the lightning was catching up to her with large rocks of lava with lightning surrounding them were raining from above, also shooting lightning out. The lava rocks hit the ground, melting parts of it, leaving craters and even sparks of electricity too.
Rainbow noticed the cave, believing it to be a good place to hide from this blazing and sparking event. She quickly flew in with her Pokemon as a lightning bolt almost hit her hoof, but it had just missed.
"Woah!" Rainbow Dash came to a screeching halt by slowing down as she was safe for now in this cave. "Too close! Way too close!" The multi-coloured maned mare yelped as she took some time to breathe. "I know none of this stuff is real but...Sweet Celestia...!"
"Viary." Braviary placed his friends down, letting them have some space and time to relax as well.
"Taria..."
"Castform..."
"I didn't see that coming..." Rainbow Dash laid on the walls of the cave. "Lightning with magma? That's a thing?"
It certainly was. Among other obscure disasters that are so rare, they can be considered made-up works of fiction for children. But it is a real as it looks and its destructive capabilities are no joke.
At this very moment, it was gradually destroying the land with lightning and magma crashing down. At this rate, everything in this area will be hit. Including the cave.
Speaking of the cave, further deep in it...
"Applejack! Rarity!" Pinkie had found Applejack and Rarity, hugging them both. "How'd your disaster go?"
"It went well." Rarity replied. "A bit overwhelming for our first go, honestly. What about you, Pinkie? Have you gone through your disaster?"
"Nope." Pinkie shook her head aggressively. "Not yet. I heard the volcano erupt outside so Rainbow Dash's going through hers right now while I'm just down here."
"Hm. Well, there's only at least 7 minutes left, I believe." Rarity looked up. "Won't be long until this test run is over. Let's see what else we-"
As Rarity took a step forward, a lightning bolt broke through the cave, almost smiting Rarity as it landed right in front of her, making a horrible noise and leaving a hole in the ground.
"Oh!" Rarity gasped as she jumped back, landing in Pheromosa's arms. More lightning broke through the cave, leaving holes in the top and bottom of it.
It was a clear sign that the next disaster had caught up to the nearest group as even some of the magma came through. Two lava rocks fell through the cave, crashing down as the lava was starting to spread across the ground with lightning sparking out.
"Why does it have lightning?!" Applejack's eyes widened as she and her friends backed away.
"It's like lava lightning or something like that!" Pinkie was both amazed and scared.
"Who cares what it is?!" Rarity screeched. "Run!"
But as soon as they tried to make a run for it, another lava rock broke through behind them, spreading lava from both sides as well. And the cave was fairly narrow so the lava was able to easily close the corners and gap.
"Or not..." Rarity whimpered as she and her friends stood back to back. "This is fake lava obviously but...any ideas on how to deal with this?"
"Hmmm...Oh!" A lightbulb appeared above Pinkie Pie's head. "I know! Spinda! It's your time to shine!"
"Spin?"
"Use Metronome!"
"Da!" Nodding in understanding, the Spot Panda Pokemon raised her arm back and forth as her body glowed white, going through a plethora of moves to choose from randomly.
"Hurry up..." Applejack gulped as the lightning kept breaking through the cave with the lava slowly approaching them.
"Da...Spinda!" Spinda had found a move as her body flashed. But would it be a move that benefits them or just makes the situation worse?
Everyone paused, waiting for the move result. It took about 2 seconds, but the move was arriving. But not in front of Spinda. Not from her mouth, eyes or hands. Instead, it was coming from above.
The move Metronome had chosen was Draco Meteor as multiple orange rocks with a light-orange glow in the centre and a white and light-orange aura surrounding the rocks came crashing down. And they were surprisingly huge for a move generated by a small Pokemon. This just worsened the situation as Draco Meteor was now a part of the volcanic lightning.
"Draco Meteor?!" Applejack and Rarity gasped.
"Ooh! You got a powerful move on the first go! Nice work!" Pinkie hugged her partner.
"Spinda!"
"Uh...That's actually real and gonna hurt us!" Applejack pulled her mane. "What do we do?!"
Before thinking of a way to actually get out of here since Draco Meteor can affect them unlike this simulated lava, the Draco Meteor actually somewhat assisted them.
The large draconic rocks hit the lava, stopping its flow. Another came through, leaving larger holes and stopping the lava flow from behind. As more came through, they landed down in a somewhat straight line, albeit a bit curved. But that straight line of meteors was a great benefit and could be taken advantage of.
"...Okay that seems effective." Rarity nodded as she and her friends understood what to do now that there was a path of meteors in front of them.
As they all nodded in agreement, each of them started to jump onto the meteors, using them as a means to avoid the lava beneath them, even though it had stopped flowing.
As they walked on the meteors, lightning and magma kept breaking through behind them, prompting the group to get a move on. From the direction they were headed in, they might reach the entrance of the cave.
And speaking of the entrance, Rainbow Dash, who was the closest to it, was currently avoiding the volcanic lightning from hitting her by flying about. So far, she was doing a great job, but it didn't seem like it would unless something was done.
"Can't keep avoiding it forever. Gotta do something..." She began thinking of an idea. By looking near the entrance, she could spot a bit of the volcano from the outside and how the lava was leaking out and also catching up to her.
Lava had already reached the cave. Both near and far from Rainbow Dash. If she were to fly outside, the lightning would deal with her. So she was essentially stuck on all sides at this point, which isn't something Rainbow Dash is too fond of since she loves having some sort of field advantage, mostly in the sky.
That's when she came up with an idea that was arguably worse than Draco Meteor and might not help the situation whatsoever.
"I got it! Braviary! Superpower on the ground! Go!"
"Brav?!" Braviary himself was surprised to hear such a command. But, if his trainer had a hunch, then he put his trust and faith into her.
Braviary's talons became surrounded in an orange aura, flowing with hyperactive energy, possibly greater than anything here. He then struck his talons on the ground by doing a sort of dropkick to it. And once he did, that's when everything fell on its face.
The sheer might of Braviary's Superpower was so grand and devastating that not only did it shatter the ground beneath him and his friends, causing the lava to be pushed back, but it also spread across the entire area and beyond. The whole cave was coming apart in less than seconds.
But it wasn't just that. As the shockwave reached the outside the volcano had been hit by Superpower. And the results were very unpleasant. As the volcano had a shockwave go through it, it had shattered into tiny pieces with the remaining magma inside bursting out.
"W-What now?!" Rarity gasped as she saw everything coming apart around her and her friends.
"An earthquake?!" Applejack said as Sceptile picked her up.
But it was something far worse and much powerful. So powerful that it even reached the tundra that Twilight's group was in, causing shockwaves to erupt there as well. And very soon, many other environments wouldn't be safe from Braviary's Superpower. The Donphan disaster was even put to an end because of Superpower knocking them all off balance.
But, in truth, the Superpower tremor actually performed the impossible, besides shattering the volcano. The sheer impact of it was so widespread that the simulation room was glitching out and breaking apart as seen by the constant flashing, showing the wireframe then back to the simulated environments and then the wireframe once more.
The room couldn't handle this much power. It was unable to register the sheer magnitude and might of Braviary's Superpower. As such, every environment was flashing repeatedly as everypony was confused as to what was happening. This was definitely not apart of the simulation.
"Oops." It took a moment for Rainbow Dash to realize what she had done. But it was too late to stop it as the simulation had been disrupted, bringing everything to an end.
The teachers and workers here closed their eyes as a flash of light emerged from the simulation finally breaking down and coming to an end since it was blinding to the eyes.
And that was all she wrote.
Once that light cleared, everypony fell on their back, landing on the flat floor of the vast and wide white room along with their Pokemon. Thankfully, the fall wasn't too hard.
"Ough!" They all groaned.
"Urgh..." Rainbow Dash stood up. "My bad..."
"Well, that was certainly something..." Roxanne's eyes shifted around.
"Mhm..." Brawly nodded as he went over to the students. "Are you all okay?"
"We're fine..." Rarity sighed. "What happened back there? Did it malfunction?"
"Not really." The worker there scratched his head. "Seems like that Superpower from Braviary was stronger than expected. The whole simulation room may be new and fresh but that was freakishly strong."
"Braviary..."
"That was rockin'!" Roxie, on the other hand, enjoyed every last minute of it. "Every part of it!"
"But other than that, you all did well for a test run and your first time here," said Fantina. "Bien joué."
"Guess so..." Twilight helped Eve off the floor.
"Might have to tweak some things out." Another worker said. "So that way, no other Pokemon move can break the simulation."
"But it shows how strong we are, right pal?" Rainbow Dash nudged Braviary. "No disaster like a volcano is gonna stop us!"
"Braviary!"
The test run lesson in the Pokemon Training Facility was over as everyone was leaving the facility and heading back to the bus. A bit of an early end, but it is what it is.
On the bus, some of the ponies were a bit tired after going through their own respective disasters. Some easier than others or just plain difficult.
"You should've seen what we had to deal with. There was this sea of Spheal just clapping a lot out of nowhere." Starlight said as she was telling her friends about the Spheal disaster.
"Mhm." Twilight nodded. "They seemed so innocent but they caused one doozy of an avalanche."
"And harmed Audi's ears pretty badly. But they'll get better." Fluttershy pattered her partner on the back."
"Audino..."
"Maybe it's not the environmental disasters we have to watch out for but the Pokemon who cause them." Rarity deduced as all of her friends agreed.
They have a lot to say when they get back to the Pokemon School and Ponyville too. It certainly won't be the last time they visit the Pokemon Training Facility and they'll definitely be going through a different kind of test when they return here. One beyond disasters as the journey continues.
Currently, Dawn had come over to help teach Sweetie Belle some sweet new contest moves with the company of Coco Pommel who came all the way from Manehattan to learn. Dawn would be helping them alongside her Piplup and Togekiss.
"Okay!" Dawn clapped her hands. "I'm no teacher, but I'll do my best."
"Piplup!"
"By the time we're done, Rarity will be back home soon." Sweetie Belle said. "I think."
"Wait, where is Rarity?" Coco asked.
"She's at PokeStar Studios in Virbank City and got a job there. They liked her acting so much they ended up hiring her! Lucky!" Sweetie Belle explained.
"I want to make movies too..." Dawn started daydreaming before snapping back to reality. "Right. Let's get started with a battle. Piplup and Togekiss will help out."
"Piplup!"
"Toge!"
While Dawn prepares to teach Sweetie Belle and Coco, right nearby, over at Twilight's castle, currently, the Princess of Friendship is also in the same area with a Togekiss like Dawn. Or rather, the egg of a Togekiss.
Ever since she borrowed it from Delphox, this and Spike's Special Axew were the only two major examples of Pokemon Magic and Equestrian Magic merging to create new phenomenons. The egg was currently in an incubator that came from Twilight's lab. Since Axew and Absol feel weird whenever they touch the egg and there's constant crying coming from it whenever anyone made direct contact with the Togekiss egg, an incubator could contain it.
"So, this is a first-time experience?" Sunset spoke as her face was close to the incubator. "A fully-evolved Pokemon in this little egg?"
"Logically, by all accounts, it should be impossible. But then again, this is Pokemon we're talking about so the impossible is possible." Twilight responded.
"Braixen?" Sunset's Braixen went up to the table, using her wand to poke the incubator that held the egg. Litleo also jumped on the table, putting his paw on the incubator. For some odd reason, Pokemon were really drawn to this egg.
"But I'll find out how this magic works and what it really is. I just have to figure out where to start..." Twilight thought for a moment.
But as she was figuring out how to properly study this Togekiss Egg, Starlight had entered the room to ask a few questions for Twilight.
"Twilight. Just a few questions. The Pokemon at PokePark are-" Starlight was ready to ask her question, but before she could finish, she spotted a newcomer in the room. In the form of Sunset Shimmer as her eyes locked with hers.
"Hm?" Sunset noticed Starlight entering the room.
"Who are you?" Both unicorns said while pointing their hooves at each other.
"Huh? Oh!" Twilight shot up as she slid in between both of them. "How could I forget?! You two haven't met each other yet. Sunset Shimmer. This is Starlight Glimmer. Starlight this is Sunset."
"Oh. Twilight's student?" Sunset squinted her eyes.
"Mhm, that's me." Starlight nodded. "You're also Celestia's student, right?"
"Sure am." Sunset grinned "Great to meet you now."
"Isn't it?!" Twilight had the widest smile on her face, glad to see two of her friends meeting for the first time as her eyes shifted from left to right.
"Oh, right!" Starlight smacked her head, remembering why she came here. "I came here to tell you something. Goh was wondering if he could catch some of the Pokemon in PokePark. You know, for his goal."
"No, sorry." Twilight shook her head. "They may not have a Poke Ball, but they are my Pokemon. None of them are available for capture."
"Alright. Got it. I'll tell him right away." Starlight understood before spotting the Togekiss egg. "Oh, are you working on the egg right now?"
"Mhm. But um...Not sure where to start with it. It's not like it has any of that magical water around it." Twilight flew over to the egg.
"What about Spike's Axew?" Starlight turned to Axew.
"Xew?"
"Nothing either. The best I can get to witness is the aura when Axew transforms into his Equestrian Form. But I can't even find a way to contain it."
"Does it still cry when you touch it?" Starlight asked.
"Still does. But you know...when I touched the egg for the first time, it felt like Togekiss was crying about something important that it lost."
"Huh?" Sunset and Starlight both said together.
"I'm not sure what it was but I could feel it." Twilight looked at her hoof. "And it wasn't just because it was a baby being turned into an adult out of nowhere."
"Is that why you had tears in your eyes back there?" Spike said.
"Right." Twilight pressed the button on the incubator to open it up. "And I think I can still feel it. It's vague but I can tell." To give an example, Twilight placed her hoof on the Togekiss egg.
When her hoof made contact, those same pink pulses of energy came flowing out with the vibration going through her. Tears, once again, started forming in her eyes as she was enchanted by the egg.
She could definitely hear something from how she was reacting. Something tragic was being passed through her that Twilight could sense. She couldn't make it out, but it was there.
Sunset, curious herself, decided to see if she could feel what Twilight was feeling as she and her Pokemon went up to the egg, making contact with it as well.
They also felt the pulses and vibrations coming from the egg as well as the pink light. Even the crying was felt by them. But they did not tear up like Twilight. It seems that Twilight is the only one who tears up when touching the egg, which only made them curious as to what was being sent through her.
"Wooh..." Sunset shuddered. "You're right. It is crying. But what is it crying about?" She asked Twilight. But Twilight did not respond yet. She was still feeling the egg, stuck in a sort of trance. This time, it was longer than before as she kept her hoof on it for around 30 seconds.
"Uh...Twilight?" Sunset spoke.
"This again?" Spike and Starlight noticed this since this isn't the first time Twilight has been stuck in a trance while touching the egg. "Twilight!" They both yelled.
"Oh!" Twilight snapped back to reality, pulling her hoof back. "Sorry. It happened again."
"Wish I could know what you were feeling..." Spike sighed.
"But I got to feel it a bit longer this time." Twilight faced the egg. "There's without a doubt something bothering the Togekiss inside. It still won't tell me."
"Why don't we just wait for the egg to hatch?" Sunset shrugged.
"I can't. " The young alicorn shook her head. "I promised I'd give it back to Delphox as an egg still when I've finished researching it. Hopefully, it doesn't hatch now."
Speaking of which, a crack formed in the egg while it vibrated.
And that sparked a huge reaction out of everyone as their heads snapped to the egg with their eyes bulging out. That one single sound was enough to grab their attention. From how there was a single crack, it made them believe that the egg was about to hatch.
"Right now?! But it hasn't even been a week yet!" "Twilight gasped.
"W-What do we do?! Do we get it back to Delphox right now?!" Starlight stammered. "Is she going to be mad when we come back with a fully-hatched Togekiss?!"
"Maybe it heard me..." Sunset put her hooves over her mouth. "Sorry..."
With panic and confusion, it looked like this would be the day the egg hatches. But to everyone's surprise, once more, that wasn't the case. The egg suddenly stopped moving as there was now just a single crack in it that stayed there.
A sigh of relief filled the room.
"Had me worried there..." Twilight planted her face on the table. "I thought for sure it was going to hatch."
"Uh-huh..." Starlight sat down. "But why did it crack all of a sudden? Is Togekiss trying to break out?"
"Not sure." Twilight shook her head in response. "Maybe it was just a slight slip-up. Then again, I don't know how Pokemon eggs work."
"Why not ask Ash or Fluttershy then? They're really good with Pokemon eggs." Starlight suggested.
"Sounds like a good idea." Twilight sat up. "But I still need to figure out how to interact with all that mixed-up magic. Maybe if I hold it longer this time..."
This one egg was proving to be a challenge for Twilight. Of all things, this is what is pushing her brain to its limits so far. And it might continue that way until she figures out what to do or the egg just suddenly hatches out of nowhere.
But while that happens, Spike could hear something outside the castle that was relatively close. With the noise travelling through his ears, the baby dragon and his Axew looked outside the window to see Dawn teaching Sweetie Belle and Coco about contest moves.
And one of those Pokemon amongst them was Dawn's Togekiss. Fairly fitting considering which Pokemon is in the egg in the castle.
"Piplup! Use Whirlpool! Togekiss! Aura Sphere!" Dawn commanded both of her Pokemon as they were going up against Sweetie Belle's Espurr and Coco's Glaceon.
"Pip...lup!" Piplup used Whirlpool by summoning a large torrent of water above him while Togekiss summoned Aura Sphere from her mouth. The two moves fused into a glowing light blue swirling whirlpool that had a ton of abnormal power behind it.
This was the same move used against Dawn's rival Zoey in the Sinnoh Grand Festival so it was a real powerhouse of a combination attack.
"Eep!" Sweetie Belle and Coco were both intimidated by this combo, but they quickly regained their senses, coming up with a potential way to stop this move. This time, they were working together instead of against each other.
"Espurr! Disarming Voice!"
"Glaceon! Ice Beam!"
"Es...purr!" Out of her mouth, Espurr released a beam of purple hearts and music notes in a shape of a spiral with a loud shrieking voice
"Glaceon!" And from Glaceon's mouth, a beam of ice was shot out. Both moves did end up merging with Ice Beam freezing the hearts and notes of Disarming Voice, making them as hard as ice while the two beams were still flying head-on.
However, it was clear which move was superior as the Whirpool and Aura Sphere combination absolutely overpowered Disarming Voice and Ice Beam by pulling the two moves into the water of Whirlpool while the energy of Aura Sphere crushes it.
"Esp?!"
"Ceon?!" Surprised that their attacks had been so easily overpowered, the two of them had been caught by the Whirlpool and Aura Sphere combo as they were also pulled into the move.
"Ah, Espurr!" Sweetie Belle shrieked.
"Not my Glaceon!" Coco gasped.
Afterwards, the move had exploded with Espurr and Glaceon flying out of it with smoke trailing out of it. The two Pokemon fell to the ground, tumbling. But they hadn't fainted. Not yet.
"E-Espurr..."
"G-Glaceon..."
"Good try." Dawn nodded. "But it's not enough yet. Sweetie Belle. Your Espurr can't go too far with only one offensive move like Disarming Voice. You'll need variety if you want to make it far."
"Right!" Sweetie Belle responded.
"Hoo...Talk about strength." Spike's pupils dilated.
"Axew..."
"But Dawn's got a Togekiss of her own. Maybe it knows what to do since they're the same...I think?" Spike wasn't so sure. But he was on to something. Dawn's Togekiss is both physically and mentally an adult while the Togekiss in the egg is physically an adult but mentally a baby.
So perhaps, Togekiss could help out. And that was certainly an idea that Spike decided to recommend to Twilight. As soon as she takes her hoof off the egg and stops tearing up. Twilight had her hoof on it much longer than usual, trying to see if she'd finally understand why Togekiss was crying.
But even with the prolonged touch, Twilight wasn't getting anything. She could still feel the crying but that was the maximum limit. Other than that, she would just have to deal with a crying egg. But she wasn't ready to give up. She vowed to find a way to overcome this.
"Twilight!" Spike ran over to Twilight, snapping her out of it.
"Yes, Spike?"
"I just got a great idea! What if we have Dawn's Togekiss come over and see what's wrong with it?"
"Dawn's Togekiss?" Twilight tilted her head.
"Yeah, see? Look outside!" Spike showed Twilight, Sunset and Starlight the current training happening outside between Dawn, Sweetie Belle and Coco Pommel.
Indeed, she had a Togekiss of her own. A very powerful one too. After all, this Togekiss used to belong to Princess Salvia, Dawn's doppelganger so it stands to reason why it would be so formidable as seen by how she and Piplup were easily besting Espurr and Glaceon.
"Oh..." Twilight was able to easily deduce why Spike would recommend this in just a few seconds. From the age difference and species that both Togekiss's had. "I see what you mean. Good thinking, Spike!"
The Everfree Forest.
But Twilight wasn't the only one trying to figure out how this new type of magic works. Zecora was involving herself in this. With the jar that had one single drop of the fused magical water inside, she had something to work with.
Zecora herself said that she could purify the water a few days ago. And that was exactly what she was doing. She did this by grabbing an empty cauldron and dropping the liquified water in.
She started a fire beneath the cauldron with the help of a Magby that came from Team Rocket's Rocket Prize Master machine. The single drop of fused magical water was being boiled up by Magby's 1100-degree flame, solely to remove all impurities from the water such as bacteria or viruses.
As an extra, Zecora's Whimsicott had been used for this. The Windveiled Pokemon was ordered to use Misty Terrain inside of Zecora's hut. Since the drop of water had 50% Pokemon magic in it, Zecora believed that it would be amplified with more Pokemon magic. And no type has the most magic than Fairy.
Team Rocket leaned in, hoping to see some sort of outcome, even if it blows up in everyone's face. As a pink field covers the hut and Magby's flame burns on, Zecora knew that the purifying method would succeed. But the question was, what would happen when the water becomes purified.
Well, they didn't have to question, ponder and wonder any longer. Because the water was finally purified after being in a jar for a while. And when it was purified, a magical reaction was happening with Misty Terrain via faint flashes of light.
"Something's happening!" Team Rocket exclaimed as their eyes lit up.
"Wobbuffet!"
The single drop of water suddenly let out blue and purple lights that emanated. These dual lights lit Zecora's hut up as white stardust flew out of them, dropping on the floor.
"Magby?" Magby looked around to see how the floor was being covered in stardust that constantly dazzled. But that wasn't the main attraction. The real event was about to show itself.
With Misty Terrain mixing with it, the drop of water had enlarged itself, transforming from a tiny droplet into a large body of water that was wide enough to fit in the cauldron.
Zecora's cauldron was now full of mystical water that was glowing blue and purple and had two different magical origins inside of them.
"Success!" Zecora cheered. "All we needed was some purifying for quick and instant progress."
"Whimsicott!"
"Magby!"
"Ooh! It's gorgeous!" Jessie dashed over, gazing at the beautiful colours and stardust coming from the cauldron.
"So are these." James kneeled, picking up a single drop of stardust. "Came straight out of the water too."
"Think they cost anything?" Meowth scooped some up.
"Now that we've got a whole cauldron of this stuff..." Jessie rubbed her hands together as her eyes were sparkling. "What do you think we'll get if we put a Pokemon in it?"
"Let us not get eager and physical so soon, Jessie." Zecora promptly stopped Jessie. "This is magic so enigmatic and new it could make things beneficial or messy."
"Oh, right, right." Jessie backed away.
Zecora put out the fire with a fan as it didn't need to keep boiling any further. Now that she had a large amount of this magical water, she could work on it even further with a few tests. To see how they really react to certain things after what Team Rocket had told her.
But she wouldn't interact with it physically. Not yet at least. She needed to see what consequences there may be. Little did Zecora know, a certain Princess of Friendship would absolutely take this opportunity to also research this.
If Twilight was aware at the moment.
Back at Ponyville, Piplup and Togekiss had just defeated Espurr and Glaceon with Dawn emerging as the victor.
"And that's that," Dawn dusted her hands. "For your first time teaming up, that wasn't half bad, you two."
"Piplup."
"Togekiss."
"Good try, Espurr." Sweetie Belle helped Espurr up.
"Purr."
"Sorry, Glaceon. I guess going up against an experienced coordinator would have a predictable outcome, huh?" said Coco.
"Glaceon."
"Sweetie Belle." Dawn turned to the little unicorn. "Your Espurr has some great moves for defence and definitely for putting on a show. But she only has one attack that does damage and benefits with a partner Pokemon mostly instead of by herself. Maybe a fourth attacking move could help.
"Yeah, I know." Sweetie Belle nodded. "I've given my other Pokemon offensive moves but I mainly use Espurr for defensive stuff and to help my other Pokemon out. But I guess having a fourth attacking move wouldn't hurt."
"Esp." Even Espurr agreed that she needed something other than Disarming Voice to give her an edge in future contests where the coordinators will gradually get better with their skills. Especially a fourth move instead of having just three.
"Let's learn a new move as soon as we can together, Espurr! Can you help with that too, Dawn?"
"No need to worry." Dawn gave a thumbs up. "Count on me!"
"Piplup!"
"Togekiss!"
But before they could continue their contest training session, along came Twilight and the others with the incubator that held the Togekiss egg as they made their way towards Dawn.
"Dawn!" Twilight called out.
"Hm? Oh, hey, Twilight!" Dawn replied.
"Hope we're not interrupting you right now. But we need to ask a small favour for you and your Togekiss."
"Huh? My Togekiss?" She looked over at the Jubilee Pokemon. "Why, what's up?"
"Well...it has something to do with this." Twilight showed the incubator and egg to Dawn and her Pokemon. "You see, this right here is a Togekiss Egg."
"A Togekiss egg?!"
"Piplup?!"
"Toge?!"
"It got involved with some magical water somewhere and ended up transforming this Togepi egg into a Togekiss egg. Meaning that inside, a fully-evolved Togekiss resides in it." Twilight explained in short detail.
"It transformed...?" Dawn was perplexed by this, including Sweetie Belle and Coco who were also being introduced to this Togekiss egg.
"Spike here came up with the idea of having your Togekiss see if it can find out why the egg is crying." Twilight turned to her assistant. "The Togekiss inside is crying about something but I can't quite make it out. So maybe your Togekiss can? Hopefully?"
"Hmm..." Dawn touched her lip, tapping her foot. "This is new to me but...sure. Togekiss could be able to do something, maybe. What do you say, Togekiss?"
"Togekiss!" Togekiss was on board. She had a motherly nature within her so she could be a perfect solution for all this crying and why it was happening. After all, anyone can feel the crying.
"Great! Alright." Twilight placed the incubator down as she pressed the button on it, opening it and revealing the egg in full daylight. Everyone backed up, allowing Togekiss to handle things from here since this was her own species
"Togekiss." The Jubilee Pokemon gently flew over to the egg with careful movements as she placed her wing on it. Upon contact with the egg, she could feel the crying coming from the egg.
When she felt the crying, Togekiss closed her eyes as her smile turned into a frown. From how her cheerful and happy expression changed, clearly, the Jubilee Pokemon felt something disheartening and dreadful from the egg.
"Toge..." She then placed her head on the egg, with tears rolling down.
"What do you feel, Togekiss?" Dawn asked, curious as to why Togekiss was suddenly tearing up.
"Kiss..." What Togekiss was feeling was both identical and different to Twilight. The tearing up was identical, but what was different was the fact that Togekiss could go beyond and understand what it is that is making the egg within cry.
And when she found out, it made the usually jolly and happy Togekiss upset and dismayed as she backed away from the egg suddenly.
But she wasn't backing away from the egg because she knew what it was feeling. Not at all. Instead, Togekiss could feel the inevitable happening.
The egg was hatching.
The one crack from earlier was moving once more, going down in a straight line as everyone's eyes flashed and mouths dropped. Especially Twilight since she wasn't hoping for the egg to hatch. Not until Delphox gets it back.
A dazzling magical pink aura coated the egg as its light made a beautiful and harmonic sound, similar to what the wisps back at the Arcane Sea made. Angelic.
As everyone moved further away, the light of the egg suddenly grew wings similar in shape to a Togekiss. In fact, the entire light was morphing into a Togekiss-shape. Or, more obviously, Togekiss was coming out of the light.
With one gallant sparkle, shimmer and glimmer, the hatching process had ended as the pink light spread out into tiny little pink particles that were carried by the wind.
Togekiss had just hatched from its egg, unexpectedly. Right in front of Twilight, Dawn and the others as well as Dawn's own Togekiss who could feel the hatching coming earlier.
"Toge...kiss?" The newly hatched Togekiss murmured as she had her eyes closed. But after a few seconds, she had opened them to perceive the environment around her.
Ponyville was within her gaze. Colourful, pleasant and a nice place to be in. And beyond the nearby gateway, there was another colourful and great place to live in, AKA Pallet Town.
However, even with this beautiful sight, Togekiss wasn't focusing on the beauty of Ponyville. Instead, she was moving her head around, as if she was looking for something important. She didn't even pay attention to those in front of her.
"I-I didn't think it would hatch now!" Twilight was starting to panic. "What do I tell Delphox?! I was supposed to give it back to her as an egg!"
"Well, there's no going back now. Maybe she'll understand?" Spike shrugged.
"Yeah, well, what do we do now?" Sunset pointed her hoof at Togekiss.
"You weren't kidding..." Dawn's jaw dropped. "There really was a Togekiss in there."
"Toge." Dawn's Togekiss spoke.
"Well...it's already hatched so..." Twilight held her breath in, slowly walking up to the hatched Togekiss. "Hey there, Togekiss. How are you feeling?"
"To..." Togekiss responded to Twilight's words as she looked up at the young alicorn. Her eyes had finally spotted everyone else in front of her. From the human, baby dragon, other ponies, Pokemon and the other Togekiss.
Needless to say, Togekiss was confused. But not confused in the sense that she had just hatched and was new to the world. Rather, she was confused about something else. Something grand enough to make the Jubilee Pokemon panic uncontrollably. Even her heart was beating fast.
Faces that were unfamiliar to her. Voices of different individuals coming from all sides. Everything was processing to Togekiss in such a short amount of time.
"Kiss...Togekiss!" A panicked Togekiss suddenly started crying again the closer Twilight got to her. Her crying was surprisingly harmonic to listen to instead of the usual painful crying that every baby does. But then again, she's physically an adult but mentally a baby.
Rampant tears started flowing out of her, which made everyone around her uneasy as her crying was growing in volume. Eventually, it could reach a point where everypony hears it. And a certain Pokemon at the Pokemon House will definitely hear it, or already has.
"Oh!" Twilight backed away. "Sorry! I-I didn't mean to-"
"Toge!" Togekiss abruptly cut Twilight off as she had used Dazzling Gleam of all moves. A flashing rainbow light of Fairy magic came out of the Jubilee Pokemon as she had blinded everyone in front of her. Not only that, but it was also capable of blowing them all back.
"Agh!" They all yelled as their eyes had been blinded while being knocked back as well. And while the light blinded them, Togekiss, who was still crying, ran off. She didn't fly since she had been forced into a Togekiss. So flying wasn't exactly something she was prepared for.
As the light cleared and Twilight's vision was the first one returning to normal, she saw that Togekiss was running off in the distance, wailing. The Jubilee Pokemon almost tripped over when running, but she quickly regained her balance.
A bit befuddled and dazed from the light of Dazzling Gleam, Twilight shot up, witnessing Togekiss bolt away as she knew that a Pokemon with the mindset of a child wandering the town, crying and confused would cause some problems that no one wants to deal with.
"Wait! Togekiss!" Twilight bellowed her name out, but Togekiss wasn't listening. So, the only logical thing to do next was to go after the Jubilee Pokemon. And that's what Twilight did, by running after her.
"Espeon!" Eve and all of Twilight's Pokemon who were highly loyal to her, recovered quickly from Dazzling Gleam as they ran after their trainer who was trying to catch up to Togekiss who could move surprisingly fast for a newborn that doesn't know how to use its wings yet.
As for everyone else, it took them a few seconds more to recover from Dazzling Gleam. It was unexpected and out-of-nowhere, so they were definitely perplexed by it. But what was more perplexing was still the fact that an actual fully-evolved Togekiss was in it. Certainly a brand-new discovery.
"Urgh...my eyes." Sunset rubbed her eyes as everyone else had finally regained their vision after the bright and blinding Dazzling Gleam. Once they opened their eyes, they saw how Twilight and her Pokemon were gone. "Huh? Where'd Togekiss go?"
"Twilight's gone too!" Dawn noticed as she stood up. "We weren't down for that long."
"Piplup?"
"Twilight!" Spike called for Twilight's name but it was no use. She had already gone a far distance from chasing after Togekiss who could run surprisingly fast for a newborn.
"Axew!" Axew did the same.
"They've probably gone somewhere else in Ponyville right about now. But where?" Starlight wondered.
"To! To! Toge!" Togekiss had already left Ponyville with how fast she was running. By this point, from the direction she was headed in, the Jubilee Pokemon could find herself ending up in Bidoof Beach.
Twilight was still giving chase, wanting to speak to Togekiss. And also because she had to return her to Delphox eventually while explaining the sudden hatching. And it wasn't too hard to catch up with her. Since Togekiss is a Pokemon that is well-versed in flying if they tried to run on land, chances are, they'll be nearly slower than the time it takes to finish watching an episode of a tv show.
So Twilight was able to easily keep up since she's been running on land her entire life, even before she became an alicorn. And even as an alicorn, she still prefers to move on land most of the time.
"Togekiss! Wait!" Twilight tried calling for her name again, but Togekiss kept moving forward, not paying attention to anything else. Not even her surroundings.
Up ahead was Bidoof Beach. Home to many Bidoof and other Water-Type Pokemon who enjoy the crashing waves in the glorious sunlight.
And among those many Water-Types was a Carracosta. A Fossil Pokemon. One of the oldest living Pokemon too and the ancestor of all Turtle Pokemon.
And it was the sight of Carracosta that Togekiss's distressed and upset face suddenly transformed into one of happiness and joy. Just from one look at Carracosta.
"Toge!" The Jubilee Pokemon cried out as she had entered Bidoof Beach. And entering it while seeing Carracosta, Togekiss suddenly stopped running as she breathed in and out. "Togekiss!" She called for the Water-Rock-Type.
"Carra?" The Prototurtle turned around, responding to the call of Togekiss as he was surrounded by a group of Tirtouga.
"Oh!" Twilight also stopped running as she slid on the sand, scaring off a nearby Lotad.
"Lo-Lo!"
"Togekiss..." Togekiss had locked eyes with Carracosta while Carracosta was confused as to why he was suddenly being glared at by this newcomer.
As the sound of the waves crashing on the sand with some Wingull flying by, there was a moment of silence between the two Pokemon. One was happy while the other confused. And as for Twilight, she was just observing Togekiss from afar while her Pokemon caught up to her.
But, after a few seconds of silence, Togekiss then morphed her face back into one of distraught and sadness all of a sudden, which caught Carracosta off guard. Before Togekiss's face changed, she was planning to hug the Prototurtle Pokemon, but promptly stopped.
"Costa?"
"T-Toge..." Togekiss slowly backed away as she bowed her head, apologizing to Carracosta. From what Twilight and her Pokemon could deduce, Togekiss accidentally mistook Carracosta for someone else by her body language and behaviour. Perhaps that someone was another Carracosta.
Togekiss left Carracosta as she wiped her tears with her wings, crying once more. But this time, she wasn't running because she was too tired to do so. Carracosta went on with his day, continuing to talk to the Tirtouga while Togekiss walked away from Bidoof Beach.
Twilight and her Pokemon hid behind a nearby group of trees to avoid drawing any attention to the saddened Togekiss since it probably wasn't the best time to interact with her.
They witnessed the Jubilee Pokemon walk by with tears dropping onto the ground. Togekiss's tears had fairy magic within them so they were capable of purifying the land, similar to how Togekiss can bring blessings.
Flowers around her were blooming from her tears. But she didn't notice due to her sadness overtaking her. Eventually, as Togekiss wandered the small forest, she stopped walking, sitting next to a tree to continue crying.
That's all she could really do. She was just a baby after all. By sitting under a tree, Togekiss then glanced over, gazing at the small landscape that she was currently in. This small forest near Bidoof Beach was giving Togekiss a somewhat sentimental feeling. Especially when she looked over at Carracosta in the distance.
Seeing all of this was sparking up some memories in Togekiss's head. Memories that she could still reminisce to this day. And memories that were critical in her life.
1 year ago. Equestria. Night.
Deep within a lush jungle at night, many Pokemon were asleep at the moment with the exception of those that were nocturnal. This jungle was close to civilization, AKA a relatively small town with few residents.
A harsh and cold wind flowed during the night, causing most of the Pokemon to cuddle up against each other to stay warm or even use some of the leaves as cover. A storm was even starting to brew in the sky. Possibly a rainstorm.
Among the Pokemon that were awake, a single Carracosta was walking about the jungle, right near the small river that it had. The Prototurtle Pokemon was currently helping other Pokemon get to safer spots where they would feel comfortable during this weather.
Carracosta used Iron Head to construct small dens for the Pokemon by repeatedly bashing his head on the ground with pure steel. He also brought along some berries, dropping them inside of the dens for the Pokemon to eat while the storm slowly approaches. The small Pokemon all hopped into the dens while clouds rumble with a mild sign of thunder. They all thanked Carracosta for all the help.
But Carracosta wasn't done yet. There were still some Pokemon who needed shelter from the incoming storm as it was already starting to drizzle. He used his large body and sturdy shell to act as an umbrella to other Pokemon. He also used Focus Blast to create small holes in trees, making them hollow for some of the Pokemon to jump in.
Carracosta was a helpful Pokemon. And on this day, helped save many Pokemon from the approaching storm without thinking of himself first. He was essentially the Top Pokemon in this jungle. Sort of the ruler.
The storm had finally come with rain pouring down heavily on the jungle. Thankfully, everyone here found a way to protect themselves from the storm. Most of it was done by Carracosta and his actions. This storm could last for a while, so it was a good thing he brought them all some berries to eat.
As for Carracosta himself, he was the only one who hadn't found shelter yet as he was out in the open. But he wasn't worried at all. After all, it has one sturdy and thick shell. The Prototurtle felt like he had done all the work he needed to do. Everyone was safe and sheltered from the storm.
Well, that's what he thought at first. When he was heading to the river to get some sleep, the Water-Rock-Type noticed something unusual close by.
A Togepi was drifting in the river, unconscious and unresponsive, face-down while in the storm. There seemed to be chipped eggshells above the lake, indicating that this Togepi had just hatched from its egg not too long ago. It was also riding on its eggshells to stay afloat.
"Carra?!" Carracosta gasped as he jumped into the water, knowing that it wasn't safe for a Pokemon like Togepi to be drifting out in the open during a rainstorm. The Prototurtle Pokemon swam rapidly towards the Spike Ball Pokemon, grabbing it with his large fins.
"Costa." Carracosta successfully got the fainted Togepi out of the river and to dry land, placing the Spike Ball Pokemon down.
"T-Togepi..." The little Togepi groaned as she coughed up water after being saved. As water came out of her, Togepi was waking up. And the first thing she saw was the face of Carracosta looking down at her.
"Carra?"
"Pi...Togepi! Toge!" Togepi suddenly started crying and for good reason. Not too long ago, she was drifting on a river with her eggshells floating about while unconscious with her face in the water. And now she had woken up to a new territory and a new face just staring at her. And for a Pokemon her age, it made sense as to why she would cry.
"C-Carra?!" Carracosta jerked back when the Spike Ball Pokemon started crying her eyes out as he was caught off guard by this. Crying Pokemon isn't something he's used to.
The Prototurtle Pokemon looked around to see if there was someone to help him, but he was the only one awake that could do anything. So, with instinct, Carracosta picked up Togepi from the ground with his fins, carrying the Spike Ball Pokemon while she was still crying."
"Toge!"
"C-Carracosta!" Not knowing what to do about all of this crying, Carracosta decided to just find a spot to shelter Togepi instead since that's what he's best at.
The Prototurtle Pokemon used Iron Head to smash the ground, creating yet another hole. This time for Togepi. He grabbed some nearby leaves, just to put them inside as a comfortable bed for the Spike Ball Pokemon. The sound of Carracosta smashing his head on the ground while vibrations go through wasn't making things better as Togepi cried harder after hearing that.
"Togepi!" Her crying could be enough to wake everyone else in the forest up by this point if Carracosta doesn't do something.
"Carra...Carra..." Carracosta hushed Togepi as he placed her inside of the shelter gently.
"PI...! Toge..." Being placed inside of the comfortable shelter was enough to make Togepi settle down. This comfortable and relaxing feeling was proving to be effective as Carracosta also placed some berries inside the shelter for Togepi. "T-Togepi..."
"Costa..." Carracosta sighed in relief as the crying had stopped.
"Toge-Toge." The Spike Ball Pokemon played around with berries, not really eating them yet. She was just playing with her food at this point. While playing with the berries, Togepi looked up at Carracosta, knowing that this was the Pokemon who brought her to safety and gave her these berries to play with as well as a comfortable little den that she rolled around in.
Because of this, Togepi immediately grew an attachment to the Prototurtle Pokemon, showing off a smile to him instead of her usual crying. And that was pleasant to Carracosta's view.
As the storm was raging on, Carracosta stayed by Togepi's side to keep her safe. Especially because she's a newcomer to this jungle, where Carracosta is essentially the biggest figure here. With thunder striking and Togepi about to cry because of the thunderclap, Carracosta quickly responded by placing his fins on the Spike Ball Pokemon's head, calming her down.
"T-Togepi..." And Togepi certainly felt calm when Carracosta did that. She even giggled as she bit Carracosta's fin. "Toge!"
"Ca!" Carracosta flinched from that as he pulled his fin away instantly while Togepi laughed at him.
"Toge-Toge-Toge-Toge!"
"Carra..." Carracosta sighed as he knew he had a brand new situation to deal with. But it wasn't difficult for him considering how beloved he is in this jungle.
"Togepi..." Togepi yawned as she was heading to sleep finally. And for extra comfort, Carracosta got some more leaves, placing them on the Spike Ball Pokemon as a blanket, which Togepi greatly enjoyed as she dozed off.
And ever since then, after the storm settled, Carracosta now had the role to take care of Togepi. Just like how he took care of all the Pokemon here.
Togepi attached herself to Carracosta. So much so that she couldn't leave his side at all. She would jump onto the back of his shell as a ride and Carracosta went along with it. It was his responsibility to take care of her. And take care of her he did. Flawlessly too.
But when she wasn't on his back, she would wander off, getting herself into trouble with the other Pokemon, sparking up situations for Carracosta to handle on his own.
When Togepi ends up on a tree somehow and nearly falls off, Carracosta was there to catch her. If she got herself involved with any bad company in the jungle, Carracosta would jump in to save her. He was the strongest Pokemon here so no one dared to cross or go against him.
Togepi would also make friends with the other small Pokemon here, but most of the time, she would drag them into scenarios that greatly endanger their well-being. And of course, Carracosta would have to step in and save them while also scolding Togepi for starting whatever mess she made.
This upset Togepi of course, but Carracosta would quickly solve it by hugging her or giving her some words of comfort or more. As such, Togepi never hated Carracosta. Not even once. But Carracosta also gave her many words of advice that could greatly help her in life. And one advice, or rather, a warning, was to not interact with the south part of the forest. A mysterious lake with unusual water exists there that are too enigmatic and strange for anyone in the jungle to involve themselves with.
By sunset, they would sit by a tree, eating berries together while watching the morning sun slowly set over the horizon. When Togepi would choke on the berries, Carracosta was there to help her with his water. Whatever happened, Carracosta was always present to keep the Spike Ball Pokemon safe. And because of this, Togepi saw Carracosta as her father.
By night, Carracosta would let Togepi witnesses a Volbeat and Illumise light show with each of them making geometric shapes in the night sky with their tail. Togepi laid on Carracosta's belly while gazing at the view of Volbeat and Illumise lights as her eyes lit up. She wished she could just fly up there and touch them if she could.
And when she finished witnessing everything at night, she would head to sleep on Carracosta's belly while the Prototurtle Pokemon put his fins over her, falling asleep with her too.
3 Months passed and Togepi had been accustomed to the jungle. She was causing less trouble, thankfully, and had grown to know everyone in the jungle. She hasn't been sticking herself to Carracosta as much recently but that was just a sign of growth from her.
Togepi was standing in a line with her friends as she was trying to learn a new move to defend herself. Everyone here has at least one or two more moves to defend themselves from any potential trouble. But not Togepi. Which is why she was being helped by her friends to learn a new move.
Carracosta came over to see the other Pokemon helping Togepi. It was a pleasant sight to the eyes, seeing how much Togepi has grown ever since the day she washed up by the jungle with broken eggshells.
Unfortunately, on this day, when night came, tragedy had struck.
Night.
During this night, another storm came by and everyone knew what to do and where to go with Carracosta helping out as usual.
But there was something different about this storm. Something supernatural and odd. Even the humans at the nearby village could tell. Especially Carracosta as he looked up at the sky.
There was no rain present. But that wouldn't stop everyone from taking shelter from the approaching storm. This time, yellow rumbling could be seen in the clouds instead of the usual blue. Something was definitely off.
"Pi! Togepi!" Togepi was heading over to her shelter while hopping on Carracosta's back. "Toge!"
"Carra." Carracosta brought Togepi along to the shelter he made for her 3 months ago when she first came here. Carefully moving through the jungle as the wind was howling. At first, even though the weather seemed a bit odd, Carracosta knew that it was something would all be able to get through.
Sadly, it was far beyond odd.
Because the moment the rumbling stopped, that's when the impossible happened. This particular day was also connected to an important time in this modern history. One that was present in both worlds.
From the far distance, Carracosta, and all the Pokemon here, noticed something unusual in the distance. Something unbelievably horrific. A being that had once put both worlds into a state of blackout and nearly destroyed Equestria in the process.
The Storm Behemoth.
This was the same day the Storm Behemoth first emerged as its hulking 500ft could be seen from far distances, intimidating everyone.
"T-Toge?!"
"Carra...!"
With a roar matching thunder, the Storm Behemoth stomped its foot on the ground as a means of advancing. But once it stomped its foot, it sent a powerful electrical shockwave to come out of it. This shockwave was very widespread as it moved so fast and at such great distances that it hit the nearby town, damaging the buildings and nearby trees that surrounded it.
It wasn't just the town. But also the jungle too because of its ludicrous range. The small town wasn't as heavily built as other places in Equestria. So once it took a second step, another electrical pulse came through, stronger than the previous one.
This time, it blew away some of the buildings, forcing the residents inside to take cover and hold on to something. The trees themselves were electrocuted, taking massive amounts of damage that could destroy them soon.
All the Pokemon hid further in their dens, terrified of the Storm Behemoth and electrical pulses that were being summoned. Trees around them were starting to fall, prompting some of the Pokemon who lived in hollow trees to exit from it to keep themselves safe.
Not just the trees, but many dens were being affected too by the growing strength of the Storm Behemoth's pulses. Many Pokemon were losing their shelter because of this.
As the Storm Behemoth took more steps, more pulses that kept growing in strength were coming along. Carracosta held Togepi in his arm, keeping her safe from the pulses.
Since he was part Rock, the electrical pulses weren't a bother for him. However, as they grew stronger, even the durable Carracosta could feel their overwhelming and devastating volts just a bit. And if it continues growing, that could spell bad news for the Prototurtle Pokemon.
All the Pokemon who had their dens and trees destroyed went over to Carracosta's side since they depend on him for safety. Carracosta knew that he had to find a way to keep everyone safe during this event.
As all the Pokemon stayed by his side, Carracosta brought everyone to the one place he swore not to enter or any Pokemon else. The south section where the mysterious lake resides. But, this south section had a wide tree with an even wider hollow hole. It was certainly thicker than most trees here too.
Believing that this could protect them all, Carracosta encouraged all the Pokemon here to enter this hollow tree as a new shelter. It was wide enough to hold a ton of Pokemon, possibly hundreds.
As each of the small Pokemon hopped inside, Carracosta stood behind everyone else while the electrical pulses kept coming through, acting as a protective shield around them.
Once everyone was inside, Carracosta had to make sure that everyone was still safe. Even though the small Pokemon were inside this large tree, there were still other Pokemon in this jungle that could be in danger. So, with great instincts and a brave heart, Carracosta left the south section to go and help other Pokemon.
"Toge!" Togepi called out Carracosta's name as she and everyone feared for his well being while the storm raged on. It had reached a point where it was beyond 500ft.
The last thing Togepi and the others saw was Carracosta running over the horizon with the Storm Behemoth roaring in the distance as they all hid further in the hollow tree.
Hours passed and the Pokemon were unsure of what happened with Carracosta, he hadn't come back yet. They were greatly worried and thought up the worst possible outcomes in their heads. But they couldn't help it. It seemed like this storm would last forever as it had reached a state of critical mass.
Thunderbolts were being summoned by this behemoth. The fury of a raging storm was now a part of this night-time event, much to the dismay of the Pokemon.
The thunderbolts were widespread as they had enough destructive potential to shatter trees. Many shelters and dens were unfortunately destroyed by these thunderbolts. All that work Carracosta put in had been wiped away. Everyone huddled together, hoping for the storm to end and for Carracosta to come back safely.
One of the thunderbolts managed to hit the tree they all hid in. It was strong enough to leave a hole in it, despite how thick it was. And sadly, it worsened. With the next electrical pulse being far stronger, it raced towards this part of the jungle as everyone braced themselves.
The pulse struck the tree, delivering a shockwave so grand that it forced the tree out of the ground, removing its roots. Now the tree was losing balance while everyone was still in it.
All the Pokemon inside were screaming as they had been separated from each other. While everyone fell onto the ground, tumbling and crashing into other fallen trees while the larger tree came crashing down, making a loud thud, Togepi, unfortunately, fell into the water from the direction she went.
"Togeeeee!" The Spike Ball Pokemon cried out as was she cut off when she landed in the water. A truly disastrous event that put many Pokemon in peril as Togepi was now sinking instead of floating above. She didn't have anything to float on like her eggshells from months back.
As she sunk deeper into the lake, she was starting to lose consciousness. But not only that, she could feel something about her changing. A somewhat familiar feeling. But she couldn't make it out because she had fainted.
Thankfully, since this was the night the Storm Behemoth was born it was also the same night it was destroyed. In the distance, everyone could see that a certain Pikachu, Ash's Pikachu, was in front of the face of the Storm Behemoth.
And when it came face-to-face with the being of pure electricity, the Electric Mouse Pokemon unleashed a Thunderbolt of 170,000,000 volts packed behind it. An astronomical amount that only a Legendary Pokemon could rival or outmatch.
And it was those bolts of thunder that had finally defeated and even eradicated the Storm Behemoth, putting an end to the horrifying storm. But not before one final pulse spread across the world, causing further mass destruction. And the final result was an explosion of electricity that was the aftermath of it all, separating the clouds themselves.
The storm was over.
Hours after the horrific Storm Behemoth event, morning had arrived with the sun beaming through the clouds with a radiant shine.
Every Pokemon came out, injured and hurt after the horrifying storm. Thankfully, no one perished since the pulses only really seem to heavily affect the environment instead of living beings.
The jungle was a mess. All the Pokemon witnessed their dens and shelters gone with many trees obliterated. Their home was a chaotic ruin now.
But, despite all of that, there was a ray of hope. In the distance, Carracosta could be seen. He was okay, much to the joy of the Pokemon here.
Carracosta's defence was nothing to scoff at. It can really protect him from highly devastating attacks. Although, it did take some damage as there were visible cracks on it. But, nothing Carracosta couldn't power through.
Overjoyed and relieved, the Pokemon ran to Carracosta's side, all hugging the Prototurtle Pokemon as he hugged them all back. He had successfully helped the other Pokemon who were still out in the open during the Storm Behemoth event. When he thinks about helping others, Carracosta never fails.
However, one individual was missing from the group of Pokemon who were in the hollow tree last night. Togepi wasn't here.
"Carraco?! Carraco?!" He started calling out for Togepi's name after realizing she wasn't here with everyone else. All the other Pokemon started calling for Togepi's name as they started searching for the Spike Ball Pokemon.
But little did they know, Togepi was in uncharted waters right now.
Over at the lake, an egg had emerged, staying afloat on the water. This egg highly resembled a Togepi egg, but it wasn't a Togepi egg. Instead, it had the pattern of a Togekiss egg.
And this is where it happened. On this day, Togepi had been turned into a Togekiss while also being reverted into an egg-state. That's when it was revealed why Carracosta did not want anyone interacting with the lake.
Because the lake shared the same water that the Arcane Sea had. Unpredictable with varying effects on all Pokemon. And it certainly affected the Jubilee Pokemon.
With Togekiss now an egg, she was drifting away from the jungle instead of towards it. But she didn't know that and neither did Carracosta and all her friends.
Within the egg, Togekiss was crying. She feared that all of her friends had perished by the storm and especially her father-figure Carracosta. She didn't know the true outcome, she just thought of the worst-case scenario. And because of that, she was crying within the egg, fearing for her friends while the egg drifted away, entering the sea.
Many months later, the Togekiss egg had been found in an unnamed marshland. This marshland also had that same mystical water in it, just like the jungle and the Arcane Sea.
Togekiss kept crying. She wouldn't stop. But her cries could not be heard by anyone else. Not even the Pokemon that were nearby her egg. Her egg had been laying next to a white water lily with tall blades of grass for hours as it seemed that she would be in this state for a long time with no one to hear her cries.
Until Delphox found her.
"Delphox?" Delphox moved the blades of grass away as she had spotted the Togekiss egg sitting next to the water lily. Delphox was already aware that this water was strange, so she made sure to carefully keep her distance.
This was the day Delphox found her as she picked the egg up. And when she did, she was the first one to hear the crying coming from the egg as a pink light and vibrations ran through her.
Delphox, with her amazing psychic mind and capabilities, was able to tell what Pokemon was inside of this egg. It was a Togekiss from what her mind was able to gather. A fully-evolved Pokemon in an egg meant for a baby Pokemon was new to her.
Seeing this as an amazing discovery, Delphox eventually brought the egg with her, heading back to Frenzy Forest and her home. And it was that moment that led to a series of events that eventually transitioned into the present.
Present-day.
After reminiscing, Togekiss wiped her tears. She deeply missed her friends and father figure from the jungle. Which is why she was so confused as to where she was when she hatched.
Twilight, seeing that Togekiss had mellowed down, decided to finally approach the Jubilee Pokemon, but with caution.
"Um...Hi," Twilight spoke.
"Kiss? Toge?!" Togekiss gasped when spotting Twilight as she backed up against the tree.
"It's fine. It's fine." Twilight spoke in a gentle voice. "I'm not here to hurt you."
"Toge...?" Togekiss stopped scampering around.
"Sorry that I scared you earlier back there. That was my bad." Twilight apologized. "Guess chasing you down didn't make things better...if you noticed."
"Togekiss."
"That Carracosta over there, does it remind you of someone important?" Twilight was able to put the pieces together on why Togekiss looked at Carracosta with an expression such as that earlier.
"Togekiss..." Togekiss nodded.
"Espeon..." Eve slowly approached Togekiss to greet her.
"Togekiss?"
"Eon." Eve showed that, just like her trainer, she wasn't hostile. Togekiss could tell that all of Twilight's Pokemon, except for Absol who was keeping a great distance, were not here to harm her or cause any trouble. They were just worried about her.
"Togekiss..." The Jubilee Pokemon stood up as she felt like she could trust them.
"I-I'm not sure what to do now that you've hatched. I mean...Delphox might not be happy unless I explain it to her." Twilight laughed nervously. "Not sure you'd enjoy being researched all of a sudden, huh?"
"Toge..." Togekiss looked at Twilight and her Pokemon with innocent eyes. Something about the positive aura that Twilight was radiating was highly effective on Togekiss. And for good reason.
Since Togekiss is a Pokemon that only shows up when there is harmony and happiness, it would react greatly to those who also radiate harmony and happiness. And Twilight was definitely one of those individuals who has that same energy within and around her.
As such, the Jubilee Pokemon had a smile on her face as she approached Twilight and her Pokemon, feeling safe around them. "Kiss! Togekiss! And since she still had the mind of a baby, her first instinct was to hug Twilight and her Pokemon as she felt relieved right now. "Toge!"
"Oh!" Twilight shot up. "O-Okay. This is nice. Hugs are nice."
"Absol...!" Absol wasn't enjoying this since he's not the biggest fan of hugs in general. Even from his own trainer as he wanted to break free.
But right now, Togekiss was experiencing a moment of happiness, so he let it be.
Returning to Ponyville, Togekiss came along as she was now brave enough to enter this new land that was unfamiliar to her. It certainly wasn't a jungle.
Upon returning, Twilight's friends had finally found her and Togekiss standing together as they immediately ran to their side.
"Twilight!" Sunset came to a screeching halt.
"Hey." Twilight waved. "Sorry about the sudden disappearance. Had to find Togekiss, ya know."
"Togekiss!
"Oh. You got it to stop crying?" Dawn said.
"Mhm. She mellowed down after a while. She just needed some space." Twilight smiled at Togekiss.
"Kiss!"
"Oh...okay..." Starlight sighed. "But what do we do now? Do we bring her back to Delphox?"
"Maybe not yet. Besides, I've got this to use." Twilight used her magic to hold up some of the remaining eggshells from Togekiss's egg. "Managed to get one out of the egg when it hatched. This might get us somewhere."
"Will it?" Spike asked.
"Hopefully." Twilight squeed as everyone laughed. Now Togekiss felt comfortable here. It wasn't the jungle but it was peaceful enough.
Togekiss had now hatched. And to explain this to Delphox won't be complicated since it's fairly straightforward. But she might not be too pleased. But who knows?
Togekiss would be staying with Twilight for a bit before returning to Delphox's hut as the journey continues.
Complete silence and tranquillity at the Pokemon House with all of the Pokemon currently asleep. With some exceptions. Krookodile was obviously keeping guard of the Pokemon House with some nocturnal Pokemon joining him.
Other than that, total silence, as well as all of Ponyville. Fluttershy was asleep in her bed with Chikorita lying down next to her and Audino holding Angel Bunny in her arms. Tomorrow, they were going to head out with Ash to view some Pokemon-exclusive locations so some early sleep was needed.
But unfortunately, someone wouldn't have a full-hour sleep through the night because of a certain little inconvenience that can really keep her up.
And that inconvenience came from Chikorita.
"Chiko..." The Leaf Pokemon stood up, walking out of Audino's arms. But she wasn't awake. Not at all. Instead, she was once again, for the second time, sleepwalking.
And the first to hear this was Audino who was the closest to her. Her feelers picked up on the sound of Chikorita's tiny little feet walking on the floor while she mumbled in her sleep.
"Dino...Audino?" The Hearing Pokemon rubbed her eyes as she rolled over. When rolling over with one eye opening, her gaze had locked onto the Leaf Pokemon who was sleepwalking yet again. "Audino?!" Audino fell flat on her face after being surprised by a second sleepwalking instance.
"Chikori..." Chikorita ended up smacking herself onto the door. Since she was sleepwalking, and considering how small she is, she couldn't exactly open the door by herself. She would need support. So, she kept walking into the door, making zero progress as her little legs were moving in one spot constantly. "Chiko..."
"Dino!" Thankfully, Audino was here as she grabbed Chikorita, preventing her from potentially going outside. She didn't want to deal with another sleepwalking scenario. Especially the one that happened back at the Crystal Empire which put both Audino and Chikorita in danger via that sinister Togepi.
And if she did somehow get through the door, Krookodile, the nocturnal Pokemon and Jade and Cold Colt would be there to help stop her from involving herself in anything dangerous.
A really lucky break indeed.
Audino sighed as she kept Chikorita close to her by making sure her arms do not let go for a second. Chikorita's feet were moving in the air as she was still in a sleepwalking state.
Meaning that Audino would have to stay up all night until Chikorita snaps out of it, much to the chagrin of the Hearing Pokemon.
"Audino..." Audino sighed. Ever since Chikorita came along she's acted like a big sister to her. And unfortunately, the responsibilities of a big sister smacked onto her.
But they're responsibilities that the Normal-Type can certainly handle. And it's all thanks to her wonderful, kind and caring trainer.
Ponyville, morning.
"Alright! You ready to go, Fluttershy?" Ash said as he placed his bag on his back.
"Pikachu!"
"Mhm!" Fluttershy nodded. "It's the Faye Mountains right? I can't wait! Krookodile. Take care of the Pokemon House as usual. And make sure you and Angel bunny get along, alright?"
"Krook..." Krookodile's eyes met with Angel Bunny as the two of them were still not on the best terms. But, for the sake of Fluttershy, they will do their best to not try and ruin each other while she's gone.
"Chrysalis and the changelings live at the Faye Mountains now as their new home. Hope you aren't nervous to go there," said Ash.
"Oh, no. Not at all." Fluttershy shook her head. "You're good friends with them after all. And any friend of you is a friend of mine But um...I'm a teensy bit nervous."
"Great. There's a pretty good shortcut Pikachu and I found when we first went there. Pretty fun too."
"Pika-Pika."
"Audino..." Audino yawned as she stayed up for hours last night, trying to keep Chikorita from sleepwalking away. As a result, when the morning came, she wasn't exactly in the most energetic mood as she was hunched over.
"Hm? Audi? You look tired. Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked.
"Audi...Audino..." Audino explained why she was so tired.
"Trying to keep Chikorita from sleepwalking? Aww..." Fluttershy patted the Hearing Pokemon on the head. "No need to worry. You were just being helpful. Here." Fluttershy then dug into her saddlebag which had different berries in them for certain situations.
One berry she had was the Chesto Berry. A berry that greatly helps with sleep conditions, even when someone is on the verge of sleeping.
"Audi...?"
"Have this Chesto Berry. It'll keep you up for sure." She fed her partner the Chesto Berry as Audino bit onto it.
"Dino...Audino..." Audino chewed the thick skin of the berry, Audino felt the dry flavour running through her mouth. But, past that dry flavour was an effect that can spark anyone up back to full energy. And that's what the berry did. "Di?! Audino!"
Audino could feel the effects of the Chesto Berry hit her as her eyes flared up with her feelers rising like they were being blown by the wind. Audino was back to 100% energy.
"Great! Isn't that better?" Fluttershy grinned.
"Audino!"
"Alright, Ash. I think we're ready to go now. Right, you two?"
"Audi!"
"Chikorita!" Chirkota jumped onto Audino's back, using her as a piggyback ride. It was time for them to head off to the Faye Mountains and experience some nice sightseeing and potentially a reunion with the changelings on Ash's part.
The Faye Mountains.
Still as mystical and beautiful as ever. And it received an extra touch in the form of a brand new landmark. One that was built from the ground up by a large group of hard-working individuals.
A Changeling Hive.
And of course, living in harmony with the Fairy-Type Pokemon here were the changelings themselves. Living in the newly-crafted hive that was made by them and the Pokemon as well, they were having possibly the best experiences they've had yet.
With all the magical healing spots and positive energy formed by Fairy magic, radiating across the land, the changelings were receiving healthy amounts of love that was keeping them strong.
And Ash, Fluttershy and their Pokemon got to witness this brand new look. The Faye Mountains were familiar to Ash but the hive was new to him and Pikachu as well as Fluttershy and her Pokemon. And they could also see that there were smaller hives in the shape of domes as they were spread out.
Speaking of Ash, the changelings were able to spot him and Pikachu right in the distance on a hill. And seeing Ash and Pikachu was one more was like seeing an old friend after so long.
"Hey, it's Ash and Pikachu!" Many of the changelings called out his name as they flew to them with some Pokemon next to them.
"Hey, you guys!" Ash and Pikachu waved, approaching the changelings. "How've you all been?"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"We've been great!" A changeling responded as she high-fived Ash with her hoof. Other changelings came by to greet Ash and Pikachu as they immediately surrounded the two of them.
"Mhm! Better than ever with all these Fairy-Type Pokemon!" Another nodded. They all told Ash that they were doing fine and they certainly were. This might be the best living conditions for them ever. Completely beating out their previous living condition in a dry wasteland.
"Nice!" Ash gave a thumbs up. "Great to see you all doing well. So that's your hive over there?"
"Sure is. We worked hard to make it feel and look like home."
"Makes me a bit homesick you know..." One changeling grumbled.
"Hm? Who's that?" A changeling spotted Fluttershy and her Pokemon.
"Oh!" Fluttershy shot up as she was standing behind Ash. "Um, hello." She gave a little smile and wave.
"Yeah. This is Fluttershy, Audino and Chikorita. Great friends of mine and I'm here with them to sightsee the Faye Mountains."
"Pikachu."
"Hm." One changeling started sniffing the area, detecting newfound Fairy-Type magic close by. "I smell new Fairy magic. Two of them. Coming from...them." He pointed at Fluttershy and Audino.
"Eh?" Fluttershy pulled back.
"Audino?"
"The Pokemon I understand but the pony?" A changeling went up to the duo as they also sensed the Fairy magic coming out of them.
"Um..." Fluttershy was getting a bit uncomfortable with all these changelings surrounding her and Audino in a circle, sensing the Fairy magic from them.
"Audino..."
"Chiko...!" Chikorita's leaf flared up as she growled at the changelings.
"A bit close...!" Fluttershy whimpered.
"Alright, alright." Ash walked in between them, laughing and giving Fluttershy and Audino space. "Fluttershy's got some Fairy magic in her and Audino can become part Fairy when she Mega Evolves. That's why you can really sense it out of them."
"Oooh..." The changelings nodded.
"Whew..." Fluttershy and Audino exhaled.
"Looks like you've all got Pokemon of your own, huh?" Ash observed how there were Pokemon attached to the changelings.
"Yeah, but we don't have those um...The um..." A changeling was struggling to figure out what to say until a fellow changeling helped him out.
"Poke Balls."
"Right! Poke Balls! We don't have those to catch them. But they're around so much so it's fine."
"Hard to sleep with them though..." A changeling sighed.
"Ah. Great stuff. By the way, how's Chrysalis?" Ash asked.
"Queen Chrysalis? She's doing well. Better than us. Right now she's adding the finishing touches to our new hive."
"Yeah, she's been a bit more...fancy than usual." A changeling scratched their head.
"Too fancy if you ask me. I think it's that Ribombee that's next to her all the time. But she gives us free delicious pollen so I'm not complaining."
"You should see what she's been doing so far. She's been taking care of Anthophilia and all of us more than usual. Well...mostly her."
"Whaddya say we check it out, buddy?"
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed as Ash and him jumped off the hill landing on the lower section of the mountains.
"Oh, Ash! Wait for us!" Fluttershy gently fluttered down as Chikorita and Audino had to take a different path since they weren't going to risk jumping from this height.
Upon reaching the lower and flatter land of the mountain, Ash and Pikachu were greeted by more changelings who were hanging out with the Fairy-Type Pokemon here. Usually, changelings stay in their hives most of the time and only stay outside it if they're on a mission. But in this land, they can do both without having to worry about anything important at all.
Ash and Pikachu got to have a closer look at these smaller dome-shaped hives and quickly came to find out that they were homes for all the changelings to live in. Like a town. Seeing it reminded them of the Pikachu Highlands since they have a somewhat similar layout in terms of the massive hive and the smaller hives.
"Hey, Ash. Pikachu." A changeling flew by, greeting them.
"Morning, Ash and Pikachu." Two changelings looked outside their hive.
"Hi, Ash." Another changeling greeted them. And another. And yet another changeling said their hellos' and heys' each time Ash, Pikachu or any of them passed by. Fluttershy, who was floating behind Ash, could see the massive difference of when she first encountered the changelings back at the Canterlot Royal Wedding to now.
As Ash and Pikachu greeted the passing Pokemon, they finally reached the hive where Chrysalis and the other changelings resided at the moment. Upon reaching it, there were already changeling guards who stood by the entrance as ordered by Chrysalis.
This was done because of what occurred back at the previous hive. Chrysalis had decided to amp up her defences. But, the guards quickly saw that Ash and Pikachu were headed here so they were alright to pass after how they helped them.
"Ah, Ash. Pikachu." They both said as they walked to the side allowing the duo inside. But, before Ash and Pikachu did that, they were admiring the armour the changeling guards had on.
"Oooooh! Sweet armour!" Ash gawked.
"Pika!"
"It is? Looks a bit too tacky if you ask me." The first guard disagreed as he adjusted his helmet.
"I don't know. I like these little horns they have down here. See?" The second one touched the horns that were on the lower part of the helmet.
"Oh my..." Fluttershy and her Pokemon came across the hive, seeing how freakishly tall it was up-close. "I wonder what the previous hive was like..."
"Chrysalis said it was almost as tall as Canterlot Castle," Ash replied. "And if she had more changelings, it would've gotten even bigger for more space! So it's technically always growing."
"Pika..."
"Hopefully not too much..." The first guard murmured. "The echoes get a bit overwhelming at times, to be honest."
"Wonder what's in here?" Ash advanced with Fluttershy and the Pokemon, finally entering the changeling hideout for the very first time.
And when they got there, they could see what the changelings meant when they mentioned the word fancy. Chrysalis and the changelings, but mostly the Pokemon, had made this hive stand out from the previous one. It still had its usual green aesthetic to it but with the addition of Fairy stardust that filled the walls, ground and ceiling.
Because of all the Fairy magic here, the green aesthetic was also given a slight tint of purple and pink with very opaque lights that glowed which could barely be seen. But they were there if you were to look hard enough.
Gems and jewels were also a part of the hive, most likely from the Carbink. A smooth aroma filled the hive, coming straight from Spritzee and Aromatisse. It was easy to tell that the Pokemon helped with the creation of this new Changeling Hive. And of course, there was pollen from Ribombee here. But they were all placed into leaf baskets to keep them clean.
Certainly, this was a huge step-up from the last one. One that embraces a more Pokemon and love-filled feel to it. And Ash, Fluttershy and their Pokemon could tell as all they could do was gawk while wandering in the hive.
Eventually, their little wandering led them to the new and improved throne room of Queen Chrysalis. Wider in scope, flashier in design and more welcoming than before.
And sitting there was Chrysalis herself, along with that same Ribombee, who had spotted Ash and Pikachu entering the room with newcomers.
"Ash! Pikachu!" Chrysalis sat up as she had the widest look on her face. "You actually came to visit!"
"Ribom!"
"Hi! Sure did. And for some sightseeing too." Ash responded. "Nice hive by the way."
"Pikachu!"
"Thank you. The Pokemon are mostly responsible for this. But more importantly, I believe someone will be excited to see you again. Anthophilia!" Chrysalis called for the youngest changeling here.
"Papa!" And from the other room came the baby changeling Anthophilia who was flying at surprising speeds, already sensing Ash's presence the moment he arrived at the Faye Mountains.
"Hey there!" Ash held his arm out as he and Anthophilia embraced each other with a hug. It was akin to that of a father and daughter reuniting. Which is essentially what Anthophilia views Ash to be. "Man, your hug is pretty tough, actually!"
"Pika!"
"How've ya been?" Ash raised Anthophilia.
"Good!" She suddenly spoke, no longer babbling.
"It's lucky you showed up Ash. If she were to go one more day without seeing you, her tears would be impossible to stop most likely." Chrysalis walked up to Ash. "Excellent timing on your part."
"Hehe! Timing!" Anthophilia poked Ash's face.
"Oh my goodness...A changeling baby?!" Fluttershy made a prolonged gasp as Chrysalis turned to face the pegasus. Fluttershy adored babies of all kinds. And changeling babies were a new sight to her as she flew up to Anthophilia. "So cute!"
"Anthophilia is a fast grower. Not just in height but in terms of magic too. For a changeling baby, it's surprising that she can pull off potent magic with little effort. Usually, it takes years, but not for her."
"Sounds like someone's got some really good potential, huh?" Ash grinned.
"Potential!" Anthophilia raised her hooves as Fluttershy flew closer to the changeling baby.
"Um...if it's okay with you Ash and um, Queen Chrysalis...but could I hold her?" Fluttershy asked while looking at Chrysalis, hoping that she trusts her. Only Ash, Pikachu and his Pokemon were really close to the changelings so far.
"Go ahead." Chrysalis nodded. Just like Fluttershy, a friend of Ash is a friend of hers.
"Here you go." Ash passed Anthophilia over to Fluttershy, letting the pegasus hold the little changeling baby. Carefully, Fluttershy held Anthophilia in her hooves.
"Oooh..." Anthophilia, intrigued by Fluttershy's colour scheme of all things, poked the pegasus in the face.
"So small!" Fluttershy gushed as her eyes lit up with millions of stars. "And surprisingly soft too."
"Pika-Pikachu?" Pikachu went up to Ribombee, having a chat with her.
"Bomb!"
"Enjoy yourself as much as you want here, Ash I, however, will be a bit busy and away from my subjects for a while," said Chrysalis.
"Hm? You're heading somewhere important?" Ash asked while petting Anthophilia on the head.
"Very. I just need to solve something that has been surfacing up for quite some time now." Chrysalis looked at her hoof. "Something that harms my subjects."
"Harms your subjects?" Fluttershy turned to Chrysalis.
"Is there something in the mountains?" Ash looked around.
"Not quite." Chrysalis decided to reveal and break it down to them. "You see, there is this unexplainable magic that I emanate whenever I feel a sense of anguish or sorrowfulness. One that seems to drain all my subjects around me, strangely enough. Except for the Pokemon from what I've seen."
"So like, it's new magic that you've unlocked?" said Ash.
"Definitely. And I need to discover what it is and how to solve it. Before I continue harming my subjects in times of woe. For their sake. And there's only one place to go."
"Pika?"
"Audino?"
"Chiko?"
"I've been hoping to avoid this no matter what but...she's the only one who is an expert of changeling magic. I'll have to approach my mother."
"Your mother?!" Ash and Fluttershy both said along with the Pokemon.
"Yes. The previous Changeling Queen before me. Mellifera. She's the one who created changeling magic so she must know what this dark green magic must mean...Hopefully."
"So you're the...which number queen are you?" Fluttershy tilted her head.
"Second. My mother reigned far longer than I currently have." Chrysalis turned around, thinking about her mother and a certain situation that might happen that she wasn't hoping for. "If I want to reach her, I will have to tread into hazardous territory. My subjects certainly cannot come along. Ash. I was hoping that you would take care of them."
"Hm? Me?"
"I'll be gone for a while. Not for a whole day, just a few hours, hopefully. But, I'm afraid of leaving my subjects here alone. Even with the Pokemon here who have bonded with them. Which is why I was hoping you'd show up. So you can protect them. Ghetsis will still come for us without a doubt. And if there's even a small percentage that his forces strike while I'm away, I cannot leave he-"
"You got it."
"Eh?" Chrysalis paused as she looked up at Ash.
"No need to worry. We'll look after them, no problem."
"Pikachu!"
"You can head off and find your mom to solve this dark green magic stuff out as fast as you can. And if anyone from Team Plasma comes along, we'll smash em flat!"
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu flexed his muscles.
"Oh, um! What Ash said. We'll certainly hit them that's for sure." Fluttershy squeed.
"Oh thank you so much!" Chrysalis hugged Ash suddenly. "I can certainly count on you! Also, make sure Anthophilia doesn't cause too much trouble, alright?"
"Got it." Ash nodded
"Alright." Chrysalis sighed a bit. "I'm a bit nervous actually. Having to meet my mother again..."
"How come? Is she really scary?" Fluttershy asked.
"Scary is an understatement...My mother and I are not on the best terms...If I'm to meet her again, I'll have to be cautious. Especially when I'm going to be away from my hive for a few hours."
"Pika..."
"My reunion with her may also result in me never coming back...so I have more reasons to be nervous." Chrysalis patted Pikachu on the head. "Times like this where I wish I had a communication spell with all my subjects.
"Then, in that case, take this." Ash took out his Xtransceiver.
"Hm? With this...thing? What is it?" Chrysalis squinted her eyes.
"Ash, you're lending your Xtransceiver?" Fluttershy said.
"Sure am. Use this to call us if you're in danger. You can stay in contact with us this way. Just press that little button and you can call Fluttershy. This is her number." He showed Chrysalis Fluttershy's Trainer number and how to use the Xtransceiver in a short amount of time.
"Ah, I see." Chrysalis nodded in understanding. "Thank you, Ash."
"I'll make sure to respond right away if you call." Fluttershy held her Xtransceiver out.
"Well. I should be going now. Take care, Anthophilia. Ribombee." Chrysalis gave her daughter a kiss on the head before finally leaving the hive to attend to important business. For the sake of her subjects and their well-being.
"Bye-Bye!" Anthophilia waved goodbye to her mother.
"Ri!"
Chrysalis also bid farewell to her subjects, letting them know that she'll be gone for a few hours. But she promises she'll return.
"So! Wanna check out some neat moves, Anthophilia?" Ash asked.
"Moves!" She waggled her hooves about, loving that idea. If it meant spending time with Ash, she'll be up for it while Fluttershy and Ash take the responsibility of guarding the Changeling Hive and all of the Faye Mountains.
Deep within some murky and caliginous woods in Equestria.
Chrysalis stood before a wall of wilted flowers. These flowers filled the dark woods along with trees that had these odd black cracks forming around them. A bleak and harrowing mist covered these woods with ominous sounds echoing silently with whispers. But this didn't bother Chrysalis as she held her breath in, ready to speak at high volumes.
"Can you hear me?! Open up!" She bellowed. " The greatest changeling to ever grace this world since our inception has returned! I need to request something! So let me in!"
As her voice overpowered the echoes of the woods, the wall of flowers suddenly burst out with a booming sound as wind starting blowing aggressively towards Chrysalis's direction. Through the wall of flowers, there was an entrance filled with darkness as horrifying numbers of locusts suddenly flew out. Chrysalis stood there with a stern face as the locusts had engulfed the Changeling Queen, pulling her inside of the entrance.
After that, the wall of wilted flowers conjoined once more, hiding the entrance as Chrysalis had disappeared from the spot she stood in. She was in an area that is uncharted to many.
After being pulled in by the giant swarm of locusts through the entrance hidden by the wall of wilted flowers, her destination was graced before her eyes. One she hoped she'd never come to.
The locusts appeared in a throne room of sorts. One that seemed to be bleak with black and green cracks patterned on the wall. Skulls of what seemed to be ponies could be seen plastered on the side of the walls as they lit up the room with green fire coming out of their hollow eyes.
And once everything was lit up, the one that Chrysalis feared to ever return to stood before her on a crooked throne with a sharp and rugged look.
Her mother, Mellifera.
"Chrysalis..." She spoke in a low tone as a swarm of locusts were surrounding her. The locusts suddenly zoomed forward, grabbing Chrysalis as they pinned her against the wall.
"Ugh!" Chrysalis groaned.
"You have a lot of nerve coming back here. Especially at a time like this." Mellifera narrowed her eyes as the locusts were plaguing around Chrysalis's body, almost reaching her mouth. "Ever since-" Mellifera suddenly coughed. "Ever since you left this land, my plans have greatly dwindled. And I have been forced to live in this lifeless land!"
"G-Grr!" Chrysalis strained as she tried to use her magic to break free. But her mother's magic seemed to be superior as the number of locusts had been increased.
"Why have-" She coughed yet again. "Why have you come back here?"
"I-I've come here to ask you about a new kind of magic! Chrysalis yelled as the locusts almost covered her face.
"Hm?" Mellifera moved her locusts away from Chrysalis as her interest was piqued. "New kind of magic, you say?"
"Gh!" Chrysalis breathed in and out. "Yes...That's all. After that, I'll be gone from here."
"Then speak." She coughed and hacked once more. "What is it?"
"It's a magic that drains the energy out of my subjects when I feel sorrow. What kind of magic is it? You're the most well-versed in changeling magic when it comes to knowledge of it. You must know."
"Hmph." The locusts placed Chrysalis down. "So it seems that your potential is finally deciding to transpire after so long. Perhaps you are just a late bloomer."
"Late bloomer? You mean I was meant to have this from a young age?"
"Exactly. I've waited years for it but it never surfaced. How frustrating that it would show itself now of all times...The Vitality Drain."
"Vitality...Drain?" Chrysalis gasped after hearing that. She was already able to tell what it meant since she's seen her subjects experience it whenever she's down.
"I would've thought your potential would forever be held back by your mental barriers. But it seems, by fate, it has finally come. And also led you to me."
"This Vitality Drain...How do I erase it? For the sake of my subjects! I want to keep them all safe from any harm. Even if it comes from me."
"Erase it? Hah!" Mellifera laughed as that prompted another cough to come out. "You can't erase what is a part of you, child. You were meant to have this spell and now it has finally come to you. But I can assume, you can't control it yet, can you?"
"Kh!" Chrysalis kissed her teeth.
"Ah, you are still young after all. But no matter. Now that you've finally unlocked your magic even further...creatures that are arguably greater than you will even be affected by your newfound Vitality Drain. Once you can find a way to control it, you'll be able to-"
"I won't use it." Chrysalis suddenly interrupted Mellifera. "Not in the way you wish I would."
"Hm?" The first changeling queen narrowed her eyes as she slowly approached Chrysalis. "What did you say?"
"I've thrown out the old ways, mother. I've found a new way to receive love. Genuine love. Something that you never gave me." Chrysalis shoved Mellifera back with one hoof as the first Changeling Queen gave a face of disgust.
"Thrown away? Genuine...?" Mellifera shook her head, trying to believe that her daughter did not just say those vile words to her face. Hearing those words, Mellifera came to a possible conclusion. "You...You've been affected by those ponies, haven't you? They've done something to you..."
"No one did anything to me. It was merely my own will. My subjects and I have never been happier with our new choices."
"Kuh!" Mellifera scoffed. "Whatever the reason...not only do you have the nerve to return here, but you've also betrayed the changeling ways. And you have the absolute gall to ask me for help? Not to mention the fact that you're the reason I have to live in this land now!"
"I didn't come here for your petty distaste. I came here to protect my subjects. After all, you said it yourself once. I'm the only changeling that can preserve the legacy of our species, didn't you?"
"And yet you'll choose to soil that legacy too?" Another cough came through when she spoke and raised her voice at Chrysalis. "That particular way of approaching love is just so horrid and...unkempt! How could you accept something that I've worked so hard to fight against?!"
"That horrid and unkempt love benefits all changelings! And it's not just from us! Other species too! Such as humans, ponies and Poke-"
"Other?! Ugh!" Mellifera groaned, holding her throat. "So you've also decided to associate yourself with other species?! What happened to conquering and ruling all of Equestria?! Even the entire world?! You were raised for that one purpose and goal! Not to...make friends!"
"Oh please! I would've probably made friends much earlier if you never sheltered me in some sort of hive prison in the first place as some sort of birdcage!"
"I only did it because I saw the massive potential that you had! That special hive was meant to greatly increase your magic and bring out your latent potential! And yet, you also denied that as well! Besides, you would've never made friends either way in this land, so it would be useless."
"Because you isolated me from everyone else until I was ready to rule! That hive did nothing but make me believe your own cruel ideals as if it was brainwashing me! And I actually believed you for a long time...I could've ventured out into the world and made friends of my own and-"
"Enough with that friend talk?! I can't believe you and your pathetic subjects have chosen to accept something so vile and threatening that the ponies created!"
"It's vile and threatening to you because you've never loved me in the first place!" Chrysalis suddenly raised her voice, making the room echo as her horn flared with magic.
Mellifera stepped back after hearing what her own daughter said to her. She was a bit perplexed by those words but with her memories, she knew that Chrysalis was essentially telling the truth. Mellifera stood there frozen for a while, processing Chrysalis's words before snapping back to reality. Mellifera then let out another cough as she held her chest, wincing.
"Then... in that case..." Mellifera growled as her locusts were summoned once more, circling her. "If you cannot live up to the title of Changeling Queen, then it seems I'll have to place you back into that hive...to make you remember who you are."
"Huh?!" Chrysalis backed away as she saw the swarm of locusts rising. It was a clear sign that her mother was about to attack her.
The swarm of locusts were sent straight towards the second changeling queen with the intention of knocking her out so that Mellifera can change Chrysalis.
Not having any of that, Chrysalis put up a protective magic barrier to shield her from the swarm of locusts. Millions of locusts crashed onto the shield, surrounding and biting into it as constant buzzing could be heard from the outside of the shield.
"Don't try to fight back child! You know how powerful I am! Especially with my Curse Inducement Magic!" Merfillia's voice had been raised with her eyes flashing dark green along with her horn.
Chrysalis had enough strength to keep the barrier up. It was all thanks to the love she gained from the Fairy-Type Pokemon and Ash and Pikachu, her magic was stronger than ever.
The swarm of locusts pushed Chrysalis's shield back, causing her to crash through the walls of the throne room as she ended up on the outside of this land. As her barrier bounced on the ground, Chrysalis finally got to witness what this land looked like in the current day.
It was practically dead with nothing but dust and pebbles along with what seemed to be remnants of a previous changeling hive. Locusts were the only things that dwelled in this land, flying about. A horrible murky and dark mist was present here, similar to the dark woodland that Chrysalis came through. Very little of this hidden land remained. All that was left was the throne room that Mellifera sat in and some small plants were barely fertile and on the verge of dying out like the others.
Mellifera flew out of the throne room with dust from the destroyed walls rising. She pulled her locusts back, seeing that they weren't doing anything to Chrysalis's shield.
"I'm not here to fight you mother!" Chrysalis stood up with her barrier. "I just want to know how to get rid of this Vitality Drain!"
"I told you... you can't get rid of it, child!" Mellifera bellowed as she made the locusts form together, creating something abnormal and horrifying.
The locusts were all fusing to make one giant four-legged monster made entirely out of the swarming locusts. Due to the overwhelming numbers, the monster was nothing but darkness with green glows coming out of its eyes as it also had wings to fly.
"This land was once healthy...you were the reason it stayed that way when you were still here!"
"What...?" Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.
"And ever since you left, look at what happened!" Mellifera showed Chrysalis the current state of this hidden land.
"You were the core that was keeping this land together. And you abandoned it for some hive in the middle of nowhere! And I had to suffer alone because of you!"
As Mellifera yelled with her body flaring with dark green magic, the monster ran over to Chrysalis like a wolf as it then lunged at her with claws of locusts. Chrysalis closed her eyes as the locust claws swiped the shield, having enough strength to break it as it even knocked Chrysalis back.
"Ah!" Chrysalis screamed as she crashed through one of the pieces of the broken changeling hive. After hitting the ground, the locust monster lunged at Chrysalis once more.
Chrysalis quickly recovered as she knew that she saw the locust monster dashing right at her, ready for a potential grab from either the claws or mouth. Reacting quickly, Chrysalis fired a blast of magic from her horn which went through the locust monster's stomach.
After being blasted through the stomach, the locusts that had been hit had been obliterated by Chrysalis's beam, causing the monster to fall over with the other locusts separating themselves and deconstructing the monster. Frustrated, Mellifera decided to switch from locusts to something far worse.
Thorns.
"Do you have any idea how much I've already lost?!"
By manipulating the little amount of fertile life in this land, from the ground below, dark green thorns had emerged. These thorns had wrapped around Chrysalis's hooves and neck with their prickly and sharp texture also making contact with her. Chrysalis grunted as she was now being restrained by the thorns.
"N-Not like this!" Chrysalis closed her eyes.
"You've gotten stronger child. But you're still beneath me. My Curse Inducement Magic is far beyond you!"
"G-Grr!" Chrysalis tried to use magic to blast the thorns, but Mellifera used the thorns to wrap around Chrysalis's horn, preventing her from doing so.
"You are a greater threat than I ever imagined. That is why when I'm done reverting you to your true nature, you will live up to the Changeling Queen name and properly carry out our legacy. The way you were intended to!"
"N-No...I won't!" Chrysalis roared as she was trying her best to break free from this hold. But the thorns were too great and powerful for her to overcome so far.
"Yes, you will." Mellifera then summoned a gigantic cocoon from the ground, one that opened up beneath Chrysalis and the thorns.
"W-What the...?!" Chrysalis gasped.
"You think that hive is all I need to revert you? Wrong. I have other ways." Mellifera smirked as the cocoon opened wide, rising towards the second changeling queen. Chrysalis screamed and writhed, but that only made the thorns hurt her even further with their prickly exterior.
With no hope of breaking free, the cocoon had closed, consuming Chrysalis as the thorns were pulled away to make the cocoon stay in one piece because of how sharp they were.
Now within the cocoon, Chrysalis was being dragged beneath the ground of the dry and dead land. All she could see was the green appearance of the cocoon and nothing more as she tried to blast her way out of the cocoon.
"Relax, daughter. Soon, I'll erase any vile memories you've received and revert you to the changeling you were meant to be." Mellifera cackled as the cocoon had vanished, residing back into the lower earth of this land.
Beneath the land, the cocoon had brought Chrysalis into an underground-only area that was only accessible via the cocoon. Chrysalis was now trapped underneath here as she noticed that there were hundreds of other cocoons in this underground area. Meaning that Mellifera had a lot more in store if Chrysalis somehow dodged the first one.
"Ugh...!" Chrysalis held her head while still stuck in the cocoon. It's not like it was just going to spit her out. But what it was going to do was change her very soon. Not knowing how this process would occur, Chrysalis had to think and act fast to save herself.
First, she tried blasting her magic through the cocoon. But when she did, the magic had just been absorbed by the cocoon, in the end, making it clear that magic attacks wouldn't work.
So, Chrysalis went for the second option. An option that was thankfully possible because of Ash. She looked into her small little bag of silk made by Ribombee, taking out the Xtransceiver that Ash had lent her in case she needed help.
And she certainly needs help right now.
Ash thankfully taught her how to use the Xtransceiver so Chrysalis had a saving grace with her. By activating the communication device and selecting Fluttershy's Trainer Number, the call had begun as Chrysalis was hoping this would work.
And once again, with hope on her side, after 5 seconds, Fluttershy had answered the call with her face showing up on the screen.
"Hello? Chrysalis!"
"Thank goodness! Fluttershy, was it? I need help immediately!"
"Oh my! Are you in danger?!"
"Huh?!" Ash and Pikachu slid in with their faces showing on the Xtransceiver next to Fluttershy's face. "Chrysalis?! What happened!"
"Pikachu?!"
"Ash! Pikachu! I'm afraid I wasn't prepared for what my mother had in store."
"Where are you, right now?!"
"Pika?!"
"Ribom!"
"At the moment, a cocoon. But overall, I'm at a hidden land hidden beyond a wall of wilted flowers."
"How do we get there?" Fluttershy asked.
"There is a path that leads to a dark and misty woodland on the far east. Ash. You own a Dragonite, so you should be able to spot it from high above. Hurry. I'm afraid my mother wishes to change me for the worst."
"Got it! We'll be right there!" Ash nodded as Fluttershy ended the call. They were already making their way towards the woodland to save their friend.
"Ah..." Chrysalis sighed as she was grateful to have friends who would be there to help her. But for now, she was stuck here until Ash and the others arrive for her.
The process of changing her mind wasn't going to be entirely done by the cocoon. Instead, it would be done by Mellifera herself who had entered the underground area without using the cocoon. Chrysalis could hear her mother's hoofsteps as she put the Xtransceiver away.
Mellifera lit her horn up, giving light to this dark underground area she gave a death stare to her daughter while approaching her.
"Now...to bring the true changeling queen back once more," said Mellifera.
"Mother! You can't do this!" Chrysalis pressed her hooves on the cocoon's inner shell. "I've made my decision and you cannot just take it away from me!"
"Silence! I don't want to hear anything from you, daughter! I don't even recognize you anymore. Ever since you left this land to suffer I knew that you would spawn some unfortunate luck along the way."
"What are you saying? And why is it that you keep on bringing up this land specifically? How am I the cause of its current condition?"
"How? Ever since you left this land, fertility and life have been slowly dying off day by day, year by year. Because of you...because of you...!" Mellifera suddenly closed her eyes as her anger was building up. But more than that, Mellifera was finding it difficult to finish her sentences as she coughed once more. "All by myself...in this land with no one else...!"
"Mother?" Chrysalis noticed that something was off with her mother. More than usual.
"But now that you're here...Everything will come back. It has to! And you will stay here with me!" Mellifera's horn lit up as the cocoon was responding to her magic. This was a clear sign that the Revertion was about to begin.
Chrysalis's body was also covered in this green magic as she could feel her body being paralyzed all of a sudden. As if something had just shocked her out of nowhere.
"Agh!" Chrysalis screamed as her head was mostly being affected by her mother's magic.
"I don't know what it is...but aside from your Vitaly Drain, there is a second form of magic within you. One that affects the land itself! And one that will restore me!"
Chrysalis's mind was being afflicted by her own mother's magic. But, it wouldn't be that easy for Mellifera. Chrysalis, with what she had within her, was able to resist her mother's spell with her own magic, pushing it back.
"W-What?!" Mellifera gasped.
"I won't let you take away all these precious memories from me!"
"Rid yourself of them already!" Mellifera increased the force of her magic, trying to get through to Chrysalis. But Chrysalis's resistance was one to admire. She would be able to keep her own mother's control at bay for possibly hours.
"Ash...Pikachu...Hurry!" She cried out for her friends.
"No one will come for you or find you. I won't-" Mellifera hacked as she had lost her concentration. Because of this abrupt cough, not only did she stop the spell with zero focus, she also began aggressively coughing.
This time it was different. She could barely find time to stop coughing. She lowered her head, finding it difficult to even maintain her balance as she kept hacking.
Chrysalis stopped to see how her mother was currently expelling a horrible sound from her mouth, straight from her throat. The last time she saw her mother, she was not in this state.
"Mother...are you alright?" Chrysalis asked.
"T-This is all your fault..." Mellifera started walking back, deciding to leave the underground area to seemingly heal so that the repeated coughing can end. At least for now.
"What could I have possibly done...?" Chrysalis thought to herself. Aside from impersonating Cadence and working alongside Ghetsis and Empress Twilight, she couldn't really recall anything horrible that she had done to her mother or this land.
Mellifera's throne room.
Still coughing and hacking, the first changeling queen returned to her broken down throne room. Each time she coughed, she would stutter on the spot, slowing her down. Mellifera was already a bit slow because of her age, but the coughing wasn't making it any better.
She sat down on her throne room to recover. Unfortunately, Mellifera did not have much to counteract this horrible cough she was experiencing. Not much at all.
"Curse it all." She said, slumped on the throne. "I don't have much longer at this point. I need Chrysalis to restore everything at once."
Her throat was growling as the thick air of this land wasn't helping at all. Mellifera was finding it difficult to breathe. And to make matters worse, there was poison in the corner of the throne room due to the air being very unhealthy.
The locusts then appeared before Mellifera as they were here to inform the first Changeling Queen about something important.
"What?" Mellifera coughed. "What is it?"
The locusts buzzed as they were able to communicate with Mellifera. They were informing her about potential newcomers that were heading in the direction of this hidden land. The locusts operate in both the hidden world and all of Equestria on the outside. The ones they were sensing coming this way were Ash, Fluttershy and their Pokemon.
"Newcomers, you say? Coming-" Mellifera broke out into yet another violent cough as she almost fell off her throne. "Coming here? They must be the ones Chrysalis mentioned...Deal with them. I don't want anyone taking her away. Ever again."
High above the skies, near the dark and murky woodlands.
"There!" Ash spoke as he, Pikachu, Audino and Chikorita were on the back of Dragonite while Fluttershy was flying next to them. They had spotted the woods that Chrysalis had mentioned and described after following the path she told them to follow.
Dragonite and Fluttershy descended, finally reaching the woodlands where Chrysalis was currently located. But not out in the open. Thankfully, Chrysalis had told them about the wall of wilted flowers that leads to the hidden land.
Ash and the Pokemon hopped off Dragonite as they all approached the wall of wilted flowers which already had leaves falling off, littering the already tainted ground.
"Thanks, Dragonite. Return." Ash returned his Dragonite.
"Through here?" Fluttershy said, looking at the wilted flowers. "Do we open them up?"
"Hmm..." Ash tested it out for himself as he separated the wall of flowers only to find more walls of flowers layered behind them. "There's more!"
"Pika?"
"Chrysalis said there was a hidden land through here, right? Maybe if we keep moving forward we'll find it." Fluttershy flew over to Ash.
"Good point. Hope we're not too late." Immediately getting a move on, Ash and the others moved through the wall of wilted flowers to see if they could discover the hidden land.
When walking through the wilted flowers, they could feel the crumpled and wrinkled texture massaging their faces and bodies as more petals just kept falling. Some of the flowers had even disintegrated with their ashes being blown in the wind, gone forever. Ash picked up one of the flowers, seeing how it just dissolved in front of him.
"There's barely any life here..." Fluttershy also picked up some of the flowers as they fell apart. "All of these flowers must've never seen the sun or anything at all."
"Chiko..." Chikorita tried to give this murky area some sweetness as she used her leaf to emanate a sweet aroma, attempting to create a friendly atmosphere. But unfortunately, it wasn't enough to overpower the horrid atmosphere of this area.
Audino then tried healing the flowers with Refresh and Heal Pulse, but even those weren't enough to restore them to full health, surprising the Hearing Pokemon.
Audino was using her feelers to pick up on Chrysalis's voice but all she could hear were the sounds of flowers dropping around her. Until she heard a brand new sound that was uncanny to her ears.
"Audino?"
"Did you get something, Audi? Is it Chrysalis?" Fluttershy asked.
"Audino..." Audino focused carefully, trying to pick up on what this new sound was. By lifting her own feelers, she could hear what seemed to be excessive buzzing. Specifically, soft and muzzled buzzing. A loud snapping and cracking sound also came through, as if something was flying this way.
"Audi!?" And Audino feelers finally processed it all as she immediately gasped, knowing exactly what was coming their way. And it wasn't anything really inviting.
Very soon, Ash and the others could hear it too. The aggressive buzzing sounds heading straight for them. That sound belonged to only one thing.
Mellifera's Locusts.
Finding out that Ash and company were coming here in the first place, they were ordered by Mellifera to stop them from coming here, just for the sake of keeping Chrysalis in this hidden land. And to do that, the locusts were to eliminate them instead of just driving them away.
The locusts appeared from the south as they were eating through the flowers themselves with their aggressive biting and speed combined, locking themselves onto Ash and co. as they came in large swarms.
"Locusts?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"A bunch of them!" Ash followed up.
"Pika!"
Seeing that locusts were moving at haphazard speeds while being scattered in large swarms, eating through everything like it was nothing, Ash and the others made the first decision to make a run for it.
And that's what they did.
By bolting off the ground, they decided to run from the approaching locusts, initiating a chase between the Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon and the aggressive locusts.
With the locusts giving chase and tearing through the wilted flowers, some of them even started to merge to form creatures made entirely out of their bodies. Just like with what happened with Chrysalis, the locusts had formed together to become a four-legged monster with the tendencies of a wolf while also being made entirely out of locusts with dark green eyes flaring out of its head.
"Awesome!" Ash was actually impressed by that, even though he was being chased down by it.
The Locust Wolf roared as it moved faster than the normal locusts themselves. The Locust Wolf clawed through the flowers with its dark claws as it was catching up at an unusual pace.
"Not gonna make much progress just running!" Ash knew that they were not going to outspeed this thing by running. Or even flying, so it was time to retaliate. "Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu slid on the ground, putting his run on hold for now as he sparked his body up with electricity. "Chuuuu!" Out of his body, 100,000 volts of electricity came blasting out, breaking through some of the flowers that were in the way.
The Locust Wolf had been blasted by 100,000 volts with each of the electrons hitting all of the locusts. Reacting to the volts made all of the locusts drop on the floor, separating the Locust Wolf monster.
But there were still others to deal with. The other locusts saw how Pikachu easily defeated the Locust Wolf with just one single attack and how Ash commanded him to do so. Naturally, they were highly cautious of Ash and Pikachu now. They could now deem the two of them as a large threat instead of just a nuisance that needed to be taken out.
The locusts that had dropped from Pikachu's Thunderbolt had quickly recovered, flying away as they decided not to continue engaging in this.
To avoid the Thunderbolt, the locusts started adapting as they all collectively thought together as a team. Each of the groups simultaneously merged to create 3 different locust creations.
The first was a humanoid-like locust monster with four arms and sharp claws. The second was a Locust Scorpion with two tails and the third was Locust Snake with fangs that had Mellifera's magic embedded in them.
"Oh so cool...!" Ash was yet again impressed by how the locusts could perform feats such as this.
"Mhm." Even Fluttershy was amazed as she nodded in agreement.
But now was not the time to admire and gawk at the level of creativity these locusts possess. The first to move was the Locust Snake which slowly slithered towards the group with open dark green fangs ready to bite down on them. Then, the humanoid slowly walked, grabbing a tree off the ground with little effort while the Scorpion crawled, ready to stab into them with its dual stingers.
"Oh my...!" Fluttershy gasped. "That's a bit much!"
"We'll need some extra help then." Ash stepped forward as he held out a Poke Ball. "Go, Lucario!"
"Lucario!" Since Lucario was part of Steel, the locusts will most likely just tickle him instead of dealing any damage at all.
"Don't hurt them too much, Ash!" Fluttershy whimpered.
"No need to worry. We're just gonna separate them like before! Pikachu! Iron Tail! Lucario! Aura Sphere!"
"Chu...!" Pikachu hardened his tail, readying himself as the Locust Snake lunged at the Electric Mouse Pokemon. "Pika!" Once the Locust Snake got close enough, Pikachu capitalized, doing a short-hop off the ground as he swung his hardened tail, striking the fangs of the Locust Snake and separating some locusts in the process.
And thanks to the steel of Iron Tail, Pikachu was protected from the vicious bites of the locusts. Pikachu then jumped back as the Locust Snake screamed after losing its fangs in just one attack.
Lucario then followed up by firing a ball of concentrated Aura from his palms. The Aura Sphere tore through the wilted flowers as it connected with the Locust Snake, causing an explosion of aura to occur on the spot.
The locusts were all forced back by Aura Sphere, destroying major parts of the Locust Snake as it had already lost a majority of its length.
But then there was the Locust Giant which aimed the tree directly at Pikachu, ready to either swing or slam it towards the Electric Mouse Pokemon.
"Pika?!" Pikachu gasped as he saw the Locust Giant swinging the tree at him. With quick instincts, Pikachu used Iron Tail to cut the tree in half. "Pika!"
After Pikachu cut the tree in half, the snake went for another bite, hoping to catch Pikachu off guard this time. But once more, Pikachu's instincts and reaction time were great as he used Quick Attack attack to evade by bolting himself back, making the Locust Snake's fangs bite the ground instead.
"Lu!" Lucario then fired another Aura Sphere which blasted through the stomach of the Locust Giant, leaving a massive hole with many of the locusts being separated from it.
The Locust Giant fell on its back after being hit by Aura Sphere as many of the locusts could see that the Pokemon were absolutely thrashing them so far. In response, some of the locusts left the Locust Giant, aiming to just swarm around their targets instead.
But Lucario was there to handle it as he emanated his aura from his body. By emanating his aura, Lucario pushed back the approaching locusts, causing them to faint from the mere force of Lucario's aura. Even the Locust Snake had been blown back by it, losing more locusts in the process. But there was still one more to deal with.
The Locust Scorpion.
Unlike the other two, the Locust Scorpion was stealthier and primed on getting the jump on its prey. It had hidden in the layer of wilted flowers, concealing itself from everyone. The Locust Scorpion watched as Lucario picked up the Locust Snake, swinging it about and slamming it on the ground, separating more of its kind. Pikachu had also spun around with Thunderbolt, using Counter Shield to force the Locust Giant back, preventing it from getting close.
Clearly, Ash's Pokemon were the biggest threats here. But instead of going after the biggest threats, the Locust Scorpion went after Fluttershy and her Pokemon who were just watching Ash handle everything so far.
It readied its two stingers, creeping up on Fluttershy and her Pokemon. However, it didn't go undetected as Audino immediately picked up on its presence with her feelers, turning around to spot the Locust Scorpion behind them.
"Audino!"
"Oh!" Fluttershy gasped as she and Chikorita also turned around.
"Chiko?!"
With a hiss, the Locust Scorpion struck its stingers forward. Luckily, Audino put up a Protect, creating a green shield that blocked the stingers from connecting. A nice save from Audino's quick thinking and very responsive feelers.
"A-Audino...!"
"Chikorita! Use Razor Leaf!"
"Ko! Chikorita jumped over Fluttershy as she landed on Audino's head, swinging her leaf around. Out of her leaf, smaller leaves came flying out in large numbers. While not that strong against the locusts, they were capable of pushing them back with their sharp-edged exterior.
"Luca!" Lucario had finished off the Locust Snake by tossing it aside, scaring the locusts to a point where they flew away out of fear.
The same went for the Locust Giant, which Pikachu was able to intimidate just by his Counter Shield alone. The locusts didn't know what to do against it and they would just continue feeling 100,000 volts of electricity punish them over and over again. Plus, Counter Shield was diminishing their numbers.
And with that, the locusts could see that Ash was a problem they were not ready for. Thus, they had to warn Queen Mellifera of this as they all flew off to the hidden land, passing and chewing through the wilted flowers.
However, even with this battle coming to an end, they still couldn't find the entrance to the hidden land. They were still stuck in this area of wilted flowers and nothing more.
"That's done but...we still haven't found it yet." Ash crossed his arms.
"Pika..."
"Maybe if we just contact Chrysalis, she can tell us where it is." To gain further information of where the entrance to the hidden world was, Fluttershy took out her Xtransceiver to communicate with Chrysalis who had Ash's Xtransceiver.
By turning the communication device on and selecting Ash's number, the call for Chrysalis had begun. This time, it took 10 seconds instead of the usual seconds for the call to be answered. But despite that, it had been answered either way as Chrysalis's face showed up on the screen.
"Chrysalis. We need some help of our own. We've reached the woodlands and even went through the wall of flowers but...we didn't find anything but more wilted flowers. How do we properly get to the hidden land?" Fluttershy asked.
"Ah. I should've mentioned that. Unfortunately, the locusts are the only way I know how to enter this land. But, since it's protected and hidden by my mother's magic, you should be able to negate it by breaking the concealing spell she placed. If you can find a force strong enough that is."
"Good to know." Ash gave a thumbs up. "Are you still okay in there, by the way?"
"I'm fine. But my mother might return soon for another attempt to change me. So hurry. And when you arrive there, make sure you find a way to enter beneath the land."
"Got it! We've got a bunch of ways of doing that! But first, I think I've got a way to really break that spell." Ash smiled.
"You do?" Both Fluttershy and Chrysalis said.
"Right. Lucario and I could use Aura to break it. It could be strong enough to do it."
"Lu."
"Is it strong enough?" Fluttershy asked.
"It has to be. We're gonna concentrate really hard and give it our best shot! Right, pal?"
"Lucario!"
"I trust that you'll be able to do it, Ash. Now hurry. My mother may return soon. Do your best to break the spell at once." said Chrysalis.
"You got it. Just hang in there, Chrysalis. Let's go, Lucario!"
"Luca!"
As Fluttershy ended the call with Chrysalis, Ash and Lucario were already getting prepared to break the seal by using Aura at their absolute fullest. Possibly for the first time out of any of their Aura connection moments.
Aura is a potent force. The Life Force of the Pokemon Universe after all. It's proven to be capable of sealing spirits, reading minds, sensing other auras, seeing through objects and so much more that is yet to be discovered. So Ash and Lucario had faith that Aura would guide them through this. For the sake of their friend.
Mellifera's throne room.
"Useless...These locusts are nothing but useless..." The changeling queen growled, knowing that her locusts had failed to stop the intruders since they had returned to her.
But, Mellifera wasn't about to let anyone take Chrysalis from her so easily. Apart from the locusts and thorns, her Curse Inducement Magic had a lot more in store.
The first Changeling Queen lit her horn up, preparing yet another spell from the Curse Inducement Magic. One that she believes will stop Ash and co. from having the chance of even finding or saving Chrysalis.
However, once again, her coughing came up, making her lose focus as she even fell off her throne. Mellifera was now coughing excessively as her health wasn't getting any better at this point. Her hooves felt weak as she was struggling to get up. Mellifera breathed in and out, trying to maintain herself.
"I can't go on like this..." Mellifera gasped as she breathed slowly. She still wasn't in the best condition to focus and revert Chrysalis to her old self.
But she didn't care. Ash and the others might reach here soon depending on how fast they break the spell. However, Mellifera was wise enough to know that with the state she was in, her constant coughing would just delay the process at this point. And with those delays, Ash and co would've already broken through and reached the hidden land.
To work around this, Mellifera left her throne room, coming across the barren landscape of this land that was once highly fertile. The first Changeling Queen went over the remaining fertile soils that still existed in this land. They were minimal but they were there nonetheless.
She planted sharp seeds into the soil as they were in the shape of thorns, similar to thorns that Mellifera can summon. By planting them in the little soil of fertility, their sole intention was to grow and attack Ash and the others when they eventually get here.
With them distracted by the thorns, that will give Mellifera enough time to revert Chrysalis and achieve her goals. At least, she hopes so. With the seeds planted, Mellifera then made her way to the underground area by using a spell that temporarily created a hole through the ground, allowing the first Changeling Queen to descend through it.
After she descended through the hole, she had used her magic to close it up. As if it had never been opened in the first place. This was how she travelled to the underground section with all the cocoons.
And speaking of cocoons, Chrysalis was still stuck in one, waiting for her friends. Her patience was great as she had absolute faith in them. But she also feared that her mother might change her before Ash and the others even reach the underground area, let alone break the spell that conceals this land.
Mellifera approached the cocoon her daughter was in, ready to fully revert her to the old Chrysalis, believing that it would fix everything as she coughed while approaching Chrysalis's cocoon.
"Enough delays." Mellifera's voice was getting raspier because of all the coughing.
"There's no way you can change me in your state," Chrysalis replied. "Your voice is even being affected."
"Shut up!" Mellifera bellowed, which only made things worse for her as she held her neck, coughing louder than before because of her shout alone. "None of this would've happened if you never left here. But that's all going to change."
Mellifera's horn lit up as she was once more affecting both the cocoon and Chrysalis, ready to revert the second Changeling Queen. Chrysalis closed her eyes as the magic was going directly into her head, causing her to grunt and writhe in the cocoon.
All the while, Mellifera was doing her best to keep her focus. Even with her coughing, she would not let her magic focus drop even once. She was determined to get this done. Even at the cost of her own health.
Back at the wall of wilted flowers, Ash and Lucario were already in the process of trying to break the spell by using their combined Aura. They both stood there with their eyes closed as their Aura was emanating out of them.
Both of them were in sync with each other. With their Auras emanating out pulses that spread out so far, it ebbed through the wall of wilted flowers and even out to the murky woods.
Pikachu, Fluttershy, Audino and Chikorita looked around to see how Aura filled the area while also cheering Ash and Lucario on. As the two of them were in full focus, their Aura became more vibrant, showing that it was increasing in power. They had even merged to create a single larger Aura that surrounded both of them instead.
Finally, some great progress was being made as their aura had hit something. Right near the edge of these wall of wilted flowers, the Aura connected with what seemed to be a dark green wall, making it tremble with each pulse that went through.
"Oh! I think I see the spell!" Fluttershy gasped, spotting the dark green wall with the others. "You're doing it you two!"
"Pikachu!"
The more the aura pulsed on the wall, the more it trembled. And the more it trembled, the moment cracks were starting to form. Ash and Lucario both grizzled their teeth, making sure to not lose concentration even once. But Aura was a powerful force.
Even the most skilled users like Aura Guardians have trouble fully maintaining it at times. But Ash and Lucario were more than ready to tackle that.
As their eyes both flashed blue, a burst of aura surged out of them. A surge that was so powerful that not only did it almost knock Fluttershy and the others back, but it was just strong enough to completely shatter the dark green wall with all of its might.
And once the wall was shattered, the spell had been broken, finally revealing the hidden land to everyone. And with that, Ash and Lucario could drop their Aura concentration as Ash almost fell over.
"Ugh..." But thankfully, as Ash was about to fall over, Lucario caught him. "Thanks, buddy."
"Luca."
"Great job you two!" Fluttershy flew up. "But, Ash. Do you need some rest? Using Aura looked like it took a lot of you."
"Pika?"
"I'm fine." Ash gave a thumbs up. "Let's just get to Chrysalis first before worrying about me."
"Oh, right." Fluttershy nodded as they got a move on. They would finally be entering the hidden land. But approaching it wouldn't be so magical considering the utter state of it.
Once they got through the last wall of wilted flowers, they had come across the hidden land and how barren, desolate and lifeless it was. An arid area that was barely able to support any growth as there were very few fertile plants remaining here that were also slowly dying out, just like the other plants that had perished years ago.
The atmosphere was even difficult to breathe in because of the smoke and dust from the ground and how the air was being clogged by them alone.
"Oh my...This is it?" Fluttershy looked at the parched land.
"Audino..."
"Chiko..."
"Chrysalis said it was underground. So let's get there as soon as we can." Ash tightened his gloves as he walked forward. "Lucario. Use Force Palm on the ground."
"Ca." Lucario nodded as he pulled his arm back. An orange glow appeared around his palm, concentrating his energy into one spot, ready to strike the spot.
And that's when the seeds Mellifera planted could come into play. Before Lucario could even unleash Force Palm on the ground, multiple thorns came bursting out of the ground, wrapping around Lucario's leg and arm.
"Luca!?"
"Thorns?!" Ash and Fluttershy both said.
The thorns then tossed Lucario aside, preventing him from striking the ground and giving everyone a major obstacle to deal with before they could even have the chance to reach Chrysalis through the underground.
But the thorns weren't the biggest threat here. Instead, what Mellifera planted earlier sprouted something far worse. Right behind all of the thorns, something bigger was sprouting. From beneath the ground, a large, monstrous flower covered with spikes and chains around a dark green bulb had appeared. It also had thorns and vines surrounding it as well.
"Mmm...!" Fluttershy whimpered as she hid behind Ash.
"Nothing's gonna make this easy to get to her is it...?" Ash growled.
"Pika...!" Pikachu sparked electricity in his red sacs.
"Lucario." Lucario got back up from the ground after being tossed aside by the thorns. They all looked up at the monstrous flower which was also hissing at them with the sounds it was making.
"We'll smash that flower and through the ground too!" Ash declared.
"R-Right!" Ash's words encouraged Fluttershy to take part in this as she looked at her Mega Ring.
As the thorned flower was about to attack them all, time was ticking as Chrysalis was resisting her mother's control at the moment, deep beneath the land.
But there might be a chance she won't be able to resist it for much longer. But there is also a chance that Mellifera's coughing might end up stopping her once more as the journey continues.
The monstrous flower with thorns accompanying it finally went on the offensive by shooting the thorns directly at Ash and the others, having enough speed and strength to pierce through them.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail! Lucario! Force Palm!" Ash commanded.
"Pika!" Pikachu hardened his tail to be as hard as metal, jumping over the thorn that was heading towards him as he cut it in half by swinging his tail downwards. Another thorn came his way, but Pikachu was swift enough to also destroy that one by swinging his tail once more.
"Lu!" Lucario, who was half Steel, practically didn't need to worry too much about the thorns. But unlike the locusts, these thorns seemed to pack more of an Oomph with them. Meaning that Lucario would have to be more careful this time as he used Force Palm to break through the thorns that came straight towards him.
As for Fluttershy and her Pokemon, they were going to get involved as well. While not as skilled and powerful as Ash, they had an ace in the hole. The Mega Ring. Fluttershy and Audino nodded in understanding as they knew the time to Mega Evolve was now.
Fluttershy activated her Mega Ring which then reacted to the two keystones of Fluttershy and Audino. Blue and yellow lights started flaring out, clashing against each other before flying over to Audino and engulfing her. After that, the lights mingled with each other before bursting out to reveal Mega Audino.
"Audi! Use Hyper Beam!" Fluttershy commanded.
"Audi...!" Audino put her hands together, generating an orange ball of energy as she was aiming it at the giant monstrous flower. However, she had to be careful not to hit her friends. Lucario will obviously be able to withstand it but Pikachu, not so much. So, Audino waited for the right moment to fire.
"Pika...!" Pikachu blocked some thorns with his Iron Tail which ended up pushing him back. The force of the thorns then smashed Pikachu through a large rock. The Electric Mouse Pokemon then tumbled on the ground after being smashed through the rock while the vines pulled back. "Pika!"
"Pikachu!" Ash gasped.
"Pika!" But, Pikachu was alright as he got back up, shaking his head.
"Let's take out that main bulb and put an end to this! Get closer with Quick Attack!"
"Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu blitzed forward with lightning speeds, leaving behind white afterimages of himself. The thorns tried to stop him by flying towards the Electric Mouse Pokemon. But, with the speed of Quick Attack, Pikachu was able to nimbly evade the thorns.
"Lu!" Lucario was currently running on the thorns while they were trying to stop him. The Aura Pokemon was the closest to the bulb as he readied a Force Palm, planning to strike it right into the bulb and put an end to this as soon as possible. For Chrysalis's sake. He jumped up, avoiding the thorns that almost caught him as he pulled his arm back, going for Force Palm.
But it wouldn't be so easy. Some hidden thorns that hadn't sprouted up yet, decided to sprout at the right moment, zooming towards Lucario and wrapping around his leg.
"Luca?!" Lucario gasped as he had been slammed down by the new thorns, hitting the ground hard and leaving a small crater. Not only that, but the thorns seemed to grow more aggressively.
This time, instead of just moving in straight lines, they were now spiralling about, moving in zigzags and just other haphazard movements.
"That should be close enough! Fire, Audi!" Fluttershy found an opening. She was going straight for the bulb. And since Pikachu wasn't close to the bulb, it was a good time to fire it now.
"Dino!" Audino was ready to blast the bulb away until one of the thorns remembered that Fluttershy and her Pokemon were here as well instead of Ash and his Pokemon. A thorn burst out of the ground, wrapping around Audino arms, legs and neck. "A-Audino?!"
"Oh!" Fluttershy gasped.
The thorns then lifted Audino off the ground, cancelling out of her Hyper Beam as the large bulb started opening up. From how the thorns were lifting Audino and with the bulb opening up, it was clear that something horrid was about to happen to Audino.
"I don't think so! Pikachu! Change directions and use Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Prioritizing their friend, Pikachu swiftly changed directions by dashing to the side, heading straight for Audino who was being sent towards the bulb by the thorns, as if they were planning to feed her to the bulb.
"A-Audino!" Audino tried to break free by writhing around. She tried to fire a Hyper Beam from her hands but they were currently restrained, unfortunately.
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu then combined Quick Attack with Iron Tail as he leapt towards the thorns that held Audino while hardening his tail. One of the vines came out to try and stop Pikachu but Chikorita used Razor Leaf to fend it off, giving Pikachu some free time.
With a mighty swing of his tail, Pikachu cut the vine in half, freeing Audino. "Audino!"
"Yes! Now use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" While airborne, after saving Audino, Pikachu curled up into a ball, sparking up his body with an aura of electricity with sparks flying out.
Audino landed safely on the ground as Pikachu bounced off her head, gaining some extra height. With that extra height, Pikachu managed to get high enough to even be above the garden of thorns and vines while gazing at the bulb.
"Chuuu!" Then, by releasing 100,000 volts from his body, Thunderbolt came flashing out, going straight for the large bulb that was still wide open.
With a move that moves at lightning speed, the bulb couldn't react in time. Thus, it had been hit by Thunderbolt, getting 100,000 volts of electricity as punishment. The bulb hissed, flailing its thorns and vines about to show pain.
"Now, Lucario! Jump into the bulb!"
"Cario!" Lucario kicked his feet up, ripping the thorn that grabbed him off his leg. Lucario was the closest to the bulb so he climbed up the garden of thorns.
The bulb was still in pain as the thorns tried to stop Lucario from getting close to it. They did this by creating a shield of thorns and vines in front of the bulb, protecting it. But Lucario didn't care. Instead, he bashed himself through the thorn shield like it was nothing.
With the shield out of the way, Lucario finally managed to enter the bulb by front-flipping inside of it. And once he did, the bulb closed on him, thinking that Lucario made a silly decision to enter the inside of the bulb, which was poisonous.
However, it was the bulb that made the silly decision of letting Lucario inside. Not only is Lucario immune to poison being of being half Steel, but this is exactly what Ash and Lucario wanted.
"Now! Aura Sphere inside!"
"Lu...Ca!" Lucario raised his arms, creating a ball of Aura, gazing right at the centre of the bulb as he was channelling every ounce of his strength into this one Aura Sphere.
"Alright, Fluttershy! Audino! Now's your chance!" Ash turned to them.
"Oh, right!" Fluttershy understood what Ash meant. Using Hyper Beam while they had the chance.
"Audi...!" Audino once again, put her hands together, creating an orange ball of energy. This time, with Lucario, who will certainly be tickled by a Normal-Type move, is inside of the bulb. So there was no waiting this time. "No!"
With full focus and aim on the bulb, Audino fired a raging beam of energy that tore through some of the vines in the way, heading straight for the bulb.
"Rio!" And at the same time, Lucario smashed the Aura Sphere into the centre of the bulb. In perfect unison, both Aura Sphere and Hyper Beam had hit the bulb, creating a combination of moves.
And once they both hit, a glorious and stupendous booming explosion erupted from the bulb, spreading so far that it consumed the thorns, obliterating them. Lucario jumped out of the explosion, doing a backflip and landing next to Ash and Pikachu's side.
With all the thorns, vines and the main bulb destroyed, the distraction that Mellifera had originally placed had been wiped out by a perfect Aura Sphere and Hyper Beam combo. And the last thing that was heard was the hissing echo of the bulb.
"Audino..." Audino sighed as she de-evolved back to her normal form. She was glad it was over. Chikorita and Fluttershy ran to her side to tend to their friend.
"Pika..." So was Pikachu as he sat down.
"Good job, everyone." Fluttershy congratulated her friends. "My, I thought Everfree was aggressive."
"Chiko."
"Good that no one got seriously hurt," Ash said. "Now that that's dealt with, we can finish what we came here to do. Lucario."
"Lu." Lucario nodded, knowing to continue where he left off. He didn't waste any time as he got work, using Force Palm to smash the ground. One smash wouldn't be enough to make a hole. Lucario would need to do this multiple times.
But they'll go distances to save their friend Chrysalis from her potentially inevitable reversion. And then they'll bring her back home to her children, smiling.
Speaking of which, back at the underground, Chrysalis was still resisting her mother's magic and preventing her mind from being warped back to her old self.
"S-Stop resisting!" Mellifera coughed.
"Not until you stop trying to change me for the worst!" Chrysalis yelled back.
"I'm not cha-" She coughed yet again. "I'm not changing you for the worst! I'm bringing you back to your roots! How can you be so ignorant to understand-" Another cough got in the way. "Understand that!"
"Because I'm happy with where I am now! Something you wouldn't understand yourself!"
"What?!" Mellifera stopped the spell as she flew over to Chrysalis. "I understand completely!"
"I don't think you do!" Chrysalis pressed her hooves on the cocoon. "You never understood anything, to begin with! Especially when I was younger!"
"You watch your tongue, girl! Lest you forget, you are the reason this land and I are in this state! And you decided to come back here and-"
"You keep mentioning that! What could I have possibly done to leave you and this land in a state like this!?" Chrysalis demanded answers already.
"You want to know? Fine. I'll show you..." Mellifera flew back. She knew that by this point, nothing was getting to Chrysalis. Her words were practically ineffective. She certainly had her mother's stubborn nature. So, there was one thing Mellifera decided to do.
Reveal to Chrysalis what she had potentially done to this land.
Mellifera walked over to the other cocoons surrounding this underground area. At first, they seemed like they were all just backups for catching Chrysalis if she somehow managed to avoid the first cocoon. Another would just pop up and snatch her down to the underground. But that wasn't the case.
In fact, the cocoon that Chrysalis was in was the only cocoon that could've been used to catch her. Because when Mellifera used her magic to open up the cocoons, out of them, large piles of bones started falling out of them, dropping on the ground.
Soon, the entire ground was now a sea of bones that had cocoon silk on them. All of these bones were decomposed as some of them were even missing parts that had been blown to ashes.
But more importantly, they were the bones of changelings.
"Ah!" Chrysalis gasped with shock and horror as she screamed, covering her eyes, refusing to even gaze upon this disgusting and horrible sight.
"Don't you look away," said Mellifera. "This is what you've caused. Ever since you left this land, you practically placed a curse on it. Infertility struck this land as well as a lack of life. My own subjects. Doomed to perish the day you left this land."
"I-I didn't-"
"When you were still here, everything was thriving. Your magic was the core of everything here. But, even I myself don't understand why you were so important. Even with your potential, your magic shouldn't have tied in with this land in any way. Except it did."
"My magic?"
"Do you have any idea how long I've suffered for?" Mellifera walked up to Chrysalis's cocoon while avoiding the bones of long-deceased changelings. "I've done everything in my power to try and keep them all alive. But my magic isn't made for that. Even placing them in these cocoons, trying to preserve their life proved to be useless."
As she kept talking, Mellifera was starting to tear up. And Chrysalis could notice this as her expression was changing when seeing her mother reveal everything to her.
"It's because of you that I had to watch all of my subjects fall. One by one. And now, I have to suffer that fate as well and-" Mellifera was starting to tremble, struggling to finish her sentence. "Why did you leave?" She asked as she started coughing again, this time in much worse condition.
Mellifera's coughing had reached a point where it had become so horrible that she was starting to pass out. Which was actually a first and had never happened before until now.
The first Changeling Queen couldn't keep her balance. Her eyes were slowly closing, her hooves felt weak as she fell to the ground, passing out for the very first time.
"Mother!"
5 hours later.
"U-ugh..." Mellifera groaned. Her eyes were slowly opening up once more. Her heart was now beating at a medium pace as opposed to previously. When opening her eyes, she was given the sight of something new yet somewhat nostalgic and ancient to her.
A bright blue sky.
And right next to her was Chrysalis. Alongside Ash, Fluttershy and their Pokemon.
"Oh, she's waking up!" Ash exclaimed.
Pikachu!"
"Thank goodness...!" Chrysalis sighed.
"W-Where am I? Mellifera uttered as she sat up.
"Mother!" Chrysalis hugged her mother. "I'm so glad you're alright!"
"Wh-What's going on? Mellifera was a bit confused right now. "How did I...?"
Ash and the others came just in time to rescue both of us." Chrysalis started explaining what happened earlier. "We immediately brought you out of the hidden land as soon as possible."
"Brought me...out? Why?"
"I heard what you said back there...I realized, or rather Fluttershy realized, that the atmosphere there was slowly destroying you from the inside. "So, we all collectively took you away from it."
"Um. Sorry if that bothers you." Fluttershy hid behind Ash, letting out a sheepish grin.
"Mmrgh..." Mellifera felt her neck and throat. She noticed that there was a stark difference. Not only could she finally breathe fresh air, but there was a green glow emanating out of her body.
One that wasn't hers. Instead, this green glow was coming from her daughter, Chrysalis. It had a more vibrant colour this time. And this glow was seemingly healing Mellifera from what she could observe. She was also in what seemed to be a flat grassland as well.
"Why would you save me, daughter?" Mellifera asked Chrysalis.
"I had to. You're my mother after all. And I couldn't just leave you there to suffer like the others."
"You should've if you hated me so much." Mellifera turned around.
"But I don't hate you." Chrysalis shook her head.
"Nonsense. You said it yourself years ago. For you to not hate me would be impossible."
"I still resent you either way. For trapping me in that hive for so long. Shielding me from what I could've been pursuing earlier on. And even showing me no signs of love. Love that I wish I could have from a mother."
Tch." Mellifera kissed her teeth.
"But, after seeing what you tried to keep and lost in the end, I couldn't bring myself to hate you. Because I've suffered a major loss of my subjects as well. And I have to say...if this is somehow my fault, then I'm sorry." She apologized to her mother.
Mellifera shifted her eyes around, hearing her daughter apologize to her after so long. Considering how long changelings live for, it has been around a thousand years since she's heard an apology from her. And hearing how her own daughter doesn't truly hate her, just some resentment.
"Whatever." Mellifera replied as she hid her face from everyone, refusing to show them the tears running down her face right now. "Just leave me be."
"What But mo-"
"I don't want to hear it, Chrysalis. You've already saved me from a horrible fate. That's all I can take for one day already. Now go. That includes all of you."
"A-Alright." Chrysalis understood her mother's decision as she stepped back. Chrysalis then looked at Ash and Fluttershy, seeing them both nod at the same time. They knew why her mother was telling her to leave. It wouldn't be the first time they've experienced this.
"Goodbye," Chrysalis said her goodbyes to her mother as she and her friends finally left. Now, it was just Mellifera on her own. She was now far away from the land that used to be prosperous and beautiful.
But not anymore.
Faye Mountains. Changeling Hive. Late afternoon.
They had returned to the Changeling Hive finally as the sun was already setting. Nightfall was coming. And the hive was still safe and unharmed along with the mountains.
"Sorry that you couldn't find a way to stop that dark green magic coming out of you, Chrysalis," Fluttershy said.
"It's fine." Chrysalis sighed. "Mother herself said it best. It's a part of me. It's not like I can get rid of it anyway."
"Doesn't mean you have to stop trying right?" Ash asked.
"Pika."
"Right." Chrysalis nodded in response. "I swear I'll find a way."
"But, what did that land look like before you left?" Fluttershy wondered. "The flowers must've been healthier back then along with all the plants."
"Well, it looked like a garden long ago." Chrysalis looked up. "Albeit, one with a plethora of thorns lying around the place to keep other changelings in check. I'll never miss that place, especially in its current condition. But I know my mother truly does."
"Mama! Papa!" Anthophilia flew over to Chrysalis and Ash, glad that they were both back after many hours. And behind her were two changelings who were exhausted after taking care of the changeling baby.
"My little Anthophilia!" Chrysalis hugged her child. "Did you behave?"
"Mhm!" The changeling baby nodded.
"L-Liar..." The two changelings both said as they were lying on their backs, completely out of it.
"We should get going now." Ash pointed his thumb to the south. "It's already pretty late now."
"Pikachu."
"It's been a real um..adventure coming here and heading to that hidden land as well." Fluttershy grinned. "Hope we haven't been a bother."
"And it was a treat having you all here as well. And helping me nonetheless." Chrysalis took out Ash's Xtransceiver, returning it to him. "Will you come sooner next time?"
"Sooner for sure." Ash nodded. "I'll even bring you your own Xtransceiver."
"Pikachu!"
"Oh. Are those two going to be okay?" Fluttershy looked over at the two fallen changelings.
"We're fine. We just need some rest..." They both groaned, rolling on the floor as they covered themselves with leaves.
And with that, Ash, Fluttershy and their Pokemon left the Faye Mountains and Changeling Hive, having a new adventure ingrained in their memories. And even gaining further knowledge of Chrysalis's old home and mother. A turbulent adventure that surely won't be forgotten as the journey continues.
It has been 2 weeks since Premium Polish had been brought to Canterlot under the care of Princess Celestia. She had been given a comfortable guest room to live in along with her Pokemon. And so far, the little unicorn isn't in the best mood.
She was missing her mother, Skyblue Shine, after all. So it would stand to reason why she has not only cracked a smile for days but hasn't even bothered to come out of the room.
"Premium Polish?" Celestia spoke, slowly opening the door with her head poking through. "May I come in or do you perhaps need more time?"
"I'd like some more rest please, Princess." Premium laid on the bed with the sheets over her. Her Pokemon were standing by her side, comforting their partner and her sadness.
"Alright. Just call me, the guards or anypony if you need something." Celestia chuckled as she backed up, slowly closing the door, allowing Premium to have more privacy. The Sun Princess then sighed as she walked towards her throne room.
"Still no progress?" Eventide and Sunlight showed up next to Celestia.
"No..." Celestia shook her head. "She's still thinking about her mother. And I can't blame her. Oh, this is all my fault...
"It was inevitable." Sunlight shrugged. "After everything that's happened, it'll take more than weeks for somepony to recover, after all."
"I've tried so much to connect with her, but nothing's cheering her up. Do you two know of a way?"
"Sorry. But even we haven't dealt with this situation when you and Luna were both very young." Sunlight apologized.
"I see...What do I do? So far, not much has worked. Even the Pokemon Cards."
5 days ago.
Celestia came bursting into the room with a large pack of Pokemon cards that she was carrying around her while wearing a hat designed after the trainer's cap from Unova.
"I've got Pokemon cards!" Celestia whistled. "We can open them together and maybe find an ultra rare care, huh?"
"Hm..." Premium Polish sighed.
"I'll go first!" Celestia grinned as she opened up the first pack of cards, reading them out. First up, we have a Pikachu, Espeon, Grubbin, Crobat, Gardevoir. Oh!" Celestia shot up. "I'm keeping this one." She placed the Gardevoir card to the side, continuing the read off the rest. "Wishiwashi, Krookorok, Spinda, Bewear, Indeedee and a Reverse Holo Mienshao, look at that! Isn't that beautiful?"
Celestia showed the Reverse Holo Mienshao to Premium Polish. The little unicorn looked over at the card as she did indeed find it to be impressive.
"It's pretty." She said before looking down.
"Ahah..." Celestia shifted her eyes nervously. "W-Well, we can find even prettier cards! She tossed the cards away as Passion caught them.
"Garde."
Celestia opened up another pack, further trying to cheer the little unicorn up with whatever she could as she started reading names off again. "Excadrill, Pidgey, Sliggoo-"
"I was sure that would be effective. Pokemon cards have become fairly popular in Equestria after all," said Celestia.
"Keep trying, dear! We know you'll succeed! Even if it takes years!" Sunlight cheered her daughter on.
"Not sure years would make it any better if her mood changes by age..." Eventide shook his head.
"I'll keep trying my best. Oh!" Celestia shot up with an idea. "She's a Pokemon Coordinator! And her mother never watches her contests or even when she practices...perhaps I can do that! Maybe that will work!"
"Hopefully. We'll be at the Ambrosial Plane for a while. Good luck!" Eventide and Sunlight gave their luck to Celestia as they both faded away into gold and silver stardust, returning to the Ambrosial Plane.
"Right. Contests. What do I know about contests?" Celestia walked off, giving Premium further time to rest. And then, later on, she'll try to connect with her via Pokemon Contest practice.
4 hours later.
Premium had some time to sleep and rest her head. But then again, sleeping is all she's been doing these past 2 weeks. Every day, the little unicorn sleeps for 4 hours. Whether it's in the day, afternoon or night. She hasn't left the room yet even.
It was no longer raining as Celestia told the pegasus to clear the skies for Premium's contest practice. The little unicorn woke up, letting out a prolonged yawn as Celestia entered the room once more.
"Premium Polish?" Celestia came in.
"Hm?"
"If you don't mind, I'd like to see your contest moves. A bit intrigued by how they're performed. If that's okay with you."
"Sure." Premium nodded as she got off the bed. She knew she couldn't stay in the room forever. Besides, she hasn't experienced any fresh air for a long time. Premium knew that staying in here wasn't making things better for her anyway.
Princess Celestia led Premium Polish outside to the Canterlot Gardens, where Pokemon battles always and usually take place. Now, they would be involved with Pokemon Contest training too.
Through the window, Luna was observing this herself. She couldn't get involved since she didn't have a clue on how to be a mother herself. Unlike Celestia who has some experience of having motherly traits.
Premium sent out her Flareon and Inkay this to show off her contest moves. Celestia sat down on a bench, spectating over Premium and her Pokemon.
"Flareon. Use Fire Spin. Inkay, Lash Out."
"Flare!" Flareon closed its eyes, surrounding itself in a twister of orange-yellow fire as it was spinning around on the spot.
"Kay!" Inkay then released black and red tendrils from its glowing spots as the tendrils were pulled in by Flareon's Fire Spin, making them a part of it. Fire Spin now had black and red tendrils spinning around them.
"Now lift Flareon with Telekinesis."
"In...!" With its eyes flashing blue, the Revolving Pokemon controlled Flareon while it was inside of the aura of flames and darkness, raising the Flame Pokemon into the air.
There was now a spiralling aura of fire in the air with dark and red tendrils as Celestia, Passion, Arcanine and Luna all raised their heads, witnessing this. It was like a smaller sun in the sky.
"Now separate."
"Flareon!" Flareon then separated Fire Spin and Lash Out by exerting force from its body. With the two moves separated, tiny little black and red tendrils and fireballs came raining down, filling the grass with them as Flareon descended.
"Ooh! Celestia and Passion clapped while Luna did the same through the window. "Impressive!"
"Gardevoir!"
"Thank you." Premium bowed along with her Pokemon. "I worked hard to try and make that move perfect."
"Well, it looked great!" Celestia grinned. "I'm sure the judges will love it when you enter your next contest! Um, where is your next contest actually?"
"Trottingham but...it's still being repaired after that whole Eterantus attack. Might have to wait way longer now." Premium sighed.
"Well, that just gives you enough time to practice even further, right?" Celestia flew over. "Here, I can help you."
"You? Are you planning to be a coordinator too, Princess Celestia?"
"Oh um..." Celestia scrunched her face. "No, not really. And I'm not exactly well-versed in contest moves honestly. But, you can show me a thing or two, huh?"
"Me?"
"Of course! I love learning new things from others. Especially if it's Pokemon related!" Celestia squeed.
"I guess I can teach you something." Premium nodded.
"Great. Passion, Arcanine and I are all ears. Right, you two?"
"Voir?" Passion pointed at herself while Arcanine was just laying on his back. Celestia nodded, insisting that they helped out. Anything to cheer Premium up after all.
Passion and Arcanine gathered together with Premium standing the side, taking the role of a teacher, which Luna definitely had to see as she pressed her face on the glass.
"All you need to know is um...just experiment with whatever moves you think work together. Don't go overboard though and be careful. Move combinations can end up bad the first time they're used." Premium instructed. "And um...just put faith in your Pokemon."
"Got it." Celestia nodded in understanding. She began thinking of which moves would work well with her Pokemon. For quick clarity, she took out her Pokedex, going over the moves of her Pokemon.
"Gardevoir. The Embrace Pokemon. Psychic. Mystical Fire. Thunderbolt. Dazzling Gleam."
"Alright. I may have something that could work." She put her Pokedex away. "Arcanine! Use Dragon Pulse in the air!"
"Arca...Nine!" Opening his mouth, the Legendary Pokemon fired a dragon-shaped shockwave into the air.
"Now, Passion! Use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Garde...Voir!" By putting her hands together, Passion generated a ball of rainbows with stardust flying out of it. She then aimed the ball upwards, firing multiple beams of rainbows out of it, directly at the Dragon Pulse.
The beams had all entered the dragon-shaped shockwave one by one, giving the Dragon-Type move a glow up. Dragon Pulse's usual blue colouring was now altered as it was now emanating the colours of rainbows with stardust and fairy magic surrounding it as well.
A Dragon Rainbow had been born from this combination. The Dragon Rainbow was flying high into the sky, moving around like an actual dragon would. Everypony in Canterlot witnessed this because of how vibrant it was. Each time the dragon flew, rainbow streams were flying out. Luna, who still had her face pressed on the window, shifted her eyes up, following the Dragon Rainbow.
"Ah!" Celestia gasped as she gawked. "Success!"
"Gardevoir!"
"Arcanine!"
"Oh...That's really impressive..." Even Premium was stunned as her eyes widened. In truth, this wouldn't be the first time Celestia has done move combinations. She did start it with Passion and Plasma Bolt after all. So, she had that to ride on if she ever performed contest moves.
However, at the end of the day, it was still Celestia's first run. And thus, mistakes and slip-ups would happen. The Dragon Rainbow didn't last long. After a short while, it exploded and with that explosion, tiny draconic projectiles and fairy spheres came raining down.
And unlike Flareon and Inkay, when they land on something, it isn't exactly going to be a peaceful, gentle or graceful landing at all. Something more along the lines of destruction would be accurate. And one of them was heading straight for Luna.
"Uh oh." Luna gulped as she backed away, not wanting to get caught up in Dragon and Fairy madness. The tiny projectiles of two different magic types hit the window and wall of the castle, destroying it.
"Garde?!"
"Arca?!"
"Oops..." Celestia scrunched her face as Luna slowly approached the destroyed wall, gazing at Celestia with narrowed and not-so-pleased eyes. "Hehe...Apologies." Celestia squeed, covering her face with her hooves in embarrassment.
"Mrrrgh..." Luna growled as she backed away.
"Pfft...!" But that entire interaction was something that Premium needed after so long. Suddenly, she let out a tiny little laugh, chuckling at Celestia's somewhat victorious failure.
"Hm?" Celestia heard this, turning to face the little unicorn who found some amusement over this. And seeing that made Celestia feel some sort of accomplishment and progress had been made.
"Well, first time for everything. I think that's what they say." Premium smiled.
"I suppose so." Celestia laughed back. "Perhaps, I'll need some more practice, don't you think?"
"Sure. I can keep helping you." Premium agreed. Having somepony to experience contest moves with her was something Premium needed. Her own mother never had the time to do so after all. But with Celestia, she had enough time to not only watch her contest moves but also learn from her.
As some cleaning up on the destroyed window and walls were being made, Luna continued watching her sister practice with Premium Polish even further. Some more mishaps were made along the way. With Passion and Arcanine's moves continuously leaving destruction behind in some way. Mostly minimal thankfully.
All the while, high up in the Ambrosial Plane, Sunlight and Eventide were observing Canterlot and their daughter's practice with Premium Polish. They could see how Celestia was truly trying her best. While she wasn't trying to be a mother to Premium Polish, she did have those traits and motherly instincts that at times, she doesn't even realize is being put to use.
Time with Sunset, Twilight and Passion truly did help for this one moment. And after weeks, Premium was finally being active as she found enjoyment over one of the many things in life she enjoys. Pokemon Contests. And sharing it with somepony else.
While it was impossible to get rid of the thoughts of her own mother, it's the little things in life that are enough to really change the mood and lift her spirits.
"Oh!" Twilight was currently looking at her new equipment for the Pokemon Lab. A Pokemon Energy Tracker. A device that tracks the energy of specific Pokemon energy signals. From Fire, Water, Grass, Electric etc. But that wasn't why she was surprised.
There was a larger reason. A certain Psychic energy was being shown on the tracker. A very familiar one belonging to a powerful and extremely rare Pokemon.
"High levels of Psychic energy that could belong to Mew!" She gasped.
"W-Who's Mew?" Sunset asked, not knowing who Mew is.
"Apparently, it's this ancient Pokemon that's the ancestor of all Pokemon. From what we've heard." Starlight responded.
"Ancestor of all Pokemon? Then what does that make Arceus?" Sunset raised her eyebrow.
"Does that mean that Mew's in Equestria right now?" Twilight gawked.
"Hold it!" Hearing Twilight scream Mew prompted Pinkie to burst into the lab at hyperspeed. "Did I hear something about Mew?! Is Mew here?!"
"See for yourself." Twilight pointed her hoof at the radar screen, prompting Pinkie to dash over. "Right next to Remoraid Rainforest."
The pink pony's eyes bulged out, scanning the radar screen before her. She even pressed her face on the screen to get an even closer look. Her eyes rapidly moved around the screen before directly focusing on the purple energy signal that represented Psychic.
"Oh...Mew!" Pinkie Pie squeed as she was getting excited at the thought of seeing Mew again. Mew and her were essentially friends from the interactions they've had together.
"Hm?" But then, Twilight noticed something new next to the Psychic signal. A brand new signal had shown up. And judging by the colour, it belonged to a Ground-Type. And it was just as big as the Psychic signal. "Hold on! There's another signal right next to it!"
"Really?" Sunset and Starlight dashed over to look at the screens themselves.
"Looks like we might have two very powerful Pokemon in one spot." Twilight tapped the screen.
"We need to go! We'll get to see Mew again and-" Pinkie was ready to bolt out until Twilight stopped her via magic.
"Hold on, Pinkie. It might just be another mistake like before." Twilight pulled her back.
"Huh?"
"Remember? Last time, we thought it was Mew. But it just ended up being Mewtwo instead. Or another really powerful Psychic-Type maybe."
"Oh." Pinkie descended with her ears dropping before rising again. "Mewtwo's good too. Ah! Maybe it's Mewthree?!"
"I'm not sure that's real..." Twilight slowly shook her head. "But this is a great first start. With this Pokemon Energy Tracker, we'll be able to track down even more powerful Pokemon easily. Pokemon Researching will be way easier now!"
"So, are we going to go and research Mew or maybe Mewtwo?" Spike asked.
"Certainly!" Twilight nodded. "And whatever that Ground-Type may be. "Let's gather everypony and head out. Those signals seem to be moving haphazardly. We're going on a little trip!"
"Espeon!"
Remoraid Rainforest.
"Toucan..." A Toucannon cawed while sitting on a tall tree branch. "Cannon." And below them were Ash, Goh, the Mane 6 alongside Sunset and Starlight, all arriving here to search for potentially Mew or Mewtwo and that unidentified Ground-Type Pokemon.
"Everypony. Careful where you put your hooves and feet," said Applejack
"Um...I don't think that'll be a problem," Sunset sighed as it was revealed that they were all walking in a large lake together with a few of them flying. "Some of us are up to our knees here."
"Easy for you to say. Some of us can't even reach the ground." Spike replied. "I think something's trying to pull me down."
"Axew?"
"We'll get this done very soon," said Twilight, flying over the lake with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Twilight also held a smaller version of the Pokemon Energy Tracker in her hooves
"Hup!" Spike and Axew jumped onto the back of Audino to feel safer. "Ah, much better."
"Audino?"
"Xew..."
"This could really be my chance to get Mew!" Goh grinned. "If it is Mew. Might just be Mewtwo again."
"I'm still betting that it's a Mewthree!" Pinkie exclaimed. "That exists, right, Ash?"
"Uh...not 100% sure if that's real." Ash laughed nervously.
"Pikachu..."
"Ampharos." Rarity's Ampharos was acting as a perfect guide in this fairly dark rainforest, granting them all some light with his glowing body. Dark red eyes were lurking in the dark, watching Ash and the others walk and fly about.
Some Zubats were feeding off the juices of fruits stacked on the trees. The fruits were sucked dry, dropping on the lake near Sunset and Starlight.
"Ugh...Let's hurry and get out of here, please?" Starlight shuddered.
"Oh?" Just then, Rarity felt something stick to her hooves. Something was leeching onto her while also sending electricity through her. And that something were a group of Eelektrik that were all over Rarity. "Kyaaaaaaaaaa!" Rarity screeched at the top of her lungs.
"Rarity?" They all faced her.
"Get them off me!" Rarity pranced on the spot, jumping about, trying to get the Eelektrik off her.
"Eel!"
"Hold on. No need to make such a fuss." Applejack went over with her Sceptile to deal with this.
"Sceptile." Sceptile effortlessly removed the Eelektrik off of Rarity along with Applejack who used her rope to do so. Spike, Axew and Pikachu helped out by going for Rarity's hooves.
But as they were removing the Eelektrk from Rarity, an even bigger individual was swimming behind them. One that Audino could hear coming.
"Audino?"
"There's another one?" Fluttershy said.
"More Eelektrik?!" Rarity shuddered while being paralyzed. It wasn't quite another Eelektrik. Mainly because this next Pokemon was bigger and the superior version of it. The Pokemon with no weaknesses.
Eelektross.
"Eelektross!" The EleFish Pokemon jumped out of the lake, splashing everyone with water.
"An Eelektross!" Ash gasped.
"Pikachu!"
"Oh, that's probably what tried to pull me down earlier, I think!" Spike pointed at Eelektross.
"Tross!" Eelektross was going straight for Rarity as she was the first one in its sights.
"W-Why is it looking directly at me?" Rarity gulped as she slowly backed up. She then realized why the Pokemon here were suddenly attracted to her. She thought back to earlier today before they left to find Mew.
After coming back from Pokestar Studios, Rarity was given an exclusive Nimbasa City perfume for her great acting as a reward. A Sweet Scent perfume. So, she tried it on today and this was the result. Thankfully, it wasn't a lot but it was still enough to draw in some Pokemon.
"Oh. That makes sense." Rarity nodded, finally understanding why.
"Eelek!" Eelektross dived towards Rarity at high speeds.
"Ampharos!" Thankfully, her partner was there to help by firing a Dragon Pulse directly at the approaching Eelektross. A Dragon-Shaped shockwave soared through the sky, hitting Eelektross head-on.
"Eel!" The EleFish Pokemon bellowed as it was sent flying into the distance from the explosion of Dragon Pulse. Unfortunately, the explosion was a bit too close, so Rarity got affected as well. But it was mostly her mane that took the explosion.
"T-Thank you, Ampharos." Rarity sighed.
"Ampharos!"
With that sorted, Rarity sent out Pheromosa to overpower the Sweet Scent with her own pheromones, freeing Rarity from any other surprise Pokemon appearances that she wasn't up for.
Now they could continue searching for Mew or Mewtwo and the Ground-Type. They had finally walked out of the lake, getting on fresh yet still soggy land. Twilight noticed that the energy signals, while still moving haphazardly, were starting to slow down a bit.
From how they were moving, it could be a clear sign that Mew was most likely up to its usual antics considering how much of a playful Pokemon it is. The Psychic signal was moving faster while the Ground signal was slowing down from what she could observe.
"Hm...Wonder what's going on there?" Twilight wondered with Eve and Togekiss looking at the screen with her.
But as Twilight wondered and everyone else was wandering through the rainforest, they could all hear some rumbling. Or rather, Audino was the first one to hear rumbling and then everyone else. And they could also feel some rumbling too.
"Dino?"
"Now what?" Sunset looked around. "More Pokemon?"
"They don't sound like Pokemon footsteps..." Fluttershy picked up on the sound. "More like...humans?"
"Maybe that Ground-Type's shaking the earth right now." Starlight looked over at the tracker. "But if so, that's some pretty weak rumbling."
"Maybe. Or maybe..." Twilight and the others slowly turned their heads to the side, finding out where the source of the sound was coming from.
And indeed, Fluttershy's theory was right. When turning to face the left, there were in fact, humans here. All four of them were running in one direction next to each other and they were all Pokemon Trainers. Their footsteps were surprisingly heavy when combined.
"Oh, it is humans!" Pinkie shot up. "Hey! Where are you all going?!"
"Didn't you hear?! There's like two really strong Pokemon here! We're going for a Raid Battle!" A trainer responded as he ran off with the others.
"Raid Battle?!" Ash and Rainbow Dash's attention had now been boosted after hearing that. They both looked at each other with wide grins before nodding in unison, knowing what to do. At the same time, they both dashed off to get ahead.
"Pika!"
"Ah! They're gonna beat me to Mew!" Goh bellowed as he pulled his hair, also running ahead.
"Wait for me, Mew! I'm coming!" Pinkie did the same, bouncing over Goh.
"The signals are getting faster! Now they're heading south!" Twilight noticed, flying after them. With that, the rest of them followed as well, following the trainers. All the while, the energy signals on the tracker were now speeding up once more.
It was now apparent that others knew about these two extremely powerful Pokemon. After all, in the Pokemon World, they already have the technology to pick up on Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, just like Twilight's new equipment. Most of them anyway.
Everyone was heading south in the Rainforest with Pinkie Pie and Goh hoping it was Mew while everyone else was ready for whichever Pokemon it may be.
Eventually, everyone reached a stopping point. A hill by the rainforest was where everyone stopped running. And also where the energy signals were the most prominent.
"Why are we stopping?" Spike asked while everyone stood at the hill.
"Apparently, the two extra powerful Pokemon should be here." Twilight looked at the signal. "But, I don't see them."
"Come on Mew...Mewtwo's good too..." Pinkie Pie was hoping for Mew so badly. And if not, Mewtwo's a good substitute.
The Pokemon Trainers already knew which Pokemon-Types they could be going up against. So, they already had their Poke Balls out, ready to send their partners out.
As everyone waited patiently, a second rumbling could be heard and felt. But it wasn't coming from any newcomer trainers this time. Instead, it was coming from the rainforest itself. This was already promising as the energy signals were going off the charts.
Then, high above the skies, an orange storm cloud was forming before everyone's eyes. The storm cloud was turning the rest of the sky into a grey skyscape as the ground itself kept shaking.
And within the storm cloud, a pink glow could be seen twinkling inside of it. Everyone, who were keeping their balances, squinted hard to really see if they could spot what was up ahead. Twilight took out some binoculars to gain a better view. And what she saw surprised her. There were indeed two Pokemon here. One of them was the expected one while the other was unexpected. The storm cloud had separated while the pink twinkle came closer as the two Pokemon were revealed.
Mew and Landorus.
"Mew!"
"LANDORUS!" The Abundance Pokemon roared at Mew as he was seemingly trying to catch Mew.
"Oh! It reallyis Mew!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"But who's the big buff guy on the cloud?" Spike tilted his head.
"It's Landorus!" Ash gawked.
"Pikachu!"
"Landorus?" Twilight took out her Pokedex, scanning Landorus.
"Landorus. The Abundance Pokemon. From the forces of lightning and wind, it creates energy to give nutrients to the soil and make the land abundant. Lands visited by Landorus grant such bountiful crops that it has been hailed as The Guardian of the Fields.
"It's Landorus!" A trainer exclaimed.
"It was worth coming here." Another grinned.
"Wait! You're not here for Mew?" Sunset turned to them.
"Nah! Landorus is what we want!" All of them said as they sent their Pokemon out.
"Mamoswine!"
"Tauros!"
"Vaporeon!"
"Froslass!" The Pokemon were sent out by their trainers to deal with Landorus as none of them were really interested in Mew. Then again, they've heard more about Landorus and how powerful he is, so it stands to reason why they would all go for seemingly the strongest Pokemon here.
"Can't let them beat me to it...!" Goh reached for a Poke Ball, sending out his Golurk.
"Golurk!"
"Why's Landorus chasing Mew?" Starlight wondered.
"It looks upset about something." Fluttershy noticed.
"LANDO! LANDORUS!" Landorus roared, putting his hands together as he was about to fire a Hyper Beam at Mew with a huge vein popping out of his head.
"Mew!" All the while, Mew just giggled at Landorus, further aggravating the Abundance Pokemon.
"LAND!" Landorus then fired a large blast from his hands, sending it straight towards the New Species Pokemon.
"Mew!" Mew looked back to see a Hyper Beam coming straight for it. Knowing that getting hit by Hyper Beam wouldn't be pretty for it, the New Species Pokemon transformed itself into a Gengar, making the Hyper Beam phase right through it.
Except, while that was great for Mew, it wasn't so great for everyone else. Because Hyper Beam was heading straight for all the Pokemon Trainers standing on the hill since they were also within the line of fire.
"Uh oh!" Twilight's yelped as she and everyone made the clever decision to make a run for it as they all turned around while Hyper Beam was heading for the hills.
As everyone bolted away, Hyper Beam hit the hills. Upon contact, a vicious and wide explosion was born, disrupting the hills and landscape as well. The hills had been obliterated by one single Hyper Beam. And because the hills had been obliterated, the ground below everyone on land had been affected too.
The ground below had shattered, forcing everyone who couldn't fly to fall to the lower ground of the Remoraid Rainforest, screaming along the way.
Thankfully, the fall wasn't that high as most of them fell into the lake safely. The only major consequence was that they were now wet. But some hit the ground, unfortunately. Which didn't spell good news for their backs.
"You all okay?!" Rainbow Dash and the others that could fly asked.
"We're fine." Ash nodded as he sat up.
"Pika..."
"Ugh..." The Pokemon Trainers stood up from the ground and lake. They were here to capture Landorus so a minor fall wouldn't get in their way.
Speaking of Landorus, his pursuit of Mew led him to the lower ground with Mew just continuing to tease him to no end. Mew descended as it had spotted some friendly faces down below. One of which was the pony it adored the most, Pinkie Pie.
"Mew!" Mew called out for Pinkie Pie's name as it flew straight for her.
"Oh! Mew!" Pinkie Pie stood up, holding her hooves out and inviting her friend for a hug. The two pink individuals had wide smiles on their faces as they embraced each other with a loving hug.
"Mew!"
"Eh?!" Goh gasped, witnessing Pinkie Pie and Mew hugging each other. But that wasn't the main focus right now. The real main focus was Landorus who had descended with his arms crossed.
He was still furious at Mew as seen by his very visible vein, bloodshot eyes and rumbling body which was also causing the entire rainforest to rumble as well.
His eyes were locked onto the New Species Pokemon, who was within the hold of Pinkie Pie. Mew blew its tongue out at the Abundance Pokemon, only further aggravating him.
"Lando...!" Landorus pointed at Mew, shouting aggressively at the New Species with horrifying words that are best not translated by Fluttershy.
"Yeesh. What did you do to make him so mad?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Mew!"
But aside from Landorus's current rage towards Mew, the Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon lined up, standing before Landorus as they were blocking his view of the New Species Pokemon.
"Land?"
"We came here to battle and catch Landorus and we're gonna do just that!" One trainer spoke. "Mamoswine! Ice Shard!"
"Tauros! Blizzard!"
"Vaporeon! Hydro Pump!"
"Froslass! Ice Beam!"
All at once, all four Pokemon went on the offensive, attacking Landorus under their trainers' commands. All at once, four super-effective moves were formed. Tauros spun its tail around, kicking up a violent howling blizzard and sending it straight towards Landorus.
A shard of Ice, a high volume blast of water and a beam of ice were all fired in unison, merging with Blizzard to create a superior move that was perfect against Ground-Type Pokemon.
"Lando!" Except, Landorus had his own response to that. The Abundance Pokemon used Hammer Arm with his right arm glowing with red energy emanating out of it. With a mighty yell, Landorus struck the combined moves of Ice and Water with his fist, generating so much overwhelming force and power that he actually managed to send the moves right back at the Pokemon who fired it.
Gasping in shock, the Pokemon had all been hit by their own unified attack, taking the full force of it as well as their trainers. The resulting explosion was full of ice and water that erupted on the spot as the trainers and their Pokemon were all sent flying back afterwards, landing in the lake once again.
"Agh!"
"Landorus!" Clearly, Landorus's rage was so immense that not even super-effective moves were going to stand in his way. Not until he takes it all out on Mew.
"Pinkie...I think it's best if you got out of here with Mew..." Applejack spoke through her teeth, telling Pinkie to leave with Mew for further safety, hopefully.
"Oh! Right!" Pinkie nodded in understanding as she ran off with Mew sitting on her back. Even if Mew was being sent further away from Landorus, that didn't mean the Abundance Pokemon would just simply stop chasing Mew.
But it did mean that everyone else can give enough time for Pinkie to find a good place to hide while they dealt with Landorus. The Pokemon trainers and their Pokemon were already down and out after that one single Hammer Arm knockback.
"Landorus!"
"Don't worry! I got this!" Rainbow Dash stepped forward, holding out a Poke Ball. "Go, Altaria!" Out came the Humming Pokemon Altaria.
"Altaria!"
"Lando?"
"Ice Beam, go!"
"Alta!" Altaria went first, opening her beak as an orb of ice formed in front of it.
"Lando...!" Landorus narrowed his eyes, having little patience for any obstacles that would try and stop him from reaching Mew.
"Taria!" Ice Beam was fired at Landorus, who wasn't bothered about the approaching beam of ice heading his way. Mostly because he flew to the side, avoiding it as he then advanced towards Altaria.
"Dorus!" Aggravated, the Abundance Pokemon grabbed Altaria by the neck, shocking everyone.
"Al?!"
"Lando!" With fury, Landorus used Hammer Arm while holding onto Altaria as he slammed her onto the ground with devastating force.
"Ta!" Altaria screamed as a shockwave was formed, destroying the surrounding trees of the rainforest.
"Oh! Altaria!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Lando!" Landorus then tossed Altaria back at Rainbow Dash, causing the Humming Pokemon to crash into her trainer as they both were sent flying because of the strength of Landorus's throw.
"Rainbow Dash! Altaria!" Twilight turned around to see Rainbow Dash and Altaria falling down.
"Dorus!" Landorus wasn't done yet. He was about to use Stone Edge next. Large blue crystals surrounded the Abundance Pokemon as he sent them flying into the air.
"Not good! Run!" Ash figured that standing this close to Landorus while large sharp rocks were about to rain down from above wouldn't be the best option right now. So, the decision had been made to make a run for it and get far away from the rocks.
And that's what everyone did. They all got away from Landorus as large crystals started raining down after them, stabbing into the ground.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, hardening his tail with iron. "Chu...Pika!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon then swung his tail upwards, destroying some of the approaching rocks.
"In there!" Twilight noticed a large cave up ahead. Three of them actually. One that could help conceal them from Landorus for the time being. As everyone else spotted the caves with Pikachu landing back on Ash's shoulder, they all split up, entering the three separate caves in different groups.
They had escaped from the Stone Edge rain but they hadn't escaped from Landorus, who was still hot on the trail for Mew.
"Landorus..."
The left cave.
Rainbow Dash, Sunset and Applejack had entered the left cave as a group, breathing in and out after running from the Stone Edge rain.
"Heavens to Betsy...! Too close...!" Applejack exhaled rapidly. "That Landorus' angrier than a hornet...!"
"You okay, Altaria?" Rainbow Dash asked her partner.
"Taria." Altaria was fine but that Hammer Arm slam into the ground plus the throw did leave a number on her.
"Get some rest for now." She sent Altaria back into her Poke Ball.
"Is he still out there?" Sunset slowly poked her head out of the cave, wondering if Landorus was nearby.
When looking outside, she found out that Landorus wasn't there. He was obviously in pursuit of finding Mew so he had no time for everyone else, especially if they got in his way.
"Okay, we're good..." Sunset sighed. "But I don't know about everypony else..."
"It's only after Mew right. Pinkie's in trouble too if that big fella's going after 'em." Applejack stood up.
"Hold on." Rainbow Dash took out her Xtransceiver, calling for her friends. She selected Pinkie Pie and Twilight's trainer number as the communication device was ringing. In just a few seconds, they had both picked up. "Pinkie! Twilight! Everypony! You okay?"
"We're fine. Just over at the middle cave." Twilight said as she was grouped up with Ash, Rarity, Spike and Fluttershy. "What about you, Pinkie? Are you far away enough from Landorus?"
"I think so." Pinkie Pie replied. "We're below right now."
"Below?" Rainbow Dash looked down.
"Yeah. We found a bunch of leaves that go all the way down like a slope. So we're at the lowest part of the rainforest. I think. Hopefully, Landorus doesn't look here."
"Let's just try talking to Landorus since he's so upset at Mew," Fluttershy suggested. "And then maybe, we can have a nice and normal Raid Battle, right everypony?"
"Speaking of which...what did you do to make him so mad, Mew?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Mew! Mew, Mew!" Mew explained what it did to rile Landorus up so much to a point where he would be in such hot pursuit along with the destructive fury of the land by his side.
Fluttershy, being the translator here, had heard everything that Mew had said. And once she got it all down, Fluttershy's pupils shrank, her ears dropped and her frown intensified.
"Oh...my..." Fluttershy's jaw dropped.
"What? What did it say?" Sunset questioned.
"...Mmm..." Fluttershy covered her face with her wings. "It's best nopony knows."
"So does that mean....you can't calm him down?" Goh asked.
"I don't think so after that." Fluttershy shook her head. "But I could still try."
"Mew!" Mew laughed.
"Well, whatever happened, we're still dealing with that Landorus. Ash, you in?"
"Let's try having Fluttershy talking to him first." Ash chose to talk to Landorus first before potentially jumping into a battle. "How close is Landorus, Twilight?"
"Just above the caves." Twilight looked at the tracker. "Looks like he hasn't found out about the lower section yet. And he won't even bother coming for all of us in the caves."
"Pinkie Pie. Stay deep down there with Mew and don't move. We'll sort it out as soon as we can." said Rarity. "Who's the closest to Landorus?"
"Nopony." Twilight observed. "He's moving all over the place at this point."
"Then we'll go for him first. Let's go." Ash ran off with Pikachu, heading out of the cave.
"Oh! We'll catch you later! Stay safe!" Fluttershy hung up the call as she also followed Ash and the others out of the cave to try and calm Landorus down.
Pinkie also turned the call off as she sat down with Mew right next to her. "Phew. Looks like we're gonna be stuck here for a while."
"Mew."
"But whatever you did, could you apologize to Landorus, maybe?" Pinkie pleaded for Mew to apologize to Landorus.
"Mew." Mew nodded in understanding.
"But in the meantime!" Pinkie pulled out a cupcake. "Try some of this! I know you liked my cupcakes from before!"
"Mew!" The New Species Pokemon certainly did as it grabbed the cupcake, devouring it upon the first contact. "Mew! Mew!"
"Have some more!" Pinkie then held out more cupcakes, tossing them towards Mew. The Psychic-Type then transformed into a Gulpin, opening its mouth wide so that cupcakes could enter in easier.
"Gulp!"
"Ooh! Try eating it a different way!" Pinkie and Mew were starting to experiment with new ways of eating cupcakes. Pinkie tossed some cupcakes into the air, waiting to see what Mew would do.
Mew then transformed into a Hitmonlee, using its spring-like legs to jump after the cupcakes. It then held the cupcakes with its legs, using their flexibility by bending them, launch the cupcakes into Mew's mouth.
"Nice!" Pinkie applauded as Spinda popped out of her mane, applauding as well.
"Spinda!"
They kept trying new ways of eating with Pinkie Pie continuously throwing cupcakes and Mew transforming into other Pokemon to catch and eat them differently. All the while, concealing themselves from one of the Forces of Nature, Landorus.
And speaking of Landorus, he was still searching for Mew, hovering high above the rainforest with his eyes being sharpened. So far, he hasn't been able to find Mew here.
Annoyed that he had lost the trail on Mew, Landorus decided to find a way to drag Mew out. And that would involve messing with the rainforest.
"Lando...!" To bring Mew out, Landorus was about to use the One-hit KO move, Fissure. The Abundance Pokemon raised his arm with white energy coming out. He was planning to split the entire rainforest in half just to get to Mew.
"Wait!" But before Landorus could so, the voice of Ash and Fluttershy rang out.
"Landorus, stop!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Land?" Landorus looked down, spotting the familiar faces of Ash and Pikachu after getting a closer look.
"Landorus, please listen!" Fluttershy waved her hooves around. "We know or at least I know what Mew did to you."
"Dorus!" Bringing up Mew and what it did to him was riling Landorus up as he was very close to using Fissure on the ground.
"And it's okay that you're mad! But you can't take it out on the rainforest! All the Pokemon here are having their home damaged right now! So um...please stop before somepony gets really hurt in all of this. We can still solve it all before it's too late. Please?" Fluttershy pleaded.
"Lando!" But, Landorus's rage was too immense right now. What Mew did to him was inexcusable in his eyes as he would be satisfied if he took out all his anger on Mew.
"It didn't work!" Fluttershy yelped.
"Is he seriously that mad!?" Spike pulled back. "What do we do?!"
"Axew!"
"This won't end until he gets Mew. Looks like we'll need to have them both talk it out," said Ash.
"Pika."
"Talk it out?" Spike turned to face Ash.
"We'll have to get him to talk to Mew if we want this to blow over and end." Ash declared.
"How are we gonna get him to talk to Mew if he's so mad?" Twilight gulped.
"Landorus!" Landorus charged down, ready to use Fissure on the ground.
"We'll battle him, that's what!" Ash held out his Poke Ball. "Gengar! Ice Punch, go!" He tossed his Poke Ball forward, sending out Gengar.
"Gengar!" The Shadow Pokemon instantly zipped forward, concealing its hand in an icy blue aura as it went straight for Landorus.
"Lan...!" Landorus pulled his fist back, ready to smash it down and split the entire ground with a gigantic fissure. But there was someone to stop him.
"Gen...gar!" Getting in between the ground and Landorus, Gengar thrust its own fist forward, connecting Ice Punch with Fissure. Upon contact, a white light emerged in the middle of their clash as it pushed both Gengar and Landorus back, successfully stopping Fissure from landing. "Gen!"
"Land!" Landorus actually felt that one as the recoil was fairly powerful. The Abundance Pokemon held his head before shooting his eyes at Gengar. "Landorus!"
"You want Mew? Then follow us!" Ash taunted Landorus with Mew's name as he and the others jolted off, forcing Landorus to chase after them.
"Land!" And Landorus took the bait. Anything to get to Mew after all. The Abundance Pokemon started chasing Ash and the others down through the rainforest.
"We'll knock Landorus out before we get to Mew! That way, we can have them talk with Landorus at a weakened state." Ash broke down the plan. "Gengar! Night Shade!"
"Gen!" Gengar turned upside down while rotating to face Landorus. Out of its eyes, black and red lightning bolts came flying out, heading straight for the Ground-Flying-Type.
"Dorus!" Landorus countered this by using Protect. A green barrier was put up, protecting Landorus from Night Shade.
"Axew!" Axew looked over to Spike, telling him what they both needed to do immediately. Spike understood as he nodded in understanding with Axew.
"Okay! Axew, transform!" Spike commanded.
"Xew!" Axew stopped running as he was ready to transform into his superior state. First, he transformed into his Equestrian Axew form and then secondly, he went straight for his Equestrian Haxorus form with a golden pillar of light surrounding him.
"Haxorus!" Out of the light emerged the Axe Jaw Pokemon as he stood before Landorus.
"Land?!"
"Xorus!" With great strength, Haxorus put his arms forward, stopping Landorus's advancement with his hands on Landorus's face. A small shockwave emerged when they collided.
"Dorus!" Landorus was trying to push through Haxorus by forcefully moving forward.
"H-Hax...!" Haxorus's legs were moving back as he was trying to keep Landorus on one spot. Cracks in the ground were being formed from their struggle.
"Gengar! Attack from above with Ice Punch!"
"Gar!" Gengar zigzagged up, hovering above the Abundance Pokemon while he was trying to push through Haxorus.
"Haxo...!"
"Landorus...!"
"Gengar!" With Landorus distracted, Gengar capitalized as it dashed down, smashing Ice Punch onto Landorus's back and dealing very super-effective damage.
"D-Dorus!" Landorus's eyes widened as he had been smashed into the ground with his back being frozen thanks to Gengar who laughed after landing a hit.
"Now, knocking him back with Dragon Claw!" Spike commanded.
"Haxorus!" With Landorus on the ground now, Haxorus also attacked by summoning draconic green energy around his claws. The Axe Jaw Pokemon then slapped Landorus in the face with Dragon Claw, sending the Abundance Pokemon flying afterwards.
"Laaaaaaandooooo!" Landorus screamed after being launched far back by Dragon Claw. The Ground-Flying-Type was spiralling in the air as he still had his back frozen by Ice Punch, making it difficult for him to focus.
"Now, Fluttershy! While he's still stunned!" Twilight turned to Fluttershy.
"Right!" Fluttershy nodded in understanding before turning to Audino. "Sorry about this, Landorus! Audino! Use Hyper Beam!"
"Audi...!" Aiming to knock out Landorus with this one attack, Audino put her hands together, generating pure hyper energy in front of her. The Hearing Pokemon then fired a majestic blast of energy that tore through the skies themselves.
"D-Dorus?!" Landorus finally recovered as he noticed that a Hyper Beam was heading his way at high speeds from Audino's direction. "Land?!" Knowing that this will hurt a lot considering Hyper Beam's immense power, he countered it with his own Hyper Beam. "Landorus!"
Out of Landorus's arms, Hyper Beam had been fired as it came out fast enough to clash with Audino's Hyper Beam. Now the two of them were in a beam struggle because of this.
"A-Audino...!" Audino groaned while trying to succeed in this struggle.
"Land...! Landorus!" Landorus's eyes flashed as it was clear that his Hyper Beam was the superior one here. His Hyper Beam was starting to overpower Audino's by slowly moving downwards and consuming hers.
"D-Dino...!" Audino closed her eyes.
"Gengar! Fly through and use Ice Punch!" Ash pointed.
"Gengar!" Another one of Ash's many wild strategies came into play. Since Gengar was a Ghost-Type, it could easily interact with Hyper Beam without having to worry about taking damage.
So, that's what it did. The Shadow Pokemon entered Hyper Beam with Ice Punch on both its arms. While inside of Audino's Hyper Beam, Gengar flew upwards, travelling through the Hyper Beam while Audino was doing her best to hold her ground against Landorus.
"Audino-No...!"
"Gengar!" Gengar successfully moved through both Audino and Landorus's Hyper Beam. Ice Punch was ready as the Shadow Pokemon was gazing straight at Landorus's stomach. With its eyes narrowed and a wide grin on its face, Gengar finally reached Landorus as it struck both of its frosty fists onto the gut of the Abundance Pokemon. "Gar!"
"L-Lando!" And with a double hit to the gut, Landorus's eyes widened as he stopped firing Hyper Beam. Not only did a super-effective move strike him in the chest, but now he was vulnerable to Audino's Hyper Beam.
"Audino!" Seeing that Landorus was wide open, Audino managed to get her Hyper Beam through as it connected with Landorus, finally.
"L-L-Landorus!" Landorus screamed as he was being engulfed by Hyper Beam. The screaming stopped after a blazing explosion happened in the sky, visible to everyone in the Remoraid Rainforest.
"Gen." Gengar hovered back, completely free of harm. One of the many benefits of being a Ghost-Type.
As everyone looked up in the sky, they could see Landorus slowly falling down, unable to continue after being hit by a devastating Hyper Beam and super-effective hit to both the gut and back.
Even Landorus knows when he's beaten as he fell to the ground, flat on his face too. "L-Landorus..." The Abundance Pokemon groaned.
"Whew." Spike sighed. "Glad that's over with. Good job, Haxorus."
"Xorus." Haxorus gave a thumbs up before reverting into his Unovan Haxorus form and then right back down to his Unovan Axew form. "Xew."
"Great job, Gengar. Return." Ash returned Gengar.
"L-Landorus...!" Landorus raised his head, looking at the two individuals who had defeated him. Fluttershy gently approached Landorus, trying to give it a second go since her reasoning with him failed the first time.
"Um, excuse me Landorus. I know you're probably not a fan of us right now but we had to stop you before the rest of the rainforest got hurt. Sorry."
"D-Dorus...!"
"I know that what Mew did was wrong and I'm sure Pinkie Pie will let Mew apologize. But look at what you've done to the rainforest." Fluttershy showed Landorus the destruction he had caused from pursuing Mew.
So much of the environment had been demolished from his punches or even ranged attacks. Many Pokemon were all looking at Landorus, clearly shaken up and intimidated by him
For a Pokemon who makes the land abundant, this was embarrassing for Landorus. Especially since it's usually Tornadus and Thundurus who start fights out of nowhere with Landorus always being the one to stop them.
"Landorus..." Landorus sighed, feeling ashamed of himself.
"Aw, it's okay." Fluttershy patted Landorus on the head. "Come on. Let's get to Mew. Once the apology's over, you can head home to um...W-Where do you live?"
"The Abundant Shrine," Ash explained.
"Right. There." Fluttershy nodded. "Okay?"
"Lando."
Eventually, Landorus was led to the lower section of the rainforest where the leaves go down in a fun slope. There, Pinkie Pie was already waiting with Mew.
Landorus held his head as he was too weak to even do much after the battle he just had. When reaching the lower section, the Abundance Pokemon and the New Species Pokemon came face to face with each other once more.
"Mew!" Mew flew over to Landorus, ready to give its sincere and honest apologies instead of just flying away from him again.
"Dorus?"
"Mew. Mew-Mew." Taking responsibility, Mew bowed its head, knowing that upsetting Landorus in that way was wrong and out of line. Even for Mew's usual playful antics, that was going a bit too far.
"Land..." Landorus was just done for today. He held his head, still exhausted after the previous battle. And he could tell that Mew was being genuine with its apology. And for Landorus, right now, that was enough. "Landorus." Landorus accepted its apology.
"Mew! Mew-Mew-Mew!" Glad that Landorus accepted its apology and that they had now buried the hatchet, Mew hugged Landorus by latching itself onto his face.
"Lando?"
"Mew!"
"That's that." Ash nodded. "All they needed was some face to face talk."
"Pikachu."
"Right on that..." Rainbow Dash nodded. "But I'm kinda curious...what did Mew do actually?"
"Oh well...I think I should actually fill you in." Fluttershy decided to tell everyone what she heard from Mew as they all gathered in. "You see...Mew turned into a Landorus itself and ■■■■■, and then used it on Landorus's ■■■■. And Mew used its tail to ■■■, then turned into a Lickylicky to lick ■■■■ and that led to this."
Fluttershy gave everything to them as they all pulled back, shocked at what they had just heard. Everyone snapped their heads towards Mew, gazing at the New Species Pokemon with horrified looks on their faces.
"Mew...Why would you do that?" Ash stuttered.
"Mew!" Mew just simply laughed as it flew around Pinkie Pie.
"Oh well. All in good fun, right Mew?" Pinkie Pie nudged Mew.
"Mew-Mew!"
"Landorus..." Landorus had enough. He decided to leave and return to the Abundant Shrine. All he wanted was some peace at this point. As the Abundance Pokemon flew off, the trainers who were planning to catch Landorus had lost their opportunity, sadly.
"Aw...bummer. Oh, well. Maybe next time we'll get something else." The trainer shrugged as he and the others left to return home.
And speaking of returning home, the same can be said for Ash and the others since their time here was done. They had found the two energy signals after all so there was no further reason to be here. Although, there was one more thing that was about to be done.
"Mew-Mew." Mew suddenly poked Pinkie in the face.
"Hm? What is it, Mew?" Pinkie asked.
"Mew." The New Species Pokemon then dug into Pinkie Pie's saddlebag, moving its hands about. Everyone looked to see Mew grabbing a Poke Ball out of Pinkie Pie's saddlebag. "Mew!"
"Eh? EH?!" Pinkie Pie's eyes shot up along with her mane, tail and ears. Seeing Mew hold the Poke Ball in front of her only meant one thing.
"N-No way!" Goh pulled back.
"Mew? You want to..." Pinkie zoned out.
"Mew!" Mew nodded as it already knew what it wanted. It had already developed a strong bond with Pinkie Pie from their previous and current encounters with each other. Mew had made its decision. So much so that it smashed its head on the Poke Ball, activating it without Pinkie Pie needing to throw it.
The Poke Ball pulled Mew in as it landed on the ground. Now, it was time for the inevitable shaking and to see what the result would be. But it was obvious at this point as everyone leaned in.
1...
2...
3...
Gotcha!
Mew was caught!
"...You're kidding..." Goh dropped to his knees.
"P-Pinkie...Y-Y-Y-You got Mew..." Twilight's hoof was shaking uncontrollably.
"I did." Pinkie Pie picked up the Poke Ball, looking directly at it with deep eyes. "I got Mew..." She then scrunched her face, realizing the massive achievement that had been made. "I got Mew!"
"Spinda!"
"Would ya look at that." Ash adjusted his hat. "Guess that's the first time someone's caught a Mew, huh?
"Pikachu..."
"Beaten to it..." Goh lowered his head.
"No need to worry, Goh." Ash patted Goh on the back. "There are other Mew's out there, ya know. Still pretty rare though.
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Out you come!" Pinkie sent Mew out.
"Mew!" Mew was now officially Pinkie Pie's Pokemon and possibly the second pony to receive a Mythical Pokemon. Especially the ancestor of all Pokemon.
"Glad to have you with us, Mew!" Pinkie hugged Mew. "You're gonna have a lot of fun at SugarCube corner as much as you want! Oh! I should let you meet my family first too! That'd be great!"
"Mew-Mew!"
"Well...I didn't expect this." Twilight shook her head. "Maybe, we should do what Landorus did. Head home."
"Uh-huh." The rest of the Mane 6 agreed with her. Sometimes, there's a limit to how much excitement and surprises can be performed and experienced in one day.
With that, everyone was heading home with a brand new friend by their side. And a brand new story to keep in their memories via Landorus as the journey continues.
"No way..." Twilight was currently in Zecora's hut along with Cold Colt with her eyes locked onto the cauldron of magical water. "You actually have this much in here?"
"Certainly, all thanks to Team Rocket's find," said Zecora. "But none of this would not have been possible if the water was never purified."
"Have you done anything with it yet?" Twilight asked.
"Haven't touched it once." Team Rocket shook their heads.
"We have a small Spearow feather to test it out." Zecora pointed over at James holding a Spearow feather. "One drop into the cauldron of magical water, and we'll see what it will bring about."
"Alright then." James slowly approached the cauldron of magical water. With caution, he outstretched his arm, letting it hover above the cauldron. And with a trembling hand, he dropped the Spearow feather into the cauldron before jumping far back.
Everyone else jumped back, hiding behind a table as they had no idea what to expect from the Spearow feather interacting with this fused magical water. Once the feather touched the water, the reaction had begun.
The single Spearow feather had suddenly gained arms made entirely out of feathers as they erupted from the cauldron, startling everyone. Especially with how muscular they were. There were now huge buff feathery arms made out of Spearow Feather's inside of the cauldron with visible veins popping out.
"Look at the beef on that thing!" Jessie gasped.
"Awesome!" Cold gawked.
But, despite how impressive it looked, the muscular feather arms showed aggression as its arms suddenly extended, grabbing Meowth all of a sudden.
"Oof!" Meowth's body was being held by these giants hands as his head looked like it was about to pop from the squeezing.
"Meowth!" Jessie and James stood up, grabbing their friend by the tail. The muscular feather arms were aiming to drag Meowth into the cauldron with it for whatever reason. The arms couldn't exactly go anywhere considering what they were after all.
Team Rocket was pulling hard to try and remove Meowth from the clutches of the muscular feather arms. All the while, Meowth was in unexplainable pain right now with all this pulling and gripping.
"Eve! Psybeam!" Twilight commanded.
"Espeon!" Pitching in, Eve's gem on her head started glowing as a purple beam of Psychic energy was shot out of it. The Psybeam had hit the muscular feather arms, causing them to jitter as the raw psychic power of Psybeam was enough to made muscular feather arms explode.
And that's what happened. They blew up right in front of everyone's faces with feathers bursting out. Meowth was free because of that sudden explosion of feathers.
"Ah..." Meowth fell on his back, relieved that he was saved. "Thanks for that..."
"Espeon."
"Well...that was an interesting first look." Zecora nodded as she sighed. "But perhaps, not the safest first try in the book." She went up to the cauldron.
"It wasn't so safe on our first try too," Twilight said. "That water can either be beneficial or just a problem starter."
"Thought I was a goner there. That thing breeds life?" Meowth stood up, holding his neck.
"It sure is unpredictable. Zecora. If it's okay, can I take a cup of it to experiment back at my lab?" Twilight asked.
"Go ahead, by all means." Zecora nodded. "We'll both be studying it further, so eventually, you may report your find back to me."
"Thank you." Twilight nodded as she grabbed one of Zecora's nearby wooden cups. "This'll be as good as Togekiss and Spike's Axew, right Cold?"
"..." Cold Colt was zoned out when looking at the cauldron as he hadn't responded to Twilight's question. This entire time, he has just been looking at the cauldron.
"Cold?" Twilight narrowed her eyes. She waved her hooves in his face, trying to grab his attention. "Hello? Cold? Are you okay?"
"I kinda recognize that..." Cold suddenly uttered.
"Hm?" Twilight leaned in. "What do you mean you recognize it?"
"This..." Cold approached the cauldron as his horn was glowing, reacting to the cauldron and water as he got closer. Not only that, but his eyes flashed with cosmic energy. "This has Rift magic in it."
"Rift Magic?" Twilight's ears and brain were just now downloading and processing what Cold had said. As well as Team Rocket and Zecora. "Rift Magic?!"
"Espeon?!"
"Yeah." Cold nodded as his horn was glowing aggressively when nearby the cauldron of water. "I can feel it. It's small but it's there."
"Hm." Jessie thought for a moment as she was thinking about Cold Colt, Pokemon Magic, Equestrian Magic and the Rift. From day one, the Rift has always been unpredictable with what it does. And Cold Colt is a creation of the Rift. Not to mention, whenever he practices magic with Twilight, the results are always unexpected.
Once she put the pieces together, Jessie realized that it only made perfect sense that a sprinkle of Rift magic would be embedded in the merged Pokemon and Equestrian Magic. "Oh...That explains it now!"
"Most of it is just Pokemon and Equestrian magic. But a tiny bit of it is Rift magic." Cold explained as his horn was getting more vibrant by the second.
"Oh..." Twilight gawked. "Guess that gives us new information about this water then. But Cold, your horn." She pointed her hoof at his horn.
"Hm?" Cold finally noticed that his horn was flashing uncontrollably, without his own will. He then felt a surge of magic waiting to burst out of his horn as he quickly backed away from the cauldron. But his horn was still flashing. "Oh! I've never felt this before!"
"Is it bad?!" Team Rocket asked.
"It depends," Zecora replied. "Both Cold Colt and the water are made from the same source of energy, so who knows what reactions this will contend."
"Maybe. But in the meantime..." Twilight scooped up some of the water with the wooden cup. "We'll be putting double focus into both you and the water now instead of just making it separate. First, we have to do something about that horn of yours."
"Cant' you turn it off?" Jessie asked.
"I can't. It won't stop flashing." Cold shook his head. "This is gonna be a real bother at night."
"I wouldn't say that. After all, you're on night-watch with Jade so having that flashing horn can be like a free flashlight." Twilight grinned, showing him the bright side of this.
"Oh. I guess so." Cold touched his horn.
"We'll be heading off now. Thanks for the water, Zecora." Twilight started walking out with Eve and Cold Colt. "Thanks again, Zecora." But before she left, she peered her head through the door, squinting her eyes at Team Rocket. "You too, Team Rocket. But I've got my eyes on you three."
"Toodle-loo~!" Team Rocket let out suspicious grins as they waved goodbye to Twilight, obviously planning to steal from her someday.
"Wobbuffet!"
As Twilight, Eve and Cold exited the hut, ready to return to Ponyville, Cold's constantly flashing horn wasn't seemingly just there for a light show.
Ponyville, Twilight's Lab. Late afternoon.
Twilight placed down the cup of magical water, now having a new source to work on when it comes to the bizarre fusion of Pokemon and Equestrian magic. All the while, Cold's horn was still flashing.
"Is that a bad sign?" Starlight asked, looking at Cold Colt's flashing horn.
"Hopefully not," Twilight responded. "But so far, nothing bad has really happened with it. Seems harmless right now."
"Yeah, right now," Sunset said. "If you're gonna practice magic with him right now, who knows what'll happen."
"Hm..." Twilight thought about what Sunset said for a moment, taking her word into account. "You're right. All that flashing could mean something. If Cold were to use magic now...It's too risky to just try it right now."
"So, are we gonna continue our practice or not?" Cold looked around. "If not, I can just head back to Sweet Apple Acres."
"Well..." Twilight turned around. "We still don't know what all that flashing means...Maybe take a break for a while before we get back into it. Just gonna do some quick setting up in case something destructive happens, ya know?"
"Oh, I gotcha." Cold understood as he nodded. He knew that all this flashing could result in something destructive if magic were to be used. A 50/50 chance in his eyes. "Maybe Apple Bloom's gonna be impressed by this."
"I wouldn't get your hopes up." Twilight shook her head.
"Ninetales?" Ninetales, curious as ever, went up to the table, looking into the cup. Minccy climbed up his head as she also looked down on it.
"Sol." Absol quickly told them not to interact with it because they have no idea what it might do to them. Good or bad.
Cold Colt was going to head over to Sweet Apple Acres for a quick rest while having a large visible flashing light on his horn. Earlier, when he was returning to Ponyville from Everfree Forest, everypony noticed his horn glowing aggressively. But, they didn't think too much of it and assumed it was just fine.
However, before Cold could leave for Sweet Apple Acres, he spotted a snack that he thought he had lost yesterday, but eventually found it, sitting on top of one of the bookshelves. He had unfinished business with the snack.
"Oh, there you are." Cold licked his lips. "Come to papa." Eager to take a bite, he was actually about to use his magic to grab it, despite the warning that had been given. But he's so used to using his magic to grab everything that it just comes on instinct by now.
And once he used his magic, the unexpected did happen. But while it may seem unexpected, in truth, it was something that Cold and Twilight were longing for.
Just as Cold's magical aura surrounded the snack, a booming sound erupted inside of the lab, startling everyone and shattering the windows. Even having enough soundwaves to shatter the PokePark windows as everyone gasped and jumped. And of course, Ponyville heard it too. With a booming sound grabbing everyone's attention, the effects of Cold's magic were about to take place.
On top of the bookshelf and the snack, a gateway had opened up.
The thing that Twilight and Cold were aiming to finally achieve had at long last arrived in an unexpected time due to a fairly mundane scenario.
"A gateway?!" Twilight, Sunset and Starlight each gasped while gazing up at the gateway.
"I-I-I didn't..." Cold backed away, shocked that he was able to just suddenly open a gateway out of nowhere. Even though that wasn't what he was planning. "I was just getting my snack back...!"
"Forget the snack! You finally did it!" Twilight dashed over to Cold. "Great job, Cold!" The young alicorn lifted Cold up, hugging him.
"But where does it lead to?" Sunset narrowed her eyes at the gateway.
"I don't know?" Cold shrugged. "I just did it by accident."
"Accident?" Twilight pulled back before looking at the gateway. She then shifted her eyes to Cold's flashing horn and then over to the cup of magical water and the right back to the gateway. By looking at these three key things, Twilight put everything together. "Oh...I see now."
"See what?" Cold tilted his head.
"Since you and the water are connected to the same source, this flashing light on your horn must be boosting your Rift magic from what it looks like." Twilight theorized. "Does it feel like your magic is being boosted, Cold?"
"A bit yeah." Cold nodded. "I was just trying to get my snack and this happened."
"Well, what do we do now that this is here?" Spike pointed at the gateway.
"Hmm..." Twilight's eyes were in full focus now. "We don't know where it leads to...Cold obviously can't control his magic right now because of all that flashing, and it doesn't look like this gateway will be going anywhere anytime soon. Maybe it's best that we-"
"Did we hear a gateway?!" Suddenly, Nyx came rushing into the lab with Cocoa and Rosestar.
"Ah!" Twilight jumped after the sudden burst in.
"Sure did! Look!" Cocoa pointed her hoof at the gateway that was above the snack and bookcase. "It really is a gateway!"
"Y-You finally did it!" A wide smile graced Nyx's face. Just like Twilight and Cold, she was waiting for this ever since she, Cocoa and Rosestar arrived here. "A gateway at last!"
"But why here of all places?" Cocoa scrunched her face.
"Uh, kinda did it on accident." Cold raised his hoof.
"Accident? So you're unsure of where it leads to then?" Nyx walked over.
"Yeah..." Cold nervously rubbed the back of his head.
"Nopony should go through it yet, alright?" Twilight said. "It's probably the most unpredictable gateway yet. How about we wait until tomorrow to go through?"
"Tomorrow? You sure?" Starlight raised an eyebrow.
"Mhm." Twilight made her decision. "It's already getting pretty late right now. Wherever this gateway leads to, we'll be ready to enter it when the time comes tomorrow."
"What if someone comes through it? Since, ya know, it leads somewhere?" Spike asked.
"Absol and Cold will be here to warn us at night. Both of them and Jade are great as the night watch."
"At least we now have the capabilities to open gateways. You can control it, can't you Cold Colt?" Nyx turned to Cold.
"Uh...Not really." Cold grinned sheepishly. "I mean I got a boost but-"
"Don't worry too much about it." Twilight patted Cold on the back. "Since you can't control your magic with all this amplified power, I think it's best if you went back to Sweet Apple Acres and relax."
"Right. Thanks, Twilight. And I'll keep an eye out!" Cold bowed as he ran off, ready to kick back and relax at Sweet Apple Acres. All the while, his horn kept flashing and the gateway was still open.
As Cold left the lab, everypony else was stuck gazing at the gateway, wondering where it could lead to. Whether it was safe or dangerous. It was unknown. But until tomorrow, they'll have to wait.
Sweet Apple Acres Nightfall.
The night had arrived. And the nocturnal Pokemon along with Jade, Cold, Absol and Krookodile were all keeping watch for the night as Ponyville's Nightwatch.
As for everyone else, they had all clocked out with the lights off. Although, there was only one light prominent at the moment. Cold Colt's horn, which was still flashing. No matter what, it wouldn't turn off. Even for Cold, this was unusual to him.
The little unicorn walked towards Jade, who was sitting on top of a tree with binoculars out, keeping a good eye on Ponyville as always, right next to a Noctowl too.
"Noct."
"Hey, Jade." Cold spoke to her while looking up at the tree.
"Hm? Oh, hey Cold. Still can't turn that thing off?"
"No. I think it's here to stay for a long time. Don't know when it's gonna turn off. Wish I could actually sleep and just wait for it to blow over..." Cold sighed. "But that doesn't always work."
"Don't feel bad, Cold. It'll work out for sure. Something that Pinkie Pie taught me." Jade turned to him before looking up at the starry sky.
"Yeah, you're right." Cold rubbed his eye. "Maybe I can still finish that snack." Wanting to finish his snack from before, the little Rift Pony made his way back to Twilight's lab.
Along the way, he waved at Absol, who gave a greeting back by raising his head. Cold opened the door to the lab gently. But, he didn't need to since Twilight and the others were asleep at the castle instead of the lab. Even the Pokemon at PokePark had the hatch closed so noise could barely travel through it.
Entering the lab, Cold could still see the gateway here as it was constantly shining, lighting up the room as well as Cold's horn. The gateway also made a howling sound that was faint but still there.
And thankfully, thanks to Twilight's Cinccino, the snack was taken off the bookshelf next to the gateway and placed on the table with aluminium foil wrapped around. Nice and neat too. Knowing that using magic to grab it would result in something else unexpected since his horn wasn't exactly responding properly, Cold just decided to casually approach the snack without using magic.
But as the little Rift Pony was approaching his snack on the table, about to chow down on it, the moment his hoof reached for the snack, a whisper passed through his ears.
"Cₒₗd Cₒₗₜ". A voice that was all too familiar to him.
"Huh?" Cold turned around as he noticed that the whisper was coming from the gateway itself. By picking up on the whispers, he recognized them as the Rift. "R-Rift?"
"Cₒₘₑ cₗₒₛₑᵣ." The voice was too tempting to resist. In fact, it was so tempting that Cold Colt's eyes started flashing blue as he was put into a trance by it. With his eyes zoning out, the little unicorn's body was starting to move on its own, approaching the gateway.
With great and seemingly unrivalled power, the Rift had manipulated Cold Colt's body, causing the little unicorn's eyes to flash uncontrollably, just like his horn. Cold Colt was gaining multiple visions that were flashing before his eyes.
Visions that involved his first time being created, starting some conflict, losing, becoming a part of the Apple Family, getting captured, accepted by Ponyville and so on. All of it was appearing before his eyes at insurmountable speeds.
After that, the lights had stopped flashing as they had finally faded away, including his horn. With that, the Rift had unlocked Cold Colt's full potential. The Rift had left, returning to its realm as it had taken Cold out of its trance. However, the gateway was still here.
"Mrrgh..." Cold groaned, holding his head as his hooves wobbled around. The Rift had taken away any memory of what had just happened to him at this moment in time, making Cold believe that he had just received a headache.
"Absol!" Absol, who saw all the flashing, came rushing into the lab to see if there were any threats nearby as he was ready to use Night Slash on sight. But, when arriving there, all he saw was Cold holding his head. "Sol?"
"Oh, hey Absol," said Cold. "Did you see anything?"
"Ab...sol?" Absol looked around, spotting nothing unusual. The only unusual thing that was here was Colds horn since it stopped flashing. "Absol." Seeing that there were no problems, the Disaster Pokemon walked out.
"Oh, my horns back to normal. Sweet." Cold touched his horn. "Glad that's over with. My eyes were getting all messed up because of it. Maybe now that it's stopped flashing, I can use my magic normally."
Seeing that his horn wasn't emanating Rift lights anymore, he turned to face his snack, seeing if his magic would be normal and not haphazard and unpredictable like before. Lo and behold, it was normal once more as he lifted the snack off the table.
"Nice." Cold grinned as he opened his mouth, devouring the snack. He was relieved that everything seemed like it was back to normal.
But in truth, it wasn't.
Twilight's lab, Day.
"Alright." Twilight and the others faced the gateway. "We don't know where this leads, but we've made sure to think of every safety precaution there is. I hope."
"Who's heading through it first?" Starlight asked.
"I'll go. Maybe a quick head peek will do." Twilight offered to be the first to pass through the gateway. "If it leads to somewhere dangerous, then we stay far away from it. But if not, then we're free to use it."
With that out of the way, Twilight flapped her wings, ascending into the air. She held her breath in, a bit nervous as she slowly approached the gateway. Everypony held their breath, as well as Twilight's Pokemon, were ready to act if something bad were to happen to her.
But, once Twilight made contact with the gateway, she suddenly hit something hard as she was knocked back, tumbling on the floor. "Ow!"
"Oh! Twilight!" Sunset and the others rushed to her.
"Are you alright?!" Nyx asked.
"Espeon?!"
"Did something hit you?!" questioned Spike.
"Ough..." Twilight's eyes wobbled around. "N-No. Nothing hit me. I think...the gateway denied me going through."
"Denied you going through?" They all said.
"That's what it felt like." Twilight quickly dung into her saddlebag, holding out a Poke Ball that didn't officially have a Pokemon inside of it, so it was empty and unoccupied. Curious to see if the same thing would happen again, Twilight tossed the Poke Ball at the gateway.
And just like the young alicorn, the Poke Ball hit the gateway, getting knocked back as a blue pulse emanated out of it upon contact, landing back to Twilight's side.
"Aha! So it is denying us entry!" Twilight stood up. "I've never seen a gateway or any portal actually even do that before!"
"No entry? Drat!" Nyx stomped her hoof.
"So much for great progress..." Rosestar lowered her head.
"What do we do now? There's just a gateway with no entry just sitting here." Starlight pointed her hoof at it.
"Nothing really. Since it doesn't lead anywhere." Twilight shook her head. "But, there is the better alternative. Cold. Your horn's stopped flashing, but maybe your magic's still amplified. Does it feel like that?"
"Yeah, a bit." Cold nodded. "I kinda feel better than ever actually. Don't know what it really is though but I think my magic's got a revamp all of a sudden."
"Feeling confident enough to keep practising? We can still hope to create a second gateway but this time, with property entry." Twilight nudged.
"Oh, yeah!" Cold grinned. "I'm ready!"
"Great! We'll get started soon. Right after I give the new trainers their starter Pokemon." Twilight walked off.
"Hm. Was hoping we were gonna go somewhere fun through it." Sunset also walked away with everypony splitting up to go on and do their own thing. They were disappointed that the gateway didn't amount to anything.
Little do all of them know, their little unicorn friend is essentially a whole new pony in terms of his magic capabilities. And so does Cold. He himself doesn't know what he's capable of now.
With Cold's full potential unlocked, the Rift itself knows that because of this, events that are bound to be extreme and hyperactive in nature are coming. Perhaps sooner than everypony thinks. And with the timeline being altered constantly with new events, the Rift is eager to see where this will all lead to, as the journey continues.
The potential for unlimited power that lies within many Pokemon. Many exist, yet few can only truly obtain it via the double stones that test the bonds between trainer and Pokemon.
Mega Evolution is still an untapped mystery that is even just as mysterious as the world of Pokemon itself. But what isn't a mystery is the insurmountable and boundless power that Mega Evolution gives to those that share a powerful bond. One that cannot be broken so easily.
One that cannot be broken. But to achieve Mega Evolution is to truly put the bonds between trainer and Pokemon to the test. A true test of trust.
Ponyville, Rarity's Carousel Boutique. Day.
"See? Have a gander at this." Rarity was speaking to her friends as she used her magic to hold up a flier. On the flier, it said Mega Evolution Camp.
"Mega Evolution Camp?" The rest of the Mane 6 said.
"Precisely. A little something I was made aware of during the Pokemon Festival a few weeks ago. And the name says everything. A camp all about Mega Evolution. And of course, they hold Mega Stones."
"Mega Stones?!" Rainbow Dash grabbed the flier. "Rarity, how'd you get your hooves on this?"
"Being an actor at Pokestar Studios has its perks and benefits. Although...the camp is actually at Hoenn but that's beside the point." Rarity let out a confident smirk.
"This is what we need..." Twilight gazed at the flier. "I've gone over which Pokemon are capable of Mega Evolving from what I have in my lab."
"And those are...?" Spike turned to face Twilight, wondering which Pokemon could Mega Evolve.
"I've found out that most of our Pokemon can Mega Evolve. Well, most. Fluttershy already has a Mega Stone and Pinkie Pie..."
"Aw! Are you saying that I don't have a Pokemon that can Mega Evolve?" Pinkie pouted with Spinda and Mew.
"Sorry." Twilight squeed. "But the rest of us do. Absol. Altaria. Sceptile. Ampharos and Salamence. Oh, and Rarity's Lopunny. We're all friends with those Pokemon, after all. This is our chance to really take our strengths as Pokemon Trainers to the next level."
"And even better. It seems today's a special event." Rarity showed the back of the flier. "An exclusive chance to challenge the guardians of each Mega Stone. That's all it says but I'm sure we can make it out, right?"
"Right! What are we waiting for? We're heading straight for the Mega Evolution Camp in Hoenn! Sootopolis City!" Twilight declared as she stamped her hooves on the table. "Is Ash coming?"
"Ash is already aware and will help lead the way to Sootopolis City for us." Rarity said.
"Great! Then let's go!"
"Espeon!"
Sootopolis City. The mystical city where history slumbers.
This city, which rises from the crater of a great meteoroid crash, can usually only be reached through the sea or from the sky. But there are some exceptions and easier shortcuts not many people know about. And Ash knows one of those shortcuts indeed.
They arrived at the city via a ship, stopping by the Sootopolis City harbour. Now all they needed to do was head to the Mega Evolution Camp, which was located right next to Sootopolis Gym in the form of a brand new island that had sprouted up years ago.
"I can't wait to get those Mega Stones...!" Rainbow Dash was getting giddy. "I'm gonna have myself a Mega Altara soon!"
"You're extra lucky, Rarity," said Applejack. "You got two Pokemon that can Mega Evolve."
"Mhm." Rarity nodded. "Although, I haven't really been interacting with Lopunny as much. She's a bit of a fussy Pokemon actually. But if I can get the opportunity to also get her Mega Stone along with Ampharos then it's all fine."
"Maybe getting the Mega Stones will solve the whole visions we both keep having about them, huh Absol?" Twilight spoke to Absol.
"Absol." He nodded in response.
"Ash, Fluttershy and I will be cheering for you the whole way!" Pinkie wrapped her hoof around Ash's neck.
"Actually...Ash has two Pokemon with him that can Mega Evolve. And more of them back at Professor Oak's Lab. Why isn't he joining in?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight.
"Mmm?" Twilight shrugged. She and the others weren't sure why Ash wouldn't take the opportunity to obtain some Mega Stones.
But aside from that, they had finally arrived at the location of the Mega Evolution Camp via the island up ahead. The surrounding area had a few other isles. It was a mildly small, rocky and steep island covered by lush vegetation, both bright yellow and green. And to get to the island, you wouldn't need a boat. There's a nice little grassy slope that connects to it.
And there, many tents and cabins could be seen, resembling an actual camp that young children would go to for summer mostly. And speaking of children, a majority of the trainers here were incredibly young with only a select few being around teenage years and even adult.
And scattered across the camp were massive flags that had Mega Evolution symbols on them on each corner as well as a larger one that was tree-sized.
"Yep! That's the place!"
"Pika!"
"We're only spending one day here, right?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"We're just here for the exclusive event against the guardians of the Mega Stones." Rarity looked at the flier. "So, we'll only be here for a few hours at best. Hopefully."
"Well, what are you all waiting for? Those stones are waiting for you!" Ash went ahead, sliding down the slope with Pikachu.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Catch ya there!" Rainbow Dash went next as she bolted off, leaving behind a shockwave. As for everyone else, they either just simply flew, trotted or bounced ahead.
But before they all fully went there, Pinkie Pie decided to hide Mew first from the public. They had already done that on the ship. Pinkie knew how special Mew was considering how many people in the Pokemon World have always been searching for Mew with little success.
It's a Pokemon that has a lot of popularity behind it, despite its rare appearances. "Okay, Mew. Transform into um...a Pichu! Don't want anypony spotting you."
"Mew!" Mew understood as he transformed himself into a cute little Pichu, joining Spinda inside of Pinkie Pie's playful mane. "Pichu!"
"Spinda!"
With that out of the way, they could head over to the camp without anyone noticing or suspecting Mew. That is if Mew doesn't cause too much of a scene or gets so excited to a point that he reverts to his original form.
But other than that, they had arrived at the camp. And the campers there were already going through trails and camp activities at the moment.
Arriving there, Rarity spotted a familiar face. The same lady from the Pokemon Festival who first made Rarity aware of the Mega Evolution Camp after their encounter at the Pokestar attraction. And the lady there recognized Rarity as well. A truly perfect first glance moment.
"Ah, Rarity, is it?!" The lady waved at her, yelling. "You actually made it! Welcome to the Mega Evolution Camp!"
"Hellooo~!" Rarity whistled, waving back.
"Are you here for the normal camp activities or the exclusive event?" The lady asked.
"The event." Rarity showed the flier. "That'll be all and we'll be on our way after that. Is that boss of yours you spoke of before here?"
"Oh, no. He's not here at the moment. Busy on his own Mega Evolution Trial." The lady shook her head. "I see you've brought some friends over. Very familiar actually..."
"Yeah. We're here for the exclusive part and those stones, pronto!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"It'll make us stronger for sure. And help us protects our family and friends even more." Twilight stepped in.
"Ah...I see." The lady nodded in understanding. "Well, this is a first for sure. A new reason for trainers to involve themselves in this camp."
"New reason? What were the other reasons?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, all of the campers here are trainers that don't exactly know what Mega Evolution is. They've heard of it, but have never experienced it. And you'd be surprised how many trainers don't know about Mega Evolution. That's why my boss started this camp. To help trainers understand Mega Evolution and possibly get a Mega Stone themselves. It also helps with trainers and Pokemon who don't exactly see eye-to-eye with each other." She explained.
"Oh..." The Mane 6 nodded gently together.
"But, wanting to protect those that you love is just as good if not greater!" The lady clapped her hands. "So, how many of you are joining in? All of you?"
"Just us." Rarity pulled Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Spike in since they were the main ones in need of a Mega Stone. "That's all."
"Mhm. Alright then. We can begin." The lady turned around. "You're all already aware of the guardians from the flier, right?"
"Yeah. Who are the guardians exactly?" Rainbow Dash asked as she flew up.
"Simple. The guardians of the Mega Stones are all Pokemon that belong to my boss. Specifically, Pokemon that can also Mega Evolve. If you want the Mega Stone of your choice, you'll have to get past them. And it won't be easy, that's for sure."
"Where do we find 'em?" Applejack navigated her head around the camp.
"There are a ton of cave systems in this island just up ahead. And they all diverge together to create one single pathway to the inner part of the island. All of them have different Pokemon inside. I wouldn't go for the single pathway since that's where the boss's strongest Pokemon resides. Unless the Mega Stone you want is there, that is."
"So we just go through the caves and find them, huh? Easy enough." Spike said.
"But before that, a quick question. I already know Rarity has an Ampharos, but do the rest of you have Pokemon with you that can Mega Evolve?"
"We do!" Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Spike said together.
"Excellent. Then in that case, if you have other Pokemon with you, I'll need to keep them here." She held her hand out.
"Keep them here? Why?" Rainbow Dash tilted her head.
"The trial is only between the trainer and their Pokemon when facing the guardian. No other Pokemon substitutes can be used for this. Previous trainers have tried that before to have an easier time with the trial. Unless you have another Pokemon that can Mega Evolve then that's an exception."
"I have a Lopunny as well." Rarity raised her hoof.
"Okay then. Don't worry, I'll keep your Pokemon safe with you here, alright?"
"Yeah, that's fair." Twilight nodded as she used her magic to take out the rest of her Poke Balls. "Off you go, Eve."
"Espeon." Eve went over to the lady, standing by her side as Twilight brought over Ninetales's and Minccy's Poke Balls.
"You gotta go too, Castform." Rainbow Dash looked at her saddlebag.
"Castform!" The Weather Pokemon understood as she flew out of the bag. Rainbow Dash rolled her Poke Balls out of her saddlebag, sending them towards the lady.
"Alright, you." Applejack took her hat off, revealing Golett. "You've latched on for a long time now. Time to separate."
"Gol?"
"I'll be back, don't you worry." Applejack placed Golett on the ground.
"Golett..."
"Off you go, pal." Spike patted Axew on the back.
"Axew!" Axew understood, running to Eve's side.
The rest of Rarity's Pokemon were sent to the lady in good hands. Now it was only their Pokemon that could Mega Evolve that stood by their side. But before they could head out, there was one final thing that needed to be done, yet again.
"One last thing. I have to instruct you on which cave to take and which guardian you need to battle." The lady raised her finger. "That means looking at all of your Pokemon."
"Oh, right." Rainbow Dash sent out her Altaria while Rarity sent out her Ampharos and Lopunny and Spike brought out his Salamence.
"Altaria!"
"Ampharos!"
"Lopunny."
"Salamence!"
"Hm..." The lady narrowed her eyes, scanning all of the Pokemon from a first glance. And with that first, glance, she was able to tell which cave and Pokemon they should approach. "Alright! It's settled."
"Absol. You'll take the middle cave that leads to Lucario."
"Ampharos and Lopunny. You'll go for Steelix in the far left cave."
"Altaria will take Abomasnow on the far right cave."
"Sceptile will take Blaziken on the right cave next to the middle."
"And finally, Salamence will tackle Glalie on the left cave next to the middle. Those are the Pokemon you need to take on!"
"And the stones for our Pokemon are there?" Twilight asked.
"We keep a lot of stones with each of the guardians depending on type matchups. So yes. There's a 100% guarantee that they're there. After all, you'll be going up against Pokemon that are strong against your own."
"It's gonna be tough. But we'll make it through. Right, Salamence?" Spike patted his partner.
"Salamence!"
"You can now advance to the caves. Good luck and do your best!" The lady gave a thumbs up.
"We'll be cheering for you all the way." Ash nodded with Fluttershy, Pinkie and the rest of the Pokemon.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu and the other Pokemon cheered. Wishing them all good luck with their battle against the guardians of the Mega Stones.
The 5 caves.
The first to arrive at her cave was Twilight. All the other caves nearby lead to the Pokemon they need to defeat to obtain their Mega Stones. A simple and short task that won't be easy and will take minutes, possibly even hours to accomplish.
They all stared each other in the eyes as they stood before their selected caves. They knew that when entering these caves, they would most likely end up having a rough battle considering the Type Matchup. But, if Ash has taught them all anything, it's that it doesn't matter if your opponent has the type advantage. Skill and trust are what truly matter in a Pokemon Battle.
Having Ash's knowledge by their side, they all stepped forward, entering their respective caves with their Pokemon ready to do their best and make their trainers proud. Everypony else went along, searching for their caves while Twilight held her breath, prepared to enter the middle cave.
By entering the cave, she had come across what she and Absol needed to achieve. The inner system of the caves all revealed large chambers with solo paths leading to the stones of their choice. The cave systems all had waterfalls along with glowing gems beside them.
But the one key thing they all really shared in common was that there was a wide radius of ground in the middle. Obviously, it was meant to replicate the traditional Pokemon stage.
In the middle cave, Twilight spotted the Absolite. Applejack saw the Sceptilite. Rarity saw both the Ampharosite and Lopunnite. Rainbow Dash found the Altarianite and Spike spotted the Salamencite.
All of them were lined up with other Mega Stones meant for other Pokemon, encased in amber while plastered on the walls of the caves. Along with that, there were also cameras in the cave, allowing the lady, Ash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and the Pokemon to view this battle via a tablet that was connected to all of them.
And of course, the Pokemon guarding the stones had revealed itself.
"Lucario!" From above, Lucario came crashing down, landing before Twilight and Absol, startling both of them. But mostly Twilight.
"Oh!" Twilight gasped.
"Absol...!"
"Lu." Lucario stood up as its Aura was already overflowing with high amounts of energy, essentially telling Twilight and Absol that it would not hold back against them at all. "Cario."
"Bit scared..." Twilight whimpered as she gulped. "But I have Absol by my side, so it's fine. Are you ready, Absol?"
"Absol!"
"Okay, Absol! Use Night Slash, go!"
"Absol!" Absol attacked first. By bolting off the ground, his horn lit up with a dark aura surrounding it.
"Lu!" Lucario stood tall as it put its arms together in an x-shape. Lucario narrowed its eyes as Absol slashed his horn onto the Aura Pokemon. With Lucario's arms being up, it was able to block the Night Slash.
"Sol...!" Absol growled as he was pushing his horn forward, trying to break through Lucario.
"Ca!" But, Lucario quickly separated itself from Absol by emanating its Aura, sending a shockwave that pushed Absol far back.
"Ab!" Absol went flying as he quickly recovered by landing on his feet.
"Use Night Slash one more time! And then use Quick Attack! Go!"
"Absol!" Having another go, Absol ran in with a second Night Slash. This time, he merged it with Quick Attack to gain some extra speed.
"Rio!" Lucario, staying on its footing and keeping its focus as opposed to Absol's feral and wild nature when battling. Absol started swinging his horn violently while using the speed of Quick Attack to his advantage.
But, even with his speed, Lucario had an answer. The Aura Pokemon swayed its body to the side, easily avoiding Absol's wild and aggressive slashes as it also used the steel spikes on its hand to block any slashes that came close to really landing a hit.
"Sol! Sol!" Absol was getting frustrated that he couldn't land a clean hit on Lucario no matter how fast or hard he swung his horn.
"Lu!" Lucario then put a stop to Absol's violent slashing as it found an opening by reading Absol's movements with Aura. The Fighting-Steel-Type took that opening as it used Close Combat, smashing Absol in the face with a single strike.
"A-Absol!" One hit and Absol was sent flying across the ground, leaving a skid mark as he tumbled along. "Ab!"
"Ah! Absol!" Twilight gasped.
"Sol!" But Absol was persistent and stubborn as he was violent. He quickly recovered from that super-effective hit by rolling on the ground and jumping up. "Absol!"
"Lucario!" Now it was Lucario's turn to strike as it was about to get up-close and personal. The Aura Pokemon used a better version of Quick Attack. Extreme Speed. It used Extreme Speed to rush towards the Disaster Pokemon, ready to land some heavy hits on him.
"Quick! Dodge with Quick Attack and use Dark Pulse!"
"Sol!" Absol snarled as he also used a speedy Normal-Type move. Absol quickly dashed to the side to avoid Lucario, but the Aura Pokemon was one step ahead of him. Extreme Speed was superior to Quick Attack as Lucario also dashed to the side, appearing in front of the Disaster Pokemon.
"Luca!"
"Absol?!" Absol gasped.
"Lucario!" Lucario then did a back kick, striking Absol in the face while using Close Combat to do so. As Absol was stunned from that one kick, Lucario followed up by getting on one hand and spinning around, sweeping Absol off his feet.
"Ab?!"
"Absol! Get out of there with Quick Attack, quick!" Twilight yelled. But it was too late. Lucario was already outpacing Absol and her in terms of reaction time.
As Absol was knocked off his feet with a sweep, Lucario then kicked Absol in the stomach, sending the Disaster Pokemon flying. But Lucario wasn't done yet. By using Extreme Speed, the Fighting-Steel-Type pursued Absol.
"A-Ab!"
"Luca-ca-ca-ca!" Lucario, once it got close to Absol, began using Close Combat in front of him. Multiple repeated strikes were thrown towards Absol. From his face and stomach with kicks and punches.
"A-Absol!"
"Lucario!" Lucario then gave an uppercut to Absol, sending him high into the air as he was about to crash into the ceiling of the cave.
"Now, Absol! Dark Pulse!"
"Sol!" Absol's eyes flashed as he wasn't about to lose so pathetically. The Disaster Pokemon opened his mouth as an orb of darkness formed in front of it.
"Lu...!" But of course, Lucario had an answer to that. And the only accurate answer in the form of Aura Sphere. By putting its arms together, Lucario formed a ball of aura in front of it, aiming it directly at Absol.
"Aura Sphere might break through...!" Twilight thought to herself, thinking of the worst-case scenario right now. "Maybe If I just change it up...Absol! Fire from behind!"
"Sol!" Absol understood what Twilight was aiming for. The Disaster Pokemon then began to fall as he turned his head around, firing Dark Pulse in the opposite direction instead of towards Lucario. "Ab...Sol!"
"Luca?" Lucario narrowed its eyes, wondering what they were planning. It was quickly revealed when Dark Pulse hit the ceiling of the cave. Upon contact, an explosion happened and that prompted large rocks to fall from above. "Ca?!"
"Ab!" Absol then jumped on the rocks, using them as platforms as he jumped all the way back to Twilight while the rocks were heading straight for Lucario.
"Lucario!" Lucario wasn't about to let itself get hit as it instead fired Aura Sphere at some of the falling rocks. But, that's what Twilight was hoping for. With Lucario distracted with the rocks, she could capitalize with Absol.
"Now! Dark Pulse!"
"Absol!" Absol quickly fired a short burst of Dark Pulse from his mouth, sending it towards the Aura Pokemon.
"Luca-" And with one eye facing the corner, Lucario noticed that Dark Pulse was heading straight for it. But it was too late to stop it since it was a short burst. Thus, Lucario had been hit by Dark Pulse.
With a dark explosion occurring on where Lucario stood, the rocks had been destroyed as well because of the radius of the explosion.
"Yes!" Twilight jumped for joy. "Direct hit!"
But it wasn't time to be cheering and celebrating a minor hit. Lucario was still standing with little damage done to it. It emanated its aura, blowing the smoke away. Lucario was actually impressed as it let out a small smirk to show that. "Luca."
"This might take a while, but we'll definitely take Lucario down for sure. Stay sharp, Absol!"
"Absol!"
As Twilight and Absol's battle with Lucario for the Mega Stones was just getting started, everyone else was gradually approaching their caves with the guardians potentially waiting for them.
There is no guarantee that any of them are going to make this a cakewalk. Lucario is already formidable enough. So there's a good chance the other Pokemon that belong to the owner of this camp are just as formidable. Aside from Eternatus, this will be the day that Twilight and her friends will have their skills really put to the test as the journey continues.
The trial of obtaining the Mega Stones has just begun. Currently, Twilight and Absol were in the midst of battling against Lucario for the Absolite, but it wasn't looking so easy for them considering how formidable Lucario was.
But Twilight and Absol weren't planning on calling it quits. Even if they had a disadvantage and moves that can barely do anything to Lucario. They're determined to get that Mega Stone.
And the same can be said for the rest of her friends Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Spike, who were all still heading towards their respective caves for their Mega Stones.
All the while, Ash and the others were watching everything slowly unfold via the tablet connected to the cameras in each cave.
"Twilight's doing pretty good so far," Ash commented. "But man, that Lucario's fast."
"Pika."
"Espeon."
"If only she had a fourth move on Absol." Fluttershy bit her hoof. "Oh, I don't think most of them have more than three moves actually."
"Yeah. This is gonna be a bit rough to get through." Pinkie Pie gulped.
"Pichu..." Pichu, who was actually Mew in disguise, nodded in agreement.
"No need to worry. Even with little moves, Twilight and the others know how to really make things work in their favour, ya know."
"Pikachu!"
"We'll see." The lady said as she and the others continued to watch the battle between Twilight and Lucario while also remembering to look for the other battles in the other caves.
And speaking of which, the second one to finally approach their cave was Applejack.
With Applejack, Blaziken came from above, smashing its blazing foot on the ground as fire erupted around it, causing Applejack and Sceptile to back away from the fire.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken stood up, crossing its arms as the fire around it was separating. "Ken." Blaziken's eyes intensified as it glared into the eyes of its fellow Hoenn starter. Intense flames blew out from its wrists
"S-Sceptile!"
"Relax, Applejack." Applejack adjusted her hat. "This ain't the first time I've rassled with a chicken, ya know. Hope you're ready for a beatdown, Blaziken."
"Blaziken."
"Sceptile! Dragon Pulse!"
"Scep...!" Sceptile held his breath in as draconic energy was building up inside. All the while, Blaziken stood there unbothered. "Tile!" Out of Sceptile's mouth, a dragon-shaped shockwave came bursting out, tearing through the ground of the cave.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken narrowed its eyes as its feet ignited with fire, showing that it was about to use Blaze Kick. With an upper swing of its legs, Blaziken had kicked Dragon Pulse, cutting the Dragon-Type move in half.
The split Dragon Pulse blew up with sides of the rocky area already demolished because of it. As the smoke was clearing Blaziken's blazing eyes could be seen.
And through the smoke, Blaziken approached Sceptile with Blaze Kick, not deciding to stand back and wait for Applejack and Sceptile to make a move.
"Here it comes! Leaf Blade!"
"Sceptile!" The four leaves on Sceptile's wrists glowed light green and then formed into two. "Tile!" The Forest Pokemon dashed forward as he and the Blaze Pokemon clashed moves, with Sceptile's bladed wrists colliding with Blaziken's legs.
The two Hoenn Pokemon leaned forward with their eyes meeting. They separated each other with the force of their attacks, but they didn't stop there. Blaziken did a quick backflip before dashing back in with Blaze Kick. Sceptile quickly put his arms together, using Leaf Blade to block the incoming kick.
"Ken!" Blaziken added an extra oomph to its Blaze Kick as it smashed its leg onto Sceptile's wrists, creating a mild shockwave from it.
"S-Sceptile!" Sceptile certainly felt that one as his body shuddered. He was also pushed back a bit by the kick as Blaziken kept its foot there. Eventually, the two of them separated once more, pushing each other back as their little struggle came to an end. "Tile!"
"Blaziken!"
"Now, Sceptile! Use Double Team!"
"Scep-Scep-Scep!" The Forest Pokemon created multiple afterimages of himself that all suddenly surrounded Blaziken from every side.
"Ken?" Blaziken looked around to see that he was surrounded by multiple copies of Sceptile. But there was no need to worry as Blaziken had an answer for that. "Blazi...!" The Blaze Pokemon had used Aerial Ace instead of Blaze Kick this time. Another move that was super-effective against Sceptile.
Blaziken then suddenly bolted off the ground, moving so fast that it had become nearly invisible to Sceptile's eyes. And that was because Blaziken's ability was Speed Boost. And those previous clashes it had with Sceptile had already boosted its speed.
"Scep?!"
"W-Where'd it go?!" Applejack had just reacted to Blaziken's sudden appearance by being 7 seconds late. She couldn't exactly keep up with Blaziken's ludicrous speed.
"Blaziken!" And because of that, Blaziken appeared in front of one of the clones, kicking it out of existence as it then disappeared once more.
"Tile?!"
"Ken!" A second time, another Sceptile clone had been destroyed by Blaziken's Aerial Ace as the Blaze Pokemon kept moving around, destroying every last Sceptile clone until it found the real one.
"Oh my goodness!" Fluttershy gasped while watching Applejack's battle. " That's far too fast to keep up with!"
"Uh-huh..." Pinkie Pie's eyes were wobbling about trying to focus on Blaziken. But she couldn't due to Speed Boost.
"Speed Boost is super scary on Blaziken. Especially with Aerial Ace..." Ash narrowed his eyes.
"Pika..."
"Too fast..." Applejack growled as her eyes couldn't track Blaziken's speed. One by one, the Sceptile clones were being wiped out as Blaziken was getting close to finding the real one. "Ah, whatever! Sceptile! Dragon Pulse all around!"
"Sceptile!" The remaining Sceptile clones all fired a short burst Dragon Pulse for quick damage since charging up wouldn't do against a speedy Pokemon like Blaziken, who just kept getting faster with each strike.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken was able to evade Dragon Pulse by using Aerial to do so. With blinding speeds, the Blaze Pokemon front flipped over the Dragon Pulses, causing them all to clash and explode on each other.
And because of the Dragon Pulses, Blaziken was able to find the real Sceptile based on the speed they all fired at. One Sceptile fired Dragon Pulse faster than the rest, making it clear which was the real Sceptile.
"Ken!" Blaziken appeared in front of the real Sceptile, confounding the Forest Pokemon with a swift knee to the stomach.
"S-Scep!"
"Blaziken!" Blaziken didn't stop there. It then used Fire Punch while its knee was on Sceptile's stomach. With its fists igniting with blazing flames, the Blaze Pokemon smashed Fire Punch onto Sceptile's face, dealing further damage.
"T-Tile!"
"Sceptile get out of there, quick!"
"Blaziken!" But, Blaziken helped with that by smashing its other fist into Sceptile's face, this time with extra force. The second Fire Punch launched Sceptile, sending the Forest Pokemon flying.
"S-Sceptile!" The Grass-Type took immense damage as he tumbled on the ground, landing in front of Applejack.
"Sceptile! You okay?!"
"S-Sceptile...!" Sceptile got back up as he held his face and stomach. Even after getting hit by super-effective moves in the form of Fire and Flying he was still standing.
"Phew..." Applejack sighed. "Wish I had better moves right now...Need to think of something fast..."
"Blaziken...!" Blaziken intimidated Applejack and Sceptile by further igniting its fists. The fire coming from Blaziken's fists and wrists gave off an intense brightness that lit up the cave.
Applejack quickly moved her eyes around the cave while it was lit up, deciding to switch things up. She knows that up close, Blaziken has the upper hand and even from a far distance, Blaziken can easily close the gap with its amazing speed and ability.
So, the best thing Applejack decided to go for was the environment. One of the many lessons that Ash had taught Applejack and the others is that at times, the environment can greatly benefit a Pokemon during a battle. And a bonus if their Type matches the environment too.
So, Applejack shifted her eyes to the side, spotting the waterfall that all the caves on this island have. And that's where she found a way to really turn things around.
"Alright." Applejack adjusted her hat. "Aint no way we're getting close to you."
"Blaziken?"
"Sceptile! Use your vines to swing to that Waterfall!"
"Tile!" Sceptile did just that by outstretching his arm, sending his vines out. His vines latched into the ceiling of the cave, causing the Forest Pokemon to propel himself upwards for higher ground and to obviously swinging towards the waterfall.
"Ken!" But of course, Blaziken could respond to that. In the most unexpected way yet. The Blaze Pokemon pulled its arms back, generating fire out of it. But it wasn't about to send an attack towards Sceptile. Not at all.
Instead, Blaziken used the fire on its hands to give itself propulsion as the fire acted like jet boosters. And like a jet, Blaziken took the air, using the fire on its hands to fly.
"Are you kidding me?!" Applejack gasped.
"Sceptile?!" Sceptile was just as surprised as his trainer. He did not see this coming as he saw his fellow Hoenn Starter approaching him at high speeds. Knowing where he needed to go to get an advantage, Sceptile began swinging with his vines by continuously sending them out.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken wasn't as fast in the air. It was more of a land-based Pokemon which is incredibly ironic considering what it resembles. So, it wasn't able to utilize Speed Boost in the air like it would in the ground. As for Sceptile, the vines really gave him the advantage here.
However, Blaziken had a third move to deal with any air problems. By opening its mouth, Blaziken used the move Flamethrower as a stream of orange-red fire came out.
Flamethrower ended up hitting one of Sceptile's vines, causing the Forest Pokemon to lose his momentum and grip on the vine that he held. "Scep?!"
With the vine being burnt away, Sceptile fell. But, thankfully, he had swung far enough to get close to the waterfall. Knowing of that, Sceptile closed his eyes as he fell through the waterfall, achieving his goal either way.
"Yes!" Applejack grinned.
"Ken?!" Blaziken obviously wasn't a huge fan of water. So when it came close to the waterfall, the Blaze Pokemon immediately stopped using its fire boosters, landing on the ground. Blaziken then backed away from the waterfall, making sure none of it would get on its blazing yet feathered body.
"Now's our chance...Go Sceptile!"
"Tile!" Unfortunately for Blaziken, it wouldn't be able to stay away from the waterfall forever. Because out of the waterfall came multiple vines that wrapped around Blaziken's neck, arms and legs.
"B-Blaziken?!"
"Sceptiple!" Sceptile then used the vines to immediately pull Blaziken in, forcing his fellow Hoenn Starter to enter the waterfall. With Blaziken interacting with the water, the Blaze Pokemon had been weakened because of it.
"Now, spin around real fast!"
"Tile!" When Blaziken got close to Sceptile with the vines pulling it in, the Forest Pokemon headbutted the Blaze Pokemon, finally dealing some sort of damage. And the water all over Blaziken certainly helped as Sceptile then started using his vines to spin Blaziken around. "Scep!"
"B-Blazik?!" Blaziken had finally been caught off guard as it was being spun around, hitting the walls and waterfall each time considering the length of Sceptile's vines.
Each time Blaziken hit the walls and went through the waterfall, not only was it being weakened but it was taking damage via wall damage. A great display of Applejack and Sceptile using the environment to their advantage.
But Blaziken wasn't having any of this. With its eyes flashing red, the Blaze Pokemon slammed its foot on the ground, crashing through it which caused Sceptile's vines to stop moving as the Forest Pokemon almost tripped because of the sudden halt.
"T-Tile?!"
"Blaziken!" Blaziken then used Blaze Kick, setting its legs on fire as it burned away the vines from its legs, but not its neck and arms. Luckily, it had a response to that as it ignited its wrists, getting rid of the other vines. The neck was still restrained but Blaziken quickly freed itself by kicking up at the vine with Blaze Kick.
Blaziken was now free as he backflipped out of the waterfall to get some space and breathing time too. The Blaze Pokemon was still wet and weakened from interacting with the waterfall as Applejack's plan to weaken it that way still worked out for her, even if Blaziken broke free.
"Sceptile, use Double Team multiple times!"
"Scep-Scep-Scep-Scep-Scep!" Out of the waterfall, hundreds of Sceptile clones came jumping out, immediately surrounding Blaziken. This time, there were more clones than usual. Hundreds after all. Blaziken, now in a fairly weakened state because of the water, would have to really keep its guard up now.
Applejack and Sceptile had quickly turned the tables on the Blaze Pokemon, slowly showing that they might be worthy of the Mega Stone, depending on how this goes.
"Get ready Blaziken!" Applejack smirked. "That Mega Stone's as good as ours!"
"Sceptile!"
"Blaziken..."
Rarity's battle.
Meanwhile, with Rarity, Ampharos and Lopunny, Steelix was already there instead of making an entrance. Its large imposing body stood before the trio as the Iron Snake Pokemon growled at them. There, the Mega Stones laid behind it, guarded.
"Steelix...!"
"Oh my." Rarity scrunched her face. "Alright. I trust you Ampharos. And Lopunny..."
"Lo?"
"I know we haven't really interacted as much ever since I caught you. But, I can also trust you as well, can I?"
"Punny." Lopunny turned to face Rarity as she gave a nod of confidence. After all, she was the one who made Lopunny snap out of her rampage during the earlier parts of the Dynamax Crisis. She owed her.
"Marvelous. Ampharos. The only way you can truly affect Steelix is by using Static. It will still paralyze it even if it's a Ground-Type. Understood?"
"Ampharos!" Ampharos nodded as he lit his body up, making sure that his friends could see in the dark cave when battling as they prepared themselves. Ampharos couldn't really do much against Steelix, but even with Steelix's immunity, there were others ways to succeed over a massive disadvantage.
"Steelix!" For once, the opposing Pokemon guarding the Mega Stones had approached its opponents instead of waiting for them to attack. Steelix charged in with Dragon Tail being shown on its tail.
"Here it comes! Lopunny! High Jump Kick! Ampharos, Dragon Pulse!"
"Lo!" The Rabbit Pokemon poured all of her power into her legs, hopping off the ground as her legs and knees were glowing. Since Lopunny was standing in the front before Ampharos, she immediately jumped over Steelix, avoiding Dragon Tail when it was swung at her.
"Lix?!"
"Punny!" Lopunny then did a frontflip in the air, smashing her foot onto Steelix's head and already dealing super-effective damage.
"Steel!"
"Ampha...Ros!" Ampharos followed up while Steelix had been stunned by that High Jump kick to the head. While his attack wasn't as effective, he still made sure to put some extra power behind it as a dragon-shaped shockwave came flying out of his mouth.
"Steelix?" Steelix had been hit yet again with Dragon Pulse connecting as Lopunny backflipped away from Steelix to avoid taking damage from the explosion of Dragon Pulse.
"Lopun."
"Excellent!"
"Steelix!" Steelix roared as it separated the smoke. Having high defence, even super-effective moves wouldn't do much to it. The Iron Snake Pokemon then decided to respond to their attacks by using the move Earthquake.
Steelix's tail lit up as it smashed it onto the ground, setting off an earthquake. The entire cave was trembling because of this as white shockwaves were coming out, heading straight towards the two Pokemon.
"Earthquake! As to be expected! Lopunny! Toss Ampharos up and use Bounce!"
"Punny!" Lopunny, who was more of a speed expert, got behind her teammate as she used her ears to hold Ampharos instead of her arms. As Lopunny's arms were wrapped around Ampharos, the Rabbit Pokemon tossed the Light Pokemon into the air as she also used Bounce to follow him, avoiding the shockwaves of Earthquake.
"Steel!" Steelix quickly looked up, flashing its eyes at the duo. It had a response to them being in the air in the form of Stone Edge as multiple glowing crystals surrounded its body.
The crystals were sent flying towards Ampharos and Lopunny as Steelix was going to knock them clean out of the sky and have them fall next to it.
"Kick them back!"
"Lopunny!" Lopunny used her powerful legs to kick some of the crystals right back at Steelix, delivering damage in the form of its own attack.
"Lix!"
"Dragon Pulse from above!"
"Ros!" While in the air, Ampharos let out a short burst Dragon Pulse that came rocketing down. The Dragon Pulse broke through some of the crystals as the attack collided with Steelix's head.
"Steel!"
"Unfortunately, you're too slow, Steelix! High Jump Kick head-on!"
"Lopunny!" While falling and having little airtime, Lopunny gathered her strength in her knees as she smashed her knee against Steelix's head, creating a powerful shockwave that even shattered some of the walls.
"Steelix!" Steelix definitely felt that one as the Iron Snake Pokemon was almost knocked off balance because of the High Jump Kick to the head.
Ampharos and Lopunny landed down safely without taking any damage so far. Rarity was showing the most promise out of all her friends so far. She certainly had an edge because she could use two Pokemon that can Mega Evolve. Not only that, but Rarity, despite not looking like it, is an exceptional Pokemon battler, possibly on the level of a Gym Leader or more.
However, Steelix is a Steel-Type Pokemon at the end of the day, and the 5th most defensive Pokemon in the world. So even after all that High Jump Kick, it was still standing.
"Steelix...!"
"Slow but durable..." Rarity kissed her teeth. "Exactly like a Steel-Type Pokemon."
Steelix, impressed by how effectively Rarity was battling, decided to really amp things up. The next move Steelix had at its disposal was Gyro Ball. A move that benefits Steelix to an astronomical degree.
Because, the slower the user is compared to the opposing Pokemon, the greater the move’s power. Steelix's spikes started to glow light blue as the Iron Snake Pokemon spun around, with a light-blue ring surrounding it.
Steelix then started to approach Lopunny and Ampharos with a ton of destructive power being brought along with it as the ground was slowly being shattered by Steelix's movement with Gyro Ball.
"Lopunny! Use Bounce to jump over Steelix! Ampharos! Stay where you are!"
"Lopunny!" Lopunny didn't approach Steelix. Instead, she jumped over it, leaping great distances in a single bound. However, Ampharos had to stay.
Thankfully, since Ampharos is an Electric-Type, Steel moves aren't a problem for him. Plus, Rarity was hoping for Steelix to make direct contact with Ampharos for one reason. Static.
"Pharos!" Ampharos still had to keep his guard up, even with his Type Resistance. The Light Pokemon put his chest up as he closed his eyes.
"Steelix!" The Iron Snake Pokemon was originally aiming for Lopunny but ended up smashing into Ampharos instead. Upon contact, Ampharos's body shuddered from Steelix hitting him as he stood his ground.
And that's when Rarity's plan came into effect. Once Steelix connected with Ampharos, the Light Pokemon's ability kicked in. The only way for Ground-Type Pokemon to be paralyzed by electricity, Static, had just made its entrance.
"S-Steelix?!" Steelix's eyes widened as it just realized that Static had come through. As if it already wasn't slow enough, now the paralysis effect just hindered Steelix even more.
"Now! Dragon Pulse and High Jump Kick, go!"
At the same time, both Pokemon initiated their attacks on two different sides. Ampharos held his breath in while Lopunny jumped towards Steelix with her knee glowing.
Lopunny bolted off the ground while Ampharos released Dragon Pulse from his mouth, point-blank at Steelix's body. And in perfect unison, the two of them connected their attacks onto Steelix.
From how hard both attacks were, it looked like that would be the end of Steelix and Rarity would've been the first to accomplish the trail and achieve the two Mega Stones.
If only it were that easy.
Because after being hit by those two attacks, within the heavy smoke, Steelix used Dragon Tail, using its snake-like body to spin around as it was able to hit both Ampharos and Lopunny at the same time, sending them both flying.
"Ampha!" Ampharos went flying past Rarity, almost getting sent out of the cave.
"Lopun!" As for Lopunny, she hit the walls of the cave hard, falling on the ground with an even harder impact.
"Ah! Lopunny! Ampharos!" Rarity gasped.
"Steelix!" It was like Steelix had taken no damage whatsoever as it could still carry on. However, Ampharos's Static and Lopunny's High Jump Kicks were still effective in a way. Thanks to Static, Steelix's focus could be thrown off. And as for High Jump Kick, it was the best move in this situation.
The Iron Snake Pokemon turned around to face Lopunny who was slowly getting up from the ground. Steelix approached Lopunny by slithering straight towards her.
"L-Lopun?!"
"Quick, Lopunny! Get out of there with Bounce!"
"P-Punny!" Lopunny groaned as she stood on one knee.
"Steelix!" Steelix twitched with electricity surrounding its body. But it mustered up enough strength to use a move. And that move was Earthquake. By smashing its tail into the ground, Steelix sent the sheer power of Earthquake through the cave as white shockwaves were rapidly approaching Lopunny.
"Lo-Lopun?" Lopunny's eyes widened as she saw the white shockwaves coming towards her. She couldn't afford to let herself lose here after all the damage she had done and the effort put in.
With extra strength, Lopunny was able to pull off Bounce, however, since it was a bit slower this time, a bit of the shockwave ended up grazing Lopunny's leg, causing the Rabbit Pokemon to lose her balance in the air as she tumbled down afterwards.
"Punny!" Now it seemed that Steelix was turning the tables on Rarity. What seemed to be possibly the quickest and easiest Mega Stone Trial, quickly shifted into being like Twilight's trial. Difficult and a true test of skill for trainer and Pokemon.
"A-Ampharos...!" Ampharos got up from the ground as he wasn't out yet. Lopunny was also getting back up as she could still continue, even after hitting the ground hard twice now and having her leg hit by Earthquake.
"L-Lopunny!"
"Steelix turned to face its opponents with a devious grin and eyes so sharp they could pierce through anything, much like the Steel-Typing itself.
"Are you two alright?"
"Ampharos!"
"Lopunny!"
"That's what I like to see and hear." Rarity nodded. "We haven't lost yet. Those stones are ours!"
"Lix...!" Steelix hissed.
"And you won't stop us from obtaining it Steelix!" Rarity pointed her hoof at the Iron Snake Pokemon. "I have family and friends I need to protect from threats far greater than anypony could imagine. I need to get stronger, no matter what! Understand?!"
"Steel!"
"We're finishing this immediately! Lopunny! Rush in with Agility into High Jump Kick repeatedly! Ampharos! Assist her from afar with Dragon Pulse at once!"
"Lopunn!" With a white and purple aura surrounding her, Lopunny hopped towards the Steel-Ground-Type with her speed increasing as well as a white glow forming on her knees and legs.
"Ampha!" Ampharos was charging up Dragon Pulse for a longer period of time. This time, he was going to make sure that it really made an impact as he held his breath in.
"Steelix!" Steelix responded with Dragon Tail as it stayed in one spot instead of moving. The paralysis effect was still present, so the best Steelix can do is just stay there and hold its ground.
"Lopun!" The Rabbit Pokemon, now with increased speed, sent her knee towards Steelix while the Iron Snake Pokemon countered by swinging its tail.
Both Lopunny and Steelix clashed their moves against each other with Lopunny trying to drive her knee through Steelix's Dragon Tail. But she couldn't as the two of them separated from each other. Afterwards, they started going back and forth with Lopunny now using kicks instead of knees this time. With her destructive legs and Steelix's heavy tail, both were trying to 1UP each other with the Rabbit Pokemon continuously kicking Steelix's tail, slowly shattering the ground beneath them.
And while those two go at in the foreground, Ampharos was close to finishing his strongest Dragon Pulse yet as his face was turning blue.
"Hold it Ampharos..." Rarity let Ampharos charge up the attack a bit longer.
"Pun!" Lopunny managed to juke Steelix out by jumping on its tail instead of striking it.
"Lix?!"
"Lopunny!" Lopunny then jumped off Steelix's tail, dive-kicking the Iron Snake Pokemon in the face, dealing super-effective damage. But Lopunny didn't stop there. She then began to repeatedly kick Steelix in the face with High Jump Kick, not allowing the Steel-Ground-Type to even have a chance to breathe. "Pun! Pun! Lopun!"
"Steel! Steel! Steel!" Steelix's face was getting punished as it was finally showing great signs of weakness. But even Steelix was just as persistent as its opposing Pokemon. And it showed this by biting onto Lopunny's leg the moment she went in for another kick.
"L-Lopunn?!" Lopunny screamed after being bit. Now, her foot was stuck thanks to Steelix's teeth.
"Steelix!" Steelix then swung Lopunny up and down, smashing the Rabbit Pokemon onto the ground.
"P-Punny!" Lopunny's eyes widened after being slammed down. And Steelix continued the cycle until there was enough damage dealt to the Normal-Type.
"Hold...!"
"A-Ampharos...!" Ampharos felt like he was going to either pass out or explode if he didn't unleash Dragon Pulse as a draconic aura surrounded his body.
"L-Lopunny!" Lopunny, not wanting to faint yet, used High Jump Kick with her other leg by smashing it onto Steelix's teeth.
"S-Steel!" Parts of Steelix's teeth had been shattered, causing the Iron Snake Pokemon to lose its grip on Lopunny. And that's what Lopunny needed as Steelix's remaining teeth fell to the ground. Now Steelix had unorganized teeth.
"Pun!" Lopunny quickly used Agility to hop back as Rarity found an opportunity at last.
"NOW! Dragon Pulse at full force!"
"Pha!" Relieved that he could finally initiate the attack, Ampharos fired a multicoloured dragon-shaped energy from his mouth, larger than any other Dragon Pulse that he has ever created before.
It was so large that it took up most of the cave and even ripped the ground in half. The dragon was even roaring, showing just how much power had been laid out. This was the strongest Dragon Pulse from Ampharos yet.
"S-Steelix?!" And Steelix couldn't do anything to stop this behemoth of an attack. Thus, it had been hit. A mighty and fierce explosion of draconic energy formed afterwards with a magnitude and force so great that it even pushed Rarity, Ampharos and Lopunny back.
The cameras inside the cave were almost hit by the explosion, but they were thankfully untouched and unscathed. The same couldn't be said for the ground and Steelix.
Now that it was split in half, there was a fairly large gap in the middle. Thankfully, it didn't lead to a deep abyss or anything like that.
As for Steelix, once the smoke cleared, lo and behold, at long last, the Iron Snake Pokemon had fainted.
"S-Steelix..."
"Yes! Victory!" Rarity got up as she immediately jumped for joy, revelling in her triumphant victory alongside her partners.
"Ampharos!"
"Lopunny!"
"You two are absolutely stunning and amazing!" Rarity pulled her Pokemon in, celebrating with them via a hug. Rarity and her Pokemon were the first to complete the trial.
"Yes! Nice, Rarity!" Ash cheered.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"First one of the day!" Pinkie Pie waved a Rarity flag around along with Pichu.
"Pichu-Pi!"
"Oh thank goodness..." Fluttershy sighed as she laid on Audino's stomach.
"A great fashionista, actress and a battler as well. Now that's having true versatility." The lady nodded.
"Lix." Steelix knew that it had been defeated as it stood back up. The Iron Snake Pokemon bowed its head to Rarity and her Pokemon accepting that they are indeed worthy battlers and do share a strong bond with each other.
Because of her victory, Steelix knew that it had to give them the stones. The Iron Snake Pokemon turned around to face the wall of Mega Stones as it looked at the only two stones that mattered. The Ampharosite and the Lopunnite.
By using Stone Edge, Steelix created two crystals, shooting them at the two Mega Stones, knocking them off the wall and destroying the amber that held them.
"Ah!" Rarity dashed over, gazing at the Mega Stones. She was able to witness the Ampharosite, Lopunnite and their keystones that the trainer uses. With a wide smile, Rarity used her magic to pick up each of the stones. "Many thanks, Steelix. And we're terribly sorry for your teeth."
"Lopunny." Lopunny apologized for breaking Steelix's teeth.
"Steelix."
The first to achieve her Mega Stones and complete the trial was Rarity and her two Pokemon as they had left the cave, returning to the camp with proud smiles on their faces.
However, her friends were the only ones left now and they were either in the midst of a difficult battle or were gradually approaching their respective caves.
The battle for the Mega Stones wasn't over yet. In fact, it was only just beginning as the journey continues.
The trial for the Mega Stones continues as one of the trainers had already completed their battle. That was Rarity, of course. She had successfully defeated Steelix and obtained the Ampharosite and Lopunnite for her two Pokemon, making her the first to complete the trial as she returned to Ash and the others.
"Nice work on beating the trial, Rarity," Ash said as he gave Rarity a high-five/ high-hoof.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu also gave a high-five to Ampharos and Lopunny.
"A swimming victory, darling." Rarity flipped her mane. "That Steelix may have been durable but in terms of speed, we had a clear advantage. That was when victory was right within our eyes."
"Ampharos!"
"Lopunny!"
"So, are you gonna Mega Evolve now?!" Pinkie got up in Rarity's face. "Come on, I wanna see Mega Ampharos and Mega Lopunny!"
"In a minute." Rarity replied. "I still want to see how everypony else's battle unfolds. How are they doing, actually?"
"It's a bit split right now." Ash turned to face the tablet. "Lucario and Blaziken are really putting the pressure on Twilight and Applejack."
"Pikachu."
"Twilight's probably in the roughest spot now," said Fluttershy. "As for everypony else, they haven't reached their caves yet."
"Hm." Rarity walked over to spectate as well. "How could she possibly defeat a Lucario, I wonder?"
Twilight and Absol's battle with Lucario was far from over. But, the rest of her friends have yet to either finish their battle or either reach their caves. Applejack was still in the midst of battling against Blaziken right now with Sceptile.
And as for the others, some of them were finally reaching their caves. One of which was Rainbow Dash, who had just entered her cave. They were the fourth to reach their trial as they both saw the Altarianite on the wall of Mega Stones.
But other than the Altarianite, Rainbow Dash and Altaria were given the sight of Abomasnow, who simply stood there, emanating a chilling aura that sent chills down Rainbow Dash and Altaria's spines.
"Euuuuugh..." Rainbow shivered. "It's fine. We got this, Altaria. That Dragon Gem we got from Virbank City's gonna help a lot too. If we can beat this Abomasnow and get that Mega Stone, we'll be blazing through the rest of our Gym Battles. Then we'll even reach the top of the Equestria League together!"
"Altaria!"
"Aboma...Abomasnow!" Abomasnow was telling them both to bring it on as a mild explosion of cold wind emerged around it to show dominance. A cold mist filled the cave, already giving Abomasnow a sort of a field advantage over Altaria.
"Get ready, Altaria!"
"Taria!"
Applejack's battle.
"Now! Rush Blaziken!"
"Sceptile-Tile-Tile!" All of Sceptile's hundreds of Double Team clones moved in, planning on overwhelming Blaziken to obtain victory.
"Ken!" Blaziken's eye flared as it prepared itself for the worst. It had already been weakened by Sceptile via the waterfall in the caves, so it couldn't afford to let its guard down.
Blaziken started using Blaze Kick to destroy the approaching Sceptile clones that came close, swinging its blazing legs each time. Obviously, the Sceptile clones weren't there to defeat Blaziken. Instead, the plan was to overwhelm the Blaze Pokemon and find an opening so that Sceptile could strike at the right moment.
The real Sceptile was secretly staying back as his clones rushed in on Blaziken. Sceptile was preparing a nasty Dragon Pulse when the time was right as Applejack waited patiently.
"Ken! Blaziken!" Blaziken got on one hand, spinning its legs around with Blaze Kick as it had created a fire tornado because of that trick. The fire tornado ended up carrying some of the clones, destroying them with its violent whirlwind of fire.
One by one, the clones of Sceptile were being destroyed as Blaziken was gradually approaching the real one. But there were still more to go the Sceptile's kept rushing in. Blaziken's fire tornado was proving to be effective in clearing out the clones. At least the ones that were closer to it.
"Tile-Tile-Tile!" A few crafty Sceptile's managed to get the jump on Blaziken, throwing the Blaze Pokemon off guard. Once Blaziken cleared enough clones with its fire tornado, separating the gap, the craft Sceptile clones used their vines to grab onto the Blaze Pokemon, restraining its legs, arms and neck.
"Now! Dragon Pulse, go!"
"Sceptile!" The real Sceptile found an opening. With its clones holding Blaziken down with their vines, he could capitalize and go in for a nice and effective attack. By opening his mouth, Sceptile sent a dragon-shaped blast from his mouth which tore through some of his clones.
"B-Blaziken?!" Blaziken gasped as it had been hit by Dragon Pulse head-on. The vines from the clones really benefited at this moment to help Sceptile get a hit in.
Upon collision, a devastating explosion emerged that was wide enough to wipe out all of the Sceptile clones, leaving only the real Sceptile behind as the vines also vanished away.
And with the vines vanishing and the explosion occurring, Blaziken had actually been launched because of it, taking fairly heavy damage from Dragon Pulse.
"Ken!"
"That's what I like to see!"
"Sceptile!"
"B-Blaziken!" Blaziken hit the wall hard and falling on the ground even harder. Finally, some significant damage was being done as Blaziken looked like it was close to losing at this point. That water from earlier really helped in Applejack and Sceptile's favour.
"We're reaching the home stretch now, Sceptile! Let's end this and get that stone!"
"Tile!"
"Ken!" Blaziken, not wanting to go down easily because of its fighting spirits, front flipped off the ground, recovering with ease as its wrists ignited with fire.
Blaziken, despite being ordered to be the guardian of the Mega Stone and to test trainers and their Pokemon, can get a bit fired up during battle. At the end of the day, it is a Fighting-Type Pokemon. And if it's having a great battle, it'll most of the time, lost focus of the main task and instead, battle as if there was nothing important on the line.
Because of that, Blaziken approached Sceptile with Aerial Ace, now with incredible speed thanks to Speed Boost constantly amplifying the swiftness of the Blaze Pokemon.
"Ziken!" Appearing in front of Sceptile with speeds almost invisible to the eye, Blaziken gave its fellow Hoenn Starter a swift uppercut, dealing super-effective damage.
"Tile!"
"Now, grab Blaziken!"
"Scep!" Sceptile quickly opened his eyes as he sent out vines from his wrists which wrapped around Blaziken. Yet again, Blaziken had been caught by Sceptile's vines, but this time, Sceptile also used his hands to grab Blaziken's shoulders.
"Ken?!"
"Dragon Pulse, go!"
"Scep...!" Sceptile pulled his head back, breathing in draconic energy as he was going to fire Dragon Pulse right in front of Blaziken's face.
"Blazi...!" Blaziken did the same as it also pulled its head back, going for its own mouth-based move. That move being Flamethrower as the Blaze Pokemon was building up blazing energy from within.
"Tile!"
"Ken!" At the same time, both Pokemon unleashed their ranged moves with a dragon-shaped blast and a red-orange stream of fire coming out.
Since they were very close to each other, both moves ended up colliding with a very short gap. Now, the two of them were in a struggle up close, trying to have their own range attack come out on top.
"S-Sceptile!" Sceptiple tried pushing his head forward to make Dragon Pulse breakthrough Flamethrower, but Blaziken moved its head forward as well. The two of them couldn't seem to 1UP each other in terms of this struggle.
Because of that, the two moves eventually cancelled each other out. The cancellation of both moves resulted in an explosion that launched both Sceptile and Blaziken back, even destroying the vines that held Blaziken in place.
"Scep!"
"Blazi!"
"Let's finish this! Leaf Blade, at critical strength!"
"Sceptile!" The final stretch was here. With his wrists forming sharp glowing blades, Sceptile rushed in with all of his remaining strength to put an end to this battle.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken was planning to put an end to this battle as well with Blaze Kick. By sparking its legs, the Blaze Pokemon dashed in with fire trailing out as it did a frontflip. Being airborne, Blaziken performed a dive kick from above.
The two Hoenn Staterts ended up colliding their moves against each other. But not in the normal way. Instead, they had dashed past each other with their own attacks. Sceptile's blade slashed Blaziken's waist while Blaziken kicked past Sceptile's stomach.
In a flash, both Pokemon were on opposite sides, facing away from each other. Their attacks had landed, but only one of them could emerge as the winner. Applejack held her breath, hoping that Sceptile would stand and Blaziken would fall.
However, in an unexpected outcome. One of them didn't fall. Instead, both of them fell at the same time, fainting together.
"S-Sceptile..."
"B-Blaziken..."
"Oh!" Applejack's hat flew off as she didn't expect both of them to faint.
"A tie?!" Ash and the others exclaimed.
"Pika?!"
"Gol?!"
"Well...that doesn't happen very often." The lady awkwardly laughed.
"So, what does that mean if it's a tie?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, if they were able to tie with the guardian, that clearly means they have a skill level equal to the guardian Pokemon itself. So, it counts as an achievement for the stone." She explained.
"Blaziken." And indeed, that tie counted for Applejack since she was able to match Blaziken in strength as both the Blaze Pokemon and Forest Pokemon were getting up.
"Good job, Sceptile." Applejack helped her partner up.
"Tile."
"Ken." Blaziken nodded, respecting Applejack's skill as a Pokemon Trainer. Being able to tie with a Pokemon that had many advantages in terms of speed, strength and moves is very rare and not something many trainers can achieve. With that, the Blaze Pokemon went over to the wall of Mega Stones, grabbing the amber that held the Sceptilite.
"Huh?"
"Scep?"
"Blaziken." Blaziken destroyed the amber with its fist as it held the two Mega Stones in its hands. The Blaze Pokemon then walked over to the duo, handing them their reward.
"Oh! So that counts, huh? "Woowee!" Applejack cheered. "Thanks a bunch!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile grabbed the stones, placing them in Applejack's saddlebag.
"Blaziken."
"Look at us now." Applejack jumped on Sceptile's back, putting her hoof around his neck. "We're about to go far together, partner!"
"Tile!"
And with that, Applejack was now the second to complete the trial with Rarity as the first. She had successfully obtained the Sceptilite and the keystone. Blaziken sat down to recover after having such an intense battle. Possibly the most intense battle it has had yet in its life. If only Blaziken's trainer was here to see it and battle alongside the Blaze Pokemon.
Now only 3 trials remain and have yet to be completed.
Twilight's battle.
"Sol!" Absol was knocked back as he tumbled on the ground. He had just taken another Close Combat from Lucario but was still standing.
"Absol!" Twilight gasped.
"Cario." Lucario stood tall as it was succeeding in this battle so far. However, even with a great advantage, it's not like Absol hadn't made some progress. He did manage to damage the Aura Pokemon quite a bit. Even if it was minuscule. Lucario was starting to breathe in and out from this constant battling.
But if this keeps up, there's a very good chance that Twilight and Absol will not succeed in this battle and might end up losing. Using the environment was Twilight's go-to plan, but even Lucario can use the environment to its advantage as well.
"Absol...!" Absol growled as he stood back up with his usual stubborn nature. He was starting to tire out. But so was Lucario a bit. However, Lucario still had more energy left in it than Absol. It was using its Aura as an energy source to keep on going while Absol was relying on just his instincts.
"Lucario. What a Pokemon..." Twilight said to herself. "With Aura, it can just detect almost everything. Absol doesn't look like he can continue much longer."
"Sol...Sol..." Absol growled.
"But we can't afford to lose here. Not at all. Those stones are ours." Twilight narrowed her eyes as she began thinking. The young alicorn was trying to devise a plan that could overcome the whole Lucario situation.
"Ca." Lucario took its stance, getting ready to strike as Absol pivoted his foot. That's when an idea struck Twilight. She was going to use a little battle strategy that Ash sometimes uses with Pikachu when Iron Tail is in use.
"That's it!" Her eyes widened. "Absol! Get ready! We're going to give Lucario a taste of its own medicine."
"Absol!"
"Luca!" Lucario saw that Twilight was ready to continue. Thus, Lucario could go on the offensive now by using Aura Sphere next. By putting its hands together, the Aura Pokemon created a ball of aura as large as its head. "Rio!" With a mighty thrust, Lucario fired Aura Sphere straight towards Absol.
"Now, Absol! Hit it back with Quick Attack!"
"Sol-Sol!" The strategy was to hit Aura Sphere right back at Lucario with an attack. Much like how Pikachu uses Iron Tail to reflect moves. Lucario's Steel-Typing, unfortunately, gives it a weakness to its own primary type, Fighting. And that's what Twilight was going to utilize. With blinding speeds, Absol bolted forward, smashing his head onto Aura Sphere. "A-Absol!"
Absol was now trying to push Aura Sphere back at Lucario with Quick Attack, but it wasn't looking like it was about to be a successful attempt as Absol was being pushed back.
"Come on...breakthrough..." Twilight growled.
"A-Ab...!" Absol's Quick Attack couldn't do it. Aura Sphere easily beat it in terms of strength as the ball of Aura blew up in Absol's face, knocking the Disaster Pokemon back. "Sol!"
"Lucario!" It didn't stop there. Lucario was going for a second Aura Sphere, charging it up once more.
"Not yet! It has to work! Absol! This time, use Night Slash to send it back!"
"Absol!" Absol veered on the ground as he lit his horn up. This time, he used Night Slash to try and reflect Aura Sphere. Aura Sphere had been fired as Absol ran forward, smashing his horn onto Aura Sphere.
The struggle lasted a bit longer this time with Night Slash as Absol held his ground, trying his very best to push it back. Night Slash was actually strong enough to hold Aura Sphere back. But, to the dismay of Twilight and Absol, it still wasn't enough as Aura Sphere broke through Night Slash, blowing up once more and sending Absol even further back.
"Sol!"
"Absol! Don't give up! We can still push it back!"
"A-A-Absol...!" Absol agreed with Twilight on that notion. The Disaster Pokemon absolutely refuses to lose by any means necessary as she stood back up. Absol had tons of scratches on him at this point. He had been struggling against Lucario for so long. But, since Absol has been living in the harsh wilderness for so long, it didn't matter how many scratches he had on him. His wild instincts are what makes him continue.
"Lucario..." Lucario could see how determined Twilight and Absol were to win this battle and obtain those stones. Truly, they had admirable spirit and passion that any Fighting-Type Pokemon would be proud of. But, even with all that respect, Lucario refused to let them just win it so easily. There will be zero pity for its opponents.
"There has to be a way...I know we can push it back." Twilight closed her eyes, thinking of what to do next. She was still sticking with the whole reflection plan as that was really the only possible way for Lucario to take massive damage.
Twilight put all of her smarts together as she was thinking about Lucario's disadvantages. But really, there weren't any. Normally, Fighting-Type Pokemon struggle with opponents that can attack from very far distances, like Psychic and Fairy. Up close is where they normally excel.
However, Lucario can not only prevail in up-close encounters via its physical strength and expert martial arts but with Aura Sphere, it even negates the disadvantage Fighting-Types have against far away opponents. Lucario is both an expert Attacker and a Special Attacker.
And that's when it clicked for Twilight. Indeed, Lucario can easily deal with any type of opponent, up-close or far away. However, Lucario had one minor flaw but a beneficial flaw nonetheless. Twilight noticed that Lucario needs extra focus when using Aura Sphere. Especially if it's a fully charged one. Lucario can use Aura Sphere with one hand but those are the weaker versions. But those weaker versions allow Lucario to both fire Aura Sphere and defend with its other hand.
Dual hands are where Lucario can get the most damage with Aura Sphere. And with both hands busy charging Aura Sphere, Lucario has no way to defend against attacks aside from firing Aura Sphere at the right time.
"That's it...!" Twilight said to herself. "Get closer Absol! Combine Quick Attack with Night Slash! Wait for my call to strike!"
"Sol!" Absol moved forward with a white aura surrounding him. His horn also emanated a dark aura around it as Lucario was preparing another Aura Sphere.
"Luca...!" As Lucario was charging up, Twilight narrowed her eyes, waiting for the right moment to strike. She planned to hit the Aura Sphere before it flies out of Lucario's hands. She was going for the usual Blow-Up-In-Your-face tactic.
"Absol!" Absol appeared in front of Lucario at lightning speeds, waiting for Twilight to make the call. All the while, Lucario had already fully charged Aura Sphere as it was ready to fire.
"Now! Strike!"
"Absol!" With the call, Absol smashed his head forward, slamming his horn down. And at the same time, Lucario fired Aura Sphere from its hands. Absol grit his teeth as his horn connected with Lucario's Aura Sphere before it even left the Aura Pokemon's hands.
"Lu?!" Lucario's eyes widened as it had witnessed Absol collide with its attack at point-blank range. Unfortunately, Lucario's Aura Sphere hadn't yet been fully fired. Because of this, Aura Sphere was now being pressed onto Lucario's palms, which was a first for sure.
"Sol!"
"Yes! Push through, Absol! Go!"
"Absol!" Absol's eyes flared as he was giving it 100% while Lucario was trying to push Absol back and release Aura Sphere from its hands.
A clash of Aura and Dark Aura began emanating out of both Pokemon from their struggle alone. Absol had quickly closed the gap. However, he still hadn't broken through Lucario's Aura Sphere.
"Cario!" As for Lucario, it was struggling to push through itself. But not as much as Absol. Lucario did have more strength available after all. The Aura Pokemon dug deep, gathering some more Aura as Aura Sphere was starting to expand in size, slowly pushing Absol back.
"Sol?!"
"Don't give up, Absol! You have to break through!"
"Absol...!" Absol received Twilight's cry as he tried to find that inner strength of his to exceed and emerge as the victory of this battle. But that inner strength wasn't showing up at all.
"Lucario!" Meanwhile, Lucario's Aura Sphere was getting bigger by the second. At this rate, the attack will end up launching Absol like a rocket if something isn't done.
Seeing that Absol couldn't overcome Aura Sphere, Twilight scrapped the reflect tactic. It just wasn't working. However, the tactic of having Aura Sphere explode in front of Lucario was still on as Twilight decided to give one more command a try.
"...We already have Quick Attack and Night Slash active..." Twilight lowered her head before raising it. "Let's add one more in there! Dark Pulse, go!"
"Absol!" While Absol was using Quick Attack and Night Slash together, he added in one last move. His third and final move. Dark Pulse. By opening his mouth, Absol aimed directly for Aura Sphere as an orb of darkness was forming.
"Luca?!" Lucario's eyes shifted to face Absol's mouth as it noticed the incoming Dark Pulse.
"Sol!" Then, Absol unleashed Dark Pulse, shooting it directly at Aura Sphere while his horn was still on it. And thus, a chaotic result came from this.
Dark Pulse mixed with Aura Sphere along with the addition of Night Slash. All of this caused a chain reaction to occur. Dark Pulse and Aura Sphere ended up cancelling each other out. As such, whenever something like that happens, it results in one thing.
An explosion.
And sure enough, an explosion of Aura and Dark Aura had emerged, engulfing both Absol and Lucario. Twilight covered her eyes as a massive crater had been formed from the explosion, rumbling the cave as both Absol and Lucario were sent flying.
Absol crashed on the ground while Lucario hit the wall so hard that it had been stuck on it due to how much force came from that explosion.
"Sol!"
"Luca!"
"Are you okay, Absol?!"
"Absol...!" Absol had one eye open as he looked up at Lucario who was stuck to the wall. By trusting his instincts, Absol thought that attacking Lucario while it was stuck on the wall was the perfect way to gain the upper hand and achieve victory as he slowly got up.
"L-Lucario...!" Lucario was slowly starting to get off the wall. And once it frees itself, things might not look pleasant for Twilight and Absol.
"Sol!" Absol turned to face Twilight, shouting at her.
"Huh?"
"Absol!" Absol's face and voice were essentially telling Twilight to seize this moment while Lucario was pinned to the wall. A moment to attack while the Aura Pokemon was vulnerable. "Sol!"
"Attack while Lucario's pinned?"
"Absol!" He nodded.
"Alright then. Dark Pulse go!"
"Absol!" Turning to face the Aura Pokemon, the Disaster Pokemon opened his mouth, as a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles appeared. Absol then fired a beam of black and purple circles that spiralled around, breaking through the rubble and heading straight for Lucario.
"Cario?!" Lucario gasped as it knew that it was about to be struck by the incoming attack imbued with dark thoughts. The Aura Pokemon closed its eyes as Dark Pulse connected, engulfing the Fighting-Steel-Type.
"Absol!" But Absol didn't let the attack go afterwards. He kept it going as Dark Pulse surrounded Lucario, slowly pushing it through the wall with the amount of force being released.
"L-Lucario?!" Lucario growled as it opened its eyes, emanating its Aura to counteract Dark Pulse as a blue pulse came out. Lucario was fighting back while still being pinned to the wall.
What a Pokemon.
"Even when stuck?! Go, Absol! More power!"
"S-Sol!" Absol's Dark Pulse was now locked in a struggle with Lucario's Aura which kept emanating out with pulses. The wall that Lucario was pinned onto was slowly being destroyed because of this clash.
In fact, the entire cave was slowly coming down as the Mega Stones on the wall were being trembled. At this rate, they might end up falling from this battle alone. Or worse.
Not wanting to give up, Absol pressed on as his feet were being scraped on the hard ground, causing injures to occur. Absol received a bruise on his foot because of this, but he didn't care. He wanted to win.
"You have to do it, Absol! We're going to become stronger than ever together, right?!"
"Absol!" Agreeing with Twilight's words, both Absol and Twilight's eyes flashed with the Mega Evolution symbol, causing the Absolite on the wall to glow. And with that, Absol broke past his limits as Dark Pulse expanded, reaching critical levels and an absurd side.
Lucario's Aura had been pushed back by this dark aura to the point where it had been erased. Lucario's pupils shrunk as Dark Pulse was the victor, blasting the Aura Pokemon through the wall so hard that it sent Lucario flying outside of the cave, leaving a massive hole behind.
Afterwards, an explosion of dark energy formed that let out a horrifying echo that could be heard from across the cave as the wall had been shattered. The Mega Stones had all dropped with the amber shattering because of the sheer force of the battle.
Absol...!" Absol's mouth was letting out smoke as he breathed, showing just how much power he put into it. As he and Twilight looked at the massive hole that showed the outside, they saw all the smoke clearing.
And within the smoke, Lucario's silhouette could be seen.
"Seriously?!" Twilight gasped, stunned that Lucario was still standing.
"Sol!" Absol growled as he was ready to strike Lucario, who could seemingly go for more.
At least, it seemed that way.
Because once all the smoke vanished, Lucario wobbled around with its eyes closing. It couldn't keep its balance properly all of a sudden. Which meant only one thing.
Lucario had fainted.
"L-Lucario..."
And with that, after a long and arduous battle that tested the skills, trust and limitations of both Twilight and Absol, the two of them had emerged victorious over the amazingly powerful Lucario.
"W-We won..." Twilight stood there stunned. She was taking a moment to process this as an enormous smile was slowly gracing her face. "We won...We won!"
"Absol." Absol sighed as he was relieved it was over. As he sat down, Twilight flew over, hugging the Disaster Pokemon, which Absol still isn't a fan of. "Sol?!"
"Absol, you're amazing! The best!" Twilight screamed and squeed while aggressively hugging her partner.
"A-Absol..." Absol, while glad that he won and made Twilight happy, could do without all this hugging.
"Phew...what a rush." Pinkie Pie fell on her back after witnessing that battle.
"I'll tell ya, Twilight and Absol sure are something, aren't they?" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"Lucario..." Lucario sat up as, feeling so perplexed after that battle. It has fought some powerful opponents before, but none were as tenacious and rough as Absol. The Aura Pokemon knew that Twilight and Absol truly deserved the Absolite as it walked over to the cave.
With all the Mega Stones scattered on the ground, Lucario ended up finding the Absolite which was located right in the middle. The Aura Pokemon picked it up with both its palms as it brought it over to the duo.
"Luca."
"Oh. Our Mega Stone?" Twilight looked up at Lucario.
"Cario." Lucario nodded. They've earned it. Besides, being a Fighting-Type, Lucario truly enjoyed that battle. A battle Lucario will never forget for years to come.
"Thank you so much, Lucario!" Twilight used her magic to grab the Absolite. "Alright. We got ourselves a Mega Stone! Wait till everypony sees this!"
"Absol."
Now, Twilight was the third trainer to finish the trial and possibly the longest one so far. It took a ton of thinking, strategy and a plethora of head-smashing, but she and Absol did it.
Twilight's clever brain and Absol's wild instincts were truly a unique combination that was one to be recognized and aware of. The two of them finally achieved the Absolite, believing that this might be the key and answer to why they keep having visions of the Mega Evolution Symbol as the journey continues.
Three trainers had cleared their trials. The first was Rarity who obtained the Ampharosite and Lopunnite, the second was Applejack who received the Sceptilite and finally the third was Twilight who was given the Absolite.
Speaking of Twilight and Absol, they had just returned to the camp, exhausted. Mostly Twilight actually. Applejack had already returned since her battle took less time than Twilight's.
"Finally..." Twilight sighed as she fell flat on her face. "I thought that would never end."
"An amazing show of skill, darling." Rarity went up to Twilight. "Although, all that aggression coming from Absol is a bit terrifying."
"Absol."
"Absol's instincts are what really helped in this. Living in the wild for so long has its benefits, huh?" The young alicorn turned to face Absol.
"Sol."
"By the way. Have Spike and Rainbow Dash finished their battles yet?" Twilight asked.
"Not yet. Rainbow Dash has already come across Abomasnow." Rarity turned to the screen. "And Spike's just arriving at his cave now."
"So it's just two left." Twilight went up to the tablet. "If they can win, this whole trial will be over."
"Let's hope they can." said the lady.
Rainbow Dash's Battle.
"You're still a Grass-Type first, Abomasnow. Flying's gonna be good on you!" Rainbow Dash smirked. "Altaria! Use Pluck!"
"Taria!" The Humming Pokemon ascended with her beak glowing white. She shot her eyes at Abomasnow while also flying straight towards the Frost Tree Pokemon, going straight for a diving attack.
"Aboma...Snow!" Abomasnow had a response to that in the form of Ice Punch. By slamming its foot on the ground, the Frost Tree Pokemon shook the cave while clenching his fist. With a blue mist surrounding his fist, Abomasnow thrust his arm forward, colliding his fist with Altaria's beak.
Both moves clashed as Abomasnow's Ice Punch easily overpowered Altaria's Pluck as the Frost Tree Pokemon dealt damage to the Humming Pokemon's beak, launching Altaria with the force of his fist.
"Alta!" Altaria went flying afterwards as her beak had a bit of ice on it. Luckily, she recovered quickly by maintaining her momentum and mobility.
"Guess that didn't work. Doesn't matter! Dragon Pulse, let's go!"
"Alta...Ria!" Altaria held her breath in, then afterwards, shooting out a blast shaped like a dragon towards Abomasnow.
"Snow!" Abomasnow put his hands together, using the move Blizzard to defend himself. He put his hands forward, creating a violent whirlwind of ice and snow that went straight towards Dragon Pulse.
The Dragon-Type move had been blocked by Blizzard as both moves cancelled each other out, blowing up in the process and leaving behind a cold blue smoke cloud.
"Now's our chance...!" Rainbow Dash took the opportunity to attack while the smoke cloud was in the way. "Pluck!"
"Altaria!" By moving at blistering speeds, Altaria flew through the smoke cloud with her beak glowing, aiming at catching Abomasnow by surprise.
"Aboma?!" Abomasnow witnessed Altaria coming out of the smoke as he was certainly surprised, to the point where he was caught off guard. The Frost Tree Pokemon tried to quickly counter with Ice Punch, but he was a bit too late.
"Alta!" Altaria had already struck her glowing powered-up beak onto Abomasnow's stomach, dealing super-effective damage.
"S-Snow!" Abomasnow's eyes widened.
"Do it over and over again!"
"Taria-Taria-Taria!" She did just that. Altaria delivered consecutive plucks to Abomsanow's stomach. It was proving to be very efficient as Abomasnow was being pushed back with each pluck.
"A-Aboma...!" Abomasnow winced as he couldn't allow himself to continue being damaged like this. Thus, the Frost Tree Pokemon encased both his hands in ice, using Ice Punch. With his hands now full of ice, Abomasnow, who had been backed into the wall from all these repeated Plucks, grabbed onto Altaria's fluffy-cloud-like wings.
"Tari!" Altaria shuddered as she felt Abomasnow's cold hands grab her wings. This prompted the Humming Pokemon to stop pecking as she could feel a horrible chill flow through her body.
"Ah, Altaria!"
"Snow!" With Altaria within his clutches, Abomasnow, who was close to the wall, decided to use its frozen hands to smash the Humming Pokemon onto the walls of the cave, dealing extra damage. Luckily, Altarai's fluffy wings cushioned the blow, but she could still feel the damage.
"T-Taria!"
"Altaria! Use Disarming Voice really loud to break free!"
"Alta..." Altaria closed her eyes as she raised her head, planning to create a sound so loud it will mess with Abomasnow's ears. "Ria!" By exhaling, Altaria let out a pink soundwave with a charming cry behind it as it rocked the cave. The loudest cry she's done yet.
Rainbow Dash even had to cover her ears for this. However, despite this being a clever strategy to mess with their opponent, it was soon revealed that Abomasnow wasn't even flinching. He just stood there, holding Altaria in his hands.
"What the?!" Rainbow Dash gasped, witnessing Abomasnow being unphased. And so did Altaria.
"Taria?!"
"It didn't work?! How come?!" Applejack, who was watching the battle with everyone else raised an eyebrow.
"Then Abomasnow must have Soundproof!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pika!"
"What's Soundproof?" Pinkie turned to face Ash.
"It's Abomasnow's hidden ability. It gives full immunity to all sound-based moves." He quickly explained. "It's like this Abomasnow was made to deal with an Altaria."
"Pikachu..."
"No effect...?" Rainbow Dash wasn't aware of the ability Soundproof herself.
"Snow!" Abomasnow slammed Altaria onto the wall once more before tossing the Humming Pokemon aside.
"Taria!" Altaria rolled on the ground before covering by ascending into the air. "Alta!"
"So Disarming Voice isn't gonna be any good here." Rainbow Dash growled. "That's totally fine. I've still got other moves that'll really do the trick." She smirked.
"Altaria!"
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow was looking forward to the two of them trying their best to take him out as once again he summoned the cold mist that filled the cave.
Against an opponent that has super-effective moves against Altaria and essentially is immune to one of her moves via an ability, the odds are being stacked against Rainbow Dash and Altaria. But then again, the same could be said for everypony else and yet, they managed to succeed in their battles by beating their opponents or tieing with them.
Rainbow Dash has great confidence in herself and Altaria. They believe they can win this.
But aside from Rainbow Dash, she wasn't the last one to partake in her trial. There was one more of course. Spike had finally arrived at his cave, where Glalie was waiting for them.
When entering the cave, just like with Rainbow Dash, a chilling mist filled the cave. Except, this one was arguably worse since Glalie's can instantly freeze the moisture in the atmosphere.
Spike and his Salamence stood before Glalie, who was eyeing them down with its somewhat hollow eyes.
"Glalie..." A cold mist came out of its mouth as it uttered words.
"It had to be an Ice-Type that floats..." Spike sighed. "So much for taking advantage of the air. But it's fine. We can do this, Salamence."
"Mence!"
"It's a good thing we've got this move on our side! Salamence! Use Flamethrower!"
"Sala...!" Salamence went for an amazing first attack in the form of Flamethrower. By holding his breath in with red sparks flying out, the Dragon Pokemon pulled his head back before moving it forward and opening his mouth, shooting an orange-red stream of fire out. "Mence!"
"Lie!" Glalie decided to not engage against Flamethrower. Instead, the Face Pokemon chose to defend itself. And there was one move that was perfect for defending against incoming attacks. At least, for a bit. It is a move that fails if used in succession but always works the first time.
That move was Protect.
By putting up a green shield, Glalie had protected itself from the super-effective move as Flamethrower split into two when colliding with Protect. As Flamethrower disappeared along with the barrier, Glalie grinned at Spike and Salamence. Although, it was hard to tell since the Face Pokemon only has one expression at all times.
"Glalie."
"Aw, Protect?" Spike groaned. "Ah, it's fine. It doesn't always work anyway. We'll come straight to you next! Salamence! Move in closer with Flamethrower!"
"Salamence!" A full-on approach would be made. Instead of just standing back and firing Flamethrower, Salamence was going to close the gap and fire Flamethrower from a shorter closed distance. A good way to put the pressure on his opponent.
The Dragon Pokemon, once again, used Flamethrower by breathing out of his mouth. This time, he was flying forward while using it.
"Glal?!" Glalie knew that this was an immediate bad sign for it. It wasn't exactly the fastest Pokemon around and Salamence definitely outsped it by a mile. Using another Protect would only weaken the move, making it more prone to fail.
So, Glalie decided to counter it with Shadow Ball. By opening its mouth, the Face Pokemon created a shadowy blob, hurling it forward.
The ball of shadows clashed with the stream of flames, creating a small struggle. Flamethrower and Shadow ball equalled each other out, creating a discharge of energy and afterwards an explosion.
"Glalie!" And with the smoke blocking both Pokemon from seeing each other, Glalie capitalized on this. The Face Pokemon then used the move Icicle Crash.
Glalie took in a deep breath and released a wind with light blue sparkles in it from its mouth into the air. Then, small clumps of ice formed in the wind, growing longer and larger before forming into sharp icicles. The icicles then rained down from above as the smoke was clearing.
"Ah! Look up Salamence! Dodge!" Spike was the first to see the icicles once the smoke cleared out as he pointed up in the air.
"Sala?" The Dragon Pokemon looked up, but it was too late. The moment he witnessed the icicles, he had been hit in the face and back by them. "Salamence!"
Salamence was being bombarded by the raining icicles, taking constant super-effective damage from them. The remaining icicles fell, leaving behind a frigid explosion of chilling smoke that launched Salamence back.
"Salamence! Are you okay?!"
"S-Sala!" Salamence swiftly recovered by spreading his wings. Icicle Crash sometimes makes the opposing Pokemon flinch. But thankfully, that didn't happen to Salamence so he was free to battle on without being slowed down. Although, there is his Hyper Beam that he has to worry about.
"Lie!" Glalie was going for a second Icicle Crash with more clumps of ice forming above the Dragon Pokemon.
"Knock them away with Dragon Tail!"
"Mence!" Salamence's tail lit up with blue draconic energy as he focused on what was above him instead of in front of him. As Salamence wagged his tail about, the clumps of ice formed into sharp ice shards as they started raining down.
This time, Salamence was ready to counter. As the shards fell, the Dragon Pokemon started swinging his tail violently, bashing the shards. Upon contact, Dragon Tail sent the first shard flying as it almost hit Glalie directly.
"Glalie?!" Glalie gasped as one of the shards passed it, stabbing into the wall. And as Salamence continued to swing his Dragon Tail, more shards were either flying to the side or heading in Glalie's direction.
The Face Pokemon attempted to avoid the shards by moving around, but some of them ended up connecting, dealing damage via its own move. All of the shards were gone. Either by hitting Glalie or being shattered by Salamence's Dragon Tail.
"Awesome! We even got some damage in it too." Spike grinned. "Nice aim, Salamence!" He gave a thumbs up.
"Salamence!"
"Let's keep it up, okay?"
"Sala!"
Rainbow Dash's battle.
"Abomasnow!" The battle against Abomasnow was still going on. Just now, the Frost Tree Pokemon had used Blizzard, filling most of the cave with a violent howling blizzard.
"Dodge it!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"Tari!" Altaria was currently avoiding Blizzard by zooming across the cave while Abomasnow was directing the Ice-Type move towards the Humming Pokemon.
The cave itself was taking great punishment from Blizzard. The walls were being frozen along with the ground and ceiling too. Even the waterfall had been frozen as well.
Rainbow Dash herself was shivering from all this cold. But she couldn't let it throw her off-focus. All she needed to do was finish this battle and she can head home with some warmth and a sweet Mega Stone to boot.
"Let's counter Ice with Ice!" Altaria! Ice Beam, go!"
"Altar!" Altaria rolled in the air while flying as she redirected her head towards the Frost Tree Pokemon. The Humming Pokemon opened her mouth as she fired a beam of ice out. Two ice attacks had met, causing a chilling reaction between the two moves.
A flash-freeze happened with both moves meeting. The dual ice moves were intermingling so much that they not only cancelled each other out, but they also created a somewhat beautiful sight. A radiant flurry of tiny ice sparkles emerged from the explosion of ice as they gently fell.
"Aboma..." Abomasnow himself was particularly impressed by what two Ice moves had created. He took the time to gaze at the sparkling sight.
"Wide open! Pluck!"
"Aria!" Rainbow Dash and Altaria however, weren't here to sightsee and gaze at beautiful move combinations. They were here to win and get that Altarianite. The Humming Pokemon appeared in front of the Frost Tree Pokemon, stabbing her beak into his stomach.
"S-Snow!" Abomasnow had taken yet another super-effective hit. This time, Pluck had really launched Abomasnow instead of just slightly pushing him back.
The Frost Tree Pokemon spun around in the air after being hit as he slid on the icy ground. Altaria backed away, watching Abomsanow continuously spin.
"Heh. I think we'll keep the ground the way it is. Too bad Altaria's a Flying-Type, huh?" Rainbow Dash laughed.
"Altaria!"
"Aboma!" Abomasnow got up from the ground, growling at Rainbow and Altaria. He actually enjoyed the sight and to have it be interrupted didn't sit well with the Frost Tree Pokemon.
In fact, Abomsanow was so irritated that he decided to use a move that perfectly fit his current mood. The Dragon-Type move Outrage.
"Snow!" Abomasnow's eyes shined red as a burst of light red energy erupted from the ground, shattering all the ice around Abomasnow and momentarily surrounded his body.
The Frost Tree Pokemon, now in a state of rage, jumped off the ground with unpredictable and surprising distance and height, which certainly took Rainbow and Altaria by surprise.
"Uh oh!" Rainbow Dash winced. "Fly away!"
"Altaria!" Altaria gasped, turning her body around as she ferociously flapped her wings to get away. But, Abomasnow's long arms gave him an edge as he grabbed onto Altaria's tail feathers.
"Aboma!"
"Aria?!"
"Abomasnow!" By using his body weight, Abomasnow dragged Altaria down with the strength of Outrage included. With savagery, Abomsasnow cudgelled Altaria to the ground, dealing heavy amounts of damage as well as leaving a crater behind from the sheer impact.
"A-Altaria!"
"Snow!" Abomasnow then spun Altaria around, kicking up a small whirlwind in the process as the Frost Tree Pokemon used Outrage to grip onto Altaria's tail feathers hard.
"Altaria! Break out of there!"
"Aboma!" But, it was a bit impossible to break out of this current predicament considering the grip Abomasnow now has. The Frost Tree Pokemon spun Altaria around enough times for her to become dizzy and dazed.
Then, the Grass-Ice-Type ran with Altaria, dragging her body on the ground as he was heading straight for the wall, planning to slam her onto it.
"Not good!" Rainbow Dash held her head. "Disarming Voice won't work...But maybe...Altaria! Fire Ice Beam on the ground, quick!"
"Aria!" Altaria's face hit the ground repeatedly from all the dragging Abomasnow was doing. The Humming Pokemon was thankfully facing down, so she could fire from the necessary angle.
Without wasting any time, Altaria breathed out a beam of ice that immediately affected the ground by flash-freezing it all with ice. And just like before, moving on ice can result in one common thing.
Slipping.
And that's exactly what Abomasnow experienced. The moment the ground was turned to ice, he slipped and lost balance, causing the Frost Tree Pokemon to fall over and smack his face on to the wall, which he was close to approaching.
"A-Abom!" Abomasnow most certainly felt that as the impact of his face hitting the wall caused him to snap out of Outrage. But, the aftereffects of Outrage involve great confusion.
"Ta!" Altaria quickly freed herself by flying out of Abomasnow's grip.
"He's all confused now! Let's take this chance to win! Pluck one more time!"
"Altaria!" Altaria ascended with her beak glowing brightly, even illuminating the ceiling. She was ready to strike a full-force Pluck down.
"A-Abomasnow...!" Abomasnow wasn't ready to call it quits as he had one more in his disposal. He turned around, preparing to counter with an even more devastating move than Outrage.
Hyper Beam.
From Abomasnow's open mouth, a gigantic orb was forming as Altaria's eyes widened, noticing that the move was Hyper Beam from the first glance. And so did Rainbow Dash.
"Uh oh. Move, Altaria!"
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow fired a powerful, raging beam that tore through the ground behind and in front of Abomasnow.
"Altaria!" Altaria gasped as she quickly moved to the left to try and avoid Hyper Beam. Which she somewhat did. She was able to move most of her body but Hyper Beam was so wide it grazed her wings, causing Altaria to still take damage as she fell over. "Tari!"
"Aboma...Abomasnow..." Obviously, when using Hyper Beam, Abomasnow needed to take a break and recharge due to how powerful it was. The Frost Tree Pokemon breathed in and out slowly while he was recharging.
"You okay, Altaria?!"
"Altaria...!" Altaria looked over to see that one of her wings had taken damage from Hyper Beam, leaving behind a very visible scratch. It looked like it had been more than just grazed as there was now a misbalance between both her wings. But, despite how much damage her wing had taken, Altaria could still get up, but slowly.
Unfortunately for her, Abomasnow had just finished recharging as he was ready to continue. This time, he used Blizzard by rapidly spinning his arms around, whipping up a violent and powerful whirlwind of ice and snow.
"Dodge it!"
"Alt!" Altaria flapped her wings rapidly to escape. However, because one wing was off-balance, it wasn't as effective as her takeoff was very slow. She couldn't immediately blast off like she always does, but she was still able to ascend anyway.
Unfortunately, since it wasn't fast enough, Blizzard had caught the Humming Pokemon, pulling her into the violent storm of ice and snow.
"T-Taria!"
"Ah! Altaria!"
"Alta!" Altaria was now being hurled around in the Blizzard while being hit by snowballs repeatedly, taking constant super-effective damage.
The Blizzard obviously couldn't last forever. And the way the attack finished off was by ascending higher up, smashing Altaria onto the ceiling while pelting her with the remaining snowballs. The Blizzard faded away as now Altaria's wings had both been frozen because of the attack. It didn't help that the ceiling was already frozen from earlier.
Now, Altaria found it harder to fly with her wings frozen up as she fell to the ground. "Tari?!"
"Aboma!" With Altaria more vulnerable than ever now, Abomasnow decided to finally approach the Humming Pokemon instead of just standing around and attacking from afar. The Frost Tree Pokemon was going to get up-close and personal with Ice Punch already showing in his hands.
"Quick! Altaria! Use Dragon Pulse!"
"Tari?" Altaria saw Abomasnow approaching at surprisingly swift speeds. And this time, he wasn't slipping on the ice. He seemed to have adapted to it in a short amount of time. Abomasnow raised his arms, going for a downwards strike. Seeing that this next attack might do Altaria in, the Humming Pokemon fired a short-burst Dragon Pulse instead of a fully charged one.
And that short burst Dragon Pulse gave enough time to escape as it blew up in Abomasnow's face, forcing him back. Altaria quickly rolled her body on the frozen ground, using her fluffy wings as mobility.
"Can you still fly?!"
"Tari!" Altaria showed her wings off, revealing to Rainbow Dash that it would be nigh-impossible to fly at this point, unfortunately.
"No need to worry. I've got an idea." Rainbow narrowed her eyes as the smoke was clearing with Abomasnow walking out of it.
"Aboma!"
"Since Disarming Voice won't work on you...We'll just use it to bring the entire cave down! Altaria! Disarming Voice at maximum volume!"
"Alt..." That Altaria could do without having to move her body much. The Humming Pokemon was going for her loudest cry yet. One that would greatly tremble the cave. "Ariaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
With all of her lungs and throat being pushed to their limits, the Dragon-Flying-Type let out a high-pitched-full-blast charming cry with purple hearts and a pink wave emerging out of her mouth. Around 95 decibels were being exhibited right now as the cave was receiving a powerful tremor.
A tremor strong enough to potentially destroy it. Vibrations moved around as large parts of the ceiling were already starting to come apart as some rubble already hit Abomasnow in the face while he approached Altaria.
"Snow?" Abomasnow stopped walking for a moment as he noticed how the walls, ground and ceiling were all vibrating from Altaria's constant humming.
Cracks immediately formed as larger rubble was now coming down from above. A giant piece of rock came crashing down, almost hitting Abomasnow, which prompted the Frost Tree Pokemon to back away. But backing away wasn't going to do anything against a crumbling cave.
More large piles of rocks came crashing down, shattering the ice on the ground as well. Rainbow Dash took cover, knowing that she wasn't exempt from this as well.
Abomasnow had been surrounded by large piles of rocks from both sides as he was now trapped. But it didn't end there, more rocks were falling around him, further surrounding and trapping the Frost Tree Pokemon.
As for Altaria, even if she couldn't fly, she still had her feet as she stood up. She still didn't stop using Disarming Voice at all. Altaria would keep on going until it all comes down.
And all of this damage and trembling was so powerful that it actually managed to reach the other caves, startling the rest of the guardian Pokemon.
"Lucario?" Lucario looked around to see that the cave around it was coming apart. So did Blaziken and Steelix. And especially Spike, Salamence and Glalie as they paused their battle for a moment.
"Glai?"
"Sala?"
"That's some pretty strong rumbling..." Spike said, but he actually didn't think too much of it. "Ah, who cares. Let's finish this with one large attack, Salamence! Use Hyper Beam!"
"Sala!" Not minding all the rumbling, Salamence was about to use the ever-powerful and effective Hyper Beam while Glalie wasn't looking.
"Lie?" But, of course, Glalie would notice and hear the sound of an attack being charged up. Especially one as loud as Hyper Beam. The Face Pokemon quickly put up Protect to shield it from a move that painful. It waited for the move to arrive and hopefully, it was soon since Protect doesn't stay up forever.
Around 12 seconds passed and Glalie noticed that Hyper Beam wasn't coming out, which greatly confused the Face Pokemon. "Glalie?"
"Just kidding! Flamethrower go!" Spike had actually juked Glalie out by making a bluff with Hyper Beam. Instead, Salamence was going for Flamethrower as he flew forward, blasting scorching flames out.
"G-Glalie?!" Surprised that it had been juked out with a bluff, Glalie made a second attempt to put up Protect. However, using Protect repeatedly is not the wisest decision since it weakens when used in succession.
Once Flamethrower made contact with Protect, the green barrier was starting to break from what Glalie had witnessed. As the Face Pokemon gasped, larger rubble started to fall from above from Altaria's humming. The large piles of rubble landed behind both Salamence and Glalie. But, they were so fixated on the battle to even pay attention or care.
Protect had shattered when hit by Flamethrower as the move had finally failed. And with the shield destroyed, the scorching flames of the Fire-Type move consumed Glalie.
"Glai!" Glalie was first engulfed by the fire and then afterwards, launched by the aftermath explosion of Flamethrower. The Face Pokemon rolled on the ground because of its circular appearance, crashing into the wall.
"Now for the real deal! Hyper Beam, go!"
"Salamence!" This time, they were really going to use Hyper Beam and potentially end his battle. Considering how much damage is done.
However, before any of that could happen, Spike noticed that while the ceiling was coming down with all the large piles of rocks appearing, one of the rocks was actually about to fall right on Glalie who was just getting up.
"Glalie!" Glalie quickly got up, unaware of what was coming. From right above it, a gigantic pile of rubble fell from the ceiling heading straight for the Face Pokemon. "Lie?" And Glalie ended up seeing the shadow of the rock, prompting the Ice-Type to look up. "Glalie?!"
"Salamence! Fire at that rock!"
"Mence!" Instead of firing at Glalie, Salamence fired at the gigantic rock instead, thinking about the safety of another Pokemon instead of winning the battle. With a mighty burst of energy, Hyper Beam came flying out, absolutely obliterating the rock into tiny little pieces.
Salamence had saved Glalie.
"Nice!" Spike nodded with a thumbs up. But now was not the time for that. All of the caves were coming apart at the moment. So it was best to wrap things up now. "Sorry, Glalie! Gonna have to make this one quick!"
"Glalie understood as it thanked Spike and Salamence for saving it. However, that wouldn't mean it was going to go easy on them as the Face Pokemon was about to pull off one major attack. Its own beam. Ice Beam.
"Flamethrower! Go!"
"Sala..."
"Gla..."
At the same time, both Pokemon unleashed their beams at each other to continue and possibly end their battle as both beams entered a struggle against each other.
All the while, Altaria had finally stopped humming, causing the caves to stop rumbling. Now everything was a mess because of that maximum volume Disarming Voice as Abomasnow was in a rock prison now.
But it wasn't anything that he couldn't break out. He had his options. One of which was Hyper Beam. He was going to blast all the large rocks around into nothing with Hyper Beam as he opened his mouth.
"Here comes Hyper Beam! Get ready to move in with Pluck, Altaria!" Rainbow Dash heard the sound of Hyper Beam charging up as Altaria stayed patient, waiting for the opportunity to strike.
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow released Hyper Beam, moving his body around to clear out all the rocks while directing the Normal-Type move. The rocks surrounding the Frost Tree Pokemon were being obliterated one by one in seconds all the while, Altaria kept her patience.
Rainbow Dash tapped her hoof on the ground, waiting for just the right time to strike as she saw the remaining rocks being blown away by Hyper Beam.
All the rocks around Abomasnow had been destroyed with Hyper Beam as Rainbow Dash and Altaria found an opening.
"Now, go!"
"Altaria!" Altaria ran on the ground, which she wasn't used to. But it had to do for now. And thankfully, Abomasnow had yet again tired himself out with Hyper Beam.
So all he could do was stand there and accept the incoming attack from Altaria.
And at the same time, Salamence was winning the move struggle as Flamethrower was overpowering Ice Beam, making Glalie's attack shorter and smaller while Salamence's was getting bigger and wider.
"G-Glalie!?"
"That's it! Push through Salamence!"
"Salamence!"
"Go, Altaria!"
"Altaria!"
In perfect unison, in two different caves from two different Pokemon of the same type, they had both landed their attacks successfully. Flamethrower blasted Glalie's entire face-body while Pluck stabbed Abomasnow in the stomach.
Two super-effective moves had landed. And they were just strong enough to finally do what both trainers and their Pokemon were waiting and hoping for.
As both Glalie and Abomasnow were launched back by either an explosion or a powerful beak attack, they both shared one common outcome once they hit the ground.
They had both fainted.
"Abomasnow..."
"Glalie...
"Yes!" Both Rainbow Dash and Spike jumped for joy in separate caves as they had emerged victorious. "You're the best Dragon ever!"
"Altaria!"
"Salamence!"
And the same can be said for both Altaria and Salamence as the two of them flew over to their trainers, hugging them while pinning them to the ground.
Finally, after so long, all trainers had finished their trials with Rainbow and Spike being the last to finish. But by far, they had the most synchronized finished Even if they didn't know that. Luckily, it had all been recorded, so eventually, they'll find out when they get back to the camp.
But before that, Glalie and Abomasnow got back up, accepting defeat and receiving great respect for their opponents. They battled hard for sure.
And a battle like that along with their trust in their Pokemon definitely earns them both their reward. The two Mega Stones. The Altarianite and Salamencite.
Abomasnow grabbed the Salamencite and keystone while Glalie bashed its head on the amber to make it fall off the wall. It was a miracle that during all of these battles, none of the Mega Stones had been hit.
But besides that, the two trainers had received their stones as a sign of their success over the trial and growth as trainers. Amazing growth too.
"Alright! One step closer to winning the Equestria League!" Rainbow Dash got all giddy as she placed the stone in her bag.
"Altaria!"
"We're gonna be Dragon Masters in no time, Salamence!" Spike patted his partner on the back while holding the stone.
"Salamence!"
And with that, they both returned to the camp at the same time, exhausted, along with their Pokemon. When returning, Ash and everyone greeted them back.
"That was amazing you four! You were in so much sync!" Pinkie Pie bellowed.
"Axew!"
"In sync?" Both Spike and Rainbow said.
"Oh, right you didn't notice." Rarity shook her head. "Well, it turns out that you both finished your battles at the same time in perfect unison too. Very impressive."
"Oh..." The duo nodded in understanding.
"Great job winning those stones and clearing the trial!" Ash sat up.
"Pikachu!"
"A great job for sure." The lady gave a thumbs up. "I can officially say that this trial is completed and you have all succeeded greatly. Congratulations."
"Thank you," said Twilight as she looked at the Absolite.
"Even though you're not full-on campers in this camp, you have our respect either way. Isn't that, right all of you?" The lady suddenly turned to the guardian Pokemon who had all arrived at the scene. Lucario, Blaziken, Steelix, Abomasnow and Glalie all agreed. "I'll be sure to tell my boss about this."
"So come on! Aren't you gonna Mega Evolve?! I wanna see them so badly right now!" Pinkie dashed around.
"Ah...maybe later...We're tired..." Spike yawned.
"I agree. Rest is needed at once," Rarity commented as she noticed how the sun was setting slowly. "And the Pokemon School is tomorrow after all."
"Then let's hurry and catch the ship back home." Ash pointed south.
"Pika-Pika."
"Buh-bye!" The lady waved goodbye to them all as Ash and everyone went off. "Best Wishes!"
"Best Wishes!" They all replied back as they had finally left the Mega Evolution camp.
Finally, everypony, except for Ash and Pinkie Pie, had Mega Stones at their disposal. They've certainly grown as trainers. Just last year, they were all novices and were so perplexed by Pokemon while meeting new ones, constantly getting themselves into danger because of what these mystical and magical creatures were capable of.
But now, they've come so far to the point where none of that matters anymore. They now have great power by their side and even greater friends as their partners as the journey continues.
Yet another universe that had been invaded by Empress Twilight Sparkle along with the assistance of Ghetsis and his seemingly unstoppable Hydreigon who was just getting stronger every passing minute.
And of course, another universe where Empress Twilight has absorbed all the alicorn magic here for herself, further increasing her capabilities.
Although, she decided to slow it down a bit since she wanted to master all the magic she had before the invasion in 2 months. So that would mean visiting fewer universes and absorbing less magic, much to her chagrin.
This universe in particular is actually one where King Sombra ended up succeeding in taking over the Crystal Empire once more. Not only that, but he had transcended to alicorn status. Unfortunately, one alicorn isn't strong enough to compete against one that has the power of a million alicorns.
This universe was a bit tougher to conquer considering Sombra's persistence and malice. But Empress Twilight had more malice behind her. And Ghetsis had all the malice to give.
"Well, that's that." Empress Twilight could call things to a close here as she opened a gateway to her universe, ready to leave while the rest of her empire occupy this universe for her.
As for Ghetsis, he wiped off some crystals that got on him via the Sombra struggle. In fact, despite Empress Twilight's amazing magic, it was really Ghetsis who did most of the work with his Hydreigon causing mass destruction.
Ghetsis was ready to return to his universe for further plans for other Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, until, he heard a whisper through his ears.
"Ghetsis..."
"Hm?" Ghetsis was all ears for the whisper as he was able to tell where the whisper was coming from. He looked over at a large pile of rubble, noticing how there was one oddity amongst the plethora of rocks in the Crystal Empire.
A horn.
More specifically, King Sombra's horn. It was lying there with the rubble as Ghetsis could hear the whisper coming from the horn. He even recognized it as Sombra's voice.
"Ghetsis..."
As Empress Twilight returned to her universe alongside her apprentice Luster Dawn, Ghetsis stayed behind, responding to the call of Sombra's horn. He approached the horn, kicking away the rest of the rubble.
"Still alive?" Ghetsis spoke.
"L-Listen to what I have to say..."
"Hoh? What do you have to stay?" Ghetsis stabbed his staff near Sombra's horn, intimidating him. He could crush the horn at any given time if he wanted to.
"I-I felt your acrimony within your spirit. All of that hatred emanating out of you. It's simply delicious."
"And?"
"I can help you. Help you unleash greater strength than you already have. That dark aura around you is what I'm referring to."
"And how can you possibly help me? You're just a horn now."
"I can give you access to dark magic." What Sombra said really caught Ghetsis's attention.
"Hm?" He raised his sole eyebrow. "Dark magic?"
"Yes. My magic specifically. You can wield it for yourself and all the alicorn magic that comes with it."
"Hmph. How can I take it? I'm just a human after all."
"It doesn't matter what species you are. Dark magic lives in everyone. All because of their darkest desires. And I can sense it from you. All that malicious aura you have is delicious. Possibly the greatest I've seen next to mine."
"Enough with the babble. Show me how I can achieve this." Ghetsis picked up Sombra's horn.
"Oh. I'll show you alright." Once Ghetsis picked up the horn, the process began as a dark orb of magic emerged from the horn, consuming Ghetsis as his Hydreigon witnessed it happen.
"Hydrei?"
A black void.
Endless, spacious and devoid of colour and nothing else residing in it. This is where Ghetsis stood on his own as he opened his eyes. He could still feel everything in his body. He could breathe and his feet certainly felt something. But there was nothing at the same time. Strangely, when Ghetsis arrived here, his dark aura acted as a light source.
"Where is this?" Ghetsis said.
"Look ahead." Sombra's voice echoed in the void. Hearing his voice, Ghetsis turned around, facing whichever direction would be front in this endless void. But then again, there was no up, down, left or right here.
But, aside from that, there was indeed something here. As Ghetsis turned around, he spotted a single spark of light. One that was red, green and dark purple. This spark was floating and emanating all those three lights while having black lightning in the middle of it.
It even made a sound in this hollow and empty void. A sound that echoed out screams and roars that were so terrifying that it was hard to describe what they sounded like. They could strike fear into anyone.
Anyone except for Ghetsis, who wasn't even phased by it. He approached the spark, looking down on it with his one healthy eye and the other eye that wasn't so healthy.
"Touch it. And you will see what it takes to truly achieve dark magic."
And so he did Without even hesitating, Ghetsis grabbed onto the small spark with his entire hand. And once he did, his vision of the area around him changed once more.
The spark flashed as something new was being materialized. The endless void was bringing something in. Ghetsis turned around to see what was being brought into the void. Two things actually. One was what seemed to be a destroyed town somewhere in Unova.
And the other was a sight that was all too familiar to him as it was in the shape of a human. More specifically, his own shape, but on a smaller scale. A young man had emerged from the materialized magic.
That young man was Ghetsis himself at a younger age. Around his teenage years alongside his Hydreigon who was a Zweilous back then at that time.
"What is this?" Ghetsis asked.
But, as he asked that, Sombra simply laughed in the void as a response. From how he was laughing, it seems that Sombra brought Ghetsis here for a different reason.
"Right where I want you! Like I'd give you dark magic at all!" Sombra cackled. "I just wanted to make you succumb to your fears!"
"My fears?"
Ghetsis looked over the destroyed city and his younger self with Zweilous. That's when Sombra's magic was kicking. Sombra is known for showing everyone their worst fears and making them succumb to him so that they can serve under him.
And he was planning to do the same to Ghetsis. However, usually, whenever Sombra wants to instil fear into someone, the illusion he usually makes something happens by now where the worst possible scenarios playout for the victim.
And yet, nothing was happening at all. Ghetsis and his younger self just stood there.
"W-What's going on?" Sombra stuttered. "Why aren't your fears being realized?!"
"Am I supposed to be afraid or something?" Ghetsis scoffed.
"Impossible...you're not even the slightest bit afraid?"
"Of course not. I am the man who will become a great emperor of many worlds soon. I can't be intimidated by a mere king and his illusions."
"W-What?!" That one response blew Sombra back. So much so that the younger version of Ghetsis had faded away. Ghetsis was not fearful of Sombra in any way. Not even a smidge.
And to make matters worse for Sombra, Ghetsis's dark aura was growing to a point where it was starting to overpower his black void.
Earlier, before this whole black void thing happened, when Ghetsis and Empress Twilight arrived here, Sombra had actually experienced his own fear from encountering Ghetsis alone.
After all, it was Ghetsis and his Hydreigon that did most of the work and Empress Twilight just stole a majority of Sombra's magic. All that was left was his ability to affect others with fear.
And the one who had given him fear for the first time was Ghetsis. Sombra hoped that he could turn it around and instil fear in Ghetsis instead, but in the end, he was no match for the sheer terror that Ghetsis emanates out of him.
"So. There is no dark magic for me to receive, is there? A facade, eh?" Ghetsis narrowed his one eye, further intimidating Sombra.
"T-There is!"
"Then show it to me. Or else I'll personally put you out of your misery once I exit this void."
"Not yet! There has to be something that terrifies you!" Sombra wouldn't give in. He wanted to overtake Ghetsis with fear. That way, he'll be able to return and be restored to his full form. Just like in every universe and timeline where he returns to conquer the empire once more.
But, try as he might, Sombra couldn't find anything that could break through Ghetsis's mind and exploit his fears. Sombra usually looks into someone's mind and memories to search for what truly makes them break and what could ruin them. It's an effective spell that works on anyone.
Almost anyone. Not Ghetsis apparently.
Sombra even discovered memories of Ghetsis's parents. Family is possibly the biggest catalyst for fears in the eye of Sombra. Everyone fears for their family. Whether good or bad depending on the scenario. Sombra believed that Ghetsi's family could be the key to overtaking him.
However, when Sombra materialized an illusion of Ghetsis's parents, Ghetsis did not even turn around. He knew what Sombra was trying to do and he was not falling for it one bit. Sombra even tried to persuade Ghetsis by having the illusions of his parents call out his name.
"Ghetsis..." The voice of his mother and father rang out. But even with his own parents, it was no use. When Sombra tried to give off the illusion of Ghetsis's parents perishing the same way they did years ago, he thought that would get to Ghetsis.
But it didn't.
"Get lost." Ghetsis faced his parents, causing their illusions to fade away.
"I-Impossible...he has no fear..." Sombra was absolutely perplexed. He has never come across anyone who had no fear within them. Not even a smidge of it.
Because of this, the Dark Magic that Sombra mentioned actually decided to reveal itself by its own will. The same Dark Magic that Sombra himself wields.
The Dark Magic had actually responded to Ghetsis. That is why it came out by itself without anyone needing to summon it. The Dark Magic could feel Ghetsis's level of fearmongering and pure malice, hatred baneful aura. It could tell that this amount of darkness was greater than Sombra.
Thus, the Dark magic chose Ghetsis as it slowly flew over to him.
"The Dark Magic...it chose you?" Sombra stammered.
"Hmph." Ghetsis smirked as he held his hand out, grabbing a hold of the tiny spark of dark magic. Once he grabbed it, it had become a part of him.
All the malevolent and maleficent magic was pouring into Ghetsis, mixing with the Rift energy he currently had within him. His dark aura increased in size as cosmic stardust was starting to flow out. With all this energy being exerted, the void that Sombra had made was starting to break apart.
"No! No!" Sombra screamed.
Ghetsis's eyes flashed red as an explosion of darkness came out of his body, obliterating Sombra's dark void and freeing him. The orb of darkness that consumed Ghetsis had also been blown away as Hydreigon witnessed his trainer emerging from the smoke.
"Dreigon?"
Ghetsis was unharmed. In fact, he felt better than ever right now. Not only was he brimming with Rift energy. But now, he had magic within him. Something that only Fairy-Type trainers were capable of obtaining. But not only that, Ghetsis had become something greater. He had replaced Sombra.
Ghetsis had become the Embodiment of Fear itself.
"At least you were telling the truth." Ghetsis looked at his only arm, seeing how he was able to generate a ball of darkness now with just his will. He then looked down at Sombra's horn which was still there despite the Dark Magic leaving Sombra.
However, noticeably, the red colouring on the horn had faded away. Now it was just all black. Sombra no longer had his magic with him as he was weaker than ever.
"I'll put you out of your misery now." Ghetsis smirked.
"N-No. Please, Ghetsis." Sombra pleaded. "You and I are very alike! Both of us share a common goal! Together we can-"
But Ghetsis wasn't having any of it. Thus, he smashed his staff on the horn, shattering it into tiny little pieces. And thus, that was the end of this universes' King Sombra.
"Let's go, Hydreigon." Ghetsis returned his Hydreigon to his Poke Ball before opening up the gateway to Pyrestar's Universe.
His work here was done.
Pyrestar's Universe. The Harmonia Kingdom.
Ghetsis had returned. And with more to offer than ever. When passing through the gateway, Colress was already waiting there for him with important news.
But noticeably, when Ghetsis arrived, a flash of darkness came out of him. It was a way to signal that a new breed of magic had entered this universe. One that was very uncommon. But Ghetsis didn't know that. He was just here to continue his work.
"Colress. What have you discovered so far?"
"Something revolutionary, that's what." Colress adjusted his glasses. "But a quick question. What's that darkness surrounding you?"
"This?" Ghetsis looked at his arm, seeing how his body was overflowing with dark magic now. His aura wouldn't stop showing all of a sudden. "It's magic. And seems as if I have yet to fully control this newfound power of mine."
"Magic? You've obtained magic?!" Colress gasped.
"Certainly." Ghetsis raised a finger as he sent a tiny blast of darkness from his fingertips. The small blast ended up hitting the ceiling, leaving a fairly large hole through it.
"Oh my..." Colress's eyes widened as he backed away from Ghetsis.
"Hm." Ghetsis clenched his fist. "I might have to spend some spare time working on this. It's been a while since I've properly trained myself anyway. But enough of that. What did you find, Colress?"
"R-Right!" Colress quickly stood tall as he brought out his tablet. "While searching through many universes about our world, I found one particular universe that has a special type of Pokemon. The only one of its kind."
"Hoh?" Ghetsis approached the tablet, gazing right at it. He witnessed a humanoid Pokemon that had a shape that was familiar to him and Colress. It was an already existing Pokemon that is one half of a very rare Pokemon. And Ghetsis said its name clear as day. "Mewtwo?"
"This Mewtwo seems to be influenced by the power of a strange stone. But it doesn't seem to be a Mega Stone at all. This stone is also powered by what this universe calls the Synergy Burst Phenomenon."
"Synergy Burst Phenomenon?"
"It is both the name of the phenomenon and the verb for when it occurs, whereas the elevated state achieved by the Pokemon is known as their Burst Mode. And this Mewtwo is a result of it being possessed by a stone that holds that same energy. They call it a Shadow Synergy Stone. And the name of this Mewtwo is also named Shadow Mewtwo."
"Shadow Mewtwo, you say..." Ghetsis's interest had been skyrocketed.
"Years ago, we created our own Mewtwo as a result of an experiment of recombining Mew's genes. Much like what Team Rocket had done even longer in the past. Do you suppose we-"
"The answer's obvious." Ghetsis turned around. "We capture it. Much like other Legendaries that will soon be mine."
"Well, that's the expected reaction. When do we leave for Shadow Mewtwo?"
"I'll give it time. This is still Mewtwo after all. Caution is needed. In the meantime, I'll have enough time to work on this." Ghetsis held his harm out with dark magic flowing.
"Then I'll do the same. I still have some records and notes from the lab we created Mewtwo in." Colress bowed his head as he walked out of the throne room, off to his lab to read about potential major weaknesses about Mewtwo.
All the while, Ghetsis sat on his throne with his new and improved body. He looked the same but now he was overflowing with magic. Magic that he has yet to control. But it chose him over Sombra. Abandoning its original user for a greater force of darkness.
But Ghetsis himself knows that even with a ton of power, he can't get carried away with it. All forms of power need to be controlled and mastered. And with this dark magic, not only did it choose him, but it also changed the way it worked.
Sombra received an odd relation to crystals when utilizing it. Whatever Ghetsis will obtain is unknown and unaware to him. But it will be a horrifying force either way.
Many hours have passed.
With no one left to control the sun and moon since Pyrestar left, this world has been living in constant darkness for hours. The only light source in this world is the magic from the unicorns and some of the new lights added by Colress.
At this time, many of the unicorns are asleep. And most of Team Plasma is still awake. In fact, this entire world is mostly asleep. After centuries with no earth pony and pegasi around, a great silence had filled it for centuries upon centuries with seemingly no end.
The remaining unicorns were holding out for massive hope, hoping that Pyrestar will return and find a way to break the seal and restore this world to the way it truly was. Thankfully, there was a way.
But besides that, Ghetsis was still awake. To pass the time during the night, he either sits at the throne room, pondering or either head out to the Canterlot Gardens, which have greatly lost their greenery over the years.
Ghetsis came here for one reason. To test his newfound magic. He had already gained a good enough grasp of his other abilities such as opening up gateways and using his dark aura. So it made sense to try this third one out.
As the wind howled in the endless night, Ghetsis dropped his staff as he outstretched his arm out. That same dark aura came out of his hand as it was starting to vibrate. Ghetsis was about to pull off his first spell as he closed his eyes, gaining complete focus.
Black particles started coming out of the ground from beneath Ghetsis's feet. Canterlot Gardens was starting to tremble with Ghetsis's dark aura starting to intensify.
It wasn't just Canterlot Gardens. This universes' Canterlot was trembling as well. All the unicorns living here could feel a sudden tremor rumbling their homes as they had woken up, wondering what all that rumbling was.
And the same goes for Team Plasma, who were all caught off guard. The castle was being ruptured as well as Colress's lab. The shaking interrupted his work for him.
"Hmm..." Ghetsis could tell that he was making Canterlot tremble by concentrating. So, he decided to see how far he could push this. He concentrated his mind even further as everything started to intensify.
Beyond Canterlot, other cities and towns in Equestria were starting to tremble as well. Manehattan, Trottingham, Appleloosa and even this world's Ponyville. All locations that once used to be vibrant and healthy. Now they were barely even put together at this point.
And the trembling wasn't making things better as the residents in those cities and towns were starting to panic. They believed an attack was coming. After all, living like this for years has greatly traumatized them. But it was something far worse than attack.
Soon, Ghetsis's rumbling affected all of Equestria as his dark aura grew so much it could be seen from over the horizon with more black particles rising out. It was even going past Equestria and to other locations. And soon the world could feel this dark aura brimming everywhere.
But it wasn't just this world.
Equestria, Night.
"Ah!" Celestia sat up from her bed, gasping as she felt Ghetsis's dark aura all the way from another universe.
"Gardevoir?" Passion responded to Celestia's gasp.
"W-What is this?" Celestia's heart was beating fast when responding to Ghetsis's dark aura. And not only that, his dark magic. "It feels so familiar yet..."
She wasn't sure why this feeling was so familiar. She recognized it as Sombra's magic but at the same time, it wasn't. It was something new and different.
But malevolent and dark nonetheless.
Back in Pyrestar's world, Ghetsis could see that if he goes any further, he might ruin his kingdom at this point. So, he decided to put an end to his little focus session as he lowered his hand.
The black aura faded away while the particles vanished.
"Hm-hm-hm." Ghetsis let out a small chuckle. "Magnificent. Truly magnificent. All these opportunities that I'm receiving are truly spiralling in my favour. Becoming the Supreme Ruler doesn't seem too far away now. It's already within my reach."
And with that small chuckle out of the way, Ghetsis started laughing maniacally. He was truly feeling like the luckiest individual out there right now.
Aside from his defeat in Saddle Arabia, luck and fate have been seemingly siding with him. So many opportunities have been smiling for Ghetsis.
Day by day, he only progresses even further. With Dark Aura and Dark Magic at his disposal as well as the Legendary Reshiram and his amplified Hydreigon, the once already fearsome Ghetsis was now slowly becoming unstoppable at this point.
It was no wonder why Sombra's magic chose him. It chose a being who could truly be worthy of such malice, fear and horrific nature.
Currently, over at Aria and Sonata's house, a little argument and squabble were occurring. A fairly petty one too.
"Alright." Sonata slammed her hooves on the table, showing a very serious face for once. "Someone's gonna start fessing up right now?"
"What do you mean?" Aria asked.
"Last night, we ordered a large pie from SugarCube Corner," Sonata said.
"There we like, 8 slices, I think?" Aria scratched her mane. "For the two of us. You weren't here for it Adagio."
"Hm?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "What's this about?"
"Well, we sat here last night eating some pie. Four slices each." Aria replied.
"Mhm...4." Sonata narrowed her eyes. "How about I show which corners we ate first?"
"Ok. I ate this corner, right here." Aria placed her hoof on the first corner on the left.
"Sure did. Then I ate this one." Sonata went next, pointing her hoof at the corner that was opposite to Aria's. "She ate that one. And then I ate this one." Sonata began doing it over and over again, for each corner. "She at that one, I ate this one. She then skipped this one." Sonata pointed at another corner.
"Uh, well, you know, maybe I didn't want that one!" Aria stammered.
"You skipped it right in front of my eyes!" Sonata bellowed. "Stood up and took mine from my corner!"
"Nuh-huh! I didn't take anything from there!" Aria began rambling and defending herself.
"You reached right for it and took my slice!"
"Hold on!" Adagio paused them. "Was her side bigger?" She asked Sonata
"No, it was smaller! That's why I took it!" Aria pointed her hoof at Sonata.
"Aria. Family rules. You should've eaten the pie on your end of the table." Adagio explained.
"Family rules?! I can take any piece I want!"
"No, you cant!" Sonata growled. "That was yours in front of you! You did this even back when were still sirens!"
"Oh yeah?! You're the one who took my half!" Aria snapped back.
"What?! No, I didn't!"
"Yes, you did!"
"Pah! I ate my side!" Thus, the argument could fully begin as Adagio looked left and right, watching her sisters bicker against each other. It was actually fueling her magic up a little bit. "It was you that ate my side!"
"Yeah right! I ate this side the right way! You're the one who took my side so it's only fair I take yours!"
"Stay on your side!" Sonata bellowed as she grabbed a pillow, threatening to throw it at Aria.
"You've got issues over pies!" Aria backed away, hiding behind the bed.
"It's not proper Pie Etiqquete!" Sonata threw the pillow.
"What do you know about etiquette?!"
"Aria, I swear I'm going to-"
"It's just a pie!"
"You're wrong Aria! It's not just a pie! It's-"
"Hey! Slow down you two!" Adagio stopped them from tearing each other apart. "I understand you're both upset over the great Pie Caper. But let's just relax..."
"I ain't upset." Aria scoffed. Their argument came to an end since it was something so trivial and small. And at that same time, Sunset Shimmer came through the door.
"I heard a ton of shouting in here? Is everypony okay?"
"We're fine." Sonata grinned before shifting her eyes at Aria with scorn. "Pie thief...!"
"Oh give it a rest." Aria groaned.
"Um...okay then." Sunset scrunched her face. "Well, I just came here wondering if you all would like to come along and watch a Pokemon Talent Show. It's due in 5 days and there'll be stuff like singing, dr-"
"Singing?!" The Dazzlings each screamed at the same time, dashing over to Sunset and getting up in her face.
"Uh...y-yeah..." Sunset stuttered.
"Yes please!" Sonata nodded her head aggressively.
"I need this for Popplio!" Aria stated.
"I need to win whatever reward there is..." Adagio grinned.
"Huh. Seems like you're all in instantly."
"Of course, we are." Adagio flipped her mane. "Singing is our life, after all. We'll seize any opportunity to partake in it."
"Can our Pokemon be involved?" Aria held Popplio in her hooves.
"Popplio!"
"Well, it's apparently between trainers and Pokemon so yeah. It's a talent show after all. If you three are planning on teaming up together for it then, go ahead."
"Excellent!" Adagio rubbed her hooves together. "What's the reward?"
"Well...you get a very nice looking trophy and a lot of bits or Pokedollars out of it. And other stuff that you might like."
"Hm...Eh. A trophy sounds nice. We're blitzing that talent show for sure. Get ready you two. The Dazzlings are making an amazing comeback!" Adagio grinned.
"Kricketot!" Kricketot popped out of Adagio's mane.
"And...a few extra members." Adagio looked up at her partner.
"Well, you're gonna have to work extra hard on a new song. Because there might be trainers who can best you," said Sunset. "Just saying."
"Pssh! No one is beating us in terms of music!" Adagio narrowed her eyes as she stared at Sunset. But from how Sunset Shimmer was smirking, she was instantly reminded of how they lost the Battle of the Bands. "...Almost anyone."
"What do we sing though?" Aria wondered.
"Hm...We only know songs about brainwashing and control. Not sure those would work anymore." Adagio sighed.
"Oh! How about some Pokemon songs?! That might be really good!" Sonata gasped.
"Pokemon songs sound interesting enough. But what do we make it out of? Types?"
"Uh..." Sonata was looking for ideas. Her eyes moved around the room, but so far, there wasn't anything here they could make a song of. All she knew was that it had to be Pokemon themed. "How about...?" Her eyes then turned to the outside.
And usually, outside, Ash is there. Either chatting, battling or just helping out like he normally does. Speaking of which, yet again, he was in a Pokemon World Championships match. "Ash!" Sonata exclaimed.
"Ash?" Adagio and Aria looked out at the window, witnessing Ash's current Championship battle. It was his Lucario against a trainer's Solrock.
"Solrock! Overheat!" The trainer commanded.
"Sol...!" The Meteorite Pokemon body glowed red as fire surrounds its body. Solrock then unleashed a big stream of fire from its body. "Rock!"
"Lucario! Aura Sphere!"
"Ca!" Lucario held one ball of Aura Sphere out as he used it as a shield. Overheat came flying forward as Lucario's Aura Sphere managed to hold it in place. "Lucario!" Lucario then increased the size of Aura Sphere by a small bit.
But that small size increase was enough to utterly overpower Overheat as the ball of aura flew through the stream of fire, heading straight for Solrock.
"Solrock?!" Solrock gasped as it had been struck by Aura Sphere while Overheat had been destroyed by it as well. "Rock!"
"Now, Force Palm!"
"Lucario!" Lucario advanced with his palm glowing orange.
"Quick! Stop them with Shadow Ball!"
Sol!" Solrock shook its head as it quickly generated a blob of shadows in front of it. The Rock-Psychic-Type then fired a shadowy blob straight at the Aura Pokemon.
"Lu!" But, Lucario front flipped over the Shadow Ball, dodging it as he smashed his palm onto Solrock's body from above. "Ca!"
"S-Solrock!" An explosion of energy happened afterwards from Force Palm connecting as Lucario jumped back, sliding next to Ash.
"Oh! Solrock!" The trainer gasped. The smoke was clearing as her Solrock had fainted.
"Solrock..."
"Solrock is unable to battle! Lucario wins! Thus, the winner is Contestant Ash!" The Rotomdrone said.
"Nice, Lucario!"
"Pikachu!"
"Lucario."
"Just when I trained my Solrock to fight against its weaknesses..." The trainer sighed. "Oh well. Good job, anyway, Solrock."
"Sol."
"Yeah, Ash!" Scootaloo and Pinkie Pie cheered.
"Based on the results of this battle, the Pokemon World Championships rankings will be updated!" The Rotomdrone flew off, leaving this world like always.
Ash and the trainer shook hands, complementing each other with an enjoyable battle. They bid their farewell as the trainer returned to her world with her Solrock.
And as always, the Dazzlings and Sunset Shimmer got to witness this. It seems that whenever they look out the window, a championship match is always happening.
But besides that, looking at Ash is what inspired Sonata.
"We make a song about Ash!" Sonata said.
"A song about Ash? Really?" Aria began thinking about it. "Hm...Ash does have a lot going for him."
"He sure does! We can sing about how he wants to be a Pokemon Master and all that! That's what we'll do!" Sonata declared.
"Hey! I'm the leader of this band!" Adagio interrupted. "And I decided what song we'll come up with!"
"Okay. Have you come up with a song?" Sonata crossed her hooves with a confident smirk.
"Uh...wel...no...Most of them are just about brainwashing..." Adagio sighed.
"Mhm." The energetic siren nodded her head.
"Even if we do make a song about his whole Pokemon Master goal, wouldn't he have to be the one singing as the lead? I'm not having any of that." Adagio shook her head.
"We can just sing it for him in 3rd person." Sonata hopped off the bed. "He doesn't have to. Besides, I'm not sure that Ash can sing. Can he?"
"He can sing," Aria replied. "That lullaby to his Pikachu's pretty good on the ears."
"How about you ask him, first?" Sunset suggested.
"Good thinking!" Sonata zoomed out of the house, rushing off to ask Ash if they could make a song about him. All the while, Ash was gearing up to do something else for the day, like he always does.
"Hmph. I still think it should be a song about us." Adagio puffed her cheeks. "It's probably not going to be that creative. I mean, what kind of song can you make out of a goal?"
"Hey, Ash!" Sonata slid in front of him.
"Hm? Yeah, what's up, Sonata?" Ash asked.
"Just a quick question. You know that Pokemon Talent Show contest that's coming up soon?"
"Oh yeah! Everyone's super psyched about it." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Yeah. So...my sisters and I are gonna join it and do some singing. And we were wondering, well I was wondering if you'd like it if we made a song about you."
"A song about me?"
"Pika?"
"Mhm! We've got a lot to work on with you, ya know! You're gonna be a Pokemon Master, right?"
"The greatest master of them all." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Right! That's what we wanna do! If that's okay with you that is."
"Sure is. You can go ahead and do that." Ash was fine with them making a song about his goal to become a Pokemon Master.
"Great! But uh...could you maybe...write the song for us? We don't know too much about you aside from a few things. Or you could sing with us too if you want."
"Write the song? Uh..." Ash scratched his hair. "I don't know. I've never written a song before."
"That's where we come in." Pinkie appeared on Ash's shoulder.
"Pinkie?" Ash turned to face Pinkie Pie.
"We know a lot about Ash. A looooooot. If you want somepony to write you some songs, then you can count on us."
"Wait, us?" Scootaloo noticed that Pinkie was looking at her.
"You've got a Fanclub for Ash, don't you?" Pinkie said. "We can use that too."
"Oh...I gotcha."
"Perfect! How does that sound you two?" Sonata turned to face her sisters who were looking out the window.
"Fine by me." Aria went with it.
"Whatever." Adagio was neutral with it.
"It's a good thing we also got some stuff about Ash from his mom too." Pinkie hopped off Ash's shoulder. "Trust me. This song's gonna be so worth it when the talent show comes around."
The decision had been made. It would be the song about a Future Pokemon Master. They figured that writing the song in 1st person over 3rd person would actually work more efficiently. Besides, everyone knows who Ash is and what he wants to be so they'll understand.
To make this type of song, Pinkie Pie was the one who wrote the lyrics for them while Ash shared more information about himself. And as a bonus, the rest of their friends chimed in.
5 days later. The Pokemon Talent Show was here.
Enough planning and practice had been made to prepare for this day. For everyone that was taking part in this. The three judges of this talent show were Princess Celestia, Luna and the Pokemon Weekly reporter Eli.
The song about Ash had shifted from the whole Pokemon Master motif into something more simple and less extravagant. The one who simplified it was Ash himself.
"I can't believe we actually went with this..." Adagio groaned as she and her sisters were already dressed for the occasion with the song fully ready. "Why does it have to be about him, anyway?"
"We didn't really have too many options," Aria said. "Besides. Most of our songs wouldn't really slide well with everypony here."
"It's gonna be a smash hit! And maybe later, we can make a song about you Adagio! When we get home."
"Hmph. I would like that." Adagio smiled. "If we hadn't chosen to make a song about Ash, we would've probably had a perfect song about how amazing I am."
"Just you?" Aria squinted her eyes.
"Who else?" Adagio laughed. "Although...this song isn't so bad. What was it called again? Type Wild? What happened to the whole Pokemon Master shtick we were going for before?"
"Eh...it was way too difficult." Aria placed Popplio down. "Plus, Ash isn't really one for being a huge showoff anyway. It's why he changed it."
"Don't worry. This Type Wild song's just as good. It's definitely gonna beat out everyone here in the talent show." said Sonata.
"It'd better. I need that trophy! Just imaging me holding it while everyone adores me for my amazing talent!"
"You mean our talent?" Aria corrected.
"Oh, right. Sure."
While the Dazzlings prepare themselves, everyone else already took their seat. Ash was in the crowd, waiting for this show to start. The part he was looking forward to wasn't actually the song about him. He was way more excited about other parts.
"Looking forward to your part, Ash?" Twilight asked.
"Hm? Yeah. But I'm really looking forward to that acrobatics part! I'm so pumped!"
"Pikachu!"
"What a shame." Rarity sighed. "I made so many preparations for so long. I didn't enter in time. Oh well. At least there's a second one confirmed to be arriving in 2 months." "So, it's about you aiming to become a Pokemon Master, right?" Twilight questioned.
"Nah. I changed it up. It's mostly about my journeys." Ash answered. "It's nice to hear something nostalgic you know."
"Oh, it's starting!" Pinkie Pie pointed out. It was indeed starting as the lights had turned off. The Talent Show could finally begin.
And there was a lot to be seen and experienced. Good or bad. But either way, it'll be a day to remember. And it will all take place in the same room where Shining Armor and Cadence married. Good enough space.
It started off simple with multiple statues of many Pokemon trainers and some Pokemon. All of the statues were lined up as they had the appearance of citizens of old-timey ponies. And they were all surrounding one statue in the middle that seemed to be a queen sitting on a throne and holding a Poke Ball in her hoof.
"Hm." Celestia narrowed her eyes while looking at the statues. And so did everyone else here. They thought that someone had just placed some random old statues from somewhere on the stage and just called it a day. But in fact, they didn't.
Because after 7 seconds, bells were starting to ring as everyone across the room heard the bells ringing. But they couldn't exactly tell where it was coming from. Although, Audino could.
"Is this part of the act?" Luna navigated her head around.
"You think they're alive...?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Nah. No way. Look at how rusty they are..." Applejack whispered back. "Probably been sitting out somewhere for years, I bet."
Everyone else thought that they were just normal statues. From how rusty they were and the fact that one of the statues was starting to come off with small stones falling to the floor. Only a statue would do that.
Until one of the heads moved.
"Oh!" Everyone shot up after witnessing the head move to the right at an instant speed. They even heard a neck crack. And after that one head moved, the other statues started to move as well.
One by one, all the surrounding statues were moving their heads. The ones on the left moved their heads to the right while the ones on the right moved theirs to the left.
Their rusted bodies were actually starting to transform right before everyone's eyes. Multicoloured lights started to emanate out of them as the statue of the queen in the middle shined brighter than them all. The light was a bit blinding since it was growing as everyone covered their eyes.
The multi-coloured lights engulfed all the statues and the stage before fading away. Once the multicoloured lights faded away, the statues had gained a new texture. Gone were the hard-rusted-stone texture. Now, the statues were made out of golden diamonds that radiated across the room.
And as for the statue in the middle which radiated the most colours, it was actually revealed to be Gothitelle dressed like a queen. It was a pony shell this entire time. And all the other pony statues broke their shells, revealing to be a group of Bisharps instead.
"Oooh!" Everyone was impressed by the sight of this.
"Ah! A shining Queen Gothitelle and a guard of Bisharps!" Celestia recognized what this was meant to be. "Excellent!"
"Uh-uh!" Eli stood up. "It's radical, that's for sure!"
"S-So are they statues or not? How are they shining? And did they break their shells? Is that size even accurate at all?" Luna wondered.
"Sure did." Just then, behind the statues of Gothitelle and Bisharps, the ponies who were modelled after the statues had revealed themselves by walking to the side.
And the main one in the front was none other than Trixie. She had entered the talent show while keeping herself in disguise until the act was over. And appearing above her was none other than Misdreavus, who might be the explanation behind the shells.
Maybe.
"How's that?" Trixie grinned as she had just pulled off her best trick yet. And her Pokemon played a major part in it.
She had modelled the statues after other ponies she had met before. Just with different clothing. And their Pokemon merely replicated that. That certainly confused and impressed everyone watching.
"Well then..." Luna's jaw dropped. "That's certainly never leaving my head...But it was a treat to experience either way. Well done you all!"
"Well done is right. Golden diamond statues disguised as ponies and Pokemon in such a way? That takes heavy thinking. I know my mind and eyes are a bit perplexed right now.
"I couldn't tell what was real or fake with that. Good stuff!" Eli gave a thumbs up.
"Chatot! Good stuff!" His Chatot repeated after him.
Thank you!" Trixie each said as the Pokemon also stood up. They were actually alive as they now had a golden diamond body radiating multiple colours. But there was one final surprise.
In truth, there weren't actually any Bisharps in the group. They were just Zorua's and a single Zoroark in disguise. So, the crowd and judges have been tricked one last time. That definitely deserved thunderous applause. Which is what they received.
"Beat that everypony," Trixie smirked as she and her Pokemon walked back to the stage, knowing that they really put on a show.
"Holy moly..." Sonata's jaw dropped. "How are we gonna compete against that?!"
"Not sure singing's gonna top something like that..." Aria said, starstruck.
"Grr...!" Adagio bit her hoof. "Don't mind that! We can still have a chance! We're not just going to sing casually after all. That's why we brought these." Adagio used her magic to hold up three buckets of water. That Popplio of yours better manipulate all this water in the right way. Just like we practised.
"She will," Aria replied. "But it's gonna be tough to beat that..."
"Pssh. Nothing can beat music..." Adagio scoffed, having great faith in their victory. "You'll see."
With that act out of the way, the other acts could be played out. Everyone had something they could bring to the table. Whether it was dancing and comedy ventriloquism, acrobatics, which is what Ash was looking forward to and he was not disappointed or even just singing, some acts may have had similar themes but they were all different in their own way.
And as acts kept coming and going, it was gradually building up to the Dazzlings, who were nervous themselves. They could see how everyone was pulling off impressive feats that could easily match and possibly surpass their singing. The first act alone was by far the flashiest one of them all so far.
They were so nervous that their hearts were beating rapidly. Usually, they're up for any chance to sing. But in a competition with such impressive performers and the fact that their singing isn't as wonderful as it used to be anymore, the thing they love doing the most was now making them a bit fearful.
All except for Adagio, who had 100% confidence in herself.
And once the current act finished, it was the Dazzling's turn to perform.
"Alright, you two. No time to be weak in the knees," said Adagio. "Time for us to shine again. Kricketot. Get ready to sing. And Aria. You and your Popplio better be ready to put on a show, alright?"
"Kricketot!
"Popplio."
"O-Okay!" Aria and Sonata nodded. Their sister sparked some courage in them as everyone was waiting for the next act to arrive.
Their names had been announced. It was showtime. With the buckets of water for Popplio being grabbed along. Kricketot hopped out of Adagio's mane as the show lights had been turned on. The music in the background was ready to be played as it had been made by Delia who helped out with writing the song as well. She knows her son very well after all.
The Dazzlings stood on the stage as everyone was looking forward to this new act. They were all having the time of their life so they were expecting more fun with this act.
The music began to play as the Dazzlings started their song with Popplio humming along with the music, slowly manipulating the water. Kricketot joined in with his own singing too.
Remembering the days I trained hard and I played in our Pallet Town.
The water of Popplio transformed into a figure of Ash and Pikachu in their early days. When they first started on their journey. Popplio also made the water figures run to show Ash and Pikachu progressing with their journey.
Feeling so proud of the friends I made Knowing that our goals are the same.
The water then made a figure of Misty and Brock as well, running alongside Ash and Pikachu alongside a Togepi water figure in Misty's hands.
The sneakers that I wear the coolest of all pair Take me everywhere You'll only find them in Pallet Town Worn out but the best you will find They help me get through my journeys Time after time.
The water figures then transformed. This time, showing more of Ash's companions along with his Pokemon. It showed all of his Kanto Pokemon, transitioning into his Johto Pokemon. A figure of Tracey had also shown up next to Misty and Brock.
And before you know it..........TYPE: WILD! Gonna reach my goal.............TYPE: WILD! Keep on going............TYPE: WILD! Gonna be strong...........TYPE: WILD!
Travelling by day, competing along the way Is my history.
Popplio then replicated a Pokemon battle with the water, showing Pikachu battling against other Pokemon with Ash making commands. It also showed Ash winning the Orange League many years ago and battling against his first rival and childhood friend Gary.
No guides or maps to tell me where I'm going My heart just leads the way.
Then, it shifted from Johto to Hoenn, showing Ash in a brand new outfit along with new Pokemon and new companions. It showed his Hoenn Pokemon, May, Max and Brock next. It also showed Ash and them surfing on waves to replicate the many water adventures they had during Hoenn. It even showed the Battle Frontier. Something that nopony has yet to see.
Friends I made while travelling Help me to keep going.
After Hoenn, it showed Sinnoh, bringing in all of Ash's Sinnoh Pokemon, Dawn and Brock alongside their Pokemon too. Ash's outfit changed once more. The water figures then displayed Ash's gruelling battle with his other fierce rival, Paul. And of course, it showed one very particular trainer with a very strong Darkrai and Latios as well. That was its own little story that was major.
A master is what I'm gonna be I'm getting there but not easily
The water figures then ascended, showing Ash through his time in Unova. His newest companions, Iris and Cilan were created along with their own Pokemon and Ash's Unova Pokemon. It showed Meloetta too and when she first met Ash, along with Victini and the Swords of Justice and beyond.
But I can't stop Trying to be what I wanna be.
The water figures then accelerated, showing Ash's Kalos journey. It showed off his Kalos Pokemon with the addition of Serena, Clemont and Bonnie. His newest companions. It then showed Ash and his Greninja transforming together into Ash-Greninja. It also showed Ash's battle against his other rival Alain and his fearsome Charizard X.
And before you know it..........TYPE: WILD! Gonna reach my goal.............TYPE: WILD!
The water figures then shifted into Ash's Alola journeys, showing off his Alola Pokemon and a larger cast of friends this time. Lillie, Mallow, Kiawe, Lana and Sophocles alongside Professor Kukui and Professor Burnet. It showed his entire second family. It even showed off his time wining the Alola League and Pikachu's Ultimate Z Move.
Keep on going............TYPE: WILD! Gonna be strong...........TYPE: WILD!
And then, the water figures showed every iteration of Ash all lined up together, running alongside each other. Kanto in the front with Alola all the way in the back. It also showed water figures of every Legendary and Mythical Pokemon Ash has met as well as all the Gym Leaders and champions too.
And before you know it..........TYPE: WILD! Gonna reach my goal.............TYPE: WILD! Keep on going............TYPE: WILD! Gonna be strong...........TYPE: WILD!
Then, they all slowed down. All of Ash's iterations were then transforming into one single Ash. The current day Ash, showing off his current outfit, Pokemon and his friends from both the Pokemon World and Equestria.
For I know, this will be reality So follow all your dream.
And thus, the water splashed down as the song had ended with Popplio's singing coming to an end too. The buckets of water were almost empty. Popplio laid on her back as she was exhausted after using that much water.
"P-Popplio..."
"Oh, that's one way to do a song!" Celestia sat up as everyone in the crowd was applauding. "A trip down memory lane, I presume."
"Mhm." Sonata nodded. "It took us a long time to get every little thing down. Well, actually...we didn't get everything. We missed out on some stuff."
"But we got a good amount," said Aria. "I know that was nostalgic for a certain someone sitting in the crowd."
"I certainly felt it too," Luna spoke. "Not sure why. It just had a nostalgic feeling to it. And I do enjoy nostalgia, honestly."
"I got to see water variants of certain champions and Legendary and Mythical Pokemon. A real radical experience that was." Eli gave a thumbs up. "Nice work manipulating all that water!"
"Chatot! Nice work!"
"Heh," Adagio smirked, flipping her mane. "Naturally. When it comes to singing, everyone can't help but be amazed."
"Kricketot!"
"Good job." Ash and Pikachu were without a doubt feeling nostalgic after seeing all of that. It really took him and Pikachu back.
"Pikachu!"
Roaring applause is what they wanted to hear. And they received it as Aria and Sonata let out sighs of relief. With their act over, they could leave the stage and let the remaining performs come on.
"Hmph. That wasn't so difficult now, was it?" Adagio laughed.
"Easy for you to say..." Sonata sighed as she fell flat on her face.
"Great job, Popplio. Songstress Primarina would be proud if she was here," said Aria.
"Popp!"
"We have to win that trophy at this rate." Adagio sat down. "First place must be within our sights."
"We could get the second place prize. Could be better than the trophy." Aria suggested.
"Pssh. What's better than a trophy?" Adagio scoffed. "Now, we wait for it to be over."
Confident in their victory, mostly Adagio, the Dazzlings waited for the result as other performers continued to go on to showcase their act.
2 hours later.
After many acts, the decision had been made. There would be a certified 1st place winner in all of this. And of course, 2nd and 3rd place too. All the way up to 6th place.
Only 6 finalists were chosen based on the audience's decision. Those finalists were the Trixie who were responsible for the statue act, a ventriloquist, the Dazzlings, another singer, the acrobat Ash was looking forward to, and a detective of all things.
"Alright. We've had two a million half votes that have been counted by everypony here," said Celestia. "Time to reveal the results."
"Let me." Luna took the results paper. "We'll go in reverse order. That makes it more climactic. The 6th place act in the final Pokemon Talent Show is..."
Everyone, especially the finalists held their breath in. Adagio's teeth were clattering as she was actually getting nervous right now. Even when she tried to play it off like she wasn't worried.
"Cloverstreams and her solo singing act," Luna said as everyone applauded. "What a shame...that was my favourite. In 5th place...Foam and his ventriloquist act."
Foam bowed his head along with his Slowbro puppet which actually turned out to be a real Slowbro that was controlling Foam instead.
"Hm." Luna let out a small chuckle from seeing that. "In 4th place...The Blue Unicorns and their acrobatics act."
Adagio's heart was slowing down as the numbers were decreasing. She was hoping she wouldn't be the third to be called out along with her sisters.
"In 3rd place...Makeshift and his detective act." Luna continued as it was now coming down to the wire. "And in 2nd...The Dazzlings for their musical tribute act."
There it was. Adagio had been hit by hearing those words. 2nd place. She was so close to reaching the very top. The beautiful number one. But it wasn't happening.
Except, it went to somepony else. And considering there was one who hasn't had their name called out, it was clear who the winner was.
"And for 1st place. Trixie Lulamoon and her Golden Diamond Statue Act!" Trixie was declared the winner alongside her Pokemon. And with the first-place winner being declared, the loudest applause filled the room by far.
"Yes!" Trixie jumped as she hugged her Misdreavus. "Success!"
"Misdreavus!"
All the finalists clapped for Trixie's victory. They played well. But it was clear that Trixie's act was the most favourable out of them all. Aria and Sonata clapped too. And even though Adagio lost, she didn't let it affect her too much.
She shifted her eyes to the left, letting out a frown as she also clapped. But her clapping was lighter than everyone else's. She knew when to accept defeat. Sometimes anyway.
"With that. Let's hand out those prizes." Celestia used her magic to bring out the 6 prizes for the 6 winners.
1st place was obviously the golden trophy along with over 500,000 bits and Pokedollars. 2nd place was a silver trophy with 300,000 bits and Pokedollars. 3rd was bronze with 200,000. 4th was a chance to be on a premium cruise on the Royal Unova with 100,000, 5th was a ticket to an exclusive vacation resort in the Alola Region with 90,000 and 6th was a shining certificate that was a bit too big to fit in a house plus a total of 80,000.
All in all. Pretty fair. Everypony had something major they could use.
Everypony was handed their rewards as Trixie held the trophy close to her. Adagio looked at the silver trophy, holding it with her magic. After thinking about it, the 2nd place prize wasn't so bad. It showed that she and her sisters were very close to utter victory. But she was still jealous.
"Hmph." Adagio scoffed. "I'll take it. I did want to be adored anyway."
"Sorry we didn't win 1st place, Adagio," said Sonata. "We know you were really shooting for it."
"Yeah. Guess we still need practice for our singing." Aria spoke.
"It's fine." Adagio shrugged. "It's not too big of a deal. Besides, I had fun singing with you two again. Honestly, that's all that matters."
"Aww!" Sonata and Aria gushed as they rushed over to hug their big sister.
"H-Hey!" Adagio growled. "Not in front of a huge crowd! Get off!"
The first Pokemon Talent Show in Canterlot had ended. Everyone was now heading home. Adagio carried the reward with her magic as her little sisters helped out.
"We may have come 2nd in this one...but next time, we'll certainly achieve gold." Adagio still had high hopes. "By that time, the two of you will have your perfect singing voices back. Right?"
"Uh...Maybe?" Sonata squeed.
"Don't count on it too much," said Aria.
"Whatever. Besides that, it feels wonderful to be adored yet again. I mean, did you see the look on their faces during our performance? It's no wonder why we came in 2nd."
"Pretty sure they were just looking at the water." Sonata let out a small laugh as Adagio growled. "I can bet Ash liked that though."
"He'd better. Making a song about him wasn't my preferred choice but it was surprisingly entertaining." Adagio replied. "For his sake, I hope he's grateful."
"It's Ash. He sure is." Aria already knew. And with the sun setting,, the three sisters babbled along and had their usual petty squabble along the way while heading home.
Cold and Jade, joined by Krookodile and nocturnal Pokemon, were on Nightwatch again while everyone else in Ponyville is fast asleep.
Cold Colt was watching from the balcony of Twilight's castle while Jade sat outside SugarCube Corner. So far, there was nothing out of the ordinary tonight. Everything seemed fine from what they could observe. Cold had Twilight's binoculars for extra vision.
"Seems good out here." Cold said, navigating the binoculars. He was treated with the sight of some nighttime shenanigans between Pokemon. But it wasn't anything troublesome. Just some Pokemon messing around.
"Absol." Of course, Absol was awake. That was no surprise. He acted as Twilight's ultimate bodyguard in every situation now. Absol had just recently received himself a Mega necklace for his Absolite.
But, with seemingly nothing unusual happening at night, it was only a matter before something showed up that would puzzle Cold and Jade. And it would come straight from their friends.
As the wind was howling through Ponyville, Cold and Jade spotted a very familiar Pokemon walking by. One that already belonged to one of their friends.
That Pokemon was Chikorita. Belonging to Fluttershy, of course.
She was currently outside on her own in the night without Fluttershy by her side. There was one logical reason for that. Yet again, Chikorita was sleepwalking.
"Chikorita?" Cold and Jade both said from different heights.
"Absol?"
"Chiko..."
And as always, when Chikorita starts sleepwalking, she isn't alone. Audino was also seen awake at night. Obviously taking care of Chikorita to keep her out of harm's way.
However, this time, Audino had little energy left in her to keep up with Chikorita, even when sleepwalking. She also had scratches on her. Something must've clearly happened during Chikorita's sleepwalking instance as Audino was breathing heavily.
"What's going on?" Cold increased the sight of the binoculars. Even though Audino was struggling to keep up with Chikorita. She wasn't alone herself.
Krookodile, who was obviously awake, had come along to help Audino grab Chikorita and head back home with her. But, oddly enough, even he had scratches on him. And he wasn't even tired.
"Wonder what happened to them?" Jade wondered. Cold decided to come outside of the castle, curious himself as to what happened to Audino and Krookodile.
"K-Krookodile..." Krookodile took a moment to catch his breath.
"A-Audino..." Audino fell on her knees. All the while, Chikorita kept on walking. This time, Chikorita's sleepwalking gave her a sense of instinct.
When she came across a tree, her instincts kicked in, causing her to walk around it. These instincts made her avoid Audino and Krookodile, even though she was walking at a slower pace than them. At least, before they had the scratches around them.
Chikorita was only getting further away from Audino and Krookodile at this point as Cold and Jade walked over to the two exhausted Pokemon.
"You two okay?" Jade asked.
"Is Chikorita sleepwalking?" Cold said.
"A-Audino..." Audino nodded as Jade and Cold helped her and Krookodile up.
"Dile..."
Jade's body was emanating a faint glow of Rift energy as she once again used that ability to understand Pokemon speech without her even knowing about it.
"Ah. So that's what happened." Jade understood.
"Rita..." From the direction she was facing, it looked like Chikorita was heading for Lapras Lake.
"Probably been a huge hassle for you two. No need to worry." Cold walked over to Chikorita. "I'll bring her back home no problem."
By using heavy caution and absolute silence since it's a bad idea to wake a sleepwalker up, Cold Colt was going to use his magic to grab her and bring her back to the Pokemon House.
However, this is where the unexpected could actually reveal itself. It wasn't going to be so easy to bring Chikorita back. Not because of her sleepwalking.
But because of what Cold Colt is capable of now.
Once he used his magic on Chikorita, the full potential of what he was capable of had been revealed. From both Cold and Chikorita, a gigantic orb of Rift energy had emerged.
This orb of Rift energy formed into a dome, encasing Chikorita, Cold Colt, Jade Skies, Audino and Krookodile all in one. Everyone, except for Chikorita, widened their eyes as they felt like they were being blown back by this sudden emergence of cosmic energy. The only one not inside was Absol since he was far away from the scene right now.
This is what the Rift was expecting when it unlocked Cold Colt's full potential. It was expecting Cold to use his magic on something that really mattered.
And Chikorita was one of them. For one specific reason. And it had something to do with her leaf.
"What's happening?" Jade said, trying to sound surprised, but she couldn't considering her lack of emotions.
"I-I didn't know!" Cold looked around the dome. "I was just going to grab her and-"
"Audino?"
"Krook?"
"Chikorita..." And despite this dome of cosmic energy showing up and making supernatural and otherworldly sounds, Chikorita was still asleep.
"Can't you stop it? It's your magic after all."
"I-I can try. Let me see if I can lower it." Cold, unsure of whether this dome was safe or dangerous, couldn't take any chances. Plus, he didn't want to wake anyone up at this time. Especially Chikorita.
He attempted to use his magic to lower or get rid of the dome. However, just like what the Rift planned, it was time for Cold Colts true potential to show itself. When doing everyday ordinary actions like picking something up or opening a door, his magic isn't out of the ordinary and seems normal.
However, when it comes to something like this, it's taken to the next level. The unpredictable nature of Rift energy had been accelerated to its maximum capabilities without Cold knowing. Even with his full potential unlocked, he still couldn't control it all. In fact, now he had less control than he used to before.
Thus, his attempt to lower the dome was a failure. Instead, his magic resulted in a teleportation spell. His first one since he had never done a teleportation spell before.
Everyone around him had their bodies surrounded by cosmic energy as a signal that they were about to be involved with teleportation. And Cold couldn't do anything to stop it. Neither did he know he was performing a teleportation spell. He still believed that he was lowering the dome.
When he wasn't.
And just like that, the dome inverted with an impulse as Cold, Chikorita, Audino, Krookodile and Jade had all been teleported out of Ponyville in a flash.
And there were only a few there to witness this. Absol and that same Noctowl that hangs around near Twilight's lab. Noctowl and the other nocturnal Pokemon had witnessed it with their own eyes. They had a lot to tell everyone in the morning.
"A-Absol?!"
"Noctowl."
But where did Cold and the others end up?
The teleportation actually sent them all to a location far away from Ponyville, that's for sure. The area that they had been sent to was another of the newer Pokemon exclusive locations in Equestria.
Known as Boldore Badlands.
A ravaged, barren wasteland with a desert-like appearance and a rough landscape, surrounded by ravaged grass and rocky hills. There is also a small fissure at the end of a large cliff. Along with the cliff, there were dry ravines and gullies too with one long canyon.
Here, many Rock and Ground-Types could be found. No other type was present. There were no Water-Types because of this area's condition.
The only other Pokemon Type that might be present here could be a Steel-Type. But that's about it. Other than that, it was a rough place to be in. And it didn't help that there is often also a strong wind that blows in one direction that has a high chance of showing up.
This is where Cold and others ended up as they all fell near the cliff.
"Ough!" Cold gasped as he was the first to fall. Everyone else ended up falling on him with Krookodile being second, Audino third, Jade fourth and Chikorita fifth, still sleepwalking.
"Ow." Jade made an unconvincing pain sound. But in truth, that fall actually did hurt her pretty badly.
"Chiko..." Chikorita simply walked off the pile of her friends, continuing to sleepwalk and wander off randomly somewhere in these dry badlands.
"H-How the...I didn't..." Cold looked at the badlands, perplexed that he even made him and everyone else appear here.
"Where are we?" Jade sat up as she got off the others. She looked around the area, observing and analyzing it for a bit.
"Audino..." Audino hopped off Krookodile.
"Cold. You teleported us to a badlands area?"
"I didn't mean to! I was just trying to get rid of the dome. But then this happened. My magic's not usually this unstable." Cold held his horn."
"Krookodile..." Krookodile himself felt a bit doozy right about now. He had just gotten the weight of everyone else off him by cracking his own back. It's a good thing that Krookodile barely gets tired, or else he would be a mess, especially considering where he is right now.
Oh! Chikorita!" Cold Colt put aside the thought of him suddenly using teleportation and creating that large dome out of nowhere. The most important matter was Chikorita.
Right now, Chikorita was sleepwalking in a highly dangerous area with incredibly high spots that no one would want to fall from. This is one of the worst places a sleepwalker could find themself in.
The sleepwalking Leaf Pokemon was currently heading straight for one of the ravines here. The ravines of the Boldore Badlands extended from main rivers back to tablelands about 700 feet and possibly higher.
"Eek!" Cold screeched as he ran after Chikorita to keep her from harm's way. But he couldn't rush it. Waking Chikorita up here would be a bad move. So he decided to trot at a medium pace instead of galloping. Plus, he might fall off the ravine if he went too fast. "Why now of all nights...?"
But Cold didn't have to worry too much. Her instincts will kick in for this, keeping Chikorita safe from any potential harm. At least, that seemed to be the case mostly. Because, while she did avoid the ravine by turning around, her instincts couldn't possibly fully protect her from what was coming for her and the others.
Since it was currently nighttime, many predators are out at this time, searching for prey to drag back with them. And one of those predators was Gliscor.
A whole group of them.
"Gliscor..."
Gliscor are Pokemon that dance silently through the sky and observes prey while hanging inverted from branches. When they approach their prey, they swoop and strike with critical attacks. Their flight is also soundless. They use their long tail to carry off their prey. Then their elongated fangs do the rest.
And they saw some perfect prey in the form of Chikorita as their golden eyes were glowing in the dark, hidden within the branches. They were eyeing down Chikorita who was heading to the lower lands of the Boldore Badlands.
They were waiting for the right opportunity, making sure to not make that much sound. Even though Chikorita was sleepwalking at the moment.
However, there was one individual who could obviously hear them. Audino could. Her feelers were picking up sounds coming straight from the wilted branches. Sounds of rustling and tail wagging, as if something was ready to pounce and strike.
"Audino?!" Audino gasped, recognizing those sounds to be Gliscor sounds. That's when she spotted the glowing gold eyes in the branches by following the direction of the sound.
The Gliscor eyes had also noticed Cold Colt, marking him as their second prey to strike and grab. Each of the Fang Scorp Pokemon only had 5 seconds to take their chance.
"Audino!" But Audino wasn't about to let that happen. She quickly ran to the direction Cold and Chikorita were heading, yelling as she was trying to warn them about the Gliscor in the trees.
"Krooko?" Krookodile certainly heard that.
"Hm? What is it, Audino?" Cold stopped as he turned around to face Audino. But it was too late for him to take the warning. It was a shame that Audino was a bit slow.
And an even bigger shame was that Gliscor was really fast. The time to strike was now as each of the Fang Scorp Pokemon burst out of the wilted branches, startling Cold Colt, but not Chikorita as she even slept through that.
"Gliscor!"
"Oh!" Cold gasped after being startled as he looked up to see the group of Gliscor now hovering above him.
"Scor!" With their prey startled, the Gliscor could move in and strike. Afterwards, there will be some dragging involved. The move they would use was Aerial Ace as two of them moved at blitzing speeds, heading straight for Chikorita and Cold.
"Krookodile!" Thankfully, there was a guardian here. Krookodile would protect them as he instantly dashed over, using Shadow Claw to block both Gliscor's and their claws as he himself made two claws out of shadows.
"Gli?"
"Krook!" Krookodile refused to let anyone get hurt. Especially when one of them was a dear friend of Audino as he slashed both Gliscor with Shadow Claw, sending the two of them flying.
"Scor!" The two Gliscor yelled as they flew past their brethren.
"Oh! Thanks, Krookodile!" Cold thanked.
"Dile!"
But now wasn't the time to pause. The other Gliscor obviously weren't too fond of their brethren being launched and harmed. Especially when they were hunting together in the night as tradition.
Naturally, the Gliscor all narrowed their eyes, showing strong signs of hostility at Krookodile, the one who attacked back as Audino ran to Cold and Chikorita's side.
"Audino!" Audino picked up Chikorita, holding her close. It's a good thing that Chikorita doesn't instantly wake up when being held during her sleepwalking.
"Gliscor!" With Krookodile now viewed as an enemy, the Gliscor all had a slight change of plans. Defeat Krookodile and deal with their prey later. Or maybe do both at the same time considering how many Gliscor there were.
The Gliscor charged in with most of them heading straight for Krookodile as Audino held both the Rift pony and Leaf Pokemon tight while Krookodile readied himself.
"Krookodile!" Krookodile would continue to use Shadow Claw, fending off the approaching Gliscor who were all collectively using Aerial Ace to deal super-effective damage.
They were all moving at ludicrous speeds, dashing all over the place that it was obviously difficult for Krookodile to keep up with all of them. Each of the Gliscor swiped and smashed their claws and tail onto Krookodile's body every time they flew by him, causing damage by turns.
They circled the Intimidation Pokemon
Krookodile, despite being pummeled by super-effective moves from multiple Gliscor, was able to catch some of them with Shadow Claw and either hitting them back or grabbing them with the Ghost-Type move.
"Dile!" With the ones that Krookodile had grabbed, he slammed them onto the ground while using his other claw to whack any approaching Gliscor.
But even Krookodile could only take so much punishment as his head was being repeatedly smacked by Aerial Ace while he held down some Gliscor with Shadow Claw.
"Oh, right!" Cold then remembered something that could greatly help Krookodile in this situation. "He took out his Poke Ball since he had a Pokemon of his own. "Go, Cubchoo!"
"Cubchoo!" The Chill Pokemon came out of the Poke Ball.
"Quick! Use Icy Wind on those Gliscor, go!"
"Cub..." Cubchoo held in his sneeze as he was about to use the move by sneezing. Which was certainly an interesting way to pull off an attack, that's for sure. Cubchoo had to be careful to not hit Krookodile since he's weak to Ice moves. Just like the Gliscor who were much weaker to it.
"Kroo!" Krookodile roared as he tossed some Gliscor into their brethren, knocking them out of the sky. He held his head, feeling the damage from Aerial Ace constantly smacking him.
"Choo!" The Chill Pokemon then sneezed, sending out a gust of chilled air that was aimed only at the Gliscor. An Ice-Type move was a massive red flag for the Gliscor considering their Ground-Flying-Typing.
Some of the Gliscor's backed away while most of them had been hit by Icy Wind. The gust of wind had engulfed them as it was starting to freeze each of the Fang Scorp Pokemon while sending them away from Cubchoo and the others since it was a moving gust of wind. Some had even fainted from Icy Wind.
"Scor!" The other Gliscor were made aware of this as they quickly realized that this wouldn't be easy prey to catch. Not wanting to be victims of an Ice-Type move, the remaining Gliscor all backed away.
But they weren't retreating.
Instead, they had other ways to knock out their prey. The remaining Gliscor were all collectively going to use the move Earthquake. And their synchronized laughing was a good indicator of that.
"Krook?"
"What are they planning?" Cold wondered.
"Cubchoo?"
"Gliscor!" Working as a team, all of the remaining Gliscor flew under the cliff that Krookodile and the others stood on. They were going to cause an earthquake on this entire cliff as their claws lit up.
Using Earthquake on a cliff is already a massive red flag as the results can be catastrophic. Beneficial for the Gliscor, not so much for Audino and the others.
That's when the sleepwalking Chikorita suddenly stopped moving. Her instincts were kicking in as she could tell that something cataclysmic was coming via her leaf vibrating. "Chiko..."
"Gli...Scor!" The Gliscor all smashed their claws onto the bottom of the cliff, pulling off the move Earthquake as white shockwaves began to rapidly move across the surface and bottom of the cliff.
"Krookodile?!" Krookodile and the others felt heavy amounts of trembling as they were starting to lose their balance. They noticed that the cliff was crumbling and could fall apart in just a few seconds.
"Not good." Jade tried to sound surprised, but she couldn't. But honestly, she was surprised and worried about the safety of her friends as she used her wings to grab Cold Colt and Cubchoo, taking them to the skies to prevent them from falling.
As for Audino, Krookodile and Chikorita, that was a different story. Jade couldn't possibly carry them all. Two was the maximum limit. So the three of them had to do something.
But they couldn't do anything against this. Instead, Krookodile decided to protect Audino and Chikorita by hugging them both to keep them safe. Since Krookodile was part Ground, the shockwaves of Earthquake wouldn't be a problem as he would act as a shield for both Pokemon.
Unfortunately, that wouldn't matter when they end up falling. The shockwaves then ended up shattering the entire cliff, destroying every bit of it as Krookodile, Audino and Chikorita were now falling from a high place.
"Krook!"
"A-Audino!"
"Oh!" Cold gasped as he held his hoof out. He tried to use his magic, but he was afraid that he might cause more problems. Plus, there was no way he's holding Pokemon that heavy except for Chikorita.
And speaking of Chikorita, just like with what happened weeks ago at the Pokemon Festival, her leaf did the unexpected. A piece of it came off.
However, unlike before, it wasn't a tiny little piece of her leaf. Instead, it was a giant piece of it. One that actually took off most of the front part of her leaf.
The large piece of leaf that had come off touched both Krookodile and Audino's feet, emanating a dazzling flash of light. Cold, Jade and Cubchoo's eyes widened as they thought that Krookodile, Audino and Chikorita would end up falling to their doom. However, Cold actually noticed Chikorita's leaf coming off and saw it flashing as well while Jade and Cubchoo closed their eyes.
But once the light faded away and Jade and Cubchoo opened their eyes, they and Cold noticed something they weren't expecting. In just 2 seconds, Krookodile, Audino and Chikorita were on the ground, but they weren't harmed.
In fact, they were simply just standing there as if they didn't fall from a spot high enough to turn them into Pokemon pancakes.
"Huh?" Naturally, confusion hit their heads. Especially Jade and Cubchoo. "They're okay?"
"Choo?"
"A-Audino?" Audino could see that she was alright along with her friends.
"Dile?" Krookodie let go of Chikorita and Audino.
"Rita..." Still, Chikorita was asleep. A truly heavy sleeper she was. However, since a large part of her leaf was missing, the Leaf Pokemon felt a bit uneasy in her sleep as she started to grumble.
"What happened? I thought they would've been seriously hurt by that." Jade wondered as she descended with Cold and Cubchoo.
"Cubchoo?"
"That leaf..." Cold pointed his hoof at Chikorita's leaf as a large part of it was missing. "Look."
"Hm?"
"Dino? Audino?!" Audino gasped when seeing Chikorita's leaf missing a part. This time, it was larger than when it was during the Pokemon Festival.
"That can't be good. Is losing a part of her leaf bad for Chikorita?" Jade asked.
"I don't know." Cold shook his head before turning to face Audino. "Is it?"
"Audino." The Hearing Pokemon nodded. It certainly was bad for her. "Dino!"
"Sunlight heals it?" Jade's Rift energy emanated faintly as she translated Audino's words. "That's good to know. It's a shame that we're here at a place like this at night."
"But I saw her leaf do something." Cold went over to Audino and Krookodile. "When a part of her leaf came off, it touched their feet and started to glow. And then after that, out of nowhere, they were on the ground, completely fine. From a fall that high, they should've taken longer to fall. But it only took a few seconds."
"Really now? And you think her leaf has something to do with it?"
"I think so. Call me crazy but..." Cold shifted his eyes around. "I think Chikorita's leaf has the power to change fate?"
"Change fate?" Jade's mane shot up.
"Audino?"
"Krookodile?!"
"Cubchoo?!"
"I'm born from the Rift after all. And that right there looked like Rift action going down." Cold pointed at himself. "And now that I think about it...just like Axew and Togekiss, I think Chikorita's been influenced by that magical water too."
"Chiko..."
"Well. That's something to pay attention to." Jade looked up. "We should probably get back and tell Fluttershy about this."
"Uh yeah, but..." Cold then noticed that things weren't completely done here. The Gliscor were still attacking as they descending towards the group, continuing to hunt their prey. "They're not finished with us!"
"Audino!?"
"Choo?!"
"Persistent..." Jade narrowed her eyes.
"Dile!" Krookodile stood in front of them all, ready to smack away more of the Gliscor if they dared to come close. This time, he was planning on using the move Outrage for wide and stronger damage.
"Audino!" But, Audino was the one who stepped forward as she placed Chikorita down, standing in front of Krookodile.
"K-Krookodile?"
"Audino!" Audino told Krookodile to let her handle this. She knew of a move that was wide enough to clear all of the remaining Gliscor in the sky out.
Hyper Beam of course.
As everyone backed away, Audino put her hands together, forming a yellow-orange ball of hyper energy in front of her as the Gliscor were getting closer.
"Audi...!" Audino was making sure that this Hyper Beam had a behemoth amount of power packed into it. Akin to what she would have if she was Mega Evolved right now.
"Gliscor!" The group of Gliscor all had the move X Scissor ready to take their prey out as green X-shaped energy formed around their claws.
"No!" Audino had them all within her sights as she built enough hyper energy. A devastating and roaring blast of energy came flying out as it raced towards the remaining group of Gliscor, wide enough to engulf all of them.
"Gli?!" Naturally, all the Gliscor gasped as they pulled back, spotting the beam of energy heading straight for them for some disgusting damage.
They tried to fly away but it was way too wide to escape. Possibly Audino's largest Hyper Beam to date. The Gliscor all turned around before being consumed by Audino's Hyper Beam.
The sky had been lit up with the colour yellow because of how much power was put into this attack. The remaining parts of the cliff had been blow apart because of Hyper Beam as well as the ravines.
Afterwards, a grandiose explosion graced the skies, creating a wind pressure that was strong enough to rival a hurricane as Cold and the others closed their eyes.
And that explosion was enough to wake Chikorita up.
"C-Chiko?"
"S-Scor..." All the Gliscor had fainted as they fell from above, dropping like flies. That little Gliscor problem had been dealt with.
"Audino."
"Ko? Chiko?!" Chikorita looked around as she was immediately wondering what was going on and where she was. She definitely knew she wasn't back at home right now. And that prompted the Leaf Pokemon to start crying for home and Fluttershy. "C-Chikorita!"
"Audino?!" Audino gasped, spotting the awakening of her friend as she ran to Chikorita's side, picking her up to comfort the Grass-Type. "Audino!"
"Chiko!"
"Well, that solves two problems," Jade said. "But we're still stuck out here."
"Yeah...I'm scared to teleport right now. What if I make things worse? How did I even teleport to a place like this? I've never seen this place before in my life!"
"No need to worry." Jade went up to Cold. "Somepony will come and find us."
"Out here?"
"Pinkie Pie has a bunch of Slurpuffs. All they need to do is sniff something related to you and they'll track us down in no time. Keep your hope up." Jade put her hoof on Cold's face, forcing him to smile. She wishes she could smile right about now.
"Right! I will!" Cold took Jade's advice. "But...What do we tell Fluttershy about Chikorita's leaf?"
"You can tell her. It's Rift related after all. Let's just hope the sunlight can heal it fast."
That's what Audino was hoping for as well. Chikorita was experiencing a bit of pain because of a part of her leaf missing. It was worse than before, that's for sure.
Audino rocked Chikorita back and forth gently like a baby, trying to calm her down as she told the Leaf Pokemon that it would be alright. Fluttershy and the others would surely come for them as a sandstorm was kicking up.
Krookodile stood by everyone, acting as their shield once more. Being a Ground-Type, sandstorms are useless against him. Everyone huddled around Krookodile as they waited for their friends and the day to arrive.
The Pokemon House. The next day.
"What?!" Fluttershy screeched as her wings were flying rapidly. As to be expected, they came for their friends via the information of Absol and Noctowl. And of course, Slurpuff tracked them down like a bloodhound to the badlands.
"Her leaf can change fate?! I beg your pardon?!" Rarity pulled back.
"Saw it with my own two eyes." Cold nodded. "And I think that each time a piece of her leaf comes off, that's when the fate-changing trick kicks in. Can't get anymore Rift-related than that."
"Chikori..." Chikorita was currently resting up, letting the sunlight heal her. However, since she lost a large part of her leaf, the healing was taking a while. It wasn't as quick as before, sadly as Audino sat by her side.
"Dino."
"So now we have like 3 Rift influenced Pokemon with us?" Twilight pondered. "That's something for sure. And you didn't know about this, Fluttershy?"
"No. I didn't even think about it. I wonder how many more of the Pokemon here have been influenced by that water?" The pegasus looked around the Pokemon House.
Any one of these Pokemon could be Rift-influenced and they probably don't even know. They were just living their best lives right now.
"Well isn't this a good thing?" Pinkie hugged Jade. "I mean, if it can change fate, then doesn't that mean Chikorita could keep both worlds together? We don't even need Jirachi!"
"I think it only works on living beings," said Cold. "Besides, who knows how much of her leaf Chikorita will use if she was in a really big and bad situation. That Gliscor attack already took a large chunk out."
"Hm. Well, anyway. Thank you so much for telling me this, Cold." Fluttershy patted Cold on the head. "I'll make sure to take good care of Chikorita at night. That would mean changing up my sleep schedule. Sorry that you had to deal with this every night, Audino."
"Audino," Audino told Fluttershy that it was fine. She was just keeping her friend safe after all.
A wrap up that night-time escapade. With the revelation of Chikorita's fate-changing leaf, more unexpected surprises just keep coming to everyone. There's a good chance, more are waiting to show themselves.
But, whatever surprise may come their way, they'll have what they need to tackle it. After all, they all have loyal and strong friends by their side as the journey continues.
"Mienfoo! Use your Mega Punch! Luxio, use Iron Tail!" Currently. Rainbow Dash was preparing for her rematch against Soarin and the chance to win her 5th Gym Badge.
Not only that, but she was also planning on teaching the rest of her Pokemon new moves. Mienfoo and Luxio are the ones she's putting the most focus on. Mienfoo only knows Mega Punch, Fury Swipes and Agility while Luxio only knows Discharge, Wild Charge and Iron Tail.
A fourth move can be very beneficial to them both. Rainbow Dash was looking for a FIghting-Type move for Mienfoo. As for Luxio, anything is good as long as it's not an Electric-Type move. Luxio already struggles against Ground-Types enough. And none of his moves are going to help him that much.
"Mien!"
"Lux!"
Both Mienfoo and Luxio already started clashing against each other with their paw and tail. They went back and forth, making sure to not go overboard since this was just a training session.
Although, if anyone would go overboard, it would most likely be Mienfoo since she's always shooting for an absolute victory, no matter what.
Rainbow Dash and the rest of her Pokemon sat by, watching their friends go at it while the Pokemon of Saddle Lake either rest or just join Rainbow Dash and the others for some spectating.
"Foo!" Mienfoo found an opening as she grabbed Luxio's hardened tail.
"X-Xio?!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo then swung Luxio around with all her strength while adding the power of Mega Punch to make her slightly stronger.
"L-L-Luxio!" Luxio screamed as he felt like he was going to be sick from all this spinning.
"Mien!" Mienfoo then slammed Luxio on the ground before tossing him aside near a tree. She had a very aggressive battling style, similar to Twilight's Absol.
"Xio!" Luxio hit the tree as his eyes and head felt a bit dizzy. But before he could sit back up, Mienfoo was already going in for another Mega Punch out of nowhere as she leapt towards the Spark Pokemon.
"Foo!"
"L-Lux?!"
"That's enough!" Rainbow Dash made the call for the battle to end, prompting Mienfoo to stop going on the offensive. Her Mega Punch stopped in front of Luxio's face as she had managed to intimidate the Spark Pokemon because of her ferocity.
"Mien."
"Mienfoo." Rainbow Dash flew over. "I'm all for giving it your all in battle but do you think you could tone it down a bit sometimes? You kinda scared Luxio there."
"Luxio..." Luxio was shuddering as he didn't expect a little training session to go so overboard. Anymore and Mienfoo might've crushed his face.
"Mienfoo." Mienfoo crossed her arms.
"Okay, let's try this again. This time, let's cool it, okay? Save up all that energy for when we battle against Soarin."
"Mien."
"Getting some progress with your training there, Rainbow?" Just then, a familiar voice called out for Rainbow Dash. A voice that hasn't been heard for a while and one that is heavily involved with Rainbow Dash's career as a Pokemon Trainer.
Of course, that was one of Rainbow Dash's rivals Daylight Blazer.
"Oh, Daylight." Rainbow Dash helped Luxio up. "Long time no see. Yeah, I'm just getting ready for Soarin' soon. I need that 5th Gym Badge and some new moves for Luxio and Mienfoo."
"Hm." Daylight nodded. "Well, you'd better catch up, Rainbow. Cause I'm already heading for the big leagues soon."
"Hm? What do you mean by that?"
"Check this out." Daylight had a smirk on his face as he used his magic to bring out his badge case. He then opened up his badge case, showing Rainbow Dash and her Pokemon that he had all 8 Gym Badges. "Just got done collecting the last 3 not too long ago."
"Huh?! You've already got them all?!" Rainbow and her Pokemon gasped.
"Yep. A full badge case and an even stronger team than I had before. With this, I'll finally be able to enter the Equestria League Conference. Whenever that comes around."
"Lucky! I just lost my fifth one!"
"Then you'd better get that rematch going." Daylight spun the badge case around. "After all, at the Canterlot Tournament, you were really looking forward to battling me weren't you. But then that whole Braviary incident happened."
"Sure was! But uh...I'm more bummed out that my battle with Spitfire ended." Rainbow Dash sighed. "I could've probably shot up to the leaderboards, ya know."
"Maybe. But you'd have to win a lot of battles to catch up to her, that's for sure.
"Yeah. Oh!" Rainbow Dash clapped her hooves together. "We might've missed out on battling each other at the Canterlot Tournament, but now that you're here, we can actually have that battle now!"
"Hm? Right here, right now?"
"Yeah! Right here, right now!" Rainbow Dash tapped her hoof on the ground. "I've gotten way stronger the last time we battled. I even got a Mega Stone too. See"?
Rainbow Dash was also currently wearing pilot goggles. And in the middle of the goggles, the Mega Stone for Altaria could be seen.
"Oh." Daylight's eyes widened. "Well...I was gonna come out here and catch an Oricorio but...sure. I've been itching to battle you a second time, Rainbow."
"Yes! Get ready you guys!" Rainbow Dash turned to face her Pokemon. And all 6 of them were ready to go. Some were itching for a rematch against him. Mainly Braviary, Whirlipede and Altaria. And some were ready for a new opponent, AKA Luxio, Castform and Mienfoo.
For this battle to fully go down, Rainbow Dash fetched someone to be the referee of this. The one she chose for this was Pinkie Pie.
And Pinkie being Pinkie dragged all of her friends over for this battle, because of course, she did. Luckily for them, this would be the first time her friends, other than Ash, will be able to witness a 6v6 battle.
"Alright, you two." Pinkie clapped her hooves together, rubbing them. "I wanna see a good clean battle, okay? It's a total 6-on-6 full battle. There's no time limit and you can both swap Pokemon whenever you feel like it. The whole thing's over and done for when all 6 Pokemon on either side are down and out, okay?"
"Works for us. This is my first full battle." Rainbow Dash grinned.
"You gonna use that Rainbow-Braviary form of yours right from the get-go?" Daylight asked.
"Nah, I'll wait until it comes down to the wire. Braviary and I wanna ace battles without relying on Rainbow-Braviary so much. We're only gonna use it when it really counts."
"Guess that makes sense. Don't want a repeat of what happened with Spitfire. Then I won't use Mega Blaziken until the very end."
"We'll make it a coin toss to decide who goes first." Pinkie said as Mew gave her a coin. "Heads or tails, what'll it be?"
"I call heads!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
Then tails!" Daylight bellowed.
"Okay!" Pinkie Pie tossed the coin into the air. With a few flips, the piece of metal came falling back down to the ground and end up landing on heads. "Heads! So Rainbow Dash is up first!"
"Nice!" Rainbow Dash adjusted her goggles before looking at Castform in her saddlebag. "Just you wait, Castform. I'll call you in when it's right, okay?"
"Cast!"
"Alright!" Rainbow Dash took out the first Poke Ball with her wing, tossing it forward. "Mienfoo! You're up first!"
"Mienfoo!"
"Hm." Daylight smirked as he used his magic to send out his first Pokemon. "Come out! Sawsbuck!"
"Sawsbuck!" And considering the season, Sawsbuck was in its Spring Form.
"Good luck, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight cheered along with the others.
"Alright, let the battle begin!" Pinkie gave the call.
"Here goes! Mienfoo! Move-in with Agility and use Fury Swipes!"
"Foo!" Making the first move, Mienfoo got into a running stance as her body was surrounding in shining light. She then bolted forward with extra speed as her claws had been revealed.
"Sawsbuck! Use Nature Power!"
"Saws!" Sawsbuck stood on its hind legs, grunting as the ground beneath it was responding to the Season Pokemon. Nature Power is an attack that makes use of nature’s power. Its effects vary depending on the user’s environment.
And considering that Saddle Lake was mostly grass with a single body of water, the attack made use of the grass. With his body glowing, Sawsbuck summoned a storm of leaves that came shooting out of the ground as they raced towards Mienfoo.
"Foo?!"
"Oh! Dodge them!"
"Mienfoo!" While still using Agility, Mienfoo attempted evading the leaves while still advancing towards Sawsbuck. The leaves had the same sharpness as Razor Leaf and the same strength as Energy Ball which is a dangerous combination in itself.
Mienfoo zipped to the side, avoiding the leaves that would attack her head-on. But she would also have to deal with the leaves coming from the other sides as well. After all, she was going up against nature right now.
Mienfoo flipped over some of the leaves as she also used the claws of Fury Swipes to hit some of the approaching leaves, cutting them in half.
"Nice!" Rainbow Dash praised as Mienfoo was getting closer to Sawsbuck.
"It's a great benefit that Mienfoo's body is so small and she's greatly nimble too," said Rarity. "An attack that wide would need to be dodged by a small Pokemon."
"Mhm." Ash and the others nodded.
"Oh." Daylight was impressed by how effortlessly Mienfoo dealt with all those leaves and how stylish she looked. "Not bad. Sawsbuck! Use Horn Leech!"
"Buck!" Sawsbuck lowered its head as its horns became surrounded in an orange aura. Its horns then started to glow gold as the Season Pokemon charged at the Martial Arts Pokemon with its horns pointed at her.
"Mien...Foo!" With a mighty battle cry, Mienfoo's claws collided with Sawsbuck's horns. A power struggle happened between the two of them with Mienfoo unceasingly swiping her claws in both directions while Sawsbuck stood its ground, also moving its horns around to block any incoming hits to the face.
Mienfoo backflipped as she went to swipe again with Fury Swipes while still having Agility in the mix. The Martial Arts Pokemon swung her claws wildly, trying to land a good hit on Sawsbuck. But Sawsbuck could do the same. The Normal-Grass-Type was certainly faster than Mienfoo, even with the speed boost.
With its better speed, Sawsbuck was able to move ahead of Mienfoo by just 2 seconds as it found an opening via the stomach. With the right horn, Sawsbuck thwacked Mienfoo's waist.
"F-Foo?!" The Martial Arts Pokemon gasped as she had taken the first hit of the battle.
"Sawsbuck!" Sawsbuck then used its second horn to whack Mienfoo away, sending the Fighting-Type flying through the air.
"Ah! Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash looked up.
"Return, Sawsbuck." Just then, Daylight returned Sawsbuck to its Poke Ball instead of letting it continue.
"You're returning now?!" Rainbow Dash turned to face Daylight as Mienfoo recovered by landing on her feet safely.
"Mien?!"
"Thanks, Sawsbuck. Because of you, I know what to do now." He spoke to his Poke Ball.
"Why'd he switch out so soon? Sawsbuck looked like it had this one." Spike wondered.
"Mm?" Twilight shrugged. "Daylight's a highly-skilled trainer, remember. He battles differently from other trainers and it really shows."
"Okay. I think I can make this entire battle work in my favour with just this single Pokemon alone." Daylight then brought out a Net Ball next. "All I need is one move to slow you down."
"Just one Pokemon? You talking about Blaziken?" Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes.
"Nah. I'm talking about this guy! Go, Araquanid!" He sent the Net Ball forward, bringing out the Water Bubble Pokemon.
"Araquanid!"
"Eugh...! Spiders..." Rainbow Dash winced. "Doesn't matter! We'll just gather enough speed to blitz through all of your Pokemon! That way, you won't be able to catch Mienfoo! Use Agility and Mega Punch, go!"
"Mien-Mienfoo!" Using Agility once more, Mienfoo's speed had been raised sharply yet again as her paws were glowing with energy. The Martial Arts Pokemon rushed forward with rapid speeds, approaching the Water Bubble Pokemon.
"Right where we want you..." Daylight said silently as he was waiting for the right time to make a command. Mienfoo was aiming straight for Araquanid's face as she leapt off the ground with blistering speeds.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo then struck her palm onto Araquanid, finally getting her first hit of this battle.
"Araqua!"
"Gotcha! Now use Sticky Web!"
"Quanid!" Araquanid shot out several globs of sticky material from its mouth, right in front of Mienfoo. The globs hit the Martial Arts Pokemon, sending her back as a net had been formed via the globs transformation.
"Foo!" The net ended up sending Mienfoo to a nearby tree, sticking her there. Mienfoo was now trapped on a tree with a large net with small gaps holding her there. "M-Mienfoo?!"
"Trapped?!" Rainbow Dash pulled back.
"So much for your Agility boost. Now, Araquanid! Stick boost around the ground!"
"Quanid-Araquanid!" Now Daylight's words about how he was going to slow Rainbow Dash down made sense. Sticky Web is a move well known for slowing opponents down.
The Water Bubble Pokemon continuously spat out globs of sticky material, spreading them across the ground, even the rest of the trees nearby. It was going to make sure that anyone who touches the nets will be immediately trapped with little chance of escaping.
Soon, the entire battlefield was covered in nets. Some were even layered over each other, giving them some extra thickness.
"Talk about an advantage! He's already changed the battlefield to make it work out for him!" Starlight sat up.
"Yeah, but Rainbow Dash has three Pokemon that can fly. All she needs to do is stay in the air. Plus, Daylight's got Pokemon that stay on land so he could end up on his own trap." Twilight looked at the bright side.
"Yeah. You'd think so." Daylight smirked, knowing what he was planning. "Return, Araquanid." For a second time, he recalled his Pokemon.
"Another return?!" Rainbow Dash was starting to get confused. Daylight's battling style is once again, unpredictable.
"Showtime! Sigilyph!" Out came his third Pokemon. So far, Daylight has been using Pokemon that Rainbow Dash didn't expect him to have. She's used to seeing her Medicham up first since that's what he usually starts with whenever a battle begins.
"Sigilyph!" And being a Psychic-Flying-Type, Sigilyph could hover over the nets while also having moves that could deal super-effective damage towards Mienfoo, who was still stuck.
"M-Mienfoo!" Mienfoo squirmed around, trying to break free from the net.
"Grr...!" Rainbow Dash growled. In just a few minutes, she was already in a very rough spot. Her aggressive battling style with Mienfoo wasn't panning out. She was aiming to have Mienfoo rush in and deal quick and fast damage with no signs of stopping. "R-Return, Mienfoo."
The best way she could get Mienfoo out of this trap was by returning the Martial Arts Pokemon to her Poke Ball. A reluctant choice at first.
"Sorry, Mienfoo. You'll get your chance soon." She spoke to the Poke Ball. "Besides...I know how I can clear out all these nets." The pegasus then looked up at the sky, seeing how sunny it was. She then looked at Castform in her bag, hatching up a plan. "You ready to shine, Castform?"
"Form!"
"Okay! It's all you this time!"
"Castform!" Out came the Weather Pokemon from Rainbow Dash's saddlebag. And once he came out, his cells immediately reacted to the heavy sunlight, forcefully transforming Castform into his Sunny Form. "Cast!"
"Heh." Daylight let out a slight chuckle. "Sorry, Rainbow. But your little aerial advantage won't work out. Sigilyph! Gravity!"
"Lyph!" Daylight already had a plan for this. The webs from Araquanid were actually just a part of a larger plan of Daylight Blazer.
The Avianoid Pokemon's eyes and wings started glowing as it manipulated space itself, intensifying gravity around Castform. A large gravity field appeared above Saddle lake as Castform had been forced down to the ground with increased gravity.
"Cast?!" And of course, being forced down meant that Castform was caught in one of the sticky webs littered across the ground.
"Seriously?!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.
"So that's why he used Sticky Web everywhere. It was just for Gravity." Ash spoke. "Guess he's got the perfect counter for any airborne Pokemon."
"Pikachu."
"I'll make sure that none of your Pokemon are in their element! Sigilyph, use Ancient Power!"
"Gilyph!" Sigilyph's body flashed white as it created a see-through afterimage of itself. The afterimage then spun around quickly, creating a silver ball in front of Sigilyph's body. The Avianoid Pokemon then launches the ball with the power of fossilized rocks on its side.
"Not good! Castform! Burn the webs away with Weather Ball, quick!"
"C-Castform!" Castform quickly formed a ball of fire due to which form he was currently in. If Castform could burn the webs away, he could clear the battlefield and give his teammates a better chance at battling.
Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough, as one of the rocks had smashed into him before he could even have the chance of pulling the move off.
"C-Cast!"
"Oh, no! Castform!" Rainbow Dash's pupils shrunk after seeing her partner have a rock land on him. From how hard it came flying, it looked like it would do more than just knock Castform out as Fluttershy covered her eyes.
Thankfully, after the inevitable explosion happened, it didn't go beyond a knockout. But, not only that, it didn't knock him out at all. Castform was still active and awake.
"C-Castform...!" The Weather Pokemon growled.
"You're okay!" A smile graced Rainbow Dash's face.
"Tough Pokemon..." Daylight was even impressed by how Castform could withstand an attack that powerful. Especially from a Sigilyph.
"This is getting a bit hard to watch..." Applejack sighed. "I don't think we can get through this, ya know."
"No need to worry. Rainbow Dash can win this. I hope..." Fluttershy gulped.
"I can't call Castform back since he doesn't have a Poke Ball..." Rainbow Dash thought to herself. "We'll still try burning away those nets, but first...Castform! Reflect Type!"
"Form...!" Castform's eyes flashed as they gazed right into Sigilyph's eyes. An instant flash of rainbow lights surrounded both the Weather Pokemon and Avianoid Pokemon at the same time as Sigilyph could feel its type being copied all of a sudden.
"Lyph?"
"Cast!" And like always, because of Castform's sensitive and radioactive cells, copying someone else's type caused the Weather Pokemon to let out an attack that has the energy of the typing he copied.
Out of Castform's body, a pulse of purple and light blue energy came bursting out of his body. The pulse also had feathers in it to represent the Flying-Type while also having a purple eye to represent the Psychic-Type.
The pulse was so great that not only did it knock Sigilyph back, but it also destroyed some of the webs around the field too because of its surprisingly potent force. The web that Castform was stuck on had also been blown back by the pulse, setting him free.
"Sigil!" Sigilyph took damage from the pulse. But it wasn't that effective considering its typing. So it was just knocked back slightly and not by much.
"Oh, yeah." Daylight nodded. "I remember now. That Castform of yours can deal damage when copying a type. Pretty impressive."
"You haven't seen anything yet! If we can defeat that Sigilyph, Gravity won't be a problem! Alright, Castform! Weather Ball, go!"
"Cast!" Castform was still on the ground since Gravity was still holding him down. So he couldn't ascend. But either way, he could still pull off his moves as he created a ball of fire, shooting it towards Sigilyph.
"Sigilyph, use Shadow Ball!"
"Sigilyph!" A blob of darkness formed in front of the Avianoid Pokemon as it hurled it towards the approaching blazing Weather Ball. The blob kept growing in size the more it moved as the two sphere-shaped attacks collided against each other.
Weather Ball tried burning through Shadow Ball as flames started sparking out. Unfortunately, Shadow Ball proved to be stronger as it consumed the ball of fire into the darkness.
With Weather Ball consumed, Shadow Ball raced towards Castform at high speeds. And Castform couldn't dodge it because of Gravity's effects. He wasn't exactly a Pokemon that could run considering how he was built.
"Weather Ball, one more time!"
"Cast...!" Castform tried forming a ball of fire one more time, but it was too late. Shadow Ball already reached him, smashing onto the Weather Pokemon with a shadow explosion in the shape of a dome emerging.
"No! Castform!"
The explosion was so great that it launched Castform back, but with Gravity still on, Castform only flew back a bit and not a far distance. Because of this, he landed on one of the nets, making his attempt to escape the Sticky Web pointless.
But even that didn't matter because he had just fainted after an attack that powerful.
"Castform..."
"Oh, sorry, Rainbow Dash. But that's it for Castform! Sigilyph wins!" Pinkie Pie said.
"Poor Castform..." Fluttershy sighed. "He can't even run to dodge since he has no legs..."
"At least he managed to destroy one of the webs with Reflect Type." Rarity pointed her hoof at the spot that Castform broke free. "My guess is that the Flying energy within the attack blew it away due to the webs being made by a Bug-Type."
"But what does she do now? That Sigilyph can just force her Braviary and Altaria to the ground with Gravity. And they're her strongest Pokemon." Starlight questioned.
"Rainbow Dash still has options to win this," Twilight replied. "Let's just hope she can find the right one."
"I should probably get Castform out of that Gravity field." Applejack offered to retrieve Castform from the ground since Rainbow Dash might get affected by Gravity too.
She stood up, using her lasso to grab the Weather Pokemon as Gravity was weighing down on her rope. But, with her earth pony strength and the assistance of her partner Sceptile and that same Golett that just wouldn't leave her, they were able to pull Castform back and away from the gravity field.
"Thanks. you three." Rainbow Dash thanked Applejack and the others. "Sorry I let you down, Castform."
"C-Castform..." Castform said that it was alright.
"I have to win this somehow...That Gravity field can't last forever. But how am I gonna avoid it?" Wondering how to overcome this, suddenly one of Rainbow Dash's Poke Ball was calling out for her.
Whirlipede's Poke Ball, that is.
"Huh? Whirlipede?" Rainbow Dash looked at the Poke Ball. She could see it vibrating as Whirlipede was essentially telling her to send him in. Sensing Whirlipede's spirit, Rainbow Dash nodded her head. "Okay. You're up next!"
Without even needing to grab it, Whirlipede forced himself out of the Poke Ball as he appeared on the battlefield, instantly touching the sticky webs.
"Whirlipede!"
"Oh, Whrilipede? Maybe not your best pick, Rainbow." Daylight smirked, knowing that his Sigilyph was enough for Whirlipede.
"You'll see. Whirlipede and I are total experts at getting out of rough spots! Isn't that right, pal?"
"Whirl!"
"Watch! We're gonna break through this trap of yours with ease! Rollout on the spot!"
"Whirl...!" Instead of moving forward, Whirlipede started rolling on the spot, spinning his body around. And as a great bonus, because of Whirlipede's horn-like feelers, he was able to cut the webs in half. Not to mention the poisoned barbs around his shell. They were also capable of destroying the webs no problem.
"Oh, genius!" Twilight stood up. "Not only is Whirlipede a Bug-Type, but his entire biology can easily cut through anything with either its feelers or barbs! Nice thinking, Rainbow Dash!"
"That is pretty clever." Daylight narrowed his eyes. "But let's see how long you can keep it up!"
"Watch us! Victory is right before our eyes!"
Their second battle is already shaping up to be more intense than their first. Now that it was a 6-on-6 battle with all their Pokemon, the intensity is only increasing. Only one of them can emerge victorious in this as the journey continues.
The rival battle between Rainbow Dash and Daylight Blazer was raging on. With Daylight showing Rainbow Dash just how unpredictable his battle strategy is from Araquanid's Sticky Web and Sigilyph's Gravity, this is sure to really test Rainbow Dash's progress as a trainer.
"How about we rip the other webs apart too? Whirlipede! Rollout across the field!" Rainbow Dash commanded.
"Whirl!" Whirlipede, now much faster because of Speed Boost, rolled forward with high speeds as the plan to rid the battlefield of all the webs had been initiated.
"Like I'd let you! Sigilyph, use Air Slash!"
"Sigil!" Sigilyph wasn't going to let Daylight's Sticky Web and Gravity plan go to waste or even fade away. Even though the gravity field has a time limit anyway. To stop Whirilipede from breaking the nets, the Avianoid Pokemon sent cutting waves of wind from its body, sending them straight for the Curlipede Pokemon.
"Dodge and break the webs at the same time!"
"Pede!" Whirlipede drifted on the ground while his horn-like feelers and poison barbs around his shell began tearing apart the webs that were littered across the battlefield.
While drifting, he was able to avoid the approaching waves of wind thanks to Speed Boost increasing his acceleration and momentum. Not only that, but since Air Slash was missing, it was also benefiting Rainbow Dash and Whirlipede's chances as some of the waves destroyed the many nets on the ground.
"Oh!" Daylight quickly realized that he was sabotaging his own plan at this point. "Stop Sigilyph!"
"Sigil?!"
"Wouldn't do that if I were you! Whirlipede! Roll on the tree and get some sweet airtime!"
"Whirlipede!" By tearing through some more nets, the Curlipede Pokemon then rolled up to the nearest tree, using it as a ramp. Rainbow Dash and Whirlipede are always in sync with each other. Whatever Rainbow Dash says, Whirlipede knows what her approach is.
By using the tree as a ramp and with the addition of Speed Boost, Whirlipede had managed to accelerate to a point where he had even become airborne. The height he had gained was impressive as he went high enough to even go above Sigilyph.
"Lyph?!" Sigilyph turned around to see that Whirlipede was now above it.
"Now! Pin Missile!"
"Whirlipede!" While in the air, Whirlipede shot out multiple white arrows from its feelers while still having some airtime. The missiles spun around in a spiral which they don't normally do.
"Quick! Counter with Shadow Ball!"
"Sigil!" A short burst Shadow Ball came out. Since it was a short burst and not a fully charged one, it wasn't as powerful as usual. But strong nonetheless.
The multiple missiles of Bug-Type energy met with the ball of shadows, bombarding it repeatedly. Shadow Ball was being pelted by Pin Missile, struggling to keep the arrows back.
One of the arrows actually managed to pierce through Shadow Ball while the others couldn't. That one arrow struck Sigilpyh's face, sending the Avianoid Pokemon back. The Shadow Ball and remaining Pin Missiles eventually cancelled each other out via an explosion.
"Lyph!" Sigilyph was directed downwards. And that almost made him fall into the Stick Web trap that had been formed. Luckily for Sigilyph and Daylight, it recovered fairly quickly as it almost also hit the gravity field it had created.
"That was close! Use Psychic!"
"Sigilyph!" The eye on the appendage on Sigilyph's head started to glow light blue as its body became outlined in light blue as well. The light blue outline then flashed brightly for a few moments, allowing Sigilyph to fire an invisible blast of Psychic energy out.
"Charge through with Rollout!"
"Whirl!" With little air time remaining, Whirlipede used the last amount of it to pull off one more Rollout. This time in the air as he spun around while airborne.
Rollout is a move that increases in strength each time it is used. Not to mention that Whirlipede had gained more speed because of his ability Speed Boost. With those two factors in play, Whirlipede now had the ramming speed of a train at his disposal.
With extra strength and speed, Whirlipede rolled in the air, heading straight for the Avianoid Pokemon as he was moving so fast that a visible wind aura was forming around him.
"What speed?! Dodge it Sigilyph!"
"S-Sigil?!" Sigilyph could see a wind-covered Whirlipede coming this way. Not wanting to be on the receiving end of a sped-up super-effective Rollout, Sigilyph quickly flapped its wings out of fear.
Unfortunately, speed wasn't in Sigilyph's favour today. It was in Whirlipede's favour. As such, Whirlipede easily caught and crashed into Sigilyph's back at 200 mph.
"Pede!"
"Lyph!" With an impact that ferocious, both Sigilyph and Whirlipede were sent crashing down to the ground with so much force that they created a crater.
Some of the webs that were in the way had been destroyed as well. And from the crater, Whirlipede rolled out of it after crashing into the Avianoid Pokemon.
"Ah! Sigilyph!" Daylight gasped.
"Nice hit, buddy!" Rainbow praised Whirlipede.
"Whirl!"
"Are you alright, Sigilyph?!"
"S-Sigilyph..." Sigilyph had finally been taken down. It had fainted after being hit that hard.
"Sigilyph's down and out! Whirlipede wins this one!" Pinkie Pie declared.
"Phew! I thought that was never gonna end." Rainbow Dash sighed. "You're awesome as always, Whirlipede!"
"Whirlipede!"
"I tell ya! Whirlipede and Rainbow Dash make a pretty strong duo!" Applejack cheered.
"Whirlipede's the first Pokemon she ever caught. It makes sense that he'd be so reliable." Twilight nodded.
"Espeon."
And with Sigilyph down, the gravity field was gone. Now, Rainbow Dash and the rest of her Pokemon didn't have to worry about something slowing them down.
"Return, Sigilyph." Daylight returned his Pokemon. "Good job. Sorry that the Gravity plan didn't go all the way."
"You good to stay in pal? Or do you wanna switch out?"
"Whirl!" Whirlipede chose to stay in since he's already fast enough to possibly keep up or outspeed some of Daylight's Pokemon.
"In it is." Rainbow Dash nodded. "His next Pokemon could be Medicham or maybe Sawsbuck again. Or maybe..."
"Hmm..." Daylight pulled out his next Poke Ball as he launched it forward. "Go! Armaldo!"
"Armaldo!"
"Armaldo, huh...?" Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes.
"Thought I might switch it up a bit. When it comes to hitting hard, Armaldo's great. The only one who can rival her in strength is my Blaziken obviously. This time, I'll play very aggressively."
"What happened to using strategy and mind games like you normally do?"?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I've got different battle styles, Rainbow. All of my Pokemon have a set purpose when I battle. My Medicham's what I use for speed and tiring my opponents out. Araquind and Sigilyph go hand in hand with my whole Sticky Web and Gravity trap. Unless the opponent's a Dark-Type. But that's where Blaziken comes in. Him, Sawsbuck and Armaldo are my heavy hitters at the end of it all. And I've trained them to make them really fit those roles."
"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash pulled back.
"You always have to be ready for any type of opponent, Rainbow. No matter what. And learning about Pokemon is what helped me realize that. And I've got a bunch more waiting at home that can handle other opponents."
"Y-You mean you have more Pokemon?!"
"Well, yeah. 6 just isn't enough ya know. Alright, Armaldo! Use Meteor Beam!"
"Armal...!" The Plate Pokemon put her claws together as she was gathering the power of space itself into her body. This was a move that requires some time much like Solar Beam so any Pokemon that uses this is wide open. And Rainbow Dash could see that.
"Wide open! Rollout, let's go!"
"Whirlipede!" Rollout had a ton of power-packed behind it at this point. Enough to probably breakthrough steel itself. Not to mention that Armaldo's Bug-Typing, unfortunately, makes it weak to Rock, despite her already being part Rock.
But Daylight wasn't bothered by that as Whirlipede boosted off the ground, picking up a wind pressure as he moved at speeds almost invisible to the eye.
"Rollout's already super strong now! This should be a One-hit KO!" Spike stood up.
"Yeah but Armaldo's defence..." Ash knew that it wouldn't be so easy.
"Pede!" Whirlipede had smashed into Armaldo's stomach, causing her eyes to widen while she was charging up Meteor Beam. The force of the impact was so great that the ground beneath them cracked as the Plate Pokemon was also pushed back by this incredible force.
But she wasn't launched. Armaldo's defence is something to be reckoned with as she only slid back. Her feet didn't even leave the ground as Whirlipede was the one sent flying back because of how hard he crashed into her.
"Whirl!"
"Seriously?! She didn't get launched!" Rainbow Dash was surprised.
"Hmph. Now!" Daylight gave the call to fire.
"Armaldo!" Armaldo was overflowing with space power. The cosmos were now within her as her special attack had been boosted because of it. And out of Armaldo's mouth came a giant beam of cosmic power with meteoric rocks surrounding it as it ripped the grass apart and even shook the trees and lake.
"Holy moly! Dodge it!"
"Pede!" Whirlipede quickly turned to the left, using his superior speed to evade the approaching beam of meteoric power. However, the attack was so wide and so long that even though Whirlipede was able to swiftly move to the side, he couldn't fully avoid it.
Meteor Beam had scraped the back of his shell, causing the Curlipede Pokemon to lose his balance as the back of his shell received a bruise from all that burning meteoric energy. A total of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit was packed into it.
"W-Whirl!" Whirlipede winced as he ended up tumbling. With his momentum and balance being disrupted, the Bug-Poison-Type fell over, landing near a tree.
"Oh! Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash spread her wings. "Are you okay?!"
"No time to be resting! Armaldo, Metal Claw!"
"Maldo!" The Plate Pokemon ran over to Whirlipede, lighting one of her claws up as she was ready to chop down at the Curlipede Pokemon.
"We've still got the speed advantage! Quick! Use Rollout one more time! And hit her from the side!"
"Pede!" Whirlipede quickly got up from the ground, regaining his balance as he got back to his usual rolling. He could still move in a flash even after being knocked over. Although, Meteor Beam had severely scraped his shell, making him feel a bit weak. But it was nothing that Whirlipede couldn't get through.
The Curlipede Pokemon drifted to the side, ready to crash into the Pate Pokemon from the side with ludicrous and volatile power. Whirlipede then closed into Armaldo, kicking up a large dust cloud because of his speed.
"Mal!" But, Armaldo wasn't that easy to catch off guard as she snapped her eyes to the side, gazing at the approaching Whirlipede. "Armaldo!"
Armaldo then turned around, raising her claws as she was ready for her fellow Bug-Type with Metal Claw. With Whirlipede close enough, the Plate Pokemon slammed her claws down onto Whirlipede's shell while the Curlipede Pokemon smashed into Armaldo's stomach.
Both Pokemon managed to hit each other and land their moves at the same time.
As such, they both took heavy damage. Armaldo's amazing physical strength and Whirlipede's Rollout boost. Both were potent in their way. And both were strong enough to really leave an impact.
Whirlipede had been launched back while Armaldo slid on the ground, falling on her back afterwards. Both trainers gasped as they witnessed their Pokemon take serious damage from that collision.
"A-Armaldo...!" Armaldo stood back up, but barely. Even with her great defence, being hit by a boosted Rollout at insane speeds was dangerous enough to even put a highly defensive Pokemon on edge. Minus Steel-Types, of course.
But as for Whirlipede, with his shell being burnt and bruised from Meteor Beam as well as taking a hard Metal Claw to his already damaged shell, the Curlipede Pokemon was finding it hard to get back up as he was currently lying to the side.
"Come on, Whirlipede! Get up!" Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth.
"P-Pede!" But again, Whirlipede, despite being a Pokemon that isn't even at its final evolution, he was still able to continue. Much like Ash's Pikachu, Whirlipede could keep on going until he wears out. "Whirlipede!" With that, Whirlipede stood back up.
"Seriously?" Daylight's eyes widened. "Talk about defence."
"You haven't seen anything yet. I haven't even used Whirlipede's Iron Defence yet!" Rainbow Dash laughed.
"Whirl!"
"But...I think you should rest, for now, pal." Rainbow Dash decided to return her partner to his Poke Ball, deciding to let him rest.
"At this rate, Rainbow Dash's Pokemon will end up getting tired out. Daylight's Pokemon are really something, aren't they?" said Spike.
"Really something." Twilight nodded.
"Then in that case...Return." Daylight also returned his Armaldo with a brand new idea sparking up in his mind. "So, Rainbow. Your team's looking pretty worn out now. Better be more careful. Cause the rest of my team's still healthy and raring to go."
"Heh. Just you wait. I've still got two more aces in the holes that can really turn this around for me." Rainbow Dash adjusted her goggles.
"Hmph. Alright then." Daylight took out his next Poke Ball. "I've decided. This one Pokemon is gonna beat your entire team. Took me a while to really think about it."
"One Pokemon?" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Is it Blaziken or Medicham?"
"Let's go! Salazzle!" Daylight sent out his next Pokemon. The Toxic Lizard Pokemon, Salazzle.
"Salazzle!"
"What is that?!" Rainbow Dash was just seeing Salazzle for the first time, including the rest of the Mane 6, Spike and Starlight as they took their Pokedexes out.
"Salazzle. The Toxic Lizard Pokemon. For some reason, only females have been found. It creates a reverse harem of male Salandit that it lives with. Filled with pheromones, its poisonous gas can be diluted to use in the production of luscious perfumes. It punishes Salandit that couldn’t bring it food with a fierce slap of its flame-spewing palm. The winner of competitions between Salazzle is decided by which one has the most male Salandit with it."
"A Poison-Fire-Type? That's just terrifying..." Rarity gulped.
"So you don't have Medicham on you for once?"
"Nah. I rotate my Pokemon, ya know. But I always keep Blaziken at my side at all times."
"Sala...!"
"Kh!" Rainbow Dash grit her teeth. "It's a Poison-Fire-Type...That's a tough combo to deal with. If only Whirlipede wasn't so beat up right now. Rollout would be really good right now. But, I can still count on the rest of my teammates." She then took out the next Poke Ball, tossing it with her wing. "Okay! Let's put the pressure on and get super aggressive! Mienfoo!"
"Mienfoo!"
"Isn't Mienfoo a bad pick?" Starlight questioned.
"Mienfoo's a Fighting-Type and they're not the best against Poison-Types. But, she doesn't have any Fighting-moves on her. Not to mention, Poison may resist Fighting, but it's not super-effective against it." Ash explained. "Mienfoo's can still go up against Salazzle because of that. Plus, Whirlipede really helped clear out the battlefield too."
"Pikachu."
"Oh." Starlight nodded.
"Let's go! Agility and Fury Swipes, Mienfoo!"
"Foo!" By letting out a ferocious battle cry, Mienfoo increased her speed while charging at Salazzle with her claws showing.
"Hmph. When it comes to speed, other than my Blaziken, Salazzle's an expert in that! Salazzle! Dragon Pulse!"
"Dragon Pulse?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Sala...Zzle!" The Toxic Lizard Pokemon got on all fours as she opened her mouth, firing a lightning-fast dragon-shaped shockwave came flying out, faster than any other Dragon Pulse that has been seen.
"Dodge it!"
"Mien?!" Mienfoo's eyes widened as she was shocked at how fast Dragon Pulse was approaching. Using her nimble body and Agility, the Martial Arts Pokemon flipped over Dragon Pulse, but barely. She had almost been scraped by that attack due to its ludicrous speed.
"Sala!" But, Salazzle didn't stop there. She actually raised her head, directing the Dragon Pulse upwards instead of just firing in a straight line.
With Dragon Pulse going upwards, it was able to catch Mienfoo, who couldn't do much in the air. Only the ground. One of the many disadvantages of the Fighting-Type, which explains why Flying-Types are strong against them.
"Foo?!" Mienfoo gasped as she had been hit by Dragon Pulse in the air. The dragon-shaped shockwave crashed into the Martial Arts Pokemon, forming an explosion as she had been shot out of the sky.
"Oh, no! Mienfoo!"
"M-Mienfoo..." Mienfoo fell from the sky with smoke trailing out of her. With just one single hit, Mienfoo had fainted as she fell on her back.
"Woah. A one-hit KO. That's it for Mienfoo. Sorry, Rainbow Dash. Salazzle wins!"
"One shot?" Applejack adjusted her hat. "That's a shame."
"Did you see how fast that Dragon Pulse came out?" Spike's eyes widened.
"Axew."
"The only ones healthy enough to keep on battling are Luxio, Braviary and Altaria. And two of them are her strongest Pokemon by far. So she can still win this." Fluttershy said.
"Yes, but only Armaldo's tired out. The rest of Daylight's Pokemon are still energetic. And there's no time limit for them to hold out on." Twilight was getting worried.
"Return, Mienfoo." Rainbow Dash brought her partner back. "Sorry about that. I promise that one day you'll get a really big win, okay?"
"You haven't seen anything yet, Rainbow. Salazzle's my all-rounder."
"Salazz."
"Tch. Not for long. I know how to deal with all that speed...Luxio! Let's go!" By launching her Poke Ball, out came her Luxio.
"Luxio!"
"Discharge, go!"
"Xio!" Not wasting any time, Luxio instantly unleashed a ton of his power by letting loose a flare of electricity that was also targeted towards Salazzle in the form of a lightning bolt.
"Dodge and use Sludge Bomb."
"Sala!" With superior speed, Salazzle lunged to the side while also releasing multiple brown globs of sludge from her mouth. These globs rained down Luxio on like pellets after he had just finished using Discharge.
"Lux!" Luxio cried as a poisonous explosion emerged afterwards, rocketing the Spark Pokemon back. "Xio!" But, Luxio was able to recover quickly by landing on his feet and veering on the ground. One of the many perks of being a member of the cat family.
"Let's go, Luxio! Wild Charge!"
"Xio!" Luxio roared with ferocity as a sparking aura of electricity surrounded his body. He then bolted forward at high speeds, leaving a trail of lightning in the shape of a lightning bolt behind.
"Fire Lash!"
"Lazzle!" Salazzle stuck her tongue out as it lit on fire. She then swung her blazing tongue around like a whip as it even burned away at some of the grass here. But she didn't use it to attack just yet. She was just intimidating Luxio.
"Lux!" Luxio got close enough to potentially smash into Salazzle. But, the Toxic Lizard Pokemon was more cunning than Luxi could imagine. Because once Luxio got close, Salazzle used Fire Flash to wrap around Luxio's neck. "X-Xio?!"
"Sala!" With Luxio's legs restrained, Salazzle then swung the Spark Pokemon around while burning his neck
"L-Luxio!"
"Lazzle!" Salazzle then slammed Luxio on the ground, dealing some heavy body damage to him before pulling the Spark Pokemon close to her.
"Luxio! Break free, quick!"
"L-Lux...!" Luxio growled as he was now in front of Salazzle's face while also being held by her blazing tongue. The fire was already damaging Luxio's neck over time.
"Salazz."
"Now! Shift into Dragon Pulse!"
"Sala...!" While still using Fire Lash to hold Luxio, inside of Salazzle's mouth, Dragon Pulse was being charged up. She was going to fire it point-blank in the Spark Pokemon's face.
An attack from point-blank range is worse than an attack from afar. And this doesn't spell good news for Luxio, who was trying to break free right now.
"Quick! Use Discharge around your body!"
"L-Luxio!" Luxio decided to emanate high amounts of voltage electricity from his body. With electricity coming out of him, Salazzle had been shocked since she had brought Luxio close to her and was currently making physical contact with him.
"Sala!" Salazzle could feel all that electricity pour into her as Dragon Pulse had been disrupted. She also lost her grip on Luxio because of this, freeing the Spark Pokemon from her burning tongue.
"Lux!" Luxio then ran back, getting away from the Poison-Fire-Type.
"Lazzle!" Salazzle had shaken off the remains of Discharge as she hissed at Luxio.
"Good job! Now use Discharge one more time!"
"I don't think so! Fire Blast!"
"Luxio!"
"Salazzle!" At the same time, both Pokemon unleashed their attacks with Luxio striking everything around him by letting loose a flare of electricity and Salazzle attacking with an intense blast of all-consuming fire in the shape of an 大.
Both attacks met, entering a power struggle instead of just equalling each other out and blowing up together. Sparks of fire and electricity were starting to fly all over the place because of how much raw energy was being unleashed at this moment.
"L-Luxio...!" Luxio growled as he was trying to emerge victorious in this power struggle, but so far, Fire Blast was coming out on top with ease as the Spark Pokemon was being pushed back while his blast of lightning was being consumed and diminished.
"Come on! Push through, Luxio!" Rainbow Dash bellowed, trying to spark her partner up.
"Salazzle!" It was clear that Salazzle was both an expert in speed and special attack prowess. This was nothing for her. Luxio was only an expert in physical damage, unfortunately.
As such, Fire Blast tore through Discharge, easily overpowering the Electric-Type move. Thus, Discharge had been consumed as Luxio's eyes widened, knowing that this attack was sure to hit him.
And hit him it did.
A ferocious and terrible explosion of fire emerged in the shape of a dome as the force of it almost blew everything in Saddle Lake back. But one thing it definitely blew back was Luxio.
The Spark Pokemon was sent flying out of the explosion with a trail of smoke coming out of him. Not only that, but he had also been burned too.
"Luxio!" Rainbow Dash cried out.
"Xio!" Luxio's eyes flashed red after hearing the cry of his trainer. He knew he couldn't give up right here. Letting Rainbow Dash down is something he would hate to do. "Lux...!"
With high spirit, Luxio could carry on. And his eyes flashing red meant that his hidden ability had been awakened because of the burn.
Guts.
Luxio recovered on his feet as he was now pumped up. His already high attack had been greatly boosted as he even became more feral and ferocious now.
"Awesome! Let's go wild! Iron Tail!"
"Luxio!" With a roar akin to that of a lion, Luxio made his tail as hard as Iron as he charged forward with primal instincts within him awakening.
"Counter with Fire Lash!"
"Salazzle!" A perfect counter to the Steel-Type move. The Toxic Lizard Pokemon crawled towards Luxio with her tongue lighting up with fire.
Once they both got close to each other, the two Pokemon started clashing their tail and tongue like swords. There was even a clanging sound, most likely coming from Iron Tail.
Back and forth, over and over again, both Pokemon swung their long body parts around with Fire Lash slowly melting away at Iron Tail with each hit. And Luxio could certainly feel it.
"Xio!" Luxio then jumped up, swinging his Iron Tail downwards instead of sideways like a hammer. But, Salazzle, with her superior speed, swayed her head to the left, causing Luxio to miss his Iron Tail as it hit the ground. "Lux?!"
"Lazz!" Salazzle found an opening as she whacked Luxio away with Fire Lash.
"Luxio!"
"Wild Charge!"
"Lux!" Luxio quickly rolled in the air, surrounding himself in electricity. To say he was persistent was an understatement as he bolted forward while in the air. Now he really looked like a lightning bolt.
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Sala!" Salazzle got on all fours, once more, firing Dragon Pulse while Luxio was approaching at high speeds.
"Xio!" Luxio clenched his teeth as his electric aura met with Salazzle's dragon-shaped blast. Upon collision, Luxio immediately had the instinct to charge right through the move with Wild Charge. And Rainbow Dash was thinking the same thing as well.
"Breakthrough, Luxio!"
"Xio!" Luxio opened his mouth as his pupils intensified while letting out a powerful roar so grand that it even scared some of the Pokemon here.
But Salazzle wasn't intimidated as she increased the power of Dragon Pulse. The dragon-shaped blast was growing in size, only making things harder for Luxio. "Salazzle!"
"Luxio!" Luxio kept pushing himself. Figuratively and literally. At this point, he was pushing his body to its limits, straining himself in the process.
"Luxio looks like he's straining himself!" Fluttershy gasped.
"He's really determined to get through, huh?" Applejack gazed.
"Come on, Luxio! You can do it!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.
"X-Xio!"
"I don't think so! Let's finish this Salazzle! Soon, we'll be at the top of the Equestria League together!"
"L-Luxio?!" Hearing that made Luxio remember that he was going to be the one to carry Rainbow Dash to the very top. In his eyes, no one else should be at the top except for Rainbow Dash.
He didn't care about the strain being put on his body or how far he was pushing himself. As long as he can come out on top. With one last roar, Luxio's body was suddenly starting to glow.
"Oh!" Everyone gasped as they noticed Luxio glowing.
"Lux...Luxio...!" Luxio growled as the clouds above were suddenly darkening. A storm was suddenly brewing as lightning bolts were raining down from above. This only meant one thing.
The lightning bolts had crashed down onto Luxio's glowing body as red and golden eyes could be seen within the glow. And those red and golden eyes belonged to one Pokemon.
"Lux...! Lux...! Luxray!" Luxray was here.
With an even greater roar than before, Luxray blitzed through the Dragon Pulse, crashing into Salazzle at speeds so fast that the only ones who were able to see him were Ash, Pikachu Rainbow Dash and Daylight.
Everyone else couldn't keep up. The only thing they saw was an electric explosion happen on the ground. They had missed Luxray crashing into Salazzle.
"W-What just happened?!" Pinkie Pie rubbed her eyes.
"Woah..." Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped as she saw Luxray jump out of the electrical explosion while Salazzle had been launched back. "Lux...io?"
"Luxray!" Luxray bellowed.
"You evolved!" Rainbow Dash immediately pulled out her Pokedex for this one.
"Luxray. The Gleam Eyes Pokemon. Luxray can see through solid objects with its gleaming eyes. It will instantly spot prey trying to hide behind walls, even if the walls are thick. It also uses them to seek its young. Seeing through solid objects uses up a lot of Luxray’s electricity, so the Pokémon sleeps for long periods of time to store up energy. Luxray’s ability to see through objects comes in handy when it’s scouting for danger."
"Oh! You have X-Ray vision?! Awesome!" Rainbow Dash got giddy. "Did you learn any new moves too?" She scrolled down Luxray's page to see if a new move had been learned.
"Discharge. Wild Charge. Iron Tail. Ice Fang."
"Ice Fang? Well, it won't be any good on Salazzle, but whatever! It'll be great on the rest of his Pokemon though!"
"Well, would ya look at that?" Daylight was stunned by the sudden evolution. "But...Evolution won't save you in this."
"Heh! We'll see about that! Okay, Luxray! Let's put your new strength to the test!"
"Ray!"
With an evolution mid-battle, Rainbow Dash now has the fierce and perceptive Luxray on her side. But this rival battle is far from over at this point as the journey continues.
Rainbow Dash and Daylight Blazer's rival battle still continues.
With Rainbow Dash's Luxio finally evolving into a Luxray and learning Ice Fang, she's gained a powerful new ally. However, Ice Fang would prove to be useless against Daylight's Salazzle, who he believes will be the only Pokemon needed to win this entire battle.
"Wild Charge go!"
"Ray!" Luxray lowered his head as he was building up more power than he ever had before. His fur was rising as the sound of thunder going off could be heard from Luxray's charging. His eyes flashed red and yellow as he was ready to charge forward.
"Get ready, Salazzle! Use Sludge Bomb!"
"Sala!"
"Luxray!" Luxray bolted off the ground with greater speeds than he ever had before. Not to mention, a greater attack than before. Now Luxray hits harder than ever so Wild Charge is bound to be more effective. But the recoil damage would be even greater now.
Luxray got close to Salazzle, jumping into the air with Wild Charge as he was also about to claw at her. At the same time, Salazzle opened her mouth, shooting out globs of unsanitary sludge at high speeds.
"Dodge and strike at the right moment!"
"Ray!" Luxray used the momentum of Wild Charge to dash to the side, avoiding the poisonous globs as he drifted on the ground.
"Lazz!" But, dodging Sludge Bomb once wasn't enough. Salazzle continued to shoot out more poisonous globs from her mouth while also using her eyes and head to track Luxray, directing Sludge Bomb.
"Luxray!" Luxray continued to use the speed of Wild Charge as a method of dodging. He was now being chased down by Sludge Bomb across the field. But, even with his new evolution and speed increase, Salazzle still had greater speed as the globs of sludge were easily catching up to the Gleam Eyes Pokemon.
"Seriously?!" Spike gasped. "But he's a Luxray now! Shouldn't he be way faster! He's an Electric-Type too, right?"
"Yeah, but Salazzle's speed is on a whole other level. Even her moves move as fast as her." Ash replied. "It's not easy to dodge her attacks, ya know."
"Pikachu."
"Keep dodging and find an opening when it counts, Luxray!"
"Ray!" Luxray nodded as he could see that Salazzle was easily catching up to him with Sludge Bomb while he was still taking burn damage. He looked at a nearby tree that had been tilted to the side because of Rainbow Dash and Daylight Blazer's intense battle.
Seeing the tree, he took advantage of it. The Gleam Eyes Pokemon picked up the pace a little more as he ran up the tree to try and further escape Sludge Bomb while trying to find the right time to strike.
But at the same time, Sludge Bomb had also affected the trees. The globs of unsanitary sludge were already melting away at the wood in seconds, giving Luxray little time to use the tree as a platform.
However, that didn't matter, since Luxray's Wild Charge was fast enough to get him off the tree. The Gleam Eyes Pokemon found an opening as he jumped off the tree before it was completely melted away.
"Luxray!" By jumping high into the air, Luxray was finally going to strike as he shot himself from the sky, blasting down like a thunderbolt as Salazzle continued to fire Sludge Bombs at him.
The globs of sludge connected with Luxray's electric aura, but they weren't strong enough to break through Wild Charge as Luxray was getting close.
"That won't do! Now, Salazzle! Jump!"
"Sala!" In an unexpected twist, when Luxray was about to crash into Salazzle, the Toxic Lizard Pokemon suddenly jumped over the Gleam Eyes Pokemon.
"Lux?!" Luxray's eyes widened as he had completely missed Salazzle with less superior speed than her. He almost ended up crashing into the ground because of Salazzle's evasion.
"Fire Blast!"
"Salazzle!" Salazzle shot out an all-consuming blast of fire from above while Luxray was still on the ground with little time. With his eyes widened and pupils dilating, staring into the symbol of fire, Luxray had been consumed by Fire Blast before Rainbow Dash could make the command to escape.
"Lux!" Consumed by the fire with an explosion following afterwards, Luxray cried out in pain.
"Ah! Luxray!" Rainbow Dash gasped, fearing that her partner had been taken out. Thankfully, that wasn't the case as Luxray had been flying out of the explosion, still conscious
"R-Ray!" Luxray slid on the ground, almost losing his footing too. But he managed to maintain his balance. However, there was still one problem.
The burn effect.
Luxray winced as he had been burned once more. Even if his ability Guts had been awakened, that didn't mean the effect was just gone. This burn effect was greatly hindering Luxray, who even when evolving, was starting to tire out because of how superior Salazzle was to him.
"Luxray! Are you okay?!"
"L-Lux...!" Luxray took some burn damage as he lowered his head.
"It's our turn to really put the pressure on. Salazzle! Move-in!"
"Salazzle!" Salazzle was finally the one getting up-close and personal instead of standing by and attacking from afar. The Toxic Lizard Pokemon got on all fours as she started moving towards Luxray at impressive speeds.
"Here she comes! Discharge!"
"Ray!" Luxray roared as he shot out a ferocious blast of lightning from his body, right in a straight line. But, Salazzle's greater speed allowed her to dash to the side, avoiding Discharge.
"Again!"
"Ray!" Luxray fired another Discharge until it would land. The only way they could ever hope to catch up to Salazzle is by diminishing her speed. And the best way to do that was by paralyzing her.
If Discharge could land.
But so far, it wasn't. Salazzle kept avoiding the blast of lightning, despite it being a widespread move. And she did this by being on all fours. Her slender body allowed her to be very nimble as she was already very close to Luxray by this point.
"Lux!" During mid-fire, Luxray took the burn effect once more as flames kept bursting out of his body, causing the Gleam Eyes Pokemon to cry out.
"Now! Fire Lash!"
"Lazz!" With Luxray crying out after taking another burn, Salazzle took the opportunity to strike. By lighting her tongue with scorching flames, the Toxic Lizard Pokemon then swung it like a whip, smacking Luxray with it.
"L-Luxray?!" Luxray gasped as his face had been hit by Fire Lash, causing his head to turn the side. Not only that, but Salazzle did this repeatedly by rapidly whipping Luxray with Fire Lash.
"Sal-la-la-la-la-la!"
"R-Ray!" Luxray was really taking a beating.
"Salazzle!" Salazzle then finished it off by delivering one final Fire Lash smack. This one was strong enough to rocket Luxray off the ground, knocking him back.
"Luxray!" Rainbow Dash turned around to see her partner being knocked away while also taking burn damage in the process. Luxray ended up landing in the lake because of how far he flew as he made a daily large splash too.
"Oh!" Everyone stood up, staring at the water. From how far Luxray had been launched and how hard he had been hit, something like that would sting and possibly take out most Pokemon. But perhaps, Pokemon like Luxray, who have very feral and primal instincts could withstand it.
"Sala." Salazzle returned her tongue to normal as she closed her mouth, gazing at the lake with everyone else.
There was a moment of silence that filled the atmosphere and all of Saddle Lake as the water was rippling gently because of this sudden silence. Everyone was wondering what had happened to Luxray.
"Luxray?" Rainbow Dash was the most concerned as Daylight felt like he and Salazzle might have overdone it.
But after a few seconds, sparks of electricity were forming around the lake as everyone's eyes widened. With sparks flying out, that meant only one thing. Luxray was coming up.
And come up he did.
The Gleam Eyes Pokemon walked out of the lake with his body soaked with water. Unfortunately, that didn't really get rid of the burn effect. Pokemon fire is much harder to get rid of than normal fire after all.
"L-Lux...Luxray...!" Luxray breathed in and out as his fur was all wet.
"Luxray! You're okay!" Rainbow Dash grinned.
"Ray..." Luxray gave a reassuring smile to his trainer, letting her know there was no need to worry.
Unfortunately, despite that great show of spirit and hope and his new evolution, Luxray has his limitations. And they were very visible. With the burn effect and the damage he had taken, the Electric-Type couldn't go on any more as he slowly fell to the ground.
Luxray had fainted.
"Luxray..."
"Aw...Luxray's down!" Pinkie raised her hoof. "So Salazzle wins this one!"
"Just when he had evolved..." Fluttershy sighed. "I was sure Luxray would've won."
"That's how it usually works, right?" Spike said. "Bummer."
"On the bright side, Rainbow Dash now has a powerful new ally on her side, hm?" Rarity replied.
"Yeah, but even with all that, Daylight's Salazzle doesn't look a smidge tired." Applejack pointed her hoof at Salazzle, who wasn't even showing any signs of exhaustion. "She's still so chipper and healthy."
"All that speed is probably correlating with her stamina too. She could battle all day probably." Twilight noticed. "Maybe Daylight's right when he said that all he needed was Salazzle to win this."
"Return Luxray." With a deep sigh, Rainbow Dash returned her Luxray. "You did your best. You got to evolve and learn a sweet new move. I promise I'll let you really put your new form to the test someday."
"So, Rainbow. What's it gonna be? Your strongest Pokemon next?" Daylight asked.
"Tch." Rainbow Dash kissed her teeth as she began thinking of her next move. "That Salazzle's a big threat. If I send Altaria out, Dragon Pulse is gonna deal with her. Unless I Mega Evolve...No. Salazzle has Sludge Bomb for that. I could use Whirlipede's Rollout. It could help out a lot and he might even match her speed."
"Hm?" Daylight could see that Rainbow Dash was thinking extra hard with her eyes closed and head lowered to the point where her mane was covering her eyes.
"Yeah. I could have Whirlipede put a ton of pressure in and maybe catch up with Salazzle. He knows how to really put the pressure on. Yeah, I'll try that and wear Salazzle down for sure." Rainbow Dash made her decision as she took out Whirlipede's Poke Ball, tossing it. "Let's go, Whirlipede!"
"Whirlipede!" Whirlipede was ready to go again. But he was still a bit weakened from before. His shell had still taken damage and there was a horrible bruise there as well.
"Whirlipede! Let's not give them any chance to retaliate! Let's go in full force, okay?! Rollout, go, go, go!"
"Whirlipede!" With hyperactive energy, Whirlipede was ready to get aggressive. If there's one way to overwhelm a fast opponent, it's to put the pressure on them with equal and possibly greater speed.
And that's what Whirlipede sought out to do as he started rolling towards the Toxic Lizard Pokemon.
"Trying to overwhelm me, eh? I don't think so! Dragon Pulse!"
"Lazz!" Salazzle quickly shot out a dragon-shaped blast from her mouth as the attack had collided with Whirlipede's rapidly moving body.
"Charge through it!"
"Pede!" By closing his eyes, Whirlipede entered a power struggle with Salazzle's Dragon Pulse. His constant rolling was kicking up a ton of dirt while also leaving marks on the ground as a dust cloud was forming.
Since Whirlipede had been switched out earlier, all of the power and speed he had built up earlier had been reset. From his ability Speed Boost to the increasing power of Rollout each time it's used.
He would have to start from scratch, sadly. And because of that, he wasn't able to overcome Dragon Pulse, unfortunately. Thus, Salazzle, with her outstanding special attack won the power struggle in less than seconds as Dragon Pulse blew up right in front of Whirlipede, knocking the Curlipede Pokemon back.
"Whirl!"
"Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"Pull him in with Fire Lash!"
"Lazzle!" Opening her tongue and setting it on fire, Salazzle extended her blazing tongue while also jumping into the air. Whirlipede was also still airborne.
"Look out, Whirlipede! Roll away! Quick!"
"W-Whirli?" Whirlipede looked over to see Salazzle lunging at him with her tongue on fire, ready to use Fire Lash while they were both having some airtime.
"Lazz!" But, before Whirlipede could even do anything, the Toxic Lizard Pokemon got closed enough to wrap her tongue around Whirlipedes body. Since she was part Poison like him, the two poisonous barbs that flank either side of each segment of his shell didn't affect her tongue at all.
With Whirlipede being restrained by Fire Lash, his already damaged shell was taking more damage from the fire surrounding him. At this rate, even the persistent and resilient Whirlipede might end up falling here.
"Now! Slam him!"
"Whirlipede! Try rolling really fast and twist her tongue!"
"Sala!" Salazzle was already prepared to slam Whirlipede down with high amounts of force as she raised her tongue while falling from above.
"Whirlipede!" But, Whirlipede wasn't about to let that happen. He spun around while being lifted by Salazzle's tongue. By using his increased speed thanks to Speed Boost, Whirlipede already picked up a decent amount of speed.
But it wasn't enough. Because Salazzle was already ahead of the Curlipede Pokemon. Whirlipede wasn't able to break free in time as he was slammed into the ground by Salazzle's blazing tongue, further damaging his shell and dealing super-effective damage too.
"P-Pede!" Whirlipede cried out as the impact formed a crater.
"Finish it with Fire Blast!"
"La!" Salazzle then tossed Whirlipede into the air, pulling her tongue back in as she prepared one more Fire-Type attack. Her strongest one as well.
"Use Rollout to dodge and strike! Quick!"
"W-Whirli...!" Whirlipede shifted his eyes to the side, beginning to roll while having some air time. Speed Boost really helped him out here as he dashed through the air, moving downwards. However, Salazzle hadn't fired her attack yet. She was waiting.
Whirlipede had successfully landed down as he drifted on the ground. With his momentum regained, the Curlipede Pokemon faced Salazzle, boosting towards her at faster speeds.
All the while, Salazzle was still charging up as Daylight smirked. He knew exactly what he was doing at this point. Possibly even from the very beginning.
"Pede!" Whirlipede was closing in as he was kicking up wind with how fast he was moving.
But Salazzle was faster.
"Salazzle!" She opened her mouth as she released Fire Blast in an instant. This Fire Blast was not only fast but wide too. So wide that in just 1 second, it had already come into contact with Whirlipede.
"Whirl?!" Whirlipede couldn't finish his gasp as the Fire Blast had blown up around him with a pillar of fire erupting from the explosion. A powerful shockwave formed afterwards, almost knocking Rainbow Dash's goggles off her head.
And out of the pillar of fire and pitch-black smoke came the Curlipede Pokemon. Just like Luxray, he also had fire trailing out of him while he fell out.
And like Luxray, the element of fire had done him in.
Whirlipede had fainted as he fell to the side.
"W-Whirlipede..."
"Whirlipede's out cold! Salazzle wins! Yeesh...Talk about power..." said Pinkie Pie.
"Even Whirlipede?" Twilight herself was perplexed by this. "Whirlipede never goes down easily though. How strong is that Salazzle? I thought it was a speed expert instead?"
"Doesn't look that way. It's got more going for it." Applejack shook her head. "Rainbow Dash only has two Pokemon left that can go on. This can't be good."
"Thank you, Whirlipede. Return." Rainbow Dash sighed, knowing she was now being backed into a corner. So far, only one of Daylight's Pokemon had been defeated. His Sigilyph. She returned her partner to his Poke Ball.
As for Rainbow Dash. She's lost her Castform, Mienfoo, Luxray and now Whirlipede. It was up to Braviary and Altaria now. And Salazzle was still overwhelming them all.
Rainbow took out the next Poke Ball. Braviary's Poke Ball. She didn't want to risk Altaria losing to Salazzle because of the Poison-Typing. Not to mention Dragon Pulse.
So, she was betting it all on her strongest Pokemon.
"If we can just take out Salazzle, we can maybe win! Go! Braviary!" Rainbow Dash launched the Poke Ball into the air, sending out the Valiant Pokemon.
"Braviary!"
"Braviary, huh?" Daylight smiled as he slowly nodded. "I've been expecting this. So is this where you go Rainbow-Braviary then?"
"You bet! After that! Mega Altaria's gonna come and-"
"Huh? Braviary?" The pegasus looked up at her partner.
"Viary." Braviary shook his head, essentially telling her not to use both Rainbow-Braviary and Mega Altaria. He feared that using two powerful forms of energy could greatly harm Rainbow Dash.
Possibly even take her life.
Mega Evolution already requires a strong energy sync between the trainer and Pokemon, so it uses up a ton of Infinity Energy. And the Bond Phenomenon was a different story entirely. It also requires the same energy source but with alternate effects.
However, both of these forms of power have their limitations. And the one that is the most dangerous is by far the Bond Phenomenon. Last time, Rainbow Dash collapsed from pushing herself too far.
If she were to use Rainbow Braviary now and then use Mega Altaria, then the results would not be pretty for her.
So, Braviary refused to use Rainbow Braviary in this battle. Taking one for the team and allowing Altaria to unleash her full potential.
"A-Are you sure, buddy?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Brav." He was 100% sure.
"Alright. We can still win even without Rainbow-Braviary! That's what we've been working on for a while, after all!"
"Hmph. Even though I wanted to use Salazzle through the rest of this..." Daylight returned Salazzle suddenly, throwing Rainbow Dash off. "Blaziken's been itching to fight Braviary again. And I can't let him miss out. Go! Blaziken!"
"Blaziken!" Out came the Blaze Pokemon.
"Let's finish this quick, Braviary! Aerial Ace, go!"
"Braviary!" Braviary dived down at his opponent as he flapped his wings once. After doing that, he moved so fast he became a blur with a clear aura around him.
"Go, Blaziken! Use Thunder Punch!"
"Ziken!" Unexpectedly, Blaziken had a super-effective move against Braviary at his disposal. The Blaze Pokemon's claw was surrounded by yellow sparks, which grew into a ball of electrical energy. Blaziken then rushed over, looking up at Braviary who was approaching at blinding speeds.
Two fast Pokemon clashed with Braviary's wings colliding with Blaziken's claw. Braviary could feel the super-effective damage flow right through him as he and Blaziken dashed back after their short clash.
"Brave Bird!" Braviary flew straight into the air as his body became surrounded by red fire. He then dashed straight at the Blaze Pokemon as the fire around his body turned into a light blue aura.
"Thunder Punch one more time!"
"Blaziken!" Blaziken ran back in, approaching Braviary with one more Thunder Punch in both his claws as his speed had greatly increased.
The two avian-like Pokemon got in each other's face as Blaziken managed to successfully pull his move off first by giving an uppercut with Thunder Punch, striking Braviary's neck.
"Viary!" Braviary winced as Blaziken delivered another Thunder Punch, this time, knocking Braviary back by punching his face.
"Superpower!"
"Brav!" Braviary quickly recovered in the air as he ascended. The Valiant Pokemon really knew how to recover quickly. Possibly more than the rest of his teammates. He surrounded his wings and talons with intense energy as he rushed towards Blaziken.
"Counter with Close Combat!"
"Ziken!" Blaziken pivoted his foot back as he watched Braviary approach him with his wings ready to strike. Once the Valiant Pokemon got close, the two avian-like Pokemon entered a close-quarters clash.
Blaziken's claws and legs and Braviary's wings and talons were going at it, fighting for dominance in this power struggle. Blaziken went for a straight punch, but Braviary put his wings up to block them. The Valiant Pokemon then used his wings to push Blaziken's arms back as he tried to smack the Blaze Pokemon with his wings. But Blaziken also blocked by putting his knee up.
The two of them then thrust their single wing and fist forward for one more clash, creating a powerful shockwave and fissure from their two Fighting-Type moves connecting.
The ground beneath them shattered as both Pokemon were still in a power struggle, not wanting to let up. Blaziken's leg was starting to move back as Braviary could feel his wings starting to tremble as they both growled.
"Thunder Punch on your other arm!"
"Blazi!" By combining two moves, Blaziken's other claw that was still free and not clashing with Braviary's wings had gained an electric aura around it. With the second move in play, the Blaze Pokemon struck the Valiant Pokemon in the face, dealing super-effective damage once more as Blaziken won the power struggle.
"V-Viary!" Braviary yelled as he had been shocked by Thunder Punch. Not only that, but he also received paralysis from it. And with him letting his guard down on his wings, Blaziken took the opportunity to deliver more strikes with Close Combat.
"Ken-Ken-Ken-Ken!" Blaziken repeatedly punched and kicked Braviary at high speeds as afterimages of his fists and legs were the only thing being shown. Speed Boost had really helped him out here. "Blaziken!" Blaziken then finished it off up with one more punch to the face, launching the Valiant Pokemon.
"Bravi" Braviary went tumbling on the ground so fast that he left a trail because of how hard he had been hit.
"Superpower on the ground!"
"Viary!" Once again, Braviary recovered with ease as he rolled on the ground, lighting his talon up as he smashed it through the ground. The energy of Superpower travelled through, racing towards Blaziken in the form of gigantic red shockwaves.
"Jump and use Blaze Kick!"
"ZIken!" Blaziken swiftly took the skies, doing a bunch of frontflips in the air to be extra stylish about it. He then lit his legs up with fire as he went for a dropkick, avoiding the energy of Superpower.
"Brave Bird!"
"Braviary!" Braviary pulled his talon off the ground as he raced towards Blaziken with a fiery aura around him. With amazing force, both Pokemon collided yet again with Braviary's beak meeting with Blaziken's leg.
"B-Blaziken!" Blaziken tried to push through with Blaze Kick while having a ton of airtime at the moment while Braviary was giving it everything he had. He knew that if he was in Rainbow-Braviary right about now, he could maybe breakthrough easily. But, he didn't want to risk the life of his trainer, no matter what.
"Braviary!" Not wanting to let Rainbow Dash down, Braviary's eyes flashed red and blue as his fiery aura suddenly expanded in size to show his growing power.
"Ziken?! Blaziken gasped, knowing that Braviary was about to breakthrough.
And breakthrough he did. He overpowered Blaziken's signature Blaze Kick by charging through at high speeds with Brave Bird. Blaziken's foot had been pushed back as the Valiant Pokemon slammed into the Blaze Pokemon's chest at high speeds.
"Viary!"
"Blazi!" Blaziken yelled as afterwards, a voracious explosion happened afterwards, rocketing the Fire-Fighting-Type as Braviary took a lot of recoil damage after that.
"B-Brav!" Braviary's body twitched after taking the recoil damage from Brave Bird.
"Reversal!"
"Ziken!" Blaziken quickly skidded on the ground, recovering as his body became outlined in an orange and white aura. He then jumped off the ground with insane speeds as Speed Boost had now made him a certified speed demon at this point.
"Aerial Ace!"
"Viary!" Braviary shook his head as he rushed over to the approaching Blaziken with his body being outlined in white as well.
But only one of them was able to land their attack. And that one was Blaziken, who flipped over Braviary while in the air, making Braviary miss his Aerial Ace.
"Blaziken!" With Blaziken above the Normal-Flying-Type, he returned all the damage taken from Brave Bird and gave it back to Braviary by smashing his fist down onto the back of the Valiant Pokemon.
"Bravi!" Braviary gasped as Blaziken's Reversal hit him so hard then was sent rocketing back down to the ground at speed so great that all everyone could see was a blur that lasted one second.
Afterwards, a powerful impact graced the ground, creating a giant dust cloud that could be seen from afar as the water from Saddle Lake trembled.
"Oh! Braviary!" Rainbow Dash gasped. She was hoping that after that devastating attack, Braviary would still be alright.
But he wasn't.
Braviary had unfortunately fainted.
"B-Braviary..."
"Braviary's done for! Blaziken wins!"
"Braviary too?!" Fluttershy stood up. "At this rate, Rainbow Dash only has Altaria left!"
"They should've just used Rainbow-Braviary. Then they'd stand a way better chance," said Starlight.
"But Braviary wouldn't want to harm Rainbow Dash. You saw how hard they were battling, right? They haven't fully mastered the Bond Phenomenon yet. And if so, Daylight has Mega Blaziken at his disposal, so battling against that form of Blaziken would just push Rainbow Dash and Braviary past their limits. And that wouldn't be good for either of them." Twilight shook her head, explaining.
"But, that means that she has all the energy in her to use Mega Evolution now," Ash replied. "Let's see how this goes."
"Return, Braviary." Rainbow Dash returned her ace. "Really sorry about that. I promise that one day, we'll master the Bond Phenomenon and we won't have to worry about pushing past our limits ever again, okay?"
"Thanks, Blaziken. I know you're satisfied. Return." Daylight recalled his ace as well. "Alright, Rainbow. You know what's next, right?"
"Oh, I sure do." Rainbow Dash's face intensified as she adjusted her goggles. "I'm going all-in for this one. It's my first time Mega Evolving, so I'm a bit nervous. But I swear! I'm taking you down! Go, Altaria!" Rainbow Dash got out Altaria's Poke Ball, sending the Humming Pokemon out.
"Altaria!"
"One more time! Salazzle!" Daylight brought Salazzle back in.
"Salazzle!"
"That Salazzle's a hug threat...Altaria is super good against the rest of his Pokemon, especially if she Mega Evolves. Just gotta take out Salazzle. That thing's tough, but not invincible." Rainbow Dash thought to herself.
"Here it comes..." Twilight and everyone leaned forward to see this Mega Evolution for themselves.
The pegasus took a deep breath as she touched the keystone on her goggles with her hoof, activating the Mega Evolution transformation sequence.
"It's time." Rainbow Dash spoke as golden energy emanated out of her goggles. "I can already feel it! All this power is telling me to defeat you! You've definitely pushed me into a corner like this, but don't think that you've won just yet. I've one last trick up my sleeve. With the power of mine and Altaria's bond we're taking you down!"
"Altaria!" Altaria could feel the amazing power swelling from within as she spread her wings out with red energy coming out. The golden energy and red energy ended up clashing against each other, forming a DNA symbol as Altaria's body was also glowing.
A fierce overflow was happening around the Humming Pokemon as everyone's mane was being blown by all this pressure coming out. Her body was changing slightly. Her height was even increasing by 4 meters. As she crossed her wings together, she then spread them out once more as the energy dispersed from her, blowing away all the dust as Mega Altaria was here.
"Alta!"
Mega Altaria had more extensive cloud-like plumage, with a large, fluffy mass extending from its back. The feathers have grown as a self-protective measure, and they glimmer with an iridescent sheen. Her cottony wings were more distinct than in her base form, and her blue belly is now exposed.
Additional fluff surrounded her neck like a collar, and her head was adorned with a hat-like crest. A single, small feather curls out from Altaria's forehead, though its facial features are unchanged. Its tail feathers have grown into a long, wavy streamer, with three longer central plumes
"Oh! Is that what it looks like?! Look at all that hair!" Spike gasped as he took out his Pokedex. He quickly found out that it was now a Dragon-Fairy-Type instead of Dragon-Flying.
"How beautiful!" Rarity gushed.
"Ooh! I wanna jump in all that hair!" Pinkie Pie got all giddy.
"How does it feel using Mega Evolution for the first time, Rainbow?" Daylight asked.
"It feels so weird..." Rainbow Dash could feel her body acting differently. "But awesome at the same time! I feel like I could win a million times with this power!"
"Taria!"
"Then prove it. Let's end this battle."
"Oh, we're ending it alright! Altaria! Let's go! Use Disarming Voice!"
"Alt...ARIA!" Altaria's singing voice was now greater than ever in Mega Evolution. So much greater than even the size and appearance of the attack had changed.
It was now a gigantic blast of pink energy, roughly around the same size as Hyper Beam with purple hearts around it as a beautiful melody came out.
"Sludge Bomb!"
"Sala!" Salazzle got on all fours as she quickly countered by spitting out poisonous globs of unsanitary sludge from her mouth.
The two moves collided, equalling each other out with a smoke cloud appearing afterwards.
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Tari!" Altaria then went for another mouth move as a blue glow emanated out of her mouth. She had more draconic energy within her than she ever had.
"Hmph! Salazzle! Counter with Fire Blast!"
"Lazzle!" Salazzle also built up a ton of energy inside of her mouth with fire flowing out. Both Pokemon then unleashed their strongest moves.
Dragon Pulse had also changed a bit. It was still in the shape of a dragon but now with wings and claws to further resemble a dragon as an all-consuming blast of fire came towards Dragon Pulse.
The dragon bit onto Fire Blast, as if it had a mind of its own. By biting onto the symbol of Fire Blast, yet again, for the second time, both moves cancelled each other out with another smoke cloud forming.
"Move through and use Sludge Bomb!"
"Salazzle!" Salazzle suddenly jumped through the smoke cloud, shooting out multiple globs of poison from her mouth at high speeds.
"Dodge it and use Dragon Pulse one more time!"
"Tari!" Altaria quickly flew into the air, avoiding the globs of sludge as she fired a short-burst Dragon Pulse instead of a fully charged one. However, this time, the short-burst Dragon Pulse had the same amount of power as a normally charged Dragon Pulse because of the massive increase of power from Mega Evolution.
With that instant fire, Salazzle had actually been struck by Dragon Pulse because of how fast it was, causing the Toxic Lizard Pokemon to be knocked back.
"La!"
"Now! Advance with Pluck!"
"Altaria!" Altaria was now getting up-close and personal. Her attack was now even greater in Mega Evolution. Everything about her was greater but her speed remained the same. Her beak was glowing as she had an aura of wind around her.
"Here she comes! Grab her with Fire Lash!"
"Lazzle!" Salazzle opened her mouth as her tongue was on fire. She was going to restrain Altaria just like she did with the rest of Rainbow Dash's Pokemon.
But not this time.
"Bite it with Pluck!"
"Tari!" In an unexpected twist, Altaria had opened her beak, using the aura and power of Pluck to bite onto Salazzle tongue once she got close.
"S-Sala!" Salazzle was obviously shocked and in pain from that.
"Oh?!" Even Daylight was caught off guard.
"Fly up!"
"TARI!" Altaria then flew into the air while carrying Salazzle via beak. Salazzle was now off the ground as both of them were high in the air. High enough to be above all the trees here.
"S-Salazzle?!"
"Toss her up"
"Alta!" Altaria then tossed Salazzle into the air, letting her go as the Toxic Lizard Pokemon was now spinning in the air, a bit perplexed as she could still feel the damage on her tongue.
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Altaria!" With no mercy, Altaria fired a ferocious dragon from her mouth as the dragon-shaped blast opened its mouth, getting ready to bite Salazzle.
"Quick! Counter it with your own Dragon Pulse!"
"Salazzle!" Salazzle also fired her own Dragon Pulse. But hers wasn't as powerful or as large as Altaria's. Thus, when it came in contact with the Mega Dragon Pulse, it had been devoured by the larger dragon.
The Poison-Fire-Type gasped as the gigantic dragon attack had connected, biting onto her as a multi-coloured explosion happened in the air, creating a beautiful sight while Salazzle was falling from above.
"Let's go for Pluck again!"
"Alta!" Altaria zoomed towards Salazzle while she was still falling. Rainbow and Altaria were not holding back or allowing their rivals to even breathe with space. It's not usually Altaria who battles aggressively. Usually, that's Mienfoo's job.
"I don't think so! Jump onto Altaria's back and send your pheromones in!"
"La!" But, Salazzle wouldn't go down so easily. Much to the dismay of Rainbow Dash and Altaria. With quick instincts, once Altaria was close enough, the Toxic Lizard Pokemon spread her arms and legs out as she grabbed onto the soft and fluffy surface of Altaria's comfortable wings, seeping her sharp claws into them.
"Tari?!" Altaria could feel Salazzle's claws in her. Not only that, but Salazzle had used her poisonous pheromones in her claws, sending them through Altaria to weaken her.
"Sludge Bomb, go"
"Sala!" While on Altaria's back, Salazzle unleashed multiple globs of poison from her mouth, hitting Altaria's back with super-effective damage.
"Alta!"
"Shake her off!"
"Altaria!" Altaria began flying through the air with Salazzle as she was trying to shake her off. The Humming Pokemon tried speeding up, but Salazzle's claws were really deep in there. She was latching onto with amazing force.
Altaria then tried spinning around, but that wasn't working either as Salazzle kept shooting Sludge Bomb onto Altaria's back, further damaging her.
The pheromones and Sludge Bomb had ended up poisoning Altaria, further weakening the Humming Pokemon as she ended up wincing from being poisoned.
"Let's do what Spitfire did way back then...! Altaria! Get super-high into the air!"
"Alta!" Just like what Spitfire's Flygon did to Rainbow Dash's Luxio, now a Luxray, at the Canterlot Tournament, Altaria flew high into the air with the wind beating on her and Salazzle's face.
"Sala?!" And that tactic always seemed to be effective as Salazzle's grip was weakening when being taken high into the air.
Altaria was so high to the point where she could see Ponyville, White Tail Wood, Everfree, Lapras Lake and more from this height. And with how high she was, she then rapidly spun her body around.
That did the trick as Salazzle's grip was over. Her claws left Altaria's wings as she was now falling once more. This time, from a higher height.
"Let's finish this! Dragon Pulse, go!"
"Alta...!" Altaria was now charging Dragon Pulse. This was going to be a behemoth of an attack since she was charging it to max power this time.
"Oh!" Daylight knew that a fully-charged Mega Dragon Pulse was almost impossible to stop. He believed that not even Fire Blast or Salazzle's own Dragon Pulse would be able to stop it. "Quick! Use Fire Lash to get to one of the trees!"
"Lazzle!" The best option was to dodge the attack at this point. Salazzle looked at the nearest tree as she lit her tongue on fire.
"Altaria!" At the same time, Altaria released Dragon Pulse, sending possibly the largest Dragon Pulse out. Salazzle quickly wrapped her tongue around the tree as she swung towards it like a spider.
She used the tree as both a method of dodging and cover from Dragon Pulse. And for good reason. Because once Dragon Pulse missed and hit the ground, a pillar of draconic energy emerged afterwards, showing just how messy it would've been if Salazzle had actually been hit by it. A huge crater was formed from the impact.
"Alta...Altaria...!" Altaria, even in her Mega Form, had taken some heavy damage. Sludge Bomb was already super-effective on her and Salazzle firing multiple while on her back really left a number on the Humming Pokemon.
Not to mention the fact that she was also poisoned. Altaria breathed in and out as she was sweating because of the damage and poison. The Dragon-Fairy-Type slowly descended, feeling woozy now.
"That poison might do her in!" Fluttershy gasped.
"But look! Salazzle's finally wearing down!" Applejack noticed. Salazzle, after all this battling, was starting to give out finally. She was reaching her limits.
"Altaria?" Rainbow Dash looked at her partner, seeing how badly she had been poisoned. Now, she couldn't really be able to go at full strength. "Okay. Let's put an end to this! One more Dragon Pulse!"
"Al...Alt..!" Altaria was ready for another Dragon Pulse as she was charging up. It wouldn't be as powerful because of her weakened state at the moment. But it was all she had.
"Fire Blast! Go!"
"Sala...!" Salazzle was already ready to fire an attack from her mouth. This time, she was also building up her Fire Blast to the max.
"Now! Fire!" Both Daylight and Rainbow Dash said.
"Aria!"
"Lazzle!"
In perfect sync, both of their attacks came flying out. A gigantic dragon and a gigantic fire symbol. Both attacks were at their best right about now.
The battlefield was already a mess because of this battle and that mess was about to be expanded once these two moves meet. And when they did, they imploded on each other before causing a mass eruption of white energy to come out. This white energy was so wide and bright that everyone closed one eye.
The light expanded as Altaria and Salazzle could feel themselves being blown back by this eruption of Infinity Energy. Pinkie Pie along with her Spinda and Mew were certainly blown back by this.
And afterwards, the usual explosion happened. But larger than ever this time as it had a beautiful shade of blue and purple within.
It was so loud that it could be heard from Ponyville as well.
The smoke cleared as Rainbow Dash's goggles almost fell off because of the explosion. Everyone opened their eyes to see who was victorious.
Well, they were in for a shock.
An explosion that grand had ended up taking both Pokemon down. Salazzle and Altaria had both fainted. But it was mostly the poison that broke Altaria at the end as she reverted to her base form.
"Altaria..."
"Salazzle..."
"Hoh!" Pinkie Pie quickly zoomed back, looking at both Pokemon. "Both Altaria and Salazzle are out cold! That's a tie! But that also means Daylight wins!"
"Oh boy..." Daylight sighed as he felt perplexed by that. "That got a bit too aggressive at the end."
"That's that. Poor Altaria. And she had just Mega Evolved too..." Applejack lowered her hat.
"But at least she managed to knock out Salazzle. That's a win in itself, right?" Fluttershy looked at the bright side. "But what about Rainbow Dash...?"
As for Rainbow Dash, thankfully, she wasn't too hit by it. By this point, she knows how to accept a loss. as she flew over to her partner.
"Altaria. You were awesome, Good job." She helped the Humming Pokemon up.
"Aria..." Altaria nudged Rainbow Dash's head.
"You were a real champ in this Salazzle. You did your best to the very end." Daylight went over to Salazzle.
"Lazzle."
"Rainbow. That was an amazing battle from start to finish. It was worth coming here. I really enjoyed myself." said Daylight to Rainbow.
"Yeah. It was pretty blood-pumping, wasn't it?"
"Your Pokemon sure are something. It was nice getting to fight your full team. I'm looking forward to having our rematch soon in the Equestria League. Whenever that shows up."
"Same here! Altaria and everyone will be way stronger than before! We'll master Rainbow-Braviary and get everyone at full strength by the end of it all. The first Equestria Champion is going to be me"
"Hm." Daylight smirked. "We'll see."
And that was the end of that. Daylight's time here was over as he was heading back home to Canterlot. He originally came here for some training and to catch a Pokemon. But this battle with Rainbow Dash was even better.
Both trainers had grown because of this. And their rivalry had only intensified. From Daylight's crafty Gravity and Sticky Web combination to his fierce and nigh-unstoppable Blaziken and Salazzle, he's definitely an opponent that Rainbow Dash can aspire to overcome as the journey continues.
Celestia was currently on her lonesome while still taking care of Premium Polish at the same time. She had left the little unicorn in the hands of Passion and Arcanine as well as Philomena.
The reason why Celestia was on her own was obviously for her royal duties. But she had finished most of them as of recently. Right now, she was alone for a different reason.
Celestia had an ominous feeling.
That same ominous feeling she felt last week when she was asleep. That night, she could sense a malevolent and dark presence that felt familiar to her. But also new at the same time.
Of course, that presence belonged to Ghetsis, who had just recently received Dark Magic after invading one of the many universes with alternate Equestria's. She at first recognized it as Sombra's magic since he was the original wielder of it.
But after Ghetsis destroyed Sombra and became the true embodiment of fear and evil, the feeling Celestia experienced was new and different. She had never felt magic like this before.
But ever since that night, she hadn't been feeling it anymore. However, the Sun Princess was still on edge. She wasn't even aware that Ghetsis was the one currently wielding a new kind of Dark Magic.
Celestia shuddered. To have some time alone, she went out to Canterlot Gardens for peace. When it's not the raging battlefield for two trainers and their Pokemon to go at it, it's the usual peaceful garden that everyone can relax at.
She sat down on the bench, letting her mind be put at ease.
"So much to focus on...Ghetsis. Empress Twilight. Skyblue Shine. This completely beats out what I had to deal with before our worlds crossed over." Celestia sighed as she slumped on the bench. "When this is all over...I wonder what's next?"
She pondered about the future. If they manage to clear out all the major problems threatening their world and every other world. Celestia firmly believed that every alternate world that Ghetsis and Empress Twilight have conquered and ruined can be saved.
Just like how there was a Pokemon for everything, she had hope that there might be a Pokemon out there that can solve these problems easily. Most likely a Legendary or a Mythical.
But other than that, those fears were quickly swept away from the sight of the beautiful nature of Pokemon.
Celestia's eyes could take in what the strange and wonderful creatures known as Pokemon can offer. From how the Bellossom dance in the radiant sunlight with the Cherrim hopping around. A flock of Staravia flew across the sky while a group of Oddish were riding on their backs.
There was a large group of Bug-Type Pokemon arguing on which one of them was the best. From Caterpie, Wurmple, Ledyba, Wurmple, Wormadam, Sewaddle, Scatterebug, Grubbin and Blipbug. All of them were having a small squabble that wasn't really that destructive.
A Snorlax could be seen eating piles of cakes and that immediately raised a red flag for Celestia as she narrowed her eyes, locking onto the massive piles of cake and the Sleeping Pokemon.
"I-Is that my cake stash...?" Celestia uttered.
"Sister!" Luna suddenly interrupted her, appearing in front of her older sister. "I have exciting news for you!"
"Hm? You do? What is it?"
"Have a look at this! For your little Cobalion situation." Luna held out a flier. "I've issued a Blind Date for you!"
"Hah?"
"I know you've been wanting to spend quality time with Cobalion, but have never gotten around to it. With problems obviously popping up constantly and Cobalion out with the Swords of Justice, saving everyone. Well, this is your chance. I've already set everything up for Cobalion to arrive at the blind date."
"You did all of this by yourself?"
"Mhm." Luna nodded. "Well, I did have some help with deciding where to host it. How does it sound, sister? This is a grand opportunity!"
"Well..." Celestia took the flier. "It would be nice to spend time with Cobalion, certainly. But will this work out? I mean, I haven't exactly prepared myself for this."
"There is absolutely no need to worry. I'll be there to support you as well. The flier should also be delivered to the location of the Swords of Justice by now. I've also disguised it as a Dinner Party. Ash and the others will be there to help."
"You did this all for me, Luna?" Celestia sat up.
"But of course. That's what sisters are for, right?"
"I suppose so. Alright, I'll give it a try. I can't believe I get to go on a date with Cobalion. Eeeee!" Celestia got all giddy.
"And if you're lucky, you might partake in what humans call...I believe it's handholding? At the Pokemon Festival, I heard that it means that love is imminent or something like that. I'm not so sure why they deem it so special and important. But read these for good measure." Luna gave Celestia some love guide books that she believed would work. "This will be a success for certain!"
"Right! I can't wait!" Celestia smiled while holding the books, looking forward to tonight.
With the Swords of Justice.
They had received the flier, but they weren't fooled about the whole fake Dinner Party that Luna tried to pull. They were able to deduce it being a blind date after they had first gazed at it.
"Ooh!" Keldeo gawked as he was looking at the flier. "What a lucky catch!"
"What's so lucky about this?" Terrakion asked. "Isn't this meant for Cobalion?"
"Looks like it." Virizion nodded as she went up to the flier. "This is what they call a Blind Date, right?"
"Hm." Cobalion nodded, knowing why he was involved in this.
"A chance to eat a ton of food? Nice!" Keldeo let out a cheesy grin.
"Oh. I thought you would be going there for the Blind Date, Keldeo," said Virizion.
"Hah!" Terrakion wheezed. "Keldeo?! Date?! You gotta be-"
"But, maybe, by chance I'm sure you can find someone special there, Keldeo." Virizion put her hoof into Terrakion's mouth, keeping him quiet. "You can go along and join Cobalion since you're so interested. Is that alright with you, Cobalion?"
"Fine by me. Let's get this over with as soon as possible. Come, Keldeo." Cobalion was already on his way.
"Yes!"
Manehattan Restaurant. Night.
A gathering had been made since Luna disguised it as a Dinner Party. But the Swords of Justice didn't fall for it. Speaking of which, Celestia was all dressed up and sitting properly alongside her younger sister Luna while Keldeo was already snacking away, eating at all the food here. The third pony sitting next to Celestia and Luna ended up being Sunset Shimmer who was dragged into this.
And Ash being Ash, couldn't resist the food despite him being ordered by Luna to keep it low. But he didn't keep it low. He and Pikachu were already eating alongside Keldeo like savages.
"This is good stuff! It's even better knowing we can pay this off!" Ash said while devouring a salad.
"You can say that again!" Keldeo nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Oh, Ash..." Twilight facehoofed as she was beside Cadence who came along to help out for obvious reasons. "Not for one second you can stay put. Oh well. At least everything seems to be going swimmingly right about now."
"Mhm." Cadence nodded.
"Ash. Slow down, will you? You've managed to get something on your face." Luna pointed out as she used her hoof to gently come in contact with Ash's face.
"Hm?!" Twilight's eyes shot up as she gazed at Ash and Luna. Her imagination was suddenly envisioning a scenario where Luna was emanating a romantic aura around Ash. Little does Twilight know, Luna already have her own affection for Ash as well. "W-W-What is going on over there?!" She thought to herself as her hooves pressed on the wall. She pressed on them so hard that cracks even formed.
"Ah! Stop, Princess Twilight! You're gonna bring our restaurant down at this rate!" One of the employees cried out.
"Oh, would you look at that?" Cadence observed. "So Luna feels the same way, does she? I'm learning new things every day, aren't I?"
"Sylveon."
"Wait? Princess Luna does?!" Twilight turned to face Cadence.
"Clear as day." Cadence nodded.
"I wish I was there...!" Twilight bit her teeth on the wall, gnawing away at it out of jealousy. All she had to do was standby and make sure everything goes according to plan. "It doesn't matter to me one bit who Ash falls in love with but...!"
"You keep telling yourself that." Cadence chuckled as she patted Twilight on the head.
"Did they really just come here to eat...?" Celestia said to herself while Ash and the others scarf down their food. But Cobalion was sitting peacefully.
"Wasn't really what I was expecting..." Sunset chuckled nervously while watching the boys devour their meals like maniacs. "I still need to get used to coming back here."
"I need to make sure that my sister is happy." Luna thought to herself. "But why exactly did Keldeo join us?"
"Princess Celestia." Cobalion suddenly spoke which prompted Celestia to shoot up with her mane flaring. "You seem a bit tense and cold in that dress. Are you alright?"
"F-Fine!" Celestia got all flustered. "No need to worry! I mean, you don't wear a suit yourself, Cobalion and I'm not sure you can get cold."
"My Steel body is what protects me from the cold." Cobalion responded. "I can't say the same for Terrakion and Virizion."
"But I'm A-Ok! Being a Water-Type rules!" Keldeo laughed with confidence. But all that laughing made him almost choke on a hayburger. "Gough!"
"Drink up." Sunset used her magic to give Keldeo some water, freeing him from a potential choking accident.
"Gah!" Keldeo gasped as he slammed his face on the table. "Thanks."
"Besides. I could never wear clothing. It looks too flashy for my taste." Cobalion shook his head. "Especially those...I believe they're called suits?"
"Oh yeah!" Ash ate an entire fruit salad bowl in one go. "Those things can get really tight, ya know!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"This doesn't look like it's working..." Cadence squinted her eyes. She then used her magic to communicate with Luna telepathically to give her advice. "Luna. We might have to try a different angle."
"A different angle? Oh, I understand what you mean." Luna spoke back with her mind.
"You do?" Cadence raised an eyebrow.
"Of course. Perhaps, my sister just needs to be more assertive, much like how Cobalion is. And perhaps, food is most likely the way to his heart to really have him be invested. It certainly works for Ash, Pikachu and Keldeo."
"Well, I think Ash, Pikachu and Keldeo are three different cases...don't you think?" Cadence laughed nervously. "But assertiveness and food aren't the worst ideas. Although, Cobalion is hard to read if I'm being honest."
"I've read novels that have a situation like that. They always seem to work out." Twilight joined in with the conversation.
"I thought you were an expert in all things love?" Luna questioned Cadence.
"Well, yes but...Cobalion has a new kind of serious nature I've never come across before. This might take some time. We could be here until midnight honestly. But it's nothing I can't deduce. We should just let it happen naturally for now."
"Understood. I'm counting on you Cadence." Luna nodded as she stopped talking to Cadence with telepathy. "Sister."
"Hm?" Celestia turned to Luna.
"Try being assertive and feed him some food. That might prove to be effective."
"You think so?" Celestia shifted her eyes towards the Iron Will Pokemon.
"I know so." Luna grinned. "We have to make this a swimming success."
"Right. I'll try and-" As Celestia went to face Cobalion, she saw that the Iron Will Pokemon had already done it for her by pushing a plate of food to Celestia.
"Here. You haven't eaten yet, Princess." Cobalion offered the food.
"Ah!" Celestia froze along with Luna while Cadence let out a giant smile.
"Oh, thank you." Celestia took the food while thinking to her self. "He beat me to it. I thought I would be the one to offer him some food but..."
"It's supposed to be the other way around! Are those novels I've read useless?" Twilight screeched in her mind.
"A real professional!" Cadence squeed.
"So, Keldeo. I hear you worked hard to become a Sword of Justice. That's what they're known as right?"
"Sure did!" Keldeo smiled. "You won't believe the adventure it took for me to get there! Ash and Pikachu remember a lot of it!"
"Sure do!" Ash gave a thumbs up along with Pikachu.
"Pika!"
"Ooh. Tell me how it went?" Sunset leaned in.
"Got it! I'll break the whole thing down." Keldeo offered to tell the story, giving Sunset something to enjoy in the meanwhile.
"Hm?" Cobalion's sharp eye was suddenly on high alert as he turned around. By rotating his head, he spotted Twilight and Cadence peeking from the door, causing the two alicorns to yelp and hide.
"Eek!" They both hid from Cobalion.
"Princess Twilight and Princess Cadence seem to be acting a bit off." Cobalion said.
"Oh! Well...haha..." Celestia's flustered emotion was only increasing even further as Luna was starting to sweat a bit.
"Did they by chance tag along because they were worried?"
"W-Worried? Not quite!" Celestia scrunched her face. "Well...I guess you're not 100% wrong, actually. They have their reasons to be worried about this. They're just here to support me after all. And Luna of course. She was the one who planned this from the start."
"Ah!" Luna shot up from hearing that.
"I'm afraid I might end up relying on them too much for this one specific event, honestly."
"That's fine." Cobalion adjusted his sitting. "Relying on others is not inherently a bad thing. Some of the strongest forces out there involve the unity of fellow teammates and friends."
"I can agree on that." Celestia nodded.
"Hm..." Cobalion shifted his eyes to the nearby meal. "That does seem a bit delicious actually."
"Oh? Then in that case..." Celestia stood up as she was about to try the feeding tactic on Cobalion. But, at the same time, Cobalion himself stood up to personally grab the food himself.
And in unison, both of them reached for the plate as their hooves connected.
"OH!" Twilight and Cadence's eyes flared.
"AH!" Luna's tongue became crumpled and sharp as her jaw dropped with excitement. Apparently, direct contact with hooves is enough to spark this large of a reaction.
"Hm?" Ash, Pikachu, Keldeo and Sunset weren't sure as to why there was such a huge reaction all of a sudden.
"Pika?"
"Hah...Hah...!" Celestia pulled her hoof back, looking at and trembling. "Our hooves nonchalantly touched...Is this what the humans called handholding? Hoofholding probably? Isn't that a sign of..." She then started recalling what Luna told her earlier this morning.
"And if you're lucky, you might partake in what humans call...I believe it's handholding? At the Pokemon Festival, I heard that it means that love is imminent or something like that."
"Uh...Princess Celestia?" Sunset looked up at her teacher, wondering why she was trembling so much. "Are you okay?"
"𝘼𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖!" Full of unbridled energy and a flustered face, Celestia sat up from her seat as she immediately started galloping away at ludicrous speeds while being embarrassed.
She was so embarrassed and flustered that she ended up jumping out of the window of the restaurant, breaking the glass in the process. Everyone in the restaurant was made aware of this. They already knew Princess Celestia was here but they didn't expect her to just burst out of the window screaming at an insanely high pitch.
"Celestia?!" Ash gasped.
"Sister?!" Luna stood up.
"Our hooves just touched, that's all." Cobalion looked at his hoof.
"Urgh..." Cadence herself get embarrassed by this. "Why are you so bad at romance, auntie...?"
"Well...anyway..." Sunset slowly turned her head back to Keldeo. "Your journey to became a sword sure is something. Losing your horn like that?"
"Ah, well yeah!" Keldeo laughed. "Being all reckless and headstrong cost me my horn. I thought Kyurem was chasing me down for the fun of it. But really, he just found out I lied and wanted a proper battle. But I bet I could beat him now, ya know! I came close!"
"Did you now?" Sunset placed her hoof on her cheek. "Can you prove it?"
"Well uh..." Keldeo rubbed the back of his mane while laughing nervously.
"I'll check on her." Cobalion stood up to go and talk to Celestia himself while the employee of the restaurant had their jaw dropped when witnessing more of the restaurant being destroyed via alicorn love.
"𝘼𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖!"
Across Manehattan, Celestia was still galloping, essentially fleeing from love. She was moving so fast that she even surpassed her normal running and flying speed.
Celestia barged through some doors as she wasn't really looking where she was going. The Sun Princess was too perplexed for her vision to properly work. as everypony in Manehattan was staring at her, wondering why their ruler was galloping while screaming.
Celestia did a hard turn to the right, blasting through another door, causing a sonic boom in the process. And along the way, she was actually solving many problems with her directionless galloping.
She managed to solve the issue of two ponies struggling to pull apart a large finger trap. Those are nigh-impossible to break and these two ponies accidentally got their faces stuck between them.
"This is all your fault..." The pony said.
"My fault? You're the one who-"
"𝘼𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖!" The other pony was about to finish their sentence until Princess Celestia came bursting through their home, ripping the finger trap into two while leaving behind a large trail of dust.
"Oh! Thank you, Princess Celestia!"
Another problem she solved was helping a tourist human get up to a high place to really get a view of the skies of Manehattan. And Equestria in general. There was a rare occurrence about to happen in the sky and he wanted to get a good look at it. But he couldn't from the height he was currently standing on.
"Ah...I should just catch a Flying-Type really. A really big one like Braviary. But it's getting too late to-"
"𝘼𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖!" Celestia's insane speed rocketed the trainer into the air by crashing through him.
"Oh! Thank you!" The trainer thanked her as he took a picture of the beautiful occurrence which was a stardust aurora caused by some Togekiss who were bringing gifts to Equestria.
The third one was preventing a major accident from happening. Some construction workers weren't aware of the potential collapse of the scaffolding they were working on. At any moment, it could break apart.
"𝘼𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖!" But along came Celestia, who ended up knocking all of the construction workers far away while the scaffolding fell.
Everypony was almost crushed by the collapsing scaffolding but they were saved by Celestia's galloping and running. And they had their hard hats to protect them from the fall.
"Thank you, Princess!" They all said.
"Now to deal with this..." A construction worker came across the broken scaffolding.
And next, she helped a pony who was suffering from little money by accidentally dropping all of the bits she had in her dress, making it land on the pony. She was going to use that to pay off the bill from all the food ordered back at the restaurant.
"Thank you so much, Princess Celestia! My kids are going to love this!"
This went on for a while. She accidentally had a baby pony on her back from running through somepony's home. The baby was crying as Celestia actually turned around while still galloping, returning to the home she broke through as she brought the baby back to its mother and father.
"...Huh?" The mother and father were rightfully confused.
Celestia also stopped a robbery by knocking out the burglar at ridiculous speeds, returning the stolen goods to the victims as well.
Celestia seemingly couldn't stop no matter what. The trail of smoke she left behind was so large it could be seen from the horizon as everyone in Manehattan witnessed it go on and on.
And back at the restaurant, Cadence deemed this as a failure as well as Luna.
"Just when it was going so well..." Cadence groaned.
"Is Princess Luna away from Ash yet?" Twilight took a peek to see that Luna was shaking her head because of her sister's sudden outburst. For now, she just seemed distracted. Twilight saw this as an opportunity to have Ash for herself. "Yes!"
"Ah..." Ash patted his belly along with Pikachu. "I'm stuffed. Whaddya say we head home, buddy?"
"Pikachu."
"What?! Now?!" Twilight winced.
"What about you, Keldeo?" Ash sat up.
"Hm? Nah, I'll stay for a bit. Sunset's telling me about her next. You can fly?"
"Only when it counts," said Sunset. "Having wings in the human world was completely unexpected for me. I mean, I'm still a unicorn after all."
"Wait, Ash! Don't leave yet!" Twilight teleported over, appearing next to Ash and Pikachu.
"What are you doing Twilight...?!" Cadence stretched her face.
"Have some more! I can feed you if you want."
"I beg your pardon?" Luna suddenly shifted her head towards Twilight. "I think not."
"Why not?" Twilight asked.
"Well...Because..." Luna scrunched her face, trying to not make it look obvious that she also has a crush on Ash. "Because I said so!"
"That doesn't sound a lot like you, Princess Luna." Twilight lowered her eyes.
"I'll just head home and eat some of mom's cooking instead." Ash pointed to the side as Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder. "Let's go, Pikachu."
"Wait!" Both Twilight and Luna bellowed, causing Ash to freeze.
"How did it all go so wrong...?" Cadence sighed.
"Can you do it here?!" Keldeo leaned forward.
"Well, if I could, I'd be an alicorn. But that's not gonna happen." Sunset chuckled as she and Keldeo were the only ones having a normal conversation during all of this.
"I'll just take some of this with me." Ash picked up the food as he was going to bring it home. He then dashed away with Pikachu. "See ya tomorrow!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Ash!" They both held their hoof out, trying to stop Ash. But they knew it was pointless as they both sighed. "What a waste..."
But then, the two of them locked eyes, giving each other not so pleasant glares as lightning was coming out of their eyes, clashing against each other.
"So. You have personal interest with Ash as well, do you?"
"Mhm," Twilight replied with her eyes being narrowed even further.
"Sorry to disappoint, Twilight Sparkle. But you're a bit out of your league for him."
"Hah! What makes you say that? Besides, I've been with him longer. So there's that!"
The tension between the two alicorns was intensifying while Keldeo and Sunset were having an ordinary conversation. Twilight's Espeon had a very bad feeling about this as she shuddered.
"Hold it!" Cadence slid in with her Sylveon, holding them both back. "This isn't the place for you two to tear each other apart!"
"Sylveon!"
"Espeon!"
"Hmph!" Both night-based-named alicorns turned away from each other.
"We'll see who succeeds in all of this. I promise you, I won't hold back, Twilight Sparkle." Luna declared.
"Neither will I. I'll be coming out on top in the long run!"
"Ugh...How did this happen?" Cadence whimpered as she wanted this to be over already.
A nearby beach.
Celestia had finally stopped running.
She had stopped at a place known as Shellos Seashore. Currently, the sun princess was sitting by the sea with her mane down and clothes all rugged and wrinkly from all that running. She was a bit of a mess now.
"Why am I like this?" Celestia said to herself with her head lowered. "So much for being confident and strong. Cobalion must think I'm insane now...Curse it all."
She sat there for a while. Considering how she was feeling at the moment, Celestia could be here for hours. Thankfully, she wouldn't have to.
Because Cobalion had arrived. Surprisingly, he had caught up to her in a short amount of time despite how ludicrously fast she was moving.
"Have you recovered?" Cobalion asked.
"Mhm." Celestia let out a timid response.
"Good." Cobalion went up to her. "Not the result you were expecting to happen tonight, correct?"
"No..." Celestia shook her head. "Why can't I just be forward and honest? You must think I hate you."
"Not at all. I don't think that. If anything, this is just something you're not used to. Aside from the love for your family, friends, subjects and kingdom, romance isn't your forte after all."
"Not one bit. The one thing I can't understand."
"It's fine. It's not my speciality either."
"It's not?" Celestia looked up at Cobalion.
"If anything, you're the first one to show any high signs of affection towards me. I've seen many Humans and Pokemon fall in love over the years but I've never understood it myself. Saving Pokemon and humans from disasters is always my top priority. But, I suppose I do love my comrades. The Swords of Justice. And my world as well. That much, I can understand."
"So we're in the same boat, are we? Guess I'm not alone in this. "We've both lived for so many years and there's just one thing we haven't mastered yet. Still a bit embarrassing honestly." Celestia chuckled.
"Such is life. No one's perfect. But, that doesn't mean we can't stop trying."
"What do you mean?" Celestia asked.
"What do you say we work on it together? Perhaps we can learn from each other and finally cross out the struggle of understanding love. Don't you agree?"
"Ah!" Celestia had a sunny smile on her face. And right next to them, in the water, a Luvdisc showed up. Whenever Luvdisc appears and is found, a potential couple finding this Pokémon will be blessed with eternal love."Yes! I certainly do!"
"Splendid. Now, I'll be on my way, if you'll excuse me, Princess Celestia." Cobalion turned around as he was ready to head out and help other living creatures alongside the Swords of Justice.
"Oh." Celestia stood up. "You can just call me Celestia, please."
"Understood. Celestia." With that, Cobalion walked off, leaving Celestia with something to remember tonight.
"Calling me by that name only without formality must mean something right? I feel so lucky right now!" Celestia got all giddy, prancing on the spot. "Wait till Luna hears about this!"
The Blind Date came to an end. Overall, it could've gone better. While Cobalion and Celestia have managed to expand their relationship, the third rivalry for Twilight had been birthed. At first, it was Bayleef. Then it was Meloettea and now it was Princess Luna with both alicorns vowing to win Ash over in the end. Whenever that happens.
And the only result that actually came out the best was Keldeo and Sunset Shimmer who had managed to become friends after their conversation. Truly a night to remember. As the journey continues.
"Alright. That should be enough training today. Let's go over your new moves, everyone." Twilight said to her Pokemon as she took out her Pokedex. Just recently, she's been training with Eve and the others to help improve their skills. Not only that, but they had also learned some new moves in the process while replacing some old ones.
"Espeon. The Sun Pokemon. Psychic. Dazzling Gleam. Quick Attack. Shadow Ball."
"Absol. The Disaster Pokemon. Night Slash. Dark Pulse. Counter. Giga Impact."
"Cinccino. The Scarf Pokemon. Tri Attack. Aqua Tail. Focus Blast. Thunder."
"Ninetales. The Fox Pokemon. Mystical Fire. Extrasensory. Energy Ball. Hidden Power Dragon."
"That looks good." Twilight nodded. "It took a while for us to learn that Hidden Power Dragon. Who knew it had to be so specific to receive it?"
"Tales!"
"Toge?" Togekiss, who was in Twilight's lab at the moment until she's brought back to Delphox's hut, had witnessed the entire training sequence for herself and how long it took.
She took a slight interest in it considering how Twilight and her Pokemon train. They don't really train like normal Pokemon Trainers. Like Ash, she and her Pokemon have their own style of doing things.
"Hm?" Twilight turned to face Togekiss, seeing how she was gazing at everyone. "Oh, Togekiss. Are you interested?"
"Togekiss." Togekiss wasn't so sure. But she did enjoy the sight of Twilight and her Pokemon bonding. She's still a baby mentally in the body of an adult. Togekiss was just here for the ride, honestly.
"Wonder what your moves are?" Twilight checked Togekiss's moveset.
"Oh! That's impressive!" Twilight's eyes flared. "You're already fit for Pokemon battling. But um...I guess you wouldn't want that, would you?"
"Kiss." Togekiss shook her head.
"Oh anyway. You'll be heading back to Delphox very soon, you know. I've just about got the hang of how both our worlds making a new kind of magic works. At least...I hope so. All that Rift energy still makes it so complicated and..."
Twilight kept rambling on, talking about all the progress she's made from start to finish. At the same time, her Pokemon decided to rest. Togekiss herself decided to take a walk or fly around Ponyville for a while.
And at that moment, Sunset and Starlight came barging into the lab.
"Twilight! Big news!" Both unicorns exclaimed.
"Hm? What is it?" Twilight asked.
"They've found a major lead on Team Plasma and Empress Twilight!"
"Huh?!" Twilight shot up after hearing that as all of her Pokemon also shot up. "Seriously?!"
"Seriously!" Both unicorns nodded.
"One of Princess Celestia's guards managed to find a specific spot where Team Plasma frequently shows up when he was patrolling." Sunset stepped forward. "Princess Celestia should be arriving right about-"
Before Sunset's words could be finished, the part about Celestia arriving was 100% true. Because right in-between Twilight, Sunset and Starlight, Princess Celestia had teleported in along with Passion and the guard that Sunset mentioned.
"Twilight! Have you gotten news of it yet?" Celestia said.
"Oh! Um, yes!" Twilight nodded. "Sunset and Starlight just told me when they came in. Guess you were going to do the same just in case. So is it really true that you've found a major lead on Team Plasma?"
"Certainly." Celestia stepped forward. "And we have this guard to thank. His outdoor patrolling has really given us a great benefit. Would you kindly tell them what you witnessed?" Celestia asked the guard.
"Understood." The guard stood firm, ready to tell them all everything. "It all happened two days ago leading up to today."
2 days ago. During the night.
I was off on an outdoor patrol with the rest of my fellow guards. A common thing we're ordered to do. This time, during that week, I was patrolling around a place known as Meganium Meadow until...
"I wish I could join the Equestria League. That'd be something." The guard said as he arrived at his assigned location.
But that was to be expected in a place such as this. The most common Pokemon Type here is Grass, mainly Meganium of course along with a few other Grass-Types. Plus some Normal-Types, So peace is to be expected. Grass-Types are considering the most relaxing Type next to Fairy.
This meadow also had Dynamax dens littered around. But there weren't any Dynamax Pokemon present so it only added to the absolute silence. It was also unbelievably wide. It looked like it would take up most of Equestria because of the sheer scale of it. There were roughly millions of Pokemon here. Enough to fill a city.
However, even for Grass-Type Pokemon, there was something unusually silent about this place. When the guard arrived, he could already feel the still air flowing through this entire meadow. As if something rather ominous had previously infected it and was still lingering.
Not only that, the guard witnessed the current emotions and actions of the Pokemon living here. Many of the Pokemon seemed to be trembling in fear and cowering as if they were hiding from something. None of the Pokemon were out in the open.
"Hm?" The guard was thinking that he was the cause of them being terrified. Perhaps, they were fearful of ponies in a way. So the guard simply stepped, however, he didn't get a reaction out of them. They didn't run away or start screaming in fear.
They could actually tell that the guard meant no harm. Mostly because he wasn't the reason they were so afraid. But there was a reason. And it did involve someone.
"Is something here?" The guard started moving his head around, searching for whatever maybe scaring the Grass Pokemon here. The meadow was fairly flat, so there wasn't much for the Pokemon to hide behind. Other than the trees and surprisingly tall flowers for camouflage purposes.
Feeling suspicious, the guard now had a possibly larger reason to patrol this area while his fellow guards patrol other parts of Equestria. But at this moment, that's when the unexpected happened. Something even a Royal Guard of Canterlot wasn't prepared for.
A gateway had opened up.
Out of nowhere, a gateway had just popped up in the middle of the meadow as all the Pokemon started whimpering. They then rushed off to find better places to hide. This gateway seemed to be the major reason why they were terrified in the first place.
And the guard was certainly startled. He wasn't expecting this during his outdoor patrol. He was only expecting to see Pokemon frolic in the night and maybe a random Pokemon battle or two. Not this.
This was something the guard was both prepared and unprepared for at the same time. His first thought was that if a gateway had suddenly opened up here, that means someone had summoned it. And the only two who are capable of doing so are Ghetsis and Empress Twilight.
Having that knowledge, the guard didn't want to deal with either of the two intimidating and powerful forces. Whether he'd be crushed or taken captive. So, much like the Pokemon living here, he decided to hide behind the nearest tree.
And he had the right instinctive decision. Because out of the gateway came ten Team Plasma grunts. But they didn't have Ghetsis with them. Most likely, Ghetsis simply opened the gateway for them.
Either way, the guard had a lot of reasons to be nervous right now as he made sure to stay completely hidden behind the tree along with the Pokemon.
"This place again?" One of the grunts spoke. "We've already been here two times in a row? What's the point?"
"Don't complain to me. Colress keeps ordering us to come back here since this is where the most amount of Dynamax energy can be found." Another replied. "If you want to complain, then go talk to Colress."
"Let's hurry it up already." A grunt held out a Poke Ball as they had an artificial Dynamax band made by Colress on them. "Do you sense any Dynamax Pokemon?"
"Hmm..." One of the grunts also held out a radar device made by Colress. One that tracks Dynamax Pokemon and more importantly, Gigantamax Pokemon. "This place still has a lot of Dynamax particles around here. But none of the Pokemon seemed to have Dynamaxed yet."
"Duh. They're obviously scared of us after last time." One grunt chuckled. "They don't want to end up like their friends we took. What say we force them to Dynamax like before?"
"Already one step ahead of you." Just then, a third device made by Colress came out. But it was more along the lines of a mechanical glove. The grunt put the glove on her arm as it fit perfectly. This device also had something to do with Dynamax and Gigantamax. "Get your Poke Balls ready."
The grunt then raised her arm into the air, causing the glove to activate. From the glove, red and purple Dynamax energy waves were pulsating out. This one glove was capable of letting out the same energy that comes from the dens and even Eternatus as it made a ringing sound that only the Pokemon could hear.
All of the Grass Pokemon here could feel the rumbling and pulses coming from the glove as the red and purple energy went through their bodies. It felt like something was eating away at them from the inside.
This was probably worse than Eternatus forcing Pokemon to Dynamax. This form of Dynamax harmed the Pokemon greatly as opposed to Eternatus's energy which only forces them to Dynamax against their will. This glove does the same thing but worse and with added pain.
And even worse, when the Pokemon were Dynamaxed, the sharp pain coming from the glove were causing them to become immobile To avoid them fighting back obviously. Colress really made sure to make everything convenient for Team Plasma.
The pain was equal to a super-effective move. The Pokemon couldn't do anything to stop it. And any struggling just made it worse for them. It was like they were being hit by the Paralyze effect from an Electric-Type attack. But less pleasant.
I witnessed the Pokemon around me being Dynamaxed against their will. They had also lost all form of movement, allowing for Team Plasma to easily capture them without any resistance. The sight just shocked me beyond belief. But hearing about how they've been there before because of how many Galar Particles were in those meadows made me think that they'd return more frequently there. I reported to Princess Celestia to let her know what I saw. So in the morning, Princess Celestia and I along with other guards immediately arrived at the Meadows to rescue all of the Pokemon there, bringing them to Canterlot for safety.
"That leads to today. We haven't engaged Team Plasma yet. Ghetsis is the one keeping the gateway open. We can't risk interacting with him at the moment. He's just as dangerous as Empress Twilight." Celestia said.
"They made a glove that does that?!" Twilight's jaw dropped.
"Those poor Pokemon..." Starlight pouted.
"What about the meadows?" Sunset asked.
"Since we've brought back all the Pokemon there, Team Plasma won't be appearing for a while. That is until they apparently finish that device that Colress individual was building. Then, they won't need to capture Pokemon again. I also came here because I was hoping that Cold Colt has improved and found a way to control gateways. We'll need his stellar Rift magic to help us in this."
"Oh, um. Not yet." Twilight shook her head. "He made one but it's an unknown gateway and he did it by accident. Recently, his magic has been a bit erratic so we're not sure if he's mastered it yet."
"I see." Celestia nodded. "Well, at least you're aware of this. I can imagine that Ash won't ignore this like I haven't."
"Oh yeah, Ash! Why don't we just send him to deal with it? I mean, he's got a major history with Team Plasma and he was even a part of freeing Saddle Arabia from them, right?" Starlight said.
"Ash and Pikachu are obviously the best against Team Plasma. Alongside the Swords of Justice and Hollow. I've already informed the Swords of Justice of this. They're preparing themselves for whenever they get the chance to pass through the gateway."
"If only there was a faster way to get through them. Or at least get a gateway working." Sunset sighed.
But hearing that made Twilight think of something that could actually work. It obviously involved Cold Colt but there was someone else involved in her thinking. After pondering, Twilight came to a stunning conclusion.
"Of course!" She exclaimed. "We'll have Cold ask Emerald Aura!"
"Who?" Celestia, Sunset, Starlight and the guard each said.
"Emerald Aura. She's another Rift Pony like Cold. And they're good friends from the looks of it."
"Oh yeah, her!" Starlight remembered.
"She actually has great control over her Rift energy from what I remember. She could be the one to help! And if we're lucky, she can probably open a gateway. Maybe."
"That's excellent, Twilight!" Celestia leaned in. "Where is she?"
"Well um...She's wondering the world right now, so we're not really sure." Twilight scrunched her face. "But, your parents could find her. They see everything right?"
"Um...A bit. My parent's don't actually see everything in Equestria. Their vision is outstanding sure, but they can only alternate between locations. In fact, they mostly oversee Canterlot if anything else. However, they can certainly help."
"Will she help us though?" Starlight asked. "She doesn't really seem like she likes us. Only Cold actually."
"If Cold can convince her then probably." Twilight nodded. "We'll tell Cold right away, Princess."
"Wonderful. I can already guess my parents are working on finding her. Luna and I are always the ones they love to watch. I wish they wouldn't do it so much actually."
The decision had been made. There was a potential way to access a gateway to Pyrestar's world. And that way was from Emerald Aura. A close friend of Cold Colt.
Sunlight and Eventide were already working on finding her. It was true. They always oversee their daughters and Canterlot. Their vision has limits at the end of the day along with other things.
Major progress was being made now. The guard finding the grunts in the meadows was what they needed. They now had a major lead on Team Plasma.
And Team Plasma knew that.
Colress, who had obviously littered most of Equestria with his spycams, was aware of Celestia and her guards rescuing the Pokemon from the meadows. In fact, ever since they were rescued, Colress had ordered the grunts to stop heading to the Meganium Meadows until his device was complete.
"Well, they seem to be getting in the way more often. Equestria of course." Colress spoke to Ghetsis. "What do you suppose we do, Lord Ghetsis?"
"Hmph. I'll deal with that myself. I refuse to let them have the opportunity of accessing a gateway here. Anyway, there are other important matters in mind." Ghetsis scoffed.
"Other? Ah...you mean..."
"Shadow Triad." Ghetsis summoned his three greatest and most loyal members of Team Plasma as they appeared from the shadows.
"Yes Lord Ghetsis." The three of them spoke.
"There is only one month left for us to prepare. Do you remember the task?"
"Of course." The middle one stood up. "We are to head to Crystal Empire and retrieve the baby alicorn known as Flurry Heart."
"Excellent." Ghetsis smirked. "We're taking her by any means necessary. All that power she holds will belong to me very soon. I have plans for that baby. I'll come with you by then. You'll need a great force to counter that much alicorn magic. If any of those Crystal Empire fools try to stop us, eliminate them. Understood?"
"Understood." The triad nodded as they disappeared into the shadows once more. They and Ghetsis had a sole mission to steal the Royal Baby Flurry Heart from the Crystal Empire.
"Empress Twilight can have her invasion. I want something more." Ghetsis held his hand out, sparking up some Dark Magic around him. His mission to steal Flurry Heart seemed like it would be happening on the same day the invasion happens.
A mission that Ghetsis was waiting to see finalized ever since he was made aware of Flurry Heart's amazing magic. Any form of power that is discovered, Ghetsis will want it.
Out in the mountains. Near the west of Canterlot. Equestria. Day.
"I'm looking forward to this. Come out, Salamence." Spike said as he and Axew were currently at the mountains. To become a great Dragon Trainer, he had come here to train without the company of most of his friends.
"Salamence!" Out came Salamence to be a part of this training.
"This'll be great." Spike held his arm out, revealing his Mega Ring. "We're gonna be using Mega Evolution for the first time. I don't really know what to expect but I'm psyched. Are you two psyched?"
"Axew!"
"Salamence!" They certainly were psyched for this. Salamence especially. He couldn't wait to get an extra power boost and see what his Mega Evolution was like. He was already heavily excited when he became a Salamence out of nowhere back when he was just a little Bagon. So Mega Evolving could give him that same feeling.
"But before that..." Spike placed his trainer bag on the ground, opening it and revealing some food for him and his Pokemon. "Let's eat!"
A quick snack was to be made before they would get to training. Spike would have his gemstones while Salamence and Axew snack on some Pokemon food made by Ash's mom Delia.
The Dragon Trio started eating away, devouring their food at insane speeds. The name The Dragon Trio was also something that Pinkie Pie came up with for them. And Spike and his Pokemon just ran with it because it sounded cool to them and made them sound strong and important.
Coincidentally, there already exists two Dragon Trios out there in the World of Pokemon. Sinnoh and Unova respectively. So this would make Spike, Salamence and Axew Equestria's Dragon Trio.
A baby dragon, a transforming dragon and a full-on dragon. A perfect trifecta.
"Mmm! So good!" Spike chugged a bunch of gems down his throat.
"Xew-Xew!" Axew dug his face into the basket of food.
"Mence!" Salamence ended up not only biting into his food but the basket as well, eating some of the materials from the basket too.
Very soon, all three of them had their faces all messed up. Axew and Salamence had juice and bits from the Pokemon food all over their face while Spike had gemstone bits all over him.
A good snack helps fuel the body for an upcoming battle. At least, that's Ash's philosophy. And to an extent Pinkie Pie too. And they're right about that. Good food does build up some energy from within as Spike and his dragons were already feeling themselves getting even more pumped than ever.
After having their meal, all three of them let out sighs of satisfaction as Spike and Axew patted their bellies while Salamence fell on his back. They sat there for a few minutes.
"Ah...Much better."
"Axew..."
"Sala..."
"Okay!" Spike stood up. "Now that that's done with, we can get started. Let's start with a warm-up you two. Axew. Transform into Haxorus. Your Unovan one first, I wanna start small."
"Axew"." Axew nodded as he backed up, allowing everyone to have a safe space from his transformation.
The Tusk Pokemon closed his eyes as a golden light started coming out of him, enveloping him and granting Axew an aura. That golden aura then started to expand in size as well as Axew.
"Ax! Ax! Ax..orus!" With a mighty roar, Haxorus had emerged as the golden aura faded away.
"Nice! Alright, Salamence. Get ready. We're gonna battle in your base form and then later, we Mega Evolve, okay?"
"Salamence!"
Both Dragon-Types had taken their position. Haxorus was on the left, Salamence was on the right while Spike stood in the middle of his Pokemon.
"You two ready?" Spike asked.
"Hax!"
"Sala!"
"Okay good. I don't think I can give out double commands at the same time like Ash so...battle like you would in the wild instead." Knowing of that, both his Pokemon nodded in understanding. "Okay good. Now, start!"
"Haxorus!" Haxorus went first by using Dragon Claw. By summoning green draconic energy around his claws, the Axe Jaw Pokemon ran towards his fellow Dragon-Type.
"Salamence!" Salamence went second by using Dragon Tail, flying straight towards Haxorus. Both Dragon moves collided with Salamence swinging his tail and Haxorus swiping his claw.
The impact between Dragon Claw and Dragon Tail shook the ground, creating a small fissure in the middle. The two of them entered a back and forth clash, not even moving from the spot they were standing on. It showed that they were on equal levels of strength. At least for now.
"Xorus!" Haxorus then got the better of Salamence by grabbing his tail with Dragon Claw instead of just clashing and swiping with it.
"Sala?!"
"Hax!" With his tail in his grasp, the Axe Jaw Pokemon then swung Salamence around, kicking up some dust in the process while Salamence was screaming.
"S-Salaaaaaa!"
"Haxorus!" Haxorus then let go of Salamence, causing the Dragon Pokemon to be launched into a nearby mountain. The mountain that Salamence crashed into had been destroyed because of the sheer force of Haxorus's throwing strength.
But very quickly, Salamence recovered by spreading his wings as he flew out of the smoke coming from the destroyed mountain.
"Sala!" It was time for Salamence to use his newest move that he had learned a few days ago. Zen Headbutt. The Dragon Pokemon lowered his head as purple energy began to form in front of his forehead.
Salamence then raised his head with the purple energy growing larger and forming into a ball of shining light blue energy. The Dragon-Flying-Type then lowered his head, ready to fly headfirst into Haxorus.
"Xo!" Haxorus also used his other move. Giga Impact. By stomping on the ground and shattering it a bit, the Axe Jaw Pokemon started building up high octane amounts of energy from within. Haxorus's body was surrounded by an invisible energy.
A bright flash of yellow light appears in front of its face and it faces the opponent. He then shot himself at Salamence as an orb of light purple energy with spiralling light yellow streaks around it appear around Haxorus's body.
"Haxo!"
"Sala!"
Both Pokemon smashed their heads against each other with great force, creating an earthquake in the process that made Spike lose his balance. The mountains were starting to slowly crumble because of the destructive power of these two Dragons battling.
The clash was so great that both Pokemon even sent themselves flying because of their equal strength. They even took some damage in the process.
"Alright, stop!" Spike exclaimed, halting them both. "Whew. You two really hit hard in just a few minutes. But now it's time we took it to the next level, don't you agree?"
"Xorus!"
"Mence!"
"Good. Okay, Haxorus. Turn into your Equestrian Form."
"Haxo." Haxorus nodded as he closed his eyes, allowing the golden light to appear once more. In just a few seconds, he had entered his Equestrian form.
"Awesome. Alright, Salamence. It's time."
"Salamence."
"This is what I've been waiting for." Spike held his arm out, looking at his Mega Ring. "It's time for Mega Evolution. Get ready."
"Sala!"
With both of them prepared, Spike tapped the Keystone on the Mega Ring. Activating it. "All of this is just one large step to becoming a Dragon Master. Now, Salamence! Mega Evolve!"
Golden lights came flowing out of the ring, shooting into the air as Salamence had blue lights bursting out of him. The dual lights clashed against each other, forming a DNA symbol.
"Mence!" Salamence roared as his body started glowing red. He closed his eyes as he could feel his body changing. His wings were transforming into an odd shape while his arms, legs, and even head were being pulled back.
After an explosion of energy, Mega Salamence had arrived, letting out a vicious roar.
"Salamence!"
In his Mega Form, his wings meld together into a single huge, crescent-shaped wing. They were hard but flexible and perfect for mid-air battles. His face, neck, body and tail were narrower, and its tail is noticeably shorter in length.
The remnants of Salamence's shelled underbelly have been drastically transformed into a segmented, more aerodynamic, vest-like armoured frame.
"Awesome! Does the Pokedex say something?!" Spike gawked along with Haxorus as he took out his Pokedex.
"Salamence. The Dragon Pokemon. Mega Evolution fuels its brutality, and it may even turn on the Trainer who raised it. It’s been dubbed The Blood-Soaked Crescent. The stress of its two proud wings becoming misshapen and stuck together because of strong energy makes it go on a rampage. It puts its forelegs inside its shell to streamline itself for flight. Salamence flies at high speeds over all kinds of topographical features. Anyone standing in its path gets sliced right in two, while this Pokémon continues its flight without interruption."
After reading that, Spike and Haxorus paused for a moment. The baby dragon raised his head, looking over at his Mega Evolved partner.
"S-Salamence?" Spike stuttered. Hearing the information about Mega Salamence made him nervous. He wanted to believe that what was just said was false and perhaps hyperbole for something less extravagant.
"Sala...!" Salamence closed one eye as he clenched his teeth. The Dragon Pokemon started growling as his body was shaking uncontrollably. He then re-opened his one eye as he then started roaring because of this unbearable pain. "SALAMENCE!"
The force of his roar was great enough to cause wind pressure equal to that of a hurricane as Spike held onto Haxorus's legs.
Salamence couldn't stand this pain. Having his body being transformed in such a way and the wings that he very much enjoyed having now become a massive burden on his body irritated the Dragon Pokemon. Unable to calm down, Salamence ended up living up to the information of the Pokedex.
He was going on a rampage.
"MENCE!" Fueled with rage, Salamence was now about to go on a rampage, just like how he did when he first evolved back at the Dragon Lands.
"Salamence! Wait!" Spike tried to stop Salamence, but it was too late. The Dragon Pokemon's speed had increased to a high degree to the point where he could take off in just one second.
"SALAMENCE!" Salamence dashed off, leaving behind a shockwave that blew Spike back while creating a crater too. Haxorus luckily caught his partner after the blowback. He was strong enough to withstand.
"Haxo!"
"Oh, thanks, Haxorus!" Spike thanked Haxorus before looking into the sky, witnessing Salamence fly off at ludicrous speeds.
His rampaging speed was so great that he even sliced the mountains in half with his wings. After all, the Pokedex described just how dangerous Salamence's wings become. And that red colouring along with the Blood-Soaked-Crescent nickname made it all the more unpleasant.
He was now an unstoppable force.
In just 5 seconds, the entire mountainside had been cut in half because of Salamence. And from the direction he was heading in, he could very well cause mass destruction across other places in Equestria.
"Salamence... I can't believe this... "Spike then looked down at his Pokedex. This isn't what he was expecting to happen. He just wanted to train with his Pokemon and reach the next level with Mega Evolution.
Now, Salamence was out of control. And at this rate, someone could get more than just seriously hurt with those sharp wings and Salamence's high speed.
"Haxorus! We're going after him!" Spike hopped on Haxorus' back. "We need to stop Salamence before all of Equestria gets cut in half!"
"Haxo!" Haxorus understood as he wanted to rescue his friend as well. They couldn't fly really fast like Salamence, but they could tell which direction he could be heading in. North. At least for now. The Axe Jaw Pokemon then started running as fast as he could.
It was now a mission to stop Salamence and snap him out of it.
Trottingham. Afternoon.
Trottingham had already suffered a Dragon attack before in the form of Eternatus and the Darkest Day. The entire place had been rebuilt over time thanks to the assistance of Pokemon.
The ponies of Trottingham were frankly not looking forward to another Pokemon attack ever again. If they were expecting one, they'd mostly think a Legendary Pokemon would be the cause, much like last time.
Little do they know, it wasn't a Legendary at all.
While minding their business, some of the ponies could already hear something approaching. Their ears were picking up on the change of wind patterns as if something was changing the friction in the air.
"You hear that?" A unicorn said.
"I hear something, alright. Sounds like it's getting closer." A pegasus replied while looking outside his window. Very soon, everypony in Trottingham was starting to hear that same approaching sound.
Then, in the distance, they could spot a blue and red object coming this way. One that was airborne. But it wasn't an object at all.
It was Salamence.
"SALA!" With an intimidating roar, Salamence had arrived at Trottingham to continue his rampage.
And just like that, the ponies of Trottingham experienced yet another Dragon attack as Mega Salamence ended up cutting an entire tower in half, causing it to fall over and hit the ground.
Thankfully, the tower didn't hit anypony and neither was anypony inside. At least, in the upper part of the tower which was the one that came off.
Despite that, the time to panic was now. Another dragon was attacking Trottingham and the residents there were rightfully very terrified, especially when the tower fell. Everypony started screaming immediately as the residents on the lower parts of the tower noticed this and ran out right away.
There was now major panic in the streets as Salamence's rampage had been planted in Trottingham. And despite his seemingly endless rampage, Salamence could most certainly move in different directions instead of just one.
By turning around, Salamence started cutting the buildings in half, prompting everypony to run out since it wasn't safe inside. But it wasn't safe outside either.
Or anywhere really.
"MENCE!" Salamence wanted the pain to end. He figured that the only way to do it was by wasting all of the energy he had during Mega Evolution. And there was only one attack that uses up a ton of energy.
Hyper Beam.
Salamence suddenly opened his mouth as he was about to use the move Hyper Beam on Trottingham. His mouth was glowing as an orange ball of energy formed.
However, Salamence couldn't properly aim Hyper Beam because of his heavy lack of focus. He was hoping to just fire it into the sky so that no one below him would get hurt.
Sadly, that wasn't the case. He then unleashed a mighty white blast from his mouth, bringing it upon poor Trottingham.
Hyper Beam hit the ground, already causing an explosion to go off. This explosion already had a high level of mass and was expanding by the second.
Nearby ponies looked back to see the explosion approaching towards them as their homes had been engulfed by Salamence's Hyper Beam. With how fast it was approaching, their eyes could only see the explosion as they feared they would end up being hit by it.
"Gogoat! Protect!" But thankfully, a Pokemon Trainer pegasus wouldn't let that happen by commanding their partner to shield everypony in front of them.
"Go!" The Mount Pokemon stepped forward, acting fast as it created a wide barrier that would protect it and everyone behind from the explosion of Hyper Beam. Or Hyper Beam in general.
And that's what it did. Once the explosion got close the large barrier of Protect had made contact with it. And as to be expected, it had shielded and protected everyone flawlessly as they could all hear the explosion.
Gogoat stood its ground, making sure that the Hyper Beam would not harm anyone for a second. Afterwards, the explosion had stopped after being successfully blocked by Protect.
However, the damage had already been done. The streets were now on fire and in ruins because of Salamence's Hyper Beam. There was even a ridiculously sized crater in the middle along with devastated buildings in the process.
"Just when we got done rebuilding everything..." A pony sighed.
"S-Sala...!" Naturally, using Hyper Beam takes a lot out of the user, forcing them to take a break and recharge. However, with Salamence's immense energy in his Mega Evolved state, it didn't take long for him to be back at full strength.
But even then, he was still suffering. He couldn't take the pain he was experiencing right now. Salamence's rampage wasn't over. It had only just begun as he flew off once more, creating a shockwave so great that he shattered every nearby window, causing the glass to fall out of the buildings.
The Dragon Pokemon then descended, flying on a lower level. This is where the danger ends up being ramped up. If Salamence flies at this level, someone is going to get cut in half because of his wings.
And the ponies knew that after seeing Salamence cut the tower clean in half by just having his wings fly through them. So, they were wise enough to know that they needed to get away from Salamence as far as possible.
Everypony scattered, running off and doing whatever they could to avoid Salamence. They weren't sure why this was happening to them. Frankly, Eternatus was enough.
But Salamence was too fast for them to escape from and many ponies didn't have enough time or a place to hide as they looked back, spotting the Dragon Pokemon heading their way.
A group of ponies knew they couldn't outrun Salamence seeing how he was closing in on them. So at this point, they had just accepted their fate as they huddled together, hugging each other along with their little Pokemon for safety. They were ready for the worst to come.
"Sala?!" Salamence's eyes widened as he saw how there were ponies in front of him, hugging their Pokemon out of fear. Fear of Salamence of course.
Salamence then knew that if he were to cut these ponies in half, he would never forget it and Spike would probably hate him forever. Not wanting to bring that horrible fate to them, Salamence was able to gain some control of his body for a split second.
In that split second, the Dragon Pokemon managed to fly above the ponies and Pokemon, making sure his wings do not connect at all. That one second was what Salamence needed as he avoided the group, preventing any harm from them as he was now on a higher level once more.
However, that didn't mean the rampage was over. He only gained control for a second after all. He was still lost in it afterwards.
There was only one place where everypony could feel safe. The outskirts of Trottingham. The same spot where they all stayed when Ash and everyone battled against Eternatus during the Darkest Day.
The buildings here were already ruined and there was little for Salamence to keep on destroying. In fact, the Dragon Pokemon, while flying through the air, looked down at all the destruction it had caused. Salamence was actually conscious about all of this. However, his pain was too great and he couldn't help himself.
Just like the Togekiss at Twilight's lab, they both share one major thing in common. Rift energy had forced them into their final evolutions. Both Togekiss and Salamence may have the bodies of adults, but mentally, they are still children.
Salamence ended up flying so fast he left Trottingham. But now, he was most certainly taking his rampage elsewhere.
Meanwhile with Spike.
He was still on Haxorus's back while Haxorus runs across the land. Unfortunately for Haxorus, he wasn't as fast as Salamence. Even without Mega Evolution, Salamence was still faster than him.
Not only that, but they've lost the trail on Salamence because of how fast he was moving. They thought they knew where he would be at. But not anymore. They were in-between the North and West at this point.
"We've lost him!" Spike gasped. "Oh, I hope no one's getting hurt. Is there a way to turn this thing off?!" Spike tapped on the Keystone repeatedly, hoping that it would somehow turn the Mega Evolution off. But nothing was happening with the stone. "Guess not...Salamence..."
Spike was feeling horrible right now. He felt like it was somehow his fault for Mega Evolving Salamence. If he had known the massive drawback that comes with it, he probably wouldn't have used Mega Evolution. Or even took part in the trial.
Now he was worried that Salamence might have a horrible reputation by the end of this. Obviously, Mega Evolution can't last forever and Salamence will tire out, hopefully. However, things may not be the same anymore.
Spike was thinking back to his times with Salamence. From how he first found him during the Gauntlet of Fire for the title of Dragon Lord. He found Salamence in a cave, full of anger because of the pain he was currently feeling.
It was then, Spike helped Salamence, freeing him of that pain and befriending the Dragon Pokemon. And ever since, Salamence has been highly loyal to Spike from day one.
They had become an amazing duo of trainer and Pokemon. In perfect sync and understood each other as they had a lot they could relate to. Although, Salamence beat Spike to the whole gaining wings part since they both wished for their wings.
And despite Salamence's intimidating size and appearance, he never once did anything to stir up problems for everyone else. He was a friendly dragon at heart. And it always showed whenever he would lick and nudge Spike. Whether they finished a battle together or just hanging around and accomplishing something else.
But now, that friendly nature seemed to have been overtaken by high irritation and uncomfortable pain that Salamence did not ask for. And that is why Spike blamed himself.
"Xorus!" Haxorus tried to pick up the pace, attempting to break past his limitations. But it wasn't working. However, since they were close to Canterlot, Haxorus and Spike ended up spotting Canterlot in the distance. "Haxo!"
"Oh! Canterlot! Stop there Haxorus! Maybe Princess Celestia could help!"
"Haxorus!" Nodding in understanding, a change of plans had been made. Spike would end up requesting assistance from Princess Celestia who has the one Pokemon that could stop Salamence.
Gardevoir.
Canterlot. Afternoon.
"I see. I've heard of Mega Evolution being a titanic burden on most Pokemon but...I never expected it to be on this level." Celestia spoke as Spike had given her all the information by also showing her Salamence's Mega dex entry.
"Please, Princess Celestia! You have to help! I don't know where Salamence is right now but he could be causing so much pain to everyone else! He might even cut-"
"I understand, Spike." Celestia walked off her throne. "Passion, Arcanine and I aren't going to sit around and let that happened. Besides, Salamence is just in immense pain, isn't he?"
"Mhm." Spike nodded.
"Then, there are two ways to send him back into his base form. We can't wait for Mega Evolution to run out. That is far too risky. Instead, we'll have to subdue him."
"Subdue him. I don't know if I want that..." He lowered his head.
"However..." Celestia turned to face the Pokemon School. "I believe I may know one of the teachers who can be of great assistance."
"The Pokemon School? Oh! Right! I heard that it has Dragon Gym Leaders there. They could totally help since they're both experts! What were their names? Clair and...Drayden?"
"Let's hurry and speak with them. Before Salamence splits all of Equestria in half." Celestia walked up to Spike and Haxorus with her Gardevoir, ready to teleport them all into the school. "Keep watch of the castle, Arcanine."
"Arca!"
Right now, there should be teachers present in the Pokemon School. Lessons were being had right now and Celestia would prefer it if nopony would be involved in this. It was far too dangerous.
Only someone really well-versed in Pokemon can be of assistance. Especially a Dragon-Type Gym Leader. The two Gym Leaders who were a part of this school were Blackthorn City's Gym Leader Clair and Opelucid City's Gym Leader Drayden.
Both the final Gym Leaders of their own regions to the point where they're close to the level of Elite 4 and both have a high understanding of Dragon-Type Pokemon. Mostly on a mystical level.
However, only one of them was present here in the Pokemon School.
And that was Drayden. A certified Dragon Master.
Drayden's class was at the upper level considering how high he ranks as a Gym Leader compared to everyone else. His class has yet to have any students since they're all either being taught by first and second Gym Leaders or even fifth.
That is where Celestia teleported everyone in.
They had arrived at Drayden's class, which resembled his office back in Unova. He is the Mayor after all. And sitting on his lonesome was the Spartan Mayor himself, waiting patiently.
"I've been expecting you." Drayden suddenly spoke to Celestia and the others the moment they entered the room.
"Y-You were?" Spike stuttered.
"Certainly. I know why you're here. Your Salamence, correct?"
"R-Right." Spike nodded. "I Mega Evolved it and-"
"You don't need to tell me. I'm already aware of Salamence's burden with Mega Evolution." Drayden stopped him as she stood up.
"I didn't mean to. I didn't think it would do that to him. I just wanted to train and-"
"It's fine. This is an incident that happens very commonly with most Mega Evolved Pokemon."
"It does?"
"Most certainly." Celestia suddenly spoke. "Passion almost underwent a similar violent experience when we first Mega Evolved."
"Gardevoir." Passion nodded.
"Mega Evolution is both an amazing yet horrifying power. One that isn't to be taken lightly. No matter what. Luckily, it won't last forever. Salamence will eventually tire himself out but..."
"But so many could be hurt by now!" Spike held his head. "And I'm too far away to recall Salamence! Plus my ring won't-"
"Spike! Calm down." Celestia calmed Spike down.
"Where was the last place you saw Salamence heading?" Drayden asked.
"He looked like he was heading North. But we ended up heading west instead so we lost the trail on him."
"North, hm? We should be able to catch up to Salamence if we take a shortcut." Celestia said. "If Salamence hasn't been moving erratically that is."
"I hope so..."
"Young Spike." Drayden walked up to Spike. "I can assure you, your Salamence would never go the distance to harm innocents."
"I know but..."
"Let's go. If we hurry, we might be able to get into a good enough distance for you to recall him. I'll come with you to heal Salamence. I myself am unable to speak with him. Only you can Spike. He's the one you share a strong bond with. Princess."
"Right." Celestia nodded as she was ready to teleport them all to the north. More specifically, the far north. They were hoping to get there before Salamence. If they can arrive there first, he might be within their sights.
With everyone surrounding Celestia, the Sun Princess performed the teleport as they had all left Drayden's classroom and the Pokemon School. Nopony else in Canterlot would end up not knowing about this until this is over.
After all, something like this cannot be ignored, especially when news ends up travelling.
Somewhere in Equestria. Up north.
Salamence was still flying, destroying the land as he went.
The Dragon Pokemon oversaw all of his destruction. Not only that, but he was tiring himself out by this point. Even Mega Evolved Pokemon can't go on forever despite their limitless potential and hardened battle spirits.
Salamence was now flying over a plains area. There wasn't really much for him to destroy since plains are naturally flat environments. However, by the second, he was starting to lose his senses.
The Dragon Pokemon, despite ending up like most other Salamence who Mega Evolve, had a smidge of his senses within. Deep down, Salamence was trying everything in his power to stop causing destruction.
No matter how hard he tried, his rampaging instincts would not leave. Very soon, Salamence would succumb to destruction as the pain of his wings were just getting worse. If Salamence succumbs to it, he could rampage forever until everything is destroyed.
He was able to at least direct himself to avoid harming anyone else, But not by much and the same couldn't be said for his attacks. Right now, Salamence was coming across another civilization nearby.
The Dragon Pokemon clenched his teeth as he approached the small civilization. By arriving there, his wings already cut off the largest building there sending it toppling down.
As to be expected, the residents and the Pokemon living there ran off the moment a building came off as Salamence was starting to slowly slip away from all sense of morality.
So much so, that he was about to unleash another move from his mouth. This time it was Flamethrower. The Dragon Pokemon opened his mouth as he unleashed a scorching red-orange stream of blazing fire, spreading it across the town.
Very soon, everything was being caught on fire because of Salamence. Many ponies were still inside of their homes with fire surrounding them, putting them all in mortal peril.
Salamence breathed in and out as he then used Dragon Tail, slamming his tail on the ground and causing an earthquake that went across the entire civilization.
Buildings were starting to crumble with some of the ponies still inside while the fire kept on burning. They were screaming for their lives, holding their friends tight.
Thankfully, the ponies living here had their Pokemon to protect them. They were capable of fighting fires with their moves. Even if they didn't have any Water-Type moves at their disposal. And they were certainly more than capable of stopping toppling buildings as well and even rescuing their trainers.
However, one thing most Pokemon wouldn't dare to do was confront Salamence.
Salamence's mouth was smoking as he continued flying. Noticeably, his speed was slowing down despite him losing his senses. He wasn't flying at insane speeds anymore, but he was still incredibly fast as he left the village.
Salamence's rampaged continued.
No matter where we went, he just kept spreading destruction while feeling all the pain of Mega Evolution. Another town had been destroyed by his Flamethrower. And another by his Hyper Beam.
Salamence couldn't stop. Even with his breath running out and speed decreasing he couldn't snap back to his senses. Very soon, everything behind him was a wreck.
So many innocent towns and homes had been ruined because of Salamence. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fight back his urge to rampage.
Even in the air, he caused trouble. Some nearby pegasus who were just doing their job of working on the skies were within Salamence's sight.
"Hm?" The pegasi all turned around, spotting the approaching Salamence. "Oh!" As they all gasped after witnessing Salamence heading this way, they spread out, leaving the clouds they were all working on as their jobs had been halted.
And speaking of the clouds, Salamence even cut those in half with his wings. Thankfully, none of the pegasi were hit since they all avoided Salamence. And the Dragon Pokemon was glad to see that.
But, that doesn't mean it was over.
Frustrated beyond belief over his weakness of not being able to control himself and overwhelming pain, all Salamence could do was roar and cry.
"MENCE!"
But this roar was greater than ever.
It was so great that when Salamence cried, it created a sonic wave of sound that expanded in milliseconds. Salamence's roar echoed throughout the land, flying in all directions. North, South, East and West.
Everywhere that Salamence had rampaged, the sound wave went there as well. The towns and cities he had rampaged through could hear Salamence's cry as they all paused, looking up at the sky. Everyone could tell that it was a cry for help.
But, even the roar could cause destruction. The land was trembling as more buildings were being toppled by Salamence's gigantic roar. Not even him making sounds was safe for the land.
Salamence could see that everything around him was breaking apart because of his roar. Every little thing just made the situation worse.
Salamence closed his eyes, grizzling his teeth as his body was glowing red. He couldn't take it anymore. His frustration had finally reached critical mass.
In fact, his frustration became so great that he regained the strength to continue rampaging with extra energy. Which didn't make things any better.
"SALAMENCE!"
With his energy regained, Salamence's speed accelerated as he left sonic booms along the way. The friction around him was being manipulated as an aura of fire was starting to surround Salamence's body because of how fast he was moving.
More of the landscape was being destroyed by either his wings, Flamethrower or Hyper Beam as the environment was diminishing in health.
At this rate, Salamence will destroy Equestria before Empress Twilight has the chance to invade.
However, this is where someone would step in to stop Salamence. And that someone was Spike's group as they had all been teleported here thanks to Celestia.
"There he is!" Celestia noticed.
"Salamence!" Spike ran forward as he and the others were all within Salamence's line of fire. "Stop!
"Spike! Don't get too close! His wings!" Celestia exclaimed as Drayden suddenly stopped Celestia by stepping forward. "Drayden?"
"Don't." Drayden shook his head. He knew that this was something that needed to be sorted out by trainer and Pokemon.
"But, Spike will-"
"Just watch."
"SALA!" Salamence roared as he was closing in on Spike and Axew.
"Salamence, please!" Spike waved his arms around. "I know you don't want to do this! So please stop!"
"MENCE!" Salamence's flaming aura was growing as he was setting fire to the grass.
"I'm sorry for Mega Evolving you! I didn't know it would cause you so much pain! I'll never do it again honest!"
"SALAMENCE!"
"So please stop!" Spike closed his eyes as he started to cry.
And once Salamence got close, for a split-second, yet again, his senses showed themselves as he glared into the eyes of his trainer. With that split-second, it was even greater than last time. And with his sight being clear, he could see that he was about to harm his trainer.
But he wouldn't let that happen. In a flash, Salamence gained visions of all the wonderful moments and time he had spent with Spike. All starting from the day he found him in the caves.
By the skin of his teeth, Salamence had stopped in front of Spike in a heartbeat as he was 1 second away from cutting the baby dragon in half.
The last shockwave had been made as for the first time, Mega Salamence was not moving. His endless rampage had been halted as he refused to harm his trainer.
By looking Spike in the eyes, that last amount of speed that Salamence used when he regained his energy actually made him waste his energy once more.
Because of this, Salamence fell on his back, exhausted. And because he only had his back legs out at the moment and not his front legs, the Dragon Pokemon couldn't properly get back up. All he could do was lie on his back.
"S-Sala...!"
"Salamence!" Spike and Axew ran over. "Are you alright?!"
"Axew?!"
"M-Mence..." Salamence looked over at Spike with disappointment in his eyes. Salamence felt ashamed of what he had done. He caused all of this destruction. Spreading fear, ruining the land and homes. All of this wasn't what he wanted.
And he knew that if he were to Mega Evolve again the same thing could happen. Salamence was about to cry because of this.
"It's okay, buddy." Spike hugged Salamence, making sure to avoid his sharp wings. "I'm really sorry. This is my fault. I shouldn't have Mega Evolved you without knowing what it would do."
"Salamence..." Salamence licked Spike's face as he gave his own apology.
"But maybe, we can master Mega Evolution together and-"
"I don't think so." Drayden suddenly interrupted Spike.
"Huh?"
"It's not that simple, boy. Mastering the power of Mega Evolution won't change a thing. What you need is something else."
"Something else? Like what?"
"Sala?"
"Axew?"
"Your hearts need to become one. Right now they're separate." Drayden crossed his arms.
"But how? Salamence and I have a great bond."
"A bond that has yet to be developed. The two of you may share similar personalities and understand each other deeply, that much is true."
"But how is it going to stop Salamence's pain in his wings?"
"You've scanned his Pokedex entry, correct? Then you should know that the sharp pain in Salamence's wings isn't what drives him to rampage. It's his brutality. Mega Evolution is what is fueling it. Salamence may experience stress but that is something he can overcome with ease. But his instincts are another story."
"Instincts...?"
"Deep down, Salamence is acting on his own. That is why most Salamence barely listen to their trainers when Mega Evolving. Yours however has the strength to regain his senses, even for a short while. And he would never do anything to harm you. Your bond is strong. But it can be improved."
"Sala..." Salamence groaned as he was about to pass out from all this excess energy.
"Here." Drayden went up to Salamence as he put his hands over the Dragon Pokemon. A golden light hovered over Salamence's body as Drayden was slowly healing him, preventing Mega Salamence from fainting.
"Mence?" Salamence could feel himself healing as he was slowly being deformed out of Mega Evolution.
"That should patch you up. But, young Spike. Do you know what you must do now?"
"Um..."
"While you may have one heart, you have two viewpoints. I ask of you both to bring each of your one heart and two viewpoints together. That way, you can conquer Salamence's brutal instincts, essentially wiping it out of him. And only then will you become a great Dragon Trainer. And even a Dragon Master such as myself."
"R-Really?!"
"Sala?!"
"Hm." Drayden nodded. "Now then. Rest up. I want you to battle me someday soon."
"Battle you?!"
"Of course. I pride myself on teaching newer generation Dragon Trainers after all. If you want to truly overcome it, then I will be waiting for a battle at the Pokemon School."
"Oh! I'd look forward to that! W-When can I battle you?"
"Whenever you feel like you're ready." Drayden turned around. "I wish you good luck."
"Spike. I'll let everypony in Equestria know that Salamence wasn't in his right mind." Celestia walked up to Spike. "Hopefully, this doesn't start anything."
"I hope not. I'm afraid to Mega Evolve again now."
"I understand how you feel." Celestia looked at Passion. "Let's head back now, shall we?"
"Right." Spike helped Salamence up. "Let's go, buddy. I promise we'll get rid of that brutality in you, okay?"
"Salamence."
A horrifying experience that almost ruined all of Equestria, but had thankfully come to an end. However, there's a strong chance that Salamence might rampage later on in the future if another Mega Evolution is utilized.
But, that is something Spike and Salamence are determined to work and master. No matter what, they will try to overcome any obstacle together with all the effort they can muster as the journey continues.
Currently, Twilight was in a bit of an exhausted state. She had just stayed up all night working on the merged Pokemon Magic, Equestrian Magic and Rift energy all in one for hours.
To make things simple and having no mouthfuls, thanks to Pinkie Pie, they have aptly named this type of magic Fusion Magic. It fits the theme of it.
Working on Fusion Magic was tiring. Twilight put everything she had to try and dive deep into its properties while also requiring assistance from Togekiss, Axew and Cold Colt. After all, they're filled with Fusion Magic more than anyone here.
And all that effort was slowly starting to pay off as Twilight was finally getting to know more about Fusion Magic. Very soon, they'll have an advanced understanding of it.
But right now, Twilight was laying on the side of the table, asleep. Her mane was a mess from overworking as she was snoring. She even had glasses on but those were almost on the verge of falling off. In her sleep, she kept mumbling words that were hard to describe.
"Mrmrmgh..."
"Espeon?" Eve jumped on the table as she and the other Pokemon were awake. She poked her trainer's face by putting her paw on her, trying to wake her up.
At the same time, Starlight walked into the room, spotting a tired Twilight Sparkle who was having her face being nudged by Eve while the rest of her Pokemon play around. Minus Absol.
"Twilight?" Starlight went up to Twilight. "It's morning."
"Mrrrgh..." Twilight growled in her sleep. "Slowpoke Tail..."
"Twilight?" Starlight raised her voice.
"Eon?" Eve put both paws on Twilight's face this time.
"Is she completely out of it?" Suddenly, Sunset said while gently opening the door.
"Completely. I think she overworked a bit too much." Starlight replied. "Maybe we should let her sleep some more."
"Espeon!" But Eve wouldn't allow that as she was feeling hungry right now. By raising her voice, she shouted in Twilight's ear at max volume.
And that did the trick.
"Ah!" Twilight shot up. "I'm up! Is Emerald Aura here yet?!
"Espeon." Eve brought over an empty bowl of food as her stomach was growling.
"Oh, morning Eve. You're hungry?"
"Eon." She nodded.
"Alright, alright. Just give me a few minutes..."
"So, how far have you gotten?" Sunset asked.
"Hm?" Twilight looked up with her glasses falling off.
"The whole Fusion Magic thing?" said Starlight.
"Oh, right. It's going good." Twilight used her magic to bring over some Pokemon Food in a box. She then opened it, pouring all of the food into Eve's bowl. "Just a few more weeks or maybe a month and I'll have it all figured out. Maybe even create something out of it."
"In that state? You look like you're ready to fall asleep again." Sunset pointed her hoof at Twilight.
"No need to worry..." Twilight's eyes widened. "I'll have all the sleep I need once this is all done."
"You still have to head to the Pokemon School though. But I'm not sure they'd be a fan of you sleeping in class." Starlight shook her head.
"Good point...I don't want that." Twilight sighed. "Anyway...have they found Emerald Aura yet?"
"Nothing yet from Princess Celestia or her parents. She must be evading them somehow. I don't know." Sunset shrugged.
"Hm. Okay. Well, we can wait. What to do today, I wonder..." Twilight sat up.
"Well, two days ago you said something about having Ash meet your parents, right?" Starlight spoke.
"Meet...parents..." Twilight closed her eyes before taking in Starlight's words. "Ah! I almost forgot!" The young alicorn shot up as she bellowed. "It's today! I promised mom and dad I'd be there!"
"It's not too late. The afternoon's just about to arrive." Sunset pointed her hoof at the clock.
"Has Ash shown up yet?!" Twilight zoomed around her castle, getting ready.
"He's out training with Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. So yeah. But he's been waiting patiently." Sunset looked outside. "This is all happening because your parents are excited to experience some time with Ash, right?"
"Ash has only seen my parents a few times. He's never actually talked with them fully before. This is a major opportunity for all of us. Even Delia will be there since it's some sort of Parent Meeting." Twilight said while sorting everything out.
"She's most likely doing this for a chance to get extra close to Ash..." Starlight whispered to Sunset.
"I heard that!" Twilight exclaimed as all of her Pokemon were almost ready to go after they finish their food. "And yeah...it's true."
"Well, you go on ahead and do that." Sunset Shimmer walked up to Twilight Sparkle. "Besides, the second time Ash has a family gathering with your parents, you two will be a thing, huh?"
"Hmmrgh..." Twilight turned away, blushing. "Anyway! I should be going now! Eve! Everyone! We're leaving now!"
"Espeon."
"Sol."
"Ninetales!"
"Ccino!"
"And Togekiss. Stay here alright? I'll be right back. Sunset and Starlight will look after you."
"Togekiss!" Togekiss raised her wing.
"We'll take good care of her," Sunset vowed.
"Great! Let's go, everyone!" And with that, Twilight and her Pokemon were off to spend a family gathering with Ash, her parents and Delia. She had a great feeling it would go swimmingly and everything would be calm and sophisticated.
But then again, Twilight remembered that Ash is neither of those things.
Canterlot. Afternoon.
They had already taken the train to Canterlot once Ash had finished training with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. Along the way, Delia was already discussing what they could do in this family gathering.
"I'm looking forward to many thrills in this, you know," Delia said. "I'm sure we'll have a ball of a time, right Ash?"
"Sure will!" Ash nodded. "I can't wait to see what we're gonna do at this family meetup. You psyched, Twilight?"
"I wouldn't say fully psyched. A bit nervous actually." Twilight laughed. "But I'm also excited to not only spend time with my parents more but even having you all a part of it too. So I'm feeling two things right now."
"I know that feeling." Delia nodded. "Some of my family meetups are like that as well. But I'm expecting great things."
"So am I. I just know that this will get us all closer. Isn't that right, Eve?" Twilight rubbed Eve's belly.
"Esepon."
"Really wish dad could come along though. Then it might be a full-on family meetup. Is Shining Armor gonna be there too?" Ash asked Twilight.
"No." She shook her head in response. "He's obviously occupied at the moment. It'll just be my parents and yours. Though, it would be fitting if your dad did show up for this. I know a lot of ponies who've been looking forward to the day we meet him. Whenever that happens."
"When he comes back, I'll have a lot to tell him! I could start from Kanto all the way up to Equestria!" Ash grinned. "It could take a long time though...Telling him everything."
"Pika."
"Oh, but for Equestria, it could be short. There's still that memory book, right?" Ash remembered.
"Oh, yeah." Twilight turned to Ash. "There's always something new being added into it. Although, judging by how much has happened, the book is running out of pages by this point."
"Aww!" Delia clapped her hands together. "You made a memory book together? That's so adorable, you two!"
"What?!" Twilight gasped as she was starting to get flustered. "No-no! My friends are the ones who made it! Ash had nothing to do with the book! Besides, it was Pinkie Pie's idea! Haha!"
"You should check it someday, mom. It's a pretty neat book. Might have to make a second one soon." Ash slumped on the seat.
"I certainly will~!" Delia giggled as she had just finished teasing Twilight.
"Oh..." Twilight sighed as she was no longer flustered. She then started thinking to herself. "I should've expected Mrs Ketchum to do a little teasing...I hope mom and dad don't also overplay my crush. Especially mom. Just gotta get through this day and that's it."
After a while, the train had arrived and stopped at Canterlot finally. And standing at the train station was none other than Twilight's parents.
Twilight Velvet and Night Light.
Everyone on the train who were coming to Canterlot had gotten off one by one. Or if they were younger, they just bolted out with high octane energy along with their Pokemon.
Two of which were Ash and Pikachu as they both jumped out of the train, landing in front of Velvet and Night Light. Afterwards, Twilight and Eve were next to come out while Delia and Mimey were last.
"Mom! Dad" Twilight exclaimed, running over to her parents.
"Twilight!" Both her parents outstretched their hooves, letting their daughter enter their warm embrace with a loving hug.
"Right on time too, thankfully." Velvet said as she moved her head to the right, looking at Ash and Pikachu. "There you two are. Ash, Pikachu."
"Hey, Mr and Mrs Sparkle!" Ash raised his hand.
"Pikachu!"
"And Delia, right?" Night Light looked over at Delia and Mimey.
"Hi-Hi!" Delia waved to them both.
"Mime-Mime!"
"It's still early in the afternoon. We have a lot of time to spare." Twilight said.
"Certainly. By the way, where is your husband, Delia?" Velvet navigated her head, looking into the train and around Canterlot.
"On a journey still. A very long one. Sorry that he couldn't join us today."
"That's fine. I'm sure Ash carries most of the traits and energy from his father." Night Light nodded.
"He sure does!" Delia patted Ash on the head. "With Ash, it felt like my husband never left."
"Aw, mom." Ash adjusted his hat.
"Anyway. Let's get started." Night Light turned around, leading the way with Velvet to their home. "There's a lot to do and look forward to."
"And I have everything planned out too." Twilight took out a long list. "All of this will be enough to cover the whole day and-"
"Oh, no, no, no dear." Velvet suddenly stopped Twilight's list. "We won't be needing that at all."
"We won't?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"No. Your father and I already know what we're all going to do. It'll be simple but we'll still cover the whole day." Velvet nodded. "I'm looking forward to what exciting moments we can all be a part of. I know for sure I'm waiting for a Pokemon battle!"
"You? A Pokemon battle?" Twilight suddenly stopped.
"Of course. I enjoy thrills after all and Pokemon just so happens to have a plethora of thrilling activities. And I want to be a part of those before all of this eventually returns to normal."
"That's if it returns to normal," said Night Light. "We have options to keep both worlds connected after all. Like that one Pokemon that grants wishes. Jirachi."
"You know about Jirachi?" Twilight asked.
"Sure we do. Were not slacking with our Pokemon knowledge even at our age." Night Light grinned confidently. "Like everypony else, we took a lot of time to learn about these strange and wonderful creatures. And it paid off."
"Certainly. We even caught our own Pokemon because of it." Velvet held out an empty Poke Ball.
"Oh! Your own Pokemon?!" Twilight's eyes widened as she let out a prolonged gasped.
"Mhm." Velvet nodded as she opened the door to their home. "Your father and I both. You two! Come out here!"
"Kirlia!" It was quickly revealed which Pokemon they both owned. A Kirlia came floating towards Velvet, hugging her.
"Umbreon." And at the same time, an Umbreon walked over to Night Light.
"Say hello, you two." Velvet picked up the Emotion Pokemon. "This is our daughter, Twilight that we've talked about and shown you pictures of. And you know about Ash and Pikachu, don't you?
"Lia," Kirlia said her hello's along with Night Light's Umbreon as she floated towards Twilight's direction.
"Breon."
"Hey you, two." Ash and Pikachu greeted both Pokemon.
"Pikachu."
Twilight grabbed ahold of Kirlia, feeling how soft, pure and comfortable her skin was. "I've never actually felt a Kirlia before. This is what they feel like?"
"Kir!"
"Esp?"
"Nice place you have here." Delia looked around the house. "I've never actually been into an Equestrian home yet. Other than the Town Hall, that is."
"Let's have an afternoon dinner before we really get out there." Velvet offered. "I took the liberty of bringing over some food from the Pokemon World as well. How does that sound?"
"Yes please!" Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
First, a quick meal before they get into the action.
The table had already been laid out with food of both worlds. Twilight's favourite dishes that she always used to eat as a filly and some of the most popular foods from the Pokemon World. They weren't easy to buy, that's for sure.
Ash and Twilight sent out the rest of their Pokemon for the meal. They had all lined up on the table, but first, Dragonite had to obviously grant Twilight Velvet and Night Light a traditional Dragonite Hug upon seeing them for the first time.
"Hah..." Ash and his Pokemon gawked at the food in front of them as they were eager to start devouring with their mouths' open.
"It's a been a while since I've had these. Wish I had the recipe...Or even the ability to really cook it," said Twilight.
"What are you waiting for Ash? You don't have to hold back and act polite here. Dig in." Night Light said.
"Huh?" Ash looked over at Night Light. "Oh! Thanks for the food!" With that, Ash and his Pokemon started consuming the food in front of them as well as Twilight and the others.
"Pikachu!"
Now everyone was having an afternoon dinner. At the same time, Velvet and Night Light had their own plans for this meeting. Obviously, Velvet is interested in thrilling activities involved with Pokemon while Night Light has a different approach.
"So, dad. What do you plan to do today?" Twilight asked.
"Your mother wants to experience the thrill of Pokemon. I'm looking for something more laid-back and stationery. Like...Pokemon bingo!"
"Pokemon Bingo?" Velvet looked over at Night Light before taking a bite out of her food. "Actually...That sounds like it would be incredibly challenging now that I think about it."
"Right? There are over...how many Pokemon?" Night Light squinted his eyes.
"An infinite amount by the looks of it." Delia raised her finger. "It's hard to really count them all, even with how many species there are."
"I guess so. That's why it'll be fun to have that kind of bingo. Right over at the Pokemon School where they do afternoon activities once the lessons are all over. But you wouldn't want to do that, would you all?"
"I'll have a go at it with you, Mr Sparkle." Ash offered with his mouth full.
"I say we have a Pokemon battle first." Velvet sat up. "And then later, maybe some of that Tangela Bungee jumping. Some of those Pokemon Festival attractions have become common activities here since they're so beloved."
"Right! We'll battle first!" Ash pumped his fist in the air. "What about you, mom?"
"Go on with your battle first. I'll have something to show Mr and Mrs Sparkle here later on. But I do actually want a bit of that bingo action. And then some. Oh, there's just so much to do!"
"That's why I say we follow this." Twilight brought out her list. "It'll be worth it, honestly."
"Hmm..." Velvet looked at Twilight's long list, reading the first few tasks. "Hm. Most of them actually take place at the Pokemon School?"
"All those afternoon activities are worth it. Trust me." Twilight grinned. "Heading for Ms Olympia's afterschool classes helped with that."
"Oh, yeah! You were learning how to be like a Psychic master, right?" Ash tossed some food into Dragonite's mouth.
"Dra!"
"Mhm. Just like how Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are working on the Fairy magic they have inside of them. I still can't believe they're now part Fairy."
"Speaking of masters. Ash. You're still set on that major goal of becoming a Pokemon Master, right?" Night Light pointed his glass at Ash.
"Sure am." Ash nodded.
"What is a Pokemon Master exactly? I would've thought that a Champion would count as one. Then again, you're the Alola Champion after all." Velvet wondered.
"No one really knows. If anything, no one's accomplished it yet." Delia answered. "The only thing we have on it is that it's beyond the title of Pokemon Champion, apparently. Not sure myself. Ash, this is your speciality. Mind explaining further?"
"Sure." Ash swallowed his food. "Becoming a Champion is cool and all, but it's just one really big step to becoming a Pokemon Master. Everyone out there wants to be one. To me, being a Pokemon Master is more than just being the strongest Pokemon Trainer. And I'm gonna find out what it really is. I'll become the greatest master of them all. Even if it means taking a long time to really know what a Pokemon Master is. And I have my friends to help me with that. Right everyone?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu and the rest of his Pokemon agreed.
"That's a mighty fine response from you, Ash." Velvet replied. "I can see why you draw others in. Especially my little Twilight here."
"Mom!" Twilight pouted her face as she sat up.
"We'll be looking forward to the day you become a Pokemon Master, Ash." Night Light uttered while petting his Umbreon. "Whenever that day comes."
"Thanks!"
"What about you, dear?" Night Light turned to his daughter. "You're three roles in one. Princess. Pokemon Trainer and Pokemon Professor. I'm still surprised by the princess one."
"Mhm." Twilight nodded. "I'm still getting used to all three of them. They're not easy. I still think being a princess is the hardest one out of all of them. But actually, I think I have four roles. I'm a bit of a teacher now too. To Starlight Glimmer of course."
"Twilight's also got a bunch of Pokemon. The most out of anyone in Equestria, I think. Fluttershy may have more." said Ash.
"Right. I was given PokePark along with the lab from BigTime Ben. I haven't had the chance to fully explore everything in it but I know about every place there. And all the Pokemon too. Queen Serperior reminds me a lot of Princess Celestia. Bisharp and Dewott are very loyal. Almost to the level of bodyguards. Princess Snivy's a bit stubborn but she means well. Everyone else, I can't say. There's just so many. But I'll get to know every last one of them."
"Ah. Maybe you can take us there, one day? Hm?" Night Light. suggested.
"Sure. I'm sure everyone there would love to meet you. I could take you to some resorts too! We went to visit a place called Undella Town and it's very relaxing."
"I'd like that..." Night Light sighed. "Silver Shoals could work too someday. But I'm a bit too attached to this house, really."
"But anyway. I think it's about time now. Ash. Are you feeling an urge to have a Pokemon battle now?" Velvet grinned.
"You bet! I'm all fired up and ready to go." Ash stood up.
"I knew mom was into thrills but Pokemon battling?" Twilight whispered to Night Light.
"Watching the Canterlot Tournament simply sparked up that burning fire." Night Light hushed back.
"What do you say? Should we make it a double battle? We'd be a fairly dynamic duo if that was the case." Velvet turned to Night Light.
"Hm? Me? No thank you." Night Light would stay out of this.
"Suit yourself. Just watch what Kirlia and I can do."
"Kirlia!"
"Bring it on!"
"Pikachu!"
Canterlot Gardens.
Of course, this was the perfect place for them to have a battle. Sitting on the bench were Twilight, her Pokemon, Delia Night Light, Umbreon and Mimey along with Ash's other Pokemon except for Pikachu.
At the same time, over at the castle which was always near the gardens, Celestia and Luna were currently watching from above. They were curious to see how an encounter between Ash and Twilight Velvet would turn out.
"You won't go easy on me, will you Ash? Even for my age."
"Not at all." Ash tightened his gloves. "Pikachu and I are gonna go all in!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Who do I root for?" Twilight pondered, unsure as to whose side she could pick. So, for simplicity, she chose Pinkie Pie's philosophy. AKA, cheering for both sides in the end. "Good luck, mom! Ash!"
"Don't go too overboard, dear! This is your first Pokemon battle after all!" Night Light exclaimed.
"I'll be fine. Watching all those battles has given me certified inspiration."
"Looking forward to it. Alright! Pikachu, I choose you!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder.
"Just watch. Off you go, Kirlia!"
"Kirlia!" Kirlia floated in front of Velvet.
"Dear. Make the call." Velvet spoke to Night Light.
"Hm? Oh, right! Battle start!" Night Light exclaimed, causing the battle to begin.
"'Kay, Pikachu! Let's show them your speed! Use Quick Attack!"
"Pika!" Pikachu went first. The Electric Mouse Pokemon bolted off the ground at blinding speeds, leaving behind a silver trail of light behind him as he approached the Emotion Pokemon.
"Quick, Kirlia! Use Grass Knot!" Velvet commanded.
"Lia!" Kirlia quickly put her arms together as her eyes and body were outlined in a blue aura. Then, Kirlia manipulated the ground itself as two green-glowing vines grew out of the ground near Pikachu's feet.
"Pika?!" Pikachu gasped as one of his legs had been caught by the first vine while the other vine grabbed him by the stomach. "P-Pika...!"
"Gotcha!"
"Not for long! Break free with Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu's tail lit up while being hardened to the same level as iron. He then swiped his tail downwards and sideways, destroying the vines that were holding him down with ease.
"Now! Circle Kirlia and use Iron Tail!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu then advanced, still keeping Iron Tail active as he moved to the side, starting to run around the Emotion Pokemon while waiting for the right moment to strike.
"Kirlia! Let's switch their speed with ours. Use Trick Room!"
"Lia...!" Kirlia raised her arms, generating a bright red and large light-blue rectangle with light-blue transparent walls as a ceiling appeared around the battlefield. Then, the light blue glow faded away as the walls and ceiling became invisible.
"Pika!" Even though the speed levels had been reversed, Pikachu went in for an attack either way as he jumped into the air, swinging Iron Tail down.
"Not so fast now! Counter it with Shadow Ball!"
"Kirlia!" Kirlia outstretched her arms, creating a purple blob of shadows, shooting it towards the Electric Mouse Pokemon.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu's tail now came in contact with Shadow Ball, pressing on the blob of shadows. Pikachu's physical strength far exceeded Kirlia's as his Iron Tal was strong enough to cut the Shadow Ball in half. "Pika!"
"Oh!" Velvet and Kirlia gasped.
"Kir?!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu then landed on the ground after destroying Shadow Ball.
"Awesome job, buddy!"
"Oh my." Velvet pulled back. "That Pikachu might be a bit too strong for his own good. I should've seen this coming. But it's fine. Kirlia! Use Signal Beam!"
"Lia!" A light blue ball of energy formed in front of Kirlia's forehead. She then fired a rainbow-coloured beam from the ball at the Electric-Type.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chu!" Pikachu sparked up an aura of electricity around him as he quickly shot out a blast of lightning from his body.
Both ranged attacks met, entering an immediate power struggle. But ultimately, in just 2 seconds, they equalled each other out, blowing up on the spot.
"Mom's really good at this actually." Twilight's eyes widened.
"I told you. Watching the Canterlot Tournament sparked something in her. Her love for thrilling activities works well with something like battling."
"This is what I was waiting for, Ash! Now, Kirlia! Hold Pikachu down with Grass Knot!"
"Lia!" Kirlia was about to manipulate the ground once more.
"This time, we'll slow you down! Pikachu! Jump up with Quick Attack and use Electroweb!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu stomped his feet on the ground as the aura of Quick Attack surrounded his body. He then zoomed into the air at lightning speeds, having enough swiftness to move away from the ground before Grass Knot could catch him.
But the vines could still chase Pikachu down as they were ascending towards the Electric Mouse Pokemon.
While in the air, Pikachu's tail lit up with electricity surrounding it. He then created an orange-yellow orb of electricity on his tail, flinging the orb, which then transformed into a circular yellow electrical net.
The net of electricity ended up landing on the vines, holding them down and preventing them from advancing any further, protecting Pikachu from being caught. The vines were now caught.
"Now! Dash down and use Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Pikachu, still using Quick Attack, zoomed downwards while hardening his tail, ready for an overhead strike.
"That looks like it might hurt a lot! Quick, Kirlia!" Signal Beam!"
"Kirlia!" One more time, Kirlia released a rainbow-coloured blast from her forehead, sending it straight at her fellow second-stage evolution Pokemon.
"Breakthrough!" Ash raised his fist.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu grit his teeth as he smashed his tail onto Signal Beam, causing sparks to fly out. Pikachu and Kirlia were now in a power struggle to see whose move would come out on top.
"More Kirlia!" Velvet's adrenaline was rising as she stood in a bipedal position, encouraging her Kirlia to go even further beyond.
"K-Kirlia!" Kirlia growled as her arms were trembling with one of her legs bending. She poured more energy into her attack as Signal Beam grew in size.
"Go, Pikachu!" Ash also encouraged his partner.
"Pi...Pika!" Pikachu's eyes flashed yellow as he clearly had more power and energy within him. With that, Pikachu's Iron Tail intensified as he let out a loud yell.
Then, with a rush of energy, Pikachu broke through Signal Beam by spinning around with Iron Tail as if he was a ball. The Electric Mouse Pokemon was now rolling towards Kirlia with Iron Tail.
"Lia?!" Kirlia's pupils shrunk as her attack had been destroyed. Before she knew it, once Signal Beam had been destroyed, Pikachu had then smashed his tail onto Kirlia's head, causing the ground below to erupt with a large dust cloud forming.
"Ah! Not my little Kirlia!" Velvet wailed as Pikachu backflipped out of the smoke.
"Pika!"
And after the smoke cleared, it was clear which Pokemon was still standing and which was out cold. It was revealed that Kirlia had fainted.
"Kirlia..."
"Yes!" Ash pumped his fist after that victory.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"That's that. For her first battle that wasn't too bad," said Delia as Twilight and the others nodded.
"Aww..." Velvet used her magic to bring Kirlia over. "Good job, Kirlia."
"Lia."
"But that was truly exciting!" Velvet pranced on the spot. "It's everything I was hoping for! Well, almost. I was actually hoping for more Pokemon but Kirlia's all I have but still!"
"Pokemon battling sure does get the blood pumping doesn't it?" Ash walked over.
"Absolutely! The adrenaline! The rush! It's all so wonderful! Let's have another go!"
"Kir?!" Kirlia's eyes shot out after hearing that.
"Oh, um. Perhaps after you get yourself some rest. Sorry. I can get a bit carried away." Velvet laughed.
"Well then." Night Light got off the bench. "It's about time we swapped. I'm itching for some bingo now."
"Oh, right. I'll be waiting at the Tangela Bungee Jump then. Come on, Kirlia. Let's get you healed up." Velvet walked off.
"Lia."
"Oh, I'd actually like some bungee jumping. That'll definitely take me back." Delia went along with Mimey by her side.
"Mime-Mime!"
"It's just us now." Night Light looked at both Ash and Twilight. "Let's win that bingo game. Or rather, I'm winning."
"What makes you think you'll win, dad?" Twilight asked.
"Just watch, dear. Whether it's normal bingo or Pokemon bingo, victory will be right before my eyes!"
Pokemon School. Afterschool Bingo club.
Many ponies were already inside of the club, in the midst of playing Pokemon Bingo. And the one running it was Roxanne who tends to stay behind longer than most teachers.
Night Light and Ash both had serious looks on their faces while staring at their bingo cards. Their eyes were twitching while sweat dropped from their foreheads.
This Pokemon Bingo was themed around many things such as certain Pokemon, items and popular events that have happened in the Pokemon World. Whether history related or even something involving Equestria when both worlds merged. Luckily, most ponies here were able to learn about the history of the Pokemon World during their time at the Pokemon Festival. Every region all had some lore behind it.
But then again, this was Canterlot. So studying is highly prominent here.
"Come on..." Night Light bit his lip as he was waiting for Roxanne to mention the next call. There were 40 images in total and the goal was to cross out 15 images. So far, he had only managed to cross out 10 images. He just needed 5 more.
"Luxury Ball," Roxanne said.
"Luxury Ball?" Night Light's eyes shifted as he was searching for the Luxury Ball image, but only found a Quick Ball, Sports Ball and Master Ball. But no Luxury Ball. "Curses!"
"Yes!" But Twilight ended up getting one as she marked off the Luxury Ball.
"Sinistea antique form." said Roxanne.
"Antique form?" Even Ash didn't know about this. Then again, he hadn't seen a Sinistea yet, neither does he know about its antique form. But he searched either way for the Pokemon that might match that name via appearance. "Uh..."
"Aha!" A pony called out as they had managed to get Sinistea. "A bit more and this game is mine."
"Gh!" Night Light yelped as he was aiming to come out on top. But so far, it wasn't looking good for him. "If I can just get 5 more.."
At the same time, right next to the Pokemon School and near the club room, Delia and Velvet were having the time of their lives, taking part in the Tangela Bungee Jumping activity.
Their screams of excitement could be heard from outside as it travelled through the room and everyone in the bingo room. Usually, Bingo games are silent, but not this one. A lot of chatter could be heard with active movements so it was fine to have massive reactions. Especially if someone ends up getting a bingo.
"Hm?" Roxanne turned to face the window.
"Not so loud honey...I need focus..." Night Light closed his eyes.
"The Pokemon War."
"Oh!" Night Light got one along with others." Yes!"
"Pikachu Libre."
"Got it!" Multiple ponies cried out at the same time in the room. Night Light was also one of them.
"The Totem Kommo-o in Alola." Night Light also got that as well as Ash. Things were heating up while Delia and Velvet's screams kept going on. "Prism Scale."
And again, Night Light had something he could cross out as some ponies had given up since they had made barely any progress. Night Light was now down to just 2 options and he wins the prize.
"Just a bit more..." Night Light growled.
"Heh. No longer looking slow there, Night Light?" One of Night Light's Bingo rivals taunted him as he was glaring right at his fellow unicorn.
"Gordian...You won't best me this time. I'm this close to victory!" Night Light replied.
"Man this bingo stuff is pretty tough!" Ash looked at his card as he only had 4 options left.
"The Darkest Day."
"Got it!" Ash and Twilight both crossed the Darkest Day out as Night Light was getting nervous. He could see that some almost had their cards finished. Around 4 or 3 images on each card that had yet to be crossed out.
"Heart Spotted Spinda."
"Heart Spotted Spinda, what?" A pony raised an eyebrow, searching aggressively for that one specific Spinda. Coincidentally, every single card in this Bingo Room had at least one image of a Spinda on them. So everyone was analyzing their cards, searching for the Heart Spotted Spinda.
"Hah! Yes!" Gordian got it. "Beat that, Night!"
"Grrr!" Night Light bit his card, almost tearing it apart. Please, Celestia. Arceus. Smile on me today..."
"Malamar Invasion of Canterlot."
"Alright!" Night Light got that one. Now he only had one option left and the game was his.
"Sinnoh Pokedex design." Night Light didn't get that one and neither did anyone else as a series of calls came out of Roxanne's mouth. "Sir Aaron's staff." He didn't get that one either. But Ash certainly got it as he was close to winning this.
"Mrrgh...!" Night Light's horn was twitching uncontrollably.
"Black-tip tailed Pikachu."
"Hah?" Night Light and everyone looked over at Ash's Pikachu, noticing that he didn't have a black tip on his tail.
"Pika?" Pikachu tilted his head in confusion.
But someone actually had that mysterious image on their card. And that someone was Night Light as he turned back to see that there was indeed a Black-tip Pikachu. "Oh! Bingo!"
He yelled at the top of his lungs as he sat up from his seat, declaring absolute victory while raising his card, showing everyone that he had crossed out 15 images in total.
"Finally! Woohoo!" With his thunderous victory came disappointment from the other players but also applause. And with perfect timing, Delia and Velvet's loudest screams yet came through the room.
"That's a wrap," Roxanne said as she placed the microphone away. "Well done for winning, Night Light!"
"Great job, dad!" Twilight cheered for her father.
"Hah! How does that look, Gordian?!" Night shoved it in Gordian's face.
"Hmph! You won't be so lucky on the next one."
"That was a blast. It's way difficult than I thought it would be." Ash looked at his card.
"Pika."
"You came really close though. But those 5,000 bits are mine." Night Light had a proud grin on his face. "I need to do this Pokemon bingo more often if it rewards this much."
"Mom and Mrs Ketchum sure were making a lot of noise during it as well." Twilight looked outside the window.
"Ah, it's fine. This room was making a lot of noise too." Night Light shrugged. "Now then. What's next? I know your mother will want to do something daring."
"I know so too. I was hoping to take things slow, but that's not going to happen." Twilight sighed as she was ready for whatever was coming next.
The dual family had a blast with each other. They all swapped places constantly, experiencing different kinds of fun. Whether it's Ash, Delia and Velvet's love for excitement and thrills or Twilight and her father's love for something more simple.
There was good synergy between both families. And even better, this wouldn't be the last time they would have a meetup as they were already planning for a second one soon.
They had fun, ate for a while and then went back to having some more fun doing whatever they each enjoy. Delia even decided to personally show off her best cooking, which greatly satisfied Night Light and Twilight Velvet.
Afterwards, the sun was setting by this point. And they had certainly done mostly everything they wanted to do. At least, until the second meetup.
"Ah..." Ash laid on his back, looking up at the night sky. "Kinda tuckered out a bit."
"Pikachu."
"I may have gone a bit overboard at that last second." Velvet sighed. "But it was completely worth it."
"Mhm." Twilight nodded as she sat down.
"I can't wait for the second one. Next time, you should definitely bring us to your world. To really experience Kanto." Night Light recommended.
"Of course," Delia replied. "And then maybe on the third one, we could visit that PokePark Twilight oversees."
"It's open any time really." Twilight rubbed her eye. "Anyway. Shouldn't we be going?"
"Right." Ash stood up. "We had a blast here."
"Pika-Pika!"
"I hope Togekiss hasn't been causing too much trouble back at the lab. She can get a bit rowdy sometimes." Twilight gulped, fearing the worst. "Oh. By the way. Just in case you want to catch some more Pokemon..." She dug into her saddlebag, getting out some spare Poke Balls for her parents. "Here."
"Oh thank you so much, dear. I know what I'm doing tomorrow morning." An excited Velvet said.
"I should check up on Sunset and the-" Just before Twilight could finish her sentence, her Xtransceiver was suddenly ringing. She was even planning to call someone on it but the call came to her instead. "Hm?"
She picked it up to see that it was Sunset calling her. Right on time. With that, Twilight answered the call, wondering what Sunset had to say.
"Hello? Sunset?"
"Twilight! Come quick! Emerald Aura's here!"
"She's here?!" Twilight bellowed. "Um...! Gotta go now! It was wonderful getting to spend time with my family again!"
"Seems urgent. It's best that you get a move on now." Velvet and Night Light understood that Twilight should probably be in a hurry right now
"Thank you!"
An urgent call has just arrived. One that could greatly impact both worlds. Emerald Aura. A Rift Pony, who could be the key to help stop Ghetsis and Empress Twilight because of what she is capable of.
Right now, she was at Ponyville. Most likely she had been convinced to come here. However, her answers have yet to be revealed as the journey continues.
Urgent news had arrived. Emerald Aura had finally appeared in Twilight's Castle. The pony who could greatly help with the whole Ghetsis and Empress Twilight situation that is lingering over Equestria. However, her response is yet to be revealed.
"She's really here?!" Twilight exclaimed as she came bursting through the door with Ash behind her.
"Right here. In full cosmic form." Sunset said, moving to the side as Emerald Aura could be seen standing near the wall, staying away from everyone else as it was clear the Rift Pony wasn't exactly ecstatic about being here.
Also in this castle were Sunlight and Eventide. The two individuals who set out to find Emerald in the first place. Although, it took them a while to find her and there was definitely a story on how they got her here.
"Can't believe I actually showed up here..." Emerald sighed.
"Great place, right?" Cold, the only one Emerald was fine with interacting with, said.
"Meh. Even when being here, it still feels average."
"So, you're really here to help us?" Twilight went over. "That's great!"
"I'm not helping you because I feel like it." Emerald quickly shut Twilight down. "I'm helping to make Cold happy, of course. Not for any of you."
"Oh." Twilight put on a poker face. "Yeah. That's to be expected."
"Let's make this quick. I have places to be. Well...not really actually."
"So, since you're a Rift Pony, you could help solve a lot of our problems," said Starlight. "Like maybe keeping both worlds connected?"
"I can't do that."
"You can't?" Starlight pulled back. "But I thought-"
"We Rift ponies have limits. We can do many things but some things aren't within our power. Only the Rift itself can do everything. So if you're thinking about keeping both worlds together forever, I'm not the one you want."
"Oh...Okay." Starlight scrunched her face.
"But you can open up gateways, right?" Sunset asked.
"That I can do. I can connect gateways between worlds by making new ones or even changing their positions and more. So, what do you want?"
"We were hoping that you could help connect a gateway to this world and Queen Pyrestar's world. Where Ghetsis and Team Plasma are." Twilight requested. "Just one and nothing more."
"You want to connect to that world?" Emerald narrowed her eyes. "It's practically a wasteland. Not to mention, you'll be giving Ghetsis a large chance to come through here and mess everything up for you."
"She's right. It is very risky, actually." Sunlight spoke. "If it connects to Pyrestar's world, all of Team Plasma will come through here."
"Yeah. That's a good point." Twilight nodded. "I was thinking of having there be an easier way to access Pyrestar's world but...Maybe we should try something else."
"Like what?" Starlight questioned. "That world's the most important one after all. Is there another important world?"
"Oh!" Cold gasped, gaining an idea. "Emerald. Maybe you can summon a gateway at a secret place in Pyrestar' world."
"What do you mean, squirt?" Emerald turned to face her fellow Rift pony.
"Doesn't have to be out in the open. Maybe we can go through this world and Pyrestar's world via something secluded cave or something. Any place where Ghetsis and the others can't find us, ya know. Or even the gateway."
"Oh! Now you're using your noggin, kid." Sunset nudged Cold's head.
"I can do that." Emerald walked forward. "But it'll have to be somewhere far that Ghetsis can't find. Especially Colress and all his spycams."
"Spycams?" Twilight and Starlight each said.
"You didn't know? Colress has been spying on Equestria for a long time now. He put spy cams all over the place to make sure that everywhere, except for the inside is within his sights. Right now, we're all safe from his view in this castle. The same goes for every other building. But, outside? You're all being watched by him." Emerald explained.
"You mean-" Twilight's mane froze along with everyone else. "We've been-"
"All this time?!" Starlight looked outside. "B-But I don't see anything! Are they really small?!"
"They certainly are." Eventide suddenly spoke." But you won't have to worry about those anymore. Ever since the Darkest Day and all those Dynamaxed Pokemon showing up, many of the spycams have been destroyed. A few of them are left. We've seen them after all."
"Indeed. They were so littered across the world. We actually had no idea what they were until Emerald Aura brought them up just now." Sunlight spoke. "We thought we were the only ones watching over Equestria, honestly."
"How much do you think Colress knows about us now?" Twilight asked Ash.
"No idea." Ash shook his head. "Let's hope it's not too much."
"Pika."
"Hm." Emerald closed her eyes as she was tapping into Pyrestar's world as cosmic energy started appearing around her body.
Emerald was now gaining 4th-dimensional vision as she was able to see through dimensional barriers and other universes. There were many worlds within her sights. Each were all alternate universes with different outcomes. However, most of them all shared one major thing in common.
Ghetsis and Empress Twilight had ruined them. There were still other universes that hadn't been affected by the dangerous duo yet. In just a few minutes, she was able to find the world where Ghetsis and Team Plasma ruled supreme.
"There's the universe," She said as she was now searching for the perfect place to summon the gateway. A place that would be so secluded that Ghetsis and Team Plasma won't even think of entering. Besides, Pyrestar's world is a bit of a mess right now.
After searching the ruined and less-than-healthy land of Pyrestar's world, Emerald Aura had found a place that could work perfectly.
A run-down fort that once belonged to a group of ponies that are long gone now from this world. This fort was millions of years old and abandoned. And it was located right below a now barely stable Manehattan, in an underground area no less.
After finding the place, Emerald used a majority of her magic once more to open up a gateway that would connect to the underground area of Pyrestar's world.
"Alright. I've found a perfect place. An underground fort that's super old. Ghetsis and his goons won't think to look there at all."
"Great! That'll be perfect to travel in and out of!" Twilight grinned. "Thank you so much, Emerald Aura!"
"Whatever. As long as you keep this little guy out of harm's way. All of this is too dangerous for Cold, after all."
"Dangerous? Pssh! I'll be fine." Cold tried to play it cool. "Besides...I'm not going through there. That place is a mess."
"Whatever you say, squirt,"
"So...now what? Do we go through?" Starlight gazed at the gateway.
"We should be safe from any danger considering what part of the world this gateway leads to," said Eventide. "Our daughter Celestia will be informed of this immediately. Your castle might have more visitors than usual, Princess Twilight."
"Yeah, I figured so. It'll be full of guards by this point. But, now that's it's here and we can go through whenever we want, what should we do in that world?"
"I say we head in there and bring Team Plasma down for good!" Ash was already eager to put an end to this.
"Pikachu!"
"It won't be like Saddle Arabia, Ash." Emerald suddenly halted him.
"Huh?"
"Pika?"
"You see, Saddle Arabia was the only place in Equestria that Ghetsis managed to conquer. This world is different. He's practically made the world his entire kingdom or empire by this point. Everything he has is on a much larger scale now compared to how small it was back at Saddle Arabia. He even took the time to recruit more Team Plasma members. If you were to go and tackle him now, you'd be a goner, that's for sure."
"Aw. I guess so." Ash nodded.
"Fear not, Ash, my boy." Eventide put his hoof around Ash's neck. "We can do the next best thing before taking a pre-emptive strike is setting up a base of operations there."
"Base of operations?" Ash turned to face Eventide.
"We'll lurk and work in the shadows without Ghetsis and Team Plasma suspecting a thing. A perfect way to improvise while in enemy territory!" Eventide bellowed.
"Oh...I gotcha." Ash raised a finger. "Nice thinking, Eventide!"
"Pikachu."
"I'll let our daughters know right away." Sunlight offered to tell Celestia and Luna as she immediately teleported out of the castle.
"Yeah, well. It's great and all that we have the gateway to Pyrestar's world but...I'm kinda tuckered out. Taking care of Togekiss was one thing..." Sunset yawned. "Can we do this tomorrow?"
"Sure. Gateway's not going anywhere after all." Emerald turned around as she was ready to leave. "I've done what I needed to do."
"You're leaving now?" Cold Colt went up to his fellow Rift Pony.
"Yeah. I didn't want to come back here anyway. It's a quick and simple gateway opening and that's all. You get it, don't you, Cold?"
"Yeah, I got it. I got it. You don't want to be here cause there's no point if we cease to exist later and all that. But, could you stay for a while longer? Like how you did before? It's been a while since we've seen each other anyway."
"Hmm..." Emerald looked at Cold's eyes. She knew that this was the usual puppy-dog pleading face that most young individuals use to enchant older individuals.
And it was always effective as Cold intensified his expression to the emerald-coloured unicorn. And just like before, Cold's pleading got to Emerald's secretly soft heart.
"Fine..." Emerald sighed. "I can stay for a while. Nighttime fits me anyway."
"Yes! You won't regret it!" Cold jumped up and down.
"Well now. I'll be off myself." Eventide was starting to return to the Ambrosial Plane. "If you need any advice on how to make a base of operations there, you can count on me for certain. Or Pinkie Pie as well. I hear she's amazing at making secret bases."
"I'd better clock out myself as well." Starlight walked off.
"If you need a place to stay for the night, you're welcome to relax in my castle." Twilight suggested.
"No thanks. I'll stay outside instead of being in this place." Emerald scoffed.
"Emerald! They're my friends. At least be a bit nice to them, ya know," Cold said.
"Fine." Emerald sighed. "Sorry. I've just been a bit down and out of it recently. Living on my own in some abandoned house and all. Plus I really didn't want to come back here."
"I hear ya. But it's always nice to see you again." Cold hugged Emerald. "You can tell me what you've been doing so far alone."
"Whatever I want. I've transformed that entire house into a mansion."
"Really?!" Cold gawked.
"I can do anything, duh. If I want a mansion, I'll make a mansion. Simple as that. That's one major thing I got over you, squirt."
"Well...Maybe not anymore." Cold let out a cheesy grin as Emerald squinted her eyes while raising an eyebrow. "Just recently, my magic's gone up by a bunch. More than you can imagine. I've been pulling off stuff that you could probably do But uh...by accident."
"He's right, you know." Twilight went over to her student. "Out of nowhere, Cold's Rift magic suddenly amplified without warning. I'm not sure if it's the major effects of Togetic's joy dust or that he's just a late-bloomer, but he's certainly improved. Even if it means mastering his magic increases in difficulty."
"I haven't really been able to use my magic that often because of it. I'm only allowed to do small things like opening doors and stuff." Cold whimpered. "But at least I'm getting good at it. Pretty soon, I might be on your level or even better."
"Huh. So...you just got better out of nowhere?" Emerald was finding it hard to believe.
"Mhm. I can show you if you want." Cold was about to use his magic.
"No!" Twilight panicked, promptly stopping Cold by lifting him in the air. "Not inside the castle, at least!"
"Oh, sorry." Cold squeed.
"If you say so. I wanna see this for myself."
"I'll leave you two alone. You like being around Cold the most anyway." Twilight backed away. "Also, nopony go through the gateway yet until we're ready."
One by one, everyone was leaving the area. Mostly for Cold Colt and Emerald Aura so that they can have their privacy. Twilight, Sunset and Starlight would obviously head into their bedrooms for some sleep while Ash and Pikachu were already heading back home to Pallet Town.
Very soon, Twilight's castle fell silent as it was just Cold and Emerald inside together. The last one to leave this room was Togekiss who followed Twilight to her room.
The only other noise now was the outside as mostly everypony was still awake. It was precisely 20:30 so there was still some time left to spare before everyone, apart from those that don't sleep, clocks out.
And speaking of outside, that's where Cold and Emerald went as they walked through the streets of Ponyville, ready to have some Rift Pony bonding time.
"So. What have you done with all your amplified magic?" Emerald asked.
"Well...I sorta messed up by teleporting some of my friends to a badlands. I turned most of Ponyville's ground and floors into soap which was pretty fun. Oh! And even before my magic was amplified, I split Ash into 6 different versions of himself. You should've seen it!"
"Sounds like you've had your own wonderful journeys, haven't you, squirt?"
"Sure have. I never thought I would get to have this much fun. I thought I would just be stuck causing problems with all the little magic I had. You know, since that's why we were made. To stir up trouble."
"Yeah. But it looks like you've dodged that rule, haven't you? Now your magic can do good. And I'm happy for you, kid."
"Thanks. I also made a lot of new friends here. Like Jade over there!" Cold pointed his hoof at Jade who was currently sitting outside SugarCube Corner. "Hey, Jade!"
"Hm? Hi, Cold." A deadpan and emotionless Jade waved at Cold as she also noticed Emerald Aura. "Oh, it's you again."
"Ah-" Emerald froze after seeing Jade a second time, knowing who she really was and what her true purpose is. "Should've known she'd be here...But nothing major's happened to her yet."
"You know Emerald, right?" Cold said to Jade.
"Mhm." Jade nodded. "You're the one I still feel like I know. And you look a bit like me still."
"You're still on that, huh?" Emerald let out a nervous grin. Similar to Cold, Jade is somepony that Emerald could talk to since they're each cut-from-the-same cloth. AKA Rift energy.
"I just have a feeling. Among other things." Jade sat up. "So what brings you back here? Are you visiting?"
"Ah, it's nothing much. Came here to do something important. Now I'm just hanging around with Cold here. Kinda wanna head back home to my mansion soon though."
"You have a mansion?" Jade was impressed even if her face didn't show it.
"Indeed. Rift energy has so many benefits and perks." She said with a confident grin smile being displayed on her face. "Made it in the way I like it."
"Lucky. I wanna make my own home but my magic's too crazy right now." Cold tapped his horn.
"Hm. Do you think you could join us for a night watch for the night?" Jade suggested.
"Night Watch?" Emerald narrowed her eyes.
"Jade, Absol, Krookodile and I are a part of Ponyville's Night Watch. And a bunch of other nocturnal Pokemon. We keep a really sharp eye at night and watch out for any danger and trouble. Since I never get tired, it's perfect for me. Although, Jade doesn't get tired too which is weird."
"I don't get it myself either," Jade replied. "But, we've earned some nice looking badges from Mayor Mare for doing a good job every night."
"You could say we're kinda heroes in our own way." Cold nudged Jade. "Whaddya think of that? I've come a long way, ya know."
"You sure have. I barely recognize you as the same kid now. You've really grown up, squirt. Proud of you. Really."
"Aw, gee!" Cold rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks, Emerald!"
"Oh and uh, sorry. But I'll pass on that Night Watch thing. You can keep doing a good job with it though."
"Okay. You can always just do whatever you want at night since you can't get tired. Would you like something from SugarCube corner?" Jade asked in a monotone voice.
"No thanks." Emerald shook her head as she navigated her eyes throughout Ponyville. She then spotted something that really caught her eye.
One of the homes here belonged to the Dazzlings. Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk. Emerald already knew about Sonata and Aria being here, but Adagio threw her off as she could see the older siren inside the house, still awake.
"Adagio Dazzle?" Emerald's eyes widened. "Here? Of all places?"
"Hm? Oh yeah. Adagio's now living here in Ponyville." Cold nodded. "At least, she says she's only gonna be here until the whole invasion thing keels over and they stop Ghetsis and stuff. After that, she's gonna keep on doing her own thing."
"I'm sorry, invasion?" Emerald had even more questions.
"Very soon. In just 1 month, our world is going to be invaded by an alternate universe Twilight named Empress Twilight." Jade explained. "And everyone's ready to work alongside each other to make sure that this world isn't taken. This world is Adagio's home too after all. So she wants to protect it as well.
"Is that why Sunset Shimmer was here too? I thought she would've stayed in the human world..." Emerald looked at Twilight's castle. "This timeline is certainly having its turns."
"Oh! You don't even know half of it! Get this! But Queen Chrysalis and all those Changelings are on our side now." Cold dropped some more info on Emerald.
"Huh?!" Emerald pulled back. "Since when?!"
"Since Ghetsis destroyed their old hive. So then they had to find a new one somewhere else. And now they're not so scary and evil anymore. It's pretty neat." Cold squeed. "Ash and Pikachu got to befriend them the most though."
"Oh my..." Emerald looked at the ground, holding her head as she began to think to herself. "Ghetsis has drastically changed the timeline by doing that. If Chrysalis and the changelings aren't their usual cruel self...then those two important events won't even happen. Especially that alliance..."
"Uh...Emerald?" Cold looked at his friend's pondering face.
"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking of how different everything is going to be later on. I know the Rift is definitely enjoying all of this."
"I hope so. I want the Rift to enjoy it longer. Long enough for Ash and everyone to find Jirachi. That way, we can keep all of this. And I won't have to fade away! Neither will you!"
"Yeah. That'd actually be nice." Emerald looked up as she sat down. "Honestly, I make it sound straightforward and all but...I'm kinda scared of fading away too."
"You are? But you were so calm and cool about it." Cold walked over.
"You could say I was playing it calm and cool. Truth is, I'm just as scared as you are, squirt. I don't want to disappear when this is all over. Especially you. You're so happy here. More than I thought you would be. You've made some great friends here after all. I'd hate to see you leave it all and never remember it. I can't say the same for me, though."
"Why not? You've made yourself a mansion and everything. Won't you miss it too?" Cold questioned.
"Nah. I don't have that same attachment to this world like you do." Emerald brought over a nearby empty Poke Ball that had just missed a Pokemon earlier. "Guess, that's just natural really. The Rift made us in specific ways and everything. You were made to have everything a child has. All that energy, excitement, happiness and hope. Just great feelings all around."
"I guess so..."
"Out of all the Rift creations, you're the luckiest one for sure. Having this new life and totally moving away from what the Rift planned for you in the beginning. Guess that Togetic Joy Dust really does change things around."
"No, I don't think it was the dust." Cold Colt went over to Jade. "I think spending time here with everyone is what changed things around for me. They accepted me even if I'm not a full-on pony and I even got myself a family at Sweet Apple Acres and a pretty great teacher too. It's a pretty great feeling, ya know and I have all my friends to thank for that."
"Wow...That was so cheesy and lame." Emerald winced. "But, yeah. I guess that makes sense. This place does have that feeling, doesn't it?"
"Sure does. I know for sure Jade can feel it too. Even if her face doesn't show it."
"I feel it. It's a nice place. With great friends by my side too." Jade almost cracked a smile.
"Hm." Emerald nodded as that's all she needed to hear. "Well, anyway...Mind if I try some of that food from SugarCube Corner you mentioned?"
"Sure. I have some right here." Jade brought out some food that Pinkie Pie lent her for the night. She gave out some to both Emerald and Cold respectively as the trio of Rift ponies were ready to dig in.
Emerald took the first bite as she could already feel the wonderful taste coming from the cupcake she had just bitten down on. "Mmm! I've been missing out!"
"I know right?" Cold replied, scarfing down some macarons.
"So, Emerald. Since you're a Rift pony and you can do almost anything, do you think you could take me to where I came from?" Jade asked a highly important question which prompted Emerald to almost choke on her food.
"Mmm?!" Emerald turned to Jade.
"I've been wondering where I came from for the longest time now. Nopony seems to have any major leads on my home or even potential relatives. So, since you can do so many things, I was hoping you would help me with that. Like, taking me to my home or even bringing my relatives here. You can do that, right?"
"Uh..." Emerald slowly ate her food as she was sweating.
"Oh yeah. That would solve that problem, wouldn't it?" Cold noticed.
"Um...!" Emerald scrunched her face as she began to think to herself. "Can't let her know who she really is. Not until she accomplishes her goal. But boy, is she taking a long time. I would've thought Obsidian's plan would've worked by now. Unless...being here with all her friends changed that?"
"Emerald?" Cold grabbed her attention. "Can you do it?"
"Well..." Jade slowly devoured her food. "I can't."
"You can't? Why not?" Jade leaned forward.
"Because..." Emerald was trying to figure how to respond. "I don't know who you really are! That's it!"
"That's the reason?" Cold pulled back.
"Look, I have my limits okay? Besides...Jade's a massive mystery to me like she is to everyone else."
"I am?"
"Sorry if that sounded pretty harsh but..." Emerald looked away.
"It's fine. I didn't expect many if not all to know who I really am." Jade replied as she didn't take Emerald's response too badly. But then again, her emotionless face and personality make it hard to tell. "If you don't know, then you don't know. That's alright."
"Really? Wow, uh...You took that pretty well." Emerald was impressed.
"I learned it from Ash and Pinkie Pie. It really helps." Jade nodded. "But..." Jade's body was suddenly letting out a very faint and hard-to-see cosmic aura. "Something tells me you're not being fully honest..."
"Oh wow. So it randomly pops up?" Emerald was the only one who noticed Jade's cosmic aura rising. It was a good indicator that Jade could unconsciously show her aura, but very little of it. "Maybe, but who knows?" Emerald shrugged as she laughed nervously while continuing to eat her food.
The trio continued to bond as the night went on with everypony else finally closing their doors and heading to bed while Ponyville's Night Watch takes over.
Morning.
Along came the morning with Celestia raising the sun. Speaking of which, Celestia had just been informed by her mother about the new gateway in Twilight's castle. But, she won't exactly be arriving today. Plans were being made. Although the secret base of operations idea from Eventide wasn't such a bad idea.
But besides that, Emerald felt like she had enough time staying here in Ponyville as she finished the last food of the day. This entire time, through the whole night, transitioning to the morning, she had bonded with Cold more and even with Jade.
"Well. I should be off now." Emerald stood up. "Thanks for the time, kid. And you too, Jade."
"Aww, okay." Cold pouted. "But, you'll still let us come to your mansion, right?"
"Of course I will. You're both more than welcome there. I made it in the middle of nowhere so it might be tough to find. But I'll come for you myself from time to time."
"That sounds nice. It's been fun getting to know you, Emerald. Even if you're just a creation with not much going for you."
"Ah!" Emerald felt a bit of a sting from Jade's words. "T-Thanks. But yeah, good luck to all of you. And have as much fun as you want here, okay?"
"Sure will!" Cold jumped up.
"And Jade." Emerald walked up to Jade. "Cold seems very happy here. Will you, Ash, Twilight and the others promise to make sure that stays that way?"
"Hm?"
"By the end of this, I want you to beat out the Rift and get Jirachi's wish to keep everything together. I would do something but the Rift won't allow me. So, do you promise to do it?"
"I promise." Jade gave her promise to Emerald with a certified nod. "You can count on me."
"Great. Alright. Bye now. Stay away from that gateway, squirt." Emerald gave her final goodbyes as she was slowly fading away, heading off to her mansion in the middle of nowhere.
And that was the end of that. Emerald Aura will return for certain. But, most of it would just be for Cold and now Jade. Rift ponies have to stick together according to Emerald.
A promise was made between her and Jade. And it's a promise that Jade and her friends will certainly keep as it will surely make everyone on both sides of each world happy as the journey continues.
"Oooh..." Pinkie Pie was currently gawking at the gateway made by Emerald Aura last night. She put her hoof through it but not her entire body since nopony was yet allowed to go through it until the call was made. "So, this is where all the important stuff will happen."
"Important is right," Twilight replied as she was currently with all of her friends. They had all assembled specifically for this gateway. "This is the only thing that connects us with Ghetsis. So it's best to be cautious."
"You haven't gone through it yet, have you?" Rainbow Dash flew over to the gateway.
"Not yet. I'm actually waiting for Princess Celestia to make an order. Besides, a bit nervous to go through there. I mean, Ghetsis and all of Team Plasma occupy the entire world."
"And it leads to some abandoned underground fort, does it?" Rarity questioned. "With a place such as that, won't there be a chance of it collapsing?"
"Probably. But it's far away from Ghetsis and his cronies so it's kinda safe to go through, isn't it?" Applejack said.
"I guess so. I mean...Princess Celestia hasn't spoken to me about it yet so we can pass through it." The young alicorn nodded. "Still a bit iffy since, you know...Ghetsis?"
"I'll head in first." Ash offered to pass through the gateway along with Pikachu.
"Be careful, Ash! Pikachu!" Pinkie Pie bellowed as Ash and Pikachu were the first ones to pass through the gateway as everyone held their breath.
Pyrestar's world.
Once passing through the gateway, Ash and Pikachu had finally entered the World of Pyrestar. A world that was clinging onto the last thread of life.
Bleak grey skies that had a thick dark fog polluting most if not all of the atmosphere, barren and rotting lands with barely any soil left. With no existence of pegasi and earth ponies, this world has been suffering for centuries and millenniums.
Very little life remains in this universe. Only the unicorns still exist. And the only other life here was all of Team Plasma, residing in Canterlot.
But, Ash and Pikachu couldn't see that as they were in an underground area instead. This run-down fort was long destroyed as it was once made by a group of ponies most likely struggling to live in these new conditions without any earth ponies or pegasi around.
By this point, every material used to build this fort had either decayed away or had fallen apart with moss around them. The little things that remain here are either on the verge of crumbling or were somehow still standing due to impressive building skills.
"So this is it...Gives me a creepy feeling." Ash commented.
"Pika." Seeing how dark it was, Pikachu lit his body up for some light, giving him and Ash a better view of this place.
"Thanks, buddy." Ash gave a thumbs-up as he further inspected the area around him. With how barren and lifeless it was with little silence, it would make sense that Team Plasma wouldn't think of coming here. Especially since it's underground.
Emerald Aura certainly chose the perfect location.
"Ash!" Pinkie Pie's head poked through the gateway as she was curious. "Did something happen?"
"Nope. Everything's alright here. It's dead silent." Ash replied.
"Oh. Okay!" Pinkie Pie jumped through the gateway as she entered next along with her Mew and Spinda.
"Oh. So it's safe, is it?" Rarity peered her head through the gateway, hearing Pinkie Pie's words. Upon having her head pass through, Rarity's beautiful and clean aura could already feel the dirty and foul aura coming from this world as she gagged and winced. "Eugh. Safe, yes. Clean, no."
"It doesn't look like any place familiar in Equestria. Have there always been underground forts?" Fluttershy flew through the gateway.
"Nothing in my books say anything about underground civilizations," Twilight spoke coming through the gateway. "Unless nopony's recorded them yet. Then again, this is an alternate universe."
"Feels alternate for sure." Pinkie Pie shuddered. "I got a bad feeling about this."
"Well. We're here now." Rainbow Dash flew through with Applejack and Starlight being the last to arrive. "Now what?"
"Duh!" Pinkie Pie already had the necessary items to build a base here. "We make a base! This'll be just like the Secret Base back at SugarCube Corner. We'll even decorate it and stuff!"
"Wait, that wasn't a joke?" Applejack said. "We're really gonna make this run-down place a base?"
"Oh yeah. Don't worry. It's gonna look way better than it is now! If we're gonna be working in the shadows and stuff like that, we need to make it feel comfortable!"
"That I can agree with." Rarity trotted to Pinkie Pie's side.
"Let's not get too attached." Twilight raised her hoof. "Remember. We're only here for reasons involving Ghetsis and Team Plasma. This is the only way we can connect with Pyrestar's world."
"We know. But some life wouldn't hurt, Twilight." Pinkie Pie squeed.
"Mew-Mew!"
"I guess so..." Twilight nodded in agreement before her brain and eyes caught something important. The young alicorn processed the word life that Pinkie mentioned as she also looked over at Mew.
Twilight recalled the time where Pinkie Pie mentioned that Ash brought up Mewtwo. The Pokemon he believed would be able to break the supposed curse that had banished every earth pony and pegasus out there. If Mewtwo would agree to it that is.
And that's when it hit Twilight. By looking at Mew, she obviously knew that Mew was the originator of Mewtwo since he was cloned from the New Species Pokemon. And even though Mew wasn't Mewtwo, he still counts since his DNA is very present along with DNA from other Pokemon.
"Wait a minute..." Twilight gasped. "Pinkie Pie!"
"Yeah?" Pinkie looked over at Twilight.
"Your Mew! We can break the seal!"
"What seal?" Pinkie narrowed her eyes.
"You know? The seal that was put on Pyrestar's world by um...what was his name again? Grogar! You and Ash once said that Mewtwo could be the one to break the seal because of how powerful he is! Well, Mew could be that great substitute!"
"That's right." Applejack remembered. "Mew counts as Mewtwo, doesn't he?"
"They do say that the original is better than the clone," said Rarity. "Although...Mewtwo gave us a hard time..."
"This is a really lucky break! We could help Pyrestar's world at last!"
"Mew?" Mew looked confused after hearing this.
"Wait!" Twilight turned to face Ash. "Mew's stronger than Mewtwo, right, Ash?"
"Hm? Well..." Ash crossed his arms, recalling a memory from the past. "When I first saw Mew and Mewtwo they were battling each other. And they looked like they were even in power."
"Equal? That's great!" Twilight grinned.
"Was it the same Mew as this one?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Nah, it was another Mew. Pinkie Pie's Mew is a different one. But, ya know, maybe all Mew's are equal in strength." Ash replied.
"Ooh...Think you can do that, Mew?" Pinkie faced her partner.
"Mew?" Mew wasn't so sure on how to exactly break a seal. Let alone one that involved magic. Even Mew wasn't sure of his own strength either since he's not really a Pokemon that battles. And his face really showed. He was just here for fun as always.
"I don't think Mew knows how to." Fluttershy noticed.
"Figures. Mew's not exactly here for important business. He's just along for the ride." Rainbow Dash commented.
"Mew!" Mew flew around as he decided to give it a try anyway since it sounded like something that would make all his friends happy. The New Species Pokemon curled up as he started concentrating his Psychic energy with a pink aura surrounding him.
"Oh! He's actually gonna do it?!" Applejack and the others gasped as they leaned in. From what Mew was doing, it looked like the seal would be broken here.
"Mew...!" The Psychic-Type kept concentrating as his pink aura was deepening with darker colours. It was clear that Mew was actually trying his best to see if he could pull off this seal breaking trick.
But, after a few seconds of focus. Mew's Psychic aura didn't actually do anything major like breaking a seal. All it did was just light up the room even more, which was fairly beautiful in its own right.
"Mew?"
"Guess not." Spike and the others sighed. "Maybe Mewtwo is the answer."
"Oh well, we tried." Rarity shrugged as she walked off. "Anyway, let's get to work. I've already found the perfect spot to really make this place shine."
Some base setting was about to be made. This whole ancient underground fort would have a makeover. Besides, it was a bit hard to breathe in so some fixing up would be needed.
Apart from Ash, Spike, Applejack and Starlight, everyone was redecorating the fort in their own image. Given how wide it was, there was plenty of room for designing. They had mostly brought over objects from their world at their homes to make this possible.
The bleak and run-down underground fort was gradually being transformed into something that would most likely fit Equestria in the past. This world's past of course. Pyrestar's world has been so dreadful that little colour exists. So the actions of Pinkie Pie and the others brought some of that colour back.
2 hours later.
"Done and done!" Pinkie Pie declared as she had smoke and dust all over her from redecorating the underground fort. But at this point, it wasn't a fort anymore. Neither did it look like a proper base of operations. It mostly resembled a hangout spot from its appearance.
"Are ya'll satisfied now?" Applejack asked.
"Mhm." Pinkie and the others nodded in response.
"Looks good. Stands out a lot but since it's underground, Ghetsis and Team Plasma won't notice a thing." Ash commented.
"Pika-Pika."
"A place this moody needed something sweet." Pinkie smiled as she looked at her work which involved an overwhelming amount of pink and sort of substitute to the party cave. "But boy...making a secret base is pretty tiring."
"It looks nice but...I don't think I would let a Pokemon come here." Fluttershy said as she was looking at her spot which resembled the inside of her cottage.
"In any case, at least we have a base now," Twilight spoke as she had the most base-like setup with objects she brought in from her Pokemon Lab. "Now. Do we all know the roles of most of our Pokemon?"
"Oh, yes. Audi will be our ears. She'll be listening very carefully to anything that's nearby on the outside." Fluttershy looked at her partner.
"Audino!"
"Luxray's got X-Ray vision, so he's gonna see through all these thick walls. Right, buddy?" Rainbow Dash went over to Luxray.
"Luxray!"
"I'll have one Slurpuff track down any odd and new scents, easy!" Pinkie chose one of her Slurpuff's.
"Slurpuff!"
"Good. We'll be well aware of every little thing with you three." Twilight faced all three of the Pokemon. "I think that should do it for now. Now, I think Princess Celestia should come here and decide what to do next. Or maybe she's already thought of something. We could bring Pyrestar here since this is her universe. What do you think, Starlight?"
"Uh..." Speaking of Starlight, hers' Ash, Pikachu, Axew, Spike and Applejack's attention had been drawn to something else that had just happened 10 seconds ago.
Seeing it made the 6 of them freeze. And very soon, Twilight and the others had witnessed it by facing Starlight and the others. What they were seeing was originating from the ground itself. Something truly magical and what this world needed.
From one of the carpets that Rarity had added here, there was a plant growing as the ground itself was slowly turning green. And not just one plant, multiple other plants were slowly ascending.
"Plants? Here? But I thought this world had no more fertility." Fluttershy gawked.
"It has no fertility because of the disappearance of earth ponies and for the skies the pegasi. Unless..." Twilight looked over at Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "You four are the reason why!"
"We are?" The four of them said as Twilight was pointing at them.
"Yes! This world must be reacting to you all since you're earth pony and pegasi. Being here and interacting with this underground area must be slowly reviving the fertility in this land. And the same thing could be said about the clouds, actually."
"Oooh..." Pinkie and the others understood clearly. "That's great! So we can turn this world back to how it really was before? Super colourful and healthy?!"
"I didn't think being here could do that." Applejack looked at her hoof. "Wait. Do I even have magic?"
"Earth ponies have some type of secret magic that only responds to nature. Plus, that Rainbow magic is still in you and the rest of us." Twilight pointed out.
"Hm. That's pretty neat." Applejack actually liked the sound of that. She and her fellow earth ponies had their own type of magic exclusive to them.
"So all we have to do is just stay here and everything will return to normal?" Rarity asked.
"Not that simple. It may work for this underground area but the entire world, that'll take a lot of time for sure." Twilight shook her head. "Even if we were to bring everypony from our world here, it would still take years, centuries even to restore this world."
"Aww...It'd be so nifty if it was instant." Pinkie Pie pouted. "But we should like show Pyrestar! Can you imagine how happy she would be to see something like this?!"
"You won't have to imagine any further, Pinkie Pie." Abruptly and unanticipatedly, the pony that Pinkie Pie was talking about had shown herself, appearing behind everypony while standing in front of the gateway.
Indubitably, it was Queen Pyrestar. Alongside the arrival of Princess Celestia.
"Wah!" Pinkie Pie jumped into the arms of Ash after being startled by Pyrestar's sudden appearance.
"Oh! You're here already?" Twilight said.
"I had to come here. Back to my home." Pyrestar walked forward. "I can't believe you've actually found a way to access it at last." She gazed at the newly decorated underground base. An area she wasn't even aware of herself. And if she was, it had been so many years, her mind has probably tossed it aside by now.
"You can thank Emerald for that. She was kind enough to do all of this. Even though...she was only doing it for Cold." Twilight scrunched her face.
"We made it all soft and cosy too!" Pinkie showed off the new look. "Feels great, right?"
"It certainly does." Pyrestar nodded. "And you've even managed to bring fertile life back into this world. Something I thought I would never be able to feel or experience ever again."
"We didn't think that would happen from us just working in this one area." Rarity commented. "Although, I'm not sure I did anything since this world is flooded with unicorns, isn't it?"
"Either way, this is what I was hoping for." Pyrestar looked at the plants that had grown around the carpet. "At first, the only hope I had was that you would all bring me back to my world. But now, with this, I have greater hopes that I now believe can come true."
"You've done a splendid job of solving our gateway problem, everypony." Celestia faced Twilight and the others. "I was afraid we would be constantly trying to find the right time to catch Team Plasma when they pass through an opened gateway. But not anymore. This changes everything."
"Thank you, Princess Celestia." Twilight bowed. "That makes two gateways that connect to alternate Equestrias' right? Pyrestar and um... my Empress self?"
"Mhm." Celestia nodded. "The one that connects to the universe of Empress Twilight has a higher risk since that one is out in the open instead of this one which is more secluded."
"Oh! I got a pretty great idea that'd be hilarious!" Rainbow Dash flew up. "What if we get Emerald to send Empress Twilight's gateway underwater? When they pass through, all of her ships get all wet and go crazy with electronics and stuff and just mess up the whole invasion! Easy!"
"That does sound oddly brilliant. But she can't change gateways herself so that wouldn't work." Celestia shook her head.
"Aw...It could with the right setup and timing, ya know?" Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves.
"Either way, I'm already devising a plan to deal with that abnormal amount of ships that she apparently has. Until then, you can all work from here and alert us if there are any important Team Plasma activities."
"Sure. But uh...that might be tough since we're way underground and Team Plasma could be like super far away. I don't really know. Maybe it's close." Pinkie scratched her mane.
"We'll sort it out." Celestia offered to solve this whole distance issue. "In the meantime, keep up the good work."
"Thanks. Now that that's over with, I got work to do." Applejack turned around, facing the gateway. "Big Mac's gonna stay more silent around me if I don't make it in time."
"Oh! Same here!" Pinkie Pie shot up. "Jade and Maud are gonna go visit that Rock-Type place! I wanna check it out for myself!"
"I almost forgot to feed Eve and the others!" Twilight gasped as she quickly flew through the gateway. Soon, everyone was leaving this world one by one.
They all had their reasons. Most were planning to spend some time in this newfound base but that would have to wait until they clear a few things up first.
However, while everyone was leaving, Pyrestar was the only one not going.
"Pyrestar? Aren't you coming?" Celestia looked back at her fused self.
"No. I'd like to stay here for a bit." Pyrestar sat down.
"Alright. I'll see you back at Canterlot." Celestia said her goodbyes as she passed through the gateway. Now it was just Pyrestar.
This was her home and it had been so long since she had been here. But not as long as how much her world has suffered for countless centuries. Even before Pyrestar arrived at the still healthy Equestria, this world was the longest she resided in. A world where everything is bleak.
But, after seeing the decorated base and how there was fertility growing, the bleak world that Pyrestar had seen for so long was starting to recover all thanks to the actions of ponies she had once lost in the past.
Peace and quiet are what she wanted. And this underground base would give to her. Now, Pyrestar had even greater hopes for the future. She believed that every promise made from stopping Ghetsis to restoring her world could come true. And she has some amazing friends that can make that possible as the journey continues.
Currently, the younger students which only consists of foals were learning about Pokemon Egg Groups with Roxanne, who was also joined with Brock, a fellow early Gym Leader who's also a Rock-Type specialist.
And in the room, watching over the lesson, was Princess Celestia alongside her Gardevoir Passion. And of course, her Arcanine.
"Mineral Pokémon are mostly based on inanimate objects. Most are Rock and Steel-Type. This is also why so many of them are weak to Fire and Ice Pokemon. The majority of Pokémon here are only in this group and many are genderless, making for difficult breeding." Brock explained to the youth. "Like Bronzong or Solrock."
"Do Ghosts count?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Since you know...they're not alive anymore."
"They certainly count. But not all Ghost-Types." Roxanne wagged her finger.
"So if they can't show up in eggs, how do some of those Pokemon exist?" Silver Spoon also had a question.
"Well..." Brock thought for a moment. "Most of the Mineral Class Pokemon were actually pre-made for the future. Pokemon like Golett were made from clay, so they're essentially man-made Pokemon actually."
"Oooh..." The foals nodded.
"Hm. So are there man-made Pokemon still being created to this day?" Celestia decided to ask Brock and Roxanne.
"I think so. I heard there was a new Pokemon made a few years back called Type: Null. There's definitely new Pokemon being made into the world for sure." Roxanne replied.
"Oh, that'd be so much fun. Making our own Pokemon." Scootaloo was already thinking of something that amazing. "Can we do that?"
"Well um...I don't know about that." Brock awkwardly laughed while putting his hand on the back of his head.
"Oh! I'd make mine pretty! Then I'd make it really good at Pokemon Contests!" Sweetie Belle raised her hoof.
"Mine would be able to see into the future!" A foal exclaimed.
"Don't most Pokemon do that?" Another replied.
"Yeah, but it'll be different like um..." The foal was trying to come up with something.
"A bunch of eyes on mine! Oh and double unicorn horns!" A foal crossed her hooves with a proud smile. And at the same time, all the foals here were discussing and rambling on about what Pokemon they would create themselves. They all had their own ideas that were really out there and reaching for the stars.
"Maybe in the future when you're all older and Pokemon scientists." Roxanne chuckled. "Plus, tomorrow, we'll be doing clay sculptures of your own personal Pokemon. How does that sound?"
"Yeah!" They all agreed in unison. They were looking forward to that for sure.
"Excellent. Now let's move on to the next egg group. Water." Brock turned to the board. "There's 3 of them in total. Water 1 is are generally amphibious, Water 2 are based on fish and Water 3 are a mix of different Pokémon types, including fossil Pokémon, crabs and invertebrates." Brock went on as he and Roxanne kept teaching the foals about Egg Classes.
Celestia felt like she could leave now while the lesson goes on. Besides, the ruler of Equestria has important matters to attend to. Matters that involve the fate of her world and the Pokemon world, of course as she walked out of the classroom with her partners.
With there being a secret base that connects to Pyrestar's world where Ghetsis and Team Plasma rule and how Empress Twilight will be invading this world in just 1 month from now, the stakes are still high and Celestia can't lose focus whatsoever. And she knows that neither of her friends will lose focus either.
And to prepare for such heavy tasks, Celestia herself would improve herself alongside her Pokemon. But most importantly, she would work alongside Passion to control Mega Evolution and all that overwhelming power together.
Near the outskirts of Canterlot.
Celestia was going to train with Passion far away from Canterlot. Her power is far too grandiose and can easily obliterate Canterlot in minutes or less.
There are some nice and wide plains nearby. Just close to the Pikachu Highlands and Deerling Forest. With all that space, it should be enough for Passion to train without little issue.
"Sister!" Abruptly, before Celestia could leave, her little sister Luna came over. "Where are you headed? I thought we would be discussing further plans against the invasion?"
"Oh, Luna. We'll discuss it later. But right now, I'm just headed to the plains for some training. Passion and I are still in the midst of mastering Mega Evolution after all. And her latent potential too. Olympia will be joining us there for assistance."
"Gardevoir."
"Training? Would it be alright if I came along with you?" Luna asked.
"Train with me?"
"You are not the only one who wishes to get stronger. I want to reach a point where I can easily overcome Empress Twilight and that accursed gravity spell. Darkrai and the others feel the same way as well."
"Well, you don't need to give a reason, Luna. Us sisters work together to improve on each other, don't we?" Celestia smiled.
"Hm? Ah well..." Luna rubbed her mane. "I suppose so. Perhaps I was a tad fearful of interrupting your training session. I can have my Pokemon battle against Passion as always."
"Thank you. But before that, Passion and I will be taking part in a special type of training."
"Special type of training?"
"Olympia suggested it to us. It's known as Cerebral Training. A form of training that is exclusive to Psychic-Types and their trainers. It's a way to allow both trainer and Pokemon to further gain battle experience, come up with new strategies and further bond with each other. And so on."
"Oh my. That sounds healthy for the mind. Is there a chance I could perform it myself? I own a few Psychic-Type Pokemon as well."
"Sure. I can show you how it's done as well. Just be careful. I was told that it could be hurtful to the mind." Celestia tapped her head.
"I shall be as gentle as I can be." Luna let out a confident smile.
"Alright then. Now let's hurry. I promised I would watch Premium's contest practice. She has another one coming up in a few weeks and I would hate to miss it. I'm also bringing along something to eat during training. You love cake, don't you, Luna?" Celestia rambled on as she and her sister were off to the plains for some training.
At the same time, while they were leaving, Olympia, who would be there with them, was looking outside the window of her classroom, watching Celestia walk off before she could join her. Olympia's squinted eyes observed both Celestia and Passion, knowing that their training could lead Passion down two possible paths.
One that benefits and helps Equestria. And one that will potentially spell the end of Equestria and both worlds forever. After battling against Celestia that one time, Olympia was made aware of Passion's unknown future.
Out in the plains.
A quick arrival. Mostly because teleportation was used. All they needed to do was use Deerling Forest and the Pikachu Highlands as a method for getting close to the wide plains.
Getting there, they immediately started their training as Luna sent out one of her Psychic-Type Pokemon which was her Musharna of course.
The plains were wide and tranquil enough for someone to peacefully train without having to worry about any distractions. The calming wind and whistles of the Flying-Type Pokemon helped with that greatly.
They were now in the midst of their Cerebral Training. And this was done by sitting down on the ground in a still position. Something along the lines of a meditation pose.
"Close your eyes," Olympia instructed. "You must tap into your mindscape after all. Opening them will cancel out the Cerebral Training."
Celestia, Passion, Luna and Musharna closed their eyes, letting nothing else throw them off. Luna was following Celestia's lead as the main way to perform Cerebral Training was by allowing the Psychic energy from the partner Pokemon to flow through the trainer so that they can sync their minds together.
Passion and Musharna were already emanating a Psychic aura that passed through Celestia and Luna. All Psychic-Types are capable of connecting with the mind in their own unique ways. This was just one of them.
Now that the aura had passed through the heads of the twin alicorn sisters, they were now in a state of convergence.
"Now. Picture an imaginary foe. More specifically, a foe that you wish to defeat. It will allow you to determine how an actual battle against said foe would play out. Now picture a place of your choice. Cerebral Training allows one to train practically anywhere, even in places that are not ideal for standard physical training, such as confined spaces or in an area that would otherwise prohibit a normal training regimen."
"Mmmrgh..." Luna was grumbling as her eyes were tightening from listening to Olympia's instructions. Celestia herself was also making light sounds as a vision of an environment and a certain someone was coming into view in her mindscape."
After some intense focus, both Celestia and Luna had entered their mindscape, officially tapping into Cerebral Training. They didn't have to worry about following any complex instructions since the method to entering Cerebral Training was fairly simple.
For Celestia, the place she chose was a vast and empty landscape with nothing in sight. Celestia aimed to make sure that none of her subjects would be harmed so a place like this where there was no one else was perfect.
Except, there were others here she and Passion envisioned together.
And those others were Ghetsis and his Hydreigon as they had appeared in front of Celestia and Passion. This was the one that Celestia and Passion aimed to defeat.
The landscape was suddenly being set on fire due to the appearance of Ghetsis and Hydreigon. The blue skies turned dark as Ghetsis simply smirked while he stood before Celestia and Passion.
"Ghetsis..." Celestia growled.
"Hmph." Ghetsis actually made a sound while still smirking.
"Make no mistake, Ghetsis. I will defeat you." Celestia declared to Ghetsis and Hydreigon, even if they were just in her mind right now.
"Gardevoir."
And for Luna's side, she obviously ended up envisioning Empress Twilight Sparkle. The location she chose was Empress Twilight's ship. The indoors, of course.
"You..." Luna spoke to Empress Twilight.
"Hm." Just like Ghetsis, Empress Twilight let out her own devious smirk. Although hers was cockier than anything.
The major difference between Ghetsis and Empress Twilight is that Ghetsis is well aware that he cannot underestimate anyone since the chances of his plans failing are present while Empress Twilight views her chances of failing as non-existent and sees everyone as a weakling.
Both alicorns were determined to defeat these two dangerous forces. And in Cerebral Training, they were about to find out if they were actually capable of doing it when the time comes as a battle in the mind was about to begin.
"Passion! Use Dazzling Gleam!" Celestia struck first.
"Garde...!" Passion body became surrounded in a rainbow coloured shine in the shape of a sphere. The shine then increased in brightness as Passion charged towards Hydreigon like a missile.
Ghetsis would make a command here but no other words other than that one single smirk came out. But even still, his Hydreigon made a move. After all, this was still a training process and Celestia wanted to know if she could defeat Ghetsis at his best. So some action was needed.
Hydreigon responded to Passion's Dazzling Gleam with the move Flash Cannon. Hydreigon opened his mouths as a silver ball appeared. The Brutal Pokemon then fired a silver beam from the ball, straight towards the Embrace Pokemon.
Passion narrowed her eyes as her sphere clashed with the beam of steel energy. Upon collision, Passion was already entering a power struggle, trying to break through the silver beam coming out of Hydreigon's mouth
And speaking of mouth, both of Hydreigon's head-mouths had joined in by using two different attacks. Hydreigon's left head used Flamethrower while his right used Dark Pulse.
Both ranged moves collided against Passion's sphere as they were each strong enough to push the Embrace Pokemon back with overwhelming force.
"G-Garde!" Passion winced as she was unable to break through all three attacks with just Dazzling Gleam, unfortunately. Thus, the triple ranged moves overpowered her rainbow sphere, shattering it into millions of tiny colourful pieces while Passion herself had been blasted by Flash Cannon, Flamethrower and Dark Pulse each, sending her flying.
"Ah! Passion!" Celestia gasped as Passion tumbled on the ground.
Just then, Ghetsis pointed at Celestia instead of at Passion, ordering his Hydreigon to attack the trainer, which is something that Celestia herself wouldn't normally expect.
Hydreigon was about to use the move Dragon Rush against Celestia as he released a blue, dragon-shaped energy that covers his body. The Brutal Pokemon then charged towards Celestia at full force.
"Huh?!" Celestia was once again shocked. Seeing Hydreigon heading straight for her while Passion was on the ground threw her off. The Sun Princess quickly used a teleportation spell to avoid the incoming Dragon Rush as she teleported to the side.
But, Hydreigon wasn't done. He quickly turned around, shooting out a Dragon Pulse from one of his head-mouths to further attack Celestia.
The ruler of Equestria quickly put up a protective magic shield which was able to block Dragon Pulse. But, Hydreigon used his other mouth and main mouth to fire dual Dragon Pulses towards Celestia, pummeling her shield with repeated dragon-shaped blasts.
"I should've expected this...!" Celestia growled as her shield was starting to break. "Ghetsis won't hesitate to attack the trainer at all. Passion! Use Plasma Bolt!"
"V-Voir!" Passion quickly got up from the ground as she put her arms together, merging Mystical Fire with Thunderbolt and making them one. She had created plasma as she was ready to blast Hydreigon in the back with it.
However, with more shocking and unexpected actions, Ghetsis had done something new. This time, by himself without Hydreigon.
The moment Passion created plasma in her hands, Ghetsis appeared behind the Embrace Pokemon grabbing her by the neck and interrupting her attack.
"G-Garde...!" Passion gasped as her neck was being held tightly by Ghetsis's cold hands as she dropped Plasma Bolt.
"Passion!" Celestia bellowed as Hydreigon's repeated Dragon Pulses managed to shatter Celestia's shield, causing the alicorn to be blown back from the destruction of her shield.
"V-Voir...!" Passion winced as she was trying to break free from Ghetsis' hold. She was going to do this by using Dazzling Gleam as the move is also known for blinding opponents with its gleaming flash.
But that didn't happen.
Because Ghetsis ended up slamming Passion into the ground before she could pull the move off, causing Passion to cry out in pain.
"Garde-" And even crying out in pain couldn't be finished as Ghetsis stepped on Passion's back while stamping his staff onto her legs, causing even further pain to the Embrace Pokemon. "G-Gardevoir!"
"N-No!" Celestia yelled as she furiously sent a blast of magic from her horn, fearing for Passion's life.
But, Hydreigon got in the way by using one of his heads to cancel Celestia's blast out via the move Dark Pulse The beam of darkness stopped the blast of light as Ghetsis still had Passion down.
"Gardevoir...!" Passion's eyes flashed pink as she created a Psychic pulse that blew Ghetsis back, finally giving her space to breathe. The Embrace Pokemon stood up as she held her neck while her leg was feeling a bit damaged by Ghetsis' staff.
"I know this is just in our mind but..." Celestia breathed in and out while looking at Hydreigon. "This feels so real."
"Gardevoir..."
As for Luna, she wouldn't have it any easier than her big sister. Her Cerebral Training with Musharna against Empress Twilight Sparkle was about to begin.
"It would be more fitting to have Darkrai here but unfortunately he isn't a Psychic-Type. Ah, whatever." Luna shook her head. "With this training, I will have a plethora of ways to defeat you when you show yourself. Musharna! Energy Ball!"
"Musha...!" The Drowsing Pokemon constructed a light green ball of energy before hurling at the alternate universe Twilight Sparkle.
Empress Twilight in Luna's vision would obviously have an array of spells. However, the one major spell that Luna recalled was the Gravity spell. The same spell that injured Luna to a high degree, damaging her wings and bones while nearly making her captive of the Empress' universe.
Because of that, this Empress Twilight would mostly use the Gravity spell. However, in truth, the real Empress Twilight has a wider array of spells at her disposal that have yet to be revealed. And Luna knows that herself as she was expecting other potential spells that the Empress may have.
With her horn lighting up, the alicorn Empress used the Gravity spell against Energy Ball by decreasing the gravity around the move, causing it to float upwards instead of directly at the Empress.
"Of course that would happen." Luna looked up at the Energy Ball which was endless floating into the air because of the decreased gravity. But let's see how you respond to this!" The Moon Princess then decided that Musharna wouldn't be the only one to engage.
"Musharna! On my timing! Use Energy Ball alongside me!" Luna would engage as well by floating into the air, teleporting behind the Empress and sending a bolt of magic from her horn while Musharna unleashed another Energy Ball from her face.
The Empress was being attacked from two directions. From above and from the front. But, of course, Gravity can handle both of that. Empress Twilight used her Gravity spell to solidify the gravity around her, causing the Empress to enter an intangible form that allowed Luna and Musharna's attacks to phase through her.
"Intagibility?!" Luna gasped.
"Hmph." Empress Twilight chuckled as she then went on the offensive herself. She used her magic to rapidly clone herself multiple times, immediately surrounding Luna and Musharna from all sides with some of the clones even flying.
"Musha?!"
At the same time, all of the clones used the Gravity spell against Luna and Musharna by increasing the gravity around them both. Hundreds of gravity fields enveloped the princess and Pokemon with matter that forced them both to the ground instantly, causing craters to form from the downwards impact.
"Ugh!" Luna cried out as did Musharna.
"Sharna!"
The Empress clones kept intensifying the gravity around them, not allowing them to even have the chance of getting back up as Luna groaned. Just like before, she could feel her bones being crushed by all this Gravity and there was nothing she could do.
Musharna, a Pokemon that looked like it wouldn't have any bones because of the way she was built, was actually feeling this as well. Something within her was breaking for sure.
"C-Curses! Not again...!" Luna groaned as she slowly raised her head, looking at Empress Twilight Sparkle. She was disappointed that she couldn't overcome the Gravity spell, even when taking part in Cerebral training. Why can't I beat you...?!"
"S-Sharna...!" Musharna tried to use Teleport, but it certainly wasn't working for her. All they could do was take all this punishment from these clones and their intensified gravity.
On both sides, it was truly a harsh struggle. Whereas Luna and Musharna couldn't do anything against the Gravity Spell, Celestia and Passion were still being met with foul tactics from Ghetsis.
When Passion used Dazzling Gleam from afar instead of up-close, Hydreigon moved to the side with an easy dodge. As he waited for Passion's fairy aura to disappear, the Brutal Pokemon then rushed forward, grabbing Passion's arms with his head-mouths.
"G-Garde!" Passion cried out in pain as Hydreigon's sharp teeth dug in her. Just then, his other mouths grabbed her, stabbing into her head and stomach. "Voir!"
"Passi-" Celestia couldn't finish her sentence of calling her partner's name out. Why is that? Because just like Ghetsis had decided to attack by himself as he stabbed his staff through Celestia's back.
"Hmph." Ghetsis grinned.
"Guh!" Celestia's eyes widened as she coughed aggressively after being struck by Ghetsis' staff. Her pupils shrunk as her body was suddenly weakening.
This reminded Celestia of what Ghetsis did to her when they first encountered each other in Saddle Arabia. A hole straight through her.
"G-Gardevoir?!" Passion gasped, seeing Celestia take an attack such as that had made Passion's words fall silent. If there's one thing Passion fears, it's the danger of Celestia's life.
Even though this wasn't all real, it felt real to her.
Passion's eyes flashed red as an unbridled amount of energy was rising up from within her. Her usual pink aura was transforming into a crimson red one as she let out a powerful yell, blowing Hydreigon back with a pulse of Fairy magic.
The Embrace Pokemon then formed a black hole in front of her, narrowing her eyes at Ghetsis as she witnessed Celestia fall to the ground, sliding off Ghetsis's now red-stained staff.
"GARDEVOIR!" Passion, enraged with unparalleled fury, roared as she increased the size of the black hole, ready to launch it at Ghetsis like a ball.
Unfortunately, even in times of pure rage, Ghetsis was not fearful. And neither was his Hydreigon. Before Passion could launch the black hole, Hydreigon had pulled a sneak attack on her. The same sneak attack that Ghetsis used on Celestia during their first encounter.
The Brutal Pokemon used Hyper Beam which pierced through Passion's back, going straight through her.
"Voir...!" Passion, just like Celestia, froze in shock after being hit by an attack such as that. Her black hole faded away as she also fell to the ground with a massive hole through her.
Both Celestia and Passion were down as Ghetsis was suddenly laughing in victory as that was the last thing Celestia and Passion heard.
Because the training was over.
Reality.
"AH!" Both Celestia and Luna gasped along with their Pokemon.
"Garde?!"
"Musha?!"
"Hm. It seems that you've experienced a horrible outcome from those reactions." Olympia observed.
"I couldn't do anything against that Gravity..." Luna sighed as she held her head. "What an overwhelming spell. She can become intangible with it?"
"That was terrifying." Celestia breathed in and out. "If that's what might happen in the future if we ever battle again..."
"Gardevoir." Passion went over to Celestia, hugging her. She as well was afraid. Fear for own life but most importantly, fear for Celestia's life.
"That is the most common result of the first time using Cerebral Training," Olympia said. "Trainers often fail against their imaginary opponents. The same can be said for me. I envisioned Diantha in my training and lost horribly."
"At least it's common but..." Luna sighed. "We may not be able to defeat them with how they are now. And there's only 1 month until she arrives. SIster!"
"Hm?" Celestia turned to Luna.
"Let's have our battle now. We can forget about the cake."
"No cake?" Celestia's shuddered at the thought of that as her ears dropped with her pupils shrinking while a frown graced her face.
"We need to become stronger. Stronger than ever. Strong enough to the point where Ghetsis and Empress Twilight won't stand a chance against us! That invasion won't even be fully realized before she even knows it!"
"Hm." Just then, Lunar Ire decided to show herself a floating face that only Luna could see. "Seems as if you're finally getting it, are you?"
"Not now..." Luna growled, causing Lunar Ire to chuckle and fade away.
"In just 1 month?" Celestia stood up. "Luna. Are you sure?"
"I...I don't know." Luna stomped her hoof. "But we have to try don't we?"
"I suppose you're right. Whatever it takes to reach or even surpass their level."
"Exactly. I'll have Darkrai come out since he's my best Pokemon. Let's just make this a 1-on-1 battle, shall we?"
"Sure." Celestia nodded in agreement.
"Darkrai!" Luna called for Darkrai as he appeared from the shadows. Darkrai was already with them from the start, he just wasn't a fan of being out in the sun that much.
"I heard everything," Darkrai spoke. "I'm ready."
Both Celestia and Luna were about to partake in a Pokemon battle themselves as they stood on their respective sides. At the same time, Olympia would be the referee while Musharna and Arcanine sat back, spectating over this.
"Sister. I want you to go all out." Luna said.
"Of course, I will, Luna."
"No, I mean..." Luna pointed her hoof at Celestia and Passion's keystone and Mega Stone. "Truly all out. I need to battle you at my best if I wish to truly improve. That's a lesson that Norman taught me."
"Mega Evolution...?" Celestia's eyes shifted at Passion who was also looking at her necklace which contained the Mega Stone.
"Voir." Passion gazed at the stone, knowing how much power it gives her. While looking at it, Passion was also thinking about the possibility that Mega Evolution could be the key to defeating Ghetsis. Even though it is capable of unleashing a dark power from within Passion, from what Cobalion told her, she was no longer truly fearful of that power.
She then recalled what Cobalion said to her that night.
"Darkness is not inherently evil, Passion. It is a powerful ally. If you can learn to befriend and embrace the darkness that's within you and accept your imperfections, then nothing will hold you down."
"Gardevoir." Passion held the necklace out at Celestia, deciding that she wanted to use Mega Evolution.
"Passion? Are you sure?"
"Voir." The Embrace Pokemon nodded.
"Do you share Passion's drive and sentiments, Princess Celestia?" Olympia asked.
"Certainly." Celestia agreed. "If this is what Passion wants, then sure. We've both accepted the drawbacks to Mega Evolution when used. And we're ready to control it."
"Gardevoir."
"Hm." Olympia smiled, liking that response. "Then, in that case, you may begin your battle."
"Passion. Are you ready?"
"Gardevoir."
"Good." Celestia then tapped the keystone on her crown, activating Mega Evolution. And once more, that mysterious glow that appeared around Celestia when she first used Mega Evolution had repappeared yet again.
This time, it shined brighter than ever as Celestia could feel something happening to her body while Mega Evolution was starting to happen.
However, this didn't look like the usual way of Mega Evolving. Instead of golden and blue lights flying out, Celestia and Passion were both suddenly ascending into the air without their own will.
"W-What's happening?" Celestia looked at herself and the ground.
"Voir?"
"Oh my." Luna looked up.
"This is new..." Olympia narrowed her eyes in curiosity.
Celestia and Passion were unsure as to why they were floating, but it didn't seem like it was harming them. The two of them closed their eyes as they continued to let Mega Evolution happen.
Except this wasn't Mega Evolution. This was beyond it.
Just then, Celestia's golden light expanded to the point where she couldn't be seen anymore. Only a golden sphere of light. And that same light grew to the point where Passion received it.
"Gardevoir!" With an elegant cry and her arms being spread out with her eyes and mouth flashing, Passion had undergone a transformation as Olympia and the others closed their eyes.
This light shined across the plains, glistening the skies and giving the land a dazzling appearance as all the Pokemon here had also witnessed this.
And then, a pillar of light emerged from the sphere, hitting the ground, but not with overwhelming force. It was more gentle than anything as it made an orchestra-like sound.
It was as if something holy and divine was coming from above.
Afterwards, the light faded away as the silhouette of Passion was slowly floating down, but Celestia was nowhere to be seen.
Passion gently descended with her feet touching the ground. Golden and cosmic stardust spread out into the wind after the transformation.
It was then revealed what Passion had become.
"P-Passion...?" Luna gawked.
"That isn't Mega Evolution..." Olympia's jaw dropped.
"W-Where is my sister?" Luna also wondered what happened to Celestia.
"I'm right here." She received a response from Celestia's voice. However, the response didn't come from a visible Celestia.
Instead, it came from Passion.
And saying that response made Passion freeze for a moment. She then slowly looked at her arms and dress as she felt different. In fact, everything about her felt different. Something wasn't right here. She sounded like Celestia and more importantly, she felt like Celestia in an undescribable way.
Confused and starstruck, Passion could only say one word.
"Huh?!" Passion, who now felt like Celestia, looked at herself as if she had never been in her original body before.
She felt like she was meant to Mega Evolve and appear in her Mega Evolved state. But this was different. And Luna and Olympia could tell.
"S-Sister?" Luna slowly pointed her hoof at Passion, who suddenly spoke like Celestia. Same voice and everything. "I-I-Is that you?"
"It is. Is it?" Passion gasped as she put her hands over her mouth in shock. "W-What happened...?"
"I don't believe it..." Olympia was able to deduce what had just happened to Passion and Celestia from a first glance and listening to her voice and reaction. "It seems that you two have gone past Mega Evolution."
"Gone past Mega Evolution? I thought Mega Evolution was the pinnacle," said Luna.
"This form..." Olympia further observed Passion, looking directly at her flowing ethereal hair and the Cutie Mark on her dress. "A form that causes the Pokemon to resemble their trainer while unleashing dormant power...Much like Ash and Greninja."
"Ash and Greninja?" Passion said. "...And like Rainbow Dash and Braviary?! Is this the Bond Phenomenon?!"
"Perhaps. But it seems to have also added Mega Evolution into the mix. I never thought this would be possible. Two different forms of power merging as one."
"Is that what that golden light was?" Luna wondered. "It must've pulled you in and made you one being!"
"I suppose so...Is this what it feels like to be a Gardevoir?" Passion touched her arm. "And legs? These are what legs feel like? My goodness, these are convenient! It actually also feels fairly nice in this body too."
"This could be the result of Passion and you truly accepting Mega Evolution." Olympia walked towards Passion. "That must've awakened Passion's dormant power and revealed this. But that might just be a theory."
"So, what do we call you exactly?" Darkrai asked. "Or rather, this form? Ash-Greninja and Rainbow-Braviary already exist so..."
"How about...Celestial-Gardevoir?" Passion came up with the name herself. "Celestial sounds a bit more impressive than Celestia."
"Celestial-Gardevoir, hm? I suppose that works. But do we refer to you as Celestia or Passion?" Luna wondered.
"I still feel like Celestia even though I am in Passion's body. Yet we both are in sync with each other. Perhaps referring me to Celestia will do." Celestia chose to go with her name since it was still her conscious in a way but within Passion's body.
It was all too confusing for Arcanine and Musharna who were trying to wrap their heads around this.
"Arca?"
"Musha?"
Celestia decided to experiment a bit. This was all so new to her. She decided to try and see if she could walk properly now that she had a humanoid form.
"Whoa..." Celestia carefully took gentle steps in her new body, making sure not to fall over. Except, when she did take her first step, she ended up falling flat on her face. "Wagh!" She screamed while hitting the ground and lying flat on it. "Ow..."
"Canine." Arcanine went up to Celestia who was also his teammate now, licking the Embrace Pokemon. Or would the correct term be Sun Princess? Or Ruler of Equestria? Or just trainer.
"Are you even able to properly utilize that body?" Luna squinted her eyes.
"C-Certainly!" Celestia replied as she was trying to get up from the ground. "It's just like baby steps after all. Just have to be...careful..." Celestia's knees felt rickety and unbalanced while trying to get up. Not to mention her arms were slowly sliding forward. "Baby steps...!"
"I'll just help you up." Olympia offered assistance as she helped Celestia off the ground.
"Oh. Thank you." Celestia sighed as she managed to find some balance within her legs. However, Celestia wouldn't need to do that anymore as she thought of a perfect alternative. She could just float constantly. It would feel similar to flying with her wings. And that's what she did. "Ah. Much better."
"So...Are we still going to have our battle? Especially in the form you're in now?" Luna questioned.
"Of course." Celestia nodded. "If this is that dormant power that you mentioned Olympia, then I have to use and experience it for myself. It could be a further key to defeating Ghetsis as well."
"Then, we shall continue." Olympia walked away, standing in-between Celestia and Luna while they both ready themselves along with Darkrai.
This battle was going to happen anyway even if Celestia and Passion had become one being. It would also certainly be a treat to see what this Celestial-Gardevoir was capable of.
Once again, they both stood on their respective sides with Olympia looking at the two sides. All the while, Celestia took deep breaths, preparing herself for what she could do in this state.
"Keep calm, Celestia. If Passion and I are one now, we should be in perfect sync with each other. I just hope I can properly use her moves. How do I use them exactly?"
"Sister? Are you alright?" Luna looked at a puzzled Celestia.
"Hm? Oh yes!" Celestia immediately responded. "Everything's fine here!"
"You look unsure of yourself," Olympia observed.
"Well, you're not wrong on that point." Celestia sighed. "I do feel a bit unsure of myself but, I'll still take part in this battle. Besides, I have to hurry for Premium's contest practice."
"Hm. Very well. Only one Pokemon each and if either of you faints, the one left standing shall be the victor. Now then...battle start!"
"I won't go easy on you even if you're inside a new body, sister! Darkrai! Use Dark Pulse!"
"Hm!" Darkrai put his arms out, generating a ball of darkness that was embedded with dark thoughts. He then increased the ball in size before firing out a beam with purple circles around it.
"Here goes. I'll use Dazzling Gleam then!" Celestia decided to give it a shot herself. In this form, she didn't have her horn but she could still use magic. Just not in the way she's used to. However, battling with Passion gave her a good idea of how to pull off her attacks.
For Dazzling Gleam, she put her arms out and began focusing her magic. When focusing, she could feel Passion syncing with her as if she was giving Celestia the magic she needed to pull this off.
A multi-coloured ball of Fairy magic formed between her hands. However, this Dazzling Gleam looked a tad bit different. When formed, it had a golden outline around its rainbow colouring. That golden light was meant to represent Celestia's magic which was still in there.
Celestia's body shuddered a bit after creating the ball, but she was able to recover quickly. With a pulse of magic going through, Celestia unleashed Dazzling Gleam.
But there was one more difference other than the golden outline. The power of the attack. Dazzling Gleam had now changed drastically a gigantic blast of golden and pink energy came roaring out, making angelic sounds as it completely tore through Dark Pulse, obliterating it with the heat of the sun. Even the grass wasn't safe from this overwhelming power.
"Ah!" Darkrai gasped as he quickly moved to the side along with Luna, just at the right time too. Everyone's eyes shot open as the grand-sized blast of Dazzling Gleam passed them all, thankfully hitting no one as it soared through the air at lightning speeds.
The blast was so bright that it could be seen from afar. It could even be mistaken for a second sun from how bright it was. Looking at it might not be the best idea though.
The beam had promptly stopped after Celestia put her arms down. The bright Dazzling Gleam faded away afterwards as Darkrai, Luna, Olympia, Arcanine and Musharna slowly turned around, looking at Celestia with shocked looked on their faces.
For someone like Darkrai to be this shocked, it would require a level of fear that even he is unprepared for.
"Um." Celestia put her arms behind her back, blushing and turning away. "Oh..."
"What power..." Olympia gawked. "If that were to hit then Darkrai would surely be taken out in one hit."
"I can see that," Darkrai replied.
"On second thought, perhaps we should call the battle off," Celestia suggested.
"Absolutely not!" Despite witnessing a blast that monstrous, Luna refused to back down.
"Luna?" Celestia turned to her younger sister.
"This is what I need. If I am to re-encounter Empress Twilight soon, I need to test my mettle against another force that is greater than me. I won't make any progress if I don't tackle obstacles such as this."
"Seems that a bit of Ash has rubbed on you has it?" Celestia smiled at Luna's words. "Alright then. Let's continue."
"Darkrai! Close in with Thunderbolt!" Luna commanded as Darkrai moved in with two sparks of electricity in his hand before putting them together.
Celestia's response was to simply keep her distance away from Darkrai by floating back. However, when she flew back, Celestia ended up generating an insane amount of speed.
So much so that she created a sonic boom upon moving back by exerting just a bit too much energy. Certainly more energy than she used to float. The sonic boom was so loud and strong that it managed to force Darkrai back, launching him towards Luna.
"Ough!" Darkrai cried out as he tumbled on the ground, landing next to Luna.
"Oh!" Celestia, unable to control her newfound speed, lost her balance as she was now rolling through the air while leaving pressures behind. "Aaaaaaaaaah!"
"Oh, dear." Luna looked over at her sister rolling away in the air while helping Darkrai up.
Celestia kept screaming until she finally crashed onto the ground, leaving behind a massive crater and large smoke cloud from the inevitable crash impact.
"Sister! Are you alright?!" Luna called out.
"I'm fine...!" Celestia replied with a louder yell as she slowly got up from the ground.
"Well now. It seems that even when obtaining this newfound power, she is unable to properly control it. Both her and Passion." Olympia noticed as Celestia was gently floating back.
"Gently...Gently..." Celestia was afraid to suddenly move at Mach speeds again out of nowhere.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Darkrai turned to Luna. "We can't train properly if Celestia and Passion are unable to perform properly in their current merged state."
"I know but...Battling against a force this strong is what we need. She might even be as strong as Empress Twilight with all of this power at her disposal. Perhaps even greater than her."
"Alright. Let's try this again." Celestia laughed nervously, unsure of what her next major feat will be if she does anything else by exerting a certain amount of energy.
"Wait." Olympia suddenly halted everything. "I'm afraid this battle cannot continue. Not with how you are."
"I understand you're ready for it but...I have to ask something. Princess Celestia. When Passion first evolved into a Gardevoir, is it true that she managed to gain a handle on her amazing power?"
"Hm? Well, yes. During the Darkest Day, Passion evolved. When evolving, she was able to control all of the power she had as a Kirlia, completely mastering it instantly."
"I see. And then after that, when we first had our battle in Canterlot to test out her Mega Evolution?"
"Well...with that battle, that's when Passion Mega Evolved for the first time and ended up going through a state of power overload. It was promptly stopped thankfully."
"Hm. And now this has happened with you two becoming one. You're unable to control this power. I believe I know the reason for this now." Olympia had figured it out. "Passion has Mental Barriers."
"Mental Barriers?" Both Celestia and Luna said.
"It seems that even when overcoming the fear of Mega Evolution, the malicious and destructive force inside of Passion still lingers. Passion is relying on the fact that she has to subconsciously hold back all of her power. And pushing through them...well...perhaps that malicious force inside of her could reveal itself."
"So, she's never given it her all?" Celestia looked at her arms.
"But strangely enough. That's not the issue here. The real issue is something that is both Passion's greatest strength and greatest weakness."
"How so?" Luna asked.
"Just like with every important instance in her life, much like her becoming a Gardevoir, the stronger she becomes, the more power she gains. Passion's body is in an endless struggle to try and improve over time. And it seems that she won't stop improving. If she were to master her current power, another would pop up and further lend Passion more personal obstacles to tackle."
"So...If she masters this Celestial-Gardevoir form, there'll be another higher power?" Luna pondered.
"Precisely. Passion seems to have an endless Power Flux. One that does not seem like it will stop at any time soon."
"Oh, Passion..." Celestia sighed. "I thought we had finally made major progress..."
"Would you like to continue this battle, Princess Celestia? Princess Luna?"
"No thank you. I'd like to end it for today. Perhaps another time." Celestia bowed, making her decision.
"Sister..." Luna's ears dropped.
"Understood. I trust that you want to figure out a way to handle Passion's Power Flux and Mental Barriers?"
"If I can. At this point, I'm not sure if Passion and I will ever reach our true potential." Celestia put her hand on her face, turning around.
"You can't give up hope that easily, sister." Luna flew over. "Passion wouldn't want you to."
"Luna?"
"So what if the levels of power will continue to escalate? You were able to get past Passion's power overload when she was a Kirlia and you can most certainly do the same as a Gardevoir."
"But..."
"It hasn't stopped you in the past. Even before the worlds crossed your magic was overwhelming at a young age. Mother and father feared for your future. Fear that you would become something worse with all that magic you had. But look at you now. You're the Ruler of Equestria and everything. A teacher of a new alicorn princess, aunt to another and the trainer of a special Pokemon as well. You even helped save both worlds from destruction. I suppose that's why I was envious of you, to begin with. Even with ponies living throughout your glorious sunlight. It's because you're so amazing, sister."
"Luna..."
"And...I've run out of things to say honestly. But you understand, right?"
"I do." Celestia nodded. "Thank you. I frankly needed that actually. So much has happened over these past few months that can only be described as frantic. And another frantic event is heading our way in just 1 month as well. It never ends does it?"
"Well, that's natural. We are involved with Pokemon now so we have to expect events such as these. I know for sure the humans have." Luna shrugged which got a chuckle out of Celestia and Olympia.
"Hm. Well, at least you can smile knowing that there is presumably a way to truly control both the Power Flux and Mental Barriers."
"There is?!" Celestia and Luna exclaimed. "How?!"
"Sorry. But that's where my knowledge on it ends. However, there are other Pokemon Trainers out there who can give you a clear answer from what I hear. I would recommend heading to Johto or Kalos for that."
"Johto or Kalos. Understood." Celestia nodded. "I'll be sure to remember that. But for now...I think today's training can come to an end."
"As you wish, princess." Olympia nodded as this battle had ended along with the training for the day. But before they could head back to Canterlot, there was one thing that needed to be done.
"So. Aren't you going to revert?" Luna asked Celestia.
"Hm?"
"Your Celestial-Gardevoir form? Won't you change back? You can revert, can't you?"
"..." And just then, when Luna gave that question, Celestia took a moment to realize one little problem that had just surfaced.
She couldn't exactly turn this form off.
"Oh, dear." Celestia tried turning back to normal, but nothing was working. She didn't know how. Mostly because she has never undergone a transformation in the past before.
"You can't turn back?!" Luna and Olympia bellowed.
"No, I don't know how to! Ah! This could be an issue! What if I'm not eligible to rule Equestria anymore? What if...What if Cobalion won't like me anymore? Or ever!" She then started thinking of the worst possible scenarios with Cobalion. At least, what she believed Cobalion would say.
"Sorry. You're not my type." The imaginary Cobalion turned around, rejecting Celestia, causing her to fall to her knees.
"That can't happen!" Celestia cried out.
"Hm. This is a new predicament." Olympia's eyes widened.
"Where's the keystone?! Is it around you somewhere?!" Luna started searching Celestia's body. Is Passion in there? Can she not do it by will?"
"I don't know! Maybe it only has a certain amount of time. I mean, it still counts as Mega Evolution doesn't it?"
"Well, yes. We'll just sit here and wait." A confident Celestia sat back down, crossing her arms before realizing she had other things to attend to. "Ah! But I'll be late for Premium's contest practice! And the little ones at the Pokemon School will be making clay sculptures of their own Pokemon which is just so cute!"
"How did it come to this...?" Darkrai sighed as he facepalmed. Clearly, this was a long day. From overwhelming power to merged forms. It's safe to say that there's never a dull moment with Pokemon.
Canterlot. Afternoon.
"Your highness?" The guards said as they looked at Princess Celestia's new look. As a Gardevoir along with the residents of Canterlot and even Premium who was watching from the castle. Even the students at the Pokemon School were spectating after finishing their sculptures.
"Afternoon..." Celestia chuckled, raising her arm as her voice was familiar to them all.
"However long this lasts, you'll at least manage. Right, sister?" Luna patted her older sister on the back.
"Sure...Perhaps a day is what it takes..." Celestia sighed as she floated indoors.
"I'll be off now." Olympia walked away. "I have a gym to attend to. Good luck, Princess Celestia. And Passion, of course."
Everyone went their separate ways now with eyes still locked onto Princess Celestia's brand-spanking-new appearance. Celestia would have to stay in this new form for who knows how long. While also having Passion somewhere within her.
Upon entering the castle, Premium Polish and her Pokemon rushed over to Celestia's new look, eager to see it up-close since their eyes were essentially showing signs of fascination.
"Princess Celestia!" Premium bellowed as she slid over. "Whoa! You look amazing like that! Especially your hair!"
"Thank you, Premium." Celestia dropped her head before twirling her new hair. "It is nice, isn't it?"
"So how's it like being a Gardevoir? Or even a Pokemon?"
"It feels...well, it's certainly a distinct and new feeling. I'm not sure how to describe being two entities in one though. I don't even know if I'm Celestia or Passion right now."
"Oooh...What can you do with it? Can I see some moves?" Premium was eager to witness some new tricks.
"I'd love to Premium, but this body is a bit too strong for practice. All the power it holds can be highly detrimental for Canterlot. If I were to exert even a moderate amount of magic, the results will be catastrophic."
"Aw..." Premium pouted. "Alright, I understand. So does this mean you won't be helping me with contest moves?"
"Sorry, Premium." Celestia gave Premium a head pat. "Probably tomorrow when this form runs out. Hopefully. But, I can still watch your performance."
"Hooray! Come and take a look! I learned this from looking at one of the Pokemon cards you showed me before!" Premium, eager to show Celestia, rushed outside as some contest practice would be done.
All the while, Celestia was waiting for the form to run out.
Whenever it does.
6 hours later.
6 hours had passed and the form was still active. Premium had already finished showing Celestia her newest contest moves long ago and had gone back to her room. The students of the Pokemon School had also returned to their homes by now.
At this moment, Celestia was just patiently waiting. And to kill some time, she figured she could eat some cake afterwards. Even if she was a Gardevoir now, she could still eat some cake.
"Mhm..." Celestia rubbed her hands together, licking her lips while eyeing down the cake. From looking at the beautiful piece of pastry, Celestia's first instinct was to do what she always does. Use her magic.
One problem.
She didn't have her horn with her so she couldn't just levitate a piece towards her. Clearly, there were some early obstacles she would have to overcome.
"Ah. This is a glaring issue." Celestia made a poker face. She then thought of a way around this little issue that could be solved fairly easily. She could still use magic, just a different type of magic. Pokemon, AKA Fairy magic.
Or a better alternative, Passion's psychokinetic mind could do the trick since it works the same way as levitation. Knowing about that, Celestia closed her eyes, tapping into her newfound Psychic abilities.
She took deep breaths, making sure not to stress or overwork herself. With a pink and golden aura surrounding her, Celestia was able to interact with the cake, gently taking a piece out with her mind.
Success.
"Ah!" Celestia smiled as she immediately devoured the cake in front of her in one bite. "Mmm! That's easy enough!"
The first step of proper control. Celestia was actually starting to take part in a learning curve whilst having all of this newfound magic and power at her disposal. Something that she was well aware of and would aim to make the most of until the form runs out.
4 hours later.
4 hours have passed and the evening was here. Celestia was still Celestial-Gardevoir. The moon had been raised and currently, Celestia was in her room trying to get some shut-eye. Perhaps sleeping through it would do the trick.
Celestia slept on Passion's bed instead of her own due to the dramatic size difference as a Gardevoir compared to an alicorn. Celestia slowly closed her eyes, allowing the calm and warm aura of the moon to put her mind at ease as she fell into a peaceful sleep.
After a few minutes, Celestia was asleep with nothing to interrupt her. However, even when asleep, the effects of Celestial-Gardevoir still ran through her.
While Celestia was asleep on the outside, on the inside, she was awake.
Right now, she was in her mindscape.
"Oh!" Celestia's eyes flashed open, gazing upon her mindscape which was just a replica of all of Equestria. "Here again." She then looked at herself, noticing that she was back in her pony form instead of being Celestial-Gardevoir again.
Celestia could have two times the peace. Peace on the outside in her sleep and peace on the inside by calming herself in her mindscape. Best of both worlds.
But she wasn't alone.
Passion was here too as she stood before her trainer in her normal Gardevoir form. "Gardevoir."
"Passion?" Celestia looked up at her partner. "Ah, this might be the only place where we're separated. Yet, even in my or...our sleep, I can still feel that we are as one. Is this what Pyrestar feels every day? "
"Voir..." Passion pouted as she put her arms together, feeling a bit worrisome about something. And Celestia could tell from her expression.
"Passion? What's wrong?"
"Gardevoir..." Passion whimpered.
"Is this about what Olympia told us earlier in the afternoon?"
"Garde." She nodded.
"Right." Celestia walked over. "But you also heard about what Luna said to us, didn't you?"
"G-Garde?"
"She has a point. We can't let this stop us can we? Not when there's so much at stake now. For both our homeworlds. So, like before, we can just overcome it together, right?"
"Gardevoir." Passion agreed with Celestia but all of this power was just so overwhelming to her. In truth, while Passion and every other Gardevoir in existence would do anything to protect their trainer, sometimes, they would like an ordinary life where everything isn't so frantic.
That's what Passion was feeling. Her trainer being harmed, an incoming invasion soon, parallel universes, constants levels of power and so much were just so much for the Embrace Pokemon to process.
Even the average Gardevoir can't handle this. The most a Gardevoir can take is being a part of a Pokemon Battle and doing everything in its power to protect its trainer or make them proud. This, however, is completely different from any of that.
"Voir." Passion sighed as she sat on the ground, huddled up. Celestia then went over to her partner, giving her a comforting hug. Usually, Gardevoir are the ones who give out hugs hence being classified as the Embrace Pokemon. But sometimes, receiving a hug from the trainer themselves is just as wonderful.
"It's alright. I'll always be there for you after all." Celestia reassured the Psychic-Fairy-Type. Saying that made Passion remember how Celestia is always there for her. Especially during her power overload when she was still a Kirlia.
That is one promise Celestia has never broken. And it's a promise that she will do anything to keep. And Passion knew that for sure. Because of how much love Celestia shows her partner, the Embrace Pokemon can rest easy knowing she had an amazing trainer by her side.
They both took a moment to embrace each other for a while longer as their fused body continues to sleep through the night.
Morning. 11 hours later.
Along came the shining golden sun. Pyrestar did the offer of raising it herself, waking all of Equestria up.
And of course, Celestia herself had to wake up by this time. Royal duties and everything. And how she also promised to help Premium Polish with her contest moves.
However, when waking up, she quickly felt that something was different yet familiar. Celestia grumbled on the bed as she could sense a lot of space around her.
That's because the bed usually used for Passion, who was much taller than Celestia, was still being used by the Sun Princess. And more importantly, when waking up, Celestia quickly discovered that she was back in her original body. Alicorn and everything.
And at the same time, Passion was asleep next to her since they had separated.
"So...either sleep reverts us...or just a certain amount of hours," Celestia spoke with a groggy voice. "Either way, it's good to be back."
"Gardevoir..." Passion was still asleep and she probably wouldn't be getting back up for a while. It was best to let her sleep, especially after yesterday.
Celestia herself felt like having some more sleep. But, she decided to get to work immediately before doing so. However, Celestia felt like she could wait for a little while before getting out there.
"5 more minutes. That'll do."
And so, Celestia chose to spend a few more minutes in bed with Passion before anything else. It was something that was certainly needed between both of them.
Some morning food was about to be served to Ash and his Pokemon. Delia had already cooked something up for them and she knows how excited Ash and his Pokemon get when it comes to food. And they had already got to their usual devouring antics, scarfing down the food at high speeds.
Although, something was off today. While everyone was eating their food, the only one not having a bite was Ash, who had only eaten half of his food.
"Thanks for the food," Ash said in an unenthusiastic voice.
"Hm? Ash? What's going on? You've only eaten half the amount you usually eat.." Delia asked.
"For some reason, I don't feel like eating..." Ash scratched his hair.
"Impossible!" Delia bellowed as she leaned in on Ash's face. "That's not the Ash I know and love! Is something bothering you? Do you have a fever?"
"Uh, no I don't think so."
"It's unusual to see you not gulp down all your food, Ash. Something's definitely wrong."
"PikaPi?"
"I'll just get out there and do some stuff. Maybe that'll do the trick." Ash got off the chair, putting his hat on.
"You do that. How about heading to Ponyvilel to see your friends?" Delia recommended.
"Ponyville? Sure. Pikachu. Everyone. Let's go."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder while the rest of his Pokemon were ready to return to their Poke Balls.
"Have fun" Delia waved goodbye to Ash and Pikachu. But, she was a bit worried about why Ash was acting like this today. It was bizarre to see. And Delia had a feeling it might get worse for her son on this specific day.
The Pokemon House, day.
"Here goes nothing." Twilight was currently with Applejack and Rarity. They were all about to partake in some triple Mega Evolution, ready to see what their Mega Evolved Pokemon were like. Absol, Sceptile, Ampharos and Lopunny respectively. And hopefully, get some sweet new info out of this.
At the same time, Twilight, Applejack and Rarity activated their Mega Accessories, initiating Mega Evolution. Four golden lights shot out of their accessories while blue lights came out of the keystones, clashing against each other like DNA.
Absol, Sceptile, Ampharos and Lopunny felt their bodies transforming slightly. But not by much. They closed their eyes as a light red aura consumed them all.
Afterwards, the light burst open, separating as the Mega Evolved forms of Absol, Sceptile, Ampharos and Lopunny had been revealed.
Absol resembled that of an angel with his mane standing up more. Sceptile had a more draconic look to him from his extra additions and drastic change to his tail. Ampharos had a beautiful long flowing mane and Lopunny seemed to have undergone a style chance with her ears while having less fur now.
"Oh!" Twilight shot up as she took her Pokedex out along with the others. "Have a look at those!"
"Absol. The Disaster Pokemon. When this Pokémon whips the winglike fur on its back as though beating its wings, it sends an intimidating aura flying at its opponents. As the energy of Mega Evolution fills it, its fur bristles. What you see on its back are not true wings, and this Pokémon isn’t able to fly. Normally, it dislikes fighting, so it really hates changing to this form for battles. It converts the energy from Mega Evolution into an intimidating aura. Fainthearted people expire from shock at the sight of it."
"Sceptile. The Forest Pokemon. With hidden dragon blood being unleashed, this Pokemon's tail grows longer and develops a red stinger at the tip. Sceptile can cut off a portion of its tail to fire it like a missile at an opponent. Its lost tail will continue regenerating as long as it still has the energy required for Mega Evolution."
"Ampharos. The Light Pokemon. Excess energy from Mega Evolution stimulates its genes, and the wool it had lost grows in again apparently awakening its long-sleeping dragon’s blood. When it increases the amount of electrical energy within itself, the red orbs on its body and wool emit a strong light."
"Lopunny. The Rabbit Pokemon. Mega Evolution awakens its combative instincts. It has shed any fur that got in the way of its attacks. It swings its ears like whips and strikes its enemies with them. It has an intensely combative disposition."
"Aw. I was hoping those were actual wings." Twilight sighed. "But it still looks great on you anyway, Absol! I didn't even know that all Absol hate this form because of battling."
"Sol." Absol turned to the side.
"You're part Dragon now? That's what I like to see, Sceptile!" Applejack received a high-five from Sceptile.
"Sceptile!"
"You look stunning with that hair, Ampharos." Rarity climbed on Ampharos's hair, feeling its smooth and silky texture. And you as well Lopunny. Less fur looks fairly good on you."
"Ampha."
"Lopun."
"So that confirms it. Mega Evolution is some sort of awakening energy." Twilight was taking notes. "Lopunny's instincts, Sceptile and Ampharos's hidden dragon blood and Absol's aura."
"What a relief." Fluttershy flew over. "Some of the Pokemon here were a bit worried about Mega Evolution but everything seems fine now."
"Sure does. I've got a good feeling about our future battles thanks to Mega Evolution. By the way, where's Spike?" Applejack wondered.
"He said he was off to do some solo Mega Evolution training." Twilight explained. "Apparently, he's going to be doing it more often to control Salamence's brutality when he Mega Evolves."
"I heard about that," said Rarity as she sighed. "Poor Salamence. And poor Spike having to deal with that."
"No need to worry. Spike's got this under control. We'll have something for him when he gets back anyway." Twilight replied. "Oh, but first! Shining Armor, Cadence and Flurry Heart are gonna be having a vacation at Alola today."
"Vacation at Alola?" Rarity responded.
"Right. Just for one day though. I'm actually eager to join in with them." Twilight squeed before turning around to see Ash and Pikachu arriving at the Pokemon House. Oh! Ash! Pikachu! Morning!"
"Morning." Ash waved hello to them with less energy than usual.
"Pikachu!" But Pikachu still had all of his energy within him.
And just like Delia, Twilight and the others were able to tell that something was off with Ash at first glance. Usually, when he shows up, he has a ton of boundless energy just showing. But now, that wasn't the case. And it wasn't like he was tired. Not at all. He got himself some great rest.
"Ash, darling. What's wrong?" Rarity asked.
"Ah. I'm feeling a bit out of it right now. Not sure what's up with me today." Ash adjusted his hat before sending all of his Pokemon out of their Poke Balls.
"Do you have a fever?" A similar question to what Delia asked. Now Fluttershy did the same.
"No. But...I don't have a clue really. I was fine yesterday when I finished having a Pokemon World Championship battle. But now?"
"You were facing off against a powerful trainer yesterday with your Lucario. Maybe you're still recovering after that." Applejack theorized.
"Maybe. But it feels like a ton of stuff is catching up to me for some reason." Ash held his neck.
"Hm." Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Catching up to you, eh?"
"Yeah. Can't really describe it though..." Ash crossed his arms. "Feels like my body won't listen to me for some reason."
"Hm. I'll be right back!" Twilight got an idea as she immediately teleported out of the Pokemon House and into her lab, appearing in front of Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer, scaring them both.
"Wagh!" The two unicorns screeched.
"Sorry! Just need to check on something quickly." The young alicorn quickly moved over to her bookshelf. "There's something wrong with Ash, and I need to find out what."
"Ash? What's wrong with him?" Sunset questioned.
"Not sure. He says he's feeling a bit out of it, something's catching up to him after all these years and his body's not responding properly." Twilight navigated through the assortment of books. "Something is certainly off."
"Maybe it's just growing pains?" Starlight uttered.
"Maybe. But with Ash, nothing's ever as normal or standard as it looks." Twilight eventually found the book she was looking for. Since Ash's main major source of power is Aura, Twilight grabbed the History of the Pokemon World book, searching for the page where Aura can be described.
She rapidly scrolled through the pages of the book before finding the Aura section in a short amount of time. This could be the answer.
"Aha! Aura! Just what I need. I'll be right back!" Twilight then teleported out of the lab with the book leaving Sunset and Starlight behind to wonder.
She returned to the Pokemon House with the book and page concerning Aura still open. She believed she had the solution to Ash's problem.
"So. What did you find?" Rarity asked.
"Well, I figured it could have something to do with Aura. Since Ash has a lot of it, on par with the legendary hero Sir Aaron, it would make sense that he would feel lasting effects with so much energy."
"Uh...sure." Applejack squinted her eyes, nodding in response.
"So, there's something wrong with Ash's aura?" Fluttershy looked at Ash while being held by Dragonite.
"Hm?" Ash looked at himself, wondering what his Aura was possibly doing to him.
"Mmmm...here!" Twilight pointed her hoof at a page that looked to be the answer to her question. "This says Delayed Aura Ataxia."
"Delayed Aura Ataxia?" They all said.
"Apparently, if high levels of Aura aren't properly managed, used in reckless ways or even heavily negated, a few days later, the user might suffer from this, making it difficult to control their Aura and body properly."
"Is that it? Well, Ash isn't reckless with is Aura." Fluttershy spoke.
"And nothing's negated him from what we know." Rarity chimed in.
"Although, managing Aura isn't something you usually do, is it, Ash?" Rarity asked him.
"I don't have a clue myself. I just know I have Aura and stuff."
"It may be more than that. It also says here that this issue can happen if the user has far too many forms of energy inside of them. For example, more than just Aura. Ash. Do you know anything about that?"
"Too many forms?" Ash pondered for a moment, thinking about what else than Aura does he have inside of him. Digging into his memories, Ash was able to recall a plethora of energy sources that he's experienced.
The Bond Phenomenon with Ash-Greninja.
Becoming King of the Sea with that golden aura around him.
Using Z-Moves, especially Pikachu's 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt.
The dark energy from Hoopa's prison bottle, temporarily corrupting Ash.
Gaining infinite energy from Victini.
Being affected by Rift energy and splitting into six personalities of himself.
Another form of corruption or more along the lines of possession via the King of Pokelantis.
Having shadow being possessed by Gengar.
His Psychic Link with Azelf.
Being exposed to Discord's chaos magic.
And of course, his Aura link with Lucario and so on.
"Oh, man! That's a lot!" Ash realized just how much energy is boiling in him. "So I still have all of that in me? I would've thought some of that stuff would've left by now."
"All of that is catching up to him? My, that must be horrible." Rarity's eyes widened. "Is there a way to solve this?"
"Well...I would say just take it easy but Ash always does that. When he's not battling of course." Twilight shrugged. "But you did battle yesterday so that must've just pushed it to its limits."
"Oh." Ash looked down.
"Pikapi..."
"Luckily, there's a solution. It says right here that it'll heal on its own after a while, just like how muscle pain does. But maybe I wouldn't recommend having a battle for a while or even being highly active."
"No battling, huh?" Ash looked up. "I can do that. But not being highly active? Mmrrgh...I don't know."
"Oh, you'll be fine, Ash." Rarity patted him on the back. "This is nothing for you, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Just gotta take things easy, huh?" Applejack nudged Ash. "Only for a like a while or so."
"Pikachu!"
"Yeah. I can take it." Ash nodded. "Even if it's for a while."
"Just spend some more quality time with everypony. Oh! I almost forgot!" Twilight flew up. "Shining Armor, Cadence and Flurry Heart's vacation at Alola today! We should join them, don't you think?"
"Alola? Oh yeah, Alola would be great for taking it easy." Ash realized.
"Alola sounds wonderful. I've been wanting to have a re-visit for a while now." Rarity put on a sunhat and some sunglasses.
"Sure does. Some of that Alolan food's pretty good too." Applejack nodded. "Right, Sceptile?"
"Sceptile!"
"Oh, I can't wait to see Lei again! He's just soooooo cute!" Fluttershy gushed. "Seeing Lei made me realize how adorable human babies are!"
"It'll be fun meeting Professor Kukui, Burnet and Lei again." Ash. "Even if it's for a day."
"Pikachu."
"Alola here we come!" Twilight was given some sunglasses from Rarity. From how much energy they had, they were going to have a blast. And of course, they would bring the rest of their friends to Alola as well.
But can the same be said for Ash?
Alola. Poni Beach. Day.
A beach on Poni Island with an abundance of nature. It's one of the many Mantine Surf Spots scattered across Alola. Since Summer was approaching for both worlds very soon, it would only make sense that the residents of Alola would come to the beach immediately.
Joining Ash and the Mane 6 were of course the Royal Family from the Crystal Empire, basking in the shining golden sun of Alola.
A one day vacation must not be wasted at all. And everyone knew this. That's why they were going to make the most out of their time in Alola.
Besides, summer is coming soon so they'll just come back here either way. It's a win-win situation in all honesty as everyone was having a blast at the beach.
With Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, they took part in the Mantine Surf Spots, surfing on the back Mantines while riding wild waves and screaming in joy.
Twilight and Rarity took the opportunity to bask in the sunlight by laying down on armchairs while umbrellas were over their heads. With the company of the royal family, Cadence had also joined Twilight and Rarity in some sunlight basking while Flurry Heart played with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the Pokemon and alongside the guidance of Fluttershy.
But Fluttershy was a bit too distracted by the Alolan Pokemon here to really pay any attention to Flurry Heart. But thankfully, Audino was there to keep an eye on her. And if no one was partaking in something exciting and just chatting, that would be Shining Armor, Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer.
It felt like the whole gang was here. Well, most of them anyway. Spike was still training out there.
Ash on the other hand was sitting by himself on the ground with his arms crossed. Just earlier, Fluttershy had suggested that Lei and his family would join in on their little family vacation.
So, Ash was waiting for them as he had already called Kukui and Burnet about their visit to Alola. While his friends continue having fun, Ash was busy thinking about how he might not be able to battle for a while now.
Normally, this wouldn't be a problem for Ash. When he first came to the Alola Region years ago, the number of times he had battled had diminished as compared to Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos. He had learned to take things easy.
So, taking a break from battling won't be an issue for him thanks to his time in Alola. From start to finish. However, there was no telling how long it would take. Even when he was in Alola, Ash still did his fair share of battles that could be considered plentiful.
This is where Ash's true patience will be put to the test.
"Can't focus on battling, no matter what," Ash growled. "Don't wanna push myself too far. But maybe one battle wouldn't hurt. No, I gotta stay away. Even if it's for a week."
"Ash?" Fluttershy called out Ash's name.
"Hm?" Ash turned to face the pegasus. "Yeah, Fluttershy?"
"Are you still feeling that Aura problem?"
"Yeah, but it's something else. I'm just thinking of getting through all of this for who knows how long? A long time without battling is pretty new to me ya know. Even being super active."
"Oh. Well..." Fluttershy looked up. "Maybe if you just held back during your battles, you might not have that problem. Um, maybe."
"Holding back? Aw man, but I like battling at full strength though." Ash groaned. "I don't know about holding back..."
"Right." Fluttershy sat down next to Ash. "That's not your preference. But maybe there's a better alternative out there. It might just last a few days or a week. You're good at experiencing the little things in life too."
"Yeah." Ash scratched his hair. "But I can get through it for sure. No need to worry."
"When you say that, that's when I worry the most." Fluttershy chuckled. "Oh. Is Lei coming here soon?"
"He should be along with Professor Kukui and Burnet. I called them back home before we left. They're not too far away from Poni Beach."
"Hey, Ash!" Just then, the Cutie Mark Crusaders came rushing over to speak with Ash. "We're gonna try some of that Mantine Surfing with a race! Can you join us, please?"
"Mantine Surfing?!" Ash gasped as he was getting riled up. Especially when he heard the word race. Ash loves himself some competition, but he quickly sat back down. "Oh, sorry. I can't. I gotta conserve all my energy so I don't push myself.
"Awww, what?" The CMC sighed.
"Ash is having a bit of a problem right now. He has something known as Delayed Aura Axation. Ash needs some time to take things slowly. Sorry, girls." Fluttershy explained.
"When's it gonna go away?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Yeah when?" Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle questioned.
"Ah, I don't know," Ash replied. "I just gotta wait. But man, it'd be so cool to do some racing with Mantine Surfing!"
"Well, we can still race each other." Sweetie Belle looked at her friends. "So it's alright. Can we race with Pikachu and Lucario to make it up?"
"Hm? Sure. Though, Lucario might not be a big fan of it. But Pikachu sure is." Ash nodded.
"Great! Thanks, Ash!" The three little fillies dashed off to take part in some Mantine Surfing. All the while, Ash could only do less energetic activities.
"Well. I'll leave you be for now. I'm looking forward to Lei showing up. See you soon, Ash." Fluttershy flew off. Now it was Ash on his own while everyone else did their own thing.
Not the best start to the day for Ash. But he was a great optimist like Pinkie Pie. So he was determined to make sure that these remaining days are worth it even if he can't go wild like he usually does.
But, Ash hasn't let anything stop him fully before. He was stood up, ready to do whatever he can until this Aura problem dies out.
1 hour later.
As an hour passed, Kukui, Burnet and Lei had shown up after receiving Ash's call. They were just as excited to reunite with Ash once again, especially Lei.
"Ash!" Both Kukui and Burnet called out for Ash's name, grabbing the attention of Ash and the rest of his friends.
"Oh! Yes, they made it!" Ash ran over but he made sure to slow himself down instead of going at full force like he usually does. "Professor Kukui! Burnet! Lei!"
"We're right on time, aren't we?" Kukui said.
"Sure are. Glad you could make it." Ash grinned. "Hey, Lei. Long time no see."
"A-Ash," Lei said Ash's name. It certainly wasn't his first word ever. Ash went up to Lei as the baby patted the trainer in the face.
"A quick favour, Ash. Could you watch over Lei for us for a while?" Burnet requested. We want to really enjoy our time at the beach without endangering Lei.
"Sure. I can do that." Ash grabbed Lei. "Babysitting's a pretty calm thing to do isn't it?"
"Um...Sometimes." Kukui scratched his hair, knowing how frantic the role of a babysitter can get in some instances. If not, most instances. "How does leaving him with that baby over there sound? Wait, is that a pony baby?"
"Sure is." Ash turned to face Flurry Heart who was riding on Lucario's back, which Lucario wasn't too fond of. "That's Flurry Heart."
"Lu!" Lucario growled as he was running around, trying to get Flurry Heart off him. But she was glued to him unless she stuck herself onto someone else "Cario!"
"I thought pony babies couldn't become alicorns. Is that what they're called, right?" Burnet said.
"Well, Flurry Heart's an exception. I'll take good care of Lei. You all have a blast, okay?" Ash walked off with Lei in his hands.
"Alright. Now!" Kukui turned around, clapping his hands as he approached the water. "It was a total failure last week, but today, I'm feeling lucky about this catch."
"Again?" Burnet sighed as she followed her husband.
Ash went over to Flurry Heart who had Lucario down on the ground, face first even. The baby alicorn looked up at Ash, seeing a fellow baby within her sights.
"Aw, who's this little guy?" Cadence flew over.
"Lei's his name." Ash placed Lei down, patting him on the head. "Alright, Lei. We're only gonna really hang out for one day right now. So let's make the most of it okay? But not too much. Kinda at risk here."
Lei only babbled as a response to Ash. He then turned around to see that someone was hovering over him. That, someone, was Flurry Heart who had then flown in front of him, poking her fellow baby in the face.
"Ah?" Lei opened his mouth wide as he tried to eat Flurry Heart's hoof before it was pulled back.
"Oo." Flurry Heart gave her response continuously poking Lei in the face. But Lei didn't seem to be bothered by it. He just poked her back.
"Aw, look at them." Fluttershy gushed at the two babies playing. This is what Ash needed. This would work well in allowing him to recover without needing to overwork himself or be extremely active.
That is until the unexpected happened. Flurry Heart got a bit too playful with Lei. So playful that she ended up using magic. Her horn started glowing as she surrounded Lei and Ash in her magic aura since Ash was still making contact with Lei.
"Eh?" Ash quickly realized that he was now within Flurry Heart's magic shenanigans range. And shenanigans did in fact occur as Flurry Heart had used her magic to teleport Ash and Lei away from the spot they stood and sat on.
"AH!" Shining Armor, Cadence and Fluttershy gasped after witnessing the sudden disappearance of the three of them. Especially the babies. "Where'd they go?!"
Their answer was given immediately as Flurry Heart's teleportation spot had been found. And it had to be on the one area where the most energy was taking place.
The Mantine Surfing Spots.
But, one important thing that is well known to every resident of Alola is how the various Mantine Surfing Spots differentiate in intensity and wave size.
There are four courses in total. Normal Course, Super Course, Hyper Course and Master Course. And that one that is the Master Course is located in Poni Beach.
And unfortunately, the surfing spot is where Flurry Heart and the others had arrived as they each landed on a nearby Mantine who was just casually swimming until three individuals landed on its back.
"Mantine?" Mantine felt the sudden collision as it thought that these three individuals wanted to try out some Mantine Surfing.
In the course of Flurry Heart, Ash and Lei being on top of the Kite Pokemon with the proper equipment needed for Mantine Surfing, everything had suddenly escalated without warning as Mantine started to surf on the gigantic waves of Poni Beach.
"W-Woah...Woah!" Ash yelled as he kneeled on Mantine's back, trying to keep his balance while holding onto both Flurry Heart and Lei.
"Oh! You're really joining us, Ash!" Scootaloo exclaimed while Flurry Heart was giggling during the Mantine Surfing.
And surprisingly, Lei was enjoying this as well. There wasn't any crying but there certainly was screaming. Screams of joy that is. Although, the same can't be said for Cadence, Shining Armor and the others.
Mantine rode a large wave, tilting to the side. Ash didn't want to fall while holding two babies in his arms. This is where all that energy he was conserving would need to be maintained properly.
However, in a situation like this, it was impossible to do so. Not with how fast Mantine was moving. Knowing that he was in a bit of a risky situation without having the proper equipment for Mantine Surfing and protecting two babies and problems with his Aura, Ash knew there was only one thing to do.
"Sorry, Twilight. Everyone. But just this once!" Ash chose to exert his energy instead of holding it back. For the safety of others, of course.
Ash used one hand to tightly hold onto Mantine's antennae while using his other to hold both Lei and Flurry Heart. They were small enough for him to hold with one arm. Mantine's angle was changing once more as it was about to become airborne with how fast it was approaching the upper cress of the wave.
Cadence quickly flew over to try and receive her baby before anything horrible happens. Mantine ended up flying off the wave, becoming airborne with the two babies having the time of their life. Ash was somewhat having the time of his life too. Even in dire situations, he can always feel a rush of excitement.
And with him finally exerting energy, Ash's Aura was starting to show as it was emanating its natural blue colours like always.
"Ash! Don't!" Twilight screeched as she also flew over.
"Mantine!" Mantine's air time was still ongoing as it had already gotten ahead of the CMC, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie's Mantine's.
"Oh! Sweet moves, Ash!" Rainbow Dash gawked.
"Steady!" Ash said as his Aura was growing larger and becoming more visible. And it was more than just visible, it was gaining strength and coming more physical.
When in the air, Ash's Aura was affecting everyone and everything around him. Including the Mantine. They were all surrounded by this blue Aura.
Even Cadence, who was closing in on Ash and the others had been caught by this Aura. And it wasn't just there to be pretty and amazing. It was actually affecting them.
With Ash's adrenaline going up, the Mantine and Cadence were suddenly speeding up out of nowhere without their control. The Mantine were now surfing across the waves at lightning speeds while having a blue trail of Aura with them.
"Woah!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie and Cadence started screaming after being sped up. The Mantine were unbothered by this though.
Cadence was unable to control her speed or flight with Aura making her move, causing her to fumble in the air. Not only that but the water itself was being manipulated by Ash's Aura, rising and splitting apart as the Mantine drifted on it.
Ash's Aura even dragged in a nearby Mantine as if it was some form of telekinesis. The Mantine that his Aura dragged over ended up catching Cadence who was falling through the air. Now Cadence was a part of the Mantine Surfing.
"Huh?" Cadence looked down at the Kite Pokemon who was also being accelerated like its brethren.
"Mantine!"
The finish line for the Mantine Racing was also being pulled into the air, changing its location while still being within everyone's sights. Despite the sudden boost in speed, the others were still having fun and determined to win the race.
"Oh. Hold on!" Cadence was actually feeling the same rush everyone was feeling. "Woohoo!" She raised her hooves in the air while Flurry Heart did the same. The babies were having fun, flailing around while Ash suddenly made a grin.
"This is nothing!" Ash declared as he was getting a better handle on Mantine while he was unconsciously manipulating everything with his aura which was still growing in size every second.
Soon, Ash's Aura grew to the point where it was able to affect the entire sea itself, raising it entirely as a large blanket of water could be seen following Ash.
"Oh my..." Kukui's jaw dropped after witnessing this bizarre sight.
"There it is!" Ash set his eyes on the finish line as he pointed upwards. Him pointing upwards caused his Aura to make everyone else fly upwards. Ash's Aura also illuminated the water, giving it a beautiful shine as his Mantine was the one to gain more speed since he was at the helm.
"Mantine!" Ash's Mantine moved at ludicrous speeds, passing everyone else. All the while, everyone at Poni Beach and even from other parts of Alola could see a large blanket of water covered in Aura in the sky.
Along with that, all the Pokemon dwelling in the sea could be seen gaining airtime because of how the sea just suddenly rose without warning. Now the Pokemon were covered in Aura.
It was a sight to behold.
But that would quickly come to an end as Ash's Mantine passed through the finish line, winning the race.
"Yes!" Ash pumped his fist into the air along with Lei while Flurry Heart cooed. With him claiming victory, all that wonderful airtime had come to an end.
The blanket of water was placed back down, making a fairly big splash while Mantine and its brethren all splashed back down with the Aura outline fading away. The Water-Type Pokemon fell from above, returning to the sea after having that small moment of adrenaline.
It was over.
"Aw! So close!" The CMC moaned.
"Woo!" Cadence cheered as her Mantine stopped surfing, stopping near the land. "What a rush!"
"Mama!" Flurry Heart flew over to Cadence after having that much fun, causing the older alicorn to hug the baby alicorn.
"Oh my goodness..." Twilight sighed as she fell on her back. She wasn't expecting any of that to happen.
"Blast!" Lei replied by learning the word blast as the Mantine came to shore. Everyone was getting off their Mantine after that race. They were a bit wet due to that sudden speed as they shook themselves like dogs to dry off.
"That was amazing!" Pinkie Pie bounced off, taking the goggles off.
"Right." Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes. "I didn't know Aura could do that."
"Here I was heavily worried," Cadence spoke while Flurry Heart was on her back. "That was actually worth it. Seems like you know how to really pick fun activities, don't you, Flurry Heart?"
"Ah!" Flurry Heart replied by clapping her hooves.
"Ash!" Twilight teleported in front of Ash while he was holding Lei. "You weren't supposed to exert that much Aura! That's the most Aura I've seen you use!"
"Ah, my bad, my bad." Ash laughed while rubbing the back of his hair. "Things got pretty wild so I couldn't help it. Haha!"
"Ugh..." Twilight facehoofed. "Are you at least feeling anything now?"
"My head feels a bit tingly along with my arms. But I'll be fine." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Fine!" Lei also gave a thumbs up.
"Don't stress too much, Princess," Kukui said as he and Burnet walked by. "You can count on Ash to make any situation better. Lei certainly knows that."
"Did you have fun, Lei?" Burnet asked.
"Ah!" Lei certainly did have fun.
"That's great!" Burnet clapped. "Knew we could count on you to make Lei have a fun time, Ash. Thank you."
"No problem. But man, it's gonna be tougher than I thought to keep it calm and laid-back, huh?" Ash chuckled, not making a big deal out of any of this.
"Can't get more frantic than this, can it?" Fluttershy flew over, giving Lei a head pat.
"Maybe. But we'll see. I can totally keep this up for a few days or more. Just you watch!"
"Wait, what's this about?" Shining Armor asked.
"Nevermind." Twilight shook her head. It wasn't worth stressing over at this point. If Ash is involved, there's no need to worry. Although, that's when she worries the most.
6 days later.
6 days had passed and Ash was feeling better than ever. He had gone days without taking part in any Pokemon Battles whatsoever. Even if there was something tempting in front of him.
"Got through it all no problem!" Ash was pumped. "Guess all those years really paid off, huh?"
"Pikachu!"
"Yay! Congrats on making it through, Ash!" Fluttershy clapped her hooves.
"Audino!"
"Chiko!"
"I thought it would've been way worse." Twilight looked at the book. "Guess the results aren't as harsh on different Aura wielders."
"Okay! Now that I feel greater than ever, whaddya say, Rainbow? Let's have a battle!"
"Yes please!" Rainbow Dash nodded and agreed immediately. She and Ash were ready to have a scuffle now that Ash was back in his high spirits once more.
This whole Aura problem didn't fall flat on its face. It was better handled than expected and there was even some fun gained out of it.
Despite everything that has happened to him, Ash was still here and feeling fine. Whatever wild experiences he may come across, there's a very good chance he'll make it through. Even at the cost of his own wellbeing. But perhaps that's what makes him stand out as the journey continues.
Somewhere out there in the barren mountains of Equestria, early night.
Nightfall was here. The Pokemon who don't sleep at night came out, ready to hunt for prey or vice-versa. Here in these barren mountains, there was a single cave. And only one cave. No more than that.
In this cave, there were actually no Pokemon inside, which is a first because so many Pokemon make caves their homes. But there was a reason for this.
Someone more dangerous than all the Pokemon here had taken refuge in this cave. Making it their entire base and hideout by tweaking it to their liking.
That, someone, was the infamous and terrifying Pokemon Hunter J. This is where she went after being caught and foiled back at the small village during the Pokemon Festival. And of course, Ash was the one to foil her plans alongside his friends and the changelings too.
This entire cave had been designed in her image as a long table and a plethora of chairs were littered everywhere. J also had items that were necessary for her job. Most of them were received from the Pokemon Black Market across Sinnoh and Unova.
Every single one of them has the potential to capture a Pokemon and then some. But none was more effective than J's arm cannon, which she ended up upgrading for better use and more versatility. However, despite all that, J still felt one burning thing inside of her.
The overwhelming hatred for Ash Ketchum.
"Curse it!" J slammed her fist on the table. "If I hadn't been gone for so long, I would've caught up or even surpassed that kid's strength...!"
Fueled with rage, J knew that with how strong Ash was now compared to his previous level of strength back in Sinnoh, J does not stand a slither of a chance.
Especially since Ash has major connections around Equestria. A majority of Equestria are friends with Ash. From Ponyville, Canterlot, The Crystal Empire and even Saddle Arabia after he and his friends freed it from Ghetsis' control.
It's safe to say that J is now in a world where Ash has so many allies it would be nigh-impossible to even try anything to go against them. Unless she was Ghetsis or Empress Twilight.
Which she wasn't.
As if it couldn't be made worse for J, her presence has been made aware by the many Officer Jenny's from Sinnoh once more. The case of Hunter J was no longer postponed for them.
"How am I going to make it anywhere with him around?" J growled as she held her head, trying to think of a way to overcome her Ash problem. "Curse it all!" She then screamed, letting out an echo through the caves.
J may be able to capture Pokemon and sell them for a profit, however, Ash's mere existence and his influence across Equestria can really get in the way of that.
What she truly desired was a chance to rid Ash of this world. This simple saying would be a desire for revenge.
And speaking of desire, one of the many Desires around the world created by Sienna had responded to J's plea. And this Desire responded to revenge. More importantly, this Desire originally came from a previous Desire that was destroyed. It was the only surviving one as it was in the shape of a small purple ball of cosmic energy.
And that previous Desire was once Twilight Sparkle's Desire.
It had found its way to J from hearing her shout and sending her own desire. At breakneck speeds, the desire entered the cave, immediately possessing Hunter J without wasting any time.
J felt a sudden shock go through her body as her pupils shrunk. She wasn't aware of what had just happened. All the remaining cosmic energy from the 1% Desire had mixed in with J's life force.
"Ugh!" J held her stomach as she felt an unusual feeling go through her. Cosmic energy isn't something that anyone can just withstand. Very few have the proper endurance to take it. Like Legendary Pokemon or strong-willed Pokemon.
But even still, the feeling it gives is otherworldly. Purple lights started flashing out of J's body as her deepest darkest desires were being tapped into by all that cosmic energy.
After every Pokemon here had been affected, the pulse soon transformed into tiny little Desire particles. These particles ended up flying into the sky, scattering across Equestria in random directions.
Her Desire was being unleashed. However, considering that this Desire is only 1% and the 99% had been destroyed by Celestia and the others, it had a slightly different effect on J.
J was no longer experiencing that feeling. But more noticeably, her Desire didn't split from her. Usually, the victims of the Desires separate, creating cosmic manifestations of themselves in the shape of outlines. But J didn't get that treatment. Whether it was from who she was or the tiny amount of energy in that Desire was yet to be known.
But what was known was one thing. J's Desire was now going to influence everything around her as she stood up with her head down.
"Accursed brat...!" J uttered as her body was pulsating whilst being surrounded by purple particles. "I swear I'll make you pay! One way or the other!"
Purple pulses formed from her Desire started emanating across the land, lighting up the mountains in the dark. All the Pokemon here had been hit by the pulses as they were affected by J's Desire.
And it wouldn't stop there. The pulses then spread out even further, soon growing in length and width as they would most likely go beyond the mountainside and possibly towards civilization.
However, what J's Desire will end up doing to the Pokemon and everyone else has to be discovered.
Ponyville, day.
It's another shining day in Ponyville and everything seems fine. It's also fairly early in the morning too. The sun was still giving off an early orange glow as most of the residents weren't awake yet.
But the ones who are most certainly awake are Ash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Speaking of which, they were all gathered at the Pokemon House to view something currently. All of Ash's Pokemon were also out of their Poke Balls as always.
"Is it gonna hatch now?" Ash said while kneeling on the ground. Currently, he and his friends were looking at some Pokemon Eggs. A pretty large group of them.
"Pika?"
"Hopefully. This should be the day. I can't wait!" Fluttershy squeed. "Might be some rare Pokemon in them!"
"It'll be their first birthday party ever! Like um...0 years old!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"Mew!"
As they all waited patiently with their parents who made the eggs forming around their future children, the eggs started to crack suddenly.
That's when their eyes shot up, especially the parents. One by one, the eggs were starting to hatch. Or rather, one egg hatched and then it created a sort of domino effect between the rest of the eggs.
Out of the first egg, an Axew emerged. Then the second one, a Beldum, the third a Larvitar and so on. Many eggs were revealing highly rare Pokemon that would be difficult to find in all honesty. Even Starter Pokemon were making appearances from the eggs.
Weirdly enough, most of the rare Pokemon hatching from the eggs had parents who weren't even the same species of type as them. But the same egg group, they surely shared that similarity.
"Oh!" Ash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie awed. "That's super rare!"
"I've never seen so many rare Pokemon pop up like this before!" Ash gawked.
"Pikachu!"
"Happy birthday!" Pinkie Pie celebrated their birthday's fairly early. Their 0 year birthdays, which are rare kinds of birthdays in their own right. Much like the Pokemon from these eggs. Even some Shiny Pokemon emerged from them, further instilling the rarity of these eggs.
"Charmander!" A shiny Charmander hopped out of its egg along with other newly born Pokemon. Most were rare while some were common. They all walked to their parents since they were able to tell which Pokemon made the egg and birthed them.
"Talk about a great turnout." Ash nodded.
"It was worth the wait!" Fluttershy cheered. "Thanks for watching this with Chikorita, Audino and me."
"No problem." Pinkie slid over, looking at a newly born Inkay that was sliding on the ground while being upside-down on its head. "You think you're gonna get more visitors now that you have even more rare Pokemon?"
"Lots of Pokemon Trainers want to make it to the very top of the league." Fluttershy picked up a Shiny Jangmo-o. "So really rare Pokemon are bound to be very popular. Like Psuedo-Legendaries and Starter Pokemon."
"Those are the best of the best, aren't they?" Pinkie Pie replied.
"Scorbun!" One of the Pokemon that hatched from the egg was a Scorbunny, which instantly attached itself to Fluttershy at the first glance.
"Oh, hello there." Fluttershy looked down at the Rabbit Pokemon. "Which parent is yours?"
"Bunny!" Scorbunny jumped onto Fluttershy's back, already having a fondness for the pegasus.
"Looks like someone's really attached." Ash noticed.
"Hm?" Fluttershy looked back at the attached Scorbunny who didn't even rush to its own parent when hatching. "Looks like it. Oh. Maybe Twilight would want some of these Pokemon for her lab. New trainers always come around there for their Starter Pokemon right?"
"Probably. But maybe coming here to get them could also work." Ash recommended.
"Pikachu."
"Oh! Speaking of other birthdays, Ash, your birthday's coming up soon, isn't it?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Hope that invasion doesn't ruin it."
"The invasion's in one month so we'll still have my birthday, no problem." Ash stood up as a Chimchar climbed onto his shoulder, greeting Pikachu.
"Chimchar!"
"Pikachu!" The two Pokemon gave each other high-fives.
"I'll be right back. Just gonna grab something for Rarity quickly." Ash was about to make a quick stop at Carousel Boutique as he dashed off. Pikachu stayed behind to hang out with the others.
"Okay! Say, that Scorbunny doesn't think you're its mom, does it?"
"Oh. I don't think so? He's just really fond of me." Fluttershy smiled. "Not sure if his mother is really pleased about that." Her eyes then shifted over at a slightly jealous Tsareena.
"Tsareen...!" The Fruit Pokemon's eyes glared at Fluttershy and Scorbunny. But mostly Fluttershy out of jealousy. It did sting a little bit to have your child attach themselves to another.
Ponyville.
Ash had arrived at Ponyville, setting his sights at Carousel Boutique. And at such speeds too. Entering Ponyville, he wasn't expecting much other than just getting what he needed from Rarity and heading back to the Pokemon House.
Simple as that.
However, when Ash arrived at Ponyville's main area, something was off. Something that Ash himself couldn't realize since he set his eyes on Carousel Boutique.
Everypony in Ponyville, at least most of them, were giving Ash odd glares suddenly. Strange glares that can only be described as dislike and antipathy. Which isn't natural since nopony in Ponyville has shown that to Ash, aside from maybe Adagio in some cases. But that was before she came to Ponyville.
There was silent gossiping amongst most of the ponies here. Gossip about Ash while they looked at him. And it wasn't like Ash can ignore this forever. Eventually, his ears picked up on the gossiping.
And after that, some ponies distanced themselves from Ash, heading inside of their homes as they had somewhat devious smirks on their faces while others merely stayed outside, still looking at Ash.
"That's odd," Ash said as he finally approached Carousel Boutique. He then knocked on the door, hoping for Rarity's response. "Rarity! I'm here to pick it up!"
He called for her name, waiting for a response. He would obviously expect a delay considering how big Carousel Boutique was. However, the actual response he received wasn't one he was expecting.
The door had opened up to Ash's response. But he didn't get a friendly greeting, not at all. When the door opened, a power string suddenly shot forward, launching Ash far back from Carousel Boutique and crashing him into the wall of a house.
"Ough!" Ash cried out after being hit on the wall. The long string actually ended up coming from one of Rarity's many Leavanny's. It had just used String Shot as revealed when it walked out of the building. The string then wrapped around Ash, restraining him.
"Leavan!"
"Excellent work, Leavanny." Rarity said as she walked outside. "Keep him there."
"Rarity? Leavanny? What are you guys doing?!" Ash wondered as he was currently restrained by a thick string from Leavanny's mouth.
"Don't take it personally, Ash. But some well-deserved vindication is deserved." Rarity replied.
"Vindication?"
"It's another word for revenge, darling." Rarity explained.
"Revenge?" Ash squinted his eyes while writhing around in the string. "On me?"
"But of course." Rarity's eyes flashed purple all of a sudden. "It's all for her after all. Pheromosa. Lopunny."
"Lopun."
"Mosa." Pheromosa and Lopunny appeared behind Rarity with their eyes also flashing purple.
"Be dears and use High Jump Kick and Close Combat."
"Phero!"
"Lopunny!"
At the same time, both Pokemon rushed towards Ash with Pheromosa moving the fastest at ludicrous speeds as her leg was glowing.
"Oh!" Ash's eyes widened as his Aura was kicking in. He was able to react to Pheromosa's amazing speed thanks to Aura, causing Ash to respond at an equally fast rate.
Not wanting to be struck, Ash's Aura expanded, blowing away the string as he quickly jumped to the side, avoiding Pheromosa's Close Combat.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa missed with her leg smashing through somepony's home. Her eyes then flashed at Ash when she turned her head as Lopunny was approaching by jumping high into the air with a High Jump Kick.
"Lopun!"
"Uh oh!" Ash then reacted to Lopunny approaching him with her knee glowing. Ash then quickly ran back, managing to avoid High Jump Kick as Lopunny's knee smashed onto the ground, leaving a hole.
"What's gotten into you guys?! And who are you talking about?! Her?" Ash asked.
"Leavanny! String Shot! All of you! Don't let him escape! Rarity commanded as more of her Leavanny's emerged from the building, simultaneously using String Shot to try and catch Ash while Pheromosa and Lopunny continued attacking him.
"Not good!" Ash growled as he didn't expect to encounter a scenario such as this. Not one where his friends would end up trying to hurt him. And Ash could tell that they were not holding back. From the look in their eyes, they were out to destroy him.
Knowing that he couldn't allow himself to get hurt, Ash quickly grabbed all of the strings from Leavanny with both of his hands. As Pheromosa and Lopunny approached him, the Alola Champion then used the strings to his advantage.
When both Pokemon went for a kick, Ash quickly used the strings to trip them both by moving himself to the side while dragging the long white silk from each of the Leavanny.
"Sorry about this! Pheromosa! Lopunny!" Ash apologized.
"Lo?!"
"Phe?!"
Lopunny and Pheromosa tripped over the strings while Ash used the rest of it to tie both of their legs up by running around. He managed to rip the rest of the String Shots in half before quickly making a run for it.
"Tch." Rarity scoffed. "Of course he wouldn't make this easy. Run all you want, darling. Her revenge is more present in Ponyville than you expect."
The Pokemon House.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu was currently speaking to Scorbunny and the rest of Ash's Pokemon. They were just having a casual conversation while Fluttershy was feeding the rest of the newborns.
"Scorbun."
"Ya know. We could have that Landorus guy help with Pyrestar's world." Pinkie Pie ate some of the Pokemon food Fluttershy made.
"Oh, right. Landorus give crops nutrition to the soil." Fluttershy remembered Landorus's dex entry. "I hope he'd be willing to help out if we ever find him again."
"Dino." Audino was sitting down, enjoying the breeze of the calm wind and the shining sunlight. Nothing could bother her at this point.
Except for when something did. Audino's ears immediately picked up on something odd. First, she heard the sound of someone being smashed onto the wall.
And then, she heard Ash and Rarity speaking all of a sudden. The words her feelers were picking up confused Audino. And of course, they were related to what had happened to Ash when visiting Rarity.
Words about revenge and orders to attack Ash came to Audino which made the Hearing Pokemon stand up in shock as she gasped.
"Audino?!"
"What is it, Audi? What did you hear?" Fluttershy asked.
"Audino..." Audino gulped as she wasn't liking what she was hearing. She never thought the words revenge, attack, Ash and Rarity would be in the same sentence especially when it sounded like something that involved great animosity. "Audino!"
"Rarity's attacking Ash?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Huh?" Pinkie tilted her head. "Are you sure your ears are hearing stuff properly?"
"Dino! Audino!" Audino nodded her head. She was 100% sure she heard what she heard. But she didn't want to believe it.
"Why would Rarity attack Ash? And what's this about revenge?" Fluttershy wondered.
"That is pretty weird. It doesn't sound like something small, does it?" said Pinkie Pie.
"Audino..."Audino shuddered.
"Pikapi?"Pikachu himself was the most curious as to why Rarity was attacking Ash. Worried about his trainer, Pikachu quickly ran off, heading to find Ash without hesitation. "Pi!"
"Scorbun?"
"Oh. Pikachu?" Fluttershy noticed and knew that the Electric Mouse Pokemon was off to find Ash. What Audino was saying sounded dire and dangerous. Nothing to be taken lightly. So, Fluttershy decided to follow along as well as Pinkie Pie. "If Pikachu's in a hurry, then Ash needs help!"
"Hey! Wait up!" Pinkie bounced along while Scorbunny, obviously attached to Fluttershy, followed.
As they left the Pokemon House, they were unaware of the lingering animosity that was filling all of Ponyville and only affecting most of the ponies. Thankfully not all of them.
But there was an obvious reason as to why this was happening. And it all relates to what happened last night in the mountainside. And those purple particles that were scattered across the sky also had something to do with this.
And it was all coming from the person who absolutely despises Ash and wants him gone from this world. Both worlds even.
J.
"Pikapi!"
Pikachu, with his agile speed, ended up spotting his best friend up ahead who was currently running from Pheromosa and Lopunny as well as the group of Leavanny. Each belonging to Rarity. The only one who wasn't chasing after Ash was Ampharos.
"Woah!" Ash with his quick reaction time was still managing to avoid Pheromosa's amazing speed. But of course, he couldn't avoid her forever. Ash then noticed Pikachu as well as both friends connected yes. "Pikachu!"
"Pikapi!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa found an opening as she jumped in the air, ready for an overhead kick that would surely land on Ash.
"Pika?!" Pikachu spotted this. And wasn't a fan of that.
There's one thing Pikachu puts over anything else. The safety of Ash. He is incredibly loyal to him after all. So loyal that Pikachu will not hold back or hesitate and will do anything in his power to protect Ash.
No matter what.
He will always be ready to keep Ash safe at all costs. And seeing Pheromosa going to attack Ash was not something that boded well with the Electric Mouse Pokemon.
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu used Quick Attack, bolting off the ground at lightning speeds as he smashed his head and body into Pheromosa's stomach.
"M-Mosa?!" Pheromosa's eyes widened as she had been launched back by Pikachu's Quick Attack. Even as a Fighting-Type and being resistant to Normal attacks, she was the Lissome Pokemon for a reason. She's just so frail as she tumbled on the ground after Pikachu's Quick Attack.
"Pikapi!" Successfully protecting Ash, Pikachu then landed on the shoulder of his trainer.
"Pikachu! Thanks!" Ash thanked his partner.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash! Are you alright?!" Fluttershy asked.
"I'm fine. But a little bit stumped right now." Ash replied.
"We heard stuff about revenge! What's going on? And why is Pheromosa attacking you?" Pinkie also had questions.
"I'm not sure but...I think I know why." Ash turned around. "I saw some purple lights in their eyes. Something's definitely messing with them."
"Pika?"
"Phero...!" Pheromosa quickly got up from the ground as she growled at Pikachu.
"Can't run forever, Ash." Rarity spoke as she emerged with her Leavanny and Lopunny. "Not with how outnumbered you are."
"Hey, Rarity! Why do you wanna hit Ash so badly?" Pinkie Pie bellowed.
"Pinkie Pie, this doesn't concern you. Only Ash. The sooner we dole out vengeance for her, the better." Rarity then emanated purple pulses with her eyes flaring.
"For her?" Pinkie was confused.
"That pulse...Something's definitely wrong here." Ash observed, looking into the eyes of his friends as they all had that purple glow.
"Pika...!" Pikachu's red sacs sparked up electricity as he was ready to strike to protect Ash. Not only that, but the rest of Ash's Pokemon, who were out of their Poke Balls, were there to protect as well. But, he would need to protect Ash from more than just Rarity and her Pokemon.
Audino's feelers were picking up on something else. Something that was everywhere across Ponyville. She quickly turned around to see that other residents of Ponyville alongside their Pokemon were slowly leaving their houses, creeping up on Ash and the others with that same glow in their eyes.
"A-Audino?!" Audino alerted the others.
"More?" Fluttershy translated as she was the second to find out about the large group of ponies emerging behind them and soon in front of them. "Oh my."
"What's going with today?" Ash wondered as very soon, he and his friends were surrounded in every direction by most of their friends. Some weren't a part of this.
"Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie. Would you please move away from Ash?" Rarity requested.
"Nuh-uh! You're all acting weird today! Is this some sort of prank? Is Rainbow Dash getting payback for the cookies?" Pinkie Pie replied.
"It's nothing petty like cookies this time," said Lyra.
"We just want to quickly deal with Ash and that'll be the end of this, okay?" Carrot Top spoke.
"Why? And what's this about revenge? And who's her?" Ash had so many questions right now.
"I...don't know." Rarity actually didn't know who she was trying to get revenge for. All she knew was that revenge was needed and she and everypony were going to make it happen. "Whatever."
"While Ash and the others were surrounded, those that weren't under the influence of the Desire were currently wondering why this was happening.
Especially Twilight, who was watching from her castle. The Dazzlings were also spectating over this, including Mayor Mare, who came out of Town Hall with her Stoutland.
"What is the meaning of this?" Mayor Mare asked. "Rarity. Why were you attacking Ash earlier?"
There was no other response as Rarity and her Pokemon immediately took action. And so did everypony surrounding Ash and the others as they commanded their Pokemon as well.
"Don't wanna hurt you guys! Gengar! Hold them all with Psychic!" Ash commanded.
"Gen...Gar!" Gengar immediately flew up as its eyes flashed blue and purple. The Shadow Pokemon was able to gain a hold on everypony in a circle with its mind, keeping them in place and preventing them from advancing.
The Ghost-Poison-Type then distanced everyone away by using Psychic to push them back so that Ash and the others could have more space.
"Okay!" Ash and Pikachu returned Lucario and Farfetch'd to their Poke Balls while Gengar held everyone in place. "Let's go!"
"Ash! Wait!" Pinkie Pie bellowed.
"They're just after me. So you'll be fine." Ash gave a thumbs up. "But I gotta get away first and figure out what's wrong." He then started thinking to himself of the one pony who might be able to figure all of this out. "Twilight might know."
"Mm-m!" Pinkie Pie shook her head. She felt like it was a bit too dangerous to leave Ash on his own considering the situation. She and Fluttershy felt the same way as they were going to come with Ash either way.
"Y-You won't escape!" Rarity growled. "Leavanny! Energy Ball!"
"L-Leavan..." One Leavanny started generating a green ball of energy, aiming it Ash as it released the attack from its mouth.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chu!" Pikachu's body sparked up as he sent a blast of lightning towards the Energy Ball. Both attacks cancelled each other out as Ash used this large smoke cloud as an extra opportunity to mask himself while descended into the shadows, following Ash and Pikachu.
Only Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie and their Pokemon were remaining since they weren't the ones that Rarity and the others were after. But, worried about Ash, they followed after him either way, masking themselves in the smoke.
So once the smoke cleared and everyone was free from Gengar's Psychic hold, they quickly realized that Ash was gone. He sure does run fast since he can keep up with a speedy Pokemon like Pikachu and have a fast reaction time to dodge Pheromosa.
"Gone again!" Rarity stomped her hoof. As no one saw Ash within their sights. And the ones who did weren't affected by the Desires.
Like Mayor Mare, who quietly backed away, secretly following Ash while trying to make herself not look suspicious. Only one thing was running through her head at the moment.
"What exactly is happening? Since when did Ash become Ponyville's most wanted?"
Twilight's castle.
Ash, Pikachu and the others quickly ran into Twilight's castle with Gengar phasing through the door. They were out of hostile sight for now as they quickly closed the door.
"Oh, man!" Ash said while both his hands were on the door. "That could've gone worse. I don't wanna hurt them."
"Pika..."
"This isn't like the cookies..." Pinkie breathed in and out as she slumped onto the door.
"Nice work, Gengar."
"Gen."
"Ash!" Twilight quickly ran over to Ash after he entered the castle. "Are you alright?!"
"Yeah. I'm fine." Ash gave a thumbs up. "Not sure about everyone else."
"Everypony's gone crazy for some reason!" Pinkie bellowed. "They wanna hurt Ash all of a sudden! I don't know if I missed something or..."
"They had these purples flashes in their eyes and Rarity was emanating some of that stuff. Twilight. Do you know what that?" Ash asked.
"I do." Twilight nodded. "I saw it outside as well. That energy coming out of them is definitely cosmic. And those are Desires."
"Desires?" Ash repeated.
"Oh right! Those things!" Pinkie Pie remembered when Twilight's Desire revealed itself in Ponyville.
"What are Desires?" Fluttershy asked.
"They're like these manifestations of everyone's wants and needs and all that." Pinkie Pie was explaining it herself. "When they show up, bad things start to happen out of nowhere."
"Well...That's actually spot on." Twilight was surprised by how quickly and simply Pinkie Pie described it. Much shorter than what she was going to say.
"So, Rarity and everypony want revenge on Ash?" Fluttershy was confused.
"I don't think so. They kept referring to someone. A her." Ash shook his head. "And Rarity didn't know herself. So they're obviously not in control of themselves."
"Well, who is this mysterious lady? And why would she have it out for you for revenge?" Twilight wondered. "Is it Jessie?!"
"I don't think so. Jessie doesn't hate me that much." Ash held his hat before remembering the one lady who absolutely despises him. And she had just been brought back recently too. "J."
"J?" Pinkie and Fluttershy both said.
"Oh right!" Twilight remembered the name after Ash had brought her up. "So that must be her Desire! Did it spread out that far?"
"Who's J?" Fluttershy had more questions.
"A Pokemon Hunter. And not someone who's pretty fond of me." Ash explained. "She just recently popped up and started going back to stealing Pokemon.
"Pokemon Hunter?!" Pinkie and Fluttershy gasped.
"With someone as dangerous as her having a Desire unleashed, then everyone it affects will be fueled by her revenge for you. Not sure J herself knows this." Twilight turned around.
"How do we fix this?" Fluttershy flew over to Twilight.
"That's simple. Princess Celestia and Passion can. Passion can tap into the memories of someone, interacting with their Desire. But J...J might not be so friendly." Twilight gulped. "I just hope Celestia can fix this as soon as possible. In the meantime, we should keep you safe here, Ash."
"Better find a good place to hide." Pinkie looked outside to see how there were already ponies searching for Ash while some ponies who weren't affected by the Desire were still so confused.
An unexpected day for Ash. Most of Ponyville is now heavily hostile towards him. And it was all the cause of a Desire from J. Fueled by revenge, her Desire to get Ash out of the way was immense. Ash is now a public enemy of Ponyville. Most of it anyway as the journey continues.
Currently, there was a major problem. Most of the ponies here were under the influence of Pokemon Hunter J's Desire, only having one motivation and goal. Exacting revenge on Ash Ketchum.
And they won't stop until they crush him. The ones that were influenced by the Desires were searching for Ash in Ponyville, exploring every part they could.
All the while, Ash was hiding in Twilight's castle with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Their main hope was Princess Celestia and Passion, who can tap into the mind of the victim and interact with their Desires. But, they also knew that they had to conceal Ash for now.
"We're at the highest part of the castle," Twilight said. "Nopony will hear us from this distance."
"Sorry this is happening to you, Ash," Fluttershy spoke to Ash while Scorbunny was on her back.
"Scorbun."
"It's fine." Ash waved his hand. "This'll all be over soon when Celestia and Passion find J."
"Pika."
"So how long are we gonna stay here?" Spike asked as he was one of the few who hadn't been influenced by the Desire. Along with Sunset Shimmer. But Starlight was nowhere to be seen so she was left ambiguous.
"Hopefully not too long. I'm not sure how Princess Celestia and Passion will interact with J. Her Desire might be very different from others. In which they're not so friendly." Twilight shook her head.
"Nopony's coming towards the castle yet." Pinkie peeked her eyes through the windows, seeing how everypony hadn't approached Twilight's castle and were still searching other buildings for Ash. "Maybe they think Twilight's influenced too."
"Maybe. But they don't seem to mind everypony else. They didn't even plan on attacking you or Fluttershy. Only Ash." Twilight noticed.
"J doesn't have any hate towards us since she's never seen us," Fluttershy replied. "So everypony else is safe. I just hope they don't get caught up in all of this trouble."
"Come to think of it..." Twilight thought about something for a bit. "Passion can release Desires because of her ability to read minds and connect with them. Can Aura do the same?"
Curious about that, Twilight flew over to her bookshelf to see if Aura could help in this. It is somewhat identical to Passion's abilities after all. Besides, Cynthia's Lucario did help against the Desires with Passion back at Undella Town. But not mentally. That was all Passion.
It was already well-known that Celestia and Passion would be on this immediately since they have the power to break the Desires thanks to Passion's ability to connect with emotions.
But they still had to do something. It wasn't a 100% guarantee that they'll just avoid Twilight's castle. After all, even if they won't attack those who aren't Ash, they'll search all of Ponyville either way.
And right outside, sounds of Pokemon attacks being used could be heard. Mainly from Audino. She could hear attacks breaking through the buildings of Ponyville as the influenced ponies and Pokemon were planning on tearing the place down if it means finding Ash.
Noticeably, their actions and behaviours were becoming more violent as time went by. Mostly from J who somewhere out there right now. If this keeps up, they could reach a point where their violence will threaten more than just Ash.
Not just that, but J's Desire was actually developing like most Desires, to the point where it could speak to the victims it had influenced. And J wasn't even the one controlling it herself.
"Keep searching. Don't stop until you find that brat." The Desire of J spoke.
Adagio and her sisters looked out the window, witnessing the current situation. They had even heard the conversation between Ash and his pursuers. AKA most of Ponyville.
"Ash is wanted? When did this happen?" Sonata wondered.
"No idea. But they're gonna end up thrashing our home if they're so desperate to find him." Aria said.
"Hmph. Doesn't bother me." Adagio quickly put up a magic shield around the house to prevent anyone from ruining it. "As long as they don't mess with us, then it's not our problem."
But, even with Adagio's shield around the house, the same can't be said for everypony's homes instead. The ponies who weren't influenced weren't too pleased with their homes being destroyed all of a sudden.
Some were even stepping up to the influenced ponies, yelling at them and asking why they were attacking their homes. Quickly, conflict arose between those that were influenced and those that weren't.
And of course, Adagio's thirst for negativity enjoyed that very much. Quickly realizing that there was little progress being made in finding Ash, the influenced ponies needed to do something else.
"Nothing so far." Rarity's eyes flashed. "But...There's only one place left." She then looked over at Twilight's castle, knowing that it was the only building unchecked. Or as an alternative, Twilight's lab. That's where her sights were set on.
And the same went for the other influenced ponies as they all looked over at Twilight's castle. Some of the ponies who weren't influenced were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were more confused than anypony here.
"Sweetie Belle. Why is your sister destroying Ponyville with everypony else?" Scootaloo asked.
"I don't know." Sweetie Belle replied. "She just woke up today and started doing this. I think it's about Ash, right?"
"Something about that. But not everypony's affected. My family's still fine." Apple Bloom said.
"Maybe it's just a fun game they're doing. Even if...they're smashing stuff." Scootaloo gulped.
"But look. They're headed for Twilight's castle. You don't think it's legal to break a princess's castle is it?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
"It shouldn't be." Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo replied to her. They poked through the corner of the building they were hiding behind, watching everypony approach Twilight's Castle and lab.
Out in the mountains.
And the saying of Celestia and Passion off to deal with this problem was 100% true. The moment Passion was able to sense that something was wrong and a Desire was spreading, she and her trainer got to work.
Celestia and Passion arrived at the mountainside, searching for whoever spawned the Desire so that they can revert them and obliterate the Desire.
However, when arriving here, Passion soon discovered that she could barely feel the Desire at all. As if it was very faint. Most noticeably, the Pokemon who had been hit by J's Desire were all searching for Ash by gradually leaving the mountainside. While they didn't know who Ash was, there was an eerie voice coming from the Desire that was telling them where to go.
Most of them had actually already left the mountainside. Now they were somewhere in Equestria, searching for Ash while driven by J's revenge. And the remaining Pokemon were close to leaving her.
"Hm. Passion. Do you sense it?" Celestia asked.
"Voir." Passion couldn't expertly track down the Desire. It wasn't as potent as the other Desires she had come across. Mostly because this Desire was only 1% instead of 99%. So in a sense, it was masking itself.
Not only that but there was another reason why.
J wasn't at her hideout right now. She had most likely gone to the Pokemon Black Market in Unova or Sinnoh by this point, so her presence with the Desire wasn't here, making it impossible for Passion to find her.
"Garde..." Passion was unsure for the first time. With the victim of the Desire nowhere to be found or sensed, the Embrace Pokemon was stumped and didn't know what to do.
However, it didn't mean that she and Celestia wouldn't have some sort of lead. Passion noticed one of the Pokemon's eyes were flashing purple while another pulsating cosmic energy.
That was a major red flag.
"Gardevoir!" Passion had spotted multiple Pokemon with those same pulses and flashes, showing Celestia. Not all of them had them, showing that only a select number of Pokemon from the mountainside had been influenced.
"Oh! Do the Pokemon have the Desires?! Multiple of them?!" Celestia gasped.
"Voir." It looked like it from what Passion had seen. But for multiple Pokemon to have Desires at the same time would be new and unexpected. But that wasn't the case. They were all being fueled by one source.
Passion, believing that all of these Pokemon had different Desires, decided to try and free them one by one. She wasn't sure if she could do it simultaneously. However, Passion then realized that there wasn't any sign of their Desire Manifestations.
It was just the Pokemon and nothing else. Their manifestations weren't showing themselves.
"Garde?" Passion, confused as to why no manifestations were showing up, pressed on either way. She decided to go after the first Pokemon she spotted.
A Sudowoodo that was searching for Ash was her first decision. The Embrace Pokemon flew over to the Imitation Pokemon, ready to tap into its mind.
"Sudo?" The Rock-Type turned around, spotting Passion approaching.
"Voir. Gardevoir." Passion kindly asked if she could tap into Sudowoodo's mind for a bit. She mentioned how she wasn't here to harm Sudowoodo or anyone here. It was just a quick checkup on something.
"Woodo." Much like everyone else, Sudowoodo had no hostility towards Gardevoir. Only Ash. Anyone else is essentially neutral. A bit of an odd contrast since that symbolizes that only Ash is the enemy and everyone else is fine. Especially if seen by a cute Pokemon that looks harmless.
So, Passion put her hands on Sudowoodo's head as she started to tap into his mind, expecting to find his Desire. But, she would end up finding something else.
As Passion's eyes flashed white while Sudowoodo closed his eyes, the Embrace Pokemon had already delved into the mind of the Imitation Pokemon, viewing his many memories. From his birth to his life experiences.
But, that wasn't the most important thing Passion found. What she ended up finding related to the events that transpired last night and led to today.
Passion saw this mountainside specifically since Sudowoodo lives here. By further tightening her focus, she wanted to know more and see if she could spot the moment the Desire appeared.
She could see that the Imitation Pokemon was resting behind a tree during the night. And while resting, a purple pulse of energy hit him from behind. Sudowoodo himself didn't know where the pulse came from since it was widespread in the form of a radius, of course.
The pulses could also be seen affecting most of the Pokemon here from Sudowoodo's point of view as well as them transforming into particles and scattering across the sky, heading towards different locations in Equestria.
Passion needed to know who those particles had hit. But, that was as far as she could go. Sudowoodo's memory of the Desire only exists in the mountainside.
However, before she could stop, she was able to see one last thing. Once Sudowoodo had been hit by the pulse, he had also seen the words Revenge on Ash Ketchum forming together with cosmic energy.
Passion had finally understood what was really going on. Someone who hated Ash was the cause of this as she had put two and two together easily. A hatred so strong that they would desire revenge, promptly causing a Desire to find them.
After that, Passion took her hands off Sudowoodo's head.
"G-Gardevoir?!" The Psychic-Fairy-Type soon knew that right now, Ash was public enemy number one. And those particles in the sky also came from the same Desire that hit Sudowoodo and the rest of the Pokemon here.
"Passion! What did you find out?!"
"Voir! Gardevoir?!" Passion raised her arm into the sky before explaining what all these Pokemon were now aiming to do.
"Revenge on Ash?!" Celestia gasped. "All of these Pokemon? And the rest of Equestria?"
"Voir." Passion then listened to all the Pokemon and their cries, hearing them talking about Ash specifically and how they were trying to find him. And nothing else.
"So then...who did it come from? Ghetsis?" Celestia wondered. She thought that the Desire came from Ghetsis since he clearly hates Ash. If it was him, then that would be the hardest Desire to conquer. But, there are potentially others who hate Ash and Celestia was hoping that it would be someone new and not Ghetsis.
"Voir! Gardevoir!"
"Oh! We should check on Ash first?"
"Garde!" Passion nodded.
"Hmm. If those particles have spread across Equestria, anypony would want to find Ash. And if it's Ghetsis who generated this Desire then..." Celestia held her breath in. She didn't want to deal with Ghetsis this early on. Especially with what her Cerebral Training had shown.
But, they also had to see what was currently happening with Ash since so many were about to exact revenge on him under someone else's desire for revenge.
However, Celestia decided to think ahead of the curve. Sudowoodo may not have their answer as to who caused the Desire, but with how many Pokemon there were here, someone had to.
"Passion. Before we leave, aside from Sudowoodo, there must be other Pokemon here who had seen where the pulse had come from via their point of view. Tap into their memories and see what you can find."
"Gardevoir." Passion understood as she got to work. She quickly teleported to the next Pokemon she saw while Celestia followed with her own teleportation.
Passion appeared in front of a Linoone who had also been influenced by this burning revenge. This time, Passion didn't want to wait to ask Linoone if she could tap into his memories. She just did it right away by putting both her hands on his head.
"Linoone?" The Rushing Pokemon's eyes widened after being held by Passion.
"Voir!" Passion looked into Linoone's memories, fast-forwarding to the night the Desire showed up, but from his point of view.
During that night, Linoone was also resting like Sudowoodo and some of the Pokemon who weren't nocturnal. Until he heard the sound of the pulse going off which woke him up.
At that time, Linoone was at a higher location than Sudowoodo instead of being behind a tree. Linoone's point of view had actually witnessed the first few Pokemon who had been hit by the Desire, but not where the Desire originally came from.
However, now Passion had a lead on which Pokemon she should ask first. A Mareep, Doduo and a Bonsly. Those were the first few Pokemon that Linoone had seen being hit by the Desire.
"Voir." Passion took her arms off Linoone's head, quickly searching for those three Pokemon that had been hit. Not wasting any time, the Embrace Pokemon started teleporting all over the place, searching for either Pokemon, hoping that they hadn't left yet to find Ash.
"Ash will be fine," Celestia said to herself. "It will take more than an entire nation to stop him." She was sure that Ash could make it out of this.
After all, he's been through worse.
Ponyville, Twilight's Castle.
It didn't take long for Rarity and the others to arrive at Twilight's castle. Especially her Pheromosa, who was the fastest Pokemon in Ponyville.
"Mosa!" Not wanting to ask questions, Pheromosa kicked the door down to Twilight's castle. Hearing the door being broken down altered Ash and the others who were all the way upstairs.
"Already?!" Twilight gasped. "It's only been 17 minutes! How fast did they search Ponyville?!
"Oh, dear!" Fluttershy yelped as she hid behind Audino.
"Pheromosa probably." Ash stood up, knowing that things were about to escalate once more.
"Pika...!" Pikachu and everyone could hear the sounds of everypony searching the inside of Twilight's castle, starting from the bottom.
However, Audino heard Rarity command Pheromosa to head upstairs and find Ash. Since she was the fastest, she could traverse the castle quicker than anyone here.
"Dino! Audino!" Audino quickly warned Fluttershy.
"Pheromosa's coming!" Fluttershy translated for everyone. "We need to do something!"
"No need to worry!" Pinkie Pie slid in with her own idea as well as Mew. "Mew and I have a really good plan!"
"Mew-Mew!"
"Well, what is it?" Twilight asked. "Hurry, Pheromosa could be here any second."
"Okay, Mew. Go!"
"Mew!" Mew nodded as he was ready to pull off this plan. He was going to transform into a Pokemon that could successfully hide Ash and the others from Rarity and the others.
And with his body glowing pink, the Pokemon he transformed into was a Cofagrigus. The Coffin Pokemon. "Cofagrigus!"
"Cofagrigus?" Sunset wondered how Cofagrigus would help with this? "Why?"
"Oh! Good thinking, you two!" Ash knew exactly why Pinkie Pie and Mew chose Cofagrigus.
"Go, Mew, go!" Pinkie Pie ordered.
"Grigus!" As a Cofagrigus, Mew used its ghostly hands to grab only Ash and Pikachu. Ash was the prime target and Pikachu was always by his side.
Mew then opened up the coffin of Cofagrigus's body, quickly pulling Ash and Pikachu inside of it. A clever action since it could act as a hiding spot that no other Pokemon could break into.
"Yeah. That could actually work." Twilight nodded. "Don't worry, Ash. We won't give you away."
"I know you guys won't. Pikachu and I will be right back." Ash gave thumbs up before sinking into the darkness of Cofagrigus along with Pikachu.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Cofa!" Afterwards, Mew closed the coffin, hiding Ash and Pikachu in there. But he wasn't done yet. Since he was taking the form of a Ghost-Type, he could mask himself in various ways.
Using Cofagrigus's intangibility and Ghost-like physiology, Mew made himself invisible while also phasing through the walls of Twilight Castle. Mew was going to get Ash out of here so that everyone would believe he wasn't in Twilight's castle.
Now they were truly hidden.
And at the right time too. Pheromosa came bursting in, smashing the door down with no remorse. It seemed that as time went on, the actions of Pheromosa and the others were growing more violent.
"Ah!" Twilight and the others gasped as Ash's Gengar also made himself invisible.
"Axew...!" Axew stood in front of Spike, ready to protect him if he was to be threatened along with everyone else.
"Phero."
"Morning, Twilight." Rarity hopped off Pheromosa's back. "You wouldn't happen to have Ash in here would you?"
"Mmm..." Fluttershy shuddered as she kept hiding behind Audino while Chikorita and Scorbunny grabbed onto her hoof.
"No. He's not here." Twilight was ready to lie to the best of her abilities. "But I heard everything outside. You wanting to take revenge on Ash."
"Precisely. And you're sure he's not here?" Rarity's eyes intensified while looking at Twilight as other ponies were slowly approaching the upstairs of Twilight's castle.
"Rarity. You and Ash are great friends. Why would you want to suddenly take revenge out on him? Especially for someone you don't know." Twilight asked.
"I..." Rarity held her head. Twilight's words really hit her. In truth, only Ash and Twilight know about Hunter J and just recently Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, while the others don't. At least, not yet. "It's for her."
"But why? You've never seen her before?" Twilight walked forward. "There's no way you'd want to hurt Ash even after all we've been through with him."
"Kh!" Rarity scoffed as the intensity of the energy was increasing in colour.
"It doesn't make sense! Especially since the one you're being influenced by is a Pokemon Hunter!" Twilight exclaimed
"A Pokemon Hunter?!" Rarity's head started aching as she growled. The Desire that was influencing her was acting up. And that was for a good reason.
Because while 99% of it is J, 1% is Twilight. So in a sense, Twilight was combating her own Desire yet again but this time, it was a part of others.
"Is it working against the Desire?!" Fluttershy noticed.
"I don't have time for this!" Rarity's tone became sharper as now her eyes were permanently surrounded by a purple aura. "Twilight. Tell us where Ash is."
"I said I don't know." Twilight kept hiding Ash from them.
"Tch. Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie. You were the last seen with Ash. Where is he?" Rarity asked.
"Um...Sorry. Not sure. We lost each other in the smoke." Fluttershy whimpered.
"You won't find any Ash's here!" Pinkie Pie let out a cheerful smile.
"Spike." Rarity looked to Spike, knowing that she could take advantage of him.
"Uh oh." Spike gulped as Rarity was approaching him.
"You're a dear, aren't you? Would you be so kind as to tell me where Ash is? You'd do it for me, wouldn't you?" Rarity questioned as the rest of the ponies had arrived upstairs after finding nothing downstairs. Many of them were coming through the broken door thanks to Pheromosa.
"Um..." Spike started sweating as Axew stood in front of him. "Sorry. I was here with Twilight the entire time. But you're really scaring me Rarity!"
"Hm." Rarity narrowed her eyes, doubtful about all of this.
"Xew! Axew!" Axew got in Rarity's face, essentially telling her to back away from Spike.
"Hm?" Rarity moved back.
"Axew!"
"Rarity. You're being controlled by Hunter J's Desire right now. You're not in your right mind." Twilight walked to Rarity. "You don't actually want to destroy Ash, do you? You can't let someone get in the way of your friendship for Ash!"
"I just need to, alright?!" Twilight's words weren't going through, unfortunately. J's Desire to take revenge on Ash was far too powerful. And more noticeably, Rarity was becoming more aggressive, much like everyone else. Very soon, it would be more than just Ash they would hurt if pushed further.
"No good." Twilight backed away. "It's not reaching her. I guess only Passion is capable of doing so. Please hurry, Princess Celestia."
"Perhaps he's gone back to Pallet Town." Rarity theorized as her aggression had reached another level. "But just to be sure...I'm sorry about this, Twilight. Pheromosa! Smash the castle apart!"
"Phero!" Pheromosa was about to do just that. She was going to break this castle apart just to find Ash as she raised her leg.
"Sol!" But, Absol wasn't having any of that as he rushed towards Pheromosa. When the Lissome Pokemon struck her foot down, Absol quickly used his horn to block Pheromosa's leg, preventing her from breaking the castle.
"Mosa?!"
"Absol!" Absol quickly pushed Pheromosa back by flipping his horn up which moved the LIssome Pokemon's leg away.
"I can't let you do that, Rarity." Twilight declared. "You're not in your right mind."
"You're going to get in our way?" Rarity narrowed her eyes while everypony turned their attention to Twilight and Absol.
"We sure are. Besides, you're not taking revenge out on us. Only Ash. You can't harm us can you?" Twilight smirked.
Little did she know, as Rarity grew more frustrated, her hostility did too. Since they were all being fueled by J's thirst for vengeance, becoming easily irritated was one of them.
"I might have to." Rarity growled which startled Twilight a bit.
"Absol!" And clearly, Absol wouldn't allow Rarity to harm Twilight. Neither would Eve.
"Espeon!"
"Come on!" Pinkie Pie got between Twilight and Rarity. We're all friends here, right? We can't let some Desire thing tear us apart like this."
"Right. Besides...we don't want to see Ash get hurt," said Fluttershy. "And we know that deep down, none of you actually want to really hurt him."
"I know that but...!" Rarity held her head. Somewhere, deep down, Rarity's true self could understand what Twilight and the others were saying. But, they were unable to tap into the Desires like Passion can.
What's worse, J's Desire, without even having J herself be in control, was speaking through Rarity and the others, further manipulating them.
"Forget about your friendship. Destroy anyone who gets in your way and find Ash immediately." The Desire of J spoke.
"Ugh!" The more J's Desire spoke to Rarity, the more her head started to twitch. Somewhere, Rarity was still trying to fight against the Desire. "The rest of you can head to Pallet Town and see if Ash is there. This place is mine."
"Rarity. Don't make us do this." Twilight stomped her hoof. At this point, conflict was inevitable.
Nothing was getting through to Rarity and the others and the search for Ash was imminent as everypony else were heading for the other world, expecting Ash to be there. In the meanwhile, Rarity still believed that Ash was somewhere in Equestria.
Speaking of Ash, he and Pikachu had been successfully driven away from everyone thanks to Mew. They had actually arrived at the Everfree Forest.
Mew turned visible as he released Ash and Pikachu from the coffin before reverting into his normal Mew self. "Mew!"
"Thanks a bunch, Mew!"
"Pikachu!"
"Mew-Mew!"
"But ya know, I'm still pretty worried." Ash looked down. "About everyone else."
"Pikapi..."
"I wasn't really ready for J to have a Desire. Especially one that's out to get me. Gotta do something."
"Mew-Mew."
"Let me see if Rainbow Dash knows." He quickly took out his Xtransceiver, calling for Rainbow Dash to alert her about the current situation. If she was available that is.
He turned on the Xtransceiver as the Rainbow Dash's Trainer ID was being called. Ash was waiting for a response while standing in the eerie atmosphere of the Everfree Forest. But he really wasn't scared of it at all.
Eventually, Rainbow Dash picked up Ash's call. But once the call had been answered, Rainbow Dash's face couldn't be seen. Only the blue sky and some rapid movement.
"Rainbow Dash?" Ash squinted at the screen. "Are you there?"
"Closer than you think!" The pegasus actually did respond to him but in a natural way. Her face still wasn't being shown on the screen.
Abruptly, with some warning, Ash could hear the sound of something moving at high speeds as he could also hear it from the Xtrasnceiver.
And then it clicked. Ash's Aura responded to this sound as Ash looked up to see that Rainbow Dash was actually approaching him with her hoof ready to smash into Ash.
"Oh!" Ash gasped as he, Pikachu and Mew jumped back with Rainbow Dash crashing into the ground, shaking it a small bit.
"Heh!" Rainbow Dash's eyes flared purple in the smoke as she had a devious grin on her face. Out of all the ones who had been influenced, Rainbow Dash was the most aggressive one so far.
"You too?!"
"Nothing personal, Ash! But you're going down!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Pika!"
"Mew?!"
"I don't wanna do this. I don't want to hurt you all, ya know." Ash refused to harm his friends.
"Huh? Pssh! What, you're too scared?" Rainbow chuckled. "If you're not gonna fight back then you're better off as good as dust!" Rainbow Dash didn't use her Pokemon for this. Instead, she felt like she was enough to take out Ash.
The multi-coloured maned mare quickly flew towards Ash, aiming to crash right into him. Ash made sure not to harm Rainbow Dash as he made Pikachu stand back for this. Ash's Aura helped him to match with Rainbow's speed as he quickly swayed his body to the left, throwing Rainbow Dash off guard.
"Woah!" Rainbow Dash screeched as she almost crashed into a tree. But she ended up recovering easily in the air. "Why you...!" Annoyed by Ash's dodge, Rainbow Dash went for another attack.
"Pikachu! Don't attack her!" Ash already saw that Pikachu was eager to attack Rainbow Dash. When it comes to Ash, he'll do anything to protect him.
Ash kept dodging Rainbow Dash, not engaging physically as Rainbow Dash was moving so fast that she was breaking through trees and smashing the ground trying to catch Ash. No Pokemon were used this time.
Rainbow Dash swung her hoof towards Ash, trying to sock him in the face. But Ash held his hand out, catching Rainbow Dash's hoof. She then tried her other hoof before having it be caught by Ash's other hand.
"What happened to not fighting back, huh?!" Rainbow Dash growled as she was trying to push through Ash while her hooves were being held.
"I said I won't!" Ash replied. "Even if you attack me with all you have, I won't hurt you! I know you don't really wanna take revenge out on me deep down inside!"
"Tch! What do you know?!"
"A lot! I know that a Desire's controlling you!"
"Desire?"
"Hunter J's the one who wants revenge on me. Not you Rainbow Dash." Ash suddenly spoke in a calming voice. "Even if you do hurt me, you won't actually try and fully get rid of me, will you? And besides, there's no way I'm gonna let myself go down here."
Ash's Aura was clashing with the Rift energy coming out of Rainbow Dash. Aura is the only thing that can combat Rift energy at the end of the day and this was an example of two powerful universal forces going against each other.
But noticeably, Ash's Aura, being so immense, was starting to give off a familiar feeling. One that Lucario and Passion can also emit.
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash looked into Ash's eyes as his Aura was interacting with her. One thing Aura Guardians and Lucario have in common with Gardevoir is that they can both sense emotions and essentially read minds. Whether with Aura or Fairy Magic.
It's why Passion can tap into the mind of anyone and connect with their Desires. And Lucario along with Aura functions similarly but with slight differences.
"Grr!" Rainbow Dash flew back as she could feel her head twitching. She then ascended into the air, figuring that she could have better results by hitting Ash at greater speeds. Speeds that even he couldn't avoid. "How would you like a Sonic Rainboom?!"
"Pikapi!"
"Don't Pikachu." Ash was remaining calm throughout this.
"Pika?"
"Mew?"
Rainbow ascended higher into the air, kicking up high amounts of wind. A Sonic Rainboom coming into contact with anyone would be a bit catastrophic depending on the target.
Ash simply stood still, not engaging in any further conflict as his Aura was responding to this entire situation. Aside from Spiritomb, Aura Ataxia, battling Ghetsis and his Lucario, this was the most Ash's Aura has been active.
Years of spending time with various Lucario from different parts of the world had led to this moment. A moment where Lucario himself could sense Ash's Aura rising as he came out of his Poke Ball.
"Lu." Lucario emerged from his Poke Ball, crossing his arms and denying any contact with Ash. Rainbow Dash gained enough distance as she rocketed downwards, instantly creating a Sonic Rainboom while approaching Ash at high speeds.
Ash suddenly stepped in front of Lucario instead of allowing Lucario to be his shield. His Steel-Typing would definitely help in this situation. But, Lucario could sense Ash's confidence brimming from his Aura, so he trusted him. "Cario.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes as the last thing Pikachu, Mew and Lucario saw was Rainbow Dash crashing into Ash at ludicrous speeds. Afterwards, a multicoloured rainbow explosion happened on the spot, rupturing the entire forest as it could be heard even from Ponyville.
And that certainly grabbed the attention of Rarity and the others. They had seen the Sonic Rainboom outside, alerting them all. The voice of J then told them to head to that specific location where Rainbow Dash's actions were ongoing.
At least, they were.
After the explosion was clearing, a large crater could be seen. Pikachu gasped, believing Ash had been hit while Lucario remained adamant.
And he did in fact get hit. Rainbow Dash's hoof had smashed into Ash's face. But Ash was still standing on the spot, smack dab in the middle of the crater as if he hadn't even moved.
His Aura had caught Rainbow Dash in response to her emotions. Rainbow pulled her hoof back after the impact, surprised to see the result.
"What?" Rainbow Dash was shocked at what she was seeing.
"Told ya." Ash gave a thumbs-up as his Aura had protected him from the harsh impact. "I won't go down here." He adjusted his hat. "You know that yourself, Dash. You don't go down so easily yourself."
Unknowingly, Ash's Aura was connecting with Rainbow Dash, affecting her mind. The pegasus froze in place as Ash's Aura was actually fighting back against J's Desire via a sort of mental battle.
Ash's Aura was far greater than J's hatred for him. After all, a bit of Twilight was within the Desire, so Aura was capable of getting through to Rainbow Dash.
"Ugh!" Rainbow Dash held her head as two different forms of energy were currently going about in her mind. Ash's Aura had obliterated the Desire as opposed to Passion who can just release the Desire, causing it to fade away.
Rainbow's eyes then flashed blue as Aura started flowing out of her. An echoing cry and bright light came out of her. The Desire of J, at least one of them, had left her mind, causing Rainbow Dash to revert.
"Ough..." She groaned as she fell on the ground.
"Rainbow Dash!" Ash ran to her side, picking the pegasus up from the ground. "You doing okay now?"
"Mm...Totally." Rainbow nodded. "Sorry about that, Ash."
"Don't worry about it." Ash placed her down. "I don't know what all that blue stuff was but it worked."
"Duh. That was your Aura." Rainbow Dash pointed out. "You're the only one who gives it off after all."
"My Aura?" Ash then thought back to what Twilight said. "So Twilight was right...Aura can do the trick."
"Pika?"
A helpful revelation. Ash's Aura can act as a secondary way to get rid of the Desires. However, there were still so many influenced by J. Not just in Ponyville. But all of Equestria as Rarity and the others were approaching Ash.
When Ash's Aura obliterated a piece of J's Desire, the Desire made the other victims aware of this, telling them where to go if they want to find Ash.
Even if one of his friends had been freed, this was far from over.
No luck. Passion could not find the three Pokemon who had a closer look at the moment the Desire emerged. Specifically a Mareep, Doduo and a Bonsly. But they were nowhere to be found.
But, the reason for this could be the fact that most of the Pokemon here had already left the mountainside to find Ash. All for the sake of getting revenge for J who wasn't even in control of her own Desire.
By this point, Passion was unable to find those specific three Pokemon. And to add insult to injury, there were indeed a Mareep, Doduo and Bonsly here, but they weren't even the right ones. They were just random ones who hadn't been influenced by J's Desire.
This basically made it clear that the Mareep, Doduo and Bonsly who were affected by the Desire were long gone from here. And soon, in just a few minutes, very little Pokemon that weren't influenced would be the only ones here.
"Gardevoir." Passion sighed, failing to find a viable source. Even when she could find those three Pokemon, she tried tapping into the memories of other Pokemon. But none could give her a solid view of where the pulse originated from.
And for good reason. Since J's hideout was in a cave and she absolutely terrified all the Pokemon here, no one would dare go near her.
The Pokemon all chose to stay far away from the cave where J lives. Thus, when the pulse hit, no one actually saw where it came from. Mareep, Doduo and Bonsly only saw the pulse first because they were the closest to the cave. But they never saw the cave.
"No luck, huh?" Celestia said.
"Voir."
"It's fine, Passion. At least we know what this Desire is doing. We should go now. To see Ash. I know he's alright since he can handle himself, but I'm worried about everypony else. We'll also have to free the Pokemon from the Desire as well. Let's hurry." Celestia was ready to teleport to Ponyville along with her Gardevoir.
The mountainside was a failure in their eyes. But little did Celestia and Passion know, the source of the Desire would be here still. But right now, since J was in the Pokemon World, making shady transitions and deals at the Pokemon Black Market, her presence wasn't known.
Neither was her cave. It was so well-hidden in the mountains no wonder J chose it.
Speaking of Ponyville, Rarity and the influenced were approaching the Everfree Forest after witnessing the Sonic Rainboom and the flash of Aura coming out of them.
However, they weren't going to approach him casually. This time, they were going to sneak up on Ash and catch him by surprise
But, Twilight wouldn't let her as she stood in the way of Rarity. She teleported out of her castle, appearing before the influenced unicorn. Twilight would protect Ash no matter what.
Around the same time, Celestia had appeared in Ponyville. The spot she ended up in was Twilight's castle. Right on her balcony. When arriving in Ponyville, Celestia was more than ready to tackle whatever type of revenge plan was happening right now.
"Again, Twilight?" Rarity growled.
"I've already made it clear that I won't let you...or anyone near Ash." Twilight declared.
"Pah!" Rarity scoffed. "You're only protecting him because you're infatuated by him!"
"And because he's your friend too!" Twilight yelled back. "I can't allow friends to harm each other for no good reason." Once more, since 1% of the Desire was Twilight's and 99% was J, Twilight's words were making Rarity's head hurt, showing that she could slightly get to her even when influenced. But it wasn't enough.
The Desire of J could see that Twilight was also a threat like Ash. She didn't have Aura or abilities like Passion, but since a part of her was still a part of the Desire, she has the potential to also break the influence.
Knowing this, the Desire of J further influenced Rarity to ignore her friend and crush her either way. Now Rarity's aggression had reached a point where she will no longer hesitate to harm her friends to exact revenge for J. The other influenced ponies however decided to leave everything to Rarity while they pursue Ash in the Everfree Forest.
"So be it." Rarity's eyes flashed. "Pheromosa! Close Combat!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa dashed forward with her eyes glowing purple.
"Eve! Dazzling Gleam!"
"Espeon!" Preventing Pheromosa from advancing any further, Eve launched herself with a bright shine of rainbow aura around her. The shine was so great that it blinded Pheromosa's eyes for a bit, throwing her off balance as Eve managed to find an opening, crashing into Pheromosa with Dazzling Gleam.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa veered on the ground as she rubbed her eyes.
"Pinkie! Fluttershy! Go and help Ash!" Twilight chose to stay here and deal with Rarity.
"Oh, alright!" Fluttershy nodded in understanding, quickly getting a move on to the Everfree Forest with Pinkie Pie following along. "Be safe, Twilight!"
"Absol. Go and help them. Eve and I will take it from here." Twilight offered to let Absol help Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. She trusts him to do an amazing job of protecting them from any harm and especially Ash.
"Sol!"
"Hmph! You should know that when it comes to speed my Pheromosa is the fastest Pokemon in Ponyville!" Rarity chided.
"So?" Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Eve and I have taken a Pheromosa down ourselves before. Remember? And we're much better than before when we were against Adagio."
"Espeon!"
"Bah! Pheromosa! Use Ice Beam!"
"Phero...!" Pheromosa put her hands together, creating a blue ball of chilling energy while standing in place. Ranged moves are the only time where Pheromosa doesn't use her ludicrous running speed as she unleashed a beam of ice.
"Eve! Shadow Ball, go!"
"Eon!" Eve had her own ranged attack in the form of Shadow Ball. By generating a ball of shadows from her mouth, the Sun Pokemon hurled it straight towards Ice Beam. Both moves clashed, equalling each other out before creating a smoke cloud.
"Quick Attack!"
"Esp!" Taking advantage of the smoke and acting a little bit like Absol, Eve moved through the smoke at lightning speeds, smashing her head onto Pheromosa's stomach.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa had been slightly pushed back by that.
"Pheromosa! Use Foul Play!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa was about to turn Eve's power against her since that was the point of the attack, Foul Play. The Lissome Pokemon quickly recovered as she kicked Eve in the face, launching her back.
"Esp!"
"Dazzling Gleam!"
"Eon!" But, even when being hit by a super-effective move to the face, Eve could still carry on as her body was consumed in a rainbow sphere while in midair.
From above, Eve released multiple rainbow rays from the sphere, making them rain down on Pheromosa.
"Pheromo?!"
"Dodge them!"
"Pheromosa!" Pheromosa, using her amazing speed which had also been increased thanks to Beast Boost, began running away from the rays of Fairy magic.
"Figured you'd dodge," Twilight smirked, already knowing what she was up against when it comes to Pheromosa's speed. Combine Quick Attack and Dazzling Gleam!
"Espeon!" By using the speed of Quick Attack and the power of Dazzling Gleam, the Sun Pokemon dashed downwards with a silver trail of aura behind her while her rainbow sphere was growing in size.
This time, instead of firing rays from the sphere, Eve was just going to increase the brightness of Dazzling Gleam to blind Pheromosa while getting closer to her.
"Mosa?!" Pheromosa noticed Eve approaching at high speeds as the bright light from Dazzling Gleam, once again, got in her eyes, temporarily blinding the Ultra Beast. "Phero!"
"Espeon!" Now that Pheromosa was standing still with her eyes closed, Eve took advantage of this and used the remaining power of Dazzling Gleam to crash into the Lissome Pokemon, sending her to the ground and forming a rainbow explosion afterwards.
Eve jumped out of the smoke as a crater had been formed from the sudden crash. And in that crater, Pheromosa could be seen lying down. She was on the verge of fainting because of how frail she was.
"P-Phero...!"
"That's that. Eve and I don't want to harm Pheromosa any further," said Twilight. "So please, Rarity. Try and get through that Desire if you can."
"Pheromosa!" Rarity rushed over to Pheromosa's side, worried about her. Even with J's Desire, she still had care and love in her. "Are you alright?!"
"M-Mosa...!" Pheromosa twitched. That Dazzling Gleam really did a number on her.
"You still care for Pheromosa and your Pokemon like normal." Twilight pointed out. "And I bet...Even when you eventually catch Ash, you won't actually destroy him, will you? A part of you won't let that happen. You can hurt him all you want but you won't go that far. Not for a great friend like him."
"Espeon."
Once more, Twilight's own words were interacting with the small semblance of her Desire that was still within her. Gradually, the more she spoke, the more Rarity's head twitched as her mind was having a mental battle against J's Desire.
Deep down, Rarity wanted to break free from the Desire. And rushing to the aid of her Pheromosa while listening to Twilight was giving her that slim chance.
"So please, Rarity. Can you come back to us?"
"I...I don't know if I can." Rarity twitched as purple pulses kept coming out of her. "All this thirst for revenge is just too much. I can't push it back."
"But I can." Just then, a saving grace appeared. Celestia and Passion, of course. They had witnessed the battle between Twilight and Rarity after arriving here a few minutes ago.
They were right on time for the pursuit of Ash via J's Desire.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight gasped with a wide smile on her face.
"I may not be able to reach the user of the Desire. But Passion and I can surely free you of your influence. After we free all of Ponyville, we'll free everyone else across Equestria. However long that may take."
"Gardevoir."
"Wait. Across Equestria? What do you mean?" Twilight asked.
"I'm afraid that it isn't just Ponyville that's after Ash. The radius of the Desire ended up affecting the rest of Equestria. There's no telling how many are currently setting off to find Ash."
"Oh my goodness..." Twilight shuddered. She was thinking of the massive amounts of ponies, Pokemon, potentially even yaks and dragons and more tracking Ash down.
The scale on that could be ridiculous. Ash could be in greater danger than expected. And there's no telling how close most of his pursuers are since they have J's Desire to guide them.
"Rarity." Celestia and Passion walked over to Rarity who was in the crater with Pheromosa. Rarity, feeling protective of her Pheromosa since she was now hostile to anyone that would get in the way of J's revenge, narrowed her eyes at Celestia. "No need to worry. This will be over quickly."
"Hm?" Rarity held Pheromoa tightly as she was ready to have her other Pokemon take action.
"Voir." But, with haste and some expert teleportation, Passion appeared in front of Rarity, putting her hands on the head of the unicorn.
Upon contact, Passion could begin the process of helping Rarity. Passion tapped into Rarity's mind with Fairy magic emanating out of her while all the energy from the Desire was rapidly pulsating like a heartbeat.
Rarity's eyes widened as all of her memories were being replayed to her. From when she first saw the Sonic Rainboom and met her friends for the first time and all the adventures, meeting her Sewaddle which were now Leavanny and so on. So many precious memories that she had within her that were more important than the Desire.
Rarity groaned as her mind was starting to dissolve J's Desire bit by bit. With all her memories, Rarity then remembered that she had something important to do. Protecting her friends from the inevitable disasters in the form of Ghetsis and Empress Twilight. So she couldn't allow herself to be influenced by an equally horrifying force.
And not just that, Passion's magic was also affecting Pheromosa since they were close to each other. She was also receiving memories. From her mundane time in Ultra Space and the wonderful times, she's had with Rarity and the rest of her friends.
Not only that, but all of Rarity's Poke Balls, which contained her many Leavanny and single Lopunny who had also been influenced, but strangely enough, not Ampharos or Feebas, had also been covered by Passion's magic.
With a beautiful flash of light, the Desire had been expelled from Rarity and Pheromosa's bodies as tiny little purple particles faded away in the wind.
Rarity, Pheromosa and the rest of Rarity's Pokemon were now free.
"Ugh..." Rarity grumbled as she held her head. Pheromosa helped her off the ground as she was taking some time to process everything. "Oh. Did I at least look stunningly menacing during it all?"
"Sure did." Twilight smiled as she was glad to have her friend back.
"Excellent." Rarity sighed. "Oh, I owe Ash an apology."
"He's probably already taken it. Right now we have a problem." Twilight flew over. "Turns out, it's not just Ponyville that's after Ash. Equestria's all bent on getting revenge on him for J."
"J? Are you referring to that human who you and Ash encountered at the town during the Pokemon Festival?" Celestia remembered that name.
"That's the one. She wants revenge on Ash obviously. All her hate is targeted towards him. And it looks like she was the next one to receive a Desire."
"So it isn't Ghetsis. Phew." Celestia was relieved. If the Desire came from Ghetsis then things would've been a bit messy and escalated to levels that no one would want. "But how come Passion couldn't sense her?"
"Wait! Did you say all of Equestria?!" Rarity gasped. "The whole nation?!"
"Indeed. I'm not sure even Passion and I will be able to stop them all. There might be millions after Ash right now. Possibly more than just ponies. If we don't destroy the Desire as soon as possible..." Celestia was starting to worry.
"We can do it for sure," Twilight reassured and had hope. "We just have to find Hunter J. Wherever she may be."
"What about Ash?" Rarity asked. "Everypony may already be at the Everfree Forest by now. Rainbow Dash was also seen there."
"Then we don't have time to waste." Celestia declared as her horn lit up. "Ponyville is small so I can free everyone from the Desire's influence in a few minutes. After that, we'll deal with the rest."
There was a lot to be done. They didn't have a trail with Pokemon Hunter J considering she was at the Pokemon World at the moment. But, even if they couldn't deal with that situation right now, they can still free Ponyville from the Desire in the meanwhile and hopefully everyone else.
But they would have to act fast. Because right above the skies of Ponyville, Celestia, Twilight and Rarity noticed some not-so-friendly newcomers.
Flying-Type Pokemon. Lots of them were heading towards Ash's direction. Because of how the Flying-Type is one of the fastest types out there, it's no surprise that they would be one of the firsts to show up.
"Oh." Twilight made a poker face, knowing that everything was about to escalate.
And it was for the worst.
Unova. The Pokemon Black Market.
J had just finished her shady deals and business in the Pokemon Black Market as usual. It was time for her to head back to Equestria where she can continue her work.
She travelled through a dusty alleyway to conceal herself away from any citizens instead of just walking out in the open. J wasn't sure if Unova knew her very well as opposed to Sinnoh where she is the most wanted criminal.
"This looks good enough." Hunter J said while holding some new equipment obtained from the Pokemon Black Market. To enter Equestria and her hideout in the cave, J would end up using a nearby gateway that can be found close to Driftveil City.
After that, J would have to pass through a vast wide landscape to return to the mountainside since it doesn't have a gateway of its own. That would take a long time, but J's Salamence allows her to travel at a much faster rate so it wasn't an issue.
However, before J could make her way to the location of the gateway, something had stopped her.
"Stop[/i." That something was her Desire. It was speaking to her.
"Hm?" J turned around, hearing the voice of her Desire in her head, holding out her arm cannon. "Who's there?!"
"There's no need to be so cautious. Not of yourself that is." The Desire kept talking to J through her head.
"Who are you? Why do you sound like me?" J wondered.
"I am you. Rather, your Desire. A manifestation of what you yearn for the most. You remember last night, don't you? That sudden pain you experienced?"
"I...I do." J held her stomach. "That was you?"
"It sure was. Your desire to take revenge on Ash Ketchum is what awakened me. And I couldn't be happier enough to be here now. If I could feel emotions, that is. But you're probably planning on asking more questions, aren't you? Keep them. After all, you and I have the same goal. To eliminate Ash Ketchum. A viable threat to our plans."
"That's true..." J looked down.
"Then you can rely on me. I can help you with that. In fact, because of what happened to you last night, you sent out a large pulse of Desire energy that had spread across the land, affecting the nearby Pokemon of the mountainside. You had fueled them with revenge against Ash."
"Is that why they were all acting so off with those purple colours?" J realized.
"Precisely. And now, as a wonderful bonus, the rest of that other world had been affected by the energy you emanated. Right now, millions of those pony creatures and Pokemon are searching for Ash. All with the desire to crush him. Does that satisfy you?"
"Seriously?! That's perfect!" J smirked as she liked the sound of that. "If he's out of the way...then I won't have much to worry about."
"Except that you still do. After all, that kid is much stronger than before. You've been gone from this world for so long. Your body had been wiped out in the explosion. You obviously would be significantly behind. Besides, as we speak, Ash Ketchum has already freed one of his friends from my influence."
"Hmph. And here I thought you had only good news." J scoffed. "Why tell me this if you know about my inferior strength compared to his?"
"Because I can help you defeat him. I'm more than just your Desire. A small part of me also has the Desire from one of Ash Ketchum's friends. Her name is Twilight Sparkle."
"Go on?"
"As a Desire, I have access to every single memory of the one I am a part of. And I hold all of your memories. And with Twilight Sparkle's Desire also existing within me, or rather us, I know everything so far about Ash Ketchum. From her point of view."
"Everything you say?" J was heavily interested now.
"Certainly. But the Desire of Twilight Sparkle only has memories to end at the moment that Princess Celestia destroyed 99% of its original semblance. So, I can only show you memories from 3 months ago."
"That's fine with me. Anything to get the upper hand. This Twilight Sparkle. Will her memories be helpful enough."
"She's a genius. They surely will. I believe this is where you and I form an amazing dynamic duo, wouldn't you say?"
"I suppose so. I may need this actually. Especially now that I've returned in the midst of this world crossover nonsense."
"Excellent. But, you'll need to change your base to somewhere else."
"Hm?"
"That Princess Celestia has already freed one of Ash's friends' thanks to her Gardevoir. They'll sense us. Mainly me and the energy I emanate. And without a doubt, they'll come for us to try and rid me of you."
"And what do you suggest I do about that?"
"They don't act at night. When nightfall hits, we'll return to your hideout cave, retrieve every item and start a new and better hideout here in the Pokemon World. And I know just the place to start."
Saddle Lake. Afternoon.
Instead of staying at the Everfree Forest, Ash went to Saddle Lake to further conceal himself. He was joined by Rainbow Dash who had just been freed from the Desire via Ash's Aura.
Little did they know that Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Absol were looking for him to make sure that he was safe. With Audino's sharp hearing and Slurpuff's amazing scent, they would surely find Ash either way, even if he was far. But he was more than safe at the moment.
At least for now.
"So this Hunter J? She seriously hates you to the bone?" said Rainbow Dash.
"Sure does. I got in her way a lot back in Sinnoh." Ash explained. "I really didn't think she'd come back after so long. The Rift really wants to make everything tougher."
"Pika."
"Well, you can totally handle her. I mean, you're way stronger than her last time, right?"
"Mhm." Ash nodded. "But, first we gotta deal with those whole revenge problem. I wonder what's up with Celestia and Passion? J must've found a pretty good place to hide."
"Yeah, well, I really want this whole thing to be over with. Don't wanna fight the rest of my friends." Rainbow Dash sighed. "Sorry I looked scary back there, Castform." She spoke to Castform in her saddlebag.
"Cast."
"By the way...you didn't send out your Pokemon to attack. Did they get influenced too?"
"No, I don't think so." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Castform didn't have that purple glow around him last time I checked."
"Form?"
"Well, that basically confirms that not everyone got hit by it. I guess Rarity's Ampharos and her Feebas were free from it too. Hope we can free everyone else real soon."
"You can do it can't you?" Rainbow Dash flew in front of Ash. "That Aura of yours can like break anyone free of the Desire, right? Just use that."
"Oh, yeah. But I kinda did it without knowing I was using Aura." Ash laughed while rubbing the back of his head.
"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash made a poker face. "You're not really a super expert on Aura, are you? Even though you've got a bunch of it."
"Nah. I know of it but I don't know a bunch about it. Twilight told me that every time I battle, my Aura shows. So I guess when I had my first Pokemon Battle ever, I was using Aura for the first time."
"Pikachu."
"But if I can free them from the Desire, then I'm totally gonna try and use it on will." Ash looked at his hand. "Even if I get that Aura Ataxia thing again."
"That's the spirit, Ash!" Rainbow Dash nudged Ash.
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu encouraged this since it was an effective way to break everyone from the influence. But, after he raised his voice in encouragement, the Electric Mouse Pokemon felt something coming this way. His ears twitched, picking up various sounds from above. "Pika?"
"Hm?" Ash stopped walking as he could hear it too. And soon, so did Rainbow Dash, Castform and Mew. Especially Rainbow Dash for one reason.
Since it was coming from above and Rainbow Dash mostly works in the skies, she would be able to sense that something was not right and there was danger in the skies.
"That sound..." Rainbow narrowed her eyes. "It sounds like..."
"Mew?"
Knowing that it couldn't be something good, Ash and the others looked up to see what exactly was heading their way. And of course, it related to what Twilight and the others saw back at Ponyville in the air.
Multiple Flying-Type Pokemon.
A giant flock of them. All here to attack Ash for the sake of J's revenge. Thanks to J's Desire acting like a guide, they were able to track him down. Ash, Rainbow Dash and the Pokemon could see that the Flying-Types all had that same glow in their eyes, showing that they were indeed influenced by J's Desire.
"Oh, man!" Ash gasped. "The Flying-Type Pokemon too?!"
"Pika-Pika?!"
"Fearow!" A Fearow cried out as it was the first to go on the offensive. Most of the Flying-Type Pokemon came in their own flocks. There were flocks of Fearow and flocks of Swellow and so on.
The Fearow each used the move Sky Attack with their bodies becoming surrounded by a white aura as they each divebombed like missiles towards Ash with a white trail of energy left behind.
"Time to go!" Rainbow Dash screeched as she flew off with Ash and the Pokemon following after her. They were now making an attempt to escape from the incoming Fearow.
"Fear! Fearow!" The flock of Beak Pokemon hit the ground hard with Sky Attack, causing explosions each time as more of them were chasing Ash and the group down.
"Pika!" Pikachu hopped on Ash's shoulder while Mew grabbed onto his head. The Fearow kept coming with Sky Attack, trying to hit Ash, but they weren't the only ones.
The Swellow took action as well. Each of the Swellow used Air Slash by ferociously flapping their glowing wings, sending out sharp blades of air that could slice even the sky itself.
The blades of air flew past the Fearow, making sure to only target Ash and no one else. Ash's jacket had actually been cut by one of the blades, leaving a visible tear on the shoulder part of it.
"Ash! Are you okay?!" Rainbow Dash noticed this.
"I'm fine! Just a cut!" Ash replied as he had to think of a way to avoid the Flying-Type. "Gotta think of something..."
"I say we battle them!" Rainbow Dash stopped flying. "Besides, you don't know any of these Pokemon so you can totally battle them unlike me, right?"
"Huh?" Ash looked back at Rainbow Dash. "I don't know them but..."
"You can say sorry to them later, Ash!" Rainbow Dash held a Poke Ball out tossing it far enough to make it go past and ahead of Ash. "Go! Luxray!"
"Luxray!"
"Use Discharge!"
"Lux...!" Luxray grit his teeth as his eyes flashed yellow. "Ray!" With a mighty roar, the Gleam Eyes Pokemon unleashed a violent blast of electricity that was widespread.
The wide blast of electricity hit multiple incoming Flying-Types, mostly the ones in the front while also destroying the Air Slashes that were sent Ash's way.
Many of the struck Flying-Types had been hit out of the air, taking super-effective damage while also nearly hitting the rest of them because of its vast range.
"Thanks, Luxray!" Ash ran past Luxray.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Lux!"
"Let's go, pal!" Rainbow Dash flew ahead, causing Luxray to follow. He was now out of his Poke Ball since he had a move that could hit a ton of Pokemon at once.
But, the rest of the Flying-Type Pokemon weren't going down so easily. A group of Beautifly were about to make their next move. With the move Tailwind.
"Beau! Beautifly!" The Beautifly each flapped their wings, whipping up a turbulent whirlwind that shifted the wind itself, turning it against Ash and the others.
"Huh?!" Ash noticed that was starting to slow down as the wind was now heading the other way. With Tailwind, it blows in the opposite direction to allow the user to have a better chance of outspeeding their target.
Usually, one Tailwind is enough, but because multiple had been used, it had enough power to rival that of a hurricane. It was doing more than just slowing Ash and the gang down. It was pushing them back like a hurricane would.
"Pi-Pika!" Pikachu held onto Ash's jacket tightly from this harsh wind.
"Luxray!" Rainbow Dash held onto her Luxray who could actually keep his feet firm on the ground.
"L-Lux!" Luxray growled as even he was struggling against a Tailwind this ferocious.
"This is way too much!" Ash groaned.
"Pikachu...!"
"M-Mew!" Mew knew that things were going to get worse at this rate if something wasn't done. He also saw that a flock of Talonflame were approaching with the move Flame Charge at their disposal.
Not wanting Ash to get hurt for Pinkie Pie's sake, Mew decided to take action. Instead of transforming, he was going to use one of his moves. Mew wasn't going to hesitate attacking back.
"Mew...!" The New Species Pokemon curled up, drawing in all of his energy as his body started glowing multiple colours. He was gathering his life force, converting most of it into energy, creating flame-like ribbons of energy that spiralled around his body.
"Huh? Mew?" Ash looked back at Mew.
"Pika?"
"Mew!" Mew opened his eyes as he had used the devastating and risky move that can hit anything from a wide radius and distance.
Self Destruct.
"MEW!" Mew cried out as his body glowed yellow with a gigantic, violent, swirling dome of golden energy, inflicting enormous damage to his surroundings.
"W-Woah!" Ash covered his eyes as did Rainbow Dash and the rest. Mew made sure that the explosion would not hit Ash and the others. Only the Flying-Type.
And it certainly did. The Flying-Types all had their eyes widen in shock as they witnessed a bright explosion coming their way at amazing speeds. The Flying-Types who were close and in front had already been consumed by this explosion as well as the rest behind them.
The Flying-Type Pokemon who were far behind backed away, not wanting to be caught up in the blast as they witnessed the rest of their fellow Flying-Types becoming consumed in the explosion.
Afterwards, the explosion let out one final eruption. One so loud that it could be heard from afar and even seen from afar too. It was even strong enough to blow away Tailwind after hitting all of the Beautifly who had made it.
As the smoke cleared, All of the Flying-Type Pokemon who had been hit had fainted. But at a great cost. Mew had also fainted too after using Self-Destruct as he was dropping to the ground.
"M-Mew...!"
"I gotcha!" Ash grabbed Mew in his arms.
"Mew...?"
"Thanks, Mew. Get some rest, okay?" Ash thanked him as he moved through the smoke cloud, using it to mask himself from pursuers.
"Mew-Mew." Mew was happy. As long as Ash was safe, that was all that mattered.
But this was far from over. Some of the Flying-Types who hadn't been hit by Self-Destruct were still on the move, pursuing Ash. Revenge can't be stopped by a mere explosion. Especially J's revenge.
But it wasn't just the Flying-Type Pokemon. Some of the Pokemon in Saddle Lake were made aware of Ash's existence here as they had been influenced too.
The hunt for Ash was still ongoing. With more Pokemon and ponies heading for him and J now working alongside her Desire, this won't end until millions are freed from the Desire as the journey continues.
Ash being chased down by those influenced by J's Desire was continuing. Recently, they had just evaded a large flock of Flying-Type Pokemon thanks to Mew using Self-Destruct.
Right now, they managed to find a large pile of bushes they could hide in for now. But they couldn't hide for long, that's for sure. Ash had Mew in his hands after the ferocious Self Destruct.
"Mew..." Mew groaned.
"It's alright, Mew. We'll get you healed up after this." Ash reassured.
"Mew."
"Some of those Flying-Types are gonna come back for us." Rainbow Dash said. "When they show up, Luxray and I are gonna take 'em all out."
"Luxray."
"I hope Twilight and everyone are alright. I know they won't get hurt since everyone's after me but..." Ash was worried about the safety of everyone else who weren't under the Desire's influence.
Little did Ash know that those who have been influenced will grow more aggressive to the point where they won't hesitate to harm others who aren't Ash.
Staying in the bushes wouldn't keep Ash safe from his pursuers for long, unfortunately. After all, the Pokemon of Saddle Lake were affected too. At least, most of them.
Right in the large body of water that Saddle Lake has, the Water-Type Pokemon inside were preparing to strike Ash at the right moment.
Not just them, the Grass and Normal-Type in this forest were watching Ash. They already knew he had arrived here and concealed himself in the bushes. Truly, Equestria was watching Ash.
One of the Pokemon decided that now was the perfect time to take action. Two Shroomish made their way to the bushes as they were the first to do something.
"Shroom!" The two Mushroom Pokemon were about to use the move Spore as their heads were starting to glow. The plan was to put Ash to sleep so that he was defenceless and immobile, allowing everyone else the chance to strike.
"Pika?!" Pikachu was the first to notice this as he always knows when Ash in danger of being attacked. And his mouse-like instincts, of course. Those are mostly the main reason.
"Hm? Pikachu?" Ash looked at Pikachu.
"Pika!" Pikachu took action as he jumped out of the bushes with his tail being hardened. He was about to use Iron Tail to stop the move from being pulled off.
"Shroo?" The Shroomish both looked up at Pikachu, seeing him approaching.
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu slammed his tail down on one of the Shroomish, forcing them to the ground as the other Shroomish had been startled by this.
"Mish?!"
"Pika!" After smashing the other Shroomish down to the ground, causing it to faint, Pikachu then swung his tail to the side, hitting the second Shroomish in the face, launching him far back.
"Shroomish!" The second Shroomish cried after being launched. It then hit a tree, fainting from both Iron Tail and the impact onto the tree. "M-Mish..."
"Pikachu...!" Pikachu stood on all fours with his sacs letting out electricity. By this point, he knew that there were Pokemon within this forest aiming at taking his trainer out.
And with Pikachu knocking both Shroomish out, that certainly grabbed the attention of the other influenced Pokemon here. Even though they were all tasked with taking Ash out, Pikachu was included as well.
He's Ash's partner and always by his side after all, so it would only make sense to take out Pikachu as well since he is the wall that is standing between them and Ash.
"Basculin!" The Pokemon from the lake had emerged from the body of water, taking action finally. A school of Basculin, red and blue, each jumped out of the water, collectively using Bubble Beam by shooting multiple bubbles from their mouths.
"Pika!" Pikachu turned around, spotting the Basculin as he countered with Thunderbolt. By sending out 100,000 volts of electricity from his body, Pikachu demolished the bubbles with superior power, tearing through them as it shocked each of the Basculin.
"Culin!" The Basculin all screeched as they had fainted in one hit after being struck by Thunderbolt.
"Guess the jig is up." Rainbow Dash flew out of the bushes with Luxray jumping out. "They won't attack Luxray and us though, so we're in the clear!"
"Luxray!" Luxray stood beside Pikachu while Ash stayed in the bushes. All of the Pokemon came out of hiding as they all stared down at Pikachu and the bush that Ash was hiding in.
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu yelled at the Pokemon, telling them to stay away from his best friend.
"Tangrowth!" A Tangrowth decided to stay away from Pikachu and instead go after Ash. It did this by standing from afar, extending its vine-made arms. Its arms raced towards the bush, grabbing the attention of Pikachu and Luxray.
"Luxray! Iron Tail!" Rainbow Dash commanded.
"Pika!"
"Lux!"
Both Pikachu and Luxray wouldn't let that happen as they collectively used Iron Tail, cutting Tangrowth's vine-made arms in two. But this doesn't bother Tangrowth. They are a Pokemon that are used to having their arms being cut off. They can regrow new ones.
And regrow it did. In less than seconds, Tangrowth's arms grew back as it now used both arms to try and grab Ash. Pikachu and Luxray were ready to cut both arms apart with Iron Tail once more, but they wouldn't get that second option.
Tangrowth manipulated its arms, splitting them into smaller vines causing them to instead grab Pikachu and Luxray instead of heading straight for Ash.
"Pika?!"
"Lux?!"
"Tangrowth!" Tangrowth then tossed Pikachu and Luxray aside before continuing to advance towards Ash. With Pikachu now being thrown away from the bush, the Pokemon who saw him as a threat were ready to take him out as an Ursaring was about to use Hammer Arm on him.
"Ursa!" Ursaring raised its arm as Pikachu was heading in its direction from where Tangrowth threw the Electric Mouse Pokemon.
"Pi-Pikachu?!"
"Ring!" Ursaring smashed its arms down onto Pikachu, forcing the Electric-Type down on the ground as Pikachu cried out in pain.
"Pika!"
"Ah! Pikachu!" Ash gasped as he ran to his partner's side instead of staying in the bushes. Ash jumped out of the bushes, avoiding the vines of Tangrwoth in time.
"Growth?!"
"Ah! Ash!" Rainbow Dash winced as she was hoping that Ash would've stayed hidden in the bushes. But there was no point to that anymore since they already figured out he was in them.
"Ring!" Ursaring was about to hit Pikachu a second time with Hammer Arm while he was still on the ground recovering.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu closed his eyes, expecting to be hit by Hammer Arm. But, with quick running skills thanks to his years journeying across regions, Ash leapt off the ground, holding his arms out and grabbing Pikachu.
Ash also managed to evade Ursaring by leaping past it in time before the Hibernator Pokemon could hit both of them with Hammer Arm.
"Ursa?!"
"Luxray! Wild Charge on that Ursaring!"
"Ray!" Luxray quickly recovered on the ground before enveloping himself in electricity. The Gleam Eyes Pokemon then bolted himself forward at lightning speeds, smashing his head onto the wide stomach of Ursaring at full force.
"U-Ursaring!" Ursaring gasped as it had been shocked and knocked away by Luxray.
"Ash! Are you okay?!" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine." Ash placed Pikachu down before adjusting his hat. But, that one moment where Ash saved Pikachu from being hit by Hammer Arm sparked something unpleasant in him.
"Pikapi?"
"You all may be under influence by J..." Ash stood up, turning to face all the Pokemon here. "But I won't let you hurt Pikachu!"
All the Pokemon were intimidated by Ash's sudden shift in tone. Clearly, Pikachu being harmed is something that Ash would hate. Even if all the Pokemon were influenced by J's Desire, Ash wouldn't take any harm towards his friends kindly.
"Go! Lucario! Gengar!" Ash sent out his Lucario and Gengar.
"Luca!"
"Gengar!"
"Lucario! Make your Aura Sphere massive! Gengar! Freeze the ground with Ice Punch!"
"Gen...Gar!" Gengar turned its hand into ice before smashing it onto the ground causing a flash-freeze to happen. The ground of Saddle Lake had been frozen, causing Pokemon to slip due to the frozen group.
"Lucario!" Lucario went next by putting his hands together, creating a giant ball of Aura. The Aura Pokemon then jumped into the air while holding Aura Sphere before tossing it down. The Aura Sphere was large enough to engulf a majority of Saddle Lake.
The Influenced Pokemon gasped as they witnessed a ball of pure Aura heading their way. Lucario controlled his Aura so that those who weren't influenced by the Desire would be safe. But those who were influenced, the best they could do was run away.
But the attack was too large to avoid. Soon, every influenced Pokemon, at least the ones within range, had been hit by Aura Sphere as they weren't fast enough to avoid it.
A strong continuous gale came from the explosion of Aura Sphere in the form of a blue dome as it expelled colourful bands with bright radiation of Northern Lights-Esque aurora. Even the ice had been obliterated too.
Lucario landed down on the ground next to Gengar as they had both effortlessly stopped the Pokemon from advancing any further while the smoke was clearing. The influenced Pokemon had fainted.
"Might've gone too far." Ash rubbed the back of his hair.
"They were gonna totally hurt you if you didn't do anything. And there were so many of them." Rainbow Dash flew over.
"I guess." Ash looked over at the defeated Pokemon before looking at his own hands and Lucario. "If I can break the Desire from you, Rainbow, then I can definitely do the same with everyone else."
"Hm? Oh yeah!" Rainbow Dash nodded. "But that's a lot to break free."
"Gotta try and get through them all. Lucario. Help me out here." Ash walked over to the fainted Pokemon.
"Lu."
"Shroomish...!" The two Shroomish that had been knocked out by Pikachu earlier looked over at Ash and Lucario approaching. Seeing Ash within their sights, the Shroomish tried to attack by using Grass Knot. But they were too weak to do so.
"It's okay," Ash said as he kneeled to face the two Grass-Types. "Sorry about this. Pikachu was just trying to protect me.
"Shroo?"
"How do I do this?" Ash wondered how he could use his Aura willingly instead of unconsciously like he always does. But, he has actually used Aura consciously before. From when he was the Tree of Beginning and when he was facing against Spiritomb. Ash figured the best thing he could do is focus and sync with Lucario.
The Alola Champion put his arm out, closing his eyes as he allowed Lucario to touch his back. In unison, both Ash and Lucario were exuding Aura from their bodies. Lucario knew that Ash wasn't a master at Aura, so he decided to do the most work.
The Aura ended up surrounding the two Shroomish, instantly colliding with the energy of the Rift. But not only that, Lucario was forcefully expanding the Aura for Ash.
Instead of surrounding one or two Pokemon, Lucario made it so that a plethora of Pokemon could be surrounded by Aura. And that's what happened. The Aura spread out, giving off a calming and beautiful glow as a majority of the Pokemon influenced by the Desire had all been covered by Ash and Lucario's Aura.
Pikachu, Rainbow Dash, Luxray, Mew, Castform and the non-influenced gawked at the massive Aura being given off by both the trainer and his Pokemon.
With so much Aura in one place, the Desire of J was fighting a losing battle as it could barely handle Ash's Aura. Lucario's Aura was far greater as it was destroying the remnants of the Desire one by one.
Unova. Back alley.
"Ugh!" And J could feel it. But mostly her Desire. Ash's Aura was so powerful that it was reaching the other world from just destroying more of J's Desire. "W-What was that?!"
"Impossible...His Aura has already managed to destroy 35% of me." J's Desire spoke.
"35%?" J winced as she held her chest. "What do you mean?"
"That boy isn't just strong in the battling department it seems...If this keeps up, he might just break the influence in just a few minutes."
"A few minutes?"
"Even if they don't revert everyone I've influenced back to normal, they can still weaken me to a point where I will be unable to control and influence anyone any further. They won't even need to find you to do so."
"Tch! Then what's the point of this team-up, huh?!"
"Don't worry. I'll survive. Besides. I still have one other Desire in me as a backup."
Saddle Lake.
The Shroomish were the first to be broken free from the Desire. Their eyes flashed blue along with their mouths as they felt a sudden shock afterwards. Then, the rest of the Pokemon had been freed from J's Desire with their eyes flashing too. It seems that whenever someone is freed from a powerful Desire, their eyes flash. Rainbow Dash will be sure to remember that.
"M-Mish...?" The Shroomish had snapped back with their eyes feeling a bit fuzzy afterwards. They then looked at Ash with new looks on their faces. Instead of faces of animosity and scorn, they looked at Ash with happiness, thanking him and Lucario for freeing them. "Shroomish!" The Shroomish then jumped on Ash, hugging him kindly.
"Oh! Alright! You're welcome!" Ash was surprised by the sudden hug as he chuckled. But that wasn't the only hug he was getting. Other Pokemon were heading for a hug just to thank Ash.
Fittingly, all the Pokemon here aren't actually unfamiliar with Ash. Since he's been to Saddle Lake several times, he's a fairly local visitor and all the Pokemon have seen him before. So they know how good he is to be around. Thus, the hug had more weight to it.
"Hm? Uh oh." Ash and Lucario both gasped as they were about to be overwhelmed by an army of hugs. "Wait, wait, guys!" Ash tried to stop them but it was too late. All the Pokemon piled on him, forcing Ash and Lucario to the ground.
"Luca!"
"Well. Guess we don't have to worry about doing it one by one huh." Rainbow Dash smiled.
"Pika."
"Luxray."
Rainbow Dash was glad that the Pokemon of Saddle Lake weren't so bent on destroying Ash now. It was a good thing that Aura was capable of counteracting the energy the Rift gives off. It might be the only form of energy that can go against the Rift so far.
But as they watched the Pokemon pile on Ash, Rainbow Dash, Luxray and Pikachu heard someone coming towards Saddle Lake via some rustling in the grass and bushes as they were put on high alert, turning around.
"Who's there?!" Rainbow Dash growled while Pikachu and Luxray were ready to shock the next individual who would try and harm Ash.
But, they wouldn't have to worry about any enemies right now. Because out of the grass and bushes, Absol had appeared. Twilight's Absol of course. And joining him was Pinkie Pike and Fluttershy along with Audino who followed the sound of Ash with her feelers, Slurpuff who tracked Ash down with its scent, Chikorita, Spinda and the tag-along newly hatched Scorbunny.
And more than that. Since the Flying-Types were seen heading towards Ash's direction earlier by Twilight, Celestia and Rarity, they also had followed the Pokemon, eventually bumping into Fluttershy's group. Both groups had met up before finding Ash in Saddle Lake.
"Sol."
"Oh. It's just you guys. Had me worried there." Rainbow sighed.
"Hm?" Ash stood up as the Pokemon finally got off him. He spotted the rest of his friends appearing at Saddle Lake. "Oh! You guys are okay!"
"Ash!" Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy said with smiles on their faces.
"Mew!" A weakened Mew flew over to Pinkie Pie since he was still weak and hurt after using Self-Destruct. Pinkie Pie grabbed her partner, holding him in her hooves.
"Oh, Mew! Are you alright?!"
"Mew..." Mew groaned as he needed some recovering. Luckily Fluttershy's Audino was here to help after immediately spotting the weakened Psychic-Type.
"Audino."
"All the Pokemon here. Did they help you?" Fluttershy asked.
"Nah, we just freed them." Ash pointed his thumb at the Pokemon.
"Freed them?" Celestia's attention had been grabbed. "Wait! Did you manage to break the Desire?! How?!"
"Easy!" Rainbow Dash flew over. "Ash's Aura here did the trick. Oh and Lucario too. It even freed me."
"Rio."
"Aura?" Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Aura is capable of breaking the influence of Desires?!"
"Well, that only makes sense doesn't it?" Rarity suddenly spoke. "Aura is the only thing that can even stand against Rift energy from what we discovered, correct?"
"Right." Twilight. "But I didn't think it would have the same effect as what Passion can do."
"That massive flash of Aura in the distance. So it came from you." Celestia pointed at Ash. "I'm surprised you managed to free so many of them so quickly."
"Yeah. Lucario really helped with that. Because of him, I could free more than just one or two Pokemon from the Desire." Ash explained, further surprising Celestia and the others.
"Luca."
"Oh." Celestia made a poker face. "You freed them all in one go?"
"Sure did!" Ash had a cheesy grin on his face before high fiving Lucario. "Pretty cool huh?"
"This changes everything!" Twilight turned to Celestia and the others. "With Ash's Aura and Lucario, of course, we can free everypony from J's influence without having to worry about doing it one at a time!"
"But there are still potentially millions of them that we would have to free," Celestia replied. "The radius would need to be stellar. Is that possible for you, Ash? Lucario?"
"Maybe but...That's gonna be a lot of Aura to use." Ash crossed his arms. "Lucario and I will do our best."
"Lucario."
"Good. We should start by freeing all of Ponyville first. And then we'll move on to the next." Celestia turned around, facing the direction of Ponyville.
"What about J? Why don't we find her first?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Passion and I can't unfortunately." Celestia faced Rainbow Dash. "We were unable to find her presence. Perhaps later, we'll sense it."
"She has to be somewhere. I mean, if anything, J-" Before Twilight could finish talking, Absol jumped ahead of her, cutting an incoming Hyper Beam in half with his Night Slash.
"Sol!" The Disaster Pokemon had protected Ash from the Hyper Beam as the Normal-Type move had been split into two. While they were speaking, someone was trying to pull a sneak attack off on Ash.
"Huh?!" Twilight took a moment to process what had just happened. "Absol?!"
"Sol!" Absol growled in the direction the Hyper Beam came from.
"Seems all of Ponyville has found us!" Celestia narrowed her eyes noticing that the ponies who had been influenced had finally caught up to Ash after following the Sonic Rainboom, the Flying-Types, Mew's Self-destruct and Ash and Lucario's Aura.
Because of all that action, it wasn't hard to find Ash. And now they had shown up in Saddle Lake. But it wasn't just the ponies of Ponyville.
Audino and Fluttershy soon turned around to notice that other ponies from different parts of Equestria had arrived thanks to the directions of J's Desire.
Now there was more than just the problem of dealing with Ponyville. Gradually, all of Equestria was being involved in this by showing up. The Pokemon that came from the mountainside showed up as well including the remaining Flying-Types who had barely avoided Mew's Self-Destruct back at Everfree.
"Audino?"
"They're here already?" Pinkie looked around while holding Mew.
"Pssh. That's good for us. It saves us the trouble of going over Equestria to find a bunch of them." Rainbow Dash looked at the upside to all of this.
"W-We're not going battle them all, are we?" Fluttershy gulped.
"I don't wish to harm my own subjects but..." Celestia was becoming disgruntled. She knew that Passion was more than enough to handle mostly everyone here, especially if they become one and form Celestial-Gardevoir. But just like Ash, the fear of harming those she cares for still exists and lingers on.
"It's not like we can hide anywhere else," Twilight whispered. "All of Equestria's after Ash."
"Then in that case...I have an idea." Rarity sparked an idea up by speaking silently. "Allow my Pokemon to handle this."
"Your Pokemon?" Celestia turned to Rarity.
"I can have each of my Leavanny use String Shot to restrain most of them if I can. Then I'll have Pheromosa use her amazing speed to round them all up or even tire them out if I can get the chance. And if that doesn't work, then I can have Ampharos paralyze them with Static."
"Oh...good thinking Rarity." Ash nodded. "I'll be a great distraction. They're not after you guys after all."
"It's a plan that can work," Celestia replied. "Let's try it. Rarity. Prepare your Leavanny. Passion and I will help if we can. Ash. Try leaving from Saddle Lake while we handle the rest. We can trust you to handle yourself, right?"
"Yeah." Ash gave a thumbs up. "But...things might get rougher from here on. Using Aura kinda made me feel funny. I guess it's that Aura Ataxia thing again, huh?"
"If that's the case..." Twilight took out one of her Poke Balls, sending out her Ninetales and Cinccino.
"Ninetales!"
"Cinccino!"
"Ninetales. Minccy. I need you to go with Ash. Make sure nothing happens to him, alright?" Twilight asked.
"Nine!"
"Cincc!"
"If you need extra power for paralyze, Luxray and I have you covered." Rainbow Dash said.
"Luxray."
"Gengar. I want you to stay and help out too." Ash spoke to his Gengar.
"Gengar." Gengar understood what it needed to do.
"Be safe, Ash," Fluttershy pleaded. "We'll catch up to you soon. Audi will find you easily."
"Audino."
"Alright. Off I go!" Ash ran off, separating himself from the group with Pikachu and Lucario following him. And now that Ash was moving, it alerted the attention of his pursuers as all of their eyes were locked onto him. "Catch me if you can!"
With that, the ponies started making commands to their Pokemon, ordering them to immediately attack Ash or at least grab him so he doesn't go anywhere.
But he had friends to help him.
"Use Psychic!" Twilight and Celestia both ordered their own Psychic-Type Pokemon. Gengar helped out since it also had Psychic as a move.
"Espeon!"
"Gardevoir!"
"Gengar!"
In unison, both Psychic-Types and Gengar flashed their eyes blue and pink as they collectively held all of the ponies who made the commands in place, surrounding them in a blue and pink outline of Psychic energy.
The ponies and their Pokemon gasped as they had been stopped in place. However, not all of them had been stopped. Some ponies had Dark-Types with them which were obviously immune to Psychic. A trainer's Mightyena lunged forward, heading straight for Ash with the attack crunch.
"Sol!" But, Absol was there to stop him as he quarrelled with his fellow Dark-Type. Absol jumped in front of Mightyena, preventing him from getting close to Ash.
"Here goes!" Rarity used her magic to send out all of her Leavanny. "All at once! Use String Shot on all of them!"
"Leavanny!" The 12 Leavanny all shot out thick threads of silky string at once in different directions. Since Eve, Passion and Gengar had huddled the ponies up, that made it easier for the strings to grab an even larger majority.
The strings had wrapped around the huddled up ponies, tying them as if it was a rope. All 12 strings coming together were enough to create a layer so thick and wide it would hold an astonishing number easily.
But, there were others that they couldn't catch considering just how many ponies showed up. Unfortunately, now that the Desire has made them all so aggressive that they'll even attack others who get in the way of reaching Ash, the remaining ponies are now bound to fight back.
Some of the ponies who hadn't been caught by Psychic or String Shot had ordered their Pokemon to attack. Whether from afar or from up close. And there were still so many of them. All the while, Ash was close to leaving Saddle Lake.
However, this is where the actions from before became massive benefits. The Pokemon of Saddle Lake that had been freed from J's Desire decided to help. They may be a bit weakened still but they were now in Ash's debt. They were going to repay him after he saved them.
With how many Pokemon were in Saddle Lake, they could almost match the numbers of the influenced pursuers. it was practically an all-out scuffle at this point. The Pokemon of Saddle Lake started battling against the influenced Pokemon, helping Twilight's group greatly.
"Mightyena!" Mightyena ran towards Absol, going for a Fire Fang. The Disaster Pokemon stood there, allowing MIghtyena to bite onto his neck instead. But there was a good reason for that.
Mightyena's teeth sunk into Absol's neck with flames bursting out, causing Absol to wince. But Absol could take it. Plus, he wanted MIghtyena to bite him. So that he could use the perfect move against it.
Counter.
Absol's horn started flashing as he let out a roar, smashing his horn down onto Mightyena's back, dealing super-effective damage in the process.
"Yena!" Mightyena certainly felt that as its grip on Absol loosed before being forced into the ground because of the impact of Counter on its back.
The other Dark-Types that weren't affected by Psychic had used ranged moves such as Ice Beam, Dark Pulse and Heat Wave, sending the moves towards Twilight's group.
"Audi! Use Protect!" Fluttershy ordered her Audino.
"Audino!" Audino stood in front of her friends, creating a green shield of protective energy. This shield was wide enough and strong enough to protect her friends as the three moves had been blocked.
"Luxray! Keep the rest of them back with Discharge!" Rainbow Dash joined in.
"Luxray!" Luxray made sure to give his friends some clear distance away from any trouble by whipping up a violent flare of electricity from his body, acting as another shield as it hit some of the trainers and Pokemon, shocking and paralyzing them in the process.
"Now! Pheromosa!" Rarity sent out her Pheromosa. "Round them all up!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa already knew what she had to do. She immediately got to work as she bolted forward, moving at high speeds and grabbing the wrapped and restrained ponies and Pokemon, one by one.
But, things would be easy for the group at this point. Because the Desire of J could obviously see that Ash's friends were a bigger problem than expected. Their amazing teamwork and coordination helped them to easily gain the upper hand. It didn't matter how many ponies and Pokemon there were. Twilight's group had the skills to handle them all. Especially Celestia and Passion considering their overwhelming power.
"This isn't working. Some of you go after Ash Ketchum...Cut him off along the way." J's Desire ordered the remaining ponies. "Get rid of his Lucario first and then that Pikachu of his. Immediately."
The ponies who hadn't been touched yet were the ones that J's Desire had ordered. They had snuck away from the battle as they weren't involved in it. Their new objective was to catch Ash by surprise. And of course, J would order the trainers that had Ground-Type Pokemon. The Type that both Pikachu and Lucario are weak towards. But she also ordered other trainers with different Pokemon types. Just in case.
But besides that, the battle in Saddle Lake continued. With most of the ponies tied up by String Shot and placed closer together thanks to Pheromosa, Passion could begin the process of freeing them of the Desire while the Pokemon of Saddle Lake, Rainbow Dash and Absol deal with the rest.
With more Flying-Type showing up, Rainbow Dash sent her Braviary and Altaria to deal with them. And for efficiency, Luxray with his super-effective moves would handle this. And if he wasn't enough, Rarity sent out her Ampharos for assistance.
"Where's Ash?!" Pinkie Pie looked behind.
"Audino!" Audino could hear where Ash was heading. She pointed south.
"Ash will be fine!" Twilight was sure of it. "Let's handle this first before we catch up to him!"
With Ash. White Tail Wood.
Ash had gotten a good distance. He was far from the central part of Saddle Lake, just between White Tail Wood and thanks to his friends, he was able to leave without being spotted. Even the Flying-Types couldn't get to him since they were occupied with Luxray, Braviary, Altaria and Ampharos.
He had some friends to back him up along the way. His best buddy Pikachu, his Lucario and Twilight's Ninetales and Cinccino. There were no hostile Pokemon here so they were in the clear.
Ash and the others stopped running as they could hear the battle happening at Saddle Lake. "Man. They're really going at it, huh?"
"Pika..."
"We'd better find a good place to hide. I've got a feeling a bunch more are headed here." Ash was looking for a new place to conceal himself. Since there were no hostile Pokemon here as observed by the eyes, Ash could take it easy for a while.
But, little did he know, he had some extra company coming his way gradually. In the form of the Ground itself. Before they could find a place to hide, one of the ponies nearby had quietly ordered their Ground-Type to move towards Ash. 5 of them in total. But right now, only 3 of them were here with 1 Poison-Type among them.
That Pokemon was a Sandslash as it had used the move Dig, burrowing its way through the ground. But it wasn't the only Ground-Type. After all, J's Desire told the ponies who had Ground-Type Pokemon with them to head after Ash. But it had also ordered for other types.
Lucario could sense some approaching Pokemon already thanks to his Aura. If anything, he was Ash's alert signal. Since every living thing has Aura, Lucario could essentially know when someone was coming.
But, he quickly found out that it wasn't just one individual, but multiple. Lucario obviously concluded that some of the ponies from Saddle Lake had followed Ash here.
"Cario..." Lucario stopped walking as he immediately got into a stance, shifting his eyes around. He closed his eyes, searching for the direction where the Aura was heading. He could read Aura waves to properly predict things.
"That Lucario...Distract it." J's Desire ordered. Since it had all of the existing knowledge from J, it also had her knowledge of Pokemon as well. And Lucario being a Sinnoh Pokemon much like how J is most known for her actions in Sinnoh, gives J's Desire a bit of an advantage.
A faraway pony ordered their Claydol to use the move Earth Power. By spinning its head around, showing its many eyes, the Clay Doll Pokemon's body glowed gold as the ground all around it started to shake. Glowing gold cracks formed, spreading out and racing towards Ash's group at high speeds.
"Lu!" Lucario had spotted Earth Power heading this way as he put his arms together, creating Aura Sphere as a way to counter the approaching gold cracks.
But that's what J's Desire was hoping for. With Lucario focused on the mighty Earth Power, that would allow Sandslash to strike.
And strike it did.
"Sandslash!" The Mouse Pokemon finished using Dig as it emerged from to the ground, grabbing Lucario's leg with its sharp claws all of a sudden.
"Luca?!" Lucario gasped as he had been grabbed, interrupting his Aura Sphere charging.
"Slash!" Sandslash then threw Lucario towards the shockwaves of Earth Power with the strength it gained from Dig. The Aura Pokemon had now been flung towards a supereffective move by another supereffective move.
"Ah! Lucario!" Ash turned around.
"Pikachu!"
Lucario had been struck by Earth Power, feeling a ton of damage power through him when the shockwaves connected. Afterwards, Lucario had been engulfed by an explosion that knocked him further away from Ash. The Aura Pokemon, already taking some damage, landed next to the trainer who had a Claydol.
"L-Lucario?" Lucario growled as he looked up at the trainer and their Claydol while still on the ground.
"Claydol!" Claydol was tasked with keeping Lucario as far away from Ash as possible. If anything, Lucario was the biggest threat because of how much Aura he gives off. So stopping him would benefit J's Desire greatly.
"Ccino!" Minccy was here to do her job as she went over to Sandslash, using Aqua Tail to send it away. The Scarf Pokemon jumped into the air, swinging her liquified tail down.
"Slash!" Sandslash put both its claws up, blocking Aqua Tail. Sandslash then dug back down underground.
"Seviper!" And from underneath the ground that Sandslash burrowed through, Seviper popped up instantly, wrapping its body around Ash.
"Gh!" Ash winced as Seviper was about to poison him with Poison Fang to his neck.
"Pikapi?!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales turned to face Seviper as he used Extrasensory. With his eyes flashing blue, the Fox Pokemon fired a rainbow-coloured beam towards Seviper's face.
Sevi!" Seviper felt its face being hit as its grip on Ash had been loosened, allowing Ash to break free. It was a good thing that Minccy and Ninetales were here since they had moves that could easily deal with Ground and Poison-Types.
"Thanks, guys!" Ash thanked.
"Ca!" Lucario had just been hit by another Ground move from Claydol, forcing him to veer back on the ground. Claydol wouldn't allow him to reach Ash at any costs as it would forcefully drive Lucario in opposite directions with its attacks.
"Dol!" Claydol then shot a white beam into the ground, using a move that was made specifically to separate everyone from Ash. That move was Earthquake. Much greater than Earth Power.
With the tiny beam hitting the ground, Claydol shook the ground, causing massive tremor as the ground was receiving visible cracks. Along with that, large shockwaves were emerging, racing rapidly towards Ash's group.
"Not good!" Ash glared at the incoming shockwaves took out Dragonite's Poke Ball. "Dragonite! G-"
That's when the third Ground-Type showed itself. A bone from a Marowak had been thrown, knocking Ash's Poke Ball out of his hand. Not only that, but the bone spun around, hitting both Pikachu and Ninetales. The attack used was obviously Boomerang.
"Pika!"
"Tales!"
"Ah!" Ash looked over at the Poke Ball that had been knocked out of his hand as Seviper opened its mouth, shooting out Sludge Bomb. "Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
"Chu-Pika!" Pikachu jumped forward, hardening his tail as he blocked Sludge Bomb with it, utilizing Steel's immunity to Poison.
But, Seviper was just the distraction. The earthquake was still going and there was little time to stop it. Dragonite's Poke Ball had been engulfed by the Earthquake as Seviper was willing it to let itself be hit by the Ground-Type move. As long as Ash was caught, that's all that mattered.
"Ccino!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales and Minccy jumped in front of Ash, doing whatever they could to protect him. Ninetales had used Energy Ball, creating a ball of green energy powered by nature itself while Minccy had used Tri Attack in hopes of freezing the shockwaves.
"Slash!" And with those two distracted, Sandslash took the opportunity to grab Ash's leg from another hole it made. Ash gasped as he had then been dragged through the ground by Sandslash.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu turned around to see that Ash had been dragged through the earth. All of this was just one big distraction. All they needed to do was get Ash away from his friends and they would have the chance to grab him.
And that is exactly what just happened.
Ninetales and Minccy had managed to hold back Earthquake with Energy Ball and Tri Attack cancelling it out. But, they ended up losing sight of Ash. He had just been taken.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu was going to jump in after Ash but Marowak's bone had been thrown in the form of Boomerang, hitting the Electric Mouse Pokemon in the face. "Pi!"
"Maro!"
A difficult situation to be sure. Now Ash had been captured by an influenced Pokemon and dragged through the earth. He was now underground and by his lonesome. Dragonite's Poke Ball was still fine, albeit a bit damaged from Earthquake.
The Desire to take revenge upon Ash Ketchum wasn't over yet as the journey continues.
Ash had just been dragged down through the earth by a Sandslash. He was now underground and further away from his friends. Much further actually. Sandslash dragged Ash so far at such insane speeds that they had left the vicinity of White Tail Wood.
"Ugh!" Ash groaned as he had hit the ground hard. Sandslash now had Ash by his lonesome in its own personal hole that it made. Sandslash had also chucked large rocks at the hole, blocking it and preventing Ash from even escaping from this place.
"Sandslash!" The Mouse Pokemon sharpened its claws as it was ready to cut Ash into pieces.
"Oh, man..." Ash held his head, looking at Sandslash. At this point, Ash just wanted to catch a break. A Pokemon threatening to destroy him wasn't new to him at all. He took out a Poke Ball, the last one he had. Dragonite's Poke Ball was still at the surface after being knocked out of his hand. Lucario and Gengar were up there helping Pikachu and the others. So there was only one Pokemon left for Ash to have help. "Here goes! Farfetch'd!"
"Farfetch'd!" His Galarian Farfetch'd had been sent out.
"Sandslash!" Sandslash then rushed at Ash with its claws being increased in strength via Hone Claws. The attack that Sandslash went for was Fury Swipes which was powered up by Hone Claws.
"Farfetch'd! Use Fury Cutter!"
"Far!" Farfetch'd readied his leek, looking Sandslash dead in the eye. "Fetch'd!" Once Sandslash got close, Farfetch'd swung his large leek, clashing it with the claws of the Mouse Pokemon.
"Sand?!"
"Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd yelled as he pushed the Ground-Type back with his leek, preventing Sandslash from getting further. To assert his dominance, Farfetch'd stomped his leek on the ground.
"Thanks, Farfetch'd!" Ash thanked his partner as he started to try and make his escape from the underground by rapidly digging the walls of the underground.
"Far!" Farfetch'd went on the offensive, continuing to use Fury Cutter to attack Sandslash.
"Slash!" Sandslash engaged in combat with Farfetch'd with its claws as both Pokemon were now clashing back and forth with Fury Swipes and Fury Cutter.
Their clashing was so great it was even starting to shake the underground itself while Ash was furiously getting his hands dirty. Farfetch'd seemed to have the advantage when it came to strength. Since Fury Cutter gets stronger with each hit, it would only make sense that he would start to push Sandslash back.
"S-Sandslash!" Sandslash was indeed being pushed back. It couldn't compete with Farfetch'ds brutal and aggressive battling style, even when underground, its own territory where it should have the upper hand. But not against Farfetch'd.
"Fetch'd!" Farfetch'd had backed Sandslash into a corner, furiously increasing the power of his swings. Farfetch'd then delivered one powerful swing that was mighty enough to launch Sandslash far back.
And that's what it did. When Farfetch'd found an opening, he struck his leek onto Sandslash's stomach, sending the Mouse Pokemon flying through the underground corridor.
"Slash!" The influenced Sandslash had crashed into the walls of the underground, shaking it even further.
"Far!" Farfetch'd wasn't done yet. He then used Focus Energy to further increase his strength. His body was briefly covered in an orange glow as he focused directly at Sandslash.
"S-Sandslash?!" Sandslash gasped as it knew it had to retaliate quickly or else Farfetch'd would knock it unconscious right underground. To counter this, Sandslash had decided to use the move Poison Jab by covering its claws in poison. The Mouse Pokemon had also used Hone Claws to further increase its attack.
"Fetch'd?"
"Sand!" Sandslash then rushed towards Farfetch'd with poison apart of its claws. This time, Sandslash would be playing aggressively, forcing Farfetch'd to stay on his guard.
Once more, they had clashed. But this time, Sandslash had a better chance. The impact between the claws and the leek was harder this time. At this rate, the underground will come crashing down from their battle.
"Hang in there, Farfetch'd!" Ash looked back at his partner, putting all his hope into Farfetch'd.
"Far!"
On the surface. Saddle Lake.
On the brighter side, Celestia's group had successfully dealt with all of the influenced ponies. They had all been gathered up by the 12 Leavanny String Shot and Pheromosa's speed. And with the assistance of the Pokemon living in Saddle Lake, it was made much easier with so much help.
With that, Passion could begin the process of freeing them from the Desire.
"Finally." Rarity sighed as she sat down. "It felt like that would never end."
"At least we have them all in one spot now." Celestia turned to face the influenced ponies and Pokemon as Passion was approaching them, getting ready to free every last one of them. She could only do one at a time, but if multiple are within range, then her Fairy magic will be able to affect them all with her vicinity.
"Gardevoir." Passion stood before the restrained ponies and Pokemon as she looked a bit exhausted herself. This entire situation did require Passion to work a lot. Especially when it came to holding down the influenced victims with Psychic. But she could manage.
The Embrace Pokemon put her arms on the head of a single pony, tapping into her mind as her Fairy Aura was already exuding. With everyone huddled together, it was starting to affect them all simultaneously. This was such a well-needed benefit for Passion and everyone.
The thought of doing it one by one would not only take so long that it would be nigh-impossible to free everyone in Equestria from the Desire's influence but Passion would be so burnt out that she would eventually give up. Well, she never gives up but she'll feel like giving up.
The Fairy aura made everyone's eyes widen as Passion was showing them all their memories from start to finish, breaking down the Desire of J. Passion would need to put in more focus than she usually does since she was connecting with more than one individual.
"Voir..." Passion's aura was growing more vibrant in colour. But as she was removing the influence from everyone, through her head, she received a sudden message from the one causing this. A warning if anything.
That of course, came for J's Desire.
"You haven't won yet...!"
"Garde?!" Passion gasped as she was now having a telepathic talk with the Desire. Hearing this made Passion freeze on the spot.
"You can hear me can you? I know what you and your friends are up to. You're already causing me enough trouble as it is. You may be able to beat me here...you probably will actually. But know this. I'll still be extant and alive. After all, there is a part of me that you failed to destroy months ago."
"V-Voir?"
"What's wrong with Passion? Is she alright?" Twilight noticed how Passion was just frozen in place, not moving at all.
"I'm not sure..." Celestia narrowed her eyes. "Perhaps interacting with more than one influenced pony or Pokemon must be taxing on her."
They weren't aware of what Passion was actually experiencing. It was something that she couldn't take her focus off since it sounded important.
"This revenge plan isn't over yet. And I can see that you'll tire yourself out eventually. Let's see how long you truly last when millions find you and your friends. Especially Ash Ketchum." The Desire of J then chuckled before silently fading away, leaving Passion's mind.
"G-Garde!" Passion blinked as she shook her head. She wasn't expecting to receive a message such as that. A Desire had just spoken to her. In full sentences too instead of just one word.
The moment Passion snapped back to her senses, so did everyone else she had connected with. Those that had been influenced were now free and no longer being controlled by J's Desire.
The Embrace Pokemon held her head after that surprise as she breathed in and out. Celestia immediately ran over to Passion side to see if she was alright.
"Passion! What happened?!" Celestia asked.
"G-Gardevoir..." Passion explained what she had just heard a few seconds ago.
"The Desire spoke to you?" Celestia translated.
"Spoke to her?" Twilight teleported over as Absol used his horn to cut up the strings that restrained everypony and Pokemon who had just been freed from the Desire's control.
"Voir..."
"It was J's Desire." Celestia further translated. "It seems that it's capable of speaking full sentences, unlike most Desires. "What did it say to you, Passion?"
"Voir. Gardevoir." Passion explained that it didn't say too much. The Desire didn't give away where J was. All it really did was threaten Passion and mention how she'll tire out before she can even free all of the influenced victims.
"I see..." Celestia nodded. "It seems that we're not dealing with an ordinary Desire anymore."
"What do you mean, princess?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'm afraid we'll be at odds with J's Desire for a while now." Celestia faced Twilight and the others. "From what it told Passion, we might have a chance to end this influence today but..."
"Great. We already have Ghetsis and Empress Twilight to deal with." Rainbow Dash groaned. "Not to mention the invasion that's coming soon. Can't we get a break already?"
"Don't worry, Passion." Princess Celestia patted her partner on the back. "I won't let you suffer and tire yourself out from all of this."
"Gardevoir."
"Alright, everypony." Celestia then started to talk to her subjects, grabbing their attention. "You're all free now from the Desire's influence. But that doesn't mean this is over yet. Many of your friends, family and familiars out there are most likely influenced as well. If you can, I want you to try your best and keep them away from Ash. Do whatever you must."
"Us?" A pony pointed at himself. "We get to join in?"
"Weren't we already with the whole brainwashing part?" said another pony who replied.
"I get to feel like a hero? Neat." Another pony grinned.
"If we work together, we could remove the Desire from everypony in Equestria before the day ends. Or even tomorrow. Hopefully today. If you know anypony that has been influenced, let us know. We'll be right there." Celestia ordered.
Even after being freed, it wasn't over yet. Celestia and the others would need all the help they could get at this point. They had already received help from the Pokemon of Saddle Lake and now that help is about to skyrocket. The residents of Ponyville and other ponies from different cities and towns in Equestria were now going to help out in their own way.
"What about Ash? Is he alright?" Twilight wondered as she turned around, facing the south.
"Audino..." Audino was trying to find Ash's voice or anything with her feelers. Unfortunately, since Ash was deep underground and far from here that would be impossible. But, Audino did hear Pikachu and the others currently battling against other influenced Pokemon. "Audino!"
"Audi can't hear him!" Fluttershy translated. "It's just Pikachu and everyone else!"
"That's not a good sign." Rarity shifted her eyes around. "We should probably go now."
"Right behind you. There's little time to rest at this point." Celestia replied as she spread her wings out. "Do your best everypony."
With no time to spare since this whole situation could be summed up easily as Go-Go-Go, everyone set out to play their parts. One group will try and stop other influenced ponies and Pokemon they know across Equestria while the other group heads towards Ash's location.
Everything was now changing thanks to the increased size in help. Very soon, ponies of Equestria would be at odds with each other with one side protecting Ash and the other pursuing him.
White Tail Wood.
"PIka!" Pikachu had used Iron Tail on Claydol, knocking the Clay Doll Pokemon back. He and the others had been battling these Pokemon for quite some time now.
"D-Doll!" Claydol fell on its back after that hard Iron Tail.
"Ccino!" Minccy then jumped over Pikachu, covering her tail with water, using Aqua Tail from above. The Scarf Pokemon then smashed her liquified tail onto Claydol while it was still on the ground, hitting the Ground-Psychic-Types' head.
"Clay!" Claydol cried out as it had been knocked out by Aqua Tail with Minccy standing on top of Claydol in victory.
"Cinccino!"
"Seviper!" Seviper, one of the Pokemon amongst the influenced individuals lunged towards Lucario, using Swords Dance on its own teeth of all things.
"Lu!" Lucario was prepared for this as he used Double Team to trick Seviper, creating multiple afterimage clones of himself that surrounded the Fang Snake Pokemon.
"Vi?" Seviper looked around, seeing Lucario's everywhere. In unison, each of the Lucario's put their palms together, going for an Aura Sphere as multiple blue spheres of aura had been formed.
Seviper wasn't sure who to hit since there were so many of them. And it looked like multiple Aura Sphere's would be thrust towards its direction, intimidating the Fang Snake Pokemon even further.
"Lucario!" At once, the Lucario's all fired Aura Sphere which rapidly spun around the Poison-Type and inevitably rained down on it with a vicious onslaught from every direction.
"Viper!" Seviper had been struck with blue blinding lights forming from the impact along with a dome explosion of Aura. After something as fierce as that, Seviper had fainted. "Seviper..."
Now there was only one Pokemon remaining aside from Sandslash. That same Marowak that had knocked Dragonite's Poke Ball out of Ash's hand.
"Ninetales!" Ninetales decided to deal with that by generating an Energy Ball from his mouth. The Fox Pokemon then sent a blast of green energy forward, hitting the Bone Keeper Pokemon directly.
"Wak!" Marowak cried as it had been blown back by Energy Ball, falling on its back after that super-effective hit. It was safe to say that thanks to Ninetales and the others having such skilled trainers, they were definitely prepared to take on whoever would come their way.
Pikachu and his friends had successfully defeated the Pokemon who tried to eliminate them but failed. However, they did succeed in taking Ash away, dragging him into the earth. Lucario quickly grabbed Dragonite's Poke Ball, releasing the Dragon Pokemon by throwing it.
"Dragon?"
"Pika..." Pikachu breathed in and out as he was a bit exhausted from all the battling. "Pikapi!" He then turned around, facing the burrowed hole that Ash had been dragged through, quickly running forward to see if he could find Ash down there.
"Lu!" Lucario and the other Pokemon ran to Pikachu's side, looking down at the hole with him. They had all seen that Sandslash had dug so deep through the ground that it was hard to see what was at the end. Almost like an abyss of some sorts.
"Ccino?" Minccy squinted her eyes, trying to see if she could gaze beyond the deep hole Sandslash made. But, her vision wasn't exactly that great.
"Cario." Lucario would give it a try. He closed his eyes, trying to sense Ash's Aura nearby. Since Ash's Aura was so powerful and he and Lucario had a strong bond, it wouldn't be too difficult. But then again, Sandslash dug very far to the point where it dragged Ash away from White Tail Wood.
Lucario intensified his focus. He was sensing the auras of every nearby living thing. Everything was blue with his eyes closed when using Aura Detection. Lucario made his vision go even further, seeing if he could go past White Tail Wood.
While Lucario was focusing, trying to find Ash's Aura, Celestia and her group had arrived, spotting Pikachu and the others here.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu looked back to see his friends, waving at them.
"Pikachu! You're okay!" Fluttershy smiled as Pikachu hopped into her hooves. "Where's Ash? Is he alright?"
"Pikapi. Pikachu." Pikachu pointed over at Lucario who was currently looking for Ash still.
"Hm? Lucario's using Aura to search for Ash?" Fluttershy translated.
"That's right!" Twilight nodded. "Lucario can use Aura to sense the presence of other Auras in one's vicinity and their surroundings. Right now, he's trying to find Ash's Aura. It has a similar pattern to the Legendary Hero Sir Aaron so it can't be too hard."
"Cario...!" But it indeed was hard. Lucario was still locked in focus. Because of how thick the walls of the underground were, it was difficult to really find Ash, unfortunately.
"Maybe not..." Twilight gulped.
"Don't worry." Rainbow Dash flew forward. "We can help with this. Luxray. Now's your time to really shine."
"Ray?"
"Use your nifty and cool X-ray vision." Rainbow pointed her hoof at her eyes.
"Luxray!" Luxray nodded in understanding as he went towards the hole that the others were standing on. Luxray could exactly sense things on the same level as Lucario's Aura. However, he did have an advantage in the form of being able to see through walls. Especially thick ones.
Luxray turned all of his focus underground and downwards. He could see that Sandslash had burrowed through the earth in a diagonal direction. He followed the direction of the hole, even seeing past the darkness that it had. Sandslash had certainly gone far. Even for Luxray's amazing see-through vision, he would have to really keep on searching.
"This might take a while," Fluttershy said. "Audi. See if you can help."
"Audino." Some more help was being added to the mix. Audino went up to the hole, kneeling and putting her feelers next to it to see if she could hear Ash. Audino hasn't exactly used her great hearing on the underground before so this was a first. With her exceptional hearing, she was able to pick up on faint noises from very far away. It sounded like clashing of some sorts.
Now three Pokemon were doing their best to find Ash.
Lucario was searching for his Aura.
Luxray was looking through the walls of the underground.
And Audino was searching for his footsteps or voice.
Underground.
At the same time, Farfetch'd and Sandslash continued their struggle as they seemed to be even now in terms of strength. Both their claws and leek were being pushed against each other.
Meanwhile, Ash had burrowed through the ground so much he was close to reaching the surface. He was a bit of a mess with all the dirt on him but he didn't care really.
"Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd roared as he was starting to push Sandslash back with his leek.
"S-Slash!" Sandslash dug its feet deep on the ground, staying firm and preventing Farfetch'd from succeeding. "Sandslash!"
Both Pokemon butted heads, growling at each other. Thanks to J's Desire, Sandslash's aggressiveness kept growing. But Farfetch'd's fury was strong enough to match the Desire.
"I can see something!" Ash exclaimed as all his digging led him to see some light upwards. He was certainly close as he increased his digging speed. "Come on!"
"Fetch'd...!" Farfetch'd glared Sandslash in the eye, putting in more than 100% with his struggle. He refused to lose here. Not until he's beaten stronger opponents and mastered the way of the leek. And he certainly didn't want to lose to a Pokemon that wasn't even in control of their own will.
"Sandslash...!"
"Farfetch'd!" With a mighty roar, Farfetch'd broke through his limits with his eyes glowing red. The Wild Duck Pokemon pushed his leek so hard that it actually managed to make Sandslash's hard claws tremble with parts of it being chipped off.
"S-Sand?!" Even Sandslash was surprised that its claws could be chipped by a leek of all things.
"Far!" With superior strength and spirit, Farfetch'd pushed Sandslash back with his leek, hitting the Mouse Pokemon in the face with Fury Cutter once more.
"Slash!"
"Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd then launched Sandslash, causing the Ground-Type to hit the wall hard, further rumbling the underground.
"S-Sand...slash..." With an impact that hard, Sandslash couldn't go on any further. It fell on the ground, fainting. Farfetch'd had won this duel.
"F-Far..." Farfetch'd himself was a bit tired after putting in so much work. That was possibly his hardest battle yet.
"Oh!" Ash looked back to see that Farfetch'd had won. And he had also seen that Sandslash was knocked out. Ash couldn't leave Sandslash here, especially since it's still under the Desire's influence. "Hold on!"
Ash slid his way down through the burrowed path he made from all his digging, rushing over to the Mouse Pokemon with haste.
"Thanks, Farfetch'd. Return." Ash returned his Farfetch'd after a job well done, allowing him to rest. The trainer then picked up the fainted Sandslash, putting the Ground-Type on his back.
"S-Sandslash...?"
"I gotcha." Even when Sandslash was still being influenced by J's Desire, Ash was willing to help it either way. He quickly ran back to where he burrowed, keeping Sandslash on his back.
Sandslash felt like it could attack Ash here and now since it was right on his back. The closest it can be to him. However, seeing how Ash didn't leave it behind but instead came back for it when it fainted really hit Sandslash. Perhaps harder than Farfetch'd did.
"Slash?" Because of this act of kindness radiating from Ash, Sandslash's mind could see that Ash wasn't the enemy at all. Thus, it was fighting back at J's Desire, which was already weakened after how much Ash's Aura and Passion had freed many influenced victims.
With it seeing Ash in this way, Sandslash broke free of J's Desire for revenge. How can one take revenge on someone who had come for them out of care even when they had been knocked out?
Ash kept digging his way through the path he made as he squinted his eyes, looking at the light that was at the very surface. However, Sandslash actually decided to give its assistance.
"Sandslash." The Mouse Pokemon hopped off Ash's back as it was going to use the move Dig to make this whole process faster.
"Huh?" Ash looked down at Sandslash.
"Slash," Sandslash told Ash to let it handle this. The Ground-Type then started doing what it knew best by rapidly digging through the underground texture. Even in a weakened state, Sandslash's digging skills were exceptional. "Sandslash! Sandslash! Sandslash!"
"Oh! Awesome job, Sandslash!" Ash grinned. Even with Sandslash digging, Ash still felt like he needed to help. He then joined in by also digging through with Sandslash. While not at the same speed as the Mouse Pokemon, Ash could certainly dig pretty quickly.
With both of them giving it more than 100% of their effort, they were able to successfully break through the underground and finally reach the surface together.
One final dig and they erupted their heads through the ground, reaching their destination. And where did they end up exactly?
When emerging from the underground, it was soon revealed that they had ended up in one of the many Pokemon landmarks that had been made. A fairly familiar one that Ash certainly knew.
Deerling Forest.
"Oh! We're in Deerling Forest? Guess we really went far, huh?" Ash said as he climbed out of the ground.
"Sandslash."
Entering Deerling Forest, they could also see the nearby Pikachu Highlands. And if they were here, then that meant Canterlot wasn't too far from here.
Here at Deerling Forest, Ash could see that none of the Pokemon here were actually hostile and influenced by J, thankfully. It was a relief for Ash. He could finally catch a break. But it was far from over yet.
"Phew. We're in the clear here." Ash sighed. "Thanks for all the help Sandslash."
"Sand." Sandslash nodded as it thanked Ash for helping break it free from the Desire's influence. The Mouse Pokemon would now be heading off on its own.
Now it was just Ash and the Pokemon of Deerling Forest. However, Ash had put in so much work while using his Aura much earlier to a large degree to a point where that Aura Ataxia problem was kicking in.
Ash breathed in and out as he sat down, feeling his body acting up from the Ataxia. Even after recovering from it last week, Aura Ataxia seems to really catch up quickly if the body is pushed constantly. Ash was hoping that one day he could get past this problem.
"Man..." Ash exhaled. "Can't stop here. Gotta find Pikachu and the others. But..." Ash then fell on his back. "My body feels a bit off right now. Won't listen to me."
Ash looked up in the sky, seeing that the afternoon was somehow still young even after all that had just happened. It'll be a while before nightfall can arrive.
Exhausted and with his body feeling numb, Ash still felt like he couldn't give up here. He had to keep on moving. He remembered that Deerling Forest and Pikachu Highlands both had a single gateway that connected to a region in the Pokemon World.
The Johto Region, of course.
Ash figured that perhaps if he went to his own world, it would be harder for everypony to find him. The Pokemon World is gigantic after all. Luckily, he didn't go through the gateway to Pallet Town since everyone knows where Ash lives.
"Deer?" The Deerling saw Ash on the ground, dirty and exhausted as they approached.
"Hey." Ash sat up.
"Ling, Deerling." The Deerling couldn't accept Ash being so dirty with all the underground dirt on him. They decided something had to be done before Ash could be on his merry way. Even if they had no idea that he was being hunted down.
The Deerling all looked at each other, nodding in agreement as they knew what they needed to do. Next to Fairy-Types, Grass-Type Pokemon are some of the kindest Pokemon-Types out there.
Together, the Deerling each stood in a line as they looked up in the sky. Ash tilted his head, wondering what the Deerling were up to.
Suddenly, each of the Season Pokemon started dancing around in perfect unison, taking Ash by surprise as they made harmonic cries.
But, it was soon revealed what these Normal-Grass-Types were up to. They were performing Rain Dance to try and dry Ash off. Their dancing was changing the weather itself, prompting Ash to look up.
Rain clouds started forming above, coming together and responding to the dancing Deerling. And from those clouds, the rain started to pour down.
"Deerling!"
The rain mostly beat down on Ash the most as he was being pelted and bombarded with rapid and wide drops of rainwater all over his body.
"Woah!" Ash gasped as he didn't expect this sudden shower. But it was something he needed after being through the underground and digging so much.
All the dirt was being cleaned off by the pouring rain as he sat there letting it happen. The rain was a bit cold for Ash but there was nothing he could do about it.
In seconds, Ash had been rid of all the underground dirt thanks to Deerling. Although, as a trade, he was now wet with rainwater. Fair trade in all honesty.
"Thanks, Deerling." Ash thanked them.
"Deerling."
"Alright." Ash stood up as he adjusted his now wet hat. His eyes then shifted from a happy expression to a serious one. He knew that Pikachu and his friends were still out there working hard to protect him. "Hang in there, Pikachu. Everyone. I'll be there as soon as I can."
Ash knew that going through the land of Equestria would mean being caught from every angle since he'll be out in the open. But, if he were to use the gateways as shortcuts by hopping from gateway to gateway in different parts of the world, he could still reach his destination.
Plus, he had his Xtransceiver to call his friends. So that was a great bonus.
Ash quickly turned in the direction of where the gateway to Johto was. He immediately dashed off, running past the Deerling and waving goodbye to them. It was Johto for his next destination in this trainer manhunt.
But, of course, with how many were influenced, there were bound to be some hidden individuals watching from afar. And there certainly was.
From within the clouds, a pegasus had spotted Ash running towards the direction of the gateway. This chase was for from over.
But, thanks to the efforts of Celestia, Ash had more help than he could ever imagine right now. There were now two sides with opposing goals. Destroying Ash and freeing everyone from the Desire's influence as the journey continues.
A city where you can hear the melody of the sea and a port with beautiful sea breezes. This is where Ash had ended up when passing through the gateway connected to Deerling Forest.
He could finally breathe as he was away from all the conflict since most of Equestria is hunting him down. Entering Olivine City was a relief.
"Phew." Ash sighed. But he couldn't stop now. He had friends he needed to get to. Right now, he was far from Equestria and especially White Tail Wood and Saddle Lake, where he last saw his friends before getting dragged underneath the earth.
He would have to take many gateway shortcuts to reach those locations without being caught by any influenced ponies or Pokemon who want to eliminate him for the sake of J's revenge.
"Alright. Where's the next gateway?" Ash wondered. It's been years since he's been to Olivine City. A lot has changed over the years. Some new buildings had been sprung up. Especially a very visible mansion that was next to the Battle Tower.
As Ash started searching for the gateway in Olivine, he first took out his Xtransceiver, calling for his friends. He selected Rainbow Dash's Trainer number since she's always the first to answer her Xtransceiver more than anyone else.
And sure enough, Rainbow Dash did in fact pick up Ash's call first in less than seconds. This was an urgent situation so it would only make sense for her to pick up immediately as her face showed on the screen. Not just that, all of his friends too.
"Ash!" Rainbow Dash and everyone exclaimed.
"Pikapi!"
"Hey, guys. Glad to see you're okay."
"We can say the same for you! Mostly you!" Twilight bellowed as her face pushed Rainbow Dash's face aside. "You had us seriously worried there! Are you hurt?! Where are you now?!"
"Ow." Rainbow Dash held her face.
"I'm fine. Feeling a bit numb from using too much Aura and pushing it a bit though. Right now, I'm at Olivine City."
"Thank goodness..." Twilight sighed.
"Great news, Ash." Fluttershy's face was shown. "Everypony's helping out. Well, the ones we freed. Princess Celestia told them to head out and stop any influenced ponies or Pokemon across Equestria."
"So we've got like a ton of backup now!" Rainbow Dash's face came back into view. "You don't have to worry about a thing now. Everypony's gonna make sure this whole thing blows over. Soon, that Hunter J's not gonna have anyone left to mess with it."
"Hold on. Did you say Olivine City, Ash?" Celestia asked.
"Yeah?" Ash nodded.
"Hollow and Jewel should be there. Meet up with them if you can, Ash. They can be of great help, actually." Celestia ordered.
"Oh, really?" Ash looked up, gazing at the more obvious building here. The mansion. Ash already knew that Jewel was rich so that mansion was a dead giveaway. "Alright, I gotcha."
"Pikapi! Pikachu!" Pikachu desperately wanted to see Ash again as his face came into view on the screen.
"We'll be right there as soon as we can." Celestia was about to use teleportation to transport her and the others to Deerling Forest since she already knows about most gateways in Equestria and which part of the Pokemon World they lead to.
"Ok. See ya soon." Ash hung up the call as he set his eyes on the mansion ahead.
At the same time, that same pegasus who was watching Ash in secret at Deerling Forest had passed through the gateway, locking her sights on the trainer. She spotted Ash heading towards the mansion as she was the only influenced pony to know where he was now.
And as a bonus, J's Desire knew as well since it was connected to all of the ponies and Pokemon it had influenced. When the pegasus came through and saw Ash, so did the Desire. It knew where Ash was headed.
"You can't hide forever, Ash Ketchum. As long as I have someone nearby under my control, I'll always find you, one way or another."
Hollow and Jewel's mansion.
Standing at the very front of the mansion on the outside was none other than Hollow's Houndoom who acted as a sort of guard dog to the mansion.
The Dark Pokemon noticed Ash arriving as he immediately recognized the trainer, not deeming him as an enemy.
"Doom! Houndoom!" Houndoom barked, signalling that Ash had arrived.
"Hey, Houndoom. Been a while." Ash finally arrived at the mansion, greeting Houndoom with a head pat.
"Hound!"
"Are Hollow and Jewel home?" He asked the Dark-Fire-Type.
"Houndoom." Houndoom pointed his head over to the door. But, Ash wouldn't need to wonder if they were home. Because Houndoom's barking a few seconds ago was already an alert sign.
The door to the mansion was being opened up as someone had responded to Houndoom's barking. And that someone, two of them actually, were Hollow and Jewel.
"Ash You're here!" Jewel exclaimed.
"Yep!" Ash nodded. "Sorry for the sudden appearance."
"It's fine. We heard you were being hunted down or something by Equestria?" Hollow narrowed his eyes. "What's up with that exactly?"
"Oh. That." Ash laughed. "Guess you found out. Yeah, I'm in a bit of a chase right now. Ya, see a Pokemon Hunter named J's got a Desire to take revenge on me and everything. Looks like J's Desire was strong enough to make almost everyone wanna take revenge on me."
"Hang on. Did you say J?" Jewel put her hand out.
"Yeah?"
"Hunter J." Jewel thought for a moment, looking into the sky. "I've heard of that name before. The infamous Pokemon Hunter from Sinnoh. She wants to take revenge on you?"
"She's not really a big fan of me since I keep getting in her way," Ash replied.
"Oh." Hollow nodded. "Yeah, that checks out. But I thought Hunter J was lost forever...Guess she must've found her way back."
"Celestia told me to come here and see if you two could help. She and the others will be here soon. But you might be busy right now, huh?"
"No, it's fine." Hollow shook his head. "If Celestia ordered it, we can definitely help out, can we?"
"Hm?" Jewel turned to Hollow. "Ah, right! It all seems important anyway. Since they're all hunting you down, it's best not to stay out in the open. Come inside, Ash."
"Thanks!"
Ash was led inside the home of Hollow and Jewel, using it as a place to hide until Celestia and the others arrive. This would also be Ash's first time in the mansion that was mostly owned by Jewel because of her family heritage.
Strangely enough, it somewhat resembled Skyblue Shine's mansion with a lot of striking similarities. Although, Ash has never seen that mansion before in Equestria.
"Ooh..." Ash gawked at the mansion as he could see that most of Hollow and Jewel's Pokemon were out of their Poke Balls, roaming around indoors.
"Has anyone in our world been influenced by the Desire?" Hollow asked.
"No, I don't think so." Ash shook his head as all he had seen were ponies being influenced. "So far, it's only hit those in Equestria. I don't think it passed over to here."
"If it did then that could raise some problems for you, Ash," Jewel said. "Last thing you need is two worlds hunting you down, huh?"
"No need to worry. Since Celestia, Passion, Lucario and I can free them, we've got a lot of great help right now. Everyone we freed is gonna be doing their best to try and stop the Desire too. So it's not all bad." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Seriously?" Hollow thought about what the current situation might be right now. He was imagining two different sides going at each other, causing madness across Equestria in a sort of power struggle. The thought of that made him shudder a bit. "Oh, man..."
"Problem is...we can't exactly find J." Ash scratched his hair. "If we could, this whole thing would've been over way faster. Passion can't sense her anywhere in Equestria."
"Then she's probably here in this world." Hollow sat down. "Maybe that's why she can't be found in Equestria. But even so, the Pokemon World is gigantic. There are so many regions she could be in any one of them. I'm not sure that even Passion could sense her with all this distance."
"Oh, good point." Jewel nodded. "But, where would she be? I mean, if she just came back all of a sudden, she would be in someplace less obvious. Coming to Equestria would hide her from Officer Jenny, wouldn't it?"
"I think I know of a place," Hollow replied.
"You do?" Both Ash and Jewel turned to Hollow.
"The Pokemon Black Market. That's where most Pokemon criminals head to when they're doing their dirty business."
"Oh, right. I heard about it." Ash recalled hearing about the Pokemon Black Market during Sinnoh. If anything, Sinnoh is where his knowledge of the Pokemon World kept growing and growing with each adventure. "Where is it?"
"Everywhere. Practically every region has one in secret. But that's all I know about it. Sorry."
"Dear. How do you know of this?" Jewel slid over, curious?
"Eh? Ah, well!" Hollow stood up, laughing nervously. "You learn a lot when you've got an adventurous grandpa. Hahaha!"
"Hm?" But something else had caught Ash's attention that drew him away from talking about subjects related to J. He noticed that there was a cabinet that held very familiar items that he's seen before.
Gym Badges, trophies and contest ribbons galore. All were inside of this one singular cabinet and Ash recognized all of them through his adventures.
"Oh!" Ash dashed over. "Awesome! You guys got all of these?!"
"Sure did." Hollow gave off a proud smirk. "Proud owner of regional gym badges and a few trophies here and there."
"And you're looking at a top coordinator and her possessions right now." Jewel crossed her arms, also giving off a proud and confident smile. "Hollow and I had journeyed across regions for years now. We've seen a lot and done a lot."
"I took part in many Pokemon Leagues and she took part in Hoenn and Sinnoh's Pokemon Contests. And it all really paid off in the end."
"Man, this really takes me back." Looking at this made Ash reminisce about his friends and journeys throughout previous regions.
"Houndoom!" While he was admiring it, Houndoom was barking again, signalling that someone new had shown up. Hollow quickly responded to Houndoom's barking as he approached the door.
"Hold on, I'm coming!" Hollow quickly rushed over as Ash looked back, hoping that it was his friends that were here. After all, it wouldn't take too long for them to show up.
Celestia knows where Deerling Forest is so with one teleportation spell, she can show up there and pass through the gateway, arriving at Olivine City easily. So it would take little time for her and the others to show up.
And lo and behold, when Hollow opened up the door, there they were. Pikachu, Celestia and Ash's friends had arrived at last.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu immediately spotted his best friend as he jumped over Hollow, entering the mansion with the brightest smile on his face.
"Pikachu!" Ash held his arms out, allowing Pikachu to hop into his embrace. Both of them reunited with a powerful hug as they spun around together.
"Dra!" And of course, Ash's Dragonite couldn't resist a hug as she flew forward, grabbing both Ash and Pikachu and giving them her signature hug.
"Ough!" Ash's eyes widened after being given a surprise Dragonite hug along with Pikachu.
"Pi-Pika!"
"Thank goodness..." Fluttershy was relieved.
"All of you are here?" Hollow pointed at them all.
"Certainly." Celestia nodded as she came inside. "Ash has told you everything?"
"Uh, yeah." Hollow watched them all enter. "Everything so far about J and Equestria."
"Then will you help us?" Celestia turned to face Hollow. "With how expansive J's Desire is, we'll need all the help we can get if we are to stop all of this."
"We agreed to help, already." Jewel patted Dragonite's stomach. "It's already serious enough. I mean, an entire nation after one kid? What did you do to make her so mad, Ash?"
"Ahaha..." Ash chuckled while adjusting his hat.
"Everypony in Equestria's doing their best to stop the other influenced ponies and Pokemon but..." Twilight grumbled. "We're not sure how long all of this will last..."
"J's Desire itself said that we might be able to stop it here. But it'll return, either way, remember?" Rarity reminded Twilight. "Although, I wonder if that was just to give us false hope." She herself was worried but that quickly changed when she took a better look at the mansion. "Oooh. Hello there~"
"I believe we can stop it here and now." Celestia took that hope. "If we can free more influenced ponies and Pokemon, large groups of them, then we'll be able to weaken the Desire to the point where its influence won't be as effective. And I trust that the ponies we've freed will be able to reach out to them. Ash's Aura had already freed a large majority and so did Passion."
"Gardevoir."
"Well, then all you need to do is round up another large group and you'll weaken it severely again, right?" Jewel shrugged.
"That's the idea." Rainbow Dash spoke. "After that, all they'll need is some good talking and this whole thing's gonna be over soon. Besides, I've got a Gym Battle I need to get to soon."
"It'd be a lot easier if we found J. But Passion can't sense her." Pinkie Pie said.
"So, not even when coming to this world, huh?" Hollow replied. "Figures. There are too many regions..."
"Huh? J's in this world?" Pinkie turned to Hollow.
"Maybe. But, even still, the Pokemon World is massive. A Gardevoir can only sense so much in one region." Jewel explained.
"Voir." Passion sighed.
"No need to worry." Ash smiled as Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder. "We'll solve this without finding J. Count on it. We should also trust everypony else that's helping out."
"And you think we'll be done before the day ends?" Hollow asked.
"Sure do!" Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Then let's make it happen." Celestia cleared her throat. "Luna and Darkrai are already involved in this as well. With Darkrai's Dark Void, we can easily immobilize many influenced ponies and Pokemon. Passion and I will head to Equestria and free everypony else from the Desire. Ash and Lucario will do the same, but perhaps when they're all immobile and not too out in the open."
"Lucario and I got it."
"Lu."
"And speaking of Lucario...this might be a bit of a heavy risk, I was thinking that Passion and Lucario should both combine their powers as one to hopefully speed up the process," Celestia recommended.
"Oh!" Twilight and everyone shot up. "Really?! Can that work?!"
"Not sure. It was just something that I thought of." Celestia shook her head. "Only Passion and Lucario have the necessary ability to combat the Desires. Aura and Fairy Magic from the seems. If we can put those two together, then perhaps, it could overpower the Desire much more effectively than before. It's just a theory though."
"No, no." Hollow raised his hand. "You have a point, princess."
"She does?" Everyone turned to Hollow.
"Oh yeah. Something like that can totally happen." Ash suddenly spoke, prompting everyone to look at him.
"Wait, Ash! It's possible to do that?"
"Well, I don't know about Aura and Fairy Magic coming together but mixing two different energies isn't anything new. It can happen and make something even stronger. Just like the Fusion Magic that came from our world's magic and Equestria magic. Even though that stuff's unpredictable."
"So, if we were to put Aura and Fairy Magic together, what would happen?" Rarity asked.
"Aura's the living life force everything in the universe. We all have Aura within us. Even a Gardevoir. If we were to put it with Fairy Magic, the purest form of magic, no doubt about it, something good's gonna come out of it." Hollow explained. "But I don't know what it would make."
"Well, then in that case..." Celestia made a proud smile. "Let's attempt it. This might be our ace in the hole. When we have a group of influenced ponies and Pokemon within our reach, Lucario and Passion will merge their Aura and Fairy Magic."
"Lucario." Lucario looked at Passion, nodding at her as they both knew what they needed to do now.
"Gardevoir." Passion nodded back.
"Doom! Houndoom!" Just then, Houndoom started barking again, alerting everyone in the mansion. This time, his barking sounded more along the lines of being aggressive
"Again?" Hollow raised an eyebrow. "Who is it now? I'm coming, Houndoom, hold on."
"Hound! Hound-" Abruptly, Houndoom's barking had stopped. But not for the right reason at all. When Hollow approached the door, unexpectedly, Houndoom had been blasted through it, crashing into his trainer.
"Ough!" Hollow groaned after being hit by his own Pokemon. Both Hollow and Houndoom fell on the floor hard after that sudden crash as the mansion door had been blown open.
"Hollow! Houndoom!" Jewel gasped as she rushed over to their side immediately. The cause of this sudden crash through came from what seemed to be an Electric-Type attack as sparks of lightning were coming out of Houndoom's body.
Not only that, but within the smoke, some electricity could be seen, further confirming that it was an Electric move. Everyone looked at the smoke with high alert emanating out of them.
As the smoke cleared, it was soon revealed that the Pokemon that had hit Houndoom was an Eelektross. And with the Eelektross were many ponies and Pokemon were standing outside of the mansion. And of course, they were all influenced.
"Eelek!"
"They found us?!" Pinkie Pie gasped.
"H-Houndoom...Are you okay?" Hollow asked.
"Doom!" Houndoom got up as he started growling. That Electric attack from Eelektross didn't bother him too much as flames started flaring out of his mouth and between his teeth when he growled.
"Found you." A unicorn whistled.
"So much for staying safe here!" Ash stepped forward.
"We wouldn't go anywhere else if we were you." A pegasus said. "We've got the whole mansion surrounded."
"The whole mansion?!" Fluttershy gasped as she could hear other sounds from different sides. Especially her Audino, who was able to pick up on over a hundred different sounds. Front, back, left and right. Even above. In fact, there sounded like there were more than a hundred.
And speaking of other sides, the Pokemon from each side blew the mansion walls open, further revealing that the entire mansion was indeed surrounded by an abundance of influenced ponies and Pokemon with not a single angle open.
"Audino?!"
"Do we try that Aura and Fairy Magic combo now?" Rainbow Dash whispered.
"First, we'll need to restrain all of them." Rarity whispered back. "Don't worry. My Leavanny and Pheromosa already know what needs to be done. Although...there are seemingly more of them now. We might need more strings."
The Desire of J, who could see everything from the perspective of those it influenced suddenly started speaking to all of them in their minds, giving them orders.
"Cornered with nowhere to run. Don't hold back. Tear down this mansion if that's what it takes. Destroy Ash Ketchum once and for all."
"Right." The unicorn nodded in understanding as did everyone else. By this point, they were identical to zombies that were following one order. "Eelektross! Zap Cannon!"
"Croconaw! Hydro Pump!"
"Noctowl! Air Slash!"
All of a sudden, everypony started given their Pokemon orders to attack the mansion and those inside of it. The influenced Pokemon got to work using all of their moves at once. All from afar instead of up close.
"Oh!" Celestia gasped as she quickly put up a magical barrier around her friends. This many Pokemon attacks could be devastating to the body, especially from every angle. She expanded in size while also increasing its strength.
Each of the hundreds of Pokemon moves connected with Celestia's magical barrier, causing a plethora of chaotic explosions that filled the entire mansion in less than seconds as Ash and the others closed their eyes.
The people of Olivine City witnessed and heard all of this from afar. Especially those nearby at the Battle Tower. A flare and flurry of explosions, ranging from electricity, fire, water, poison, grass and many other forms of energy.
The smoke cleared as the mansion itself had already taken a heavy beating from this sudden attack. But, considering its size, the parts that had been destroyed paled in comparison to the sheer size of it.
Through the remaining smoke, Celestia's shield had successfully protected everyone from the attacks. Not only that, but Celestia further expanded the shield, causing some of the nearby Pokemon to be pushed back. She then lowered the shield afterwards.
"Is everypony alright?" Celestia asked.
"Totally fine," Ash replied while turning to face his pursuers.
"Houndoom!" Houndoom ferociously barked at everyone, waiting to attack them for what they did to his trainer's home. Hollow and Jewel looked at the destruction made to their mansion. Holes and large rubble piles everywhere. But on the plus side, the cabinet was still safe.
"Phew." Both Hollow and Jewel let out sighs of relief.
"Let's try this again! Eelektross! Zap-"
"Dark Pulse!" Hollow quickly interrupted the trainer and their Eelektross by having Houndoom shoot out a short-burst Dark Pulse from his mouth, blasting both the trainer and Pokemon away.
"Tross!" Eelektross went out screaming while flying in the distance as all the influenced ponies and Pokemon watched them fly off.
"No time to stand around. Ash." Hollow then faced Ash with a whisper. "Our mansion's pretty huge. We have a ton of rooms for you to hide in. We'll keep them all occupied in the time being. For now, hide in the lower section, okay?"
"Alright. I gotcha." Ash nodded.
"First, we'll create another field of smoke. Houndoom! Overheat on the floor!" Hollow ordered.
"Hound...Doom!" Houndoom then opened his mouth, generating intense levels of heat as he aimed his head forward, firing a volatile and terrifying blast of fire down, causing it to hit the floor. Audino overheard what Hollow told Ash so she knew to quickly put up a Protect around her friends.
The blast of fire caused an explosion that immediately filled the indoors of the mansion with violent flames being involved in them. It was so fierce that it actually intimidated the pursuers and forced them to back away since none of them wanted to be caught up in the brunt of that attack.
Audino had successfully protected her friends while the explosion from Overheat then in fact form a field of smoke that covered the indoors of the mansion. While the smoke had been formed, Ash made a run for it, heading towards the downstairs of the mansion with his Pokemon while everyone else stayed behind.
The smoke cleared as the pursuers noticed that Ash was suddenly gone and no longer within their sights or even a part of the group anymore.
"What the- where'd he go?!" A pony wondered.
"Nevermind that," Hollow spoke. "But right now, you're sort of trespassing at this point at our home. And I can't allow that."
"Not one bit." Jewel shook her head. "Terribly sorry."
"If we can render all of them unable to continue, then we'll have a chance to end this once and for all," Celestia said as she and Passion had already geared up to put an end to this.
Everypony else and their Pokemon faced different directions, covering all sides. Their plan was simple. Prevent anyone from reaching Ash and immobilize everyone here so that Lucario and Passion can work their magic.
All within a mansion of all places too.
This pursuit had only intensified even further as both sides were determined to put this to an end once and for all as the journey continues.
Olivine City. Afternoon. Hollow and Jewel's mansion home.
Currently, the pursuers have found Ash's current whereabouts and ended up destroying parts of the mansion to get to him. But, Ash had great friends by his side who were there to stop the influenced ponies and Pokemon from getting their hooves, hands, claws, feathers or whatever appendages and limbs they may hold.
Hollow's Houndoom had created a field of smoke to block out the view of the pursuers, allowing Ash to escape downstairs while his friends take care of everything else.
"Passion! Draw them all in with Psychic!" Celestia ordered.
"Gardevoir!" Passion put her arms together with her eyes flashing blue. Then, with her mind, Passion managed to hold multiple ponies and Pokemon, lifting them off the ground.
"Leavanny! String Shot!" Rarity ordered her 12 Leavanny to try the same tactic they used at Saddle Lake. Each of the Leavanny shot thick silky strings out of their mouths, wrapping around the ponies and Pokemon that Passion held.
The influenced ponies and Pokemon were already told by J's Desire about how that tactic was a problem and could easily stop this revenge plan if it carried on.
So obviously, the next thing to do was to eliminate the Leavanny and their String Shot so that couldn't have the chance to restrain any further. As well as Passion and Eve who can use Psychic to further hold them including Ash's Gengar.
Some trainers turned their focus towards the Leavvany, shooting Rock and Fire-Type moves towards their direction including Rarity too.
"Minccy! Block it with Aqua Tail!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Cinccino!" But, Twilight's Cinccino got in the way by using Aqua Tail to block both attacks by jumping in front of the 12 Leavanny, protecting them from harm.
"We'll pick them out one by one!" Rainbow Dash held out some of her Poke Balls, sending the rest of her Pokemon out to help with her Luxray. Out came Whirlipede, Braviary, Altaria and Mienfoo while Castform flew out her bag.
"Whirlipede! Charge through with Rollout! Braviary! Clap your wings with Superpower!"
"Whirlipede!" Whirlipede rolled on the spot, dashing towards the many targets right in front of him. Or rather, all around him. By using Rollout to charge forward, the Curlipede Pokemon bashed through and knocked over his targets as if they were bowling pins.
"Viary!" Braviary took the skies as he would handle everything midair. The Pokemon who could also fly followed the Valiant Pokemon in the air to try and prevent him from doing anything.
But, in terms of speed, aside from Rarity's Pheromosa, Braviary outclassed them all he immediately covered his wings in energy before clapping them together with Superpower.
One clap and Braviary managed to emit a powerful shockwave that incapacitated the nearby Pokemon, knocking them clean out of the sky as well as the ones below.
The pursuers decided to switch things up by having their Pokemon clutter the indoors of the mansion. Some chose to use Rock-Type moves to do so since it would make sense to clutter it with large piles of rocks while others used their Ghost-Type Pokemon to try and sneak around inside the mansion and find Ash.
The pursuers all entered the mansion instead of just continuing to stand outside as the entrance was now blocked. All entrances. Including the large holes that had been blasted through. Some were even sneaking about, making sure that they wouldn't be spotted by Hollow and the others.
"Things might get too cluttered from here on." Hollow backed up as he observed the situation and noticed some of the Ghost-Types moving through the mansion. "Let's all split up and head different ways."
Nodding in understanding, everyone went their separate ways to try and avoid the overcrowded area. There, they'll be able to deal with the rest without having to worry about any cluttering problems.
Downstairs at the lower levels of the mansion.
Ash and his Pokemon reached the lower section of Hollow and Jewel's mansion. Down here, a fairly long corridor could be found. One that rivals the length of Canterlot's corridors.
"Alright. Where to?" Ash looked at the corridor, seeing how there were different doors here, each leading to a specific room. He wasn't sure which one he should choose since there were so many and he was currently being hunted down by most of Equestria.
At the same time, he could hear all the battling happening upstairs. He knew that his friends were trying their best to keep him safe.
"Pikachu..."
"Stay sharp you guys." Ash and his Pokemon were on high alert now. Even if they were downstairs and away from the action, that didn't mean his pursuers couldn't search the rest of the mansion.
Ash chose to enter one of the closest rooms here for hiding. The one on the left. He opened the door as his Pokemon looked behind him for clarity and warning. So far, no one was here and the downstairs was safe for now.
When opening the door, Ash and his Pokemon were met with a somewhat comfortable room from the aura it was giving off. He and his team quickly came to discover that this room was seemingly a baby's room.
It was obviously decorated in a childish manner, perfect for a baby, with cloud wallpaper and floor covering as well as there being many toys strewn about the area. A large cradle was in the middle of the room as well as many posters of various Pokemon, including Pokemon Champions from across different regions.
Interestingly enough, the poster of the champions were all in the form of silhouettes, but Ash could tell them all. Except for two silhouettes of champions which he couldn't identify. Most likely from other regions he hasn't been to yet.
This room had a fresh feeling to it. It felt like it hadn't been used yet. Everything was perfectly neat and tidy with little messes.
"A baby room?" Ash gawked as he walked closer.
"Pika-Pika?" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder as all of his Pokemon started to wander the baby room. Seeing the baby room for themselves and feeling the atmosphere, it was clear what this all meant. And Ash put the pieces together in a few seconds.
"Oh! They're having a baby!" He exclaimed. "Nice, nice. Looks brand new too."
"Pika!"
"Do we hide in here? Nah. Don't wanna risk harming a place like this. Let's find somewhere else, you guys." Ash chose to hide somewhere else instead of the baby room. A room like that needed to be safe and clean until the baby arrived. Then it would just be a mess afterwards.
They all left the room, gently closing the door, making sure not to cause too much noise. Even if all that noise was being blocked out by the upstairs noise coming from the battle.
Unfortunately, those that had Ghost-Type Pokemon had easily caught up to Ash and his Pokemon by just simply using the mansion walls and intangibility to their advantage.
"Dusk!" From the walls themselves, a Dusknoir emerged, phasing through and holding its hand out to try and grab Ash with its amazing grip.
"Ah!" Ash gasped as he turned to the left to see Dusknoir appearing.
"Gengar!" But, Gengar was there to protect him by using Shadow Ball to fend off its fellow Ghost-Type. The blob of shadows hit the hands of Dusknoir, dealing super-effective damage and forcing the Gripper Pokemon to phase back into the walls.
"N-Noir!"
"Thanks, Gengar!" Ash thanked Gengar before looking at his surroundings. Now they were no longer safe downstairs.
Coming through each of the walls, four Ghost-Type Pokemon emerged before Ash and his Pokemon. A Banette, Chandelure, the Dusknoir from before and a new Ghost-Type that Ash had never seen before.
Emerging from the ceiling above, an odd-looking and brand new Pokemon to Ash's eyes had appeared. It gently floated down as Ash and his Pokemon were frozen by what they were witnessing.
"Runerigus..."
"What is that...?!" Ash gawked as he took out his Pokedex.
"Runerigus. The Grudge Pokemon. A powerful curse was woven into an ancient painting. After absorbing the spirit of a Yamask, the painting began to move. Never touch its shadowlike body, or you’ll be shown the horrific memories behind the picture carved into it."
"You mean...this is the opposite to Cofagrigus?!" Ash gasped.
"Pika?!"
"Rune!" Runerigus cried out as the Ground- Ghost-Type dashed towards Ash and his team with its eyes flashing a dark purple. The Grudge Pokemon seemed to be going for the move Shadow Claw.
"Gengar! Ice Punch!"
"Gar!" Gengar flew forward, getting in front of Ash and preventing Runerigus from harming him. The Shadow Pokemon covered its arms in ice, thrusting its fist forward before colliding with the Grudge Pokemon's claw.
Two different super-effective moves collided against each other as they equalled out. However, the effects of the moves still passed through as both Gengar and Runerigus could feel the Ice and Ghost Energy through them after the impact as they were both pushed back.
"Banette!" Banette moved in by using Shadow Sneak, making its body a part of the shadows as it went directly for Ash.
"Farfetch'd!" Ash took out his Poke Ball. "Come out and use Night Slash!"
"Far!" Farfetch'd was sent out of its ball, immediately raising his leek as he smashed it down on Banette's shadow path with darkness surrounding his leek. "Fetch'd!"
"Nette!" With a super-effective move, Banette was knocked out of the ground and shadows, tumbling back while Dusknoir shoved Banette out of the way, going for a Thunder Punch.
"Dusknoir!"
"Dragon Claw!" Ash pointed at Dusknoir, ordering Dragonite.
"Gonite!" Dragonite covered her claws in draconic energy as she swung them forward, colliding with Dusknoir's electrified fist.
"Lucario! Grab onto Dusknoir's back!"
"Lu!" Lucario moved in. Since none of his moves could do anything against the Ghost-Types, it was best to just try a different approach. And he knew exactly what Ash was planning.
While Dusknoir was at odds with Dragonite, the Aura Pokemon then caught the Gripper Pokemon by surprise by hopping onto its back.
"Noir?!" Dusknoir gasped as it had let its guard down because of Lucario's sudden grab. With its guard down, Dusknoir was wide open, allowing Dragonite to land a second Dragon Claw onto the Gripper Pokemon's face. "Dusk!"
"Here goes!" And of course, for this to be made possible, Ash would need to also add his Aura in as he rushed over to Dusknoir, also jumping onto its back and joining Lucario. "Now, Lucario!"
"Lucario!" Lucario closed his eyes as he and Ash stared pouring his Aura onto Dusknoir's body. This was obviously a tactic meant to try and free Dusknoir from the control of the Desire.
Ash and Lucario's Aura started showing as it immediately interacted with all of the Rift energy that influencing Dusknoir. The Gripper Pokemon winced as it was still recovering from Dragon Claw. But it wouldn't have enough time to do anything back since Ash and Lucario's Aura were already working their magic.
"D-Dusknoir?!" Dusknoir's eyes were flashing blue as it was very close to being freed from the Desire's control. And in little time too because of how the Desire had been weakened during this entire debacle.
"Chandelure!" Chandelure wasn't about to let that happen with Inferno since it was the only Ghost-Type that was standing back instead of approaching. Ghostly blue flames started forming as the Luring Pokemon locked onto Lucario who was still on Dusknoir's body.
Ash looked back, knowing that this would definitely harm Lucario more than it would harm him because of the Steel-Typing. So he needed to act fast. "Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" Pikachu bolted forward, jumping onto Dusknoir's head, using it as a way to get some higher height. The Electric Mouse Pokemon curled into a ball, surrounding his body in electricity afterwards.
"Lure!" Chandelure then sent an intense blue flame from its body as Pikachu intercepted it with his own ranged attack. Pikachu yelled as a blast of 100,000 volts came flying out of his body, clashing with the blast of fire. Pikachu's Thunderbolt managed to break through Inferno which threw Chandelure off guard.
The blast of electricity obliterated the Fire-Type move before hitting Chandelure, smiting and electrocuting the Ghost-Fire-Type. The Luring Pokemon had been knocked clean out of the air from Pikachus' Thunderbolt, showing which Pokemon had the superior strength in this.
"Lu!" Lucario growled as he covered Dusknoir in Aura, completely breaking down the Rift Energy and of course, further weakening J's Desire.
"D-Dus...!" Dusknoir's eyes and body flashed blue as Lucario hopped off the Gripper Pokemon's back. With that, Ash and Lucario knew that the process had been done.
Once the light faded away, the Aura could be seen destroying the purple particles from the Desire. That meant only one thing. Dusknoir was free.
"Dusk..noir?" Dusknoir was back to its senses as it held his head.
"Welcome back, Dusknoir!" Ash spoke to the Gripper Pokemon. "You feeling better now?"
"Noir." Dusknoir nodded as it thanked Ash and Lucario for helping out. And speaking of helping out, now that Dusknoir was free, it could be on Ash's side now, giving its assistance.
"Nette..." Banette got up from the ground, not taking too kindly to Farfetch'd's Night Slash. And speaking of Farfetch'd, he was still pursuing Banette with Brutal Swing covering his leek as he ran towards the Marionette Pokemon. "Bane?!"
"Far!" Farfetch'd roared as he jumped up, ready to slam his leek onto Banette's head.
"Banette!" Responding quickly, Banette used Telekenises, suddenly holding Farfetch'd in place and preventing him from smashing that leek down with Brutal Swing.
"F-Farfetch'd?!"
"Bane-Bane!" Banette cackled.
"Far...!" Farfetch'd growled, a bit irritated that Banette was holding him there. However, Farfetch'd knew how Types worked. And one thing's for sure when it comes to Dark-Types, Psychic moves are useless. And since his leek was still covered in Dark energy, Farfetch'd knew exactly what to do.
The Wild Duck Pokemon, instead of smashing the leek down, decided to instead through the Darkness-covered leek towards the Marionette Pokemon. Telekinesis was unable to hold it.
"Nette?!" Banette gasped as it had been hit in the face by Farfetch'ds large leek and Brutal Swing as well, taking super-effective damage once more. The Ghost-Type cried out as it had been knocked onto its back with Farfetch'd breaking free of the telekinetic hold.
"Far." Farfetch'd landed down as he walked over to Banette, picking his leek back up. The Wild Duck Pokemon asserted dominance by stabbing leek down on the ground. Right next to Banette's face too.
If Banette tried anything, Farfetch'd would use Night Slash or Brutal Swing to deal with it. Chandelure was also down and out from Pikachu's Thunderbolt via being paralyzed. Ash and Lucario quickly saw this as they went over to Banette and Chandelure, ready to free them from J's Desire.
"Runerigus!" Speaking of other Ghost-Types, Rungerius had put its long arms together, using the move Stone Edge by creating sharpened crystal stones between them.
"Dusk!" But, Ash had extra help now. With Dusknoir free, it could go against its fellow Ghost-Types who weren't in their right minds. Dusknoir moved forward while Runerigus shot the stones forward at high speeds.
The Gripper Pokemon quickly countered by using the mouth on its belly. Dusknoir's belly is similar to its mouth when it used to be a Dusclops. It acts as a black hole. When opening its belly mouth, Dusknoir absorbed the crystals of Stone Edge, sending them to another dimension. The afterlife, that is.
"Rune?!"
"Awesome!" Ash cheered as he looked back before placing his hand on Banette's head and his other hand on Chandelure's candles with Lucario. "Now, Gengar! Shadow Ball! And Dusknoir help out!"
"Gen...!" Gengar raised his arms, creating a ball of shadows, hurling it at the Ground-Ghost-Type.
"Dusknoir!" Dusknoir would use the physical variant to Shadow Ball. That of course was Shadow Punch. Dusknoir's hands became surrounded in a shadowy aura, as it reached its arms out. Two fists in the shape of Dusknoir's were fired out of Dusknoir's fists. The fists also had a grey trail that connected to Dusknoir's fists.
Shadow Ball flew ahead of Shadow Punch as Runergius quickly used Night Shade with black and purple bolts shooting out of its arms. All three Ghost moves met with Shadow Bal and Shadow Punch trying to break through Night Shade.
At the same time, Ash and Lucario had just freed Banette from the Desire's control by simply putting his palm on the Marionette Pokemon's head.
"Chandelure?"
"B-Bane?" Banette and Chandelure felt a bit woozy and off after being freed from J's Desire. They looked up to see Farfetch'd and Lucario standing next to them.
"Lu." Lucario and Ash helped the Marionette and Luring Pokemon up while Farfetch'd pulled his leek away. He no longer had a reason to attack Banette or even Chandelure. Both Ghost-Types thanked Ash, Lucario and Farfetch'd for freeing them.
And as a great bonus, they too would help Ash and his friends. As a way to show their gratitude and to get some payback on the Desire.
"Glad to see you guys are okay. Alright, let's finish!" Ash stood up, pointing directly at Runerigus. "Chandelure, use Inferno! And Banette, sneak up from behind with Shadow Sneak!"
Even commanding Pokemon that weren't his, Ash was taking complete charge as all the Pokemon, minus Runerigus were on his side following his command.
"Nette!" Banette snuck into the shadows while Chandelure unleashed an intense blue flame from its body.
The Fire-Type move merged with Shadow Punch and Shadow Ball, assisting Gengar and Dusknoir. Runerigus was finding it difficult to fight back. Two Ghost-Type moves were enough, but a third one just made it worse.
"R-Rigus!" The Grudge Pokemon couldn't hold the attacks back much longer as its own attack was starting to dwindle. Things couldn't get worse for Runerigus.
Except, they could.
Banette was the ace in the hole. With Shadow Sneak, the Marionette Pokemon appeared behind Runerigus in an aura of shadow from below while it was occupied with three moves.
"Banette!" Banette then struck its arms and shadow aura onto Runerigus's exposed back, dealing super-effective damage.
"Rune!" Runerigus gasped after being hit. And that prompted it to lose its guard. With that, the three moves could finally connect. Dusknoir's Shadow Punch struck Runerigus in the face, Shadow Ball engulfed it and so did Inferno. All three moves did what they needed to do.
Inferno wasn't super-effective but it still did some damage. However, Shadow Punch and Shadow Ball are what really helped in all of this. And with all those moves connecting onto Runerigus, an explosion mixed with black and purple shadows and fire emerged from it.
Ash and the others covered their eyes after the sudden bright explosion as Dusknoir's arms retracted into its body after using Shadow Punch.
"R-Rune...Rigus..." Once the smoke cleared, Runerigus fell to the floor, immobile.
"Whew." Ash wiped the sweat off his forehead. "That's that. Thanks, you guys." He then thanked the Ghost-Types before approaching Runerigus.
But first, Ash knew that he had to be careful. The Pokedex had already given him a large warning about what happens when someone touches Runerigus.
"Never touch its shadowlike body, or you’ll be shown the horrific memories behind the picture carved into it."
"Can't touch it but..." Ash looked at his hand. "I gotta get rid of the Desire still."
"Pikapi?"
"Oh, well. I'm gonna take that risk anyway." Ash decided to go for it. Even if he would witness the horrible memories waiting for him, he would try and power through them. The trainer kneeled, looking at the defeated Runerigus in the eye as Lucario walked beside him, ready to also the risk.
"Rune...?"
"Hold on," Ash said as he placed his hand onto Runerigus's body as well as Lucario. Upon contact, Runerigus's curse started coming through, affecting both Ash and Lucario.
The two wielders of Aura suddenly froze on the spot as their eyes widened. In just mere seconds, they were given the sight and memories of Runerigus and what happened when it was a human before.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu was worried for Ash as he tried to do something about this. But Dusknoir promptly stopped him. After all, Pikachu would just be affected as well. This was something Ash and Lucario had to overcome currently.
"Noir." Dusknoir shook his head.
"Pikachu..."
"Ugh!" Ash closed his eyes as he was witnessing every horrific moment of his Runerigus's life. Even when it was a Galarian Yamask. Ash and Lucario both showed their Auras coming out of them, connecting with the Desire.
The two of them held their breath in while viewing the horrific memories. However, these memories weren't actually enough to stop Ash and Lucario, considering what they've experienced before.
Both were able to calm themselves down as their Aura saturation was changing due to them being calm. Their combined Aura then grabbed a hold of the Desire, eliminating it as Runerigus's whole body let out pillars of Aura.
And thus, Runerigus had also been freed from J's Desire as Ash and Lucario stood up.
"R-Runerigus...?"
"There." Ash sighed. "You feeling better now?"
"Rigus!" Runerigus stood back up, feeling better than ever after losing the Desire inside of it.
"Great." Ash nodded, proud that another was free.
However, all of a sudden, he had just lost his balance. Using Aura constantly for a single day was starting to really take a toll on him. The Delayed Aura Ataxia disorder was kicking in even more to the point where it could render Ash immobile instead of the influenced ponies and Pokemon. "Oh...man..."
"Pikapi?!" Pikachu ran over to Ash, gasping as he witnessed his partner fall to the ground, fainting. Ash had used too much Aura in one day. The ataxia took a massive toll on him.
Right now, Ash was unconscious, making him a perfect target. However, his Pokemon wouldn't allow it. But even still, this pursuit seemed like it would never end. Time goes on with the afternoon slowly coming to an end as everyone on both sides are doing their best to either eliminate Ash or protect him.
There are as many stories as there are these incredible creatures. Mystical and unexplainable Creatures that hold powers beyond one's imagination.
Most Pokemon live amongst the land from all corners of the world or even living amongst civilization. But some remain secret to all but a select few. Others have become the stuff of legends. And there are those that are born of our dreams. Like the Pokemon themselves, these tales have survived the test of time.
And with each passing day, countless adventures unfold. From the top of the world to the bottom of the sea. To all, there is seemingly an infinite number of Pokemon out there with countless species that continuously add to the Pokemon Lore. Even some that have yet to be discovered in different worlds.
But of course, they don't do it alone.
Humans, ponies, dragons, griffons, yaks, zebras and even changelings as well as other yet to be discovered races live in harmony with these wonderful creatures.
Some partake in sporting competitions. By combing strength, courage, wisdom and trust, the partners hope to emerge victorious in what are known as Pokemon Battles. Although some prefer other sporting competitions such as Pokemon Contests which feature the same combinations.
Together, Pokemon, humans, ponies and more share the world in Friendship, Peace and Harmony. And all share wishes with each other.
That brings us to a young man by the name of Ash Ketchum, who has wishes of his own. First and foremost is to become a Great and Powerful Pokemon Master. And with Pikachu by his side, he's well on his way.
His wishes and goals burn brighter than anyone else.
Together, they travel on a Pokemon journey. Meeting along the way friends with hopes and dreams of their own. Some have accomplished those dreams while still seeking more about Pokemon in general. Much like Twilight Sparkle and her friends who have new Pokemon-related dreams.
To discover new Pokemon.
To explore the world.
To become the very best trainer ever and with so many more motivations that can only be described as pure.
But not all intentions are pure.
Olivine City, Hollow and Jewel's mansion. Late afternoon. Upstairs.
"Milotic! Dragon Pulse!" Jewel commanded her Milotic to blast the incoming Pokemon with Dragon Pulse as a dragon-shaped blast came flying out of the Tender Pokemon's mouth, knocking out some of the Pokemon in front of it.
Right now, many of the influenced ponies and Pokemon had been immobilized thanks to great teamwork. And each time they were defeated, Rarity's Leavanny would use String Shot to restrain them.
"Altaria! Ice Beam!" Rainbow Dash ordered as Altaria shot out a beam of ice that hit the ground, creating a large cascade wall of sharp ice that stood in front of the pursuers while also freezing some of them in the process.
By this point, no matter how many there were, they weren't exactly a proper match for trainers who have high experience and skill. J's Desire could send as many of them as she wanted to, but they couldn't match the skill that Celestia and the others had.
However, with how many of them there were, there could reach a point where it could be tiring. Even skilled trainers can only take so much at a time. Luckily, they've managed to deal with most of them who had invaded the mansion. If more from the other world arrived then that would just cause further problems.
"Alright." Rarity looked at the ponies and Pokemon her Leavanny and Pheromosa had rounded up. "We have this many. If we can free them all, then that Desire will be so useless all we would need is some firm talking to get rid of it."
"Yeah." Rainbow Dash descended. "But we'd better hurry. There could be more coming here. Hope is Ash is alright."
Middle floor.
Some of the pursuers had reached the middle floor, continuing to search for Ash. They came across a room that was mostly electrical-based from the look of it. Appliances and a PC filled the place.
Although, Ash wasn't exactly on the middle floor at the moment. So searching here was essentially pointless. But they would keep looking either way.
However, there was something to be experienced in this room. The PC and appliances themselves served a purpose. In truth, they weren't actually there to be used. They were there for something else.
"Hm..." A pegasus kept her ears sharp as she could hear some sparks coming from the appliances. She didn't think too much of it since it was probably just an electrical fault.
Except it wasn't.
"Rotom!" It was a Rotom. A Rotom had just possessed the electricity of the mansion. All of it. It was living plasma after all. By using the wires, Rotom had grabbed a hold of the pegasus and the other ponies and Pokemon here.
"Wagh!" The influenced pegasus and others gasped as they had just been held down by wires. The Rotom then used the electricity from the wires to paralyze the pursuers.
But, those who hadn't been caught by Rotom's wires had backed away, shocked that the wires were suddenly attacking. But that wasn't all they needed to be surprised by.
One pony walked back, bumping into what seemed to be a harmless fridge. When it wasn't. It was another Rotom. More specifically, a Frost Rotom.
"Tom!" The Frost Rotom opened its door, spewing out cold air onto the pony and anyone near him. The cold air was strong enough to summon a flash-freeze as the Plasma Pokemon managed to freeze its victims in place.
Confused as to what was going on, the remaining ponies and Pokemon who hadn't been caught by the wires or Rotom were starting to worry. They had actually never encountered a Rotom before considering their living conditions. Rotom is a Pokemon specifically made for modern homes and electrical purposes. Something that Equestria hasn't yet reached since they were in a somewhat old-school era than the Pokemon World.
One of the Rotom's was in the disguise of a fan. Fan Rotom. A fairly big one too. When one of the ponies tried to give off commands to their Pokemon, the Fan Rotom simply turned on, sending a powerful stream of wind towards its targets. The wind was strong enough to blow its targets away, forcing them to be caught by the other Rotom's wires. Funny enough, the other Rotom's were actually in their Pokemon forms while the one using just an average appliance without taking on a new form.
All of the ponies and Pokemon in here had been captured by the Rotom. Frozen and paralyzed. The Rotom were obviously aware of the home invasion happening right now. So, they will put in work to protect their trainer Hollow from any harm. A shame the same couldn't be said for the mansion which was now in shambles.
2nd middle floor.
Just above the middle floor where the Rotom were, Celestia and Passion were currently freeing some influenced ponies and Pokemon here. Passion was just too strong for the pursuers to handle. And Mega Evolution hadn't even been used yet. They were joined by Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy who helped greatly to restrain them.
"Gardevoir." Passion had just finished freeing the ponies and Pokemon she had defeated, bringing them back to their senses. Although, she may have gone a bit too far as some of them were a bit worn out.
"Thank you, Passion," Celestia said before turning to the others. "Are you all alright?"
"I'm kinda tired..." An earth pony rubbed her eye. "How long have we been doing this?"
"My back hurts..." Another pony groaned. Many of them were unable to continue further. They most likely couldn't help out in all of this and the day was already nearing nightfall.
"Alright. You may all return home and rest. We'll take it from here." Celestia ordered. She didn't want to put those who were unfit to continue in this situation. It was best for them just to head back home. They would have to take a different exit besides the front door considering the rampant battling happening across the mansion.
But those who could continue were ordered by Celestia to help stop this revenge debacle as all of Equestria was still in the midst of this with one side aiming to destroy Ash and the other protecting him.
"It has been getting late now, actually." Twilight looked outside. "At this point...it could last forever if we don't try that Lucario and Passion idea soon."
"Maybe." Celestia nodded. "But it needs to end today. If we can just round up a majority of them, then the Desire will no longer be strong enough to further influence anypony else."
"I just hope Ash is alright." Fluttershy whimpered.
Speaking of Ash, Pikachu and the rest of Ash's Pokemon had reached the 2nd middle floor with Lucario carrying Ash on his back. Celestia and Passion immediately saw the arrival of Ash and his Pokemon with Ash unconscious due to him pushing himself with Aura.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried out, grabbing the attention of the rest of his friends.
"Oh my goodness! Ash" Celestia flew over to Ash. "What happened?! Is he alright?!"
"Ash!" Twilight gasped.
"Pikapi. Pikachu."
"He used too much Aura?" Fluttershy translated. "Oh, that ataxia disorder is really troublesome!"
"Using so much Aura in one day would obviously do that." Twilight looked over at Ash. "Ash can't handle all of this. Especially for one day. Freeing so many ponies and Pokemon with Aura is too taxing to his body."
"Then we might not be able to have Lucario and Passion try that strategy." Celestia turned away.
"No..." Ash suddenly mumbled with his eyes slowly opening.
"Ash!" They all turned to him, responding to his words.
"We gotta try it anyway..." Ash groaned. "If it works, all of this will be over."
"But Ash! You just fainted from using so much Aura for most of the day!" Fluttershy said. "We can't do it since it already puts your body at risk!"
"It's fine. I've been through worse anyway." Ash smiled as his body twitched. He was close to fainting again.
"Get some rest, Ash," Celestia suggested. "You're still in grave danger at this point. If they find you in this state then they'll have the opportunity to finish you off."
"I know. But I can't quit here." Ash got off Lucario's back as he was hunched over. His body was starting to take a massive toll on him and he could barely take anymore. But, Ash is known for always hanging in there. "I've got a plan to finish this for good."
"You do?" Pinkie leaned in.
"Instead of just getting up close and personal...We should do it from far away. Lucario and Passion could free everyone that away instead."
"From afar? You mean exuding their magic and Aura out at a distance?" Celestia questioned.
"That's the one." Ash nodded. "I remember back at the Tree of Beginning. You don't need to be super close to use Aura. Lucario can do that for sure. And I know Passion can too."
"Lu?"
"Garde?"
"You gotta use your Aura and magic and make it huge. That way, it'll grab anything from far away. It'll be like using Psychic or magic to hold them."
"That...That could actually work." Celestia realized how big of a breakthrough this was. "We'd be able to save up so much time and possibly end this once and for all!"
"Passion's definitely strong enough to do that." Twilight turned to Celestia. "Plus, there's not that many pursuers left by now."
"It'll be a cinch." Pinkie waved her hoof. "Just take out the ones remaining and we're good to go."
"But, Ash. Won't you have to do it too? You and Lucario need to use Aura together to free them." Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah. I'm gonna do it too." Ash stepped forward before getting on his knees. "We're gonna give it more than 100% this time."
"Not in that state you are!" Twilight exclaimed. "Seriously, Ash. For once can you stop putting yourself in so much danger? You might not be able to make it out everything, ya know?"
"Twilight's right." Celestia looked down at Ash. "This is the most we've seen you so weakened. In fact, it's the first we've seen you in a weakened state. If you were to use Aura once more..."
"You should just get some rest, Ash," Fluttershy recommended. "Audi can try to heal you up."
"Audino!"
"Thanks, guys. But I won't rest yet. Not until it's all over." Ash's arms started twitching as he stood up, even with his numb legs. "I can't become a Pokemon Master if I lose here. So there's no need to worry."
"When you say that, that's when I worry the most." Twilight sighed. "But there's no changing your mind as always. Can we trust you to really make it through this?"
"Sure can." Ash gave a thumbs up with groggy eyes. "Just watch." Having such confidence and optimism was all that Twilight needed to see from Ash. Seeing it also sparked up so much hope since Ash never disappoints.
"In that case, we'll need to gather them all in one spot," Celestia spoke. "This mansion might not do since it has so many rooms. The outside is the best option here."
"We would have to find a way to really drag them out then. They obviously want Ash but he's too weak to be a distraction right now." Fluttershy wondered.
"Maybe we can make a doll of Ash?" Pinkie Pie suggested with an innocent smile.
"Some Pokemon might be too fast for us to try and trick. Not to mention Ghost and Dark-Types will be a major issue with how erratic their movements are." Celestia pondered as they were all thinking of an idea.
"Hm...Distraction...Ash..." Then, Twilight herself came up with a solution that could work out in their favour. "That's it!"
"Huh?" They all turned to her.
"We'll have Mew help out!" Twilight declared. "Mew can turn into any Pokemon there is. Well, aside from a few exceptions. Some of which are Zorua and Zoroark. Those are the only Pokemon that can turn into humans, ponies and other species."
"Oh...!" Pinkie Pie caught on. "Mew can turn into Zorua or Zoroark and then turn into Ash to trick everyone!"
"That way, they won't know about the actual Ash and his whereabouts." Celestia followed up. "But wait. Isn't Mew himself already injured because of Self-Destruct?"
"Audi helped heal him up. I gave Mew some revival herbs too." Fluttershy replied. "He should be good to go with all the playful energy he usually has."
"He sure is!" Pinkie Pie hugged Mew. "And if that doesn't work, we've got the next best solution. I can have my Slurpuff lure the Pokemon in with Sweet Scent."
"It's settled." Celestia grabbed everyone in a group huddle, ready to enact the plan. "We'll also inform Hollow and everyone about it immediately. Here's how we'll approach it then."
Downstairs.
Others had finally reached the downstairs where Ash previously was. But since he had left the downstairs a while ago, there was no point in searching here. However, they didn't know that.
Arriving downstairs, they saw the result of Ash's battle against the Ghost-Type Pokemon earlier. Despite being intangible entities that are not a part of this realm, Ghost-Type attacks sure do know how to leave some mess during their battles. Like most Pokemon.
"He must've come through here." A unicorn said while walking side by side with his Nosepass which was acting as a compass while they followed the trail of destruction.
"Nosepass." The Compass Pokemon was the reason they came down here. It actually had a good hunch knowing that Ash had indeed been here earlier.
The rest of the ponies and Pokemon just followed behind with Nosepass as their guide. Few influenced pursuers remained at this point.
"Can we speed it up already?" A pegasus groaned. "I could be home reading some Daring Do right about now, ya know."
"Not our fault he's so elusive." The unicorn sighed. "Just have to trust Nosepass on this."
"Nose..." Nosepass knew exactly where it was going and its compass nose couldn't fail it. If anything, even if the pegasus from before that spotted Ash going through the gateway never showed up, Nosepass would be a great substitute considering its expert navigation.
However, while the Compass Pokemon was navigating its way through the corridor, something else up ahead caught its attention. Something relating to this whole manhunt.
And everypony else saw it as well.
Up ahead, right at the end of the corridor, Ash could be seen as he came into view the closer they all went. From the signature blue, red and yellow colour scheme he always has with his clothing to the iconic thunderbolt birthmark on his face and confident smirk. It looked exactly like him.
Or so it seemed. But in truth, it was just Mew disguised as a Zorua disguised as Ash. A perfect trifecta.
"Hehehe!" Mew disguised as Ash suddenly giggled, having full energy as he bolted away, leaving the sights of Ash's pursuers.
"Ah! There he is!" The pegasus called out as she and her Pokemon fell for the bait. And so did everyone else since they believed they saw the actual Ash right in front of them.
Thus, falling for the bait meant that they had to follow Mew to wherever he went. But, that was just one part of the plan. As the pursuers pursued Mew, from the corner, Pinkie Pie and her many Slurpuff's poked their heads out, seeing the pursuers fall for the bait.
With confident looks on their faces, Pinkie and Slurpuff knew that they could play out the second part of the plan. Not all of her Slurpuff were with Pinkie. The rest were somewhere else in the mansion. "Okay. Sweet Scent go."
All at once, each of Pinkie's Slurpuff spun their arms around, releasing bright pink powders with light pink sparkles inside of them. These powders wafted through the air as they immediately filled the air and atmosphere considering how many Slurpuff there were.
"Pass?" And of course, similar to Slurpuff, Nosepass also had a fairly responsive nose. While not on the same level as Slurpuff, it was still fairly potent. "Thus, the Compass Pokemon and all other Pokemon froze in place, responding to the aroma of Sweet Scent. "Nosepass."
"Hm?" The unicorn and the ponies noticed how their Pokemon were suddenly turning around, going the opposite direction with silly looks on their faces. "Hey. Nosepass? Where are you all going?"
"No, Ducklett!" The pegasus flew in front of Ducklett. "That way! He went that way!"
"Ducklett. Ducklett." Ducklett was too enchanted by the Sweet Scent to ignore it. After all. Sweet Scent is so potent that a Pokemon will not sway away from it until they have reached the source of it.
A prime example would be what happened at the Pokemon Festival with Ash and the Sweet Scent Supreme. The plan was to actually separate the Pokemon from the ponies. The ponies tried getting their Pokemon to go the other way but the Pokemon refused. Even when trying to grab their partners, the Pokemon would either just walk through them or jump out of their grasp.
"Right where we want 'em..." Pinkie Pie giggled as Mew came back into view as Ash. The ponies were the only ones focused on Ash while the Pokemon were drawn to the Sweet Scent. The ponies looked at Ash and back at their Pokemon, deciding which one to go after.
"Ah forget it!" The ponies chose to go after Mew while the Pokemon followed the Sweet Scent. Mew giggled as he dashed off to where he was previously.
A two-sided chase had begun. Mew had run upstairs, leaving the downstairs and entering the middle floor while the ponies chased him down. Even if he transformed into Ash, he still kept the same speed he had as a Mew, making him a tricky one to keep up with.
When entering the second floor, Mew grabbed the attention of the nearby ponies and Pokemon who were confused as to why Rainbow Dash and the others just up and vanished without continuing the battle or ending it.
The ponies and Pokemon on the second floor gasped, locking their eyes on the New Species Pokemon who had the appearance of Ash, chasing after him.
"There!" An earth pony bellowed as he ran ahead of everyone. And them chasing after Mew meant that they would eventually cross paths with the ponies who came from downstairs.
And that's when the rest of Pinkie's Slurpuff could work their magic. But not all of them were in this room. After all, each of her Slurpuff were in different parts of the mansion. She had 11 in total. By poking their heads through the door, three Slurpuff used Sweet Scent at the same time.
The wafting aroma filled the room, immediately grabbing the attention of the Pokemon on the 2nd floor. They came to a screeching halt before turning in the direction of where the scent came from. Just like the Pokemon downstairs, they had become enchanted by Sweet Scent.
"Hey!" The earth pony turned around. "Where are you all going?!"
"Ignore them! They won't listen!" The pegasus flew by.
Soon, on all floors, Mew had drawn everyone he had passed by as if they were moths to a flame. Thanks to his great speed, he was able to move around the mansion in little time. He could just use his teleportation to make it quicker but that would make it too obvious. Had to be authentic.
And on each floor, there was a Slurpuff waiting, using Sweet Scent to separate the Pokemon from their trainers. In large groups too. This only further confused the trainers as they weren't sure why their Pokemon were suddenly splitting up. They were too blinded by revenge towards Ash to stop and go after them.
At the same time, Celestia and the others weren't anywhere to be found. That's because they were all hiding and waiting in secrecy. Preparing for the right time to strike.
Soon, Mew had drawn in every influenced pony while their Pokemon were all separated. And of course, Mew was heading to the outside since that would be less cluttered than the indoors.
As for the Slurpuff, despite them luring the Pokemon away from their trainers, the goal was still to bring them outside with Sweet Scent so that Ash, Lucario and Passion can free them all in one go.
And right outside, Ash and the others were waiting.
"Here they come." Hollow whispered as he and the others hid next to the Battle Tower which was very close to the mansion. "You three ready?"
"Ready as we'll ever be..." Ash spoke in a weak voice.
"Just be careful, alright, Ash?" Rarity pleaded.
"Mew!" Mew cried out as he finally stopped running. He did his job by luring all of the ponies outside. And so did the Slurpuff as they had brought every Pokemon here. Right next to the Battle Tower.
Pinkie Pie, who was amongst her friends, used her Poke Ball to retrieve each of her Slurpuff, causing the Pokemon to lose the trail of sweet scent. Not only that, but the Pokemon had met up with the trainers. At the end of the day, they all came to the same spot.
"Huh?" The ponies looked at their Pokemon. "You came here either way? Guess they just have a different way of chasing prey down, huh?"
"That's a pretty big coincidence." Another pony said before squinting her eyes. "Unless..."
"Now!" Celestia exclaimed as Ash, Lucario and Passion revealed themselves from behind the Battle Tower. There was no time to waste. This is where they put an end to it at once.
"Here goes!" MImicking what he did at the Tree of Beginning, Ash put his arms out, startling everyone as they saw a double Ash in front of their eyes. Mew hadn't yet reverted to his normal form. He stayed as Ash just to further confuse the pursuers.
"Lucario!"
"Gardevoir!" Both Passion and Lucario put their arms out as they synced up with Ash. From all three of their bodies, a vibrant blue Aura and dazzling pink Fairy magic emanated out of them.
Both forms of energy merged as one as they grew to a radius so wide they engulf the entire mansion. But instead of the mansion, they engulfed all of the remaining influenced ponies and Pokemon.
Like a unicorn or alicorn using magic or a Psychic-Type using Psychic or Telekinesis, the Aura and Fairy Magic held their targets in place in an instant. Now they had them within their grasp as the Rift energy was already being held by it.
The influenced ponies and Pokemon winced as they felt their bodies being restrained. Speaking of wincing, Ash himself was already feeling the ataxia coming through him. However, J's Desire didn't want to lose like this. Not now anyway.
It was at this point where J's Desire started fighting back by exuding itself. Even at a weakened state, the Rift energy was that strong to fight back against anything that threatens it.
J's Desire was now combating Ash and Lucario's Aura and Passion's magic. This prompted the three of them to exert more energy than they usually do.
"Ugh!" Ash held his chest as he could already feel his body reaching his limits.
"Lu!" Lucario gasped, looking at Ash.
"It's fine, Lucario!" Ash almost got down on one knee. "Just keep pushing it!"
"V-Voir!" Passion flinched from this sudden power struggle as she already started pouring in more magic. Soon, the dark purple aura of J's Desire showed itself. The energy of the Desire was now visible to everyone as it was pushing back the Aura and Fairy Magic.
This was possibly the largest Desire yet as it was also capable of engulfing an entire mansion. Or even beyond as it seemed to continue growing in size. J's Desire was so determined to exact revenge that its drive for revenge was large enough to surpass the two forms of energy it was clashing against as all of Olivine City could see it.
It could even be seen from high up in the skies or far away from Olivine City at one of the routes.
"There it is!" Pinkie Pie gasped as Mew returned to his original form. "It's humongous!"
"Mew!"
"It's larger than any other Desire we've seen!" Celestia was gobsmacked by the sheer size of this Desire as it was starting to overpower Ash, Lucario and Passion.
"Lu-Lucario!" Lucario felt a powerful pulse go through him as he was being pushed back by the Desire as well as Passion and Ash.
"G-Garde..V-Voir!" Passion lowered her head. The three of them could feel their arms twitching uncontrollably. Especially Ash who was already nearing his limit.
The ground beneath everything was starting to tremble from this struggle as the residents of Olivine City could feel this tremor as well.
"N-Not yet!" Ash growled as he poured more of his Aura in, pushing himself even further with his hat starting to fly off. "Just a bit more!"
Despite how large J's Desire to take revenge on Ash was, Ash's drive to succeed was even greater. Even when Pokemon Battling isn't involved. His drive helped increase his Aura, changing the tides of this power struggle.
Very soon, the struggle was so great that not only as trembling Olivine City but also most of Johto. And it looked like it would keep on growing in strength as other regions may be affected by this. The three forms of energy soon engulfed every building, human, pony and Pokemon nearby.
But, what was also affected was the other world since the gateway was so close. The Aura, Fairy Magic and Desire had reached Equestria in seconds.
The Pokemon of Deerling Forest had been caught by these three energies while their forest was shaking. Soon, Pikachu Highlands as well and eventually the Aura, Magic and Desire kept moving, continuously growing in size.
Celestia and everyone could feel a mighty pressure coming from this struggle as it was equal to a hurricane, forcing the ruler of Equestria and everyone to stay firm on their hooves, feet, paws and whatever lower limb the rest had.
"All of Johto will be blown away by this point!" Hollow held onto the walls of the Battle Tower.
"Worse..." Celestia groaned. "Just like before with Passion's power overload...this might blow away both worlds!"
"Both worlds?!" Twilight gasped.
"Unless one of them wins this struggle, we'll all be gone and wiped out in seconds!" Celestia warned as Ash, Lucario and Passion heard what Celestia said.
"That won't happen!" Ash declared. "No one's getting blown away!"
"Pikapi!" Pikachu held onto Dragonite who was the recommended Pokemon to grab onto in this scenario.
Ash's hat flew off as his hair was starting to rise from this struggle. His Aura colour became vibrant and more saturated as he opened his mouth. When opening his mouth, Ash's eyes started flashing blue as he let out a determined roar. One that was fierce enough to intimidate almost anyone.
With his burning determination, Ash started moving forward with his hands out, pushing the Desire back. His skin was heating up from all this Aura usage. Almost as if he was being burnt.
"T-This is...Nothing!" Ash bellowed as the ground below was starting to tear apart. Ash kept moving forward while the Desire was starting to break down. Ash could then feel all the Aura from within rising at an alarming rate. "I can feel it! The Aura is with me!"
Lucario and Passion looked at Ash, stunned with their eyes widening. At this point, Ash was the one doing the heavy lifting as he was the only one moving with the Aura.
"Ash?" Twilight's jaw dropped as she and her friends witnessed Ash pushing back something far larger than him as his jacket started tearing apart with his hair glowing with Aura.
And just then, as if it couldn't get more surprising, right behind Ash, two figured emerged. Figures that were familiar to him and Pikachu.
These were the figures of Sir Aaron and his Lucario. From beyond the afterlife itself, they were assisting Ash in this. They did share the same Aura pattern as well.
"Who are they?" Fluttershy gawked, noticing the apparitions of Sir Aaron and Lucario. Twilight was able to recognize them from the books about the Pokemon World she had read.
"We know this isn't your best." Sir Aaron and Lucario both suddenly spoke to Ash. "You can do better than, right, Ash?"
"Yes!" Ash nodded as he let out one last roar.
And that final roar is what he needed. With one final push, Ash broke his limits and let out all of his Aura in one go. His yell echoed across the area as his Aura even let out a roar of itself.
The Desire couldn't hold something like this back as Lucario and Passion put the rest of their efforts into this by also going past their limitations with Ash.
Thus, the Desire had been consumed by Aura and Fairy Magic. Like a creature devouring its food, the purple Rift energy was gone as both the Aura and Fairy Magic imploded on each other afterwards, creating a beautiful blue and purple light show before shattering into tiny pieces like glass. Small blue and pink stardust fell from above afterwards as everypony and Pokemon dropped the ground with the trembling coming to an end.
"Hah..." Ash breathed out blue smoke from his mouth as he lowered his hands. It was finally over. With the wind settling and the golden sun beaming through the skies in the late afternoon, everything calmed down as all the ponies and Pokemon were back to their senses.
Not just that. But with the Desire gone from everyone, all of Equestria was freed from its influence due to the sheer size of that struggle affecting both worlds.
"Lu." Lucario sat down along with Passion.
"Garde."
"Told ya it'd work!" Ash raised his fist into the air before falling on his back, exhausted.
"Pikachu!" And of course, with a victory like that Pikachu ran over to his trainer with joy.
"Ash!" Twilight grinned as she also flew over with everyone.
"You three are amazing!" Pinkie Pie cheered for Ash, Passion and Lucario after something as wonderful as that.
"Oh, Passion!" Celestia hugged the Embrace Pokemon with her own embrace.
"Garde."
"Man...What a rush." Ash sighed as Pikachu climbed onto his stomach.
"Pikapi!"
"Geez! Ash! Can you go one year without endangering yourself?" Twilight looked over at Ash.
"But it looks like you managed to push through to the very end!" Fluttershy said. "Even after all that."
"Yeah, and you had like some guy and a Lucario show up behind you. What was up with that?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"Sir Aaron and Lucario were just giving me words to push on." Ash laughed. "Worked out in the end as always huh?"
"I guess so." Twilight nodded. "Great job, Ash."
"Thanks. Now..." Ash was slowly closing his eyes as he could barely move his body. He had finally reached his limit. Once more, he was about to faint. "I'm gonna...clock out for a bit."
And thus, Ash's eyes closed as he had fainted while still being in one pose as everyone watched him fall unconscious. The last thing Ash saw were all of his friends.
And that was that.
Kanto. Pallet Town. Night.
Right back at his home at Pallet Town, Ash had been placed in his bed. Nightfall had already arrived by this point. And why wouldn't it? After all that chasing, battling and Aura and magic usage, the night was something that everyone needed.
"Mmm..." Ash opened his eyes as he was starting to wake up finally. The light of the moon shined on his face the moment he awoke as if it was responding to his awakening.
And right next to him was of course Pikachu, who always sleeps next to Ash. The young trainer sat up from his bed as his body felt fine instead of having issues like twitches, numbers or aches.
"Pi-Pikachu..." Pikachu snored in his sleep.
"Man..." Ash held his head as he looked over at his hat on the table. "Feeling refreshed, Ash got off from his bed, placing his hat back on.
"Chu?" Pikachu slowly opened his eyes, noticing that his trainer was awake. "Pikapi!"
"Hey, Pikachu. Good to see you alright."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Man, was I out until night? I recovered pretty quickly from that ataxia." Ash looked at his hands as he walked out of his room with a refreshed body. But, he was also feeling hungry and needed something to eat from all that running.
Leaving his room, he could already hear some noises coming from the kitchen. Sounded as if something was being made, which was good news to Ash's ears and stomach.
As he entered the kitchen, he found his mom and Mimey, making food in the middle of the night. Something rare in the Ketchum household.
"Mom?" Ash spoke, grabbing the attention of both Delia and Mimey.
"Ah! Ash!" Delia put her cooking on hold as she witnessed her son wide awake. Seeing Ash awake after what had just happened to him brought tears to her eyes as she rushed over to her pride and joy, giving him a powerful hug. "Thank goodness!"
"Ough!" Ash's eyes expanded from the hug.
"Oh! I know you've been through a plethora of daring events but I still worry about you. You know that?"
"Heh. Sorry, mom. Guess I can't stay out of trouble, can I?"
"Well...That means you're a lot like your father then. Always in the midst of danger no matter what. You two just can't go anywhere without having adrenaline pumping scenarios following you."
"Yeah. But I recover super fast, don't I? Only took one day for the ataxia to wear out."
"One day? Ash. You've been asleep for four days."
"Four days?!" Ash gasped as he pulled back. "Seriously?!"
"The toll taken on you was capable of rendering you unconscious for days. According to Twilight. Everyone from Pallet Town and Ponyville were so worried about you."
"Woah..." Ash held his head. "Guess I really overdid it, huh."
"Oh, but you prevented that whole revenge problem from being fully complete. I swear when I find that Hunter J or whatever, I'll give her a piece of my mind for trying to harm my son!" Delia swore to exact her own revenge on J someday.
"At least it's over." Ash then looked outside, seeing that from how the moon was descending, the morning was approaching eventually.
"Go. Your Pokemon are outside waiting for you." Delia let her son go.
"Oh. Right!" Ash nodded as he rushed outside with Pikachu, back in high spirits.
Exiting his house, to be expected, his Pokemon were there, anticipating their trainer's recovery. Now, they wouldn't have to anticipate anymore as they all witnessed Ash exiting the house.
"Hey, guys!" Ash cried out as his Pokemon had wide smiles on their faces. In perfect unison, they all rushed over, overwhelming their trainer with a group hug. "Agh! G-Great to see you too!"
"Pikachu!"
"Gengar!"
"Dragonite!"
"Lucario."
"Far." But, Lucario and Farfetch'd were actually standing back. Like Absol, they don't really do hugs and weren't very fond of them at all.
They all shared a hug for a while before something else caught Ash's eye that he noticed. Beyond his Pokemon surrounding him, there was a certain alicorn standing in front of the gateway.
The only pony who had passed through the gateway connecting to Ponyville and Pallet Town.
Twilight Sparkle, of course.
"Oh, Twilight!" Ash raised his arm as his Pokemon separated from their trainer. He then walked over to Twilight who seemed fine at first. But when getting closer, it was revealed that she had tears in her eyes. "Hm? What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Twilight whimpered before rubbing her eyes with tears falling out. "I'm just glad to see you alright again, Ash."
"Mhm." Ash nodded. "I'm always gonna be alright. No matter what."
"You say that but..." Twilight sniffled. "What if one day something goes horribly wrong and you don't make it out like you always do? I don't...we don't want to lose you, ya know." She then looked up at Ash who still had that hopeful smile on his face as always. "But...I guess you already know that, don't you?"
"Sure do. I'm gonna make it through the worst of the worst as always. Even when things get tough and seem impossible, I've always got some great friends to help me through it all." He gave a thumbs-up as the golden sun finally showed itself through the skies.
"Pikachu!"
"Count on it, Twilight."
"I will!" Twilight also let out a hopeful smile too with one final tear dropping from her face.
After the wild ride that was the whole revenge hunt against Ash, some rest was needed. And one of the best places to rest was Undella Town. Ash and his friends had shown up here to relax alongside his next friend from Kanto, Troy. But, while Twilight and everyone enjoy the relaxing waves of Undella, Ash wanted to show Troy something.
Trixie's Great and Powerful School for magic.
That is the name it goes by and of course, the one who runs it is Trixie Lulamoon herself thanks to the assistance of BigTime Ben for starting this up for her.
Currently, Ash was visiting the school with his friend Troy to see how things were going so far.
"So they learn magic here?" Troy asked Ash.
"Sure do. Trixie's got a major chance to teach unicorns her own way of magic thanks to this school. And from what I saw at that talent show, she's a real pro at it." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Oh boy, I can't wait to get out there and start my own adventures like you and everyone else. Oh, that reminds me. My legs are starting to heal and I'll be good as new."
"Really?!" Ash leaned in. "They're healing?!"
"Yeah. I don't know what it is, but all of a sudden, just a few days ago, some blue, pink and purple stuff started surrounding my home. And most of Kanto for some reason. Next thing you know, when I was heading for a checkup the other day, the doctor said that my legs were healing now. Faster than they normally should."
"A few days ago? Blue stuff?" Ash squinted his eyes before putting the pieces together. "Oh! You mean, Aura, Fairy and Rift energy?!"
"Is that what that was?" Troy had no idea what any of those things were. "Well, I like it. If it makes my legs feel better then it's good in my book."
"Wonder which one caused it...?" Ash wondered before walking up to the door of Trixie's school. He then knocked on the door, waiting for a response and hoping to see what the school has become. From the inside at least. He's already seen how much it's improved on the outside.
Ash, Pikachu and Troy waited for a while, scrunching their faces as they hadn't received a response after a knock. All they could hear were the crashing waves of Undella.
But after a while, approximately 10 seconds, something finally happened. The door suddenly transformed into enigmatic shadow-like hooves, taking Ash, Pikachu and Troy as the hooves grabbed each of them, pulling them inside.
"Woah!" The three of them screamed before sinking into the darkness inside.
"Pika!"
As the hooves dragged them inside, they then transformed back into the regular average wooden door as if nothing bizarre had just happened. Already a great first impression.
Back at the central area of Undella.
"Where did Ash go?" Applejack wondered as she was on Sceptile's back.
"He and Pikachu went to take Troy to see Trixie's school that's just up ahead," Fluttershy replied while holding Scorbunny who tagged along. "I hear they're teaching magic there. It's called the Great and Powerful School."
"Because of course it's called that." Rainbow Dash sighed.
"Off he goes to adventure. Even after all of that, he won't sit put and rest," said Twilight. "Oh, well. What can you do?"
"Should we go check out that place?" Spike asked. "I mean, it could be pretty impressive. You remember what happened back at the Pokemon Talent Show?"
"That was more the Pokemon's work than actual magic, Spike." Rarity reminded. "Zorua's and everything."
"Still. Trixie might've improved over time." Fluttershy fed Scorbunny and Chikorita. "If she's getting students then it must be a really good school, right?"
"Yeah. You've got a point." Twilight nodded. "Ah, I just wanna relax more than anything. Maybe we'll do something adventurous next time."
Once the door had been closed and the trio had been dragged inside, the darkness inside was revealed to be bright and colourful. They had finally entered the indoors of the school.
"Oh..." Troy's eyes felt a bit dizzy as his wheelchair almost fell over. Luckily, Ash was able to hold on tight to the handles and support him.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu held his head, trying to stop himself from wobbling. From how fast they were dragged in, it would only make sense that they'd be dizzy and befuddled afterwards.
"Man what a way to enter..." Ash adjusted his hat. "But I think that's just Trixie's way of doing it."
"It certainly is! Welcome!" And once they entered, they were given a greeting from the Headmare of this school. Trixie Lulamoon, who introduced herself with a flash of multiple coloured lights behind her. And as always, her trusty Misdreavus was beside her.
"Misdreavus!"
"Oh, Trixie! Misdreavus!" Ash exclaimed. "Nice!"
"Isn't it?" Trixie let out a confident laugh. "Did you enjoy the hoof-door entrance? It was courtesy of one of my students. And their Pokemon, of course. We've made it the mandatory way to enter the school ever since."
"Well, it's pretty neat. Oh, by the way. This is Troy." Ash introduced his fellow Kantonian. "I'm showing him around places he's never been to before."
"Heya!" Troy waved. "Nice to meet ya! I'm psyched to see what this place is all about. And uh, the rest of Unova too."
"Hm. Well, you're in luck, Troy." Trixie teleported behind Troy. "You and Ash and Pikachu. You'll each get to experience the wonders and majesty of what the Great and Powerful School has to offer! Or just GP School, that's an easier title to work with. I'll also need your help with something later. But come on. Right this way."
With the personal introductions out of the way, Trixie could now introduce Ash, Pikachu and Troy to the entire school and all the progress that's been made as they all followed Trixie and Misdreavus as a guide.
It was time for what Trixie calls a Great and Powerful Tour.
When walking through the hallway of smooth marble, similar to the Pokemon School, Trixie showed Ash, Pikachu and Troy the plethora of decorations littered across the walls.
Many posters could be seen. And they all related to one thing. Magic. Whether it'd be afterschool magic clubs, contests and rules of how to properly use magic. According to Trixie. And speaking of Trixie, on practically every poster, a stamp or sticker of her face was on every last one. Whether on the side, corner or smack dab in the middle of them. Along with Misdreavus who is never left out with Trixie.
There was Trixie and Misdreavus everywhere.
"Have a look." Trixie stopped by the first classroom which showed some students already practising magic with other teachers who had signed up for this. Obviously, they were all unicorns. "The most obvious thing we do here is have all of our students train their magic prowess and pick up new skills and tricks along the way without feeling samey or predictable. Courtesy of my advice, of course."
"Uh...It's blue, right?" A unicorn pointed his horn at his classmate alongside his Pokemon. Everyone in this class had a Pokemon for their own. Most notably, Psychic, Ghost and Dark-Types. They were currently trying some seances magic tricks. A magic trick that is used to try and simulate spiritualistic phenomena for theatrical effect.
"That's a lot of Psychic, Ghost and Dark-Type Pokemon in one room." Ash pointed out.
"Hm. Wait till you see the other rooms. These are the most popular Pokemon Types in our school. And the only ones we use. So far at least. Their tricks and abilities are similar to unicorn magic in a way. Misdreavus knows a thing or two about that."
"Misdreav!"
"We tried to have some Fairy-Type Pokemon involved since they're the most magical Pokemon type but they're so slippery and mischievous it's easier to catch a Ghost-Type if anything." Trixie sighed. "Curse that Spritzee..."
"Oh. What kind of magic trick are they doing?" Troy pointed at the unicorn who was working alongside his Litwick. The unicorn used his magic with Litwick increasing the size of its flame, aiming it towards their classmates in front of them. The lights had also been turned off for this trick.
The magic and flame both shot out, merging with each other as they engulfed the classmates, causing them to freeze on the spot with scrunched faces. Most likely from Litwitck's flame. It is still actual fire at the end of the day. But mostly harmless. Unless it's absorbing the life force of a victim.
The combined fire and magic then performed something rather supernatural. In which, the souls and spirits of the other unicorns were suddenly ripped out of them, having a blue spectre aura within them. The spectres then started flying around the dark classroom, lighting it up with their bright blue aura while the unicorns were frozen in place.
"Ah!" Troy gasped as he had just witnessed souls and spirits being ripped out of a victim's body. But to Ash and Pikachu, this wasn't that surprising since they've seen and experienced this before.
"Oh, that? That's just séance magic. It's a neat trick that's usually performed in either total or partial darkness. It helps set the mood for the performances. And hides the methods too."
"So then...what about that?" Troy scrunched his face at the spirits. But, in just a few seconds, it was revealed that the spirits, while seeming real, were actually just illusions.
"Illusions brought by magic and Litwick's flame," Trixie explained as the souls returned inside of the classmates' bodies. The unicorns were just acting frozen. "Although...sometimes I'm convinced if it's actually an illusion..."
"Awesome." Ash gawked.
"Pika-Pikachu."
"All of my students, well, most of them, wish to be performers like yours truly. And most of the teachers here are performers in their own way. Less well known than me, obviously. We help each other by teaching new performance tricks to one another. But, that's not at all. If somepony really wants to use full-on magic without trying any performance-related tricks, we have teachers that can easily deal with that. More than me, I hate to admit."
"Wow, Trixie. You've got this whole thing sorted out haven't you?" Ash said.
"Pika?"
"Mhm. But, I couldn't do it alone. Even with my Great and Powerful knowledge and skills...none of this would've been possible if I didn't make new friends who would help me. The teachers here are all ponies who are like me. They didn't have much to do other than do performances. Nopony really paid attention to them even. That's why I offered them a role here. Best to have those you can understand by your side, hm?"
"Umm..." Troy thought for a moment. "Yeah, I think I get it. Oh! Do you think I could learn magic here?!"
"Sorry." Trixie stopped Troy by putting her hoof on his face. "But I'm not sure if humans can really learn Equestrian Magic. But if you want, you can always go somewhere and learn Fairy magic if that's okay with you."
"Aww...But Fairy magic isn't as cool..." Troy pouted.
"But it is flashy, that's for sure," Trixie replied as she continued walking on, ready to guide them through the rest of the school. But as the lights of the classroom came back on and they passed by, the unicorn students immediately recognized Ash and his Pikachu outside their classroom.
"Oh! Look!" A unicorn filly stood up, pointing her hoof at the duo. "Ash and Pikachu!" And with that, like a moth drawn to a flame, all of the students in the classroom immediately stopped what they were doing as they rushed over to the famous Ash Ketchum and his partner Pikachu considering their reputation in Equestria.
"Hm?" Ash and Pikachu turned around as they saw a horde of young unicorns were screaming with joy while charging towards the trainer and Pokemon. "Whoa!"
"Pika?!"
"Oh my." Trixie's eyes widened as she witnessed her students surround Ash and Pikachu like predators hunting their prey, cornering them on all sides.
"He's really here!" A little unicorn squeed. "Awesome!" And with one speaking, the others started chattering about Ash, asking him questions and such.
"Hey, Ash! Can you show us Ash-Greninja?!"
"No, dummy! Greninja's not with him!"
"Um, Mr Ash! Can you uh, do the thing with the Aura?"
"Which one do you want him to do? I wanna see him "
"I heard you could fly with Aura! Is that true?!"
"Ooh! Ooh! Really?! Is it true that you can actually fly?!"
"Do the Gigantamax with Pikachu, please!"
"Uh..." Ash was a bit perplexed by all these questions and requests about him. So was Pikachu.
"Pikachu..."
"Geez, they're popular..." Troy spoke.
"I'll say." Trixie nodded before walking up to the students and Ash. "Alright, you all. Head back to class now. You still need to prepare for tomorrow's talent show. And my talent show and the second golden trophy is just over the horizon. Teehee!"
"Yes, Ms Lulamoon." The students all said as they went back to their classroom.
"Alright, Mr famous. Moving on." Trixie giggled, continuing the tour as Ash adjusted his hat after that overwhelming moment.
"I didn't know you were so popular, Ash. Pikachu." Troy turned to his friends.
"Yeah, mostly in Equestria and Alola."
Trixie then showed Ash, Pikachu and Troy more of the school and what it had to offer. Since it was all magic-focused, the classes were a bit limited compared to other schools. But plenty nonetheless.
"Here we have a class that focuses on Shock Magic." Trixie showed the next class which revealed two older students placing large sharp needles through their tongues and eyes.
They also saw a unicorn being devoured by a Banette with over 5 billion teeth which are impossible for a Banette to have as it chomped onto the middle part of the unicorn, breaking him in half.
"Gah!" Ash, Pikachu and Troy squealed at the sight of it once they saw this.
"Exactly." Trixie nodded. "It's perfect for shocking audiences to the core. Our older students try this form of magic since they're more skilled."
"Okay, that's good." The teacher applauded as the students took the needles out of their eyes and tongues as if nothing had happened. The other half of the unicorn suddenly jumped out of Banette's mouth before reattaching himself together like a puzzle piece. Completely unscathed.
"Nice, Banette." The unicorn said.
"Banette!"
"H-How did..." Troy's hand shook. "Was that another illusion?!"
"Some of it was. Some of it wasn't." Trixie had a devious smile on her face.
Onto the next class.
"In this class, the students here take part in something simple like Quick Change Magic. Try to keep up." Trixie showed some students who were rapidly changing outfits at ludicrous speeds. They had even swapped body parts at high speeds which made Ash, Pikachu and Troy rub their eyes.
It was all happening so fast as the students had each other's body parts, making them look like Discord who is an amalgamation of other creatures. But once they were done rubbing their eyes, the students were back to normal. Perfectly fine.
Onto the next class.
"Escapology magic. My personal favourite. Where it involves trying to escape from restraints and other traps. Like burning buildings, cages, steel boxes, being eaten by a hungry Snorlax. They can't all be Ghost, Dark and Psychic-Types, can they? Oh, and Carvanha-infested tanks. Without using any teleportation by the way since that's way too easy."
Trixie showed some unicorns practising for a future Escapology trick. They weren't actually performing the real deal, just doing a little act to represent how it may play out. For being one of the riskier ones it was surprisingly tame right now. The Pokemon that supported them in this trick were mainly Oricorio's for their elegant moves.
"Soon, I'll be trying out an Escapology trick of my own. Via Ferrothorn."
The tour kept going with Trixie showing so many variations of magic tricks that many of her students could perform alongside the help of the Pokemon. Actually, most of the Pokemon were hers.
This went on for 20 minutes until eventually, Trixie stopped by to show Ash, Troy and Pikachu something special. Also, someone familiar with Ash and Pikachu.
"In here." Trixie went over to the next classroom, opening the door. "Ash. Pikachu. You two remember Shineblitz, don't you?"
Trixie revealed the young unicorn who couldn't help but sleep during the day, Shineblitz from Canterlot. Same baggy eyes, same light yellow fur and green eyes as always. And next to her was a Komala, sleeping on the little unicorn's head. They both complimented each other well.
Right now, she was obviously asleep in this classroom where she was the only student.
"Mmm..." She grumbled in her sleep.
"Komala..."
"Sure do. Looks like she's the same as always." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
"And she's my best student in the whole school. Even better than her seniors and those older than her. A real prodigy." Trixie slid over to the sleeping unicorn.
"...She's your best student?" Troy pointed at Shineblitz.
"Mhm. She may not look like it, but when it comes to magic, nopony learns faster than her. There's a reason why she has her own classroom to herself. Much like the Great and Powerful Trixie herself, prodigies need their own zone to improve."
"...Mm...Zone." Shineblitz nodded as she opened her eyes, noticing the familiar faces of Ash and Pikachu. "Oh...Hey Ash. Pikachu."
"Hey."
"Pika-Pika."
"...Goodnight." Just then, she went back to sleep like she always does. A few seconds to talk while awake and a few seconds to head back to sleep.
"Best student!" Trixie let out a wide smile. "But anyway, there's something else more important that I need to show you. In my office. You're going to love this. And it's always why I need your help today. Keep up the good work, by the way, Shineblitz."
"Sure will," Shineblitz responded before slamming her face onto the table.
Trixie gently closed the door before pointing her head towards the room next door. Fittingly, her office was right next to the room where her best student works. That was certainly intentional.
"What's so important that you want to show just us, Trixie?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"Oh, I've shown it to everypony in the school by now. Might as well also show it to my friends. And Troy too, I suppose."
"I'll take it." Troy gave a thumbs up.
"Prepare yourself! For something just as Great and Powerful as me!" Trixie stood in a bipedal stance while stopping at her door while her Misdreavus did the honours of opening them with Psychic.
"Misdreavus!" When opening the door, the most obvious thing to expect was Trixie's office. And of course, it wasn't anything mind-blowing. Though, Trixie did design it with dazzle and pizazz to make it really stand out from every other classroom.
But that wasn't what Trixie wanted to show them. No. Instead, when Ash, Pikachu and Troy looked into the office, they noticed something really stood out. Something of a crystal-like nature. And Trixie's words further showed this.
"This is the Shift Crystal."
"Shift Crystal?" Ash and Troy both said, starstruck at what they were witnessing.
"Pika..."
"Beautiful, isn't it? Blue and purple. Colours that really go well with each other." Trixie walked up to the dazzling and sparkling crystal that had cosmic stars inside of them.
"Whoa...Trixie where'd you get this? And what does it do?" Ash wondered.
"Well...When my little Misdreavus and I were searching for more teachers to have in our school, we came across this beauty in the Abomasnow Tundra. It was frozen in ice when we first saw it." Trixie took her hat off. "At first, we thought it was just an odd-looking pile of ice. But when we saw a Spheal touch it, something wonderful happened."
"Like?" Troy leaned in with his wheelchair.
"The Spheal suddenly transformed into me out of nowhere!" Trixie bellowed. "From looking at me and touching the crystal at the same time, that Spheal ended up shapeshifting into the Great and Powerful Trixie without even doing it on purpose! It certainly took me and Misdreavus back, that's for sure."
"Dreavus!"
"It turned into you?" Troy pointed at Trixie.
"Mhm. And so did other Pokemon when they passed by me. Some even turned into my Misdreavus when they looked at her. That's when I knew I had to bring this baby along! Wasn't easy though. Almost destroyed my carriage because of its sheer size. Barely even fits in my office."
"So...is that why it's called the Shift Crystal?" Ash asked as he further looked at the crystal, noticing the familiar energy coming out of it. "It looks like this could've been made by Fusion Magic too."
"Pikachu."
"Spot on. A crystal that shapeshifts anyone who touches it. At least, whoever they look at. Not sure of other ways." Trixie nodded. "Something like this is perfect for my performances. It adds to the extra trickery. And it also compliments my Zoroark and Zorua too."
"Awesome!" Ash and Troy grinned at the same time.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"It is awesome, isn't it?" Trixie smirked. "Not too complicated and pretty to look at. Plus, it doesn't cause any harm. I even made a neat little necklace from it." Trixie then showed off a small necklace on her table that had a tiny piece of Shift Crystal on it as an accessory.
"So then, what's the problem if this thing doesn't cause any harm?" Ash looked up at the crystal, questioning.
"The problem isn't what the crystal can do. The problem is who ended up touching it." Trixie placed her hat back on.
"Uh...Who touched it?" Troy scratched his hair.
"Pokemon Bandits...!" Trixie growled. "Those accursed Pokemon came in here and used the crystal's power for themselves by breaking pieces from it. Obviously to go and do...bandit stuff while under disguise as anyone they want to be. Right underneath my nose. Even when I did so well to protect and conceal it from them! Luckily, I know where they head every time they finish a job but...I'm not heading there."
"Pokemon Bandits?" Ash leaned in. "And using shapeshifting too...Man, that's kinda tricky to solve actually."
"It is. And besides...I feel like it might be my fault. Because of them, they've been stealing from Undella Town and beyond for weeks now. I'm not really too concerned about the people living here, but they've been conned since those bandits like to disguise themselves uh...what's her name? Officer Jenny? Yeah, her. They've even stolen from my school! My stuff! For what?! How can you steal with performance items?! Oh, I do suppose for easier getaways actually..."
"Sounds pretty serious." Ash looked up. "So, they're just small-time bandits who steal from Undella right?"
"Ehh...Not anymore." Trixie winced. "Bad news is that they're more than just your average bandits. These Pokemon are pretty smart. Smart enough to make trades?"
"Uh...seriously?" Troy squinted his eyes."
"Seriously." Trixie turned to Troy. "I don't know what's in their heads, but these Pokemon Bandits are like those Umbrage Thieves from Equestria. They kinda do the same thing. They also capture some Pokemon-"
"Sell Pokemon for profit?!" Ash gasped.
"Uh...maybe not profit, I don't know about that and if Pokemon need money." Trixie pulled back. "But, they do capture Pokemon. And they do it while looking like humans to make it easier for grabbing, since...ya know? Paws and claws?"
"We gotta find them." Ash turned around. "You know where they head to, right, Trixie?"
"Mhm. Some sort of underground lair they jump into. It's super creepy and I've only seen lights coming out of it. No way, I'm looking down there. Nuh-uh. Besides...not with their boss."
"Their boss?" Troy wondered.
"Those Pokemon are bringing all that they've stolen for one Pokemon that's their boss and calls everything. I got a glimpse of him. It's a Beheyeem. I think that's how you say it. That Pokemon's already creepy enough and I don't wanna know what it does down there and what it wants with all those Pokemon and items that get stolen for him."
"Beheeyem? Oh, the Pokemon that wipe memories?!" Troy gasped. "Man, I heard freaky stories about them..."
"Freaky is right." Trixie leaned in for a whisper. "I think I even saw a giant Beheyeem head floating about at night after school. Like some sort of spaceship..."
"Oh...that's both freaky...and awesome!" Troy bellowed.
"...It is?" Trixie titled hr head.
"I love alien stuff! Some of my favourite stories come from it!"
"Uh..huh. Well, anyway. Their hideout is somewhere near Route 14. Just east from here. They use those waterfalls with mists to disappear to their hideout."
"Got it!" Ash nodded. "Pikachu! Let's go!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu and Ash were ready to bolt out and rescue the stolen Pokemon.
"Wait! Can I come with you?!" Troy asked.
"Troy? Are you sure you wanna come along? It could be pretty dangerous." Ash warned.
"Yeah, I know. But I'm enjoying this so far! This is the kind of adventure I was looking for Plus, there's alien stuff involved!"
"Alright then. Just stay by my side okay?!"
"Well, since you're going, it'll be safer now." Trixie walked up to Ash. "Although, safe isn't the first thing that comes to mind when you're involved with something Ash. But I'm coming too either way. I couldn't do it before. Not on my own. Besides. My stuff's there."
"Great. We'll solve this in no time before mom's dinner."
"Pika-Pika!"
Route 14. Afternoon.
A route in eastern Unova, consisting of a few bridges and a stream that has waterfalls. Along with that, the road was covered with mist from the waterfalls here. But this mist isn't common. Occasionally, it does disappear. This is also the place where access to the Abundant Shrine. Resting place of Landorus.
Here is where the Pokemon Bandits supposedly retreat to. According to Trixie. Speaking of Trixie, she, Ash, Pikachu, Troy and Misdreavus poked their heads through the pile of bushes they hid in.
There, they locked their eyes onto one of the waterfalls here. Since Trixie had seen where the bandits escape to, she knows which waterfall to look at. And of course, it had to be the one where the mist is most prominent.
"Wait for it..." Trixie hushed. "Usually, the Drowzee and Squirtle are the first to show up. Especially the Squirtle for easier travel through the waterfalls. Mostly in the afternoon."
"We'll make this super quick. Twilight's gonna yell at me if I push myself when doing something crazy again. But I just can't help it, ya know." Ash grinned and laughed silently.
"I can't wait to tell mom and dad about today's adventure." Troy also spoke. "When my legs finish healing, I'll go wild with all my adventures like what you do, Ash. Should probably catch my own Pokemon first. Those Kanto Starters are still at Professor Oak's lab, right?"
"Sure are." Ash nodded.
"Ssh! Here they come...!" Trixie hushed as the time was now. Everyone stayed silent, peeking through the bushes and focusing on the one waterfall in front of them.
And just like what Trixie said, a group of Squirtle and Drowzee had shown themselves. From the small cliffs of the Route, they had appeared. The group of Water and Psychic-Types jumped off the small cliff, landing down with a bag of items and most likely Pokemon due to all the squirming inside.
And with those two Pokemon, they had pieces of the Shift Crystal with them in the form of necklaces. They had just finished transforming into something that could place all of these items and Pokemon inside. Most likely humans or Machamp. Either one works. And they use their normal forms to drag the bags.
"Squirtle."
"Drowzee."
The group then approached the waterfall covered in mist, looking around to see if anyone was watching. But, there were others watching from within the bushes in secret.
Believing that the coast was clear, the Squirtle and Drowzee group passed through the mist and waterfall, fading away from the vision of Ash and the others.
"Alright. Go!" Trixie and Misdreavus jumped out of the bush as Ash, Pikachu and Troy followed. The four of them quickly caught up, approaching the mist.
They too faded from sight the moment they passed through the mist due to how thick it was. They all closed their eyes as they then went through the waterfall, which was surprisingly warm.
Afterwards, when they even passed both the mist and waterfall, Ash and the group had come across the supposed hideout that the Beheeyem rules and where the Pokemon Bandits rush to.
"We're here," Trixie said as Ash and co. opened their eyes.
When opening them, they found out what this hideout truly looked like. It certainly didn't have the appearance of an average hideout in a cave.
Across the walls, there were red, green and yellow orbs planted everywhere that were constantly flashing. They matched the colours of those spheres on Beheeyem's arms. These orbs made beeping sounds as there were also these giant glowing rocks that had a magnetic nature to them. Similar to Chargestone Cave. These rocks constantly sparked out blue electricity as it sounded like they were also making those beeping sounds but at a different pitch.
There were also green and black vines across the walls and ceiling that looked like they were alive as they were slithering around in one continuous line, dripping out ooze.
"Eugh...This is exactly why I couldn't continue pursuing them before...Gross...!" Trixie squealed as she held her Misdreavus.
"Misdrea...!"
"Cool...!" But Troy had a different reaction. "Just like the alien stories I've read...! This is awesome...!"
"Alright. Just up ahead?" Ash pointed forward.
"Mm-hm!" Trixie nodded aggressively. "If we just keep moving forward, we'll find his hideout. Not that hard to notice with all those flashing lights."
"Okay. Let's go." This time, Ash was moving ahead of the group since they all felt safer behind him. They pursued onwards, walking through the hideout of Beheeyem and the Pokemon Bandits as the orbs on the wall were flashing faster. As if they were responding to the four of them.
They first moved past the glowing rocks with magnetism. They could feel their bodies gaining small electrocutions because of the magnetic flux coming out of them. The little shock they received made their hair stand up a bit.
But, while it made their hair stand up, there was one piece of metal here that the rocks responded to. And that was Troy's wheelchair. The moment he passed by the rocks with his hair standing up from the shock, the magnetism pulled his wheelchair in, forcing him to be pulled as well.
"Whoa!" Troy yelped as he was now apart of the rocks. "Uh...! Help!"
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu-Pika!" Pikachu hopped up as he was thankfully there to help. The rocks were reacting to Pikachu's Iron Tail since it had metal properties within it, hence the name. However, before the rocks could fully react and pull the Electric Mouse Pokemon in, Pikachu moved faster as he smashed the rocks into pieces with one hard Iron Tail, freeing Troy.
"Oh, thanks, Pikachu." Troy thanked.
"Pikachu!"
"Alright. We'll just stay away from the rocks. And those too." Ash pointed at the vines.
"Let's do that...Last time I came here, those vines tried to grab me and I wasn't a fan of it." Trixie trembled, holding onto Ash's arm while Misdreavus latched herself on Pikachu's head.
The group pursued on, making sure to avoid the glowing magnetic rocks. For Troy's sake, of course. They also made sure to avoid the vines. And if they struck, Pikachu's Iron Tail would respond to them.
The vines weren't actually attacking. Just like the rocks and orbs, they were also starting to make sounds but at a higher-pitched frequency than the others. From how there was all this beeping, it was like they were all trying to communicate.
One of the orbs had actually moved, gaining an eyeball. Someone definitely knew that Ash and the group were coming.
And they were waiting.
5 minutes later.
5 minutes from walking and Ash and his friends had come across their required destination via another cliff that was inside of the waterfall hideout. They stopped by the cliff to see where all the Pokemon Bandits and their boss Beheeyem reside.
"Whoa..." Ash gazed at the new sight he had witnessed. However, what he was witnessing wasn't the layout of the hideout. It wasn't anything new or stellar to him. Not at all.
What did shock him was something entirely different. Something that gave the same reaction he had to the Shift Crystal in Trixie's office.
There was a giant Beheeyem head in the middle of the cave while Beheeyem himself sat on a throne behind the cave. This giant head sat there, unresponsive with it seemingly having no power. Around the head, there seemed to be a plethora of hatches that acted like doors. Plus, the Beheeyem head didn't have the same glowing green eye colour as the actual Beheyeem, further showing that it was out of power.
Those hatches were indeed doors as they had just opened up. The Pokemon Bandits had entered the inside of the ship via some stairs, bringing what they had stolen with them.
"See what I mean? Look at that...!" Trixie pointed her hoof at the head. "It's some sort of...sort of uh..." Trixie was struggling to find the right words.
"It's a UFO...!" Troy noticed.
"Yeah, Uf...what?" Trixie turned her head to Troy before turning back to the head. "That thing?"
"They do say that Beheeyem might come from space..." Ash whispered. "Just like how Elgyem appeared near a UFO crash site 50 years ago..."
"Pikachu..."
"So you mean...we're really dealing with aliens?" Trixie trembled while gulping. "Oh, wait. It was always an alien Pokemon, wasn't it?"
"But what do they need the Pokemon and objects for?" Troy wondered.
"No idea. But we need to get those Pokemon and objects back. If it's a UFO, then they're gonna head to space soon. Probably to their home planet or somewhere." Ash nodded.
"Uh...Please don't tell me you're planning on rushing in? I know you and Barry are alike after all." Trixie sighed. "And you're not one for staying put, are you, Ash?"
"Nah." Ash grinned as he knew what he was doing. "Let's go!" Without hesitating. Ash jumped off the cliff with Pikachu, ready to jump into action.
"Pika!"
"Of, course." Trixie slammed her face on the ground. "Oh, well." She accepted it as she used her magic to levitate Troy, helping him down with his wheelchair.
Ash and Pikachu were the first to land, causing a bit of a trembling impact when they descended, immediately grabbing the attention of Beheeyem and the Pokemon Bandits that worked for him.
"Beheeyem." The Cerebral Pokemon locked onto the duo.
"Beheeyem!" Ash exclaimed. "Sorry, but we're taking those Pokemon and whatever else you stole back!"
"Pikachu!"
"And you give me the rest of my Shift Crystal back you thieves! It's mine!" Trixie shook her hoof.
"This is gonna be so great...!" Troy got all giddy since aliens and Sci-fi is what he's all about. This'll be something to remember when it's all over. That's for sure.
A stunning and unexpected outcome. What started as a nice little visit to Trixie's Great and Powerful School, transitioned into the revelation of a powerful crystal forged by Fusion Magic and then to a sudden Beheeyem and Pokemon bandit pursuit mission. That may or may not involve space.
Truly, there's never a dull moment with Pokemon as the journey continues.
Route 14. Beyond the caves in the waterfalls. The hideout of Beheeyem and the Pokemon Bandits. Afternoon.
Currently, an interesting situation had surfaced. A situation involving a crystal that allows for shapeshifting that Trixie discovered known as the Shift Crystal, Pokemon Bandits that have stolen pieces of the crystal while also working for a higher-up boss. A Beheeyem who owns a giant UFO that was modelled after its head.
Certainly, this isn't what Ash, Trixie or Troy were expecting to get today. Now, it was a mission to retrieve the stolen Pokemon and objects from Beheeyem and the Pokemon bandits.
"Beheeyem."
"The Pokemon and items are in there." Ash pointed forward. "We just have to get past Beheeyem and get them back."
"Pikachu!"
"Heeyem!" Beheeyem raised his arms, calling for its minions which were the Pokemon Bandits. They didn't just consist of Squirtle and Drowzee. The Pokemon Bandits had more members with them.
Noticeably, the type of Pokemon that were a part of the Pokemon Bandits, weren't exactly massive. Each of them were fairly small. Much like Squirtle and Drowzee. Ranging from a Kecleon to a Lombre and other knee-height Pokemon. Although, Drowzee was the tallest Pokemon group out of them by far.
The Pokemon Bandits all came out of the Beheeyem UFO by exiting the door. They weren't exactly a large group when revealed. While they did have a lot of Pokemon in their group, there are mostly only 20 of them in total.
"Yeah, if we can get past them first." Trixie sighed.
"Misdrea."
"No need to worry." Ash took out the rest of his Poke Balls. "We've got a ton of help!" He then tossed his Poke Balls up, sending out the rest of his Pokemon.
"Lucario!"
"Dragonite!"
"Gen-Gengar!"
"Far! Farfetch'd!"
"Alright, you guys." Ash tightened his gloves. "There's a bunch of Pokemon we gotta rescue in there and some stuff to get back. We'll need to get past these bandits first, okay? Let's make this quick before Twilight yells at me for pushing it too far. Keep Troy safe from any harm too!"
"And leave the ruses and tricks to yours truly." Trixie twirled her hat.
"Misdreavus!"
"Oh." Troy looked at himself. "Man I wish I had Pokemon of my own right now."
"Behee." Beheeyem gave the order to rid Ash and the others of his hideout. At the same time, he hovered off his throne, slowly entering his UFO to stay out of the action while the Pokemon Bandits did his bidding.
"He's heading inside!" Trixie pointed out.
"We'll catch up! I'm leaving everything to you guys, okay? Gengar! Ice Punch on the ground!"
"Gen...!" Gengar raised its arms before they had been engulfed with ice. "Gar!" The Shadow Pokemon then punched the ground, causing a flash-freeze to happen in seconds. The entire ground had been frozen by Gengar, causing the opposing Pokemon to stay firm on their feet due to the added slipperiness.
"Now! Go!" Ash pointed forward, commanding his Pokemon to attack. Even with the frozen ground, Ash's Pokemon were an exception since they've trained to master walking on ice whenever Gengar freezes the ground.
Lucario, Dragonite and Gengar stood back while Pikachu and Farfetch'd approached the Pokemon bandits. Some will stand back while some get up close and personal.
With their superior strength and skill, Pikachu and Farfetch'd easily breezed through the bandits with Iron Tail and Night Slash. Lucario charged up an Aura Sphere while Dragonite prepared a Hyper Beam. Gengar phased through the cold icy ground, ready to cause some mishaps in secret.
And speaking of secret, Trixie and her Pokemon were already devising a plan. A plan that only they could perform with their cunning tricks as they spoke in secret.
"Alright, Misdreavus." Trixie held out a Poke Ball. "Zoroark's going to help us with this one. When we get in there, we'll trick that Beheeyem by having Zoroark turn into him. That way, those bandits-"
Trixie's words were slightly interrupted after a Drowzee had been sent flying from Farfetch'd's Night Slash, screaming while passing by. "Drowzee!"
Trixie paused for a moment before continuing her sentence and plan."...Those bandits will follow whatever Zoroark tells them. First, we need to make sure nopony sees us. But, I think Ash and his Pokemon have that covered."
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu used Iron Tail to hit a Lombre, forcing the Jolly Pokemon to crash into its fellow bandits from the amount of force that hit it.
"Gurdurr!" A Gurdurr appeared behind Pikachu, ready to smash its steel beam onto the Electric Mouse Pokemon.
"Cario!" Lucario's eyes flared as he fired an Aura Sphere from his palms. The Aura Sphere travelled at high speeds, tearing through the ground as it hit the Gurdurr, preventing it from harming Pikachu.
Not only that, but once Lucario's Aura Sphere hit the Muscular Pokemon, it caused a fairy wide explosion of Aura that hit other nearby bandits, knocking them out.
"Gar!" Gengar appeared behind some of the bandits by phasing through the ground. The Shadow Pokemon startled the Pokemon Bandits as it then used Psychic to grab them all.
Within its grasp, Gengar then used Psychic to launch the Pokemon it had held, sending them flying into the air. That prompted Lucario and Dragonite to make their move next.
"Dragonite!" Dragonite aimed her head upwards, shooting out a Hyper Beam at the Pokemon that Gengar had just launched. The Pokemon Bandits gasped as they had each been hit by Hyper Beam, becoming engulfed in all that hyper energy from Dragonite's mouth.
With great coordination, the Pokemon Bandits had all been knocked out, falling to the ground and fainting after being hit by Hyper Beam.
Ash wasn't ready to waste any time.
"Great job you guys! Let's go!" With no time to waste, Ash and his Pokemon got a move on, rushing over to the giant Beheeyem head UFO.
"Oh!" Troy looked at the area, noticing how all the Pokemon had just fainted. "Wait up!" He then followed by moving his wheelchair on the ice which was actually fairly useful. The smooth and slippery texture gave him a boost. The speed he was gaining was a bit entertaining as it made him feel like he was on a rollercoaster ride, causing Troy to raise his arms. "Woohoo!"
Trixie saw that the coast was now clear. With the Pokemon fainted, her Zoroark could get to work as she sent the Illusion Fox Pokemon out.
"Zoroark!"
"Alright now, Zoroark. Here's what I need you to do." Trixie placed her hoof around Zoroark's neck, ready to spill the plan to her.
Beheeyem's ship. Interior.
"Force Palm!" The shout of Ash's voice could be heard along with Lucario's roar as a glowing palm smashed through the door hatch of the ship.
The hatch went flying from how much power had been exerted. As the smoke cleared, Ash and his Pokemon passed through with Lucario's palm sticking out.
"Luca."
"Good job, Lucario." Ash entered the ship. "Now, let's find those Pokemon, quick." Now that they were all inside, they started searching as a group, exploring the ship.
The inside of Beheeyem's ship had a lot more to offer than the outside. Or even his hideout. Since it was modelled after his head, the layout would be different from a usual spaceship.
The indoors were all metal. Every last bit of it. It had the same texture as Beheeyem which was steel. Strangely enough, Beheeyem isn't part Steel considering its hard body. Just like the outside, red, green and yellow spheres were on the walls, but this time, an assortment of technology resided here.
Technology that was made entirely by Beheeyem and hard to describe. They resembled familiar objects that can be found across the world. Like a screwdriver, ruler, drill, wrench, a hat of all things and much more. But, while looking like ordinary objects, they had been altered with alien-like appearances.
Ash and his Pokemon ended up coming across these assortments of technology that were piled up on separate tables near the walls.
"Hm. What are these things?" Ash was curious as he walked past the technology. He was able to see the name tags given to each of them while passing by. Each of them also had the words Work in Progress apart them. He spotted the altered drill that had metal wings on them, reading its name. "Aerial Drill?"
"Pika?"
"Transporter Screwdriver? Shock Module? Man, these things are pretty weird." Ash narrowed his eyes while talking by the objects. "Looks like they're all not done yet. Beheeyem must've come here not too long ago. And these have to be what the bandits stole from Undella."
"Gen-Gen." Gengar picked up the Shock Module as he felt a tiny jolt of electricity go through him, giving him a shock as the name suggested. "Gar!"
"Best not to mess with this stuff, guys. Let's just grab them and focus on the Pokemon, okay?" Ash recommended that they kept moving instead of stopping to see the gadgets and technology made by the Beheeyem. His Pokemon started grabbing the objects while Ash opened his bag up. They were relatively small so they could certainly fit inside of his bag. No time to stop by and continue looking at what this ship had to offer.
But Troy certainly would stop by due to his love of Sci-Fi and anything alien related as he had caught up to Ash and his Pokemon. The excited Sci-Fi fan lover kept looking at the ship, amazed that he was actually inside of one.
"Oh, man..." Troy got giddy while looking at the layout. He then saw Ash and his Pokemon move around the corner, heading off to another part of the ship with the gadgets they had grabbed with them. He knew not to touch them, but he couldn't help but just gaze.
So many gadgets that were incomplete but could offer so much in terms of what they could do. It was all so tempting for Troy. But, despite his massive love for subjects such as this, he had a strong will. A will to resist. Gutted that he obviously couldn't stay here forever in an alien ship and mess with the gadgets since there were Pokemon that needed help, Troy moved his wheelchair onwards, following where Ash and his Pokemon went.
Speaking of which, Ash and co. could notice that Beheeyem eyes were watching from the walls. The same 8-shaped eyes that all Beheeyem have. The black dots on the eyes were following their movements like a Braviary.
The trainer and his Pokemon stayed firm and on high alert with their guards fully up while Troy caught up to his friends.
"Did you find any of the Pokemon yet?" Troy asked.
"Not yet. This ship's pretty huge. Might take a while." Ash replied.
"Pika-Pika."
"Luca." Out of everyone, Lucario and Farfetch'd were the ones who had their guard up the most. But mostly Lucario because of his Aura. And since he could sense the Aura's of others, he started searching for the Aura waves of the stolen Pokemon by closing his eyes. "Lucario..."
"With Lucario's Aura, we can find anyone no problem." Ash gave a thumbs up. "By the way, where's Trixie and Misdreavus?"
"Oh. They were talking about something in secret. Before I came in here, I saw her take out her Zoroark." Troy pointed south.
"Zoroark, huh? Then that means Trixie's got a great idea, for sure." Ash smiled, believing in Trixie.
"Pikachu." Pikachu whistled.
"Luca!" But, abruptly, all this chatter and walking came to an end as Lucario had sensed multiple Aura waves around him and the ship.
"Did you find them, Lucario?!"
"Cario!" Lucario nodded. He did indeed find them. Since there were so many Pokemon captured, it wasn't too hard for Lucario to find them. But, Lucario was sensing something else as he put his arm out, forcing everyone to stay. "Luca..."
"Pika?" Pikachu and the others shifted their eyes, wondering what else Lucario was picking sensing.
"Ca..." Lucario kept his focus. He could hear the sounds of the nearby Aura waves. The sounds were similar to heartbeats. The Pokemon that have been captured had rapid beating hearts due to them being confused and afraid. But, the other heartbeat that Lucario was hearing didn't exactly sound like one. It sounded like digital noise.
That's when it hit Lucario. The Aura Pokemon gasped as he created an Aura Sphere in his palm, shooting it towards the corner out of instinct. The ball of Aura was fired at the right time due to what Lucario had sensed. And for good reason.
From the corner of the room, a Beheeyem had shown up to try and get the jump on Ash and the others with Psychic, but due to Lucario's sharp Aura senses, that didn't happen as the Aura Sphere ended up hitting Beheeyem the moment it came out of the corner.
"Heeyem!" The Cerebral Pokemon went flying back.
"Oh! Beheyeem!" Ash and the others gasped. "Nice find and hit Lucario!"
"Luca!"
"B-Behee!" Beheeyem shook its head before recovering.
"Wait...is that the same Beheeyem?" Troy narrowed his eyes.
"Don't know. This ship could have more Beheeyem in it. They mostly show up and live in groups. And since this is a UFO..we're in heavy Beheeyem territory that's all around us."
"Awesome..." Troy squeed.
"Heeyem. Beheeyem!" Suddenly, the Cerebral Pokemon raised its arms, forcing everyone to prepare for whatever attack is about to come their way.
But an attack wasn't coming their way.
Out of nowhere, without them expecting it, or at least, Troy could somewhat expect it, titanium metal doors suddenly came shooting down from above. Multiple of them.
These titanium doors had closed off between Ash and the others in separate parts due to the distance between some of them. Ash, Pikachu and Lucario had been separated from Troy, Dragonite, Gengar and Farfetch'd. The doors behind them each had blocked them all.
"Troy! Guys!" Ash turned to the titanium door that was behind him, Pikachu and Lucario.
"Ash!" Troy also looked at the door that had shut him and the rest of Ash's Pokemon from his friends. Not only that, it wasn't just two titanium doors that were blocking them. Multiple titanium doors had been layered between the two groups, adding some extra density.
"Beheeyem!" But that wasn't the last thing Beheeyem did. From both sides, Ash's group and Troy's groups, other Beheeyem had shown themselves, confirming that there was more than one in this UFO.
There were 12 Beheeyem in total. 6 on Ash's side and 6 on Troy's side. The Cerebral Pokemon had both sides cornered as this was their plan. To separate them and pick them off while they had little numbers.
"So, that's your plan, huh?" Ash wasn't even stressed about this as he let out a confident smirk, slightly intimidating the Beheeyem. "Alright. Troy!"
"Yeah?!" Troy replied as he gulped while looking at the 6 Beheeyem who were staring right at him.
"Dragonite, Gengar and Farfetch'd will keep you safe! We'll meet up again! As soon as we take care of these Beheeyem!"
"Uh! Okay! Take your time!"
"It won't take long at all." Ash turned his hat back. "Alright! Pikachu! Lucario! Quick Attack! Force Palm, go!"
"Pika!"
"Luca!"
At once, both of Ash's Pokemon rushed onwards, ready to take out the Beheeyem so that they could reunite with their friends on the other side of the ship.
Troy could already hear the battle in the other room happening. He had his faith and hope in Dragonite, Gengar and Farfetch'd. They were Ash's Pokemon, so he had confidence.
"Okay. Not sure if I should give you guys commands but...Do your best!" Troy pointed at the Beheeyem!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite charged up a Hyper Beam while Gengar and Farfetch'd made the first move with Night Shade and Brutal Swing.
Only 12 of them had to be defeated. Ash and his Pokemon knew they could certainly do that in little time.
West wing of the ship.
But, while two battles occur, Trixie, Misdreavus and Zoroark had entered the ship themselves by using the large hole that Lucario made earlier.
They were unaware of the current madness happening within the ship. Precisely at the North wing. Instead of battling, these three were here to do something else. A little bit of tomfoolery trickery while Ash and the others handle the hard part.
"Alright." Trixie hushed as she poked her head around the corner with her Misdreavus and Zoroark. Speaking of Zoroark, she had just transformed into a Beheyeem for the plan. "Don't give anything away Zoroark."
"Behee."
"Now for us..." Trixie smirked as she and Misdreavus brought a little something special for this. The Shift Crystal necklace from before that Trixie had in her office. She had placed it on her neck while Misdreavus had her own but smaller. Zoroark wasn't the only one going undercover.
The two of them activated the Shift Crystal's power by looking at Zoroark who was in the form of a Beheeyem. The crystal only responds to the user's wish of who they want to become. Or just looking at someone works too.
Blue and purple energy that represented Rift energy came out of the crystals as both Trixie and Misdreavus closed their eyes, having their bodies engulfed by the light. As the light engulfed them, the duo could feel their bodies transforming into something more compact and digital.
The light had a beautiful cosmic and aurora-like glow to it when the ability of the crystal took place. Afterwards, the beautiful light faded away as both Trixie and Misdreavus had now become Beheeyem's themselves.
They would open their eyes but Beheeyem's eyes aren't really made for closing and opening. But, she and Misdreavus saw their new transformed bodies either way.
"Success!" Trixie bellowed while looking at her metal alien arms.
"Dreavus!"
"Now. All we have to do is sound like a Beheeyem. Ahem." She cleared her newfound alien throat which didn't feel like any throat she's felt before. Then again, she's only had one throat. "Behee...Hee...Heeeeeeeee!"
Her impression was horrible.
"D-Dreee...Dreee!"
And so was Misdreavus's.
Their voices couldn't exactly match the same quality as a Beheeyem which was low-pitched and had a sort of rasp to it. Something that they couldn't mimic. Only Zoroark could because of her natural ability to mimic other Pokemon perfectly.
"Beheeyem..." Zoroark sighed at Trixie and Misdreavus's failure to mimic the Cerebral Pokemon's voice.
"Alright. This isn't working." Trixie pondered. "How about...We stay silent and you do the rest of the talking and noise, Zoroark."
"Behee!"
"Great! Now, let's go get my stuff back."
Trixie's group was now on the move. The only group that wasn't taking part in anything physical. But, this can still be considered dangerous since they are in enemy territory right now.
As Beheeyem, Trixie and her Pokemon could only hover and float. Even though Beheeyem had legs, for some reason, they were incapable of using them by instinct.
While moving through the ship, they could feel the UFO shaking from hard impacts, obviously coming from Ash and the others. And Trixie could tell since Ash and his Pokemon are the only ones who can cause such a ruckus.
"Ash seems to have that covered. Let's see if we can interrogate one of those Beheeyem. Use Night Slash when you get the chance, Zoroark."
"Zoro."
"Excellent. Oh!" Trixie suddenly heard the sounds of nearby Beheeyem approaching. "Here come some of them. Act natural and play your roles."
The trio immediately got into position, forming a straight line as they stayed completely silent. The other Beheeyem on the ship were approaching. They weren't involved with the battle right now.
"Beheeyem." 4 Cerebral Pokemon appeared, heading towards the East wing in a fashionable and orderly straight line as Trixie and her Pokemon mimicked the movements and attitude of a Beheyeem by also floating in a straight like them. "Eyem?"
One of the 4 Beheeyem's at the back noticed Trixie and the others following them by joining the line. By looking at the trio, Trixie and her Pokemon were already feeling very nervous just being near the Beheeyem. Being caught is the last thing they all wanted.
But, to save them from potentially being figured out, Zoroark, in all her expertise, made a Beheeyem sound by communicating with the other Beheeyem.
"Behe?" Zoroark asked if something was wrong.
"Beheeyem." The curious Beheeyem replied with a no. It was just a bit wary due to the current situation. With that, Trixie and her Pokemon were in the clear. Trixie wanted to thank Zoroark but she couldn't talk after all.
Now that they had just barely blended in with the Beheeyem, Trixie and the group followed the Cerebral Pokemon through the West Wing of the ship, staying completely silent without a word.
The further they went the more they could hear Ash and his Pokemon shaking the ship. By this point, the whole UFO will come crashing down before Trixie can even get her stuff back.
They went through a door that had automatically opened up to the Beheeyem, leading them to a new room that was slightly closer to the battle happening on the ship.
This was the room where Lucario sensed the multiple Aura waves of the captured Pokemon, which Trixie and her Pokemon were about to find out.
When arriving here, Trixie and her team had seen the captured Pokemon in what looked to be a prison room. Many cells had lasers as jail bars instead of metal. And in those small cells were the captured Pokemon who were sitting around, not in the best mood.
Why would they? They had just been captured. The lasers were insanely hot to the point where not even a Water or Ground-Type could get past them without being torched into oblivion.
Trixie gulped, looking at the plethora of stolen Pokemon while passing by. Seeing a Pokemon upset is something that can make anyone also upset. And it certainly got to Trixie. Zoroark wanted to growl because of her captured brethren but she couldn't give anything away.
But, Trixie promised to free these Pokemon in her head and also knew that Ash would do the same. As soon as he finishes up with the Beheeyem.
As the battle continued, a door in front of the group of Beheeyem and fake Beheeyem had opened up, leading to another room in the ship. However, this was no ordinary room.
This was the control room.
A large circular table with a module that also had a long window could be seen. This module had a plethora of controls, very tempting buttons that anyone would want to press if given the chance, and 3 other Beheeyem hovering around the table, managing the ship. Some of Trixie's stolen objects could also be found here.
And at the middle, on a large throne, was the head Beheeyem. The same one that ordered the Pokemon Bandits and sat on the throne outside of the UFO. This was certainly the top leader of all of this.
"There he is..." Trixie said in her mind as the doors of the control room had now been shut.
"Heyeem. Beheeyem." The head Beheeyem started speaking to all of its minions, causing Trixie and the others to stay alert.
Although, there was one problem.
While Misdreavus and Zoroark could understand Beheeyem due to them being Pokemon, Trixie, unfortunately, couldn't. She wasn't like Fluttershy, sadly so she didn't have a clue on what Beheeyem was saying. But Misdreavus and Zoroark surely did.
When listening to Beheeyem, the Illusion Fox Pokemon and Screech Pokemon heard about his master plan for this world while he rambled on.
"Hee! Beheeyem! Behee-hee-yem!" Beheeyem spun around, further speaking about his master plan as Zoroark and Misdreavus both silently gasped.
What they had heard was shocking and horrifying. Trixie had no idea what her Pokemon were surprised by. She really wanted to know desperately.
However, she wouldn't have to wonder for long as Beheeyem was going to show instead of just telling. The leader of the Cerebral Pokemon turned to the large module, pressing one of the buttons on it.
With one press, it had activated something from the ship. The window was starting to open up as whirring sounds could be heard as if something was being powered up.
Then, from below, something started rising and emerging from outside the UFO. A cannon of some sorts had revealed itself. It appeared to be made of some kind of otherworldly metallic substance, consisting of four long prongs connected to a stationary base. And there was a gigantic hole in the middle that obviously fired something.
This was clearly an energy cannon.
Even Trixie knew that.
"Beheeyem!"
And speaking of Trixie, when seeing the cannon and how freakishly large it was, she put the pieces together of what it was about to do. Or at least, what she believed it would do.
"They're going to blast that thing onto Earth, aren't they?!" She thought to herself.
"Beheeyem." But suddenly, when Trixie thought in her head, the head Beheeyem nodded in confirmation, which threw Trixie off guard. The Head Beheeyem had actually heard what Trixie had said in her mind. Being a Psychic-Type helps a bunch.
The Head Beheeyem knew that they weren't real Beheeyem as the rest of the Cerebral Pokemon turned their heads towards the fake Beheeyem, blowing their cover.
"Oh." Trixie suddenly said. "Ehehehe...Beheeyem?"
"Beheeyem!" The Head Beheeyem hovered high up, pointing his arm at the intruders. Now that they've heard his plan, or at least, the gist of it. There was really more to the plan and the giant energy cannon, he ordered them to be put in the laser holding cells.
"Zoro." Zoroark returned to her normal form while Trixie and Misdreavus deactivated the power of the Shift Crystal since there was no use in hiding this.
"Misdrea!"
"Now, look...let's be rational here. You don't really wanna blast the Earth, do you? I mean, what about your fellow Beheeym that live here with trainers or in the wild?" Trixie shrugged. "I mean, I've got a lot I need to do here! I need to make my school so big that it-"
"Heeyem." Beheeyem stopped Trixie right there as he showed what his plan actually was. And it was arguably just as worse as blowing the Earth up. The Cerebral Pokemon used the giant computer in the control room, manipulating it with Psychic to type in words that Trixie and her Pokemon would understand.
"Hm?" Trixie looked over to the giant computer, looking at the words that were being created as she read it slowly. "We are going to blast the Terraforming cannon into the Earth and make it suitable for Beheeyem control and command over the inhabitants of this entire planet while they struggle to live in our conditions, thus making us the superior race, and the only race that will exist while the rest pass on."
"Behee.
"Then just fire the stupid thing on another planet! Why this one?!"
"Heeyem." Beheeyem then showed Trixie more words.
"This is the only planet that we, the Beheeyem, can properly live on due to its geography and design made by the Great and Powerful Arceus. Oh, just rub the Great and Powerful part in, why don't you?" She scoffed.
"Beheeyem!"
"Well, tough luck!" Trixie pointed her hoof at the Head Beheyeem. "The chances of you taking over this planet are zero to none! Not when Pokemon Trainers, like myself, are around."
"Beheeyem?"
"Besides. I kinda like this world. It has a nice feeling to it and I'm just enjoying the school that I run. And I won't let you ruin it. And give me back my stuff already!"
"Hee-Heeyem!" Beheeyem then gave the call to restrain Trixie and her Pokemon so that they don't get in the way of their plans.
"Oh..." Trixie gulped as she stood firm on her hooves while Zoroark stood in the front like a guardian. Thanks to her Dark-Typing, all the Beheeyem are easy prey for her. "You asked for it! Zoroark! Use Night-"
But, before Trixie could finish her command, from the walls of the ship and right through the control room, another Beheeyem had come crashing through the walls of the control room at such velocity that it left a massive hole.
"Bee!" The launched Cerebral Pokemon cried out as it had just fainted by hitting the wall and then falling to the floor. The others gasped as they wondered what could've done that.
But, it was obvious who did that.
Once the smoke started clearing, it was revealed that Ash, Pikachu and Lucario were the cause of it as they had just defeated the Beheeyem in the other room. They had even broken the titanium doors because of their battle. But it was mostly Lucario thanks to him being a Fighting-Type.
Not only that, but Troy's group had defeated the Beheeyem as they were behind Ash. It was mostly Dragonite, Gengar and Farfetch'd who did it since Troy isn't exactly a Pokemon Battler.
"Hey, Trixie! Nice job sneaking in!"
"Pikachu!"
"Lucario!"
"Ooh! What's this?!" Troy gawked at the control room.
"Oh, Ash! Troy! Thank Celestia..." Trixie sighed before putting on a different expression. "You could've crushed me with that! Don't you know these things are as hard as metal?!"
"Sorry about that." Ash laughed. "Anyway, what is this place?"
"You're in their control room. Get this. These knuckleheads are planning to terraform the planet with that comically large cannon to make it match what they want or something. Oh and take over the world, that too."
"Terraform?!" Ash gasped.
"Control room?!" Troy said in a giddy tone before realizing how bad that sounds. "Oh, wait..."
"Pika?!"
"Beheeyem!" An annoying Head Beheeyem ordered the attack to continue as the remaining Beheeyem went for both Ash's group and Trixie's group.
"Like that's gonna happen. Alright, guys! Go!" Ash commanded all of his Pokemon to attack the Beheeyem and stop this Terraforming plan from happening.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped over Dragonite's head as he used Iron Tail to smash a Beheeyem to the floor from above.
"Heeyem!" Two Beheeyem focused their attack on Gengar by using a synchronized Psybeam. Gengar was still part Poison so Psychic-Type attacks will most certainly leave a mark. It didn't help that it was in heavy Psychic territory right now.
"Far!" But, Farfetch'd got in the way with Night Slash, covering his leek in Dark energy. He used the Dark energy around his leek to block the Psybeam, making them ineffective upon contact. "Fetch'd!"
"Zoroark, Night Slash!"
"Zoroark!" And speaking of Night Slash, Zoroark had appeared behind the two Beheeyem, lighting her claws up as she slashed past the two Cerebral Pokemon with 6 claw marks appearing, knocking them out of the air.
"Hee!"
A group of Beheeyem tried to knock Dragonite over with Zen Headbutt, but the bulky and rotund build of the Dragon Pokemon made it impossible for that to happen naturally. Once the Beheeyem smashed their heads onto Dragonite, they quickly came to find out that it only slightly ticked the Dragon Pokemon and barely pushed her back.
"B-Beehee?" The Cerebral Pokemon looked up to see Dragonite staring them dead in the eyes with a not-so-happy expression.
"Dragonite!" In response to Zen Headbutt, Dragonite used Dragon Claw, slapping each of the Beheeyem with the move and sending them flying like ragdolls.
"Gengar!" Gengar ascended as it cackled. Misdreavus had also joined her fellow Ghost-Type in the air as they hovered above the rest of the Beheeyem. "Gar!"
"Drea!"
At the same time, both Ghost-Types had used Shadow Ball in unison, aiming it at the below Beheeyem. When each of their Shadow Balls were fired, they merged, creating an even larger and stronger Shadow Ball.
"Behee!" The Beheeyem panicked from the approaching enlarged super-effective move as they immediately started hovering away.
"Ca!" But, Lucario wouldn't let that happen. He appeared in front of the Beheeyem, using Double Team to surround them, preventing them from escaping from Shadow Ball.
"Beheeyem?!" The Beheeyem gasped, stopping in front of Lucario and his many clones as they looked behind to see Shadow Ball approaching. They sighed in defeat, knowing they didn't have enough time to evade.
Thus, Shadow Ball had engulfed them, resulting in a dark purple explosion that was wide enough to cover most of the control room due to how large the attack initially was.
Many of the Beheyeem had already fainted. Very little remained and Ash's group now outnumbered them due to how many had just fallen.
"Behee?!" The Head Beheeyem was perplexed by how his forces had fallen.
"Alright!" Ash turned to Beheeyem. "End of the line, Beheeyem! You can leave our planet! We like it the way it is!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Behee...!" An aggravated Head Beheeyem refused to accept defeat. He knew that he couldn't beat them in a battle because of how skilled and powerful Ash and the others were. So instead, he was going to try something else.
He used Psychic to interact with one of the buttons on the module. When interacting with it, the large energy cannon started turning to the other side as everyone faced the outside.
The Terraforming Cannon had then faced the inside of the ship. It looked like a giant face was staring right at them. A blue light suddenly started glowing inside of the cannon, a confirmation that it was about fire.
"Wait...he's gonna fire it inside?!" Trixie screeched. "Are you crazy?! You'll take your ship out too!"
"Behee." Beheeyem then used the computer to speak to Trixie once more, forcing her to read what was being said.
"The cannon is at low power with little Infinity Energy. It can barely affect a city at this point. Besides, I've set it to obliterate instead of Terraform. Oh, that's just great."
"So, that's why you wanted the Pokemon!" Ash finally put it together. "So you can gather all of their Infinity Energy for your cannon!"
"Pika!"
"Beheeyem!" The Psychic-Type nodded as the cannon had just fired a devastating blue beam that shot towards Ash's group.
"Lucario! Go!" Ash called for his Lucario.
"Luca!" Lucario ran in front of everyone else as he stood before the cannon. The Aura Pokemon put his arms out, knowing that his Steel body will give him great defence. The beam had then connected with Lucario's palms as it didn't immediately blow up upon contact. This was because Lucario was holding it back.
"Heeyem?!" Beheeyem gasped, surprised that someone could hold back the blast. He ordered the rest of the Beheeyem to take out Lucario, but the rest of Ash's Pokemon stood in the way, blocking them from reaching Lucario.
"Ash!" Troy went over. "If you take out that module, it might shut off the cannon and everything else."
"Gotcha." Ash nodded. "Lucario! Re-direct it to the module!"
"Luca...Rio!" Lucario growled as his Aura started flowing out of his body. Due to the blast having little power and not at its best, it was easy for Lucario to manipulate it with Aura. The Aura Pokemon then directed the blast with Aura, sending it towards the control module.
"Bee?!"
The blast had hit the control Module, immediately blowing up and disrupting the entire control room's main source of command and power.
The cannon had powered down because of the power failure coming from the module. Thus it shut down. And so did everything else. Mainly the lights. Beheeyem looked around to see the massive power failure result, knowing that its plans had been thwarted.
With the power down, the laser jail cells that held the Pokemon had also been deactivated. Thus, the Pokemon were free as they immediately started running out of their cells in joy. They weren't sure what had just happened but they didn't care. Freedom was all that mattered right now.
"Yes!" Ash cheered. "That's the end of that!"
"B-Behee?!"
"I'll be taking these, thank you very much." Trixie grabbed the rest of her stolen items.
"H-Heeyem..." Beheeyem sighed in defeat.
"What do we do about them, Ash?" Trixie asked. "Turn them in to Officer Jenny? I know I'd certainly turn those bandits in."
"Beheeyem!" The remaining Beheeyem suddenly abandoned their ship by hovering out of the window. Ash and the gang watched as the Cerebral Pokemon retreated.
But they weren't retreating by just hovering.
The Head Beheeyem suddenly used Psychic on the ground to reveal something else. With their UFO destroyed, they needed to make a getaway back to space somehow.
So, as any genius would, they had a spare. Out of the ground, Beheeyem used Psychic to lift a smaller UFO that was in hiding. Just in case.
"Oh." Ash and the others said while gazing at the second UFO. The Beheeyem all panicked, rushing to the UFO in a scurry. They were in such disarray that they even bumped into each other when trying to entire their spare UFO. Clearly, when defeated, they are less organized and focused.
Ash and the group watched as the Beheeyem entered the UFO, starting it up as they were getting out of here in a heartbeat. At least, they wanted to. Due to them panicking and being intimidated by Ash's group, the ship was acting all wobbly, flying up from the ground before smashing into the walls of the cave.
After a few failed attempts, the UFO eventually burst through the ceiling at high speeds as the Beheeyem had finally left in defeat.
Undella Town. Late afternoon.
Everything had been cleared up. The Pokemon Bandits had been turned in and sent to Undella Town's Officer Jenny who would take everything else from here.
"You did what?!" Twilight screeched.
"Mhm." Ash nodded. "It was a blast. Pretty short but enjoyable either way."
"Pikachu."
"And you got alien tech that used to be normal stuff?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"C-C-C-C-C-Can I...Can I keep them?" Twilight was also a fan of anything scientific as she held her hooves out, begging for one of those gadgets.
"Aw, but I wanna keep them!" Troy exclaimed.
"Uh...Sorry about that. I kinda also gave them to Officer Jenny." Ash laughed.
"What?!" Twilight and Troy both screeched.
"My bad!" Ash grinned before rubbing the back of his hair.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"I could've experimented with Pokemon alien tech..." Twilight sighed as she lowered her head.
"Um, if it makes you feel any better, Twilight." Fluttershy floated over. "We can always just find a Beheeyem somewhere else in Equestria. Or here."
"Will they have a UFO?" Twilight had puppy-dog-eyes.
"Um...maybe?" Fluttershy shrugged.
"Well, you have fun with that." Trixie turned around as she had retrieved her Shift Crystals as well. "I need to prepare for my next performance. Oh! This alien thing's given me an idea!"
"Good luck with your school, Trixie." Ash wished her luck.
"Pika!"
"Hmph. Thank you, Ash. But I won't need luck! The Great and Powerful Trixie is a natural!" Trixie raised her hooves as she suddenly disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.
"Dreavus!" But really, Misdreavus was carrying her with Psychic once the smoke cleared.
And that was the end of that. And as a bonus, Ash didn't push himself and use Aura in this. So there was no fainting or Twilight yelling at him for harming himself.
Another story ends and another will begin eventually. Most likely tomorrow. But, that's what everyone expects when it comes to the World of Pokemon as the journey continues.
"Come out, Feebas." Rarity had just sent out her Feebas. A Pokemon she barely uses or even keeps out of her Poke Ball.
"Feebas."
"Alright, Feebas. Um..." Rarity bit her lip. "I know this keeps happening...where I rarely ever send you out. Or even use you in battle. And I can understand that you're upset but...Y-You are upset right?"
"Bas."
"Uh..." Sweetie Belle squinted her eyes. "This time, I can't tell what she's feeling."
"That's what I'm afraid of." Rarity gulped. "But, there's no need to worry! Because I have a solution! Feebas. How would you like to become a Milotic?"
"Fee."
Rarity couldn't tell if it was a yes or a no since Feebas simply floated there with barely any expression on her face. Although she did blink and move her eyes, looking at Rarity. "...I'll take that as a yes! And I know the place to go. Evolution Valley! They must have a Prism Scale over there. It can't be all stones."
"What's Evolution Valley?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Just a small valley where Pokemon that can only evolve via certain objects reside." Rarity answered. "Some Pokemon can't evolve naturally after all. There are exceptions. And my little Feebas is one of them."
"Ooh..." Sweetie Belle nodded.
"Come along, Feebas." Rarity picked up the Fish Pokemon. "Let's make you into a beautiful and stunning Milotic. I know you've been waiting for this especially."
"Feebas."
Evolution Valley.
The valley where many evolution items can be found and where the Pokemon who use those items reside. And of course, the ones who take care of the valley and Pokemon, Forrest and Skye were here.
"Achoo!" Forrest sneezed as he wasn't exactly looking like he was in the best shape right now. A bit of hay fever right about now. "Prism Scale?"
"Mhm. Do you happen to have one of those lying around anywhere?" Rarity asked.
"S-Sure...We ha...ha...ha..." Forrest was about to sneeze again. "Achoo!"
"What he means to say is we have some near the river." Skye comforted her big brother. "All Water-based items for Water Pokemon can be found there. But, I can just give you this one instead." She then dug into the bag that she and her brother always have with them.
Inside of those bags, assortments of items could be found. Pokemon food and healing items but more importantly, evolution items as well. Skye looked inside, swarming her hand around, trying to find the Prism Scale. She ended up harming herself by touching the Razor Claw in the bag that evolves Sneasel into Weavile.
But, after some short digging, she eventually found the recommended and necessary item for Rarity and Feebas. The Prism Scale.
"Here it is!" She held the beautiful scale up, showing off its dazzling shine and radiance as it had a rainbow-like appearance to it. Looking at it made Rarity and Sweetie Belle's eyes flash.
"Oooh..." The two sisters gawked. Skye then lent the Prism Scale to Rarity who used her magic to hold it. "Well, it was about time."
"We're gonna have a Milotic in our home soon? Sweet!" Sweetie Belle squeed.
"Alright, Feebas." Rarity went up to the Fish Pokemon, moving the scale to her face. "Here you go."
"Bas." In truth, despite her blank and seemingly never-changing expression, Feebas, much like every other Feebas in the world, do wish to evolve into a Milotic eventually.
The Water-Type hovered towards the scale, poking it with her face. Upon contact, the evolution process could occur. Feebas was engulfed in a blue and pink light as the shape of a serpent-like creature started emerging. Rarity and the others backed away, witnessing the serpent figure expanding.
Multiple rays of light shot out of the figure as a melody was suddenly playing from the glow as it resembled a Milotic cry. The ground had been illuminated as the serpent-like figure began spinning around on the spot. Afterwards, the light scattered as out of it emerged the final evolution and only evolution of Feebas.
Milotic.
"MIlotic!" The Tender Pokemon cried out.
"Ah! Finally!" Rarity grinned as she dashed over to her newly evolved partner. "Look at you! Just as beautiful as the rest!"
"Wait till the Crusaders hear about this!" Sweetie Belle jumped up and down. "Oh! I'd better evolve my Pokemon as soon as I can!"
"Well, how do you feel, Milotic? Wonderful that you've evolved?" Rarity asked the Tender Pokemon.
"Milo?" Milotic then turned around, looking her trainer in the eye. She could see that Rarity had a wide smile on her face, happy for Milotic's evolution. And while Milotic herself was pleased to have finally reached her final evolution, she could finally emote and show how she was really feeling. And the feeling wasn't anything too pleasant.
"Milotic?" Rarity tilted her head, hoping for a response.
"Tic." Milotic suddenly scoffed as she turned her head, looking away from Rarity.
"Gah!" And there it was. Rarity had been shot in the heart by Milotic's scoff as she fell over.
"Oh! Sis!" Sweetie Belle gasped, rushing to her sister's side.
"Oh. Looks like there might not be good blood between the two of them." Skye noticed.
"D-Don't worry..."Forrest groaned. "It won't last...All Rarity has to is ha...Achoo!" This time, he sneezed so hard that he fell on his back.
"Milotic." Milotic suddenly slithered away, not paying Rarity any attention while Sweetie Belle helped her big sister up from the ground.
"This might take a while..." Sweetie Belle sighed as she knew that today would be a long day.
For Rarity, that is.
Ponyville. Day.
"Oh! You evolved her!" Fluttershy exclaimed as she was gushing at the newly evolved Milotic who was still out of her Poke Ball. The Tender Pokemon was resting at the Pokemon House's small lake that it had for the Water-Type Pokemon mostly.
"Right...but..." Rarity sighed. "I'm not sure she's very fond of me right now. I don't blame her actually. After spending more time with all my Leavanny, Pheromosa and Ampharos, I haven't given the same amount of time with Milotic when she was still a Feebas. I believe this is the most she's been out of her Poke Ball.
"Milo..." Milotic closed her eyes, resting on the small lake for some peace while the other Pokemon gave her some distance because of how huge and imposing she was. Also beautiful, there was that.
"Scorbun!" But, one Pokemon didn't give her any space. And that was Scorbunny, who had run up to the Tender Pokemon, disrupting her peace.
"Tic?" Milotic opened one eye, spotting the Rabbit Pokemon near her. She noticed that Scorbunny suddenly had large visible hearts in his eyes while gazing at her.
"Bunny!"
"She probably hates me, doesn't she?" Rarity laid on Snorlax's back.
"Snor..."
"Oh, no, no." Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm positive she doesn't hate you. Milotic still loves you as her trainer but she might just be...a bit..."
"Scornful?"
"I wouldn't say that. Maybe she just needs some more time to bond with you, doesn't she? If Milotic's been in her Poke Ball for so long, she's probably missed out on a lot. Bonding with her while she's out and free might work."
"You really think so?"
"Well, it's up to both you and Milotic to decide. You're Pokemon and Trainer after all. I don't think I can make that decision." Fluttershy let out an innocent.
"Alright..." Rarity got off Snorlax. "Spend some time with Milotic. I can do that. I'll spend so much time with her we'll be as close as Pheromosa and the others! Besides...It took a while for me to let Ampharos out when he was still a Mareep and we're incredibly close. This will be easy!" Rarity now had fire in her eyes as she was confident about this.
"Um...Yeah, I guess so." Rarity nodded.
"Scorbun! Scorbunny was still gawking at Milotic, simply too attracted by her beauty. Milotic was just resting through it all but Scorbunny's constant hopping and chatter was making her a bit agitated.
"Milo...!" Milotic sighed.
"Milotic." Rarity went up to the Tender Pokemon, grabbing her attention. "I've decided. Since I've made you miss out on so much for an entire year, I'm ready to make it up to you."
"Tic?"
"We're going to personally spend some quality time with each other. There's a lot to experience, I can assure you." The unicorn placed her neck around the Water-Type, having a confident smile.
"Milotic." Yet again, Milotic turned away from Rarity. But, this time, she was going to see what Rarity could do. The Tender Pokemon had a fairly difficult personality to deduce. Vastly different from when she was a Feebas.
"Let's start small! You should see what all of Ponyville has to offer!" Rarity got started as she walked off with Milotic following. Also following was Scorbunny who couldn't help but go after the Tender Pokemon.
"Bunny! Scorbunny!" A lovestruck Scorbunny joined in as he grabbed onto Milotic's tail.
"Oh! Scorbunny!" Fluttershy noticed this as this prompted her to go after the Rabbit Pokemon. Now it just ended up as a group of four instead of 2.
Ponyville, Afternoon.
To get things started, Rarity went to her home first before anywhere else. She figured that since Milotic is referred to as the most beautiful Pokémon of all, beauty might be something can enjoy. Rarity quickly checked Milotic's dex entry to see what she could work with.
"Milotic. The Tender Pokemon. Milotic is breathtakingly beautiful. It is the world’s most beautiful Pokémon only rivalled by very few such as Gardevoir or Roselia. Those that see it are said to forget their combative spirits. Milotic has provided inspiration to many artists."
"Hm. Art, eh? Well, I'm no artist..." Rarity pondered. "I could have a Smeargle paint for me. Milotic may enjoy that. Bah, I'll do that later! Right now, let's get you dressed up, shall we?"
"Milotic." Milotic lowered her eyes, waiting to see what Rarity could do.
"Pheromosa! Leavanny!" Rarity clapped her hooves, summoning her Pokemon. In an instant, her 12 Leavanny and single Pheromosa lined up in an orderly fashion, standing behind their trainer.
"Pheromosa!"
"Leavan!"
"Let's get to work and see what will fit Milotic. We'll make it a team effort since...she is a fairly large Pokemon." Rarity gulped, noticing that Milotic was 6.2 metres tall and 20′04 height. She was even taller than Pheromosa who was no longer the tallest Pokemon that Rarity had.
Rarity and her Pokemon started planning everything out by working on what would fit Milotic. All the while, Sweetie Belle, her Pokemon, Fluttershy and Scorbunny watched as the trainer and her Pokemon zoomed around, getting their hooves, hands and leaves has onto a plethora of fashionable objects.
"So, she's going to try and make up for all that lost time?" Sweetie Belle asked Fluttershy.
"Mhm." Fluttershy nodded in response. "Milotic has missed out on so much. Good or bad. Some catch up would be nice."
"Oh. What's up with Scorbunny then?" Sweetie Belle pointed her hoof at the attached Scorbunny who was still holding onto Milotic's tail. Every time he held onto it, Milotic would swing her tail, launching the Rabbit Pokemon off.
"Just a crush. It happens with younger Pokemon a lot."
"There!" In just a few minutes, Rarity and her Pokemon had already sorted something out for Milotic. It didn't take very long since it was a team effort. In fact, because of how efficient Leavanny and Pheromosa are, Rarity no longer works alone thanks to them.
While they couldn't give Milotic a dress due to her build, they could most certainly give her some sweet accessories. The Tender Pokemon received two roses on her head along with a large blue pearl that was made into a necklace. The pearl necklace was placed on Milotic's head as her diamond-shaped scales, along with her fins had been given a rainbow colouring.
And as a bonus, because of the colours and the pearl, Milotic actually let out a shine from her body which illuminated the room.
"Now, isn't that gorgeous?" Rarity crossed her hooves while Pheromosa brought a tall mirror for her teammate. The Tender Pokemon slithered towards the mirror, getting a better look at herself.
"Milo?" Milotic squinted her eyes, seeing how Rarity and her teammate had decorated her. From just looking at herself and what she had been given for a few seconds, Milotic actually found this new look to be rather appealing. "Lotic."
"Do you like it?!" Rarity squeed.
"Milo." Milotic did in fact like it. Whether he was a fan of beauty or not, having some neat new additions with extra flair was nice to look at in the eyes of the Tender Pokemon. She gave a gentle smile out to Rarity and her teammates. And that one smile was enough to spark up a lot of hope in Rarity.
"Ah! Success" Rarity gasped as she turned around, pumping her hooves. "Yes! First try!
Leavan!"
"Phero!"
"That went better than I thought." Sweetie Belle's eyes opened. "I thought it was gonna take a while for her to get to Milotic."
"Rarity just has that charm to her, doesn't she?" Fluttershy giggled as Scorbunny was enjoying the new look on Milotic. The Rabbit Pokemon was ready to rush in but Chikorita used her vines to hold him back.
"Scorbunny!" Scorbunny had been held back by Chikorita as he was running on the spot, generating fire from his speed alone. "Bun!"
"Chiko!"
"Right. What's next?" Rarity pondered before coming up with the next activity. "Ah! Something to eat! I know you haven't eaten anything delicious in a while. But trust me, you're going to love this." The unicorn patted Milotic's centre.
"Lotic?"
SugarCube Corner.
Next was SugarCube Corner. The best place to get some early food for the day. Although, it was the afternoon right now. There were already some customers snacking away at the food here. Those customers being Ash, Pikachu and the rest of his teammate alongside Maud who was eating with Jade.
The treat they were enjoying was something known as Fanciful Fruit Gelatin. Made with a variety of premium fruit juices with some milk on the side.
"Hmm...Food for Milotic, huh?" Pinkie Pie spoke, looking at Rarity's newest evolved partner.
"Anything that she may like. Whatever new Pokemon food you have could work." Rarity replied.
"Gotcha!" Pinkie Pie nodded. "I'll give her something to remember! There's only one thing to start with. Slurpuff!" She called for her Slurpuff who immediately lined up. Just like Rarity and her Pokemon. "Let's get to work!"
"Slurpuff!"
"Ooh!" Sweetie Belle sat on the table with her head peering over. "Can I have some dumplings like before? Those were really good."
"Do you want to try something Scorbunny? SugarCube Corner has some great food here." Fluttershy asked.
"Scorbun!" Scorbunny nodded, but it wasn't clear if he was nodding in response to Fluttershy or towards Milotic.
"Mmm! Great job evolving your Feebas into Milotic, Rarity." Ash said while chowing down.
"Pikachu!"
"Thank you." Rarity sat on the table. "I should've really done it a while ago the moment I learned of that Evolution Valley. Right now, Milotic and I are trying to fully bond and make some catchup time since, you know...I've kept her in her Poke Ball for months, perhaps even a year."
"A year?" Jade stuffed her mouth. "That's pretty harsh."
"Well, I have let her out before but..." Rarity scratched her mane. "I actually did the same thing to Ampharos when he was a Mareep. But it turned out great, didn't it? I was able to receive a Mega Stone and everything as proof of our bond. Although...I do feel a heap of guilt. Robbing poor Milotic of all those enjoyable days."
"Well some of those days were pretty dangerous, right?" said Sweetie Belle. "I mean the whole Darkest Day thing, the Spiritomb, That time Passion couldn't control herself and a bunch more. Maybe Milotic was safer in the Poke Ball away from all of that."
"But there were genuinely some enjoyable times, weren't there?" Fluttershy nodded. "The Canterlot Tournament was fun...Well, most of it. Both Pokemon Festivals were a joy. Visiting the Pokemon World and new Pokemon-exclusive areas were just a treat to experience overall."
"They were." Rarity looked down. "A lot truly has happened ever since our worlds crossed over, haven't they? Making dresses seem less stressful at this point."
"What about you, Maud?" Fluttershy turned to Maud. "You must've done a lot of enjoyable things with Pokemon?"
"I went exploring with Brock," Maud replied with a monotone voice. "Searching for Fossil Pokemon was a real blast. I've caught them all and even more Rock-Type Pokemon from them all."
"Ooh!" Fluttershy gawked. "Any new ones that I've never seen before?"
"Not yet. But I'll find one eventually."
"Alright! It's done!" Pinke bellowed as she and her Slurpuff brought a full-course meal to the table. She had chosen to make some high-quality Pokemon food in the form of freshly made Frozen Chocolate Custard with yummy strawberries on the side! Careful, they're super cold. But that's not a problem for a Water-Type is it?"
"Oh! This looks amazing!" Rarity and the others gazed at the delicacy on the table. "Would you take a bite out of this Milotic?"
"Lotic..." Milotic was also impressed by the look of this desert. The first time she's ever seen anything like it. Then again, her eating options were very limited, even before she was Rarity's Pokemon.
"Man...That looks so good..." Ash gushed at the custard as he wanted a bite out of it too.
"Pikachu..."
"Oh. And here's your dumplings Sweetie Belle." Pinkie brought over a plate of soft jelly dumplings.
"Woohoo!" Sweetie Belle cheered.
"Tic." The Tender Pokemon then took a lick of the custard, feeling a different kind of food for the first time in who-knows-how-long.
One taste and Milotic was already hooked as she started digging into the Frozen Chocolate, eating at a gentle and slow pace instead of rushing it like most others do. From the expression on Milotic's face and the increasing smile, it was safe to say that she was pleased.
"Looks happy to me." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pika-Pika."
"Mhm." Maud nodded in agreement.
"Really? Wonderful!" Rarity cheered again. "This is going swimmingly! But, I'm not sure Milotic and I are still on the best terms yet. Although we've made splendid progress, I believe."
"You two have gotta be great friends, right?" Pinkie said as she picked up a sleeping Mew, preparing to carry him to the bedroom.
"Well...are we, Milotic?" Rarity asked the Tender Pokemon.
"Milo." Milotic looked at Rarity for a split second before going back to eating her custard. She was very vague with her response and emotions.
"I-Is that a good or bad response?" Rarity stuttered.
"I think she's just testing you," Maud answered.
"Testing me?" The fashionista pulled back. "Why?"
"Probably trying to see what you can really offer. All those days, weeks and months staying inside of a Poke Ball must've given her trust issues." Fluttershy deduced.
"Ah. That would make sense." Rarity nodded. "I wouldn't trust myself if I was in her place. But I can certainly gain her trust. Hopefully. Can I?"
"Sure you can," Ash responded. "No doubt you can pull this off, Rarity. And I bet Milotic knows you're going to give it your all."
"Milo."
"Right!" Rarity stood up as she was getting fired up. "With how well everything is going, I'll be sure to gain her full trust!"
"I know what's next. I think we've gone past the simple and calm activities. Why don't we try something more exciting!"
"Milotic?"
Lapras Lake.
The next activity was surfing. More specifically Lapras Surfing. A neat little sport that everypony from Ponyville come by to take part in. Similar to Mantine Surfing in Alola only with a Pokemon that move slower than Mantine and with less intense waves than Alola. But still fast-paced and riveting either way.
"Woohoo!" Rarity bellowed as she had surfing goggles on while riding on the back of a Lapras while surfing on some rapid-moving waves. The waves were actually moving fast because of the Sharpedo below.
Their speed was powerful enough to manipulate the water itself. In fact, this only became a popular surfing spot because of what the Sharpedo were capable of doing. And after the Dynamax Crisis, the Sharpedo and ponies aren't on bad terms right now.
"Isn't this exciting, Milotic?!"
"Milo." As for Milotic, she wasn't exactly moving at a breakneck speed like Rarity. Instead of some adrenaline-pumping action, Milotic chose to slowly swim across the lake. She's not really one for excitement.
"Not a lively one, eh? That's fine. Being gentle and laid-back is just as great." Rarity could see that the Lapras Surfing wasn't exactly working out. It's not like Milotic didn't mind it, she just wasn't into it.
"Lotic."
"Hey, Rarity!" Rainbow Dash appeared next to Rarity by zooming through the air. "There's a wild Milotic! Catch it quick!"
"That's my Milotic, Rainbow Dash. I've just evolved her today."
"Oh. Neat. When are you gonna battle with her?"
"Battle?"
"Yeah. I mean, you've basically got a pretty great team right now. A Mega Pokemon, Ultra Beast, a boatload of Leavanny and now a Milotic. I'd choose that team if I had the chance. Looks pretty scary if you ask me."
"Hm...battle..." Hearing Rainbow Dash's words sparked a new idea in Rarity's head. "Ah! Even if she's laid-back, like all Pokemon, she can certainly battle! But would she be up for it, I wonder? Thank you, Rainbow Dash! I'll try a battle and see if we can get closer!"
"Uh, sure. If you want an early one just battle me." Rainbow Dash grinned. "Sound good?"
Certainly." Rarity nodded as Lapras was slowing down.
"Audino."
"Sounds like they'll be having a battle soon," Fluttershy said as she translated what Audino had heard. "Is Milotic suited for that?"
"Uh...Let me check." Sweetie Belle took out her Pokedex to see what moves Milotic had.
"Milotic. The Tender Pokemon. Water Pulse. Tackle."
"Eugh." Sweetie Belle grimaced at the very limited moveset that Milotic had. "Only two moves? I guess that makes sense. It only learns Water Pulse when evolving."
"Oh. Then it might not look so good for Rarity or Milotic." Fluttershy gulped, fearing the eventual battle between Rarity and Rainbow Dash.
"Don't worry. It'll probably be just a one on one bottle." Sweetie Belle shrugged. "But uh...All of Rainbow Dash's Pokemon are pretty skilled. And Milotic's never battled before."
"Bun! Scorbun!" Scorbunny suddenly ran in front of Fluttershy, jumping up and down.
"Hm? What is it, Scorbunny?" Fluttershy asked.
"Bunny! Scorbunny!" The Rabbit Pokemon pointed his paw at himself with a confident smile and stance.
"Oh. You want to help Rarity and Milotic?" The pegasus translated. "Oh, but Scorbunny. You don't have any battle experience either. Maybe it's best that you sit this one out."
Scorbun..." Scorbunny, crossed his paws, pouting. He mainly wanted to team up with Milotic because of his major infatuation with her.
"Alright, Milotic." Rarity went up to the Tender Pokemon while still on Lapras's back. "How would you like to be in a Pokemon Battle?"
"Lo?"
"You know? To see what you're capable of. You've never been in one before anyway. Plus, we'll need all the help we can get for the incoming invasion in a couple of weeks."
"Milo..." Milotic turned away from Rarity once more. She knew that the stakes for this world were high. Milotic was actually aware of Ghetsis and Empress Twilight' existence from the few moments she was actually out of her Poke Ball.
And of course, even Milotic doesn't want anything horrible to happen to this world. Or even her original homeworld. The Pokemon World.
So, she gave a gesture of agreement. She would battle to see what she could do.
Exactly 3 minutes later.
It was decided. Rarity and Rainbow Dash stood on opposite sides as their battle would take place in Lapras Lake. Fluttershy would act as the referee for this battle.
"Alright. Just one Pokemon each, please. No more than that. If either Pokemon on one side faints, that's the end of the battle. So, you can now begin."
"Okay! Since Milotic's new to this, I'll go easy on her." Rainbow Dash took out one of her Poke Balls. "Go! Mienfoo!"
"Mienfoo!"
"I would say not to go easy on me but...Milotic doesn't have much going for her in terms of skill. But we'll see." Rarity gulped.
"Battle start!"
"Okay, Mienfoo! Force Palm, go!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo went first. The Martial Arts Pokemon pulled her arm back as her palm started glowing. She then bolted forward, heading for the Tender Pokemon.
"Here goes nothing. Water Pulse!"
"Lotic...!" A large ring of water appeared around Milotic's body as it started expanding. The ring of water then released a stream of water with rings surrounding it.
"Foo!" Mienfoo thrust her palm forward as she connected with the stream of water. Upon collision, they equalled each other out as the stream of water had blown up while Mienfoo was forced back by the equalization. "Mien!"
"Tackle!"
"Milo!" Milotic then moved in next. By slithering forward at impressive speeds, approaching Mienfoo with a head-on assault.
"Fury Swipes!"
"Mien-Mienfoo!" Mienfoo spread her arms out as her claws had revealed themselves, glowing with white energy. The Martial Arts Pokemon then lunged into the air, looking down at Milotic.
"Tic!" The Tender Pokemon suddenly rocketed herself upwards with Tackle while Mienfoo swiped her claws down rapidly. Mienfoo's claws met with Milotic's head as a clash had ensued.
However, it was a clash that wouldn't last long. Milotic couldn't exactly stay in the air forever. Once her head clashed with Mienfoo's claws, she went back to the ground. But, Mienfoo could certainly achieve more air time than Milotic. And she could certainly keep attacking more because of Fury Swipes
"Foo!" Mienfoo then started rapidly swinging her claws, hitting Milotic in the face multiple times. "Mien-Mien!"
"Mi-Milotic!"
"Oh!" Rarity gasped.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo then did one last swipe by trying to launch Milotic back. But, the Tender Pokemon, due to her slender and serpent-like body along with her height, couldn't exactly be pushed back that easily. It would take a ranged attack to make Milotic move or an even stronger physical attack.
"Won't even budge huh? That's fine. Agility into Force Palm!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo then backflipped away, covering her body in a white outline as she was increasing her speed while charging up energy in her paws.
"Quick! Dodge and use Water Pulse, Milotic!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo, with her increased speed, ran forward, kicking up smoke as she ran with her palm pulled back.
"Lotic!" Milotic then started slithering away while charging up a Water Pulse. That same ring of water surrounded her body as she slithered to the side, waiting for the right moment to strike.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo lept off the ground as she thrust her palm forward with golden energy flowing out of it. She was going straight for the head again.
"Milo!" Milotic then suddenly ducked her body due to how flexible and slender it was, causing Mienfoo to miss her attack.
"Foo?!"
"Tic!" With Mienfoo surprised, Milotic then raised her shooting out a stream of water that had been unleashed upon Mienfoo, showing the Martial Arts Pokemon in a heavy pulsing blast of water.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo was sent flying back from Water Pulse.
"Amazing!" Rarity was impressed by Milotic's clever use of her serpent-like body.
"Reversal!"
"Foo!" But, Mienfoo wasn't down and out. She quickly recovered by skidding on the ground before bolting back in with her increased speed with one more attack being focused on her paw. This time as a counterattack.
"Water Pulse, again! Quick!"
"Milo...!" Milotic summoned the ring of water around her once more. However, she was too late to perform a rebuttal. Mienfoo was just a few steps ahead in terms of speed.
"Mienfoo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon then delivered an all-out counterattack by striking her paw onto Milotic's face before she could fire Water Pulse. With a heavy smash to Milotic's face, a furious explosion happened on the spot, engulfing both Mienfoo and Milotic.
Mienfoo jumped out of the explosion with her paws smoking from all the energy she put into them. But as for Milotic? Well, once the smoke cleared, it was revealed what had happened to the Tender Pokemon.
"M-Milotic..." She had fainted. Her entire body was down on the ground as she couldn't handle that counterattack from Reversal.
"Milotic is unable to battle! Mienfoo wins! So, Rainbow Dash is the victor!"
"Hah! Nice! Great job, Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash cheered.
"Mienfoo." Mienfoo crossed her arms, acting like that battle was light work for her.
"What a shame. But it was to be expected..." Rarity sighed as she went over to the Tender Pokemon. "Milotic. You did well. Sorry that I made you lose your first ever battle."
"Lotic?" Milotic groaned while looking at Rarity with half-closed eyes.
"Um...You're probably not too fond of me making you lose like this, are you? But don't worry! I promise that I'll make it up to you by training you to become stronger!"
"Tic..." Milotic sighed.
"That didn't go so badly." Sweetie Belle said as Fluttershy and Audino went over to Milotic and Mienfoo to heal them both. "But...Are they gonna be friends by the end of this?"
"Your Milotic's pretty fierce, Rarity." Rainbow Dash praised. "She could be really good with some more moves. Oh! She's in the Dragon Egg group, right?! Teach her some awesome Dragon moves!"
"Um, I certainly will." Rarity nodded as she helped Milotic up. "But, perhaps another time."
Carousel Boutique, late afternoon.
Afterwards, Rarity and Milotic had returned to the Carousel Boutique, calling it a day. Rarity was in her room, worried that Milotic and her hadn't fully become full-on friends yet.
"Ooh..." Rarity paced back and forth. "Having her battle must've made her annoying or upset with me. We've probably dialled all our progress back by a margin."
Thoughts started swarming her head. She feared that Milotic might be the one Pokemon she may fail to properly befriend. Rarity wasn't sure if all of this could properly work out how she wanted to. Sweetie Belle stood by the door, listening to Rarity's worrying words with Fluttershy.
"Boy. She's really worried, huh?" said Sweetie Belle.
"Mhm. Rarity's really doing her best to be friends with Milotic." Fluttershy responded as Milotic herself was listening in on their conversation.
"Tic?"
"But, after the food and dressing up, she doesn't like Rarity anymore, does she?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Well, she did enjoy them. But, even with all that, Rarity still has her fears. But she's honestly trying to get rid of those fears. Rarity doesn't want Milotic to hate her."
"Milotic..."
"Rarity loves her Pokemon like they were her own children. Like with how she went so far as to help her Leavanny when she thought they were ill. Or even how she helps Pheromosa with her dream to be a star. So, like many others, she just wants to be close to her Pokemon as possible."
Just then, Rarity came out of her room, finally done walking back and forth. "Alright. I suppose we can call it a day. Perhaps tomorrow we can try heading to Canterlot." Rarity sighed. "How did I do today?"
"You did great, Rarity." Fluttershy nodded. "Your best too."
"I hope it was. But, does Milotic think that?"
"Tic." Just then, Milotic slithered towards Rarity, standing before her trainer.
"Huh? Milotic?" Rarity looked at the towering figure of her partner. "Um...You're not upset about the battle right?"
"Lotic." She shook her head.
"You're not? Then...did I do well? I mean, well enough? Not sure if I can really speak for you since-"
"Milo." Milotic suddenly hushed Rarity with her tail. Right now, Milotic couldn't take another second of Rarity feeling guilt. The Tender Pokemon had concluded. After everything that had happened today, Milotic could see that she had a trainer who did truly care for her at the end of the day. And that' something Milotic certainly needed. Like every Pokemon. Care and love.
And with one single smile, Rarity's face started beaming with happiness. She wasn't a Pokemon translator like Fluttershy, but she could tell Pokemon expressions and emotions either way.
"Ah...Milotic! Thank you!" Rarity hugged the Tender Pokemon. "Thank you so much! I promise you that we'll do everything else together! Oh! I can show you PokeStar Studios tomorrow? You could assist with the roles in some of the moves I'm a part of."
"Hm. Ash was right. She could pull this off. That's my sister!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"There was no need to worry." Fluttershy giggled. "Although, I'll admit I was slightly worried a tad earlier."
A fine conclusion. Rarity's fears had been washed away. Despite all those days of being in a Poke Ball, Milotic at the end of the day did not fully hate Rarity to the bone. A dislike for being in a Poke Ball for so long was still there but seeing how much care Rarity gives to a Pokemon like a loving mother, that was good enough for Milotic. She certainly had a distinct personality from her teammates as the journey continues.
A man-made Pokemon created after years of horrific gene splicing and DNA engineering experiments based on the Mythical Pokemon Mew. t is said to have the most savage heart among all Pokémon, lack compassion, and strike fear into its enemy with cold, glowing eyes. Because it was engineered to be the ultimate in battle, it can only think of defeating its foes. Those that have witnessed Mewtwo's power deem it to be the world's strongest Pokemon.
There exist two Mewtwo in the Pokemon World.
The Mewtwo made by Team Rocket 25 years ago in a lab located at a place called New Island.
And the Mewtwo made by Team Plasma 8 years ago which has the power to Mega Evolve into Mewtwo Y.
Both Mewtwo's are currently out there in the Pokemon World, choosing to live in secrecy from many. But they aren't the only Mewtwo's in existence.
Across a plethora of seemingly endless and infinite universes, many Mewtwo' exist out there in their own respective universe. Some follow the same path as the two Mewtwo' from Ash's world. Some actually have Pokemon Trainers on their own. While others travel across other worlds, battling against a multitude of different beings ranging from street fighters, swordsmen, hedgehogs, angels and other bizarre individuals.
But there is one Mewtwo that is more vicious and cruel than all of them combined.
Pyrestar's World, Ghetsis's Harmonia Kingdom.
Some changes have happened to this world. Very notable ones. One of them is the change in scenery made by Ghetsis and his team. New buildings had been sprouted up to expand Ghetsis's kingdom. All of which were built by the ponies now working for him.
Ghetsis was expanding this version of Equestria in his own image. Gone were Equestria's distinct building styles. Although, with how poor of a condition this world was in, it really didn't matter. Many have crumbled already and others would eventually fall.
There was one other thing that Ghetsis and Team Plasma had obtained. Or rather, something familiar to them that they used to have before being locked up years ago.
Their airship. Also known as the Plasma Frigate. A flying ship that serves as Team Plasma's main means of transportation. It had been remade as requested by Ghetsis. He knew that he couldn't keep travelling via gateway all the time. Along with the Plasma Frigate, they had also received their blimps by using what resources Equestria had and improving them. Ghetsis's kingdom was becoming fiercer by the minute.
And speaking of transportation and Ghetsis, today was about to be something special, according to him. Today was the day that he searches for the Pokemon known as Shadow Mewtwo.
A Mewtwo from another universe that seems to be under the influence of a corrupted stone known as a Shadow Synergy Stone. Ghetsis really didn't care about the details and how it happened. All he cared about was obtaining Shadow Mewtwo for himself.
"Preparations are complete, Lord Ghetsis. We're ready to head to the other universe and obtain Shadow Mewtwo," said Colress.
"Excellent." Ghetsis smirked while on his throne. "We may have been unable to control the second Mewtwo we created in response to Team Rocket, but this Mewtwo will surely be mine."
"And the Shadow Synergy Stone?"
"Do whatever you want with it." Ghetsis sat up. "I'll take it from here. Hydreigon. Let's go."
"Hydrei."
Ghetsis was ready to take his leave. He held his hand out, using all that Dormant Rift energy within him to open a gateway to another universe up. After extensive research help from Colress, Ghetsis was able to find this world. The world where Shadow Mewtwo resides.
And in his pocket, Ghetsis had some Poke Balls ready. Most were Ultra Balls, but one of them was the flawless and always accurate Master Ball. If the Ultra Balls fail, then the Master Ball will just solve it easily.
The gateway to the other universe had been opened as Ghetsis and his Hydreigon had passed through, leaving behind this universe momentarily. But, Colress would be communicating with Ghetsis along the way, even in another world.
Ferrum Region. Another Universe.
The Ferrum Region. A region that seems to only exist in this universe and nowhere else. It is home to cities, towns, stadiums, ruins, and other locations such as a volcano, multiple islands, and even a dragon's nest. Battles are held wherever the energy of the earth is particularly strong, so most areas in the region serve as battle arenas for Ferrum Battles. Like many regions, Pokemon battles are prominent here. But not in the traditional sense.
Here, Pokemon battles known as Ferrum Battles are held as a major competition. And much like how every region has a major league, this region has something known as the Ferrum League.
But, Ghetsis wasn't here for any of that. He was here for Shadow Mewtwo.
The first area he arrived in was a place known as Tellur Town. A town in a lush, green valley in the mountains. Ferrum Battles have long been held in the town's plaza. And right now, a battle was certainly happening between two trainers. A Machamp and a Chandelure.
Ghetsis and his Hydreigon stood before the town as he was informed that Shadow Mewtwo was close to this town. More specifically, Shadow Mewtwo seems to regularly hang about in an uncharted forest just far north from this town. Colress then started talking to Ghetsis from the other side.
"Shadow Mewtwo supposedly resides in the woods of northern Ferrum. That would be its hideout. However, there seem to be those preventing anyone from reaching those woods. They know how powerful Shadow Mewtwo is so no one is allowed there." Colress explained.
"Hmph. That's fine." Ghetsis got a move on as he started walking north from here. It would be a fairly long trip considering how far the woods are in northern Ferrum.
"Although...Shadow Mewtwo tends to show up when high amounts of synergy are exuded. Perhaps, finding a battle where two Pokemon use their supposed Synergy Burst will be a perfect opportunity to draw Mewtwo out. But it must be at the highest level."
"I see." Ghetsis stopped walking as he actually found that option to be easier and less time-consuming. "All it takes is for someone to push themselves, eh? I can do that."
"Hm? Lord Ghetsis. Do you mean...?"
"I'll battle one of these Ferrum Trainers and push them to their limit. Forcing them to use all they with that Synergy burst. Then I'll have Shadow Mewtwo come to me." Ghetsis looked at his hand, knowing what kind of chaos he was about to bring to this new and peaceful world.
"Well...that's one way to approach it. I'll let you know when Shadow Mewtwo is near." In the meantime, Colress would stay silent while Ghetsis handles everything from here.
And Ghetsis knew exactly where to start. Here in Tellur Town. Since this world is so heavily focused on just battling, perhaps more than the other Pokemon World Ghetsis hails from, it'll be easy to find a quick fight. Then again, it was already easy in Ghetsis' world.
The current battle between Machamp and Chandelure had come to an end with Machamp emerging as the victor of this. Both trainers praised each other after the battle, going their separate ways and hoping to see each other in the league.
But, not everyone was here to have a friendly battle. Ghetsis approached the centre of Tellur Town where the next trainers were looking for a battle so that they could advance to the Ferrum League.
"I'll go next." A young trainer said alongside her Gardevoir. "One more and I'll enter the Blue League.
"Oh." A random citizen gawked. "Soon you'll be going up against Keith. His Suicune's pretty fierce."
"Ah, it's fine. Gardevoir and I can take it, no problem."
"Gardevoir."
"So are they any other trainers nearby?" The young trainer looked around, searching for the next trainer to rank herself up.
"I'll take you on." And then, along came the worst possible opponent to go up against. The one who's not even involved with this league and neither is he registered. Ghetsis. Alongside his Hydreigon.
"Oh! Yeah, that sounds good for me!" In a heartbeat, the young trainer said yes. She looked at Ghetsis, seeing his fierce and intimidating presence. One look and there was already an uncomfortable aura filling the atmosphere. "Uh...You look way older than most trainers in the league."
"Look at that. He's got a Hydreigon." A resident of the town said.
"That's super rare...even rarer than Suicune." Another whispered.
"Maybe he's a seasoned Pokemon Trainer. Probably explains his age."
Just then, Colress quickly came back online to inform Ghetsis on how to approach this since Pokemon battling in this world is slightly different from what he's used to.
"Lord Ghetsis. I'd be cautious. I've found out that these trainers don't battle in the way you think they do as opposed to our world. There are little commands and-"
"Doesn't matter." Ghetsis suddenly interrupted Colress. "Who said I was going to play by their rules either way?"
Indeed, Ghetsis plays by his own rules. No matter what world or universe he's in, he follows his own decisions. Perhaps, his lack of morality is one of the many things that makes him so dangerous.
The trainer and her Gardevoir got into position as they stood on the right. Ghetsis and his Hydreigon stood on the left while those in Tellur Town were expecting yet another fun match between two trainers.
Little did they know, fun wasn't about the be a factor in this battle.
"Alright. I'll go with...Espeon as my support." The young trainer said. "What about you, mister?"
"I won't need one." Ghetsis declared, shocking everyone. A trainer with no support Pokemon is practically unheard of in this region.
"Uh..." The trainer scratched her hair. "Y-You won't need one? But, like...the Ferrum Region requires two Pokemon to-"
"All I need is my Hydreigon." Ghetsis' confirmed as his eyes were sharp enough to shoot through his opponent. The young trainer froze from Ghetsis' stare. A stare like that would make anyone not want to talk back to Ghetsis.
"A-Alright. I guess so..." The trainer gulped. She readied her gear while Gardevoir did a slight bow, showing that she was all prepared to go against her opponent, unaware of what was to come. "You're all set, Gardevoir! Show them your beautiful energy!"
"Gardevoir!" Gardevoir spun around before summoning light pink petals around her that fell to the ground.
"Hydreigon. Don't hold anything back."
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon flew in, passing by Ghetsis as he kicked up a shockwave upon landing, before letting out a powerful roar that shook the battlefield. After the roar, black smoke started coming out, showing that Hydreigon was more than prepared to battle.
Then, a computer voice coming from the trainer's gear, giving the call for the battle to start. It would act as a referee, similar to the Rotomdrone of the Pokemon World Championships.
"Round One! Fight!"
"Okay, Gardevoir! Let's make the first move! Go!"
"Voir!" Gardervoir made the first move by dashing in. Her arms were surrounded by a pink aura which was actually Dazzling Gleam being embedded through her. She then stopped dashing as she put her arms out, firing a pink stream of Fairy Magic.
"No proper commands? Interesting." Ghetsis chuckled. "Obliterate it!"
Ghetsis and his Hydreigon could also play that game. Due to their violent and unfair nature, they both knew that calling out attack names isn't always needed. Sometimes, one brutal monster can guess what another brutal monster is about to do.
"Drei!" Hydreigon opened his mouth up as he fired out a Flash Cannon from his main head, shooting a silver beam of mental energy. The beam connected with the stream, causing them both to be equalized.
The smoke cleared as Hydreigon suddenly moved through the smoke, catching Gardevoir off guard.
"Garde?!" The Embrace Pokemon gasped.
"Block, Gardevoir!"
"Hydrei!" But it was too late. Hydreigon used Flamethrower by getting up close and personal in Gardevoir's face. He then used all three of his heads to pour scorching red fire onto the Embrace Pokemon, engulfing her in it.
"G-Garde!" Gardevoir cried out as she was being assaulted by constant heat waves from Hydreigon's three mouths. Each had its own level of heat.
"Blow it back!"
"V-Voir!" Gardevoir's eyes flashed as she put her arms out, summing a pulse of Fairy magic that blew away the flames of Flamethrower while also blowing Hydreigon back as well.
"Drei!"
"Great! Keep going! Use the air to your advantage! Energy Ball!" The trainer had finally said a Pokemon move. It wasn't like they couldn't say the moves. But this region just has a different way of doing things.
"Gardevoir!" Gardevoir then flew into the air, raising her arms as she summoned an Energy Ball, expanding the size of it for extra strength.
"Heh. Grab her."
"Hydrei!" Hydreigon then aggressively flapped his wings, bolting from the ground as he took to the skies, approaching the Embrace Pokemon with his mouth open and fangs bearing.
"Garde!" Gardevoir then tossed a ball made out of the energy of nature itself as it was larger than her entire body. And certainly larger than Hydreigon.
"Hydreigon!" But the Brutal Pokemon didn't care. With unrelenting malice and ferocity, Hydreigon forcefully connected with Energy Ball instead of evading it.
With pure strength, the Dark-Dragon charged through Energy Ball, obliterating the attack by leaving a massive hole in it which shocked everyone as Energy Ball blew up due to it being disrupted.
"Gardevoir?!"
"Dreigon!" Hydreigon, after destroying Energy Ball, opened his right mouth as he bit onto the right arm of Gardevoir, sinking his sharp teeth into her body.
"G-G-Gardevoir!" Gardevoir screeched.
"Oh, no! Gardevoir! Use your Fairy magic to blow it away again! Quick!"
"Toxic."
"Drei!" While still biting onto Gardevoir, the Brutal Pokemon then summoned poison from its fangs, immediately seeping them into Gardevoir's body via her arm, poisoning her now.
"G-Garde!" Gardevoir winced as she was now poisoned. As if that wasn't bad enough, Hydreigon then ascending higher into the air. He then spun her around in the air for a while at a fast pace before letting go and allowing the Embrace Pokemon to fall to the ground like a meteor.
Gardevoir hit the ground hard from how rough and high up Hydreigon threw her. So hard that it caused a slight crater to form. Not only did she form a crater, but the impact also made her rebound.
"Ah! Gardevoir!" The trainer gasped.
"Hydrei!" Hydreigon wasn't done yet. Once Gardevoir rebounded on the ground, the Brutal Pokemon dashed downwards, summoning Brutal Swing on his arms. Before Gardevoir could even hit the ground, Hydreigon caught up to her first and smashed Brutal Swing onto her stomach.
"V-V-Vo!" Gardevoir's eyes widened as she coughed aggressively after the impact. Everyone gasped at the ferocity of this battle as it was unlike anything they had seen before. The ground below shattered from the impact as Gardevoir was forced back down to the ground, this time with a larger crater forming.
Gardevoir laid on the ground as things were about to get worse for her. Hydreigon then used one of his head-mouths to grab the Psychic-Fairy-Type by her leg while she was still down. "Drei!"
"G-Garde..." The Embrace Pokemon let out a weak murmur, trying to squeal in pain while Hydreigon's fangs sunk into her skin. And the poison was still within her. The Brutal Pokemon lifted Gardevoir as she then slammed her to the ground again. "Voir!"
"Hydrei-drei-drei." With zero remorse, Hydreigon cackled as he was enjoying this. Overwhelming opponents and watching them exert so much pain was satisfying to the Brutal Pokemon as he slammed Gardevoir a second time, dealing more damage.
"Ease down, Hydreigon." Ghetsis suddenly said. "We need to draw in Mewtwo after all. Don't get rid of her just yet."
"Dreigon." Hydreigon then tossed Gardevoir to the side, causing the Embrace Pokemon to roll on the ground with hundreds of scratches and bruises all over her including hole marks of Hydreigon's teeth.
"G-Gardevoir..."
"Gardevoir!" The trainer was about to tear up from seeing her partner take such a beating. "I'll heal you up!" She then took out Espeon's Poke Ball to help bring her partner back to full strength. With the fear of her Pokemon's well-being, she immediately sent the Sun Pokemon out.
"Espeon!"
"Use Morning Sun!"
"Esp!" Espeon's whole body glowed white and then all around it shifted into a yellow colouring. Rays of sunlight were starting to then come in, heading for Gardevoir.
"Dark Pulse."
"Gon!" But, Ghetsis and Hydreigon weren't having any of that. Hydreigon immediately turned his attention to Espeon, firing a short-burst Dark Pulse from his mouth. A black and purple beam moved faster than Espeon could react as it hit the Psychic-Type head-on, stopping it from healing Gardevoir.
"Eon!" Espeon cried out as it had been launched far back by Dark Pulse as well as taking a ton of damage, tumbling by its trainer's side.
"No! Espeon!" The trainer at this point was feeling heavy anxiety from seeing her Pokemon like this. Never before have they been through something this aggressive in all their battles.
"E-E-Espeon..." The Sun Pokemon twitched as it had been returned to its Poke Ball.
"Well? Aren't you going to do that Synergy Burst? You don't want to lose, do you?" Ghetsis smirked.
"You..." The trainer growled. She wanted to have a fun battle but at this point, it wasn't fun for anyone except or Ghetsis and mostly his Hydreigon. "You're going to pay for hurting my Gardevoir!" Enraged by the treatment of her Pokemon, the trainer then revealed her Mega Stone and the Synergy power that was a part of it. It was two forms of energy in one item.
"Finally." Ghetsis was waiting for this.
"Gardevoir! Mega Evolve!" The trainer her arm as Gardevoir had been covered by the energy of both Mega Evolution and Synergy. Her eyes closed as the gold and red energy from Mega Evolution started forming a DNA symbol while engulfing the Embrace Pokemon.
"Gardevoir!" And out of the energy, Mega Gardevoir emerged as her body was letting out a constant purple glow with light pink petals floating around her.
"Hydrei." Hydreigon wasn't intimidated by this at all. And neither was Ghetsis.
"Voir!" Gardevoir suddenly used all of her power, creating a black hole with her hands together. "Gardevoir!" She then tossed the black hole towards Hydreigon as it moved faster than both Ghetsis and Hydreigon expected.
"Hydreigon! Hyper Beam!"
"Hydrei!" The Brutal Pokemon opened all three of his mouths as black spheres of energy formed in each of them. However, Hydreigon was too late to counterattack as the black hole surpassed him in terms of speed.
Before Hydreigon could fire Hyper Beam, the black hole had pulled him in as it expanded in size. Finally, Hydreigon had been hit by an attack. At least, the pre-cursor to one.
Once being pulled into the black hole, Hydreigon had been transported to what seemed to be space. He was currently inside of the singularity itself with stars and galaxies surrounding him.
"Drei? Hydrei?" The Brutal Pokemon looked at his surroundings, confused at the change of scenery before noticing Gardevoir above him.
"Garde!" Gardevoir summoned multiple blasts of Fairy magic before launching them straight towards the Dark-Dragon-Type.
"Dreigon!" But this time, Hydreigon was able to counter with Hyper Beam as he shot three large energy beams from his mouth.
The beams clashed with the blasts of Fairy magic before cancelling each other out. And once both attacks reached a stalemate, the space that Hydreigon was inside of had been shattered from both attacks exploding against each other. Hydreigon had managed to survive a Burst Attack.
"G-Gardevoir!" Gardevoir breathed in and out as she expended a ton of energy after using her Burst Attack. Not only that, the poison was still damaging her gradually. She then fell on her knees, struggling to keep it together.
"Hmph. That was some attack." Ghetsis laughed. "But...it looks like you're not strong enough to bring Shadow Mewtwo here."
"S-Shadow Mewtwo?!" The trainer gasped as everyone in Ferrum at this point knew who Shadow Mewtwo.
"Finish it Hydreigon. Flash Cannon."
"Hydrei...!" It was time to put an end to this match. At this point, there might now be a Round 2 from how aggressive Gardevoir was being treated the Brutal Pokemon summoned 3 silvery beams in each of his mouths.
"Block it Gardevoir! Quick!"
"V-Voir!" Gardevoir grimaced as she put her arms out, creating a shield of Fairy energy around her. The shield was only momentarily strong enough to hold all three Flash Cannons back.
Gardevoir just didn't have the strength in her to continue. Thus, the shield couldn't protect her as Flash Cannon broke right through. With little power and no defence, the Embrace Pokemon had been struck as a ferocious explosion happened on the spot, further damaging the already ruined ground.
The smoke cleared as Gardevoir had now fallen over, lying flat on her face. She was in a worse condition than just the usual fainted status.
"Gardevoir!" The trainer cried out as she rushed to her partner's side.
"What a shame." Ghetsis looked up as he saw that Shadow Mewtwo did not appear.
"Hydrei." As for Hydreigon, he was ready to finish Gardevoir off as he slowly flew over to the Embrace Pokemon with his fangs snapping as fire emerged out of them. The trainer gasped as she held her Gardevoir close to her, fearing for her safety.
"Hydreigon. Let's go." But, Ghetsis called him off as it was time for them to leave.
"Dreigon." Hydreigon narrowed his eyes as he turned around, returning to his trainer.
Ghetsis had already left a mark on this world. The people and Pokemon of Tellur Town were appalled by what kind of battle they had just witnessed. So horrified and shocked that none of them would even dare try to boo Ghetsis and his Hydreigon due to how ruthless they were.
Thus, Ghetsis and Hydreigon left this town with only fear lingering around the atmosphere.
"Seems like she wasn't strong enough to attract Shadow Mewtwo. What a waste." Ghetsis scoffed as he communicated with Colress once more.
"There are other options, Lord Ghetsis. I've found out the most guaranteed solution that will bring you to Shadow Mewtwo. And it isn't the woods."
"What is it then?"
"While it's true that Shadow Mewtwo shows itself during high amounts of Synergy after a battle, records say that it only appears during what seems to be a Promotion Test. If a trainer manages to make it far into a certain league and defeat the League Master, Shadow Mewtwo will always appear."
"That so? Excellent. Where to then?"
"Ferrum Stadium."
Ferrum Stadium.
A stadium where the final match of the Ferrum Battle is held. Located near a sacred lake in the forest, this arena is always filled with enthusiastic spectators.
Currently, a Promotion Test was occurring. A Red League Match. Between a trainer's Scizor and the Red League Master who was known as Elinn and her Braixen. This was the last match of the day.
Colress chose the right time to inform Ghetsis as the final match of the Red League was nearing its end. Ghetsis had arrived at the stadium, standing by in secrecy, hiding in the shadows and waiting for the moment to strike. Specifically, when Shadow Mewtwo arrives.
"Scizor!" The trainer's Scizor had Mega Evolved, activating its Synergy Burst against the opposing Braixen.
"Go, Scizor! Iron Meteor Dive!"
"Zor!" Mega Scizor dived forward in an upward arc at high speeds while Braixen's eyes opened at the sudden pace Scizor was moving in.
"Xen?!"
"Quick, Braixen! Block it!" Elinn commanded. But it was too late. The attack had landed.
Scizor struck the Fox Pokemon multiple times in an upward zigzag pattern before slamming her down to the ground. Mega Scizor then grew bigger wings made of energy as it finished things off by diving down at Braixen, causing a large explosion.
Ghetsis witnessed the explosion as he narrowed his eyes. From how strong that was, a ton of Synergy must've been used in that one attack. Enough to possibly draw in Shadow Mewtwo.
Braixen had fainted as the match had been decided. The trainer and their Scizor were the victors as they had passed the Promotion Test.
"Awesome!" The trainer jumped up before rushing to his Scizor. "Great work, Scizor!"
"Sciz." Scizor nodded.
"That was not pleasant..." Elinn sighed as she helped her Braixen up. "Fear not. You passed! Awesome work, kid! The peeps in A-Rank are super-duper tough so you'd better be ready."
"We will. Thanks, Elinn."
"Scizor."
"I'm picking up ludicrous levels of Synergy lord Ghetsis. Shadow Mewtwo is coming."
"Right on time..."
The time had come. With the Promotion Test over and Scizor unleashing a huge amount of power in that one final attack, Synergy Power flowed through the atmosphere and earth. After all, it was the energy of the earth.
And everyone in the stadium could feel this ominous presence coming.
The skies had suddenly turned dark in a nano-second. So dark that it was nigh-impossible to see anything. As if the sun had been taken away. Everyone gasped at the sudden darkness as they already knew who was here due to this change in scenery.
Right on the spot, within the darkness, Shadow Mewtwo had appeared.
The corrupted Shadow Mewtwo descended with its feet touching the ground. Upon collision, light began to appear. But, there was yet another change in scenery that was not so pleasant. The light revealed that the grass ground had been transformed into a crystal-like surface. Black crystals with orange stones inside of them, littered everywhere.
Huge sharp mountains of crystals emerged, filling the battlefield and essentially replacing Ferrum Stadium with its own design as cosmic stars could be seen in the sky.
This was a mysterious subspace rift created by Shadow Mewtwo's power. The ominous force of the Shadow Synergy Stone within Mewtwo's skin sits heavy in the air.
"Oh, man!" The trainer gasped as he and everyone looked up. "It's-"
"Shadow Mewtwo." Ghetsis interrupted as he had stepped into the arena, showing himself to everyone else. This is what he was waiting for.
Shadow Mewtwo had arrived, showing itself to the people and Pokemon of Ferrum once more. And especially Ghetsis the newcomer to this universe.
Ghetsis stepped forward as he was the one here for Shadow Mewtwo. The trainer and League Master Elinn backed away as they were confused as to why Ghetsis, a non-contestant of the Ferrum League was suddenly stepping up. But, with how many times Shadow Mewtwo has appeared after Promotion Tests, it wasn't too farfetched to believe that someone would go up against the corrupted Mewtwo.
"I've been waiting for this." Ghetsis said, staring Shadow Mewtwo in the eyes. Unlike most Mewtwo', this one wasn't much of a talker. Even with telepathic abilities.
Everyone in the stadium already knew what Shadow Mewtwo was capable of. So, the best decision they all collectively made a run for it, screaming and panicking. No one wanted to be caught in the ferocious destruction that Shadow Mewtwo brings. Even the League Master and the trainer who had passed his Promotion Test ran from here as Shadow Mewtwo was draining all the Synergy Power here.
Now it was just Ghetsis, his Hydreigon and Shadow Mewtwo. Alone in the Ferrum Stadium which was now subspace made by Shadow Mewtwo.
"If I catch you..." Ghetsis held out an Ultra Ball as he was saving his Master Ball. He didn't want to waste it. "I'll soon turn my kingdom into an Empire in no time."
"..." Shadow Mewtwo simply narrowed its flashing purple eyes at Ghetsis as it had suddenly Mega Evolved on the spot with the Mega Symbol emerging. Out came Mega Shadow Mewtwo X.
Those flashing purple eyes weren't just there to intimidate. Instead, that was Miracle Eye. A move that enables a Dark-type target to be hit by Psychic-type attacks.
"Hoh. Mega Evolution too? How promising!" Ghetsis grinned as his Hydreigon flew in front of him. "I'm going to have so much satisfaction when I catch you! Go! Hydreigon! Dragon Rush!"
"Hydrei!" The Brutal Pokemon went first. Hydreigon released a blue, dragon-shaped energy that covered his body as he then dived forward, heading straight for the Mega evolved Mewtwo.
"Hm!" Mewtwo actually conjured up some understandable words as it put its arm out, creating a forcefield to protect it from Hydreigon.
The Dark-Dragon-Type slammed into Mewtwo's forcefield, causing a force that was slightly strong enough to make Mewtwo move back a bit as Hydreigon was now trying to break through the forcefield.
Mewtwo could see that with how much force Hydreigon was putting in, he would eventually break through the forcefield and eventually hit Mewtwo. Shadow Mewtwo obviously didn't want that to happen as it quickly let down its forcefield before teleporting away. And at a precise moment too. Hydreigon was one second away from charging into Mewtwo as the Brutal Pokemon ended up missing Dragon Rush.
"Drei?"
"Hm!" Shadow Mewtwo put both its arms out, using Ancient Power by summoning pre-historic rocks from the crystallized ground. The Genetic Pokemon then launched each of them at Hydreigon.
"Brutal Swing!"
"Dreigon!" But, these pre-historic rocks were quickly destroyed by a swing of Hydreigon's two head-mouths as they were covered in darkness. The rocks crumbled to dust.
"Hmph. Even after using Miracle Eye to remove my Hydreigon's immunity to Psychic...you're still nervous to use any Psychic moves, aren't you?"
"?" Shadow Mewtwo gasped as Ghetsis easily saw through it.
"Such weakness. Power like that should be used to its fullest extent! Let me show you! Throat Chop!"
"Hydreigon!" Bolting off the ground with his wings flapping aggressively, the Brutal Pokemon covered both his head-mouths in dark energy, ready to swing them violently at Shadow Mewtwo.
Mewtwo quickly counteracted by using Ice Punch, covering one of his hands in chilling absolute-zero ice. Mewtwo's ice-clad fist quickly connected with Hydreigon's darkness covered head-mouths. One of them at least. The two of them seemed to be equal in physical strength as they were both pushing their attacks onto each other, trying to breakthrough.
"Gon!" Hydreigon then used his other head-mouth with Brutal Swing still active, swinging it at Mewtwo's head.
"Gouh!" Shadow Mewtwo certainly felt that hit to the head as it was launched back by the impact of Brutal Swing. Hydreigon wasn't done as he pursued the corrupted Pokemon with another Brutal Swing in use.
Mewtwo held its head before using Psystrike. The Genetic Pokemon created a white force field that expanded rapidly from its body. It grew to such an alarming rate that Hydreigon wasn't fast enough to evade it. So, it just decided to hit the forcefield instead. Upon hitting Psytrike with Brutal Swing, the collision of two opposing moves caused an explosion on contact that shattered the crystals of this subspace.
Both Hydreigon and Mewtwo were knocked back by the explosion of their attacks meeting, hitting the hard crystal ground and making more black crystals shatter and fly into the air.
"H-Hydrei...!" Hydreigon got up from the ground before shaking all three of his heads. "Dreigon!"
"Ngh...!" Mewtwo also got back up, holding its head as it slowly ascended from the ground shattered ground. Compared to both Pokemon, Mewtwo seemed to have taken the most damage from that collision from what Ghetsis could observe.
"Strong but fragile. That's fine. We can work around that. Hydreigon! Draco Meteor!"
"Drei! Hydrei...!" The Brutal Pokemon opened all three of his mouths, charging up high amounts of destructive draconic energy of unbridled malice. Hydreigon then shot several spheres of black energy into the sky, where they each exploded and releases several gigantic energy meteors that rained down on the area.
"!" Mewtwo's eyes widened as it immediately decided to evade them by flying as fast as it could. The meteors rain down at a fast pace as well. The crystals were being obliterated by the raining Dragon-Type move each time they hit.
And even though this whole place had been transformed into a Subspace for Shadow Mewtwo, Ferrum Stadium was still taking damage on the outside. After this is over, it'll look like an absolute mess afterwards.
The Genetic Pokemon flew in zigzags, trying its best to avoid the raining meteors which seemed to have no end. But with how many meteors there were, it seemed like eventually, Shadow Mewtwo would be caught by one.
But, Ghetsis decided to do some interfering of his own for the battle. By using Dark Magic, he put his arm out, aiming it straight for Mewtwo who was moving all over the place. Even with this destruction happening before him and constant explosions with crystal shards flying everywhere, Ghetsis could still focus properly and keep his eye on Mewtwo.
"Gotcha." Ghetsis said as manipulated one of the shattered crystals with his Dark Magic, sending it straight towards Mewtwo.
"?!" Mewtwo noticed the long sharp crystal coming towards its face as it quickly moved to the side, just barely avoiding the crystal. It had almost grazed its face. But, Ghetsis was planning for this. With Mewtwo being distracted by something else for a brief moment, that allowed one of the meteors to finally catch up and appear before Shadow Mewtwo.
The Genetic Pokemon gasped as it had been struck by a meteor larger than its entire body. A direct hit as Mewtwo was now being plummeted down with a meteor forcing him. Unable to counter back in time, the meteor crashed with Shadow Mewtwo hitting the ground first, taking the real brunt of the impact.
Ghetsis watched as the explosion of the meteor on Mewtwo merely made his hair and cloak blowing in the wind. Completely unbothered as the rest of the meteors kept falling, spreading more destruction.
Eventually, the meteors came to an end as the subspace crystal arena was an utter mess. Hydreigon's mouth was smoking after using Draco Meteor, narrowing its eyes and waiting to see the result of Mewtwo's status.
And from the rubble, a pillar of darkness shot up with a roar. And in that pillar was Shadow Mewtwo who was still up but very damaged. The Genetic Pokemon was enraged. More than it ever has been. To take out all of its anger, Shadow Mewtwo activated its Synergy Burst with its entire body flaring with Synergy power. The corrupted Mewtwo then bolted forward, using Drain Punch on its fist.
"Hydreigon! Dark Pulse!"
"Hydrei...!" Hydreigon opened up its mouth, ready to blast out darkness. But, Mewtwo seemed to be faster than before in an enraged state and Synergy Burst. A rush of adrenaline was going through it. Before Hydreigon could unleash his attack, Mewtwo smashed its fist onto the stomach of the Brutal Pokemon. "D-Drei!"
Hydreigon coughed as Mewtwo had drained its opponent of its own energy with sparkling green orbs flying out. Mewtwo then used Low Sweep, kicking Hydreigon back as the Brutal Pokemon hit the ground. A sort of payback for what Hydreigon did to Mewtwo.
But, Mewtwo wasn't done yet. It was about to unleash its Burst Attack on Hydreigon. And the most fearsome part about this was that unlike most Pokemon in Ferrum, Shadow Mewtwo does not run out of Synergy. Ever.
The Genetic Pokemon bolted into the air, leaving behind a sonic boom as it flew so high up and at such a hyperactive speed that it immediately flew out of the atmosphere, entering space. Ghetsis couldn't even react in time to see Mewtwo leaving the planet.
Mewtwo looked down at Earth, ready to finish this once and for all. It raised its arm before summoning a black and purple sphere of darkness. The size of an entire city. This attack was known as Dark Nova.
Mewtwo was still weakened from Hydreigon's attack as its arm was twitching when holding the sphere. But, Shadow Mewtwo had some strength left in it. With a powerful yell, the Genetic Pokemon then tossed the giant energy ball down.
Hydreigon got up to see the city-sized sphere heading straight for him and this entire arena. "Hydrei?"
"Such amazing power." Ghetsis was truly stunned by how wonderful Mewtwo was. "But...Not only will I have that power for myself, but I will also surpass it entirely. And everyone else. Hydreigon! Let's finish this! Hyper Beam!
"Hydrei...!" One last charge. Hydreigon gathered up all of its remaining strength, going at full power this time. Black spheres of hyper energy formed in all three of his mouths as the city-sized sphere was nearing. "Gon!" Then, the Brutal Pokemon eventually released all three Hyper Beams at once from his mouth.
The three large beams collided with the sphere, entering a power struggle. Both moves were competing against each other with Mewtwo watching from above.
However, this struggle wouldn't last forever. Since Mewtwo was a bit weakened along with its Dark Nova, the attack couldn't sustain itself forever.
As for Hydreigon, he seemed to have more energy left in him. Along with his Hyper Beam. Speaking of which, he increased the intensity of Hyper Beam, expanding its size and power. The increased beams of Hyper energy eventually gained enough strength to break through Mewtwo's Dark Nova, leaving a huge hole.
"?!" Mewtwo witnessed its own attack completely overpowered as the three Hyper Beams, now larger than ever, raced towards the Genetic Pokemon. Shadow Mewtwo quickly put up another forcefield with Psystrike, hoping to block the attack from properly connecting.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case this time.
One Hyper Beam was already strong enough. Two more was just pushing it. All three beams met Mewtwo's expanding forcefield, immediately breaking through it just like how they did with Dark Nova.
Unable to hold the attack back, Mewtwo had been hit by three Hyper Beams. Each equal in strength. The Genetic Pokemon had been consumed, screaming as its body was being assaulted by all that malicious power coming from Hydreigon as Ghetsis simply watched the attack reach space itself.
Afterwards, all three Hyper Beams and Dark Nova eventually blew up. Whether from hitting Mewtwo or the large gaping hole that had been made. Both explosions were black-coloured with darkness when they went off as the cloud formations had all been parted.
"Ugh..." Shadow Mewtwo groaned as it fell from above in space. Obviously, from a height that far, it would take a while for the Genetic Pokemon to reach the ground.
The damage was so great that Mewtwo's Mega Evolution had expired. Even its permanent Synergy Burst was no longer permanent at this point. Out of energy and a weakened state, more weakened than it has ever been, Shadow Mewtwo re-entered the atmosphere as its body was catching on fire due to how fast it was falling.
Ghetsis saw the corrupted Mewtwo falling as the subspace was starting to fade away. That was a clear sign that Shadow Mewtwo's power was waning. Hydreigon at this point had won. And so did Ghetsis.
"Perfect." Ghetsis held out an Ultra Ball. "You won't have to worry about losing anymore...I'll make you unstoppable! Shadow Mewtwo!" He then chucked the Ultra Ball with his only arm, sending it straight towards the falling Pokemon.
Mewtwo groaned as it saw the Ultra Ball heading for it. It tried to push the ball back but it was too weak and damaged to even let out a slither of Psychic energy. One eye closed as Shadow Mewtwo couldn't stop the inevitable hit. All it could do now was hope that it wouldn't be fully caught as the Ultra Ball hit, sending the Genetic Pokemon inside.
The Ultra Ball placed Mewtwo inside as it dropped to the ground. Now, all Ghetsis and Hydreigon needed to do was just wait.
1...
2...
3...
Gotcha! Shadow Mewtwo was caught!
"Looks like I didn't need that Master Ball either way." Ghetsis approached the Ultra Ball as the subspace Mewtwo had created was fading away.
Ferrum Stadium came back into view as the result of Hydreigon and Mewtwo's battle had littered the stadium, making it a mess and the outcome for a disaster.
Everyone had left the stadium by this point. And it was a good thing. If they stayed behind, there was no telling what kind of casualties would've occurred.
Ghetsis picked up the Ultra Ball as he had accomplished his main mission here. And in little time as well. Shadow Mewtwo was now his.
"You've certainly gone above and beyond, Lord Ghetsis. More than you ever have."
"I certainly have." Ghetsis placed the Ultra Ball back in his pocket as it shrunk. "Not even Legendary Pokemon will be enough to stop me. Especially once I reach the absolute apex of what I am truly capable of. Actually...I think I might come for this world as well. This Synergy Power could prove to be useful."
"I'll make sure to mark it down then."
"We're done here for now." Ghetsis held his arm out, opening the gateway to Pyrestar's world. "Hydreigon. Let's go."
"Dreigon."
There was no need to be here anymore. Ghetsis had Shadow Mewtwo and that was all that mattered. Of course, commanding Shadow Mewtwo wouldn't be easy. But, Ghetsis was going to make sure that it would be easy for him.
But not so pleasant for Shadow Mewtwo.
Pyrestar's world.
Ghetsis had returned. All of that felt too easy for him. Not a drop of sweat or even a scratch. His old age didn't matter in this. It was almost as if he was regaining the energy of when he was younger. Perhaps from all the Dark Magic he now had in him.
Colress, some grunts and the Shadow Triad welcomed Ghetsis back to the kingdom, congratulating him for achieving his Shadow Mewtwo mission.
"A job well done, Lord Ghetsis," said Colress.
"Hm." Ghetsis took out the Ultra Ball that caught Shadow Mewtwo. "You know what to do with this one. Work on Shadow Mewtwo like the others."
"But of course." Colress took the Ultra Ball as he went over to his lab. "I can't wait to see what Synergy Power is truly capable of."
"What now, Lord Ghetsis?" A grunt asked.
"Now? I have other plans in mind." Ghetsis sat on his throne. "I haven't forgotten about capturing that Flurry Heart pony. Remember. We capture her during the chaos of the invasion."
"Right." The Shadow Triad nodded.
"As for what I'll do next after all of those goals are cleared out..." Ghetsis pondered for a moment before sparking up a new idea. "Actually...since I have Dark Magic now...perhaps...?"
"Lord Ghetsis?"
"Tell me." Ghetsis looked at his arm, conjuring up Dark magic. "Shadow Triad. You've already been to that Ponyville place, haven't you?"
"Yes. To capture the Rift Pony known as Cold Colt."
"Eventually, I'll need you to head back there. That Princess Twilight should be identical to Empress Twilight in many ways. Knowledge of magic should be one of them. Head to her castle or lab, whichever one and retrieve any book about magic. I want to test something for myself. Retrieve it when she and her Pokemon are away. Understood?"
"Understood."
So much for Ghetsis to achieve in other worlds. As the Shadow Triad and the grunts left the room, Ghetsis could now sit, pondering and preparing himself for his next big move.
Colress's Lab.
At Colress's lab, where all of his secret and uncomfortable experiments happen, he was ready to experiment with Shadow Mewtwo. To, of course, make it under Ghetsis' full control without any resistance.
But Shadow Mewtwo wasn't the only Pokemon to be a part of this experiment. In a weakened state, Colress released the Genetic Pokemon out of the Ultra Ball while it was inside of a tube. Very identical to how Mewtwo was first created.
"...?" Mewtwo, after being released from the Ultra, slowly opened its eyes. The first thing it saw was Colress and his entire lab. By this point, Shadow Mewtwo know that it had been captured and was now trapped in a containment tube. It hadn't even been healed so it didn't have enough Psychic power to break free. But that didn't matter since Colress already prepared for something like this.
And that was for obvious reasons. But there was one major reason. And it involved the other individuals inside of the large and expansive lab.
Mewtwo slowly shifted its eyes to the side as it spotted new Pokemon that were also inside of this lab. At least, Pokemon it was familiar with.
Reshiram was here.
The same Reshiram that Ghetsis stole from another universe in Unova. It was currently being restrained and experimented with so that it could also follow Ghetsis' order. And it wasn't the only Legendary Pokemon also here. Because Ghetsis has been busy all these months. There was one more as well as a Mythical Pokemon.
Suicune and Zeraora.
This Suicune and Zeraora actually came from Ghetsis' own world in Johto and Alola. He wasn't just travelling to alternate worlds. They too had been restrained and currently being corrupted to serve Ghetsis. Currently, they were unconscious after months of experiments that were essentially torture to all of them.
Even the mighty Reshiram couldn't break free of Colress's expertise inventions. This isn't the first time he's interacted with Legendary Pokemon or even Reshiram after all.
Not just Legendary Pokemon or Mythical Pokemon were here. Average Pokemon were also being contained. More specifically the ones that could Gigantamax instead of the lesser Dynamax. But Pokemon who couldn't Gigantamax and only Dynamax were here too. Colress wanted to work on Galar Particles more after all. Along with other things that Team Plasma had gotten their hands on.
"...Gr!" Mewtwo tried to break free by using Psystrike, but it was too weak to do so. A weak and small forcefield came out of its body and barely even shook or budged the tube it was in. It was truly trapped.
"Alright then." Colress adjusted his glasses. "Like others, you'll eventually fully serve Lord Ghetsis with no restraints. And as a bonus, I'll have the chance to learn what Synergy Power truly is. This'll be fun."
"Alright!" Roxie bellowed as she was speaking to her class. The younger ponies of course. Each of them had guitars and various instruments around them that they were assigned to. This looked like it was now a music lesson but yet still related to Pokemon. "After what you all told me about yourselves, I've gone and gotten the best instruments that work for you."
"Oooh..." Scootaloo held a guitar that was perfect for her size. Apple Bloom received drums while Sweetie Belle was given a piano.
"Neat. My hooves fit it pretty well." Sweetie Belle pressed her hoof onto one of the keys.
"Wait. What does this have to do with Pokemon?" A young pony asked.
"Easy." Roxie spun her guitar on the floor." There are other ways to battle, ya know? Not just with commands and stuff. But the power of music is a pretty good battling option too. In fact, I remember watching the Canterlot Tournament and there was this one pony who was really feeling the music with her Pokemon. And they did an awesome job!"
"You mean DJ-Pon3?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"That's the one." Roxie nodded. "She knows what's up. Heck, after school, she even comes over here to jam out with me and my band. Some pretty good times were already made."
"So, we're gonna learn how to battle with music?" Sapphire Flash, another young pony originally from Hollow's class asked.
"Sure are. You don't have to make it your permanent way of battling. But just in case, you're gonna pick up some neat new skills for the future. Plus, you'll just sound really good. Can any of you here sing?"
"Oh! We can!" The CMC, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon raised their hooves.
"Just you four? Okay then. Bring out your Pokemon, let's see how they really move."
With that order, everypony in this class sent out their Pokemon, quickly filling Roxie's classroom with a mix of ponies, instruments and Pokemon.
"Nice. Alright, you guys! Let's see what you can do with those. Your Pokemon better be ready to jam out. One, two and-"
Roxanne's classroom.
"Know this." Roxanne was teaching the older students as opposed to Roxie teaching the younger ones. "With an ability like Protean or Libero, whatever move you use, your Pokemon will become that type. It changes the Pokemon’s type to the type of move it’s using."
"They're both the same thing?" Starlight scratched her mane. "Why not just keep one?"
"Ah, that's the thing. The only kinds of Pokemon that can use these abilities are Kecleon, the Greninja Evolution line and the Cinderace Evolution line. You see, for the amphibious and reptile-like Pokemon, they can change their skin, like how Kecleon changes its body colours at will to blend in with its surroundings. It's also why Kecleon can learn so many moves of various types. Greninja fits this since it's also a frog."
"And Cinderace?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, over at Galar, soccer, or football as they call it, is very popular among the region. Cinderace the Pokemon most seen playing this sport. While they can't change their skin the same way as a frog or chameleon. So, like a soccer player, they switch their playstyle depending on how the game is going. The ability was named after that soccer position. The Libero.
"Oooh..." The ponies gawked as they had just learned about Pokemon soccer which also exists in their world but with a different style.
"You should all watch a Galar soccer match one day. Especially with the Cinderace. I'll admit, they are very enjoyable, albeit long and time-consuming."
"I'd like to see that!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Are there any tickets?"
"You can get them on sale over at Wyndom or Hammerlocke. Or Unova, that works too."
"Scorbun!" Speaking of Cinderace, the first stage evolution of it had shown himself. He was hiding behind Fluttershy the entire time. Instead of staying at the Pokemon House under Audino and Krookodile's care, he once again, tagged along with Fluttershy and the others. He already heard everything about Libero and how in the future, he could have an ability like that.
"You brought him along?" Rarity pointed her hoof at the Rabbit Pokemon.
"He just can't really stay away from me. Guess he likes me a lot. Like Golett to Applejack." Fluttershy giggled.
"Yeah. I'm still kinda surprised this guy's around. Hasn't left yet ever since the Pokemon Festival." Applejack looked at the Golett next to her.
"Golett!"
"Well, Fantina said that it was okay for Golett to be with you. Since you remind it so much of its creator. Maybe you should just catch it." Pinkie suggested.
"Think so? Well, if it's okay with the teacher and everything..."
"Lett!"
"Won't do you any harm," Roxanne replied. "Best to get it over with and catch Golett. I think it would like that too."
"Gol!"
"Alright, I will. But I don't have a bunch of Poke Balls like ya'll do. Only when Rainbow Dash swaps my apples with them as a prank."
"Hehehehe...!" Rainbow Dash cackled.
"Now then. Moving on. How about we-" Just before Roxanne could continue with the lesson, the sounds of Roxie and her students travelled through to this classroom.
The horrible sounds of many instruments could be heard, playing at the same time with little unity and harmony. It was absolute torture to those who were unfortunate enough to hear it.
Roxanne's body winced and twitched by this painful sound passing through her ears. And so did everyone else in the classroom as they were being wrongfully tortured by these sounds. The students immediately started groaning.
"Ow-Ow!" Rainbow Dash and other students cried out.
"W-What is that infernal sound?!" Rarity plugged her ears.
"Urgh...!" Roxanne growled as she shifted her eyes to the right. She knew exactly who was causing this. "Roxie...! You could've at least played a loud and annoying song that sounded decent!"
Barely anyone could focus or even sit still with this sound. Roxie's own good-sounding music was being drowned out by the horrible music coming from the foals.
Aggravated, Roxanne decided to head towards the classroom herself to put an end to this melodic torture as she slowly approached Roxie's class. And of course, the only reason why it was so prominent to Roxanne's class was that both classrooms were close to each other. Very close.
"Roxie!" Roxanne roared as she opened the door with intense force, startling everyone inside. That door opening was actually loud enough to make them all stop.
"Hm?" Roxie stopped playing her guitar as she looked over at Roxanne arriving. "Oh, hey, Roxanne! What's up? You hear to listen to the kids jam out?"
"Absolutely not." Roxanne held her head. "Could you perhaps calm it down? That noise is disrupting my lesson and frankly...it's abysmal!"
"I know!" Roxie grinned with an accepting nod.
"You know?!" Roxanne pulled back.
"Hah?" The students were surprised that Roxie was so straightforward and essentially agreed that their music was bad in general.
"Don't worry. I've been listening to music for so many years that even the bad stuff doesn't phase me." Roxie poked her earlobes. "That's call having true musical prowess, ya know?"
"Ah..." Roxanne sighed. "Is there a chance you keep it down then?"
"Might be a problem. We've got classrooms really close to each other, don't we? But yeah, we can tone it down without going too crazy."
"Thank you..." Roxanne was relieved. "Actually...wasn't this class meant to have soundproof walls when it was built?"
"Oh, yeah! That was my idea. They haven't come in yet. My bad!"
"Mrrgh..." Roxanne grumbled as the bell of the school suddenly rang, drowning out any other song there was. "Well...at least it's time for a break. I need one."
"Alright, you little runts. Head on out and enjoy yourself. We'll jam out later after lunch!" Roxie yelled.
"I think I did pretty good with that guitar," Scootaloo said as she and everyone in this classroom were heading out to have something to eat in the canteen.
"Was it really that bad?" Sweetie Belle pouted.
"No need to worry. Ms Roxie's got a whole class for music lesson's after all." Apple Bloom replied.
"Oh. Ash is bringing over some stuff for us to eat that his mom made. I can't wait!" Sweetie Belle squeed, looking forward to lunch more than anyone.
"Say, Roxanne." Roxie slid over, putting her hand over Roxanne. "Wanna jam out with me like in the Pokemon festival?"
"Now? I'm fairly hungry and need some time to relax. Besides, get Brawly or Vinyl Scratch to help you with that."
"Ah, but your guitar skills are pretty sick. I could use a guitar partner in some of my jams one day, ya know? Just think of how great it would be! We'd be going big and rocking out or the whole world, ya know?"
"The whole world?"
"Mhm! We'll be famous! Like those big-name music groups. Whaddya say?"
"Well...We're good friends Roxie. I'm surprised at how fast we became friends due to us being from completely different regions. But, I'll sadly have to decline. Heavy fame and rocking or jamming out just isn't for me."
"I gotcha." Roxie understood Roxanne's decision.
"But. If it helps, I can come by and play music with you from time to time after school. Or even when there isn't any school?"
"Yeah!" Roxie pumped her fists up. "That'd be awesome! We should totally get a nickname for the two of us. How does Team Rox sound? We both have Rox in our names and it sounds like rock and-"
"Eh...Perhaps work on that on your own in the meanwhile why don't you? I'm starving..." Roxanne held her stomach.
"Oh. Haha!" Roxie laughed. "My bad."
Canteen.
The time to take a break and fill those growling and empty stomachs. Human, pony and Pokemon. And the food was being served by some well-skilled chefs from across different regions.
Ash had stopped by quickly to give his friends some food that Delia offered. Came all the way here just for it. And of course, to have some small chat with his friends before lessons continue.
"Here it is." Ash placed a comically large lunch box down that had a huge assortment of various foods inside of them. "Pinkie helped mom make this so enjoy."
"Sure did!" Pinkie Pie nodded. "I've been helping out Mrs Ketchum a lot recently. Her cooking skills are just mwah! Pinkie did a chef's kiss.
"You could give somepony a real stomachache with all of this." Applejack observed the food. "Not that I'm complaining."
"Uh-huh..." Twilight nodded while gazing at the hayburgers with a lazy face. "Let's eat!" Without wasting any time, they all went for their favourite foods.
"You know, before this whole Pokemon School showed up, we already learned a ton of stuff, didn't we?" Rainbow Dash said while snacking down at high speeds. "Roxanne even said that we've learned so much we might even level up and go to higher classes, ya know!"
"We already are." Applejack replied. "We got Fantina as one of our teachers, don't we? Ain't she the fifth Gym Leader in her region, Sinnoh?"
"There's still more that we have yet to learn about Pokemon." Rarity said, feeding her Pokemon. "The world of it is as extensive as the Pokemon themselves. We probably haven't even scratched the surface."
"Well, I think we can go even further. I'm a Pokemon Trainer and shooting for number one at the Equestria League. I bet I can be taught by the top teachers like Drayden or Volkner."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Rainbow." Twilight chomped down on a hayburger. "Maybe dial it down a bit before heading for the big ones."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Rainbow Dash slumped on the seat, continuing to eat her food while feeding Castform and the rest of her Pokemon.
While Twilight's group continue talking about whatever it is they can, another group were having their own discussion. More specifically, the students who are in Hollow's class. Even before the Pokemon School was made.
Consisting of ponies like Sunrise Sprint, Sapphire Flash and Dew Drop.
"Ah...When am I gonna get a Mega Evolved Pokemon?" Sunrise sighed. "It'd be so cool for my partner."
"I don't think your Gurdurr can Mega Evolve," Sapphire responded.
"Which blows!" Sunrise groaned. "Why can't every Pokemon Mega Evolve? That'd be so neat! Some Pokemon are so lucky to even have one. Like Lucario and Gardevoir. They were already strong enough."
"Hah. It would be nice for all of them to have Mega Evolution, wouldn't they? A shame many of the weaker Pokemon don't have it. What do you think, Dew Drop?"
"Um. I don't mind if they have Mega Evolution or not. I like them the way they are." Dew Drop timidly said. "But...Mega Evolution is a bit scary."
"Like awesome scary?" Sunrise sat up.
"Mm-mm." Dew shook her head, thinking of a different kind of scary.
"Ah, well they're still pretty cool. I mean, if a bunch of trainers can master Mega Evolution with Pokemon that get seriously hurt during it, then I can do it too!" Sunrise bellowed as he lifted a pie. "I bet I could have a bunch of Mega Evolved Pokemon on my team! That way, I'll be number one!"
Full of adrenaline, the colt unicorn started flailing his hoof, acting like he was the biggest one in the room. He was certainly the loudest, that's for sure. His flailing was so erratic and frantic that the pie he had on his hoof was launched, flying out of his possession.
"Oh." Sunrise looked at the flying pie. From how hard he flailed his hoof, the pie moved at a velocity equal to that of a slingshot firing a pebble.
A random filly was just minding her own business, enjoying her food like everyone else here. So far, everything felt peaceful for all.
But it wouldn't be peaceful for long.
The pie ended up hitting the young filly square in the face, right before she was about to finish her food. "Ough!" She cried out as her body almost fell off the table.
"Eugh!" Sunrise winced but he was also impressed by how accurate and precise his aim was. Even if it was unintentional. "Oh, pretty nice hit though."
"Mrrrrgh...!" The filly that had just been struck growled as the pie slowly slid down her face with all the cherry trailing down with it. She already knew the direction of where the pie came from and who exactly threw it.
Her eyes instantly locked onto the Sunrise who was within her sights. The young unicorn gulped as he knew he had been caught instantly. Sunrise gave out a small shrug to show that it was an accident. But he couldn't help but laugh.
Not too pleased with that, the easily irritated and hot-headed filly decided to get some payback towards Daylight by grabbing her own food. With a menacing grimace and terrible smile, she raised her hoof, ready to launch the piece of cake like a missile.
"Uh oh!" Sunrise yelped as he knew what was coming. The filly threw the cake at high speeds, also having a seemingly accurate and precise aim like Sunrise.
But unlike the filly, Sunrise could actually see it coming. So he decided to duck before the cake could even hit him. And him ducking only sparked something hyperactive as the cake hit another pony in the face which made the irritated filly yelp too.
Some ponies had noticed how some food had been flung across the room. Two of them. From Sunrise and the filly from far across the table. Mainly, the younger ponies had witnessed this. The older ones hadn't yet.
However, with the younger ponies spotting this exchange of delicacies, their little minds and heart were all collectively deciding on one thing to do. Something that involves chaos so ridiculous that Discord would enjoy this.
And speaking which, the moment the two foods had been thrown by Daylight and the filly, Discord appeared, disguised as the garbage can in the canteen.
If there's one thing Discord knows is that there is one form of chaos that can be caused by anyone and is always a delight to witness. In his eyes, this is the greatest form of chaos due to how absurd and petty it is. Plus, everyone has a good time in the end.
"It's been a while since I've seen one of these." Discord said as his mouth was the flap of the garbage can. "The most riveting form of chaos that I don't even have to start. And here they come...the words I love to hear..."
"FOOD FIGHT!" A little colt bellowed as he had declared a food fight to begin.
And with that, an outbreak, or rather a battle had ensued. The little ones went first by immediately grabbing their lunch and throwing them across the canteen with no hesitation, initiating the food fight.
Left and right, ponies were being struck in the face by numerous delectables they were planning to eat today. But it looked like they wouldn't finish.
And following their trainer, the Pokemon they owned had also joined in. Anyone that strikes their trainers must be taken out immediately. So now the Pokemon were involved. But they had a different way of approaching a food fight. While some of them did have the necessary limbs to throw food, others had different methods.
AKA, using Pokemon moves to fire the food.
Twilight and the other older individuals witnessed this sudden battle of baked and cooked goods occurring during a peaceful time. Well, it wasn't peaceful anymore.
"What the?! What is going on!?" Twilight had actually never seen a food fight before in her entire life due to where she had studied for so long. But she knew what it was. "Is this a-"
"Food fight! Awesome!" Ash stood up.
"Pikachu!" Even Pikachu was drawn to this.
"Awesome?!" Twilight pulled back.
"Oh, yeah! I missed this!" Rainbow Dash had actually been in one before back when she was young. "This school really is the best!"
"Food fight?" Fluttershy looked around, seeing food flying everywhere. "Oh my. It looks so messy. But fun too."
"Scorbun."
"Well, it's usually for the young ones." Rarity took a sip of her drink. "Let them have their fun. They're not bothering any-" Unfortunately for Rarity, food fights are not limited to children.
As shown when a large batch of grapes hit the unicorn square in the face. Right when she was enjoying her drink. Ash and the others gasped after seeing their friend getting struck by a grape.
As the grapes fell off Rarity's face with purple liquids covering her eye, the Beedrill nest had been poked. And it wasn't just Rarity. Other older students had been struck by flying food as well. It was practically unavoidable due to how many foals outnumber the stallions and mares. Plus, there was just too much food to even try and evade.
"Until they do bother somepony!" Rarity snarled as she stood up, using her magic to pick up a salad. "Right back at you!" Now the older students were involved with the chaos as Rarity launched the salad, knocking a colt out in one shot.
"That's more like it Rarity!" Rainbow Dash picked up some food as she started throwing like there was no tomorrow. Now all groups were involved in the food fight.
"Wagh!" Twilight ducked an incoming watermelon, just barely avoiding it as it splattered on the wall.
Someone's Octillery had been given multiple breadsticks and peas. It held the breadsticks with its tentacles while placing the peas in its turret-like mouth.
And like a turret, the Jet Pokemon started shooting peas out rapidly as if they were ammunition. With an exceptional aim, Octillery struck many targets with the rapid-fire peas without little effort. That mouth exists for a reason. And Octillery was really living up to its name as it then swung the breadsticks around, whacking any nearby Pokemon and ponies off their feet or away.
"Okay!" Ash and his Pokemon had lined up along with Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie since they wanted to relieve something as nostalgic as this. They'd be crazy not to do so. "Let's see if I've still got it. Lucario! Grab that breadstick! Pikachu, guys! You know what to do!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu and the others were already aware of how to approach this as Gengar hid in the shadows while the rest of Ash's Pokemon scattered.
Twilight, Fluttershy and Starlight hid underneath a table that had just fallen over from this ferocious food fight. While they hid, their friends Ash, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and even Rarity were partaking in this.
"Should we join in?" Fluttershy asked.
"Are you crazy?!" Twilight exclaimed. "It's a warzone over there! I'm not prepared for a food fight! I don't even know what the proper rules are and-"
"It's a food fight. I don't think there are any rules except don't lose." Starlight replied.
"Bunny! Scorbunny!" Scorbunny really wanted to join in as he hopped up and down.
"Scorbunny looks like he would enjoy it. And I want to see what it's really like as well." Fluttershy got up. "Alright, Scorbunny. Let's do our best."
"Scorbun!"
"Luca!" Lucario grabbed one of Octillery's breadsticks, whacking the Jet Pokemon with it and sending it flying away. After taking one opponent down, Lucario's Aura sensed an incoming opponent from behind. A Vigoroth holding blocks of cheese as a weapon for its hands.
"Vigoroth!" The Wild Monkey Pokemon began swinging the cheese blocks around rapidly at the Aura Pokemon. It is a Pokemon that is used to grabbing things and using them as a weapon.
But Lucario is no slouch when it comes to that either. While most skilled at using his own body to battle, he can most certainly use items, no problem. But perhaps not on the same level as Vigoroth as he was now clashing his breadstick with the cheese locks as if it was a sword duel.
Applejack used her lasso to grab nearby bottles of sauces that were noticeably very spicy. After gaining possession of them, Applejack, smashed her hooves onto the bottles, shooting out various hot sauces towards her targets while also getting some on the floor. For slipping purposes, of course.
Those that were hit by the sauces ended up taking some spicy damage to the face and body. The heat was mild and medium at best so it wasn't anything too serious. But it still stung as the struck targets started screaming and running around from the heat.
Rarity had one of her Leavanny use String Shot to grab a pineapple, swinging it around as if it was a mace. The pineapple mace had whacked its opponents with unrelenting forcing.
Braviary, Dragonite and other airborne Pokemon along with the pegasi attacked from above. Braviary used its talons to grab some bags of flour, dropping them down like bombs as the flour exploded upon ground contact, causing a white and powdery explosion that covered the surrounding area.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Ash used a tray as a shield to block projectiles, covering the tray with stains while Pikachu cut some incoming baguettes in half with Iron Tail.
"Pachi!" Scootaloo's Pachirisu used its tail to hold cans of soda, squeezing them tight as it shot out the fizzy liquids, bombarding the targets in front of the EleSquirrel Pokemon.
"Scyther!" A Scyther used its sharp scythes to cut up some carrots at hyperactive speeds, making tiny bits of them. But it was working alongside a partner. That partner was a Scrafty which headbutted the bits of carrot with such force that they were capable of breaking through tables and knocking someone down.
"Uh oh!" Twilight was within the line of fire of the carrots as she was about to be hit. But, Eve got in the way by using Psychic to grab the carrots.
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon then raised the carrots into the air, knowing that she couldn't fire them back with the same amount of force. But she knew a fellow friend who could.
"Far!" Ash's Farfetch'd jumped over Eve as he used Night Slash to hit each of the carrots, sending them back at Scyther and Scrafty, bombarding them to their doom. "Fetch'd?" Farfetch'd then used its leek, which counted as a food object to block some incoming glazed donuts.
Some ponies had actually put together some food weapons by grabbing whatever they could and using their quick-thinking brains. There was a hammer that had a large potato as the base, a bazooka that shoots out macadamia peanuts, the hardest kind of peanuts, a paprika cannon and other odd devices.
And of course, the pony to build these were Twilight and to an extent Pinkie Pie who gave her the idea. "Okay. This should work out for us."
"Will it?" Starlight gulped.
"It should." Twilight placed the paprika cannon on a table to support it. With Ninetales activating the device, streams of paprika started flying out as they were raining down from above instead of heading forward.
Pokemon and pegasi in the air had been hit by the paprika, feeling the spices as they were knocked out of the sky, falling to their doom.
"Gengar!" Gengar appeared behind victims, slamming hayburgers onto them and taking them out before phasing into the shadows once more.
"Scorbun!" Scorbunny started using its legs to kick some peanuts rapidly. It wasn't just him. The other two that were great at kicking and using their legs, Pheromosa and Lopunny had joined in. By far, Pheromosa was kicking faster than both of them.
"How did it come to this?!" Roxanne was actually in the midst of this as she was ducking for cover. Alongside her was Brawly who was enjoying this.
"Ah, it's natural," Brawly replied. "Food fights are kinda inevitable. You're gonna have one eventually. I say we jump in!"
"Jump in?!"
"Go! Machamp!" Brawly sent out possibly the biggest threat in this entire Food Fight. The Four-Armed Superpower Pokemon Machamp.
"Machamp!"
"Alright, Machamp!" Brawly hopped onto Machamp's back. "Take them all out!"
"Champ!" Machamp put all four of his fists through four watermelons. Now he had watermelon fists. While not as strong as his actual fists, they can leave a mark for sure.
"That can't be good." Applejack, who had a pony tied up, noticed the Machamp that had just joined the food fight. And so did everyone else. They knew that this could get ugly fast.
"Machamp!" Machamp instantly moved at breakneck speeds, appearing in front of a trainer and their Exeggutor, smashing two watermelons onto them. The trainer and her Exeggutor had been launched through many tables before crashing into other ponies and Pokemon like bowling balls. A full strike.
Everyone collectively gulped as Machamp started going on a rampage, taking out as many ponies and Pokemon as he could with his melon hands. No one was fast enough to counter Machamp, unfortunately.
A Heliolisk tried to slip Machamp by using its tail to toss a plethora of condiments. But, Machamp easily dealt with that by jumping onto large blocks of cheese, stomping his feet onto them and using the blocks as skates. The Superpower Pokemon was now skating on ketchup, mustard, tartar sauce and mayo. Improvisation matters greatly in a fight like this.
"Champ!" While skating on the condiments, Machamp them uppercut Heliolisk while also gaining extra speed because of all the skating.
Gengar tried approaching Machamp by sneaking up from behind, but the Fighting-Type spun his arms around, hitting Gengar in the face with some melons.
"Gar!" Gengar hid back in the shadows as some Pokemon banded together, making a wall of sandwiches and lunchboxes while hiding behind them. The lunchboxes had some extra girth considering what material they were made of.
But that didn't matter to the Superpower Pokemon.
Machamp didn't even need to use his arms for this. His body was enough. With no care, Machamp barged through the wall of sandwiches and lunch boxes, blowing the ponies and Pokemon that hid behind it, causing them to scream.
"Pah! We can match that with no issue. Go Pheromosa!" Rarity ordered.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa quickly put her feet through two pineapples, matching Machamp's current look. Scorbunny helped out by jumping onto Pheromosa's head, acting as support as he held a chain of apples as a weapon.
"Scorbun!"
The Lissome Pokemon approached Machamp at lightning speeds, kicking her pineapple-clad feet towards the Superpower Pokemon.
"Champ!" But, Machamp was able to react in time as his watermelon-clad hands clashed with Pheromosa's pineapple feet, creating a small shockwave.
"Bunny!" While both Fighting-Type were in a deadlock with their fruit limbs, the Bunny Pokemon swung his Apple-chain around, trying to hit Machamp in the face.
Unfortunately, one of the many reasons why Machamp's four arms were so useful came into play. While one arm deals with Pheromosa, the other deals with the apple chain.
With sheer power, Machamp forced two of his fingers through the watermelon, making them poke out. He then used those two fingers to grab the Apple chain like scissors.
"Scorbun?"
"Champ!" Machamp then crushed the apples with just the force of his fingers as if they were nothing. He then used one of his other melon arms to sock Pheromosa in the face, knocking her back as Scorbunny fell off the Lissome Pokemon's head.
"Phero!"
"Scor!" Scorbunny flailed around while falling as Machamp was about to deliver a swift melon strike to the Rabbit Pokemon.
"Leavan!" But, Leavanny had saved him by quickly using String Shot to pull Scorbunny away. Just barely escaping Machamp's strike.
"Macha-cha-cha-champ!" Machamp and Brawy chuckled as he jumped into the air, landing on a tower of tables and declaring himself the strongest food fighter in the room as everyone looked up at him.
"Someone's confident." Pinkie Pie narrowed her eyes while preparing the banana bazooka. "Eat this!" She rapidly shot out bananas from the bazooka, sending them towards the Superpower Pokemon.
"Champ! Machamp!" But. Machamp easily kept up with the bananas by rapidly striking his four arms. There's a reason why a Machamp can deliver 1,000 punches in a few seconds. The bananas had either been crushed or were sent flying back to other ponies and Pokemon, knocking them out.
"Those four arms are a problem." Twilight observed. "And how are those melons still intact?!"
"Won't be a problem for long!" Rainbow Dash took the skies as she held a huge box of salad, ready to lob it at the Superpower Pokemon. Other Pokemon who could fly quickly took the skies, holding food as well.
"Champ!" But, Machamp quickly clapped all four of his melon hands together, blowing everyone away along with more tables and food.
Everyone in the canteen had been sent back. Not a single one was unaffected.
"We need to restrain him! Eve! Psychic!"
"Espeon!" Eve's eyes quickly flashed blue, surrounding the Superpower Pokemon in a blue light, holding him and Brawly in place.
"Machamp?!"
Now that Machamp was restrained, everyone who could get up quickly enough decided to take this chance to attack Machamp by rapidly throwing food at him.
"I don't think so!" Brawly suddenly held his mouth out, causing the food to fly into his mouth instead of Machamp. Humans from the Pokemon World have a huge appetite. There's nothing they can't devour. And Brawly is one of those many examples as he had eaten all the food thrown at his partner. "Mmm! Machamp! Bulk Up!"
"Machamp!" Machamp suddenly flexed his muscles, causing a body shockwave so great that it broke Eve's Psychic hold.
"Eon!"
"Let's finish this! Focus Punch!"
"Champ!" Machamp jumped from the ground, as the melons were each lighting up, showing that all the Focus Punch energy was brimming within it. Everyone gulped as Machamp struck the ground, causing energy to come out of the watermelons. Soon, the entire canteen had been engulfed in Fighting energy as many victims had been caught in the energy shockwave of Focus Punch.
"Now's our chance! Go!" Ash saw an opportunity as he put his tray shield to protect him and the others from Focus Punch.
Gengar was able to easily ignore Focus Punch due to its Ghost-Typing as it moved in, holding up many bottles of sauces with Psychic.
Leavanny shot its string out, wrapping around Machamp's arm and temporarily restraining him. Pikachu ran on Leavanny's string, approaching Machamp with Quick Attack.
"Machamp?!"
"Chu-Pika!" Pikachu then used Iron Tail to destroy Machamp's melon arms, getting rid of his weapons. Machamp then quickly responded by pulling his arm forward, which also pulled Leavanny who was still using String Shot.
"Vanny?!"
"Machamp then grabbed Pikachu by the tail, tossing them both into the air while also shooting the remains of the watermelons towards them.
"PIka?!"
"Lea?!"
"Mew!" Mew saved them by using Psychic while also hiding behind Pinkie. Speaking of Pinkie, she and everyone started firing food at Machamp now that he had no food weapon.
But who said he needed weapons? Machamp used all four of his arms to rapidly destroy, send back and block every food that came his way.
"Luca!
"Far!"
Lucario and Farfetch'd both approached Machamp with their breadstick and leek, striking it towards their fellow Fighting-Type. Machamp put both his arms up, blocking the large leek and breadstick.
"Champ! Ma?" Machamp then looked up, seeing an incoming Braviary with hot sauce, squeezing the bottle and sending hot sauce to the Superpower Pokemon's face.
"Viary!"
"I got it!" Brawly quickly came to the rescue by opening his mouth and catching the hot sauce, saving Machamp yet again. But, when catching the hour sauce, Brawly quickly felt the heat kicking up as his face turned red. "H-H-H-H-H-Hot!"
He was so perplexed by the heat that he jumped off Machamp's back. Now Machamp had no one to support him against sneak attacks.
"Now!" Twilight saw an opening since Machamp was occupied with Lucario and Farfetch'd. Eve, Gengar, Mew and Starlight's Hatterene all collectively used Psychic, holding up a plethora of hayburgers. They shot the hayburgers forward while Lucario and Farfetch'd move away.
"Ma?!" Machamp gasped as the many hayburgers were coming his way. He was about to counter them but Minccy came in, jumping on Machamp's back as she used her tail to tickle the Superpower Pokemon.
"Cinccino!"
"Ma-Ma-Ma-Cha-cha-cha!" Machamp laughed from the tickle as he had been thrown off guard. And with his guard down, all the hayburgers had struck him. Full body and everything.
"Iron Tail, Pikachu!"
"Chu...!" Pikachu quickly recovered in the air as he hardened his tail to match iron. The Electric Mouse Pokemon then stuck his tail into a breadstick, using it as a substitute for a weapon.
"Ccino!"Minccy then hopped off Machamp's back, allowing Pikachu to finish the job. "
"C-Champ?" Machamp then held its back before noticing Pikachu right in front of him.
"Pika!" With a mighty swing of his tail and breadsticks, Pikachu smashed his Iron Breadstick onto Machamp's head with unbridled force.
One hit and Machamp was forced down on the ground with so much power that it shook the canteen, creating an even larger shockwave than before as everyone inside had been caught in the midst of this potent shockwave. Smoke filled the canteen as the Pokemon School itself trembled from Pikachu's impact.
It could even be seen from afar with the windows shattering in the process.
The dust, smoke and condiments had settled. It was all over now. The canteen was a mess now. Various foods were all over the place, leaving massive stains that James and Meowth would have to clean up due to them being janitors here. Tables had either been knocked over or destroyed.
Everyone was on the ground, dazed and befuddled. But the only one not on the ground was Pikachu, who stood tall over Machamp and as the victor of this entire food fight.
"Pika-Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu laughed as everyone sighed at their defeat. But, once the battle had ended, two individuals, very important individuals, had shown up at the canteen.
And one of them was Cynthia.
"Trust me Chancellor Neighsay," Cynthia spoke to the head of the Equestrian Education Association, or EEA for short. One who oversees all schools in Equestria. "Our school knows how to be productive and just have fun through it all."
After saying that, Cynthia opened the door, showing the chancellor to the canteen. And once she did, they both witnessed the utter mess and destruction that had graced the entire place.
"Uh..." Twilight's head turned to face Cynthia as she had an innocent smile on her face. "H-Hello Prinicipal Cynthia."
"Oh my. Did you all have a food fight?" Cynthia asked.
"Sure did!" Ash sat up with a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Hm." Chancellor Neighsay nodded. "Food fight, you say? ...I miss those..." He sighed, feeling some nostalgia from the past after seeing this. "Alright. Seems like you have everything under control here. If all three species can get along so well and have fun via a food fight then it's approved by the EEA."
"Yes...!" Cynthia silently said as she pumped her fist. "But you're all cleaning this up. To help those poor janitors."
"Yes, Principal Cynthia..." Everyone sighed as they knew what they were getting themselves into. But, it was inevitable really.
"We should do that again tomorrow!" Pinkie Pie's head popped out of a large rubble of eclairs. Discord had seen everything. It was truly a satisfying experience.
A kind of chaos that was simple and effective to sit through. He could leave knowing his day had just been improved. As the journey continues.
Currently, Pikachu, Eve, Audino, Braviary, Mew and Pheromosa were all sitting together while their trainers and the rest of their teammates hang out on different parts of the Pokemon House.
"Ah...I'm beat..." Pikachu laid on his back, looking up at the bright blue sky.
"The day's just begun and you're already tired?" Eve said.
"Are you feeling alright, Pikachu?" Audino asked.
"I'm fine." Pikachu yawned. "Just been doing a lot more lately for these past few weeks."
"A lot more is right." Braviary nodded. "What with all the problems showing up? Like that whole Desire revenge issue."
"Ah, it's not that impressive," Pikachu replied. "I've taken on much worse in the past, ya know. I even beat a Legendary Pokemon and two!"
"You beat a Legendary Pokemon?" Eve narrowed her eyes.
"Sure did!" He sat up. "Latios and Tapu Koko. I've got around a lot with Ash over the years. We've battled a ton of Pokemon and befriend even more."
"For what? 25 years? That's a lot to experience in those amount of years." Eve gawked.
"Yeah. Experience is right. But it wasn't just with Ash. All of my other friends too. Charizard and everyone else. We've all been through a lot together." Pikachu was having nostalgic and great memories running through his head.
"I can guess what they must've been like. Ash did tell us about something from his past once." Audino looked up. "Wasn't it something about Kyurem?"
"Yeah, that Dragon Pokemon that split into Reshiram and Zekrom," Braviary replied. "Lucky. Wish I could take on a bunch of Legendary Pokemon of my own."
"What about Landorus and Mewtwo?" Pheromosa questioned.
"Ah, it was just Mewtwo. Altaria got Landorus." Braviary sighed. "I gotta win against at least one Legendary Pokemon! Can you imagine how awesome I'd be? Rainbow Dash would like that a bunch, for sure."
"I could do without going against Legendary Pokemon." Eve sighed. "They're a bit too much honestly. Don't know how anyone could even stand up to them if they're that powerful."
"Well, I'd like to know what else you've done in your past, Pikachu." Pheromosa smiled. "What else did you do? What other Legendary Pokemon did you meet!?"
"More, huh?" Pikachu pulled back. "Well, there's a bunch, really. But one of them is when I was really young. Back when I was still a Pichu."
"Oh, right. Wonder what your life was like as a Pichu? You're abnormally strong for a Pikachu after all. So maybe you're like Passion, right? A point one-percenter like Passion's mother said."
"Yeah. I was pretty strong for my age." Pikachu then started reminiscing. Even before he met Ash or was even taken into Professor Oak's lab.
29 years ago. Kanto. 4 years prior before Ash began his journey to become Pokemon Master. A woods in the outskirts of Pallet Town.
A place where all Kanto Pokemon could be found. Big or small. Lakes, trees, grasslands with Wild Pokemon everywhere. It was truly teeming with life.
And in this particular forest, one of those Pokemon was a little Pichu that would soon become a great Pikachu.
"Pichu!" From atop a tree, a small Pichu came running down, chittering with glee on its face. This was Pikachu in the past."Pi-Pichu-Pichu! Pichu?"
I was on my own for a long while when I was a Pichu. Didn't really have anywhere to go. But I had a lot to do.
"Pichu?" Pichu's ears started twitching as he picked up on some nearby Pokemon who were just above him. And they certainly were. By looking up, Pichu spotted some Butterfree looking down at the Butterfly Pokemon.
"Free! Free!"
"Pichu! Pichu! Pi-chu!" Pichu danced around, trying to impress the Butterfree if he could. But, the Tiny Mouse Pokemon wasn't exactly a dancer so the Butterfree were unfortunately unimpressed as they flew away. But Pichu was still dancing, thinking they were watching.
While Pikachu continued his dancing, through a small cave-hole, an Ekans was watching the Electric-Type dancing around, hissing at its new target.
"Ekans..." The Snake Pokemon's eyes flared yellow as it slowly slithered forward, waiting for the moment to strike.
"Pichu-Pichu!" But Pichu was too distracted to notice for now.
"Ekans!" From out of the cave, Ekans bolted forward, approaching its prey after finding the right moment and an opening. And that certainly grabbed Pichu's attention.
"Chu?" The Tiny Mouse Pokemon gasped. To defend himself as soon as he can, Pichu's body sparked faint volts as he sent a bolt of yellow electricity that shocked Ekans before it could bite him. "Pichuuuu!"
"E-Ekans!" Ekan definitely felt that as its entire body had been hit by violent electricity. With its body charred and smoking, Ekans slithered away, returning to its cave while the electrical discharge left Pichu exhausted.
"Pichu..."
But, I couldn't really control my electricity. Every time I used it I would just shock myself. But it really packed a punch either way.
"Pichu?" Pichu then looked at his surroundings, spotting a group of Mankey, a Nidoran couple and a bunch of Doduo. Every Pokemon lives in groups. However, Pichu was all alone. He didn't have a group of his own.
Pichu's ears dropped by standing over the cliff and looking at the Doduo. Being with someone else would obviously be a great feeling for him. But that was a feeling he couldn't have.
At least, not yet.
"Koffing!" Just then, a group of Koffing floated by and unleashed a poison odour, leaving Pichu so disoriented that he fell over the cliff.
"Pichu! Pichuuuuuuuuu!" The Tiny Mouse Pokemon started screaming while falling from high above. Pichu then hit some trees, bouncing onto them as his fall was being cushioned eat time. "Pi-Pichu!"
But another thing that cushioned his fall were two large hands that belonged to an exceptionally large Pokemon. One that dwarfs Pichu and most other Pokemon in size.
And Pichu landed in the arms of one of the most caring Pokemon in the world. One with a motherly nature too.
"P-Pichu..." Pichu held his head, sitting up on the hands that caught him. He then looked to see who did this. And of course, no Pokemon fits those descriptions better than Kangaskahn.
"Kanga." The Parent Pokemon looked down at the Tiny Mouse Pokemon with a straightforward stare and innocent smile.
"Pi-Pichu?!" Pichu was initially frightened by the large Kangaskhan mother from her large build and sharp fangs. "Pi!" The Baby Pokemon cowered in fear by grabbing onto the massive claws of the Parent Pokemon. But, he quickly noticed that something was up.
"Kanga."
"Pichu?" Pichu noticed that Kangaskhan was showing no hostility or intent to devour Pichu like the Tiny Mouse Pokemon thought. Kangaskhan had then been gently placed down Pichu on the ground.
"Kangaskhan."
"Pi-Pichu." Pichu looked a bit dazed as he then noticed someone else that was near Kangaskhan. More than just near. A part of her and within the pouch.
With every Kangaskhan, a baby Kangaskhan could be seen in the pouch. This baby was looking down at Pikachu with the same eyes as her mother. "Aah." The baby let out her own cry.
I wasn't alone any longer. Not when I met Kangaskhan and her daughter that day.
"Kaa!" The baby jumped out of her mother's pouch, greeting her fellow Baby Pokemon with trilling sounds, giggling and jumping about.
"Pichu! Pichu!" And Pichu did the same by jumping himself. He quickly took a liking to Kangaskhan and her child. But afterwards, the Tiny Mouse Pokemon then heard the sounds of other baby Kangaskhan' and the sounds of their mother nearby. He looked to the left to see an entire herd of them just sitting about, taking care of their babies. "Pichu!"
I think that was my first time meeting a Kangskahn before. Seeing them made me feel like I might not be alone anymore. There was so many of them and I figured since I was a baby too I would fit in.
"Kanga!" Just then, another Kangaskahn cried out, calling for her fellow Parent Pokemon. She waved at them, grabbing their attention and saying that it was time for them all to leave and head out somewhere else. The herd had to find a new place to rest. "Kangaskhan!"
And so they all did. All the Kangaskhan started walking off together, searching for another area to rest and obviously take shelter for the night. As the Kangaskhan began leaving, the mother who caught Pichu then placed her baby in the pouch, following her herd.
"Pi-Pichu?" Now it was just Pichu on his lonesome once more. A fate that seemed like it would last and continue forever. Until...
"Khan?" The Kangaskhan who saved Pichu before turned around to see that the Tiny Mouse Pokemon was just standing there by himself. Feeling kindness in her heart, the Parent Pokemon approached Pichu casually, deciding to make Pichu feel much better than ever. "Kanga."
And she did this by grabbing Pichu up with ease like he was a toy and placing her inside of her pouch, making him a part of the family.
"Pichu?" Pichu lifted his head from the pouch as he looked to the side, spotting his new friend cooing at him.
"Kaa!" The baby Kangaskhan giggled at Pichu.
"Pi-Pichu!" And it was from this decision that Pichu finally had someone in his life to spend time with. More time than ever really.
Kangaskhan taking me along was the best. After she invited me to her family, I didn't feel alone anymore. I kinda had a mother of my own now and a sister too. Even if we weren't related it still felt like it.
The herd later stopped by some Oran Berry Trees nearby to eat. Each of the Kangaskhan ripped the berries from the trees with ease, feeding their babies with both the Kangaskhan baby and Pichu each getting a Berry to enjoy. Having finally found a place where he belonged, Pichu continued to live with the Kangaskhan.
"How sweet." Audino gushed. "Then...why didn't you stay with them forever? You're here now with us and you're alongside Ash too."
"Why?" Pikachu crossed his arms. "It's not like I didn't want to stay with them forever. But, I knew I had to move on eventually."
"Moved on, huh?" Eve said. "It must've been difficult."
"It was." Pikachu then continued reminiscing, further telling how his time with Kangaskhan came to an end. Thinking about it was about to make Pikachu all teary-eyed.
Several weeks later, a rainstorm was occurring.
Some time passed, and both Pichu and the Kangaskhan baby had grown. It wasn't noticeable but their weight had increased. The Kangaskhan herd sought refuge from a rainstorm in a cave, but Pichu noticed his adoptive mother was having trouble carrying both of them at once now.
After all, Kangaskhan's evolution line has the baby eventually go out on its own one day when it reaches 3 years old. So carrying two babies who were growing in age was too much for the Parent Pokemon.
All the other Kangaskhan were ahead when running through the rainstorm but the Kangaskahn who had two babies was behind them all, breathing in and out as she was trying to keep up and find a cave in time.
"Kanga...Kanga..."
"Pichu...Pichu." Seeing this made Pichu decide to hop out of Kangaskhan's pouch so that the load could be lightened. But Kangaskhan, too worried about the safety of her second child in this rainstorm picked Pichu back up.
"Kanga-Kangaskahn."
"Pi-Pichu?" Pichu looked up, asking Kangaskhan why she would place him back in to increase the load.
"Kangaskhan." Kangaskhan was a very protective Pokemon. She couldn't risk any of her little loved ones being harmed in any way. Thus, she continued to head towards the cave as Pichu's face grew worrisome.
"Pichu..."
Eventually, they reached the cave they needed to take shelter in. And the rainstorm had come to an end after some time as the bright blue moon shined in the night sky with remains of the rain being left behind. A tiny raindrop fell from a leaf, landing onto a puddle caused by the rain from before.
All Kangaskhan and Pokemon were asleep. Except for the nocturnal ones.
"Pichu." As the night continued, Pichu knew that it was time to move on. While the Kangaskhan' were fast asleep, Pichu left his adoptive mother's pouch as he took a moment to observe his family as they sleep.
They looked so peaceful sleeping together. And seeing them made Pichu teary-eyed. Despite him being a Pokemon that used to live on his own for so long until he met Kangaskhan and her baby, he knew about the eventual day that he would have to separate from them. He can't be a baby forever.
"Pi-Pi-Pichu." After spending so much time with his adoptive family, Pichu ventured outside, deciding to leave them. He tripped and fell before doing so, but no one had heard him due to how little his footsteps were.
After exiting the cave and coming out to the night sky, Pichu skimmed across the rain puddle before looking back at the cave. He wanted to take one last look at them.
And that look sparked some wonderful memories with them. From how much fun he had with the baby Kangaskhan, her adoptive little sister, how Kangaskhan fed him as if he was her own child. All the mischief that the baby and himself got themselves into and all the same small games they played together. They truly felt like a family. And if Kangaskhan never brought Pichu along, he would've never had these beautiful memories with him.
"Pichu. Pi." Pichu had experienced kindness and generosity in its purest form. All thanks to Kangaskhan. Leaving them was all the more harder as he let out a single tear.
"P-P-Pich...Pikachu!" And that's when it happened. Grateful for their kindness and company, Pichu's body started glowing under the night-blue sky.
A dazzling and gorgeous blue glow emanated from his body as it could even be seen from the cave. But with Kangaskhan and her baby being asleep, they couldn't witness him growing up. This meant only one thing.
Pichu was evolving.
Into Pikachu.
"Pi...?" Pikachu then noticed the sudden change in his body. "Pika?" Looking at the nearby puddle, Pikachu was initially startled by his reflection before twirling around in excitement, realizing that he had evolved into his second stage evolution.
"Pik! Pika! Pikachu!"
Finally growing up, Pikachu waved goodbye to his adoptive family and departed, heading out on his own into the world. Even when leaving them, he never felt alone.
A goodbye that Pikachu felt hard to get through. But it was that goodbye that eventually gave him a brand new hello. One that led him to his best friend and the one who's always by his side, Ash.
"I'll never forget them, ya know. Kangaskhan was the one who really led me here today. And for that, I'm really grateful." Pikachu nodded. "They've gone somewhere far by now, searching for a new home. But wherever they are, I hope we can meet again someday."
"Mmm-mmm!" Just then Pheromosa was starting to tear up along with Audino was both their eyes were getting wet. "Gahaaa!" The two of them started crying after hearing Pikachu's past.
"Ah!" Pikachu gasped.
"That's so sad...and so sweet! Pikachu!" Audino suddenly hugged Pikachu, lifting him and adding some squeeze to her hug.
"Oof!" Pikachu's eyes bulged. There was another hug incoming in the form of Pheromosa who also teared up to Pikachu's past as she lifted Audino and Pikachu bother hug. "G-Guys! I-I can't breathe!"
"That's tough." Braviary nodded. "Makes me kinda miss my own home too."
"Mhm." Eve agreed.
"Ugh..." Pikachu breathed in and out after being given such powerful hugs. "But, I'm not alone anymore. I've got Ash and all my friends back at Pallet Town. Even across the world. Pidgeot, Greninja and the rest too. Feels great!"
"What about you, Pheromosa?" Audino asked. "You used to live in Ultra Space before coming here. What was it like with other Pheromosa."
"What was it like? Um..." Pheromosa scrunched her face.
"Yeah. You're way different from the Pheromosa's we've seen. What about the rest back home? What are they like?" Braviary wondered as this whole talk about the past had branched on over.
"Well..." Pheromosa huddled her feet. "Life back at Ultra Space was something, alright. Not sure if I can say it was the best or even heartwarming like Pikachu?"
"Really? How come?" Eve said.
"My home, the Pheromosa Desert wasn't a great place to live at in all honesty." Now Pheromosa started giving her past and what she experienced before meeting Rarity.
13 years ago. Ultra Space. The Ultra Ruins.
This was where Pheromosa originally came from.
My home at Pheromosa Desert had little in it. It was nothing but a vast desert landscape with monoliths, turquoise crystals, gemstones, flowing sand and a lot of rocky structures. Only us Pheromosa lived there and no other Ultra Beast. But, even with us being the only Ultra Beasts there, none of them were really fond of each other.
In this dry and eerie desert, the Pheromosa were less than allies and more enemies. And it was for one reason. Their unrivalled vanity. Otherwise known as their massive egos
The Pheromosa prided on not just their beauty but the possession of the crystals that resided in this desert. And because of this stellar vanity and pride that they all had, they were at constant odds with each other, trying to keep the gemstones and crystals for themselves. But to what aim? That was unknown.
They were all the complete opposite of generosity.
"Ah, what's this?" A Pheromosa had found a large pile of gemstones buried underneath one of the monoliths of this desert. Finding this was the jackpot for her.
The Lissome Pokemon looked around, hoping that no one was watching her. She wanted it all for herself, much like the other Pheromosa in this world.
However, when she picked up the gemstones, immediately, a nearby Pheromosa came running this way at breakneck speeds, knowing about the location of these gemstones underneath the monoliths as well.
"Hands off!" The second Pheromosa roared as she jumped up, going for a dive kick. "Those gemstones are mine!"
"Oh!" The first Pheromosa gasped, spotting her fellow Lissome Pokemon. She quickly held the gemstones close to her before raising her leg, clashing with the second Pheromosa's kick.
Now that they both had met, an inevitable feud and battle would take place. The two of them started going back and forth with an exchange of ferocious kicks. Due to how often the Pheromosa battle, the entire desert either has cracks from their earth-shattering kicks or huge piles of rubble from how many of them are sent flying.
Speaking of which, the Pheromosa who had grabbed the gemstones had been given a strong kick to the face, prompting her to be launched through one of the many rocky structures here as she dropped the gems.
"Hah!" The second Pheromosa taunted, heading over to the gemstones. "How's t-" But, before she could finish her sentence, another Pheromosa came along, using Ice Beam to freeze the second one.
"I'll take those~" The third one whistled, walking past her frozen fellow as she grabbed the gemstones for herself, running off with blinding speeds as the second frozen Pheromosa screamed in her head.
There was absolute disorder. No matter where in these deserts, Pheromosa are bound to battle. It's almost a miracle how other Ultra Beasts haven't noticed this. But, most of them live in different wormholes in Ultra Space anyway.
However, amidst the constant squabbling of Pheromosa, there was Rarity's Pheromosa. The only Shiny Pheromosa here. While all the Pheromosa tear each other apart for some gemstones, Rarity's Pheromosa hid from all of it via an underground cave that had even more gems and crystals here.
"Every day..." Rarity's Pheromosa sighed as she could feel the trembling of all the constant fighting happening above her. This was the one safe-haven where she could get away from them. And it was well hidden too.
But, even with her cave, she could still feel and hear it all go down. She has had to endure this for days on end. Even during her birth, the Pheromosa battled. Unlike her brethren, Pheromosa had no interest in gemstones or crystals. But, she did find them attractive and wouldn't mind decorating herself with them by making a necklace.
Although, since this was another world, far distant from Earth, during this time, Pheromosa didn't exactly know what a necklace was or how to make it. After all, this world is essentially alien-like and this was before she met Rarity.
Pheromosa picked up the gemstones around her. Two of them to be precise. Blue and purple coloured. There wasn't really much to do with these gemstones and crystals. If anything, the Pheromosa are just collecting objects that won't get them anywhere. At least, not in this world.
Pheromosa however, had a bit of an imaginative mind. She put the two gems together, seeing how they both created a beautiful colour combination. That got a smile out of her. But, that was as far as her creativity went due to how many limitations there were in this world.
But, even with my living conditions and all the other Pheromosa beating each other for gemstones and crystals, I wasn't really alone. I did have others by my side.
She certainly did. Despite most Pheromosa being vainglorious and prideful, there were some exceptions. Obviously, Rarity's Pheromosa was the most prominent one but there were others.
Pheromosa did in fact have friends in this world.
"There you are." Pheromosa's friends showed up. Two of them in total. She really didn't have that many in all honesty. "You've really made this whole cave your permanent home now?"
"Oh." Rarity's Pheromosa turned to her friends. "Yeah. It's really the only way I can get away from all the noise up there. Even though I can still feel it..."
"Well, you can't stay down here forever. I mean it's all so...ugh." The third one grimaced at the cave.
"You can say that everyone's ugh here." The second one replied. "There's not much going on here anyway."
"Yeah...About that, by the way." Rarity's Pheromosa looked at the two gemstones. "I've been thinking."
"About what?" The second one asked.
"Well...Do you really think we're just going to be here forever and no more? I mean, there might be more out there that we're missing out on somewhere."
"This again? You brought this up before." The second one sighed. "There's no point in going somewhere else. Everything's the same and there's nothing special here."
"Yeah. We ran around the world once before and just found more sand and gemstones." The third one replied. "Pretty lame if you ask me."
"I know but I'm talking about something different this time. Like...beyond this world." Rarity's Pheromosa pointed up to the ceiling of the cave when she was really pointing at the sky.
"Beyond this world?" The second one thought for a moment. "You mean far out in space?"
"Right! Space!" Rarity's Pheromosa nodded.
"Uh...not sure if we can run in space." The third one stroked her antennae. "Can we?"
"Maybe not. But we can still reach for the stars. Imagine. There could be other worlds out there with so much more to offer and everything. We could see it all, right?"
"Out there, huh?" The second Pheromosa also looked up. "That's certainly something, alright. But still...that's impossible. Exploring this dull world is one thing but space? No way. As much I want to get out of here and do something else that won't make me groan, there's no way we can leave this world. We were born here and we're kinda stuck here until our lifespan ends."
"Mhm." The third Pheromosa regretfully nodded.
"I guess so...But I still feel like it's possible." Rarity's Pheromosa whimpered.
"Cheer up." The second one put her hand over her friend's neck. "We may not be able to do much in this world but fight and grab stuff but we've still got each other, right? You're the one who's always lightening the mood whenever a fight breaks out."
"Yeah. I guess I do."
"So seeing you of all Pheromosa's being sad is just gonna ruin that. Meeting you made our lives a bit less bland. The stuff you say can really make us stick around."
"Yeah. Like how you talked about decorating ourselves with these crystals. But uh...not sure how we do that." The third Pheromosa picked up the crystals. "I mean, we can put them inside our torso and everything."
"Thanks, you two. But everything I said can still be true. And one day, we could head out there and have as much fun as we want to together. Just imagine what we could do! There could be others like us! Hopefully not in the stealing and fighting part."
"Maybe it can be true. But for now, and forever, this is our home. We gotta make the most of it."
"Yep." The third one laid on her back. "I mean, it's not like we can run so fast that we can jump super high into the air and reach space. That'd be weird!"
But, her saying that actually made Rarity's Pheromosa think for a bit. Then, her brain started sparking with an idea that came straight from one of her friends.
"That's it!" She stood up.
"W-What?" The second and third Pheromosa asked.
"We're definitely reaching for the stars now! And we're going to make it happen today!" She declared.
I had high hopes of leaving here and exploring everything else beyond my home. Thanks to one of my friends, we got an idea to try and make that hope come true.
On that day, the three Pheromosa stood together as they were prepared to try this running and jumping into space plan that sounded a bit farfetched. But, considering the amazing speed the Pheromosa possess, it might not be impossible.
They stood on the highest point of the desert. For the sake of reaching space, of course. They were also far away from other Pheromosa as possible. They couldn't afford to have anyone else interrupt them. After all, the Pheromosa do tend to sneak around and spy on their fellow Lissome Pokemon.
"Are you sure this is going to work? I mean, I was only making a joke back there." The third one spoke.
"It has to." Rarity's Pheromosa put on a serious face while preparing herself to bolt off.
"We could just be wasting our time but...whatever." The second one shrugged. "I'll believe in you for this."
"Thanks. Alright!" Rarity's Pheromosa and her friends took a running start pose in unison as they set their sights and eyes on one destination.
Space.
It was already nightfall in this dry vast desert so the stars could already be seen. If they could just head out there and see the stars for themselves in their full glory, that would be wonderful.
And after the while, the three of them bolted forward, running from the spot they stood as they created a massive dust cloud from their take-off alone. Now that they were on the move, they rushed at their maximum speed, running alongside each other while also making sure to stay on this one high surface. They couldn't go anywhere else that may be lower.
The acceleration of a Pheromosa is one-of-a-kind. In just 3 seconds, they were able to reach speeds equal to that of a bullet train as they could feel the wind blowing in their face.
Now, they were waiting for the right opportunity to jump. They had to wait until they reached top speed. However, despite them all being super-fast, not all Pheromosa are created equally. The third Pheromosa was the slowest out of her friends. She was easily falling behind compared to her friends. But she was still giving it her best as she wanted to see what was out there.
"Now!" Rarity's Pheromosa saw that they had reached their maximum speed. So now was the time to jump. At the same time, all three Lissome Pokemon performed a powerful upsurge that was so grand, it shattered the ground below them, leaving a noticeable crater.
The three of them immediately left the ground as they were accelerating through the air itself. Their jump was indeed impressive as they had already broken through the clouds themselves.
It looked like they were really doing it as a wide smile filled the face of Rarity's Pheromosa. Their jump was a success. But could it help them reach space?
They were building up a ton of friction from how high and fast they were moving. At this rate, flames could surround them just from their speed alone.
But that wouldn't happen.
Because they had reached their limit.
Unfortunately, there was a limit to how high the Pheromosa could jump and how fast they could run too. The best they could do was go past the clouds and reach the mesosphere. But that was about it.
Quickly, they started falling back down as Pheromosa's smile quickly melted into a frown. One of utter defeat as her sight of the stars was being drawn away from her turbulent fall back down to her home.
The three of them fell back down, hitting the ground hard afterwards as they made a dust cloud in the shape of a mushroom from their impact.
The plan was a total failure.
"Ugh..." The three of them groaned. They had taken some serious damage from that fall. After all, their bodies are frail and supple at the end of the day.
"It didn't work...?" Rarity's Pheromosa twitched, looking up at the sky.
"Ow-ow-ow! The third Pheromosa got back up. Her back had been injured because of the impact, making it a bit hard for her to walk upright. Or even run for that matter.
"Oh well." The second one sighed as she started to walk away, helping the third Pheromosa. "We tried. But...there's no way we were gonna do it. It's impossible. Doubt we can even breathe up there."
"No, wait!" Rarity's Pheromosa stood up. "Let's try again! Maybe we're not putting enough power and speed into it!"
That's our best speed." The second one turned around. "We can't go any further than that and we might end up hurting ourselves over and over if we try a second time or more."
"But..."
"Sorry. But it's not happening. It was a good plan though. But it wouldn't work. Not without limitations. Come on, let's go and heal up."
"Okay..." Rarity's Pheromosa sighed. The second Pheromosa was sort of the leader of their friend group. They really needed to heal after falling that high. But Pheromosa didn't give up on trying to reach for the stars.
After that, even when that plan failed, I never stopped trying. When my friends weren't there, I went back to try and jump out of my home again on my own. But every time I tried, it always ended in me falling to the ground and hurting myself even more. That's when I realized I couldn't do it. Jumping into space was impossible. And breathing is just another story. But I always believed that one day, I would get the chance to get out there and see more than just a desert. And that did happen eventually.
"The wormhole that brought me here was my lucky break. Seeing it made me confused since I didn't know what it was. But I was thankful to go through it. But...I never did say goodbye to my friends."
"You didn't?" Eve said.
"No. I wish I did." Pheromosa sighed. "Even now, I wish they came through with me so that we'd enjoy this world together."
"Maybe they have, I mean, there's like Ultra Wormholes everywhere, right? So maybe one of your friends came through." Pikachu looked at the bright side.
"Maybe. Pheromosa nodded. "I hope they're okay though. If they're still back home."
"Ah, all this sappy backstory stuff is making me feel weird..." Braviary groaned as he turned away.
"Don't wanna listen to some more? We can bring Absol and the others in if you want?" Eve nudged Braviary. "I bet they've got some great stories to tell. Or even yours."
"How about later." Braviary opened his wings.
"Oh. I need to help Fluttershy sort out the new beds for the Pokemon." Audino stood up. "Maybe we can do this again sometime. Tell each other more about our past."
"Sounds good to me!" Pikachu rolled on his back before getting up. "Next time, you can tell us about your past, Audi."
"I sure will. But um...I'm a bit embarrassed to say it." Audino chuckled.
"Well, mine's pretty awesome, if you must know." Braviary put on a proud face.
"I highly doubt that." Eve quickly shut him down as they each returned to their trainers, off to continue with whatever activities await them.
This won't be the last time they exchange past stories with each other, much like how Ash shares his stories with the CMC. And it certainly won't be the last.
Every Pokemon has their own story from the past. Especially those that have trainers. Whatever happened to them way back then. Good or bad. It is what moulded them and led them to today. Where they could meet their wonderful trainers and make new friends. And to an extent, family. As the journey continues.
"Hurry! It's almost starting!" Sonata cried out as she aggressively shook her hoof, pointing it at a cinema room where a movie was about to show today.
Today, the Dazzlings had decided to venture out into the Pokemon World and enjoy what it has to offer. One of those options involved the famous Pokestar Studios where movies can either be made or experienced. Or both. The Dazzlings chose to experience.
"This is gonna be great!" Sonata cried out.
"We're coming," Aria replied.
"This had better be worth it," Adagio said. "This whole movie thing."
"It totally is!" Sonata exclaimed. "Trust me. You're going to love this! Getting to watch something really fun for a long time! And we can eat whatever we want! How great does that sound?!"
"Did you have to grab so much food though?" Aria narrowed her eyes at the plethora of food that Sonata and her Pokemon were carrying.
"Well, yeah. If it's long, we need to have the stuff to keep our stomach occupied, obviously. I know you wanted some of these Magmar Nachos, Aria." She dashed over to her older sister, nudging her with the spicy-hot Magmar Nachos.
"Pass." Aria pushed Sonata away. "But I do kinda want that toffee-flavoured popcorn." She then grabbed the popcorn out of Sonata's hold as they entered the screening room.
"Ya know, after this, we should totally make our own movie," Sonata recommended.
"Our own?" Adagio turned to her younger sister.
"Oh, yeah. I mean, we didn't get the chance to do it back during the Pokemon Festival, but now seems like a good time to try it. Pokestar Studios lets us watch and make our own movies. How great is that?!"
"Hm. That's pretty impressive. Kinda looking forward to it." Aria smiled, already thinking of what making their own movie would be like. "What about you, Adagio?"
"Hmph. We'll see." Adagio scoffed. "Let's just get this movie watch thing over first, alright."
"Okay!" Sonata sat down as she got comfortable in the human-sized seats. One of the many perks of being a pony in the Pokemon World is that everything is comfy due to the size of humans as compared to ponies who are smaller in general.
And it works for the smaller Pokemon as well. The sisters and their Pokemon sat down with other movie-goers showing up as they were ready to witness their first-ever movie. They didn't know what to expect for their first time here. Sonata was excited, Aria was interested and Adagio was just coming along for her sister's sake.
But, right next to Adagio, a little filly came into the room, holding her own objects like Sonata. More specifically, instead of snacks, she was holding what seemed to be dolls and action figures of certain individuals. One of which being Ash and Pikachu. Made in an Equestrian doll factory. A perfect contrast to the Mane 6 dolls made by the people in Castelia.
However, aside from Ash and Pikachu, another doll was one of Adagio herself. Huge mane and everything. Someone in Equestria had taken the time to make a doll of Adagio and it was for one reason. The Pokemon Talent Show was the reason. Ever since they won second place, the Dazzlings had made a bit of a name for themselves. And after a performance like that, it would make sense that they would have some fans.
When the little unicorn sat down next to Adagio's seat, she immediately noticed the sudden resemblance between the doll and the actual pony-siren hybrid as her eyes flared.
"Ooh..." The unicorn filly gawked while looking at Adagio.
"Hm?" Adagio's attention had been grabbed by the little pony as she looked at her. "What?"
"Ah..." The unicorn looked at the doll then back at Adagio a few times before feeling a sudden rush of fan energy. "You're Adagio Dazzle!"
"Uh...Y-Yes. That's me." Adagio stuttered.
"Wow! I'm your biggest fan!"
"You are?"
"Mhm!" She nodded aggressively. "Look! See!" The unicorn then showed Adagio her doll, which certainly took Adagio by surprise.
"Wh-" Adagio froze after witnessing her doll for the first time. Despite it being something so small and average, it was unlike anything she had ever seen before. "This exists?"
"C-Can you sing that song again? Um...uh it was called...Type Wild! You looked so pretty when singing it!"
"Hmph," Adagio smirked while flipping her mane. "Well, I was singing with such beauty. It's only natural you'd fall for it."
"So what? We weren't singing with beauty?" Aria looked at Adagio with disappointed eyes.
"Oh, I sure did! I really liked you and your sister's performance! Can I listen to Type Wild again?"
"Right now?" Aria asked. "We're kinda getting ready to watch a movie now. First one too. Maybe later kid."
"Yeah. Besides. We're probably gonna be making our own movies here in Pokestar Studios after we finishing watching this one." said Sonata. "So uh..sorry."
"Oh! Can I make movies with you! The filly flailed her hooves around. "It'd be great if I got to make movies with the Dazzlings!"
"Ah...Wh-Where are your parents, kid?" Adagio squinted her serpent-like eyes.
"They're exploring the rest of Virbank City. My family's on vacation. They gave me some neat tickets to come and watch this movie. Even some of my friends came along and are super big fans of yours!"
"Friends?" The Dazzlings each spoke. The moment the filly mentioned her friends, they came bolting in, sitting next to the little unicorn. All of which were also fans of the Dazzlings ever since that one instance in the Pokemon Talent Show.
"Oh. Looks like we're pretty popular, aren't we?" Sonata nudged.
"So can we? Please?" The filly had a wide smile along with her friends, pleading for a chance to spend some time with their fans.
"What do you think?" Aria questioned Adagio. "We're not used to having...fans. Especially ones that are kids."
"They're not under our spell. I didn't really expect anything genuine towards our songs." Adagio replied while looking at the foals. "So. You're really fans of us, are you?"
"Uh-huh!" They all nodded.
"Hmph. Alright. You can join us. But, you're just going to watch and I expect you all not to be bothers, understood?" Adagio requested.
"Okay!" They exclaimed as someone in the room hushed them since the movie was just starting. All those commercials had come to an end.
"I'd better not regret this." Adagio sighed, not knowing what she could be getting herself into. Having someone adore her without being under her spell was new, that's for sure.
2 hours later.
Approximately 2 hours had passed. That was the length of the movie. Throughout the entire thing, Adagio and her sisters had a surprisingly good time. Mainly Adagio, who wasn't expecting to enjoy this so much. Her eyes had been glued to the screen as she was taken aback by how enjoyable the whole thing was. And the same goes for the foals although some of them fell asleep.
"That was amazing..." Adagio's jaw dropped.
"Right?!" Sonata squeed. "It was totally worth choosing this movie to watch! Told ya you'd enjoy it."
"That was pretty neat." Aria nodded with a smile. "Can't believe it really ended that way though."
"So, whaddya say? We make our own at Pokestar?" Sonata nudged Adagio.
"Absolutely!" Adagio bellowed, blowing her younger sister back with the force of her voice alone. "I feel we can do one better than what we've just seen!"
"Nice." Sonata was glad that they could get the opportunity to make their own movie as she slumped over after being blown back.
"Let's get a move on." Adagio jumped off the seat. "Where do we go to make one of those?"
"I know the way." Sonata rolled off the seat. "Follow yours truly." The decision had been made. Adagio had already been convinced after witnessing that film. And it only took the first 15 minutes for her to be hooked.
As the Dazzlings made their way out of the screening room, the foals ended up following the Dazzlings. The main filly unicorn who showed up here first stayed close to Adagio over everyone else. She really did seem to be her biggest fan since she was the only one holding her doll.
They all followed Sonata, who led them to where they needed to be. The Dressing Room. There, they could choose from an assortment of props and clothing to wear depending on what kind of movie they wished to make.
Adagio was the first to enter the room due to how eager she was. Despite everything that Adagio has going for her, she does have an interest in anything that involves beauty. She opened the door with force, locking her eyes onto the first thing she could find. The clothing options, of course.
"Alright." Adagio entered the room. "Let's get this thing started."
"Way ahead of you!" Sonata slid past Adagio.
"Hold on. Do we even know what kind of movie we're making?" Aria asked.
"Totally. We're making a comedy movie!" Sonata exclaimed.
"Absolutely not." Adagio quickly stopped her younger sister. "I say we make a fantasy movie. Nothing childish like...comedy."
"Childish?!" Sonata pulled back after hearing that.
"Hm. I was thinking of Horror." Aria dug into the prop box, pulling out a Banette mask and flashing it at the foals, making them scream in shock. "Something that'll really keep them on the edge of their seats."
"Comedy still sounds better. For fun!"
"I make the shots and I say that we're doing Fantasy. It's more mature and creative anyway."
"Horror's mature too." The three sisters were now starting to clash against each other, each having their own idea for what movie they wanted to make.
"Ooh..." Meanwhile, the fillies were too busy looking into the prop boxes here to notice the bickering of sisters.
"Unfortunately for you two..." Adagio used her magic to hold Aria and Sonata up. "I have magic and can overrule you with any spell. So hah! We're doing Fantasy."
"No fair!" Sonata pouted.
"Ugh..." Aria groaned. "You'd better at least have a great idea for how this movie of yours is going to go?"
"Hah! I already have it all thought out." Adagio tapped her head using her magic to bring over a nearby pen and paper as she started writing down her idea.
Adagio then showed her sisters what exactly she had planned. From synopsis to how it would all seemingly occur. And from one look, it was already easy to see what kind of story Adagio would make.
"Hm," Aria observed with her eyes. "This looks kinda familiar."
"Yeah..." Sonata slowly nodded. "Is this a revenge story?"
"Revenge story?" Adagio pulled the paper away. "Hmph!"
"Adagio. It's been like what? A year or two ever since the Battle of the Bands. Give it a rest already." Aria said.
"I hold long grudges, okay? Besides. I need some way to let out all that leftover anger."
"Ya know, if you make that movie, everyone's gonna put it together," Sonata smirked.
"What do you mean put it together?" Adagio questioned.
"Your uh...whole attack on Castelia City that one time got pretty popular. I mean, everyone kinda knows you're not a super big fan of Twilight and the others." Sonata rolled around while being held up Adagio's magic. "And if your name shows up on those credits well..."
"Hmm..." Adagio thought for a second. "Can't make it too obvious. Right."
"Well. That wasn't really what I was thinking." Sonata giggled.
"But how are we sure it didn't just stay in Caste-" Aria was about to finish her sentence before Sonata quickly hushed her via hoof in the mouth.
"Alright!" Adagio placed her sisters down. "I'll just make some few changes here and there and mask it. Easy."
"We're gonna help fix it up, right?" Aria went over.
"Are you saying that you can do better than me?"
"No. Maybe." Aria let out a small smirk. "But anyway, it'd be better if we helped with your story. If you're really going through with this you can't do it alone. These movie things are made by a team, right?"
Yeah!" Sonata slid over. "We probably can't do our Comedy or Horror, but we can add our own elements in it, huh?"
"Hm." Adagio looked at her script before concluding. "Alright. I'm new to this whole thing anyway. Let's get to work. Kids."
"Yeah?" The foals said as they were all wearing props and clothing over them.
"I want you to keep it down. We don't need any distractions."
"Oh! Can we help out?" A filly asked.
"It'd be even greater if we had more help, Adagio," Aria suggested. "Having them join in would be like having a full team on a movie."
"They're children. The best ideas they probably have are rainbows and silly dancing." Adagio shook her head. "They're going to watch and no more."
"Okay. But if things get hairy, we'll ask for their help." Sonata grinned as she and her sisters were ready to get to work and make that movie.
The Dazzlings started by choosing what to wear. Due to the crossing over of both worlds and Rarity having a role here, Pokestar Studios were able to add clothing that fit ponies now instead of just humans and Pokemon.
In actuality, all they did was select clothing that were originally made for Rapidash, Ponyta, Zebstrika and other equine Pokemon and just made some adjustments here and there.
While dressing up and selecting the props to use, the script and synopsis of Adagio's movie were changing. While the theme was still fantasy, it seemed like they wouldn't be fully following the route of the Battle of the Bands from a while ago. Mostly because they would need more cast members to make that happen but Adagio wasn't willing to let the foals join in to fill up space.
Speaking of which, the main filly, the one who had those dolls in her possession, stayed close to Adagio like a moth to a flame. She watched as the siren started dressing her Kricketot up while also looking at herself in the mirror.
"Are you going to keep on looking at me for the whole day?" Adagio asked.
"Sorry. I'm just really excited." The filly replied.
"Hm." Adagio finished dressing up Kricketot. "You still gonna ask me to sing that Type WIld song."
"Uh-huh. But if you have any more Pokemon songs, that'd be great! Can you sing a song about uh...Flying-Types? Oh, and are you gonna be at the next Pokemon Talent Show."
"So many questions..." Adagio sighed. "Is this what it's like to have fans?"
"Well, yeah. You didn't have any before?"
"No. Never once. Well..." Adagio thought about how she had brainwashed many victims before to have them adore them. "Not in the usual way."
"Then that's even better! That makes me your first fan ever! And everyone else."
"I guess so." Adagio grabbed a nearby prop. "Didn't think I'd have one. Especially not one that's so loud."
"I can start a Fanclub for you if you want."
"Fanclub?"
"Yep! It'll be great! It'll make you even more popular than ever!"
"Popular you say?"
"And I'll run the whole thing. The Cutie Mark Crusaders already have an Ash and Rainbow Dash Fanclub out there. So we wanna do the same thing for you."
"You're pretty kind for doing this for someone you've just seen and met kid." Adagio narrowed her eyes. "Hope you don't do this to everyone you see."
"I just really like your music. Um, sorry if I'm being a bother. I know you told me and everypony else not to be and..."
"It's fine." Adagio halted her. "To be honest, it's kinda nice having a fan that isn't uh...under control."
"Under control?"
"Nevermind that. What's your name anyway?"
"Tickled Pink! But everyone calls me Tickled!" She gave her name out. "Leave the Dazzling Fanclub to me!"
"Your name matches your energy..." Adagio said silently. "Alright, Tickled. I'll be looking forward to your Fanclub of me and my sisters. Wherever it may be."
"Adagio!" Sonata cried out. "Uh, we got a problem. We can't make the dragon thing work!"
"What? Why not?" Adagio asked.
"Well uh...w-we don't have a Dragon Pokemon with us. I mean I don't own a Dragon-Type and Aria doesn't either. And none of these props are gonna work out." Sonata held up a Tyranitar head and some Pidgeotto wings.
"Seriously? That's a problem..." Adagio growled.
"It won't." Aria suddenly joined in. "There's an easy solution to that."
"Like what?" Sonata questioned.
"This place has Rental Pokemon. Just in case." Aria pointed her hoof over at a container that had Poke Balls in it. Each belonging to Pokestar Studios and can be opened by any filmmaker who wishes to improve their movie. It had a crank on it that could be pulled to make a Poke Ball come out with the Pokemon emerging automatically.
"Aria spun the crank around as a Poke Ball came out of it, immediately sending out a Phanpy."
"Phanpy! Phan!"
"Oh. Okay!" Sonata went over to the container, looking over at the selection of Poke Balls. "Uh...let's see...Which one has a Dragon-Type in it?"
"No clue." Aria shook her head.
"Hm...Oh well! I'll just release them all at once!" Sonata aggressively spun the crank.
"Wait, Sonata! Don't!" Both Adagio and Aria cried out but it was too late. With how fast she spun it, all the Poke Balls came flying out of the container at high speeds. The Poke Balls each bombarded Sonata and everyone in this room. But worse, the moment they came flying out, the Pokemon were all released.
Like a flash-freeze of ice, many Pokemon emerged, landing on the ponies as the entire dressing room had been filled up with Pokemon of all kinds. But, funny enough, not a single Dragon-Type Pokemon could be found within the sea of Pokemon.
"Hehehe...Guess there aren't any Dragon-Type Pokemon here." Sonata said with a sheepish grin while having a Galvantula on her.
"Mrrrgh...!" Adagio growled, narrowing her eyes at her younger sister. She then used her magic to separate everyone from the Pokemon. "Forget about the Dragon. We'll try something else like..."
"I can help with the Dragon." Tickled pink stood on top of a Typhlosion.
"You can?" Adagio looked at Tickled.
"Come out, Ditto!" She sent out one of her Pokemon which turned out to be a Ditto.
"Ditto!"
"Ditto can turn into any Pokemon no problem. But uh...the face isn't convincing."
"Show me." Adagio requested.
"Ditto. Transform into um..." Tickled quickly took out her Pokedex, showing Ditto an image of a Dragon-Type. "This Garchomp here!"
"To..." Ditto looked at the image of Garchomp shown before it. It knew what it needed to do. "Ditto!" Sometimes, Ditto doesn't need to be next to a Pokemon to transform into it. An image is enough since it can improvise. The Transform Pokemon then used the only move it was capable of to manipulate its body.
Adagio and the others stepped back as they watched the Normal-Type's blob-like body shifting as all of its cells were being rearranged. By freely recombining its own cellular structure, Ditto had become a Garchomp.
Although there was something off.
This Garchomp didn't have its usual intimidating eyes. Since this was still a Ditto, it had beady eyes and a mouth that didn't even possess Garchomp's sharp teeth. Essentially, it was a Garchomp with a poker face. No sharp teeth and no ferocious eyes. But it was the best that Ditto could do.
"Ta-da!" Tickled showed off her partner's transformation. "A Dragon Pokemon for your film!"
"Ditto!"
"Uh..." Adagio's eye twitched when looking at Garchomp. It wasn't what she was expecting at all. Ferocious was not the first thing that came to mind when witnessing it. The only thing fierce about it was the build and size. But, they had to make the movie either way. "Fine. We'll use that. See if you can find some prop eyes and teeth or whatever."
"Woohoo! So does this mean we can help with the movie?!" Tickled asked.
"Sure." Adagio shrugged. "You're good in my book kid and that Ditto of yours can be useful."
"Success!" Tickled gave a high-hoof to her Ditto.
"Ditto!"
"We can help too!" One of the foals said.
"Yeah, we've got loads of Pokemon ourselves!"
"Can we help?"
"Please?"
"Pretty please!"
"They sound pretty eager, Adagio," Aria said. "You know how kids can get. If we don't agree to their terms-"
"They'll never stop." Adagio finished Aria's sentence. "Alright, fine whatever. Let them help out. We'll see what they can do."
"You won't be disappointed!" Tickled grinned along with her friends. "We'll make the best movie ever!"
Now there were better odds for this short film to be a success. A larger crew means a possible better outcome. Although, much like Adagio and her sisters, these foals have never made a movie in their entire life before.
So this was bound to be something.
They spent their time in the Dressing Room for a while, finally getting the recommended props and clothing that they needed. The Dazzlings and their Pokemon resembled a certain Mane 6 group. Albeit a more knock-off version of them. But, with the help of Tickled and her friends, they were able to add more into the designs with extra effort instead of making it appear lazy.
Afterwards, it was off to the Film Room, where all the real magic happens. There, they would have to practice their acting and follow the script of the synopsis which had been altered. It had greatly strayed away from the Battle of the Bands and into something else. It still had a personal grudge feeling to it nevertheless.
One of the fillies ended up being in charge of the camera. Although, she's never worked a film camera before, so she didn't really know what she was doing. What's worse, the camera wasn't even recording at the moment. But, her Pokemon quickly helped her sort that out.
While Aria was practising her lines, her Popplio added some singing into it to try and give it some flair. But, Popplio's singing was so attractive that the other Pokemon joined in, interrupting Aria's part. Originally, she was irritated by this, but Aria found them trying to sing along fairly adorable so she was fine with it.
Then, when it came time to do some dynamic movements, Adagio would use her magic for that, not wanting to take any risks of harming her sisters. Tickled gave some assistance by using her magic as well as one of the fillies played around with the special effects. It looked like a chaotic mess as Aria had to be the one to tone the special effects down so it doesn't look like random things are happening on screen.
They filmed for at least 3 hours. Enough to take up the rest of the day as the sun was slowly setting, giving off a beautiful orange glow on the horizon. The Dazzlings and their fans were really getting into this filmmaking business and showing so much passion that they spent that much time at Pokestar Studios.
It is an addicting place to be at, after all.
Afterwards, they finished filming as they sat together at the Movie Theater, ready to see how their film would play out after adding some finishing touches.
Thanks to the efforts of the young ones, they made a title card out of crayons and cards. It was a bit endearing to the eyes. After that, the movie could begin as they all began watching it.
Throughout it all, Adagio watched her own story play out with its own mood. Originally, something that started as a grudge story, shifted over time. Because of her sisters and her fans, the animosity of this film had been overshadowed and essentially taken away. However, the look of the Mane 6 plus Sunset was still there.
For it being a Fantasy-based movie, it certainly followed all the tropes that could be found in a Fantasy movie. But, this was their first time making a movie, so it was to be expected. A Dragon, a very bombastic-looking castle and saturated colours that can burn the eyes among other things.
Despite it being the first move, they had a good time watching it. Mainly the fillies. Aria and Sonata nodded at their parts while Adagio took some time to observe what she and those around her had made. All of this wouldn't have been possible on her own. Definitely not. But, having those who share her goals and support her through them is what brought this movie out.
And because of that, Adagio could smile. But, this smile was different from her other smiles in the past. For the first time, Adagio's smile not only involved the effect of her sisters but of ponies too. And as always, a moment such as this could only allow her body to generate that mysterious golden light that she possesses. This time, the light made everyone in the room feel comfortable and at ease as they all sat through the movie, enjoying it together as a family and even friends.
1 hour later.
The movie had ended and the sun was practically gone by this point.
"Alright. That's that. It was worth it after all. Adagio got off the seat. "Not a bad suggestion Sonata."
"See? What'd I tell you?" Sonata crossed her hooves while having a cocky smile.
"So. Think we're coming back here for more next time? Aria asked.
"Oh, most certainly. We can do better than our first film without a doubt. And this time, we'll have more to offer." Adagio replied. "And as for you all...
"Hm? The fans looked at their idols.
"Thanks for the help. If you want to help us out with another movie, you can always come by and so." Adagio accepted them. Hearing that only made the fans ecstatic and hopeful for what's to come in the future as they jumped around.
"Thank you so much, Adagio! You can come by to our Fanclub some time too! If you want." Tickled exclaimed.
"Sure, why not? W-Where is it anyway?"
"Just over at Manehattan. It's a pretty colourful building. You can't miss it!" The unicorn giggled.
"Got it. Alright, you two. Let's head back home. And you kids should probably head home as well. A Bit too late right now." Adagio ordered as the foals started to leave to return to their parents. It could be past their bedtime by this point.
"So. What are we gonna tomorrow?" Aria asked, walking up to her big sister.
"Who knows? Adagio shrugged. "But, now that I see that this world has so much to offer...I think we're going to have as much fun as we can. You can agree with me on that, can you?"
"Sure can." The two younger sisters agreed.
A nice moment of family bonding along with the sudden surprise of their own adoring fans. Clearly, the Dazzlings have so much more to look forward to on the passing days from both worlds as the journey continues.
Today was a day where Celestia puts all of her focus on one thing. Everything else can wait another time. And for good reason. She was currently thinking about the upcoming invasion that's approaching in just a few weeks.
She had gathered up her sister Luna, Pyrestar and Cadence to her throne room, sitting at a roundtable as they began discussing plans.
"Alright." Celestia took a deep breath. "We know that when they pass through, hordes of ships will arrive. Large enough to eclipse Canterlot Castle. That's our priority. If we can somehow render those ships useless, then we can tip the scales to our favour."
"I suggest we use Ghost-Type Pokemon." Cadence suggested. "They can phase through practically anything. Perhaps, Luna's Frillish can head in and use his water to malfunction all the electricity inside."
"Mhm..." Luna grumbled as she nodded gently.
"What's wrong, Luna?" Celestia asked.
"Something's bothering me," Luna responded. "And it's about my Frillish too."
"Your Frillish? Will he be unable to head inside?" Cadence questioned.
"No. Frillish can most definitely phase through without any issue. It's just that...back then when I was on Empress Twilight's ship and faced her for the first time....something confused me. Her Gravity spell."
"Right. I was told of how formidable and dangerous it was. Even during our Cerebral Training." Celestia sat up. "That's another thing we need to overcome."
Mhm. But when she used the spell on my Pokemon...I understand Darkrai and Xatu being affected but...Frillish is what I wasn't expecting."
"You mean Frillish wasn't meant to be affected by her Gravity spell?" Celestia pondered.
"Frillish shouldn't be affected by gravity at all. And all Ghost-Types for that matter. When learning at the Pokemon School, one of the teachers, Norman, taught me something."
Weeks ago. The Pokemon School. Norman's class.
"Using the Normal move Odor Sleuth is the only way for Normal and Fighting-Types to affect Ghost-Type Pokemon. It's similar to the Psychic-Type move Miracle Eye which allows Psychic-Types to hit Dark-Types." Norman explained.
"Only that one move can make Ghost Pokemon vulnerable?" Luna questioned.
"Right. It helps since Ghost-Types are partially in this dimension. They can ignore many things. Such as solid objects, most physical effects, gravity, mol-"
"Did you say gravity?!" Luna exclaimed as she stood up from her seat.
"Uh-y-y-yes...?" Norman stuttered. "Well, the Pokemon move Gravity can affect them still. It's made up of Infinity Energy so it's a special kind of Gravity."
"Infinity Energy..." Luna looked down. "So, aside from the move, the natural form of gravity doesn't matter to them?"
"Not at all." Norma shrugged.
"So then how was it that Frillish was affected by the spell?" Luna thought to herself. "Unless..."
"After hearing what Norman told me, I wondered why Frillish was affected by her Gravity spell. I'm fairly certain that it doesn't have Infinity Energy in it." Luna said.
"That is odd. If Frillish were truly immune to her spell, it would be a great advantage and would benefit every Ghost-Type Pokemon if they went up against her." Cadence put her hoof on her chin.
"There's a clear answer to that. Empress Twilight has been stealing alicorn magic from a plethora of universes after all. It's not too farfetched to believe she gained a spell that negates a Ghost's physiology." Celestia explained.
"I suppose so." Luna nodded. "But, even if we get past her Gravity spell, we still have other spells to deal with. Who knows what else she can do."
"Hm. If Ghost-Type Pokemon are out of the question against the Gravity spell...then perhaps we either use Steel-Type Pokemon or gravity of our own. The Pokemon move Gravity exists. Any Pokemon that can use that move can be of great help. We can maybe counter her Gravity spell with an even greater one." Celestia theorized.
"That sounds possible. Steel-Type Pokemon are the most defensive type. I doubt even Gravity will stop them." Cadence nodded.
"As for other spells, with how many Pokemon moves there are, it's safe to say that we might have a move for every one of her own spells that she may unleash. Every move has its own use. Especially the ones that deal no damage. As for her guards, I've found the solution." Celestia put her hooves together.
"Their armour is made out of a metal known as aluminium. While it may be rare in our world, in the Pokemon World, it's quite common. It's used for those cars and trucks and even for trains. Breaking an armour made out of that material would be..." Cadence was about to finish her sentence.
"Not impossible." Celestia finished it for her, having a hopeful response. "Not with a Fire and Fighting-Type." She then used her magic to bring out a borrowed Pokedex for her strategy. "Unfortunately for Empress Twilight and her guards, the Pokemon will ignore all that durability. We can either melt or shatter the aluminium armour with whichever type. And as a bonus, the ships are made out of the same material, so we can sort that problem out as well."
"I say we use an army Talonflame to handle the ships. Not only can they gain an aerial advantage, but their flames should be strong enough." Luna suggested.
"As for the energy of the ship, we'll have as many Electric-Type Pokemon or Water-Types handle that. Electivire seemingly has the strongest electrical output of any Electric Pokemon. Minus the legends." Celestia showed off Electivire's dex entry.
"Electivire. The Thunderbolt Pokemon. In terms of electrical-energy output, Electivire is one of the best among all Electric Pokémon. It discharges high-voltage currents from its tails. The instant it presses the tips of its tails onto an opponent, it sends over 20,000 volts of electricity into the foe."
"Their ship won't be able to handle that much energy. One taste of that many volts and they'll power down." Celestia smiled.
"What about Ash's Pikachu? He seems to be greater than the average Pikachu." Cadence asked.
"Ash and Pikachu have already decided their own role in this. But, it's not a bad idea. Now. For Water-Types, we can use Blastoise."
"Blastoise. The Shellfish Pokemon. Blastoise has water spouts that protrude from its shell. The water spouts are very accurate. They can shoot bullets of water with enough accuracy to strike empty cans from a distance of over 160 feet. The jets of water it spouts from the rocket cannons on its shell can punch through thick steel."
"If our Fire and Fighting-Type plan doesn't work, Blastoise's water is an excellent backup. So, we're now clear that we have many options against the ship. But, it's not a guarantee. We'll need to work on our strategy further. I already have my guards doing so with Pokemon they've caught."
"Alright. We have options against the ship and guards. What else is there?" Cadence questioned.
"For now, we'll keep focusing on the ship and guards. But I suppose another problem are the gateways that will open here. They won't appear in just Canterlot. She aims to conquer this entire world after all." Celestia pondered. "Her numbers could be extravagant. She has already taken some of my own guards to her world so that she can convert them. They're probably serving her now."
"Her army size would be grandiose considering how many worlds she has visited..." Cadence trembled. "Even if we were to gather everyone from Equestria, her numbers could dwarf us with ease."
"Most likely." Celestia agreed, unfortunately. "But, strength in numbers isn't always a guaranteed victory. And we have our ways to little those numbers down. I've planned to have a chat with Queen Chrysalis. She herself agrees that she won't allow this world to be taken by Empress Twilight. Or even Ghetsis."
"And? The changelings are our only allies?" Luna asked.
"Not just them. Dragons, yaks, griffons and more. But perhaps the most surprising one was that the Pokemon, especially the wild and untamed ones are willing to assist in this." Celestia smiled. "Pikachu Highlands is just one major example."
"So then, we'll have Pokemon that have trainers and are wild on our side. Sounds like a wonderful advantage." Cadence nodded. "I'm sure the Sableye are the same. Despite their mischievous antics around the Crystal Empire, they mean well."
"Right." Celestia got off her seat. "We'll continue discussing plans further tomorrow. Queen Chrysalis, Prince Rutherford and other rulers will be joining us by then. Until now, we'll need to practice our strategies. I know my guards are already on it."
"My Pokemon and I will also work hard," Luna said. "Especially Darkrai."
"I just hope we can pull this off...Never been this nervous. Not even during the Royal Wedding." Cadence gulped.
"Hm. But...I do have one other option that could also give us our next advantage." Celestia had one last thing to say.
"Huh?" Both Luna and Cadence faced Celestia.
"We can gain allies from other universes."
Empress Twilight's world. Her Castle Ship. High up in the cosmos.
Out of every ship that she owns, the ship that resembled Canterlot Castle was her main one. A ship that not even Luna has entered yet. This is where she usually resides aside from other ships.
There, Empress Twilight was currently having her own strategy meeting as well. Or rather, she was about to have one that hasn't started yet.
She sat down at the same throne that Celestia in the other world sat in. Then again, it's the same castle but with some changes and a different feel.
The Empress of many universes was waiting for her own visitors. Ones that were also alicorns. There were certainly some parallels going on between this universe and the other. Next to Empress Twilight was her greatest student and apprentice, Luster Dawn and sitting on the table was a Master Ball given to the Empress by Team Plasma. This Master Ball held a certain Legendary Pokemon parallel to the one that Ghetsis currently has.
But aside from that, Empress Twilight looked at the door as she saw her guests enter the throne room. Four of them in total. Most were from different universes while the other was from this universe. And that other was Flurry Heart, of course.
"Oh, finally. Glad you could make it on time." Empress Twilight spoke as she looked at the ponies in front of them, calling out their names. "Daybreaker. Nightmare Rarity. Princess Starlight Glimmer. Oh and my little niece Princess Flurry Heart."
"H-Hello Auntie." Flurry Heart stuttered with a gentle wave.
"Refer to me as Empress."
"R-Right, Empress."
"Now then." Empress Twilight spoke to the other ponies as they sat around the table. "You all know why I've summoned you here. About our upcoming overtaking of the next Equestria."
"We've already discussed plans about overtaking it yesterday." Nightmare Rarity said. "Practically everything has been covered, darling. What else is there?"
"You can never be too safe, Rarity. Our plans need to be perfected. Even if we have them perfectly laid out." The Empress replied.
"We didn't need to do that with the other Equestria's we conquered. If anything, they were easy to deal with and we only needed a few days of planning, didn't we?" Starlight shrugged.
"They were." Empress Twilight nodded. "But, you all were given unique spells from other universes after all. So that made everything all the more easier, in all honesty. But, not sure I can say the same for the next Equestria."
"How come?" Nightmare Rarity asked.
"Isn't it obvious." The Empress used her magic to show a holographic projection of Pokemon. "It's those Pokemon. Out of all the Equestria's i've viewed, this one is by far the strongest one. Because of the existence of these mysterious creatures and how easily they can form bonds with ponies, dragons and other species, they'll prove to be a nigh-unstoppable force."
"Hmph. At the end of the day, they're just another batch of magical creatures." Daybreaker flailed her hoof. "We've already dealt with powerful forces before. What can something like a small electric mouse do?"
"More than you can imagine. These Pokemon are not to be underestimated. Even with all of the magic we've absorbed and various spells we've collected, the Pokemon can still easily match or even surpass us in power. That is why I've summoned you all here."
"There are how many of them exactly? That Colress human found 890 of them, correct?" Starlight questioned the Empress.
"For now. There are possibly more out there we haven't seen yet. And that worries me. But, there is no need to fret. Because of the information Colress has given me, despite their dangerous potential and how much of a threat they pose, I know the perfect spells to deal with every Pokemon there currently is. I can't say the same for all of you, however."
"Now that you put it into perspective..." Nightmare Rarity put her hoof on her chin.
"If we take the Pokemon away, Equestria will be defenceless." Starlight pondered.
"Very defenceless." The Empress smirked. "However, another thing is bothering me. The Celestia of that world has something known as a Boundless Cutie Mark. I'm still unaware of what it's capable of since I've never seen it in full action yet. That's another thing I'm looking out for. Flurry Heart. You haven't spoken yet. What is your say in this?"
"Oh." Flurry Heart scrunched her face. "Um...I don't know. Maybe we can just...you know...make friends with the next world. The Pokemon there seem so-"
"This again?" Daybreaker groaned. "Your soft child. We're not conquering to make friends-"
"Ah." Empress Twilight interrupted Flurry Heart. "Flurry Heart. I've already decided. I can't spread my friendship to that world. I originally thought of it but after seeing what they're capable of and how...connected they all are, it won't happen. But...the Pokemon, at least the wild ones, might be a different story."
"I'm just saying...it would be nice to have a world where everyone doesn't hate us..."
"Hate us?" The Empress laughed. "Oh, don't mind those universes, my little niece. There are other worlds where we can still make friends. Nothing to worry about.
"Okay..." The youngest alicorn pouted.
"Now. On the topic of Pokemon. I already have one on my side. I haven't yet shown you." The Empress faced the Master Ball.
"You have your own Pokemon?" Rarity's eyes widened.
"That's certainly some new good news." Starlight nodded.
"It is." The Empress lifted the Master Ball with her magic. "In this Poke Ball, resides a Pokemon powerful enough to further guarantee a flawless win over not just the next Equestria, but other universes as well. A Legendary Pokemon."
"Legendary?!" They all gasped.
"Mhm. I would stand back if I were you." Empress Twilight warned as all of her allies backed away. She then looked up, knowing that the Pokemon inside would be too big to fit in here. If it was sent out, the ceiling would break without a doubt. But, the Empress wasn't too worried. She could always just rebuild it.
So, once everypony cleared the way, she sent out the Pokemon residing in the Master Ball. It was none other than the Deep Black Pokemon, a member of the Tao Trio and the Pokemon of Ideals.
Zekrom.
The Deep Black Pokemon emerged and immediately crushed the ceiling above while also letting out a thunderous roar with its emitting electricity.
The entire castle had been eclipsed by its shadow as everypony inside could see Zekrom from outside. This was the first time it was being released in the castle. The Deep Black Pokemon spread its wings out as its tail was spinning.
The alicorns all looked up in absolute shock and fear of this Pokemon as their jaws dropped. The Empress wasn't bothered at all actually.
"This is Zekrom, ladies. The Deep Black Pokemon."
"A-A Dragon?!" Starlight gasped.
"Oh, most certainly. One of the most powerful Dragon-Type Pokemon there is, apparently. It used to be a part of the world's strongest Dragon Kyurem. The sheer power of Zekrom is unlike anything I have experienced."
"H-How so?" Daybreaker stuttered as she was getting nervous just looking at this thing.
"Well, there was one universe that put up heavy resistance against my control. So, in response, I had Zekrom destroy the entire planet."
"The entire planet?!" As if the allies couldn't be more surprised.
"Zekrom's lightning can scorch the Earth itself." The Empress stood in a bipedal position, raising her hooves. "When it comes to raw lightning power, no one is Zekrom's equal. And I have it under my possession. I do have to thank Team Plasma for giving me such a Pokemon."
"Y-You're going to use this Pokemon soon?" Flurry Heart stuttered.
"Oh, most certainly. After all, Zekrom follows my ideals. With its amazing power, any world can fall weak to our control. And if that world proves to be useless and shows restraint...then Zekrom's lightning is the perfect response to their planet."
"What horrifying power..." Daybreaker said to herself.
"Although...not sure I can say the same for this Equestria. Aside from the powerful Pokemon that reside there...if push comes to shove and I'm unable to control it, destroying it might be harder. Even for Zekrom's lightning. Due to the existence of Pokemon, that world has altered to fit the habitat of those creatures. Bigger, stronger and certainly more durable. But aside from that, everything else can still go according to plan." The Empress then returned Zekrom to its Poke Ball.
"You were keeping something that powerful at your disposal all this time?" Starlight asked.
"Yes. Don't worry. I convinced Team Plasma to give you your own." The Empress then used her magic to reveal some Ultra Balls hidden in her dress. "If you're going to go up against Pokemon, you'd best be prepared with your own. I hate to say it but I'm afraid Alicorn magic won't do against them."
"Hm." Daybreaker and the others received their Ultra Balls.
"Don't worry. Team Plasma has made it so that they follow your will. And a touch of magic is inside of it too. Bonding with them won't be an issue at all."
"Our own Pokemon?" Flurry Heart looked at the Ultra Ball.
"Now. We'll continue tomorrow. Right now, I still have a few more spells to master before the invasion. 6 of them. If I were any of you, I'd head home and see what your Pokemon are capable of. You still have those Pokedexes I lent you, right?"
"It won't be a problem." Nightmare Rarity bowed her head as she was the first to leave the room.
"Like I need one but...whatever." Daybreaker shrugged as she left next with Starlight following behind. The last to leave was Flurry Heart who was still the most nervous. And for good reason. The atmosphere isn't exactly the best at the moment. Both in a figurative sense and a literal sense in terms of space.
"I don't trust any of them..." Luster suddenly said with a concerning tone.
"I know you don't, Luster. It's always good to be on guard and cautious. After all, they have their own goals. Not sure about Flurry Heart though."
"I say we ditch them after all of this is over."
"Maybe. Maybe they'll all end up falling during the invasion probably. Well, maybe all except for Daybreaker. Even though we're from separate universes, she still sees me as a child and student. Ridiculous. Anyway. We only have 4 weeks until the invasion can begin. But, there's one last thing I may need to do, Luster."
"Yes?"
"I need you to do me a favour."
4 weeks remain. The invasion is closing in with both sides having their own preparations. There will be an inevitable struggle between protecting a world or conquering it as the journey continues.
The time had come for Rainbow Dash to try and earn her fifth gym badge from Soarin. A sort of rematch Gym Battle, following up from the Pokemon Festival.
She and her friends had shown up to Rainbow Falls, coming across the gym that had been built here. Like always, it was in the shape of a dome, much like all other Equestria Gyms.
And thankfully, since it had floors that don't require just pegasi to walk on them, anyone can view this Gym Battle. Those that couldn't fly like pegasi arrived outside of the gym via Flying-Type Pokemon. AKA, Dragonite, Salamence and even Togekiss, all having trainers riding on the backs of them.
Rainbow opened the doors to the Gym as she was immediately greeted with the interior. Being that this is a weather-based gym, the inside was decorated to fit the Pokemon who could utilize the weather. Despite it being dome-shaped, the upper part of the building was open along with every single window here. Moves like Rain Dance and Sunny Day had to pass through somehow after all.
Other than that, the floor was flat with no bumps. Nothing weather-related could really be benefited from the floor. It's all about the skies themselves that matter.
And waiting there was, of course, Soarin.
"Hm?" Soarin turned around, hearing the doors open as he was currently petting his Boltund. "Hey, Rainbow Dash! You made it!"
"Boltund!"
"Soarin! I'm here for my rematch! And that fifth Gym Badge!" Rainbow Dash declared.
"Made it on time too. I'm feeling great and not out of it right now." He flew over. "Check out this Gym. Pretty neat right?"
"It's..." Rarity saw the sun flare near her eyes. "Very vulnerable to the sky."
"Yeah. It was made that way for my Gym's theme. So. How's your team doing, Rainbow Dash?"
"Pretty great. We've picked up some new tricks and moves along the way. Especially this." Rainbow Dash adjusted her goggles that had the Mega Stone inside.
"Huh?" Soarin scrunched his eyes, getting a closer look at the goggles as he recognized the Mega Stone. "Wait! You have a Mega Pokemon with you now?!"
"Sure do." Rainbow Dash nodded with confidence. "I look awesome with these, don't I?"
"Yeah, pretty good-looking. Wish I had a Mega Pokemon. Everyone's got one these days..." Soarin sighed. "Oh, well. I got something just as good. Ready to get this Gym Battle started?"
"Ready when you are!"
With small talk out of the way, the Gym Battle between the two Wonderbolt Pegasi was about to commence with a unicorn referee standing between them.
"The Rainbow Falls Gym Battle between Soarin the Gym Leader and Rainbow Dash the challenger will now be underway. The battle will be a Double Battle. Each trainer will have the use of 6 Pokemon due to Rainbow Dash's own team for fairness. The battle will be over when either trainers' Pokemon are unable to continue. Furthermore, only the challenger will be allowed to substitute Pokemon. That's all."
"I'll choose my Pokemon first." Soarin took out two Poke Balls, throwing them. "Go! Torkoal! Excadrill!"
"Torkoal! Tor!"
"Excadrill!"
And once Torkoal came out, his ability Drought kicked in, intensifying the heat and power of the sun as it shined brighter than ever.
"Excadrill?!" Rainbow Dash wasn't expecting a new and different Pokemon from Soarin's team. "Guess he wouldn't keep the same Pokemon all the time. Okay!" Rainbow Dash went to choose her team next, taking out their Poke Balls. "Mienfoo! Luxray!"
"Mienfoo!"
"Luxray!"
"Battle Start!"
"Let's do this you two! Mienfoo! Force Palm on Excadrill! Luxray! Wild Charge on Torkoal!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo and Luxray were up first as they both advanced towards their opponents. Mienfoo's paws lit up while Luxray's body became surrounded in an aura of electricity, ready to bolt himself forward.
"Excadrill! Shadow Claw! And Torkoal, Iron Defense!"
"Exca!" Excadrill ran in front of his partner, surrounding his claws with a spectral aura. He as well rushed in, approaching Mienfoo while Torkoal stayed where he was, building up his already stellar defence.
"Foo!" Mienfoo's paws ended up colliding with Excadrill's claws, creating a short clash between the two of them.
"Luxray!" Luxray bolted from the ground, running at high speeds as he approached the still Torkoal who just stood there with a single expression. But, Torkoal had just raised his defence with a silver aura engulfing him.
"Tor."
"Ray!" Luxray smashed his head onto Torkoal's head, creating an explosion of electricity as the Coal Pokemon had been slightly knocked back by the collision. Not by much and he barely took any damage.
"K-Koal."
"Lux!" Luxray took some recoil damage from Wild Charge. Possibly more than Torkoal who barely looked phased.
"Mien!" Mienfoo and Excadrill entered close-quarters combat with the Martial Arts Pokemon trying to overwhelm the Subterrene Pokemon with her usual fast strikes. She began thrusting her palm at a faster pace now.
"Drill!" Excadrill however, was able to keep up with Mienfoo's fast strikes by swinging his claws at a rapid pace as well. However, Mienfoo would certainly surpass that due to her speed gradually increasing over time. Knowing this, Excadrill ended the clash by dodging Mienfoo's next palm strike and then swiping her, sending the Martial Arts Pokemon flying back.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo cried out from being hit by that super-effective move as she quickly recovered by sliding on the floor.
"Alright. I think I know what I can do next. Sorry, Luxray. But return for now." Rainbow Dash made an early callback by returning Luxray. She had assessed the entire situation and knew how to potentially approach this battle. But she kept Mienfoo in.
"Hm?" Soarin raised an eyebrow.
"Let's try this combination! You're up Castform!"
"Castform!" Castform flew out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag as it was his turn to take action. Once he came out, his radioactive cells reacted to the intense sunlight caused by Torkoal's Drought as the Weather Pokemon entered his Sunny Form. "Cast!"
"Get a load of this! Focus all of your attacks on Excadrill only! Force Palm and Weather Ball!"
"Only Excadrill?" Rarity was confused by this command. "Why?"
"My guess is that it might have something to do with Torkoal, but I'm not so sure what it is." Twilight shook her head.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo bolted forward while Castform summoned a ball of fire, conjured up by the weather itself as she shot it towards Excadrill only. All attacks were now focused on the Subterrene Pokemon.
"Just my Excadrill? Like I'd let that happen! Torkoal! Stone Edge on that Castform! Excadrill! Shadow Claw one more time!"
"Tor...Koal!" It was time for Torkoal to make a move next as he summoned multiple crystals around him, shooting them forward while Excadrill prepared to engage Mienfoo if she got close.
"Now shield Castform and hit the attack hard!" Rainbow Dash suddenly ordered.
"Mien! Mienfoo jumped up, heading straight for Weather Ball instead of Excadrill. Soarin and his Pokemon followed the direction where Mienfoo was headed, wondering what she was up to. "Foo!"
The Martial Arts Pokemon suddenly smashed Force Palm onto Weather Ball, adding her own power into it via arm strength. By adding extra force to Weather Ball and changing its direction with a swerve of her palm, Mienfoo launched it, causing the attack to actually speed up as it passed through Stone Edge. Not only that but because of Drought and the intense sun, Weather Ball's Fire properties were boosted.
But as a drawback, since she was in front of Castform, Mienfoo was the one who was hit by Stone Edge, shielding Castform from taking any damage. But thanks to her being a Fighting-Type, she could shrug it off.
"Oh!" Soarin gasped as the sped-up Weather Ball went straight for Excadrill. "Block it, Excadrill!"
"Exca!?" Excadrill put up his shadow-clad claws to try and block Weather Ball. Due to how fast it was moving, there was no way he was dodging it.
The ball of fire connected with Excadrill, causing an immediate blazing explosion of scarlet flames to occur. Unfortunately, Excadrill's block couldn't fully protect him from the powered-up Weather Ball as he went flying back, coming out of the explosion afterwards.
"Drill!"
"Ah! Excadrill!"
"Yes! Now! Reflect Type on Excadrill, go!"
"Cast!" Not wasting any time, it was soon revealed what Rainbow Dash's plan was and why she targeted just Excadrill. Castform's eyes shined blue as he locked onto the Subterrene Pokemon while he had hit the ground.
"Oh, that's her plan!" Twilight realized. "Excadrill and Torkoal are both weak to Ground. And if Castform copies Excadrill's type with his radioactive cells..."
"He'll let out a ton of Ground and Steel energy and hit them both while also becoming a Ground-Type himself. That way, none of Torkoal or Excadrill's moves will work on him. Nice thinking, Rainbow Dash." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Form!" Castform had copied Excadrill's Type as his body emitted a pulse of Ground and Steel energy that exuded out of him. The fissure travelled through the ground as it hit both Excadrill and Torkoal at the same time.
The Steel energy didn't do much to them both since they resist Steel, but Ground definitely did something as both of Soarin's Pokemon had taken super-effective hits, receiving a fairly heavy knockback.
And even after copying his typing, Castform remained in his Sunny Form, still having access to the flames of Weather Ball. It was a good thing that he was only limited to three different weather forms.
Mienfoo took damage as well, but she was able to resist it since she's neutral to Ground and strong against Steel. But it did sting that's for sure.
"Torkoal!" Torkoal's physical defence couldn't help him since the range was long-distance. Thus, he fell on his back with his shell balancing him.
"Nice hit! Rainbow Dash cheered. "Now! Weather Ball at Excadrill one more time!"
"Castform!" Castform then fired another Weather Ball, aiming at the currently befuddled Excadrill while Torkoal was still lying on his shell.
Excadrill! Dodge it, quick!"
"Drill?!" Excadrill was just getting up after that Reflect Type pulse. Like before, there was little time to evade. Excadrill looked up, witnessing a bright ball of fire heading for him as it was too late.
With yet another collision followed by an explosion of scarlet flames, Excadrill had been struck once more. But this time, there was no recovering as he flew out of the smoke. Once out of there, the Subterrene Pokemon tumbled on the floor as he had fainted.
"Excadrill..."
"Excadrill is unable to battle! That's one Pokemon down on Soarin's side!"
"Hahaha! Worked like a charm!" Rainbow Dash cackled with her victory over one of Soarin's Pokemon and so did her Pokemon. "Now it's just Torkoal we gotta take out."
"Return, Excadrill." Soarin nodded as he returned his Excadrill. "Thanks for the help. Pretty clever Rainbow. Never thought that Reflect Type would be so dangerous."
"My Castform's one of a kind. Our Reflect Type's gonna take your Pokemon's type and turn it against you."
"Castform!"
"Then let's see how you handle this." Soarin took out his next Poke Ball, throwing it. "Go, Eiscue!"
"Eiscue!"
"There's Eiscue." Rainbow Dash's face suddenly morphed into one of seriousness. She already knew how large of a threat Eiscue was. And it wasn't its strength. It was something far worse.
"You remember, Eiscue, right Rainbow?"
"Don't I? I haven't forgotten how dangerous that move Soak was. But I won't let it catch me off guard this time. I can work around it for sure."
"What's Soak?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"It's a move that turns an opponents type into Water," Ash explained.
"Turns their typing? I heard that Rainbow Dash had a problem dealing with something like that during the Pokemon Festival. It came from that Pokemon?" Twilight pointed her hoof at Eiscue.
"C-Can it breathe with that ice on its head?" Fluttershy noticed.
"Better be careful..." Rainbow started thinking to herself. "It's not just Soak I have to watch out for. If that Ice comes off its face, then Eiscue's gonna be faster than ever. I think I've got an idea..." A plan of hers had been hatched. One that's risky and could cost her the battle. "Return, Mienfoo."
She then suddenly returned her Mienfoo, swapping the Martial Arts Pokemon for someone else. But, she kept Casform in for one vital reason. Rainbow Dash was about to play some mind games. At least, her own way of performing mind games.
"Let's go for a second run, Luxray!" Out came Luxray a second time.
"Luxray!"
"Luxray, again?" Soarin narrowed his eyes. "Okay. Eiscue! Use Soak! And Torkoal! Iron Defence once more!"
"Eis...!" Eiscue summoned a ball of water in front of it, ready to unleash a stream of water from it while Torkoal was only increasing his defence further.
"Wait for it..." But, Rainbow Dash wasn't making any orders to counter. At least, not yet. She actually let Eiscue fire the stream of water as her Pokemon stood by.
The torrent of water ended up hitting both Castform and Luxray due to how widespread it was. Both Pokemon closed their eyes with the water getting all over them as their types had been altered. They were now Water-Types as Castform's cells reacted to the change, shifting him into his Rainy Form.
But Rainbow Dash wanted this.
"Now! We'll end this in one go! Freeze Dry, Eiscue!"
"Freeze Dry?! That's super-effective against Water-Types!" Twilight gasped. "Those two are very vulnerable to it now. Unless..."
"Eiscue..." Eiscue suddenly began surrounding the two opponents with a chilling mist of ice slowly appearing, ready to strike and deal super-effective damage.
"Heh." Rainbow Dash smirked as her plan was about to be fully realized. "Castform! Reflect Type on Torkoal!"
"Form!" Once more, Castform's eyes shined blue as he copied Torkoal's Fire-Typing. And here's where things were about to shift once more.
By copying Torkoal's Type, Castform not only shifted back into his Sunny Form, removing the Water-Typing from his body, but he unleashed a pulse of fire from his body that blew back the mist of Freeze Dry. The flames quickly travelled around the battlefield, immediately hitting Eiscue and Torkoal. It did little to Torkoal, but a lot to Eiscue as it was a Fire-Type. Luxray didn't feel anything due to the benefit of being changed into a Water-Type.
"Eiscue!" The Penguin Pokemon fell on its back.
"Now you're all mine! I still haven't forgotten about Torkoal's Earthquake from our last battle. Thanks to Soak, Luxray doesn't need to worry too much about that! Hook line and sinker!
"Woah...You really thought this through..." Soarin's eyes widened. "But I still won't let you win! Torkoal! Solar Beam!"
"Solar Beam?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Tor!" Even Soarin was prepared for tough situations like this. With Drought active thanks to Torkoal's ability, charging up Solar Beam, which usually takes a while to power up wouldn't be a bother at this point. Torkoal's shell started glowing as he was gathering the light of the sun itself.
"Not good! Luxray! Take them both out quick! Discharge! And Castform! Weather Ball on Eiscue!"
"Ray!"
"Form!"
"Eiscue! Protect!"
"Cue!" The Penguin Pokemon quickly put its arms out, summoning a protective barrier of energy around it while two different elements came towards it. Fire and Electric.
"Koal!" But, the attacks couldn't reach Eiscue in time because Torkoal's Solar Beam was ready. By opening his mouth, the Coal Pokemon unleashed a devastating green blast of solar energy that roared out.
The bundled beam of solar power was so strong that it engulfed the blazing Weather and Discharge, eliminating them like they were nothing but dust.
The two Pokemon gasped as their bodies had been hit by a fierce green beam, consuming them both with its intimidating size. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes as she witnessed her partners take the full blast of the attack. She feared for their status. Castform could be fine since he copied Torkoal's Fire-Type, but Luxray was now a Water-Type. And even then, Castform was a fragile Pokemon. A Glass Cannon to be exact.
Everyone leaned in to see the condition of the two Pokemon, hoping that they were alright. Once that smoke cleared, it was quickly revealed what had become of them both.
One of them actually withstood the attack.
Luxray was still standing. Even after being a Water-Type, he wasn't that easy to take down. Not at all. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Castform, who had been taken out.
"Castform..."
"Castform is unable to battle! Rainbow Dash has now lost one Pokemon on her side! Both trainers have 5 Pokemon remaining each."
"Lux?" Luxray looked over at his fainted partner, walking over to help him up via a pickup with his teeth. "Luxray?" He asked if he was alright."
"C-Cast..."
"Poor Castform. He didn't even get to try out his newest moves... Fluttershy shook her head, sighing. "Not that they would be effective anyway to most of them anyway."
"But, he did a good job helping Mienfoo take out Excadrill. And he wore Torkoal down too." Ash looked at the bright side.
"Pika."
"I'm surprised that Luxray withstood that Solar Beam with his type being changed. That sure felt like a super-effective move." Rarity was impressed. "If that's what Drought allows Torkoal to do...I fear for what the other weather effects have in store."
"Good job, Castform. Get some rest." Rainbow Dash removed her saddlebag as Luxray placed the Weather Pokemon inside, allowing him to rest.
"Luxray...!" Luxray growled as he turned around. He now wanted to get some revenge for Castform as electricity was flaring from his body and eyes.
"Calm down, Luxray. I need you to come back for now." Rainbow Dash called Luxray back. "I'll make sure you make it up to Castform, okay?"
"Whew..." Soarin sighed. "Wonderbolt training is easier than this..." He then looked up, staring at the sky and how the sun was lighting it all up. "Might have to change the weather soon."
"Alright." Rainbow Dash took out two Poke Balls., launching them. "I'll take out both of them in no time! Let's do this! Whirlipede! Mienfoo! You're up!"
"Whirlipede!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo roared as she was ready for a second go at this.
"Let's not hold anything back! Whirlipede! Rollout! Mienfoo! Acrobatics!"
"Whirl!"
"Mien!"
Both Pokemon got to work as Whirlipede rolled on the spot, building up speed while Mienfoo went ahead, with her body becoming outlined in white.
"Let's change the weather up! Hail! And Torkoal! Flamethrower!"
"Eiscue!" Eiscue raised its arms, ready to shift the weather.
"Pede!" But, Whirlipede wasn't going to let that happen. After building up some speed, the Curlipede Pokemon bolted forward, rolling straight towards the Penguin Pokemon and hoping to strike it on time.
But it was too late. Hail had already been activated as grey clouds filled the skies. With the blue skies gone and a light blue mist forming, small drops of hail started falling from above.
"Koal!" As for Torkoal, he unleashed an intense blast of fire towards Whirlipede.
"Pede!" But, Whirlipede wasn't going for Torkoal. By using his circular body, the Curlipede Pokemon drifted, avoiding Flamethrower in time with only tiny bits of flames scraping him.
"Cue?!" Eiscue gasped as Whirlipede smashed into the Penguin Pokemon with full force, creating a light shockwave in the process. "Eiscue!" Eiscue went flying from this hit as Whirlipede's Speed Boost kicked in, increasing his speed.
As for Mienfoo, she was actually the one heading for Torkoal as she used Acrobatics to swiftly evade Flamethrower via a smooth and impressive frontflip. She gained some great airtime by flipping in the air multiple times.
"Tor?!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo roared as she smashed her fist onto Torkoal's shell. She couldn't get past his amazing defence sadly as Torkoal only took little damage.
Torkoal...!" Torkoal winced as Mienfoo jumped back. The Coal Pokemon was still standing after all of this.
So far, Torkoal was the biggest threat here.
However, that may change as Eiscue rolled on the ground after that devastating hit from Rollout. After being hit by a super-effective attack yet again, the Penguin Pokemon couldn't take another hit. It had fainted.
"Eiscue..."
"Eiscue is unable to battle. Soarin has lost one Pokemon and now has 4 Pokemon remaining!"
"Not my Eiscue!"
"That takes care of our Soak Problem." Rainbow Dash smirked. "Now all that's left is that bulky Torkoal over there. All we need is one good far-distance attack and you're done for."
"Woohoo!" Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves. "This is pretty tense, but Rainbow Dash totally has this under control!"
"She worked to prepare herself for Soarin when she would up against him for a rematch." Rarity nodded. "Perhaps harder than I expected."
"Hm." Ash smiled. "But it isn't over yet."
"Thanks, Eiscue. Return." Soarin returned the fainted Penguin Pokemon. And because of Eiscue's defeat, the Hail had faded away. It didn't even have the chance to utilize its effects. "Well...I still have Torkoal. But maybe not for long."
"Stay in you two. I still need to take out that Torkoal."
"Whirlipede."
"Mienfoo."
"You're up next, pal. Go, Boltund!" Soarin sent out his next Pokemon.
"Boltund!"
"Get ready, Dash. My numbers may look worse but I've got an ace in the hoe through all of this."
"Hah. We'll see. I've got two aces in the holes right here!" Rainbow Dash smirked as her Pokemon were eying down Soarin's. Although, it was hard to see Torkoal's eyes since they're always closed.
This Gym Battle is only getting started as both pegasi are determined to come out on top. Only one of them will succeed in this as the journey continues.
Currently, Rainbow Dash's fifth Gym Battle against the Gym Leader Soarin was underway. And so far, both trainers seem to be on an equal level.
Rainbow Dash has lost one Pokemon, her Castform while Soarin has lost two Pokemon, his Eiscue and Excadrill. This Gym Battle is far from over at this point.
"First. I'll deal with that Torkoal over there." Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at Soarin's Torkoal.
"Tor?"
"You'll have to get past my Boltund first if you wish to do that. If you can outspeed him that is." Soarin smirked.
"Bolt!"
"Doh, he's right..." Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she growled. "Keeping up with Boltund's speed is gonna be tough. My only hope is that Whirlipede can gain enough speed to be faster than him." She then shifted her eyes on Torkoal, coming up with a plan. "I got something alright."
"Allow me to make the next move. Boltund! Psychic Fangs! And Torkoal! Iron Defence again!"
"Koal!" Torkoal increased his already stellar defence a third time. By this point, he was nigh-indestructible in terms of physical defence.
"Bol!" Boltund opened his mouth as Psychic energy flowed through his teeth. The Dog Pokemon then later ran forward, heading for Mienfoo.
"Iron Defense again?" Fluttershy said.
"Soarin knows that most of Rainbow Dash's Pokemon are great when it comes to physical attack. The only ones exempt from that are Altaria and Castform who are great with long distance. But Castform's down and two of Altaria's moves aren't very effective against Torkoal." Twilight observed. "Rainbow Dash is trying to get rid of that weakness as fast as she can."
"Watch this! Whirlipede! Venoshock on Torkoal! Mienfoo, Fury Swipes!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo stomped her feet as she unleashed her hidden claws which started glowing.
"Pede!" As for Whirlipede, he turned his focus towards Torkoal as an orb of poison formed in front of him.
"Block Venoshock from reaching Torkoal!"
"Tund!" Boltund, who was close to reaching Mienfoo, changed directions, throwing the Martial Arts Pokemon off guard as he went for another target that could prove to be a threat to his partner.
"Mien?"
"Don't let him! Go, Mienfoo!"
"Foo!" But, Mienfoo wouldn't let her eyes off her target. She also changed directions by running straight for the Dog Pokemon, trying to keep up with him.
"Whirl!" Out of the orb, a sharp blast of poison came flying out, heading straight for Torkoal.
"Boltund!" Boltund easily outpaced Mienfoo as he lunged into the air, using psychic energy of Psychic fangs to get in the way of Venoshock and bite into the poison itself. All that Psychic energy interacted with the poison, obliterating it.
"Whirl?!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo had just caught up to Boltund, going straight for Fury Swipes as she pulled her arms back. But Boltund hadn't forgotten about Mienfoo. After destroying Venoshock, he quickly turned around, opening his mouth with Psychic Fangs still active. His sharp teeth ended up connecting with Mienfoo's claws.
"Nice! Now! Use Stone Edge on Whirlipede!"
"Torkoal!" Torkoal then stomped its legs down on the floor, summoning sharp blue crystals that rapidly emerged like an erupting volcano. The crystals then raced over to Whirlipede, ready to deal some super-effective damage.
"Not good! Ignore Boltund and protect Whirlipede!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo nodded as she ran past Boltund, changing focus. However, Boltund wouldn't just let her go. The Dog Pokemon turned around, immediately biting his Psychic teeth onto Mienfoo's arm, holding her in place.
"Bolt!"
"M-Mienfoo?!" Mienfoo winced as not only was she being held in place but the Psychic energy from Psychic fangs just dealt super effective damage.
"Ah! Forget it! Just charge through with Rollout then!" Rainbow Dash decided to go for a riskier option since Mienfoo was a bit occupied right now.
"Whirlipede!" Thanks to his increase in speed thanks to Speed Boost and Rollout being powered up each time it's used, the Curlipede Pokemon left the spot he stood on, taking off like a rocket as he was heading straight for the rising crystals.
This was a major gamble since there's a good chance this could take Whirlipede out. But it was a gamble he was willing to take as he narrowed his eyes. The Curlipede Pokemon then smashed into the rising crystals as two Rock-Type moves had collided.
And instead of charging through it, both attacks cancelled each other out. However, Whirlipede did take some recoil from crashing into the crystals as he bounced back like a ball. He had definitely taken some damage from that while the crystals shattered, putting an end to Stone Edge.
"P-Pede!"
"That at least worked..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "But it should be fine now. Rollout's stronger than ever and Whilripede's faster too. So the next Stone Edge is toast."
"Foo!" Mienfoo then tossed Boltund off her, finally breaking the hold as there were bite marks on her hands.
"If I don't get rid of that Torkoal, things are gonna get rough. But Boltund's a problem too. I've got one option. Return, for now, Whirlipede." She decided to recall Whirlipede. And yet, Mienfoo stayed in. So far, Mienfoo is the one who has been battling longer than her teammates, even when being switched out earlier. It's that Fighting-Type spirit that allows her to keep going.
"Another return? Maybe I've got her on the ropes now." Soarin believed.
"That Torkoal's going down! And so is that Boltund!" Rainbow Dash sent out her next Pokemon to fight alongside Mienfoo. "Let's go Altaria!"
"Altaria!"
"Oh, Altaria?!" Soarin looked up. "That's no problem! Torkoal! Stone Edge on Altaria! And Boltund, use Psychic Fangs on Mienfoo."
"Stone edge this! Dragon Pulse at full strength! And Mienfoo! Stay there for a sec!"
"Alta!" With high energy, Altaria opened her mouth as she fired a dragon-shaped shockwave from her mouth while Mienfoo stood still, waiting for Boltund to strike.
"Torkoal!" Torkoal surrounded himself with stones as he shot them towards the Humming Pokemon while Boltund went straight for Mienfoo.
Dragon Pulse ended up colliding with Stone Edge, cancelling each other out as Boltund's Psychic Fangs bit onto Mienfoo's arms once more with a purple explosion of Psychic energy coming out, causing Mienfoo to take super-effective damage while also being launched back from the explosion.
"M-Mien!"
"Now, Reversal!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo's eyes glared as this is why Rainbow Dash wanted her to stay put. After taking all that damage, Mienfoo returned it Boltund by sliding on the floor and launching herself towards Boltund with her palm glowing orange.
"Bolt?"
"MIenfoo!" Mienfoo then smashed her glowing palm onto the Dog Pokemon's face, dealing all the damage that she had felt and making him feel it instead.
"B-Boltund!" After being given a strong hit to the face and taking all the damage that had been caused to Mienfoo the entire battle ever since the start, Boltund went flying like a rocket, going a far distance from Mienfoo's potent hit.
"Dragon Pulse one more time!"
"Altaria!" Altaria turned her focus to Torkoal, firing another dragon-shaped blast from her mouth.
"Counter with Flamethrower, quick!"
"Stop him with Acrobatics, Mienfoo!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo quickly snapped her eyes towards Torkoal as she did numerous flips towards the Coal Pokemon before he could fire Flamethrower.
"Tor...!" Torkoal opened his mouth as his shell was starting to spew out flames. The fire began emerging as Torkoal was ready to unleash the all-consuming blast of fire.
"Foo!" But before he could do that, Mienfoo with the speed of Acrobatics, smashed her paw into Torkoal's mouth, forcing the fire back in and preventing the Coal Pokemon from releasing it.
"Koal?!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo backflipped as she did her job. She was only there to stop the attack and allow Dragon Pulse to hit Torkoal. And an opportunity was indeed granted.
Thanks to Mienfoo's actions, Dragon Pulse struck Torkoal before he could counter back. An explosion of draconic energy formed, rumbling the gym a little bit.
"Oh, no! Torkoal!" Soarin gasped along with his Boltund.
"Bol!"
Once that smoke cleared with little dragon sparkles flying out, the nigh-invincible Torkoal had finally been taken down after so long.
"Torkoal..."
"Torkoal is unable to battle! That's another Pokemon down on Soarin's side! Soarin now has three Pokemon remaining."
"Finally!" Rainbow Dash cheered along with her Pokemon. "That takes care of that problem."
"Mienfoo!"
"Altaria!"
"Great! Now there's only three Pokemon left to deal with!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Great going, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie ferociously clapped her hooves as everyone cheered for their friend. But it wasn't over yet. There was still more to expect from Soarin.
"Return, Torkoal," Soarin called his Torkoal back. "Thanks for holding out till the end."
"So, Soarin. What now, big guy? I've just taken out your tank!"
"Hm." Soarin placed Torkoal's Poke Ball away before pulling out another one. "Yeah, you did. I'm really being backed into a corner right now. But it's cool. Boltund's got my back."
"Boltund!"
"Besides. I've got one Pokemon that can change it all up. Hope you've got some Grass moves with you."
"Hm?" Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes.
"Let's go! Seismitoad!" Soarin sent out his next fearsome Pokemon, the Vibration Pokemon Seismitoad.
"Seismitoad!"
"Seismitoad?!" Rainbow Dash then quickly realized what Seismitoad meant for this battle as she began thinking to herself. "Not good. Only Castform had a Grass move and that was Energy Ball. Other than that, this thing might be just as tough to take down like Torkoal. But it's fine...I'll find a way through this."
"Rain Dance, go."
"Seis!" Seismitoad began dancing around, changing the weather patterns and the skies themselves. Rainbow Dash stayed sharp as her eyes narrowed along with her Pokemon.
Rain began to fall, pouring down into the Gym which had its roof always open. The floor already became wet due to how heavy the rain was along with everybody's hair or fur.
"Heh. Get ready. This is where my Pokemon really shine."
"Hm?" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.
"Seismitoad! Ice Punch! Boltund! Thunder!"
"Bolt!" Thanks to Rain Dance, Thunder has been improved greatly. Electricity began sparking in the rain clouds, ready to smite Mienfoo while Seismitoad began running towards Altaria with impressive speeds.
"Mienfoo! Dodge! And Altaria, use Moonblast!"
"Alta...!" Altaria gathered energy from the moon itself as she then forms an orb of pink energy from her mouth. However, before she could fire it, out of nowhere, Seismitoad, a fairly slow Pokemon, not the fastest out there, moved at sudden high speeds that were unpredictable as he appeared in front of Altaria in seconds.
"Seis!"
"Alta?!"
"What the?!" Even Rainbow Dash was surprised by how fast Seismitoad had moved.
"Toad!" The Vibration Pokemon smashed his chilling hands onto the face of the humming Pokemon, dealing super-effective damage as Altaria had been launched by this up-close strike.
"Tari!"
As for Altaria, due to Rain Dance helping Thunder, when the bolt of lightning came soaring down, Altaria's attempt to dodge it had failed as she had been hit by Thunder faster than she could react. Unfortunately, her speed isn't quite on the level to keep up with a thunderstorm. At least not yet.
"Mien!"
"Altaria! Mienfoo!"
"How did that Seismitoad move so fast?!" Pinkie Pie screeched.
"It's Swift Swim." Ash noticed. "It's an ability that boosts a Pokemon's speed in the rain. And by a lot too. And that Thunder from Boltund's better than ever thanks to Rain Dance."
"He wasn't kidding when he said this is where they shined." Twilight gulped.
"Pika."
Rainbow Dash witnessed both her Pokemon tumble on the wet floor as they had both taken equally heavy damage from different elements. However, much to Rainbow's chagrin, only one of them could stand back up.
And that was Altaria, who immediately got back up after that devastating Ice Punch. But the same couldn't be said for Mienfoo who had fainted.
"M-Mienfoo..."
"Mienfoo is unable to battle! That's another Pokemon on Rainbow Dash's side down! Rainbow Dash now has four Pokemon remaining.
"Ugh..." Rainbow Dash lowered her head. "Sorry, Mienfoo." She then recalled the Martial Arts Pokemon. "You did your best and really helped out there. Now get some rest."
"How's that speed, Rainbow? My Seismitoad and Boltund together are a force to be reckoned with. They hit hard and move fast. In the rain that is."
"Tch. Yeah, yeah." Rainbow placed the Poke Ball back in her bag before taking another one out. "We're just getting started! Come out, Braviary!"
"Braviary!"
"This doesn't look good..." Twilight noticed a few cracks in this battle. "At this point, all of Rainbow Dash's Pokemon are vulnerable to both Seismitoad and Boltund. And I'm not sure about Soarin's last Pokemon."
"Can't believe it's so fast in the rain. But, Braviary's faster than Seismitoad even with Swift Swim, right?" Applejack said.
"Hopefully. Unless she uses Rainbow-Braviary or Mega Evolution, this might be a total loss." Twilight shuddered.
"We won't lose this. Not at all." Rainbow Dash looked up at her goggles and Altaria's necklace. "I can't risk any more of my Pokemon going down. Especially Altaria. It's time I really went all out."
"Oh?" Soarin noticed that Rainbow Dash was starting to interact with her goggles.
"Here goes!" She tapped on the ring as Mega Evolution had been activated. Golden lights flared out of her goggles blue lights came out of Altaria.
Both forms of light formed a DNA symbol as they began meshing together. The lights then shot into Altaria, surrounding the Humming Pokemon in a red aura. Altaria cried out as she could feel her power rising and her form alternating. Soarin stayed sharp on his hooves as he was expecting Mega Evolution eventually. Just not when he was down to three Pokemon only.
"Altaria!" Out of the red aura, Mega Altaria had emerged.
"Let's finish this quick you two. That fifth Gym Badge is within our sights!"
"Viary!"
"Taria!"
"I don't think so! Seismitoad, use Poison jab! Boltund! Thunder!"
"Seis!" Seismitoard covered his hands in poison while Boltund summoned another thunderstorm with the clouds sparking.
"Altaria! Hyper Voice! Show them that Fairy energy! And Braviary, use Steel Wing to absorb the electricity!"
"Taria!" Due to being a Dragon-Fairy when Mega Evolving, Altaria's ability is now Pixilate. Meaning that all Normal-Types move become Fairy moves. Altaria screamed, creating a pink wave of energy that blew towards Seismitoad while Braviary hardened his wings, preparing for Thunder.
"T-T-Toad!" Seismitoad had actually been pushed back by the force of Altaria's screaming, he couldn't get close. because of the soundwaves.
As for Braviary, the giant bolt of lightning came crashing down, heading straight for him. He closed his eyes as he allowed Thunder to smite him from above.
His hardened metal wings immediately connected, conducting all of that potent electricity onto him. Braviary did feel the powerful sting of Thunder as he winced. But now, he had electric wings with lightning surrounding them. A great combination.
"Now hit Boltund with it!"
"Braviary!" Braviary dived towards the Dog Pokemon with his Electrified Steel Wings, ready to strike. It was certainly not going to do any super-effective damage due to Boltund's typing, but it would leave a mark, that's for sure.
"Boltund, use Flame Charge!"
"Boltund!" Boltund ran forward, surrounding his body in flames afterwards as he lunged towards the approaching Valiant Pokemon. Both Pokemon clashed with Braviary's wings colliding against Boltund's head. Their clash was brief as they both managed to harm each other via double knockback.
"V-Viary!" Braviary went rolling through the air while Boltund slumped on the ground. His speed did increase thanks to Flame Charge, however.
As for Seismitoad, because of Altaria's Hyper Voice, he couldn't get close. So he was forced back as a distance had been created from both Pokemon.
"S-Seismitoad!"
"Let's swap! Seismitoad, go for Braviary and use Ice Punch! And Boltund, go for Altaria and use Play Rough!"
A swap of targets had been made. Both Pokemon still had moves that were effective on their opponents. Even after becoming a Dragon-Fairy-Type, Altaria was still vulnerable to Fairy, unfortunately.
Seismitoad moved swiftly in the rain by running at impressive speeds while Boltund outpaced him. Both Pokemon went in different directions, changing their targets as Boltund lunged towards the Humming Pokemon with incredible jumping strength.
"Yikes! Braviary! Counter with Superpower! Altaria, Hyper Voice again!"
"Braviary!" Braviary put his wings together, surrounding them with high amounts of power while Altaria opened her mouth, ready to blow Boltund away.
"Toad!" Seismitoad jumped lunged towards Braviary, using the rain as acceleration as he was closer to Braviary than expected. Braviary separated his wings as he swiped them towards the Vibration Pokemon.
The two of them didn't actually clash their attacks with each other. Instead, they hit each other in the face. Braviary's wings socked Seismitoad's face while Seismitoad's ice-covered hands hit Braviary's beak. Due to them both hitting each other with Braviary taking the worst out of it due to a super-effective hit, they launched each other back, hitting the ground hard as Braviary had been frozen.
"Oh, no, Braviary!" Rainbow Dash witnessed her partner in an icy prison as he hit the ground.
"Taria!" Altaria let out a powerful soundwave of Fairy energy that went straight for Boltund who was above her. Boltund had been pushed back by Hyper Voice as Altaria once again gained some distance from her opponents.
"You can't stay back forever! Thunder!"
"Tund!" Boltund recovered by sliding on the ground and summoning a blast of thunder from the clouds, going straight for Altaria.
"Dodge it!"
"Tari!" Altaria gasped as she rapidly flapped her wings, trying to avoid Thunder. However, not even Altaria could avoid the powered-up Thunder because of all the rain flowing around. She had been smitten by the bolt of lightning but thanks to her Dragon-Typing, she could resist it. But it certainly stung and left a mark.
The Humming Pokemon winced as she had been knocked out of the sky due to the sheer power of Thunder. Now, she was on a lower level. A level where anything below could get her.
"Now that Braviary's occupied in there! Focus all of your attention on Altaria! Poison Jab and Play Rough!"
"Blow them away, Altaria, quick! Use Hyper Voice!"
"Alta...!" Altaria attempted to send her targets flying with a soundwave, but she couldn't do it in time. Seismitoad Swift Swim and Boltund's speed wouldn't let her. Boltund was the first to hit her as he cloaked her with a thick, white smoke surrounded by stars while Seismitoad jumped in, thrusting his poison-clad hands forward.
"No, Altaria!"
"Tari!" Altaria had been hit in the chest by a poisonous hit while being rapidly attacked by Boltund on all sides, taking super-effective damage. Not only that but she had been poisoned by Poison Jab, only making this worse for her as Seismitoad kept using it repeatedly.
"Braviary! You gotta break out and help Altaria! Use Superpower or Steel Wing!"
"V-Vi...!" Braviary could hear Rainbow Dash's cry. Even if he were to be swapped out, the status condition wouldn't just go away. But, there was still a chance to break free as he had two options to do so. Steel Wing was out of the question due to his frozen wings, but Superpower might do the trick. The Valiant Pokemon was building up power in his body, trying his best to break the icy prison.
"Darn it...Altaria break free if you can! However which way you want!"
"A-Alta!" Altaria winced as the constant attacking from Boltund and Seismitoad seemed endless. Not wanting to fail Rainbow Dash, the Humming Pokemon took it upon herself to find a way out. When Boltund and Seismitoad went for another attack, Altaria used her wide wings to smack the Dog and Vibration Pokemon square in the face. They may be soft but when used right they can really smart.
"Seis?!"
"Tund?!" Boltund and Seismitoad had both been struck by Altaria's wings, flying out of the smoke as she had finally been freed from the onslaught.
"T-Tari...!" Altaria breathed in and out, obviously feeling overwhelmed from that combination of Poison Jab and Play Rough. It was surprising that she could still stand even after taking those super-effective moves.
However, thanks to Seismitoad, she had now been poisoned.
"B-Braviary!" Braviary was actually starting to slowly crack the ice with Superpower. Granted, it was taking time.
"Yeesh. No matter what, that Altaria won't let anyone get close to her. Oh, well! How apart super far away though! Seismitoad, use Hydro Pump and Boltund, use Thunder!"
"Bol...!"
"Seis...!"
Both Pokemon were ready to unleash their strongest attacks as the rumbling of thunder could be heard while a giant orb of water was made from Seismitoad's hands. At this point, even if she resisted both attacks, Altaria's current state along with the poison status will surely make her faint.
"B-B-Braviary!" Not wanting her friend to take any further damage, Braviary finally reached critical mass with Superpower as he shattered his icy prison with ice shards scattering everywhere. The Valiant Pokemon then flew as fast as he could, getting in front of Altaria and acting as her shield.
"Altaria?!"
"Tund!"
"Toad!" In unison, both attacks came flying out. A blast of lightning came from the sky while a high volume blast of water with great pressure flew forward. All were now aimed towards Braviary.
Braviary put his wings together, closing his eyes as he protected Altaria from any harm. The blast of lightning and water had hit him directly. At the same time, he had been engulfed and smitten by two different attacks as he kept his wings up while Altaria closed her eyes.
Afterwards, both attacks blew up. One of water and one of electricity. And it all happened right on Braviary and no one else. Altaria did feel a slight aftershock.
"Braviary!" Rainbow Dash cried out. She didn't expect Braviary to block the attack for Altaria. Even Soarin and his Pokemon were taken back by this.
"Tari?!"
The smoke was clearing after that fierce hit as everyone leaned in to see the condition of Braviary. After being hit by such potent attacks, even one that was super-effective, it looked like that was it for Braviary.
But it wasn't.
Lo and behold, once the smoke vanished, Braviary was still standing with his wings up. He had not only blocked Hydro Pump and Thunder, but he also powered through it as he breathed in and out. However, as a drawback, he had been paralyzed.
"B-Braviary...!"
"No way!" Soarin's jaw dropped.
"How did he withstand that?!" Rarity and Applejack both exclaimed.
"I don't have an answer for that..." Twilight shook her head.
"Braviary...You're so awesome!" Rainbow Dash fangirled over Braviary's impressive defence of his friend.
"Viary." Braviary turned around, showing off a smirk.
"Alta?" Altaria looked up at Braviary, stunned at his protection of her.
"Thanks, Braviary. But maybe you should take a break for now." Rainbow Dash chose to recall Braviary, saving him for another turn. "Altaria?"
"Alta." Altaria still believed she could continue as she chose to stay in. Besides, returning her wouldn't get rid of the poison or Mega Evolution until the battle was over.
"Okay." Rainbow Dash nodded as she sighed. She knew she had options left. One of which she was fearful of. Seismitoad was actually a major threat to two of her Pokemon. Luxray and Whirlipede. "Luxray can't do a thing to Seismitoad and Whilripede's an easy target. But, I need to count on them."
"Altaria." Altaria looked at her two opponents, still having the strength to continue. Even if it was weakening because of the poison.
"Maybe...I can freeze one of them with Ice Fang..." Rainbow Dash took out Luxray's Poke Ball, throwing it. "'Kay! Go Luxray!"
"Luxray!"
"Luxray! Time for you to get some revenge for Castform! And keep Altaria safe okay?"
"Ray!"
"How about we return the favour to you! Use Ice Fang! Altaria, Dragon Pulse!"
"Ray!" Luxray's eyes flared with his teeth becoming engulfed in a chilling aura. The Gleam Eyes Pokemon then bolted forward, heading straight for Seismitoad and Boltund both while Altaria ascended, preparing a full power Dragon Pulse.
"Seismitoad! Poison Jab! Boltund! Play Rough!" Soarin order as both his Pokemon advanced with Seismitoad running and Boltund lunging. Boltund actually jumped onto Seismitoad's back, getting some better airtime and height as he went for Altaria.
"Lux!" But, Luxray was determined to follow Rainbow Dash's command and protect Altaria. When getting close to Seismitoad, the Gleam Eyes Pokemon copied what Boltund had done as he jumped up, avoiding Seismitoad's arm swipe.
"Toad?" Seismitoad noticed that he had missed Poison Jab due to Luxray jumping over him. But not only did he jump over the Vibration Pokemon, but just like Boltund, Luxray used Seismitoad's large build as a means to get some better height. This time it was the head instead of the back.
"Ray!" By using Seismitoad's head, the Gleam Eyes Pokemon leapt, gaining great heights as he rocketed towards his fellow Electric-Type.
"Bol? Boltund turned around, noticing that Luxray was heading for him with Ice Fang ready. "Tund?!"
"Luxray!" With ferocity, Luxray bit onto Boltund's tail, landing an attack as Boltund's focus had been thrown off, causing him to miss Play Rough and Altaria by an inch.
"Bolt!" Boltund's eyes widened as he had been dragged down with Luxray. Not only that, but due to him sinking his teeth deep, Luxray's Ice Fang started freezing the Dog Pokemon starting with his tail.
Both Electric-Types hit the ground hard, taking damage together while Altaria finally released Dragon Pulse, sending it to Seismitoad who was by far the biggest threat here.
"Seismitoad?!" Semsmitoad gasped as he had been hit dead-on with a Dragon Pulse, knocking him back. Meanwhile, Boltund managed to shake Luxray off by kicking him with his paws but at the cost of his tail being frozen. If Luxray stayed on any further, soon, Boltund's legs would've been next.
"Boltund, Flame Charge!
"Bolt!" Boltund quickly ignited his body in a blazing aura as he charged towards Luxray.
"Wild Charge!"
"Lux!" Luxray did the same thing but with electricity instead. Both Electric-Types butted heads, growling at each other. They started going back and forth as they were moving at seemingly equal speeds but Boltund's was increasing over time.
Soon, they were moving so fast that the only thing that could be seen by everyone was a lightning bolt and a stream of fire hitting each other continuously. But the stream of fire was growing in speed while Luxray kept taking recoil damage.
"Hang in there, Luxray!"
"Lux!" Luxray roared as he and Boltund crashed their heads into each other one last time. This time, their clash had separated them as they had stopped moving around. Due to their back and forth movements, there were skid marks everywhere.
"From behind, Seismitoad! Ice Punch on Luxray!"
"Seis!" Seismitoad hadn't forgotten about Luxray as he approached the Gleam Eyes Pokemon from behind while he was facing Boltund.
"Iron Tail both ways and Dragon Pulse!"
"Ray!" Luxray snarled as he hardened his tail. First, he actually hit Boltund with Iron Tail instead of the approaching Seismitoad, knocking the Dog Pokemon away with not very effective damage. But, Boltund was now starting to wear down.
After hitting Boltund, the moment Seismitoad came close, Luxray swung his tail again, clashing with Ice Punch. Due to the Steel properties of Iron Tail, not only did Luxray's tail not freeze, but the ice from Ice Punch shattered.
"Toad?!"
"Luxray!" Luxray quickly gave Seismitoad a second Iron Tail by slapping him in the face before moving back. It was Altaria's tail. After that hard slap in the face, Altaria found an opening while Seismitoad was staggered.
"Alta!" Altaria quickly fired Dragon Pulse from her mouth as it raced towards the staggered Seismitoad. The Vibration Pokemon held his face as the last thing he saw was a giant dragon heading for him.
Before he could say anything, Dragon Pulse had struck, landing its mark while Boltund watched his partner take the full-brunt of Dragon Pulse.
And after that head-on Dragon Pulse, with the blue smoke clearing, Seismitoad flew out of the smoke, falling on his back. Finally, the biggest threat here had been taken out. And due to that, the rain had stopped.
Seismitoad had fainted.
"Seismitoad..."
"Seismitoad is unable to battle! That's another Pokemon from Soarin's side down! Soarin now has two Pokemon remaining.
"Yes! Just a bit more!" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings with excitement as Luxray and Altaria smiled.
"Great! This is stressful to watch but so exciting too!" Rarity clapped her hooves. "I think my heart skipped a few beats..."
"Same here..." Fluttershy nodded.
"Boltund looks weak now too!" Twilight observed. "And Rainbow Dash still has more Pokemon active!"
"But Soarin's Corviknight's no joke," Ash replied. Throughout his years of battling, he knew that the final Pokemon is always the one that can give out the most trouble. "Good luck, Rainbow."
"Pikachu."
"Alta-Altaria..." Altaria was still suffering from the poison effect. But she was hanging in there. However, it may not be for long.
"Thank you. Return, Seismitoad." Soarin called his Seismitoad back, before getting out his final Poke Ball. "I'll make sure we win this. You're my ace in the hole, Corviknight."
"Hang in there, Altaria. Luxray's got your back. So do Braviary and Whirlipede."
"Luxray."
"Taria!"
"Ths is it! Go, Corviknight!" Out came Soarin's strongest Pokemon. Corviknight.
"Corviknight!"
It was now coming down to the wire. Soarin only had two Pokemon remaining. One in good condition while the other has already suffered damage. However, each of Rainbow Dash's own Pokemon have suffered damage themselves and are on the verge of fainting. Soarin is one Gym Leader that was more than hard to overcome.
But, Rainbow Dash's determination to achieve that badge wouldn't let her give up as the journey continues.
The final moments of this Gym Battle were drawing near. Rainbow Dash was down to four Pokemon while Soarin only had two left. But, even with the slight number advantage, Rainbow Dash knew that it was only going to get rougher from here on.
Her remaining Pokemon were Whirlipede, Luxray, Altaria and Braviary while Soarin only had his Boltund and Corviknight out. But his remaining two Pokemon were forces to be reckoned with, especially his Corviknight which is Soarin's strongest Pokemon by a mile.
"Just you two left..." Rainbow Dash growled as she had a nervous smile along with Luxray and Altaria.
"All she has to do is beat them both and she wins..." Pinkie Pie gulped. "But I'm feeling more nervous than right now."
"The last Pokemon's always the toughest to get past," Ash replied.
"All of Rainbow Dash's Pokemon have suffered so much damage. Soarin's down to two but his Corviknight's still healthy." Twilight said. "As long as Luxray stays in with his Electric moves, then Rainbow Dash should be fine but..."
"Can't risk having Altaria go down. Discharge will hurt her too...Okay, I know what I can do. Let's finish this! Luxray, use Wild Charge! And Altaria, Ice Beam!"
"Corviknight! Ascend with Sky Attack and Boltund, block Luxray with Flame Charge!"
"Lux...ray!" Luxray shrouded himself in electricity as he ran forward towards Corviknight while Altaria held her breath in with ice forming.
"Cor!" Corviknight cawed as he flapped his metal wings, His body became surrounded by a gradually intensifying light blue aura. Once the aura flared up, Corviknight charged towards Altaria, reaching top speed with a blue trail following.
"Boltund!" Boltund repeatedly stomps on the ground until a cloud of dust covered his entire body. His body then became surrounded by an orb of red and yellow flames as he blocked Luxray from reaching Corviknight.
"Ray?!"
The two Electric-Types butted heads with their moves as they were now entering a power struggle, trying to push through with their attacks as their legs were rapidly moving. A typical game of cat and dog.
As for Altaria, she finished gathering up power as she fired a rapid beam of ice towards Corviknight. Altaria didn't exactly have any moves that could do much damage to Corviknight as from Ice Beam which was neutral. But she had to do her best.
"Knight!" Corviknight used the speed of Sky Attack to avoid Ice Beam by flying to the side. With Ice Beam avoided, the Raven Pokemon then rushed towards a vulnerable Altaria.
"Tari?!"
"Luxray! Change directions quick!"
"Luxray!" Luxray dashed back as he snapped his head towards Altaria's direction, noticing that Corviknight was about to strike. He couldn't let that happen as he changed the direction of Wild Charge, heading straight for the Flying-Steel-Type.
"Stop him!"
"Tund!" Boltund wouldn't let Luxray escape as the increased speed of Flame Charge benefited him. He also turned around as he bit his teeth onto Luxray's tail, returning the favour for what happened with Ice Fang earlier.
"Lux?!" Luxray gasped as he had been stopped in place. Due to this, he was too late to save Altaria as Corviknight slammed into the Humming Pokemon, forcing her to the ground with great force.
"No, Altaria!" Rainbow Dash cried out as a large smoke cloud formed from the impact. And out of the cloud, Corviknight emerged, flying out of it.
But, the same couldn't be said for Altaria. After taking so much damage during the battle and even being poisoned in the process while taking a powerful attack like Sky Attack, the Humming Pokemon could only take so much punishment.
Once that smoke cleared, Altaria's Mega Form faded away as she reverted to her base form. She had fainted.
"Altaria..."
"Altara is unable to battle! Rainbow Dash has lost another Pokemon! She now has three Pokemon remaining!"
"Ray!" Luxray exclaimed as he shook Boltund off by kicking him away.
"Bolt!"
"Luxray!" Luxray ran over to the fainted Altaria.
"T-Taria..." Altaria winced, looking over at her teammate.
"Lux." Luxray apologized for being unable to reach Altaria in time when Sky Attack was about to hit. He had now another Pokemon to avenge.
"Thanks for the help, Altaria." Rainbow Dash nodded as she recalled her Altaria. "Get some rest."
"Luxray!" Luxray turned to face his opponents, growling at them.
"I won't let anyone else faint! We're ending this now!" Rainbow Dash took off her goggles that had the Mega Stone on, placing them down. Much like how Ash turns his hat to take things to the next level, this was somewhat similar to that as Rainbow Dash held her next Poke Ball out. "I know you've still got a lot in you! Go, Braviary!"
"Braviary!"
"I was waiting for Braviary," said Soarin. "And I'm guessing you're gonna use that little transformation of his."
"Brav?" The Valiant Pokemon turned to face Rainbow Dash. The two of them looked at each other while Rainbow nodded. Her nod was essentially telling Braviary that it was time for them to use it. "Viary?"
"I'm sure," Rainbow replied. "Let's use Rainbow-Braviary. Trust me okay?"
"Braviary..." Braviary himself was a bit nervous about this. He knew about the risk of the Bond Phenomenon. Not only that, but Rainbow Dash had just recovered from using Mega Evolution with energy swelling within her and Altaria. Pushing herself while using Rainbow-Braviary would be most likely fatal.
But, Rainbow Dash was also aware of the risk and knew not to push herself. And her face said that as Braviary could tell. Knowing that his trainer can be very stubborn and always makes up her mind without being convinced, the Valiant Pokemon nodded in understanding as he accepted Rainbow-Braviary.
"Okay!" Rainbow Dash grinned. "Let's do this!"
"Oh?" Soarin's eyes widened as everyone leaned in.
"Here goes!" Rainbow Dash declared as she let out a roar along with Braviary as both of their bodies were hit by a pillar of rainbows that descended from the clouds. The rainbow even lit up the sky itself.
"Braviary!" Braviary bellowed as he had emerged with a powerful burst of rainbow energy emerging out of him. His Rainbow-Braviary form had arrived but there were some noticeable changes from before. His hair seemed to be longer now but that was about it.
"She's actually using it?!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "But won't it really hurt more than ever this time!"
"Probably. But Rainbow Dash and Braviary are trusting each other to make it through without pushing themselves too hard now." Ash observed. "Let's see how this goes."
"Pikachu!"
"Let's finish this! Braviary! Superpower! Luxray! Iron Tail!"
"Viary!" Braviary spread his wings out as a rainbow aura formed around them and his talons as well. The Valiant Pokemon then flew at high speeds, approaching Corviknight while Luxray ran at Boltund with his tail hardening.
"Corviknight, use Sky Attack and Boltund, Flame Charge again!"
"Corviknight!" Corviknight ascended into the air while Braviary followed him. The Raven Pokemon then consumed himself in a light blue aura before diving towards Braviary at top speed.
As for Luxray, he began swinging his tail wildly at a flame-cloaked Boltund, clashing his Iron Tail with the Dog Pokemon's head. And every time Boltund rushed in, his speed kept increasing, which Rainbow Dash knew would be a problem.
"Viary!" Braviary smashed his powered-up wings with Corviknight's aura, creating a clash and fissure between the two of them. Braviary's increased strength in Rainbow-Braviary with Superpower managed to actually push Corviknight back, sending the Raven Pokemon back.
"Knight!" Corviknight cried out as he flew through some clouds.
"Use Revenge from afar!"
"Cor!" Corviknight quickly recovered in the air as his body became surrounded by an orange aura. He then unleashed a burst of orange energy that blew the clouds away as it hit Braviary from afar, knocking him downwards.
"Brav!"
"Ugh!" And of course, Rainbow Dash felt his damage as well since she was synced with Braviary. "Grr...! Steel Wing, non-stop!"
"Use Steel Wing as well!"
Both Flying-Types approached each other with their wings hardening. Rainbow Dash also spread her wings out to better help Braviary. The two Pokemon smashed their wings against each other, shaking the gym while Luxray and Boltund reached an impasse.
"Boltund! Focus Thunder onto Braviary!"
"Tund!" Boltund quickly changed targets as he summoned a bolt of lightning from the clouds with thunder rumbling.
"Ah!" Rainbow Dash gasped while looking up at the rumbling clouds. "Luxray! Jump into it!"
"What?! Why?!" Rarity screeched.
"Ray!" Luxray quickly switched his focus as he left Boltund, heading for something else. Braviary quickly flew down, heading towards Luxray's direction.
"What are they up to?" Soarin squinted his eyes.
"Bolt!" Boltund then shot the bolt of lightning straight towards Braviary and no one else. However, Braviary and Rainbow Dash combined their speed as they evaded the bolt of thunder by swiftly moving to the side.
"Now, Iron Tail!"
"L-Lux!" Luxray groaned as he took the attack head-on while turning his tail into pure metal.
"Bolt?"
"Cor?"
"L-Lux...!" Luxray winced with the bolt of lightning aggressively beating on him. But this is what Rainbow Dash was planning. Due to Iron Tail's metal properties, he was actually conducting the electricity, adding it onto his tail.
"So that's what they were planning! Boltund! Stop him with Play Rough!"
"Boltund!" Knowing what their plan was, Boltund quickly ran over, ready to put an end to Luxray's shenanigans as he lunged at his fellow Electric-Type.
"Send it back!"
"Ray!" Luxray then roared, flashing his eyes at Boltund before swinging his tail violently with every remaining strength he had. Both Pokemon connected their attacks with Boltund's fairy-covered paw clashing with Luxray's tail.
Afterwards, a yellow and pink explosion happened on the spot when they both collided. A result of two all-out attacks going against each other.
Everyone closed their eyes due to the brightness of the explosion as even Braviary and Corviknight were blown back by this tremendous force.
Afterwards, once the explosion settled, the two Electric-Types flew out of the smoke, no longer in their attack stances. But that was for a good reason. After colliding with such force and power and how they took so much damage throughout the entire battle, it was only inevitable.
Luxray and Boltund had fainted.
"Luxray..."
"Boltund..."
"Both Luxray and Boltund are unable to battle! That's a double K.O on both sides! Rainbow Dash now has two Pokemon remaining while Soarin has one Pokemon remaining."
"Oh geez..." Pinkie Pie slumped over. "Was that part of the plan to take Boltund out with him?"
"Not sure." Fluttershy shook her head. "But it seemed to work if that was the case."
"Rainbow Dash still has this!" Applejack grinned.
"But, Luxray was the only Pokemon in her team that could deal super-effective damage against Corviknight," Twilight said. "Whirlipede and Braviary are the last ones now."
"Big thanks, Luxray. You were awesome throughout it all." Rainbow Dash called back her Luxray while Soarin did the same to Boltund."
"Thanks, Boltund. It's all up to you now, Corviknight."
"Cor."
"Okay." Rainbow Dash looked at her final Poke Ball, knowing that Whirlipede and Braviary were all she had now. Whirlipede had already taken a lot of damage and was very vulnerable to Corviknight, especially with that intimidating Sky Attack. But it was all or nothing now. "Whirlipede, go!"
"Whirlipede!"
The battle had now become a 2 on 1. But, even with that number difference, Corviknight was still a problem. There's a reason why Steel-Types are the most defensive of all Types.
"This might get a bit ugly for me actually..." Soarin winced. "This is probably a good time to use it..."
"Use what?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"This." Soarin suddenly dug into his mane as he pulled out the unexpected.
A Z-Ring with a Z-Crystal.
"A Z Ring?!" Rainbow Dash screeched as everyone gasped.
"Hehe! I may not have Mega Evolution like the others, but I've got something just as good and as strong. Took a lot of effort to get this crystal, and it's paid off ever since. Right, Corviknight."
"Knight."
"This doesn't look good..." Rainbow Dash gulped.
"But I'm not gonna waste it on one Pokemon. I'll take your Whirlipede out first! Corviknight! Sky Attack on Whirlipede!"
"Viknight!" Corviknight cawed as he ascended into the air, engulfing himself in the usual blue aura before diving down at top speed.
"Braviary! Let's protect Whirlipede! Use Superpower, repeatedly! And Whirlipede! Iron Defense!" Rainbow Dash thrust her hoof into the air.
"Viary!" Braviary nodded as he now had a mission to both protect Whirlipede and defeat Corviknight. The Valiant Pokemon rocketed into the air with a rainbow-aura filling his wings and talons.
Rainbow Dash began swinging her hooves as Braviary's wings matched her movements. Afterwards, both Pokemon began entering an endeavour with Rainbow-Braviary's wings clashing with Corviknight's blue aura.
The two of them started flying around, with Corviknight trying to reach Whirlipede but Braviary kept getting in his way as he could easily keep up with the Raven Pokemon. At the same time, Whirliepde was increasing his defence to hopefully withstand Sky Attack if it hits.
The two Flying-Types reached speeds so great that they were starting to become blurs. A dark blue trail and rainbow trail could be seen flying about in the sky, hitting and bumping into each other with sparks flying out.
"Aha!" Rainbow Dash found an opening on Corviknight as she smashed both her hooves down.
"Viary!" Braviary did the same by going above Corviknight and smashing his talons onto the back of the Flying-Steel-Type.
"Cor!" Corviknight cried out as he was launched down.
"Revenge!"
"Knight!" Corvikinight quickly retaliated by flying back up with his body being surrounded in a fiery aura. The Raven Pokemon then crashed into Braviary's stomach, knocking him further into the sky.
"Brav!"
"Ow!" Rainbow Dash cried out after feeling her own stomach being affected. "Not yet! Brave Bird!"
"Vi!" Braviary spun around in the air as his whole body was covered in a rainbow aura before dashing down.
"Sky Attack!"
"Cor!" Corviknight used his own powerful Flying-Type move as the two of them began going back and forth again while Whirlipede kept growing his defence.
The two of them butted heads, reaching a standstill as they were trying to break through with their moves. But none of them looked like they could manage to overpower one another. Because of this, they equalled out, knocking each other back with great force.
"Bravi!"
"Corvi!"
The two Flying-Types fell to the ground as Rainbow Dash held her face and muzzle. Her body was taking a lot of damage but she made sure not to push herself any further. It hurt, even more, when Braviary fell.
Neither of them had fainted. Not yet at least. And Whirlipede looked like he was at his highest defence yet.
"Are you doing okay, Braviary?"
"Bravi." Braviary stood back up, rustling his feathers. Corviknight also got back up, spreading his hard metal wings.
"C-Corvi."
"Looks like I won't be getting to Whirlipede at this rate," Soarin said. "Unless...I take out Braviary first. Yeah. I think it's time." Soarin put the Z-Ring on as Rainbow Dash was put on high alert.
"Brav?"
"Whirl?"
"Get ready for this, Rainbow Dash. I spent a lot of time trying to work on this pose since it's not originally meant for ponies." Soarin stood in a bipedal position as the crystal started glowing. It looked to be the Flyinium Z.
"Uh..." Rainbow Dash had a really bad feeling about this.
"Alright!" Soarin put his hooves out, ready to strike some poses. "Get ready, Corviknight!"
"Corvi!
"I can really feel the purity of the wind in me and Corviknight!" Soarin said as his mane started flaring up, responding to the energy coming from the Z-Crystal.
"Cor...!" Corviknight struck a series of synchronized poses with his Trainer, building up Z-Power. He then generated a blue aura around himself before flying high into the air, blowing the clouds away while causing a sonic boom.
"Feel the power of the sky itself! Corviknight! SUPERSONIC SKYSTRIKE!"
"CORVIKNIGHT!" Corviknight then dive-bombed towards Braviary at speeds too tough to comprehend while he made shockwaves and constant sonic booms along the way.
"Not good! Braviary! U-"
"Whirli!" All of a sudden, Whirlipede cut Rainbow Dash off as he rushed in, using Rollout to pass Braviary.
"B-Braviary?" Braviary's eyes turned, facing Whirlipede as he noticed his partner rushing towards the attack instead of staying back.
"Whirlipede..?" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Whirl!" Whirlipede was going to defend Braviary from taking any damage as he was willing to be hit by the Z-Move.
"Whirlipede, don't!"
"CORVI!"
"Pede!"
Whirlipede closed his eyes as Corviknight smashed into him at full force. The resulting impact caused the floor itself to shatter with Rainbow Dash and Braviary being launched back by the incredible force.
Corviknight then swooped into the air after landing his attack as blue feathers formed from the shattering hit, gently falling on the half-destroyed floor. The Z-Crystal had lost its saturation due to all the energy being spent. But it wasn't wasted, that's for sure.
Because once the dust settled, Whirlipede had made his sacrifice as he had fainted. Not even Iron Defence could protect him from something like that.
"W-Whirlipede..."
"Whirlipede is unable to battle! Rainbow Dash has lost another Pokemon! Now both sides only have one Pokemon left!"
"Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash flew over. "You took the attack for Braviary?"
"Viary?"
"Pede." The Curlipede Pokemon nodded. In his eyes, it was worth it. As long as Corviknight didn't take Braviary out.
"Thanks, buddy." Rainbow Dash gave the Bug-Poison-Type a comforting pat before returning him to his Poke Ball. "You did your best. Return."
"Braviary."
"I...I didn't see that coming." Soarin was stunned. "I was hoping I could defeat Braviary and deal with Whirlipede later."
"Too bad. That didn't happen." Rainbow replied. "Now, I've got more motivation to beat you. I'll end this in just two moves flat!"
"Bravi!"
"I don't plan on losing either, Rainbow Dash." Soarin took off his Z-Ring. "I'm also heading for the Equestria League myself, remember?"
"Braviary, let's finish this! Brave Bird, go!"
"Braviary!" Braviary and Rainbow Dash both spread their wings out as the Valiant Pokemon flew into the skies.
"Corviknight! Sky Attack!"
"Corviknight!" And so did Corviknight. Both Flying-Types were now high up in the air in a few seconds as everyone looked up.
The two of them broke through the clouds as they kept flying up with their auras intensifying. They were moving so fast and flying so high that at this point, they might break through the atmosphere. But they had their limits.
Afterwards, Braviary and Corviknight, flew into each other, smashing their heads together before separating due to the knockback. But, they kept crashing into each other repeatedly, blowing more the clouds away and scaring nearby Flying-Type Pokemon as well.
The pegasi living in Cloudsdale and patrolling the skies could most certainly feel this as they saw a rainbow and a blue aura flying in the air, going at it.
"Vi!"
"Cor!"
They both separated again before zigzagging across the skies, bumping into each other and trying to get the advantage in this scuffle. Rainbow Dash held her face during all of this.
Eventually, their sky clash was about to reach its end as they hit each other in the face with their wings, rolling through the air and almost hitting a pegasus's home nearby.
"Oh!" The pegasus gasped as her home was almost destroyed.
"This is it! Superpower!"
"Revenge!"
Bravi!"
"Corvi!"
One last strike and one final attack. The two Flying-Types flew in once more for the last time, cawing at each other as they lit the sky up while blocking the sun.
Once they got close, only one of them actually managed to land their attacks.
And that was Braviary, who had mimicked Rainbow Dash's hoof and wing movements as he smashed his wing onto Corviknight's head, dealing heavy damage as a rainbow pulse came out from the impact.
"Viary!"
"C-C-Corvi?!" Corviknight's beak opened up as he was forced back to the lower levels and out of the sky. He flew down so fast and hard that he was a slight blur.
"Corviknight, no!" Soarin gasped as he pulled his mane, witnessing his partner being smashed into the floor like a meteor crashing from the sky. Braviary breathed in and out along with Rainbow Dash as their transformation had worn out. The Valiant Pokemon reverted into his base form.
"Hah..." Rainbow Dash sat down as she was exhausted. "That's it for me..."
And what a perfect time to deform and rest. Because after a hit that strong from a powered-up Braviary and Superpower, the result had been decided.
Corviknight had fainted.
"Corviknight..."
"Corviknight is unable to battle! Braviary wins! Thus, the victor of this battle is Rainbow Dash!"
"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash flew up with victory as she quickly went back down, feeling her muscles straining because of the Bond Phenomenon. "Ow-ow!"
"Braviary!"
"Yeah!" Her friends stood up, cheering for their friends' victory after such a hard and rigorous battle.
"Braviary! We did it!" Rainbow Dash hugged her partner who also felt his muscles straining.
"V-Vi!"
"Oh, sorry!" Rainbow squeed as she let go.
"Oh, well..." Soarin shrugged as he went over to Corviknight. Great work, Corviknight."
"Corvi."
"I think we've gotten a pretty good handle of this whole Rainbow-Braviary thing, huh?" Rainbow Dash asked Braviary.
"Viary."
"Well, Dash." Soarin went over with Corviknight, holding the badge. "You did it. But uh...did you have to hit Corviknight so hard?"
"Ah, don't worry about it." Rainbow Dash flailed her hoof.
"Anyway. You've totally earned this badge." Soarin showed his fellow pegasus her well-earned fifth Gym Badge. "The Climate Badge is all yours."
"Awesome!" Rainbow's eyes lit up with stars showing inside of them as she took the badge. "Haha! It took a while, but I got it! The fifth Gym Badge is mine!"
"Braviary!"
"But you know I'm still gonna catch up to you, right?" Soarin spoke. "I'm planning on winning that league and becoming champion myself."
"Yeah, right." Rainbow Dash nudged Soarin. "We'll see, big guy. But right now...I need some downtime. All this Pokemon battling takes a lot of you..."
"Vi."
A hard-fought battle had come to an end. By far, Rainbow Dash's most fearsome and aggressive one yet. But she had overcome due to the amazing teamwork of her Pokemon. The sixth Gym Battle will be next and she'll definitely prepare herself for it as the journey continues.
A town lined with mysterious stones and encircled by strange ruins of old. It is a rural town located in the western part of the Kalos Region and is well known for its unusual rock structures which are rumoured to have mysterious powers.
Of course, those stones are the Mega Stones. Brimming with Infinity Energy and limitless power.
Here at Geosenge, a small lab with only 4 scientists could be found here. In this lab, these scientists studied the stones to see which other Pokemon could be capable of Mega Evolution. They believed that there was a way to make every single Pokemon Mega Evolve, but they were trying to figure out what causes it.
"See?" A scientist raised a fragment of the stone up. Right now, he had a Larvitar next to him since it evolves into Tyranitar which is also capable of Mega Evolution.
"Larvitar?"
"Even their pre-evolved forms have some sort of reaction to it." The stone started to flash when near Larvitar.
"But it won't react to this Lillipup?" The other scientist put a stone near a Lillipup.
"Lillipup."
"Any solutions?" The first scientist asked the second scientist but she shook her head.
"Maybe we just have to trigger it the same way the Mega Stones were triggered in the past." The third one suggested. "The Ultimate Weapon is what caused all of this to be possible after all."
"Are you saying we should try and match the power of the Ultimate Weapon? How?" The fourth one asked.
"Uh...I don't know how." The third scientists sighed. "Maybe pouring a ton of power into it could work. Let's catch as many Pokemon as we can and-"
Before the third scientist could finish his sentence and what they were going to do to make this entire Mega Evolution for every Pokemon plan work, suddenly, the walls had been blown open by a blast of golden magic that was so great it blew everyone in the lab back.
"Ough!" They all screamed after being launched.
A magic blast that powerful must've either come from a highly trained unicorn or a Fairy-Type. Or maybe even an alicorn. Thankfully, it wasn't an alicorn. But it was still a bad sign. Because through the smoke, a unicorn emerged. Not just any unicorn though.
Luster Dawn. The apprentice and best student of Empress Twilight Sparkle.
"Morning~" Luster Dawn whistled. "Sorry for the intrusion, but I'm here for a certain little rock you all have cooped up in here."
"Ow...W-Who...?" The first scientist held his head, looking over at Luster.
"Where is it? Aha." Luster Dawn noticed the many stones that had mega energy inside of them. "More than one, eh? That's good enough for me."
"Larvitar!"
"Lillipup!"
Obviously, with how Luster Dawn broke in, the Pokemon here didn't take too kindly to it. Larvitar and Lillipup recovered quicker than the scientists as they growled and snarled at the unicorn.
"Hm?" Luster raised an eyebrow, looking over at the two Pokemon. "Aww, aren't you two absolute cuties?" She teased them before using her magic to take the stones away from the table.
"Hey! Our stones!" One of the scientists managed to get back up.
"Lar...Vitar!" But, Larvtiar wasn't having any of that as it opened its mouth, firing out a Dark Pulse. Unfortunately, Luster quickly put up a magical barrier to block the attack from fully connecting.
"Lilli!" Lillipup tried helping out by rushing in with Tackle. "Pup!"
"Hm." Luster scoffed at the Puppy Pokemon as she expanded her barrier, blowing Lillipup and Larvitar back, knocking them out.
"Lil!"
"Lar!"
"Larvitar! Lillipup!" The scientist ran over to her Pokemon to see if they were alright.
"Thanks for the stones! Buh-bye!" She giggled as she left via teleportation. Along with the stones that she had stolen.
"...Huh?" A confused scientist was just processing what had just happened. A very menacing yet beautiful looking unicorn came inside, blasted a large hole through their lab wall, took their stones that Mega energy in them and left.
But they weren't the only ones who were about to experience a sudden break-in. At least, not in this world.
The Everfree Forest. Zecora's hut, day.
"Haha!" Jessie laughed as she held up a bottle. "A total success!"
"Nice, Jess!" James and Meowth rhymed with her, congratulating their friend.
"Wobbuffet!"
"How was your first taste of alchemy, Jessie?" Zecora asked as she looked around her hut and how dirty it was now. "Aside from how you made everything...messy."
"Great!" Jessie giggled. "Just imagine what I can do with...uh, what does this one do?"
"It converts items into bananas upon contact." Zecora giggled. "It'll take more learning for you all to really reach the abstract."
"Ugh...Bananas?" Jessie sighed. "That's not exciting."
"Well, I'm feeling rather peckish for some food so..." James slid over, holding a pebble.
"Alright, fine." Jessie opened the bottle, pouring a tiny drop of the yellow liquid from inside. The drop of alchemic liquid then hit the pebble, immediately, morphing and turning the small piece of rock into a banana. Ready to be eaten.
"Ooh!" James gawked as he peeled the banana off, biting onto it. "Mmm! Keeping something like this in a bottle is very convenient."
"Yeah." Meowth held a bottle that had blue and purple liquids in them. "Having some of that freaky Rift energy in this can do a lot of wonders for us. If Zecora lets us do anything with it..."
"Mhm." Zecora nodded.
"Alright, what's next?" Jessie questioned Zecora. "There's something above this banana stuff. I wanna reach that bizarre and abstract part of alchemy fast!"
"You can't rush alchemy, there is only patience." Zecora turned around. "The worst thing you can do with alchemy is being im-" And before Zecora could finish her sentence, she could hear someone coming here from nearby. "!"
"What? You didn't finish your rhyme." Jessie wondered.
"Someone of an ominous nature is coming this way..." Zecora shuddered as she used some of her vials to mask the cauldron of Fusion magic with some sort of invisibility effect. "Hide everything! Vials, bottles, cups, trays!"
"Huh? Why?" Meowth asked.
"They might be here for the Fusion Magic. All of it." Zecora backed away as everything that had Fusion magic inside of it had been placed and hidden away. "We can't let them find it. Not one bit!"
"O-OKay!" Team Rocket understood as they rapidly hid everything Fusion magic related in the best places they could find while the massive cauldron was the most masked out of everything due to the invisibility potion Zecora added.
And she had the right instinct to suspect that someone ominous was coming. Whether it was Zecora's instinct or her ability to speak with Pokemon via her mind like a Psychic-Type trainer, it helped greatly in this situation as she and Team Rocket stood firm.
And she was right to be cautious.
Because there was indeed someone dangerous coming this way. The same someone that broke through a lab in Geosenge Town and stole some stones that had Mega energy in them.
Luster Dawn, of course.
Instead of blasting the wall, like she did with the lab, this time, she blasted the door down. Switching things up. The door had been obliterated by her magic as she revealed herself to Zecora and Team Rocket.
"Why hello there." Luster greeted with a devious smirk. "Zecora."
"..." Zecora narrowed her eyes at the unicorn, not enjoying her welcome or how she blew her door down.
"What? No rhyme to greet me? Pssh." Luster scoffed. "Lame."
"You won't get any kind greetings out of me," Zecora replied. "Who are you exactly?"
"The name's Luster Dawn." The unicorn introduced herself. "Visitor from another universe, the best student and apprentice of Empress Twilight Sparkle and the next in line to become an alicorn. Nothing much really. But enough introductions. I can tell you're cautious because you know why I'm here."
"Oh, do I? There's nothing of value in my hut that would benefit you, right?"
"There is something here." Luster stomped her hoof. "Empress Twilight sent me here for reason. Among other places. There's Rift energy with Pokemon and Equestrian magic in this hut. Or, Fusion magic as you call it."
"Get lost, lady! We ain't got nothing like that!" Meowth bellowed.
"As you can see this place is entirely spotless with no Fusion magic around." James crossed his arms before looking at the mess from Jessie's alchemy practice. "Aside from the mess caused by Jessie."
"Hmph!" Jessie pouted.
"Oh, you have it." Luster stepped forward. "Don't try and hide it from me. Everywhere else, there's little of it roaming around and it's nigh-impossible for me to reach the Arcane Sea unless that wisps accept me. And this is the one place where heaps of it can be found. In that cauldron of yours."
"Well as you can see the cauldron isn't here today. So, nyeh!" Jessie pulled her eye down while sticking her tongue out.
"Empress Twilight means that you're a part of the invasion that's coming soon. I have a larger reason not to show or give the Fusion magic to an Empress's goon." Zecora scoffed.
"Goon?!" Luster didn't take too kindly to that as her horn flared up with golden magic along with her eyes. Zecora definitely struck a nerve there. "I am the Empresses' protege and best student! How dare you?! You're going to tell me where that cauldron of yours is and the Fusion Magic in it...or else!"
"Eeep!" Team Rocket held each other, shuddering at Luster as her magic lit up the entire hut.
"Or else what? You're not exactly making this clear-cut." Zecora kept riling Luster Dawn up.
"Tch!" Luster growled at Zecora. "Since you're making this difficult for me, I guess I'll have to tear this place down to find that cauldron." The unicorn suddenly struck Zecora with a quick blast of magic from her horn, knocking the zebra down.
"Ugh!" Zecora cried out as she fell to the floor.
"Zecora!" Team Rocket gasped as they went over to their teacher.
"Tell me where it is." Luster approached the downed Zebra with her horn glowing continuously. "Even if I obliterate you, I can just let your little minions here tell me. Or tearing this pathetic hut down will do the trick as well. I have many options either way."
"Back off, lady!" Meowth held his claws out, trying to intimidate the unicorn.
"Hmph! Move over, cat!" She was ready to blast Meowth with some magic charging up.
"Wobbuffet! Mirror Coat!" Jessie ordered her Wobbuffet.
"Wobbu...!" Wobbufet got in front of the Patient Pokemon as Luster fired another blast of magic forward.
Once it was fired, Wobbuffet's body became surrounded in a white reflective colour as the blast of magic hit him. Once the blast struck the Patient Pokemon, Wobbuffet's body wobbled a bit before sending the magic blast right back at Luster.
"Buffet!"
"Huh?!" Luster Dawn was obviously surprised by this as she had been hit in the face by her own attack, sending her flying out of the hut screaming. "Aaaaaaah!"
"Hah!" Jessie wheezed, pointed at the launched unicorn.
"Buh-bye!" James waved at Luster Dawn.
"Good work, you four..." Zecora winced as she sat up, holding her head. "Take the cauldron and hide it. If she takes that kind of magic back to the Empress, there's a good chance everyone will be done for."
"Right on it!" Team Rocket understood the severity of the situation. There was no time to talk to Zecora more. However, they couldn't leave her behind. James picked Zecora up while Jessie grabbed the cauldron which was still masked in an invisible potion.
"Time to go!" Jessie whistled as she and Team Rocket took the back entrance of Zecora's hut instead of going straight for the front entrance since that's where Luster went through.
In Zecora's eyes, the cauldron was huge but to Jessie and James, it was tiny due to their human size so it was easy for Jessie to carry it. But, the weight was still there.
"Mrrrgh...!" Luster growled as her magic blew away the large pile of bushes she had landed in. She wasn't too cheery about that sudden counterattack from a Pokemon in the shape of a punching bag.
Furious and seeing how this was starting to delay the inevitable in her eyes, Luster decided to get aggressive. As if she wasn't aggressive enough from the start.
The protege of Empress Twilight teleported into Zecora's hut, ready to blast Zecora and Team Rocket with her magic. But, when she arrived, she quickly found out that they were no longer present in the hut.
"What?!" She screeched. "Why those...!" Knowing of their escape, she would now have to enter a bit of a pursue mission instead of a retrieval one. "They won't get away from me!"
With Team Rocket and Zecora, James was still carrying Zecora as that one blast of magic did a number on her while Jessie kept carrying the cauldron.
"Where to?!" Jessie asked.
"I don't know uh..." James pointed his arm around randomly, trying to find a place to hide. "That mist! No way she can find us in there!"
They had found their spot to hide in. A very thick mist that tends to cloak anything and anyone that enters it. It's fairly difficult to escape it and it tends to carry its victims somewhere random. Good or bad. It is the Everfree Forest after all. But there is a way to manipulate the mist and allow its victims to carry them under their own will.
However, in a short amount of time, to Team Rocket and Zecora's surprise, Luster had caught up fairly quickly via levitation with magic. She couldn't fly so this was a good substitute.
"Aha! Found you!" Luster cried out.
"How?!" The trio cried out.
"I see your hands..." Luster looked over at Jessie and how she was seemingly holding nothing but the air. However, from seeing how her hands were positioned, it was clear to Luster's vision that Jessie was indeed holding something that couldn't be seen right now. A cauldron. "Invisibility. Clever..."
"Uh..." Jessie looked at the invisible cauldron. "I'm just practising like a Mr Mime!"
"Shut it!" Luster fired a blast of magic that almost hit Jessie, landing near her feet.
"Eek!" Jessie yelped.
"You don't mind if I use one of your Pokemon, Zecora?" James asked the injured Zecora as she was alright with James using her Pokemon. This was a serious situation so help was needed. "Great!" James dug into Zecora's bag, pulling out two of her Poke Balls before throwing them into the air. "Go, whoever it is!"
"Weavile!"
"Zebstrika!" Out came Zecora's Zebstrika and Weavile, who already knew that their trainer was under attack.
"Use Thunderbolt and Ice Shard!"
"Zeb...Strika!" Zebstrika stomped on the ground, shooting out a blast of lightning from her body.
"Weavile!" Weavile flash-froze chunks of ice, hurling them at Luster.
"Oh!" Luster Dawn gasped as she quickly put a protective magic barrier around herself to block the attacks. The attacks were definitely strong enough to slow her down for a bit with her barrier holding them back.
That gave Team Rocket and Zecora enough time to pass through the mist along with Zebstrika and Weavile who were naturally faster than everyone else here. With them entering the mist, their presence had been hidden.
But, Luster wouldn't let them escape. Even if it was through some random mist in the forest. Determined to retrieve the large amount of Fusion magic in the cauldron and return it to Empress Twilight, the unicorn pursued as she passed through the mist as well.
When passing through the mist, Luster came across an acre of crooked trees and not Team Rocket or Zecora. She also noticed that things were a bit darker in this part of the forest, even in the day. It was most likely the mist causing this.
Knowing how tricky the forest can be since it exists in every Equestria in every universe, Luster used her magic to shine a golden light to give her better sight over everything else.
"Where are you~?" She whistled, calling out for Team Rocket and Zecora while moving through the misty forest. Obviously, they wouldn't respond but Luster had a response for that. "Show yourself...Or else I'll blow the entire forest away. I was taught by the Empress so my magic isn't something to be trifled with. But then again, I can't risk damaging the cauldron, can I?" She cackled.
Her laugh echoed through the forest as she certainly wasn't bluffing. One magic blast could ruin all of Everfree in mere seconds.
And of course, she wasn't the only one within this part of the forest. When her laugh echoed, Team Rocket and Zecora heard it. They were far from Luster dawn by this point as they hid behind the many thick trees here. However, due to the unpredictable nature of the mist, they might get closer to her or further.
"It's always the ones with smooth hair that are the scariest," Meowth said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jessie stroked her own hair.
"Taking on a lackey form that Empress isn't something I was looking forward to today." James had Zecora on his back. "Maybe we should get her healed first before we do anything else."
"Uh-huh. But where?" Meowth asked.
"Ponyville's the closest place, isn't it?" James replied.
"Hah? We're not gonna seriously ask the twerps and twerpettes for help are we?" Jessie crossed her arms.
"Wouldn't be the first time we've done it." James shrugged.
"Good point." Jessie nodded.
"Let the mist carry you there..." Zecora groaned. "It has the power to send anyone who enters anywhere."
"Anywhere?" Team Rocket said.
"How do we do that?" Jessie asked.
"The mist responds to the will of your heart and mind. But be cautious and gentle and do not panic, or it'll send you to a place most unkind."
"Will of our heart and mind? Pah! Easy!" Jessie exclaimed. as she and Team Rocket attempted to let the mist transport them to Ponyville.
However, it wasn't as easy as it seemed or sounded. There was a reason why Zecora said that they shouldn't panic. There was always a catch with this forest.
When closing their eyes and focusing on Ponyville, the mist began to thicken, slowly closing on them. But, when the mist got closer and their eyes closed, that's when they could hear something forming. Or rather a someone. A few of them. It wasn't Luster Dawn, but some individuals that Team Rocket were familiar with.
"James, darling!" The voice of Jessebelle could be heard through the mist along with her figure forming.
"Mmm!" James shuddered after hearing that voice. But he was going to make sure it wouldn't get to him. This was just the mist trying to trick and test them. "You're not here right now!"
"Persian."
"Eugh!" Meowth shook at the sound of Giovanni's Persian. They had their own collective fears. Mostly towards individuals that rub them the wrong way.
But, compared to James and Meowth, Jessie had a different result. The mist conjured up someone different for her. Someone that Jessie misses very dearly.
"Jessie?" Her mother.
"Hm!" Jessie twitched.
"Jessie, look over here." Her mother pointed at herself, approaching her daughter. "I'm okay. You can look at me, it's fine."
"I won't." Jessie turned her head, resisting the mist. "I know what happened years ago on Andes Mountains. The avalanche and everything. You're gone forever now the moment you left me."
"Jessie." The fake mother placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "You know I didn't leave you because I wanted to. I was just so devoted to my work at Team Rocket and searching for Mew, that's why."
"Hmph!"
"Putting you up for adoption was all I could do. I knew that I couldn't take care of you because of my work. Devoting all my hard work to make money for you was the only option I had at the time."
"Tch!" Jessie still wasn't having it as she kept resisting the mist's temptations.
"I could still be alive, Jessie. Still searching for Mew. Somewhere out there you can find me and we can be together again. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Mother and daughter working alongside each other."
Those words did sound tempting to Jessie. Being with her mother again who had presumably passed away due to the vicious avalanche sounded like the best thing for Jessie. It even made her tear up a bit thinking about it. But, she knew not to all the mist to get to her.
"I believe you're still alive out there. But until then...get lost, okay?" With that, Jessie was able to fend off the mist as the figure of her mother had faded away. Jessebelle and Persian had also faded away due to James and Meowth conquering their fears.
With their fears gone and the mist fully reading their hearts and minds, it had thickened to a point where it masked Team Rocket and Zecora, carrying them to where they wish to be.
But, as for Luster Dawn, she was just getting annoyed at this point. Even her golden glow of her magic wasn't enough to find her targets. Especially the cauldron. Seeing that she couldn't find them through this mist, she decided to go for the next best option.
"Hmph. Fine." Luster scoffed. "Guess I'll just blow this entire forest away then."
The magic aura on her horn started expanding as the entirety of Everfree Forest was about to be threatened. Perhaps even wiped off the map completely.
Ponyville, afternoon.
The mist had its destination as it had placed Team Rocket and Zecora over at Ponyville. They were lucky to get out of there in time because of what Luster was about to do.
The part of Ponyville they went to was near the Pokemon House since they were betting on Fluttershy's Audino to heal Zecora up.
"Made it!" Jessie cheered. "Now hurry and find that shy pony and her Audino before that unicorn finds us!"
"On it!" James, who had a lighter load than Jessie, took off while Meowth, Wobbuffet Zebstrika and Weavile helped Jessie carry the cauldron, making it easier for her.
At the same time, while they running towards the Pokemon House, the spell that Luster Dawn cast had been initiated. From far in the distance, Team Rocket, and practically all of Ponyville, could see a giant blast of golden magic occurring in the location of the Everfree Forest as it could be heard everywhere.
Every nearby Pokemon was startled by this explosion, running off while Team Rocket winced. They were lucky to have made it out of the forest in time by conquering their fears.
Right now, Everfree Forest had been obliterated by Luster Dawn and everything in it. Including Zecora's hut. However, as long as the cauldron of Fusion magic and every other object that held it was away from the forest, it was a worthy sacrifice.
They had arrived at the Pokemon House where Krookodile stood guard, stomping his feet once he saw Team Rocket approaching.
"Krookodile!" The Intimidation Pokemon roared.
"Eeek!" James yelped as he came to a screeching halt.
"Ugh! Move over, pal!" Jessie roared back at the Ground-Dark-Type. "We're in a bit of a hurry!"
"Dile?"
"What's going on?!" Fluttershy came from her cottage and towards the Pokemon House. "What was that explosion?!"
"Audino!?"
"Chiko?!"
"Krook! Krookodile!" Krookodile alerted Fluttershy, pointing at the arrival of Team Rocket.
"Team Rocket?!" Fluttershy asked. "Why are you here?!"
"Because of this." James carried Zecora off his back, placing her down on the ground as she kept twitching with golden sparks around her. "Please. Can you heal her?"
After the sudden arrival of Luster Dawn from another universe, Empress Twilight's Universe that is, the whole forest had been obliterated due to her pursuit of various items assigned to her by the Empress. One of which was the cauldron that had a plethora of Fusion magic in it.
She has been going around, gathering items for her Empress, such as small stones that hold more Mega Evolution energy than the actual Keystones.
Everfree Forest was in a poor state now. Golden flames filled the ground and destroyed trees as Luster stood in the centre of all the destruction. She did this to try and see if she could hit Team Rocket and Zecora, who have the cauldron of Fusion magic. But they weren't here at the moment, and Luster figured that out quickly. Even the magical mist that carries victims away to random places had been destroyed.
"Tch. Not here." Luster growled. "They've probably left this forest by now. Unless..." The protege of Empress Twilight turned her head to the one place that Team Rocket might've escaped to. Ponyville.
The unicorn had a slight smirk on her face as the flames caused by her magic began enveloping the forest, burning it down until there was nothing left.
There was seemingly nothing to save Everfree Forest at this point. A forest that was once infamous for its eerie and unpredictable nature is finally meeting its potential end along with Zecora's hut.
The Pokemon House.
And speaking of Zecora, she had just been healed by Audino after Luster hit her with a powerful magic blast. By using Heal Pulse, all the damage done to the zebra had been diminished and wiped away.
"Ugh..." Zecora groaned as she felt herself feeling better than ever.
"There you go. Are you feeling better?" Fluttershy asked.
"Dino."
"I'm feeling fine, thanks to you. But, I can't rest now knowing that Luster Dawn is still in pursuit."
"Who's Luster Dawn?" Fluttershy questioned.
"Some crazy unicorn from that Empress' universe who's after the cauldron of Fusion magic." Jessie placed the cauldron down as the invisibility potion finally ran out, making it visible.
"Oooh." Fluttershy looked over at the cauldron. "So this is what Twilight mentioned. Wait, you mean Empress Twilight's universe?"
"That's the one." Team Rocket nodded.
"So then...that explosion...?" Fluttershy then looked over in the direction of the Everfree Forest.
"I'm afraid with something that powerful of that scale, the Everfree Forest is no more." Zecora sighed. "Every bit of, including own home has been done for..."
"She's not gonna stop coming for us though," Jessie said. "Where do we hide this cauldron now?"
"We can't go out in the open with it." James shook his head.
"But there ain't no way she's getting her grubby little hooves on it!" Meowth latched onto the cauldron. "Not until we've given some to the boss!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Hide it here," Fluttershy suggested as they all turned to her. "If it helps, there's a deep underground spot in the Pokemon House where the Ground and Dark-Type Pokemon go to privately. Maybe that'll do?"
"Underground?" Jessie lifted the cauldron with Meowth still on it.
"Alright, If that can mask the cauldron away from Luster Dawn's gaze." Zecora accepted Fluttershy's suggestion. "But I fear that the rest of Ponyville, like Everfree, may also be set ablaze..."
"Ponyvillle will be fine. Twilight and everypony wouldn't let anything bad happen to it." Fluttershy reassured as she had faith in her friends. But, this was a new threat that involved an incoming invasion so she was very cautious about this. "I hope. Krookodile can lead you there. I'll go and warn everypony else."
"Krook." Krookodile nodded, accepting to help them hide the cauldron.
"Um...W-What does Luster Dawn look like?" Fluttershy asked before she got a move on.
"Gold, yellow, unicorn with a dawn as her mark," Jessie explained in a few seconds.
"Okay. Thank you!" Now Fluttershy could leave along with Audino, Chikorita and the endless tagalong Scorbunny.
They would alert their friends about the sudden arrival of a major threat that no one was expecting to arrive so soon.
Speaking of which, Luster Dawn, after figuring out that the cauldron was no longer within the Everfree Forest and at Ponyville, had arrived at the small town, setting hoof in it for the first time.
At least, this universe's Ponyville.
"Ponyville. Hm. Looks different from mine, that's for sure." Luster Dawn commented on the alternate appearance of Ponyville. Her own Ponyville did not match this one image for image. "Anyway...Where do I start?"
Pondering where to search for the Team Rocket, Zecora and the cauldron, Luster looked over at the town, searching for the first place to look. Everypony was currently looking in the direction of the Everfree Forest due to Luster causing a massive explosion around it.
Some had even noticed the arrival of Luster Dawn, unsure of who she was. But to them, that wasn't the most important thing right now. The most glaring building here was obviously Twilight's castle which towered over everything else in the distance.
Twilight's castle exists in this universe and Luster's own universe as well with both Twilight's having ownership of it. Knowing of the castle's existence here, the protege of the Empress smirked as she had a very good place to start checking. But another thing caught her eye before she could get moving.
From the corner of Luster's eye and just near SugarCube corner, a familiar face stood near the building. It was the Twilight Sparkle of this universe. Alongside her Espeon, Eve.
And just like everypony here, she was wondering what caused that explosion at Everfree.
"Do you think it was a Pokemon?" Twilight asked Pinkie Pie.
"Uh...not sure." Pinkie shook her head. "But boy was it massive."
"Too massive." Rarity walked forward. "If it were to be any larger, all of Ponyville would've been caught in it. That's certainly worrying."
"Did you guys see the massive explosion too?!" Rainbow Dash obviously saw it from above along with every pegasus up in the clouds.
"Mhm." The three of them nodded.
"It was pretty cool looking..." Rainbow Dash was impressed as she let out a small cheeky grin. "But what caused it?"
"Uh-uh?" Pinkie shrugged. "That's what we're trying to figure out."
"Anyone apart of that might not have a good time afterwards..." Jade shook her head.
"Zecora was there...She might've been caught up on it!" Twilight gasped, fearing that Zecora had been hit by that massive explosion. "Eve! Let's go!"
"Espeon?" Eve looked up, seeing that Twilight was heading towards the Everfree Forest to check up on Zecora, not knowing that she was alright and in one piece.
"Oh! Twilight, wait up!" That prompted Pinkie and the others to follow. "Be right back, Jade!"
"Take your time." Jade waved goodbye to her friends since she doesn't normally involve herself in the action.
While Twilight and her friends rushed off to see what had happened in Everfree and hoping for Zecora's safety, Luster watched as her alternate universe teacher left the scene.
The unicorn took the opportunity to make her way towards the castle. She knew not to engage this universe's Twilight and her friends. Mostly because of how Empress Twilight warned Luster about how this universe was a major threat because of the Pokemon alone.
Luster giggled as she ran off. Since she first showed up from taking the entrance to Everfree Forest to Ponyville, the unicorn ended up passing by Twilight, not trying to draw any attention.
But, when Twilight and Luster ran past each other, crossing paths, For a split second, Twilight's head and eyes turned to face the mysterious unicorn she had never seen before. While Luster mainly gave Twilight a devious and smug smirk as they both went their separate ways.
But they weren't the only ones in hurry searching for someone or something.
Fluttershy was also in the same boat as them. Whereas Luster was searching for the cauldron and Twilight's group were searching for Zecora, Fluttershy was searching for Twilight and Luster Dawn if she spotted her. She was just about to reach Ponyville but would end up missing Twilight.
"I hope I'm not too late!" Fluttershy said with a worried tone. This simple day had suddenly escalated into a serious situation without warning. Just like Luster Dawn, Fluttershy was going straight for Twilight's castle.
At this rate, both of them might cross paths.
Everfree Forest. What's left of it.
Twilight's group arrived at the Everfree Forest finally. And upon arriving there, they were given the horrific sight of barely anything remaining on this once eerie and mystical forest.
Nothing was left. All the trees here had been wiped out. Every tree, lake, swamp, cave etc. All gone. The group could only stand there in shock as the explosion was stronger than they thought. Usually, there's at least something left. But from what they could see, that wasn't the case.
"I-It's all gone." Twilight's jaw dropped.
"Looks more like a wasteland now than anything..." Rarity observed. "Who did this?"
"I can't see Zecora's hut up ahead." Pinkie Pie looked in the distance. There was no point. Everything was gone. "You don't think she..."
"This was an explosion meant to obliterate everything until nothing was left," Twilight grumbled, looking down on the barren ground. "I don't think anyone could withstand something like that."
"So then, Zecora..." Rarity shuddered.
"Mmmrgh..." Twilight didn't want to believe that Zecora had been caught in the explosion. Zecora always knows when to avoid disaster when it was coming. But the explosion seemed instantaneous, so to Twilight, there was no way someone could sense it coming unless they had a sixth sense.
But then, while fearing for Zecora's fate, Pinkie Pie noticed how there was one thing remaining in this barren and long-gone forest.
"Oh!" Pinkie gasped. "Looks like not everything got wiped out. There's some fertile plant there!" She pointed her hoof at the one thing left behind.
A tiny little root with blue spikes around it. Everyone quickly turned to face where Pinkie Pie was looking at. But, when they looked at the root, they noticed that it looked very familiar. Like they've seen it before.
And when taking a few seconds to observe it, they were able to tell what it was from just the spikes alone.
"Hang on...Isn't that the remains of the Tree Behemoth?!" Twilight's ears shot up.
"Sure is!" Rainbow Dash gulped. "It survived?! And it's still around?!"
"I thought it was done for?" Pinkie scratched her head. "How'd it take this explosion?"
"I think I can guess how. Twilight slowly approached the root. "That blast seemed to a magic blast from how it appeared. And the Tree Behemoth was born from Rift energy. Equestrian magic doesn't have any effect against Rift energy...So it would make sense that this root wouldn't feel the explosion.
"Ooh..." Pinkie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash nodded. "Really?"
"But...Not sure that matters now." Twilight sighed. But just as she said that the root suddenly started moving, startling everyone. It started growing as more roots suddenly started popping out of the ground at random.
Everyone backed up, witnessing the sudden resurgence of Tree Behemoth as all the small roots started moving about after a few of them sprouted.
They wrapped around each other as the blue and purple Rift energy started forming once they made contact with each other. The energy lit up the now barren ground, giving it some colour.
"What is it doing?!" Rainbow Dash pulled her Poke Ball out, ready to potentially tackle the Tree Behemoth if it was resurfacing.
"Wait!" Twilight halted Rainbow from taking action as she paid careful attention to the roots. "Let's watch..."
They watched instead of interacting with the roots. Perhaps, it wasn't acting hostile. The roots started dancing around while blue and purple sparkles flew out of them, dropping like snow.
Soon, the roots began transforming into an assortment of various botanic things. Trees were suddenly starting to form from the roots themselves, the ground was shifting from a barren and dry surface to slowly bringing grass to it.
The Tree Behemoth was rebuilding and restoring the Everfree Forest.
"It's bringing the forest back..." Twilight put it together quickly, noticing what the Tree Behemoth was doing.
"Say what? Bringing it back?" Rainbow Dash's eyebrow had been raised.
"Oooh..." Pinkie gawked.
"Wait, why exactly?" Rarity asked.
"I don't know." Twilight shook her head. "But it might be that the Tree Behemoth is trying to restore its home. The seeds were planted by Discord and only amplified by Rift magic. So some Equestrian magic is still in it."
"So...Everfree's gonna come back?" said Rainbow Dash.
"Looks like it. But it may take some time. And it might be under the influence of the Behemoth from now on." Twilight observed.
"And Zecora?" Pinkie went up to Twilight.
"I don't know..." Twilight grumbled. "But I'm not willing to give up just yet. Let's search Ponyville and see if we can find her. I hope she's alright."
The Pokemon House. The lower sections.
When entering the large building of the Pokemon House, there were two different stairs. One that led to the upstairs and another that focused on the downstairs.
Obviously, this Ground and Dark area Fluttershy spoke of was located here. Ground and Dark Pokemon tend to come here often and hang out instead of just sitting out in the daylight like the rest of their fellow Pocket Monsters. But, despite how deep down it was in the house, it was fairly cosy looking.
Team Rocket and Zecora had brought the cauldron down here, placing it in the darkest corner of the room. Krookodile told his fellow Ground and Dark-Type Pokemon to keep a good eye and not to interact with this cauldron. Anyone who touches the liquid inside will have unpredictable results to their bodies that might be good or bad.
"There. No way she'll head in here. Hopefully." Jessie uttered.
"Now what do we do?" Meowth asked.
"We stay here and make sure that unicorn doesn't get her hooves on it." James tapped the cauldron. "We have all these Pokemon also keeping guard too."
"Hopefully that is the case." Zecora shuddered. "We have to hope she can be driven back to her world where it is apparently all deep space."
"Pah. It'll be fine." Jessie chuckled. "After all, the twerps and twerpettes never fail to get rid of some villains. It's practically their job."
"Tell that to the upcoming invasion. Think the twerps ever dealt with something like that?" Meowth sighed.
"An invasion isn't that big of a deal. We've seen and experienced worse." Jessie scoffed. "Just let the twerps and Equestria beat that Empress Twilight or whatever, send her back to her universe and the whole thing's done for. Easy."
"You make it sound easy..." James and Meowth both said.
"So!" Jessie sat down, crossing her arms and legs. "Let's just wait for all of this to blow over."
"I wouldn't rest so casually during a time like this, Jessie," Zecora warned. "Before we know it, this whole situation could spiral out of control easily."
Zecora was the most aware of this all. She could already tell how large of a threat Luster Dawn was. And to the rest of Ponyville and possibly beyond.
All they could do now was sit here and wait. But, during the time they had, Zecora put her hoof on her chin as her mind was starting to spark, slowly conjuring up a plan.
A plan that could greatly benefit them.
Twilight's Castle.
Luster Dawn had arrived at the outside of Twilight's castle, standing before the door. Since it reminded Luster of her Empress' own castle in her universe, she actually chose to respect the building without blowing the door or walls down with her magic like always.
Instead, Luster simply let herself in by casually opening the door with her magic. She was now inside Twilight's castle. Uninvited and not here on friendly terms.
"Now...Let's see if they're here." She believed Team Rocket and Zecora could've retreated here. And if not, Luster would simply keep on looking.
When entering the castle, she noticed how the indoors were vastly different from her universe while still feeling familiar. The protege of the Empress quietly closed the door behind her, making sure not to attract any noise. She wanted to be stealthy about this.
The room fell silent as there wasn't really anyone downstairs. But that didn't mean this entire castle was empty with no one present. While Twilight may not be at her castle at the moment, there were others currently living here.
Those being Nyx, Cocoa, Rosestar, Starlight Glimmer, Spike and Togekiss. They were still inside of the castle, doing whatever and enjoying their day. Although, they had all heard the massive golden explosion from far away as well. No one in Ponyville could really ignore it.
Luster Dawn searched the downstairs of the castle, searching for the cauldron. She had already received a plethora of objects from the Pokemon World after being ordered by Empress Twilight to do so. Now, all she needed was that cauldron and that would be the end of it.
But, try as she might, she couldn't find anything downstairs. So, the upstairs was the next best option as she made her way there. Approaching the higher levels would mean drawing attention that she didn't need. However, Luster believed that no one was here at the moment.
How wrong she was.
Because the moment she arrived upstairs, the unicorn came across two faces who had just shown up at the right time. Two faces who were also unicorns like Luster.
Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer, of course.
The unicorn duo turned around, facing their fellow unicorn as their eyes locked. Everything froze between them, along with the atmosphere.
"Who are you?" Sunset and Starlight asked.
"These two..." Luster actually recognized and knew about Sunset and Starlight both. Starlight was known since an alternate universe Starlight is working alongside the Empress and Sunset was a different story. "My, they look like they were cloned using DNA from the Empress..."
"Are you new here? You don't look like you're from Ponyville?" Starlight questioned.
"Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm new here." Luster decided to play it safe and keep a low profile for the time being. Until she found the cauldron here that is. "I'm just a new student of Emp- I mean, Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"New student? Like me?" Starlight pointed her hoof at herself. "Wait, when?"
"Just now."
"Oh. What crazy evil thing did you do to get Twilight to reform you?" Sunset questioned. "Did you try to gain a ton of magic power for yourself?"
"Or enslave a town to follow your own ideal?" Starlight chimed in.
"Oh..." Luster scrunched her face, trying to come up with a lie. Although, what she was about to say wasn't a lie but actually something she did. Fairly recent too. "Well, I broke into some random buildings and stole a plethora of power objects. Mainly the Pokemon World."
"Seriously?" Sunset jeered back. "Well, it's a bit like mine I guess. But are you really her new student?"
"Yes, of course, I am. Reformed and everything. She's already told me about you two. Sunset Shimmer. Starlight Glimmer."
"Uh-huh...wait, who are you, exactly?" Starlight was curious about her name.
"My name?" Luster shot up after hearing that. She couldn't give her real name out in case they get suspicious. Considering that there is actually someone within this castle that knows of Luster Dawn. Three rather. So a fake name was due. "Oh. It's Dawn Star."
"Dawn Star. Well uh...nice to meet you Dawn Star." Starlight went over, holding her hoof out. "Sorry for the kinda awkward introduction. We just-"
"Oh, don't worry. I know you're not fully convinced I am her student. But I assure you, I am. You could even say I'm her protege." Luster Dawn was actually half right in this scenario.
"Protege?" Both Sunset and Starlight pulled back.
"Mhm." She displayed a cocky smile as she walked past the two unicorns. " A one of a kind and essentially her successor. And dare I say, next in line to be an alicorn."
"H-H-Hold on, what?!" Starlight needed some time to process these words as she turned to face Starlight. "Since when? And why not me?"
"Oh, don't you worry about that." Luster laughed as she trotted away, walking into the nearest room of the upstairs. "I won't be here for long. I've got places to be. That's not a problem right?"
"A Problem?" Sunset raised an eyebrow.
"Well, from the look on your face, you're not too fond of me right now. Why's that I wonder?"
"...Don't worry about it. If you're not going to be long, then make it quick." Sunset replied as she kept her guard up. Both unicorns stared at each other in the eyes for a few seconds with Starlight looking at both of them.
"I won't." Luster turned around. "Trust me."
"Hmm..." Sunset narrowed her eyes as she was very uncertain about all of this. She watched Luster walk into the nearest room, not saying a word. "Something about her's not sitting right with me."
"Which part of her is it?" Starlight asked.
"It's weird. Her face looked like she was telling the truth about her being Twilight's student and...protege...but something's not right here."
"Wha? She's like, telling a half-truth?"
"Probably. Best we keep an eye on her." Sunset gently followed Luster Dawn along with Starlight. "The old me would've definitely caused a major scene."
The unicorn duo began following Luster Dawn, unsure of the feeling and senses they were getting from her. Cautious, they kept an eye on her, heading into the room she entered.
However, Luster had already entered another room due to her aimless searching for the cauldron. However, even when searching for it, other things in this castle were piquing her interest.
Due to this being a different universe from her own, that meant some spells were exclusive to this universe that cannot be found in any other world. Luster looked over at the spellbook, opening them to see what they entail.
"Hm. Underwater breathing spell. Nifty." She looked at one of the spells, interested in its potential use. She looked at other unique spells that were perfect for certain situations. Luster felt like it would be a great idea to bring this along.
And that's what she did. By placing it in her bag, Luster had stolen one of Twilight's books for herself. Those would come in good use. But besides that, Luster kept searching the rooms on the upstairs as there were no other books that caught her interest. Plus, that one book already made her bag full as she entered the next room.
Sunset and Starlight had arrived in the room, just missing Luster as she had already gone somewhere else. They weren't even aware that she had taken one of Twilight's books for herself.
"Just missed her. Come on." Sunset ordered as Starlight followed her.
3 minutes later.
Luster's upstairs search was starting to come to an end as a few rooms were remaining that she hadn't yet explored. After this, she would check the rest of Ponyville for the cauldron.
However, before that, something else of equal importance caught her attention. She arrived at the next room where Togekiss was lying about, sleeping relaxing. But next to Togekiss was the gateway to Pyrestar's world.
"Toge..." The Jubilee Pokemon snored.
"Hello there~" Luster whistled to Togekiss, making the Jubilee Pokemon nervous. But, Luster Dawn's attention quickly turned to face the gateway within this room as that really piqued her interest. "Oh...What's this now?"
"Kiss...?" Togekiss slowly opened her eyes, hearing Luster Dawn's hoofsteps.
"A gateway?" Luster approached the gateway, wondering if this is where Team Rocket and Zecora had fled to. "Perhaps they went through here."
"T-Togekiss?" Togekiss had woken up as she witnessed the random unicorn passed through the gateway, not knowing what world she was about to enter. Yet at least. Togekiss wasn't sure what to do in this situation since Luster Dawn just came out of nowhere during her sleep. Plus, she, unfortunately, doesn't have danger senses like Absol. And she was still a child mentally. "Toge!"
Once Luster Dawn passed through the gateway, she quickly came across the secret base in Pyrestar's world that Twilight and her friends had made.
"What the...?" Luster Dawn looked at the base as she wasn't expecting to arrive in a place such as this. A random landscape from the Pokemon World was the most expected. Not this.
Curious about this base, Luster Dawn took a small viewing experience of it, noticing its unique aesthetic design. Since this was a base made by Twilight's friends, mostly everything matched their design tastes. The notable ones were Rarity and Pinkie with their abundance of balloons, confetti, gems and fashion just plastered everywhere. But, Luster didn't know that.
However, she quickly came across Twilight's section of this secret hideout base. And Twilight's section was more heavily focused on the research part of this world as she had many forms of equipment to help with that research.
Luster stood before Twilight's section, looking over the table of items. But one item caught her eye. A sheet of paper with some words on it. It looked incomplete for the time being. Luster noticed the most prominent words were on that sheet as she used her magic to pick the paper up.
"What's this now?" She began reading what the words said. "The research at Pyrestar's world...Sheet one?" Luster Dawn immediately shot up after hearing that. "This gateway...connects to the same world where Ghetsis resides? Oh, that's very interesting..." The unicorn giggled as she made an excellent find today.
Now she knew about the secret gateway that connected to this world and what Twilight and her friends were planning. This was valuable information to return to her Empress.
Meanwhile, with Sunset and Starlight, they were still following Luster's trail. They were getting closer by this point, but right now, Luster Dawn was about to leave due to her finding nothing about the cauldron. But she did find two valuable objects that would benefit her and the Empress greatly.
In one of the rooms, Nyx was sitting about with her Eevee, unaware of what was going on within the castle. She heard the explosion earlier though.
"Eevee-vee..." When caressing her Eevee, Sunset and Starlight opened the door, coming across Nyx's room. "Vee?"
"Hm?" Nyx looked over at the two unicorns. "Oh. Sunset Shimmer. Starlight Glimmer. Can I help you?"
"Yeah. Have you seen a unicorn pass by here?" Sunset asked.
"Aside from the plethora of unicorns that live in this castle? Which one?"
"Somepony new. Her name is Dawn Star. Apparently, she's one Twilight students like me." Starlight explained. "Protege apparently which is just..."
"Protege..."? Nyx narrowed her eyes after hearing what Starlight said. A protege of Twilight doesn't exist. At least, not in this world and not yet at this point in time. But, Nyx, throughout her many universal adventures via an escape from a tyrannical force, recognized that status. "She said her name was Dawn Star? What colour was she?"
"Uh...Pink and gold with dawn Cutie Mark." Sunset described Luster.
"THAT'S LUSTER DAWN!" Nyx bellowed, blowing Sunset and Starlight back with the force of her voice. "She's here?!"
"Wait!? Luster Dawn?" Starlight held her head.
"Seriously?!" Sunset winced.
"Eevee?"
"That explosion must've been from her! Where is she!?" Nyx clearly wasn't happy about Luster's arrival. And why wouldn't she? She worked alongside Empress Twilight who had conquered and ruined so many worlds. Including her own.
Now that they were aware of Luster Dawn being in this world, everything is slowly starting to escalate. Or perhaps, it's already escalated and was only reaching the rising action to the boiling point.
Luster Dawn's search in this world has yet to be finished as the journey continues.
Currently, Luster Dawn had been exposed. Thanks to Nyx. She was now made aware within the castle and her facade wouldn't fool anyone anymore. Although, it was a bit of a half-facade. One part of it was true while the other was a lie.
Luster had just taken a spellbook unique to this universe and the sheets involving research of Pyreestar's world. Speaking of which, Luster had also discovered the gateway that connected to Pyrestar's world as well. So she had some juicy information to return to the Empress.
But, she wasn't going to leave here unnoticed.
The moment she passed through the gateway, returning to the inside of Twilight's castle, there was Nyx, Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer standing before her with Togekiss in the back. She had just been found out recently.
"Hold it right there, Luster Dawn!" Nyx declared as Luster came to a halt.
"Hm?!" Luster shot up. "G-Guess the jig's up. Nice to see you again, Nyx."
"It certainly is. So you've finally decided to show yourself in this universe as well?"
"Oh yes. Just here on important matters. Don't worry. I'm not here to conquer this world...yet. Just picking up a few things for my Empress."
"So you're just student of the other Twilight!" Starlight cried out. "You lied to us!"
"Ah! I was technically telling the truth." Luster corrected Starlight. "I really am her protege and will soon be an alicorn myself! The Empress has already graced me with wonderful lessons that only she can provide, so I've already passed the natural unicorn magic skills long ago. More than the rest of you, that's for sure..."
"Eevee...!" Nyx's Eevee growled at Luster.
"Whatever. Flaunt your skills all you want. Even though you're not as amazing as you say you are. You aren't leaving now that we have you here." Nyx stomped her hoof.
"Hoh? What makes you think I'm staying? Are you suggesting that somehow, you're a threat to me?"
"Are you blind? Currently, you're in what might be the strongest version of Equestria there is. Thanks to the Pokemon, after all." Nyx replied.
"Oh, right. Those things." Luster scoffed at Eevee.
"Vee!"
"The way I see it, the outcome won't be the same in other universe's. Not this time."
"Hmph. You think just because you have some pets by your side, you think you'll keep me here?" Luster's horn started glowing. "I don't think so. Besides...what will you do when the Empress comes back for me?"
"Uh...She's got a point actually." Starlight shuddered. "Maybe it's not a good idea to engage her."
"We'll see about that." But Nyx didn't fear Luster Dawn. She would be willing to engage and capture her right now. However, Nyx didn't want to damage Twilight's castle.
And as for Luster, she was still in pursuit of the cauldron and nothing else. Now that she had seen the rest of the castle for herself, she concluded that Team Rocket, Zecora and the cauldron weren't here. So she had no reason to be in this castle anymore.
"Whatever. I don't need to be here right now. What I need isn't in here anyway!" Luster scoffed as she used her magic to teleport out of the castle, leaving Nyx and the other's sight.
"Oh!" Sunset and Starlight gasped.
"She won't get away from us...!" Nyx turned around, also preparing herself for a teleport. "Whatever she came here for, she can't leave with it!"
"We're going after her?! But what about-" Starlight was the most nervous out of everyone due to the potential arrival of Empress Twilight if she does end showing up earlier than expected.
"Forget about that for now!" Nyx put her hooves around both Sunset and Starlight with Eevee jumping on her back.
"Eevee!" With everyone making contact with Nyx, the alicorn used her own teleportation spell, immediately leaving the castle while Togekiss just watched everyone around her leave. She had just heard one whopper of a conversation. One she wouldn't forget.
"Toge?"
Ponyville.
Luster Dawn was the first to arrive obviously as she immediately began searching the rest of Ponyville for Team Rocket, Zecora and the cauldron.
"Now...Where is it?" Luster navigated her head, wondering which part of Ponyville she should check in first? There were lots of other prominent buildings aside from Twilight's castle. There was her Pokemon Lab, SugarCube Corner and Town Hall.
"Luster Dawn!" But, before she could even have the chance to decide where to head next, Nyx and the others had shown up via teleportation, not allowing Luster to escape from here. Especially with the items that she's stolen.
"Tch!" Luster kissed her teeth, looking back at the group after her. "Can you get lost already?!"
"Whatever you're after, I won't let you return it! Especially to that Empress of yours!" Nyx stepped forward as everypony in Ponyville nearby heard this conversation, looking over at the scene.
One of them was Twilight, who was also searching for Zecora, hoping for her safety. She was currently asking everypony if they had seen Zecora near recently before hearing the voices of Nyx and the mysterious pony she crossed paths with earlier.
"Hey..." Twilight stopped walking, spotting Nyx and the unicorn. "It's that pony from before."
"Sounds as if some sort of thievery is occurring." Rarity observed. "Looks like it came from your castle, Twilight."
"My castle? Wait, w-"
"Twilight! Everypony!" Just before she could finish the rest of her sentences, the next pony who was also searching for somepony, mainly Twilight, had also found her target. Fluttershy, of course. Now it was just Luster who hadn't found who and what she was looking for.
"Fluttershy?" Twilight faced the pegasus.
"Thank goodness I found you!" Fluttershy came to a screeching halt. "Quick! You have to listen to this!"
"Uh...Bit busy with something important here." Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at the scenario near Twilight's castle and lab.
"This is important too!" Fluttershy raised her voice, startling Rainbow Dash. "Listen. Somepony from Empress Twilight's world has just shown up here!"
"Hah?!" Her friends exclaimed as they turned their heads away from Nyx and Luster and focused on Fluttershy.
"Not too long ago. I think. Her name is Luster Dawn from what Zecora told me and-"
"Zecora's okay?!" Twilight grabbed Fluttershy, shaking her as today just had a ton of interruptions from everypony. "Really?!"
"Y-Yes!" Fluttershy responded while being shaken like a bottle of soda.
"Oh thank Celestia..." Twilight sighed. She could rest easy knowing that Zecora was A-Ok. "But, go on. What's this about a Luster Dawn? And who is she?"
"Um..." Fluttershy gulped as she gently raised her hoof, pointing it past Twilight and the rest of her friends. The Elements of Harmony slowly turned their heads to where Fluttershy was pointing.
By doing that, they were able to see who exactly this Luster Dawn pony was.
"Her." Of course, it was the one that Nyx was currently arguing with and staring down. That was her. Straight from a not-so-pleasant universe.
"Her?!" Twilight and the others exclaimed.
"Oh?" Luster overheard all the shouting coming from behind as she took her attention away from Nyx, pausing their argument and back and forth rambling for a bit. Now Luster could see this universe's version of her Empress.
Or rather, a younger version of Empress Twilight. MInus the Empress and more emphasis on the Princess. By this point, everyone was made aware of each other.
"Mother..." Nyx silently said.
"I-I thought the invasion wasn't gonna happen for like what, 3 more weeks?" said Rainbow Dash as she was eyeing down the unicorn. "Why's she here so early?"
"It's the cauldron of Fusion magic..." Fluttershy gently whispered. "She's after it and wants to return it to her own universe. Zecora and Team Rocket are hiding it away at the Pokemon House right now."
"So she's just here for a retrieval mission..." Twilight whispered back. "Then that means the Empress wants all the magic inside of the cauldron for herself."
"Oh." Rarity quickly realized how bad of a result that would be if Empress Twilight was giving Fusion magic. She had already heard how terrifying she was before and some of that magic would just make things worse for everyone. Depending on whether it blesses or curses the Empress. "Oh, dear."
"Yeah, can you come back in like 3 weeks?! The invasion hasn't started yet!" Pinkie Pie bellowed.
"Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash turned to Pinkie Pie, causing the earth pony to make a tiny grin.
"Looks like you're surrounded, Luster Dawn," Nyx spoke. "What now?"
"Pssh! Stop talking like you've got the advantage over me! I don't have to interact with any of you. Unless...one of you knows where that cauldron is."
"Like we'd tell you." Rarity scoffed. "You're best heading home than searching aimlessly for it"
"I know it's here somewhere because Zecora and that Team Rocket or whatever took it before I blew that entire forest sky-high."
"That was you?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"You tried to destroy Zecora and destroyed her home?!" Twilight growled.
"Mhm. But a slight correction. That explosion I used was a controlled one. I made sure that everything else except for the cauldron would've been affected. But Zecora and that forest would've been blown to smithereens while the cauldron would remain. That's just the special kind of magic you're capable of when you're taught by the best alicorn in existence."
"You...!" That actually struck a massive nerve on Twilight. Hearing that Luster was actually planning to destroy Zecora began fueling Twilight's anger. So much so that, just like Princess Luna, that Sorrowful Magic was lurking around. Ever since Celesti had been injured by Ghetsis last year, it never left Twilight. Where Luna has Lunar Ire, Twilight possess her own known as Horizon Storm.
And of course, something like this would cause this dormant magic to try and awake as Twilight's horn and eyes started flashing repeatedly. But, she kept herself composed as Horizon Storm did not fully come out. Thanks to Olympia's lessons, Twilight could control her anger.
"Espeon?"
"I'm fine, Eve." Twilight sighed. "But right now...she's already gotten on my nerves..."
"Now." Luster's horn began glowing. "Which one of you is going to tell me where Zecora is? Because of it not then well, I'll just have to do the same thing I did to Everfree Forest and we wouldn't want that now would me?" She was now threatening Ponyville as the citizens backed up after hearing that statement.
"Zecora's staying away from you. And the cauldron." Twilight flew over to Luster. "As for you, since you're here, this'll be a good time to detain you. And get some answers and information about your world. Over at Canterlot obviously."
"Detain me? Haha!" She started laughing at Twilight's words, similar to what Nyx said to her. "A unicorn of my prowess? I'd like to see you try!" Luster decided to clear some space by causing a magical barrier to expand around her.
"!" But, Twilight actually managed to react in time by putting up her own magical barrier that protected her and Eve from Luster's expanding barrier, blocking it from reaching anyone else. Nyx did the same for the friends on her side.
"Espeon!" Eve snarled at Luster.
"Leavanny!" Rarity called for her Leavanny as she threw out all 12 of her Poke Balls, sending each of her Leavanny out.
"Leavan!" All 12 of them cried out after emerging from their Poke Balls.
"Use String Shot!"
"Van!" Each of Rarity's Leavanny opened their mouths, shooting out thick white threads of silk towards the unicorn. Thus, an instance involving conflict had been sparked from this.
"Hm?" Luster looked over, noticing the approaching strings. She gasped at their impressive speed as she had been caught by them before she knew it. From hooves, neck, back and stomach, the strings from Leavanny had each got their hold on Luster Dawn. "Huh?!"
"Lea!" Now that they had their strings connected to her, they began pulling their heads back, causing Luster to spin around as the thread was wrapping around Luster continuously, overlapping and resembling a cocoon."
"Woah!" Luster screamed as her entire body was being restrained by these thick strings. Soon, Luster had now been wrapped up in a string cocoon, holding the unicorn in place.
"There." Rarity smiled. "That should keep you occupied for a while until the Canterlot guards show up."
"What? Strings and a cocoon?" Luster merely laughed at her current state, not making a big deal of it. And for good reason. Because the moment she stopped laughing, she immediately used her magic to disintegrate the thick strings with ease, showing little effort.
Leavanny's strings always require some level of high effort to break them due to how powerful and efficient they are. And Luster used little of it.
"Oh!" Rarity gasped.
"Leavan!"
"Here. I'll do you one better!" The protege of the Empress decided to return the favour to Rarity and her Leavanny. With her own form of restraint.
By using her magic, Luster tapped into one of the many spells in her arsenal, courtesy of the lessons from her Empress. One of these spells were magical chains. An orb of magic flew out of Luster's horn and out of that orb, golden chains of magic suddenly sprouted out of it, spreading them out.
The chains moved at high speeds as they weren't just targeting Rarity and Leavanny. Since Luster wanted answers on where the cauldron was, the chains were going for everypony here as they moved haphazardly.
"Look out!" Twilight warned everyone as the chains immediately grabbed onto some ponies, wrapping around them in no time.
"Leavanny, return!" Rarity quickly took out her Poke Balls with her magic to try and return each of her Leavanny, but the chains ended up grabbing her hooves before that could happen. Each of the Leavanny Poke Balls fell to the ground.
"Van!" Her Leavanny tried avoiding the chains but they were too fast for them to each avoid.
"Eve! Psychic!"
"Espeon!" Eve tried to stop the chains by using her mind as Twilight chimed in as well, using her own magic. The trainer and Pokemon stood before the golden chains as a purple outline surrounded them.
They were actually capable of holding back the chains that were heading for them, just barely stopping them before they made contact. Twilight and Eve's Psychic and magic connection was strong enough to do so.
However, while they could stop the chains from the front that came their way, chains that came from behind ended up catching them in the end, wrapping around the princess and her Pokemon.
"Ugh!" Twilight groaned.
"Esp!"
"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash was flying about, evading the rapid moving chains as she was certainly fast enough to see them coming and avoid them in time. But even she could only evade them for so long. The pegasus looked at the orb, knowing that it kept churning out chains that seemed endless as more Pokemon and ponies were being caught by them.
Rainbow Dash then decided to destroy the orb. If the orb is gone, then the chains will cease as well. "We'll just smash that orb then! Castform, use Energy Ball!"
"Cast!" Castform immediately flew out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, reacting to the sunlight as he transformed into Sunny Form Castform. The Weather Pokemon then opened his mouth, firing a green ball filled with the power of nature, sending it towards the orb.
Unfortunately, when travelling there, the chains suddenly whipped around, smashing the Energy Ball until it was destroyed and no more. The whips then went over to Castform, ready to grab him next, but Rainbow Dash quickly grabbed her partner, flying high into the air and avoiding the rest of the chains.
"Audino!" Audino used Protect around Fluttershy, Chikorita and Scorbunny, shielding them from the chains with a green barrier. The chains began aggressively hitting the barrier, trying to break through with their violent whips. "D-Dino!"
"How's that? Chain magic." Luster flaunted while the chains kept moving on their own with Luster needing to do anything else. "Far better and stronger than some threads of silk. This should keep you all occupied in the meantime. But first...one of you is gonna tell me where Zecora really is. Right now."
"You wish!" Rainbow Dash cried out while she kept avoiding the chains. She then dug into her bag, pulling out her next Poke Ball, throwing it. "Braviary! Come out and use Superpower!"
"Braviary!"
"Oh?" Luster Dawn looked up at the Valiant Pokemon.
"Vi!" Braviary's eyes flashed as he saw the golden chains everywhere. Especially the ones heading straight for his trainer. Knowing that the situation seemed serious and dire, Braviary got to work, lightning his wings and talons with energy.
He immediately clapped his wings together, creating a thunderclap as a wide shockwave formed, blowing away the incoming chains and shattering them. The shockwave spread further, destroying every other chain out there with its seismic power as even Luster Dawn was almost pushed back by this shockwave.
Everyone that had been held by the chains had been freed immediately thanks to Braviary as the orb had been hit by the thunderclap too. The force of Superpower easily destroyed the small orb of magic, putting an end to the magic chain fiasco as the tiny shattered pieces began fading away with a golden glow.
"Well then..." Luster witnessed her chains fading away as she was impressed by this.
"Thanks, Braviary." Rainbow Dash thanked her partner as she slowly descended.
"Okay. I knew the Pokemon were powerful but... that's something." Luster Dawn shrugged. "Getting to that cauldron really won't be as easy as I thought. If interrupts like these keep happening."
The unicorn then ascended into the air as everyone looked up, following her movements carefully, cautious on what she was about to do next. Luster would do anything to make the Empress happy and achieve her goals. She wasn't about to let a town get in her way of that cauldron.
"I'm getting that cauldron! One way or the other!" Luster declared as she was about to perform her next spell. Knowing that something else was coming that no one would want, Nyx decided to flap her wings, following after Luster Dawn, attempting to prevent her from causing any more harm.
Luster's eyes quickly shifted towards the approaching Nyx as she had already received the right amount of time needed to cast her next spell. Very short too. When Luster's horn flashed, all of a sudden, Nyx could feel herself trembling all of a sudden. But not one of fear.
When Nyx was just about to fire a blast of magic from her horn, she suddenly froze in place, shaking out of nowhere as her magic had been interrupted.
"W-W-What is this?!" Nyx shuddered as her movements were starting to become erratic.
"Vibration Magic." Luster explained. "Pretty nifty spell isn't it? Everything here is mine to manipulate along with every other target here!" She laughed as her magic spread out, affecting everyone else nearby. Braviary, who was also in the air, had been caught within this vibration as the atmosphere was shaking.
"B-Brav?!"
"Ah!" Fluttershy looked down to see that the ground itself was being affected by the vibrations themselves. Luster then used the force of the vibration to push Nyx further away from her, forcing the alicorn onto the ground with a hard impact.
"Nyx!" Twilight, Sunset and Starlight gasped as they flew over to their downed friend. However, when they approached Nyx, Luster then used the vibrations to force Twilight and the others away from the alicorn, sending them crashing into the nearest building wall. It was similar to the Gravity spell but with differences. "Ugh!"
"Anyone here going to talk?!" Luster grinned as she increased the vibrations, soon affecting buildings and anyone else nearby. "The Empress wants to conquer this world and I need it to be clean enough for her. So unless one of you coughs up where Zecora went, I won't have to level this entire town."
"T-The answer is no!" Rainbow Dash growled as she tried flying up with her wings. "B-Braviary! Brave Bird!"
"V-Viary!" Braviary looked up as he still had the strength to go against Luster dawn as he flew straight into the air. His body becomes surrounded by red flames as he then soared straight at Luster, breaking through the vibrations with the power and speed of Brave Bird as the fire around his body turns into a light blue aura.
"Seriously?!" Luster was stunned that Braviary could break through the vibrations. She quickly put up a magic barrier to protect herself.
"Braviary!" The Valiant Pokemon sped up as he smashed into Luster Dawn's barrier at full force. The barrier almost shattered as Luster herself could feel some vibrations as well from how hard Braviary hit the barrier.
Luster shuddered from the impact as she was thrown so off focus from it that her vibration spell weakened a bit due to the drop in concentration. Braviary went flying back from the recoil of Brave Bird.
"Ngh...! Pheromosa! Go!" Rarity sent out her Pheromosa.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa came out. Unfortunately, due to her supple body, the vibration waves took a massive toll on her as she kneeled. "P-Phero?!"
"Absol, help out!" Twilight sent Absol out. Thanks to Braviary throwing Luster off focus, everyone could gain some extra movements during the vibrations.
"Absol!"
"Dark Pulse, go!"
"Ab...!" Absol could certainly feel the vibrations, but he's been through worse so this was barely anything to him as he opened his mouth with a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles appearing inside. He then fired a beam of black and purple circles from the orb, sending it towards Luster.
"Huh?!" Luster Dawn turned her attention away from Braviary, before noticing the Dark Pulse coming her way. The barrier was already close to shattering thanks to Braviary as Dark Pulse only added to that.
The Dark-Type move hit the barrier, covering it as Absol was trying to break right through it by keeping his mouth open and pouring more of it on. Luster tried pushing the beam back by expanding her barrier and using vibrations, but Absol was putting up a fight, making sure that his attack would not be pushed back.
"Sol!"
"Steel Wing!"
"Braviary!" Braviary then hardened his wings, approaching the damaged barrier. Luster used her vibrations towards Braviary to try and fend him off. She was now keeping two things at bay. Braviary and Dark Pulse.
"Audi! Hyper Beam!"
"Audi...!" Audino could also withstand these vibration waves as she stood up, putting her hands together before forming an orange ball of hyper energy. "No!" The Hearing Pokemon then thrust her hands forward, firing a giant blast of energy towards the barrier.
"Oh give me a break..." Luster Dawn sighed as her barrier had now been attacked once more by Hyper Beam which was much stronger than the previous moves.
The large beam engulfed the barrier, slowly cracking it as Luster was trying her best to keep the shield up while also using her vibration spell. It was impressive for her to do two of these difficult tasks at the same time.
"Braviary!" But it wouldn't last for long. Due to Luster being pressured by Dark Pulse and Hyper Beam, her focus and concentration were weakening. This gave Braviary more strength to push on through as he got close enough to the barrier.
The Normal-Flying-Type then smashed his hardened metal wings onto the barrier, shattering it completely as tiny golden shards flew out.
"!!" Luster's eyes widened as she realized that her barrier was gone and she was now vulnerable to Dark Pulse and Hyper Beam, which were surely going to sting.
But, in that split-second when the barrier broke, Luster Dawn used magic to teleport away, barely avoiding the two attacks as they crossed streams, hitting each other in the process and blowing up.
Luster Dawn then appeared further away from everypony else, teleporting right next to SugarCube Corner as she breathed in and out.
"That was close!" Luster panted. "You almost got me there! You all are so annoying!" She roared as she fired a massive beam of magic due to frustration.
Nyx quickly got back up as she did the same, standing in front of everypony else and firing her own large beam of magic to protect her friends. A golden beam and a dark blue beam clashed, entering an immediate struggle.
Despite her seemingly wide arsenal of magic, Luster's own magic prowess seemed to be on equal levels of strength with Nyx. Her magic prowess seemed to be that on the level of an alicorn. But, being given a long lifespan would allow her to have that much experience either way.
The two of them were evenly matched, but Luster seemed like she had more to give as her beam was starting to push Nyx's back. Nyx strained as she could feel herself being pushed back.
Unsure of if Nyx could win this struggle, Twilight, Sunset and Starlight decided to help out by adding their own magic beams into the blast, giving it extra power.
With the assistance of her friends, Nyx was able to get her beam larger than Luster's as it ripped through her golden beam. Luster's eyes widened as she realized she was being overpowered right now. So, to equal things out, she added her vibrant spell onto the blast.
The clash of various powerful magic beams ended up causing a standstill as they all blew up in each other's faces, causing an explosion that left a visible crater in Ponyville.
"Tch!" Luster scoffed. "How frustrating!"
"Ugh..." Nyx's horn was smoking after that struggle. "Looks like I was right...You're only so powerful when you're next to your precious Empress."
"I beg your pardon?" Luster's eyes narrowed.
"During all those universal invasions, you constantly had to rely on the Empress to reach victory. By yourself, one or two alicorns are all you can manage." Nyx was referring to every time she had seen Luster in action during the constant invasions that the Empress initiated.
"Hmph!" Luster twitched. "I'm more than enough to handle you! Besides! I'm next in line to become an alicorn and I have more spells where that came from that will wipe you out and this entire town and beyond!"
"Prove it then." Nyx taunted with a cocky smirk. "I bet your precious Empress won't be too happy when she finds out that this world is missing a few landmarks that need to fit her whole conquering quota. And I doubt the Pokemon are going to let that happen. And you wouldn't want to encounter Ash and Pikachu next, would you?"
"Gr!" Luster growled, knowing that Nyx was right. Luster wasn't here to cause any more destruction. She only came here for the cauldron.
This universe needed to be conquered for Empress Twilight so any further destruction would just ruin a few things that mattered. If Luster kept on engaging Nyx and everypony else here and potentially Ash and Pikachu if they enter this world today, she'll just waste time with little progress and might lose in the long run.
And Luster hates being tardy. Especially to the Empress herself. She had already wasted a lot of time after her little item hunt and any more action here might transition into the evening.
Luster already had a good assortment of items. A few from the Pokemon World from different regions and some objects from Equestria that unfortunately weren't Fusion Magic related but were still helpful in a way. Even if she didn't have the cauldron, there was always next time.
That is if the Empress was accepting of that.
"Hm. Well played, Nyx." Luster smirked. "I've got a good amount of valuable treasures anyway. But just so you know...Next time we meet, I'll be better than ever. With more spells that you certainly won't be ready for." The unicorn opened up a gateway behind her, slowly walking back into it. "And those Pokemon...I'll make sure they won't be a problem anymore."
"We'll see." Nyx retorted. "This upcoming invasion will be the last one you and the Empress will ever have."
"Whatever you say." Luster snickered as those were her lasts words before she passed through the gateway, returning to her world. The gateway to her world had closed afterwards.
"Phew." Rainbow Dash sighed. "Glad that ended sooner..."
"I wasn't looking forward to a destroyed Ponyville." Rarity sat down. "But my goodness, the spells she had at her disposal."
"They were impressive." Twilight nodded. "Chains and vibrations? I'm honestly nervous to know what else she had in store if she kept this up."
"She can't keep it up for long." Nyx went over to Twilight. "Even as the Empress' protege, she has her limits. One or two alicorns are perfect to deal with her. But, that also shows just how terrifyingly strong she is."
"Yeah, but did you see Braviary?!" Rainbow Dash flew over with a cheesy grin along with Braviary. "Those vibrations and chains were no big deal for him!"
"Braviary!"
"Well, I'm not surprised," Nyx replied. "Pokemon are unnaturally strong creatures of a different calibre. Stronger than most if not all alicorns. There's a reason why the Empress fears this universe the most."
"She fears this universe? Why?" Twilight questioned.
"It's the Pokemon, of course." Nyx held her Eevee. "She's afraid of how powerful and all that potential they have. But not just that. Even you all are a threat in her eyes. Your ability to bond with Pokemon in various ways like that Mega Evolution, Bond Phenomenon or Psychic mind is something that the Empress herself is even volatile to approach."
"So in other words...she's afraid of Pokemon? Hah!" Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Well, she hasn't seen anything yet! Hey, Pinkie. When that Empress shows up, you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Mew and I are already ahead of ya." Pinkie held her Mew out.
"Mew-Mew!"
"We should check up on Zecora. She'll be glad to hear that Luster Dawn never came for the cauldron." Fluttershy recommended.
"But she'll be more devastated about her home, no doubt." Rarity replied. "Perhaps it can be rebuilt in the end."
"Probably." Twilight nodded. "But it'll take some time for the Everfree Forest to grow back. And everything she owned was in there."
"At least she still has the cauldron, right?" Pinkie nudged Twilight.
"Still...it bothers me that Luster Dawn ended up finding our secret gateway to Pyrestar's world." Starlight gulped. "You don't think..."
"Even if she found out, we won't let anything happen to the base. Besides. We chose a spot where Ghetsis and Team Plasma won't think to look, remember?" Twilight reassured Starlight. "The only thing we have to worry about is what will happen here in Ponyville when the invasion comes."
Empress Twilight's Universe.
"Empress! I've returned!" Luster ran into the throne room.
"Hm?" The Empress turned around. "Luster Dawn. Excellent. Have you received the items I requested you to?"
"W-Well..." Luster froze after hearing that, feeling a bit hesitant to give the truth. "About that...I-I did get...m-m-most of it."
"What do you mean, most of it?" The Empress' tone had been lowered, causing Luster to shudder.
"Ah, here!" The unicorn quickly placed her bag down, revealing the objects she had taken. The small stones that had Mega Evolution energy within them, many other items from the Pokemon World, the exclusive spellbook that can only be found in the universe she just came back from and the sheet of paper regarding the gateway.
"Hm." The Empress observed the items before here. Almost everything was here except for one semblance of Fusion magic. More specifically the cauldron. "I don't see the cauldron. You did it bring it through the gateway, correct?"
"N-Not quite. I uh...didn't get the cauldron." Luster gulped. "But listen! Those ponies were so persistent and annoying! I tried but Zecora kept evading me and your other universe self got in my way and then-"
"Stop." The Empress sighed, causing Luster to fall silent. "I would've been able to monitor your actions if all of Colress' spycams weren't destroyed from all the constant battling that happens in that world...The only place that still had the spycams was the Everfree Forest."
"Uhh..."
"Oh, don't worry. I saw it." The Empress squinted. "You destroyed it all. Including the remaining spycams and cutting my view of it off forever..."
"My apologies, Empress! I thought if I blew up the forest I would-"
"Save it." The Empress used her magic to pick up the crystals of Mega energy. "We'll sort the Fusion magic problem another time. At least you brought me 99% of what I needed. Besides...this Mega Evolution energy is potentially just as viable as Fusion magic."
"It is?"
"Oh yes. Most Pokemon that Mega Evolve apparently suffer and sometimes go wild. They lose control of themselves and some refuse to listen to their trainers." The Empress let out a small laugh looking at the stones as she had major plans for them. "Wouldn't it be a wonderful way to cut those precious bonds with their trainers...if every Pokemon could feel that way."
The Pokemon House, late afternoon.
"A shame that the forest and my hut are gone." Zecora sighed. "But, you drove out the threat and the cauldron is safe, and Team Rocket and I can live on."
"But on the bright side, the forest is regrowing. That Tree Behemoth is rebuilding it right now." Twilight said.
"Really?" James looked over. "Lucky."
"If you want, you can stay here until your home's rebuilt," Fluttershy suggested.
"Oh, Thank you, Fluttershy." Zecora thanked. "This'll make a great temporary place to live for Team Rocket and I."
"These guys aren't gonna cause too much trouble though, right?" Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at Team Rocket.
"We'll be as innocent as we can be!" Team Rocket let out concerning smiles.
"That means no stealing the Pokemon here, okay?" Fluttershy requested.
"Yes ma'am!" They saluted.
"Well then. We'd better get to work." Twilight turned around. "My research on Fusion magic isn't over yet. If I have just a bit more time, I can figure out how to really use it and how it works. Hopefully."
"Kinda surprised that Luster Dawn didn't go for Togekiss. I mean she's full of that stuff right?" Sunset chuckled.
"Let's not think about that..." Starlight just wanted to rest at this point. This day has been more eventful than she expected. And without a doubt, tomorrow will be the same.
There are no slow days in this world and especially the Pokemon World. But, it's to be expected now. And everyone's gotten used to it. However, when the invasion comes, it'll be a different type of experience that no one will forget as the journey continues.
More matters concerning the upcoming invasion were occurring today at Celestia's throne room. On that same round table. Like before, Luna and Cadence would be here but with a special guest that isn't really on the best of terms with Cadence especially.
That was Queen Chrysalis, of course.
Chrysalis herself was very nervous since her reputation wasn't the best in Canterlot. The Royal Wedding is a big example of that after she invaded it and tried to take over. Plus, she did almost steal her Shining Armor so there was that issue.
Right now, she was sitting with the alicorn princesses as the atmosphere was fairly tense between them. Mainly Cadence and Chrysalis. They sat apart from each other on the round table as everything fell silent in the room. Celestia and Luna could certainly feel the potential rising tension that may occur here.
"Cadence," Chrysalis spoke.
"Chrysalis." So did Cadence.
"You're looking less boisterous than usual..." Cadence raised her eyebrows.
"Well, I've mellowed over these past few months, if you must know." Chrysalis let out an unconvincing smile.
"Mmm." Celestia silently gulped as she cleared her throat. "Ahem. Well...you two seem fairly calm now, eh?"
"As calm as we can be." Both of them replied to Celestia. Obviously, they were able to maintain their coolness in this situation since they were also against a common enemy. Some great self-control.
"Well then...anyways." Celestia decided to get to the point of this meeting before Cadence and Chrysalis continue staring at each other with eerie intent. "Let's get to the topic at hoof. Chrysalis. You've already finished your plans, right?"
"Certainly." Chrysalis nodded. "My changelings and I have everything set. We can do more than just disguise ourselves. Besides, I myself have been to the Empress' universe during my alliance with her and Ghetsis."
"And you know what we can expect there," Celestia asked.
"A bit. I was very limited to where I could go. But I have something I can share."
"Excellent. I suppose I should eventually get Adagio here too. She was involved there as well." Celestia wondered. "But aside from that, you devised a plan to mask yourself as Empress Twilight, didn't you?"
"Of course. I know how she acts indefinitely. She and I are actually alike. Well...my old self anyway. If by chance, she leaves her throne room, I can quickly take her spot momentarily and work things from there."
"You do know how to keep yourself hidden." Luna nodded. "I mean...you tricked my sister and everypony in Canterlot for days after all."
"Um..." Chrysalis scrunched her face while looking over at Cadence who also made a poker face, remembering the events of the Canterlot Wedding. And the whole locking her up in the Canterlot mines.
Fun times.
"Mhm." Celestia once again cleared her throat. "Well, speaking of stealth, which is something we'll go into further, I already have two very important individuals going to work as we speak. It was decided just yesterday."
"Two?" Everypony turned to Celestia. "Is it Ash and Pikachu?"
"Not quite. But they're very qualified for this job. One of them, I know very well. They're currently working undercover and have been tasked with investigating and retrieving anything from Empress Twilight and Team Plasma without drawing too much attention. I've managed to receive help from the Pokemon World authorities as well. The Pokemon Festival truly paid off for us in terms of interaction."
"Who exactly did you send to do something so daring?" Luna questioned. "This is Team Plasma we're talking about."
"Pokemon Ranger Jack Walker and Agent Sweetie Drops."
Sinnoh. Snowpoint City. Day.
Snowpoint City. A winter wonderland of a city where stout trees and buildings are blanketed in thick snow. The Gym is at the heart of the city. To the north is the Snowpoint Temple.
Currently, Jackie and Sweetie Drops, aka Bon Bon were here, waiting for Team Plasma to arrive. They don't just show up to Equestria. They still have access to their original homeworld, the Pokemon World.
This time, Team Plasma have started to use the many airships along with the Plasma Frigate that they've rebuilt as of recently in Pyrestar's world, along with other modes of transport. No more walking out of a gateway on their legs to get something for Ghetsis.
"Should be here in just a bit," Jackie commented as he and Sweetie Drops were in hiding, standing behind one of the many vistas this city had. "Once we get up and into that ship, we'll be in huge enemy territory. There'll be little chance of going back. Team Plasma can be pretty ruthless."
"Inside of a room with a bunch of maniacs?" Sweetie replied. "Yikes. We'd better make it quick or we might be stuck in that world forever. I've got things I need to do and this whole agency being restarted kinda messed up my schedules."
"It'll be fine. Plus, we just have to lay low and return whatever Team Plasma stole back to either this world or Canterlot." Jackie held out his bag. "Oh, yeah and remember..."
"I'll hide in here, I know." Sweetie looked at the bag since she was small enough to fit inside the entire thing. "I still think my disguise is gonna pan out and-"
Right when she kept on talking, the gateway opened up with a booming sound. A fairly large one considering that an airship was coming through. One that had the Team Plasma logo on it. But not just any airship. It was the Plasma Frigate. Their main means of transportation. Through the massive gateway, the airship had arrived as everyone in Snowpoint City looked up at its sudden arrival.
It was time for Jackie and Bon Bon to get to work. And they were hoping not to bump into Ghetsis if he was in there since this is his main ship. Hopefully, it was just the grunts.
Team Plasma were here for their usual retrieval missions. It's been a consistent and common theme of what they've been doing as of recently. While Empress Twilight and her forces are preparing for an invasion, Ghetsis and Team Plasma are up to something different entirely.
The airship descended near the outskirts of Snowpoint City with the doos opening up. There, a few Team Plasma grunts were ready to come out and get to work while the rest manage the Frigate.
Once the ship had landed, the grunts looked around to see if anyone near the city was watching them. They didn't want any meddlers and they were hoping that Sinnoh wasn't that aware of Team Plasma like Unova or Kanto. After seeing no one in sight, they walked off, ready to start their mission.
Unbeknownst to the team, some individuals were actually watching them and lurking about. Jackie and Bon Bon, of course. Once those grunts walked off for their retrieval mission, Jackie and Bon Bon could take action. First, they would have to get past the grunt keeping guard of the ship since the entrance was still open from when the rest of the grunts come back.
Jackie could take care of that.
While the grunt stood by the entrance, Jackie slid in, revealing himself out in the open instead of being stealthy and silent like a usual spy. That immediately got the attention of the grunt. At the same time, Bon Bon held a wire with a hook on it for one reason.
"Huh? A Pokemon Ranger?!" The grunt exclaimed, noticing Jackie's attire appearing as he was ready to take out his Poke Ball.
"Gotcha!" Right, when the grunt reacted to Jackie's appearance Bon Bon used that wire hook, grabbing onto the face mask of the grunt and pulling it down, allowing the rest of his mouth to be revealed.
"Have a bite!" And Jackie slid in for a reason. Within his grasp, he had a Tamato Berry. Spiciest berry there is. Two of them. With just the flick of his fingers and excellent aim, Jackie launched the two berries into the mouth of the grunt, forcing him to eat them.
"Wh-" Before the grunt could throw his Poke Ball or say something, the berries entered his mouth as their spicy goodness could take full effect.
Once they entered, the grunt froze in place, instantly feeling the heat from the berries rising as his tongue was the first thing to feel its effects. It's never a good idea to eat two Tamato berries.
"H-H-Hot!" The grunt cried out as he held his face turned red with fire spewing out. He couldn't handle the aggressive heat of two Tamator berries at all.
And with the guard unable to focus, Jackie could move in, knocking out the blazing grunt with a swift and simple chop to the neck, forcing him to fall unconscious as he had been taken out of commission. Plus, they didn't need him to scream in case it attracted more grunts inside the ship.
"Success." Jackie gave Bon Bon a thumbs up. "Now then...time to really fit in."
Indoors of the airship. The sub-level.
Minutes later, after the grunt had been knocked out in one hit, Jackie had taken his Team Plasma outfit and dressed in it instead. Jackie does this very often, disguising himself as a grunt. And Bon Bon ended up jumping inside of Jackie's bag, hiding in it in the meanwhile as she could also occasionally pop out and assist Jackie.
As for the actual grunt, he had been left outside, right near the Acuity Lakepoint which is close to Snowpoint City. He was in nothing but his vest and boxers at this point.
"Alright. We're in." Jackie said. "Let's see what we can find and grab before this thing heads back to Pyrestar's world."
"Got it." A muffled voice of Bon Bon came from the bag. Now that they were inside, they had to play this out perfectly. Luckily, Jackie knows how to keep a low profile during these situations. If he can do it with pirates, he can certainly do it with a group like Team Plasma.
Jackie started casually walking about while Sweetie Drops looked through some holes in the bag that had been poked through earlier, keeping a sharp eye out from the back.
Here, a plethora of Team Plasma grunts could be seen walking around, moving from door to door. They were all conversing with each other as Jackie and Bon Bon began listening to all their conversations, trying to see if they could find something of great importance and report it back. Due to his very visible bag, the grunts he passed by eyed Jackie down with curious expressions.
And just for clarity, Jackie also took the grunt's keycard. Not just his clothes. Every door here requires a keycard for the grunts to pass through after all.
He used the keycard on one of the doors, opening it up. When the door manually opened by responding to the card, Jackie was given the sight of an entire canteen where many Team Plasma grunts could be found, eating away.
"Oh." Jackie gazed at the astronomical number of them. As if he and Bon Bon weren't in heavy enemy territory already and outnumbered. If they were to get caught while indoors, it would look ugly for them. Jackie turned around, showing, Bon Bon the view.
"Sweet Celestia..." Bon Bon gulped.
"We could be sitting Ducklett's now," Jackie replied. "But it's fine. Let's hang around and see what we can get." He decided to sit down at the canteen to listen to more conversations, even though there was a clutter of noises everywhere.
When heading to a table to sit down, Jackie's bag was still the most glaring thing in here. No one was going to ignore it obviously. And Jackie knew that. But he was still trying to make sure not to draw too much attention to himself.
For the time being, he would just sit still, listen to some conversations, and possibly wait for the canteen to be cleared out. He could eat in the meantime. Jackie always packs something for his stomach.
As he sat down, tapping his finger on the table, his ears picked up on some very interesting conversations among the clutter of voices. Specifically, conversations closer to him and Sweetie Drops.
"Right in the midst of it all?" A grunt spoke.
"Mhm. When that invasion ends up happening, Lord Ghetsis will go straight for that baby when everyone's too wrapped up in the chaos." The second grunt replied.
"Good thing we're not a part of it." A third grunt crossed her arms. "Can't be bothered to be involved with something like that. We can just sit back and watch that Empress deal with everything."
"Yeah, unless she loses." The second grunt responded. "That Ash kid is a real problem, ain't he?"
"Too big of a problem." The first one shook his head. "Even for Lord Ghetsis. We're lucky he hasn't come over to our base yet. Wish he'd just stay out of our business."
"You all worry too much. After all, he's just another Pokemon trainer." The third one shrugged. "Eventually, he'll go crashing down like those changelings."
"Maybe. But if not, then someone needs to really take care of him. I suggest using this." The first grunt pulled out a mechanical object in the shape of an orb which made Jackie's eyes focus on it.
The object of choice seemed to be simple in which it was grey and had a blue and purple orb inside of it. Jackie isn't a super expert on the whole history of the two worlds crossing since he's mostly been in the Pokemon World. But he does know one thing.
The colours of the Rift are blue and purple respectively. From the Rift magic belonging to ponies such as Cold Colt, the Fusion Magic that can be found in places like the Arcane Sea and even the gateways themselves.
So this metallic spherical object was certainly one of them.
"How about this? When we get in close, we use this Travel Sphere to trap him in...I don't know, somewhere random and barren?"
"Hoh. Not too bad of an idea.'" The second one nodded. "Any random universe will do. If he's out of the picture, then that's one major problem gone from Lord Ghetsis' chest."
"And if it fails? What if it breaks?" The third one asked.
"We'll just use another, duh. Colress made multiple of these things. Lord Ghetsis isn't always going to open gateways up for us, so these are great substitutes."
"So that's what they are..." Jackie whispered to Bon Bon. "They made small versions of gateways that they can travel to, huh? Interesting."
"We're taking those in for sure. Princess Celestia is going to love this." Bon Bon commented. "How many should do you think we can fit in?"
"So will the Ranger Union. And from how big they look, I think 10 or 15 can fit in there. 20 if we really try." Jackie observed their size.
"I've got a spare bag. I could fit one more in there." Bon Bon did in fact have her own bag which was smaller in comparison to Jackie's.
Jackie and Bon Bon had one important thing to note down and remember. Those Travel Spheres. A sort of secondary way to access planewalking and gateways. With something like that at Team Plasma's disposal, they can go almost anywhere they want. Assuming they have other options to other worlds.
Jackie kept listening in on other conversations from different sides to see what else he could discover. But so far, he was just hearing babble about simple and mundane topics while they eat.
But, one thing did catch Jackie's attention that had some level of importance to it.
"When do you think we'll get Legendary and Mythical Pokemon like Lord Ghetsis? It'd be excellent to have our own for extra power." A grunt asked.
"Don't know. Colress is still experimenting on the ones they have. Most are just doubles anyway." Another one responded when eating her food.
"Legendary and Mythical Pokemon?" Jackie gasped silently.
"They have those here?" A muffled Sweetie Drops said. "And doubles?"
"Probably just repeats. They have been going through different universes so they would have the same Pokemon over and over again." Jackie stood up. "Let's get to searching for these Legends and Mythicals. We can grab some of those spheres along the way."
But as Jackie stood up, a few grunts, curious about his very visible bag, went up to the Pokemon Ranger to ask him some questions. And Bon Bon was the first to witness this.
"Oh...! Jackie, behind you...!"
"Hm?" Responding to Bon Bon's words, Jackie turned around, spotting five grunts coming his way.
"Hey. That bag of yours. Does it have what we came for?" The first grunt asked.
"Huh?" Jackie looked at his bag, adjusting it as he had no idea what objects the grunt was referring to.
"Obviously not. He's been sitting here for a while now." The second grunt pointed at Jackie. "He doesn't have them with him. Do you?"
"Nope." Jackie shook his head. "I didn't head out with the rest."
"Then what have you got in there? Unless we're being assigned bags soon for easier carriage."
"Nothing much. Just my food." Jackie held up a sausage roll to the grunt. "Want one?"
"No thanks." The grunt pushed the sausage roll away.
"If it isn't any bother, I'll be going now. I can still stick around if you're curious about my bag." Jackie offered while Bon Bon stayed silent, knowing what Jackie was planing.
"Let me see..." Unsure of why Jackie was the only one with the bag, she went up to the disguised Pokemon Ranger. This is where Jackie and Bon Bon team up in their own special way.
When Jackie turned around and the grunt went over to the bag, Bon Bon grabbed one of Jackie's many food items. Like the Tamato Berry, Jackie had a plethora of berries for various situations. Whether he wanted to feed some Pokemon or throw his opponents off guard. One of which were the sour berries. Consisting of the Aspear Berry, Lapapa Berry, Durin Berry and much more.
But next to that, Jackie also had a Pungent Root which was arguably his strongest food item for a reason. Sweetie Drops picked up the Pungent Root as she squeezed it with her hoof. By squeezing it, she brought out the unpleasant scent that came from it, raising it to the bag. Once the grunt got close, she could feel the horrible scent from the root as she pulled back wincing.
"Ugh!"
"Oh. That would be a Pungent Root." Jackie opened the bag, taking out the root while Sweetie Drops curled up, hiding deeper in the bag. "Doesn't smell so good especially when you get close. But it tastes pretty good on curry on other stuff as a flavour."
"Gross..." She held her nose. "At least keep your food in a box."
"Boxes aren't my style sorry. But I'll keep it in mind." Jackie laughed as he closed his bag, walking away from the canteen. "Nice use of that root, Sweetie Drops."
"Wasn't it?" Bon Bon grinned.
"Alright. Let's find ourselves a lab." The next stop was Colress' lab. If they could find it that is.
Second level. East wing.
The duo arrived at the second level, where nothing much was going on. Just more grunts sitting and walking by, eyeing Jackie's bag. But, the further they went, the fewer grunts they saw. Jackie and Sweetie Drops were hoping for some major progress.
That is until they came across Sweetie Drops noticed something that she could use to her advantage while moving about freely. An air vent. Something very familiar to her.
"Aha." Sweetie Drops looked around the bag for a while, seeing that the coast was clear with no other grunts nearby. She then got out of Jackie's bag, latching her wire onto the vent. "I'm gonna take a different route, Jackie."
"Hm?" Jackie looked up. "Oh, a vent eh? Alright. I'll meet up with you soon then. Got your Xtransceiver with you?"
"Sure do." Bon Bon held her Xtransceiver out. "Being this size helps a bunch. I've been through vents a lot before so this'll be a cinch. See you soon." She then went up into the ventilation duct, closing it as Jackie was now on his own.
The two of them had separated for the time being. But they knew that they would meet up again while doing their own form of investigation.
Sweetie Drops began to move around in the vent, hidden from everyone else while Jackie was more visible to the rest, searching for Colress' extra lab that could be found in this ship, other than the one he owns at Pyrestar's world.
However, Jackie's movements wouldn't go unnoticed for long. While many grunts turned an eye to the very prominent bag he had, some were far more suspicious and began following the Pokemon Ranger. These grunts began informing their other fellow grunts about Jackie.
But, while the grunts kept a closer eye on him, Jackie ended up coming across a room that had a whole assortment of those Travel Spheres, laying around in containers. Just what he was looking for.
"Oh!" He dashed over, pressing his face on the glass and looking at the row of containers. "Jackpot!" He cheered as he used the key card to open up the door to this room.
This was where the Travel Spheres could be found. Some of them at least. There were only 40 of them in this room and the number of grunts in this ship is way more than 40.
Unfortunately, Jackie's bag wouldn't be able to carry all these spheres so he would have to stick to 10 of them. But other than that, this was a great find. He immediately sent this information and what he's gathered and heard so far to Ranger Union via his phone.
"Uh, headquarters this is Jack Walker, checking in." He spoke on the phone.
"Jackie. What'd you and Sweetie Drops find?" A lady on the phone replied.
"Get a load of this." Jackie picked up one of the Travel Spheres. "Spheres that can allow someone to travel through gateways to other words."
"Excuse me?"
"Looks like their scientist Colress made this. Sort of a mini-rift machine. Totally beats having to walk far to a gateway if you ask me. Plus, they're apparently holding Legendary and Mythical Pokemon hostage here somewhere. Probably a mini-lab."
"Well, well. That's a find indeed. The spheres, I mean. Legendaries and Mythicals aren't that new or surprising."
"Yep. But it probably doesn't put a dent in that huge gateway up there." Jackie looked up. "Ghetsis must've opened that."
"Are you gonna hang around at Team Plasma's ship for a month like you did with Phantom?"
"Ah...Not sure. I'd rather be back on that ship than be around these guys. Tell HQ that I'll be back shortly. After Sweetie Drops and I have gathered what we can. This'll be the easiest Ranger mission yet."
"You won't be heading back shortly at all." Just then, Jackie's words were responded to by someone different. The grunts that were suspicious and secretly following him had arrived, hearing Jackie's words.
"Hm?" The ranger turned around to see the grunts. "Oh."
"You. You're a Pokemon Ranger, huh?" The grunt said, narrowing her eyes.
"Ah...This feels familiar." Jackie sighed. "Oh well!" He then removed the Team Plasma outfit, tossing it aside as he revealed his Pokemon Ranger outfit. "Caught me in no time! Pretty impressed. Usually, it takes days for someone to figure me out."
"Why you! Hand over those spheres!" One of the grunts exclaimed as they each took out their Poke Balls.
"Relax. I'm just taking 10 of them. You can keep the rest!" Jackie poured 10 spheres into his bag before tossing the containers at the grunts, hitting one of them in the head and knocking the grunt out.
"Doh!"
Jackie, with his always superb agility, front flipped over the guards that stood before him as the remaining Travel Spheres had fallen on the floor due to him throwing them. The grunts turned around as they sent their Pokemon out to try and catch Jackie.
"Liepard!"
"Watchog!"
"Golbat!"
"Bye!" Jackie used the keycard to open the door, leaving the container room. But, even if he got out of there, he was now made aware by these grunts and soon everyone else as one of the grunts decided to alert the rest of the ship.
"Liepard! After him!" A grunt commanded her Liepad along with the others grunts and their own Pokemon. They then gave chase to the Pokemon Ranger as the grunt used his communicator to alert Colress.
Colress was at the helm since he was controlling the movements of the ship. He was the first to receive information about a Pokemon Ranger and seemingly a pony onboard.
"I see." Colress nodded as he knew what to do. Give a full announcement to the entire ship. "Attention everyone. It seems we have some intruders onboard. A Pokemon Ranger and some random pony. The last thing we want is a Pokemon Ranger of all people. Make sure you find him properly, please?"
Now everyone knew about Jackie and Sweetie Drops.
And speaking of Bon Bon, she heard this while moving through the ventilation as she sighed. "Oh well...So much for being discreet..."
Bon Bon continued to move within the vents while Jackie began running from his many pursuers AKA everyone on this ship.
"There!" A grunt called out as Jackie saw them up ahead along with their Drapion. "Drapion! Dark Pulse!"
"Dra...!" Drapion opened its mouth, ready to blast Jackie.
"Yikes!" Jackie winced as he witnessed the Poison-Dark-Type shoot out a dark beam of black and purple circles. However, Jackie's amazing flexibility and great reaction time allowed him to swiftly avoid Dark Pulse by moving to the side.
Dark Pulse ended up hitting the grunts and Pokemon in the back who were also chasing Jackie. The attack had launched them back, giving Jackie more opportunities.
"Oh! Mind if I borrow your Drapion for a bit?!" Jackie took out his Capture Styler, aiming it at the Ogre Scorp Pokemon. "Capture on!" From his styler, a golden beam trail came out at lightspeed, looping around the Poison-Dark-Type.
"Pion?" Once the light looped around Drapion, it immediately transmitted a bizarre energy to it, causing the Ogre Scorp Pokemon to temporarily switch sides. Now Drapion followed Jackie's commands. "Dra!" Drapion then suddenly whacked its own trainer with its tail, sending them flying.
"Ough!" The trainer grunted after being hit by his own Pokemon.
"Thanks!" Jackie hopped onto Drapion's back. "I'll bring it back, promise! Drapion, use Dark Pulse!"
"Drapion!" Drapion now listened to Jackie as it fired out a Dark Pulse over at the grunts and Pokemon up ahead. They had already been hit by Dark Pulse before when Jackie avoided it. Now they received a second helping which hurt just as much, forcing them to stay on the ground.
"Let's go!" Jackie ordered as Drapion got a move on. Due to Drapion being a scorpion-like creature, it used its legs to immediately climb up the walls of the ship for better momentum and mobility.
"Drap!"
"There he is! Liepard, use Night Slash!"
"Golbat! Air Slash!"
"Magneton! Thunderbolt!"
"Garbodor! Venoshock!"
Each of the Pokemon ordered had unleashed their own attacks. While Liepard lunged at Drapion and Jackie with fangs bearing, the rest attacked from afar with a mix of razor-sharp wind blades, 100,000 volts of electricity, and a stream of poison.
"Drapion!" Drapion quickly turned its head around like an owl while rapidly moving on the walls. It was able to catch Liepard by using the two stingers on its tail, grabbing onto the neck of the Cruel Pokemon and stopping Play Rough.
"Lie!"
"Dra!" Drapion then used Liepard as a meat shield, allowing the Cruel Pokemon to be hit by all three attacks in the process, causing Liepard to faint.
With no remorse, Drapion then used its mouth to not only fire Dark Pulse at its targets, but also toss Liepard into the other Pokemon and grunts while the beam of black and purple circles hit them all.
"Man you're ruthless..." Jackie looked at Drapion, feeling a bit nervous and terrified by this Pokemon's action.
"Dra!" Drapion nodded as it continued to run on the walls.
More grunts came after Jackie since they were everywhere by this point. They all witnessed the Ranger riding on the back of a Drapion which was running on the walls of the ship. Without hesitation, they ordered each of their Pokemon to attack them at all costs with whatever move they can. Some grunts even started throwing random objects at Jackie.
The Ogre Scorp Pokemon was clearly quicker than most of the Pokemon here aside from those that owned Liepard and Golbat as they could easily catch up with it. Drapion was able to avoid some of the moves as the ship itself was being damaged each time the Poison-Dark-Type evaded.
And when it couldn't evade, it would just fire Dark Pulses to cancel out other moves. And if someone got close with a physical attack, then the tail plus meat shield was the perfect response.
At the same time, Jackie caught some of the objects that had been thrown at him by the grunts, holding them in his hands. Looking at the caught items, he decided to return the favour. "Right back at ya!" He threw the items back at the grunts, hitting them with his superior precision.
Pokemon Rangers are trained for serious scenarios. For them to survive and withstand these scenarios, they go under various training regime that sharply enhances their skills and senses. And Jackie, being a Rank 9 Ranger meant that he was so skilled that some may say he's superhuman.
"Now then. Are you gonna lead me to that lab? If you know where it is?" Jackie asked Drapion.
"Dra!" Drapion could indeed lead Jackie to the lab as they kept fending off the grunts that approached them.
Meanwhile, with Sweetie Drops, her little vent adventure led to her own wild experience while Jackie is currently undergoing his via a chase sequence.
After moving through the long and large vents that had so many different paths with the constant sounds of fans spinning, She actually came across the room where Colress' mini-lab could be found.
"Aha!" Sweetie Drops grinned as she found her destination. But it wasn't without its obstacles. There were grunts inside of the lab as well, further creating walls that needed to be overcome.
Bon Bon analyzed everything her eyes could see. With this being a miniature version of Colress lab, it had fewer things going for it. There were Poke Balls laid out on the table. More specifically, Team Plasma Poke Balls. They even had the Plasma symbol on them like a Master Ball.
All of these had captured Pokemon, most likely Legendary and Mythical Pokemon within then. Retrieving them was vital as these kinds of Pokemon can cause mass destruction if in the wrong hands. This mini-lab also contained some working machines which were currently running along with books and papers lying around, all targeted around specific Pokemon and phenomenons.
After assessing the room, Sweetie Drops had an idea. It was about time she allowed her own Pokemon to get involved with the action. And being a secret agent, she chose the one Pokemon that would help in these situations in terms of sabotaging anything electrical related.
"Showtime." Bon Bon held out a Poke Ball, sending her partner out, which turned out to be a Marill.
"Marill."
"Alright, Marill. See all that stuff down there?"
"Rill?" The Aqua Mouse Pokemon looked through the vent.
"I think we should mess with it and turn it all off. Whadda say?"
"Marill!"
"Great!" Sweetie Drops exclaimed as she smashed her hoof on the vent, causing it to fall off as it hit a grunt on the head, knocking her out.
"Agh!"
"Huh?!" The grunts looked up, noticing their fallen member being taken out by the vent itself.
"Marill! Hydro Pump!"
"Rill!" The Water-Fairy-Type jumped down, opening her mouth as she unleashed a high volume blast of water which hit the floor at full force. Once the water connected with the floor, it immediately spread out in all directions, catching the rest of the grunts before they could send out their Pokemon and also flooding the lab itself.
With all this water emerging within the lab and the grunts being consumed by it, the machines here were being overloaded with high conduction. Everything was being fried because of this as the power of the lab was starting to fail and become unresponsive.
Because of this, the doors had opened up which usually require a keycard to do so. But because of Marill's Hydro Pump frying the lab and the door next to it, that wasn't the case as the water ended up reaching the outside of the lab and flowing through the corridors and the rest of the ship.
Sweetie Drops used her wire as a sort of spider web to descend. She made sure to stay away from the high levels of water that had just flooded the lab.
"Great job, Marill." Sweetie Drops praised her Pokemon before getting out a magnet and holding it with her mouth. Since every Poke Ball is metallic in design, magnets were a good way to attract them. Some trainers actually use this tactic if they're too lazy to grab their Poke Balls from afar.
Bon Bon used the magnet, aiming it at the flooded table as the Poke Balls were covered by all the water. The magnet managed to pick up on 2 Poke Balls, grabbing them each. That was the maximum her magnet could hold. She then placed her magnet and the Poke Ball in her bag, ready to get out another magnet for the rest of the Poke Balls.
But, before she could even do that, some grunts showed up, swimming through the water as the entire corridor had been flooded. Now everyone had to swim.
"What's going on here?!" A grunt exclaimed as he noticed Sweetie Drops and Marill.
"Uh-oh."
"Marill?"
"You!"
"Time to go!" Sweetie Drops returned Marill to her Poke Ball before using the wire to ascend back into the vent she came out of.
"Get back here!" The grunts cried as they swam through the mini-lab, trying to catch Sweetie Drops.
"So much for the other Poke Balls! But these should do for now!" Only 2 Poke Balls were retrieved. The others, not so much. But at least it was something. Now there was the next objective.
To get out of here after being caught.
Colress could tell that things were escalating to an unnecessary degree. One human and one pony have managed to cause this much chaos in a short amount of time.
"Tch." Accursed Pokemon Ranger...They're the last kind of people we want to interact with." Annoyed by this sudden change of events, Colress decided to involve himself in this. Despite the massive flood, some electronics were still working. But barely.
By commanding the helm and all the movements, Colress controlled the ship, causing it to start moving. The Plasma Frigate was starting to ascend as everyone could feel the ship's sudden movements. Colress knew that the doors of the ship were unresponsive at the moment. Jackie wouldn't be able to escape along with Bon Bon. But just that, escaping from a high height would be a problem. And that's what Colress was going for as the ship had already reached a high level in seconds, showing just how fast it was.
"That can't be good!" Jackie looked outside the windows, noticing the change in height. "We gotta get out of here fast!" He then noticed that the styler was beeping aggressively, meaning that the effects on Drapion were starting to expire.
"Dra!" Drapion fired some Pin Missiles at more grunts and Pokemon, attack them while it was on the wall, avoiding the flooded floor.
"Sorry, Drapion! You've been a real help! Thanks!" Jackie hopped off Drapion as the effect of the Capture Style had expired. Drapion was no longer on Jackie's side.
"Dra? Dra?"
"I'll need your help next! Golbat! Capture on!" Jackie landed on the head of a grunt, harming them while also balancing on them too. He then fired the styler, wrapping it around one of the Golbat's that had been attacked by Drapion.
"Golbat!" Now Golbat had been shifted to Jackie's side.
"Golbat!" Jackie hopped off the grunt's head, jumping onto other grunts like he was playing hopscotch, forcing them further deep into the large stream of water. "Think you can get us out of here?!"
"Bat!" Golbat certainly could as it flew over to the Pokemon Ranger. Jackie held his hand out, grabbing onto Golbat's leg and taking an aerial ride with the Bat Pokemon.
Golbat ascended, avoiding the water while also aiming upwards. The Bat Pokemon used Shadow Ball, hurling a blob of shadows upwards as it broke through the ceiling of the ship.
There was still the aim of meeting up with Sweetie Drops again who was most likely still in the vents. Golbat carried Jackie upwards, continuing to fire Shadow Ball through the ceiling of the ship, revealing the higher levels gradually.
Jackie kept a good eye out for Bon Bon if he could find her while Golbat blazed through the ceilings as if they were nothing. At the same time, other Golbats chased Jackie down, shooting Air Slash, Air Cutter, Venoshock and other moves at the Pokemon Ranger.
"Woah!" Jackie swung his body as if he was sitting on a swing, avoiding the attacks while Golbat looked back at its fellow Bat Pokemon.
"Golbaaaaaaaat!" Golbat then decided to stop the other Golbats in place by using Supersonic. It generated odd sound waves from its always open mouth, beating them onto its fellow Poison-Flying-Types.
"Bat!"
Escape seemed imminent as Golbat shot the next Shadow Ball, revealing the highest point of this ship. The upper floor and where the helm can also be found.
"There!" Jackie cried out as Golbat sped up, gracefully flying out of the Plasma Frigate's final hole and entering the outside, just atop the ship.
"Golbat!"
"Thanks, Golbat!" Jackie thanked the Bat Pokemon as he let go of its leg, landing on the surface of the ship. "Now...Where's Bon Bon?"
"Right here!" Right on time, Bon Bon appeared by having her Marill blast Hydro Pump through the wooden structure that the top of the ship had. "I just followed all the damage and destruction you caused. Pretty easy."
"Rill!"
"Was the water part your move, Marill?" Jackie asked.
"Sure was."
"Marill!"
"Nice." He gave her a thumbs up. "Now, let's get out of here before this whole ship goes down. We've got some pretty good stuff so far. Let's report back."
"You're not going anywhere, Pokemon Ranger!" But of course, they couldn't just leave here casually. After the ruckus, they had caused, Colress couldn't ignore it as he had shown up.
"Colress." Jackie narrowed his eyes at the scientist.
"You rangers know how to cause so much trouble. This is Lord Ghetsis' main ship and you've absolutely ruined it." Colress held out a Poke Ball.
"Ah, it'll buff out." Sweetie Drops scoffed.
"Hmph! You won't be leaving here scot-free or at all! Go, Magnezone!" He sent his Poke Ball out, revealing the Magnet Area Pokemon.
"Magneton!"
"Magneton! Use Flash Cannon!"
"Magne...!" The Electric-Steel-Type was getting ready to blast its targets with concentrated metallic energy.
"Golbat! Shadow Ball!"
"Marill! Hydro Pump!"
"Gol!"
"Rill!"
At the same time, all three Pokemon fired their ranged attacks. From a silver beam with metal shards in it, a ball of shadows and a stream of highly concentrated water, they collided, equalling each other out before causing an explosion in between.
"Marill Use Superpower!"
"Rill! Marill!" Marill's hands and tail started glowing as she ran through the smoke at impressive speeds, appearing in front of the Magnet Area Pokemon while lunging.
"Zone?!"
"Magnezone! Thunderbolt!"
"Magne...!" Magnezone began charging up power to shock Marill. But it was too late. Due to Marill moving through the smoke earlier, the Aqua Mouse Pokemon got her hit in, smashing her hands onto the eye of Magnezone.
"Marill!" The force of her strike was so great, it shattered the wood of the upper deck while also slamming Magnezone so hard that it went crashing through the ship, falling far down and entering the lower levels.
"Zone!"
"Ah!" Colress gasped.
"Nice hit!" Sweetie Drops clapped her hooves.
"You still won't get away!" Colress was ready to send out another Poke Ball as the Team Plasma grunts were starting to come up here.
"Don't have time for more battling..." Jackie uttered as he looked around for a way to leave this behind. He then spotted a far away Staraptor in the distance, flying by with its flock. "Ah!"
"Go, Beheeyem!" Colress sent his next Pokemon out.
"Beheeyem!"
"Use Psychic!"
"Golbat! Supersonic!"
"Marill! Rollout!"
"Baaaaaaat!" The Bat Pokemon omitted sound waves from its body, sending them towards Beheyeem and throwing the Cerebral Pokemon off focus, interrupting Psychic.
"B-Behee!"
"Ma!" Marill then came in, smashing into Beheyeem and sending it back.
"Keep him a bit busy for me, Bon Bon! You too Golbat!"
"You got it! Hydro Pump!"
"Use Signal Beam, Beheyeem!"
"Capture on!" Jackie exclaimed as he sent his styler towards the nearest Staraptor, wrapping the golden light around the Predator Pokemon and sending the energy through it.
"Star!" Staraptor was now an ally temporarily as it flew over to Jackie's direction. "Staraptor!"
Both Hydro Pump and Signal Beam cancelled each other out as Bon Bon and Colress continued to face off while Staraptor was closing in. However, things were gonna get tricker from here on as Magnezone ended up resurfacing, flying out of the hole it crashed through and appearing in front of Marill.
"Magne!"
"Marill?!"
Not only that, but the Team Plasma grunts had all gotten up here along with their Pokemon. It was only a matter of time until they got out of that water. Well, a few of them anyway.
"Uh...!" Bon Bon winced at the sight of the newcomers. "Jackie!"
"Got it! Hop on!" Jackie called out as he hopped on Staraptor's back as Staraptor came swooping in at high speeds.
"Staraptor!"
Bon Bon and Marill were picked up by Staraptor via the usage of its head. The two of them were launched into the air by Staraptor, screaming before Jackie caught them both. The wings of Staraptor also knocked Magnezone away.
"Gotcha! Get us out of here, Staraptor!"
"Star!"
"Don't let them escape! Signal Beam! Thunderbolt!" Colress roared as the other grunts commanded their Pokemon to try and strike Jackie and the others down.
"Golbat!" However, Golbat flew in front of the attacks, protecting Jackie by being a shield as it had been hit by the attacks, taking all the damage for Jackie and Bon Bon. "Bat!"
"Huh?!" Colress gasped, looking at the fainted Golbat. And due to Golbat fainting, the styler had lost its connection to the Bat Pokemon.
"Thanks, Golbat!" Jackie thanked the Bat Pokemon in the distance before escaping the vicinity of the Plasma Frigate and Team Plasma in general.
They had successfully escaped.
"..." Colress looked in the distance, adjusting his glasses while scoffing. In the end, Jackie and Sweetie Drops were the victors in all of this. Not only did they destroy parts of the ship which belonged to Ghetsis, but they got away with valuable information and very important objects and Pokemon too.
This can be considered a defeat.
"Pokemon Ranger..." Colress took his glasses off, knowing that they have lost for the day.
Canterlot. Celestia's throne room. Late afternoon.
"Here's what I was able to return, Princess Celestia." Sweetie Drops had returned with valuable objects. The Poke Balls that held Pokemon inside of them and some of the Travel Spheres given to her by Jackie. They both took half of them.
"Excellent work, Agent Sweetie Drops." Celestia nodded. "It was a brilliant idea to restart this agency. I knew I could count on you for this."
"Pah. It was nothing." Bon Bon felt proud as she gave herself a confident smirk and a pat on the back. "But, I couldn't have done it without Jackie. Having a real Pokemon expert really helped out in the end."
"Indeed. You may head home now. I'll call you for other missions when needed."
"Yes, princess!"
A successful mission. From both a Pokemon Ranger and a Secret Agent. Granted, it ended in destruction and anarchy but when it comes to Pokemon that's to be expected.
Equestria now had something to utilize in the future. Fairly soon even. With the invasion still approaching in just 3 weeks, all the help is needed as the journey continues.
"Z-Moves. A special type of move in which a Trainer and their Pokémon's wishes combine to unleash an attack comprising the full power of both. They hold awesome power." Brawly explained to the students in front of him as he was joined by Roxanne and Roxie. "That's pretty much the gist of them."
"More than that." Roxanne stepped forward. "There are three different kinds of Z-Moves. Z-Moves can be used by any Pokemon with one Z-Move for each Type. Even Status moves can be transferred into them. Some Pokemon have their own unique Z-Crystals and Z-moves that only they can perform."
"And those are the real heavy hitters." Roxanne nodded. "The basic ones are good, but the exclusive ones are one of a kind!"
"There are 18 different Z-Crystals that correspond to each of the 18 types, and several others that correspond to specific Pokémon. Z-Moves work by powering up one of the Pokémon's normal moves, so the Pokémon must also know an appropriate move. But that shouldn't be a problem for anyone." Roxanne shook her head.
"And of course, you gotta have a Z-Ring to really pull them off." Brawly continued explaining "A Pokémon can only use a Z-Move if its Trainer is wearing a Z-Ring or Z-Power Ring and has the same Z-Crystal the Pokémon is holding."
"Uh..." Rainbow Dash raised her hoof, wanting to ask a question.
"No, Rainbow Dash. Sadly, Mega Evolved Pokemon can't use Z-Moves." Brawly answered.
"Awww...!" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"But they're equally as powerful as Mega Evolution. Even if they are a one-time use type of attack." Roxanne shrugged.
"Which brings us to today. It's a perfect time for you all to learn and utilize Z-Moves."
"OH!" Pinkie Pie shot up. "We're gonna use them today?!"
"Really?!" Rainbow Dash flew over Pinkie Pie.
"Right now?!" Starlight exclaimed as everypony in the classroom started chattering about this. Some didn't even know what a Z-Move looked like but they were excited to see it either way.
"Yeah, yeah today." Brawly calmed them all down. "And what better place to head than Alola? The heart of where Z-Moves exist. But uh, we're gonna have to sort your posing out."
"Our posing?" A pony in the class asked.
"Mhm. Z-Moves require the usage of poses to be performed as well. We can do this easily because of how we humans are built. But I'm not sure you all can easily do it in one go." Roxanne observed. "Can you?"
"Totally." Rainbow Dash nodded. "I battled Soarin a few days ago and he pulled off a Z-Move, no problem."
"But he did say he trained a bit to really get it right since he ain't naturally built for it." Applejack responded. "Didn't look that tough to do though."
"Great. That means you can totally do it, no problem." "Roxie gave a thumbs up. "Gonna take some getting used to though."
"The rest of the teachers will meet up with us over at Alola. Ash has offered to help out with this as well." Roxanne said. "We'll practice those poses and see if you're ready to obtain Z-Crystals. If you can get past the trials that is. And if not, there's always next time."
"Yeah. And besides..." Brawly put on some sunglasses along with Roxie. "Since Half terms closing in soon, might as well take the time to also enjoy Alola too, huh? There are some pretty sweet waves there!"
"Mhm!" Roxie nodded.
"We're not there to relax. We're there to teach." Roxanne facepalmed, knowing that Brawly and Roxie were going to do something else entirely.
"We'll get a chance to use our own Z-Moves. That sounds..." Twilight thought of the outcome of using such powerful moves. She had already seen 5 of them before and they were highly destructive. One even forced King Sombra back. "Riveting! A bit nervous but exciting!"
"Isn't it?" Rainbow Dash flew over. "I can't use it on Altaria...but maybe I can get one for the rest of my Pokemon!"
"I want those exclusive Z-Moves!" Pinkie Pie got giddy. "Wait. Are those only for Alolan Pokemon?" Everyone kept talking about Z-Moves. Some were nervous to try them but most were ecstatic.
Z-Moves are always exciting to get into and can be great assets in battle if used correctly that is. Everyone in the class, including the younger ones were ready to leave Canterlot and Equestria and head on over to Alola. Especially the younger students by a mile.
Being students at the Pokemon School made everypony feel like they were young again but still gaining their mature nature. It was most likely from the fact that teachers here treat the students like they're the same age as them.
Although, some actually are the same age.
However, while the students were heading off to Alola, something else was brewing over at the Canterlot Gardens. Something related to a fairly important mission that happened just yesterday.
12 minutes later. Canterlot Gardens.
Celestia had gone outside to the gardens with Passion and Arcanine by her side. Luna had also come along as this seemed urgent. Which is was without a doubt.
Celestia had within her disposal was one of the two Team Plasma Poke Balls that Sweetie Drops AKA Bon Bon had retrieved after her mission with Pokemon Ranger Jack Walker or Jackie for short. When they infiltrated the Plasma Frigate, they brought back their own objects and information to their respective authorities.
Jackie went to the Ranger Union with new intel and 5 Travel Spheres and Sweetie Drops returned the two Poke Balls and also retrieving 5 Travel Spheres.
"So this Poke Ball holds a Legendary?" Luna spoke.
"Apparently. And the same goes for the second one. There's no telling how many Team Plasma have retrieved." Celestia replied. "Thankfully, we have some here, far away from Ghetsis."
"And we are to release them out in the open?"
"Not sure. I'm a bit nervous myself on what Pokemon could be in here." Celestia shuddered while looking at the Poke Ball. She knew of the unbridled power that Legendary Pokemon possessed. Any one of them can cause mass destruction in little time with little effort.
"Gardevoir?" Passion looked at her nervous trainer.
"Well...Let's see for ourselves." Celestia gulped as she used her magic to throw the Poke Ball into the air, prepared for whatever Legendary Pokemon could be within it.
Once the Poke Ball opened up, a figure came shooting out from the lights the Poke Ball produced. A large bipedal figure standing with a height of 10'06" and 3.2 metres in feet with draconic, avian, and mammalian traits.
A long, voluminous wispy mane streamed out of his figure as a vast white colour could be seen once the light started to fade away as Celestia, Luna, Passion and Arcanine gawked at this figure. Once the light faded away, more of the Pokemon could be seen as it had a jet engine-like tail at the end.
The Pokemon that fit this description was none other than the Pokemon of Truth, one of the members of the Tao Trio and the Vast White Pokemon.
Reshiram.
This entire time, there was a Reshiram within this Poke Ball for a long period of time. And it was most likely a Reshiram from another universe since Ghetsis has been gathering doubles of various Legendary Pokemon, not just limiting himself to just one.
The size of this Pokemon was so astronomical that it towered over every building in Canterlot. Even the castle as everyone in the distance could see it. At least, its head since the rest of its body was being covered by the castle. Even Twilight and the rest of the students, who were already away from Canterlot by this time and near the Pikachu Highlands and Deerling Forest, stopped to witness the sudden arrival of this gigantic Pokemon.
"That figure...No way!" Brawly gawked as he and the Gym Leaders immediately recognized the figure of the Pokemon in the far distance.
"Yes, way! It's it really here?!" Roxanne gasped.
"It looks like it!" Roxie cried out. "Oh, man that's so cool!"
"A vast white appearance..." Twilight said under her breath as she recognized this Pokemon from what she discovering when reading many Pokemon books. "Isn't that...?"
"W-W-W-W-What is that...?!" Luna felt paralyzed by the sight of this majestic yet intimidating Pokemon. She pulled out her Pokedex to see if there was any info on this Pokemon.
"Reshiram. The Vast White Pokemon. This Pokémon appears in legends. It sends flames into the air from its tail, burning up everything around it. When Reshiram’s tail flares, the heat energy moves the atmosphere and changes the world’s weather. This legendary Pokémon can scorch the world with fire. It helps those who want to build a world of truth. According to myth, if people ignore the truth and let themselves become consumed by greed, Reshiram will arrive to burn their kingdoms down."
"Reshiram..." Celestia's jaw dropped as she heard the name of this Legendary Pokemon while looking up at it. Reshiram and Celestia's eyes met for a moment, staring at each other. One with confusion and the other with fear. Passion and Arcanine stood beside Celestia, ready to defend their trainer if Reshiram decides to attack.
But that wouldn't be happening.
Because all of a sudden, Reshiram's eyes closed as it had suddenly fainted, falling over instead of standing or flying in the air. Celestia and the others backed away as the Vast White Pokemon fell to the ground, hitting it hard and causing a mild earthquake that shook Canterlot.
Windows had shattered as everyone bounced off the ground from Reshiram's collapse. Some furniture was caught up in this sudden magnitude as there was a slight panic.
The guards had seen this since they're always close to Celestia. They informed the citizens along with the Gym Leaders that everything was under control at the moment. There was no need to worry. Just a fainted Pokemon. They ordered everyone to get along with their day for the meanwhile.
"Oh my goodness!" Celestia gasped, more concerned about the state of Reshiram than anything else as she ran over to the Vast White Pokemon. "Are you alright?!"
"Gardevoir?!"
"What happened?" Luna wondered as everyone from afar witnessed Reshiram fall, feeling the mild tremor.
"It seems to have fainted," Celestia observed Reshiram's state. "Just when it came out of the Poke Ball and everything."
"Arcanine?"
"Oh!" Luna looked to the Poke Ball that Reshiram came out of. "The Poke Ball! Shouldn't we destroy it? It was captured by Team Plasma and everything. And if it's already in a fainted state after coming out..."
"The Poke Ball?" Celestia turned to face the Team Plasma Ball. Indeed, Celestia already knew from Sweetie Drops that Team Plasma have been gathering Pokemon from other universes, mainly Legendaries and Mythicals and containing them in their own Poke Balls for personal uses.
Knowing this, Celestia nodded, approving for Luna to destroy the Poke Ball which will free Reshiram of Team Plasma's ownership permanently.
"Right!" Luna responded as she used her magic to obliterate the Team Plasma ball. Reshiram was no longer a Pokemon belonging to Team Plasma. But the same couldn't be said for the other Pokemon. Celestia placed her hoof on the Vast White Pokemon's face while it was still unconscious.
"What should we do about Reshiram then? What if it eventually wakes up? It might be under Ghetsis' will and control!" Luna started to worry about what horrible outcome could come from this when Reshiram awakes.
"Maybe. But, if that's the case, then we can't leave it like this." Celestia shook her head. "Reshiram and every other Pokemon that have been captured must've been through horrible things for it have fainted the minute it came out of the Poke Ball."
"That is unnatural..." Luna nodded before realizing something. "Oh. Um...I believe destroying the Poke Ball may mean we can't return it. And considering its size..."
"It's fine. For now, I'll have to focus on Reshiram for the time being. Passion."
"Gardevoir." Passion knew what to do as she went up to the Vast White Pokemon. She was going to tap into its mind to see what she could find. By putting her hand on the Dragon-Fire-Type's face and using her Psychic mind, the Embrace Pokemon tapped into Reshiram's psyche.
However, the moment she did so, the first thing she saw was nothing but raging blue flames. And afterwards, Passion's mind had been attacked as she was pushed back.
"Voir!" The Psychic-Fairy was sent back, falling on her back.
"Passion!" Celestia running over to her partner. "Are you alright?!"
"G-Gardevoir?" Passion sat up, holding her head as she had no idea what had just happened. One moment she tapped into Reshiram's mind, seeing blue fire and then all of a sudden, she was forced out of it.
Celestia helped Passion up, turning to face Reshiram who was still unconscious. If Reshiram was somehow able to force Passion away while still being unconscious, then its own Psychic prowess was highly impressive.
And speaking of which, a faint Psychic wave came out of Reshiram's fainted body as it travelled through Celestia and Passion, speaking to them. The Trainer and Pokemon froze up for a bit, hearing and feeling this Psychic call. However, they couldn't really fully understand it but they could feel it. Reshiram spoke to them.
"Sister!" Luna called out to Celestia, seeing that she suddenly froze in place. "Sister!"
"Oh!" Celestia and Passion both snapped out of it from Luna's call.
"What happened? You two just froze without warning."
"Not sure..." Celestia's eyes blinked repeatedly. "But I believe it came from Reshiram over there. A Psychic call."
"From Reshiram? While it's still fainted?"
"I believe Reshiram may stay fainted for a while. Whatever Ghetsis and Team Plasma have been doing to it, it's clearly draining and taxing on them."
"Hah?"
"We should let Reshiram rest for a bit. I'll stay here and watch over it for the time being."
"By yourself? But what if it wakes up and-"
"I'll be fine. I have Passion and Arcanine on my side."
"Gardevoir."
"Arcanine."
"A-Alright." Luna nodded. "I'll leave it up to you. And the second Poke Ball that holds a Legendary?"
"Leave that one, for now, Luna."
"Understood." Luna walked off, looking back at her sister and the unconscious Vast White Pokemon, worried about what could happen if Reshiram awoke. And especially what Pokemon could be in the second Poke Ball.
Alola. Melemele Island. Melemele Meadow. Day.
Melemele Meadow. A paradise where the Oricorio dance and a place where yellow flowers bloom in abundance. Many can gather the nectar Oricorio loves to feed on here.
"Alola!" Ash greeted his friends along with the other two others of Alola who had joined him. The Trial Captain Acerola and the Island Kahuna Hala. The rest of the teachers from the Pokemon School had also shown up here with Ash. "Great you guys made it on time!"
"Pikachu!"
"Hm! Hm!" Hala nodded. "Alola! I am the Island Kahuna, Hala."
"Alola! My name's Acerola. Trial Captain of Ula'ula Island." She flashed her hands at them all.
"You ready to learn some Z-Moves?" Ash crossed his hands as he was wearing his Z-Ring today but with a different crystal.
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash and some other eager ponies nodded.
"You're going to love this." Brawly pointed his thumb at Hala. "Guys like Hala and Acerola are the only ways you can really get Z-Crystals. By completing their Island Trials."
"These things don't come easy." Acerola wagged her finger.
"Not at all." Hala shook his head. "Z-Moves or for better term Z-Power require worthy Trainers. They don't come free. Right, Ash."
"Oh, yeah," Ash replied. "Took a bunch for me and my Pokemon to get our crystals. But boy was it worth it."
"That reminds me...Brawly." Hala turned to Brawly.
"Hm? Yeah?"
"Have you actually come back to give this a second try? You failed the first time when trying to obtain the Fightinium Z."
"Again? Ahaha..." Brawly laughed nervously. "Not really. You were kinda too strong for me the first time so no...But it'd be great if I could get that crystal."
"You've done this before?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah..." Brawly sighed, remembering how his first time went. "Didn't go so well. But I was younger back then so ya know..."
"Age isn't a matter, Brawly," Hala responded. "Anyone of any kind and age can succeed. I mean, a few months ago, a pony by the name of Soarin came along and succeed in finding the Flyinium Z despite going through rigorous obstacles."
"Obstacles? You don't have to battle to find the crystals?" Twilight questioned.
"Not all of them." Acerola shook her head. "A bunch of crystals are just lying around Alola. Only us Trial Captains and the Kahunas give 'em out, ya know."
"But finding them out in Alola is just as difficult." Ash pointed out.
"Pikachu."
"But enough talk!" Ash adjusted his gloves. "Let's get this started. With some posing exercise!"
"Yeah- wait...posing exercise?" Rainbow Dash got excited before calming down after hearing what Ash said.
"You won't be able to pull them off without knowing how to really perform the poses," Olympia spoke.
"They're the key to everything when it comes to Z-Moves." Valerie chimed in. "Don't worry, we'll help you through it."
"Just follow us." Ash pointed at himself. "Using Z-Moves requires a ton of energy. You gotta go FWAH! And then give it a SHOOM! And then follow it up with a CRASH! Right, Pikachu?"
"Pi-Pikachu...?" Pikachu gave his best friend a face of confusion and worry.
"What Ash said." Acerola nodded. "You'll be doing perfect poses in no time."
"Posing with these?" Applejack looked at her hooves flailing them about along with Pinkie Pie. "All Z-Moves have different poses, right?"
"All of them. Besides, you've all got Pokemon for every type." Brawly moved his hand across the many Pokemon standing beside their Trainers. "I mean we've got an Espeon, Sceptile, Audino, Mew, Castform, L-"
Just then, the moment Brawly said that his eyes and mind started to process with had just occurred 1 second ago. His eyes shifted back to the sight of Pinkie Pie along with the rest of the teachers here.
Right there, poking out of Pinkie Pie's mane was the Mythical Pokemon Mew, who wasn't disguised as another Pokemon but instead just himself. Out in the open. A Pokemon of his rarity.
"MEW?!" Brawly and the teachers gasped.
"Mew?" The New Species Pokemon looked at them.
"Whoops." Pinkie Pie scrunched her face.
"The ancestor of..." Roxanne's arms started twitching as she slowly pointed at Mew. "...M-Mew...!"
"Seriously?!" Roxie dashed over. "You got a Mew?!"
"Yeah! Isn't he just the cutest?" Pinkie Pie held Mew up to Roxie's face as it was indeed the real deal.
"Mew-Mew!"
"Pinkie! I thought you had Mew transform today!" Twilight turned to her friend.
"Sorry! Kinda forgot!" Pinkie let out a wide grin.
"Hoooh!" Roxanne, out of nowhere, started taking pictures of the New Species Pokemon as she was a sucker for anything ancient and history related. "It's really here!"
"After all these years Mew's still super popular, huh?" Ash said.
"Pika..."
Approximately 4 minutes later.
Posing exercise could begin. Due to everypony having a Pokemon of different types, each of them were instructed to mimic the poses of certain Z-Moves. Like for example, Twilight having an Espeon meant she needed to mimic the movements of the Psychinium Z.
Stretching was the first thing they did for a start. Their bones would need to be adjusted just for Z-Move usage as they began following the movements of their teachers and Ash. For those who had Electric-Type Pokemon, they followed Ash and Pikachu's movements. Trainers like Brawly and Hala focused on the pose for Fighting-Type Pokemon and so on.
This exercise also required every single pony to stand in a bipedal position. Since Z-Moves were originally built for humans, this type of stance was required. It would prove to be a bit taxing since ponies aren't used to standing upright all the time. But they can still certainly do it when the time calls for it.
"You gotta make it look like you're doing a lightning bolt," Ash said as his arms were in the shape of a lightning bolt from how he was posing. "And then pour all of that energy into your partner."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Urrgh...!" Rainbow Dash began trying to bend her hooves to match the figure of a lightning bolt, but it was putting a bit of strain on her body. Her muscles weren't used to something like this. She could definitely put her hands in different directions but bending the very edge of her hooves was a problem. "D-Do I have to bend it?!"
"Ah, bending it isn't that big of a deal. As long as you've got a good gist of it." Ash shook his head as Rainbow Dash kept trying to keep her balance while Luxray stood there. Rainbow Dash, despite standing in a bipedal position, had to also mimic the leg poses as well. That was even harder than the arm poses as her back hooves were struggling to move to the side like Ash's.
Apple Bloom, her Emolga and other Electric-Type owners were also having issues with this pose as they couldn't quite get their back hooves to fully bend to the side.
"What about Luxray?" Rainbow Dash asked. "He's kinda not posing right now."
"Lux?"
"Some Pokemon don't pose with Z-Moves," Roxanne spoke to Rainbow Dash while posing. "Typically, bipedal or semi-bipedal Pokémon with arm-like forelimbs tend to mimic the poses of their Trainer during the activation. On the other hand, quadrupeds and the like, whose forelimbs show no manual dexterity, tend to stay still and wait until the activation is completed before acting."
"G-Good to know...!" Rainbow Dash replied as she scrunched her face before falling on the ground along with the rest of the Electric-Type trainers. "Ugh! Maybe Electric's not for me...Can I try another one?"
Twilight was having a bit of an easier time with hers. By following Olympia's movements, Twilight, Pinkie, Starlight and other Trainers that owned Psychic-Type Pokemon, all stood in a bipedal position while having one hoof on their head and the other outstretched facing forward. They also placed their back hooves together instead of letting them stay apart. It was as if they were using their minds.
"Excellent posing you all." Olympia praised the Psychic-Type trainers. "You've already gotten a good grasp on the Psychic pose."
"Great!" Sweetie Belle grinned while practising with her Espurr.
"This is easy stuff!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"Easy for you to say..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "Can I try the Fighting one?"
"Bit hard on the muscles though." Applejack spoke as she stood upright with both her hooves raised as if to mimic a tree. She was practising with her Sceptile. "Hope this doesn't mess up work back home..."
"I don't know about you but this feels like great exercise!" Scootaloo laughed as she was performing the Fire pose with her Ponyta, who was just standing still. Scootaloo had her left hoof bending, touching her right hoof which was outstretched forward.
"Bunny!" Scorbunny nudged Fluttershy's who was also performing the Grass pose with Chikorita.
"Hm? What is it Scorbunny?" Fluttershy asked while still posing.
"Scor! Scorbunny!" The Rabbit Pokemon tapped himself, insisting that he should try and pose as well.
"Oh, you want to join in?"
"Go ahead," Hala said. "There's no limit to how many Z-Poses one can work on."
"Okay. We'll switch to Fire next." Fluttershy nodded.
"Scor!" Scorbunny felt joy when hearing that.
"How are you holding up Diamond Tiara?" Sweetie Belle asked Diamond Tiara who was currently performing the Dark pose with her Purrloin. Hollow decided to be the one to teach the students about the Dark Pose alongside his Zoroark.
"Uh...!" Diamond Tiara was currently leaning forward as both her hooves up as if she was roaring at someone like a giant bear standing up. "Pretty good! I think I have this bending thing down already!"
"Sure do. Really put some oomph into it!" Hollow encouraged her and the others. "But not too much. You can easily break something."
"Where did these Z-Moves actually come from I wonder?" Rarity pondered as she was performing the Water pose with her Milotic. Rarity her hooves swaying to the side as if it was water flowing along.
"The origins of Z-Power are largely shrouded in mystery," Olympia replied. "However, the Ultra Wormholes might be the answer to that."
"Not just the wormholes," Hala spoke. "The Guardian Deities of Alola can seemingly grant power to all Z-Crystals at will."
"Guardian Deities?" All of the students spoke at the same time.
"Ah, suppose you haven't heard of them yet. Yes, here in Alola, there are 4 Legendary Pokemon in the Alola Region who protect the islands where they live." Hala continued to explain. "Each of the four main islands in Alola has a Guardian Deity. Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu and Tapu Fini."
"We call them the Tapu for short." Acerola chimed in with her own words.
"They can grant Z-Power by performing their ritual singing. It's suspected that they are the cause of Z-Moves existing." Hala twirled his moustache.
"They're really awesome, ya know." Ash nodded. "Thanks to Tapu Koko, I got to learn about Z-Moves when I first came to Alola. Man, those are some good times."
"Pika."
"Which islands are they on?" Pinkie Pie asked Hala.
"Well, Tapu Koko resides here in Melemele Island. Tapu Lele on Akala, Tapu Bulu on Ula'Ula-"
"That's my place." Acerola interrupted Hala with a quick word.
"And Tapu Fini on Poni Island. Us Island Kahunas are also chosen by our island's Guardian Deity." Hala finished talking.
"Wow. They sound like very active Legendary Pokemon. Usually, Legendary Pokemon are rare to see, right?" said Twilight.
"Sure are. They do get around." Ash nodded.
"Pika-Pika."
"Alright." Hala then broke out of his pose. "Before we continue posing exercise for everyone else...Ash."
"Yeah?"
"Mind showing them a good demonstration of a Z-Move?"
"Oh, sure!" Ash raised his arm. "Right on it. Let's do this, Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
Ash and Pikachu were now about to give everyone a demonstration on how to perform Z-Moves properly. This would mainly be shown to the Trainers who were going for the Electric pose. The same could be said for the other teachers as they would later show the students the other Z-Moves. But first, the Electric move would be showcased before anything else.
Ash and Pikachu stood ahead while everyone backed away since Z-Moves are highly destructive due to their sheer size and power. The Z-Crystal had already been charged up ahead of time.
"Alright!" Ash roared as he crossed both his arms together, raising them to his face as the Electrium Z started glowing with sparkles flying out. A symbol of a lightning bolt and sparked out as well as Ash separated his arms, lowering them while Pikachu followed his movements without even facing his trainer. He then grinned as he moved his legs, bending them and kicking up some dirt Ash then raised his arms once more as he struck the pose that mimicked a lightning bolt as Pikachu did the same. "Go, Pikachu!"
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out as he spread his arms out, summoning a large raging ball of yellow electricity that lit the entire field with a dazzling yellow colour.
"Full Power! Now! GIGAVOLT HAVOC!" Ash then delivered a forward Punch as Pikachu did the same. The Electric Mouse Pokemon hit the ball of electricity with everything he had, launching it forward at full strength.
The ball of electricity then raced forward, tearing through the ground itself as it ascended high into the air. Everyone looked up to see the attack fly up as it broke the sound barrier, causing a sonic boom.
It then flew through some clouds, leaving massive holes into them as the attack eventually faded away in the distance before blowing up. A gigantic burst of lightning exploded in the sky itself, startling everyone who heard and witnessed it. After that, the Z-Crystal lost its Z-Power.
"Oooh!" Those were the words that left their mouths.
"There." Ash turned around. "Pretty easy like that. But it takes a ton of power to do it. Like a really large load of it!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"There you have it." Hala went up to Ash. "That is what you can all expect from Z-Moves. Perfect synchronization with your Pokemon and high energy to boot."
"And a ton of screaming too." Roxie nodded along with Acerola.
"Which brings us to the next part of this lesson. Before we continue posing, you'll all be setting out to find the Z-Crystals." Olympia spoke.
"Right now?!" Silver Spoon shot up.
"Right now," Olympia replied. "We chose the perfect time to have this lesson since there's been a massive resurgence in Z-Crystals recently. An abundance of them for sure."
"There's a whole bunch of Z-Crystals scattered across Alola right now. Mainly the cities more than anything. All 18 Types but there's way more than 18 out there." Brawly said.
"Except for a few," Hala smirked. "I possess the Fightinium Z while Acerola possesses the Ghostium Z. If you wish to obtain those crystals, you can challenge us for it. Or, you can just set out and try and find them. But that won't be easier either no."
"No way!" Acerola shook her head. "Getting those Z-Crystals isn't a walk in the park. You gotta deal with some Totem Pokemon too."
"Totem Pokemon?" The students all said.
"There's still a lot you all need to know about Alola." Brawly laughed.
"A lot is an understatement..." Roxanne sighed.
"But, some of you can decide to continue posing or try and obtain those crystals and then come back to try and finalize the poses. What will it be?" Hala asked the students for their preference.
Surprisingly, half of them wanted to stay here and continue mastering the poses while half wanted to obtain those Z-Crystals and then pose with them afterwards while utilizing their power. Twilight and her friends were among those who wished to find the crystals. However, Rainbow Dash and others wanted to stay behind for a bit. Just to try and master the posing.
"So it's decided." Hala saw the decisions made by everyone. "Don't worry. You all greatly outnumber the Z-Crystals anyway. Some of you may not be able to obtain a crystal but you can always try next time. If anyone here wants to change options on which part they want to do, you can swap at any time."
"You're not coming along Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy said.
"I'll catch up later. Let me do the Fighting one first and I'll be there."
"Oh! One thing I should mention!" Hala quickly exclaimed before half the students went on their way. "There is one Z-Crystal you cannot approach no matter what."
"Huh?" Ash was also curious about this. He never heard about a Z-Crystal that no one was meant to go for.
"Over at Poni Wilds, there exists a Z-Crystal with some much overflowing power that anyone who goes near them will be met with an intense aura that can greatly harm them. Many have tried to obtain this crystal, but they've never seen it before. Only the aura it emits. It's a forbidden Z-Crystal."
"Forbidden Z-Crystal?" Ash gasped.
"Pika?"
"We don't really know what it is." Acerola shrugged. "And ever since then, it's kinda just been laying at Poni Wilds. But it holds some Legendary power! Like the Z-Crystal for the Tapus."
"Uh...A-Alright. We won't approach it." Twilight shook her head. "But um...won't it take a while to get to each city? I mean, the lesson might end at that time."
"Ah. That's where Ride Pokemon come in." Roxanne said. "Or Poke Ride for short. Come we'll show you. It's a much quicker way to get from place to place in Alola."
While Roxanne went to show the students the Ride Pokemon and how to use them, the other students continued their posing lesson while some chose to challenge Hala and Acerola for the Z-Crystals they were keeping.
And the one thing to keep in mind. Not to approach the Z-Crystal located at Poni Wilds. But then again, after hearing that, no one's heading for Poni Wilds anyway.
Canterlot Gardens. Afternoon.
But, while the lessons continue, back at Canterlot, Reshiram was still unconscious, lying on the ground. It has been like this for almost an hour. All the Pokemon that come by to visit Canterlot Gardens had come across the Vast White Pokemon's unconscious body.
Curious and worried, the Pokemon went up to the Dragon of Truth to see if it was alright. Being the caring creatures that they are, it was no surprise that the Pokemon would do this. Celestia was still here, sitting by and watching over Reshiram. While at the same time, coming up with plans for the upcoming invasion. She's a great multitasker at heart.
She had tried using some healing spells at her disposal to see if she could mend Reshiram. Celestia wasn't sure if the spells were working since Reshiram hadn't responded yet. But she was giving it her all.
"Oh. Don't wake it up." Celestia spoke to the Pokemon. "Let Reshiram rest for a bit. But...if any of you know any healing moves, that would help greatly."
Some of them did in fact know some healing moves. The Pokemon that could heal went up to the fainted Dragon-Fire-Type, ready to see if they could restore the Vast White Pokemon.
Working alongside Celestia, the Pokemon that could heal each used their healing moves along with Celestia's healing spell on Reshiram. A golden magical glow along with blue, green and pink surrounded the body of the Vast White Pokemon. A healing spell, Heal Pulse, Life Dew and Grassy Terrain were all being used right now.
The mixture of healing effects let out a radiant glow that could be seen from the windows of the castle. Premium Polish and Luna could definitely see it. And then, due to the many healing effects being graced upon the Vast White Pokemon, that's when it happened.
Currently, a bit of a Z-Crystal hunt is occurring. Half are staying behind to work on their poses while the other half get ready to venture across Alola to find the crystals of their own choice. Granted, Alola is a large region like most other regions so getting to their destinations, mainly cities, is going to take a while. The lesson might end before they can even find some.
Luckily, that's where Poke Rides can come in. And Roxanne decided to introduce them to the ponies who decided to go for the crystals instead of staying behind to continue posing. And the rides could be found waiting at the end of Melemele Meadow.
"Here we are." Roxanne introduced them to the Poke Ride. "The Ride Pokemon that will get you anywhere. There's the Tauros, Stoutland, Lapras, Charizard, Mudsdale, Sharpedo and Machamp. The best ride Pokemon Alola has to offer and then some."
"Just them?" Rarity asked.
"Well...there are others such as Metang, Garchomp and Wailmer. But these are the most commonly used. Plus, they can help out with certain tasks. Stoutland's amazing sense of smell can help find hidden items without issue and Mudsdale can help you run across rocky terrain. They have their unique strengths.
"Stoutland!"
"But...if any of you have your own Pokemon that can carry you to places, you can gladly use them if you wish."
"With Pheromosa, getting around won't be an issue whatsoever." Rarity sent out her Pheromosa, knowing that her speed would help greatly in this.
"Pheromosa!"
"Good luck to you all. Remember, you can ask the residents of Alola for help on where the crystals are. I'll decide to lend my own guide. For those who want the Firium Z, head to Konikoni city and ask. You have at least 2 hours to find these crystals. If you don't that's fine. There's always next time. Some of you can even come to Alola in your free time and try again."
"Thank you." Twilight and her Espeon went up to the Charizard. But first, everyone was instructed to wear some protective gear for the ride. Originally built for humans, they had made some for ponies over the past months.
Everyone was suited up, getting on Poke Rides they chose to travel on. Applejack chose to be carried by a Machamp, Rarity was just going to use her Pheromosa, Fluttershy and her Pokemon would be taken by a Lapras, Starlight and the Crusaders would choose Stoutland while the rest chose Tauros and the remaining Pokemon.
"Mew!" Pinkie Pie's Mew actually decided to do his own thing. By using his transformative abilities, the New Species Pokemon transformed into a Garchomp to carry Pinkie Pie. "Garchomp!"
"Oh!" Pinkie hopped on Mew's back. "Nice thinking, Mew!"
"Garchomp!"
"Amazing..." Roxanne was still impressed at the fact that Mew was really here and couldn't stop being stunned. Ahem!" Remember. 2 Hours." Roxanne tapped on her wrist.
"We know." Twilight put the rest of the gear on before hopping onto Charizard's back. "You don't have to worry. We'll get those crystals in no time."
"Espeon."
"Charizard!"
Half of the students onto their respective Poke Rides while some just used their own Pokemon to travel. They remembered that the most common place they could find Z Crystals were the cities or even the towns. Some of the landmarks could work as Totem Pokemon could be found there as well.
With that, they all took off, leaving towards different parts of Alola as some decided to stick in groups due to them wanting the same Z-Crystal. The people of Alola would also be kind enough to give them directions too.
Canterlot Gardens, afternoon.
But, back at Canterlot, a different kind of story was occurring. One of Legendary proportions. Just now, after using various healing methods on the Vast White Pokemon, Celestia and all the other Pokemon at Canterlot Gardens had witnessed the awakening of Reshiram.
With one eye-opening, revealing its beautiful azure gaze, the Dragon of Truth had awoken, staring at the alicorn and Pokemon in front of it.
"Oh!" Celestia gasped as she stepped back along with all the Pokemon. Reshiram's eye was mostly locked onto Celestia only. And for good reason. Passion and Arcanine stayed on alert while all the Pokemon hid behind Celestia and her own Pokemon.
However, despite its instant gaze on the Sun Princess and its fellow Pocket Monsters, Reshiram was still laying on the ground. It didn't get or even ascend to fly. It just laid there, looking at them. It wasn't as if Reshiram didn't want to get up, it physically couldn't. The Vast White Pokemon was in a worse condition than expected. And then, just as everything calmed down when Reshiram awoke, doing barely anything but staring at everyone, he suddenly spoke to them.
"All of you. Thank you."
"Eh?" Celestia froze after hearing the Dragon of Truth speak. From his mind at least "Y-You can talk?! No wait...this is telepathy..."
"Gardevoir?"
"Reshiram, right? Are you alright now? Can you move?" Celestia asked the Vast White Pokemon.
"Sadly no. I'm afraid that my body refuses to move anymore." Reshiram then looked at his wings. "My wings are unresponsive. Even my tail is completely motionless. The best I can do is move my eyes."
"I didn't know you were in such a condition...I thought you had just merely fainted."
"Fainting would just be a minor detail in what truly happened to me. When under Ghetsis' possession. But that is no longer the case now that I'm free from their control."
"Minor detail? What happened?"
"From my own world. Ghetsis arrived and captured me whilst destroying the trainer I had chosen. After that, I had been subjugated to horrible tests from their kingdom. Tests that involved pushing my own body to its limits. And the same can be said for the other Pokemon that have been captured. Even other Reshiram from different worlds."
"They've been experimenting on Pokemon?!" Celestia gasped before looking down in shock. "And we were only able to retrieve two Pokemon..."
"But even so...I greatly thank you for rescuing, freeing and driving me away from them. I would have followed Ghetsis' truth soon if it wasn't for one of your subjects. And my own health would have deteriorated if you hadn't healed me. All of you. Princess Celestia, was it?"
"O-Oh. Yes! You're welcome." Celestia smiled. "I was a bit hesitant and worried at first when sending you out of the Poke Ball but seeing you faint...I really couldn't resist helping. All of us really."
"I appreciate your assistance. Unfortunately, there's not much that can be done for me as of now. The rest of my body needs to finish re-adjusting properly if I am to move again. Due to what I've been through, this will take days upon days most likely. But...after being at that lab...Rest is something I've been longing for."
"Then I should probably leave you alone for now," Celestia said as she turned around, ready to give Reshiram some privacy. But before that, along came Premium Polish who was obviously curious about the giant Dragon just resting on Canterlot Gardens. She was also here with her foal friends that she managed to make in Canterlot.
"Princess Celestia!" Premium cried out as she ran over here with her Pokemon and friends.
"Hm? Premium?"
"Woah!" Premium almost fell over with how fast she was running as she came to a screeching halt in front of the Sun Princess AKA her temporary caretaker. "Sorry! We just had to come out and see this!"
"See this?" Celestia turned to face Reshiram. "You mean Reshiram?"
"Mhm!" The little unicorn nodded. "I saw it show up when looking out the window in my room. It was pretty scary at first since it was so big but after a few seconds I saw how cute it looked!"
"Cute?" Reshiram's eyes squinted after hearing that. He's not used to being called cute. Actually, he's never been called cute before. The same can be said for the rest of the Reshiram out there. Probably. Maybe.
"Oh. You're all not afraid of Reshiram?"
"Nope! Plus its colour makes it look pretty!" A filly exclaimed.
"Pretty?"
"Did you just catch it today, Princess?"
"Hm? Oh, no. This isn't my Pokemon. Or anyone's Pokemon anymore. Reshiram is just a free Pokemon under no one's care. Right now, he's just resting here for now."
"Ooh." Premium went up to the Vast White Pokemon.
"Premium. We should give him some space to rest and-"
"It's fine." Reshiram interrupted. "I don't need interruptions for recovery to be slowed down. The only thing that would slow it down would be other forms of energy interacting with me. My recovery needs to be natural for my full strength to return."
"Ah." Celestia nodded.
"Then in that case!" Premium teleported towards Reshiram. "Can we do your mane and makeup?" She and the fillies asked with innocent smiles and faces.
"No."
"Are you strong enough to stop us?" Premium smirked.
"...No." The Vast White Pokemon sighed, knowing that he was currently weak to stop anyone right now.
"Yay!" They all cheered as they immediately got to work, already having the necessary items to decorate Reshiram. Almost as if they pre-planned this. "We're gonna make you prettier!"
"Well then...I-I'll leave you to it, Reshiram. I have important matters to attend to regarding the incoming invasion. Will you be alright?"
"I will. All I need is to rebuild my Infinity Energy." Reshiram replied while his face was being shifted by little ponies. Reshiram was now a temporary visitor at Canterlot with a motionless body and only his telepathic mind.
Celestia left as the little ponies took everything from here. Reshiram was thankful to Celestia for helping wake him up along with the other Pokemon that came to visit Canterlot Garden. However, the Vast White Pokemon knew that a bad omen was still lurking.
Ghetsis and Team Plasma still had other Pokemon captured and being experimented on at this very moment.
Alola. Konikoni City. Afternoon.
Konikoni City. A coastal city that welcomes the sea breeze. The large gateway at the entrance gives a unique impression. This is a city of merchants, where a plethora of shops can be found. Only exclusive to Alola.
Fluttershy and Scootaloo were the ones who came here since they were both searching for the Firium Z. Originally, Fluttershy was aiming for the Grassium Z for Chikorita but since Scorbunny was so eager to learn Z-Moves, she changed it up.
After arriving here on Lapras, Fluttershy, Scootaloo and their Pokemon got off the back of the Transport Pokemon. Now, Lapras would just wait here until they got back.
"Thank you, Lapras." Fluttershy thanked the Water-Ice-Type.
"Lapras."
"Firium Z here we come!" Scootaloo hopped onto the back of her Ponyta for a ride.
"Ponyta!"
"Scor! Scorbunny!" Scorbunny jumped up and down, eager to find the Z-Crystal as he ran ahead of Fluttershy.
"Let's see...Where to start?" Fluttershy looked around before spotting a nearby resident of the city walking by. "Oh! Excuse me!"
"Hm?" The man turned to face the pegasus.
"Do you know where we can find the Firium Z? We're currently searching for Z-Crystals at the moment. And it'd be a great help if we were given someplace to look."
"Yeah!" Scootaloo dashed over to Fluttershy's side.
"Firium Z, huh? Hm...Do you both want it?" The man asked.
"Mhm." The two pegasi nodded.
"Well, you could always go see the Island Kahuna Olivia. She's mainly a Rock-Specialist but she knows where to get Firium Z. One or two. Unless you want the Rockium Z instead."
"No. Just the Firium Z. Where can we find Olivia?" Fluttershy questioned.
"You can try and find her just over there. She owns a jewellery shop just up ahead at the city's crossroads." The man pointed at the crossroads in the distance with a shop sitting in front it."
"Got it. Thank you, mister!" Scootaloo thanked him as she and Ponyta immediately got a move on. Olivia and other Kahunas certainly own crystals of their respective type but they also know about other crystals and their whereabouts. Some may not necessarily possess it with them though.
When walking through Konikoni City while heading towards the jewellery shop, Fluttershy and Scootaloo took the time to admire the sight of this gorgeous city and Alola itself. Coming to Alola always feels like they're on vacation and an absolute treat.
They could see various Trainers and their Pokemon chowing down on some Alolan meals at the local restaurant. The sight of these meals made Scootaloo's stomach growl as she felt like stopping by for a quick bite. Until she saw the prices and realized she couldn't afford them. At least not yet.
Trainers were also dressing up at the Salon and styling their hair at the salon, wearing clothing apparels that resembled certain Pokemon Types. They were all just having the time of their lives. There wasn't too much the residents of Alola or any part of the Pokemon world needed to worry about. The same couldn't be said for the other world and Equestria, which was on the verge of having an invasion soon.
But aside from that, Fluttershy and Scootaloo arrived at the jewellery shop. The large title on top also gave it away. The sign here also showed that they sell Evolution Stones and fossils for those with any Eevee or other stone-related Pokemon.
"Here we are," Fluttershy said as she knocked on the door with her hoof.
"COMING!" A bellowing roar came from the shop, loud enough to startle them as the entire building shook. Then, sounds of furniture being knocked over and heavy footsteps could be heard within the shop. The two pegasi and their Pokemon looked at each other, wondering what was happening inside.
"Um..." Scootaloo scrunched her face.
"HOLD ON!" More booming sounds came from the building as whoever was inside was starting to approach with the noises getting closer.
Just then, the door had finally opened up as all that chaotic rabble and noise had come to an end. Now there was just little sounds with the sound of the door creaking and a bell going off.
And the one who opened the door was the Island Kahuna Olivia herself. Currently, not in the best condition with how messy her hair and makeup were. Along with her clothes.
"Sorry...Can I help you?" Olivia breathed in and out.
"Oh um...Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.
"Ah, I'm fine." Olivia laughed awkwardly. "Just a few mishaps in the afternoon that's all. Uh, did you need something from my shop?"
"Well...We came here because we were told you know about the Firium Z Crystal. We're going through a Z-Move lesson and we came straight from the Pokemon School." Fluttershy explained. "For both of us."
"The Firium Z?" Olivia had droopy eyes after responding to that. Her brain was just processing it. "Oh, right the Firium Z. Yes, I know of it. I'm mainly a Rock-Type specialist but I do also cover the Firium Z Crystal as well."
"So you're a Dual type Kahuna?" Scootaloo questioned.
"No, no. See, Alola has very limited Trial captains. We haven't exactly found other potential Trial captains yet to cover the other types. But one day, we'll cover all of them but for the time being...they're all sparse."
"So...is the Firium Z in here?" Scootaloo asked.
"Oh yes. I have it. But I can't give it out so easily." Olivia shook her head, making Scootaloo groan. "You'll have to clear the Island Trial to earn it from me."
"We can do that." Fluttershy walked up to Olivia. "We'll take the Island Trial. Where is it?"
"Wela Volcano Park." Olivia pointed west from here. "That's where you'll find the trial. And where the Totem Pokemon will be waiting for you. You do know about the Totem Pokemon, right?"
"Yeah. Our teachers told us." Scootaloo nodded in confirmation. "Wait uh...We're both doing the trial. Do we have to take turns?"
"Take turns? Hm..." Olivia pondered for a bit. "Well...Totem Pokemon are incredibly powerful and difficult to battle or even defeat. And they do call allies in battle...And two trainers taking on the trial isn't anything new. So...if you want, you can both battle the Totem Pokemon together."
"A Double Battle? That sounds good!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"Be careful though. Wela Volcano Park has unforgiving heat and steep paths. Almost an entire wasteland." Olivia warned them.
"We will." Fluttershy turned around with Scootaloo, ready to head off to Wela Volcano Park. "We can probably make it there before the lesson ends. There's still time anyway. Thank you, Olivia."
"Aha..." Olivia gave a thumbs up while adjusting her rugged hair. "Good luck on your Island Trial." She then waved goodbye to them before heading back into her building at breakneck speeds.
Once she re-entered and closed the door, the building began shaking as Olivia was in a rush once more, doing who-knows-what.
Meanwhile at Melemele Meadow.
"Done!" Rainbow Dash had just finished practising the Z-Pose for the Fightium Z. "Hah! That was way easier than the Electric one." Other ponies had just finished their posing exercises and were ready to leave to find the crystals. Some had already left and taken Poke Rides to various cities and towns in Alola.
"Hoh? If you're done, then I assume you're ready to take on the task of receiving the Fightium Z?" Hala spoke.
"Sure am!" Rainbow Dash picked up her Mienfoo.
"Mienfoo!"
"Then in that case...If you want the Fightium Z, you can either choose to head out and find it across Alola..." Hala then stomped his leg. "Or challenge me for it."
"I made up my mind. I think I'm gonna challenge you for it instead." Rainbow Dash decided.
"Mien."
"Then so be it, Rainbow Dash." Hala crossed his arms. "We shall have a Grand Trial Battle to see if you are ready to truly utilize the power of Alola."
"First Grand Trial. Feeling psyched?" Ash asked.
"You bet I am." Rainbow Dash replied with equal excitement. "When I get that crystal, wait till everypony hears about this."
"Now then. Rainbow Dash. I need you to come with me to the Altar in the Ruins of Conflict. For your Grand Trial to truly begin." Hala turned around. "We must pray first before battling. It's just up ahead."
"Huh? O-Okay!" Rainbow Dash understood as she followed Hala. "Come on, Mienfoo."
"Foo."
"Aren't you gonna try and battle for that Fightium Z?" Roxie asked Brawly.
"Nah. I think I'm good. My first time battling for it didn't go so well anyway..."
"No shame in trying it again though, huh, big guy?" Roxie laughed, giving Brawly a powerful nudge to the stomach. "You're way stronger than before!"
"Ough!" Brawly held his stomach after that nudge. "Y-Yeah...Probably..."
Later on, Hala had taken Rainbow Dash to the nearby altar for preparation as she was ordered to sit down and let herself focus on this prayer for Alola. Hala also had his Hariyama out to pray with him. Rainbow Dash and her Mienfoo would also follow Hala's words.
"Today I will carry out a Grand Trial Battle against the challenger Rainbow Dash. The Guardian Deity of conflict, Tapu Koko...Please bestow upon us the power of the Alolan Islands." Hala said.
"Tapu Koko...Please watch over my Grand Trial Battle with Hala." Rainbow Dash also prayed. They sat there for a while as the wind gently blew in their direction, responding to their prayers. Rainbow Dash wasn't sure if Tapu Koko was actually hearing them as of now.
"Okay. We're done here." Hala sat up.
"Wait. That's it?" Rainbow Dash looked up at the Kahuna.
"Mhm. Short and simple, isn't it?"
"I guess so...So we're gonna battle now?"
"Most certainly. I can tell you don't prefer to waste any time, do you?"
"Sure don't!" Rainbow Dash stood up. "Let's get this started!"
"Hm. Follow me. I hope you've truly mastered the pose." Hala walked out of the altar and ruins with Rainbow Dash.
"The whole thing. I've got it all down during practice so it'll be a cinch."
"Mien."
"By the way...do you think Tapu Koko actually heard us?" Rainbow asked.
"Tapu Koko is a fickle Guardian Deity. But, it most certainly responded to our prayer and our upcoming battle. It'll be a momentous one." Hala nodded in agreement as he and Rainbow Dash had returned to the Meadows where everyone else was still there.
"Ready to go?" Ash walked up to Rainbow Dash.
"Pika?"
"Ready." The pegasus replied.
"You may only use two Pokemon for this battle, Rainbow Dash. Now, then let's not waste any time." Hala and Hariyama walked to the side, away from Rainbow Dash, standing to the left and opposite from her. There was a nice small battlefield here in the meadow.
"Oh! Right! Let's go, Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash quickly flew to the right side with Mienfoo following her.
"Mienfoo!"
Once both Trainers stood on opposite sides of the small battlefield, Brawly chose to be the referee of this whole trial, standing in between them. As for some of the students, they were already leaving. A shame they wouldn't have the chance to witness this battle. But a few would get to see it.
Ash and Roxanne sat down to see this battle while the rest of the teachers and remaining students stayed by, sitting down as well on the grass.
"The Island Challenger Rainbow Dash's Grand Trial battle with the Melemele Island Kahuna Hala will now begin!" Brawly declared.
"Good luck!" Both Rainbow Dash and Hala said to each other.
"I'll start small. Can you wait a bit, Mienfoo?" Rainbow Dash requested.
"Foo!" Mienfoo crossed her arms as she could most certainly wait her turn.
"Then in that case...Castform, I choose you!"
"Castform!" The Weather Pokemon flew out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, ready to go. Once he came out, the beautiful and bright golden sun of Alola interacted with his cells, transforming the Normal-Type into his Fire-Type Sunny Form. "Cast!"
"You seem highly experienced...so I won't need to hold back! Come on out, Crabominable!" Hala sent out his own Pokemon from its Poke Ball.
"Crabominable!"
"What is that?" Rainbow pulled her Pokedex out for this.
"Crobominable. The Woolly Crab Pokemon. It aimed for the top but got lost and ended up on a snowy mountain. Being forced to endure the cold, this Pokémon evolved and grew fur. It just throws punches indiscriminately. In times of desperation, it can lop off its own pincers and fire them like rockets. It stores coldness in its pincers and pummels its foes. It can even smash thick walls of ice to bits! Before it stops to think, it just starts pummeling. There are records of its turning back avalanches with a flurry of punches."
"Alright." She then put her Pokedex away while grinning at her opponent. "Just you watch! That Z-Crystal is mine!"
The battle between Rainbow Dash and Hala was about to commence. And at the same time, everyone else is searching for the rest of the Z-Crystals across the beautiful region of Alola.
2 hours still remain before the lesson ends so time is of the essence as the journey continues.
Right now, Rainbow Dash was having a Grand Trial battle against the Island Kahuna Hala. This was all still related to the Pokemon School and the Z-Move lesson. Hala had just sent out his Crabominable while Rainbow Dash chose her Castform, who was in his Sunny Form.
"Battle Start!" Brawly gave the call to begin the battle.
"Crabominable! Bubble Beam!" Hala commanded.
"Crab!" The Woolly Crab Pokemon jumped up as he shot out a beam of blue bubbles from the outside of its large pincers, sending them straight for Castform.
"Castform, dodge it and use Weather Ball!"
"Cast!" The Weather Pokemon ascended into the skies, evading the barrage of bubbles that came his way by reaching a higher level. Castform then opened his mouth, forming a ball of fire by channelling the sun itself before shooting it at the Fighting-Ice-Type.
"Bom?" The Woolly Crab Pokemon noticed that his attack had missed before witnessing a ball of fire crash into him afterwards, causing a blazing explosion to happen on the spot. "Crabomi!" Crabominable definitely took super-effective damage from that as he was pushed back by the explosion.
"Use Weather Ball again!"
"Cast...!" Castform was ready to go for a second super-effective hit as he shot another ball of fire out of his mouth.
"Knock it back with Brutal Swing!"
"Bominable!" Crabominable recovered with little time as his pincers lit up with a dark aura surrounding them. Once Weather Ball came close, due to the amazing length of them, the Wolly Crab Pokemon swung its dark-clad pincers, hitting the ball of fire and sending it right back at Castform.
"Cast?!" Castform gasped as his own attack was sent back at faster speeds, hitting the Weather Pokemon dead-on. As payback, an explosion of fire had also graced Castform. "Castform!"
"Ah! Castform!" Rainbow Dash looked up at the smoke caused by the explosion. Castform came flying out of it as he hadn't fainted yet.
"Form!"
"Now! Ice Hammer!"
"Cra...Bominable!" Crabominable suddenly smashed its own pincers onto the ground, launching itself upwards with the shockwave to reach Castform. The Fighting-Ice-Types pincers then became covered in ice afterwards.
"Look out! Use Shock Wave!"
"Castform!" Castform's body became surrounded by light blue electricity before releasing a beam of light blue electricity from his body.
"Crabom!" But, Crabominable, with his superior strength, swung his pincers through the beam of electricity like it was nothing. After blitzing through the Shock Wave, the Wolly Crab Pokemon then struck the Weather Pokemon with a frozen punch, square in its entire body.
"Cast!" Once more, Castform had been sent flying from the hit. While the attack wasn't very effective, due to Castform's fragile body and Crabominable's heavy punches, the attack still stung, even if it was an Ice-Type move.
"Now use Power-Up Punch!"
"Bomina!" Crabominable landed back down on the ground before going in for another attack as his pincers lit up with an orange aura. With a follow-up, the Wolly Crab Pokemon lunged into the air, going after Castform.
"No, you don't! Descend Castform!"
"Cast!" Castform quickly descended to a lower level, avoiding Crabominable's upwards attack entirely.
"Crab?" The Fighting-Ice-Type looked down to see Castform changing directions. Due to this miss, Crabominable starting fall from above as well.
"Now, Weather Ball from below!"
"Castform!" Castform raised his head, charging up a sphere of blazing fire from his mouth and ready to send it straight towards the airborne Crabominable.
"Quick! Hit it back with Power-Up Punch!"
"Crabo...!" Crabominable was surprisingly able to maintain his composure despite falling from above in the air. The Fighting-Ice-Type then raised its arms, ready to hit the attack back at Castform.
"Fire down!"
"Form!" In a twist, Castform actually fired Weather Ball onto the ground instead of upwards at Crabominable. With the ball of fire hitting the ground, an explosion occurred around that area, causing a powerful smoke cloud to form. Castform was planning to use this as a means to hide from Crabominable.
"Crab?" The Woolly Crab Pokemon finally landed down, right in the midst of the smoke as well. With Crabominable entering the large cloud of smoke, even Hala couldn't see his own Pokemon.
"Hm?" Hala leaned forward, looking at the smoke. He tried to see if he could peer further and spot his partner. "Crabominable! Blow the smoke away with Brutal Swing!"
"Crab!" Crabominable spread his pincers out, covering them in darkness as he began spinning around, kicking up wind to try and blow the smoke cloud away.
"Heh! Weather Ball!"
"Castform!" Castform suddenly revealed himself by flying out of the smoke and ascending into the air, just above Crabominable who was currently spinning. "Form!" The Weather Pokemon then fired one more Weather Ball with fire around it from his mouth.
"Ah! Up, Crabominable! Bubble Beam!"
"Bominable!" Crabominable was able to quickly clear out the smoke in no time because of his amazing strength. After looking up, the Woolly Crab Pokemon shot out beams of bubbles towards Weather Ball.
The array of bubbles crashed with the ball of fire as they surprisingly cancelled each other out, creating a white smoke could this time.
"Jump and use Bubble Beam!"
"Crab!" Crabominable then decided to get closer to Castform by jumping off the ground while preparing some more bubbles.
"Weather Ball, go!"
"Cast...!" Castform prepared the biggest Weather Ball he had yet as he channelled all of the sun's power into this one attack, hoping to finish Crabominable off this time.
"Crab...!" The Fighting-Ice-Type jumped so high he got up in Castform's face Both Pokemon, at the same time, released their attacks at each other, right in front of each other.
Due to them being so close to each other in a close range, the two attacks imploded against each other, blowing up in front of both Pokemon and their faces. An explosion of Fire and Water blew them both back, sending the two Pokemon flying back down to the ground with a hard collision afterwards.
"Oh!" Rainbow Dash gasped as she and Hala both leaned in along with everyone watching this Grand Trial occur. Once the smoke in the clouds and ground cleared, the result of both Pokemon had been revealed.
Due to two super-effective attacks hitting each other at the same time and sending them both down, Castform and Crabominable had each fainted at the same time, lying flat on their backs.
"Castform..."
"Crabominable..."
"Castform and Crabominable are both unable to battle! So this round a draw!" Brawly declared.
"A draw, hm?" Hala nodded as he recalled his Crabominable, looking at the Poke Ball. "You did your best."
"Great job, Castform." Rainbow Dash flew over to Castform. "You took that guy out real good. But sorry you weren't able to continue..."
"Castform..."
"Mienfoo." Mienfoo, being a good friend, picked Castform up from the ground and placed him inside of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag to rest.
Now it was her turn as it was coming down to just Mienfoo and Hala's last Pokemon which was without a doubt going to be his Hariyama who was standing next to the Island Kahuna.
"Castform's gotten better, hasn't he?" Ash had observed. "Very soon, he's gonna be winning battles without fainting once from the looks of it."
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"I need your help please, Hariyama." Hala turned to his partner.
"Hari." Hariyama understood as he walked up to Hala, stepping in front of him. "Hariyama."
"You're up, Mienfoo. Let's get that Z-Crystal, okay?"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo nodded as she front-flipped over Rainbow Dash, getting into a stance and preparing herself.
"Get ready, Hala. When Mienfoo and I battle, we don't let up on our opponents. Being rough and aggressive is what we're all about."
"Foo!"
"Hm...Is that so? Well, you'll need more than aggressiveness to stop Hariyama and me." Hala declared as he performed a sumo stomp with Hariyama.
"Hariya!"
"Mienfoo! Acrobatics!"
"Mien!" The Martial Arts Pokemon bolted off the ground, lunging into the air before flipping multiple times and going straight for a dive kick.
"Fake Out!"
"Hariyama!" The Arm Thrust Pokemon's hands glowed orange as he clapped them together, catching Mienfoo's foot and stopping Acrobatics. When he clapped onto her foot, a large shockwave of air comes out of them.
"Mienfoo?!" Mienfoo gasped as she started wiggling her leg around, trying to break free.
"Now, Knock Off!"
"Hari!" Hariyama narrowed his eyes before changing the colour of his glow to white. The Arm Thrust Pokemon then lifted Mienfoo into the air while still holding her foot, causing her to scream. Hariyama then slammed Mienfoo into the ground.
"Yama!" Hariyama then tossed Mienfoo away, finally letting go of her as the Martial Arts Pokemon tumbled on the ground afterwards.
"M-Mien! Foo...!"
"Mienfoo! Are you okay?!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo got up, smashing her paw onto the ground while looking at her fellow Fighting-Type.
"How's that?" Hala crossed his arms.
"Tch!" Rainbow Dash kissed her teeth. "We're just getting started! Mienfoo! Let's overwhelm them! Fury Swipes! Non-stop!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo then separated her arms, revealing her hidden claws which were glowing. The Martial Arts Pokemon then rushed towards Hariyama, ready to aggressively strike him.
"Hariyama, use Arm Thrust!"
"Hari!" Hariyama's large hands lit up with a yellow colour as he was ready to tackle Mienfoo's aggressive approach.
"Mien! Mien! Mienfoo!" Once the Martial Arts Pokemon got close, she started swinging her claws wildly at Hariyama at a breakneck pace, not planning on slowing down anytime soon.
"Hari! Hari!" Hariyama also moved his own hands at a breakneck pace as well, clashing with Mienfoo's swipes while also blocking them with each chance.
Mienfoo's claws kept meeting with Hariyama's large hands with sparks flying. The Martial Arts Pokemon was trying to break through Hariyama's massive arms while also combating Arm Thrust at the same time. The defence of Hariyama was one to be admired.
"Speed up!"
"Mien!" But there was one advantage Mienfoo had over Hariyama and that was speed. With each strike, her movements increased. She may not have the heavy power output like Hariyama but she could certainly deal little continuous damage via speed build-up.
Mienfoo sped up as her swipes were moving so fast that they were starting to become blurs and afterimages at this rate. Something that Hariyama couldn't fully keep up with.
"H-Hari!" Hariyama gained a worried sweatdrop as he knew that if Mienfoo kept going like this, she would eventually break through his massive guard and land numerous high-speed hits.
"Hm! Not good..." Hala uttered his breath. "Hariyama break free of it!"
"Yama!" Hariyama decided to put an end to this little clash of moves. The Arm Thrust Pokemon blocked Mienfoo's next swipe by putting his two hands together by pushing his hands forward. When he pushed them forward, he created a shockwave that launched Mienfoo back, breaking the clash up.
"Mien?!" Mienfoo went back as she recovered on the ground.
"Perhaps your aggressive style is not one to be taken lightly...We'll deliver damage beyond damage! Hariyama! Belly Drum!"
"Hari!" Hariyama suddenly began using his massive hands to beat on his own belly, causing white ripples to appear as well as the sound of a drum being hit. Hariyama continued to do this repeatedly with more ripples and drum sounds coming out. "Yama! Hari! Yama! Hari! Yama!"
"What the...? What's he doing?" Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes as she hadn't heard or seen this move before.
"Mien?"
"Belly Drum maximizes the user's attack power but also really halves their energy down..." Ash observed. "Not good. If Mienfoo gets hit by one or two moves, it's gonna leave an impact for sure."
"Pikachu..."
"Observe as we go all out and end this!" Hala roared. "Here we go, Hariyama!" All of a sudden, he put his hands together in a very familiar way. A way that reacted to the Fightinium Z-Crystal on his ring as it suddenly let out a golden light. Rainbow Dash gasped as she immediately recognized what was going on.
Hala was using a Z-Move.
"Uh-Oh!" The pegasus screeched. "They're using a Z-Move now?!"
"Mienfoo?!"
"Hm!" Hala grunted as he got into a sumo-stance, raising his leg before slamming it onto the ground, causing the area to tremble a small bit with Hariyama following his movements. "My precious Melemele Island and the Guardian Deity Tapu Koko, share you will with the Island Kahuna!" Hala then struck a series of poses with Hariyama.
"Urgh...!" Rainbow Dash pulled back, wincing with one twitching.
"Ha! Ha!" Hariyama's body started emanating a red blazing aura that surrounded his entire body as he punched the air a few times. "Now, let us combine all our strength!" The aura then flew towards Hariyama, outlining the Arm Thrust Pokemon as well in its blazing colour as the Z-Symbol appeared in front of it. "Feel the wrath of an unrivalled fierce fist!"
"Hari!"
"Here it comes!" Ash and the others leaned forward.
"Fine then...!" Rainbow Dash scoffed. "We'll return the favour with the same amount of power!" Rainbow Dash had an idea brewing but it was a quick one and very risky too. And it involved the usage of two moves. "Mienfoo! First! Dash in and dodge with Acrobatics!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo nodded as she immediately ran towards Hariyama despite the incoming Z-Move.
"ALL-OUT PUMMELING!"
"HARI!" Hariyama then repeatedly rammed a barrage of orange, hand-shaped energy at the Martial Arts Pokemon at breakneck speeds while repeatedly moving his own arms at ludicrous speeds. "Hari-ri-ri-ri-ri!"
"Mien! Mien!" Mienfoo narrowed her eyes as she started using the speed of Acrobatics to nimbly evade the incoming hand strikes as hard as she could. Each time she evaded them, the hands hit the ground, causing large orange explosions to appear behind or beside the Martial Arts Pokemon as she was closing in on the Arm Thrust Pokemon.
"Hariya!"
"M-Mien! Foo! Mien!" The closer Mienfoo got, the harder it became to avoid the large energy hands as Mienfoo was starting to stumble and lose focus with the explosions only getting bigger each time. Eventually, one of the energy hands caught Mienfoo off guard, appearing in front of the Martial Arts Pokemon and hitting her directly. "Mien!"
With a direct hit, Mienfoo was sent flying from the impact and explosion, heading straight into the air with smoke trailing out of her.
"Here goes...Reversal!"
"M-M-Mien!" Mienfoo groaned as her eyes suddenly flashed red. After taking such heavy hits, she had a bit left in her as her paws glowed red. The Martial Arts Pokemon then flipped in the air, recovering in no time as she launched herself towards the Arm Thrust Pokemon after taking All-Out Pummeling.
"Yama?!" Hariyama gasped.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo yelled as she smashed her paw onto the wide belly of Hariyama, returning all the damage she took from All Out Pummeling to Hariyama with her increased strength.
"H-Hari!" Hariyama's eyes widened as his belly became a bit inverted after the hit. Afterwards, the Arm Thrust Pokemon was launched back with incredible force while a shockwave came flying out, adding to that face. Mienfoo herself landed on the ground safely after delivering the hit.
"Oh!" Hala stepped forward, witnessing that surprising counterattack. But, Hariyama was still standing after the increased power from Reversal.
"H-Hariyama...!" Hariyama got on one knee afterwards, looking at Mienfoo. Using Belly Drum before was also a drawback as well as a boost in power. Since his energy was cut in half, him taking that Reversal now put the Arm Thrust Pokemon on Mienfoo's level.
"M-Mien...!" Mienfoo also got on one knee since All-Out Pummeling still hurt her in the end.
"Oh!" Ash and the others gawked at Mienfoo's survival as well as Hariyama. "That's some endurance!"
"She didn't go down after that?!" Valerie gasped along with the students.
"As expected from someone being taught by Ash himself..." Hala observed. "I should've expected much. You are indeed a worthy and powerful Trainer, Rainbow Dash."
"Hehe." Rainbow Dash let out a confident laugh as she flipped her mane. "Just watch. We can't back down now. Let's finish this Mienfoo! Force Palm on the ground!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo raised one arm before slamming it onto the ground at full strength. When doing so, the orange energy that usually comes out of Force Palm ended up going through the ground itself.
Then, the ground suddenly trembled with cracks forming. And out of those cracks, orange energy shockwaves came flying out, heading straight for Hariyama from all directions, minus the back.
"Hari?!"
"Block it with Arm Thrust, Hariyama!"
"Hariya!" Hariyama quickly put his arms up, making them glow as he was ready to try and block the incoming energy shockwaves with all he had left.
"Heh!" But, Rainbow Dash was hoping that Hariyama would block them. She and Mienfoo could strike while the iron was hot. "Acrobatics, go!"
"Mienfoo!" A combination attack had been used. First was Force Palm that was going for Hariyama and next was Acrobatics. This is what Rainbow Dash was planning.
The Martial Arts Pokemon's body glowed light-blue as she quickly zipped through the air, heading straight for Hariyama. And at the same time, Hariyama's arms had just met with the energy shockwaves of Force Palm, forcing him to block it.
"Look out, Hariyama!"
"H-Hariyama!"Hariyama groaned as he looked up to see Mienfoo approaching him. He couldn't do anything about her right now since Force Palm was the main issue for him right now as he tried to push the shockwaves back.
"Mien!" But it was too late, with all her might, Mienfoo smashed her foot onto Hariyama's head with a powerful streak of wind coming, forcing him to lose focus and drop his guard. And with his guard dropped, the energy shockwaves of Force Palm could continue as they ended up hitting the Arm Thrust Pokemon by consuming him in a pillar of orange energy. All the while, Mienfoo's feet smashed Hariyama's head.
Afterwards, an influx of orange explosions occurred, mostly from all the shockwaves from Force Palm. The explosion caused a wind pressure that made everyone's hair and clothes flow in the wind while Mienfoo backflipped out of the explosion.
"Mienfoo!"
As for Hariyama, once the explosion vanished and everything settled, the Arm Thrust Pokemon had unfortunately fallen on his back and fainted.
"Hariyama..."
"Kahuna Hala's Hariyama is unable to battle! Mienfoo wins!" Brawly pointed at Rainbow Dash. "Which means the victor of this Island Challenge Grand Trial is Rainbow Dash!"
"Yes! Yes!" Rainbow Dash let out a yell of happiness and victory as she and Mienfoo tapped hoof and paw, replicated a high-five.
"Mienfoo!"
"Awesome, Dash!" Ash stood up as Pikachu and the rest of the students here cheered for Rainbow Dash's victory.
"Pikachu!"
"Thank you. Hariyama." Hala called his partner back into his Poke Ball before looking at it. "You tried your best. And so did you, Rainbow Dash. That was a truly wonderful battle. You, your Castform and Mienfoo gave it everything you had.
"Thanks! We sure did!" Rainbow Dash winked at Mienfoo who had crossed her arms, nodding in agreement.
"Mien."
"I could feel your youthful and splendid aura during that entire battle. Which is why I believe you are truly deserving of a Z-Crystal. As Kahuna of Melemele Island, I, Hala, declare that you, Rainbow Dash, have completed this Grand Trial!" Hala spread his arms out, letting everyone in the meadow hear it loud and clear.
"Great stuff, Rainbow Dash." Brawly went up to the pegasus. "Did better than my first go that's for sure. Passing this Grand Trial might make you go up in the Pokemon School, ya know?"
"Really? Sweet!" Rainbow Dash grinned.
"Now then..." Hala dug into the sleeves of his jacket, pulling out the Fightinium Z and holding it out. "You have earned this Z-Crystal, young Rainbow Dash. The Fightinium Z. The true power of a Fighting-Type will be unleashed with this on your side. Any Fighting move that activates it."
"Ooh..." Rainbow Dash took the Fightium Z off of Hala's hands before raising it to the sky as the sun beamed on it. "Haha! First Z-Crystal! A total win! Wait till everypony else hears about this!"
"Mienfoo!"
Wela Volcano Park. Afternoon.
With Fluttershy and Scootaloo, they had arrived at Wela Volcano Park finally thanks to Olivia's advice. There, they will be able to find the Totem Pokemon and potentially succeed in obtaining the Firium Z.
Right now, they were walking steep paths that this mountainside had. The trial could be found up at the very top of this area. As told to them by a local Hiker here. It seemed like a fairly long way up there. From the steep paths, a group of Alolan Graveler were rolling down the hills with Alolan Golem skipping along.
"Grave! Graveler!"
"Geo! Geo-Geodude!"
"Ooh!" Scootaloo's eyes were instantly captivated by these Alola variants as she pulled her Pokedex to scan these passing Pokemon.
"Geodude. The Rock Pokemon. Alolan Form. Its body is a magnetic stone. Iron sand attaches firmly to the portions of its body that are particularly magnetic. If you accidentally step on a Geodude sleeping on the ground, you’ll hear a crunching sound and feel a shock ripple through your entire body."
"Graveler. The Rock Pokemon. Alolan Form. Its preferred food is dravite. After it has eaten this mineral, crystals form inside the Pokémon, rising to the surface of part of its body. They eat rocks and often get into a scrap over them. The shock of Graveler smashing together causes a flash of light and a booming noise. When it comes rolling down a mountain path, anything in its way gets zapped by electricity and sent flying. People call it the Fireworks of the Earth."
"Oh." Scootaloo, who was still riding on Ponyta, moved to the side to make sure she wouldn't be hit by a passing Graveler.
"We're here now," Fluttershy said as they had walked far enough. They finally reached the highest point of this mountainside. This is where the Totem Pokemon could be found. Right at the very peak.
However, when they finally arrived here, they certainly did see the Totem Pokemon, however, they weren't expecting to see it in this current state.
A state that involved sleeping and resting. And the Pokemon currently resting was an Alolan Marowak, who was lying on her back, fast asleep.
"Maro...Maro..." The Totem Pokemon snored.
"I-Is that the Totem Pokemon?" Scootaloo stuttered.
"I think so...But he looks asleep right about now. Maybe we shouldn't interrupt him right now."
"Then what do we do? We're here for the Island Trial, aren't we?"
"Well...yes." Fluttershy nodded. "But we should also have patience. We don't want to wake Marowak up from his sleep, do we?"
"Mrrgh...But we only have 2 hours left. And we spent a lot of time getting here." Scootaloo growled. "I really want that Firium Z...!"
"Maro...?" Scootaloo's slight raise of tone, Marowak twitched while asleep as Fluttershy and Scootaloo gasped, leaning in after the twitch. They were hoping that he was about to wake up and start the trial. "Maro..." But, it was just a slight twitch as Marowak continued to sleep, causing Scootaloo to sigh in disappointment.
"Oh well... guess we'd better just sit here and wait..." Scootaloo laid on Ponyta's back while the Fire Horse Pokemon sat down.
"Scor! Scorbunny!" Scorbunny, much like Scootaloo, really wanted to start this trial so that the Firium Z could be obtained. He aggressively pulled on Fluttershy's hoof, nudging her as well. "Bun!"
"Oh, Scorbunny. I'm not sure I want-"
"Scor!" Scorbunny jumped up and down.
"Hm? You think he's just sleeping on the job?"
"Bunny!" The Rabbit Pokemon nodded.
"Well...he could be doing that."
"Then let's wake him up and start the trial. Please?" Scootaloo and Scorbunny looked at Fluttershy, giving her puppy-dog eyes. Very convincing ones as well.
"Um..." Fluttershy scrunched her face, looking at Audino and Chikorita who shrugged and didn't know how to respond to any of this themselves. "Okay. I'll ask and see if he wants to start or rest a bit."
The pegasus gave into the puppy-dog eyes, walking over to the Bone Keeper Pokemon while Scootaloo and Scorbunny let out tiny silent cheers.
"Maro...Maro..."
"Um, excuse me. Marowak?" Fluttershy spoke as her gentle voice reached the Bone Keeper Pokemon, causing him to open one eye up, looking at the pegasus.
"Wak?"
"Sorry for interrupting your sleep. We're here for the Island Trial, but if you want to rest some more, we can wait for a while. If that's okay with you."
"Marowak..." Marowak yawned as he got up from the ground, grabbing his bone while stretching his muscles. After responding to Fluttershy's words and question, the Fire-Ghost-Type knew that it had a role as a Totem Pokemon. The other Marowak here don't. "Maro."
"Oh! You're ready to go?"
"Marowak." Marowak nodded.
"Yes!" Scootaloo and Scorbunny cheered as Fluttershy flew back.
"Scorbun!"
"Marowak!" Marowak spun his bone around before stomping it on the ground, declaring the initiation of this Island Trial himself. However, before the trial could start, Marowak suddenly tapped his stomach, letting out a sigh.
"Hm?" Fluttershy observed Marowak's stomach pat and sigh. "Oh, are you hungry?"
"Wak." He certainly was.
"Oh, don't worry. We can have a quick lunch break before we start." Fluttershy dug into her saddlebag, bringing out some Pokemon Food.
"Wait, what?" Scootaloo turned to face Fluttershy.
"Scor?"
"Just a quick one." Fluttershy placed the food down as Marowak dashed over.
"Marowak!" The Bone Keeper Pokemon's eyes lit up after witnessing the attractive food in a bowl. He quickly put the bone down before raising his arms, ready to chow down.
"Dig in."
"Maro!" Marowak then started eating the Pokemon food in front of him without hesitation, slowly filling his stomach. Fluttershy also laid out some Pokemon food for everyone else.
"When we battle, it needs to be on a full stomach. Right?" Fluttershy smiled.
"Audino!"
"Chiko!"
"Scorbunny..." Scorbunny sighed as he went over to the Pokemon food. He himself was feeling hungry but he really wanted to start this battle. Scootaloo's Ponyta didn't seem to mind as he went over for some food as well.
The Island Trial for Fluttershy and Scootaloo might take a little bit of time to really start.
High above the skies of Alola.
Twilight and Pinkie Pie were currently still heading towards other locations in Alola. They haven't yet found a place to stop yet. They were both aiming for the Psychium Z. Twilight was using the Ride Pokemon Charizard and Pinkie was just using Mew who had transformed into a Garchomp.
"That city up ahead." Twilight pointed her hoof at the nearest city, which was the Seafolk Village. Just north from there. "We might find the Psychium Z there."
"Okie Dokie! Let's go!" Pinkie Pie raised her hooves, flailing them about freely while riding on Mew.
"Gar!" Mew cheered with her. But, before the New Species Pokemon, disguised as a Garchomp could go any further, a faint Psychic pulse passed through him and him alone. "Gar?"
This pulse called out to him. Almost as if it was talking to him. Mew's head turned to the direction of where the Psychic pulse came from. Just east from Alola. And because of this, Mew's direction changed as he suddenly flew to the east instead of the north.
"Hm?" Pinkie looked down at Mew. "Oh, uh...Guess we're going somewhere else then. See ya soon, Twilight! Eve!" The earth pony waved goodbye to the alicorn and her Espeon.
"Uh...See you soon." Twilight waved back.
"Espeon."
Charizard advanced onwards to the north while Mew changed to the east. Both would reach their destinations but things were a bit different for Mew. This Psychic pulse felt new yet familiar to the New Species Pokemon, calling to him as Mew's curious mind and nature couldn't resist it at all.
Using Garchomp's amazing speed, Mew boosted through the air, moving through the clouds as Pinkie Pie tried eating them to see if they tasted like cotton candy. But all she got was the water vapour from it.
"Nope. Just water." Pinkie felt disappointed after finding out the truth of clouds. They unfortunately weren't made out of cotton candy. "Um...Where are we even headed, Mew?"
"Gar!" Mew nudged his head forward, showing the destination that he felt the Psychic call. After passing through some more clouds, he spotted the location at last. A single island that had the appearance of a wilderness. There seemed to be a pathway on this island that led somewhere else.
Mew got in close as he slowly descended to the grounds of this island before transforming himself back into a Mew as Pinkie Pie hopped off.
"Mew-Mew!"
"Oh...Wait, where are we?" Pinkie scratched her mane.
"Mew..." Mew looked around at this wilderness, seeing if he could spot where the Psychic call was coming from. He tried listening in on it by closing his eyes while Pinkie Pie was just confused.
"Uh...Mew?"
"Mew..." Mew then felt another Psychic call. This time it was clear than the rest. Mew could tell what it sounded like. To his ears, it sounded like another Mew, or rather, multiple Mew's were calling for him. "Mew!" Finding out where the call was coming from the New Species Pokemon then transformed into Excadrill suddenly.
"Huh? Excadrill?"
"Exca!" Mew raised his claws before starting to dig into the ground. Granted, since he didn't have the full capabilities of an Excadrill, his digging skills were subpar at best.
"Wait! What's going on, Mew? Do you know where the Psychium Z is? I'm so confused right now..." Pinkie Pie lowered her head. "I wish Fluttershy were here right now..."
Wela Volcano Park. The very top.
Speaking of Fluttershy and her whereabouts, just now, Marowak had just finished the Pokemon Food, feeling full and satisfied as he patted his belly. The other Pokemon felt refreshed as well.
"Maro..."
"That was a wonderful lunch, wasn't it?" Fluttershy asked.
"Marowak."
"Now can we start the trial?" Scootaloo sighed along with Scorbunny.
"Scorbunny..."
"Wak...Maro." Marowak sat up, grabbing his bone as he knew he had kept them waiting long enough now. He could most certainly start the trial.
"Yes. Yes, we can." Fluttershy translated.
"Oh, finally!"
"Scor!"
With Marowak fully refreshed and rested, they could have the right amount of strength to challenge the two ponies and their Pokemon to see if they are worthy. Time still remains in the less. The 2 hours have now become 1 Hour as everypony searches for the Z-Crystals of their choice or practices posing as the journey continues.
Seafolk Village. The village of wandering people who live on ships. The people and Pokemon all seem to love living free and unfettered in this simple village.
Twilight had arrived here with Eve while using the Charizard Poke Ride. The Flame Pokemon had descended, landing near the Ferry stop.
"Charizard."
"Thanks, Charizard." Twilight and Eve got off the Fire-Flying-Type.
"Espeon."
"We'll be right back. Just as soon as we find that Psychium Z." Twilight and Eve walked off, setting off to find the Psychium Z here in Seafolk Village. Or at least, ask for any tips on where it may be.
"Zard."
"Alright, Eve. Let's make it quick. There's only 1 hour left and those stones sure aren't easy to find. Wonder why Pinkie and Mew went a different way?" Twilight then looked to the east where Pinkie Pie and Mew suddenly went to.
"Eon..."
"Well, anyway, they've probably got a good lead on a Z Crystal. When we get that Psychium Z, we'll be stronger than ever, right?"
"Espeon." The Sun Pokemon agreed as her trainer came across the first person she saw, running up to him.
"Alola!" Twilight gave out the natural Alola greeting.
"Espeon!"
"Alola!" The man and his Pokemon greeted back.
"Pansear!"
"Do you know where we can find the Psychium Z? A whole school of us are searching for Z-Crystals right about now," Twilight asked.
"Psychium Z?" The man looked at his Pansear, thinking for a bit. "Uh...The Fairium Z can be found somewhere here if that helps?"
"I'll let my friends who want that Z-Crystal know that. But thanks anyway."
"Actually...There is one Psychic-Type crystal that you can find somewhere near here." The man did remember something. "One with seething amounts of Psychic energy."
"Really?" Twilight and Eve leaned in.
"Yeah. Just east from here." He pointed to the east. "Right over at Poni Island. A few Z-Crystals are lying around there but one of them is Psychic. It comes straight from Poni Wilds too."
"Poni Wilds...?" Twilight then thought back to what Hala told her and all the other students back at Melemele Meadow. Something related to Poni Island and the wilderness there.
"Oh! One thing I should mention! There is one Z-Crystal you cannot approach no matter what. Over at Poni Wilds, there exists a Z-Crystal with some much overflowing power that anyone who goes near them will be met with an intense aura that can greatly harm them. Many have tried to obtain this crystal, but they've never seen it before. Only the aura it emits. It's a forbidden Z-Crystal."
"The forbidden Z-Crystal. Poni Wilds..." Twilight paused before realizing which direction Pinkie Pie and Mew went to. "Oh...Uh oh! Pinkie! Mew!"
"Mew?!" The man squinted his eyes after hearing the name of the Mythical Pokemon Mew."
"We have to go! Thanks, by the way!" Twilight quickly spread her wings out, flying off with Eve following her.
"Uh...You're welcome." The man and his Pansear waved goodbye slowly.
"Pansear..."
The alicorn and her partner moved as fast they could. They feared for the safety of their friend after hearing how this forbidden Z-Crystal can harm those around the area. She was hoping that Pinkie and Mew hadn't been harmed yet or even reached the wilds.
Just up ahead, north from here, were the Poni Wilds. It wasn't too far from here but considering how fast Mew flew when disguised as a Garchomp, it might be too late. But Twilight didn't want to believe that.
Deep underneath Poni Wilds.
Mew, who had just turned into an Excadrill, had already dug a hole through the ground after responding to the anonymous Psychic call. Pinkie Pie ended up following as there were multiples holes with dirt lying everywhere, littering the wilderness.
"Mew! Where are we going?" Pinkie asked while moving through the underground.
"Exca!" Mew himself wasn't so sure. He just knew that something or someone was calling him from afar. Instead of it being one voice, it felt like billions of voices were calling out to the New Species Pokemon as he kept digging."
"Spin?" Spinda popped out of Pinkie Pie's mane as even she was wondering what Mew was up to. Only Mew could feel this Psychic call and no one else.
Mew wishes he could describe this strange feeling to Pinkie Pie. But unfortunately, Pinkie can't speak to Pokemon like Fluttershy or Ash. The calls kept coming. The sound of a million voices kept luring the New Species Pokemon in. But they weren't random voices. Mew felt like he's heard them before. Mostly because the voices sounded like himself.
To Mew, it sounded like another one of his species was calling out to him. And the closer he got, the more he could understand these calls and feel them.
"Drill!" The Psychic-Type stopped for a moment as he could feel the strongest call yet. He then looked forward, finally knowing where it was coming from.
"Huh? Mew?"
"Spin?"
"Excadrill!" By giving it all he had, the disguised Mew dug faster than ever, almost matching the speed of an actual Excadrill by how hard he was putting in all this work. Clumps of dirt rapidly fell, landing onto Pinkie and Spinda. They were already a mess from coming down here anyway.
"What's gotten into him today?" Pinkie felt lost as she blew the dirt away from her muzzle.
"Spinda..."
"Drill!" Mew saw that even with how fast he was digging, it would still take some time. So, he decided to switch things up to speed the process. He did this by transforming himself into a Gengar. "Gengar!"
"Now Gengar? What's going with you, Mew?" Pinkie wondered as her partner suddenly grabbed both her and Spinda. By using Gengar's intangibility, Mew affected his friends, giving them temporary intangibility as well.
"Gar!" Mew then flew upwards at high speeds, phasing through the walls while giving Pinkie Pie and Spinda a great ride.
"Woah!"
"Spinda!"
Even though they were intangible right now, they could still feel the rush that Mew was giving to them. They went through many walls of the underground in Poni Wilds as everything seemed to get darker the further they went.
However, beyond these dark and thick walls and the lower half of Poni Wilds, there was something hidden from the rest of Alola. Something so secretive that the only thing that is known about it is the strange energy that comes out of it. That same energy Hala mentioned harms those that come near. Where the forbidden Z-Crystal resides.
And once Mew passed through the last wall, he and his friends ended up in an unexpected hidden area that could potentially only be accessed via digging or just phasing through like a ghost.
An entire cave was through here.
But not just an ordinary cave. One that had dark pink crystals plastered everywhere on the murky walls, letting out constant glows of pink light. But, these lights seemed weak and faint, only maintaining a little amount of light. This cave was very spacious to the point where it held billions of these lights.
"A cave?" Pinkie Pie gawked at the cave with pink crystals. "Look at all these crystals...? Are they all the Psychim Z?" She looked closer to see for herself. But, these crystals were half broken so it was hard to tell if they were Z-Crystals or just average crystals.
"Gengar." Mew descended before transforming back into his normal self as Pinkie Pie and Spinda hopped off, landing on the ancient ground of this spacious cave of pink crystals. "Mew."
"Spinda?"
"Is this where you wanted to come, Mew?"
"Mew-Mew!" The New Species Pokemon nodded as he flew forward. The calls were still coming in. A plethora of them that he couldn't ignore. Pinkie Pie and Spinda followed their friend through this dark pink cave with faint lights.
Something about this place felt ancient. As if it existed during the earlier days of the world. There was no sign of life here and any form of water had been dried up and wiped out of existence by this point. An unpleasant place to be in. And yet, there was something here that kept pulling Mew in.
"This place is already giving me the creeps..." The earth pony shuddered.
"Mew!" Mew suddenly called out as he stopped floating.
"What is it, Mew?!" Pinkie gasped to see what Mew had spotted. The New Species Pokemon had spotted some abnormal, unexpected and horrifying.
And soon, Pinkie PIe and Spinda would witness this find as they came to an immediate halt from utter shock. The two of them stopped by Mew as Spinda hid behind Pinkie Pie's leg after seeing this mysterious and anonymous discovery. Although, it wasn't anonymous anymore. Because one good glance revealed what it was.
It was a Mew that was fading away, holding a Z-Crystal.
"What the..."
Wela Volcano Park.
Elsewhere, the Island Trial of Fluttershy and Scootaloo was about to commence against the Totem Marowak. It took a while, but they could finally get going. But one rule had to be made.
"Maro!" The Bone Keeper Pokemon suddenly put his hand out, explaining the one simple rule of this battle.
"Hm? Oh. We're only limited to two Pokemon?" Fluttershy translated. "Alright, that's fine. I have three Pokemon with me. Um...Scorbunny counts even if he's not mine."
"Scorbun!"
"Aw, just two?!" Scootaloo pouted as she was hoping to use all of her Pokemon for this. "Oh, fine...Can we just start now?"
"Marowak!" Marowak let out a mighty roar as he spun his flaming spectral bone around, officially starting the trial as his body was overflowing with aura. The trial could begin.
"Looks like it's time. Who wants to go first?" Fluttershy asked.
"Scorbunny!" Scorbunny obviously wanted to go first as he stepped forward, choosing himself.
"Go, Horsea!" Scootaloo sent her Horsea out.
"Horsea!"
"Marowak!" Marowak gave the call for the battle to begin at last.
"Okay! We'll make the first move! Horsea, use Water Pulse!"
"Horsea...! The Dragon Pokemon raised his head, gathering up water from within his mouth.
"Go, Scorbunny! Use Flame Charge!"
"Scor!" Scorbunny nodded as he ran past Horsea, cloaking himself in scarlet flames while heading straight for his fellow Fire-Type. And at the same time, Horsea had just unleashed a pulsing blast of ultrasonic water from his mouth.
"Marowak!" As a response, Marowak used the move Detect as his eyes glowed light blue for a moment before, dashing past both the pulsating blast of water and Scorbunny's advancing charge and evading them. The Bone Keeper Pokemon then appeared behind Horsea after the dodge.
"Scor?!" Scorbunny came to a screeching halt as his speed had been increased after the Flame Charge.
"Horsea?!" The Dragon Pokemon noticed his move missed before then realizing who was behind him.
"Maro!" Marowak quickly spun his bone around before using his signature move, Shadow Bone. In the blink of an eye, Alolan Marowak tightly gripped his bone, with a purple flame gathering around one of the ends and a blue aura briefly flashing inside the centre. It then stopped spinning before striking Horsea in the back, creating a burst of both purple and blue flames once it made contact.
"Sea!" Horsea went flying from the burst of flames as she flew past Scorbunny. The attack happened so fast, it was hard for him to dodge.
"Ah! Horsea!" Scootaloo gasped.
"Bun!"
"Wak!" Marowak the changed targets, heading straight for Scorbunny next with the move Bone Rush. He held his bone out, lunging at the Rabbit Pokemon.
"Scorbunny, dodge it with Quick Attack!"
"Bunny!" The Fire-Type narrowed his eyes a white aura outlined his body. When Marowak smashed his bone down, Scorbunny moved back at lightning speeds, leaving a white trail and evading the bone as Marowak caused the ground to crack from the impact.
"Maro?"
"Flame Charge, go!"
"Scor! Scor! Scor!" The Rabbit Pokemon quickly veered on the ground before cloaking himself in fire and rushing towards Marowak.
"Wak!" Marowak however, continued to use Bone Rush as he ran towards his fellow Fire-Type. Scorbunny them bashed his head onto Marowak's bone, causing an immediate collision.
"Scorbun!" Scorbunny rapidly moved his legs, running as fast he could as he was trying to break past Marowak's bone. And at the same time, Marowak kept his bone up, trying to push through.
"Horsea, quick! Water Pulse again!"
"Sea!" Horsea had just recovered after that potent Shadow Bone to the back. The Water-Type quickly locked onto Marowak who was still in the midst of a struggle with Scorbunny. Horsea knew he had to be careful not to hit Scorbunny with Water Pulse. "Horsea!" The Dragon Pokemon then shot out an ultrasonic wave of water from his mouth.
"Maro?!"
"Scorbunny, look out!" Fluttershy warned.
"Bunny!" Scorbunny knew he had to break up this struggle. But, as a way of separating from the Bone Keeper Pokemon, the Rabbit Pokemon used his legs to sweep Marowak before running away with Flame Charge, which also increased his speed.
"Wak?!" Marowak gasped as he had been tripped by Scorbunny's sneaky leg sweep. Because of this, he lost his balance and couldn't find the time to avoid the attack. Not when he fell over.
Thus, Water Pulse had hit him, dealing super-effective damage and causing a watery explosion that knocked the Bone Keeper Pokemon back.
"Maro!"
"Haha! Direct hit!" Scootaloo cheered.
"Horsea!"
"Are you alright, Scorbunny?" Fluttershy asked.
"Scorbun!"
"Marowak." Marowak got up, holding his head after that direct Water Pulse. That sweep from Scorbunny was also surprising. The Bone Keeper Pokemon could see that he might have some trouble in this battle. So, he decided to try something before continuing. "Marowak!"
The Boner Keeper Pokemon suddenly cried out into the sky with a howl. The battle had been paused as Scootaloo was wondering what Marowak was up to.
"Uh...what's he doing?"
"Oh." Fluttershy immediately noticed. "He's calling for help!"
"Help? But aren't supposed to be battling just him?"
"Maro! Marowak!" Marowak raised his voice, continuing to call the nearest ally. And with the right tone and frequency, the nearest Pokemon and most common ally to Marowak had responded.
From the sides of the peak of this steep mountain, the sounds of someone crawling at quick speeds could be heard. Mainly from Audino who heard it first. "Dino?!" The Hearing Pokemon turned around along with everyone else, wondering who was climbing up here.
"Sala!" It was none other than the Toxic Lizard Pokemon, Salazzle. This was Totem Alolan Marowak's most common ally to call in battle as she stood beside the Bone Keeper Pokemon. "Salazzle!"
"Salazzle?!" Scootaloo shrieked as she was a bit intimidated by Salazzle. And who could blame her? It was a menacing Pokemon to look at.
"Oh my. This might be a bit trickier than it was originally." Fluttershy observed. "But it's alright."
"Are you even bothered or cautious about this...?" Scootaloo said under her breath.
"Maro!" Marowak spun his bone around while Salazzle got on all fours, ready to attack. And attack they did. Salazzle went first by firing globs of purple, poisonous liquid from the pattern on her back at both Scorbunny and Horsea. Marowak ended up going for another Shadow Bone by running towards Horsea.
"Horsea! Bubble Beam!"
"Scorbunny! High Jump Kick!"
"Scorbun!" Scorbunny looked at the incoming globs of poison as he suddenly jumped off the ground at impressive heights. The Rabbit Pokemon's leg started glowing yellow as he went over the poisonous globs before heading straight for Salazzle.
"Sala!" Salazzle quickly responded by suddenly extending her tongue and wrapping it around Scorbunny's leg, stopping High Jump Kick.
"Bunny?!"
"Oh!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Sala!" Salazzle then slammed Scorbunny into the ground with her tongue, holding the Rabbit Pokemon within her grasp.
"Scor!"
"Maro!" Marowak closed in on Horsea who was shooting out multiple bubbles from his mouth at high speeds. "Wak!" But, Marowak used his one to whack away the bubbles, popping them with its spectral energy.
"Hor?!"
"Wak!" Marowak then spun his bone around, moving it at such speeds that the ghostly fire from it started whirling out like a hurricane, going straight for Horsea while obliterating the bubbles.
The bubbles of Bubble Beam stood no chance against the furious flames of the dead as the whirling spectral flames ended up engulfing the Dragon Pokemon.
"H-Horsea!" Horsea closed his eyes as he was being spun around by the spectral flames while also taking damage from it. "S-Sea!"
"Maro!" As if that wasn't enough, Marowak jumped into the hurricane of spectral flames, continuing Shadow Bone as he slammed his bone onto Horsea's head.
"Hor!"
"Horsea, get out of there quick!"
"S-Sea!" Horsea was trying his best to escape, but it wasn't exactly going too well for him right now as Marowak kept continuously striking the Dragon Pokemon while the ghostly flame hurricane hurt him. And Scorbunny wasn't faring any better as Salazzle kept slamming, dragging and spinning him around.
"S-Scor!"
"Scorbunny! Set your body on fire with Flame Charge!"
"B-Bunny!" Scorbunny growled as he engulfed his entire body in fire, hoping to get Salazzle off. The Toxic Lizard Pokemon's eyes widened as she felt a sudden burn on her tongue, causing her to twitch and loosen her grip.
"S-S-Sala!" Salazzle cried out as smoke came out of her tongue. Scorbunny managed to break free by jumping back.
"So, so sorry!" Fluttershy apologized to Salazzle.
"Grr....! Horsea! Try Twister!"
"S-Sea!" Horsea would try and attempt his own form of a whirlwind. By using the Dragon-Type move-Twister. All he had to was find the right moment to use it during Marowak's constant barrage of hits. When Marowak stopped his current hit to go for another one, Horsea found an opportunity. "Horsea!"
Before Marowak could perform his next wing, the Dragon Pokemon pointed his head up and spun around quickly, making himself into a twister. Within the water, Horsea created a draconic tornado to counteract the spectral fire tornado. And counteract it did.
"Wak?!"
Both the Twister and spectral whirlwind cancelled each other out, causing both Pokemon to be launched back to equal power. In the end, they both took damage, but Horsea took way more considering how many times he had been hit as they both tumbled.
"Hor!"
"Maro!"
"Scorbunny...!" Scorbunny breathed in and out as he was already a bit tired. This was his first experience in a Pokemon battle so it was only natural.
"Salazzle!" Salazzle suddenly rushed in, heading straight for a Shadow Claw on Horsea instead of Scorbunny as her hands were covered in shadows.
"Sea?!"
"Sala!" The Toxic Lizard Pokemon lunged forward, appearing above the Dragon Pokemon.
"Horsea! Water Pulse!"
"Hor..!" Horsea summoned a sphere of water in front of him while Salazzle swung her shadow-infested claws at the Water-Type.
"Lazzle!"
"Sea!" Horsea then fired the attack at the same time Salazzle swiped. The claws of Shadow Claw ended up colliding with Water Pulse, causing an in-your-face explosion of water that engulfed both Pokemon.
"Sala!" Salazzle took some super-effective damage from that while being forced back as in the end, Horsea's attack was the one that landed. Surprisingly, Horsea was still standing. But that was mostly from taking not very effective damage from that. But, he was currently on the verge of fainting if this kept up.
"H-Horsea."
"Oh. Horsea! You don't look too good right now. Come back for now!" Scootaloo called back her Horsea, returning the Dragon Pokemon into his Poke Ball. "Phew..."
"Do you want to come back too, Scorbunny?" Fluttershy asked.
"Scorbun!" Scorbunny chose to stay in. He was fairly stubborn and a bit prideful. He wanted to win this without swapping with any of his teammates.
"Oh, okay."
"We could've totally finished this if he didn't call for an ally." Scootaloo pouted.
"It's fine. We can still win this. Let's just stay calm and keep our composure. If we work together as a team in this, we can finish this battle as soon as we can. Marowak and Salazzle might have great teamwork which could lead them to win it all." Fluttershy observed. "Working as a team will help us through this. And we may not lose one Pokemon if we do."
"Oh. Right." Scootaloo nodded. "I gotcha. You're up next, Ponyta."
"Ponyta!" Ponyta ran in front of Scootaloo.
"Maro. Marowak." Marowak looked at Salazzle as they were already planning on using their full team skills to end this.
"Sala." The Toxic Lizard Pokemon nodded in understanding as all of a sudden, Marowak jumped onto Salazzle's back, using her as a ride.
"Marowak!" The Bone Keeper Pokemon raised his bone club high as Salazzle charged at Scorbunny.
"Scorbunny! Get onto Ponyta's back!"
"Ponyta, use Flame Charge!"
"Scor!" Scorbunny quickly hopped onto Ponyta's back while the Fire Horse Pokemon ignited his entire body, cloaking himself in flames.
"Ponyta!" With a loud neigh, Ponyta galloped forward, heading straight for Salazzle.
"Wak!" Marowak was ready to swing his bone club towards Scorbunny and Ponyta with Bone Rush while Salazzle was going for a Shadow Claw.
"Sala!"
"Scorbunny, use Flame Charge as well!"
"Scorbunny!" Scorbunny held onto Ponyta's back as tightly as he could before also surrounding himself in a fiery aura. With him also using Flame Charge, both Fire-Types ended merging their flames as one, creating an even larger Flame Charge as a trial of giant flames could be seen.
Marowak and Salazzle swung their attacks at their opposing opponents, immediately meeting with the giant flaming aura of Flame Charge instead of Ponyta and Scorbunny themselves. Upon collision, a furious explosion of fire, mainly from Flame Charge, occurred. The four Fire-Types were able to equal each other out from their attacks as they were all sent flying back with Scorbunny and Marowak being dismounted from Salazzle.
"Ponyta! High Horsepower!"
"Nyta!" Ponyta recovered before standing on his hind legs as his body became surrounded by an orange aura. He then charged towards Salazzle.
"Salazzle! Salazzle quickly used Flame Burst by swinging her tail, causing flaming hot red liquids to come flying out from the red patterns of her body.
Ponyta!" Ponyta closed his eyes as he kept running. The red liquids poured onto him, unleashing a seething pain that could get to almost anyone. But Ponyta, for the time he had, managed to endure it for a while before slamming into Salazzle. "Ta!"
"S-Sala!" Salazzle's eyes widened along with her mouth opening after being hit head-on by High Horsepower. She took super-effective damage due to her Fire-Poison-Typing as she was launched like a rocket.
"Now! Fire Spin!"
"Ponyta!" Ponyta was down as he raised his head, looking at Salazzle before charging up a vortex of fire in his mouth.
"Wak!" The Bone Keeper Pokemon saw this as he couldn't allow his ally Pokemon to fall. Marowak quickly used Bone Rush, holding his bone high before throwing it at Ponyta as hard as he could.
"Scorbunny! Stop it with Quick Attack!"
"Scorbun!" Thanks to the constant use of Flame Charge, Scorbunny was faster than ever as he moved at lightning speeds, blitzing off the ground and leaving scorching footprints from his speed. "Bunny!" The Rabbit Pokemon appeared in front of the bone club using his foot to knock the bone back at Marowak, protecting Marowak.
"Maro?!" Marowak gasped as he had been hit by his own bone while Bone Rush was still active. And at the same time, an intense spiral of fire flew out of Ponyta's mouth before engulfing Salazzle within the attack.
"Ponyta!"
"Sala!" Salazzle spun around in the flaming vortex before it expanded around her. Marowak had just fallen over from that counterattack as the fiery vortex was growing, heading for him. Fire Spin was a move that could affect all foes like an actual vortex or tornado.
"Maro!?"
"Scorbun!" Scorbunny quickly ran back as the vortex of flames had caught Marowak, pulling him inside as he and Salazzle were now both spinning around.
"M-Marowak!"
"S-Salazzle!"
"Oh my. Maybe that was a bit too much..." Fluttershy observed as the vortex of Fire kept going.
"Ah, it's fine. Let's finish this, Fluttershy!"
"A-Alright! Scorbunny, use Ember!"
"And Double Kick it Ponyta!"
"Scorbun!" Scorbunny suddenly kicked up a pebble from all the rubble here, playing around with it like a soccer ball before igniting it into a ball of Fire.
"Scor!" Scorbunny then kicked the ball of fire forward while Ponyta turned around, raising his back legs before, bucking into the ball of fire. Ponyta's added force from Double Kick strengthened the Ember, making it grow in size and giving it more power and speed.
"Pony!"
The powered-up Ember was flying at breakneck speeds, faster than it normally should go as it flew through the fiery vortex of Fire Spin before hitting both Marowak and Salazzle each.
Afterwards, an explosion of spinning flames erupted, causing everyone to close their eyes and move back as Alolan Marowak and Salazzle came flying out of the explosion with smoke trailing out of them.
Afterwards, the two Pokemon fell to the ground. They had taken heavy damage from all of that. Especially the final explosion. Due to this, they were unable to continue.
They had both fainted.
"Marowak..."
"Salazzle..."
"Oh! Yeah!" Scootaloo jumped up with cheers of victory. "We won!" She then hugged Fluttershy with a powerful grip, jumping up and down while Scorbunny and Ponyta bumped their paw and hoof against each other.
"Ough!" Fluttershy's eyes expanded from the hug. "W-We sure did."
"Scorbunny!"
"Ponyta!"
"Maro..." Marowak sat up as he held his head after a fierce battle. So did Salazzle who felt a bit dazed. Fluttershy's Audino quickly went over to both of them, deciding to be the one to heal them.
"Audino."
"Thank you for the fun battle, Marowak and Salazzle," Fluttershy said, walking up to the two Fire-Types. "Sorry if we went a bit overboard at the last moment.
"Maro-Maro."
"Sala." They both said it was fine. It was an important Pokemon battle. They had to give it everything they had after all.
"Congrats you two!" Just then, arriving after climbing the steep mountain was Olivia. She had to actually be there to dictate if they had actually won instead of just coming back to her and saying they won the trial.
"Oh. Olivia." Scootaloo turned around.
"That was a fine battle." Olivia clapped as she no longer looked like a mess. "And a great first go at your first Island Trial?"
"Heh. Wasn't it?" Scootaloo smiled with confidence.
"Because of that, I can safely say that you two have earned these." Olivia dug into her jacket pocket, pulling out the needed rewards of this. Two Firium Z-Crystals. "Here. The Firium Z Crystals are yours."
"Oooh...!" Fluttershy and Scootaloo gawked at their surprisingly beautiful scarlet shine with their eyes lighting up along with the Pokemon.
"Scorbun...!"
"Pony...!"
Both ponies took the Z-Crystals holding them high up with wide and soft smiles on their faces. "Success!" They both cried out in joy.
Poni Wilds.
Twilight and Eve had just arrived at the Poni Wilds on Poni Island after remembering which direction Pinkie Pie and Mew went. They came across the wilderness and the massive array of dug holes here. Although, they didn't actually know that these holes were never here in the first place.
"Pinkie Pie! Mew!" Twilight called out. "Where are you?!"
"Espeon!"
Call as much as they want, their voices weren't reaching their friends. Especially considering how deep in the ground they were right now. Eve tried looking inside the holes to see if she could find something. There were a lot of them so it might take a while.
At the same time, Twilight decided to call her friends via the Xtransceiver, instantly selecting Rarity's Trainer ID. She did this in a hurry since she was worried about her friends right now.
The Xtransceiver had then been responded immediately.
"Hello?" Rarity whistled.
"Rarity! I need your help!"
"Oh, right now, darling? We're currently in the middle of finding the Waterium Z. This Wishiwashi is proving to be a bit on an issue at the moment." Rarity twirled her hair as Ampharos was currently battling against a School Form Wishiwashi.
"Ampha!" Ampharos unleashed a violent blast of Thunder onto the Small Fry Pokemon by summoning a blast of thunder from his body.
"W-Wish!"
"It's important! Pinkie Pie and Mew went over to the Poni Wilds! You know? The place where the Forbidden Z-Crystal is?!"
"Hoh!" Rarity gasped with her mane shooting up. "We'll be right there at your location...Ampharos! Our friends need us! Let's wrap this up and go!"
"Pharos!" Ampharos understood as he unleashed a ferocious Dragon Pulse from his mouth with a dragon-shaped shockwave engulfing the School Form Wishiwashi.
In little time, not only had the Wishwashi all separated and scattered, returning the Small Fry Pokemon into its normal form, but it had also fainted from Ampharos's relentless attack.
"W-Wishiwashi..."
Ampharos quickly ran to Rarity as their friends could potentially be in danger at the moment with little time to spare. But little did they know, they were currently within something that was hard to be described. Was it safe or dangerous?
That was unknown for now. 1 hour remains while the rest of the Z-Crystals are being picked up by some students here and there as the journey continues.
The discovery of a lifetime had just been made on this day in this hidden and secluded underground of faint glowing pink crystals. A discovery made by Pinkie Pie, Mew and Spinda.
Within this hidden underground crystal area, another Mew could be found. One that was curled up and almost looked like it was fading away. Its skin had various cracks around it as its entire body was rotting. Bits of skin had also fallen off as seen by the mess on the ground. The usual vibrant pink colour of a Mew could no longer be seen in it. It was a lifeless pink that was full of little energy. And at the same time, while curled in a lying position, the rotting Mew was holding onto what seemed to be a Z-Crystal that resembled a Mew tail.
"Oh!" Pinkie Pie gasped as she ran over to the fading Mew. "Oh my goodness! Are you okay?!
"Mew-Mew?!" Pinkie's Mew flew over to his fellow Psychic-Type.
"Mew..." The fading Mew opened its eyes, spotting the arrival of its fellow Mew and his trainer. This Mew had a very faint and weak voice. One that sounded like he was going to give up at any time soon. He could barely speak and if he did, his throat would end up harming itself.
"H-Hey..." Pinkie Pie stuttered as she went up to the fading Mew, slowly putting her hoof on it. But when she did so, bits of Mew's skin suddenly fell off from immediate contact, causing Pinkie to gasp and pull her hoof back. "Oh! I'm sorry! So-so-so-sorry!"
"Mew..." The Fading Mew looked to the healthy Mew, uttering words underneath its weak breath. The unhealthy and suffering New Species Pokemon spoke to Pinkie Pie's Mew, telling him vital information.
"Mew-Mew?" Mew tilted his head. Pinkie, unfortunately, couldn't understand a word from this at all.
"Um...What?" Pinkie held her head.
"Mew!" Mew decided to make things easier for his trainer by transforming himself into a Chatot. That way, he could repeat what the Fading Mew is saying and translate it to Pinkie Pie. "Chatot!"
"Mew...Mew-Mew..."
"Tot! Waiting for you!" Mew translated.
"Waiting for you?" Pinkie repeated. "Wait, do you mean Mew over here?" She pointed at her own Mew.
"Mew..." The Fading Mew nodded in confirmation as it kept explaining itself. "Mew-Mew..."
"Chatot! One billion of us!"
"One billion of you? Uh..." Pinkie Pie was actually feeling a bit more confused than before as Mew's translation wasn't exactly foolproof. Even when transforming into a Chatot, he was still limited to the speaking capabilities of an actual Chatot, sadly. "This isn't working. But I've got an idea! Mew! Can you transform into a Smeargle quickly?" The earth pony dug into her bag, getting out a piece of paper. "Write on this."
"Tot! Write on this!" Mew understood as he shifted himself from a Chatot to a Smeargle. "Smear!" The New Species Pokemon then lifted the tail of the Smeargle body, already having some blue paint to use. Now, the fading Mew's words could be properly understood.
"Mew...Mew..." It explained as Mew started writing down the words with his blue paint while Pinkie Pie read what it said on the paper.
"We've been waiting for you. Or at least, another Mew that was still out there that could respond to our call. And only our call. Our Psychic power has been trying to reach another Mew, but it became uncontrollable over the years, harming those near that weren't worthy of properly responding to our call. The call for our Z-Crystal and our ancestor's will."
"Smear?"
"Your...Ancestors will? In that Z-Crystal?" Pinkie pointed her hoof at the crystal.
"Mew..."
"Billions of us are within it. This Z-Crystal holds the spirit and soul of billions of Mew from long ago. That call from before was all of us trying to reach you...For centuries I've been down here in this underground area, holding the Mewnium Z in my grasp, waiting for the right time when another Mew would come here and inherit our ancestors' will. The crystal was made here in Alola as we were tasked with taking care of it. But over the years with no one to accept it for so long, everything started to fade and diminish. But, now that you're here that can change."
"You've been guarding the crystal for years by yourself in here?!" Pinkie gasped. "You probably haven't eaten for so long! I-I've got some cupcakes in my bag if you want them!"
"Mew..."
"It's fine. My time is coming anyway. I was afraid that I would never have the chance to find another Mew who could arrive here. But you've given me and all of us hope. I'll vanish and join the rest of our ancestors in the next life. But with this crystal, you'll be connected to every other Mew and every Pokemon in existence. We'll be close either way. Inside the crystal."
"Smeargle?" The New Species Pokemon went up to the Fading Mew.
"Oh..." Pinkie froze for a bit. "I thought I could save you and..."
"Mew-Mew..."
"Don't worry. It was too late after all."
"So...I guess we'll take the crystal then."
"Mew..." The Fading Mew suddenly gripped the crystals before ascending into the air.
"Not yet. To really earn this crystal, you must defeat me in a battle. That way, you will truly earn it."
"Smear?!" Mew gasped before turning back into his original form. "Mew?!"
"Battle you?! But you look so hurt and sick!"
"Mew...Mew...!" Even if the Fading Mew was unhealthy, broken and on the verge of his last moments in life, he still had enough power to battle as he exuded a psychic aura that pushed Pinkie Pie, Mew and even Spinda back.
"Woah!"
"Mew!"
"Spin!"
"Mew...!" The Fading Mew dropped the Z-Crystal on the ground as it was ready to battle.
"O-Okay..." Pinkie Pie sat up as she understood the Fading Mew's decision as she also wiped a tear away. "We'll battle you."
"Mew-Mew!"
"Mew...!" With that, the Fading Mew let out a smile. It was ready to begin this battle. This wasn't an Island Trial by any means. But it was still a challenge to obtain a Z-Crystal either way. Through it all, the spirit of Alola always carries on in every situation.
"Let's do this, Mew! Use Shadow Ball!"
"Mew!" The New Species Pokemon raised his arms before summing a ball of shadows, hurling it at the Fading Mew.
"Mew...!" The Fading Mew quickly responded by creating an Electro Ball in its hands, shooting it at the ball of shadows. Both ball-based attacks clashed against each other before exploding upon contact, causing a mixture of electricity and shadows to fly out.
The Fading Mew then continued to attack with the move Flare Blitz, ascending higher into the air before surrounding itself in raging scarlet fire. The Fading Mew then charged towards the opposing Mew, leaving behind a blazing trail of flames.
"Use Psyshock!"
"Mew!" Mew materialized an odd psychic wave as three thick masses of light blue, blue, and purple energy formed around the front of his body. Mew then fired the masses at the approaching Fading Mew.
Flare Blitz crashed into the three thick masses, creating large sparks that flew across the area, hitting the walls of the underground. The Fading Mew, despite its condition, was actually strong enough to push through the masses, heading straight for Pinkie Pie's mew while burning the energy away.
"Mew?!"
"Mew...!" The Fading Mew groaned as it sped up, slamming into Pinkie's Mew with blazing aura and launching its fellow New Species Pokemon back.
"Mew!" Mew winced as he had been launched afar from the impact of Flare Blitz, spinning through the air before hitting the walls. The impact trembled the walls of the underground, causing some of the crystals on the wall to almost fall off. The Fading Mew had also taken recoil damage from using Flare Blitz.
"M-Mew...!" Using a move as powerful as that with such recoil only worsened the Fading Mew's health as its back was starting to fade away from all this effort.
"Mew...!" Pinkie Pie's Mew got off the ground, shaking his head as he could continue.
"Alright! Use Aura Sphere!"
"Mew-Mew!" Mew flew forward before shooting a ball of concentrated Aura from his mouth. The Fading Mew quickly counteracted by using Iron Tail, blocking the ball of Aura with its steel-hard tail.
"Psyshock again!"
"Mew!" Mew went for another Psyshock, but this time, he materialized the odd psychic power around his body, forming a circular barrier in the process. The New Species Pokemon then charged towards the Fading Mew.
As for the Fading Mew, it used Dazzling Gleam, surrounding its body in sparkling multi-coloured Fairy magic before rocketing forward.
Both Spheres with Mew inside smashed against each other, forcing the rocks in this underground aura to rise and tremble from their collision alone. The two Psychic-Types then went back and forth two times with their attacks, before separating and hitting the walls from their collision.
Both Mew then shot rays of rainbows and beams of Psychic energy from their respective attacks, clashing them against each other like two missiles connecting. The air was little with multiple colours, representing each time Dazzling Gleam and Psyshock connected.
The whole underground trembled due to this struggle as the two Psychic-Types flew toward each other again while still firing ranged attacks from their barriers. They then got close enough to collide their barriers once more.
Poni Wilds. Above.
Twilight and Eve were still searching for Pinkie Pie and Mew while Rarity had arrived here via the speed of her Pheromosa instead of a Poke Ride.
They worked together to try and find Pinkie Pie and Mew, worried about their well-being after hearing about the forbidden Z-Crystal. But as they kept searching, mainly the holes dug by Mew, they could suddenly feel the tremor and upheaval coming from the two Mew far down below, causing them to lose balance.
"W-What was that?!" Rarity gasped as she held onto her Pheromosa. "An earthquake?!"
"Phero?!"
"It sounded like it came from below...Is it Pinkie and Mew?!" Twilight looked down while the tremors kept going, shaking the Poni Wilds entirely.
But it wasn't just the wilderness. The entire island was being quaked by Mew and Mew's battle, sending vibrations to the people and Pokemon living here, affecting their homes in the process. Windows were shattering, buildings were starting to collapse with people screaming in shock and fear by this unexpected earthquake.
And it didn't stop at Poni Island. This battle's force spread further across the region, causing the seas themselves to quiver and palpitate, intimidating the Water-Type Pokemon and people swimming in it. Nearby cities, towns, islands and others were not safe from this power.
Hau'oli City, Malie City, Paniola Ranch, Heahea Beach, Ula'ula Meadow, Seafolk Village, all were being shaken by the might of the two Mew and their amazing power. It was enough to cause some panic due to how it was affecting their region overall.
Even at Melemele Meadow, Ash and the others there felt it. "What's that?!" Ash looked around.
"Pika?!"
"Someone's found the Forbidden Z-Crystal..." Hala observed along with Olympia's great Psychic prowess. Olympia could most certainly feel it because of how much she is connected with Psychic-Types.
"And there's currently a great battle happening between two powerful Psychic Pokemon as we speak," Olympia spoke.
"It might be that the forbidden Z-Crystal has finally found someone," Hala spoke under his breath as the tremors continued.
Underground Poni Wilds.
"Mew!" Eventually, the two Mew separated by knocking each other back from all their clashing. They almost hit the ground but had recovered perfectly.
"Use Shadow Ball, Mew! Go-go-go!"
"Mew-Mew!" Mew quickly formed a Shadow Ball while the Fading Mew summoned Electro Ball to counter it. Both hurling it at each other and blowing up afterwards.
"Mew!" The two Mew then transformed all of a sudden. Pinkie's Mew turned into an Arcanine while the Fading Mew turned into a Pyroar, both roaring at each other.
"Pyroar...!" The Fading Mew, now the Fading Pyroar, lunged towards the transformed Mew who was now an Arcanine, biting on his back and causing Pinkie Pie's Mew two wince.
"Psyshock!"
"Arca!" Mew surrounded himself in Psychic energy, blowing the Fading Mew back my materializing all that power around him. Afterwards, the two of them transformed again, this time into a Rayquaza.
The two transformed Mew now Rayquaza, flew into the air, smashing into each there via their heads and causing the ground to shatter as they flew around each other in spirals.
The two Mew kept butting heads as Rayquaza, roaring and trying to bite on to each other with the sharp fangs of the Sky High Pokemon before transforming once more. This time, into a Pidgeot and a Talonflame.
"Pidgeot!"
"Talonflame!"
"Shadow Ball!"
"Pidgeot! Pidge!" The New Species Pokemon spun around in the air, summoning an extra-large Shadow Ball in front of him. The Fading Mew used Flare Blitz, shooting itself right at Pinkie's Mew with an aura of crimson fire.
"Talon...!"
"Dgeo!" Mew quickly fired Shadow Ball at full-force, right when the Fading Mew was close to him with Flare Blitz. The ball of shadows immediately crashed against into the aura of Fire due to the short, causing the Fading Mew to actually be launched back by the up-close attack and inevitable explosion of shadows.
"F-Flame!" The Fading Mew winced before transforming back into its original form and so did Mew. "M-Mew...!" While being launched back by the explosion, the Fading Mew quickly fired an instant Electro Ball that struck Pinkie Pie's Mew before he and Pinkie could properly react.
"Mew!" Pinkie's Mew had taken damage, almost being rocketed back as the two Psychic-Type hit the ground. This time harder than ever as craters had been formed from their fierce battle. But, things weren't looking so kind for the Fading Mew.
Its lower half had just faded away along with one of its ears as they became ashes in the wind. Pinkie Pie noticed this herself. If this battle continued, then the Fading Mew would eventually give out and vanish into the wind.
"Mew...!" The Fading Mew ascended as there still a bit left in it. But not by much. However, it was determined to end this battle. To truly see if Pinkie Pie and her Mew were ready and worthy of the Mewnium Z. One final Flare Blitz. This time, one packed with Psychic energy while also gaining a blue colour.
"Alright, Mew. Let's finish this." Pinkie also knew that this was about to end for good. It would also mean that the Fading Mew could rest at last. "Psyshock, go!"
"Mew-Mew-Mew!" Mew poured every last bit of his Psychic power in this one attack, forming a barrier around him that was starting to glow.
"Mew...!" The Fading Mew yelled as it charged in with the last of its energy, becoming a bolt of blue fire from the speed it was moving at while the rest of its body kept fading away in the process.
"MEW!" Pinkie Pie's Mew roared before unleashing the full power of Psyshock. By raising his arms, the New Species Pokemon expanded his Psychic barrier so much that it eclipsed the entire underground in seconds, lighting it up with a blinding pink light. One that could cover everything, even beyond the underground.
The Fading Mew looked into this expanding barrier of Psychic energy as it closed its eyes, knowing that the right Mew had truly come at last. With that, it let out a smile as its Flare Blitz had been overpowered by Mew's Flare Blitz, engulfing the Fading Psychic-Type.
A mighty gale of purple energy emerged from this collision and Pinkie Pie ducked and covered her eyes. Just like before, the underground and everything above it shook, this time with large psychic lights flaring out and shooting in the sky.
They were like fireworks going off as everyone in Alola saw multiple lights of pink Psychic energy grace the blue skies of Alola while the golden sun shined around them. Afterwards, the lights just faded away. Leaving little behind. Not even an explosion. But, they did leave pink Psychic stardust that rained down gently.
Ash held his hand out as the Psychic energy felt into his palm along with everyone else who held either their hands, hooves, appendages or whatever limbs they posses. When one fell into Olympia's palm, she could already feel the outcome of this battle as she let out an approving smile.
It was over.
The Fading Mew had been defeated and Pinkie Pie's Mew was victorious as all the remaining rubble from the battle fell with smoke everywhere.
"D-Did we win?" Pinkie Pie stuttered as she held Spinda up.
"Spinda?"
"Mew..." The Fading Mew flew up, nodding in confirmation. They did indeed win.
"Oh thank Arceus!" Pinkie Pie fell on her back while her Mew flew over.
"Mew-Mew!" Mew lifted his trainer up, giving her and Spinda a hug. "Mew!"
"Mew..." Now that Pinkie and her Mew won, the Fading Mew could rest easy as he was finally vanishing. The remaining bits of his rotting skin were glowing as the wind was carrying them with pink stardust flying out.
"Oh!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "W-Wait!"
"Mew..." There was no time to wait. It was this Mew's time to go. Time for it to join its friends in the next life. But not without leaving behind an amazing gift. But before, that, Pinkie Pie went into her bag, tossing a cupcake towards the Fading Mew for one single bite.
The Fading Mew grabbed the cupcake as its lower body had vanished and soon its entire upper body would be gone. But before it faded away, the New Species Pokemon bit into the cupcake for the first time. And it was worth it. The Fading Mew cooed in joy after eating it. It was the best thing it had ever tasted in centuries.
"Mew-Mew...!" Satisfied and pleased with the wonderful and unforgettable taste, the Fading Mew gave its final goodbyes, thanking Pinkie Pie, Mew and even Spinda in the end.
And that was the end of that.
Mew had faded away as a tiny sparkle of pink energy remained. And that one single sparkle flew over to the Mewnium Z as the Fading Mew was now a part of the billions of Mew that reside within the crystal.
Pinkie Pie couldn't help but tear up along with Mew and Spinda as she went over to the Mewnium Z, picking it up from the ground.
"Thanks, Mew. We'll take good care of this and use it as well as we can." She thanked the Mew and essentially all the other Mew inside.
And as a glimmer of hope, when Pinkie Pie spoke to the crystal, it actually responded by flashing two pink colours. What Mew said was true. They would be close either way even in the next life and within the crystal.
And that could most certainly give Pinkie Pie a bright smile.
Poni Wilds, the surface.
Twilight and Rarity were still a bit perplexed by the sudden tremors as their worries of Pinkie Pie and Mew were only increasing. The trembling didn't make things any better as well.
But, they wouldn't need to worry any longer, as from one of the many holes dug here, out came the New Species Pokemon, Pinkie Pie and Mew via some Excadrill digging.
"Exca!" Mew cried out before transforming back into his original form, dropping Pinkie and Spinda.
"Pinkie Pie! Spinda! Mew!" Twilight, Rarity and their Pokemon cried out before blitzing over to hug their friend.
"Oof!" Pinkie's eyes almost fell out of her face. "G-Good to see you guys...!"
"What happened?! Did the Psychic energy get you three?! Do you feel any different?!" Twilight aggressively shook the earth pony up and down.
"N-N-N-Nope...! Perfectly fine!" Pinkie stuttered while being shaken. "Oh, but I did find this." She held out the Mewnium Z in her hoof.
"Oh! Is that the Psychium Z!?" Twilight and Rarity both leaned in.
"Nope. It's something even greater! A totally exclusive one. Ladies...This is the Mewnium Z!"
"Mewnium Z?"
"I'll tell you all about it along the way." Pinkie Pie giggled as the crystal laughed with her with multiple flashes of purple lights going off.
1 hour later. Melemele Meadow.
"What is that?!" And just like Twilight and Rarity, Ash and the others immediately fixated their eyes on this never-before-seen Z-Crystal. One that not even the residents of Alola know of.
"I-Is this the forbidden Z-Crystal?!" Hala's moustache stood up.
"Yep-Yep! Went through our own little trial to get it." Pinkie smiled with confidence.
"Mew!"
"Ohohoh!" Roxanne, the most intrigued by Mew, took photos of this fresh and newly discovered Z-Crystal.
"To think...there was an entire Mew down there for so long..." Twilight spoke under her breath. "Do you think it was made by the Mew themselves or the wormholes?"
"Who knows really?" Rarity shrugged.
"Well..aside from that, I'm afraid we've run out of time," Olympia said. "The lesson has just ended and unfortunately, it seems like not all of you were able to get a Z-Crystal."
"Aww....!" The students who didn't get their crystals moaned.
"Oh well. Maybe next time." Twilight sighed.
"You can always come back to Alola and try as much as you want. Whether it'd be an Island Trial or against a Kahuna like myself," said Hala.
"And maybe we'll find even more Z-Crystals that haven't been seen yet," Fluttershy spoke while holding the Firium Z with Scootaloo. "Maybe."
"Yeah, well I'm pretty satisfied with mine." Rainbow Dash chuckled with her Fightinium Z. Not everyone obtained Z-Crystals. Only a few really found some of their own.
But either way, they can always try again here in Alola. There's much more to discover when it comes to this region, and the Pokemon World in general. Like ancient Z-Crystals buried underneath and so on. Today may be the end of this adventure, but another one is sure to pop up as the journey continues.
Right now, there is a Reshiram in the gardens, laying there and slowly recovering over time. Although, he wasn't unbothered that's for sure. Since he was just lying there with little motion other than his eyes and mouths, everyone could get a good look at the Vast White Pokemon.
And look they did. Many residents of Canterlot were gazing at the Dragon of Truth from afar, not getting too close since Reshiram, despite how majestic he looked, was still a Dragon Pokemon and highly intimidating.
And speaking of majestic, just two days ago, Reshiram's face and mane had been decorated by Premium Polish and her friends due to him being unable to do anything. Motionless body and everything. Reshiram sighed after having himself receive a makeover. There were now bows on his mane as well as face paint. But considering his size, squinting is the only way for someone to see it.
Despite all of this, Reshiram remained calm and collected through it all. And right now, Ash and Pikachu had arrived after Luna informed them about the Reshiram in the gardens.
"See? An entire Legendary Pokemon residing and resting here for the time being." Luna showed Ash and Pikachu Reshiram.
"It really is Reshiram!?" Ash gasped.
"Pikachu?!"
"It was great that he had been saved from Team Plasma a few days back." Celestia walked forward. "Here, he can recover unbothered with his natural energy apparently. But, we're still not sure how long it will take."
"And there's more Reshiram and other Legendary and Mythical Pokemon with Team Plasma right?" Ash asked.
"Right. All must be undergoing horrible experiences like Reshiram or even being used as Ghetsis' own Pokemon. But, thanks to Pokemon Ranger Jackie and Sweetie Drops, we have these." Celestia held out a Travel Sphere. "These Travel Spheres will help us travel through other universes with little effort. Team Plasma had just recently made this apparently."
"So when are we gonna use them?" Ash leaned in on the sphere.
"Pika?"
"My father, being the excellent planner that he is, actually devised a plan. A risky plan that obviously Luna and I aren't allowed to be involved in due to his protective nature. But one that involves Pyrestar." Celestia replied.
"Pyrestar has already decided to be a part of the plan. Much like how she made preparations for Empress Twilight's upcoming invasion. Out of everypony, she seems to be the one most determined in all of this so far." Luna explained. "We're a bit worried considering how dangerous it is to enter that world..."
"We've already given her a Travel Sphere of her own." Celestia turned to face the window. "Right now, Pyrestar is waiting for the right moment to use it. Her main goal is to try and see if she can potentially hinder the Empress' forces before the invasion begins. I'm...not sure how she'll do it."
"We currently know how they work. Seemingly, all the Rift energy inside of it correlates with the mind. So the only way to use it is by thinking of the location you want to travel to." Luna pointed at the sphere.
"How'd you find that out?" Ash asked.
"One of the Team Plasma grunts Jackie and Sweetie Drops took care of told us. Those Gothitelle's are very intimidating..." Celestia shuddered, knowing that a Gothitelle can do horrifying things to victims unexpectedly.
"I could help out if you want." Ash offered.
"Ah, that might be far too dangerous, Ash." Luna shook her head. "You are wonderful at what you do and a veritable survivor to boot, but these are billions of forces we're talking about. Then again...that hasn't stopped you before has it?"
"Yeah, it would be super dangerous. But I feel like I gotta do something." Ash scratched his hair. "Even if it's just one thing."
"Well...Perhaps, if we put our wits together with these Travel Spheres, we could potentially do a traditional snatch and grab as they call it in Manehattan." Celestia raised the sphere. "If it acts like the gateways, then perhaps, we can also see through them and slightly put ourselves between both worlds.
"What are you suggesting, sister? Luna asked.
"Do you remember when we were at the second Pokemon Festival? We witnessed two children playing around the gateways to both worlds when passing by. One had their hand through the gateway whilst staying in Equestria, and when we passed through the gateway, we saw that the other one stayed in Sinnoh while touching hands with his friend."
"Right. They were trying to see what it would feel like if they high-fived each other on different sides of two universes." Luna nodded.
"Precisely. And we saw that they were actually able to do it. Even from different sides, they were still able to connect and make contact with each other in the end. Do you know what that means?"
"Oh! Ash clapped his hands. "I got it now!"
"Pika!"
"I'm suggesting we do the same, but with an emphasis on snatching or mangling with whatever we can see through the gateway." Celestia placed the sphere down. "But, it won't be simple. That universe will obviously be heavily guarded. More planning would be needed."
"I've got an idea. Two of 'em." Ash picked up the Travel Sphere. "One of them's gonna be short. Celestia. Luna. Can I try something quickly that could help a bunch?"
"Hm?" The two sisters said together.
"It could work for a while and might not do much but it's worth a shot. We could spy on them ourselves."
"Spy on them? Are you suggesting we send somepony in to go undercover? If so then Jackie and Sweetie Drops can-" Celestia spoke.
"No, even better." Ash grinned. "Colress, Team Plasma and Empress Twilight were spying on us with all those spycams that were put around Equestria, right? Let's return the favour with our own!"
"Pikachu!"
"Our own spycams? Can we afford that? Or possibly build one? Have we developed that far?" Celestia looked up.
"Unova and Kalos have a bunch of cameras that are super good for being stealthy but they cost a bunch. But no need to worry. I can help you get some." Ash pointed his thumb at himself.
"Are you perhaps rich, Ash?" Luna gasped.
"Well uhh...I did save a lot of money throughout my adventures ya know..." Ash laughed. "But I don't think I have that much really. But I'll still try."
"There might not be any need for that..." Celestia turned around, pondering for a moment. "I've already gained connections to the Ranger Union. Perhaps, I could ask for at least one. But your idea sounds just as good."
"Right! We can try both and have a bunch of them in there! I'll be right back!" Ash and Pikachu ran off.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Ash sure knows how to adapt and seize an opportunity doesn't he?" Luna watched Ash and Pikachu head off.
"Mhm. Is that another reason why you're attracted to him?" Celestia teased.
"Hmph!" Luna scoffed!"
"If you need to stop them I can help." Reshiram suddenly spoke.
"Reshiram?" Celestia turned to the Dragon of Truth.
"I'm willing to help you against Team Plasma and their alliance with that Empress. After what they've done to me and what they're currently doing to other Pokemon as we speak."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea." Luna nodded. "Reshiram is a powerful Pokemon after all. Reading that Dex Entry made it clear. Then again, most Pokemon have fairly intimidating Dex entries."
"Besides...There needs to be balance restored to each world."
"Balance?" Celestia and Luna both said.
"I should not be here. My responsibility resides in the world I originally came from. I represent and hold the values of Truth in my world. Much like other Reshiram out there. If not, then only Zekrom will remain and Ideals. However, that may not be the case since they've already started aiming for Zekrom as well. Including the Empress."
"The Empress is searching for Zekrom?!" The two alicorns gasped.
"More like she already has Zekrom. This cannot continue. Once this is all over, we must return to our original world to keep the balance. It's more vital than you think."
"She's holding a Legendary Pokemon of her own?" Luna turned to Celestia. "I think didn't think she would be interested in Pokemon at all."
"This could cause issues..." Celestia bit her hoof. "If she's already as powerful as she is, then a Legendary Pokemon just makes it worse. What can you do as of now, Reshiram?"
"This." Reshiram opened his mouth as he let out a small but powerful blast of blue fire from his mouth, representing his signature move Blue Flare. This minuscule flame was powerful enough to obliterate a large part of the grass in just a second with tiny effort. Canterlot Gardens was now missing 50% of its grass.
"Oh." The two alicorn sisters had their eyes widen. They were actually terrified and fearful of what a fully recovered and 100% Reshiram is capable of. But the Pokedex entry of Reshiram already made it clear.
"I'm also capable of doing a bit of Extrasensory, that's as far as it goes. I'm not yet up to my full strength at this point."
"I'm a bit thankful he isn't..." Luna shuddered.
"But this is great, Luna. Reshiram can truly be a great help. That little in-between plan of us might be more beneficial than we thought. When you visited her universe, you said the indoors of the ship resembled Canterlot Castle, didn't it?"
"Right. It was almost as if our home was built on the ship. But with noticeable changes. Everything was recognizable apart from a few things."
"Then, in that case, I know exactly what to do..." Celestia smirked as she held up the Travel Sphere, devising a scheme. Since the ship Luna visited looked like Canterlot Castle, Celestia, who has been around the castle more than anyone, knows the ins and outs.
And that was one major advantage for sure.
Upstairs in Canterlot.
Queen Pyrestar was already looking at the Travel Sphere, biding her time and waiting for the right opportunity to make her move. Plans were already brewing within her mind. Plans that could risk her life but at this point, she didn't care. Her own universe was a mess as well and she wanted to make sure other worlds don't suffer horrible fates like her own. Especially this one.
"Queen Pyrestar?" Just then, Premium Polish poked her head around the corner, spotting the merged alicorn. "Are you okay?"
"Hm? I'm fine." Pyrestar looked at the little unicorn before turning her attention back at the Travel Sphere. "Just lingering on the Empress's world, that's all."
"World? Oh! Are you going to get my mother back?!" Premium walked up to her.
"Your mother? Sorry, but I wasn't planning that."
"Oh..." The little unicorn pouted.
"But...maybe I might find her there. She is still wanted so there won't exactly be a heartfelt reunion if I end up catching her. Sorry for that."
"It's okay. I understand." Premium nodded. "I just want to see my mom again and y'know talk to her more. Even if she's working for a bad side."
"That would be nice." Pyrestar placed the sphere down. "I myself wish I could see my loved ones again in my own world. This version of Equestria, I can see them, but they're not the ones I grew to know over the years. Now, most of them are just long gone, sealed within Grogar's spell."
"You never saw them again?"
"No. But, that might change. After the sudden appearance of fertile soil in my world, I have high hopes that eventually, I'll see them again when the spell breaks. Even if it takes many more millenniums and centuries."
"Pretty sweet that you got through all of that for so long." Premium gawked.
"It's just as impressive for you to get through this yourself." Pyrestar patted the little unicorn on the head. "From hearing about your own mother's true actions and everything. That takes a strong spirit, I must say."
"Hehe!" The unicorn let out a confident grin.
"When this is all over, I would love to see your Pokemon Contests for myself. How does that sound?"
"Okay!"
Approximately 1 hour later.
"Aha!" Ash had returned with the necessary items, holding a box of cameras. "Check this out. They were selling some of these over at Pokestar Studios! Turns out of some of them aren't just props."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Oh, Ash! Splendid!" Celestia gawked. "This way, we can return the favour and spy on them as well!"
"Setting everything up is the main priority though, isn't it?" Luna said.
"Yep. Don't worry. They've got a pretty easy instruction manual!" Ash held out a short piece of paper. "Pretty short too."
"Hm...Seems simple enough" Celestia nodded. "Alright. Let us begin as soon as we can." With the cameras gathered thanks to the efforts of Ash, they could get to work.
They set up the camera in little time due to how simple they were. The cameras came in two styles. One was shaped like an eye and the other was just a regular camera.
In times like this, even someone as laid-back and simple as Ash can't help but do whatever he can to help. But then again, he's always been like this. Helping out whenever he can at all times.
After setting the cameras up, they had two of them. One was noticeably large and the other which was small and around the same size as a Tynamo. Both cameras would do a splendid job of acting as surveillance from two completely different worlds.
"Alright. Where do you want to put them?" Ash asked.
"Here at Canterlot Castle, if we receive too many gifts that the castle simply cannot hold, we send some of them to one place to fill up space. The castle's cellar." Celestia explained.
"Walking through the ship, I spotted many doors leading to the rooms of the soldiers. But, one of the few doors that remained was the cellar. Right near the kitchen." Luna followed up. "Seems like in every other Equestria, the cellar remains."
"Well, you have to put so many items somewhere, don't you? It's either a cellar or an attic and basement. If we place a camera in the cellar, we'll be able to stay secretive." Celestia nodded. "I'm sure of it."
"Cellar, huh? Okay." Ash then picked up the sphere. "We'll make a hole through that door if it counts."
"Leave that to me." Luna tapped her horn.
"Okay. You press this button right?" Ash looked at the sphere before holding it out. It was like a Poke Ball, so it was easy to press the giant sphere button in the middle. When his finger touched it and he thought of the place he wanted to connect the gateway to, that's when the device started reacting.
Ash's hand was shaking with the sphere as he stood there. Streams of Rift energy came flying out of the sphere's centre as a wind pressure was being kicked up. Ash stood firmly on the ground with everyone closing their eyes.
Afterwards, the streams of Rift energy shot forward, summoning a gateway by making a booming noise as always. Although, it seemed that compared to the actual gateways, this one was tamer. But still fairly loud in its own way.
And once the gateway showed up, the view of Canterlot's cellar could be seen. And even in another world, the cellar still had many items and gifts that were too abundant to keep around the rest of the castle. However, due to the many soldiers that now reside in these ship castle,s they have been using them to store items of their own choice. Mainly weapons either built from their world or gathered from other worlds.
"There it is!" Luna exclaimed.
"Right where we want it. Quickly! Throw it in and close it. They might've heard the sound of the gateway opening. We'll re-open it later." Celestia ordered.
"Right!" Ash nodded as he grabbed the cameras, placing them inside of the gateway by putting his hand and head through. He placed the smaller camera onto the aluminium wall like some sort of spider while the larger camera was placed at the very back of the cellar. The smaller camera had magnetism to it so it easily stuck on.
Ash then moved his head back as he could already hear hoofsteps from through the door. Everything had already been placed at this point so there was no use in staying in between both worlds right now.
Once he pulled back, Celestia took the sphere, placing her hoof on the blue button. Once she did that, the sphere reacted again with Rift energy as it was pulling the gateway back like some sort of vortex. The gateway to the Empress' world had been subtracted, returning all of the Rift energy inside of the sphere and erasing it.
That was the end of that.
"Hah! Easy!" Ash grinned after succeeding with the plan.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"It wasn't exactly complicated and difficult..." Luna uttered.
"Now that that's done, we just simply use these to spectate over them, correct?" Celestia grabbed a screen out of the box with some wires.
"Yeah. We can put them back at my home in Kanto." Ash pointed at his thumb. "Leave the watching to us."
"Pika!"
"And we'll show up to Kanto more frequently if anything of importance comes up." Celestia nodded. "Smart thinking, Ash. A job well done."
"Hehe. Thanks."
"But I wonder...what was your second plan?"
"Ah, the second plan was kinda scrapped after I thought about it." Ash adjusted his hat. "I was gonna have Pikachu overload the ship's systems with Thunderbolt, but I changed my mind."
"Pikachu."
"Well anyway. Thank you, Ash. Pikachu. We can take everything from here. And at this rate, we'll be more ready for the invasion by this point. Right, Luna?" Celestia asked.
"Oh most certainly. We've already made it so that anypony that wish to be safe can hide underneath the Canterlot Mines. Chrysalis truly found the perfect place to hide." Luna replied.
"Okay! Oh uh, what about Reshiram?" Ash pointed at the Vast White Pokemon.
"We'll handle things from here," Celestia responded.
"Got it! Good luck!" Ash and Pikachu were done here as they ran off with the box holding the screen. They've done what they needed to do. Now there was one final step. Connect the screen so that the full effect of the cameras and spying can work.
And all the while, Empress Twilight and Ghetsis won't know a thing. All the constant Pokemon battling across Equestria which ended up destroying the many spycams located here was by far the greatest benefit. Albeit, one that was done by accident and unaware to everyone until Emerald Aura brought it up.
Now, there was more to work with.
Canterlot. Celestia's room. Night.
Afterwards, nightfall had arrived. Celestia was fast asleep alongside Passion, Arcanine and Philomena in their own respective beds. And a cage.
Most of Canterlot and most of Equestria were asleep, minus the guards, Luna, Pyrestar, Absol, the nocturnal Pokemon, Rift ponies, a very worried Audino and Fluttershy with their sleepwalking friend Chikorita and so on. But other than that, it was mostly silent.
Celestia herself, like everypony else, was having a dream that was just about to start. Usually, dreams are instantaneous, but they do take time to build up via some otherworldly imagination that can only come from the dream. However, this dream was a bit different. It was becoming a nightmare, but not the usual kind. It could be considered reality.
As she twitched in her sleep, Celestia was immediately greeted with the sight of a black and endless void that she was currently standing on.
"Oh!" The dreaming Celestia gasped, looking at her endless surroundings. "A nightmare must be arriving soon...Hope Luna comes here next if she's already started."
"She might not in this spot..." Just then, someone had replied to Celestia's words. A very familiar voice. One that Celestia dreaded and hoped that she'd never hear again and made her jump and shudder in fear. When she turned around, she saw the one individual who terrified her more than anyone.
Ghetsis.
"Ghetsis?!"
"Surprised? "Ghetsis smirked as he was suddenly floating towards Celestia. "I was surprised myself as well. This Dark Magic isn't too bad. Being able to invade other's minds."
"Dark Magic...? You have Dark Magic now?!" Celestia stepped back.
"Indeed." Ghetsis suddenly appeared beside Celestia. "Pretty nifty, isn't it?"
"Why are you here?!" Celestia's horn lit up.
"I was just experimenting." Ghetsis shrugged. "I'm just a novice at magic, but a quick learner. I'll be out of your head soon...but I won't guarantee any privacy the next time." He cackled.
"Like I'd let you infiltrate my mind!" Celestia fired a golden blast at magic at Ghetsis. But, to her surprise, Ghetsis caught it with his only hand and crushed it into tiny golden dust.
"We'll see...After all, when I'm done conquering everything I can, you won't have to worry about any of this. Everyone will be under my control and powerless until the very end. And I'll make sure I'm the only one with all the power there is."
"In your dreams. Like you'll be able to achieve something of that scale. My world and other worlds out there will give it their all to stop you."
"Hmph." Ghetsis got up in Celestia's face. "Maybe for this world but not the others. You should feel lucky, Princess. If your world wasn't so connected with mine, I would've burned your entire planet down if given the chance."
"Tch!"
"Oh well, my visit's coming to an end. But this won't be the last time we meet, Celestia" Ghetsis laughed as the Dark Magic spell was running out. His entire body was being blown away by a sinister dark aura as the last thing heard was his devious laughing.
After that, Celestia woke up, gasping.
"Ah!"
A bit perplexed by that, the Ruler of Equestria held her head. She wasn't expecting Ghetsis to appear. And if he did appear, it would've been a nightmare instead of mind invasion. Now that she knew that Ghetsis had Dark Magic, there was more to worry about.
Celestia decided that tomorrow morning, she would head to the Canterlot LIbrary to learn more about Dark Magic since she's already had her own experience with it thanks to Sombra. At least, her world's Sombra.
But for now, she just wanted to rest without any interruptions. Not from her dreams of mind invasions. But, that isn't the only invasion she has to worry about in just 3 weeks as the journey continues.
"Here!" Professor Oak had currently come over to Ponyville to meet with Mayor Mare for something rather important. He slammed a flier on the table, showing it to the mayor and Pinkie Pie. "A baseball match will do! A good old game of Pokemon Base!"
"Pokemon Base?" Mayor Mare said.
"Some residents from both sides wanted to spend more time with each other. And this is the perfect answer. The popular Pokemon Baseball game known as Pokemon Base! It works differently from traditional baseball but the rules are easy to get behind."
"Oooh!" Pinkie Pie gawked.
"Hm-hm!" Mayor Mare nodded as her glasses flashed. "A game of baseball! I haven't been a part of that for so long...I'll take it!"
"What's this about baseball?" One of the customers in SugarCube Corner was none other than one of Ash's Rivals, the indomitable Bea, who had a bit of a sweet tooth and couldn't resist anything sweet.
"How does tomorrow sound?" Oak asked.
"Perfect! We'll have a team ready by then. I expect you to do the same, Samuel.
"Of, course I will. I'm big into baseball too if you must know. I'll gather a team that will guide us to victory!"
"You mean my team's victory?" Mayor Mare leaned in with squinted eyes.
"We'll see." So did Oak as a competitive aura was building up from within them. One that Bea could admire.
"Such fire..." Bea gulped as she scarfed down a plethora of sweets.
"And leave the rest to me!" Pinkie Pie declared, shouting in between them as an inevitable baseball game was about to commence in one day. One that no one would forget.
At this moment, a small sporting activity was about to take place. Baseball. A fairly well-known sport across both worlds. Here in the Pokemon World, it's shortened as the title Pokemon Base. And right now, Ash and his friends are about to take part in this game of baseball on a hot day.
Mostly because summer was approaching.
Joining them was the unlikely addition of Adagio, who wasn't too keen on being here, neither did she understand baseball herself. She and her sisters would just watch this game along with Sunset Shimmer, Chloe, Ash and Twilight's parents and a few residents of Kanto and Ponyville. It was going to be short after all. Even Gilda alongside another griffin by the name of Gabby came to watch this from intrigue or excitement.
"Okay!" Pinkie Pie declared as she looked up at the sky. "It's a good day and nice weather to play baseball, isn't it? All of you finish getting ready, alright?" She spoke to the two opposing teams. "We've only got like 20 minutes for today's match so let's make it count!"
On both sides, one team consisted of Ash, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Spike and their Pokemon while another team consisted of Twilight, Rarity, Goh, Starlight and their Pokemon. The max amount of members for a baseball team is 9 so not all of their Pokemon were out so there were only a few. However, the Pokemon that couldn't join them were going to cheer for their trainers on the bleachers.
The coach on Ash's side was Professor Oak while the coach on Twilight's side was Mayor Mare herself. Both were actually well-versed in baseball knowledge. Oak's team wore blue while Mayor Mare's team wore red.
"Count on me to guide you all to victory." Oak looked at his team. "Ash. As you as the captain, I'm also counting on you."
"You bet, Professor Oak!" Ash nodded. Alongside him were Pikachu, Dragonite and Lucario while Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Spike, Axew and Sceptile filled the rest of the team.
"Mhm!" Rainbow Dash and the others nodded.
"I used to be a bit of a multi-tasker back then. Not just fit for the role of mayor." Mayor Mare smirked while speaking to her team which had Twilight, Rarity, Goh, Starlight, Ninetales, Pheromosa, Leavanny, Hatterene and Cinderace. "Don't let the other team intimidated you, alright? Let's work up a good sweat and win this!"
"Alright, everypony! Gather around!" Pinkie Pie bellowed as both teams started to gather around, standing apart from each other. At the same time, Pinkie Pie glued her eyes to the rulebook of baseball since this was also fairly new to her. But she seemed to be doing a good job of following the necessary rules. "Got anything to say to each other?"
"Uh...yeah. How's Ninetales gonna hit the ball with paws if he can't hold them?" Spike asked.
"Says here the Pokemon can either use actual baseballs or just their limbs and stuff." Pinkie pointed at one of the rules. "So all those nine tails are good to go!"
"Ninetales!"
"Huh?! All nine of them?!" Rainbow Dash winced, knowing that have nine tails as a battering or throwing weapon could be a massive advantage. There was no way Ninetales was missing with that many tails. Throwing might also be a major threat as well.
"No need to worry. Nine or one hundred tails we're gonna win this!" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"Hmph! We'll see about that, Ash!" Twilight smirked.
"Why am I here...?" Adagio spoke as she sighed.
"You always say that Adagio." Aria nudged her big sister. "Besides, you were pretty interested when you brought it up."
"Yeah, I guess." Adagio nodded. Ever since the Pokemon Talent Show and Pokestar Studios trip, she's become more interested in normal daily activities that she's never experienced.
"Who're you rooting for?!" Sonata held popcorn in her hooves. "My money's on the blue team!"
"Good luck to both teams!" Fluttershy cheered.
"Audino!"
"Chikori!"
"Scorbun!"
"Oh, this is already taking me back to when I saw Ash playing baseball at a young age!" Delia clapped her hands together. "He still looks great in a baseball uniform!"
"Just take a good look everyone. With Ash on their side, there's no way they're losing this baseball match." Delia clapped with confidence.
"More like my daughter and her team have this. Twilight's sharp thinking gives her team a major chance at winning this overall."
"Mm-mm." Delia shook her head. "No one's getting past Ash's throwing skills. Not one bit. Never happened in the past and it won't happen now. Especially his meteor ball."
"Huh?" Velvet turned to Delia. "Maybe but Twilight's known for overcoming the unstoppable. So throwing some sort of funky named ball isn't much to her."
"Funky? It's a one of a kind ball." Delia's eyes snapped to Velvet. "Hits like a comet and is intimidating to hit. No one's going to want to hit something that hard and fast."
"Nothing's intimidating to my daughter!" Velvet's eyes also snapped at Delia. "Except for ladybugs and quesadillas but other than that, nothing!"
"Hmph! Ash has the most experience, so without a doubt, he'll win!"
"I don't think so! Twilight will win since she's a fast learner!"
"No, Ash!"
"No, Twilight!"
"Ash!"
"Twilight!"
"..." Night Light looked back and forth, drinking some apple juice while the two mothers argue. He was a bit nervous being caught up in this as he was starting to sweat.
"Grr!" The two mothers growled at each other before lightning shot out of their eyes, clashing. "Ash!/Twilight! Win this!"
"Now, now, ladies." Night Light separated them both. "Don't you think this is a little bit childish?"
"No!" They both denied it with loud cries. They were immediately caught up in the heat of the game despite it not fully starting yet.
"Eep!" Night Light quickly scurried back at his seat.
"Okie Dokie! Let's play with total respect, okay? Both teams bow!" Pinkie Pie declared as the two teams bowed at each other in respect.
"Good luck!" The two teams said to each other, ready to start.
The teams were all set. They did a small warmup before getting into position. Applejack would be the catcher on Ash's side and so would Rarity for Twilight's side.
"Play ball!" Pinkie declared.
The first up was Pheromosa as the batter and Ash as the pitcher. They chose Ash because of his amazing throwing skills and history with baseball and Pheromosa for her lightning-fast reflexes.
"Phero..." Pheromosa tightened her grip on the bat. The rules of Pokemon Base state that Pokemon can even use their legs, but Pheromosa seemed to abide by natural baseball laws.
"Pheromosa, huh? That might be a bit tricky..." Ash observed.
"Ash! Don't let her hit a single one!" Oak cried out. "Give it all you've got!"
"You got it, Professor Oak!" Ash grinned.
"Mosa-Mosa!"
"Here goes!" Ash roared as he pulled his arm back, putting some might force into it before throwing it with all his might. When he threw it, the speed on it was absolutely insane and unnatural as it managed to blow the grass away along with Ash's hat in the process.
"Phero?!" Pheromosa winced at the sudden speed of this ball. It was faster than she expected. But, she pursued anyway as the Lissome Pokemon gave it all she had by swinging the bat.
Unfortunately, she missed the ball due to its brilliant speed, causing the ball to pass by and race towards Applejack who was tasked with catching.
"Woahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoah!" Applejack gasped as the incoming ball was coming straight for her and the large glove she had. Closing her eyes out of fear, the speeding ball hit the glove, causing Applejack to tremble along with the ground. A slight shockwave happened from the impact, causing anyone nearby to almost lose their balance as Applejack's bones shuddered. There was now a massive smoking dent in the glove. "Ow...!"
"Strike One!" Pinkie Pie shouted. "Right down the middle!"
"P-Pheromo?!"
"The strength on that is otherworldly..." Gilda gawked as her hair had been a bit ruffled from the shockwave.
"Uh-huh..." Aria nodded in agreement.
"Was that his Meteor Ball?" Fluttershy adjusted her mane.
"Nope. That was just an ordinary throw." Delia laughed with confidence. "My son hasn't even used all he has yet! Hohohoho!"
"Tch!" Velvet scoffed.
"Nice catch sis!" Apple Bloom cheered.
"I almost got vaporized there..." Applejack sighed. "Think you can tone it down a bit Ash?"
"Oh. My bad!" Ash laughed.
"Don't be too shook up, Pheromosa!" Rarity cried out.
"Phero..." Pheromosa might have trouble with that. Due to her fragile and supple body, who knows what would happen if she actually managed to hit that ball. She might've gotten the same treatment as Applejack but worse.
A second throw was coming as Pheromosa had two tries left at this rate. Two more strikes and she's out of here. Ash was holding the ball again as he was about to tone it down a smidge this time.
"Just a tiny bit. Go!" Ash threw the ball with less force this time as it was now travelling at a speed that Pheromosa herself could actually manage.
"Mosa!" The Ultra Beast's eyes locked onto the ball as she believed she found the right moment to strike. Just like Ash from before, Pheromosa decided to give it her all as well as she swung the bat all full force. "Phe!"
Once the bat hit the ball, Pheromosa hit it with such force that not only did the ground beneath her tremble but the ball was sent flying like a rocket, soaring into the atmosphere in less than seconds and entering space.
"Oh!" Ash and everyone looked up. "Man, that's far and high!"
"Foul!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "That's strike two!
"Phero?!"
"Foul?!" Rarity gasped.
"Sorry. But hitting it all the way to the orbit's not really gonna do it." Pinkie Pie shrugged while holding the rulebook. "They thought of everything in this book. How neat is that?"
"Space is out of the question is it...?" Rarity sighed.
"Just a bit lower and it'll be a home run." Pinkie Pie giggled.
"One more and that's a strikeout!" Mayor Mare cried out. "Be careful, alright?!"
"Phero."
"Okay." Ash held another ball in his hand. "Here comes a total strikeout! If not then I've got everyone to count on! Here it comes Pheromosa!" He then threw it with the right amount of force this time.
"Pheromosa!" Pheromosa decided not to push herself as she swung her bat at the right amount of force as well. And with that, she was able to hit it a second time, sending the ball at an acceptable height and speed more akin to normal baseball. Then again, none of this was normal.
"Nice! Home run!" Mayor Mare stood up.
"I got it!" Rainbow Dash called out as she stretched and leaned high enough to catch the ball with her hoof glove. "Haha!
"Pheromo?!"
"Strike three! Batter out!"
"Mosa?!"
"Nice job, Dash!" Gilda cheered.
"Hahaha!" Oak laughed with confidence. "How's that?! Choosing Ash as the first pitcher was a clear decision!"
"Don't get cocky, Samuel!" Mayor Mare growled back. "This isn't over yet! Look alive, Starlight. You're batting next."
"Oh! Yes ma'am!" Starlight saluted as she flew over while Pheromosa walked back with Rarity comforting her.
"Mosa..."
"There there. It was your first go after all. You'll have better luck next time, trust me." Rarity reassured.
"Dra!" Dragonite suddenly flew over to Ash. "Dragonite!"
"Hm? Dragonite? You wanna pitch next?" Ash translated.
"Dra!" She nodded in confirmation.
"Alright. You're up. Good luck, Dragonite." Ash passed a new ball to the Dragon Pokemon.
"Dra!"
As Starlight got in position, she quickly noticed who the pitcher was now. No longer was it Ash but Dragonite. To Starlight, she wasn't sure which was more intimidating. Someone who was very experienced in baseball or a dragon.
"Dragonite, huh?" Starlight shuddered as she held the bat by curling her hooves. "It's fine...I got it. I'll knock that ball to pieces!"
"They've all practised for this...right?" Sunset asked.
"Apparently just yesterday when it was brought up." Fluttershy nodded. "I'm sure they all have the rules covered."
"Uh-huh..." Sunset wasn't so sure about this.
"Go-Go-Go!" Pinkie waved her hoof around.
"Dragon!" Dragonite would be throwing her first baseball as she pulled her arms back before spinning them around, creating a miniature whirlwind.
"Uhh...!" Starlight was getting nervous from seeing the windup and sudden gust of wind being formed by Dragonite's arm movements alone.
"Gonite!" The Dragon Pokemon then let out a roar before throwing the ball. However, due to Dragonite's gentle nature, the unexpected yet predictable happened. The ball was moving slowly.
Oh-so-slowly.
"Hah?!" Starlight gasped after witnessing this incredibly slow ball. All that buildup for something that moves as fast as a Shuckle. Dragonite couldn't bring herself to put in a ton of effort to potentially harm her friends.
"So slow!" Everyone cried out.
"T-That'll just make things easier." Starlight smiled while sweating. But at this point, she would have to wait for the ball to approach her considering its slow movements.
Unfortunately, this became a hinder to everyone else as seconds later, some were already starting to fall asleep from this slow ball's little movements as it kept spinning through the air.
Some took a break to enjoy their food while the atmosphere became quiet. Some were just sitting patiently as some wild Pokemon casually passed by, moving faster than the ball itself.
Speaking of which, a curious Joltik, smaller than everyone else here, hopped onto the ball. Due to its small size and lightweight, it barely made the ball budge as it was still moving slowly. But Joltik now had a fun simple ride to be on.
"Joltik!"
Starlight's eyes were glued onto the ball as they were about to pop out of her head from how intense she was focusing. The closer it got, the more her eyes stretched out.
Eventually, it got close enough as she could finally swing. "Aha! There!" Once given the chance, the unicorn swung the bat, hitting it directly and sending it flying along with the Joltik on it. "Yes, I did it!"
"Joltiiiiiiiiiiiiiik!"
"Dragon?"
"Cinder!" Cinderace saw an opportunity to grab it depending on the direction the ball went as it took off, heading for the base. But, someone was there to stop that. And that someone was Sceptile who lunged forward and grabbed the ball.
"Tile!"
"Out!"
"Cinder?!" Cinderace gasped as it came to a screeching halt, quickly changing directions to the next base. That's where Hatterene stood.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile quickly tossed the ball to the base Cinderace ran at as Haxorus was ready to grab it with his taller stature.
"Xorus!" The Axe Jaw Pokemon tried to grab the ball, but instead, he missed as it hit the base, bouncing off to the next direction where Applejack was standing as the catcher. "Xo!"
"Ace!" Cinderace felt lucky as it pursued the ball.
"Oh! That might be a bit too close!" Twilight gasped.
"Dragon!" Dragonite put her arms out, calling for Applejack to throw it her way. "Dragonite!"
"Got it!" Applejack caught the ball in her hoof gloves while Cinderace sped up, ready to round the next base. And next to Cinderace was Rainbow Dash who was also going for the ball.
"Too slow, pal!"
"Cinder?!"
"Here you go!" Applejack then put all of her hoof strength into this throw, sending it towards the Dragon-Flying-Type.
"Block her!"
"Cinder!" Cinderace put everything in its powerful legs that were made for running, using the full strength of its footballer tendencies to leave Rainbow Dash in the dust.
"Huh?!"
"Cinderace!" With extra speed, the Striker Pokemon managed to pass the third base before Dragonite could catch the ball, guaranteeing the chance to reach the final fourth base. "Ace!"
"Dra?!" Dragonite's eyes widened as she caught the ball, quickly throwing it at Axew who had just transformed into a Haxorus.
"Haxo!" Haxorus put his arms out, roaring at Cinderace.
"Cinderace!" But that intimidation didn't work and with that, Cinderace managed to pass the final base before Haxorus got the ball as all four bases were cleared.
"You're out!" Pinkie Pie appeared behind Haxorus.
"Nice, Cinderace!" Goh and his team cheered. "Looks like you're not just good at soccer!"
"Cinderace!"
"Hohohoho!" Mayor Mare laughed in Oak's direction. "That inning is almost ours, Samuel!"
"Kh!" Professor Oak grabbed his hat, squeezing it. "We'll just see about that!"
"What a rush that was!" Chloe and her Yamper smiled as she and others leaned in after witnessing that segment. So far, they were all enjoying this, especially Adagio who didn't think she would.
"Yamper!"
"If I knew it was going to be this exciting I would've joined in!" Adagio grinned.
"See?! Pretty riveting stuff!" Sunset nudged.
"Win this blue team!" Aria was rooting for the blue team as well as her sisters.
"Next-next-next! Time to switch things up. Blue team, you're batting! Red team! Time to put those throwing skills to good use!"
It was time for both sides to swap roles. Professor Oak's team would now be batting while Mayor Mare's Team will bat as they began choosing their players for this swap.
This time, Lucario was swinging and Ninetales was pitching. All nine tails were about to be put to good use. Delia and Velvet were looking forward to this since these were essentially Pokemon that belonged to their children.
"Lucario's for sure going to hit it! With Aura, how can he lose focus?" Delia grinned.
"Hmph! Ninetales has some of that Psychic mind to him, even if he's not a Psychic-Type! He's probably already foreseen it!" Velvet snapped back.
"Luca!" Lucario growled as he gripped the bat tightly, gazing at Ninetales. Ninetales did the same with fire being shown in his eyes.
Both Pokemon were in absolute concentration. Lucario was focusing his Aura while Ninetales was focusing all of the psychokinetic energy inside of him. Both of their Auras were starting to show. One blue and one purple.
"Hit it, Lucario!" Professor Oak and Delia bellowed.
"Stop him, Ninetales!" So did Mayor Mare and Twilight Velvet.
"Ninetales!" Ninetales jumped into the air, using his Psychic mind to send the ball upwards. The Fox Pokemon then used all nine of his tails to hit the ball exactly nine times in a split-second, giving it amazing power and speed in the process.
An aura of fire surrounded the ball as it rocketed towards the Aura Pokemon, already burning the atmosphere around it as Lucario's Aura intensified.
"Lucario!" Lucario yelled as he smashed the bat onto the ball. But it didn't immediately fly off. Instead, the ball stayed onto the bat with Lucario trying to knock it away. "L-Lu...!" The ball was moving so fast it was actually starting to push Lucario back as smoke was coming out from the sheer power of it. But, Lucario stood his ground as his Aura was only growing bigger, also covering the flaming ball.
"Oh geez...!" Adagio already knew from the looks of this, things were about to escalate unexpectedly as Lucario was starting to push the ball back.
"No way! He's pushing that much back?!" Spike gasped.
"Nine?! Ninetales couldn't let that happen. To guarantee that Lucario gets a strike. The Fox Pokemon used Mystical Fire by shooting out a red-orange stream of magical fire from his mouth towards the ball, giving it more power and fire than it already had and forcing Lucario back even further.
"Lu...Luca!"
"Is that even legal?!" Sunset Shimmer screeched.
"Totally!" Pinkie Pie showed the Pokemon Base rulebook to everyone. This was in fact allowed. Surprisingly.
"C'mon, Lucario! Go-Go-Go!" Sonata and a few others were cheering for Lucario's struggle while others such as Chloe cheered for Ninetales who kept shooting fire from his mouth.
"C-Cario!" Lucario smashed his foot onto the ground as he had more to give than Ninetales. With his eyes flashing an azure blue, the Aura Pokemon finished the swing, launching the ball at blazing speeds.
"Nine?!"
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu saw this as an opportunity to try and grab the ball.
"Hatterene!" Hatterene saw the ball coming towards her at breakneck speeds but she wasn't worried. This time, she wasn't going to miss it. With pure focus, the Silent Pokemon managed to catch the ball with her tentacle claw.
"Out!"
"Pika!" Pikachu gasped as he quickly ran to the next base while Hatterene threw the ball towards Pheromosa.
"Mosa-Mosa!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu managed to round out the first base, running ahead to the second while Pheromosa tossed the ball towards Leavanny.
"Pheromo!"
"Leavanny!" Leavanny tried to catch the ball with String Shot, but Pikachu quickly used Iron Tail to cut the string in half.
"Chu-Pika!"
"Lea!?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu then passed by Leavanny as the ball bounced off the base plate, heading to the nearest Pokemon. Twilight was the one who caught the ball as she used her magic to hold it.
"Aha! You won't get a win off this!" Twilight declared as she ascended into the sky, using her magic to launch the ball towards Goh. "Goh, catch!"
"I got it! I got it!" Goh held his hand out, trying to catch the ball that was coming his way.
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu wouldn't let that happen as he used Iron Tail one more time, slamming it on the ground and propelling himself forward while spinning.
Before Goh could catch the Ball, Pikachu slammed his tail onto the base Goh stood on, passing him and advancing to the fourth and final base.
"Catch, Cinderace!" Goh called out.
"Cinder!" Cinderace held his hands out. He tried to stop Pikachu by exuding fire from his body which spread onto the ground of the field.
"Pika-Pika-Pika-Pika!" But, that wouldn't work on Pikachu as he forcefully charged through the flames with Quick Attack, smashing his head onto the final base as Cinderace gasped with the ball flying over.
"Out! That's that!" Pinkie Pie declared.
"Alright, Pikachu!" Ash cheered.
"Pika-Pika...!" Pikachu came to a screeching halt as everyone cheered.
"Yes! Let's keep this up and all those innings will be ours!" Oak stood up.
"It isn't over yet. We'll steal the next inning!" Mayor Mare grinned. "Just watch! Pheromosa. Let's see you put those legs to good use."
"Pheromo!" The Lissome Pokemon ran over to the field at lightning speeds, ready to pitch the ball as Rarity lent her one via magic. And as for the other team, Haxorus was chosen as the batter this time by Oak's decision.
"Let's see that Equestrian Form at its best." Oak patted Haxorus on the back.
"Haxo!"
The game then continued with little breaks. The inning wasn't over yet. Both teams needed to bat for it to finish. Or a home run would do and vice versa. Since baseball doesn't have a time limit, the innings are all they need to determine the end of this game. "Haxorus!" This time, Haxorus was batting with Pheromosa as the pitcher.
"Phero!" And for this, Pheromosa would use her destructive legs to her advantage. This was actually something Oak was nervous about since he knew how powerful Pheromosa's kicks were but he was trusting Haxorus to knock the ball out of the park and potentially get a home run.
"Mosa!" The Ultra Beast tossed the ball up to her head before delivering an earth-shattering kick to it, sending the baseball flying towards the Axe Jaw Pokemon.
"Haxo!" Haxorus roared as he swung the bat to try and hit the ball. But he ended up missing it, unfortunately. The ball was caught by Rarity who could feel the recoil.
"Eugh!" Rarity shuddered.
"Strike One!"
"Phero!" Pheromosa smirked as she was given a second ball. Haxorus took time to recover and gain his focus as he promised to not miss this next ball.
"Haxorus...!"
"Pheromosa!" A second kick at the ball came towards Haxorus at the same speed as before.
"Haxorus!" This time, Haxorus actually managed to hit the ball, sending it flying over Pheromosa.
"Phero?!" The Lissome Pokemon gasped before witnessing the ball flying.
"Haxo!" Haxorus then ran, ready to round out all 4 bases.
"Leavan!" But Leavanny wouldn't let that happen as she used String Shot to grab the ball out of the air, stopping Haxorus from advancing.
"Out!"
"Haha!" Mayor Mare held Twilight, squeezing her with a powerful hug. "Knew I could count on those otherworldly kicks!"
"M-Mayor...C-C-C-Can't breathe...!" Twilight was praying for air.
"Xorus?!" Haxorus gasped as he reverted into Axew afterwards, pouting. "Axew..."
Adagio and her sisters were aggressively eating popcorn since they were so enchanted and pulled in by this fierce game of Pokemon Base.
Due to Pheromosa's amazing kicking abilities, they kept her in as the pitcher. Aside from Ash, Pheromosa was a major threat as a pitcher. Maybe not as a batter though unless she decides to use her legs at that moment. With Haxorus being out, the next member of the blue team came in. This time it was Rainbow Dash.
"Here I go." Rainbow Dash tapped the bat on the ground, ready for Pheromosa's hard kicks.
"Mosa." Pheromosa smiled as she kicked the ball up, using the move Triple Kick on it instead of an ordinary kick. The Lissome Pokemon kicked the ball three, times, adding 3x the power to it as it shot like a missile towards Rainbow Dash.
"Gotcha!" Rainbow grunted as he swung the bat, hitting the ball directly. By keeping her focus and ground, she managed to hit the ball and send it flying into the air instead of straight forward.
"Phero?!"
"Oho!" Oak stood up with a gasp. The ball was flying high to the point where it could reach the outside and score a home run.
"Hatterene! Shoot it out of the sky with Psycho Cut!" Starlight ordered.
"Hatterene!" The Psychic-Fairy-Type quickly turned her direction to the sky as she shot blades of Psychic power from her tentacle, sending them towards the ball while Rainbow Dash started running to the first base.
The blades of Psychic energy ended up hitting the ball, causing it to fall towards Hatterene's direction and instead of outside the field, preventing a home run. However, Rainbow Dash had already passed the first base at this point.
"Terrene!" The Silent Pokemon then grabbed the ball when it fell into tentacle claw as she launched the ball towards the second base where Rainbow Dash was headed, right where Cinderace was.
"Cinder!" Cinderace held its hands out while Rainbow Dash passed by as a multi-coloured streak.
"Haha!" She chuckled after passing Cinderace.
"Ace!" But, Cinderace had an ace up its sleeve. By using its signature move Pyro Ball in a unique way, instead of using a pebble, the Striker Pokemon used the baseball as the starter for Pyro Ball. By kicking it a few times and lightning it up, the Fire-Type then jumped into the air, smashing its foot onto the ball of fire and launching it towards the third base.
"Uh oh!" Rainbow Dash noticed the blazing ball that could potentially outspeed her. Not wanting any of that, the pegasus herself sped up as she just barely managed to outpace Pyro Ball, passing the third base and going straight for the fourth home base.
"Leavanny! Tag her out!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Leavan!" The Bug-Grass-Type quickly used String Shot to try and tag Rainbow Dash out.
"Oh!" Rainbow Dash winced as she quickly spread her wings out, soaring over the String Shot and preventing a Tag-out.
"Van?!" Leavanny gasped as the Pyro Ball hit the base, causing an explosion that made the ball fly forward.
Rainbow Dash then connected her hooves with the third base after jumping over the string before galloping towards the final base.
"Leavanny!" Leavanny then picked up the ball as she still felt like she could get it to Ninetales before Rainbow Dash can get there. She instantly used X-Scissor, hitting the ball with all she had and sending it flying.
"Ninetales...!" Ninetales' eyes flared as he looked at the ball. He was going to use Hidden Power Dragon to try and obstruct Rainbow Dash's view and focus. His body was outlined in a purplish-blue draconic aura as Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, knowing that this might not end well for her. "Tales!"
"The Fox Pokemon then unleashed multiple purplish-blue circles from his body, shooting them at the ground and causing a purplish-blue smokescreen to occur and a gigantic crater.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes as she was going to wing it through the smoke. Very literally. When she got close, she used the wing beat of her wings to blow the smoke away while also lunging forward. But there was still the crater to deal with as she was seen being engulfed in the explosion.
Once the smoke cleared, Rainbow Dash had been revealed to have touched the base plate. But only by a smidge after moving through the smoke and explosion with her mane being an absolute mess.
"O-Ow..." She twitched.
"Oh!" Pinkie Pie's shot over. "That's a score, safe and out!"
"Yes!" Rainbow Dash cheered as she raised her hooves. "I did it! Wait...do we win now?"
"Well, 20 minutes just passed...nice timing as always Dash." Pinkie Pie nudged the pegasus. "But scoring that next point means that Blue Team wins!"
"Ohohoh! Amazing job Rainbow Dash!" Oak raised his hands.
"What a shame..." Mayor Mare sighed.
"Ash/Twilight didn't even get to pitch against each other..." Delia and Velvet pouted while Night Light was relieved about this.
"Disaster averted..." He put his hooves around his back.
"That was worth it, for sure." Adagio nodded.
"It was fun, wasn't it Yamper?" Chloe picked Yamper up.
"Yamper! Yamper!"
"Well then, Samuel. Same thing next month?" Mayor Mare asked.
"Deal. We'll make it a longer inning next time." Professor Oak shook Mayor Mare's hoof. The other teammates went up and shook the hooves, hands, claws and paws of their opponents, bowing to each other after a good game.
"Good game!" They all said.
"Say, Ash. Can you teach me pitching skills for next time?" Applejack asked.
"Sure. I've still got a lot more throwing tricks up my sleeve with this."
A relatively peaceful day in Equestria and the Pokemon World as well. Here at this mountainside, many Pokemon live peacefully with little to bother them. Aside from the faraway explosions from Pokemon Battles.
But, that peace wouldn't last for long.
Here in the mountains, a gateway had opened up, causing a booming sound that made nearby Pokemon run or fly away from being startled as the grass itself had been blown from the sudden gateway appearance.
And this gateway opening up was made by none other than Team Plasma, who had used the Travel Spheres to make their arrival. Now, they wouldn't need Ghetsis to constantly open some for them. And this time, they were joined by some allies. Allies in the form of the Umbrage Thieves that came straight from Empress Twilight's world or technically this world as well. They were working alongside each other to finish their missions.
The grunts and thieves of Team Plasma and the Umbrage Thieves were here on personal and important business. Mainly one that involves the capture and retrieval of innocent Pokemon. And they weren't going to waste any time as they already had Poke Balls.
"Alright. Go!" One grunt ordered as they all got to work, sending their Pokemon out. Their goal was to capture a select amount of Pokemon and bring them back to the Harmonia Kingdom.
Poison-Type Pokemon were sent out as they were immediately used to Poison moves to infect the grass and water of the mountainside, causing pollution in the process. Any Pokemon that couldn't fly were immediately caught by the poison. Their main Poison Pokemon were Garbodor, Arbok and Weezing, using their poisonous properties.
As for the skies, Rock and Ice-Types were the solutions to that answer, knocking the airborne Pokemon out of the skies when they tried to escape. And if any Pokemon attempted to fight back, there were grunts who were already prepared for that, ready to battle the rebellions Pokemon.
In just a few minutes, Team Plasma and the Umbrage Thieves had already overrun this area with their dirty tricks by restraining, harming and capturing all the Pokemon they could, Of course, they weren't going to capture every single Pokemon since they don't have enough Poke Balls for that. Just a good amount will do. Team Plasma's grunts weren't pushovers when it came to Pokemon Battling either.
The Pokemon didn't stand a chance and could barely fight back against the abundance of grunts arriving here. All the while, the gateway connecting to Pyrestar's world was still up as the air itself was being polluted, mostly thanks to Weezing alone and no other Poison-Type.
However, there was one Pokemon who wouldn't let this stand. A Pokemon that, realistically, only one of it should exist. But there is another in this world.
"That's good enough. Fresh out of Poke Balls too." One grunt said whilst restraining an East Sea Shellos with heavy chains.
"S-Shellos!"
"Let's head back before anyone from Canterlot gets nosy." An Umbrage Thief said as they all turned to face the gateway, ready to take the Pokemon they've captured back while the remaining Pokemon hid in fear or had been defeated by Team Plasma and the Umbrage Thieves.
It looked like both teams would get away with this scot-free.
But they weren't.
Far off in the distance, over the mountains and through the clouds, a purple sparkle could be seen closing in. The first to see this was one of the Pokemon that had been defeated. A Sandile saw this. And soon, everyone else noticed it. Not just because of its increasing size, but because of the sound that could be heard.
From how fast this sparkle was moving, it sounded like a jet was coming this way. And in truth, the being moving at that speed could easily surpass a jet if it wanted to.
"What is that...?" A grunt squinted while looking at the distance. They weren't sure what this sparkle really was.
But, once it finally got close enough and came into perfect view, it was soon revealed who or what caused this sparkle as a sonic boom could be heard in the distance, causing parts of the mountains to shatter from the force alone.
The shockwave of the sonic boom knocked the grunts off their feet as well from how far it went as the cloud formations had been split apart. The Pokemon that had done this was among one of the most powerful in existence.
Mewtwo.
Or rather, a Mewtwo.
"M-Mewtwo?!" The grunts all gasped as everyone looked up at the Genetic Pokemon while it looked back at them from above.
"Who?!" The thieves each said.
The Genetic Pokemon graced its eyes onto the Team Plasma grunts and Umbrage Thieves as it immediately recognized the grunts from the first glance. Not because they were humans, but because of their outfits. In fact, this wasn't the same Mewtwo that Ash, Twilight and the others met a few months back.
This was another Mewtwo that Ash met during his adventures in Unova. A Mewtwo that was familiar to Team Plasma. But that only made sense, since Team Plasma were the ones who made it.
"You." Mewtwo spoke as she seemed to have a more feminine voice compared to the other Mewtwo. This Mewtwo clearly wasn't happy to see the team that created her, even if they were grunts. She hadn't forgotten those outfits.
She had also witnessed how the two teams had captured many of the Pokemon here. Either in restraining objects such as cages, chains and such or even Poke Balls. And she also saw the Pokemon that were hiding or had been defeated. Obviously, this didn't sit well with the Genetic Pokemon as her eyes started flashing purple. Clearly, she was going to do something about this. And Team Plasma and the Umbrage Thieves could tell.
The Psychic-Type put her hand out as she used the move Psywave by creating a white force field that expanded rapidly around her. The lightning-fast forcefield blew away the nearest grunts while also breaking the restraints of the Pokemon, freeing them from the grunts and thieves' hold.
The grunts and thieves that had been hit were immediately knocked out as Mewtwo moved her hand around, using Psychic to grab the Poke Balls that had been used to capture the innocent Pokemon. The Poison-Types arguably got the worst out of it due to their weakness to Psychic as they were knocked out immediately from Psywave.
"H-Hey!" One of the grunts cried out as she had her Poke Ball stolen from Mewtwo.
"Hmph." The Genetic Pokemon released each of the Pokemon from their Poke Balls simultaneously with just her thought as she then later destroyed the Poke Balls, freeing the Pokemon from Team Plasma's ownership.
"Weavile! Use Night Slash!"
"Drapion! Dark Pulse!"
"Honchkrow! Foul Play!"
A few grunts and thieves who owned Weavile and other Dark-Types commanded.
"Wea-Weavile!" Weavile jumped up, covering its claws in a dark aura as Honchkrow flew next to the Sharp Claw Pokemon while Drapion and other Dark-Types fired Dark Pulse and Night Daze from afar.
Mewtwo narrowed her eyes as she was ready for all of them. She used Aura Sphere with one hand, creating a ball of Aura before expanding it and putting the sphere in front of her as a shield.
Weavile and Honchkrow gasped as they had crashed into the giant sphere of Aura before having the chance to avoid it, causing them to trigger its explosion as they were both sent flying back with a blue blaze.
Mewtwo then used her other hand to use another Aura sphere, this time shooting it at the ranged Dark-Type moves. The sphere of Aura easily powered through Dark Pulse and Night Daze, obliterating them before crashing into the Pokemon that fired the attacks, engulfing them in a blue gale of Aura. Some grunts and thieves were also caught up in this dome-shaped gale
More of Team Plasma and the Umbrage Thieves' Pokemon attacked Mewtwo by trying to overwhelm her. However, just like the other Mewtwo and technically every other Mewtwo in other universes, she was made for battle and her combat skills were raised to the ultimate level. So overwhelming her wouldn't do.
When some Pokemon got close, Mewtwo used Iron Tail to whack away any that were near her, swinging it about while also pushing some Pokemon back via Psychic.
The Genetic Pokemon ascended into the air, using Ancient Power as she sent multiple fossilized and pre-historic rocks flying as they rained down from above, attacking the opposing Pokemon.
It was completely one-sided.
Seeing that they stood no chance against Mewtwo, the grunts and thieves decided to escape while they had the chance. Mewtwo hadn't knocked all of the Poke Balls off of Team Plasma and the Umbrage Thieves, but it was still a considerable amount.
With what they had, the grunts and thieves ran away, jumping and passing through the gateway to escape from Mewtwo's fury. Even the Pokemon that had been defeated by Mewtwo quickly escaped while they can.
But, Mewtwo wasn't going to let that happen. She immediately flew after the grunts and thieves, ready to grab them all as she knew there were still some Pokemon left.
"Use Hyper Beam!" One grunt ordered his Drapion, pointed at the innocent and defenceless Pokemon instead of Mewtwo. And it was for one reason.
"Dra!" The Ogre Scorp Pokemon fired a gigantic orange beam from its mouth, sending it towards the Pokemon that lived here.
"Oh!" Mewtwo gasped as she turned to face the Hyper Beam. She couldn't allow innocent Pokemon to be harmed as she changed directions, flying towards the direction where Hyper Beam was being fired.
And that gave Team Plasma and the Umbrage Thieves the chance to escape as all of them passed through the gateway while the grunt retrieved his Drapion into its Poke Ball. Due to Drapion being recalled, Hyper Beam was cut off as it was now just a stray beam without a user firing it. But it was still going after the Pokemon.
As for Hyper Beam, Mewtwo could see that it might be too late to reach the Pokemon due to how fast the beam was travelling. She couldn't keep up with it. Unless she did one thing.
Mega Evolve.
By closing her eyes, the Genetic Pokemon tapped into the Mewtwonite Y, one of the two Mewtwo Mega Stones that exist out there. A multi-coloured aura surrounded her body, transforming the Psychic-Type into her Mega Form. Mega Mewtwo Y.
In this form, Mewtwo was much faster as she caused three sonic booms in one second instead of just one, moving at Mach 5 speeds.
It was just enough for her to appear in front of all the innocent Pokemon in time. The Genetic Pokemon then put one hand out, using her stellar Psychic power to hold the destructive beam of Hyper-Energy in place with a mere thought.
She then crushed the beam into nothing but tiny energy particles. It didn't even explode, showcasing just how powerful Mega Mewtwo Y's mental prowess was.
The Pokemon were safe but some of them had still be taken.
"Are you all alright?" Mewtwo asked the Pokemon as they all cried out in response, thanking the Genetic Pokemon for saving them. Mewtwo was grateful that they were safe but also felt guilt for not saving every single one of them. "Just as I thought...even when coming here this world also has those disregard Pokemon."
This was Mewtwo's first time here. Originally, she protected Pokemon in her world where every Pokemon originally originates from. But now that she's arrived here, she has more to protect than before. Especially after seeing the thievery that had happened here before her eyes.
Mewtwo was now in this world.
She looked over the horizon, knowing that potentially, Team Plasma and the Umbrage Thieves would strike again. Maybe not here like before but most likely, somewhere else in this magical land she had just arrived at.
And she was going to make sure that wouldn't happen again.
Ponyville, Twilight's lab. Day.
"New record!" Twilight exclaimed as she was currently going over a stat sheet with Rarity and her Pheromosa. "Pheromosa's definitely gotten faster than before."
"Really?" Rarity and Pheromosa looked at the stat sheet.
"Phero?"
"Mhm." Twilight nodded. "If this keeps up, then Pheromosa might travel faster than anything else out there."
"Wow! Doesn't that sound wonderful, Pheromosa? You'll be an absolute speed demon by the end of it all!" Rarity nudged her partner.
"Mosa-Mosa!"
"Thanks for helping me out with my research, Rarity. Pheromosa. Next, I'll test out Fluttershy and Scorbunny. They seem to be Trainer and Pokemon by this point after all."
"I think so? Scorbunny seems to hang out with her a lot so..." Twilight shrugged as Spike took Pheromosa's stat sheet away, ready to place it with the other files on other Pokemon. Mainly Pokemon from PokePark.
But, before she could continue her research, the large Pokemon Energy Tracker in her lab starting going off, beeping rapidly at hyper speeds along with loud sounds that alerted everyone in the room.
"Oh!" Twilight's ears shot up as she and everyone looked at the tracker screen, wondering what was going on. Obviously, it tracks down the energies of Pokemon, mainly vastly powerful ones. And of course, a vastly powerful energy signature had been picked up on. A very familiar one too.
A Psychic energy signature.
"Psychic!" Twilight dashed over to the screen with her Pokemon. "And it's gigantic!"
"Espeon!"
"Is it another Mew this time?" Rarity asked.
"Maybe! There might a second Mew roaming around Equestria. But this one seems bigger than the rest..." Twilight gawked. The moment she and Rarity mentioned the name known as Mew, bursting through the doors was Pinkie Pie and her own Mew.
"Did I just hear another Mew nearby?!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed while entering the door at breakneck speeds with Mew.
"Mew-Mew!"
"Take a look!" Twilight pointed her hoof at the large screen. "It's Psychic for sure."
"Oooh...! Mew! Do you know how great this sounds?!" Pinkie raised Mew like a baby. "We could meet another one of your species! Doesn't that sound fun?"
"Mew!" Mew was certainly hoping for something like that. Playing around with another Mew could take him back to aeons ago when the Pokemon World was still early and Mew were the only Pokemon that populated the planet.
"We could be the first, aside from Ash, to not only discover one Mew but two Mews! And maybe later, three or four! Soon, we'll be able to form an entire Mew Renaissance the more we find! This'll be-" But, the moment Twilight said all that, the Psychic energy had suddenly vanished in a heartbeat, disappearing off the screen without warning. "Huh?! It's gone!"
"Hm. Must've gone to sleep." Rarity observed.
"Phero."
"Aw..." Pinkie and Mew pouted.
"Mew..."
"I-It was right there. So much of it." Twilight pressed her face on the screen. "Where could it have gone to?" Wondering where the energy signature went to, suddenly it reappeared on the screen as the purple circle flashed in Twilight's eyes. "Ow!"
"Oh, there it is!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "Look at that! It's moving!"
"Mew-Mew!"
"That means Mew's moving along Equestria now! And at such speeds too!" Twilight stood up, rubbing her eyes. "Quick! Let's hurry and find that Mew! We might be able to catch up to it in time!" The alicorn didn't want to waste any time as she started gathering the necessary gear to trek out and find what seemed to Mew.
"And what about Ash and the others?" Rarity asked.
"Huh? Oh, sure-sure!" Twilight nodded quickly while placing various objects in her saddlebag. "Whoever's available right now, let's tell them! Just hurry! This Mew's moving faster than expected."
"Toge! Togekiss!" Togekiss suddenly flew up to Twilight, calling for her.
"Huh? What is it Togekiss?" Twilight questioned in a hurry.
"Kiss! Toge! Togekiss!"
"Looks like Togekiss wants to tag-along too. How does that sound?" Pinkie Pie read Togekiss' wing movements.
"S-Sure! You can come along, Togekiss! Let's go already!"
"Toge!"
Equestria. Petilil Peaks. Afternoon.
One of the exclusive Pokemon locations. An extremely steep and mountainous region with deep green valleys and snowcapped peaks that almost reach the clouds. This location also had Dynamax dens and power spots that weren't active as of now.
Ash, Twilight and everyone arrived here, following the gigantic energy signature of Psychic energy, hoping to find another Mew here. But, since the signature was so huge and took up a large portion of the screen, this supposed Mew wasn't actually that close. It was just the immense Psychic power represented as a wide circle.
"Bit strange to track another Mew so soon, don't ya think?" Applejack spoke. "Only been a month since Pinkie Pie got Mew herself."
"Mew seems to be a very playful species from what we've found out," Twilight responded to Applejack while holding the tracker with her magic. "Another one probably found out about the gateways and came here to play."
"Another Mew...Lucky!" Goh grinned. "This'll be my chance and best chance to finally catch one. I totally knew there'd be more than one species out there."
"You're only saying that because you're still jealous about Pinkie getting a Mew, aren't you?" Chloe, who was also coming along with her Yamper said.
"Ah!" Goh froze after hearing that.
"Don't feel too bad, Goh!" Pinkie patted Goh on the back, letting out a chuckle that only struck Goh even further.
"T-Thanks Pinkie..."
"I remember you all talking about how you met one before, right? Or am I thinking of someone else?" Sunset Shimmer asked.
"You mean Mewtwo." Rainbow Dash responded. "We thought it was Mew but it was someone totally different. One powerful Pokemon."
"Powerful is an understatement. I still shudder at that battle we had with it." Rarity trembled in her hooves.
"Total wipeout." Spike nodded as the others agreed.
"Oh." Sunset scrunched her face.
"It could be Mewtwo now that I think about it...That is a lot of Psychic power." Twilight narrowed her eyes at the screen. "But why would he be here?"
"Mewtwo wants to protect all Pokemon from harm." Ash began explaining. "He already knows about this world, so it'd only make sense that he'd come here to try and protect other Pokemon that live here."
"Pikachu."
"We could get a chance to talk to him again." Pinkie Pie let out a wide grin. "I bet he'd enjoy talking to Mew, for sure! They'd be like brothers! Oh, wait...technically they are."
"Speaking of which, how long are we gonna keep walking? My hooves are kinda killing me right now." Sunset groaned.
"Mew's not as close as we think. Looks like it's heading north from here. We might end up at the Crystal Empire if it keeps going that way." Twilight observed.
"Can you hear it anywhere nearby, Audi?" Fluttershy asked.
"Audino." Audino tried to pick up on any sounds that might relate to Mew. She could hear the whistling of the Flying-Type Pokemon along with the birds living in harmony with the Pokemon. She could also hear the wind itself which would be the most important thing to listen to considering how fast the target was moving.
However, before Audino could really pick up on what could potentially be Mew or not, something else hit her ears. Something that greatly startled her.
The booming sound of a gateway opening up.
"Dino!" Audino's ears vibrated as she fell on her back with her heart beating rapidly. "A-Audino!"
"Audi!" Fluttershy rushed over to her partner. And at the same time, everyone stopped walking to face the direction of where the gateway appeared at.
And it was right up ahead. They all stood cautiously and on guard since they knew that the two forces that could open the gateways were Ghetsis and Empress Twilight.
And this time, it was Team Plasma who opened it. A second time in a row this day. This time, they came through in one of their many blimps instead of on foot. It seemed as if Team Plasma was more active in this world today, showing up two times in a day.
Everyone looked up, witnessing the blimp arrive as it had the Team Plasma logo on it. But while they all looked up, Audino, whose ears were ringing, could hear faint cries coming from the blimp.
"Team Plasma!" Ash and everyone gasped as the blimp had descended. They weren't expecting to see Team Plasma here of all places. And especially not today. As the blimp descended, the doors opened, allowing Team Plasma to exit and continue their work.
"Wait! Here?! Now?!" Sunset shuddered.
"Are they after Mew too?!" Pinkie Pie held her Mew.
"Mew...!"
"Whatever they're after, we won't let them get it." Ash already knew that questions weren't needed when it came to Team Plasma.
"Pika...!" Pikachu's red sacs started flaring electricity.
Team Plasma weren't alone. Like before, they had the Umbrage Thieves on their side. But now, they were joined by someone of great importance. Someone who essentially leading both groups and was a central part of Empress Twilight's empire.
A very familiar figure.
Luster Dawn.
"Luster Dawn...?!" Twilight said silently as everyone stood by the nearest mountain, hiding and spying there.
"That's her?" This was Ash and Pikachu's first time seeing Luster Dawn after hearing information about her when she first arrived at Ponyville.
"Pikachu?"
They continued watching the grunts as Audino's ears were starting to pick up on what they were saying. They had just recovered after that sudden gateway boom.
This is what she heard.
"Did you hear? Apparently, Team 1 came across Mewtwo earlier." A grunt said.
"Mewtwo? Which one? The one we made or Team Rocket?" A second grunt asked.
"Ours. Mega Evolution and everything. Ruined the whole operation for Team 1 in seconds."
"Too bad. Would hate to run into something that powerful. Kinda curious on which Mewtwo would win though..."
"Audino...?!" The Hearing Pokemon put her hands over her mouth to remain silent.
"What did you hear, Audi?" Fluttershy asked quietly.
"You all. Get to searching. I don't want to keep the Empress waiting." Luster ordered. "It wouldn't be fair to her if only Team Plasma gets the unique resources."
"Why do you need the Dynamax energy anyway?" A grunt asked as she took out her Poke Ball. "Your universe doesn't even care about Pokemon. Or even too involved with it."
"Those are disclosed for the Empress." Luster Dawn shoved the grunt. "Now quit jabbering and get to work! Grab any Dynamax Pokemon you can!"
"No, you won't!" Ash certainly heard that due to Luster shouting as he ran from the side of the mountainside, revealing himself. Everyone else wanted to continue keeping quiet to wait and do something but Ash immediately took action.
"Oh! Ash! Pikachu!" Twilight leaned forward after witnessing Ash and Pikachu dash off.
Now, Ash and Pikachu had revealed themselves out in the open with little secrecy. Everyone here. The grunts, thieves and even some of the local Pokemon saw him.
Then again, this was natural for Ash and Pikachu to be caught in the open.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash Ketchum?!" Team Plasma winced once setting their seething eyes onto possibly the most intimidating trainer to them that isn't Ghetsis. Although, Ghetsis isn't considered a trainer by many or even all really.
"Hm?" Luster raised an eyebrow, locking eyes on Ash. "That's Ash Ketchum? Not bad..."
"Worse than Mewtwo..." One grunt said as she was shaking in her boots.
"Like we'd let you take the Pokemon here!" Ash declared.
"W-What do we do?" One nervous thief asked.
"Don't get so shaken up." Luster Dawn replied as she stepped forward. "So you're Ash, hm? The Empress herself said that you were a potential threat. Much like the Pokemon themselves. But honestly, I don't believe that. Besides...you're on your own right now and surrounded by I'd say a couple eighty or so. Close to a hundred, really. And there's way more in that blimp over there."
"Pikachu and everyone else are by my side," Ash stated. "No way I'm on my own."
"Pika-Pika...!"
"Everyone?" An eyebrow was raised on Luster's face after hearing that. Ash was obviously referring to his friends. From the Pokemon in his pockets and Twilight and everyone else.
Obviously, Twilight and everyone were a bit nervous considering that Team Plasma was here of all places, but they weren't nervous to the point where they were afraid to confront them. Sheepishly, Fluttershy poked her head from the side, gently waving at everyone.
"Hello..." She said with a shy tone. The opposite could be said for Scorbunny and everyone else who came zipping from the side, revealing themselves. But, Chloe was still hiding as she was the least prepared for this.
"Oh." A surprised Luster opened her eyes, witnessing the arrival of some familiar faces. Ash certainly wasn't alone. "Guess not then. Ah, whatever."
"This isn't happening...not at all..." Chloe gulped, sitting behind the mountain while holding Yamper. Yamper actually wanted to get in there and take action like everyone else.
"Well? Don't just stand there! Some of you get them! And the rest of you get to those Dynamax things!"
"Why does she have to be in charge...?" One grunt sighed before grabbing his Poke Ball, sending his Pokemon out along with the rest of Team Plasma and even the Umbrage Thieves.
"Don't let them get to those dens!" Ash pointed forward. "Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" Without any hesitation, Pikachu jumped into the air, generating an aura of electricity around his body. The Electric Mouse Pokemon rolled in the air before the aura of electricity intensified, growing in size as he shot a giant blast of 100,000 volts from his body.
The bolt of electricity certainly moved at the right speed as it immediately hit the nearest Pokemon head-on. And they had just been sent out too. The Pokemon that had been hit by the Thunderbolt were all sent back by the sheer power behind it and how serious Pikachu was in this situation.
"Cryoganal! Use Ice Beam!" One thief ordered.
"Cryo...!" The Crystallizing Pokemon summoned a blue orb of ice, ready to fire it and freeze its opponents.
"Castform! Weather Ball!"
"Ninetales, use Mystical Fire!" But Twilight and Rainbow Dash were there to stop that as they ordered both their Pokemon. Castform was already in his Sunny Form due to the sunny weather, causing his Weather Ball to gain the properties of fire while Ninetales shot out a red-orange stream of fire from his mouth.
Both attacks hit Cyrogona directly, preventing it from unleashing Ice Beam as it took super-effective damage. Not only that, but Ninetales kept the stream going as the fire hit other Pokemon, grunts and thieves that were behind Cryogonal originally, especially Cryogonal's owner.
"Tch!" Luster Dawn scoffed as she ran off, heading for one of the dens with the rest of Team Plasma. Sunset and Starlight noticed this as they wouldn't let that happen. They both chose to go after Luster Dawn and prevent her from reaching her goal concerning the Dynamax Pokemon within the dens.
"Come out! Dragonite!" Ash sent his Dragonite out. And the same went for Spike who sent his Salamence out. Axew's always out since he prefers to stay out of his Poke Ball.
"Dragonite!"
"Use Hyper Beam!" Ash, Spike and Fluttershy each commanded their Pokemon that had Hyper Beam.
In perfect unison, the two Dragons and the one Normal-Type Pokemon opened their mouths, summing a yellow-orange ball of great disposition. At the same time, all three Pokemon unleashed Hyper Beam as the trio of beams merged to form an even larger and stronger Hyper Beam.
"Protect!" One grunt ordered their Crawdaunt to try and shield everyone in front of it with Protect by putting up a green barrier.
"Craw!"
Unfortunately, against three Hyper Beams that became one, that was a bit of a problem. The giant merged beam crashed into the barrier that Crawdaunt made, immediately engulfing it before shattering the protective shield in seconds and consuming the rest of the grunts, thieves and Pokemon they had.
Already, due to some impressive teamwork, many grunts and thieves had been defeated. And in little time too. But there were still more to deal with.
"My that's a lot." Fluttershy bit her hoof.
"Pah. It's ain't that many." Applejack scoffed. "Just watch. We'll clear them all out in no time."
Pyrestar's world. The Harmonia Kingdom. Afternoon. Ghetsis' throne room.
Right now, Ghetsis was unaware of what was happening right now in the other world. He was just sitting on his throne, biding his time as always with Hydreigon by his side.
But, as Ghetsis focused, Colress immediately came into the room in a hurry with concerning matters.
"Lord Ghetsis!"
"What is it?" Ghetsis' only eye opened up, shifting to Colress.
"Major news! The Mewtwo we've created! It's shown up!"
"What?!" Ghetsis sat up.
"The same Mewtwo that we commissioned to make many years ago. Just earlier today, during a retrieval mission, Team 1 had managed to encounter it. Mewtwo's appearance ended up botching the mission for us due to its arrival."
"So it found its way back to us did it?" Ghetsis smirked. "This is honestly a surprise. Maybe having one more Mewtwo wouldn't hurt. After all, it rightfully belongs to me. Where is it now?"
"Not sure. But it's bound to show up and try to stop our plans again. My guess is that it's because of Mewtwo's protective nature towards Pokemon. It freed the Pokemon that Team 1 tried to capture earlier."
"A softie, hm? I'll fix that soon enough." Ghetsis sat up. "So...if it decides to show up to protect the Pokemon, we'll just use that to lure it in."
"It might be heading for Team 2 right now. Their mission has just begun. For um...Empress Twilight, of course, and her Dynamax retrieval."
"Of course she would want her hooves on Dynamax. At this rate she'll want everything Pokemon based the more she finds out." Ghetsis scoffed.
Just then, Colress' communication earpiece started ringing. A call was coming in from Team 2. One that was urgent. Obviously, Colress couldn't ignore this. Especially on this day. It could be about Mewtwo.
"Team 2. Is it Mewtwo?" Colress asked.
"No, it's probably worse! Ash Ketchum and the rest have found us here! We're currently having some issues at the moment!"
"Hm?" Ghetsis' ears got a fill on that.
"Right now?" Colress leaned forward. "Well, get rid of them then."
"You fool." Ghetsis went up to Colress. "Like it'll be so easy to get rid of that brat. His friends maybe..." He then grabbed the earpiece, from Colress, taking it away and using it himself. "Listen. Return here immediately."
"Lord Ghetsis?"
"This is all for that Empress after all. She can have her Dynamax particles another time for all I care. Right now, do not engage with that brat or you'll just diminish our forces, understood?"
"Y-Yes, Lord Ghetsis. I'll let everyone else know." The call then hung up as Ghetsis held his face.
"That kid doesn't know when to keep his nose out of everyone's business does he?" Ghetsis groaned, feeling truly irritated with Ash. "Doesn't matter. Eventually, he'll live up to his name and become ash in the wind when this is all over."
"And the Mewtwo we made?" Colress questioned.
"We'll handle that later. Now's not the time. But perhaps...another Mewtwo, in particular, can solve that issue for us." The tyrannical ruler of Team Plasma smirked as he was obviously referring to the other Mewtwo that was currently being held here against its will.
Shadow Mewtwo.
Petilil Peaks.
"Lord Ghetsis says we should return for now!" The grunt exclaimed as he sent the message through everyone's earpieces. There was no arguing against an order from Ghetsis. They each nodded in understand after hearing that. Even the ones in the den right now.
And speaking of hearing, Audino, whilst in the midst of this conflict, was picking up on something else. And like before, it was coming from the ship. The Hearing Pokemon could hear the cries of other Pokemon more clearly this time. From how they were crying out, it was clear that there were captured Pokemon being held hostage on that blimp.
"Dino! Audino!" Audino pointed at the blimp.
"Captured Pokemon up there in the blimp?!" Fluttershy translated as Ash heard this. With no hesitation and time to think, Ash had already made his decision.
"They'll take them back there...I'll get them! Dragonite! Take care of everything else here!" Ash ordered as he and Pikachu ran towards the blimp while it was still on the ground.
"Dra!" Dragonite understood as she would continue to assist from the outside while Ash and Pikachu would take the inside. Little did they knew, this blimp would be leaving soon.
And that was something even Luster Dawn wasn't aware of yet.
And at the same time, far off in the distance, a certain Genetic Pokemon was arriving in response to the sound of a gateway opening and the potential cries of worry of Pokemon as the journey continues.
Currently, a bit of a scuffle is happening above the surface. Ash and the others had just come across Team Plasma, the Umbrage Thieves and Luster Dawn. They managed to bump into each other due to both parties on their own search. One for Mew and the other for Dynamax particles.
A flux of events was occurring and more was to come. Or rather, this event was about to end sooner than expected as Ghetsis gave the order to leave this world. And the grunt he contacted sent that message through everyone else's communicators.
Right now, Luster Dawn was within the Dynamax Den with some of the grunts and thieves, ready to obtain Galar Particles and return them to her Empress. But soon, it wouldn't be done with others as Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer had followed Luster Dawn to the den. They were hiding behind one of the many mounds of rocks in the den.
"Alright...What's the approach?" Starlight asked silently.
"This den's pretty big. Most of them have separated right now..." Sunset observed. "Luster looks like she doesn't have that many grunts and thieves by her side...So we get the jump on them, that's what we do."
"Really?"
"Really." Sunset narrowed her eyes at Luster Dawn who was only surrounded by 12 grunts and 4 thieves total. Sunset was confident about this approach as she already had one of her Poke Balls out and ready.
"Dynamax Particles...when are they going to show up already?" An annoyed Luster Dawn growled as she wanted to get this done immediately. The plan was already in danger of being sabotaged thanks to the arrival of Ash and the others.
"Hm?" One of the grunts stopped walking as her earpiece was finally picking up the words of her fellow Team Plasma members. The word was being passed on. While stopping, Luster Dawn and the rest went head. But soon, every other grunt received the message as they stopped walking to listen in on this. Very soon, it was just Luster Dawn and the Umbrage Thieves on their own.
"Lord Ghetsis ordered a return? Alright." The grunt nodded along with the others within the den. They already knew it was about Ash's arrival so no questions were asked. No one argues against Ghetsis anyway.
Sunset and Starlight noticed that the grunts were separating from the thieves and Luster Dawn after being called back to base.
"Returning? What about the Umbrage Thieves and Luster Dawn?" Starlight silently asked before pointing her hoof at Luster.
"I don't think they care about them at all...But this is our chance." Sunset grinned, finding the perfect opportunity to strike. And it didn't take long for Luster Dawn and the Umbrage Thieves to realize that they weren't being joined Team Plasma anymore.
"Hm? Hey!" Luster turned around, shouting at one of the grunts. "Where do you think you're going?!"
"Lord Ghetsis has called us back. Sorry, but you're on your own." The grunt scoffed as she walked away with her fellow grunts.
"No, you don't... The Empress gave an order and you'll-" The second she stepped forward, a blast of Psychic energy was shot near Luster Dawn's hoof, forcing her back. "Huh?!"
The blast of Psychic energy came straight for Sunset's Braixen and her Psybeam. She had promptly stopped Luster in her tracks.
"Braixen!" The Fox Pokemon twirled her stick around.
"You're not going anywhere!" Sunset declared as she let out a confident grin after saying. "Haha...I actually got to say that line...Yes!"
"Tch! If you're going to leave, at least deal with them." Luster pointed her hoof at Sunset and Starlight.
"You're on your own. Lord Ghetsis' orders are final." The grunts denied Luster Dawn as they continued on their way. They didn't have many quarrels with Sunset or Starlight and they weren't willing to listen to Luster Dawn at all.
"Urgh!" Luster Dawn groaned as it was just her and the Umbrage Thieves now. "Whatever! I can just get rid of you then continue the search!" She lit her horn up with a golden light, shooting magic out of it.
"Like that'll happen. Braixen! Use Psybeam!"
"Brai...Xen!" the Fox Pokemon put her stick out, firing a peculiar purple ray that clashed with Luster Dawn's magic as both attacks cancelled each other out.
"Hatterene! Try and restrain those thieves!" Starlight ordered. "Use Hypnosis!"
"Hatte...!" The Silent Pokemon widened her eyes as her body entire body shined a bright pink light, putting the thieves in a trance the moment their eyes met with the light.
Soon, the thieves down here had been caught by Hatterene's Hypnosis. And instead of controlling them, Hatterene chose to put them to sleep instead as each of the thieves suddenly dropped on the ground, dozing off.
"What?!" Luster Dawn turned around, witnessing the fallen ponies who were now sleeping.
"That wasn't so bad." Starlight crossed her hooves with a confident smile. "Nice work, Hatterene."
"Terrene."
"Not gonna high tail it out of here with a gateway?" Sunset taunted.
"I can't let the Empress down again. You already got in my way and cost me the cauldron before! I'm not leaving here...Not until I retrieve those Galar Particles."
"That kind of loyalty's gonna really make you lose, ya know? Like right now." The orange pony smirked.
"Yeah right! I'll obliterate you before I get those particles!" Luster declared as her eyes began glowing. Out of her body, a barrier of magic expanded, racing towards Sunset and the others while also harming the sleeping Umbrage Thieves who were still asleep.
Thinking quickly, Braixen put her brack out before, forming a large Fire Spin to try and keep the barrier back. The fierce vortex of flames met with the barrier, creating a collision and explosive reaction between the two.
Afterwards, Sunset, Starlight and Hatterene closed their eyes before the explosion expanded and intensified to a point where it could be considered blinding as the whole den shook.
Team Plasma's Blimp.
Ash and Pikachu had just arrived in the blimp, ready to rescue the Pokemon inside while everyone else handles the events happening on the outside.
"Lucario! Ash sent out his Lucario. "See if you find those Pokemon!"
"Lu!" The Aura Pokemon nodded in understanding as he quickly closed his eyes, using his Aura to try and detect the captured Pokemon within the blimp. The three of them got a move on while doing so.
And speaking of the blimp, the Team Plasma grunts were starting to re-enter it after being called back by Ghetsis. The blimp was about to leave soon, back to the world it was built in. Pyrestar's world, of course.
Those that retreated were previously in the midst of dealing with Twilight and everyone. But, they ended their battle before heading for the blimp. However, they knew that Twilight's group would pursue them, so some of the grunts were actually willing to stay behind and make sure none of that happens.
Whatever it takes to make sure the problem doesn't escalate.
As the last grunt entered the blimp with the doors closing, the remaining grunts who were still outside on the ground stood before Twilight and everyone, preventing them from advancing any further. The blimp's engines started up as it ascended into the air, blowing the grass away.
"Hey! They're getting away!" Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at the blimp.
"Ash and Pikachu are still in there!" Fluttershy gasped.
"You're not going anywhere..." One grunt stated as the rest of them laughed. They knew they might end up falling and losing here. But as long as the blimp returns to the kingdom, they don't care. Their loyalty to Ghetsis was stellar. "Weezing! Haze!"
"Magneton, use Metal Sound!"
"Weez!"
"Magneeeeeeeee!" A pack of Magneton and Weezing got together to try and obstruct their foes. The group of Magneton emitted a horrible sound like scraping metal from their bodies, affecting the Pokemon since it doesn't exactly work on any other creature but Pokemon.
"A-Audino...!" Audino got the worst of this as multiple horrible sounds were coming her way, causing the Hearing Pokemon to fall to the ground. While the rest didn't take it as badly as Audino, they were still hit by all those scraping sounds that were torture to their ears.
"Audi!" Fluttershy went over to her partner, trying to cover her ears. At the same time, the Weezing all unleashed a black haze from their bodies, filling the area with them.
"Stop those Magneton, Cinderace! Use Pyro Ball!" Goh ordered.
"Clear the Haze with your wings Braviary!" So did Rainbow Dash.
"C-Cinder...!" Cinderace, held its ears from Metal Sound. It kicked up a pebble as it was trying to focus with this sound going off. But, that was difficult to do so. Not just because of Metal Sound, but because of the Haze. Luckily, Braviary was there to stop Haze.
Unfortunately, he was also struggling to focus with so many horrible sounds coming their way. In fact, one Metal Sound is enough to stop Braviary or any Pokemon in their tracks.
Multiple is just nigh-impossible.
"Too many sounds!" Applejack exclaimed. "They can't focus!"
"One Metal Sound is enough...What do we do?!" Fluttershy asked. Things were looking a bit difficult with these constant noises. But despite all, this Absol was able to slightly resist it due to his stubborn and resilient nature. But, even his stubbornness was being challenged with all this noise.
"We'll do this!" Twilight created a giant magic barrier around her friends. One that had the ability to block out any noise that would come this way. This was a useful and very successful spell since it had the needed properties to fend off against something like Metal Sound.
With the barrier covering everyone, the Pokemon no longer felt the horrible sounds coming through their ears as they all breathed in and out heavily.
Sadly, that didn't matter as the blimp had found enough time to take to the skies. With the remaining grunts holding Twilight and everyone back, they weren't able to advance at the moment.
"Oh no!" Twilight looked up to see the blimp passing through the gateway, making its getaway. As if that wasn't enough, the grunts were still active as some of them decided to come from behind, ordering their Pokemon to fire at Twilight's sound-blocking barrier.
"Breakthrough that barrier! Use Flamethrower, Honchkrow!" One grunt ordered her Honchkrowas the others did the same with their Pokemon.
Various ranged moves were now hitting Twilight's sound-barrier, trying to destroy it while the blimp was getting away. Twilight was starting to panic now due to these sudden circumstances.
"We'll try and do something, Twilight. Golett." Applejack turned to Golett.
"Gol?"
"You're a Ground and Ghost, right? Think you can do something to the ground and Ghost tricks for us?"
"Lett!" Golett saluted as it could certainly try.
"But what about Ash and Pikachu?!" Fluttershy asked.
"I...!" Twilight looked up at the blimp. She was already thinking of a way to try and reach him. But, Ash and Pikachu are determined to get those Pokemon back. They might not even care if they end up in another universe or anything.
However, before Twilight could act out her plan, she noticed something showing up high in the sky where the Haze wasn't blocking everything.
A purple sparkle was seen arriving here at high speeds in response to all the conflict happening at these peaks. And once that happened, Twilight's energy tracker started going off, beeping rapidly with the Psychic energy being shown. The alicorn princess quickly turned to the tracker, seeing that the Psychic signature was closing in on this location specifically before looking back at the sky. It was clear what this meant to Twilight.
"Is that...Mew?!" She gasped as everyone else turned to face the sky. The tracker made it sound like Mew was most definitely here and showing up to help. If that was the case. However, it wasn't Mew.
When the sparkle got close enough, it was soon revealed who it truly was.
Mewtwo.
"Mewtwo?!" Everyone exclaimed.
Mewtwo had shown up in response to the trouble happening in this location only. She appeared before everyone here. Even the grunts and Pokemon. But not Sunset, Starlight and Luster Dawn who were still down in the dens.
The Genetic Pokemon looked down at the grunts, narrowing her eyes as she already knew what she needed to do. Mewtwo descended to the ground as she intimidated Team Plasma from the first glance. She also noticed that the blimp had just passed through the gateway. Mewtwo knew it belonged to them due to the very visible Plasma logo on it.
"Tch. Looks like I have you all to myself then." The Genetic Pokemon eyed down the grunts.
"It really was Mewtwo..." Goh said under his breath.
"Yeah but...does this one sound more feminine to you?" Pinkie Pie noticed.
"Nevermind that! Look!" Twilight pointed her hoof up at the sky where the blimp was. Keyword being was. Unfortunately, the blimp had just passed through and the gateway had closed in the process.
They had just lost Ash.
Pyrestar's world. Team Plasma's blimp.
North wing of the blimp.
"What was that?" Ash had felt the blimp passing through the gateway as his body shuddered. "Did we pass through a gateway?"
"Pika?"
Lucario ran ahead as he could most certainly tell where the Pokemon were as he sensed everything here. Even the grunts themselves. "Lu!" Lucario then ran to the right as he was hot on their trail. But, being in enemy territory obviously meant that there would be those not too pleased with the intrusion.
Team Plasma grunts showed up, standing before Lucario, Ash and Pikachu with their own Pokemon. "Stop those three, now! Magneton! Discharge!"
"Muk, use Sludge Bomb!"
"Golbat! Sonic Boom!"
"Pikachu! Stop them Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped over Ash and Lucario before hardening his tail. As Magneton let out a flare of electricity from its body, Pikachu used the iron from Iron Tail to conduct the electricity, absorbing it onto his tail.
He also used the iron to nullify the poison of Sludge Bomb since Poison does not affect anything Steel. Afterwards, he swung his powered up electrified Iron Tail like a whip, sending Discharge back at three Pokemon and grunts. It also blew through Sonic Boom like it was nothing before hitting the Pokemon and the grunts in one go.
"Nice!" Ash gave a thumbs-up as he, Pikachu and Lucario ran past the defeated grunts and Pokemon.
"Pikachu!"
"Cario!" Lucario then sent a pulse of Aura through Ash's mind, communicating with him.
"The Pokemon are up ahead? Great!" Ash nodded as they began heading Northwest as fast as they could. Team Plasma practically knew that Ash was onboard at this point due to the instruction and cameras. But Ash didn't care. He was on a mission and determined to complete it.
"Ash Ketchum! Stop ri-"
"Shut up! I'm in a hurry! Electroweb!" Ash interrupted the grunts before Pikachu lit his tail up, sending a ball of electricity forward. The ball of electricity then formed into a web that immediately caught the grunts and Pokemon, pinning and electrocuting them in seconds. The grunts didn't even the chance to do anything.
The trio pursued with Lucario as the lead. At this point, they were no longer back in the other Equestria anymore. There were in this barren Equestria now.
Ash passed by the window as he immediately noticed this. He didn't stop to sightsee as he only had the mission to save the captured Pokemon here.
"Lucario!" Lucario finally found the room where the Pokemon were being captured as he used Force Palm to destroy the door, blowing it away as it hit the nearest grunt, sending her to the ground.
"Ough!" The grunt coughed before she was knocked out by the door. Obviously, with such an entrance, it would only make sense for the rest of the grunts to notice this as their heads flashed towards Ash, Pikachu and Lucario.
"Pardon the intrusion!" Ash exclaimed. "But we're here for the Pokemon!"
"He actually came through..." One grunt said.
"Lord Ghetsis isn't going to be happy about this." Another grunt uttered.
"Pikapi! Pika-Pika!" Pikachu noticed the many Poke Balls that were being held by Team Plasma in containers. An assortment of them, each having the Team Plasma symbol on it, making it clear that they were Plasma Balls.
"There, huh? Okay!" Ash nodded in understanding as he ran towards the containers on the table.
"Hey! Stop him!"
"Pikachu! Electroweb!"
"Chu-Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped in front of the grunts, preventing them from even touching his best friend. The Electric Mouse Pokemon summoned an orb of electricity before lunging it as it shifted into the shape of a web.
The web had flown forward, trapping and pinning the grunts onto the walls of the room before they could receive their Poke Balls. Lucario stood before the grunts, making sure that they don't escape as he crossed his arms. But that didn't matter since Electroweb would keep shocking them if they even made any sudden movements.
"Luca."
"Gotcha!" Ash grabbed the container of Poke Balls. So far, it was a success. Unfortunately, while they took care of the grunts here, the rest of the grunts who were on the blimp were still active as they had followed Ash, Pikachu and Lucario's trail of destruction. They knew that Ash was willing to save Pokemon so this was the most obvious place to show up at.
"There he is!" One grunt pointed at him. Soon, Ash and his Pokemon were fully surrounded.
"Guess we're a bit surrounded here, huh?" Ash observed.
"Place that container down kid..." One grunt walked forward. "You're already in deep water right now and around our kingdom. You wouldn't want things to get worse for you now, do you?"
"I ain't leaving until I get these Pokemon to safety."
"Pikachu!"
"Lucario!"
"Forget it. He won't listen to reason." Another grunt shook his head.
"Then in that case...Lord Ghetsis might promote one of us if we get rid of this kind once and for all!"
"Pikachu! Lucario! Cover me!" Ash ordered.
"Pika!" Pikachu and Lucario already knew what to do. Ash would have to get out of here with the Poke Balls. Pikachu and Lucario both used Aura Sphere on the ground to create a large smokescreen that filled the room with a yellow and blue haze.
"Lucario! Force palm on the wall!"
"Ca!" Lucario then turned around before smashing his paw into the walls of the room, creating a massive hole in the process. This hole would act as a way for Ash to leave this room.
"Thanks! Let's go!" Ash held the container tightly as he, Pikachu and Lucario jumped through the large hole, leaving this room and entering the hallway of the blimp.
Once the smoke cleared, the grunts who had their vision obscured by it could now see as they started coughing. Some of the smoke got straight into their mouths. They were now pursuing Ash as they followed him through the large hole that Lucario had made.
All the while, one of the grunts decided to contact Colress again, letting him know the important news. This was perhaps the most important news yet considering who was involved in it.
Colress' lab.
"Lord Colress! We have a major problem! Ash Ketchum is on the blimp right now! Here in this world!" The grunt explained shortly.
"Here?!" Colress gasped. He looked outside his window, spotting the blimp that had just returned. That was the one Ash was currently on. "Lord Ghetsis won't like this one bit...Hurry up and deal with him already!"
"Leave it." Ghetsis suddenly walked into the room, cutting Colress off and giving a new order.
"Huh? Lord Ghetsis? W-Why?" Colress stuttered, turning to Ghetsis and his Hydreigon.
"I have a better idea to deal with him." Ghetsis declared, having his own way of dealing with Ash right now. And it involved measures that would not benefit anyone but him. "We still have other blims to choose from after all."
"Another blimp?" Colress wondered what Ghetsis meant by that. But it was fairly clear as day what he was planning as he and his Hydreigon would be heading out for a short while to do one little thing that could remove all of their worries away.
East wing.
Ash, Pikachu and Lucario made it to the east wing of the blimp. Since there weren't many grunts of the blimp due to some of them staying behind in the other world, it was somewhat empty whilst also being crowded.
"There should be some Travel Spheres here maybe..." Ash began searching for Travel Spheres to try and find his way out of this place. He began looking through the windows of any nearby room that had some.
While searching, he and his Pokemon came across yet another grunt. This time, one with a Nidoking of all Pokemon by her side.
"Hold it!" The grunt held her hand out as Ash, Pikachu and Lucario stopped before the Drill Pokemon.
"Give me a break...!" Ash growled.
"Nidoking! Bulldoze!"
"King!" Nidoking stomped on the floor, shaking the blimp before changing towards Pikachu and Lucario.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail! Lucario, Force Palm, go!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu hardened his tail with metal surrounding it before swinging it towards the Drill Pokemon. Lucario also ran forward, concentrating energy into his palm while Nidoking swung both of his large claws.
All three had collided, trembling the blimp even further as Pikachu and Lucario's combined might managed to push Nidoking back.
"N-Nido!"
"Use Outrage, Nidoking!"
"Nido...!" Nidoking's eyes glowed red as his body briefly became surrounded by a red aura. The Drill Pokemon then went on a rampage, only seeing three enemies in front of him. Ash. Pikachu. Lucario.
"Rio!" Lucario stepped forward, putting his arms forward and blocking Nidoking's incoming punch. Once Nidoking's hand met with Lucario's arms, yet again, the blimp trembled.
"Lu! Lucario!" Lucario spoke to Ash and Pikachu via Aura.
"Huh? You want us to go ahead?"
"Pika?"
"Luca!" He nodded in confirmation.
"Alright! We'll meet back up with you soon!" Ash held the container tightly as he ran off, leaving Lucario to deal with this. But before that, he took out another Poke Ball, sending his Gengar out for assistance. "Gengar! Help them out!"
"Gengar!"
"Nidoking!" Nidoking kept swinging at Lucario, trying to break through his defence with constant attacks. All of this was just damaging the blimp since Pokemon battles aren't usually on blimps. Before he could land another hit in, Gengar used Psychic by grabbing the Drill Pokemon with its mind, outlining him in a blue light. "K-King?!"
"Gar!" Gengar cackled before throwing Nidoking away, causing him to crash into his trainer.
"No-no-no-no!" The trainer put her hands out, running away before having the Poison-Ground-Type land on top of her. "Ow...!"
That one Psychic was powerful enough to deal with Nidoking as he had fainted right on top of the trainer, making it difficult for her to get up or even reach her Poke Ball.
However, even with the defeated Nidoking and grunt, other Pokemon were still to deal with as more grunts had shown to where Lucario and Gengear were. But, they weren't about to just let Ash's efforts go to waste. Not at all.
Ash kept advancing through the blimp, trying to find at least one room that had the Travel Spheres available. All the while, he was carrying many captured Pokemon in his hands via a container. He couldn't let them out of their Poke Balls now. Not until they had returned to their homes.
"One of these rooms has to have one..." Ash also saw that the doors had locks on them that could only be accessed via keycard. Or, even better, what Lucario did. Breaking the door down. And while Lucario was a bit busy right now, there was always Farfetch'd who had the strength to break the doors. Unfortunately, Dragonite, who was another strong contender, was back helping Twilight and everyone.
"No good...Maybe someone from Team Plasma has one..." Ash stopped running as he decided to try the grunts here. Those Travel Spheres were obviously portable.
Knowing this, Ash changed his direction, searching for grunts. That'll be much easier. But, he didn't need to search for long as one of the grunts came flying through the walls of the blimp due to Ash's Pokemon doing an amazing job of handling everyone on board.
"Agh!" The grunt cried out as her Zangoose flew through the walls as well, landing on her.
"Zangoose...!" The Cat Ferret Pokemon groaned.
"Nice timing!" Ash grinned as she rushed over to the grunt while she had been knocked out along with her Zangoose. He dug into the grunt's belt pocket.
"Y-You...b-brat...!" The grunt groaned, trying to grab Ash. But she was too weak to do so.
"Aha!" Ash got one Travel Sphere from the belt pocket. "Sorry, I'm borrowing this!" Now with a Travel Sphere, Ash could get a move on with his Pokemon. He picked up the container of Poke Balls, placing the Travel Sphere in his own Pokemon before rushing off to find his partners.
But, while everything goes well on the inside, outside, a different outcome is about to emerge.
Ghetsis stood on the outskirts of his kingdom, looking up at the sky where the blimp was. He could already see the large mobile airship rumbling. Most likely from Ash's Pokemon and a bit of Team Plasma's own Pokemon.
Ghetsis knew he couldn't take his chances when it came to Ash. He refused to let Ash stop him again. Not ever. And not anyone else.
"Hydreigon." Ghetsis pointed his finger at the blimp. "Hyper Beam."
"Hy...drei!" Ghetsis was planning to take the blimp out while Ash and his Pokemon were still on it. That was the best way he could see himself finally getting Ash out of his hair forever.
Even if that meant taking his own grunts out.
The Brutal Pokemon summoned a ball of purple and black energy, with a red aura in the centre and black sparks coming off of the ball. "Gon!" He then fired a purple and black beam from his mouth at the blimp, with an orange ring of aura bursting from around a part of the beam when it had been fired.
"Lu?!" Lucario was the first to sense this thanks to his Aura. He sensed imminent danger coming this way. One that threatened everyone on this ship. Knowing about what was coming, the Aura Pokemon quickly held Pikachu and Gengar in his clutches.
"Pikachu?!"
"Gen?!" Pikachu and Gengar wondered what Lucario was doing. Lucario had no time to explain. All he did was use his Aura to protect his friends by summing a large blue Aura that outlined them. However, Lucario was fearing for Ash. So, to save Ash, Lucario went a step further and expanded his Aura so that it would reach Ash.
Since Ash and Lucario have a powerful Aura connection and Ash's Aura is easy to track and read due to how grandiose it is, it didn't take long for Lucario to sense the Aura of his trainer. He was hoping that he could reach him in time.
And at that same time, Ash was trying to find his Pokemon. Thanks to Lucario's Aura guiding him, Ash could do just that. All he had to do was follow the Aura Trail.
That is if he can reach his Pokemon before Hyper Beam comes this way.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu was the first to notice his best friend showing up. Still in one piece.
"Pikachu! Gengar! Lucario!" Ash cried out as he rushed over to them as fast as he could, pulling out the Travel Sphere. "I got a sphere! Let's get out of here and-"
And that's when it happened.
Hyper Beam had hit.
In the split-second Ash took another step to run, the dark glow from Hyper Beam could be seen for a moment, coming through the blimp. But, it wasn't just the light that had come through. The beam had also come through.
The moment it hit the blimp, a ferocious and abhorrent eruption of Hyper-Energy happened on the spot, going over the entire blimp in seconds, consuming everything in its path. The grunts on the blimp had been engulfed by this dark and terrifying explosion as they perished within it, along with their Pokemon as every room was being taken out.
Ash's eyes widened as he had just realized that an explosion had come off and was about to hit him and his Pokemon as well. It looked like he was unable to activate the sphere before the explosion gets him.
But, in the blink of an eye and a nano-second, Ash and Lucario's Aura moved faster than anything in this ship and everything else. Even faster than the explosion before it could catch them.
The Aura exuded out of their bodies, flowing into the Travel Sphere of all things while still covering their bodies as shields. The Aura and Rift Energy within the sphere were colliding with each other, causing some sort of causal nexus in the process.
In that fraction of a second, the Rift energy from the sphere and Ash and Lucario's Aura merged, flashing out of the sphere before engulfing Ash, Pikachu, Gengar and Lucario in an even brighter Aura that now had cosmic sparkles within it. Representing the Rift of course.
And after that second was over, the paroxysm of devastating energy had engulfed their entire blimp as everything within it had been obliterated. Everyone, from the ponies living here and the rest of the grunts who were down below had witnessed this culmination of malice happen as the clouds had been split apart from it.
Ghetsis simply smiled as the blimp had been obliterated. And seemingly, everyone within it.
All that was left was the layout design of the blimp, which was all wood. The explosion of Hyper Beam had set the wood on fire as it fell from above. Purple and black particles rained down from above as Ghetsis cackled, believing that it was all over.
"There. No longer do I have to deal with that problem..." Ghetsis spoke as the remains of the blimp hit the ground with no sign of life left. The only thing there was Ash's hat.
Ghetsis picked up the hat as he would use this as a great reminder that he had finally gotten rid of his greatest threat once and for all.
Colress was just starstruck by what he had just seen. "Lord Ghetsis...You'll even take out our own forces for victory. Still as merciless as ever."
Petilil Plains. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, back with Twilight and everyone, they were still stunned at the arrival of Mewtwo. One that had a different voice, more on the feminine side.
"Is that the same Mewtwo...?" Rarity asked.
"Not sure..."
Mewtwo looked over at Twilight and everyone with an unchanging expression before changing her attention towards the grunts.
"Hmph." Mewtwo put her hand out, raising all of the grunts with Psychic, holding them all in place. There weren't many at the moment. Due to Mewtwo interrupting, the Pokemon that were originally pressuring Twilight and the others had their attacks be put to an end.
"Where are the Pokemon? Back in that world?"
"W-We haven't caught any Pokemon yet!" A grunt groaned.
"Tch." Mewtwo tossed them aside like ragdolls. "Consider yourselves lucky. Now leave...if you can head back home that is..."
With that order, the grunts started running away in fear of Mewtwo. The only way for them to head home was for one of them to use the Travel Spheres they held.
Applejack noticed a Travel Sphere in one of the belt pockets of the grunts. Before the grunt could get away, Applejack used her lasso, spinning and throwing it before latching it onto the belt pocket of the grunt.
"H-Hey!" The grunt had been held back by Applejack's lasso as her Travel Sphere was forced out of her belt pocket. Applejack and the group needed this for one important reason.
The grunt witnessed her Travel Sphere being taken. Originally, she planned to take it back, but Mewtwo was there and she didn't want to be involved with that even further.
One of the grunts used the Travel Sphere, opening it in a hurry, almost fumbling and tripping on himself because of his rapid worrying movements. He thought of where to go. Back to the kingdom, of course, as the gateway responded to his mind, opening up.
And just like that, all of Team Plasma left through the gateway in fear, leaving this world behind as the gateway ended up closing afterwards.
"Phew..." Goh sighed as he sat down. "Glad that's over with."
"Yeah. And we got one of these. So we can go and get Ash and Pikachu, no problem."
"Thanks for saving us Mewtwo!" Pinkie Pie thanked the Genetic Pokemon.
"I wasn't saving you." Mewtwo quickly shut her down. "I was only making sure that the Pokemon were alright."
"Oh." Pinkie pulled back with a scrunched face.
"Mew?" Mew looked over at his cloned counterpart, immediately seeing the similarities between him and her. Mewtwo was indeed a larger Mew.
"Hm?" And Mewtwo herself had noticed this. When looking at the Pokemon who were beside their trainers, her eyes locked on to the most prominent Pokemon here. "Mew? You have a Mew with you?"
"Sure do! Best pals! Isn't he the cutest?" Pinkie lifted Mew in the air.
"Mew-Mew!"
"I didn't think there'd be anyone out there to capture Mew...Unbelievable."
"Um...So, you're like a different Mewtwo." Rainbow Dash spoke. "I didn't think there was another one."
"Oh! We should call you Mewthree for sure! Or maybe even...Newtwo!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Absolutely not."
"So, do you know about the other Mewtwo then?" Fluttershy asked.
"Other Mewtwo?"
"There's another Mewtwo out there just like you. But he's in the Pokemon World right now. Probably. Ash and Pikachu once met him and we went-" Pinkie began explaining before Mewtwo cut her off after hearing two names come out of her mouth.
"Did you say Ash and Pikachu?"
"You know?" Twilight leaned in.
"I most certainly do. I'm greatly in their debt. My friends." Mewtwo actually let out a smile afterwards, showing a new expression. "Are they here?"
"They were but...they went ahead into that blimp to rescue the Pokemon inside." Twilight sighed. "Now they're over at Pyrestar's world...where Ghetsis and all of Team Plasma are."
"The only way we can go after them is with this thing." Applejack lifted the Travel Sphere. "A Travel Sphere, they call it. Can let us use those gateways for free."
"And they went in there despite the danger? That should be expected from both of them."
"Let's see if we can use it right now. Ash and Pikachu could be-" Applejack and everyone were worried about Ash and Pikachu considering where they were right now.
However, they wouldn't have to worry for long.
From above, another gateway had boomed in the sky, opening up and startling everyone. Frankly, they had enough of the gateway sounds for one day and just wanted to head home. Not before Ash and Pikachu first.
And speaking of which, there they were.
Falling from out of the gateway were Ash, Pikachu, Lucario and Gengar along with the container of Poke Balls that Ash had retrieved. They had survived the explosion of the blimp.
"Ash! Pikachu!" Everyone said with joy before realizing they were falling to their demise soon.
"Dra!" Dragonite couldn't let that happen as she took the skies, heading after her trainer and friends while Mewtwo watched. Either way, even if Dragonite couldn't get them, Mewtwo's Psychic certainly could.
The Dragon Pokemon put her arms out as she was only able to catch, Ash and Pikachu. But not Gengar and Lucario. Luckily, Mewtwo had her covered. By using Psychic, the Genetic Pokemon saved the Aura and Shadow Pokemon from falling and hitting the ground like meteors.
They were all safe as a collective sigh filled the air.
Ash and his Pokemon were placed gently on the ground while still unconscious. It could be from the explosion or the Aura that had been used. But, most of them wouldn't be unconscious for long. After being placed on the ground, Pikachu, Lucario and Gengar were waking up.
"Pi...Pikachu?" The Electric Mouse Pokemon groaned. His eyes opened as the first thing he saw was the gentle face of Dragonite and Fluttershy staring him down.
"Oh! You're awake!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Dra!"
"Pika...? Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped up, latching onto Dragonite's face with a hug. He was so glad to see her again along with everyone else.
"Luca..."Lucario sat up, holding his head while Gengar felt a bit dizzy. They were befuddled after what had just happened. From the explosion to the gateway travel entirely.
"Thank Celestia..." Twilight sighed. "But, what about Ash?"
What about Ash?
Unfortunately, while his Pokemon were conscious and awake, he wasn't. Right now, Ash was fully unconscious, not waking up or even showings signs of regaining consciousness.
"Ash? Ash!" Twilight gasped as she flew over, nudging him. "Ash, wake up! Oh no...!"
"What happened?!" Goh questioned.
"I don't know...It might be Delayed Aura Ataxia again...He didn't use a lot of Aura back there, did he?"
"Ca." Lucario stood up as he began speaking to Fluttershy, explaining that yes indeed, Aura was used. Lucario always knows when Aura had been used.
"Lucario says that Ash and him did use Aura." Fluttershy translated. "Looks like it knocked him out again..."
"Oh, Ash..." Twilight facehoofed. "Why are you like this?"
"Uh...hate to make things worse, but we're kinda forgetting something else." Applejack pointed her hoof to the east where the Dynamax Den was. "Ya'know...Luster Dawn and everything?"
"Oh, right. Weren't Sunset and Starlight going to deal with her?" Rainbow Dash replied.
"They might still be." Rarity turned to face the den. "Let's hurry! Before she captures any Pokemon and-"
"I'll handle this," Mewtwo said as she decided to take over for now. Everyone else seemed a tad bit exhausted, especially Ash. And for a friend, she'll take control. And since Ash was friends with Twilight and everyone here, then Mewtwo could trust them. For now at least.
The Genetic Pokemon looked ahead, staring right at the den. She then closed her eyes, letting only her Psychic concentration be her guide. Afterwards, in just 2 seconds, she was able to find who she was looking for.
"I'll be right back." And just like that, she teleported from the spot, appearing away from everyone's point of view. And once Mewtwo left, everyone turned to the unconscious Ash.
At this point, they weren't sure how long he'll be unconscious for now. But, it was most likely going to be more than just 4 days this time.
The Dynamax Den.
"Xien" Braixen had been pushed back after a sudden clash with Luster Dawn. So far, the Fox Pokemon and the protege of the Empress were seemingly on equal levels as Luster Dawn held her head. Starlight's Hatterene was also being a problem for her.
"Urgh!" She groaned. "You're just delaying everything!" Frustrated, she used the Chain Spell again, summoning multiple golden chains from an orb she conjured up.
"Braixen! Use Fire Spin!"
"Hatterene, use Psycho Cut!"
"Brai...Xen!" The Fox Pokemon spun around, summing a fierce vortex of fire that raged and burned away any incoming chains nearby. Or even just knocked them back.
"Hatt!" Hatterene used her tentacle claw to send out sharp tearing blades of Psychic energy that were powerful enough to cut through the chains. Sunset and Starlight were still safe and hadn't been harmed yet as Luster Dawn ascended into the air with her anger growing.
Furious, she tried her Vibration Spell to see if that would do the trick. The unicorn shot out a seismic wave of concentrated vibrations that went straight for her targets.
"Protect!"
"Hatterene!" Hatterene's eyes flashed as everyone ran behind her. The Silent Pokemon then put up a defensive pink shield around her friends as the vibrations crashed into Protect.
Hatterene felt a slight twitch and shock from her barrier being hit, but overall, she successfully blocked the vibration waves.
"Now, Braixen, Shock Wave!"
"Xien!" As the vibrations ended as Hatterene put down the barrier, allowing Braixen to advance as she jumped over the Psychic-Fairy-Type. The Fire-Type then stuck her tree branch out, shooting a rapid jolt of electricity out.
"Oh!" Luster Dawn gasped as she was able to avoid the Shock Wave in time. However, since it missed, it ended up hitting the Umbrage Thieves, damaging them. Even though they were still asleep. "Tch!"
"Braix...!"
"She sure is quick on her hooves..." Starlight observed.
"Right." Sunset nodded in agreement. "And enduring too...At this rate, we could be here all day if we don't do something about her."
"Then allow me to end this."
And there she was. Mewtwo. Ready to deal and put an end to this scuffle.The two Pokemon and the three unicorns looked up at the Genetic Pokemon afterwards.
"What now?!" Luster groaned.
"Sunset and Starlight, correct?"
"Y-Yeah, that's us." Sunset stuttered.
"Then, let me take it from here and deal with this problem."
"Hah! Deal with me?!" Luster Dawn scoffed and laughed. "What can you-" And just like that, the moment she scoffed at Mewtwo, the Genetic Pokemon used her great Psychic abilities to pull Luster Dawn towards her in seconds. "Woah!"
"Cocky child..."
"P-Put me down! Now! I'm the Empress' protege and-"
"Silence." Mewtwo cut her off as she had used Hypnosis on Luster Dawn, sending a spiralling blue Psychic wave that went into Luster's eyes.
"!" The protege gasped before falling under the trance of Mewtwo's Hypnosis. It was much greater than Hatterene's. And just like the Umbrage Thieves, Luster Dawn had fallen asleep.
"There." Mewtwo dropped Luster Dawn. "That's the solution to your problem."
"Sweet Celestia..." The unicorns gawked at how easily Mewtwo finished that.
"Do what you will with this one. Take her in if you can."
"Uh...S-Sure! Thank you uh...Are you Mew?" Sunset tilted her head.
"My name is Mewtwo."
Kanto. Pallet Town. Late Afternoon.
It was finally all over. Ash had been brought home, still unconscious as he had been placed on his bed by Mewtwo of all Pokemon. Everyone else stood by and watched. The Pokemon from the containers had also been freed with their Poke Balls destroyed, making them Wild Pokemon officially.
Mewtwo looked down at Ash while Pikachu climbed up to his best friend with a worried expression and tone. And why wouldn't he be worried. Yet again, the Aura Ataxia Disorder had kicked in.
"Pikapi..."
"My little Ash..." Delia whimpered. "How long will be unconscious for this time? Will it be shorter?"
"Let me check." Mewtwo decided to see for herself. She would use her great Psychic powers to look into Ash as she placed her hand on his head.
Afterwards, the room fell silent with everyone watching as Mewtwo closed her eyes, reading Ash's current and future condition. Then, she concluded as she pulled her hand away.
"Sorry. But it looks like he'll stay like this for weeks. 2 or 3 weeks to be exact."
"2 or 3 weeks!?" Twilight and everyone gasped. That was the longest one yet and they weren't sure if it would two or three that Ash would be out of commission for.
"Let him rest until then. You can all wait, can't you?"
"Well...there's an invasion coming soon in just one week so...I don't know about that..." Rainbow Dash shuddered.
"Invasion?"
"One of those ponies, the Umbrage Thieves are working for an Empress of another world. They're planning to invade our world in just 1 more week." Fluttershy explained.
"I see. Well, good luck with that." Mewtwo was about to leave here.
"W-Wait! Aren't you going to help us with the invasion?!" Spike asked.
"Only if the Pokemon are in danger. But...since you're all friends of Ash and he means so much to you, then when that comes, I will show up and lend assistance. Take care of Ash. And goodbye for now." Mewtwo had said all she needed to say. Before leaving, she looked at Mew, giving him a slight nod before teleporting out of here in a Psychic flash.
And that was the end of that.
"W-What about Luster Dawn? Where's she?" Applejack asked.
"She's being locked up right now. But, Princess Celestia suggested that it should be in the Pokemon World, where the Empress can't find her." Sunset explained.
"Well, you can all head home now." Delia turned to everyone. "Let Ash rest. Get yourselves for... you know...that invasion alright?"
"Thank you, Mrs Ketchum." They thanked the mother of Ash before walking out of the bedroom, leaving Ash to rest and for his Pokemon to be by his side.
"Pikapi..." Pikachu was the most hurt by this. He didn't know if he could go on with an unconscious Ash for this long. Probably not. Twilight was the last to leave the room as she got one last glance at Ash before leaving entirely.
1 week remains until the invasion arrives. As the journey continues.
"Pikapi..." At this moment, Pikachu is sitting on his own at the Pokemon House. Alongside the rest of Ash's Pokemon. But there was no Ash here. Just his Pokemon.
Ash was still unconscious after yesterday. After Mewtwo read into him, she confirmed that Ash would be unconscious for 2 or 3 weeks. This would be the longest Pikachu and his teammates could go without being with Ash. And the same goes for the rest of his friends.
Ash was currently resting at the nearest hospital in Kanto until he's fully awoken. No one could really treat his Aura disorder. It seemed like something that was beyond comprehension and thought for even a skilled doctor to try and understand.
Pikachu sat alone away from most other Pokemon while Fluttershy, Twilight and Pinkie were also here, watching the Electric Mouse Pokemon. The rest of Ash's Pokemon sat in a group instead of being alone.
Dragonite was also very distraught about this as she was huddled up in a corner, whimpering uncontrollably. Lucario himself felt like he was guilty of putting Ash in such a state. He felt as if his Aura connection to Ash was just a means to further harm his trainer.
"They haven't moved yet ever since but everyone else has," Fluttershy observed. "Poor Pikachu and Dragonite..."
"Ash won't be waking up for a while now..." Twilight whimpered. "We should've gone with him back then."
"Come on, cheer up." Pinkie Pie pulled Twilight and Fluttershy in. "Ash is gonna wake up eventually, ya know. He always comes back."
"You're right about that." Twilight nodded. "Still...what about Pikachu and the others?"
"Hey uh..." Pinkie Pie dashed over to Pikachu. "If you need something, Pikachu. We're here for you okay? How does some food sound?"
"Pika." Pikachu would like some food as he nodded. He hasn't eaten yet ever since yesterday. Plus, when he's worried and upset, he gets hungry as his stomach started growling.
"I'll get some Pokemon food!" Fluttershy dashed over to her cottage as fast as she could. Lucario stood up as he decided to take a walk, trying to get everything off his mind. Gengar and Farfetch'd also sat around, not doing much. Dragonite just chose to stay while Pinkie Pie went up to try and talk to the Dragon Pokemon.
The mood wasn't the best right now. News about Ash's unconscious state quickly reached Ponyville ever since yesterday. Now everypony knows about it.
Empress Twilight's Universe. Her throne room.
"What do you mean you're unable to find her? Where is she?!" The Empress, not in the best mood right now, bellowed at one of her guards.
"D-Deepest apologies Empress! We tried contacting Luster Dawn, but she hasn't responded since yesterday or even this morning..." The guard shuddered. "The plan to retrieve the Dynamax Particles has failed as well. Not a single one was retrieved. The Umbrage Thieves that went with Team Plasma have also seemingly been taken to whereabouts unknown."
"I ask her to do one simple task and she doesn't even return..." Empress Twilight turned around as she smashed her hoof through a wall, creating a fairly large dent from something so small. "That world is getting on my last nerve...And you're sure you're unaware of her location?"
"No. We've travelled as quickly as we could. From the afternoon, night, midnight to morning and now. There is no trace of her. Even our undercover forces haven't found her."
"I see." The Empress kissed her teeth. "Perhaps Celestia has upped her game maybe..."
"Or maybe she's at the Pokemon World." Just then, Obsidian, who was now working for the Empress after being freed, chimed in with his own words while entering the throne room.
"Hm? The Pokemon World?" The Empress stood up.
"I mean, if she's not in Equestria and you can't find her anywhere, then the Pokemon World would be the place she would be kept at. It's the one world that you don't have many connections to anyway."
"Hmph. You might be right on that." The alicorn narrowed her eyes at the Rift Pony. "If so...where in the Pokemon World have they taken her to?"
"Uh...Unfortunately, having my magic being decreased means I can't do much. But if she were to be somewhere, it would probably be one of the authority places across every region. But there's a lot of them so it'll be difficult to find the right region and where she is."
"Tch. Of course." The Empress scoffed. "I swear...there'd better not be any more complications or issues later on. The invasion is almost here and I want to make sure that everything goes according to plan. Guard."
"Yes!" The guard stood tall.
"Search the Pokemon World. Every region that you can and retrieve Luster Dawn. Despite how annoying she may be...she is my best student and I cannot afford to have my successor be lost forever. Understood?"
"Yes! We'll begin our search through the Pokemon World immediately!"
"And take him with you." The Empress pointed her hoof at Obsidian. "You should know more about the Pokemon World than us anyway."
"Leave it to me," Obsidian smirked with confidence as he walked out of the room with the guard, beginning the search for Luster Dawn.
The Empress sighed as she couldn't let her frustration get to her. So far, things haven't been going smoothly as of late. She was still hoping that the invasion works out for her without any setbacks, drawbacks, flaws or anything that could jeopardize it all.
If anything, out of every universe that the Empress has viewed or learned about, this world was by far the biggest threat and the one that could cause the most problems for her. Her Umbrage Thieves have already been diminished due to some of them being arrested and her best student and protege was now being locked somewhere unknown.
If she's not careful with this invasion towards this version of Equestria, everything could all come tumbling down.
Empress Twilight's world. The Crystal Kingdom.
Here, the Crystal Empire remains. But now, it's no longer an empire. Just a kingdom. After Empress Twilight's rule, she made sure that she had the only Empire in Equestria and the entire planet overall.
And the ponies living here are all loyal to the Empress more than the ruler of this kingdom. But the one ruling this kingdom is just a single pony.
Flurry Heart was the one who ruled this kingdom, serving under her auntie's universal reign while also taking care of this world. Ever since Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were turned to stone, she had been tasked with being the new ruler. And at such a young age too.
Right now, the young alicorn went to the outskirts of the kingdom, just away from the castle to do one thing. See which Pokemon had been given to her. The Empress' alliance was given a Pokemon of their own and Flurry Heart was a part of that alliance, albeit the least relevant of them all.
She looked at the Ultra Ball that supposedly had a Legendary Pokemon within it. Like many Legendary Pokemon, this one holds immense power. Nervous and worried, the timid alicorn threw the Ultra Ball into the air, sending the Legendary Pokemon out.
Out of the Ultra Ball, a red light formed, as the energy figure of this Legendary Pokemon could be seen emerging. a large grey, draconic Pokemon could be seen with two large black ghostly wings and three red tips on each that can resemble claws. It seemed to also have six legs with claws.
Sparks of Anti-matter started flaring out, filling the air with dread and uncertainty as Flurry Heart shuddered at the sheer size and scale of this draconic Pokemon. And there was only one Pokemon that fit this description as the full figure had been revealed with a bellowing and horrific roar.
Giratina.
"O-Oh my..." A petrified Flurry Heart stood there, gazing at the Renegade Pokemon.
And Giratina stared back at her. The Ghost-Dragon-Type locked its eyes onto the young alicorn as it was finally out in the open instead of being inside of an Ultra Ball for so long.
The two of them looked at each other. One in complete fear and the other with curiosity and confusion. But not hostility. Giratina barely felt the snow beat on it while Flurry Heart herself was shivering a bit, even with a coat on.
Flurry Heart quickly noticed that Giratina wasn't doing anything at the moment. No attacking, no growling or any hostile movements that could endanger her life.
"H-Hello..." She timidly waved at the Renegade Pokemon. Flurry Heart wasn't sure what to do now. Giratina was already out of its Ultra Ball and completely unresponsive.
Giratina responded with a gentle and silent roar as it looked up to the skies of Equestria. The Renegade Pokemon was already aware of its capture. Realistically speaking, like Reshiram, Giratina shouldn't be here.
It should be in the Distortion World right now. Its own Distortion World. Which this world doesn't have. All Legendary Pokemon must remain in their respective universes to maintain balance. And thanks to Team Plasma's actions, that balance was beginning to fall apart.
Speaking of which, due to Giratina's presence here and being far away from its own universe and the Distortion World, a large imbalance started showing. The Antimatter that emanated from the Renegade Pokemon's body was starting to react to this universe.
Flurry Heart could feel the air and ground around her being affected as the molecules themselves were being distorted. This was something that Giratina didn't want as it let out a cry from its mouth. The Antimatter was beginning to disintegrate the ground itself, bit by bit. Red and black particles were consuming the ground.
The matter in this world was being unmade by Giratina's mere existence.
The alicorn quickly turned to Giratina, hearing its cry and how it sounded like the Ghost-Dragon-Type was trying to stop this. But it couldn't.
"Oh!" Flurry Heart gasped before sending the Renegade Pokemon back into the Ultra Ball, preventing the Antimatter from disintegrating everything around it.
Soon, everything returned to normal as Giratina's cry continued from within the Ultra Ball. And Flurry Heart could most definitely hear this cry as she sighed, sitting down on the cold ground.
"Oh..." The stressed alicorn looked down. "What am I even supposed to do with this Pokemon? Mom and dad would know what to do..."
Hearing Flurry Heart's whimper of sadness and fleeting hope, the Renegade Pokemon could see that Flurry Heart was not a foe. But rather, another victim of unfortunate circumstances like itself. Knowing this and hearing her words, the Ghost-Dragon-Type decided to try and communicate with Flurry Heart. With telepathy, of course.
Although, Giratina, unlike most Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, isn't well versed in telepathy. Being alone in an entirely different dimension with barely anyone else for centuries upon centuries makes it fairly difficult to properly communicate. Nevertheless, the Renegade Pokemon attempted it anyway.
It did this by crying out from the Ultra Ball while also sending red and black pulses that went straight through Flurry Heart, connecting with her mind as she heard something shocking. "You want me to do...what?!"
Ponyville. Afternoon.
Time went on. Everypony was just getting along with their day as usual. Whether it was working at their jobs, hanging about with their friends or heading out elsewhere in Equestria.
Pikachu had just finished eating the food that Fluttershy had given him. But, it took longer for him to finish. Right now, the Electric Mouse Pokemon was walking through Ponyville on his own. Pikachu didn't exactly have a set destination at the moment.
He was just waiting for Ash to come back.
The Electric Mouse Pokemon eventually stopped walking by sitting next to Town Hall where Mayor Mare's Stoutland was also sitting about.
"Pikachu..."
"Stout?" Stoutland asked Pikachu what was wrong.
"Pikapi. PIka..."
"Land." But, Stoutland already knew about Ash's current state as he understood Pikachu's distraught emotion but also reassuring him that Ash will wake up and return eventually.
Mayor Mare came out of Town Hall, placing some Pokemon food down for Stoutland since it was time to feed him. When showing up, the mayor of Ponyville noticed Pikachu sitting next to Stoutland.
"Hm? Pikachu?" The mayor also saw the Electric Mouse Pokemon wasn't in the best mood. And she knew why. She then scooted the bowl of Pokemon food to both Stoutland and Pikachu. "Here. Would you like some?"
"Pika." Pikachu just ate so he was fine as he shook his head.
"Alright." Mayor Mare left the bowl here before re-entering Town Hall while Stoutland began digging into his food. Pikachu looked over at the rest of Ponyville, seeing everyone else getting on with their day.
The Dazzlings were having a classic sibling argument on what to do today and where to go. Adagio seems to have warmed up to Ponyville and Equestria a bit as she is now eager to get out there and try things she's never done before. Even in the Pokemon World. And her sisters will be by her side.
More Pokemon were coming by here, forming new bonds with the ponies as regulars. Especially Noctowl and other nocturnal Pokemon that keep watch over Ponyville during the night. While not having trainers, they have formed a sort of symbiotic relationship with the citizens here in this small town.
Young ponies like the Cutie Mark Crusaders were just messing around. Whether it was heading to the Pokemon exclusive locations nearby like Lapras Lake which had a Rock Attraction for Rock-Type lovers and Pokemon or even visiting PokePark and such.
More humans have even been coming by to Ponyville more recently, with Bea snacking away at SugarCube Corner due to her sweet tooth or just younger trainers playing around with the younger ponies.
But even with all of this, Pikachu still felt empty without Ash. Usually, Ash can be seen having the time of his life, trying every new thing there is without hesitation. Now, that might not happen for a while. 2 or 3 weeks max.
And speaking of Ash, Pikachu's ears picked up on something that caught his interest as they twitched. A nearby trainer was heading here to Ponyville for a Pokemon Batte against one specific person.
"Just watch. It's 100% great training practice, ya know? Ash trained my friend before and look how good she got at Pokemon battling."
"Pika?" Pikachu stood up, hearing his best friend's name come out of the mouth of someone else. He also knew that whoever this was, they were here to try and train with Ash.
He looked over to see a pegasus mare that was walking beside her little sister. One of the Pokemon Trainers taking part in inevitable and soon-to-come Equestria League.
They were here for Ash. But they would be met with an upsetting revelation since news of Ash's condition has so far only reached Ponyville and not the rest of Equestria.
"Pika!" Pikachu quickly ran off, heading for the Pokemon House while Stoutland kept eating his food.
"Stout-Stout."
"Pi! Pi! Pi!" Running as fast as he could, passing by residents of Ponyville, the Electric Mouse Pokemon was only aiming for the Pokemon House. And to speed things up, he used Quick Attack for better momentum.
The Pokemon House.
"Pikachu! Pikapi! Pika-Pika!" When he had arrived, Pikachu was expanding what he had just heard to Fluttershy, Twilight and Pinkie Pie.
"Someone's here to train with Ash? Oh...They must've not heard about what happened yet." Fluttershy translated.
"Just Ponyville. I'm pretty sure Princess Celestia herself doesn't know. Maybe Princess Luna via dreams..." Twilight responded.
"Anypony that wants to battle Ash with some training might not get that chance for a while. I know of a lot who come to ask to be trained by him to become stronger." Fluttershy turned to Twilight. "It's for the Equestria League after all."
"Well, news of it will have to pass through to most of Equestria eventually." Twilight sighed. "Let's just hope it's just 2 weeks and not more. Especially with that invasion coming soon..."
"Dino. Audino." Audino was the first to hear the incoming trainer via eight hoofsteps in total. One was the trainer and the other was her sister.
"Hm? Oh, they're here." Fluttershy uttered.
Afterwards, the pegasus and her little sister had just arrived at the Pokemon House finally, searching for Ash as he's usually seen here most of the time.
"Hello!" The orchid coloured pegasus called out. "Uh, we were told that Ash can be found here? Sorry for the intrusion, but I'm here to train with him right now."
"And I'll watch the whole thing!" The little sister waved.
"Oh. Sorry um..." Fluttershy went up to the siblings. "But Ash isn't here right now. He might not be for at least 2 or 3 weeks."
"Huh? 2 or 3 weeks? W-Why not? Where is he then?" The pegasus felt confused and a bit let down by those words.
"He's unconscious right now. He won't be able to do much for a while until he wakes up." Pinkie Pie explained. "So-so sorry!"
"Aw..." The pegasus pouted. "That's a shame. I was hoping for some refreshing up for my next Gym Battle, ya know. But, I can wait, that's fine. Even if our world's gonna be-"
"Wait." Just then, Twilight suddenly interrupted the pegasus before she could finish her sentence, stepping forward. "I'll train with you."
"Hm? Princess Twilight? You?" The pegasus' eyes widened as she pointed her hoof at the young alicorn princess.
"That's right. I'll fill in and do some practice with you instead. With Ash not available right now."
"Oh, uh, that sounds great but...I was kinda hoping for it to only be Ash. No offence princess. My friends have all been trained by him so I wanna have that same experience too. No hard feelings."
"I know. I'm not Ash. But, his Pokemon are still here." Twilight raised one wing, pointing it over at Pikachu, Lucario, Dragonite, Gengar and Farfetch'd respectively. "I can battle alongside them and train you with you instead. Plus, I picked up on some tricks that Ash taught me as well. He has trained most of Ponyville after all."
"Hmm..." The pegasus thought for a moment. "They are his Pokemon so they're extra strong...and Princess Twilight is a pretty great battler too...so this is kind of a win-win situation. She's not Ash but..."
"Whaddya think, sis?" The little pegasus asked her big sister.
"Eh. Sure." The orchid coloured pegasus shrugged. "Why not? Training is training and experience is experience no matter with who. That's uh...that's I lined I picked up from a comic, ya know?"
"Pika?" Pikachu turned to Twilight.
"Will you battle alongside me, Pikachu?" Twilight asked. "Even if I don't have that same bond Ash has with you and the others...?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed to battle alongside Twilight. Wouldn't be the first he's been under the command of some of Ash's friends. Lucario, Dragonite and the others heard this as well, knowing of Twilight's sudden decision.
Lucario actually chose to help Twilight by walking up to her. But, Farfetch'd and the others still needed time to think while on their own. Other than Pikachu and Lucario. After all, when Ash wakes up, they don't want to feel sloppy with their battling skills, so some refreshing up will still be needed either way.
The two Trainers took their positions with Twilight standing on one side and the pegasus standing on the other. Pinkie Pie would act as the referee for this as Pikachu and Lucario stood behind Twilight Sparkle.
Fluttershy, the little sister, the Pokemon living at the Pokemon House and the rest of Ash's Pokemon sat by, spectating over this incoming training session.
"Alright! The battle will be a 2 on 2!" Pinkie Pie replied. "The battle will be done for when one side is unable to continue with both Pokemon! You can both send out your Pokemon now."
"Okay! Golisopod! Go-go!" The pegasus sent her first Pokemon which was the Hard Scale Pokemon Golisopod.
"Golisopod!"
"Golisopod, huh...? Pikachu. Do you want to go up first?" Twilight asked.
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu nodded as he would most certainly like to be up first.
"Okay! I choose you, Pikachu! Go!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped over Twilight, landing in front of her with electricity sparking out of his red sacs.
"Battle Start!"
"Okay, Golisopod! First Impression!" The orchard pegasus made the first command.
"Goli...!" From the very start of the battle, Golisopod quickly dashed right in front of the Electric Mouse Pokemon at such speed that it seemed to disappear for a second.
"Oh!" Twilight gasped as she was 3 seconds behind when Golisopod moved. Before she and Pikachu knew it, the Hard Scale Pokemon swiped its claw to the side, hitting Pikachu square in the face before sending the Electric-Type flying.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out.
"Oh! Pikachu! U-Use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu quickly recovered by rolling in the air and sliding on the ground before covering his body in an aura of electricity. The Electric Mouse Pokemon then jumped into the air, raising his arms as he fired a blast of 100,000 volts from his body.
"Use Drill Run!"
"Sopod!" The Hard Scale Pokemon put on its claws out, making it spin so fast that it matched a drill immediately. Golisopod then thrust its claw at the bolt of lightning, clashing with it before both moves cancelled each other with an explosion happening afterwards.
"Use Quick Attack through it!"
"Pika!" Pikachu landed back on the ground before dashing in with a white aura outlining his body. The Electric Mouse Pokemon then moved at lightning speeds, passing through the smoke in an instant before smashing his head onto Golisopod's stomach.
"G-Goli!" Golisopod cried out as it had been knocked back by the sudden Quick Attack.
"Don't worry, Golisopod! Use Drill Run!"
"Goli-Goli-Goli!" Golisopod then started using both its claws, rotating them around like drills at high speeds while also blowing the grass around him away. The Bug-Water-Type then lunged towards Pikachu with its rotating claws.
"Pikachu! Counter with Iron Tail if you can!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu hardened his tail to match that of steel as he leapt into the air, swinging his tail upwards. In seconds, Pikachu's tail had blocked Golisopod's two claws via a side-block. The Electric Mouse Pokemon could feel the rapid moving claws beat on his tail as he winced. "Pi-Pika!"
"Goliso!" Golisopod was able to break through with its superior attack strength as it forced its claws with extra power. With that extra power, Pikachu's Iron Tail had been deflected, causing it to move to the side.
"Pika?!"
"Pod!" Golisopod then smashed both claws onto Pikachu's stomach, making the Electric-Type feel the rotating speed of it like a drill was hitting into him.
"Pi...Pikachu!" Pikachu cried out as the attack had launched him back down to the ground, causing a hard impact when landing, resulting in a crater and dust.
"Ah! Pikachu!" Twilight gasped.
"Goli." Golisopd landed down with its claws returning to normal.
"Sorry. But I have a bad habit of going all out. My friends told me if I eventually train with Ash, I should give it everything I got." The pegasus grinned.
"Goliso.
"Pi-Pika...!" But Pikachu wasn't done yet as he got up from the ground, looking over at Golisopod.
"Can't botch this...Not for Pikachu...and especially Ash." Twilight began thinking to herself. "When Ash and Pikachu battle together, they're perfectly in sync. It's the trust between them that makes that possible. I need to have that same trust with Pikachu."
"Pika!" But suddenly, Pikachu spoke to Twilight while she was thinking, looking back at the young alicorn.
"Huh? Pikachu?"
"Pikachu..." Pikachu knew that Twilight was thinking about the downside of this. He reassured her that it was going to be okay. After all, this isn't the first time Pikachu has seen something like this. The Electric Mouse Pokemon gave Twilight a bolstering and encouraging smile and look, telling her that he already had Twilight's trust for a long time now.
Their time spent together with Ash has made Twilight and Pikachu trust each other, especially when they were trapped in the Canterlot mines during the Royal Canterlot Wedding. Pikachu knows when to trust someone, much like his Trainer. That's why he is Ash's Tried and True.
"Pikachu...Okay, I gotcha." Twilight nodded in understanding. "Sorry for that. Let's finish this together!"
"Pikachu!"
"Uh...okay." The pegasus spoke after that sudden pause during the battle. "Use Drill Run again, Golisopod!"
"Goli!" Golisopod was going for another Drill Run via spinning claws as it ran right for Pikachu.
"Let's try Countershield! Spin with Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" Pikachu roared as he got on his back, spinning around like a disc before summoning a frenzy of electricity from his body. The volts of Thunderbolt shot out, spinning around like a violent whip or hurricane as there was now an electric barrier around him with multiple volts instead of just one.
"Goli!" Golisopod tried breaking through by striking its claws forward. But, when doing so, it was only met with ferocious Thunderbolts that fended off the spinning claws, moving at the same speed of Drill Run as well. "Pod?!" The Hard Scale Pokemon gasped before being shocked by a random blast of electricity. "G-Goli!"
"Oh! Golisopod!" The pegasus shot up.
"Pika-Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu sped up his spinning with the whips becoming more volatile. Golisopd was now being punished and whipped with all these volts.
"Gol! Gol! Gol!" Golisopod cried out as it had already taken heavy damage from those volts. Intimidated, the ability of Golisopod kicked in.
Emergency Exit.
Worried it might fall here, the Hard Scale Pokemon automatically returned to its Poke Ball, swapping itself out for its teammate instead. The pegasus trainer gasped as she watched her next Pokemon being sent out.
That Pokemon was Gabite.
"Ga?"
"Not again!" The pegasus facehoofed. "Whatever! This is a good chance anyway! Gabite! Use Earth Power!"
"Gabite!" Gabite understood as it put its claws through the ground, manipulating the earth itself as golden glows were starting to form along with cracks.
"Pikachu! Look out! Jump!"
"Pika!" Pikachu quickly stopped using Counter Shield, landing on all fours as large stones were erupting from the ground, heading straight for him.
"Get on those rocks with Quick Attack!"
"Pika-Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu surrounded his body in that same white glow before lunging himself towards the rocks instead of away from them. He used the speed of Quick Attack to jump from rock to rock, using them as platforms to get closer to Gabite.
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu then hardened his tail, swinging it at Gabite before hitting the Cave Pokemon square in the face, causing it to flinch.
"G-Gabite!"
"Again!"
"Pika!" Pikachu went for another Iron Tail by doing an uppercut with it, hitting Gabite's chin. The Cave Pokemon fell on its back after that sudden uppercut as Pikachu jumped back. "Pika!"
"Gabite...!" Gabite got back up, holding its chin and face after those two Iron Tails.
"Pika...!" Pikachu growled at Gabite, trying to intimidate him.
"Yeesh. This was kinda worth it actually. You're pretty good, Princess Twilight." The pegasus complimented.
"Gabite."
"Thanks. Alright. Pikachu, let's-" But before, Twilight could give out the next command, Lucario decided to step in, offering a swap-out with Pikachu.
"Luca."
"Pika?"
"Hm? He wants to swap it looks like." Fluttershy translated.
"A swap out?" Twilight looked at the Aura Pokemon. "Um...I don't know...I don't exactly have an Aura bond with you Lucario. I mean, I read that Lucario are Pokemon that usually work well with their trainers by syncing up with their Aura. I don't think I count since I'm not Ash. And I was um...kinda planning on having Dragonite up next. Sorry."
"Lu." Lucario crossed his arms as he stepped forward anyway. Whether Twilight had a strong Aura like Ash or not, Lucario couldn't deny it. The Aura Pokemon knew what he was doing as he turned to face Twilight.
While Twilight doesn't have gallant and gargantuan amounts of Aura like Ash, her own was still fairly prominent and impressive in its own right. Their coordination won't match Ash and Lucario's, but it was worth a shot anyway.
"Okay. I-I guess I'll battle with you then. Pikachu, come back for now."
"Pikachu."
"Lu!" Lucario stared down Gabite.
"Hm. This is fine. Gabite! Use Earth Power!"
"Gabite!" Gabite, once again, dug its claws into the ground, summoning large rocks from the earth itself.
"Lucario! Use Aura Sphere!"
"Luca!" Lucario crossed his arms before exuding Aura out of his body. The Aura Pokemon then put his palms together, creating a ball of Aura between it. "Rio!" With pure power, Lucario sent the Aura Sphere forward as the ball of Aura charged through the large rocks.
"Gabite?!" Gabite gasped as the sphere was effortlessly destroying the rocks it had made. And before it knew it, the Aura Sphere had struck the Cave Pokemon in the chest. "G-Gabite!" Afterwards, a blue explosion of Aura engulfed Gabite, knocking it back. "G-Ga!"
"Gabite! Fire Blast!"
"Bite!" Gabite then opened its mouth, summoning an aura of fire before shooting an intense blast of all-consuming fire in a special shape.
"Double Team, Lucario!"
"Ca!" Lucario quickly created hundreds of illusory copies of himself by moving at great speeds. The Fire Blast ended up hitting a copy instead of the real one, causing the attack to end.
"Okay! Go and use Force Palm!"
"Dragon Claw, quick! Try and find the real one!"
"Luca-ca-ca-ca!" All the copies of Lucario zoned in on Gabite with their palms glowing while Gabite created green draconic energy claws.
"Gabite!" Gabite began swinging its claws around wildly, clashing with the constant barrage of Force Palms that were coming towards it.
Left and right, it kept swiping, defeating each copy easily since they weren't the real Lucario. But, there were so many of them and they kept coming that Gabite was starting to get overwhelmed.
"G-Ga! Ga! Ga!" Gabite was trying to keep up with the hundreds of Lucario as its swinging was slowing down. It could only take so much.
"Luca!" Eventually, the real Lucario showed itself, passing through one of his clones before smashing Gabite in the face at full force.
"G-Gabite!" Gabite cried out as the orange energy of Lucario's Force Palm expanded, engulfing Gabite in it. Afterwards, an explosion occurred, destroying all the copies here while Gabite was rocketed back.
"Not my Gabite!"
"G-Ga..." Smoke trailed out of Gabite's body as it fell on its back after being hit with such an attack. Afterwards, it had fainted. "Gabite..."
"Gabite's down and out! Lucario wins!" Pinkie Pie declared.
"Lu." Lucario turned around, claiming victory as he walked away.
"Yes! Great work, Lucario!" Twilight hugged the Aura Pokemon by surprise.
"L-Lu?"
"Aw...Return Gabite." The pegasus sighed, returning her partner. "Thanks a bunch. Sorry for the sudden swap out."
"Come on sis! Put in work!" The little pegasus cried out, cheering for her big sister.
"Let's try this again." The pegasus took out Golisopod's Poke Ball before sending the Hard Scale Pokemon back out.
"Goli?"
"Alright, Pikachu. You're up again." Twilight looked at Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded as he ran forward, ready for round 2.
"Don't get too nervous, Golisopod. Let's try poisoning him! Use Poison Jab!"
"Pod!" The Bug-Water-Type dashed in, covering its claws in horrifying poison.
"Iron Tail, go!"
"Pika!" Pikachu leapt while changing his tail. "Chu...Pika!" By swinging it, Pikachu clashed with one of Golisopod's claw. Due to the metal of Iron Tail, the Poison couldn't pass through.
"Goli!" Golisopod tried again with its other claw, going for Pikachu's neck.
"Pika!" Pikachu quickly reacted by swinging his tail towards Golisopod's other claw, clashing with that one as well. The two of them went back and forth afterwards with one trying to poison and the other trying to land a proper hit. It was like two swords going at it.
"Pikachu! Jump back and use Electroweb!"
"Pika!" Pikachu then stopped using Iron Tail as he retreated, avoiding Golisopod's next poisonous swipe. The Electric Mouse Pokemon lit his tail up, creating a ball of electricity that was ready to be transformed.
"Drill Run!"
"Sopod!" Golisopod spun its claws around before charging straight at Pikachu, hoping to hit him before Electroweb comes out. Twilight was waiting for Golisopod to get close enough.
"Go!"
"Pika!" Pikachu then violently swung its tail sending the ball forward as it changed into a web. The net of electricity caught Golisopod immediately due to how close it was, encasing and halting the Hard Scale Pokemon.
"G-Goli?!" Golisopod gasped as it was now trapped within the net while also being shocked.
"Now! Thunderbolt! Full force!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped into the air, raising his arms while summoning a ferocious aura of lightning around his body. It sounded like thunder rumbling as he later sent the blast of lightning down at full power.
"Get out of there, Golisopod! Try cutting through with Liquidation!"
But it was too late.
A smite had been given to Golisopod before it could act and cut its way out. 100,000 volts rained down and struck the Hard Scale Pokemon head-on while also reacting to the web.
Afterwards, an outburst of electricity happened with Golisopod right in the centre. The Electric Mouse Pokemon looked at the explosion whilst all of the other Pokemon were startled by it.
They leaned forward to see what had become of Golisopod. And after taking an Electric attack such as that, it had unfortunately fainted.
"Golisopod..."
"Golisopod's out cold! Pikachu wins! Which means the winner is Twilight!"
"Yes! Woohoo! We did it Pikachu!" Twilight cheered with excitement as Pikachu hopped into her hooves for a hug.
"Pikachu! Pika!"
"Come here, Lucario!" Twilight also pulled Lucario in for a hug, which the Aura Pokemon wasn't too fond of. But, he could let it slide.
"Geez...Guess she learned more from Ash than I did..." The pegasus went up to her Golisopod, sighing in defeat. "Thanks a bunch, Golisopod.
"Goli..."
"Aw, you lost..." The little sister went up to her big sister, pouting.
"Yeah. My bad on that one. Guess I should've expected a lot from the Princess of Friendship." She awkwardly lost. "And I was going up against Ash's Pokemon too. Princess Twilight!"
"Hm?" Twilight turned to the orchard coloured pegasus.
"Thanks for the battle!" She waved. "It was a blast!"
"It was, wasn't it?" Twilight nodded.
"Even though I didn't get to train with Ash, I'm still pretty satisfied. Plus, I can brag to my friends that I battled the Princess of Friendship. Haha!" The pegasus laughed, returning her Golisopod as she and her sister were heading back home.
"Hah!" Pinkie dashed over to Twilight. "That was a total success! Look at that champion smile!" She held Pikachu's face as he was letting out a wide smile, no longer frowning anymore.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu was indeed feeling a bit better when battling alongside Twilight.
"Woohoo!" Fluttershy, Chikorita, Audino and Scorbunny clapped for them. Twilight then looked over at Dragonite, Gengar and Farfetch'd who had actually seen the battle occur. While they didn't take part in it, they did have better reassurance from Twilight as things were less down and glum for them.
"We might have to keep this up together until Ash wakes up? What do you say?" Twilight asked, knowing that she would be working alongside Ash's Pokemon for the following days and especially when the invasion comes by.
"Pikachu!"
It'll be a long process with trials and tribulations that Ash is mostly prepared for and now Twilight will have to be the one ready for what is it to come as the journey continues.
"So you're really sure about going on this journey?" Twilight spoke. Right now, Spike had given out some important news to his friends concerning something that involves him.
"Yeah. I figured I go on my own little adventure to get better as a Dragon Trainer, ya know." Spike responded with Axew by his side. "After hearing some advice from Drayden, I decided that Unova would be the best place to go. Apparently, the people living there are the most well-versed when it comes to Dragons."
"Axew."
"Are you sure about this?" Rarity asked. "Heading out there on your lonesome and everything."
"Ah, I won't be alone. Axew and Salamaence are by my side, so it'll be fine. Besides, I'll be back before the invasion starts. Trust me."
"Axew!"
"We do...but it's just surprising." Twilight rubbed the back of her hair. "And worrying. But we trust you for sure. Just...you know...stay safe out there."
"Count on me!" Spike crossed his arms with confidence. "Plus, I got a map to Unova too. The first place I'm heading for is the Village of Dragons."
"Aw...I wanna go on my own Pokemon Journey out there too..." Pinkie Pie pouted along with the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"We're sure that you can do it, Spike." Fluttershy nodded.
"Even if we can't come along." Applejack shrugged.
"Good luck out there." Starlight gave a reassuring smile.
"Well then..." Rarity quickly surrounded Spike with his backpack and the essentials he needed in this journey. From Pokemon food, extra Poke Balls, gems for him to eat and more. "Best not forget anything. Make sure not to run into too much trouble, alright?"
"Uh...I'll try. Anyway. We'll be off now." Spike turned around with Axew. "Let's go Axew."
"Axew-Axew!"
"Mmmm...!" Twilight began shaking as she watched Spike and Axew head off. Seeing Spike going on his own was a bit impactful to Twilight. Her friend who has always been her assistant will be away for a while. Spike is the one friend she's been with the longest as she was with him the moment he hatched from the egg he came from. And seeing him go made Twilight realize that Spike was truly all grown up but it still pained her to witness it.
"It'll be alright, Twilight." Rarity reassured. "Trust him alright?"
"Right...I will."
Unova Region. Icirrus City. Near Twist Mountain. Day.
Icirrus City. Where the sky glitters with flowers of snow. The majority of Icirrus City's buildings are located on high ground, due to the surrounding area being in a wet climate and as such having large puddles containing wild Pokemon. Windmills can also be seen towards the south end of the city.
But right now, that's not where Spike and Axew were. Instead, they had arrived at Twist Mountain. Just north of Route 7 and its eastern terminus is in Icirrus City. This area was just between the two.
"Okay." Spike looked at the map. "Just up ahead, Icirrus City. And after that, Dragonspiral Tower. The Village of Dragons should be up north from there afterwards."
"Axew."
"It's a long way there, but we'll get there eventually with this shortcut. Let's go." And thus, they went on their way, walking through Twist Mountain. Many miners could be seen working here, gathering valuable ore that Spike wouldn't mind biting into. Dust clouds also formed here with Drilbur being the most common Pokemon within it.
Twist Mountain bears a resemblance to a mine and has a complex network of caves. So Spike and Axew would be walking through many wooden bridges and caves along the way. Among other things. But that's natural for any Pokemon Trainer heading out on a journey.
Spike and Axew went through their first cave, coming across its damp and dark interior. Here, many evolution objects could be found within the dust clouds. Fire gems, Electric gems, Oval stones, Thunder stones and more just lying about, perfect for the necessary Pokemon that evolve with them.
"Bol. Bol-Boldore." Boldore could also be seen living here, climbing up the walls of the caves. Their orange crystals were also glowing, lighting up the dark cave with some natural colour.
"Ooh..." Spike and Axew admired the dazzling glow of the orange crystals.
Axew..."
"Ant. Durant-Durant." Another group of Pokemon seen here was a colony of Durant that was moving about. Currently, they were trying to hide from their natural predator Heatmor.
Since summer is arriving for both worlds, Heatmor is more commonly seen here in Twist Mountain and the Durant aren't exactly fond of that time at all.
"Heatmor..." And while hiding, Heatmor could also be seen searching for its prey, moving its blazing tongue about as it also lit up the cave with it. Much like the Boldore here.
Spike and Axew were really getting some new sights on their first journey. Albeit small sights with slight glows. He kept his eyes on the map, aiming solely for the Village of Dragons. Afterwards, he would need to seek advice and practice from the people living there.
Then, whatever advice he gets next, he'll most likely end up in another destination in Unova. This region is the one most accustomed to Dragons after all.
But after looking at the map for a while, Spike wasn't really watching where he was going as Axew was behind him. But Axew could see something up ahead that should most definitely be avoided.
"Xew? Axew!"
"Hm? What is it Axe-" Spike looked away from the map, turning to face Axew as he ended up bumping into something due to his lack of directional focus. It was something that had a very rocky surface and exterior. "Ough! Oh..."
Spike held his head after bumping into what he thought was just an ordinary rock or a wall in this cave. Instead, he bumped into something much worse as some growling could be heard. The dragon's eyes widened with his pupil shrinking as he noticed that a long shadow was being cast over him as if something was waking up and rising.
Letting out a silent gulp, Spike then turned around to see what exactly he had bumped into. Soon, it was revealed to be none other than the Rock Snake Pokemon.
Onix.
"Onix!" The Rock-Ground-Type roared Spike and Axew, causing a wind pressure to him them both as they stood there, taking the roar in.
"Uh... my bad!" Spike laughed nervously before backing away from the Rock Snake Pokemon. "Guess I should really look where I'm going next time, huh?"
"ONIX!" But Onix is an easily irritated Pokemon. Not all of them but a very good number of them can become hostile if pushed in a certain way. The Rock Snake Pokemon roared once more before swinging its tail towards Spike and Axew.
"Oh! Oh!" Spike gasped as he and Axew made the right instinctive decision to avoid the tail by running away from it. They avoided Onix's tail swing as the walls had been hit instead.
"Nix!" Focusing on the two dragons, the Rock Snake Pokemon slithered towards Spike and Axew, ready to continue attacking them as it went for a Tackle next.
"Axew! U-Use Dragon Claw!"
"Xew!" Axew understood as he stepped in front of his Trainer. When Onix approached with a full-force charge, the Tusk Pokemon summoned green draconic energy around his arms.
"Onix!"
"Axew!" Axew them put his arms out in front, standing his ground as Onix smashed into the claws of Dragon Claw. Axew strained a bit due to his little size. But even with a small body, he was able to do well as he gripped Onix's face with Dragon Claw. "Xew!"
"Nix?"
"Axew!" Axew then used the strength of Dragon Claw to lift Onix off the ground despite the body and weight difference. Axew wasn't even transforming into Haxorus or using his Equestrian Form. He was just a Unovan Axew right now.
With brute strength, Axew smashed Onix onto the wall, rumbling the cave and those within it, almost reaching the outside, before tossing the Rock Snake Pokemon aside like a ragdoll.
"O-Onix!" Onix was rightfully terrified and intimidated by that sudden strength coming from a Pokemon so small. Due to that, the Rock Snake Pokemon knew not to pick a fight with Axew or Spike, so it immediately slithered away to go and rest somewhere else but here.
From how it was crying, it sounded like Onix was calling for another Pokemon for help. Like a child calling for its parent after something terrible had happened.
"Nice going, Axew."
"Axew."
"Alright..." Spike looked back at the map. "Let's keep going. If we move through every cave, we might find a way to Icirrus. Just east from here."
"Xew."
Deciding to speed things up a bit, Spike was going to try moving through all the possible caves in this mountain just so he can find the right one that leads to Icirrus. Getting lost in Twist Mountain is the last thing anyone would want. There were only 13 of them though but they were all so gigantic and expansive.
"We're gonna get some great leg exercise if we walk there. Or uh...should we use Salamence?" Spike asked Axew.
"Axew?"
"Ah, I'm sure it'll be fine. Besides, it's more fun if things aren't rushed, ya know?"
The baby dragon and the Axe Jaw Pokemon started going through each of the caves while also keeping his eyes on the map. All the while, sightseeing the inside of the caves.
Spike also decided to ask some of the miners here if they knew which cave led to Icirrus for an easier time. Surprisingly, even the miners themselves get a bit lost here. There's a reason this place is called Twist Mountain. But, one worker told him that the upper caves have a better chance of getting Spike and Axew to their destination.
But those upper caves tend to have extremely powerful Pokemon that have a knack for battling. Mainly Gurdurr and the one single Steelix that resides here. Just at the very top. But, if Spike and Axew can avoid those, then they'll be golden.
Empress Twilight's Universe. Her main castle ship. Afternoon.
Right now, Flurry Heart was currently heading for a certain room after having Giratina speak to her. After that, the young alicorn had come up with an idea regarding Giratina's words. An idea that might actually cause further problems for her.
Flurry Heart arrived at the laboratory where she could find one object. Travel Spheres. Her plan involved her going through to another world entirely. Especially with what she had seen with Giratina.
The laboratory of Empress Twilight's ship is as expansive as it gets. Many scientists were a part of this room, building, testing and coming up with technology that far surpasses any other version of Equestria which may still be stuck in the past. Magic has become less common here as the one being who holds the most magic out of anypony is Empress Twilight.
Not only ponies but other species could be seen in this lab, working as scientists themselves. From dragons, yaks, griffins and even a few changelings here and there. It was even modelled after Twilight's old library she used to have before Tirek blew it up. Everything in this lab was made for many purposes. Some involved the upcoming invasion and others were for this world's resources specifically.
The young alicorn was beyond nervous. In truth, despite her being a part of her auntie's alliance and Empire, Flurry felt as if all of this was a bit too much for her. Having her own parents being turned to stone because of their denial and disagreement with Empress Twilight's grandiose scope of plans, ruling the Crystal Empire now turned Kingdom with little guidance and even seeing and hearing of her auntie's actions across multiple universes, Flurry Heart had concluded.
She was afraid to disobey her auntie since she's the only family she has left and it could put her in deep water with the entire Empire, but at the end of the day, she was still young and learning. And being so young, Flurry Heart knew that an invasion isn't quite what she would enjoy in all honesty. Having an entire universe being forced under her auntie's own will didn't sight right with the young alicorn.
"Okay...So you want me to get help, right?" Flurry Heart spoke to the Ultra Ball that had Giratina in it. The Renegade Pokemon responded with a telepathic pulse that went through Flurry Heart. "I hear you. I'm really sorry that you got captured and taken away. Auntie and Ghetsis have-"
"Princess Flurry Heart." Just then, a scientist griffin spoke, catching Flurry Heart off guard and causing her to jump.
"Eep!" The young alicorn squealed. "Y-Yes?!"
"Do you need something from here?" The griffin asked.
"Oh, um, yes. One little thing. I'd like to borrow or I guess, own a Travel Sphere."
"A Travel Sphere? You've never had one of your own?"
"No...Auntie doesn't really trust me, or many with them. And they're new too and everything...but it would be nice to have one of my own. Only Auntie and Luster Dawn can travel between worlds."
"You will call her by her official title. Empress Twilight Sparkle and Empress Twilight or the Empress for short." The griffin narrowed her eyes.
"We have some new ones today that have just been made. Here." The griffin grabbed a Travel Sphere, bringing it over. "But...did the Empress properly ask you to come for one?"
"Hm?" Flurry Heart scrunched her face. She knew that despite her title and rank as a princess, everyone up here in this ship, most of them anyway, are somehow of greater importance than her. Even the scientists themselves. "Well...I'm heading off to find Luster Dawn. She hasn't been back yet ever since she went to search for the Galar Particles. Auntie, I mean, the Empress asked me to help find her."
"Hm." The griffin was still a bit suspicious about all of this. She looked into Flurry Heart's eyes, making the alicorn a bit more nervous about this as the plan might not go so swimmingly.
However, the longer the griffin stared, that's when Giratina decided to do something. From within the Ultra Ball, the Renegade Pokemon managed to send an Antimatter pulse that went straight for the scientist griffin.
"!" The scientist felt the Antimatter flow through her as she was paralyzed on the spot. For a split second, the griffin scientist was shown a million violent thoughts and actions that Giratina had caused long ago, which was the reason why it was banished to the Distortion World in the process. Horrible actions that are unheard of and indescribable. Many that can only be resisted by someone with equal thoughts or strong mental resistance.
Unable to comprehend all of those thoughts going through her head, the scientist griffin passed out on the spot while still standing. She didn't even fall over. Flurry Heart looked around, noticing that none of the other scientists had witnessed the pulse or the knockout.
"Um...I'll just take this." Flurry Heart took the Travel Sphere. "Thank you!" Afterwards, she had left the lab with a frozen scientist just standing there. Someone was going to notice this eventually.
Success so far. Obtaining a Travel Sphere was the major crux in this as Flurry Heart was going to use it to head somewhere. But she wasn't using it to find Luster Dawn.
Then, Giratina spoke to Flurry Heart again via telepathy. Another pulse went through as Flurry Heart listened in on the words the Renegade Pokemon said.
"You want me to take you...there?" Flurry was a bit surprised by what Giratina had just said. "But, don't you want to head back to your own world?"
Giratina responded once more, this time with an audible cry that made the Ultra Ball shake.
"That world has a good mix of Pokemon and Equestria Magic...They'll help us? Um...T-That's maybe not a good idea. I mean, auntie's gonna invade that world soon and..."
Giratina reassured Flurry Heart.
"Okay. I'll go there. Auntie's not going to like this one bit."
Twist Mountain, afternoon.
Through the upper caves, Spike and Axew have been walking for minutes now. Almost a full hour even. It was hard to tell if any actual progress was being made. The two of them were starting to get tired with their legs aching. And at this rate, they may never find the right spot to reach Icirrus City.
Worn out, the two of them sat down on the corner of one of the upper caves, deciding to rest a bit. Although, Spike promised that he wouldn't take too long on this journey. But that promise might not be holding up so good.
"What's up with this mountain?" Spike sighed, resting his head on the walls with his partner.
"Axew..."
"Okay. You know what? How about we just fly there?" Spike held out Salamence's Poke Ball. "Maybe rushing it isn't such a bad idea after all."
"Xew..."
"Hm." But, before he could send Salamence out, the baby dragon looked over at one of the gems here that were nearby. Specifically, a Fire Gem. Curious, he picked the gem up. "Wonder what this stuff actually tastes like."
Spike eats gems and these Pokemon Gems count as well. So, to his curiosity, the baby dragon was wondering what would happen if decided to snack on a gem holding Infinity Energy that powers up Fire-Type attacks.
With all that curiosity and a bit of nervousness in his body, Spike bit the Fire Gem, eating it for the first time. Upon the first bite, Spike noticed that this gem was bot surprisingly tasty but obviously spicy.
"Mmm!" Spike's eyes lit up with a red glow. "S-Spicy!"
"Axew?" After that spicy snack that Spike had, Axew felt some rumbling through the caves all of a sudden. Rumbling that was not natural. Almost as if something hard was moving the cave system.
"Hm?" Spike looked up, feeling the rumbling himself as small rocks fell from above. He took another bite of the Fire Gem before noticing that the rumbling was getting closer. And the odd noise causing it as well. "What is that?"
"Xew? Axew!" Then, Axew noticed a familiar face heading this way by slithering from the side of this cave, prompting him and Spike to stand up.
"Huh?!"
When they looked to the corner, they saw that Onix had returned. It hadn't forgotten about what happened earlier today at the previous cave.
"Oh. It's just Onix."
"Xew."
"Onix! Nix! Onix!" Before, Onix slithered away in fear of Axew because of how strong he was. While slithering away, Onix was crying out for another Pokemon for help. But it was unclear which Pokemon it was calling for.
But, it would soon become a clarity. Spike and Axew froze as they saw a large shadow showing up from the corner, one larger than Onix and enough to cover the Rock Snake Pokemon. And this was the Pokemon that Onix called for. Its superior evolution.
Steelix.
"Steelix!" With an even greater roar than Onix that shook the entirety of Twist Mountain, Spike and Axew looked right at the face of the Iron Snake Pokemon with poker faces. They weren't exactly intimidated by Steelix. Mostly because they were a bit tired to be scared.
"Oh..." Spike's ears were ringing a bit as she shook his head. "Ah, it's fine. Having a quick battle to freshen before heading back out is a great idea. Do you think so, Axew?"
"Xew! Axew!"
"Steel...!" The Ground-Steel-Type growled at Spike and Axew.
"We'll just make this quick. Axew! Transform!"
"Axew!" Axew nodded as he closed his eyes, focusing all that Fusion magic from within his body. He switched from his Unovan Axew form to his Equestrian Axew Form via a quick flash of golden light. But it wasn't over yet. "Xew!" The Tusk Pokemon then raised his arms as the golden light around him came back, growing in size while lighting up the whole cave.
"Ax! Ax! Ax! Axorus!" Out of the light, bursting with energy, Equestrian Haxorus was here. In all of its azure and golden glory. "Haxorus!"
"Steelix!" Steelix went on the offensive by using Iron Head. A jagged shiny pattern appeared on Steelix's forehead with a silver aura as it charged towards Haxorus.
"Haxorus, use Close Combat!"
"Xorus!" Haxorus also charged towards Steelix as both Pokemon went straight for each other. Haxorus released a swing from his arms, clashing with Steelix's hardened head. As if it wasn't hardened enough. The ground beneath them trembled along with the cave from their clash.
"Steel!
"Hax!"
Then, the two Pokemon started going back and forth with Haxorus' fists clashing with Steelix's forehead constantly without any guarding. Haxorus swung his tail, smacking Steelix in the face, but the Iron Snake Pokemon quickly replied by smashing its head onto Haxorus's face in retaliation.
Afterwards, Haxorus grabbed Steelix's face like he did with Onix. But, Steelix seemed to be heavier than its pre-evolution buddy. Onix was only 210.0 kg while Steelix was a whopping 400.0 kg.
"H-Haxo...!" And Haxorus could most certainly feel that weight difference as he was straining a bit. Knowing this, Steelix smirked as it decided to catch Haxorus off guard.
"Steelix!" By using Stone Edge while Haxorus held its head, the Iron Snake Pokemon summoned pointed light blue rock pillars to appear from beneath as they struck Haxorus's stomach and chest.
"Xorus! Haxorus flinched as he was knocked back by the numerous pillars, falling on his back.
"Steel!" Steelix then followed up by generating Flash Cannon in its mouth. The Ground-Steel-Type began gathering all its light energy, forming a silver beam with metal properties within it, ready to fire it at Haxorus who was on the ground.
"Haxorus, quick! Shut his mouth!
"Hax!" Haxorus narrowed his eyes before getting back up. This time, he wasn't going for a traditional attack. When getting up, the Axe Jaw Pokemon put his hands on Steelix's mouth.
"Steel?!
"Haxo!" Before Steelix could fire Flash Cannon, Haxorus shut its mouth, closing it and causing Steelix's teeth to tremble from that. But even worse, when its mouth was shut, the energy that Stelix had gathered blew up inside of the Iron Snake Pokemon's mouth, causing the silver and metal energy to explode and cover its face.
"Steel! Steelix certainly felt that one as it almost fell on its back as well.
"Now, Haxorus! Close Combat!"
"Haaaax...!" With Steelix flustered and befuddled by the explosion to the face inside of its own mouth, this gave Haxorus all the time in the world to land every last bit of Close Combat. "Haxo! Xo! Xo! Xo! The Axe Jaw Pokemon started giving out a flurry of punches to Steelix's face without stopping. Each hit more relentless than the last as Steelix was getting pummeled.
"S-Steelix...!
"Xo! Xo! Xo! Haxo...!" Haxorus then held Steelix on the head with one hand before using the other one to uppercut the Iron Snake Pokemon's chin, shattering most of its teeth as Steelix was sent flying through the cave. A large hole in the ceiling cave could be seen, letting the sun rays beam through.
"Onix?!" Onix gasped, seeing its friend being sent through the cave like a rocket. It was at this moment that Onix and even Steelix picked a fight with the wrong Trainer and Pokemon as the Iron Snake Pokemon came back down, hitting the ground hard.
"Steelix..."
"There. That's that."
"Haxo."
"O-Onix?!"
"Listen Onix. I didn't mean to bump into you earlier. Honest mistake on my part. But attacking Haxorus and I isn't doing us any favour."
"Nix."
"Steel." Steelix got back up with its eyes spinning around. It then turned to Haxorus and Spike, seeing how formidable they were.
"Sorry if we went overboard there. Haxorus and I get a bit excited when battling, ya know?" Spike shrugged.
"Lix." Steelix sighed as it accepted its defeat and acknowledge the strength of Spike and Axew. Right now, it just wanted to rest and not be bothered. So, it slithered away with Onix following.
And that was the end of that. Haxorus returned to his Unovan Form before shrinking back to an Axew. There was nothing else to do here now.
"Phew...Okay." Spike took out Salamence's Poke Ball. Let's head to Icirrus this way. We've got a lot to do pal. Oh! We should keep a log on what we've done and send it to Twilight and the others! How does that sound?"
"Axew!"
Onwards to Icirrus City. There was a lot to cover but little to do on this dragon adventure. Spike is aiming to be the best Dragon Trainer he can become and hoping that he can return before the invasion begins.
He's determined to do so as his major stop was the Village of Dragons. This was just the start of his little dragon quest. While there haven't been any dragons involved yet, when there are, Spike will have the biggest adventure of his life yet as the journey continues.
Finally, Spike and Axew had arrived here via riding on Salamence's back. After walking through every cave in Twist Mountain, seeing some neat sightings within the cave and battling against a Steelix, it was about time they got here. The Dragon Trainer journey now continues.
"Thanks, Salamence. Return." Spike returned Salamence to his Poke Ball before standing before Icirrus City. He and Axew them got a move on. Due to it being summer, Icirrus City didn't have its usual snow around. If it did, then ice skating would be the main way to travel here.
Now that he was here, up ahead was Dragonspiral Tower. Just towards the North. Summer Form Deerling could be seen beside their trainers due to the season and weather. There were puddles here where many Water and Ground-Type Pokemon could be found. Some people here were practising some dancing via spinning and turning, singing something about dragons.
Here a Pokemon Fan Club also existed. There's always one club in every region after all. Spike saw this Fan Club and was thinking of experiencing it, but he put his main goal and objective first before anything else. Although Spike promised to come back in a few days before the invasion starts, taking a little detour wouldn't hurt. The journey is mostly better than the destination at times.
"Okay uh... "Spike looked up ahead while also staring at the map. "The Village of Dragons is just up ahead. North from the Dragonspiral Tower and a bit to the west. East, north, south, then west again then...oh..." Spike was getting a bit befuddled reading this map. The Village of Dragons isn't exactly the easiest place to get through due to its obscure and rare. "Let's see if someone knows an easier way."
"Xew-Axew."
Some more directional asking of the people of Unova sounded like a consistently good idea. It worked before with Twist Mountain and the upper caves, albeit, taking a while to get anywhere.
The people practising their dancing were a bit busy so they were out of the question. But everyone else seemed available as Spike went up to the first person here. A lady feeding her Deerling.
"Hey there!" Spike called out to the lady and her Deerling.
"Hm? She looked over at the baby dragon and his Axew. From the first glance, the lady was stunned by seeing a dragon from another world, mainly Equestria here. "Oh, hello there! Look at how cute you are!"
"Deer?"
"Uh hehe..." Spike laughed with a bit of embarrassment. Not many call him cute or anything of the like except for when he first met Fluttershy and a few foals here and there. "Thanks."
"Straight from Equestria, I assume. What do you need little one?"
"Well, I was kinda hoping for an easier way to the Village of Dragons. It says here that's it's just up ahead past Dragonspiral Tower and I need to go a bunch of directions but..."
"Oh, that's fine. A lot of people get confused with the way to the Village of Dragons. It's not an easy place to reach, that's for sure."
"Oh. So then, do you know the way?"
"Well, you can get a better view over up at Dragonspiral Tower." The lady pointed at the tower in the distance. "But, really, Opelucid City is where its nearest. Mayor Drayden and the Dragon Trainers there know a lot about it after all."
"Opelucid CIty? Oh!" Spike facepalmed. "I should've gone there first! But uh...I didn't even know the gateway for it. Should've asked Drayden before I left...Can I see the city from up at Dragonspiral Tower too?"
"Opelucid and Icirrus are very close to each other so you don't have to worry." The lady shook her head. "It's not a long walk from here."
"Phew." Spike had a sigh of relief. "Got a bit worried there. Oh, but can I learn something from Dragonspiral Tower too? I'm journeying to become a great Dragon Trainer so I need all the Dragon related info I can get and find."
"You could get something from the tower." She nodded. "After all, it's the oldest tower in the Unova region. But no one knows its history."
"No one?"
"Nope. But it's said that it's where Legendary Pokemon are created and slumber. Legendary Pokemon like Reshiram and Zekrom."
"Reshiram and Zekrom?" Spike narrowed his eyes. "I think I've heard of those two Pokemon before..."
"It's hard not to. They're the Legendary figures of Unova. And essentially our heroes. Well, that and they belonged to two heroes."
"Two Heroes?" Spike was getting interested as he was starting to learn a lot.
"Mhm. Two heroes or rather princes were originally Trainers of the two Legends. The Legendary Pokemon Reshiram and Zekrom shared their wisdom with the Heroes of Truth and Ideals and defied foes with columns of fire and lightning. The heroes and Pokemon were as close as parent and child. It was truly awe-inspiring to see them!"
"Ooh..."
"Axew..."
"They've both likely bestowed their knowledge with many heroes of the past. In fact, that's what those four are dancing about." The lady pointed over at the dancing group.
"Hm?" Spike and Axew looked over, getting a better look at the dancers who were also singing, practising something about Reshiram and Zekrom.
"Truth and ideals. Move forward in hand." One man sang trying to get the right pitch and tone.
"Fused by Splicers. Divided by Splicers." A woman followed up.
"Where one is divided, the world will broaden." Another woman sang, almost stuttering with her words.
"Truth! Ideals! Two Dragons! Yeah!" A more energetic man bellowed, raising his hands in excitement. "I got it right this time, eh?"
"Ah...No..." The first woman held her face. "That won't do. We're not really in sync here guys."
"I think my words got mixed up with hers." The first man pointed at the second woman as they were going to take it from the top, continuing to practice their routine and song.
"See? That's just this city. Everywhere you'll go, you'll learn about Reshiram and Zekrom." The lady nodded at Spike.
"Awesome...But uh...what's up with Splicers? What are those?"
"Hm? Ah." The lady shrugged. "That's as far as my knowledge goes. Hope I helped you though."
"Sure did!" Spike exclaimed. "Up next is Dragonspiral Tower to see what's up with that and then Opelucid City to the Village of Dragons!"
"Axew!"
"Good luck! Have fun!" The lady whistled as she and her Deerling waved goodbye to Spike and Axew. "Oh, but one more thing! If you're aiming to be a great Dragon Trainer, I'd advise fishing! The bridge of Dragonspiral Tower has a large body of water and you could find your next Dragon Pokemon there! And inside the tower too!"
"Ooh!" Spike shot up after that. "I'll remember that! Thanks!"
"Axew!" And with that, they left the point of view of the lady and her Deerling with their voices fading off in the background. Everything seemed fine for a few minutes until the lady remembered something crucial.
"Ah...I should've probably told him to get a Fishing Rod."
"Deerling."
Dragonspiral Tower. The oldest tower in the Unova region.
And its age certainly showed. While still looking in good condition, its ancient aura was definitely emanating out as it was surrounded by an acre of trees and a large body of water with concrete pillars within the water.
Spike and Axew stood before the bridge that connected to the tower. The sense of obscurity from the tower and its atmosphere could be felt through their bodies. It made them shudder a small bit but also enchanted them.
"There it is," Spike spoke while gazing at the structure.
"Axew."
"So. Inside first or the river?"
"Xew..." Axew himself was deciding which approach should they take first. "Axew." He suggested trying the water first and then the indoors.
"Water it is." Spike turned to the river. "Okay uh...I don't have a fishing rod with me right now so..."
"Xew." Axew would take care of this as he stepped forward onto the bridge. In his minuscule body, Axew might not be able to do much underwater. But as a Haxorus, that might be different since he has better mobility and speed as a Haxorus. "Axe. Ax...Axorus!" Yelling at the top of his lungs, the Tusk Pokemon was engulfed in a golden light before transforming into his final evolution, Haxorus.
"Haxorus!"
"Nice-nice!" Spike clapped. "Okay, Haxorus! Go see what you can spot!"
"Xo!" Nodding in understanding, the Axe Jaw Pokemon then personally dived into the river for a swim, creating a fairly large splash when he went in, getting Spike and parts of the bridge wet.
"Oh..." Spike groaned after getting wet. He then sat down on the bridge waiting for Haxorus to finish up. But, as he sat down waiting, the lady from before and her Deerling came running over.
"Wait! Hold on!" She cried out to Spike.
"Hm?" Spike recognized that voice as he turned around, spotting the familiar face of the lady from Icirrus City.
"Fishing rod! You need a fishing rod!" She held up a Super Rod in her hands.
"Ooh! I was just thinking about that!" Spike sat up as the lady lent the Super Rod to him. "Thanks for that."
"Super Rod is the way to go." She gave a thumbs up. "That'll fish you up maybe a Dratini or more."
"I like the sound of that." Spike looked at the Super Rod which was taller than him in every way. Then again, everything in Equestria is practically minuscule in the eyes of the Pokemon World.
"Okay, I'll leave you to it. Bye-bye!" The lady had done her job. Now she could actually properly say goodbye to Spike with Deerling. Until Spike comes back this way to head home that is.
"Deerling!"
"Bye!" Spike gave his goodbyes before turning to face the river. "Oh. I should probably tell Haxorus now. Wonder how he's doing down there?"
Speaking of Haxorus, the Axe Jaw Pokemon was swimming about in the river, searching for a potential new teammate and friend. So far, all he could see was Basculin everywhere. Red and Blue.
And about those Basculin, they were keeping a good distance away from Haxorus considering his intimidating appearance overall. Just as fierce as a Unovan Haxorus. But, while the Basculin were staying away from Haxorus, other Pokemon, not so much.
Most notably, Carvanha. While not native or common to Unova, they do sometimes swim around here by moving from sea to sea. And when moving to different seas, they usually claim territories of their own.
This river at Dragonspiral Tower is one of them. And right now, in their eyes, Haxorus was trespassing in their territory. If anything invades Carvanha’s territory, it will not hesitate to take action. Although, Carvanha are such cowards that they won’t hunt alone. When five or so of them get together, that's when they gain confidence and ferocity.
And that's exactly what was about to happen now. All the Carvanha, a large school of them, set their eyes on the Axe Jaw Pokemon despite the astronomical size difference.
"Car...Carvan!" Once their eyes locked onto Haxorus, they all began their attack. They started by circling the Axe Jaw Pokemon in massive numbers that seemed to overpopulated the river.
Each of the Savage Pokemon surrounded Haxorus like columns, making the Axe Jaw Pokemon fully aware of which Pokemon were within his presence.
"Hax?" Haxorus saw the sudden appearance of all these Carvanha that were circling him from all sides. Even above and below, he was being circled. The Axe Jaw Pokemon wasn't exactly sure what was going on right now. "Xorus?"
"Carvanha!" Then, the Carvanha initiated their full-on attack as they each swam towards Haxorus, ready to bite into him with their strongly developed sharp jaws. They're powerful enough to rip out boat hulls after all. They don't even need to use a Pokemon move to deal heavy damage.
But they all do know Crunch and Bite fittingly.
"Haxo?!"
"Vanha!" The Savage Pokemon opened their mouths wide, with 10 of them already getting close enough to Haxorus. Those ten Carvanha clamped their sharp fangs into Haxorus' arms, tail, leg and back all at once with no remorse.
"Hax!" Haxorus winced as he most certainly felt that one. Most of his body was being gnawed on by boat-piercing fangs. But, Haxorus is a Pokemon known for its hard armoured skin that covers them. However, Carvanha's fangs are nothing to scoff at.
Knowing and experiencing this for himself, Haxorus had to shake them off before the rest of Carvanha bite onto him. He did this by exuding draconic energy and pure muscle from his body, blowing the Carvanha off him while also shaking the river itself with ripples.
Now he had to deal with every Carvanha here. Each of the Savage Pokemon here all collectively used Aqua Jet on the Axe Jaw Pokemon. The Carvanha lunged at the Dragon-Type at speeds that made them almost invisible by covering themselves in an aura of water.
"Haxo?!" But, Haxorus could most certainly keep up with them as he roared, using Dragon Claw to try and stop them. He swiped and swung his claws around, hitting the Carvanha each time they got close with accurate precision and devastating strength to boot.
All the while, Spike was sitting down silently with his Super Rod, waiting to see if he could find himself a new Dragon-Type to add to his team. He was also wondering if Haxorus was going to come back up.
"When's Haxorus gonna come back up? Is he that good at holding his breath?" Spike wondered, sitting them with absolute silence filling the air of Dragonspiral Tower.
But, while Spike was fishing, he could feel some rumbling in the river itself, making the bridge shake along with the Super Rod. Even his body was shaking. The baby dragon narrowed his eyes at the water, wondering what was causing all that noise.
Just as he leaned in to see what it was, out of the water with a fairly large sound, three Carvanha came flying out, fainting in the process as Spike leaned back in shock and surprise.
"Gah!" Spike gasped, falling on his back as the three fainted Carvanha fell back into the river afterwards with more rumbling. The baby dragon then stood up, looking into the river, wondering what was going on. But, judging by how there was all that rippling and shockwaves going about, he could tell who was causing this. "Haxorus?"
"Xorus!" Haxorus held two Carvanha with his hands, squeezing and letting out a mighty roar while more Carvanha gnawed onto him. This time with the attacks Crunch and Bite with a hint of Poison Fang.
But, Haxorus could endure it as he spun his body around as fast he could. With the speed he was spinning at, Haxorus was pulling parts of the water onto him, creating a veil of water that was shaped like a tornado. And it acted like a tornado too, pulling in the other Carvanha while also circling the ones that were near him.
The water tornado caught all the Carvanha, spinning them around and causing them all to become befuddled and dazed within it while Haxorus kept going.
Due to his continuous spinning, Haxorus' water tornado was growing so much that it flew through the river, reaching the surface for Spike himself to see. As if he wasn't surprised already. Now, he witnessed many Carvanha being carried and spun by a sudden water tornado.
"Awesome..."
And out of the tornado, Haxorus emerged, defeating all of the Carvanha as he separated the water itself, getting Spike even wetter. "Haxorus!"
"Oh, there you are Haxorus!"
"Haxo." Haxorus then descended to the ground, landing right on the bridge with all the Carvanha landing back in the water, defeated.
"Did you find a Dragon Pokemon down there?"
"Xo." He shook his head.
"Hm...Ah, it's fine. Let's try the inside next. We can always come back and try fishing here again."
"Haxorus!"
Equestria. Canterlot outskirts. Afternoon.
Over at Canterlot, just outside of its reach, a gateway was forming. One that had been opened by someone from another world. But this time, it was for a good intention. Neither Team Plasma nor any of Empress Twilight's forces had activated this gateway.
Instead, it was Flurry Heart. All part of her plan. After grabbing the Travel Sphere from her own universe, she was told by Giratina to come to one location. Not Giratina's original world, but this world. The perfect mixture that has everything Flurry Heart has known as well as everything Giratina knows.
At least, what it knows in the Distortion World.
Out of the gateway, Flurry Heart emerged as she was greeted with the dazzling shine of the golden sun and blue skies of this Equestria. Not only that, but she also saw how the skies were filled with Flying-Type Pokemon soaring about along with pegasi.
Everything about this was familiar yet unfamiliar to her. Compared to her current home, this was seen as a revamp or a blast to the past.
"Oh..." The alicorn gazed at the beautiful sight of Canterlot. Especially the castle. While it reminded her of her auntie's castle ship and many other ships that happen to have Canterlot Castle's interior, it had a different feeling to it. One that felt good and pure instead of ominous and intimidating.
It was something that Flurry Heart was missing as she took in the sweet air of Canterlot. "Okay. We're here now. I guess this is the perfect place to get help. Even if it might be next for my auntie to take over."
"Skitty." Just then, walking up to the alicorn princess was the always curious and bubbleheaded Skitty came over to Flurry Heart, only because it found her mane to be very attractive.
"Hm? Ah!" When seeing Skitty, Flurry got a bit of a jumpscare as the Kitten Pokemon's fur had rubbed on her hoof. But afterwards, Flurry Heart noticed that it wasn't a threat. Just a curious creature. "Oh...That scared me..."
"Skit! Skitty!"
"What are you? So cute!" When getting a better look at Skitty, Flurry Heart admired the cuteness of this cat-like creature, picking it up with her hooves. "I haven't seen anything this cute in like...um...a long time!"
"Kitty!" Admiring the compliment, Skitty decided to respond by shooting a Water Pulse at Flurry Heart, getting her face wet immediately.
"Oh..." A wet-faced Flurry Heart uttered as her mane was over her face. "That does not negate the cuteness."
"Skitty!"
"So...this is where you want to be, right?" Flurry Heart Spoke to the Ultra Ball where Giratina resided. The Renegade Pokemon responded via telepathic pulse that confirmed it. "Okay. I'll see if I can find some help. Canterlot Castle looks like a good place to start. But... you said you wanted to come out here as well?"
Giratina responded with another telepathic pulse, explaining to Flurry Heart that this world can manage Giratina's Antimatter since it is merged with the Pokemon World. All that Infinity Energy is very beneficial.
"Gotcha. But, maybe not out in the open right now. Don't wanna scare anypony." Afterwards, Flurry Heart was heading straight for Canterlot with confidence while being a tad bit nervous.
She wasn't sure how everypony was going to react to her considering she was an alicorn. And in this timeline, her baby self is still prominent and has a very distinct appearance that makes her very recognizable from first glance. It might make things awkward, but she was hoping to explain everything.
When she eventually reached Canterlot, the first thing she came across were the royal guards standing by the gates of Canterlot. Due to the incoming invasion, everyone is on high alert, especially the guards of Canterlot. There is no room for weakness right now and they even had their Golurk beside them.
Obviously, in a sense, Flurry Heart could be considered an enemy if her original universe is given away. And that was something she was not looking forward to.
She was also hoping that Giratina doesn't mess with the guards' mind like it did with that one griffin scientist back in Flurry Heart' world.
With a nervous gulp, she stood before the guards and their Golurk, stopping in place. "A-Afternoon."
"Afternoon." The guards replied as they stared at Flurry Heart to dictate why she's here and what to do. However, when looking at her, they immediately recognized her as an alicorn. "Oh, you're a princess?"
"A very familiar one too..." The second guard narrowed his eyes. "Have we seen you somewhere before? Pardon our rudeness."
"Oh. Uh, you have?" Flurry Heart was trying not to spill the truth out and mention her baby-self in this world as she let out a nervous grin.
"Yeah...I recognize those colours anywhere..." The first guard observed. "But that can't be, right? She was only born months ago."
"Princess Flurry Heart, right?" The second guard replied to his friend which made Flurry Heart shoot up. "Are you her, by any chance, princess uh..."
"My name? Well, my name is..." Flurry Heart bit her lip, looking down the ground as Skitty, who decided to tag along, looked over at the guards while Giratina stayed silent in the Ultra Ball.
"Skitty."
However, that silence didn't last forever, as Giratina sent a telepathic pulse, encouraging Flurry Heart to let the truth out instead of freezing the guards. Giratina can tell when someone's heart is good and when it is cruel.
"F-Flurry Heart. That's my name."
"Oh! It is you?! Seriously?!" They both said.
"Ah well....haha...well, yes. But..." She laughed nervously. "You see I..."
"Oh! Did you use the Age-Up spell?!" The first guard exclaimed.
"Eh?"
"Oh yeah, that makes sense, doesn't it? But at such a young age?" The second guard chimed in. "For somepony to use a spell that great they'd need amazing magic talents and skills."
"Her magic was stellar at the start remember? Destroying the Crystal Heart and everything."
"That was an honest mistake. I was just a baby so I couldn't really control it." Flurry Heart spoke as those words further made the guards believe that it was indeed an aged up version of her.
"Hm." The two guards looked at each other, nodding in understanding as they conclude. "Well. It's you alright. But...why are you here exactly?"
"I was hoping to come and see Princess Celestia and Luna. I need help. Big help. And it involves this Pokemon right here." Flurry Heart showed the Ultra Ball to the guards.
"Well, right this way, princess." The guards chose to let her in.
"Alright. Thank you!" Flurry Heart whistled as she entered Canterlot with Skitty following along. She had a lot to say and hopefully help with here in this world. One that could greatly benefit everyone later on when the invasion comes around.
And she was doing this while also taking advice and guidance from Giratina.
"...You think she's just an alternate universe version of the princess?" The first guard theorized.
"Meh. Who knows?"
Unova. Dragonspiral Tower. Indoors. Afternoon.
Finally, Spike and Axew had entered the indoors of the tower. And what a sight it was. In the past, Ash had actually been here in the tower, so his presence could most certainly be felt. It was almost as if Ash was watching Spike and Axew despite being in an unconscious state.
But aside from that, many pillars that were identical to the ones outside that surrounded the castle were half broken and laying on the floor with rubble.
There were 7 floors in total. Featuring a variety of stairs that were so abundant, sparse and rickety that only someone like King Sombra would enjoy this.
Not just that, but each floor looked like it had its own unique appearance. The first floor was fairly standard and what someone would expect from a tower. But after that, the next floors can be considered otherworldly.
"Oh boy..." Spike looked at the intimidating stairs and height of this tower. From the outside, the tower was already tall, but seeing it up close really gave him and Axew a better scope of what they were witnessing. "There are seriously Pokemon in here?"
"Axew..."
"Alright. Let's see what Pokemon we can find. Then we'll head up to the very top with Salamence, okay?"
"Xew! Axew!"
Thus, they got moving, walking through the first floor of the many area anchors in this tower. Apart from the green textured floors with odd symbols on each tile, there was a beautiful and sparkling pool of water that looked like it had cosmic stars around it.
Spike and Axew certainly took some time to admire it while climbing and jumping over the large fallen over pillars littered everywhere. The first floor wasn't relatively that big compared to the other floors, but it was fairly expansive and there was a plethora to explore.
But Spike was keeping a good lookout for any Pokemon living here. Though he wondered why anyone would want to live in someplace so ancient with mess everywhere.
He was soon going to find out which Pokemon would live here.
When walking on the first floor, Spike and Axew heard some nearby footsteps that rippled the pool of the tower. Footsteps that sounded like they belonged to a giant.
"Hear that?"
"Xew."
"Those sound pretty heavy and tough. It came from over there!" Spike pointed to the north. That's definitely a Dragon Pokemon for sure! Come on!"
"Axew!"
The two dragons ran over to the direction and rumbling of those bulky footsteps. They were hoping that it was a Dragon Pokemon. Possibly one they haven't seen yet and would love to have on the team as they jumped over the large rocks and pillars of this castle.
The footsteps were getting louder and closer. A good sign that their target was near. Spike also got a clearer look at what to expect on the other floors when he gets there. It's going to be a real trip through this entire tower. But, Salamence would seemingly make things easier for him for sure.
Once they arrived in the direction of the footsteps, which was around the corner, their excited smiles quickly turned into disappointing frowns when it was revealed which Pokemon was causing those footsteps.
It was a Golurk.
"Golurk?"
"Oh...Just Golurk..." Spike and Axew sighed. "I mean, that's a pretty good Pokemon too."
"Axew..."
"Lurk." Golurk turned to face the newcomers of the castle, putting Spike and Axew on high alert as the Automaton Pokemon was now staring at them. This could mean that a Pokemon Battle was in store.
"Uh...!" Spike stood tall. "J-Just a quick question before we probably battle...do you know where we can find a Dragon Pokemon here? Maybe? Please?"
"Lurk...Golurk." Golurk actually chose not to fight as it pointed right near the start of the second floor. Just near the stairs which were already far away. There, they would find a Dragon Pokemon for sure.
After all, there are only three Pokemon species in this entire tower. Golurk being one of them.
"Just near the second floor, huh? Got it. Thank you!" Spike and Axew thanked the Automaton Pokemon as they ran towards the location of the second floor. Just near and below it.
"Golurk."
The duo jumped over the pool of stardust water heading for their new set destination. He could feel more footsteps nearby, most likely belonging to another Golurk.
And he wasn't wrong. From the corners of this floor, more Golurk appeared, walking by, doing practically nothing in all honesty. Spike wondered what the Golurk actually do here in this run-down castle aside from just walking about. But, he quickly forgot about that and only shifted focus on the unseen Dragon Pokemon.
The Golurk did not engage with Spike and Axew. They are fairly passive Pokemon, but when the time comes, they take a call to action for sure. Especially when that seal on their chest gets removed. Although, it becomes more of a rampage than a call to action if it gets removed.
The duo of dragons were close to reaching the second floor as they could practically feel the unseen Dragon Pokemon nearby as their smiles returned. After this, they couldn't wait to get to the Village of Dragons.
"I wonder what the village is like? I might get to learn some stuff about Dragon Pokemon I've never even known about! Oh! Like-"
But, before Spike could fantasize and speak what he was hoping to discover and experience the Village of the Dragons when he eventually gets there, from above, a swift shadow came flying down at high speeds. Faster than Spike and Axew could react too.
This shadow seemed to perform some sort of dive kick as it smashed its leg into the ground, causing a hole to form while startling Spike and Axew. The two of them came to a screeching halt as they gasped collectively.
The shadow was quickly revealed to be one of the three species residing in this tower. The evolved form of Mienfoo and the Martial Arts Pokemon.
Mienshao.
"Mienshao!"
"Mienshao?" Spike spoke.
"Mien. Mien-Mien." The Martial Arts Pokemon stood tall, standing before Spike and Axew as it didn't seem here to battle.
Yet.
But it certainly was here to confront them. After hearing what Golurk said and their small conversation, the Martial Arts Pokemon pointed its arms over to the location where Spike and Axew were originally headed at.
The Trainer and Pokemon followed the arm movements of Mienshao as they noticed it was pointing at the nearby stairs to the second floor, causing them to squint and tilt their heads.
Turns out, Mienshao knew of the Dragon-Type Pokemon as well as it was quickly revealed with Dragon-Type it was. From the corner and near the stairs, some new footsteps could be heard, belonging to a different Pokemon that wasn't a Golurk.
It was yet again, one of the three species of Pokemon living here. None other than the Cave Pokemon Druddigon.
"Druddi..." Druddigon growled while walking around the tower.
"Oh! A Druddigon!" Spike gawked.
"Axew-ew!"
"Shao. Mien-Mienshao." After showing them Druddigon, the Martial Arts Pokemon quickly got into its fighting stance again, glaring at Spike and Axew with competitive eyes.
"Mienshao..." Mienshao nudged its head over at Druddigon. Its body movements, mostly its head, made it clear what it was trying to do. It also made sense why it just appeared in front of them.
"Oh, I get it...If we beat you, we can get to Druddigon, right?"
"Mien." The Martial Arts Pokemon nodded.
"Okay. Sounds like a fair deal. One we don't intend to lose. Right Axew?"
"Axew!" Axew was already one step ahead of Spike as he immediately decided to transform himself into Haxorus instead of just wasting time. Mienshao is a Pokemon that isn't to be underestimated to so going all-out against it is not a bad idea.
The Golurk here stopped by to spectate over this upcoming battle as Haxorus emerged, standing before the Martial Arts Pokemon. Speaking of which, more Mienshao came over to watch this battle as they sat and stood on the pillars here.
Even Druddigon, who was walking by, stopped for a moment to see how this battle would turn out and if Spike was worthy of its trust as the journey continues.
Right now, Spike's dragon quest continues. His main goal is to head to the Village of Dragons, located near Opelucid City and see where he goes from there. But before that, he's aiming to catch himself his newest Dragon Pokemon teammate in the form of Druddigon.
However, a Mienshao has decided to test Spike and his Haxorus before that. By beating Mienshao, only then will they be able to reach Druddigon as the two were ready to battle with the Golurk, other Mienshao and Druddigon spectating.
"Mien!" Mienshao made the first move as it jumped into the air, going for a High Jump Kick with its knee glowing.
"Here it comes! Haxorus! Dragon Claw!"
"Xo!" Haxorus roared as his hands became covered in a light green, claw-shaped draconic energy. He then swiped his claws upwards, clashing with Mienshao's glowing knee. Upon clashing with each other, the two Pokemon immediately separated by being pushed back from their own attacks.
"Shao!" Mienshao, after recovering on the ground with an elegant spin, moved in for another attack. This time it was Close Combat.
"Use Close Combat!" Spike punched the air a few times.
"Haxo!" Haxorus would also end up using Close Combat as he ran towards Mienshao. The two of them entered their second clash, this time with Haxorus' fist meeting Mienshao's arms.
They looked each other in the eye for a bite while pressing their arms onto each other before Mienshao jumped over Haxorus with a swift front flip. Haxorus looked up as Mienshao stomped its face onto the Axe Jaw Pokemon's head.
"Xo!"
"Mienshao!" After doing that, Mienshao landed behind Haxorus, following up its attack by using the long fur on its arms like whips, repeatedly hitting the Dragon-Type in the back with a series of chops and even kicks too fast for the normal eye to see. Sparks were even flying out from Mienshao's hits. "Shao! Shao!"
"H-Haxo!" Haxorus winced as his back was being punished by what could be the hardest physical hits he has taken so far. But, not wanting to be outdone, while Mienshao kept striking his back, Haxorus sneakily used his tail to grab Mienshao's arms, wrapping it around the Martial Arts Pokemon.
"Mien?!"
"Haxo!" Haxorus then swung Mienshao around for a bit, hitting the Fighting-Type onto one of the columns of pillars here, breaking it in the process as Haxorus then tossed Mienshao by letting go of it with his tail.
"Shao!" Mienshao definitely felt that as the Close Combat clash ended. But, as always, Mienshao's elegant and amazing agility allowed it to recover by sticking its feet onto the wall.
Afterwards, the Martial Arts Pokemon dashed off the wall like a rocket, going for its next attack. Poison Jab. The fur on its arms had been lit up with poisonous purple energy as it closed in on Haxorus.
"Again! Close Combat!"
"Haxorus!" Haxorus went for his second Close Combat. By roaring at Mienshao, the Axe Jaw Pokemon swung both his hands that were joined together, sending it in a sweeping downward motion. Like a sledgehammer.
"Shao!" Mienshao was able to counteract this by putting its arms together in an X-shape, lifting them and blocking Haxorus' downward hit. Like an anvil being hit by a hammer. The floor below trembled from the impact.
"Haxo...!" Haxorus growled, trying to push through and send Mienshao straight through the floors of this tower.
"Mienshao!" Mienshao broke the struggle by pushing Haxorus' hands back and running to the side. It continued to use Poison Jab, however. After breaking the clash up and getting some distance, the Martial Arts Pokemon jumped into the air, performing a somersault.
By entering this somersault and doing a few tricks midair, Mienshao then also tried the sledgehammer approach that Haxorus did. This time with Poison Jab.
"Hit the floor!"
"Xorus!" Haxorus then suddenly used Close Combat again, but this time from below. By striking the floor, Haxorus caused a large dust cloud to form, covering the area around him and Mienshao. Not only that but large pieces of the floor came flying out.
"Now use your tail to hit them!"
"Haxo!" Haxorus then used his large tail to hit the large concrete that came from the destroyed floor, sending them through the smoke and straight for Mienshao.
"Mien?!" Mienshao gasped after seeing the smoke cloud and the sudden appearance of large floor rubble coming towards it. Acting quick, the Martial Arts Pokemon instead used Poison Jab on the rocks, destroying them. The smoke was even cleared by it.
"Go! Giga Impact!"
"Haxorus!" Haxorus then stomped onto the ground with ferocity before flying into the air as his body became surrounded by spiralling orange streaks. It was even destroying the rocks it had sent by charging through the. Then, a purple energy sphere surrounded Haxorus' body as he smashed into the Martial Arts Pokemon with great force before it could fight back.
"S-Shao!" Mienshao's eyes widened as it was hit directly with a heavy and hard Giga Impact. The Fighting-Type was then launched like a rocket, flying through ten pillars, breaking them into tiny pieces before coming to a stop at the nearest wall. Mienshao crashed into the wall, leaving a large crack as Haxorus landed on the ground, exhausted after using Giga Impact.
"H-Haxo...!"
"M-Mienshao..." And with an impact that powerful as well as such velocity and force, Mienshao's defence wasn't enough to match that strength as it had fainted, falling from the wall and hitting the floor afterwards.
"Yes! We win!" Spike jumped up with joy and victory.
"Haxorus!" Haxorus roared with victory by raising his arms. The Golurk all clapped their hands, congratulating Spike and Axew while the rest of the Mienshao took a bow, respecting them both.
"Mien..." Mienshao stood up, holding its head while also walking towards Spike and Axew for their victory. They had indeed given it a worthy battle. The Martial Arts Pokemon then gave a bow of respect, accepting its defeat and congratulating the duo.
"Thanks, Mienshao."
"Haxorus."
And Druddigon?" Spike peered his head over, looking at the Cave Pokemon. Druddigon had seen the entire battle and was fairly impressed by what it had witnessed. It gave a nod of respect.
So, the Cave Pokemon gave a hand gesture with its claws. One that encouraged Spike and Haxorus to follow it as Druddigon began walking up the stairs to the second floor.
"Oh, wait for us!" Spike called out as he ran for Druddigon. Haxorus quickly deformed into a Unovan Axew as he followed his trainer.
"Axew!"
"Wait!" Spike and Axew hopped over the rubble caused by their battle against Mienshao. Druddigon had already reached the second floor while Spike and Axew were just now running up the stairs.
The Cave Pokemon looked down at the two as it pointed upwards of the castle, shooting right at the very top and showing Spike and Axew what it was actually up to. They followed the claw of Druddigon and how it was aiming for the top. Spike quickly deduced what Druddigon was trying to say.
"Oh...you want us to face you at the very top of the tower?"
"Drudd." The Cave Pokemon nodded as it kept walking.
"Okay! That sounds like a safe bet deal to me! We'll be right up there with Salamence and-" Spike was ready to take out his Poke Ball to send Salamence out, but Druddigon quickly put its hand out, shaking its head as it denied any use of Salamence to the top. It wanted Spike and Axew to take their time. "Huh? Seriously?"
"Ddigon."
"Fine. No flying up there." Spike put the Poke Ball away. "Let's go, Axew!" Spike advanced with his partner.
"Axew!"
The second floor was a bit more identical to the first floor but without the sparkling pool nearby to the side. Druddigon had already reached the third floor due it knowing its place around here. Spike and Axew moved past the rubble and more Golurk that could be see residing here.
Afterwards, once getting past the second floor, they reached the third floor which was a massive change in scenery and a real challenge. Mostly since the floors themselves were scattered and separate instead of conjoined with each other. Some gaps led to what seemed to be a dark abyss, but really it was just the first floor. There were also these mini-stairs that could potentially help anyone reach different parts of this floor. But they were so short it was a bit risky.
"Woah!" Spike and Axew almost fell over after being in such a rush. They got a good look at the second floor and what it had in store.
"Drudd." And surprisingly but not unexpected, Druddigon was already on its way to the fourth floor, encouraging Spike and Axew to continue.
"The fourth floor already?" Spike sighed. "Okay. Those gaps look pretty easy to cross."
"Axew."
They looked over at the gaps and the mini-stair ramps that accompanied them. They could most certainly make that jump in their eyes as they were preparing for a strong leap. "One, two, three and jump!" They jumped together at the right time, moving over the mini-stairs and landing on the other side of this floor with success. "Haha! Success!"
"Xew-Xew!"
"Okay, again!" They would now continue jumping with repeated leaps over the gaps. Like a sort of Long-Jump activity seen by popular competitive sports. Considering how many tiles and gaps there were, this might take a while for them.
Equestria. Canterlot Castle. Afternoon.
Flurry Heart and the tag-along Skitty had arrived at the castle finally. After being accepted by the guards who were able to tell that it was Flurry Heart, just an aged-up version of her, she had access.
Obviously, with her appearance, she attracted so much attention from everypony living here. Mostly because she was an alicorn and the fact that the first pony they thought of when seeing her was the baby version of Flurry Heart.
Little did they know.
Flurry Heart was feeling a bit awkward from all the stares she was getting but the young alicorn could get through it as she stood before the door of the castle, taking a deep breath. The guards standing by the castle doors eventually let the alicorn princess in via validation.
"Okay...This might freak them out or they might understand..." Flurry Heart began speaking to herself while walking inside. "Oh, but they might know I'm from another universe...I could be seen as a major enemy. I could even be-"
"Skitty." Skitty ran ahead of Flurry Heart, not wanting her to worry so much. Giratina also gave out a telepathic pulse that made her calm down, reassuring the young alicorn with confidence. Giratina usually isn't a Pokemon that gives out confidence.
"Right. I'll be calm. I'm good at being calm...Sometimes." Flurry Heart gulped as she was making her way towards Celestia's throne room. If by chance, she could end up meeting with Luna or Pyrestar since they naturally walk around here.
However, due to the upcoming invasion, they'll be more occupied in one spot rather than moving around like they normally do. High alert and everything. The guards here were the first clear signs of that.
But, one individual who would run around freely in the castle, not planning for an invasion was none other than the temporary guest and the one that Celestia would be taking care of for the time being.
Premium Polish.
And alongside her Pokemon too. They've been frequently playing around in the castle for fun, doing whatever they want while under Celestia's care. And with all that running and playing around, it would only make sense for the little unicorn and her to run into the alicorn princess from another world.
"Woah!" Premium exclaimed as she came to a screeching halt the moment she ran into Flurry Heart. Her Pokemon ended up bumping into her too, causing them all to fall over. "Oough!"
"Oh! Are you all okay?!" Flurry Heart moved over to the unicorn and her Pokemon, worried about them.
"F-Fine..." Premium crawled out of the Pokemon pile as she and her teammates stood up. "Ugh...You...You're a princess."
"Sure am." Flurry Heart laughed nervously as Skitty walked up to Premium's Pokemon.
"Skitty!"
"Which princess are you?!" Premium dashed over with excitement. "I've never heard or seen you before! But you kinda look familiar..."
"Uh hehehe...about that...You see I'm-"
"Flurry Heart?" Perfect timing with a perfect response. But it didn't come from Premium's mouth. No. Instead, just up ahead, out of the doors of her own throne room, Princess Celestia was the one who said this.
And it was a Celestia that still had her royal disposition, regality, crown and status. Not what the Celestia in Flurry Heart's world has been reduced to.
"...G-Great Auntie!" A smile beamed on her face as she was happy to see her auntie again. Even if it wasn't her worlds' Celestia. Full of excitement, the young alicorn teleported away from Premium and right in front of the ruler of Equestria, giving her a sudden yet loving hug that threw Celestia off guard.
"Oh. "Celestia simply said as she was given this imminent hug. Something about it was full of happiness and sadness. But more importantly, Celestia herself was still processing an aged-up Flurry Heart within her presence.
"Wait? Flurry Heart? The baby?" Premium narrowed her eyes.
"It's been so long! I haven't seen you in decades! I've missed you so much!"
"Uh...Hold on." Celestia gently put her hoof on Flurry Heart, pushing the young alicorn back. "Are you by any chance from another universe?"
"Hm? Um, yes. I am." Flurry nodded.
"And which universe would that be?"
"Um..." Nervous and a bit intimidated, Flurry Heart couldn't help but tell the truth to Celestia. She didn't want to create any problems for her but this decision could essentially be a problem solver in its own right. "E-Empress...T-Twilight's Universe..."
"I see..." Celestia nodded. "Then, if that's the case, why have you come here?"
"I-I'm not here for anything bad!" Flurry Heart quickly spoke, ready to explain herself as best as she could. "You see...I'm here to get help. And this guy suggested I should come here." She then showed off the Ultra Ball that had Giratina in it.
Celestia, Premium and their Pokemon all leaned in at the Ultra Ball, wondering who was inside. Little did they know, a Pokemon of great importance was dwelling within.
"It was taken away from its world. I couldn't let it stay in my world since-"
"It would throw the balance off." Celestia finished Flurry Heart's sentence which threw the young alicorn off.
"There's another Pokemon that shouldn't be here at the moment, right over at Canterlot Garden. Reshiram. He should be in his own universe to maintain balance. And the same can be said for..." Celestia was wondering what the Pokemon inside was called.
Giratina quickly gave a telepathic pulse to Flurry Heart, revealing its name to the young alicorn.
"Its name is Giratina."
"Giratina...?" Celestia had definitely heard that name before. When doing a play at the Arceus Museum, she was dressed up as Arceus while Luna was dressed up as Giratina. It was easy to remember. "The Pokemon that governs the Distortion World?"
"Uh yeah. Whatever that is." Flurry scrunched her face. "That's why I also came here. Apparently, this world has um, Infinity Energy in it that makes it stable for Giratina to be here. If I left in my world, it would've been turned to pieces."
"I see. So Reshiram was right about Legendary Pokemon having important roles in their own worlds."
"So, I'd also like to help out if I can. Against Auntie and... you know..."
"You've never gone up against Empress Twilight before? Why is that?" Celestia asked as some not-so-pleasant and saddening memories were returning to Flurry Heart's head.
"I couldn't really. She's way too powerful. And not after what she did to mom and dad. Like everyone else who disobeyed her, she turned them both into stone right in front of my eyes. And they've been like that for decades ever since. All that magic she has and how large her empire became in such little time was just something I couldn't do much against."
"And the Crystal Empire?"
"Well, it's no longer an Empire. Now just the Crystal Kingdom." The young alicorn princess of another universe shrugged.
"Mm-mhm." Celestia nodded as she's already heard some juicy information. "Alright then. Come inside to my throne room. There's a lot we to discuss."
Unova. Dragonspiral Tower. Afternoon. The very top.
"F-Finally..."
"Axew...Xew..." Spike and Axew breathed in and out as they had finally reached the very top of the tower. The 7th floor. That was where Druddigon was waiting for them.
The other floors were a bit of a slog to get through. The third floor was still the toughest one by far but the rest were just time-consuming if anything. But it was all worth it to reach this final seventh floor.
And being here, Spike and Axew took a moment to bask at the top of the tower as they were able to get a good view of the area around them and beyond. The way the golden sun beamed across the area only helped that view.
"Woah..." After taking some time to catch his breath, Spike could see so much here from this height as he and Axew gawked at the current view. And with all this height, they were able to spot Opelucid City in the distance. "There it is! Nice! It was totally worth coming up here, right?"
"Axew!"
"Druddigon."
"Okay, Druddigon. We're here now." Spike turned to look at the Cave Pokemon. "So, you wanna see if we're worthy, right?"
"Drudd." It nodded in confirmation.
"Then, in that case, we'll beat you, show that we're worthy, head to Opelucid City and find that Village of Dragons, no problem." Spike declared. "Plus I get to use this sweet Premier Ball I just got." He showed a Premier Ball to Druddigon. "Go for it, Axew."
"Axew!" Axew nodded as he was already prepared to transform himself into Haxorus. Same golden light and everything. Once that golden light grew and was separated, Haxorus emerged. "Haxorus!"
"Okay, it's..." Spike looked over at the distance, noticing the way the sun was currently. Judging by how it was starting to move over the horizon, it was a safe bet that the day was about to end. "Pretty late. Yikes. We might have to stay at Opelucid for the night before we get to the village."
"Hax?"
"Ah, don't worry, don't worry." Spike shook his hand. "We've still got a few days to go. I'm aiming to cover this whole journey in 3 or 4 days, so let's take it easy, Haxorus."
"Xorus."
"Okay, Druddigon! We're ready!"
"Haxorus!"
"Druddigon!" Druddigon was waiting for Spike and Haxorus to get this started. This battle will take place at the top of Dragonspiral tower for all those airborne Pokemon to witness. The wind howled, ready to encourage this battle and how it will turn out. "Drudd!"
Druddigon made the first move with Metal Claw. By lighting up its sharp claws with metallic energy that flashed continuously, making them even sharper than before, the Cave Pokemon rushed at Haxorus with less than stellar speeds. Druddigon isn't exactly the fastest Dragon-Type out there.
"Dragon Claw!"
"Haxorus!" Haxorus went in for his own claw-based attack via draconic claws that formed around his arms. And once both Dragon-Types got close to each other, an immediate claw clash occurred.
The two of them stared each other in the eyes while the floor beneath them trembled, affecting the other floors of this tower. They then went back and forth, alternating their swipes, like two swords crossing. It even sounded like swords were being clanged against each other thanks to Metal Claw.
"Drudd!" Druddigon then decided to outsmart Haxorus by ducking his next Dragon Claw and going for an upwards swipe with Metal Claw. The upwards swipe hit Haxorus straight in the chin and neck, causing the Axe Jaw Pokemon's head to jerk back.
"Hax!"
"Druddigon!" Druddigon then followed up with a hard swipe to the chest, sending Haxorus back a few metres. The Cave Pokemon, showing little mercy and barely given Haxorus any time to rest, followed its attack up. This time with the move Gunk Shot.
Druddigon put its hands together as a silver light started sparkling between them. The light then turned into a black sphere outlined in purple, which Druddigon hurls at the opponent.
"Send it back with Iron Tail!"
"Xorus!" Haxorus quickly turned around as his tail glowed white, turning into iron. The Axe Jaw Pokemon then swung his tail, hitting the sphere of poison with all he had, leaving behind a white trail of energy when it was swung.
Iron Tail's Steel-Type properties allowed it to bypass the poison effect of Gunk Shot and also managed to send the attack back at Druddigon.
"Gon!" Druddigon's eyes widened as it put its large claws together, blowing Gunk Shot. After being hit by its own attack, a purple explosion of poison emerged that had the potential to poison the air itself.
"Nice!"
"Druddi!" Druddigon was fine after being hit by its own attack, successfully blocking it. It wasn't poisoned either as it blew the smoke away by swinging its claws And when it blew the smoke away, the Cave Pokemon was seen running towards Haxorus with the attack Outrage. A red aura surrounded its body as it was ready to go on a rampage. "Gon!"
"Yikes! Close Combat, go!"
"Hax!" Haxorus roared at Druddigon before bolting off the ground at impressive speeds. Haxorus certainly had the speed advantage over Druddigon, but the Cave Pokemon was impressively fast in its own right.
The two of them butted heads, causing a shockwave to form that shook the clouds and tower itself. The sound of Druddigon's rough rock-like skin and Haxorus' armoured steel-like body hitting against each other was frightening to listen to.
The two of them also locked hands, trying to push each other back. Seeing as neither of them could overpower each other as they seemed to be equal in physical strength, they both separated their locked hand clash, going for a more rampant approach.
When separating, Haxorus went in for another attack, striking his fist onto Druddigon's jaw with a heavy blow and audible sound. Druddigon's eyes widened before returning the favour via a claw swipe to the face. Druddigon was strong enough to even bypass Haxorus' sharp and sturdy tusks.
After being swiped in the face, Haxorus retaliated via a headbutt to Druddigon, giving it its own face damage in the process as the two Dragon-Type Pokemon were starting to exchanged blows now.
Once Druddigon received a headbutt, the Axe Jaw Pokemon finished using Close Combat via a repeated flurry of punches to Druddigon's face and stomach at high-speeds. "Hax! Haxo!"
"D-Druddi!" Druddigon was most certainly taking all of that punishment from Haxorus' Close Combat as the attacks kept coming every second.
"Haxorus!" Haxorus was about to end it with one final punch, but Druddigon managed to get a quick slip by biting onto Haxorus' hand.
"Druddigon!"
"Xo?!"
"Gon!" Druddigon had Haxorus in its grasp as it then smashed its foot onto the stomach of the Axe Jaw Pokemon.
"H-Hax!" Haxorus' eyes widened after being given a hard boot to the gut.
"Druddi! Druddigon!" Druddigon then kept this up by continuously kicking Haxorus in the chest while holding him with its mouth. The hits were so heavy that Haxorus was being staggered each time.
"Grab the foot, Haxorus!"
"Hax!" When Druddigon went for another kick to the stomach, Haxorus used his only free arm to grab the foot of the Cave Pokemon, preventing another staggering effect.
"Drudd?!"
"Now fly into the air with Giga Impact!"
"Haxo...!" At this point, both Haxorus and Druddigon were stuck to each other. One Dragon was biting on the others hand and the other Dragon was holding onto the opposing Dragon's leg. So, if Haxorus moves, Druddigon is coming along with him.
Haxorus jumped high into the air with Druddigon while facing towards the sky. As he does, his body became surrounded by an invisible energy. A bright flash of yellow light appears in front of his face as he then shot himself higher into the sky.
"D-Druddi?!" Druddigon was surprised by this sudden aerial approach as Haxorus broke through the clouds themselves as the only thing below him and Druddigon was the tower and Spike.
Knowing that this might be a large fall when Haxorus eventually descends, Druddigon decided to use Gunk Shot while still biting onto Haxorus' hand. By summoning a purple and black sphere, the Cave Pokemon unleashed the blast of poison from its mouth, instantly covering Haxorus' hand in it as an explosion of Poison happened around them both.
"H-Hax!" Haxorus cried out after having its hand attacked by poison. And due to this, Gunk Shot actually managed to poison the Axe Jaw Pokemon as Haxorus was now falling with Druddigon from a high place.
Spike gulped as he moved back after witnessing the two Dragons descend at a high velocity. Afterwards, Haxorus and Druddigon crashed into the floor of the tower, hitting it so hard that the lower floors were all starting to crumble and fall apart.
Afterwards, once the large smoke cloud formed, Haxorus clawed out of the smoke, still awake and conscious. And the same went for Druddigon who moved out of the smoke as well.
Unfortunately, after using Giga Impact, Haxorus needed some time to relax and breathe so that he can recharge. To make matters worse, he was also poisoned so he was taking damage over time. The same can't be said for Druddigon.
"H-Haxo...Haxorus." The Axe Jaw Pokemon breathed in and out.
"This isn't looking too good..." Spike said to himself.
However, after using Outrage and as well as Gunk Shot, Druddigon was now confused. Both Giga Impact and Outrage have their own drawbacks at the Cave Pokemon's eyes were spinning around. It still attempted to attack Haxorus with Gunk Shot.
But due to it being confused, its attack missed and only hit the sides of the tower. Holding its head, Druddigon was trying to snap out of the confusion as it was moving around haphazardly. Using Outrage already causes great confusion but falling from such a high height just made it worse.
And due to it missing Gunk Shot and wandering around, that gave Haxorus enough time to recharge his energy as he was ready for another attack.
"Alright! Let's finish this! Dragon Claw, full power!"
"H-Haxo!" Haxorus roared with vigour and ferocity even while being poisoned. With green draconic energy claws forming, the Axe Jaw Pokemon charged towards the dazed Druddigon, lunging at it.
"D-Druddi...?" Druddigon was just about to snap back to reality as it looked up, noticing that Haxorus was coming towards it. But it was too late to counter.
"Xorus!" With a mighty strike from both claws, Haxorus swiped past Druddigon, moving forward at unfathomable speeds. On contact, he appeared behind the Cave as the aftershock was a pulse of green claws that cut through Druddigon.
"Gon!" Druddigon took super-effective damage afterwards as Haxorus didn't even look back. And after taking all that damage, the Cave Pokemon reached its limit, falling to the floor.
It had fainted.
"Druddigon..."
"Alright! Total win!" Spike cheered as he ran over to Haxorus, hugging his partner on the back. "You're so amazing, Haxorus!"
"H-Haxorus." Haxorus gave a thumbs up before feeling the poison kick in again. "Xo...
"Oh, right!" Spike quickly took his bag off, digging into it to find a cure for the poison. At the same time, Druddigon got back up after that rousing battle. It still felt a bit dazed from all of that.
"Druddi."
"Here you go." Spike used a Full Restore on his partner by spraying it on him. The medicinal substances inside had not only removed the poison from his body, but it had even recovered Haxorus to full strength.
"Haxo!" The Axe Jaw Pokemon felt energized as he raised his arms.
"Druddi." Druddigon approved. After a battle that great, it had decided that Spike was indeed worthy enough to be its Pokemon Trainer as it held its hand out. Druddigon would like a change of scenery after being in this tower for so long.
But, as Spike held Druddigon's hand, although it was more along the lines of its claw, the Cave Pokemon felt drowsy as it hadn't been healed up yet. "D-Druddigon..."
"Hax." Haxorus quickly helped up his soon to be teammate, preventing Druddigon from falling.
"Uh...Let's heal you up first at Icirrus before we head to Opelucid okay? Then I'll catch you."
"Drudd.
And that was essentially the end of the Dragonspiral Tower visit. A fun experience with a new friend acquired in the process. Spike now had a clear direction and knew where to go next. Right after some healing is done.
The dragon quest is far from over as the journey continues.
Right now, the Flurry Heart of another world, all aged-up, was speaking to Princess Celestia, giving her important information that was exclusive to her universe only.
Not only that, Flurry Heart was able to tell Celestia about the invasion and what it was going to entail. This was a major development because it could help Celestia's forces very soon.
"That is quite a lot to take in..." Celestia put her hoof on her head, taking in everything she had just heard. "So their approach will be from above the planet instead of on it?"
"Mhm." Flurry Heart nodded. "That's how she sometimes invades worlds. All those ships have machinery that can attack from the highest points."
"Above the planet...That would require going to space." Celestia bit her hoof. "The first phase of our plan might have to be revamped if that's the case. There are Pokemon that can interact with space but..."
"Well...there is a way to stop it from happening." Flurry Heart replied, prompting Celestia to immediately turn around.
"There is?!"
"I'm not sure about above the planet...but there's a spell that can help. Well...it's the only spell that I know. But auntie knows as well."
"And that spell is?"
"It's called the World Pirouette Spell. It's a powerful spell that has the power to change the geography of the world itself."
"Geography of the world itself?!" Celestia gasped along with her Pokemon.
"Garde?!"
"Arca!?"
"Y-You're serious?!" The Ruler of Equestria dashed forward, getting a bit too close to Flurry Heart.
"Y-Yeah...It manipulates the very geography of the ground itself. Whoever uses it can alter the landscape by compressing the land and purposely send certain things or species to certain locations. Everything, even structures, and landmarks' locations are all switched at random." She explained in further detail. "Auntie used this spell once after stealing it from another universe she conquered."
"It's another one of her many stolen spells is it?"
"Mhm. I've only really seen her use it once. Auntie used it as a way to change everything against those who went against her."
"A spell that powerful can change everything we know." Celestia looked up at the ceiling. "The whole map itself."
"But it can be reversed." Flurry Heart stepped forward. "Auntie only did it properly defeat her enemies by confusing them. After she beat them all, she returned the world to its original geography. It does take a really long time to use though."
"Hm. It's settled then. We need to get our hooves on this spell. It could be the best way to through her forces off balance. But it also means throwing our plans off balance as well..including the entire world. And the Pokemon have already changed the map itself by just existing."
"Maybe I shouldn't have recommended it." Flurry Heart whimpered.
"It's alright. It does sound like our best...and most dangerous option. The spells she's stolen. All of them are books from other worlds, correct?"
"Right. Every exclusive spell has its own book. Auntie taught me some spells but...I only got the less important and stellar ones. She thought I was too big of a threat to let me learn the rest. I can get the book that has the spell for you if you want."
"Doesn't that sound a tad bit dangerous? Won't she be suspicious if she forbids you to ever learn any more spells?"
"Well...yeah. But I have to try. I want to do something big and stop this, great auntie. So many worlds have already been taken."
"Well...if you're going to retrieve the book, you might as well require assistance, won't you? I know of one group that can greatly help." Celestia smirked.
"Uh...Who?"
"The Ranger Union. More specifically, the Pokemon Rangers. After hearing all about them and how efficient they are, I've decided that they are the best candidates for situations like these. I'll talk to the Ranger Union and see if a Pokemon Ranger can come and assist you?"
"Really?! Thank you so much, great auntie!" Flurry gave Celestia yet another perplexing and powerful hug.
"Gouh!" Celestia's eyes felt like they were going to pop out at any moment. "Y-You're welcome...L-L-Let's just make this quick. We only have 6 days left until the invasion..."
Unova. Opelucid City. Night.
Opelucid City. A convenient city of rapid change, showing no traces of the past. It's also a city that respects history and values old things. Some call it Time's Dividing Line because of this.
Spike and Axew had finally arrived here on Salamence's back. They had also just recently caught their newest friend and teammate Druddigon after battling at Dragonspiral Tower.
"About time," Spike spoke as he stood before the city with Axew. "But boy...I'm tired..." He yawned out of exhaustion. It didn't help that the moon was up, illuminating this city and complimenting its lights.
"Axew?"
"Let's clock out for today. Luckily, Rarity gave us a lot of Pokedollars. So any hotel is totally covered...I could really use the bed of a hotel room right about now?" Spike grumbled as he was on the verge of falling asleep on the spot, right in the middle of the street too.
"Xew-ew." Axew supported his trainer by helping him walk towards Opelucid's nearest hotel. Spike may not have the opportunity to try out the places of interest in Opelucid due to him being tired. But perhaps tomorrow.
However, since he was in Opelucid at night, that meant only one thing. Drayden was here. The same man who gave Spike the idea and inspiration to set out on his own quest to become a better Dragon Trainer.
And due to it being nightfall, Drayden's gym had closed for the night as he came outside. And when he came outside, he saw a familiar Axew and baby dragon walking by while also holding another Axew of his own in his arms.
"Hm? Spike?" Drayden walked over while holding his own Axew. The Mayor of Opelucid was greeted with some nightfall greetings by the citizens living here. Spike and Axew quickly took notice of the Dragon Gym Leader.
"Huh? Oh, Drayden..." Spike said in an exhausted tone. "Hello."
"You look...well. How has your journey been going so far?"
"Pretty great." Spike gave a thumbs up. "I got to visit Dragonspiral Tower and caught a Druddigon so there's that. I'm heading for the Village of Dragons next."
"I see." Drayden nodded. "Good on you, boy. If you wish to head to the Village of Dragons, I can lead you there tomorrow."
"That'd be great." Spike yawned. "Gonna rest up for a long time first at that hotel."
"I'll cover that for you. I'll pay for your inn stay."
"Thanks, Dray- uh...I guess I should call you Mayor Drayden."
"Drayden is fine. I like being called by something so simple. Come along." Drayden led Spike and Axew to the Opelucid Hotel while his own Axew greeted Spike's Axew.
"Axew."
"Xew!" Spike's Axew greeted its fellow Tusk Pokemon back. It decided to show off by revealing its Equestrian Form, transforming before Drayden's Axew's eyes. "Axew!"
"Axe?!"
Afterwards, Spike and the group had arrived at the Opelucid Hotel with Drayden being the first to enter. Being the Mayor of this town, he was immediately given multiple stares and a greeting from the hotel.
As he said before, he would pay for Spike's stay so that Spike wouldn't have to waste Pokedollars. Drayden chose to give Spike one of the best deluxe rooms in this hotel so that when he rests, he can be fully refreshed in the morning. And while he paid for it, Spike ended up dozing off either way. He only had so much energy as a baby dragon, unfortunately.
After paying for the stay in and expenses, Drayden carried the baby dragon to the deluxe room by himself, further garnering the attention of the people and Pokemon here. Drayden is popular for a reason and the mayor.
The deluxe hotel room held up to its name. One king-sized bed, a full bath, high enough to see the rest of Opelucid with a delightful view, raised ceiling and curated furnishings enhanced this elegant urban retreat. And for anyone that was a fan of books, there was a fancy bookshelf in this room as well.
Drayden placed the baby dragon on the king-sized bed while Spike's Axew hopped onto the bed with him. When being placed down, Spike's eyes were actually starting to wake up. Turns out, he wasn't fully asleep.
"Looks like you still have some energy left in you," Drayden spoke.
"Yeah..." Spike rubbed his eye. "I'll just wait until I'm really tired. But it could be a super good sign. Being a Dragon Trainer means I need to have all the energy in the world. Like a Dragon. Right?"
"Actually, you're correct. We Dragon Trainers must be healthy and energized. As if we have the strength of dragons within us." Drayden confirmed Spike's words.
"Sweet." Spike laid his head on the comfortable and large pillow that almost absorbed his head. "I need to be as great as I can be. When I return home, I can bet I'll be ready for that invasion and stop Empress Twilight. And maybe even Ghetsis and Team Plasma."
"Ah, Ghetsis." Drayden crossed his arms, looking up. "It baffles me honestly. He was already a problem before in Unova and is proving to be one to your world. But...how could someone of his heritage and name be like this?"
"Heritage and name? What do you mean?" Spike asked, turning his head to Drayden. Due to the pillow absorbing his head, only one eye could see Drayden at all.
"I suppose it's only known here. But Ghetsis' name is one of great importance. Perhaps one of the most important names out there. Harmonia."
"Harmonia?"
"Axew?" Spike's Axew sat up.
"Right. The Harmonia name. Something that is not to be taken lightly at all." Drayden turned to the bookshelves holding many books. One of which held lore of the Pokemon World. He went over to the bookshelf, picking up a book that contained the history of the Pokemon World in its more medieval years.
"W-What's the Harmonia name?" Spike was now glued to this. "And what about Ghetsis?"
"I think this will better explain this. The name Harmonia is now just a middle name. But before, it belonged to one person of great status." Drayden opened the book, revealing the one he was mentioning. Someone that actually looked a lot like Ghetsis in terms of the hairstyle. It was an artwork of her. "Her name was Harmonia."
"Woah..." Spike and the two Axew leaned into the book. "She kinda does look like Ghetsis..."
"Axew..."
"She should. She was the one who started the Harmonia bloodline which led all the way up to Ghetsis. Although, compared to Ghetsis, Harmonia was a completely different soul."
"How so?"
"Well for starters, many considered her to be a Master of Harmony. One that was able to spread and bring harmony with such ease, it was almost otherworldly. Like some sort of cosmic balance. Her bloodline is famous in Unova, but really, it began in Sinnoh somewhere near Eterna Forest before it became Eterna City. Back then, she was never a part of any royalty out there. But even so, when Unova and Sinnoh were at the brink of war with each other, she arrived and gave her harmony out to them all, preventing the war from happening."
"How did she do it? Stopping an entire war from happening?"
"Not many know this, but she travelled to a place in Kalos known as Arche Valley. Where the people there are close to nature and said to be able to communicate with Arceus and receive its power. Harmonia travelled to Arche Valley, learning a few things along the way, along with Arceus' light."
"Oh! So it was Arceus' light that made her make harmony?"
"Partially. In truth, most of it came from her own spirit and nature. The light was just a way of soothing things a bit. And ever since she managed to stop two entire regions from destroying the world, she has been praised ever since. But it didn't stop there. Harmonia sought to unite all regions to obtain true peace and harmony, truly living up to her name. Shared wisdom, friendship and so much more..."
"Oh...So then, what happened? Did Ghetsis just forget all of that?"
"I doubt it. Harmonia brought such peace that peace and prosperity became the most dominant force in the world. Little conflict existed. Every region and the sovereign rulers of those regions via kingdoms, despite their royalty status, were all led by Harmonia. She was at the forefront of it and dealt with any potential issues that could come up. Unfortunately, the unexpected happened..."
"Unexpected?"
"Someone who wished to become the one true queen of the world, stepped forward to every kingdom in every region and offered many of the kings and queens unrivalled wealth fame and power as long as they were the one to rule everything. Because of this and how they were blinded by that power, 6 kings and queens turned against Harmonia as they were gifted powerful Pokemon. Legendaries and Mythicals to be exact."
"Geez." Spike adjusted himself on the bed. "So she was betrayed and lost?"
"Betrayed yes. Lost? No. Because the other kingdoms and regions were with Harmonia and her cause, their shared wisdom and power was capable of enough to stop the betrayal from fully happening. However, the one who turned the kings and queens against Harmonia took matters into her own hands and used the destructive power of the Legendaries and Mythicals themselves by controlling them. Harmonia managed to defeat her, but at a great cost. The battle drained her completely, forcing her to use every bit of Arceus' light which expelled it from her body."
"She no longer had Arceus' light with her?!"
"Maybe. It's said that a bit of Arceus' was still within her. Harmonia suddenly disappeared without a trace one day, but before that, she gave a final message to her friends and the regions she united. To do everything in their power to make sure that her vision of a peaceful world would be made a reality someday. Ever since then, those who supported the one who wished to become Queen of the World would also do everything in their power to establish their own rule."
"And then...?"
"Well...peace wasn't exactly common went time went on. The Kalos War happened. So did the Great Pokemon War and many more unpleasant events that have not been forgotten in history. However, despite all of those hardships, peace did eventually resurface in its best form. But, the Harmonia name had been tarnished ever since the disappearance of Harmonia herself. The rest of her family bloodline were part of many mini-wars and even the Great Pokemon War as well. They didn't exactly live up to their names which meant harmony."
"And that's what happened to Ghetsis..." Spike gawked.
"Probably. All of this information wouldn't be possible if many of us Unovans, Sinnoans and Kalosians weren't heavy history go-ers and explorers of the past. Out of the entire Harmonia bloodline, Ghetsis is most certainly the one that has perhaps tarnished its reputation." Drayden shook his head. "If only Harmonia herself was here."
"You said she disappeared without a trace one day? Could she be around still?" Spike asked.
"I highly doubt it. She has most definitely passed away centuries ago. Her influence still exists here but it might not be as effective since she is no longer here."
"Oh...Guess I shouldn't expect her to be like an Alicorn..."
"However...it seems that another name might end up finishing what Harmonia started."
"Another name?" Spike looked up. "Do you mean...?"
"I mean it exactly. Ash. Or should I say, Ketchum? From what he's done, Ash might end up being the next Harmonia. The one who unites all...Then again, I highly doubt that's his main goal since he wishes to become a Pokemon Master."
"Well totally!" Spike stood up on the bed. "Ash can totally bring everyone together. And so can Twilight! When those two work together, it's a real treat and miracle!"
"Hoh? Then perhaps two names will end up following in Harmonia's legacy. Although, I suppose your world already had its own harmony with those elements, right?"
"Right! Oh geez...That's a lot to take in...Uh, not sure I'm gonna remember. Do you think I can borrow that book, please? Twilight might enjoy reading it."
"Go ahead. Copies exist anyway."
"Sweet! Wait till Twilight hears about all of this! She's gonna-" Just then, while Spike was getting riled up, he suddenly fell asleep in an instant, flopping onto his back on the bed and dozing off.
"Hm. Goodnight. See you in the morning at Dragon Village Spike." Drayden wished the baby dragon and his partner goodnight as Axew was ready to sleep alongside his trainer.
But while Spike slept, Drayden was actually thinking about what he said. About how Ash and also Twilight could essentially do what Harmonia sought out to finish, but potentially with both worlds instead of one.
And if it were to go even further, Drayden believed that they could bring peace to every universe that Empress Twilight herself has conquered, if they ever go that far.
"Hmm...Ash and Twilight to bring true harmony and peace? Now there's something to look forward to..." Drayden said to himself as he walked away with his own Axew, ready to head to his own home and sleep for the night until the morning comes.
Night. Equestria. Canterlot.
All was sound in Canterlot and Equestria apart from a few exceptions. Celestia herself was walking around the castle corridors, ready to sleep for the night. As for Flurry Heart, she hadn't yet returned to her universe. In fact, she was staying for a bit.
"Are you sure you want me to stay, great auntie?" Flurry Heart asked.
"Until the Pokemon Rangers arrive and help you with your retrieval mission, you're welcome to stay here. Besides, you might have something else important to share with us."
"Ehehehe...I do have a few things." Flurry laughed nervously.
"But, I am worried about what Luna will think if she finds out about your homeworld origin. Her previous visit to your world wasn't the best. It almost resulted in her having all her magic taken away and even gave her broken bones for a while."
"I heard about that. I didn't know it was the Luna of this universe."
"If you wish to talk to her, we can make it clear that you're not here to be an enemy. Rather an ally."
"Uh...That might be happening a bit sooner than we think..." Flurry Heart gulped as she stopped trotting alongside Celestia. She then pointed her hoof forward, indicating that someone was standing before them.
And that someone was indeed Princess Luna, who is always roaming around at night.
"Luna!" Celestia exclaimed.
"So...You're from that world, are you?" Luna spoke.
"Uh, hehehe..." Flurry slowly backed away with a nervous laugh and grin. "I know you um...probably don't want me here since...ya know..."
"Uh, Luna. This is Flurry Heart." Celestia introduced. "Rather from another universe instead of our own hence the age difference. She's come here to be an ally and help us against the upcoming invasion in just 5 days from now."
"I'm doing my best to give out everything I know and can. But um...I guess you might not want me here because of my auntie...do you?"
"It's fine." Luna suddenly replied. "I don't hold any resentment or hatred towards you."
"You don't?"
"I am a bit wary of you but...I don't have a reason to hate you. I hardly believe that you'd follow in your auntie's hoofsteps at your age. If you're here to assist us, then we'll need all the help we can get." Luna slowly paced around Flurry Heart as she was highly sceptical of the young alicorn.
"Um...I get it." Flurry Heart was quivering from Luna's imposing presence and glare. "I promise I won't cause any trouble."
"Luna. We have stellar news." Celestia uttered. "We've found possibly the best way to turn this upcoming invasion to our favour. Quite literally."
"Eh? What do you mean by that exactly?"
"It's called the World Pirouette. A spell, unlike anything I've ever heard of." Celestia shook her head. "Apparently, it has the power to change the geography of the world itself, alter the landscape and send anyone and anything anywhere random."
"C-Change the geography?!" Luna pulled back. "As in...shifting the planet itself?"
"It certainly took me back when I first heard about it." Celestia nodded. "To think she had such a spell at her disposal..."
"And one of the books she stole from other world's holds that spell." Flurry Heart stepped forward. "It originally belonged to the Queen Chrysalis of another world before it was taken."
"And you aim to retrieve this book that holds the spell?" Luna asked.
"She does. But she won't be alone. I've contacted the Ranger Union about this. They already know of the threat that the Empress holds and they'll do anything to protect all Pokemon. Even from this world. This morning, Pokemon Ranger Jackie, their best ranger, will assist Flurry Heart."
"This seems far too dangerous...You recall the last time I went there?" Luna was already having unpleasant memories.
"Trust in the Ranger Union, Luna. They're good at what they do." Celestia reassured Luna by walking up to her. "We've had our doubts about all of this, but with what we've gathered so far and been through, I believe we have a chance to win this upcoming invasion. We need to take every chance that we have."
"I suppose so." Luna nodded in agreement. "But, this might be a bit of accurate timing in all honesty."
"What do you mean by that?" Celestia questioned.
"This morning, Pyrestar is heading for the Empress' world as well." Saying that shocked Celestia as she immediately jerked and shot up.
"Huh?!"
Unova. The Village of Dragons. Day.
Finally. The Village of Dragons. And it only took one day to reach here. Spike and his Axew had shown up after being led here by Drayden himself. They came across the hidden village and were able to see it fully.
The Village of Dragons is a place where people raise and admire Dragon-Type Pokemon. Statues of the Legendary Reshiram and Zekrom were built in the centre of the village to commemorate them.
Dragon Pokémon roam around the village freely such as Axew, Fraxure, Altaria and even Zweilous. Although, some of them weren't Dragon-Types like Darumka, Deerling, Pidove and more that live in the surrounding forests. All live with their trainers and the people that live here in perfect peace.
"Ohohohoh!" Spike liked what he was seeing.
"Captivating, isn't it?" Drayden said as he walked forward with Spike and Axew following. "This place is considered a Dragon-Type Trainer's dream. Everyone here in this village has the same dream as you, boy. To become Dragon Masters."
"Everyone?" Spike looked up at Drayden.
"Everyone. And they can thank the elder for that as she gives out Dragon Pokemon to upstarts. She evaluates partnerships between beginning Dragon Masters and their first Pokémon, which are typically given to the Trainer at a coming of age. She is the one you should speak to for your quest."
"I've got a lot I want to ask her!" Spike was getting giddy as his own dragon appearance was drawing massive attention. Especially Axew who was currently in his Equestrian Form.
The young ones of this village immediately rushed over to Spike and his Axew, swarming the baby dragon and Tusk Pokemon from all sides.
"Oooh! Look at that!" One young boy was the first to speak as Spike and Axew stopped walking, noticing how they were surrounded. Drayden however just simply stood by as he wasn't within the circle.
"I think he's from that place called Equestria!"
"Look at how small he is!" One girl gushed. "So cute!"
"Check out that Axew! It's all blue and gold!"
"What are the dragons like in Equestria?!" One of the kids leaned in as multiple questions were being asked.
"Do you all evolve too!?"
"Can you use Dragon moves like our world?!"
"What does a Haxorus look like in that form?!"
"Uh..." Spike was getting bombarded by all these praises, words and questions from every side. So many were coming his way that it was hard for him to respond.
"Axew..."
"Alright. Slow down." Thankfully, Drayden was there to stop this overwhelming chatter by standing in front of everyone. "All your questions can be answered later. But that Haxorus part, you won't have to wait. Spike."
"Oh, right. Show them, Axew."
"Xew!" Axew nodded as he was ready to show all the young ones and other residents of this village what an Equestrian Haxorus looks like. By summoning that same golden light as always and shifting in size and shape, out of the light, Equestrian Haxorus emerged.
"Haxorus!"
"Ooooooh!" Needless to say, they were all impressed as their eyes lit up. Even the adults here couldn't help but gaze at this newly-discovered regional variant Dragon-Type.
"What Type is it?!" One girl asked.
"Uh...W-Well, the Pokedex hasn't been updated yet for Equestrian variants so..." Spike shrugged.
"There's Equestrian Variants?!" Everything Spike said just kept raising the excitement of the young kids even more to the point where they might explode from joy.
"You sure do know how to rile up a crowd without knowing so...Come. Let's go meet the Elder." Drayden led Spike to the Elder's tent.
"R-Right! Uh, catch you all later! Come on, Haxorus, let's go!"
"Haxo!" Haxorus walked behind Spike while the young ones couldn't help but follow them. They were so enamoured and enchanted by Spike's entire arrival and the Equestrian form of Haxorus plus Axew. This might go on for a while.
However, the kids themselves did have limitations at the end of the day as they knew not to disturb the Elder during important meetups and scenarios. So, once Spike and Drayden entered the tent with Haxorus reverting to Axew to fit the tent better, the kids all stood back.
And once they entered, there she was. The village Elder. The matriarch of this wonderful and quiet village, sitting alone in the tent with baskets around her. When opening her eyes, she saw Drayden enter with some new guests.
"Drayden. It's good to see you again." The Elder spoke.
"Wonderful to meet you as well, elder." Drayden bowed as Spike and Axew imitated him, also bowing.
"How is Iris right now?"
"Better than ever. Becoming Champion of Unova has really revealed her at her best. And I can proudly say she has more room to grow."
"Iris...?" Spike recalled a name like that from when Ash was telling stories of his past.
"And who are these two? That's a unique looking Axew."
"Oh. I'm Spike. And this my partner Axew. Equestrian variant."
"Axew!"
"And right now, I'm on a quest to become a great Dragon Trainer and even a Dragon Master. And I had to come here to really see if it was the best place to start at."
"Hoh? Dragon Master, hm? You certainly have a goal similar to almost everyone here. You're still new to this world, aren't you? There's a lot for you to discover."
"Yeah. But I'll take anything if it means I can get better. Besides, I have to protect my friends as well from whatever comes next."
"Axew!"
"Mhm. Well...I can say that what you wish to experience and learn is varied. There are plenty of options here and nearby. You can have the ability to perfectly speak and communicate with Dragons, journey through many Dragon, exclusive lands, visit or battle Kyurem, take on the-"
"Hold on! What was that last one you said!?" Spike shot up.
"Hm? You mean...Kyurem?"
"Yeah! That! I've heard about Kyurem...I'll choose that one!"
"Kyurem?" Drayden turned to Spike. "That's far too big of a leap I'm afraid. Recommending Kyurem isn't the best option, Elder."
"Hm, slip of the tongue."
"No, no, no, that's fine!" Spike rapidly shook his head. "I'll take the Kyurem option! I want to visit and battle Kyurem! Just like how Keldeo and the Swords did!"
"Hmm...Eager are we?" The Elder narrowed her eyes. "You have the spirit but...Kyurem is not one you can just go up against and battle. It is the world's strongest Dragon for a reason. The chances of you winning are-"
"I know I'm not gonna win at all." Spike interrupted. "Ash's story kinda gave me clarity on that. I just want to try and see how I do. Kyurem could teach me something like he did with Keldeo. So maybe, probably, that's the Dragon I need to see."
"Ash, hm?" The Elder definitely remembers that name. "And you're already accepting of the fact that you can't win against Kyurem."
"Yes ma'am."
"Ah. Those are pleasant words to these fading ears." The elder smiled as Drayden nodded in agreement. "Usually, the answer is the exact opposite. But...your answer is one that I can accept."
"So...C-Can I challenge Kyurem?!"
"Hmm...Certainly. You're free to challenge Kyurem."
"Yes!" Spike and Axew jumped up for joy.
"Axew!"
"But...you still need to learn a few things before you set out for Kyurem's Ice Castle. Now that you're here, I believe some expert communication skills on Dragon Pokemon will be needed. Even though you won't defeat Kyurem, it helps to at least have something to show of your improvement as a Dragon Trainer."
"I can really get to communicate with Dragon Pokemon? Maybe that can also help with Salamence's Mega Evolution..."
"How many days are you planning on experiencing your journey, Spike?"
"Just 3. Before the invasion happens. I want to get everything done before that." Spike declared.
"Alright. That's a fair amount of time. We'll get started immediately before you head to Kyurem. Are you ready?"
Empress Twilight's universe, Her castle ship. morning.
"Still?!" Enraged and having her patience being tested, the Empress roared at her many soldiers, blowing them back with just her voice alone. "You still haven't found her?! And now you're mentioning Flurry Heart has left her position?!"
"D-Deepest apologies, Empress!" They bowed out of fear.
"Thar brat...It's fine..." Empress Twilight was keeping her cool. "The invasion can still go on without her and we'll track her down as well. She has to come back here eventually. Besides, she's not that important anyway. At least not anymore. The search for Luster Dawn is more critical and you will continue to search for her. Obsidian is still at the Pokemon World, correct?"
"Y-Yes, Empress..."
"Good. For his sake, he'd better find the right prison in the right region. The last thing I need is for all of this to-" Before the Empress could go off on another tangent, the alicorn she was mentioning about a few seconds ago had actually just arrived at the throne room.
Flurry Heart had actually returned.
"M-Morning, Auntie. I mean, Empress"
"Flurry Heart!" The Empress' voice had been raised on the young alicorn, intimidating her as well. "Where have you been? I try and call you in for yet another important meeting and you up and vanish, leaving your kingdom and royal duties behind for a day. I already have to deal with the disappearance of Luster Dawn and you pull this?"
"S-Sorry. I just...wanted to get out there and experience more you know...? Beyond my kingdom and even Equestria." The young alicorn pouted. "I'm sorry if I scared you, Empress."
"Hmph. And where exactly did you go?" The Empress narrowed her eyes.
"I um...w-went to another universe." Flurry couldn't help but tell the truth.
"Did you now? By using the Travel Spheres?"
"Mhm...I-I gave them back after my travel. Sorry I didn't tell you. Honest."
"Ugh..." The Empress facehoofed as she was soothing her fury. "I've had enough for a few days now...Luster Dawn and the invasion are what's important. You'll still receive punishment for what you've done, understood?"
"Yes, Empress." Flurry Heart bowed her head as she left the throne room afterwards. However, a slight smile was on her face as something was brewing. She had come here with someone after all.
And once she left the room with the doors closing, Flurry Heart began using the tiny little ear communication device on her ear, courtesy of one individual.
Pokemon Ranger Jackie.
"Okay, Jackie. Apologies are out of the way." She spoke to him through the device. "I'll head to the library and see if I can find the book. There are a lot of them."
"Gotcha," Jackie responded as he was currently residing in the same area Ash placed the hidden cameras. A sort of weapons room. With him, he had his own Pokemon, Chatot. As well as the Skitty that had attached herself to Flurry Heart ever since.
"Tot! Gotcha!" The Chatot that was with Jackie was known as Casey. He once belonged to the pirate known as Phantom but soon after Phantom's defeat by the hands of Ash and Manaphy, he became Jackie's Pokemon. And they've been partners ever since.
"It won't be easy will it?" Jackie asked.
"Auntie's a great organizer. She loves to ut the books in alphabetical order. But...so many of them have the same starting letters."
"That would be pretty time-consuming. That Nyx alicorn's coming here soon today isn't she? Double the alicorn assistance would be pretty great."
"It would. But um...I'm not allowed to learn other spells, let alone visit her personal library. Auntie wants me to stay limited in what I know. If I head into her personal library..."
"Someone's gonna stop you head-on, right? No need to worry. I've got a plan."
"You do?"
"Distraction. No one's better at it than yours truly." Jackie pointed at himself.
"Chatot! Yours truly!"
"Distraction? Wait hold on that sounds dangerous!"
"Don't worry. While everyone's hurrying in a scurry, you can have all the time in the world to get that book. I'll be the perfect magnet!"
"With just your Chatot?"
"Who said I brought just a Chatot? Besides, your auntie's been sending those Umbrage Thieves to capture other Pokemon, right?"
"Right. They're kept at the lab for research."
"I think I'll gather myself a little party soon. Here goes!" Jackie opened the door of the weapons room, exiting it with Chatot and Skitty. Once he did, the Pokemon Ranger slammed the door as hard as he could, making a loud rumbling sound.
That would certainly attract the attention of mostly everypony in here. Especially the guards, who immediately got a move on once the door had been slammed. It was pure metal so of course, it was going to make some sound.
"What was that?!" One guard said as the rest were moving towards the direction of the sound. "It came from there!"
And at the same time, Jackie would actually be drawing attention to himself rather than staying hidden. Then again, Jackie's not one for keeping a full cover in all honesty.
Once he started running, the Pokemon Ranger, Chatot and Skitty immediately showed themselves to the nearest guards of this corridor and floor, exposing their appearance and cover.
"Good morning!" Jackie greeted
"Huh?! Who the- When did you get in here?!"
"Alright, Casey! Do your thing!"
"Tot! Do your thing!" The Music Note Pokemon already knew what he needed to do. He flew off of Jackie's shoulder as he used the move Boomburst against the targets in front of him. "TOT!"
Jackie covered Skitty's ears as Chatot's body became surrounded in a thin light-blue aura, before opening his beak and sending a swirly supersonic wave of pure sound that raged and echoed throughout the entire ship and castle.
There was no way no one didn't hear that. Not only did the sound waves absolutely blow the guards back with such force, but their aluminium armour and parts of the ship and castle were being crushed by this sound wave.
The armour around their bodies had shattered, removing parts of it. Mainly the helmets. Luckily for them, since the move only affects the ears of a Pokemon, their ears were safe but their armour and bodies weren't.
"Fun fact!" Jackie raised a finger. "When raised to an insane level, soundwaves have the power to crush even metal themselves. They rapidly implode and release an intense shockwave that produces enormous amounts of heat energy and a variety of high active radicals. Destroying any adjacent material. Even metal. But you guys knew that, right?"
"Chatot! Knew that!"
"You guys should feel pretty lucky." Jackie pointed his thumb at Chatot. "Chatot's not even the loudest Pokemon out there. Wait till you see Exploud."
"Ugh..." The guards couldn't respond since they were still recovering from that powerful blast wave and having their armour being crushed and shattered at the same time.
"Ooh." Jackie went up to the guards, seeing that their weapons had been taken off them. More specifically, the long and tough metal staffs they had on them. They had also been damaged by the Boomburst, but they still seemed usable.
At least one of them.
"I'll take this." Jackie took the staff, spinning it around. "Not bad. See ya!"
Thanks to Boomburst damaging the armour, the castle had been affected too. Bits of it were still material used from the old Canterlot Castle of the past but most of it was now aluminium for heavy reinforcement.
However, compared to the guards and their armour, the castle and the entire ship seemed to be more durable and reinforced than everything else, making it difficult to really shatter a place like this with just one powerful sound wave.
Because of this occurrence, the alarm had been set off as everyone in the castle had been made aware of this. From every floor and every room in the castle. And the Empress was most certainly made aware of this. Her plans had to be put on hold because of this abrupt interference
And with the alarms going off so did the castle's defences. Not just the guards, but the weapons built into the castle to deal with any intruders. From out of the walls themselves, mechanical laser cannons were coming out, aiming at Jackie, Chatot and Skitty. Other machinery and traps started appearing across the floors of the castle everywhere. Everything here was made to deal with intruders.
And Jackie knew that this wouldn't be easy.
"What now?!" Empress Twilight roared as her buttons were starting to be pushed to their limits. "Whoever it is, capture or let the defences get rid of them!"
And due to the hidden cameras being present in the castle, Celestia and Luna were watching from the other side. They could hear everything occurring and playing out but they couldn't exactly see the rest of it. All they could do is continue listening and hope for the retrieval of the spellbook.
And very soon, Pyrestar will arrive.
While Jackie causes a ruckus, heading for the lab, Flurry Heart was going for the Empress' private library. A library that held all of the spellbooks she had stolen from various universes and only she has access to. Luster Dawn will one day inherit these spells as the Empress' protege and future successor and no one else. This private library was separate from the public library.
All of the guards moved past Flurry Heart, only paying focus and attention to the intruder that has managed to arrive here. Because of this, Flurry Heart could move freely without any worry. After moving past an abundance of guards with the alarms going off, she arrived at the door that led to the private library.
Unfortunately, the doors were locked. And the only ones who could open them were in a hurry to find this intruder. Not only that, but it was identical to a vault safe.
"Locked..." Flurry Heart sighed as she stood before the door. "Okay um...I don't have a key unlocking spell but I could use my magic to bla-"
But, before Flurry Heart could decide on how to get inside, Giratina did the honours. Even though it was inside the Ultra Ball, it could affect the outside as well, showing just how powerful it was.
With a pulse of red and black energy, the Renegade Pokemon sent a smidge of Antimatter that came out of the Ultra Ball. This pulse of Antimatter connected with the door, unmaking it right in front of Flurry Heart's eyes. All of that matter that the door was made out of was being reduced to its most basic level and soon even further down.
The door to the private library had been wiped from existence.
"Oh. Well uh...Auntie's gonna notice but that works too!" Accepting this decision, Flurry Heart pranced into the private library, coming across its sheer size and scope.
This was actually her first time here. The library was identical to Twilight's old library and home, Golden Oak library. Everything here matched its appearance to a T, although, it seemed to be larger in scale due to the increased number of books gathered from multiple universes.
The young alicorn gulped as she would have to find the right book that had the World Pirouette spell amongst this abundance of books. On the bright side, she knows one important detail about the spell. The Queen Chrysalis of another universe was the one who originally invented it, so most likely, a book made by the changelings would be the key.
"Okay." She took a deep breath as she was ready to get to work.
This was going to take a while.
Unova. Village of Dragons. Day.
Spike's training session at the Village of Dragons had begun. He was already aiming to head to Kyurem and challenge him, but first, he would have to learn and know a few critical things about being a Dragon Trainer. And the Elder, plus Drayden would help him with that.
He sat down with the Elder and Drayden alongside his Axew, Salamence and Druddigon. The major thing that Spike needed to know about being a Dragon Trainer is absolute communication with Dragon-Type Pokemon.
"Now." The Elder Spoke. "Raise your claw to your Pokemon, and let the Infinity Energy flow through you."
"Raise my claw. Got it." Spike gently raised his right claw, aiming it at his three Pokemon. He was looking forward to seeing what communicating with Dragon-Types would look like. Even if his eyes were closed right now.
Spike already knew what he was getting himself into and how much focus he needed. If there's one thing he's learned over the years in Ponyville and Equestria overall, it's patience.
And that's exactly what he had. Patience. Because of how much he's experienced in Ponyville and his time with Dragon-Type Pokemon, the baby dragon was well equipped to tackle this challenge.
Thanks to that patient focus, a golden glow started forming around Spike's claw, one that was identical to the colour of the sun itself. Or even an intense flame.
This golden flame-like glow was a bit faint but it started to gain some vibrance each passing second. The light then reached both Axew, Salamence and Druddigon, connecting to the three Dragon-Types.
That same light then outlined his Pokemon as the three Dragons could actually feel Spike's light taking effect, prompting them each to open their eyes.
"Axew?"
"Sala?"
"Drudd?"
"Oh. A quick learner." The Elder nodded. "I can see that you're already close with your Pokemon. Keep it up and don't lose focus until you can fully reach them."
"F-Fully?" Spike winced with his eyes closed as he was actually trying his best to maintain the glow right now with his arm twitching.
"You can do more than just communicate with dragons," Drayden spoke. "You'll have the power to read their emotions, heal them and even calm them. Some of the most aggressive Dragon Pokemon will be calm with what you can do."
"Awesome..." Spike smiled while focusing his light onto his Pokemon. Axew, Salamence and Druddigon could feel Spike reaching them from within. With the light reaching further, Spike himself could feel and hear something. From what he could gather, voices were starting to call out to him. Voices that were unfamiliar yet familiar to him.
The baby dragon tried to hear those voices as he was starting to open his eyes. Now he could see his own glow as he gawked at its flame-like appearance.
"Oho! Sweet! Look at this!" He began moving his claw around which moved the light itself as well. He was excited to have achieved this light on his first try and his movements essentially gave it away. Unfortunately, getting so excited and looking at his claw made the light vanish along with the one outlining his Pokemon. "Huh?! Where'd it go?"
"You got a bit too excited there, I'm afraid." The Elder walked up to Spike. "While it is fun and exciting to utilize such power, a gentle emotion and nature are still needed. The user must transfer all of the light from across their body to their heart and Pokemon, channelling excess light all around their hands. Or claws in your case. But you must let the light flow to it rather than forcing it or riling yourself up."
"Oh...I gotcha. Gentle."
"But, you seem to already have a good grasp on something such as this. I should've expected this ever since the Salamence incident." Drayden observed. "You might develop faster than normal."
"Great! I thought I could really hear Axew, Salamence and Druddigon there." Spike tapped his head. "Bet I could hear Kyurem too."
"Everyone can hear Kyurem." Drayden and the Elder both said.
"Oh."
"Seems like your light is effective on mostly Axew and Salamence. Druddigon is faint but it's there. Then again, you did just catch him yesterday." Drake uttered.
"Now then, let's see you communicate with all of the Dragons in this village." The Elder suggested.
"All of them?!"
"If you can focus your light correctly, you can respond and sense any Dragon nearby. Allow me to demonstrate." To give a demonstration, the Elder sat down as Spike glued her eyes to this.
In just a second, the Elder was able to give off a strong sense of authority and power that pulsated through the tent. Spike shuddered from this invisible pulse as his Dragon Pokemon froze in place when responding to it. This pulse spread out, moving from the tent to the outside.
All nearby Dragon Pokemon who were moving about in a frenzy, having fun, immediately stopped what they were doing as they heard the pulse despite it being invisible. It was audible, however. And they could tell that it belonged to the Elder.
Everything was calm as the Elder had communicated with them while also reading their emotions too. She could tell how they were feeling and spoke them to all simultaneously. "Don't worry. I'm just showing Spike how Dragon communication can work. You can return to what you were doing."
Every Dragon Pokemon heard this. None of them belonged to her and yet she was able to somewhat command. And she did it so easily too. Afterwards, the glow faded away.
"Just like that?" Spike's jaw dropped. "Oh, cool! I totally wanna learn that!"
"Then let's get started. You already know what to do with the basics." The Elder turned around. "Let's see how far you can go."
"Right!" Spike sat down, crossing his legs together as he was ready to mimic what the Elder did. He could already summon the golden light but he was hoping that he could go even further beyond.
The baby dragon put both his claws out, closing his eyes as he had already summoned the golden light within his claws. But he was hoping that he could make the light come out of his entire body. Spike was already communicating with his Pokemon since he was close to them. Now all he had to do was reach the rest.
Spike grumbled, trying his best to make the light expand, but right now, that wasn't happening. In fact, the best he could do was reach his own Pokemon. And that was it. He started growling with his teeth showing and neck straining. The simple lesson of not forcing the light had been thrown out immediately once he tried pushing his light.
"Ah, it's no good! Can't even get the light to be extra vibrant like yours." Spike looked at his claws.
"Don't force it. You did extremely well before with all that focus." The Elder shook her head. "Even if you can't communicate and reach them all, you can keep trying until it grows. That light can progressively improve over time."
"Right. Sorry. Okay, let me try it again." Spike took a deep breath as he wasn't going to force it this time. He was going to play it out just like he did before. Reaching all Dragons would be more challenging than reaching his own Pokemon.
Once he closed his eyes, Spike let mostly everything around him fall silent until the only thing he could hear was the air and the beat of his own heart. This draconic light did require a connection to the heart after all. After doing so, Spike's light appeared once more as he was put into a sort of meditative state.
Once again, the light outlined his Pokemon, but this time, because of his focus, the glow was starting to gain more vibrance and saturation, but only around his own Pokemon. It hadn't yet passed through the tent and reached every other Dragon Pokemon residing here.
Spike already knew this, but he wasn't letting his focus disappear. He kept his eyes closed and didn't move. He was going to get this right and reach everyone here as he stayed still. Drayden and the Elder watched as Spike's meditative state was increasing, showing his state of mind and concentration. They nodded in agreement, knowing that Spike was surely learning fast. But, reaching all Pokemon was going to take a while.
All they had to do was wait.
Empress Twilight's Universe. Her main castle ship. Day.
"Excuse me!" Right now, Jackie was still on the move. Despite him being less armoured than everyone else here, he was still doing well. He's not a Rank 9 Pokemon Ranger for a reason.
He had evaded and defeated the guards that came his way by using his acrobatic skills while also utilizing this ship's security systems and weapons. Jackie was certainly fast enough to avoid them. When the lasers from the cannons were fired at him. Not only that, but he could also juke them out by using some of the guards as shields.
Chatot and Skitty were there to back him up too. Skitty had used Water Pulse, creating a pulsing blast of water and firing it on the floor. She caused a bit of a mini-flood, causing some of the ponies to slip or be caught in this flood. But, thanks to their armour, it wasn't too effective. But it was certainly effective on the electrical equipment. Skitty also fired Water Pulse at the defence mechanisms, overriding them with water.
However, that was only the surface of it. Jackie was ready to give them another fun fact while blocking his nose. "Fun fact number two! If water touches aluminium, a bunch of hydrogen gas is made! And if that happens, well I'd feel pretty bad for your oxygen."
"Tot! Oxygen!"
"What are you-" Soon, the guards were about to figure that out. Due to the presence of the water, some of the guards who had slipped over could feel the high concentrations of gas emerging. All of this high concentration was powerful enough to an oxygen-deficient environment. So, the guards immediately passed out from taking this gas in.
Some of them didn't pass out. Others were getting nauseous, dizzy, drowsy, headaches and ringing in the ears. Jackie quickly got out of there before it could affect him and the Pokemon. But oddly enough, some guards were able to resist this chemical reaction to their armour.
Chatot, being the vocal Pokemon that he is, further used Boomburst to blow anyone back. The force of his Boomburst also destroyed some of the defence mechanisms due to how high the frequency was. They had even blown up from it while more guards had their armours shattered.
Some guards got closer to Jackie, using their hard aluminium staffs to hit the Pokemon Ranger But Jackie was prepared. Due to him being taller than everypony here, he was able to gain an advantage. Plus his acrobatic and agility skills helped here.
The Pokemon Ranger avoided the swings of these hard staff by showing off a multitude of flips, jumps and even some sliding. No one could hit Jackie and if they did, he would just use the staff he stole to block it or just grab another one and toss it aside.
Jackie also noticed that these metal staffs aren't just for swinging. Some of the guards activated the electrical system on it as it was now a shock staff. Anything it touches will be shocked with 50,000 volts.
"Oh! Idea!" Jackie got an idea. "Skitty! On my back!"
"Skitty!" Skitty ran to Jackie, jumping on his back while Chatot ascended, knowing what Jackie was planning. Jackie noticed the function that could make these staffs electrical. A sort of motion sensor button above the handle. By interacting with that sensor, he activated the electrical function of the staff.
"This is gonna hurt me as well but...Here goes!" Jackie raised the staff as he looked at the floor with a wide grin. The guards then ran over to Jackie, ready to shock him with 50,000 volts.
However, Jackie's plan soon came into motion. Since the effects of Water Pulse were still present, the flood was still here. And that's when Jackie smashed the staff of electricity onto the water, causing a predictable reaction.
An immediate rapid flow of electricity started moving across the water since electricity and water aren't exactly the best combination in the world. Or any world really. It was about to get worse for the guards.
Since they were wearing metal armour, once the electricity reached them, their bodies were instantly affected. All of that electricity was conducting with their armour, sending immediate shocks through them as they stood in place. Jackie was affected too since he was standing into the water, but not as much as the guards since he wasn't heavily armoured like them. He then left to continue his mission.
Soon, Jackie came across the lab where there was already a major panic due to the alarm going off. All experiments were halted when they heard of an intruder within the castle. And to them, it sounded like the intruder was still here.
And he most certainly was.
With a stylish slide, havoc stride, cool smirk and radiating aura of confidence, Jackie had appeared in front of all the scientists who were in a panic.
"Hello there!" Jackie greeted as Skitty hopped off his back, opening her mouth.
"Skitty!" The Kitten Pokemon let out a cute roar before summoning yet another Water Pulse, shooting at the floor like always and starting another flood.
"TOT!" And Chatot, once again, used Boomburst without hesitation. By opening that beak of his, he sent yet another explosive blast of sound via the form of a sonic wave. The scientists here weren't guarded like the soldiers so they might've taken the worst out of this as they all fell over.
But since they weren't Pokemon, their ears weren't affected.
And speaking of the Pokemon, Jackie found his targets. The Pokemon that were being experimented on were indeed here as they were all being kept in these unexplainable and complex designed machines.
At least, they were. Until Boomburst and Water Pulse messed with all of the electricity and machinery here. The Pokemon were now freed but their ears were ringing. Jackie's eyes shined as he knew what needed to be done.
"Aha! Capture on!" Jackie pulled out his styler, immediately utilizing it as a spinning light was launched out of the device. Jackie made sure the light was extra long and large this time as it wrapped around all of the Pokemon like a large ribbon.
And once that light went into all the Pokemon, not only were they free, but they were also now on Jackie's side. Although to be fair, after what he, Skitty and Chatot did, they probably already were on his side in all honesty.
"Vi...Vibrava!" One of the Pokemon captured, Vibrara, let out a loud cry along with its other captured Pokemon as they immediately got to work, attacking the scientists here and thrashing the lab as fast they could.
"You know, you guys really shouldn't have caught Ground-Type Pokemon." Jackie crossed his arms. "Ground's good against anything steel, haha!"
"Tot! Good against anything steel!"
"Alright, Flurry Heart...hope you're having just as good luck as me..." Jackie said, hoping for Flurry Heart's safety.
The Private Library of the Empress.
And speaking of Flurry Heart, she was still searching for the book by choosing only the changeling exclusive ones. She did indeed have the magic capability to speed-read but there were so many pages and books that it couldn't go any quicker.
But aside from the changeling books, Flurry Heart knew that going through pages in alphabetical order could help. She was looking for the letter W. Meanwhile, she could feel all this ruckus occurring within the castle.
Flurry knew that Jackie was doing his job well. They sent the right Pokemon Ranger for this job.
"Come on...Category W...W. W." Flurry Heart's eyes narrowed as they started glowing. Before, she was once the most powerful alicorn until her auntie's actions. She still holds immense power that can help her in various ways.
"Aha!" And just like that, she found what she was looking for. " The World Pirouette spell! Just like it says, changing the world itself by manipulating all geography. I do take care of my mom."
"I can see that." And responding to Flurry Heart's words were the Empress herself. She obviously had to move around the castle due to all the commotion and chaos occurring. She couldn't ignore it.
The Empress was already annoyed by the current state of events. But now, she had come across her own niece in her private library while her door had practically been erased from existence.
"Auntie!" Flurry Heart gasped while the Empress growled.
Empress Twilight's Universe. Her Main Castle Ship. Her Private Library. Day.
An unpleasant meeting had just been made. Between Empress Twilight Sparkle and her niece Princess Flurry Heart. She had come across Flurry Heart going through her many stolen spellbook, reading them when she was not allowed to.
"Auntie!" Flurry Heart gasped.
"Flurry Heart...!" The Empress growled before approaching her niece. "I thought I forbid you from ever coming here...or reading these books."
"I...uh..." Flurry Heart shuddered while backing away, holding the book with her magic.
"Now there's all this chaos upon the ship. Explain yourself, Flurry Heart. What is the meaning of this?" The Empress demanded an immediate answer from the young alicorn.
Flurry Heart was already nervous from all of this. She had been caught in the act amidst this commotion and ruckus. Plus, her auntie wasn't in the best mood right now. Already annoyed and irritated by the disappearance of Luster Dawn and the intruder, facing Empress Twilight with this current emotion could be considered a high-risk zone.
And like always, Flurry Heart's biggest weakness showed itself. She couldn't help but tell the truth in front of her superiors. Every single time. But this time, she spoke the truth with a different emotion. Not fear but bravery.
"I'm taking this book back to the other Equestria to stop your invasion from ever happening. That's what I'm doing."
"You're what?!" The Empress bellowed and roared after that.
"Sorry, Auntie. But I can't let you invade that world. Or any other world ever again." Flurry Heart placed the book behind her. "And I won't let you rule over everything else."
"You little..." The Empress' eye twitched. "After all, I've done and given you, you would go against me for some other world you barely even know?"
"Those worlds' are the Equestria that I used to live in. That mom and dad used to live in before you took them away from me!" Flurry Heart snapped back at Empress Twilight before closing her eyes. She still had some level of fear in her. "I want that Equestria back, not this! After everyone stops you, everything will go back to normal. Like it was before. I know it will."
"Tch!" The Empress kissed her teeth, glaring at Flurry Heart with scornful eyes. "You've always been a major threat, haven't you? Ever since you were born anyway. This is the best of Equestria. One that I made. Besides, Celestia and Luna appointed this throne to me and me alone after they chose to retire. I'm only doing what they couldn't. Think of what you will of my rule, but very soon, I'll bring absolute peace and order to all. And of course, how could I forget Friendship? The main thing that led me here."
"I'll never accept your horrible friendship." Flurry Heart jeered which made the Empress jerk up after hearing that. Her tone was far different from anything she had ever heard.
It was practically official. Flurry Heart was now against the Empress.
"Then you can join your parents as not but a hunk of a rock." The Empress then lit her horn up with dark purple magic, aiming at the young alicorn. Flurry Heart gasped as she knew what was coming next.
Knowing how important this book was and the safety and freedom of other worlds, when the magic blast came out of the Empress' horn, Flurry Heart immediately teleported out of the private library, avoiding the blast.
The blast ended up turning parts of the bookshelf into stone. Including some of the books as well, which the Empress most certainly didn't want. Flurry Heart's new main objective was to leave this world with the book. And she had a Travel Sphere with her to do so. That is if she can evade her vastly powerful auntie.
Empress Twilight saw the books turning into stone along with the bookshelf, so she chose to save the spell until she had Flurry Heart. It would be a terrible idea to harm the goods.
With grit teeth and a scornful look, she immediately pursued the young alicorn. "Don't think you can escape from me, child!" Out of her horn, another spell came out. Multiple rays of purple light came flying towards Flurry Heart as they acted as restraining, similar to the chain spell that Luster Dawn had.
Although, these restraints were much wide and longer than the chains. Plus their speed was greater than them as they moved exactly like how light would.
Flurry Heart immediately put a barrier around herself, blocking the lights from hitting her. But, much like how she was a quick thinker, so was the Empress. The second the lights failed to connect with Flurry Heart, the Emperess manipulated the lights, changing them into another spell.
This spell was the Gravity spell. Her personal favourite due to how effective it is. The lights transformed into a dome, similar to Flurry Heart's barrier as they were overlaying it. With that, Flurry Heart's magical barrier was started to be affected with a gravitational field around her, decreasing by each passing second.
"I'll break all your bones like I did to Luna!" Empress Twilight grinned as she further decreased the gravity around Flurry Heart, putting more pressure onto her.
"Urgh...!" The young alicorn strained as she was trying her best to keep the gravity from breaking through her barrier. But, the force of it was starting to crack the barrier.
Flurry Heart really didn't have any defence against gravity. Out of all the spells she has, the Gravity spell is among the most powerful due to it being seemingly unstoppable. To this day, no one has been able to counter it or find a way around it at all. Not even the prodigy Flurry Heart. But there was one who could counteract this.
Giratina.
From within the Ultra Ball, the Renegade Pokemon summoned an Antimatter wave emission, sending out a wave of Antimatter that had erased the gravitational field from existence, right before the Empress' eyes.
Her gravity field was consumed by black and red energy particles before fading away. Like they never existed.
"What?!"
"Huh?" Flurry Heart opened her eyes as she let her barrier down, noticing that the gravity was gone. She knew exactly who caused that.
"How did you do that...?"
"Uh...Lucky spur of the moment?" Flurry Heart shrugged as she wanted to keep Giratina a secret. If she found out about the Renegade Pokemon, then it could potentially create new problems. Seeing that she was being protected by Giratina, Flurry Heart now had major chances to get out of here with the Travel Sphere and book.
However, the Empress could still follow her via her own gateway opening. To juke the Empress out, Flurry Heart decided to think of something as she used her magic to teleport away from this spot. But the Empress would follow her. Not only would she follow her, but she would also make an official announcement, declaring Flurry Heart as an enemy and target that must be caught immediately.
"Need to find the right moment..." Flurry Heart looked at the Travel Sphere. "Auntie will just follow me back there...I need to think of something fast."
While thinking, her Auntie had tracked her down immediately, using her next spell to try and catch her niece. This spell seemed to be some form of clouds in front and around her. Large plumes of them.
Each of these clouds had something specific in them. One cloud had flames, one cloud had lightning and another had ice within it. It was sort of similar to the Pokemon move Tri Attack.
"Chase her." The Empress commanded. And under her commands, the clouds suddenly pursued the young alicorn with the lightning cloud being the fastest of them all. Flurry Heart spread her wings out as she started fleeing from these vicious sentient clouds.
It wasn't just the elements they had inside that made these clouds so dangerous, but the fact that they could change shape as well. The lightning cloud transformed into some sort of creature with a gigantic mouth, the fire cloud became a giant claw ready to grab Flurry Heart while the ice one stayed the same with no change in it.
The lightning cloud shot bursts of lightning like a thunderstorm from its jaws, trying to smite the young alicorn or even paralyze her. Flurry Heart squeaked after hearing the thunderbolt sounds. She does have a fear of thunder, unfortunately.
The guards who were pegasi pursued Flurry Heart through their air, already having their electric staffs ready, mimicking the cloud. Guards from below were galloping after her as well. Some guards were already occupied with Jackie right about now. 50,000 volts of electricity shot out of their staffs as they tried to shoot the young alicorn down as hard as they could.
The giant flaming cloud hands tried to clap Flurry Heart, potentially crushing and burning her at the same time. A horrible way to go. They also tried grabbing her while shooting fire out.
But, she was able to avoid them for the most part as the lightning cloud was getting closer, biting aggressively, ready to gnaw onto Flurry Heart and shock her as the bolts were getting faster and harder to avoid. One of them even managed to graze her hoof, leaving a bit of a sting.
"Ow!" She certainly felt that as she almost fell out of the air. But, she kept going. Flurry Heart looked at the Travel sphere while being chased down by the clouds throughout the castle.
She believed that now might be the best time to use it, even while flying through the air. Flurry was worried about Jackie though. She could potentially leave him here in a place this dangerous. Refusing to leave Jackie behind, she started to communicate with him via the ear commutation device.
"Jackie! Are you okay?"
"Everything's going great here." Jackie gave a thumbs up while the Pokemon he had freed were currently going against the Empress' guards,
Unfortunately for the guards, since their armour was made out of aluminium, basically metal, the Ground-Type Pokemon had a field day with them, using moves such as Earth Power, Sand Tomb, Bulldoze and more. But, the guards were holding their own since the Empress already knew about Ground-Type Pokemon.
However, the fury of a Pokemon is unmatched.
"Just freed all the Pokemon. What about you?"
"I have the book! But right now I'm being chased by auntie! She figured me out! I can't leave yet without you!"
"Ah, it's fine. I've got my own Travel Spheres. Besides, I found some new ones in this lab here. Once we deal with the guards here, we'll head home to safety."
"Oh, thank goodness." Flurry Heart sighed. "That means I can-" But before she could do what needed to be done, the Empress suddenly appeared from within the ceiling, almost as if she was camouflaged as she used her gravity spell to send Flurry Heart back to the floor. "Ough!"
"Hm? Flurry Heart? Princess Flurry Heat? What happened?!" Jackie asked, hearing the sound of someone being hurt and what sounded like thunder as well.
"O-Ow..."
"Camouflage spell." The Empress descended, stomping her hoof on Flurry Heart's back, pinning her to the floor. The clouds she created also surrounded the Empress. "Not my favourite but it helps when needed."
The guards had also surrounded the young alicorn, pointing their electrical metal staffs at her from all sides. She was now surrounded and essentially trapped.
"U-Ugh...!"
"I would've thought you were doing this out of jealousy. That I chose Luster Dawn to be the next ruler of my Empire when my time comes. But, obviously, that's not you."
"L-Let me go...!"
"I could've actually made you something great either way when you would've become older. Not as great as me obviously." The Empress then took the Travel Sphere off Flurry Heart's hooves, looking at it before using her Gravity spell to absolutely destroy it into tiny pieces.
When destroying the sphere, all the Rift energy also blew up as remnants of the device fell in front of Flurry Heart. The Rift energy remained as it flew off into the wind, heading out to who-knows-where.
"No!" Flurry Heart cried out as her ticket out of here had been obliterated.
"I would excuse you because you're still so young. Just like me." The Empress twisted her hoof around Flurry Heart's back while also using gravity to keep her down. "Would you like that? A second chance? I promise you, I can be generous."
"Urgh...!" Flurry Heart tried to break free but it was no use. Thankfully, Giratina was there to protect her. Yet another emission of Antimatter had pushed the gravity field away, erasing it. The Empress was still confounded by what could've possibly done that.
"Again? You're hiding something powerful. I refuse to believe you're capable of destroying my Gravity Field. Then again, you are a prodigy I suppose. You were only lucky to be born an alicorn."
"I-I'm not hiding anything else!"
"Really?" The Empress looked over at Flurry Heart's saddlebag, wondering if something else was in there other than the book. She used her magic to take the book away while also searching inside, wondering what Flurry Heart was hiding.
But before she could do that, Giratina acted again. By sending a telepathic pulse to Empress Twilight and the guards, the Renegade Pokemon tried to overwhelm her mind with horrifying and violent imagery. Just like how it did to that one scientist in the lab here.
"Oh!" The Empress and guards gasped after the pulse went through their mind. Immediately, a plethora of violent images were being shown to her at rapid speeds and a hyperactive pace. "W-What is this?!"
Her eyes were flashing as she lowered them, trying to comprehend what she was witnessing. The guards immediately froze and dropped to the grounds after witnessing everything in a split second. The imagery was too much for them to handle as their minds went numb with little left. They didn't even scream. Just like the griffin scientist.
But unlike the scientist and guards, the Empress actually had a resistance to the pulse. But not by her own mind. Instead, she used a spell that helped to dispel her mind of all of the awful imagery being thrown her way. A sort of mental block spell. But, getting rid of Giratina's imagery was still a challenge as she was concentrating all of her magic.
It also helped that she had the strength of many alicorns, but even so, Giratina, being one Pokemon with its own solo strength that it has earned was powerful enough to match the Empress from what Flurry Heart was seeing.
"Enough!" The Empress yelled as she pushed her magic to the extreme, causing a massive dispel of her mind, larger than anything she's done as all of Giratina's images had been erased.
However, using that much magic actually drained the Empress a bit. Giratina really pushed her there to use a lot. Even the Empress was stunned.
"Impossible..." She breathed in and out. "That took practically a gigantic portion of my magic to push back...even for me. You...What kind of power did you obtain?"
"Ugh..." Flurry Heart groaned as she still couldn't break free.
"You just continue to be full of surprises, don't you Flurry Heart? Well then..." The Empress lit her horn up, gathering destructive amounts of magic. "Let's see how this mysterious power protects you when I unleash all of this magic!"
She cackled as she was practically about to blast her own niece with magic so great that it could most likely carve a hole in this ship. Giratina was prepared to protect Flurry Heart from whatever comes her way.
But this time, it wouldn't be Giratina doing the protecting.
Before the Empress could fire her magic, a different source of magic was coming her way. A magic blast of gold and dark blue colouring had zoomed over, hitting the Empress, guards and clouds all at once due to how wide it was. The clouds had been obliterated while the guards were sent back, even though they were already frozen thanks to Giratina.
The Empress screamed as the blast that had hit her was surprisingly powerful. Powerful enough to not just stagger and send her back, but even leave a lasting effect on her as she tumbled on the ground.
The one who did this was Pyrestar.
The fused alicorn princess stood in front of Flurry Heart, gazing at the Empress with disdainful eyes. She was obviously bound to come here eventually, especially since she was showing up the same day Jackie and Flurry Heart would arrive.
"Q-Queen Pyrestar!" Flurry Heart had a wide smile on her face.
"Leave." She ordered with a powerful tone. It was clear that the fused alicorn was going to take this from here. Understanding her decision, Flurry Heart nodded as she grabbed the spellbook.
Queen Pyrestar kept the gateway that she made open via the Travel Sphere. It would not close until Flurry Heart and the book were away from this world. And that's what Flurry Heart did.
With no hesitation, she passed through the gateway with the book as Pyrestar closed the gateway afterwards, successfully freeing Flurry Heart from any further damage.
"I'll handle everything else."
"Ugh..." The Empress held her head as she stood up. "Who are you...?"
"Hmph. To think that this is what you became in this world with this kind of rule. Honestly, I'm disappointed in you Twilight Sparkle." She spoke with a disappointed tone.
Upon speaking, the Empress was able to tell who this was. The voice was obviously a mixture of Celestia and Luna's voice, giving the clear impression that this was the Queen Pyrestar Empress Twilight had heard about.
"You're Queen Pyrestar? Celestia and Luna as one."
"As you see. And I'm here to clear a few things. For starters, someone who has allied themselves with Ghetsis and Team Plasma cannot be excused at all." The Queen narrowed her eyes.
"Hmph. I don't want to hear anything from you. Especially not when I am an Empress and you are just a Queen." The Empress smirked with a cocky tone and laugh.
"So?" Pyrestar gave a fairly effective response.
"What do you mean so?"
"You're not that special. Those spells were never yours, to begin with. All of them stolen instead of working hard to earn your own. Some Empress you are. If anything, you're just a second-rate alicorn."
"S-Second rate?!" That struck a nerve for sure. "Don't get confident! You may be two alicorns in one but I have the strength of a million alicorns by a margin!"
"Hmph. Impudent, cocky child. I've been around longer than you've ever been. I have my own tricks up my sleeve..." She gave a smirk that could be considered beautiful and intimidating at the same time.
As Jackie was getting ready to leave this world after rescuing all of the Pokemon here and grabbing some personal souvenirs, the showdown of two alicorns, technically three, was about to happen.
Whatever happens in this castle ship could be disastrous for everyone.
The Village of Dragons, Day.
Spike was still training. Right now, he was still in his meditative state, trying to communicate with every dragon here. But so far, he was only able to communicate with his Axew, Salamence and Druddigon only.
The golden flame-like light around him remained as he was absolutely silent. His Pokemon have been watching him for a while now as well as Drayden and the Elder.
Spike hasn't said a word.
"Hm. He's been doing it for quite a while now." Drayden noticed. "Odd."
"Spike. It's alright to take breaks here and there." The Elder suggested
"..." But Spike was silent. A bit too silent. To the point where he wouldn't even respond which was a bit concerning to his Pokemon, Drayden and the Elder.
"Spike?" They knew that something was off. Curious as to why Spike wasn't responding, Drayden walked up to the baby dragon, waving his hand in front of his face.
When he did so, it was quickly revealed what happened to Spike. He wasn't in some hyper-meditative state. Instead, he was asleep.
"Asleep." Drayden pointed out. "Guess he's still tired from yesterday. Dragonspiral Tower is a fairly big place."
"Oh..." The Elder nodded.
"Ah!" Just then, Spike woke up with his golden light fading. Seems that his little nap was over as he woke to see his Pokemon, Drayden and the Elder. "Oh geez...Dozed off there..."
"Seems so." The Elder chuckled. "But, I just say, that was impressive."
"Impressive? Did I reach all the dragons here?"
"Not exactly. Instead, you did something new that I've never seen before." The Elder shook her head. "Despite being asleep, you managed to keep your draconic light active. Naturally, it only works with those awake...but you've found an alternative."
"I did it while asleep?"
"Seems that in your sleep, you still had a clear state of mind," Drayden observed. "That shows great promise."
"Hehe...Thanks." Spike chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "But, I think I gotta speed things up a bit. To get to Kyurem and back home to help all my friends when that invasion comes."
"Well, you've essentially learned how to communicate with your Pokemon. But, communicating with other Dragon Pokemon still hasn't been achieved yet." said the Elder.
"Yeah...I gotta work on that."
"You can develop on it. But you don't have to sit out here forever to do so. The Champion of our Region Iris managed to develop her own abilities during her journeys. Not by staying here forever." The Elder explained.
"Seriously?! I can learn it along the way?!" Spike stood up.
"Seems to me that you've already been doing so early on before you knew of us. Having a good grasp of the light is a good sign of that." Drayden replied.
"Alright!" Spike grinned. "That means I can head out there and find Kyurem while getting better. Bet I could catch some more Dragon-Types along the way. Maybe some rare ones that not many have! Oh, might if I ask, Elder? Is there a place where I can find even rarer Dragon Pokemon?"
"Well now that you mention that. Before you leave, I have two things to show you. One of them is a gift." The Elder went to the outside of her tent.
"Hm? Two?"
"This is a common result for those wishing to be Dragon Trainers. Since you've already possessed the dragon's light and can communicate with your Pokemon, it's only natural, or rather a habit of mine, that I gift you a new friend."
"Remember what I said earlier, Spike?" Drayden turned to Spike. "How the Elder gives Dragon Pokemon to Dragon Trainers that are coming of age?"
"Yeah, I remember." Spike nodded before realizing what this meant. "Oh, wait! You mean-"
"Here, Spike. A new friend to help you along the way." The Elder brought a basket with her. And in that basket was a single Dragon-Type Pokemon. It was none other than the Irate Pokemon.
Deino.
"Deino!"
"Oh, it's-" Spike gazed at the Dragon-Type before realizing which Pokemon it resembled. A fairly infamous and feared Pokemon across Equestria. "Wait...Is this Hydreigon's pre-evolution?" Curious, he took out his Pokedex to scan the Irate Pokemon.
"Deino. The Irate Pokemon. It tends to bite everything, and it is not a picky eater. Approaching it carelessly is dangerous. Lacking sight, it’s unaware of its surroundings, so it bumps into things and eats anything that moves. Their bodies are covered in wounds. If it likes what it tastes, it will commit the associated scent to memory."
"This Deino, like many Dragon Pokemon here, hatched from an egg. I give her to you as a reward for raising such wonderful Dragon-Types." The Elder complimented the rest of Spike's Pokemon, making them feel proud of themselves.
"Axew!"
"Salamence!"
"Druddigon!"
"Thanks, Elder. Hey there, Deino." Spike moved his hand forward, wanting to pet the Irate Pokemon. Her hair and fur seemed very compelling. "My name's Spike. I'll be-"
"Dei...No!" Just then, without hesitation, the Dark-Dragon ended up biting onto Spike's arm in response to him.
"OW!" Spike cried out as he pulled his hand back, blowing on it aggressively. Bite marks had been made around his wrist as they seemed incredibly deep.
"Oh, right. She's a heavy biter. Then again, all Deino are heavy biters." The Elder chuckled. "You might want to look out for that in the future."
"Yeah...I'll remember..." Spike flailed his hand, holding it. "What was the second thing?"
"The second thing. Well, I'll say that you picked the right week to go on your quest." The Elder opened her box of valuables related to Dragon Pokemon. "Just recently, a special kind of item discovered out in the mountains of Unova."
"Really? Which item?"
"Here." The Elder grabbed a book of Dragon Pokemon and certain objects, opening it to a specific page. There, Spike was shown a special kind of circular item.
"The Soul Dew."
"Soul Dew?"
"There are only two of them in this world that are known. One that exists in Alto Mare in Johto, and another that has just recently shown up. This special item can be both destroyed and recreated by two Pokemon."
"Two Pokemon?"
"Latios and Latias." The Elder then flipped the page to where Latios and Latias are.
"Latios and Latias?" Spike quickly took out his Pokedex for this. The best part of the Pokedex is that it can scan any Pokemon without having the real deal being in front of them. Images can work too.
"Latias. The Eon Pokemon. Latias is highly sensitive to the emotions of people. If it senses any hostility, this Pokémon ruffles the feathers all over its body and cries shrilly to intimidate the foe. Latias is highly intelligent and capable of understanding human speech. It is covered with a glass-like down. The Pokémon enfolds its body with its down and refracts light to alter its appearance.
"Latios. The Eon Pokemon. Latios has the ability to make others see an image of what it has seen or imagined in its head. This Pokémon is also intelligent and understands human speech. Latios will only open its heart to a Trainer with a compassionate spirit. This Pokémon can fly faster than a jet plane by folding its forelegs to minimize air resistance. It is a tender Pokémon that dislikes fighting."
"These two Pokemon can sacrifice themselves and form a new Soul Dew, using their spirit as a vessel. However, for the longest time, only one was ever recorded and discovered in Alto Mare until last year." The Elder explained.
"We believe that this Soul Dew actually comes from another universe."
"Another universe?!" Spike gasped.
"One day, multiple new gateways formed across the land. Both seemed to have Aura and Dark Aura around them. No one knows what caused this chain reaction of gateways to appear so haphazardly." Drayden began breaking it down. "But, out of one of these gateways, the Soul Dew arrived. A Shiny Collector happened upon it."
"Aura and Dark Aura...?" Spike was thinking back to who were the two that possessed those. Ash obviously had Aura but he also heard something about Ghetsis holding Dark Aura.
Not to mention, when the two trainers Red and Blue first appeared via a gateway, they were alternate universe variants of Ash and someone named Gary Oak.
In fact, They showed up one day after the rescue of Cold Colt from Ghetsis and Team Plasma in Saddle Arabia. Just before Ash and Ghetsis battled each other on that day. Spike then put the pieces together and came to a shocking revelation.
Ash and Ghetsis were responsible for creating gateways to other Pokemon Universes. And there's no telling how many they've made and what has come through here.
"Oh!"
"The Shiny Collector did not need the Soul Dew, so he left it in the mountains. Passerbys and travellers are now the ones who speculate that they've seen a Soul Dew before. But because of its elusive nature and aura, it is practically an illusion." The Elder turned the page back to the Soul Dew."
"Oh...So Latias or Latias are in there?"
"Maybe. This Soul Dew might still be the original instead of a newly created one. But, our own Latios and Latias exist in this world. A few of them but not many."
"Then it's settled! I'll also go after the Soul Dew as well and maybe one day, I'll catch Latios or Latias. Or maybe one of them's actually inside it, I don't know." Spike shrugged. He was okay with either of the outcomes.
"That's the spirit, boy." Drayden nodded in agreement. "So, I assume you're off to find Kyurem now?"
"Mhm! Along the way, I'm hoping to find the Soul Dew too. Any idea on where Latios and Latias normally are?"
"Johto and Hoenn. Those are the best options you have to search for them." Drayden answered.
"Got it! Okay! Kyurem, here I come! Let's go, Deino!" Eager to get things started, Spike got out a Great Ball, tossing it at the Irate Pokemon.
Once the Great Ball pulled Deino in, it landed in the basket as the shaking had begun. Now to wait for the result even though it was obvious by the Elder's choice.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Deino was caught.
And with that capture, Spike picked up the Great Ball, sending Deino out of it. The Irate Pokemon's expression remained the same either way. He then recalled Druddigon and Salamence to their Poke Balls.
"Axew!" Axew greeted his new teammate.
"Dei!" Just like how she did to Spike as a greeting, the Irate Pokemon also took a bite into Axew's hands. It was clear that this was going to be common to practically everyone very soon.
"A-AXEW!"
"Good luck out there, Spike. It would be nice if you could tell us what your experience with Kyurem would be like when you get back." The Elder bowed.
"Got it." Spike put his backpack on as he walked out of the tent with eagerness. Axew and his new teammate Deino followed the baby dragon wherever he went. Although, Deino seemed to be a bit slower.
Spike waved goodbye to the residents of Dragon Village, promising to come back with a riveting story about Kyurem while Drayden and the Elder watched him run off.
"Hm. That reminds me. Few trainers have a Latios and Latias with them, don't they?" The Elder asked Drayden.
"Certainly. I still remember that one trainer so powerful that had both a Darkrai and Latios. I guess the newer generations of trainers are just getting stronger and stronger, aren't they? Eventually, us old generations might pale in comparison soon."
"Mhm." The Elder could certainly agree with that.
Canterlot. Equestria. 1 hour to the Afternoon.
Flurry Heart had entered Canterlot Gardens after running here from the outskirts. She had just returned to Celestia and Luna who were listening in on everything via the hidden cameras. Reshiram was still laying there. Jackie by this point had also left the Empress' universe with the stolen Pokemon and certain items due to things get a bit too destructive.
"M-Made it..." The young alicorn breathed in and out as she fell on the ground, dropping the book. Her body was in a bit of pain due to the previous events. "I got the book and everything..."
"Flurry Heart! Are you alright?!" Celestia rushed over, helping the young alicorn up.
"F-Fine...Back's a bit sore though." But don't worry about me. We have the book now."
"We know but...Queen Pyrestar's the one we're worried about." Luna looked at the camera, seeing it tremble from what could most definitely be the feud between Queen Pyrestar and Empress Twilight.
She was the only intruder left on the ship at this point, causing a ruckus as she had one goal. To completely halt the invasion and sabotage everything. At least, what can sabotage.
"She'll be fine," Celestia reassured. "Right now, let's focus on learning this Pirouette Spell."
Ash was still unconscious due to Delayed Aura Ataxia Disorder. After using so much Aura the last time in a life-risking moment, Ash was put out of commission for potentially 2 or 3 weeks from what Mewtwo deduced.
Since then, his friends have been highly worried about him. Especially his mother who is the most worried by far. Delia was currently sitting in the room where Ash was resting, patiently waiting for her son to wake up. She will most definitely come here every day to check up on Ash.
As a mother, she couldn't leave her son like this as Mimey was in the room with her. They would be leaving the hospital soon anyway so the visit wouldn't last forever.
But as Delia waited, the unconscious Ash Ketchum, despite being unresponsive, was having a different experience deep within his mind.
An experience that was identical to what Celestia and Luna once experienced when they had passed out.
Deep within Ash's mind. An endless blue area.
"Ah, I really pushed it this time..." Ash sighed, scratching the back of his hair. "Oh, well. Hope I'm not missing too much though. But, where am I...?"
He looked at this endless blue landscape seeing that there was no end in sight. This blue colouring here was identical to Aura. It even had the same flow and motion of Aura as he started walking about.
He couldn't hear his footsteps as well. It was most likely from the surface of Aura he was walking on. Aura barely makes any noise and if it does it's highly silent. He was the only one here. For once, he wasn't with Pikachu. The longest Ash has been without Pikachu by his side.
"All this Aura...What is this place?"
"It's your mind, Ash Ketchum." Just then, there was someone else in this landscape aside from Ash. Someone whose voice sounded very familiar. But while they sounded familiar, it also sounded like a mature voice of someone Ash already knew.
"Huh?" Obviously, Ash could help but turn to where this voice came from. And when he faced that direction, his eyes were immediately stunned with who he was witnessing. A familiar face but different from what he knows.
It was an alicorn Fluttershy.
"Huh...?" Ash took a closer look to see if he was imagining things since this was his mind. But when looked further, he couldn't help but have one reaction. "HUH?! Fluttershy?!"
"Hello." She waved.
"Ohoho!" Ash couldn't help but gawk. "Awesome! When did this happen?! Did you become an alicorn?! Man, how long am I still out for?!"
"Oh, no-no-no. I'm not your, Fluttershy Ash Ketchum." She shook her head.
"Not my Fluttershy? Then are you...from another world?"
"Mhm." She nodded in response. "Come with me. I'll explain everything."
Empress Twilight's Universe. Her main castle ship. Afternoon.
Right now, a fierce and destructive feud between two, technically three alicorns is occurring. One between the fusion of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in the form of Queen Pyrestar and the other the Empress and ruler of various alternate worlds and an ever-growing Empire Empress Twilight Sparkle.
With Flurry Heart and Jackie leaving this place, successfully retrieving what they came here for in the first place, Pyrestar had all the reason in the world to take everything from here.
The guards and the rest of the ponies, griffins, dragons and other species were being caught up in this alicorn scuffle, much to their dismay.
Pyrestar was sent through one of the walls of the castle, entering another room after being hit by one of the Empress' magical attacks. Going through pure aluminium can really leave an impact on someone as Pyrestar tumbled.
"You shouldn't have come here!" The Empress spoke, flying above Pyrestar with yet another magical attack ready to be used. "Now, I'll just take your magic like I did many other alicorns from various worlds. I may even steal your spellbook and learn a thing or two about this fusion spell. Then again, I'm already powerful enough so I might not need it."
"Hmph." Pyrestar got up. "Even if you did, you'd have to get past Ghetsis. That is...if he hasn't destroyed my library yet and torn it down."
"Tch!" The Empress kissed her teeth before sending a forcefield of gravity towards the Queen. She was going to crush Pyrestar with high amounts of gravity until all of her bones were unable to respond. But the fused alicorn wouldn't allow that.
Using one of her many exclusive spells specifically from her world, Pyrestar used some sort of density and mass spell to counteract the forcefield. When the gravitational forcefield came her way, the fused alicorn quickly increased the mass and density of the forcefield, making it lighter instead of heavier, allowing her to float without using her wings.
"Huh?!" The Empress was shocked by this. No one has been able to find a way around her Gravity spell apart from Giratina who did it earlier. Rather, no alicorn or pony has been able to do so. "My spell...How did you...?"
"How's that? It's called the Density Spell. Gravity is still a force that has mass. You throw it my way, I'll just alter the solidity, change the size of the substances or even create or destroy that matter of mass in a volume. If you want, I can make it heavier for you. Right back at you, that is!"
In a surprising turn of events, Pyrestar gave the Empress a taste of her own medicine by sending the Density towards her. By manipulating all the solids and gases in the area, she changed the Empress' mass and created pressure that forcefully sent the Empress back. It was similar to her Gravity spell but with slight differences.
"Ugh!" The Empress groaned after being slammed into the walls with high intensified pressure. "W-Well played..." She cackled, being fairly impressed by Pyrestar's spells. She couldn't wait to steal them for her own.
Admiring the Queen's prowess, the Empress fought back by creating magic formulas in the air with various high numbers that surrounded Pyrestar in a spherical appearance. Afterwards, the targeted area and Pyrestar was engulfed by a massive spherical shockwave.
Pyrestar screamed as her body had been hit by this magical shockwave. It felt like electricity was running through her body. But with a flash of her horn, she separated the shockwaves away from her, dispersing them while also giving the Empress a slight twitch.
Pyrestar then decided to bring the place down on the Empress by firing her magic up at the ceiling. With great power, the aluminium ceiling didn't stand a chance as Pyrestar's magic was essentially cutting it apart. Large chunks of aluminium ceilings bits started falling directly onto the Empress as a distraction.
But, Empress Twilight quickly changed the tides by using her magic to hold the chunks of aluminium. She then reversed the roles by sending the aluminium chunks towards Pyrestar t speeds equal to a rocket.
The Queen gasped as she quickly used one of her spells to freeze the rocks into nothing but ice. And speaking of ice, Pyrestar then shot her magic to the floor immediately causing a flash-freeze to happen to the floor. Large spikes of ice were forming as well, racing towards the Empress.
Empress Twilight obliterated the ice by smashing her hoof on the floor, showing just how much physical strength she had rather than just magical strength. Afterwards, she summoned dark purple tendrils that emerged from the walls, floor and ceiling itself.
Pyrestar was immediately slapped in the face by one of them before another had grabbed her hooves, wrapping around them with a tight bind. Once she had been held down by the tendrils, even with her neck, the remaining ones started repeatedly whipping and beating onto Pyrestar, leaving magic shocks through her each time.
Constantly, these tendrils wouldn't let her go while furiously hitting her. But, living up to her name, Pyrestar emitted a ferocious pyre from her body, heating herself. Flames showed from her horn as intense heat waves flew out, burning away at the tendrils until they were nothing but ash while also melting the leftover ice.
That wasn't all it melted. The aluminium had been affected by Pyrestar's surprisingly hot flames. There was a clear reason why she received that name in her world.
"Actual fire? She does live up to her name." The Empress' eyes widened by witnessing those flames. In retaliation, she decided to summon the three elemental clouds from before. Each containing Fire, Lightning and Ice. And of course, they changed shapes with the fire cloud being a large pair of hands, the lightning one forming sharp teeth and the ice one staying the same as always.
The lightning had raced towards Pyrestar, shooting vicious thunderbolts towards her. The Queen quickly used her magic to create some sort of square shield in front of her.
This square shield wasn't just solid like other shields. It had a trampoline-line substance. When the lightning jaw hit the shield, it bounced like someone jumping on a trampoline would but sideways. The lightning bolts flew all over the place because of this as they even almost hit the Empress.
The fire hands passed the shield by spreading out, grabbing Pyrestar either way. With scorching flames and a vicious grip, the flaming hands had caught the Queen, holding her tight. The hands then began surrounding her with horrible flames, trying to melt her away.
But, Pyrestar had a resistance to it. Not only that, but she created a counter to this. By lighting her horn up and concentrating all of her magic into her wings, she created an aura of wind that expanded out of her horn and wings, blowing the fire away like it was nothing. It was like a tornado going off with all these gales.
The fire hands had been destroyed in the process but there was still one left. The ice cloud. If she is frozen, then that might cause troubles for her. The ice cloud transformed into ten multiple large swords that each had the capability of freezing and cutting upon contact.
Pyrestar immediately took the air, flying directly towards the swords instead of away from them. The swords then tried cutting and freezing her by swinging around frantically like they had their own mind. But, with her doubled flying speed thanks to her being a fusion, she had the swiftness to avoid these chilling blades as the walls and ceiling were being frozen instead due to all of these misses.
Pyrestar then increased her body heat rapidly, melting the swords around her until they were nothing but fluid liquid dropping down. After dealing with the clouds, she flew to the Empress as both alicorn rulers ended up clashing horns together. Just like swords.
"I should've expected this from a fused alicorn." The Empress growled as both of them were pushing their horns against each other. "It actually irritates me that you're this strong even when I have the strength of many. You're just two alicorns in one."
"Who cares about the number?" The Queen retorted. "I've been around longer than you have and been through many hardships. Your little power stealing isn't a match for my endurance and hard work. You should know that since the Celestia side of me taught you that, Twilight Sparkle."
"We'll see about that!" The Empress let out a devious grin as both she and Pyrestar ended up causing an eruption of magic from their horns. But they ended up engulfing themselves because of this.
A dome-shaped gale of dark purple and gold and blue magic emerged from their eruption of magic, covering the two alicorn rulers while also expanding.
Which didn't spell good news for the species inside of the castle. The guards who were still recovering from the whole Pokemon Ranger break-in were about to become victims of this alicorn clash. Actually, some of them already have been.
Some guards had been knocked out from the alicorn battle after trying to restrain Queen Pyrestar, but it didn't work out for them so well. Everyone on board immediately made a run for it, heading for the ship's escape pods. They were going back to the planet for safety. But due to them being in a panic, there was a huge overcrowding issue, making it difficult for everyone to properly enter a pod.
Luckily for them, the expanding eruption of magic only went so far as just the guards had been hit by it. But, that wasn't to say that other alicorn actions would doom them.
After the eruption ended up with the smoke clearing, the two of them were still clashing but this time with two magic beams going against each other. They had also gained some distance.
They were both trying to push their beams through for victory but neither seemed to be able to do so. As such, they cancelled each other out with both their beams blowing up at the same time. It ended in a draw.
Yet again, the smoke cleared as both alicorns were looking a bit tattered up. Their usually beautiful manes were now rugged as the Empress' dress had scratches and a few holes here and there. Even their horns were sizzling with how many spells and magic they were letting out.
"You...You've grown for certain, Twilight Sparkle..." Pyrestar breathed in and out along with the Empress. "Makes me a bit proud that the Celestia side of myself taught you well."
"Spare me the compliment queen..." Empress Twilight took some time to catch her breath. "You're already getting in the way of my plans. You and that annoying niece of mine. Once I conquer your world, I'll make sure that you're imprisoned on the moon with her including all of your magic taken for myself."
"That won't happen. Even if it means my own well-being, I refuse to let you invade that world. Whatever it takes to prevent any more disasters."
"Of course you'd say that...You and that world are already problems, to begin with." The Empress growled. "But, I don't have to worry. Despite all these damages and...minor setbacks, I still have a large force at my beck and call. Do you think this universe is the only one where I have an army? Wrong? I've already made other worlds' under my royal guard and such. My rule is far bigger than you can imagine."
"So?" Pyrestar replied with a scoff.
"Seems you're not properly intimidated. That's okay. You'll be stuck here with no magic within you. Isn't that right...you three?"
Once she said that three separate rays of magic hit the fused alicorn from behind. One was the colour of the sun, the other was light blue and another was dark blue almost like a nightmarish colour. The fused alicorn couldn't help but scream after being hit by three different rays from behind as they engulfed her.
The ones responsible for this were Daybreaker, Princess Starlight Glimmer and Nightmare Rarity, who had all come to the Empress' aid after a guard had called for them.
"Ugh!" Pyrestar groaned as she got on the floor with all three rays continuously pouring on her with no rest. As if that wasn't bad enough, Empress Twilight joined in by using her own magic, making it four now.
Pyrestar was suffering now.
"You were having trouble with her?" Starlight pointed her hoof at the Empress. "That doesn't seem in character for you."
"Well, isn't it obvious? One side is me so of course, she'd have trouble." Daybreaker chuckled, praising herself over everyone else which didn't sit well with the Empress.
"A fused alicorn is a greater threat than I could've ever imagined." The Empress replied. "It was my mistake to underestimate her. But I won't make that same mistake ever again. Especially now that your magic will soon be mine."
"N-No...it won't!" Pyrestar declared as she strained. "I can't let someone who works for Ghetsis win...!"
"Work for him? Hah!" The Empress increased her magic onto Pyrestar. "There is nopony out there that I work for! Let's get that straight! Once everything's said and done, not only will I conquer every alternate version of my world, but the Pokemon World will be next in line. Commanding such powerful creatures sounds like a delight, don't you agree?"
"Then, I have an even greater reason to stop you. Right here. Right now. I'll take everything you own out in one go."
"Hm?" The Empress raised an eyebrow, wondering what Pyrestar meant. But before she could figure it out, the fused alicorn's body ignited with scorching flames as they were suddenly building up.
The Empress and her allies gasped at this sudden growth of flames. But these flames were unlike anything they've seen before. And soon, anything they've never felt before.
"What is she doing?!" Princess Starlight pulled back.
"Planning on blowing everything up? I don't think so!" The Empress then used two spells in one. The first was the Gravity spell and the second was the tendrils. Each had the sole purpose to stop Pyrestar, holding her down and decreasing the gravity on her.
"Sorry! But that won't work!" Pyrestar grinned as her smile intimidated the foes before her. "Even you can't stop all of my magic from coming out!"
"You wouldn't?!" Daybreaker gasped.
"Would she?!" Nightmare Rarity winced.
"I just did." Those were her last words before the inevitable happened. By exuding every ounce of magic remaining in her body, Pyrestar summoned a nova-like explosion that burst from her body. In a flash, before most of the others could react, a nova-coloured explosion with flames spread out at high speeds, engulfing the entire castle ship in seconds.
But it didn't stop there. Other nearby ships had been caught in this explosion. Not all of them but a large majority. Their defences couldn't act quick enough to stop this sudden outburst of magic as it was bright enough to even match the intensity of the sun. This could be seen all the way from space and the planet below. All inhabitants of the empire witnessed this up in the sky.
However, while this seemed like some sort of explosion that could decimate everything, it wasn't the usual kind of explosion. While it could destroy, it had a different effect.
Once the explosion cleared and everything simmered down, it was revealed that the Empress, with her great speed, managed to put up a protective shield around her allies, saving them. But she wasn't fast enough to protect everything. The castle was suddenly being disintegrated and dissolved along with the ship. That includes every other ship nearby. All of it was being broken down rapidly. As she opened her eyes, the Empress quickly realized what Pyrestar had done.
She gasped as everything she had was becoming nothing but fragments. Arguably, this was less destructive than an explosion, but it was happening at such a fast rate that stopping it would be unstoppable.
Pyrestar smiled as she fainted from using all of her magic. She had done a great feat that benefited her friends, giving them possibly all the time in the world now.
"It's like my Decay spell..." The Empress gawked with her jaw opening. She then turned to Pyrestar, growling at her. "You...! You!"
"I don't want to be a part of this mess. Good luck with your ships." Daybreaker turned around, activating the Travel Sphere along with Princess Starlight. Soon, Nightmare Rarity quickly opened her own.
No one wanted to be floating in the endless vacuum of space with the ship being decomposed. And to make matters worse, Pyrestar's flames were everywhere. Just to add insult to injury. As they left, the Empress and Pyrestar were the only ones left.
Empress Twilight couldn't help but be stunned by this sudden outcome. Her main ship was coming to an end. Not only that, but a gigantic plethora of her fleet had been caught by this nova-like explosion as all of the escape pods were escaping back to the planet. But some of them had been caught by the nova, slowly breaking down.
Her private library was practically extinct by this point. All the stolen books from various universes were history including her own original books. Her throne room, gone. The lab where most of the work happens, gone. Everything was being decomposed.
The Empress could do nothing but scoff and kiss her teeth. She knew this wasn't over yet. Even though her invasion would not be heavily pulled back and delayed, she had an ace up her sleeve somewhere.
"Well played, Queen Pyrestar." She scoffed as her horn lit up. "But...this won't stop me." With one word, the Empress had teleported out of the castle ship before it was nothing but space dust. She was obviously returning to the planet where everything else resides.
Her massive fleet had come to an end, thus foiling the invasion and pulling it back. But at a great cost. The capture of Queen Pyrestar. She was now within the Empress' custody.
Equestria. Canterlot. Day.
And all this time, looking at the cameras while also looking at the spellbook, Celestia, Luna and Flurry Heart had witnessed the destruction of the Empress' ship. Along with the cameras. Their connection had been cut off as their jaws dropped after that.
"She took out the whole ship by herself?" Luna spoke. "But by doing so in that way?"
"Pyrestar did say that she would do anything to stop that invasion from happening. Or even hold it back if she could. Looks like she truly did so but at the cost of using all of her magic." Celestia lowered her head. "But, this has given us a lot of time now."
"I hope so." Flurry Heart shuddered. "Because auntie has more..."
"More?" Celestia and Luna turned to Flurry Heart.
"She's been building a new ship for her empire including a backup one for her main ship. It's not complete yet, but it's very close."
"Then, we should continue working hard now that all this time has been given to us." Celestia turned to the spellbook.
"What about Pyrestar? Aren't we going to rescue her?" Luna questioned.
"We will. Let's just focus on this for now. We won't let her efforts be in vain. And perhaps, we'll be the ones doing the invasion via a raid." Celestia responded.
"I suppose..." Luna grumbled, fearing for what could happen to Pyrestar. They continued to set up everything with further plans. With all this time given to them by Queen Pyrestar, their chances were looking greater, even if they had a good friend of theirs taken away.
They promised to make sure Pyrestar's hard work wouldn't go to waste.
Deep inside Ash's mind.
"So you need my help?" Ash asked the alicorn Fluttershy.
"Mhm." Fluttershy nodded. "I had a tiny little premonition a few months back. You see, my world is no stranger to the Rift and the actions that it's done. It ended up visiting my world once before but left after only a year. I'm the only one who remembers what happened during its arrival along with very few. Plus, the ability to open gateways was left behind in my world, making me the only pony in my world to do so."
"Oh..."
"But, I was made aware of this whole Empress Twilight ordeal and how it could affect my world too. I've already known about her invading various worlds and I fear that my world could be next. A part of her rule and everything with a great force behind her. That's why my premonition led to you. The one who'll protect us and other worlds was described to be you."
"Really? I don't know about that..." Ash scratched his hair. "I've only really been to two worlds, ya know? I guess three as well."
"Sometimes my premonitions are off. But I know of what you've done, Ash Ketchum. I firmly believe that you can do so. Stop the Empress and that...um...Ghetsis I think it was called?"
"I totally plan to stop them both either way. I made a promise after all. Especially to Pyrestar." Ash responded.
"Oh. Looks like you're already ahead of me then." Princess Fluttershy giggled. "Well then, I don't have much time here in your mind so that's all I can say. But I can still believe in you thanks to the premonition."
"Premonition or not, I'll help either way." Ash pointed his thumb at himself in pure confidence. "Trust me, Fluttershy."
"I do." She nodded. "Perhaps, after all is said and done, I can come and visit you. Those Pokemon creatures are so cuuute! Especially that Pikachu one! I just want to rub its little cute face and hug it and carry it up!" She still had Fluttershy's love for creatures even as a grownup in her own future world, prancing about in a giddy nature.
"You should! Pokemon are awesome! There's a lot to discover! I'll show everything there is when you get here!"
"I'll be looking forward to that." Princess Fluttershy smiled before leaving Ash's mind via a fadeaway. Afterwards, it was just Ash again in his mind, still unconscious.
"Alright. Gotta prepare for everything myself." He sat down on the Aura floor. "Maybe I can get past this whole Aura Ataxia problem. And I swear I'll stop them both, no matter what."
Spike's dragon quest continues as the road to Kyurem was ongoing. Right now, he had arrived in a place known as Dragons Peak. Sloped mountain peaks as far as the eye can see as many Dragon-Type Pokemon could most definitely be seen and found here. It's in the name and everything.
Right now, Spike, Axew and their newest teammate Deino were walking up large steep parts of the mountain peaks, breathing heavily. They aren't used to climbing something this steep at all.
"Should've taken the other route..." Spike panted.
"Axew..."
"Deino." But Deino didn't seem too bothered.
"Gotta get moving if we're gonna find Kyurem...He's got a giant ice castle doesn't he?" Spike wiped the sweat off his head as he and his Pokemon ended up reaching a high point of the steep hills they walked on.
Once they reached that high point, the three dragons ended up getting a nice view of what lies up ahead through the rest of Dragons Peak.
There, they were greeted by the sight of hundreds of Dragon-Type Pokemon roaming about, living their lives in this lush green yet rocky landscape. Whether it was them feeding their families or competing with each other, Dragon-Type Pokemon could be seen doing what they do best.
However, not all of them were Dragon-Type Pokemon. There were some exceptions here and there. But, some of these exceptions were a part of the Dragon Egg group despite not being Dragon-Types, so in a sense, they were still Dragons in an oddly specific way.
Not only that, but buildings seemed to reside here in the peaks. Buildings that had ancient-like appearances. As if they were from the past. Spike believed there could be some people living there or perhaps the Dragon Pokemon inhabit those buildings.
Possibly, these buildings might've existed during the old days of Unova. Whether it was when the Two Hero Princes existed or even further back. It wasn't just the buildings. Aside from the green yet rocky ground, there seemed to be cobblestone with moss around it, indicating that people did build a civilization here.
There were also large bits of building blocks. They seemed to be incomplete. As if someone was working on these buildings but gave up halfway. Or time just got to the blocks as well.
"Ohoho...Check that out!" Spike gawked at the sight of this area.
"Axew!"
"Dei?"
"Could be one step closer to Kyurem. Let's see if someone here in those buildings knows where his Frost Castle is!" Feeling full of energy Spike decided to slide down on the long slope along with Axew and Deino.
Although, Deino rolled instead of just sliding. The three of them felt the rush of moving at a fast pace from a high height as Spike and Axew raised their arms, cheering in excitement.
"Woohoo!" Spike yelled as it felt like he was on a kiddie slide. Right next to the slope was a large body of water. An entire river for some Dragon-Type Pokemon to rest in.
But, some of the Pokemon in there weren't Dragon-Types as one of them had spotted Spike and his Pokemon, locking its eyes onto its new prey. That Pokemon was a Tentacruel.
A very big Tentacruel.
"Tenta!"
"Oh!" Spike gasped, noticing the giant Tentacruel. "Look at the size of that Tentacruel!"
"Axew?!"
"Deino?"
"Cruel!" Tentacruel was hungry for some snacks. And Spike and his Pokemon looked like they could certainly fill that bill as it was swimming fast enough to keep up with the three of them. It raised its tentacles, ready to grab and gnaw on the dragons. "Tena!"
"Uh oh!" Spike quickly realized what was about to happen to him and his Pokemon. It wasn't just Tentacruel. Up ahead, a Flygon was minding its own business, eating its food and currently unaware of the mess coming towards it.
"Flygon..."
"Slow down! Slow down! Slow down!" Spike was telling his feet to stop sliding and to slow down. But it was too late. He had already gained enough speed and there was no stopping now.
"Gon?" The Ground-Dragon-Type eventually noticed the three dragons and Tentacruel heading here by just simply looking to the other side. "Fly?!"
"Tentacruel!" The Jellyfish Pokemon started smashing its tentacles onto the sloped hill, causing Spike and his Pokemon to almost lose their balance while sliding and rolling. Especially Deino, who bounced after Tentacruel hit the ground. And she kept bouncing each time.
"Flygon!" In response to what it deemed as hostility, Flygon used Earthquake by slamming its tail onto the ground, setting off a powerful tremor with white shockwaves that raced towards the three dragons.
"No-no-no-no-no!" Spike put his hands out, not wanting to be caught in those shockwaves. Seeing that his trainer was about to be hit, Axew quickly transformed into Haxorus to do something about this.
"Ax...Axorus! Haxorus!" Haxorus had emerged, grabbing both Spike and Deino into his hands. "Haxo!" Then, with his immense strength, he used Iron Tail to hit the ground, causing him to fly into the air because of the force emitted.
With him being airborne and holding Spike and Deino, they had successfully avoided Flygon's Earthquake. The same could not be said for Tentacrule whose tentacles were in the way.
The white shockwaves of the Earthquake connected with three of its tentacles, dealing super-effective damage and even knocking Tentacruel back.
"Cruel!"
"Phew..." Spike sighed as Haxorus landed down safely, placing his friends down. But even though they successfully escaped that mess, it ended up transitioning between Flygon and Tentacruel as the two of them were now at odds with each other.
"Tent! Tentacruel!" Unhappy with being hit by Earthquake and losing its prey, the Water-Poison-Type lashed out at Flygon, swinging its tentacles at it with Knock Off.
"Gon!" Flygon flapped its wings, ascending into the air before avoiding the first swings of Tentacruel's knock off. "Flygon!" The Mystic Pokemon then used Dragon Claw, flying towards the Jelly Fish Pokemon and swiping it in the face with green draconic claws.
"T-Tenta!" Tentacruel jerked back from that as Flygon kept swiping its face repeatedly with no rest. The Mystic Pokemon unloaded on Tentacruel with these repeated Dragon Claws before the final swipe ended up knocking the giant Tentacruel on its back, forcing it to fall back into the river.
"Flygon." Flygon was the victor of this battle. Unfortunately, it wasn't over yet. While it defeated Tentacruel, there was another Pokemon to deal with.
"Sevi!" Right from behind, a giant Seviper appeared, wrapping its tail around the Mystic Pokemon by surprise. This was the second giant Pokemon that wasn't a Dragon-Type. Although, Seviper is in the Dragon egg group.
"Gon?!"
"Seviper!" The Fang Snake Pokemon then tossed Flygon to the side, initiating yet another battle. As Flygon tumbled on the ground, Seviper slithered towards its prey, ready to strike once more. "Viper!"
"Fly?!"
"Seviper! The Fang Snake Pokemon then used Dragon Tail, turning around before slamming its draconic-clad tail onto the stomach of the Mystic Pokemon.
"F-Flygon!"
"Uh...There sure are a bunch of giant Pokemon aren't there? They don't look like Dynamaxed Pokemon though..." Spike and his Pokemon were just spectating.
"Sevi..." Seviper stood before the defeated Flygon after using Dragon Tail. Its attention then turned to Spike, Haxorus and Deino, aiming to attack them next as it slithered. "Seviper!"
"Oh!" Spike gasped, noticing that he and his friends were next in line for this Pokemon brawl.
"Xorus!" Haxorus stood before his friends, ready to block and attack Seviper the moment it got close.
"Deino!" But instead, Deino stepped up, choosing to go up against Seviper while still having that simple smile on her face. She didn't seem bothered by the giant snake heading her way with a potential Dragon Tail to boot.
"Huh? Deino?" Spike noticed this, curious as to what Deino was planning.
"Haxo?"
"Deino...!" The Irate Pokemon suddenly released a blue, dragon-shaped energy that covered her body. This was the move, Dragon Rush. Something that Spike and Haxorus weren't expecting Deino to have.
"Sevi!" Seviper was closing in with a Poison Fang instead of Dragon Tail.
"Dei!" And then, Deino took off from the ground like a rocket, leaving behind a dragon-shaped trail from her emitting energy. Moving faster than even Seviper, the Irate Pokemon slammed into Seviper before Poison Fang could even land.
"V-Vi!" The Fang Snake Pokemon gagged with the poison energy disappearing from its fangs. Afterwards, it had been launched a far distance after Dragon Rush had properly landed due to a head-first attack from Deino. The Fang Snake Pokemon could be seen flying in the distance, fainted as Deino fell on her stomach.
"Deino."
"Woah..." Spike and Haxorus were taken aback by how effective and powerful Deino was. She had just joined the team and already she showed great promise. Perhaps a bit too much promise.
"Haxo..." Haxorus was so stunned that he reverted into a Unovan Axew. "Axew..."
"Dei-Deino." The Irate Pokemon laid on her stomach, falling asleep and dozing off as Axew went over to pick her up. They had a very powerful ally on their side from what they had seen.
"Okay, uh...let's get moving then. If I remember from Ash's story, there was a train and city that was close to where Kyurem is, right?" Spike said as the group got a move on.
But first, a quick lunch break before they really got on their way. And stopping by these ancient buildings seemed like a perfect place to do so. Spike plopped his bag down while Axew sat down, still holding Deino. But Deino hopped off anyway after waking up faster than expected.
"Ah...A good place to pause for a bit." Spike sighed while getting some food out. AKA gemstones from Rarity. But there was some natural food for the Pokemon as well.
Spike sent out all of his Pokemon to enjoy something to eat. No one was going to be left behind. He gave his Pokemon the right amount of food to eat. Small Pokemon like Axew and Deino and large Pokemon Salamence and Druddigon have their own select piles of food for them to consume.
Although in the case of Axew who can transform into Haxorus, it's either-or.
The five dragons began chowing down on their lunch. They all certainly eat like dragons since they didn't show their food any mercy. As they eat, Spike gawked at the scenery,
It truly was bizarre that some Pokemon here were their natural sizes while others were bigger than normal, even going as far to reach the level of giants. It would be reasonable to mistake them for Dynamaxed Pokemon.
"Mmm." Spike chewed on the gemstones. "Wonder if these giant Pokemon have always been here. And did the people who used to live here know about it?"
"Axew-xew."
"Deino..." Deino had already finished her food. She was a bit of a quick eater as she laid on her back. "No."
"There should be a city nearby. The train there might take us to Kyurem's Ice Castle easier. I mean, it's a giant castle with ice. How hard is it to miss it?"
Just as Spike spoke and continued to eat his food, his Xtransceiver started ringing. Gulping down his gems, the baby dragon went over to his back, taking the Xtransceiver out.
He saw the Trainer ID that belonged to Twilight. The one calling. Quickly, he responded by picking up Twilight's call as the young alicorn's face appeared on the screen.
"Hey, Twilight."
"Spike! How are things out there?" Twilight asked.
"Did you see any new Pokemon?!" Fluttershy's face appeared on the screen with a wide grin.
"You're not hurt are you?!" Rarity also showed up.
"Fine. Fine. I'm just on my way to battle Kyurem."
"Kyurem?!" They each gasped.
"Did you say Kyurem?!" Rainbow Dash barged in with Applejack and Pinkie Pie. "Isn't that the Pokemon Ash told us in his stories?!"
"Sure is. Known as the World's Strongest Dragon."
"World's Strongest Dragon for a reason!" Starlight showed up. "There's no way you're beating that, Spike!"
"I'm not planning on winning. Just gonna challenge him and do my best. I'm gonna see how good of a Dragon Trainer I've become and I might even learn a few things from it. I mean, Keldeo sounded like he learned a lot from Kyurem, ya know."
"Well...that sounds less dangerous." Twilight sighed. "And if you have the chance, can you tell me all about Kyurem and more? I'm a bit curious about the Legendary Dragons, most of them anyway."
"Sure will. He sounds like a pretty good talker anyway."
"But, Spike. I called for you another reason. It's the invasion. It's been delayed and pushed far back."
"OH! Really?!" Spike exclaimed.
"Queen Pyrestar went over to the Empress' world and sabotaged practically everything. But she ended up getting captured afterwards. Now, there's even more time to plan. Probably a whole month or more." Twilight explained.
"Well, guess that means I won't have to rush my quest, right?"
"Guess so." Twilight nodded. "Where are you now?"
"Someplace called Dragons Peak. It should be near the next city. Then after that, I'll catch a train at Windy Station to Roshan City and then Kyurem's Ice Castle and battle him for sure! Right guys?"
"Axew!"
"Sala!"
"Druddi!"
"Deino?"
"Hm? Those sound new. Did you catch new Pokemon?" Pinkie asked.#
"Mhm. Just yesterday I caught a Druddigon."
"Drudd." The Cave Pokemon showed himself on the screen.
"And just today, I got a Deino from the Village of Dragons."
"Dei!" The Irate POkemon followed up by also showing herself to everypony.
"Aaah!" Twilight and the others screamed as they fell back from the sight of Deino. She immediately reminded them of Hydreigon. One of the most feared Pokemon in Equestria.
"Scared? I got pretty spooked as well the first time." Spike laughed. "Don't worry. I'm gonna raise her right and well. I'll have the best Hydreigon the world's ever seen! Right, Deino?"
"Dei..." Deino opened her mouth wide as she wanted to bite onto Spike's Xtransceiver, but Spike quickly pulled it away. So instead, Deino bit Spike's leg. "No!"
"Ough!" Spike winced after having his leg being bitten and gnawed on. "As soon as we solve this whole biting problem..."
"Well, you sound like you've got things covered. When are you gonna return?" Twilight asked, feeling a bit strange without Spike here with her.
"Uh...Once I beat Kyurem maybe. I don't know. But I won't be too long." Spike gave a thumbs up."
"Okay. Good luck out there." Twilight nodded in understanding as she hung up the call. Spike could now continue his lunch before heading out to the nearest city at Windy Station.
With news of the invasion being postponed, Spike could take it easy now. He was already taking it a bit easy but this made things simpler and less rushed in all honesty.
But while he and his Pokemon continued to eat, something else was happening among the Pokemon living here at the Dragon Peaks. All of the Pokemon here gathered up as a large group, even the ones that were battling against each other earlier. It was some sort of group meeting.
In fact, before they gathered up, each Pokemon went into the ancient old buildings residing here, grabbing various items from inside. Actual objects were remaining in these buildings but they were ancient like the buildings themselves.
Once they gathered these items, they all came together as a group, placing these items onto the ground and staying silent. This greatly intrigued Spike as he walked over to the scene while still eating some of his crystals.
"What's going on?" He wondered. The Dragons and other Pokemon closed their eyes, fitting the absolute silence. It looked like they were focusing everything onto the items while the air stood still.
Unsure of what was going on, Spike decided to try and speak to the Pokemon. And the one way he would do so was by using the Dragon communication technique he learned at the Village of Dragons. This would allow him to know what the Pokemon were feeling and such. More specifically, the Dragon Pokemon.
This time, he wanted to communicate with all of them other than just his Pokemon. Spike put his arms out as the golden flame-like light emerged once more. As expected, it immediately covered his Pokemon, outlining them in the light. But he wanted to reach everyone else.
He could feel what his Pokemon were feeling and they were in the same boat. Salamence and the others wondered why all these Pokemon stopped what they were doing for some random items.
But Deino was just hungry. That's what Spike picked up when reaching the Irate Pokemon. However, aside from that, Spike kept trying to reach the rest.
He kept his eyes closed while letting the light flow on. He remembered the brief teachings of the Village Elder, allowing the words to reach his mind. He didn't push himself to try and make the light larger or longer so that it grabs everyone here like a black hole. Instead, he stayed calm and nothing more.
Soon, it proved to be effective. The light was now reaching the nearby Pokemon in front of him as he was finally doing it. He was finally reaching other Pokemon rather than his own. Unfortunately, there was still a limit to how far he could go. So his light only reached three Pokemon at best.
But that was enough to know what was going on.
Once he reached them, Spike could feel what the Pokemon were feeling as well and why they were standing around these old items. From how slow their hearts were and how they were standing, Spike could tell that the Pokemon were honouring something.
Or rather someone. Or for an even better term, some people.
It was quickly revealed that this was a gathering to honour the people who used to live in this location, explaining the items and building. Spike could also faintly tell that it was for people in the far past. Just around ancient times. They most likely weren't owners of these Pokemon. And if they were, that would possibly mean that these Pokemon are older than they seem.
The Pokemon were paying respects to those that built these buildings as they swore to rebuild what was lost. Spike truly figured out that the main goals of the Pokemon here aside from eating, sleeping and duking it out for fun was to make a new civilization. One where people can come and settle.
That further explained why there were bits of building blocks everywhere. The Pokemon were previously working on rebuilding it and they seem to take breaks here and there.
Although the Pokemon won't be using those buildings. Most are a bit too big for them.
After all was said and done, the Pokemon got to work. They split up, returning the items to their original locations before continuing their work on the buildings.
"So that's why..." Spike said silently. He watched as the Pokemon who had their differences worked alongside each other, grabbing the necessary building blocks. Even the Seviper and Flygon could bury the hatchet.
Especially the giant Tentacruel. Although, arguably, the giant Tentacruel was the best choice for this job due to its unusual size and many tentacles. In fact, the Pokemon that were giant could be considered the best options.
One teeny-tiny problem.
None of these Pokemon really know how to build. At all. They have the passion and determination and considering their capabilities, it would look like they could pull this off effortlessly.
But, passion and determination do not equal skill and knowledge of actually knowing how to build a building. These Pokemon have been living in an area where the people who used to live here are long gone. No other human was there to teach them how to build, unfortunately.
Their actions were sloppy. When trying to pace the blocks in the right place, it just ended in failure. Some didn't even know which block went where while others were just lost.
Thus, further explaining the incomplete blocks. Realistically speaking, if these Pokemon did have the skills, these buildings would've been done long ago. After all, it only took a few months for BigTime Ben's Pokemon to make such behemoths of buildings in Equestria, such as the contest halls, Gyms, the Canterlot Tournament stadium, etc much more. All because they had the guidance and teachings of people who could build.
And a Conkeldurr.
Which instantly sparked an idea in Spike's head.
"Aha!" Spike clapped his hands together. "We're in the Unova Region...So the one Pokemon that's an expert a building, Conkeldurr should be here!"
"Axew?"
"What do you guys say? Think we should help these guys out?" Spike pointed at the Pokemon. "They're really determined to rebuild and honour this place. But they can't do it without any major guidance. I mean...I don't know anything about building."
"Sala?"
"That's why we'll find ourselves a Conkeldurr or maybe a Gurdurr and ask them to help if they can." Spike declared as his Pokemon agreed. But Deino was just hungry as she had eaten everyone's food while they weren't looking. And in such little time too.
"Deino!"
"Ah! Our food!" Spike and his Pokemon gasped. Deino had even eaten the gems and crystals as well, sparing nothing.
"Dei." The Irate Pokemon burped.
"Whatever..." Spike sighed. "Let's just search for a Conkeldurr."
And so it was. To the rest of the wilds for a Conkeldurr. Anywhere else would do really. They just had to find one.
Windy Riverbank. Afternoon.
Spike and his Pokemon had arrived at a place with wide-open plains with few trees, many Grass, Flying and Normal Pokemon, hay bales, water troughs, windmills and very comfortable looking stacks of leaves that no one would want to clear out. There were also barns and farmhouses, indicating that a farming family lived here.
This area was near Windy Station which connected to the nearby city. Even the train tracks could be spotted here, leading to the station and city. This made things easier for Spike to follow a perfect trail.
But that wasn't important right now. What was important was finding a Conkeldurr to help the Pokemon at Dragon Peaks as Spike, Axew and Deino got off Salamence.
"Hm? What's this now?" A farmer said, noticing Spike's appearance while receiving five gallons of milk from a Miltank.
"Mil?"
"Looks like dragons, pa.." A little girl replied, narrowing her eyes while carrying her Skipoom. "Might be from that Dragons Peak place."
"Skiploom."
"Oh, that place. Eugh..." The farmer shuddered. "All those giant Pokemon and roughhousing. But...that one dragon looks kinda off, don't it?"
"I think it's one of those Equestria place dragons, pa. See, look at its eyes."
"Oh yeah...That little guy does have that Equestria look on him. Wonder what he wants?"
"Maybe something to eat? What do dragons in that world, eat pa?"
"Hey!" Spike then called out for the two people residing here at this mini-farm. They already had his attention via the Salamence that flew in along with Axew and Deino."
"It talks?" The little girl's eyes widened.
"Definitely from Equestria." The farmer nodded as he stood up. "What'cha need, son?"
"Oh, hi. I'm just stopping by or rather looking for a Pokemon."
"Which Pokemon? We've got a lot here. Grass, Flying, Normal, you name it. Unless you're looking for some Dragons." The farmer asked.
"Well...not right now. I'm looking for a Conkeldurr."
"Conkeldurr eh?" The farmer raised his hand over his head to block the rays of the sun.
"Yeah. See, over at this place called Dragons Peak, the Pokemon there are trying to make some sort of new place by using what's left of that really old village or town...or city...I'm not sure what it used to be. And I need Conkeldurr's help since it's the Pokemon skilled at construction."
"Dragons Peak, eh? Pretty scary place I'll tell ya that much. But building?"
"The Dragons there are trying to honour the people who used to live at that old village before. But uh...they don't really know how to build, ya know?" Spike chuckled.
"Hah. You don't need yourself a Conkeldurr. You can just have me." The farmer pointed at himself.
"Really?"
"Really. I made that barn and farmhouse with my own two bare hands ya know. I know a thing or two about building that's for sure."
"So you'll help?!"
"Pa's a bit scared of Dragons Peak because of all the dragons though." The little girl replied.
"It ain't the Dragons I'm scared of sugarcube...It's the giant Pokemon..." The farmer grumbled as he shuddered at the thought of witnessing those giant Pokemon again. "But sure. If they wanna honour some people from way back, leave it to me. I'll teach 'em a thing or two about building for sure."
"Miltank!"
"Awesome! Then I'll take that train and head to Roshan City and it'll be one step closer to Kyurem!"
"Kyurem? You're planning on meeting Kyurem?" The farmer leaned forward.
"Yeah. I'm on a journey to become a great Dragon Trainer. Challenging Kyurem's one big step to becoming a Dragon Master."
"Hm." The farmer raised his hat. "Alrighty then. Come on, ya'll. Let's get going."
"Okay, pa!"
"Skiploom!"
"Miltank!"
"Pelipper! Take care of the place while we're gone, why don't ya?" The farmer asked a Pelipper.
"Peli-pep-pep-pepper!" The Water Bird Pokemon saluted as Spike, the farmer and the rest got on their merry way to Dragons Peak. And in the distance, the train heading to Windy Station could be heard.
However, on this journey that Spike was taking, a group of two individuals were aware of his presence here. Two individuals that had once been hidden for so long but were now revealed.
These two are responsible for the appearance of Dynamax dens in Equestria, the Desires that infect people and force them to cause major problems and one of them was also responsible for Darkrai attacking Ponyville during the earlier days of the two words crossing over. They stayed hidden until Mewtwo caught them.
Those two were Lucien and Sienna.
"Dragon Quest? Where have I heard that before?" Lucien spoke as he and Sienna watched from the clouds as always. He then looked over at Sienna who was huddling with her knees up. "Are you still sulking?"
"No. Still just bummed out that Mewtwo caught us." She whimpered. "Stupid Mewtwo...why does it have to be so freakishly powerful? I blame Mew..."
"Get over it. It wasn't gonna last long anyway. Your whole Desire plan satisfied the Rift a bunch. Especially with what happened with J. Right now, why don't we try something quick and simple?"
"Like what?"
"That Dragons Peak had people that used to live there in the past right? Pokemon from the past as well." Lucien grinned as he raised his finger, sparking up some Rift energy. "I've got an idea..."
It was getting close to nightfall. The sun was just setting over the horizon. And right now, Spike, the farmer and her daughter had arrived at Dragons Peak for one goal. To teach the Pokemon here how to properly build.
The Pokemon here wished to honour the people who used to live in what seemed to be an ancient civilization but were long gone from now. Problem was, they did not know anything about construction. That's where the farmer came in.
"Alright, ya'll. I can teach you a thing or two about building here!" The farmer exclaimed grabbing the attention of the Pokemon here. "Ya'll want to honour the people that used to live here and make a new place for others to come live in? Leave it to me. I'll have ya'll building towers in less than 3 hours. Trust me."
The Pokemon looked at each other, listening to what the farmer had to say. They definitely wanted to build a new type of town, village or whatever kind of living area it might be. But, since they lack the skills, they weren't going anywhere. Thus, they reached a decision. They would accept the help of the farmer it would mean speeding the process up as they nodded.
"Right then. Let's get to work." The farmer walked over as he was ready to guide the Pokemon with everything he knew. Spike and the daughter would just sit back and watch for the meantime.
"So, you're planning to be a Dragon Master?" The little girl asked.
"Mhm. The best there is. I think being a Dragon Master means learning and understanding every Dragon Pokemon there is. It's kinda like Ash's goal but not with every Pokemon."
"Oooh. Sounds super ambitious. And Kyurem's gonna help you there?"
"Well...It's the worlds strongest Dragon apparently so yeah. Even if I can't beat it, I'll know how good I've gotten. Plus, it'll show just how much I can protect my friends back home, ya know."
"So what's it like in Equestria?
"Oh. Well ya know, it's-" Spike began explaining Equestria and what it's like to live and what he's experienced while the Pokemon listen to the farmer's guidance and advice.
At the same time, high above the clouds and near the highest point of Dragons Peak, Lucien and Sienna were ready to take action. They were already aware of Spike's presence here in Unova and wanted to try something quick. It wasn't going to be anything major since they have the Desires and Dynamax Dens to deal with that, but just a little something they want to see.
Mostly Lucien.
"Okay." Lucien twirled the Rift energy around. "If he wants to get to Kyurem let's slow him down big time. Maybe something from the past will do."
"Like zombies?" Sienna asked.
"Uh...Sure something like that. I kinda wanna see Pokemon Zombies myself." He chuckled as he pointed his finger right near one of the many buildings of this mountainscape. Whatever was coming, he wasn't going to make it easy for Spike.
"Axew!"
That is until Axew of all Pokemon felt something wrong. The Fusion magic within him was reacting to some nearby Rift energy. Since Fusion magic is Rift energy in nature, Axew gained a sense of it.
Once he picked it up, the Tusk Pokemon suddenly transformed into Haxorus in the blink of an eye with just a flash of light, letting out a mighty roar.
"Haxorus!" Haxorus cried out, pointing to the sky and alarming everyone. Especially Salamence.
"Mence?! Sala!" Salamence understood Haxorus' cry and warning call as he also sensed the Rift energy. After all, Salamence was once a Bagon that had been automatically turned into a Salamence thanks to Lucien so he still had some of it in him.
He immediately took action before anyone else. By turning his head to the sky, the Dragon Pokemon used Hyper Beam, shooting at lightspeed towards the clouds.
Lucien and Sienna both noticed the hyper-fast Hyper Beam coming their way before Lucien could even cause some trouble with his finger. Before they knew it, they had been hit out of the sky via Hyper Beam with the attack engulfing them. Afterwards, a vast explosion occurred in the sky, blowing the clouds away and grabbing everyone's attention.
"Woah-Woah! What just happened?!" Spike looked up along with everyone else. "Salamence? Haxorus?"
"Haxo! Haxo-Haxorus!" The Axe Jaw Pokemon pointed up at the large smoke cloud before revealing why they suddenly attacked. From out of the smoke cloud, Lucien and Sienna were falling with smoke trailing behind them.
"Those two!?" Spike gasped.
"Ow-ow-ow!" Lucien and Sien most certainly felt that. It would be impossible for them to just casually shrug it off unless they were Ghost or Steel-Types. But, they were able to recover fairly quickly. And instead of crashing into the ground, they managed to safely recover via slight levitation.
They gently descended with their bodies only partially damaged. They had tatters and scratches as well as fried up hair with smoke coming out. All thanks to Salamence's Hyper Beam. They're lucky it wasn't Flamethrower because that would've been much worse.
"Phew...That was close..." Lucien sighed.
"Uh-huh..." Sienna nodded in agreement.
"You two!" Spike exclaimed as he stepped forward. "What are you doing here?!"
"Hm? You actually managed to find us. How?"
"That Salamence fired a Hyper Beam right at us." Sienna pointed at the Dragon Pokemon. "But both him and Haxorus managed to spot us."
"Haxo...!" The Axe Jaw Pokemon growled at them.
"It must be that Haxorus and Salamence were affected by parts of Rift energy too..." Spike looked over at his partners. "Oh, so you guys are like Rift detectors! Nice!"
"Uh...Who are they?" The farmer and daughter weren't exactly sure what was going on. Neither were the rest of the Pokemon including Spike's Deino who was clueless.
"Deino?"
"What are you planning this time?"
"Pssh. Nothing too big. We've already done a bunch. Those Desires and Dynamax dens we brought over to your world did a real number through and through." Lucien let out a cocky grin.
"So we're just hanging about and doing whatever we want." Sienna chuckled. "But...i-it's not much."
"Ah, who cares. As long as the Rift is satisfied, we don't have to do much." Lucien shrugged. "U-Until it wants something else. But right now, we just wanna experiment and see how we can mess with this place."
"You're not messing with this place. Not when the Pokemon are trying to rebuild it into something new for other people and Pokemon to come and live in."
"What this place? Pssh. It's better off as a tourist attraction. No point in rebuilding it, if you ask me." Lucien scoffed.
"Rift? You mean that stuff that started all of this?" The farmer asked. "Pah. I don't believe that ya'll are full of that Rift stuff. You don't look like you are anyway."
"Oh yeah? Then check this out." To give an example, Lucien shot a small bolt of Rift energy towards the farmer's hat. Once it connected, the Rift messed with the hat, increasing its weight as it was already weighing on the farmer.
"Ow-ow-ow!" He felt like his head was being squashed by the hat itself. "Heavy!" The farmer then tossed the hat aside as it hit the ground, causing a loud thud noise.
"Proof enough?" Lucien let out a cheeky and silent chuckle, humouring himself by messing with something so small. Sienna also giggled as well.
"Pa! Are you okay?!" The little girl asked her father.
"Ugh...Just a bit heavy-headed right now..."
"Oh! That gave me another idea. Maybe next time we should just make everything heavy and see how everything goes! That sounds like a good idea once the whole Dynamax and Desire thing die out." Lucien nodded with a brand new idea sparking up.
"Hmph...What's wrong with the Desire plan?" Sienna crossed her arms while puffing her cheeks. The Desire plan was her plan in the first place after all.
"You won't do any more of that stuff anymore." Spike stepped forward. "Not if I stop you here. Listen! I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle!"
"Huh?" Lucien squinted his eyes. "Uh...So? Do you think challenging me's gonna do something? I'm still gonna do whatever I want."
"Oh yeah? Or I might make you end up like that Obsidian guy?"
"Hm?!" That got Lucien's attention.
"He lost his ability to do all those crazy Rift stuff since he lost to Twilight and everyone during the whole Storm Behemoth thing. So if I do the same to you two, then your abilities are forfeit! I bet the Rift heard that. It hears everything doesn't it?"
"Bah!" Lucien crossed his arms, looking down at Spike with disgust. "So what?! The Rift's totally fine with how things are right now! I'm not like Obsidian where it's my last stand and-
"He's actually got a fair point. This whole Desire and Dynamax thing aren't as consistent and exciting as much. The Rift suddenly appeared, possessing Lucien and speaking out of him. "You two doing very little and almost nothing isn't getting entertaining. And the only thing keeping me on the edge is the whole invasion and Ghetsis thing. That's leagues better than what you two have done. Better think of something new and exciting later on or else I might have to swap you out and render you useless. At least show me a good battle. Those are always fun."
Afterwards, the Rift left Lucien, no longer speaking out of him.
"Oh..." Lucien scrunched his face as he was now at risk of losing his Rift abilities. He then looked at Sienna, sweating bullets while looking back at Spike. "Fair enough..."
"What do we do?" Sienna asked.
"Isn't it obvious? You battle me." Spike grinned. "Besides, after this, you're not gonna have many neat ideas left are you?"
"I totally will!" Lucien growled as he fell for Spike's trap and offer. "Fine then! Just watch as I beat you! And after that, I'll come up with something so great later on that it'll surpass that invasion and Ghetsis by a mile! Just watch!"
"Yeah!" Sienna stood up. "We'll make it interesting in this battle. A 2 on 1. How does that sound?"
"2 on 1?!" Spike pulled back.
"I'll help you." The little girl offered to assist Spike. "They hurt pa on the head. And that's not very nice. Only mom does that."
"Thanks, sugarcube..." The farmer sighed.
"Check it out. We're gonna use our absolute faves to floor you two!" Lucien held out his Poke Ball along with Sienna before throwing them. "Go Charizard!"
"Come out Whimsicott!"
"Charizard!"
"Whimsicott!"
"We've got this." Spike held out a Premier Ball, sending his Druddigon out. "Druddigon. I wanna battle with you for the first time. Get ready."
"Druddigon!" Druddigon stepped forward, blowing some smoke away while standing before Charizard.
"Okay, go for it Skippy!"
"Skip!" The little girl's Skiploom jumped out of his trainer's hands. "Skiploom!"
"Good luck, you two!" The farmer was obviously cheering for his daughter and Spike along with the Pokemon living here by his side.
"The Rift better see how good we are as trainers. We're not just good at causing problems, that's for sure." Lucien uttered, feeling confident in this battle.
"Hopefully. Because it won't let us live this down if we lose." Sienna gulped.
"Pssh. We won't lose. Not with the coolest Pokemon on our side! Right, Charizard?"
"Zard!"
"Well...Whimsicott is just cute so I think that's all that matters." Sienna shrugged.
"Cute?" Lucien turned to Sienna with a raised eyebrow. "No, you're supposed to choose a fierce Pokemon like Charizard. Something cool and strong that's gonna totally win this battle for us!"
"Whimsicott doesn't need to be cool to be strong! She's cute and strong!" Sienna snapped back, hissing at Lucien. "Besides, everyone uses Charizard anyway! So your pick isn't so special."
"Hmph! Like everyone uses Whimsicott. Lots of trainers choose Charizard for a reason and not Pokemon like Whimsicott." Lucien crossed his arms in scorn.
"Why you...!" Obviously, this didn't sit well with Sienna. Neither did it for Lucien. Both of them looked each other in the eye with distaste and dislike as they were now butting heads despite having to team up. The two Rift humans clashed heads, growling and trying to push each other back while their own Pokemon and the others watched.
"Char?"
"Whim?"
"Uhh..." Spike scratched his scales.
"I thought they were good friends." The little girl twirled her braid.
"Skiploom..."
"Whatever!" They both said before looking away.
"I'll prove that all it takes is pure strength and ferocity to win this! Nothing's better than absolute power and full force!"
"Then I'll prove you wrong! Let's start already!"
"Uh...Battle start!" The farmer gave the call.
"Charizard! Dragon Claw!"
"Chari!" The Flame Pokemon spread his wings out before charging towards Druddigon with green draconic claws.
"Whimiscott, use Shadow Ball!"
"Whim...!" Whimsicott then flew around, ascending into the air while summoning a blob of shadows and hurling it at Whimsicott."
"Druddigon, use Thunder Punch!"
"Druddi!" The Cave Pokemon stomped on the ground before surrounding his hands in sparking electricity, waiting for Charizard to get close.
"Skippy! Use Silver Wind, go-go!"
"Loom!" Skiploom spun around with the flower on his head glowing. He then released a hyper-fast wind with silver crescents from a white orb that emerged from his flower.
The crescents met with the ball of shadows, repeatedly beating on it and trying to overpower the blob with more crescents flying out of his flower.
"Druddigon!"
"Charizard!" Meanwhile, both Charizard and Druddigon had clashed with Druddigon's fist meeting with Charizard's claws, creating a clash between the two of them while sparks flew out.
They pushed each other back before swinging their claws and punches at each other, trying to get the upper hand. Both of them ended up hitting each other at the same time. Druddigon's fist struck Charizard's jaw while Charizard's claws swiped Druddigon's face.
After hitting each other, the two Pokemon were knocked back in unison. As for Shadow Ball and Silver Wind, they cancelled each other out as well, ending in a draw. However, thanks to Druddigon's ability Rough Skin, Charizard took a bit more damage than his opponent.
"I'll let them focus on me so that you can do all the heavy damage." The little girl spoke to Spike. "Use Rage Powder, Skippy."
"Skip! Skip! Skip!" By using the flower on his head and fluttering it like wings, Skiploom scattered a cloud of irritating powder to draw attention to himself. In seconds, the power flew into the noses of both Charizard and Whimsicott, locking all attention to the Cottonweed Pokemon.
"Chari?!"
"Whismi!?"
"Pssh! Like that matters! I can just hit you both with this! Dazzling Gleam!"
"Sicott!" Whimsicott released a bright white light from her body. She then flew higher in the air as rainbow-coloured rays of light come from the white light. The rainbow-coloured rays then shot out, aiming for both Druddigon and Skiploom.
"Flare Blitz!"
"Zard!" And at the same time, Charizard enveloped himself in a blazing aura of flames. The flame cloak around him then intensified as he flew towards Skiploom instead of Druddigon.
"Get in their way! Use Gunk Shot!"
"Druddigon!" Druddigon suddenly stood in front of Skiploom, choosing to take all the damage for him. The Cave Pokemon then opened his mouth, shooting out black and purple poisonous gunk towards the rays of rainbows and Charizard with multiple projectiles.
"Zard?!" Too focused on Skiploom, Charizard had taken the projectiles since he wasn't focusing on them. The projectiles of gunks rapidly pelted the Flame Pokemon, causing large poisonous explosions while the rest of the projectiles clashed with the rays of Dazzling Gleam. "Char!"
Due to the projectiles being Poison, they were able to overpower the Fairy rays, breaking through and hitting Whimsicott directly. The Windveiled Pokemon was struck by heavy poison while also being knocked out of the sky.
"Whismicott!" Not only, but she had also suffered from the Poison effect that Gunk Shot sometimes brings.
"Thanks. But I'll protect you instead." Spike gave a thumbs up to the young farmer girl. "Can't have a teammate falling."
"Oh! Thank you!" The little girl let out a wide sunny grin, showing her single missing tooth. "Oh, can you have your Druddigon close his eyes quickly?"
"Uh, sure. Close your eyes Druddigon."
"Skippy! Use Flash!"
"Skip...!" The flower on Skiploom's head started glowing as he was ready to unleash a behemoth of a distraction.
"Close your eyes!" Lucien and Sienna both cried out for their Pokemon to do so.
"I don't think so! Punch the ground with Thunder Punch!"
"Gon! To stop them from closing their eyes, Spike quickly had Druddigon smash his electric-clad fist onto the ground, sending a flux of electricity that covered the ground of the peaks. Whimsicott was waiting for the right time to use Flash.
The electricity from Thunder Punch obviously moved fast. Fast enough to catch both Whimsicott and Charizard. While it was not very effective on Whimsicott, it was most certainly super-effective on Charizard.
"Loom!" That's when Skiploom could strike. With the flower on his head, he unleashed a bright flash of light that appeared before the two Pokemon.
"Z-Zard!"
"Whim!"
And just like that, the two of them had their eyes flashed in a heartbeat while Druddigon had opened his eyes. Charizard and Whimsicott wailed as they closed their eyes, trying to get rid of this blinding light that was lurking around.
"Now, Skippy, use Silver Wind"
"Use Thunder Puch, Druddigon!"
"Drudd!"
"Skip!" The two of them were already in motion to fully unleash their attacks while Charizard and Whimsicott were a bit dazed.
"Use Flare Blitz!"
"Dazzling Gleam!"
"C-Chari!" Charizard, despite being able to see so well now, pursued by cloaking himself in flames, flying forward. But, it would be tough to properly aim.
"W-Whimsicott!" And the same went for Whimsicott. While unable to see she tried her best to hit her mark since Dazzling Gleam always hits two opponents at the same time.
When it's facing them that is.
That's where the problem revealed itself. Whimsicott struggled to face the right direction. Thus, when she summoned the sphere of Fairy magic, instead of shooting it at both Druddigon and Skiploom, the Windveiled Pokemon accidentally ended up unleashing the rays of rainbows at Charizard, hitting him.
"C-Chari!" The Flame Pokemon winced as his flying was thrown off balance. As if he wasn't lacking focus right now already. With Dazzling Gleam hitting him, Druddigon, who had all the focus right now, smashed his fist onto Charizard's head, overpowering his Flare Blitz and launching the Flame Pokemon towards Whimsicott.
"Druddigon!"
"Zard!" At the same speed he originally flies at, Charizard crashed into the Windveiled Pokemon, hitting her as they both fell to the ground. Not only that, but Silver Wind eventually caught up to them, hitting them both with rapid-fire crescents. Charizard barely felt Silver Wind but Whimiscott certainly did.
And as a trade-off, Thunder Punch paralyzed Charizard. So now both he and Whimsicott were under status effects, looking worse by the minute.
"W-Whimsi!"
"Nice going!" Lucien turned to Sienna, shouting at her. "You threw Charizard off balance! You're making him look uncool!"
"As if he wasn't off-balance already!" Sienna yelled back at him. "Now we're in a worse spot with paralysis and poison! My poor Whimsicott is having a horrible battle debut!" Even during battle, the two of them were arguing.
"Char..."
"Whim..." Both Charizard and Whimsicott were let down that their trainers were arguing amongst each other at the moment. They just wanted to have a good battle but right now, that's not the case.
"Um...should we do something?" The little girl asked.
"I uh...think we should just finish this before it gets worse. Druddigon! Thunder Punch!"
"Use Grass Knot, Skippy!"
"Skiploom!" The Cottonweed Pokemon went first by summoning large vines from the ground itself. The vines then snared the two Pokemon, wrapping around them while they were still trapped on each other. This made it easier for Grass Knot to hold them.
"Druddigon!" Druddigon then advanced with electricity around his hands, ready to hit them both.
"Forget this! Flare Blitz, Charizard!"
"Charizard!" Charizard's ability Blaze had been activated after taking a lot of damage during this battle. Once he cloaked himself in fire, he burned away the vines but ended up harming Whimsicott with his aura of flames.
"W-Whimsicott!"
"Hey! You hurt my Whimsicott!"
"Tough! Go, Charizard!"
"Char!" With Blaze active, Charizard was stronger than ever as his flames turned into a whitish blue colour along with his tail, showing how the heat had been pushed. Charizard usually change flame colour when furious. It was a bit slower thanks to the paralysis but he could hit harder.
"Grr! Whimsicott! Hurricane!"
"S-Sicott!" Despite being poisoned badly, Whimsicott could get back up. She flew into the air, spinning around as fast as she could. Due to her rapid spinning, the Windveiled Pokemon managed to summon a fierce wind that raced towards her opponents.
"Drudd!"
"Char!" Enraged, Charizard smashed his head onto Druddigon's fist. He felt the sparks of Thunder Punch go through, but he wouldn't let it get to him again. But, Druddigon's Rough Skin also passed through.
"D-Druddi?!" Druddigon noticed the sudden change in strength as his Thunder Punch had been pushed back, causing Charizard to fully slam into him.
"Zard!" Afterwards, a large outburst of fire occurred, launching Druddigon back. Charizard took more of Rough Skin while Druddigon resisted the flames due to being a Dragon-Type. But Blaze made sure that this Flare Blitz left an impression. Charizard also took some extra damage thanks to the recoil.
"D-Druddigon!"
"That Hurricane's fierce!" Spike gasped. "Have Skiploom get on Druddigon's back!"
"O-Okay! Skippy, jump on Druddigon's back!"
"Skip!" The Cottonweed Pokemon did so. By skipping over to the Cave Pokemon, Skiploom ended up taking a piggyback ride on his taller and wide teammate.
"Let's stop that Hurricane with Outrage!"
"Druddi!" Druddigon's body became enveloped in a raging red aura as he ran towards it head-on.
"Use Silver Wind to push it back!"
"Skip-Skip-Skip-Skip!" While Druddigon was rushing towards the Hurricane, Skiploom provided back support by rapidly shooting glowing crescents from his flower, hitting the Hurricane.
"Gon!" The Cave Pokemon opened his mouth before smashing his enraged claws onto the ground. By using the sheer power and might of magnitude, Druddigon caused the ground to erupt. Large rocks were emerging from the ground as they came in contact with the Hurricane.
Due to the overwhelming amount of rising rocks and how large they were, they managed to fend off the Hurricane, holding it back until it had vanished.
"Use Focus Blast, Charizard!"
"Solar Beam!"
"Chari...!" Charizard let out a loud cry along with Whimsicott as they both used everything they had. Charizard put his claws together, gathering up his mental power while Whimsicott gathered power from the sun itself.
"Whimsi...!"
"Blow them away, Charizard!"
"Show them who's the best Whimsicott!"
"Now, Rage Powder, Skippy!"
"Loom!" Skiploom understood what needed to be done. The Cottonweed Pokemon jumped off of Druddigon's back, spreading the powder from his flowers.
The powder immediately went to Charizard and Whimsicott, sending all of the aggression towards Skiploom instead, leaving Druddigon out of it.
"Zard!"
"Cott!" And just like that, they both unleashed all they had. A large orange blast of concentrated energy and a bundled beam of solar energy from the sun came flying forward from the two Pokemon.
And in the middle of it all was Skiploom who was ready to sacrifice himself so that Druddigon, the heavy hitter, could finish the job. He accepted his fate as he closed his eyes, allowing both attacks to hit the Cottonweed Pokemon directly.
A green and orange outburst of explosive infinity energy happened on the spot, loud enough to damage some ears as Skiploom came flying out, fainted.
But that's what he wanted.
"Now!" The little girl cried out.
"Druddigon! Gunk Shot!"
"Druddi!" Out of the ashes and smoke, Druddigon was revealed, holding his Gunk Shot in. Charizard and Whimsicott were drained as the poison and paralysis had pushed them to their limits. They looked over, seeing Druddigon ready to finish it.
"Not good! Dodge, Charizard!"
"Get out of the way, Whimsicott!"
"Gon!" But it was too late. Multiple projectiles came flying out of Druddigon's mouth faster than his opponents could react. The two Pokemon closed their eyes, unable to react in time or do anything to stop it. Thus, Gunk Shot had struck them like a rocket, covering them in its horrifying purple explosion.
The poison quickly filled the air before fading away. Lucien and Sienna gasped as they had just witnessed their Pokemon take a horrible beating. And it was their debut battle and everything. Not a great start. And to make matters worse, once the poisonous smoke cleared, on the ground, Charizard and Whimsicott had fainted.
"Charizard..."
"Whimsicott..."
"Welp. That's game." The farmer shrugged. "My daughter and this dragon win!"
"Alright!" The two of them cheered as they high-fived each other. Druddigon picked up Skiploom, congratulating him for a job well done and sacrificing himself.
"Drudd."
"Skip..."
"We lost...?" Lucien couldn't believe it. A horrible debut battle and one that was terribly played out. Sienna dropped to her knees in disbelief.
"So that's it. We've got fewer chances now..." She lowered her head. "This is all your fault!"
"My fault?!" Lucien pulled back.
"You wanted to meddle in all of this! We could've just sat back and let everything else happen and we wouldn't be in this mess! Now the Rift's going to give us fewer chances until we do something amazing! Plus you made Whimsicott looked bad!"
"Who cares about making your stupid Pokemon look bad?!" Lucien leaned in.
"You're the one who brought up the whole cool and cute thing!" Sienna stood up."You were obsessed with your precious little Charizard looking all cool and fierce!" She spoke in a mocking tone. "Well, I hope you're happy now!"
"Like I would be! You are such a-"
"Uh...can we talk about this?" Spike offered to calm things down.
"NO!" The two Rift humans interrupted.
"Oh...Okay." Spike stepped back.
"I don't need this." Sienna turned away, picking up her Whimsicott. "I've got little chances left so I'm going to make them count. I'll make something amazing that'll satisfy the Rift until everything goes back to normal! And by myself!"
"Hmph! Like I need you to do amazing things!" Lucien helped his Charizard up. "I'm the brains out of all us, including the Rift ponies, so whatever I make is gonna be more complex and grandiose than yours!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"FINE!" They both yelled at each other before going their separate ways. Everyone at Dragons Peak had witnessed this unpleasant argument. As they turned away from each other with their Pokemon, they decided to teleport somewhere else random. Where they went, nobody knew as the last thing seen were the saddened faces of Charizard and Whimsicott.
"Oh geez...I...didn't see that coming." Spike held the back of his scales as the air felt awkward.
"Is that what a friendship breakup looks like? Scary..." The little girl shuddered.
"Welp. It is what it is." The farmer sighed while walking over. "Those won't be getting along for a long time if they ever meet up again."
"I kinda feel like it's my fault...I think I might've started something bad..." Spike gulped.
"On the contrary Spike, you've just started something that I'm looking forward to. The Rift appeared once more. "Having my own creations bicker amongst each other and create a challenge to see who can impress me the most? Only good things can come from this if those go above and beyond. Thank you so much for meddling. Have fun on your quest.
Once more, it left, leaving Spike to shudder at what he might've possibly created. Whatever Lucien and Sienna were planning, the result will not be pretty for both worlds, potentially. But, the farmer kneeled to pat Spike on the back, reassuring him that it was going to be alright.
"Alright, ya'll. Let's not wonder what all that was about. We got a town or city to rebuild! Let's get going!"
4 hours later. Night.
Just four later and the farmer's guidance had already proved to be highly effective. Due to his teachings, the Pokemon were able to properly build and know what the fundamentals were. And due to them being quick learners and even faster workers when as a team, the town they built was near its completion. Just a few things missing.
Right now, the town looked like an upgraded version of what it used to look like in the past. The farmer added his own touch to it, making it feel like a farm.
"There! Don't that look nifty?" The farmer spoke as all the Pokemon agreed. "Ah, well...I'm beat for the day. What say we continue working tomorrow, why don't we?"
It was agreed upon. Some Pokemon wanted to sleep until tomorrow anyway. Plus, it was past the farmer's daughter's bedtime anyway.
"Tired..." The little girl yawned as her father picked her up. "Thanks for having a battle with me, Spike."
"No problem. It was fun. Even if it got awkward and one-sided..." The baby dragon chuckled.
"Will you come over next time?" She asked, eager to see her newly made friend again.
"Skip-Skip?"
"Uh sure. I mean, I know where your farm is now. Plus, I can come by and check on Dragons Peak to see if anyone lives here. Plus, you come can come over to Equestria someday. You're gonna love it for sure."
"Sounds good to us." The farmer nodded. "Oh uh, by the way, you'd best get going soon. Before the trains stop for the rest of the night."
"Oh, right!" Spike gasped as he immediately rushed over to his Salamence. "Axew! Deino, let's go! Thanks for everything, you guys!"
"Axew!"
"Deino!
"Good luck with Kyurem!" The little girl waved as Salamence had already ascended with three dragons on his back. "Best Wishes!"
"We will! Best Wishes!" Spike gave his parting actions with yet another wave before Salamence flew into the distance, heading north for Windy Station.
This adventure wasn't over yet. It was unclear when it would be for Spike but Kyurem might be that final stop depending on how it goes. However it goes, it'll surely help him as a Dragon Trainer as the journey continues.
Recently, Spike had just reached Windy Station and had taken the train that comes by. This was the last train for the night before tomorrow morning so he was lucky to catch it. Roshan City is the nearest spot to Kyurem's Ice Castle, just far east from it. Once Spike gets there, he'll challenge the Worlds Strongest Dragon and see how far he's come.
But right now, he was asleep on the train, dozing off while lying on the side. Due to him being so small, he was able to get comfortable with three seats while Axew and Deino also dozed off. The train moved across the tracks, heading for Roshan as everything felt silent on this night. Apart from the sounds of the train moving that is.
Roshan City was only 3 hours away from here as the moonlight shined through the windows of the train. Its beautiful silver and blue light gave a spotlight to Spike and his Pokemon as if it knew of their quest. Flying through the night sky were the Minior, acting like shooting stars flying by. Someone was definitely making a wish out there. Ledian were flying about, gathering starlight to consume since they do so during the night. All the nocturnal Pokemon could be seen roaming about as well.
Aside from that, Spike wouldn't get to witness this beautiful night sky view. Neither would his Pokemon. But the people and their Pokemon within the train could certainly witness it. But, even if Spike couldn't witness this view, he had one other thing to look forward to.
Kyurem.
And even in his sleep, he started mumbling words about the Boundary Pokemon. "Just you wait, Kyurem..." He mumbled while making himself more comfortable on the seats.
And speaking of Kyurem, the Cryogonal that are mostly seen with Kyurem had flown next to the train, heading for the Ice Castle. They had heard Spike's mumbling words about Kyurem, knowing that this baby dragon was heading for the Boundary Pokemon to challenge him.
"Cryo-Cryogonal. With that, the Cryogonal flew off, heading to who is essentially their boss, ready to tell him about the upcoming challenger. They flew over the train, heading to the far east.
Kyurem's Ice Castle.
As the name entails, a castle that is made out of nothing but ice. It was created after Kyurem and Keldeo had their own battle here at Full Court. The battle was so great that it destroyed Kyurem's old home. So, as a replacement, the Boundary Pokemon made a replacement via its own Ice manipulation abilities.
After all that, Kyurem had become more known to the rest of Unova. At least, the ones nearest to him like in Roshan City or Windy Station. The same can be said for other Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, especially Mythical Pokemon. As the years go by, more trainers discover them, making their existence well known and widespread.
There, the Cryogonal had arrived, entering and heading towards the Boundary Pokemon, who resided in the very middle of the castle. His golden eyes glared through the smoke, focusing on the Cryogonal.
And through the icy smoke, there he was. Kyurem himself. Standing 3.0 m and 9'10", this absolute powerhouse of a Pokemon was a bipedal Pokemon of indefinable but seemingly draconic basis. From grey, blue, gold and light blue with a sharp exterior and a seemingly damaged part of his body on the right side, the Boundary Pokemon's full glory could be revealed.
Well, most of his full glory. After all, Kyurem used to be one single Dragon when Reshiram and Zekrom were once a part of his body before they separated. A form that could easily make Kyurem live up to his title.
The Original Dragon.
"Cryo. Cryogonal. Cyro." After coming up to him, they told the Dragon-Ice-Type who was coming here to challenge him next.
"That so? Then let him come." The Boundary Pokemon spoke through telepathy in a deep and imposing tone as the ice smoke moved from his breath alone. "I'll be waiting."
Roshan City. Day.
Finally. Roshan City. A city that was once attacked by Kyurem and the Cryogonal when in pursuit of Keldeo. The city took some damage from this hunt but over time, the people and Pokemon have rebuilt it and it hasn't been attacked by any Legendary Pokemon ever since.
The chill of Kyurem's and the Cryogonal ice could still be felt, making summer a bit different than usual.
Roshan City is a sprawling city accessible by train. Underneath the city are disused subway tunnels, and one of the old stations has been transformed into a museum for old transportation devices. There exists a train track that leads to Roshan City which also connects it with Windy Station and probably other locations as well.
Ash and his friends had once been here during the intense Kyurem and Cryogonal chase. And now, Spike, Axew and Deino had arrived here at last.
"Finally. Roshan City." Spike and his Pokemon got off the train. "Just closer to Kyurem. So uh...that Ice Castle's just between some pine forests somewhere nearby this city, huh? Can't be too tough to find a place like that."
"Axew."
"Deino."
"But first..." Spike went over to a bench, hopping onto it for a seat before removing his bag. "A quick morning snack. How does that sound?"
"Xew-Xew!"
"Deino!" Deino and Axew would most certainly like something to eat in the morning. A good early snack helps to fuel the body especially when you're getting ready to battle the World's Strongest Dragon in some icy place that is not really beneficial to Dragon-Type Pokemon. Ice and everything is a big upset for them.
Spike sent out all of his Pokemon to feast, but right now, thanks to what Deino did yesterday, they were a bit low on food. They still had a good amount to eat but the next time they wish to chow down, there will be a considerable amount missing.
Luckily, the Pokedollars that Rarity lent Spike were still present. He hadn't spent them yet so any extra food can be brought with ease. And speaking of Rarity, due to her being essentially an up and coming rising star in the PokeStar Studios business, movie posters involving her face could be seen.
"Hm?" Spike glanced over at the posters while eating his gems. So far, Rarity has made a name for herself as she was featuring in three movies. Two of those she's the star and one of them she's a supporting character. "Mm. Rarity's really getting there. That Pokemon Festival really boosted her status up, right?"
"Sala." Salamence nodded in agreement while eating his food.
"We're gonna be big too, ya know. Once I become a Dragon Master, everyone's gonna know of me. Might even get some students of my own. Hehe!" Spike grinned with a chuckle as bits of gems and crystals could be seen around his teeth.
"Deino..." Again. Deino was a surprisingly heavy eater with fast chomping skills as she had already finished most if not all of her food while laying on her back. "Dei..."
"Axew-xew." To mess around with his fellow Dragon-Type, Axew decided to repeatedly pat Deino's stomach as if he was playing the drums. "Axe! Axew!"
"D-D-Dei! Deino-no-no-no!" Obviously, Deino got a reaction from that as she started laughing while also flailing her legs around with sounds coming from her stomach each time Axew gave a pat.
The two of them were definitely the most playful of the dragon group. Deino is still technically a baby while Axew is a bizarre mashup between a baby and a full-grown adult due to his ability to transform. It's unclear if whether he started as a Haxorus before the Fusion magic got to him or he was always an Axew.
Salamence could be considered in the same boat. Body of an adult. The mind of a child. However, Salamence seems to have been maturing over time after being with Spike the longest. His playful nature still existed just not as rampant.
And Druddigon was just a full-on adult through and through. He could be considered the oldest of the group and a big brother to all of them. Spike watched as his Pokemon were having the time of their life before the inevitable showdown against Kyurem.
But while he watched them, Spike was thinking back to his first Pokemon ever. Goomy. It's been months since he'd last seen his first partner after he was sent to be trained by the Dragon Trainers. Spike was wondering how Goomy was doing right now. He was hoping that they would meet up again and Goomy was revealed to be a powerful dragon in the end.
Aside from that, another thing caught Spike's attention. Up in the sky, just nearby and casually floating around, Cryogonal could be seen. They don't usually appear in the summer because of the heat but thanks to recent events involving Keldeo, that had been changed a bit.
"Nogonal." The Crystallizing Pokemon then flew out of view while looking at Spike for a while. A sign of Cryogonal was a sign of Kyurem. Spike quickly started chomping down on his food, wanting to follow the Cryogonal since they could lead him and his team to the Boundary Pokemon.
"Mmm!" Spike rapidly ate all his food as fast as he could. Perhaps a bit too fast. He ended up starting to choke on his own food due to the rush. Wanting to follow the Cryogonal sort of turned the tables on him as he started beating his chest. "Mrrph!"
"Ax! Axew!" Axew and the others quickly rushed over to try and help their trainer before he's taken out by his own favourite food. The Tusk Pokemon held Spike from behind, trying to squeeze the gems out of him while Salamence was starting to panic.
"Sala-Sala!"
"Here, here." Luckily, someone was kind enough to solve that problem by bringing over a glass of juice. Spike quickly grabbed the glass, gulping down the juice. That was needed as the crystals and gems smoothly went through Spike's throat, saving his life.
"Ah..." Spike breathed in and out. "Thanks...Need to catch those Cryogonal...They'll get me to Kyurem."
"Don't be in such a rush. Kyurem isn't going anywhere after all." The man who saved Spike said.
"Yeah, I know. My bad. But, I'm really eager to challenge Kyurem right now." Spike held his chest. "That's the World's Strongest Dragon just sitting there."
"Well, good luck with that." The man walked away, waving to Spike.
"Okay..." Spike took a deep breath. "Yeah, I should just take it easy. But Kyurem's close right now. It's the third day so I'm kinda living up to that schedule."
"Xew?"
"What was it that Ash said that one time?" Spike thought back to Ash's words from a time when he wasn't knocked out or had Aura Ataxia as a reoccurring problem.
"Always remember guys! It's your choice. If you wanna rush it, then go on ahead. If you wanna take things slowly, then go for it. As long as you reach your goals and dreams anyway. Me. I wanna take it slow to become a Pokemon Master. Right?
"Pi-Pikachu!"
"Oh yeah." Spike nodded. "I'll pick fast." He made his decision after recalling some of Ash's words. "Alright, you guys. Let's head to Kyurem and take him on!"
And his Pokemon agreed. They raised their claws and legs to show that they were more than ready to tackle the Boundary Pokemon. However, collectively, their stomach's growled, showing that they were still hungry.
"But uh...maybe some more food wouldn't hurt."Spike laughed, holding his stomach as another snack break was needed for clarity and full energy.
Equestria. Canterlot. Day.
It's a different day in Canterlot today. One that had a less stressful atmosphere. After the pushback of the invasion, everything had calmed down. But, there was still work that needed to be done.
Celestia obviously had a few things to solve. One of which was getting this World Pirouette Spell down. And the second, the most important one, was rescuing Pyrestar who had done all she can to stop the invasion from happening sooner than expected. She succeeded but at the cost of her getting captured.
However, Celestia could still find time to take it easy. And another who was taking it easy was Flurry Heart who was now staying in this world since she is essentially wanted in her own world by her own auntie and an entire empire.
Right now, Celestia, Flurry Heart and Premium Polish were in Premium's guest room, looking at Pokemon cards together for fun. It was fairly early in the morning so Celestia had some time to indulge herself in entertainment before heading back to serious business.
"Oh! That one is so cute! Which one is this?!" Flurry Heart, who was still very new to Pokemon, pointed her hoof at a Mawile card.
"That would be Mawile," Celestia replied. "Don't be fooled by its cute appearance. Those massive jaws on the back of its head can crush even iron."
"Ooh...Something that cute can do that?"
"All Pokemon are really strong," Premium spoke to the younger alicorn. "Even the super cute ones! Oh, check out this holo Duosion card."
"I think I'll take..." Celestia navigated her hoof over the assortments of Pokemon Cards that she had personally gathered before choosing one. "This Cobalion Card."
"You're only picking that one up because you have a crush on him, Princess." Premium pointed out.
"Uhh..." Celestia put her hoof over her face in embarrassment. "T-Thanks for the input and reminder Premium...How about we start putting these cards in special orders. That way, the collection will be more organized and decorative. Put them in these." She used her magic to bring over multiple sleeves that had specific decorations for certain cards on them.
"Okay!" Both Premium and Flurry Heart replied. They both started putting the cards in orders while Celestia opened new card sets to see what they could find. Generally, they were just having a great time.
And watching them through the windows was Luna who was still holding a bit of stress. Even with the whole invasion pushed back, the fear of what is happening to Pyrestar is flooding her head.
"Still worried, dear?" Eventide spoke to his daughter.
"Mhm." The Moon Princess nodded in confirmation. "I should go there and help her but..."
"It's okay. She'll be rescued for certain." Sunlight reassured Luna. "Thanks to her, we'll be able to improve with extra time. So just hang in there."
"I will." She sighed with a low tone. "I'm just not sure what will happen next. Everything's become so unpredictable recently. I fear that things are only going to escalate later on."
"Probably." Eventide looked up. "This is the most conflict Equestria has ever had to face. Even more so than when the unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies were just tribes and even before Equestria was founded."
"Whatever happens next, we'll just have to be ready for it. But with the Pokemon on your side and especially that Reshiram out there in the gardens, I'm certain that you'll win for sure." Sunlight grinned.
"R-Right. Perhaps, I need to take it easy like my sister. Maybe some Pokemon Battling can cheer me up..." Luna walked off, heading for her room where her Pokemon resided.
"Is Pokemon Battling taking it easy?" Sunlight wasn't so sure about something as intense and high-octane as Pokemon Battling was the number one relaxation method. Eventide just shrugged in response.
"I worry about them, dear. This timeline is certainly unpredictable, isn't it?"
"It is." Sunlight nodded. "But what can we do?"
"Nothing. However, I've been thinking." One of Eventide's many brainstorms were coming up. "Our daughter's Boundless Cutie Mark."
"What about it?"
"I think I may know what purpose it may serve." He was on to something. The unexplained and mysterious Cutie Mark that had been permanently given to Celestia ever since the Ghetsis incident. The Boundless Cutie Mark. The mark that hods every mark from past, present and future. Eventide, despite knowing barely anything about this mark, had a theory that he wanted to see was true.
Unova. Near Kyurem's Ice Castle also known as Full Court. Day.
At last, Spike and his Pokemon were heading for the castle. By riding on Salamence's back, they had witnessed it for themselves. The Ice Castle where Kyurem resides.
Salamence had followed the many Cryogonal. Then again, the Cryogonal helped out by leaving a trail behind via their own bodies and snowflakes they dropped behind. Because of this assistance, they had led Spike and his friends to the castle.
After all, Kyurem was waiting for them.
"There it is," Spike spoke, setting his eyes on the caste. "Yikes, it's bigger than the Crystal Empire..."
"Axew."
"Sala." Once he was close enough, Salamence descended, reaching the ice bridge as they were in a good range of the castle. The amount of ice here was so prominent that it gave the area a darker colour. Even the brightness of the sun was struggling to give this place some vibrance.
Everything about it was imposing. From the thick and cold icy smoke, the ominous howling and of course, the gigantic Dragon waiting inside that has been hailed as the World's Strongest Dragon.
Spike and his Pokemon had every reason to be nervous. Which is what they were right now. Nervous. Once Spike got off Salamence's back, him, Axew, Deino and even Salamence were shuddering at the castle. But, Deino wasn't shuddering because of Kyurem, she was mostly shuddering due to the temperature.
"Well...Here we are." Spike gulped. "Just in there, Kyurem is waiting. World's Strongest Dragon and everything..."
"Axew..."
"Thanks, Salamence. Return for now." Spike recalled Salamence as he hadn't yet taken a step to the inside of Full Court. Even Axe was fearful of this and he could become a fearsome Haxorus by will. Spike could also feel Druddigon and Salamence's Poke Balls trembling as well. In truth, all of them, aside from Deino, were nervous about meeting Kyurem, but they were willing to tackle this obstacle anyway.
That's when the voice of Kyurem reached out from within the entrance of the castle.
"What are you waiting for, boy? Enter."
"Mm!" Hearing that imposing and terrifying voice had only startled and intimidated Spike and his Pokemon ever further. They stayed completely still for a few seconds.
Spike then recalled a part in Ash's story of how Keldeo was in a similar position. Keldeo had already battled Kyurem once but that was when he was headstrong and brash. Once he lost horribly to the Boundary Pokemon, Keldeo was terrified of him. So when it came time for Keldeo to have his second battle, the Colt Pokemon was frozen with fear. But through that fear and the encouragement of Ash, he managed to step forward and eventually battle Kyurem a second time.
While Spike didn't have Ash here to do the same, he had his Pokemon to count on. Even though they were all nervous themselves. Except for Deino. Afterwards, they finally stepped forward as the gates to Kyurem's castle opened.
It was time.
The group had finally entered with all the Cryogonal flying off to give them some space. The last they want to experience is being caught up in this soon to be highly destructive Dragon battle. But they were certainly going to watch it.
Once Spike and his Pokemon entered, they were greeted with the arena of Full Court. It matched the appearance of a typical Pokemon battlefield only with a crater smack dab in the middle.
It had a bit of a darker tone in here but the number of sparkling ice crystals made it so that some shine was given, making Full Court have some vibrance in all of this toned-down ambience and aesthetic.
But, Spike wasn't here to admire the sight. He was just here to challenge Kyurem as he stood near the arena with Axew and Deino behind him.
"Kyurem! I'm here to battle you! And I'm ready to do so!" Spike declared.
"Hoh? Do you think you're worthy of battling me?"
"Worthy?"
"Well, do you?"
"Y-Yes! 100%!" Spike nodded his head vigorously. "I'm aiming to become a Dragon Master. Right now I'm just a Dragon Trainer. So I'm here to test myself and see how far I've come. That's why I came to you after hearing about Ash's story."
"Ash's story?" Kyurem then emerged from the thick icy smoke with his eyes glowing. When he walked, his footsteps could be heard as it sounded like a hammer being struck on the ground at full force. Not only that but tremors could be felt as Spike and his friends witnessed an overwhelming figure appear before him.
Kyurem's footsteps also caused a powerful ice smoke to flow across the ground, causing parts of it to freeze over. Spike and his friends shuddered as their bodies were already gaining ice from just Kyurem's movements and presence alone. But, they endured the cold as they shook it off.
"Then you must know of what would happen if you're not fully prepared to battle me."
"Uh..." Spike's heart was beating fast as he wasn't expecting the sheer size and scale of Kyurem. It was fairly overwhelming to look at just like how Buzzwole is overwhelming to look at. "I-I do. With what happened with Keldeo before. But I'm confident that I'm ready. I won't run away. I'm going to battle you until I'm unable to."
"Hmph. I like that fire in your eyes and spirit. Very well then." Kyurem admired Spike's bravado and confidence. He accepted his challenge. By doing so, he made the proper arrangements immediately.
Aside from the circular battlefield, Kyurem summoned a massive ice gate archway in front of Spike. This was a means of testing if Spike was truly brave enough to take part in this.
"Pass through the gate."
With bravery, Spike and his Pokemon had passed through the ice archway, officially having the courage to stand up to Kyurem as there was practically no going back now. Once he passed through, Kyurem summoned more sharp ice yet again. This time the ice surrounded the battlefield in a circular shape as they all stood up tall, towering over Kyurem and Spike. Now, the entire battlefield was perfect for them.
"Now. Let us begin. Don't hold back. Or I will crush you."
"I won't. Deino, I want you to watch the whole thing, alright?" Spike took out his first Poke Ball which was the Premier Ball. He then tossed it, choosing his first Pokemon. Go! Druddigon!"
"Druddigon!" Druddigon appeared, standing before the Boundary Pokemon. The size difference wasn't even funny. Kyurem made most Dragon-Type Pokemon look like ants before his presence. Druddigon couldn't get nervous here. Not for Spike.
"Let's do this! Druddigon! Use Metal Claw!"
"Drudd!" The Cave Pokemon went first by hardening his claws with a glowing silver energy before lunging at the Boundary Pokemon.
Kyurem responded via Shadow Claw. He covered his own claw in purple shadows, standing in one spot. When Druddigon got close, he swiped his claws at the Dragon-Ice-Type. Kyurem then swung next as both claws had collided with each other, creating sparks.
However, in just one clash, Kyurem managed to easily overpower Metal Claw with a superior swipe. With this, the Boundary Pokemon knocked Druddigon's claw away with ease.
"Drudd?!"
The Boundary Pokemon then used his other claw to swipe Druddigon, sending him crashing to the ground with a swift yet hard hit. The ice shattered with tiny little ice shards flying up from Druddigon's impact. However, as a drawback, Druddigon's Rough Skin affected Kyurem. But not by much.
"Oh! Druddigon!"
"D-Druddi...!" Druddigon growled as he got back up. Kyurem then followed up by using Dragon Pulse. The Boundary Pokemon summoned an orb of blue draconic energy in front of him. Out of that blue orb, a dragon-shaped shockwave came flying out with a roar, ready to bite and crash into Druddigon.
Use Gunk Shot!"
"Gon!" Druddigon quickly countered by shooting multiple purple and black projectiles from his mouth. The projectiles pelted the dragon-shaped shockwave, but it couldn't break through or overpower. Thus, it ended in a clash via the usual explosion.
"Let's try paralyzing him! A slow down will work! Thunder Punch, go!"
"Drudd!" Druddigon barged through the smoke, lightning both his clas with electricity. After moving through the smoke, he appeared before Kyurem, ready to strike. But, Kyurem had another response via a headbutt.
A headbutt involving Iron Head. By covering his face in pure metal, the Boundary Pokemon thrust his head forward as hard as he could, smashing into Druddigon's fist. Once colliding, Druddigon felt a hard vibration move through his arms from Kyurem's headbutt alone.
"D-Drudd!" Druddigon cried out as Kyurem then used his hardened wings, turning around as he whacked the Cave Pokemon with them. "Gon!" Once more, Druddigon was launched, but this time, he managed to recover by flapping his wings. Druddigon doesn't normally fly with them so it's a rarity. Yet again, Druddigon's Rough Skin got to Kyurem.
"Gunk Shot!"
"Drudd! Drudd!" Another attempt at a status effect. This time, Poison. Druddigon spat out multiple poisonous gunk projectiles, trying to poison and strike Kyurem. But, Kyurem had another response.
This time in the form of an Ice Beam. By summoning a light blue orb, the Boundary Pokemon instantly froze the projectiles of poison before they could even reach him. Kyurem's ice is nothing to scoff at. He is capable of ultracold air after all. The frozen projectiles then dropped to the ground, shattering.
"Gr! Fine then! Let's start a rampage with Outrage!"
"GON!" Druddigon roared as his body was cloaked in a raging red aura. He would use all of his aggression and strength on Kyurem. This was sure to deal super-effective damage as he smashed the ground, causing large ice shards to fly towards Kyurem.
Kyurem narrowed his eyes as he used Shadow Claw to swipe the shards of ice away, preventing them from making proper contact with him. Druddigon then ran towards Kyurem with another lunge. This time, he would just unleash a barrage of hits.
"Drudd!" The Cave Pokemon swung his fist around, trying to strike the Boundary Pokemon. But, Kyurem put Shadow Claw up in an attempt to block his hits. Druddigon ferociously attacked Shadow Claw with all he had, trying to push through Kyurem's defence.
It was actually working. The sheer fury of Outrage was capable of adding a ton of pressure to Shadow Claw as Kyurem could feel the constant strikes of Druddigon were enough to make his own claws slightly tremble.
Knowing that he couldn't block forever, the Boundary Pokemon flew back, preventing another hit as Druddigon ended up hitting the air with his next swing. Afterwards, Kyurem used his next move. His signature.
Glaciate.
Kyurem released a cold blast of wind filled with shards of ice that surrounded Druddigon from all sides. They had also homed onto him as he was now trapped.
"Knock them away, Druddigon!"
"Druddi!" Still using Outrage, when the shards rushed towards the Cave Pokemon, the Dragon-Type began swinging wildly, attempting to knock them away. Druddigon managed to knock away some of the shards with his fists and tail, but he couldn't stop them all.
Kyurem had summoned too many. Due to a ridiculous number of shards, Druddigon could only stop so many before he was bombarded with an overwhelming assault. Druddigon couldn't do anything as the shards consumed him until he was buried by them.
"D-Druddigon!"
"Oh, no! Druddigon!" Spike gasped as the shards suddenly blew up, causing a light blue explosion while smaller shards flew out from it. Kyurem stood there, unphased while the shards flew by.
Taking an Ice-Type attack is always bad news for most Dragon-Type Pokemon. And unfortunately, Druddigon was one of them. Once that blue smoke cleared, he had fainted.
"Druddigon..." That was one down. Kyurem barely took any damage. He practically took none at all from the looks of it.
"Thanks, Druddigon..." Spike lowered his head, recalling the Cave Pokemon. "I'll make it up to you. Just watch."
"Xew! Axew!" Axew offered himself to be up next to challenge the Boundary Pokemon as he pleaded with Spike.
"Alright, Axew. You're up next. Transform and show Kyurem what you can do!"
"Axew!" Axew jumped over Spike with a frontflip. While in midair, he surrounded himself in the golden light. In just a few seconds, Axew had transformed into the Axe Jaw Pokemon as a golden flash of light illuminated the room of Full Court.
"Haxorus!" Out of the light and smashing the icy ground with shards flying up, Haxorus had emerged.
"This is new..."
"You haven't seen anything yet, Kyurem! Let's go, Haxorus! Close Combat on the leg!"
"Xorus!" Haxorus had a lot more to give. By bolting off the ground and causing tremors of his own, the Axe Jaw Pokemon approached Kyurem without jumping this time.
Instead, Haxorus was going for the leg. Once he got close, Kyurem chose to try and stomp Haxorus since he was near the leg area.
"Dodge!"
"Hax!" Haxorus being the quick thinker that he is, rolled to the side as he avoided Kyurem's stomp. The stop smashed the icy ground, causing yet another tremor with more shards rising. With Haxorus successfully dodging Kyurem's stop, he could strike, The Axe Jaw Pokemon suddenly smashed his fist onto Kyurem's leg.
Kyurem certainly felt that one as Haxorus continuously began striking Kyurem's leg as fast as he could. Afterwards, he then grabbed the leg of the Boundary Pokemon.
"Now flip him over!"
"H-Hax...!" Then, by using all of his strength, the Axe Jaw Pokemon put everything he had to try and carry Kyurem or at least flip him over. Kyurem was heavy so this was not easy, but Haxorus' great strength would make sure that he could withstand this.
But Kyurem wasn't going to let that happen. The Boundary Pokemon ascended into the air, bringing Haxorus with him. Haxorus was now in the air with Kyurem, hanging on.
"Xorus?!"
Kyurem then suddenly intensified his body temperature. The Dragon-Ice-Type rapidly went to -180 degrees. With the cold aura surrounding his body, Haxorus, who was still clinging on, had been affected by this chill.
"H-H-H-Hax!" The cold was shocking for him to handle as he lost his grip on Kyurem, causing him to fall. Once Haxorus fell with ice covering parts of his body, Kyurem was ready to strike once more with Dragon Pulse as he summoned the orb.
"Haxorus! Dragon Claw, go!"
"H-Haxorus!" Haxorus quickly got up, shaking the ice off him as he immediately summoned green draconic claws.
"Run on the ice pillars!"
"Xo!" Instead of heading straight for Kyurem directly, Haxorus went for a different approach. The Axe Jaw Pokemon jumped to the nearest ice pillar, running on it. Kyurem finished charging up as he unleashed the dragon-shaped blast, aiming it at Haxorus.
Haxorus quickly jumped to the next ice pillar, causing Kyurem's Dragon Pulse to destroy the one Haxorus was previously on. After missing Dragon Pulse, Kyurem gave it another go by shooting another one while tracking Haxorus down. But, Haxorus kept jumping and running on the ice pillars, evading each Dragon Pulse as fast he could. Kyurem had to keep on turning to keep track of Haxorus.
"Now, jump and strike!"
"Haxorus!" Haxorus, lunging towards the Boundary Pokemon with his claws wide open, roaring. "Haaaax!" With that roar, Kyurem tried to fire another Dragon Pulse to try and knock Haxorus down, but before he could do so, instead, Haxrous had landed his attack by swiped Kyurem's face at full force. Twice. One with his right claw and the other with his left.
Kyurem took super-effective damage once more as the force of Haxorus' swipes actually pushed him back, causing him to slide on the ground with a dent on his head as Haxorus landed.
"Xo!"
"Not bad." Seeing that Spike was no pushover, Kyurem decided to up the anty. And there was one way he could so. By transforming into one of his two different forms.
The Boundary Pokemon took the skies the splicers from his wings with their tendril-like appearance had shown themselves. They then connected with each over before engulfing the Dragon-Ice-Type in a raging flame. Spike and Haxorus looked up as a transformation was undergoing.
Kyurem was growing in size with this transform and even changing his body stance to a more upright position. And one the flame faded out, with a powerful shockwave that was equal to that of a tornado, out came one of the many forms of Kyurem.
White Kyurem.
"W-White Kyurem..." Spike gawked as he knew exactly what he was getting himself into. Things are only going to get messier from here on.
Unova Region. Kyurem's Ice Castle also known as Full Court. Afternoon.
Right now, Spike is undergoing possibly his toughest battle yet. Against Kyurem. The World's Strongest Dragon. The main objective he was aiming for and a great opportunity to test his progress as a Dragon Master.
Druddigon had already fainted from Kyurem's overwhelming strength and Haxorus was next, battling in his Equestrian Form. Haxorus seemed to fare better against Kyurem, but it wasn't over yet. Just now, Kyurem had transformed into one of its two forms.
White Kyurem.
Still a Dragon-Ice-Type but with the blazing qualities of Reshiram on his side. This was far from over as Kyurem was only going to make things tougher for Spike.
"Haxo...!"
"Let's be careful here...Haxorus, use Dragon Claw again!"
"Xorus!" Another go at close-quarters as Haxorus summoned those usual draconic claws, running towards the Boundary Pokemon. But as if Kyurem was just going to let him do so.
Since Kyurem used to be both Reshiram and Zekrom as one single being, that meant that he had their signature moves. And he most certainly could use them.
And one of them was Fusion Flare.
Kyurem put two of his claws together, summoning a giant ball of fire without having to charge up. Kyurem can do this instantly. Not only that, but his launching speed was far greater in his transformed state.
When Haxorus was at a good distance, the Boundary Pokemon tossed the giant flame as if it was a baseball. The speed of the flame was powerful enough to even burn the cold air of Full Court.
"Dodge it, quick!"
"Haxo!?" Too late. Kyurem threw it faster than expected. Haxorus couldn't avoid it in time. Thus, Fusion Flare connected by consuming the Axe Jaw Pokemon like a black hole. "H-Hax!"
"Haxorus, no!"
"X-Xorus!" Haxorus cried out as he was greeted by an explosion of violent flames that erupted in the shape of a pillar. The Axe Jaw Pokemon was then launched out of the explosion and smoke with fire trailing from his body.
Despite taking an attack that violent, Haxorus was still up as he recovered, sliding on the ground while breaking the ice beneath him.
"Are you okay?!"
"Hax!" He nodded in confirmation. Thanks to his Dragon-Typing, he didn't take super-effective damage. Still, that Fusion Flare stung more than anything else so far. Kyurem intimidated then by exuding scorching flames from his body for a brief moment.
"That's ridiculous...If we get too close, he's either gonna freeze or burn Haxorus just by letting all that stuff out." Spike thought to himself as he knew Kyurem had a lot to offer. But so far, this was just getting a bit ridiculous. "Okay! Close Combat, on the ground!"
"Haxorus!" Another Close Combat was coming. But this time on the ground. Spike and Haxorus were using their usual tactics to try and gain an advantage. The Axe Jaw Pokemon repeatedly began striking the ground aggressively, sending up large chunks of ice.
However, Kyurem knew what they were up to and he wouldn't let it happen. The Boundary Pokemon flapped his wings ferociously, causing a powerful wind pressure equal to that of a hurricane as it blew the large ice shards away, foiling their plan.
"What?!" Spike gasped as the large chunks of ice flew past him, hitting the walls of Full Court and shattering.
"A clever trick. Too slow though!" Kyurem was now the one going on the offensive. He went for Shadow Claw as he soared towards his fellow Dragon-Type.
"Not good! Counter with Dragon Claw!"
"Xorus!" Haxorus got it together as he lunged at the Boundary Pokemon with his own claws. The two of them collided their claws against each other with purple and green sparks flying out. Afterwards, Haxorus slid past Kyurem before receiving a sudden kick to the back, launching him. "Hax!"
"Again!"
"Haxorus!" After being kicked in the back, Haxorus tumbled on the ground before recovering. The Equestrian Haxorus then ran back for another Dragon Claw while Kyurem's eyes flashed.
The Axe Jaw Pokemon went for an upwards swipe to Kyurem's chin, but the Boundary Pokemon swiftly moved his head to the side, avoiding Haxorus' upper attack. The Dragon-Ice-Type then responded by using Shadow Claw to instead give Haxorus the uppercut he was trying to land, launching the Axe Jaw Pokemon high into the air.
"H-Hax!"
"Iron Tail from above!"
"Xorus!" Even when in midair, he could still do something. Haxorus hardened his tail like metal with a white glow appearing. Although, Haxorus' body was already hard like metal.
The Axe Jaw Pokemon then began falling but with the intent to perform an overhead attack with Iron Tail. Straight for Kyurem's head. Kyurem narrowed his eyes as he actually flew towards Haxorus instead of staying on the ground. When close, Haxorus swung his tail, trying to go for the overhead.
Unfortunately, Kyurem had caught his tail, preventing the attack from fully landing.
"H-Hax?!"
Kyurem, now holding Haxorus within his grasp, flew across the battlefield of Full Court, forcing Haxorus to feel the wind in his face. It wasn't a pleasant ride that's for sure as Kyurem flew by the ice pillars, causing Haxorus to smash through them.
"X-Xo!"
"No! Haxorus! Break free! Try using Close Combat!" Spike gasped as Haxorus was being smashed across every ice pillar here by Kyurem's flying, taking constant damage.
It didn't help that Kyurem was flying at high speeds, making the impacts and damage worse with each hit. Haxorus attempted to break free but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Not only was his tail being held but his arms and legs were out of the picture since they were just flailing about.
And to add insult to injury, Kyurem was constantly creating new ice pillars to fly and smash Haxorus through, showing little respect and mercy. It was getting tough for Haxorus who at first seemed like a good combatant for Kyurem. But it looked like that wasn't the case.
Until Spike came up with a plan.
"Aha! Revert back, Haxorus!"
"Hax?!"
"Trust me! Transform back into an Axew!"
"H-Hax...! Hax!" Haxorus trusted Spike if it meant breaking free of Kyurem's hold. However, when the golden light covered Haxorus' body, it was quickly revealed what Spike was going for.
Since Haxorus had such a large body and a fairly large tail, it made it easier for a big Pokemon like Kyurem to grab it. Kyurem's body may be huge but his claws are just as small as Haxorus' own claws, thus making the grip stronger.
But as an Axew, that's a different story. Out of the golden light, Axew emerged. And with his miniature body and even smaller tail, the grip Kyurem had was less effective and strong as there was a major gap. And with that gap, Axew slipped through, breaking free from Kyurem's hold as he was falling face first. "Axew!"
"Now transform again and use Giga Impact!"
"Axe! Axew!" Axew curled into a ball while falling from a high place, summoning the golden light once more. And once he did so, he transformed in a second, emerging as the mighty Equestrian Haxorus yet again. "Haxorus!"
Afterwards, he landed on the ground with a hard impact, shattering the ice before covering his body in an invisible white aura. Haxorus then looked up at Kyurem, locking onto the Boundary Pokemon before shooting himself off the ground like a rocket. The invisible aura then shifted into a white aura with a large trail.
Kyurem acted quickly by going for another Fusion Flare. The Boundary Pokemon created the sphere of fire within his claws, but this time with more power and a larger size. However, Haxorus was closer than ever this time thanks to the speed of Giga Impact.
The moment Kyurem tried to throw the sphere, Haxorus ended up crashing into Kyurem's stomach, interrupting Fusion Flare and actually landing a heavy hit onto the Boundary Pokemon. It showed since Kyurem's eyes widened with his arms and legs twitching, showing that Giga Impact did something.
Afterwards, it was Kyurem who was being launched now after Giga Impact as Haxorus returned to the ground. The Boundary Pokemon flinched as he was sent flying through the pillars he made, shattering them. It looked like Kyurem was about to crash into the walls of Full Court but he managed to recover before that could happen.
"Haxo...Haxorus." After using Giga Impact with so much power, Haxorus needed to recharge as he breathed in and out.
"Not bad." Kyurem spoke as he ascended. "I love a good challenge. And so far, you're not disappointing me at all. But let's see how long you can keep it up, boy."
Wanting to see just how far Spike can go, Kyurem was about to unleash another of his many signature moves. A move that was still Ice but had the ability to burn opponents. And sometimes, it freezes them if Kyurem chooses to.
That move was Ice Burn.
White Kyurem's body gleamed orange as he created a circular reddish-purple aura around himself. The room lit up from Kyurem's shine as Haxorus looked up, still recharging. The Boundary Pokemon then released multiple reddish-purple beams of energy from above.
"Haxorus! Block it with Iron Tail!"
"H-Haxo...!" Haxorus growled as he had just regained his energy. He hardened his tail with pure metal, ready to try and block it by utilizing Steel's resistance to Dragon.
Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough. The beams had rained down on him, blasting and pelting him with a non-stop vicious frenzy. Before Haxorus knew it, his body had been given a mixture of absolute zero and flames that can scorch the planet itself.
Spike closed his eyes from the cruel explosion of fire and ice. It created a shockwave strong enough to push him and Deino back from where they both stood while Kyurem just watched the flames and ice erupt with no expression or emotion on his face changing.
The hot and cold smoke cleared with the silhouette of Haxorus standing there. Spike gasped while Kyurem's eyes widened from witnessing this silhouette. It looked as if Haxorus hadn't fainted, which brought joy to Spike's face.
"Oh! Haxorus! You're okay!"
But it was too good to be true. In truth, Ice Burn ended up burning the Axe Jaw Pokemon and freezing bits of his body. It did it to him so badly that Haxorus not only reverted to a Unovan Haxorus but he had also fainted while standing.
"Haxorus..." Haxorus was defeated. And the final nail in the coffin was him shifting back into his Unovan Axew form before falling on the ground. "Axew..."
"Axew!" Spike ran over to Axew while Kyurem descended, remaining in his White Kyurem form. Spike helped his partner up from the ground as the Tusk Pokemon held his head, still feeling the flames of Ice Burn.
"Axew..."
"Is that all? I can see that you have more in store, boy."
"I sure do. Thanks, Axew. Get some rest." Spike patted Axew on the back, leading him to rest near the entrance of the Ice Castle.
Afterwards, Spike held out his next Poke Ball, looking up at the Boundary Pokemon. This was unlike anything he's been through. For the longest time, Spike has been doing well against other Pokemon with his own partners. But Kyurem has quickly shot that down in minutes. The title of World's Strongest Dragon was nothing to be taken lightly.
"Go, Salamence!" Spike threw out Salamence as the Dragon Pokemon emerged before Kyurem.
"Salamence!"
"Get ready, Kyurem! Here we come!" Spike exclaimed.
"Salamence!"
"Then what are you waiting for? Come."
"Salamence, use Zen Headbutt!"
"Sala!" The Dragon Pokemon lowered his head as purple energy began to form in front of his forehead. Salamence then raised its head and the purple energy grows larger and forms into a ball of shining light blue energy.
At the same time, Kyurem was going for Iron Head by hardening his own head to match that of pure hard metal with a silver shine around it. Salamence then flew headfirst, ascending and soaring towards the Boundary Pokemon.
In seconds, both Dragon-Types smashed their heads against each other, creating a loud banging noise with large sparks flying out. The ground below them shattered from the impact as well as the pillars of ice.
There was actually a struggle between the two of them, both trying to push their heads through. But it seemed as if Kyurem was the one succeeding in this with his superior strength. Salamence growled, trying to give it everything he had as he roared in Kyurem's face. Salamence's adrenaline kept spiking, forcing him to push back Kyurem.
Both were equal now as they cancelled each other out afterwards, flying back a few metres. Kyurem let out a light chuckle before going for Dragon Pulse. Instead of his face, this time he used his hands to create the attack by forming a blue orb.
"Salamence! Fly below!"
"Mence!" The Dragon Pokemon dived down instead of straight ahead as Kyurem's eyes tracked the Dragon-Flying-Type down. The Boundary Pokemon then fired the dragon-shaped blast from his hands, sending it towards Salamence.
"Now go under and use Dragon Tail!"
"Sala!" Salamence, using his expert flying skills, flew ahead towards Kyurem's underside, boosting himself in the air which allowed Dragon Pulse to miss and hit the ground. Once near one of Kyurem's legs, the Dragon Pokemon lit his tail up with draconic energy.
And with a powerful swing, Salamence swept the Boundary Pokemon's leg while in midair, not only causing super-effective damage but also throwing Kyurem off balance a bit. With that balance, Kyurem was almost knocked out of the air.
"Upwards!"
"Salamence!" But it wasn't over yet. One more Dragon Tail was used. This time, upwards. While Kyurem was knocked off balance and trying to regain his composure, the Dragon Pokemon swung his tail again, hitting Kyurem's stomach in the process. Kyurem twitched as this Dragon Tail launched him into the air.
The Boundary Pokemon flew so high up that his back actually hit the top of Full Court. And this castle was fairly big so it was clear that Salamence's Dragon Tail certainly left an impact. Ice shards fell from above from Kyurem's collision.
"Now! Hyper Beam!"
"Sala...Mence!" Showing little signs of slowing down and barely any hesitation, the ferocious Dragon-Flying-Type unleashed a short-burst Hyper Beam from his mouth, sending a giant orange energy beam that obliterated the falling ice shards.
Kyurem's mouth opened as he was engulfed by this giant beam. It was actually wide enough to consume his entire body instead of just his face. Afterwards, an outburst of explosive energy happened above, obliterating some of the nearby ice.
Salamence descended, panting as he had to recharge his energy like how Axew needs to do with Giga Impact. However, that Hyper Beam was so powerful and effective along with the two Dragon Tails that even Kyurem was staggered and took some time to recover from it.
The smoke cleared as Kyurem held his head after Hyper Beam, showing the progress being made. A wide smile appeared on Spike's face after witnessing that. He knew he wasn't probably going to win this but seeing someone like Kyurem take high damage and even feel staggered was one glimmer of hope.
"We might actually do this..." Spike grinned.
"Impressive. That's the kind of spirit I like to see."
"Heh. Thanks." Spike crossed his arms, feeling proud.
"But, I still have more to give. I hope you do as well." Kyurem's eyes narrowed as he was going for another transformation. This time into his other form.
Suddenly, a burst of electricity happened on the spot, startling Spike and Salamence. Even Axew and Deino jumped from it as it sounded like thunder going off. The burst of electricity consumed Kyurem's body, changing his shape once more.
His body was getting a tad bit smaller as he was gaining a hunched shape as well. His eyes flashed through the electricity as his other form had been revealed.
Black Kyurem.
"Let's keep this up, Salamence! Use Flamethrower!"
"Sala...!" By holding his breath in generating scarlet flames as he was more than prepared to pour it on. However, Kyurem already had a move ready for Salamence. It was another one of his signature moves.
Freeze Shock. Black Kyurem put his claws together as a light bluish-white ball of energy surrounded by electricity was formed. The size of it kept growing by 1 second each.
"Mence!" Salamence had finished his own charging up as he unleashed a beam of scarlet flames from his mouth. Black Kyurem then separated his claws, throwing the ball towards Flamethrower.
The giant sparking ice ball met with the intense blast of fire. Normally, since this attack was ice, that would mean the flames would just melt through. However, when it comes to Kyurem, that wasn't the case. Freeze Shock was powering through Flamethrower with ease, showing that it was just as fierce as Ice Burn.
And just like Ice Burn, it had the capability to leave a status effect. Paralysis. And, of course, the rarest one being the freeze effect. Salamence's Flamethrower stood no chance as the Dragon Pokemon's eyes widened.
"Fly away, Salamence!"
"Sala!" Salamence dropped Flamethrower, closing his mouth and putting an end to the move. Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough to evade. Freeze Shock had the speed of lightning by its side. And with that speed, Salamence couldn't avoid it as he caught by the giant ball. "Sala!"
The Dragon Pokemon cried out as his body was being punished with volts of electricity that were around 50,000,000 at max. Possibly even more. To Spike, it was terrifying to imagine how much voltage Kyurem's true form could give out back then.
The ball of electricity didn't blow up like the rest. Instead, it just fizzled out. But it left a lasting impression. Salamence's body had taken super-effective damage due to him being both Dragon and Flying. If anything, Kyurem was the worst Pokemon he could go up against. The electricity sparked around his body, causing the Dragon Pokemon to twitch uncontrollably.
"S-Sala...!"
"Is it paralysis?!" Spike leaned forward. All that twitching with the electricity coming out was most definitely paralysis. Salamence was now struggling to move as well due to this.
"Don't get too caught up on status'!" Kyurem warned Spike as he appeared in front of Salamence in seconds, using his next move. Dragon Pulse.
And he did this right in front of Salamence in an up-close spot instead of faraway like usual with his claws in the face of the Dragon Pokemon. Salamence gasped as he had been struck down from an up-close dragon-shaped shockwave from Kyurem's claws.
"Sala!" Salamence cried out as Kyurem wasn't done yet. With tremendous speeds, the Boundary Pokemon flew towards Salamence, ready for Shadow Claw this.
"Salamence! Dragon Tail, quick!"
"Sala-Salamence...!" Salamence groaned as he lit his tail up, ready to swing it forward. Kyurem swung his claws while Salamence swung his tail, both clashing and seeming equal in strength.
Unfortunately, while Salamence only had one tail to use Dragon Tail, Kyurem had two claws to use Shadow Claw. While one claw met with Salamence's tail, the other claw had been used. From the side, Kyurem swiped Salamence with another Shadow Claw.
"Mence!" Once more, Salamence had been struck as he had lost the clash. But more than that, Kyurem gave a third Shadow Claw this time with both his claws. He slashed Salamence in an x-shape with the claws, launching Salamence to the ground with shadows trailing out of him. "Sala!"
"Salamence, no!" Spike gasped after Salamence hit the ground hard. Kyurem descended, looking over at the large crater that had been formed by the impact.
Thankfully, Salamence wasn't down yet. But he took a beating and a million. This was by far the greatest and toughest battle he's been in. Even Eternatus wasn't this difficult and that took multiple Pokemon from powerful trainers including two champions to defeat.
The Dragon Pokemon climbed out of the crater, looking up at Kyurem with one eye closed. He already had scratches all over him from the damage he took. Any more and Salamence will be backed into a corner.
Salamence then looked over at Spike, nodding at him as he knew what needed to be done. And so did Spike as he nodded back in response. The baby dragon then looked at the ace in the hole.
The Mega Ring.
"Okay." Spike tapped the Mega Stone on his ring, initiating Mega Evolution. Kyurem turned around, noticing this mystical glow. "We'll really give you our all." Spike raised his arm.
"Sala...!" Salamence was starting to get up as golden lights flared out the ring at high speeds, flying past KYurem and heading for Salamence.
"Get ready Kyurem! This is us at our absolute best! Mega Evolve!" Spike roared as red lights flew out of Salamence and his keystone, clashing with the golden lights to form a DNA symbol.
"Salaaaaaa!" Salamence also roared as the two lights consumed his body, shifting it into something greater and more powerful. Salamence could feel the pain of Mega Evolution coming through. The same pain that caused him to go on a rampage.
And he knew that it might happen again. But if it means defeating Kyurem, then Salamence will take that chance. Out of the aura, the red eyes of Salamence flared with Kyurem squinting. And once the aura dispersed, the Mega Evolution symbol showed itself.
Mega Salamence was here.
"Salamence!"
With fangs so ferocious they could tear at anything, the Dragon Pokemon was starting to lose his sense of safety. As always, Mega Evolution is so painful to Salamence that it forces him to go on a rampage.
But this time, Salamence had eyes on one target. Instead of the world, it was Kyurem.
"Hmph. Seems like you might lose control with that." Kyurem observed. He was able to tell that Salamence was about to go wild with no sense of safety and only danger within his sights.
"I know. But I'm confident in Salamence. I'm working hard to make sure that Salamence and I can work in sync, even with the pain of Mega Evolution. That's gonna take me one step closer to becoming a Dragon Master. I'll do my best to calm any Dragon Pokemon there is! Just like what Drayden told me!"
"I see. How interesting. Then, show me what you can do with such terrifying and uncontrollable power at your disposal. If you can control it that is."
"We'll show you! Salamence!" Spike called out to Salamence.
"Mence?!" The Dragon Pokemon growled, turning his eyes at Spike. He was foaming at the mouth, showing that his anger levels were rising as his eyes were sharpening as well.
However, Spike wasn't afraid of Salamence's anger in Mega Evolution. He still saw his friend beyond that terrifying expression. To prove this, Spike put his arm out, using the dragon light to communicate with Salamence.
And Salamence, despite only wanting to destroy everything now, could still connect with his trainer. The Dragon Pokemon froze from the light as he looked his trainer in the eyes. Spike didn't say anything. His expression did the talking. The baby dragon gave a reassuring smile and nod to Salamence, letting him know that even if he goes on a rampage or loses all self-control, Spike will still be there for him like was during the first Mega Evolution.
Thus, Spike was able to soothe the rage of Salamence. Not by much, but to a point where Salamence could listen to Spike's commands instead of just going wild. He was still going to go wild anyway as his ferocity and adrenaline were greater in a Mega Evolved state.
"Salamence!"
"Okay! Let's go! Use Zen Headbutt!"
"Sala!" Salamence focused all of his mental power into his forehead as he charged towards Kyurem at high speeds. His wings were definitely going to play a large part in this.
Kyurem let out a somewhat visible smirk as he had Iron Head ready for Salamence. Both Pokemon smashed their heads together, knocking each other back.
"Flamethrower!"
"Mence!" After being knocked back, Salamence unleashed a gigantic blast of fire in just one second, faster than he normally does. The blast of fire was just as large as his Hyper Beam, capable of consuming Kyurem.
The Boundary Pokemon quickly responded with Dragon Pulse by putting his hands out. He fired the dragon-shaped shockwave as fast as he could, using it to fight back against Flamethrower. The two attacks blew up within their struggle, showing that they were equal.
"Use your wings! Fly forward and slash Kyurem!"
"Sala!" Salamence flew through the smoke at high speeds. Thanks to Mega Evolution, he was faster than ever. So fast that he could keep up with Kyurem.
Kyurem gasped as Salamence flew by him, slashing his chest with his volatile and sharp wings. Bits of Kyurem's armoured body actually came flying off from Salamence's fly-by slash. They dropped to the ground as Kyurem had received his first-ever scar in the form of broken armour.
"Again!"
"Salamence!" Salamence was going in for another one. He turned around in the air, facing the Boundary Pokemon as he was heading for his arms next.
Kyurem wouldn't let Salamence cut more of him as he was about to use Shadow Claw to deal with the Dragon Pokemon. HE had to think fast since Salamence's speed in Mega Evolution was just downright ridiculous.
"Up!"
"Sala!" However, when Kyurem went to slash Salamence, the Dragon Pokemon instead flew up, avoiding the claws of shadow and slashing the armoured part of his face.
"Ugh!" Finally, Kyurem was starting to feel a bit of pressure, but it wasn't much. After being slashed in the face with some ice falling off, the Dragon Pokemon was pushed back.
"Now, Dragon Tail!"
"Mence!" Salamence continued his assault. He lit his tail up, remaining close to Kyurem's face. He roared at the Boundary Pokemon before swinging his tail for a good slap in the face.
Kyurem staggered after the super-effective hit to the face as Salamence began continuously swinging his tail, hitting Kyurem non-stop.
The Dragon-Ice-Type had enough with the face slapping as more of his armoured face was falling off. To put an end to this, Kyurem used the signature move of Zekrom around his body.
Fusion Bolt.
In a flash, Kyurem's body became surrounded by yellow electricity with large yellow lightning bolts coming off of it as well. This orb of electricity blocked Dragon Tail, forcing Salamence back and putting an end to his swinging.
"Sala?!"
Then, continuing to use Fusion Bolt, the Boundary Pokemon threw the giant orb of 40,000,000 volts towards the Dragon Pokemon as fast as he could.
"Hyper Beam!"
"Sala...Mence!" Responding to the giant thunderbolt, the Dragon-Flying-Type opened his mouth, summoning a giant orange ball. From that ball, black lightning started shooting out, showing just how powerful it was when used by a Mega Evolved Pokemon.
But was it strong to go up against the move of a Legendary?
That was about to be revealed as Salamence fired the giant beam from his mouth. It was so strong that Salamence had been pushed back by it himself. The large Hyper Beam met with the giant Fusion Bolt.
And instead of entering a power struggle, the two moves were actually so equal in power depending on their user that they neutralized each other and instead shattered together before creating a large smoke cloud.
Even in Mega Evolution, Salamence still had to recharge with Hyper Beam. However, Mega Evolution had so much energy that the recharge was shorter.
Kyurem moved through the smoke, going for an up-close Dragon Pulse. Salamence stayed there, glaring Kyurem in the eyes as he was waiting for the moment to avoid it. Kyurem charged up Dragon Pulse, putting his arms out for it.
"Dodge!"
"Sala!" Salamence's energy returned as he boosted through the air, flying away from Kyurem and avoiding Dragon Pulse with ease. But, Kyurem wouldn't let him get away so easily.
The Boundary Pokemon then switched to Fusion Bolt. But this time he had two. One in his right claw and the other in his left. Each the same size and held devastating power. The Dragon-Ice-Type then threw both Fusion Bolts at Salamence like they were baseballs.
"Hit them back with Dragon Tail!"
"Mence!" Salamence attempted to hit the Fusion Bolts back at the user. As he lit up his tail, he managed to hit the first Fusion Bolt that came his way. Salamence's amazing strength allowed him to actually send the attack back at Kyurem.
But unfortunately, he was too late to stop the second one. And in perfect unison, at the same time, both Salamence and Kyurem had been struck by Fusion Bolt, both feeling the punishing volts rush through their bodies as they each roared.
However, since they were both Dragon-Types, this was fine.
Now that Kyurem had seen just how powerful Spike and Salamence are together including the rest of his Pokemon, the Boundary Pokemon decided to finish this once and for all.
He was going for Freeze Shock yet again. He did the usual by putting his arms together and generating the attack. This time, the orb was bigger as Kyurem was building it up.
"Let's finish this, Salamence! Hyper Beam!"
"Sala...!" Salamence was ready to finish it as well. He was also charging up his strongest attack. But, instead of staying in one spot, he charged towards Kyurem while building up Hyper Beam.
This was going to be close.
And in sync, the two Dragons had unleashed their strongest attacks with Salamence being close to Kyurem. The giant beam of Hyper Beam had clashed with the giant sphere of Freeze Shock. But this time, Kyurem had to hold the attack since Salamence unleashed it closer than he expected.
The Boundary Pokemon held Freeze Shock, trying to push it through while Salamence with all his unbridled rage, poured every ounce of energy he had remaining in his body.
"Go, Salamence!" Spike cheered for his partner along with Axew and Deino. They gave all their support with constant cheering and shouts of encouragement.
"Axew!"
"Deino!"
"Sala...!" Even when on a rampage with little control, Salamence could still feel the cries of his friends. It was enough to motivate him and show some of his senses rather than just making him a wild rampaging beast. Salamence was willing to exude every ounce of his energy to win this as his Hyper Beam was growing in size, putting pressure on Kyurem.
But Kyurem wasn't about to let himself lose either. He also poured the pressure on with everything he had. Although, that wasn't really the case. Because in truth...
This wasn't all that Kyurem had.
Afterwards, the attacks were getting a bit too chaotic as they caused a chain reaction. Both Salamence and Kyurem gasped with their pupils shrinking. Before they knew it, Hyper Beam and Freeze Shock ruptured against each other, creating a convulsion of energy that blew up in both their faces.
From the fracture and collapse of both attacks, the two Dragons were each sent flying back from how grandiose and large the explosion was. Kyurem hit the walls, breaking some ice pillars in the process while Salamence hit the ground, forming a larger crater than usual.
"Oh!" Spike gasped after witnessing something that fierce and rough. After that, it was hard to tell who really won that as smoke covered Full Court.
However, once the smoke was clearing, it was clear as day who won this battle. The Boundary Pokemon flew off the wall as he was still in his Black Kyurem form. He had chipped armour from Salamence's wings and a few scratches here and there. But overall, Kyurem still had more energy in him. Tons of it. In fact, it was like he was only trying with at least 10%.
The same couldn't be said for Salamence, who had used everything. Unfortunately, he was the one who gave out and lost as he reverted to his original form.
Salamence had fainted.
"Salamence..."
"Salamence!" Spike ran over to the Dragon Pokemon while Kyurem sighed. Even if he wasn't using that much, that entire battle truly put him on edge.
"Mence?"
"Good job. We really did well with Mega Evolution this time. But...I guess I got my hopes up thinking we were actually going to beat Kyurem, huh?" Spike sighed.
"Sala." But, Salamence reassured him that it would be alright. And he showed this with a lick to the face, making Spike chuckle. Kyurem had reverted to his normal form as he approached Spike and his Pokemon.
"Oh, Kyurem!" Spike turned around. "Uh...T-Thanks for the battle."
"That was a fine battle, boy. Even through loss, you accepted your defeat even at the very start. You've earned my respect and have given me a good challenge as well. You have a fine team and some good potential to become this Dragon Master you wish to be."
"Oh. T-Thank you, Kyurem!" Spike stood up tall, giving a salute. "I swear, I'll become the greatest Dragon Master there is! And then maybe you and I can battle again! If you want."
"Fine with me. Until you become a Dragon Master or at least grown significantly, I'll be waiting here. Good luck." That was all Kyurem needed to say. Nothing more. He wasn't exactly the most talkative Pokemon out there.
The Boundary Pokemon restored all the damage done to Full Court by summoning some more ice while he walked away. Even Legendary Pokemon need to rest from time to time.
After finishing their battle, Spike and his Pokemon were ready to take off. This battle had shown them just how powerful they really were and just how far they had to go. The road to becoming a great trainer is not easy. Not for anyone.
It was time to leave, but this time, Spike had decided to return to Equestria. Some well-needed rest was in store after all.
"Let's go home, you guys."
Equestria. Ponyville. Late afternoon.
"Spike!" Twilight and everyone cried out as the young alicorn princess flew over, picking her friend/assistant up while granting him a powerful hug.
"Oof!" Spike's eyes felt like popping out of his head from that hug.
"If you had been away for one more day, I wouldn't be able to contain myself! I missed you!" Twilight exclaimed. This entire time, she's been panicking about Spike as this was the longest he's been away from her. That fear was building up over the previous days.
"Y-Yeah. B-But I'm back."
"How did your little quest go?" Rarity asked as Twilight put Spike down.
"It was a blast. I got to check out some sweet places, made some new friends and even battled a Legendary Pokemon. I'm pretty satisfied if you ask me." He grinned.
"How did the battle with Kyurem go?! You gotta tell us!" Rainbow Dash flew over. "Did you win?!"
"Yeah, did you?!"
"Sorry. But Kyurem was just way too strong. But boy was it fun!"
"We're just glad that you're back," Twilight said. "So, what's next for your journey as a Dragon Trainer?"
"There's still a lot I wanna do. I'm probably gonna head out for another quest sometime later. Maybe even here in Equestria next. Might be something here I can learn."
"Well, I think you'll do well anyway." Fluttershy nodded. "But um, can I see that Deino of yours quickly? It was cute in the Xtransceiver screen."
"Oh, sure. Deino." Spike showed Deino who was standing behind him.
"Dei?" The Irate Pokemon stood before the ponies with a simple smile and small figure. Definitely different than the final evolution, Hydreigon. "Deino?"
"Aww...!" And clearly, they were enchanted by the adorable appearance of Deino. Unfortunately, that meant they would have to deal with one thing for the rest of their lives potentially.
Deino's excessive biting.
When they gushed at the Irate Pokemon, Deino was giving off a dark presence that loomed over the ponies, making their gushing turn into shudders of fear. And before they knew it, Deino lunged into the air as she was ready to give them all her signature greeting.
Greeting by biting that is.
"Deino, no!" Spike cried out, trying to stop it. But it was too late.
"OW!" And the last thing heard were the sounds of ponies being bit by a tiny little troublemaker.
"Toge...Toge..." Right now, the Jubilee Pokemon was dozing off while sitting on the table. Living here with Twilight can be calming even when experiments and other activities go on.
Speaking of which, Twilight had just finished giving out Starter Pokemon to new upstart trainers from across Equestria. And due to the first gym being here in Ponyville owned by Roseluck, they were already raring to obtain their first badge.
"Bye, bye! Good luck on your journey!" She wished them good luck, waving her hoof to them. Twilight's words and the sound of the door closing had woken the Jubilee Pokemon up.
"To?"
"Okay. That's one thing done. What's next?" The young alicorn turned around to face all of her Pokemon. Right now, most of them were either asleep or relaxing aside from Absol and the just awoken Togekiss.
Ash's Pokemon were resting here as well. Since Ash is still unconscious and at the Vermillion City Hospital, Twilight is currently taking care of all his Pokemon. From Pikachu to Farfetch'd. Pikachu had also just woken up.
"Pika?"
"Toge?"
"I'll just let them rest for a while. Anyway...Summer's about to start very soon. I can't wait. But...I really wish I could start it with Ash."
"Togekiss?" Togekiss could see Twilight's happy face quickly transforming into one of sadness as she was reminded of Ash's absence and unconscious state. Even if she knew that Ash would eventually wake up, the fears and worries were still prominent.
But that's where Togekiss comes in.
As a Pokemon that has a sole purpose to bring gifts of kindness and sweet blessings, she can't ignore a good soul that is down and upset. And that's what she was going to do. The Jubilee Pokemon looked at the calendar, noticing that summer was drawing near.
Twilight would obviously have plans for summer. Togekiss has been around long enough to know that Twilight has plans for everything. So, to make her happy, Togekiss chose to set everything up for Twilight as he spread her wings out, soaring out of the windows.
"Huh? Togekiss!" Twilight cried out, looking out the window. "Where are you going?!"
"Pika?!"
"To!" Togekiss gave out one last cry before she flew off into the distance, heading off to find whatever she can to make the best summer setup possible. And she would most likely do this on her own.
"Pikachu. Can you please go after her? Last time she wandered off well..."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu had it covered. He would take charge and follow Togekiss so that she wouldn't get into any trouble. She was still a baby mentally in the body of an adult. The Electric Mouse Pokemon jumped out of the window, following the Jubilee Pokemon as closely as he can.
"Now um...What was I thinking of?" Twilight turned around. "Oh, right summer. Unova has Undella Town which is a great summer spot, but Alola's practically summer all around. What do you think, Absol?"
"Sol." Absol didn't care really. Any season is fine with him. His fur body can practically withstand anything as he sat in the corner, resting away.
"Oh yeah." Twilight's attention then turned somewhere else. Her bookshelves. She recalled something that happened yesterday. "Spike brought me a book from Unova. Apparently, there's something here that I'll find interesting."
Instead of heading there to grab the book, Owlicious chose to bring the book over to Twilight instead, placing it near her hooves.
"Thank you, Owlicious." Twilight thanked the owl before using her magic to carry the book. "An extended history of Unova, eh? Wonder what else I'm missing here..."
Meanwhile, with Togekiss, she started venturing Ponyville itself first to see what she can do. Togekiss isn't really that accustomed to summer festivities or any of the like. She's been in summer before but only in the wilderness. Things are a lot different when it comes to civilizations.
But, Togekiss knew there were good places to start. One of which was SugarCube Corner. She could most definitely count on Pinkie Pie to do so. The Jubilee Pokemon flew through the window, entering the building.
Since it was close to summer, the heat was more frequent and powerful than it's ever been so open windows are going to be common almost everywhere.
Inside, Pinkie Pie was taking a look at the pictures taken by Maud and Jade when they went on a little rock expedition tour together. Brock was a part of the image since Maud had a lot to learn from Brock.
"Here. This is when we found an entire rock kingdom ruled by a Tyrantrum. And this is when we found fossil pokemon frozen but they weren't found as fossils. Their bodies survived and were just caught up in ice. We didn't need to restore any fossils to bring them back." Jade spoke in her usual dry and monotone voice.
"Oooh." Pinkie Pie gawked at the photos with Mr and Mrs Cake also having a look. "How'd they survive that long in the ice without being fossils? Ah, whatever. Tell me more about that rock kingdom!"
"There's a lot to say about it. I don't know where to start really."
"Togekiss." In came Togekiss, here for advice. She came upon Mew and Spinda playing with the Cake Twins with the Slurpuff standing by and laying around until they were needed.
"Mew-Mew?" The New Species looked over to Togekiss on the head of Pound Cake.
"Kiss. Toge."
"Hm? Togekiss!" Pinkie Pie turned around. "Are you hungry? You need something to eat here?"
"Kiss. Togekiss!" Togekiss pointed her wings at the decorations of SugarCube corner which are always present here. She was trying to communicate by telling Pinkie Pie about summer.
Thankfully, since Pinkie Pie had obtained some of that Fairy magic in her when she drank from the water at Frenzy Forest, she could actually communicate with Fairy-Type Pokemon thanks to Valerie's teachings. It was similar to how Dragon Trainers can communicate with Dragon-Type Pokemon.
"Hmm..." Pinkie narrowed her eyes. "You want...oh! Summer stuff?! You wanna set things up for Twilight?!"
"Togekiss!" The Jubilee Pokemon nodded in confirmation.
"Summer's already approaching? It feels like time's moving faster than usual..." Jade said.
"Hah! I've got you covered on that. Summer's where everypony shines best!" Pinkie spread her hooves out as she dashed over to grab over some recommended items for Togekiss. "This'll be Jade's first summertime fun soon so that makes all of this even better!"
"Oh." Jade realized how true that was. She would experience her first moments with summer fun.
"Here. This is one's one of my faves." Pinkie Pie brought over an assortment of objects before holding an ice cream mould set up to the Jubilee Pokemon. "Silicone Ice Cream Mold! It's perfect for making ice cream by yourself. It even comes in multiple shapes. This one looks like a unicorn horn, see?"
"To..." Togekiss gawked at the mould set and its many appearances. Each just waiting for various ice cream flavours to be made on it.
"We also have these playful beach towels." Mrs Cake held up a giant beach towel with a wing pattern on it. They wrap around multiple grounds of friends instead of just one."
"Can't forget the young ones. How does this Baby Water Play Mat look?" Mr Cake poked his hoof at a playmat that would act as a mini-pool for babies. Mainly his children.
"Toge."
"There's a bunch of stuff like this orange cider pong table, snow cone makers, really super big sunhats, this food bag and my personal favourite..." Pinkie Pie held her favourite item to hold in the summer. A sort of shooting object that served one purpose. "The Bubble Cannon. It doesn't beat out the party cannon but boy is it fun."
"So, what do you think?" Mr Cake asked.
"Kiss! Togekiss!" Togekiss clapped her wings together. She approved of the items as she wanted to use those to set it up for Twilight.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu had just entered SugarCube Corner after following Togekiss. He had just come across the large assortment of summer objects laying about. "Pika?"
"Hey there, Pikachu! You need some summer stuff too?" Pinkie asked.
"Togekiss." Togekiss put her wings on the objects, trying to carry them. Unfortunately, there was no way she was going to carry every single one of them on her own.
"Sorry dear, but that's too much for anypony to carry on their own." Mrs Cake apologized with a smile.
"But don't you worry." The pink earth pony nudged the Jubilee Pokemon. "I'm already planning a major summer party for the whole run. It's gonna be here in Ponyville so you won't be alone with the whole set-up stuff."
"To?"
"You can have of this stuff. We've got backups anyway." Pinkie flailed her hoof.
"Pikachu." Pikachu saw what was going on and why Togekiss was here thanks to Pinkie's words. Understanding, the Electric Mouse Pokemon offered to assist by picking up the ice cream mould set while Togekiss put the smaller objects on her back. Unfortunately, her wings weren't exactly built for grabbing.
"We should get to work too and set up for summer immediately." Mrs Cake spoke. "How are we with roses?"
"Roses look pretty good in summer. I bet there are some Pokemon that are also the same." Pinkie Pie squeed. "Maybe like Floette or Cherrim."
"Toge?" Hearing flowers gave Togekiss another idea. Roses. Without wasting any time, the Jubilee Pokemon took off once more, flying through the window.
And of course, Pikachu had to follow. He was now willing to help Togekiss out as he placed the ice cream mould down. He couldn't exactly carry it while running.
"Pikachu!"
"Oh. Uh, goodbye!" Pinkie Pie waved to the two Pokemon with a farewell. "Okay! Just 3 months of summer, right? I mean, the Pokemon might make that different since ya know, they made winter longer than usual."
"A bit too long..." Mr Cake sighed. "Last year's winter might've been the longest one yet."
"On the bright side..." Mrs Cake put on some sun shades to block out the intense sunlight. "That eliminated any time constraints we had when preparing for Hearths Warming. I'm not sure if that Dialga Pokemon's doing but I appreciate it. Hopefully, spring is just as long."
Ponyville Gym. The first gym in Equestria.
As usual, Ponyville has the first official gym in Equestria for the Equestria League and upstart trainers. And the Gym Leader here was Roseluck who specialized in Grass-Type Pokemon.
Currently, she was going against a young pegasus trainer and her Torchic. And as always, Roserade her ace Pokemon Roserade by her side.
"Torchic, use Flame Charge!" The little pegasus commanded.
"Torchic! Torchic!" Cloaking itself in flames, the Chick Pokemon ran at the Bouquet Pokemon, ready to slam into her and raise its own speed.
"Here it comes! Roserade, use your thorns to grab Torchic!"
"Rade!" The Grass-Poison-Type narrowed her eyes before sliding to the side, avoiding Torchic's head-on charge with superior speed. When she avoided it and Torchic's Flame Charge came to an end, the Bouquet Pokemon revealed one of her hidden thorns from her flowers.
The thorn shot out and wrapped around Torchic, restraining the Chick Pokemon. "Tor?"
"Gotcha! Now use Power Whip!"
"Rose...Rade!" Roserade then pulled Torchic in with her thorn, bringing the Chick Pokemon closer to her. Roserade then used the other hidden thorn from her flower hands, enveloping it in a green light as she whacked Torchic with it, sending the Fire-Type flying.
"Tor!"
"Torchic! Quick, use Incinerate!"
"Torchic-chic-chic-chic!" Out of the Chick Pokemon's beak, it shot out a wide crimson flame that spun around.
"Counter with Shadow Ball!"
"Rose!" The Bouquet Pokemon put her flower hands forward and out before creating a dark purple ball in between its flowers. She then hurled the blob of shadows upwards. The strength of Shadow Ball had easily overpowered Incinerate, consuming it into the shadows.
"Tor?!" Torchic gasped as it had also been engulfed by the ball of shadows just like the flames of incinerate. Once engulfed, the ball blew up with a shadowy explosion. "Chic!"
"Oh! Not my Torchic!" The little pegasus gasped as she had witnessed her partner take a heavy Shadow Ball. It was actually impressive that Torchic managed to even withstand a move as powerful as Power Whip. But Shadow Ball was the nail in the coffin as Torchic fell, fainting.
"Torchic..."
"Torchic is unable to battle! Roserade wins! Thus the winner is the Gym Leader Roseluck!" The unicorn referee announced.
"Done and done." Roseluck stood tall with confidence and a proud smile. She has most certainly improved ever since her battle with Appleajck taught her a few useful things. "Great work as always, Roserade."
"Rose." And the same went for Roserade. She's learnt a lot over these past months and she was definitely a roadblock for early trainers. But she does feel guilty for giving them such a hard time in the beginning.
Roseluck and Roserade have become such a formidable duo for being the very first Gym challenge that the Equestria League managers are actually recommending to make Roserade's gym an optional gym instead.
"Aww...Sorry, Torchic." The pegasus sighed, flying over to her partner. "We got close too."
"Torchic."
"You did well, don't worry." Roseluck walked over to the pegasus and her partner. "But, not quite there yet. Try again next time, okay? Roserade and I will be waiting."
"I will! Thank you!" With a thankful grin and a recall to Torchic, the little pegasus flew off, exiting the Gym to try and improve herself so that she can come back for another round.
When she opened the door to leave, Togekiss and Pikachu both came through it, greeting the pegasus before having the door closed on them.
"To. Togekiss."
"Hm? Oh, hey there." Roseluck walked to the two Pokemon. "What brings you two here? Do you need anything? Oh, and sorry for what happened to Ash, Pikachu."
"Pika-Pika."
"Toge. To-Togekiss." The Jubilee Pokemon pointed her wings over at the flowers that decorated the interior of the Gym. Since the Gym was Grass-themed and mostly everything here had Roseluck's touch on it, Togekiss chose to come here first for one reason. Roses.
"Uh..." Roseluck was trying to understand Togekiss' wing movements.
"Roserade. Ro-Roserade" Luckily her partner was there to help. After listening to what Togekiss had to say, Roserde explained it to Roseluck with simple arm movements. The two of them are so close that they could understand each other. Plus, they've been practising as Roseluck watched and listen to Roserade.
"Ooh. You want roses for summer, do you?"
"Togekiss!" The Fairy-Flying-Type nodded in confirmation.
"Ah, I gotcha. Well, if you need roses, you can count on me. And Dasiy and Lilyvalley too. I can give you one of my baskets if you want. But...are you also interested in special roses that are exclusive in summer?"
"Toge!" Togekiss liked the sound of exclusive roses as she leaned in.
"Well, you're in luck. There are these Roses that bloom all summer. Knock Out roses, Multiflora, Eden and my personal favourite, the Prarie Rose. If you need any summer roses, those are the ones and more. But I also found out there's a bunch of new roses that originally came from the Pokemon World."
"Togekiss?"
"Mhm. Just five days ago. They showed up and bloomed pretty early. Not sure what they're called but...they look neat. If you want them, head near Bidoof Beach. They're pretty rare to find so if you feel like grabbing them, look carefully for something that looks like a Floette."
"To!" Togekiss saluted along with Pikachu. Roserade and Roseluck brought them some basket to hold that already had roses within it. There were also other flowers in the mix. Togekiss held the basket with her mouth as she and Pikachu left to continue their work. Mainly Togekiss since Pikachu was just keeping an eye on her.
As they left, Roseluck yawned, feeling a bit exhausted at the moment. Being a Gym Leader can take a lot out of someone especially if they have the first Gym and every upstart trainer heads here first.
"Oh boy." She yawned. "Maybe we should take a break from Gym Battles for the next two days, why don't we?"
"Roserade."
Near Bidoof Beach.
Togekiss couldn't carry everything so she placed the gathered items she obtained right near the doorstep of Twilight's castle for safety. After that, the Jubilee Pokemon had set off to find these exclusive flowers along with a few other things she would need for summer.
To make things simpler, Togekiss brought a bag with her so that she wouldn't have to use her mouth and back constantly to carry everything. The Jubilee Pokemon had already placed some of the items that Pinkie Pie had recommended earlier, bringing them with her.
Pikachu rode on her back whilst she soared through the air. The Jubilee Pokemon and Electric Mouse Pokemon got a good view of everything below them. Things sure did look different in the summer.
Alongside that, they noticed a nearby Ultra Wormhole just laying about casually. And out of that wormhole and joined by a certain pegasus, was Buzzwole. A Buzzwole was the one that had arrived here in Equestria but it was hard to tell if it was the same Buzzwole that showed up in Ponyville.
Aside from that, this Buzzwole could be seen flexing and posing with the pegasus known as Bulk Biceps or Snowflake as he's also known as. These two quickly found out that they share one thing in common. They love their muscles and enjoy showing them off, so they hit off instantly.
"Yeah!"
"Buzzwole!"
"Pika?"
"To?" After seeing that, they kept on soaring, passing by other Flying-Type Pokemon and pegasi along the way. But while they soared high above the land, another thing caught their attention.
Mainly Pikachu's attention.
Next to them, six Murkow decided to fly by their side. The six Murkrow originally crept up from behind in a suspicious manner with making light caws.
"Pikachu?"
"Togekiss?"
"Murkrow. Mur." At first, it didn't seem too off that the Murkrow were just sneakily following Pikachu and Togekiss. After all, they are known for walking in a shady manner. That's just how they are. They even played it cool and casual.
However, another thing they're known for is collecting. Mainly for their head honcho Honchkrow. All Murkrow do this for their boss. But, when looking at them in the eyes, Pikachu quickly recognized these Murkrow and which Honchkrow they work for.
"Pika?!"
"Mur!" After being found out, the six Murkrow each struck at the right opportunity with one of them using Steel Wing to cut the handle of the bag off of Togekiss' wings.
"To!?" Togekiss gasped as the handle of the bag had been cut off by Murkrow's glowing wings, falling from a high height while the other five Murkrow used Tailwind to throw Togekiss and Pikachu off balance. Due to five Tailwind's being used, it was equal to an entire tornado.
"Murkrow!"
"T-Toge!"
"Pika!"
"Krow!" After that, one of the Murkrow grabbed the bag with its beak, carrying it as they all collectively dived down, heading off to the one individual who would want these, probably.
Honchkrow.
More specifically, the same Honchkrow who is a major rival to Mayor Mare and her Stoutland. It was by looking them in the eye that Pikachu realized which Murkrow they were.
"Pika-Pika! Pikachu!" After flying away from the area of Tailwind, Pikachu told the Jubilee Pokemon about the Murkrow and how they had to follow them.
But Togekiss didn't need to know that. She had a mission to make a great summer set-up for Twilight. It is a Togekiss' dedication to send wonderful gifts and blessings and she wasn't going to let a Pokemon that was the slightly opposite type to her get in her way.
"To!" Thus, she and Pikachu pursued the six Murkrow. In terms of speed, Togekiss could keep up with the Murkrow but they were surprisingly fast. Murkrow are well known for their speed after all. She could see that they were heading into a nearby deep forest.
Murkrow are most commonly known for luring travellers into deep forests and sometimes mountain trails so that their foes will be lost there. And the same goes for those it steals from, especially Pokemon.
The Murkrow that had the bag was the fastest out of all of them. The Murkrow made the wise decision to have the fastest of their group carry the goods while the rest distract the ones they stole from. They work well as a team.
And speaking of which, the rest of the Murkrow chose to keep Togekiss away so that their teammate can enter the forest and head to their boss, Honchkrow.
"Murkrow!" Each of them used Air Cutter to try and knock their pursuers out of the sky by flapping their wings ferociously, launching razorlike wind.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped off Togekiss' back while Togekiss used her aerial mobility to try and avoid the razorlike wind from hitting her. And if she couldn't avoid it, she could always use Dazzling Gleam as a shield. The Jubilee Pokemon spun around, avoiding the blades of Razor Wind. She then created a rainbow-sphere around her body to block the attacks from fully landing.
"Toge! Togekiss!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" As for Pikachu, once he hopped off Togekiss' back, he immediately prepared a Thunderbolt. By summoning a burst of electricity around his body, the Electric-Mouse Pokemon unleashed a wide and powerful blast of lightning from above.
"Krow?" The Murkrow looked up to witness the bolt of lightning raging towards them. They had been smitten by Thunderbolt as it caused a chain reaction, affecting one Murkrow before jumping over to the next with its large aura. "Mur!"
"Toge!" And Togekiss helped out by using the sphere of Dazzling Gleam, expanding its size and crashing into all five of the Murkrow. The unification of Thunderbolt and Dazzling Gleam was strong enough to take out the Dark-Flying-Types, knocking them out of the sky.
However, they gave enough time to let their fastest Murkrow escape into the deep forest. They weren't planning on winning away. Togekiss swooped by, catching Pikachu on her back as the duo advanced towards the forest.
The entrance to the forest was through an archway of birch trees. Togekiss swooped underneath the trees before entering the forest with Pikachu. Once inside, the Jubilee Pokemon descended with Pikachu hopping off.
Now that they were here, all they needed to do was find the Murkrow that stole the bag, return it, grab some of those special summer flowers that look like Floette and continue the set-up mission.
The forest was most certainly perfect for Pokemon like Murkrow and Honchkrow to live in. It had a dark aesthetic to it for sure with many of the trees blocking out the sun itself.
"Pika..." Pikachu, being the sleuth that he is, decided to use his nose to try and track the Murkrow down. Since he is meant to be a mouse, he has the potential to detect almost anything with ease.
Togekiss would just follow as she had to get that bag as soon as possible. It was all for Twilight. The Jubilee Pokemon stayed airborne, gently floating in the air while Pikachu would take care of everything on the ground with his nose.
But he wasn't the only one using his nose in this forest.
Some rustling could be heard from the nearby bushes, putting Pikachu on high alert. His hair stood up with electricity sparking out of his red sacs. "Pika...!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon growled, staying on guard in case it was one of the Murkrow here to attack him and Togekiss.
But it was quickly found out that it was just Stoutland who had come out of the bushes, also using his amazing sense of smell. It pays to be of the dog family when you're a Pokemon. But, this Stoutland was very recognizable. This was Mayor Mare's Stoutland.
And speaking of Mayor Mare, there she was, emerging from the bushes as well.
"Hm? Oh, Pikachu. And Togekiss. Glad to see you two here." She said
"Pikachu." Pikachu could stay calm knowing he had allies here.
"You're looking for Honchkrow too, are you?"
"Pika."
"FIgured. Just recently, those Murkrow have made a return, this time they've become more aggressive and ambitious than ever. It's not just Ponyville anymore. Stoutland and I are here to retrieve objects stolen from the Wonderbolt Academy."
"Stout."
"Pikachu. Pika-Pika." Pikachu pointed south as he could sniff out the direction of where the Murkrow went. But so could Stoutland. They were on the same page here so that was a plus.
By working together, the four of them tracked down the source of where Murkrow and their boss Honchkrow were. Further down at the forest, it was only getting stranger here-on. The trees were closer together while also sporting darker stem and branch colours.
The sounds of Murkrow cawing could be heard in the distance along with other Pokemon that lurk within this forest. Mayor Mare could also hear the sounds of items being shuffled around, proving that they were close.
And lo and behold, they were. They had passed through a passage of leaves, arriving at their destination. And there he was. One of Mayor Mare's two major enemies only second to Togepi.
Honchkrow.
Honchkrow sat on a throne of objects, flaunting off his gatherings as usual. This time, Honchkrow was more successful than ever. He had been avoiding Ponyville for a few months now, knowing how he doesn't have good luck there. So, he's been moving across Equestria, having his Murkrow snatch objects from other locations. And they had been getting away with it too.
This time, he got creative. Since the object count was getting larger, Honchkrow personally used a large bag to carry all of the stolen items so that they could manage them all. Like a carrier. And due to him being a powerful Pokemon, he could lift it despite the weight difference.
But in actuality, the Murkrow have been doing all of the heavy liftings because of course they have. And in truth, the bag was stolen as well.
When Ash was being chased down by most of Equestria, that gave Honchkrow and the Murkrow the perfect opportunity to steal while everyone was chasing Ash down. Millions of items were now at their disposal. Thus, they had their biggest steal yet and they hadn't been caught.
Until now.
"Honchkrow!" Mayor Mare cried out.
"Honch?" The Big Boss Pokemon responded to the cry as he noticed his arch-nemesis standing before him in his territory. Mayor Mare. "Honchkrow!"
"Long time no see, hm?" She adjusted her glasses. "You've been busy. I see you've gone past the usual number count and reached a million, haven't you?"
"Honch." The Big Boss Pokemon scoffed as all the Murkrow stood in front of him, protecting their boss.
"Toge! Togekiss!" Togekiss noticed the bag she originally had that was stolen, sitting amongst the piles of objects. Since it was the most recent object here, it was hard to see.
"Returning all of these objects will take a while, especially to their original owners. Luckily, I've already got in touch with Canterlot for that. The guards should be here to pick them up. Pikachu. Togekiss. Grab what you can."
"Pikachu!"
"Togekiss!"
"Honchkrow!" Honchkrow gave the call for the Murkrow to attack them while he would personally get the bag away from here with all the items. He didn't want to risk being foiled by Mayor Mare again. He wasn't even sure how she found him.
"Kro! Murkrow!" Honchkrow's posse had also grown since last time. Now there were more Murkrow to deal with than usual as they each approached Pikachu and the others or just stood back for ranged support.
"Pika!" Pikachu quickly used Electroweb by summoning a ball of electricity. That ball was then launched at a flock of approaching Murkrow before transforming into a net.
The net that landed on the Murkrow that approached, forcing them down and trapping them while also giving them electric shocks in the process.
"Stoutland, use Play Rough!"
"Stout!" Stoutland barked as he lunged at another flock with a pink aura trailing out of him. Once he pounced at the Murkrow, the Big-Hearted Pokemon gathered them all up, forming a large pink cloud as he started attacking them frantically. No one could see what was happening within the large pink cloud, only sounds Stoutland hitting the Murkrow constantly as some of them were flying out of the cloud, fainting from the attacks.
As for Honchkrow, he already had his talons on the bag, closing it while flapping his wings. The Big Boss Pokemon took the skies, carrying the bag with millions of items with him.
"Toge!" Togekiss couldn't let that happen. Pikachu got onto her back as the two of them went straight for the Dark-Flying-Type. "Togekiss!"
"Krow!" Honchkrow wouldn't let anyone stop him as he used Dark Pulse by shooting out a purple and dark beam imbued with horrifying thoughts.
"To!" Togepi countered this by shielding her body with Dazzling Gleam's sphere, nullifying the beam of dark thoughts with it.
"Honchkrow!" Honchrkow called for more of his minions as some of the Murkrow that hadn't been attacked yet came to their boss' aid.
"Murkrow!" Many Murkrow ascended, approaching Pikachu and Togepi with their own attacks. Mainly Wing Attack, Peck, Air Cutter and more.
Togekiss kept the rainbow shield up as anyone that touched the shield would take super-effective damage and be launched back by the Fairy magic. But the constant barrage of attacks would eventually break it. Pikachu fended off any approaching Murkrow by using Iron Tail, whacking them away.
"Togekiss!" Togekiss cried out to Pikachu, warning him of what was coming next. Knowing that the rainbow shield was going to break, Togekiss chose to use the second property of Dazzling Gleam. The brightness of it. By increasing the brightness of the sphere, Togekiss created a blinding light that flashed in front of everyone's eyes, throwing them off balance. It was a good call for Togekiss to warn Pikachu to close his eyes.
"Krow!" The Murkrow all cried out after being blinded. Even Honchkrow became dazed from it. With the Big Boss Pokemon and his cronies being befuddled, now was Pikachu's time to strike.
"Chu...Pika!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon leapt off Togekiss' back, hardening his tail even further with Iron Tail as he swiped, cutting the top of the bag off. Just like how the Murkrow from before cut the handle of Togekiss' bag, Pikachu did the same to the bag.
Due to this, the bag was now falling with all of the items within it. However, some of them were fairly fragile and it would be a problem for the original owners if they broke.
"Catch it, Stoutland!"
"Stout!" After knocking out all of the Murkrow in the cloud of Play Rough, the Big-Hearted Pokemon quickly ran over to try and save the bag of items. How would he do this?
With his own body weight.
When the bag fell, Stoutland ran underneath it using his back to support the bag. Stoutland was a fairly heavy and built Pokemon even if he looked old. When the bag fell on him, the Big-Hearted Pokemon used every ounce of his strength to hold it. It did put some pressure on him since they are millions of objects after all, but the Normal-Type could handle it.
It's a good thing that Murkrow and Honchkrow only gather small and medium-sized objects that are shiny.
"Honchkrow?!" Honchkrow gasped after seeing his grip on the bag fade away. Enraged, the Big Boss Pokemon whacked Pikachu away with Night Slash, knocking him far back. "Krow!"
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out after being hit in the face and launched but Togekiss caught the Electric Mouse Pokemon, saving him.
"To!" After saving Pikachu, Togekiss used Sky Attack, covering herself in a golden aura as she barged through the Murkrow, knocking them down while heading for the small bag.
Honchkrow cawed as he also used Sky Attack, aiming for Togekiss and Pikachu as he raced towards the duo, ready to strike them down at all costs.
"Giga Impact!"
"Stoutland!" But, Stoutland would protect them. After saving the bag and gently placing it down, the Normal-Type then lunged himself at the Dark-Flying-Type with his body being cloaked by an invisible white aura.
"Pika!" Pikachu put his arms out as Togekiss swooped by, allowing the Electric-Mouse Pokemon to grab the bag. The bag of summer items was now in their possession. "Pikachu!"
"Stout!"
"Honch!"
Both Stoutland and Honchrow smashed their heads together with Stoutland getting in front of Pikachu and Togekiss, protecting them both. Afterwards, the two of them entered a head clash before they knocked each other back from how hard they connected.
"Pikachu! Togekiss!" Mayor Mare cried out. "You can leave now with what you have! Let Stoutland and I handle the rest from here!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Togekiss!" The two of them thanked Mayor Mare as they immediately flew out of the area, getting away from here as fast as they could.
It was all Stoutland and Mayor Mare now. After the clash, Honchkrow shook his head, feeling the vibrations while Stoutland had finished recharging after using Giga Impact.
"Honch...Honchkrow!" Clearly unhappy with how things turned out, Honchrkow's hatred for Mayor Mare and Stoutland has increased yet again as the remaining Murkrow that were still conscious stood by their boss.
"Now then." Mayor Mare turned to Dark-Flying-Types with Stoutland. She let out a devious smile that could intimidate the Murkrow. "We have you all to ourselves now."
Ponyville. Afternoon.
A success. Togekiss had returned the bag to the doorstep of Twilight's castle with all the objects intact. Plus, she had a new bag with her. One that still had its handle. The Jubilee Pokemon continued to move around Ponyville, asking as many residents as she can of what she can do for a summer set-up. They were all grateful and helpful to assist Togekiss and Pikachu.
With that, progress was swift and effective. Bags upon bags were being gathered by Togekiss. She had collected so many items from Ponyville's residents. It wasn't long until she and Pikachu got to work by beginning the official summer set-up.
They would start with the castle. Twilight was still in the lab, reading the book that Spike brought her. All of her attention was fixated on the pages about Ghetsis' farthest ancestor.
Harmonia. Twilight was stunned that someone as great at making peace and harmony like Harmonia was somehow the ancestor of Equestria's greatest threat. Twilight was learning more than she expected.
"That's a leap in a million..." She gawked as her Pokemon were also looking at the pages with her by leaning over. But as she read, she quickly came to find out that the pages regarding info about Harmonia were about to end.
The information was large and juicy but the pages weren't as extensive as the rest. Twilight left a bookmark before closing the book and placing it back.
"Well then. That's something that won't leave my head for a while." She chuckled nervously. "How about we all head over for some lunch now?"
"Espeon!" Eve and the rest of her Pokemon agreed to eat since they were starting right about now. The princess and her Pokemon exited the building heading straight for the castle where all their favourite foods can be found.
They had no idea what was waiting for them inside. When approaching the castle, Twilight noticed a basket with roses and a few bags with items inside of them just sitting around outside the doorstep of her castle. Some of these items had already been taken out.
"Hm?" Curious as to why all these bags were here, Twilight looked to the door, narrowing her eyes. She also recognized some of them belonging to Pinkie Pie.
Wondering why these were here, the young alicorn opened the door with her magic, curious as to what was going on and where Togekiss had gone as of now.
She wouldn't have to wonder any longer. Once that door was opened, she was greeted by the sight of Pikachu and Togekiss setting up her castle with summer decorations and objects with the assistance of Sunset and the others. Pinkie Pie was here too since she promised to help after all.
"Pika?" Pikachu turned around, spotting the young Princess of Friendship and her Pokemon. "Pikachu!"
"Pikachu? Togekiss? What is this?"
"Oh! Twilight!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Just in time to see what these two are doing!"
"Huh?"
"You see, Togekiss wanted to do some summer set-up for you herself, so she started moving around, grabbing everything she needed. She didn't know too much about summer, but I got to help with that. And so did Pikachu." Pinkie Pie explained.
"Pikachu!"
"She apparently did it to cheer you up and save all the trouble of doing the work yourself." Sunset walked over. "I think it's because of-"
"Ash. Right?" Twilight finished the sentence, looking at Togekiss.
"Toge." The Jubilee Pokemon confirmed it to be true. Being a Togekiss, it was her natural drive to bring joy and happiness to those that avoid needless strife and have a good heart. But also to those feeling down. She is a Pokemon of delight and joy after all. Like Blissey. She couldn't ignore a friend's sadness as well.
"Oh, Togekiss. Here I was worried about what you would do alone." Twilight smiled, feeling proud of Togekiss. "Thank you. I would've done the set-up myself but this works too. But...I do have plans in other regions..."
"Other regions?" Starlight spoke.
"I was thinking of Undella Town and Alola for summertime fun. But this works too. Maybe we can swap between them." Twilight chuckled.
"Uh...sure that sounds good." Sunset nodded in confirmation. "I kinda wanna know what Pokemon beaches are like actually."
"Pikachu."
"I hope Ash wakes up in time for us to enjoy it." Twilight scratched her mane. "I know that Delia would want to-"
"Toge?!" Just then, when mentioning Delia Ketchum, Togekiss' friendly instincts kicked in once more. She forgot about Delia who was just as distraught about her son's unconscious state.
Knowing this, the Jubilee Pokemon took off like a rocket, flying out of the window to do one more thing before she could call it a day. Twilight and everyone watched the Fairy-Flying-Type dash off as Pikachu followed yet again.
"There she goes. For a baby, she sure is a hard worker, huh?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"She sure is." Twilight smiled, nodding in agreement.
Togekiss flew over to one spot. She didn't go to Delia just yet. Instead, there was one thing she thought of that could make Delia smile.
And it involved the Dazzlings. The Jubilee Pokemon went over to their home, moving from point A to point B in seconds. It seems that her battle with Honchkrow and the Murkrow had increased her speed a bit. After reaching the home, the Jubilee Pokemon gently descended, knocking on the door for a call.
"Togekiss!"
"Coming!" And of course, the first one to answer was the most energetic of the group. Opening the door after a swift and immediate response and with a wide smile on her face was the youngest of the Dazzling, Sonata Dusk.
"Toge!"
"Who is it, Sonata?" Aria asked.
"It's that Togekiss Pokemon! Oh and Pikachu too."
"Hm? What do you two want?" Adagio walked up to the two Pokemon with Kricketot clinging onto her face instead of staying in her large mane this time.
"Krick?"
"Toge! Toge-Toge-Toge!"
"Pikachu! Pika!"
"Uh..." Sonata couldn't translate that at all. Neither could Aria or Adagio. "What?"
Thankfully, this is where Pikachu's expert communication methods kick in. If there's one thing Pikachu is also very good at, aside from battling, it's impersonations. Not only can he impersonate many Pokemon, but even humans as well.
"Pikapi! Pika-Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu began changing the shape of his face and expression, making it look like Ash, he then changed his face shape again before tying his ears, making them resemble Delia Ketchum's hair a bit.
Pikachu then moved his arms around while suddenly trying to sing. Then, he made it look like he was holding what seemed to be a sheet of paper, looking right at it before pointing at the Dazzlings.
Adagio looked carefully at what Pikachu was trying to say. Ash. Delia. Singing. Paper. Us. "Hm..."
"What do you think, Adagio? You get what he's saying?" Aria asked.
"Ash. Mrs Ketchum. Something about singing and paper..." Adagio began translating. She used every bit of her brain to put the pieces together. Then, it hit her. "Oh. You want us to sing about Ash to Delia, don't you? That Type Wild song."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded.
"Oh. Again? I didn't wanna sing about him for the first time, let alone his mom." Adagio sighed.
"It's fine. Besides, we don't have to sing it." Sonata slid over.
"We don't?" Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"Nah." Sonata held out the lyric sheet of Type Wild. "Besides, some humans recorded the whole thing during the Talent Show, so we can just give her the video.
"She's right ya know." Aria nodded. "We can just ask someone for the footage and let her watch it. Don't need to do all the hard work."
"Hm. Fair enough." Adagio liked that idea. "Alright. You'll get your song. Let's just find someone who has it quickly. I have things to do anyway."
"Pikachu!"
Pallet Town, late afternoon.
Delia was in her home, sorting it out with some cleaning. It was awfully quiet here. Without Ash, everything felt empty. Then again, Ash has been on journeys for so long that the silence that fills the air shouldn't be out of the ordinary for Delia.
But, this time it was different. Mimey helped out with the cleaning as everything was now spotless. Delia finished up in Ash's room by sorting out his Unova clothes, placing them in the cupboard.
She had done enough work for today. Some dinner was needed. Her usual cheerful smile was no longer seen on her face. It was either a frown or a blank poker face. Seeing her son in such a state could do that to her.
"Thanks, Mimey. Let's eat and call it a day, okay?"
"Mr Mime-Mime."
But before she could make some dinner, there was a surprise waiting for her. A knock on the door arrived. Delia walked to the door, putting her apron to the side before opening it.
There, some familiar faces stood before her. Pikachu. Togekiss and a resident of Pallet Town with who she was good friends. Everyone in Pallet Town knows each other after all.
"Sorry to interrupt, Delia. But apparently, this is important." The woman said.
"Hm? What is it?" Delia asked.
"Pikachu. Pika-Pika."
"Your son's Pikachu here has something important to show you. And this Togekiss right here. Something that'll cheer you up for a while." The woman held out a small tape, lending it to Delia. "I turned a little video into a tape that I could watch in my free time. It's about the Pokemon Talent Show."
"Pokemon Talent Show?"
"Mhm. For your son. Well, I'll leave you to it now. Have fun, Delia. Take care!" The woman waved goodbye to Delia, Pikachu and Togekiss before heading off.
"For Ash?" Delia looked at the tape, wondering what to expect. She knew about the Talent Show though. Delia entered the house with Pikachu and Togekiss following.
Curious as to what it could entail, Delia went over to the TV that still had a tape player with it. Delia couldn't help but keep items from her nostalgic past after all.
Once arriving at the TV, she turned it on along with the tape player before placing the tape inside. With a smooth slide in and satisfying closing sound, the video responded to the TV as it was ready to play.
Delia sat down with Pikachu, Togekiss and Mr Mime by her side.
Then, the video showed the title of the Pokemon Talent Show from Canterlot. Just 2 months ago. Obviously, there was a lot to get through, but there was one moment here that was very important.
And Pikachu wanted her to see it. The Electric Mouse Pokemon grabbed the remote as he started fast-forwarding, skipping all the other acts of contestants and heading to the one that he needed. That Delia needed.
The one about Ash. Type Wild.
Once arriving there, Pikachu put the remote down, getting comfortable as Delia's eyes shot open. She leaned forward as she recognized this sound and image. The day the Dazzlings sang about her son's many journeys.
From Kanto all the way to Equestria. A tribute song. Delia and everyone stayed silent as the song began playing. She looked at Togekiss who smiled back, knowing that this was her idea from that innocent and pure smile. Knowing this, she could only smile, like Twilight.
And with that, she pulled Pikachu and Togekiss in, hugging them and thanking the duo for doing this to her. Seeing how far her son has come and how much more he's going to grow and develop as a trainer was wonderful to experience. Even if ends up in dangerous situations, he's always going to bounce back from it either way.
Delia was still worried, but she could still be confident, knowing that Ash had amazing friends by his side that will get him through it all. And Togekiss felt proud of herself.
For anyone upset, Togekiss will be there to make everything better. No matter what. It wasn't even the Fairy-Type kindness in her. It was just who Togekiss was as the journey continues.
Kanto. Vermillion City Hospital. Day. Inside of Ash's mind.
Ash was still unconscious and unresponsive, but inside of his mind, he was in pure focus. Ash sat down, his arms and legs and crossed and his eyes closed while the Aura around him flowed.
Ash was doing this to see if there was some way to work around the Delayed Aura Ataxia. To try this, Ash freed his mind of anything and just stayed stagnant. He knew that soon, everyone he knows and loves could be attacked by Ghetsis and Empress Twilight and he can't let them get hurt.
If there's one thing Ash loves is his friends and family. He would even choose them over his goal of becoming a Pokemon Master. No question about it.
And because of this, Ash was actually starting to get somewhere. He let the Aura around him flow without moving. His still nature and body let the gentle Aura engulf him. Even though his mind was empty, he was still thinking about Pikachu, his mom, Twilight and everyone.
The Aura's colour intensified, glowing an azure blue as Ash was reaching a state of focus he's never reached before. And his body could feel it. Even inside of his own mind. But, this is where things changed.
In the real world, Ash's hands began twitching with faint Aura glows. The Aura from within was responding to Ash. While Ash having an Aura pattern similar to Sir Aaron, the greatest Aura user to ever exist was a drawback since the Ataxia was the hardest on him, it was also a blessing since, like Aaron, he can counteract it with something greater.
However, this was only faint and momentarily. Ash couldn't break free of the unconscious state so easily. But, he wouldn't give up. He was determined to work around Delayed Aura Ataxia so that it never becomes a burden ever again.
For the sake of his friends.
The Pokemon House, Day.
Currently, at the Pokemon House, everything is ordinary and calm. Although, there are a plethora of visitors today. The Pokemon House in recent months has gained a lot of traction, mainly from younger groups. But older groups could come by. They either come here to gawk and have fun with the Pokemon or choose their new partner.
Among these individuals was Princess Luna. She was more on the choosing side as her goal to become Equestria's first Pokemon Champion.
Fluttershy would assist those who wanted new Pokemon on their team. But this time, she had more help than ever. Before, it was just her and Audino who would do this, but Chikorita and Scorbunny are now assisting her. Not just that, Team Rocket and Zecora, who are now permanently living here, assisted in Pokemon choosing.
"Hm..." Luna stared at the Pokemon before her, feeling a bit picky about which one she would want. Right now, she was shooting for a new Steel-Type Pokemon, but the Pokemon House is a bit low on that kind of Type. "Are you sure there aren't any other Steel-Type Pokemon? I need the most defensive Pokemon possible."
"Sorry. We don't usually get Steel-Type Pokemon here. They're fairly rare like Dragon and Ice-Types." Fluttershy shook her head.
"But we've still got some fairly swell options!" Jessie whistled as she and Team Rocket slid in.
"Who's need defence when you have something intangible like a Ghost-Type!" James grinned.
"Nothing's touching that!" Meowth shook his head.
"Wobbuffet!"
"...Who are you four?" Luna squinted her eyes at Team Rocket as this was her first time being introduced to them.
"Oh, this is just Team Rocket. They're staying here with me along with Zecora until the Everfree Forest grows back." Fluttershy explained.
"You could've at least given us a grander entrance!" Jessie stood up. "Especially to a princess!"
"Are you that important?" Luna questioned?
"Are we? Ahem." Jessie and Team Rocket stood together, clearing their throats as they were prepared to do their usual roll call to really show Luna how important they are. And of course, their unique team poses.
At least, according to them.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"And James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare for a fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"..." After that, an immediate silence filled the airspace. Fluttershy clapped her hooves together, applauding Team Rocket for their usual motto.
As for Luna? Well...
"Pfft!" She made a silly face while holding her cheeks in, trying not to laugh. Team Rocket shot up after hearing that sound she made. From her reaction, it didn't sound like she was impressed by their motto. "Bahahaha!"
"Huh?" Team Rocket said collectively.
"How amusing! Most amusing!" In fact, it seemed she was amused and found a laugh out of that. She certainly didn't think it looked impressive or as wonderful as Team Rocket were hoping for.
"Uh...Thanks..." Jessie sighed.
"Ah, anyway." Luna cleared her throat after her outburst of laughter. "At this point, any Pokemon will do. Besides, I'll need to give some to Flurry Heart as well."
"Oh. A new Pokemon to join her and Manaphy?" Fluttershy asked.
"Um...Well..." Luna knew about the alternate universe Flurry Heart and the massive age difference compared to the one that lives here which is still a baby.
Before she could properly respond, out from the shadows themselves, her ace Pokemon had emerged. The Pitch Black Pokemon Darkrai.
"Luna," Darkrai spoke, appearing as his usual imposing self while also startling Team Rocket.
"Hm? Darkrai? What is it?" Luna asked her partner.
"It's urgent. We have a bit of a problem going on."
"Is it the Nightmare Pokemon again? Or the Desires?" Luna stood up, gasping. And as she stood up, Fluttershy's cutie mark started flashing. It only ever flashes when the Cutie Map is calling for either her or any of her friends.
"Right now?" Fluttershy looked at her Cutie Mark.
"Worse. It's those Rift humans. They're affecting the world right now as we speak."
"Affecting the world?" Fluttershy and Luna both said collectively. If anything involved the Rift, then it was clear that something of a grand magnitude was about to happen. Or at least, minuscule but still effective.
9 hours earlier. North of Equestria. A cold settlement. Late night.
Here, there exists a humble town out in the open known as Themcolt Port.
Since it exists in the north, it only makes sense that snow and ice could be found. And speaking of ice, the most common Pokemon Type that resides here is the Ice-Type as they live together with the ponies of this town. There are also some Water-Types here but the Ice-Types dwarf them in population numbers.
One of the ponies that live here was Gelidity and her Alolan Vulpix. One of Sweetie Belle's Pokemon Contest rivals. This was her town. And much like Gelidity, everypony that lives here talks in a unique way that is still understandable.
The buildings here matched that of igloos. But if they didn't look like igloos, they matched the buildings of Ponyville but with a slightly older appearance.
Gelidity walked out of her home with Alolan Vulpix, ready to practice for their next upcoming contest. However, that wasn't of importance at the moment.
There was something else brewing nearby.
Someone was here, planning something in particular. Something that they believe would be grand and cause a stellar event across Equestria.
That someone was Lucien.
Obviously, this was about the recent separation between him and Sienna. Due to them getting into a heated argument the two of them vowed to create an event that was entertaining enough for the Rift by themselves. Thus, they had planned to 1UP each other with what they had.
And Lucien was the first to come up with something.
"Hmph. I'll show her." He hid behind one of the icy hills, holding his hand out. "I've got a ton of ideas that'll knock whatever she has out of the park."
To start his event, Lucien outstretched his arm, sending out cosmic dust from it and allowing it to flow through the air. Once the cosmic dust could flow and work its magic.
What this cosmic dust was capable of was something unheard of and frankly, highly damaging to the body in every single way. The dust was transforming the air itself, shifting its properties. While it still had the natural components of air, it had a little something extra that was threatening to all.
In fact, it had two extra things. One that could cause harm and the other that could make anything scarce and unknown. This was about to be shown to the residents of the town.
Gelidity and Vulpix looked at each other, already going over what they could do next. Gelidity was even thinking of evolving her partner into an Alolan Ninetales.
"Evolution. That is what we shall do next Vulpix. Amazing things will be done. Once we evolve you that is."
"Vulpix!" Vulpix liked the sound of that. She would enjoy evolving into her final and majestic form as she flared her tails around, jumping and down.
But while she was getting excited, that's when the mood started to turn. One of the residents living here was the first to be affected by whatever Lucien had done.
The mare who was the first victim could suddenly feel like there was something off about that air. It wasn't poisoned, it wasn't thicker than usual, it was faint or lacking, it was neither of that.
Instead, it was something more physical. The mare groaned as her body started feeling odd. She at first thought it was just the cold getting to her, but she's been living here her entire life, so there's no way the cold could ever bother her.
Except it wasn't the cold air. No. Once the air got close enough, the mare suddenly noticed that she got a cut on her hoof without warning.
"Ow!" She cried out, holding her hoof.
"The sound of pain. What happened?" A fellow resident mare came running over, responding to her friends' cry of pain.
"My hoof. Out of nowhere, a cut had appeared." She showed the cut to her friend. "Nothing had hit me. From what I am aware of."
"Hm. Peculiar." The other mare narrowed her eyes as she quickly tended to her friend's aid. By getting some bandages from her home, the mare wrapped them around her friend's hoof, right on top of the cut mark.
The injured mare was about to thank her friend before another cut appeared, this time, slicing off the bandage in front of their eyes. Strands of their manes had been cut off too.
"Once more! Another cut!" The injured mare gasped as she saw more cuts appearing. This time on her friend. She had also received those cuts unexpectedly.
It wasn't just those two. Soon, the cuts were starting to spread, causing chain reactions by reaching others. However, they all quickly found out that breathing in the air was a bit different. While they could still breathe normally, the cuts seemed to become prominent and more frequent.
Sounds of people lightly crying out in pain could be heard as they all looked at their hooves and bodies, wondering what was going on. The cuts were starting to change. They were no longer light and barely recognizable. In seconds, they seemed to be getting stronger, wider and more painful than before with even more visible marks.
Not only that, but that's when the second effect of the cosmic dust showed itself. The secondary effect was more visible than the first one. When looking at their appearing cuts, the ponies and Pokemon all ran inside of their homes, believing that they would be safer in there.
And lo and behold, they would be safer inside of their homes. At least, for the time being, it seemed. Inside, their igloos had protected them. From what they could observe, it seems that this mystical and unknown problem was originating outside instead of inside.
Most notably, the Ice-Type Pokemon seemed to be fine as they were the least affected from the looks of it.
"In here. We are safe." A stallion said, looking at his visible cut marks while his friends and family bandage him and themselves up from the cuts.
"But where did they come from? Cuts from the air? A possibility like that. Does it exist?" A mare wondered.
"That is unknown to us." The stallion looked up before turning to one of his friends. "Anyone. Do any of you know?"
However, when he turned to face his friends, he noticed something bizarre and off. Even more bizarre than the cuts that were randomly appearing.
His friends had their faces blurred out by that same mysterious air that was seemingly cutting them, but this time it was visible. The ponies that stood before him had their faces and bodies blurred out all of a sudden. Even their Cutie Marks were gone.
They were so blurred out that the stallion could barely even notice his friends at all. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see if he could at least see their faces. The only thing that wasn't blurred out was their colours. Those were at least distant and recognizable. But the intensity of the blur would slowly change that.
"What? Friends? Is that you?" He asked them as he worried about what had just happened to his friends.
But when his friends replied, not only were their faces and bodies unrecognizable, but their voices as well. They no longer sounded like the friends the stallion knew. In fact, their voices had become so anonymous that the only that could be heard was the sound of air blowing.
And very soon, their distinct colours will be blurred out until they are completely unrecognizable. The stallion, rightfully perplexed, was getting worried along with the other ponies who haven't had their appearance's blurred out. It was only a matter of time until they were blurred out in an anonymous air too.
And Lucien knew that.
He looked at what he had created so far and let out a cocky smirk. What he had done was something that could be considered the best of both worlds in his opinion.
"Hah. Anonymous Sharp Air." He gave out the name of the effect. "Not only is the air sharp and can cause cuts and gashes, but it'll blur out anyone it catches, making them anonymous and unrecognizable. Oh yeah. Beat that Sienna."
This Anonymous Sharp Air was clearly a problem. For two obvious reasons. One is that no one wants to be cut constantly by air of all things but secondly, having their appearances be blurred out would mean that everyone would become unrecognizable to the point where no one would know each other.
And that is bound to start some hysteria.
Gelidity was just as confused and scared as everyone else. The remaining ponies who hadn't been too affected were moving back the approaching blurred ponies. They weren't sure if they could trust these ponies that they had apparently seen before. But they have. The blurring was just so powerful, that was barely becoming the case.
Gelidity held her Alolan Vulpix near her, whimpering at this scenario. Thankfully, someone was here to help. One of the ponies living here had used her magic to create a protective barrier around Gelidity and the barely affected ponies and Pokemon.
Unfortunately, Rift magic is known for ignoring Equestrian magic, so the sharp air just cut through the barrier anyway like it was nothing. The mare gasped by seeing her barrier fail as more cuts were appearing by her. The blurred ponies kept approaching as they were trying to communicate. But the only thing that could be heard was just wind howls.
But, from the perspective of the blurred ponies, they could understand themselves and the ponies who were barely affected as they were crying out for help. But, with how things were, things weren't going smoothly.
"Everyone else! Where did they go?!" Gelidity asked.
"Still here. They must be maybe..." A stallion replied. "Right now, here at our home, safety is minimum. Let us head out before anything escalates."
Canterlot. Day.
Luna had arrived at Canterlot with Darkrai after getting the warning call. It wasn't just her who had arrived at Canterlot. The Cutie Map had called Fluttershy here after responding to the Cutie Mark. It had called her to Canterlot.
And since it had responded to her, she was the only one meant to show up here. But she wasn't alone. The map had also called for Pinkie Pie for this as they had all shown up at Canterlot.
"Glad you all could make it," Celestia spoke, turning to face the group.
"Sister. What's going on? What's this about sharp air and blurs?" Luna asked after Darkrai told her the gist of things.
"I'm afraid we have more Rift issues occurring across Equestria. This time, it's something unusual. There's some sort of air that's both cutting and blurring out the appearance of everypony it comes in contact with."
"Cutting and blurring?" Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie said.
"Just earlier, many small towns have been affected by it. There seems to be some sort of sharpness in the air that's causing cuts to appear on their bodies. The air itself has been shifted in that way."
"Like the moves Air Slash and Air Cutter?" Fluttershy stepped forward.
"Exactly like that. And it seems to cause a powerful blur that is so great that barely anypony becomes recognizable anymore. Many ponies and Pokemon haven't been able to recognize their friends or family and all they can hear from their mouths are wind howls."
"That's horrible..." Fluttershy gasped.
"But that's exactly why we're going to stop this before it spreads and covers all of Equestria. If we don't, not only will we be greatly injured, but everyone we know will become unrecognizable, maybe forever."
"How exactly? Ash is unconscious and only he can connect with Lucario and Aura." Luna asked. "Aura's the only known thing that can go against the Rift."
"Well, that's why we have another Aura User. Cynthia! Brawly, you can come in!" Celestia called for Cynthia and Brawly. And through the door, right through her throne room, in came the Sinnoh Champion and Hoenn Gym Leader."
"Here!" Brawly responded as he was the first to enter with Cynthia.
"Cynthia and Brawly have Lucario of their own. While not as grand as Ash's Aura, it can prove effective to deal with anything Rift related."
"Sure can." Brawly nodded. "But uh...how are we gonna use it on air of all things?"
"And we can't see it all. Darkrai shook his head. "So it'll be difficult to stop something we can't see ourselves or barely interact with."
"Yes, I know. But apparently, that's where my father comes in. Father." Celestia turned to Eventide. "You said that my new mark might help, right?"
"Certainly. I was just thinking about this two days ago. It was about your Boundless Cutie Mark. I think it does more than just restore magic automatically."
"Really?" Celestia's attention was grabbed.
"I think that mark of yours goes beyond that. Here." Eventide got out one of the Travel Spheres, showing it to Celestia. "Use your magic on this."
"Equestrian magic doesn't work on anything Rift related, father." Luna pointed out.
"Of course not. But that mark might say otherwise. Try it, Celestia."
"Alright." Celestia faced the sphere as she lit her horn up with magic. Everyone leaned in as the Ruler of Equestria focused everything on the sphere.
Now normally, magic wouldn't do anything to Rift energy, let alone Equestrian magic. The only thing that has shown to be able to interact with cosmic energy is Aura and nothing more.
Until now.
Celestia's Boundless Cutie Mark started reacting to the Rift energy along with Passion. Passion herself felt a tingle in her heart from the magic as the golden light of Celestia's magic had covered the sphere.
Before they knew it, Celestia was able to interact with the sphere by using the size expansion spell. Eventide backed away from the growing sphere as Celestia opened her eyes, witnessing what she had just done.
Magic had just interacted with Rift energy.
"Oh!" Celestia herself was stunned as everyone gawked. "Really?! Is this real?!
"As real as it can be. Seems that Boundless Cutie Mark of yours is hiding various secrets that we haven't seen yet." Eventide chuckled. "I made the right call to investigate it further! I can't believe Starswirl never finished working on this!"
"We can actually use our magic against the Rift now! Well...your magic at least," said Luna.
"Seems that way. Plus, I have a spell that could deal with this mysterious air. The clear-out spell. Like a fan that blows in the wind, we'll wipe away the air with magic and aura." Celestia gave a confident grin.
"Sounds good to us! Wonder why the map chose us, though?" Pinkie Pie wondered, pouting her lip.
"What about all of the cuts?" Fluttershy asked.
"Nurse Redheart and the other doctors and nurses have it covered. They might be a bit occupied today because of this." Celestia gave Fluttershy an answer. "We've also given everypony protective gear to shield them from the cuts. From what we've found out so far, the only Pokemon immune to the sharp air are Steel, Ice and Ghost-Types. When they become intangible that is."
"Your highness!" Just then, one of the Canerlot guards barged into the room in a hurry, breathing in and out. "Big news!"
"Hm? What happened?!"
"The Pokemon! They're confused and afraid! They can't find their trainers' so now they're losing it! And over at Vanhoover, the air...It's taking form!"
"If everyone's becoming anonymous because of the blur then, of course, the Pokemon would be afraid!" Fluttershy turned to the guard. "They can't handle losing their trainers forever if they don't know where they are!"
"Or even hear them properly!" Pinkie Pie yelled.
"Form?" Luna squinted before thinking about what the guard meant. Hearing about the air taking form reminded her and everypony else here about the last time an element took form. The two things that come to mind are the Tree Behemoth and Storm Behemoth. "You mean like the Storm Behemoth?!"
"I-It looks like it." The guard shrugged. "Doesn't exactly resemble the usual behemoth from what we've found out. It seems to be growing size every passing minute."
"Then we can't waste any time," Celestia responded. "Let's head to Vanhoover as soon as possible. Arcanine, take care of the place."
"Arcanine!"
Vanhoover. Afternoon.
The Anonymous Sharp Air was already growing. In just an hour, it had already spread across a fairly large portion of Equestria, sending cuts and blurring appearances of many ponies. The ponies had safely entered their homes, getting away from the dangerous air.
However, very soon, their homes wouldn't protect them as the air was starting to form into something odd. It was even gaining a visible appearance now.
What's worse, the Pokemon who had trainers' were starting to panic. Ever since the air obscured out their trainers to the point where their appearances were impossible to find, some of them couldn't handle it.
While there were Pokemon who knew how to stay calm and still worry, other's not so much. Thus, the Pokemon began crying out for their trainers, searching desperately for them.
In truth, the trainers could hear their Pokemon. The only problem was, their voices were just wind howls so they couldn't communicate or call for them.
But it was getting worse. Soon, the air was making it to the point where even the blurred ponies would find it hard to see anything else. Their vision would be blurred out by the air, giving them bleary sights where even they couldn't tell who was who anymore.
The safe ponies and Pokemon who entered their homes looked outside, witnessing the air take a visible shape. It seemed to have a sort of purplish colour instead of grey or white. The air was seemingly deciding on what it wanted to become.
"Okay. So the air can cut now. There's no need to panic right?" A mare said. "All we have to do is stay inside and wait for this whole thing to blow over. Easy."
"What about everypony else? I barely recognized some of them." A stallion replied. "Everything was so blurry."
"I don't know." She shrugged. "But look...we're safe here."
"Uh...Maybe not from that." The stallion gulped, looking outside as the air was finally taking on its decided form. The mare and the Pokemon inside also took a look out the window to see what kind of shape was forming.
The Anonymous Sharp Air was transforming into some sort of serpentine creature that was around the same height and length as Gyarados and had eight large legs like a spider. It looked like a creature that would come straight out of someone's nightmare.
And the ponies were definitely creeped out by it. A snake-like creature with eight legs is genuinely terrifying, especially if it can cut you with air. The air stood up tall as it even hissed like a snake. However, its hiss was equivalent to a wind howl and even greater. A tornado howl.
But some ponies, mainly the younger ones, found it to be fairly cool looking. Somehow.
Lucien stood by the hills of Vanhoover, watching his creation take shape at last and essentially reach its prime. He smiled with pride and confidence.
"Haha! Top that, Sienna!"
"Top what?" And just like that, Sienna appeared next to her fellow Rift human after he yelled out her name. When appearing, Lucien pointed his finger in the direction of the snake-spider-air creature.
One look at it and the first thing that stuck out were the eight legs. The first look immediately petrified Sienna as she could do nothing but scream at the top of her lungs. She had a fear of spiders and to an extent snake. Both those creatures mixed as one was possibly her worst nightmare.
"Aaaaah! What is that thing?!"
"You like?" Lucien had a cocky grin while pointing his thumb at the creature. "It's already gotten big and strong and it's totally messed up the North part of Equestria. "I call it the uh...Snake...Spider...Air um...Bah, I don't know. Point is, it's pretty neat. Especially with all that sharp air."
"Of course, you'd choose something like that! Sharp air!? Really?! You just love dark stuff, don't you?"
"It's not dark, it's cool! Besides, what do you have? Are you gonna crush the world in cuteness?" He flashed pretty eyes, mocking Sienna.
"Don't test me, I might just do that. And anyway, don't get too comfortable with your pet. Cause here comes someone to ruin it all for you." Sienna chuckled as she pointed ahead before fading away from here.
"Hm?" Lucien looked to where Sienna had pointed to before she left. There, he spotted Princess Celestia, Cynthia, Luna, Brawly, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie arriving here to stop the air serpent. "Ugh, now?! I wanted it to last longer!"
The group had arrived, standing before this unusual hybrid elemental creature. Of course, they couldn't help but freeze at the mere sight of it. Surprisingly, none of them were terrified of the eight legs or snake-like body. After seeing so many Pokemon, not many can terrify them.
Al they had to do was stop this bizarre creation from causing even further harm and making everything anonymous. But, this was only just the beginning of what Lucien wanted to do. And to an extent, Sienna. Many unfortunate circumstances will continue to appear as the journey continues.
A bit of a predicament has come up. One involving air and some form of snake-spider hybrid. This snake-spider-like creature had the properties of sharp air that wasn't so pleasant on the skin as well as the ability to blur anyone out to the point where they become unrecognizable.
This was the issue that needed to be solved. And the ones who were seemingly capable of stopping it were Princess Celestia, Luna, Cynthia, Brawly, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Two of them had been chosen by the Cutie Map.
"What is that thing?!" Brawly gasped.
"A snake? A spider?" Pinkie squinted her eyes.
"It's all air..." Fluttershy gawked.
"Some of us should handle the rampaging Pokemon." Cynthia pointed at the Pokemon that were unable to see their trainers that were blurred out.
"We can handle that!" Fluttershy and Pinkie raised their hooves.
"Make sure that it doesn't blur out your face!" Celestia warned as she put up a magical barrier. Since she was the only pony that could interact with Rift magic, her own magic was a safe bet. "If it does, then none of us will notice each other at all. Since the blur doesn't seem to affect the Pokemon, us trainers should be fine under this."
"Then what are waiting for? We shall just put it to sleep and call it a day. Darkrai, use Dark Void!" Luna ordered as Darkrai emerged from the shadows, holding his claws out. Within his claws, a pitch-black orb had been formed with the power to put anyone to sleep.
Darkrai then launched the orb at the air snake, expecting it to be put to sleep. Unfortunately, when the orb did come in contact, it did engulf the snake, but it didn't put it to sleep. Mostly because it was incapable of sleeping.
"I'm afraid that something like Dark Void won't work on this kind of creation, Luna," Celestia said to her little sister.
"R-Really now..." Luna sighed. "Fine! We have other options!"
"Lucario! Aura Sphere!" Both Cynthia and Brawly commanded their own Lucario. Each of the two Aura Pokemon put their hands together, creating a blue ball of energy in between them. Lucario then launched their spheres of Aura forward.
The Aura Spheres, when they came in contact, formed a significant result. The bright blue colours of the sphere ended up reacting to the Anonymous Sharp Air and the Rift energy it was made from.
The snake-spider hybrid cried out after the Aura mixed with its Rift energy as significant damage was shown. The sparks of Aura blew up inside of the creature as they had certainly grabbed its attention.
"Yes! It worked!" Brawly cheered.
"But now it's bound to target us!" Celestia replied as the creature locked eyes onto Celestia's group, hissing at them with the sounds of a tornado.
The creature started moving with its eight legs while expanding its air. The sharp air that it generated was reaching the nearby buildings of Vanhoover. Before they couldn't damage them that much, only chipping off small rocks at best, But as time went on, the sharp air was starting to unload some heavy damage to them.
Windows were being cut apart as well as roofs. The creature rapidly moved at Celestia's group, ready to cut and blur them out so that no one will know of their existence or even tend to their injuries. Just like a snake, it opened its mouth, bearing its air fangs that had cutting properties.
"Glad I studied a bit of science for this! Passion, use Mystical Fire!"
"Darkrai, Dark Pulse!"
"Garde...!" Passion and Darkrai put their hands together, forming a magical flame and a sphere imbued with dark thoughts. In unison, the two of them unleashed their attacks as they connected with the creature.
Once it connected, the air creature was met with blazing flames that heated all of the existing oxygen within the creature. The flames were releasing heat and causing inner combustion within the creature, causing it to cry out in pain. Dark Pulse didn't do the same but it did damage the creature. Large parts of air had been obliterated by the magical properties of Mystical Fire and the fire in general anyway, making the creature a tad bit smaller.
"When air is added to heat, it causes natural oxidation. Easy." Celestia tapped her hoof on her head. "After all, this thing is just one large ball of air, isn't it?"
"Gardevoir."
Provoked, the creature then started releasing a whirlwind of sharp air from its mouth instead of approaching for a physical attack. The whirlwind had the sharp air within it, making it even more dangerous than it already was it tore through the ground and snow, racing towards Celestia's group.
"Lucario, use Flash Cannon!" Cynthia ordered.
"Lu!" Lucario jumped over the barrier that Celestia had put up, summoning a white ball in front of him. Out of the ball, a silver beam of metal energy came flying out, colliding with the whirlwind.
There was one major advantage that a Pokemon like Lucario had. It wasn't just the Aura that allowed him to fend off the Rift energy, but it was the fact that he was a Steel-Type. It was recently discovered that the sharp air doesn't affect Ice-Type Pokemon or even Ghost's because of their hard icy skin and intangibility.
And they most certainly can't affect something as hard and durable as the Steel-Type. And the same went for Flash Cannon. The whirlwind couldn't defeat it due to it being made out of metallic energy. Thus, Flash Cannon broke through, engulfing the air creature in its silver glory.
The creature cried out, taking damage yet again. So far, the air creature was faring horribly against Celestia's group. Usually, it's the other way around with the creature having the advantage at the start.
And Lucien noticed this.
"What?!" Lucien gasped while watching all of this from the hills. "No, no! This isn't right! Where's the struggle?! Come on, you stupid snake spider thing! Do something greater!"
The creature soon realized that it was the one being overwhelmed. It had to do something fast before Celestia's group ends up defeating it.
"Darkrai, Poison Jab!"
Darkrai moved in, covering his claws in poison and ready to strike. The creature summoned more whirlwinds with sharp air within them. Darkrai wasn't made of steel so the creature believed that it would actually hurt the Pitch Black Pokemon. But even if Darkrai wasn't made out of Steel, he had one major advantage.
The shadows.
The Pitch Black Pokemon descended in the shadows while moving, avoiding the whirlwind of sharp air easily as it connected with Celestia's barrier. After evading it, Darkrai moved quickly in the shadows since that's where his strong suit is. Then, the Dark-Type emerged from the shadows below the creature, striking its underbelly with his poisonous claw.
The creature cried out as Darkrai then submerged into the shadows once more, moving back to his trainer, Luna. The poison from Poison Jab started spreading across the creature's body, severely weakening it. Air and poison, don't exactly work well with each other. If anything this spelt bad news for the creature as Lucien was starting to panic.
At this rate, this whole event will be over before it even properly reaches its boiling point. And that was something Lucien couldn't accept.
"This can't be happening...So soon?!" He pulled his hair. "They weren't this good at dealing with problems before! Urgh!" Frustrated and irritated, Lucien could see that everything was going downhill for him. Until he decided to up the anty. "It isn't over yet! Not until I get something great out of this!"
Wanting a real show-stopper, he pointed his finger at the creature, sending a quick bolt of cosmic energy towards it. The cosmic energy entered the creature, adding one extra property that would make it a more fearsome opponent to go up against.
The creature howled as it could feel its entire body changing once more. The poison that had been sent into its body was being altered a bit. Instead of destroying the creature, it was now becoming one with it. The poison changed the grey coloured air creature into one that was entirely purple.
It went to its eyes and many eight legs. And speaking of eight legs, something else multiplied. Now, the creature had eight heads like a hydra with poison air wheezing out of it. The creature's size also increased as well with even sharper fangs. This was Lucien's way of upping the anty.
"Oh my..." Brawly's jaw dropped.
"What in increase!" Luna gasped. "Did it just make the poison one with it?!"
"It certainly did. But now that means it's more vulnerable to Psychic-Type attacks." Celestia observed.
"Gardevoir."
"And Lucario's Steel-Typing will just ignore it. I say we're pretty lucky." Brawly gave a thumbs up with a wide grin.
With a louder hiss, the creature seemed to be faster now while exhaling poison. Now the air could do more than just cut and blur anything out. Celestia quickly increased the size of the barrier as Passion, Darkrai and two Lucario's moved away when the air creature went to bite them with its eight heads.
But even if they moved away, this time, the creature seemed to have a faster reaction time. By opening its many mouths, the creature summoned not just a whirlwind of sharp air, but also poisonous gas inside of them.
"Use Psychic to push them back!"
"Voir!" Passion put her arms up, trying to push back the whirlwinds of sharp poisonous air. But this time, the whirlwind was stronger than ever, equal to the strength of a hurricane at best. Passion managed to hold back three whirlwinds, nullifying the poison within, however, she couldn't stop the rest from advancing. "Garde?!"
The other whirlwinds caught the Embrace Pokemon, rapidly cutting her while also bombarding her with heavy wind pressures. And the sharpness of the air was more noticeable this time as it had grown in strength, causing the Psychic-Fairy-Type to wince.
"Ah! Passion!"
As for Darkrai, after Passion failed to stop all of them, some of the whirlwind's caught him, sending their sharpness all across his shadow-like body and hitting him with high turbulence and wind pressures as well.
It was times like this where Darkrai wishes he could become intangible like a Ghost-Type.
"Darkrai!"
"Aura Sphere!" Brawly and Cynthia commanded.
"Lu!" The two Lucario summoned Aura Sphere once more to try and nullify the Rift energy by simultaneously firing the spheres in unison.
But this time, thanks to Lucien, the creature had gained better sentience. It opened its mouths once more, summoning larger whirlwinds that cancelled out the Aura Sphere, making it less effective than it was before. It still left a mark with the remaining Aura affecting little parts of Rift energy within.
"How did it grow in such a short amount of time?!" Luna screeched.
"However so, I need to perform that clear-out spell as soon as possible!" Celestia replied. "Let's just hope that Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie have sorted the rest out by now."
"You can go ahead and help them, Celestia," Cynthia suggested.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. It's challenging but not too challenging from what Lucario has told me." Cynthia nodded.
"Lu."
"If you say so. Passion! Stay here and assist them!" Celestia spread her wings as she went in Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie's direction.
"Gardevoir!
With Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, they were dealing with the Pokemon who were panicking about being unable to see their trainers. Many of the Pokemon were on the verge of a rampage and that wouldn't spell good news for the city if that happens.
And it looked like the air was making it worse. Soon, the buildings themselves would be blurred out and hard to identify. But that wouldn't matter since the poison and the sharpness of the air might just destroy the house before that even happens.
Luckily, someone like Fluttershy could handle that no problem.
"It's alright, it's alright." She said to the panicking Pokemon while putting her hoof on a Tangrowth. "You don't have to panic. We'll find your trainers. Just follow our lead okay?"
"Tangrowth...?"
"Audi. Do your best to listen past the howls." Fluttershy requested before turning to the Pokemon. "You ll can just tell us what your trainer's sound like. Pinkie Pie."
"Yeah?" Pinkie Pie responded.
"Have Mew turn into Luxray and use his X-Ray vision to try and spot the right buildings if he can."
"You got it. Mew, go for it."
"Mew!" Mew spun around in the air, knowing what needed to be done. By covering himself in a beautiful light. Out of the light and a body structure change, Mew emerged as a Luxray. "Luxray!"
With Luxray out, Mew could utilize Luxray's ability to see through the buildings to find the right trainers of the panicking Pokemon. He expanded his view, seeing through everything he could.
"Audino..." Audino closed her eyes as she tried listening for the sound of the right trainers. Obviously, all of their voices sounded like howls at this point. More specifically tornado howls and Audino could tell that.
However, the Hearing Pokemon aimed to hear past that. By focusing even further, Audino's feelers were listening past the tornado howls and searching for actual audible voices. She had her feelers block out any sound of the wind and only focused on voices.
She was able to ignore the howls and pick up on actual voices. And what she heard, she picked up on sounds of panic and worry from the ponies residing in the homes.
"Dino! Audino!"
"Great. Alright. What do your trainers sound like?" Fluttershy asked as all of the Pokemon started talking altogether, mentioning the sound of their trainers at a rapid pace. Now usually, a bunch of commotion with constant talking would be hard for Fluttershy to read, but thankfully, she had Audino here to help with her feelers. Audino's certainly improved when it comes to hearing various sounds in one spot.
"Audino."
"Alright, alright. Thanks, Audi. Pinkie Pie?"
"Got it. Mew can see right through them no problem!"
"Luxray!"
"Okay. Now after what you've told Audi and me, just follow our directions and we'll get you to your trainers, in no time." Fluttershy nodded in reassurance as she spread her wings, taking to the skies while Mew was the one who went ahead of everything with X-Ray vision allowing him to spot the right buildings.
"Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie!" Celestia cried out, flying in this direction while Passion and everyone else takes care of that air creature.
"Princess Celestia! We've just figured out how to track the trainers!" Fluttershy cried out.
"That's wonderful. Now I can use the Clear-Out spell to show their faces. I recommend you have your Audino use Refresh, however. That creature now seems to have poison capabilities. The air here in Vanhoover might be poisoned all over."
"Oh, alright! Audi, let's try Mega Evolution. That'll make Refresh wider."
"Audino."
Speaking of which within the buildings of the Vanhoover, the residents were already panicking and in a total state of confusion and worry for three reasons. Number one, the obvious giant air creature outside, number two, the air was only getting sharper as their homes were being cut apart like onions and number three, their friends were having their faces blurred out, slowly causing them to become fully unrecognizable.
It didn't help that their voices sounded like howls so not only were the unaffected ponies starting to wonder where their friends and family but their horrifying howling wasn't helping as they thought they were absolute strangers or odd creatures with strange sounds.
Thankfully, Celestia, Fluttershy and Pinkie were here. By covering everyone in their own barrier to protect them from the rest of the air's properties, Celestia opened the door, startling the ponies inside. They had brought along the Pokemon that originally lived in this house.
"Ah!" The mare screeched after the door opened.
"No need to worry! We have your Pokemon safe here. Celestia said as the mare's Skorupi ran inside, wanting to see its trainer.
"Skoru!"
"Oh! Skorupi!" The mare cried out, putting her hooves out as she embraced her partner. "I was so worried!"
"Alright. Are those your friends or family?" Celestia pointed her hoof at the blurred ponies.
"I don't know!" The mare cried out, dashing away from the blurred ponies.
"Whoever they are, we'll make you recognize them again." Celestia declared as she walked up to the unrecognizable ponies. She also noticed that the building around her was starting to be blurred out as well. Worse, the sharp air was about to slice it into pieces if something wasn't done.
Acting quick, Celestia lit her horn up as her Boundless Cutie Mark started glowing, rotating around a multitude of Cutie Marks. Since Celestia was the only Equestrian-born pony to have the ability to interact with Rift energy thanks to the Boundless Cutie Mark, she was an ace in the hole in a sense.
By using the Clear-Out spell, Celestia was able to manipulate the opacity and transparency of the air that was blurring out these ponies by clearing them out as if she was a window screen wiper. The magic covered the blurred out ponies, breaking down the air that covered them down their last atom.
Before they knew it, the blurred out ponies were no longer blurred out. From their faces, bodies and even Cutie Marks. Their voices had even returned.
"Oh..." One of the ponies who had been restored said, squinting his eyes. "Princess Celestia. Can you hear us now?"
"Loud and clear." Celestia nodded, rekindling hope in them. The mare, glad that her friends were recognizable once more, dashed over and gave them all collective hugs. "Ough!"
"There you guys are!" She wailed. "You know how scared I was?!"
"We were calling for you the entire time! You didn't recognize us?!" The other pony responded.
"Thea it has been blurring out appearances and voices," Celestia explained. "And I'm afraid that it might extend to the point where it'll blur out the buildings. Or worse. Vanhoover might be blurred out of the map entirely."
"Blurred out of the map?!" The ponies living within the house gasped.
"We'll clear out everypony else before it worsens. Fluttershy. You know what to do."
"Right. Okay, Audi. Let's move it across the whole area." Fluttershy looked at her Mega Ring before touching it. The golden lights of Mega Evolution flared out. It was time for Mega Audino to show herself.
Meanwhile, with Cynthia's group, their scuffle with the air creature was going as followed.
The creature's ferocity certainly helped it fare a better chance against Passion and the others. The constant releases of sharp whirlwinds along with poison were tricky to deal with. The only ones who bypass the poison were the two Lucario and Passion with Psychic.
However, the whirlwinds themselves were strengthening each passing second. The sharp air from the creature was starting to blur out the scenery itself next. The ground was being obscured but not just that, the creature was blurring itself out as well.
By manipulating the air and fog of Vanhoover, which is mostly grey due to how it's such a cold snowy place, the air creature blended in with the scenery, even hiding its poison colouring by overlaying its original grey colouring on it. With the creature obscuring its appearance, it allowed itself to attack at a more unexpected not. Its ability to blur out vision was a threat.
It didn't help that the poison was spreading throughout the air as Luna and the others were forced to block out their noses and mouths while also stepping away. Thankfully, Luna's magic could at least help with that. Since the Poison was formed by Darkrai originally, Luna can cast a protective barrier around Cynthia and the others without having to worry about it being Rift related.
"I can barely see it!" Brawly squinted his eyes. "Where is it?"
"It's obscuring its own appearance within the air," Luna observed. "Like some sort of camouflage.
"Either way, it can't hide from Lucario's Aura. Lucario, track it down!" Cynthia commanded as Brawly did the same with his Lucario.
Both of the Aura Pokemon closed their eyes, standing still as they red for the signal of the creature. By utilizing Aura, they were able to track down the movements of the air creature by reading the air itself.
They could see that it was moving from the side, preparing for a behind attack. In fact, it was aiming to take out the trainers so that they wouldn't command their Pokemon any further.
"Luca!" The two Lucario found the creature appearing behind Brawly and Cynthia for a multi-headed bite. Acting quickly, the two of them attacked from afar with Flash Cannon and Aura Sphere, knocking the creature back before it could bite the two trainers.
"Oh!" Cynthia and Brawly gasped as the creature hissed, shooting a whirlwind of poisonous sharp air at Brawly and Cynthia.
"Dark Pulse, Darkrai!"
"Garde!" Passion and Darkrai quickly moved forward and stepping in front, using Psychic and Dark Pulse to protect the two of them. Passion held back the poison with Psychic while Darkrai fired multiple orbs of darkness that connected with all eight whirlwinds, holding them back.
The creature cried out before using its many eight legs to whack Passion and Darkrai away.
"Lucario! Use Bone Rush!" Brawly commanded his own Lucario.
"Lucario, Blaze Kick!" So did Cynthia.
"Lu!" Both Lucario's moved in with one holding out energized bones and the other lightning his legs up. They lunged forward with their own physical attacks before simultaneously attacking the creature
The first Lucario smashed his dual bones onto the creature's head, causing a hard shockwave while the second Lucario slid underneath, kicking the underbelly of the creature and sending flames through it. The flames connected with the air, causing immediate combustion as the creature was sent back.
"Fire seems to be its greatest weakness. If we can contain the entire creature in one spot and overwhelm it with fire, then it should be unresponsive for good."
"Like a large container? Where will we find that?" Luna asked.
"Not like we have a comically large container for that," Brawly responded.
"We have to figure something out. This air creature seems to be getting stronger by the minute. Including the poison. If this poison continues, breathing will become harder than ever..." Before Cynthia could finish her sentence, that's where Audino came in.
Once she had Mega Evolved, the Hearing Pokemon got to work, using Refresh on the entirety of Vanhoover for one purpose. To eliminate the poison in the air.
"Audino!" The Normal-Fairy-Type cried out before summoning a giant green dome-shaped field of restoration energy. Due to her being a Mega Audino, Refresh was greatly boosted.
The energy of Refresh, like a predator hunting its prey, tracked down any source of poison and eliminated it. The poison in the air had been wiped out by Refresh due to its beautiful sparkling lights. Everything was being purified as it was before.
And even better, since the air creature had poison within it, this greatly affected its body. The creature cried out as it could feel its entire body being purified of all the poison within it. Not only that, the flames of Blaze Kick were still prominent and burning away some of the air. Adding that onto the energy of Refresh did not spell good news for the Rift creation.
Its body size was being drastically diminished with all of the poison in its body wiped away, no longer present in any way. The flames of Blaze Kick were responsible for its size diminishing.
And since some of the sharp air that was moving through the buildings had poison in it, those had also been nullified with the poison being eliminated. They still had to deal with the sharpness, however.
Meanwhile, Celestia was clearing out all of the blurred out faces of everypony here while Audino and Mew led the way. The Pokemon were being reunited with their owners.
"That worked! Let's target its many heads with fire! Lucario, Blaze Kick!" Cynthia yelled as Lucario ignited his legs again, running towards the creature.
"Garde!" Passion did the same thing, this time with Mystical Fire as she was charging the attack up for one large flame. The creature hissed as it began flailing its head around like a whip, attempting to hit its foes. Darkrai and the rest moved back while Lucario evaded the head whips while also kicking one of them. When delivering the kick, one of the heads ended up taking the flames, having constant combustions occur as the head had shrunk.
The creature then used its many legs to jump high into the air as it chose to now climb on the buildings. It had spider-like properties, might as well utilize them properly.
By moving on the buildings like a giant spider, the creature then fired sharp whirlwinds from its mouth while moving instead of just staying on one spot most of the time. Darkrai cancelled the whirlwind out with a powerful Thunderbolt to do so.
The creature then shot the whirlwinds into the air, causing them to split up into multiple whirlwinds. From above, sharp whirlwinds started raining won like snow. They were even beating out the snow that usually falls here in Vanhoover.
Everypony started leaving their homes as the buildings were being cut in half from all the raining whirlwinds that came from above. Celestia had gathered everypony and Pokemon from their homes to protect them while Audino continued to listen for their trainers.
At this rate, the buildings would be torn apart before the air blurs out the entirety of Vanhoover from the map.
"We'll need extra help! Luna took out one of her Poke Balls before throwing it. "Come out, Gliscor!"
"Gli!"
"Use Tailwind!"
"Gli-Gli-Gliscor!" By flapping his wings and spinning his tail around, the Fang Scorp Pokemon whipped up a turbulent whirlwind that blew in the direction of the sharp whirlwinds.
This greatly helped to not only force back the ferocious sharp whirlwinds, but it even affected the creature a small bit. But not by much sadly.
"Come on!" Lucien stomped his foot down, getting frustrated with how things were turning out. "It can't be over this soon, can it?!"
"Let's finish this! Darkrai, Dark Pulse!"
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
"Gardevoir!" Passion had finished charging up Mystical Fire while Darkrai and the two Lucario had summoned their own far back moves.
And in perfect unison, they all unleashed them at the same time. A spiralling flame of magical fire, a black and purple beam imbued with dark thoughts, and two large spheres of concentrated Aura. All merged into one major attack. An attack that had the capability to greatly affect the creature. It had all the colours inside of it to boot.
The creature tried to fight back by summoning a large whirlwind, the largest it has ever made. Its sentience had grown to the point where it could actually feel fear. And Luna and the others could tell this by looking at its face. By unleashing everything it had, the large sharp whirlwind had clashed with the merged attacks, forcing the air creature to try everything that it had.
Unfortunately, due to it being weakened over time by Passion and the others, it couldn't hold an attack like this back. Thus, the whirlwind had been obliterated while the air creature had been hit by an assortment of elements. As it collided with its air-like body, a collection of different elements went off at the same time, blowing up around and even inside of the air creature, causing the building it stood on to be obliterated.
Everyone looked away, closing their eyes from the giant explosion of multiple colours. It was a bit blinding to the eyes. Mostly from Mystical Fire.
Once the explosion cleared, lo and behold, the air-creature had been broken down to the point where it was around the same size as a Dragonair, no longer a Gyarados. All of that energy and power was so great that it weakened it severely. It was actually impressive that it was still standing. It looked like that attack would've destroyed it.
However, this is where Luna and Darkrai could capitalize.
"Darkrai. Do you see that?"
"I do." Darkrai ascended, holding a Dark Void in his claws. He could see that the creature now has the one thing that Darkrai could exploit.
Fear.
And with fear, comes Darkrai's Dark Void which was perfect for this. Before, it was ineffective since the creature had no fear and was somewhat new to this world. But now, over time, it had visible fear, meaning that Dark Void can dig into those fears and show it to the Rift creation.
With a simple nonchalant toss, Darkari sent the orb of darkness towards the downed air creature. The creature couldn't do much to stop the attack due to how badly it was weakened. Thus, it could do nothing but take the orb of Dark Void as it consumed it completely.
The creature then fell into a deep sleep from Dark Void as it was down for the count and out of commission. Due to the creatures little amount of air and unresponsive state, the sharp air had died down. With nothing to actively exert it, it was no longer a threat.
"That settles that." Luan sighed. "All we have to do is just clear it away. Sister!"
"Coming!" Celestia flew over, knowing what she needed to do. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, after successfully assisting her had also come over. "We've sorted the rest out. I've removed the blur from everypony's faces. The Pokemon are calm now."
"I say we did pretty good, didn't we?" Brawly spoke to Cynthia.
"Mhm. Things went well. Although...I can't help but wonder what caused this in the first place?" Cynthia pondered as Celestia was using her magic to wipe away the air creature.
"Simple. The Rift. We've just recently discovered that Rift humans are moving around Equestria. One of which once controlled Darkrai during the earlier days of our worlds, crossing over." Celestia responded. "Mewtwo found and exposed them to us a while ago. Their names are Lucien and Sienna. This is without a doubt their work."
"Darn it...!" Lucien stomped his foot on the ground before growling. "It didn't even last a full day!"
"Dino?" Naturally, with that loud yelling and outburst, it didn't take long for Audino to pick up on his voice as she recognized it. Upon recognizing the voice, the Hearing Pokemon alerted everyone by pointing to the hills. "Audi! Audino!"
"Huh? He's here?!" Fluttershy translated as they all looked to the hills.
"Aha...Passion!"
"Voir!" Passion nodded in confirmation as she held her hand out, using Psychic to separate the trees that laid on the hills themselves. And once she separated the trees, Lucien had been made visible to their eyes.
"Uh..." He scrunched his face after being revealed.
"There you are!" Luna bellowed before spreading her wings.
"Time to go!" Not wanting to be caught up in any of this mess any further, the Rift human made his getaway via the usual fading out. The last thing seen of him was cosmic dust as Luna put her wings back.
"Got away..." Luna scoffed.
"It's fine, Luna. We'll find him. Those wanted posters are still in style today."
"What about the homes of everyone here?" Brawly questioned. "That creature took it all out in seconds."
"Oh right. Ahem." Celestia turned to the citizens of Vanhoover, raising her voice to give an announcement. "Everypony! Deepest apologies for what has happened to your homes! But...if it makes you feel any better, some of you can choose to live in the mansion up ahead. The gateway that originally connected to it no longer exists so you should be fine. Anypony that wishes to stay somewhere else is free to do so until your homes are rebuilt. Just...don't mess up the mansion. I want it to stay in one piece for Premium."
The residents like that idea. They could definitely wait for the restoration of their homes. Besides, living in the mansion that was once inhabited by Skyblue Shine and Premium Polish before the accident. Some chose to stay somewhere else in Equestria. Most likely with friends and families in other cities and towns.
Their work here was done. With the Pokemon reunited with their trainers, the sharp blurry air fading away, this was a success. Of course, there was some cleaning up that needed to be done.
After all, the air had been across Equestria hours ago so some places were still feeling the effects of the air. A ton of bandages would be required from all the cuts as well. But, Celestia and everyone had that covered for sure.
However, with the knowledge of Lucien and Sienna now causing further problems, they were on high alert. As if they already weren't due to Ghetsis and Empress Twilight. But at this point, they were ready to tackle any other problem as the journey continues.
Within the castle, and across all of Equestria, morning had come. Fairly early too. Just around 5:00. Celestia had just raised the sun for another beautiful day. Plus, it's the verge of summer so the sun had a greater reason to be extra dazzling from now on.
One of the ponies that were up early was Flurry Heart who was staying over in this universe for the time being By exiting the guest room, the young alicorn's mane was all a mess as she stumbled while walking.
"Ugh..." She groaned, feeling like a wreck. More than she's ever been. It was most likely the time she spent with the Pokemon and how frantic and lively they can be. Especially the nocturnal ones.
Looking an absolute mess with her regalia off, the young alicorn decided to clear her appearance before she can properly tackle the day. But if anything, there was already someone 100% ready for a special event today.
That, someone, was Celestia who was currently in her room, checking herself in the mirror. Flurry Heart passed by, noticing her alternate universe great auntie in the room as she stopped by.
"Hm..." Celestia observed. "Ah. I'm sure he wouldn't care either way."
"Great auntie?" Flurry Heart knocked on the door before entering. "What's happening? Who wouldn't care?"
"Flurry Heart. Good morning. You look...um...great."
"Mmrrgh...Stayed up mostly all night. "So what are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm just preparing for my date today, that's all."
"Date?" Flurry squinted her eyes before her tired brain started processing those words. "Oh. You mean with...?"
"Cobalion? Yes. It's been a long time coming. Well...we somewhat had one two months ago at the restaurant, but this one will go exceedingly well! Cobalion and I have chosen to go to a beach. Well, I chose to. A nice place in Alola known as Pokemon Paradise Resort."
"Pokemon Paradise...Resort?"
"Mhm. It's the perfect place to get away from it all. We can hang out at the beach, float in the beautiful clear ocean for a nice swim, dine on some wonderful food during the wonderful sunset. Doesn't it sound romantic?"
"Uh...Y-Yeah." The tired alicorn nodded. "So that's what you're planning?"
"Well, really, that's what you can mostly do there. If anything, Cobalion and I are just going to do whatever we can and want. He's a bit of a hard character to read after all."
"That place sounds fun. Can I come along auntie?"
"Oh, sorry. It's just going to be Cobalion and me today and nopony else."
"Garde?" Passion peered through the door.
"That means you can't come along as well, Passion. Sorry."
"Voir..." Passion sighed as she moved away.
"I'll have to get moving. The Pokemon Paradise Resort is extremely popular. Thus, reservations are hard to obtain. Luna will be out training with her Pokemon for the Equestria League. Will you be fine on your own, Flurry Heart?"
"Oh, sure. I can stay here and check out more of those Pokemon cards with Premium Polish." Flurry Heart nodded. "But uh...when am I gonna get the chance to see the 'me' in this world?"
"The you in this world? Oh, you mean your baby self? Ah...maybe later. Another time. It'd be too sudden and shocking to reveal yourself to Cadence and Shining Armor, wouldn't it?"
"I guess so. But I do wanna see my parents. Even though they're not my parents. But they are. But they aren't. You know what I mean."
"I do. Take care, alright?" Celestia hugged her alternate universe niece before walking out of the room. "Passion! Arcanine! Look after the place and everyone in it, alright? The same goes for Reshiram!"
"Gardevoir!"
"Arcanine!"
Alola Region. Pokemon Paradise Resort. Day.
The Pokemon Paradise Resort. Living up to its name truly feels like paradise and a perfect place to kick back, relax, and take a load off. The best area of this place is the Play Area. The Play Area consists of many locations where Pokémon and Trainers can relax and have fun, including a swimming pool, hot springs, two water-slides where Pokémon can go down in a raft, and a water volleyball net.
Aside from that, there was more to experience here. A fairly addicting restaurant could be found in this resort as well. There were already people and Pokemon having the time of their life here under the Alolan sun.
And soon, the same will go for Cobalion and Celestia who arrived here. Cobalion was originally out in the wilderness, protecting others from harm as he usually does. Celestia was the one who found him and brought him here. This would truly be their first time together and no one else.
This would also be the first time Cobalion interacts with many humans considering his status as a Legendary Pokemon. But, over the years, he's gotten used to the public.
"Can you feel that, Cobalion?" Celestia said with sunglasses on and a beaming smile. "That Alolan sun. It's something to behold, isn't it?"
"Certainly." Cobalion nodded.
"Oh! Let's try that Water-Type tank experience!" Celestia looked up at Cobalion, pointing her hoof over at a gigantic water tank that had Water-Type Pokemon dwelling within it.
Celestia ran ahead with Cobalion casually walking. He wasn't in such a hurry like Celestia. When Cobalion got a move on, everyone locked eyes on him. He was a fairly popular Legendary Pokemon and witnessing him here just threw many of the Trainers off guard. If anything, Cobalion was the main attraction. Not the resort.
This giant water tank offered some kind of challenge instead of just viewing the Pokemon inside. Seats were surrounding the tank as it connected to the seas of Alola, allowing everyone to witness what goes on inside.
"Alola!" The two male and female employees assigned to this water tank greeted Celestia and Cobalion. "Welcome to the Water Tank Challenge! Princess Celestia and uh...C-Cobalion?"
"Alola!" Celestia greeted back with an enthusiastic response.
"Alola." Cobalion had a less energetic one.
"Are you here to try the challenge?" The male employee asked.
"Oh, yes. What is it about exactly?" Celestia questioned.
"Find the Golden Water-Type!" The female employee bellowed, pointing at the tank. "All of these Water-Types are vastly different from their original colours. So different, that they're not even their Shiny Colours. Something happened west of Alola that altered their colours."
"Oh?" Cobalion and Celestia both said.
"See that?" The male employee pointed his thumb at a Goldeen that had circular crystal patterns around its body as scales. Its eyes were even sparkling like crystals. "That Goldeen's a bit different than a regular one, isn't it? And there are other Pokemon with colours and appearances you've never seen before. Even the people of Alola haven't seen these kinds of Pokemon. But some normal familiar one can still be found."
"Never before seen...? Oh! Wait!" Celestia quickly recognized what this could be. "These may be Equestrian forms!"
"...Equestrian forms?" The two employees said together.
"You said this happened west of Alola, correct? And that these are essentially new to the region? Fusion magic must've touched them and altered their appearances."
"Is that what that is?" The female shrugged. "Hm. Oh well! That makes it even better!"
"That's why you need to score to find the Diamond Water-Type. One made of pure Diamond on all parts. Can't say which Pokemon it is, but if you can find it, you can score 100,000,000 points! The rest are small scale in comparison!" The male employee explained.
"And if either of you wins...you get some of these rewards, eh?" The female employee showed a plethora of rewards being a curtain. It consisted of the usual things you'd find in challenges. But one of these objects stood out in particular.
Boxes of cakes. Five in total. Each with its own flavour. This kind of reward was tailored towards the hungry types. And it was also most definitely tailored to the Ruler of Equestria as her eyes shot up.
"Cobalion!" Celestia held Cobalion's hoof while looking up at him. "We have to find that golden Water-Type immediately! I have to!"
"Where's this sudden energy coming from...?" Cobalion was a bit intimidated.
"How do we play?!" Celestia asked.
"Well just swim in there, draw in and tag the Water-Type Pokemon with this delicious Pokemon food that comes out of it..." The male employee held out a sort of shooting object that resembled a vacuum "And just score them with the tag. The appearance of the Pokemon matters, but nothing beats the Diamond Water-Type. If you can find it."
"Seems easy enough." Celestia nodded.
"You'll need some diving gear and-" The female employee was ready to give them both equipment.
"No need. We'll just use this." Celestia chose to use the underwater breathing spell on both her and Cobalion. Usually, it'll last for 20 minutes, but for somepony like Celestia, 40 minutes is her maximum.
"Oh. Well then, take these." The female employee then lent the vacuum shaped objects to Cobalion and Celestia. "But uh...they're a bit too big for Cobalion, aren't they?"
"I'll be fine." Cobalion wrapped the object's handle around his neck. "Just one thing I need to make clear. The Pokemon won't be harmed by these weapons, will they?" He said in an imposing tone that made the employees shudder.
"N-N-N-N-No, no! They won't be harmed. It's just food." The male employee laughed nervously.
"Good. Let's go, Princess."
"Okay!"
Canterlot, day.
With Celestia gone on a date with Cobalion, it was just Luna, Flurry Heart, Premium Polish, the guards and the Pokemon. Their absolute ruler isn't present at the moment.
But, another group also present here, were the rest of the Swords of Justice. Terrakion, Virizion and Keldeo. Right now, they were speaking to Reshiram in the Canterlot Gardens. Reshiram is an important figure in Unova after all, so it would only make sense that the other important figures of Unova would chat with the Vast White Pokemon. Even if it wasn't their universe's Reshiram. Flurry Heart trotted outside as she had approached the Swords of Justice. and the Vast White Pokemon.
"So you're all heroes, right?"
"We are." Virizion nodded in confirmation. "In two worlds. Not just one."
"We've done some pretty impressive stuff, ya know." Keldeo let out a proud smile. "We saved an entire kingdom, a bunch of cities from Dynamax Pokemon. Pretty large scale events."
"Don't showboat kid." Terrakion nudged Keldeo. "But yeah. They are pretty impressive."
"Just you three? Uh, four technically."
"Not quite. We had some help from others. Trainers to be exact. Especially during the Dynamax Crisis." Virizion explained.
"There are those Elements of Harmony ponies." Terrakion began naming those that assisted them. "Oh, those guards sometimes help out. Though they're not that good at it, sadly. There's that Hollow trainer, his help is appreciated. And there's Ash and Pikachu. Long time friends."
"Oh, I've heard of those two. Auntie' a bit scared of them."
"Scared of them?" Virizion shot up.
"She said that those two were threats that should be taken care of immediately. Along with other powerful Pokemon and Trainers."
"She should be scared. Guys like us and them dealt with an entire kingdom. I bet we can deal with an empire." Keldeo boasted. "M-Maybe. I don't know."
"About Ash...that Delayed Aura Ataxia is proving to be too much of a problem." Virizion turned to Terrakion and Keldeo. "It's always been an issue for Aura users, but Ash is experiencing the worst of it."
"No way to stop it, right?" Keldeo replied.
"I heard a long time ago that the Sir Aaron human found a way past the disorder." Terrakion looked up. "Whatever he did, it worked out well for him. He hasn't passed out ever since back then."
"And you're unaware of what it is?" Virizion asked.
"Mm." Terrakion unfortunately did not know how Sir Aaron got past such an issue. But he had heard it many years ago. Most likely around the time when Sir Aaron was still around. "But I'm sure someone's gonna find out what it is eventually."
"Say, can you teach me more about Pokemon? You've all probably been around for a long time, right? You can come upstairs with me to open Pokemon cards!" Flurry Heart insisted.
"Cards? Sorry kid, but we don't really have time for something like that." Terrakion shrugged.
"I wouldn't say that." Virizion cut in. "Right now, Cobalion's probably having the time of his life with Princess Celestia. Why shouldn't we? Besides, if there's any trouble out there, we'll attend to it like always."
"Hm...I guess so." Terrakion thought about it for a while before agreeing with his fellow Sword of Justice. "It's not fair that Cobalion gets to have all the fun though. What do you think, Keldeo?"
"I got to go on an adventure with Ash and Pikachu once. Yeah, I wanna try opening some cards!" Keldeo bellowed. "...What are cards?"
"What about that Pokemon there? Reshiram?" Flurry Heart pointed her hoof at the Vast White Pokemon.
"Reshiram needs time to properly rest. Which means little interruptions that are highly active. Communication is fine." Virizion explained.
"Oh. Okay! Come on!" Flurry Heart held Virizion's hoof out of excitement. "I've got a lot I want to show you! And I wanna know more about Pokemon! There's this really cute Pokemon I found on the card Minccino and its ears just look soooooo fun!"
She kept rambling on as her words were fading in the background. Much like their leader, the Swords of Justice had something entertaining to do on this shining day.
Alola. Pokemon Paradise Resort, day.
Speaking of Cobalion, he and Celestia were already within the large water tank, ready to start the challenge. This was Cobalion's first time taking part in something like this. He wasn't exactly the kind to involve himself in entertaining and action-thrilled activities. Aside from Pokemon battling.
But Celestia, most definitely.
Celestia wore protective swimming armour gear for safety measures. But Cobalion wore nothing. If anything, his steel body was protective armour in itself.
Outside the water tank, many people and Pokemon had sat down on the seats to watch this little challenge. Mainly because of Cobalion. It's impossible to just ignore a Legendary Pokemon casually moving about in such a public place.
But then again, the Island Guardians like Tapu Koko are frequently seen so it's not too out of the ordinary for Alola. The two male and female employees acted as the announcers for this challenge.
"Alola!" The male one greeted. "Thank you for waiting! This game can finally begin! Uh...P-Pay attention to the fish and not Cobalion, if you can."
"I don't blame you all though!" The female one yelled.
"I didn't expect so many spectators." Cobalion spoke while swimming within the tank while the underwater breathing spell was active.
"Not too used to it, eh? Canterlot barely has this many residents." Celestia responded.
"Not really. Saving everyone from that Dynamax Crisis certainly drew some attention back then. I just prefer places with little popularity. But...this doesn't seem so bad."
"Right? Moments like these are what I really appreciate. Having to be a ruler for so long can take away from that. I'm actually grateful for our worlds crossing over. Then I wouldn't have a different life path and experience than whatever the original had in store."
"Think you could still find enjoyment in the original time then?"
"Maybe...Ah! There!" Celestia spotted her first Water-Type. A brand new Equestrian Sharpedo. It had the natural build of a regular Sharpedo, however, the main difference was that it looked like an actual torpedo, truly living up to its name.
"Sharpedo!" The Brutal Pokemon roared while zooming through the water. It seemed to be faster in this new Equestrian form.
As if it wasn't fast enough already.
"Such speed!" Celestia gasped. "But I can catch it!" With a confident grin, the Sun Princess readied the shooting weapon as all the necessary energy was loaded into it.
By locking her eyes onto the Brutal Pokemon, Celestia fired a giant array of food that appeared in the form of a pink cloud towards Sharpedo.
"Sharp!" But, with its great speed, Sharpedo evaded the pink cloud blast, avoiding the food that came out of it. Sharpedo then used some sort of jet propulsion from its new body, moving at a faster pace.
"Drat! Let's try that again!" Celestia began reloading.
"Hold on." But, Cobalion moved forward, stopping Celestia from taking another aim. The Iron Will Pokemon had a slightly different approach.
Instead of blasting Sharpedo with a ton of food, Cobalion had a gentle approach while still intensively focusing his eyes on Sharpedo. With that gentle approach, the Steel-Fighting-Type was able to track down Sharpedo's ludicrous speed without issue.
Spending time with Virizion and other fast Pokemon has greatly helped him over the years.
And with a simple crank of the vacuum shaped weapon, Cobalion only fired one tiny piece of food instead of a giant blast of it like Celestia did. That tiny food piece moved at great speeds as Sharpedo didn't see it coming, unlike the large pink cloud.
"Shar?" Before it knew it, the piece of food entered the Brutal Pokemon mouth, too small for it to recognize. Once it entered, Sharpedo felt the food within its mouth before a beeping noise went off, indicating that Cobalion had scored. And Sharpedo enjoyed the food, even if it was just one bite. "Sharpedo."
"When dealing with fast Pokemon, you should catch them off guard with the smallest thing. Especially when it can be quickly released." Cobalion instructed the princess. "Anything too big and visible that takes time to build up is just waiting for them to avoid."
"Oh..." Celestia nodded in understanding. "And the slow or medium-paced Pokemon?"
"That should be self-explanatory." Cobalion reloaded the object before he and Celestia set off to tag more Pokemon with some delicious food.
The Water-Types saw Cobalion and Celestia approaching so they quickly scattered. They knew this was just a part of the game. Even if they end up getting caught, they get delicious food either way, so it's a win-win situation.
"Uh...Aren't they supposed to be competing against each other?" The female employee asked the male employee.
"Leave it. It's their first go anyway."
Cobalion and Celestia came across a large school of Equestrian Gorebyss. It had a large seashell as the replacement for its fine while having pearls on the side of its body. The Equestrian Gorebyss also had a giant clam with sharp teeth on the end of its tail.
Celestia saw that their speed was moderate at best, meaning that she could go wild with her firing. By spinning the crank of the weapon and swimming across the water, Celestia unloaded a widespread blast of Pokemon food while swimming along.
The food had struck the school of Gorebyss, connecting with mostly their clams. It seemed like the clam was sentient as it opened its mouth, gnawing on the food. It was similar to how the Shellder on Slowbro and Slowking are actually sentient themselves.
Another beep could be heard. Multiple of them. Celestia had scored multiple points by hitting multiple targets. Right now she seemed to be in the lead.
Cobalion came across an Equestrian Clawitzer that stood before him. This form of Clawitzer, instead of having a giant howitzer on it, Clawitzer's main usage of attack had been replaced for a super soaker. Of all things. It even matched the colours of a playful super soaker. Mainly light blue and green.
"Cla...witzer!" This Pokemon actually fought back. Just like a super soaker, Clawitzer had to pump up the attack it wanted to use, compressing the air within the reservoir. An air valve opened on the super soaker as Clawitzer had used Scald, shooting a stream of boiling water at the Iron Will Pokemon.
"Hoh?" Cobalion smiled as he was interested in this new challenge. The Steel-Fighting-Type responded by summoning his sword from his head. By doing so, Cobalion cut the stream of boiling water in half, splitting Scald.
With Scald defeated, the Iron Will Pokemon then shot a barrage of Pokemon food from the weapon. Clawitzer quickly responded by using Crabhammer to knock away the food, preventing it from entering its mouth. Although, it did want the food inside.
Cobalion then responded by using his sword once more, this time, in a different way. Cobalion used his Sacred Sword while spinning his head around. The sheer movement of his head and the sword was so great that Cobalion was changing the currents themselves.
"C-Claw!" Surprised by the current change, Clawitzer lost balance, floating towards Cobalion. And what that, Cobalion aimed, focusing his eyesight as he shot multiple bits of Pokemon food right into the mouth of the Howitzer Pokemon. "Witzer? Clawitzer!"
"Goldeen!" An ordinary school of Goldeen came this way, shooting Bubble Beam towards Cobalion to try and overwhelm him. This obviously didn't work as Cobalion cut one single bubble which ended up cutting all of them in the blink of an eye.
The school of Goldeen gasped as Celestia had come from the side, shooting food into their mouths. Fittingly, since all of the Goldeen had their mouths open from the gasp after seeing what Cobalion had done, Celestia found the perfect time to shoot.
Row by row, each of the Goldeen were fed some delicious Pokemon food, satisfying their stomachs as they immediately forgot about Cobalion's impressive cut.
The crowd cheered, impressed by what they were seeing. Usually, it's humans swimming about and feeding the Pokemon but seeing an alicorn and a Legendary Pokemon perform this was a treat to experience.
Cobalion and Celesti were each hitting targets left and right in their own ways. If any attacks came their way, Celestia would just use her magic to defend herself or Cobalion would just use his sword. One after the other, no Water-Type stood a chance.
One was energetic and all about unloading all the food while the other was calm and focused on precise sharp timing. A perfect mashup of two different personalities and a great dynamic. But of course, they were shooting for the one goal. The Diamond Water-Type, which has yet to reveal itself.
Until now.
While feeding a school of Remoraid, Cobalion felt a change in the currents. Something large and fast was coming this way. Something that would prove to be a true challenge.
"What is that?" Celestia also felt it as all the Water-Type scattered.
"Seems like the Diamond Pokemon is coming." Cobalion observed as he already noticed a giant shadow looming over him and Celestia. Celestia shuddered from the giant shadow as she could hear a horrifying howl that sounded like thunder.
Everyone watching the challenge also shuddered as their eyes and pupils expanded after witnessing the true appearance of the Diamond Pokemon.
When Cobalion and Celestia turned around, the Diamond Pokemon was revealed to be an Equestrian Gyarados. And it showed. Its scales were diamonds, the moustache it usually has were extended as the end of them were as sharp as diamonds. Its dorsal fins were altered to the point where not only were they hard as diamonds but they were slanted back a bit.
A giant crest laid on its head like usual but of course, it was as hard as diamonds while having a blue glow around it. In fact, the colour of an Equestrian Gyarados shifted from blue to pure silver while the underbelly was gold, similar to how it usually is with an ordinary Gyarados but with more pizazz.
"Gyara!"
"Oh my." Celestia could only say that as Gyarados roared at the duo. Just like Cobalion, it was capable of changing the currents itself, forcing them both back.
"That should be the main goal of this." Cobalion spoke unphased. "All we need is one shot and this little game is over, right?"
"It's a good thing that Gyarados always has its mouth open, doesn't it?" Celestia chuckled.
"Sure does! But you have to get at least 500 food in its mouth!" The male employee replied, showing that this wouldn't be as simple as it looked.
"Gyarados!" The Atrocious Pokemon moved in, heading straight for both Cobalion and Celestia. Gyarados swung its tail forward, aiming to whip them both away. Celestia gasped, quickly putting up a protective barrier around her and Cobalion.
Gyarados' tail smashed onto the barrier, causing a hard shockwave that launched them both away. The barrier almost shattered from Gyarados' hard diamond tail hitting Celestia's barrier.
The alicorn quickly let the barrier down before charging up the weapon to try and unload more than 100 food bits into Gyarados' mouth. Holding it seems to unload food faster.
Gyarados quickly used an attack to try and befuddle them both. That move was Scale Shot. By using the hard diamond scales on its body, the Atrocious Pokemon shot its own scales at its target.
"Oh!" Celestia gasped as her weapon hadn't finished charging yet. And those diamonds wouldn't be so pleasant to be hit by. It was a moment like this where she was glad she had the recommended armour gear on.
Thankfully, Cobalion was here. By using his sword, the Iron Will Pokemon cut the diamonds in half with just two slashes, separating them to drift along in the water. That save from Cobalion allowed Celestia to finish charging up the weapon as she finally released it.
Out of it, hundreds of Pokemon food came flying out, heading for Gyarados' always open mouth. It was a direct hit for the most part. Around 50 Pokemon food were able to enter the mouth of Gyarados before the Atrocious Pokemon swam away. Celestia now had to recharge it.
Gyarados then used Twister. Within the water itself, the Atrocious Pokemon spun around, whipping up a vicious tornado within the water. Essentially creating a vortex or a whirlpool.
Any nearby Pokemon were immediately drawn in by this vortex as Gyarados kept spinning, making it harder for Cobalion and Celestia to properly aim for the mouth with this constant movement.
"W-Woah!" Celestia, along with the rest of the Pokemon cried out as they were being pulled in. The alicorn princess tried to move away via teleportation magic, but there wasn't enough focus for that to happen. So instead, she grabbed onto an Equestria Sharpedo. Right onto its tail fin.
"Sharpedo?"
"If you don't want to be sent in will you swim fast with me?" Celestia asked the Brutal Pokemon.
"Sharp!" Sharpedo agreed. By using the jet propulsion on the end of its body, the Equestrian Sharpedo, with Celestia holding on for dear life, took off like an actual torpedo, leaving a shockwave through the water that wasn't enough to match Gyarados' vortex. But it did get them a bit further away from Gyarados' twister.
But not by much. Gyarados sped up its spinning as the vortex was only growing larger. Even a fast Pokemon like Sharpedo couldn't evade it.
"S-Sharpedo!"
"This is getting a bit out of hand." And like always, Cobalion was not bothered. Mostly because he was prepared for anything. Including this.
By using his sword, just like what he did against the Equestrian Clawitzer, Cobalion swung his sword in the water with sheer power, changing the currents yet again. Cobalion's force was so grand that not only could it match Gyarados' frantic spinning, but it could also overpower it.
"Dos?!" Gyarados noticed that was something was off. The vortex it had made was being pushed back as it had stopped spinning from the current change. The Atrocious Pokemon was befuddled as the vortex had also been cut in half by Cobalion's slice, even though it didn't connect at all.
"Now!" Cobalion cried out.
"Okay!" Celestia aimed her weapon at Gyarados who was a bit perplexed at the moment. To buy Celestia some time, Cobalion personally advanced towards Gyarados while the rest of the Water Pokemon swam away.
"Dos!" Gyarados roared at the Iron Will Pokemon before using Scale Shot once more, shooting its own diamond scales at the Steel-Fighting-Type.
Cobalion kept his sword up, using its sharpness to cut through the scales like they were nothing. Not even the hard scales of an alternate Gyarados were enough to go up against a Sword of Justice. Especially the leader.
Gyarados then tried a different approach. Within the water itself, the Atrocious Pokemon summoned electricity via Thunderbolt. An orb of electricity emerged as Gyarados fired 100,000 volts of electricity towards Cobalion. Within the water, the electricity was already spreading.
Cobalion would have to take this a bit more seriously. The response to Thunderbolt was the move, Metal Burst. Cobalion stood there as the bolt of 100,000 volts struck him, covering his entire body. The Iron Will Pokemon closed his eyes as he barely felt the Thunderbolt through his tough exterior.
Once that was over, Metal Burst could be initiated. Cobalion's body illuminated a metallic aura as he formed a white ball in front of its mouth. Out of his mouth, he retaliated with a giant blast of metallic energy.
Gyarados' eye widened as the favour had been returned with all that metal covering its body. It certainly felt that. It was still the Water-typing after all so the damage resembled that of Thunderbolt due to how Metal Burst works.
Afterwards, Cobalion swam out of the way, allowing Celestia to finally unleash the food. She had been given plenty of time while Gyarados was staggered.
"Here goes! Eat up!" Celestia cried out as more than 10,000 waves of Pokemon food came flying out of the weapon. There was so many with such a powerful release that Celestia launched herself back from it, spiralling through the water.
All of the food entered Gyarados' open mouth, filling up the Atrocious Pokemon and stuffing its cheeks. Before it knew it, Gyarados' mouth was full. Something that seemed impossible due to how it's built. All the food inside of its mouth was overwhelming but nothing it couldn't swallow. With a hard gulp, the Atrocious Pokemon swallowed all of the food given to it by Celestia.
"Gyara!" It was safe to say that Gyarados was satisfied as a loud and rapid beeping could be heard. Celestia was caught by Cobalion as that was the end of that.
"Game set! That's 100,000,000 points right there!" The female employee roared along with the audience. It was truly a treat to watch all of that play out. "Winner! Princess Celestia!"
"Oh. I won?" Celestia flashed her eyes.
"You sure did, princess." Cobalion let out a smile as Celestia noticed she was being held by Cobalion causing her to screech and fly off.
"Aaah!" She breathed in and out rapidly while being flustered. "Not when everypony's watching!"
"Hm?"
After winning, Celestia and Cobalion exited the giant water tank as one of them was ready to select a prize of their choice. AKA, Celestia. And she already had one thing in mind.
"Congratulations, princess." The male employee applauded. "Now that you've won the game, which reward will you-"
"Cake!" She bellowed without any hesitation.
"Oh...uh...okay. All five boxes of cake it is." He nodded in confirmation, moving his hands towards the box of cakes along with the female employee. The male employee owned a Grovyle who had brought the cart of rewards over.
"Grovyle."
"Hehehe..." Celestia was riling herself up with a wide grin staring down the pastry before her. For years, Celestia has tried her best to keep her cake addiction a secret. But when she gets excited, it's nigh-impossible to do so.
Cobalion knew what was coming and he was going to stick around when it happens. This day wasn't over yet after all.
2 hours later.
After Celestia dined of her cake with no remorse with some of the cake getting on Cobalion's face while he watched, the two of them went on to do other things. Mainly under Celestia's decision.
Next, they tried some clothes shopping. More specifically costumes instead of natural clothes like suits or dresses. Something more extravagant was in Celestia's lane.
"I want to look dynamic during this year's Nightmare Night!" Celestia spoke while shuffling through a multitude of costumes. She tossed many of them aside as they each landed on Cobalion's head, obscuring the Iron Will Pokemon's vision. But, like always, Cobalion kept a straight face.
"Hm. I'm not sure you can fit in those, princess."
"Oh, it's fine. Rarity taught me exactly how to remodel human clothes to fit pony statures. Any of these will do." Celestia replied before covering Cobalion's entire face in costumes.
"I see." His voice became muffled through the clothes.
"Oh! I bet I could fit well in a superhero costume! Oh but this red and black scientist costume looks wonderful! So much to choose from!"
As Celestia continued to rummage through the costumes uncontrollably with multiple humans watching this, Cobalion just sat there, sharing Celestia's experience.
That is until his ears heard something interesting. Since he sat near the windows of the shop, his ears were alerted to the noise happening on the outside.
And from the outside, a familiar group of ponies were walking by, currently in search of someone important who is not from this world. By moving some of the costumes away from his face, Cobalion heard the following.
"You're just wasting time at this point, Obsidian. Do you know where Luster Dawn is or not?"
"I know it's taking a long time, but trust me. If I had all my Rift capabilities with me, this would've been over in a second. But, Alola's not exactly the most bombastic region, so they must've put her here in this region."
"Really now?"
"Well...yeah. Alola doesn't have that much crime so there's not that much law enforcement. Putting her in the biggest prisons there is would be too obvious."
"Is that why we couldn't find her throughout the other regions? Hm?"
"Uh..Y-Yeah...Haha! Trust me on this one! And if we don't find her here, then we'll just get lower. Maybe Johto."
From what Cobalion had heard, these were matters involving Empress Twilight and her protege that was recently defeated last week, Luster Dawn.
Obviously, this was of great importance since Obsidian the Rift pony and the soldiers of the Empress' empire were planning on breaking her out if they could find her. The Pokemon World is gigantic with many regions, some that even Ash has yet to discover. so it was not easy searching for Luster Dawn.
And Cobalion needed to attend to this.
"Princess Celestia." Cobalion sat up. "We can continue shopping later."
"Later?" Celestia looked back while wearing what seemed to be a cowl.
"Seems like that Empress' forces are searching for that Luster Dawn pony. Hurry." Cobalion got straight to the point. With those few words, Celestia was put on high alert.
"Oh!" Celestia took the cow off before following Cobalion. This was something they couldn't ignore. Their date had to be postponed.
Akala Island. Lush Jungle. A treasure trove of nature's gifts. This landmark in Alola is a heavily wooded tropical rain forest. It's famous for producing ingredients for delicious meals.
Obsidian and the guards had arrived here, continuing their search for Luster Dawn. This island, like many islands, had a police station with their own Officer Jenny like every other region out there.
They have been searching for Luster Dawn since last week but with zero luck. And ever since they learned of Pyrestar's actions of halting the invasion, the Empire wasn't at its best. Plus, the Empress was a bit frustrated by this point. By having her invasion pushed back and the capture and disappearance of her protege. So, unless they wanted to see tomorrows sunlight, the guards had to find her. Especially Obsidian.
"Geez...If for a moment, I wish I could have my Rift energy back." Obsidian sighed. "Lucien and Sienna are probably having a blast. I don't even know what Cold and Emerald are up to. It's not fair..."
"Quit your babbling. Let's find Luster Dawn and leave this world immediately." One guard said.
"I'm not sure you'll be leaving." Just then, catching up to them, AKA just sneakily following them via Celestia's teleportation, Cobalion and Celestia had arrived.
"Oh!" Obsidian and the guards collectively gasped. And for good reason. This was an alicorn with amazing magic by her side and a Legendary Pokemon who just so happens to be Steel, the most durable Pokemon Type there is.
"Locking you all up here in this world does sound like it would be effective. There would barely be anypony from your world to know where you are." Celestia spoke. "As for you, Obsidian...You know where you're heading back to."
"So much for secrecy..." Obsidian gulped.
"Don't let them stop our task. Subdue them!" One of the guards ordered as they all focused hostility onto Celestia and Cobalion. Of course, they had those long aluminium staffs that shot out electricity at their disposal.
"Apologies if I put our date on hold, princess. My duties seem to come before everything else, unfortunately."
"It's fine. I would've done the same anyway. I suppose I'm doing it now anyway."
"Still. Let me make it up to you. Give me a few seconds with them." Cobalion chose to tackle this scenario by himself as he stepped forward.
The guards galloped towards the Iron Will Pokemon, unaware of what was coming their way. Two of the guards used their electric staffs, swinging it towards the Steel-Fighting-Type.
When the staffs hit, a loud clanking sound could be heard. Most likely coming from Cobalions steel body. Electricity ran through Cobalion but he didn't even look phased by it. He just stood there with a casual stance. Then, with a slight smirk, the Iron Will Pokemon suddenly exuded his muscle mass from his body, causing a shockwave so great that it blew the guards away.
Not just that, their staffs had been shattered along with their aluminium armour. The nearby guards felt the shockwave as their armour had already taken damage, on the verge of breaking.
Intimidated by Cobalion after seeing their fellow guards fly back and faint on the spot from just a mere muscle projection, they used the staffs from afar, firing bolts of electricity.
Unfortunately, that didn't matter either because Cobalion just casually walked through the electricity as if it wasn't even there. The guards were starting to panic. They had never witnessed something so imposing before as they moved back.
When Cobalion got close enough, he used the weight of his hoof, smashing it onto the ground as he caused a slight earthquake to occur. The earthquake alone was capable of shattering their armour in one go while also launching them in the air.
The guards screamed as Cobalion watched them all fall to the ground like flies, landing right before his feet. In just a few seconds, Cobalion had dealt with a large majority of the guards with little effort.
Terrified by what they've seen, the rest of the guards tried to make a getaway. But, Celestia used her magic to hold them all in place. As for Obsidian, with the little amount of Rift magic he had left, he used it to escape from Celestia's vision. Right when Cobalion stomped the ground.
The guards couldn't move as Cobalion went up to them, using his hoof to break their armour. He didn't even put in that much effort with it. All he did was just mildly bash their armour with his hoof and that was the end of that. The ground was littered with aluminium armour from what Cobalion had done.
All of them had been defeated. Then again, there weren't too many.
"There." Cobalion said. "That takes care of that. Where's that other pony?"
"Right there." Celestia used her magic to blast away a rock that Obsidian hid behind, revealing the Rift Pony.
"Ah!" Obsidian gasped as he tried to make another getaway, but was quickly held in place by Celestia's magic. "Oh." Knowing he had lost, Celestia dragged Obsidian over here.
"This will take some time to clean up." Celestia looked at the littered ground. "And getting them under arrest as well. Figures...even during a date, I can barely get away from work, can I?"
"It happens. If you know of a place where you can restrain them, it's best you don't reveal the name." Cobalion suggested.
"Ah. I've got that covered." Celestia decided to make things easier by casting a drowsy spell on Obsidian and the others. This spell would put them to sleep and allow Celestia to find the perfect place to put them in without them knowing the direction.
Of course, she chose the Pokemon World to do so. The best place to hide them from the Empress.
"So. Shall we continue, princess?"
"Gladly."
5 hours later.
Time went on. Celestia and Cobalion did everything they could here in Alola. Before, they had turned the guards and Obsidian in for Officer Jenny. And now they did what they could.
From Melemele sea's Mantine Surf Spots, Diglett Tunnel's exploration, Hano Beach's Pyukumuku-chucking activity and so on, they had a swell time. Mainly Celestia who was the most energetic.
But eventually, it had to come to an end.
The sun was setting with an orange glow as Celestia was exhausted from all the fun she had. She seemed to burn out quickly if she pushes herself. She and Cobalion sat at Kala'e Bay, watching the sunset.
"That was...how do the younger ponies say it nowadays...? A blast." Celestia yawned.
"Hm. It certainly was."
"But...I'm out for the day." She rested her head on Cobalion. "I wanted to do more on this date actually..."
"You mean that wasn't enough for you?" Cobalion was shocked by those words. "You certainly are just as lively as the sun itself, aren't you?"
"Hm-hm-hm." Celestia giggled lightly after hearing that with her eyes closing. "Cobalion. Could you carry me home, please?"
"Alright." Cobalion stood up, using his back to support Princess Celestia. "You do have the Travel Sphere on you. Don't you princess?"
"Right here..." Celestia grumbled while holding the Travel Sphere out with her magic. Before she could fully doze off, she thought of where she wanted to go. Of course, back home.
The sphere reacted to her heart and mind, opening a gateway that connected to her world. And within the gateway, Celestia's bedroom could be seen with Arcanine resting within it.
Cobalion walked through with Celestia, leaving Alola as that was officially the end of their first major date. And it was actually fairly successful.
Canterlot. Night.
Afterwards, with Flurry Heart enjoying her time with the swords and Celestia falling asleep, everything was coming to an end. The Swords of Justice walked beside each other while leaving Canterlot.
"So, how'd it go, Cobalion?" Keldeo asked.
"I think I could get used to this dating thing actually." The Iron Will Pokemon replied. "Perhaps a third one wouldn't hurt."
"Lucky you." Terrakion grinned. "Scoring a princess and everything."
"Hmph." Cobalion closed his eyes.
"I wish I could score myself a date!" Keldeo groaned. "I'm way older now anyway. Maybe mine's destiny instead of luck! Like my sword!"
"Ah, let's not reach too far, alright?" Virizion teased with little laughter coming from the swords as they continued to chat along the way, heading off to do what they do best. Protect.
Kanto. Vermillion City Hospital. Day. WIthin Ash's mind.
Still unconscious and resting. This is the longest Ash Ketchum has gone without being highly active. On this bright and beautiful day, the shining sun beamed through the windows, focusing all of its attention on him.
But, within Ash's mind, he was doing his best to break free of this unconscious state by focusing his mind and Aura. Ash has been sitting there for days now. To him, it felt like he's been sitting there for at least 4 hours. But, time is a bit different in his head.
All of his Aura had covered his body like some sort of cloak. Ash has said nothing this entire time. The only sound made was the grumbling of his hungry stomach and the flow of Aura.
"Come on..." Ash said to himself. His own mental actions were affecting the outside and his entire body. He was actually capable of fighting back against the Delayed Aura Ataxia.
Outside, Ash's hands were twitching. Both of them. His legs were starting to move as light groans came out of his mouth. And of course, something like this couldn't be ignored.
The doctors and nurses passing by immediately noticed this via the windows and open doors as they rushed into the room in shock.
"Did he just move?!" A nurse exclaimed.
"Only slightly!" The doctor gasped. "It doesn't seem to be a similar case to a Komala. He seems to be doing it continuously."
"Then, what does that mean?" Another nurse asked. "What's causing it?"
"Oh! Maybe he's part Komala? No that's not it..."
"I'm not sure." The doctor shook his head. "But it must be that he's somehow controlling himself in an unconscious state. How that's even possible, that I don't know."
"What should we do then? Does that mean he'll wake up eventually? Should we call Mrs Ketchum and the end the-"
"Hold on." The doctor put his arm out. "Let's not rush it. We'll come back later and see what else develops. But...perhaps it's best that she knows about her son's current actions."
Ash's sudden movements while unconscious was certainly something to behold. Unusual and essentially rare to the point where it has never existed before.
While they were able to see his movements in this state, what they couldn't see was the Aura emanating from his body. But then again, it was faint. However, the vibrance on it was gradually growing.
Ash was doing everything he can to counter this Ataxia problem so that it doesn't become a recurring problem.
Summer is here.
And everyone from both worlds is psyched and excited. Summer is a time where the most freedom can be found under the shining yet scorching sun. Plus, the heat is intensified. For better or for worse.
The days are longer, the nights are shorter, the sun is brighter than ever along with its newfound heat. Whether it's running down a grassy hill, eating some ice cream cones and drinking sodas, anything to beat the heat.
And in summer, Pokemon seem to be more abundant than ever. As if they weren't already. Summer Form Deerling and Sawsbuck were now present due to their usual season-changing abilities.
Naturally, over at Ponyville, they've already gotten a headstart of things. Thanks to Togekiss and Pikachu helping with an early summer setup, Ponyville was more than prepared for summer.
"Haha!" Rainbow Dash burst through the doors of her home, letting the summer sun dazzle on her. Out of the door, Braviary, Castform and Altaria were with her. Due to it being summer, Castform's cells had already reacted to the heat, transforming him into his Sunny Form. "Summertime! I've been waiting for this more than anything! Let's do all the best stuff there is summer, okay you guys?"
"Braviary!"
"Altaria!"
"Castform!"
"I hear there are some super rare Pokemon during summer. Let's go check it out. Having a 7th partner would be the best!" Rainbow Dash, eager to get out there, flew off with Braviary, Altaria and Castform following her.
Flying-Types, already a very common type, could be seen flying around under the summer sun next to their fellow airborne individuals AKA every other pegasus.
A major bonus for the Flying-Types in summer was that since the heat is so intense, Ice-Types which are super-effective against Flying-Types are less likely to be seen. They can't stand the heat so Trainers usually keep Ice-Types in colder areas or just in their Poke Balls.
And speaking of which, over at the Pokemon House, Zecora, who was currently staying with Fluttershy alongside Team Rocket, for the time being, her Weavile was hiding inside of the Pokemon House to avoid the heat.
"Weavile..." The Sharp Claw Pokemon sighed while hiding in the building, feeling the heat all over him. Zecora was there to tend to her Pokemon. She knew of a way to have Ice-Types live in the heat despite their weakness to it. After all, aside from Fluttershy, Nurse Joy and Pokemon researchers, she's not the only one studying Pokemon deeply.
And speaking of Fluttershy, the pegasus was currently watching Scorbunny and every other Fire-Type Pokemon take in the sunlight by just standing or sitting in one spot. The same goes for Grass-Types. While they share a weakness to Fire like Ice-Types, they can also draw on it for strength.
"What are they doing?" Jessie asked.
"They're taking in the sunlight. Fire-Types and Grass-Types can gain a lot out of the sun, especially during the summer from what I've found out. This way, they can gain energy faster that'll last for months until summer's over.
"Scorbun..."
"Chiko..."
"They'll be doing this a lot for a while. But as an extra benefit, even the tired Fire-Type scan stay awake longer with all of this energy."
"That reminds me. Last night, what was wrong with that Chikorita?" James pointed at Chikorita. "It's been sleepwalking for a while now. Three times in a row."
"Oh, that? Sorry about that. Chikorita tends to do that. I've been keeping an eye on her recently along with her fate-changing leaf. Audino's been doing it before me though."
"Fate changing leaf?" Team Rocket said as their attention had been drawn in.
"Mhm. Chikorita can change fate itself by using the leaf on her head. If something horrible is about to happen, a piece of the leaf comes off and changes the fate of somepony she cares about. But she's not conscious when doing it. Only at night." Fluttershy explained.
"...Huh. A moment!" Jessie whistled as she and Team Rocket moved away from Fluttershy, entering a group huddle. "Do you hear that? A Chikorita that changes fate?"
"Why is it always the twerps and twerpettes that get the special Pokemon...?" James sighed.
"This is a find in a million...!" Meowth exclaimed. "Think about what a Pokemon like that can do for the boss."
"Like what?" Jessie and James asked.
"Picture this."
Meowth's own imagination about Giovanni.
Just imagine the boss, being the go-getter he is as he's venturing out there on his own. If he's out there in some big landscape like a tundra with a blizzard, he's gonna have a hard time getting through. All that snow's gonna push him back to maybe his doom. But then that's where Chikorita comes in.
In Meowth's imagination, Giovanni was wearing some hiking gear while walking through a gigantic tundra with an aggressive blizzard. Within that blizzard, Giovanni gets knocked off the highest peak of the mountain, falling and screaming to what might be his end.
"Chiko!" But out came Chikorita from the imaginary Poke Ball.
Before ya know it, Chikorita's leaf comes off and changes everything. With one tap of that plant and all the care in the world for the boss, that falling to his doom part's gonna be wiped off the face of history.
A tiny leaf left Chikorita's main leaf as it connected with Giovanni's hand. Once it did so, a beautiful bright glow covered Giovanni and Chikorita as in a split second, the two of them were safe, appearing on solid ground and far away from the blizzard.
With that leaf, there ain't gonna be any issues with the boss' more daring activities, no problem. Chikorita's gonna be there for him through and through. And with a failsafe Pokemon like her on his side, the boss will say...
"Thanks to that Meowth and friends for giving me this wonderful fate-changing Chikorita, there's nothing too dangerous or extreme I can't do in this world! I am invincible!"
"Chikorita!"
"Like that." Meowth finished his fantasy.
"Ooh...Mm-mm." Jessie nodded in agreement. "That's something for sure. That's worth all the fortune in the world if you really think about it. Hohohoho!"
"Mm..No." James suddenly intervened as he shook his head in disapproval.
"No?" Surprised by his response, Jessie and Meowth turned to their teammate.
"Fluttershy's been too kind to us. Even after all we've done..." James crossed his arms. "Stealing from her doesn't seem right at all. It just doesn't."
"But James...Special Chikorita...?" Jessie nudged James, trying to convince him. But James made up his mind. He wouldn't steal Chikorita. And when James makes up his mind when it comes to Pokemon he refuses to steal, there's no fighting back against him. "Ugh...Fine. No Chikorita."
"Then who's gonna save the boss all the time?" Meowth sighed.
"Is something wrong, Team Rocket?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh no!" They broke up their huddle. "Everything's fine and dandy here!"
"Uh...Okay."
"Audino..." Of course, Audino heard everything. Even with all the whispering. But she also heard James convincing his friends not to steal Chikorita so it was all clear and fine for now.
While the Pokemon at the Pokemon House, aside from the Ice-Types, enjoy the heat while some soak it all in for extra energy, elsewhere in Ponyville, some were planning on heading out for summer.
The best spots to head to are Alola and Undella Town. When it comes to summer, they are the de-facto destinations for any relaxation, especially Alola since it's so expansive.
And among the many ponies who wish to get out there for summer were the Dazzlings. More specifically, Sonata since she was the first to be made aware of summer. If anything, this would be their first summertime fun ever.
"Are you excited like me?!" She said with a beaming grin to her sisters. "I kinda knew about this whole summertime fun thing back at the human world but I didn't get the chance to experience it cause...ya know...Adagio."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Adagio narrowed her eyes.
"Ahem! Anyway! What do you wanna do first?!"
"Isn't summer just relaxing under the sun? Can't we just do that?" Aria asked while holding her Popplio.
"Yeah...but getting out there and doing a bunch of crazy stuff sounds much more fun, huh?" Sonata nudged her older sister. "Plus, I'm even planning to bring along some friends!"
"Huh? Friends?" Adagio's head snapped over.
"Yeah. There's Pinkie Pie, Vinyl, Sunset and...that's pretty much it."
"That's it?" Both Adagio and Aria said.
"Well, I haven't really made a ton of friends ever since I got here, ya know. But I'm getting there! Oh! Let's try heading to Undella Town! That place seems pretty neat for summer!"
"As long as Popplio can practice her singing, doesn't matter where we go. What about you, Adagio? You've wanted to train Kricketot for a while now, haven't you?"
"Hm? Yeah-yeah. Kricketot wants to evolve so that he can sing better and all that. Plus, I don't really care for the places we go to. But...beaches are pretty nice to be at..."
"Then Undella it is!" Sonata put her hooves around her sisters. "I'll see if I can bring everypony else along. Maybe Pinkie's gonna be a bit busy but I know Sunset and Vinyl won't mind! We're gonna have a blast!"
"With more company...?" Adagio sighed as she wasn't exactly the biggest fan of this. But, since she's mellowed down and gradually adjusted herself to Ponyville and Equestria overall, she'll stick around to see how this all plays out.
As long as she gets to spend time with her sisters, she'll be lenient towards anything that comes next. Even if it involves other ponies.
Canterlot. Day.
And of course, like everywhere else, Canterlot is ready for summer. Although, they're not as extravagant as Ponyville or anywhere else. Everypony just accepts that summer is here and they'll just go through every fun moment it has to offer.
But, the first pony in Canterlot, or rather residing there for the meantime, was about to experience some true fun in summer. Back in her world, summer wasn't exactly the best time for her considering her circumstances and who she was taking orders from.
Of course, this was Flurry Heart from another world. But, thankfully, some would guide her through summer. Her first summer. Those two being Celestia and Luna. And to an extent, Premium Polish.
Speaking of Luna, during this time, one of her Pokemon would be undergoing a special action during summertime.
"You'll be concealing yourself even more? Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you conceal yourself in the shadows constantly." Luna was currently speaking to Darkrai.
"I do. But summer...us Darkrai' aren't fond of summer. While we can come out in the day before the sunlight, summer's a different story."
"Oh, Darkrai. You're not going to let a little summer sunlight scare you, hm?" Luna teased the Mythical Pokemon with a cheeky nudge and grin. Darkrai grumbled after being teased, knowing he had to accept his constant dislike for sunshine.
"Tch."
But, while Darkrai would stay further concealed in the shadows, much like the Fire-Types at the Pokemon House and essentially everywhere else, Celestia's Arcanine and Premium's Flareon along with Luna's own Fire-Type Pokemon were enjoying the summer sun. And to an extent Luna's Grass-Types.
Drawing energy from the sun was what they needed. This is a Fire-Types favourite time of the year. And the best part, it lasts for months instead of one day.
However, there was one Pokemon in particular who was arguably getting the best out of the sunlight. A Pokemon of Legendary status who was resting and healing in the Canterlot Garden.
Reshiram.
This is what Reshiram needed. His healing was a bit slow but with the sun, that could change. Reshiram is part fire so this was a gigantic benefit for him.
Reshiram's eyes widened as he could feel the solar rays fuel his body. His healing process was being boosted at a breakneck pace, one that was able to bring back a majority of his strength.
And knowing that, Reshiram stood up from the ground at last with his eyes flashing blue. The Vast White Pokemon immediately towered over Canterlot Castle with his rise as everyone's attention was directed towards the Dragon-Fire-Type.
Reshiram, back to at least 40% strength, let out a majestic roar that could be heard far and wide. He also let out a blazing shine from his body by emitting a flaming aura. Reshiram's roar was intimidating at first, but once it was fully heard, it was beautiful to the ears.
Celestia and everypony gawked at Reshiram as the ruler of Equestria quickly flew out of the window to meet with him, face to face.
"Reshiram!" Celestia exclaimed, appearing before the Vast White Pokemon. "You seem better than ever! Are you fully restored now?"
"Princess. Thank you. But not yet. Just near half strength. I'm thankful that summer had arrived, it's a massive benefit for me and other Fire-Type Pokemon. The heat of the summer sun fuels our energy even further and even makes recovering easier."
"Oh." Celestia nodded as she turned to her Arcanine. "Is that why Arcanine is so hyperactive today?"
"Arcanine!"
"Now that I am in a better state, I can assist you in whatever scenarios there are. More specifically, the other worlds."
"About that. Shouldn't you be getting back to your world? To restore the balance."
"With how things are, sadly no. Ghetsis has already taken my world for his own, adding it to his rule. The same goes for other Legendary Pokemon he has captured. Until Ghetsis is defeated and all worlds are freed, I cannot rest or return. This is why I offered to assist you in the first place. I'll gladly fight alongside those working towards a similar goal to mine. A goal that holds truth.
"Ah. Well, if that's the case. Then it's a pleasure to have your assistance, Reshiram." Celestia held her hoof out, trying to shake Reshiram's claw.
While it would seem impossible considering the stark size difference between the two of them, Reshiram was able to actually shake Celestia's hoof by moving his claw forward along with his wing.
"On that topic...There's something I want to test if that's okay with you."
"Hm?"
"Ghetsis...or rather that scientist Colress had planted many spycams across Equestria. Due to all the constant Pokemon battling and the Dynamax Crisis and so on, many if not all of those spycams had been destroyed. But, I've learned that new ones had appeared as of late, proving that they're still spying on us. Ghetsis obviously wants you back, doesn't he?"
"I've read his soul. He would most definitely do anything to retrieve what was taken from him."
"Then...I was thinking that we could draw him in. Since he's searching for you and the second Pokemon that was taken from the airship if he was to ever see you out in the open somewhere..."
"He'll immediately take action and an opportunity to take me back." Reshiram finished her sentence before letting out an approving smile. "I can see what you're planning. It is perilous considering how powerful Ghetsis is but...I can see that you're not lacking in that class, are you?"
"I'll admit. Whenever I'm focusing on plans surrounding Ghetsis, I get a little tense considering my unpleasant experiences with him and Team Plasma, but that's no longer a major fear of mine. I'll do anything to protect my subjects and all of Equestria."
"I see. Then, I shall take part in this plan of yours. There is more to it, isn't there?"
"Oh, there is. Even if we can't bring Ghetsis out, we can always have someone else from Team Plasma. One of which we're aiming to capture is Colress. And for that...I'll need extra assistance for this."
Ponyville, Twilight's lab.
"Pikachu!" Taking in the freshness of the summer air, Pikachu let out a loud and relaxing sigh along with the rest of Ash's Pokemon who were all under Twilight's care at the moment.
As for Twilight herself, she had just recently opened up the door to PokePark, allowing the summer breeze to flow through. One thing that greatly confused Twilight was how an entire region was beyond the door and had been built with the lab. BigTime Ben was the only one with that answer.
Absol, unlike his teammates, chose to sit by instead of getting out there. He was a bit similar to Darkrai only he doesn't hide in the shadows.
"How does a summer party here first sound before we head off to Undella? I wanna try living in those villas for a while." Twilight spoke to her Pokemon and Ash's.
"Pikachu!"
"Espeon!"
But before Twilight and the others could get out there, have a quick party as organized by Togekiss originally and check out Undella Town in the summer, the perfect time to be there, someone was running towards her with important news. News that concerned a very close friend.
That was Delia Ketchum.
"Hm? Mrs Ketchum?" Twilight noticed Delia running up to her from the horizon.
"Pikachu?"
"Pikachu! Twilight!" Delia cried out as she came to a screeching halt by sliding. The summer heat already made her sweat the minute she even tried anything fast-paced as she breathed in and out.
Right now, a surprising revelation had been made at the hospital, concerning Ash. Recently, the doctors and nurses have discovered Ash having sudden movements while unconscious. It was unlike anything they've ever seen before.
The closest a discovery like this has come to be is in the form of Komala, the Drowsing Pokemon. A Pokemon that never wakes up and all the tossing and turning it does in its sleep are just dreams that it has. But for Ash, it's a different story. Deep within his mind, he's utilizing Aura itself to fight back against the Delayed Aura Ataxia. But the doctors and nurses weren't aware of this being the cause of Aura.
And of course, Delia was made aware of this, who quickly informed Pikachu, the rest of Ash's Pokemon and Twilight to come over and see this. Over the past few minutes, developments had been made concerning Ash's status.
"Ash!" Twilight burst into the room with Pikachu.
"Pikapi!"
And once they showed up, it was revealed that Ash in this odd state between conscious and unconscious at the same time. A bit of a rarity if anything.
"Hey, guys." Ash greeted his friends as Pikachu hopped into Ash's arms. His eyes were semi-closed as so far, only his arms could move.
"Are you alright?!" Twilight jumped on the hospital bed. "Are you better now?!"
"Slow down there, my little pony." The doctor said. "Your friend is in a bit of an odd mix. We're not sure what it is. He seems to be fine but...it's hard to describe."
"Huh?"
"Pika?"
"The doctors here said that Ash in a strange mishmash of health." Delia walked up to Twilight. "It's like he's alternating between different states of mind."
"Mhm." The doctor adjusted his glasses. "It's not really common here, to be honest. Or even something we've seen before. We're not sure why this is happening. Usually, when someone's unconscious, they're unconscious and when they're conscious...well, you know the rest. But Ash here is a different story. Almost as if something's keeping him-"
"It's Aura!" Twilight cut the doctor off as Lucario nodded in confirmation.
"Lucario."
"What?" The doctor paused.
"The issue was Delayed Aura Ataxia that caused all of this. So Ash's Aura is most likely the cause of it. I read about it and everything!"
"Uh..." He narrowed his eyes. "Seems that there's a lot we don't know yet, huh?"
"Yeah...I've been working hard to find a way around it," Ash spoke as all the attention was focused on him. "I swear I'm gonna get past this Aura Ataxia thing."
"That's not possible, Ash!" Twilight shook her head. "It's a permanent side effect from what we found out. Maybe you can...I don't know...hold it back a bit?"
"Yeah maybe. But I won't stop trying. Plus..." Ash sat up. "I think I can move a bit better now. All this focus has really been paying off I think."
"Are you sure?" Twilight asked. "Don't you think you should get some more rest?"
"Well, he's the first case that's been like this." The doctor said, raising a finger. "We've concluded that he can most certainly move freely. Usually, that's not the case."
"Oh yeah!" Ash nodded as he jumped out of the bed. "I've been doing a bunch focus in my head about Aura. I even met uh...someone unexpected."
"Oh, it makes me so happy to see you so energetic again!" Delia rushed over to her son, lifting him off from the floor with a hug. "But don't push yourself so much next time! But then again...that's something that won't happen, will it?"
"Hehehe!" Ash laughed. "I'll take it easier this time, mom."
"For the time being, we recommend you come back to the hospital frequently." suggested the doctor. "Your condition is...well, it's not like it's going away forever. You still need to make a full recovery. Even though...you look energetic at the moment."
"Sure." Ash gave a thumbs up. "So, it's summer right now, right?"
"Oh, it is! We were about to have a summer party very soon. And then we're heading for Undella Town to check out those villas and...well, I haven't figured out the rest yet. But you should come to the party."
"Yeah! I wouldn't wanna miss this! It's great seeing you all again." Ash looked at Pikachu and everyone as Dragonite got teary-eyed, glad that her trainer was up and active again.
Showing all her love along with the rest of Ash's Pokemon, minus Farfetch'd, they all flocked to their trainer with Dragonite starting a gigantic group hug before they all crowded him.
"Dragonite!"
"Luca!"
"Gengar!"
"Ow-ow-ow!" Ash winced. "Guys! I'm still a bit sore here!"
"Thank you very much, doctor." Delia bowed to the doctor, thanking him for taking care of her son.
"Ah, no worries. Besides, we should thank you as well, Mrs Ketchum, and um...T-Twilight Sparkle, right?"
"That's me yes."
"Right. If we weren't aware of this Delayed Aura Ataxia issue, we might've been unprepared for any other patients that may have the same issue. Since you know a lot about it, would you be so kind as to help us in the hospital? Or at least, give us some information about it."
"Oh. I can write down every important thing about Aura from the book I had. Everything including Lucario too." Twilight offered to assist the hospital.
"Great!" The doctor gave a thumbs up. "It's a bit embarrassing that we here at Vermillion City Hospital aren't that aware of this Aura problem. I mean, Sir Aaron and his Lucario lived here in Kanto, Rota, years ago."
"Do you not get Lucario's here often?" Twilight asked.
"They aren't native to Kanto after all. Only Sir Aaron's Lucario existed here. Other than that, Lucario's a rare Pokemon and we've never gotten this Aura Ataxia problem before. But if another one just so happens to come by here, we'll be ready, hopefully. It's not too clear on how this problem really works." The doctor shrugged. "But anyway, you go on your merry way now. We'll be seeing you back soon here, Ash. And bring your Lucario with you."
"Right." Ash turned around his Pokemon broke off the hug. He would be back for daily checkups with the addition of Lucario now that this whole Aura Ataxia thing has been revealed.
Ponyville, Twilight's castle. Afternoon.
With Ash being awake, everyone took notice. They greeted him back, but no one greeted him more than those waiting inside of the castle. The friends that he tends to adventure with the most.
"Welcome back, Ash!" Pinkie Pie bellowed at Ash while everyone welcomed him back.
"Great to be back. And I'm feeling pretty good right now." Ash responded. "But I've still gotta go back to the hospital for checkups."
"Aww, really?" The CMC sighed.
"Yeah. Sorry, sorry." Ash scratched the back of his hair. "But I swear I'm gonna get through this Ataxia problem. I've already been focusing a bunch on my Aura."
"Really?" Fluttershy asked.
"Mhm. I wasn't too deep into Aura, even when I first learned about it when meeting Sir Aaron's Lucario for the first time. Maylene, Riley, Korinna and everyone else with a Lucario obviously know a lot more than I do about it. So, I figured I'd do the same. It's how I got myself to wake up in the first place."
"You woke up from what would seemingly be a 2 or 3-week unconscious just by focusing your Aura?" Rarity squinted her eyes while pouting her lip out. "I would be surprised but...it's only natural."
"It doesn't say anything about that being possible." Twilight had the page about Aura present with her. "Maybe it's another book?"
"Any more thinking and I'll have this whole Aura thing down-pat." Ash tapped his head. "But anyway, I wanna get this summer party started, ya know."
"Hmm..." Applejack and Rarity suddenly narrowed their eyes gazing at Ash as they could feel like something was missing from him.
"Uh...W-What is it?" Ash wondered why the two of them were giving him such a focused stare as he laughed nervously.
"For starters...seeing you without a hat ain't doing it for us." Applejack pointed her hoof at Ash's hair. Ever since the incident, the hat he was frequently seen with was gone. In another universe and everything. Now just his hair remained visible.
"And you're not thinking of going through summer with that shirt are you?" Rarity deduced.
"Hm?" Ash tugged his shirt while feeling his hair. "Heh. Guess so. It is pretty boiling right now."
"No need to worry." Rarity let out a confident smile. "We have the perfect answer for this."
Deciding to switch Ash's appearance up a bit, both Rarity and Applejack had already chosen Ash's summer getup for him. Mainly the shirt and hat. Ash's long-sleeved shirt wouldn't work in the summer, unfortunately. Until summer is over, he would need something shorter.
Besides, before Equestria, Ash always wore fewer sleeves with all of his other clothes, so it was a bit nostalgic.
And Ash without a hat is something surreal and uncanny. Just like how Applejack is mostly known for wearing her hat all of the time, the same goes for Ash, who has numerous hats.
After minutes of selecting and swapping, Ash had a shorter shirt that resembled the one he always used to wear and a hat that was a mixture of his Sinnoh and Unova hat.
"There. All is right in the world." Rarity felt satisfied as Applejack nodded in agreement.
"Thanks, Rarity. Applejack." Ash adjusted his new hat. "This'll do for summer for sure. Totally gonna keep this hat on though."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder, liking the new hat himself.
"Okay! Let's get this started! You guys can tell me what you've been up to recently." Ash walked forward as this summer party was about to begin. Everyone had a lot to tell Ash with their own little adventures, especially Spike who had a big adventure out of everyone else here.
Ash got to experience the taste of food once more. Some made by his mom and some made by Pinkie Pie. He was also told by Spike's adventure and how he got to battle Kyurem himself as well as obtaining new teammates, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie going up against air itself and a bit more.
"By the way Ash..." Twilight looked over at Ash. "Not sure if you know this by now, but I think Reshiram's here in Equestria."
"Mmmrph?!" That caught Ash off guard as he almost choked on his food. He swallowed the food before turning to Twilight in shock. "Reshiram?!"
"Pikachu?!"
Pyrestar's world, the Harmonia Kingdom. Colress' lab.
Speaking of Reshiram, aside from the second Reshiram being kept in here along with other Legendaries and Mythical Pokemon, very soon, Colress was about to come in contact with another one. One that used to be here.
Ghetsis had gone off to another universe, just to capture himself another Pokemon for further pans. Meaning that Colress was in charge of everything in the meantime as always.
Colress had indeed planted new spycams all across Equestria. Even if the previous ones were destroyed, new ones could be deployed. And the same goes for the current ones. However, Colress didn't have a full view of Equestria since more spycams were being made. Most of what he had on his monitors were just landscapes.
And on one of those monitors, something shocking had shown itself.
"What?! Reshiram!" Colress stared at the monitor before his eyes as the Legendary Vast White Pokemon Reshiram was standing out there in a grassy landscape somewhere in Equestria. But, that wasn't actually the surprising part.
There were two Reshiram.
Two of the same Legendary Pokemon in the same spot just casually standing about like nothing important is going on. Obviously, this threw Colress for a loop.
"Don't tell me...They've somehow managed to obtain their own Reshiram have they?" Colress gulped. He then noticed that each of the two Reshiram were starting to move. They flapped their wings, taking to the skies for a midair flight.
From what Colress could deduce, the Reshiram didn't have anyone else near them. They were by themselves without a Trainer, showing that they were going solo.
Seeing their sudden movements, Colress had to alert Team Plasma immediately. Another capture mission was needed while Ghetsis was on his own.
"Attention! All Team Plasma personnel. Head to the other Equestria! There are currently two Reshiram out there moving!" Colress explained as he gave further instructions to the team. The grunts all got moving, getting their equipment and gear ready. Capturing a Legendary Pokemon requires the utmost skill and resources.
One of these resources were the giant blimps that Team Plasma own. And another, their best resource yet was the Plasma Frigate. However, that was undergoing repairs after what Jackie and Bon Bon did, so the blimps will have to do for now.
For a Pokemon as a giant as Reshiram, blimps are needed. The grunts obtained what they needed, especially the necessary utilities. The blimps had been started up with the Travel Spheres all loaded.
Team Plasma knew what they needed to do. Over these past few months, they've grown exponentially. More than they ever did in Unova. Colress would be assisting with the capture of the two Reshiram for safety. They couldn't be too safe with this. Plus, Ghetsis would be happy to learn about the retrieval of not one but two Reshiram after this is all said and done.
After everything was set up, the gateway had opened with the blimps flying through. Two of them in total. Each for the two Reshiram.
They had entered the other Equestria, ready to capture some Legends. They positioned the Travel Sphere so that it would follow the direction of where the three Reshiram were flying to.
Once that was done, the blimps and the gateway appeared behind the three Reshiram, flying out and casting a giant shadow over the landscape.
The two Reshiram then turned around, hearing the gateway as Team Plasma was here. Afterwards, the two of them suddenly stopped flying together. They descended, landing on a flat grassy surface instead of continuing their aerial movements.
"They've stopped?" The grunt noticed.
"Perhaps one of those Reshiram knows about us," Colress responded as he was inside the blimp that was in the middle. He adjusted his glasses, gazing at the three Reshiram. "The others might've already encountered their own Team Plasma. I suspect that they don't trust us one bit."
"So then...?"
"So then we can use force without a doubt. Capture those three Reshiram immediately." Colress ordered as Team Plasma each saluted.
However, they weren't lowering the blimp or even exiting it. Instead, they were going to perform the capture in the air whilst inside the blimp. And they had the objects to do so. The first blimp had aimed its focus onto the first Reshiram they saw. Both Reshiram were lined up in a specific order. One was in the front and the other in the back for an odd reason.
Out of the blimp, large steel chains with multiple Pokemon onboard came flying out all of a sudden. The Pokemon onboard were mostly Poison and Dark-Types. The Poison-Types were here for one reason.
To poison Reshiram.
On the chains, the poison was already present. Since poison can't affect metal, covering the chains in poison was an easy way to quickly poison an opponent without having to do all of the hard work like Pokemon moves. And the Dark-Types were there to play dirty as always. However, when the chains flew over and came close to touching the first Reshiram, the unexpected happened.
Reshiram transformed.
More specifically, it scaled down to a minuscule size while changing shape instead of retaining its usual draconic shape. throwing everyone off course. The chains had missed due to this sudden size change.
"What the?!" Team Plasma gasped along with the Pokemon. It was soon revealed which Pokemon was responsible for this. None other than the Illusion Fox Pokemon.
Zoroark.
"Zo-Zo-Zo!" Zoroark chuckled as it ran off, knowing it had tricked them successfully.
"Zoroak?! Just a fluke...?" Colress gawked.
"Right where we want you!" Suddenly, a voice roared at them. From behind the last Reshiram, Princess Celestia had emerged.
With a confident smile on her face and further throwing Team Plasma off, she knew what was bound to happen next. Zoroark had returned to its original trainer as it was soon revealed who it belonged to.
It was Hollow's Zoroark as he was hiding behind a hill. It wasn't just Hollow hiding behind a hill. Guards from Canterlot as well were playing it secretive while having their Golurk ready for the right moment to apprehend the grunts.
"Nice work, Zoroark." Hollow gave a high-five to his partner.
"Zoroark!" Once that part of the plan happened, the second and seemingly real Reshiram had used one of its moves.
Blue Flare.
Reshiram fired a powerful and gigantic stream of light blue flames that could scorch the earth itself from its mouth. However, it seemed to hold it back and for good reason.
The stream of light blue flames moved so fast that they not only melted the chains in seconds, but they had hit the end of the blimps. All three of them.
The blimps of Team Plasma had their back parts blown away by Blue Flare, causing immediate problems. One of which was that Reshiram's flames were so hot that they could spread like wildfire. And that's exactly what they were doing. The light blue flames were already starting to consume the blimps like a black hole.
Not just that, but the flames were so wide and expansive that they even passed through the gateway, reaching Pyrestar's world and the Harmonia Kingdom.
The flames spread out into small fireballs, raining down onto the Harmonia Kingdom and immediately melting away parts of it. However, it was brief since they were leftover flames. But the damage was still there. Especially for Colress' lab.
The flames broke through the ceiling with ease, landing near the lab as some of the technical and mechanical equipment was caught up in Reshiram's flames. But not all of them.
"Now!" Celestia shouted as she had used her magic around the blimps after Reshiram had fired them. Her golden aura meshed with the light blue flames of Blue Flare.
And it was quickly revealed what was up with the first Reshiram. From the corner of Colress' eye, he spotted Celestia's Gardevoir also known as Passion, was the cause of this.
She had used her Psychic abilities to create an illusion, proving that it was just a fake. That was why it was the first Reshiram that was ahead of the second. A decoy.
"Why that...!" Colress growled as his body, along with all of Team Plasma's had been caught by Celestia's magic. Even if she wasn't on the same level as Reshiram, she was still stronger than almost every other creature in Equestria. Especially with that Boundless Cutie Mark.
Speaking of which, the Boundless Cutie Mark was glowing as it responded to Celestia's magic and Reshiram's Blue Flare. Not wanting to be caught up in the destruction of the blimps, all members of Team Plasma plan to get out of here as soon as they could with the Travel Spheres.
However, thanks to Reshiram's flames burning away most of the blimp's interior, Celestia could see that they were all planning on using the spheres.
"I don't think so!" Celestia declared as she had used her magic to grab all of the nearby Travel Spheres. Thanks to that Boundless Cutie Mark, she was the only pony in Equestria that could interact with anything Rift related. Minus the Rift Ponies.
Celestia concentrated as hard as she could, raising the Travel Spheres into the air and moving them out of the blimp while the flames raged on. It wasn't just that, Celestia's magic was protecting Team Plasma from taking harm from the flames after knowing what comes next. However, she needed extra help from the incoming explosion.
"Passion! Now!"
"Gardevoir!" Now it was Passion to pull of the next phase of the plan. By using her amazing Psychic powers, the Embrace Pokemon was able to protect everyone with a shield.
Colress grunted as he had a spare Travel Sphere at his disposal. He quickly tapped on it, using its Rift abilities to summon a gateway below him instead of in front like usual. Due to him summoning the gateway below, the scientist immediately dropped through it like a slide, exiting the scene. But he had left the rest of Team Plasma behind.
Both Celestia and Passion had guarded them as the blimps eventually failed, causing a chain reaction of two light blue explosions to happen around them. The blimps had blown up with the grunts safely shielded by the shield of Celestia and Passion.
As for the Pokemon, they had already left the chains after the flames had spread out, landing on the ground. However, they would have to deal with the real Reshiram, Zoroark, Passion and Arcanine as well.
The Vast White Pokemon stood before the Pokemon, staring them down with ferocious eyes yet majestic eyes. Plus, Arcanine's strange ability to make anyone entranced by his majestic bark was also something that they had to deal with.
Afterwards, Celestia and Passion had dropped the grunts on the ground after saving them from the explosion of the blimps. As for the blimps themselves, they had a less pleasant landing. In fact, they didn't have a landing at all. The explosion had essentially disintegrated them, making them non-existent.
Once that was said and done, out of the rest of the hills, the Canterlot Guards and their Golurk had shown up. Each of the Ground-Ghost-Type had surrounded the grunts along with Reshiram who stood before them all. Naturally, the grunts and the Pokemon were taken aback since they weren't expecting this.
"This whole thing was a trap?!" One grunt exclaimed.
"Honestly...I was hoping it would've gone even further." Celestia sighed. "Originally, the plan was going to be longer...but this is a much better outcome."
"Gardevoir."
"Looks like Luna and Darkrai won't have their chance with the rest of the plan now that it's been cut short. Now, if I were you all, I wouldn't fight back. Reshiram here isn't too pleased with how your boss captured him." Celestia smirked.
"Hmph." Reshiram sneered at the grunts as blue smoke came out of his mouth.
"But...if you do want to resist, we'll gladly challenge you." Celestia spread her wings out as she had all the backup she needed.
A Legendary Dragon-Fire-Type Pokemon that is one half of the strongest Dragon in the world. A special Gardevoir that can fuse with her and reach a strength level that many would dream of. A plethora of Golurk along with guards and an experienced trainer who has many Pokemon at his disposal.
Clearly, this was a problem for the grunts.
And it was made even worse that Luna and Darkrai were present here somewhere. And if Darkrai is here, a Dark Void is inevitable. Or a hypnosis spell from Celestia or Luna would do. Either way, the options were plentiful.
Pyrestar's world, the Harmonia Kingdom.
"Curses!" Colress slammed his hand on the metallic table. The gateway to the other world had closed as his lab was in a bit of a rut right now. Reshiram's Blue Flare had already dealt massive damage to the kingdom from just a few small fireballs and parts of his lab had been affected.
"I can't believe I fell for something like that...Has my intelligence become inconsistent over time...? How am I going to explain this to Lord Ghetsis?"
"You don't need to explain anything any further." Ghetsis had arrived, entering the half-melted lab of Colress.
"Lord Ghetsis!"
"Honestly..." Ghetsis put his hand on his face, letting out a light chuckle. "That Celestia sure knows how to think, doesn't she? I'll give it to her...that decoy plan of hers was simple yet genius. Of course, even a smart guy such as yourself would fall for it."
"Tch..." Colress definitely took that one to heart.
"Well...no need to mope about it. You can just use the spare lab for extra resources."
"Spare lab?"
"Haven't you been keeping track? Your lab still exists in other worlds. Use those until this one is repaired."Ghetsis turned around.
"Wait! What about that other Equestria! What should we do!?"
"I'll plan further ahead. Clearly, they've grown to a point where even our numbers don't matter. Empress Twilight should know since her little invasion was setback by just one alicorn. I'll speak to you once I've made up my mind."
"Y-Yes, Lord Ghetsis."
"I'll admit, this is getting a bit interesting." Ghetsis chuckled as he didn't even seem worried about how things were turning out. As if he had something else brewing in his mind.
Summer and Undella Town go hand in hand with each other. It's the perfect place for anyone to relax during the summer as it's almost the most populated during this season.
Twilight had chosen to come to Undella Town to experience the villas that they hold. And she brought some friends along. Mainly her Pokemon, Ash and Delia. Ash was here after his recent awakening just a few hours ago and Delia was going to spend all the time in the world with her son. Plus Mimey.
It wasn't just them. The Dazzlings had chosen to come here to experience Undella in the summer as well. Mainly Sonata was the one who recommended it. And much to Adagio's dismay, Sonata invited some friends along. Although, it was only one friend. Sunset. The rest were a bit occupied.
"Hello, Undella!" Both Delia and Twilight exclaimed.
"Kinda wish Unova had a unique greeting like Alola. I've gotten a bit addicted to saying Alola now." Twilight grinned.
"I've been waiting for this for a while." Delia rubbed her hands together. "I would've come here 10 years ago but...better late than never."
"Wait. We're staying here for a few days?" Ash scratched his hair. "I gotta head back to the hospital for daily checkups, ya know."
"Pika?"
"It's fine." Twilight turned around. "I mean, you're pretty great at getting to places faster than most of us can think right?"
"Uh guess so..."
"Let's spend as much time as we can in Undella together, okay?" Delia said to her son. "Before you end up fainting again like before. Besides, these villas are so comfortable, they might wipe that Ataxia issue away."
"Hopefully. So, Twilight. You really saw Reshiram? And it's in Canterlot?"
"Sure did. Right when we were headed to Alola and learning about Z-Moves. Matched the appearance and everything."
"Really. I wonder if it was N's...Or was it from another world?"
"It was. Straight from Ghetsis' world. "For the past days now, Princess Celestia's been taking the offensive on both worlds where Ghetsis and that other me reside. But...Queen Pyrestar ended up getting caught doing her best to push the invasion back."
"She got caught?!" Ash suddenly stopped walking after hearing that before turning around. "Then what are we doing?! We should go and save her!"
"Pikapi?"
"Wait, Ash!" Twilight quickly stopped him with her magic, preventing Ash from blitzing off. "I know you want to help Queen Pyrestar right now but Princess Celestia has it covered. Just hold on, okay? You can trust Princess Celestia and Luna."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
Ash prioritized the wellbeing of his friends and family more than anything. If they're in danger, he'll rush there to their safety. However, Twilight insisted that Ash should stay put since Celestia is working on the issue. Plus, she didn't want to see Ash push himself again after the last time he stormed into enemy territory. Even Pikachu and his own mother insisted.
"Alright..." Ash accepted the decision to wait. But he was very eager to go and help her.
"Let's just relax, okay?" Delia put her hand on her son's shoulder. "You deserve the break."
"Yeah, okay." Ash nodded as he walked alongside his mother and Twilight towards the villa. Both Twilight and Delia wanted Ash to take it easy for various reasons. One of which involved his Delayed Aura Ataxia. A seemingly permanent issue, but Ash is working hard to work around it.
1 hour later.
1 hour had gone by and fun was already being had. Mostly by the people and Pokemon of Undella including some ponies as well. All of Ash's Pokemon and Twilight's Pokemon were out having fun in the sun. Most of them anyway. Absol chose to stay inside of the villas along with Farfetch'd. But everyone else was fine with the outside and interacting with everyone else.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu waved at his fellow Pocket Monsters as he ran off with Eve and Ninetales following.
"Espeon!"
"Ninetales!"
Here in Undella, one very important guest tends to come here in the summer. The Champion of Sinnoh, Cynthia, of course. Summer is essentially her safe haven even though trainers constantly head over here since they know where her villa is.
Speaking of Cynthia, she had noticed her fellow champion, Ash, sitting on a table and eating some cookie dough ice cream with Pikachu.
"Ash!" Cynthia waved over.
"Hm?" Ash licked the ice cream off his lips before waving to Cynthia. "Hey, Cynthia!"
"You look better now. Have you fully recovered?"
"Not yet." Ash shook his head. "I gotta do daily checkups. The doctors don't know much about Delayed Aura Ataxia so they're gonna be working on it. Oh, by the way, did you ever experience that before?"
"Me?" Cynthia pointed at herself. "Ah...I think for a bit. I was battling with Lucario once many years ago and I ended up pushing myself too far. I blacked out for at least 2 hours from that. But, I suppose it's not as severe as yours."
"Oh! So then, do you know a way around it?!" Ash leaned forward.
"Sorry. No one does, really." Cynthia shrugged.
"Aww..." Ash sighed, leaning back. "I'm still gonna try and see what I can do."
"By the way...do you have any more of that cookie dough ice cream?" Cynthia was a sucker for anything sweet. Much like how Celesia loves cake, Cynthia loves ice cream.
"Oh yeah. Here you go." Ash gave her the box that had some of the ice cream left. Cynthia had a pleased look on her face as she took a serving for herself before sitting next to Ash.
Excited to eat her favourite type of food, Cynthia already dug into the ice cream as she, Ash and Pikachu were cooling themselves off from the summer sun.
"You know, Ash. If you want to, you can always ask an Aura Guardian for advice. But...those are hard to come by, are they?"
"Yeah." Ash nodded. "I could ask Riley but who knows where he is?"
"Pika-Pika."
"Oh! Maybe those Shrine Maidens from Johto could know something! They know about Aura Guardians after all!" Ash had an idea spark in his head.
"Shrine Maidens?"
"If there's any way I can stop this Delayed Aura Ataxia thing from coming up, I'll take that chance. I wanna protect everyone without even slowing down for once. Pyrestar's already captured and there's probably more happening out there thanks to Team Plasma and that Empire. That's why I can't afford to pass out ever again."
"As always, you have a clear cut goal. If you ever do find a way around it then that'll greatly benefit Aura users such as myself."
"Yeah. And becoming a Pokemon Master means I gotta be in top condition. I've already missed out on some battles when I was unconscious last week. Gonna have to do some catching up if I wanna shoot for Leon. Can't lose to Korinna and the others, after all. Plus, I'm just itching for a battle right now!"
"Then...how about a quick battle here in Undella?" Cynthia offered as she bit into the cone of the ice cream.
"Eh? Really?" Ash stopped eating his ice cream.
"Pika?"
"Really?" She nodded in confirmation. "But perhaps, not something that can push you too far. If you want, you can battle some of the passerby trainers here or...maybe one of your friends?"
"Oh yeah! But uh...I don't think Twilight's still gonna consider battling me. She doesn't really feel like it." Ash chuckled.
"Pika-Pika. Pikachu!" But, Pikachu reassured that Twilight was more than capable now. Over the months, she's gotten stronger. Plus, she's been taking care of Ash's Pokemon while he was unconscious so she's picked up some new tricks of her own.
"Seriously?" Ash turned to Pikachu. "Oh, now I really wanna battle her more than ever!"
"Then it's settled." Cynthia had already finished her ice cream, eating the last of the cone and a tiny cookie chip that was in the ice cream. "It's always fun to see a fellow champion battle anyway."
"Yeah. But I wanna try it anyway."
"Pikachu!"
Approximately 4 minutes later, Ash went up to Twilight, requesting that she have a Pokemon battle with him. To his surprise, Twilight actually accepted his request. Finally.
She was more confident in her skills now as a trainer. And that she wanted to see Ash happy. That too. After accepting Ash's request, a Pokemon battle was about to ensue between two good friends.
Ash stood on the left while Twilight stood on the right. Cynthia would act as the referee while Delia, Togekiss, the Dazzlings and Sunset would watch.
"Everywhere we go we just can't seem to get away from them can we...?" Adagio sighed. Yet again, she was in the same area as Twilight. Not to mention, she was about to watch her battle.
"Then why are you even watching this?" Aria asked.
"Isn't it obvious? I wanna see her lose. Again." Adagio smirked with a light yet devious chuckle.
"Gah. You would." Both Aria and Sunset said.
"Aren't you joining them, Togekiss?" Delia asked Togekiss.
"Toge?" Unfortunately, Togekiss didn't exactly count as Twilight's Pokemon. She didn't have a Poke Ball and she was to be returned to Delphox soon. Although, it's seemingly taking longer than expected.
"Let's make it a three on three battle. I...don't wanna push things too far for Ash, after all," Twilight suggested. "Let's try something laid back, okay?"
"Alright, I gotcha." Ash accepted Twilight's offer. He didn't want to make her worry any further.
"Hm." Cynthia nodded in understanding as she could make the rules. "Alright then. The battle will be a 3 on 3 battle. Both sides will use only three Pokemon each. The battle will be over when either side's three Pokemon are unable to continue. With that, you may both send out your first Pokemon."
"Still a bit nervous but...oh well. You can go first Minccy." Twilight chose her Cinccino as her first Pokemon.
"Cinccino!" The Normal-Type ran ahead.
"Okay. Farfetch'd, you're up first!" Ash turned to Farfetch'd, giving him a thumbs up.
"Far! Farfetch'd!" The Wild Duck Pokemon ran ahead by spinning his leek around, standing in front of Ash as he was ready for a good duel.
"After this battle, I'm gonna challenge the next trainers that come here. Can't get sloppy after all for the Pokemon World Championships." Ash declared.
"Just don't push yourself too far this time? Okay?" Twilight lowered her eyes.
"Uh...I'll try." Ash let out a nervous smile.
"Good luck you two!" Delia cheered along with Sunset and Sonata while Adagio had a different kind of cheering in mind. She just wanted to see Twilight lose. That's all.
"Battle start!"
"Okay, Fartech'd! Use Brutal Swing, go!"
"Far!" Starting first, the Fighting-Type cloaked his large leek in a scarlet darkness before rushing towards the Scarf Pokemon.
"Minccy! Aqua Tail!"
"Ccino!" The Normal-Type covered her tail in a sparkling veil of water as she dashed at the Wild Duck Pokemon. Both Pokemon approached each other before entering an exchange.
Farfetch'd's large leek had collided with Cinccino's tail, creating sparks of darkness and water. After the collision, they separated from each other before Farfetch'd went for another attack. He swung his leek to the side, but the Scarf Pokemon ended up jumping over his lee, going for an overhead attack with Aqua Tail.
Reacting quickly, Farfetch'd put his leek over his head, blocking Aqua Tail from fully connecting. The two of them seemed to reach an impasse before they separated once more.
"Far!"
"Use your oily scarf to repel the attack, Minccy!"
"Cin...!" Instead of continuing the Aqua Tail attack, Cinccino used her scarf for protection. Since a special oil coats her soft white fur, it repels many things such as dust and dirt. It's also capable of deflecting enemy attacks and keeping static electricity at bay.
Once that leek connected, Cinccino adjusted her scarf, deflecting the leek. The impact was heavy but the feeling was smooth, something that was hard to describe. However, the force of Farfetch'd swing was strong enough to cause slight shockwaves through Cinccino's body.
After the collision, not only did the scarf end up protecting Cinccino, but it also knocked the large leek out of Farfetch'd's grasp via its deflective properties.
"Far?!"
"Gotcha! Now strike!"
"Ccino!" Taking the opportunity, the Scarf Pokemon swung Aqua Tail, striking Farfetch'd in the face, forcing him to feel the coldness of the water while also launching him back.
"Fetch'd!"
"Farfetch'd! Recover and grab your leek, quick!"
"Far!" Farfetch'd opened his eyes before sliding on the ground.
"Use Tri Attack on the leek!"
"Cinccino!" However, Cinccino wasn't about to let Farfetch'd retain his weapon. When the Wild Duck Pokemon ran over to grab his leek, the Scarf Pokemon summoned a triangular orb with her paws. From that orb, three beams of various elements flew forward.
Before Farfetch'd could grab his leek, it had been hit by Fire, Ice and Electricity at the same time, causing a tri-explosion that was in the shape of a dome. Farfetch'd gasped as he had been blown back by the explosion.
"F-Fetch'd!" The Wild Duck Pokemon cried out before tumbling on the ground. Ash gasped along with Pikachu and the others as they leaned forward to see the result of the leek.
Once the smoke of three elements cleared, it was obvious that one of the elements left a mark. Farfetch'd's leek had been frozen solid from Tri-Attack, encased in an icy prison.
"There! So much for your weapon." Twilight smirked.
"Cinccino."
"Oh, man." Ash was surprised that Twilight and Cinccino actually went directly for the leek instead of Farfetch'd.
"Smart thinking." Cynthia nodded in approval while Adagio grizzled her teeth.
"Grr! Come on, Ash! Pulverize her!" Adagio cried out.
"So, what now, Ash?" Twilight questioned.
"Heh." But Ash wasn't worried as he adjusted his hat. "It's a good thing we're battling on a sandy place like Undella, huh?"
"Hm?" Twilight tilted her head after hearing that. She expected Ash to be unbothered since he mostly keeps his cool during a battle.
"Alright, Farfetch'd! Let's put those wings to good use! Flap them really hard!"
"Fetch'd!" Instead of going after his leek and freeing it from its icy prison, the Wild Duck Pokemon suddenly began flapping his giant wings that he usually uses to hold his weapon. But, even without the leek, Farfetch'd himself is a weapon.
By aggressively flapping his wings, Farfetch'd was kicking up the sand of Undella Beach itself. He flapped at such speed and strength that was actually managing to lift himself off the ground and sway to the side. And at the same time, he summoned a whirlwind of sand around his body while also raising some of the nearby sand around him like a mini-tsunami.
"Oh!" Twilight quickly realized what Ash and Farfetch'd were trying to do. "Minccy! Thunder, go!"
"Cincc...!" The Scarf Pokemon covered her body in electricity, sparking up the power of an entire storm. She then unleashed a giant blast of lightning that raced towards Farfetch'd, breaking through the sands as well.
"Now!"
"Fetch'd!" By using the last ounce of his strength, Farfetch'd put everything into his wings, causing him to boost to the side instead of further upwards. By moving to the side, Farfetch'd had successfully avoided Thunder and was heading for his leek.
"Right there, Minccy!"
"Ccino!" Cinccino changed directions as she summoned another blast of electricity, shooting it at Farfetch'd for one more try or potential paralysis.
"Okay, put in front of the blast, Farfetch'd!"
"Far!" With blinding speeds, Farfetch'd grabbed the frozen leek with his wings, quickly placing the ice in front of him as a shield. But it would act more than just a shield.
Once Thunder reached Farfetch'd, the blast of furious lightning bolts ended up crashing into the ice instead. Farfetch'd closed his eyes as some of the electricity got to him, but he stood firmly on the ground.
Thanks to the amazing power of Thunder, the ice had been shattered, freeing the leek from its icy prison as that was Ash's plan in the first place. Farfetch'd was now at his best.
"Farfetch'd!"
"Oh!" Twilight gasped.
"Hehe! Alright, time for a counterattack! Night Slash!" Ash clawed the air.
"Far...Fetch-Fetch-Fetch'd!" By lighting his leek up, the Wild Duck Pokemon swung it around, sending multiple white blades of energy towards Cinccino.
"Focus Blast!"
"Ccino..." The Scarf Pokemon closed her eyes as she put her paws out, summoning a light blue ball of energy. She then launched it forward, causing it collided against the blades. But instead of cancelling each other out, Focus Blast prevailed, breathing through the blades and heading straight for the Fighting-Type.
"Hit it back with Fury Cutter!"
"Fetch'd!" Farfetch'd lunged at the ball of mental energy coming his way. With a loud battle cry, the Wild Duck Pokemon's leek glowed green as he smashed it against the ball.
With sheer power, Farfetch'd was able to smack the ball right back at Cinccino like a baseball, causing the sand around him to rise.
"Use your scarf to defend yourself!"
"Cinccino!" The Scarf Pokemon closed her eyes, putting her scarf up to defend against her own attack. Once Focus Blast reached, it struck Cinccino head-on with a bright blue explosion emerging from the impact.
The smoke filled the area with Twilight's mane blowing in the wind while Ash held his hat to keep it from flying off. Afterwards, the smoke cleared, revealing the condition of Cinccino.
She had fainted. The scarf just wasn't strong enough at the point.
Cinccino..."
"Cinccino is unable to battle! Farfetch'd wins!" Cynthia declared.
"Yes!" Ash jumped for joy. "Great work, Farfetch'd!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Far."
"Haha!" Adagio sat up. "That's what I like to see!"
"Can you calm down...?" Sunset gave Adagio an odd look on her face.
"Thanks, Minccy. Return and get some good rest." Twilight returned her partner. "You did well, okay?"
"Okay. Do you wanna stay in Farfetch'd?" Ash asked.
"Farfetch'd!" The Wild Duck Pokemon would gladly stay in. He hasn't taken too much damage anyway.
"Then in that case...how about this? Up you go, Ninetales!" Twilight chose Ninetales as her second choice.
"Nine! Ninetales!"
"Ninetales, huh? Watch out for that Extrasensory, Farfetch'd!" Ash warned him.
"Far."
"Hey...shouldn't we be worried about like one thing?" Sunset noticed that something was off. Or rather, something unfortunate might happen next.
"Like what, Sunny?" Sonata asked.
"Well...If it's all five Pokemon...what about him?" She pointed her hoof at the Aura Pokemon, Lucario, who was currently biding his time with his arms crossed.
"Who, Lucario?" Aria moved her head to the side. "What about Lucario?"
"If Ash battles with him, won't that increase his condition with Aura?" Sunset wondered. "I'm not sure if this is a good idea."
"He doesn't seem too bothered by it so I'm sure it's fine." Aria shrugged as she wasn't thinking too much about it. But Sunset was and especially Delia, Cynthia and Twilight. If anything, they were nervous about when Lucario ends up having his turn.
That is if he gets his turn.
"Okay, okay! Let's go for Brutal Swing, Farfetch'd!"
"Fetch'd!" By cloaking his leek in shadows, Farfetch'd bolted forward towards the Fox Pokemon.
"Ninetales, use Extrasensory!"
"Nine!" Ninetales' nine tails stood up along with his hair as his eyes shined gold, releasing a rainbow-coloured beam from his eyes.
"Use the dark aura from Brutal Swing to nullify it!"
"Farfetch'd!" By utilizing Dark's immunity to Psychic, Farfetch'd used the dark aura around his leek, placing it forward as it had nullified the Psychic beam. Extrasensory had been cancelled out, failing due to Farfetch'd's nullification. "Far!"
After the attack had been nullified and Ninetales' eyes stopped glowing, Farfetch'd slammed his leek onto the Fox Pokemon's head, causing a loud smashing noise to occur while Ninetales' face and head shook from the impact.
"T-Tales!"
"Grab him with your tails!"
"Nine!" But after recovering quickly from such a heavy hit, Ninetales opened his eyes with a wide glared before turning around. The Fox Pokemon used all nine of his tails to suddenly catch Farfetch'd after the impact of Brutal Swing. The tails had wrapped around him like vines, covering his entire body due to the size difference.
"Far!" Farfetch'd gasped before his voice became muffled in the tails.
"Oh!" Ash and Pikachu pulled back.
"Pika?!"
"You're the one who taught me this, Ash. Sometimes a Pokemon's own body is their greatest weapon." Twilight smirked, using Ash's lessons to full use. After all, Cinccino was a good example of a Pokemon using their natural body to their advantage with that oily scarf. "Heat yourself, Ninetales!"
"Ninetales!" While holding Farfetch'd, the Fox Pokemon then increased his own body heat. Right all the way up to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. A heat equal to that of lava.
"F-F-Far!" And obviously, Farfetch'd was definitely feeling it. The heat wasn't kind to him as even his leek was starting to feel these blazing effects. At the end of the day, it's a leek. Just a plant. A very sturdy plant.
And it didn't help that it was summer so the heat was already harsh enough. Plus, Fire-Types like Ninetales are stronger than ever in summer. It's safe to say that Ninetales was in his prime right now.
"That looks like it stings!" Sonata winced as she held her Eevee and Buneary close.
"Eevee!"
"Buneary!"
"Tch! That's nothing. That Ash guy's known for thinking out of the box right?" Adagio kissed her teeth while crossing her hooves, wanting Ash to absolutely come out on top.
But she was right. Ash always comes up with something in dire situations. Good or bad. He let out a smirk, already having an idea. A simple one but effective either way.
"Sorry about this, Ninetales. Bite the tails!"
"F-Far...! Fetch'd!" While being punished with heats equal to lava, the Wild Duck Pokemon was about to do something that might harm his beak. But, he didn't care. By opening his beak as wide as he could, which wasn't much considering how thick the tails were, the Fighting-Type bit hard onto one of Ninetales' tails with the tip of his beak.
"N-NINE!" And Ninetales most definitely felt that as he let out a howl while wincing. Due to that immediate bite, his grip on Farfetch'd loosened, causing the Wild Duck Pokemon to have a better chance of breaking free.
And break free he did. By gripping onto his leek, Farfetch'd spun around as hard as he could, blowing the tails away as he freed himself from Ninetales' blazing hold.
"Farfetch'd!"
"Ninetales! Are you okay?!" Twilight gasped.
"T-Tales! Tales!" Ninetales pranced around on the spot, blowing on the spot where Farfetch'd bit him. A little bite mark could be seen as Ninetales stopped prancing with the pain soothing down.
"Hehe!" Ash grinned. "Okay! Use Night Slash!"
"Farfetch'd! Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd chose to stay back with Night Slash via multiple white blades being swung out of his leek.
"Dodge and use Hidden Power Dragon!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales, using his swift feet, bolted to the side, avoiding the incoming white blades before covering his own body in a bluish and purple aura. The Fox Pokemon then opened his mouth, summoning a blue and purple light that had the eyes of a dragon inside.
"Here it comes! Get ready, Farfetch'd!"
"Far!" Farfetch'd put his leek behind his back, ready for whatever comes his way.
"Nine!" Out of Ninetales' mouth, a giant blue and purple blast came flying out with the sound of a dragon roaring. It even had draconic energy inside.
"Now surf on it with your leek!"
"I beg your pardon?!" Twilight was thrown back by that command.
"Fetch!" In an unexpected approach, Farfetch'd lunged himself like a rocket while locking his eyes onto the leek. Then, by placing the leek underneath him and using his feet to step on it as a platform, the Wild Duck Pokemon began surfing on the beam of draconic energy itself as if it was a wave. This would allow Farfetch'd to get close to Ninetales and catch him off guard for sure.
"Now, use Night Slash!"
"Far!" Farfetch'd readied himself to grab his leek at the right moment as he was closing in on Ninetales.
"Not good! Ninetales, pull back and use Extrasensory, go!" Twilight ordered in a hurry.
"Tales!" Knowing what was coming, Ninetales quickly ended Hidden Power Dragon, causing the leek surfing to come to an end. The Fox Pokemon then looked up, turning his eyes into a beautiful golden colour.
But it was too late to retaliate.
"Fetch'd!" Farfetch'd had already gotten too close thanks to him using Ninetales' own attack as transportation. Once in the face of the Fox Pokemon, Farfetch'd began wildly swinging his leek, smacking the Fire-Type in the face repeatedly. "Far! Far! Far!"
"Nine-Nine!"
"Far...Fetch'd!" After 12 consecutive hits, Farfetch'd ended it off with his last swing, smacking Ninetales with sheer strength. Ninetales had actually slid back from that.
"Mystical Fire!"
"Ninetales!" After sliding back, Ninetales shook his head from the hard-hit he was given from Farfetch'd. The Fox Pokemon then opened his mouth, pulling his head back before firing a red-orange stream of magical flames.
"Block it!"
"Far!" Farfetch'd quickly put his leek out in front of him, using its sturdiness to try and block the flames. Mystical Fire crashed onto the leek with flames spreading out. The leek had split it into two while the flames poured on. The Wild Duck Pokemon gripped onto his leek tightly, making sure that it would not move.
"Move in Ninetales!"
"Nine!" Suddenly, while still using Mystical Fire, Ninetales ran in, closing the gap between him and Farfetch'd as the range of Mystical Fire was getting smaller.
"Far?!"
"We'll close that gap immediately! Go Ninetales!"
"I don't think so! Now, Farfetch'd! Brutal Swing! Forward!"
"F-Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd cloaked his leek in scarlet darkness as he also closed the gap between him and Ninetales. The Wild Duck Pokemon pushed the leek further as it slid on the sand.
And just like that, when the gap was eventually closed, a chain reaction occurred. The flames of Mystical Fire eventually combusted when the leek got too close. Like a balloon that pops when it's squeezed too much, it gave out, causing the explosion to blow both Farfetch'd and Ninetales away.
"Far!"
"Nine!"
Both Pokemon tumbled on the ground as the explosion was being blown away by the wind. They had equally taken the same amount of damage as they then slid on the ground, causing shapes to form in the sand.
"Ah!" Both Ash and Twilight leaned in to see the condition of their Pokemon. Unfortunately, that explosion had finished them both. Plus, Farfetch'd was already damaged from the first battle against Cinccino. They had both fainted.
"Farfetch'd..."
"Ninetales..."
"Both Farfetch'd and Ninetales are unable to battle! It's a draw!"
"This summer sun's not helping the intensity of this battle..." Aria sighed as she lowered her head. "Popplio, use Hydro Pump."
"Popp!" Assisting her trainer out, the Sea Lion Pokemon showered Aria and everyone else with a high volume blast of cold water to cool them off. Immediately, their faces, hair, fur and clothes had gotten wet thanks to Popplio.
"Thanks..." Aria let out a satisfying smile while Adagio groaned, flipping her wet mane to the side.
"Return." Both Ash and Twilight recalled their Pokemon, thanking them both for doing a great job. It was now time for them to choose their next Pokemon. For Ash, this would be his second while Twilight could only select one more due to this battle being a 3 on 3.
Meanwhile, Twilight and the others were worried that Ash might choose Lucario next and end up using most of his Aura in this, resulting in yet another fainting session.
Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Instead, he was going for his Tried and True, his ace and best friend from day one of their timeless journey together.
"Alright. Pikachu, I choose you!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped over Ash before landing in front of his best friend.
"Whew..." Twilight and the others sighed. "Okay. Eve, you're up."
"Espeon!" Stepping forward was the Sun Pokemon Espeon as Twilight's final choice. Both Pikachu and Espeon stared each other down, knowing that this will be their very first time going against each other.
However, even if Ash wasn't using Lucario, his Aura can still show with Pikachu considering how strong of a bond they share. Cynthia knew this as she was worried about how this one might turn out.
"Quick Attack!" Both Ash and Twilight commanded at the same time.
"Pikachu! Pika-Pika-Pika!" And in unison, both Pikachu and Espeon surrounded themselves in a white aura before moving at lightning speeds, leaving a white trail behind.
"Esp! Espeon!"
With their speed, both Pokemon smashed their heads against each other, causing a bit of vibration as they both closed their eyes. Afterwards, they knocked each other back from their head-on collision.
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu slid on the ground before hardening his tail, lunging towards the Sun Pokemon for an overhead attack.
"Dodge with Quick Attack!"
"Eon!" Using Quick Attack once more, Espeon zoomed backwards, leaving an afterimage as Pikachu's tail smashed the ground afterwards.
"Dazzling Gleam!"
"Espeon!" After moving back, the Psychic-Type formed a rainbow sphere around her body as multiple rainbow rays came flying out.
"Reflect it with Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Pikachu put his tail out, utilizing the advantage Steel had against Fairy. The rays of Fairy magic collided with Iron Tail as the Electric Mouse Pokemon swiped his tail, sending them straight back at Espeon.
"Esp?!" Eve gasped as he had been hit directly by her own attack, forcing her back as she cried out. "Espeon!"
"Psychic, go!"
"Eon!" The gem on Espeon's forehead glowed a multicoloured light as her body became outlined in light green while a multicoloured shadow reaches around her. She then unleashed an invisible blast straight for Pikachu.
"Use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chu!" Pikachu sparked his body in an electric aura before unleashing a blast of 100,000 volts forward. The bolt of electricity connected witht an invisible blast of mental energy as both moved cancelled each other out, blowing up and forming a smoke cloud.
"Zip around with Quick Attack, Pikachu!"
"Pika! Pika!" Afterwards, Pikachu moved into the smoke cloud with Quick Attack, using his lightning speed to zip around Espeon in an attempt to befuddle her.
"Esp?" Eve looked around, noticing how Pikachu was moving from one spot to the other.
"Control him with Psychic!"
"Eon!" In an attempt to stop Pikachu's movements, Espeon would try and hold Pikachu in place with her Psychic mind as her eyes started glowing blue.
"Now strike!"
"Pika!" Pikachu found the right moment as he zoomed forward, tackling Espeon head-on.
"Use it, Eve! Now!"
"Eon!" But even after being hit by Quick Attack, Eve continued utilizing Psychic. Once she had been hit her eyes widened as she outlined Pikachu in that same blue light.
"Pika?!"
"Espeon!" Afterwards, she launched Pikachu into the air with the force of her mind, sending him spiralling while also dealing invisible damage to him.
"Pika...!" Pikachu cried out as his voice faded out in the distance when sent to the air.
"Now, Shadow Ball!"
"Esp...!" Eve prepared another attack by summoning a ball of shadows in front of her. She then hurled the ball of shadows as fast as she could to the sky.
"Use Electroweb, Pikachu!"
"Pika-Pika-Pika-Chu-Pi!" By sparking his tail, the Electric Mouse Pokemon sent a small sphere of electricity downwards while he fell. That small sphere then transformed into a large net of electricity that had caught the Shadow Ball within it.
Electroweb kept going with Shadow Ball within its hold. Afterwards, it had landed on Eve, not only catching her but also forcing Shadow Ball back down on her, dealing super-effective damage and trapping the Sun Pokemon at the same time.
"Eon!" Eve cried out as an explosion of shadows happened within the net of electricity.
"Go! Iron Tail!"
"Chu...!" Pikachu came zooming down, hardening his tail with pure metal as he was going for an overhead smash.
"Dazzling Gleam your way out of there!"
"Eon!" By forming another rainbow-coloured sphere, Eve used the sphere of Dazzling Gleam to blow the net of electricity away. She then launched herself at Pikachu with the sphere still around her, heading for a direct collision.
Then, Pikachu's tail crashed into Eve's sphere as the two of them entered a clash and power struggle, trying to overpower each other in this.
"P-Pika...!"
"E-Esp...!"
The two of them reached an impasse, unable to gain the upper hand. Thus, they cancelled each other out with Pikachu flipping back and Eve descending to the ground.
"Let's finish this! Pikachu use-" And just then, Ash twitched with his body pulsating. His Delayed Aura Ataxia was showing while battling furiously with Pikachu. Cynthia, Twilight and Lucario both noticed as well. Nevertheless, Ash persisted with his command. "Ugh!" Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu jumped into the air, performing a few flips before summoning a giant blast of 100,000 volts from his body.
"Dazzling Gleam, go!"
"Espeon!" Espeon cried out as she shot out multiple blasts of Fairy magic from her body The rays met with the blast of electricity as the move that came out victorious in the end was Thunderbolt as Pikachu put everything he had while responding to Ash's Aura.
"Pika!"
"Esp?!" Eve gasped as her rainbow rays had been overpowered by this furious electric blast. Afterwards, she had been struck by Thunderbolt, causing a giant electric explosion to form that blew the sand away.
"Ugh...!" Ash winced as he held his heart. Battling so hard with Pikachu really brings out everything in him as he got on one knee.
However, he wouldn't have to push himself any further as once that smoke cleared with electricity sparking, it was revealed that Eve had fainted.
"Espeon..."
"Espeon is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! Thus the winner is Ash!" Cynthia pointed at Ash and Pikachu.
"N-Nice." Ash gave a thumbs up while still kneeling as Pikachu ran to him with excitement.
"Pika!" Pikachu lunged over, hopping into Ash's arms after his victory. Twilight went over to Eve picking her partner up from the ground.
"Thank you, Eve. You did your best."
"Esp..."
"I kinda expected this to happen." Twilight chuckled. "This was kind of the obvious result a bit honestly. I'm just glad Ash's other Pokemon weren't involved. He could've fainted here."
"Ash. Are you alright?" Cynthia walked over.
"Fine. Almost pushed it too far there." Ash responded as he stood up. "Sorry if I gave you guys a scare."
"Haha!" Adagio clapped her hooves together. "That's good stuff, Ketchum! But I wanted to see more distraught on her face so...meh."
"Thanks for the battle, Twilight." Ash nodded as he held his head.
"Oh, Ash!" Delia rushed over to her son's aid. "That's enough battling for one day. Maybe you can challenge the approaching trainers of Undella next time. Right now, you need some rest."
"Yeah. I got it."
"Pikachu."
Nightfall.
Night fell on Undella and all of Unova. Many of the villas were closed with some lights still being on. Currently, Ash was asleep on one of the villa beds with Pikachu beside him. They were both snoring away.
Delia and the others were still awake as they allowed Ash to have his peaceful sleep so that he rests up. He almost fainted today anyway.
"That was close..." Twilight sighed as she drank juice alongside Delia, Cynthia and Sunset Shimmer. "Choosing a 3 on 3 was the best choice."
"I thought it was only gonna happen with Lucario? Why'd he suddenly almost faint?" Sunset asked.
"While Aura is best controlled with Lucario, other Pokemon can utilize it in their own way. Especially those that share a deep connection with their trainer. Something Ash and Pikachu have together. Every time they battle, their Aura shows." Cynthia explained. "The same goes for all of you."
"Wait...really?!" Sunset gasped.
"I was surprised too." Twilight nodded. "I think I remember back at the Pokemon School when we were at Brawly's class, Applejack had Aura too. In fact, she had the highest Aura out of all of us in the classroom. But, I'm not sure how large it was."
"There has to be a way to regulate it, right? I know Ash is working hard to find a way around it." Delia questioned.
"Ash told me that he can head to the Shrine Maidens in Johto for assistance. Apparently, they know about Aura Guardians." Cynthia turned to Delia.
"Oh yeah!" Twilight sat up. "I forgot about them! Great thinking, Ash!"
"This Pokemon stuff's still so new to me." Sunset drank on a straw. "Especially the human world."
"Well, we'd best get some rest. I'm hoping that another trainer doesn't come by." Cynthia stood up. "I'd like my rest for at least a week."
And with that, they all clocked out for the night, finishing their drinks before heading to their respective villas. Summer was still young and early. Far from being over yet.
Even during the night, the heat of summer could be felt around the silver moon's radiant moonlight. The moonlight broke through the windows, shining right on Ash as to give a sign for something occurring as the journey continues.
"Alright." Celestia was currently looking at various images of captured Team Plasma grunts, some of Empress Twilight's guards and Umbrage Thieves that have been apprehended by the forces of Canterlot and the Ranger Union. The pictures were provided by the Ranger Union and Pokemon authorities who had made mugshots. "Team Plasma. The Umbrage Thieves, The Empress' own forces and now Luster Dawn. We have three major groups in custody."
"Especially her." Luna pointed her hoof at her Luster Dawn's picture. "Can we supposedly get the truth out of her by any chance?"
"We already have, Luna."
"We have?" Luna looked up at her big sister.
"Mhm. And we can thank Gothitelle for that. Using her Psychic abilities to bring the truth out of others is truly something. Then again, I suppose the same goes for most Psychic-Types, hm?"
"So, what have we found out?"
"Well, turns out, if the invasion were to eventually happen, the direction would've been different than we expected. Seems as if the Empress was planning on using the World Pirouette Spell from the very beginning to throw us all off balance."
"So, Flurry Heart suggesting and retrieving was the best option."
"And we have the book that contains the spell necessary to do so." Celestia held up the spellbook. "Other truths are being revealed to us by Luster Dawn. For example, how the Empress' allies would've performed a surprise attack one hour before the invasion. As if they didn't have the Pirouette Spell to throw us off already."
"Is there anything else in this book that we can use?" Luna went up to the spellbook.
"Well...It was made by the Queen Chrysalis of another world, so perhaps giving some of this to Chrysalis might help now that she's our ally."
"What about that spell right there?" Luna pointed at a page. "This overhaul spell looks useful."
"It looks a bit too situational don't you think...?" Celestia narrowed her eyes, looking at the various spells that the book had to offer. The two sisters continued with further plans, preparing for the invasion and any other future threat that could come their way.
While that goes on, Flurry Heart and Premium Polish were watching and listening from outside of the throne room to everything, snooping around.
"No surprise there. I think I've put everypony on edge ever since I came here." Flurry Heart spoke.
"I think they already were when Ghetsis and Team Plasma came around," Premium responded. "But I'm sure they've got it under control. Say, how does this sound? Do you wanna come and see a Pokemon Contest with me?"
"Oh yeah. Aside from Pokemon Battling, it's all the craze here in Equestria. Wanna know what they are?"
"Uh...Sure. I'd love to come and check them out. Wait, are you taking part in one of them?"
"If I can make it in time. But if I don't oh well. We can just watch it. Plus, you can be my bodyguard."
"Bodyguard?!" Flurry Heart pulled back.
"Mhm. I used to have a bunch of bodyguards around me when I was heading for a Pokemon Contest. But uh...ever since the incident with my mom happened, that's not the case anymore. So you can be my bodyguard instead! It'd be so cool if I had an alicorn as one!"
"Uh...Really now? Does everypony who takes part in contests have bodyguards?"
"Nope. Just me. Mom said that when you're doing something big and important, you have to stand out and make yourself feel important even if you lose. That's what she taught me. And I know how to really make myself feel great during contests." The little unicorn said with confidence. It was true. When taking part in a Pokemon Contest, she has a very different personality within that zone.
"Okay. I guess so." Flurry Heart shrugged. "I kinda wanna see this for myself too."
"Great!" Premium shot up. "First, let's have you look like a bodyguard! And second...I kinda wanna catch a new Pokemon for my future contests before we get there." She let out an innocent grin.
"Huh? Catching a Pokemon? But why not head to the contest first?"
"It'll be quick, no need to worry. I need to keep on improving if I wanna be a top coordinator. Plus, it just means my Pokemon will get new friends."
"...Alright."
Deerling Forest. Day.
One of the Pokemon exclusive locations just near Canterlot and a perfect place for trainers to have early Pokemon. The most common Pokemon here are obviously the Deerling since they are so abundant. But, their evolution Sawsbuck can be found in this forest as well. Along with Noctowl, Skitty, Cherubi plus a few others.
Here is where Premium Polish would make her catch.
"Okay! I'm shooting for...a Shiny Swablu! I hear there's one here." She said.
"Shiny...Swablu?" Flurry Heart, being the newcomer to Pokemon as she is wasn't sure of what a Swablu looked like let alone a shiny one.
"Here, this is Swablu." To show Flurry Heart what a Swablu was, she pulled out her Pokedex, scrolling down until she found the part relating to the Normal-Flying-Type. The Pokedex then read out the dex entry while showing Swablu's appearance.
"Swablu. The Cotton Bird Pokemon. Swablu has light and fluffy wings that are like cottony clouds. This Pokémon is not frightened of people. It lands on the heads of people and sits there like a cotton-fluff hat. Swablu loves to make things clean. If it spots something dirty, it will wipe and polish it with its cottony wings. If its wings become dirty, this Pokémon finds a stream and showers itself. Since Swablu looks like a cumulus cloud, foes can have a hard time finding it. Apparently, its wings turned white over many generations."
"Aww, it acts as a hat! That's so adorable!" Flurry Heart gushed. "I wonder if I can get one to land on my head?"
"All I need is the Shiny one. I can only imagine what new contest moves I could do with that golden colour." The little unicorn was getting giddy as she immediately got searching with Flurry Heart following behind.
This would be her first time really getting a good grasp of Pokemon nature and wilderness. And her mentor in this scenario was a unicorn much younger than her.
While they walked through the forest, Flurry Heart noticed a very familiar Pokemon run-up to her. One of the Skitty that reside here in Deerling Forest. The Kitten Pokemon separated itself from its group, rushing over to Premium Polish and Flurry Heart. Mostly Flurry Heart.
"Skitty!"
"Hm? Oh, it's one of these Pokemon again." Flurry Heart turned around. "Skitty. That's their name right?"
"Mhm." Premium nodded. "Maybe a Skitty's a pretty good option too. I hear its evolution Delcatty is popular with coordinators. All those Fairy-Type moves..."
"Hold on..." With her eyes narrowing and her head leaning towards the Normal-Type. She obviously recognized the species but it went even further. Within a few seconds, Flurry Heart was able to notice this familiar Skitty. "Oh! Are you the Skitty I met when I first came here?"
"Skitty!" The Kitten Pokemon nodded in confirmation as she jumped up and down.
"Oh, hello again!" Flurry Heart held out her hooves as Skitty lunged into her grasp, causing the two of them to embrace each other with a friendly hug.
"Skit! Skitty!"
"Ah...then again it's been a few days, really, hasn't it?" Flurry Heart chuckled.
"Hm." Premium smiled before noticing her main objective flying by before the very corner of her eyes. Her head immediately snapped to the front with her eyes locking onto the Pokemon she was aiming for.
The Shiny Swablu.
"Swablu. Swablu." Right now, it was flying on its lonesome instead of sitting around on its lonesome. It was the only Swablu in this forest.
"Aha!" Premium cried out as she ran after the Cotton Bird Pokemon. "You're mine Swablu!"
"Swa?" The Normal-Flying-Type looked over, spotting the approaching unicorn who was looking for a capture. The Shiny Swablu's eyes expanded as it soared off, escaping from Premium Polish.
So, to see if Premium was worthy, the Cotton Bird Pokemon was going to initiate a little chase.
"Come back here!"
"Wait!" Flurry Heart yelled with Skitty running beside her. "How is she so fast?"
"Skitty!"
"Blu! Swa!" Swablu turned around, using one of its moves against Premium Polish. From out of its mouth, it had used Mist, cloaking the area around it with a white icy mist.
"Woah!" Premium came to a screeching halt in front of the mist. "Ah, Mist?!" Not wanting to deal with the mist, Premium used her magic to her advantage. By concentrating as hard as she could, the unicorn created a small forcefield of magic that was just strong enough to blow the mist away.
After blowing the mist away, Premium spotted Swablu yet again, pursuing the Cotton Bird Pokemon. "Swa! Swablu!"
"Can't we just talk to it?!" Flurry Heart recommended as she had caught up to Premium.
"Yeah, but this is way more fun!" Premium turned around with an exciting grin, not watching where she was headed. Because of this, it was inevitable for her to bump into something. But not before she jumped over a Deerling.
"Deer?"
"Just you wait until you see the Pokemon Contests, Princess Flurry Heart! It's gonna be-" And just like that, she had crashed into something.
Or rather someone.
"Ough!" Both individuals cried out after bumping into each other as they fell on their backs afterwards. Swablu stopped flying, landing on the nearest tree as it was now spectating.
The one that Premium Polish had bumped into was none other than the brother of Daylight Blazer, Sunrise Sprint. Another student of the Pokemon School.
"Ow-Ow!" He held his head with his hoof before glancing at Premium. "Watch where you're going!"
"Ugh...? Why don't you?!" Premium growled as she shook her head. "You're almost going to cost me a Shiny Swablu!"
"Hah!" Sunrise stood up. "I don't think so. You see, I'm the one shooting for that Shiny Swablu. And I was able to know about it thanks to this guy."
From his saddlebag, Sunrise pulled out an item that he had obtained months ago. Practically last year. An item that originally came from BIG.Co in Johto. More specifically, the storage room where many thrown out inventions were tossed away that were originally meant to support Pokemon Trainers.
And the one Sunrise took on that day he visited BIG.Co with his classmates was the invention with no name. But it had the capability to assist trainers by informing them about which Pokemon they should catch to prepare for an upcoming Gym battle and where to find them and were also capable of giving out information for shortcuts and quicker routes for trainers to shorten their journey to the Pokemon League. A bit too easy. This is probably why the creator chose to throw it away.
"Hello." The machine said with its robotic voice.
"...What's this?" Flurry and Premium both said, squinting their eyes.
"This guy? I call him Helper 'cause he's a real big help."
"I had no name originally. I am a digital assistant designed to assist Pokemon Trainers in various ways. It was I that recommended Sunrise Sprint to come here."
"Yeah." Sunrise let out a confident nod. "Me and Helper go way back."
"1 year." Helper corrected him.
"Yeah, still pretty long. Thanks to him, I'm really starting to shoot up to the league at a pretty sweet pace. I remember when it wasn't so easy to do so." Sunrise then recalled the earlier days when he had Helper after the visit to the Pokemon World ended.
1 year ago, out in the wilds of a Pokemon exclusive location in Equestria. Here, Sunrise had the machine with his via magic. The machine was here to help as much as it could. Except for the one downfall. It was an unfinished creation.
"Okay. I need a Dragon-Type Pokemon, alright?" Sunrise asked. "A really strong one. Dragon-Types are always a solid choice on teams apparently, so see if you can find one."
"Understood." Helper, who at this point didn't have a name, started to work its magic. By using its reactive sensors, the machine began scanning the entire area itself for a Dragon-Type Pokemon, acting as a radar with constant beeping noises.
"Hehe...Just imagine. I'll be having the strongest team imaginable at this rate." Sunrise had a beaming smile on his face. "And I'll be the champion of Equestria in no time!"
"Confirmed. Dragon-Type Pokemon found."
"Huh?! Really?! Where?!"
"A Dragon-Type Pokemon will appear here in roughly 2 hours."
"Wait...I thought you spotted one?" Sunrise tilted his head.
"I can do more than just find Dragon-Type Pokemon. I was built to read many other things such as air patterns and water flows. I can confirm that a rare Flying-Type Pokemon will approach due to the flow of the wind."
"Oh...?" Sunrise looked up at the sky. "That's pretty impressive. "But 2 hours, seriously? Can't we just go and find the Dragon-Type? Maybe that radar sense of yours can go beyond and instantly tell me where it is, huh?"
"Unfortunately, I am unfinished creation. Thus, I am unable of doing so. I have my limitations. But, if this is another great alternate recommendation, a Shiny Dragon-Type has also been sensed and could arrive here potentially.
"I'll...just take the normal one maybe."
Ever since then, he's been taking advice from Helper throughout the days. Whenever he asked for Helper's advice, he would receive it, but any more and Helper would say the same words.
"Unfortunately, I am unfinished creation. Thus, I am unable of doing so. I have my limitations."
"Yeah, I know." And Sunrise would sigh each time.
It would even go to the point where Sunrise already knew what Helper was going to say eventually if he asked for more help. "Unfortunately, I am-"
"An unfinished creation. Thus, you're unable of doing so. You have your limitations." He groaned. This would happen constantly. Due to Helper being an unfinished creation, his limitations were very visible. Because of this, things weren't being made easier for Sunrise
However, despite all of that, Helper's advice had benefits as all the waiting, walking and such paid off with Sunrise coming across various rare Pokemon and even helping him find special items that could boost his Pokemon's performance. He could even help find Pokemon that are a cut above the rest. Like superior versions of their brethren.
A team dynamic had been built between them both.
"Oh, yeah. Thanks to Helper, I'm gonna be finding super-rare Pokemon before anypony else! Plus, I got some neat stuff out of it too!"
"...Isn't that kinda like...cheating?" Premium said.
"Guh!" Sunrise froze after hearing that. "It's not cheating. It's just extra help, ya know. Besides, I'm the brother of Daylight Blazer. Ranked second in the Equestria League leaderboards, if you didn't know."
"Whatever. I'm still catching that Swablu thought. I saw it first." She pointed her hoof at the Shiny Swablu.
"What? No way! Helper was the one who sensed it from super far away so that means we discovered it first." Sunrise gave his rebuttal.
"But I need it for my contests!"
"Well, I need it for the league!"
And just like that, the two foals were starting to argue between a single Pokemon that was rare to this forest as their eyes locked. They growled at each other afterwards as the tension was filling the atmosphere. All the while, Swablu just watched along with Skitty and some of the Pokemon.
"Now, now!" Flurry Heart, having her mother's kindness had stepped in between the two of them, preventing them both from tearing each other apart. "Let's talk about this! I know you both have the same goal but...isn't there an easier way to settle this?"
"Hm...Actually, yeah. There is an easier way." Sunrise grinned as Premium also grinned. There was one thing they could agree on as they collectively nodded and spoke at the same time. "A Pokemon Battle!"
"...Huh?"
"Winner gets the chance to catch Swabu! Loser has to trot off and get another Pokemon!" Sunrise offered.
"You're on!"
"Wait, what?!" Flurry Heart gasped as this wasn't the result she wanted. She was hoping for a more peaceful and civil approach between ponies.
But in a sense, a Pokemon battle is essentially the best possible way to settle things to many. The two unicorns went to opposite sides that were further away from each other, readying themselves.
"Let's make it a 1 on 1!" Premium exclaimed. "I've got a Contest Hall to reach so I cant' afford to waste time with somepony like you!"
"Fine by me!" Sunrise yelled from afar. "All I need is one Pokemon anyway and you're done for!"
"Oh, dear..." Flurry Heart gulped as her eyes shifted from left to right. Skitty wasn't bothered by this at all, however. And the same goes for Swablu who was just waiting to see who could have the chance to catch it. Flurry Heart accepted that this was probably the only choice to settle things between them.
"Here goes! Flareon, go!" Premium Polish sent out one of her Pokemon. Flareon.
"Flareon!"
"Watch this! Come out, Hawlucha!" And Sunrise sent his out next.
"Hawlucha!"
"That Shiny Swablu is mine! Flareon, use Fire Spin!"
"Flareon!" Out of his mouth, the Flame Pokemon sent an intense spiral of flames forward, tearing through the grass and leaving some burns in the process.
"Hawlucha, use Detect!"
"Lucha!" With its eyes flashing white, the Wrestling Pokemon moved at illusionary speeds, leaving behind white afterimages of itself and evading the spiral of Fire Spin.
"Now use Thunder Punch!"
"Hawlu!" After avoiding Fire Spin, the Fighting-Flying-Type showed off by doing consecutive flips in the air while sparking its talons up with electricity, approaching Flareon.
"Flareon, use Charm!"
"Eon..." The Flame Pokemon suddenly turned around instead of facing the approaching Hawlucha. But while facing the other way, Flareon's eyes flashed before turning back to face Hawlucha as he winked, sending multiple pink hearts and a bright sparkling light from his one eye at the Wresting Pokemon.
"Lu-Lucha?!" Hawlucha's eyes came into contact with Flareon's. And once that happened, the Wrestling Pokemon gasped as it had been thrown off guard. Its attack had been softened after being caught by the loving hearts and bright sparkling light.
Hawlucha ended up hitting Flareon either way, but the attack was softened thanks to Charm, making the impact less powerful with little sparks flying out.
"Hehe! Now use Hyper Voice!"
"FlarEON!" Out of his mouth, Flareon let out a horribly echoing sound in the form of white soundwaves that were fairly expansive.
"Hawlu?!" Hawlucha was still thrown off after Charm as it had been blown back by the soundwaves of Hyper Voice. "Lucha!"
"Oh, no, Hawlucha!"
"L-Lucha!" Hawlucha tumbled on the ground before recovering.
"Okay, let's end this! Fire Spin, go!"
"Eon!" Once more, Fire Spin was used with yet another spiralling flame being shot out for Flareon's mouth.
"Use Flying Press, Hawlucha!"
"Lucha!" Hawlucha quickly jumped into the air, avoiding Fire Spin. It then flew above its opponent, outlining itself in white energy as it dived down, smashing its head onto Flareon's.
"F-Flare!" Flareon felt that one as he had been knocked back, rolling on the ground with mild wind pressures.
"Not my Flareon!"
"Hahaha! Finish it with Thunder Punch, go!"
"Lucha!" After performing Flying Press, Hawlucha did a quick pose before rushing forward with its arm sparking up with electricity, ready for possibly the final hit.
"Fire Spin again!"
"Flareon!" In an attempt to save himself, Flareon was ready to unleash another Fire Spin from his mouth. He had released it the moment Hawlucha got close to him.
The sparking talon of Hawlucha was thrown forward while the spiralling flames of Fire Spin were unleashed from Flareon's mouth. Both attacks collided with each other, causing an explosion that blew both Hawlucha and Flareon back.
They had both fainted from the collision afterwards.
"Ah!" Both Premium and Sunrise gasped. Seems that none of them won this battle. Flurry Heart sighed as Swablu flew away, seeing that none of them could have the chance.
"Swablu."
"Oh well." Flurry Heart let out a sheepish grin as she walked up to both of them. "At least you both did well, right? But it looks like that Swablu's gone now."
"Seriously?!" Sunrise and Premium screeched.
"Aww! I wanted a Shiny Swablu though...!" Premium groaned.
"I could've had that Swablu already if this didn't happen..." Sunrise grizzled his teeth.
"Forgive me for interrupting, Trainer. But weren't you the one who recommended the battle?" Helper said.
"Oh...Yeah."
"Do not worry, trainer. We can still find other Swablu out there. Even if they are difficult to reach in the sky."
"The machine's right, you know?" Flurry turned to Premium. "Besides, we can always come back here and try again, right?"
"I guess so." Premium scrunched her face. "But I won't forget this, Sunrise" She then aggressively pointed her hoof at him.
"Neither will I! Next time we meet, it'll be a full 6 on 6 battle that I'm gonna win!" Sunrise replied with a hefty cackle. "Come on, Helper! Let's get moving!"
"Affirmative, trainer." Helper replied as Sunrise ran off to do his own thing.
"Hurry! The contest!" Premium pranced around, wanting to head to Pokemon Contest already.
"Alright, alright." Flurry Heart giggled.
"Skitty!"
The Crystal Empire. Afternoon.
"Wait!" The young alicorn gasped. "The contest hall is here?!" She stood before a familiar area that resembled her home but less imperial compared to her universe. Right now, Flurry Heart was dressed as a bodyguard with black glasses a black suit and even her mane had been stylized in the form of a ponytail to lower suspicion. But that colour palette was still recognizable.
"Mhm." Premium trotted over. "Home sweet home, right? Come on!"
"Uh...S-Sure..." Flurry Heart gulped nervously as she walked at a slower pace. Everypony here at the Crystal Empire noticed an alicorn walking beside a unicorn. More specifically, an alicorn that greatly resembled the baby living here. The same colour palette and everything.
"She looks a bit like Princess Flurry Heart, doesn't she?" A crystal pony said.
"The resemblance is uncanny...But the height and age are separate." Another replied as they all started talking about the alicorn.
"Oh..." Flurry Heart sighed. "How come everypony can tell who I look like in this world?"
"Well, you are pretty distinct from everypony else in Equestria." Premium giggled as she ran ahead. "We're here!"
The Crystal Empire Contest Hall had a distinct appearance from the rest. While maintaining the same dome shape, this one was built by crystals instead. Because of this, the building shined beautifully. Plus, it even helps with coordinators who want to use the crystals to their advantage.
Entering the contest hall was also a bit blinding due to the excessive sparkles. And the light coming from the current contest round that was happening on the stage. And that was a sign that Premium was too late to sign up.
"Aw...Looks like we're too late. Oh, well. We can always just check it out."
"Oh, okay."
"Skitty."
"Next time, I'll get that Crystal Empire Ribbon. I hear it's the prettiest of them all!" Premium exclaimed.
"Oh, it certainly is." Suddenly, somepony had replied to her words. And that somepony was none other than Princess Cadence who was currently carrying the baby version of Princess Flurry Heart on her back plus Manaphy who was hopping around. "I personally designed it."
And of course, upon the first glance, or rather, noticing that familiar voice, the older Flurry Heart froze up with her mane standing up and her face freezing. Seeing her mother again was enough to bring a tear to her eye. But that tear was hidden by the glasses.
"Mm!" Flurry Heart tried to keep in, not hoping to break her bodyguard character and expose herself.
"Afternoon, Princess Cadence." Premium greeted.
"Nice to see you again, Premium Polish. Have you been well?" Cadence asked.
"Mhm! Better than ever!"
"Oh?" Cadence then turned her attention to the bodyguard standing next to Premium Polish along with Skitty. Of course, when looking at the bodyguard, Cadence recognized the mane colouring and the fact that this pony had a horn and wings. Qualities that only exist on an alicorn. "That's odd to the eyes. Your bodyguard over here looks a bit like-"
"Flurry Heart?" Premium interrupted while the older Flurry Heart was sweating bullets. "Yeah, she gets that a lot. Her real name's Opalshore.
"Mm...hm!" Flurry Heart nodded nervously with a worried grin while holding back the tears. As if she couldn't feel more nervous already, the baby version of herself flew off her mother's back, appearing in front of the older version's face with an innocent smile.
"Ooo..." The baby poked Flurry Heart in the nose as that prompted the tear to fall further down, revealing it to Princess Cadence.
"Oh my. Are you okay, Opalshore?" Cadence asked.
"F-Fine..." She said with a voice that was on the verge of crying as her hooves were quaking.
"Uh..." Premium herself knew that with Cadence being present, this disguise was not going to last long enough. A family bond is just too powerful. But, Premium wanted Flurry Heart to feel better and not break down into tears, so she gave a great recommendation. "Opalshore's just been a bit tensed up over the past few months. Plus, after hearing about what happened to my mom, she's been having a rough time and everything. It'd be nice if she just got a really big hug but um...I'm pretty small."
"Oh. That's fine. Come here, Opalshore." Cadence offered her a hug. "You can hug me for all your worries and-"
"Okay!" Without hesitation, the older Flurry Heart dashed over, hugging Princess Cadence with all she had, throwing her off guard as tears started flowing. Flurry Heart couldn't stop crying as it was uncontrollable. Her words were even mumbling as she was struggling not to say, mom.
But it was okay for her to let it all out. She deserved it after all.
"O-Okay." Cadence giggled as she looked down at Flurry Heart before patting her on the back. "It's alright." She said in a comforting voice. A voice that Flurry Heart deeply missed after decades. Being in her mother's warm embrace was the best feeling that Flurry Heart had ever had.
And to top it all off, her baby self and Manaphy had lunged over, joining in the hug just because they found it fun to be in. Babies and everything. But they were welcome as well.
Seeing Flurry Heart hug her mother who she had deeply missed from her own universes reminded the little unicorn of her own mother. Just like Flurry Heart, she missed her dearly and despite her actions, Premium Polish just wanted to see her mother again. But, even she knew that would happen someday. And hopefully for the better.
"So uh...let's go see this contest, okay?" Premium said.
"Oh, right." Cadence replied. "This is Flurry Heart's first time seeing a Pokemon Contest. She can't wait, can't you?"
"Contest!" The baby replied. In truth, not only was this her first time being to one, but the same went for her older self. How fitting.
Together, they all walked towards the seats. Cadence had exclusive seats that were for her, Flurry Heart, Manaphy and Shining Armor but she was kind enough to invite Premium Polish and her bodyguard plus the Skitty to those seats.
Flurry Heart wiped away her tears while her baby self latched onto her back to make her older self feel better. Even her baby self could tell that something was wrong and was here to comfort her. She takes care of her mother.
And once they took their seats, they watched the contest together for as long as it went.
1 hour later.
The Pokemon Contest had ended with a winner being decided and receiving the Crystal Empire ribbon. Everyone was now heading out back home. And for their first time experiencing a contest, both Flurry Heart's loved it.
"That was amazing!" The older one exclaimed.
"Amazing!" The baby one mimicked her older self.
"Wasn't it?" Premium nudged. "Wait till you see what I have to offer when I get that Shiny Swablu. If I get it that is..."
"It was a spectacle to behold, wasn't it, Flurry Heart?" Cadence asked her baby but instinctively, the older version replied as well.
"Yeah!" She exclaimed as the baby Flurry Heart cooed. The older version quickly put her hoof on her mouth after that slip-up. "Oops. Sorry. You were talking to the baby."
"Well, we should get going. There's a lot we're seeing today. Next is Shining Armor and Doublade's training with Cobalion. It was fun watching this contest with you, Premium, Opalshore and Skitty. Hope I can see your contest here in the Crystal Empire soon when that happens."
"Thanks! And I'll totally let you know when I'm ready to come here." The young unicorn bellowed in response.
"Skitty!"
"And good luck, Opalshore. Best of wishes to you." Cadence turned around as she, baby Flurry Heart and Manaphy waved goodbye to them all.
"Bye...mom." Flurry Heart gave her silent goodbye as she got rid of the final tears from her eyes.
"Uh...Flurry Heart. D-Do you need to head home now?" Premium asked.
"Mhm." She sniffled while smiled. She was technically already home. But now wasn't the time to reveal herself. Not yet anyway. But when that time comes, it'll be wonderful for her all the way.
Right now, Ash was doing his daily checkup at the hospital, concerning his Delayed Aura Ataxia. It was just him while Twilight and Delia were at Undella Town. But as always, Pikachu was by his side.
Ash sat on the bed with Pikachu, waiting for his results to come in from the doctor. Thanks to Twilight, now Vermillion City Hospital has notes about Delayed Aura Ataxia. The doctor then came in, ready to give some results to Ash.
"Well, Ash. The fact that you didn't pass out but were on the verge of doing so is impressive. So it is all about how far you push yourself." The doctor said.
"Yeah. So how am I now?"
"Not sure. This is still unreal to me. All I can say is just take it easy but...you already knew that, didn't you?"
"Pikachu."
"At best, we could send this to the hospitals in Sinnoh. Since Lucario is mostly native there, they'll know something for sure. It'll take a while for them to send us anything, so come back in maybe two or three days for some results, alright?"
"Thanks, doctor." Ash nodded before remembering. "Oh yeah! I should head to Johto now! The Shrine Maidens might know something about how to get past it."
"Shine Maidens?" The doctor adjusted his glasses.
"I'll let you know if I found something out from them!" Ash hopped off the bed with Pikachu before dashing out. "Thanks, doc!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Uh...see you soon."
Johto Region. Azalea Town. The Shrine Maiden's location.
Just up ahead at Azalea Town, the building belonging to the Shrine Maidens could be found. And of course, it was an actual shrine. Keeping to the theme of Johto, it had a dual colouring of gold and silver, most likely to represent Ho-oh and Lugia. This was considered a holy site of Johto.
"Can't believe I missed out on a place like this." Ash looked at the shrine with Twilight joining her. "I can thank Alola for letting me take things slowly."
"Pika."
"If we can get an answer about Delayed Aura Ataxia, our problems might just go away," Twilight said as Ash knocked on the door. But he wouldn't need to knock on the door for the shrine.
The nearby Shrine Maidens who were outside had walked up to Ash, Twilight, Pikachu, Espeon and Togekiss each after noticing them. Here at the shrine, the most common Pokemon-Type is the Fairy-Type since their experts in dealing with spirits. The most notable being Spiritomb.
"Welcome. " The both greeted with a bow. "Do you perhaps need something?"
"Oh, hey." Ash greeted back. "Yeah, we're just here for something quick."
"We're hoping that we can have some answers about Delayed Aura Ataxia. Something relating to Aura Guardians," said Twilight.
"Oh. Then head right in. The Maiden Mother can tell you what she knows." One of the shrine maidens responded, allowing Ash and the others to enter.
With the door opening, they were greeted to the indoors of the shrine. The first thing that caught their attention was the abundance of shrine maidens walking through the many doors in these indoors alongside their Pokemon. Noticeably, despite having Fairy-Type Pokemon with them mostly, some Dark-Type Pokemon could also be found. Most of the spirits they deal with are Ghost-Type related so the best Pokemon-Type to have in this case would be the Dark-Type.
Ash and Twilight couldn't help but gawk at the scenery before them. It felt so old yet new at the same time. This shrine has definitely stood the test of time over the years. Ash was glad that he could have the chance to re-explore every region he's already been to.
Who knows what secrets he's missed out on over the years?
Up ahead, a very familiar shrine maiden could be seen. One that assisted Ash and the others during the Spiritomb attack from months ago.
"Hm? Oh! Ash! Twilight!" She greeted.
"Nozomi!" Ash greeted back along with Twilight and the Pokemon.
"Pikachu!"
"Espeon!"
"Good to see you all again. How are things? Safe I hope?"
"Uh...we're safe but...there's still a lot happening around us." Twilight laughed nervously, knowing that while most of Equestria is safe, it technically isn't considering the lurking threats.
"Nozomi. We've got something to ask. Everyone here knows about Aura Guardians, right?" Ash asked.
"Every one of us. But the Maiden Mother knows the most."
"Great. Then she can probably tell us what she knows about Delayed Aura Ataxia." Ash pumped his fist.
"Delayed Aura Ataxia...?" Nozomi squinted her eyes as she had no idea what that was herself. Seems that her knowledge of Aura was still limited. And the same can be said for the others.
"Can you please take us to the Maiden Mother? For Ash's sake." Twilight requested.
"Certainly. Right this way."
The Maiden Mother's room.
This was where the Maiden Mother, also known as Mother, a Priestess also, resides mostly, praying to a Celebi Shrine. But mostly praying to it early in the morning or at night.
Right now, she was teaching new and young shrine maidens to perform a traditional and sacred Johto dance. She was even multi-tasking, also showing other shrine maidens and their Pokemon how to practices sealing and purification rituals.
Nozomi opened the door after knocking on it, prompting the mother to allow them inside with "Come in."
"Mother. We have visitors." Nozomi said as Ash, Twilight, Pikachu, Espeon and Togekiss came through.
"Hm? Oh, you must be Ash Ketchum and Princess Twilight Sparkle." The Mother stood up tall. "We've heard about how you assisted in the defeat of the escaped Spiritomb. Thank you so much for your help." She bowed afterwards. "Welcome to our Shrine. What brings you here?"
"Well, we were wondering about something, Mother. We hope this sounds familiar. Delayed Aura Ataxia." Twilight got the point immediately.
"What did you say?!" The Mother suddenly gasped at the top of her lungs, causing everyone to jump with their hearts startling. They weren't expecting such a loud response.
"Uh...D-Delayed Aura Ataxia...?" Twilight stuttered as Togekiss shuddered.
"T-Toge..."
"Come with me." Not wasting any time, the Mother ordered Ash and the others to follow her at once. She clearly knew something major about this.
Ash and the others followed while Twilight was a bit nervous by this, unsure of what was waiting for them. The Priestess entered a room up ahead that was yet another one of her own rooms.
In this room, it acted as a sort of treasure trove, holding many items that can be considered valuable in their own way with their ancient appearances. After all, this building is fairly old.
The Priestess went over to a cabinet, opening it and taking out what she would deem to be the most important object to her. A book. A fairly small one with very few pages as it looked burnt and slightly damaged, showing that it has been through something.
The Mother placed the book down while sitting down herself. Ash and Twilight did the same with their Pokemon as all eyes were locked onto the book.
"Here." The Priestess said before opening the book to a specific page. One that was centred around Ash's major health-damaging issue. "Delayed Aura Ataxia."
"Pika..."
"Espeon?"
"Toge?"
"I hoped I would've never had to hear about that horrible curse ever again." The Priestess sighed as she held her forehead.
"Why? What happened?" Twilight asked.
"An unfortunate event." The Mother closed her eyes. "You see...I am a Priestess. Above the shrine maidens here. Therefore, I am allowed to marry. And I did once. Until that Ataxia came along and ruined almost everything for me."
"Pika?"
"It affects you too?" Ash looked at the Mother.
"No. But it did affect my husband and my family. You see, my husband came from a line of Aura Guardians from long ago. Tasked with similar objectives as the shrine maidens here. His family line performed good deeds with Aura, keeping everything safe and well passing on their skills to those who also possessed this innate ability of Aura. But, they all shared that same weakness. Delayed Aura Ataxia. Or as some call it, the Universe's Malison."
"Universe's Malison?" Ash and Twilight both said.
"The more scientific name for it was apparently deemed Delayed Aura Ataxia. But in the past, that was its name. Since Aura is the life force of everything in the universe, the people of old titled it as such. And that same curse is what took the life of my husband. In a life-risking event, he used all of his Aura to protect those around him and lost his life in the process."
"Oh. S-Sorry." Twilight's heart sank after hearing that.
"It's fine. My husband's sacrifice was not in vain. Because of him, I'm here today after all. But even so, that curse has been lurking around for centuries without any end. And I assume it's come to you as well, Ash?"
"Yeah. I've had trouble with it for sure. I've passed out a few times and even for a week as well." Ash nodded.
"That's why we came here. To see if you knew a way to at least regulate it. Ash is working hard to try and work around it. Apparently, he's trying to break through the Ataxia and get rid of it." Twilight explained.
"Focusing a lot is what woke me up early, remember?" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"What did you say?" The Priestess turned to Ash, "You woke up early by focusing?"
"Uh yeah."
"That's certainly new. No Aura Guardian who was come under that curse has ever done that. And you did this by focusing you said?"
"Yeah while I was unconscious." Ash tapped his head.
"The doctor said that Ash was able to do this while being both conscious and unconscious at the same time. I don't really get it myself." Twilight shrugged.
"This is a development. The only person that's ever done that was Sir Aaron."
"Sir Aaron?!" Ash gasped.
"Pikachu?!"
"Right. Most Aura Guardians in the past knew each other. An old family member of my husband's lineage also knew Sir Aaron. Aaron himself told his fellow Aura Guardians that he managed to find a way through the Ataxia to the point where he eliminated it from his body. He was the only known Aura Guardian to do so."
"Well, Ash does have a similar Aura Pattern to Sir Aaron apparently." Twilight nudged Ash.
"That might explain it. This is a big development, Ash Ketchum. You have the potential to eliminate the Ataxia from your body like how Sir Aaron did."
"Oh! Ash looked at his hand. "Hehe! It was a good call to start focusing in the zone, huh?"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Unfortunately, this is all I can tell you about Delayed Aura Ataxia." She closed the old book. "I apologise if this was fairly limited information."
"It's fine. We've learned something new after all." Twilight shook her head. "But...how did Sir Aaron do it? It wasn't just by focusing all the time, was it?"
"No. Sir Aaron didn't exactly do so to break the Ataxia. But, focusing was certainly a part of it in a sense."
"Hmm..." Maybe for Ash, it's different. What to do...?" Twilight pondered.
"I got it!" Ash stood up, raising his finger as everyone turned to him. "We go to Rota!"
"Rota? Where Sir Aaron was born?"
"Oh yeah!" Ash nodded. "That might be the place to go. Ilene, the Queen that rules there might also know something for sure. It's been a while since I've visited it anyway, so it'll be a fun blast to the past. Let's head there maybe tomorrow."
"Pikachu!"
"Rota sounds good. It'll be great to know more about Sir Aaron too!" Twilight squeed. She was always looking forward to learning more information. Especially if it involves Pokemon which has had her more excited with learning than she's ever been.
"Then I and the entire shrine wish you all the best of luck. Ash Ketchum. I trust that you can spread what Sir Aaron had discovered and save other Aura users from the Universe's Malison. May Celebi, Ho-oh and Lugia watch upon you." She bowed to Ash.
"No need to worry." Ash gave a reassuring smile and thumbs up. "I'll get rid of that Ataxia for good so that everyone can go all out in a battle as much as they want."
"Pikachu!"
Azalea Town, away from the shrine.
"So, the Rota Kingdom is up next, hm?" Twilight spoke as she, Ash and the others had left the shrine. "You've been there before Ash. Did you see anything in the castle that could help?"
"Nah. But Cameron Palace is a pretty big place so there's obviously something there I haven't seen yet. But Ilene could show us what else it has for sure." Ash responded. "I'll find out what Sir Aaron did and get past Delayed Aura Ataxia for sure."
"Pikachu!"
"But before that, what's next? More Undella?"
"There's some stuff I wanna check out over at Manehattan. I hear that restaurant's got some new food that's super amazing!" Ash's stomach was already growling from thinking about the food. Same with Pikachu.
"Pikachu..."
"Sure. We'll eat there first." Twilight laughed as they went on with their merry way. The nearby shrine maidens had already waved goodbye to them, wishing them the best of luck.
With this knowledge, Ash and Twilight have more to go off and explore. Cameron Palace in the Rota Kingdom was up next. It'll be a nostalgic re-visit for Ash and Pikachu while being a new experience for Twilight and the others.
Empress Twilight's Universe. Canterlot Castle.
Elsewhere, at the universe belonging to Empress Twilight, a different story was about to unfold. Canterlot in this world has gone through some upgrades that are tailored to the Empress. It was where she was born, after all, so she would overdesign this the most out of anything else.
The most notable thing was the placement of the castle. While it was still in the same area it's always been in ever since its creation, due to the years going by, the terrain had been shifted during the Empress' rule, changing a few things up. Cantrlot castle was now built on top of a massive cliff from where it dominates the surrounding buildings and nearby forest. It has four mighty towers and a gigantic central keep.
Somehow, it still resembled the original Canterlot, just on a higher scale and position. However, it couldn't be considered a castle anymore. It was an entire palace. Compared to the ships that have Canterlot Castle apart of them, this blew all of them out of the water.
There were now rails of high balconies and artificial ravines that were 200 storeys deep, filled with lights and teeming with ponies. Truly, it stood out from everything else.
Massive flags that had her Cutie Mark on them were plastered in a perfect line right beside the castle. Some residents even had her flag within their homes or even on their roofs.
Inside, the Empress was already scheming as always. Her attention was still directed to the universe where the Pokemon exist. So far, that universe and all the inhabitants that come from there and the Pokemon World itself have been giving her trouble.
Cobalion, Celestia, Reshiram, Jackie, Pyrestar, who was now captured here and even her own niece Flurry Heart. Each has done various feats that have made the Empress less than pleased.
Instead of residing in her throne room, she was heading somewhere else. Recent events have forced her to take drastic measures. Alongside her were Skyblue Shine and a few of her guards.
"Empress. Are you sure this is a good idea?" Skyblue Shine asked as they were approaching what had seemed to be a dungeon.
The dungeon in this new Canterlot remained mostly the same however it had high security this time so that no one could even have the chance of escaping.
"I never underestimated that world but...they've proven to be quite possibly the biggest threat I've ever had to deal with." Empress Twilight replied. "Seems like a different kind of invasion is in order."
"A different kind?"
"Our military plus full-on domination invasion has already been pushed back thanks to that Pyrestar and her accursed spell. So, we're switching it up. On a smaller scale but enough to get us somewhere. And I'll be doing the hard work myself as well."
"You mean...you're heading to the otherworld?"
"Precisely. I refuse to hold back any longer. I hate getting my hooves dirty but those Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon need to be dealt with. If anything, the sheer number of them and how unique they are means that they hold a perfect counter to everything we do. That Gardevoir can most likely Counter my gravity spell with those black holes and such. I can't afford to let any of that happen."
"Then...what first? What shall we do to gain the advantage? They've already infiltrated our world a few times."
"Then we'll do the same to them. It seems that their ultimate goal is the Legendary Pokemon known as Jirachi. The Pokemon that can grant any wish and will be able to keep their worlds together. This Pokemon is so rare that not even Ghetsis and his team have found it yet."
"So, we aim for Jirachi first?"
"No. Soon. In the meantime, there's something that caught my attention. Aura. More specifically, that one Aura Staff."
"Aura Staff?"
"Apparently it belonged to a legendary Aura Guardian known as Sir Aaron. And from what you've told me after your time in the Pokemon World, the oh-so-popular Ash Ketchum has a similar Aura Pattern to him. Aura is the only thing that can go against Rift energy and potentially everything else. And that staff only amplifies the capabilities and potential of it."
"Then that means..."
"We take the staff, of course. A task that I leave to you."
"M-Me?!" Skyblue Shine stopped walking as she pointed her hoof at herself.
"Of course But...you're not going to steal it with how you are. No-no. You'll need some improvements." The Empress smirked. "Improvements that'll have you stand a better chance against the other world."
"I-I understand. But, wouldn't that take longer, Empress? I mean, I'm fine with it but with how things are at the moment..."
"I know. I mean, I can always resort to this." The Empress stopped by a room that was nearby the dungeons. She tapped her hoof on the aluminium door as it responded to her magic.
When it made contact as a dark purple pulse came out, the door suddenly opened, revealing another science room. Twilight's Empire had a plethora of them everywhere due to how advanced this world was in terms of resources and technology.
And within this room, Skyblue Shine saw something that absolutely shocked her. Something that even she had no idea about despite her being an android.
There was an entire room with hundreds of Skyblue Shine's in giant capsules, resting. Or rather, they were shut down and inactive. That was the more appropriate term. Every last one of them looked like her. Mane, colour and everything.
"W-What...?"
"I would use another version of you to do the trick but...you're the best one so far." The Empress walked in. "Therefore, you're the one I need to focus on the most."
"Empress. This is..."
"Yes, I know. Of course, there are copies of you. You should be thankful that you are the earliest model after all." The Empress smirked as she walked over to a table that had many chips. Most of which were memory chips that Skyblue Shine had used on Premium Polish once to reset her memories an entire day back.
But, other chips served different purposes. Chips that improve Skyblue Shine. Sort of magic amplifiers. But they do more than just amplify magic. The technology in this world has improved to the point where artificial magic can be made as well. The Empress used her magic to grab two of them each.
"Here. Two of these will do. I only ever gave you one magic chip and that sufficed. But with these, you'll have the magical prowess of a dozen unicorns. One chip was already enough to make you as capable as 30."
"Understood, Empress."
"Now, hold still." The Empress walked over to the android, tapping on her head lightly with her hoof. With one tap, a small rectangular hole opened up, revealing the first chip inside. Skyblue Shine's chip slot seemed to be deeper than Premium Polish's.
The Empress placed both chips inside of the slot as they immediately connected and latched onto the android, going through her entire body and shifting things up a bit. Her original capabilities were being amplified as a whirring noise could be heard.
Skyblue Shine's eyes opened wide as they flashed white, similar to how alicorns act when they're being overflow with magical power. Her body was outlined in that same white light as she almost even went off the ground. But that was as far as she went. Afterwards, the light faded away as she was done receiving the magic.
"Oh..." SKyblue Shine felt a bit woozy afterwards.
"There. You should be at least as good as Princess Luna was if you ask me."
"Thank you, Empress." Skyblue bowed. "Where must I got to receive this staff?"
"Head to the Rota Kingdom in the Kanto Region. That is where the staff can be found. You'll need assistance from my soldiers as well. Retrieve that staff. The Pokemon existing here means that we will be able to retrieve Lucario's Aura. And once we do, I shall possess high amounts of Aura that can even surpass an Aura Guardian."
"Understood."
Two groups are set for Rota. One for the sake of eliminating a curse that threatens the life of Aura Guardians and the other for the sake of further obtaining power itself.
Aura is the only thing that can properly go against and also nullify Rift energy itself. Both a wonderful and horrifying life force. Whoever fully controls Aura will perhaps gain unmatched potential as the journey continues.
A kingdom located in northern Kanto and considered a legendary place. A place where the most famous and powerful Aura Guardian was born in. Sir Aaron.
In ancient times and even now in the present day, Rota was and still is an independent kingdom. As a result, the town has a medieval theme still to this day. But it has gone through some improvements over the years. The people who live here even dress like they were still in medieval times. Truly staying true to their roots.
And in Rota, the famous Cameran Palace could be found as it laid north of the town, over a lake, and was connected to the town by a long bridge.
And on that bridge, many people and Pokemon were walking on it, heading for the castle for an annual festival that usually happens every year. The Hero of the Year event. And even that was happening today. Trainers from far and wide have come to partake in that event in hopes of winning and having the chance to be dubbed this year's Guardian of the Aura.
And visiting Rota was none other than, Ash, the Mane 6, Spike, The CMC, Starlight, Goh and Chloe. Some were here for fun while others were here for important matters. Matters that involved Delayed Aura Ataxia or the Universe's Malison as it's known as and a way to permanently eliminate it. A way that Sir Aaron himself found long ago in the past.
"Great of us to come here. We'll get to see the hometown of Sir Aaron. Even though we've just heard a bunch of stories about him." Pinkie Pie spoke.
"Made in time for this year's Hero of the Year event too," Ash replied.
"Pikachu."
"Wait. This kingdom's been here in Kanto and we've never noticed it?" Goh said.
"Well, I don't explore too much so I can't say." Chloe shrugged.
"We're gonna be at a grand ball and watch a tournament!" The CMC bellowed.
"Aren't we just here to know about how that Sir Aaron guy dealt with that Ataxia problem?" Starlight asked.
"Yeah, but having fun is awesome too. It's been a while anyway." Ash responded. "Let's win that contest again and become the Guardian of the Aura like before!"
"PIka-Pikachu!"
"Oh! There are costumes here, right? MIght have to sort them out for our own stature then." Rarity nodded.
"Ash will win that contest, get the knowledge of what Sir Aaron did and we'll take things from there," Twilight explained shortly. "This'll be done in no time."
Cameran Palace dressing room.
Here at the palace dressing room, a plethora of outfits could be found. Each for Humans and Pokemon alike. All sticking to that medieval theme.
"Oohoho!" Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Chloe looked at the dresses here, sliding over.
"I need to shift some of these immediately!" Rarity galloped over.
"I wonder if they still have that outfit here!" Ash dashed off.
"I need ribbons!" Pinkie Pie bounced off.
"I need a cape!" Scootaloo zoomed away to grab herself her own outfit. Everyone else scattered to grab something they would want to wear while Rarity would deal with stylizing some of them to fit ponies. And dragons, of course.
As for Pikachu, he stayed perfectly still. The last time he was here, he had been put in an outfit that we would much rather do without. Being here was bringing back so many memories. Togekiss, who was always along for the ride, stood by Pikachu, bobbing her head up and down as she was listening to a tune she heard the other day.
"Pikachu..."
"Toge..."
"Haha!" In just a few minutes, Ash had already found the Aura Guardian outfit after witnessing it at first glance. "Check it out! Now, this is me, right?!"
"Sure is!" Pinkie Pie slid over as she had also finished up, wearing a dress that suits her style. The rest of her friends were having their outfits stylized by Rarity who was an expert in multi-tasking. Plus, the Leavanny just made it quicker as well.
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu clapped his hands.
"Togekiss!" While Togekiss clapped her wings. Afterwards, everyone had finished dressing up thanks to Rarity and the 12 Leavanny as they all had outfits that matched their sense of style and everything. From human, pony, dragon and Pokemon.
"Done!" Twilight exclaimed as she tugged on her dress. "This should do perfectly!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded before he and Togekiss noticed multiple shadows loom over them. "Pika?" When looking up, Pikachu saw that everyone had surrounded him and Togekiss with somewhat nerve-wracking smiles on their faces. Pikachu knew what was coming as he was already petrified. "Pi-Pika...?"
Before he could react in time, most of his friends had cornered him, attacking the Electric Mouse Pokemon and Togekiss at the same time with outfits that fitted their stature.
"Pika!"
"Toge?!"
"There! That looks good, doesn't it?" Fluttershy clapped her hooves together as Pikachu was dressed in a jester outfit while Togekiss was in a wizard outfit.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu sighed as he had yet again fallen for this trap. But, he did secretly like the outfit.
"Togekiss!" But Togekiss didn't seem to mind at all.
"Let's hurry! I'm gonna ace that tournament!" Ash ran ahead of everyone as they were all leaving the dressing room to partake in the festivities.
"Don't push yourself too much, Ash!" Twilight cried out after they all followed him. The main goal here remained the same. Learn about what Sir Aaron had done to overcome Delayed Aura Ataxia and spread it to other Aura users to save their lives.
Cameran Stadium.
Millions of people had gathered in this adjoining spot to watch the tournament take place as trumpets were being blown across the stadium mixed in with crowds cheering. An announcer was ready to do what he does best. Announce the arrival of the kingdom's ruler.
"Presenting her royal majesty! The illustrious ruler of Cameran Palace! Lady Ilene!"
And from the very top of the stadium's seats, the ruler herself had arrived. The Queen of this kingdom known as Lady Ilene. Ancestor to Queen Rin. While also having her trusty Mime Jr by her side at all times.
"Mime!"
Lady Irene placed Mime Jr down before waving to the crowd who cheered for her. And of course, her lady in waiting was always by her side as well. Mime Jr. was mimicking its trainer by following her movements and waving back at the crowd.
"Oh, look at her!" Rarity said whilst in the crowd, gazing at Irene's appearance.
"And now in honour of Sir Aaron, Lucario and their noble deeds, we will begin our annual Pokemon contest!" She declared as she raised her arms, causing the tournament to officially begin.
And begin it did.
With excitement filling the stadium, the first contestant to rush through was Ash alongside Pikachu in their contests. They jumped into the stadium with the sun shining on them as they were ready to have a second go at this contest they took part in many years ago.
Another trainer wearing an outfit rushed out, sending their own Pokemon out first which was a Hakamo-o that roared with courage.
Ash and Pikachu grinned as the Electric Mouse Pokemon jumped off his partner's shoulder before standing in front of him. Ash ordered Pikachu for a thunderbolt as the Electric-Type covered his body in electricity, blasting the Scaly Pokemon with a hyper-fast bolt of 100,000 volts from above. That blast also obliterated Pikachu's costume.
Ash then ordered Pikachu to go for a Quick Attack as Pikachu blitzed forward with lightning speed the moment he descended on the ground, tackling Hakamo-o directly.
Everyone cheered with their hands, paws, hooves, tentacles and whatever limbs everyone else had on them. Lady Irene immediately recognized Ash and Pikachu from the first glance. She stood up tall as she was clapping for them the most, happy to see some old friends again.
Hakamo-o then performed Close Combat by widely throwing its scaly claws at the Electric Mouse Pokemon. Pikachu was able to block it with Iron Tail before using Quick Attack to the move to the side. Pikachu then sweeped Hakamo-o's leg with Iron Tail, causing the Scaly Pokemon to trip before the Electric-Type delivered the finishing blow via an Iron Tail to the face. Right before Hakamo-o could even touch the ground.
Ash had won the first round as Hakamo-o had fainted. He jumped up with joy as Pikachu ran over to him, embracing his best friend with a huge hug.
Afterwards, many battles came next in the tournament. A trainer's Umbreon had gone up against a Lurantis. The Lurantis had used Solar Blade which was immediately charged up due to the summer sun being extremely bright and hot. A giant blade of solar energy came flying down, ready to slash the Dark-Type.
Umbreon had successfully dodged it by leaping into the air before unleashing a Shadow Ball from below, striking Lurantis down. More applauses came through as the battle continued with Umbreon emerging as the victor of it.
Battle after battle came through. A Simipour managed to defeat a Bewear with a highly concentrated Scald to the face, giving Bewear a face burn.
A Bronzong had used Meteor Beam against a Dodrio which had used Tri Attack to counter but Bronzong emerged victorious. A Clefable defeated a Cloyster with the attack Misty Explosion, a gigantc pink dome-shaped explosion of Fairy Magic that was similar to Explosion and Self-Destruct. Clefable took Cloyster out before it could faint, declaring it the winner.
The battles went by with each of them being equally as exciting with fun outcomes. Everyone was enjoying themselves. They did get destructive a lot of the time to the point just the smoke and shockaves were enough to blow the crowd off their seats, especially the CMC. They have fallen over quite a few times.
The final round had come and Ash had made it to the end. He was going up against the trainer that had Umbreon with them as Pikachu entered in front.
Pikachu and the Umbreon had both clashed midair with Iron Tail each, entering a power struggle before separating and landing back on the ground. The Umbreon had then used Double Team, creating hundreds of copies that surrounded the field and Pikachu from all sides.
Ash ordered Pikachu to perform Counter Shield with Thunderbolt. Pikachu got on his back, spinning round rapidly while shooting Thunedrbolt out of his body. The frantic movements of the 100,000 volts had swatted the afterimage clones away in seconds until it revealed the real Umbreon.
The real Umbreon moved in for an Iron Tail to try and get a sneak attack, but Pikachu found the real one, using Quick Attack to the evade. The Moonlight Pokemon then unleashed Dark Pulse from its mouth to engulf Pikachu in darkness. The Electric Mouse countered with Electroweb. He used Electroweb to contain Dark Pulse in the net, preventing it from fully hitting Pikachu.
The web and blast of dark thoughts blew up after cancelling each other out. Through the smoke, Umbreon fired Shadow Ball to throw Pikachu off guard. The Electric Mouse Pokemon had fast instincts however as he immediatly leapt into the air, avoiding Shadow Ball.
Umbreon followed him upwards, ready to attack as it had summoned millions of clones with Double Team that all approached Pikachu in the air. But before the Moonlight Pokemon could properly strike, Pikachu had unleashed Thunderbolt at the right call of Ash's command, blasting Umbreon while they were in the air.
The giant blast of lightning engulfed the Dark-Type and the many clones due to the width of it. Pikachu poured it on, increasing the power from 100,000 to 200,000 volts.
The electricity was so grand it flew out of the stadium and flailed around in the sky. Anyonr could see it from afar. Probably all the way from Pallet Town even.
Afterwards a giant explosion of smoke emerged with Pikachu ending his Thunderbolt attack. Umbreon couldn't take that much as it had fainted.
"Umbreon is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! We have a new Guardian for the year! Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town." The announcer declared.
"Oh yeah!" Ash let out a roar of joy as Pikachu jumped up.
"Pikachu!"
"Ah!" Ilene clapped as it felt nostalgic to see Ash and Pikachu battle again while congratulating them.
"Mime! Mime!"
Ash thanked the Trainer for giving him a good battle, wishing him luck in the future. Pikachu and Umbreon paid respects to each other as well.
"Woohoo! Way to go, Ash!" Pinkie Pie flailed large flags that had Ash's face on them. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, being apart of the Ash Ketchum Fanclub, also did the same but with smaller scale flags.
"That's one down! Twilight grinned. "All that's left is that ball and what we can gather. This is a piece of cake!"
"Espeon!"
"Oh...I could go for some cake right about now..." Pinkie Pie drooled. While everythign was clearing up, Ilene herself personally came down from the highest stand to go and meet with her old friends Ash and Pikachu.
Seeing them here reminded her of Sir Aaron and Lucario. And speaking of Lucario, little did Ilene know that after all these years, Ash has gotten himself a Lucario while also becoming more involved with Aura than he's ever been.
"Ash. Pikachu." Lady Ilene said while carrying her Mime Jr.
"Mime-Mime!"
"Ilene! Long time no see."
"Pikachu!"
"Returning here to take part in the festivities again?"
"Kinda. We're kinda here for something different." Ash adjusted his hat. "It's about Sir Aaron."
"Oh?"
"Mime."
"Can you tell us something about Delayed Aura Ataxia?" Ash asked as his stomach started growling. "And is there already food ready in the ballroom?"
"Delayed Aura Ataxia?" She silently gasped after hearing that before looking to the sky and back to Ash. "Alright. I understand. I can tell you what I know. In the meanwhile, enjoy yourself for as long as you want."
"You got it!"
"Pika!"
Meanwhile. High above the skies in the Kanto Region.
They were approaching. A single ship that belonged to Empress Twilight's universe was making its way to Rota for one purporse. To retrieve Sir Aaron's staff.
And on that ship was Skyblue Shine who had been tasked by the Empress to retrieve it. This ship was on the planet meaning that it hadn't been caught by Pyrestar's spell, making one of the few functioning ships left.
Many soldiers were onboard of the ship, ready to assist Skyblue Shine. As for Skyblue Shine herself, after being given two magic chips, she had the strength of many unicorns at this point, equal to Princess Luna at best.
"We're close. Remember, we are there to retrieve the staff and nothing more." Skyblue Shine spoke to the soldiers around her. "We'll overwhelm the kingdom and castle with what we have. That way, they'll be lost in the confusion and any one of us shall retrieve the staff. Anyone fights back, eliminate them. Simple as that."
"Yes ma'am!"
The ship sped up as it was breaking through the clouds while advancing to the north where Rota was found. In a few hours, an unexpected event will befall upon Rota.
Cameran Palace ballroom. Nightfall.
There, Ash was standing proud with Pikachu on his shoulder as Lady Ilene was holding with her, at this very moment, one of the most important objects in the world.
The Staff of Sir Aaron.
"Look at that..." Twilight spoke silently as she and her friends gawked at the staff. "It looks like Lucario's dreads."
"That's what Sir Aaron used to hold?" Appleajck said. Her attention then turned to the giant painting that had Sir Aaron and Lucario on it. The ponies and the baby dragon all gazed at Sir Aaron and Lucario's painting, seeming him hold the staff triumphantly.
"Ooh...So that's what he looks like." Rarity commented after looking at the painting.
"This is the staff of the guardian that once belonged to the great Sir Aaron." Ilene spoke to Ash but she already knew that Ash knew this. But presentation was always important.
"Ash. You've won yet again after returning here for a second time. Thus, you are the Aura Guardian and the Guardian of the Year." She lent the staff to Ash.
"Thanks." Ash thanked the queen after being lent the staff. With a confident smile, he raised the staff up, showing off his Aura. It still felt the same way it did when he first held it as everyone applauded.
"Pikachu!"
"Now we'll begin the grand ball, honouring Sir Aaron and Lucario and our new guardian. Please enjoy yourselves everyone!" Ilene faced the crowd as the midnight ball could begin.
Ash sat down on the guardian chair while holding onto the staff. Everyone had already scattered to start the ball as music was being played. Lady Ilene herself sat on the throne that was next to Ash, watching the ball while the lady in waiting stood by watching Ash along with Mime Jr.
Ilene then turned to Ash, ready to fully speak to him about Delayed Aura Ataxia.
"If you've asked me about this, Ash...then does that mean you've experienced it too?" Ilene spoke.
"Yeah. A few times. I was even knocked out for a week." Ash nodded. "My friends and I went over to a shrine where the Priestess there told us about how Sir Aaron was the only one who ever overcame it. He even got rid of it, right?"
"He most certainly did." Ilene stood up. "Sir Aaron's discovery of this cure in the past was unfortunately at the wrong time."
"The wrong time?"
"Mime-Mime."
"Ash. Did you get anything?" Twilight teleported over here using her magic, startling the lady in waiting.
"Oh!"
"Sure did." Ash nodded in confirmation.
"Come with me, Ash. Bring your friends along with you too." Ilene had something to show them. Something regarding the time when Sir Aaron found the cure. But according to Queen Ilene, Sir Aaron discovered it at the wrong time from what she was told.
Ash ended up following Ilene with Twilight going along. And with this two on the move, Applejack and the others had to get moving as well since they were apart of the group.
That meant that Pinkie Pie and the Pokemon had to cease devouring the food for the time being, much to their chagrin.
Cameran Throne Room.
"Sir Aaron discovered the cure to the Universe's Malison at the wrong time because at that same time, the war had just broken out across Rota." Ilene instantly explained it to Ash and the others. "Because of this, he was unable to ever spread it to his fellow Aura Guardians across the world. Thus, this curse ended up living on with no one to ever know what was the perfect counter to it."
"Did he at least write it down after discovering how he did it?" Twilight asked.
"He just didn't have the time to do so. He was too focused on protecting the kingdom, moving across the land with Lucario to do his best." Ilene shook her head. "Not even Queen Rin, my ancestor knew what it was."
"Just bad timing, huh...?" Applejack sighed. "That's a real shame."
"But, even if he wasn't able to spread this message across to his fellow Aura Guardians, Queen Rin herself delivered a potential theory. She had already seen Sir Aaron go through various experiences of the Universe's Malison, witnessing him faint more than she could count. Noticeably, his faints seemed to also respond to the staff."
"The staff?" Ash looked at Sir Aaron's staff after hearing about it.
"Whenever Sir Aaron would faint after using a plethora of Aura, hours or even days later, his staff would respond to him. Mostly when he was on the verge of waking up. Sir Aaron had full control over it to the point where even in an unconcsious state, he could still reach it. And Lucario too."
"That's what you did a few days back, Ash." Pinkie looked at Ash. "You just focused really hard in your mind and stuff."
"Wait. What about Lucario?" Starlight questioned.
"While unconcsious, Sir Aaron could still communicate with Lucario with Aura. Both the staff and Lucario performed the same action either way. Because of this and the other times she had witnessed it, Queen Rin theorized that possibly, the staff or Lucario is what caused Sir Aaron to break the curse."
"So then...why haven't other trainers with a Lucario tried the same thing?" Rainbow Dash wondered after putting everything together.
"There was more to it. While the staff and Lucario assisted, Queen Rin also suspected that there was more to it than just that. With someone who had such great Aura such as Sir Aaron, it wasn't easy to overcome such a horrifying curse even with how powerful he was. However, when he did break the curse on the same day as the war, Queen Rin herself noticed a beautiful blue light that shined across the kingdom, covering it. Before she could witness where the light had come from, Sir Aaron had left the resting room to engage in the war."
"So it happened without her seeing it. But the light was super big, right?" Pinkie Pie spoke. "Ash's Aura got really big back at Johto when everyone was chasing him down. Was that the same thing?"
"Not sure since I still fainted." Ash scratched his hair.
"Whatever the case, Queen Rin's theory was something that remained unsolved. All that she had left to go off of was Lucario and the staff."
"Ash has a Lucario. And his Aura pattern is similar to Sir Aaron. Maybe we can try the same thing and confirm it?" Goh suggested.
"You have a Lucario, Ash?" Ilene sat up.
"Oh yeah." Ash took out one of his Poke Balls, before releasing the Aura Pokemon that was inside. "Come out, Lucario."
"Lucario. Lu?" Lucario came out, noticing the scenery around him. This wasn't a scene where he could prepare himself for battle. But noticeably, Lucario looked to the side, spotting the painting of Sir Aaron and his Lucario. "Luca?"
"Pretty great, right?" Ash pointed his thumb at the painting. "That's Sir Aaron and his Lucario. The ones that I mentioned before. And check this out." He also showed the Aura Pokemon the staff.
Lucario narrowed his eyes, going up to the staff as he noticed how the sides resembles his dreads. Curious about it, Lucario could feel the latent Aura coming out of it. It had practically enchanted him. The Aura Pokemon then gently raised his paw, placing it on the staff.
When he did so, Lucario received a slight jolt as a blue spark of Aura came out.
"Lu!" He pulled his arm back, growling at the staff.
"Didn't know it could that..." Ash looked at the staff.
"That staff was made to specifically react to the Lucario species." Ilene went up to Lucario, looking the Aura Pokemon in the eyes. Seeing Ash have a Lucario immediately reminded her of Sir Aaron and his Lucario. If anything, Ilene felt like her ancestor Rin at this point. As if history was somewhat repeating itself.
"Lu?"
"It's wonderful for you to be Ash's trainer, Lucario." Ilene spoke to Aura Pokemon as much like the staff, Lucario became entraced after seeing the Queen. Lady Ilene had put her arms out, granting Lucario a nice warm hug.
And Lucario enjoyed this greatly. It was a nice feeling for sure.
"Well at least we know something new." Goh scratched his hair. "But is that is?"
"Sounds like it." Starlight replied.
"I'm sorry that we don't have all the answers." Ilene shook her head. "I wish I did to be honest."
"Hmm..." That's when Ash got to thinking. He wasn't one to ever give up hope no matter what. And thinking about a new solution had immediately brought back even more nostalgic memories of this place.
Aside from the castle, Lady Ilene, Sir Aaron and his Lucario, the tournament and more, there was one thing Ash greatly remembered during his experience in this kingdom and beyond it.
"Oh!" Ash exclaimed, startling everyone. "The Time Flower!"
"Time Flower?" Twilight and everyone except for Ilene looked at him.
"Oh. Clever thinking, Ash." Ilene nodded in approval as Mime Jr mimicked her nodding.
"Mime, Mime."
"What's a Time Flower?" A curious Rainbow Dash, just as curious as all her friends here asked Ash and Ilene.
"The Time Flower is a crystallized flower that grows in and around the Tree of Beginning. It is unknown if they are actual flowers, or of the same type of living crystal that makes up the Tree of Beginning. It has the ability to record events and play them at a later date as a holographic image with sound, only doing so if it is stimulated by the right Aura." Ilene explained.
"We saw of a few of them during our journey here. We could see what Sir Aaron and Lucario did way back then." Ash turned to his friends. "They're sorta like time capsules. I got to activate one myself."
"Really now?" Rarity's pupils expanded. "That's rather useful actually...but they only sprout at this Tree of Beginning?"
"Yeah uh...where and what's that?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Come with me and see." Yet again, Ilene was going to show them all something else in this expansive castle. There was certainly a lot to experience here in Rota.
They had all gone out to the balcony where a beautiful view of the stars could be seen. One that was soothing to look at. But aside from the stars, the main attraction was far off in the distance, next to the many mountains that could be seen.
When they all arrived at the balcony, that's where they saw the Tree of Beginning in the distance with parts of it being blocked off by the clouds themselves.
"See that? It may look like a giant tree, but it's actually a rock formation. The Tree of Beginning is actually a living organism made up of crystal that feeds on sunlight." Ilene once more explained everything to them aside from Ash and Pikachu who already knew due to their past experiences here. "Its prolonged and seemingly endless age is why it was given the name Tree of Beginning."
"Oooh..." They all gawked.
"There, the Time Flowers grow the most and can be seen nearby. Along with other rarities such as Mew." Ilene further explained.
"Oh, like my Mew?" Pinkie Pie replied as all of a sudden, out of her playful mane, aside from Spinda. Mew had appeared after hearing his name.
"Mew?"
"Oh!" Ilene, the lady in waiting and Mime Jr both gasped after witnessing the New Species Pokemon emerge from Pinkie's mane. "Mew?!"
"Mew-Mew?!"
"This all feels too familiar at the moment actually." Lady Ilene chuckled. "But yes. That's where you can find the Time Flowers. However, they only show the previous event of a certain location depending on where the flowers are. Time Flowers haven't managed to grow here in Cameran Palace."
"Can't we bring one over to see if it works?" Starlight asked.
"If we were to bring a Time Flower over here to the palace then theoritically, yes. They are fairly easy to pick up after-"
Just then, as Lady Ilene was speaking to Ash and everyone, a loud, hard and ground-shattering explosion had flown through the castle, causing everyone's balance to be thrown off guard.
Immediate sounds of people screaming could be heard as the dancing had been interrupted along with the peace. Smoke could even be seen emerging from the side of the palace. The screams also sounded like they were coming from the other buildings as well.
"What was that?!" Lady Ilene gasped before one of the guards rushed over here a fast as they could for an important revalation.
"Lady Ilene! We have a problem! We're being attacked!" The guard exclaimed as he wa breathing in rapidly.
It was indeed true. Skyblue Shine and her forces had just arrived. Right at nightfall. The soldiers were the ones who had caused that massive ruckus with their equipment, leaving a large hole in the walls of the castle, one that they could walk through.
They were here for one thing. The Staff of Sir Aaron and nothing more. And they were determined to achieve it as they started moving around the palace. They would even decide to as the people of the palace questions. By tying them all up and restraining them of course.
"Where is the staff?" Skyblue Shine asked one of the chained up people. The people of the palace 100% knew about where the staff was and who exactly had it. However, for their loyalty towards Queen Ilene, they refused to say anything. And Skyblue Shine could see it in their eyes. "Of course you won't say anything..." She sighed. "We'll make you talk eventually. In the meantime, the rest of you, search everywhere until you find that staff."
"Yes ma'am!" They all said as each of the soldiers had scattered across the palace to find that staff. But of course, Cameran Palace had their own guards and soldiers in store.
Soon, an inevitable fued will break out between two different groups. One that was on pursuit and the other that would defend the palace and kingdom as the journey continues.
Deep within the dungeon of the Canterlot which was now a palace instead of a castle due to the upgrades, Empress Twilight was off to do one quick thing for the night. She had already been down here after ordering Skyblue Shine to retrieve the Staff of Sir Aaron from Rota in Kanto. Now, she came here for another reason.
The prisoners who were down here in the dungeon.
"Evening. How are you all resting up?" The Empress whistled, speaking to prisoners who were being kept in aluminium bars while some of them had magic restraints on their horns and other restraints on their wings.
These prisoners were actually her old friends. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. All at an older age and locked up in the Canterlot Dungeons. They have been here for years now, living here with barely any sight of their loved ones anymore. Each of them were locked in by the Empress herself.
"T-Twilight..." Applejack groaned as she looked up at them. Her voice was weak and fading and the same went for everypony else. Out of all of the prisoners in here, the one most devoid of barely any life was Pinkie Pie who is usually full of life herself.
"Empress Twilight." She corrected the old earth pony. "You'll all need to have some rise and shine. You see, there's this world that's really giving me some trouble. More than it really should. Thanks to that world, I'll have to use more than I wish I would. You know what that means, don't you?"
"No..."Rarity's voice replied as she slowly looked up. "Twilight. You can't keep on doing this..."
"But I can." She smirked as she used her magic to control all 5 of them by surrounding their bodies in what seemed to be a rainbow. Very similar to the Sonic Rainboom that Rainbow Dash had made. "If I had known I could make friendship into greater power such as this, I would've done it around...I'd say Sombra maybe? But ah, it doesn't matter."
"How can you turn something as wonderful as that into something so controlling..." Someone had responded to the Empress. That someone was Pyrestar who had the most restrains around her. Chains, magic restraints, muzzle holders and more. She was deemed a high-level threat after all.
"Oh?" The Empress turned around.
"You've turned friendship into a controlling force...You're using the deep bond that they used to share with you to your advantage..." Pyrestar spoke. "How could you?"
"Used to? Oh, no. They still do. Isn't that right, girls?"
"Y-Y-Yes..." By her command, Fluttershy and the others had spoken at the same time. They were trying to resist but they just couldn't do so. The Empress had shifted the Magic of Friendship into something that was made to control by force instead of what friendship naturally does.
"How horrible. But it's fine." Pyrestar lowered her head. "Because that world thats' giving you trouble is going to put an end to your rule before you know it..." She gave off a confident smirk. "And you know it. You never underestimated them for a second and yet you're having to resort to various other tactics and decisions to try and gain the advantage."
"Tch! Quiet!"
"And I suppose some of that world's energy rubbed off on me. I was able to stop you for the most part. Plus, your precious little protege still hasn't been found and here you are worrying about Aura now, knowing about how powerful it is..." Pyrestar kept going on.
"Wait...Really?" Fluttershy opened her eyes, looking at Pyrestar as she and the others had heard that. Hearing something like that was revolutionary for them. For the longest time, no one has really been able to push the Empress and her forces like this. In fact, no one's ever pushed them at all.
News like this sparked up great hope in their hearts as a nice smile came across their faces. Their smiles were also encouraged by Pyrestar's confident smile.
"Really. Just you wait. Ash, Celestia and everypony will be here to help. You can count on it." Pyrestar reassured.
"Not if I can help it. I refuse to let all my efforts be ruined by some random Pokemon Trainer from who knows where and his pet mouse. And even if I can't conquer it, I'll just obliterate that world." The Empress went over to another part of the dungeon as she placed Applejack and the others down.
She had taken advantage of their friendship, sending it all to herself and powering her magic up. The Empress looked at the Ultra Ball that had Zekrom within it. Obviously, Zekrom was capable of obliterating a world at any moment. It was the perfect Pokemon to intimidate others and gain control and domination.
But there was another.
Another dragon that wasn't as powerful as Zekrom or its counterpart Reshiram, but it was dangerous enough to ruin an entire city or more. This dragon was also one that used to be great friends with Twilight in the past. And even more than that. Her assistant.
This dragon was, of course, Spike. And in this world, he had also aged up. But to a drastic degree. He had grown into a giant dragon over the years, large enough to be considered an entire tower. He was kept in the largest part of the dungeon that had the most space with giant aluminium chains holding him down.
The sound of Spike's growling could be heard even through the thick walls of the dungeon. Smoke flared out of his nostrils as green flames could be seen sprouting.
"Well, Spike. I might need you again this time." The Empress said as she came across the giant dragon, fearless of his overwhelming size and intimidating appearance. "There's just this one world that's giving me trouble. And I'll need some extra help if I want to deal with them. What do you say? Are you ready to begin an invasion?"
Currently, Skyblue Shine and her own forces were invading Rota for one reason. To retrieve the staff of Sir Aaron and return it to the Empress.
They had already caused a ruckus by blasting a large hole in the palace walls and many soldiers who were on the ship had scattered across the palace to try and find that staff. They had also restrained the people who were at the ballroom, interrupting their dancing. An attempt was made to try and get answers out of them of where the staff was. The people, loyal to Queen Ilene, refused to do so, even though they knew who had the staff.
However, the guards of Cameran Palace were here to solve this sudden issue. They got to work, approaching the soldiers of the Empire to defend the palace and anyone else from harm. Very soon, a feud had broken out. But unfortunately, the guards of Rota couldn't compete against the Empire's arsenal. One was highly advanced and the other was still somewhat stuck in the past.
Thankfully, the Pokemon were there to assist.
Meanwhile, Ash and the others had come out to see the commotion happening all around. They immediately spotted how the palace had been overrun by the Empress' forces surprise attack.
"Look at that!" Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at the soldiers, recognizing the armour by its descriptive appearance. "Aren't they from that empire universe?"
"So they came here?" Applejack said, peering her head over the stairs. "Why?"
"Is the staff here?!" Very soon, they got an answer as to why the Empress' forces were here in the first place. For the staff of Sir Aaron. "Nothing in this courtyard! Keep searching!"
"Well, now we know." Pinkie Pie looked at the staff as Ash was still holding onto it.
"Why would they want the staff?!" Twilight wondered.
"Whoever controls Aura can do many things that are unheard of." Lady Ilene responded. "To control Aura is the equivalent of being one with the universe itself. That was what Sir Aaron used to say. And if they receive that staff and tap into the grandiose nature of Aura, the results will be catastrophic."
"They won't get it." Ash looked at the staff. "No matter what."
"Pikachu!"
While the commotion and feud continued, something else was about to emerge. Something from the Empire's side. Yet again, more rumbling could be heard.
Out of the walls, once more, something had emerged. Something larger than the soldiers here. Ash and everyone turned in the direction of the walls as they had witnessed a gigantic 7 metres mechanical creature break through the walls with ease.
This creature was very familiar at a first glance. In fact, it was the same creature that Twilight and her friends first encountered when they were chosen as the Elements of Harmony and went through the Everfree Forest.
A Manticore. To be more specific, a robotic one. This manticore was mostly metal with technological parts all around it. It still had its usual figure but it seemed to be larger than it usually was. The only part of it that seemed natural anymore was one half of its face. It was larger than the average manticore by a margin.
"Is that a manticore?!" Rainbow Dash gasped. She found it to be terrifying but cool at the same time. The manticore let out a roar that sounded like its natural roar but was overlayed by the sound of metal being scraped, rumbling the castle. The Manticore was here to cause confusion and chaos while the rest search for the staff.
"Ash! Get the staff away from here!" Ilene turned to Ash. "They must not have it at any costs or even see it! Head near the Tree of Beginning and retrieve one of the Time Flowers if you can!"
"Got it! But what about everyone else?" Ash asked as the manticore started tearing the palace apart with its vicious metallic claws.
"We can try and help out here with you know...that!" Applejack pointed her hoof at the manticore in the distance. "You and Pikachu'd better focus on just making sure they don't see staff at all."
"Wait. We are?!" Chloe gulped while tightly holding her Yamper. She didn't agree to be apart of this. She just came to watch the tournament and be at the ball.
"You should get home instead, Chloe," Goh suggested, giving a better alternative for Chloe.
"Okay! That's a better option! I like that!" Chloe nodded in agreement.
"The guards will escort you out. Head home as soon as you can." Ilene said. "The rest of you must act quickly. The palace is big, but with these numbers, they could fill it all up in no time."
"We'll go now!" Twilight responded as they all started to move out. "Good luck, Ash!"
"No need to worry! Pikachu! Lucario! Let's go!" Ash dashed away with Pikachu and Lucario following. He kept the staff close to him even though the Empress' forces practically knew that he had the most Aura out of anyone else. So obviously, they'll flock to him. But if Ash is away from them, that's a different story.
The Cyborg Manticore was tearing the place apart relentlessly. But, it also had to deal with the Pokemon as well. Each of the Pokemon that were owned by the guards of Cameran Palace were capable of holding back the Cyborg Manticore. But they had to deal with the soldiers that came from the Empire.
And compared to the previous ones who had staffs that generated electricity, these were a step above. These new soldiers all seemed to be Earth ponies as seen by their large bulk. Similar to Big Macintosh. Their weapon of choice were large aluminium reflector shields with an unidentified object that had the rare capability to apparently shift appearances.
When a Pokemon move was sent their way, not only did they use the shields to try and reflect them but afterwards, they would use their new weapons. They had brand new weapons such as clubs, hammers, claws and more. And of course, they also generate electricity.
This collection of various weapons were doing surprisingly well against the Pokemon. The Empress made sure that if they were going to conquer this world, the main obstacle would need to be dealt with. The Pokemon themselves.
Ash, Pikachu and Lucario already got a move on as they could hear the commotion everywhere. Leaving out in the front wouldn't be such a good idea. But there were other options.
Ash was heading for the balcony. There he could use Dragonite to try and fly away from here. It'll be a quick and easy way to make a getaway while also advancing onwards to find a Time Flower. At least just one will do.
Unfortunately, due to the sheer number of soldiers arriving in this palace and how the manticore was breaking everything apart, it wasn't long until he ran into some of the Empress' forces.
"Hm? Hey! The staff!" One soldier pointed out as his call alerted his fellow soldiers to rush to his position.
"Uh oh! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu jumped over Ash, surrounding his body in a flow of electricity. At that same time, the soldier placed the shield up to try and reflect it. "Chu!" Pikachu then unleashed a bolt of 100,000 volts from his body, sending it forward. The bolt connected with the shield. For a few seconds, Thunderbolt was able to slightly push it back but the shield ended up reflecting it either way. "Pika?!"
"Whew..." The soldier sighed as he had almost been sent back by Thunderbolt.
"Reflective, huh? Then in that case...Lucario! Force Palm!"
"Lu!" Lucario dashed past his friends, headed straight for the guard. If the shield could just reflect anything that was thrown from afar then the obvious response was to get up close and personal. Which is exactly what Lucario did.
The soldier put his shield up for another hope of reflecting this incoming attack. But, it didn't pan out. The Aura Pokemon smashed right through the reflector shield with his palm glowing, shattering it in one hit.
"Oh!" The soldier screamed at the top of his lungs after seeing his shield break. In fact, Lucario's impact was so great that the armour even trembled. At the end of the day, Lucario was a Fighting-Type. Anything that was Steel was just asking to be crushed by him.
"Lucario!" Lucario then used Force Palm again, knocking the soldier back by both shattering his armour and sending him flying. The soldier hit the wall before falling to the ground, fainting. As if his fellow soldiers weren't alerted enough, now they most definitely were as they came out of the corner.
"There it is!" The soldiers said as they all approached Ash, Pikachu and Lucario.
"Time to go!" Ash bolted off with his Pokemon before looking back. "Pikachu! Electroweb!"
"Pika-Pikachu!" Even when running Pikachu could still attack. He summoned a ball of electricity from his tail before launching it forward. The ball then transformed into a net of electricity that was latched onto the corridors.
It acted like a spider net as the soldiers had crashed into the web, causing it to stretch forward. Upon collision, the electricity reacted to their armour. Even though their armour was now built to deal with Pokemon, the volts from an Electric-Type Pokemon still stung as their armour was going haywire, causing them all to stagger.
The path to the balcony had been overflooded by soldiers, causing Ash's getaway plan to have some obstacles. He was still going to make his escape from that direction regardless.
But Ash was approaching the balcony, the carnage of the manticore had broken the balance of the floor beneath him and his Pokemon. Before he knew the floor was on the verge of destruction. Not wanting any of that, Ash quickly held onto both Pikachu and Lucario while still having the staff in his grasp.
He then leapt off the remaining floor tile, using it to send him and his Pokemon to great bounds. They had just managed to escape from the collapsing floor. But the pathway to the balcony was now ruined. A large hole was all that was left.
Ash was still going to attempt to make his getaway from the outside either way.
Meanwhile.
Twilight and everypony had separated from all the commotion. Many sections in the palace were just flooded with soldiers. They chose to each take their own sections while some would stick together. Lady Ilene was escorted somewhere safe.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy came across the Mechanical Manticore face to face.
"M-Maybe we can talk to it like I did before?" Fluttershy suggested. She was able to tame and casually speak to a Manticore the first time, so doing a second time might work.
But with a quick roar, the Manticore blew their manes back with a horrible sound of metal passing through their ears. Audino took the worst of this because of her sensitive hearing.
The manticore clearly wasn't here for reasoning. In fact, due to its cyborg properties, it might be difficult to even tell if it can be reasoned either way.
"Forget that!" Rainbow Dash took out a Poke Ball. "This one's working for that Empress, so it's not wild at all! Go, Braviary!" When she threw the Poke Ball, out came the Valiant Pokemon Braviary.
"Braviary!"
"Use Superpower!"
"Vi!" By lighting his wings and talons up with an orange aura, the Normal-Flying-Type soared towards the manticore's head. The manticore roared at Braviary before using its sharp claws to swipe at the Valiant Pokemon.
Braviary's wings met with the manticore's claws as the instant they connected, the claws had been shattered in one go. However, despite that, even Braviary took some damage. The claws, before they were shattered, were sharp enough to pass through Superpower and injure the Valiant Pokemon.
"B-Bravi!"
After losing its claws, the Cyborg Manticore snarled before utilizing the rest of its mechanical body. Apart from just being a robot-like cyborg, it had also come with an arsenal that would fit a cyborg. Out of its back, a hatch had opened up. And out of that hatch, new mechanical creations came crawling out.
These new robotic creatures resembled crabs. They had a dusty blue colour scheme on most of its body, with some silver shades at the end of each leg. They were directly here to assist the manticore as they started crawling towards Braviary and the others.
And as if that wasn't enough, the robotic eye of the manticore was a part of this. Out of the eye, a silver ray came flying out that went straight for Braviary.
"Vi?!" Braviary gasped as he quickly flew to the side, avoiding the ray. The ray had broken through the walls with the properties of heat behind it. Parts of the wall had even melted.
"Oh my..." Fluttershy's ears dropped after witnessing that.
"Cool..." Rainbow Dash admired how impressive that was. But she shook her head, snapping back into it. "Oh, right! Braviary! Deal with the manticore! Castform, use Weather Ball on those crab things!"
"Castform!" Out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, Castform flew out, already entering his Sunny Form due to the weather, even when it was nightfall. Summer was certainly was something.
Aside from the manticore, the crab-like creatures had something in store as well. Their appendages AKA their claws came with something fairly explosive. They had released a short electrical burst from their bodies, moving on horizontal and vertical surfaces.
"B-Braviary!" Obviously, Braviary didn't take too kindly to anything electric related as the electricity staggered him and Castform each. Audino quickly put up a Protect to shield her friends from taking some of the electricity.
"Castform!"
After that stagger, the crabs moved in as they leapt at Castform and Braviary each. The golden eye they had on their faces started flashing repeatedly while changing to a red colour. From how fast they were beeping, Audino could tell from the frequency of her feelers that they were about to explode.
"Dino! Audino!"
"Explode?!" Fluttershy translated.
"Braviary! Blow them away with Superpower, quick!"
"Viary!" Not wanting to be caught up in a chain reaction of exploding robotic crabs, the Valiant Pokemon lit his wings up once more. This time, he clapped them together, utilizing the impactful energy of Superpower to cause a thunderclap
The shockwave from the thunderclap flew out blowing all the crabs away before they could reach Braviary and Castform. As they went flying, some of the crabs had crashed into the manticore instead.
Upon crashing, their explosive systems went off, causing the explosions to happen around the Cyborg Manticore instead of Rainbow Dash and the others. The manticore cried out. Despite being a cyborg it could still feel damage either way. A piece of it was still a regular manticore.
After the explosion ended, out of the smoke, the manticore snarled as it shot that hot silver ray from its eye once more. Braviary had been hit in the wing by this sudden ray, leaving a burn mark on him.
"Bravi!"
"Braviary!" Rainbow Dash flew over to her partner. But the moment she moved forward, the manticore leapt out, growing new claws as it was ready to either bite or claw at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus gasped after witnessing the Cyborg Manticore approach her.
"Scorbun!" Acting quick on his feet, Scorbunny jumped out of Fluttershy's hooves to save Rainbow Dash. The Rabbit Pokemon had used Flame Charge to have this moment of speed.
Before the manticore could claw or bite at Rainbow and Braviary, Scorbunny, who had cloaked his body in flames had tackled the Manticore in the face.
With a direct tackle, Scorbunny had knocked himself back. The manticore was way heavier than him. Plus, the metal just only increased that weight.
"Bunny!" He cried out as he tumbled on the floor. However, as a return, because the manticore's body was now made out of aluminium, this meant that any heat-related was a threat to it.
The flames of Flame Charge, while not insanely powerful, had left a mark. The Cyborg Manticore roared as a part of its aluminium face had been melted off thanks to Scorbunny.
"Thanks, Scorbunny! Weather Ball, go!" Rainbow Dash commanded as she and Braviary flew back.
"Form!" Seeing the obvious weakness of the Cyborg Manticore, Castform generated a giant ball of fire in front of him, harnessing the heat around him. The Weather Pokemon then shot the ball of flames forward.
Yet again, the Cyborg Manticore had been hit by flames, this time in the form of an exploding ball that had hit its belly instead of its face, leaving more of it to melt.
"Audino!" Audino quickly looked at Braviary's wing, seeing the damage he had taken from that one ray. And of course, the electricity from those crab creations. She used Heal Pulse to restore the damage to him.
And speaking of crab creations, once again, from the hatch, the manticore had released more of those robotic crabs. This time with an even larger number than before.
"Okay." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. "They're weak to Fire and Fighting because of all that metal. Let's keep doing that. And we'll shut that hatch too! Braviary! Aim for the hatch with Superpower! Castform, Weather Ball!" She commanded as she took out another Poke Ball.
Out of this Poke Ball, Mienfoo had emerged. Her advantage towards everything Steel would greatly help here. "Mienfoo!"
"Mienfoo! Force Palm, go!"
"Scorbunny! Go!" Fluttershy encouraged Scorbunny to assist since he could also help out thanks to his usage of Flame Charge and High Jump Kick.
"Bunny!" With a salute, the Rabbit Pokemon wouldn't let Fluttershy down as recharged forward with Flame Charge, running alongside Braviary, Mienfoo and Castform.
"Rainbow Dash! A bit of it still a normal manticore! I can try talking to it!"
"Seriously?!" Rainbow Dash turned to Fluttershy as Braviary was avoiding the incoming silver rays from the manticore's eyes while Scorbunny charged through some of the crabs with his flame-cloaked body.
"Trust me, please?" Fluttershy pleaded.
"Fine, fine! Do what you can. It would be pretty cool to have an ally like that on our side too anyway."
Castform and Scorbunny's flames spread out, melting and destroying the crabs. Scorbunny, after gaining some good speed, used High Jump Kick next by flipping into the air and smashing his feet onto the robotic crabs.
Mienfoo swatted the crabs away like they were flies with her rapid arm movements. And with each wack, she would send them flying, causing the robotic crabs to explode near the others, draining their numbers.
After avoiding some of the rays, Braviary flew over the manticore, going straight for the hatch where the crabs originally come out from.
"Bravi!" With a loud caw, the Valiant Pokemon smashed his talon into the hatch with Superpower active. The manticore cried out as the immense pressure, tremor and shockwave from Superpower travelled through its body, rumbling the aluminium parts.
Braviary flew upwards as the inside of the manticore's hatch had blown up from Superpower's overwhelming force. That dealt with the crab problem.
The manticore fell to the ground with a damaged back as Fluttershy saw this as an opportunity to assist the Cyborg Manticore if she could.
"Mien!" Mienfoo shook a crab that was latched onto her arm off, causing it to blow up onto the other crabs. The number of robotic crabs had dwindled greatly. All of them had been defeated with Castform having the last hit with Weather Ball.
With all of the crabs gone, it was all down to Fluttershy to speak with the fallen manticore as all attacks had been ceased. The manticore, already receiving loads of damage, mostly from Braviary, opened its eye, staring at Fluttershy.
"Careful Fluttershy! I hear that cyborgs don't have-"
"I'll be fine." Fluttershy cut Rainbow Dash as she was positive in her abilities. She then looked the manticore in the eye. The eye that wasn't robotic that is. "Are you alright?"
The manticore let out a slight snarl before it had also looked Fluttershy in the eyes. From their eye contact, the manticore's pupils expanded as it actually recognized Fluttershy.
This manticore, despite coming from another world, had a counterpart that existed in Fluttershy's world. Obviously, manticore's are rare creatures that are hard to find so there would be others out there. However, this manticore had actually met Fluttershy before. Or at least, the Fluttershy from its own world.
This was the manticore that Fluttershy had saved in the Everfree Forest from its horrible pain. For this world's Fluttershy that was at least 2 years ago. But for the manticore, in its world, that was decades ago.
Recognizing Fluttershy, the cyborg manticore licked the pegasus, still having a tongue. It wasn't fully robotic after all as Fluttershy giggled.
"There, there. Sorry about all the damage done to you. You must be so uncomfortable in a body like this, right? Fluttershy asked and the manticore nodded in agreement. "No need to worry. We'll help you out however we can."
"Uh...how are we gonna help something that's mostly a robot?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"There's a Pokemon for that. Or a lab, that too. Will you help us in this?" Answering Fluttershy's request, the manticore agreed to assist her and the others. After all, it gave the manticore a friendly nostalgic memory and eased its anger. However, all of its anger was now directed towards the empire as it stood back up.
It was still weakened but capable of having active movements either way.
Cameran Courtyard.
Down at the courtyard, the guards of Cameran Palace and Pokemon were also dealing with the Empress' forces. And so far, it seemed slightly even.
Thanks to the assistance of the Pokemon, they were able to hold their own. But, the overwhelming amount of soldiers popping up was starting to put tons of pressure on. Their variety of weapons were proving to be problems through and through.
The Empress' forces brought more than just a Cyborg Manticore with them. They had other mechanical creations. Arriving as support, new creations were spotted. Vehicle-type creations.
One of these vehicles had the appearance of a rhino that was mounted onto a wheel and carried additional shields on all sides to protect itself. Plus, the horn was perfect for attacking. The rhino vehicles were being controlled by the soldiers instead of them. Multiple of them came crashing through, charging with the speed of an actual rhino. And arguably even more.
The Pokemon and guards had been knocked back by this large group of rhino vehicles. By sheer brute strength, the odds were starting to favour Empress Twilight's side with how many there were. The charging rhino vehicles kept moving as they were backing the guards and Pokemon into a corner.
They stayed in a consistent vertical line to try and corner them. Like a liner. The Pokemon were doing their best to hold them back with everything they had. Mainly that larger Pokemon. Rota had Pokemon like Ryhdon on their side which were able to deal with these vehicles. Rhino on Rhino.
The Rhydon held the rhino vehicles, tossing them aside with their sheer strength or either just smashing them into each other like a child playing with its toys. If anything, the odds were yet again shifting thanks to Rhydon. Other Pokemon may not be needed with Rhydon present here. And there were more of them too.
The Empress' forces could see that the Rhydon were huge threats. Their bulk and strength outclassed their rhino vehicles. Perhaps not in speed but power was 100% guaranteed.
Seeing this, they decided to call for assistance. This whole invasion wasn't going fully well. It seemed even at best with both sides countering each other at every passing minute and second.
With assistance being sent through, out of the large ship, the bottom hatch was opening up, sending something out to give them the advantage.
Out of this hatch, a titanic robotic battle station descended. This metal monstrosity was loaded with multiple offensive weapons on all sides as well as carrying other soldiers inside. It was also a ship as well. Its searchlights were turned on due to the night sky as out of the robot, reinforcements were coming in.
These reinforcements were aerial based. Multiple airships that had the shape of an orca as its appearance came flying out. There were already forces on land, best to have some in the air. They also had some ponies commanding it.
And from both the giant battle station and the orca-shaped aerial vehicles, they had weapons they could fire from them. Out of these aerial machines, rays of magical energy were being sent out. They had found a way to utilize magic in different ways over at the Empress' world.
The rays of magic rained down on the castle and the Rhydon as well with an immediate bombardment. The Rhydon were able to resist it thanks to their bulky and defensive body.
After all, Rhydon's hide is so thick that it can run through molten lava without feeling a thing. However, the constant barrage of magic rays would obviously be overwhelming to the Drill Pokemon. It couldn't just take them forever.
"Rhydon! The Ground-Rock-Types held their arms up, trying to block the rapid array of magic rays that wouldn't stop falling on them.
They couldn't do anything against the aerial opponents at the moment. Any Flying-Type Pokemon they had hadn't arrived yet so they would have to endure this punishment as the magic rays blew up each time they hit.
However, they wouldn't have to wait for long.
"Grab them, Sceptile!" Applejack's voice had cried out somewhere.
"Sceptile!" From the shadows, two vines came flying out. Those two vines had grabbed onto one of the aerial orca-shaped vehicles. By holding the two of them together, the Forest Pokemon used his vines to mash the two aerial vehicles onto the rest of them, causing a sudden collision. The soldiers inside were thrown off balance after the collision as Sceptile swung them around, using these two aerial vehicles to whack away the rest.
The soldiers chose to jump ship as they felt like they were about to hurl. After escaping their ships, they had deployed parachutes for safer landings. After seeing the soldiers exit, Sceptile could officially obliterate the ships as he increased the speed, causing the aerial orca-shaped vehicles to blow up.
The guards gave both a collective sigh of relief and resounding cries of applause as their little aerial problem had great coverage thanks to Applejack and Spectile. Any of the soldiers that had jumped ship were immediately chased down by other Pokemon. They didn't have any weapons on them compared to their other forces.
"Nice going, Sceptile! But that big one's still there! Use Dragon Pulse!" Applejack commanded.
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile huffed and puffed as he had gathered up draconic energy from within. Afterwards, the Forest Pokemon unleashed a dragon-shaped shockwave from his mouth, shooting it at the giant battle station.
However, it wouldn't be that easy. By using the magic, the robot had cloaked itself in a barrier of purple magic, shielding it from Dragon Pulse as the Dragon-Type blew up upon contact, doing nothing.
"Tile?"
"Magic huh? Didn't think that go well with robots..." Applejack growled.
"We can still deal with it despite that barrier." One guard said to Applejack. "It might not be immune to weather patterns. Even Pokemon move during heavy weather when using defensive moves."
"All we have to do is create some sort of heavy tornado and that barrier won't matter!" Another guard responded. "Our Flying-Types will be arriving here to help in no time!"
"Nice thinking ya'll!" Applejack nodded in approval before facing the giant robot again. "Best hurry before that thing sends out more!"
"Sceptile!"
Equestria. Canterlot. Nightfall.
Right now, everything was sound in Canterlot and most of Equestria. While there was an entire battle happening over at Rota, there was peace here in this world.
But, that wasn't about to last.
With Luna and Darkrai keeping watch during the night, they themselves could sense that something was off. In fact, it was Xatu that sensed it first.
"Xatu..." Xatu's eyes flashed.
"What is it, Xatu?" Luna flew over to her Pokemon.
"Tu. Xatu..." The Mystic Pokemon looked to the sky as he was looking into the future. He knew something was coming. Something that was unexpected and could be considered fairly sudden.
Usually, when Xatu sees the future, it barely does anything to change it. However, this time, it was different. Because after seeing the future, the Mystic Pokemon immediately spoke to Darkrai, telling him what was coming.
"What?!" Darkrai translated with a gasp.
"What? What is it Darkrai?! What did he say?!" Luna turned to Darkrai.
"They're about to invade sooner than expected. But without performing a full-on attack."
"Right now?! Are they coming through here?!"
"No. They're going to show up at other parts of Equestria. But they're bringing something gigantic that will rampage across the land."
"What is-" Before Luna could ask, far away in the far distance, the sound of a gateway opening up had crossed their ears. Luna had been startled along with everypony nearby as they had been woken up by the sound.
With a giant gateway being seen opening up in the sky, it was clear that the time had come. The invasion had now begun. While not the full-on invasion the Empress originally planned, it was an invasion nonetheless. Everything was being set into motion as the journey continues.
The invasion had begun. On both sides of each world. One was happening in Rota for the staff of Sir Aaron while the real main invasion occurs here in Equestria.
Near Canterlot, just far out in the distance, a gateway had opened up, startling all those that slept at night because of its thunderous sound. And the ones to be first made aware of this were Princess Luna, Darkrai and Xatu.
"It's starting now?!" Luna gasped as she gazed at the gateway in the sky. And just like that, after the gateway had opened up, the many ships of Empress Twilight Sparkle's forces passed right through, covering the stars and the beautiful moon in seconds.
The ships had flooded the night sky, casting shadows over the landscape. And from the direction they were all facing, each of these ships was tasked with invading practically everywhere in Equestria. The scary part was that despite these seemingly overwhelming numbers, this wasn't a full-on attack. This was minor, according to the Empress.
Luna rushed over to her sister's room. AKA, she just used teleportation there. But Celestia had already woken up from the sound of the gateway opening.
"Sister!" Luna cried out after entering Celestia's room.
"I know!" Celestia immediately responded as she was looking outside the window. "I didn't think it would happen now...Did she advance her plans further?"
"What do we do? Everything's not in place yet!" Luna was starting to panic due to how fast things were escalating.
"I know it's early but we have no choice." Celestia turned around. There was no time to waste. Even if it was early, actions needed to be made. A bright side was that the Canterlot Guards are always awake most of the time.
And that involves across Equestria. Ever since she learned about the invasion, Celestia had ordered a plethora of Canterlot Guards to reside in different cities and towns in Canterlot for when the invasion eventually happens. And that time was now. All across Canterlot, the guards had been alerted via a Psychic connection made by Passion herself.
Passion used her great Psychic abilities to communicate across Equestria, mainly with other Pokemon. Once the Pokemon received Passion's telepathic communication, they immediately prompted the guards of Canterlot to stay on high alert. Then again, there were so many ships that they could be seen from any distance really.
Flurry Heart had also woken up from the commotion as Skitty was laying next to her along with Premium Polish. "Mmm...what's happening?"
"Skitty?"
Sounds of hooves rapidly moving could be heard from the outside, most likely from the corridor. Many troops were moving out to deal with this sudden invasion as Flurry Heart and Premium peered their heads through the door.
"What's going on?" Premium grumbled.
"So many soldiers...Wait. Is the invasion happening?" said Flurry Heart.
"You two. Get to bed immediately." Luna passed by, facing the two younger ponies. "Right now, it's not safe to be awake at all."
"Wait, it's starting?!" Flurry Heart gasped. Of all the times it could begin, it had to be at nightfall with energy was low. Premium moved back into the room, already petrified and intimidated.
And for good reason. Because at this point, this is where the fate of this world will be decided. And to an extent, every other world out there.
Just on the outside of the palace where all the commotion is happening, Ash, Pikachu and Lucario were making their way towards the Tree of Beginning. Or at least, near it.
The goal was to obtain the Time Flower to see what Sir Aaron did to eliminate Delayed Aura Ataxia. But, the other objective was to protect the staff of Sir Aaron from the Empress' forces. Ash was still holding onto it.
He looked back at the palace as he wanted to assist his friends and everyone within the palace. But he understood that his friends would handle everything there while he rushes to the flowers and protects the staff. Besides, he'll be back to help them anyway.
He was currently riding on the back of Dragonite to get to his destination quicker. Having an aerial view would certainly help to spot the Time Flowers.
However, after knowing about who had the staff, the soldiers had immediately alerted Skyblue Shine with their own communication. She was told that Ash Ketchum had the staff.
"Of course he would be the one to have it." Skyblue Shine said as she stood on top of a fallen Cameran Palace guard's back. Many Cameran Palace guards were currently down on the ground due to Skyblue Shine defeating them all. She even managed to defeat the Pokemon thanks to her Aggron.
There were so many of them laying down. Thanks to the magic increase, Skyblue Shine was stronger than ever. Just as strong as an alicorn at best. And of course, Aggron was just Aggron and not many were getting past a Steel-Type.
"Chase him down. I'll follow you soon."
"Ugh..." The guards groaned. Nearby, hoofsteps could be heard, approaching this direction. Skyblue Shine turned to the side, expecting reinforcements to arrive. But these weren't guards of Cameran Palace.
Instead, arriving from around the corner were Twilight, Espeon and Togekiss. After showing up, their eyes had immediately locked on to two things. The littered floor of fallen guards and Pokemon and Skyblue Shine herself.
"You?!" Twilight gasped as she came to a screeching halt.
"Evening, Princess Twilight." Skyblue Shine smirked as her eyes met with Twilight. Aggron had also turned to face the young alicorn and her Pokemon.
"So it was you behind this?!"
"Right. But by the Empress' orders, of course." Skyblue pointed her hoof at herself. "All we need is that staff and we'll be on our merry way. And of course, assist the others in the current invasion."
"Current? It's already started?!"
"Oh yes. If I were you, I'd be back at Equestria by now." Skyblue Shine chuckled, knowing that she gave Twilight a scare. As if she already didn't have other problems to deal with right now.
Twilight's eyes moved to the side, offering of what could be happening over at Equestria. Her parents and the rest of her friends are most likely in grave danger. But the same can be said for here in Rota.
Twilight held her breath as she believed in Princess Celestia and the others to handle themselves back at Equestria. And Twilight and her friends will handle themselves here.
"They'll be fine." She chose to stay as Skyblue Shine raised an eyebrow. "As for you, if I stop you and your forces here, I'll still be helping to stop the invasion either way. And prevent you from getting that staff."
"Pah!" Skyblue Shine scoffed. "Maybe before but not now. Not after the improvements that the Empress has granted me. And I don't have time to waste on you. The staff is all I need."
"I won't let you! Dazzling Gleam, Eve!"
"Espeon!" By summoning a rainbow aura around her body, Espeon generated a blinding flash of light. The light flashed in front of Skyblue Shine and Aggron's eyes, blinding them for a few seconds.
"Gah!"
"Agg!"
"Now use Shadow Ball!"
"Eon!" After blinding them both with a flash of light, the Sun Pokemon summoned a purple blob of shadows from the gem on her forehead, launching at Aggron.
"Ggron?" Aggron's sight was returning as before he could do anything or wait for Skyblue Shine to recover and make a command, Shadow Ball had struck it, knocking the Iron Armor Pokemon back. "Agg!"
"Why you...! Aggron! Flash Cannon, go!"
"Ggron!" Recovering quickly from Shadow Ball, Aggron opened his mouth, summoning a silver ball full of metallic energy. Afterwards, he fired a silver beam out of the ball as it raced forward.
"Togekiss! I know I'm not your Trainer but help out here! Aura Sphere!"
"Toge!" Togekiss didn't need to be Twilight's trainer to assist. The Jubilee Pokemon opened her mouth, generating a ball of Aura. She then launched Aura Sphere as the blue sphere of Aura collided with the silver ball of metallic energy.
Upon collision, the two moves cancelled each other out as they were equal in strength. Reinforcements had shown up to assist their fallen guards and Pokemon from the ground.
The troops and Pokemon helped their allies up while looking over at the smoke that had been created from Aura Sphere and Flash Cannon's collision.
"Aggron's too defensive for us to pass through. Except..." Twilight took out two Poke Balls as the smoke was clearing. She threw the Poke Balls, sending out both Absol and Cinccino. Two Pokemon that she believed could deal with Aggron thanks to what moves they had in store.
"Absol!"
"Cinccino!"
"I don't need this..." Skyblue Shine backed away as her own reinforcements were showing up. From her smile, they had already appeared. And these reinforcements were a multitude of heavy troops along with those robotic-rhino vehicles. Plus, some aerial support, this time in the form of more of those orca-shaped ships.
Twilight and her Pokemon gazed at the sheer sight of these sudden reinforcements as Skyblue Shine was being guarded by them. The same went for Aggron even though he barely needed it.
However, Twilight also had assistance in the form of the Cameran Palace troops. After bringing their fallen allies in to be healed, more showed up to deal with the rest of the invading force.
"I need that staff immediately. Deal with them, why don't you? But only restrain them. The Empress wants some of this world's magic. Especially from a younger version of herself." Skyblue Shine ordered.
"Yes ma'am!"
"I don't think so! Besides, you're all in one good spot with all that metal! Minccy! Thunder!"
"Cinc...!" The Scarf Pokemon raised her arms as she shifted the clouds themselves. From the clouds, yellow sparks started forming with thunder rumbling. "Ccino!" Then, at the speed of light, a gigantic blast of lightning came crashing down with the sound of thunder going off
Thunder ended up hitting one target which was one of the rhino-like vehicles. However, by hitting that one target and reacting to the metal, the electricity immediately spread with a chain reaction, latching onto nearby targets. Very soon, all the land vehicles and troops had been struck by the furious volts of Thunder.
Within the vehicles, everything was starting to malfunction thanks to Thunder as well as each of them having their armour react to the electricity, causing them to stagger.
This allowed the Cameran Palace troops to strike. And strike they did. Thanks to Twilight, they all charged forward alongside their Pokemon, heading for the weakened forces that were just now starting to recover from Thunder.
Twilight also took the chance to go after Skyblue Shine. She had spread her wings, flying alongside Togekiss while the rest of her Pokemon ran. They each moved past the scuffle that was happening between Cameran Palace's troops and the Empress' forces, leaving the rest to them.
Meanwhile.
Rarity had ended up arriving at the same location where Applejack was after moving across the palace, ending up in the courtyard afterwards. Before that, she had taken the Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and her sister Sweetie Belle to safety since the last scenario a child needs to be is in an invasion. The CMC were currently leaving the kingdom along with Chloe and the rest of the citizens of Rota.
She found Applejack and some troops dealing with that titanic battle station robot. Flying-Type Pokemon had arrived for aerial support as they were doing their best to change the weather to their advantage. Even with a barrier of magic, the station can still move based on the weather.
However, it wasn't so easy. Not only could the station used magic to protect itself, but it could also fire rays of magic from the core on top of it, shooting down the Flying-Type Pokemon. But this also meant that it would need to lower its shield if it wanted to use the magic.
Due to this one weakness, Applejack and the others capitalized on it. When the shields went down, the Pokemon had used ranged attacks to strike the giant robot when it was defenceless. However, it was so sturdy that it was actually difficult to fully take it out in a few hits.
"Dragon Pulse!" Applejack ordered Sceptile as another Dragon Pulse was sent towards the robot. However, due to it being made out of metal, Dragon Pulse wasn't that effective. After the attacks had landed, the robot retaliated with more magic rays coming out of its core, forcing everyone to block or take cover.
"Sceptile..."
"Applejack!" Rarity came over as she had been carried by Pheromosa.
"Rarity! Some help here! That robot's not going down so easily! It's got both that technological stuff and magic at the same time!"
"Does it now?"
"Phero?"
"We can only hit that thing when its barrier comes down. But it keeps sending out more of those ships out." One troop said as more of the Empress' forces were heading this way to overwhelm Applejack's group.
"Our Charizard group haven't arrived yet!" Another troop said.
"We just need a few more good hits and that thing's good as dust." Applejack said. "But it's not making it easy for us with all that magic."
"Is that so...?" Rarity narrowed her eyes before looking at Pheromosa and the robot. "Then all we need is a Pokemon with brute strength to smash through that hunk of metal. Can Sceptile get Pheromosa up there?"
"He sure can." Applejack nodded as she understood what Rarity was going for. "Sceptile! Throw Pheromosa up there!"
"And Pheromosa! Use High Jump Kick!"
"Tile!" Sceptile unleashed his vines, wrapping them around Pheromosa. "Scep!" Afterwards, the Forest Pokemon launched the Lissome Pokemon into the air like pushing someone on a swing.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa then lit her leg up as she used the force of High Jump Kick to gain some extra height, essentially a double jump.
The Ultra Beast was now above the robotic battle station. But, the robot quickly put up a barrier around itself for protection. But Pheromosa wasn't about to let it defend itself.
"Phero!" By using its ludicrous strength, the Lissome Pokemon smashed her foot right into the magic barrier. Her amazing strength was actually capable of not just damaging the barrier but also breaking right through it. Her foot had smashed into the core of the machine.
A direct hit. The core had taken immense damage from Pheromosa's kick as the Lissome Pokemon jumped away. Due to this heavy hit and the core being the biggest weak point there is, the robot's magical defences had been obliterated as there was now a massive dent inside of it.
However, it still hadn't gone down. The battle station was still standing with its weapons intact as Pheromosa returned to the ground.
"It worked! That's the end of that barrier!" Applejack grinned as the troops applauded.
"Now all we have to do is just hit it a few times and that's it!" A guard said.
"Ah! I have a quicker way to end this! Milotic! Come out and use Hydro Pump!" Rarity sent out her Milotic for one specific reason.
"Milotic!" Once she was sent out, the Tender Pokemon opened her mouth, summoning an orb of water. Milotic then let out a beautiful cry before shooting a blast of high volume water.
When meeting with the robot, instead of pushing it back, all of the water from the Hydro Pump had started to meddle with the electronics and machinery of the robot.
Because of this, the titanic battle station was going haywire. And when it went haywire, it malfunctioned with all power shutting off, causing the robot to descend with no power.
"There." Rarity smiled as everyone cheered and applauded her. "It's just natural for water and electricity to not go well with each other."
"Sure is." Applejack nodded as the Cameran guards and troops ran off to continue fending off against the invading forces. "Come on. Let's get a move on elsewhere!" They then followed the guards and troops to assist them.
Elsewhere on the outside, every innocent had already been leaving Rota by moving through the bridge. The guards of Cameran were instructing them to move in a single file. Among this large crowd were Chloe, Yamper and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They were all heading home.
"Shouldn't we help them?" Scootaloo asked as she looked back at the castle. A swarm of aerial vehicles could be seen attacking from above. But a group of Charizard were there to deal with them with their flames that scorch anything on the planet.
"I think they've got it. Hopefully." Sweetie Belle nodded.
"Mhm." Apple Bloom agreed as they kept on moving.
"Yamper! Yamper!" But Yamper felt like getting in on the action to help everyone.
"I don't think this is the best scenario for you, Yamper!" Chloe held the Puppy Pokemon back from jumping in on the action as Rota was being cleared.
Elsewhere.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were also moving through the castle. They had just gained a new ally. The Cyborg Manticore which was once originally on the Empress' side. But not any more thanks to Fluttershy.
Fluttershy's group was just near Twilight and the other's. But in truth, it was Goh and Starlight who were the closest as they ran into Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.
"Oh! Thank goodness! We found-" Starlight had a smile appear on her face before it quickly transformed into an open-mouthed frown of terror once she and Goh saw the manticore. "M-M-Manticore!"
"Woah!" Goh came to a screeching halt as he bumped into the hard metal exterior of the manticore, causing him and Starlight to fall over. The two of them then started screaming at the top of their lungs.
"It's fine!" Fluttershy flew up. "He's on our side now! Don't worry!"
"H-He is...?" Goh and Starlight both said as they stopped screaming.
"Turns out this was that same manticore from way back then. Just from another world. So we're cool." Rainbow Dash nodded as the manticore licked her. "Ew..."
"Okay..." Goh breathed in and out.
"Has Ash gotten out yet?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"No clue." Starlight shrugged. "We haven't seen him. Maybe he's already heading for the Tree of Beginning."
"Maybe. Audi. Can you hear Ash, Pikachu and Lucario?" Fluttershy turned to her partner.
"Dino..." Audino closed her eyes, using her feelers to read everything around her, including the air patterns. She could hear all the constant commotion and battling that was happening everywhere in the palace.
Flames, metal, explosions and other sorts of sounds met her ears until she was actually able to find Ash's sounds. Just far from here, she could hear the sound of Dragonite's wings flapping while hearing the ringing of Sir Aaron's staff when it was moving through the air.
"Audino!" Audino confirmed that Ash was far from here and heading for the Time Flowers.
"Oh. That's great!" Fluttershy grinned. "Ash is already heading there for the Time Flowers so we should be-" All of a sudden, as Fluttershy translated what she had heard from Audino to the others, the ship that Skyblue Shine and her group arrived in had just descended to a lower level.
The sounds of the ship's engines interrupted Fluttershy as they caused high wind pressures all around. Everyone's manes, hair and fur blew in the wind. The ship had descended instead of staying in the air for one reason.
Skyblue Shine was off to pursue Ash. And speaking of which, she had just appeared via teleportation. Skyblue had already returned Aggron to his Poke Ball as she appeared right next to the ship.
"Huh? Hey!" Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at the android after being the first one to notice this.
"Hm? Were you all anticipating me showing up here? Ah, it doesn't matter." Skyblue Shine said as the hatch to the ship was starting to open up.
And at the same time, Twilight and her Pokemon were approaching here, after following Skyblue Shine's trail. "You guys!" The young alicorn called out to her friends. "Don't let her escape!"
"Persistent..." Skyblue Shine smirked as she backed away towards the hatch. But before entering the ship, the ship itself had attacked. By revealing its mechanical cannons, the main ship had fired a barrage of magic rays towards Twilight and the others.
"Dino!" Audino gasped as she quickly stood in front of everyone, using Protect to defend them all. Shots of magic came raining down as everyone stood behind Audino. The magic rays hit the ground, forming dome-shaped purple explosions to form as some of them hit the shield.
Audino's shield was just able to protect everyone from the rays successfully. But unfortunately, the air was a bit different as she couldn't use Protect on Twilight and Togekiss.
The magic rays had also been shot upwards, heading straight for the alicorn and the Jubilee Pokemon. Twilight gasped as she quickly put up a protective barrier around her, Togekiss and her Pokemon.
Furious explosions kept forming around the area thanks to the cannons. So much so that Audino was struggling to hold Protect together. Rainbow Dash couldn't even find an opening to fly out thanks to all these magic explosions going off.
The hatch to the ship was closing as Skyblue Shine had already left their field of view thanks to that distraction, heading off somewhere else in this castle ship. The ship's cannons retracted as they had done their job.
As the remaining explosions went off, the ship ascended, turning around as the engine kicked up some wind yet again. The wind had blown away the smoke of the explosions after it all ended. Afterwards, the ship flew off.
"She knows where the staff is!" Twilight descended. "If she gets to Ash..."
"No, she won't!" Rainbow Dash spread her wings out as she and Braviary flew towards the ship. But as they approached the giant castle ship, immediately, the ship's defences kicked in.
Those cannons reappeared, aiming directly at the two of them. Those same magic rays came flying out once more as both Rainbow Dash and Braviary gasped. Knowing that it was a bad idea to approach the ship like that, the two of them flew back, avoiding the magic rays that rained down on them.
"Bad idea!" They returned to the ground after averting the rays.
"Too late to enter.." Twilight looked up. "But we're not too late to stop them. Fluttershy. Audino knows where Ash right?"
"Mhm."
"Audino."
"Then we'll get to Ash first. We'll have our own major aerial travel." Twilight nodded.
"Uh...Not all of us can fly though? And Audino's gonna be pretty hard to carry, ya know." Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at Audino.
"No. But there's one Pokemon that can." Sparking up an idea, Twilight got out her Xtransceiver. Their aerial travel wouldn't be by Braviary or even Togekiss. There were was one Flying-Type in mind that could carry every single one of them.
But that Pokemon could only be made possible by the Pokemon that belongs to Pinkie Pie. And speaking of which, Twilight had selected Pinkie Pie's Trainer number, calling her.
"Hello?" Pinkie Pie responded.
"Pinkie Pie! Are you okay?"
"Peachy! All the food here's great! Oh and we took care of some weird robots in the kitchen, that too." She had a plethora of food at her disposal while some defeated robots were littered across the floor.
"Mew-Mew!"
"Great! We need Mew to do one thing for us."
"Yeah?"
"Mew?"
Out in the wilds.
Dragonite was still flying out in the open, high above the skies. She wouldn't land until Ash had spotted a Time Flower. Luckily, Ash had a great memory of his past adventure here so he knew where most of the Time Flowers he had seen was.
At least, he was hoping that they were still in the same spot after all these years. Pokemon still roam around the wild after all so their movements might've moved the flowers themselves.
They needed to hurry so that they could assist Cameran Palace and their friends. Little did Ash know that right now he was being pursued by a gigantic ship that was fast enough to keep up with even Dragonite. The ship itself was blending in with the clouds of the night sky, using some sort of camouflage system.
In the distance, the ship was closing in. And the ponies within the ship had spotted Ash, Pikachu, Lucario, Dragonite and the staff up ahead.
"There they are." The pony commanding the ship's movements said to Skyblue Shine.
"Good. Only focus on that staff. And be careful. Since he shares the same Aura Pattern as that Sir Aaron human, who knows what he can do with it? That is...if he even knows how to use it." Skyblue Shine smirked as she gave out an order next by saying, "Send out the Soundgliders."
The hatches of the ship opened up once more, this time deploying some new creations from the Empire. From the hatches, troops were strapped onto large gliders that descended from the ship. These troops had special helmets on them that were separate from the rest. And it was for one reason.
"Lu?" Lucario's Aura immediately sensed that something was off. His dreads flared as the staff had also reacted to Lucario's Aura sense.
"Huh?" Obviously, Ash took notice of this.
"Luca!" Lucario was able to sense the ship even if it had camouflage. Not even camouflage can hide from Aura as Lucario turned around, spotting the gliding ponies.
"What the?!" And soon, Ash and the others took notice of them. At least 20 droves of these gliding ponies were heading for them.
"Pika?!"
Just then, once the gliders were close enough, they had activated the soundwaves that were coming from the gliders themselves. Soundwaves that went up to 60 hertz of sound.
The waves travelled through the sky and immediately towards Ash, Pikachu, Lucario and Dragonite, only affecting them. The gliding ponies weren't affected because of the special helmets they wore. They blocked out the soundwaves and hertz that came from them. The same went for the ponies inside the ship.
"Ah!" Ash covered his ears along with his Pokemon as Dragonite was slowing down. She couldn't concentrate with all this noise. It was too sensitive to her ears.
And with Dragonite slowing down, that prompted the ship to speed up as they were approaching at a quicker pace. The gliding ponies kept the soundwaves up, not turning them off until the staff is retrieved.
Once the ship was close enough, something else came out from the hatch to retrieve the staff. More aerial units. This time they were robots. They had a circular appearance with red eyes in the middle. But their main usages were the large claws on the side of their bodies. Made perfectly for grabbing, like those claw machine games at the arcade.
These grabbing robots flew towards Ash and the others, travelling through the air as they were immune to the soundwaves. A perfect combo.
"L-Lucario! Block out your ears and use only Aura!" Ash turned to Lucario. He knew that Lucario wouldn't need to hear to use his Aura. After all, Sir Aaron's Lucario was once blind and all he needed was Aura to see.
"Ca!" Lucario understood as he used one palm to block out his ears while the other would be used for attacking. The soundwaves were still travelling through his other ear due to it being vulnerable.
The Aura Pokemon then closed his eyes, letting his Aura take over. He focused as hard as he could as he was blocking out most of his hearing senses. Afterwards, the Fighting-Steel-Type relied only on his other senses and Aura.
The robots closed it, holding their large claw-like arms around, snapping them as they were ready to snatch the staff away from Ash's clutches.
"Luca!" Lucario's Aura picked up on the Soundgliders and robots. While the robots didn't have an Aura, the gliding ponies certainly did. After that, Lucario held his palm out, using Aura Sphere.
Out of his one palm, multiple spheres of Aura came flying out as Lucario read their movements. The multiple Aura Spheres had struck the gliders, destroying them and the sounds they made. Not only that but since the gliders were keeping the ponies in the air, with them destroyed, falling from above was up next.
"W-Woah!" The ponies screamed as they immediately activated their parachutes to save themselves. With the soundwaves gone, Lucario and the others can focus clearly.
"Awesome! Now, Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt! And Lucario! Aura Sphere!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu jumped into the air, rolling a few times before generating an aura of electricity around him.
"Luca!" Lucario raised both his palms over his head before summoning a giant Aura Sphere. "Rio!"
"Chu!" At the same time, both of Ash's Pokemon unleashed their attacks. 100,000 volts of electricity went straight for the claw robots while a giant ball of Aura rolled through the air.
First, Pikachu's Thunderbolt had struck one robot as the electricity had spread out, affecting the other nearby ones, messing with their electrical systems by overloading it. And then after that, Lucario's giant Aura Sphere engulfed them all, consuming the robots in a giant blue explosion and destroying every last one.
"Pika!" Dragonite flew back, catching Pikachu and saving him from falling all the way down. "Pikachu!"
"Drago!"
"Awesome job! Now everyone, hold on tight! Dragonite! Hurricane!"
"Dra!" Dragonite's eyes flared as she faced the ship that was approaching her. Ash and the others held on tight to Dragonite's back as the Dragon Pokemon flapped her wings, releasing a powerful gust of wind that stood in the way of the ship.
Afterwards, Dragonite flew off, leaving the castle ship to deal with this problem.
"A Hurricane!" One of the ponies cried out as the others onboard were very rightfully so starting to panic. If their ship gets caught up in this hurricane, it could spell disaster for all of them.
"Tch!" Skyblue Shine kissed her teeth, narrowing her eyes. "Get us away from that Hurricane immediately!" Not really knowing how to deal with something like this, the obvious choice was to just try and evade it.
The ponies commanding the ship began putting all their focus on moving away from the powerful gust of wind. A hard left was made as everyone else on board the ship could feel the whole vessel starting to tilt as some of them even fell to the side, losing their balance.
The power of the Hurricane was great enough to affect the ship even from a far distance. It was a good thing that the ship was purely made out of aluminium or else it would've been obliterated the moment the gusts of Hurricane even got near.
The ship's engines were rapidly beeping as the force of the Hurricane was starting to affect the inside as well. All of this turning had definitely given Dragonite all the time in the world to get a good distance.
Everyone held tight as the ship had managed to successfully turn around. They couldn't move directly forward with Hurricane in the way. But they could fly to the side and pursue Ash from there.
The ponies put the ship into full-throttle as they were starting to move back from the pull of the Hurricane. With full speed, the caste ship managed to escape the Hurricane with its boosters doing most of the heavy lifting.
"We're safe!"
"Good! Now, get a different side and continue pursuing them!" Skyblue Shine ordered.
"Wait!" One pilot halted them as she pointed her hoof at the radar screen. "Look. There's something else coming this way. Right towards us."
"Something else?" Skyblue Shine looked at the screen.
"It's gigantic. And moving at high speeds." She explained. "It's-"
"Lugia!" Multiple ponies exclaimed as they had all looked outside the window. Skyblue Shine rushed over the windows to see this for herself.
And lo and behold, with a giant shadow that was cast over the entire ship and wings flapping at a high frequency, standing at a total of 5.2 and 17′01″, it was the Diving Pokemon Lugia.
More specifically, it was Mew that had transformed into a Lugia. And on his back, Twilight and the others could be seen. But not Applejack and Rarity. They were back at the palace helping out.
"You...!" Skyblue Shine growled as she stared at Twilight and the others.
"Alright, Mew! Use Aura Sphere!" Pinkie Pie commanded. Mew, disguised as Lugia, opened his mouth as he generated a large ball of Aura, ready to fire it.
"Put up those shields!" Skyblue commanded. The pilots nodded as they had immediately registered the ship's shields to come online. Just like the battle station, a magical veil covered the whole thing.
Mew fired Aura Sphere as the ball of concentrated Aura met with the barrier. With one hit, Aura Sphere was enough to shake the barriers, even weakening it a bit.
"Eve! Use Shadow Ball! Absol, Dark Pulse! Minccy, Focus Blast! And Togekiss, you use Aura Sphere!" Twilight commanded.
"Mew! Aura Sphere again!"
"Castform! Weather Ball!" Rainbow Dash cried out.
"Audi! Hyper Beam! Chikorita! Magical Leaf!"
"Espeon!" Eve and the other Pokemon all used their far ranged moves all at once. From fairy rainbows, beams of darkness, mental blasts, spheres made out of Aura, a sphere of fire, a giant orange energy beam and some mystical leaves. Each raced towards the ship.
All at once, the multitude of attacks had struck the barrier of magic. One hit from all of them and immediately the shields had been weakened to the point where they couldn't go on.
The shields had reached critical mass as they had each failed, lowing the ship's defences. It was now vulnerable to all of the attacks.
"Kh! All of them are downright irritating...!" Skyblue Shine let out an aggravated grin. "Fine then! We'll just shoot them out of the sky! Fire the main cannon!"
The castle ship had then turned around, facing Mew and the others instead of pursuing Ash and the staff. Once it faced them, the ship revealed its best weapon so far.
A giant cannon had sprouted from the front of the ship, just underneath the main command centre. The cannon already had something within it charging up. Most likely more magic.
"Not good! Everyone! Do what you did again! Go!" Twilight ordered. Everyone would use the same moves that they had done seconds ago to try and stop this incoming blast.
All except for Audino, who needed to recharge after using Hyper Beam. But she had one other option that could help either way. All Fluttershy had to do was wait for the right moment.
Once more, they used their ranged moves, shooting them towards the ship. And this time, they had all merged as one to create an even stronger attack.
But the cannon had just finished charging up impressive speeds. After the charging had ended, the cannon then unleashed a grandiose beam of magic from the outside shooting it forward.
The giant beam of magic had met with the merged attacks, creating an immediate struggle between them. But there wasn't a prolonged struggle at all. Despite having their attacks being merged as one, the magic cannon was somehow able to match them on equal terms despite being only one attack.
"More power!" Skyblue Shine ordered as she wanted Twilight and the others blown away for good. With that command, the ponies had increased the power of the cannon.
And that one single power increase was just enough to overpower the merged attacks. So much so that it consumed them before racing towards Twilight and her friends.
"No way!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Audi! Protect, go!"
"Audino!" Now was the time. With enough time to recharge, the Hearing Pokemon ran in front of her friends before putting her arms out. She summoned a circular protective screen in front of everyone else while closing her eyes.
The giant beam of magic raced through the sky as it met with Audino's Protect. The beam was so massive that it managed to engulf everyone, starting from Mew's giant stature as a Lugia.
But, even when being engulfed by it, Audino's Protect was still holding it back. Everyone ducked for cover as Twilight and Starlight used their magic for extra protection.
The beam of magic raged on with Audino trying her best to hold it back. The circle of Protect was starting to weaken as the Hearing Pokemon was starting to get on her knees.
"A-Audino!"
"More!"
Yet again, more power was added, increasing the beam's power and size, making it harder for Audino, Twilight and Starlight to even contain it. All three of their shields were cracking as they were on the verge of losing control.
"Chiko!" And Chikorita noticed this. For the first time, without sleepwalking, Chiokrita's special ability was kicking in desperation of saving her friends.
The leaf on her head was starting to come off. But this time, instead of small bits, it was a gigantic part. In fact, most of Chikorita's leaf had come off, leaving only a few bits and the stem that's connected to her head.
This giant leaf had touched Fluttershy's back as the shields had failed. Thus, the beam had broken through. And that same time, a bright light, coming from the leaf had engulfed everyone all around.
The magic beam blew up afterwards, causing a bright purple explosion to occur in the sky, blowing the clouds away as purple sparkles went falling lightly. After that, the purple smoke cleared as Mew and everyone else was nowhere to be found. They were completely gone.
Seeing that, the ponies applauded, believing that they had gotten rid of possibly the biggest threat in this world. But Skyblue Shine could sense that something was off.
The magic beam didn't cause that bright light to occur. Not at all. Even though it looked like they had been obliterated by the blast, the android could suspect that it wasn't as easy as it looked. But either way, she pressed on.
"Ugh..." Twilight groaned as she was currently laying on the ground. Her eyes had opened up as she was greeted with the sight of a grassy landscape with the blades of grass being blown in the wind.
She got up from the ground, immediately looking at the night sky. Right now, everything was calm and silent, far different from all the commotion and chaos that had happened earlier.
"What?" Twilight had then noticed that barely of her friends were with her at the moment. The only ones here were her Pokemon along with Togekiss. "What happened?"
"Espeon...?" Just like her trainer, Eve and the others were a bit befuddled and dazed. The last thing they all remember was the ship firing a giant magic cannon at them while defending themselves. And before they knew it, a giant light covered them all and now they were here.
"Absol..."
"Cinccino."
"Toge?"
"How did we get here...?" Twilight was recalling everything that had happened before. She remembered the cannon breaking through her, Starlight and Audino's protective shields and then that light appeared. She then realized what it could've been. "Oh! Chikorita! Guess that fate changing leaf helped out. But where is everypony else? Did the leaf separate us?"
"Esp?"
"We need to get moving. They could still be chasing Ash and the staff down." Twilight stood up. "But...where?"
"Sol!" Absol ran ahead as he told everyone to follow him. Absol has been living in the wild for years by himself. If anyone can get them somewhere quicker, it was most definitely him.
Everyone followed Absol's lead, putting in faith that he could lead them to Fluttershy and everyone else. Wherever they may be.
Actually, speaking of Fluttershy, since it was her Chikorita that had changed fate itself and saved their lives, a massive drawback had been made.
The leaf on her head. Most of it was gone. Now all that remained was the stem. This was highly detrimental to Chikorita's health as her leaf was of great importance.
"C-Chiko..." The Leaf Pokemon breathed in and out with a majority of her leaf gone. Fluttershy held Chikorita in her hooves while Audino was trying to ease the pain with Heal Pulse.
"There, there. It's okay." Fluttershy spoke trying to soothe Chikorita's pain. "When the sun comes up, it'll grow back. It's summer so it's brighter than ever. Just hang in there, okay?"
"Chikori..."
"Just have to find everyone and Ash." Fluttershy looked around. "But where could they be?"
In truth, Chikorita's leaf had changed fate so much everyone had been split up into groups instead of sticking onto one spot. Chikorita didn't really have any full control over her fate-changing leaf, so results may vary.
Right now, everyone had been separated across the wilds. Unsure of each other's location. But they all kept a good lookout in the sky, searching for the giant ship that was pursuing Ash. And of course, the staff of Sir Aaron.
Manehattan. Nightfall.
Elsewhere, the invasion was in full swing. A multitude of ships covered the sky as they flew over the land of Equestria. And Manehattan, a city as big as it is, was no exception.
Already, the soldiers of Canterlot had ordered many of the residents to take shelter during the sudden invasion for their own safety while they handle the rest here.
The ships had already sent troops from their hatches along with those robotic creations. From ground units to aerial ones. That titanic robotic battle station had also come out, multiple of them this time. They flooded Manehattan as magic rays were already being shot from above, raining down on the city.
"Alright! Get ready, Probopass!" One troop looked at a group of Probopass. Mainly 5 of them that were owned by the Canterlot soldiers. They all owned Probopass for one reason. It's amazing magnetism abilities. If anything, these robots and anything metal were perfect for Probopass to work its magic.
"Probo!" All 5o f them nodded in understanding.
The soldiers at the front were already starting to fend off the approaching robotic rhino vehicles along with the armoured ponies. They had their Pokemon, mainly Golurk, by their side.
"Gol!" The Golurk held their arms out, forming a large Golurk wall as they stood in front of the approaching rhino vehicles. The ponies controlling the vehicles put the machine into full ramming speed as the metal horn on the top started spinning around like a drill.
When coming into contact, the Golurk had their hands met with the ramming rhino-based vehicles, causing a loud and hard impact. The spinning drills spun onto the arms of Golurk, moving at rapid speeds.
"Golurk!" All of the Golurk cried out as the spinning drills in their arms clearly did hurt. It wasn't a pleasant feeling but they had to endure it. And thanks to their amazing strength, they could.
Once they had the vehicles in front of them, each of the Golurk used their amazing strength to grab the horn drills on the vehicle, ripping them out. After ripping them out, the Golurk then used the drill for themselves. Their objective was to stab it through the rhino-like vehicles and destroy them.
Seeing this, the troops inside the vehicles immediately jumped out to avoid being hit by the drill. The Golurk each smashed the drills through the vehicles, causing them to blow up. The Golurk could successfully handle the rhino vehicles in a simple and yet effective way.
But the rest was a bit harder than that. The regular Canterlot soldiers were having an up-close scuffle with the futuristic and alternate universe Canterlot soldiers. The futuristic soldiers had an advantage due to their developed technology. Those electrical staffs were already a major problem as many of the regular Canterlot soldiers were forced back by the electric shock and even had their armour affected. Their spears weren't even that good of a match against these metal ones, unfortunately.
However, what they lacked in the arsenal category, they made up for via the Pokemon. More superficially, the Probopass and to an extent the Golurk.
The Empress' soldiers pushed the regular Canterlot soldiers back with their superior arsenal and force, even attacking from above. Those aerial robots with large claws on their sides could also fire rays from their eyes, attacking any of the soldiers from above and even the ones that could fly.
"Okay! That's close enough! Now, Probopass! Do it!" A soldier commanded all of the Probopass.
"Probopass!" At the same time, all of the Compass Pokemon had used their three units could mini-noses, summoning the potent magnetic force.
With just one usage of it from all five of them, the Probopass were able to manipulate all of the nearby robots and armour that belonged to the Empress' soldiers.
"W-What is this?!" The futuristic soldiers noticed that something was off. They couldn't move. The Probopass' were holding them all in one spot by just their magnetism abilities. Their armour was rattling aggressively as even the aerial robots had been stopped dead in their tracks.
The magnetism of a Probopass is so great that nearby electrical appliances become unusable. And the same can be said for the technology belonging to the Empress' side.
"We'll take those thank you very much." One of the Canterlot soldiers said before taking the electric staff that belonged to the Empress' soldiers. Soon, all of the Canterlot troops snatched the staffs away, utilizing them instead of their spears.
With them having their opposing forces' weapons, they stood an even better chance now. They used their own weapons, hitting the troops and their metal armour while Probopass' magnetism held them there.
But, the aerial robots still had one advantage. Even if they couldn't move, they could still fire rays from their robotic eyes either way.
"Probopass! Use Gravity!"
"Pro!" One of the Probopass ceased the magnetism while the rest of its fellow Probopass kept using their own magnetism. The single Probopass had then looked up, summoning a field of gravity that forced the aerial robots down, bringing them to a lower level. Not only that, but the hard gravity even pressed on their metal exterior.
Then, for another greater advantage, the other troops had commanded their Golurk to go on the offensive with some Pokemon moves.
"Golurk! Hammer Arm!"
"Dynamic Punch!"
"Shadow Punch!"
"Lurk!" Many commands were given to each of the Golurk as they approached the troops, using their heavy fists to smash onto their armour, shattering them. They even smashed their fists onto the robots, including the ones in the air that were forced back down thanks to Probopass.
Even though the Golurk could technically fly by themselves via the rockets they possess on the lower parts of their artificial bodies.
And it also helped that Golurk's natural ability was Iron Fist so any fist-related moves would be satisfying when they land. Their armour were like twigs to the Golurk as many of the troops had lost their defences with ease. The robots tried to shoot the Golurk with their eye rays but it was too late for them.
The Golurk didn't even need to use fist-based moves for the robots. They could just stomp on them and that was the end of that. Very soon, all of the troops down here had been defeated thanks to the efforts of Probopass and the Golurk. But it wasn't over yet.
"Good! Now let's focus on getting those ships!" One of the Canterlot soldiers said, pointing his hoof at the multitude of ships in the air that were still sending out troops. "Get the Probopass in a good range, okay! We can probably stop all of those ships too!"
But before they could advance towards the ships for a better range, new units from the ships had flown this way. Those units were the Soundgliders.
Perhaps the most intimidating aerial foes thanks to their ability to emit high-level soundwaves up to 60 hertz and befuddle practically anyone except themselves thanks to the special helmets they wore. From their gliders, high-frequency soundwaves were being sent out, immediately passing through the ears of their opposing forces.
The Canterlot guards and the Probopass immediately started screaming as the guards covered their ears from this horrible sound, getting on the floor. Their armour was even shaking as well, giving them the same feeling that Probopass gave to the Empress' forces.
But noticeably, Golurk was unphased by this.
"Pr-Probo!"
"Nopony said anything about this!" One Canterlot soldier cried out.
"L-Look!" Another soldier replied, pointing his hoof over to the side. "The Golurk...! T-They're not affected!"
This was because Golurk was an artificial Pokemon. So while organic creatures like ponies and even the Probopass would be affected, Golurk didn't fit that bill.
Despite it being able to hear the commands of Pokemon Trainers, the Automaton Pokemon could not only ignore the soundwaves but block them out with their ghost-like capabilities. Intangibility was just one of them. However, there are some exceptions
"Oh, right...they're not organic! G-G-Golurk! Hit them down with Shadow Punch!" One guard commanded.
"Gol!" The Golurk each swapped out their legs for their signature rocket parts. Once they revealed them, each of the Automaton Pokemon flew into the air, soaring right towards the Soundgliders.
"Oh! Oh!" The Soundgliders immediately noticed that the Golurk were approaching them at high speeds. Speeds that they were not expecting.
"I yield! I yield!" One of the Soundgliders cried out.
"Lurk!" Each of the Golurk used their giant hands to grab the gliders, crushing them into scrap metal with their amazing strength. They even smashed their fists onto them and did other hand movements to break the gliders. This caused the ponies who were using the gliders to start falling from above with their gliders gone. They immediately activated their parachutes for safety as the soundwaves had dwindled.
After dealing with all the gliders, the Golurk approached the ships, ready to attack them from below. And alongside them were some pegasi, but mostly Golurk.
To attack the ships, the Golurk held their arms out, retracting their hands as only a hole could be seen. Some of the Golurk knew some ranged attacks and they were going to use them to their advantage.
"Golurk!" Some of them fired Flash Cannon while others used moves like Shadow Ball. Each came out of the holes in their arms. Some of them even went closer for physical attacks.
Flash Cannons and Shadow Balls hit the many ships above the skies of Manehattan, causing the ships and the ponies inside to tremble. Physical moves had also hit, causing some visible dents to form as one of the Golurk's Shadow Punch had gone through the ship with its intangibility, hitting some of the ponies inside and knocking them out.
With quick retaliation, the ships used their main cannons to fight back the Golurk. Magic rays came out of them, raining down on each of the Automaton Pokemon. The Golurk looked up to see a bombardment of magic rays raining down on them from multiple angles.
Because of this, the Golurk were forced back down as they put their arms out to block the magic rays. The rays had also gone for the troops on the ground, forcing them to take cover, raise their shields or just move back.
Buildings in Manehattan had been hit by the rays, obliterating parts of roofs and even going through some of the many buildings in this bustling city.
The citizens of Manehattan were all far away from here to avoid any chance of them being injured in this invasion. So far, the invasion itself seemed fairly even. Each side had responses to whatever was thrown their way.
And right now, the Empress' side was ready to unleash something that could turn the tides. From the highest ship in the sky, the hatch had opened up as large metal boxes came crashing down.
When colliding with the ground, it caused a slight tremor, but nothing too big. However, what was inside the box was a huge threat. When all sides of the box had opened up, out of it, multiple Cyborg Manticores came running out, roaring at their new targets.
They immediately pounced on the Golurk and Probopass, pinning each of them to the ground. The manticores most definitely outnumbered them in terms of numbers.
"G-Gol!" Each of the Golurk had pure steel robotic monsters on top of them, trying to bite their faces off. However, the Golurk's strength was enough to prevent that from happening. The Golurk had either pushed or grabbed the Cyborg Manticore's forcing them away.
Some manticores were chasing down the ponies instead of going for the Pokemon. After the Golurk pushed the manticore back, they helped out the Probopass by fending the manticore off of them via ranged attacks such as Flash Cannon.
The manticores snarled as they had been pushed back by the Golurk. Afterwards, they charged towards the Golurk, wildly swinging their hard metal claws at them or even going for another bite with their sharp claws.
Thanks to the Golurk saving them, the Probopass could assist in this. Since the Cyborg Manticores were also made out of metal, that made them perfect targets for Probopass' magnetism abilities.
When being saved, each of the five Probopass used their abilities to affect the nearby Cyborg Manticores. When the manticores tried to get another swing or bite out at the Golurk, they were immediately stopped in place.
After being stopped in place by the heavy magnetism, this gave the Golurk the chance to attack. And each of them were going to unload their heavy hits onto the manticores.
But even when being held back, the manticores had a second way of attacking. Their mechanic eye. And the difference between theirs and the other robots with robotic eyes was that the beam that was fired from it was much faster. Out of the manticores robotic eyes, silver beams came flying out.
The Golurk had been struck in their upper body by the scorching beams, knocking them on their backs as some of them even hit the three of the Probopass as well, breaking the magnetic hold.
The remaining two Probopass decided to then use their magnetism to smash the manticores into each other, at least the ones that they were holding. By smashing them together, damaging their metallic bodies. The Probopass then pushed the manticores back, getting some distance between them.
After that, the ships in the sky decided to chime in. By aiming their cannons further down, they granted the manticore and Empress' forces extra aerial support. This time, the magic rays from the cannons had been bumped up with their power increasing.
The rays of magic rained down, bombarding the surrounding area of Manehattan. Their destructive power was greater than before as the dome-shaped purple explosions were even larger. The Golurk and some of the troops had been blown away by these magic rays as they were starting to get overwhelmed a bit.
One of the Golurk stood in front, using Protect to try and defend its allies A wide green screen of protective energy had formed, taking some of the magic rays that were sent down. But, the ones that missed protect had hit the ground, forming the explosions around Golurk. The Automaton Pokemon's protective screen was beginning to crack from all these constant barrages as the nearby explosions were reaching it.
So far, one side was showing more signs of pressure if anything. Manehattan had surprisingly taken less damage than expected. Although, the roofs were certainly a bit of a mess.
However, the tides were about to change as the Canterlot soldiers noticed that high in the sky, more ships from the empire were flying this way, ready to assist.
But, also arriving here was some extra help. Possibly one of the biggest helps they could receive. Outpacing the ships, Princess Luna had shown up. Alongside Darkrai and Frillish.
"Princess Luna!" The soldiers looked up to see the Princess of the Night as the Golurk were currently going against the manticore head to head.
"All of you! Get the Probopass ready for what's coming behind me!" She ordered as Darkrai was also seen flying beside her. The Pitch Black Pokemon was firing Dark Pulse from behind, but he wasn't aiming for the ships. He was aiming at something else.
"Behind her?" The soldiers said as they understood to get ready with the Probopass. But they were wondering what exactly was coming this way.
They found out very soon. From the horizon, just over some of the tall buildings of Manehattan, just like the manticores, another creature from the Everfree Forest had shown itself.
The Bugbear. But with some mechanical attachments. Like its fellow Everfree creature the Manticore, in its own world, the empire had transformed it into something unnatural for an already abnormal creature. This time there many of them flying after Luna and Darkrai.
Darkrai's Dark Pulse was able to knock some of them away. The Pitch Black Pokemon also used Dark Void to put some of them to sleep, Frillish used Hydro Pump to fry their circuits while Luna used her magic as well. But there was so many of them and they were catching up.
"Oh! Probopass! Get ready!" The soldiers instantly saw the Cyborg Bugbears as they turned to the Probopass. Behind them, one of the manticores was about to claw them each, but a Golurk had saved them by grabbing the Cyborg Manticore by its tail, swinging the mechanical creature around and tossing it away.
"Frillish!" Frillish became intangible, phasing through a building to juke some bugbears out. Since a few of them were pursuing Frillish, phasing through the building allowed for the Cyborg Bugbear to crash into the buildings, taking damage. A nice trick from Frillish.
And as an extra addition, Frillish fired another Hydro Pump from his mouth, blasting it through the walls of the building and hitting the bugbears and frying their circuits too.
"Now!" Once the rest of the Cyborg Bugbears got close, one of the troops gave the call for Probopass to use their magnetism.
"Bopass!" Each of the 5 Probopass turned their focus towards the bugbears as Luna, Darkrai and Frillish flew by each of them. Once close enough, the bugbears had been caught by Probopass' magnetism, stopping them in place. They then forced the Bugbear all to get closer together.
"Now Darkrai! Dark Void! And Frillish, Hydro Pump!"
"I got it!" Darkrai ascended into the air, holding his arms out, ready to use another Dark Void. This time, now that all of them were in place and were unable to move, he could put every last one of them to sleep.
And when they would be put to sleep, Frillish could override their circuits with a ton of water, essentially making them normal bugbears afterwards.
The magic cannons that were still firing rays from above turned their attention towards the Pitch Black Pokemon's group, ready to unload their rays onto them. A conglomerate of magic rays rained down, heading for Darkrai.
"Oh!" Luna took notice as she ascended, putting up a wide magic shield around Darkrai and Frillish, protecting them from taking damage. Luna's alicorn magic was certainly a major help in this as the magic rays poured down onto her barrier, proving to be more effective than Golurk's Protect.
Luna had given Darkrai and Frillish enough time to fire. An assembly of black orbs came flying out along with a stream of high volume water. The orbs had hit each of the Cyborg Bugbear, placing them to rest and then afterwards, Hydro Pump had hit all of them with Frillish moving his mouth, frying the circuits of every bugbear in front of him.
With that, each of them had lost their cyborg functions duo to the water as they were now just average bugbears that were asleep. But this wasn't the last of them. There were more of them out there with even larger numbers.
"Excellent." Luna nodded as she faced the sky. "Now all we have to do is deal with those in the sky and Manehattan will be cleared out."
"We're aiming to get up there with the Probopass so their magnetism can hold the ships. We just need to have the Golurk carry the Probopass." One troop said to Princess Luna while the magical explosions went off in the distance with both sides still going at it.
"Good. Keep doing that. If we keep the Probopass in the sky, their ships will be in perfect range." Luna said as an explosion went off near her, causing the alicorn to flinch. "Darkrai, Frillish and I will also enter one of those ships as well. Hurry. We can at least defeat the ships around the nearby area. My sister and the others are already out there going for the rest."
"Gol!" Five Golurk picked up the five Probopass, shifting their lower half into those jet boosters. Afterwards, the Golurk took to the skies, carrying the Probopass with them.
Luna, Darkrai and Frillish also ascended into the air, flying next to the Automaton Pokemon as the rest of the Golurk down below dealt with the Cyborg Manticotores alongside the Canterlot troops.
The ships and their cannons fired rays down towards Luna and the others that were approaching them to try and shoot them all down. Luna and the others had flown around, evading the incoming shots of magic rays from the ships as hard as they could.
And if they couldn't Luna could just put up a magic barrier to shield everyone from the hits. She even managed to reflect the rays, causing them to hit the ships.
The rays that had hit the ship made the tremble and that gave Golurk and the rest enough time to attack. Once they were close enough, the Probopass had activated their magnetism.
They were able to control almost all of the ships, holding them in place. They were ready to shut down the ship's entire functions with their magnetism, but the ship's cannons reacted quickly, shooting down rays of magic to try and stop them. Darkrai flew in front of the Golurk and Probopass, using Dark Pulse to fight back against the rays. Luna did the same with her magic, protecting the Compass Pokemon.
The Probopass then used their magnetism to completely disrupt and disable the electrical devices of the ships, messing with everything inside. Including the cannons. Even though they were powered by magic, they were still connected to something electrical.
"Everything's off!" One of the ponies commanding the ship had exclaimed as there was massive panic. And for good reason. All of the ships were starting to fall due to their engines being disrupted. They couldn't stay in the air now.
Everypony started running for the escape pods. Unfortunately, those also required electricity for the doors to even open for the pods, therefore making them useless. They all started screaming with panic in their voices. Some even decided to exit the ship via the windows, using their parachutes for safety. Unfortunately, not all of them had parachutes.
"Golurk!" However, the rest of the Golurk were here to deal with that. By flying through the air, they used their amazing strength to grab the ships.
After catching the ships, each of the Automaton Pokemon descended with their ships in their grasp. Once they reached the ground, they placed the ships down, making the remaining ponies inside jump.
The Golurk then used their brute strength to rip open the inner parts of the ship, showing their intimidating stature to the ponies inside. Despite saving them, all of the Empress's forces were in a bad spot.
"Golurk!" The Automaton Pokemon let out a chilling howl as the ponies inside, while terrified by the Ground-Ghost-Type, tried fighting back with the arsenal that they had. They tried shocking the Automaton Pokemon but their Ground-Typing essentially made that useless.
The Golurk had the indoors of the ships covered, no problem.
"This area looks safer now," Luna observed as she had descended. "I'll be moving onto the next immediately. You should move on for extra support everywhere if you can."
"Yes, princess!" Some of the troops saluted. "We'll take everything from here!"
Luna could depend on the rest of the Canterlot troops to deal with everything else here. She, Darkrai and Frillish could move on to the next area to stop the ships. Since this wasn't a full-on invasion, they could drive them back, giving a pause in all of this.
Empress Twilight's world, nightfall. Her throne room.
The Empress sat on her throne, waiting to receive reports about how the invasion was going. She waited patiently for all of her plans to fully play out and grant her entire side victory.
"Empress!" A guard came running over. "We've just received a report that our forces in Manehattan have been dealt with! It's the Probopass! Their magnetism ended up sabotaging everything!"
"Curses!" The Empress stomped her hoof. "Those Probopass are too big of a threat. That magnetic field and everything..." Empress Twilight knew that the Probopass were major threats from the very beginning.
Their magnetic field essentially made them perfect counters to a giant majority of ships and technology that the empire possessed. Not only that, but the fact that a few of them can affect so many was already a major problem. This was a problem that the Empress took notice of immediately. However, since all of her arsenals consists of metal and advanced technology, even if she had another year of planning or more, the Probopass would still be able to disrupt it all.
Truly a powerful Pokemon despite how goofy it looked.
"What should we do, Empress?" A guard asked. "If the Probopass continue to use their magnetism, they could take care of all our ships and creations in no time."
"We won't let a group of nose hairs get in our way." The Empress narrowed her eyes. "Focus on capturing as many locations as you can in Equestria. I know how to deal with those Probopass."
"Yes, your majesty!"
The guards moved out as the invasion continued with new troops being deployed to pass through the gateways and overwhelm the opposing Equestria.
Nearby, the ponies that had heard this were the older versions of Fluttershy and the others. Hearing that someone out there was giving the Empress some trouble was delightful to their ears. Even if they were currently being held up by the Empress' magic.
But another had heard this.
That other was the Celestia from this world who was just a working maid now. All of this information passing through her ears were very hopeful. She had managed to escape the destruction of the ships in space via the escape pods that had barely got out of Pyrestar's spell.
But she feared what would happen next if the Empress upped the anty.
Kanto Region. Out in the wilds. Nightfall.
Out there, Ash had found what he was looking for. After getting some good distance from the ship, he had arrived at a familiar location that he used to be in during his journey with Sir Aaron's Lucario to the Tree of Beginning.
"Yes! A Time flower!" Ash picked up the Time flower.
"Pikachu!"
"Okay. Let's head back, get to the room where Sir Aaron recovered and see what he found out." Ash smiled as he placed the flower in his bag. They had what they needed. Now they could return to Cameran Palace.
"Lu!" Lucario's dreads and Aura picked up on something nearby approaching. The staff of Sir Aaron also started reacting to this feeling as well.
Ash and the others looked up in the sky, seeing that nearby, just hiding in the cloud, the ship was approaching, searching for Ash and the staff. And they were moving fast.
"Uh oh...Time to go!" Ash bolted off with his Pokemon. He wouldn't fly with Dragonite yet. That would just make him visible. He chose to hide and wait for the ship to fly out of their view so that he and his friends could successfully return to Rota.
"Dragonite!" Dragonite used Dragon Claw to create a large hole in a mountain, creating a temporary cave that could fit her and the others.
"Nice, Dragonite!" Ash praised Dragonite as they all ran inside. And just in time too. The ships had broken through the clouds, arriving near them.
Ash and his Pokemon stayed silent, not making a sound as they weren't even facing the ship. The sound of the ship's engines howled throughout the night sky, making it haunting to listen to.
"No sign of him still." A pony said to Skyblue Shine.
"Hmph. Fine then." Skyblue Shine scoffed. "Send out troops all across the area and find him and that the staff. I'll head out myself to search. If you find anything, call me."
"Yes ma'am!"
Choosing to get out there herself, the hatch opened with many troops ready to scout the wilds of Kanto. They all descended, either with a ladder, parachutes or other methods. Skyblue Shine simply used her magic to levitate down.
Very soon, the wilds of Kanto were covered with troops and other robotic creations that were made to specifically scout. All kept their eyes out for the staff and Ash.
"Luca...!" Lucario snarled as he was ready to run out there and attack all of them.
"Lucario..." But Ash had calmed him, preventing the Aura Pokemon from rushing forward. Even though it was also in Ash's nature to rush forward, just not in a primal sense.
"Pika..."
Ash looked to the side, searching for an opening to try and dash off to. The plan to just wait for the ship to leave their field of view wasn't going to work, unfortunately. And even so, it would take a long time for them to stop searching this area.
So the plan needed to change. And Ash had an idea he could try. A risky one. He just had to wait until most of them were gone and some were close.
As for Skyblue Shine herself, she was further away from Ash than she thought. Her movements led her north, looking around to continue the hunt.
The robots of this choice were cylinder-shaped creations. These cylinder-shaped robots had jackhammers on the side of their bodies. These jackhammers were perfect for trembling the ground to reveal anything. And that's exactly what they were doing.
The jackhammer robots started hitting the ground to see if they could bring Ash out and reveal the staff anywhere. And they wouldn't stop until they had their target.
After around 7 minutes, Skyblue Shine had left the area along with a few others. Ash figured that now was a good time to strike if there ever was one. Lucario's Aura could sense that there less nearby and so could the staff.
"Okay. Here goes." Ash took out a Poke Ball, holding it out as he released Gengar inside of the mini-cave.
"Gengar!"
"Gengar. Hit the ground with Ice Punch, go!"
"Gar! Gen...!" The Shadow Pokemon flew forward, sticking its hand out of the cave instead of its full body. With its hand out and gaining a chilling aura, Gengar hit the ground, causing ice to rapidly spread across the ground, creating a flash freeze.
Before they knew it, the nearby troops had been caught up in this ice as it was moving faster than they could properly counteract it. Thus, some of them had been frozen by the ice instead of just slipping. Then again, they couldn't slip with metal on them.
The jackhammer robots noticed this flash freeze as many of the soldiers were being frozen by the approaching ice. And they certainly couldn't outrun it. Not with the hunk of metal they had on them.
The robots had a response to this. They could just use their jackhammers to shatter the approaching ice and they were getting ready to do so.
"Now! Aura Sphere, Lucario!"
"Ca!" Lucario rushed forward, holding his palms out and already creating a few Aura Spheres. He peered his head to the side before launching the Aura Spheres forward.
Each of them had struck the jackhammer robots, blowing them up before they could attack the ice. Thus, the soldiers had been frozen as the ice had reached its limit. But it covered a lot of ground.
"Okay! Let's go!" Ash said as he ran out of the mini-cave with his Pokemon. They moved to the side, avoiding the view of the soldier since they could still see even when frozen.
The ship was also further away to the point where their field of Ash wasn't close enough. Ash had played his cards properly as he was heading in the direction of Rota.
Twilight was still on the move, following Absol's directions. They had been moving for a while, flying and leaping over high mountains and hills, moving through various caves and crossing large river streams.
Right now, they were in another cave, walking about, still looking for their friends that they had been separated from. Absol kept a good lookout for any hostile Pokemon or the Empress' forces that may be near.
"Nothing yet..." Twilight sighed. She was already worried about the ongoing invasion back at her world. She feared for all of her friends and family as she was unsure what was happening there right now.
To make matters worse, the rest of her friends had been split up due to Chikorita changing fate. Wanting to see if they were alright, she took out her Xtransceiver to make sure.
The first one Twilight chose to call was actually one of her friends who hadn't been caught by Chikorita's leaf. It was Applejack. She hadn't come along and stayed at Cameran with Rarity to assist. Twilight chose her Trainer number as she received a response.
"Twilight!" Applejack spoke.
"Applejack! Are you okay over there?!"
"Everything's wonderful, darling." Rarity slid over as she and her Pokemon stood on top of a mountain of defeated robots and soldiers. "We've taken care of the whole Cameran Palace issue."
"Really?!"
"Really. It got a bit heated there but we pulled through." Applejack nodded. "How about you?"
"Could be better. Everypony got separated after Chikorita's leaf saved us. We're just trying to gather together again and-" Just as Twilight explained her current status, a second call was coming in. One from Rainbow Dash.
"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed with her voice bellowing in Twilight, Applejack and Rarity's ears. "Oh, good! You're okay!"
"Rainbow Dash. Yeah, we're fine. Chikorita did save us after all." Twilight replied. "And you?"
"I got sent somewhere near a large sea. I can't see much in the air with all these clouds." Rainbow Dash was actually in the air currently. "But I see the ship all the way over there. It's really close."
"So nopony's found Ash yet, huh? Okay. We'd better hurry though. Turns out the invasion's already started back home."
"It has?!" Rarity and the others gasped.
"Then why are we here?! We should get going!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"We can't risk the staff being taken away. We need to let it be in a safe place first." Twilight suggested.
"Our sisters are heading back home. We need to make sure that nothing happens to them." Applejack said.
"I guess so. You can head back and check. The rest of us will stay and help Ash head back to Cameran with the Time Flower. And the staff in one piece."
"Where's Ash right now?" Rainbow Dash wondered as she moved her head around, trying to see if she could spot Ash.
"Hold on. I'll try and contact him next and-" But before Twilight could do that, from the near entrance of the cave a blast of magic was coming her way. One of a sky-blue colouring.
"Sol!" Absol sensed this with his horn as he got in the way, using his horn to reflect the blast. He had saved Twilight and more specifically, the Xtransceiver because it seemed like the blast was heading for it mainly.
"Huh?!" Twilight gasped as she turned around. She saw that the blast of magic had hit the cave walls instead thanks to Absol's reflection.
Eve, Togekiss and Cinccino all turned around to see who had caused that. And of course, the one with the sky-blue coloured magic beam was obviously made by a sky-blue coloured pony.
Skyblue Shine.
"Skyblue Shine!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Wait? She's near you?!" Rainbow Dash got her face near the screen.
"Hm. Might've been the wrong reflex from me actually." Skyblue Shine spoke. "I could actually use that Xtransceiver to call Ash instead. Or just let you lead me to him."
"Absol...!" Absol growled.
"Hold on, Twilight! I'll be right there! If I can find you!" Rainbow Dash cried out as she hung up. Applejack and Rarity got moving too as they chose to help Twilight out first before heading over to their sisters. Besides, the gateway connecting back to the other world was fairly far away in Rota so there was some time left.
Rarity would have Pheromosa's amazing speed do all the travelling, making it easier for them to get to one place or the other in minutes.
"In a way, the Empress wants you as well, plus the staff." Skyblue Shine lightly trotted to the sid with Absol's eyes following her. "Taking your magic will just add to her amazing power even more. And from what we've gathered, this world seems to have the most magic possible. A true goldmine for the Empress."
"Like I'd let you take it," Twilight replied. "It's not hers. None of it is. And I won't let her take anypony else's magic ever again from any world."
"Are you saying you could stop her? Hmph. I mean, you are a younger version of her so I'd say a few years would get you somewhere. But you can't stop her as she is now. Neither can you the invasion happening to your world. Albeit smaller than we wanted it to be, but it's going to help us dominate and take control of this world either way."
"I know I can stop her. But not on my own. I have all my friends with me to help out." Twilight stomped her hoof. "We'll stop this invasion for sure!"
"Hah! Even if you do, you'll have to worry about the second one!"
"The second one?!" Twilight gasped.
"The Empress is an amazing planner. Always plans. "Even though it's impossible for her to lose, if she does lose this, there's always the next invasion in store. And the next one. And the next one. And the cycle will repeat itself until this world is conquered. But only one invasion is needed at all times!"
"Then...We'll stop all of them."
"I beg your pardon?" Skyblue Shine squinted her eyes.
"Thanks to my time with Pokemon and everyone who's taught me about it, I've learned that there's no such thing as limited growth. We'll keep growing over time, getting smarter, faster and stronger by every day and all the time. Until we're more than enough to stop whatever comes our way. Even an entire empire. A Pokemon's potential is limitless and I'll make sure that I live up to that as well."
"Tch! You think so, hm?! You'll never get the chance to ever develop ever again!" Skyblue Shine immediately used her magic to take out her Poke Ball, sending Aggron out.
"Aggron!"
"I'll capture you here and now, return the staff and see your whole world become apart of the wonderful Twilight Imperium!"
A confrontation was about to occur within a cave. Between Twilight Sparkle and Skyblue Shine. This wasn't their first confrontation but in this case, it may be their last considering how things go.
Skyblue Shine had just sent out her Aggron while the rest of Twilight's Pokemon plus Togekiss were already out, collectively growling at Aggron despite his overwhelming size. Right now, Twilight's friends were going various ways. Mainly, one way that would reach Twilight herself.
After finding out about Skyblue Shine finding Twilight, the rest of her friends were off to help the Princess of Friendship. Pheromosa had picked up Rarity and Applejack, using her amazing speed to run across the land. All they had to do was find Twilight in a cave but that wasn't as easy as it looked. They would also have to avoid the numerous scouts running across the wild searching for the staff of Sir Aaron and Ash who is currently in possession of it.
There was also the issue of the giant ship in the sky which Rainbow Dash had to avoid herself since she was moving through the air alongside Braviary and Castform. There were scouts everywhere searching for Ash, making the wilds practically heavy enemy territory.
As for Ash himself, he was on his way back to Cameran Palace with the staff. Many of the people of Cameran Palace were safe now thanks to the defeat of the Empress' forces that attacked the palace while some of them were heading back home for safety.
Now it was just Twilight and Skyblue in the same area together.
"Let's make this quick! Shadow Ball! Aura Sphere! Aqua Tail and Night Slash, go!" Twilight ordered.
"Smash them all away with Dragon Claw!" So did Skyblue Shine.
"Espeon!" Espeon and her friends went first. The Sun Pokemon opened her mouth, summoning a blob of shadows while Absol and Cinccino approached the Iron Armor Pokemon. Togekiss assisted by ascending into the air, charging up a sphere of Aura.
"Aggron!" Aggron covered his own claws in draconic energy, roaring at the Pokemon that were approaching him. Absol lunged ahead of his friends, lighting his horn up with darkness as he swung towards the Iron Armor Pokemon.
"Absol!" Absol swung his horn down as Aggron moved to the side, evading it before swiping the Disaster Pokemon in the face, launching him away. "Sol!"
"Cinncino!" Along came Cinccino, catching Aggron with a surprise attack by hitting him in the head with an overhead Aqua Tail, causing super-effective damage. Aggron staggered from that before swiping upwards, sending the Scarf Pokemon into the air. "Cinn!"
"Espeon!"
"Toge!"
Both Espeon and Togekiss had unleashed a blue and dark purple sphere from their mouths, sending them towards the Iron Armor Pokemon.
"Agg!" Aggron turned to face the two attacks before using both his claws to hit the two attacks back at Espeon and Togekiss. The two Pokemon had been struck by their own attacks, sending them back as they cried out.
"Grr! Use-" Before Twilight could make her next command before she knew it, Skyblue Shine had appeared before her, lighting her horn up. Twilight gasped as she instinctively made a protective magic barrier around herself, blocking Skyblue's incoming magic attack in time.
"I'm afraid the Pokemon aren't going to have all the fun!" Skyblue Shine grinned. "I'll have to really get my hooves dirty if I wish to bring you back to the Empress!"
Twilight let her magic barrier down before she flew back, Skyblue Shine pursued the young alicorn, chasing after her as now both the trainers and the Pokemon were in a hot feud.
Twilight ascended into the air while Skyblue Shine used magical levitation to catch up to her. The two of them started exchanging magic beams from their horns. Thanks to Skyblue's magic upgrade, she properly matched Twilight as their magic beams cancelled each other out.
But afterwards, once that happened, Skyblue Shie used her magic to rip a large chunk of rock from the cave walls, sending them towards Twilight from the side. The young alicorn gasped before forming a shield around her to protect herself.
Skyblue Shine then unloaded another beam of magic that poured onto Twilight's shield. Twilight had been pushed back with her shield still active before she expanded her magical shield, blowing the beam away. The two of them just kept going back and forth while their Pokemon do the same in the background.
"Aggron!" Aggron knew that it was all up to him to make his own commands. And the same can be said for Twilight's Pokemon as they had just recovered after being hit by Aggron each. "Ggron!"
The Steel-Rock-Type then switched to Flash Cannon, generating a large sphere of metallic energy before firing an even larger silver beam out of it.
"Absol!" Absol opened his own mouth, using Dark Pulse to cancel out Flash Cannon. Afterwards, both Cinccino and Togekiss went for highly effective moves in the form of Focus Blast and Aura Sphere.
As the smoke had formed, Aggron moved through, lifting his claws as he was ready to strike at his opponents without even using a Pokemon move.
"Cincc?!" Cinccino gasped as Aggron appeared before her. The Iron Armor Pokemon grabbed Cinccino by the head before smacking Absol and Espeon away with his tail.
"Esp!"
"Sol!"
Aggron then picked Cinccino up, using her as a meat shield against Togekiss' Aura Sphere. The sphere of Aura hit Cinccino instead, dealing super-effective damage to the Scarf Pokemon.
"Cino!" Cinccino cried out as Aggron tossed her aside. Absol recovered on his feet as he retaliated with the move counter. The Disaster Pokemon lunged forward by lighting his horn up, returning the damage he had taken back to Aggron.
"Absol!"
"Aggron!" Aggron staggered as he was sent back by Absol's counter. Afterwards, both Espeon and Togekiss got together to blind Aggron via Dazzling Gleam.
A bright and colourful light shined from both their bodies, glistening in Aggron's eyes as the Iron Armor Pokemon had been temporarily blinded and befuddled.
"Gron!" Aggron moved his head to the side, covering his eyes. While he had been dazed by the lights of Dazzling Gleam, Absol took the opportunity to continuously swing Night Slash onto Aggron, delivering hit after hit.
"Absol! Absol!"
"A-A-Aggron!" Aggron took each hit before his eyes returned to their natural vision. The Iron Armor Pokemon growled as he grabbed Absol's horn, slamming the Disaster Pokemon onto the ground.
"Sol!"
"Agg!" While holding Absol, Aggron then used Flash Cannon, firing it into the air as he hit the ceiling of the cave. Doing so caused large chunks of rocks to start falling, primarily at Espeon and Togekiss.
"Togekiss!" Togekiss gasped as she put her wings up, trying to block the incoming rocks. Eve thankfully managed to save her friend via Psychic. She used her Psychic mind to hold each of the rocks, tossing them aside.
"Esp!"
Aggron then tossed Absol aside, causing him to crash into a wall, creating a hard impact as the Dark-Type fell over. But while Aggron wasn't looking, Cinccino had just gotten enough time to use Focus Blast.
"Cinccino!" After getting up from the ground and charging it up, the Scarf Pokemon unleashed a giant golden blast of mental energy that tore through the ground.
Aggron's eyes widened as he had been hit directly by Focus Blast, right in the stomach as well. The Iron Armor Pokemon was consumed by a giant golden explosion as he went flying back.
The Steel-Rock-Type groaned after being hit by Focus Blast. That was the most damage he had taken by a long shot. But it wasn't over yet. Togekiss was going for Aura Sphere while Cinccino chose to yet again use Focus Blast.
"Ggron...! Aggron!" The Iron Armor Pokemon looked to the side as he used the next move in his arsenal. Earthquake. He stomped on the ground, shaking the entire cave itself before.
Giant white shockwaves came racing out, heading straight for Cinccino and the others. Togekiss would remain unaffected by it due to her aerial position but the same couldn't be said for her friends.
However, even if Togekiss couldn't be affected by Earthquake, the rumbling of the cave certainly could. Just the movements of the shockwaves from the Earthquake were enough to disrupt the cave as an assembly of giant rocks came crashing down from above as well as the walls themselves falling apart.
And this time, Espeon couldn't save her because of the huge attack coming her way. None of them could escape the Earthquake since they were in such a cramped spot.
All they could do was brace for impact as Absol closed his eyes along with everyone else. Togekiss tried to fly away but there were so many rocks she had eventually been hit by them, causing her to fall with rocks piling on her. Absol and the others had been caught by the white shockwaves of the Earthquake as they cried out.
Meanwhile, with Twilight and Skyblue Shine, Twilight could hear the sounds of her Pokemon being harmed while also feeling the entire cave system falling apart.
"Eve?! Everyone?!" Twilight gasped, fearing for the condition of her Pokemon as Skyblue Shine had caught her off guard, hitting the young alicorn with a blast of magic that had sent her flying to the ground. "agh!"
"You should really focus more, princess." Skyblue Shine levitated towards Twilight, looking down on her. "The Empress is certainly less prone to be distracted by mere foreground or background events.
"I'll take that as a compliment for my current self." Twilight gave a cocky retort before looking up at Skyblue Shine. She looked at the Mega accessory in her saddlebag, knowing that she had to give Espeon and her friends some assistance. But she wasn't there right now because of Skyblue's interference.
So, there was only one thing to do. Mega Evolve Absol so that they have a better chance. Twilight quickly pulled out her Mega Accessory in the form of a pen holder and ink bottle, revealing it to Skyblue Shine.
"Hoh? Mega Evolution, hm? That's a good idea. Maybe that'll defeat your Pokemon at a quicker pace." Skyblue Shine smirked as she had suddenly revealed a Mega Accessory on her own. This one was hiding in her mane. It was in the form of a small hairpiece.
"You've got one too?!" Twilight gasped.
"Helps to be prepared. For all of my Pokemon. But mostly Aggron." She chuckled as she placed the hairpiece on the side of her mane, activating Mega Evolution.
Twilight responded by activating Mega Evolution as both her and Skyblue's Mega Stones started radiating those same golden lights together. Before flying off, the two golden lights flowed around each other, heading straight for the Pokemon that they responded to.
Back with Absol and Aggron, the two of them noticed their keystones glowing. Reds lights flew out of the giant rubble that Absol was buried on along with Aggron too. The red lights met with the golden lights, merging to form a DNA symbol before flying back to the Disaster Pokemon and the Iron Armor Pokemon.
The lights that surrounded Absol while bits of him were changing had blown away the rubble, freeing his friends. Absol roared as he had entered his Mega Evolved state. And the same went for Aggron who shook the cave itself from the force of his Mega Evolution.
"Absol!"
"Aggron!"
Aggron's stellar defence in his Mega Evolved form wasn't going to make this easier or quicker than expected. Then again, it wasn't that easy, to begin with. But Absol having a spectacular attack in his Mega Evolved form could change that as the two Pokemon stared each other down with ferocious growls.
Out in the wilds of Kanto. Nightfall.
Pheromosa was blitzing through the lands, leaving a trail of smoke behind from her amazing speed. She held Rarity and Applejack in her hands while Sceptile used his vines to latch onto her, allowing him to come along.
They were heading for Twilight's location. While they weren't sure where she was, they did see the area around her. She was in a cave from what they both saw, including Rainbow Dash, who was currently in the skies.
While moving through the land, Pheromosa spotted something in the far distance. Or rather someone. A group. And a very friendly group. That group was Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and their Pokemon.
The two of them had just met up after being separated. Thanks to Audino's stellar hearing abilities and Slurpuff's amazing sense of smell, they were able to track each other down in no time.
"Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie!" Rarity and Applejack both cried out.
"Sshh!" But suddenly, Pinkie Pie put her hoof over her mouth, hushing the duo to keep quiet. And for good reason. Because the next thing Pheromosa saw in the far distance was an assortment of scouts, straight from the Empress' side.
"Mosa?!" Pheromosa gasped as she came to a screeching halt. The same went for Sceptile. They had stopped right near the hill that Fluttershy and the others were hiding behind as they kept their voices silent instead of raising the volume. The smoke trail that Pheromosa made was dying out. If any of the Empress' forces saw that, it would give them away.
"Great that you're here...but right now, it's not safe to be around the wilds now," Fluttershy whispered while holding a weakened Chikorita in her hooves.
"Chiko..."
"What happened to Chikorita?" Rarity asked.
"It was her leaf that changed our fate and saved us back in the sky." Fluttershy looked down at the Leaf Pokemon. "She had to use most f her leaf and her health's in a bad spot now. I'm afraid we'll have to wait for morning to come for the leaf to heal."
"Chiko..."Chikori..."
"That might not be too long from now." Rarity looked up before looking to the side. "And there are so many of them..."
"Audino heard everything. They've sent many soldiers to patrol the wilds just to find Ash and the staff." Fluttershy explained. "Everywhere's full of them."
"What about Ash? Is he still safe?" Applejack asked.
"From what Audi heard in the wind, he sounds like he's heading back to Cameran. So he should be fine for now. Hopefully."
"Ash can take of himself." Rarity nodded. "Right now, we need to find Twilight immediately. "That Skyblue Shine pony's found her in a cave somewhere here. Not to mention the invasion's already begun back home. So we need to move immediately."
"It might take some time but Audino and Slurpuff can definitely find her. But...we need to find a way to get through all of them?"
"We could just have Pheromosa smash 'em all before they can even blink. How does that sound?" Applejack turned to Rarity.
"Hm...Sure. That's the easiest way. Pheromosa. Move as fast as you can. Just make sure you don't reveal us. Only yourself, alright?" Rarity said to the Lissome Pokemon.
"Phero." Pheromosa understood loud and clear. Her speed would allow her to move so fast that barely anyone would see her. But she shouldn't risk revealing her friends, so some caution would be needed.
The Ultra Beast got to work as she used her amazing speed to bolt away from the hill, leaving a large smoke cloud behind. She moved at breakneck speeds, faster than the troops could react as she became an absolute blur.
"Hm?" One soldier heard the sounds of something rapidly moving across the ground. But before he could look around to see what it was, Pheromosa had smashed her leg onto his armour, causing it to shatter while also staggering the pony, knocking him out. Ough!"
"Huh?!" The nearby soldiers heard the sound of their ally being harmed after that ough sound. But they couldn't turn around to find the source of that impact since Pheromosa had already left the spot.
Before they knew it, one by one, Pheromosa moved in a zigzag, smashing her foot into every armour and pony there was, shattering the armour and knocking them out in the process.
However, since there were so many of them, it was only a matter of time until at least one of them spotted the Lissome Pokemon. And one of them did. The farthest soldier spotted a white blur moving across, knocking out her fellow troops in the blink of an eye, gradually approaching towards her destination.
Spotting this, the single troop decided to immediately alert the ship for assistance. Obviously, they could tell it was Rarity's Pheromosa since they spotted her going against their troops back at Cameran Palace. The ship was a bit further away by now to properly arrive in time to save them.
And there certainly wasn't enough time for the last troop to really retaliate. And Pheromosa had already reached her, striking the last soldier by breaking her armour and knocking her out.
"Mosa." Pheromosa's leg was smoking from all the kicking she had been doing. She placed it down as in the span of just 14 seconds, all of the surrounding troops had been knocked with zero effort. Not many could keep up with Pheromosa's speed or even barely withstand her devastating kicks.
But the ship in the sky might be a different story. Because despite not saving the troops from being staggered and knocked out by the Ultra Beast, it was still quick enough to reach its location. Further distances meant nothing to it.
The giant castle ship had hovered above the hills, casting a large shadow over it as the ponies commanding the ship had spotted Pheromosa and the others. In fact, not even the hills could hide them from this gigantic aircraft.
"Phero?!"
"They found us!" Applejack gasped as the ship aimed its cannons directly at the targets before them.
"Time to go! Pheromosa!" Rarity cried out.
"Mosa!" The Lissome Pokemon immediately turned around as she picked up Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Mew, Scorbunny and Chikorita together. Meanwhile, Sceptile grabbed both Audino and Slurpuff with his vines while also latching onto Pheromosa.
Now that everyone was onboard, Pheromosa could start running as she took off like a rocket. However, so did the ship. They had direct orders to also deal with the threats that were Applejack and the others. From out of the cannons, a bombardment of magic rays came flying out as they moved so fast that they could actually keep up with Pheromosa.
The magic rays hit the ground, causing dome-shaped explosions to form as the ship kept moving with everyone onboard eyeing Pheromosa down like a hawk.
"Phero! Phero!" Pheromosa gasped as she noticed that the explosions were closer than she expected them to be. She didn't think the ship would be this quick.
"Preposterous!" Rarity peered her head over. "There's no way it can keep up with Pheormosa! Can it?!"
"Audi! Quick! Track down Twilight as soon as you can!" Fluttershy pleaded. Even if Audino was moving at high speeds, she still had to track Twilight down somewhere in the wilds. And the same went for Slurpuff.
"Audino!"
Pheromosa was blitzing across the land while the ship's engines were at full speed, causing them to easily keep up with the Lissome Pokemon. The rays of magic were getting too close as Pheromosa was starting to sense an unwanted pressure coming her way.
"Tile!" Sceptile noticed that one ray was coming towards him. He quickly turned around, opening his mouth and unleashing Dragon Pulse to counter the ray, cancelling the magic out.
"Dino!" Audino's feelers eventually picked up on a familiar sound. It wasn't Twilight, but instead another one of her friends that had been separated after the fate change from Chikorita.
"Pheromosa!" Pheromosa heard Audino loud and clear as she drifted on the ground, heading towards the direction where Audino had heard those familiar sounds of familiar friends.
But the ship wouldn't let up. There was now a massive chase between the two groups. There was already one focus and that was the staff but now there are two things to focus on at this point.
All while Rarity's group was hoping to get back to their world to help stop the current invasion.
Equestria. High up in the mountains somewhere. Nightfall.
And speaking of the invasion, while it goes on with both sides going at it, a very important visitor had just arrived at this world to change the tides.
That, someone, was Empress Twilight Sparkle. The one who started this whole invasion in the first place. She was here for a quick visit for one reason.
Those accursed Probopass. The Probopass were so far the biggest threat to the whole invasion. Their magnetism abilities were so great that they could not only hold all forms of metal in place but they could even disrupt technology and anything electrical. The main resources that the Twilight Imperium uses.
And the Empress was not having any of that. So she decided to take care of these nose-hair Pokemon herself. But first, she would have to find them.
"Alright." The Empress closed her eyes as her horn started lighting up. "I may not be able to look inside of the buildings, caves or whatever...but I can certainly look across the land itself with this spell. You won't foil my plans, Probopass."
By flashing her horn, the Empress had then opened her eyes as they glowed a dark purple colour. She had cast a spell that could help her watch over the entire land except for anything indoors. It wasn't quite like Luxray's X-Ray vision. But it was definitely on a grander scale.
Because once the spell was activated, high above the skies of Equestria, visible to everyone's eyes from all over the place whether high or low, a giant eye could be seen.
An eye belonging to the Empress herself.
"W-What is that?!" One soldier said.
"An eye! And it's gigantic!" Another responded.
"F-Flurry...what's that?" Premium gulped as she was looking outside the window with Flurry Heart whilst still in Canterlot.
"That's auntie's Grand Eye Spell. She's watching over the entirety of Equestria with it!" Flurry Heart explained as she backed up, worried that her auntie might spot her if she put her head outside of the window.
Naturally, everyone was creeped out by a giant eye with purple pupils staring at them from above, larger than even castles themselves.
Through her vision, the Empress could see everyone on the outside. And lo and behold, she had spotted the Probopass that were giving her forces some trouble. They were currently on their way to disrupt more ships and troops but they had also seen the giant eye in the sky.
"I see you." The Empress spoke as she had found her target. The Probopass's were being carried by the Golurk with their jet boosters so they were really in the skies themselves. And that could work out well for the Empress.
After finding her targets, the Empress was ready to deal with them immediately. The best part about her eye magic is that not only can it spot everyone outside, but whoever she spots, she can just use her teleportation magic to head to the area she found them in.
And that's what she did.
By using the traditional teleportation spell, the Empress left the large cliff he stood on before appearing in front of the Golurk and Probopass with her wings out. And it was right above the city of Appleloosa too.
"Gol?!"
"Probopass?!"
"Oh! Look up there!" The soldiers that were with the Golurk and Probopass pointed their hooves in the sky, also spotting something other than the giant eye. They spotted the Empress herself.
"You're giving my side a bit of trouble. Some trouble that I wouldn't want from such a ridiculous looking Pokemon." The Empress narrowed her eyes, showing visible irritation on her face.
"Golurk!" Golurk could immediately tell that this was the main threat. Empress Twilight Sparkle. Knowing this, the Golurk in the sky that weren't carrying Probopass decided to attack to try and end this invasion early.
They flew towards the Empress with their jet boosters as each of them went for fist based moves like Dynamic Punch, Thunder Punch, Shadow Punch and more.
And speaking of Shadow Punch, a few of the Golurk sent shadow-like fists out of their hands, sending them towards the almighty alicorn.
The Empress immediately responded to this with her personal favourite spell. The Gravity spell. This time, she used it in a way that she created a gravitational field around her body in the shape of a spiralling sphere.
This field had pulled the shadow hands in, causing them to spin around the sphere instead of directly hitting the Empress. She was just showing off them with it at this point. But, she then used the most common part of the Gravity spell. She had increased the gravity, sending the Golurk and Probopass flying down with intensified gravity.
"Golurk!"
"Probopass!"
They all went flying down so fast that it only took 3 seconds. They hit the ground hard, causing large craters to form because of their weight and size as the nearby soldiers were sent flying back from this impact.
The Empress then looked down at the Probopass, knowing that wasn't what she wanted to do them mainly. Her main goal was to stop their magnetism from sabotaging the invasion.
But that in of itself was practically impossible because that's something that Probopass has naturally. It's not something that can just be turned off or removed. But, even if she couldn't get rid of it, she could always deal with the Probopass the natural way.
By destroying them.
And she had one unsightly way of doing this. The Empress descended to the ground, appearing before the Probopass, Golurk and the rest of the soldiers that were down here.
"You Steel-Type Pokemon are incredibly durable, aren't you?" She looked to the Probopass. "Getting rid of you bulky Pokemon will just make things easier for me."
"There she is! Att-"
"Quiet." Not wanting to hear any nonsense from the soldiers about their whole attack call, she dealt with them all by summoning bones from the ground itself. The bones formed into a giant ribcage that had pressed down onto the soldiers themselves, pinning them to the ground.
"P-Probopass!" Even though the Probopass couldn't use their magnetism of the Empress since she wasn't as heavily equipped as her soldiers, they could still use other moves.
Those moves were Zap Cannon, Stone Edge, Power Gem and more. These moves were certainly powerful and dangerous. So much so to the point where even the Empress had to be careful or they could do more than sting.
She spread her wings out, taking to the skies as she avoided the rising rocks that came from Earth Power. As for Stone Edge and Power Gem, the Empress had used her magic to hold them all, preventing them from going any further.
Afterwards, she sent the rocks back, causing them to hit Zap Cannon instead as all of the moves had been stopped. Whether by avoiding them or cancelling them out.
As the smoke was starting to clear, one of the Golurk had used Flash Cannon, putting its arms out and sending a silver beam of metallic energy forward.
The Empress' eyes widened as she saw the silver beam pass through the smoke. In response, she used a spell that had split the air itself, separating Flash Cannon as it caused the attack to go into different directions symmetrically, missing the Empress too.
"There you are!" The Empress appeared before the two of the Probopass, using a Compression spell against them. By surrounding them in her magic, the Empress was starting to compress the Probopass by slowly crushing them. She was manipulating the matter around them to do so.
"P-Probo!" The Probopass all cried out as they could feel their bodies being slowly crushed. Visible dents were forming as it felt like they were having their entires bodies being turned inside out which was an unpleasant feeling.
"Golurk!" The Golurk wouldn't stand for this as they rushed over to stop the Empress. She turned around, attempting to use the Compression spell against them as well, but quickly found out that the Golurk were unphased by it.
"Hmph. That Ghost-Typing sure is bothersome isn't it?" Unfortunately, due to the Golurk being Ghosts, they were exempt from a plethora of things such as compression. But it could also be them being artificial Pokemon that was helping them a bit. "Whatever."
Not worried about this one bit, the Empress had multi-tasked, using a different spell to try and throw them all off. When the Golurk went in for physical attacks before they knew it, within their ghostly vision, they had suddenly noticed their attacks had indeed landed, but not on what they expected.
Instead of hitting the Empress, they had hit the Probopass instead. And with super-effective moves to boot. This was because the Empress had swapped positions in a split-second.
"P-Probopass..." So after being hit by the amazing attack strength of Golurk, each of the Probopass had fainted as the Golurk quickly regretted what they had done. But that didn't matter since the Empress very soon engulfed them all in a giant explosion of magic.
The Golurk cried out as they had taken the full brunt of the Empress' explosive magic, causing them to be sent flying. The troops couldn't help because they were still trapped within the ribcage that was pressing down on them.
After having the Golurk take out the Probopass for her, the Empress decided to do one last thing before she left. By using the Bone spell once more, she had ripped the ground itself open, creating a massive hole around it.
She then used her magic to hold the Probopass in her grasp, dropping them inside of the hole. Afterwards, Empress Twilight had finished it off by burying the Compass Pokemon with over a hundred layers of thick bones, covering the ground.
And she did more than that. The bones were also crushing the Probopass while they were buried underneath the ground. The bones also started to spread, wrapping themselves around all of the surrounding buildings in Appleloosa, quickly forming a giant cage of ribs that had pressed down on them.
Appleloosa now one big cage of bones.
"There." The Empress grinned as everyone here was essentially immobile. None of them could break through the bones. Not even the Golurk themselves. These multitude of layers were too thick, even for them. And even when she wasn't using her magic, the bones were moving around by themselves, adding more and more layers and increasing the thickness.
"Don't worry. After all of this, I'll restore Appleloosa into something better when I eventually conquer this world. But right now, all you can be crushed into the ground where you can join the bones of the past, present and soon the future." She let out a maniacal laugh.
Her work here was done.
At least, that's what she thought.
Until the Golurk did the unthinkable but essentially, the predictable as well. By using their Ghost-Type properties, they made themselves intangible, phasing through the bones and ascending into the air with their jet boosters.
They couldn't break the bones but they could certainly phase through them.
"Golurk!"
"Oh my." The Empress was actually impressed by that. But, she should've expected it considering how Ghost-Types can just do that. "Ah, whatever."
Not too intimidated, she simply used her Gravity spell to launch the Golurk so far that they were sent away from Appleloosa in seconds. The last thing that was heard were their echoing screams.
"Pokemon. If this keeps up, whatever unexpected thing they pull off next will just ruin everything." The Empress said. "All I have to do is clear the Pokemon out and everything will be as easy as it needs to be. Then again...I still need the Pokemon. Having that much power in my endless Empire would be unmatched."
In truth, despite all of this, the Empress still wanted the Pokemon. They had so much power in such varieties that are practically endless that she couldn't ignore it. If anything, the Empress was thinking of replacing her main soldiers with Pokemon instead. That is until she conquers this world that is.
"Alright. I think now might be a good time." The Empress chose to communicate with her army from the other side. "Let's start a short frenzy. Send them both in. I'd like to see them stop two unstoppable forces."
Kanto Region. Out in the wilds. Inside a cave. Nightfall.
"Absol!" Absol rushed at Aggron as the two Mega Pokemon were going at it. The Disaster Pokemon swung his horn onto Aggron with Night Slash, hitting his heavily armoured body. Absol's strength was definitely equal to Aggron's immense defence.
"Aggron!" After being slashed by Night Slash, Aggron retaliated with attack Head Smash. The Iron Armor Pokemon delivered a life-endangering head butt at full power, smashing his head onto Absol's.
"S-Sol!" Absol cried out after being hit in the head. He went crashing through many walls in the cave by it. Usually, Aggron wouldn't feel the effects and recoil of Head Smash because of his ability 'Rock Head. But his ability was different from Mega Pokemon, unfortunately, so he had to take the heavy damage.
"Aggron...!"
"Ab!" Absol returned with the attack Counter. By covering his horn in light, the Disaster Pokemon dashed out of the many holes he was sent flying to before hitting Aggron directly in the face with his horn. Aggron cried out before using Dragon Claw to smack Absol away. Aggron's recovery was quicker than ever with this bulky body.
And this was also thanks to his ability as a Mega Aggron. Filter. Super-effective moves are now less effective than ever thanks to this ability, meaning that Counter wasn't a sure-fire way to victory. However, Absol's amazing strength sort of made up for that a bit.
Ggron!"
"Sol! Yet again, Absol was sent back as he tumbled on the ground.
"Espeon!" Espeon saw that while they were definitely not getting past Aggron's ridiculous defence but they had to try. Togekiss and Cinccino readied Aura Sphere and Focus Blast while the Sun Pokemon started running circles around Aggron with Quick Attack.
"Ggron? Gron?" Aggron looked around, seeing Espeon dash around so fast she was leaving afterimages. Espeon's goal was to distract Aggron while Togekiss and Cinccino finish charging up. "Agg!"
Aggron started swinging Dragon Claw around to try and strike Eve but the Sun Pokemon was moving too fast for him. As if that wasn't enough, Absol unleashed Dark Pulse from behind, further distracting the Iron Armor Pokemon, prompting him to turn around.
"Agg?!"
"Absol!"
That had given Togekiss and Cinccino enough time to fire. And fire they did. They unleashed a merged Fighting-Type attack with Aura Sphere and Focus Blast becoming one.
"Togekiss!"
"Cinccino!"
"Aggron?" Aggron looked to the side as before he knew it, he had been struck directly by the merged attack, taking super-effective damage with a giant explosion forming afterwards. It was so great that even Espeon and Absol had been knocked back by it.
But it didn't matter at all. Filter negated all that effective as Aggron's face showed itself through the smoke. Togekiss and Cinccino gasped after seeing their attack fail.
With a devious smile, the Iron Armor Pokemon returned the favour by using Flash Cannon, an even stronger one than he usually has. And it was faster this time. Out of his mouth, a wide radius-covering silver blast of metallic energy came flying out.
Togekiss and Cinccino had been hit by Flash Cannon as they cried out in pain. Aggron moved his mouth around, causing Flash Cannon to move as well. Espeon gasped as she used Quick Attack to try and evade the approaching silver beam.
"T-Togekiss..." Togekiss groaned as her wings had been injured. They were already injured after the rocks fell on her but even more damage had been given to them. She noticed that Cinccino had taken the most damage out of everyone here.
Her small little body meant that she was more fragile than her friends. The Scarf Pokemon groaned as she was on the verge of fainting. Togekiss quickly helped her up from the ground.
"C-Cinccino."
Togekiss saw that they had to come up with a plan immediately or else this could be it for them. Eve was managing to escape the Flash Cannon but Aggron wouldn't let up.
"Sol!" Absol then moved in for another Night Slash as he cut Flash Cannon in half with his horn, separating and ending the Steel-Type attack.
"Agg?!"
"Sol!" Absol then began swinging his horn wildly at Aggron, trying to overwhelm him. Aggron did the same with Dragon Claw as the two of them started swinging at each other.
They had exchanges with Absol mostly moving rapidly around while Aggron stayed in one spot. Espeon moved back as she went over to check on Togekiss and Cinccino.
"Espeon!"
"Togekiss! Toge-Toge!" Togekiss told Espeon that they had to come up with a plan immediately. Twilight was in trouble and they couldn't continue wasting time with Aggron. Plus, while Absol could continue fighting for potentially hours, the same can't be said for his friends as Cinccino was the most burnt out of them all.
"Esp...Espeon!" Espeon nodded in understanding as she had already come up with a plan. A plan that could stop Aggron right here for good.
"Absol!" Absol then let out his hardest swing yet as he slashed onto the arm of Aggron. It was so hard that a piece of Aggron's armour actually came off, startling the Iron Armor Pokemon.
"Ggron?!"
"Sol!" Absol then fired a Dark Pulse in front of Aggron's face, pouring it on.
"Aggron!" Aggron wailed before wildly swinging his claws, whacking Absol away.
"Absol!"
"Aggron!" Aggron roared as he saw himself as unstoppable with his heavy defence. But now it was time for the plan to go into full swing.
"C-Cincc!" Cinccino, despite being on the verge of fainting, had a bit more to give out. The Scarf Pokemon had used Thunder, sending a giant blast of electricity from her body. The lightning struck as it immediately conducted with Aggron's steel armour.
"Ggron?"
"Togekiss!" Togekiss then flew into the air with Eve on her back as they both used Dazzling Gleam by increasing the brightness, temporarily blinding Aggron. A gigantic fused rainbow sphere was seen in the sky.
"Espeon!"
"A-Aggron!"
"Cinccino!" Cinccino then continued with the next attack. While Aggron had electricity on his body, the Scarf Pokemon took advantage of this with Aqua Tail. She moved in, flipping into the air before smashing her water-covered tail onto Aggron.
The water reacted to the electricity as Aggron's body was now being met with rapid moving electrons as a giant burst of electricity engulfed his entire body. Even with his heavy durable body, he could feel that himself.
"A-Agg!" Aggron cried out as he slapped Cinccino away, causing her to be sent flying. Absol caught the Scarf Pokemon as Eve and Togekiss used their next attacks.
"Toge!" Togekiss had formed an Aura Sphere as Eve chose to add her own power to it. By using Shadow Ball, she caused Aura Sphere and Shadow Ball to become one. The Sun Pokemon then used Dazzling Gleam, shooting rainbow rays into the sphere, increasing its size and power.
"Espeon!"
"Kiss!" Togekiss then launched the powered-up Aura Sphere, sending it towards the Iron Armor Pokemon. But this is where the rest of the support came in. Cinccino, with the last of her strength, used Focus Blast, merging it with Aura Sphere, Shadow Ball and Dazzling Gleam, expanding its size and power.
And for one final go, Absol chimed in with Giga Impact. "Absol!" By covering himself in a dark aura, the Disaster Pokemon charged forward at full force, heading for the merged attack. Since the attack was so big, it was bigger than Absol. Thus, the Dark-Type ended up entering the merged ball, becoming one with it as his dark aura showed.
"Aggron!" Aggron winced as he had to quickly retaliate. And he did this with Head Smash. The Iron Armor Pokemon smashed his head onto the merged attack along with Absol's horn.
Upon collision, it caused a stellar impact and shockwave that formed. A giant majority cave had been blown away by their clash as both sides were caught up in the bright explosion that had been formed.
As for Twilight and Skyblue Shine, they noticed the explosion coming their way as the cave was reaching its end. They each instinctively put up magical barriers around themselves, but Skyblue Shine wanted out of here.
And she did this by using the Travel Sphere that she possessed. She quickly took it out while still having her magic barrier around herself, quickly opening a gateway to her world right in front of her.
But it was too late to escape. The explosion was far too fast. Thus, it had engulfed them both while they were in their barriers. And that was the end of that. The cave was gone along with a gigantic dome-shaped explosion that could be seen from afar, even past the clouds.
And obviously, Rarity and the others saw this as Pheromosa was still running from the rays. Even the ponies on the ship saw this. However, before they would approach the source of this explosion, they would take care of Pheromosa's group first. Pheromosa had come across a large steep hill that she was running across.
The ship saw this as an opportunity to do one thing. Destroy the hill. With an even stronger ray, the ship's cannons obliterated the hill that Pheromosa ran on.
"P-Phero!" Pheromosa gasped as she and everyone started screaming. They were now in the midst of falling due to the obliterated piece of earth. But it wasn't over yet. The cannons kept firing as multiple rays flew towards Pheromosa's direction. And since she wasn't on the ground, there was no way she could avoid this.
Chikorita couldn't do much either. Her leaf wasn't that useful right now. A majority of it was gone, meaning that it couldn't be used to its full potential. The bigger the threat the bigger the leaf. But that wasn't the case anymore.
"Mew!" So it was up to Mew and Audino. By flying out of Pheromosa's hold, the New Species Pokemon surrounded himself in a giant field of Psychic energy. Audino did the same with Protect as they were giving it their all. All at once, the rain of magic cannons fell on the group as Pheromosa held everyone tight.
All that could be seen from above was an endless barrage of magic rays hitting the ground and sky. Pheromosa and the others couldn't even be seen anymore as the land itself was being assaulted by the cannons.
Any nearby Pokemon ran, dug or flew away from this carnage as the wilds themselves had been ravaged by the magic rays. The ships eventually stopped firing as the cannons were retracted. All that was left was a giant smoke cloud with purple sparkles flowing around. Giant craters could also be seen everywhere as the ship flew off, heading towards the direction of where the giant white explosion came from.
Equestria. Nightfall.
Many cities and towns had the residents all take shelter. They've had to leave their homes and hide until the invasion was over. So far, while it had some destruction, it wasn't too major. At least not yet.
More of Celestia's forces went up against Empress Twilight's forces. Due to the defeated Probopass, their ace in the hole Pokemon had been taken out. All thanks to the Empress.
But there were still other Pokemon that could bring in amazing results. An example was Electivire. Spitfire had her own Electivire as she and the Wonderbolts were high up in the skies, glaring at the many ships and aerial enemies coming their way.
Soarin was a part of this as his role as a Weather-based Gym Leader was about to come into full swing here and now. If anything, he also prepared himself for this as he was on the ground instead.
"Buizel, use Rain Dance!" He commanded his Buizel.
"Bui-Bui!" The Sea Weasel Pokemon started dancing around. His dancing was powerful enough to change the weather as the clouds themselves were being met with rain. Buizel had pulled the clouds together as he had summoned heavy rain that started pouring.
"Okay, Electivire! Now! Thunder!" Spitfire ordered along with every other trainer that owned an Electric-Type Pokemon or a Pokemon that knew Electric moves.
"Electi...Electivire!" She commanded just her Electivire since she was currently the only known Wonderbolt member to have one. The Thunderbolt Pokemon raised his arms as he charged up high octane amounts of electricity up to 20,000 volts. When it comes to electricity, no Pokemon has a better output than Electivire.
As such, a giant bolt of lightning shot into the air, soaring into the clouds. Every other Electric-Type attack went into the air as wellAfterwards, the lightning met with clouds, lightning them up before striking down on the many aerial enemies and ships in the sky. Not only that but it also merged with rain caused by Buizel. The heavy electricity met with the water that had covered all of the ships, forming a chain reaction.
A direct hit. The ship's electrical functions were going haywire because of this combination of moves. Systems were starting to fall as all aerial enemies had been knocked out of the sky. The ships could barely handle the electricity and rain combination.
Many ponies jumped ship immediately with their parachutes coming out. The ships were all falling with failed systems and down power. And they were going straight for the nearby sea as well.
The Wonderbolts and the soldiers all cheered as they all bumped their hooves together. They had just cleared out the skies, succeeding in this location.
"Awesome job with all that rain, Buizel!" Soarin said to his partner.
"Bui-Bui!"
"I can always count on you for anything in the air, can't I?" said Spitfire to Electivire.
"Electivire!"
But it wasn't over yet. Something was coming. Something big. Or rather, two things were coming. Another gateway had opened up. Two of them.
This was where the Empress' unstoppable forces were about to be revealed. The soldiers of the Empress' side made a run for it as they knew what was coming due to the size of the ships. Something disastrous that could endanger them was making its way through the gateway.
Spitfire and everyone looked at the two gateways. They stayed on their guard, ready for whatever force would come through them.
But there was no way they could've anticipated this.
Out of the two gateways, a gigantic 50ft metal tentacle came wiggling out of the first gateway. And the second gateway, a giant 40ft purple and green claw also showed itself.
The first to emerge was the metallic entity. Out of it, a giant robotic octopus-like creation had emerged, casting its shadow over the land as it made a horrifying wail that was hard to describe. But it still had the metal sound behind it. This robotic octopus had a plethora of multi-coloured spheres around its body as they were flashing continuously.
It could levitate on its own as the multiple appendages of it had sharp edges. Sharp enough to definitely crush or pierce something. They now had to deal with a giant robotic octopus of all things.
But that was somewhat normal considering what they've been going up against. It was the second entity in the second gateway that threw them off guard. They know of one individual with a purple and green colour combination. Especially one with scales.
An earth-trembling roar came out of the gateway, rumbling the area and nearby towns as the figure was revealing itself. It was obviously a dragon from all those scales, a very big dragon. But not the dragon they were expecting.
This was Spike that came out of the gateway. A 40ft full-grown adult Spike that was the size of at least 50 buildings. Spike let out another roar that was greater than before. This was the Empress' own ace in the hole. Or rather, one of many. And this was also the time for the two giants to cause a rampage as the journey continues.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders had been successfully escorted back to Ponyville along with everyone else. The same went for Chloe who was back in Vermillion City at her home.
Here in Ponyville, with the current invasion going on, a shelter had been made. In fact, it was made before the invasion even began. And this shelter was located right underneath Town Hall. And of course, Mayor Mare was the one who originally made it.
This shelter has been here for years and was a bit dusty. But nothing a little cleaning could do. Everypony in Ponyville had gone down this shelter as everypony was starting to enter the shelter one by one in a perfect line. Even Team Rocket were heading inside this shelter plus Zecora.
"How long do we have to stay here?" A pony asked.
"Until the invasion ends." Mayor Mare responded. "I'm sorry but that's that. Besides, you all aren't cramped in here, are you?"
"No. Seems fine here." Snips looked around, seeing that no one here was actually cramped. The shelter was fairly expansive.
"Mhm." And Snails nodded in agreement.
"Ah, it'll be over sooner than you think. Just give it at least 40 minutes." Just then, Jessie spoke within the crowd as everypony turned to face her and Team Rocket.
"Just 40 minutes? Seriously?" said Lyra.
"How do you know that?" Applejack asked.
"It's normal," Jessie smirked. "Here's how it'll all go. Just wait for the twerp and his pals to deal with whatever huge threat comes their way, they'll take care of it in a few minutes, maybe something gets lost or destroyed during it and that's the end of that. Simple as."
"And it works every time." James gave a thumbs up.
"With zero failure!" Meowth nodded.
"Wobbuffet!"
"They are kinda right." Cold Colt said. "That is how it usually goes. Ash and his friends do kinda do that all the time."
"Well yeah! Ash is cool like that!" Scootaloo grinned.
"Hm." Mayor Mare nodded before looking up at the hatch. "Is everypony here? I already know that Ash and Princess Twilight are off doing what they can to help."
"Uhh...Sunset, Adagio and the others are at Undella Town for a few days..." Cold started to recall who was present here. "Nyx is out there helping to stop the invasion and I think that's about it, right?"
"Uh...Big Mac's not here!" Apple Bloom noticed. Her big brother was nowhere to be found. Granny Smith and Winona were certainly here. Even Golett was here even though it was commonly seen with Applejack. But not this time.
"I beg your pardon?" Mayor Mare turned to Apple Bloom.
"Oh yeah..." Granny Smith just remembered something. "He went off for some big errand just yesterday morning. He should've been back a few hours back now that I think about it."
"A few hours ago?!" Many ponies gasped.
"T-Then, he's probably in trouble!" Apple Bloom stood up. "Him and Machamp! We gotta go get him before...before...uh...I don't know! Something bad will happen to him out there with all that invasion stuff!"
"Calm down, calm down." Mayor Mare soothed Apple Bloom's panic, causing her fellow earth pony to simmer down. "We'll get him back here. Do you know where he went?"
"He was going to a really big market somewhere near Trottingham. It was really early in the morning since it was so far away." Apple Bloom explained.
"Don't you worry, alright?. I'll head out myself with Stoutland. Does anypony wish to accompany me?" Mayor Mare looked around.
Feeling like he could really impress Apple Bloom if he did this, the one pony who chose to assist Mayor Mare in finding Big Macintosh and his Machamp was of course the pony infatuated with Apple Bloom. "I'll go!" Cold Colt stood up, raising his hoof.
"Just you?" Mayor Mare asked.
"Um..." The Rift pony looked around to see if there was anyone else. But no one else was willing to get out of here. They were just going to sit and wait. "Looks like it."
"Alright, then. It'll actually be helpful with the magic of a Rift by our side. Let's go. Stoutland. Cold Colt. Everypony, stay here and don't attract anything else. Just wait for us to return." Mayor Mare carefully opened up the hatch.
"Stoutland!"
"No need to worry. We'll be back with Big Mac in no time. Won't even be that tough." Cold Colt let out a confident grin, mainly towards Apple Bloom as he tripped on the ladder due to him not paying attention, causing the little pony to fall flat on his face. "Ough!"
That caused some chuckles in the crowd, especially from Apple Bloom. Cold felt a bit embarrassed as he quickly scurried up the ladder, exiting the secret shelter.
Big Mac and Machamp are essentially in a massive red zone by this point. Most of Equestria was being invaded. So far, the only place untouched was Ponyville. For now at least. It did make everypony fear if Big Mac was alright since he's been gone for hours. And the sun was almost up as well.
Kanto Region. The Rota Kingdom. Cameran Palace. Night.
Ash had finally returned to Rota and Cameran Palace. He saw that Cameran was victorious over the Empress' forces. He still had the staff within his grasp plus the received Time Flower.
Right now, Ash was inside of the room that Sir Aaron constantly rested in when he had suffered from the effects of Delayed Aura Ataxia. Here they could find out about how Sir Aaron eliminated Delayed Aura Ataxia.
Lady Ilene was still in one piece. She had found a safe hiding place during the siege of the kingdom. After her side won against the Empress' side, she came out of hiding and met with Ash in the room.
"Now, Ash. See if you can go back to the day Sir Aaron broke the curse. Before the war began." Ilene said.
"Got it." Ash nodded as he held the Time Flower out, focusing all of his Aura onto it. Once he did so, the Time Flower reacted to Ash's Aura, creating a beautiful pulse of blue and light blue energy.
The room was lit up with this beautiful light as a projection of what happened in the far past during the time Sir Aaron was still around was showing. The projection was being properly visualized by what Ash and his Aura were thinking of. Even Lucario's dreads started to tremble from it. And so did the staff.
The projection had shown itself in the form of Sir Aaron himself sitting in the bed. This was when the war was taking place and when it was on the verge of truly escalating.
Sir Aaron gasped as he sat up from the bed. The bright Aura shine that surrounded the entire kingdom had just faded away when he woke up. The staff itself, which was previously glowing, had simmered down afterwards. The now awoken Sir Aaron had small Aura particles flowing out of him as he held his head.
"It's gone..." The Sir Aaron of the past looked at his hands. "So that's how it's done. Facing yourself is the key to it."
"Facing yourself?" Ash repeated.
"Pika...?"
"That thing was the manifestation of Aura itself. I've heard about it but I didn't think it was really real, just a myth at first."
"Manifestation of Aura itself? Ilene silently said as this was the first time she's ever heard of this."
"But..." Sir Aaron sighed as he looked to the floor. "It was far too powerful. I barely managed to overcome it. If it's that strong for even me, then I don't think anyone else could stop it. There has to be an easier way to get around it for all Aura users." Sir Aaron continued to ponder before hearing roars in the distance. "Oh! The war!"
Remembering about the war after waking up, Sir Aaron immediately grabbed his staff and placed his hat on before rushing outside to assist his allies in the war. Or in this case, during this specific point in time as shown by the Time Flower, this was when Sir Aaron was heading for the Tree of Beginning to put an end to the war for good.
And that was the end of the projection.
"What's that," Ash said as he placed the Time Flower on the bed. "Guess we learned something big today, didn't we?"
"Pikachu."
"Certainly. I think I may know what Sir Aaron meant by all of that. And it might relate to the theory my ancestor, Queen Rin thought of." Ilene looked at Ash. "He said that it was the manifestation of Aura itself. Something that involved facing himself."
"So what does that mean?" Ash asked.
"It must mean that deep within an Aura user's mind, or possibly beyond it, there is a pure being of Aura waiting for those suffering from Universe's Malison. Aura is universal and perhaps that being is one single entity. An entity that shows up for all Aura users since it is one with everyone in existence."
"Oh..." Ash slowly nodded as he was starting to get it. "So what Sir Aaron said about overcoming it means..."
"Maybe, overcoming that manifestation is the true key to eliminating the curse. But, if Sir Aaron was the only one to do so then that means the same must go for everyone else. They must go deep in their mind or beyond and defeat their manifestation as well. At least, that's what I assume."
"But your highness..." The lady in waiting for Queen Ilene spoke. "There are so many people in the world. Is that even possible for all of them to do so?"
"Sir Aaron said struggled with his. He said that with how powerful it was for even him, no one else might be able to stop it if they suffer from the Universe's Malison. But, If I recall correctly, Ash, you did something similar to what Sir Aaron did last month correct?"
"Huh? Oh yeah. Back at Johto, my Aura covered a lot of stuff." Ash nodded.
"Here in Rota, no one else but Sir Aaron suffered from it and the light only surrounded the kingdom. That might be because he was the only one within his mind. Perhaps, the key to this is to expand your Aura to all of those in the world and find a way to have everyone simultaneously head deep into their mind or beyond."
"Woah! Like a giant Aura that goes everywhere?!" Ash gasped.
"Pika-Pika?!"
"Queen Rin might have been onto something truly with her theory. Ash. You must carry out what Sir Aaron had discovered. This is a massive breakthrough."
"I sure will. I don't know how big I can make it but I'll try. If it's going deeper into our minds and stuff, then I'll make sure that I'm synced up with everyone. We'll get rid of this curse for sure. Together."
"That's good." Ilene smiled. "You certainly do have Sir Aaron's spirit in you."
"Thanks. I should probably check up on everyone else." Ash took out his Xtransceiver, ready to call his friends to see if they were still searching for him.
However, when Ash went to select one of his friend's Trainer numbers, starting with Fluttershy, he soon found out that there was no response. The Xtransceiver rang for around 15 seconds but Fluttershy didn't pick up.
"Hm. Fluttershy's not answering. Maybe Rarity?" Ash then swapped to Rarity's Trainer number, trying to call her. But after 15 seconds, even she didn't pick up. "Not even Rarity?" Ash then went through the rest of his friend's numbers. "Starlight? Twilight?! Goh?! Pinkie Pie?! Seriously?!"
"Pikachu?!"
"Did something horrible happen to them?!" Ilene gasped.
"I hope not...Come on...Maybe Rainbow Dash?" Ash then chose Rainbow Dash's Trainer number, hoping that there was an answer. And there certainly was. Rainbow Dash ended up answering the call.
"Ash!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Oh..." Ash sighed with relief. "Hey, Dash. Where's everybody else?"
"About that...We've got a problem. We all got separated from each other. That giant ship started chasing us down then Chikorita's leaf changed our fate and that's how we all split up. They're still after that staff right now. But I found Spike, he's here with me.
"Heya!" Spike was on Salamence's back as he waved to Ash from the screen.
"Split up, huh? Are they alright?"
"We don't know. I was flying through the sky and I saw a bunch of explosions everywhere. From two sides. One was super big and bright and the other was just a bunch of them moving all over the place. We can't find anypony anywhere. They won't even pick up their Xtransceiver."
"Same here." Ash nodded. "I'll be right there to see if they're alright!"
"We'll do it, Ash." Spike insisted. "You gotta keep that Aura staff away from anyone seeing it after all. Maybe you can help stop the invasion happening back home."
"Invasion? Wait it's started?!" Ash gasped.
"Pika?!"
"Yeah. We should help out too but...Spike and I gotta see if they're alright." Rainbow Dash responded. Ash was always one to put his friends and family before anything else. If they're in danger, he'll be there to see if they're alright. However, he can still count on his other friends to do the same. While Rainbow Dash and Spike can deal with checking up on her friends, Ash can head off and do the rest while having faith in his friends.
"I got it. Good luck, you two" Ash gave his best wishes to Rainbow Dash and Spike as the multicoloured-maned mare hung up on the Xtransceiver, flying off with Spike to see if their friends were okay. Those explosions didn't bode well for them. "So it's already started. We need to get Equestria and fast."
"Wait, Ash!" Before Ash could bolt off with his Pokemon, Lady Ilene stopped him for something major. She went over to the Staff of Sir Aaron that was lying next to the wall, picking it up and bringing it to Ash. "Take this with you."
"Huh? T-Take the staff? Seriously?"
"Pika?"
"The Staff was clearly of great importance in dealing with the Universe's Malison. It would only be fitting and helpful if a great Aura wielder such as yourself would utilize it. Your Aura pattern is similar to Sir Aaron so it will respond to you greatly."
"I guess so. But what about the Guardian of the Aura event that happens every year?"
"We can cover that without the staff. And when you do end up breaking this horrible curse, you can return it to us safely."
"Hm..." Ash looked at the staff, sensing the Aura within himself reacting to it. He was taking massive risks at this point but then again when doesn't he? Ash knew of the major responsibilities that would be placed upon him with this staff. But, he's always ready to tackle anything difficult, no matter how out there it may be. "Alright. I'll keep it safe and use it as well as I can." He ended up taking the staff, gaining ownership of it.
"Pikachu."
"Thank you, Ash. And good luck. Save your friends from that invasion and break this life-threatening curse. Finish what Sir Aaron couldn't do in time."
"You got it!"
"Pikachu!"
"Lucario!"
Kanto Region. Out in the wilds. Night. Only 3 hours until the sun rises.
"Ugh..." Twilight Sparkle groaned. Once more, she had been knocked unconscious before starting to wake up. This is the second time this has happened in the night. First with Chikorita's leaf and now the sudden large explosion that came from the Pokemon.
But this time, it wasn't such a pleasant result from her. Even her protective magic shield couldn't fully defend her from the explosion. It's how she was knocked out in the first place.
Her body had taken some damage with visible scratches around her. The young alicorn slowly got up from the ground, moving the rubble around her away.
But she wasn't the only one awake. After all, next to her was another pony who had put up a shield to try and negate the explosion. Skyblue Shine of course. The android had also woken up as her own body had been damaged too.
Not just that, but the ship was pulled towards the large explosion, flying in this direction. They came to see if it had anything to relate to the staff. But it didn't. However, when they arrived there, they saw Skyblue Shine, the one that led their ship, damaged.
Troops were immediately sent down from the ship to check up on their leader as some of them also surrounded Twilight Sparkle from all sides.
"Urgh..." Skyblue Shine held her head, looking over to Twilight. It seemed that Twilight was taking some time to properly assess the situation. She had just now noticed that she was surrounded by many enemies.
"W-What?" A befuddled and injured Twilight looked around.
"That was close..." Skbylue sighed. "Have you found the staff yet?"
"Not yet, commander." A troop shook her head. "We've searched most of these wilds and nothing about the staff."
"Tch. Then he's probably left this area by now. Either back somewhere in this world or Equestria."
"Oh, Ash..." Twilight said quietly, hoping that Ash was okay. But right now she needed to make sure that she was okay due to her being surrounded. Plus, her Pokemon as well. They were within the cave too.
"What should we do about her?" One troop asked.
"Take her in obviously. The Empress needs all the alicorn magic she can get. And this one might have spells that could be of great use to her."
"I won't let you!" Even though she was a bit hurt, Twilight had a lot of magic left in her. After all, while the shield couldn't fully protect her, it at least decreased the damage of the explosion of her. Refusing to be caught, Twilight used her magic to create an expansive magical dome, blowing everyone else away with it.
The troops fell back from Twilight's amazing force. But not Skyblue Shine. She still had a lot of magic in her as well, especially thanks to her upgrades.
"You're still going to resist even now!" Skyblue Shine bellowed as she lit her horn up. "You're just wasting your time! You could be there helping to stop our invasion by now!"
"Not until I make sure you don't get that staff at any costs!" Twilight gave a retort as she and Skyblue Shine clashed magic beams together. Yet again, the two of them were still battling against each other as they were both trying to break their beams through with all they had.
But this time, Skyblue Shine had some assistance. After being blown back by Twilight's expanding field, the troops raised their electric staffs, aiming them at the young alicorn before shocking Twilight Sparkle with 20,000 volts of electricity.
Twilight's eyes widened after the shock, her magic concentration had dropped, causing her magic beam to fade away, allowing for Skyblue Shine to send hers through. Twilight cried out as she was being shocked by 20,000 volts of electricity but she had also been hit by Skyblue Shine's magic afterwards.
Twilight was already a bit injured but now she was even more injured than before. After being hit by Skyblue Shine's beam, the young alicorn dropped to the ground. But even when being knocked down, the electric shocks wouldn't end. The troops kept the pressure on, covering Twilight Sparkle with constant electricity, keeping her there. Twilight groaned as she was doing her best to endure this. But so far, it seemed that no one would be there to save her.
"Alright. That's enough. We need her after all." But even Skyblue Shine knew when limitations were needed. The troops immediately stopped shocking her as Twilight's body twitched. She was currently immobile and numb all over.
Twilight breathed in and out, looking up at Skyblue Shine who had a cocky smirk on her face. She knew that at this point, victory was hers. And there wasn't much Twilight could do to change things up. Except for one thing. Twilight had learned something from Olympia that she believed could benefit her. She just had to use it at the right time as the troops approached the young alicorn to pick her up and enter the ship.
However, Twilight wouldn't need to use the lessons of Olympia in this case. Because a saving grace was coming her way. In the form of one of her friends.
"Salamence! Hyper Beam!"
"Sala!" From high above the skies, a giant orange blast of Hyper-Energy came flying down, hitting the ground near the troops. A ferocious outburst of explosive energy emerged, blowing most of the soldiers back as everyone had been alerted to the sky.
"Braviary!" Braviary hardened his wings to match steel as he soared downwards while Castform and Altaria stood by, sending down attacks of Fire and Ice.
The flames struck the ground, melting away the aluminium armour and weapons that the troops wielded. Meanwhile, the ice had frozen some of them the moment it made contact. Afterwards, Braviary moved in, smashing his metal wings onto the soldiers that hadn't been frozen yet. Mainly the ones that lost their armour thanks to the flames of Weather Ball.
"Get Twilight, Axew! Transform!"
"Xew!" Axew understood as he jumped off Salamence's back from a high height. But while falling, the Tusk Pokemon covered himself in that same golden light, changing his shape. The moment he hit the ground, he emerged as the mighty and hard armoured Haxorus.
And this time, he transformed into his Unovan form instead of his Equestrian form.
"Haxorus!"
Naturally, one of the many things the ponies are afraid of is dragons. And for a good reason. Haxorus roared the troops as he smashed his fist onto the ground, causing the ground itself to shatter, intimidating the troops while also causing them to lose balance.
Haxorus ran over, heading straight for Twilight as he was ready to knock anyone who would dare stand in the way of his friend.
"Kh! I don't need this...!" Skyblue Shine scoffed as she backed away. She actually wasn't returning to the ship. Instead, she was heading off to try and find Aggron who had been caught up in the explosion and destruction of the cave.
Skyblue Shine still cared for her Pokemon as much as the average Pokemon Trainers does for their own Pokemon as she galloped away, heading towards the larger rubble in the cave.
"She's getting away!" Spike pointed.
"No, she's not! Braviary! Everyone! Take care of things from here!" Rainbow Dash flew past her partner as she was going to pursue Skyblue Shine herself.
"Haxorus." Haxorus picked the numb Twilight Sparkle, carrying her and holding the young alicorn close.
"H-Haxorus?" Twilight looked up at the Unovan Haxorus.
"Xo." Haxorus essentially said that he would keep Twilight safe with him holding her. The troops that got close were immediately met with a tail whip from the Axe Jaw Pokemon, knocking them aside. "Haxo!"
"Salamence!" Salamence used the attack Flamethrower as he started breathing fire from high above. The soldiers screamed as flames started raining down, threatening their armour as they were heading back for their ship.
"That ship's gonna be a problem over and over again. Let's take care of it. Salamence! Flamethrower!" Spike commanded.
"Salamence!" Salamence turned his attention to the large ship in the sky that the soldiers were retreating to. Spike wouldn't allow them to get away. Not after what they did to his friend. Salamence flew over to the ship, breathing flames onto it. The ship's magic cannons obviously took notice of this as they were aiming themselves at the Dragon Pokemon.
"Vi!" Braviary swooped by, heading straight for the underneath of the ship. He was going for Superpower. And for a good reason. Braviary has had about enough of those cannons so he was going to personally take them out.
The cannons fired their rays towards both Flying-Types. Salamence and Braviary each started to evade the incoming rays of magic collectively while Spike ducked for cover. Salamence unleashed his Flamethrower to counteract the magic rays, creating constraint struggles between them. And each time, the Flamethrower and the magic rays would just cancel each other out.
As for Braviary, he used Steel Wing to hit back the rays of magic, hitting the ship or even using them to shield himself. But aside from that, his eyes were still locked onto the ship. Braviary then used Brave Bird to speed himself up, soaring faster through the air as he was closer to the cannons now.
"Braviary!" After he was close enough, Braviary switched into Superpower, lighting his wings and talons in an orange-red energy. The Valiant Pokemon then smashed his wings and talons onto one of the cannons, splitting them in half and removing them from the ship.
Afterwards, Braviary moved onto the next cannon, smashing his talons through them, destroying it in one hit. That was the end of the ship's cannons as flames from Salamence started to melt the aluminium exterior, showing visible damage. Salamence even moved upwards, breathing fire on the surface.
"Taria!" Altaria chimed in, using Dragon Pulse while Castform used Weather Ball. The ship was taking immense damage as the surface of the ship had been melted off thanks to Salamence. A large hole with melted steel dripping through could be seen.
"Salamence!" The Dragon Pokemon then landed on the top of the ship with his face peering over the hole. Everypony inside of the ship started screaming after witnessing Salemence's face. Spike grinned, giving a wave to them.
Salamence roared at all of the ponies inside, spreading his flames inside of the ship to give them an even larger scare by continuing to melt it. Braviary continued to repeatedly hit the ship with Close Combat, dealing continuous damage to it.
But, while the ship may have lost its main weapons, it still had some backup defences. First, the ship activated its next defence, summoning a circular field of electricity around it. The electricity had shocked Salamence and Spike, forcing the Dragon Pokemon to fly back. And it certainly harmed Braviary as he also flew back.
"Mence!"
"Viary"
"Geez, it's tough. But it won't last that's for sure. Salamence. Are you ready to cut it apart?" Spike held out his Mega Ring.
"Mence!" Salamence nodded as he understood what needed to be done. Spike immediately tapped on the Mega Stone around his ring, intimating the Mega Evolution sequence.
Red and gold lights flew out of both keystones as Spike closed his eyes with all lights flowing in, forming the DNA Symbol, all surrounding Salamence. Afterwards, Mega Salamence emerged from the Mega Evolution energy.
"Salamence!"
"Okay, Salamence...Cut right through it!" Spike pointed forward.
"Sala!" Salamence roared as he did just that. With his rampaging instincts kicking in, the Dragon Pokemon took off like a jet, causing a sonic boom through the air before approaching the ship.
Before the ship's defences could kick in again, the Dragon-Flying-Type cut right through the middle part of the ship, splitting it half with a perfectly symmetrical shape. Everypony onboard gasped as they had just witnessed their ship sliced in half in just a split-second. The ship was definitely falling now as all of its functions were useless now.
Salamence kept flying, cutting through the nearby mountains and hills with his rampage. But, Spike wouldn't let Salamence rampage any further. He put his claws on the neck of the Dragon Pokemon, using dragons light to try and calm Salamence down.
And he's certainly improved. By covering Salamece in that bright golden light, he was able to soothe the rage and pain that the Dragon-FLying-Type was feeling, calming him down and causing him to cease his absurd speed a smidge.
"S-Salamence..."
"It's okay, Salamence. You did great." Spike congratulated Salamence with a comforting pat on the neck.
"Mence!"
As for the ship itself, everyone onboard jumped ship, using their parachutes to escape. They wouldn't dare approach Haxorus let alone Salamence as they were now making their escape.
Meanwhile.
Just a few miles away from Spikes group, a large pile of rubble was starting to move. The cave was littered with rubble thanks to the explosion.
Out of the rubble, Absol had emerged.
"A-Ab...Absol...!" The Disaster Pokemon breathed in and out as he was hanging in there. Out of all the Pokemon here, he was the one who withstood the ferocious explosion the most. He looked back to see if his friends were okay. The Dark-Type moved the rocks aside with his claws and horn to see if they were anywhere.
And they certainly were. Absol had found Espeon, Cinccino and Togekiss all laying on the ground. They had fainted from the destruction but they could be taken care of with some healing.
"E-Espeon..." Espeon groaned as Absol helped her up, carrying the Sun Pokemon on his back. Togekiss was also getting up as she had actually shielded Cinccino from most of the damage, taking it herself. But Cinccino had fainted otherwise.
"T-Togekiss."
"Ccino."
Absol and everyone had gotten up with scratches all over their bodies. Togekiss' wings were damaged, making it hard for her to fly but they would recover later on with proper medical attention.
But they weren't the only ones to get back up.
Rising from the larger rubble, out came Aggron. Just like Absol and his friends, he had emerged. He obviously fainted but got back up later on. Much like Absol and the others, he was exhausted himself.
"A-Aggron...!"
"E-Esp?!" Espeon and the others gasped after seeing Aggron getting back up while Absol growled at him. He was ready to go for another round, which was fitting for Absol's persistent and stubborn nature.
Togekiss held Cinccino close as the two opposing sides stared each other down. However, their second-round wouldn't happen now. Because arriving here was the trainer of Aggron. Skyblue Shine.
"Aggron!" Skyblue called for her Pokemon.
"Ggron?"
"Are you okay?!" Skyblue Shine went over to her Pokemon, seeing how badly damaged Aggron was. She had no idea what had just happened to him a few minutes ago. The android unicorn put her hooves around the Iron Armor Pokemon, seeing the damage given to him.
"Agg..." Aggron groaned.
"We're leaving. We'll get you healed up afterwards, alright. Return." She then took out the Poke Ball, recalling Aggron and placing it away. Skyblue then looked at Absol and the others, not bothering to waste time with them.
"There you are!" But showing up by easily catching up to her was Rainbow Dash. The pegasus arrived at the area, looking down at Skyblue Shine. But she also noticed Absol and the others badly injured and exhausted. "Absol? Guys?"
"Absol..." Absol groaned as he adjusted his back, making sure that Espeon wouldn't fall off.
"I don't have time to deal with you right now. Get lost and return to your world. After all, don't you want to stop the invasion?" Skyblue Shine said.
"I do but not until you're stopped." Rainbow Dash replied. Skyblue Shine really wasn't planning on continuing this any further. She was only here for the staff but that has taken too long to even complete. She wasn't even sure where Ash was by now.
"I see...But maybe you should tend to them first, don't you think?" Skyblue Shine pointed her hoof at Absol and the others, causing Rainbow Dash's attention to change somewhere else. But that's exactly what she wanted. While Rainbow Dash looked to the side, Skyblue Shine used her magic to teleport away, not engaging with Rainbow Dash.
"Huh? Hey!" Rainbow Dash bellowed after hearing the sound of magic teleportation. Before she knew it, Skyblue Shine was out of here. But, she couldn't chase after her now. Rainbow Dash chose to assist Absol and the others. "Hold on you guys. I've got some stuff in my bag that can help."
Equestria. Night.
Right now, an unusual sight laid before the opposing side. A giant robotic octopus-like creation sent through the gateway and a gigantic rampaging adult Spike from the otherworld where the Empress resides were each within their sights.
Naturally, this already difficult situation had only been amped. This was a Spike that was only here to cause destruction. And the same went for the robotic octopus with sharp and rigid tentacles.
"Is that...Spike?" Soarin looked up at the gigantic Spike, stunned to see such a familiar face like this in a different sight.
"No time to be dazed!" Spitfire snapped him out of it. "Look! Here they come!"
These two giants started moving with the many tentacles of the robotic monstrosity piercing through the buildings with ease, either leaving enormous holes or even destroying them in general. The sharp appendages also hit the ground, nearly hitting the soldiers below. Even if they missed the soldiers, the impact of the appendages was enough to cause tremors and cracks in the ground and even pressures great enough to push anyone nearby away.
The Wonderbolts tried the same tactic they did against the ships on the giant squid. The rain from Buizel's Rain Dance was still active as the trainers that owned Electric-Types or Pokemon that had Electric moves, ordered their Pokemon to use their Electric-Type attacks in the air.
The rain poured down on the robot mainly while also pouring on Spike. The Electric attacks then flew into the air, ready to go haywire with the rain.
However, by using its own intellect, the robot octopus had negated this. And it did this by spinning its body and many tentacles around at unexpected speeds while also moving like a spinning disc.
The speed that it moved at was enough to remove all the water from its body. Not only that, but it could even evade the lightning-fast Electric-Type attacks. And even if it was hit by them, unlike the other metallic creations, this robotic octopus had the intellect to conduct the electricity onto its body.
And that's what it did. It had weaponized its opponents own electricity by merging it with its aluminium body. It kept spinning along, cutting buildings off by just its spinning movements. The pegasi flew away as fast they could, escaping from the giant robotic octopus and the rest just galloped away.
The robot then used the electricity it had gathered, shooting out massive volts out of its body and attacking its prey. And it did this while still spinning. Because of its spiralling movements, the electricity moved haphazardly while still having an amazing aim. All thanks to those multicoloured spheres on its body. The pegasi had all been struck by lightning themselves, causing them to fall out of the sky. The Flying-Type Pokemon weren't spared by this either. Anyone in the air was caught by the robotic octopus' surprisingly stellar aim. It didn't help that the rain from Rain Dance had made them all wet too. Essentially, they had received a taste of their own medicine.
The octopus then stopped spinning as it had other ways to cause destruction. But not before Spike caused his own. The adult dragon swiped his claws, hitting a single building before sending it flying. The force of his swing and the launching of the single building was so great that it crushed the nearest building while also creating a strong wind pressure that tore through the air.
Spike roared as his swing had also knocked some soldiers away. Even the pegasi and Flying-Types who had already been struck by lightning were met by Spike's wide-area claw swing.
As if that wasn't enough, Spike then breathed green fire from his mouth, torching the area before him. The buildings were caught up in these flames along with anyone nearby that had armour on them. It was on the verge of melting apart.
More Flying-Type Pokemon were approaching the area, shooting air-based attacks like Air Cutter, Gust, Air Slash and more at their targets. Spike let out another roar as the many aerial attacks landed on him, forcing him to put up his claws to block them. The adult dragon swung his claws into the air, blowing the Flying-Types away.
The robotic octopus then caused more destruction by violently swinging its appendages at its prey. The Pokemon that were in its path had been smacked aside like ragdolls, either flying into buildings or crashing into them. The Pokemon obviously fought back with their moves. A barrage of ranged moves came towards the robotic squid from all sides.
To counter this, the octopus spun around once more, using its hyper-fast movements to knock away any approaching ranged moves that came from the Pokemon. It had either deflected the moves or reflected them at the original users, damaging them instead.
However, some attacks proved to be more effective than others. Some moves managed to actually damage the robotic octopus, but not by much. They needed a sure-fire heavy hit to really give it pressure.
"Electi!" Electivire had caught Spitfire who had also been hit by the electricity. Spitfire groaned as her own body was twitching with Electricity flowing out.
To heal her, Electivire used his main ability. Motor Drive. With Motor Drive, he absorbed the electricity around Spitfire, curing her in seconds.
"Ugh...Thanks, Electivire. Now quick! Use Thunder Punch, go!"
"Vire! Electi...!" The Thunderbolt Pokemon placed Spitfire down before approaching the octopus, lighting his arms up with electricity.
The robotic octopus' many spheres started glowing as it suddenly unleashed a giant bright light that eclipsed the area, blinding anyone who saw it. And a lot had witnessed these epileptic lights and that also allowed Spike to catch them off guard.
Spike swung his tail, blowing the buildings back and nearby ponies and Pokemon that were in the way of his tail. The buildings had also flown so high up that some of them were about to land on the soldiers who were still blinded.
Luckily, not everyone was blinded. Soarin was one of them. He had quickly sent out one of his Pokemon to assist in this. A Pokemon that could certainly melt the metal of the robotic squid and possibly give Spike a hard time. "Torkoal! Come out and use Lava Plume!"
"Torkoal! Tor...!" Torkoal emerged as he knew what he needed to do. And due to Torkoal arriving, his ability Drought kicked in, removing Rain Dance and giving him some of that solar energy to power himself up. Even if the sun wasn't up yet. The Coal Pokemon's shell started glowing as he summoned an inferno of scarlet flames that torched the buildings themselves.
The buildings had been burnt to a crisp, saving the ponies from being crushed by them. And not only that, Torkoal's flames spread out to the point where they even hit the giant octopus' metallic body. It obviously flinched after taking such a furious flame that had the potential to melt its body.
The Golurk, who were also here with the Canterlot soldiers as always, had assisted. By using their amazing strength, they grabbed the buildings. Not only that, since they were artificial, being blinded was essentially pointless to them cause their vision is not natural at all. Being a Ghost and everything.
"Earthquake!"
"Koal!" Torkoal then smashed his feet on the ground, causing large white shockwaves to form around the area with cracks as well. These white shockwaves raced forward as the soldiers that owned Golurk' had ordered their Golurk to use Ground-Type moves as well.
The shockwaves had hit the robotic octopus, capitalizing on anything metal being weak to the ground itself. The octopus was consumed by the shockwaves as its hard aluminium body had been damaged, but not by much. And it looked like Spike would be next.
Except for one thing. Spike by this point, had wings. And he had revealed them to everypony by spreading them out so wide that they made a loud flapping sound. The adult dragon flapped his wings as he took the skies, evading the Ground-Type moves entirely.
And now that he was in the air, he could also breathe fire while flying. As if it wasn't difficult already, the Empress' forces seemed to up the anty every passing minute or second. The ponies started screaming as green flames were raining down from above, scorching the city as Spike's wing flaps along were enough to cause wind pressures that could rival simple tornadoes.
Nearby buildings were blown away by his wing flaps or even scorched into ash by his flames. The Pokemon fought back by constantly attacking Spike from afar. SO far, none of them have gotten up close and personal.
"Go! Scizor! Bullet Punch!" Spitfire had sent out her ace to deal with this. Scizor emerged from his Poke Ball as he soared towards Spike with his pincers glowing.
"Corviknight, use Brave Bird!" So did Soarin. And everyone else. Corviknight flew into the air with an orange aura around his body. He flew beside Scizor along with the Golurk and other Pokemon that could fly.
Spike roared as he had been smacked in the face by Scizor's lightning-fast bullet punch. He flinched from it before breathing fire towards Scizor. Obviously, Scizor is a Pokemon that doesn't bode well with fire thanks to him being a Bug-Steel-Type.
"Zor?!" Scizor gasped as he quickly ascended into the air, avoiding the flames of Spike. Corviknight then hit Spike's chin with Brave Bird, knocking his head back. But Spike quickly retaliated by swatting Corviknight away.
"Cor!" Corviknight cried out as he was sent flying, crashing into a Swellow, causing them both to take damage.
"Golurk!" The many Golurk attacked by either using Flash Cannon to attack from afar or physical moves. They mainly went for the robotic octopus with some of the Golurk smashing their heavy fists onto the face of the octopus, leaving visible dents. Flash Cannon had also gone for Spike, hitting the adult dragon with a sharp beam of metallic energy.
The octopus retaliated by wrapping its tentacles around the Golurk, holding them within its clutches or either using them to knock the Automaton Pokemon away.
Spike also retaliated by grabbing some of the nearby Golurk, using them as weapons. The adult dragon roared as he whacked any nearby Pokemon with Golurk before slamming the few Ground-Ghost-Types to the ground.
The octopus suddenly used its other appendages to grab the nearby Wonderbolts after moving forward. It still had the Golurk within its grasp but that didn't last long as the Golurk used their intangibility to phase through.
Unfortunately, the Wonderbolts didn't have the same advantage as the Golurk. Some of them looked back, witnessing the giant octopus and dragon chasing them down. Spike's aerial movements were enough to blow away tall buildings that were fairly durable, just by one flyby.
They couldn't escape as Spike and the robotic squid grabbed many of them with their claws or tentacles. Mainly the robot which could hold more.
The Wonderbolts screamed as the Flying-Type Pokemon tried helping their trainers collectively. But, the octopus responded by using that same flashing light to confound them. And it didn't help that Spike was breathing fire into the sky.
"Quick! Froslass! Icy Wind!" Spitfire had another one of her Pokemon out. This time it was Froslass.
"Froslass!" Froslass spun around as she created a flowing wind of cold snow, sending it towards Spike. Since Spike was a dragon, he was still a cold-blooded creature. And anything cold was not pleasant or healthy for his body.
Spike cried out as he could feel the chills of Icy Wind flow through his scales. His grip on the Wonderbolts loosened as Soarin, who had Eiscue, also chimed in. Unfortunately, Soarin and Spitfire were the only ones with Ice-Type Pokemon because no one was expecting a giant adult Spike to appear and battle against them.
The ice was effective against Spike as he despised the cold entirely. He flailed his claws around, trying to ignore the chills that were bestowed upon him. With even more fury, Spike decided to let out a big. The biggest flame so far. He aimed his head down before firing his largest green flame yet.
The flame met with the ground, erupting upon contact as a giant burst of green flames spread across the area, charring the ground, engulfing the buildings and soon the ponies and Pokemon that stood before it. It was fairly large so flying high up might not be as effective due to its ludicrous range.
Ten Golurks stood in the way, attempting to shield everyone with Protect. It was successful, but the flames didn't end. They were now spreading like wildfire. Immediately, any trainer that had a Water-Type Pokemon with them got to work by using their Water moves to put out the flames.
Spike then dived down with the octopus slamming its tentacles down, harming the ponies and Pokemon that it was holding. The adult dragon opened his mouth in an attempt to bite someone. He ended up sinking his large teeth into the Golurks, breaking Protect and carrying the Automaton Pokemon.
He soared into the air, holding the many Golurks in his mouth as he also breathed fire on them. He poured the flames onto the Automaton Pokemon before tossing them aside, sending them straight for Froslass and Eiscue to eliminate his Ice-Type problem.
While this battle continues, high above the skies, someone was watching all of this unfold. Someone with great power who absolutely adored antics that can result in mass destruction and anarchy.
That, someone, was Discord.
"This invasion was worth the wait, wasn't it?" Discord spoke as he spectated with cloud binoculars. He had actually shown up 9 minutes ago, witnessing the pure chaos of the invasion happening across Equestria. "It's a shame really. I would help but who would be crazy enough to want to end something like this?"
He chuckled, eating the clouds like popcorn as he admired the view. He was a little bit late to the party as the sun was gradually starting to rise but he was here either way. However, after getting a quick view of everything, Discord had something in mind.
He knew that Ash and Fluttershy, two of his closest friends weren't here a the moment. Before this, Discord already knew that they had gone to Kanto to sort out Ash's Aura problem. Discord believed that since they were away from Equestria, his two closest friends were safe and unharmed.
Well...one of them was unharmed.
While Discord ate the clouds, watching Spike and the giant robot octopus go against the Wonderbolts, Canterlot Army and Pokemon, someone else was watching him.
Empress Twilight's world. Night.
The Empress herself. Her eyes were already set on many things at this point. The invasion was all she could keep an eye on. Even very literally with her Grand Eye Spell. The effects of her spell were still active. She wanted a good eye on everything possible and since Discord was within range, he was within her sights.
"Discord..." The Empress said as she narrowed her eyes, knowing how big of a threat he was. She already knew how to handle Discord. After all, she was Twilight Sparkle at the end of the day.
But before doing so, a gateway had suddenly opened in front of her. One that was activated by a Travel Sphere. and out of that gateway, Skyblue Shine emerged, damaged and tattered up from all sides.
She hadn't taken the ship since Salamence had just sliced in half with barely any effort. So this was the easiest way out without drawing too much attention.
"E-Empress...!" She stuttered.
"Skyblue Shine...Where is the staff?" The Empress looked down at Skyblue with visible disappointment in her eyes. Skyblue shuddered, knowing that she brought nothing but failure with her.
"I-I apologize Empress. I was unable to retrieve the staff. Ash Ketchum has it. HE evaded us and we were unable to find him anywhere. One of our ships had also been destroyed."
"Of course..." Empress Twilight sighed. "You failed me on this one, but I trust you won't fail me again with the rest of the invasion. I expect you to at least assure victory for us."
"Of course, Empress! I'll make sure that our victory will be instant."
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Head off and assist them. Seems I'll be revisiting that world a few times today. First, I'll handle Discord. Then, I'll retrieve what was stolen from me by Flurry Heart, then I'll personally deal with that brat myself, and afterwards...well I'll take things from there."
"Discord? Empress... that's a powerful force you'd be dealing with. Are you sure?"
"Hmph. Absolutely. I obliterated my world's Discord already. I'll do the same to this one. And hopefully, I can tap into chaos magic this time. That magic has eluded me for too long." The Empress opened up a gateway herself as she was getting into the action more often.
Usually, the leaders of invasions don't jump into the action that much unless the time calls for it. But for Empress Twilight, that was a different story. She's certainly the type to take things into her own hooves if she feels like it or is needed for something above her subjects.
Truly a terrifying force that not many would want to encounter early on.
Pyrestar's world. Night.
And speaking of a terrifying force, another one was about to make his move soon. The tyrannical ruler of his new kingdom and wielder of Dark Aura.
Ghetsis.
"Lord Ghetsis." Colress turned to Ghetsis. "It seems the invasion is underway. Earlier than expected too."
"Excellent." Ghetsis chuckled with his eyes flashing red. "Shadow Triad." He called for his three best servants who had emerged from the shadows.
"Yes Lord Ghetsis."
"It's time. We're heading for the Crystal Empire." His sights were set on one individual. The baby of the Crystal Empire known as Flurry Heart. His main plan was to strike while the invasion was happening so that everyone was caught up in the chaos and battling.
And now was the perfect time to do so.
Kanto Region. Far out in the wilds.
With the many craters caused by the ship's cannons, it seemed like there was truly nothing there. As if everything had been vaporized.
But, deep within the largest crater here, something remained. Or rather, a group of individuals. And another group had found this other group.
Goh and Starlight, who had also been separated, came across the crater as they saw Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie and their Pokemon laying there, unconscious.
They had survived the onslaught of magical rays. And they had Mew to thank for that. His Psychic shield did most of the protection, saving his friends from suffering a cruel fate. But at the cost of them fainting due to how many there were.
Goh and Starlight quickly jumped down the crater to attend to their fainted friends. "Guys! Are you alright?!" Goh asked.
"Come on! Wake up!" Starlight nudged Pheromosa, trying to see if they could regain consciousness. The situation right now was escalating at this point as their world was at great risk of being conquered. That was something they wouldn't allow.
Fluttershy groaned as she seemed like she would be the first to wake up. But she was still greatly unconscious. Goh and Starlight would have to carry them out and take them to safety before they perish in the cold night.
The ponies of Trottingham have currently taken shelter. At this point, if their homes were destroyed, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary. Ever since Eternatus, and to an extent Spike's Salamence, having their entire home being ravaged by a giant and destructive force would just be an average day or night for them. Not even an invasion would phase them.
Right now, just near Trottingham, one pony hadn't taken shelter from the current invasion yet. That pony was Big Macintosh. Early in the morning, he went out to buy something at a trade market right next to Trottingham. It took a while to get to Trottingham and a longer period of time to get stuff done there.
Right now, many ships hovered above the skies, combating the army of Celestia's Equestria while Big Mac himself plus his Machamp were hiding from all the anarchy happening everywhere. The chances of them taking a train back to Equestria was impossible. And even Machamp's impressive speed would just draw attention. If those ships can catch up to a faster Pokemon such as Pheromosa then there's a guarantee they'll catch up to Machamp. Except Big Mac wasn't aware of this. He just wanted to get home.
Big Mac and Machamp quietly moved around the land, trying not to draw any attention. Big Mac received a piggyback ride from Machamp as the two of them looked to the skies, seeing the battle take place. In the far distance, they even noticed what seemed to be green flames and multicoloured lights flashing along with electricity, most likely from the adult Dragon Spike and the robotic octopus.
Machamp moved through a plethora of bushes as all nearby Pokemon scurried away. They were already intimidated by the invasion occurring and an intimidating Pokemon like Machamp wasn't helping.
Here, many Dynamax dens resided with power spots. After all, Eternatus affected Trottingham the most, making it the most Dynamax-Prone location in all of Equestria. In fact, Dynamaxed Pokemon are fairly common near Trottingham.
Up ahead, Big Mac noticed a very familiar carriage that was near a plethora of bushes. One belonging to the magician and principal of the Great and Powerful School. Trixie Lulamoon, of course.
For the first time, seeing Trixie felt like a relief for Big Macintosh as he and Machamp ran over to the carriage to see if they could hide in it for safety and possibly have Trixie guide them back home. That is if they could fit. Big Mac could but Machamp is a different story.
As they approached it, Big Mac was ready to knock on the door until the door itself opened up, smacking Big Mac in the face, causing him to fall on his back.
"Ough!"
"Get back!" Trixie held out a comically large wand, pointing it at Big Mac, believing that he was one of the invaders as Misdreavus hissed at whoever was near.
"Misdrea!"
"Oh, wait. But then, Trixie immediately saw who she had hit. It wasn't a foe but just a familiar face. "You're Applejack's big sister, right? Big Mac?"
"Eeyup..." Big Mac groaned as he held his face with his hoof as Machamp helped him up. We need a place to hide and a way to get home soon. Think you can help?"
"A bit more talkative than I thought...I can definitely hide you in here. I'm heading for Undella Town right now. Hiding out in my school is the best way to stay safe from that." She pointed her hoof at the carnage happening in the far distance. "You can stay in here, no problem."
"Really? Thanks!"
"But you're gonna have to handle that." Trixie looked at Machamp. "No way your Machamp's fitting in here."
"Champ?"
"Put it back in its Poke Ball quick."
"Uh...I don't have one for him...." Big Mac shook his head.
"Huh? You don't have a Poke Ball? But that is your Machamp, right?" Trixie asked.
"Eeyup."
"For a Pokemon that big you should have a Poke Ball all ready for him from the start. Here." Trixie quickly dug into her magic box, bringing out an Ultra Ball. "Catch him with this."
"Alright." Big Mac took the Ultra Ball, turning around and facing his partner with it. While Machamp preferred to stay out, having a Poke Ball in situations like this really helped. The Superpower Pokemon gave the Ultra Ball a little fist bump as the ball had pulled him in with a red light. It hit the ground, shaking and waiting for the inevitable result.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Machamp was caught. Even though he already had a trainer.
"Good. Now get in here, big guy!" Trixie grabbed Big Macintosh and the Ultra Ball, pulling him inside as she immediately locked the doors shut. And at the right time.
Four large ships appeared, passing through the nearest gateway as they had flown by the area that Trixie's carriage was on. The sound they made was haunting while trees were being blown with leaves flying out from the movements of the four ships. Not wanting to reveal themselves, Trixie placed blinds on her carriage windows, also turning off all lights inside, concealing themselves.
The ships had opened their hatches, sending out more troops and robotic creations to give their side an advantage as they advanced towards the location of Trottingham.
Large metal boxes were dropped in the middle of the wilds, shaking the ground as they were starting to open up. Out of the boxes, those same robotic rhino-like vehicles were revealed with drivers inside. They put the vehicle into full throttle before charging towards Trottingham and beyond but not before tearing through the wilds themselves with their sharp horns.
The Pokemon here whimpered as they all hurried back to their homes, fearing the empire's invading forces. Most of the Pokemon here were meek and weren't exactly brave. It didn't help that a lot of them were small Pokemon with medium-sized ones being fairly rare. Ironic considering they live in a heavy Dynamax area.
The aerial drones activated their headlights, scanning the entire area as they shined lights across the wilds. For this invasion to be successful, every little action counts. That involves any ponies that could be threats such as the Canterlot soldiers, Wonderbolts and more.
Eliminating and capturing those threats were important. Especially if those threats could benefit the Twilight Imperium. Empress Twilight was already aiming to make the Pokemon a part of her army. Creatures as powerful and destructive as Pokemon can get anyone far depending on who's training them.
Or in the Empress' case, using them as just tools.
Trixie and Big Mac stayed silent close to each other as they just wanted to get out of here away from the mess. They each heard the roar of the adult dragon Spike in the distance. It was absolutely terrifying as there was a very good chance that Spike and the giant robotic octopus could continue their rampage towards here.
"Looks like we're gonna be in here for a while," Trixie spoke within the silence.
Speaking of which, the Wonderbolts and Canterlot Soldiers were still struggling against these two giants. Spike's flames and amazing strength were difficult to counter and the octopus' hard metal appendages were nigh-impossible to avoid.
"Sciz!"
"Vire!"
"Lass!"
Each of Spitfire's three Pokemon, Scizor, Electivire and Froslass had been knocked back by both Spike and the octopus along with other Pokemon belonging to the Wonderbolts and the Canterlot soldiers.
"Froslass..." Froslass and a few others had fainted after hours of battling. Spitfire returned the Snow Land Pokemon to her Poke Ball, thanking her for a job well done.
"Scizor!"
"Electivire!" But Scizor and Electivire gound still go on.
"We need more help here! Come out, Flygon! Sharpedo! Gallade!" Spitfire sent out the rest of her Pokemon for extra assistance.
"Gallade!"
"Flygon!"
"Sharpedo!"
"Let's make this quick!" Spitfire suddenly put her hooves out as she revealed her Mega Bracelet. That meant only one thing. Scizor was about to Mega Evolve. They wanted to end this rampage before it got out of control. If they didn't then all of Equestria would be demolished by these two giants.
"Zor!"
"Scizor! Mega Evolve!" Not wasting any time with a catchphrase, Spitfire raised her hoof, summoning the golden lights from her Mega Stone while the red lights came out of Scizor's keystone.
They formed the DNA symbol before covering the Pincer Pokemon in it. Scizor's body rapidly changed with all the excess energy from Mega Evolution flowing through him. He eventually emerged out of the light, revealing his Mega Form.
"Scizor!"
"Now! Scizor! Night Slash! Electivire, Thunder! Sharpedo, use Aqua Jet! And Flygon, Dragon Claw!"
"Zor!" Scizor, the rest of his teammates and other Pokemon approached the two giants with their own moves in store. Scizor's pincers lit up with a dark aura while Electivire stood back, building up electricity from the skies. Sharpedo moved ahead of everyone due to its amazing speed as it was covered in a veil of water, leaving a liquid trail.
"Sharp!" Sharpedo was the first to crash into the giant metallic octopus, knocking it back a tad before using the speed of Aqua Jet to fly away as the octopus swung its appendages at the Brutal Pokemon.
After missing its swing, the octopus and Spike were both met by Scizor's Night Slash. In the blink of an eye, Scizor had rapidly swung his pincers, hitting both Spike and the octopus at the same time, square in the face. Spike roared as he swiped his claws at Scizor before missing from Scizor's quick fly back.
A flock of Flying-Type Pokemon repeatedly attacked from afar, distracting their targets with air-based attacks, catching their attention. While Spike was distracted, Electivire sent a giant blast of electricity from his body, shocking the adult dragon. The giant electricity spread out, reaching the octopus, causing it to stop in its tracks for a brief moment.
Once both large forces were restrained, all the Pokemon took the opportunity to unload everything on them. All at once, they all used their best moves. Far or up close. A collection of various elements filled with infinity energy went soaring towards the adult dragon and robotic octopus.
Spike cried out with a bellowing roar. He moved back as he most definitely felt the force of all those Pokemon moves. The adult dragon was hit so hard that he fell on his back, destroying the surrounding buildings behind him. That certainly knocked him off his feet for a while.
As for the giant robotic octopus, it had taken more damage than Spike from all the moves thrown at it. The ponies and Pokemon it held in its appendages had been freed due to its grip being weakened. The octopus almost fell on its back but it had recovered.
Visible dents were made on the octopus. Its aluminium body had suffered immense damage as it was showing great signs of weakness. Even its tentacles had taken damage.
Everypony could see that if they kept this up, the octopus would be taken out in no time. Spike was a bit harder to dictate. It was hard to see how close he was to being defeated as he was starting to get up with flames snorting out of his nose.
However, by using its AI, the robotic octopus saw that it needed to do something fast or else it would be obliterated by the next heavy combination of moves. Aside from the many sharp and hard tentacles it possessed and fast spinning tactics plus blinding lights from the multicoloured spheres, there was one thing that the robot had that was an ace in the hole.
And those spheres were that ace. Apart from blinding foes, they had one other use. A use that could be considered terrifying and unstoppable in a sense. The robotic octopus regained its balance as all the spheres on its body starting beeping and glowing repeatedly.
Then, before everyone knew it, the octopus had transformed these seemingly lifeless spheres into something that had life. The spheres automatically flew out of the octopus' body, flying across the skies as they blocked out the moon from how many there were.
Everyone looked up, witnessing the spheres come to life as they gained mini tentacles of themselves They were expecting them to cause miniature flashes, similar to their multi flashes. However, what came next was unexpected.
The eight-limbed spheres gained singular eyes as they dropped down at high speeds, suddenly latching onto the backs, heads, arms, hooves and more of anyone they came in contact with.
"Oh!" One guard gasped as the sphere had latched onto his hooves, attaching itself to his body. And the same went for his allies. "W-What's it doing?!"
The soldiers tried removing the spheres by simply pushing them away. However, when they attempted to do so, their hooves just went through as the spheres were unphased. The same went for the Pokemon. The Golurk, despite their great strength, couldn't remove this. However, they had different results. While everyone's limbs went through, the Golurk were able to stretch the spheres like rubber. But that wasn't doing much either way.
"They won't come off! It's like ink!"
The spheres then started to expand, gradually covering their bodies. Some ponies tried rapidly shaking their hoof while backing away as well, trying to free themselves of these parasitic spheres. Those that had been caught by these spheres started panicking. Especially those caught in the head.
The spheres covered the faces of those hit in the head by them. Muffled screams started coming out from the ponies who had their faces covered by these spheres as they fell to the ground, trying their best to free themselves. They couldn't do so as the spheres were starting to consume them all until they were nothing but colourful statues, unable to move their bodies. That would be their fate if they couldn't stop this.
"It's on me! It's on me!" Soarin cried out as he started rapidly screaming. He tore off his Wonderbolt outfit to try and escape from it but that was no good. While he got most of it off by removing his outfit, a small portion of this ink-like substance remained on his skin, growing in size. They seemed like they were rapidly expanding with each passing second.
"S-Scizor!" Noticeably, Scizor could actually break free of these spheres with his Meg Evolved form. His pincers had torn the spheres apart, ignoring their ink-like physiology. Scizor had destroyed the spheres by doing so. And once he did that, the robot octopus actually took some visible damage. Almost as if those spheres were still tied to it physically or spiritually.
After doing so, the Pincer Pokemon rushed off to try and free everyone else from the spheres. More of them kept dropping from above, chasing after the Pokemon and ponies who were doing their best to evade being caught by these parasites. The Bug-Steel-Type was able to zigzag around, using the heat around his sharp pincers to destroy any incoming spheres that almost latched onto someone.
And if the spheres would try and attach themselves to Scizor, the intense heat that exuded from the Pincer Pokemon's body in his Mega form was so intense that the spheres would end up being obliterated by the heat itself.
Scizor was the perfect counter to the spheres as he freed those that had been made colourful ink statutes, ripping the ink apart with his pincers. He would also use the heat from his body to melt them away as well.
"Sciz!"
"Ah!" Those freed gasped for air after being covered in all that ink. Those that hadn't been caught yet could see that the key to this was most likely either fire or something sharp. Luckily, some had some Fire-Type moves in-store as well. Since their main enemies were mostly focused on metal, many prepared for this invasion by either cathing Fire-Type Pokemon or teaching their Pokemon Fire-Type moves.
Those with Fire and Steel on their side got to work. They generated high amounts of heat with various Fire-Type moves such as Fire Spin, Heat Wave, Flamethrower and more.
Spike had just recovered as he ascended into the air, holding his breath in for another large fire breath. While everyone was focused on the spheres, the adult dragon dropped had advanced onwards, continuing his momentous rampage. This time, Spike moved on all fours, roaring at the prey in front of him. The adult dragon generated fire in his mouth, ready to unleash it.
"Zor?!" Scizor turned around as he noticed that a giant Spike had unleashed a furious blast of green flames from his mouth. This time, he wasn't quick enough to evade it. Thus, the flames finally hit him, The Pincer Pokemon had been engulfed by Spike's horrifying green flames as the flames moved onwards, torching everything else nearby.
"Ah! Scizor, no!" Spitfire gasped as the flames were heading towards her and her fellow Wonderbolts. To shield them once more, a wall of Golurk stood in front of them all, taking the flames directly.
However, after breathing the flames, Spike went for his next destructive move. The adult dragon smashed his claws on the ground, creating a ground tsunami with giant dust clouds flowing forward. Spitfire and the others gasped as they closed their eyes. The Golurk continued to stay as walls for the ponies and their fellow Pokemon as they were the first to be caught up in this. Them being Ground-Types meant that they could resist this for sure. But, the ground tsunami was so vast that even if they were walls, the sheer width and scale of it.
Spitfire put her hoof over her face as everyone around her had been engulfed by the ground tsunami. Very soon, even the skies themselves were covered by this massive wave of dust. Not even the Flying-Type Pokemon could escape from it as they dragged down by its overwhelming force.
After reaching a far distance, practically moving so far it almost met with Trottingham, the dust cleared as large piles of rubble were littered everywhere. Seemingly, barely anyone else was around. They had been buried in the rubble and the visible ones had fallen over. Even the Golurk were down, face first.
Spike roared, declaring victory over this area. He ascended into the air as he continued his rampage, flying off to the next area to cause more destruction. And the same went for the robotic squid. The spheres that originally used to be on its body regenerated as they had gained new ones. The ones it had already sent out were mostly destroyed thanks to Scizor.
With new spheres on, the giant aluminium covered octopus hovered through the sky, heading off to the next destination to continue its part in the invasion. This area was considered dealt with. And it looked like Trottingham would be next since it was close by.
And the one who watched the whole thing play out, well most of it anyway, was once again, Discord, who witnessed the chaos occur. It was safe to say he was having a good time as he ate some clouds as popcorn.
"That's that. Let's see how Trottinghamn goes." Discord was excited to see how the rest of this invasion will play out. He wanted to see it through to the end. However, before Discord could follow the chaos that was the invasion occurring on different parts of Equestria, someone was here to pay him a quick visit.
Or rather, deal with him more physically and less pleasantly. The one who was responsible for this invasion happening in the first place.
Empress Twilight Sparkle.
"Discord." She called out his name.
"Hm? Discord took a sip out of his cloud cup, turning around to face the Empress. After seeing her face, in just three seconds, he stopped drinking his aerial snack, burping out a lightning bolt that had just missed the Empress' face, clipping her mane. "Oh! Empress Twilight, right?"
The spirit of chaos then vanished before reappearing behind the Empress with an elongated lion paw wrapping around her neck. "Quite a nice event you've started. Well, there's never a dull moment in this world thanks to those Pokemon, but this just makes it better."
"Of course the first thing you'd do is babble without any fear..." The Empress sighed.
"So, are you finally getting into the action? Because if so, that's a shame, I would've wanted this to last longer. Not skip to the final boss already." Discord placed a video game health bar and level number over the Empress' head.
"Like I need to." She scoffed after shoving Discord aside. "Through this all, I won't let anyone even get close to defeating me. Not this world's Celestia, my younger self or anypony else. Especially not that Ash Ketchum. And that goes for you too, Discord."
"Oh well, I never said anything about doing so." Discord shrugged before floating around the Empress. "But you're right about the rest. Losing to a younger and less experienced version of yourself would be embarrassing, wouldn't it? Seeing you breakdown after that might be glorious! Oh, but losing to Ash would be on a grander scale, wouldn't' it?"
"You would like that, wouldn't you?" The Empress looked at him with scorn and disgust.
"Without a doubt." Discord admitted with honesty.
"That was a silly question for me to ask." She groaned before regaining her composure. "But it's fine. Yet again, that's one of the many reasons why I'll constantly keep obliterating you all the time."
"...I'm sorry come again?" Discord's ears flew out of his body, heading close to Empress Twilight's mouth after hearing the words that she uttered.
"You heard me. Like every other Discord out there, I've dealt with them personally." The Empress began walking around the Spirit of Chaos as Discord's attention and mood had shifted drastically. "And yet, I still can't seem to find a way to harness your Chaos magic for myself. Pinkie Pie succeeded to an extent, and yet I'm exempt from it. How frustrating..."
"You're here to destroy me?"
"I can't have any threats getting in my way. And you're by the biggest one without equal. And even if I can't harness the full potential of your Chaos Magic, I can take it, either way, only fueling my magic capabilities."
"Hmm..." Discord put his talon on his chin, stroking his goatee before thinking about this. "No. I don't think so." He wasn't just going to let the Empress steal his magic all willy-nilly.
He gave out a quick chuckle before sending a bolt of Chaos magic to try and mess with the Empress in various wacky instances and scenarios he can think of.
But then, he was taken back by surprise when he witnessed the Empress hold his Chaos magic all casually, freezing it in place and disintegrating it into nothing but cosmic dust in the cold night wind. Discord's eyes popped out before retracting as he was processing what he had just seen.
"That can't be right."
"Surprised? But you should've expected this. I've absorbed countless magic from other worlds, including alternate versions of you, obviously. And with my ability to open up the Rifts themselves, some of that cosmic energy resides in me." She then asserted her dominance and power by causing a thunderous explosion in the air before ascending with her eyes and body glowing a sinister aura. "I've made sure that not even a Spirit of Chaos can get in my way, understand?"
"Mm." Discord put up a poker face as he had quickly realized that was probably chatting to the worst possible individual right about now. Someone that can not only obliterate him but also nullify what he can do. He then let out a nervous chuckle. "Well then...this has been an interesting meeting. I look forward to seeing what this world's Twilight grows up to be. I'll be heading home and wait for this whole thing to blow over if you don't mind."
"Tch." Not wanting to hear any of Discord's nonsense and babble any further, the Empress wasted no time as she surrounded Discord in a rainbow aura, holding him in place as the Spirit of Chaos could feel his bones hardening and freezing.
"Ow-Ow!" He winced and cried out, unable to move his body.
"Feel familiar?" The Empress smirked. "This is the same way you were turned to stone two times in a row. Only this time, when you're petrified, you'll be as fragile as glass and I'll shatter you with one go. Or blast you into nothing. Or compress you. Either way, it doesn't really matter. As long as you're gone."
"Hold on, hold on!" Discord began pleading. "Y-You don't want to get rid of me, do you? After all, this is the best version of Equestria, right? So just maybe, all the full potential of Chaos magic could be yours, don't you think?" He gave the Empress a possibility to use the full potential of Chaos, making her do whatever she wanted without that much effort.
"Hmph. My Equestria is the best version of Equestria. Period." The Empress refused as she wasn't going to fall for Discord's tricks. "Goodbye."
The body of the Spirit of Chaos was being petrified all over. Just like before with Celestia and Luna and the Mane 6, history was repeating itself. But in this case, it was with a sinister nature and a less righteous force. What's worse is that this might be the end of Discord if this fully goes through. No one's threatened to destroy him before. Not even Tirek.
Unable to anything to save himself, the Spirit of Chaos closed his eyes, believing this was truly the end for him. His entire body had been turned to stone, right on the spot with the rainbow magic.
And to rub it in, the Empress quickly revealed something that would enrage Discord. Out of the gateway she came from, the source of her turning Discord to stone had been unravelled.
The Elements of Harmony, her old friends who were now just tools for her to use the magic of friendship to solve all of her problems.
And one of them was Fluttershy. A very old Fluttershy as she and her friends were being carried by the Empress, fueling her with the Magic of Friendship against their will. Discord witnessed this while in a stone prison. He was beyond furious right now but also scared by what he was seeing.
The Empress just wanted to torture Discord by having him see a very close friend of his in a horrible state while also being the source of his defeat.
"Splendid!" The Empress chuckled as she already knew how devastated Discord was. She then pulled Fluttershy towards her, caressing the pegasus' mane and further taunting Discord. "That's always my favourite thing to do to every other Discord. Get's them every time."
This was something that Discord would not laugh at. Even he would find disgust in it considering it was a close friend to him. Even if she wasn't from the same world.
The Empress then tossed Fluttershy and the others back into the gateway like ragdolls before her cackling ceased. She had no care for them at all. She was now ready to end Discord as she was charging up a giant blast of magic to put an end to this world's Spirit of Chaos forever.
Until...
Breaking through the clouds and shooting upwards, a beam of magic came soaring along, hitting the Empress right under her chin before knocking her on her back.
"Ugh!" She groaned as she had almost been sent back into the gateway from that hit. And it stung. So much so that even she was bewildered by it.
That magic came straight from an alicorn. But the alicorn in particular that performed that staggering attack was from an alicorn who also came from another world.
Nyx.
She flew through the clouds, appearing before the Empress as Discord's petrified body was starting to fall, in imminent danger of cracking if he would hit the ground. Not wanting that to happen, Nyx carefully used her magic to grab Discord from a faraway distance.
Afterwards, she made a magic slide that connected to the ground. She placed Discord on the slide as the petrified Spirit of Chaos was moving away from the area and heading straight for a safe and soft spot. AKA, magic pillows that Nyx had made.
Discord went down the slide, successfully landing on the pillows as he had been saved from a horrible outcome as Nyx let out a sigh of relief.
"Nyx!" The Empress roared as she turned to face the other alicorn. "Again, you just love getting my way, don't you?"
"This will be the last time." Nyx turned to face the Empress. "This world and those living in it will most certainly be your downfall."
"That's what I'm hoping doesn't happen. Anything in this world is far too dangerous to be ignored. This is the world where my Empire will gain new additions and power that will be unmatched by other worlds that even dare try and oppose. You should know what that's like, right? After all, you are technically Nightmare Moon, hm?"
"Not anymore. I may take on her shape but I'm not that manifestation in the slightest. But, everything she could do, I can do too."
"And you think that'll be enough to beat me?"
"I won't be able to beat you. But Princess Celestia, mother and everyone else can. The princess has already found a solution to render your magic pointless...I'm just here to stall for time! Besides! I've learned some tricks along every other world to deal with you!" Nyx grinned as she used her magic to create a simple blinding light. Nothing too extraordinary.
"Agh!" The Empress yelled as she had been temporarily blinded by Nyx's midnight light. Afterwards, Nyx had forced the Empress down by charging forward, putting her hooves out as she and Empress Twilight were falling.
The Empress regained her vision with a quick Eye recovery spell as she looked Nyx in the eyes with aggravation. She saw that Nyx was forcing her to the ground, right towards the nearest hillside. In response, the Empress used her magic to blast Nyx away, forcing the dark-coloured alicorn off her.
Nyx flew through the clouds before recovering as she and the Empress were now in the midst of a scuffle. One that was only meant to delay the Empress until this plan for Celestia could arrive. Since Nyx originally came to this world via planewalking, she could also interact with gateways. And she did so by closing off the Empress' gateway, making sure she wouldn't head back instantly.
As if that mattered since the Empress could just open a new one at any time.
The dark-coloured alicorn knew how powerful the Empress was with how many spells she had in her arsenal. Spells that were stolen of course. But, she wasn't here to win. It was practically impossible for her to do so. All Nyx had to do was keep her busy until the time was right.
And the Empress knew this. She could see it in Nyx's eyes. Irritation only met her mood with her eyes and eyebrows twitching. She was going to enjoy harming Nyx as much as she could and then afterwards, Discord would be obliterated as the two alicorns faced off in the night sky.
"Ah!" Twilight gasped as she sat up. Right now, she was resting on a bed along with some of her friends. More specifically, the Cerise Lab dorms.
Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rarity had all woken up afterwards as they also gasped collectively. The only ones who hadn't fainted or were resting were Rainbow Dash, Spike, Starlight and Goh. That was mostly because they came to their rescue.
"You're awake!" Starlight said. "And early too."
"Wha...We're still in one piece?" Rarity looked around before gazing at her own hooves. Before she knew it, Pheromosa, who had woken up before her, hugged her partner with joy.
"Pheromo!"
And the same went for Espeon and the rest of Twilight's Pokemon plus Togekiss. They had been healed up at the nearest Pokemon Center beforehand, jumping onto Twilight Sparke and hugging her. Aside from Absol who sat in the corner.
"Espeon!"
"Togekiss!"
"Cinccino!"
"How long were we out for?" Twilight breathed in and out.
"Just about an hour," Goh spoke. "But it wasn't too long."
"Where's Ash?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"He's gone off to help stop the invasion right now," Chloe said while holding Yamper. "Everywhere in Equestria's being flooded with that Empress forces from what we've heard."
"The invasion...We need to be there!" Applejack sat up.
"Yeah, I hear ya." Rainbow Dash nodded. "But maybe you girls should just rest up a bit more, ya know?"
"A bit more isn't going to cut it." Twilight got off the bed. "We have to put in everything and lend as much help as we can if we want to stop this invasion and prevent our world from being conquered. Are we winning?"
"Ehh..." Spike shrugged.
"I feel pretty refreshed right now." Pinkie Pie stretched her hooves. "We should get going now."
"I second that." Rarity got off the bed. "Now that we've cleared up the whole Aur and staff problem, we should focus on the larger task at hand."
"I got a Travel Sphere from one of those soldiers." Starlight held out a Travel Sphere that was on the verge of breaking. "But all that battling damage it so it's kinda hanging in there. We can head there as soon as we can and maybe catch up with Ash."
"Right." Twilight placed her saddlebag back on while stretching her neck.
The rest of her friends got ready with Applejack placing her hat on, Rarity readjusting her Mega Evolution accessories and sorting her mane out while Fluttershy placed Chikorita on the bed, allowing her to continue resting.
Chikorita's leaf hadn't grown back yet and the sun wasn't up at this time. The Leaf Pokemon would have to stay behind until the morning and summer sun arrive.
Starlight put the Travel Sphere forward as she was thinking of the one place she wanted to head towards. Right now, almost anywhere was a red zone in Equestria. With all those ships flying around, wherever she and friends head to, they'll bump into the Empress' forces regardless.
But, Starlight thought of one place. Or rather a spot. One where her friend Trixie Lulamoon is commonly seen with her magic carriage. Possibly one of the smallest towns in Equestria. A place that was so insignificant and small that not even the invading forces would even pay much attention to it.
It also helped that it was a fairly well-hidden place, making it perfect to hide. Which was actually Starlight's main instinct. Unlike the rest of her friends, she wasn't super willing to get knee-deep in many high-octane actions. But, much like the Eternatus situation, when it comes down to it, she'll switch her instincts and take action.
She thought of that spot as she had opened a gateway to that specific area. The small town had been revealed to everypony as it was hidden behind an assortment of bushes, right near the wilds. And this was the same place where Trixie's carriage was as everyone could see it moving.
"Good luck, you all!" Chloe wished them good luck about saving their home along with Professor Cerise.
"Yamper!"
Equestria. Out in the wilds.
The gateway originally opened by Starlight had been closed. Starlight and everypony passed right through it as they had re-entered Equestria. And with how loud the opening of the gateways usually are, that obviously startled Trixie, causing her to scream inside of her carriage.
If anything, her screaming was louder than the gateway itself. Hearing the sound of Trixie screaming, Starlight quickly rushed over to the carriage, knocking on the door.
"Trixie! It's me!" Starlight knocked as everyone stood by. "Starlight!"
"Drea?" Misdreavus used her intangibility to phase her head through the door. There was confirmation that Starlight was indeed here along with some friendly familiar faces. "Misdrea!"
"Huh?" Trixie opened the door with Misdreavus flying back. "Oh! Starlight! What was that noise?!"
"It was just this. The Travel Sphere. Sounds like a gateway opening up." Starlight looked at the Travel Sphere as it had finally broken down after that one use. "Looks like that's it..."
"Hm?" Big Mac poked his head through the door, seeing that the coast was clear.
"Big Mac?!" Applejack gasped. "Why are you in there? Matter of fact, how come you're out here and not at the Ponyville shelter right now."
"Uhh..." Big Mac looked to the side as he knew he had finished his errands too late and not early enough to avoid the invasion.
"I'm just getting him back to Ponyville. While I head back to my Great and Powerful School. Anywhere away from all of this."
"You haven't been caught up yet in all of this?" Goh asked.
"Not yet. Not ever." Trixie shook her head.
"Maybe now's a good time." Spike gulped as he raised his claw, pointing at the approaching forces. Since the gateway had opened, it obviously attracted a ton of attention to anyone nearby. That involved the troops and robotic creations that were dropped by via the ships that were in the sky.
The robotic creations and the troops riding the vehicles identified the group of ponies, Pokemon and a single human, knowing who they were. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and the rest were considered dangerous due to their high potential threat towards the Empire.
The rhino-like vehicles approached at high velocities, ready to crash right through the carriage and group as they had already destroyed the trees that stood in their way.
"They found us!" Trixie screeched as she ran back inside her carriage.
"It's just a few so we'll be fine! Go, Cinderace!" Goh took out a Poke Ball, throwing it and sending out Cinderace.
"Cinderace!"
"Use Pyro Ball!"
"Cinder!" Cinderace repeatedly kicked a rock, igniting it into a flaming soccer ball. It then kicked the fireball, launching it at the vehicles and robotic creations. "Ace!"
The Pyro Ball hit one of the robots, blowing them up immediately as the flaming explosion spread out, destroying the rest of the aluminium creations. The ponies riding the vehicles had jumped out, evading the explosion as they immediately ran for it since they didn't have any other weapons on them.
And that was that. Fairly short but that was mostly because that the rest of the forces had already gone off to different parts of Equestria by now.
Trixie popped her head out of the door, seeing that the coast was clear. At least for now. She let out a sigh of relief afterwards.
"That's it? Hah! That wasn't so bad." Trixie grinned.
"We should get going. Big Mac. How's about I help ya back home. Ain't no way you're gonna get back in all of this without major help." Applejack suggested.
"We should also see if anypony needs help," said Fluttershy. "There might be some Pokemon out there that are really injured in all of this. Audino and I can handle that."
"But where do we go first? It's all over Equestria. Do we split up?" Pinkie Pie moved her head around.
"I don't know if splitting up is even safe or dangerous at this point." Twilight sighed. "Ash and Pikachu are on their own as always and who knows where Princess Celestia and Luna might be during all of this. Maybe we should stick in groups. What does everypony think?"
"Spike..." Rainbow Dash, who was currently above everyone as always, had her mouth open and her pupils expanded as she said Spike's name.
"Yeah?" Spike turned to face Rainbow Dash, believing that she was calling for him.
"Spike! Giant robot octopus!" Rainbow Dash screamed as she pointed her hoof at the sky.
"What? Why me? And what about a giant roboooooooot.." Spike turned to where Rainbow Dash was pointing to along with everyone else as they had spotted the unexpected. Just like Rainbow Dash, their mouths opened with their pupils expanding as well.
Titanic footsteps could be heard and felt in the distance as two giant figures were seen past the clouds of the night. One of which was very familiar.
They were coming into view with the first one being the giant robotic octopus with multiple flashing spheres around its body. It hovered over the wilds, letting out that horrible howling sound as always. Just behind it, it had already dealt some damage to the land and was about to continue doing so. But that wasn't the main attraction.
The main attraction was the creature beside the robotic octopus. A familiar face. Purple, green and of the dragon species plus giant wings as well and green smoke and flame exuding out of its nostrils. A growl echoed throughout the sky as it was followed up by a giant roar that could be heard from afar.
The giant adult Spike had shown up, flying through the sky.
"What the..." Goh was stunned by what he was seeing. "Spike?!"
"But all grown up! It's like before when he was sick!" Pinkie Pie pointed her hoof while screeching.
"Then...is that their universe's Spike...?" Rarity gasped.
"Awesome." Spike could only gawk at his adult form which also had wings. But he was also intimidated by it and for a good reason. The adult dragon breathed fire across the landscape, immediately spreading his green flames like wildfire as the giant octopus began smashing its tentacles around, trembling the ground. The robotic octopus was the first to notice the group out of the two giants.
The flames of the giant adult Spike had spread so fast that the wilds were being consumed in seconds. Along with objects. And one of those objects was Trixie's carriage which started from the bottom.
"Huh?! Hey!" Trixie squealed as she, Big Mac and Misdreavus jumped out of the carriage after seeing the flames spread out. Before they knew it, Trixie's carriage was being scorched by these green flames with everything inside perishing.
Trixie had to watch it all burn away as she sat down with her mouth open and hat falling off. Her method of hiding from the invasion had been removed by just a small flame.
"A-Ah..." Trixie mumbled unintelligibly.
The robotic octopus then approached Twilight and the others, ready to destroy them. Except for Twilight since she was heavily needed by the Empress. As for the giant adult Spike, since he was going on a mindless rampage, soared higher into the air, flying around aimlessly while breathing fire.
"It's coming right for us!" Twilight noticed as the robotic octopus started spinning its sharp and hard appendages around at high speeds. "Now might be a good time to split up so we don't get taken out altogether!" Twilight screeched as she and everyone started running for the hills.
They hadn't engaged with the robot yet because of its movements as they all ran in separate directions. Big Mac sent his Machamp out and Machamp then picked Trixie up, running away with her. The remains of Trixie's carriage had been obliterated by the spinning octopus robot.
Since they had split up, it would be hard for the mechanical cephalopod to hit them all in one spot or even chase them all down. However, that's why those tentacles existed. Seeing that it couldn't do it by just spinning, it chose to use its tentacles, extending them as they each chased down the groups.
The tentacles stabbed in the ground, just missing their targets as deep slim craters were being formed in the earth. When the group moved through trees, the octopus cut the trees in half by swiping its appendages. It then extended them even further, going straight for Fluttershy.
"Audi! Protect!" Fluttershy cried out.
"Audino!" Audino put her hands out, creating a protective barrier that had blocked the incoming appendage, creating a green pulse after hitting it.
"Bunny!" Then, Scorbunny jumped past Fluttershy and Audino, running up the tentacle of the robot as he felt brave enough to attack it.
"Ah! Scorbunny, wait!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Scorbun!" Scorbunny used Flame Charge, cloaking himself in flames as he boosted forward, going straight for the face. The aura of flames were also slowly melting the aluminium exterior.
Unfortunately, this didn't last as the robot swung its tentacle, launching Scorbunny off it.
"Scor!" Scorbunny cried out as Fluttershy flew up, catching the Rabbit Pokemon. Fluttershy, Goh, Big Mac and Pinkie Pie were had stood before the giant robot octopus.
This was the group that had to deal with this multi-tentacled aluminium creature with various spheres that could come alive and attach themselves to their prey at any moment.
As for Twilight's group that was another story. Spike himself was actually advancing towards his older self instead of running away or heading for the giant octopus.
"Spike! Why are you heading that way?!" Twilight asked. "I know it's you but-"
"I know what I'm doing!" Spike turned to face Twilight. "I'm gonna try and calm him down!"
"Calm him down?!" Rarity responded.
"He's going on a rampage. Just like Salamence. It means he's not in his right mind right now." Spike, due to becoming a Dragon Trainer and learning tricks that many Dragon Trainers possess, could tell how his older self was feeling right about now. He wasn't even a Pokemon. "Drayden and the Elder taught me about the dragons light! If it only works on Dragon-Type Pokemon then maybe it works on other kinds of dragons too! I can try and calm him down!"
"Are you sure?!" Starlight asked.
"Hopefully!" Spike was faithful that he could snap his older self out of this rampaging state and possibly gain a brand new and powerfully ally in the form of himself.
The adult Spike roared at the Pokemon, seeing them as prey immediately. Then again, almost everything was prey or vulnerable target to him aside from the octopus. The Empress had done something to this Spike that had changed him to just be a giant force of destruction.
The Crystal Empire. Night.
Much like almost everywhere else in Equestria, the Crystal Empire was also giving it everything to stop this invasion. Noticeably, because of how practically everything here was made out of crystals, they were either effective weapons or easily breakable via the aluminium that the opposing empire possessed.
But so far, the Crystal Empire had everything under control it seemed. All of the residents and citizens had taken shelter in the dungeon of all places. The Crystal Empire didn't exactly have a safe zone for scenarios such as this. And they could thank King Sombra for that.
In the dungeon, one of the maids of the Crystal Empire was holding onto Flurry Heart while her parents deal with the invasion happening above. The maid was tasked with protecting the baby and Manaphy as well.
Many of the Empress' forces had been defeated thanks to the efforts of the soldiers and of course, the Pokemon as well. Even the Sableye who are known for just snacking off on the crystals here in the empire were assisting. And noticeably, a Dynamaxed Sableye.
Thanks to the Dynamax dens nearby, the Crystal Empire had a powerful ally in the form of a giant And Sableye's sharp crystal-like skin, Dynamax moves and Ghost-like intangibility were real game-changers. The ships in the sky didn't stand a chance. Especially those down below.
Plus, Shining Armor's Doublade had done arguably the most work. Thanks to its amazing sword skills, they were able to cut the aluminium armour while Cadence's Sylveon knocked them out.
"Everything looks clear here." Shining Armor said as he stood beside some guards, soldiers, Sableye and a few other Pokemon. "We should head out and assist everywhere else as soon as possible. Let's head for Canterlot."
"Yes sir!" They all saluted. Everything went swimmingly in the Empire. The Dyanamxed Sableye was still in its Dynamaxed state since it was a wild Pokemon and most likely, Eternatus' influence was still roaming, allowing the Darkness Pokemon to continue staying in this state.
At the end of it all, Eternatus did end up bringing something of great value.
But as they were ready to head off to stop more of the Empress' forces, they had one other issue to solve before they could head out.
Actually, this issue might prevent them from going anywhere else. Just outside the gates of the Crystal Empire, the guards that stood by it had been taken out with their bodies on the floor. Their crystal armour had been obliterated as a dark aura covered their bodies while they were unresponsive. There was only one individual who had performed this and had a dark aura with him.
Ghetsis.
He was here for one purpose. To retrieve baby Flurry Heart and use her for himself. And joining him were his best servants, the Shadow Triad. The tyrannical ruler grinned and let out a small cackle as the Crystal Empire was responding to his Dark Aura, almost as if they could feel remnants of Sombra around.
"You know what you need to do. Anyone that stands in your way, just get rid of them." Ghetsis said to the triad. "Let's go."
The city that had been ravaged by the giant adult Spike and the robotic sentient octopus was in shambles with rubble littering the ground. However, despite this destruction, the ponies and Pokemon who were caught up in it had actually survived.
"S-Scizor." Scizor shoved the huge rubble off him as did everyone else including the giant Golurk. However, even if they survived, the damage was still there. Scizor's Mega Evolution had ended. Since his body was on the verge of melting if he kept using it for too long, he deformed himself.
"Ow..." Spitfire groaned as she spread her wings, flying out of the rubble. She helped Soarin out of it along with his Pokemon. Everyone started clearing the dust and dirt away from them. Spitfire could see that her wings were still active and healthy so she was okay to fly.
They could thank the Golurk for this. Because of their resistance to anything ground related being that they are Ground-Types themselves, plus them acting as a well with moves such as Protect, they had nullified the ground tsunami that had been caused by the adult Spike.
The Flying-Type Pokemon had recovered, stretching their wings as they took to the skies, covering them once more. The pegasi also ascended to the sky after recovering as they noticed three important things in the sky.
One was that the sun was on the verge of rising with morning slowly approaching. And another was the sight of two different magical lights flashing in the distance, both coming from two alicorns. Mainly the Empress and Nyx going against each other. And the final one was from the multicoloured spheres of that metallic sentient cephalopod.
The Wonderbolts, Canterlot soldiers and the Pokemon chose to go directly for the source of those multicoloured lights. They had to stop that robotic octopus since they had lost to it just previously. However, they did end up damaging it in the process.
Their work here wasn't done. They had a world to protect and an invasion to stop after all. But before they could off to get the job down, Soarin noticed a familiar stone figure laying on the ground. One that held the Spirit of Chaos in it.
"Hm?"
Meanwhile.
And speaking of the multicoloured lights, the robotic octopus let out its metallic howl before swinging its appendages at Fluttershy's group. The trainers stood at the back while the Pokemon were at the front, protecting their trainers from harm.
"Cinderace! Blaze Kick!" Goh commanded his Cinderace.
"Scorbunny use High Jump Kick!" Fluttershy commanded Scorbunny.
Two of the Pokemon of the same evolution line ran towards the giant metallic cephalopod with one lighting their feet up with fire and the other jumped high into the air. Scorbunny and Cinderace equally evaded the approaching tentacles by jumping high over them, especially Scorbunny.
"Bunny!"
"Cinder!"
The two Fire-Types advanced after evading the tentacles. They then, in perfect unison, smashed their legs onto the appendages of their opponent. One left a visible dent while the other left both a dent and melted parts of the tentacles off.
The robotic octopus howled with a metal sound before using its other tentacles to grab both Scorbunny and Cinderace, squeezing them together.
"C-Cinderace!"
"Scor!" The two Fire-Types cried out. The machine then used the rest of its appendage to try and grab Audino and the others. And from the speed they were moving at, there was a good chance of it doing so.
"Dino!" Audino tried to run away but she wasn't fast enough to avoid these high-speed appendages. Thus, she had been grabbed as well as the machine pulled her in. "Audino!"
"Audi!" Fluttershy gasped as she had just managed to avoid the appendage by a smidge. The tentacle smashed into the ground as it would've crushed Fluttershy if it had connected. Goh and the others managed to avoid the appendages but their friends were currently being held by them.
"Big Mac! You're the one with the macho Pokemon! Do something! Break that hunk of metal!" Trixie yelled as she aggressively nudged Big Mac.
"Yeah! Machamp can easily crush that thing, no problem!" Goh turned to Big Macintosh as well.
"Uh...A-Alright! Machamp?" Big Mac nodded before facing the Superpower Pokemon. Usually, Machamp is a bit of a big softie. He could be considered the least battle-oriented Machamp out there aside from the ones that do construction all over the world. But if there was ever a moment where he could throw away his soft nature for the sake of protecting his friends, this would be it.
After all, Granny Smith pointed this out a while back, and Machamp took it to heart. So much so that he won't resist as much.
"Champ!" Machamp understood what needed to be done. This would be his first battle but he was going to do his best. The Superpower Pokemon noticed four tentacles coming towards his friends as they were either going to crush or grab them. Acting fast, Machamp held his arms out, using one of the four moves that he has but has never utilized until now.
Once the tentacles got close, Machamp grabbed onto all four of them with just his two hands. He didn't even use his other arms to do so. All he needed was two. The amazing and spectacular strength of Machamp was so vast that him just grabbing the appendages had almost crushed them. There wasn't even a hard impact from it.
Machamp almost noticed that he barely flinched from the collision of the large appendages pressing onto his arms. In fact, he barely even felt the sharp edges of them. The feeling was practically non-existent to him. But the robotic octopus most certainly flinched instead. It had lost its focus and grip on the three Pokemon as Audino, Scorbunny and Cinderace broke free thanks to Machamp.
"Machamp!" After holding the tentacles and the machine in general, the Superpower Pokemon used his one move on the octopus.
Seismic Toss.
The Fighting-Type kept his grip on the appendages as he leapt into the air bringing the octopus along with him. He jumped so high, he blew the grass away while also leaving behind a shockwave afterwards. And he did this in a matter of seconds.
"Ooho!" Trixie and the others gawked at Machamp's strength as they all looked high up. They knew Machamp was strong but this was really their first time getting a good grasp of how great the lifting strength of a Machamp was. He was so high in the sky that he could be seen as a star. He was perfectly positioned to be seen in the middle of the moon's celestial glow too.
"Misdreavus?!"
"What strength?!" Goh gasped.
"Cinderace?!"
"Machamp!" After gaining some good height that almost reached the clouds, the two then fell to the ground headfirst but Machamp had let go at the last second, leaving the machine to crash down instead. The octopus was dropped on its head, causing further interior and exterior damage as even the spheres around its body had cracked. When they're not sentient, they're equal to that of crystals or glass as bits of them shattered.
Machamp was stunned that he was able to do that with such ease as he stood there in astonishment while the rest of his friends cheered for him. Feeling a sense of importance, Machamp then flexed all four of his muscles, feeling proud of his strength.
"Haha! How's that?!" Trixie laughed at the octopus, pointing her hoof and taunting at it. But it wasn't over yet. Despite that heavy hit, the robot could still go on. It immediately flew up, regaining its composure as bits of its wires were sticking out of its head now. "Uh oh!"
"Not that easy, huh? Fluttershy. Can't you speak to it and convince it to join our side?" Goh turned to Fluttershy. "Apparently you did that with the manticore."
"I'm afraid this one's full machine, unlike the manticore." Fluttershy shook her head. "I couldn't convince it if I could."
"Oh good. So we can get rid of it, no problem. Come on, big guy! Thrash it!" Trixie encouraged Machamp.
"Champ!" Machamp turned around, giving them a certified thumbs up. He felt very confident in his skills now. However, he couldn't get too cocky as the machine took the opportunity to attack the Superpower Pokemon while he wasn't looking.
With all of its appendages, the machine had whacked Machamp far back while he wasn't looking. And it hit him with all of them, not just a few, making sure that the impact was heavy and meaty.
"Machaaaaaaamp!" He screamed as his voice was fading in the distance. Big Mac watched as his partner went flying into the rest of the wilds. After whacking the Superpower Pokemon away, the machine actually focused most of its attention on Machamp since he was the biggest threat here.
To finish him off, the machine had taken it a step further. It had more to it than just a plethora of tentacles, sentient and multicoloured spheres. This robot was made to be an unstoppable force. Emerging from its face, were eight eyes. They matched the multicoloured spheres except they had one colour. Red.
From those eight eyes, red rays were shot into the sky. They moved in a zigzag position instead of directly forward like most rays. Those rays went for Machamp who was in the distance and no one else. But with the machine distracted on one Pokemon now was a good chance to catch it off guard.
"Cinderace! Pyro Ball!"
"Scorbunny! High Jump Kick! And Audi, use Hyper Beam!"
"Mew! Use Aura Sphere!"
"Can't let everypony show the Great and Powerful Trixie up...Misdreavus, use Zap Cannon!"
"Cinder-Cinder!" Cinderace took a larger pebble this time, twisting it around before kicking it up and igniting it. Each kick increased the size of the flames before the Striker Pokemon launched it at the machine.
"Scorbun!" Scorbunny went ahead of his teammates, jumping into the air and lighting his feet up.
"Audino...!" Audino built up the most power out of all her allies. By raising her arms, she formed an orange sphere that made a howling sound. Afterwards, she fired a giant beam forward that tore through even the ground.
"Mew!" Mew put his hands together before separating them, summoning a blue shaped sphere infused with Aura within it as he tossed it.
"Misdrea!" And as for Misdreavus, she opened her mouth, generating a giant sphere of electricity as she shot it forward like a cannon. All the attacks were approaching the machine from ranged to physical.
"Scorbunny!" Scorbunny was the first to land a hit. He directly kicked his foot onto the face of the machine as Pyro Ball, Hyper Beam, Zap Cannon and Aura Sphere all connected. Due to the attacks landing, the machine's zigzag rays had been interrupted as they misfired, hitting a random tree instead of Machamp in the distance.
Scorbunny jumped off of the machine's face after kicking it as the size of Hyper Beam had engulfed the machine while the flames of Pyro Ball started spreading, gradually melting it. Zap Cannon was also leaving its own effect. It was a move that would also paralyze no matter what. And those volts of electricity were moving around the robot's body. As for Aura Sphere, it left a visible hole in one of the robot's eyes.
However, despite all of this, the machine was still standing as it had used its damage to its advantage. AKA, the moves that had been thrown at it. The mechanical octopus turned the burn and paralyze effect into weapons by spinning around, allowing the flames and electricity to become weapons for its appendages. Its appendages were spinning rapidly as they had flames and electricity moving around them.
"Seriously?! This thing's made out of aluminium, right?!" Goh gasped as everyone was taken aback by this. They saw that flames were spewing out of the spinning tentacles as well as lightning bolts. If there was ever a good time to make a run for it, now would be a good time. Cinderace was the first to bolt off as everyone else followed.
They started escaping from the flames and lightning bolts that were spreading out all over the place because of the rapid spinning. The grass and anything else was being caught on fire while the lightning bolts pierce and destroy anything that stood in their way.
"Drea!" Due to the rampant movement of the lightning bolts being unpredictable and erratic, Misdreavus had been hit by one of them, falling over to the ground.
"Ah! Misdreavus!" Trixie gasped as she ran over to her partner. But turning around only had the lightning bolts hit Trixie instead. She screamed as fell next to the Screech Pokemon. Flames that had been spreading on the grass were also heading for the two of them now that they were down on the ground.
"Cinder!" Cinderace quickly used Quick Attack to boost around, grabbing both Trixie and Misdreavus before running away once more. Thanks to the speed of Quick Attack and its naturally great speed, Cinderace was able to evade the flames and lightning bolts.
"Are you two okay?!" Fluttershy asked as she flew beside Cinderace.
"A bit twitchy..but nothing the Great and Powerful Trixie can't-" Trixie twitched but as she spoke, the machine slammed its tentacles down, almost hitting Cinderace and the others. "Aah!"
That's when everyone noticed that not only was the machine getting faster, but its size was also increasing. From its multiple eyes, it was seemingly drawing in energy to build up its already titanic size. Everyone observed that the machine was actually using the air itself. Inside of this mechanical cephalopod was nothing but a giant space that acted like a vacuum.
This vacuum space was actually where those multicoloured spheres existed, explaining why the machine can summon new ones if it ever runs out of the previous ones. There was seemingly an endless amount of them. And this vast space is where the robot drew all of its power, increasing its size. Soon, the robot was about the size of an entire mountain as it had eclipsed everything in sight.
"Sweet Celestia..." Trixie shuddered. They were hoping to just deal with its average size and get it over with. Not this.
Now even larger before and with more power behind it, the machine had also used the multicoloured spheres to suddenly coat itself. As if it didn't need more enhancements. Since the spheres had an ink-like substance to them, they could move like ink.
All of their flashing colours started flowing across the aluminium body of this, giving the mechanic cephalopod a coating armour made out of multicoloured gel.
"What's it doing now?!" Goh witnessed the colourful solution armour the machine from all over.
"It's giving itself protective armour with the spheres!" Fluttershy noticed. "All of it is ink coating it!
"How's that gonna help? It's just ink." Pinkie Pie turned to Fluttershy.
"It will act like Ciniccino's scarf! Any attack that approaches it might be deflected away like the oil around Cinccino's scarf!" Fluttershy explained.
"So it's indestructible?!" Goh gasped as the machine howled into the night sky. The machine then raised all of its appendages as its entire body was flashing aggressively. The edges of the sharp tentacles were rapidly accelerating, moving and acting like a chainsaw of all things.
As if the appendages weren't dangerous enough.
"Not really! If we can just break through all of that ink then-" But before Fluttershy could finish her sentence, at an even quicker pace than before, the appendages came crashing down, ready to destroy the prey before it. Even faster than Cinderace could react.
But not too fast for Machamp.
"Ma!" Returning here after being launched, the Superpower Pokemon put out all of his arms as he had grabbed the many appendages from the robotic octopus' ink coated body.
"Machamp!" Big Mac and everyone said as a strong wind pressure came from Machamp's arms meeting with the appendages, forcing everyone else back. This time, the octopus was strong enough to even give Machamp some trouble. The rapid chainsaw-like moving tentacles were grazing his body, causing the Superpower Pokemon to flinch. But he hung in there.
The mechanical octopus started pushing Machamp back, aiming to crush into nothing but dust or even slice it up into pieces with its sharp tentacles. Machamp slid on the ground as he was being pushed back by the machine. The ground below him was being scraped as the Fighting-Type held on as hard as he could.
"Ma-Machamp!"
Cinderace and the others tried to assist their friend by attacking the machine with all of their attacks. Whether it was up close or far away. However, just like what Fluttershy said, anything that came in contact with this ink coating would just be deflected.
If anything, it was an improvement over Cinccino's scarf. Cinccino's scarf can mostly deflect physical attacks. This ink coating can seemingly deflect both physical and ranged attacks which didn't make things easier for anyone.
"Nothing!" Goh growled as their attacks were proving to be ineffective. "Fluttershy! How do we get through it?!"
"Something really hard has to just break through it! Something stronger than what we can do by a milestone!" Fluttershy cried out as she was starting to panic. "But, I don't know what can!"
"Mew! Try turning into um..." Pinkie Pie tried thinking of a Pokemon for Mew to transform into. It was harder than it looked because Mew, even if he were to turn into a strong Pokemon, his own strength might not be enough. But they had to try either way.
However, that might not be the case for long.
The robotic octopus had ended up leading Machamp to one of the many Dynamax Power Spots littered around these wilds. All nearby Pokemon scattered from the sliding Superpower Pokemon and movement from the machine as their home was being levelled at this point.
Machamp's body was being consumed by the ink, just like how it almost consumed the Wonderbolts and other forces that had previously gone up against this gigantic robotic cephalopod.
The Superpower Pokemon closed his eyes as the many colours of the ink were coating him all over. Machamp strained, giving it everything he had but the ink was just negating his strength as his body was succumbing to the sharp tentacles.
Until...
Machamp's leg touched one of the Dynamax Power Spots. Most noticeably, the purple-coloured ones. Upon contact, something kindled in the Superpower Pokemon. Something that was enough to change not just his appearance but his strength as well.
The Superpower Pokemon opened his eyes as they flashed purple. Before he knew it, his entire body was covered by a different colour. Solely purple and red. Machamp was also abruptly changing size.
"Ma...MA... MA!"
Every split-second, the Fighting-Type was growing continuously. The ground below him was shattering with craters forming his size increase. The ground itself lit up with this purple colouring as Machamp's body had fully interacted with the Dynamax power spot. But that wasn't all that happened with his body.
Big Mac and the others ran over to try and assist Machamp. But once they got there, they saw the emergence of something on a grand scale, possibly even larger than the gigantic machine that was terrorizing the land and giving them such a hard time.
"What now?!" Trixie screeched while adjusting her hat.
"It's Dynamax!" Pinkie Pie gasped.
"No! Gigantamax!" Goh pointed out as Machamp's body size had reached an outstanding 82'00" and more as he kept growing. More than the size of a football field and even a skyscraper. To say that he towered over everything would be redundant at this point.
The machine had already towered over mostly everything thanks to its sheer size. But this was on another level. Machamp had entered his Gigantamax Form for the first time and while under Eternatus' influence. So he was going to be in this state for a while.
"MACHAMP!"
"Gigantamax Machamp...?" Pinkie Pie gawked as she and Goh took out their Pokedexes to witness this absolute behemoth of a Pokemon.
"Machamp. The Superpower Pokemon. Gigantamax Form. The Gigantamax energy coursing through its arms makes its punches hit as hard as bomb blasts. One of these Pokémon once used its immeasurable strength to lift a large ship that was in trouble. It then carried the ship to port."
"Yes! That's what we need!" Fluttershy suddenly yelled as she excitedly flapped her wings.
"It is?" Big Mac turned to Fluttershy before facing his partner in the sky once more.
"CHAMP!" Now the size of roughly a mountain, Machamp could presumably dish out that damage that can not only break through the ink coating but also put an end to this mechanical appendages monstrosity once and for all.
And, despite not being organic anymore and just being a robot based on a creature from the Everfree Forest, the robotic octopus was actually intimidated by this. Even with its own size increase, to Machamp, it was at least the size of a bookshelf at best. It moved its appendages away before looking up at the Superpower.
"MA!" Machamp then swung his first punch, moving at a slower speed than before. However, even if he had lost his usual speed, his power, which was already stellar, to begin with, had been dramatically increased.
The robotic octopus had the speed advantage due to being a bit smaller than Machamp. However, that didn't matter for two reasons. The first was that Machamp still had his four arms so even if he missed with one punch, he could always other the arms. And the second one was that Machamp's fist was so wide and giant that there was no chance of the machine even escaping the ludicrously stupid width of it.
A giant aura of wind covered Machamp's fist just from his movements alone. Wind pressures equal to that of hurricanes were being formed as the sound of Machamp's moving fist blocked out all other sounds.
And with one straight hit, Machamp's fist actually managed to break through the ink coating, ignoring its protection against physical attacks. Not only that, just like how Fluttershy theorized, Machamp's fist even struck the aluminium body of the machine.
The giant robotic octopus had lost five of its appendages just from that one hit alone. After being hit with the force of bomb blasts, the machine was sent flying after Machamp's Max Strike. A large hole was left in the side of its body after Machamp had hit it. Huge chunks of metal had either been obliterated or fell to the ground.
"There! See?!" Fluttershy aggressively shook Big Mac in excitement. "That's it!"
"E-E-E-Eeyup!" Big Mac stuttered after being lifted by Fluttershy and having his body being furiously moved around.
After being launched far enough to almost reach Trottingham, the machine had recovered by halting its own movements. It took time to assess the damage that had been done to it. One hit and already a large chunk of its body had been obliterated. It already knew that Machamp was a huge threat, but this further instilled that fear.
Aiming to take Machamp out as soon as it can, the mechanical octopus ascended into the air, summoning brand new multicoloured spheres around its body while still having its ink coating. After ascending, the robot launched multiple of those ink spheres down to try and bombard Machamp into submission and to hopefully consume him.
The Superpower Pokemon was ready for this. He put all four of his arms up to try and block the giant spheres. However, that wouldn't be the best idea since they were there to consume him.
"Machamp!" Big Mac cried out, grabbing the attention of the Superpower Pokemon. The earth pony shook his head as he and Machamp could communicate with each other without Big Mac even having to say much. His head movements indicated that Machamp should instead just hit the ink instead of trying to block it since that was a better method.
"CHAMP!" Machamp understood as he immediately clenched all of his fingers at once. Afterwards, the Superpower Pokemon pulled them all back before giving a good forward thrust.
His fist movements were so ludicrous that he didn't even need to physically touch the ink. The immense hurricane-like wind pressure from his fists was enough to blow the spheres away. All of them were destroyed by Machamp's simple movements as a perfect counter had been found.
The machine wasn't done yet. It was going to try its usual spinning tactic that can presumably cut anything. It advanced while also shooting out more of those colourful spheres to continue its attempt to consume the Gigantamaxed Pokemon.
"MACHAMP!" Machamp went on the move. With one step in his running position, Machamp shook the wilds themselves while also causing large dust clouds and craters to form. The Superpower Pokemon's movements were even so great that he blew away the ink spheres without hitting them either way.
Machamp was going for another Dynamax Move. Once more it was Max Strike. His four arms lit up with a red energy as if his arms weren't already lit up in the first place. The machine made the first strike by smacking all of its rapidly spinning appendages onto the face of the Superpower Pokemon.
It was expecting to cut Machamp apart but all it really did was just slightly knock the Fighting-Type back. Machamp's already dexterous and durable body was tougher than ever. It looked like ordinary flesh but it was equal to armour.
Machamp, after being smacked in the face, jerked back a bit, almost falling over. But he was able to regain his composure even in this giant form. After hitting Machamp, the machine continued to do so by furiously whipping its sharp tentacles onto the Superpower Pokemon, trying everything to cut it apart.
It even started shooting out those ink spheres and this time they actually landed since the robotic octopus was closer. The spheres immediately latched themselves onto the Fighting-Type's back, starting to expand as they were going to engulf Machamp until he was nothing but an ink statue that was lifeless.
But Machamp wouldn't just let that happen. By using two of his arms, he ripped the ink off his body while using his other two arms to grab the machine's appendages.
"MACHAMP!" After getting ahold of those sharp and hard appendages, the Superpower Pokemon then ripped some of them apart from the machine's body like it was nothing. Twelve large metal tentacles had been taken off and were now in Machamp's grasp.
"You were restraining this whole time?!" Trixie pointed her hoof up at Machamp, stunned by how unbelievably strong he was while looking at Machamp.
"Eeyup?" Big Mac shrugged. The fact that he had been keeping this kind of strength from properly battling for an entire year was bizarre to his friends. If Machamp was always battle focused like other Machamp from the very beginning, a lot of events would've properly been different.
"MA!" Machamp, after ripping the appendages off had used the machine's own limbs against it. It used six of them to stab right through the robot and the other six to cut the rest of its appendages off.
The machine howled after having more of its body damaged as the rest of its other appendages fell to the ground after being cut off. Turns out that its own tentacles were strong enough to pierce through its ink coating.
Once he stabbed through it, Machamp then pulled all four of his arms back, going for another Max Strike. And this was going to be a big one. His whole body lit up with that same red energy as his shout echoed across the night and soon to be morning sky.
Then, in one final hit, Machamp struck all of his arms onto the machine directly. On its entire body too. One hit from all four of them and the machine had shattered like glass. It didn't fly back or even spin around. It just shattered, symbolizing its final moments and long overdue defeat.
After shattering, all that was left were tiny pieces of metal shards raining down from the sky. They weren't even giant. Machamp had hit it so hard that all the large parts had been obliterated until they were the size of fingernails.
Everyone looked up, avoiding the raining shards of metal since those were still dangerous. Ink also started raining down after the ink coating had been destroyed as well.
And in the sky, the night had finally come to an end. With the moon setting, the sun had shown itself as its wonderful light separated the clouds and shining across the land. The summer sun was back as the morning had arrived.
"MACHAMP!" And with a stunning victory, Machamp roared victoriously while flexing his muscles.
"Yeahahahahah!" Pinkie Pie cheered as she and Trixie hugged each other in excitement. Goh was also caught up in their hug too along with Cinderace.
"Great job!" Fluttershy also gave a hug to Big Mac and her own Pokemon too. The way that Machamp won was something to remember. The whole Gigantamax segment was an accident since Machamp didn't even mean to interact with the power spot.
But it could be considered a happy little accident. Noticeably, Machamp hadn't returned to his normal size. This was because of Eternatus' influence. It was allowing him to stay in this state for a while until it does eventually run out or he faints afterwards. The Superpower Pokemon then gave a thumbs up to Big Mac and the others. For his first battle, he did amazingly well.
Arriving at the scene were the Wonderbolts and the rest of the Canterlot forces. They couldn't ignore all of that chaos in the distance. They were planning on defeating that mechanical octopus and the giant adult Spike that was currently on a rampage.
Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately for them, someone beat them all to that defeat. Machamp was the one who got the job done. The ponies all stood and hovered before the defeated robot as they went up to Fluttershy's group while also gazing up at the Gigantamaxed Machamp.
"Woah...What happened here?" Spitfire gasped as she was in awe. She could easily tell that Machamp defeated the robot but she was more curious about how it was done.
"Something amazing that's what!" Trixie went up to Spitfire, startling her. She then dragged Big Macintosh over, putting her hoof around his neck. "This big guy's Machamp just pulled off a spectacle that you've missed. But with how giant it all was, I think you got yourselves a pretty good view."
"Eeyup."
"Well, that solves that problem. And just in time for the morning as well." One soldier said while looking up at the morning sky. "Now all that's left is that giant Spike."
"Oh, right! Spike and everypony else!" Fluttershy gasped. "We were split up after being chased down by that robot. I hope they're okay."
"They could be anywhere right now. But I bet Machamp can see them with that height, right?" Goh looked at Machamp.
"Either way, there's still the rest of Equestria we need to clear up. With an ally this huge, any ships will be knocked out of the sky in no time." Spitfire nodded.
"Uh yeah but um...what do we do about this, chief?" Soarin asked as he was the one carrying the most unexpected object out of anything else here. After finding the statue of Discord lying around, he brought it along with him.
"Ah! Discord!" Fluttershy's heart skipped a beat as she flew over to the petrified Spirit of Chaos. "W-What happened?!"
"No idea. We just found him lying there. He looked pretty sad. Still does even." Soarin observed Discord's expression of both sadness, fear and anger. Fluttershy herself wasn't sure how this could've happened. The Elements of Harmony are practically no more since they had been lost ever since the Everfree Forest and Tree Behemoth attacked.
Not only that, but even she knew her friends couldn't have done this. Especially not in the middle of an invasion. However, after thinking about it, Fluttershy immediately put the pieces together, knowing who else would be capable of this. Empress Twilight.
"We need to turn him back immediately!" Fluttershy put her hooves over Discord. "My friends and I can't do it anymore since the Elements are gone. But there should be another way."
"Can't we just wait for him to break free himself? Didn't he do that last time?" Trixie suggested.
"Yeah, but that took like decades to even happen." Spitfire turned to Trixie. "It might be the same again."
"We'll figure something out." Fluttershy was confident that they could free Discord even without the Elements of Harmony. But right now, Spike and the others needed help.
Meanwhile.
Speaking of which, the adult Spike was still soaring the land, searching for more to destroy and terrorize His speed whilst flying made it difficult really keep up with him. But the Pokemon could certainly help close that gap, especially the Flying-Types. Spike went directly to the south as he was close to Ponyville at this point. Just a few 30 miles from it.
However, even as a rampaging dragon, the adult Spike needed time to rest. It found a spot near a mountainscape, breathing and out with green smoke coming out. Going on a rampage can most certainly tire almost anyone out with a few exceptions, like Salamence and Tyranitar.
Spike was one of them. He landed near a mountain, deciding to rest before he could continue his rampage across Equestria under the Empress' order. Spike looked up to see the morning sky arriving. He then looked over the landscape as the sight of this new Pokemon influenced world gave him an odd feeling.
And with Spike resting, this world's Spike could finally catch up and the opportunity to try and speak to him as he was riding on Salamence's back.
"There he is!" Twilight pointed her hoof downwards. "He's not rampaging anymore it looks like."
"Probably all tuckered out from all that moving. Looks like someone else tired him out earlier." Applejack spoke while on Salamence's back. She was right bout someone tiring Spike earlier. The Wonderbolts and Canterlot are responsible for that. Even though they didn't defeat the adult Spike, they did tire and weaken him a bit, especially with those Ice-Type moves.
"Spike...Are you sure about this?" Starlight asked as she was also on Salamence's back with Rarity and Applejack. "I mean, that light only works on Pokemon, right?"
"Only Dragon-Type Pokemon. But I still think it could work on other kinds of dragons even if they aren't Pokemon." Spike replied. "Land near there, Salamence."
"Sala." Salamence soared downwards while flying beside Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Braviary too. They've been following this giant dragon for minutes now and they were finally stopping. Salamence was the first to descend and touch the ground along with everyone else. Spike hopped off as he took a deep breath, ready to speak to his other and older self.
"Be careful, Spike..." Twilight whispered as she and the others were just going to stand back and watch it play out. And if things got too hairy then Rainbow Dash would be the first to do something. They all hid behind the nearest rock, letting Spike handle the rest.
"Got it." Spike gave a certified thumbs up as he was the only one to approach the adult dragon. His little footsteps moved across the rocky ground as pebble had been knocked away from his foot movements.
And the sound of the pebble being knocked back grabbed the attention of the older Spike, prompting him to immediately rotate his head and face the one that made that noise. But when he turned around, he noticed a face that he didn't think he would ever see. One that threw him off guard.
Himself.
"H-Hey." Spike went up to his older self, giving a somewhat nervous grin. The older Spike snarled s steam came out of his nose, forcing the younger Spike to stop in his tracks.
His growls made Spike's body shiver along with everyone else's. Spike gulped as he cleared his throat, knowing that he was just within crushing range of this older version of himself.
"No need to worry." Spike put his arms out. "I'm not here to hurt you. Or do much really. I mean, I did also come and see just how cool I look as an adult. Is that what I'm gonna look like someday?"
Spike's chatter towards his older self made the older dragon a bit taken aback. He was expecting another attack on him considering the circumstances. But he was mostly surprised by how he was witnessing his younger self. He wasn't sure whether to attack or not. But so far, he seemed more on the side of being passive.
"Oh, but, I also came here to try and calm you down. I know a thing or two about rampages," said Spike while getting closer to the adult dragon as his older self pivoted his claws to the side, staying on guard still.
The older Spike wasn't sure what his younger self was about to do. But noticeably, the younger Spike had put his claw onto the scaled chest of his older self. That's when he closed his eyes, letting the golden draconic light appear. The adult Spike witnessed this golden light appear as he at first thought it was hostile. But, he could immediately feel the soothing Aura of it, preventing him from attacking as of now.
Spike looked into the heart and soul of his older self to see if he could calm him down and reason with him before Equestria becomes scorched in green flames. His connection to dragons had been working out so far as of recently. He got to use it on multiple dragons in the Village of Dragon plus his own Pokemon. But not on Kyurem.
But for this dragon, it was a bit different. Somewhat paradoxical. Spike opened his eyes as both he and his older self noticed the golden area around them. Right now, Spike was connecting with his older self in an ethereal plane.
Spike could feel his older self's immense rage. From what he could tell, his older self had gone through some unpleasant times. Times that involved him being forced to destroy other lands against his own will. And while being forced by the Empress herself. This older version of Spike had been robbed of his freedom, being degraded to just a rampaging weapon that was being kept in a giant dungeon and would only be released if the Empress wished to get the advantage in a battle without having to do the hard work herself.
All of it was something Spike could feel. He's already dealt with Salamence's rage, knowing how furious that one was as well. However, while Salamence was in pain because of the effects of Mega Evolution, the older Spike was in pain because of what he had done and how he's been treated.
If anything, his rage was arguably greater than Salamence since it's been lasting for years now. And Spike could also feel the immense pressure going through him. This was above Salamence as he was actually starting to strain while connecting to his adult self.
"Urgh!" Spike groaned s it felt like a raging hurricane and tsunami was starting to push him back. He put his other claw out to try and stay connected with his older self. This rage was unreal to him. It was so grand that it was even affecting the outside.
Pebbles started flying as the entire mountainscape was starting to tremble from this draconic connection. It sounded like thunder was rumbling in the morning sky. Even the hard surface of the mountains was starting to crack.
"Spike!" Twilight gasped as she almost ran out there to try and help. But Salamence stood in the way, having faith in his trainer.
And Spike had faith in himself too as he didn't persist. "I don't know what you went through back home...!" Spike opened up one of his eyes as he was starting to push it back a smidge. "But whatever it is, I want to help if I can! Plus my claws are really heating up right now!"
Spike was starting to move back as his older self started growling, baring his fangs. Then, two different lights formed. One that was golden and the other which was green. The older Spike was actually resisting. But deep within, a part of him didn't want to as he could understand his younger self.
The gold and green lights started going back and forth with their resistances growing. Spike closed his eyes his claws kept heating up from all this pressure. But he wasn't willing to stop here.
Spike didn't know the details of his older self's anger and suffering. But, he was willing to help him either way. And it was this moment that reminded him of what Mewtwo said. More specifically, Mewtwo's time with Ash in the past.
In a sense, if there was ever a time where Ash's influence had rubbed off on everyone, this was one of them. Ash has always said that he doesn't need a reason to help somebody. He'll do it either way. And the same went for Spike now. He was willing to help his older self despite not knowing the details.
But, Spike also wanted to help his older self so that not only will he put an end to his suffering and anger but also making sure that his adult self wouldn't terrorize this Equestria. An Equestria that was familiar to him. And Spike didn't even need to say any words. His light was doing the talking as he got on his knees.
And with this spiritual draconic connection, the adult Spike could understand what his younger self was fighting for. That brought memories back to the older Spike. A time when he was young too and happy with all of his friends. Before all of this destruction and before the Empress' rule. That was a time that the adult Spike wanted to go back to. Even if he was older now, that time could still be possible.
He then looked down at his younger self, seeing how hard he was struggling to keep this peaceful balance. And with all of this pressure, the rock that Twilight and the others hid behind had been obliterated.
That's when the older Spike saw Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Starlight. Friends of a younger age before his current time. Seeing them sparked many memories back in them. And seeing a younger Twilight who wasn't full of malice and the urge to rule over everything brought him even further back. When he was still her assistant and not a giant weapon. And Rarity was the icing on the cake.
After seeing them, the exhausted adult dragon calmed down as the two lights faded away. The baby dragon sighed as he fell over. His hands were sizzling after that spiritual clash.
"Spike!" Twilight and the others cried out as they ran towards the baby dragon.
"Ow-ow-ow! Hot!" Spike cried out.
"Let me see!" Twilight and Rarity both looked at Spike's blazing claws. It looked like he had just touched the surface of the sun itself with how sizzling it was.
"That's like a third-degree burn..." Twilight observed. "How hot is that light?"
"Hold still." Rarity sent out her Milotic for assistance. "Milotic, pour water on it, wouldn't you? This should cool it off."
"Milo."
"Huh? Wait! Hold on!" Spike shook his head as this was the equivalent of getting a needle shot at the doctor's. He is still a child after all. And with heat, this hot, pouring water on it won't leave the most relaxing results. But it'll definitely soothe it.
Before Spike could do anything, Milotic poured some water on his claws, causing the baby dragon to cry out in pain. But he endured it. Afterwards, the coolness of Milotic's tender water was enough to soothe the pain, eliminating the heat as well.
"Ah..." And Spike felt satisfied. Seeing his younger self casually interact with his friends further calmed him down as he looked down on them with just a single gaze.
"So uh...H-H-H-How'd it go?" Starlight gulped while the adult Spike kept looking at him.
"I think it went pretty good." Spike turned to his older self. "I felt everything there. Looks like all this rampaging was against his will."
"Against his will?" Both Rarity and Starlight said.
"I don't really know all of the details." Spike shrugged. "And it looks like he can barely talk like me. It's just growls, roars and snarls."
"Against his will, huh?" Twilight then used her great mind to put the pieces together, figuring out the true cause of this anger. She flapped her wings, approaching the adult dragon up close. "By any chance, did my other self force you?" And as confirmation, the adult Spike nodded to Twilight, giving the true reason why he did this. "That explains it. Uh...I know I'm not her but...sorry!" The young alicorn squeed.
But the adult had no quarrel against this world's Twilight since she hasn't done anything to him. This Twilight reminded the older Spike of the Twilight he enjoyed being around. It certainly felt like it right now. No one wanted to know what the adult Spike went through at the moment.
"Aww, it's alright." Rarity patted the adult dragon on the stomach, comforting him. And the adult Spike most certainly enjoyed that.
"What do we do now?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I mean, we've got a pretty big ally on our side now and everything so..."
"We continue to help stop this invasion. I need to go and check on my parents and see if they're alright." Twilight faced the north where Canterlot was directed at. "I don't know how long it'll take for all of this to end and-"
The adult Spike caught Twilight off as he spread his wings out. The light from the younger Spike had rejuvenated him as well, giving him 10 hours of rest in just a few minutes. The adult Spike himself would personally see to it that this invasion comes to an end. And he had the capabilities to do so.
"Well!" Spike hopped on Salamence's back while Rarity and the others went onto the adult Spike's back since he seemed to be bigger. "Let's get going then!"
"Salamence!"
The Crystal Empire. Day.
Not all was fine. While the tides were favouring this world in terms of how the invasion was playing out, a horrible tragedy was looming over the Crystal Empire.
Shining Armor and his guards were getting ready to head out to the rest of Equestria to stop the invasion. But little did they know, someone would stand in their way and bring despair.
Bursting through the doors was a Crystal Empire guard who was breathing in and out rapidly as he approached Shining Armor and the others. He looked to be in a panic.
"Captain!" He cried out.
"Hm?! What happened?! Did more show up?!" Shining Armor asked.
"No! It's-" But before he could finish his sentence, from the back, a pulse embedded with dark thoughts had hit the guard from behind, engulfing him before knocking him out on the solid crystal floor.
The Shadow Triad were here. But noticeably, Ghetsis wasn't present with them.
"The Shadow Triad?!" Shining Armour gasped as Sylveon hid behind Cadence in fear and worry.
"Where is your child?" Out of the gate without any hesitation or time to waste, one member asked the question that was related to why they even came here.
"I beg your pardon?!" Shining Armor growled.
"What do you mean by that?!" Cadence stepped forward.
"Shouldn't even be asking either way. Let's just make it quick." Another Triad said as they each sent out their Pokemon immediately. Consisting of Bisharp, Accelgor and Banette. "We can just tear this place down until we find that baby. Simple."
"Like we'd let you anywhere near my daughter!" Shining Armor bellowed as Doublade stood in front of as the entirety of the Canterlot guards went over to deal with the Shadow Triad and their Pokemon.
"Use Psychic." A triad member ordered their Banette.
"Nette!" The Ghost-Type cackled as it flew in front of the Triad before making its eyes flash purple. With just one look, Banette had held the soldiers and Pokemon in place, preventing them from moving forward or attacking.
"Guillotine." The middle one ordered.
"Sharp!" Bisharp ran forward as it was aiming to take all of them out in one hit. And with Banette holding them there, they couldn't move to defend evade it.
"Doublade! Stop it with Fury Cutter!" Shining Armor commanded his partner. Doublade could most certainly do something as he hadn't been held by Psychic.
"Dou!" The Sword Pokemon stood before the guards as he used his own bladed body as a defensive wall. And thankfully, since Doublade is a Ghost-Type, Bisharp's Guillotine was unable to do anything as Doublade's Fury Cutter had blocked the attack.
"Sharp?!"
"Blade!" The Steel-Ghost-Type then swung his bladed body once more, knocking the Sword Blade Pokemon back, causing it to crash into Banette.
"Bane!" And with Banette hit, that broke the Psychic hold on the guards.
"Sylveon, use Moonblast!" Cadence ordered.
"Sylve!" The Intertwining Pokemon jumped into the air before opening her mouth. She drew power from the moon itself as a pink moon-shaped sphere of Fairy magic had appeared before her. She then launched the moon-powered sphere downwards.
"Stop it with Sludge Bomb, Accelgor." The third Triad member said.
"Accel!" The Shell Out Pokemon raised its head before shooting out purple sludge from its puckered mouth, countering Moonblast as they both cancelled each other out.
"Bisharp! Use Night Slash!"
"Doublade, use Sacred Sword!"
"Sylveon! Mystical Fire!"
"Accelgor, Leech Life!"
"Banette, use Phantom Force!"
Soon, all the Pokemon went against each other along with the Pokemon that belonged to the guards. Banette descended into the shadows while Bisharp and Doublade started clashing blades with each other.
Sylveon shot out a stream of magical flames from her mouth while Accelgor used its speed to evade it. However, there were the other Pokemon that Accelgor and the rest of the Triad had to deal with. Mainly the Golurk that every guard seems to have lately.
Some Golurk stood in Accelgor's way while another few went to attack Bisharp. Some of the Golurk had even kept an eye out for Banette since they can watch the shadows as well.
Accelgor zigzagged past the Golurk by moving through their legs and avoiding their heavy punches. But, the distraction the Golurk gave was enough to catch Accelgor off guard as Sylveon's Mystical Fire had landed, engulfing the Ninja Pokemon.
Banette appeared from the shadows, attacking some of the Golurk by swinging its arms wildly. The Golurk had taken super-effective hits as they were knocked back but not before another Golurk retaliated. By using Shadow Punch, a single Golurk had hit Banette from afar via shadow hands flying out.
There was now an immediate brawl happening within the castle. Between ghosts, sentient swords and blades, a ninja and a fairy. But if anything, the Shadow Triad were here as a distraction and a means to eliminate potential meddlers. Especially the parents of Flurry Heart.
"Shining!" Cadence quickly went up to her husband, using her magic to pull him towards a more secretive spot. "I'm going to check up on Flurry Heart. They're obviously here for her and I don't know why. Take care of everything else, okay?"
"I got it. Take her out of the Empire if you can." Shining Armor nodded in understanding as he ran back out there in the chaos. Cadence herself, along with Sylveon went towards the dungeon where Flurry Heart and the rest of the citizens could be found hiding.
Crystal Empire dungeon.
Speaking of which, the situation wasn't kind at all. There was a reason why Ghetsis wasn't present with the Shadow Triad like before. That was because he went his own separate way to find Flurry Heart. And with the assistance of Colress' navigation, that wouldn't take too long.
Right now, in the dungeon, many citizens of the Crystal Empire had fallen. They were lying on the ground with their bodies injured. long with them were Crystal Empire guards who were tasked with protecting the citizens from harm. Unfortunately, because of who they were up against, that wasn't the case.
The maid that was tasked with holding Flurry Heart was currently sitting in the corner with her horn damaged. The remaining guards stumbled while walking as they had fainted. More and more kept falling as darkness filled the area. The guards were dropping like flies in seconds.
"It's okay. He won't get you, I promise." The maid groaned, holding the crying Flurry Heart as she looked up at the one responsible for this. The one who had injured her.
Ghetsis.
"Enough stalling." Ghetsis kicked a guard to the side while Hydreigon took care of the rest. Hydreigon held Manaphy in his mouth as he had defeated the Seafaring Pokemon with his overwhelming strength.
Ghetsis put his only arm out, generating a sphere of dark aura. "You on your own can't defend the child. Not with what's outside."
"Watch me!" The maid stood up as she immediately started running with Flurry Heart. Ghetsis followed her movements as he casually tossed the sphere, causing it to blow up next to her. The main screamed as she had dropped Flurry Heart. Ghetsis had already injured her and everyone else in here. Her body was too weak to do much now as even her horn was useless. "U-Ugh...!"
Flurry Heart started crying as she spread her wings out with her horn glowing, trying to escape from here as soon as possible. But Ghetsis, with his dark magic, pointed at Flurry Heart as he fired a small little bolt of darkness that had struck Flurry Heart's wing.
The baby cried out after heaving her wing hit. It caused her to cry out in more pain as she descended to the ground. Ghetsis then approached the baby who was writhing in the ground. This was the most pain she's ever felt in her life so far. And as a baby, that wasn't good at all.
"There." Ghetsis smirked as he picked her up from the ground.
"N-No..." The maid groaned as she had failed to protect Flurry Heart as she was tasked to. Flurry Heart tried breaking free with her magic but Ghetsis had used dark magic to counter and negate this.
"Don't worry. I'll have Colress' Beheyeem erase your memories. Then, you'll be my child. A child that I will raise for greatness. And your true potential." Ghetsis cackled as he already had a way to properly convert Flurry Heart to his side.
"I won't let you!" But, one of the very few who was still conscious was Sunburst. He lunged forward, latching himself onto Ghetsis to try and free the royal baby. He was also injured as well with little magic in him. Ghetsis had done a number to everyone in here.
"Hmph." Ghetsis, despite only having one arm, chose to improvise. To get rid of Sunburst, he simply ran backwards, smashing the unicorn onto a wall. Sunburst's eyes widened as his glasses also broke. The unicorn had fainted, falling to the ground.
"Hydreigon. Let's go." Ghetsis was ready to leave as he held his arm out to open a gateway. He had practically won so there was no reason for him to be here.
But, it wasn't as 100 easy as he thought.
"Veon!" Through the open doors of the dungeon, two separate pink forms of energy came flying. One in the shape of a moon and the other in the shape of a magical beam.
The beam had hit Ghetsis right in the stomach while the sphere had struck Hydreigon, causing both of them to be knocked back as Flurry Heart was dropped from Ghetsis' loose grip.
"Hydrei!"
"Gotcha!" The one who had done this was Princess Cadence and her Sylveon. She had caught her daughter in her hooves, saving her.
"Mama!" Flurry Heart had a wide smile on her face after seeing her mother. Her tears had stopped because of Cadence.
"I'm here now." Cadence smiled before looking at Ghetsis. "You...! How dare you?!"
"Tch." Ghetsis recovered after being hit by that magic beam. "Always has to be something in the way. It's fine. I'll destroy you right in front of your daughter's eyes. And she won't remember any of this anyway when I have her."
"How dare you!" Cadence roared at high volume at the man who tried to take her own child away from her while also injuring her wing. Ghetsis. Never before has she been this furious. Not even Chrysalis made her this mad. At least Chrysalis had boundaries.
Ghetsis regained an unchanged smirking face while looking at Cadence. He wasn't worried in the slightest as Hydreigon growled at Sylveon. Flurry Heart was being held by her daughter as all of the citizens who took shelter here were down on the ground. Even the guards were down trying to protect Flurry Heart.
So enraged, Cadence started by unleashing a giant blast of magic from her horn, one intended to engulf both Ghetsis and Hydreigon. Ghetsis, unbothered by this, had Hydreigon get in the way, using Hyper Beam to counter this. Out of Hydreigon's three headmouths, a pitch-black beam of darkness came flying out, clashing with Cadence's horn before they cancelled each other out.
"Sylveon, use Moonblast!" Cadence ascended into the air along with her partner. Sylveon opened her mouth, gathering energy from the moon itself as she summoned a moon-shaped sphere made out of Fairy magic. At the same time, Cadence and Sylveon unleashed their own magical attacks towards Ghetsis and Hydreigon.
"Tch. Hydreigon, use Fire Blast." Ghetsis scoffed as he put his hand out. He used his dark magic to create a shield of darkness around him while Hydreigon fired a giant symbol-shaped blast of fire from his main mouth.
Cadence's beam had hit Ghetsis' power with the full wrath of a mother. Something that even Ghetsis had to acknowledge and be cautious of. Ghetsis' shield had been pushed back with him in it but he was able to resist Cadence's magic. As for Hydreigon and Sylveon, Fire Blast had consumed Moonblast in its raging flames before engulfing and blowing up around the Intertwining Pokemon.
"Sylv!" Sylveon fell from above after being hit.
"Sylveon!" Cadence gasped, looking at her partner. The moment she looked away, Hydreigon took the chance to attack Cadence himself. The Brutal Pokemon, after knocking Sylveon out of the air, flew towards the alicorn princess. "!"
"Drei!" Hydreigon roared as he used Dragon Pulse from all three of his mouths. Cadence gasped as she instinctively flew to the side, barely avoiding Dragon Pulse as three dragon-shaped shockwaves hit the wall, creating large holes in them.
"Be careful. Don't harm the child too much, Hydreigon. I still need her in one piece." Ghetsis said while Hydreigon chased Cadence down. The Brutal Pokemon used all three of his mouths to use different moves. The right head used Flash Cannon, the left used Dragon Pulse and the main one used Dark Pulse.
Cadence flew around the dungeon, flying at her absolute best speed to evade these ranged attacks. But as she did so, the dungeon itself was taking immense damage with many holes being blown everywhere from Hydreigon's attacks. She did all this flying while Flurry Heart latched onto her mother's back.
However, Hydreigon's destruction across the dungeon had caused large chunks of rocks that this whole place was built from to start falling. And with the citizens and guards of the Crystal Empire down here, they were at risk of being crushed. And Cadence saw that. Huge rocks were falling from above, ready to crush the fainted ponies.
The alicorn princess took immediate notice and attention to this. She used her magic to blow up the large rocks with a long-distance beam. She then moved that single beam around, using it as a means to obliterate any rock that even got close to her subjects.
"Gotcha." Ghetsis said as he pointed his finger at Cadence, performing the same trick he pulled on Flurry Heart that had injured her wing. That same bolt of black magic came shooting out but it seemed to be bigger this time.
Unlike her daughter, Cadence had a faster reaction time. By the corner of her eye, she was able to avoid the bolt just in time. However, with Cadence avoiding the bolt, Hydreigon capitalized as he had gotten close enough to Cadence to attack.
Cadence wanted to destroy the rocks that were threatening her subjects while also avoiding Hydreigon and to an extent Ghetsis. But multi-tasking with all of that while having a baby on her back was an issue. The alicorn princess quickly put up a defensive shield around her body, blocking Hydreigon's three beams simultaneously.
After successfully doing so, Cadence expanded her magical barrier, creating a pulse of magic that had blown not just Hydreigon away but all of the rocks as well. It had covered the entire dungeon as Cadence made sure that they only harmed hostile enemies and not her subjects. Even Ghetsis had been pushed back but he resisted by coating himself in dark magic.
Speaking of coating, Cadence placed Flurry Heart in a magic coating, protecting her from any potential harm. The baby alicorn began whimpering as this was overall a scary situation for her. The baby alicorn then crawled away since her wing had been damaged. But she didn't want to leave her mother or Manaphy. Especially when her own mother was in great peril. This was Flurry Heart's first biggest decision of her life. And at such a young age too. She worried that Cadence might end up falling here. Whether it was from Ghetsis' merciless tenacity or Flurry Heart being here in general as a liability.
She at least had to get Manaphy back. To keep someone in her life safe.
"By the time I'm done with you, you'll be nothing but dust in the wind!" Cadence growled with her eyes flashing purple. Sylveon had just gotten up after taking a fairly hard Fire Blast.
"Sylveon!"
"Hoh...scary." Ghetsis taunted. "Show your motherly anger all you want...I'll still have that child either way."
"No, you won't!" Cadence's eyes let out a bright light as she flew towards Ghetsis with her horn glowing. She was going to close the gap between her and Ghetsis by unleashing a magic ray from her horn while flying forward.
"Dreigon!" Hydreigon suddenly got in the way by flying towards Cadence. The Brutal Pokemon used Brutal Swing with his two headmouths. Cadence gasped as the Dark-Dragon-Type whacked her with his left headmouth, forcing the alicorn princess away. Cadence cried out after being hit by Brutal Swing as she went crashing into a wall.
As if that wasn't enough, Hydreigon was about to follow up with Hyper Beam so that he could obliterate Cadence on the spot until she was nothing but dust.
"Veon!" Sylveon wouldn't allow that. The Intertwining Pokemon ran forward, standing in front of Cadence as she used Quick Attack, hitting Hydreigon square in the chest before he could pull Hyper Beam off.
"Hy!" Hydreigon looked down as he barely flinched from that Quick Attack. In response, he used one of his head mouths to grab Sylveon, biting right into her skin.
"S-Syl!"
"Toxic." Ghetsis ordered.
"Drei!" White biting into Sylveon, the Brutal Pokemon then generated poison in his headmouth. The poison immediately seeped through Sylveon's skin, giving her the badly poisoned status effect.
"S-Sylveon!"
"Sylveon!" Cadence gasped as she got up, immediately generating a sandstorm-shaped magical attack that even acted like one.
"Drei!" Playing dirty, Hydreigon held out the poisoned Intertwining Pokemon with his headmouth, using her as a meatshield. Instead of hitting Hydreigon's cadence's spell had hit Sylveon instead, harming her own partner.
"Sylv!"
"Oh!" Cadence shot up with another gasp. Hydreigon then used two of its head mouths to unleash a unified Flash Cannon while also throwing Sylveon forward. Out of his headmouths, one of his Flash Cannon had hit Sylveon while the other went for Cadence.
Sylveon tumbled on the ground as she had fainted after being hit by Flash Cannon. She had taken a harsh punishment from being blasted with fire, bit into, poisoned and even hit by her own Trainer's magic by accident.
Cadence quickly used her magic to put up a reflective shield. The second flash cannon bounced off Cadence's barrier as it was reflected right back at the Brutal Pokemon.
"Hy!" But Hydreigon quickly countered this by using Fire Blast to melt away the Flash Cannon, preventing himself from being hit by his own attack.
"Tell me if this looks familiar!" Ghetsis exclaimed as he used one of the many tricks he had learned after obtaining dark magic. Ghetsis has been dedicating himself to master this form of magic since it chose him. And so far, it has taught him a few new tricks.
One of which was something that wasn't new to the Crystal Empire. Something that belonged to the previous ruler of this Empire. Kingdom Sombra.
Out of the floor and from the command of Ghetsis' own hand movements, he had summoned pitch-black crystals from below. Cadence immediately recognized those crystals, knowing of their previous user. With her quick instincts and reaction time, the alicorn princess was able to avoid the crystals that popped up. But one of them grazed her mane.
"Sombra's Crystals?!"
"Hahaha!" Ghetsis cackled as he moved his hand around wildly, summoning a plethora of crystals from the floor below, frantically flooding the dungeon room. Cadence flew back while also using her magic to obliterate the crystals. This spelt bad news mostly for the subjects.
Since they were all down on the floor, they were at great risk of being hit by these crystals. Cadence went for the same trick she did against the rocks. Create one single continuous moving beam and use it to destroy the crystals. However, unlike the rocks, the crystals were grouped and were thicker as well.
But Cadence could always increase the potency of her magic. Left and right she started blowing up crystals all around, preventing them from touching her or any of her subjects.
Ghetsis increased the height and width of the crystals, blocking out Cadence's view of Hydreigon. With Hydreigon masked, the Brutal Pokemon was ready for a sneak attack while Cadence was distracted.
Hydreigon bashed his body through one of the crystals, moving at high speeds before appearing in front of Cadence. The alicorn princess just now noticed the Brutal Pokemon in front of her Hydreigon had used Brutal Swing to hit her onto the ground.
"Agh!" Cadence cried out as she crashed into the ground with a hard impact due to how vigorous Hydreigon's hit was. Now on the ground, the Brutal Pokemon descended, hovering over Cadence as he one of his headmouths to bite onto the alicorn princess' wing.
Cadence's pupils expanded as she could feel Hydreigon's teeth sink to her. As if that wasn't enough, Hydreigon used his other headmouth to grab Cadence by her hoof, biting into it as well. The Princess of Love winced as Hydreigon's main head closed in on her.
Hydreigon, while biting onto Cadence, used Thunder Fang, sending 50,000 volts of electricity through the alicorn. Cadence screamed as her body was being shocked by these volts, frizzing her mane and making it hard for her to properly break free.
The Brutal Pokemon then opened his mouth, using the move Flamethrower to breathe scorching hot scarlet flames onto Cadence. Reacting quickly, Cadence put up a magical shield in front of herself. The flames of Flamethrower poured on the barrier as the alicorn closed her eyes, with the flames splitting after interacting with the circular protective screen.
Drei!" Seeing that he couldn't melt the protective shield, Hydreigon then decided to slam Cadence against the wall instead, harming her against the rocky crystal exterior. Cadence coughed as Hydreigon continued to do this while still biting onto her hooves and wings.
The Brutal Pokemon repeated this, continuously slamming Cadence around like a ragdoll without any mercy. All the while, Ghetsis watched this. Cadence lit her horn up, trying her best to escape. The alicorn used her magic to create a flash of light that temporarily blinded Hydreigon.
"Hy!"
"Ugh..." Cadence groaned as her hoof and wing were now damaged thanks to Hydreigon. Not only that, but after being slammed around, her back had been hurt along with her stomach, Her regalia was also close to breaking.
"You alicorns certainly have stellar defence and resistance, eh? No matter." Ghetsis put his hand out as he outlined Cadence in a black aura.
"Huh?" Cadence looked around, noticing the black aura outlining her. Before she knew it, Ghetsis had pushed her against the wall with nothing but a telekinetic push. Or in this case, a magical push. "Agh!"
Ghetsis cackled as he continued to do this by pulling Cadence forward and smashing her back into the wall repeatedly. Each hit was worse than the last with the walls around the dungeon breaking apart.
Hydreigon, after regaining his vision, chimed in by also attacking Cadence. He had used Thunderbolt, shooting out three bolts of lightning from his mouth. While Ghetsis was moving Cadence back and forth, the bolts from Thunder had struck Cadence, shocking her already shocked body further.
Cadence was taking a horrible beating as Ghetsis then redirected his movements, slamming Cadence to the ground, face-first. The alicorn princess groaned while her body was twitching with unbearable pain. But despite all of this, she could still go on. Ghetsis tried to pierce through her by summoning crystals, but she still had the reaction time to put a magic coating around her body, blocking them.
"Not bad." Ghetsis was impressed by Cadence. "This is exactly why I'm going to raise your daughter myself. You alicorns are certainly something. Alright, let's finish this and get going. Draco Meteor."
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon then opened his mouth wide as he shot a single black ball into the air. Cadence gasped as that black ball was about to erupt into giant meteors. This was something that Cadence had to find a way to prevent.
If she could.
By closing her eyes, the alicorn princess used all of the magic that she had to cast a behemoth of a protective spell. One that could hopefully save her subjects. And her daughter as it had also covered Flurry Heart, Manaphy and Sylveon each.
Meanwhile.
And with Shining Armor and his guards, they were still up against the Shadow Triad who were capable of dealing with multiple guards and Pokemon with just three Pokemon on their own.
As trainers, they dwarfed the guards in skill as many of the Golurks had been defeated by Accelgor and Banette. Whether it was from Accelgor's amazing speed or Banette's unpredictable antics, the Crystal Empire guards were struggling. But reinforcements were coming so they had to hold out for as long as they could until the Shadow Triad were stopped.
However, the one struggling the least was Shining Armor. While the rest of the guards dealt with the two members of the Shadow Triad, Shining Armor was handling one on his own. More specifically, the Triad member who owned a Bisharp.
"Night Slash, Bisharp!"
"Use Fury Cutter again, Doublade!"
"Bisharp!"
"Dou!"
The two Steel-Types have been clashing blades together for a few minutes now. Doublade rapidly swung his double-bladed bodies, trying to directly hit Bisharp. The Sword Blade Pokemon, being made out of blades everywhere could take swings as its body was protected by a plethora of blades.
"Split up, Doublade!"
"Blade!" Just then, as Bisharp was going for another slash with Night Slash, Doublade suddenly separated himself instead of sticking together. Once doing so, Bisharp had missed and only slashed the air as the two halves of Doublade hit Bisharp from behind, knocking the Sword Blade Pokemon over.
"Sharp?!"
"Now! Sacred Sword!"
"Doublade!"
"Dodge it, quick!"
"Bish!" Bisharp gasped as it recovered by sliding on the ground. Doublade approached the Dark-Steel-Type with a red and orange aura surrounding his bladed body. The Sword Blade Pokemon jumped over Doublade, just nimbly avoiding Sacred Sword.
"Split!"
"Blade!" However, even when avoiding it, the right part of Doublade separated from his other self, catching Bisharp off guard and hitting the Sword Blade Pokemon square in the back once more, dealing super-effective damage. Doublade hit Bisharp so hard that it actually went flying towards the Triad member.
"!" The Triad member gasped as Bisharp had crashed into him, forcing them both to fall to the ground.
"Nice, Doublade!" Shining Armor nodded, praising Doublade. Their training with Cobalion had really paid off for them.
"Dou!"
"He's not so weak as the other ponies..." The Triad member said as Bisharp got off its Trainer. The Sword Blade Pokemon was a bit staggered because of Doublade's super-effective hit.
"Let's finish this! Sacred Sword again!"
"Doublade!" The Sword Pokemon went for one more Sacred Sword in hopes of defeating Bisharp for good. Now the Triad member could expect Doublade to split up as a trick.
"Bisharp! Payback!"
"Sharp!" Bisharp, after being hit by a heavy Sacred Sword, decided to return the favour to Honedge. Its bladed arms were coated in darkness as he ran towards Doublade.
"Doublade!" Doublade, by himself, split up with Sacred Sword to catch Bisharp off guard again. But this time, Bisharp was ready for this trick.
"Spin around, Bisharp!"
"Bisharp!" Bisharp then started spinning around while using Payback, creating a whirlwind of darkness around him. Due to it spinning in all directions, not only was the Sword Blade Pokemon able to prevent Doublade's sneak attack, but it also managed to clash with him on both sides.
"Doublade?!"
"Night Slash!"
"Sharp!" After successfully blocking Sacred Sword from both sides, Bisharp then jumped into the air as it rapidly slashed the air, sending black cutting waves downwards, raining them on the Sword Pokemon.
"D-Dou!" Doublade was being bombarded by the waves of Night Slash, taking super-effective hits each time as punishment. On the plus side, Doublade is known for his great defence considering what he eventually evolves into. But this still stung.
"Doublade!" Shining Armor gasped.
"Finish it with Dig!"
"Blade!" Bisharp then dived downwards with its sharp arm out as it dug into the ground, creating a hole in it. Bisharp had burrowed through as it was now moving through the ground.
"Stay sharp, Doublade! Get ready for the right moment to use Sacred Sword!"
"Dou!" The two blades looked around the area, seeing Bisharp's digging path on the floor as the crystals were all moving. They lit each other up, waiting for the right moment to strike.
The Triad member narrowed his eyes as Bisharp had emerged from the floor, shattering the crystals. But instead of going for a direct hit, the Sword Blade Pokemon had hit the large shattered crystals directly at Doublade.
"Dou!" Doublade took attention to this as he immediately started slashing away at the crystals that came his way.
"Night Slash!" The Triad member commanded but this time, he pointed directly at Shining Armor instead of Doublade.
"Sharp!" After distracting the Steel-Ghost-Type with the crystals, Bisharp then lit its bladed arms before rushing towards Shining Armor to attack him.
"Oh!" Shining Armor gasped after seeing Bisharp directly approach him.
"Blade!" Doublade saw that his trainer was in imminent danger. He destroyed the last crystal before using Shadow Sneak to move within the shadows. It was the quickest way for him to reach his trainer since Bisharp's running speed was swift.
"Bisharp!" Bisharp raised its dark-coated arms, ready to cut the armour off of Shining Armor and to an extent his entire body. Shining Armor didn't have the speed to avoid this as a pony cannot keep up with a Pokemon most of the time. Especially the nimble ones.
However, by using himself as a shield, Doublade emerged from the shadows, appearing before his trainer to protect him from Bisharp. But at the cost of risking himself.
"Doublade!" Shining Armor didn't want Doublade to suffer the damage. So, in a reverse situation, he pushed the Sword Pokemon out of the way, taking the hit himself. Bisharp had slashed through Shining Armor's armour, breaking all of it in one single hit.
Shining Armor's eyes widened after being hit by the armour. He could feel the staggering force of Night Slash go through him, but he wasn't going to let it be in vain. "Now! Sacred Sword!"
"Blade!" Shining Armor's sacrifice allowed Doublade to get off a hit as the captain of the Royal Guard fell to the ground, tumbling. And with that, Doublade swung his double-bladed body, hitting Bisharp with all that he had, right in the stomach too.
"B-Bisharp!"
"Doublade!" And Doublade did more than just stagger Bisharp. Not only did he launch him away, but Bisharp, after taking the full brunt of that attack, had fainted. Now it was just an unconscious Pokemon flying across the room as it had crashed into the wall as the final movement.
"Impossible!" The Triad member turned around, witnessing his Bisharp fainting before his eyes. "You beat my Bisharp!"
"I-It was worth the risk." Shining Armor grinned as he got up from the ground. "Training with Cobalion doesn't just help Doublade out. But boy, does it smart! Those Bisharp blades are no joke!" As a drawback, Shining Armor had cut marks over him, but it was worth it.
"Doublade!" Doublade cried out in victory.
"Hmph." The Triad member returned his Bisharp. "Not bad. You're certainly better than your sister...But how can you fare against my other Bisharp?"
"Other?"
"You didn't think I had just one Pokemon, did you? We make sure to always train each of our Pokemon to their top condition. So that there aren't any deadweights." The Triad member revealed his second Poke Bal. Fittingly, the Shadow Triad all had three Pokemon at their disposal each, making it a total of 9.
"We can't take another one at the moment. Let's regroup, for now, Doublade!" Shining Armor chose to run off instead of continuing to engage the Shadow Triad.
"Dou!"
"You won't escape!" The Triad member suddenly disappeared into the shadows, as if he had become one with it. Since Shining Armor was the father of Flurry Heart, focusing on him was a good option in the eyes of the Triad member. He could get some answers out of him. Of course, Shining Armor would never reveal the location of his own daughter to them at all.
Shining Armor ran through the hallways of the Crystal Empire, unable to see the Triad member anywhere. It was like he became completely invisible when entering the shadows.
"Where'd he go?!" Shining Armor wondered, moving his eyes everywhere. All he could see were swift blurs moving in the shadows, most likely the Triad member.
"Doublade!" But Doublade could definitely see him. Being Ghost-Type, anything that was within the shadows could be seen by his eyes.
When running through the corridor, Shining Armor could hear the ongoing battle of his guards and the rest of the Shadow Triad. So far, it sounded like his side was losing.
And this further showed when a Golurk came crashing through the castle walls with a Crystal Empire guard alongside it. They had fainted after taking a nasty attack from either Triad member. More and more were being defeated by the Triad. However, due to how many soldiers there were, there was a chance that they could overwhelm them. And that was the main strategy.
"Accel!" Accelgor, despite its great speed, was being overwhelmed by the amount of Golurk appearing. The main goal was to overwhelm the Triad members until their Pokemon faint. However, there were still other Pokemon that the Triad could use. And just their first Pokemon were giving the Crystal Empire guards a hard time.
However, there was the looming threat of the rest of the invading forces heading towards the Crystal Empire. And if this carries on, the Crystal Empire will be the one that would be overwhelmed.
"You all!" Shining Armor called for the guards. "Make a-" However, all of this battling would be quickly put on hold as some rumbling from below could be heard.
Shining Armor stopped in his tracks along with the rest of the guards. And how couldn't they? All this trembling was fairly potent and seemed to be getting closer.
There was a moment of pause. Even the Shadow Triad stopped for a bit. Closer and closer, the rumbling could be felt. The castle shook with crystals crumbling. The further they got, the more Shining Armor recognized those sounds as explosions. In fact, before the explosions went off, there was a descending sound added onto it.
It took a second for Shining Armor to quickly realize what that sound was and where it was coming from. The Crystal Empire Dungeon. Where his subjects, wife and child were.
"Oh no...Cadence! Flurry-" Shining Armor turned around, wanting to see if his loved ones were alright. But before could head over there, through the walls, an explosion emerged, blowing the unicorn, Doublade and any other nearby ponies back, including the Golurk.
The Shadow Triad backed away by moving in the shadows with their superhuman swiftness. So did Accelgor and Banette as they were safe from this explosion. But it wasn't just one. It was multiple. Multiple of them went off continuously as the sounds flooded the entire castle.
Witnessing this from the outside was stellar. This was the result of Hydreigon's Draco Meteor. Since it was used indoors, the results were more catastrophic than normal. Soon, half of the Crystal Empire castle had been obliterated by Draco Meteor with many rooms lost in the process.
The explosions came to an end finally since Draco Meteor could only go for so long. But even with its end, it left a horrible result. A half-destroyed castle and some injured ponies and Pokemon in the process.
However, despite all of that, it was revealed why the entire castle wasn't just blown away. That was because Cadence managed to defend half of it with her magic.
She had placed a large magical dome with all that she had to try and defend her subjects. Unfortunately, using so much magic power to defend against an attack as violent and destructive as Draco Meteor was truly difficult.
Cadence's figure could be seen within the thick smoke by Shining Armor's eyes. Shining Armor and Doublade slowly got back up after that horrible collection of explosions. The captain of the Royal guard had witnessed his wife in a horrible state.
Hydreigon was currently holding her. While Ghetsis held Flurry Heart.
"Cadence!" Shining Armor yelled.
"U-Ugh..." Cadence groaned as Hydreigon was biting deep into her neck. Cadence's regalia had been broken thanks to all the destruction around. Ghetsis himself was holding Flurry Heart.
"Pathetic." Ghetsis scoffed as Hydreigon tossed Cadence to the ground like she wasn't worth his time. The alicorn princess tumbled on the floor with her crown falling.
"Why you...!" Shining Armor growled at Ghetsis and Hydreigon. "Put her down! Doublade! Swords Dance!"
"Doublade!" Doublade, still having some energy in him, lit his bladed body in a white aura before rushing towards Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad.
"Fire Blast."
"Drei!" But one with one instant Fire Blast from Hydreigon's mouth, Doublade had been caught in the explosive blast of fire. That one Fire Blast, coupled with the damage he had already taken from Bisharp had caused the Sword Pokemon to faint.
"D-Doublade..."
"Doublade, no!"
"Let's go." Ghetsis put his hand out, creating a Rift.
"D-Don't..." Cadence groaned.
"I won't let you!"
"Dragon Pulse."
"Hydrei!" With a quick turn around, Hydreigon fired a short-burst Dragon Pulse that had struck Shining Armor, preventing him from trying anything. With a single Dragon Pulse, Shining Armor, who wasn't armoured in this situation had fallen, lying next to his wife and soldiers.
"Time to go." Ghetsis looked at Flurry Heart before tossing the baby alicorn into the gateway with cries echoing. One of the soldiers opened their eyes, witnessing Ghetsis throwing Flurry Heart into the gateway without any care. He could barely move and do anything to fight back.
But there was one thing he could do. He slowly took out his Xtransceiver with his hooves shaking. When turning it on, the soldier looked at Trainer numbers before him. Two of them belonged to Shining Armor and Cadence. But the third one next to them was Ash. He selected Ash's Trainer number before sending a voice message.
"Ash...We need help...Ghetsis..." But he was too weak to speak onwards. However, even if he couldn't finish his sentence, the Xtransceiver had sent the message to Ash either way. And after that, Ghetsis passed through the gateway while the last soldier fainted.
Ghetsis had won.
Out in the wilds.
Speaking of Ash, he was currently in the air, riding on Dragonite's back with Pikachu. Ash had already defeated some of the Empress' forces alongside his Pokemon. Ash isn't a stranger to taking on multiple forces at once after all.
While in the air, searching for the next place to help, his Xtransceiver was ringing. Ash took out the device from his pocket to see who it was. He was expecting either Twilight or any of his friends to be the callers. But when he saw the screen, it was revealed to be from the Crystal Empire.
"The Crystal Empire?" Ash looked at the screen before answering it. Instead of a call, it was a message. A massage of assistance. Ash heard these exact words echo from the device.
"Ash...We need help...Ghetsis..."
And that was that. No more. The soldier fainted afterwards as the video message had ended.
"What?!" Ash immediately shot up after hearing that. That was by far the most unusual call he's gotten. One that was of great importance. And it didn't spell anything good if Ghetsis was involved. "Dragonite! Head for the Crystal Empire! Full speed ahead!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite nodded as she sped up, boosting through the air. Their next destination was the Crystal Empire. They were hoping they weren't too late. But in reality, they already were.
The Crystal Empire.
With Dragonite's great flying speeds, it took them 20 minutes to arrive here. Ash, Dragonite and Pikachu had witnessed the result of the Crystal Empire during the invasion and Ghetsis' arrival. Half of the castle was in ruins while some of the guards were down on the ground. Both on the inside and outside.
Remains of the Empress' forces could be found here from fallen ships. The Dynamaxed Sableye, before Ghetsis even showed up inside of the castle, had been taken out by the Shadow Triad, fainting and returning to its normal form.
And there they laid. The fallen Pokemon, guards and Shining Armor and Cadence themselves. Dragonite descended as Ash and Pikachu had hopped off.
"Cadence! Shining! Guys!" Ash cried out as he ran towards them.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"What happened?! Where's Ghetsis?!" Ash went over to them, seeing how bruised and injured most of them were. Especially Cadence. Ash kneeled, trying to get a response from everyone. He then heard the sound of Cadence crying as she raised her head, looking up at the Alolan Champion.
"Ash..." Cadence wept with tears flowing out her eyes. "He took Flurry Heart."
"He what?!"
"I couldn't stop him..." She sobbed as she felt guilty for failing to protect her own daughter. Shining Armor himself groaned with his weakened and strained body. Without his armour, he was vulnerable which was why Dragon Pulse did him in so quickly.
Ash contained his anger as he wouldn't allow it to completely overtake him. But he was certainly furious as he tightened his fist before standing up. He had a new goal that strayed away from the invasion for the time being. Retrieve Flurry Heart from Team Plasma.
"I'll get her back." Ash declared as he took out a Travel Sphere. "You all should rest up in the meanwhile."
"By yourself, Ash?" Cadence whimpered.
"I'm not alone. I've got my friends with me." Ash turned around before opening the gateway to Pyrestar's world. Shining Armor and Cadence both got back up, witnessing Ash open the gateway.
"W-We're coming too." Shining Armor stuttered. Flurry Heart was her daughter and he couldn't ignore her being captured. Even if he was injured. Ash looked back, knowing that if both Cadence and Shining Armor went with Ash in the state they were currently in, they would put themselves in even more danger. They were struggling to even get back up. But Ash knew that was their decision.
"Okay. Just stay close to me, alright?"
"Sylveon..." Sylveon got up along with Doublade. Shining Armor and Cadence mustered the strength to get up from the floor as they were the only ones who could do so. Sylveon and Doublade were exhausted themselves since they had fainted earlier. They certainly weren't back at full strength right now.
"We will." Both Cadence and Shining Armor nodded and spoke in unison.
"Alright. Hang in there, Flurry Heart. We're coming."
"Pikachu."
Pyrestar's World. The Harmonia Kingdom. Colress' lab.
"Behee!" Right now, Colress' Beheyeem was hovering in front of the baby alicorn. Flurry Heart was being kept in spherical prison made by Colress himself that could fit most small Pokemon inside. And certainly a baby pony.
Beheyeem was trying to use its mind-wiping abilities to erase Flurry Heart's memory of her parents so that Ghetsis can start everything over and raise her himself for further pursuit of endless power. But so far, it wasn't going smoothly. Flurry Heart was seemingly negating Beheyeem's actions.
"Behee?"
"Why hasn't it gotten through her yet?" Ghetsis spoke to Colress.
"It seems that she has a strong mental resistance to Beheyeem's ability. Most likely from her magic. Whether she's doing this consciously is hard to say since she is a baby after all." Colress explained.
"Magic, eh? I can handle that." Ghetsis smirked as he put his hand over the sphere, covering it with Dark Magic. Since Ghetsis can counter Flurry Heart's magic with his own, he believed that wiping her mind would be easier if there's no magic to block her mind.
However, Ghetsis soon found out that Flurry Heart was giving out more magical power than she usually does. By closing her eyes, her magic shined so bright that it fought back Ghetsis' dark magic and burnt his hand a tad bit.
"Gh!" Ghetsis grimaced as he pulled his own arm back. "Tch! Why you little...Your power is truly inconsistent, eh? No matter. When we're done with you, I'll make it consistent through and through. Keep working on wiping her memories."
"Of course. She's still a baby. There are many limitations that she can do." Colress shrugged, believing that Flurry Heart wouldn't be able to block out Beheyeem's power for long.
"Now then...about that invasion. If Twilight ends up winning it, then it would seem that our main plan will go through. But if not, then our second plan should-"
"Lord Ghetsis!" A Team Plasma Grunt burst into the lab of Colress.
"Hm? What is it?"
"Bad news! It's Ash Ketchum! He's here!"
"What?! He's alive?!" Ghetsis exclaimed as he had thought he destroyed Ash in the blimp just 2 weeks ago. Now he has just found out that Ash Ketchum was still alive.
And he was more than just alive, he was enraged. Right now, within the indoors of the castle, which still resembled Canterlot Castle considering who the original owner is, Ash was going on his own rampage to find Flurry Heart.
Left and right, Team Plasma Grunts were being defeated along with their Pokemon in the span of either seconds or one minute. All the while, Cadence and Shining Armor stayed close to Ash. Mostly Dragonite who kept them safe.
None of the Team Plasma grunts stood a chance against Ash and his Pokemon. Especially when they were furious. Mostly Ash. Lucario would just blast any Dark-Type out of the way with Aura Sphere, Gengar performed a variety of actions like freezing, confounding, holding opponents in place or even using the shadows themselves. Dragonite was just demolishing everything with Hyper Beam. Farfetch'd wasn't as furious as his teammates, but he was willing to help Ash out either way.
"Stop! You won't go any-" A grunt and a few others tried to stop Ash with her Drapion alongside her fellow grunts.
"Move! You're in our way! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped into the air, blasting 100,000 volts of electricity from above, not wasting any time as Drapion and the grunt had been struck. One hit and they had been knocked out without even a battle.
"Where is she?! Where's Flurry Heart?!" Ash grabbed a downed Team Plasma grunt by grabbing her torso.
"I don't know!" The grunt was actually terrified of Ash. His eyes were full of rage but not enough to overtake him. After all, Ash has full control over himself due to his past experiences.
But if this was Ash when he was younger in the Kanto, Johto and Hoenn days, the results for the grunts would be less than stellar.
"Tch!" Ash dropped the grunt as he kept moving. "Let's head for the throne room!"
"Pika!"
They pursued their goal Anyone that stood in Ash's way would be trampled by his Pokemon. Lucario created an Aura Sphere, placing it on the floor and launching it as if it were a bowling ball. The sphere travelled through the floor, tearing it apart while blowing up after coming in contact with some grunts.
Some Pokemon tried to attack Ash from above, but Dragonite and Gengar wouldn't let that happen. Dragonite used Dragon Claw, smacking away the airborne Pokemon while Gengar used Psychic to either hold them in place or toss them aside. Pikachu used Quick Attack to knock away the grunts that came from the side while Lucario leapt over the Electric Mouse Pokemon, using Force Palm to finish the job.
Ash wasn't giving Team Plasma any time to breathe. And for good reason. Dragonite breathed Hyper Beam across the ground, preventing any Team Plasma grunts from even getting close. One by one, many of them were being defeated faster than they can counteract.
Farfetch'd used his leek to smash doors down, searching for the room where Flurry Heart could be. Gengar did something identical by phasing through the walls. It had the best chance of finding Flurry Heart.
"Tell me where she is!" Ash went up to another downed grunt with Dragonite hovering over the grunt.
"S-S-She's at the lab!" The grunt felt too intimidated by Ash and Dragonite, mostly Ash to negate. He feared that Ash would do something horrible to him. Lucky for him, that wouldn't be the case.
"Lab, huh? Let's find that lab!"
Eventually, something like this had to be dealt with. After hearing about Ash being alive and how he's rampaging through the kingdom, Ghetsis sent the Shadow Triad to deal with him.
And speaking of which, they showed up from the shadows, standing in front of Ash and the group. Unlike ordinary Team Plasma grunts, the Triad were nothing to scoff at. And Ash knew that as he came to a screeching halt.
"Stop!" The middle Triad member said with his Bisharp in front of him. Bisharp had been healed up after its battle with Doublade minutes ago. "That's as far as you go, Ash Ketchum!"
"Get out of our way! Lucario! Force Palm! Gengar! Ice Punch! Dragonite, Dragon Claw!"
"Lu!" Lucario lit his paws up before rushing towards the grunts while Dragonite and Gengar flew beside him.
"Guillotine, Bisharp!"
"Accelgor, Water Shuriken!"
"Banette, Phantom Force!"
"Luca!" Lucario and Bisharp clashed their arms together before looking each other in the eyes. Lucario's Aura was responding to Ash's Aura. And his anger matched up with Lucario's. With that anger, Lucario overpowered Bisharp by pushing him back.
"Sharp?!"
"Lucario!" Lucario then struck his glowing paws onto the Sword Blade Pokemon's bladed chest, sending all of his energy into Bisharp. With a single thrust, Lucario launched Bisharp far back, causing it to tumble on the ground.
"Gen!" Gengar saw Banette descend into the shadows, knowing that it was going to pop out at any time. But Gengar was ready with its own sneaky trick as it conserved Ice Punch.
"Bane!" Banette emerged from the shadows, thinking that it was about to land a hit on Gengar. But, without having Ash make the commands, Gengar chose to personally switch moves.
"Gar!" Gengar used Night Shade instead of Ice Punch, shooting out a black and red ray out of its eyes that had struck the Marionette Pokemon.
"Banette?!" Banette didn't expect that. It was only expecting Ice Punch. Afterwards, Gengar did eventually use Ice Punch as it smashed its frozen fist onto its fellow Ghost-Type, freezing Banette.
"Gor! Accel!" Accelgor started throwing multiple shurikens of water at the Dragon Pokemon. It used its amazing speed to zigzag across the area, trying to catch Dragonite off guard. But Dragonite never lets her guard down. She was taking all of the Water Shurikens from all sides when Accelgor zipped constantly.
Eventually, when Accelgor got a bit too close, Dragonite found her opportunity, she used her tail to whack Accelgor, striking the Ninja Pokemon right in the face. "Drago!"
"A-Accel?!"
"Dragonite!" After smacking Accelgor in the face, Dragonite used Dragon Claw, clawing the Bug-Type and forcing it to the ground like it was a fly.
"Lucario!" Lucario then raised his paws, generating a large Aura Sphere while Gengar made two Shadow Balls in each of its hands. Dragonite ascended into the air, holding her breath in as she charged up a behemoth of a Hyper Beam. "Ca!"
The three of them then unleashed their attacks with Lucario hurling the Aura Sphere. Gengar did the same, adding Shadow Ball into Aura Sphere while Dragon unleashed a giant beam that boosted the speed of the merged ball-shaped attacks. Now the attack had the properties of Fighting, Ghost and Normal in it.
"Counter with Psychic, Banette!"
"Use Bug Buzz, Accelgor!"
"Bisharp! Night Slash!"
"Bisharp!" Just like their opponents, the three of them unleashed their own attacks. Bisharp slashed the air, sending white cutting waves from just the air movements while Banette and Accelgor just sent energy balls of green and purple colouring.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu added his own strength into it via Thunderbolt. The Electric Mouse shot 100,000 volts worth of electricity, merging it with the combined attack, making it stronger than ever.
And with that extra strength, the merged attack consumed the other attacks without fail. Bisharp, the other Pokemon and the Triad had their eyes widen as the attack approached them.
"Oh my..." The middle Triad member said as the last thing they saw was the merged attack blowing up in front of their faces, blowing the Pokemon back and eventually them.
Afterwards, the Triad hit the wall with their Pokemon fainting collectively. Their Pokemon even landed on them as they went to the corner. But the Triad themselves hadn't fainted. They were still up and could continue and send their next Pokemon out. But that attack knocked the wind out of them so they didn't have enough time to get back up.
"W-What strength.." The left Triad member groaned. Afterwards, Ash and the others moved on, searching for Flurry Heart while Gengar phased through the walls.
There was a frenzy within the castle. And the other group that noticed this were the residents of the kingdom. The ponies who had been taken over by Ghetsis and his team noticed all the destruction and chaos happening over at the castle. They weren't quite sure what it was and frankly, they didn't care considering the years of suffering they've had to go through trying to maintain balance in this world.
Colress' lab.
With pure strength, Lucario smashed the door open as they had finally found the lab to Colress' room. Since this castle resembled Canterlot Castle, it was fairly easy for them to get around quickly.
The door went flying as it flew past Colress, almost hitting him. Colress himself gasped as he witnessed the door crash through the glass window before turning to face the entrance.
Ash and the were here.
"Mama! Papa! Ash!" Flurry Heart said whilst inside of the sphere.
"Flurry Heart!" Shining Armor and Cadence said.
"There she is! Gengar, Psychic!"
"Gar!" Not wasting any time, as usual, Ash echoed the command as Gengar used Psychic to mentally hold the sphere that Flurry Heart was in. The Shadow Pokemon was going to simply carry the sphere this way for an easier time.
But, of course, it wasn't as easy as it seemed. Instead of Colress interrupting Gengar by just grabbing the sphere or sending his own Pokemon out, someone else did it for him.
That, someone, was Ghetsis who anticipated someone coming for Flurry Heart. He just didn't think that Ash would do it since he believed that he perished in the blimp explosion. Obviously, he expected Cadence and Shining Armor to show up without a doubt.
From the shadows themselves, Ghetsis shot a black bolt towards Gengar, breaking the Ghost-Poison-Types concentrating as Gengar's Psychic hold had been broken.
"Gar!" Gengar was knocked back by something that seemed so small as the sphere Flurry Heart was kept in had been dropped.
"Ah! Gengar!" Ash looked back at Gengar before looking in the direction of where the bolt came from. Out of the shadows, Ghetsis had walked out with his Hydreigon beside him. "Ghetsis!"
"You're just persistence and stubbornness in its rawest form, aren't you, boy?" Ghetsis spoke to Ash. "Every time, you somehow manage to bounce back and show yourself. You should've perished long ago. The fact that you've come this far is fairly frustrating."
"Save it! We're here for Flurry Heart!" Ash responded.
"Pikachu!"
"Like I'm giving up all of this potential power. Prodigies such as these deserve to be raised in the best possible way. Not for something weak like love."
"So stealing our own child is just your way of getting more power?!" Cadence growled.
"Yes." Ghetsis admitted with honesty and not a single care in his voice. This made Cadence and Shining Armor make a face of disgust while Ash's anger was only boiling up even further. "But I won't stop with just this child. I'll go even further. Anything that can even advance my rise to endless power, I will pursue it without a second thought. And I won't stop until I'm at the very top of it all forever!"
"Oh yes. And I'll make sure I live forever. And Ho-oh will be the Pokemon that will guide me to that everlasting rule for all eternity!" Ghetsis declared.
"There's no way that's going to happen!" Ash denied. "Ho-oh wouldn't let a guy like you live and rule forever!"
"Hah! And you supposedly know what Ho-oh thinks? The only thing you need to rule is power! And I will gain absolute power when I'm granted eternal life! I will be an immortal God among all species and with rule over not just this collection of worlds but other worlds and universes out there!"
"It'll be wasted on you because you don't know the first thing about life!" Ash stomped his foot while stepping forward.
"I know how to end it! And I'll start by ending you for good!"
"Lucario! Force Palm on the floor! Gengar! You know what to do!"
"Luca!" Lucario raised his palm as he smashed them on the ground, not only creating a visible crack, but also a giant smoke cloud that filled the lab immediately, blocking out Ghetsis' and everyone else's vision.
But not Gengar's.
"Gengar!" Once more, Gengar used Psychic to outline Flurry Heart with its mental mind. Gengar pulled Flurry Heart and the sphere towards it and thanks to its Ghost properties, it could easily see through the smoke.
"Tch! Hydreigon! Blow the smoke away with Air Slash!"
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon began swinging his headmouths around, forming cutting waves of wind. At the same time, Ash had used the Travel Sphere to open up a gateway right behind Cadence and Shining Armor each.
"Go!" Ash said to him as Gengr had successfully brought Flurry Heart over. Hydreigon had cleared out the smoke in seconds thanks to Air Slash as Ghetsis had witnessed Flurry Heart and the gateway.
"What?!"
"Alright!" Shining Armor grabbed Flurry Heart, holding the sphere in his hooves.
"No, you won't! Dragon Pulse!"
"Hydrei...!"
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!"
One wanted Flurry Heart to stay while the other just wanted her to get back home safe and sound with her family. Pikachu and Hydreigon both unleashed their standard go two ranged attacks as 100,000 volts and a dragon-shaped blast had clashed against each other. They were equal as the result was the typical smoke explosion. Ash had given Shining Armor, Cadence and Flurry Heart enough time to pass through the gateway.
But noticeably, Ash didn't go through the gateway either. Instead, he personally closed it as he chose to stay behind here.
"Ash! Come through!" Shining cried out as his appearance was disappearing once the gateway started closing.
"You go on ahead! I'm finishing this right now." Ash turned to face Ghetsis. "Tell Twilight and everyone I'll be back!"
"Ash!" Cadence yelled. "Oh...why are you like this?!" Those were the last words she said before the gateway had finally closed. Ash had done the simple task of getting Flurry Heart home.
Now there was one final task. Dealing with Ghetsis.
"You..." Ghetsis clenched his fist as his dark magic and aura were showing. "Yet again...you prove to be nothing but a consistent nuisance! Time and time again! I refuse to let my plans be foiled by some kid from Kanto!"
"Sorry to disappoint." Ash gave a cocky response. "But I'll thrash your whole kingdom right here. It wasn't even yours, to begin with!"
"Pikachu!"
"You won't stop me any further! Not anymore! I'm going to obliterate you for good this time! And then, I will be the one given Ho-oh's eternal happiness! And so on!"
And with Ghetsis' declaration, only a grin appeared on Ash's face. By this point, he and his Pokemon were in pure enemy territory. Instead of dealing with the invasion, Ash was going to end the Team Plasma operation here first. But he wasn't just going to battle Ghetsis to do it.
Ash was going to level the castle itself. " Sorry about this Pyrestar..." Obviously, this would mean Pyrestar's castle would be gone. Which was the major drawback. But Ash was still going through it.
Returning safe and sound with the one they cherish the most. Cadence and Shining Armor had Flurry Heart with them once more. Thanks to Ash using the gateway to connect back to their homeworld, the family could escape from Ghetsis' space with their daughter safe.
But, Ash chose to stay behind instead of passing through. He was going to personally handle Team Plasma himself. Doublade, using his sharp body, had cut the sphere that Flurry Heart was being contained in, freeing the baby alicorn from her prison.
"Oh! I was worried! Mommy's sorry I didn't do a better job at defending you!" Cadence hugged Flurry Heart.
"I'm just as sorry...Some Captain of the Royal Guard I am." Shining Armor lowered his head. "I can't even guard my own family..."
"No need to worry!" Just then, Flurry Heart had uttered Dawn's famous catchphrase that Ash had spread across Equestria. It had influenced her as well. However, since she's a baby, when she says it, it sounded jumbled and a tad bit distorted.
"Right. No need to worry." Cadence giggled before regaining a frown "But, I should worry about one thing. Ash is still there. We need to help him."
"He said he would handle things here by himself, didn't he? Let's put faith into Ash just as we always have." Shining Armor went up to Cadence. "But...I'm pretty worried myself. We should warn Celestia and the others at Canterlot as soon as we can. I'm afraid this won't be the last time Ghetsis will come for her."
The first thing to do was to obviously heal up. They had all taken horrible damage during Ghetsis' attack. That goes for the citizens of the Crystal Empire that were down in the dungeon and the soldiers as well. Plus the Pokemon, of course. Then after that, they would get back into stopping the invasion while also informing Celestia about the situation between Ash in case backup might be needed.
Out in the wilds.
The invasion continued. Both sides were in the heat of battle with little rest. This played on for hours without barely any sign of the end. The Empress' side still looked like they were having the advantage due to the many robotic creations in their arsenal.
And of course, those giant ships with magic cannons. Only the Electric, Fighting, Water and Fire-Types were the only ones capable of dealing with these giant ships. Mainly the Probopass and their amazing magnetism abilities. However, more and more kept coming.
The ships seemed endless. If one or more were struck down, another fleet would just appear to clear up after the previous ones. It was overwhelming for Celestia's side. Right now, near a marshland, at least 100 ships were above the skies, raining down rays on their enemies.
Celestia's side was being overwhelmed by these 100 ships. There were just too many of them to handle. And it wouldn't just be this marshland. Very soon, the rest of Equestria would be met with more than 100 ships. The invasion was only ramping up. Below, rubble littered the marshland's landscape. Many soldiers were hiding in ditches while the rays shot down. Some Pokemon had already fainted either from exhaustion or the bombardment of magic rays.
Clusters continued to rain, each varying in power, size and speed. But they were still destructive either way. Celestia's forces were trying to find a way around this endless supply of rays. And speaking of supplies, they were running low on some at the moment due to how long they've been out here.
"Yikes, this is too much...There's more of these?" One soldier said.
"And there could be more from those world's she's conquered coming our way." Another popped his head out of the ditch. "But don't worry. We still have a variety of Pokemon that can handle this...W-When they get here of course. Hopefully soon."
However, while it all looked bleak, some hope was coming. In the form of a giant four-armed monster. The ships kept firing, unaware of what was coming next. The ponies inside of the ship and below the ground suddenly felt a tremor. A tremor that was so great that even the heavens above where the ships hovered shook.
Footsteps equal to the sound of thunder. Something that very few creatures can replicate with just their sounds alone. Then, a shade with a humanoid figure veiled the ships, hills and the whole landscape, blocking out even the sun itself.
"What is that...?" A troop inside of the ship narrowed her eyes, looking outside of the main-view window, wondering what was casting that unearthly shadow. With a clearer look, something came into view behind the clouds.
Something that had glowing yellow eyes, glowing orange hands and a purple and red aura that outlined its body. Soon, everyone was able to see what behemoth was coming into view and shaking the skies and land itself.
It was none other than the Gigantamaxed Superpower Pokemon, belonging to Big Macintosh, and still in his Gigantamax Form.
Machamp.
With the addition of Big Mac, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Trixie, Goh and Starlight riding on his shoulder. And joining them was a figure that wasn't as big but still fairly giant. A dragon that was once on the side of the Empress and was going on a rampage, but was then soothed by a smaller dragon. That was, of course, the adult Spike and the one who tamed him, his younger self from this world. And on the adult dragon's back was the younger Spike, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
It was a fairly interesting sight to look at. But one that probably didn't spell good news as the Gigantamax Machamp and adult dragon were heading straight for the ships. And Spike began by just breathing fire in their direction.
"MACHAMP!" Machamp went next, swinging one of his four arms. The speed of it was slow, but the force from it was potent and fierce.
The ponies inside of the ship quickly realized what was happening as they were being attacked by giants. One of them was an actual giant. The natural response was to panic but the other one was to fight back as they aimed their cannons at Machamp and Spike.
The sheer movement of Machamp's arm swing was so great that the wind pressure-flow towards the ships, blowing the magic rays from the cannons back like they were nothing but paper aeroplanes. Not only that, but the ships themselves, despite their aluminium build and exterior, were utterly blown back by the arm swing.
The ponies inside held on for dear life as their ships were being hurled through the air thanks to Machamp. The adult Spike barely got the chance to even do anything himself. The ships, after being hurled through the air, crashed into each other, causing immense damage with huge dents and holes being formed. And once Machamp actually finished his whole swinging motion, it caused an even greater wind force that blew the metal away.
Like a domino effect, the ships were being smacked into each other, creating an odd sight in the sky that the ponies could all witness. Many engines had failed from crashing into the other ships as some of them were even at the risk of falling. Some were already falling. Seeing the escalation in risk, the ponies onboard jumped ship, activating their parachutes.
Once they all evacuated their mechanical aerial vessels, the ships had blown up, obliterating all of the equipment inside as Celestia's forces cheered while also jumping up from Machamp's footsteps.
As for below, Spike had that covered. He dived downwards, breathing large green flames on the robotic creations that littered the landscape. His flames had melted the robots while Machamp had crushed some of them under his footsteps alone. He most likely didn't even know he stepped on some robots actually.
"Nice work, Machamp!" Fluttershy said to the Superpower Pokemon.
"CHAMP."
"Haha!" Rainbow Dash cackled as she pointed her hoof at the fleeing troops who were using their Travel Spheres to return to their world. "Guess they don't have much when their ships are gone, huh?!"
"That should do it. Good stuff, me." Spike gave a thumbs up to his older self. The adult dragon then descended with Twilight and the others getting off. Machamp helped Big Mac and the others get off him as well by kneeling. They used his giant arms as slides for fun.
"Oh, Princess Twilight!" A guard said. "Thank you so much! We thought we were goners!"
"You should thank those two instead." Twilight looked at Machamp and the adult Spike. "We're heading to Canterlot next to see how things are there. Is Canterlot safe?"
"Canterlot is fine so far. But I'm afraid more are coming. However, Princess Celestia does have a plan in store. One that involves possibly ending this invasion before it escalates."
"Really? Like what?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"She's going to use the Magic Siphoning Jar. If the Empress' huge amounts of magic are taken, if not all of them, then there's a chance she might give up and retreat from her weakened state. Plus, defeating the rest of her invading forces and blocking out the gateways is a part of the plan."
"Oh yeah, I remember now! That Siphoning Jar thing" Rainbow Dash nodded.
"Can it really take all of it? I mean, she's collected a bunch, right?" Applejack asked.
"That jar is identical to what Tirek was able to do. One good use of it and it will drain all of the magic from somepony until there's nothing left. And depending on how powerful the magic is, the stronger the jar will respond." Twilight explained. "If they use it on her then a majority of the magic she's taken will be gone forever and stored in that jar."
"Sounds useful enough." Trixie shrugged. "But it's not like she's going to just stand there and let it happen, right?"
"Not at all." The guard shook his head. "Princess Celestia has already put up a distraction. The alicorn known as Nyx was assigned to distract the Empress for the time being until the time was right. Right now, she could be in conflict with the Empress as we speak."
"Wait!" Twilight gasped as she shot up. "Nyx is doing what?!"
High above the skies of Equestria.
It was indeed true. Much to the Empress chagrin, Nyx was still standing. They've had encounters before in the past when the Empress went from universe to universe, conquering each world that Nyx tried to warn. And each time, the Empress was too much for Nyx herself to handle. But through each universe, she had learned new spells and tricks that could really benefit her. And they were paying off at the moment.
"So you've learned some new tricks! Big whoop!" The Empress spoke as she had a gravitational field around her whilst looking down at Nyx. "You're still below me! Your little distraction plan has already gone awry! I mean, we've already left the spot we were at just an hour ago. How do you expect it to work if your backup won't even know where we are."
"That's what you think," Nyx smirked as she knew that even if she was far away, there was still a chance for her backup to know where she is. After all, every universe has a unique spell exclusive to that world. And in this world, alicorns have the magical capability to mentally speak with each other. Similar to telepathy except only they can hear their conversation
And right now, Nyx was speaking to Celestia through her mind with that spell while dealing with the Empress at the same time. A great multitasking achievement. She certainly takes after her own Twilight.
Speaking of Celestia, she was currently in another city. She had just cleared the place with Passion and Arcanine along with other Canterlot forces. And next to her were the two ponies who had the jar.
Adagio Dazzle and Sunset Shimmer. Mainly Adagio since she was currently in possession of the Magic Siphoning Jar. Celestia had received everything from Nyx.
"Alright. We've just cleared up this area, Nyx. We'll head towards your location immediately. Draw her in at the right spot and then we'll catch her off guard. With magic as grand as hers, the jar will essentially act like a black hole." Celestia spoke telepathically to Nyx.
"So, are we gonna go or what?" Adagio spoke to Celestia.
"We're going." The Ruler of Equestria turned to the pony-siren hybrid. "We just need to use it at the right time. The best thing to do is to catch her off guard when she least expects it. Then, either of you will use the jar on her."
"How are we gonna catch her off guard?" Sunset asked.
"A few ways may work. Like this one trick that my mother used to play on me back when I was younger." Celestia was ready to give out some past experiences that could greatly benefit her. "When I was young, I absolutely despised eating carrot cake. I thought it ruined cakes in general. My mother would try and have me eat them constantly, but I refused."
"And?" The two unicorns said together.
"One day, my mother brought me vanilla cake, my favourite. But little did I know, that was just the decoy. I was so thrilled to eat it that I ended up charging right towards the cake. That's when my mother made the vanilla cake disappear to the other side while also bringing the carrot cake to the front. So, I ended up running into that cake instead. And you know what...I enjoyed it. But besides that, the point is, a decoy is needed. Something that the Empress will set her sights on and that's when she'll run into the jar's absorbing range."
"Oh, okay." Adagio and Sunset nodded in unison.
"Wait...that's the plan?" Something related to what you did as a child?" Adagio took a moment to think about this.
"Well, it's not the main plan. But it's always a good backup. No, no. The plan is something else. Something simple yet effective."
Back with the Empress and Nyx, the two of them continued their conflict after Nyx had finished speaking telepathically with Celestia.
By using her gravitational field, the Empress was able to pull nearby rocks from mountains from a far distance. Giant chunks of rocks that were the size of buildings had been ripped out from her field alone. The Empress commanded the tower-sized rocks towards Nyx.
Nyx had covered herself in magic, charging right towards the Empress. By covering herself in highly reactive magic, she charged through the giant rocks, destroying them while still advancing towards the Empress.
The dark-coloured alicorn broke through all of the rocks that were being thrown away as the Empress then shot her magic into the clouds. With her magic interacting with the clouds, she was able to summon a brief thunderstorm of all things. Bolts of lightning shot down, heading straight for Nyx.
"Agh!" Nyx had been struck by one of the lightning bolts while trying to focus on the many rocks coming her way. She felt her body twitch a bit from the electricity but she persisted. After another lightning bolt came her way, Nyx used her magic to form a deflective shield. She used that deflective shield to knock the lightning away.
Afterwards, with there being fewer rocks now, Nyx then used those rocks for herself, covering them with her magic as she sent them towards the Empress. Empress Twilight had just added the rocks to her gravitational field, giving her some extra protection.
Seeing that the gravitational field was being a problem, Nyx decided to improvise. She was going straight towards the field instead of steering clear away from it. The Empress thought she was insane for getting close, but Nyx went for it anyway.
The Empress had suddenly expanded her gravitational field, causing it to grow as Nyx had been pulled in even further. But that's exactly what she wanted. By using the magic coating spell, Nyx pressed her hooves onto the gravitational field, trying to break through it.
Unfortunately, she didn't have the strength to do so. And seeing that, the Empress smirked as she then used the force of gravity to send Nyx down. The dark-coloured alicorn was being sent down at ludicrous speeds with gravity being pressed down her. She broke through the clouds as she was heading straight for the sea.
Seeing this, Nyx increased her magic coating to nullify the fall into the sea. Not only that, but she also used the spell exclusive to this world as well. The Underwater Breathing spell. She closed her eyes, using two spells at once as she crashed through the water. Luckily for her, it wasn't painful thanks to the magic coating.
The Empress snickered a bit before dropping her gravitational field. She let out a deep breath afterwards as she slowly descended to see if Nyx had been dealt with it. She still wanted Nyx alive for her magic before she finishes her off.
"As much as I love the Gravity spell and all of its amazing tricks, it truly is taxing after some time..." The Empress sighed. "Perhaps there's something else. That Density spell from Pyrestar might be a good substitute."
But as she babbled on about what new spells she wanted to learn for further pursuit of magical power, before she knew it, her body had been outlined in Nyx's magical aura as she was pulled down towards the sea by Nyx herself. The Empress gasped as she as well joined Nyx, but with one key difference. She didn't have the Underwater Breathing spell.
And when down there, some water entered her mouth before she held her breath in. She looked up, seeing Nyx looking perfectly fine without puffing her cheeks or holding her breath.
"Neat, isn't it?" Nyx smirked while talking naturally with her mouth. Water wasn't even entering her. "This would be a spell you would love. Too bad that when this is all over, you won't get the chance to learn it."
The Empress, inside her mind, snarled as she fired a large beam at Nyx. Nyx retaliated with her own before they cancelled each other out. The Empress closed her eyes, trying to focus while breathing underwater. But Nyx could focus more thanks to the spell she was using.
The nightmare-coloured alicorn then lunged herself at the Empress, pressing her hooves onto her as she slammed Empress Twilight onto a stone wall in the sea, startling some of the nearby Water-Type Pokemon. The Empress grit her teeth, trying not to let any water enter her mouth as Nyx added more force onto her hooves.
Nyx pushed Empress Twilight through the stone wall, creating a hole through it as she continued pushing the tyrannical further back. Empress Twilight wasn't exactly that skilled underwater. In fact, she's never done much underwater, let alone battle another alicorn.
But in truth, it wasn't actually the skill that was the problem. It was the fact that Nyx had a spell that could give her the underwater advantage with breathing and the Empress didn't. Breathing is everything in this scenario.
After being pushed through the large stone wall with a path being made, Nyx then unleashed a high-octane and wide blast of magic that engulfed the Empress. The sea lit up with a darkish blue aura that shifted its already blue colouring.
The Empress closed her eyes as the magic covered her entirely. However, even she was underwater, she could still perform other spells either way. After being hit by Nyx's magic beam the Empress went hurling through the sea, hitting multiple sea rocks along the way before landing on some kelp.
Annoyed by how well Nyx was doing as compared to her previous experience with her, the Empress' eyes flashed white before shifting into a reddish colour. Her magical aura pulsated, obliterating the kelp and rocks around her. The pulse even spread out so far that nearby Water-Type Pokemon were blown back by it.
"Hm?" Nyx could feel this blowback but she remained her balance. Before she knew it, that one red pulse from the Empress had actually manipulated the rest of the water itself. Nyx could feel the currents shift as her body was being surrounded by what seemed to be a gradually increasing whirlwind of water. Something was coming this way. From that whirlwind of water, the Empress had an underwater tsunami that was heading straight for the opposing alicorn. Nyx turned around to see this underwater tsunami with a red colouring approach.
"Oh!" She gasped as she quickly countered this by using her magic to construct a giant cup made out of her own magical aura. The tsunami directly went for her cup, filling it up just right. It was a bit of a nonsensical spell and identical to what one of those Power Ponies in the comics are capable of. But it was efficient as Nyx had gathered up the entire tsunami. She then moved the cup, redirecting the tsunami towards the Empress.
The Empress narrowed her eyes as she had then used one of her many other spells. A Clay Spell. From underwater, she formed clay out of thin air, shifting into a wall.
And when water interacts with clay, the result goes as followed. Hydration occurs and the clay absorbs the water. Which is exactly what this clay wall did to the tsunami, swelling it all up.
Afterwards, the Empress obliterated the clay as she had finally gotten herself out of the water by swimming upwards. And Nyx followed after her. Soon, the two of them were out of the sea with their manes wet along with the Empress' dress.
"Almost gave me a scare there." The Empress chuckled. "Not bad. If I were your Twilight, I'd be proud to call you my daughter for that trick of yours."
"Absolutely not. I would never consider you my mother. Besides, this world's Twilight is more worthy of than you'll ever be."
"Pah! So you say. But you should feel lucky. After all, I've had to steal magic from my other-selves. But every one of them were younger. Meaning that later on, they would've all grown to be like me. And the same can be said for this world. The Twilight Sparkle of this world will become a great ruler once in a decade or so. Just like yours truly. However, just like the rest of them, she won't have the chance since I'll be taking all of her magic. You should be grateful that I'm eliminating any potential threats for you and everypony else. That means I'll be the only problem you'll have to be."
"This world's Twilight will never end up like you. None of them, even if you had never taken their magic, would've reached your level of obsession with magic."
"Hmph." The Empress shrugged. "You'd be surprised. But either way, I can't let any other Twilight Sparkle...or any other alicorn, in general, get in my way. Once I take all of their magic for myself, not only will I be the ultimate alicorn but the only alicorn out there! I'll drain their magic so much that they'll revert to being unicorns or whatever race they were before!"
"The only alicorn?"
"Correct! But I suppose you haven't seen how they revert to their old selves since you were so desperate to hop to the next universe. Don't worry, for you, I have something else in mind."
"Hm?"
"I'll revert you to the point where your consciousness is far away in the past."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Observe." The Empress smirked as her horn flashed, covering Nyx in her magical aura. Just then, in a split second, Nyx felt an immediate sting go through her head.
"A-A-Aaagh!" She screamed as she put her hooves over her head, feeling an indescribable feeling that was unlike anything she's ever felt before. "W-What is this?!"
"It's the Chronoskimming spell. Courtesy of another world's King Sombra. How do I put this?" The Empress casually flew towards Nyx, getting closer to her while she squirmed. "Basically, your body will go to sleep while your mind travels back in time. It's the power to transfer consciousness to the past and future. But in this case, I'm sending your mind far back. Back to when you were one with Luna and on the moon for all those years. It all comes full circle, doesn't it?
"U-Uugh!" Nyx groaned, trying to resist it.
"Actually...I think I'll do better than that. How about I just send your mind back to when Luna was just a baby. Oh, that sounds perfect, don't you agree?"
"I...think...not!" Nyx suddenly yelled as she smashed her head onto the Empress, granting her a headbutt.
"Agh!" The Empress yelled after receiving that surprise attack as her concentration of the Chronoskimming spell had been broken, freeing Nyx. Nyx breathed in and out as her head felt a bit numb from that process. "Why you...!"
"Celestia...hurry and get here..." Nyx groaned while still holding her head.
"There won't be a Celestia to come to you!" The Empress declared. "This scuffle is over." Deciding that this battle had to come to an end, the Empress then used her Gravity spell to send Nyx down towards the mountains, decided to finish this at a lower level.
Nyx went flying with gravity being pressed down on her. She crashed right into the mountain, shattering parts of it in the process. Nyx groaned as her back was aching after that heavy landing into the mountain. Usually, it wouldn't hurt that much but the gravity just made it worse for her.
Before she could get back up, Nyx was met with large thick bones that sprouted out of the mountains beside her. These bones were the result of the Empress' bone spell. The bones immediately wrapped around Nyx's hooves and neck, pressing down on them while also forming a ribcage that would be used on her stomach.
"W-What is this?!" Nyx gasped as she tried pulling her hooves up. But the bones were too thick and strong to break. Try as she might, her own physical strength wasn't breaking through it. The bones even wrapped around her horn as restraints, squeezing it.
"Too tough? I wouldn't bother using your magic to try breaking them either." The Empress descended. "You'd need to be a giant if you even wish to shatter these bones. Now then...about your magic..."
"I won't let you take it!"
"Pssh. Like you have a choice!" The Empress stomped her hoof onto Nyx's chest, stepping on her while pressing the ribcage down. "And while I'm at it, I think I'll revert your consciousness too."
"Agh!" Nyx winced after having her stomach take some damage. With how things were going, her distraction plan, while it did buy time, it would also result in the loss of her magic and potential end.
Empress Twilight's method of absorbing magic was identical to Tirek's method. Mostly because it was. By opening her mouth, the Empress began absorbing all of the magic that resided in Nyx as a black and purple stream of magic energy entered her mouth.
Nyx was powerless to stop this as everything within her was being removed. Her Cutie Mark was even turning grey because of all the magic being drained from her. It was truly an unpleasant feeling as her body was still being pressed down by the bones.
However, Nyx made the right sacrifice as she had bought enough time. All she could do was smirk as the last of her magic had been pulled from her. The Empress closed her mouth, finally retrieving some new alicorn magic for herself. She breathed out as black smoke was exhaled.
Nyx had grey eyes as she felt weak in every area. As if she couldn't break out of the bones before, now she most certainly couldn't.
"Finally. That puts an end to your eternal meddling." said the Empress. "It's been fun, Nyx. Our constant scuffles were entertaining for a while. But in the end, not even a reincarnation of Nightmare Moon can stand to me."
"Tch." Nyx scoffed. Just then, the Empress communications started ringing in her ears. It was coming straight from her forces. "Yes? What is it?"
"Empress! Bad news! We're losing horribly here!" A troop screamed at the top of her lungs.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Spike has ended up betraying us! And there's this giant Machamp moving around, knocking our ships away as if they're flies!"
"Spike did what?!" The Empress shot up after hearing that. "That little...Don't you even think about retreating? We're going to-" But just as Empress Twilight was about to give out her next command to all of her forces, a giant blast of magic came soaring down, landing right next to her as it knocked the Empress off her hooves.
With that one magic blast knocking her back, the Empress quickly recovered since it wasn't relatively strong. But then again, it wasn't meant to be. That wasn't what the original user was intending.
Princess Celestia, of course.
But Adagio and Sunset were nowhere to be found. It was just her, Passion and Arcanine, standing before the Empress for the second time.
"You." The Empress narrowed her eyes as she descended to the ground.
"Nyx. Are you alright?" Celestia asked her fellow alicorn.
"Not so much...All of my magic is gone...But it was enough time, wasn't it?" Nyx groaned.
"It certainly was." Celestia nodded before turning to face the Empress.
"Hmph. Come here to stop me once and for all." The Empress smirked as she opened the gateway behind her. "Apologies but I've got other important things to do. I already have to deal with a traitor and some giant Machamp."
"I am. But not yet anyway." Celestia replied.
"Hm? What do you mean by that?"
Hold still, Nyx." Celestia went up to Nyx, breathing in as she had a solution to the whole magic removal for Nyx. By lighting her horn up, Celestia suddenly exuded a beautiful golden magic light that flowed towards Nyx. This was identical to what Celestia, Luna and Cadence did to Twilight during Tirek's rampage. She was giving Nyx her magic.
"What?! Why would you give your magic?!" The Empress stepped forward but Passion stood in front of Celestia, preventing the Empress from even getting close while Arcanine barked at her. That's when the Empress noticed something peculiar.
The Boundless Cutie Mark. It was suddenly spinning around rapidly with billions and billions of Cutie Marks moving around at lightspeed, responding to what Celestia was doing. The Empress was so focused on this that she actually wanted to see how this would play out instead. Besides, she already has Nyx's magic and more.
And just like that, in just 10 seconds with Celestia's eyes flashing, she had transferred all of her magic towards Nyx, restoring it all to her. In fact, Nyx's magic was greater than ever since she had some of Celestia's own magic in her.
"Oh..." Nyx quickly noticed this as she could feel the magic within her once more. Unfortunately, there was still the bone issue that existed.
"There." Celestia sighed. "Good as new."
"You gave up all your magic? W-Why? This wasn't apart of the plan?"
"I'm wondering the same thing myself." said the Empress. "Why would you even think about giving her your magic? Unless you're hoping that she can beat me in which...that's not going to happen with my arsenal and magic power, obviously."
"No. It was just to bring the magic back for her." Celestia turned to Empress Twilight. "Besides, it doesn't matter if I gave her my magic. Take a look at my Cutie Mark."
"Hm?" The Empress then looked at Celestia's Boundless Cutie Mark as she witnessed the grey colours fade away, gradually reforming the mark into its natural colours. This was a clear indication that Celestia's magic was coming back. "It's coming back?!"
"You wanted to know about my Boundless Cutie Mark when you first heard about it, right?" Celestia said. "You'll get your answers. The one thing that this Cutie Mark can do is restore magic. It doesn't matter how much magic I use, even if I transfer it to somepony else, through it all, the Mark acts on its own and replenishes it."
"Acts on its own?"
"And you can thank Starswirl for that." Celestia then revealed to the Empress and Nyx the book where she first learned about the Boundless Cutie Mark. The book of Starswirl's many abandoned magic practices. She then opened the book, revealing the page of where the Boundless Cutie Mark was. "His discovery made this mark possible?"
"Abandonded...?" The Empress uttered. "You mean he never finished them?"
"Most of them. But for the Boundless Cutie Mark, he just couldn't figure it out. Simple as."
"Hmph. And why are you showing me this exactly, Princess?"
"Why exactly? Hm...I suppose it's because you'll never have this Cutie Mark at all."
"Hm?!"
"This Mark can only be chosen by who it deems worthy. And it seems as if I'm that pony. This is the only existence of the Boundless Cutie Mark in any universe. And there exists only one. You've wanted to get your hooves on it after hearing about it, believing it can give you more power. And you can thank Luster Dawn for spilling the truth out to us, among other things. Well, I hate to give you the unfortunate news, but that's one other thing about this mark that you should know of. You can never have it. You can absorb my magic all you want, it'll just restore it. And there's nothing you can do about it."
Celestia had certainly struck a nerve. Those words had just made Empress Twilight twitch her ears and eyebrows aggressively. But she kept her cool before letting out an agitated smirk.
"Heh. I suppose so. But...you'd be surprised on what I can accomplish."
"Oh?" Celestia raised an eyebrow.
"I have many spells at my disposal. Spells that you could only think of in your dreams rather than reality. Do you think I don't have a spell that can handle this? And even if I don't, what's stopping me from heading out to another world and finding that answer? After all, even if I can't obtain your mark, I can always still look into that book. If those are spells that Starswirl couldn't complete, then obviously...I can be the one to do so. Nopony excels at magic more than me."
"Hm," Celestia smirked before nodding. "Well, you have a point. You did solve one of Starswirl's problems before. It's how you became an alicorn after all. But tell me, how do you plan to do that if this book was destroyed?"
"Acra!" That was Arcanine's cue. Knowing that Empress Twilight needed the book for the Boundless Cutie Mark so that she could complete what Starswirl couldn't, Arcanine spat a tiny flame that had power equal to magma, spreading it across the book itself.
"What! No, you-" The Empress gasped as she attempted to stop the book burning in whatever way she can as her horn started glowing.
"Aha!" That was Adagio and Sunset's cue. They jumped out of Passion's dress of all places as they each held the jar out together.
"!" One more gasp echoed out of Empress Twilight's mouth as she was immediately met with the overwhelming fury of the jar. Once it was in front of her, just like how Celestia described it, it acted like a black hole.
The jar responds to magic in various ways. The higher the magic, the stronger the pull. And considering that Empress Twilight has the magic of hundreds, thousands possibly even millions of alicorns within her, the jar was performing its biggest siphon yet.
The Empress herself was even being pulled forward as a multitude of different magical auras started flowing out of her and into the jar. This pressure was unlike anything she had ever felt. Sunset and Adagio both had their manes flow as they stood their ground, making sure they weren't blown away by the jar's force.
The force of the jar's pressure was so great that it was actually capable of not only weakening the bones that held Nyx down, giving her a better chance to escape, but they also shattered the ones that held Nyx's hooves and horn down. The jar made tremendous howling sounds that echoed throughout the sky.
Passion held onto Celestia and Arcanine, protecting them from the pull with her Psychic hold. Empress Twilight started screaming as she could feel countless alicorn magic essences leave her body. Magic that was never hers, to begin with.
Before she knew it, over a thousand different alicorn essences had been stored in the jar. The Empress grit her teeth as she could not allow any of this to happen. With all the magic that she still had, she lit her horn up, trying her best to prevent this.
With one aggressive burst of magic, the Empress created an expansive pulse of magic that had blown the jar away, sending both Sunset and Adagio flying. But luckily, Celestia had caught them both as Passion put up a Psychic shield to protect them from being blown back. Nyx was fine. She felt the blowback but the ribcage still kept her on the ground.
Smoke spread out from her magical pulse the jar had finished absorbing what it could after being pushed away. Even bits of the mountain themselves shook.
"Ugh..." With that, the Empress gagged as she lowered her head while hunched over. It felt like she had been hit by a train after having all of her magic being taken away. She breathed in and out furiously as Passion placed everyone down afterwards. Empress Twilight had lost over a million alicorn magic in just a few seconds as she looked up at Celestia and the others with scorn in her eyes. "You...You...!"
"Blackhole is right." Adagio sighed. "That was ridiculous."
"There. Now you're no longer in your prime." Celestia spoke to a weakened Empress Twilight. Sunset moved behind Passion as she held the jar close to her. Right now, millions of alicorn magic were flowing inside of this hunk of surprisingly durable glass. "How about we try one more time until you're just a magicless ruler?"
"Curse you...Celestia!" The Empress roared at Celestia and her friends as she slowly backed away. "I won't forget this...This invasion is far from over! Besides...even if Spike is gone...I have another way to cause rampage!"
"Pssh! What can you do now?" Adagio mocked as she grabbed the jar from Sunset Shimmer, standing in front of everyone, ready to siphon more of the Empress' magic. "Let's just pull the rest of it in and get this over with."
"Oh, you'll see." The Empress suddenly pulled out an Ultra Ball from her dress before throwing it into the sky. Everyone kept their eyes on the Ultra Ball, gasping after seeing it. If an Ultra Ball was here, that meant that a powerful Pokemon resided in it.
And a powerful Pokemon most certainly did. One half of the world's strongest dragon Kyurem had emerged from the ball. The opposite to the Vast White Pokemon Reshiram. The Dragon of Ideals.
The Deep Black Pokemon Zekrom.
"Zekrom?!" Celestia gasped.
"Go, Zekrom! Rampage to your heart's content!" The Empress ran back into the gateway as she then used her magic to close it, leaving only Zekrom here to deal with everything else.
Noticeably, something was off about Zekrom. Its usually red eyes were glowing a purple aura this time. Certainly out of the ordinary. But that wasn't the point now. Wanting some information, Sunset immediately took out the Pokedex to see this Pokemon for herself. This was actually her first time seeing it along with Adagio.
"Zekrom. The Deep Black Pokemon. Concealing itself in lightning clouds, it flies throughout the Unova region. It creates electricity in its tail. This legendary Pokémon can scorch the world with lightning. It assists those who want to build an ideal world. When the interior part of its tail spins like a motor, Zekrom can generate many bolts of lightning to blast its surroundings. Mythology tells us that if people lose the righteousness in their hearts, their kingdoms will be razed by Zekrom’s lightning."
Right now, Zekrom, under the Empress' command, let out a giant roar as it was ready to start a rampage possibly greater than Spike himself. The Deep Black Pokemon ascended into the air as a single wing flap changed the air currents themselves. Celestia and the others looked up at the Dragon-Electric-Type, knowing that they had a new problem to deal with. Zekrom then flew off into the distance, beginning its rampage.
"Follow it!" Celestia said as she spread her wings out. Adagio jumped onto Passion's back while Sunset hopped onto Arcanine's back instead.
But the moment they hopped on, Zekrom, with insane speeds, was already far away from here. All that was left were the holes it had left in the clouds. This did not spell good for Equestria at all.
Pyrestar's world.
But as a dangerous and horrifying threat looms over the other Equestria, here in this Equestria, a battle between two opposing trainers was due.
One between Ash and the other between Ghetsis. The grunts inside of the castle immediately ran for the hills as Ash and Ghetsis were already tearing the place apart thanks to their Pokemon. And things were only going to escalate from here on.
"You think that's enough? I'll just go after her again. Once I'm done with you forever. And after I finish you and retrieve the child once more, I'll obliterate you and your friends. The world that I seek to conquer does not need any threats and nuisances such as yourself. In any world! I'll make that a permanent fate without you in it. In fact, I swear that I'll gain enough power to change fate itself!" Ghetsis declared as Ash snapped back with a single sentence.
"Hydreigon!" Starting first was Hydreigon who had summoned black spheres on all three of his headmouths, shooting them towards Ash and his Pokemon in the form of black and purple beams imbued with dark thoughts. All three of them merged to create an even larger Dark Pulse.
"Aura Sphere!"
"Luca!" Lucario put his arms out, forming a large ball of Aura to nullify Dark Pulse. The merged Dark Pulse clashed with Aura Sphere as Lucario felt a slight stagger from it. Hydreigon's Dark Pulse was certainly not something to scoff at, considering how much Ghetsis has been powering him up. But either way, Aura Sphere and Dark Pulse cancelled each other out.
"One won't do for you!" Ghetsis took out the rest of his Poke Balls, sending out his remaining Pokemon to deal with Ash's party of Pokemon and for a quick ending to this. His Pokemon consisted of Toxicroak, Drapion, Bisharp, Cofagrigus and Eelektross.
"Toxicroak!"
"Drapion!"
"Bisharp!"
"Cofagrigus!"
"Deal with them immediately." Ghetsis pointed his staff over at Ash and his Pokemon. "Make sure none of them are even breathing afterwards!"
"Tox!" Toxicroak and the rest of Ghetsis' Pokemon cried out in understanding together as they each focused on Ash's Pokemon. Ghetsis had more Pokemon than Ash. A full team of 6. Ash was just missing one Pokemon to make it even.
"Alright, guys! Let's-" But before Ash could finish his sentence, with his quick reaction time, he suddenly jumped back as a crystal had emerged from the floor, almost going through him. But he just managed to avoid it. Of course, that crystal came from Ghetsis' dark magic as his hand was out.
"As for you! I'll have you all to myself!" Ghetsis exclaimed with a maniacal smile directed towards Ash.
"Alright, guys! Handle yourselves, okay! I won't be able to give out commands a bunch in this!" Ash spoke to his Pokemon as they all nodded in agreement. They would have to make their own commands mostly instead of just listening to Ash.
"Hydreigon! Dragon Rush!"
"Drei!" Immediately, the Brutal Pokemon covered himself in a dark dragon-shaped aura before charging at the opposing Pokemon. At the same time, Ghetsis had summoned more crystals, sending them towards Ash.
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu immediately defended Ash by swinging his tail with Iron Tail, shattering the crystals. Hydreigon appeared in front of Pikachu with Dragon Rush, ready to crash right into him.
"Drago!" Dragonite flew in the way, using Dragon Claw to protect Pikachu. Just like that, Dragon Claw and Dragon Rush had collided with Hydreigon breaking through and hitting Dragonite right in the stomach. "Gonite!"
"Drei!" Hydreigon continued Dragon Rush as he continuously rushed Dragonite by smashing her with his headmouths non-stop with each hit being harder than the last. And Dragonite was taking all of these hits to the face and stomach at such high speeds while being pushed through many walls in the castle.
"D-Dra-Dragonite!"
"Hydreigon!" Afterwards, Hydreigon delivered one last hit with his main head, smashing it onto Dragonite's head as the Dragon Pokemon had been launched far, breaking through the rest of the rooms while Team Plasma grunts were running away in fear of being caught up in this destructive battle.
"Drapion!" Drapion, using its many legs, crawled up the wall, using Brutal Swing to try and hit Gengar who was moving around in zigzag patterns.
Ash then backed away as Ghetsis kept summoning crystals to try and hit him. There were instances where the crystals getting closer to hitting Ash as they seemed to be increasing in speed. Ash had soon left the lab of Colress as Ghetsis began chasing him down.
But instead of running or even walking, Ghetsis, using his dark magic, had descended into the shadows themselves. When moving in the shadows, like a Ghost-Type, was essentially moving at a quicker pace this time. He followed Ash out of the lab with his red eye glowing in the shadows.
"Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd went for both Cofagrigus and Eelektross, using Night Slash to try and hit them both up close as Lucario ran towards Bisharp.
"Cofagri!" Cofagrigus, using its four hands had grabbed Farfetch'd preventing him from using Night Slash.
"Fetch'd?"
"Eel!" With Farfetch'd being held by Cofagrigus's hands, Eelektross took the opportunity to strike by using Zap Cannon, aiming it straight for the restrained Farfetch'd.
"Far!" Not wanting to be hit, Farfetch'd still kept Night Slash active. But while he couldn't properly swing it to hit Cofragrigus' arms, he could just throw it.
And that's what he did.
With dark coating around the large leek, Farfecth'd launched his weapon, hitting Cofagrigus square in the face with a super-effective hit, knocking the Coffin Pokemon back.
"C-Cofa!" Cofagrigus flinched as that allowed Farfetch'd to break free. And at the right time too. Zap Cannon had just been fired by Eelektross but Farfetch'd's quick thinking with his leek had saved him. The Wild Duck Pokemon then looked up, seeing his leek spin in the air after rebounding off of Cofragrigus as a result of that hit to the face.
He then leapt into the air as he grabbed his leek back before using Fury Cutter, smashing Eelektross in the head with it. "E-Eelek!"
"Farfetch'd!"
"Luca!" Lucario was currently going up close and personal with Bisharp. This Bisharp was a bit different from the Triad's Bisharp. It certainly shared Ghetsis' tenacity, making it far more dangerous than the rest. Lucario was clashing his palms with Bisharp's bladed arms. It was Force Palm vs Psycho Cut.
Lucario managed to get a heavy hit to Bisharp's face with Force Palm, but to his surprise, more durable than it appeared to be, Bisharp retaliated by immediately hitting Lucario's stomach with Psycho Cut, causing the Aura Pokemon to wince. Lucario was pushed back afterwards as he slid on the floor.
"Bisharp!" The Sword Blade Pokemon leapt back before swinging its bladed arms, sending pink waves of sharp cutting Psychic energy instead of continuing to go up close and personal. The blades came towards Lucario before the Aura Pokemon quickly countered by using Aura Sphere, shooting a sphere of pure Aura towards the blades. They cancelled each other out in the end with smoke forming.
Lucario then moved through the smoke, going for Force Palm as he had also used Double Team to try and throw Bisharp off guard. Bisharp saw the multiple Lucario as it retaliated by using Psycho Cut, swinging its blades everywhere to try and find the real Lucario.
The many purple blades of Psychic energy came flying out as they had struck the approaching Lucario, exposing one clone after the other. But not the real one. Just then, the remaining Lucario each put their palms out, using Force Palm in unison.
Bisharp had used Revenge in a hurry, allowing Lucario to land his hit as the Sword Blade Pokemon spread its arms out. Lucario's clones then merged back into him as he unleashed Force Palm, hitting Bisharp's stomach, returning the favour of Psycho Cut.
A direct hit and Bisharp had definitely felt that. But after being hit and knocked back, the Dark-Steel-Type covered its body in a red aura before lunging back at the Fighting-Steel-Type. "Sharp!"
"Ca!?" Lucario gasped as Bisharp moved at blinding speeds, leaving a red trail behind. Before he knew it, Lucario had received some of the damage that he had given to Bisharp right back with the Sword Blade Pokemon slashing him with its blades. "Luca!"
"Toxicroak!" As for Toxicroak, it just went for whoever. The Toxic Mouth Pokemon lunged towards Pikachu, going for Poison Jab. "Croak!"
"Pika!" Pikachu quickly used Iron Tail, using Steel's immunity to Poison to his advantage, nullifying Poison Jab while blocking it with his tail. Afterwards, Pikachu then jumped over Toxicroak, going for an overhead hit. But the Poison-FIghting-Type put its arms up to block it.
"Toxicroak!"
"Pika!" Pikachu smirked as he suddenly lit his body up with electricity while his tail has still on Toxicroak's hands. The Electric Mouse Pokemon had used Thunderbolt around his body, causing it to immediately latch onto Toxicroak, sending 100,000 volts through the Toxic Mouth Pokemon.
"T-T-Tox!"
"Chu...Pika!" After shocking Toxicroack, Pikachu used Iron Tail one more time, whacking the Poison-Fighting-Type in the face and sending it flying. Toxicroak was actually sent straight towards Drapion who was still focused on Gengar.
"Dra?" Drapion turned around, noticing its teammate heading this way. Before it could move out of the way and get off the wall, its fellow Poison-Type had crashed into it, damaging the wall and Drapion itself.
"Gengar!" Gengar cackled, laughing at Drapion being hit by its own opponent. After that, the Shadow Pokemon then zoomed in, using Ice Punch on them both. The two Poison-Types had been knocked through the walls of the castle via Gengar's Ice Punch instead of just falling to the ground.
"Hydrei!" However, after Gengar had knocked them both away, along came Hydreigon, zooming towards the Shadow Pokemon as he cast a shadow over Gengar.
"Gen?!" Gengar gasped, turning around as the Brutal Pokemon immediately used Throat Chop, smashing the Shadow Pokemon in the head with one of his headmouths. SInce Gengar didn't exactly have a throat as it is a Ghost-Type, anywhere on the Ghost-Poison-Types body would do.
"Dreigon!"
"Gengar!" Gengar hit the ground hard after being rocketed down by Hydreigon's Throat Chop. As if that wasn't enough, Hydreigon was going for Dark Pulse while Gengar was down on the ground.
"Dragonite!" Luckily, Dragonite had just recovered from that devastating Dragon Rush as she flew back, catching Hydreigon by surprise via Dragon Claw. Before Hydreigon could unload Dark Pulse onto Gengar, Dragonite came flying in, slapping the side of Hydreigon's face with her green draconic claws.
"D-Drei!" Hydreigon was sent spiralling as Dragonite then followed up by using Hyper Beam. She opened her mouth wide, unloading a raging concentrated beam of infinity energy that raced toward Hydreigon. Hydregion recovered in the air with his wings. However, his recovery wasn't quick enough to evade Hyper Beam.
So instead of evading it, he fought back by using his own Hyper Beam. The Brutal Pokemon fired a Hyper Beam from his main mouth, entering a beam struggle with Dragonite.
But it didn't last very long. Both Hyper Beam's, proving to be equal in power, just cancelled each other out. However, their cancellation meant one thing. When two attacks that mass and magnitude clash together, a furious explosive outburst in the shape of sphere spread out, blowing both Dragonite and Hydreigon back as it kept expanding. The result of the two Hyper Beams blowing up against each other was so vast that it even caught the others.
Minus Gengar and Cofagrigus since they were both Ghost-Types. However, everyone else wasn't as fortunate as the two Ghost-Types. Some were able to resist it like Lucario and Bisharp thanks to their Steel-Typing however. The giant sphere engulfed the room destroying most of it. Colress' lab was barely functional at this point. At least, the front part of it. The back part was still undamaged from all this battling.
And that was where the rest of the Legendary and Mythical Pokemon were being kept at.
Meanwhile, with Ash and Ghetsis, Ash was still avoiding the tyrannical ruler as crystals were being sent his way with Ghetsis' hands popping out of the shadows. From below and above. Ghetsis closed in on Ash by moving swiftly through the shadows, using the darkest corners of the castle for extra speed.
"I have you now!" After getting close enough, Ghetsis' shadow appeared below Ash as he jumped out of the shadow, summoning a large crystal that appeared beside him.
"!" Ash gasped as Ghetsis had sent the crystal forward, trying to pierce Ash with it. Ash evaded by swaying his body to the side, but the crystal had torn a piece of his shirt off while also clipping his hair a bit.
"Haha!" Ghetsis cackled as he then used the crystal once more, mentally raising it to try and smash Ash's head with it. But, with a quick reaction time and a new approach, Ash found a method to try and block these crystals on his own.
RIght on his back, he grabbed Sir Aaron's staff which was now strapped onto his back. By grabbing the legendary staff, Ash put it in front of him. The crystal had made contact with the staff and surprisingly, not only did the staff not break, but it barely even received any damage.
"That staff..." Ghetsis took a good look at the staff, noticing the Lucario dreads on the side and the blue crystal in the middle. An appearance like this only matched one thing. "Where did you get that?"
"Like I'd tell you!" Ash exclaimed as the staff was suddenly reacting to his Aura. After reacting to Ash's Aura, the staff created a pulse of aura that had blown away the crystal that Ghetsis had made while also pushing Ghetsis himself back. Ash then took a moment to pause, glaring at the staff after it reacted to his Aura in such a way. "Whoa."
"Tch." Ghetsis felt a sting after being pushed back by Ash's Aura. With an Aura like his similar to Sir Aaron's interacting with Ghetsis, the sting was equal to getting by fire. "Figures. Of course, you'd find a way to utilize Aura."
"It responded to me?" Ash said before grinning. He now realized that he could actually do something without having his Pokemon do the attacking. Having the Staff of Sir Aaron in his hand was revealing what Ash could be capable of with Aura if used more.
"Seems like you don't know yourself. Excellent! I'll be easier to destroy you before you learn!" Ghetsis put his hand out, sending black shadows out in the form of a stream. Ash, yet again, instinctively put the staff forward to try and block it. And once more, the staff reacted to Ash's Aura, coating him in its azure colouring. The shadows interacted with Ash as his Aura expanded, blowing the shadows back.
Seeing that, Ash saw that the staff was utilizing his Aura, reacting to danger at the right moment. Whatever Ash does, the staff reacts to his actions. "Oh, I get it now.." Ash nodded, finally understanding the staff before facing Ghetsis. "Okay! Now I'm ready!"
With a confident grin as always, Ash used the Aura from the staff, generating a giant blue blinding light that shined around him. The light made contact with Ghetsis' eyes, temporarily blinding him for a few seconds. Ash then used staff once more to see what he could do. He wasn't too tapped into Aura and only knew the limited options like Aura Barriers, Aura Spheres from both humans and Lucario, Aura Senses and that's about it. But with this staff, there might be more he could do.
Without knowing what else he could do with Aura, Ghetsis was now focused on removing the staff from Ash's grasp. With that staff, some unnecessary problems will come his way. But as Ghetsis was about to attack Ash, through the walls nearby, Pikachu came flying out, tumbling on the floor along with Lucario. The Electric Mouse Pokemon bumped Ghetsis on the head before falling next to his trainer.
"P-Pika!"
"Luca!"
"Pikachu! Lucario!" Ash gasped.
"Pika...!" Pikachu got up from the floor along with Lucario. They were most likely sent here after the Hyper Beam explosion caused by both Dragonite and Hydreigon.
And speaking of Dragonite and Hydreigon, the two of them were currently moving across the castle. Hydreigon had busted through the ceiling, passing Ash and Ghetsis by as Dragonite followed him. Both Pokemon had used Dragon Claw, exchanging hits while also levelling parts of the castle.
Most of the Team Plasma grunts had already left the castle, but even so, the destruction was spreading so much that anything outside would be affected too.
"Dreigon!" Hydreigon had used Fire Blast with Dragonite evading it. But that one Fire Blast blew a massive hole in the wall, causing giant rubble to fall from below, threatening anyone on the ground outside.
"Pikachu! Electroweb on the floor!"
"Pika-Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu quickly rolled in the air before summoning a small spark of electricity. He then slammed the web onto the floor, creating an electrical net floor trap, spreading it towards Ghetsis' direction.
Ghetsis flinched from the electricity making contact with him. He was given some electrical shocks along the way. He gripped onto his staff as if even took a step anyway, electrical shocks were just waiting for him. To escape from this, Ghetsis moved his body to the nearest shadow on the wall.
Bisharp had emerged from one of the broken walls, moving its head around before spotting Lucario. Not only that, but Gengar had emerged, flying back as Drapion kept trying to hit the Shadow Pokemon, shooting constant Dark Pulses, only to keep on missing.
Bolts of electricity from Eelektross could be seen flying out as they were also trying to hit Gengar. But, Gengar's advantage as a crafty Ghost was a major benefit since its movements are unpredictable. That didn't mean it was untouchable, however. In some cases anyway.
"Lucario, use Aura Sphere! Pikachu, speed it up with Iron Tail."
"Lucario!" Lucario quickly put his hands forward as Bisharp approached the Aura Pokemon with Psycho Cut in store. He then hurled the sphere forward before Pikachu lunged towards it, hardening his tail.
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu smacked his tail onto the Aura Sphere, giving it a boost in speed and power as Aura Sphere moved at the speed of a bullet.
"Sharp?!" Bisharp gasped at this extra speed as it tried to cancel it out with Psycho Cut. But it was too late. Aura Sphere's added speed was too fast for the Sword Blade Pokemon. Thus, the Dark-Steel-Pokemon had been struck by it, spinning into the air. But after that, Toxicroak used its own teammate as a platform to get some extra jump height.
"Toxicroak!" The Toxic Mouth Pokemon, now at a high distance, closed in on Pikachu with Poison Jab, ready to poison him for good this time.
"Far!" But along came Farfetch'd, swinging his leek and blocking Toxicroak from even touching Pikachu or anyone else. Toxicroak had been forced back by Farfetch'd's Fury Cutter with both moves equalizing.
"Let's finish this! Lucario! Aura Sphere! Pikachu, Thunderbolt! And Farfetch'd Fury Cutter!" Ash commanded, pointing directly at Toxicroack, Bisharp and Eelektross.
"Luca!" Lucario held a single Aura Sphere in his palm as he suddenly ran over instead of staying back with Aura Sphere like always. Farfetch'd ran beside him while Pikachu just jumped in the air.
Bisharp and Toxicroak each approached Lucario and Farfetch'd, with Psycho Cut and Mud-Slap each. The first to come in contact with their opponents was Lucario. The Aura Pokemon had actually ducked, avoiding Toxicorak and Bisharp's swings entirely. After ducking and running past them, Farfetch'd emerged, throwing his leek directly at Toxicroak's face.
"C-Croak!" The Toxic Mouth Pokemon flinched.
"Lucario!" Lucario then struck at the right moment, slamming his Aura Sphere onto Toxicroak's back, increasing its size. After being hit in the back, Toxicroak had been consumed by the giant Sphere, practically encasing the Poison-Fighting-Type in it. Afterwards, Lucario then let go of the sphere, launching it like a rocket. The Aura Sphere, now holding Toxicroak inside was heading straight for both Eelektross and Bisharp.
"Bisharp!" Bisharp put its arms out, facing the sphere, planning on using Metal Burst to try and counter this attack and send it right back at its opponents while Eelektross just used Flamethrower, breathing scorching hot flames onto it.
"Pika...Chu!" And that's when Pikachu attacked. After changing up enough electricity, Pikachu sent a lightning bolt containing not 100,000 volts but 200,000 volts this time.
The wider Thunderbolt had struck both Bisharp and Eelektross while they were distracted with Aura Sphere. They felt 200,000 volts go through them as Aura Sphere had hit its mark. The two of them had been struck by the giant sphere of Aura along with Toxicroak inside.
Lucario covered his eyes along with Pikachu and Farfecth'd as the ball of Aura blew up, forming a dome shape that further destroyed the inside of the castle.
As the explosion went off, Ghetsis emerged from the shadows finally, sending a black bolt towards Ash. Ash took notice of this with the ringing of the staff as he turned around, placing a protective Aura shield around him. Ghetsis then descended as he used his own staff to try and hit Ash. But of course, having a staff of his own, Ash blocked it.
"Persistent brat! You barely even know how to use Aura! You should've been long gone by now from what I'm capable of!"
"Sorry to disappoint! But I'm not falling yet! Not until I become a Pokemon Master!"
"I'll make sure you won't live to see the day that you become a Pokemon Master!" Ghetsis yelled before pulling his staff back, he then used his own arm to swing his staff at Ash. Ash Ketchum continued to block with the Staff of Sir Aaron. The staff seemed practically indestructible as each time Ghetsis' staff connected with it, it showed zero signs of breaking.
Bisharp, Toxicroak and Eeleektross had each fainted after being hit by Aura Sphere. Now the only ones left were Hydreigon, Drapion and Cofargrius.
But Gengar had the Drapion and Cofagrigus part covered. The Shadow Pokemon had been caught by Drapion's tail after minutes of chasing. The Ogre Scorp Pokemon then slammed Gengar onto the ground with its tail holding onto the Ghost-Poison-Type.
"Drapion!"
"Gen!" Gengar grimaced after that harsh hit the floor as Cofargigus readied a Shadow Ball with its four hands. Drapion held Gengar up to Cofagrigus so that Shadow Ball would be a direct hit. But in a stroke of genius, if it can even be called that, Gengar, using its teeth, had bit Drapion's tail.
"D-Dra!" Drapion certainly felt that its grip on Gengar weakened, allowing the Shadow Pokemon to break free. And the moment the grip loosed with Gengar flying away, Cofagrigus sent Shadow Ball down. But instead of hitting Gengar, Drapion took the brunt of it as a shadowy explosion coated it. "Dra!"
"Gar!" Gengar moved through the smoke made by Shadow Ball as it had its own Shadow Ball ready. Gengar appeared in front of Cofagrigus with two Shadow Balls in its hands.
"Gri?!"
"Gar!" Gengar then placed both Shadow Balls onto Cofagrigus's face, mushing them into the Coffin Pokemon as if it was feeding it food. Cofagrigus, after being force-fed Shadow Ball was met with one last attack from Gengar while hurling through the air. "Gengar!" One last time, Gengar used Night Shade, shooting black and red-coloured rays from its eyes.
From the immediate Shadow Balls then transitioning to Night Shade, Cofagrigus had taken two super-effective moves in just a few seconds. Technically four since Gengar had two Shadow Balls. The Coffin Pokemon crashed into the wall after that devastating combination, fainting afterwards.
"Drapion!" Drapion turned around, shooting Dark Pulse directly at Gengar while it wasn't looking, shooting the Shadow Pokemon out of the air.
"Gen!"
"Pika!" But along came Pikachu with Iron Tail. He ran past the fainted Pokemon while using Quick Attack for extra speed. After Drapion had struck Gengar, the Electric Mouse Pokemon returned the favour by slapping Drapion square in the face with Iron Tail.
"D-Drapion?!" Drapion certainly felt that. The velocity from Quick Attack had boosted the strength of Iron Tail when it made contact with something. The Ogre Scorp Pokemon was almost knocked off its feet.
"Pika!" Pikachu, after hitting Drapion in the face, then rolled back before using Thunderbolt. Out came 100,000 volts from his body, coating the Poison-Dark-Type in its electrical fury. As if that wasn't enough, Gengar chimed in by using Shadow Ball, throwing it while ascending into the air.
The combination of Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball was certainly powerful enough to do the trick. While Drapion was strong defensively against anyone that uses physical attacks, against special and ranged attacks, not so much. And it certainly showed once an explosive outburst of yellow and purple emerged. And once the smoke cleared, Drapion had fainted.
That was 5 of Ghetsis' Pokemon down. And only one remained.
Hydreigon.
Speaking of which, Dragonite was sent through the ceiling with Hyper Beam thanks to Hydreigon. The Dragon Pokemon tumbled on the floor after crashing through as she landed next to Gengar.
"D-Dra!"
"Gengar?!" Gengar flew over to Dragonite, asking if she was okay. But the moment he went over, flying through the ceiling wall was Hydreigon who was mostly focused on Dragonite. The two of them have battled before and they certainly have some bad blood with each other.
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon used Brutal Swing on two of his headmouths as he appeared before Gengar. Before Gengar knew it, the Brutal Pokemon smacked both of his dark-coated headmouths twice, giving Gengar a horrible slap and hurling it through the air.
"Ah! Gengar!" Ash looked up, seeing Gengar sent flying as the Shadow Pokemon had fainted midair from Hydreigon's Brutal Swing. Ghetsis grinned as he pushed his staff forward, pushing Ash to the ground.
"Seems like the rest of my Pokemon are down!" Ghetsis exclaimed as he raised his staff, sending it towards Ash. And once again, Ash's quick reaction time coupled with Aura had saved him. He moved his head out of the way, avoiding Ghetsis' staff as the staff pierced through the ground, leaving a crater. "That's fine! I still have more in store!" He cackled as Ash got back up, moving back.
"This is gonna take longer than I thought..."
Equestria. High up in the skies.
Zekrom's rampage had been begun. Already, the Deep Black Pokemon was terrorizing the land with innocent Pokemon living in different parts of it by firing electricity from his mouth. He wasn't even using a Pokemon move to do this. It was just natural.
Zekrom's electricity immediately torched the grasslands in a second. The pure plasma that resides within it was potent enough to do so as many Pokemon were fleeing for their lives. Mass explosions cluttered the landscape, going off continuously each time Zekrom flew by. Mountains had been obliterated as some of them even fell off, almost crushing the Pokemon below.
"Arca!" Luckily, that's where Arcanine came in. By using his blinding speed, he rescued any Pokemon that were in danger of being crushed from above by any falling debris from Zekrom's Rampage. All the while having Sunset Shimmer ride on his back.
Celestia and Passion did the same as well. With Passion having Adagio ride on her back, she and Celestia were pursuing Zekrom, trying to stop him. Zekrom's flying speed was tremendous, making it hard for Celestia's group to keep up with him. In fact, they have yet to land an attack on Zekrom since he was so fast and far away. Zekrom had left the area he was sent out in just 7 minutes ago and he was already in one place to another. But eventually, they managed to catch up and get in good range at last. The time to strike was now.
"Passion! Use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Gardevoir!" Passion put her hands together, forming a pink sphere of Fairy magic. She then aimed it directly at the Deep Black Pokemon, having him in her sights. The Embrace Pokemon then fired a multitude of rainbow-coloured rays.
The rays had hit their mark, repeatedly hitting Zekrom's back with super-effective hits each time. Zekrom's attention had been grabbed after those hits to the back as he turned around, spotting Celestia, Passion and Adagio.
"Oh no, it sees us..." adagio, who was actually intimidated by Zekrom, gulped while holding tightly onto Passion. And Zekrom definitely saw them as enemies after that attack from Passion.
In response, the Deep Black Pokemon used one of his moves to try and blast them out of the sky. That move was Flash Cannon. By opening his mouth, the Dragon of Ideals had generated a silver ball whilst flying backwards.
"Here comes Flash Cannon! Passion dodge and use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Voir!" Passion understood as she waited for the right moment for Zekrom to fire. And when Zekrom did fire, the beam was faster than expected. So fast that even Passion with her precise and quick thinking was in shock by the otherworldly speed of this move. "Garde?!"
But she was able to avoid it in time along with Celestia as they both flew under the silver beam. Afterwards, both Celestia and Passion attacked. Passion used Dazzling Gleam again while Celestia unleashed a beam of magic from her horn.
But unfortunately, Zekrom's evasion speed was just as great as his flying and firing speed. The Deep Black Pokemon evaded Dazzling Gleam and Celestia's magic by soaring into the sky, blowing the clouds behind him away while also causing seismic waves.
"Voir?!"
"Oh!" Both Celestia and Passion gasped as they looked up. Before they knew it, Zekrom had used one of his signature moves. Fusion Bolt. The Deep Black Pokemon's tail started glowing light blue with electricity. He was about to use one of his signature moves. Zekrom's body then became surrounded by a sphere of violet electricity as he then charged forward like a rocket.
"This I don't need!" Adagio winced as she used her siren wings to fly off of Passion's back considering that a giant Dragon was coming her way. She held the jar closely as Zekrom burnt the clouds themselves from the sheer heat of his electricity.
"Not good! Passion, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Garde!" Passion did something identical to Zekrom. She covered herself in a sphere of rainbows as she also charged forward, approaching the Deep Black Pokemon. Celestia also put up a barrier around herself and Adagio for safety while Sunset and Arcanine looked up in the sky.
"What is going on up there?" Sunset gawked as all she could see were multiple sparks and colours flying around and the giant figure of Zekrom.
"Voir!" Passion's sphere had clashed with Zekrom's sphere, causing a thunderous sonic boom in the sky, separating the clouds and even trembling the sky itself. Celestia and Adagio could feel the pressure as the skies quaked. Unfortunately, while it would seem like Passion and Zekrom would enter a power struggle with some back and forth movements, it wasn't much of a struggle at all.
Zekrom overpowered Passion with ease as his electricity obliterated her fairy sphere. The Embrace Pokemon gasped as Zekrom had crashed into her with the full force of Fusion Bolt. Another thunderous sound emerged as Passion's pupils expanded, her body feeling 40,000,000 volts course through her.
"G-Gardevoir!" Passion screamed as the aftermath of Zekrom crashing into shot her through the sky with lightning trailing out of her body.
"Passion!" Celestia quickly flew to her partner to try and catch her. She put a magic coating spell around her body to try and nullify the impact when she would catch her Gardevoir. However, the magic coating didn't matter this time. Zekrom had sent Passion flying so fast that even though Celestia managed to catch Passion, she felt the impact and was blown back herself. "Aagh!"
"Princess Celestia?!" Even Adagio was worried. Seeing how close she was to Celestia with a bond, she had every reason to be worried. Just as she screamed Celestia's name, Zekrom wasn't finished.
He went for another attack. The always powerful and effective Hyper Beam. By opening his mouth wide, Zekrom didn't even need to take that long to build Hyper Beam up. His firing speed was so quick that it could be considered instant as a giant orange beam tore through the sky, racing towards Adagio next.
Adagio turned around, spotting a giant beam of infinity energy coming her way. One that was impossible for her to dodge. Including the Kricketot in her mane. But even if she couldn't avoid it, it could be pushed back by someone else or at least cancelled out.
"Adagio!" Celestia saw Adagio in immediate danger. "Passion, use Plasma Bolt!"
"Gardevoir!" Passion quickly put two of her attacks together. Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt. By merging the two moves as one, she conjured up enough power to create plasma, one of the elements that Zekrom himself can create. The Embrace Pokemon then shot the plasma beam forward at lightning speeds as it passed Adagio.
Adagio took a moment to process what had just happened as everything moved so fast for her. Passion's giant beam of plasma clashed with Zekrom's Hyper Beam. This time, there was some struggle instead of it being one-sided.
But not for long. Pasion grit her teeth as she was trying to push Hyper Beam back. Her dress blew in the wind as violent sparks of fire and electricity flew across the skies. Celestia then quickly flew to Adagio.
"Adagio! Get to the ground, quickly! Stick by Sunset Shimmer!" Celestia ordered.
"A-Alright!" Adagio nodded in understanding as she descended to the ground. If anything, being the sky was a massive hazard as Zekrom's mere existence had turned this sunny day into a cloudy one with thunder rumbling.
"G-Gardevoir...!" Passion was starting to lose as Hyper Beam was moving forward, breaking through Plasma Bolt. A seemingly unbeatable attack each time Passion used it. But now it was about to be beaten. Her arms wobbled, her eyes closed, sweat began to form from all the straining as every bone in her body was starting to tremble. Luckily, her trainer was here for her.
Celestia chimed in by using her own beam. The Ruler of Equestria knew she couldn't possibly match the raw power of Zekrom's output and maybe not Plasma Bolt. But her own magic was nothing to scoff at. By concentrating all of her magic into her horn, Celestia released her greatest wave of magic yet. The wave merged with Plasma Bolt as it was now fighting back against Hyper Beam.
Celestia's addition had actually helped out a bit. Hyper Beam had been pushed back because of that extra piece of power that intervened. But, not even an entire minute, in just 5 seconds, Hyper Beam was starting to win once more as Celestia and Passion were straining themselves, trying everything to hold it back.
As for Adagio, she had descended to the ground, meeting with Sunset and Arcanine. Arcanine had just finished saving the Pokemon here after all the destruction caused by Zekrom.
"Is Princess Celestia alright?!" Sunset asked. "Are they winning?!"
"Pssh! Against that thing? No way!" Adagio shook her head. "Even that extra strong Gardevoir of hers is struggling!"
"She is?!" Sunset looked up as Arcanine barked.
"N-Ngh...!" Celestia whimpered as she could feel herself heating up. Her mane was starting to show signs of extra brightness with slight flame sparks as her Boundless Cutie Mark was spinning around repeatedly. Passion herself was heating up as well.
Her body was vibrating as her Plasma Bolt was starting to fizzle out from the approaching Hyper Beam. To try and win this, she added some of her Psychic and Fairy energy into it. She used Psychic via her eyes and Dazzling Gleam around her body. Rays of magical rainbows clashed with Hyper Beam while an invisible blast of Psychic energy was sent forward.
But despite all of that, it wasn't enough. Zekrom was barely even trying as he decided to add some extra strength into Hyper Beam. He made the already large attack even larger and faster than it was.
It was inevitable that they were going to lose this struggle. Celestia was the first to back out as she went for a different approach. Protecting herself and Passion. She flew in front of the Psychic-Fairy-Type, casting the largest magical barrier that she could. Thanks to the Boundless Cutie Mark, all of that magic she used to try and push back Hyper Beam had been replenished.
However, the chances of it fully shielding her and Passion from Hyper Beam was yet to be revealed. There was a moment of silence. That was because the moment Hyper Beam touched Celestia's barrier, the air and atmosphere became mute. But then, afterwards, an ear-piercing explosion followed, one large enough to eclipse the skies and nearly the ground themselves.
Adagio and Sunset ducked for cover, hiding behind Arcanine as all other Pokemon hid in their special homes for safety. Everything within the sky was caught by the outburst of Hyper Beam, including the barrier. And speaking of the barrier, it was able to hold back Hyper Beam for a bit, but when the explosion showed up, that was that. The barrier shattered. And the staggering effects of it reached both Celestia and Passion each.
After the smoke cleared from that horrific explosion, Celestia and Passion both had their pupils and eyes whited out after it shattered. Their mouths were wide open as they were both unconscious.
In fact, the aftershock of the explosion was so great, it sent them both flying while they were unconscious. Smoke trailed out of their bodies as they were being launched to the far south.
"Princess Celestia!" Sunset and Adagio both gasped as they watched Celestia and Passion fly off while Arcanine cried out for both Celesti and Passion.
Zekrom let out a roar of victory that shook the land. After defeating Celestia and Passion, the Deep Black Pokemon continued his rampage as he took off, heading somewhere else. But then again, when in a rampaging state, everything he does is aimless.
But with that purple glow in his eyes instead of red, something was off about Zekrom.
The Faye Mountains. Day.
Much like everywhere else in Equestria, even the Changelings were aware of this. Especially Chrysalis. She and her changelings were doing what they do best. Disguise themselves and befuddle their opponents. And they did just that. Since last night, the changelings have already masked themselves as members of Empress Twilight's forces. Because of the confusion they caused, the troops found it hard to trust each other, thus allowing the changelings and the Pokemon to get the upper hand, hoof, claw and whatever limb the rest of the Pokemon have.
And from their little confusion escapade, they've already kept most of the troops as prisoners. How? Well, Chrysalis had used the cocoons for that. The soldiers had all been placed inside of them in an upside-down position which is always the least comfortable position for anyone to be at.
Anthophilia, being the curious baby that she was, flew over to one of the cocoons, blowing her tongue at the soldiers and poking at the cocoons that held them.
"No, Anthophilia. Don't touch those. They're strong on the outside but not so much the inside." Chrysalis pulled the baby back, placing her down. She looked over at the array of defeated forces in her cocoons, feeling pretty proud of herself. If anything, this was by far the largest victory Chrysalis and her changelings have ever had so far.
It certainly beats out the Royal Canterlot Wedding invasion by a milestone.
Right now, Chrysalis wanted to report to Celestia, telling her how things have turned out on her side and how she's captured some troops. Chrysalis had herself an Xtransceiver to communicate with others. Mainly Ash and Fluttershy but not Celestia. Princess Celestia herself didn't have an Xtransceiver or a Trainer number. At least not yet.
Plus, Chrysalis hadn't exactly learned the alicorn-exclusive spell in this world which allows alicorns to communicate with each other telepathically. It didn't help that Chrysalis also wasn't an alicorn herself despite many confusing her for one. So, she would have to speak with Celestia the traditional way. By heading to Canterlot.
But there was one problem with that. And Chrysalis plus the rest of Equestria was about to figure that out.
"We'll head to Canterlot for a bit. Some of you will stay behind while we inform-" But before Chrysalis could speak, a powerful crashing sound could be heard in the distance. One that startled everyone that heard it
"What was that?!" Chrysalis jumped. Immediately galloping outside of her hive, the Changeling Queen had to know what that sound was. It didn't sound like an enemy attack at first. Nothing mechanical could be heard from it. Sounded like something else had hit the ground.
When she exited her hive, Chrysalis found that many of her changeling soldiers had gone up to the crater that had been formed from the crash. They also thought some enemies had shown up. But after witnessing the dust clear from the crater, they noticed that it wasn't an enemy but a great ally.
Princess Celestia and Passion.
"Celestia?!" Chrysalis looked down at the fainted princess and Gardevoir. Passion was on top of Celestia as Celestia herself had protected Passion from taking most of the damage before she fainted. Even though it usually the role of a Gardevoir that is meant to protect their trainer at all costs. After seeing the fainted alicorn and Pokemon, Chrysalis could only do one thing. "You all! Get them inside now!"
Empress Twilight's world. Her palace.
"Ugh!" The Empress had returned to her throne room, drained and exhausted. Millions of alicorn magic that she had stolen over the years had been taken from her via the Magic Siphoning Jar.
Having all of that magic taken from her was taxing to the Empress' body. So much so that even walking was difficult. It was going to take some time for her to properly recover.
"Curse you, Celestia..." She breathed in and out before slowly approaching her throne. "Now I'm just regulated to the strength of 100 alicorns...You'll pay for this..."
"Empress!" Skyblue Shine walked over, seeing the Empress in a weakened state. "Are you alright?! What happened?!" She attempted to help the Empress to her throne.
"To give me so much trouble..." The Empress growled. "I hope that Zekrom obliterates her and everything she loves into nothingness."
"Zekrom? You've unleashed Zekrom, Empress?"
"Certainly." She turned to Skyblue Shine with a horrifying grin. One that could be considered ugly. She wasn't in her prime anymore so everything about her seems downgraded and an inversion. "On a rampage. Those stones were worth collecting for sure."
"The stones? Do you mean the Mega Stones? Could it be that you've found a way to Mega Evolve Zekrom?!"
"No. Even better." She cackled. "I managed to convert the primal energy and nature within the stones and send it to Zekrom. More superficially, Garchomp, Tyranitar, Salamence and Lucario. Zekrom now has their destructive tendencies when they naturally Mega Evolve. Zekrom isn't in control. Meaning that he'll go on an endless rampage with no clear sense at all. But of course, only until the invasion ends will he stop. And more importantly, I need that jar...it's indestructible so even if Zekrom obliterates the land itself, it shall survive."
"Oh my goodness..." Skyblue Shine shuddered after hearing that. Now she knew why she sent Luster Dawn for the Mega Stones. For that one purpose.
"And don't worry...Your precious daughter will be safe. After all, she is still needed due to her main purpose."
"I-I understand." Skyblue Shine nodded.
"Enjoy the last moments of your Equestria, Celestia." The Empress cackled once more with her rugged mane flowing. "Everything and everyone you know and love will be nothing but dust in the wind once Zekrom is done with you!"
Over at Manehattan, Celestia's forces occupied this area after emerging as the victors. They stood by, guarding Manehattan against any other approaching invading forces. Luckily, they've had time to recover after driving out the previous forces. And they can thank Princess Luna for that.
However, what they had to engage with next wasn't something they were expecting. And the sudden arrival of grey clouds covering the sun was a good indication of that. They looked up, noticing how grey clouds had appeared. They also heard the sound of thunder rumbling.
"Is it gonna rain now?" One soldier said.
"That could be a ton of help. That'll make using Electric-Type attacks more useful, huh?" Another replied as the others agreed with him with audible chatter.
Unfortunately, while that would be the case of the ships considering how practically everything from the Empress' side is just aluminium, the same most definitely does not apply to the approaching force of unbridled fury and loss of control that was coming this way.
And of course, with the sound of something roaring in the distance matching the sound of thunder, it was clear that Zekrom was approaching.
Actually, Zekrom had just arrived. After squinting their eyes, the troops noticed a giant black figure moving through the clouds at unreasonable speeds with purple eyes glowing through it all.
"What the..." One soldier said, getting a closer look at what he was witnessing.
The Deep Black Pokemon let out his thunderous roar as his imposing figure covered all of the troops and Pokemon before it. Zekrom flew by the first couple of buildings in Manehattan and immediately blew some of them away by just flying over them. And more of them were being ripped off by Zekrom's movements as they were hurled through the air, threatening to crash and smash anyone that was unfortunately in the way.
"Look out!" One soldier cried out, alerting everyone about the large falling halves of buildings. They all made a run for it as the ripped off building parts had crashed into the ground, causing some panic to ensue.
Thankfully, the Golurk could catch the falling chunks of building with their brute strength or just smash them entirely. The soldiers were saved from being crushed by large falling buildings. At least in the meantime. Zekrom's flying continued as his movements kept ripping them apart, causing the Golurk to act quickly by flying all over the place.
As if it couldn't get worse, Zekrom had descended. And when he descended, the moment he made contact with the ground, the sheer landing strength of the Deep Black Pokemon was so stellar that not only did the ground below shake, rumbling the buildings, but he had also caused an immediate ground tsunami to arrive.
This earth wave managed to demolish the nearby buildings while also forming a giant crack on the ground. And from that crack, the ground tsunami showed up. Large chunks of rocks the size of most of the road erupted, scattering all over the place instead of just one single line as usual.
The Golurk had been caught by this as the huge dust from the ground tsunami engulfed them while also catching some of the falling buildings, destroying them before they could even hit the ground.
"Gol!" A wall of Golurk stood by, using Protect to nullify the ground tsunami. And it ended up working. The earth wave came to an end when connecting the protective screens of the Golurk.
But while that was a success, the surrounding area, not so much. Hundreds of buildings had been destroyed by Zekrom's mere flying movements and him descending. As if that wasn't enough, the aftermath of the ground tsunami left a visible gap in the ground. Almost as if a chasm had been formed. But not as wide. Not even the ships had done this much damage.
"Sweet Celestia..." Some of the guards looked down, witnessing the gap and obliterated buildings. Now they had a new problem to deal with. Zekrom roared at the soldiers, Golurk, Probopass and other Pokemon before them, causing their mane, fur or whatever to blow in the wind. Except for Golurk and Probopass considering their exteriors. But they were certainly pushed back by the roar either way.
Zekrom roared, trembling the ground below as the Golurk all flew towards the Deep Black Pokemon, seeing him as an immediate enemy. Being Ground-Type Pokemon, none of Zekrom's Electric attacks are a threat at all.
But Zekrom didn't need those to cause major damage either day. In fact, Zekrom really didn't need to use moves at all to do much anyway. The moment the Golurk got close, trying to strike the Deep Black Pokemon with whatever moves they had in their arsenal, Zekrom clapped his large wings together, forming an immediate seismic wave of shockwaves that spread out in a radius position. AKA, a thunderclap.
"Lurk!" All of the Golurk had been blown back at the speed of light by Zekrom's thunderclap. Buildings crumbled from the sheer strength of this as even the clouds themselves altered their shapes.
"A-Aaaah!" Soldiers had been blown back by Zekrom's thunderclap as well. Even their armour was sent flying off as more of the ground shattered with large stone cubes rising from them.
The rest of the Pokemon couldn't stand their ground as they suffered the same fate as the soldiers and Golurk as well. Some of them either tumbled on the ground, crashed into the ground, went flying through buildings or just hit the walls of buildings instead and came to a halt.
A tower in Manehattan started tipping over thanks to the thunderclap as it threatened to land on a group of Pokemon and ponies that had been knocked to the ground. Not just one tower, but 3 more since that was the maximum that Manehattan had.
Glass shards from the ruined buildings fell, almost hitting the ponies and Pokemon. And with the armour of most of the soldiers being blown off, they were at greater risk of taking heavier damage now.
Some of the Golurk resisted as they attacked Zekrom either way. They shot Flash Cannons, Shadow Balls, Stone Edges and even an Ice Beam as well. Zekrom flew into the air, soaring forward as he evaded all of those incoming attacks with ease by either rolling or flying over them.
Some Golurk approached him with their physical-based moves such as Shadow Punch, Superpower and more. One Golurk managed to hit Zekrom in the face with Hammer Arm but was instantly smacked away by Zekrom's claw swipe. The Deep Black Pokemon then whipped his tail a couple of Golurks before ascending into the air, evading an incoming Shadow Punch.
Zekrom then used Dragon Pulse, shooting a giant dragon-shaped shockwave from his mouth, blasting some of the Golurk to the ground. Some Golurk got behind Zekrom, catching him by surprise with multiple Flash Cannons and Ice Beams. Zekrom took notice of this as he lit up his wings with Steel Wing, smacking the Golurks that attacked from behind with pure metal.
Some Golurk tried to push Zekrom down as they pressed their hands onto the Deep Black Pokemon. But, not even the Golurk could push Zekrom back as the Dragon-Electric-Type roared, blowing the Automaton Pokemon away.
Zekrom then opened his mouth, ready to use Hyper Beam. But he wasn't going to use it on the Golurk, knowing their immunity to Normal, instead, he was just going to blast the area with Hyper Beam.
The sound of Hyper Beam building up infinity energy and power could be heard. It sounded like a generator being turned on. Zekrom puffed his chest as this was a good indicator that this Hyper Beam would be a behemoth of an attack. One that everyone, aside from the Golurk, should probably avoid at all costs.
That is if they could escape in time.
After building up enough power, Zekrom released a colossal orange beam of infinity energy that tore through the atmosphere itself while also racing at speeds too hard to keep up with. The Hyper Beam engulfed numerous buildings instead of just blowing up upon contact. Zekrom made sure that this was continuous. The Golurk held the soldiers and Pokemon for protection or even just stood over them as shields.
Hyper Beam obliterated most of the ground along with the Manehattan Contest Hall and all of the beautiful decorations within it. The Golurk had successfully protected the ponies and Pokemon with their large and wide bodies and them being naturally bigger than all of them. But they couldn't protect everything else.
The Crystaller Building had been consumed by Hyper Beam, coating the skyscraper in its infinity energy. The school of Babs Seed had been caught as it seemed that Hyper Beam was growing in size, catching more and more along the way. The theatre of Bridleway had the whole upper section blown off as Zekrom then started turning around with Hyper Beam.
Hyper Beam then rotated, destroying more on its path as the Ice-Skating Rink fell as well. The beautiful park of wide fields of grass and flowers along with the gorgeous rivers weren't safe either.
Practically nothing was safe. The diner, the flea market, toy store, Manefair Hotel and even the Rock pouch store had been caught up by Zekrom's rampaging beam. Eventually, the beam came to an end. But not before causing some extra destruction in the form of an explosion.
After Zekrom closed his mouth, the aftermath of Hyper Beam caused a frenzy of explosions that went in all different directions, correlating with Zekrom's directions when he used Hyper Beam to move around. Yet again, the Golurk being the shields worked as nopony had been harmed but the same couldn't be said for the city as a plethora of explosions wouldn't stop going off.
Soon, Manehattan was now a light show large explosions that could be seen from the sky or even far. But eventually, they had to come to an end. And the result of this was catastrophic.
The only thing that remained intact was the Mare Statue. It had been untouched by Zekrom's Hyper Beam considering the distance between it and the rest of the buildings. In fact, the ponies of Manehattan were taking shelter on the island where the Mare Statue was.
They looked over at the distance, witnessing Zekrom destroying everything before their eyes. And destroy he did. Once the smoke cleared, almost everything they knew had been totalled.
Buildings had either been melted, completely obliterated and wiped off the map or were just barely hanging in there with scaffolding falling apart. Large holes, rubble and smoke only remained. And there was even a giant crater as made from the result of Hyper Beam hitting the ground with all those explosions.
Manehattan was now a collapsed, ravaged, demolished and ruined city. No longer the beautiful, bustling and dazzling city it once used to be.
Zekrom declared victory once more as he roared into the sky. The Golurk, soldiers and other Pokemon were buried or hidden by the excessive smoke and rubble formed from the explosion. Zekrom could barely see signs of them anywhere.
Then Zekrom's eyes flashed purple again as his head twitched. He kept hearing the voice of the Empress, telling him to continue rampaging as the savage energy stored inside of him wasn't expiring any time soon.
The Deep Black Pokemon then flapped his wings, taking to the skies once more as his rampage continued.
Faye Mountains. The Changeling Hive. Day.
Over at the hive, Celestia and Passion were both unconscious. After trying to defend against a rampaging Zekrom's Hyper Beam, they had both been blown out of the sky and crash-landed near the Changeling Hive.
Needing immediate medical attention, Chrysalis and the changelings brought the fainted alicorn and Gardevoir into their hive to heal them. The two were placed on a soft cocoon bed, one that acted differently than the cocoons that are meant to imprison others. Chrysalis often uses this to recover when major damage has been to her and her subjects. A shame the previous ones were destroyed in the old hive thanks to Ghetsis.
There they laid. Their eyes whited out, their mouths open and their bodies unresponsive. Zekrom's Hyper Beam had put them in such a horrible state. It was so bad that even Celestia's regalia had been damaged along with a burnt horn from trying to hold the Hyper Beam back. That wasn't the only thing that was burnt. Passion's arms as well had burn marks from trying to stop Hyper Beam as well.
The cocoon glowed a green mystical colour as Ribombee used Pollen Puff for extra healing properties. Chrysalis also did the same by adding some healing magic onto the fainted Trainer and Pokemon.
"What happened that caused this?" Chrysalis wondered while healing them. She's been doing this for minutes now and Celestia and Passion weren't showing signs of waking up any time soon. Groans couldn't even be heard. But their heartbeats could be heard either way.
Chrysalis then took a moment to realize what was happening before her and how far she's come. Just last year and before, she had a conflict with Celestia and Canterlot overall. Now she was here helping Celestia herself. She can thank a certain Pokemon Trainer and Pikachu for helping her get here and Ribombee as well.
Some of the Fairy-Type Pokemon that live in the Faye Mountains helped out as well. They used their own healing capabilities on the two of them. Celestia and Passion were just covered everywhere by multiple healing auras of various colours. Mainly green, pink and sometimes purple.
While healing, a changeling came into the healing room to give out some important news. "Your majesty. We have visitors. One of them is Adagio Dazzle."
"Hm? Adagio?" Chrysalis turned around lowering her magic. "Let them in. I'll go see Adagio and whoever this may be." Chrysalis left the healing room to greet the visitors. Especially Adagio who she wasn't exactly friends with but they had respect for each other. Sort of a mutual relationship than anything.
The cocoon was left to continue healing Celestia and Passion until they're back to full strength. When exiting the healing room and heading for the entrance, Chrysalis was met with the sight of Arcanine, Adagio and Sunset Shimmer. Plus Kricketot as always.
Arcanine had led them here by his sense of smell. He tracked down the scent of his own Celestia immediately after she was sent flying. It always pays to have a dog-like Pokemon for excellent tracking senses with their noses.
Or a Slurpuff, that works too.
"Arcanine."
"Adagio. What brings you here? And um your friend over there."
"Sorry for the intrusion. But Arcanine over here tracked down Celestia and Passion to your new hive. You see, they were just sent flying after-"
"Celestia? Passion? Yes, they're in here." Chrysalis interrupted, already confirming that Arcanine was right and this was the right place to be at.
"They are?!" Both Adagio and Sunset said as Arcanine immediately ran inside of the hive without hesitation. After that confirmation, how could he not check up on his Trainer and teammate? Afterwards, Sunset and Adagio followed the Legendary Pokemon indoors with Chrysalis going last.
"Arca! Arcanine!"
There they laid. Silent and unable to continue at the moment. With all the Fairy-Type Pokemon surrounding them long with the cocoon, it was hard to tell if they could be fully recovered in time to help with the invasion. Or if this world would've been conquered by the Empress before they could even wake up.
Arcanine went up to his friends, seeing them in such a state he wished he would never have to see. All the Pokemon backed away as the Legendary Pokemon approached, looking down at Celestia and Passion's whited-out eyes. He nuzzled his nose onto both of them while also letting out a howl that filled the air. That's all he could really do.
"Oh my goodness..." Sunset let out a prolonged gasp after seeing Celestia and Passion there.
"They're both being recovered by our healing cocoons and the Fairy-Type Pokemon. Plus my own healing magic as well. But...the damage they've taken is so great that it might take longer than a day for them to fully recover." Chrysalis explained. "What exactly happened to them?"
"They battled against Zekrom." Adagio turned to Chrysalis.
"Zekrom?"
"A Legendary Pokemon. It was sent out by the Empress herself to cause a rampage over Equestria. Princess Celestia and Passion trying to stop Zekrom, but it was too strong. They were both hit by a pretty bad Hyper Beam that even broke their defences. And it even launched them far away with how strong it was. That's how they ended up here." Sunset explained.
"I see." Chrysalis then turned to Celestia. "Wait! Doesn't that mean Zekrom is still on a rampage?!"
"Yeah." Sunset nodded with a sigh. "It could be anywhere right now. We want to hurry as soon as we can to try and stop Zekrom if we can. Zekrom could even appear here to this hive."
"But on the bright side, we have this." Just then, Adagio showed the Magic Siphoning Jar to Chrysalis, revealing the magic that they had retrieved. "Most of the Empress' magic in this jar right here."
"You retrieved it?!" Chrysalis gasped. "You actually did it?!"
"Sure did. And you can thank Celestia for the distraction." Adagio nodded. "Now that we have this, that so-called Empress is weaker and more vulnerable now. I'd say at least a million alicorn essences are within this."
"And uh...that's kinda why she released Zekrom on Equestria." Sunset squeed.
"Well, new surprises keep coming this way, don't they?" Chrysalis pondered for a bit, thinking about her closest friends. "Do Ash and Fluttershy know about Celestia and Passion state? Or even the rampaging Zekrom?"
"No, I don't think so." Sunset shook her head. "But they're definitely gonna notice Zekrom eventually. Maybe they already have."
That's when Chrysalis came to a decision. She pulled out her Xtransceiver, having two things in mind. To spread information about Celestia and Passion and of course, Zekrom's current movements. "We need to warn them about Zekrom. And inform them of Celestia and Passion. How long do you think it will take for Zekrom to appear here?"
"Judging by how fast it moves and how quickly it destroys everything...I'd give it a few hours or less." Adagio answered.
"Then there's no time to lose." Thus, Chrysalis selected Fluttershy's Trainer ID first.
Equestria. Canterlot. Day. 10 minutes earlier.
Over at Canterlot, the shelter had been taken in the Canterlot mines. Ever since Princess Cadence was trapped there during the Canterlot Royal Wedding, it's become more well known to everypony in Canterlot, making it their de facto shelter. Plus the crystals here were just nice to look at.
The older Flurry Heart from the invading world and Premium Polish were among those who had taken shelter with everypony else in Canterlot. They've been sitting here for hours now as some of them had already fallen asleep, waiting for this invasion to be all over.
Noticeably, the Legendary Pokemon that is commonly seen resting here at Canterlot Gardens to replenish his health, Reshiram, was nowhere to be found. He was already energized and powered up thanks to the summer sun but it's unknown if he's made a full recovery. He wasn't present at Canterlot at the moment.
Everypony waited patiently with their Pokemon while also dozing off. Twilight Velvet slept with her Kirlia in her hooves, Fleur De Lis was laying next to her Milotic, Moondancer to her Umbreon and more. Either awake or asleep. However, very soon, those that were asleep would be greeted to something that would wake them up.
Just then, without warning, the ground trembled, causing the crystals to rattle and pebbles to fall from below. That trembling was followed by the sound of something hitting the ground. Almost as if a giant was moving.
"What was that?" Night Light spoke as some of the ponies woke from that first sound.
"An earthquake?" Flurry Heart looked around as her ears twitched. Then another came. The same sound with another tremor but this time, it sounded like it was getting closer.
"I don't know what it is but I don't like it..." Premium held onto Flurry Heart's hoof, trembling in fear. That wasn't the only thing trembling. Each passing second, around 8, those sounds came closer with the tremors only increasing. It was a good indication that something big was nearby. Many believed that the invading forces had shown up to Canterlot.
The younger ponies were definitely the most intimidated by this as the closer and louder the footsteps went, the more the remaining asleep ponies had been alerted. They all collectively opened their eyes at the same time, gasping after feeling and hearing the sound of the heavy footsteps.
Naturally, panicking emotions were starting to fill the atmosphere. Many ponies believed that all of this battling during the invasion might reach the earth below, destroying it. Worried that things might be going poorly from above, Flurry Heart, still having the curious nature she had when she was a baby, decided to take a quick look. Not interact but see what exactly was happening out there.
Because from what she could pick up on, while there was something heavy and large moving about, it didn't sound like anypony was fighting at the moment. The sounds of the Canterlot Guards couldn't be heard either. Something was up.
"Flurry Heart? W-Where are you going?" Premium whispered as she hopped off of Flurry Hearts hoof.
"Just gonna take a quick look. Don't worry. I've got a pretty great friend of mine that'll help protect me." She then revealed the Ultra Ball that held Giratina within it.
"Still not sure that's a good idea, Princess." Moondancer shook her head in uncertainty. Everypony else stayed together with the crystals starting to shatter from the footsteps. Giratina could also feel this trembling despite being inside of a Poke Ball.
However, when climbing out of the mines, Flurry Heart was met with the sight of the Canterlot Guards and Soldiers gazing up at something. That something had already cast a shadow over the castle as well, causing their jaws to drop. At the first glance, when Flurry Heart saw their faces, it could point to there being an enemy of such a gigantic stature that Celestia's forces were just overwhelmed and frozen with fear by merely seeing it.
Except, while it was certainly of a stupidly gigantic stature, it wasn't an enemy. Especially after the guards had seen the group on some certain individuals either flying or riding on this being.
This was, of course, Gigantamax Machamp. Joined by the older dragon Spike, this world's younger Spike, Twilight, Big Mac, Starlight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Trixie, Goh and their Pokemon. They had shown up to Canterlot in a somewhat dramatic entrance.
"Oh!" Flurry Heart moved back a bit, hiding and not wanting to reveal her identity just in case. Twilight could most likely figure Flurry Heart out from just one glance. Machamp's gigantic footsteps came to an end as he stopped by, placing those that were riding on his shoulder down via having his arm act as a slide.
Twilight descended, wanting to know one thing. Where Princess Celestia went? She went over to the nearest befuddled guard who was still looking at Machamp. And of course, the giant Spike.
"Excuse me."
"Princess Twilight." The guard quickly snapped back to his senses, facing the young alicorn.
"Can you perhaps tell us where Princess Celestia went?" Twilight requested. "To try and stop the Empress I mean."
"Princess Celestia? Apologies but she could be anywhere. right now against the Empress." The guard shook his head. "She hasn't returned. Most likely still out there assisting with Sunset Shimmer and Adagio Dazzle by her side."
"Alright. Thank you. But now we won't know for sure where she is. I'm actually very worried right now..." Twilight shuddered, thinking of what the worst-case scenario for Celestia could be. Knowing how powerful the Empress was, Celestia could be in grave danger.
"That's a shame. I was hoping that she could find a way to free Discord without the Elements." Fluttershy flew over to Twilight and the guard as Audino was currently holding the petrified Discord.
That's when Flurry Heart's ears had twitched. Hearing about Discord being petrified on the spot meant only one thing. Her auntie was the cause of this. And knowing what point in time this world is in, the chances of Discord being freed from his petrified state could be considered impossible. Unless...
"I know of a way!" Feeling the urge to help, Flurry Heart teleported out of the mines, appearing next to the guard and fully exposing herself to Twilight and everypony else that wasn't aware of her. Everypony immediately focused all of their attention on the pony in front of them.
And the first glance from Twilight's group went as followed. Horn. Wings. Regalia. All fairly standard alicorn traits. Actually, seeing an alicorn, let a random one threw them off. But more importantly, their reaction to the rest of this alicorn. AKA the mane style and colour pattern. Only one pony in Equestria had that mane style and she was an infant at this point. And the name of that pony was uttered by Twilight's group and another group that had also come here to speak with Princess Celestia.
"Flurry Heart?!" Twilight's group and, the newly arrived group consisting of Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, younger Flurry Heart and their Pokemon each said.
"Gah!" The young alicorn shifted to the front and back, looking at both sides. One of her auntie and one of her parents. "Ah! I goofed up!"
"Eugh..." Premium winced as she hid in the mines, knowing that the secret was out and the cover had been blown. Especially to the three ponies that Flurry Heart hoped she would never have to attract.
"Wait..." Cadence started putting the pieces together as she recognized that voice from somewhere. Approximately just 2 days ago before this whole invasion broke out. The last time she heard this voice, it came from a pony by the name of Opalshore. "Opalshore?"
"What the..." Rainbow Dash, Goh and Spike each said as their jaws dropped along with everyone else's. Trixie, who had a poker face, quickly took out a camera and snapped a picture of the newly seen alicorn.
Shining Armor looked at his baby daughter and then back to his alternate universe daughter. He did this a couple of times, trying to adjust and process everything his eyes and mind were experiencing. Noticeably, baby Flurry Heart was unphased. But she did giggle.
"You're from another world, aren't you?" Cadence went up to Flurry Heart.
"Yeah..." The young alicorn rubbed the back of her mane with her hoof. "Guess the jig is up. Didn't even last that long...But, at least I get to finally show myself to you. Mom." When saying mom, her heart started tightening, as if it was a word that was satisfying to say. And for a good reason. She was speaking to her mother up-close with her real appearance and instead of being in disguise.
"Hang on. You from the other world that's invading right now?" Applejack asked.
"We can explain everything." The guard said. Princess Celestia had already informed all of the Canterlot Guards about the existence of another Flurry Heart in this world not too long ago. "At least as simple as we can. Princess Flurry Heart comes from the invading world but as an ally. She helped to retrieve an important book from the Empress and even participated in the pushback of the invasion with Queen Pyrestar, allowing us extra time to prepare for this invasion. She is essentially wanted by the Empire so for the time being, she shall be residing here in this world. Specifically in Canterlot for protection and vice-versa."
"Uh...yeah, what he said." Flurry Heart nodded. "Sorry if I startled you all. I wasn't supposed to reveal myself but I couldn't help it after hearing what Fluttershy said."
"Well...you know..." Flurry Heart sighed as she started to quiver. "I didn't want to cause any confusion and stuff but...didn't really matter that much and well...you know..." She was finding it hard to finish the rest of her sentences as she looked Cadence and Shining Armor in the eye. "You know...even though I wanted to really see you again. I mean I did back at the Crystal Empire but..."
"Are you okay?" Rarity noticed Flurry Heart's constant shuddering and the slight sounds of whimpering.
"Yeah, it's just..." Flurry Heart whimpered before replying. She wasn't sure how to fully finish this conversation off or where to go from here. Just then, she suddenly gave both Cadence and Shining Armor one big hug, wrapping her hooves around them. "I really missed you, mom and dad!" That's when she broke out into tears. But, this was something she needed considering what she's had to live through for so long back in her world.
"Oh..." Cadence then realized why Flurry Heart was so upset when she first met her under the disguise of Opalshore. It wasn't because of Skyblue Shine and Premium Polish. No. The fact that she placed missed and mom and dad in the same sentence made Cadence and Shining Armor put the pieces together.
After that, they both patted their alternate universe daughter in the back, comforting her. It had been so long since somepony had comforted Flurry Heart like this. Princess Celestia did the same but it wasn't quite on par with parental comfort. She was letting all of her tears out. Every last one of them. She hasn't cried this much in ages. But these weren't cries of sorrow. They were cries of joy. The best kind of cries to many.
"There, there." Both of them said to their alternate daughter while the younger Flurry Heart of this world decided to pull on her older self's face. "Whatever happened, we're here now, alright?"
"Thanks, mom, dad." Flurry Heart pulled her tears back in before letting out a sniffle. She then wiped away the tears, trying to regain her composure after letting it all out. That's when she quickly remembered why she showed herself. "Oh, right! I mentioned how I know of a way to free Discord!"
"Really?!" Fluttershy flapped her wings, hovering above the ground. "How?!"
"Well, you see...Auntie sort of uses the Elements of Harmony from her old friends. She found a way to bring back the original elements and use them for herself."
"Bring them back? Wait...so they were destroyed in your world?" Twilight narrowed her eyes, wanting to know everything. "Is the Tree of Harmony still there?"
"It still is." Flurry Heart nodded. "She even uses that as well. Because of that, she was able to turn my parents to stone and everypony else from other worlds. But she doesn't do it alone. She uses her old friends to do it."
"Old friends?" Pinkie Pie spoke.
"Uh well..." Flurry Heart found this next part hard to explain. This would come off as disturbing. Even more disturbing than turning someone into stone. Indeed, the Empress cannot just turn someone into stone by herself. She requires the rest of the Elements of Harmony. But, the methods are far different from how they were before.
"She um...She forces you all to turn anypony she wants into the stone." Flurry Heart pointed directly at Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie respectively. "That's how she does it?"
"By her own will? What about her friends?" Cadence asked.
"Not sure they're friends anymore." Flurry Heart shook her head. "But anyway, that's the only way to free Discord. The same way he was freed before with the Elements of Harmony. All we have to do is save them. They don't want to turn everypony into stone because of what auntie disagrees with and hates. But they can't do much since auntie's just too powerful."
"That does sound like the only way." Starlight turned to Twilight. "But are they gonna trust us to use the elements? I mean, if they've been forced for so long then..."
"They'll trust me." Flurry Heart intervened. "But I don't have the Element of Magic so I can't do anything about it. But you can, auntie."
"Wait. How? They don't have the elements anymore, right?" Goh scratched his head.
"In my time, the Elements along with the Tree of Harmony were fully destroyed by King Sombra. But years later, auntie brought them back. And in this world, it seems like that moment in time hasn't happened yet." Flurry Heart explained. "The Elements haven't been destroyed yet."
"She's right." And Twilight followed up on that. The Elements of Harmony are still here in this world. Just one with the Tree of Harmony again. Even if Luster Dawn blew up the Everfree Forest, the underground was unaffected. Just the surface. So it's definitely still there. It's been a while since we've used them anyway but it's 100% worth a shot. Let's bring Discord back as soon as we can."
"What about the other us in the other world? Shouldn't we go and help them?" Pinkie Pie suggested.
"If she's just casually forcing them to utilize the Elements of Harmony, then they must be absolutely drained," said Rarity, agreeing with Pinkie Pie's suggestion along with everypony else.
"Alright. And we'll save our other-selves. T-Their other-selves, not mine." Twilight then finished her sentence.
"Oh. I almost forgot about the Elements of Harmony..." Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness...I know it'll work. It has to after all"
"Should probably hurry then. This invasion's not slowing down. It's only getting worse and we'll need all the help we can get from wherever." Twilight turned around, ready to leave towards the Everfree Forest.
But before they could, they heard something in the far distance rumble, giving their hearts a short little skip after hearing it. The roar was so loud that its echo could eclipse most of Equestria. Which it did. Obviously, Zekrom was the one that caused it.
"Audino?" And of course, Audino was the first to hear it.
"What was that...?" Trixie gulped.
"Don't know but I don't like it." Starlight shook her head.
"Espeon..." Espeon felt a bad feeling in her stomach as if something terrifying was coming this way. And so did everyone else. The roars became louder as explosions could be heard in the far distance.
"W-We should get going right about now." Twilight shuddered as she and everyone were making their way towards the Tree of Harmony while some were heading back to Ponyville for safety or in Trixie's case, Undella Town with her school.
"What about great auntie?!" Flurry Heart pranced on the spot, worried about Celestia's current status. Going up against the Empress is a terrifying approach. Especially considering the situation right now."
"We do not have her location still. But rest assured, have good faith." The guard said, trying to calm Flurry Heart down. But as Twilight and the others were about to take off, Fluttershy's Xtransceiver started ringing.
"Hm?" She took it out from her saddlebag to see who was calling. It was Chrysalis. "Chrysalis?"
"Fluttershy! Oh thank goodness, you're alright. You need to come and see and hear this quickly! Have you seen Zekrom anywhere?!"
"Zekrom?" Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "I've heard of that name but...no, I haven't seen it anywhere."
"Wait, Zekrom?" Twilight and the others slid over, staring right at the screen with Fluttershy.
"So not yet. Then you should most definitely come over and see this. It's Princess Celestia and Passion. They're greatly damaged at the moment."
"What?!" All at once, everyone, including the guards shouted out at the top of their lungs. This was major news to had to be seen for themselves.
The Changeling Hive. Day.
"Princess Celestia!" And once they did arrive, the reaction was to be expected. Their wonderful ruler of Equestria along with her partner Passion, laid on the healing cocoon unconscious. Seeing this brought them back to when Ghetsis had first injured Princess Celestia greatly. That Sorrowful Rage magic within Twilight was just begging to show itself again after seeing a good friend of hers in such a state.
"Great auntie!" Flurry Heart gasped.
"W-What happened?!" Twilight asked.
"Zekrom happened," Sunset replied. "After we managed to absorb most of the Empress' magic, she unleashed Zekrom onto Equestria, commanding it to cause a rampage. Princess Celestia and Passion tried to stop Zekrom but..."
"Wait, you mean Zekrom's still rampaging?!" Rainbow Dash flew up. "Is that what that roar was?"
"Probably. If Zekrom isn't stopped then all of Equestria might as well be torched by all that lightning." Adagio replied as Anthophilia was pulling on her giant mane.
"Celestia and Passion might not recover until tomorrow. Even with all of these Fairy-Type Pokemon and the Fairy magic exuding from the Faye Mountains themselves, the process isn't as effective as we wish it could be." Chrysalis sighed before turning to face the duo. "Sorry, but that's all I can say for now. All we can do is wait and try to stop Zekrom. I'd rather not lose another hive, after all."
"Stopping Zekrom is probably for the best." Rarity nodded. "But we should free our friend from stone first before that. We might even bump into Zekrom along the way."
"Oh!" Fluttershy then exclaimed. "Then that means Ponyville is in danger of being destroyed by Zekrom! We need to go now! Everypony in Ponyville and the Pokemon House could-"
"We'll go." Twilight interrupted, calming Fluttershy down. "We should at least get to Ponyville and the Tree of Harmony before Zekrom probably does. If it's nearby."
"Can we even stop Zekrom?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"All of us together could stop Eternatus. So maybe?" Rainbow Dash shrugged.
"You won't know unless you try," Chrysalis said. "Go. Save your home, free Discord and stop Zekrom if you can. No use in just standing around, right?"
"Right!" Twilight nodded in agreement as everypony turned around, already ready to head off and do what needed to be done. Some saving and the hopes of stopping a rampaging Dragon. They all either flew or ran out of the healing room with some of them heading separate paths. "Oh and uh...T-Thank you, Queen Chrysalis!" She then thanked Chrysalis for the first time, showing that they've truly buried the hatchet after the Royal Canterlot Wedding.
"You're welcome."
Machamp was outside waiting, still in his Gigantamax form. Unfortunately, with how big he is, Machamp might not be able to get to Ponyville quickly in time. After all, he had just arrived at the Changeling Hive in the Faye Mountains later than everyone else.
That's where Pheromosa came into play. Rarity already had the Lissome Pokemon out as Pheromosa picked up Rarity, Applejack, Starlight and Trixie. Thanks to her tall stature, she could hold many ponies as Sceptile used his vines to latch onto Pheromosa as always.
As for Machamp, the Superpower Pokemon could actually help against Zekrom considering his immense size and strength as well. So the Gigantamax was here to stay until it either runs out or Machamp gets knocked out of it. Either way, Big Mac wouldn't be heading back to Ponyville as soon as he wanted to at this rate.
"I'm surprised you're coming along for this Trixie." Starlight turned to Trixie.
"Yeah, well, I still wanna head back to my school for safety but...I can't leave a friend behind in danger with all of this invasion stuff happening can I?" Trixie smiled at Starlight, basically confirming that even if the stakes are too grand for Trixie herself if a friend is involved, she'll help out. "But I am pretty terrified right now."
Mew transformed himself into Rayquaza as Pinkie Pie sat on his back. Spike got out his Salamence with him, Axew and Deino taking a ride. Those with wings would just fly.
Cadence and Shining Armor would just head back to the Crystal Empire in case new invading forces showed up or if Zekrom appeared there as well. As for Flurry Heart, she thought of heading back to the Canterlot mines, but now that her cover's been blown, she just had to help.
And she chose to help her mom and dad of this world. Adagio and Arcanine however, stayed behind to watch Celestia and Passion. They were too close to them to ignore. They couldn't leave their side. Everyone was now on the move.
Meanwhile.
"Right here." At the moment, Mayor Mare and Cold Colt were searching for Big Macintosh and Machamp to bring him back to Ponyville and the shelter for safety. Stoutland had used his amazing sense of smell to try and track them both down. Yet again, dog-like Pokemon and their great noses are always useful for almost any situation.
"Stout." Stoutland and the others had come across what seemed to be a gigantic footstep. One that belonged to the Gigantamax Machamp.
"The footprint resembles a Machamp footprint." She observed. "But larger than normal. Could be the result of all the Dynamax dens here."
"Oh! He's probably become a Gigantamax Machamp!" Cold Colt jumped up. "I totally wanna see that!"
"We're getting close then. Dynamax Pokemon are slower after all. Let's keep searching." Mayor Mare nodded as Stoutland continued the search for Big Macintosh and Machamp.
"Stoutland."
Twilight and the others were making their way towards the Everfree Forest to remove the certification from Discord's body. Pheromosa blitzed through the land as she moved in front of everyone. But thanks to Mew transforming to Rayquaza, anyone on Mew's back could gain some great speed too. Twilight and Fluttershy chose to switch over and ride on the back of the transformed Mew while Rainbow Dash just used her natural flying speed. Machamp was far behind however he would be dealing with any ships in the air and the rest of the invading forces.
Right now, they were near Exploud Valley. Meaning that Ponyville wasn't too far from here. Just a few more minutes and they would be there. So far, in the distance, they could see the silhouette of Machamp taking out multiple ships from the invading forces. Machamp truly was the biggest player in this entire scuffle between two sides.
However, the silhouette of Machamp would quickly be blocked out by the arrival of grey clouds. The sun had also been masked by the clouds as the sound of thunder started rumbling. Everyone else looked up to see the sudden change of weather.
"Seriously? Of all the times..." Rainbow Dash groaned. "Let's hurry before it starts raining."
"We're almost there. Just a bit more. Hopefully, everypony's safe in the shelter." Twilight said while on Rayquaza's back.
"Positive they are," Goh said. "I mean, after all, Delia even suggested taking shelter over at Pallet Town for everyone. It's just as big as Ponyville too."
"They wouldn't think to look at Pallet Town, would they?" Fluttershy replied.
"Well, if they're looking for Ash then maybe." Pinkie nodded. "Besides, there's no way they can invade the Pokemon World. I mean, that place is insane! RIght Spike?"
"Yeah. Journeying at the Pokemon world show you just how wild it can get. I mean, I was just minding my own business when a Tenta-" In the spur of the moment, before Spike could tell a short story, his senses went off along with Salamence, Axew and Deino. Spike gasped afterwards before looking behind him.
"Oh!"
"What is it, Spike?!" Twilight noticed Spike's sudden pause and gasp.
"A dragon...Over there!" Spike pointed to the left side of the sky. "A dragon's coming this way!" Everyone heard Spike's cry as they all faced where he was pointing.
All at once, they all turned their heads to the left side of the sky. And just like Spike all of them equally gasped as their pupils shrunk once feasting their eyes on this supposed Dragon.
The clouds closed in, gaining a deep black colouring that banished any form of light. Thunder started rumbling as yellow sparks could be seen flashing in the clouds. A looming threat had emerged as the grey clouds then started spinning around.
"What's happening to the clouds?!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Something's swirling inside of them!" Rainbow Dash noticed as the spinning clouds started descending, forming a tornado shape as they had reached the size of a mountain. Out of the clouds, lightning bolts started flying everywhere, including the ones above. And within the clouds, a silhouette appeared. But it wasn't the silhouette of Machamp.
A giant black wing burst out of the clouds. And another. Then two more but in the shape of hands with claws added to them. An ominous red and purple gaze flashed within the deep black clouds. A grizzly growl followed after the flashing of the eyes as blue sparks of electricity wrapped around the black tornado.
Afterwards, the blue electricity started expanding, covering the whole cloud until it was turned blue. And then finally, with one giant burst of electricity and a thunderous booming sound, out emerged the rampaging Deep Black Pokemon, Zekrom.
"What is that?!" Trixie screeched as she held on tightly to Mew's transformed back, intimidated by Zekrom.
"It's Zekrom!" Twilight gasped as Zekrom charged towards its new targets. One of them reminded him of the pony that brought this senseless rampaging to him by force. Empress Twilight Sparkle. The Deep Black Pokemon brought the devastating clouds of volatile lightning with him along the way.
"It's coming this way!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as the turbulent wind pressure from Zekrom's flying had blown everyone's mane and hair. The first target of Zekrom was Mew who was currently a Rayquaza.
The Deep Black Pokemon found the perfect opportunity to use Fusion Bolt again. With his tail illuminating a light blue colour, Zekrom coated his body in a sparking blue sphere of 20,000,000 volts of electricity. Afterwards, he burst through the air, leaving a lightning sonic boom of all things before moving at breakneck speeds.
"Ah! Look out!" Rainbow Dash noticed that Zekrom was heading straight for Twilight, Fluttershy Pinkie Pie, and Goh. All who were on Mew's transformed back. To act quickly, the pegasus used her own sonic boom to try and stop Zekrom.
Both her and Zekrom few at equal speeds as it seemed, but the moment she got close to the giant sphere of electricity that surrounded the Deep Black Pokemon, Rainbow Dash was struck by one of the frantic moving volts that sparked around Zekrom, smiting her.
"GAH!" Rainbow Dash felt all of those volts go through her body as she could already feel herself going numb. Before she knew it, she lost her balance of flying and began falling.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight and the others cried out, looking down to see their friend fall with sparks of electricity trailing out. Rainbow Dash couldn't stop Zekrom. Thus, the Deep Black Pokemon struck Fusion Bolt onto the tail of Mew's Rayquaza appearance.
One hit and Mew felt all of those volts also course through him. In his Rayquaza body, Mew had been sent flying by the powerful impact of Fusion Bolt.
And with that, everyone riding on Mew's back were also sent flying as well, screaming. Twilight, Pinkie, Goh, Fluttershy, the statue of Discord and the Pokemon onboard had all fallen off after being hit by Zekrom's Fusion Bolt.
"M-Mew!" Mew then reverted to his normal self as he was falling alongside everyone.
"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" Only screams could leave their mouths. Audino had held Discord's statue close to her, making sure that it is fully protected. But with how high they were all falling that may not matter.
Luckily, wings existed and Twilight and Fluttershy were safe as Fluttershy held Scorbunny in her hooves. Along with Togekiss who spun through the air before swooping over, catching both Trixie and Starlight on her back.
"Togekiss!"
"Thanks, Togekiss!" Goh thanked the Jubilee Pokemon. Speaking of swooping in, Salamence soared downwards, watching Audino and the Discord statue on his back.
The adult Spike managed to successfully catch Rainbow Dash earlier, carrying the pegasus on his back. But there was the issue of Goh, Pinkie Pie and Mew. Mew had taken a heavy hit from Fusion Bolt, causing him to spiral out of control. He couldn't transform into a Pokemon right now and he was close to the ground while Goh and Pinkie were screaming at the top of their lungs.
"Sceptile! Catch 'em!" Applejack commanded from below.
"Scep...Tile!" The Forest Pokemon could handle this. Pheromosa slowed down for a bit, allowing Sceptile to properly focus on his targets. Sceptile held his arms out as multiple vines shout out from the edge of his bladed leaves and even back. These vines have always come in handy every single time.
And this was one of those times. The vines wrapped around Goh, Pinkie and Mew each, covering their entire bodies with multiple layers of vines for a softer landing. After doing so, Sceptile then pulled the three of them towards him, adding more layers before holding them each under his arms.
"Sceptile!"
"Oh! Thank you so much, Sceptile!" Pinkie Pie said to the Forest Pokemon.
"Tile!"
But it wasn't over yet. Zekrom was going for another attack. This time it was Hyper Beam. Just like with Manehattan, the Deep Black Pokemon was going to level everything in one single blast. And he might level the entirety of this landscape and beyond as he started charging up one behemoth of a Hyper Beam.
"Hyper Beam?!" Fluttershy wheezed. But it wasn't just Hyper Beam, out of the clouds, giant blue thunderbolts started raining down as well. Zekrom was both charging up Hyper Beam while manipulating the clouds themselves. An array of bolts came crashing down, aiming directly for Twilight and everyone else.
Anyone in the sky was going to have a bad experience. Twilight and everyone else who were within the air started dying around, trying their best to avoid the approaching bursts of lightning as much as they could. But Zekrom's lightning was no ordinary lightning. Not only was it faster but it could also scorch the earth itself.
"Fluttershy! Spike! Can you two calm it down?!" Starlight said while lightning kept crashing. "One of you can even calm dragons down!"
"I'm trying but...!" Spike actually had his claw out, trying to reach Zekrom from a far distance instead of up close. But when he was actually showing signs of doing far distance communication, his claw was immediately burnt. "OW! Z-Zekrom's too enraged!"
Due to how fast the lightning bolts were, one of them landed right in front of Pheromosa while she was running, not only causing a visible hole and scorched part of the ground, but some of the volts scattered, latching onto the Lissome Pokemon's legs.
"P-Phero!" Pheromo cried out after feeling all those scorching volts interact with her as she lost balance while running. The Ultra Beast immediately tripped over, dropping Rarity, Applejack, Starlight and Trixie.
The four ponies themselves tumbled on the ground after Pheromosa tripped. And Pheromosa also tumbled as well, taking damage along the process. Sceptile's vine latch onto Pheromosa went out of control because of Pheromosa's trip. He also went flying with his vines ripping off. "Sceptile!" The Forest Pokemon almost ended up dropping Goh, Pinkie Pie and Mew because of this but he managed to retain his balance.
"Ugh!" Rarity and the others groaned after tumbling on the hard rocky ground. After that, Zekrom had finished charging Hyper Beam, deciding that now was a good time to use it. And when he did, it immediately expanded to the point where it could potentially consume everyone in the sky and ground below.
Twilight and the others looked back to see the astronomical beam coming their way, ready to engulf them in its destructive fury.
"Audino!" Not allowing for any of that to happen, Audino stepped up to the plate. She placed Discord's statue down on the back of Salamence as she personally tapped Fluttershy's Mega Stone.
"Huh!? Audi?!" Fluttershy gasped as Audino had personally activated Mega Evolution herself instead of letting Fluttershy do it. The golden and red lights shot out of both stones as the Hearing Pokemon put her arms out. In that instance when the Mega Evolution energy covered her, she had used the move Protect, casting a large screen at once.
"Audino!" Audino cried out as she entered her Mega Evolved form. She was going to protect all of her friends from Hyper Beam with Protect.
But if even Celestia and Passion couldn't do it, could Audino?
"M-Mew...!" Mew saw this as he opened one eye as the bright light of Hyper Beam covered the sky, shining all across his and everyone's body. Audino closed her eyes, ready to try and hold Hyper Beam back. Mew knew that she couldn't do it. The New Species Pokemon didn't want to lose all of his friends right here. "Mew!"
So, in an attempt to try and save everyone, Mew converted all of his Psychic energy to perform one major action that he hopes will save everyone and himself. Psychic energy coated all of his friends including Audino herself.
And before they knew it, Hyper Beam had connected. And the last thing they all saw together was the eclipsing light of the Normal-Type move. And similar to Manehattan, a flurry of explosions met the ground below, obliterating everything inside. The only difference was that there were no buildings nearby so it was only the landscape that took the damage.
Anyone nearby fled in fear or hid in their homes, mainly the Pokemon. Zekrom closed his mouth as had torn the ground in half from Hyper Beam, leaving a massive mark on Equestria once more.
But when the beam faded, Twilight and everypony were nowhere to be found. After witnessing that, Zekrom roared as his eyes flashed purple again. He boosted through the sky, flying off to continue his rampage.
Smoke swept the castle as the destruction of the royal building was on the verge of collapse. Most of Ghetsis' Pokemon had been defeated and one of Ash's Pokemon had also fainted as well. All that was left was Hydreigon who can be considered a mutation since he has been given access to moves that a Hydreigon could really never use.
As for Ash and Ghetsis himself, the two of them didn't seem like they were going to quit anytime soon. Neither one of them was falling until one of them loses. Ash had one goal. To put an end to this whole Team Plasma operation and free Pyrestar's world while Ghetsis just wanted Ash gone for good.
The ponies that lived near this version of Canterlot started running for the hills after seeing the whole castle fall apart. Ash looked outside, seeing all the ponies panic and gallop around.
"Not good...Guys! Focus on getting everyone else out of here!" Ash ordered the rest of his Pokemon. While they wanted to defeat Ghetsis for good, the lives of others were still important.
"Dra!" Dragonite nodded as she was ready to fly out and help the ponies get to safety. Dragonite was already doing what she can to make sure no one innocent would get hurt while also trying to do as much heavy damage to Hydreigon as she can. Unfortunately, that was fairly difficult considering the destructive force of the Dragon-Type but she was going to try her best anyway.
"Hydrei!" But bursting through the walls was Hydreigon who wasn't about to let Dragonite out of his sight. The Brutal Pokemon shattered the wall he came through as he used Crunch with all three of his heads, biting into the Dragon Pokemon's neck and arms.
"D-Dragonite!" Dragonite cried out as Hydreigon flew forward while still biting into her, breaking through the walls once more. But this time, they flew out of the castle instead of heading to the next room. Shards of glass fell out as Dragonite was at the forefront of it.
Speaking of falling out of the castle, the same thing happened to Ash. Ghetsis wasn't just attacking Ash, he was also attacking his Pokemon by himself. By moving his hands frantically, Ghetsis summoned clusters of sharp crystals to try and hit Ash and his partners.
"Pika!" Pikachu, Lucario and Farfetch'd each negated this by using Iron Tail, Force Palm and Brutal Swing, breaking the crystals and preventing them from touching their trainer. However, there were so many of them that it was hard to stop them all. Ash himself was running back and jumping to avoid the crystals. He also made sure to keep the Staff of Sir Aaron safe even though it was seemingly indestructible.
However, Ghetsis had found the perfect spot to really threaten and possibly put an end to Ash. Ghetsis then switched from the crystals before using that black bolt that he could conjure up. This time bigger. Ghetsis aimed his only hand, seemingly going for Lucario as the Aura Pokemon was ready to counteract whatever Ghetsis would do.
But, when Ghetsis fired it, it at first looked like Lucario would be his target as the bolt moved in a straight line. Lucario was about to use Aura Sphere to try and block it. However, with a different movement of his hand, Ghetsis had juked Lucario out, causing the bolt to fly over him, Pikachu and Farfetch'd each.
"Lu?!"
"Pika?!"
"Far?!"
"Gotcha!" Ghetsis exclaimed as the bolt went for Ash instead. Ash quickly noticed the rapid moving bolt of dark magic coming his way as he tried to use the staff to block it. He placed the staff up, utilizing his Aura to try and counter Ghetsis' dark magic. Aura coated the staff and Ash's body as the bolt connected with the staff.
Ash managed to hold the attack back with his Aura, but to his surprise, the bolt then blew up, causing a black explosion to happen right in front of him. Thankfully, the Aura protected him but the explosion affected the wall and floor next to Ash. And that's what Ghetsis was hoping for.
Even if Ash blocked the bolt and the Aura protected him from the explosion, he was still knocked back either way. That knockback was enough to send Ash flying out of the castle just like Dragonite.
"W-Woah!" Ash gasped after realizing his current position.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried out Ash's name as Ghetsis summoned more crystals to try and pierce Ash's Pokemon. Lucario shoved Pikachu and Farfetch'd out of the way, deciding to take the brunt of the crystals himself. Thanks to Lucario being a Fighting and Steel-Type, this didn't affect him too much. But Ash was another story.
"Dragonite!" Ash called for Dragonite as he was falling from above.
"D-Dra!" Dragonite quickly realized her trainer was in danger and she couldn't ignore this. But right now she was occupied.
The sharpness of Hydreigon's teeth was not pleasant for anyone as the Brutal Pokemon was then planning on using Toxic to poison Dragonite. Not wanting to go down for Ash's sake, the Dragon Pokemon used Hurricane by spinning aggressively flapping her wings.
By flapping her wings, Dragonite created a fierce gust of wind that had wrapped around Hydreigon. This one action of using Hurricane had managed to force the Dark-Dragon-Type off of Dragonite. However, visible and deep bite marks remained either way. Hydreigon's teeth can certainly pierce through flesh with barely any struggle behind it.
But in retaliation, Hydreigon used Dragon Pulse, shooting out of his three mouths, the triple dragon-shaped blast struck Dragonite's stomach respectively, propelling the caring and lovable Dragon Pokemon further to the ground. She even passed Ash by the speed she was sent down at.
Dragonite crashed to the ground, causing smoke to form while also creating a large crater from her impact. Nearby ponies tripped from Dragonite causing a tremor just from her falling. The Dragon Pokemon made a quick recovery as she saw her trainer falling as well with no one to catch her.
Dragonite quickly flew off the ground as she held her arms out. Just in the nick of time too. Dragonite swooped in and caught Ash successfully, even after being bitten into and sent to the ground at such a strong impact.
"Thanks, Dragonite!"
"Gonite!" Dragonite nodded as she safely placed Ash down. She then looked up at Hydreigon who was approaching her with Dragon Rush, not stopping for a moment to try and take down his fellow Dragon-Type.
"Hydreigon's stronger than before. You'll just have to get stronger! Use Dragon Dance!"
"Go!" Dragonite roared as she ascended into the sky, avoiding Hydreigon's Dragon Rush in the process when ascending. The Dragon Pokemon then started spinning around with an orange aura spiralling out of her, increasing her attack and speed.
"Drei!" Hydreigon quickly turned around, going for another Dragon Rush as he also attempted to attack Ash as well. The Brutal Pokemon soared towards Ash first, raising both of his headmouths.
"Oh!" Ash gasped as quickly jumped out of the way, causing Hydreigon to miss Dragon Rush yet again. But even if he missed, Dragonite was still his main target.
"Now, Dragonite! Dragon Claw!"
"Gonite!" Dragonite's boosted attack meant that she would hit harder than before. She watched Hydreigon close in with a dark blue aura coating his entire body while also having the shape of a dragon's mouth in front. Dragonite hovered there, forming green draconic claws as it would seem that she would take the hit head-on.
Except she didn't. When Hydreigon eventually got into proximity of Dragonite, the Dragon Pokemon swayed her body to the side at the right time before slashing both of her claws onto the side of Hydreigon, performing a trick attack
"Dreigon!" Hydreigon certainly felt that one as he was knocked out of Dragon Rush from Dragon Claw. Afterwards, Dragonite made sure to get Hydreigon as far away from here as possible. She directed Dragon Claw, sending Hydreigon flying towards the far distance, away from the castle.
Hydreigon, after receiving a heavy Dragon Claw was launched like a slingshot through the air, even gaining an aura of wind from how fast he was moving. Hydreigon then crashed at a nearby hill, leaving a hole in it as the last thing seen was the dust emerging from Hydreigon's impact on the hill.
After getting Hydreigon away, Dragonite switched to focus on protecting the innocents who were in danger of being harmed. Ash was already doing so pushing large amounts of rubble off some ponies who had been caught up in this.
"Sorry!" Ash said while helping the ponies up. "Are you okay?"
"Mhm..." A nervous and frightened pony said as Dragonite removed the heavier rubble. Both Ash and Dragonite were only focusing on saving the population of unicorns. Through the windows, Pikachu, Lucario and Farfetch'd had jumped out, avoiding Ghetsis' bombardment of crystals. Pikachu, Lucario and Farfetch'd successfully landed down safely afterwards.
"Tch." Ghetsis looked down, irritated that one again, Ash and his Pokemon are still here and kicking. The concept of giving up and going down does not exist with him and his team. And Ghetsis himself saw that he was expending his dark magic more than usual. He was still getting used to it. If this keeps up, he could run out of magic power in at least 10 minutes or less.
That's when Ghetsis suddenly waked back, entering the shadows once more. As for Ash, he and his Pokemon switched their attention to the unicorns here, rescuing them from falling debris, rubble, trapped corners and more. Lucario and Farfetch'd both used Force Palm and Fury Cutter to rescue the ponies while Pikachu used both Iron Tail and Electroweb. Iron Tail to break objects and Electroweb to contain them.
With their hard work and coordination and the battle with Ghetsis being put on pause, Ash and his Pokemon had saved each of the unicorns residing here. And in little time as well. The unicorns had already noticed Ash before and they especially saw him and his Pokemon going up against Ghetsis' own Pokemon through the windows. To them, this was a rare sight and a blessing considering that Ghetsis had been ruling over them. Then again, from how their world was, they felt like they had nothing much to lose. They barely even miss Queen Pyrestar at all.
"You...You're going up against Ghetsis?" A unicorn said.
"Yeah. Wouldn't be the first time." Ash responded. "You all should get out of here as soon as you can. I'm planning on stopping Ghetsis and Team Plasma here. And I'll bring Pyrestar back here."
"Does it matter? Equestria's doomed either way with how things are." A hopeless unicorn sighed.
"Not for long. "Your world's starting to grow back. You can thank Applejack and everyone for that." Ash then sparked up hope in them.
"R-Really?" A young unicorn stuttered.
"Yeah." Ash nodded as he gave out a hopeful smile. "Since they're from another world, it's only natural, right? So hang in there, alright?"
Hydreigon was starting to get back up as he roared in the distance, giving a foreboding aura out that Ash and Dragonite could feel. Ash heard the roar, knowing he had to move fast before everyone gets hurt. And with Hydreigon's ruthless battling style, speed was more important than ever.
Ash looked up at Ghetsis as Hydreigon flew out of the hill, hovering high above the skies as the remaining unicorns were fleeing for other parts of this dying Equestria.
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon cried out from atop the castle as everyone, including the ponies, had looked up at him. Hydreigon had then gone for Draco Meteor of all moves, shooting a black sphere into the sky.
That black sphere then burst out with draconic energy, splitting the clouds apart in a circular radius. Afterwards, once that burst was said and done, a multitude of giant draconic meteors the size of buildings started plunging from the skies above, blocking out the sun with how many of them there were.
Knowing and spotting the number of large meteors falling, Ash knew that there was no way he was going to stop all of them, not even his Pokemon. So there was only one thing left to do. He gripped onto the staff as he was about to see just how far his Aura could go.
"Everyone duck!" Ash turned the unicorns, warning them to duck for cover as he put both his hands onto the staff. Pikachu, Lucario and Farfetch'd ran towards Ash while Dragonite descended, making sure she wouldn't be caught by the meteors. Ash concentrated all of his Aura as attempted to protect everyone with it. Ash already knew that his Aura could expand to the point where groups can be caught up in it.
Now it was time to do the same here. But this time, he was protecting everyone rather than freeing them from mind control and such.
Ash's Aura reacted to the staff, causing it to amplify. It had also reacted to Lucario's Aura as well, affecting the Aura Pokemon. A gigantic field of Aura emerged from the staff as a large dome-shaped Aura covered everypony here. No one was left out.
The meteors then landed as they immediately littered the landscape, forming black and purple outbursts of explosive draconic infinity energy that spread out like wildfire, continuously combusting every second. Buildings were being obliterated or toppled by these meteors blowing up everywhere. Ghetsis looked down as the entire ground before him was being altered from Hydreigon's Draco Meteor.
Craters were forming, and a fairly sizable one emerged below, right next to Ash and the unicorns. The crater kept growing in size each time Draco Meteor crashed down with the rest of the explosions beating on the barrier that Ash had made. Ash was managing to hold it all together, keeping the dome-shaped barrier active while everypony either closed their eyes and ears, trying to ignore the explosion. Some ponies latched onto Ash's leg as they were clinging on for dear life.
Ghetsis, seeing that Ash's Aura was fully protecting him from Draco Meteor, growled in frustration. Yet again, Ash was able to find a way through everything like he always does. Annoyed by this and frankly, having enough of Ash, Ghetsis raised his arm, using all of his Dark Aura and Magic to try and eliminate Ash for good. He didn't want to waste it all, but Ash is just the kind of person to push anyone to their absolute limits.
"Persistent runt! Perish already!" Ghetsis roared with all of his rage as he unleashed all that he had, sending a corrupted stream of shadows from his arm. Some of it was Dark Magic but most of it was filled with Dark Aura as it flew next to some of the meteors, howling through the sky.
And this is where that same reaction happened. Whenever Ash's Aura connects with Ghetsis' Dark Aura with a bit of Rift energy from Ghetsis when there are huge amounts of it. Once the stream of shadows hit the dome, that's when both forms of Aura started reacting to each other immediately while the meteors kept falling.
Reacting to the dome, a fissure occurred as both Ash and Ghetsis sensed that familiar feeling that they both experienced back at Saddle Arabia last year. "This again...?" They both said.
And before they knew it, just like before, a potent pulse of high friction had occurred, blowing them both back. The pulse had shattered Ash's dome while simultaneously blowing him, his Pokemon and the ponies back. It had also blown Ghetsis and Hydreigon back along with the castle.
With their Aura greater than ever after improving over the many months, just like what happened in Saddle Arabia, their Aura Pulse affected this world. Starting from Equestria and spreading rapidly as It blew away the meteors of Draco Meteor as well, shattering them until they were nothing but the size of pebbles.
The pulses of Aura had scattered across the land, connecting with everything as all the unicorns living in this world felt a shiver through their bodies that made them feel uneasy. Just like Saddle Arabia. The skies were covered by the pulse of Aura it was going to eclipse the entire planet. Everything was essentially a repeat of what happened before in Saddle Arabia.
And similar to the Saddle Arabia incident, Ash and Ghetsis' Aura left this world, heading to the next. The other Equestria which was currently being invaded had been met with Ash's Aura. At the same time, a multitude of gateways started showing up, filling the sky. This all felt so familiar to Ash and Ghetsis as they were now putting the pieces together, figuring out that this was the most likely reaction to happen if they ever clash their Auras together with Rift energy involved.
Equestria. Trottingham. Day.
The ships in the sky had been hit by Ash and Ghetsis's Aura as their systems had been overridden immediately. Without even having water or electricity touch it. Everything on the Empress' side shuddered or collapsed from the pulse and the same went for Celestia's side. Everyone stopped what they were doing as they all felt a sudden shiver go through them. The feeling was hard to explain.
On one hand, it was like something warm and hopeful went through them. Something that could given them peace and happiness for years to come.
But the other feeling was identical to one of something horrifying and full of despair. Something that could bring about their inevitable end and eternal suffering. Cities, towns, villages, various landscapes where ponies, dragons, griffons and other species live were all caught up in this Aura Pulse with no one being exempt from it.
Not even Zekrom who was soaring through the skies, continuing his rampage. However, when Ash and Ghetsis' Aura connected with him, two things happened. Ash's Aura was able to break through some of the Mega Evolution energy that was causing Zekrom to rampage, breaking down while Ghetsis' Aura was a substitute for that. Zekrom's purple eyes were gaining a less vibrant colour because of this.
However, he was still on a rampage and had barely any control of himself. But because of the Aura Pulse, the influence and control that Empress Twilight had put on Zekrom had been weakened. Deep within, Zekrom knew that something was off. Yet he kept flying, still having the uncontrollable urge to destroy everything in sight.
Not even the shelters underground could evade this. The earth rumbled, causing mini-earthquakes that thankfully didn't harm anyone. But everypony immediately shuddered from this. In fact, this was a familiar feeling. Since Ash and Ghetsis' Aura had already eclipsed the planet before, they all recognized this as they were still wondering what was the cause of that strange pulse.
The whole invasion went on pause because of this as the pulse kept going, showing no signs of stopping. But then again, this had already happened before so it was nothing new or groundbreaking.
Except for the fact that it went a step further. Due to the staff reacting to Ash's Aura and Ghetsis obtained Dark Magic, the reaction only increased further. Like before, the Pokemon World had been affected, however, the people and Pokemon living in the Pokemon World didn't feel it as much. Mostly likely because the Pokemon World is already used to Aura ever since the beginning of time.
But the same couldn't be said for the world where the ponies, dragons yaks and other species reside in. Aura was still new to them so it only made sense for their bodies to shudder to it.
Back at Pyrestar's world, everyone had fainted from feeling this mighty Aura Pulse as they dropped to the floor. And like before, Hydreigon and Dragonite had fainted with the addition of Farfetch'd. Pikachu had previously fainted after feeling this pulse back in Saddle Arabia, but this time, he resisted it. And Lucario managed to resist it as well thanks to his own Aura possession.
But that wasn't the important part. The important part in truth was how a giant gateway connecting back to the invading world had formed. And instead of just hovering there like the rest of them, this gateway had pulled only Ash and Ghetsis in like a black hole. It reacted solely to their Auras so only they were caught by it. This was new and had never happened before, even during the Saddle Arabia battle.
And that gateway led to Equestria once more. The invading Equestria, of course. In fact, most of these gateways connected to that world specifically.
"Pikapi!" Seeing this, Lucario and Pikachu quickly held onto Ash, trying to keep him on the ground. But the gravitational pull was far too strong.
Ash tried to counteract this by using the Aura from the staff to do so as an azure light flashed from it. It somewhat worked as the pull had been decreased but it was still pulling both Ash and Ghetsis in regardless. In a hurry, Ash took out two Poke Balls, returning Dragonite and Farfetch'd into them for safety as he was getting closer to the gateway.
"Lord Ghetsis!" Colress ran to Ghetsis, holding a Travel Sphere in his hand. "We should retreat to the other world! Some of the Legendary and Mythical Pokemon have managed to escape but I've already placed the Pokemon in their Poke Balls by now! Hurry before it pulls you in!"
"Not until I eliminate Ash Ketchum!" Ghetsis was determined to end Ash for good as he was willing to keep attacking even if his body was being pulled in.
However, Ghetsis himself felt like he needed to stop this gateway at once. He had the power to control the Rift as well so he could most definitely close one. But this was a behemoth-sized one so some effort is needed. By putting his hand out, Ghetsis used the reserves of Rift energy within his body, interacting with the giant gateway while being pulled towards it.
Ash made a second attempt to try and stop the pull from this gateway again as he used the Aura from his staff once more, adding more of his Aura into it. At this rate, Delayed Aura Ataxia could pop up again.
But this time, it wouldn't just be Ash receiving the effect.
By giving it everything they had and screaming at the top of their lungs, both Ash and Ghetsis' unleashed Aura and Rift energy respectively, forming another pulse. But this pulse imploded on itself and closed in this time instead of spreading out. The gateway had also been struck by this imploding pulse. The force of this uneven friction had actually condensed the gateway itself. But afterwards, not even a second later, the gateway suddenly flashed, creating a paroxysm and outbreak of cosmic energy in the form of a bright light.
Ash and Ghetsis then stared into the light as everything around them had been consumed. And that was the last thing they saw until the entire world was eclipsed.
Equestria. Afternoon.
Afterwards, the pulse came to an end as everything settled down. Both sides had suffered serious damage from Ash and Ghetsis' collision but the invasion carried on.
But elsewhere, Twilight and her friends were starting to wake up. They themselves felt the pulse from the otherworld even in their current state. An unconscious state that is.
"Ugh..." Twilight groaned with both her eyes opening. She noticed the blades of grass blowing in the wind at the first sight her eyes experienced. Twilight then sat up frantically, gasping as she just remembered about Zekrom. "Zekrom!"
When gasping, she quickly assessed the area around her. Lo and behold, right now, she was at the Frenzy Forest. But the only ponies here were Fluttershy, Spike, the older Spike, Rarity and Applejack. Rainbow Dash, Starlight, Goh and Trixie were nowhere to be found.
However, that's where the huge surprise came in. Speaking of Discord, when Fluttershy and the others awoke after witnessing Zekrom's Hyper Beam, they noticed someone else lying on the ground. Someone who wasn't stone anymore.
Discord.
"Discord!" Fluttershy gasped before flying over to the Spirit of Chaos' fainted body. He had been freed from the stone but had fainted either way. "Are you alright?! Discord!" Fluttershy put her hooves over Discord.
"That's weird...He's free?" Spike held his head after sitting up. "But you didn't use the Elements yet. Did you?"
"We didn't." Twilight shook her head. "We were heading for the Everfree Forest and then...Zekrom showed up, then it chased us down and..."
"Wait. Where is everypony else?" Rarity noticed the lack of the rest of her friends. They were nowhere to be found. "Did we split up again?"
"Chikorita wasn't with us this time." Applejack replied. "What happened now?"
"No clue." Twilight sighed. "The last thing I remember was Zekrom using Hyper Beam, Audino Mega Evolved and used Protect to try and shield us. And then, a huge pink glow covered us and the rest is just foggy."
"Great. We're back to square one now. This whole invasion's still going on and there's a rampaging Zekrom's on the loose." Applejack sighed. "Sceptile, you doing okay?"
"Tile?" Sceptile nodded as he had helped Pheromosa up. After being hit by Zekrom's lightning, Pheromosa's legs had taken the most damage as she twitched.
"Mosa."
"We can't stop now!" Twilight stood up tall. "We can still put an end to this invasion. The Empress has already lost most of the magic she's stolen so there's still a chance! There's just the issue of Zekrom and everything."
"But what made Discord faint?" Spike pointed over at Discord. "He never fainted before when he was released from the stone."
"It could've been that odd pulse. I felt some sort of Aura Pulse go off. That must've woken us all up." Twilight theorized. "Aura's one of the few things capable of interacting with Chaos Magic, so it wouldn't come as a surprise if that's what knocked Discord out."
"Do you think Ash did it?" Rarity asked. "Now that I think about it, where is he?"
"Delphox!" Just then, coming through the bushes of the Frenzy Forest, a familiar sound met their ears. Well, familiar to Twilight, Applejack, Espeon, Sceptile and an extent Togekiss.
Twilight and the others rotated around to find that Delphox had arrived. More specifically, the Delphox of the hut just up the hill. She had shown up after feeling the Aura Pulse and witnessing Twilight and the others unconscious on the ground from atop the hill.
"Oh! Delphox!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Toge?" Togekiss looked at Delphox as she felt familiar to her. Togekiss was an egg whilst residing in Delphox's hut a while back, so she's never seen her face before. But she has heard her voice before.
"Phox? Delpox?" Delphox asked if they were okay as Fluttershy had translated Delphox's words for everyone.
"We're fine. But our friend Discord, not so much." Fluttershy translated while looking over at Discord.
"Phox." The Fox Pokemon went over to Discord, seeing how he had fainted. Delphox placed her hands onto the Spirit of Chaos to try and read him. With just one touch, similar to how that other Mewtwo did, Delphox could tell the condition of Discord. "Del-Del," She told Fluttershy and the rest to bring him into her hut for resting. She would take things from there.
"Thank you so much, Delphox!" Fluttershy had a smile beaming on her face as the Fox Pokemon had picked Discord up, placing him on her back. Delphox then turned her attention to Togekiss who was giving her a dazed-out stare. Delphox herself knew that Togekiss had no recollection of ever meeting her before. Only hearing her voice while she was still an egg. Delphox then gave Togekiss a quick nod before walking away with Discord.
"Now what? Do we still try and stop Zekrom or find everypony else?" Applejack asked
"I think finding them before Zekrom harms them is the best option." Twilight nodded as she took out her Xtransceiver. "But where could Zekrom be?"
"Maybe all those black clouds in the distance can give a pretty good hint." Spike pointed out the array of clouds that had covered the sun, all due to Zekrom's presence.
The sunny azure skies had been masked by Zekrom's thunderous deep black clouds, bringing forth a vicious thunderstorm that would go on until this invasion was over and the Empress had declared victory.
Twilight and the others held their breath in as they knew there was a good chance they would bump into Zekrom once more. To make sure her friends were safe, Twilight used the Xtransceiver to contact Starlight first.
Out on a mountainside in Equestria.
Within the rubble, there laid Starlight Glimmer herself. Her Xtransceiver was ringing as Twilight was trying to reach her. But she couldn't answer at the moment.
Neither could Pinkie Pie, Goh, Trixie or Rainbow Dash at all. Unlike Twilight and the others, they were still unconscious as they laid either on the rubble or under the rubble. Unresponsive. Especially Rainbow Dash, who had been hit by one of Zekrom's bolts.
They laid unconscious there for a while until someone eventually found them. That someone was an individual who wasn't a part of the invasion at all. The species they were was a changeling. But not just any changeling. Before Chrysalis and the rest of the reformed changelings, there was one who had a kinder spirit than them all.
Thorax, of course. Alongside his Zorua.
He had found Starlight and everyone laying unconscious on the ground, in pretty bad shape too. Seeing this, Thorax had the immediate instinct to help them all, especially since each of them were friends of Ash. The changeling and the Zorua heard the distinct roar of thunder in the distance. Most likely Zekrom.
This isn't the first time Thorax has heard Zekrom's cry even. And it won't be the last. Acting quick, Thorax had to find a way to carry everyone and place them somewhere safe.
"Zorua. Transform into..." Thorax began thinking as he looked at Goh. Goh was definitely the tallest here. "Him."
"Zoru." The Tricky Fox Pokemon nodded as he jumped into the air, rolling around before turning himself into Goh. With this new appearance, Zorua could pick Starlight and the others off the ground with ease and hold them each. The perks of being a the height of a human.
Thorax also turned himself into Goh since that just made things easier too. Plus, someone else needed to carry the actual Goh himself.
Thorax picked up Goh, carrying him with his shoulder while Zorua picked up Starlight, Trixie and Rainbow Dash each. Afterwards, they heard some explosions go off in the distance. Most definitely from Zekrom. Hearing that, the two of them got a move on, heading for a place to put Starlight and the others for safety and recovery.
The Changeling Hive.
Speaking of recovery, Celestia and Passion still laid there with the cocoon, Fairy-Type Pokemon and Chrysalis trying to heal them to full strength. The healing was working but it would still take time considering how badly they were damaged by Zekrom's Hyper Beam. Plus, the crash landing just added to the damage.
"Oh..." Chrysalis held her horn as she lowered her magic. "That is all I can give out right now."
"Hm?" Adagio turned to Chrysalis.
"My magic is still limited. But, at least all of this healing is working."
"Good."
"Adagio. Shouldn't you be out there helping stop the invasion? Your sisters are in danger, aren't they?"
"My sisters are safe in Undella Town right now. They're fine." Adagio crossed her hooves while placing the Magic Siphoning Jar down. "Besides, I've played my part anyway. I just agreed and chose to take the magic from Empress Twilight and succeeded. What else can I do?"
"There's Zekrom." That's when Chrysalis reminded Adagio of the looming threat that was the Deep Black Pokemon Zekrom. Zekrom was still out there. "If Zekrom continues to rampage, then all of Equestria will be demolished. And then the world too. And who knows what will happen next?"
"It could go for the Pokemon World too..." Adagio then realized that there's a good chance Zekrom will destroy her and her sisters too. And even if her sisters remain in the Pokemon World, Adagio knows that the Empress will target that world as well. "You've got a point. But what can I do against Zekrom?"
"I don't know. But everyone out there is doing their best to protect this world. So will I. This is entire world is our home after all. Having it be destroyed or conquered by another world as cruel as the Empress' is just something that we can't allow to happen at all."
"Yeah." Adagio nodded in response as she looked at Celestia and Passion. She then turned to face the jar of magic next, thinking about something That's when a changeling ran inside of the hive, ready to give out more information to the Queen.
"Your majesty!"
"Hm? What happened now?! Did someone else crash here?!"
"No! It's the rest of our hive! I've just returned from the Gigalith Gorges! From where Zekrom is moving, it might appear here soon!"
"What?!" Chrysalis gasped.
"W-We're not 100% sure but all of its frantic movements are still aligned. We barely escaped from Zekrom back at the gorge. It could destroy the nearest land first and then soon, this hive or even to the far south!"
"The far south?!" Adagio's ears shot up after hearing that. "Ponyville's at the far south!" And over at Ponyville, the home that her sisters had made which they loved very dearly would be destroyed by Zekrom. Adagio couldn't allow her sisters to lose another home. Not like before.
"About Ponyville. It seems to be heading there next. We've figured out that Zekrom's movements are mostly in a zigzag position. Like an actual lightning bolt. First, it might go for Ponyville and any other location near it and then it will come for our hive if it followers that pattern."
"Anything in that direction will be obliterated..." Chrysalis spoke under her breath. "And you say you're not 100% sure?"
"S-Some of us tried to distract Zekrom so that it doesn't approach here. But we don't know if it will head here or not." The changeling shook her head.
"We need to do something immediately." Chrysalis bit her hoof. She knew that if Zekrom were to show up here, there's a guarantee that their new hive would be wiped off the face of the map. "We'll try another method to distract Zekrom. Whatever we can do."
"I've got a better idea." Adagio suddenly stepped up to the plate, having her own way of solving this problem as Chrysalis, Arcanine, the changelings and the Fairy-Type Pokemon all looked at her.
The pony-siren hybrid stood before Princess Celestia, looking down at her whited-out eyes. And within her hooves was the jar itself. She had one idea that she believed could greatly benefit everyone. Hopefully. And as she raised the jar, she uttered these words.
"I'm going to give her some of this alicorn magic."
Ponyville. Afternoon.
And just as the changeling theorized, Zekrom was indeed heading towards Ponyville. A bad omen filled the sky as Jade Skies, who was also in the shelter, shuddered at this ominous feeling.
But, up ahead, Saddle Lake, Lapras Lake, Bidoof Beach, WhiteTail Wood and so many other locations that are near Ponyvile were within Zekrom's sights. All of these locations were just small steps for Zekrom until he would reach Ponyville itself. He didn't need to do much to them. Just fly over and use the powerful wind pressure to destroy these locations. In fact, the thunderstorms he generated rained down and caused destruction too.
However, noticeably, Zekrom's aggression had been lowered a bit. This was because of the Aura Pulse. While Ash's Aura calmed Zekrom down, Ghetsis' filled Zekrom with more hatred than before. However, the two Auras had balanced things out, removing some of the rampaging instinctive energy that was plaguing Zekrom's body. The Deep Black Pokemon was fighting for control within his mind.
But the voice of Empress Twilight and darkness of Ghetsis were telling him to go on. So, unfortunately, Zekrom was still in a rampaging state, albeit one where he was trying to fight it.
Eventually, the Deep Black Pokemon arrived at Ponyville, ready to tear it down. Zekrom had flown over the land, right near Twilight's castle, causing more turbulent wind pressures. The Dragon-Electric-Type looked down at the town, deciding to use Hyper Beam to make this quick and efficient.
Zekrom opened his mouth, charging up the beam of Hyper-Energy s the residents of Ponyville could hear the buildup of something. But more importantly, Jade's Rift energy, while faint and hard to see, had kicked in. She had sensed Zekrom's arrival and the seemingly imminent destruction of Ponyville.
And for the first time, Jade's deadpan and monotone voice had reached a level that could be considered full of emotion as she stood up.
"Everypony, duck!"
With one final charge, Zekrom had built enough energy to destroy Ponyville. It looked like this would be the end of the humble and peaceful town. Until...
From within the grey clouds themselves, blue eyes flashed within them along with a blazing flame that was able to match the loud sounds of the thunderstorm. And through the clouds, the equal to Zekrom had flown out at high speeds, becoming a vast white blur and bashing Zekrom on the side before he could finish his attack.
Zekrom had been bashed in the side, interrupting Hyper Beam and cancelling the Normal-Type move out. Zekrom cried out as he had finally taken some heavy damage, causing him to be launched back. But it only made sense as one of the few Pokemon who could do this to him was none other than his opposite and equal at the same time.
Reshiram.
Reshiram was here to stop Zekrom. The Vast White Pokemon knew that Zekrom wasn't in his right mind. The purple glowing eyes were a dead giveaway that something was wrong.
Jade and a few ponies took a peek outside to see what was going on. Originally, she thought that the town would be blown up by an attack. But instead, it had been stopped. When looking outside, they had witnessed the sight of two giant dragons floating in the air. One of vast white and one of deep black.
And Team Rocket noticed this as well as they were also peeking through.
"Isn't that..." Jessie gasped while her eyes expanded.
"Reshiram!" James exclaimed.
"And Zekrom!" Meowth followed as everypony else decided to take a look at this. Soon, they all witnessed the two dragons up in the sky, staring each other down as they stayed silent.
"Zekrom. You may not be my world's Zekrom..." Reshiram spoke while Zekrom roared at the Vast White Pokemon with rage and familiarity. "But even I know you would never do this. I shall bring you back to your senses. Immediately."
"You're going to give her some of the alicorn magic?!" Chrysalis gasped. Right now, Adagio had a plan that could be considered grandiose. The jar used to absorb Empress Twilight's many alicorn magic essences would now be used on the fainted Princess Celestia herself.
"Only major thing I can think of. If we're gonna hope to stop Zekrom, best give some of that magic we took to Celestia." Adagio said as she was ready to open the jar while pointing it at Celestia.
"Are you sure? Won't it be overwhelming?" Chrysalis wasn't so sure about this gift of magic. Since Empress Twilight had so much magical power within her to the point where she seemed unbeatable and hard years to master them if Celestia were to retrieve it all without having the same buildup as the Empress the results could vary.
"It's fine. Just a bit will do." Adagio narrowed her eyes as she was going through it anyway. Chrysalis backed up, allowing Adagio to take it from here.
The pony-siren hybrid had opened the jar, utilizing its other function other than siphoning. To send magic to another individual. Out of the jar, the magical essences of several alicorns came flying out. And just like before, the force it exhibited was furious. When it was used against Empress Twilight, it acted like a black hole, pulling the magic with the intense force of a black hole to the point where the Empress herself was being pulled. In the case of releasing magic onto another, it had the force of an object moving at lightspeed through the sky or space.
Adagio closed one eye as her large mane was being blown by this tremendous force. And the same went for the changelings, Fairy-Type Pokemon, Arcanine and the captured forces in the cocoons. Chrysalis held on tight to Anthophilia while some other changelings held on to Arcanine for dear life.
The jar made a howling sound whilst all of the magic was filling Princess Celestia, granting her several essences and counting as Adagio was losing her footing. She felt like she had given Celestia enough magic. So far, a total of 50 different alicorn essences had entered Celestia. And more would enter if the jar was not closed. But Adagio herself was finding it hard to close it. All of this contained magic power being released was too much.
Chrysalis moved in to help Adagio close the jar as she put her hooves on the object of power. Both of them could feel the unnatural and overwhelming pressure coming from the jar as they both used their magic to try and hold it in place. The whole hive trembled from the force. And if this kept up, everything might be blown back by it.
"I-It's too much!" Adagio groaned as all the other changelings chimed in to help out. They all collectively put their hooves on the jar, making it a team effort to close it off before more leaks out. Even the Fairy-Type Pokemon joined in. Everyone added their strength to it, using all of their bones and everything they had to close this jar.
Celestia's eyes suddenly opened, flashing a heavenly white light as her body was outlined in it as well. With great team effort, everyone was able to close the lid as they fell on their backs.
The jar tumbled on the ground, rolling to the side as the amount of magic remaining inside was still plentiful. Around the millions to be exact. So far, only 100 of them had left the jar. But that 100 performed a miracle.
Everyone groaned as they felt a bit befuddled and numb after closing the jar and being next to all those flowing magical essences. They either sat or got off the ground, holding their heads and recovering. But, once they all regained their balance, they had witnessed something bright filling up the hive itself.
They saw stars fly by. Stars that looked like they came from the cosmos themselves. They flew through the air gently with light movements. They even made sounds that were similar to bells chiming. Adagio and everyone watched these stars fly by as they decorated the hive. Anything they came in contact with immediately latched onto them. Then, they all collectively looked to the source of the stars as they saw the unexpected.
A floating Celestia with cosmic energy surrounding body along with heavenly white energy. Her eyes were giving off a blue colour as millions of light rays shot out of her. But they didn't seem to make any contact. At this point, with all those alicorn magical essences flowing in her, Celestia had essentially ascended.
"Oh my..." Adagio's jaw dropped.
"Celestia..." Chrysalis finished her sentence. Before they knew it, the awoken Celestia had descended to the ground, gently touching the surface. Upon contact, her bright light spread out with billions of stars rising from the ground, flying through the hive and filling the air. Anyone outside would witness cosmic stars everywhere. Almost as if it was still nighttime.
However, this didn't last as Celestia's heavenly white aura and cosmic energy had faded after her body adjusted to the overflowing magical essences. Afterwards, Celestia groaned, holding her head and descending back on the cocoon, laying down on it.
"Ugh...Oh..." Celestia then took deep breaths in.
"Are you alright?" Chrysalis went over to Celestia to see her condition. Even if she was awake, having all that magic in her would be overwhelming.
"I'm..." Celestia blinked repeatedly before looking at her hooves. She then realized how she felt and it was another kind of feeling. "I still feel a bit off and weak but...I also feel wonderful actually. Better than ever. This is amazing. How did this happen? What spell did you use?"
"No spells." Adagio shook her head before pointing at the Magic Siphoning Jar. "I sent some of the magic from that jar inside to instantly heal you. Looks like it was worth it."
"You used the jar? Then..." Celestia soon realized why she felt so wonderful and powerful at the moment. Celestia was a bit fearful of overwhelming power due to how easily it can corrupt someone. "How many magical essences came out?"
"Not sure. It got too hectic." Adagio responded. "I had to heal you somehow, ya know. Guess it wasn't a full recovery. Sorry if that's not what you wanted or anything."
"It's fine. I understand. But having all of this magical power is just something I would've never thought I'd obtain. Well...aside from that one time in Passion's own world inside her mind."
"Well, it's splendid that you're awake. But there are larger problems. Zekrom and the invasion, remember?" Chrysalis reminded the alicorn of the Deep Black Pokemon and the invasion.
"Oh, right...!" Celestia gasped. "We were meant to stop Zekrom's rampage! Where is Zekrom now?!"
"Right now, it's most likely heading towards Ponyville to destroy it. And after that, it could arrive here soon in an hour or less." Adagio explained.
"However, it's not a guarantee that it'll arrive here after that. But if Zekrom aims to destroy everything, then eventually, it'll arrive here. It moves in some sort of zig-zag pattern like an actual lightning bolt."
"I see." Celestia bit her lip before turning her head to face Passion. "Passion." She muttered, seeing that the cocoon was still healing her. Unfortunately, since Passion wasn't an alicorn, the magical essence wasn't given to her. Only Celestia. However, Celestia needed her partner now more than ever. "Chrysalis. Adagio. I'll still need time to rest along with Passion. In the meantime take-" Celestia was about to use her magic to grab something. But that's where the spectacle began.
Because of Celestia having the might of 100 alicorns plus her Boundless Cutie Mark, the effects of her spells had been amplified to a horrifying degree. When she lit her horn up, rather than showcasing its usual golden light, it gave off something greater. A mixture of two different kinds of lights. While her original golden light was shown, alongside it, a cosmic light akin to that of the deep reaches of space flared from her horn as Celestia herself had been started. Plus everyone else.
The light expanded to the point where it consumed the entire hive in less than a second, brightening the hive and anything near it. Even the skies themselves had been lit up by Celestia's solar cosmic light. Celestia herself hovered uncontrollably above the cocoon from this overwhelming flow of magic.
"Not even simple usage of magic can contain it?" Celestia put her hoof over her horn, perplexed by how powerful she's become. She sat up, trying to take all of this in.
"Everything you do seems to be extravagant," said Chrysalis.
"Well, it's not my fault the jar is super reactive to alicorn magic." Adagio shrugged.
"Well then..." Celestia sighed before laying back on the cocoon. She then started making out her next plans once she recovers. "At least I'll recover quickly. And then...I'll personally head to the Empress myself. If she's at a weaker state with less magic and I myself have new magic...well I'm sure you know the rest. And then afterwards, I'll see if I can block out the gateways to her world with my own magic and the Travel Sphere."
"Hopefully before Zekrom shows up. If it arrives here, I could lose another home and-" Chrysalis whimpered, lowering her head and fearing for her subjects. Thinking about her new hive's possible demise reminded her of what Ghetsis had done to the previous hive.
"You won't lose another home." Celestia suddenly intervened, giving a hopeful smile. "Zekrom's rampage will be stopped. I know of one Pokemon who can do so."
"Who?"
Reshiram.
Over at Ponyville, Reshiram was facing off against Zekrom, aiming to stop his fellow dragon's rampage. Reshiram knew that Zekrom wasn't in his right mind. The purple glowing eyes made it very clear. Right over at Ponyville's shelter, Team Rocket and everyone else in the shelter were peeking through the open parts of the underground shelter, witnessing the two dragons face off against each other.
And before they knew it, they engaged in battle. The two of them charged at each other first, causing double sonic booms from their movements. And just like that, the Dragons of Truth and Ideals clashed heads with each other via a double head smash.
As a result of the two of them butting heads, they emitted their own shockwaves from the collision. Shockwaves great enough to blow away the clouds, shatter the windows of Ponyville and such. Team Rocket and everypony immediately ducked after seeing the shockwave spread out and kick up dust.
They separated after their head collision. They both barely felt the collision of their heads and took little damage from it. Reshiram looked to the side, noticing the ponies, Team Rocket and other Pokemon in the shelter underground. The Vast White Pokemon knew that he had to both snap Zekrom out of it and protect innocents from being harmed. Easier said than done considering he and Zekrom are equals, no matter which universe it may be. But Reshiram was dedicated to doing his best.
The Vast White Pokemon then flew into the skies, aiming to get Zekrom as far away from innocent lives as possible. Zekrom chased after him, moving at the same speed he was. Reshiram ascended higher into the skies to avoid having his wing flaps obliterated the buildings below.
After ascending high into the sky, Zekrom had shot out a flurry of blue volts to try and shoot Reshiram down. Reshiram looked back, noticing the lightning bolts flying his way as he then sped up, using his speed to try evading these blue bolts.
Reshiram spun around some of them, keeping his head in one direction instead of turning around or looking back at all. And for the lightning bolts that Reshiram evaded, they crashed into some nearby hills in the far distance, levelling them in the process. Anything that Zekrom does will result in something being destroyed.
Reshiram kept spinning, ascending and descending to avoid the incoming bolts as large grey smoke clouds cluttered the skies from all of Zekrom's bolts missing and hitting the land instead. Reshiram flew through the large smoke clouds as more bolts came crashing through them as well with Zekrom roaring. Zekrom could fire as many bolts as he wanted to while also flying towards Reshiram, giving chase to the Dragon of Truth.
Some of the bolts flew alongside Reshiram, racing against the Vast White Pokemon to try and catch him. But Reshirom eluded those by making his flying patterns unpredictable. Eventually, Zekrom had summoned enough lightning bolts to the point where even Reshiram couldn't evade them all. Zekrom's tenacity kept growing with each passing second.
Seeing this, Reshiram decided to then deflect some of the bolts by using his wings to do so. The Vast White Pokemon could most certainly keep up with lightning, let alone one that comes from his equal as they are both halves of the world's strongest Dragon Pokemon after all.
But, Reshiram had successfully driven Zekrom away from Ponyville from their chase. At least for now. After doing so, Reshiram deflected the last of the lightning bolts as he was ready to retaliate against Zekrom. The Dragon of Truth then let out his own roar as he was finally about to strike.
By using Dragon Claw, Reshiram's wing lit up with a scarlet energy as Zekrom had bashed into Reshiram's chest before he could pull it off. While Reshiram did stagger from that head-on bash, he still went through with Dragon Claw. The Vast White Pokemon swung his wing as he slapped Zekrom directly in the face with it. Now it was Zekrom who staggered as Reshiram delivered another slap with his other wing, moving Zekrom's face to the side.
Zekrom roared as he was given one last Dragon Claw to the face by Reshiram and this one just ended up knocking him away from his counterpart. The Dragon of Ideals hurled through the air, breaking through the clouds and revealing parts of the summer sun as Reshiram soared upwards, chasing after him.
The Dragon of Truth opened his mouth, ready to use one of his signature moves, Fusion Flare. Reshiram instantly, without any build-up, fired a large sphere of flames with two rings surrounding it from its mouth at the Deep Black Pokemon.
Zekrom, after recovering through the air and trailing towards Reshiram, had swayed his body to the side, evading the giant sphere of Fusion Flare in the process. After evading it, he continued to fly after Reshiram as Fusion Blare blew up in the sky, separating the grey clouds.
The Dragon of Ideals then used Zen Headbutt, lighting his head up with mental energy as he smashed it right onto Reshiram's head. And this time contact with the held actually did something as Reshiram cried out whilst being swatted away. But after Zen Headbutt, Reshiram immediately retaliated with Fusion Flare, opening his mouth and releasing the same violent sphere of flames once more. Zekrom was closer this time, so swaying away to avoid it wouldn't do. Instead, he put up his wings, using them to block the giant sphere.
The smoke emerged with Zekrom immediately flying through it. When emerging from the smoke, the Deep Black Pokemon had used Fusion Bolt in retaliation. His tail had already been lit up with its blue energy as he smashed the giant sphere of electricity around his body onto Reshiram, sending 20,000,000 volts through his body while also tackling him. Reshiram himself had been rocketed like a slingshot towards the ground.
In just 3 seconds, despite how high he was, the descent was so fast that he was close to ground level. However, Reshiram recovered from this knockback, flapping his wings before he could hit the ground. He was just a few metres away from it as the dust blew from Reshiram's arrival. Zekrom wasn't done yet. The Deep Black Pokemon was still approaching with Fusion Bolt as he moved at high speeds.
Reshiram turned around to see Zekrom's approach as he responded to Fusion Bolt with Fusion Flare. This time, there was a bit of a buildup with this one as Reshiram's tail revved up like an engine. Right when Zekrom was close to Reshiram, just by 2 metres, the Vast White Pokemon then released Fusion Flare forward.
The two Fusion moves met with each other with Zekrom crashing into the giant sphere of scorching flames. The result was a paroxysm of explosive plasma energy from the two elements colliding and reacting to each other. Plasma filled the atmosphere as the air itself had been burned away, removing all life from it. But that didn't matter to these two dragons.
From the explosive outburst, both Reshiram and Zekrom had taken damage. Fusion Flare managed to match Zekrom's Fusion Bolt in power, knocking the Dragon of Ideals back while Reshiram himself was knocked back by the explosion that was birthed by the two moves blowing up.
Now this time, Reshiram was definitely sent to the ground while Zekrom went further into the sky. Both had flames and electricity surrounding their body after the resulting explosion as Reshiram crashed into the ground.
The Vast White Pokemon tumbled a bit, leaving some craters behind from his impact as Zekrom was able to recover quicker since he was airborne. He watched the Dragon of Truth roll around as he pursued him, even if he hadn't recovered yet.
Reshiram broke through some trees with how fast he was sliding across the ground. Eventually, he was able to recover but not until he crashed into a large hill. The Vast White Pokemon groaned with electricity sparking around his body. Reshiram stood up from the hill as it had crumbled behind him. After getting up, he was immediately tackled by Zekrom who rapidly moved through the skies.
Zekrom with his high-velocity tackle, sent the Dragon of Truth through the rest of the hills, crashing through them and driving Reshiram away from this landscape. The Dragon of Ideals then placed his claw on Reshiram's face, dragging him through the ground. The Deep Black Pokemon had also covered himself in electricity while also tackling Reshiram, sending 20,000,000 volts through his other half.
Reshiram groaned as Zekrom kept pushing him through the land, breaking through as many mountains and hills as possible while the sparks from Zekrom's electric aura flew everywhere, burning the grass and leaving huge holes in the process. Eventually, Zekrom had driven Reshiram to the one place Reshiram hoped to avoid.
Ponyville.
Team Rocket and the others within the shelter could see that Reshiram and Zekrom were heading back here but this time on a ground level as a giant trail had been made from Zekrom continuously dragging Reshiram.
"Awesome!" Scootaloo was too busy fangirling over this to notice the approaching danger as Jade's Rift energy was showing itself in a faint light. Once more, it seemed like Jade could respond to incoming danger, another one of her capabilities as a Rift Pony. Even if she wasn't aware of it.
Jade herself didn't have the horn of a unicorn for protective magic, however, unbeknownst to her, thanks to her Rift abilities, she placed a protective cosmic aura around everyone and Ponyville itself. Something within her knew that most of Ponyville would be demolished when Reshiram ends up being dragged here. Everyone noticed the protective magic surround their bodies and town but no one quite knew where it was coming from. Since they were all covered with it, it was hard to tell which pony originated it.
Eventually, Reshiram and Zekrom had arrived here with the Deep Black Pokemon dragging him across the grounds of Ponyville. Reshiram's eyes flashed blue as he didn't want any innocent lives being harmed. With some extra strength, the Vast White Pokemon kicked Zekrom's stomach a few times, causing the Deep Black Pokemon's grip to loosen. And when losing his grip, Reshiram put both of his legs on Zekrom's stomach, pushing them upwards and forcing the Dragon of Ideals off of him.
But after being pushed off, Zekrom then fired Thunderbolt from his mouth in response. Reshiram quickly responded by using Flamethrower. Two equally powerful moves met as a beam struggle between Flamethrower and Thunderbolt occurred. The flames and sparks started flying out as the intense heat from both of their attacks were so great that not even Jade's protective Rift magic could fully protect the town. But, it was still effective in holding some of the magic back.
Seeing the sparks and flames fly out, landing everywhere on Ponyville while Jade's magic was trying to hold everything back, everypony within the shelter figured that now might be a good time to run off as the flames and sparks were even raining near the shelter.
"Time to go!" Jessie gulped as she jumped out of the shelter. She was the first to realize that not even this underground shelter could protect them from the battle of two dragons. Let alone two halves of the world's strongest dragon. And she made the right call! She, Team Rocket and everypony else immediately started evacuating the shelter as one of Zekrom's lightning bolts crashed through the ground, entering the Ponyville shelter.
The clash between Flamethrower and Thunderbolt came to an end with both attacks cancelling each other out, resulting in an immediate explosion. After the large smoke emerged, Zekrom went on the offensive once more, catching Reshiram off guard with an up-close Dragon Pulse. Reshiram's eyes widened as he had been blasted by a giant dragon-shaped shockwave. After being staggered by Dragon Pulse, Zekrom followed up by using Dragon Claw, returning the favour of Reshiram slapping him earlier.
But Zekrom stepped it up, after slapping Reshiram, he then used Dragon Claw to hold Reshiram's head of all things. The Deep Black Pokemon had Reshiram in a hold as he then used his giant knee to strike Reshiram in the stomach. Reshiram cried out with a roar as Zekrom repeated this process a couple of times.
After taking a few hits in the stomach from Zekrom's knee, Reshiram then lit his body on fire, increasing the heat to match that of magma itself. Now it was Zekrom who cried out after healing the intense heat of Reshiram's flames, forcing him to let go of the Dragon of Truth.
Afterwards, once he was free from the hold, Reshiram then bashed into Zekrom, forcing him into the skies and further away from innocents. Everypony looked up, witnessing the battle of dragons take place as so far, none of them were affected or harmed in any way.
But that possibility could still play out as Zekrom had bit onto Reshiram's wings as a surprise attack. After biting onto Reshiram and Reshiram himself wincing, Zekrom spun around whilst holding Reshiram's wing with his teeth. The Deep Black Pokemon then tossed Reshiram towards the ground by letting his bite go.
Reshiram hurled through the sky, regaining his balance as he yet again, showed that he would do what he could to protect innocents. After being pushed away, Zekrom decided to manipulate the skies themselves. The thunderstorm rumbled as Zekrom had summoned an array of lightning bolts from the skies as they flooded the entirety of Ponyville.
Reshiram looked up as everywhere he looked, thunderbolts were raining down from the grey clouds that Zekrom had made. Too many for him to really fight back against. However, that wasn't what was important to Reshiram. While he flew around, avoiding some of the thunderbolts, he noticed that these bolts were threatening not just the buildings but the ponies and Pokemon that lived here.
Everyone started screaming in fear as 500,000 volts of electricity crashed onto the ground, leaving craters everywhere as they even broke through Jade's protective Rift magic, damaging the buildings themselves. Some of the aerial Pokemon were in for a bad time with all of these bolts raining down as screams of fear and panic filled the area.
Some ponies were being knocked off their feet from the crashing thunderbolts as it felt like they were being caged in. No matter where they went, lightning rained everywhere. The Pokemon were helping their trainers up each time they got up, but they took the risk of being electrocuted.
"Wobbuffet! Do something with Mirror Coat!" Jessie screeched as she picked Wobbufet as a shield.
"W-Wobbu?!" Wobbuffet gasped as he witnessed a multitude of lightning bolts crashing towards him. He used Mirror Coat by covering his body in a rainbow aura as he also shook his head, not wanting to feel the force of all of those lightning bolts hit them.
Once those lightning bolts struck, the Patient Pokemon felt the brunt of it all as he took all of the electric shocks of a thunderstorm within his body, causing him to jitter about. However, it wasn't in vain as Mirror Coat had been initiated. Once everything had simmered in, Wobbuffet's body flashed as he reflected all of the lightning bolts thrown at him back at Zekrom.
At the speed of light, the Deep Black Pokemon had been struck by his own attack, which certainly took him by surprise as he roared. Reshiram gave Wobbuffet an approving smile, thanking him for the assistance. The Vast White Pokemon then put on his serious face once more as he noticed that some of the lightning bolts were aiming for the Cutie Mark Crusaders next.
The three little fillies, while they had outsped mostly everyone else because of their young age, unfortunately, made them victims of the lightning bolts that would fall in front of them.
The three of them gasped as they came to a screeching halt when eight lightning bolts crashed in front of them before their very eyes, leaving craters. They even jumped since they had a fear of thunder. And considering that there's a constant thunderstorm going off, it wasn't a pleasant time for them at the moment.
But the moment they came to a halt, that allowed the other lightning bolts to close in as they were about to strike the three little fillies. There was no way for them to evade this. They could not move at the speed of lightning even if they wanted to. All they saw was the flash of light cover them as it felt like everything was slowing down. Scootaloo herself had her mouth slowly open and her eyes widen as she was the only one who realized what was coming their way, even if she wasn't fast enough to evade it.
Until...
Reshiram came flying in, standing over the Cutie Mark Crusaders and using his body as a shield. As a shield, Reshiram had taken the lightning bolts for the three of them as all of those volts had crashed onto his back, causing the Vast White Pokemon to close his eyes.
That's when the three fillies gasped as they turned around, realizing who was behind them. They heard the sound of thunder crash as they looked up, witnessing the Dragon of Truth protect them. Reshiram had smiled before the three little girls as his back was smoking.
"Are you three alright?" He asked them.
"Mhm!" The three of them nodded.
"Find a place to hide as soon as you can. I will make sure to snap Zekrom out of it and prevent the destruction of your world."
"But it's really hard to hide somewhere! There's like a bunch of ships probably everywhere and-"
"You don't have to worry about that. There's a reason why I took so long to eventually find Zekrom." The Dragon of Truth knew something deep within as he stood up tall, facing Zekrom and the thunderbolts raining down in the sky. "Now go. All of you. If more of those invading forces show up through those gateways, I will come and hopefully with Zekrom by my side."
"Alright! Thanks, Reshiram!" Sweetie Belle said as the ponies and Pokemon kept moving onwards. Reshiram continued to act as a shield for the innocents, protecting them from the lightning bolts.
Reshiram saw that this could go on forever. He and Zekrom were practically equalled in strength. Either one of them could lose at any given time. The Vast White Pokemon had to put an end to this as soon as he could. After the ponies, Pokemon and Team Rocket plus Zecora had gotten a good distance away, Reshiram took the skies at hyper speeds, leaving a shockwave and sonic boom behind.
Zekrom himself roared as he was going for a Dragon Claw. But Reshiram quickly shifted into Giga Impact, covering his body in an invisible white aura before crashing into the Dragon of Ideals. Afterwards, Reshiram pushed Zekrom into the sky, entering the thick grey clouds. And that was the last the ponies of Ponyville saw the two dragons as a red and blue spark could be seen glowing in the grey sky.
At least, that was the last time for now.
Pyrestar's world.
The aftermath of Ash and Ghetsis' clashing Aura and Rift energy together was something to behold. After the flash of light, the area before them was clear. All that remained as an appropriately sized crater that matched the sheer scale of the flashing light. The gateways had all vanished but their presence was still there. As for the unicorns that live here, they had been shielded by Ash's Aura through all of that, including Pikachu and Lucario.
"Pi...Pikachu?" Pikachu rubbed his eyes, witnessing the rest of the smoke clear. "Pikapi?!" He then saw Ash's silhouette through the smoke, standing there with the staff still in his hand.
But also through the smoke, Ghetsis' silhouette could be seen as he was also holding his own staff. The two of them stood still as once the smoke cleared, they were in pretty bad shape. Overexerting all of that energy had done a lot to them.
Ash and Ghetsis were both breathing as they were barely able to move. Ash couldn't let go of the staff since it kept him stable and balanced. The same went for Ghetsis.
Ghetsis himself wanted to use his Dark Magic to strike Ash down since he could barely move at all, but Ghetsis couldn't move either. And if he did, he took the risk of falling off balance. They had practically used everything they had. However, Ash hasn't entered the state of Delayed Aura Ataxia. The staff was keeping him stable, plus his own Aura had been suppressed, so Ash was just on the verge of it.
"M-Man..." Ash groaned. "That's it for me."
"C-Curses...If I could just move..!" Ghetsis growled, trying to summon some crystals. But everything he had been expended. Behind him, the castle was falling. And why wouldn't it? Everything was starting to crumble down as the unicorns started fleeing from the collapsing castle.
"Lucario!" Lucario quickly took the Travel Sphere from Ash's pocket, seeing that everything was about to come apart. He immediately thought of the place that would be the safest to retreat to.
"Lord Ghetsis!" Colress said, holding a box of all the Poke Balls that contained the Legendary Pokemon. He also had his own Travel Sphere ready, opening the gateway. "We need to leave now! We can retreat to the other world and recoup!"
"Not until...I end that brat once and for all!" Ghetsis roared as he was attempting to walk forward. But, at the pace he was moving at, the castle would crush him before he could even get there.
Seeing this, Colress and the Shadow Triad held Ghetsis back, preventing him from going any further as one of the Triad Members spoke. "Lord Ghetsis!"
"Let me go!" Ghetsis yelled as he had been pulled inside of the gateway with Colress retrieving Hydreigon with Ghetsis' own Poke Ball. Lucario had carried Ash over his shoulder, as he and Pikachu were entering their own gateway. "Ash Ketchum...! I will-"
And that was that. Ghetsis' voice faded away in the background as he had fully entered the gateway. Afterwards, the gateway had closed on both sides.
The unicorns had all gotten a safe distance as they witnessed the castle finally fall. After so long, after all these years, it had finally given out. This was the end of this world's Canterlot Castle. But not for Canterlot overall.
And with one large crash, the castle was done for as everypony gave their respects to this once great building of royalty. Afterwards, they went off, feeling a tad bit refreshed after seeing Ghetsis and Team Plasma being driven out. That wasn't the only thing that refreshed them.
When one of the unicorns turned around, she noticed and felt something brush up on her hoof. Something that didn't feel like the hard stone she and her fellow unicorns have been trotting on for years. Instead, it felt like something that had been missing for years.
And soon, she and the other unicorns felt it as they all looked to the ground to witness the force of nature itself restoring itself.
Grass.
This world was given grass once more as tiny blades of them were gradually popping out of the ground, giving green tints. It was slow but it was there. Everypony gasped as seeing grass again was essentially the most beautiful thing they've ever witnessed. And for a good reason.
And now the ponies knew that Ash was telling the truth. Their world truly was being restored by other ponies from the other world. With that, the unicorns could do nothing else but thank Ash as they were going to remember his promise. They were even expecting him to return soon.
Equestria. Out in the mountainside. Afternoon.
"Ah!" Starlight Glimmer had just woken up with her heart beating fast. She had just recovered from her unconscious state not too long ago. Immediately, the unicorn turned her head around to see the area around her. She felt a rush of uncontrollable fear and adrenaline going through her. "W-Where am I?!"
"Starlight! It's okay!" Just then, one of her friends calmed her down. Goh was the one who did so. Turns out, he was awake as well. Earlier than Starlight. It wasn't just him. Next to Goh were Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Trixie and their Pokemon. As well as a certain changeling that brought them in for safety.
"Goh?" Starlight breathed in and out as she had witnessed her friends here. If they were here then she did not need to worry. Her heart slowed down as her panic subsided. She took a moment to assess the area around her. "Oh...You're all...we..."
"Still here. This is like the second time we've been hit by a super big blast." Pinkie Pie giggled. "Mew here saved us by doing one big teleport! But uh...we got separated again."
"Mew!"
"Again..." Starlight sighed. "At least we're still safe...Where are we now?"
"Well, it's a cave for starters. And we were saved by Thorax and Zorua over here." Rainbow Dash spoke, pointing her hoof at the two responsible for bringing them all here.
"Hi." Thorax grinned while giving a wave with Zorua doing the same.
"Zorua!"
"Thorax? Oh. Th-Thanks..." Starlight nodded as she needed some more time to breathe. "Is the invasion over?"
"No." Throax shook his head. "Far from it. It's just getting bigger. Zorua and I have been avoiding all the conflict so far and just helping others in need."
"Zoru."
"And Zekrom?"
"Mm?" Rainbow Dash shrugged. "That jerk's gonna pay for shocking me ten-fold. Plus it kinda fried my Xtranseicer."
"Mine took a pretty bad beating too from that teleporting." Pinkie looked at her own Xtransceiver. "But the voice message thing still works."
"Now we've got a big problem of Zekrom rampaging around..." Goh sighed. "How are we gonna deal with this?"
"Not sure but..." Starlight scrunched her face before concluding on something. She then recalled something Twilight brought up that they could do during the invasion. "We may not be able to stop Zekrom, but we can save lives." She suddenly stood up. "Thorax and Zorua saved us right? Then there are most definitely other ponies, Pokemon or even other changelings that need rescuing. Some of them may not have taken shelter yet."
"Ooh...!" Pinkie Pie and Mew nodded in agreement.
"If there's anypony we can find then...we can bring them to safety to the Pokemon World, right?" Starlight said.
"Guess so," Goh responded. "But that's gonna be a lot of species to save and everything."
"I know. But we have to try. Besides, we can get creative with the gateways, can't we?" Starlight stepped forward.
"You all can do that. I'm gonna see if I can try and stop this invasion still." Rainbow Dash chose to take a different approach to all of this. "Anyone else?"
"We can chime in." Pinkie and Mew looked up at Rainbow Dash. We should probably get back to helping free Discord too. He'd be some really big help in all of this. What about you, Goh and Trixie?"
"The Great and Powerful Trixie has some students that live here. I can't let them get hurt from all of this. I need to make sure they're okay, after all."
"I'll help out with saving others. Not sure I can handle another adrenaline rush like that. Unless..." Goh thought for a moment.
"Got it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as Pinkie took out her Xtransceiver to give Twilight and the others a voice message. "And Thorax?"
"I think I'd prefer helping others. That sounds nice. But there's also my hive and I want to help out there but...Not sure they're gonna be happy with me if I return."
"No need to worry." Pinkie put her hoof around Thorax. "I'm sure they'll be happy to have you back."
"Mew! Mew-Mew!" And Mew agreed by spinning around in the air.
"Hmmrgh..." Thorax had a small little whimper as he wondered if they would accept him back. He's heard that the Changelings are different from what they used to be, so the chances look different than what he thought.
"Let's go." Starlight walked forward as she looked at the Poke Ball that had Hatterene inside. "Hopefully, Hatterene doesn't harm anyone this time."
"See you soon!" Rainbow Dash already took off with Mew transforming himself into a Garchomp for Pinkie to ride on. The pink pony jumped onto the back of the transformed New Species pokemon as Mew himself took off like a rocket.
"Garchomp!"
Everyone had their own jobs to do now. Rainbow Dash was going to help stop the invasion since she is a Wonderbolt and the rest of the Wonderbolts are doing what they can as well, Pinkie Pie was in the same boat but she would also search for her friends. Trixie was aiming to help others alongside Starlight, Goh and Thorax, plus her students that naturally come to her Great and Powerful Magic School could be in trouble. It wasn't a guarantee that everyone had found shelter.
After all, the invasion happened all of a sudden at an unexpected time.
Meanwhile. Kingdra Durance.
As for Twilight's group, they were following the black clouds that were made by Zekrom, hoping to track the Deep Black Pokemon down. Unfortunately, Zekrom had been moving all over the place so rapidly that it was hard to tell where he was now. Audino was doing her best to hear for him, but so far, she got nothing.
Twilight's group specifically were more focused on stopping Zekrom from causing any further destruction to the world that they love. But they also thought about the many forces still standing in the invasion.
Over at Kingdra Durance, they had witnessed an overwhelming sight over at the large sea that surrounds Kingdra Durance. There, many of Celestia's forces were facing off against the Empress' forces. As usual, those giant ships were in the sky, giving the Empress' forces the aerial advantage. They had already defeated the Probopass which were major players in a situation like this. All that was left were the Golurk and other Pokemon in this area.
However, another advantage was coming. While the forces of Celestia could deal with their aerial opponent's thanks to Probopass, Golurk and the others, there was one other world-based threat they had to deal with.
Forces from the sea.
Gateways boomed out from the sea themselves. Not the sky or the land. From the gateways, the Empress had forces that could cover the sea as well and anything on it.
And what came out was the other kind of ship. The ship that governs the waters. More specifically, in this case, battleships. Each of them standing at a stupendous 227m length and a beam of 31.5m at best. A total of 45,000 long tons graced these battleships as each were equipped with 14 cannons on the side.
Noticeably, each of the ships had these strange metal wires everywhere on each part. Even on the deck. It was a bit of an unusual look for a ship to have something that looked like a cage. The ships themselves looked like they were being caged by these metal wires anyway.
"Look at the size of things!" One soldier said as the rest gawked at the ships.
"Pssh. They're sitting ducks." Another soldier said. "One Electric-Type attack and they're done for. Observe. Golurk, Thunder Punch on the water!"
"Lurk!" One Golurk did just that by sparking up electricity around its hand. After doing so, the Automaton Pokemon struck its electrified fist onto the water, immediately spreading 50,000 volts at rapid and frantic speeds. Anything that touches the electricity while the water might have a bit of an unpleasant result.
And the soldiers within the battleships saw this. However, they weren't worried for a second surprisingly. And for a good reason. Once the electricity reached the ships, all of a sudden, instead of just frying the ship itself or causing substantial damage to it, the result ended up being a block out.
Zero effect.
"...That's not supposed to happen." The soldier said, a bit flabbergasted on why the ships hadn't taken any damage from the effects of Thunder Punch in the sea.
"Those are wires block out the electricity!" Twilight exclaimed, alerting the soldiers. "See?!"
"They do?" The soldiers then turned around before witnessing the cannons of the battleships charge up. And of course, they had magic rays as well. But this time, their explosion levels were far more volatile than the aerial ships and one difference was that they were in the shape of spheres.
Out of the cannons came the spheres as up in the skies, the aerial ships also started firing. Soon, there was a bombardment of two different magical attacks. One in the sky and one in the sea. The soldiers and the Pokemon immediately took cover behind the Golurk wall that had been formed. Walls of Light Screens, Protects and Reflects were formed. Plus even a Wide Guard in there.
The Golurk acted as the perfect defence for any incoming ranged attacks and their own bulky defence helped against that as the magical attacks blew up in front of them.
"How do we get past those wires then?!" A troop asked.
"We'll just break them, of course!" Another troop replied.
"Wait...What is that?" Fluttershy noticed each of the ships open up hatches on the side. All of them had hatch doors, similar to the aerial ships above. And much like the aerial ships above, a giant box emerged from them. This box was floatier than the rest as it could float above the water instead of sinking deep down.
And of course, if there's a box coming out of the Empress' ships, then something troublesome is inside. And in this case, it was another robot as the doors of the box opened up, revealing a new robotic creation from within. Twilight and everyone, while hiding behind the Golurk, peered their eyes and head over to see what was emerging from the box.
And out of it came a serpent-like figure that slithered out of the box and onto the sea, creating waves ripples along the way whilst also swimming. They had metallic fins with green spheres on the side. Sharp lizard-like eyes that were made out of crystals plus their tails were so long that not only could they hit anything from afar without even looking at their targets, but there was a sharp end to them. And of course, they had those wires too.
"It's like a sea serpent!" Rarity gasped.
"They really made robotic models out of every creature from the Everfree Forest, didn't they?" Applejack gawked.
"No time to be gazing! Look!" Twilight pointed her hoof at the serpents, noticing what else they were doing once they came close to shore.
The Robotic Sea Serpents jumped out of the water as they had sprouted legs of all things, much to everyone's chagrin. Not only did they have oceanic coverage but even the land as well was covered. After coming on land with a hard descent, the Robotic Sea Serpents used their ridiculous length, causing a tail whip by turning around.
The giant array of tails scraped the ground, kicking up some of the sand along the way. But more importantly, the fore and speed of these tail swings were so strong that they managed to break through the defences the Golurk had made, shattering the protective screens.
"Golurk!" Each of the Golurk cried as the tails also struck them, launching them away. Soon after, once they sent the Golurk away, the Robotic Sea Serpents then focused on the troops and rest of the Pokemon while still facing the other way. The sharp tip of their tails started spinning around as they swung them vigorously, trying to hit their prey.
The troops and the Pokemon made a run for it as their defences had been dropped, allowing for the cannons to pass through. They ran away from the approaching explosions of magic and the large metallic serpents that were after them. Twilight and her friends took cover as some of the rays and spheres landed near them. They had just recovered from Zekrom and now there was a chance they could faint again.
"What do we do!?" Spike asked. "Do we go after the wires first or...!"
"That's probably for the best. They're large... but yikes are they fast." Twilight gulped. "Those wires will block out any electric attacks we try. They're like Faraday Cages."
"Faraday Cages?" Her friends each said.
"They're cages that can block out electromagnetism. Even if the Probopass are down and out, their own magnetism abilities won't do it for this." Twilight explained as she covered her ears from a nearby explosion. "Our best option is to shatter the wires. They aren't immune to Fire, Fighting and Ground after all. Anyone that has a Pokemon with Fire-Type or Fighting-Type attacks should either go up close or afar."
"I can-" Spike was about to speak until one of the Robotic Sea Serpents broke through the sandy hill that they all hid behind. Twilight and everyone screamed as they had been startled. The serpent opened its mouth wide, ready to crush the ponies, dragon and Pokemon in its metal jaws. And inside was a black void to replicate its stomach.
Twilight covered her friends in magic, successfully teleporting them away from the serpent before they could be bitten. However, even if the serpent missed, it had one other trick. It re-opened its mouth with the spheres on the side of its fins glowing. And within its mouth, a purple sphere of magic could be seen.
These robots can utilize magic as well. Twilight gasped as she then put up a protective dome of magic around her friends as the robotic creature unleashed a ray of magic. The magic ray crashed into Twilight's protective dome, resulting in the serpent being forced to try and break through it.
Twilight didn't let her shield down since if she did, one hit from that magic ray could harm her friends. And that's a risk she couldn't take.
To make matters worse, more of the serpents were getting close with the ships each approaching at a closer distance. Celestia's side was starting to feel the pressure as many troops and Pokemon had fainted. While the serpent kept firing magic onto Twilight's shield, another one was coming up from behind.
And this one had swung its metallic sharp tail onto Twilight's shield, dealing further damage to it. Twilight gasped as she was surrounded on both sides. And soon, it might as well be all sides as more serpents began flooding the beaches of the Kingdra Durance.
Once the ships got close to shore, the troops within the battleships were ready to jump out and engage while the rest handle the cannons. The magic ray and tails kept striking the barrier as everyone was trying to figure out a way out of this. That is when some unexpected but somewhat expect guests arrived as some voices echoed out.
"Heracross, Close Combat!"
"Probopass, Earth Power!"
"Houndoom, Flamethrower!"
"Garbodor, Focus Blast!"
From the distance, a scorching red flame came flying forward along with a giant yellow sphere of mental energy. From the ground, giant rocks made with the earth itself sprouted out as next to those rocks, a speedy Bug-Type Pokemon came dashing forward.
"Hera!" Heracross had arrived, smashing its horn onto the serpent that was attacking Twilight's dome from behind, shattering the wires and forcing the robotic creature to the ground.
The rocks from the ground emerged, bashing into the body of the serpent that had used magic to pressure Twilight's shield, breaking some of the wires and knocking the creature on its back.
The wave of flames and the giant mental sphere had struck the battleships specifically and some of the serpents that were unfortunately in their path. The troops who were planning on jumping out had their ships take head-on damage as some of their wires had either been crushed or melted. But they were still there since most of them covered the ship.
"Huh?" Twilight's heart could slow down after witnessing these sudden attacks arrive. She and her friends picked up on those voices, recognizing them immediately. They noticed the angle the attacks came from. Right behind them. So, when turning around, who exactly were the cause of these attacks and had just arrived?
Hollow, Brawly, Roxanne and Roxie, of course. Teachers from the Pokemon School had just arrived as the smoke cleared, revealing their appearances. Along with their Pokemon too.
"Oh!" Twilight and the others stood up. "T-Teachers...You're here?!"
"Sure are," Brawly said with a thumbs up.
"Sorry for the late timing." Roxanne apologized. "We weren't expecting it to happen at this time."
"But we're here either way, right? It's fine, don't worry about it." Roxie cackled.
"The rest of us Teachers are out there helping right now. Figured we'd come here to the Durance first, ya know?" Hollow said.
"Sweet!" Spike clapped his claws together. Backup was still arriving. Seems that Ash and Goh weren't the only humans helping to stop this invasion.
The teachers of the Pokemon School were chiming in too. They had friends here as well of course they had to help. And there were other teachers out there in Equestria assisting.
The invasion, while ramping up, seemed to be reaching its boiling point. Only one side is winning this as the journey and fate for this world continues.
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were currently in the air with Pinkie on the back of a Garchomp AKA Mew. Right now, they were searching for spots to help stop the invasion as soon as they could. Their main goal was to just drive the forces away from here. Beating all of them would be impossible to do so if they just keep coming.
While flying through the skies, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie noticed a few familiar and friendly faces in the distance. They were closing in on them. These familiar faces were Princess Luna and Darkrai.
"Princess Luna! Darkrai!" Pinkie Pie cried out.
"Garchomp!"
"Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie!" Luna exclaimed as both groups came to a screeching halt. Mew used his Psychic powers to stay afloat since Garchomp can't fully fly. Only soar through the wind thermal like what most Flying-Types do. "Thank goodness you are both alright. And the rest of your friends?"
"We got separated when Zekrom attacked. Mew saved us by using Teleport but he split us up." Rainbow Dash explained. "We're just flying around to stop the rest of this invasion, find our friends and free Discord from stone too. I-If he's already freed anyway."
"I see." Luna nodded. "Then allow us to accompany you along the way. A larger group of us betters the odds anyway."
"Sure does!" Pinkie placed her hoof around Luna and Darkrai. "Let's go! Full speed ahead!"
"Garchomp!" Mew took off like a rocket, soaring through the wind while Rainbow Dash followed.
"Hold on! Up ahead is a whole horde of manticores! At least listen to my plan!" Luna yelled as she and Darkrai flew after them, now adding a new member to this party for assistance.
Out in a lagoon. Afternoon.
The invasion is heating up rapidly. And while many are battling against each other, some were in hiding for safety. Most of Equestria had taken shelter in specific places, but with how things were going, especially with the battle of Reshiram and Zekrom, those shelters may not last. And some may not have found any shelter or a place to hide during all of this chaos.
That is why Starlight, Trixie Goh and Thorax are choosing to help save other ponies, Pokemon, changelings and any other species that may need help while the rest focus on the more physical part of the invasion.
Speaking of which, at a lagoon where many mangrove trees were scattered everywhere along with higher hills, some ponies were actually searching for a place to hide a. However, the troops of the Empress' forces flooded the ground. While the ships mainly governed the skies, the ground was just as populated with these invading forces, especially their vehicles.
The ponies here in the forest were either galloping or flying away, trying to escape from the troops and their aluminium vehicles. The vehicles were mainly those rhino-like ones as they charged through the trees here, destroying them. The troops had one objective. Capture the ponies and other species of their world and detain them or even bring them to their world for conversion to the Empire.
There was also the issue of the aerial robots that could grab anything with their powerful grip. Not only that, but they shot out rays of magic from the spheres in the middle of their robotic bodies. Rays of magic were shot out as they cleaved the trees, causing them to fall. The runaway ponies were being pursued on all fronts by these metallic creations as they still hadn't found somewhere to hide.
The rhino vehicles had used their metallic horn, shooting it out like rockets. The horns had stabbed into some hills, almost catching the ponies and just clipping the mane of a unicorn. One filly was almost struck by the horn as it flew by her face, going through a tree and sticking to the ground. The older sister of the filly had picked her little sister up before galloping off.
The vehicles easily caught up as they even drifted for extra speed. Once they caught up, they had all formed a half-circle position to try and corner the ponies. As for the ponies themselves, they had used the trees as ways to avoid the vehicles.
One unicorn shot down a group of trees to try and create a blockade that could hold the vehicles back a bit. The trees stacked on to each other in a pile, laying before the Empress' forces. Unfortunately, this didn't apply to the aerial robots but it could apply to the vehicles.
Until the vehicles just smash through them. Which they did. Right through with the identical speed of a rhino, the troops inside the Rhino-like vehicles casually broke through the pile of trees like they were nothing, continuing to pursue their targets.
"This way!" A pegasus said as he had found a spot just behind a large cluster of shrubs and beyond. It wasn't too far from here and if they hurry, they could lose the vehicles and enter that spot. He flipped his hoof, guiding the ponies in this direction. However, the moment he found that sacred spot, the aerial robots found the opportunity to strike while he was looking at the ponies.
And they did so in this way. Instead of just focusing on a select few of them, the aerial robots chose to aim their focus on one single pony. That would make taking one of them down easier as in unison, the aerial robots shot out rays of magic from their eyes, only going for the pegasus.
The pegasus, while flying towards the discovered spot, had then turned around to witness multiple rays coming towards him only instead of the others. "Oh!" He gasped, trying to find a quick way to avoid these rays.
But he couldn't. There were too many of them. Thus, he had been shot out of the sky by the multiple rays, being struck by every single one of them. The pegasus cried out as he fell, entering a fainted state. Luckily, a large earth pony managed to catch the pegasus on her back, saving him from hitting the ground.
The machines then backed the ponies into a corner near a hill, finally catching up to them. The ponies couldn't reach that hiding spot now because of the circumstances. The half-circle position of the vehicles mainly caused the ponies to be backed into this corner as they came to a screeching halt.
The ponies all stood there, anxious and aghast. Their hooves were getting cold as they were already sore from all this running they've been doing. The aerial machines already had their claws ready to snatch them all. The claws were so large, they could probably hold as many ponies as they wanted to. And if the ponies resisted, the horn and magic rays from the vehicles and the robots. They stayed close to each other, waiting for the worst to come. Until...
"Hatterene! Psycho Cut!"
"Hatte!" From the rest of the shrubs, blades formed by psychic power came flying out as they tore through the aerial robots, cutting and tearing them in half. The ponies and the troops inside of the vehicles looked up to see these pink blades of Psychic energy take out the robots as that wasn't the only thing that would come this way.
"Use Pyro Ball, Cinderace!"
"Cinder!" Right next to those blades, a ball of fire came zooming through, hitting one of the rhino vehicles. The troop inside had his vehicle take major damage from Pyro Ball as it was on the verge of blowing up.
"Misdreavus, use Zap Cannon!"
"Drea!" And following the Pyro Ball was another ball, this time in the form of electricity. This electric ball hit one of the vehicles, using its reactive electricity to meddle with the vehicle as the electricity had spread out, catching the other vehicles in a chain reaction.
The rhino vehicles had been short-circuited or went through overdrive because of Zap Cannon as the aerial robots were torn apart by Psycho Cut. It was then revealed to the ponies that atop the hill they had been backed into, the ones responsible for saving them were Starlight Glimmer, Trixie and Goh. Plus the addition of Thorax and his Zorua.
"Here!" Starlight called out to the ponies, telling them to follow her. She had found that spot the pegasus originally found. But this time, the Empress' forces couldn't follow them thanks to the Pokemon.
The troops within the vehicles jumped out to try and catch the ponies by foot instead. They galloped away as the vehicles had blown up either way after being attacked by those attacks seconds ago.
"After them!" A troop exclaimed as they each held out those electric staffs with 20,000 volts behind them. They were prepared to just shock their prey instead.
"Hypnosis!" Both Starlight and Trixie ordered.
"Hatterene..."
"Misdrea..."
Both Hatterene and Misdreavus widened their already widened eyes as they stared right into the eyes of the Empress's forces. The troops couldn't help but suddenly stop their own eyes stayed wide open as purple and blue hypnotic spirals came out of the Silent Pokemon and Screech Pokemon.
And just like that, the troops had fallen prey to Hypnosis as they were ordered to be put to sleep by the two Pokemon of the two trainers. They dropped to the ground, either lying flat on their faces, to the side, on their backs, or on top or next to each other.
"Yes!" Starlight and Trixie gave each other a high-hoof after successfully stopping their opponents. But they couldn't celebrate now. More troops were bound to come this way. After stopping this group, they all went over the secluded spot. Right near the shrubs, a tunnel could be found. Everyone had gone through that tunnel as it had then led them all to a cave, where they promptly stopped for a while.
"Thank you so much!" One unicorn thanked Starlight and her friends by rapidly shaking Starlight's hoof with hers.
"N-No problem!" Starlight stammered after having her hoof shaken so rapidly. "Here, go through this gateway." Starlight then took out a Travel Sphere she had stolen from a troop, using it to open up a gateway as it responded to her mind. The gateway had then opened up behind everyone. "This'll lead you to Castelia City. Hide in there until this all over.
"Okay!" The unicorn thanked Starlight as she went over to the gateway, passing through it along with others. The rest of the ponies thanked Starlight as they had left this world, entering Castelia City.
"That's like 3 groups down already. And here I was worried." Goh spoke before laughing.
"Yeah." Thorax also laughed but he was more nervous with his.
"As long as I'm not taking on any giant enemy robot squids, alicorns, dragons or whatever crazy super-sized thing there is, the Great and Powerful Trixie is fine with this." Trixie nodded. "Where to next?"
"Well...I thought about what Pinkie Pie said and...I think we should go and help out at my hive." Thorax suggested.
"There's no one to save there, right? If you count Princess Celestia and Passion," said Trixie.
"Well, we'd best go for it anyway. It's not too far from here. We can still run into other ponies that need help while heading to the hive, right?" Starlight nudged Thorax.
"Uh...yeah, yeah, right. That's true." Thorax nodded in agreement. "But how do you think they're gonna react to me returning since I sorta betrayed them? I mean, Pinkie said that they'd forgive me but I'm not so sure."
"Ah, I know how you feel." Starlight grinned. "No need to worry. I'll vouch for you if it comes down to it. Now come on. Let's all hurry."
The Changeling Hive. Afternoon.
Speaking of the hive, over at the healing cocoon, Celestia's healing time was coming to an end. And to show this, the cocoon started wrapping around Celestia's body like a bug would for their own cocoon.
"W-What's going on?" Celestia looked around.
"The healing process is finishing up," Chrysalis explained. "Just stay still and calm. Your full recovery is coming."
"Alright." Celestia closed her eyes as the cocoon kept wrapping around her with multiple layers. Eventually, it wrapped around her so many times that Celestia's body was hidden behind nothing but green silk.
To finish the healing process, the whole cocoon flashed a vibrant green before withering away. Once the silk withered away, the cocoon had been broken down until the smallest silk was left. And out of the light, Celestia emerged as she opened her eyes while sitting up.
The alicorn breathed in and out as she felt herself feeling good as new. The healing had worked and thanks to the 100 alicorn magical essences given to her via the Magic Siphoning Jar, the process was quicker than expected. The Ruler of Equestria then let out a soft smile after being healed.
"Oh. Much better. Thank you, Chrysalis." Celestia got off the cocoon as stretched her hooves. Her body was crackling golden electricity due to all of the magic flowing within her. "And Passion?"
"Passion will still need until the end of the day to fully recover. I'm afraid alicorn magic won't enter her. And to heal a Pokemon is something new for our healing cocoons." Chrysalis replied. "But, that's why we have the Fairy-Type Pokemon after all."
"Hm..." The Sun Princess then gazed over at Passion before feeling the essence of 100 alicorns in her. That's when Celestia had an idea sprout up in her head. "The Empress. Every spell she does is extravagant because of the many alicorn magical essences within her or is it just her natural magic?"
"Hm?" Adagio turned to Celestia. "No way it's natural. Her spells are way better because of how much magic she has in her. She wouldn't be able to use that Gravity Spell as much as she wanted to if she didn't have a bunch of it."
"The Gravity Spell does seem to be the one that takes the most out of her from what we've seen when were allies with her. Other spells do the same but not to that extent." Chrysalis nodded as she and Adagio had confirmed Celestia's theory.
"Then if that's the case..." Celestia squinched her eyes, knowing what she could do. She had her own healing spell. Across every universe, the healing spell is very common. It isn't exclusive anywhere because of how mandatory it is.
Celestia had used her magic, and once again, because of the essence of 100 alicorns, her magic shined a remarkably bright and stellar cosmic and golden light that was blinding to the eyes. Chrysalis, Adagio and everyone inside closed their eyes after witnessing this light.
However this time, Celestia could manage this overwhelming power a bit. All she had to do was maintain her cool and balance. With her years of experience, she could perform this without any issue. After taking a deep breath, the alicorn then cast a healing spell over her partner.
The cosmic and solar golden light glazed Passion all over, granting the Embrace Pokemon a benediction of healing properties she wouldn't even get a Pokemon Center. The stardust from Celestia's magic started flowing across the hive once more, but this time, they collectively ringed over the Psychic-Fairy-Type before flowing into her.
From within her own mind, Passion could feel a whole week's worth of healing embellish her. The Infinity Energy within her was being recovered along with the essence of Celestia she holds ever since they became Celestial-Gardevoir. In her mind and out of her mind, the stellar healing worked as Passion's eye opened.
"Gardevoir..." The Embrace Pokemon blinked slowly before looking to the ceiling of the hive. That wasn't all she was looking up at. Right next to her was the face of her beloved Trainer Celestia.
"Afternoon, Passion," Celestia said.
"Gardevoir!" Overjoyed to see her Trainer, Passion immediately levitated off the cocoon before hugging Celestia. She even lifted the alicorn off the ground. "Garde! Gardevoir!"
"Oh!" Celestia's pupils expanded as she giggled. "I'm happy to see you looking better as well!"
"Arcanine!" Arcanine couldn't help himself from joining in. He was happy to see that they were both feeling better. He then pounced on both Celestia and Passion, pinning the duo onto the ground. "Canine! Arca!"
"You two! I'm having trouble breathing here!" Celestia laughed before puffing her cheeks, realizing that she was being squished by her Pokemon.
"Well, seems like that jar plan of yours worked, didn't it?" Chrysalis said.
"Mm." Adagio nodded with confidence before flipping her mane. "I knew it would anyway. Out of my sisters, I'm the brains after all."
"Now then." Celestia stood up as her Pokemon separated from her, allowing her to breathe. "We're all looking better now. This invasion isn't over yet. But, I believe if there was a time to put an end to this, now would be that time."
"Now?" Chrysalis and Adagio both said.
"Two things. One, the Empress is weaker than ever this time. All of the magic leaving her body has left her drained all over. And second, to rescue Pyrestar. She's still there and I can't leave her behind. We'll make it a Full Frontal Attack along with a rescue too."
"Full frontal? Just a head-on attack like that?" Chrysalis pulled back.
"Right. It's about time we went on the offensive, wouldn't you agree?" Celestia smiled while a cosmic and golden aura crackled around her body.
"I suppose so. I mean, you look like you can take on as many forces as you can with all of that magic? Or is that just me getting my hopes up?" Chrysalis chuckled.
"Maybe." Celestia laughed back. "But, we'll see. I want to rescue my friend and put an end to this. So that everything we know and love return to peace. We'll need to do a lot of cleaning up after this too."
"Then I'll prepare all of my changelings for this full-frontal attack. If we're lucky, we can probably take the rest of the magic from the Empress. Right, Adagio?"
"Oh, I'm already ahead of you." Adagio grinned before rubbing the jar with malicious yet good intent.
"Hold on." Chrysalis took out her Xtransceiver for a moment. She had faith and hope in the one individual who could help stop this invasion once and for all. And a very good friend of hers. Ash. She selected his Trainer number to see if he was there. "I'll see if Ash can assist us over at her world."
"Gee...you really put your faith in him, huh?" Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"But of course. I have so much to thank him for after all." Chrysalis smiled as the Xtransceiver rang. And after 10 seconds, the one she wanted to see had responded.
"Chrysalis?"
"Ash! Splendid to see you again! Are you alright?" Where are you?
"I'm fine. But I took a pretty nasty beating when I was up against Team Plasma and Ghetsis."
"Pikachu!"
"You went up against Ghetsis?! Did you win?!" Celestia and Chrysalis both gasped.
"It ended up being a draw. Our Auras both backfired on us and everything. I just got done healing up and I'm ready to jump back in and help. Isn't that right, guys?"
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu and the rest of Ash's Pokemon cried out. They had been healed up to the max and were ready to get back into the heart of things.
"Well, it's good to know you're constantly on the move Ash. Right now, we're planning on ending this invasion for good. By heading for the Empress' world. I also need to rescue Pyrestar as well." Celestia explained.
"Gotcha." Ash nodded. "We'll join you there. Mind if I get a head start?"
"I'd say wait for a bit. We'll need some time for our proper full-on attack. But, I do know you love to rush your opponents, don't you?" Celestia smiled.
"You bet!"
"Just give us some time, Ash. We'll meet up at Canterlot, alright?" Celestia said.
"Right!" Ash gave a thumbs up. "I'll clear out more of the invaders along the way. See you soon!"
"Pika!" And with that, Chrysalis ended the call before placing the Xtransceiver in her bag.
"Is it safe to say my confidence has been skyrocketed?" Chrysalis turned to Celestia.
"It already was when we took that magic, obviously." Adagio nudged Chrysalis playfully.
"Hm." Celestia giggled before morphing her face into one of seriousness. "Right. Let's put an end to this once and for all."
Las Pegasus.
Reshiram and Zekrom's battle continues. Reshiram tried to end the battle early but Zekrom's rampaging instinct prolonged it even further. Their battle moved across the skies with flames and lightning shining in the sky. Eventually, they arrived at Las Pegasus with Zekrom holding Reshiram's face from behind and slamming the Vast White Pokemon into the ground.
A massive crater was formed as a huge ground tsunami spread out in a radius shape. The beautiful and fancy buildings of Las Pegasus were not safe from this, especially the two forces battling it out.
Both Celestia and Empress Twilight's forces ran away from the approaching ground tsunami and two giant dragons. The robots had been crushed by Zekrom slamming Reshiram on the ground while some were caught in the tsunami along with troops.
Zekrom then tossed Reshiram away, sending the Dragon of Truth through several buildings, obliterating the beautiful exterior, ruining the interior and the amazing games that could be played within them. All that money. Gone.
Reshiram had hoped to avoid any destruction, but that wasn't happening anymore. He would have to lay aggressively if he wanted to stop Zekrom's rampage. The Vast White Pokemon then recovered before hitting the last building behind him. Reshiram then roared as Zekrom before charging up a Fusion Flare.
In response, the Dragon of Ideals used Hyper Beam. Both dragons had devastating attacks coming out of their mouths. One a signature move and the other just a common yet highly destructive attack.
The forces on both sides quickly realized that they were in the worst possible spot for this battle as they started galloping away as fast as they could. Even the ships in the sky were turning around to try and avoid this.
But it was too late. In unison, Fusion Flare and Hyper Beam were shot out of the mouths of the Twin Dragons. With one ear-piercing sound and one mighty shockwave, the two moves went flying, melting and tearing the ground.
Upon collision, there wasn't a struggle between them both. They blew up against each other immediately, generating a gale of explosive fury. But that explosive fury was enough to eclipse most of Las Pegasus. Which it did. The explosion blew both Reshiram and Zekrom back, while also spreading out so far that even the ships in the sky had been hit.
The forces on both sides had been blown back by the collision of those moves. Even taking cover didn't protect them from the shockwaves. Reshiram and Zekrom both went flying from the collision. But immediately, they had recovered like it was nothing.
By flapping their wings, the two Dragons approached each other once more. Reshiram with Giga Impact and Zekrom with Bolt Strike. With that instant recovery, they smashed into each other by butting heads. The Dragons of Truth and Ideals stared each other in the face while Las Pegasus was being demolished. None of them won the head struggle as they separated from each other. Reshiram then went for a Dragon Claw. And so did Zekrom.
Their claws met with each other, causing a paroxysm of shockwaves to spread out, shattering the armour and metal of both forces with ease. The forces fled Las Pegasus as quickly as they could and so did the ponies within the shelter. Their fancy shelter wouldn't protect them from this forever.
Reshiram and Zekrom roared at each other before going for another Dragon Claw swing. Their battle was seemingly far from over.
Saddle Lake.
Meanwhile, the residents of Ponyville had left their hometown to hide somewhere else. Their shelter was essentially useless thanks to the battle between the two Dragons. Currently, they were discussing where to go next during this invasion. Most were saying Canterlot.
Whilst walking through Saddle Lake, the residents, plus Team Rocket and Zecora had come across something in the distance. One of the ships that belonged to the Empress' side. They all promptly stopped after witnessing the ship, believing that they could be caught.
"No matter where we go, this blows!" Roseluck groaned.
"Maybe if we just dig underground or have a Ghost-Type possess us all, they won't notice...right?" Silver Spoon suggested while gulping.
"Unless they've got robot worms...!" Snips and Snails said, giving out possibly a worse outcome. But it wasn't like they were thinking too farfetched. The Empress' forces did have coverage for the sky, land and sea after all, so it was a possibility.
"Hold on a second..." James noticed something peculiar as he quietly crept forward.
"James...!" Jessie and Meowth whispered with a yell added in. They thought James was being ridiculous by approaching the ships. But he knew something was up. Especially with how the ship was just on the ground and not in the air. Usually, they're able to send troops out from the air. Not usually the ground.
Everypony shuddered, hoping that James wouldn't alert the potential soldiers near the ships. However, if there were soldiers here, they would've arrived at Ponyville by now or at least, their ship would've been seen even in the far distance considering how large it was.
"Aha!" James quickly figured out what was off. When he arrived at the scene, he found that multiple ships had been levelled with many troops knocked unconscious and their armour melted off. "Coast is clear!"
"It is?" Everypony said as they slid over. "Oooh..."
"Looks like someone already took care of them." James picked up a melted piece of armour. "Torched all of these forces in no time."
"Oh! Is that what Reshiram meant? Did Reshiram do this?!" Apple Bloom gasped.
"Reshiram's so cool!" Scootaloo squeed.
"Well, had us worried for nothing." Jessie sighed. "Let's keep going. I don't want-"
"Wait a minute." James looked at one ship on the right. He noticed that this one single ship was actually still able to function, unlike the rest which had been levelled by Reshiram. "That one's still working. Methinks an idea has sprouted up."
"Idea?" Meowth said.
"What are you planning...?" Jessie raised an eyebrow.
"Why are we even hiding from this invasion anyway?" James turned to face everyone. "Don't we have the necessary Pokemon to handle this? All that training didn't go to waste did it?"
"Well no not really." A pony said.
"I'm totally not scared." Another spoke.
"Well, I didn't really train that much..."
"He's got a point."
"Uh..." James put on a poker face after hearing their responses. "Ah, it's fine. Besides, I think we, Team Rocket, can chime in and help stop this invasion too."
"Us?" Jessie and Meowth pointed at each other.
"Didn't stop us from helping the twerp out in the past in situations like this didn't it?" He gave out a cocky smile.
"Hm." Then, Jessie and Meowth looked at each other before nodding in unison. "Good point. We'll show those invading forces what Team Rocket can do!"
"Wait...How exactly? Ships are kinda new to us? Especially invading ones." Jessie asked.
"Not to me. Remember? Mommy and Daddy brought me a rocket ship when I was younger." James crossed his arm before facing the functioning ship. "I was born for this."
"You know...We could totally help. I mean, I didn't become a Gym Leader for nothing." Roseluck spoke as other ponies started chattering after what she said. "We do have the Pokemon by our side...And we did train with Ash to get stronger, didn't we?"
"Yeah..." The CMC nodded in agreement.
"This invasion could spread out beyond just Equestria and eventually the world soon," Zecora said. "I have friends back home elsewhere that I wish to protect too." Zecora herself was also willing to assist in stopping this invasion as she went up to James and Team Rocket.
"Mayor Mare's already out there doing her own thing to find Big Mac. And Cold too...I kinda wanna look cool saving the world..." Scootaloo bit her hoof. "I wanna help too!"
"Ah. If the kids are going, then they need protection immediately." Cherilee stepped forward. Very soon, everypony was starting to come on board with protecting this world from the invasion. All of them had their own reasons.
"I wanna become Champion in the Equestria League someday. And I can't be a coward if that's the case!"
"No way! I'm gonna be Champion!"
"I've got friends I want to protect too, ya know!"
"Yeah! Not all of them are here from Ponyville!"
"Can't let Twilight steal all the spotlight." Amethyst Star bit her hoof in constant jealousy of Twilight Sparkle ever since the day she came to Ponyville.
"Well, I kinda wanna just see some more epic fights like that Dragon one." Again. Their own reasons. Some less serious than others. But either way, they were all in agreement to protect their home. And it's all thanks to James.
"Excellent." James tightened his gloves. "Just watch. I'll command this ship as if I own the skies themselves! Everyone onboard!"
"Hold on. These ships were made for ponies. Are you sure you can control it?" Jessie asked.
"Positive." James was 100% sure of his abilities. Didn't matter what ship it was or what species it was made for, he was ready to steer and control it one way or another.
Team Rocket and Ponyville were now on board to stop the invasion.
Kingdra Durance.
Meanwhile, over at Kingdra Durance, with the arrival of some of the teachers from the Pokemon School, the odds were changing yet again. There was a constant back and forth with this invasion overall.
The main goal was to break those metal wires around the battleships and Robotic Sea Serpents with legs. If those aren't destroyed, then any electricity will just be blocked out by them.
"Just destroy the wires, right?" Applejack said to Twilight while the battle between both sides continued. Magic rays and spheres were being thrown everywhere while the Pokemon combat the Sea Serpents.
"Yes. Then everything should be fine." Twilight responded before facing the many Golurk and the soldiers. "You can try Golurk's Thunder Punch on the water once the wires are gone. Then they'll definitely fall."
"What about up there?" Fluttershy pointed her hoof at the ships in the air.
"Leave that to me." Spike pointed at himself while holding out Salamence's Poke Ball.
"Pheromosa can easily shatter those wires." Rarity spoke. "Milotic can handle the water as well if I may add."
"And so can all of my Pokemon too." Brawly chimed in with his own words. "Oh and Roxie's Garbordor with Focus Blast."
"Pssh! All we need is one move, easy!" Roxie cackled.
"And once those wires are down, I'll have my Probopass smush those ships together with his magnetism. And I suppose Earth Power can work on the enemies on land as well."
"Houndoom can melt those wires, no problem," Hollow spoke. "Not even water can withstand the heat of a Houndoom's flames. Isn't that right, boy?"
"Houndoom!"
"Okay. We all know our roles. Some extra help won't hurt" Twilight held three Poke Balls out with her magic, sending out Absol, Ninetales and Cinccino. "
Spike sent out Salamence as he hopped onto the back of the Dragon Pokemon. And speaking of which, the older Spike was already playing his part. The adult Spike was going up against the Robotic Sea Serpents, breaking green flames down on them. The serpents used their anatomy to slither across the ground, retracting their legs for better momentum.
The serpents evaded Spike's flames by slithering across the sand. One of the serpents even lunged towards Spike, opening its mouth and biting onto the adult dragon's neck. Spike roared as he was pinned to the ground by the robot's metallic teeth sinking into him.
The serpent then wrapped its long body around the adult dragon, coiling him all around with its impressive length. At the same time, the battleships were obtaining the advantage since they were practically untouchable in the water. At least for now.
"Scorbunny!" Along came Scorbunny, using High Jump Kick on the serpent that held the adult Spike, striking the metal wires. The Rabbit Pokemon managed to break some parts of the wires, but since he was still a fairly weak Pokemon, he only broke a little. That's when the serpent retaliated by using the edge of its tail to whack Scorbunny away, sending the Fire-Type flying. "Scor!"
"Heracross, Close Combat!" Brawly ordered.
"Hera!" His Heracross fluttered its wings about, zooming towards the serpent around Spike. However, other serpents got in the way of Heracross, blocking the Single Horn Pokemon from getting any further. "Cross!" Heracross swung his horn towards the serpents to try and get them out of the way. And in retaliation, the serpents swung their sharp tails.
The serpents were enough to clash with Heracross but they took the risk of damaging their wires considering just how powerful a Heracross' horn was. Heracross attempted to block two tails but had been pushed back by the serpents, unable to perform that task at the moment.
Luckily, Heracross had allies by its side. Along came Sceptile, using his vines to wrap them around the serpents that stood before Heracross. The vines had temporarily restraint the robots, allowing Heracross to continue its attack. The Single Horn Pokemon rushed in with Close Combat, using not only his horn but his arms now.
Heracross smashed apart the protective wires that were around the serpents as the Robotic Sea Serpents couldn't do anything to fight back but instead just take the hits while Heracross held them in place. Afterwards, Heracross had destroyed enough of the wires to leave vulnerable spots.
That prompted the Golurk to move in. Two Golurk had flown towards the Robotic Sea Serpents, using Thunder Punch on their vulnerable sports that were exempt from the metal wiring. With one straight hook from the Automaton Pokemon, the serpents had been electrocuted, frying their circuits as Heracross advanced towards the serpent that was holding Spike.
However, Heracross had been promptly stopped along with Sceptile and the Golurk by some incoming magic spheres. The sphere blew up right in front of Heracross, blowing the Bug-Fighting-Type while also hitting the Golurk directly. Heracross tumbled on the floor while the Golurk were forced back.
Sceptile himself used the vines to move away, avoiding the incoming spheres that were shot his way. Spike was still being held by the serpent as he breathed fire in the air, trying to break free. Unfortunately, his head was in the wrong position for this and it looked like he would stay like this forever.
Until Ninetales came along with a move that could deal with this problem. Without having to get up close. HE used Mystical Fire, opening his mouth before unleashing a spiralling red flame with magical properties within it. The flame had struck the body of the serpent, melting away the wire upon contact.
The serpent had lost some of its wires but Ninetales didn't stop there. He kept unloading the flames onto the serpent's body. Specifically on the spot where the wires were melted off. Mystical Fire was continuously being unloaded on that one spot, melting the aluminium off of the Robotic Sea Serpent. Cinccino chimed in by using Focus Blast. The Scarf Pokemon lobbed a yellow sphere of mental energy that had merged with Mystical Fire, increasing its size and power.
With that combination of attacks, a huge hole had been blown in the serpent, causing it to be greatly weakened. That also allowed the adult Spike to break free as he spread his wings out, knocking the robot off him.
Spike's Axew had transformed into a Haxorus with Deino receiving a piggyback ride from the Axe Jaw Pokemon. Haxorus roared as he swatted away the Empress' forces like flies with his superior strength. But the serpents and the ships were still the major problems here. A serpent went over to Haxorus, trying to bite into him like the other did to the adult Spike.
Haxorus quickly grabbed the teeth of the serpents while being pushed back by the robots impressive speed for something made out of metal and almost as big as the battleships. Speaking of the battleships, more and more were approaching from the gateways on the sea as the number of magic rays was increasing. Celestia's side was feeling the pressure from these ludicrous numbers as they didn't have any gateway arrivals themselves aside from the teachers. But the rest of the teachers were out there elsewhere instead of just one spot.
"We ain't gonna do too much against all that metal with how we are." Applejack said as she held her hat. "How's about Mega Evolution, Sceptile?"
"Tile!" Sceptile agreed as he would like a Mega Evolution at the moment. If it meant getting the job done quicker. Fluttershy looked to Applejack before staring at her own Mega Ring. Mega evolving Audino would benefit them in this for sure.
"Mega Evolution sounds good to me!" Twilight said as she used her magic to push away an incoming troop. All at once, the ponies who had access to Mega Evolution were ready to evolve their Pokemon even further. Rarity sent out her Ampharos just to fit that mould.
Hollow himself had Mega Evolution as well. All for his Houndoom as there would now be a total of five Mega Pokemon. And technically six since Spike could count. But right now, Spike was in the air, not utilizing Mega Evolution at the moment.
In unison, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Hollow all initiated Mega Evolution by tapping the Mega Stones of their accessories. Afterwards, golden lights came flying out of their stones before the Pokemon themselves were shooting out red lights.
Both lights made a DNA symbol before laminating the Pokemon in the unified light. All of their eyes flashed at once with the Mega Evolution symbol revealing itself. And bursting out of the lights were their Mega Evolved forms.
Mega Absol, Sceptile, Ampharos, Audino and Houndoom. This was the needed upgrade in strength that Celestia's forces required. Especially Houndoom, considering how amped their fire becomes when Mega Evolving.
"Houndoom!" Houndroom roared as flames ignited from his body. This wasn't just the cause of Mega Evolution powering him up. It was also Mega Houndoom's ability, Solar Power. Under harsh sunlight, all Fire-Type moves are boosted but at the cost of some healthy energy. And since it was summer, what better time for the sun to be hotter than ever.
"Oh. They're using Mega Evolution?" Spike looked down, noticing his friends' change forms while Salamence avoided a magic ray, breathing Flamethrower onto the ships. "Then, in that case, let's do the same, Salamence."
"Sala!"
Absol and the others advanced. Except for Audino and Houndoom who chose to stay back and support their teammates. Audino and Houndoom both used Hyper Beam and Flamethrower. One from hands and the other, straight from the mouth.
Hyper Beam engulfed some of the mechanical constructs, blowing multiple parts of their wiring and metal parts off while Houndoom's flames absolutely obliterated the serpents. Just one hit from Houndoom's ridiculous flames and that was it.
The Empress' forces could see that Houndoom was a huge threat, so they turned their focus towards the Darkness Pokemon. Aerial machines came flying out of the ships, aiming for Mega Houndoom by unleashing silver beams from their eyes. Along came Probopass to act as a shield for Houndoom. By using its steel body, the Compass Pokemon protected the Darkness Pokemon whilst only taking slight damage. Afterwards, Probopass used its magnetism on the aerial machines, disrupting their functions and smashing them together.
"We'll need greater heat...Everyone!" Twilight called out for her allies and friends. "Focus your Fire-Type attacks on Ninetales! His Flash Fire will take it all!"
"Tales! Ninetales!" Ninetailes nodded in agreement. He needed the boost in power anyway. Houndoom, Scorbunny and the Golurk that had some Fire-Type moves in store all turned to face the Fox Pokemon.
Ninetales was already stronger thanks to the summer sun, but with his ability Flash Fire, any Fire-Type move that comes his way will boost him even further. Understanding Ninetales' choice, the Darkness Pokemon used Flamethrower to breathe fire on the Fox Pokemon while everyone else used other moves.
The Golurk used Fire Punch respectively, hitting the Fire-Type. But their punches did nothing to him. After Mega Evolving, Spike's Salamece had also used his own Flamethrower by descending and avoiding the rays, sending them to Ninetales.
Ninetales' body immediately absorbed the flames from Houndoom as his body illuminated a scarlet colour while all nine of his tails stood up. With a loud howl, Ninetales had stronger Fire-Type moves than ever. As if he already didn't.
"Okay, Ninetales! Mystical Fire!" Twilight shouted at the top of her lungs.
"NINETALES!" Stronger than ever, Ninetales opened his mouth, summoning a giant spiralling flame so large and insanely hot that its size could be compared to Reshiram's Fusion Flare and the heat of it was equal to that of a Macargo and Camerupt. Hotter than the sun itself.
Melting even the sand itself, Ninetales' Mystical Fire burned and engulfed anything it came in contact with. Some of the serpents turned around to see a giant flame heading their way. It was so large that not even they could evade it with their speed.
Thus, their wires were melted off along with the aluminium parts of their body. Unfortunately, they weren't equipped to deal with something solar-powered. Thus, Ninetales' stream of flames continued forward, going straight for the ships as it even boiled the water itself. Unfortunately, reaching the ships wasn't so easy as they put up magical coating shields for protection.
And that was the end of Ninetales' incredible flame. But he was still powered up. It's not like Flash Fire just runs out when a powerful attack is used.
"Hoho!" Brawly and the others gawked at the large path that Mystical Fire made. "That's some power!"
"That heat is probably around 18,000 degrees!" Roxanne's jaw dropped. "Amazing! I might have to spread that information out to future Pokemon Trainers."
"Wonderful but...those battleships are still an issue. And the ones above?" Rarity looked up.
"I got it!" Spike yelled as his Salamence was flying straight towards the ships in his Mega Evolved state. By using the sharp wings that Salamence had in this form, Salamence had cut the cannons off of the ships by flying underneath, rendering their main weapons useless. That is until they used the electric field. But this time, Salamence was ready for the fields as he descended, avoiding them before they could activate.
"Perhaps our attacks might not reach those battleships...Unless..." Roxanne thought for a moment. "Probopass! That one ship is vulnerable! Use it to smash it on the ships!
"Bopass!" The Compass Pokemon looked to the ship that Spike had rendered useless without its cannon, manipulating it with its magnetism. Now under the hold of Probopass, the ship was manually sent towards the other ships, smashing them pieces of travelling metal against each other and startling the troops inside. Probopass was also aiming for the battleships too.
Just then, Twilight received a telepathic message from Princess Celestia herself. Only her though. Alicorn exclusive after all.
"Twilight!"
"Princess Celestia? You're awake!"
"And better than ever. I'm still at the hive. Listen. We're about to launch a full-on attack on the Empress' world and rescue Pyrestar in the process. I've already informed Luna and Ash will be on his way to join us. What say you?"
"Well, we were actually planning on heading there to save the other versions of my friends." Twilight ducked as an explosion of magic happened near while the sound of Ampharos shooting lightning could be heard. "Turns out that the Empress is using the Elements of Harmony against their will in her world."
"What?!"
Sceptile and Ampharos both used Dragon Pulse while Absol was sent flying back. The Disaster Pokemon then used Counter, returning the favour to the serpent that attacked him.
"It's not pleasant...It's how she was able to turn Discord into stone. And the Cadence and Shining Armor in that world too".
"Well...that will prove to be an issue. Very well then. We'll meet up at Canterlot and advance there. Take care of yourself, Twilight."
"I will. Thank you, Princess!" Twilight gave out a soft smile before the telepathic communication ended. "We need to go now!"
"Why?" Applejack turned to Twilight while Houndoom melted the ground below, leaving a huge hole that some troops ended up falling into.
"Princess Celestia's launching one big head-on attack towards the Empress' world. This is our chance to save your other-selves!"
"But what about here?" Fluttershy asked. "We haven't cleared everything here at all."
"You all can go." Brawly suddenly responded to them. "The rest of us teachers can deal with this, no problem."
"If you have to save someone you should take that opportunity immediately." Roxanne turned to the ponies.
"Just zip off and save them, okay?" Hollow smiled.
"And don't forget to look cool while doing it!" Roxie cackled while her Garbodor sat on some troops, squishing them with its size.
"Garbodor!"
"Oh...T-Thank you all so much!" Twilight gave her immediate thanks by bowing to the teachers. She was truly grateful for all of their help as everyone else gave their thanks. "Absol! Everyone! Let's go!"
"Absol!" Absol and the rest of Twilight's Pokemon heard the alert. They got in one quick attack with Dark Pulse, Dazzling Gleam, Focus Blast and Mystical Fire before eventually running back to their trainer.
While Twilight and everyone were making their way towards Canterlot, the teachers would be left to deal with the forces here in Kingdra Durance alongside the Canterlot forces.
Celestia was finally going on the offensive. Straight towards enemy territory. She wanted to save her friend while possibly putting an end to this invasion. At the same time, Starlight and her group were also heading for the hive, unaware of what the changelings were all about to be a part of.
And elsewhere, James was currently in command of a ship from the Empress' forces. And to be flashy, he and Team Rocket plastered a giant Team Rocket symbol on the ship. Just for show.
And of course, Reshiram and Zekrom were still battling it out across Equestria. The boiling point was rising. This invasion is about to enter its make or break scenario for both sides as the journey continues.
"Here." Mayor Mare suddenly came to a halt with Stoutland. Still, at this very moment, they were searching for Big Macintosh and Machamp to try and bring them both back to Ponyville. "The footprints end here and lead to the sea. Seems like we were too late to catch up before they entered it."
"But how? I mean, if it's a Gigantamax Machamp, he shouldn't move that fast. How did we lose him?" Cold spoke.
"That I can't answer. But we're close for certain. Although...with a size like that, Big Mac would survive out here during the invasion, wouldn't he?" Mayor Mare pondered. "Well, the Apple Family are survivors so that shouldn't come as a shock anyway."
"So do we keep going? I mean, if Big Mac's alright and has a giant Machamp on his side, he's safe right?"
"Not quite. Apple Bloom wants her big brother back. And as Mayor of Ponyville, it is my solemn duty to make sure that the citizens are 100% satisfied, happy and feel safe. If I were to abandon that, then my name would just be-"
"Stoutland!" Stoutland suddenly barked, looking right at the sky.
"Nice." Cold nodded at Stoutland, agreeing with his perfect timing. Just before Mayor Mare was about to announce another name of hers, probably her original name.
"Wait. Was is it, boy?" Mayor Mare asked her partner, looking up in the sky as well.
"Land! Stoutland! Stout!" Stoutland just kept on barking at the sky, making Mayor Mare and Cold wonder what he had spotted. For him to be barking at seemingly nothing, that meant only one thing. Whatever was coming this way had to be gigantic. Immediately, the two ponies suspected that it was Gigantamax Machamp. But it couldn't be further from the truth.
In actuality, what broke through the clouds and revealed itself was one of the many ships that came from the Empress' side. Same design and everything. However, this ship was a bit different. Mainly what was painted on the side of the ship to be exact.
Mayor Mare and Cold Colt stood firm, preparing themselves for what was to come. However, when the full view of the ship was revealed, to their surprise, painted on the very side was the Team Rocket symbol.
"Team Rocket?" The two of them said.
"Stoutland?"
"Oh?" From the ship, a voice speaker could be heard. One meant for speaking to large crowds even from a high distance and more. "Mayor Mare! Cold!" And from that speaker came the voice of Lyra.
"Lyra...? How are you up there?!" The mayor scrunched her eyes while yelling at the top of her lungs to try and reach the ship's interior.
"We're all in here!" Lyra responded. "Everypony from Ponyville! Well, the ones who were in the shelter that is."
"All of you?!" Cold exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Scootaloo cried out. "This ship is really nice inside! You should come and see it! James is flying right now!"
"Sure am!" James' voice also came from the speaker. "I'll let you three in immediately.
"Why do the bad guys always get the cool stuff?" Sweetie Belle spoke.
"Did you find Big Mac?!" Apple Bloom yelled through the speaker.
"Not yet! But we have a good indication on where he and Machamp could be!" The mayor bellowed back as the ship descended slowly.
The hatch door of the ship underneath had opened up for the two ponies and Stoutland as their manes and fur blew in the wind. Afterwards, when the ship was close enough, a small ramp emerged from it, touching the ground and allowing Mayor Mare, Cold Colt and Stoutland to climb on board.
The Big-Hearted Pokemon rushed indoors alongside Cold Colt with high energy whilst Mayor Mare casually trotted her way to the ship, taking light gentle steps along the way. Once entering, they were met with the interior of the ship. And of course, it matched Canterlot Castle's interior but with a more futuristic and striking look. The ship's hatch closed to make sure that none of the Empress' forces would enter if they had the chance. It was still their ship. Now under the ownership of Team Rocket.
"Well now..." Mayor Mare moved her head around the ship's interior, glancing at what there was to see. And inside, everypony from the shelter was here, greeting the Mayor. "So, you're all here after all?"
"Mhm." Roseluck nodded. "We're helping out to stop the invasion as well."
"It's gonna be super cool!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both said.
"So what about Big Mac?" Apple Bloom whimpered.
"Oh. Big Mac? Well, it seems his Machamp has Gigantamaxed. We were tracking down the giant footsteps but they promptly stopped at the ocean. Now we have no clue on where to find them." Mayor Mare explained.
"How did they even get that far if he was super big...?" Amethyst Star silently said.
"With this baby, we can catch those invaders by surprise with their own machine! They won't know what hit them!" Meowth patted the ship.
"We even tweaked it a bit to fit our standards. Team Rocket is unmatched with it comes to inventions, that much is true!" Jessie exclaimed while crossing her arms.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Plus the food here's surprisingly good." A pony chomped on some food from the ship's canteen.
"I see..." Mayor Mare nodded. "This is one major advantage. Perhaps finding Big Mac and Machamp in this will be easier. James is piloting this ship?"
"Apparently he flew a rocket ship when he was younger. Which is...something." Cherilee scrunched her face.
"Just you watch. Those ships will be blown out of the sky in a matter of seconds with my expertise aerial marksmanship skills." James grinned.
"You almost crashed us a few years ago when on our official rocketship with that Togepi. You'd better not do the same here, okay?" Jessie squinted her eyes at James.
"That was an honest setback. Besides the Togepi and Happinny were the cause of that." James flipped his hair while holding onto the controls of the ship, ascending it to the air. He had quickly remodelled the ship's controls to better fit the feeling of a human holding them.
If there's one thing Team Rocket is known for, it's their innate ability to mangle with technology and items to form whatever out there contraption they can think of. Mainly for catching Pokemon. They're genius inventors by skill but thieves by heart. Truly very versatile in what they can do.
Faye Mountains. The Changeling Hive. Afternoon.
The offensive on the Empress was about to begin. Celestia had gone over the plan with Chrysalis and Adagio. But it was a really straightforward one. Mostly because it was going to consist of them heading for a head-on full-on attack. Straight towards enemy territory with all they had. However, there was still some planning behind it. The changelings were already lined up, ready to march over to Canterlot to join in on this full-on attack on the other world.
And arriving at the Changeling Hive, here to assist others, were Starlight, Trixie, Goh and Thorax. Starlight, Trixie and Goh were more than happy to help. But Thorax was nervous coming here because of obvious reasons.
When arriving here, the changelings saw Starlight and the others, welcoming them since they were friends. But noticeably, the changelings were mostly looking at Throax recognizing him. And this was the main thing Thorax feared. All these looks could mean that they were not happy with him returning, but it was unclear if that was the case yet.
"Ugh..." Thorax winced as he lowered his head, hiding behind Goh.
"Doesn't seem so bad," Trixie whispered as she and the others were approaching the inside of the hive. "I wouldn't say those are bad looks."
"Yeah. Keep your head up, Thorax." Starlight said to the changeling. "There's nothing to fear from them with how they are now."
"It's not them I'm mostly worried about meeting again." Thorax winced as he was referring to one specific changeling. The Queen of all the Changelings and the one at the very middle of the hive with Celestia and Adagio at the moment.
Queen Chrysalis.
And just now, she had finished speaking with Celestia and Adagio, and now she was ready to head off to Canterlot with her changelings, pass through the gateway and end this invasion with one big attack. Chrysalis and the rest had noticed the arrival of Starlight's group. And of course, Thorax was at the very end.
"Thorax?" Chrysalis said with a surprised tone and widened eyes. Thorax immediately whimpered as he masked himself behind Goh's tall stature.
"Uh, hi." Starlight waved. "We were just coming here to see if any help was needed right now. We're just moving across Equestria to help others caught up in this invasion, ya know?"
"Well, right now, we're planning on ending this." Celestia stepped forward. "It'll be us going on the offensive instead of them. We also aim to rescue Pyrestar and apparently a few others. Twilight, Ash and the others are already heading towards Canterlot at the moment. And so are we?"
"Wait, really? Whew! Finally, this thing's gonna end!" Trixie let out a sigh of relief, pleased to hear the words ending.
"Oh, that's good to hear. Great that Twilight and the others are okay." Starlight nodded.
"We'll need all the help we can get in this. I've already called upon mostly everypony that can continue battling. How about you four?" Celestia asked.
"I just really want this to end. So I'll chime in." Starlight offered. "The rescuing part sounds uh...less chaotic? Maybe?"
"Mhm." Trixie agreed wholeheartedly. "Now that I think about it...I could snag some items there for my school..." She rubbed her hooves together, thinking about what else she could obtain in that world for special trick purposes.
"Count me in." Goh gave a thumbs up. "I think I'll take the rescuing part too.
"And Thorax?" Celestia looked to Thorax?
"M-Me? I uh...I guess so. But, I'm not sure Chry- I mean, Queen Chrysaliswould approve of me helping out." Thorax hushed.
"What makes you say that?" Chrysalis said, startling Thorax?
"What?" The changeling peered his head to the side after hearing Chrysalis' reply.
"I need my subjects, no, my children now more than ever in this instance," said Chrysalis. "If you're nervous and afraid of what I may do to you after your apparent betryal a few months back, I would reconsider it."
"Really?"
"Perhaps, you had the right incentive at the beginning Thorax." Chrysalis sighed. "Leaving our old hive because of how things were and you being less engaging in everything we do. Making friends was the only thing on your mind after all. That is what caused all of it."
"Uh yeah..." Thorax let out a sheepish grin before nodding slowly.
"At first, I thought it was ridiculous. But now, after making such wonderful friends like Ash and Pikachu, and new ones such as Adagio-"
"Just acquaintances." Adagio intervened for a quick word.
"Fluttershy and even more. Friendship is a nice and warming thing. And so is what else I had discovered." Chrysalis looked to her subjects. "I never realized that I never saw you all as family. And discovering family is something that I definitely needed. And you're family too, Thorax?"
"So...you...?"
"I forgive you." Chrysalis nodded. That prompted Thorax's fast-beating heart to slow down as a cheery and joyful expression graced his face.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"But I am still fairly upset about you just abruptly leaving the old hive." Chrysalis's expression changed.
"Oh. Sorry about that." Thorax squeed.
"Ha! That worked out better than expected." Starlight laughed with a nervous tone behind it. She honestly thought this could've gone badly when Thorax returned here to the hive.
"Splendid. Now then. I believe we're all ready." Celestia looked to everyone within the hive. She walked outside with Chrysalis and the others following after her. She entered the outside, facing the rest of the changelings here. She then spoke to them all. "Remember. We may not fully stop the Empress' empire due to her massive reign over multiple worlds, but we can do something significant with just one world. Let's make this count. Everypony get close to me. I'll teleport us all to Canterlot."
"Can you imagine what my students are gonna think of me when this is all done?" Trixie said to Starlight as they all went close to Princess Celestia. "Barry's gonna be so jealous, it'll be priceless!"
"You and Barry are still being competitive?" Starlight responded.
"Well, yeah. Thinks he can 1-UP me on everything. We'll see about that."
Canterlot. Approximately 1 hour later.
Arriving at Canterlot, everyone was all set. The remaining forces of Celestia's side arrived at Canterlot, still able to continue and not unconscious at the moment. There was a surprisingly large amount of soldiers left on Celestia's side. And that's what Celestia wanted to see for sure.
Also showing up, or essentially crossing paths, were, Ash, Twilight and Rainbow Dash's group. After being separated on different sides, even in different parts of two worlds, they had finally met up in one spot at last.
"Oh, nice! You guys made it!" Ash said to his arriving friends.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash! Where were you?" Twilight said to Ash.
"I went over to rescue Flurry Heart from Ghetsis. Totally got her safe home to her parents." Ash gave a thumbs up. "I tried to stop Ghetsis and Team Plasma, but I only sorta did it. They left to another world."
"A draw? Lame." Rainbow Dash pouted "So, Ash. You're keeping that staff?"
"Yep." Ash looked at the staff. "Lady Ilene trusts me with this. I won't give it back until I've ended the Ataxia for everyone out there."
"This is Sir Aaron's staff?" Luna squinted at the staff. "Hm. I thought it would have more flair to it for something so important and legendary."
"It may not look like it. But boy is this staff something." Ash replied.
"You're all here. Splendid." Celestia faced Ash and the others. "How are you? Any of you hurt along the way?"
"We're fine," Fluttershy said. "We did go through a lot these past 2 days."
"That'll be nothing once we head through that world." Applejack responded. "We're gonna head straight for our other-selves first, right?"
"Definitely." Twilight nodded.
"Pyrestar's my aim." Celestia pointed her hoof at herself. "Adagio here will take every last magic from the Empress with the Magic Siphoning Jar. And obviously, retrieve the magic she gave to me. Then, I plan to use the power of the Travel Sphere to try and block out any further access to our world from the Empress' side. If it can be done. If not, then another approach with this sphere will be made. Afterwards, we'll return them to their original owners. W-Whoever they may be."
"That plan of yours from the Pokemon Festival really paid off, didn't it?" Sunset Shimmer, who was also here, said.
"Of course it did. Who else could come up with something simple yet so effective?" Adagio smirked. "But it hasn't fully paid off yet. Every last drop of her magic will be taken from her. Even her own original magic."
"Are Big Mac and Machamp still okay?" Fluttershy wondered.
"They're fine." Applejack had confidence in her big brother and his partner. "With a Pokemon that strong and that big, ain't no way they're gonna have that much trouble."
"There's still Zekrom. Reshiram's going up against it, right?" Spike questioned Celestia.
"Reshiram can handle this," Celestia reassured before taking a deep breath. She then spoke in her Royal Canterlot voice but at a lower level. "Now then. Everypony. My subjects and allies from other parts of Equestria. I believe it is about time to end this. After all of this is said and done, not everything will be fully peaceful again, I can say that much with what other threats are waiting for us in the future. However, all together, we'll gradually work towards that wanted peace and harmony until it becomes. With the Pokemon involved, I'm not sure what else to expect if I'm being honest. But we'll tackle it together won't we?"
Everyone could agree on that. Ever since last year, they've all been through so much. Mostly from the Pokemon side considering how wild everything is when involving these Strange and Wonderful Creatures. But despite all the antics and wild events, they've made it through to this very day where they're taking on one big enemy. it's certainly the first but it won't be the last.
"Here goes." Celestia held up a Travel Sphere with her amplified magic. Everyone could see how grand Celestia's magic was now. They noticed the golden and cosmic light shining from it as they couldn't help but gawk at its splendour.
Truly something they'll miss seeing once the magic is all returned.
Empress Twilight's World. Canterlot Palace.
"Tch! This should've been over at the fourth of firth hour..." The Empress growled as she had just recovered after having millions of magic taken from her. "Where's Tempest?! She should've been here already!"
"S-Sorry, Empress!" A guard shuddered. "B-But you sent her group to conquer another world, remember? They weren't able to attend the invasion among the others. I-It's not a full-scale invasion after-"
"It should've been one instead of medium-scale. What was I thinking?" The Empress put her hoof on her face. She then started acting in erratic behaviour speaking to herself rapidly. "How did it come to this? I didn't underestimate them. Did I? I couldn't have. I knew what I was getting into. I always do. It's fine. I still have more forces from other worlds. So who even cares? Yes." She then let out a cruel and haunting smile that made the guard slowly back away. "I haven't lost yet. I haven't lost at all. I can win this without having a full-scale invasion. I can still win!"
"Um...A-Alright. I'll just be somewhere see." The guard said as he backed away, not wanting to be in the same room with the Empress and her intimidating smile.
"Who cares how long it will take? I can-"
"Empress!" Interrupting her shout, another guard came bolting in as fast as he could. "It's the enemy! They're attacking us now!"
"What?!"
After opening a giant gateway with her magic, Celestia and her forces had arrived at Canterlot. And they arrived in a big way. Instead of just passing through it first, a different approach was made before that.
When the gateway opened, Passion and Salamence had both used Plasma Bolt and Hyper Beam, firing two huge attacks passing it through. Once the attacks passed through, not only did they tear through the ground, melting parts of it with the heat of plasma, but they also crashed into the castle, causing an immediate explosion to happen and a fairly large hole in the wall to form as rubble fell.
The plasma from Passion's Plasma bolt was also starting to spread with tiny little plasma volts. The volts themselves had the capability to melt the building gradually as they kept moving rapidly. When you have something hotter than the sun itself, it will do that guaranteed.
And passing through the gateways next were the Wonderbolts and all other Flying-Type Pokemon. Immediately, the Flying-Type Pokemon all collectively used a flurry of Flying-Type attacks.
The attack Hurricane was formed as moves such as Air Slash, Gust and Air Cutter were added onto Hurricane, increasing its size and wind pressure. This was a downright surprise attack.
The hurricane travelled across the ground, picking up huge chunks of rocks from the rubble as well as nearby guards. Here in this universe's Canterlot, there were already ships ready to enter the other world to continue the invasion. However, from this surprise Hurricane, the ships had been pulled into them.
"Plasma Bolt, again!" Celestia commanded.
"Gardevoir!" Passion had jumped through the gateway, merging Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt as one, forming Plasma yet again as she unleashed the bolt of plasma, this time on the Hurricane.
When coming into contact with the Hurricane, the plasma from Passion's attack had been wrapped around it, merging the moves into one even greater move than it already was before.
Now it was a Plasma Hurricane. And this Plasma Hurricane was not only tearing through the ground, picking up nearby ships and soldiers, but it was also shooting out sparks of plasma from the turbulent movements. The sparks spread out, hitting parts of the palace.
Windows, rooms, floors, the courtyard had all been struck by the flying sparks as the hurricane kept moving. The soldiers couldn't do anything against this Plasma Hurricane. The Plasma Hurricane attacked the outer walls, ripping them apart as they kept moving.
While the Plasma Hurricane raged on, along came Celestia's forces through the gateway, finally showing up. And standing behind were various ranged Pokemon attacks for back support. It was time for Celestia's side to return the favour to the Empress' world.
"Everyone, do your best!" Celestia said before turning to Ash and the Mane 6 each. "Let's head to the dungeon! That should be where Pyrestar and the rest are!"
"Got it! Dragonite, Twister on that Hurricane!" Ash pointed at the Plasma Hurricane.
"Dragonite!" The Dragon Pokemon faced the Plasma Hurricane, flapping her wings ferociously. She made her own turbulent wind but this time with draconic energy within it. After flapping her wings and forming the Twister, Dragonite sent it towards the Plasma Hurricane, adding some extra wind to it. Plus, the size had just increased, growing to a substantial size that could prove to be a threat for all of Canterlot.
Chrysalis herself and her changelings chose to go for a more stealthy approach. They had transformed themselves into the soldiers of this world's Canterlot. Having the ability to also mimic clothing was certainly a benefit for all shapeshifters. Zorua included. Chrysalis herself changed into Skyblue Shine specifically to blend in. To let Celestia and her forces know that they were changelings, they kept a visible C on the sides of their armours for clarification.
Ash and the others were going for a straightforward rescue while everyone else takes care of the action. The Probopass had also come through, using their magnetism on any other piece of metal that was even within their sights. The Flying-Types continued to give aerial support. And this time, with the addition of the changelings, the Fairy-Type Pokemon chimed in with whatever mystical Fairy hijinks they could give out.
The Empress went over to the balcony as she looked outside at the highest point of the palace, witnessing the conflict and immediate scuffle across her own grounds.
"Celestia...!" The Empress twitched as she was losing her cool at this point. "She was supposed to be obliterated by Zekrom! Why is she still here?! Forget about heading to the other world! We'll deal with them here!"
"Yes, your greatness!" A guard said as they bolted off, ready to give off a counterattack.
Within the palace, of all the many rooms here, the Princess Celestia of this world had heard all of the commotions from outside. She was currently cleaning one of the rooms within the palace when she felt the whole place rumble.
"What was that?" She wondered as she placed the duster down with her magic. She felt another rumble through the palace as she quickly galloped out of the rooms to see what was unfurling at the moment. The depowered alicorn looked outside to window to witness two opposing sides going against each other.
One from the side she puts all of her faith in to free her and everyone else from the Empress' reign and the other she's bound to against her will.
The forces from the Empress' side started fighting back by bringing in their whole arsenal. They were originally planning to head to the otherworld, but now that their enemies were here, that wasn't going to happen now. They would have to take them on in their own world.
But the first major issue was the giant Plasma Hurricane that was tearing through the city. It was seemingly unstoppable considering that was pure plasma within it. An element that not even metal could do much against. And touching it would just result in unpleasant and unwarranted burns.
However, while they couldn't do much, they had a response to this horrifying hurricane. The Empress herself. High on the balcony, with the remaining amount of magic she had, the Empress had used a powerful spell to hold the hurricane in place.
An abrupt halt came to the Plasma Hurricane as the Empress was actually straining. Because of all the magic taken from her, she had a harder time using her magic on grand scale attacks such as this one. But, she still had a considerable amount within her. Thus, with what she could do, Empress Twilight used a spell to dissolve the electrons of the plasma as she then separated the hurricane, scattering the remains into the wind.
With the Plasma Hurricane gone, the Empress' forces could now attack without anything major standing in their way or picking them up with turbulent speeds. Both sides charged at each other or just stood back with far-ranged attacks for support. Very soon, it was an all-out brawl with both sides.
"Look! There she is!" Spike cried out as he and a few others looked up at the balcony, noticing the Empress after she had ended the Plasma Hurricane.
"That's her...?" Twilight said as she had finally seen her alternate universe self for the first time. She glared at the older version of herself. To say she was stunned was an understatement. This was a perplexing and odd sight to her. The height difference and everything.
And the Empress herself looked down at her younger self with a different expression. One of irritation and scorn. The two alicorns locked eyes for a moment before the Empress walked away from the balcony, scoffing at her younger self.
Twilight herself ran with Ash, Celestia and the others, going straight for where Pyrestar and the Elements of Harmony were located. However, it wouldn't be so easy as there would be forces that would stand in their way.
As for the Empress herself, she needed Zekrom in this instance considering how everything was going awry and her magic had been diminished. Zekrom was her ace in the hole and the only thing powerful enough to help her. Because she had influence over Zekrom and was telling him to keep on rampaging, the Empress decided to do it again, but this time for a different reason.
"Zekrom...Come back. I need your help."
Equestria. Out in the mountainside.
Speaking of Zekrom, his battle with Reshiram continued. A giant pillar of electricity burst out of the ground, shattering the mountain that was near it as Zekrom flew out of the smoke, charging at Reshiram. Both were already surrounded by their respective sphere-shaped auras of Fire and Electric.
They smashed their spheres into each other, going back and forth while obliterating the landscape before them. Zekrom unleashed a short-burst blast of lightning from his mouth with Reshiram promptly avoided. The Dragon of Truth then advanced towards Zekrom as they collided once more.
The Pokemon and ponies looked up in the sky from great distances as they witnessed the sight of a red and blue light going back and forth. The mountains were being shattered, shockwaves were filling the sky as the red and blue lights zipped around, showing just how fast the two Dragons were.
The weather itself was changing from their battle. Not only were thunderstorms raining down but the summer sun was increasing with heat too, causing an immediate drought.
Zekrom used Dragon Claw, slashing Reshiram in the stomach as the Vast White Pokemon was launched into the air. Zekrom then pursued Reshiram, using Fusion Bolt to speed himself up. The Deep Black Pokemon flew past the Dragon of Truth, appearing above him and using Dragon Claw once more, slashing down on Reshiram's back.
Reshiram was promptly sent spiralling downwards after that Dragon Claw as he was inbound for a direct crash to the ground. And when he did hit the ground, a crater large enough to cover an entire city had been formed from Reshiram's collision. But right after hitting the ground, Reshiram got right back up while Zekrom approached him.
The Vast White Pokemon then saw the approaching Deep Black Pokemon as he responded by using Fusion Flare, shooting it on the ground and masking himself in a giant dome-shaped fiery explosion. Zekrom came to a halt when diving down as he almost connected with the flames. The already large city-sized crater had grown thanks to Reshiram's Fusion Flare, growing to the size of an island.
Zekrom then moved back from the flames, descending on the ground as Reshiram's blue eyes flashed in the dome of plasma-level flames. The Dragon of Truth let out a roar that had blown away the flames revealing himself to Zekrom. Reshiram then flew forward, attempting to grab Zekrom, but the Dragon of Ideals had the same idea. Both flew forward, locking their claws together with intensive stares.
The two Dragons growled while holding claws, trying to push each other back. But all their struggle was doing was just shaking the mountainside with large rubble rising from the ground itself. Cracks were forming as the crater below them was only getting bigger from them both exerting their pressures.
Soon, all of Equestria would feel their clash. They might end up destroying Equestria without even having to be everywhere at once. They smashed their heads against each other a few times, only further destroying the ground. They went for another one, but Zekrom pulled a fast one, shooting Dragon Pulse out of his mouth and blowing Reshiram back.
Reshiram cried out, sliding on the ground before returning the favour with his signature move Fusion Flare. Zekrom bellowed as he used Dragon Claw as a quick rebuttal. By swinging his draconic claws, the Dragon of Ideals not only stopped Fusion Flare, but he also knocked it back. The giant ball of fire was sent downwards, moving on the ground like a bowling ball and heading straight for Reshiram.
The Dragon of Truth had been hit by his end attack, sending him upwards after the large explosion of flames emerged once colliding with his body. After being sent to the air, giant thunderbolts crashed down, striking the Vast White Pokemon's back. Reshiram was promptly sent crashing to the ground after receiving a smite from the thunderbolts that Zekrom made.
The smoke cleared as Reshiram was lying face-first on the ground. Zekrom closed his mouth as his glowing eyes. From how Reshiram was laying there, he believed that he had finally defeated the Vast White Pokemon after a long and arduous battle.
But to his surprise, Reshiram could continue. The Dragon of Truth stood back up by groaning. He had obviously taken a lot of punishment but his endurance was absolutely gob-smacking. Flames fumed out of Reshiram's mouth with smoke added to it. The Vast White Pokemon then raised his head, locking his eyes onto the Deep Black Pokemon. Reshiram wouldn't stop until he got to Zekrom.
This battle looked like it was about to enter its next phase until Zekrom heard the voice of the Empress reach his head. His eyes flashed a darker purple after hearing it.
"Zekrom...Come back. I need your help."
After hearing that, Zekrom chose to return to the other world. By flapping his wings, the Deep Black Pokemon took the skies, facing the other direction. He would have to find one of the gateways that lead back to the Empress' world since they were everywhere in this invasion.
Reshiram noticed Zekrom flying off as he chose to follow after him. He still had to snap his direct opposite out of it in whichever way he could.
While all the major action happens outside, less hyperactive actions were occurring inside. Or at least, that would be the case, thousands of soldiers were marching outside of the palace to grant assistance while also inside, Ash and the others had made their way indoors.
And the best way to make an entrance is the usual break something down. Ash knows a thing or two about that. In fact, Lucario used Aura Sphere to break a whole wall down to enter the palace in the first place.
"This whole place looks like Canterlot castle but it's got more floors!" Ash noticed when running across the palace with his friends. This whole palace was absolutely ridiculous in size. So spacious and expansive it was just ridiculous.
"Differences or not, the dungeon is still at the lowest part of Canterlot!" Celestia replied. "Just head there and-"
However, being knee-deep in enemy territory, especially the very universe itself would lead to Ash's group coming across some big surprises. And the surprises certainly came when something interrupted Celestia's sentence and order. Through the giant metal doors, each of them had opened up. Multiple of them even were the many robotic creations made by the Empress' scientists.
But this time, some new creations were involved. More of those Robotic Sea Serpents, a smaller variant of the Robotic Octopus and some more of those aerial robots. But aside from that, there were also these giant metallic spiders that crawled onto the wall when coming out of the hatches. The metallic spiders had shot out webs like normal spiders but these webs had a bit of a poisonous touch to them.
"Oh!" Starlight gasped as she was almost hit by the poisonous webs. It just passed her, hitting the ground instead and adding some poison to it.
"They obviously have defences for the indoors too! Everypony scatter into groups!" Celestia ordered as everyone else went into different groups, moving in random directions to try and grab the attention of the metallic creations so they do not take them out in one spot.
Already, pandemonium had been created in the palace. And more of it was about to be made as some of the soldiers from Celestia's side had barged into the castle. So did the changelings with their stealthy nature.
And to be expected, the metallic creature also spread out, chasing after their own groups. But they all had one set location. The dungeon where Pyrestar and the others are being kept. That was their main goal. And obviously putting an end to the invasion at once.
Luna had her own group. As always, Darkrai was by her side but hers was fairly small. It was just Darkrai who was with her right now. One of the aerial robots followed them but Darkrai took quick work of the aluminium creations with a quick and easy Thunderbolt to fry their systems.
Luna and Darkrai had unknowingly entered the second floor due to how vast this palace was. The floors here had a different organization than what Luna's own Canterlot has to offer.
"Where is that dungeon?! Was it necessary to remodel the castle?! It was perfectly fine with how it was before! This is just doing too much for no purpose!" Luna bellowed while flying through the castle.
"Don't you dare disrespect the Empress' design choices, Princess Luna." Someone had replied to Luna after her little rant about the palace's interior. And of course, the one to defend the Empress with any chance she could get with her words was the Android and arguably most loyal subject to Empress Twilight.
Skyblue Shine.
She stood before Luna with multiple soldiers behind her. These soldiers were all earth ponies as seen by their large builds and stature. And some Cyborg Manticores were added into the mix.
"You." Luna groaned as she descended to the floor with Darkrai. This isn't the first time Skyblue Shine and her have met. Their previous encounter was actually one that barely involved them even meeting each other. The Empress was the one who mainly met Luna anyway.
Luna knew that if she wanted to get any further, she would have to get past Skyblue Shine. But a part of her knew that if she were to do this, Premium Polish would be distraught and heartbroken even further. However, at this point, Luna was willing to take that risk.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 462 End.
Canterlot vs Canterlot with a side of Pokemon and Changelings
The offensive on the Empress' world was underway. On the outside, it was the usual. Two sides going against each other with constant back and forth. But right now, indoors, it was a different story.
Rescuing Pyrestar and this world's Elements of Harmony was the main priority next to stopping this invasion once and for all. Ash and the others had split up into groups after being found by many mechanical creatures from the Empress' side. But even if they split up, they had one clear destination. The dungeon.
The problem was that this palace was so freakishly gigantic and vast that the time it would take for them to find the palace is equivalent to the time it takes watching paint dry. At best. With so many floors in this palace, it dwarfed Canterlot Castle by a milestone. Much to the chagrin of Ash and everyone.
Right now, Ash, Twilight and Celestia had formed a group together with their Pokemon, searching for the dungeon. It may look like an entirely different castle and now a palace but the layout, while larger than ever, was still the same in a sense. Just with more floors. They knew it was underneath but the floors were so scattered and jumbled that it was hard to tell if they were even heading down.
"There has to be a quicker way to get there!" Twilight exclaimed.
"I saw we smash down to the very bottom!" Ash suggested while looking down.
"That's...not the worst idea in the world," Twilight responded.
"Smashing through?" Ash looked to Celestia.
"I think that's easier." Celestia nodded in agreement as she, Passion, Arcanine, Ash and Pikachu were about to smash or blast their way through the floors with Iron Tail, Mystical Fire, Flamethrower and some magic to boot.
All at once, they unleashed their attacks. Direct or ranged. Either way, it proved to be more than effective. The mish-mash of attacks had swiftly blown a large hole within the carpet and floor of the palace. A fairly sizable one too. With attacks as powerful as those, They had revealed parts of the lower floors thanks to this.
At least 5 floors were revealed, but none led to the dungeon. So, another attempt was made with those same attacks. To create an even larger hole and reveal the rest of the floor. But before they could do that, they were all promptly stomped by one of the many robotic creations of this empire.
Right ahead, a magical ray came flying towards the group, blazing through the atmosphere with a sparkling sound behind it. Pikachu was the first to take notice of this as he used Iron Tail as a shield, protecting everyone.
"Chu...Pika!"
"Huh?!" After protecting them, Ash and the others looked over to see what could've hit them. And up ahead was another one of the many vehicles that this Empire has to offer. A large flying vehicle in the shape of a board that had two large grey spiked wheels on both sides of the cockpit. The cockpit itself was covered in a thick purple and black armour with a large grey cannon and a multitude of them on all sides. It also had a long purple segmented tail with spikes and greens spots running down it.
Inside of this vehicle were some griffons as the pilots. Three of them in total. They commanded the vehicle, aiming straight for Ash's group. This vehicle's multitude of cannons unleashed concentrated bursts of magic instead of the traditional rays and spheres that the ships continue to use.
"Dazzling Gleam!" Both Celestia and Twilight said to their Pokemon.
"Espeon!"
"Gardevoir!"
Both Espeon and Passion synced together, using Dazzling Gleam in the form of multi-coloured rainbow rays. Togekiss chimed in with her own Dazzling Gleam as well. Multitudes of rainbow rays came flying out of the spheres, meeting with the burst of magic before cancelling each other out in a paroxysm of explosions.
The vehicle moved through the smoke, releasing a spray of magical flames from the cannons instead of just magic bursts. These magical flames were spread out in an attempt to hit all of its targets.
Ash and the others backed away, evading the spray of flames. But that wasn't all they had to watch out for. Some of the cannons weren't being used with the flames. That was because those cannons were charging up more magic bursts while the flames spread out.
"Let's break right through it! Pikachu, Quick Attack into Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Pikachu bolted forward, outlining himself in a swift white aura, moving at lightning speeds. The Electric Mouse Pokemon leapt over the flames as Togekiss flew under Pikachu, allowing him to gain a boost. Pikachu used the Jubilee Pokemon's head as a pedestal for an extra jump as he had now gone above the vehicle. "Chu...Pika!"
Pikachu swung his hardened metal tail down above, smashing it onto the middle of the cockpit. The thick armour of the cockpit took Pikachu's Iron Tail head-on. Unfortunately, Iron Tail didn't smash right through because of its defence. In response, the tail from the vehicle swung around, whacking Pikachu off.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried out as Togekiss caught him by flying by. "Pika!"
"Togekiss!"
"Let's try melting it then! Come out, Ninetales!" Twilight sent her Ninetales out.
"Ninetales!"
"Take that Fire and power yourself up, Ninetales! Then use Mystical Fire!"
"Tales!" The Fox Pokemon snarled at the ship as he rushed towards the flames. Thanks to his ability Flash Fire he could benefit from this instead of taking damage.
"Passion, use Mystical Fire! Arcanine, Flamethrower!"
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Dragonite, Dragon Claw!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu leapt into the air, sparking out an aura of electricity around him while Togekiss was going for Aura Sphere, opening her mouth and summoning a sphere made out of Aura.
"Drago...!" Dragonite herself huffed her chest, pulling her head back as she wanted to make sure that Hyper Beam would take out the vehicle in one go. The vehicle aimed some of its cannons up at Pikachu and Togekiss while the rest were sent towards Dragonite and Ninetales.
Ninetales had absorbed the flames from the cannon with Flash Fire. His body illuminated a deep red as his Fire-Type attacks were greater than ever. After absorbing them, the Fox Pokemon then breathed fire on the cannon that sprayed out the flames, obliterating it.
Pikachu's Thunderbolt came crashing down as it ended up clashing with the burst of magic instead of the vehicle itself. Sadly, his attack was cancelled out from the burst of magic and the same went for Togekiss' Aura Sphere.
Passion teleported in front of the vehicle as she put her hand in front with flame appearing. The griffons' inside of the vehicle widened their eyes after seeing Passion appear in front of them all of a sudden. "Voir!" Passion unleashed the flame, blowing a hole in front of the ship and even knocking it back.
Arcanine them leapt over Passion, landing on the top of the cockpit's canopy itself. The Legendary Pokemon howled before breathing a hot flame onto the thick armour that protected the vehicle, gradually melting through it. The tail whipped itself at Arcanine, trying to knock the Fire-Type off. Arcanine used Extreme Speed to jump right off, causing the vehicle to hit itself with its tail.
"Dra!" Dragonite then closed in, using Dragon Claw to smack the vehicle. She hit it so hard that not only did she knock some of the metal off, but she even sent it spinning and crashing into a wall. The vehicle quickly recovered itself as it used its cannons to switch up its usage.
Instead of magic bursts of magical flames, this time, the cannons of the ship had flown off the vehicle, detaching themselves from it. The vehicle itself descended, using its wheels to stay on the ground instead of the air. After detaching from the vehicle, the cannons all formed together to create one large cannon that had both magical artilleries within them.
Afterwards, the cannon began charging a mixture of both magical bursts and magical flames, forming a large sphere as the buildup and aiming it downwards. Meanwhile, the vehicle was charging straight towards Ash and the others for a head-on attack.
"Dragonite, Hyper Beam on that cannon!" Ash pointed up at the cannon while Celestia and Twilight faced the incoming vehicle.
"Let's see just how much this magic is capable of..." Celestia scrunched her face as she chose to use her magic for this one. She was already given great magical prowess thanks to the jar, but now it was time to test out just how great it was. She's already seen how it works with healing and teleportation or even trying to grab something.
Celestia's horn lit up, emanating that bright cosmic and solar light once more. By aiming at the vehicle, she unleashed an eruption of magic so large that it obliterated most of the floor beneath them while mimicking the sound of the sun roaring. The griffons gasped, seeing how overwhelmingly large and most definitely volatile this magical attack was. Not wanting to be caught up in it, they jumped out of the vehicle with the ejector seats.
And at the right time, at amazing speeds, the beam had engulfed the vehicle, tearing it apart while also melting it with the heat of the sun itself. The vehicle had been obliterated as the griffons retreated. As for the giant cannon, Dragonite's Hyper Beam had a small power struggle with it before Dragonite ended up succeeding. Hyper Beam broke through as it obliterated the cannons, destroying them until they were nothing but small scraps of metal.
"Phew...That handles that." Ash adjusted his hat.
"Pikachu."
"Seems that short battle had also greatly helped us out. Look." Celestia pointed her hoof at the giant hole made during this battle. Most of it was from Celestia's own amplified magic. The hole revealed the lower floors and what they entailed. "If we keep this up, we may be able to go all the way down. But my goodness, those are a lot of floors."
"Let's not waste any time then." Ash immediately jumped down to the next floor with Pikachu and Dragonite while Twilight, Celestia and their Pokemon followed.
Elsewhere.
Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had formed their own group after evading the array of machines that pursued them somewhere else in the palace.
They were each at the upper part of the palace, sneaking around. They had just managed to evade their pursuers. Mostly thanks to Rainbow Dash's speed. Right now, no one had seen them yet.
"Where's that dungeon...?" Rainbow Dash shifted her eyes around as Audino was trying to hear for anything that sounded remotely close to a dungeon. They were all shuffling against the walls, trying not to draw any attention.
Sounds of both sides going against each other echoed throughout the palace and outside in the city. There were even sights of multiple lights flashing about. Either from magic or Pokemon moves.
"Dino?" Audino heard something to the left of her ear. Something unusual. She wasn't sure if it was the dungeon but she had to check it out. It sounded like some sort of liquid was bubbling around. "Audino!"
"Audi hears something near there!" Fluttershy translated as she pointed her hoof at the left side of the palace. Fluttershy and the others followed Audino's directions as the Hearing Pokemon went ahead of everyone.
While moving towards that spot, they noticed some soldiers passing by as they quickly concealed themselves against the walls, pressing their backs on them. The soldiers marched forward with thunderous hoofsteps of metal as vehicles followed behind them.
After the soldiers and vehicles had left, Audino and the group advanced, heading for their set location with light footsteps and gentle wingbeats to avoid making any noise.
Eventually, they reached their location as they came across what seemed to be a laboratory. Definitely not a dungeon. However, even if it wasn't a dungeon, something within this lab caught their attention. Mainly the attention of Fluttershy, much to her dismay.
This land had an array of windows, and looking through the windows, they had spotted hundreds of animals inside, all being kept inside of giant tubes with purple liquid within them. All of the animals were unconscious while within the tubes as some of them were outside of the tubes and laid on the table. The scientists with this lab were currently working on these animals in horrific ways. They were adding mechanical parts to them as some of the animals laying on the table were currently missing parts of their bodies and replaced for technology.
"What the..." Applejack's jaw dropped as Fluttershy looked over at shock with her hooves over her mouth and even her face. This is a sight that she would most definitely hate to witness. Seeing the animals being worked on in such a way just for the sake of creating cyborgs and machines.
Even the manticores could be seen inside of this lab, hurt and unconscious as their bodies were being altered to form a Cyborg Manticore. What's even worse was that Fluttershy also noticed a very familiar face in the tubes. A certain minotaur.
"Iron Will?!"
"So this is how they make those machines, huh? Not anymore! We're busting them out of there! Braviary, Superpower!"
"Bra...Viary!" By lighting his wings up, the Valiant Pokemon had smashed his talons onto the large metal door, sending it flying and breaking it down.
"Hm? Oh!" One scientist gasped as she had been struck by the door as it landed on her. Very soon, all of the scientists turned around, become alert after the door suddenly flew out and struck one of their fellow scientists.
There, Braviary, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Sceptile, Audino and Scorbunny stood. Plus Castform inside of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, perfectly concealed.
"This stuff's super weird..." Rainbow Dash grimaced and winced at the sight of the lab and what they were doing to the animals here. "Let's break it all down! Superpower again!"
"Sceptile, Dragon Pulse!"
"Braviary!" Braviary smashed his talon on the ground, forming the energy of Superpower as the floor itself had trembled with large cracks appearing. The scientists were losing their balance as the orange energy from Superpower erupted from the floor, hitting some of the scientists and destroying the inventions and technology that they had made. Some of the tubes had even broken apart because of this.
"Sceptile!" As for Sceptile, with a huff of his chest, he built up some large draconic energy. And with a puff, he exhaled a dragon-shaped blast from his mouth. The blast strafed across the air and lab before crashing into some of the scientists, catching them with the draconic outburst and knocking them out.
"We have a problem!" A dragon scientist cried out as he rapidly pressed on a small red button to call for a major alert. An alert sound filled the room as Braviary and Rainbow Dash flew towards the tubes, using Steel Wing and hooves to break these tubes apart. Applejack used her amazing kicking strength to also break apart the tubes, freeing the animals as the purple liquid spread across the ground.
"Scorbunny!" Scorbunny used High Jump Kick, jumping off of the tubes while also breaking them each time with his glowing foot. All of the scientists high-tailed it out of here as they were leaving the issue for something else.
All of the animals that were freed from the tubes had been picked up by Audino and Fluttershy. The problem was that they now had to find a place to send them to safety. Luckily, they had a solution to that. Those nifty Travel Spheres.
In the end, Colress was of great use after inventing such a useful object.
Travel Spheres could be found in this lab since they were also being worked on. Mostly for better usage even though they were fairly good already. Practically perfect.
"Quick!" Fluttershy picked up a Travel Sphere as she had only one place in mind where they could be safe. The first place she thought of as the Travel Sphere responded to her mind.
Pallet Town.
"Through here!" Fluttershy placed some of the smaller animals through the gateway while Audino did the same. The animals that could still move quickly flew, jumped or ran towards the gateway for immediate safety while Rainbow Dash, Braviary and Applejack kept freeing them.
"This'll be over in no time!" Rainbow Dash said as she dashed around, shattering the tubes at sonic speeds, freeing more of the animals. However, as she went to smash the next tube, from above the ceiling a hatch had opened up. And from that hatch, something of a circular shape.
It dropped down from the hatch, landing right in front of Rainbow Dash as she crashed into it. The pegasus took a little tumble as she flew back. Whatever landed in front of her, clearly stood in her way. Something that had responded to the alert made by the dragon.
"Ow! What the!?" She held her face, wondering what she bumped into. She could've sworn she was going for the tube. That was when she, Applejack and the rest noticed the new mechanical entity standing before them.
It had its circular shape as it was a gigantic robot in the shape of an upside-down bowl with one very scarlet eye in the centre with a multitude of hatches that seemed like they could be opened up. The eye in questioned flashed a scarlet colour before scanning Rainbow Dash and the others with the first look.
"More of these robots?" said Applejack.
"Pssh. We've broken a bunch already. We can totally break this super big one. No prob-" Just as she said that with confidence in her voice, the hatches of the robot opened up, revealing an array of long and wide arms with something on the end of them all. Mostly claws but they varied with other objects. All could either attack or grip. There were enough arms here to catch a hundred victims, especially with how they were moving.
The machine immediately saw Rainbow Dash and the group as enemies as it went on the offensive. And it used one of its arms with specific objects on them. One of them had a vacuum cleaner mouth as the object of choice. But, while it may not look large, the suction was large as the vacuum activated.
Immediately, Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth as this vacuum was starting to pull her in and everyone else in. The radius and range of this vacuum was nothing to scoff at. It certainly worked better than an actual vacuum due to its effectiveness as Rainbow Dash and the group were being pulled towards the machine.
"W-Woah, Woah!" Rainbow Dash cried out as she rapidly flapped her wings, trying to escape from this pull. But this vacuum could pull like a tornado, creating its own air currents. Scorbunny held on tightly to Fluttershy's hoof while Fluttershy held onto Audino.
Applejack quickly used her lasso, whipping it towards the nearest object she could find. The lasso landed itself onto one of the tables, as the earth pony held on for dear life with her teeth. However, even her lasso wasn't enough as it was starting to rip due to the force of this machine's pull.
"S-Sceptile!" Sceptile chimed in by using his vines. Instead of using them to wrap onto something to hold on to, he used them against the enemy. He immediately figured that dealing with that vacuum was the best option if they wanted to avoid this potent pull.
Vines were sent flying towards the vacuum arm from the robot, ready to hold them and rip them right off. However, the other arms existed for a reason. One of them was hedge trimmers. Of all things. With extra sharpness. With one swing, the machine had cut the vines in half with its sharp hedge trimmers.
"Tile?!"
"B-Braviary! Superpower with your wings!"
"V-Viary!" Braviary, trying desperately to fly away could see that it was useless. So, if he couldn't fly away with his wings, might as well used them to attack. The Valiant Pokemon lit his wings up as he was now the most vulnerable to the pull of the machine.
But as he was being pulled towards the machine's vacuum, the Normal-Flying-Type then clapped his wings together, causing an immediate thunderclap. The thunderclap ruptured through the atmosphere as it had counteracted the machine's pull.
The vacuum's strength had been blown back as the machine felt a slight tremor after shockwaves of Superpower passed through it. Surprisingly, the arms it held barely even chipped. This machine was definitely built better than most creations from the Empress' side. If anything, this could be considered their wild card.
Everything simmered down after the vacuum pull. But things immediately picked up once the machine started using one of its arms again.
"Use Superpower on the arms!"
"Leaf Blade, Sceptile!"
"Scorbunny! High Jump Kick!"
"Braviary!" Braviary, Sceptile and the others approached the machine, aiming to get rid of those pesky arms since they would prove to be a problem.
And they once again proved how much of a threat they were. When Braviary attempted to use wings to either shatter or chop off the arms, one of the arms had a camera. More importantly, a camera with the flash on. The machine used the camera, aiming it at Braviary and using the flash function to blind Braviary for a bit.
"Vi!" Braviary closed his eyes as he had missed one of the arms just by a smidge thanks to that distraction. Afterwards, one of the arms whacked the Valiant Pokemon away.
"Scorbun!" As for Scorbunny, for someone so small, the machine could just use one of its claw arms and nothing too flashy or extravagant. And that's what it did. When Scorbunny went to kick through the many arms, one of the gripping arms grabbed the Rabbit Pokemon by the ear. "Bun?"
Afterwards, while holding Scorbunny with its ear, the machine then looked towards Sceptile, already having an arm ready for him. Or rather, multiple arms.
"Scep!" Sceptile swung his bladed leaves rapidly while the machine used its many arms to counter Leaf Blade. It did this without having to use any special items. Sceptile's blades clashed with the arms as the metal that protected the machine was more durable than expected. It was still aluminium but the exterior was tougher. "Sceptile!"
"Bravi!" Braviary then flew back as Applejack and Rainbow Dash got in on the action. They tried to use their hooves to hit through the metal exterior but were immediately met with incoming hooves. The two of them screeched as they moved away, just avoiding the arms.
Braviary himself soared high above the machine to try and get an overhead hit. The giant eye in the middle could indicate that it can see whatever is coming towards it straight ahead. But what about from above or even behind?
Well, that would be simple, until the giant eye had suddenly slid from its original position, looking up at Braviary. The Valiant Pokemon gasped as the giant red eye was now looking at him from an upwards angle. Afterwards, the red eyes started glowing all of a sudden with the sound of something charging up.
"Look out, Braviary!" Rainbow Dash could immediately tell what sound that was. Obviously, it was a laser. For once, not magic. Knowing this, Rainbow Dash quickly zoomed upwards towards her partner to save him.
The giant laser beam had been fired as Rainbow Dash stretched her hooves out, shoving Braviary as they both just managed to avoid being fully hit by this large laser beam. The beam shot right through the ceiling, leaving a giant hole in it as revealed multiple floors.
"..." Applejack quickly looked up at the open hole with an open mouth before facing Sceptile. "Yeah, we ain't drawing this out. Mega Evolve!"
"Mega Evolve!" Fluttershy also exclaimed as she and Applejack simultaneously activated the Mega Stones around their Pokemon, initiating Mega Evolution.
"Better not waste time too. Been a while since we've done this. Braviary, let's sync up!"
"Braviary!" Braviary nodded as he knew that the Bond Phenomenon was due. It has been quite a while since they've utilized this power, mostly because of the safety of Rainbow Dash's health when pushing herself too far with the power. But if there was ever a scenario where it should be used, an invasion would be the best one.
All at once, the trio initiated the absolute best of their abilities. Multiple lights surrounded Sceptile and Audino while a pillar of Rainbows broke through the ceiling after showing up from the sky. The pillar of rainbows consumed Braviary as the three Pokemon cried at the top of their lungs before their respective energies burst out.
Mega Audino, Sceptile and Rainbow-Braviary were here.
"This'll be easier than ever! Brave Bird!"
"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"
"Audi, Hyper Beam!"
"Bravi!" By responding to Rainbow Dash's movements, Braviary soared forward, coating himself in an orange aura while Sceptile ran beside him. Audino stayed back, putting her arms together for an extra-large Hyper Beam.
The machine had scanned the Pokemon, reading them as Mega Evolution. After doing so, the machine engaged with many arms. Several arms with various sharp objects on the end flew forward, going straight for Braviary and Sceptile. Rainbow Dash could see through Braviary's eyes, and since she had the faster reaction time, she could give out precise commands.
"Dodge! Rainbow Dash ordered as Braviary ascended, evading the arms. But they chased after the Valiant Pokemon either way. Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, moving in motion with Braviary while the other arms chased after Sceptile.
"Tile!" Sceptile, now quicker than ever in Mega Evolution, was able to knock some of the arms back with his strengthened bladed arms. The Forest Pokemon jumped on one of the arms, slashing his blades onto them. The power of Mega Evolution was no joke as that one slash to a vulnerable arm had actually cut it off.
Finally, they were making progress as Sceptile swung his arm again. However, one of the arms grabbed the Forest Pokemon by the tail, promptly slamming him against the wall. "Scep!"
"Braviary!" Braviary then spun around in the air as Rainbow Dash went for one of the oldest tricks in the books. The Hitting Yourself Trick. By descending downwards, the arms continued to chase Rainbow-Braviary. Once close enough, Braviary slowed down, allowing the arms to catch up at a quicker pace.
"Now!" Rainbow Dash yelled as Braviary boosted through the air, leaving a rainbow shockwave. At the right time, the arms with sharp objects ended up hitting the machine instead of Braviary, dealing visible damage to it. "Okay, Superpower!"
"Bravi!" After that trick, the machine was staggered a bit, allowing for Braviary to go in for a heavy Superpower. The Valiant Pokemon dived down with glowing talons, smashing them into the back of the machine. There was now a tremor that trembled the machine as its heavy and hard armour was finally being diminished. However, the machine recovered quickly as it unleashed a magical burst from its body, knocking Braviary away.
"Ugh!" And of course, Rainbow Dash felt the damage thanks to the Bond Phenomenon. Sceptile cut one of the arms that held him, freeing the Forest Pokemon as he promptly jumped back.
"Audino!" Audino found enough time to fully charge up Hyper Beam. With one thrust of her arms, she unleashed the giant beam of Infinity Energy as it even pushed her back from how strong it was. Everyone else ducked for cover after Hyper Beam had fired.
The machine responded by using its giant laser to fight back. Out of its large eye, the scarlet laser came flying out, meeting Audino's Hyper Beam. An immediate beam struggle had been made with Audino trying to push through.
"D-Dino...!" Audino growled as she was trying to keep her footing. The two beams were wobbling against each other, both trying to gain the advantage. The machine barely showed signs of it struggling. Then again, it was a machine so there's only so much it can show when it comes to a common emotion as struggling.
"Let's try and distract it! Go, Altaria!" Rainbow Dash pulled out another Poke Ball, sending the Humming Pokemon out.
"Altaria!"
"Freeze it with Ice Beam! Castform, use Weather Ball! And Braviary, Steel Wing!"
"Dragon Pulse, Sceptile!"
"Tari!" Altaria flew to the side along with Sceptile while Castform flew out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag. In this world, it currently sunny, so Sunny Form Castform was the response.
Even when clashing with Hyper Beam, the arms were still usable. The hundreds of them chased after the Pokemon that attempted to attack the machine from the side. Altaria used Ice Beam to freeze one of the incoming hands, but the arm had a blowdryer that held the heat to melt the ice off.
Sceptile used his increased speed to avoid the arms as he let out a dragon-shaped blast from his mouth. The blast was quickly negated by a mirror that the machine possessed, reflecting it at Sceptile. The Forest Pokemon gasped as he used his vines to quickly swing somewhere else away from Dragon Pulse.
Scorbunny and Castform tried melting the metal away with Flame Charge and Weather Ball, but all it resulted in was the machine using two arms to not only catch Weather Ball but send it right at Scorbunny, hitting him with it instead. It was even built for flame resistance.
"Scor!"
"D-Di...Audino!" Audino screamed at the top of her lungs, trying her absolute best to win this struggle. Applejack assisted by pushing Audino and so did Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. They put their backs into it, using all the strength from their hooves to help Audino.
Braviary soared in, using Steel Wing to cut one of the arms off, however, he was quickly met with an arm that had a mallet as its weapon, whacking the Valiant Pokemon in the stomach with it.
"Agh!" Rainbow Dash cried out as she held her stomach. The mallet to the stomach was unpleasant as the pegasus backed away. The arm then used the vacuum again, pulling Castform, Altaria and Scorbunny in with its amazing pull.
"C-Cast!"
"Scorbun!"
"Scorbunny!" Fluttershy cried out.
"Castform! Altaria!" And so did Rainbow Dash to her Pokemon. Braviary recovered after that hit to the stomach as he went in for another Steel Wing to try and break the vacuum arm. However, hundreds of arms soared towards the Valiant Pokemon, all aiming to grab him.
Through Rainbow Dash's eyes, Braviary zipped around, trying to avoid the arms that went after him. He locked his eyes onto Castform, Scorbunny and Altaria, using Brave Bird to speed himself up. The Normal-Flying-Type bashed into the three Pokemon, knocking them away from the vacuum. It resulted in some recoil damage that also harmed Rainbow Dash. And that gave enough time for the arms to grab Braviary.
"B-Bravi!"
"A-Audino..." Audino had reached her limit. She just wasn't strong enough to hold the giant laser beam back. And the machine had more energy to give out as it increased the size and strength of the beam. Before she knew it, Audino's Hyper Beam had been consumed. The always powerful Hyper Beam had actually been overcome.
Audino's eyes widened as she had been struck by the laser beam with a scarlet explosion occurring on the spot. Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were all caught up in this explosion.
Braviary and the Pokemon cried out as they watched their friends and trainers end up apart of the explosion before their very eyes. After crying out, the arms then smashed Braviary to the walls and tossed the Valiant Pokemon aside. They then whacked Sceptile and the others way, sending them tumbling on the floor.
Smoke filled the lab as the whole lab itself may come crashing down with how things were going. The explosion only added to the destruction. The machine then used its eyes to scan through the smoke, seeing if anyone was left after the laser struck.
And indeed, there were. At the last second, Audino had used her amazing defence in Mega Evolution to take the full force of the laser. She attempted to put up a Protect, but there was no time, so her own body was the shield. And it acted as a great shield. Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had only felt a bit of the defence as Audino stood before them.
"A-Audino..." The Hearing Pokemon's entire body was smoking. She could barely stand as her body was wobbling.
"A-Audi?" Fluttershy looked up at her partner, seeing that she took the attack for her friends. She was on the verge of fainting while the machine was still healthy and energized. "Audi!"
"D-Dino...!" The Normal-Fairy-Type breathed in and out as Fluttershy held her. The machine suddenly hovered off the floor as it had jet boosters on the bottom of it. The machine was now upping the difficulty. As if it wasn't difficult enough.
"Now what?" Applejack said as the Machine was hovering towards its targets with its arms moving about. It would now give chase to them.
"Time to go!" Rainbow Dash said as she and everyone in here decided to evade the machine's sudden charge. Braviary flew by, grabbing Audino with his talons as the machine barged through the tables with its hard armoured exterior.
Everyone else would still try and engage it in battle, but they would have to move while doing so as the armour around this machine was too tough to just attack head-on. As they exited the lab, the machine burst through the walls, shattering them.
Altaria and Sceptile both used Dragon Pulse while fleeing from the machine, but the machine used its many arms to hold up two mirrors, reflecting Dragon Pulse. The two dragon-shaped shockwaves almost hit Altaria and the others, just blowing up behind them as the machine kept pursuing them. This was far from over.
With Luna.
Right now, Luna was up against Skyblue Shine as both of their horns had locked together. Darkrai and the rest of Luna's Pokemon that she had sent out were dealing with the troops that came along with Skyblue Shine, gradually breaking apart this floor.
"None of this would've happened if you weren't so nosy, Princess Luna!" Skyblue Shine growled. "All of this could've been avoided and the Empress would've made your world better than ever with what she has to offer! You could've carried one with the Pokemon Festival instead of investigating my mansion! Everything that happens here from now on will be on and is currently happening is on your head!"
"Spare me the lecture!" Luna gave her rebuttal as the two of them flew back, unleashing magic rays against each other before they cancelled out. "If I had known you were not originally from this world, I would have exposed you last year!"
"Hmph! Unfortunately, that would've never happened. My daughter and I only arrived the moment the two worlds were crossed over."
"What? You mean you came here on that very day? Why?"
"The Empress is a forward thinker! This isn't the first time she's ever witnessed the Rift!" Skyblue Shine then flew over at Luna with a larger magic beam from her horn. Luna swayed to the side as the beam tore through the walls, just missing and hitting nearby Flying-Type Pokemon outside. "How do you think she was able to visit multiple universes?"
"Tch!" Luna scoffed as she used her magic to hit the ceiling, bringing huge chunks of rocks flying down on Skyblue Shine. The unicorn used her magic to blow away the rocks before using teleportation to appear in front of Luna.
Skyblue Shine and Luna locked hooves before the sky-blue coloured unicorn pushed the alicorn princess to the ground afterwards with the rest of the rubble falling.
Darkrai had already put some of the troops to sleep with Dark Void, allowing Musharna to use Dream Eater on them. Frillish used Hydro Pump on the floor, causing a massive flood.
Luna's Aurorus then stomped on the floor, splashing some water up as she used Aurora Beam next, unleashing a rainbow-coloured beam from her mouth. The vehicles that had arrived had been hit by Aurora Beam, feeling the force of an entire aurora on them. Excadrill dug into the ground with dig before erupting out of it and slashing his claws onto the soldiers and vehicles.
He was able to cut some of the armour off while also damaging the vehicles, breaking their weapons in the process. After doing so, Excadrill allowed his other teammates Xatu and Gligar to fly in.
Gligar had used Sky Uppercut, lighting his claw up before striking one of the vehicles. Once hit, a turbulent hurricane emerged, sending the vehicle into the air, hitting the ceiling. Xatu went next by using Air Slash, cutting off the weapons from the other vehicles with sharp blades of wind.
The Empress' side quickly retaliated by using one of their other vehicles. This vehicle shot out an electric bolt equivalent to 90,000 volts, almost as strong as the Pokemon move Thunderbolt. The bolt struck Xatu, shocking the Psychic-Flying-Type and knocking him out of the air.
The troops from behind stood by, using large cannons that they had to manually control. Out of those cannons, huge magic spheres that were highly explosive were sent out. Luna's Breloom jumped in, using Mach Punch to knock one of the sphere's back, hitting the cannons and the ponies near it instead. But, he was struck by another sphere that came his way after Mach Punch had been used.
Breloom fell to the ground as Luna's Florges helped him back up. The Garden Pokemon had then used Grassy Terrain, transforming the area around everyone with grass as a green tint coloured everything. Florges and the other Pokemon were being healed by this verdant light.
Skyblue Shine scoffed as she shoved Luna aside, causing the alicorn to slide on the floor. Seeing that she needed some extra assistance, she took out three of her Poke Balls, throwing them.
"Go! Aggron! Vikavolt! Aerodactyl! Deal with them!" She said as her three Pokemon came out. Now Luna's Pokemon had other problems to deal with as Luna and Skyblue Shine threw various spells at each other for an opportune 1UP.
"I'll do more than just defeat you! I'll make sure that Premium Polish will see her mother again! Perhaps not in the best of spirits and light." Luna said while she was in an immediate magic beam struggle with Skyblue.
"My daughter? Please! My daughter will be happy once this is all over! And when her purpose is fulfilled!" Skyblue roared back as the two ponies continued to go against each other with back and forth along with their Pokemon.
Meanwhile with Starlight's group.
She, Goh, Trixie and Thorax had also separated as they were roaming the halls. Well, actually they were currently evading the giant robotic spiders that were crawling after them. Their webs shot out, trying to strike at least one of them.
"Hatterene, Psycho Cut!"
"Cinderace, Pyro Ball!" Both Starlight and Goh said while running from the spiders. A ball of flames and tearing blades of Psychic energy zoomed across the hallway, cutting and blowing up these artificial arachnids along with their webs
However, through the smoke that had been formed from Pyro Ball, one of the webs from a further away spider had passed through. That web immediately latched onto Starlight, grabbing her by the face.
"Mmm?!" Starlight's face became muffled once the web flew by and grabbed her.
"Starlight!" Goh and the others said as the spider had been revealed through the smoke. It had then tried to pull Starlight in to poison her, but Goh grabbed onto Starlight, preventing her from being drawn in. Trixie and Thorax assisted by pulling as well.
The spider's pull was fairly potent. In fact, it didn't even need to move its own body. All it needed to do was retract the web and it would have Starlight either way.
"Blaze Kick, Cinderace!"
"Cinder!" Cinderace lit its foot up with flames before leaping over Goh and the others, the Striker Pokemon then kicked the web, breaking it in half with its intense flames and freeing Starlight from the grip. Goh then ripped the web off, allowing Starlight to breathe.
"Oh, thank Celestia!" Starlight exhaled. "That was..." But, as soon as Starlight was freed, just up ahead, more spiders were approaching in hordes. A seemingly endless array. "Oh come on!"
"Let's just keep moving! Cinderace, burn the floor with Blaze Kick!" Goh ordered while holding Starlight as he and the others ran off.
"Ace!" The Striker Pokemon used Blaze Kick once more, this time, sweeping the floor. Once it did so, the floor had caught on fire, erupting huge flames that stood before the spiders as a wall. This allowed Starlight's group to escape successfully.
The group ran through the hallway, looking for the dungeon themselves. As they ran, they witnessed the ongoing battles on the side. Ponies from both sides going against each other not just outside but inside too since some of them had entered. Pokemon moves were being thrown left and right, just breaking apart this massive castle bit by bit.
Some ponies rolled on the ground along with other Pokemon as Starlight and the others cleverly avoided them instead of engaging.
"Look over there!" Thorax pointed ahead with his hoof while flying with his wings. "Those stairs go straight down! Maybe that's where the dungeon is!"
"Oh, finally!" Trixie laughed as they all approached the stairs that led to the bottom. Along the way, they ducked and avoided incoming magic rays and Pokemon attacks so that they're not at the forefront of it all.
But as they were moving, one of their friends came into view. Just from the other stairs nearby. They seemed to be in a hurry and that made sense considering who they were.
It was Fluttershy's group. And of course, they were being pursued by that giant machine. Their Pokemon kept throwing attacks at the machine but it would not break. Its defence was unnaturally potent, even against Mega Evolution and the Bond Phenomenon.
"Everyone! Move!" Applejack cried out while they all galloped and soared away from the machine. Even when chasing them, this upside-down bowl-shaped machine could still fire lasers, blowing up the floor in the process. From one good look and a few seconds for their brains to process everything, Goh and his group had their faces grimace upon witnessing this giant machine.
They were already running, might as well just speed things up so that they don't get blasted by this behemoth of a robot as they continued towards the stairs.
"Down here!" Goh pointed at the stairs as Fluttershy's group followed their directions. But, like that even mattered to the machine.
Noticeably, when they went towards the downstairs area, the machine slowed down, halting its rapid movements as it stopped by the entrance to the lower stairs.
"Haha! It gave up! Maybe it ran out of batteries!" Rainbow Dash cackled. But she couldn't be farther from the truth. Once Rainbow Dash and the others were out of the machine's sight, the giant mechanism slowly backed away as it continued its pursuit, heading somewhere else to track the two groups down.
Canterlot Dungeon.
There they laid and were restrained. Queen Pyrestar and an older version of Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. They could feel the palace shake while also hearing various sounds outside. But they couldn't quite make it out what they could be.
But Pyrestar did. She knew that her friends were coming to save her. Even with her magic gone from her via the Empress, she kept a bright smile with her eyes closed and hopes up. And indeed, they were coming to save here and stop this invasion.
However, someone actually did end up finding the dungeon, but it wasn't Ash's group. It wasn't Starlight's group. It wasn't Fluttershy's group or even Pinkie Pie's group. It wasn't even a group at all.
Instead, opening the doors to the dungeon, Chrysalis found her.
She was still disguising herself as Skyblue Shine as she had passed the guards that stood by the dungeon doors. They were none the wiser. However, Chrysalis couldn't let them know it was her, so she had Ribombee deal with that.
"Ribom..." The Bee Fly Pokemon popped out of Chrysalis' mane as she used Pollen Puff, creating an extra-large ball of pollen in her hands. Afterwards, she tossed the pollen at the guards that stood by, casting a large shadow over them.
"Hm? What's that smell? Pollen?" The first guard smelt pollen in the air. They both turned around as their eyes were graced with giant pollen. "OH-" Before they could speak, the pollen landed on them, trapping the duo inside of its puffy and surprisingly thick substance.
But that wasn't all. After that, Chrysalis went up to the ball of pollen and punted it across the hallway, causing the two guards to take a trip in a rolling and bouncing ball of pollen for who knows how long.
"Good job, Ribombee," Chrysalis said as she reverted to her original form.
"Bombee!"
"Chrysalis...?" Pyrestar said as she looked up at Chrysalis. "You're the one who found me?"
"Surprised? I don't blame you." Chrysalis responded as she used her magic to try and break off the aluminium chains that held Pyrestar. "To think this is where I would be now. Mother isn't going to be happy about this later on."
"And everypony else?"
"Helping to stop this invasion." Chrysalis broke off one of the chains. "Ash and everyone included. From Canterlot to my own hive."
"That's good to hear." Pyrestar nodded as the other chains had been broken off. Pyrestar had finally been freed. All thanks to Chrysalis.
"You're Chrysalis...?" Just then, a weak and old voice spoke to the Changeling Queen, grabbing her attention. Just behind her and near Pyrestar was the old Fluttershy and the rest of the Elements of Harmony.
"Hm? Fluttershy?! What happened to you!" She went over to the older Fluttershy and her friends. "All of you?!"
"T-Twilight..." Fluttershy whimpered as she was struggling to finish most of her sentences.
"They are not of your world," Pyrestar said. "This is their world. Their unfortunate future. Something made by the Empress herself where she uses the Elements of Harmony by force."
"She did this to her own friends?" Chrysalis gasped.
"That is just how it is, I'm afraid." Pyrestar shook her head. Chrysalis then looked over at the weakened ponies, seeing that they were basically missing a lot of life in them. At any moment, they looked like they would be on the verge of losing their lives forever. Victims of power abuse and a life of freedom robbed from them.
Having compassion in her heart thanks to Ash's influence, Chrysalis chose to free them as well. Even if they weren't from her world.
"Hold on. I'll get you all out of there."
"No you won't, Chrysalis!"
With a thunderous sound as a purple beam shooting into the dungeon, someone had teleported into the dungeon, knowing that someone would try and free Pyrestar especially, but not the Elements of Harmony.
Obviously, it was Empress Twilight.
She emerged from the purple light with her eyes flashing a deep purple. She was not ecstatic at the moment. Pyrestar hid behind Chrysalis while the Changeling Queen and Ribombee stood before the tyrannical Empress.
"All of you from that world are running everything..." She said under her breath before glaring at Chrysalis. "Not anymore! Not again! I'll make sure that your world gets special treatment after I'm done conquering it!"
"Gee. What happened to that bravado and cool attitude you used to carry, Sparkle?" Chrysalis said in a snarky and mocking tone. She knew the Empress was already dealing with everything getting under her skin. And Chrysalis was just amplifying that. "Not so confident now in such a state, eh?"
Equestria. Above the skies. Team Rocket's newly claimed ship.
They were still moving through the skies of Equestria with James at the helm. Thanks to his surprisingly skilled experience with a ship, as noted by him as a young child, this could be considered light work for him. James had actually managed to shoot down some of the invading ships that were heading back to their world. They were only heading back since Celestia's forces were currently initiating their own counterattack at the moment.
Anyone below wasn't safe at all. James had already taken out every robotic creation and troop that was on the ground level with the magic cannons with great aim.
If there was one major advantage that James had, it was that he had more years of experience with technology compared to the Empress' world. After all, they only discovered advanced technology years after Empress Twilight came into power.
But aside from that, something major came up on the radar. James immediately shot up, locking his eyes onto the radar to see what was up ahead. The signal was absolutely enormous from what he had seen.
"Hm. That's a pretty big signal." James said, putting his hand on his chin.
"Oh, what is it?" Apple Bloom claimed up James' shoulder. "A bigger ship?"
"A giant robot?" Scootaloo said.
"A walking fortress?!" Sweetie Belle popped up.
"Is it those two dragons again?!" Cold Colt jumped over.
"Well, spit it out." Jessie slid in.
"No it's..." James squinted his eyes before looking outside the main window of the ship. He looked through the clouds, holding some binoculars to get a better view. He set the binoculars to closer distances, blazing through the clouds as he was able to make out something.
Through the grey clouds, James spotted a giant in the distance. Taller than the mountains, head beyond the clouds and possessing four arms with a glow around them. And on that giant's shoulder was an earth pony who was big in his own right. But nothing compared to his Pokemon.
After seeing through it all, James identified the Pokemon before his very eyes as the Gigantamaxed form of the Superpower Pokemon Machamp.
"A Gigantamaxed Machamp!" James gawked. "And that brother of Applejack on his shoulder too!
"Huh?! Let me see!" Apple Bloom got ecstatic after hearing that as she moved ahead, smashing her hoof on James' jaw as she pressed her face on the glass.
"Ough!" James was almost knocked out by Apple Bloom's hoof. Earth pony strength is certainly something to behold and experience, that's for sure.
"Big Mac!" Apple Bloom cried out, witnessing her big brother and his Machamp in the distance. "Big Mac! Over here! Where's the speaker?!"
"Right here." Mayor Mare lent the speaker to Apple Bloom, allowing her to really bellow her voice. The filly held the speaker in her hooves before holding her breath in to make things clear for her big brother's ears.
"Big Mac! Here! Over here!" By speaking through the speaker, the little earth pony's voice boomed at high frequencies, passing through the atmosphere and sky before reaching the ears of the bigger earth pony and the even larger Machamp.
"Hm?" Big Mac's ears immediately perked up after hearing a familiar voice ring through his ears.
"MA?"
"Apple Bloom?"
"Here! Right here!" Apple Bloom shouted louder as the ship was coming into view, revealing the giant R painted on the side. She still had her face pressed on the window, revealing herself to Big Mac.
And both siblings had bright smiles grace their faces. They were pleased to see each other again especially considering how much of a danger zone Equestria is due to the ongoing invasion.
The Gigantamax Machamp turned to face the ship as James slowed down so he wouldn't crash right into the Superpower Pokemon. One collision and there is a good chance that the ship would take damage and not Machamp. Afterwards, James descended the ship while Machamp lowered his body, allowing for Big Mac to slide down his giant arms.
Once the ship was close to the ground, it opened its hatch doors, revealing the steps necessary to enter the ship. Big Mac hopped off Machamp's palm before trotting his way towards the steely steps. His heavy hooves made the most noise when walking into the ship.
Big Mac was now onboard.
"Big Mac!" Overjoyed to see her big brother again, Apple Bloom zoomed over, hugging the larger earth pony. "Oh. I was super scared that you could've been taken away or worse with all those ships in the sky! And those giant dragons could've really hurt you and everything and...well...are you okay?!"
"Eeyup."
"Great!" She gave out a bright grin.
"That's almost everypony from Ponyville here. Just a few short." Mayor Mare observed. "But we're aware of what the rest of them are up to and where they are, right?"
"Sonata and Aria are safe at Undella. And uh..." Cold Colt looked into the sky, trying to figure out what else. "Wait, are Ash and the others still at Rota?"
"Um...maybe?" Scootaloo shrugged.
"Oh! I can call Applejack!" Apple Bloom pulled out her Xtransceiver from her saddlebag, "I'm sure they're fine! 100%!"
"We're not thinking of picking the twerps and twerpettes up, right?" Jessie whispered to James.
"Ah, they can handle themselves. As long as the twerp's there, those ponies have nothing to worry about. Honest." James responded. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom had selected Applejack's trainer number, calling for her big sister.
The Xtransceiver rang for a few seconds, 9 in total. After those seconds had passed, Applejack had answered the call as her face came into view.
"Applejack!" Apple Bloom exclaimed as Big Mac also looked over at the screen.
"Oh! Apple Bloom! Big Mac! Good to see ya'll are okay. And granny?" Applejack asked while speaking through the screen.
"Fine here!" Apple Bloom waved at Granny Smith who was asleep on one of the chairs within the ship. "What about you? Are you okay? And everypony else?!"
"Uh...We ain't injured that's for sure." Applejack chuckled. "Right now, we're at the Empress' world. Right in her palace. Everypony else are having a pretty big rumpus, inside and outside."
"Wait! You're at that world?!"
"Yeah. We're gonna end this whole blasted invasion, rescue our friend and uh...some familiar looking faces, then head on home for some sweet rest and delicious apple pie. How does that sound?"
"Sounds great! But if you're there, please be careful, okay?"
"We're gonna be-" Just as Applejack was about to reassure her big sister, something gigantic burst right through the walls next to Applejack and the friends next to her. "What in tarnation?! It c-" And just like that, with that sudden burst, the Xtransceiver had been disrupted, cutting the call and ending it as the last thing seen was large rubble being thrown across the area and right towards Applejack.
"Applejack?! Applejack!" Apple Bloom shook the Xtransceiver after gasping, trying to see if she could get her big sister to respond. However, something electrical had cut off that connection. Something from the other side where Applejack was. At first, Apple Bloom wasn't worried. But now, she most definitely was as she gulped. "James!"
"Hm?" James turned to Apple Bloom after that call.
"We need to go to the other world now!" Apple Bloom galloped over, jumping onto James' shoulder again.
"Huh? Wait? Right to the invaders?"
"Yes!"
"Hah! Absolutely not!" Jessie bellowed. "Like we're heading straight for that mess! Here's less cluttered than there, I can safely say that."
"Mhm." And Meowth agreed with a nod.
"But they could be in big trouble! Come on, James!" Apple Bloom shoved James' shoulder, pleading for him to head to the other world for assistance. And her puppy-dog eyes were just the motivation factor to try and convince him.
"James, if you send us there, we'll be in for a rough ride that'll waste us all." Jessie leaned to James. "We're not equipped to handle an entire empire, especially if it's in their own territory."
"Yeah. Dealing with less of them in the sky and ground is a safe bet to me." Meowth chimed in as all they've really been doing is taking care of the Empress' forces on sky and land. But in small numbers instead of entire fleets of hordes.
"Hm..." James crossed his arms, listening to his teammates while also the voice of a pleading child. He took each of the voices in, thinking about the possible scenarios.
One, he'd be flying into heavy enemy territory, facing an entire empire and having to deal with the force of an entire army with just the single ship against possibly a million or more, effectively ending his and Team Rocket's run. Whether by being captured or executed via the ship exploding or worse.
But the second scenario was repaying the debt to Applejack. James does owe Applejack something. After he saved her from Jessebelle months back, he never did repay the favour to her for then. While it could be considered something small to many, to James, it meant the world considering his unpleasant past with Jessebelle. Plus the eyes of a child were hard to ignore. After thinking about it, James made his decision as he gripped the controls of the ship.
"We're heading for that world," James said as Jessie and Meowth gasped with fear in their eyes. That was the answer they weren't hoping for. But for Apple Bloom, that was the answer she was hoping for as a bright smile graced her face. And so did Big Mac.
Granny Smith wasn't awake, but deep in her mind, she was giving her word of approval.
"James, are you insane!" Jessie shook James. "You're sending us to our doom!"
"No need to worry!" James cracked his fingers stretching them. "We've been out of worse. How bad can this one be?"
"Oh, thank you so much, James!" Apple Bloom thanked the Team Rocket member with a loving hug.
"Can't be helped." Meowth sighed. "We never get the easy routes anyway."
"Wobbuffet..."
"All we have to do is find one of those gateways and fly through them and we'll be there in no time. Just watch!" James sped up the speed of the ship while Machamp started walking with them. Or rather, running. While he wasn't speedy thanks to his giant size, running was at least an improvement since it was quicker than walking.
And speaking of Applejack, what exactly cut her connection with Apple Bloom and made all the rubble fly from bursting out of the walls?
It was none other than that giant upside-down bowl-shaped machine with a multitude of arms that were all perfect counters to whatever attacks are thrown towards it. It had currently found Applejack's group which consisted of Starlight, Goh, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Trixie and Thorax.
Its amazing armour broke through the wall with ease, but it also unleashed an electrical burst of energy from its body, resulting in the connection loss of the Xtransceiver. The machine stood before the group, ready to eliminate them on the spot as it already had its large laser charged and ready. The rubble that had been thrown had thankfully hit no one thanks to Sceptile and Braviary using Leaf Blade and Steel Wing.
"What is this thing?!" Goh said while looking up at the machine.
"A real pain, that's what it is! How tough is this thing?" Applejack replied.
"Can't be that tough! If we take away its arms, all it's got is that laser! We just have to break them all!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"But it has a perfect counter for everything!" Fluttershy responded to Rainbow Dash. "How do we stop it and get through that armour?"
"We just have to keep trying until something works! Braviary! Steel Wing! Altaria, use Dragon Pulse and Castform, Energy Ball!"
"Sceptile! Grab those leaves with your vines and rip 'em off!" Applejack commanded.
"Cinderace, Blaze Kick!"
"Hatterene, Psycho Cut!"
"Braviary!" Braviary and the others went on the offensive as the giant laser from the machine's eyes had been fired. Everyone within its line of fire had swiftly avoided it with Mega Sceptile pushing Hatterene out of the way considering how slow she was. The laser beam then blasted through the walls of the palace.
Braviary soared downwards while still synced with Rainbow Dash via the Bond Phenomenon. He lit his wings up as he swung them at the arms coming his way. Each of them had sharp and blunt objects as their main weapons. Braviary's energy-coated wings clashed with the arms. It sounded like two swords going at it from their back and forth.
"Tile!" Sceptile himself, after pushing Hatterene out of the way, used his vines to try and grab the arms, just to rip them right off. The arms obviously had a response in those hedge-trimmers once more. But, Sceptile wasn't going to fall for that again.
He manoeuvred his vines, causing them to slither like snakes as they slithered around the hedge-trimmer arms before wrapping around them.
"Hatte!" After Sceptile wrapped his vines around the arms, Hatterene then took the opportunity to use Psycho Cut with her tentacle claw glowing purple. She then swung her tentacle claw, sending tearing blades of Psychic energy out. Those sharp blades cut right through the vines and arms that Sceptile had held, dealing some damage to the machine's weapons as they fell to the floor in the form of scraps of metal.
The arms were gradually being destroyed, just not at the pace everyone wanted. Cinderace then jumped over Sceptile and Hatterene with its leg lighting on fire. Scorbunny also jumped beside his final stage evolution, using High Jump Kick.
Some arms came their way, attempting to knock Scorbunny and Cinderace away like flies or even grab their legs in the process. "Bravia!" But, Braviary came flying by, using Steel Wing to cut those arms in half, allowing for Cinderace and Scorbunny to go for their attack without anything stopping them.
"Cinder!"
"Scor!"
The two Fire-Types smashed their feet onto the hard metal armour of the machine, leaving a burst of flames afterwards from the impact. However, to their surprise, even two attacks that could definitely shatter, melt and even melt metal didn't do too much to the machine.
The best they did was leave a dent with a burn mark alongside it. They did do damage, just not the damage they wanted. Afterwards, the machine responded by having multiple of its arms smash Scorbunny and Cinderace, pinning them to a wall.
"C-Cniderace!"
"Bunny!" The two of them cried out as the arms held them there on the wall while the machine charged its laser, aiming at Cinderance and Scorbunny.
"No, you don't! Superpower in the eye! That might work!" Rainbow Dash ordered.
"Viary!" Braviary made a quick turn after destroying some arms, approaching the giant red eye while it was charging up to power for the laser. The Valiant Pokemon put his talon out, ready to smash right into the eye. However, to his dismay, the machine had used that electrical burst once more, emitting it from its mechanical body.
The burst of electricity spread out fast, instantly going through Braviary and temporarily staggering him. And Rainbow Dash felt this stagger thanks to the Bond Phenomenon.
"Ough!" The pegasus coughed as she almost fell to the floor. After that stagger, the machine then turned its laser towards Braviary instead, choosing to fire it at the Valiant Pokemon.
"Misdreavus, Power Gem" Trixie gasped as she ordered Misdreavus to try and save Braviary. And the best way to save him from the laser was to push him away.
"Dreavus!" And that's what she did. The Screech Pokemon materialized multiple rays of light that sparkled as if they were gemstones. These gemstones were then fired towards the Valiant Pokemon, knocking him away from the incoming laser beam. Some of the gemstones had been obliterated from the laser beam as a sacrifice for Braviary.
"Ow!" And Rainbow Dash also felt that as well, taking the force of gemstones to her body once Braviary was hit.
"Sorry!" Trixie gave her apologies while Sceptile freed Scorbunny and Cinderace with Leaf Blade, cutting the arms apart.
"Is this machine unbeatable..." Fluttershy said silently while Audino, who was still in her Mega Evolved form, was on the verge of fainting. But she was hanging in there while her friends were struggling with this machine.
"Ain't no way it's unbeatable. But, Woah nelly is it tough..." Applejack breathed in and out.
"We can beat it still." Rainbow Dash winced as her body had taken a lot of damage while synced up with Braviary as Rainbow-Braviary. Any further and she'll end up pushing herself and threatening her own life.
And that's exactly what she was going to do. Push herself further.
"Just watch! Braviary! Brave Bird at full strength!"
"Braviary!" Braviary let out a mighty cry before spreading his wings. The Valiant Pokemon then coated himself in an orange aura which then transformed into rainbows. With this rainbow aura, Braviary illuminated multiple colours. The Normal-Flying-Type then shot through the air, flying at maximum speeds while leaving a Sonic Rainboom too. He was going right for the eye laser since that was the biggest threat considering how powerful it was.
The machine responded with another electrical burst, exuding it from its body. It connected, but this time, with his rainbow aura, Braviary managed to just power through it. However, he still felt the electricity along with Rainbow Dash as he advanced.
"Via!" The Valiant Pokemon, after breaking through the burst of electricity, in the blink of an eye, smashed Brave Bird right into the eye. A direct collision. Braviary had struck the very centre of the laser at his top velocity. The reaction made by this was that the energy from the laser trembled after Braviary's impact. It trembled so much that it became jumbled up, causing the laser to blow up uncontrollably.
Braviary had been blown back by this explosion while also taking recoil damage from Brave Bird. As if Rainbow Dash wasn't taking enough punishment, she had felt the full force of the explosion and recoil from Braviary.
"Gah!" Rainbow Dash cried out as she fell on her back, holding her face and writhing around.
"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy and Applejack immediately rushed to her side after seeing their friend fall. Braviary hurled through the air before crashing to the floor afterwards.
"V-Vi...!"
"D-Did it work?!" Goh leaned in as a scarlet smoke covered the machine after the laser had set off an explosion. After something like that, even the machine had to have taken damage.
And damage it had received. After being hit by its own laser from inside, the front of the machine had most of its hard metal armour missing. That head-on collision actually did something as the machine was now weaker, but the laser was still functioning along with the many arms.
After experiencing that amount of damage and with parts of its metal armour broken off, the machine determined how much of a threat Rainbow Dash and the others were. Deciding this, the machine's nearly broken red-eye intensified as its whole metal body was being laminated in a scarlet colouring.
The machine's aggression had grown as it even emitted blaring sounds from it. Applejack and Fluttershy helped Rainbow Dash up as they witnessed the machine change in colour. The machine then unleashed its jet boosters once more, ascending into the air. After doing so, the machine used the fuel of the jet boosters as weapons.
The flames from the fuel expanded, hitting the ground before spreading out in a radius position, heading straight for Applejack and the others while burning the carpet and floor as well.
Unfortunately, Audino was a bit frozen with damage right now, so her Protect couldn't stop this at the moment. So another solution had to be made to avoid something as fierce as this.
"Oh!" Starlight gasped before hiding behind Hatterene. "Hatterene! Push it back with Psycho Cut!"
"Cinderace, Pyro Ball!" Goh pointed.
"Misdreavus, do something about that! Zap Cannon!" Trixie screeched.
"Sceptile! Dragon Pulse!"
"Ugh...! Altaria, Moonblast!"
"Hatterene!" All at once, Hatterene and the others tried to push these giant flames back as they spread across the walls of the floor. All of their collective attacks were able to cancel the flames out, protecting them from taking the jet fuel directly. However, the rest of the room had been set on fire from the fuel that had spread out, encircling Starlight and the others.
They all looked around to see that they were surrounded from all sides. All part of the machine's plan as it had them all in one spot.
"Great! Now we're stuck like this!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Cinderace! Run through the flames and use Blaze Kick!"
"Scorbunny, do the same but with Flame Charge!" Fluttershy looked at Scorbunny, knowing that both him and Cinderace could resist the flames thanks to their Fire-Typing.
"Cinder!"
"Scorbun!" The two Fire-Types moved past the flames, taking some damage but not a lot thanks to their resistance to anything Fire related.
"Dragon Pulse!" Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack said to their Pokemon. Two dragon-shaped shockwaves were released from Altaria and Sceptile as they flew past Scorbunny and Cinderance.
The machine used a shield to block the double Dragon Pulses as a large smoke cloud was formed that obscured the machine's already obscured vision thanks to what Braviary had done. However, after blocking the two Dragon Pulses and having smoke cover its vision, that's when Cinderance and Scorbunny could hit their target.
They went straight for the weakened parts of the machine. AKA the very front. The side and back were out of the question since they were still heavily armoured. Passing through the smoke, the machine didn't see Scorbunny and Cinderace coming as it had been struck by two devasting attacks to the front of part of its body.
A double strike as the metal that protected the machine was finally falling apart as its laser eye had felt the tremor from its weaker parts. The two attacks had actually pushed the machine back, much to everyone's surprise And Starlight had quickly figured out what they need to do.
"Oh! Block out its vision!" Starlight flailed her hoof at the machine. "With its eye damaged, it can't see as well! Do what you can to prevent it from seeing our attacks coming!"
"Obscuring the vision? Well, that's easy enough." Trixie shrugged as she held out another Poke Ball, sending out her second Pokemon. "Zoroark, come out for a second."
"Zoroark!"
"I need you to do one teeny little thing for." Trixie went over to her partner, whispering in her ear.
"Let's block everything out then! Altaria, Ice Beam on the ground!"
"Tari!" The Humming Pokemon opened her mouth, sending out a chilling beam as she spread it out, freezing the floor with ice spikes forming as well.
"Now break it with Dragon Pulse, Sceptile!"
"Tile!" Sceptile then followed up with Altaria's Ice Beam by shooting Dragon Pulse at the frozen floor. One hit and the ice had shattered, forming a light blue cloud of misty ice that filled the room, obscuring the machine's vision once more.
Seeing that it was being blocked from seeing any of its prey, the machine started violently shooting its still-functioning laser beam everywhere to see if it could hit one of them by chance. The beams flew everywhere, hitting the walls, ceiling and even the floor as Braviary's damage even made it difficult to properly focus its aim.
"D-Dino..." Audino was actually starting to recover. This whole time, she was using Heal Pulse on herself gradually to build her strength back. Since she hadn't fainted, might as well restore her energy. Her eyes widened after healing herself a couple of times.
The machine, unsure if it had hit something, decided to move forward and use its arms to attack. Those were still functioning even if some of them were missing. However, once the machine moved through the smoke and eventually coming across the mist, attempting to pass through it as well, it was greeted with a surprising sight.
Empress Twilight stood before it.
The machine promptly came to a halt after witnessing its almighty ruler. All attacks were promptly stopped before the Empress herself as the arms were lowered as well. At least, it looked to be the Empress.
"Zoro-Zoro-Zoro!" With a cheeky laugh and a body that glowed, the true form of the entity before the machine had been revealed. It was none other than Zoroark. "Zoroark!"
After that revelation, the machine was caught off guard as through the mist, along came Cinderace and the others. Thanks to the icy mist and Zoroark's distraction, Cinderace and the others could strike without anything stopping them.
The Striker Pokemon used Blaze Kick, breaking through the many arms of the right side while Braviary used Superpower on the front. Altaria, Hatterene, Misdreavus and Scorbunny each used Dragon Pulse, Dazzling Gleam, Shadow Ball and Ember respectively while Sceptile used Double Team, surrounding the machine before unleashing Leaf Blade.
Confused and overwhelmed, especially from the newly seen clones of Sceptile's that scattered the surrounding area, the machine had taken all of the attacks a majority of its arms had been destroyed thanks to Cinderace and Sceptile while the front part of its body had been struck by multiple ranged attacks, heavily damaging the front part of the machine. All the damage from the front part had finally affected the rest of the machine, causing the sides to crack as well as the top of it. But not yet back the back.
With all of those hits, the machine was finally in a greatly weakened state. In response, it used its electric burst to blow everyone back afterwards. The machine was still active even though it looked like a wreck right now.
"Ace!" Cinderace slid on the floor as everyone recovered.
"It's still functioning?!" Starlight gasped.
"What a trooper..." Trixie's pupils shrunk.
The machine, seeing that it had taken too much damage, more than it has ever received, knew it had to end this quickly. So, one final laser beam was bound. This time, it was going to use every ounce of its energy to obliterate not just the targets in front of it, but even the entire room itself. To make sure that nothing is left.
"Audino!" After re-energizing herself. Audino got off the ground as she ran in front of everyone.
"Audi?!" Fluttershy looked up at her partner, surprised to see her back and up for not even that long.
"Audino!" Not wanting the same thing to happen again, Audino was going right for Hyper Beam to stop the machine once and for all. By putting her arms together, she formed a deep-orange ball of Infinity Energy while the machine built up energy for its laser.
Both of them had charged up enough as Audino's ball expanded to the size of her head. Afterwards, the Hearing Pokemon and the machine released their respective beams, tearing through the already damaged floor and ruined carpet before clashing.
But, this time it was different. The machine's laser had been weakened thanks to all the damage received towards the front of it. But Audino, after healing herself with Heal Pulse, was at full power once more. And with that full power, the beam struggle had a clear victor.
"DINO!" With a loud yell, the Hearing Pokemon unleashed some more power as the beam grew to a larger size. So large and strong that it even blew Audino back from the amount of force added into it.
The Hyper Beam consumed the laser beam as if it was a snack before fully engulfing the machine itself. And no arm could save it from something like this. Audino fell on her back as the machine was caught up in the biggest explosion yet. An explosion so great that it not only obliterated the walls and ceiling but even the floor itself. Everything was crumbling below the point where this whole floor was having its final moments.
"Everyone move back!" Applejack gasped as everyone galloped, skipped or flew away from the scene as the floor was falling with large rubble filling the area.
As the smoke cleared, everyone looked back to see that the machine was still standing. However, Hyper Beam had left a massive mark on it. Half of its body was missing now thanks to Audino as its red eye was flashing eerily. The machine attempted to fire another laser beam and pursue its targets, but the floor below it had collapsed.
And as the floor fell, so did the machine falling deep into the lower parts of the palace with the large rubble covering its metallic body. And that was that. That was quite possibly the last time they would ever see the machine.
It was now buried within the rubble and obliterated floor as Applejack and the others kept moving.
Canterlot Palace underground.
Currently, the Empress had appeared before Chrysalis and Pyrestar, not in the best mood considering the circumstances and scenario. She was going to target all of her anger onto Chrysalis.
Chrysalis herself wanted to protect Pyrestar while also fending off the Empress. There was also the aim of freeing the Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie of this world from their horrible conditions. Obviously, that would be a challenge for the Changeling Queen.
But thankfully, she had Ribombee on her side.
"Bombee!" The Bee Fly Pokemon had used the pollen from Pollen Puff, using it as a shield against the Empress' magic beam as it cushioned the attack.
Chrysalis was carrying Pyrestar on her back while using her magic to hold the Elements of Harmony. Thanks to Ribombee holding the magic back, Chrysalis took the opportunity to gallop out of here as soon as she could.
"You won't escape from me!" The Empress roared as he eyes lit up with a bright white and purple colour as she caused a magic field around her body. This magic field spread out, obliterating parts of the dungeon as Ribombee had used Solar Beam as a counter.
Thanks to the presence of the blazing sun, the attack didn't need to take some time to charge. With one thrust of her arms, Ribombee fired a bundled beam of solar energy. The blast connected with the magic field as they both cancelled each other out.
A green and purple smoke covered the dungeon as the Empress simply whisked it away with a spell that conjured up a strong wind. And speaking of wind, she used that same spell, creating a wind pressure equal to that of a tornado as it sent across the whole dungeon.
"Oh!" Chrysalis gasped as she could feel the wind pressure surround her, halting her movements.
"Ribom?!" Ribombee herself, due to her small size and lightweight, was receiving the worst of this wind. After using the spell, the Empress teleported before Chrysalis, appearing right in her face.
The Empress lit her horn up before slamming it towards Chrysalis. The Changeling Queen her magic to create a protective barrier that blocked the horn as magic had also struck it. The barrier was already on the verge of cracking with its first hit. The Empress then grinned before using the Gravity Spell. Her personal favourite.
Since she was missing a majority of the magic she stole, the Gravity spell, being a powerful spell to use, drained her. It wasn't as effective as it used to be and was only at half strength, forcing the Empress to use it less if she wanted to have enough magic yet. But that half-strength of the Gravity Spell was still wonderful as it had broken through Chrysalis' barrier before forcing her and Pyrestar to the ground.
"Ough!" Chrysalis groaned as she was on the floor facefirst with gravity being pressed on her, preventing her from moving.
"I've still g-" Before the Empress could gloat, overcoming the wind, Ribombee flew towards the Empress with her amazing speed thanks to her small body as she used Pollen Puff, flying over the gravity field and smashing large pollen into her eyes. Ribombee's pollen can do many things other than taste good and deal damage. They even cause dizziness and paralysis.
And in this case, paralysis was the choice that Ribombee made after smashing it in the Empress' eyes, sending a paralyzing shock through her body and blocking her vision.
"Ribom!"
"Agh!" The Empress screamed as she moved back, losing her focus on the gravity field.
"Ribombee!" Ribombee wasn't done yet. She then went right for Solar Beam, gathering up all the solar energy before unleashing a bundled beam from her body.
The green beam of solar energy gathered from the sun itself came howling out, engulfing the Empress in its verdant light as she hadn't yet removed the pollen from her eyes, so she couldn't defend against what came her way. The Empress felt Solar Beam consume her as the aftermath was a green explosion.
After that, Chrysalis and Ribombee continued to make their escape. They weren't here to fight. Just to escape with Pyrestar and now the Elements of Harmony.
However, immediately breaking through the solar explosion was the Empress as she had burnt the pollen from her eyes. She let out a hateful grow before blowing the smoke away with some wind. She then saw that Chrysalis and Ribombee were now gone.
But not for long. The Empress had used a miniature variant of that Grand Eye Spell. Mostly since her magic wasn't as great as before so she couldn't utilize the gigantic version of it that eclipses the whole land and beyond. But it could look through buildings now.
The Empress' vision moved through the dungeon, before exiting it. With the eye's effectiveness, she was able to track down Chrysalis and Ribombee immediately. With a devious grin, she immediately pursued after that.
Chrysalis and Ribombee had left the dungeon, entering the hallways of the palace. Now all they had to do was exit this world and keep Pyrestar and the others in a safe place. Unfortunately, the gateway to the otherworld was in the heat of the battle outside which would mean attempting to get past there would be troublesome while holding some injured ponies.
But even more unfortunate was the fact that Empress burst right through the wall, startling Chrysalis and Rinbombee as a dark purple glow flashed constantly.
"They belong to me!" The Empress had used her Bone Spell, sprouting up giant bones from the floor, shattering parts of it while also racing towards Chrysalis and Ribombee.
Since the bones were weaker thanks to the Empress' drained state, they were easier to break as compared to the last time they were used. Chrysalis quickly used her magic to blow away the bones that were coming her way while Rinbombee used her nimble speed to try and avoid the bones.
But there were too many of them as some of the ones clipped Chrysalis' mane and bits of her wings, making the Changeling Queen wince. Chrysalis was finding it hard to fend them all off as the bones had then grabbed her, pinning Chrysalis to a wall. "Ugh!"
"Ribom?!" Ribombee gasped after seeing Chrysalis being pinned. The moment she turned to face her friend, one of the bones had swatted her away, causing the Bee Fly Pokemon to hit the wall. "Bombee!"
The Empress snarled as more bones approached Chrysalis going straight for her chest. In an act of quickness, Chrysalis had used her own magical field to blow the bones away, shattering them and even pushing the Empress slightly back. Chrysalis freed herself from the wall while Ribombee stood right back up afterwards.
"Ribombee! Use Fairy Wind!"
"Ribombee!" The Bee Fly Pokemon spun around in the air before harnessing the magic of the Fairies. Out of her body, a giant turbulent wind with pink sparkles within them. The wind picked up some rubble, tossing it at the Empress while raging towards her.
The Empress easily got rid of the rubble as she used her wind spell to counter Ribombee's Fairy Wind. The powerful forms of wind were now going against each other. One pink and one purple. They went back and forth, moving across the floor each time they bounced off each other. Chrysalis, the Empress and Ribombee backed away from the moving winds while everything nearby was being pulled in by their pressure.
The two winds eventually cancelled each other out once they merged as one. The remains of them scattered with pink and purple sparkles scattering across the air and floor.
"We're just wasting time like this," Chrysalis said as she knew this could drag out and possibly result in her losing to the Empress. She needed some form of safety immediately.
"Don't worry. I'll end it quickly with this." The Empress smirked as she went for her Gravity spell once more. But this time, in a more destructive light. "I don't know if you know this, but when gravity and matter are compressed to a point of zero size and infinite space-time curvature, it creates a black hole!"
"What?!" Chrysalis gasped.
"Gardevoir's not the only one that can generate Black Holes!" The Empress laughed as a miniature black hole appeared in front of her, immediately starting to pull everything close by. "Don't worry, I've made sure that it won't destroy you. I still need your magic after all. And then I'll destroy you afterwards! Hahahaha!"
"Grrh!" Chrysalis tried to move away, but the pull was just too strong for her to handle.
"So long!" The Empress then used her hoof, smashing the black hole as it rotated towards Chrysalis while pulling the walls, ceiling and floor.
"R-Ribombee! Solar Beam!"
"R-R-Ribom...!" Being pulled in herself because of her lightweight, the Bug-Fairy-Type put her arms together, forming a beam of solar energy. Normally, light can't do anything to black holes, just become consumed by them like everything else. However, Infinity Energy might have something to say about that. "Ribombee!"
With a thrust of her hands, Ribombee unleashed Solar Beam right in front of the singularity. One collision and both Chrysalis and Empress Twilight's eyes expanded, knowing what might come next.
And their assumption was right. The two of them quickly put up shields around each other, plus the Elements of Harmony, Ribombee herself and Pyrestar too. And for a good reason. The collision between Solar Beam and the singularity was so great that it blew the entire room sky high with form a giant black and green explosive paroxysm and outburst. The whole floor was taken out by this volatile reaction.
Just like that, the room near the dungeon. Bits of the dungeon were even obliterated by the outburst. It spread out so far that nearby troops of both sides were caught up in it as well. Or at least, near it, they only received the blowback.
Upstairs.
And it went even further. With a reaction as vile as that, why wouldn't it? Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Spike, Sunset and Adagio could sense and hear something coming this way.
They had just taken care of the troops up here and they had Pheromosa, Salamence and Haxorus to thank for that. Pheromosa's leg had just healed up after some time to recover before arriving here. And her amazing seed and strength definitely helped in this situation. And speaking of speed, she was the first to pick up that something was wrong.
"Mo? Pheromo!" Pheromosa gasped as put her arms around everyone for safety.
"Hm? What's wrong, Pheromo-" Just as Rarity asked her partner, from below the ground it, the result of Solar Beam and the singularity colliding had reached this area, blowing the floor and everyone on it back. Before they knew it, Rarity's group had been knocked away while the rest of the floor was blown to bits.
Pheromosa held them all close and tight as she tumbled on the floor. For once, her light and supple body didn't fail as she immediately recovered by sliding on the ground.
"What was that?! What just happened?!" Pinkie Pie breathed in and out as her heart was racing rapidly.
"Look!" Spike pointed at the smoke caused by the explosion as he rubbed his eye. Everyone squinted, staring into the smoke before witnessing two lights glow inside of them. Green and Purple.
This was obviously Chrysalis and Empress Twilight after they had used their magic to protect themselves. However, it was the Empress who succeeded in protecting herself the most with her superior magic. Chrysalis barely could. Her magic shield faded as she was on the ground, feeling the effects of the knockback. Pyrestar, Rimbombee and the Elements had been protected thankfully as Chrysalis put most of her strength in protecting them mostly instead of her.
"U-Ugh..." She groaned.
"Queen Chrysalis!" Rarity and the others gasped.
"Tch." The Empress scoffed before turning around to face Rarity's group. Her eyes were full of nothing but irritation as she stepped on Chrysalis' hoof. Her eyes met with Rarity and the others while Ribombee was slowly getting up. "All of you are ruining everything...Nothing but nuisances rather than actual threats! I'll make sure the remains of you are wiped out from history before your world returns to normal!"
Currently, The Empress was standing before Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Spike, Sunset and Adagio with Chrysalis on the floor, injured. The Empress had her hoof on Chrysalis' own hoof, stepping on it while a magicless Pyrestar laid down on the shattered floor. The Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie of this world were also on the floor, still drained and old as well.
"Ribombee!" Ribombee got right back up as she went for another Solar Beam. But this time, the Empress saw it coming as she some wind to knock the Bee Fly Pokemon away. Ribombee was actually on the verge of fainting this time.
"That's them over there! Us!" Pinkie pointed out the older versions of her and her friends, laying on the floor with weakened states and conditions.
"Rarity...Everyone." Chrysalis mustered up some strength to speak. "Focus on protecting these six as much as you can...!"
"U-Understood!" Rarity nodded.
"You be quiet!" In response, Empress Twilight further stomped on Chrysalis' hoof, harming her even more.
"Get your filthy hooves off of her!" Rarity bellowed. "Pheromosa, grab her, quick!"
"Phero" Cleverly commanding the fastest Pokemon here, Pheromosa bolted from the ground, moving at speeds even the Empress would need to watch out for.
"I don't need any of you since I have these 5!" The Empress roared as she used her bone magic, sprouting bones from the walls and floor as they homed in on the Lissome Pokemon.
"Mosa!" Using her great speed and amazing strength, Pheromosa shattered the bones with a swift kick, turning them into dust via Triple Kick. All the bones that came towards her were obliterated by her devastating kicks, left and right.
"Flamethrower, Salamence!" Spike commanded Salamence to burn away the bones that went towards him and the others. The Dragon Pokemon opened his mouth, burning every bone away until they were nothing but dust in the wind. Haxorus grabbed some of the bones, ripping them apart.
"Phero!" Pheromosa put her hand out, trying to grab the Elements of Harmony but was quickly shot by the Empress, right in her side. "Mosa!" The Ultra Beast cried out as she tumbled on the floor. The Empress then summoned more bones to try and hold or even pierce Pheromosa while she was still tumbling.
The Ultra Beast managed to recover as quickly as she could before kicking away at the rest of the bones that came her way. They were no issue for Pheromosa, but she noticed that they were rapidly increasing in size and speed, almost enough to keep up with her.
And Pheromosa could tell. Evading these bones was only becoming more difficult with each passing second as she still had her focus on Pyrestar and the Elements. The Lissome Pokemon jumped over some bones before kicking the ones in front of her. But, popping out near Pheromosa from the floor was another bone that was closer than ever.
"Mo!" Pheromosa gasped as she was almost caught off guard with this one bone. She quickly swayed her body to the left, evading the bone. But more and more kept coming. A seemingly endless array. The Lissome Pokemon was being overwhelmed by the number of bones coming her way.
"Pheromosa can't handle all those bones! Lopunny, assist her!" Rarity then sent out her next Pokemon to help out. The Rabbit Pokemon Lopunny's own kicking strength could do the trick.
"Lopunny!"
"Help Pheromosa and get our other selves out of there!"
"Salamence! Haxorus! Help them out too!"
"Come out, you two!" Sunset took out her own Pokemon in the form of her Braixen and Volcarona each.
"Volcarona!"
"Braixen!"
"Punny!" Lopunny and her Dragon and Fire allies nodded in unison before rushing to Pheromosa's assistance. The Empress snapped her head to the side, noticing the two Dragons, Fire-Types and Normal-Type Pokemon heading her way. She immediately sent the bones towards them as well.
"Haxo!" With brute strength, Haxorus grabbed the bones while also smashing through some of them. Lopunny used her explosive legs to also break apart the bones while Salamence melted them with Flamethrower along with Braixen and Volcarona.
"Pheromosa!" Pheromosa smiled after seeing her friends coming to her aid. With a confident smirk, she sped up, reaching close to the Elements and Pyrestar respectively. The Empress then turned to face Pheromosa, ready to summon some more bones to try and hold her.
"Sala!" But Salamence had used Hyper Beam, firing a giant blast of Infinity Energy from his mouth as it tore through the floor. The Hyper Beam hit the bones near the Empress, startling her as she was blown back by the inevitable explosion that Hyper Beam created.
That one explosion allowed Pheromosa enough time to grab Pyrestar, the Elements and even Chrysalis even though she didn't want to be grabbed. The Lissome Pokemon then bolted past the Empress, moving through the incoming bones and heading back to Rarity.
"I said to just grab them!" Chrysalis exclaimed.
"Sorry. But Pheromosa's too kind to allow that to happen. Aren't you, darling?" Rarity patted Pheromosa.
"Mosa!"
"Out of my way!" Enraged, the Empress summoned a stream of magic that was identical to a tidal wave. Even its movements matched a tidal wave. This stream of purple magic moved across the floor at high speeds, connecting with Salamence, Haxorus and Lopunny.
"Salamence?!" Salamence gasped as he could feel his body being carried by this stream while the force of multiple magic blasts were being beaten onto him. Purple sparks that seemed to materialize out of thin air from the result of the stream continuously whipped the three Pokemon.
"H-Haxo!"
"Lo!"
The stream then carried them to the air, smashing the trio of Pokemon into the walls before going after Pheromosa and the rest.
"Yikes! Mew, get rid of it with Psyshock!" Pinkie Pie screeched while hiding behind Pheromosa's tall stature.
"Mew!" Mew ascended high into the air as he put his arms out. He then formed a mass of thick light blue, blue, and purple energy and fired it at the incoming stream. The three masses of Psychic energy connected with the purple stream destroying parts of it, but not enough. It just held it back for a bit. Afterwards, it continued to go after them.
"If it acts like that...then Milotic should have no problem swimming in it! Go, Milotic!" Rarity saw an opportunity with the stream of magic as she sent her next Pokemon out.
"Milotic!"
"Swim on that stream and use Hydro Pump, Milotic! And Pheromosa! Adagio! Get them and the jar away from here as far as possible!"
"I already know that!" Adagio responded.
"Phero!" Pheromosa nodded as she immediately bolted off, holding Adagio, the Changeling Queen, Fused Alicorn and Elements of Harmony within her grasp, her shoulders and back too. Milotic herself leapt forward, making contact with the stream of water. She could feel the magic already beating on her as she swam on it, but the Tender Pokemon chose to power through it while opening her mouth for a Hydro Pump.
"Get back here!" The Empress roared as she was ready to use her teleportation spell to try and keep up with a Pokemon as fast as Pheromosa. But, before she could do so, Milotic had unleashed Hydro Pump, firing a high volume blast of water that charged right through the stream and went straight for the Empress. "!"
Startled, the Empress conjured up an immediate protection spell, shielding her from Hydro Pump. She scoffed as her rage was only building up at this point. And it showed by her magic colour visibly darkening with each passing minute.
"How about some more distractions?!" Rarity grinned before holding out 13 Poke Balls with her magic. 12 of them had Leavanny inside and 1 had Ampharos within it. By unleashing the Poke Balls, she brought out every single on her Pokemon.
"Leavanny!" The 12 Leavanny cried out.
"Ampharos!"
"Ampharos! How about we electrify the area!? And Leavanny, String Shot all at once!"
"Pharos!" Ampharos stomped on the floor, unleashing a discharge of electricity that immediately frantically scattered across the room. Meanwhile, all the 12 Leavanny opened their mouths, shooting out thick strings in multiple directions. Thanks to the Leavanny being Grass-Types, they could resist the electricity.
The Empress herself had been shocked by Ampharos' electrified field, forcing her to stay in place for a bit and take 70,000 volts of electricity through the body. That moment where her body staggered from the volts allowed the Leavanny to restrain their victim.
Multiple thick strings wrapped around the Empress' horn, hooves, neck and other parts of her body with impressive strength while the electricity kept going. The Empress was now restrained by the 12 Leavanny. All of this had allowed Pheromosa to be long gone from here.
"All of you...Just stay out of my way!" By raising her voice, the Empress unleashed the rest of her magic in the form of an outburst of purple magic. The outburst, obliterated the strings while also eradicating the electricity made from Ampharos' stomp.
"Pha?!"
"Lea?!"
Further agitated and provoked, the Empress' hair started rising as a show of increasing magic. And speaking of hair, that was her next use of magic. All of a sudden, the Empress' hair started attacking. She manipulated her own hair, swinging it around like a whip as it extended in length.
"Ampha! Ampharos and some of the Leavanny had been struck by this flowing hair, smacking them against the wall. Being hit by her hair didn't feel soft at all. It felt like being hit by a train to their surprise. The Empress continued to manipulate her, transforming them into blades.
"Haxo?!" Haxorus ducked as he avoided an incoming hair-blade that had cut the pillar behind him, slicing through it like it was nothing. The rest of the hair with blades as weapons flew towards the rest of the Empress' prey.
"Oh geez!" Spike squealed as he jumped over an incoming hair blade while Salamence and Milotic used Dragon Tail to counter the hair. Clashing with it also felt like clashing with a sword. It even made a metal sound. In fact, the Empress' hair felt like metal due to the spell she was using.
The rest of her hair scattered, flying in different directions, all having the capability to cut and smash if they made full-on contact. That is if they can be blocked.
"Mew!" Mew flew around, avoiding the hair blades as the walls were being smashed apart from the Empress' flailing hair. Ampharos himself used Power-up Punch to knock the hair-blades away. The light Pokemon also caused static electricity onto the hair-blades, making them frizz up.
The Leavanny were each using X-Scissor, Slash, Razor Leaf and other moves to try and fend off the blades as more of them kept coming. Braixen and Volcarona had burnt some of the hair-blades away with their own flames.
The Empress smirked as she hadn't forgotten about Pheromosa and Adagio. While using her hair, she used the miniature eye spell to track the Lissome Pokemon down. Due to all the chaos happening within the palace, even the speedy Pheromosa was finding it hard to move around the place. The Empress still had time before Pheromosa could pass through the gateway.
"Excellent!" She said to herself while increasing the aggressiveness of her hair. They flailed around, growing in size as this entire area and anything nearby was being obliterated by her hair of all things. Some of the Pokemon had been knocked as it was getting harder to deal with all these hair-blades.
"This is getting ridiculous!" Spike backed up while looking at the rampant hair movements. Volcarona had been hit out of the sky by the hair, tumbling on the floor while Braixen caught her.
"We'd have to cut her entire hair off if we want to stop this!" Sunset said while Haxorus held some of the hair with his bare claws, trying to prevent them from hitting anyone else.
"Hm...Aha!" Pinkie Pie sprouted an idea in her head. "I got it! Mew! Transform into Bisharp!"
"Mew-Mew!" Mew understood what Pinkie Pie was going for. A clever choice. The New Species Pokemon spun around with his body glowing. And just like that, with a quick body change and shape alteration, he had emerged as the Sword Blade Pokemon Bisharp. "Bisharp!"
And it was soon discovered why Pinkie Pie chose Bisharp. When the giant blades of hair went straight for Mew, the sharp body of Bisharp had actually automatically cut the hair apart without Mew having to do anything.
"What?!" The Empress exclaimed after witnessing her hair do nothing to Mew.
"Haha!" Pinkie Pie cackled. "Bisharp's entire body is just nothing swords everywhere! Anything's gonna be cut apart without even having to do anything! Standing around eve works too! So hah!"
"Bisharp!"
"Hmph." But the Empress merely scoffed at that. It wasn't like she didn't have other options. Aside from the sharpness and flailing, she had another alternative to her Hair Spell.
Unexpectedly, to everyone's surprise, the Empress had suddenly lit her hair up with fire, gaining a blazing mane of all things. And that was a red flag for Mew. While he may be unphased by the metal thanks to him being a Bisharp now, the flames are certainly a problem since he owns the Steel-Typing in this form.
"Are you kidding me!?" Pinkie Pike pulled her mane as Mew had been whipped by the blazing mane, taking heat damage through his steel body while also being knocked back.
"B-Bisharp!"
"Milotic! Put it out with Hydro Pump!" The Tender Pokemon opened her mouth, shooting a giant pump of water towards the flaming mane to try and put the fire out. But when the stream of water approached the hair, the Empress made her hair split apart, causing Hydro Pump to miss. Afterwards, she struck Milotic with her flaming mane while aggressively swinging it around once more. "Milo!"
"Duck!" Sunset called out as everyone ducked for cover from the flailing manes. But ducking wouldn't help either as the mane could go everywhere. In fact, the flames were setting fire to the floor and walls while also breaking them apart.
Like wildfire, everything was spreading at a rapid pace. Soon, a red tint filled the air as the atmosphere being burned apart by the flames. The heat being exuded was equivalent to standing near a volcano. Not a pleasant heat to be nearby as everyone, minus Braixen and Volcarona was starting to sweat.
"It's not safe to be here right now!" Sunset said. Everyone responded to Sunset's words as they agreed that staying in this fire zone would just end up resulting in less than pleasant outcomes. Mew transformed back into his normal self as everyone made the conscious decision to run.
"I don't think so!" But not while the Empress was still present. While the flames burned and spread across the area, the Empress pulled her hair back, reverting it to its normal size. That's when she used her next spell.
By lighting her horn, she manipulated something else that no one expected. Yet again, the Empress was full of surprises with all these spells as something new was materializing out of thin air.
Paper.
Of all things.
However, just like how she can weaponize her own wair and make it dangerous with the addition of fire, the Empress could most certainly make paper dangerous as well. She watched as Rarity and the others fled the scene of flames. With a slight snicker, Empress Twilight formed millions of paper before commanding them to chase after the group. As for the Empress herself, she would allow the paper itself to deal with Rarity's group while she went after Pheromosa.
And with the eye spell, she had tracked the Lissome Pokemon down, leaving the paper to deal with everything else. And possibly, the paper might find Pheromosa too since it had a mind of its own. This was far from over in her eyes.
As for the paper, it zoomed across the hallways of the castle, immediately tracking down Rarity's group as they even took the form of origami birds. Some of them at least as they flapped their paper wings about. Some of the paper grazed the wall as they were sharp enough to even cut parts of the walls off, leaving a horrible paper cut that no one would want.
"Hm?" And the first to hear the sound of paper was Pinkie Pie as she turned her head, looking behind her. And right behind her group were flying pieces of paper, pursuing them. Truly, this day was just getting weirder with seemingly no end. "Paper?!"
"Paper?" Rarity and the others said after hearing Pinkie Pie word's before they also turned around, witnessing the approaching paper. "Paper?!"
Before they knew it, the paper sped up with a few hundred of them launching themselves at the ponies, Pokemon and baby dragon. The papers performed a dive bomb and that was appropriate because not only did they dive, but they also blew up surprisingly, right near the group as well.
Not only could they cut, but they could explode because of course, they could. Pinkie Pie and the others had their hearts jump as they were startled by these explosions.
"They explode!?" Spike screeched while on Salamence's back. The explosions from the paper shook the room, causing rubble to fall from above, forcing Salamence and Mew to fly carefully.
Some of the paper then started taking the form of creatures. Mainly two. A wolf and a hawk. One for the floor and the other for the air as they ran and soared towards their prey.
"Hyper Beam, Salamence!"
"Sala!" Salamence quickly turned his head around, releasing a huge blast of Infinity Energy from his mouth, right towards the paper. The Paper Hawk had lost some of its body as it had been obliterated by Hyper Beam. However, after being obliterated, the Paper Hawk simply repaired itself by borrowing some paper from the Paper Wolf, adding some of it onto itself. It was as if a part of it was never blown away.
The Paper Hawk then flapped its wings, sending explosive paper aeroplanes back at Salamence. Instead of combusting when coming in contact with something, they chose to just blow up if they were close enough. And once they did so, anyone near it felt the shockwave, especially Sunset and her Pokemon.
"Braix!"
"Vol!" Sunset and her Pokemon tumbled on the floor after recovering the explosion from nearby. The reach on it was just that impressive from even a faraway distance.
"Leavan!" Thankfully, the Leavanny used their strings to grab Sunset, Braixen and Volcarona, saving them from slowing down. The strings were then pulled in as Braixen latched onto the back of a Leavanny while Volcarona managed to regain her aerial momentum thanks to the Nurturing Pokemon.
"Paper is weaker when wet! Milotic, Hydro Pump!"
"Lotic!" The Water-Type temporarily stopped slithering for a moment to properly utilize Hydro Pump. She pulled her head back before unleashing a wide stream of water. One that was heading for both the hawk and wolf.
Both the Paper Hawk and Paper Wolf had been struck by Hydro Pump's high volume pressure with an explosive outburst of water emerging from the collision. Just as Rarity said, with water making it wet, the paper was at a much weaker state. Easier to tear down.
Thanks to Hydro Pump, the Paper Hawk was unable to gain momentum with bits of its wings being ripped off from the wetness. Very soon, the hawk itself was falling apart. It was made worse since it couldn't borrow any paper from the wolf since it was also wet. The remaining papers that weren't wet were very few. Not enough to fully restore them both considering their size.
So, to make sure that they aren't destroyed, the Paper Wolf and Paper Hawk chose to find new paper as they dispersed the papers that hadn't been struck by Hydro Pump while the rest fell to the ground, ripping apart.
"There they go fleeing! Excellent work, Milotic!" Rarity congratulated her partner.
"Milotic!"
"Quick! We need to find the Empress before she gets to Pheromosa!" Sunset said. "And if she gets that jar, all of the magic inside of it will be hers!"
"Right! Let's have some better speed then." Spike looked at his Mega Bracelet before tapping on it. He chose to Mega Evolve his Salamence since Salamence was an even faster Pokemon in his Mega Form, that's for sure. "Mega Evolve, Salamence!"
"Salamence!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa came to a screeching halt before one of the many large vehicles of this Empire. Multiple magic rays were being fired all around her as it was getting harder to move around the castle.
Pheromosa broke through the walls with her kicks, trying to find the right place to exit this palace. She was also searching for windows that went outside. She kept kicking her way through all the walls she came across while also knocking away some troops in the process.
"Hey! Right there!" Adagio pointed her hoof downwards at a large hole made by this constant battling between both sides. Through that hole, she spotted a window that led to the outside of the palace.
"Phero!" A smile graced the Ultra Beast's face as she was already ready to jump through the hole and starting dashing to the nearest gateway here. AKA, the only gateway here.
However, as she went towards the hole, holding everypony with her, her body was suddenly outlined in a dark purple aura before she was promptly stopped in place. Everypony included. And it was done right in mid-air as well. "Mosa?"
"You!" The Empress spoke as she emerged from the shadows with Pheromosa and Adagio looking behind. "Return what belongs to me! Immediately!"
"Forget that!" Adagio gave a retort by shouting. "Like I'd let you have all of this power!"
"What? So you can have it for yourself, Adagio Dazzle? I think not!" The Empress raised her voice, stomping both her hooves on the as she used her magic to smash Pheromosa and Adagio against the walls.
"Phe!"
"Ugh!"
"Mosa...!" Pheromosa had one eye closed as she stomped on the floor before erupting up a huge piece of rubble. She then smashed her foot on the large rubble, sending it towards the Empress.
But, the Empress obviously obliterated it with a light blast Pheromosa continued to run, jumping right through the hole that Adagio had spotted. The Empress refused to let them escape from her sights at all. So, to really stop them, the Empress herself used another spell that used up a ton of magic. Not as much as the Gravity Spell, but enough to have the Empress perform something abnormal.
While Pheromosa jumped through the hole, performing a stylish landing, she set her eyes on the window, immediately rushing towards it as she was going to smash right through the window with her amazing kicks.
"As I said...you're nothing but nuisances rather than threats." The Empress declared as she pulled off one of her biggest spells yet. With a flash of her horns, eyes and body, the Empress had used the spell that Celestia and the others feared she would use.
The spell that the older Flurry Heart stole from the book it originated from. The spell made by the Queen Chrysalis of another world and the perfect way to catch opponents off guard.
The World Pirouette Spell.
With all of her magic being used, the Empress initiated the world-changing spell. A purple light immediately spread across the area at speeds beyond lightspeed, faster than even Pheromosa could react. However, since she was missing a majority of her magic, the spell had its limitations. It couldn't affect the world anymore. But it was still something to behold. Like a virus, it spread out, covering the floor entirely.
Not just the floor, but the whole palace too. From the throne room, laboratories, dungeon, other rooms, courtyard and beyond. It even stretched out to the outside as it wasn't showing any signs of stopping.
"Mosa?" Pheromosa was the first to notice this as she was suddenly stopped in place. This purple light prevented her from doing anything but just standing in one position without being able to move at all. She could still move her arms but her legs were a no go. "Pheromo!?"
"W-What is this?!" Adagio looked down at the floor while also looking at the window, seeing that Pheromosa was so close to breaking out of this palace.
"The World Pirouette Spell..." Chrysalis groaned as she recognized the spell. Even though she wasn't the Chrysalis that made the spell, thanks to the book the older Flurry Heart took, she recognized its initiation process and how it appears when used. "She's changing the geography of the world itself..."
"W-What?!"
"Quick! Adagio. Give me some of the magic in the jar. To replenish my own magic! It's possibly the only way I can prevent what may come next!"
"..." Adagio looked at the jar and the floor beneath her. She then saw that everything around the castle was starting to sink into the purple field. A dark purple light covered the sky itself, blocking out the clouds and even the sun as everything was being covered by this light.
Everyone on both sides immediately stopped what they were doing as they all noticed the light coming towards us. The battle had paused for a bit as they were all caught up in this giant enchantment. Seeing how big things were getting, Adagio understood Chrysalis' choice as she opened the jar, allowing some magic to come out. But the moment she opened it was the same time that the entire palace, this whole empire and soon the entirety of Equestria was covered by nothing but a dark purple glow.
The Empress smirked as she was the only one able to move within this enchantment as she approached Adagio's group. While she couldn't see them since the dark purple light had consumed them, she still had a good idea where they were as everything around her sank as if they were being pulled in by an endless void. The whole country was being flipped over.
No one could do anything to prevent this. Their legs were unresponsive to this. Even the pegasus and Pokemon could fly or stay airborne were exempt since the light even covered the skies and everything around it. Soon, all were sinking into the light.
"W-What's going on?!" Rainbow Dash was like she was a statue as she could only move her hooves. Braviary, Altaria and Castform couldn't move either along with Applejack and the others
"C-Can't move!" Applejack groaned as Sceptile used his vines, wrapping them around everyone and on the nearest pillar to try and hold them all together. But it was no use. Nothing could escape the pull of this spell.
Not even Ash, Twilight or Celestia. Ash held onto the Staff of Sir Aaron while he was being pulled into the void with his friends. Celestia immediately recognized this.
"She used the spell now?!" Celestia gasped as Passion tried using Psychic to keep everything still. It worked for a brief moment as Passion was able to hold Celestia and the others in place, preventing them from descending into the light and heading somewhere random.
But, this wouldn't last as the light was only expanding and increasing in pull strength, forcing Passion to put her back into it. Celestia chimed in by using her own amplified magic which engulfed everyone in a solar and cosmic light while Ash utilized Aura.
Everywhere had been succumbed to the World Pirouette Spell. This behemoth of spell however had a major drawback that the Empress would never have to suffer if a majority of her magic wasn't taken away. Luna and Skyblue Shine put their battle on pause as their Pokemon and themselves were caught up in the light.
"So this is your decision, Empress?" Skyblue Shine looked around.
"Curse it all! Completely motionless!" Luna growled as even Darkrai couldn't use the shadows to escape from this pull. No one could.
Back with Pheromosa, even though she and everyone were sinking, this didn't stop the nearby troops from attacking. While their back hooves were unresponsive, the front hooves were still active. The same goes for those who have claws, arms and other upper and front limbs. At least for now. From the time they had left in this spot, the vehicles that many of the soldiers rode aimed the weapons over at Pheromosa, shooting magic rays over at the Lissome Pokemon while she was immobile.
"Pherom?!" Pheromosa gasped as she witnessed magic rays fly at her. And this time, she couldn't just zoom at blinding speeds to avoid them or even kick them away. She had to stay there and take it as the Ultra Beast covered her eyes. Several magical explosions happened around Pheromosa as she took this magical punishment along with the others that were near her.
"Ah...I've lost my cool too much." The Empress held her head with her hoof while approaching the area where Adagio's group were. She would also follow her group wherever they went with the spell, making this grandiose spell her ace in the hole if things are getting a bit too dicey. "And my magic is just pitiful now. Using a spell this grand doesn't make it any better. Oh well."
Feeling confident in her abilities, the Empress used her eye spell to see through the purple light that covered everything, attempting to track Adagio's group, hoping that they were in the middle of sinking or had already gone to a random place in Equestria which may require more magic usage for the Empress to really utilize the gigantic version of the eye spell.
However, the moment she used the spell, she was greeted with a sight that threw her off guard. The dark purple glow that she created had immediately shifted colours into something different. Something that wasn't the opposite of purple at all. But it was still a reverse.
Green.
More specifically, Chrysalis' green. It had her style to it.
This green light countered the purple light, overlaying it as the Empress herself had been stuck in place, unable to move her hooves or anything. But it went beyond that. The green light was not only overtaking her colour, but it even caused shockwaves around the Empress, causing her to shudder.
"W-What?!" She looked around as everything she had done with the spell was being reversed. Everything that had been flipped or sunk into the purple void was emerging and reverting to their original positions. As if nothing had happened to them originally.
And it was all thanks to Chrysalis who had received high amounts of magic from Adagio opening the jar. The World Pirouette Spell had nullified the strong pull off the jar while still allowing the magic to flow out. And once she received the magic and utilized the spell, her magic was overflowing.
All of the hidden magic potential that was hidden in her had been awakened by the jar. A burst of green and blue magic erupted in the form of a sphere as the Empress herself had been pushed back by this. She actually tumbled on the floor from all the magic exerting out of Chrysalis as the light was fading. Adagio herself had closed the jar safely thanks to the force of the World Pirouette Spell as she had witnessed something unexpected.
Chrysalis was different. Her whole look had been altered. The beautiful green and blue light sparkled like stardust and flew away like butterflies in the wind. Adagio, the Empress, Pyrestar, Pheromosa and the Elements witnessed this new Chrysalis and what the magic from the jar had done to her.
"Chrysalis...?" Adagio's jaw dropped.
"Pheromo?"
"By Faust..." Pyrestar hushed in awe as Chrysalis opened her eyes, showing its crystal-clear beauty as the shine coming from her magic alone. As if all of it was just releasing itself from how much there was. At least 50 alicorn essences had entered her body. And those 50 essences were enough to unlock her latent potential and what her love was holding.
"This is new," Chrysalis said, looking at herself at the nearest window here. "Is this what free love looks and feels like? I've been missing out."
"This shouldn't be happening...!" The Empress growled. "None of this should be happening...!"
"Pheromosa. Adagio. Go on ahead." Chrysalis turned to Adagio and the others.
"O-Okay!" Adagio nodded as she snapped out of Chrysalis' beautiful trance. Pheromosa regained her composure and picked up everyone else back up, ready to bolt off.
Frustrated, the Empress raised her Royal Canterlot Voice, choosing to inform all of her forces with a booming voice that echoed across the Empire.
"All of you! Stop Pheromosa and close the gateways immediately! Keep one for Zekrom open!"
With that message, the forces on Chrysalis' side understood what they needed to do. With a Pokemon as fast as Pheromosa, they needed to act fast as the battle on both sides continued. The larger vehicles in the air going up against the airborne Pokemon and pegasi turned their attention towards the Lissome Pokemon as Pheromosa kicked through the window, entering the outside at last.
Immediately, they all opened fire on Pheromosa once they spotted her, unleashing magical rays from their cannons while the larger vehicles on land changed directions, going after Pheromosa to try and stop her.
"Pheromo?!" Pheromosa gasped as she was met with an army of vehicles and magic blocking and preventing her advance. Multiple explosions of magic combusted in front of the Lissome Pokemon, causing strong shockwaves, that blew her back far distances. Soon, Pheromosa became the centre of attention.
But more importantly, the troops within the vehicles had used Travel Spheres, aiming at the gateway that connected to the other Equestria. The troops activated the gateway with their minds, causing a reaction to the already opened one. The incentive was to close it shut. And when two gateways from Travel Spheres meet, the result is nullification.
Every gateway to Equestria was being closed off while Pheromosa was being forced further away. Some troops from Celestia's side attempted to help Pheromosa, but the array of magical outbursts was just too aggressive for them to get past. They couldn't just rush forward, they had to find a way around them. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to do so with the gateway closing. However, before the gateways closed, new faces moved through them.
The teachers from the Pokemon World who were assisting in helping to stop this invasion had passed through. Whatever problems were happening over at Equestria, they had dealt with it and passed through the gateway.
"Oh! That was close!" Brawly gasped as he almost fell over. His body was mainly wet. Most likely from the ships, they went up against.
"Made it just in time.!" Hollow breathed in and out while Houndoom shook the water off his body.
"Houndoom!"
"Yeah...That was rough. But at least we're here..." Roxanne sighed while holding onto her guitar ever so tightly.
"And in the heart of it all! Look at all of this!" Roxanne pointed at the battle going on.
"It's nothing new that we haven't seen before." Another of the teachers who had eventually caught up, Drayden had arrived alongside some three extra additions.
Cynthia, Fantina and Volkner.
"They're all closing now. Are they going to leave the rest of their forces behind?" Roxanne asked.
"No idea." Cynthia shook her head. "But aside from that, let's do the best that we can."
And just like that, the rest of the gateways had closed at last. From all corners where the invading forces were meant to pass through. However, before they closed, a few others passed through. One of which was a Dragon-Type Pokemon. With those few humans passing through along with the single Dragon, all of the gateways had closed.
Except for one gateway that was high in the sky. That gateway was meant for Zekrom when he eventually passes through. It was especially high in the air so that all of the aerial vehicles could prevent anyone from reaching there.
"We're not a second too late." One of the humans said while speaking to a certain Dragon-Type Pokemon. "Let's go to him. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Dra."
"Mosa?!" Pheromosa gasped as she saw all of them close. She was then knocked back by another explosion, forcing her back into the palace as she rolled on the floor. "P-Phero!"
"This is getting ridiculous now...!" Adagio growled whilst getting up from the floor. She looked up to see the army of ships just blocking her way from all sides. At this rate, it would be impossible to get out of here. "Pheromosa! Let's find one of those Travel Spheres and-
"Garchomp, Dragon Rush!" just then, Cynthia's voice echoed out as her Garchomp stomped on the ground, covering herself in a violet draconic aura before flying into the air.
"Gar!" The Mach Pokemon, living up to her title, zoomed through the skies faster than a jet plane as she smashed into one of the ships. That one collision from Garchomp on the ship was so great that not only did the ship spin around and tremble, but it also crashed into other ships, causing a domino effect.
Everyone looked up as the ships were being smashed into each other, resulting in major damage that threw the Empress' forces off balance. Adagio then looked over, witnessing Cynthia and her Garchomp deal with their little blockade in the sky.
With that, Adagio and Pheromosa felt safe to move whilst more ships were approaching the scene, flooding the skies with their metallic appearances. The new goal was to find a Travel Sphere from any of the Empress' forces and hightail it out of here with Pyrestar and the Elements.
"Looks like the pressure is really showing itself, isn't it?" Chrysalis spoke in her new form. "Now. Let us talk about ourselves. I'm a bit eager to see what True Love is like, don't you?"
"You...!" The Empress snarled. As if everything couldn't get worse for her, it was. Her anger was just reaching critical mass at the moment. Everything was falling apart and it aggravated her to no extent. The Empress was about to explode as she let out an enraged yell before using her magic to teleport away, back to her throne room.
"Oh my." Chrysalis shifted her eyes around after the disappearance of the Empress. "I should probably inform Ash and the others of Pyrestar and the Elements. Now, where have they gone?"
Meanwhile, as the Empress returned to her throne room, she sat there, putting her hooves over her head. She had never been this frustrated in her entire life before. Nothing came close. And it seemed like it would grow even further. She hyperventilated as her stress was just building up.
"It's fine, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine!" She said to herself, trying to calm herself down. "It's fine...I haven't lost yet. I can't lose! I was never fit for losing!"
"Empress!" Just then, bursting through the doors was Skybluee Shine herself. It seemed as if her battle with Luna had been put on hold. Or at least, her Pokemon were dealing with Luna as they weren't with her at the moment.
"Go away!" The Empress shouted while pulling her mane. "Go back out there and win this stupid thing already!"
"Empress!" The android rushed over to her ruler's side. "You're starting to lose your composure! You need to relax!"
"I am not!" Everything's fine! Nothing's wrong! I can win this! I should win this!" She just kept pressurizing herself.
"It's okay.." Skyblue put her hooves over the Empress in a comforting manner, using her magic to calm the alicorn down with a soothing spell. "We will win this for certain. But we will have to go through difficult moments if we wish to achieve victory in this.
"Hah..." The Empress' breathing slowed down in response to Skyblue's words and soothing spell. This was something she needed at the moment.
"I understand the invasion isn't turning out the way you wanted it to. But we still have more to offer. Our army and other forces from the world's we've conquered. There is the hope of Zekrom still and many more to be accomplished with. And even if we do end up losing, we can come back stronger from this with our next possible invasion. Better than ever and more than prepared for their world."
"Y-You're right." The Empress nodded before blinking a couple of times. Her beating heart moved at a steady and calm pace. "You're right. There's still more. Silly me. Thank you, Skyblue Shine."
"Anything to make you happy, Empress."
"There you are!" Bursting through the doors was Luna herself. Her Pokemon were back at the hallways, dealing with Skbylue Shine's Pokemon.
"Luna." The Empress said with a calmer voice this time. "You've caught me a bad time, I must say. Thanks to my wonderful and loyal subject here, I feel refreshed. Well...my magic is still missing."
"Precisely why I'm here. Maybe now in a weaker state, I can finish what I started back on that ship months ago." Luna smirked as she used her telepathic spell to communicate with her sister. She knew that even with this confidence, it would be a bit difficult to deal with the Empress still. "Sister. I'm currently engaging with the Empress right now. Have you found Pyrestar and the others?"
"No. We're here at the dungeon and they're gone. Somepony must've already beaten us here. And you're at the Empress' location?!"
"Right. I may be pushing my luck here. But if you can assist me, I would need to help now if I can receive it."
"Oh, Luna." The Empress walked up to Luna with her horn glowing a vibrant yet dark purple colour. Luna stood firmly on her hooves as the Empress approached her, shaking the throne room from just her pressure alone. "Just watch what I can give out now."
Equestria. High in the skies.
On the ship, now claimed by Team Rocket, James and the rest were close to reaching the otherworld. They weren't aware that most of the gateways had been closed by order of the Empress, however one remained. The one meant for Zekrom to pass through.
James looked at the radar as he noticed that most of the gateway signals had just up and vanished from the screen. There was just one remaining.
"Just one gateway left," James said.
"We need to hurry! Can't this thing go any faster?!" Apple Bloom shook James, worried about her sister's condition as she whimpered.
"This is as fast as it can go. Sorry that we couldn't make any momentum upgrades before we boarded the ship." James patted Apple Bloom on the head.
"But we are close aren't we?" Mayor Mare asked.
"Looks to be that way. There's one still active up north. We can hopefully make it in time to pass through. I can say a total of 5 minutes at best. And if not, we'll just steal one of those Travel Sphere things from those soldiers." James responded.
"Yeah well...Better do it quickly. I'm getting tired over here..." Silver Spoon yawned as a few other ponies were exhausted. Just then, something else picked up on the radar.
Something big.
They were just as large as the single gateway seen on the radar as they were moving rapidly, indicating that it was an entity of some sort.
"Oh! What's this?!" James stood up, looking at the two signatures.
"What happened?!" Everypony said.
"It's moving fast and at great speeds!" James gasped. "What is it?"
"Uh...It might be those two...?" Amethyst Star gulped as she pointed her hoof on the outside of the window, revealing to everyone the two entities. The cause of the signatures moving at high speeds.
Reshiram and Zekrom.
Reshiram was still pursuing Zekrom whilst Zekrom was heading back to the otherworld via the gateways to assist the Empress. All other gateways had closed except for the one high in the sky. That was where Zekrom was headed as Reshiram kept up with his speed. The two Dragons passed the ship, causing a strong wind pressure to almost knocking it off balance.
"Reshiram and Zekrom?!" Jessie gasped. "Are those two ever going to rest?!"
"They could pass through that gateway there!" Lyra noticed the direction they were heading in. "If they head there, they could totally level that Empress' place by just battling it out, right?"
"Then Applejack will get even more hurt!" Apple Bloom gasped "Please James! We need to hurry! Please!"
"Alright, alright! We'll see just how much fuel we can give out to this ship" James nodded as he gripped tightly onto the controls. He was going to push this ship's speed to its limits as much as he could.
He kicked things in high gear, full-force, maximum overdrive and everything this ship had to offer. Everyone held on tightly as James narrowed his eyes, focusing on Reshiram and Zekrom. He held his breath as he unleashed everything at once The ship's thrusters emanated a louder sound and hotter flames while also putting the ship under pressure
With this pressure, James boosted the ship, breaking it past its natural limitations. The ship moved at a quicker pace, breaking through the clouds as it followed Reshiram and Zekrom.
Frenzy Forest. Delphox's hut.
And meanwhile, over at Delphox's hut, Discord was still resting on the bed with Delphox taking care of the Spirit of Chaos. However, very soon, Discord himself was on the verge of waking up with slight twitches.
The invasion was reaching its boiling point. There can be only one possible winner in all of this and nothing more. The end result will be something to remember for years to come.
"That was weird..." Spike sighed as he held his head. They were just recovering from the World Pirouette Spell caused by Empress Twilight but negated by Chrysalis. "Is everyone okay?"
"Still dandy and safe here." Rarity said while getting up from the floor. "But...I fear that I'm running out of steam here..."
"Ditto." Sunset nodded in agreement as she and the others breathed in and out. Unfortunately, despite their efforts, their bodies had limitations. They are most certainly tired ever since what happened in Rota led all the way up to this. Rarity, Sunset and Pinkie Pie may not be able to continue any further. Spike himself wasn't exempt from this either.
"We just need to keep it up a bit more," Spike said to his friends. "As long as the Elements and Pyrestar are safe, we would've gotten one thing done. All that's left is to stop this invasion. Come on. Let's at least find everypony else and see if they're alright."
"Xo? Haxorus!" That's when Haxorus was the first to hear familiar sounds coming this way as they echoed throughout the hallway. And they weren't friendly that's for sure. In fact, they were originally pursuing Spike and the others but were temporarily fended off thanks to Milotic.
Spike and the others eventually heard the sounds themselves as immediately gasped in unison, looking behind them. And lo and behold, the paper that they were previously escaping from had returned. The Paper Hawk and Wolf.
They had restored themselves with the rest of the paper within the palace, mostly from books. And they stepped it up. There were now even more paper creations in the form of other creatures as they all raced towards Spike's group.
"Oh..." Sunset groaned. "Enough for one day..."
"Let's just Mega Evolve and get this over with!" Rarity said as she looked at both her Ampharos and Lopunny before staring at their Mega Stones and accessories she wore
"Yeah." Spike agreed as he was ready to Mega Evolve Salamence once more. This would be the third time in a row today that he's done so. The paper creations closed in as the lights from the Mega Stone flared, immediately altering the Pokemon and transitioning them into their Mega Evolved Forms.
The Empress' throne room.
Luna stood before Empress Twilight and Skyblue Shine while her Pokemon dealt with Skyblue's Pokemon in the hallway.
"Empress! Let me finish things with her!" Skyblue Shine offered. "You upgraded me to be on her level!"
"I did. But I can tell that Luna herself is growing..." The Empress narrowed her eyes. "Something within you is hiding what you're truly capable of, Luna. Something you can't accept."
"You mean Lunar Ire? Forget it! I refuse to fully use her at all. I shall not have a repeat of Nightmare Moon." Luna stomped her hoof.
"Pssh. Suit yourself. But I can't take any chances. Skyblue. Will you assist me in restraining Luna? That Sorrowful Rage Magic of hers has my curiosity actually."
"Yes, Empress!"
"Pah! I'm not the same as I was before! Things will be different from last time! Darkrai!" Luna bellowed as she made the first move. She allowed her magic to illuminate a blinding light that spread across the entire room while she called for Darkrai. The light flashed in front of the eyes of the Empress and Skyblue Shine, temporarily blinding them.
Hearing his Trainer's call, the Pitch Black Pokemon knew that he was needed. Darkrai quickly put his battle with Aggron on hold by using Dark Void to put the Iron Armor Pokemon to sleep. Afterwards, Frillish hovered over Darkrai, firing Hydro Pump towards the Steel-Rock-Type. Although, Aggron was currently Mega Evolved so it wouldn't be that easy to take him out. But, with him being asleep, the rest of Luna's Pokemon can attack him as much as they want before he wakes up.
Darkrai moved through the shadows, zooming at a quicker pace than he would with just floating around. He moved across the hallways within the shadows, passing by the rest of the carnage and destruction occurring because of this battle as he managed to reach the throne room while Luna's light died down.
The Pitch Black Pokemon put his hands together, utilizing Dark Void in an attempt to put the Empress to sleep. And when he popped out of the shadows, appearing in the throne room, Darkrai lobbed the ball of darkness towards the Empress.
"Oh!" The Empress gasped as she swayed her body to the side, evading the Dark Void. "You sly mare! You almost got me there, actually."
"Tch! Didn't think something so simple would've worked out anyway..." Luna scoffed.
"She sure is fast, isn't she?" Darkrai said.
"You two can't beat me again. Allow me to remind you why you were powerless to me in the first place!" The Empress laughed as she used her Hair Spell, manipulating her own mane and using it as a weapon, just like before. She had also lit her mane with fire as she swung it about.
"What?! A flaming mane?!" Luna gawked at the sight of the flaming mane as she and Darkrai backed away once it was swung downwards at them. The hair hit the floor with the force of a hammer as flames erupted from the initial hit, almost catching the alicorn and her Pokemon.
"Darkrai, Poison Jab!" Luna yelled while ascending into the air, shooting out her own beam of magic to try and distract the Empress while Darkrai goes in for Poison Jab. However, there was the issue of Skyblue Shine. She had quickly countered Luna's magic with her own beam, preventing the distraction.
Darkrai zoomed over at the Empress with Poison surrounding his claws. The Empress swung her scorching mane like a whip, sending it straight for the Pitch Black Pokemon. Darkrai flew over the blazing whips, avoiding them as much as he could.
The flames came his way as Darkrai used the Poison from Poison Jab, clawing at the flaming mane. The flames protected the mane from being melted away by Darkrai's poison as the Dark-Type was going back and forth the Empress' hair.
Luna flew over Skyblue Shine's magic beam before blasting the android in the back with her own magic, forcing Skyblue to the floor. Luna then went for the Empress next, planning to tag-team her with Darkrai. She manoeuvred her way around the flames while the heat was getting to her. Her wing had been struck by one of the flames, causing the Moon Princess to wince. But she didn't lose her balance even after that.
Luna then used her magic to slice a piece of the flaming mane off, allowing her to get closer to the Empress. Once she was close enough, both alicorns locked horns with each other while Darkrai's Poison Jab was promptly stopped by a barrier the Empress made on the side.
"What's wrong?!" Luna grinned. "Can't use your Gravity Spell because you're so low on magic yourself?!"
"Tch!" The Empress' eye twitched after hearing Luna's response. "Don't get cocky just because I'm missing most of my magic. I don't need to use the Gravity Spell just to get rid of you! I have other options that can do the trick!"
"Talk all you want. Right now, my sister is more than enough for you. But I shall be the one to stop you before she gets here!" Luna and the Empress separated from each other after causing their magic to pulsate with both their horns.
"What do you mean she's more than enough for me?" The Empress squinted her eyes as Darkrai moved to the side, going for Poison Jab to claw the Empress' face. "!" Reacting quick, the Empress moved her head back, avoiding Darkrai's upward claw swing.
"Now, Dark Void!" Luna shouted as Skyblue Shine shot her in the back, paying Luna back for what she did to her seconds ago. The moment the Empress evaded Poison Jab, Darkrai used his other claw, creating Dark Void. However, instead of throwing it, the Pitch Black Pokemon held it in his claw as he physically forced it on her.
"Oh!" The Empress gasped as Darkrai thrust his arm, smashing the void of Darkness onto the Empress' neck, making it a direct hit.
"Empress!" Skyblue Shine cried out after witnessing her ruler take a hit. She had finally been struck by Dark Pulse as a pitch-black void consumed the Empress before fading away. After that, the Empress felt the effects of Dark Void as her eyes closed, her body fell to the floor as everything around her was becoming nothing but a pitch-black image.
"Haha! Finally!" Luna cackled as she got up from the floor. "That was really all we needed. Dark Void truly is the best isn't it?"
"You'll pay for this, Princess Luna!" Skyblue Shine chided before charging at the Moon Princess with her hooves out. Luna teleported to the side as Skyblue Shine ended up crashing into a wall because of this evasion. After she crashed into the wall, Darkrai used Dark Void once more, tossing it at the android.
Skyblue Shine turned around, witnessing an orb the size of her entire body. And speaking of her entire body, that's exactly what the Dark Void consumed. It connected with the android, consuming her whole body before fading away. Just like that, she fell asleep too, dropping the floor.
"There," Luna smirked. "Now they'll both be sharing the same nightmare. Whatever it may be. Now that was simple enough, wasn't it? Nothing too grandiose to finish this invasion but it is what it is, wouldn't you say, Darkrai?"
"Uh...Luna..." However, Darkrai had witnessed something with his very eyes as he wasn't focused on Skyblue Shine right now. His eyes were on the Empress. Luna responded to Darkrai's words as she turned to face where the Pitch Black Pokemon was facing.
Lo and behold, a dark blue and purple magic stream emanated from her body while she was asleep. This was her own magic at work as her horn was even glowing. Not only that, but the aura of this magic seemed familiar. Especially to Luna herself. They had stars within them. But they weren't meant to represent the Empress' mane. Instead, they resembled the mane of another alicorn. One that Luna feared to ever experience or be in the same room with considering her past. And she said the name of this alicorn with these words.
"That magic...that's Nightmare Moon!" Luna was perplexed by what she was witnessing. Before she knew it, the stream of magic moved at unprecedented speeds, immediately wrapping around Darkrai and Luna, faster than they could properly react.
Their bodies were held in place by the essence of this magic as it moved like a violent tornado. Luna attempted to teleport away while Darkrai tried to fall into the shadows for safety. The Trainer and Pokemon were fully consumed by this nightmare magic as well as Skyblue Shine herself. The stream had then filled the room afterwards, making it difficult to Luna and Darkrai to really go anywhere else.
Meanwhile with Ash's group.
Ash, Twilight and Celestia were searching for the throne room to assist Luna. If they could find it. The vast size of this whole palace made it difficult to really get around. Along the way, they came across various vehicles and robotic creations that stood in their path while all this carnage spread across the castle.
But, their Pokemon were able to defeat each of them every time. They kept moving, searching for the throne room. Even if this palace was still the original Canterlot Castle, the size, scale and new additions to it certainly weren't. Every direction was hard for Celestia to follow. This place didn't even feel like her own castle from how different it looked.
As they kept moving, Ash, Twilight and Celestia ended up coming across something bizarre in particular. Something they weren't expecting as they came to a screeching halt.
They came across Celestia herself.
"Celestia?!" Ash and Twilight both said while Celestia gazed at herself. A completely separate Celestia. This was, of course, the Celestia of this world.
"Oh!" The Celestia of this world also gawked before stopping herself. Within this scuffle of two sides, she was on the run herself.
"Wait. Is it Chrysalis or..." Twilight narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, no. I-I'm the Celestia of this world." The second Celestia pointed her hoof at herself.
"Luna did mention you." The first Celestia responded. "I suppose it was to be expected for us to eventually cross paths."
"Right. Though, it is fairly bizarre to meet myself from another world if I'm being honest." The second Celestia chuckled nervously. "But, you're here to stop the Empress, aren't you?"
"Sure are. Do you know where the throne room is? Luna's over there right now." Ash asked.
"Pikachu?"
"The throne room can only be accessed through the middle floor. Any other floor is exempt from this. The fifth floor has an exclusive and secret passageway that only leads to the very top of the castle." The second Celestia instructed.
"Fifth floor. Understood." The first Celestia nodded as she and her friends were ready to head to the fifth floor and take the second Celestia's instructed path. But before they could do so, the first Celestia looked at her alternate self for a moment. She then remembered how Luna mentioned that this world's Celestia was missing most of her magic as it was stolen by the Empress.
She had been reduced to a cleaning maid after all and the best she could do with her magic is grab objects and zap small bolts of magic. And that's about that. Knowing this, the first Celestia decided to fix all of that. And she had the magic and Cutie Mark to make it work.
"Before we go. How would you like all of your magic back to you?" Celestia asked her alternate self.
"All my magic back? I'm afraid that's not possible now. Not with what the Empress did." The second Celestia sighed. "The same goes for every other alicorn in other world's she's visited."
"Perhaps. Unless I do this." The first Celestia then stood firmly on the floor, flashing her horn with cosmic and solar magic. The rays of magical light then shot out of her horn before covering the second Celestia.
The second Celestia had her eyes widen and mouth open with a bright light shooting out of them. Her body levitated in the air with all of the cosmic and solar magic covering her body. The first Celestia's Boundless Cutie Mark was also spinning around rapidly in response.
Ash and the others covered their eyes from the blinding light that Celestia's magic could exude. It was still hard getting used to how intense it truly was to look. Afterwards, Celestia lowered her magic, pulling her horn back as the second Celestia descended to the floor with golden bolts sparking around her body.
"Oh..." The second Celestia breathed in and out with her body twitching from that perplexing experienced. She eventually maintained her composure, shaking her head, blinking a few times as her heart was beating normally. That's when she felt a familiar feeling she hadn't experienced in decades. "My magic...It's all back?!"
"It certainly is." The first Celestia nodded. "Good as new. Though, I hope I haven't overdone it and added some more."
"Oh thank you so much!" The second Celestia hugged her other-self. "But, what about your magic?"
"It's fine. Thanks to this Boundless Cutie Mark, it automatically restores all the magic that I exude. Even if I run out of magic, this mark will just build it all up once more. It would be as if nothing had happened."
"Impressive." The second Celestia gawked at the mark. "So, this is how you will return all of the magic to the alicorns that have had their magic taken away from that?"
"We'll use the Magic Siphoning Jar for that. We've taken most of the magic from the Empress and placed it within the jar. Some of it had even been transferred to me. Once this is all over, we shall return the magic via the jar's usage." The first Celestia explained.
"...What exactly is your world?" The second Celestia tilted her head.
"Anyway. We should get going! Luna needs our help! Thank you for this visit!" Celestia thanked her alternate self as she, Ash, Twilight and their Pokemon rushed off, heading for the fifth floor to find this exclusive passageway to the throne room. The second Celestia smiled as she got a move on as well.
With Fluttershy's group.
Fluttershy and her group had come across Spike's group, witnessing the Paper creatures going up against the Pokemon and some Mega Evolved ones. It was certainly a sight to behold.
"Spike! Everyone!" Starlight cried out while being carried by Goh.
"Lopun!" Lopunny kicked a Paper Snake in the stomach, sending it flying across the hallway as it had passed Starlight' group. The papers then scattered due to Lopunny's kick. The snake quickly reformed before slithering back at Lopunny while also sending sharp cutting paper towards Starlight and the others after spotting them.
"Leavanny!" One of Rarity's Leavanny zoomed in, using Slash to cut the paper apart, saving Starlight and the rest from being struck by a nasty papercut.
"Is this paper?!" Trixie gasped as a Paper Wolf lunged at her from above, causing her to screech out loud.
"Cinderace, Blaze Kick!" Goh ordered.
"Castform, Weather Ball!" So did Rainbow Dash.
"Derace!" The Strike Pokemon quickly turned around, lighting his feet on fire before lunging straight at the wolf. With an upwards kick, Cinderace's Blaze Kick struck the Paper Wolf, spreading out flames that burnt the paper with the speed of a wildfire.
"Form!" Castform did the same although his was a tad bit smaller and spread less quickly. Still got the job done either way.
But, more paper was being summoned from across the castle, just adding to the number of magical paper creations there were. The aggressiveness grew more as the paper creations then launched multiple explosive waves of paper by sacrificing bits of their constructed paper bodies.
"Haxo!" Haxorus ran in front of everyone else, putting his arms out as he used himself as a shield to protect all of his friends. And he did it successfully. The explosions blew around only Haxorus as he took all of the damage. After the smoke cleared, Braixen hopped on Haxorus' head, using her stick to fire continuous Fire Spins at the paper.
"Braixen!"
"Hatterene, Psycho Cut!" Hatterene!" Hatterene, who was being carried by Starlight's magic since she was the slowest Pokemon here, had been placed down.
"Tterene!" The Silent Pokemon then lit her tentacle claw up with a purple energy before swinging it wildly. Sharp psychic blades came flying out, tearing through the paper constructs and slicing them in half like sliced bread.
The same went for Haxorus, Salamence and the 12 Leavanny. Each started cutting them apart. Whether it was Haxorus' axe jaw head, Mega Salamence's head or the Leavanny and their physical cutting moves.
Mega Ampharos electrocuted the paper with high volts of electricity, causing them to receive shocks that made them stop in place. Misdreavus assisted by using Zap Cannon to do the same. After they were frozen by Ampharos and Misdreavus' electricity, that's when Mew came flying in, using Psyshock to blow them all away to bits.
The paper creatures had been dealt with but of course, more had arrived, utilizing everything within the castle to continue living on as they rushed over in the form of other creatures, this time larger than ever.
"Ugh! It never ends!" Sunset groaned as she was getting exhausted here.
"They just keep coming...And I'm not sure if I have the energy left at the moment." Rarity sighed as she was about to lose her balance standing up. "It would be quicker if Pheromosa was here.."
"Tired out of my mind here." Spike held his head. Goh and the others were tired themselves too. All this running wasn't helping at all.
"It's not over yet." Even though she was tired as well, Pinkie Pie had a lot of energy left in her to continue. She looked at her friends before looking back at the approaching paper creations. "I think we can get rid of all of them in one go, ya know?"
"How?" Sunset looked up at Pinkie Pie.
"Well we can-" Just as Pinkie was about to explain herself, busting through the walls with aggressive force and even damaging the paper creations by ripping them apart was a machine.
Not just any machine. The half-damaged machine that Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack battled earlier and assumed that it was destroyed. Except it wasn't. It was still functioning well and dandy.
"That thing?!" Applejack gasped.
"It should be nothing but scrap! How is it still here?!" Rainbow Dash grimaced as the machine's laser eye was still function, unfortunately. With one flash of it, the machine locked onto Rainbow Dash and the others, deciding that payback was due. It would also focus on Spike's group too, classifying them as enemies.
Out of its laser eye, a large laser blast came flying out, obliterating some of the paper creations while going straight for the group.
"Xo!" Haxorus, once again, used himself as a shield as he took the laser blast, protecting his friends. Thanks to his hard armoured body, he was able to take the laser blast. Plus, the previous battle had damaged the laser eye, weakening its effectiveness and power as Haxorus slid back.
However, even with a weakened eye, the machine was still dangerous as its whole body turned red once more. The machine then hovered into the air, ready to use its jet boosters to light the whole room up.
"This again?!" Rainbow Dash spoke.
"Not just that...Look!" Applejack then pointed her hoof at another group of flames that didn't originate from the machine. Instead, they originated from the Empress.
The flames from the flaming mane that were sent across the room were still moving, slowly consuming the palace with their blazing fury along the way. Some papers had been burnt by these flames while attempting to reform and head over here.
"Those are from the flaming mane!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Flaming what now?" Applejack turned to Rarity. The flames roared as they took out some of the paper creations here while also tearing down the room. Instantly, everything about this floor was being demolished. Whether from the Pokemon, the machines, the paper creations or the flames that were destroying everything.
Everyone was running low on energy at this point. They weren't sure if they could last another day at this point. They, unfortunately, didn't have the stamina as most of their Pokemon. But some of their Pokemon were getting tired too. Only Haxorus, Salamence and Ampharos still looked like they had a lot to give out.
As the paper creature approached, the machine unleashed the flames from its jet booster, sending them across the floor, adding extra fire. Now light blue flames and normal coloured flames were moving across the area as the heat was intensifying. Milotic herself was trying everything she could to put these flames out with Hydro Pump. But, she as well had limitations.
"What do we do?" Goh asked while looking at his friends. All they could really do was try their best and hope that they could get rid of all the opponents. If they had the energy left in them that is.
"Goo!" But that's when, from far behind them, a large beam of ice had passed them before they knew it, missing all of the Pokemon here as if it wasn't being aimed at them. But it was certainly being aimed at the opponents that stood before Fluttershy and the others.
This move was obviously Ice Beam as it struck the paper creations and machine respectively. Upon contact, the paper creations had been frozen by Ice Beam while the machine only had parts of its body frozen over along with some of its arms. It was still able to move.
"Ice Beam?" Spike blinked before turning around to see which Pokemon was the cause of that. No one among his friend group knew any Ice-Type moves aside from Castform when utilizing Weather Ball in his Snowy Form. Everyone else turned around with Spike to see who their new ally was.
And that ally was both someone new and yet familiar at the same time. At least, to most of them, Trixie was exempt from this familiarity along with Sunset Shimmer. But to Spike and the others, not so much. The Pokemon they saw standing before them along with a single human by that Pokemon's side brought a bright smile to Spike's face.
It was a Goodra.
Not just any Goodra. His Goodra. Which was once a Goomy. And beside him was Dragon Trainer Avaun. Alongside the other Dragon Trainers.
"Oh! OH!" Spike's energy came back to him after witnessing this sight. "Avaun! And...Goodra?"
"It's been a while, Spike, my boy," Avaun spoke as he patted Goodra on the back. "It's good to see you again. But, that doesn't compare to how much Goodra here is happy to see you once more."
"Goo!"
"Once more...? Wait. Does that mean that this Goodra...?" Spike slowly raised his claw, pointing right at the Dragon Pokemon with an open mouth.
"Once a Goomy with great potential and now a Goodra with all of that potential oozing out. Literally too" Avaun smiled while having one of Goodra's slime on his gloves.
"Goodra!" Excited to see his Trainer again, Goodra ran over to Spike with open arms while Spike also ran over, wanting to hug his first-ever Pokemon. "Goo!"
"Oh, Goodra!" Spike cried out as the two of them embraced each other with a loving and reunion-filled hug. "I missed you pal! Look at you! You're a Goodra now! And you feel so sticky..."
"Goo!" Goodra cheered as Spike was stuck on his slimy body for a brief moment before sliding off.
"Get a look at that Pokemon..." Sunset took out her Pokedex.
"Goodra. The Dragon Pokemon. This very friendly Dragon-type Pokémon will hug its beloved Trainer, leaving that Trainer covered in sticky slime. Its form of offence is forcefully stretching out its horns. The strikes land 100 times harder than any blow from a heavyweight boxer. Underneath its slimy skin is a thick layer of fat, and the combination of the two makes enemies’ attacks slide right off. Sometimes it misunderstands instructions and appears dazed or bewildered. Many Trainers don’t mind, finding this behaviour to be adorable. It gets picked on because it’s meek. But then, whoever teased it gets to feel the full force of its horns and a good swatting from its thick tail."
The machine had freed itself from the ice by using its laser beam to blow it apart. Meanwhile, the flames were still approaching with Milotic tiring out. She couldn't get rid of all these flames on her own.
"There's still that problem!" Fluttershy alerted everyone as the machine was free with the flames still approaching. More paper creations were still showing up even with all these flames as they started blowing up.
"You can leave this problem to us," Avaun said as he and the Dragon Trainers offered to handle the rest of this mess. "But, would you like to see what else Goodra can do?"
"Yes please!" Spike nodded in agreement. "Uh...what else can Goodra do now?"
"Goodra!" Goodra was about to show Spike exactly what he could do by using another one of his moves. Power Whip. The horns on Goodra's lit up a verdant green colour as the Dragon Pokemon swung them around. They had also extended as per the natural usage of Power Whip.
With one powerful swing, the whip had smashed into the paper creations and machine, causing them to crash into the walls. The paper creations were immediately burnt while the machine had its body damaged while being struck onto the flames on the walls. Some of its heavy armour was being melted off because of this.
"Awesome!" Spike gawked.
"Now go," Avaun said.
"Okay! Thanks, Avaun! Come on, Goodra. I've got a lot to show you after this! Uh...if we make it out that is." Spike spoke while running off with his friends.
"Goo!"
Meanwhile, within the Dream World.
After being caught by the stream of magic identical to Nightmare Moon, Luna and Darkrai opened their eyes with audible gasps leaving their mouths.
"Ah!" Luna blinked rapidly before standing up. Right now, they were in the Dream World itself without Luna's control. The area they were in specifically was a dream variant of the throne room. "H-How...? How does she know magic such as that?"
"I picked up some other tricks from your alternate selves, Luna." The voice of the Empress rang out, echoing across the skies of the Dream World. "Nightmare Moon isn't so useless as I thought"
"I thought so! So you can even utilize that kind of magic?!" Luna looked around.
"Of course, I can! When it comes to Magical Potential, I have no equal! Aside from that accursed niece of mine Flurry Heart. I can't have her 1UP me in that category. After this is all said and done, I shall personally deal with her myself."
"You won't get the chance! Even in this world, Darkrai still has power! And so did I!" Luna snarled as she lit her horn up with her magic, using that blinding light technique once more. This time, on a larger scale considering that everything here was make-belief.
This light enveloped the whole area, adding some light to it as the force of this light was so great that it managed to reveal both the Empress and Skyblue Shine herself, bringing them out of hiding.
"Tch!" The Empress kissed her teeth after being revealed by Luna.
"There you are! You may have this magic now, but don't forget, I've been with it longer than you ever have!" Luna declared as she made herself super-sized by merely dreaming of being gigantic. Her size broke through the roof of the throne room, appearing before the Empire. But since this was just a world full of dreams and nightmares, the citizens here were non-existent.
"Hoh?" The Empress did the same as she also made herself super-sized. But thanks to her superior size being equal to Princess Celestia, she towered over Luna, easily. "You think I don't know that? Who cares about years of experience when you're as adept and a fast learner as myself?"
"It shouldn't even belong to you either way..." Luna said under her breath before she and the Empress started throwing whatever they could think in their dreams at each other.
Luna had summoned millions of herself towards the Empress in waves. Meanwhile, the Empress simply used millions of chains to try and tie down these millions of Luna while the main Luna went straight after her. The two giant alicorns clashed horns with each other as the smaller Lunas were using their magic to try and fend off the chains.
The Empress pushed Luna back before conjuring a sea of lightning arrows that flooded the skies. The lightning arrows then shot forward, making the sound of thunder as they had enough strength to pierce through anything they could make contact with.
However, in a stroke of genius, if it can be considered that, Luna simply opened her mouth, making it wider than it usually is as she ate the lightning arrows instead of avoiding or countering them. All the arrows entered her mouth as she then closed it afterwards.
"Mmm! Delicious!" Luna nodded before burping out lightning towards the Empress. Her burp even sounded like a clap of thunder too. The Empress flew to the side, avoiding the lightning bolts as a few of the millions of Luna crowded the Empress' covering her face. Luna summoned more of herself, quickly transforming the millions into billions.
The Empress' eyes had been blocked out by the horde of Luna's, distracting her for a bit. That distraction allowed for Luna to engulf the Empress in a mountain-sized magic beam from her horn. The beam coated the Empress while also hitting Luna's own miniature selves in the process.
The Empress cried out as she actually fell over from Luna's surprise attack. The buildings were crushed and destroyed by the giant Empress. But, she quickly regained her composure by summoning a large could below her. Afterwards, Luna flew over the Empress, prepared to dive down on her.
Empress Twilight responded by making her entire body out of magma, grinning at Luna as the Moon Princes winced upon witnessing this scorching transformation. The Empress then tossed herself at Luna as multiple magma sprays started flying out of her.
Luna conjured up giant magma-resistance cups to catch the magma, filling them up as the Empress kept approaching as magma trailed out of her. In response, Luna then decreased her size, making herself the size of a pebble as the Empress ended up missing because of Luna's size change and her descent.
Afterwards, Luna resized herself to be a giant while covering herself in a cold aura. She resized underneath the Empress, striking her horn onto her stomach while having the cold aura bypass the magma body of hers. The Empress was sent straight to the sky as the cold aura removed her magma body.
Scoffing at Luna's tricks, the Empress then had giant chains pop out of the ground, shooting up and destroying the mini Lunas along the way. The chains then grabbed onto Luna's hooves, preventing her from chasing after the Empress. Not only that, but the chains themselves had then shocked Luna while also transforming themselves into magma.
Luna winced after being shocked and feeling magma flow over her body. But she resisted it. She dreamt of herself being immune to magma and the chains being as fragile as a snowflake. She easily broke through the chains and passed through the magma as she chased after the Empress.
Empress Twilight then inverted the air itself, causing Luna to fly the opposite way, crashing her to the ground. The air was also being sucked out of the atmosphere because of the Empress' actions.
She then shattered the skies of the Dream World, causing them to become platforms as everything was now spread out as if it was one big obstacle course with an endless void as the background. Luna recovered herself by teleporting towards one of the sky platforms.
She then jumped from sky platform to sky platform, approaching the Empress while having her miniature selves fly towards her fellow alicorn.
As for Darkrai, he was currently up against Skyblue Shine, countering everything that she threw at him. However, noticeably, Skyblue Shine was just using her regular magic instead of dreaming of anything.
"Curious. How come you refuse to dream of anything to 1UP me?"
"I am incapable of dreaming. I was just built that way. It is unfortunate but it is what it is." Skyblue Shine said while chasing after Darkrai.
"That so? Then in that case..." Darkrai then made himself nothing but an endless black void that immediately encapsulated Skbylue Shine when she got close. "You have no power here. But I do."
"What?!" Skyblue Shine looked around her as Darkrai's endless void, closed in on the android, consuming her in nothing but endless darkness.
As for Luna, she eventually reached the Empress after avoiding everything that was being thrown at her. Their dreams were bouncing off each other as they seemed to have equally absurd things in mind.
Luna then closed her eyes as she dreamt of the sun growing in size and intensity. And that's what happened. The sun grew to astronomical size, larger than it usually was as the brightness even intensified. Luna gave herself sun-resistant glasses while the Empress herself was blinded by this sight.
As a rebuttal, the Empress took the heat of the sun and sent it towards Luna in response. Luna gasped as she instantly started sweating from all the heat being sent her way. So her response was on the more destructive side. Luna dreamt of the sun blowing up on the spot.
And with that thought, a supernova occurred. One that blew both the Empress, Luna and the sky platforms away while lighting up the endless void as well. The Empress and Luna both hit the nearest ground, rolling on it as the supernova left some lasting damage on them.
"Ugh..." Luna held her head afterwards. "Good thing it is not real."
"Luna..." The Empress stood up as she shook her head. "I'll admit. You've gotten better than last time. But you're still not close enough to even stopping me."
"Hmph. Talk all you want. I've heard this drabble before."
"Oh, but the difference is...I can back it up. Observe." The Empress then formed a smile before vibrating the Dream World itself. Luna suddenly froze in place from this pulse. She was so frozen that not only could she move, but she couldn't dream of anything to counteract this.
"W-What is this?! W-Why can't I dream of anything?!" Luna growled.
"A little something Nightmare Rarity taught me. Nifty isn't it? The magic to block out dreams is more useful than I thought it would be if I'm being honest." The Empress walked around Luna. "Dreams are important than they seem.
"C-Curse you!"
"Now, it's about time we finished this." The Empress then brought about a pure black void that was starting to consume Luna. Darkrai took notice of this as he immediately rushed to his Trainer's side, trying to prevent it.
And the moment Darkrai came in contact with the void, a flash of darkness emanated, covering the whole Dream World in seconds.
Outside the palace. High in the skies.
The battle between both sides was seemingly reaching its breaking point. More sides were decreasing in numbers but it was mainly Celestia's side. The Empress still had the rest of her forces from across Equestria and other worlds that would come and give their assistance soon.
However, Celestia's side still had powerful Pokemon that could edge things out and guide them to victory. But it was anyone's game at the moment. That is until, at the only gateway in the sky, something else was coming this way. Something that would change this whole battle in seconds. Through the gateway, the Pokemon they were waiting for had shown himself.
Zekrom.
But he wasn't alone. The first thing that came through was Zekrom's wing as the forces of the Empress' side had wide smiles on their faces, believing that they have won at this point. With a Pokemon as powerful as Zekrom, they couldn't lose.
Right?
Well, the reason Zekrom wasn't alone and why his wing came through and not his head first was that someone had pushed him through the gateway.
That, someone, was Reshiram.
"It's Zekrom!" Brawly gasped.
"And Reshiram! Roxanne pulled back. Before they knew it, Reshiram had shoved Ghetsis right through the gateway as they were still battling, barely showing signs of being exhausted unlike everyone else.
Reshiram and Zekrom came diving down, hitting the ground and parts of the castle as they caused an immediate earthquake with a ground tsunami in the mix. Both forces had been blown back by the collision of the Twin Dragons. The battle between both sides had been interrupted as they had each taken damage.
Vehicles had been knocked over as well as many other soldiers in the process. No one was spared from the blowback that these two Dragon-Types made. Not even the ones in the sky. Speaking of which, they weren't the only ones passing through the sky.
There was one more.
Through the gateway, using the full speed and absolute limits of the machine, passing right through and arriving at the invading world was another one of the Empress' ships. However, it was the one that had been claimed by Team Rocket.
"Made it!" James announced while gripping the controls tightly. The speed they went at left everyone on the ship perplexed as their hair stood up. "And just in the thick of things too!"
"Great! So where's Applejack?!" Apple Bloom pressed her face on the glass.
"Somewhere amidst all of this chaos I presume," James replied. "If you want to go and help her, now's your chance. As for me, I'll have full control of the skies. You'll also have to watch out for that Machamp of yours when he shows up."
"Rarity has to be okay!" Sweetie Belle said. "I mean, she's got Pheromosa on her side, right?!"
"You're certainly not going down there alone with all of this mess. We're just going to retrieve them and bring them all to safety." Mayor Mare spoke to the fillies. "Let's all just be careful, alright? And stay behind me and Stoutland."
"We will!" Many of the ponies said together as James descended the ship, allowing the hatch to open with the stars coming out. Getting down would need to take caution since Reshiram and Zekrom were now a part of the battle. And they are bound to cause even more destruction than both sides combined.
Zekrom tossed Reshiram off of him, sending the Vast White Pokemon crashing through the palace walls and a few other robots which had been obliterated. Afterwards, Zekrom unleashed a devastating blast of lightning from his mouth, shooting at Reshiram.
The lightning blast struck Reshiram's stomach, further pushing the Dragon of Truth back as the volts were destroying the vehicles by just being present here. Many ponies from both sides started running away as Zekrom increased the size of his blast, pushing Reshiram even further away.
Reshiram countered this by surrounding his body in a blaze of fire, utilizing it as a spherical shield. Not only did he block the lightning with it, but he also caused a reaction, forming a semblance of plasma in the process. The two attacks cancelled each other out afterwards.
Reshiram stood up, gazing at his opposite half as they both locked eyes. Remains of their flames and electricity spread across the ground as the palace itself had been damaged from their collision. Without a doubt, these two will bring about destruction to this empire the likes of which have never been seen before.
However, another individual, while they wouldn't be able to cause as much destruction as the Twin Dragons, this individual would leave a lasting effect as a voice echoed through the gateway.
"MACHAMP."
Right through the large gateway in the sky, a giant foot came right through. A foot belonging to the Superpower Pokemon, Machamp. He was still Gigantamaxed thanks to Eternatus' influence.
The Fighting-Type put his whole body through the gateway by bending his body forward, allowing him to better ease in considering his stupendous size. Everyone witnessed the first giant foot come through and then, later on, the head and four arms of Machamp. It was like he was opening a two-sided door.
Machamp was finally here as he put his entire body through the gateway. With one stomp, he shook the Empire. Things were truly reaching their breaking points.
The throne room.
Ash, Twilight and Celestia had finally reached the throne room after taking the second Celestia's advice. After arriving there, they were met with a mixed sight.
Luna was on the floor with Darkrai having his claw over her. And the Empress herself was breathing in and out with her back against the wall. Skyblue Shine herself had fainted.
"Luna! Darkrai!" Celestia cried out.
"Ugh..." Luna groaned as Darkrai helped her off the floor. "Sister?!"
"Tch." The Empress wiped the dust off of herself. "What an annoyance."
"Are you alright?!" Celestia went over to her little sister.
"Fine. Darkrai saved me at the last moment. That was far too risky." Luna sighed.
"So, we finally meet, hm? Ash Ketchum." The Empress faced Ash after witnessing him and the others enter the room. "And of course, my younger self. How nostalgic is this?"
"Empress Twilight..." Twilight scrunched her face while looking at her alternate older self. Seeing her up close made the intimidation factor just show itself even more.
"Scared? You shouldn't be, Twilight. Not when you're gonna grow up into something as wonderful as this. And eventually, an amazing ruler, such as myself. That is...if you ever get the chance to do so before I take over your world next."
"Twilight's never gonna be like you." Ash interrupted while an intimidated Twilight Sparkle quivered.
"Hoh? Maybe not this Twilight." The Empress shrugged. "But aside from that...I've been waiting for this. You've already proven to be major trouble for Ghetsis and Team Plasma and I've heard of your other escapades from the far past and even in this current timeline. Even seeing you for the first time makes it clear to me that you are a threat, Ash Ketchum. The same goes for you, Celestia."
"Pika...!" Pikachu sparked up electricity around his red sacs while Espeon hissed at the Empress.
"I'll admit. You and your forces actually had me worried there, Celestia." The Empress paced to the side with all eyes following her. "The tenacity you and your side have shown is remarkable. You've also had amazing strategies, mainly with the Pokemon. The way your kingdom has battled is honestly overwhelming. Never before has my Empire had to put in so much work against your world. You've pushed us this far, surprised us with your...barbaric tactics and even almost succeeded in rendering me powerless. But tenacity only prolongs the inevitable. Thanks to my amazing and loyal subject Skyblue Shine, my spirits are at an all-time high. Which essentially means that the chances of you winning have plummeted. But let it be known, those chances you had were actually promising in the beginning. Not anymore."
"You talk too much. Are we going to finish this or what?" Celestia scoffed as the sound of two dragons roaring in the distance could be heard. And the Empress recognized Zekrom's cry for sure, knowing that her most powerful ally had arrived.
"Oh, we will." Empress Twilight gave out a devious chuckle before pulsating out a dark purple magical aura afterwards. Her eyes sparkled as she faced off against her four opponents and their Pokemon, ready to end this once and for all.
Frenzy Forest. Delphox's Hut.
And while everything was reaching the climax, a certain Spirit of Chaos had finally awoken.
"!" An exclamation mark appeared above his head as his eyes had opened after so many hours of being closed. Discord was up and healthy once more as he sat up. "Ooooh!" He then yawned, stretching his bones after having a seemingly nice and definitely peaceful nap. "Hooh!"
"Del?"
"Well. That was just plain rude." Discord growled as he grizzled his fangs, thinking about the Empress. "I can safely that Tree Hugger is more bearable than eugh."
"Delphox!" Delphox grabbed the attention of the Spirit of Chaos.
"Hm? Oh, you must be Delphox!" Discord appeared in front of the Flame Pokemon, stretching his paw as he shook her hands. "Thank you so-so-so much for taking care of me. Even if you barely did anything at all."
"Phox."
"Of course I can hear you even when I'm unconscious? Who said I couldn't?" Discord smirked as he could actually understand Delphox.
"Del..."
"Now then."I believe some revenge is due." Discord's eyes flared red. "Fluttershy and everyone went to her world, right?"
"D-Delphox."
"Splendid. Well, take care! Happy tidings!" Discord gave his farewell to Delphox as he vanished from the hut in a spray of confetti. The Fire-Psychic-Type was a bit confounded by Discord, but at this point, since she's seen a lot in her life, it wasn't too surprising.
Now Discord was about to join the fray as the journey continues.
A standoff between four powerful forces and one even more powerful force was about to begin. Ash, Twilight, Celestia and Luna plus their Pokemon facing off against Empress Twilight Sparkle on her lonesome.
Al the while, absolute destruction filled the Empire from the inside and outside. Reshiram and Zekrom have arrived, still battling each other along with the arrival of Team Rocket, the rest of Ponyville and Gigantamax Machamp. And every soon, a chaotic visitor will be showing up shortly.
The palace itself was burning down and falling apart. Whether it was the flames, the Mega Evolved Pokemon or the battle between Reshiram and Zekrom which was moving all over the place.
"Come." The Empress simply said, proving Ash and the others to attack her as her confidence was at an all-time high. And she can thank Skyblue Shine for that.
"Pikachu!" And they certainly started with flying colours. Pikachu hardened his tail to match the texture of iron as he lunged forward. Arcanine went ahead of his friends by outlining himself in a flashy white aura, moving at blinding speeds. Darkrai himself also moved forward, adding poison to his claws.
The Empress split herself into six copies that were all different shades of purple as the main Empress clashed her horn with Pikachu's Iron Tail. She manipulated her horn, using a spell to turn it into metal as well. She was essentially using something identical to Iron Tail. An Iron Horn would be the accurate name for it.
As for the other copies, two of them put shields to block Dazzling Gleam and Mystical Fire while the rest evaded Poison Jab and Extreme Speed, but barely.
"I should probably check on one thing..." The Empress said to herself, knowing about the one major issue that needed to be taken care of. She used her Royal Canterlot Voice to speak out to her subjects. "Everypony! Find Adagio Dazzle and Pheromosa! They have two things that belong to me! The Elements of Harmony and that Magic Siphoning Jar! Capture them and return them at once!"
"Arcanine!" Arcanine slid on the floor, using Extreme Speed again as he struck the copy of the Empress straight in the face, knocking her back.
Darkrai manipulated the shadows, causing dark claws to emerge from the shadows as they struck another copy of Empress Twilight. He then used the many claws from the shadows to try and grab the rest of the copies. The other clones used their magic to slice Darkrai's shadows apart as if they were sliced bread while also shooting magic at both Darkrai and Arcanine.
The main Empress then went back and forth with Pikachu as her horn and his tail kept hitting against each other. Seeing as this was going nowhere, she used a magic pulse to push the Electric Mouse Pokemon back.
"Pika!"
"Electroweb, Pikachu!"
"Passion, add Thunderbolt to Pikachu's Electroweb!"
"Do the same, Darkrai!"
"Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu slid on the floor as being pushed back. He then summoned a ball of electricity which he then flung by swiping his tail. The ball transformed into a large net that hovered over the Empress and her clones.
"Gardevoir!" Passion and Darkrai collectively shot Thunderbolt towards the web, increasing the power of volts within it and its size. The copies of the Empress each smiled as they all were ready to blast the web away collectively.
"Dazzling Gleam!" Twilight commanded.
"Espeon!" But then, Espeon had coated her body in a rainbow aura before summoning a blinding light that shined forth. The copies and the main Empress took the flash from Eve's Dazzling Gleam, causing them to be thrown off guard.
"Agh!" Just as they were blinded, Pikachu's Electroweb landed on all six of them. Trapping the Empress and her copies with the force of 250,000 volts in the process.
"Now, let's convert it to Plasma! Use Mystical Fire, Passion!"
"Garde!" The Embrace Pokemon ascended into the air, putting both her hands together before summoning a burst of magical fire. "Voir!" Passion then sent the stream of flames down, forcing them to mix with the webs formed by Electroweb and the added electricity of Thunderbolt.
The result was a high mixture of plasma that further shocked the Empress and her copies and even gave them burns in the process. The main Empress growled as she used her magic to blow the web of electricity away, breaking free of it while also pushing Passion and the others back.
"Come here!" The Empress pulled off Luster Dawn's trick by summoning an array of chains. Hundreds of them this time as they all flew in multiple directions, homing in on Ash's group.
Just like how they acted when they first arrived at this palace, Ash and the others scattered when the chains came their way, bolting as fast as they could.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
"Passion, Mystical Fire!"
"Pika...!"
"Garde...!" Together, Pikachu and Passion had cut and melted away at the chains that came towards their Trainers. But more were still across this vast throne room that they would have to deal with.
But, that was actually the least of their problems. The main Empress actually lunged at Ash and Celestia, ready to blast them both with a casual magic beam. Ash gasped as he put the Staff of Sir Aaron up, using it as a shield. Aura exuded from the staff as the Empress' horn clashed with it, creating a collision between Aura and magic.
Two pulses emerged as both Ash and the Empress were forced back from it. The Empress' horn was smoking a bit from coming into contact with Aura. And she noticed this.
"Tch. Accursed Aura!" She scoffed as some surprise chains had grabbed Ash and Celestia by their legs. Before they knew it, the two Trainers were then pulled by the chains, being swung across the room by them.
"W-Woah!" Ash and Celestia cried out as the chains spun them around, hitting them across the pillars and even on their own Pokemon too.
"Pika!"
"Garde!"
Celestia growled as she used amplified magic, blasting the chains apart until they were nothing but dust. Her magic was even bright enough to befuddle the Empress with her eyes. Afterwards, the Sun Princess lit her horn up, firing a magic beam from her horn which she cleaved across the throne room.
The clones of the Empress had each been struck and cleaved by Celestia's beam as they were taken aback by how powerful it was. With just that one attack, not only did some of the pillars fall, but the clones vanished as well, having their bodies obliterated by Celestia's magic.
The real Empress gasped as she flew over the cleaving beam, just missing it as she would've almost been struck by it like her clones. Perhaps even blown away just like them. Maybe. The Empress then looked over at Celestia, realizing what happened to most of her magic. Celestia couldn't exert this much magical power before.
"So it's you that my magic was given to...!" The Empress snarled while Celestia smirked. Togekiss soared past her friends, using Sky Attack to try and attack the Empress. Now that she was on her own without her copies, it would be easier to focus on one target and not multiple.
But even by herself, the Empress was formidable. As Togekiss coated herself in a golden aura, the Empress retaliated by summoning a cloud creature right in front of her. This cloud creature had the properties of lightning within it, making it similar to the Storm Behemoth that attacked Equestria months ago.
"Toge?!" Togekiss gasped as the creature attempted to bite her with thunderous fangs. The Jubilee Pokemon flew to the side as the creature snapped its fangs, making the sound of thunder.
"Quick Attack!" Ash and Twilight both said to their partners.
"Pika-Pika-Pika!"
"Esp-Espeon!" The two Pokemon moved at lightning speeds, approaching the Empress as they left trails behind. They passed the cloud creature, tackling the Empress square in the face.
"Kh!" In response to being tackled in the face, while Pikachu and Espeon were still close to her, Empress Twilight used a flash-freeze spell to try and freeze both Pikachu and Espeon in place. A large gust of ice came out of her mouth as she breathed the spell on them.
"Pika?!" Pikachu and Espeon gasped as they had felt a breeze go through them, pushing them back. That breeze was enough to immediately summon ice over their body, already prepared to freeze them all over.
"Canine!" But, with Arcanine's heat, the ice had melted once he sparked flames around his body. Afterwards, Arcanine lunged at the Empress whilst Togekiss zoomed-in, still using Sky Attack.
The Empress then stomped her hooves on the floor as the cloud creature she made attempted to both claw and bite at Arcanine and Togekiss.
"Flamethrower and Mystical Fire!"
"Arca!"
"Gardevoir!" Both Arcanine and Passion unleashed flames of different varieties from their mouths and hands, sending them towards the cloud creature. One hit from both attacks at the same time caused the water vapour and air to be burned into ashes. The cloud creature was promptly destroyed.
"Togekiss!" Togekiss' head collided with the Empress' horn which she had turned into steel. Togekiss felt vibrations through her body and immediate pain on her head after colliding with the horn. "T-Toge!"
"Too bad!" The Empress taunted as she extended her hair, using it to whip Togekiss from the side as she sent the Fairy-Flying-Type hurling through the throne room. Togekiss then crashed into Arcanine afterwards.
"Arc!"
"To!"
"Thunderbolt!" Ash and Luna said collectively as Luna ascended with her horn glowing.
"Psychic!" Celestia and Twilight both commanded as they also flew into the air with Lun, lighting their horns up with magic too. In unison, two bolts of 100,000 volts, two invisible blasts of Psychic energy and three alicorn beams were sent straight for the Empress.
"Impudent gnats!" Empress Twilight roared as her eyes lit up. The moment the attacks got close, she created a field of magic around her body, causing them to blow up upon contact. Afterwards, a cloud of black smoke filled the throne room with its enormous size as everyone paused for a moment.
The three alicorns descended as sparks of electricity emanated through the smoke. There was a moment of silence for this battle. However, Ash's Aura then responded to the staff as he sensed something coming this way.
"Look out!" Ash called out to his friends. Through the smoke, a large beam of dark purple magic came flying out. This was after Ash could sense it coming. Everyone ducked their heads as the large magic beam struck through the walls of the throne room, leaving a massive hole.
The Empress then moved through the smoke, having multiple bones fly by her side as they locked on to every Trainer and Pokemon up ahead whilst the Empress went straight for her younger self.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
"Darkrai, Dark Pulse!"
"Eve! Shadow-" But before Twilight could say anything, the Empress was already close to her, shooting a magic beam at her younger self. With quick instincts, Twilight put up a circular shield around her body which the Empress just struck, either way, launching Twilight out of the throne room. The Empress then followed Twilight by soaring after her.
"Twilight!" Ash and the others cried out as Darkrai pushed everyone out of the way, causing the incoming bones to miss. The bones stabbed into the walls as Darkrai made the right call at the right time. More bones kept coming as they towered over Ash and the others with imposing shadows. It was as if they were alive.
As for the Twilight and her alternate older self, the Empress had pinned the young alicorn to the wall with her hoof on Twilight's chest. The young Twilight Sparke cried out as her eyes widened a bit. The hoof of her older self was being pressed on her while on the wall. The Empress had then used more of the bone magic to hold Twilight in place, pressing the bones on her hooves while also wrapping around.
"There." The Empress then used a bit of Gravity on herself, making her hoof heavier, essentially giving the chances of her younger self escaping low. However, she couldn't use all of her Gravity magic since it requires a lot of magic energy to utilize the full potential of the spell.
"W-Why? How did you become this?!" Twilight winced with one eye open.
"How? I'm afraid that I may have not followed in the hoofsteps of other Twilight's. But I suppose I was just destined for this. After all, it was Celestia and Luna who gave me this status?"
"What...?"
"That's right. They decided that they wanted to retire from their positions and bestowed the status of Ruler of Equestria to yours truly. A brilliant decision and their biggest mistake yet. And I can safely say the same could happen to you. Maybe. Probably. Who knows? But, even though Ash said you'd never be like me...there's always a chance."
"I'll never be like you."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. Because I'm going to make sure that you'll never reach this future with all of your magic gone." She cackled before opening her mouth, ready to devour all of Twilight's magic for herself.
Not wanting another Tirek situation, Twilight went with her first gut instinct to try and protect her magic and herself entirely. As she closed her eyes, the young alicorn then suddenly fired a magic blast right into the Empress' mouth, straight through her throat too.
One connection to her throat and the Empress could feel a pain that she had never felt before. And it was inside the mouth of all places. Her pupils shrunk, time slowed down for her as her focus on Twilight had been broken, causing the young alicorn to break free by destroying the bones with her magic. The Empress herself backed away as she started coughing, gagging and hacking, putting her hoof on her neck.
"Agh! Kh! Gah!" She coughed uncontrollably as he throat was now sore from that surprise beam from Twilight. "Y-You...You!"
"Heh...I can play dirty too like you." Twilight smirked, mocking her older self as shook some of the bones off of her.
"Forget absorbing your magic! I'll just destroy you on the spot!" The Empress roared before summoning more bones to attack the young Twilight Sparkle.
"!" Twilight flapped her wings while also shooting her magic at the floor. She used the propulsion of her magic beam to send her far back, faster than she can even fly as she evaded and destroyed the bones that emerged from the floor. Some bones came up from behind, ready to pierce through Twilight in the back.
"Twilight!" Thankfully, Ash had come over with Pikachu using Iron Tail to cut the bones in half.
"Chu...Pika!"
"Ash! Pikachu!"
"Get lost!" The Empress turned to Ash and Pikachu whipping her mane while also turning it into flames.
"Woah!" Ash instinctively put his staff up, utilizing Aura. He created a body coating of Aura around his body as the mane whipped onto Ash. The Aura Coating shielded Ash while also knocking the Empress' own mane back. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu jumped into the before him and the Empress clashed attacks via Thunderbolt and a blast of magic, cancelling each other out afterwards.
"We'll need more help! Ninetales! Absol! Minccy! Please!" Twilight sent out the rest of her Pokemon for assistance.
"Absol!"
"Cinccino!"
"Ninetales!"
"More?" The Empress turned around as Pikachu saw an opportunity to strike. The Electric Mouse Pokemon used Iron Tail to smack her in the face, letting Empress Twilight feel the force of pure steel.
"Use Hidden Power Dragon, Night Slash and Tri Attack!"
"Sol!" Absol lit his horn up, rushing to the Empress while she was still staggered after Pikachu's Iron Tail. Being hit in the face with iron would obviously stagger someone. And the Empress was no exception.
That stagger from Pikachu allowed Absol to get in as he slashed his horn onto the Empress with darkness streaking out. Not only did he knock her back, but she also cut a piece of her regal dress as well.
"You little!" The Empress growled as she raised her voice, causing a sound shockwave that knocked Absol back.
"Ab!" Absol sent flying, crashing into the wall. But even when crashing into a wall, the Disaster Pokemon found an opportunity to still attack. He unleashed Dark Pulse from his mouth while Ninetales and Cinccino both used Tri Attack and Hidden Power Dragon.
The Empress then used a spell that manipulated the floor itself. She had used a sort of construct spell to create something out of the marble on the floor. From her spell, the marble shape-shifted into a giant claw that had caught the three attacks, crushing them with a powerful grip.
The Empress then manipulated the rest of the throne room, constructing various objects from the walls and floor with this Construct Spell.
From the walls and floors, assortments of objects had emerged, surrounding Ash, Twilight and their Pokemon from all sides. Most of them ranged from giant marble golems, cannons that shoot out spherical marbles and more that could most certainly cause harm.
"She sure does know a lot...huh?" Twilight said, flying back as she and Ash were back-to-back together.
"Yeah. It would be pretty nifty to learn so many spells, huh?" Ash responded.
"Pikachu...!"
"It would. But I think I'll take my time." Twilight gave her own reply as she and Ash were ready to take on whatever else the Empress had to offer.
Outside.
After receiving the Empress' message, all focus was on Pheromosa and Adagio. One had the Elements of Harmony and the other the Magic Siphoning Jar. Many of the vehicles turned to face Adagio and Pheromosa as the Lissome Pokemon was currently making a run for it.
"Phero!" Pheromosa exclaimed as many magic cannons were sent her way. At the same time, Reshiram and Zekrom were still battling out, destroying the Empire gradually with each passing second.
"Come on! At least give us one Travel Sphere here!" Adagio groaned while looking at the gateway high in the sky. "Hey, Pheromosa!"
"Phero?"
"If you can run super-fast, can't you jump really high with enough speed? Do that and pass through that gateway why don't ya?"
"Mosa..." Saying that took Pheromosa back. Mostly through a trip down memory lane. Hearing about jumping high in the air reminded Pheromosa of her time in Ultra Space. The time where one of her friends gave a recommendation that could've worked, but never did. She still remembers those words from her fellow Pheromosa in Ultra Space.
"I mean, it's not like we can run so fast that we can jump super high into the air and reach space. That'd be weird!"
"Phero!" Remembering that, Pheromosa had found an easier alternative to just searching for a Travel Sphere amidst this chaos. She was going to jump as high as she could to pass through that gateway and get the jar away from here.
The Lissome Pokemon skidded on the ground before turning to face the vehicles before her. This was a risky attempt but she had to try something. Pheromosa then bolted off the ground, charging at full speed towards the vehicles, sprinting as fast as she could.
"Wait! Not towards them!" Adagio yelped as she closed her eyes.
"Phero...Mosa!" Knowing that this was dangerous, Pheromosa persisted anyways. She accelerated herself a little bit more while magic rays from the cannons were shot at her. Even from above, she was being shot at. Then, with one might lunge, the Lissome Pokemon stomped on one of the vehicles, not only leaving a dent in it but also using it as a platform for a higher height.
The Ultra Beast jumped high into the air, aiming to fly high up into the heavens themselves to reach the gateway. Adagio shuddered as her mane was flowing aggressively in the wind. The cannons aimed upwards at Pheromosa, rapidly shooting at the Lissome Pokemon to try and shoot her down.
Pheromosa didn't have much control in the air. She couldn't fly so evading the shots from the air would have to be decided by chance and fate. However, there were also the ships in the sky. They had Pheromosa within her sights, ready to fire at any given time.
And that time was now. From both sides, up and down, magic rays were fired, heading straight for Pheromosa, Adagio, Pyrestar and the Elements. But they were specifically charged to make sure that the Elements weren't taken out. The Empress still needed them. Adagio tried assisting by using her own siren wings to help give Pheromosa an extra lift and to hopefully evade these rays. But there were too many of them for even Adagio to evade.
Unable to do anything in the air, Pheromosa closed her eyes as she had been struck by multiple magic rays from both sides, receiving an upwards and downwards smite as she and Adagio cried out.
"A-Aaagh!"
"Pheromo!"
A horrible outcome. She didn't build up enough speed to get that height she wanted. And what's even worse, thanks to her supple body, being hit by all of these attacks did a number on the Lissome Pokemon. And the damage was only going to worsen as she was falling to the ground afterwards.
The jar had been dropped by Adagio as the soldiers from below were prepared to catch Pheromosa and Adagio along with the Elements. They were going to completely ignore Pyrestar however.
"N-Not like this...!" Adagio cried out as she tried using her siren wings to recover, but they had suffered damage from the blast as well. It looked like they would certainly fall.
"MACHAMP." But, that's where Gigantamax Machamp came in. The Superpower Pokemon used his massive hand to rescue Adagio, Pheromosa, Pyrestar and the Elements respectively as he caught them with his palm. But not the jar.
"P-Phero?"
"Huh?" Adagio and Pheromosa looked up, witnessing the Superpower Pokemon. "Oh...T-Thanks."
"CHAMP!" After saving them, Machamp looked down on the soldiers before him, raising his foot to try and stomp them. Instinctively, the soldiers ran for their lives.
"Wait!" Adagio suddenly stopped him. "You'll crush the jar!" Spotting the jar, Adagio flew off Machamp's giant palm to try and retrieve it. Now that it was just lying there, it was prone to be snatched by someone.
And snatched it was. One of the troops of the Empress' forces picked the jar up, getting their hooves on it as Adagio's eyes instantly locked on to the target.
"No, you don't!" Adagio bellowed as she soared towards the soldier.
"Get this to the Empress at once!" The soldiers said as she tossed the jar over to the nearest soldier as they now had to fulfil the main objective. Bringing the Magic Siphoning Jar to the Empress. The Elements were obviously on that objective as well as all fire had been aimed towards Machamp.
Adagio saw that the jar had been passed around as some magic rays were sent towards her via the cannons. Pheromosa quickly took action, jumping off of Machamp's palm as she went for a dive kick.
"Mosa!" The Ultra Beast smashed her hoof onto the ground, summoning white shockwaves that blew some large rubble back and engulfed some of the soldiers too.
The soldiers, seeing how fast Pheromosa was, had to get this jar around faster than Pheromosa could get to it. Which mean tons of distractions. And they could certainly distract the Lissome Pokemon as an entire horde surrounded her and Adagio from all sides.
"Phero?"
"Great..." Adagio looked everywhere. "You're a fast Pokemon. So take these out before I can blink, why don't you? And let's get that jar back."
"Pheromosa!" The Lissome Pokemon nodded as she rushed over towards the forces in front of her, ready to clear them out of her way.
Hallway.
Meanwhile, Apple Bloom and the rest of Ponyville were searching for Applejack and the others to see if they were safe. To enter the palace, they entered through the back instead of the front since that's where most of the chaos is occurring. They had safely entered the palace, avoiding any potential conflict. And they can thank Mayor Mare for that. Her careful guidance made it so that no one would end up in the worst possible situation by chance or accident.
Stoutland started sniffing for Applejack and the others, using his sense of smell. The Big-Hearted Pokemon also knew what to avoid thanks to his tracking skills. He could smell disaster from a mile away. After avoiding most of the conflict and hazards made by all this constant destruction, Mayor Mare and the others had found the ponies they were looking for
"Applejack!"
"Rarity!" Both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom cried out as they ran towards their big sisters out of joy, seeing them in the distance.
"Hm Wait! Why are you here?!" Both Rarity and Applejack said as they were met with hugs from their little sisters. They were obviously happy to see them but more interested in why they would come here of all places and at this current scenario.
"Oh! We were just really worried about y'all!" Apple Bloom said. "We wanted to come here and James brought us here!"
"James?" Applejack replied.
"Eeyup." Big Mac nodded.
"Yeah. He said he wanted to repay the debt to you after how you helped him with his Jessebelle problem." Apple Bloom responded. "So he helped us get here. And he's helping outside too."
"Well, I'll be." Applejack smiled while nodding. "Not bad, James."
"It was still far too dangerous to come here." Rarity intervened. "All of this is too much for a little pony."
"Yeah. Sorry." Sweetie Belle pouted.
"Well, now that you're all okay, there was no need to worry, right?" Mayor Mare spoke. "Let's help out as much as we can and get out of here as soon as possible. Team Rocket should be waiting outside with the ship."
"We can't leave yet!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "We need to make sure Pyrestar and our other selves are safe! They're being hunted down now! Did Pheromosa get out of here with the jar?"
"Otherselves?" Lyra tilted her head.
"We did see Pheromosa amidst all of this destruction. She seems to still be here, struggling to find a way to escape." Mayor Mare explained.
"Not my Pheromosa!" Rarity gasped. "We need to go and save her immediately! But...oh sweet Celestia, I am tired out of my mind."
Rarity and the others felt like falling asleep on the spot with how much movement they've been doing ever since this whole invasion began in the first place. Whilst standing within the hallway, a horde of troops were heading this way with new vehicles that were even larger and stronger than before.
"Ugh...There's just no end to them!" Sunset groaned.
"No need to worry. With Goodra here, we've got a better chance. Check out how strong he is now." Spike patted his partner in the belly."
"Goo!"
"Yeah, but that's like...still a lot!" Pinkie Pie pointed her hoof ahead as she saw some more of them approaching. The Empress still had more forces to give out. And these weren't even the ones from the otherworlds or the rest of Equestria. They were all solely from the palace.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle hid behind their big sisters while more and more kept showing up. And not only that, they were approaching from the sides too. They greatly outnumbered the citizens of Ponyville. Goodra, Salamence and Haxorus growled at the incoming forces since they were still the most energetic out of everyone. Dragon-Type Pokemon do have a lot of energy within them.
The same goes for Ampharos. Being an Electric-Type Pokemon means that he's always active for as long as he can be depending on how much electricity is within his body. The four Pokemon stood before the forces, ready to defend everyone while Milotic, Sceptile, the 12 Leavanny and even Mew were tired out.
"Should we just engage them?" Rarity asked. "We'd be wasting more of our stamina at this rate."
"I know but..."Applejack sighed.
"I have an idea" That's when Pinkie Pie sparked something in her mind that could deal with the horde that was coming their way. And she came up with this idea when she pulled out the Mewnium Z from her mane. "This should do it."
"Mew's Z-Crystal? Oh! You're gonna use a Z-Move?!" Spike shot up as everyone else locked eyes onto the Mewnium Z.
"Z-Moves are super strong and this one is super rare. Time to see just how good it is." She then pulled out the Mega Ring from her mane, placing it right on her hoof. "Are you ready, Mew?"
"Mew-Mew!" Mew nodded. He may be tired but he still had something to give out. Being the ancestor of a majority of Pokemon has its perks after all.
Everyone stood back, knowing that there's a good chance this could turn out badly for them if they were too close. Pinkie Pie slapped herself in the face before putting her serious face on.
"Okay so uh...How do you do it again?" She scratched her mane before placing the crystal into the ring. Once it was in, the symbol of the Mewnium Z flashed before her very eyes as her mane started rising. Her body became outlined in a vibrant pink aura afterwards. "Ooooh! Hehehehe!" She then giggled.
"Pinkie Pie! Are you okay?!" Spike asked.
"I feel tingly! Hahaha!" She continued to laugh as her mane starting flowing while ascended, showing purple and pink sparkles within it as if she was an alicorn at the moment. The Z-Aura flared from her body, adding to that energy. "This Z-Power stuff feels pretty great!"
"That didn't happen with Soarin, did it...?" Rarity whispered.
"Nope." Spike shook his head.
"Better hurry! They're getting closer!" Scootaloo pointed her hoof at the horde of the Empress forces as they were speeding up, aiming their cannons and ready to fire.
"Okay! Here we go!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she crossed her hooves together. She actually replicated the Psychic-Type Z-Pose to try and make it work rather than heading out there and searching for the correct way to pose. Besides, the Mew that gave her the Z-Crystal never taught her the pose. Pinkie Pie was then giving a bursting gold and pink aura.
"Mew...!" Mew felt himself being coated in a pink light as he flew into the air. Multicoloured lights flashed from his body, but they were mostly all pink at the end of the day. With Z-Power surrounding him, Mew then raised his arms, summoning what seemed to be trillions of purple and blue orbs that materialized out of thin air.
These weren't just orbs. These were supernovas. Mini supernovas to be exact. And they were all made by Mew just conjuring them up as everyone gawked at the trillions of orbs before them. The New Species Pokemon then spun around whilst ascending into the air, causing the supernovas to follow after him.
The higher he went, the faster he became and the faster the supernovas moved. Noticeably, Ampharos, Salamence and all the other Pokemon had their bodies glowing with their signature colours as they looked at themselves. The trainers weren't glowing, however.
Even the Poke Balls started glowing too. Scootaloo and everypony looked at their saddlebags and Pokemon to see that their Poke Balls and Pokemon were all glowing together whilst Mew went higher up. And this went for every Pokemon here within the Empire.
Pikachu, Reshiram, Zekrom, Pheromosa, Machamp, Gardevoir and so on. All of them were glowing in response to Mew's movements as if those trillions of orbs were the cause of it.
Even the Pokemon from the other side were glowing. They weren't sure why this was the case as Mew's power was even reaching another world and beyond. The energies that surrounded the Pokemon then all flew at lightspeed, moving from all corners of the empire, country and two worlds, flowing directly towards Mew and the orbs.
After getting high up enough, the supernova orbs then absorbed all of the energy that had been sent here, even straight through the gateways. Then, they all started forming a DNA symbol from how they were moving, referencing Mew's plentiful genes, of course.
And after that, all of the orbs came together, merging as one as they made angelic and sun-howling sounds while doing so. After they came together, they formed one behemoth of a gigantic Psychic orb that had trillions and trillions of energies storied with it.
"Sweet Celestia..." Mayor Mare's jaw dropped.
"The voices in my head told me this name and it's pretty sweet to shout out! Ready, Mew?"
"Mew!"
"GENESIS SUPERNOVA!"
"MEW-MEW-MEW!" The New Species Pokemon let out a shout that echoed throughout the empire, even ringing through the skies as it sounded like his voice had ascended. His arms lit up white before he threw them forward. With a burst of power, Mew launched the gigantic ball of Psychic energy at full force.
Trillions upon trillions of DNA genes were packed into this attack as it ripped apart the walls of the palace. The magic rays from the cannons had been fired but were immediately obliterated when coming into contact with the giant ball. The floor below had been shattered and eliminated by the moving ball as the soldiers immediately started screaming when the ball came their way. They tried running away but it was too late.
The Psychic sphere consumed them as it kept moving, even having the size capability to consume the giant vehicles and robots. The sphere howled while destroying everything in its path. Even the soldiers up ahead weren't safe. They were arriving to help assist in the invasion but were only met with a giant Psychic sphere.
On and on, the ball kept moving, breaking through all of the walls in the palace. And considering its large size, it could most definitely destroy a majority of this place.
"Woah!" The sphere approached Goh's group as they successfully managed to avoid it by moving to the hallway on the side. They ducked for cover as the ball nearly struck them, merely blowing them back from its intense force as it continued on its path of destruction.
Countless rooms were being decimated by the sphere and it didn't help that Reshiram and Zekrom were causing the same amount of destruction as Genesis Supernova with their constant fighting.
The ball even reached where Ash, Twilight and the others were, right next to the Empress. Ashs' Aura sensed the approaching Psychic sphere as he grabbed Twilight, moving her out of the way. The Psychic sphere broke through the walls as the Empress, Celestia and others teleported or zipped to the side, evading it.
They all watched as the Genesis Supernova blazed through everything as if nothing but glass was in its way. Millions of the Empress' arsenal had been obliterated as the sphere left a visible trail of destruction. With just one move, Mew and Pinkie Pie had changed the tides of this entire battle. Most of the Empress resources had been wiped away without a trace left. All that could be seen was the destruction made by the sphere.
The attack finally came to an end as it hit the final vehicle it came across off, blowing up afterwards. A large dome-shaped explosive paroxysm burst from the contact, spreading across the castle and obliterating the vehicle. Genesis Supernova had one last hurrah with its explosion as it moved so fast it began to eclipse and laminate the whole palace.
Celestia saw the explosion coming this way as she and the Empress put up defensive shields around Ash and the others plus Skyblue Shine. They closed their eyes as the explosion moved fast and would take the whole palace with it. Including everyone else inside.
However, Fluttershy's Audino would put an end to it. "Audino!" She used Protect, placing it in front of her friends as she and everyone braced themselves while closing their eyes. And successfully, with enough time to heal herself with Heal Pulse, Audino had the strength to defend against this might Psychic-Type move.
The explosion of Genesis Supernova came in contact with the shield of Protect as the result was Audino and everyone being blown back from the shockwave while the explosion came to an end, leaving a giant hole in the floor.
"D-Dino!" Audino cried out as she rolled on the floor afterwards.
The aftermath of Genesis Supernova was tremendous. So much had been destroyed as Pinkie Pie's mane returned to normal while Mew fell to the floor, exhausted.
"M-Mew..."
"You did good, Mew." Pinkie picked up her partner. "Get some rest okay?"
"Mew-Mew."
"Woah nelly..." Applejack and everyone were just stunned by what they saw. Surprisingly the attack only severely harmed those in the way destroyed objects instead. Mew will always refrain from destroying life. So, he controlled the attack to make it have a specific purpose.
"I-I think now is a perfect time to get moving, isn't it?" Rarity stuttered as everyone nodded in agreement. After witnessing that, the only thing to do was to just move along while they had all the time that they had thanks to Pinkie and Mew.
The throne room.
"Ugh..." Celestia shook her head as she lowered the barrier. "Is everypony okay?"
"Yeah." Ash nodded as he stood up. "What was that?"
"Pika..."
"Tch." The Empress lowered her barrier, shaking the dust off of her. The rubble fell as she looked at the carnage made by Genesis Supernova. Not only that, after a noise that loud, Skyblue Shine was starting to wake up. Gradually though. Not just yet.
Aside from that, rushing into the doors, right after all that carnage was a soldier from the Empress' side. But, there were barely any doors left so he just ran inside.
"Empress! Terrible news!"
"Yeah! I can see what it could be!" The Empress snaped at the soldier, referring to the destruction made by that giant Psychic ball.
"But, Empress! Around 70% of our forces have been defeated by that sphere."
"70%?!" An astonishing amount. More than what the Empress expecting. With that much taken out, the Empress side had received a potential massive disadvantage. Her overwhelming army size was what she was also known for. Now it had been diminished in just 30 seconds. "Pah! It's fine! There's always our backup forces that will show up! Not all of them returned from the merged world anyway."
"About that..." The soldier rubbed his hoof in nervousness. "Over at the other Equestria, they had been defeated as well."
"What?! WHO?!"
"W-Well..."
The Swords of Justice, that's who.
The Empress' other forces who hadn't returned to their world yet had been taken out, unconscious on the ground. Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion and Keldeo stood over a sea and mountain of defeated ponies, robots and vehicles, barely having a scratch on them.
"Can't help but crush over him with every opportunity you can get, hm?" Luna raised an eyebrow at her big sister.
"Grrr...!" That aggravation that the Empress tried to restrain was starting to show itself again. Everything was going awry once more. "It's fine! There's always Zekrom!"
"Uh..."
"What...NOW?!" The Empress turned to the soldier once more.
"A-A-Another big dragon is currently against Zekrom...I believe it may be Reshiram...Empress? And a huge Machamp as well..."
"Reshiram!" Celestia gasped. And the moment she said that outside the window and bursting through the walls near the throne room were the two Dragons. Ash and everyone were startled as they witnessed the Twin Dragons enter the palace, breaking it apart while still battling each other.
"Princess Celestia! I still cannot get to Zekrom! He's still focused on rampaging!"
"Hang in there, Reshiram!" Celestia shouted.
"Do you have any good news?!" The Empress then bellowed at the soldier.
"Well...On the bright side, forces from the otherworlds are preparing to arrive soon." The soldier squeed whilst a blast of fire from Reshiram could be heard. "And the jar has been successfully retrieved and is heading this way. G-Getting past the hazards will take some time, however.
"Tell them to hurry! NOW! Bring me that jar immediately!"
"Y-Yes, Empress!" The soldier then ran out whilst Reshiram and Zekrom moved across the palace.
"Well...Celestia...You and your forces sure are something, aren't they? A real pain, that's what you are!"
"When you have amazing friends like me, you tend to perform amazing feats that can really get under anypony's skin," Celestia smirked.
"Hmph. Obliterating you is going to be so satisfying." The Empress then sparked her body up with a darker purple as she was seemingly getting ready to use everything she had in store.
"Ash. If Reshiram can't snap Zekrom out of it, maybe you can with Aura. Go and help Reshiram." Celestia turned to Ash.
"Got it! Come on Pikachu!" Ash bolted off with Pikachu while it was now just Twilight, Celestia, Luna and the Empress in just the throne room. They could see that the Empress was about to try and finish this as soon as she could as her magic was gradually transforming her body. Her natural dark blue mane was darkening as red stripes could be seen emerging from within them. Red lines were also showing around her eyes as slits as if she was a lizard.
"What is happening to her..." Luna said under her breath as they witnessed these slight changes.
"A shame...If I had all my magic I would've been able to use the full potential of this form. But this will have to do!" The Empress grinned as her eye colour changed from red while also exuding a red and purple magical aura.
"Two can play at that game." Celestia scoffed as she revealed her Mega Ring which was cleverly placed inside of her hoof regalia. She used her magic to slide the ring upwards as the time to Mega Evolve was now. Or even beyond that.
It was time for Celestial-Gardevoir.
"Are you ready for this, Passion?"
"Gardevoir." Passion was actually willing to let this go through. Against a threat like this, she would have to take this chance immediately as she nodded in confirmation.
"Then! Let's become one! Mega Evolve!" Celestia shouted as she initiated the Mega Evolution process. A cosmic, golden and pink light shined out of the alicorn and Embrace Pokemon as the Empress merely covered her eyes from this blinding light along with Twilight and Luna.
The light exploded into a pillar of magic and Infinity Energy, blowing a large hole through the ceiling and piercing through the skies and clouds, reaching the very top of the world before coming to an end. Within the light, purple eyes flashed as Celestia's Cutie Mark could also be seen flashing along with the Mega Evolution Symbol. Celestia's body had disappeared in a dispersion of light. That was because she had become one with Passion. They had fused to become one entity.
Celestial-Gardevoir.
"Oh!" Twilight was actually witnessing this for the first time but Luna was familiar with it. "Mega Evolution with the Bond Phenomenon?! Wait...is it the Bond Phenmenon? Or something else?"
"It's time we finished this," Celestia spoke with the voice of two beings.
"I agree." And the Empress certainly agreed.
Outside.
Meanwhile, on the outside, aside from James attacking the other ships in the air, Machamp's gigantic attacks, Pheromosa trying to clear all the enemies around her and more, there was one surprise visitor in all of this. He had just shown up by ripping a hole between both worlds without taking a gateway or using a Travel Sphere.
It was Discord of course. And he came at a perfect time.
"Oh, my" Discord shaped his eyes into binoculars, gazing at the sight before him. "Now this is chaos. Oh!" He quickly retracted his eyes. "Right! Fluttershy and that sneaky slimy Empress..." He grizzled his teeth. "What to do first...?"
One of the soldiers noticed the Spirit of Chaos in the sky as she had to tell the Empress immediately about this. The battle between both sides was reaching its end soon from how things were turning out. The moon was now beginning to show itself.
The final moments are approaching. Celestia's side and Empress Twilight's side are feeling the pressure on each other. And right now, one massive ally had shown up on Celestia's side. Discord.
Immediately, Discord pulled the first soldier he spot, bringing her close to his face and crimson pupils as he had one question that he wanted to be answered immediately.
"Where's Fluttershy? She's better not be hurt in any way."
"I-I-I don't know!" The soldier squealed as she flailed her hooves aggressively. The rest of the soldiers then turned their weapons, aiming them at the Spirit of Chaos. "Put me down!"
"At least tell me where your Empress is. I have a score to-" Before Discord could finish his sentence, a magic ray had hit him right in his stomach. "Yeowch!"
"Fire!" A pony cried out as multiple magic rays were sent Discord's way.
"Oh, please." Discord sighed as he snapped his fingers, turning the magic rays into porridge and the weapons into styrofoam, making them useless at the moment. Everyone on Celestia's side cheered for Discord as they knew they had essentially won with him here.
But the Empress' forces weren't going to let that be so easy. From behind, more magic rays were being shot at Discord as some were even rained down from above. Some of the robots flew towards the Spirit of Chaos, aiming straight for him.
"Oh!" Discord had almost been hit by a magic ray as he separated his body, causing it to miss. But there was the problem of the rays coming his way and the various robots. Discord then noticed that right through the roof of the palace, two dragons flew out. Reshiram and Zekrom.
Immediately after they burst through the ceiling, they went straight down, re-entering the palace and continuing their fight. Discord felt like he was bound to waste a ton of time asking, so he just went for Fluttershy and the Empress himself if he knew where they were.
He saw Adagio and Pheromosa, noticing that they had Pyrestar and the Elements of this world. And of course, this world's Fluttershy. Element of Kindness. But, Discord knew that this wasn't his Fluttershy yet he still felt an immense amount of anger, especially considering what the Empress did to him.
And just like that, he had vanished with a white blink. But, he left a parting gift. With another snap of his fingers, he turned this whole outside brawl into one big tea party.
Everyone was immediately seated on hundreds of seats, wearing fancy clothes while also having cups of tea on the table for them. Even in their favourite flavours. This whole battle had been paused by Discord by ease as everyone looked around. Most of them were greatly confused by this. The sudden pause was surprising. Even a giant like Machamp was seated. However, this will most likely not last once everyone gets back into things.
"That's something..." Brawly looked at his suit.
"Eugh..." Roxie grimaced as she wasn't a huge fan of foo-foo dresses. And Discord just had to give her some. Plus, she wasn't fond of tea either. It's not her thing."
"It seems that he has managed to pause this whole battle at the moment. The weapons are now nothing but styrofoam." Cynthia observed.
"He changed it that easily? Amazing..." Roxanne gawked.
"Hmph. That should give us loads of time. Come on. Let's hurry and find that jar." Adagio spoke to Rarity's Pheromosa. Thanks to Discord, the vehicles had been rendered useless and the robots were now as fragile as bubble wrap. With that, the Lissome Pokemon rushed off, beginning her search for the stolen Magic Siphoning Jar.
"Mosa!"
Canterlot Palace. Hallways.
But, while the ponies, Pokemon and some humans are having a scuffle, the changelings were taking a different approach in assistance.
Within one of the vehicles, an armoured pony had entered it from the back door, appearing before their followed armoured equines. The same went for every other vehicle from behind. They played it quiet and cool when approaching the vehicles. Nopony knew that they were changelings but they did notice a giant C on their armour.
Because of this, they had no only tricked the Empress' forces, but while using their magic to knock them out, they took control of some of the vehicles they had jumped into. Now, most of the vehicles were being controlled by changelings in disguise instead of ponies.
With that, the changelings caught some of the Empress' forces off guard as their own vehicles were attacking them. It wouldn't be the first time. Up in the sky, James and Team Rocket were currently riding on one of the ships that the Empress' side owns, attacking other ships in the air.
Aside from that, there was also Chrysalis and her new appearance. A form that had always been hiding within her from the beginning but had yet to be truly revealed. But, thanks to some of the magic from the Magic Siphoning Jar, this form had shown itself at last.
As for Chrysalis herself, while everyone else was battling, she chose to take the approach of helping others. Many of Celestia's soldiers had taken horrible damage and injuries during this whole battle between two sides. She would guide them all to safety and hopefully find a Travel Sphere to get them out of here.
"Ugh..." One pony groaned as she was buried underneath a ton of rubble. There were hazards everywhere. Whether from Reshiram and Zekrom still having their battle, Mew's Genesis Supernova, or even the battle against Empress Twilight, the destruction was too much for her and everypony else buried underneath massive rubble to handle.
That's when Chrysalis found them. By using her magic, she moved the massive rubble away, allowing the buried ponies and Pokemon to witness the light and Chrysalis's beautiful face as they had been saved from being eternally buried within this palace.
"Here. I've got you." Chrysalis grabbed the hoof of the buried pony while using her magic to grab the rest of the ponies and Pokemon. She helped them up from the ruined floor while also using her healing spell on them to restore their wounds. Thanks to her amplified magic, the healing process was much faster than ever now.
"This way," Chrysalis spoke to the injured ponies and Pokemon with the assistance of Ribombee. Other changelings were beside her, mesmerized by their Queen's new appearance. They weren't expecting to witness this appearance and were wondering if they could have a similar appearance to her.
They couldn't help but continue gazing at Chrysalis' appearance. A lot sure has changed with the changeling species overall ever since Ghetsis destroyed the first hive and Ash came into Chrysalis' life. There was no telling what else might happen next. But one thing's for sure, none of them wanted to go out in this world at all.
When moving through the hallways, Chrysalis and the ponies and Pokemon she had rescued came across a large pathway of fire, most likely from either the Empress' flaming mane or some Fire-Type attacks. Either way, there was an obscene amount of fire just paved everywhere. This fire was essentially blocking any access to the rest of the palace, making the chances of escaping more difficult than they already were.
But, Chrysalis had faith in her abilities to get past such an obstacle. And she certainly had faith in her amplified magic that's for sure. She stood firm while everyone stood behind her. Chrysalis then closed her eyes, allowing her new form and increased magic to take the wheel.
A beautiful light blue aura with some green sparkles could be seen flowing from Chrysalis's horn. Even in this new form, traces of her original green magical colour could still be seen. It wouldn't be Chrysalis without green after all. The light flared from her horns as she created a tidal wave of magic. But not one that was aggressive as a tsunami. One that was as calm as gentle water.
And just like gentle water, coming across a ferocious fire, it calmly removed the furious flames, eliminating them from the walls and floor without having to resort to anything equally destructive. But not only did it eliminate the fire, but it also transformed it into water. And this was something that Chrysalis was surprised by herself.
She didn't expect her to turn the fire into water. She scrunched her face before looking up at her horn as everypony and Pokemon clapped at how impressive that was.
"Well then...Um...L-Let's keep moving, shall we?" Chrysalis spoke as she and the group landed on the small lake of water made by her magic. The water even felt good to walk on too. Everything about it felt pure.
Along the way, Chrysalis would use her magic to try and get rid of any hazards in the way. And each time she used her magic, she made them pure. Gentle as they can be. A large piece of rubble was immediately turned into nothing but leaves and more, flames were turned into water.
Speaking of paper, those Paper Creations made by the Empress were still running rampant across the palace. However, a majority of them had been destroyed thanks to Mew's Genesis Supernova. So now the Paper Creations were running low on paper in this entire palace to rely on. If they're fully destroyed, that's it. There's no regenerating.
And still running from the paper creations while also fighting back at them was Starlight's group. The entire group was tired out of their minds from all this running and moving across both worlds. They were finding it difficult to keep up and fend off the paper creations. They just wanted to rest and have this all be over at this point.
And joining up with Starlight's group was Fluttershy's group and the residents of Ponyville as they were searching for a way out of here. Thanks to all of that destruction, escaping has been made tougher. Chrysalis was able to sense the two groups in a way she never expected.
She could feel their heartbeats. This was something Chrysalis could never do before in her life. Feeling multiple heartbeats from a distance was entirely new to her and a bit perplexing as she gasped, putting her hoof on her chest. This odd sensation seemed to grow the closer the heartbeats came.
That was because, within her peripheral, Chrysalis had spotted the two groups meeting up at one single location together after all their running.
"Oh! Queen Chrysalis?!" Starlight gasped as they all came to a screeching halt. Reuniting with most of their friends wasn't even the main focus it was Chrysalis' appearance. "Is that you?!"
"C-Certainly is. Hello~" Chrysalis waved over to Starlight and the others.
"Oh. I dig the new look." Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. "Blue always looks cool, doesn't it?"
"Wait. What about every other changeling?" Goh pointed at the rest of the group. "Why aren't they any different?"
"Maybe it's a Queen exclusive thing?" Pinkie Pie spoke.
"We can theorize about it later! Those paper monstrosities are still approaching!" Rarity cried out as Ampharos, Haxorus, Goodra and Salamence were still fending off the paper creations, taking them out as fast as they could. Knowing that they were running low on paper, the Paper Creations improvised with their approach. Instead of blowing themselves up to waste paper, they all layered pieces of paper onto each other. By layering and wrapping the paper, the creations gained thicker armour. An armour thick enough to take a hit from the opposing Pokemon attacks.
"Haxo!" Haxorus looked up as he attempted Close Combat on the fused paper creature. But his attack only slightly dented the thick armour of the paper creature at best. Afterwards, the creature swatted Haxorus away, causing an explosion with one of its papers. "Xorus!"
Haxorus and the rest of the Pokemon backed up as the creature then flared its paper body, ready to send a heap of paper cuts that would do more than just leave a small mark on them.
"You don't have to waste your efforts anymore, you four," Chrysalis spoke as she flew over to the four dragons. Now that she could see what her magic could do in this form, she had some more confidence in her abilities. The Changeling Queen stood before the paper creation as it had unleashed billions of paper that all had the capability to cut right through steel. And it showed when major parts of the palace walls had been cut off by the movement of the various papers.
Chrysalis held her breath in, using her magic and emanating that light once more. Out of her horn came a wider beam this time as it almost pushed Chrysalis herself back. The beam was wide enough to fully capture all of the pieces of paper that came her way including the giant paper creature.
One-touch and the whole creature and its billions of paper had been engulfed by Chrysalis vibrant blue and sparkling green magical aura as the room had been lit up. And once the connection had been made, the paper creature was met with the effects of Chrysalis's new magic.
The creature was unable to move as the light from Chrysalis' blast faded away. It was like its whole body had been paralyzed or frozen from the inside and outside. But, the reason for this was different than just paralysis. Everyone noticed that the creature was changing shape. And not in the usual way in which it uses the paper to transform into various creatures and objects. It was changing shape uncontrollably while also reverting to its original form.
A tree.
The effects of Chrysalis' magic had purified the paper creature so much that it had reversed into what paper originally comes from. Even though the Empress did not use a tree to cast the spell. Everyone became starstruck as they witnessed a hardwood tree appear, sticking its roots through the palace floors. The creature was no more. It was now just one big tree just sitting there.
"Woah! How'd you do that?!" Scootaloo gawked.
"I didn't think that would happen...Wait." Chrysalis was then putting together how her new magic works. It started with her turning the fire into water, then the rubble into leaves and now paper into a tree. "Does my magic purify by any chance?"
"You tell me?" Starlight responded.
"At least that takes care of that." Rarity sighed. "But we'll still need a way out of here. And Ash, Twilight aren't with us right now."
"Yeah. Where'd they go?" Spike looked around.
"They didn't get captured did they?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"No way." Applejack shook her head. "Like Ash would let that happen."
"Change of plans!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "We find Ash and Twilight and then we high-tail it out of here!"
"Audino! Please try and see if you can hear Ash, Twilight, Pikachu, Eve and Togekiss anywhere!" Fluttershy pleaded to her partner.
"Audino!"
"Slurpuff. Get to sniffing." Pinkie Pie sent out one of her Slurpuff.
"Slurpuff!"
"You too, Stoutland." Mayor Mare looked to her own partner. "Try and-"
"Audino!" But just then, Audino made a loud shout, alerting everyone.
"What?! H-Have you already found them?!" Fluttershy translated.
"Dino!" Audino shook her head. She hadn't heard Ash or Twilight, she did hear something fairly important in its own right. The Hearing Pokemon pointed up north, showing everyone what she had heard and what was coming into view.
"They have the jar?!" Fluttershy repeated.
"Who has the jar?" Spike looked to Fluttershy.
"There! Them!" Fluttershy eventually saw what Audino had heard as everyone faced her direction, witnessing a group of the Empress' forces holding the Magic Siphoning Jar with them.
They were obviously sending it towards the Empress. After stealing it from Adagio, they weren't being chased down by anyone considering Adagio and Pheromosa were the only ones knowing about the jar at the moment as they were trying to get it back themselves. However, Adagio and Pheromosa were a bit occupied at the moment.
"Oh yeah!" Rainbow Dash shot up.
"Wait! What happened to Pheromosa then?! I swear if they did anything to her...!" Rarity grizzled her teeth while also fearing for Pheromosa.
"Hm?" The soldier holding the jar noticed how Chrysalis and the others were staring at them within his long hallway. All of the other soldiers widened their eyes, realizing that the opposing side had caught in the act, holding the most important item in this while invasion.
So they kept moving, deciding not to engage with the opposing forces and to only bring the jar to the Empress. Now, of course, Chrysalis and the others weren't going to let this happen. If the Empress retrieves the magic within the jar, the difficulty of all of this would just spike even further.
"After them!" Chrysalis ordered as everyone followed her lead.
Throne room.
Speaking of the Empress, she and Celestial-Gardevoir were in the middle of a red-hot feud. Immediately, Celestial-Gardevoir hovered over the floor before soaring towards the Empress, having two Thunderbolts in her hands.
The Empress smiled in her slightly new look before allowing Celestial-Gardevoir to get close. That's when Celestial-Gardevoir suddenly moved too fast. Faster than she expected. There was still one major problem. Celestia and Passion still didn't have full control over this kind of power yet.
By moving too fast, Celestial-Gardevoir almost rammed into the Empress, which would be a good thing either way. Even the Empress was stunned by how fast she moved as she put up a protective shield. Celestial-Gardevoir crashed into the barrier uncontrollably, causing a giant shockwave that blew away the pillars like they were dust in the wind while also pushing the Empress back a bit.
"Woah!" Celestial-Gardevoir said whilst flying back.
"Hah! I thought you were a genius?! You're deciding to challenge me at your best and yet you haven't controlled something like this yet?!" The Empress laughed at the fused Alicorn-Pokemon. "Oh, Celestia. You've made it too easy for me now!"
"Tch. Just watch. Passion and I can learn as time goes on. That is what we do best!" Celestia scoffed as she recovered by sliding on the floor. She then attempted to use Thunderbolt again, this time from a faraway range instead of just moving forward.
One usage of Thunderbolt and a gigantic bolt o lightning equal to that of a storm came bursting out, ripping the carpet and the floor apart from its aggressive magnitude. The Empress' eyes flared red as she created a scarlet flare of magical lights. These magical lights continuously went off in the form of magical explosions as they cancelled the bolt of lightning out.
Afterwards, Celestia approached the Empress again, but this time with a slightly better handle of her movement. It was still rickety either way. Flying and running next to her were Darkrai, Absol and Togekiss as they were going for Poison Jab, Night Slash and Sky Attack while Celestia and Espeon went for Dazzling Gleam.
The Empress then manipulated the floor itself, summoning spurts of red hot flames. Absol had cut through the flames with his horn, bypassing them as he then swung his horn at the Empress. The alicorn and the Disaster Pokemon clashed horns as the Empress' horn was suddenly incredibly hot, causing Absol to wince a bit. "S-Sol!"
Darkrai manipulated the shadows while also evading the spurt of flames. He sent the shadows towards the Empress, summoning giant shadow claws to try and hold her down. The Empress, after pushing Absol and Togekiss back with a magic pulse, then illuminated her body up with that same red light, causing an outburst of magic that had eviscerated the shadows, tearing them apart. They also blew back the Dazzling Gleam rays that came her way.
And speaking of the shadows, the Empress then cackled as she used a spell to turn the whole room into nothing but pitch-black darkness. Shadows swept the throne room as Celestia and the others were now in an area where there was nothing but black. They couldn't see anything or the Empress as she had vanished once the shadows arrived.
Except for Darkrai.
This was his forte. The Pitch Black Pokemon immediately narrowed his eyes, searching for the Empress within this field of darkness. He saw something purple and red move swiftly within the shadows. Something that no one else could keep up with but him. Although, Absol and Celestia could to an extent do so. Absol thanks to his Dark-Typing and Celestia for her heightened senses in Celestial-Gardevoir.
Darkrai then saw a giant pillar of red magical energy fly from within the shadows at breakneck speeds. He then countered it with Dark Pulse, putting his claw out and summoning an orb of darkness. Everyone else had delayed reactions as they didn't see the pillar coming. Only Darkrai.
Another scarlet pillar of magic came shooting out of the darkness, this time multiple from various sides. Everyone was bound to be hit by these attacks. So in response, Darkrai used Dark Pulse, spinning around with it as he managed to stop each pillar from all sides with his spinning approach.
More kept coming as Darkrai kept defending everyone with what he had. He had also pushed some of them out of the way while blocking out the scarlet rays too. If one got too close, Darkrai would just put his arms together and bock the rays. They did sting for certain.
The Pitch-Black Pokemon then smashed his claw onto the floor, manipulating the darkness that surrounded everyone from all sides. With his manipulation, Darkrai had actually absorbed the darkness, adding it onto his own strength as the Empress had been revealed.
Afterwards, both Twilight and Luna turned around, shooting their magic together. The Empress flared her eyes once more, blowing the magic away. Once again, they flared again as those magic flares appeared around her younger self and the others. They had been struck by repeated explosive outbursts, causing them to scream and tumble on the floor.
The Empress laughed as she then stomped her hooves on the floor once more, causing those red magical lights to emerge from there. Celestial-Gardevoir then put a shield of magic around everyone, utilizing Celestia's magic instead of Passion's Pokemon moves.
The rays burst out of the floor like geysers and volcanoes as they struck Celestia's shield. Celestia then exerted some more magic into the shield, blowing away the red erupting pillars and even the Empress herself. The Empress hissed as she then ascended into the air. With her mane sparking, she sent those magical flares once more around her opponents.
This time, they transformed into rings. Doughnut rings to be exact. These rings instantly wrapped around Twilight and the others, squeezing them together with a tightening grip. They groaned as the Empress then cackled, utilizing another one of her spells.
While they were held in place, she had used her Bone Spell to try and pierce right through them. Seeing the approaching bones, Togekiss used Dazzling Gleam, creating a rainbow shield while Darkrai manipulated the shadows. Large shadow claws got in the way of the bones, knocking them aside while Togekiss' rainbow shield blew the bones away as she expanded it.
After being freed, Luna flew forward, using her magic to slice the incoming bones in half while approaching the Empress. The Empress then utilized her Hair Spell once more, making her hair as hard metal as she swung it at Luna.
The Moon Princess smirked as she suddenly teleported away. And swapping in her place was Celestial-Gardevoir who also smirked, grabbing the Empress' hair. The Empress growled as she immediately set her hair on fire, but Celestia quickly retaliated by using Mystical Fire on her hands while holding the Empress' mane.
Two intense flames met with each other as Celestia swung the Empress around, smashing her through the pillars and parts of the wall. The Empress winced as Celestia sped up with her spinning, showing no signs of slowing down. The Empress even crashed into the bones that she had made.
Afterwards, Celestia let go of the Empress, flinging her. That's when she and the others performed a unified attack from afar while the Empress was being sent flying.
Darkrai and Absol used Dark Pulse, Espeon and Togekiss used Dazzling Gleam, Ninetales used Mystical Fire, Cinccino used Focus Blast, Twilight and Luna both used their magic and Celestia ended up using Plasma Bolt. Each attack had been unleashed in perfect unison, racing towards the Empress.
The Empress' eyes widened as she snarled at the incoming attacks, unable to think of something quick enough to counter this. Thus, she had been hit by them, receiving and a multitude of explosions that blew away most of the throne room.
Everyone lowered their attacks as some of them breathed in and out from putting in so much effort. Not even just in this battle, but ever since this whole invasion started in the first place.
"D-Did that get her?" Twilight panted.
"Yes. But she's still standing after that." Celestia observed, sensing the Empress magic from afar. Hurry. Let's get going. And try not to bump into Reshiram and Zekrom along the way."
Celestia and the others followed the trail of destruction that their moves had been. This was unfortunately not over. But after an attack combination as huge as that, they must've made some huge progress.
Speaking of Reshiram and Zekrom, Ash was tasked with calming Zekrom down with his Aura. He followed the two Dragons and their battle, avoiding every obstacle and hazard that they had made from continuously fighting each other.
Reshiram and Zekrom then both crashed into each other once more with Giga Impact and Bolt Strike, obliterating at 30 rooms in the process. Lightning sparks flew out from the collision that Ash and Pikachu avoided by either moving to the side or using the hazards as shields.
"Reshiram!" Ash looked to the Vast White Pokemon, grabbing his attention. "Let me try and snap Zekrom out of it! I can use Aura to do that!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Is that so? Very well. I am counting on you to free him of this."
"Got it!" Ash nodded as he took an incredible leap of faith. He ran upon a large destroyed platform with Pikachu, using it as a means to jump higher. And jump higher he did. He held onto his hat tightly while Pikachu landed on his shoulder. And speaking of landing, with enough distance and thanks to Zekrom's gigantic build, Ash was able to land right on the Deep Black Pokemon's back.
Zekrom turned around as he was met by a surprise attack from Reshiram. A Dragon Claw to the face. Zekrom staggered from that Dragon Claw as Ash then put his hands onto Zekrom's back, readying the process of breaking his rampage.
"Here goes!" Ash took a deep breath as he allowed the Aura to flow through him naturally. The Aura then started laminating the Dragon of Ideals, immediately interacting with all of the Mega Evolution energy being stored inside of him.
Zekrom roared as he flew forward with a burst of speed, bashing Reshiram through a wall while also interrupting Ash's focus and balance.
"W-Woah!" Ash cried out as he and Pikachu held on tightly to Zekrom's back.
"Pi-Pika!"
After breaking through the walls, Zekrom then spun around in the air, trying to remove Ash and Pikachu off of him. And it worked. Since Zekrom's body was scaly holding onto tightly was a bit of an issue as compared to a Pokemon with fur. Ash and Pikachu had been dropped off by Zekrom as they hit the ground, landing on their backs.
"Ugh!"
"Pika!"
Zekrom then grabbed Reshiram by the face, dragging him against the walls of the palace. Reshiram growled before blasting Zekrom away with a Fusion Flare from his mouth, knocking the Deep Black Pokemon back. Zekrom went flying through a multitude of rooms, destroying objects, furniture, inventions and more that was inside. Ash and Pikachu got up as they followed Zekrom alongside Zekrom.
"Hop on!" Reshiram lowered himself while flying next to Ash and Pikachu. The Trainer and Pokemon nodded in understanding as they hopped onto Reshiram's back, taking a temporary ride with the Dragon of Truth.
Reshiram then ascended, flying through the massive walls made by all of this destruction that they had caused. They spotted Zekrom in the distance as the Vast White Pokemon sped up.
Zekrom roared as he charged right at them with Bolt Strike. Reshiram was ready to do the same with Giga Impact until Ash saw that doing so wouldn't help and would just further prolong this battle.
"Reshiram! Don't clash with him! Dodge!"
"Understood." Reshiram understood Ash's approach as he immediately boosted to the side, evading Zekrom's Bolt Strike instead of engaging with it.
Zekrom immediately turned around, chasing after Reshiram, Ash and Pikachu at top speed while also summoning lightning bolts from the skies above.
"We'll have to knock him out as fast as we can if I want to use Aura! Reshiram! Hold him down with Dragon Claw!" Ash commanded.
The Vast White Pokemon spread his wings out, ready to grab Zekrom with his claws as Ash took out another Poke Ball. Within this Poke Ball, he then sent out another Dragon in the form of his Dragonite.
"Dragonite! Hold Zekrom with Dragon Claw!"
"Dragonite!" Assisting Reshiram, the Dragon Pokemon and Vast White Pokemon both collectively placed their claws onto Zekrom's head and stomach. Reshiram took the head while Dragonite took the stomach. Zekrom had been stopped in place as Ash then ran up Reshiram's back, approaching Zekrom.
"One more time!" He exclaimed, appearing on Reshiram's head before placing his hand on Zekrom's own head. Yet again, he let his Aura out, coating it around himself and Zekrom. This time, Zekrom was being kept in place by two opposing Dragons.
The Deep Black Pokemon then lit his body up with Fusion Bolt, summoning 200,000,000 volts around his body, shocking Ash, Dragonite and Reshiram each, trying to break their focus. Ash growled as he closed his eyes. He started trying to endure the electricity while keeping his hands firmly on Zekrom.
"Y-You won't get me!"
"Pika!" But Pikachu saw an opportunity. The Electric Mouse Pokemon remembered the first day that Zekrom's lightning affected him when arriving at Unova.
Now it was time to have it affect him once more, this time with a different result. The Electric-Type then ran up Reshiram's back while allowing the volts from Fusion Bolt to pass through him. Pikachu emptied his natural Electricity while allowing a new vessel to enter him.
"Pika-Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu's voice echoed throughout the palace as his electricity intensified, growing to a gigantic degree than normal. The Electric Mouse Pokemon then lunged into the air, unleashing an extra-large Thunderbolt. One the size of Zekrom himself.
"Woah! Pikachu?!" Ash looked up at his partner.
"Pikachu!" Once releasing Thunderbolt, his electricity output matched that of Zekrom's as he struck the Deep Black Pokemon with 200,000,000 volts himself. Zekrom cried out as his Fusion Bolt focus had been broken.
"Awesome!" Ash gave a thumbs-up as he continued to use the Aura. His Aura had finally fully covered Zekrom's body, further keeping the Dragon of Ideals in place.
Zekrom roared as Ash's Aura glowed a vibrant colour. By interacting with the Mega Evolution energy within, two powerful forms of Infinity Energy began going back and forth together, trying to gain the advantage. And within it was also Ghetsis' dark aura from before the Empress' influence.
Ash had to combat three powerful forces at the same time with his Aura. And it was proving to be a challenge. The Aura around him intensified like a typhoon as he and Zekrom were both feeling the pressure. Zekrom himself was beginning to surround himself with more electricity. This time with his strongest move.
Bolt Strike.
The electric generator inside Zekrom's tail starts to spin and glow light blue with electricity. Zekrom then clenched his fists as his body became surrounded by yellow electricity with large yellow lightning bolts coming off of it as well. The lightning bolts pummeled onto Dragonite and Reshiram, blowing the Dragon Pokemon back.
"Dra!" Dragonite cried out after being blown back. Reshiram himself had been forced off of Reshiram from the lightning bolts coming out. And Zekrom hadn't even fully used the move yet. Just the aura of it.
And speaking of Aura, Ash yelled at the top of his lungs as he bypassed the electricity running through him, choosing to ignore it and have only his Aura on his mind. Ash's Aura grew as he was putting everything he had to try and break this control. But he wasn't going to do it alone.
Coming out of his own Poke Ball by himself was Lucario. The Aura Pokemon chose to assist Ash by adding his own Aura onto Zekrom.
"Lucario?!"
"Lu!" Lucario responded as he nodded at Ash. The Trainer and Pokemon then worked in unison, merging their Aura while the Staff of Sir Aaron started reacting to both their Auras.
Ash and Lucario's eyes then flashed as their Aura grew large enough to cover the whole room. And with that combination, three volatile energies with Zekrom had been blown back by the combined Aura. Not just that. The aftermath also blew Ash, Lucario and Zekrom away.
Zekrom's rampaging sense had bee decreased to a massive degree. His glowing purple eyes were slowly reverting to their usual red, but some of them influenced energy from the Empress was still inside of him. The Aura had worked but it wasn't enough to get rid of every single one.
But that didn't matter as Reshiram could finally end this now that Zekrom was weaker. The Dragon of Truth used his own strongest move.
Blue Flare.
Reshiram's eyes flashed blue the skies and atmosphere shook as if they were being threatened. The Vast White Pokemon then fired a powerful stream of light blue flames from its mouth at the Deep Black Pokemon.
This azure flame melted the room and floor, surpassing the heat of the sun and matching one of a blue star. Zekrom's eyes widened as he had been struck by the gigantic flame. A blue sphere covered him, growing to the point where 50% of the palace had been blown sky-high or even melted away from Reshiram's attack.
The forces outside had tossed away the tea equipment made by the Discord as they witnessed this large blue explosion almost hit them. They all collectively distanced themselves away from the explosion as the palace was now missing half of it thanks to Reshiram.
Reshiram's mouth was smoking blue after using Blue Flame. He closed his mouth as the dust settled. Ash and the others looked ahead to see the status of the Deep Black Pokemon.
And there he laid. Zekrom had been defeated. He was unable to fight back. Mostly because he was finally free from the rampaging control, back to his original senses. The Dragon of Truth flew over to the Dragon of Ideals to see for himself.
"Are you feeling better?"
"Yes. Did you have to blast me with such force though? You're just as crafty as my world's Reshiram." Zekrom smiled before having Reshiram help him off the floor.
"Phew...That takes care of that." Ash sighed.
"Pika..."
"I apologize for the trouble that I've caused." Zekrom gave his apology. "Allow me to make it up to you by ending this invasion with you all."
"Sounds good to us!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
Now with Zekrom as an ally, albeit a bit injured, this invasion was certainly going to change in favour of Celestia's side. Without a doubt. However, before Ash and the others could get moving, Ash's Aura picked up on someone arriving here. A very familiar feeling.
One that was full of chaos. Ash knew exactly who this was.
Meanwhile, with the Empress.
After being struck by a combined attack such as that, even she couldn't help but stagger and feel perplexed in the end. She had crashed into a wall, nearly falling through a massive hole that led to the next floor. Her body was smoking as parts of her regalia had been shattered.
"Kh...Curse them...!" The Empress growled as she stood up from the floor. "If I was at full strength, this would be the end of them for certain!"
She shook her head, shaking the pebbles of the rubble off her while wiping the dust away. She sighed as she was thinking of a new approach. That's when, through the large hole, she spotted something of great importance.
The Magic Siphoning Jar.
More importantly, her soldiers were holding them whilst escaping for Chrysalis and the others. The soldiers were using everything in their arsenal to fend off Chrysalis' group while they were being pursued by them.
Chrysalis used her magic to blow away any magic ray that was sent her way while the Pokemon themselves using their own attacks. The soldiers passed the jar around like Hot Potato, making sure that no one on the opposing side could get it.
The soldiers also made large hazards to block off their enemies via the destruction of the room. As if it wasn't destroyed enough from all of this. But through it all, Goodra would just break through the rubble with Fire Punch.
"Aha!" The Empress flew through the massive hole, heading over to Chrysalis' group. "You!"
"Oh! Empress!" The soldiers noticed the arrival of their ruler.
"Give the jar immediately!" Empress Twilight let out a devious grin as she used her magic to hold the jar in place.
"I think not!" Chrysalis spread her beautiful wings out before flying towards the Empress herself. Empress Twilight's eyes shifted towards Chrysalis' focus as the Changeling Queen had shoved the Empress aside. The concentration on the jar had broken as the soldier continued to hold it.
"Chrysalis!" The Empress snarled before using her blazing mane to whack Chrysalis aside. Chrysalis screamed as she was sent through the rubble while hitting the walls hard.
"Chrysalis!" Fluttershy and the others gasped as the Empress then turned her attention to Fluttershy's group. Immediately, Empress Twilight descended to the floor, causing a slight tremor as everyone had been stopped in place.
She then saw that one of her soldiers was approaching her with the jar. She would try once more to use her magic and grab it. But, acting quickly, Rarity used her own magic to zap the Empress in the face.
"Gah!" She cried out, putting her hooves on her face before barking at Rarity. The unicorn shuddered and let out an innocent smile from her sneak attack. Chrysalis got up from the floor as the soldier then threw the jar towards the Empress from a long distance.
"Empress, catch!"
"Yes!" The Empress immediately bolted off the floor at high speeds, flying towards the jar. But also flying towards the jar was Rainbow Dash. She got in the way of the Empress as they both had their hooves out.
"No, you don't!" Rainbow Dash cried out.
"Move!" The Empress then slapped Rainbow Dash's face, sending the pegasus aside as she continued to go for the jar.
"Goo!" Goodra used his horns, swinging them about as he whacked the jar away from the Empress, further keeping her away from the object of power.
"No!" The Empress roared as she blasted Goodra square in the chest with a beam of magic, knocking the Dragon Pokemon over. She then continued to pursue the jar as her soldiers also went for it.
"Salamence!" Salamence also soared towards the jar, using Flamethrower to block the Empress' path. The Empress scoffed as she used her magic to blow away the flames.
"Drea!" Just then, Trixie's Misdreavus appeared in her face, using Astonish to try and startle the Empress.
"You think that scares me!" The Empress blasted Misdreavus away, sending the Screech Pokemon to the floor. Trixie gasped as she quickly rushed to her partner after seeing her harmed.
"Not my Misdreavus!"
"All of you stay out of my way!" The Empress then used her bone spell, summoning giant bones from the floor to try and restrain Chrysalis and her group.
But, Chrysalis used her magic against the bones when they approached. When firing a beam of magic onto them, she immediately turned all of the bones into tiny rocks, negating them from causing major harm.
"Cinder!" Cinderace used Quick Attack to run past the Empress and her forces, approaching the jar. The Empress hissed as she used Construct Spell to manipulate the floor.
The floor had suddenly erupted, transforming into one big claw as Cinderace had been pushed back while also blockading the pathway towards the jar, except for her soldiers.
"Lopunny!" But along came Lopunny, smashing her foot through the giant claw, much to the Empress' chagrin. Before she could do something to try and stop Lopuny, along came Chrysalis, blasting the Empress away.
"Curse you all!" The Empress shouted as she slid on the floor. Lopunny had then knocked out all of the soldiers that were near the jar with her swift and heavy kicks. The Magic Siphoning Jar rolled on the floor, nearly falling through a giant hole and towards the next floor.
"Leavann!" One of Rarity's Leavanny still had some energy left in her as she used String Shot, sending a fast-moving line of silk that had latched onto the jar. "Vanny!" The Nurturing Pokemon then retracted her string as it would seem like she would successfully obtain the jar.
But the Empress wouldn't let that happen. In a fit of rage, she unleashed one behemoth of a magical field while yelling at the top of her lungs. This magical field expanded with a furious gale, eclipsing the whole area with a paroxysm. Chrysalis instinctively put up a protective shield around her, shielding everyone as much as she could.
Hundreds of rooms had been blown sky-high as only 20% of the palace remained at this point. Everything was falling apart with little signs of things recovering.
Chrysalis' shield shattered from the field expansion as she couldn't fully protect everyone. Thus, they had all been blown away by the magical pulse. The string of Leavanny had also been destroyed, releasing the jar
Afterwards, the Empress breathed in and out, descending to the floor. The jar rolled on the floor as a soldier had picked up the jar, holding it in his possession while standing next to another soldier.
"Ugh..." Chrysalis groaned along with everyone as they were all on the floor from that magical pulse. Chrysalis slowly got up as she saw that one of the troops had the jar, much to her dismay. "No!"
"Good!" The Empress then teleported to the two soldiers, with a horrifying smile on her face. And just to make sure no one would try anything, she used her magic to sprout up thick bones and large walls made from the floors she manipulated. She added multiple layers to them, just in case.
"Well done you two." The Empress sighed as Chrysalis immediately started doing what she could to break through this blockade. Chrysalis blasted a hole in one of the walls as everyone looked through the hole while trying to break the blockade. "Open it and bring back what is left in it."
"Um..." The soldier shuddered.
"What? What is it? I said open the jar!" The Empress exclaimed.
"Z-Zorua use Fury Swipes!"
"Zoru!" Just then, the second soldier had transformed into the Tricky Fox Pokemon Zorua, startling the Empress. "Rua!" The Dark-Type then summoned sharp claws, swiping the Empress and scarring her eye in the process.
"GAH!" She cried out after having her eye clawed and scarred. It was then revealed that this pony was actually Thorax and his Zorua.
"Thorax!" Chrysalis smiled.
"You little...!" Further enraged, the Empress then blasted Thorax with a magic beam. The changeling and his partner had been blown back by the magic beam, hitting the walls and hard rubble made from all the destruction. But still, he held onto the jar.
"No!" Chrysalis gasped.
"Give it here...!" The Empress snarled while approaching Thorax, making thunderous hoofsteps. She tried using her magic to drag the jar, but Thorax wouldn't let go.
"I won't!" Thorax refused to give the jar up.
"You ignorant, changeling!" The Empress raised her hoof. "Unfortunately for you...the jar is unbreakable! But you aren't!" With that threat, Empress Twilight thrust her hoof down, aiming to crush Thorax with it.
"Don't!" At the top of her lungs, Chrysalis blew away the blockade faster than anyone could as she soared towards Thorax's location. The Changeling Queen had personally taken the blow of the hoof, having her sides be stomped into."Ugh!"
But even after being struck, Chrysalis found the strength to push the Empress back while also falling to the floor next to Thorax and Zorua.
"C-Curse it all!" The Empress roared after being blown back.
"Queen Chrysalis!" Thorax and the other changelings cried out.
"A-Are you are alright?" Chrysalis looked at Thorax and Zorua as they both nodded in confirmation. "That's good. Ow..."
"Drat...Every last one of you...Why is it that it is specifically this world that's such an annoyance! The others weren't this troublesome!" The Empress got up from the floor as she removed her dress while approaching Thorax and Chrysalis. "Ah. No matter. Just like every other world, you'll lose. And I'll win."
"Ah...Maybe not this time." That's when a familiar voice responded to the Empress. And before she knew it, the jar had been taken from Thorax in the blink of an eye.
"What?! It can't be!" Turning around and looking behind her, the Empress was met with the sight of the one she turned to stone just hours ago. The Spirit of Chaos himself.
Discord.
"Discord!" Fluttershy had a wide smile on her face while getting back up.
But he wasn't alone. Arriving at the scene, or at least, bringing help along with him, Ash, Celestial-Gardevoir, Twilight, Luna, their Pokemon and even Reshiram and Zekrom were here.
They stood before the Empress, standing together as one allied force while Discord twirled the jar around. Everyone had hopeful smiles meet their faces all at once when seeing this massive group.
"Zekrom?! You've betrayed me?!" The Empress growled.
"I was never meant to be yours, to begin with. I belong to Hilda."
"This is the end, Empress Twilight." Celestia declared. "I can safely say that you've lost."
"No, I haven't!"
"Oh, just a moment." Discord snapped his fingers as he remembered to turn all of the Empress' weapons into nothing cotton candy while also making the armour of the soldiers as soft as feathers. "Almost forgot to handle the rest."
"Oh. Well then now you've lost." Celestia nodded.
"This can't be how it ends..." The Empress said to herself, beginning to panic. But that's when she remembered the words of Skyblue Shine.
"And even if we do end up losing, we can come back stronger from this with our next possible invasion. Better than ever and more than prepared for their world."
"Yes. It's not over. I still have more on the way." She grinned, knowing of her backup forces from other worlds and parts of Equestria. "I refuse to lose. I can't lose!" Then let out a burst of red energy, preparing to finish this whole feud in one final attack.
The magic she was exhibiting was so strong that everyone couldn't help but shudder. Even Discord was intimidated as he wobbled about, almost dropping the jar. Everyone could tell that she was going to end this with one large hurrah.
"What is this magic pressure...?!" Even Celestial-Gardevoir couldn't help but tremble as everyone was losing their balance from this. It felt like the world itself was shaking.
The Empress then turned to face everyone as all of the magic power she exuded all came into one spot. Right into her horn. A horrible howling sound could be heard as the Empress pulled her head back, unleashing the biggest magical beam she's done so far.
It raged through the ground, having the same destructive capability as even Mew's Genesis Supernova. Everyone watched as this red and purple beam came flying over.
"If she wants to finish it then so be it!" Celestial-Gardevoir put her hands together, using the strongest move that she had. Plasma Bolt.
"Pika...!" Pikachu and the rest of Ash's Pokemon were prepared to push this attack back as far as they could. The same went for Reshiram and Zekrom who were about to use Blue Flare and Bolt Strike to stop this beam.
Twilight and her own Pokemon did the same with their own attacks and magic and even Discord chimed in. He wasn't quite used to something like this but he was doing his best. His best was actually just him breathing out of chaos magic. In every situation, he can't help but add his own style to it. Luna and Darkrai poured what they had as well.
The beam got close as everyone unleashed what they had, entering a beam struggle with the Empress. Rainbow Dash and the others chimed in too. Even though they were exhausted, they still had something to give. Salamence used Hyper Beam, Goodra used Ice Beam, one Leavanny used Energy Ball, Audino also used Hyper Beam and so on. Those that could continue put their own energy into it, taking part in this struggle.
"Thorax...Everyone. Listen to me." Chrysalis spoke to her changelings while grunting and getting back up. Her sides were in pain at the moment. "I'm not the only one who can appear like this. You can do the same. After seeing what my magic does and receiving all of this magic, I've realized what we need to do. We need to use the full scope of our magic. We need to fully accept love."
"Accept it?" The changelings all looked at each other while the beam struggle was tearing this place apart.
"Yes. We didn't fully understand it before. Then we manipulated it in the wrong way. And now we've found it. All we need to do now is use the full capabilities of it. Release your love immediately. Think of what you love!" With one order, all the Changelings then nodded in understanding, including Thorax.
All at once, they thought of the things they loved. Before, they didn't love that much. But thanks to Ash, Pikachu, the Fairy Pokemon and Fluttershy, that wasn't the case anymore. They now had something they truly loved. And with that, they were able to unleash the hidden and latent love that was being kept from them for so long.
Out of their chests, bright light's flared out in various colours as the changeling all ascended. Just like Chrysalis, they unleashed what they had before, transforming their bodies in the process. The light rays they summoned all merged into the shape of a giant heart.
This large heart flew towards the Empress, attacking her from behind instead of the front. And the Empress certainly couldn't do anything about that. Her eyes turned to the side as she sensed something powerful coming her way. If she tried to stop it, she would risk being hit by all of the other attacks. For once, there was nothing she could do.
"No...NO!" She yelled in frustration and anger as the last thing heard from her at the moment was the collision of two powerful combined forces crashing into her like a magnet.
One explosion emerged. Just one. No more. Despite there being so many attacks in that one instance. Everyone's eyes widened as a sparkling light covered the whole vastle. The explosion then transformed into something gentle and pure. Something that couldn't harm anyone. It transformed into a bright and calm light that could cause no damage. At least, not to friends.
The light spread out, covering everything as it reached past the skies and eclipsed the entirety of Equestria, making a beautiful sound in the process.
The aftermath was stunning. The whole palace was gone. Everything had stopped. The Empress forces had been defeated. And out of the rubble was the Empress herself.
She hissed out of rage, still having some power left in her surprisingly. She was ready to go another round despite all of this. However, when breaking out of the rubble, she was met with an intimidating sight.
Ash and everyone were still here as they had been healed from the looks of it. Most likely from the light. Not only that, but the changelings themselves had new appearances. Much like Chrysalis, after showing all of their love, they had become their true forms. Colourful in every day. A bit too much saturation though.
"Impossible...If you're in those forms...then that means you're from that point in time..." The Empress said under her breath.
"We win!" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"I suppose you couldn't handle all of our love, could you?" Chrysalis spoke, standing next to her changelings in their new forms. "We've discovered the Magic of Love. Something that you'll never achieve or remember."
"Why you...You...!" The Empress growled as she lit her horn up with magic. Everyone was ready to go another round with her if that's what it takes
"Empress!" But, now awake, Skyblue Shine had arrived, holding a Travel Sphere in her hooves. "We need to leave, immediately!"
"Never! Not until I make all of them pay for what they've done!"
"Empress, please! Remember? We can always try again! It's not worth risking your further defeat here, Empress!"
"But..." Empress Twilight panted while looking in the eyes of Celestial-Gardevoir. Speaking of which, Celestia and Passion had finally separated after exuding too much energy. They were now separate once more. But they still had those serious looks in their eyes like fire.
The Empress saw that she was greatly outnumbered at this point. There was no use in engaging any further. With a heavy heart, she accepted this defeat. Skyblue Shine saw this as she opened the gateway to another world immediately.
"This isn't over! Do you hear me?! The next time we meet, no more miracles will come your way!" The Empress gave her parting words as she and Skyblue Shine teleported instead of walking into the gateway. Afterwards, it had closed.
And that was the end of the invasion.
"Oh, thank Arceus it's over!" Everyone sighed as they all fell on their backs, tired out of their minds. After all of that hard work, battling, moving, taking damage, jumping, flying etc, it had come to an end.
Celestia's side were the victors as they all started laughing together. And why wouldn't they? After something so intense they could just laugh in victory.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa arrived, hugging Rarity by picking her up. Rarity was just as happy to see her Pokemon again.
"Pheromosa! Oh, my sweet little Pheromosa, I was so worried!" Rarity nuzzled the Lissome Pokemon. And with Pheromosa were the Elements of Harmony of this world and Pyrestar. They too had been healed by this powerful light.
More importantly, the Princess Celestia of this world had approached Ash and the others after their victory. Adagio shook the dust off of her as she was relieved it was all over.
"All of you. I don't know much we can thank you all. But I must say..that was something." The second Celestia nodded.
"It certainly was, wasn't it?" Celestia nudged Luna. "But..now what will you all do in this world?"
"Will you stay here?" Luna asked.
"This is our home. But most of it is still controlled by the Empress. She'll return most likely, less pleased than before. We'll have to find our own way of sorting everything out. But, with you all, we now have great allies to help us. I shall spread the word across this Equestria and let everypony know that the Empress has lost.
"And we have a lot of work to do ourselves." The Fluttershy of this world said. "A lot of time has been taken away from us."
"A shame." The Rarity of this world sighed. It was true. So much of their life has been taken away because of the Empress. The rest of the world had been shielded from them. Their freedom was robbed.
"Oh. That's not a problem." But Discord had the answer to that. With a zap from his fingers, he struck the Elements of Harmony, shifting them all at once.
With just one zap, Discord had reverted them all to a younger age. An age identical to the ones of the other world. They gasped before looking at their new but familiar looks. Those white streaks and wrinkles were no more. They were now younger and full of energy once more.
"Okay. This totally works too." The Pinkie Pie of this world nodded as her smile returned to her face, beaming like the sun.
"So...what about the jar then?" Spike turned to the Magic Siphoning Jar.
"Discord. Retrieve all of the magic given to us except for our own." Celestia and Chrysalis looked at the Spirit of Chaos.
"Are you sure? Having all of that magic would make everything easier, wouldn't they?" Discord nudged them both, suggesting that they keep the magic for themselves.
"It is tempting...but no." Celestia shook her head. "They have original owners after all."
"Fine. Suit yourself." Discord opened the jar, aiming it at the Ruler of Equestria and Changeling Queen. The jar immediately acted like a black hole once more, pulling in all of the magic originally stored within it in seconds. Discord made sure to close it at the right moment when the last ounce of magic was remaining. With that right timing, he closed the jar as Celestia and Chrysalis had only their original magic essences with them.
Noticeably, Chrysalis still kept this purity form. Even without all of that magic, this is the result of her showing all of her love. Who needs tons of magic when you have something like love.
"So. How about we head home?" Ash suggested.
"Yeah. Home sounds nice right about now." Twilight nodded.
"Pikachu!"
Canterlot Castle. Late Afternoon.
After it was all over, a medal ceremony took place. And it was for practically almost everyone since they all took part in helping stop this invasion. They all stood firmly ner Celestia's throne as Celestia herself was handing out medals to thousands of them.
Ash looked at the medal holding it while Discord couldn't help but gawk at it. Ever since Tirek, he wanted a medal of his own. Now he had one. Good on him.
Pikachu and the Pokemon were given medals that fit their size. Machamp had finally reverted to his original form as he flexed his muscles when receiving the medal. Even Team Rocket received some. Although Celestia was unfamiliar with them, she appreciated their help.
"Who are they again?" Celestia asked Luna.
"Team Rocket. Wait till you see their little poses..." Luna giggled quietly.
"Well. I can safely say we've all done a great job today." Celestia said whilst placing a medal on herself. "We've all fought hard, gone practically all over the place and even found a new kind of magic. Magic of Love, right?"
"Mhm." Chrysalis nodded in agreement with Thorax and the other changelings.
"There are still threats out there that we'll need to watch out for and prepare ourselves for. The world is massive. Not just our world but other worlds too. I hope you'll all help in facing these threats. Together as one." Celestia gave her final words as everyone chattered or applauded in agreement.
And they'll certainly face it together. Without a doubt. With all that they had to offer, the future for them was looking brighter than ever as the journey continues.
The Rift's Plane.
"My oh my. The timeline's been drastically changed. I didn't plan for this to happen. But I can't wait to see what else emerges from this."
With Ghetsis and Empress Twilight, no two different worlds.
After their defeat, they retreated to separate worlds, lowering their heads while sitting on other thrones. The two rulers growled as they emanated a black and dark aura from their bodies as they said these words together without even being in the same location.
Universe 1. Equestria. Canterlot Castle. Late Afternoon.
After the invasion had ended, everyone had a celebratory party at the castle once they received their medal. Most of Equestria was damaged thanks to the invasion so some massive cleanup would be needed.
At least, that would be the case, if Discord didn't already sort that one. With one simple paw movement, he restored Equestria, erasing all previously done damage to every landscape, city, town and village out there. He also did add his own little flair to it.
Ash was currently holding on to Sir Aaron's Staff as he was now the rightful owner of it.
"So what can you do with the staff now that it's yours?" Scootaloo asked. "Can you shoot beams out of it?"
"Can you fly?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
"Can you teleport?!" Apple Bloom raised her voice.
"Don't know what else it'll make me do. But I'm gonna focus on getting rid of Delayed Aura Ataxia for everyone. So that anyone can past it, ya know."
"Pikachu."
"Oooh...Can you do a cool pose with it though?!" Scootaloo asked.
"Sure thing!" Ash obliged as he decided to pull off the best pose that he could with this staff at his disposal. "Wish I had that cape right about now..."
"Pika-Pika."
"You're not gonna seriously carry that big thing around with you all the time, are you, Ash?" Twilight and Pinkie Pie walked up to Ash.
"Well, I gotta look after it until I'm done using it, ya know," Ash replied to Twilight while posing. "I can keep it strapped on my back the entire time."
"If you can, you could shrink it and make it big whenever you want! But...can Aura do that?" said Pinkie Pie.
"It'd be pretty nifty." Ash looked at the staff. "Carrying it around all the time's gonna be a bit of a hassle though."
"You're in luck. There's a spell for that." Twilight nodded. "One use of it and you can grow and expand it anytime you want."
"Really? Yes! Thanks, Twilight!"
Meanwhile, in the space where Chrysalis was, the Changeling Queen and the Changelings themselves were getting looks of awe in their new forms. Especially Chrysalis.
"So you've always had this?" Celestia pointed her hoof at Chrysalis.
"Apparently. I could've discovered it at any time, but all of that magic just seemed to unlock it for me."
"Oh. How would you have unlocked it then without all of that magic?" Luna asked.
"Well, If I showcased my love for all the things I cherish. My subjects or rather children, Ribombee, the rest of the Fairy-Type Pokemon Ash and so forth. Though, there's a not lot I've had enough time to love over the years."
"Hm? Did you say, Ash?" Luna's ears shot up after that.
"Yes. I love Ash." Chrysalis nodded with an innocent smile, unaware of what she was really saying and how it affected Luna considering her own pull towards Ash.
"I see..." Luna narrowed her eyes.
"Now that we've attained such a form...I'm not sure where we can go next?" Chrysalis pondered.
"Well, you're free to do anything now," Celestia replied. "The skies the limit! Or in this case, other worlds."
"Oh! I could visit the Pokemon World actually! That sounds entertaining!" Chrysalis gasped, sparking up an idea after hearing Celestia's words. "Those Pokemon Battles certainly look fun. I mean, they can be highly volatile from what I've seen, especially with Reshiram and Zekrom, but seemingly fun."
"That reminds me. What of Reshiram and Zekrom? They're just standing out there." Luna looked to Celestia.
"Reshiram and Zekrom are aiming to return to their own worlds to restore balance. But thanks to Ghetsis, that's going to be a bit difficult. Which is why they will be sticking around for a while and help to restore balance in other worlds that Team Plasma has infiltrated. Plus...we may have to establish something new for scenarios such as this."
"Something new?" Both Luna and Chrysalis said.
"Right. Oh. Twilight! Cadence! Pyrestar! Can you three come here for a moment?" Celestia called for the three alicorns as they immediately brought themselves over here via teleportation.
"Yes?" They each spoke.
"Good. You're all here. I was just thinking of establishing a little thing. Or rather, something big. Something that goes past even our world." Celestia and the others huddled together.
"Like?" Twilight uttered.
"With all of these universes and alternate worlds, most being conquered and under the Empress' control, there's no telling how many more of them are out there and are probably unaware of what may come next."
"Oh yeah...Ash mentioned something about a Princess Fluttershy when he was unconscious!" Twilight then recalled a moment with Ash after the whole Delayed Aura Ataxia incident. "She was already aware of the gateways and otherworlds actually. She wants to do the same thing. Help other worlds."
"Then that's one brilliant sign. We'll need to warn and help other worlds that have either been conquered or are next in line for Ghetsis or Empress Twilight. In whatever way we can. If we can come in contact with that many worlds, that is. The other me has already chosen to inform her Equestria about the Empress' defeat. And what of Ghetsis?"
"Well, Ash freed Pyrestar's world from Ghetsis. So that's also a start. Not sure where everypony else there may be at." Twilight shook her head.
"My world is free?!" Pyrestar gasped before smiling. "Oh thank goodness...Ash kept his promise after all."
"We'll discuss this later tomorrow. Right now. Everypony should get some rest." Celestia offered. "What of the Flurry Heart of the other world, Cadence? Having two daughters who are essentially the same pony in the same world must be something, isn't it?"
"Well...There's no harm in raising two daughters, is there?" Cadence squeed.
"Wait. Are you actually planning to take care of both of them at the same time?" Luna snapped her head over to Cadence.
"More like foalsitting in a sense. There's a lot she never had the chance to experience thanks to the Empress in her world. I think I should let her experience what she's missed out on. Especially with all the Pokemon. She still has her own world and the Crystal Emp- or the Crystal Kingdom as it's known now. She can't leave her subjects behind can she?"
"Oh." Twilight, Luna and Chrysalis each nodded.
"Sounds like a swell decision. But are you sure you can take care of both of them?" Pyrestar asked.
"Positive. I mean, when everything's said and done, she'll have to return to her own world which...not sure if I'm ready for that. But she has her own parents out there somewhere. The Empress turned them to stone and locked them away in parts unknown. They weren't even in the dungeon from what she told me. I'll have to look into that too if I want her to meet her real parents again.
"Then take care of her as if she was your own." Celestia nodded. "I mean she technically is but...you know what I mean."
"Right." Cadence chuckled afterwards.
"Have fun getting along with your days. Especially during summer. We'll need it." Celestia separated the group huddle. "I'll speak with my other self in the otherworld tomorrow as well. And then after that, all the time in the world with Cobalion."
Meanwhile with Applejack's group.
"James." Applejack approached James and Team Rocket with Apple Bloom by her side. "Thanks for paying back that debt."
"Hm? Oh yes!" James nodded, crossing his arms while bending over a bit. "Well, I had to eventually. Plus, your sister was just very convincing.
"Ain't I?" Apple Bloom gave an innocent smile. "I mean, I heard you and James were pretty good friends after that whole Jess...Jez...Je- that Jessie doppelganger problem!"
"Ah, We ain't friends..." Applejack shook her head along with James. "Paying debts don't make friends, sugarcube."
"Mhm." James nodded as he and Applejack knew that they have two completely different occupations. Considering James' role as a Team Rocket Member. They were mostly mutual towards each other.
"Oh come on! Ya could!" Apple Bloom pulled the two of them closer to each other by putting her hoof around James' leg and Applejack's neck. "We could all be pretty good friends, right?"
"Uh...Maybe." James scratched his hair.
"Eeh..." Applejack shrugged while slightly chuckling.
"Hey." Jessie then tugged on James' shirt, pulling him close. "Don't get too attached to them. We might not stick around this colourful place for long. Even if the food here is so delicious~!"
"I know, I know." James nodded. "But you have to admit, their company is appreciated. Especially Zecora's."
"Mm-mm." And Meowth could agree with that as he also nodded in agreement.
"Ah, maybe we can't get too close." James turned to Apple Bloom. "But, I appreciate the kindness."
"Well...Can you at least hang out with us a few times?"
"You can find me at the Pokemon House mostly." James pointed his thumb at himself. "Until we leave there that is."
"Oh. Wait, where are you gonna go to after that? Do you have a secret base somewhere?" Apple Bloom tilted her head.
"Secret base? Ah!" Jessie gasped. "Now I know what we're missing! The boss hasn't sent us a base yet! Zecora's Hut wasn't even ours let alone one giant house of Pokemon!"
"We had one in Alola but it ain't Team Rocket property anymore!" Meowth exclaimed.
"Hmm...That is a bit of an issue..." James put his hand on his chin. "Where to go after that? We could contact the boss as soon as possible then!"
"What about your mansion? You're super-rich, aren't you?" Apple Bloom said.
"Ah, well...I could go there but..."
"He doesn't wanna bump into her again." Applejack answered Apple Bloom's questioned, referring to Jessebelle.
"Ooh..." Apple Bloom understood with a small nod. "But there's more right?"
"Ah, I do have a few summer homes out there but...I don't feel comfortable heading there. Especially not with what mommy and daddy assigned me to. You understand right, Applejack? Apple Bloom?"
"Not fully." Applejack replied. "I'm kinda known for being homesick and everything but, I gotcha. Must be tough having to deal with that. You've been running from that Jessebelle for years now?"
"Only when she ends up finding me. Frankly, I'm glad it doesn't happen every day." James chuckled. "And it's even better she hasn't arrived at this world yet."
"If she shows up to this world I'm gonna..." Applejack grizzled her teeth before Big Mac stopped her from saying anything vile that could pass through Apple Bloom's innocent little ears.
"We should get going now, shouldn't we, James?" Jessie gave a suspicious grin.
"Now?"
"Yes. We have work to do. It was fun having this chat but Buh-bye now! We'll see you back at the Pokemon House!" Jessie whistled.
"Right, right!" James nodded before sliding away with Team Rocket. "Fluttershy will appreciate it if we clear things up at the Pokemon House while we were gone."
"See ya there!" Meowth waved.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Those four are pretty strange, aren't they?" Applejack twisted her mouth while narrowing her eyes.
"Eeyup."
With Adagio
"Adagio!" Running over to their big sister was Sonata and Aria. They had just returned from Undella Town and rushed over to Canterlot as soon as they could.
"We heard what happened!" Sonata came to a screeching halt as Adagio put her hoof out, stopping Sonata before she crashed into something. "Are you alright?!"
"Perfectly fine. And I'm feeling fairly accomplished with myself." Adagio smirked while showing off her medal.
"You got a medal? Seriously?" Aria was a bit confounded by this.
"Wish you had one too?" Adagio laughed. "It suits me and my beauty doesn't it? Don't you agree?"
"Well yeah. It suits you!" Sonata exclaimed.
"But how did you manage to earn one? What did you even do during that whole invasion?" Aria asked.
"She helped to weaken the Empress by using the Magic Siphoning Jar," Celestia said whilst walking up to Adagio's group. "And with the assistance of Sunset Shimmer, of course."
"It was my idea in the first place." Adagio looked away.
"Really? Like all of the magic?" Sonata leaned in.
"Well, no, unfortunately." Sunset shook her head. "We were shooting for all of it, but it didn't quite happen."
"Would've taken everything if I had another go at it." Adagio flipped her mane as Krickett had revealed himself.
"Krick."
"Wait...Does this mean you're heading back to the human world, Sunny?" Sonata pouted, knowing that Sunset Shimmer was only staying behind because of the invasion and this was her original home. She couldn't let it be invaded at the end of the day.
"Hehe...Well..." Sunset laughed nervously while rubbing the back of her mane. "I did say that but...Being back here has been a lot of fun actually but, I did make a promise to my friends back at the human world and everything. But I'd also have to leave my new friends here."
"Who said you can't come back and see your friends again?" Celestia said. "You're always welcome back here, Sunset Shimmer."
"Really! Oh! That's a relief! Well, you can see come in and out of both worlds at any time. Plus, you can come over to the human world like before and we can hang out even more."
"But being in the human world makes my legs sore..." Aria sighed.
"But the food there is something!" Sonata nodded. "Well, it's not as good as the Pokemon food but still.
"Wait...You're talking about the Pokemon food the humans eat. Right?" Aria snapped her head to Sonata, hoping that she didn't take her words out of context.
"I don't know....they're both pretty good." Sonata gave her response, revealing that she eats both human and Pokemon only food.
"What about you, Adagio? I mean, you kept your own promise at the end of the day." Sunset asked the pony-siren hybrid.
"I...don't know. I didn't think I'd ever make it here of all places." Adagio pouted before shifting her eyes to the side. Despite everything that has happened, she never expected her life to lead to this place. She went from being an enemy to some of Equestria and eventually helping save it from a greater threat. Her life had taken a turn for sure. "I could just stay at Ponyville with my you two. But I want to do more..."
"Well..." Celestia smiled before looking down at Adagio. "You can always become my student."
"Huh? HUH?! You're serious?!" Adagio pulled back after Celestia's suggestion.
"Mhm. You're still getting adjusted to being a pony. Especially with that horn of yours. I can teach you a thing or two, or even more if you want."
"Yes! Yes please!" Adagio nodded as she was willing for that. But then she quickly calmed down before clearing her throat, acting calm and collected. "I mean, yes. That'd be nice."
"Lucky! You get to have a unicorn horn and everything!" Sonata moaned. "How come we got stuck as Earth Ponies?"
"Better luck next time." Adagio chuckled, feeling pompous of herself before she ceased her laughing, looking over at Aria for a bit. "But actually...I did see something on your months ago, Aria."
"Hm? Like what?" Aria asked.
"Wel, it was during that Canterlot Tournament thing. When you were um...scolding me. I saw wings just flash on you for a bit."
"Hm? You did?" Aria looked at herself. "I didn't know that."
"You didn't see it?" Adagio leaned forward as Aria shook her head. "Nor feel it?" Another question that just prompted Aria Blaze to shake once more. "Did you at least see it Sonata? You were there too."
"Uh...Nope." Sonata denied it as well.
"Tch. I know I didn't fabricate or dream it." Adagio scoffed.
"Wait. Are you saying that I could be a pegasus?" Aria pointed her hoof at herself.
"I mean, maybe." Adagio shrugged. "All I know is that there's something there. Just like Chrysalis and all the changelings, there's something hidden inside of you. Makes me wonder if I always had this unicorn horn in me, to begin with."
"Wait. So If I scold you will I get something? Ooh! I bet I could be an alicorn!" Sonata squeed with glee.
"Centuries ago, it's been said that there were ponies of old who were able to tap into the magic of other pony races. Mostly alicorns from what's been told. There's not much else I can say but many deem it to be fables and stories for little foals."
"Oh wait!" Sunset gasped. "Is that what that is?! S-Sometimes, mostly in the human world, I end up growing wings all of a sudden. Even when I became that She-Demon way back then!"
"That could be a case of it." Celestia nodded. Aria then looked at herself, realizing that there was a chance that she could be a pegasus. And if that was the case, Aria could do many things she could never do as an earth pony. And that made her excited for the future. "But anyway. I'm feeling tired myself. I think a long night sleep will do me well."
"Mhm." Adagio and Sunset nodded in agreement. Unlike Sonata and Aria, they were tired out of their mind after all that chaos that had just occurred.
With Starlight's group.
"So, Starlight. How do you feel now?" Twilight went up to her student.
"I feel...A bit perplexed actually. Didn't think I'd make it this far. I mean? An invasion? Parallel worlds? Giant Dragons?!" She cackled a bit. "My heart's still racing from all of that."
"Mhm." Goh, Thorax and Trixie agreed.
"Trixie will have a story to really tell to her students. Ooh, maybe a school play will do the trick." Trixie said.
"I feel pretty good about myself right now. My back still aches from everything that's just happened though." Thorax nodded.
"I'm starting to get used to all of these high octane events," Goh spoke. "I can't imagine how Ash went through so much of this over the years."
"Yeah. I feel pretty comfortable with everything now," said Starlight. "There's a lot I want to do now before this all comes to an end. Maybe become a Pokemon Professor myself!"
"Really?" Twilight turned to Starlight with widened eyes. "Wow. That's a pretty big decision. I was thinking of something else."
"Like what?"
"Well...I mean, one day, I was gonna do what Celestia did to me. Send you off somewhere to make new friends. But, it looks like you've already made your decision. Do you want to be a Pokemon Professor here or..."
"Well, anywhere is fine. You have your own lab as a Pokemon Professor and Spike and I are just your assistants. I could have my own lab somewhere out there. But where?"
"Where?" Twilight then turned around, thinking of all the possible places where Starlight could become a Pokemon Professor. Just then, Discord appeared around her neck in a smaller size.
"Stuck on choices, are we?" Discord said, startling Twilight.
"No. I mean...well kinda. It's not too important, Discord." Twilight shook her head.
"I don't know. All of this Pokemon nonsense seems important to me considering how much it's changed our world. Just a few months and she's already shooting for big things."
"Um...I'm right here. I can hear you." Starlight spoke.
"I know that, Discord." Twilight shoved Discord aside. "Starlight's already made her decision. I just need to make mine."
"Sure. That would mean she'd have a lab somewhere out there in Equestria. Or maybe even the Pokemon World if she wants to. That still counts as sending her away, doesn't it?" Discord created a small-size model of both worlds in his paw and a mini Starlight Glimmer figure.
"Oh!" Twilight gasped as she was starting to have those usual thoughts about overthinking things.
"Guys!" Starlight exclaimed. "I can just have a lab in Ponyville just close to Twilight's lab! I'm not ready to leave just yet!"
"...You're not?" Twilight and Discord both said.
"No!" She shook her head.
Oh, good! 'Cause I'm not ready for that either!" Twilight sighed. "That reminds me...we still have Jirachi to find cause I'm definitely not ready for the other departure."
"Hm. Well, looks like you truly have things sorted out. Darn it. I was hoping you would send her to my realm for her own lab. We could've been roomies too. Way to not pick up what I was putting down." Discord snapped his fingers in defeat.
"Wanna head home now?" Twilight looked at everyone.
"Sounds good to me." Starlight and everyone nodded. Home is the best place to be right about now. Whether at Ponyville, Pallet Town, the Changeling Hive etc.
Universe 30. Another Equestria. Within a roundtable room.
Over at an alternate universe, the now defeated Empress Twilight Sparkle sat on a roundtable with a scarred eye, thanks to Zorua. To patch up this eye, she was given a stylized eye patch that had her Cutie Mark on it. And sitting with her were her allies.
Daybreaker. Princess Starlight Glimmer and Nightmare Rarity. They were all in top condition. Mostly because they weren't at the invasion when it was playing out. The atmosphere was different with a hint of awkwardness in it. Mostly for the Empress and Skyblue Shine.
The Empress' allies were aware of her loss and couldn't help but have various expressions on their faces. Ranging from surprised to smirking.
"Well. Isn't this something. You lost." Princess Starlight said. "You never lose. Right?"
"I wasn't supposed to lose." Empress Twilight growled with her one healthy eye looking at her fellow alicorn. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."
Hahahahaha!" Just then, echoing throughout the roundtable room, Daybreaker started cackling uncontrollably. "Oh, that's a shame. Haha!"
"Daybreaker?" Nightmare Rarity turned to the flaming alicorn.
"But, you're still young after all, Twilight. You'll have to get used to taking major losses." Daybreaker was the one giving off the cocky smirks. "Take my advice, why don't you? But...I suppose you've already received it. And still failed in the long run. Don't worry. Even if you never underestimated them, it was clear that you were missing something in the end. Especially most of your magic and the little protege, Luster Dawn that you still haven't found yet. Not to mention that your main world is in shambles. How perpendicular all of this turned out to be."
"Daybreaker!" Skyblue Shine didn't appreciate the slander to her Empress. "Refer to her as Empress! And don't you-"
"Leave it, Skyblue Shine." The Empress halted the android while narrowing her eyes. She knew that talking back to Daybreaker would just end up in an endless cycle.
"Well, after that, I believe it's time the adults took over for a bit." Daybreaker flipped her blazing mane.
"What do you mean by that?" Princess Starlight asked.
"Don't worry, Twilight. I'll show you how it's done. I'll personally deal with that Universe myself." Daybreaker offered while walking up to the Empress. "With my years of experience, things will be a bit different."
"So it is your turn is it?" Nightmare Rarity raised an eyebrow.
"We don't take turns. I am already planning something myself anyway." Princess Starlight nodded.
"Hmph. Well, get moving." Daybreaker turned around before opening up a gateway. "This world is truly a threat like no other. But it's nothing we can't stop, is it?"
"Not at all." Nightmare Rarity shook her head. "And if I were you, Empress. I'd call for Cosmos. That would be an easier decision, wouldn't it?"
"Tch." The Empress simply kissed her teeth as Daybreaker passed through the gateway along with Nightmare Rarity and Princess Starlight opening their own gateways, returning to their original worlds.
"What do we do now Empress?" Skyblue Shine asked. The Empress mainly stayed quiet. She already had something brewing in her mind. Something that she wanted to make sure would play out perfectly without any flaws whatsoever.
But most importantly, she wanted absolute revenge on Princess Celestia.
"Mom!" Ash currently cried out as his own mother was holding onto Sir Aaron's staff, using it as an exercise object. "That's Sir Aaron's Staff!" It's meant to be cool and important!"
"I know but it has surprisingly good flexibility! Are you sure this is made from wood?" Delia whistled while watching TV, wearing her exercise clothing and utilizing the staff.
"Kinda excepted this to happen a bit..." Ash sighed as Pikachu patted him on the back.
"Pikachu."
"But in any case, you're going to solve that Aura problem for everyone?" Delia asked.
"Right. Until I sort it out, I'll return the staff." Ash nodded. "I just gotta be careful I don't push it any further, ya know."
"That's good. But make sure to enjoy your summer in the meanwhile instead of getting too caught up in it." Delia pointed the staff at Ash.
"You bet. I kinda wanna check out that human world Sunset Shimmer lives in. Oh! And Princess Fluttershy should be showing up at any time to see the Pokemon! And there's the other world's out there, getting the-"
"Alright, alright, I get it. You have a lot to look forward to." Delia chuckled. "Go on. You deserve all the fun after that whole invasion spiel. As for me. It's back to Undella Town~!"
"Right! See ya later, mom!" With that, Ash and Pikachu gave their goodbyes to Delia Ketchum yet again as they rushed out of the Ketchum household.
"Pika-Pika!"
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House.
"Chikori!" Chikorita had reunited with Fluttershy since last night. After being away from her trainer for hours on end during the invasion while she was healing was a bit much for the Leaf Pokemon as she was bawling while being held by Fluttershy.
"There, there. I'm back now." Fluttershy comforted the Grass-Type. "I'm okay and safe. See?"
"Ugh...Why are they latching onto us, too?!" James cried out as some of the Pokemon here were hugging onto him, Jessie, Meowth, Wobbuffet and Zecora.
"Well, they like you, don't they?" said Fluttershy as she was also being hugged by numerous Pokemon who had missed her. This whole time, they had the Pokemon House as their own shelter with Krookodile as the guard. None were harmed during the invasion thankfully. "After you all came to live here, you've been taking really good care of them all. So they'd miss you without a doubt."
"Y-Yeah...!" Jessie growled as a Totodile was gnawing on her head.
"Toto!"
"Okay, you all. Give them some space to breathe." Fluttershy spoke to all of the Pokemon as they listened to her command, separating from Team Rocket and Zecora each, allowing them to breathe.
"Ah..." Jessie sighed as she sat back down. "All I wanted was to sleep the day and night away after all that invasion nonsense."
"Weren't we gonna contact the boss about a secret base?" Meowth whispered to Jessie and James.
"No need for that just yet!" James stood up with a Cacnea biting on his hair. "We've got one already right here!" With a quick swipe and flashy movement of his hands, James pointed at the most prominent thing here besides the Pokemon House.
Just near the entrance to the Pokemon House was the ship that Team Rocket had commandeered and claimed as their own ever since the invasion. The giant R was still plastered on it. They had truly claimed it as they were now officially keeping it with them.
"Oh my. You're actually keeping it?" Fluttershy turned to James.
"Mhm!" James crossed his arms while nodding. "Princess Celestia even decided that we can keep it because of our help. This is now officially the Team Rocket Cruiser!"
"All we need to do is get rid of that drab grey colours and add something spicier and it'll be perfect and adorable as a Smoochum!" Jessie gave a thumbs up.
"Oh! Does that mean you're going to help against threats with it too?!" Fluttershy flew up, ascending from the ground.
"Well..." James scratched the back of his hair. He knew that this ship would now only exist for Team Rocket purposes. Purposes that many wouldn't be fond of considering Jessie, James and Meowth's occupation.
"Ah, you don't have to worry about that." Jessie rubbed her hands together. "Just know that it's in better hands than those invaders, okay? We'll make it child-friendly too!"
"Great for all ages!" Meowth nodded with his eyes closed.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Um...Okay. As long as you're careful with it." Fluttershy had faith in them. And with that faith, Team Rocket felt some new pressure being put on them. They could've sealed their fate with this promise. "But before you can do any of that, do you think you can help me for a few weeks. Since it's summer, a lot of Trainers are going to come over. Plus some Pokemon needed to be taken care of because of all of the heat. Good or bad."
"Count on us!" Team Rocket said in unison.
"Wobbuffet!"
Twilight's Castle.
"Okay!" Starlight sat down on a large pillow in the shape of a Venusaur. "I'll be a Pokemon Professor soon. So my training is gonna start pretty soon.
"Are you sure you know how to be a Pokemon Professor?" Nyx asked.
"It's fine. I mean, I've been learning from Twilight since she's a Pokemon Professor too. So I've picked up a few things here and there." Starlight put her hooves behind her head while the vines from the Venusaur pillow covered her eyes. "By the way, where is Twilight?"
"Oh. Mo- I mean, Twilight is currently at Canterlot, having a meeting with Princess Celestia and the others. Matters involving every other world and how to better manage the whole Ghetsis and Empress Twilight threat." Nyx explained.
"Oh, yeah. By the way, Nyx...You kinda always stutter on something when mentioning Twilight's name."
"Oh. D-Do I?" Nyx scrunched her face as she knew that Starlight was onto her at this point.
"Yeah. Almost like you're trying to say something. Like, mom..." The unicorn narrowed her eyes, looking at Nyx with a sceptical gaze. "What's up with that?"
"Well um...Slip of the tongue. I mean, it's a common occurrence whenever I'm speaking to somepony. I have the urge to almost let out the word mother or mom. Ah, not that there's a reason as to why those two words come to mind first."
"...You've never slipped up with me." Starlight shook her head. "Neither with Sunset, Cocoa or anypony. Just Twilight."
"Ah!" Nyx froze as Starlight herself was starting to put the pieces together. It didn't take long for her to realize what exactly this meant. With her eyes becoming bug-eyed and her mouth opening with her lip dropping, Starlight had figured it out with her brain racing.
"Wait! In your world! Is Twilight your..."
"Mother? Yes..." Nyx sighed as she lowered her head. "Adopted mother actually. No biological relation."
"Oh!" Starlight sat up. "So then, why not tell her that? Unless..."
"Well, it started with one universe, then another, then the cycle kept repeating itself until I reached a point where I became nigh-unable to fully admit who I view Twilight as!" Nyx rambled. "How embarrassing."
"Ah, don't worry about it." Starlight teleported, appearing next to Nyx and giving her a comforting pat. I've been there before. Sorta. Just tell Twilight. She'll understand. I mean, the same thing happened with the older Princess Flurry Heart during the invasion."
"Right. I should most definitely-" Just as Nyx was about to fully respond to Starlight, an immediate crash could be heard just nearby this room. The sound of something being knocked over. Whether on purpose or by accident.
With that sound, the two ponies were put on high alert as they immediately looked at each other for a few seconds before looking at the direction the sound originated from.
"That came from the gateway to secret base..." Starlight said under her breath as she Nyx immediately rushed over to the nearby gateway, just located at the next door up ahead. From that sound, they were hoping that no one from Team Plasma had found their way here. Team Plasma still governs Pyrestar's world after all even with the castle destroyed.
They weren't going to teleport towards the room since they could leave themselves wide open. Instead, they were going to be sneaky about it. They carefully approached the room by trotting carefully there.
Starlight gently took her Poke Ball out with her magic, preparing to use Hatterene just in case while Nyx was ready to use her own magic on whatever grunt my be there.
But, as they finally approached the door, Starlight rapidly opened it to startle the grunt as she raised her Poke Ball high while shouting. "Aha!"
"Oh!" There was indeed someone there. But it wasn't Team Plasma Grunt. It wasn't instead a small group of unicorns who were all wearing alicorn amulets.
"Oh. Wait. You're not Team Plasma." Starlight placed the Poke Ball down.
"S-Sorry for the intrusion!" The unicorns apologized.
"Those amulets...You're from Pyrestar's world, aren't you?" Starlight said.
"Correct. We just came here from that gateway nearby." A unicorn pointed his hoof over at the gateway that led to the secret base. "We were just a bit curious and everything."
"In truth, we came here to see if we could find the one who saved us." Another unicorn stepped forward. "His name was...Ash Ketchum right?"
"Oh, Ash!" Starlight exclaimed. "So you're from where Canterlot originally was!"
"He stopped Team Plasma and freed our home from Ghetsis. However, the rest of Equestria is still under Team Plasma's control. We were hoping if we could request Ash Ketchum's help again if possible."
"Please. He restored hope to all of us. Our land is prospering again with grass appearing. We thought that it would never return for the centuries we've been alive."
"Centuries...? Wait. You are unicorns...right?" Nyx narrowed her eyes.
"We are. But the Alicorn Amulets give life as long as actual alicorns. We've been around longer than our actual lifespans. Everypony was given amulets one year after Grogar sealed everything away."
"One year...does that mean your world's Rarity is still out there?!" Starlight gasped.
"She is. But she's no longer in Ponyville." A unicorn shook her head.
"Drat. At least we know it's not all lost." Starlight looked at Nyx. "Oh and about Ash. He could be here. But he does love exploring the world a lot, ya know. So, catching him might be difficult."
"Oh..." The unicorns sighed.
"But it's fine. I mean, you can always come back any time. This gateway's exclusive. And we didn't think anypony else would find the gateway. Aside from Luster Dawn that is."
"We can? Oh, thank Pyrestar! We've also missed a place as comforting as this!"
"You have no idea." Nyx shook her head. "You can see this world for yourself and how wonderful it is. I know I certainly did when arriving here for the first time."
An offer had been made. The unicorns of Pyrestar's world could experience a safer and cleaner world than the one they currently had. At least, until their world fully restores itself. This world had so much that they had missed. Not just the grass but water too.
Most cooks are earth ponies. And with no earth ponies, those that could cook were essentially gone aside from a few unicorns that knew cooking skills. But the number of unicorn cooks are very rare and little in numbers. But that was all about to change. Starlight and Nyx would guide and allow them to experience happiness along the way.
Although, this'll be surprising to explain to Twilight when she gets back.
Canterlot Castle. Day.
As Starlight said, Twilight was an important meeting with Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Chrysalis and Pyrestar altogether. And with the inclusion of the other Celestia from the Empress' world.
"Celestia! Welcome!" Celestia said to her other-self.
"You as well, Celestia!" The second Celestia spoke as they both laughed after mentioning their names twice. Getting used to two Celestia's in the room would take some time. Technically three if Pyrestar is counted.
"Now that we're all here, we can start this meeting." Celestia looked at everyone as they all stood around a roundtable, ready to begin this discussion. "Now then. As I said yesterday, we'd be establishing something that could help against Team Plasma and the Twilight Imperium. Other worlds have either been taken by her rule with magic missing or are either unaware of her existence and are in danger of being conquered as well."
"We've already opened the Magic Siphoning Jar and released the magical essences within it. They should flow back t their original universes. I saw something like that happen when I went through the human world." Twilight explained, referring to the time when Adagio still had full control of the Magic Siphoning Jar.
"About the jar. Where did you put it?" Cadence asked.
"The Ambrosial Plane. My mother and father chose to keep it there, making it unreachable to anypony else. Since Empress Twilight can't access that plane of existence or even has any knowledge of it, she won't be able to retrieve the jar at all. It's the perfect hiding place."
"Ooh..." Cadence nodded in approval.
"Now. About the other worlds. There exists a Princess Fluttershy from what we know of Ash's encounter. So she's something to keep in mind. We should get in contact with other universes and see if they are willing to assist in preparing for threats such as those two forces. If possible, we can warn other worlds out there by staying connected with them. Any time the Twilight Imperium or Team Plasma show up, one world can give out a warning signal. Or even better, if there's a chance that they're approaching there, we can be prepared before they can arrive."
"That is if they are fine with that decision." Luna looked at her big sister.
"That's why we'll be asking them. If not then, that will be a shame. But, the worlds that have already been conquered, we can most certainly do something about that. I issue a Universal Alliance. We've already technically started with my other self and Pyrestar. And to an extent, the older Flurry Heart."
"Since I originate from the Empress' world, I can vouch and speak for the other conquered universes." The second Celestia said. "My word of the Empress' defeat has already spread out across my Equestria."
"Splendid!" Celestia grinned. "Now. Here's what we'll do. We're the only world with the Telepathy Spell at our disposal. If we can teach it to them, communication will be easier. We'll also have the gain access to Universal Teleportation. There aren't enough of those Travel Spheres to go around. But, we do have a way of summoning the gateways with our magic. The Empress could already do so with her own magic, meaning that there exists a way to perform it. Or perhaps, Jackie could further grab some of those Travel Spheres for us. Or even have someone invent some more. Colress isn't the only smart individual from the Pokemon World after all."
"The third option sounds best." Pyrestar nodded, agreeing that someone else smart could invent the Travel Spheres instead.
"Right. Now, we shouldalso" Celestia's voice faded in the background as three individuals were watching through the door, standing next to the guards.
Adagio, Flurry Heart, and Premium Polish.
"Even after all of that, they're still busy, aren't they?" Premium Polish spoke.
"Well, they're princess and queens. They have important things to do if they want to protect their subjects and everything else." Flurry Heart responded.
"Then why aren't you there?" Adagio said, looking up at Flurry Heart.
"Ah...I'm not that important. I mean, I don't think I am." The alicorn squeed. "But you might end up being important yourself, Adagio."
"Me" Adagio pulled back.
"Oh yes. After all, you're now Celestia's student. How neat is that?" Flurry Heart nodded. "You could end up becoming like Twilight and-"
"Please don't compare me to her..." Adagio groaned.
"Oh, sorry. But you could become an alicorn too! If that happens."
"Nah. Pass." Adagio shook her head. "I think I'll stick to having this unicorn horn. Besides, I already have wings. My siren wings are still with me."
"And they're super colourful too." Premium Polish put her hooves on Adagio's wings, making the pony-siren-hybrid frown with a sigh.
"But if I become her best student...then I'd be even better than Twilight. Without even having to be an alicorn myself. Oooh..." Adagio, in her usual self, was thinking about upping Twilight about everything as she silently chuckled whilst rubbing her hooves together.
Adagio has changed but her personality remains ever the same. And no one would have it any other way.
"Say. Do you wanna open Pokemon Cards with me for the time being?!" Flurry Heart put her hooves around Premium Polish and Adagio. "It's my new favourite hobby, ya know!"
"Cards...?" Adagio squinted, looking at the alicorn with eyes of confusion.
"Yeah!" But Premium Polish was up for it since she enjoyed opening cards with Flurry Heart. And poor Adagio had been dragged along as they were all heading for Premium's room whilst Celestia and everyone else further discussed plans for the future.
Ponyville. Afternoon.
"Ponyta! Use Flame Charge!" Right now, Scootaloo was training with her ace Pokemon Ponyta. And her training partner was Sweetie Belle. Both of them were looking for one main objective.
To evolve their Pokemon. One for Gym Battles and the Equestria League and the other for Pokemon Contests and the Grand Festival. They needed their Pokemon to become stronger than ever and flashier. And right now, just arriving in Ponyville not too long ago, Ash was mentoring them both. With the addition of Rainbow Dash.
Dawn couldn't make it here unfortunately to teach Sweetie Belle about any contest tricks but Ash, after his time with May and Dawn could assist in that category a bit.
"Espurr, use Disarming Voice!"
"Espurr!" The Restraint Pokemon opened her mouth, unleashing a charming pink soundwave with purple hearts surrounding it.
"Ponyta!" The Fire Horse Pokemon coated his body in flames before charging right at Espurr. His body came in contact with Disarming Voice as he was now trying to break through the soundwave with his flames.
They cancelled each other out with Ponyta sliding back whilst the soundwaves had been burnt away by Flame Charge as Ponyta's speed increased.
"Use Psyshock!"
"Purr!" Espurr put her hands together before materializing a wave of Psychic energy.
"Fire Spin, Go!"
"Pony...Ta!" With the speed increase, Ponyta charged up his attack faster than Espurr. His mouth flared up with flames before shooting a spiralling wave of fire faster than Espurr could fire.
"Esp!" But, Espurr could still fire even if she was let. She thrust her hands forward, sending the Psychic wave forward. Both waves collided with each other, entering a beam struggle. Both Ponyta and Espurr were already aiming to win this struggle as they could be seen grunting while pushing their moves.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle bit their hooves, hoping that their own partners would succeed in this. The result was that Ponyta had more to give out as his flames erupted, intensifying as a response to his burning passion.
His flames broke through Espurr's beam with the flames turning into a darker scarlet colour. Espurr's already widened eyes widened even further as she saw her attack become fully engulfed. And before she knew it, she had been struck and sent spiralling within the scarlet flames.
"E-E-Espurr!"
"Not my Espurr!" Sweetie Belle gasped as the fire had separated. And once they did, Espurr tumbled on the ground with flames trailing around her. Despite all of that, Espurr was still up.
"Purr." The Restraint Pokemon sat up as she held her head. Flames were also seen spurting out of her body too.
"That's good you two." Ash clapped whilst looking at the two ponies. "Simple but effective."
"Mhm." Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement.
"Still no evolution though." Scootaloo groaned. "Doesn't it happen sometimes in the middle of a battle?"
"Gotta give it time, Scoots." Rainbow Dash flew over. "I mean, I wanna see Rapidash too but, ya know..."
"No need to worry." Ash kneeled down whilst looking at the two fillies. "They'll evolve for sure soon. Most of the time it's when the battle ends. The chances of it happening during the battle is kinda rare sometimes."
"Ponyta." Just then, Ponyta was showing signs of evolving with his body flashing. But, it promptly stopped as Scootaloo's high hopes had been dropped a bit.
"Darn it." She stomped her hooves. "So close! I also have to evolve Horsea and the rest of my Pokemon. I need new Pokemon too!"
"My contest is coming up in just 5 days. I need to do something new and flashy that'll really impress the judges. I cant' do the same thing over and over again." Sweetie Belle said.
"Then let's have another at it, okay?" Ash said as he had encouraged the two fillies, aiming to get them their evolutions.
"Pikachu."
"Oh yeah! And maybe, just like Spike, we can go on our own journey!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"Your own journey? Are you sure about that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well, yeah. I mean, we're around Spike's age, right? Plus it'll be super fun, ya know."
"Mhm." Sweetie Belle agreed. "Apple Bloom even planned ahead of us just a few days ago. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are even considering it. Hoenn and Sinnoh are on our eyes."
"I thought we planning to go to Unova or Alola?" Scootaloo looked at the unicorn.
"Well, yeah but Unova's super hot in the summer. And Alola's already hot enough. Something cool would be nice. Sinnoh's cold so that might be a good place to go to. Or Kalos. That sounds great too. What do you think, Ash? Rainbow Dash?"
"Wherever you all wanna go is up to you." Ash nodded.
"Just make sure you don't get lost or cause a bunch of trouble, okay?" Rainbow Dash rubbed Scootaloo's head, making her giggle. "We'll get you something to pack along the way. I went over Soarin's home and he's got some pretty good cold drinks you can take with you."
"Neat!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"Ugh...Hope none of them are ginger." Sweetie Belle stuck her tongue out, having a distaste for the flavour and taste of ginger and anything related to it.
Out in Equestria. A vast marshland.
Despite everything that has happened ever since the invasion, other forces who are arguably far more dangerous have been watching over everything. Two of those forces include Lucien and Sienna. Both of who were trying to come up with events so great that it'll far surpass the Rift's expectations.
More importantly, an event that will surpass the invasion by a milestone. Despite them being separate and competing against each other, they found themselves on the same clouds together.
"That invasion was something. But nothing I can't top." Lucien shook his head.
"Hmph. Whatever you say." Sienna smirked.
"What? Do you think you've already got something?"
"Oh, I do indeed. I've found something that can be way better than that whole invasion. While you were busy figuring out what to do to go all over the top and stuff, I've been exploring the rest of Equestria."
"And?"
"And, I found something neat along the way." Sienna pointed up. "There's something up there in the sky. Something that not even any pegasus knows of."
"In the sky? Are you talking about those sky islands from that board game? Cause that's already been done."
"Nope. Even better. But I won't tell you. You're just gonna have to wait and see." Sienna giggled as she rode on a cloud, flying away. "It'll blow everything out of the water!"
"Yeah! Well, good luck trying to get Ash and the others there in the first place!" Lucien shouted while Sienna flew off. "...She probably can. But...what if I added my own touch to it?" Lucien rubbed his hands, already planning to interfere with Sienna's plans.
Their little competition was just getting started. Whatever is up in that sky that Sienna found has yet to be revealed. Then again, there was more in Equestria hiding in secrecy. More lands and locations have yet to be discovered and may only be known by very few. Whatever comes next is a scenario that humans, ponies, Pokemon, dragons and other species will have to tackle together as the journey continues.
Right now, Twilight was gazing at the lineup of unicorns that had come from Pyrestar's world. They had just shown up yesterday after discovering the gateways. Now, they were walking among the streets of Ponyville with happiness on their faces.
This was all on the same day that Twilight had just returned from the meeting Princess Celestia had made as she entered her castle whilst looking at the unicorns with alicorn amulets.
"What's going on here? Why are there so many ponies with alicorn amulets?" Twilight asked Starlight and Nyx.
"Oh, about that. Those are the ponies from Pyrestar's Universe. They found our secret base and passed right through it." Starlight explained. "Now, they're just exploring Ponyville since their own home is a bit...ya know..."
"Oh..." Twilight nodded in understanding. "So much for a secret base being secret then. Are they going to be okay?"
"Yeah. After Ash saved them and their land being slowly restored, a ton of hope just came back to them. And I bet with Pyrestar back, things might be looking up more of them. I mean, look at how happy they are right now." Starlight showed Twilight just how much energy and excitement filled the faces of these otherworld unicorns.
And the reactions they gave off to Ponyvile were something to behold.
"Oh! How I've missed this!" One unicorn cried out whilst eating food from SugarCube Corner. The unicorn was also crying aggressively with Pinkie Pie patting him on the back.
"There, there. Eat as much as you want to get those taste buds back." Pinkie Pie comforted him.
"Mew!"
"How long has it been since I've felt the smoothness of silk before...?" Another unicorn was caressing a silk dress made by Rarity, treating it like it was its own child.
"Oh my. D-Do you no longer have silk in your world?" Rarity chuckled nervously.
"Oh, what is this!?" Some unicorns were just admiring the Pokemon. They have obviously seen Pokemon in their world thanks to Ghetsis and Team Plasma. But they've only seen Dark, Poison, Ghost, Steel and a single Dragon-Type overall. No more than that besides dual typings. And many of them are intimidating. But here, Pokemon of all varieties could be found. And most of them didn't look like they could end your life in an instant.
Even though they could.
"This one has an extra head as a tail!" A unicorn gawked at a Girafarig, flicking the secondary head which was actually its brain.
"Gira!" In response, Girafaring bucked the unicorn, sending her flying for flicking its tail. They are known for attacking anyone who dares approach from behind.
"Look at how fluffy this one is! Feels like actual cotton!" Another placed her hooves on a Cottonee, making the Cotton Puff Pokemon laugh as it was being tickled.
"C-C-Cottonee!"
"I haven't had Ice cream in so long...Time to dig in!" A pony said, holding a Vanillite in his hoof without knowing it was a Pokemon as he opened his mouth.
"V-Vanil?!"
"Ah! That's not ice cream, sir!" A pony cried out, warning the unicorn.
"What?" The moment he turned around, Vanillite instantly gave the unicorn a flash-freeze, encasing his body in ice. Except for the hoof that held Vanillite.
Overall, their reactions to various Pokemon were unique. And they have yet to even come across the Pokemon House which has a larger selection of Pokemon that can be found under Fluttershy's care.
However, that wasn't the real main attraction. While the unicorns could admire the Pokemon all day, and they certainly will, there was one other reason they came here. To see the one that freed them from most of Team Plasma. At least the ones in Canterlot.
Ash Ketchum.
Ash was indeed present here at the moment as he was eating with Applejack and Big Mac. Alongside their Pokemon of course. Little did Ash know, he was about to be flooded by unicorns. Then again, after having such high popularity in this world all over Equestria, it wasn't too unnatural for him as all of the unicorns flocked to Ash.
"There he is!" One unicorn pointed before they all started approaching Ash's direction while he was enjoying his lunchtime meal.
"Hm?" Ash turned around whilst having food in his mouth, spotting the group of unicorns coming his way along with Pikachu.
"Pi? Pika?"
"Ash Ketchum!" They all said before coming to a screeching halt in front of Ash. They were all here to give their due thanks. Even though a few of them did thank Ash back in their world.
"Mm!" Ash swallowed his food before recognizing the unicorns and the Alicorn Amulets they all wore. "Oh, hey. You all showed up here?"
"Certainly!" A unicorn nodded.
"Ash. Who are they? And how come they've got those amulets with 'em?" Applejack asked with Golett on her shoulder.
"Oh. They're the unicorns from Pyrestar's world." Ash pointed his thumb at the unicorns while a Wingull came swooping by, snatching Ash's food from his hand. "Aw..."
"We wish to fully thank you for what you have done for our world. And we are hoping that you can continue to help from Team Plasma, as they have moved across Equestria ever since their arrival." A unicorn said.
"No problem. It won't be the last time I show up there. Plus, Pyrestar's back and ready to give it her all to keep you guys safe. Sorry about the castle by the way."
"It's fine. Your world's Discord came to our world and fixed it either way." Another unicorn answered. "We should also thank your magical creatures or Pokemon for helping to save us."
"Pikachu!"
"Let me see!" A younger unicorn went up to Pikachu, feeling drawn to the Electric Mouse Pokemon's cuteness as other younger alicorns went up to him.
"Pika?" Pikachu tilted his head before his red sacs were met with playful hooves from foals, mushing them about and making the Electric-Type's face pudgy. "Pi...?!"
"So cute!" The foals gushed while playing around with Pikachu and flicking his tail. Pikachu groaned as he was being flooded by all those Alicorn Amulet-wearing foals from all sides.
"Pika...Chuuuu!" In response, Pikachu shocked them all. He isn't fond of his tail and sacs being touched like that as everypony, even Ash, Applejack, Big Mac and Sceptile received a high voltage shock. But Golett was fine.
"Gaaah!" They all screamed out loud before the electricity faded away and Pikachu hopped back onto Ash's shoulder. Everyone was now smoking thanks to Pikachu.
"Pika."
"Such voltage...Teach us more about Pokemon!" A unicorn cried out whilst shaking all of the smoke off of her.
"Sure thing." Ash nodded as he got off the table. "There's a whole bunch of Pokemon that exist out there in both worlds. Some I've never even seen before. Sound pretty exciting?"
"Mhm!" The unicorns nodded in agreement. Especially the foals who were nodding their heads at high speeds. Ash would love to tour them around and teach them about Pokemon. Both in this world and his own world.
And Twilight watched him do so from outside her window.
"I think it's going pretty great so far," Twilight said to Starlight as the unicorn nodded.
"Right. By the way, we want to check something out over at Pyrestar's world. It's the Rarity from that world. Thanks to those Alicorn Amulets, they've been able to live longer than usual. Like actual alicorns. We wanna tell that world's Rarity about how everything's coming back."
"I gotcha." Twilight nodded in understanding. "That world's Rarity must be so lonely without Pinkie Pie or the others. But she's obviously made new friends along the way, right?"
"Only one way to find out." Starlight responded.
"Um. Before we leave, there's something I must tell you, T-Twilight." Nyx approached Twilight. The secret of her seeing Twilight as a mother figure was on the verge of being revealed.
"Hm? What is it?" Twilight turned to her fellow alicorn.
"Well...How do I put this? If you must know...in my world, the Twilight Sparkle there is an important figure in my life. Very important and close to me." Nyx was aiming to delay the announcement at this point as Starlight scrunched her face, waiting for Nyx to just say it.
"Uh-huh?"
"My world's Twilight was important to me in a more of a...maternal sense. A way that no other feeling could replace and such. Seeing her lose her magic made me distraught, which is why I came to care about other Twilight Sparkle's from otherworlds, minus the Empress."
"Uh...huh?" Twilight was going along with this as she was trying to see where Nyx was going with this. Nyx herself looked over at Starlight. Starlight nudged her head, encouraging Nyx to just say it loud and clear. Nyx closed her eyes, huffing her chest as she was going to let it out.
"I see you as a mother!" Nyx shouted, almost blowing Twilight and Starlight away from how much force she put into that shout. Her voice even reached past the castle, heading outside as a few ponies and Pokemon nearby looked at Twilight's Castle. "Maybe a calmer tone would've been a better option.
"A mother?" Twilight held her head after the shout. "Nyx. Is that why...?"
"I stutter when mentioning your name? Yes." Nyx lowered her head. "It shouldn't have been this difficult to reveal it. How could I have been so weak?"
"Well, it was sorta like how the older Flurry Heart was nervous to tell Princess Cadence." Starlight explained whilst patting Nyx.
"It took less time for her to say it." Nyx sighed.
"Nyx. You don't have to worry about something that small." Twilight walked up to Nyx. "It's great that you finally got it out. But uh...really?"
"Really. The Twilight in my world took me up as her own daughter. She loves me unconditionally despite my relation to a certain figure. Because of her, I have tended to love other Twilight's I come across. I always thought they were the same as her. Thanks to the Empress, that has changed drastically..."
"Well..." Twilight scrunched her face whilst rubbing the back of her mane. "You barely have to worry about her anymore. Daughter. Oh, should I call you that?"
"Nyx is fine." She responded as they all collectively chuckled. That went smoother than they thought. A bit of awkwardness and delay here and there. But overall, good stuff. "Right. Checking on the other world's Rarity. Perhaps with all of the land being restored, the seal is weakening."
"We'll head there as soon as we can. First, some afternoon food for the Pokemon. Eve! Everyone! Come in here!" Twilight shouted for her Pokemon.
"Espeon!" Barging through the doors were Espeon, Ninetales Cinccino, a slow walking Absol and Togekiss. Twilight had already set the food down for them. Even though Togekiss wasn't Twilight's Pokemon, she was still a major part of her friend group in every way.
The Pokemon began snacking down on their lunch, eating their personal favourites while Twilight brought over a box with her magic, setting it down on the floor.
"I also have to set things out at my lab for tomorrow. Since everything's back to normal after the invasion, the Pokemon Trainers are ready to continue their goals." Twilight opened the box, revealing an assortment of Pokemon Trainer Starter Gear Essentials. Ranging from the Pokedex, a group of Poke Balls, a map and the newly added Xtransceiver. The Xtransceiver was now considered a highly important and necessary item to have around at all times. Not just for your trainers, but everyone in Equestria.
It was mostly the parents who requested this since they wanted to keep their children safe and contact them, no matter how far away they may be. The Xtransceiver could benefit Equestria in many ways.
"You know, BigTime Ben said there were other Pokemon from other regions that he wanted to bring over here for starters." Twilight twirled the Poke Ball around with her magic. Togekiss was mimicking that twirling by flying around. "Shame it hasn't happened yet. I really want to see the other ones!"
"Isn't there this one region he mentioned called Holon? What Pokemon are there?" Starlight asked.
"The Holon Region? Uh...I'm pretty sure he said that the Pokemon that exist there are all Pokemon we've seen before, but they have something about them known as Delta."
"Delta?" Starlight and Nyx asked.
"Right. Delta. Holon is mostly known for the unusual species of Delta Pokemon. I was given a book about it just next to the other regions that came from Canalave Library." Twilight nodded while continuing to twirl the Poke Ball.
"Toge! Toge! Togek-" Togekiss was twirling about whilst also eating her food, performing a sort of trick in the process that Eve and the others found to be impressive. But as she was twirling around, mimicking the Poke Ball, Togekiss' wing actually came in contact with the button that exists on every Poke Ball. "To?"
And one touch of that button resulted in the Poke Ball opening up without Twilight's own control. Once it opened, the red light from within pulled the Jubilee Pokemon inside before closing entirely.
"Eh?" Twilight and the others took notice of this as they each collectively snapped their heads towards the Poke Ball, hearing the traditional sound it made. And whilst in midair, it started to shake.
1...
2...
3...
Gotcha! Togekiss was caught.
"Oh!" Twilight and everyone gasped as their hairs and tails stood up, gazing at the stars that emanated out of the Poke Ball. Just like that, Togekiss had been officially caught like any ordinary Pokemon.
By accident.
Twilight's jaw dropped as her magic concentration fell. The Poke Ball also fell, hitting the floor as Togekiss emerged from the Poke Ball, smiling as if nothing important had just happened.
"Toge-Toge!" Togekiss clapped her wings together.
"That wasn't supposed to happen..." Twilight uttered as Togekiss picked up her Poke Ball with her wings, playing around with it and spinning it around her face.
"Kiss!"
"Are we gonna explain this to Delphox?" Starlight said.
"Uh..." Twilight looked at Togekiss, seeing her play around with the Poke Ball without a care in the world. She then dropped the Poke Ball after losing some balance with it. She wanted a second go at the spinning trick. Twilight could see that Togekiss had no issue with being caught. If anything, she was fine with it. Being friends with Twilight and everyone is what made it possible. And Twilight could see it in her eyes. "I'll handle it. Togekiss."
"To?" The Jubilee Pokemon turned to face the Princess of Friendship.
"Would you like to be my Pokemon?"
"Togekiss!" Answering immediately, Togekiss flew forward, granting Twilight a powerful hug with her wings as she pinned the alicorn down. That was a confirmed yes.
"Ow! Okay, Togekiss! I get it!" Twilight cried out whilst being hugged. "Cut it out!"
Diamond Tiara's Home.
"It's settled!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon sat on a table at Diamond Tiara's own home. "Kalos it is!"
"Kalos? You sure?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"Yeah, positive." Scootaloo nodded. "We'll be there for...five days. That sounds good enough."
"Five days sounds pretty long though...My contest is in five days." Sweetie Belle said.
"Then uh...four days!"
"Okay. So where in Kalos are we gonna go?" Silver Spoon questioned.
"Well...there's this place called Ninja Village. Ash told me he went there once and that's when he found out about the Bond Phenomenon. Special Greninja and everything. That place sounds fun to be at! It's just between Anistar City and Snowbelle City. There isn't a gateway nearby for them but we're going all the way. The best gateway we can take is the one that goes to Couramine City. Just near Appleloosa."
"A full-on journey sounds like something!" Apple Bloom sat up. "Wait till we get back and tell everypony everything! Uh...i-if we make it back before Sweetie Belle's contest."
"Rarity's already packed a lot of stuff for us." Sweetie Belle explained. "We'll have all the food we need for the days. And some other stuff."
"My daddy also gave us a ton of bits and Pokedollars. So we won't run out of anything anytime soon." Diamond Tiara crossed her hooves in confidence. "He's pretty good friends with BigTime Ben if you must know."
"Yeah but...what are we even gonna do?" Silver Spoon scratched her mane. "I mean...Spike had a reason to go on his short quest. He even learned a neat trick along the way. What are we gonna do at Ninja Village and on our entire journey?"
"We uh...We're gonna..." Scootaloo thought about it for a moment. They had certainly planned to go on a Pokemon Journey but what they'd do exactly was unknown. Especially during Summer. "We'll uh...learn some neat ninja tricks?"
"I think it's best that we just have some fun, right? Who cares about learning something!" Apple Bloom dragged all of her friends together with her hooves, putting them in one big group hug.
Afterwards, they had all made their collective decisions. Coming up was a trip to the Ninja Village and parts of Kalos. Some fun was about to be made along the way.
They were set to go. They had bags that were almost as large as them with various items inside. Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and their parents had made sure to give them their essentials, similar to how Twilight does for upstart Pokemon Trainers. Cold bottles of water, a plethora of food, money, Pokemon essentials and more.
Ash also assisted while a large group of unicorns were following him since he offered to be their tour guide. He knew a lot about NInja Village for obvious reasons, so he gave the foals some advice when they would eventually get there.
"Remember. It's a super isolated settlement." Ash spoke to the foals. "It's got perfect defences from the inside and outside so getting there is gonna be tough. The main entrance in and out of Ninja Village is through a hidden tunnel, where a secret password is needed to enter. Luckily, I remember it. When you know knock, a voice will say Mountain, and you'll respond with River.
"Got it! Mountain and River!" Silver Spoon recited.
"Bring us back some neat ninja clothes that we can wear!" Rainbow Dash squeed. "I-If they make some for ponies."
"Be careful out there, Diamond Tiara. The Pokemon World is far more dangerous than ours with the larger abundance of them." Filthy Rich spoke to her daughter. "And don't go too insane with the money. It's plentiful but absorbent."
"I won't!" Diamond Tiara shook her head.
"Just do what I did and take it easy, alright?" Spike pointed at himself. "And catch some awesome Pokemon along the way too. Just uh...maybe don't fight a Legendary Pokemon."
"Meeting a Legendary Pokemon would sound great though!" Scootaloo's eyes lit up.
"Make sure to call back frequently with your Xtransceiver, alright?" Rarity leaned in on Sweetie Belle.
"Don't talk to too many strangers." So did Applejack. "If anything happens, you've got our Trainer Number and Officer Jenny's everywhere."
"We got it." Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle collectively said.
"Yeah. You're all set now." Ash nodded, crossing his arms as the five of them were definitely ready for one fun adventure throughout some of Kalos.
"Sure are! Let's get rolling!" Scootaloo exclaimed, raising her hoof as her friends each did the same in unison. The time was now to leave as they were making their way towards the closest gateway to Kalos. Lumiose City. Just over at Saddle Lake and near White Tail Wood.
"Bye! Make sure you say hello to Sanpei and the others for us!" Ash and everyone waved goodbye.
"Pika-Pika!"
"We will! Bye!" And those were the last words heard from the five foals before they had left the vicinity of Ponyville. Applejack and Rarity scrunched their faces, feeling a bit shot in the heart, but they could endure it.
For just four days.
High above the skies.
Some work was being done by the pegasi and the Flying-Type Pokemon as usual. Their job to govern and take care of the skies was crucial. It was like any normal day with nothing too out of the ordinary at all aside from some new Flying-Type Pokemon being seeing the skies.
But one pegasus went higher up to take care of the clouds there, unaware of what he was coming across. As he ascended, he noticed that the air around him felt a bit chunky and off.
"Hm." He wondered as his ear twitched. And speaking of his ear, he then heard an off sound high above. It sounded like something metallic was being pushed. Metallic in the sense of a hand from a clock tower moving. Ticking sound and everything. And he noticed this when he reached the highest point that he could reach.
Not only that but a large shadow had been cast over him. A shadow of a circular shape. The pegasus scrunched his face as he realized that something gigantic was definitely within his vicinity. But he also noticed that this large shadow started moving away, no longer casting a shade over him.
Having some curiosity, the pegasus couldn't help but look up beyond the clouds. At least, what he could see. He could only go so high up. And what he managed to see struck him beyond belief.
There was a humongous door in the sky.
This door had something surrounding it, probably a building but it was hard to see with all of these clouds. The view of this door was in the shape of a clock. It even had the hands as the door handle. Afterwards, it flew away, leaving the sight of the pegasus as his jaw had dropped.
After seeing this, there was one logical thing to do. Speak to Princess Celestia and inform his fellow pegasi. Then again, it would be hard for his pegasi to believe him, but Princess Celestia might know something about this As the journey continues.
Currently, Adagio Dazzle was undergoing her first magic lessons as Princess Celestia's student. For her first attempt, so far, she seemed to be doing a fairly good job. Perhaps even better.
Adagio had just managed to learn the Want-it-Need-it spell. A spell that can be considered dangerous due to how potent it was. Not only that, but she had also learned some more spells to add to her arsenal as Celestia herself watched over Adagio, mentoring her
"Good job, Adagio." Celestia went over to Adagio who was holding a multitude of heavy objects around her. "You certainly are a fast learner."
"Aren't I?" Adagio smirked, feeling cocky and confident. And for a good reason. Her talent with magic was something. It definitely comes from her mother or even her father. "This pony magic isn't half bad actually. That Want-it-Need-it spell shows a lot of promise too."
"Mhm. But make sure not overuse that spell or for personal gain." Celestia warned her. "Only use that spell when it really counts. My mother and father consider it to be the most dangerous spell in the world."
"What? This thing?" Adagio used the spell on one of the hedges as the nearest guards and Pokemon walked or flew by. And immediately, once their eyes met the hedge, the spell took place.
One look and their eyes lit up with hearts as they all collectively stopped what they were doing. Some dropped items that they were carrying as they hit the ground. And immediately, with smiles meeting their faces, they all flocked towards the hedge.
"I want it!" One guard said.
"I need it!" So did another.
"Staravia!" And a Staravia among many other Pokemon. All were heading straight the hedge, most likely aiming to rip it out and take it with them. Adagio scrunched her face as she witnessed a surprisingly large group coming her way.
But just like before, Celestia could stop it. With one flash of her horn, she cast a spell that could counteract the Want-it-Need-it-Spell. A white light flashed from her horn, covering everyone that approached the hedge including the hedge itself.
Once the flash covered them as they looked right at it, their infatuation towards the hedge had come to an end. The hearts disappeared as they all came to a screeching halt. Many of them were befuddled and confused afterwards. Whatever they were originally doing had been wiped from their minds before reviving afterwards.
Then, they all went on with their day, feeling a bit awkward for chasing after a hedge of all things. Not even one that had been stylized.
"Oh," Adagio said, witnessing just how potent that spell can be.
"So remember. It is a powerful spell that should only be used at the moment that truly counts. Something where it is truly needed. Twilight knew that but desperation and panic came..." Celestia instructed.
"Right got it. Only important moments. Easy enough." Adagio nodded while Celestia smiled, having faith in Adagio. She was hoping she wouldn't get the same outcome as Twilight thought.
But as they were about to continue their lessons before having a quick break and some fun in the summer sun, a guard had entered the Canterlot Gardens with important news.
"Your highness." The guard spoke. "A citizen wishes to speak with you about something important."
"Let them in." Celestia approved for this pony to arrive. And the pony that walked past the guard was the same pegasus who was working on the skies with his fellow pegasi and found something amazing beyond the clouds.
"Princess Celestia!" The pegasus looked to be in a hurry as he stopped in front of the alicorn. "Big news! In the sky!"
"Hold on. What is it? What happened?" Celestia asked, calming the rapid-moving pegasus down.
"There's a door in the sky!" The pegasus pointed his hoof in the air. "One that looks like some sort of...giant clock or something!"
"A door in the sky?!" Celestia and Adagio collectively said.
"Yes! It looked like at least. I came to you specifically because I believe you may know something about it, princess. Is it safe to be near it? Can we still work on the skies with it being present there?" The pegasus asked, hoping for an answer.
"I'm curious too. What's up with that?" Adagio asked, looking at Celestia. But to their surprise, Celestia gave off a face that didn't look like she hadn't heard of this thing before.
"I...I don't know." Celestia shook her head. "This is the first time I've heard of something like this? A door in the sky?"
"Wait. You...don't know?" Adagio pulled back.
"Unfortunately, I don't know everything. I know many things, but even my knowledge stops at a certain point in this world. And this is one of them."
"So...Nothing then," Adagio responded.
"No. But this is still crucial. Is there a chance you saw what else was there?"
"I only saw the door. I mean, it looked like a door. Plus I only noticed it when it cast a shadow over me. But I think I saw something gold next to it. But after that, it left my view and that was it." The pegasus explained.
"So. We have something in Equestria that nopony else knows. If it can cast a shadow and leave the field of view within the skies, that must mean that it has the capability to move."
"A moving door?" Adagio narrowed her eyes.
"Maybe not. If there is something gold surrounding it, then there's a chance it might be a building of some sort. For anypony working near those skies, stay clear away from them for the meantime. If the door shows up again."
"Got it! Thank you, Princess Celestia!" The pegasus nodded in understanding before leaving the vicinity and returning to his work.
"A possible flying building in the sky. That's something to think of..." Celestia wondered.
"You sure you don't know anything about it?" Adagio questioned.
"No, not at all...But maybe mother and father do."
Kalos Region. Coumarine City. Afternoon.
The city where bay and butte are bound. An exclusive resort area made popular thanks to its clear skies and mild atmosphere. And this was where Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon would start their four-day journey on a quest towards Ninja Village.
Just for fun.
Coumarine City was the closest gateway they could find that would lead them to Ninja Village which was between Anistar and Snowbelle City.
"Okay. So we'll have to get through Laverre City and Dendemille Town if we want to reach Anistar City. Then after that, we might find the village." Silver Spoon looked at the map. At least...through most of the routes first. And uh...something called the Frost Cavern. Quite a bunch actually."
"Ah, it's fine." Scootaloo flailed her hoof. "Let's head on forward. "The first place we need to go is the Lumiose Badlands!"
"I'm sorry did you say Badlands?!" Diamond Tiara shuddered.
"That's what it says on the map right here." Silver Spoon showed the earth pony. "Lumiose Badlands. We'll need to get past that if we want to reach Laverre City."
"Oh." Diamond Tiara scrunched her face. "I-Isn't there an easier way to get to Laverre City?"
"Uh nope. This looks like the only way." Silver Spoon shook her head as Diamond Tiara sighed.
"Let's not waste any time then!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Let's get past those Badlands!"
"Yeah!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders plus Silver Spoon agreed in a bellowing unison whilst Diamond Tiara gave off an awkward smile.
Ponyville. Twilight's lab Afternoon.
"Here. The Holon Region." Twilight was currently showing Starlight and Nyx a book that contained further information about the mysterious region known as the Holon Region. "The Holon region was inhabited by humans who wished to search for the elusive Mirage Pokémon Mew."
"Is it always about Mew?" Starlight asked.
Mew's an important figure in Pokemon history." Twilight nodded. "In establishing a city that was also titled Holon, scientists utilized the unique magnetic properties of the area to produce waves of electromagnetic energy via a large tower in the city centre to track the location of Mew. The resulting electromagnetic waves caused the local Pokémon to mutate into abnormal types inconsistent with their genes elsewhere. Their highest evolved forms typically have Metal instead of Steel as a type. The affected Pokémon came to be known as Delta Species."
"A region like that is unexplored?" Nyx spoke.
"It exists but not many visit it. It might be from the weather. Those electromagnetic waves from the tower cause frequent storms. In addition, pressure changes are not uncommon there either. There's also the Delta Species that are just as odd. Like this Pidgeot for example." She then pointed her hoof at one of the images of the Delta Pokemon. "It looks like an average Pidgeot but it's actually a Fighting-Type of all things. Some even change more than others in terms of appearance."
"Really?" Starlight leaned further.
"Right. Like this Charizard. It was recorded just 12 years ago. Not only is it a Dark-Type Charizard, but it even looks like a Dark-Type with all those colours. So, there's a lot to explore there. And I know for sure Ash wouldn't wait for a second to head there if we showed it to him."
"Ah...Let's do it later. Still pretty exhausted after that whole invasion and everything." Starlight recommended.
"Right. A lot of rest is needed before we head on some big adventure to a whole other region." Twilight agreed. "But weren't we gonna do something else today?"
"Pyrestar's world and the Rarity that lives there." Nyx reminded Twilight and Starlight.
"Right!" Twilight shot up. She'll be so happy when she finds out about the land restoration. Or...maybe she's already found out?"
"Either way, best to see for ourselves. The seal might be weaker this time to break." Starlight nudged Twilight.
"Yeah. Maybe. Let's get going then."
Lumiose Badlands.
A complete oasis. Vast, dry and fairly red to the eyes. Many dirt mounds could be seen with barely any plants. But, up ahead, there was a large pool of water with some trees and fruits prominent so it wasn't a full-on wasteland. Since barely any plants can grow in the red clay of this great plain, it hosts the Kalos Power Plant instead. Speaking of which, that was the main attraction. The Power Plant. An environmentally responsible power plant that generates solar power from space. It also powers the whole Kalos Region.
Coming across this place was the group of five. And immediately, due to it being summer in both worlds, they could feel the heat already beating on them. It was sweltering and it didn't help that wind pressures tend to disrupt movements with how aggressive they can get.
"Yikes..." Scootaloo grimaced whilst she and her friends stood still after coming across the heat of the Lumiose Badlands. They knew it was going to be hot but this was absurd.
"W-We should've considered the summer sun in a place like this..." Silver Spoon nodded as everyone collectively agreed with her.
"It's fine. We can fix this." Sweetie Belle panted before taking out one of her Poke Balls. "Piplup. Come out." By using her magic, she unleashed the Penguin Pokemon into the area.
"Piplup!"
"Please. Cool us off if you can, Piplup."
"Lup!" Piplup could certainly do that by blasting some water from his mouth, splashing it all over the foals and negating the heat that was punishing them.
"Thanks," Everypony said with a collective relaxed sigh. Thus, they continued on their way.
If they wanted to advance past the Lumiose Badlands, they would have to head to Power Plant since it's close to the nearest civilization. Along the way, Piplup used his water to cool everyone off whilst some of them took out their cold water bottles and drank them instead. There was also that one pool of water with trees and fruits that they were also tempted to stop by if they wanted to snack on something.
However, noticeably, they saw that these dirt mounds were starting to move in response to their hoofsteps. They all locked their eyes onto the mounds, seeing how a few of them were sprouting up. They weren't sure if these were safe or dangerous. But considering that they were collectively following the five fillies made them suspicious.
The five little ponies sped up their movement. They went from light trotting to light galloping. Essentially a jog. This was to try and get away from the dirt mounds as soon as possible if they were dangerous by any chance. And popping out of some of the dirt mounds were the following Pokemon.
A few Trapinch and a few Dugtrio, popping their heads out and startling the little ponies in the process. But among one of these dirt mounds was also a Gible. By emerging out from the mounds, they almost struck the ponies by hitting their bags. The heads of Dugtrio and Trapinch bumped into the bags while also getting dirt all over them.
"Gible!"
"Trapinch!"
"Dugtrio!"
And they were all popping out for one reason. Gible seemed to be the main leader of this Ground Group as his nose was picking up on something. Food. Specifically, food straight from the bags that the fillies were carrying with them. Some of the food inside was tailored towards ponies while some were Pokemon Food. A perfect find for Gible, the Trapinch and Diglett as they all surrounded the foals, forming cracks around them.
"Hey! Watch it!" Diamond Tiara looked around, seeing that they were essentially being blocked off by Pokemon smaller than them. Although, Gible was almost the height of a foal. Apple Bloom could see that Gible was sniffing towards their bags along with some of the other Pokemon here.
"I think they're after our food..." Apple Bloom whispered
"Gible!" The Land Shark Pokemon pointed at the ponies and the bags, ready to take them by force.
"Forget about that." Scootaloo nudged Apple Bloom. "There's a Gible here. And I want it." Excited at seeing a powerful Pokemon that could potentially become a part of her team and carry her to victory in the Equestria League, Scootaloo took out a Poke Ball, throwing it. "Go, Horsea!"
"Horsea!"
"Gib?"
"Ooh! I'll take that Trapinch!" Sweetie Belle looked at a Trapinch with her Piplup ready.
"Pinch?"
"Horsea! Use Water Pulse!"
"Piplup, Bubble Beam!"
"Hor...sea!" The Dragon Pokemon immediately spouted out an orb of water from his mouth, shooting it straight at the Land Shark Pokemon.
"Pip-Lup-Lup-Lup!" As for Piplup, he started shooting multiple bubbles from his mouth towards Trapinch.
"Gible!" In response, Gible used Slash, raising his claw as he lunged towards the orb, slashing it in half. The orb of Water Pulse split in two, hitting the ground afterwards.
"Trap!" As for Trapinch, it just left by using Dig, avoiding the Bubble Beam. Piplup moved the Bubble Beam around, following Trapinch's dirt mound as it had then flown towards the other Ground-Type here. The Diglett and the rest of the Trapinch all collectively went back underground to avoid this Bubble Beam.
The only one up here was Gible now.
"Hey! Come back!" Sweetie Belle cried out, wanting her Trapinch as she saw the dirt mounds scatter.
"Gib!" Gible hadn't retreated. It went straight for Horsea, using Bulldoze as its whole body was covered in an orange aura while running.
"Horsea! Twister!"
"Sea!" Horsea moved his back fins as fast as he could, making a twister appear that spun around on the ground, absorbing some dirt and rocks while racing towards Gible.
"Gib?!" Gible gasped as it had been drawn it by this whirlwind of draconic energy, spiralling around with the rocks and dirt. "G-G-Gible!"
Afterwards, the twister let out an outburst, separating and coming to an end as Gible was flown out of it. But even when being hurled around midair and falling, Gible could still attack. The Land Shark Pokemon had something blue glowing in its mouth as it was prepared to use Dragon Breath. The Dragon-Ground-Type released a light blue beam from its mouth
"Use Water Pulse!"
"Horse!" To counter Dragon Breath, Horsea fired the same orb of water upwards at the light blue beam. Both blue attacks collided before cancelling each other out via a blue explosion.
"Gible!" Descending and passing through the smoke was Gible who had used Slash. The Land Shark Pokemon had smoke trailing out of him as he slashed Horsea head-on, knocking the Dragon Pokemon back.
"Horsea!" Horsea cried out.
"Gib!" Gible then followed up from Slash by using Dragon Breath, breathing a light blue beam seconds after using Slash. Horsea had then taken further damage from the attack.
"Sea!"
"Horsea! Are you okay?!" Scootaloo gasped.
"S-Sea...!" Horsea was indeed fine. Just a bit banged up, that's all.
"Okay then! Let's finish this and catch ourselves a Gible! Use Focus Energy!"
"Horse...!" The Dragon Pokemon closed his eyes, letting all of his focus take the wheel. By clearing his mind and worries, Horsea was able to tap into Focus energy as blazing orange rays of energy started spurting out of his body, rising in the process.
"Gible!" Took this an opportunity to attack as he went for another Slash.
"Now, dodge and use Twister at full power!"
"Sea!" Horsea's eyes widened as they flared orange. He was stronger than before as he swayed his body to the side, avoiding Gible's Slash. The Land Shark Pokemon shifted his eyes to the side before going for another Slash. Horsea hovered back, avoiding the second one as Gible leapt for a third one.
"Gib!" Gible's third slash was yet again evaded by Horsea levitating himself in the air to dodge it. Pokemon like Horsea that are originally meant to be in water have a huge benefit when it comes to the land. They essentially get free levitation.
"Sea!" Afterwards, Horsea found the perfect time to strike. He flapped his back fins as he utilized the strength of Focus Energy to make this Twister extra strong. Out of his wings, a giant spiral of draconic wind came flying out, shooting for the Land Shark Pokemon.
"Gi?!" Gible gasped as it had been caught in the Twister again. This time, Twister was moving at a vertical angle, moving forward instead of upwards. And Gible was pushed forward by this whirlwind of ferocious dragon spirit. Many rocks had been blown out of the way as everypony covered their eyes with dirt flying around.
Afterwards, the Twister came to an end, separating once more with Gible spinning around and feeling a bit dazed in the process. The Land Shark Pokemon tumbled on the ground before crashing into a nearby rock, holding his head afterwards.
"Now's my chance!" Scootaloo took out a Great Ball from her saddlebag. "Go, Great Ball!" She then threw the ball with all of her might.
"Gib?" Gible looked up before being struck by the Great Ball. The ball bounced off Gible's head as it pulled the Dragon-Ground-Type in with a red light. Then, traditionally, the ball landed on the ground, ready to shake reveal the result.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Gible was caught.
"Haha yes!" Scootaloo was able to fly for a few seconds before galloping to the Great Ball. After reaching there, she grabbed the ball with her hooves, looking at it with beaming eyes. "Success! I got myself a Gible! How's that?!"
"Ooh! Good job!" Apple Bloom and the others clapped in approval, congratulating Scootaloo whilst Sweetie Belle pouted.
"I still didn't get my Trapinch..."
"Ah, there's always more here in this desert and a second chance." Diamond Tiara shrugged as they all continued on their way. But not before clearing all of the dirt and dust off.
"Now let's see what that Power Plant is all about!" Scootaloo exclaimed while twirling around the Great Ball after having a successful and satisfying capture.
Pyrestar's World. Ponyville Afternoon.
Finally visiting this world's Ponyville were Twilight, Starlight and Nyx. And with the addition of Pyrestar who offered to show them around her world. While it's not in the best condition right now, it was at least being restored by its own natural means.
"As you can see, grass has been making a revival as of recently." Pyrestar showed Twilight and the others the state of her world. "Everypony's hope has also made a steady revival thanks to both the visibility of grass and how Ash freed Canterlot from Team Plasma."
"Sure is taking a while. Wait, if Discord brought back your castle? Why can't he break the seal Grogar made?" Starlight asked.
"I'm afraid Grogar is just a cut above Discord," Pyrestar answered as they had come across the place that Twilight, Starlight and Nyx wanted to be at in the first place.
Carousel Boutique.
And it was not in the best of conditions right now. Along with practically everything else in this world, it had a bit of a dry and less than lively appearance. The windows were dusty among many other parts of this building. Usually, Rarity would never keep it dirty like this. But it was. Even though it kept the same appearance even after centuries, visible cracks surrounded the walls. It looked like it was on the verge of crumbling.
"A quick reminder. The Rarity of my world has gone centuries without her dearest friends. She won't be the same as your Rarity." Pyrestar said.
"That's fine. Being through other timelines has taught me that." Twilight nodded whilst looking at Starlight as they both know a thing or two about something like that. Afterwards, Pyrestar knocked on the door, calling for Rarity.
"Coming." And like that, a voice had responded. A voice belonging to a good friend but with less enthusiasm behind it. Opening the door was a unicorn wearing the Alicorn Amulet like every other unicorn here. Rarity.
And when she opened those doors, she was seen as essentially the same thanks to the Alicorn Amulet granting wearers the lifespan of an alicorn. But her manestyle was different. In the style of a ponytail. But aside from that, Rarity saw Queen Pyrestar which wasn't too out of the ordinary.
But what was out of the ordinary was the sight of a friend she didn't think she'd ever see again. Twilight Sparkle. But Starlight since in this world, Grogar created the seal immediately after Tirek had been defeated. And one look made Rarity's jaw drop after seeing a familiar face.
"T-Twilight...?"
"Hello~" Twilight gave an innocent smile and wave.
"Twilight!" With a sudden burst of energy, Rarity lunged forward, granting Twilight a surprise hug that was equal to the strength of a bear.
"Oof!" Twilight's eyes felt like popping out as her heart skipped a beat for a second.
"I've missed you so-so-so much darling! You have no idea!" She spun Twilight around, lifting her off the ground. "It's been centuries! You just up and vanished after-"
"Rarity. Rarity, calm down please." Pyrestar calmed Rarity down. "This isn't your Twilight. It's another Twilight from another world."
"Oh...?" Rarity looked over at Pyrestar before placing Twilight down. "Well...I'm still thrilled to see you again. I never thought I would or the rest of my friends to be honest."
"Yeah. We know about the seal." Twilight replied whilst recovering her body after that powerful hug. "But we have some good news."
"Good news? That's a rarity." Rarity sighed.
"Rarity. Look." Pyrestar pointed her hoof over at the distance, showing the unicorn the current state of the land and what it was gradually becoming. She showed her the visibility of grass. A very verdant and vibrant green too. "Everything's returning to what it used to be."
Rarity was stunned by what she was seeing. How long has it been since she's seen grass other than dirt and pebbles? Either way, witnessing something so beautiful like grass being brought back was a treat for the eyes.
"Twilight over here and her friends came over, restoring what was lost. The process is slow, but it is proof that everything is returning." Pyrestar explained. "And I shall also tell everypony across Equestria about this. Those in Canterlot and some in Ponyville are already aware of this restoration. Very soon, you'll have all of your friends back."
"Y-You do that..." Rarity stammered after witnessing this gorgeous sight as some flowers were starting to revive. The rest of her friends would return to her. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Coco Pommel and more that weren't unicorns. "Oh! I'll have to...I'll have to clear everything up and do some repairs for their return! Sweet Apple Acres needs to be exactly how Applejack and her family remember it! Oh, but how will I reach Rainbow Dash's home?"
"The levitation spell that the amulet brings can assist with that." Pyrestar poked Rarity's Alicorn Amulet.
"Oh! That works!" Rarity nodded. "Thank you so much for this wonderful news! I should tell Sweetie Belle about this immediately! Her best friends will be coming back! They might be younger than her now but that's fine!" She was obviously referring to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.
"It was a pretty good idea coming here, wasn't it?" Starlight said to Twilight and Nyx as they nodded in agreement. Rarity slammed the door, rushing back inside to fix everything. She found the spirit in her to start cleaning immediately.
"Well, I thank you for this, you three." Pyrestar turned to the three ponies. "Once everything is restored, we will throw a gigantic party that will be celebrated for years to come. And I'll have the chance to eat cake again for years..." The Celestia inside of Pyrestar was kicking in as she was thinking about cake.
"Wish there was a faster way to make the land return." Nyx sighed.
"Hm..." That's when Twilight's head starting sparking up an idea. There was indeed something that could restore the land at a quicker pace, covering years of growth in possibly months, weeks or even days. Or rather, some Pokemon. "That's it! Landorus, Thundurus and Tornadus! Hah! There really is a Pokemon for everything!"
Canterot Castle. Afternoon.
Arriving here were the parents of Celestia and Luna. Sunlight and Eventide. They had been called here by their oldest daughter with matters concerning what the pegasus had discovered.
"Mother. Father. Glad you could make it." said Celestia as she hugged her parents.
"Thank you. It's worth coming here after all that invasion fuss had come to an end." Sunlight responded. "And look at you Adagio! A student of my daughter! How does that feel?"
"Ah, pretty neat I guess." Adagio tried to play it off like it wasn't that big of a deal. But in her mind, she loved it.
"Now. What do you need, dear?" Eventide asked her daughter.
"Well, it's something that I'm hoping you have some knowledge of. Considering that you're older than me and everything. I was wondering, do you know something about a door in the sky?"
"A door in the sky?" Just like Celestia and Adagio, Sunlight and Eventide said those words together in unison, a bit confounded by that question.
"Right. Earlier, a pegasus came to me, saying that while he was working on the skies with the other pegasi and Flying-Type Pokemon, he spotted something beyond the clouds. A giant door that seemed to be in the shape of a clock. Also having something gold surrounding it, but that was about all he could see. It existed past the cloud limit that any pegasi could reach and flew out of view afterwards. It could be a building, but one that moves is a bit...off. Do you by chance know about it?"
"Hm...Door in the sky?" Eventide pondered for a bit. So did Sunlight. They didn't instantly know about something like this. They were actually putting thought into it, giving Celestia hope that there might be some knowledge around this. That's when Sunlight answered.
"I did hear of something similar to that before." Sunlight spoke. "About something that lurks past the skies that anypony can access."
"Yes?" Celestia leaned forward.
"Stories of Equestria long ago tell of a place that exists in secrecy. A place that could be considered a sanctuary. During the founding and naming of Equestria, not all ponies were contempt or approved of joining Equestria. Some went their own separate ways to try and start their own lands and countries."
"Own separate ways? I didn't think anypony would refuse to be a part of Equestria. Well...at least not in the far past."
"There were some. Eventually, most did end up joining Equestria." Sunlight nodded. "But there was one group that never did so. A large group of pegasi refused to associate themselves with Equestria from what I was told. Thus, they started their own civilization and nation in the skies themselves and have seemingly been doing so ever since."
An environmentally responsible power plant that generates solar power from space.
After walking through the dry and hot Lumiose Badlands, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had come across Kalos Power Plant. Before, this facility used to be under the control of Team Flare and ransacked by Team Rocket once. But not anymore due to specific events. Now the place is officially under proper control with the right workers behind it.
"Okay." Silver Spoon looked at the map. "So, right near the Kalos Power Plant, up ahead on both directions would be Lumiose City. That's close to home. But, there's also Laverre City but we'll need to...Geez, this map is more confusing than I thought."
"I thought you had it down pat with no issues." Apple Bloom said to Silver Spoon.
"I thought so, but there's a lot more to it. Maybe I got an old version of the map?" Silver Spoon pouted.
"Bah, it doesn't matter." Scootaloo shook her head. "We'll just have to wing it and see how it goes. Then we'll get to where we wanna get."
"Pretty sure that ain't a good idea either..." Sweetie Belle lowered her eyes. "So, are we gonna enter that power plant? Shouldn't we focus on just going to the next town first?"
"Yeah, but we gotta enjoy the journey the whole way through, right?" Scootaloo grinned as she shoved her hoof on the door, opening the entrance to the power plant. Usually, a Power Plant Pass is needed to access the facility, but someone can just open it by free will alone.
"Being a place like this seems a bit uh...risky, don't you think?" Diamond Tiara knew that being in a power plant of all places could result in less than favourable situations.
After all, these are children at the end of the day. And their curiosity tends to be the most overpowering force next to hyperactivity. Immediately, they came across the entrance hall of the facility where the first thing that was within their point of view was some Steel and Electric-Type Pokemon. Fitting.
"Mag! Magnemite!"
"Beldum." The Magnemite and Beldum took notice of the newcomers, flying off instantly. It was hard to tell if they were greeting them at all. However, judging by their tone of voice, despite how artificial and robotic it may sound, there was some emotional volume behind it as they bellowed from the sight of the five foals.
"What's that all about?" Silver Spoon asked as everyone shrugged. Afterwards, they continued on their way. All they wanted to do was view this place out for themselves. There's even a chance they could catch some more Pokemon of their own.
Sweetie Belle was especially searching for a new Pokemon to add to her team for Pokemon Contests. And to an extent Scootaloo since she's aiming to be number one in the Equestria League. She already has five Pokemon with Gible being obtained today. Might as well have a sixth member along for the ride.
As they went past the entrance hall, just around the corner, they could spot multiple sparks of electricity flying about. Probably from the Magnemite. But, they seemed to be fairly destructive as the sound of a Pokemon could be heard in the distance. A Luxray.
"Lux...Ray!"
"A Luxray?!" Scootaloo said as she and her friends sped up their walking to see what was going on. Perhaps a Pokemon Battle was taking place within the Power Plant. And once they got close enough, they saw Luxray tumble on the floor, hitting the walls of the power plant.
"Lux!"
"Oh!" Scootaloo and the others stopped once Luxray came rolling over, crashing onto hard metal. The Gleam Eyes Pokemon got right back up afterwards, growling as some footsteps could be heard along with a voice.
"Luxray! Are you okay?!" Appearing from the side of the next part of this facility was the trainer of Luxray. The Lumiose City Gym Leader. The inventor lighting up the world. And a man of science and high creativity.
Clemont.
Clemont came over, kneeling and putting his hands over Luxray. The Electric-Type was fine but from all the scratches on him, he was certainly struggling against something. After showing up and holding Luxray, Clemont and Luxray's eyes quickly turned to the side where they noticed five fillies standing before them.
"Big brother!" Another voice came running over towards Clemont. A younger voice. Obviously from that shout, it was the sister of Clemont. Bonnie. "They're gone aga-"
And just like Clemont and Luxray, Bonnie stopped, looking at the ponies that stood before her, her brother and Luxray each. "Ponies?" Clemont spoke.
"Uh...S-Sorry if we're interrupting something." Diamond Tiara squeed.
"You...Aren't you those ponies from Ponyville?" Clemont actually recognized Apple Bloom and the others. Most likely from the wedding between Cranky and Matilda.
"You knows us?" Silver Spoon pointed her hoof at herself.
"Oh yeah! They do look familiar!" Bonnie nodded whilst holding Clemont's Dedenne.
"Dedenne!"
"W-What's going on?" Scootaloo looked around. "Are you having a battle? Can we see?!"
"Not really a friendly Pokemon battle right now." Clemont stood up. "Are they still here?"
"No, they left." Bonnie shook her head. "But I think they're still in here somewhere."
"Who?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Sorry. But, there's a bit of an issue here at the Kalos Power Plant. Many of the workers and Pokemon here are in a bit of trouble and need our help against a lot of Pokemon." Clemont said.
"Which Pokemon?" Apple Bloom asked.
"The Unown," Clemont answered.
"Unown...?" The five fillies tilted their heads after hearing that name. This was their first time hearing of such a Pokemon. And one with a bizarre name too. More bizarre than usual.
"Right. It's this." Clemont held his Pokedex out, scrolling down to the newest Pokemon that his dex had discovered just recently as it read the entry out.
"Unown. The Symbol Pokemon. This Pokémon is shaped like ancient writing. It is a mystery as to which came first, the ancient writings or the various Unown. Research into this topic is ongoing but nothing is known. Because different types of Unown exist, it is said that they must have a variety of abilities. When alone, nothing happens. However, if there are two or more, an odd power is said to emerge."
"That's them?" Scootaloo uttered under her breath.
"They suddenly attacked the Kalos Power Plant just two days ago. And each day, they seem to come back continuously." Clemont explained. "This time, they might be sticking around instead of leaving for tomorrow."
"It's getting pretty tiring coming back here though..." Bonnie sighed. "They look so cute but they're so mean."
"Why do they keep attacking?" A curious Silver Spoon wanted more questions.
"Well, it could be because of this." Just then, from his many pockets, Clemont pulled out something unexpected. It was in the shape of a test tube. And traditionally, it had a liquid in it. But more importantly, not just any liquid.
Fusion Magic liquid.
"Oh! That's Fusion Magic!" Sweetie Belle and her friends collectively gasped and bellowed before locking their eyes onto the tube filled with Pokemon and Equestrian magic collectively. Clemont hid the tube back in his pocket just 2 seconds later.
"This is what they're after. And they've been pretty aggressive about it too. I have to hide it from them constantly but sometimes it doesn't work."
"Why are they after it?" Scootaloo asked.
"Not sure. Once we discovered some Fusion Magic and collected some, the Unown started attacking anyone who had them. You see that large pool of water in the oasis over there?" Clemont pointed outside, right at the pool located at the Lumiose Badlands.
"Yeah?" The five fillies each said.
"That used to have some of that Fusion Magic liquid a part of it. We found out just 5 days ago. And later on, the Unown ended up destroying the Fusion Magic around it. Now it's just an ordinary lake again."
"Destroyed it? They're strong enough to do that?" Apple Bloom uttered.
"We don't know why they hate it so much?" Bonnie shook her head. "Maybe it smells and tastes funny to them?"
"Maybe. It could be that because it throws the natural balance off. It's said that Unown are a part of Arceus. They're all Arceus' 1000 arms that were used to create the universe. So maybe something messes with the universe is deemed a threat in their eyes.
"But that can't be right." Diamond Tiara scratched her mane. "Arceus doesn't seem to care and he's like their boss, right?"
"You've met Arceus too?" Clemont and Bonnie leaned in.
"Yeah, but doesn't Arceus sleep a lot?" Silver Spoon responded. "I don't think he notices a thing. And it's just here?"
"Not just here. Just yesterday, we also found out that they've been attacking other locations with Fusion Magic across Kalos. They must be targeting anything related to it. This is the most we've seen of any Unown."
"Wait... then that means..." Sweetie Belle began processing things a bit. If the Unown are going about, attacking anything that is even remotely related to the Fusion Magic, mainly the Rift energy that resides in it, then that means that it won't just go through Kalos. And then it hit the little unicorn. "The giant cauldron with all of the Rift energy inside!"
"Oh yeah!" Scootaloo nodded. "They could find out about that one too! And don't Togekiss and Axew have some inside of them? It's all in-"
"Don't say anything!" Clemont covered Scootaloo's mouth. "The Unown can hear you. If you tell them where some of it is, they'll find it. That's how they found the first few Fusion Magic spots."
"Mmm..." Scootaloo responded with a muffled mouth. "We should warn Rainbow Dash and the others. But maybe not here."
"How many Unown are there right now?" Silver Spoon asked.
"Inside of this facility, about 60 of them. A pretty big bunch. We're just aiming to defeat them and hopefully prevent them from coming back here again. If that's possible." Clemont sighed.
"Well...We can help." Scootaloo said.
"We can?" The four other fillies spoke, looking at the pegasus.
"Yeah. Yeah! We totally can! See girls? This is our chance to do something big. We didn't really do much during the invasion but this could be it."
"Uh...No!" Diamond Tiara shook her head. "A Gible and bunch of Dugtrio and Trapinch are one thing. But this sounds a bit too risky! I mean, aren't these Unown a part of Arceus? That's like...a really big red flag!"
"Yeah and that dex entry doesn't make things better!" Silver Spoon shook her head rapidly along with Sweetie Belle.
"They're strong. But they're not unbeatable." Clemont answered, debunking the potential unstoppable nature of the Unown. "We've managed to take out a few before."
"See? If they can do it, so can we!" Scootaloo raised her hoof. "No need to worry...uhh..."
"Clemont. And this is my little sister, Bonnie." Clemont introduced himself and his sister.
"Hello!"
"Dedenne!"
"Luxray!
"Okay! No need to worry, Clemont and Bonnie. Just let the Cutie Mark Crusaders help you out and we'll deal with your little Unown problem in a jiffy!"
"Wait...are you including us?" Diamond Tiara gulped as Scootaloo nodded without facing her. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sighed but they eventually were onboard with this. The thrill of the adventure eventually catches up to anyone near or far.
"Thank you." Clemont nodded in approval. The workers here are doing their best too and-" Just as he was about to finish his sentence, the sound of the Unown could be heard across the facility. "They might be coming back for more very soon. LEt's get moving!"
Equestria. Canterlot Castle.
"Pegalysium? Is that what that could've been?" Celestia asked her mother about matters regarding what the pegasus had spotted within the sky.
"Maybe." Sunlight shrugged. "It's been brushed off as a foals tale or a myth at best. We haven't even seen it in Equestria when in the Ambrosial Plane."
"Which is odd. f that pegasus could see it for a slight moment, why couldn't we?" Eventide pondered.
"Well, we're not always watching over every passing second so we may have just missed it." Sunlight shrugged innocently.
"So it's still a major mystery..." Celestia sighed. "Alright. If by chance this Pegalysim place exists, I should probably take note of that. In the stories, is it deemed dangerous?"
"Well, since they separated themselves from Equestria, many deemed the pegasi of Pegalysim to be enemies. That might not be the case now if they're real."
"Well, in any case, it's still worth investigating. I'll have surveys across the skies and see if we can spot this door in the sky. If it really is Pegalysium."
"It is interesting to think about, isn't it?" Eventide smiled. "I wonder what their civilization is like? I mean, having one in the sky is something. The closest place I can think of that has a similar premise is...Seaquestria."
"I want to visit it myself actually." Sunlight giggled. "What about you, Adagio?"
"I mean, it sounds interesting." Adagio scoffed, not thinking it was a big deal. "I don't know, maybe I'd like experiencing it. Then again, I don't think I could trust it from the get-go. If they didn't want to be a part of Equestria, then shouldn't they be a threat?"
"Well..." Eventide scratched his mane. "Eh..."
"In any case, that's all I can give you and what I know. Good luck in finding Pegalysium. We'd love to see if it's real and not just some fable of foal story. Bye-Bye!" Sunlight wrapped her hoof around Eventide before having a pillar of golden and silver light beam down on them.
And just like that, they were gone. Back to the Ambrosial Plane.
"So...are we gonna continue our magic lesson or..." Adagio tapped her hoof.
"Oh, right. Let's finish our lesson. First, I'll just inform some of the guards for a moment. If it exists, they must only survey and spectate over it. Not approach it. Not sure what the pegasi in a civilization such as that may possess."
"Do they even know about the Pokemon?"
"Well...They might know about Rayquaza at least? Anyway, just give me a moment, Adagio." Celestia went off to start an overwatch of the skies, aiming to discover a place that would be considered mythical and make-belief.
Then again, it's only mythical until someone proves it real.
Kalos Power Plant. Afternoon.
The Unown lurked within the facility, searching for any trace of Fusion Magic at almost every corner. Right now, Clemont and the others had arrived at the generator hall where the rest of the workers were. Not only that but there was a huge holographic screen that showed a view of Lumiose City.
"Hey. Isn't that Lumiose City?" Sweetie Belle noticed.
"Right. The Power Plant can watch over Lumiose and other parts of Kalos. Take a look." Clemont pointed towards the screen, showing them the sight of other Unown.
The Unown were moving around, some of them in secrecy. They were searching for any trace of Fusion Magic as many of the citizens of Lumiose City were a bit worried, watching as the Symbol Pokemon swarmed the city. They hadn't attacked anyone yet, they were just searching for Fusion Magic.
Normally, because of their very timid and careful character, The Unown choose not to go out to the external world. But they can make an exception with this.
"The same can be said for everywhere else." Clemont went up to the module, changing the screen to show Ambrette Town. And over at Ambrette Town, the Unown was more definitely attacking, meaning that they've found some Fusion Magic. But, the Officer Jenny of this town wouldn't just let that happen as she could be seen arriving to stop this sudden attack.
"As long as there aren't any traces of Fusion Magic, anyone nearby should be safe." Clemont switched the screen back to Lumiose City. "But anyone who does have it, not so much."
"We've yet to drive away the Unown that have shown up here." A worker spoke. "We managed to get out some of the Fusion Magic that was found inside of the facility and send it off somewhere else. It wasn't easy with all those Unown following us."
And speaking of the Unown, appearing right above Clemont and everyone were most of the Symbol Pokemon. At least 25 of them as they phased into existence using their bizarre and potent Psychic powers.
"They're here!" Bonnie looked up. The Unown let out their own cries which were difficult to explain. They acted like Legendary Pokemon in which they don't actually call out their names. Most of them anyway, the Regis are an exception along with a few others.
As they surrounded the group from above in a spiral, each of them collectively used the same move and only move that they can utilize.
Hidden Power.
The 25 Unown shot red energy beams out of their eyes as each of them had a different type behind it despite being Normal of origin. Everyone immediately scattered and bolt off once the Hidden Power came their way.
"Luxray, Electric Terrain!" Clemont ordered.
"Ray!" Luxray released multiple bolts of yellow electricity from his body, causing his body and the surrounding area to glow yellow, powering up all Electric-type moves. The Unown went for yet another Hidden Power since that was all they could do.
"Now's our chance! Come out, Cyndaquill!" Scootaloo threw out her own Pokemon as Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon sent out their own Pokemon. Sweetie Belle had Piplup out already due to the heat.
Out came Scootaloo's Cyndaquil, Apple Bloom's Emolga, Diamond Tiara's Purrloin and Silver Spoon's Glameow.
"They're Psychic so this should be easy. Purrloin, use Night Slash!" Diamond Tiara ordered.
"Purr!" The Devious Pokemon held her claws out as they became cloaked in a scarlet darkness. Afterwards, Purrloin lunged off the floor with the jumping strength of a cat as she slashed her claws twice, hitting two Unown in the process. The two Unown had been knocked back afterwards as they spiralled around.
Unown are strong when together but they are still fragile Pokemon at the end of the day.
"Alright, Luxray, use Thunder Fang!"
"Cyndaquil, use Flame Wheel!"
"Piplup, Bubble Beam!"
"Glameow, Feint Attack!"
"Emolga use Acrobatics!"
"Cynda!" Cyndaquil and the others went on the offensive. Cyndaquil curled into a ball as a spiralling aura of fire covered his body afterwards, matching a wheel. He then rapidly spun around on the floor, leaving a burn mark before charging at some of the Unown.
Luxray's fangs glowed yellow as sparks of yellow electricity surround them. By lunging into the air, it attempted to bite down on some of the Symbol Pokemon. Emolga and Glameow also moved in. Piplup just aggressively shot out a barrage of bubbles from his mouth.
The Unown, in their bizarre ways, frantically moved across the room, evading the moves that came after them. In some cases, they used Hidden Power against the Pokemon. 5 Unown had blasted Piplup's Bubble Beam with Hidden Power Electric, overpowering the beam of bubbles and striking Piplup instead.
"Lup!" The Penguin Pokemon cried out as it took damage equivalent to how he would if hit by an Electric-Type attack.
Some of the Unown had been hit by Emolga's rapid moving Acrobatics but had sacrificed themselves to allow the other Unown to attack from behind. Three red beams shot Emolga from behind, having the power equivalent to Rock-Type.
"Emol!"
"Ray!" Luxray bit into one Unown, knocking it out due to the help of Electric Terrain. The Gleam Eyes Pokemon then tossed the Unown aside before lunging at the next Unown.
"Now use Wild Charge, Luxray!" Luxray was without a doubt the fastest Pokemon here as he started bolting his way towards the Unown, covering his body in lightning as he crashed right into ten of them, knocking the Unown out.
"Cyndaquil!" Cyndaquil moved past Luxray, smashing his flaming body onto some Unown whilst rolling around at almost the speed of the sound. Cyndaquil then made a drift, avoiding the incoming red beams from the Unown.
"Purr!"
"Gla!"
The two cats had some great synergy together considering who their trainers were and their own friendship. With swift and crafty movements, Purrloin and Glameon were able to slash and cut away at the Symbol Pokemon with the power of Dark by their side. The Unown in front of them fainted in one fell swoop from their slashes, however, the two cats were quickly surrounded by other Unown that had each used Hidden Power.
Purrloin and Glameonw had been hit by Hidden Power Fighting as the surrounding beams blew up around them, causing them both to cry out.
"Piplup! Aerial Ace!"
"Emolga, Thunder Shock!"
"Pip!" The Penguin Pokemon lit his wings up as he moved at great speeds that confounded some of the Unown. Afterwards, Piplup slashed his wings onto some Unown whilst Emolga ascended into the air, shooting out electrical shocks that scattered in multiple directions.
These multiple bolts of lightning gave many of the Unown a sudden smite, shocking them all around as the bolts spread out, causing a chain reaction. Practically almost every Unown had been hit by Thunder Shock, and as a bonus, thanks to Electric Terrain, it was stronger than ever.
The Unown had all dropped to the floor like flies after Emolga's Thunder Shock. That one attack seemed to be what was needed to end this as the Electric-Flying-Type descended to the floor.
"Emolga."
"Phew. That could've gone worse." Apple Bloom sighed. "Are they down?"
"Not all. Look!" Clemont pointed as some of the Unown had gotten back up. But they had taken serious damage from all those attacks. They started spinning around, using electromagnetic waves to communicate with each other.
"Are they gonna leave again?" Bonnie asked whilst everyone looked up at them.
"Deden?"
The Unown weren't leaving here yet. Neither were they retreating. Instead, they were up to something else. Coming for an assist were the rest of the Unown as they made their entrance into the generator hall. Now most of them were in here as they all flocked to their fellow Symbol Pokemon. The workers had left the room already by this point. The Unown each got into a formation, replicating the shape of a globe of all things. Everyone stood firm, not knowing what was coming next.
But the Unown certainly did.
All at once, they unified their power as one without having to use Hidden Power. Their eyes emanated a golden glow, similar to the one Arceus possess. Everyone witnessed this golden glow emerge as their bodies had suddenly frozen in place, vibrating. They all then collectively gasped.
"W-What is this?!" Scootaloo noticed how she couldn't move as golden lights were pulsating after that.
"T-They didn't do this before! It must be because there's more of them now!" Clemont strained.
"W-What does that mean?!" Diamond Tiara groaned before remembering the dex entry of Unown. When alone, nothing happens. However, if there are two or more, an odd power is said to emerge. And at this point, there were more than two as they were unleashing amazing power.
And this power went as followed. After the light finally flashed at its brightest, everyone closed their eyes. And before they knew it, their bodies, in the blink of an eye, had been warped out of the generator hall and seemingly existence whilst spiralling around. The last that had been heard was their echoing cries.
Afterwards, the Unown had all flown out of the generator room, still searching for any trace of Fusion Magic. They knew that some Fusion Magic was here for certain. They have a somewhat sixth sense.
But aside from that, the disappearance of Clemont and the others was something that had been unseen. But only seen by the Unown.
It seemed like they were warped away somewhere else. In a sense, they were.
"Mm..." The first to grumble and slowly awake was Apple Bloom. She immediately felt herself lying on something. Something grassy and fairly soft. And once both her eyes opened, they were met with the sight of a grassy field. Gasping as loud as she could, Apple Bloom sat up. "Where are we?!"
Quickly crying out and breathing and out, she felt a rush within her. Being warped from one place to another can be fairly perplexing to the heart. However, once she took a moment to simmer down, she looked at her surroundings, noticing what else was right here.
Clemont and everyone else was with her, thankfully as they were also getting back up. They had slight headaches after that warp, groaning, moaning and straining in the process. Apple Bloom let out a sigh of relief, glad that her friends were okay. However, as she looked up, she noticed something off with the sky.
It was pink.
Not just that, but there seemed to be large mounds of apples, ribbons and trophies scattered across the area. They were replacing mountains and hills as there was more to be seen in the far distance.
"What...?" A dazed Apple Bloom uttered as soon, everyone else noticed the surrounding.
"W-When did we get here? Is this Equestria?" Sweetie Belle spoke.
"No..." Clemont shook his head as he stood up tall. "I've heard about this. This an illusion made by Unown."
"An illusion?" The young children each said as they looked to the horizon of a vibrant and calming pinky sky.
Certainly, this wasn't the first thing Apple Bloom and the others were expecting when setting out on a journey. Coming across the mysterious Unown and their pursuit to destroy anything related to Fusion Magic out there, seemingly unaware of Equestria at the moment.
The journey to Ninja Village would obviously have some instances that would delay the arrival there. But then again, that's what makes it an adventure as the journey continues.
Right now, Clemont's group had been warped into an illusion world by the many Unown. A world filled with pink skies, verdant and soft grass that had the same feeling as a trampoline
"We're in an illusion now? Aw, we fell for it!" Scootaloo groaned.
"Then again...we couldn't tell that it was an illusion with that glowing..." Sweetie Belle sighed. "But what's with all of that?" She pointed at the mountains of trophies, apples and ribbons that were super-sized.
"The Unown have the power to perceive the feelings of others, creating powerful illusions from what I'm told. This is a big example of it."
"Feelings? Uh...I don't remember feeling grass like this." Diamond Tiara shook her head whilst pressing her hoof down on the trampoline-like grass. Her hoof bounces up afterwards due to the friction.
"No. But I did." Silver Spoon spoke. "It was in one of my dreams. I dreamt of bouncing up and down on grass one time and it kinda stuck."
"Wait, this is yours?!" Diamond Tiara turned to her best friend. "Uh...Why?"
"It seemed fun."
"Then those ribbons must be from me and Diamond Tiara, right?" Sweetie Belle looked at the giant ribbons, noticing them as Contest-Style Ribbons instead of traditional ones.
"And those must be my trophies!" Scootaloo cooed at the giant trophies. Apple Bloom didn't need to point out what belonged to her due to the giant apples. "Wait, what do we even do now? And how do we break out of this place?
"Uh...not sure. Being in an illusion isn't really something I'm too knowledgeable on." Clemont laughed nervously scratching his hair. "But it's fine! We'll figure a way out of her!"
"How?" Bonnie asked.
"With science, of course!" Clemont raised his finger before lowering his head. "Unfortunately, I didn't invent anything for this yet. But I will soon!"
"Well, might as well check this place out. Might find an exit." Sweetie Belle was the first to gallop along, choosing to explore this place and see if there was a way out. Everyone else followed afterwards, heading for the mountain of objects before them.
All the while, walking on the soft bouncy grass. Speaking of which, they were so fond of its friction that they started actually bouncing on it. And of course, Silver Spoon was the first to do so. This was essentially her idea in the first place. And this was a much better way to travel than just walking.
The height they received with this bouncing was fairly satisfying as they even did some tricks in the air just to be stylish. For a moment, they were forgetting that they had just been pulled into an illusionary world by some aggressive Unown.
"Woohoo! Bouncy grass isn't a bad idea, Silver Spoon!" Diamond Tiara giggled.
"I know right?!" Silver Spoon responded whilst doing a front flip and crossing her hooves, showing off what she learned during her dreams. The Pokemon were certainly enjoying this as well as everyone was heading straight for one of the trophies here.
"Have you thought of something yet, Clemont?" Bonnie asked while bouncing around, holding Dedenne.
"Hm...Well, if we want to escape from here..." Clemont put his hand on his chin while bouncing around on the soft grass. "We'll have to try and use this world to our advantage. Since this illusion is made of our feelings and things we like, then it's safe to assume everything here we respond to our mind."
"Our mind?" Scootaloo repeated.
"Mhm. The Unown want to keep us here as long as they can so that they can have all the time in the world to eliminate every source of Fusion Magic." Clemont theorized.
"Oh, so it's like Luna's Dreamworld?" Sweetie Belle said whilst Piplup flew over her.
"Uh...Whatever that is sure." Clemont shrugged. "If I'm right...If we think of an exit, it might appear."
"Oh. Really? Then in that case..." Diamond Tiara closed her eyes, sticking her tongue out as she wished for an exit out of this illusionary world, despite how nice it may be.
And just like that, without any time to waste, a giant door had emerged right in front of everything as they were bouncing. Fittingly, it resembled the door of her home.
"Hah! Easy!" Diamond Tiara cackled as she went ahead of everyone with a higher and longer bounce. "Now let's get out here and-"
Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple.
Appearing in front of the door was the unexpected. Something that could be considered a massive obstacle, a huge brick wall preventing them from advancing. And that so-called brick wall ended up destroying the door when it came crashing down, causing the soft and bouncy grass to tremble and crack.
Everyone immediately stopped bouncing as they either fell flat on their faces or their backs, ending the fun. "Ow!" They all collectively said in pain.
"Going somewhere?" Just then, a voice echoed in their direction. And that voice came straight from the force that had destroyed the bouncy grass and the door. Everyone held their head before immediately looking up. And what they saw shocked them. At least, the fillies. Clemont and Bonnie were exempt from this.
A giant Cheerilee was standing before them.
"Miss Cheerilee?!" The five foals gasped.
"Hello, girls~!" The giant Cheerilee waved with an innocent whistle. "Bet you thought it would be that easy to leave here, wouldn't it?"
"I thought you wished for a door to exit here! Our entrance is gone!" Silver Spoon exclaimed.
"I did!" Diamond Tiara responded. "I didn't think of Ms Cheerilee!"
"So the Unown can interact with this world even outside of it?" Clemont gasped as he caught on. He was a fast thinker after all.
"Sorry. But I can't allow you to leave." The giant Cheerilee shook her head.
"Yeah well...I don't want you here!" Diamond Tiara shouted as she gave out another wish. And with that shout, Cheerilee's eyes opened up as she scrunched her face, knowing what was coming next.
"Uh oh." The last words she said before she up and vanished in thin air. Diamond Tiara had just sent away a massive obstacle and would aim to wish for the exit back.
At least, that seemed to be the case, until the giant Cheerilee emerged once more, appearing in the same spot she stood before, much to their surprise.
"Just kidding!" She whistled. "Like I said I can't allow you to leave!" And suddenly, Cheerilee's appearance started warping a bit as her teeth intensified as she now bared fangs. Her mane even gained a sharper appearance along with her eyes mating lizards. The transformed Cheerilee then swung her hoof towards Clemont and the others to try and knock them away.
"Woah-Woah-Woah!" Clemont gasped as he and everyone immediately started bolting off in the other direction. The hoof scraped the ground, causing parts of it to be destroyed in the process.
"Who's the one who thinks about Ms Cheerilee like that?!" Scootaloo backed up.
"Sorry! She's just really scary sometimes when she's upset with me!" Diamond Tiara confessed, revealing that it was her.
While running, Apple Bloom chose to think of the exit out of here herself. She closed her eyes, wishing for a way out of here. And her wish came true. Right in front of everyone while they were running, a large hole could be seen instead of a door.
The giant Cheerilee had then galloped, causing the ground to shake as she had spotted the exit made by Apple Bloom. Clemont and the others took a large leap to try and get as far away from the giant as possible. And it was a success. They all managed to pass through the hole as it had ended up closing.
But it didn't take them outside of the illusion.
Instead, once they fell out, they all hit the ground. A different ground. All of them landed on each other with Clemont being the cushion since he jumped through first.
"Ugh..." Clemont groaned after being a shield for them, cushioning the impact. The area that they were in now was one giant amusement park. Filled with coasters, food stands, various rides and more. Noticeably, they resembled the rides seen from the Pokemon Festival. Both the first one and the second one.
"Wait!" Apple Bloom sat up. "This isn't the real world! I wished to go back! What gives?!"
"I think I get it now." Clemont stood up as everyone got off of him. "If we try and leave here, the illusion of the Unown will just take us elsewhere or change the outcome."
"Ah! That's not fair!" Bonnie moaned. "Then how do we get out of here!?"
"Still thinking of a way here..." Clemont pondered. "There has to be a workaround with the Unown."
"Then...how about this?" Scootaloo came up with her own idea of overcoming this illusion. "I wish for the Unown to be defeated!"
She bellowed at the top of her lungs as her voice echoed across this illusionary world, breaking some of the glass in this amusement park and even reaching the clouds. Scootaloo most definitely amplified her voice just to make herself sound more majestic.
But nothing happened.
"Aw, seriously?!" Scootaloo groaned.
"Just like I thought. Anything related to beating Unown and leaving here is blocked out. But aside from that..." Clemont held his hand out as he made a Poke Ball appear out of thin air, holding it. "We can wish for anything else."
"That's right." Responding to Clemont's words was the familiar voice of the illusionary yet somehow real, terrifying and gigantic Ms Cheerilee.
She broke right through the sky of this illusionary world with little effort. The sky had shattered as the giant teacher made a fairly impressive entrance. She stomped her hoof on the ground, trembling the whole amusement park in the process.
"Time to go!" Clemont cried out as everyone immediately rushed off to try and escape from Cheerilee again. Making another exit would just be redundant. They would have to figure something else out while running from a giant illusionary teacher.
The amusement park's size could be of great benefit. Scootaloo and Silver Spoon immediately hopped onto a roller coaster whilst Cheerilee galloped at her prey. Clemont and Bonnie went inside of a ride that was in the shape and theme of a cave whilst Diamond Tiara, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom chose a water slide ride.
The coaster instantly started up once the two ponies entered it. And instead of taking time to build up speed, this ride moved rapidly instantly. The coaster moved upwards as the ride was in the shape of a Rayquaza moving around. With her fangs baring, the giant Cheerilee took a bite out of the coaster tracks.
One bit and she had ripped off a large part of the ride, shaking the track and carts that Scootaloo and Silver Spoon were on, almost throwing the coaster off balance. Cheerilee then went for it again. This time with her hooves.
"Sorry about this Miss Cheerilee! Cyndaquil, use Swift!"
"Cynda!" Cyndaquil jumped out of the ride, swinging his blazing tail forward as hyper-fast golden stars came flying out, rapidly pelting and bombarding Cheerilee in the face.
"Ough!" The giant Cheerilee cried out as she had been pushed back a bit by Cyndaquil's swift. However, she immediately returned the favour by swinging her hoof, smacking the Fire Mouse Pokemon aside. The force of her swing was so great that it even knocked the cart off the track from the wind pressure it made.
"Woah!" Scootaloo, Silver Spoon, Cyndaquil and Glameow started screaming as they had been thrown off the ride. The illusionary Miss Cheerilee then held her other hoof out, catching the four of them instead of allowing them to fall to their doom. Even if this was all an illusion. But it felt so real.
"Don't worry about it." The illusionary Cheerilee said to them. "You can stay here in this wonderful world for as much as you want without having to worry about too much. Let the Unown get rid of all of that Fusion Magic, okay? Okay."
"Mm-mm!" Scootaloo shook her head. "No thank you! Pachirisu, come out and use Spark!"
"Pachi!" Emerging out of her Poke Ball without it needing to be thrown was the EleSquirrel Pokemon, Pachirisu. With a coating of electricity, she shot out of her ball like a rocket, smashing right into the giant Cheerilee's face. giving her 20,000 volts of shocking electricity.
Cheerilee scrunched her face as she quickly retaliated by whacking Pachirisu to the side with her head. The EleSquirrel Pokemon hit the tracks before fainting on the ground.
"Pachirisu!" Scootaloo gasped as Cheerilee curled her hooves up, holding the four of the tight and close. The giant then turned around, facing the cave that Clemont and Bonnie hid in.
With a purposeful grimace, she smashed her hoof through the hole in the cave, startling Clemont and Bonnie as a wide hole had been made. And through the hole, the giant Cheerilee looked through with her lizard-like eyes.
Clemont and Bonnie made a run for it as the giant illusionary Cheerilee then swung her hoof, smashing the top half of the cave ride off. The brother and sister went further into the ride as Cheerilee kept obliterating the cave with her hooves, not slowing down for anything.
And all the while she kept that wonderful and cheerful smile on her face that the real Cheerilee always holds. Seeing Cheerilee holding and attacking their friends, Apple Bloom and the others decided to try and do something.
"Make her lose!" Apple Bloom wished, but nothing happened. "Guess that doesn't count too. Fine! Emolga, use Thunder Shock, go!"
"Mol! Emolga!" Flying upwards out of the water slide that she and her friends were sliding down on, the Electric-Flying-Type soared through the sky before unleashing a blast of lightning from his body. The blast split up in multiple directions, but due to Cheerilee's side, all of them could hit one target.
Right from behind, the giant Cheeriee had been shocked by a collection of 10,000 volts each. Her mane frizzed up as she was actually frozen in place for a bit. Unfortunately, that ended up shocking Scootaloo, Cyndaquil, Silver Spoon and Glameow in the process.
And even more, unfortunately, Cheerilee easily shook it off as she let out a cheerful yet intimidating laugh whilst still holding on to her targets. And with that laugh, she had summoned something.
High in the skies, even though the cracked sky that Cheerilee broke through, something started falling. An assortment of items. Familiar and recognizable to any.
Chairs, tables, large chalk, rulers and a giant chalkboard. All objects that could be found in a classroom. And it was fitting considering her role. But aside from that, hundreds of these objects started falling from above, having the potency to crush any small target they come across.
"Oh!" Apple Bloom and the others gasped as the objects started crashing down, damaging the amusement park as they were surprisingly heavy. The ponies used the water slide to their advantage, attempting to escape from the falling classroom items. The items also broke through the cave ride, almost hitting Clemont and Bonnie.
The water slide was being damaged, breaking the balance and position of it as the fillies held onto it for dear life. As for Cheerilee herself, raised her hoof, stomping on the ground and creating an earthquake. All of the rides trembled and even lost balance from the force of her stomp.
Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Bele collectively flew off of the slide when the ride was being broke apart by the objects and the earthquake. They used the end of the slide to do so, which was fairly high up.
By flying off, the three fillies went all the way towards one of the attractions here that also exist in the Pokemon Festival. The Tangrowth Swing-a-long attraction. They put their hooves onto the vines, wrapping around them as they were now dangling in the air with objects raining. Their Pokemon also held on as well.
Cheerilee then turned to face them as she started galloping after the fillies and their Pokemon, ready to rip the vines off with her sharp fangs. With loud screeches, the ponies started swinging on the vines, building up momentum instantly with their wishes. They started swinging from vine to vine whilst the giant Cheerilee started biting on the vines behind them, tearing them to shreds in just 2 seconds.
She then pursued them by tearing more of the vines apart.
"Grrh! Ponyta, help!" Scootaloo called out for another one of her Pokemon. And from the Poke Ball, out came the Fire Horse Pokemon.
"Ponyta!" Immediately when he emerged, Ponyta descended to the ground instead of landing on the giant Cheerilee's hoof. But this was for a good reason.
Once down on the ground, the Fire Horse Pokemon used Double Kick, bucking his hooves right onto hers. And one good hit from that potent Double KIck was enough to make her illusionary bones tremble.
"OW!" The giant Cheerilee cried out as that kick actually stung. Afterwards, Pachirisu got back up, using Spark, zigzagging across the area like a lightning bolt, avoiding the objects. The EleSquirrel Pokemon then smashed into Cheerilee's other hoof, giving her a shock and an impact. Cheerilee cried out as her grip on Scootaloo and the others weakened.
This allowed Scootaloo's group to escape by running on the giant Cheerilee's hoof. The giant Cheerilee shook her head, looking down at the Fire Horse and EleSquirrel Pokemon. But, she didn't focus on the fact that her prey had escaped from her and were running on her hooves. That is until she felt something run across her body, giving her a slight tickle.
"Cyndaquil! Flame Wheel!"
"Glameow, Sand Attack!"
"Cynda!" The Fire Mouse Pokemon curled into a ball, summoning an aura of fire around him as he rolled on the giant Cheerilee's hoof, leaving a trail of fire on it.
"Hot! HOT!" The giant cried out as Cyndaquil rolled fast and high enough to hit her in the face whilst then rolling on her back. Glameow's paw glowed an orange colour as she generated sand.
"Gla!" She then swung her paw, sending sand into Cheerilee's eyes, blinding her and obscuring her vision in the process. All of this gave Scootaloo and the others their escape as they slid down the giant Cheerilee's tail.
"In here!" Clemont cried out as he had found another ride to hide in. It was in the shape of a Tyranitar mouth as everyone went towards his and Bonnie's direction.
Everyone followed them as Diamond Tiara's group slid down the last remaining vines, descending to the ground. They all avoided the falling classroom items along the way. And if they couldn't, their Pokemon could handle it by destroying the objects with various Pokemon moves.
Afterwards, they all entered inside of the Tyranitar cave whilst the giant Cheerilee was still a bit blinded from Sand Attack. Plus she was recovering from the injured hooves and burn she had received.
"Whew..." Sweetie Belle sighed as they all sat on the ground. "For an illusion...this all feels pretty real."
"Yeah. About that..." Clemont scratched his hair. "I've figured out that this is just more than some illusion. This is actually another form of reality that we're in. That would explain our bodies being warped."
"Well, that doesn't make it any better." Silver Spoon shook her head as they could hear the sound of Cheerilee moving once more as her voice echoed throughout the amusement park.
"Children! Where are you~?"
"Please tell me you've come up with something to get us out of here." Apple Bloom pleaded as she gulped. They were all in the deepest part of this Tyranitar ride, so they were safe for now.
"Hm-hm-hm-hm!" Clemont let out a chuckle before pushing his glasses up. "Glad you brought that up. Because indeed, after some time, I've found the perfect way to escape from our little predicament."
"Well, what is it?" The CMC leaned forward.
"Since this world won't allow us to leave no matter what we do, I figured that the best way to break free is to defeat the Unown themself. And the way to do that is by dragging them in here."
"Oh...How?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"We have three ways of doing this. I can use the test tube to drive them out. It has what they want to destroy. Then we can disrupt their focus with this!" Clemont stood up before pulling something out of his bag. "The future is now thanks to science!"
Out of his bag, an invention in the shape of a fan came out as it had large speakers on the side as well as a dial with various levels on it.
"The Unown seem to communicate with electromagnetic waves instead of Telepathy like most Psychic-Type Pokemon. And like anything that utilizes electromagnetism, it can be disrupted by something that can block it all out. This will do the trick. One use of this and the low frequency will disrupt the magnetic aliments. The lowest setting is the way to go."
"Lowest? Wait, not highest?" Scootaloo scratched her mane.
"Not at all." Clemont shook his head. "Now, there is a second way, but that's harder to accomplish. We'd have to find a high force of power so great that it can counter the spell that the Unown made. So, this was the easier way."
"Then hurry and use it!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed as Cheerilee's giant footsteps sounded like they were getting closer. Many classroom objects were starting to break this ride apart as well.
"Right!" Clemont nodded as he pulled out the tube from his pocket, raising it in the air. "Unown! I have a tube of Fusion Magic with me! If you want it, come and get it!"
His voice echoed and rang through the Tyranitar ride. The giant Cheerilee's ears twitched after hearing that as she moved her head around, heading for the direction where she heard that sound.
However, she quickly stopped when she saw something else appear from above. Breaking through the rest of the pink sky were the Symbol Pokemon themselves, appearing in massive droves. It seemed that the ones from the power plant had all shown up here.
They swarmed around the sky, heading for Clemont's direction as they immediately responded to his call. And why wouldn't they? Any chance they can get to eliminate Fusion Magic or anything related to Rift, and they'll take it.
Some of the Unown used Hidden Power, firing red beams from their eyes, blasting holes through it and revealing Clemont's group. The Unown had then spotted the tube being held by Clemont as they had found their target. Immediately, they descended towards the Tyranitar ride.
"Now!" Clemont placed the test tube back in his pocket before activating the machine. One usage and the fan around it started spinning. Once the fan spun, it reacted to the speakers on the side. And out of those speakers came low-frequency waves that went straight for the Symbol Pokemon.
When they were close enough, the waves worked their magic. They were visible in the form of yellow soundwaves as they engulfed the Psychic-Types immediately. The Unown received high voltage from the frequency as the alignment of their bodies were being broken out of focus.
Some of the Unown started dropping like flies, unable to handle all of this. Just like how Clemont planned. One by one in seconds they were being taken out by the low frequency. Everyone was cheering as the chances of them breaking free from this world were high. They even noticed the pink sky rippling.
"Yes! Just a bit more and we're out of here! Let's make it lower!" Clemont turned to the machine, ready to decrease the frequency some more to speed up the process.
However, that's when the giant Cheerilee took action. With one hard stomp of her hoof, she created yet another earthquake, causing Clemont and the others to fall over. Especially the invention. With it falling over, the soundwaves went in an opposite direction, but they were still wide enough to affect some of the Unown.
Seeing how big of a threat the machine was, some of the Unown focused their attacks on the machine, firing Hidden Power from their eyes.
"Luxray!" Luxray shielded the machine by using the aura of Wild Charge as a shield. Luxray closed his eyes as the beams of Hidden Power rained down on him. Bonnie and Sweetie Belle went over the machine, holding it to try and put its position back to normal.
The giant Cheerilee had finally found them as she ripped the whole Tyranitar roof off with her teeth. Now they were certainly in a deep corner right now.
"Pony!" Ponyta and Cyndaquil opened their mouths, shooting out sparks of flames whilst Pachirisu fired a concentrated bundle of electricity. Each attack struck the giant Cheerilee forcing her back.
But there was still the issue of the Unown. The machine had been placed back into position by the two children. However, the Unown kept firing those red beams with various types inside of them. Some of the Hidden Power Ground within it as Luxray couldn't take anymore.
The Hidden Power Ground broke through Luxray's aura of electricity, damaging and knocking the Gleam Eyes Pokemon back. "Lux!" Luxray cried out as he crashed into the machine. Afterwards, the Unown then went to a higher height to distance themselves away from the low frequency. Altogether, they used a bombardment of Hidden Power towards the machine.
Clemont held the machine as he tried running off with it. But it was too late. The red beams moved too fast for him to avoid as they struck the ground near him, knocking Clemont off his feet whilst also making the machine fall over again. "This isn't good! We won't be able to beat them all at this rate!" Clemont cried out.
"Then let's try that other plan!" Silver Spoon exclaimed while her Glameow and the rest of the Pokemon were trying to hold the giant Cheerilee back. Some were being smacked away by her hoof. Silver Spoon caught Glameow, who had been hit by a giant hoof. "Glameow! Are you okay?!"
"The other plan isn't so easy! What we need is some form of power that can match or surpass the Unown! But together, they're far too strong!" Clemont cried out.
"Power...?" Sweetie Belle moved her eyes around as her own brain was starting to process something. Something that could solve their problem and get them out of here. Her eyes then flashed and widened as she grinned. "I got it! Come out, Espurr!"
Emerging from her Poke Ball by force was the Restraint Pokemon "Espurr!"
"Oh, that's right! Espurr's ears restrain its true power!" Clemont gasped. "That could work!"
"Okay, Espurr! Open those ears and release everything!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"Es..." Espurr nodded in understanding as she allowed the restraints around her ears to be dropped. With that, the true Psychic power that Espurr holds back could be unleashed. "Purr!"
With an echoing voice, Espurr exuded enough Psychic energy to blast everything within 300 feet of herself, right in the shape of a radius too. It sounded like a bomb going off as well as a shockwave as everyone near Espurr had been blown back by this amazing force, even her own trainer and friends.
The giant Cheerilee was about to take another swipe at the Pokemon before having her body struck by Espurr's Psychic pulse. She was even knocked off her feet by it. "Oh my!"
The pulse spread across the air, heading for the sky as the Unown weren't safe from this either. They had been stopped in place in response to the Psychic blast from Espurr. And it wasn't a one time. Espurr was allowing this attack to continue. It won't end until this illusion breaks.
Unfortunately, the machine had been destroyed by Espurr's blast as everyone closed their ears. However, despite how effective her true power was, the Unown could counter this.
They formed together as they merged their own Psychic power to fight back against Espurr. They did this by emitting a purple pulse, similar to Espurr's.
"Purr?!" Espurr noticed that her own Psychic power was being pushed back suddenly. When the Unown come together, an odd power is formed as the dex says. And they've proven that a couple of times. The Restraint Pokemon closed her eyes as her feet were being scraped on the ground.
"Espurr! Hang in there!" Sweetie Belle cried out whilst everyone was being pushed back by the clash of Psychic waves. Espurr was really giving it everything she had. This was all her Psychic power had to give out.
"Break their focus, Emolga! Use Acrobatics!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.
"Emo-" But the moment Emolga even dared get close, the Psychic blast would just knock her away. "Molga!"
"No good! The Psychic blasts around the area are too great!" Clemont groaned whilst holding onto his little sister. As if things couldn't get any worse, more Unown were showing up for the tube of Fusion Magic.
"Espurr! Pull back! Return!" Sweetie Belle cried out. But Espurr refused to return. If there's any chance of them breaking out of this world, Espurr was their chance. She would do everything in her power to make it happen.
"E-Esp...Espurr!" The Restraint Pokemon whimpered as the ground below her was shattering. Not only that, but the whole amusement park was falling apart. The sky was trembling too.
The best option was to head somewhere else in this illusion world. Sweetie Belle held out Espurr's Poke Ball, trying to return her. But by using her own wish, Espurr negated it as she stayed in. Sweetie Belle's jaw dropped, seeing how much determination that Espurr was giving out despite her disadvantage.
That's when the unexpected occurred.
Espurr's body started glowing a beautiful silver colour. Afterwards, that silver light brightened into a stunning white before ascending, transforming into a pillar. Pink psychic sparkles could be seen rising as a giant purple eye flashed around the pillar.
Everyone watched in awe as the Psychic blast struggle was being halted for a moment. Now, no side was winning the struggle. At least, that seemed to be the case. That is until the pillar exploded with Psychic energy, blowing the Unown back a bit as Espurr's own blast was moving forward. Or at least, it used to be Espurr.
Now it was Meowstic.
Evolution was finally here.
"Meowstic!"
"Oh! Espurr! You evolved!" Sweetie Belle stood up tall with her heart racing. She immediately took out her Pokedex to read her partner's new form.
"Meowstic. The Constraint Pokemon. Female Form. When in danger, it raises its ears and releases enough psychic power to grind a 10-ton truck into dust. The eyeball patterns on the interior of its ears emit psychic energy. It keeps the patterns tightly covered because that power is too immense. Females are a bit more selfish and aggressive than males. If they don’t get what they want, they will torment you with their psychic abilities. If it doesn’t hold back when it unleashes its psychic power, it can tear apart a tanker. Its unfriendliness is part of its charm."
"Meow!" With greater power than ever, Meowstic gained a temporary boost in power with an adrenaline rush. After all, when a Pokemon evolves, its power skyrockets for a few minutes. Afterwards, everything returns to normal. The blast of Meowstic was so great that it overpowered the Unown.
All of the Unown had been struck by a greater force. One hit and the struggle had ended. Clouds separated as the amusement park trembled. Not only that, but Meowstic's amazing power did what needed to be done.
It was so great that the illusionary world was actually affected too. Many of the Unown had fainted from the Psychic blast, once again, falling like flies. Due to how many of them had been defeated, the illusionary world was unable to contain itself without proper concentration.
And because of this, it was coming to an end. Clemont and the others smiled as they saw the sky itself wobble with the ground morphing. The giant Cheerilee looked at herself, noticing that she was starting to fizzle out.
"Oh, what a shame." She sighed. "Oh well. At least I can exist in dreams, so it's not a total loss."
"Yes! It worked! Everything's falling apart!" Scootaloo cheered as the last thing they all saw was a bright golden light engulfing the whole world.
And that was it.
The real world. Kalos Power Plant.
"Oh!" Sweetie Belle gasped as she and her friends were back to reality. Safe and sound too. Thank goodness they didn't faint after returning. Smiles graced their face as Meowstic stood there, crossing her arms.
"Meow." She was definitely more emotive as a Meowstic and had some sass now.
"Meowstic!" Sweetie Belle lunged over, hugging her ace. "You're so amazing! Look at you now!"
"Meow-Meowstic!"
As for the Unown, due to their defeat, they immediately called for a large retreat. They had lost and saw how big of a threat Clemont and the others were. And if they were going to be here at the Power Plant constantly, they would rather pass out on this.
Everyone watched as the Unown fled from the Power Plant, disappearing with a flash of purple Psychic energy. And that solved that problem. They all collectively sighed after going through that rollercoaster of a scenario.
"Finally. Haha...We got to have our own intense adventure...how great is that?" Scootaloo giggled while exhausted. And for a good reason, The moon had actually risen, showing how long they were in that world.
"Can't believe you dragged us into this...But it was worth it." Diamond Tiara nodded in agreement as they all laughed together, wanting to relax for a little while longer.
Outside the power plant.
"Thanks for the help you all," Clemont said as he and Bonnie faced the five ponies and their Pokemon. "I've kept a low-frequency machine inside of the facility permanently. That should keep them away from the Power Plant for a long time."
"No problem! It was nothing, really?" Scootaloo smirked.
"Happy to help!" Apple Bloom nodded.
"Now, let's continue to Ninja Village before the contest starts." Sweetie Belle said.
"Oh! You're off to Ninja Village?!" Bonnie gasped.
"You know it? We're heading there after hearing what Ash told us about it. Since we're on our own journey, that's the main place we wanna go to." Sweetie Belle explained. "Hopefully soon."
"Ash, huh?" Clemont smiled. "Well, if it helps, how about we show you the way there? We've been there once before."
"Really? Oh yeah, that'd be great!" Silver Spoon exclaimed before jumping up. "This map is too useless!"
"Leave the guide to me." Clemont pointed his thumb at himself. "We'll be at Ninja Village in no time. Two days maximum. Maybe one."
"Thank you. But uh...can we sleep first. I'm beat." Diamond Tiara sighed.
"Way ahead of ya'll." Apple Bloom already took out the essential tents from out of her bag. "We've got a lot to tell Applejack and the others when we get back!"
"You think they'll be a bit mad at us when they find out?" Sweetie Belle walked over towards the tents with her friends.
"I know Rainbow Dash is gonna love this. This is the start of something big! Scootaloo exclaimed as they all took out their sleeping tents from their bags.
An odd turn for their first day adventuring together. But an exciting one either way. They had encountered the elusive Unown and now they're aware of the Unowns mission to eliminate all traces of Rift energy. But aside from that, Ninja Village is still their main objective as the journey continues.
"Ooh. You're lending us some Shift Stones?" Starlight said as Trixie was currently visiting Ponyville.
"Just a gift of thanks. That's all." Trixie said. "Besides, these can be useful for when they really count, right?"
"Guess so. Don't you think so, Twilight?" Starlight turned to Twilight.
"Well...They could be of some use. I mean, they are Rift related right?" Twilight responded.
"Oh, they sure are." Cold Colt put his hoof on one of the stones, feeling the familiar cosmic energy flow through him. It tickled him a bit as he giggled. "I'll take one."
"You should come over and see my show at my school. M-My students actually. I won't be performing. Apparently, the teachers and principal aren't allowed to perform or whatever." Trixie scoffed as her love for performing had been robbed due to school laws.
"Well, thank you, Trixie." Starlight took a Shift Stone from her friend. "We'll use these right. For uh..whatever reason we may have."
"Mhm." Cold twirled his stone around with his magic as it had reacted to his magic since they both share a similar origin. "Applejack might like this, don't ya think?"
"Well...Maybe not now. Since..." Twilight scrunched her face as she pointed her hoof to the side. Right near were the two ponies, Applejack and Rarity. And currently, they were both shaking uncontrollably with petrified looks on their faces. And it was for one reason.
Their sisters.
Impatient and worried about them being in the Pokemon World, Applejack and Rarity immediately took out their Xtransceivers to see how their little sisters were.
"PleasebeokayPleasebeokayPleasebeokay!" Applejack rapidly said as she was aggressively tapping on the Xtransceiver, not having any focus due to how worried she was.
"What if she got herself involved with the wrong company?!" Rarity also started aggressively tapping on the device whilst thinking of situations her little sister could've ended up in.
In her mind, she imagined Sweetie Belle joining a gang, wearing all black clothing. A delinquent or hooligan is one of the worst-case scenarios that Rarity could think of.
After almost breaking their Xtransceiver screens and buttons, they managed to call their little sisters, waiting for a response from them. The devices rang as the two sisters bit their hooves in anticipation. It rang for 15 seconds as their hearts were racing uncontrollably.
Eventually, they had answered. Rarity and Applejack collectively sighed. Their sisters were fine, but they did have tired eyes since it was early in the morning.
"Never mind. They'll be fine now." Twilight nodded.
"Well, I'll be taking my leave now," Trixie said. "Come along Misdreavus. I'm looking to evolve you soon. Where's that Evolution Valley place?"
"Just to the North East." Starlight answered.
"Got it. Mismagius here I come~!" Trixie whistled as she and Misdreavus went on their merry way.
"Misdrea!
In the meantime, Rarity and Applejack were having a conversation with their two sisters, asking if they were okay and how things have gone so far. And one of the answers they gave out was surprising.
"Unown?" Applejack said.
"Mhm!" Apple Bloom nodded. "They're like these alphabet Pokemon and some other symbols and they do a lot of weird stuff."
"Yeah! And they used to be the arms of Arceus that made the whole Pokemon World!" Sweetie Belle said from the other side of the screen. There was no point in having two calls on since the two foals were in the same area with each other.
"Arceus? Really?" Rarity replied.
"Eeyup! And then they took us to an illusion world!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Then we got to fight a giant fake Ms Cheerilee in an amusement park and in a power plant too!"
"You WHAT?!" Applejack bellowed.
"We're close to Ninja Village soon! Someone named Clemont and his sister Bonnie are leading us there. Right now we're in Anistar City! Can't wait to head back and show you some sweet ninja tricks!" Sweetie Belle cheered with Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in the background.
"Ninja!" The three of them cried out.
"Oh, gotta go now! We'll bring you back some souvenirs!" said Apple Bloom as she and everyone waved goodbye to them on the screen. Including Clemont and Bonnie.
"Wait! Apple Bloom! Who are those two?!" Applejack shuddered, asking questions as fast as she could.
"No need to worry!" Apple Bloom said her last words before ending the call. And Sweetie Belle as well. The two sisters let out one final sigh, worrying about their younger siblings as they groaned, raising their heads to the sky.
"Come on you two." Just then, along came Twilight, standing between them with a beaming smile. "Your sisters are gonna be fine. And if something goes wrong, Absol will be the first to notice. Right, Absol?"
"Sol."
"You're right. Should've gone along with 'em though..." Applejack grumbled. "I don't know what these Unown are but they don't sound too good if they can cause illusions like that."
"Oh, the Unown?" Twilight used her magic to bring a book from her lab here, showing it to Applejack and Rarity. She then opened the book, revealing the page of the Unown and what they are said to be. "They're just the seemingly metaphorical or possibly literal 1000 arms of Arceus. And if that's the case, they've got a lot of power behind them. Especially if multiple of them are together."
"That doesn't make it any better darling..." Rarity gulped as Twilight squeed, apologizing.
"Right, sorry."
Out in the mountains of Equestria.
Ever since the clock-shaped door had been spotted by that one single pegasus doing his job like normal, it's been theorized that it could've been the land from foals tales and myths. A place called Pegalysium. But, it's considered a myth and a foal's tale for a reason. It's only been said in stories. No one in the current day has witnessed it. Even those from the past are clueless about this.
Celestia had sent some lookout in the skies to see if they could spot this clock-shaped door once more. And if they can, there's a chance that Pegalysium truly does exist. Celestia herself was standing out in the mountains with Passion and Arcanine while Luna was by her side.
While Celestia was looking up at the sky, Luna was currently in the midst of a Pokemon Battle, attempting to catch herself a Manectric and add it to her team.
"Manectric!" The Discharge Pokemon ran at Luna with Wild Charge, moving at the speed of a lightning bolt too, zigzagging around.
"Here it comes, Aurorus! Use Earth Power as a shield!"
"Auro!" The Tundra Pokemon stomped her feet on the ground before summoning giant mounds of stone. After erupting from the ground, the mounds had surrounded Aurorus, acting as a shield for her.
ManeCtric ended up crashing into the giant rock mounds, taking super-effective damage in the process too from the orange energy that they emanated. "Mane! The Discharge Pokemon cried out as it lost its footing.
"Now, Aurora Beam!"
"Rorus!" Aurorus unleashed a rainbow-coloured beam that broke through the mounds by opening her mouth, appearing before Manectric. The Electric-Type had been engulfed by this multi-coloured beam before being blown back afterwards.
"Hm...Nothing yet." In the meanwhile, Celestia was still looking up at the sky for Pegalysium. "Perhaps that might be the way to go beyond the clouds..."
She said this while Luna was having a battle against Manectric. Sparks of electricity were flying about along with chunks of rocks and ice. Each of them had missed Celestia and had struck the mountains instead.
"Aurorus!" Aurorus slid on the ground after receiving a Psychic Fangs from Manectric.
"Let us finish this! Outrage!"
"Auro...Rus!" Aurorus' body started giving off a red aura as her eyes flashed red as well. Manectric charged in with another Wild Charge, this time moving faster than before.
The Discharge Pokemon smashed into Aurorus head-on with a burst of electricity sparking out. Aurorus closed her eyes as her body was twitching with electricity surrounding it. Manectric received recoil damage from the impact. However, Aurorus took the attack like a champ as she let out a grin.
"Mane?!"
"Rus!" After being struck by Wild Charge, Aurorus let Manetric have it as she used the full force of Outrage on the Discharge Pokemon, smashing her hoof onto its back.
One smash and Manectric was sent to the ground, causing a large dust cloud. The Discharge Pokemon could then be seen tumbling out of the smoke cloud after Aurorus' Outrage.
"Now's my chance! Go, Great Ball!" Seeing an opportunity, Luna used her magic to take out a Great Ball from her saddlebag. She then launched the ball towards Manectric as the Great Ball made contact. It then pulled the Electric-Type in with a red light before landing on the ground. Now the shaking could begin.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Manectric was caught.
"Huzzah! Excellent work Aurorus! Now we have a Manectric on our side!" Luna cheered whilst flying up with excitement and victory in her heart.
"Aurorus!"
Luna retrieved the Great Ball from afar with her magic, looking at it. She then turned to face her big sister who was still locking her eyes onto the sky. Passion was sitting a small rocky step, rocking about and thinking of a catchy tune whilst Arcanine was too busy dozing off. A Butterfree landed on Arcanine's nose without him noticing. Not even the battle that Luna just had was enough to wake him up.
"Well, sister." Luna flew over. "Have you figured out how we are supposedly going to go beyond the normal skies and clouds? Nopony has accomplished such a feat before. Even when I was sent to the moon, it was out of my control."
"Oh, I've found a way alright." Celestia nodded. "Maybe we can't pass through with how we are now. However, perhaps we can in the form of Celestial-Gardevoir?"
"That form? Oh..." Luna thought for a moment. "It is incredibly powerful yes. Perhaps that actually can break through the natural sky level."
"If Passion and I end up spotting Pegalysium itself up there, then we won't engage with it. It will just be confirmation that it exists."
"That's it?" The Moon Princes squinted her eyes. "Just confirming that it exists? Sister. Don't you want to get into the adventuring spirit and see what this entire land in the sky has to offer? What the pegasi are like up there and such?"
"Is Ash's adventurous spirit rubbing off on you?" Celestia said whilst Luna nudged her.
"Perhaps."
"If there's a chance I see it, I can't be too sure if the pegasi living there are friend or foe. If they've distanced themselves from Equestria entirely, they must not see us as 'wanted company'. Or even meddling and coming across a land and nation they built away from everypony else. And if that's their decision, then so be it. Passion."
"Garde?" The Embrace Pokemon blinked, looking over at her best friend.
"It's time. Let's become one and ascend through those skies." Celestia said with a nod.
"Gardevoir." Passion nodded back as she levitated off the step before landing next to Celestia. The Sun Princess then took out her Mega Stone from her flowing ethereal mane, ready to transcend evolution.
The Keystone responded to her heart as a dazzling golden light flew out, surrounding Passion. Red lights also emerged, connecting with the golden lights as Celestia's own body started glowing. The Sun Princess and Embrace Pokemon both closed their eyes as they were merging as one.
With a burst of golden and red lights engulfing them both, Celestia and Passion had become one being. Within the golden light that covered them, purple eyes flashed as the Mega Evolution Symbol could be seen. Afterwards, the Embrace Pokemon spread her arms out as Celestial-Gardevoir had emerged.
"My that's bright." Luna squinted her eyes after the transformation.
"Alright. Here goes." Celestial-Gardevoir looked up at the sky. She didn't know how high she could go in this state, but she had to try. Both the Celestia and Passion within were ready. Luna backed away, knowing that the take-off would be fairly impactful. Standing close would be a bad idea.
After having enough time to breathe and concentrate her energy, Celestial-Gardevoir took off, moving off the ground like a rocket. And as to be expected, a shockwave emerged, trembling the ground as Luna's mane started flowing. Arcanine still didn't wake up even after that loud sound.
Celestial-Gardevoir had broken the sound barrier, forming a sonic boom in just 4 seconds as she was certainly reaching Mac speeds. She passed by some Flying-Type Pokemon, startling them as it felt like a tornado had just passed them.
In just a few seconds, Celestial-Gardevoir had passed through most of the clouds, reaching a height where not even her sister could see her. However, the higher she went up, the colder her body was starting to feel. Celestial-Gardevoir squinted as she pursued her goal of passing through the higher clouds and larger skies.
After having a second burst of energy, she formed another sonic boom as she had accomplished her goal. Celestial-Gardevoir was now at the highest point of the sky. She figured that now would be the best time to stop. She was high enough.
"Oh...What a rush..."Celestial-Gardevoir huffed and puffed as this was the highest either Celestia or Passion have ever been. She looked below, seeing how everything beneath her was covered in clouds. Almost as if the clouds were the ground. Seeing it made Celestia's side twitch a bit. "Oh right...I remember when I was afraid of heights at a young age. This is higher than I've ever been. But I can't let childhood fears ruin it for me."
Now that she was up here, it was time to get searching. Obviously staying in one place wouldn't do it. Flying around is the way to go. So that's what she did. Celestial-Gardevoir started flying through the skies at a gentle pace, moving through azure skies and navigating her head around.
If she can even find a semblance of this place, that would be enough. But, Luna's words affected her a bit. Celestial-Gardevoir wondered what a land like that was like. A whole nation in the sky was something to really think about. She also wondered what the pegasi looked like.
Would they be the same height as an alicorn but with wings? Could they have harnessed their own magic after so many centuries of living away from Equestria? And have they possibly even encountered Pokemon? Reshiram and Zekrom during the invasion were essentially battling almost everywhere in this world. The chances of them coming across Pegalysium isn't too farfetched. Celestial-Gardevoir was going to make this quick. One look and confirmation and she'll be on her way.
Eventually, after flying for a period of time, roughly 3 minutes, Celestial-Gardevoir noticed something in the distance. Something that had most certainly caught her eye. What she seemed to be just another bunch of clouds, nothing out of the ordinary.
At least, that was what she believed at first. They were indeed clouds, that was for sure. But the way they were positioned and appeared was too bizarre for the eyes. Celestial-Gardevoir narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better view. The Celestia side of her had cast a spell, allowing her to gain advanced vision as if her eyes were now goggles.
And once she gained the advanced vision, she saw what the clouds truly looked like. With a silent and contained gasped Celestial-Gardevoir had witnessed clouds in the form of seas.
"Is that...a sea in the clouds?" Celestial-Gardevoir said under her breath before taking a closer look. "No...the clouds are the sea! Am I seeing this right?" Celestial-Gardevoir wasn't sure what she was looking at. Either way, those clouds looked like -an entire sea or ocean.
She took a moment to really grasp the scenario before her. Celestial-Gardevoir flew closer to get a better look. And the closer she went, the more she could hear a sound that was new to her ears. Never has this sound even crossed her mind before.
The clouds were making their own sounds that a sea would when flowing. The sound was hard to make out. It sounded like candy being flossed but also mimicked the sound of something frothing. Like foamy soap in a bath.
Everything about this was so surreal to her. How a sea cloud was even possible was just a mystery that needed to be solved on its own. Celestial-Gardevoir assumed that magic was behind something like this and that wasn't too hard to believe. After all, all ponies need magic.
Celestial-Gardevoir was close enough to this cloud ocean as she stopped flying, now just hovering in place. She saw how the clouds flowed like the sea, moving at a gentle pace. These cloud waves seemed to have nothing inside of them. Celestial-Gardevoir wasn't expecting to see fish within this sea cloud. Although, that would be fairly impressive. And her curiosity was getting the better of her.
Celestial-Gardevoir decided to try something out. If this was similar to the natural sea, then surely it would feel the same or even different. With her curiosity taking over, the fused entity moved her hand towards the assortment of clouds. Once doing so, she had come in contact with the sea cloud, placing her hand inside.
And the feeling was definitely familiar. In fact, it felt a lot like actual water. Celestial-Gardevoir moved her hand across the clouds with her eyes widened. She was enchanted by how familiar this all felt. But even though it felt like ordinary water, it had a soft and fluffy feeling to it, making it distinct from actual water.
"Amazing..." Celestial-Gardevoir uttered. She then moved her hand out of the cloud as she noticed that it was now wet. It even made things wet like water. Now she was definitely beyond intrigued. Her first time being up here and already, she's experiencing new scenarios.
A smile graced her face as she was finding some enjoyment out of this. And with that enjoyment, Celestia's adventurous side started showing itself. She figured that there was no harm in experiencing this sea cloud fully.
So, with a willing heart and spirit from both Celestia and Passion, the merged Alicorn-Pokemon hybrid decided to personally surf on the sea cloud.
She did this by adding magic to her legs and allowing them to act as a surfboard. After doing so, Celestial-Gardevoir landed her magic-coated feet on the clouds, allowing the fun to ensue. She started surfing on clouds of all things. An experience she never thought she would ever have the chance to take part in.
"Woohoo!" With excitement filling her heart, she moved across the clouds, performing some tricks along the way. She spun around in the air like a ballerina, most likely the Passion side leaking out.
She caused cloud waves to form from her movements as she was almost forgetting about the main reason why she even came here. But, this was an equally interesting discovery as Pegalysium. She giggled, having a blast and performing more tricks while surfing.
The more she surfed, the further she went in this vast sea ocean. She then laid her back on the sea cloud, covering her back part in magic as she moved along it. It felt even better when laying on it. Afterwards, Celestial-Gardevoir then jumped back up, spinning around as she eventually slowed down.
She was now just surfing regularly on the sea cloud. As fun as it would be to continue going wild on something like this, she had a set goal. But, taking her time wasn't a bad idea either before she can find Pegalysium.
She gently moved across the sea cloud for a few minutes, unbothered by anything. The only thing here was the golden sun beaming down on her and through the clouds too. At least, it would be like that for a while.
Until a new sound reached her ears. Celestial-Gardevoir took notice of this sound. It didn't sound like the cloud waves she was currently moving on. However, a bit of those cloud waves was involved. But that wasn't the primary sound. It was something else.
To Celestial-Gardevoir, it sounded like something else was moving along the waves. Not just her. She wanted to see what was causing that noise. That could mean that something else was up here. Perhaps it was Pegalysium.
However, as she advanced closer to the sound by increasing her flying speed, she came across two things. One was surprising and the other was beyond that. After speeding up, she slowed down with her mouth opening, her eyes widened and her curiosity rising.
She had come across land and a cloud waterfall. An entire land was within these high skies. Not only that, but it was just as wide as any land would be. The appearance matched that of a rainforest as the cloud waterfall flowed beautifully. Flowers of various kinds filled this land as some were new to Celestial-Gardevoir's eyes. But that wasn't what really caught her attention.
There was a ship docked here.
"A ship...?" Celestial-Gardevoir gasped silently. Finding this ship was a breakthrough. That meant only one thing. Someone else was here.
Kalos Region. Out in the wilds. Afternoon.
After spending some time in Anistar City, Clemont and the others were finally making their way towards Ninja Village. And thanks to Clemont and Bonnie being there before, they knew the way, making the trip less taxing. Sweetie Belle wanted to get to her contest on time after all.
"Alright. There it is." Clemont said as everyone stopped walking. He pointed up ahead, showing a cave surrounded by trees. Afterwards, they continued walking, heading straight for that cave. The anticipation for the five fillies was growing as they couldn't wait to see this place for themselves.
After entering the cave, they came across what seemed to be a dead-end with a giant wall of stone blocking them from going any further. But the fillies were ready for this.
"Oh! I know how to do this! Ash told me how!" Instead of having Clemont do it, Silver Spoon chose to do it herself. She was going to use the password to try and enter.
After galloping past everyone, the young filly adjusted her glasses, looking at the giant stone wall as she held her breath in. Silver Spoon then knocked her hoof on the wall two times as a voice responded to her.
"Mountain."
"River." Silver Spoon replied.
And with that reply, the stone wall started moving, revealing itself to be a passageway. The other fillies watched in amazement as standing right in front of them were two individuals who were bodyguards.
Ninjas.
"Oh. There's a familiar face." One of the ninjas spoke, noticing Clemont and Bonnie.
"Hello!" Bonnie waved at them both.
"Cool! Actual ninjas!" The CMC lit their eyes up with stars and wide grins.
"You two are welcome here after your help last time. And your friends too." The other ninja spoke.
"Thank you." Clemont nodded. "Come on you five. You're going to love this. This whole village is nestled in a caldera, making it extra secret and hard to find."
Clemont and Bonnie toured the five fillies through the cave, ready to show them the true appearance of Ninja Village. Luckily, it wasn't that long of a walk, just 10 seconds total. But when those 10 seconds were up, they finally came across it as the sun beamed down on them.
Ninja Village is now within their sights.
"Oooh!" The foals all gawked as they were finally here.
Now finally at Ninja Village, their true fun was about to begin. All the while, Celestial-Gardevoir had made her own amazing discovery in the form of a sea cloud and sky land. The bigger mystery was the ship she had found just docked by that rainforest as the journey continues.
An isolated settlement, nestled within a caldera, making it inconspicuous and perfectly defended from outside forces. Here, ninjas reside and leave in peace within their own home alongside their Pokemon. Its people all train as ninjas to become close to their Pokémon and protect the world. Some aren't ninjas yet but they are training to be.
They lived a traditional lifestyle. Much like Johto. Wheelbarrows with hay were being pulled with many of the people and Pokemon were helping to build new structures by holding onto ropes.
Needles to say, the five fillies were ecstatic to witness this and Clemont and Bonnie felt nostalgic being here again. Finally setting hoof and foot on the ground, they took a moment to admire the scenery before them.
"Now that we're here, do you know what this means? We can learn some ninja tricks here!" Scootaloo gushed, thinking about all the possibilities. "I could use those tricks and have them carry me to the top of the Equestria League!"
"I could learn some tricks for my contests!" Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara were thinking about something else.
"Hm? Oh hey!" One of the villagers immediately recognized Clemont and Bonnie. "Everyone! Clemont and Bonnie are here! And some new faces too."
With that shout, mostly everyone had been alerted. The people and Pokemon of Ninja Village recognized Clemont and Bonnie's faces, greeting them and welcoming them back to the settlement. They also greeted the five fillies with their waves. This would technically be their first time seeing ponies. They didn't think children would be the first time.
"Clemont? Bonnie?" And an equally familiar face to the two siblings had spotted them. Right on top of one of the rocky hills in this village was a good friend of Clemont and Bonnie.
Jumping down from the hill, the individual made a perfect landing without harming himself. And alongside him was a Greninja. This was, of course, one of the people Ash mentioned to Scootaloo and the others when they were just leaving for their journey.
Sanpei. And his Greninja.
"Sanpei! Greninja!" Clemont and Bonnie exclaimed.
"Good to see you both again! Been a while, huh? Ash and Serena aren't with you this time?"
"Oh, no they went their separate ways, like us. Right now Ash is just exploring the world as much as he can." Clemont explained.
"And Serena's off doing contests instead of showcases now." Bonnie chimed in.
"Oh, would've loved to see him again. Another battle with him would've been satisfying" To Sanpei it would. He's certainly been improving himself as a better ninja alongside his Greninja. Both Ash and Sanpei were definitely close to reaching their prime, that's for sure. And who are these five? Ponies?" Sanpei looked over at the five fillies.
"Grenin?"
"Oh! Howdy!" Apple Bloom waved as she dragged her friends in with her hooves. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Plus Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon."
"Hello!" Diamond Tiara waved.
"We're here to learn how to be ninjas! Or learn ninja tricks!" Scootaloo rushed forward, looking up at Sanpei and Greninja. "Please! We can even put Ash on the Xtransceiver for you if you want!" With high excitement, she took out her Xtransceiver, showing Sanpei and Greninja Ash's Trainer number.
"My, you're excited," Sanpei said. "I know how you feel though. I was the same when I was younger. And seeing Ash again right now sounds good. You can definitely train to be a ninja. Anyone can. Some of our people here are even training right now."
"Really? Yes!" Scootaloo and the others cheered as the young pegasus immediately tapped on Ash's Trainer Number. The Xtransceiver started to ring, lasting a total of 10 seconds before it had been answered. And there, Ash's face had appeared with a Joltik latching onto his face.
"Hey, Scootaloo," Ash spoke. "How's your journey been with everyone?"
"Great so far! You'll never guess where we are right now? Ninja Village!" Scootaloo screeched as she showed Ash the view of Ninja Village.
"That quick? Not bad." Ash nodded in approval.
"Pikachu!"
"Oh, Ash!" Sanpei noticed Ash on the screen. "Long time no see! Even though...we're not in the same spot right now."
"Hey, Sanpei! Greninja! How are things over at Ninja Village?"
"Better than ever. Ippei's proving to be an amazing chief of our village." Sanpei gave a thumbs up.
"Were gonna be training to learn Ninja Tricks!" Sweetie Belle slid over. "You should really come here and check it out, Ash!"
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I'm helping Fluttershy, Pinkie and Jade out at the Pokemon House right now." Ash scratched his hair. "But man, I wish I got a chance to learn Ninja Tricks when I first went there."
"More Pokemon are showing up recently. The house is also getting a few upgrades to better manage every other Pokemon that comes by." Fluttershy showed up on the screen.
"But it's nothing we can't handle." Jade also appeared with her monotone face and expression. "The rest of the babies are pretty easy."
"Oh, let me see." Pinkie Pie appeared on the screen, shifting her eyes around and getting a glimpse of what Ninja Village looks like. "Oooh. Neat."
"Huh??" Ash turned around as he heard some crying in the distance. He then turned to face the screen one last time. "Sorry guys. Gotta go. But I'll catch up with you later! Tell me everything, okay?"
"Okay!" The five foals and Bonnie exclaimed. And that was the end of that. Ash hung up as he got back to foalsitting some babies. Clemont and Bonnie couldn't have the chance to speak with Ash as the call was cut short.
"Aww..." Bonnie pouted. "We didn't even get to see him again."
"It's fine." Clemont chuckled.
"Good as ever, Ash." Sanpei nodded. "So. Are you five really ready to know and learn what ninjas are capable of?"
"We sure are!" Apple Bloom stood up tall. "W-Well, mostly Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle."
"If there's anything we can learn we'll take it no matter what," said Scootaloo. "I want to make it to the top of the Equestria League by any means."
"And I want to learn something for my contests so I can enter the Grand Festival and win." Sweetie Belle gave her own motivation and goal.
"Same here!" Diamond Tiara raised her hoof.
"We're just uh...We're just here for support." Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon said. "But we'll try anything else."
"Okay, okay. First, as is tradition, we'll test you out. Scootaloo. You're focused on battling, right?" Sanpei pointed at the pegasus.
"Yep," Scootaloo confirmed.
"Then, how's a Pokemon battle sound? Your best Pokemon against mine."
"I'll take it! Ponyta's my best for sure."
"And what about us? What do we get to do?" Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara stepped up, asking the ninja.
"Well after this, we'll put you all through Ninja Training. There's a course just near the outside of the village that can help you get the basics down. Made by Shinobu herself. Those 100 years of experience that she has really makes the whole thing challenging."
"Grenin."
"100 years?" Silver Spoon repeated
"Yeah. See her over there?" Clemont pointed over at the lady ninja Shinobu who waved back at them. "She looks young but she's actually 100 years old."
"Really?!" Silver Spoon and the others gasped whilst pulling back.
"We were just as surprised as you all." Bonnie giggled.
"The obstacle course is new to Ninja Village. Plus, it's easy to grasp but harder to get through depending on how further you get with it." Sanpei explained.
"A nice skill-level gap." Clemont snapped his fingers. "That's what I like to see."
"It's not too hard for me, is it?" Bonnie asked.
"No. Not the early parts." Sanpei gave his honest answer. Scootaloo then looked around, gazing at the various ninjas here as she felt like she was missing one important thing that she would really love to have.
"Hey uh, you don't suppose we could wear ninja suits, Sanpei?" Scootaloo questioned.
"Ninja suits? Well..." Sanpei took a moment to examine the individuals before him. Giving them a ninja suit would prove to be troublesome for a few reasons.
Some of which was the fact that they were children, they have a four-legged build and stance and there haven't been any ninja suits made for anyone else except for the humans. you won't ever catch a Pokemon wearing one. At least not here.
"We'll work on that. Come with me and Greninja." Sanpei and Greninja turned around before heading straight for this training course. The battle between him and Scootaloo was about to take place and very soon, the course that was prepared for the rest of the foals.
Ninja Obstacle Course.
The obstacle course was where they would have their battle. Just near it. Everything here was made to build and train upcoming ninjas or even help them improve. From how the course was structured, it had a fair skill level. Anyone talented could find difficulty in certain spots while anyone new can find parts easy. And sometimes both.
Perfect for all ages.
Aside from that, both Scootaloo and Sanpei stood on different sides from each other. Acting as the referee was Clemont whilst Bonnie and the others sat by on the rocks, ready to watch this unfold.
"Alright, you two. Ready your Pokemon." Clemont ordered.
"Go forth, Greninja!" Sanpei pointed forward.
"Greninja!" Rushing past him, Greninja was ready for action.
"Okay, Ponyta! Go!" Scootaloo used her wing to grab the Poke Ball, acting all stylish before launching it. Out of the ball came the Fire Horse Pokemon.
"Ponyta!"
"Ponyta against Greninja? Doesn't that seem a bit too one-sided?" Silver Spoon said.
"Yeah, but if she was trained by Ash like you all, then she's gonna last a bit." Bonnie knew that Scootaloo could do something in this. After all, Ash is famous for putting Pokemon that have disadvantages against superior Pokemon and most of the time, he comes out on top with them. "Good luck you two!"
"Battle start!"
"'Kay, Ponyta! Flame Charge, go-go-go!"
"Ta!" Starting first and cloaking itself in flames, Ponyta galloped forward, leaving burn marks on the ground and a trail of fire.
"Greninja, use Double Team!"
"Gre-nin-nin-nin!" Instantly, Greninja had formed multiple copies of himself that flooded the battlefield in various directions as Ponyta was approaching.
"Charge through them all until you find the real one!"
"Pony!" Narrowing his eyes, the Fire Horse Pokemon focused on all of the clones aiming to take every single one out until he found the real one. At the same time, each of the Greninja ran, approaching Ponyta.
Ponyta ended up charging through the clones, destroying them as they vanished in a cloud of smoke. He zigzagged around, tagging and charging every clone that he came through. But he hadn't found the real Greninja yet. As he destroyed them all, the dust clouds had formed into one big cloud afterwards.
"Water Shuriken!"
"Gre...nin!" Just then, right from above and passing through the dust cloud was the actual Greninja. He had purposefully used the clones to create a cloud big enough to distract and obscure Ponyta. And making multiple of them was just right for a fairly large one.
"Ah!" Scootaloo gasped as she looked up, Greninja formed a shuriken of water in its hand, raising it as he was ready to toss it at full speed. "Ponyta! Ember!"
"Ponyta!" Retaliating quickly and thanks to Flame Charge increasing his speed, he was able to unleash multiple sparks of flames from his mouth. The two attacks then collided, blowing up before forming an even larger smoke cloud.
"Greninja, use Night Slash!"
"Ja!" Moving through the smoke, Greninja had created a purple energy sword in the palm of his hand. He then rolled in the air, slashing down at Ponyta with the purple blade of dark energy.
"Nyta!" Ponyta cried out as he was pushed back by Night Slash. His hooves scraped and slid on the ground whilst Greninja held onto the sword still.
"Let's stay on offence! Night Slash again!"
"Grenin!" Greninja went in for a second Night Slash, zooming through the ground with fast feet as he was ready to swing the blade once more.
"Ponyta, Horn Attack, go!"
"Pony!" The Fire Horse Pokemon's horn suddenly extended as if it was a Sword of Justice while glowing white. Afterwards, Ponyta then swung his horn towards the Ninja Pokemon.
Both Horn Attack and Night Slash had met as they clashed. Ponyta's back hooves left the ground whilst both he and Greninja were pushing their weapons against each other. They both growled but only one of them could break through and emerge victorious over this clash.
"Greninja!" And that was Greninja. He just had more forced to give due to his years of experience. He won the clash by pushing Ponyta back and simultaneously slashing his horn with Night Slash.
"Pony!" Ponyta once again cried out as he skidded on the ground, almost falling over.
"Water Shuriken!"
"Ninja!" After using Night Slash, Greninja retracted his purple blade before forming a shuriken out of water. Two of them this time. The Ninja Pokemon then threw both of them at the same time.
"Not yet! Ponyta! Let's put those hooves to good use! Jump super high!"
"Ponyta!" Ponyta let out a grunt as he used his powerful hooves to leap into the air, evading the two Water Shurikens. He even lunged high to the point where he was moving forward.
"Double Kick!"
"Pony!" After moving forward, the Fire Horse Pokemon lit his hooves up with an orange energy. Afterwards, he thrust both his hooves downwards, smashing them onto Greninja.
"Nin!" One hit and it had dealt super-effective damage to the Ninja Pokemon. The Water-Dark-Type had been knocked back by Ponyta's hoof-dive, rolling on the ground.
"Oh yes!" Diamond Tiara and the others cheered. "She finally got a hit in!"
"Not bad. But that's going to be the last and only hit you'll ever get! Greninja, Night Slash into Water Shuriken!"
"Ninja!" Right after being knocked back, Greninja made a swift recovery. He then made two purple energy blades in his hands, rushing forward for one final attack.
"Oh uh...!" Scootaloo was thinking about how to deal with two attacks that were about to be unleashed. "Ponyta! Let's use what Ash taught us! Spin around with Flame Charge!"
"Pony! Ponyta!" Utilizing Ash's well-known technique, the Counter Shield. By galloping around on the spot at high speeds, the Fire Horse Pokemon summoned an aura of fire that cloaked him.
But this time, with all of his circling, the flames sprouted up, shifting in the shape of a pillar. A flame pillar, similar to the Fire-Type move Eruption. This pillar of fire acted as a shield for him.
"Gre...nin!" But to Greninja, that didn't matter. WIth pure power, the Ninja Pokemon ended up cutting the spiralling flame pillar in half with his Night Slash blade, ending the Counter Shield.
"Oh!" Scootaloo gasped.
"Pony?!
"Ninja!" Afterwards, Greninja had then formed Water Shuriken on his hands as he tossed it down whilst being over Ponyta. Unable to counteract in time, Ponyta had been hit by Water Shuriken, resulting in an explosion of dust and water. Greninja then descended before lunging back to his position.
As the smoke cleared, unfortunately, Ponyta was on the ground unconscious.
"Ponyta..."
"Ponyta is unable to battle! Greninja wins! Which means Sanpei is the winner!"
"Well done, Greninja," Sanpei said to his partner.
"Grenin."
"Aww..." Scootaloo pouted before walking over to her partner. "Should've seen that coming either way. Good work, Ponyta."
"Ponyta."
"Mhm. You've definitely been taught by Ash. A technique like that is something he would use without a doubt. Your effort really shows as well." Sanpei crossed his arms, praising Scootaloo for her effort.
"Thanks. But geez, you're too fast to keep up with." Scootaloo grinned whilst helping Ponyta up. "When my Ponyta evolves into a Rapidash, he'll be faster than ever. Right, buddy?"
"Ponyta."
"Well..." Diamond Tiara hoof off the rocks. "Now that that's done? How about that obstacle course, huh?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Bonnie, Silver Spoon, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded their heads aggressively.
"Slow down. No need to rush things." Sanpei put his hand out. "But yeah, we'll get to that now. First..." Sanpei's stomach growled. "I need to snack on something. When we get to that course, just choose the Pokemon you want to use. Some are compatible with it. Others...not so much."
"Meowstic looks like she can do that." Sweetie Belle pointed out. "That'll be easy for her."
"My Purrloin too." Diamond Tiara pointed her hoof at herself.
"Same for my Glameow." Silver Spoon chimed in.
"Do you all have cats...?" Clemont squinted his eyes.
"Is my Emolga allowed? It can glide." Apple Bloom asked.
"Sorry. But Emolga will have to use the course without its wings." Sanpei shook his head.
"Aww..." Apple Bloom pouted. But she knew she would have to get past this course through hard work alone and not an easy way out. Applejack would approve of that.
"What do you think you're gonna do when you learn a ninja trick?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I'm gonna learn how to become invisible in the night. There's some stuff I wanna do but I can't do it late at night which sucks." Scootaloo gave her answer.
"I'm gonna...um...What else do ninja's do?" Sweetie Belle tilted her head, thinking of all the possibilities she could do when she learns some ninja tricks eventually and how she can surprise Rarity with it.
"There's a lot. But learning them day one isn't that easy and impossible. It takes time to learn what a ninja can really accomplish. I know you're all excited to learn something but it won't be so swift. It might take days or more depending on how well you work."
"Yeah...I guess so." Scootaloo nodded with her hoof on her hair, rubbing it. "We were just so eager to learn something because of how cool ninjas sounded."
"And Ash-Greninja. That was great to see," said Diamond Tiara.
"Wait days? But my contest is up in three days!" Sweetie Belle bit her hoof, shuddering. There were only three days until she could take part in her next contest and win her next ribbon. If training as a ninja would take days upon days, then that would just delay things for her. It almost made her regret coming on the journey a tad bit.
"Don't worry. You can always come back here any time to learn." Sanpei chuckled. "No pressure. Now, let's eat!"
"Greninja!"
Equestria. High beyond the natural skies and clouds.
Celestial-Gardevoir had made a stunning discovery. During her search for the fabled Pegalyisum, she came across some fairly interesting views. The first was the sea of clouds. Something truly bizarre and equally as interesting as a nation in the sky. She even found some enjoyment by surfing on it since it mimicked natural water.
But more than that, when she went further in these high skies, she came across two things of great notice. One was the fact that there was actual land up here with a cloud waterfall, grass and new flowers Celestia has never seen before. But most importantly, a ship had been docked near this land.
That was a sign that someone was here.
After a set amount of time and coming across the land, Celestia and Passion had separated from each other, reverting to their normal selves.
"It's a fairly large ship too," Celestia said as her hooves touched the grass of this sky land. "Nopony else seems to be inside it looks."
"Gardevoir."
The Princess and her Pokemon felt the grass below them. It felt like ordinary grass here. Nature had found a way to grow even at a height as high as this. When looking at the ship, they could see that it could carry at least 50 ponies inside of it. It even slightly resembled those aluminium battleships the Empress had in store. Minus the battling part.
The two of them noticed how nopony was within the ship as they looked through the windows. Passion even placed her hand on the ship, feeling its cold exterior. She tried using her Psychic abilities to see if there was someone truly in there, but there wasn't.
"So, they use these ships to sail across the sea clouds. Amazing. And this whole land has such an assortment of sky platforms."
Indeed they did. Aside from the beautiful cloud waterfall and flowers in this rainforest, there were numerous platforms with their own surface of land. The one that Celestia was standing on was a platform on its own. But they were large, they could be considered their own rainforests.
The distance between the one Celestia and Passion were on and the others in the background and foreground was ludicrous. Some of them could be seen throughout the clouds as if they were mountainscapes.
Celestia then went to view the front of the ship, spotting a symbol on it. This symbol was shaped like wings with a golden circle in the middle, making it clear that this was indeed a ship that belonged to pegasi. The wings just gave it away. After seeing the ship, Celestia and Passion then decided to move onwards.
It wasn't a full confirmation that Pegalysium existed, but it was a good sign either way. As they walked through this giant landscape, they noticed how the flowers reacted to their movements, spinning their petals around in sync with their hoof and footsteps.
The view of it was nice on the eyes but a bit ominous. Flowers aren't known for doing such a thing. But then again, these are newly discovered flowers. The cloud waterfall continued to flow as it was hard to tell where it was going. Celestia and Passion hadn't seen any clouds pour from above so these cloud waterfall must send the clouds somewhere else in this sky land.
"Garde?" Then, Passion's Psychic senses were kicking in. She could sense someone nearby.
"What is it, Passion?"
"Voir." Passion immediately levitated to where she sensed that presence. Celestia spread her wings out, following her partner. She might've finally found someone else in these high skies.
They passed through large blue leaves that seemed to separate for them. These plants all seemed to have sentient consciousness as they paved a way for the alicorn and Embrace Pokemon. Not only that, but they were also singing. Mainly the ones that resembled daisies. They sang a song that matched the situation. Fast-paced.
The sound they made sounded like bells that jingle during Christmas or Hearths Warming. Their singing actually made Celestia and Passion speed up, proving to be a fairly effective method. They flew over a pond of normal water instead of cloud water like they've been constantly seeing as they noticed how there weren't any wildlife. At least, they haven't spotted wildlife yet.
Eventually, Passion came to a screeching halt as she heard a voice in the distance. And afterwards, Celestia went ahead of her, stopping in place.
"Hoh...You should really warn me first, Passion." Celestia sighed. "Did you find some..." Before Celestia could finish her last sentence, where Passion was gazing, her ears followed. With a gradual turn of her head, the Sun Princess and Embrace Pokemon had seen their first major sign of life aside from the sentient plants. As expected, in a place like this, only one race could live here. The pegasi and to an extent the griffons. And just like that, after facing that direction, there was one.
A pegasus.
They finally found one.
"There...a pegasus..." Celestia hushed as she was enamoured. Not just her and Passion, but the pegasus they had come across as well. She froze in place after seeing the pony and Pokemon standing before her. A rush of thoughts went through her mind as she had spoken.
"What kind of pegasus are you?" She asked in a melodic voice. Her asking that question made Celestia perk up. From what she just said, it sounded like she's never seen an alicorn before. But that made sense considering the stories of how Pegalysium strayed away from Equestria for centuries.
"You...Are you from Pegalysium?
"Oh." The pegasus adjusted her body to properly face Celestia. "Yes. My name is Garnet."
Confirmation. Now that Pegalysium truly is a place that exists, Celestia and Passion had a lot to remember as they came across their first Pegalysium citizen. Garnet. Aside from that, some fun and maybe difficult ninja training was about to occur over at Ninja Village as the journey continues.
"What is taking her so long?" Luna spoke. For the past minutes, she's been down here with her Pokemon, waiting for her big sister's return from the skies above along with Passion.
Aurorus and the rest of Luna's Pokemon were having an afternoon meal after waiting for a while. Luna looked up at the sky, tapping her hoof about as she was unaware of what her sister had just discovered. Luna certainly had the patience. Being sealed in the moon for thousands of years will give anyone such a gift.
Aside from that, while she waited patiently for her big sister, she was thinking of other things aside from battling and reaching the top of the Equestria League.
"Hm. I wonder what I can do for Ash? That will win him over most certainly. Twilight Sparkle and Queen Chrysalis are threats that are far too vast." Luna rubbed her hooves together, thinking of her rivalry with Twilight and Chrysalis. Twilight has been around Ash the most. And Chrysalis, while she hasn't been around Ash as much as Twilight or even Luna, now truly understood what love was.
She thought about it for a while, sitting down whilst her Pokemon and her newly caught Manectric snack away. She also thought about what her sister could be doing at this very moment and if she had found Pegalysium.
High above the skies. The sky rainforest on the land.
Celestia and Passion had made yet another amazing discovery. Life existed up here. Not just the bizarre flowers and plants that were sentient and had the ability to sing, but pony life.
A pegasus by the name of Garnet had encountered the Princess and the Pokemon while going about her normal day. She had just introduced herself to Celestia and Passion while also not knowing what they were. She thought that Celestia was just an odd-looking pegasus.
"Garnet, eh? Well...My name is Princess Celestia. And this is my partner Passion. A Gardevoir." Celestia introduced herself and her Pokemon.
"Gardevoir."
"Oh, so you're a princess? That would explain the large wings. They're massive." Garnet went up to the alicorn and Embrace Pokemon, unaware of what they really were.
"Does that mean that you have alicorns up here if you recognize me as Princess?" Celestia leaned forward.
"Alicorn? What's that?" Garnet raised an eyebrow, further surprising Celestia and Passion. They expected a yes or a no but got something more than that.
"Y-You don't know what an alicorn is? I'm an alicorn." Celestia used her magic to create a magical golden aura hand, pointing it at herself. "Half unicorn, pegasus and earth pony."
"Really now?" Garnet was only further lost about this. She did understand the pegasus part but the others were lost on her as she scratched her mane. "I've never heard of any earth pony or unicorn."
"Oh my...Wait, so if you are from Pegalysium, then are pegasi the only race you've ever seen?"
"Right. Just pegasus. You're certainly new to me, Princess. But, I'm interested in this. Alicorn, unicorn and earth pony each."
"I see. That makes sense." Celestia turned around before talking to herself. "A whole nation in the sky exclusive to pegasi for centuries means that they haven't been exposed to other pony races and tribes out there. Only those in their nation. Especially those born in this century and decade. But they have to at least know about the other pony races through school, right?"
"By the way, what is this thing? You called it a Gardevoir. Some sort of pet?" Garnet examined Passion from her tall build, dress and visible heart.
"Voir?"
"Oh. No, no. She's not my pet." Celestia flew over to her partner. "You see, Passion here is a Pokemon. Strange and Wonderful creatures that crossed over with our world last year. She's of the Gardevoir species. Hence why she always says the name of her species."
"Gardevoir."
"Pokemon...? Hm-hm!" Garnet chuckled. "My, you're interesting, Princess Celestia! Coming out for a walk isn't so boring anymore now that I've met you. So, where exactly do you come from? Which kingdom?"
"Oh, I come from below there. Equestria." Celestia pointed her hoof at the bottom, way past the clouds. I'm the ruler of the whole country and nation. I came here to see if Pegalysium was real. After all, it was a story that my mother heard from foals tales and myths."
"Well, it's as real as it gets. In fact, you're standing on Pegalysium grounds!" The pegasus raised her hooves. "Everything here is Pegalysium! The whole country! From all of these platforms!"
"Ooh...!" Celestia navigated her head around along with Passion. "Here I thought it was also a kingdom or empire. But it seems that the stories of it being a nation were correct instead!"
"Garde!"
Oh, an empire? We have that here. But, it's a bit off-limits for a pony like me. But not everywhere else. Plus, even if somepony like me isn't allowed to be there, we can still get a good view of it. Allow me to show you." Garnet turned around with a smirk. "I can show you both the true scope of the beautiful land that we have up here."
"Eh? You'll take me there?"
"Of course. You want to see if it's really real, then why not witness it and approach the source. Besides, you seem interesting to be around."
"Uh well...I-I didn't really think I'd make it this far." Celestia chuckled whilst waving her hoof. "I wasn't expecting to be offered a chance to see it. I mean, am I even allowed to be there?"
"Pssh. Totally. Nothing's stopping you from seeing it. Come on." Having a friendly aura around her, Garnet insisted that Celestia and Passion should come and see the rest of Pegalysium for themselves as she walked off.
While walking off, Celestia and Passion looked at each other as they were a bit unsure about this. But, Passion did sense something positive about Garnet so it was safe to be around her. So, they chose to walk with her and see this nation for themselves. Along the way, they would talk.
But unbeknownst to them, one of the petals of the flowers had flown off. That petal started glowing a vibrant light purple as it began following the trio. It left small purple sparkles along the way whilst flying.
"So. These Pokemon. They crossed over with our world. What does that mean?"
"Oh, right. You see, last year, both our world and the Pokemon World were met by a powerful entity and force known as the Rift. From what Arceus, the creator of the Pokemon World had told me, the Rift is a force that has been practically everywhere, seeking to create scenarios for entertainment. And it usually does this by crossing two separate universes together. And when the Rift is satisfied, it shall leave to interact with other universes, returning everything to normal and erasing the memories we had of this crossover event."
"Hoh...that sounds like something alright. And you managed to grasp the whole situation perfectly, right, princess?"
"Oh, no not at first. It was absolute chaos when this first happened!" Celestia laughed. "Humans and ponies were being scattered across the area in different parts of the world without any control, everypony having no idea what a Pokemon was. To say we had it under control would be an overstatement.
"Garde."
"Thankfully. We had two individuals help sort everything out. A human by the name of Ash Ketchum and his partner Pikachu. Those two truly helped us get here today without a doubt. Ash and Pikachu are a great help and the ones who helped us see what wonders Pokemon hold."
"Really now?" Garnet nodded, enjoying what she was hearing. "And Passion. This Gardevoir of yours. You said she's your partner, right? How'd that come to be?"
"Oh, Passion and I? We met over at Lilycove City last year. I remember when she was just a tiny little and shy Ralts."
"Ralts?" Garnet turned around.
"You see, Pokemon have many unique things about them. One of which is evolution. Some Pokemon have the potential to evolve into further evolutions of themselves. Whether one or two times. Passion here used to be a Ralts, then she became a Kirlia and then finally, a Gardevoir. Almost like growing up."
"Voir!"
"Hold on!" Garnet stopped as she had processed a lot of information about Pokemon. "I've been missing out on something like this? Seriously?! What has happened down there? And how come there aren't any of those Pokemon up here?"
"Oh. I...assume it's because this place is so high up in the sky that nopony have managed to arrive here except us two. But, you have by chance seen the Rift due to how visible it becomes sometimes. Right?"
"The Rift? Is that what that was? Well...Last year, and during this year, we did see some blue and purple force energy just boom in the air unexpectedly. It startled everypony up here without loud and instant it was. Nopony knew what it was at all. The King and Queen dubbed it the Blue-Violet Hole. Nopony is allowed to interact with it at all. I mean, they can't if it's not even there most of the time."
"King and Queen? Who are your rulers here?"
"King Paramount and Queen Luminary. The current rulers of Pegalysium." There it was. Now Celestia had the name of the rulers of this sky nation. Fairly intimidating names too and regal sounding. Just like Celestia's. "Oh, hold on!" Garnet stopped walking suddenly.
"Hm? What is it?"
"This is a bad spot to be in right now..." Garnet clenched her teeth as they had just come across another sea of clouds. It wasn't bigger than the one back there but it was fairly large.
"What's here?" Celestia further asked some more questions.
"Uh...Just trot or float slowly and we won't alert it...." whispered Garnet as she started making light hoofsteps, attempting to pass by this sea cloud. Celestia spread her wings out, gently flying into the air whilst Passion just hovered. The Trainer and her Pokemon were on high alert.
They weren't sure what other kinds of phenomenons these skies had to offer. Those sentient plants were a good indication of what to somewhat expect. Or not. The flowers were starting to sing again, gifting a song that fit the mood. They sang in a tone and tempo that mimicked tension that was building up. Celestia and Passion were a bit nervous about what could be nearby. They haven't seen any wildlife as of yet.
But, they were going to see some marine life.
Bursting out of the sea cloud was a gigantic octopus-based creature as the clouds scattered, splashing on the grass from the emerge. This octopus creature looked like an ordinary octopus except for the fact that not only was it bigger than one but it had fifty tentacles instead of the traditional eight.
"Oh! We alerted it!" Garnet gasped as she screeched at the top of her lungs. The appendages rose into the air, ready to either smash or grab their victims.
"Passion, use Dazzling Gleam!" Celestia shouted as she lit her horn up.
"Gardevoir!" Passion summoned a sphere of rainbows in her hands as she and Celestia fired a golden beam of magic and multiple rainbow rays at the creature.
The multiple rainbow rays of Dazzling Gleam had blown off the tentacles in just one hit whilst Celestia's beam struck the octopus in the face. Even though Celestia no longer had the alicorn essences that were given to her via the jar, she still had some leftovers of it. The Boundless Cutie Mark was the reason for that.
And after having some of its tentacles blown off and receiving a fairly bad burn mark to the face by Celestia's magic, the octopus wailed and cried out in pain as it had retreated out of fear. It didn't even last that long.
Celestia and Passion lowered their attacks after that. As for Garnet, before, she was terrified, now, she was amazed. She had just witnessed various lights fly out of Celestia and Passion as they easily took care of the octopus dwelling in the sea.
"By the skies...That was incredible!" A starstruck Garnet exclaimed whilst flapping her wings in excitement. "What was that?! How did...How did you do that?!"
"Oh, this? That was just magic from my horn." Celestia tapped on her horn. And that was a Pokemon move. A Fairy-Type Attack known as Dazzling Gleam. Every Pokemon can attack in various ways."
"Garde."
"That was magic?! That's no magic I've ever seen! And what are types?!"
"There's a lot we need to explain. And, you have your own magic up here?"
"Oh, most certainly. Our magic isn't anything like that. We certainly don't use it from those horns, that's for sure. Then again...we don't have horns."
"You don't? Then how do you use magic exactly?"
"Oh. Like this!" Garnet grinned as she showcased what magic was like in Pegalysium. At least, how it's used. She closed her eyes as her wings were starting to glow a vibrant red. In a sense, the wings acted as a horn for magic. She then flapped her wings, summoning a red magic circle in front of her.
"A magic circle?" Celestia tilted her head.
"And...go!" Garnet tapped her hoof on the magic circle as it suddenly let out magical essences that acted like an aurora. It even flowed like once. The magical essences passed through the air as they suddenly lit up the flowers and sea clouds with red and blue sparkles, giving them some glitter. "See, like that?"
"Oh, so that's how you use your magic? That's certainly a unique way of going through it." Celestia nodded after observing that usage of magic.
"Yeah, but yours is way better than ours. I mean, I have to choose the spell, flap my wings, send out the circle and then tap on it to make it work. You can just do it instantly with that horn."
"It is quicker. Usually, higher magic spells require longer processes but...not like that."
"Ah. The King and Queen can do it in no time flat without any issues. But that's to be expected." Garnet shrugged as they continued on their way with their little journey. At the same time, that glowing petal was still following them without the trio noticing.
It had witnessed what Celestia and Passion had then as followed their every move, not letting up at all. It stayed silent and thanks to its minuscule size, it was perfect for sneaking about.
"So more on Pokemon. What's this about types?" A curious Garnet wanted to know more about these wonderful creatures known as Pocket Monsters. Pokemon for short.
"Well, so far, from what everyone knows at the moment, there are 18 Pokemon Types. All unique in their own way to every Pokemon. Even the attacks are unique and varied."
"Hah...So what are those 18 types?"
"Let's see..." Celestia began naming all of the existing Pokemon Types by using her magic to showcase words made out of a golden aura. "We have Dragon, Ghost, Flying, Poison, Bug, Water, Rock Grass and Dark, Electric, Ice and Normal too. Fire, Fighting and Steel, Ground, Psychic and Fairy. All 18 of them."
"Uh..." Garnet's jaw dropped after hearing that. "My that sure is a lot to remember. And...h-how many Pokemon are there?"
"Hard to say honestly." Celestia chuckled. "Perhaps someone more experienced than me can tell you about that. I-If they ever come up here. Though, this is just a quick visit and confirmation of Pegalysium."
"Oh, they should come here for certain. We...don't get many visitors up here anyway. Or any really. It's just us pegasi." Garnet sighed before looking straight. "Oh, we're coming across a Flow-up Cloud now."
"Flow-up Cloud?" Celestia repeated before they came across what Garnet had mentioned. Right in front of their eyes, they had come across a powerful pressurize cloud stream that shot upwards. It could be considered a reverse waterfall in a sense. Or in the case of this place, a reverse cloud waterfall. "It flows upwards...?" Celestia was obviously stunned along with Passion.
"Mhm. The Flow-up Clouds happen here when the gas pressure is too big and creates a crack in the ceiling, then a giant hurricane is created from the crack.
"A hurricane?!"
"Gardevoir?!"
"Yep. Once most of the gas gets free, the Airzone explodes, sending a giant stream upwards. Better do it quickly or else it'll collapse later. Just follow my lead and you'll be safe. And make sure to navigate yourself when you're in it, princess."
"Can't we just fly over it?"
"Nope. Not with all of those powerful wind currents. The only way to get further is by using this Flow-up Cloud. And then we can fly. Just watch!" Garnet was about to give a quick and easy demonstration of how to utilize this stream.
Without hesitation, she jumped towards the stream of clouds with excitement. And once she did so, by entering the cloud, she was immediately carried upwards by the potent stream of clouds. The Flow-up Cloud reacted to Garnet's, generating a loud booming sound whilst wind pressure flew in Celestia and Passion's direction.
They both took deep breaths as they were going in after Garnet. But just to be safe, Celestia placed a magic coating around her body whilst Passion used the rainbow-sphere of Dazzling Gleam as a shield. Afterwards, the duo jumped into the cloud, entering it.
And just like Garnet, they had been rocketed upwards by the upwards friction and force of this cloud in just one second. There wasn't even any buildup from it.
"Waaaaah!" Celestia and Passion screeched as they were experiencing hyperactive speeds that they had never come across, not even as Celestial-Gardevoir. With them heading up vertically, they could see Garnet from this angle as she was already nearing the very top.
And right below, the hurricane had arrived. The Flow-up Cloud unleashed a burst of energy and wind pressure that increased the boost, making the vertical force greater than ever. The heat from the steam had helped to increase the force too. They actually had to navigate themselves through this potent wind. Just doing nothing could force them out.
Celestia and Passion strained as they were on the verge of being forced out of the stream. They kept their composure and focus as they only concentrated on heading upwards. To better make it through, Passion purposely used her Psychic powers to add some force. With her amazing Psychic abilities, Passion was able to force Celestia and herself higher than ever as they could see the golden sun beaming through the cloud.
And just like that, with one final spurt of energy, they had broken through the very top of the Flow-up Cloud, exiting and passing it successfully. They were now way above practically almost every cloud out there. They had closed their eyes for a while before opening them slowly.
"Ta-dah! Get a good look at the view far in the distance!" Garnet spoke as she was currently flapping her wings to stay airborne. She gave a grin as Celestia and Passion looked ahead, witnessing yet another incredible sight in this high-sky area.
They had seen the structures of Pegalysium.
"Oh my..." Celestia and Passion were agape with wonder and fascination. Before their eyes, an entire city laid before her. It was a city probably bigger than Canterlot and maybe the same size as Empress Twilight's Canterlot Empire.
If anything, this could be an empire. Several buildings sat on islands. Either individual or grouped. And they all seemed regal and majestic. Especially the one in the middle.
That stood out the most from any other building. Mainly because of two things. The symbol in the middle was identical to the one that Celestia saw on the ship that was docked here, but the second one was far more important.
Right there, the clock-shaped door had been. Just as the pegasus described. It was officially. Pegalysium, a place that was nothing but a story and a fable was now real within Celestia and Passion's eyes. The nearby flowers sang once more, singing a melody with a gallant and majestic tone. They did it in the style of an orchestra to make it fit.
"There. That's the Sacred Land of Pegalyisum. Where the royalty and nobility live. And that big castle is where the Sky Monarchy is." Garnet nudged the alicorn.
Celestia and Passion only gave a nod as a response to Garnet's words. They were speechless as they were taking in this view for themselves.
Whilst they stared, the petal from before had passed the Flow-up Cloud without harming itself. It had also reached the top of the area where Celestia, Passion and Garnet were. The petal then flew over both of them, finally getting closer to them instead of keeping its distance.
When getting closer, the petal had appeared in front of both Celestia and Passion's eyes, revealing its beautiful glow to them. It was so beautiful that it managed to pull the Ruler of Equestria and Psychic-Fairy-Type away from the gaze of the Sacred Land.
"Hm? What's this now?" Celestia's attention had been drawn to something else. It seems that everything here was impossible to ignore.
"Eh? Oh! That's a Memoir Petal!" Garnet gasped whilst pulling her mane. Her yell seemed to be one of panic. "Don't look at its light! It'll mess with your memories!"
"Oh!" Celestia understood as she and Passion immediately backed away and turned around, evading the petal and its glow. However, that didn't stop the petal from chasing them down as it zipped through the air. The Princess and the Embrace Pokemon winced as the petal exuded a bright light that was enough to be mistaken as a star.
Any time Celestia and Passion tried to evade it, it would just chase them down. With their eyes closed, moving around whilst trying to avoid the petal would be a bit tricky since they weren't allowed to look at the light it was exuding.
"W-Why is it after us?!" Celestia closed her eyes.
"It must not want you to be here..." Garnet read the petal's flashing lights as if it was morse code. "But, I do! Hold on, hold on!" Garnet tried speaking to the petal since it was sentient. "Stop-stop! You don't have to erase their memories of this place! I allowed them-"
"No, wait!" Celestia suddenly interrupted whilst closing her eyes. "We'll take our leave now, Garnet. Passion and I only came here to see if Pegalysium was truly real. This is all the evidence and confirmation that we need."
"But...You're going to leave now? There's still so much I want to show you all! You can come and see my hometown, my friends and how we-"
"It's fine." Celestia and Passion backed away whilst the petal continued to glow, following after them. "But Passion and I won't forget any of this. That much is true."
"Gardevoir."
"Well then..." Garnet looked down, shifting her eyes across before looking at Celestia and Passion. "W-Will you come by next time? I really want to know more about Pokemon and your nation too! There's more I want to see and explore out there!"
"I promise I'll allow that to happen." Celestia officially gave a vow and promise to Garnet whilst still having her eyes closed, not opening them for a second. She would allow Garnet to experience more in the future. Possibly soon. Afterwards, she and Passion used their own forms of teleport to vanish from the spot, successfully escaping from the petal.
And for now, that was the last time Garnet saw them. Until they would possibly come back. The Memoir Petal then fluttered away, lowering its light and returning to the flower it originally came from to restore all of its petals. Garnet was left there, floating in the air with silence. Only the sounds of the wind could be heard and her wing beat. She then let out one word from her mouth.
"Bummer."
Out in the mountains.
After teleporting away, Celestia and Passion had successfully left Pegalysium. They did so by returning to the sea cloud they had come across. They figured that if they passed through the sea cloud, they would go through the very bottom and enter the other part of the sky.
And they certainly did. They had returned, touching the ground once more.
"Perhaps some food will work! That's how father-" Luna spoke to herself before hearing something behind her. She and her Pokemon turned around to see Celestia and Passion here. "Oh, you've returned. How was it? Did you find any proof of Pegalysium?"
"More than that." The returning alicorn held her head whilst opening her eyes, free from the flashing light. "Luna. Pegalysium is as real as the eye can see. It was no hoax at all."
"Are you serious?! It's real?!" Luna bellowed in a shocked tone, hoping her sister had really seen it and was telling the truth.
"Yes. There truly is a nation in the sky."
"Tell me! Tell me everything you've seen immediately!" Luna put her hooves on her big sister, shaking her about as her curiosity had just risen. After all, she had the adventurous spirit within her after Ash's influence rubbed off on her.
"Alright, alright." Celestia nodded and stuttered whilst being shaken by her little sister. And at the same time, she was thinking about the pegasus she had met up there. The first Pegalysium citizen she came across.
Garnet.
Kalos Region. Ninja Village.
Some training was occurring. Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were each taking part in the obstacle course for Ninja Training. All the while, Sanpei watched as their instructor.
They were currently wearing special boots made for them. They were built quickly to fit pony hooves, especially younger ponies like the five fillies. These boots were necessary as they were made to make any form of movement silent with little sound. They did this while standing on a giant wooden log.
Any hoofsteps made by the little ponies would be silent and unheard. Only the sharpest of ears could pick them up, like an Audino. However, that wasn't the case right now. They hadn't fully grasped these boots as they were already making a lot of sound with them whilst moving.
"Am I doing it right?" Apple Bloom said as she was tapping her hooves on the log, trying to see if she could create that silent sound that ninjas can create. But that wasn't happening at the moment.
"Come on..." Scootaloo took the boots off, blowing on them to see if there was something wrong with it. But nothing was wrong with them. After blowing all of the dust away from it, she placed the boots back on, walking once more. But she still made noise. "Argh!"
"Do pitter patter's count?" Diamond Tiara spoke, trying to stay silent with pitter-patters, similar to when a raindrop starts falling.
Their Pokemon weren't performing well either. None of them could really get those silent footsteps down. Actually, the Pokemon had their own unique sounding footsteps but none of them were silent. But they were squeaky and playful.
For a human, this would be simple since they only have two legs to worry about. But for a pony, having four legs was a different story and a different challenge. The same went for Scootaloo's Ponyta who was built like his fellow equine creatures.
"Not quite. Always step at the front of your hoof first. Lift it no more than two to four centimetres off the ground or any surface." Sanpei instructed. "Keep a low centre of gravity. Trying to immediately mimic the sound by lightly tapping doesn't work, unfortunately."
"The front of the hoof..." Silver Spoon seemed to be the one pony getting the most used to it. This instruction had already been given out by Sanpei, but no one was following it properly yet. But, they had just started 4 minutes ago after having some lunch so it wasn't so bad.
After hearing Sanpei's instruction once more, Silver Spoon did just that. By placing her hoof two centimetres off the ground and stepping with the front one first, the sound she made was practically non-existent. Even if the sounds of her friends hoofsteps were making an ambience, hers was impossible to hear. And Sanpei, Clemont and Bonnie noticed this.
Once she made her first silent hoofstep, a smile graced her face. Silver Spoon is a fast learner after all so it was somewhat natural for her.
"I'm doing it...Hey girls!" She then alerted the others. "Just look at me and you'll get it down easy. No problem." Silver Spoon then used her other hooves, making yet another silent hoofstep. Her friends then mimicked what she was doing instead of trying to figure it out on their own.
And with that, they were able to do it as well. By matching Silver Spoon's hoofsteps, the four ponies got the hang of it as Sanpei nodded in approval. Sometimes copying is a good option to go with. Before they knew it, they were making silent hoofsteps on the logs. The Pokemon then followed what their Trainers were doing, mimicking the silent steps themselves.
It was safe to say that they got a good grasp of the first part of this training.
Next was one of pure focus.
The obstacle course had a box that anyone could sit inside. This box was capable of moving across the obstacle course like a cable car as the five ponies and their Pokemon sat inside. It was a big box so they all could fit without taking up too much space. This box also had three large holes that passed air through it.
For this training, they all had to stare at a candle for a while without being distracted. Being a ninja also requires being strong of mind. By staring at this candle they would receive higher concentration. But of course, the moving box was there to challenge their focus.
Right from above, passing through the upper hole of the box was a splash of water that was dropped on the ponies and their Pokemon but not the candle. This water was extra cold as it came from the Wooper that live in this village.
"Wooper.
"Mmmm!" Diamond Tiara scrunched her face as she and her friends shivered from this cold water. But they wouldn't allow the cold to get to them. And thankfully for Ponyta, his flaming mane and tail aren't that simple to put out.
Seeing as they were able to take the cold water, some more actions would be sent their way. The box suddenly sped up, moving across the obstacle course whilst the flame of the candle moved, not blowing out of a second. They kept their eyes on the candle as the box began spinning around whilst zigzagging across the course, performing multiple movements to try and throw the files and Pokemon off.
"Hrrgh...!" Apple Bloom felt like hurling from all of this movement as she was about to close her eyes. But she couldn't cause then she would lose focus.
The one excelling at this was without a doubt, Sweetie Belle. Even with a wet dripping mane and rapid movements within the box, she kept her eyes locked on the candle.
And it made sense. After all, when she was preparing for one of her contests, she stayed up all night practising with her Pokemon. If anything, her eyesight is a bit advanced thanks to those midnight moments. Eventually, the box started to slow down as this part of the training was coming to an end.
Sweetie Belle's eyes stayed glued open whilst the others had their eyes twitch. The cold water from before was still lingering in their eyes as their wet manes also dropped more water. They also felt dizzy after the box started moving so vigorously. They wanted to blink but they couldn't.
Luckily, once it ended, they could.
"Oh finally!" Scootaloo gasped as she closed her eyes, shaking the water off of her. Ponyta used his flames to cool everyone off whilst Diamond Tiara fell flat on her face.
"Hah! Easy!" Sweetie Belle chuckled with victory within her tone of voice. But her eyes hadn't moved away from the candle strangely. "Uh...can someone help me...I'm kinda stuck."
Next was a masking practice.
Aside from the silent movements that they did first, there were other ways for ninjas to be quiet. And that way was being masked in the environment. They wouldn't need the course for this one.
To mask themselves in the environment, they had to do two things. Mimic the ambient sound of the wildlife or use camouflage equipment that was perfect for the scenario. They used the nearby forest as a means of mimicking the Pokemon wildlife.
"Pony...Ponyta! Ah, that's easy enough." Scootaloo tried mimicking her partner. She did this by performing a neigh. That was easier said than done. After all, they're both equines. But, other things like leaves and wind were a bit tricky to come across.
"Hoo..." Diamond Tiara started blowing on the air, trying to mimic the sound of the wind. She kept doing this until she was able to get a good decent howl.
The one who was doing the best in this was Apple Bloom without a doubt. Her time on the farm and learning from big sister and big brother have taught her a few things, especially when it came to ordinary animals instead of Pokemon. This was way before the worlds crossed over.
Her blowing matched both the sound of a wind howl and a light breeze too.
"How are you doing that?" Silver Spoon asked as she was trying to make water puddles.
"Granny taught me. She's something a ninja herself, ya know." Apple Bloom grinned as she was even able to mimic the wind sounds through her teeth by whistling. She barely even had to try and put that much effort into it. The Pokemon didn't really need to mimic the wildlife.
They were the wildlife.
However, they had their own masking techniques. They had used their Pokemon moves to try and conceal themselves. Glameow had used Sand Attack on the ground multiple times, forming up her own sand as she used that as a way of blending in with the environment. While she wasn't in a place with any sand like a beach or a desert, it was still a good method.
They were even given a special paper that matched certain environments. Diamond Tiara held up a large piece of special paper that had a forest painting. It was so well done it could be considered real. And best of all, it matched her height so standing up in a bipedal position and holding it was perfect.
So far, this training exercise was good.
One more before the closes off and they have to have some rest.
Dodging. They stood on one of the platforms of the course as the many hazards that this course had been about to be thrown at them. Thankfully, they didn't hurt but they will send them flying. Large leeks that were even bigger than a Farfetch'd's but less thick than them, making these leeks rather soft and fragile.
The fillies and Pokemon stood on a thin platform whilst the leeks were swung right at them. They had to jump and dodge at the right time. And so they did. With great unification as friends, they were able to jump over the leeks the first time and the second time when they came back.
However, the leeks would speed up each time. Which they did. The sped-up leeks then rushed over towards the fillies and Pokemon once more as this time their jumping time had to be altered. They were able to dodge them a second time by jumping twice. Once for the front and twice for the back. And they increased in speed again, forcing the ponies and Pokemon to jump again.
And again. And again.
And this process would repeat itself until the leek reached a speed so great that it would be nigh-impossible to avoid them. Scootaloo was using her wings to stay afloat for 1 second each time she jumped. She couldn't fully fly after all.
"Woah!" Silver Spoon gasped as her hoof was almost hit by the leek after she jumped. She then tried jumping again from the leek coming back as she barely avoided it. The earth pony almost lost her footing on the platform but she kept the balance.
Everyone else was getting battered, however. Diamond Tiara had taken multiple soft leeks to the face as they ricochet, hitting her continuously. "Ow! Ow!"
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle weren't taking kindly to this either. They tried biting on the leek to stop their swinging but that only allowed the leek to carry them along as they were now swinging with the leeks. And with them swinging with the leeks, they flailed their hooves around, releasing this wasn't the brightest idea.
After figuring that out, they had ended up crashing into their own friends, acting as the hazards themselves now. Silver Spoon had been knocked off the platform by the incoming Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle finally let go as they landed on top of Silver Spoon. Each of them groaned afterwards. "Ough..."
But Scootaloo, Ponyta Meowstic, Purrloin and Glameow were fine. One had wings, the other could glide while the others were already experts at jumping. Whether for having strong hooves or just being a cat-like creature.
Sanpei chuckled as he figured this was a good spot to stop for early training.
"Okay, I think we've made good progress. Let's call it a day, okay?"
"Grenin."
Nightfall.
The five fillies chose to sleep here at the Ninja Village by using their large tents. Unfortunately, Clemont and Bonnie couldn't do the same since they had places to be.
"You sure you don't wanna stay a bit longer?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Sorry. But we're needed back at Lumiose City with our dad." Clemont responded. "But, it was a ton of fun getting to meet you all. Especially friends of Ash!"
"Mhm!" Bonnie nodded. "Tell Ash we said Hi okay? And good luck with your training!"
"Dedenne!"
"We will. And we're gonna do amazing things once we learn all those ninja tricks with ease!" Scootaloo crossed her hooves with confidence. "When midnight strikes, we've only got two days before your contest Sweetie Belle."
"Yeah...How long will it take for me to head back to Ponyville from here?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"We went from Couramine, the Lumiose Badlands, the Kalos Power Plant and Ninja Village in one day in a few hours. So, I'd say we can get back there in one day and a few hours, no problem." Silver Spoon answered.
"Nice!" Sweetie Belle grinned.
"By the way, Diamond Tiara. How come we never see you during contests? You wanna be a Top Coordinator too, right?" Scootaloo questioned.
"Well yeah. But I'm taking my time." Diamond Tiara rubbed the back of her mane whilst adjusting her tiara. "I want to get things just right. My mom's even helping me choose the best performing Pokemon. That's...going good I guess."
"Purrloin."
"Well, goodbye." Clemont and Bonnie turned around, waving and giving their farewells to the fillies and Sanpei. "See you again soon!"
"Bye-Bye!" The ponies waved goodbye by flailing their hooves around. And after all that training, Silver Spoon suddenly dropped flat on the ground, dozing off. She was exhausted as everyone looked down on her afterwards with widened eyes.
Training had been completed for the day. A good night sleep was needed. Aside from that, Celestia herself had made a discovery like no other and came back from that discovery. She had a story to tell and more to wonder about. What else was there in Pegalysium that she has yet to see as the journey continues.
Celestia had just given all of the information she received from Pegalysium to Luna just yesterday. And Luna obviously kept those memories in her head as she was just now thinking about it.
Luna had written down everything Celestia had told her in her personal book. This personal book was used for a few things. Mainly coming up with Pokemon strategies. Drawings of various strategies filled this book as Luna was just that determined to make it to the top of the Equestria League and emerge as Champion.
"A flower that meddles with memories. A pegasus by the name of Garnet and an empire with a castle known as the Sky Monarch. Well, that's a lot to take in isn't it?"
"It is." And in the room with her was Celestia herself. "But I highly doubt that's all there is to it. There is so much out there in Pegalysium that we have yet to discover."
"So, that's why we should get out there and explore more of it, right?" Luna sat up. "You did promise that Garnet pegasus that you would return, remember?"
"Yes, I did say that." Celestia nodded. " Not sure when unfortunately. But I will keep my promise either way."
"Mhm. Well, I'm looking forward to seeing it for myself." Luna grinned after closing her personal book. "By the way, will you by chance be entering the Pokemon Dog Contest in a few days?"
"Already planning to. Arcanine and I are going to win it for sure, aren't we, boy?" Celestia looked at the Legendary Pokemon.
"Arcanine!"
"Wel, I can't sit around right now. I have some more Pokemon to catch." Luna got off her bed before getting her gear and equipment ready. "Good luck with your lessons with Adagio Dazzle, I'll be at Hoenn if you need me." And as she gave her goodbye with everything set, Luna left her room and the castle via teleportation.
"Now then Arcanine. Let's get you ready for that contest next week."
"Arca!"
Kalos Region. Ninja Village. Day.
Once more some training in Ninja Village was about to be done. This time, Sanpei and his Greninja would be taking part in this as they stood before the five fillies and their ace Pokemon.
However, noticeable, the little fillies and their Pokemon were hungry with their stomachs growling. They had woken up early in the morning and hadn't eaten yet. But there was a reason for this. And they were hoping it was a good one because their down and frowned faces said otherwise.
"Alright. This time, Greninja and I will be involved." Sanpei pointed his thumb at himself. "Tell me. Who here likes...dumplings!" Just then, popping some out of his bag, Sanpei had revealed some tasty dumplings in a bowl to the fillies.
"Ooohoo!" And it was safe to say that they did in fact like dumplings. They had a nice taste to them in their eyes. Or technically speaking mouth. "We do!"
"I could really go for a bite right now!" Apple Bloom drooled as she and her friends needed a bite. She attempted to grab the bowl with her hooves but Sanpei pulled it back.
"Ah-ah." Sanpei wagged his finger. "You'll get a chance to eat it...if you can get it off me and Greninja's hold."
"Grenin."
"Huh?" The five of them said.
"This is why I woke you up early. This is all part of your training. Get the bowl away from Greninja or me and you can eat all of the dumplings inside. How does that sound?"
"Aww...!" Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara groaned. "No fair!"
"Being a ninja isn't always fair. It's all about endurance. And this is certainly an endurance test. Usually, this test lasts for 30 minutes. But don't worry. For you all, it'll only last 15 or 10 minutes. You can use whatever method you know to try and succeed. Defeating Greninja also counts as a victory. He might have the bowl on him at times instead of me."
"Grenin."
"We'll take the 30 minutes!" Scootaloo and the others leaned forward, surprising Sanpei.
"Really?!" Sanpei gasped. "30 minutes is a lot of time! And you're hungry too. A-Are you sure?"
"Sure as we can be. When we work together, who cares what the circumstances are." Diamond Tiara displayed a confident smile as her friends held their chests up high. They were brimming with confidence today.
"If it's for being a better ninja, then sure. We'll pry that bowl from your hands!" Silver Spoon exclaimed.
"Yeah!" And Scootaloo added on.
"Well..okay then. You can try and do so over at the forest. You have 30 minutes. Starting...now!" And just like that, Sanpei and Greninja had disappeared in a flash, leaving only a log behind. Everyone had a delayed reaction except for Ponyta as they just now realized that the two of them had left.
"Oh! After them!" Apple Bloom shouted as they all went into the forest to try and find Sanpei and Greninja and get themselves something good to eat. And they would have to do this on an empty stomach.
Within the forest.
After entering the forest, the five fillies stayed close to each other instead of separating. But even when staying together, they also chose to be secretive to try and catch Sanpei and Greninja off guard.
Silver Spoon and Apple Bloom hid in some trees whilst Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Bele hid in a bush. Scootaloo chose to be more out in the open than everyone else, choosing to be direct about it. With Ponyta by her side, they were on a hard lookout.
Sanpei and Greninja were obviously planning to conceal themselves from the ponies. And they would do this by blending in with the environment as seen with that special paper. However, Sanpei would use the paper but Greninja just his own natural skills to hide.
They hadn't concealed themselves yet. They were just searching for the perfect spot to hide along with the bowl. Sweetie Belle and the others could see their prey through the trees and bushes they hid in whilst the ambience of the forest filled her ears.
"Aha!" Scootaloo and Ponyta immediately came across Sanpei and Greninja without hesitation. Since they hadn't found a good spot yet, they were easy pickings in the eyes of Scootaloo. "We'll make this quick and chow down on those dumplings! Let's have a fair battle too!"
"Ponyta!"
"They're just going to be upfront with them?" Diamond Tiara whispered.
"Already?" Sanpei turned to face Scootaloo. "You don't waste any time, do you? I haven't even found a place to conceal myself and Greninja."
"I like it up close and personal." Scootaloo nodded with confidence.
"You're an odd one. Definitely Ash's student." Sanpei responded. "Alright. Let's see if you can end this quickly."
"Watch! I'll use my newly caught partner first!" Scootaloo took out a Poke Ball, throwing it. "Come out, Gible!"
"Gible!"
"Well, you heard her, Greninja. I'll take care of the bowl. You can handle all of this yourself, right?"
"Ninja!" Greninja certainly could. Scootaloo and the others were surprised that Sanpei was separating himself from Greninj, not even choosing to battle with him. But, he had faith in Greninja to be independent. And that was about to show as Sanpei ran off with the bowl in his hand.
"That's our cue..." Silver Spoon whispered as they would personally go after Sanpei whilst Scootaloo dealt with the bigger threat. Greninja. The four little ponies and their Pokemon quietly scattered, leaving their hiding spots as they were searching for new ones. Spots that would be closer to Sanpei.
"Okay, okay! We get Greninja out of the way and it'll be easier! I can do this on an empty stomach, no problem! Gible, use Slash!"
"Gible!" Gible went first by rushing straight towards the Ninja Pokemon with his claws out. As for Greninja himself, he stood there with his arms crossed, assuming a nonchalant stance whilst standing tall suddenly. "Gib?"
Gible stopped running as he bolted back for a bit. The Land Shark Pokemon wasn't sure what Greninja was planning with that pose. The same went for Scootaloo. Greninja didn't act like this before when she first battled against him.
"Something's up...Keep going, Gible!"
"Gible!" GIble went on anyway with the command off Scootaloo. With him rushing forward once more, the Land Shark Pokemon lunged into the air, slashing his claw towards the Water-Dark-Type.
"Ninja." And with a calm and carefree personality, Greninja easily caught Gible's claw, stopping the attack directly.
"Ble? Gib!" Gible noticed how his attack had been caught as he went for a second Slash with his other claw, swinging it at Greninja.
"Grenin." This time, Greninja had evaded the second Slash by letting go of Gible's claw and ducking, avoiding the attack. After missing it, Gible landed on the ground, a bit annoyed that his attack hadn't properly landed by now. He tried a third time, this time at full speed.
"Gible!" But as he swung for a third slash, before he knew it, Greninja had vanished, leaving behind only an afterimage that had also disappeared as fast as it came. "Gib?
"Greninja!" Greninja was actually behind Gible. And Scootaloo was the first to notice this as Greninja had a Night Slash ready for the Dragon-Ground-Type.
"Gible! Behind you!" She cried out along with Ponyta.
"Ponyta!"
"Gib?" Gible had been alerted but it was too late. Greninja had already landed the attack by slashing Gible's back with a purple blade of darkness. "Gible!"
The Land Shark Pokemon went flying, tumbling on the ground after Greninja's Night Slash. He even started rolling due to how his body was built. But even after that, Gible recovered, hopping off the ground but with a pretty bad sting on his back.
"Ninja."
"You won't get us the next time! Gible, Dragon Breath!"
"Gible!" Out of Gible's mouth, a light blue stream of draconic flames was shot out without hesitation. Gible's anger seemed to make the firing speed faster than usual.
"Nin!" Greninja got into his usual stance instead of a calm one as he had suddenly used Double Team, splitting himself with multiple clones. This time, the clones weren't illusionary. They were fairly real and acted as extensions of Greninja.
However, one single clone was an illusionary as that one took Dragon Breath directly, disappearing afterwards when hit. There were now 12 Greninja clones scattered across the forest.
"Gib?"
"Drat! Double Team!" Scootaloo stomped her hoof, seeing that the difficulty was starting to ramp up at this point. But suddenly, before she could give out a command for Gible, half of the Greninja had scattered in different directions, heading deeper into the forest instead of staying here. "Huh?
"Gible?"
"Ponyta?"
Only 6 Greninja remained on this very spot as the rest were somewhere else in the forest. But it was still hard to tell which Greninja was the real one. In fact, the real one could've run off into the forest and the ones Scootaloo and her Pokemon were looking at were just copies.
"All I had to do was just get that bowl...Now what?" Scootaloo bit her hoof before trying to think of something. Meanwhile, Gible looked around as the Greninja surrounded him. Standing on the trees and grass respectively in different poses. "That's when Scootaloo recalled what Sanpei told them earlier before this began."
"You can use whatever method you know to try and succeed."
"Whatever method huh...Double battles aren't out of the question. Ponyta! Help Gible out!"
"Ponyta!" Ponyta nodded in understanding as he galloped ahead, grabbing the attention of the rest of the Greninja. The Fire Horse Pokemon then stood near his fellow teammate, preparing to assist Gible with all of these Greninja. "Pony!"
"Gible."
"Alright, you two! Dragon Breath and Ember, go!"
All at once, Ponyta and Ember faced the multiple Greninja as the many Ninja Pokemon rushed over, approaching the Fire Horse and Land Shark Pokemon. A stream of blue draconic flames and multiple sparks of fire went sent flying everywhere.
The Greninja had evaded the sparks and beams but two of them had been destroyed, revealing that they were just clones and not the real Greninja. Four remained now. The other Greninja zipped around, becoming blurs for a moment as they had struck Ponyta and Gible with speeds that could confound them.
Ponyta and Gible cried out as they had been knocked back by the moving Greninja. And this happened a few times. The Greininja moved across the field at great speeds, continuously hitting Ponyta and Gible from all sides without using any moves at all.
"Ponyta! Gible! Get out of there with Flame Charge and Bulldoze!"
"G-Gible!" Gible winced as he opened one eye. It was hard to focus with all of these Greninja moving around and the fact that he could barely keep up with them. Ponyta could but it was still difficult for him.
When the two of them eventually had a split second to breathe, in that split second, they coated their bodies with an aura of flame and orange energy. The moment the next two Greninja approached them, Ponyta galloped forward, using the speed of Flame Charge to take off like a rocket.
After taking off, Ponyta crashed into the Greninja, sending the Ninja Pokemon back. And once that happened, the Greninja was revealed to be another Double Team clone as three remained.
The other Greninja had struck Gible while another rushed for a follow-up attack. After being hit in the face by the first Greninja, Gible still had the aura of Bulldoze as he retaliated by bashing his head onto the stomach of the Greninja in front of him. A direct hit to the stomach caused the Greninja to stagger and open its mouth as it had been knocked back.
That knockback had caused the other Greninja to jump over, revealing that it was another clone. The final two Greninja approached by taking into the skies as Ponyta and Gible looked up.
"Double Kick and Slash, go!"
"Pony...!"
"Gi...!" Facing the final two Greninja, Ponya turned around, sending power into his hooves whilst Gible lit up both his claws. Once the two Greninja went in for downward dive kicks.
Once they were close enough, Ponyta bucked his back hooves onto the Greninja with two strikes on the while Gible slashed the Greninja on the right with both his claws. Those hits had struck the Greninja successfully as it seemed a bit too easy to Scootaloo's eyes.
That was because these final two Greninja were just clones as they disappeared in a puff of smoke. That explained why they went down in just one hit. The real Greninja wasn't here. Most likely, he had run off with the other clones somewhere in the forest.
"They were all fake..." Scootaloo before realizing something. Her friends were elsewhere in the forest and could be confused with all of the Greninja. "Uh oh! Guys, we need to go now!"
"Pony?"
"Gib!"
"Let's hurry so we can maybe beat them there!" Scootaloo rushed off as Ponyta and Gible looked at each other. They didn't quite understand but they knew to follow Scootaloo to accomplish this challenge.
North parth of the forest.
Over at the north part of the forest, Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara were moving across the bushes, trying to make as little sound as they can. The training from yesterday allowed their hoofsteps to be as silent as they wanted them to.
Sweetie Belle herself had a plan brewing in her mind. One that she believes would put an end to this training and allow them to feast on those dumplings.
"Alright. I know of a way to get those two out here..." Sweetie Belle whispered.
"You do? What is it?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"With this..." Sweetie Belle pulled something out of her saddlebag. Aside from the many Poke Balls inside of it, she carried one other object with her. Courtesy of her big sister. Out of her saddlebag, Sweetie Belle pulled out a Sweet Scent bottle. "Ta-dah!"
"A Sweet Scent?"
"Oh yeah." The little unicorn grinned. "This is called Sweet Scent Great. Not that really strong one. But this is still super strong. Any Pokemon that catches a whiff of this scent is gonna be drawn in like a Mothim to a flame. Even the cool Greninja can't resist it."
"Ooh. Good thinking." Diamond Tiara approved of this. Sweetie Belle then opened the lid of the bottle with her magic, knowing the best place to pour it on. She looked to the nearest leaf of this forest, choosing it as the perfect spot. The unicorn filly then used her magic to gently carry the bottle of Sweet Scent across the air.
She then tipped it, pouring half the liquid of Sweet Scent out of the bottle and onto the leaf as pink sparkles flashed after making contact. Now that the liquid was on the leaf, waiting was the right move to make as Sweetie Belle pulled the bottle back.
The liquid from Sweet Scent emanated a waft that was coloured pink as it flowed through the air. Due to it being weaker than the Sweet Scent Supreme but greater than every other Sweet Scent, it had a potent scent that immediately flooded the air, overlaying it with a wonderful smell. Meowstic and Purrloin had to restrain themselves from going after the scent since it attracts all Pokemon no matter what.
Keyword, All.
The one thing that Sweetie Belle didn't take into account where the Pokemon living in this forest specifically. Immediately after overlaying the atmosphere with its sweet waft, the Pokemon of this beautiful forest had been alerted.
With them catching a whiff of the scent, they collectively stopped what they were each doing and focused on the direction of this wonderful smell, rushing towards it. Poor Sweetie Belle was unaware of what she had just summoned.
As for Greninja, the other Greninja were across the forest as well However, noticeably, some of them weren't attracted towards the smell. Mostly because some of them were just clones. Speaking of the clones, two of them had been spotted by Silver Spoon and Apple Bloom in concealment.
"There's two of them...What's that all about?" Apple Bloom whispered.
"It must be Double Team." Silver Spoon examined. "One of them's a fake while the other one is the real deal. I could try and have Glameow used Sand Attack to reveal the real one."
"I got a better idea." Apple Bloom then looked over at her Emolga. "Emolga. Send 'em a tiny little jolt. Two of 'em. Then we'll see which one's the real Greninja."
"Emol..." Emolga raised her arm, creating two little jolts from her fingers, ready to fire them and expose the real Ninja Pokemon. However, that's when the aroma of Sweet Scent caught up to her. Emolga had been distracted by something else along with Glameow. "Molga?"
"Glam." And just like that, a good whiff of this bouquet caused the two Pokemon to become entranced as their eyes closed. Emolga stopped what she was doing just to focus on the scent alone as she started gliding the other way. Glameow pounced out of the tree, following the scent.
Noticeably, one of the Greninja had actually responded to the scent while the other one didn't. But that Greninja stood still, not moving from the spot it stood on.
"Huh? Hey! Emolga! They're that way!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, immediately catching the attention of the Greninja. She then closed her mouth afterwards, realizing she had just yelled.
"Glameow...! Come back...!" Silver Spoon hushed. Their cover had been blown. And it didn't help that Emolga and Glameow had revealed themselves by flying and pouncing out of the trees.
"Grenin?" The two Greninja immediately turned around.
"Emol?"
Glameow?" And so did Emolga and Glameow. They were still drawn to the scent but it now just occurred to them that they've blown their cover.
"Ninja!" Once spotting them, the two Greninja rushed over, ready to attack the Sky Squirrel and Catty Pokemon by zooming through the ground and air at great speeds.
"Uh oh! Emolga, Acrobatics!"
"Glameow use Super Fang!" Now that they've been exposed, best to try and take out the two Greninja. But, that scent was throwing their Pokemon off. It was so addicting that they could properly focus. When Emolga tried to glide through the air at high speeds, she felt like turning and going straight in the direction of the scent.
"E-Emol..." Emolga closed her eyes, turning around before snapping back to Greninja. It was too late to pull off the move. The first Greninja had struck Emolga with a Night Slash, hurling the Sky Squirrel Pokemon through the air with the purple blade striking her. "Emolga!"
"Glameow!" Glameow shook her head, trying to ignore the scent. She knew she was better than that. Silver Spoon taught her so. Glameow seemed to have a better composure as opposed to Emolga. She opened her mouth as her teeth started glowing. Her glowing teeth then extended as she lunged forward, approaching the second Greninja.
"Grenin!"
"Glam!" With one strike, Glameow had bit the Super Fang onto Greninja's leg. And that one strike caused the second Greninja to disappear in a cloud of smoke, revealing that it was a copy. "Meow?"
"That was just a clone! So then that one must be the real Greninja!" Silver Spoon pointed her hoof at the Greninja that had just knocked Emolga away.
"Nin?!" And from that shocked expression, it was official. That was the real Greninja.
"The real one used moves while the other one didn't..." Silver Spoon also noticed. "Glameow, use Fury Swipes!"
"Meow!" Glameow seemed to have the most focus when it came to smelling Sweet Scent. However, the scent was still temping to her. Noticeably, the real Greninja, while he could sense the scent, wasn't provoked to head towards the aroma.
Turns out that a calm, cool and collected Pokemon like Greninja can resist the Sweet Scent. Greninja, now seeing that his cover had been blown, Greninja summoned Night Slash once again by forming a purple blade. "Greninja!"
"Glameow!" The Catty Pokemon then swiped her glowing claws straight towards the Water-Dark-Type after getting close. Greninja retaliated by using his purple blade to block Glameow's swipe.
"Ninja!"
"Meow!" Glameow, using her amazing reflexes, then suddenly flipped over Greninja, landing on his arm whilst he held out the blade of Night Slash. Once on his arm, Glameow swiped her law to try and scratch the Ninja Pokemon's face.
"Grenin!" Grenin also had fast reflexes as he ducked his head, zipping away afterwards. Glameow then landed on her feet after Greninja's escape.
"Emolga! Use Thunder Shock!"
"Mol...Emolga." Emolga was still attracted to the scent of Sweet Scent once she got back up. Even after hearing her own trainer's command, she couldn't resist it as she was facing the other way.
"Ugh...This isn't working. Glameow, use Wake-Up Slap on Emolga!"
"Glam!" Instead of going for Greninja, Glameow went for her teammate. And with one vigorous claw raise and jump, the Catty Pokemon appeared before Emolga.
"Emol?" The Sky Squirrel Pokemon noticed the shadow behind her, causing her to swivel around. And once she did so, Emolga was met with a swift slap to the face by her teammate, one that was so loud it rang across the area. Emolga had also been given a visible red mark on her cheek as her eyes felt like popping out of her socket. "Ga!"
"Glam! Glam-Glameow!" Glameow gave Emolga a slight scolding, telling her to focus. Emolga held her red cheek, whimpering as she nodded in understanding. Wake-Up Slap really works on sleeping enemies. But for someone entranced by something they're also effective.
"Alright! Good going, Glameow! Now, Emolga, Thunder Shock!"
"Glameow, use Feint Attack!"
"Emol!" Emolga took the skies, immediately summoning an aura of electricity. Out of that aura, multiple bolts of lightning came flying out.
"Ja-Ja-Ja!" Greninja responded to this by using his own amazing speed to do so. The Ninja Pokemon evaded the bolts of lightning with ease whilst jumping over the last bolt. He then held another Night Slash blade in his hand, ready to cut down on the Sky Squirrel Pokemon.
"Meow!" But along came Glameow, using her claws with Feint Attack to block Greninja from Emolga. Her claws met with Greninja's blade as they pushed each other back.
"Now, use Sand Attack!"
"Glam!" After moving back from Greninja, the Catty Pokemon spun her paws around, generating sand out of thin air. Once doing so, Glameow had created a whirlwind of sand that went straight for the Water-Dark-Type.
"Gre?!" Greninja put his arms up as the spiral of sand covered his body. He was wondering what approach Glameow was going for with this attack. He made sure to close his eyes so the sand wouldn't get in them.
"Thunder Shock again!"
"Emol...!" While Greninja was stuck dealing with the whirlwind of sand, Emolga went for another Thunder Shock. This time from behind. By gliding over the Ninja Pokemon, the Sky Squirrel Pokemon yelled as she shot out multiple bolts of lightning. This time, the bolts merged to form one bigger bolt.
"Ja!" And Greninja had been struck by this attack from behind as he couldn't protect himself thanks to Glameow's Sand Attack hurricane. Thus, Greninja took super-effective damage.
"Yes!" Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon gave each other a high-hoof of success. But it wasn't over yet. Greninja immediately recovered as he then used Water Shuriken, forming two shurikens in his hands. He then spread his armour out, using the water from Water Shuriken to blow away the sand.
"Greninja!"
"Glam?!"
"Ninja-ja-ja-ja!" That's when Greninja decided to be a bit more serious. By increasing his speed, the Ninja Pokemon had vanished out of thin air, appearing as a blur afterwards. He then appeared behind Emolga from above.
"Emol?!" Emolga gasped as she had just realized who was above her. But it was too late for her and Apple Bloom to do anything. Greninja had thrown the Water Shuriken, hitting the Sky Squirrel Pokemon and sending her to the ground. "Emolga!"
"Glam?!"
"Ninja!" Greninja then descended to the ground before getting ready to toss the second shuriken to Glameow.
"Glameow, dodge!"
"Glame!" The Catty Pokemon then made a quick turn but even she couldn't outpace Greninja. With one swift throw, the shuriken smacked her in the side, knocking Glameow over with just one hit. "Glam!"
"Grenin!" Greninja then stood up, crossing his arms whilst his opponents were both down on the ground. They hadn't fainted yet but they certainly took some heavy hits from the Water-Dark-Type.
"Aw...!" Silver Spoon groaned. "Just when I thought we were doing something! But it's not ver yet! We can-"
Unfortunately, her next command wouldn't appear. As Silver Spoon opened her mouth, everything paused for a moment. And that was because they could hear the sound of various footsteps approaching and cries too. The ground started trembling a tad bit as the direction of the wind was changing.
Even Greninja had stopped as he was actually the first to recognise this. "Nin?" The Ninja Pokemon, with his ever sharp senses, faced the direction of where he sensed those numerous footsteps and cries. He read the wind patterns as well to determine this.
And right up ahead, moving frantically towards one direction whether by running, slithering or flying were a horde of Pokemon. And these Pokemon were moving for one reason.
Sweet Scent Great.
"What's with all of those Pokemon?!" Apple Bloom gasped.
"Ninja." Knowing that this situation might be ugly with a horde this big. He couldn't focus like this. No way. So, a change of location was the way to go as he suddenly disappeared, leaving behind a log afterwards.
"Hey! He's getting away!" Apple Bloom jumped out of the tree before Silver Spoon pulled her back in.
"Don't! You're gonna get trampled by those Pokemon if you go out there!" Silver Spoon said as she held her Poke Ball out. "Return, Glameow!" To keep Glameow safe from the horde of approaching Pokemon, she was sent back into her ball.
"Oh, right! Return Emolga!" Emolga was given the same as Apple Bloom called her partner back. And at the right time too. The stampede of Pokemon had just passed the spot where Emolga was before as they only had the scent on their mind.
"Where are they all heading?" Apple Bloom wondered.
"They're all going in the same direction Emolga tried to go in." Silver Spoon noticed. "That means that there's something there that's drawing them all in."
"Like...an aroma? Oh! Sweet Scent!" Apple Bloom was able to tell what could cause this. Then again, the only two things in the Pokemon World that can draw Pokemon in are Sweet Scent and incense. A majority of the time, Sweet Scent is the one item that's used so it wasn't difficult to figure it out.
After knowing this, Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon got a move on, following the Pokemon to warn their friends while also pursuing Greninja.
With a stampede occurring, this little endurance test for a bowl of dumplings was about to get harder. Not in the way anyone would imagine. Even Sanpei. Speaking of Sanpei, he stood on the east side of the forest, right near a lake with rocks encircling it. He heard the stampede from a faraway distance.
"That's odd. Did the Pokemon suddenly start moving altogether? Did something scare them?" Sanpei wondered.
"There you are!" And finding him, with the great help of Ponyta, was Scootaloo. She was originally looking for the Greninja clones and the real Greninja. But she found someone even better.
Sanpei and the dumpling bowl. If she can just get the bowl off of Sanpei, then this whole test will come to an end and that hungry stomach can be satisfied. That is, if she can as the journey continues.
Kalos Region. Out in the forest near Ninja Village. Day.
Scootaloo had just come across Sanpei and the bowl of dumplings. The test was still on. Grab the bowl of dumplings and have a nice meal in the morning. It wasn't as easy as it seemed and the first early minutes of this test made it clear. At the same time, a stampede was occurring within the forest. Due to Sweetie Belle using a bottle of Sweet Scent Great to try and lure Greninja out, it was about to backfire heavily.
"There you are...That bowl of dumplings is ours!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"You're pretty direct, arent you, Scootaloo?" said Sanpei as he leaned next to a tree with the bowl still in his hand. "That's actually good. Sometimes, ninjas don't have to be stealthy and secretive. Sometimes direct attacks can work if used at the right moment."
"Is this a right moment then?"
"I wouldn't say that..."
"Well, whatever. Give us that bowl! Let's Ponyta! Gible!" Scootaloo hopped onto Ponyta's back as she, the Fire Horse Pokemon and the Land Shark Pokemon immediately rushed towards Sanpei.
"Bit too soon." Sanpei wagged his finger as he took one step back away from the blade of grass in front of him and no more than that. He seemed calm despite him having pursuers who were determined to grab a bite from that bowl.
That was because this was a part of his plan. The moment he stepped back and Scootaloo and her Pokemon advanced, something had been triggered. Ponyta's hoofstep and Gible's footstep had activated something hidden with the blades of grass.
Within it, a rope had been discovered as it had immediately glued itself onto its victims.
"Huh?"
"Pony?"
"Gible?"
And before the two of them knew it, they had been strung up by a surprise rose, rising towards the tree that it hung from. All part of Sanpei's plan.
"Woah!" Scootaloo cried out along with her Pokemon. The rope had wrapped around each of them and unfortunately for Scootaloo, since she was on Ponyta's back, she was more stuck than her Pokemon.
"Easiest trick in the book right there," Sanpei smirked while twirling the bowl.
"Gaah!" Scootaloo roared, feeling a bit silly for falling for it. Then again, it was hidden within the blade of grass so it wasn't fully on her.
"Bye!" After successfully tricking Scootaloo, Sanpei made his leave, disappearing somewhere else in the forest whilst the stampede was building up.
"Ninjas are so cool but so unfair too...Just you wait! We're gonna catch up to you in no time!" She flailed her hooves around with a brash nature. "Ponyta! Burn the ropes away!"
"Pony...!" Thankfully, Ponyta's flaming mane and tail were perfect for this. He intensified the flame on his mane, using it to burn away the rope. At the same time, Gible was chewing on the rope which was proving to be just as effective as the flames.
And with that combination, they were able to break free from the rope trap with ease. Barely even a struggle. After breaking free, they dropped to the ground with Ponyta still carrying Scootaloo as the ropes were burnt away.
"Okay! Let's keep the chase up!" Scootaloo cheered as her fiery spirit was burning as bright as Ponyta's mane and the summer sun. After escaping, they continued their hunt.
Unfortunately, Sanpei predicted something like this would happen. So he set another one up.
When running ahead, this time, they didn't step on a blade of grass. Instead, they stepped on some small dirt mounts that triggered the next trap. This time, Scootaloo, Ponyta and Gible were met with something other than rope. A Pokemon Trap. Specifically designed to hold most Pokemon except the really big ones.
This trap was in the shape of a bottle as it popped out of the ground, originally in two halves. Once those two halves came together, they formed the full bottle shape, placing Scootaloo and her Pokemon inside of it.
"Oh come on!"
Somewhere north of the forest.
The stampede was raging on. Every Pokemon here was heading for the source of the Sweet Scent, rumbling the forest in the process. Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon had followed the Pokemon whilst also trying to find Greninja. They figured that Greininja would be within this since Sweet Scent was attracting the Pokemon. Unfortunately, Greninja wasn't easily swayed by the Sweet Scent.
Appearing in the north section was Sanpei himself as he was also looking for the source of the stampede. He appeared on top of a hill, finding the stampeding Pokemon.
"There they are." Sanpei said whilst holding the bowl with one hand. After arriving, he noticed that the Pokemon didn't have fear in the eyes like he thought. Instead, it was one of enjoyment. "They don't look scared. They look happy. Then what's with the stampede?"
Sanpei's confusion was rising. Usually, Pokemon stampede's only happen when something frightens or chases down the Pokemon. Mainly the smaller ones. But this was a different case. "Unless...they're being drawn to something?"
Curious as to what could be causing the Pokemon such happiness, Sanpei began following them, hopping from tree to tree and hill to hill to keep up with these colourful creatures.
"Emol!" But as he gained higher ground, looking at the Pokemon below, a certain Sky Squirrel Pokemon had spotted Sanpei just by gliding. Apple Bloom's Emolga of course.
She had found Sanpei from a high height. Really, Emolga was the best option for this since she could cover the skies without a doubt. Earlier, she was also attracted to the scent of the Sweet Scent Great. But Silver Spoon's Glameow slapped some sense into her with Wake-Up Slap thankfully. Now she was really getting her head in the game.
"Uh oh!" Sanpei realized he had been found as Emolga soared towards him with Acrobatics. After being found, Sanpei made a quick turn, attempting to avoid the incoming Electric-Flying-Type.
"Emolga!" Emolga swooped through the air, holding her hands out as she was going to dive face-first into the bowl. But that didn't happen. Sanpei gave Emolga the slip by tossing the bowl into the air the moment the Sky Squirrel Pokemon swooped down. "Emol?"
After tossing it up, Sanpei then hopped to the next tree, gaining a higher height as he jumped after the bowl of dumplings. Emolga looked up, realizing she had been tricked. The Electric-Flying-Type then attempted another go at grabbing the bowl with some more Acrobatics.
"Gotcha!" Sanpei grabbed the bowl as he started rolling midair whilst Emolga approached him. To evade Emolga once more, Sanpei then jumped into an acre of trees that were enough to hopefully mask him from the Sky Squirrel Pokemon.
"Emol!" Emolga missed Sanpei yet again when ascending. Now she would have to head back down and also alert Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon. Thanks to her aerial advantage, even if Sanpei hid in the trees, he couldn't escape Emolga for obvious reason.
By using Thunder Shock, Emolga shot out bolts of lighting into the sky, causing them to explode at a certain height. This acted as a signal for Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon. And they most definitely saw it.
"There!" Apple Bloom pointed out after witnessing the bolts of thunder. They followed its location, heading straight for the Sky Squirrel Pokemon. They would also have to evade the stampeding Pokemon as well.
Speaking of which, Sanpei had hidden behind a tree as the Pokemon ran past him. He had almost been trampled by them after making his landing. But that small moment of pause allowed Emolga to close in, spotting the ninja through the leaves. And to make things clearer for Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon to see him, Emolga used Thunder Shock again.
This time, she struck the trees, startling Sanpei as he was forced to jump out of the shades of the trees, exposing him to the sun. Not only that, but the stampeding Pokemon were also within his path.
"Yes! Worked like a charm!" Silver Spoon shouted out as they had found Sanpei and the bowl. "Glameow, grab it!"
"Glam!" Glameow pounced off the ground at a high height, claws out and mouth open.
"So they just wanted to drag me out of the stampede? Clever." Sanpei nodded as he could applaud this use of teamwork. Working as a team was important. Not just as ninjas or Pokemon Trainers. Or Pokemon in general. Just everyone altogether.
"Meow!" Meowtstic hissed as she used the Pokemon as a pedestal to gain higher heights. By hopping on the head of Sawsbuck and then next an Amoongus before reaching Sanpei.
"Emol!" At the same time, Emolga was also heading for Sanpei himself with Acrobatics in use. Now Sanpei was being approached from two sides at nimble speeds. All aiming for the bowl.
"Heh." But, Sanpei wouldn't make things so easy. The moment Glameow and Emolga got close, Sanpei had used the Body Switch technique, replacing his spot with one of the stampeding Pokemon. A Politoed.
"Poli?"
"Gla?!" Glameow and Emolga gasped after seeing that Sanpei had disappeared in an exchange for the Frog Pokemon. They halted their attacks, but they couldn't halt their movements in time. Thus, they both crashed into Politoed's stomach and back.
"Emo!"
"Politoed?" Politoed barely felt the impact as his body jiggled afterwards. But Glameow and Emolga certainly felt it as their bodies vibrated, causing them both to fall over.
"Not fast enough!" Sanpei said as he standing near another tree with the bowl, grinning at the Catty and Sky Squirrel Pokemon.
"Gotcha!" But, as a double surprise, dropping from the trees below was Apple Bloom. The little earth pony then landed on Sanpei's face as a sneak attack. Her very first one too.
"Huh?! Hey!" Sanpei cried out as his eyes were being blocked by hooves. He started stumbling around while somehow keeping his balance with the bowl. So far, not a single dumpling had fallen from it.
His stumbling meant that the stampeding Pokemon were most likely to hit him. Luckily, the Pokemon were leaving the area and continuing up north.
"Now, Silver Spoon!"
"Okay!" Silver Spoon nodded after Apple Bloom's call as that was her cue. This was all just a part of their plan. Blind Sanpei and get that bowl. She jumped out of the bushes, pouncing towards the bowl, ready to grab it.
"Grr...Greninja!" Sanpei called for Greninja as he suddenly tossed the bowl of dumplings into the air while still having his eyes covered.
"Huh?!" Silver Spoon looked up as her pounce had failed, causing her to crash onto the floor, landing near Sanpei's hoof.
"Emolga, get it!" Apple Bloom commanded.
"Emol!" Emolga took the skies, soaring towards the dumpling bowl as it had not turned upside down at all, keeping the dumplings safe. Once this test ends, those dumplings are going to be in good condition and have perfect taste afterwards. Hopefully, they do not turn cold soon.
Sanpei lifted Apple Bloom off his head as he saw that Emolga was approaching the bowl. However, moving faster than Emolga, through the trees and causing them to rustle was Sanpei's partner.
Greninja.
"Grenin!" Jumping out of the trees and having the golden sun beam down on him, Greninja had beaten Emolga to the bowl, grabbing it. The Ninja Pokemon made one stylish entrance as he held the bowl close to him, reaching the ground and sliding on it.
"Emolga?!"
"Greninja again?!" Apple Bloom chided as Sanpei placed her down. After doing so, Sanpei then rushed to Greninja's side whilst his pursuers stood before him.
"Great job, Greninja." Sanpei breathed in and out as he rubbed his eyes and held his head. Apple Bloom's earth pony strength could certainly be felt after she landed that sneak attack.
"Greninja."
"You've all done a pretty good job so far." Sanpei stood up, adjusting his clothes. "You're definitely shaping up to be pretty good ninjas from what I've seen. Catching me off guard and everything."
"Mhm." Apple Bloom nodded. "We learned a lot from the Pokemon and here too."
"Enough to make us a cut above most foals out there." Silver Spoon spoke with confidence in her eyes and smile as she adjusted her glasses.
"I think I've done enough moving for the time being. Let's-"
"Run away!" Interrupting Sanpei was the screeching voice of Sweetie Belle. And that made sense considering two things. Number one, they were in the north part of the forest which was where the scent of the Sweet Scent originally came from.
And number two was that the bottle of Sweet Scent Great that Sweetie Belle carried with her was also a magnet. Due to it having such a potent smell, the Pokemon were drawn towards Sweetie Belle instead of the leaf that the liquid was dropped on. And it didn't help that the aroma had also gotten on Sweetie Belle after carrying it with her since this journey began.
And right next to her was Diamond Tiara. And behind them were the rampaging Pokemon, chasing after the unicorn, earth pony and their teammates.
"Sweetie Belle?" said Apple Bloom.
"Diamond Tiara?" Silver Spoon also spoke.
"The stampede of Pokemon!" Sanpei exclaimed.
"My Sweet Scent plan didn't go so well!" Sweetie Belle wailed as she took out the bottle, turning around. "Here! Take it!" To try and stop the Pokemon from chasing her, the little unicorn chose to get rid of the bottle, throwing it far away.
It worked. Somewhat. Some Pokemon were attracted to the smell of the bottle as it was sent flying in the distance. Unfortunately, not all of the Pokemon went for the bottle. Some still went for Sweetie Belle.
"Seriously?!" Sweetie Belle grimaced, seeing that her plan didn't fully work.
"We should probably take care of that..." Sanpei said to Greninja.
"Grenin."
"We can take advantage of this actually." Silver Spoon gasped, coming to a realization. "Glameow, Sand Attack and whirl it around! Right up front!"
"Glameow!" The Catty Pokemon put her claws out, allowing them to glow as she faced them towards Sanpei, Greninja and the stampeding Pokemon. She was going to attack amidst the chaos.
"Huh?!" Sanpei heard Silver Spoon's command, causing him and Greninja to turn around and take their attention away from the approaching Pokemon, Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara.
"Meow!" Glameow then spun her paws around, generating sand as she used the same sand hurricane tactic she did on Greninja earlier. A spiral of sand went flying, threatening to make things worse.
"Not good! Greninja Water Shuriken!"
"Greninja!" Greninja formed a Water Shuriken with one hand, throwing it towards the spiral of sand. Upon collision, the attacks cancelled each other out, causing an explosion of water and sand collectively.
"Again!"
But, Glameow went for a second Sand Attack, throwing it forward. "Gre?!" Greninja gasped, seeing another Sand Attack coming his way through the smoke. It was closer this time. To react quickly and keep the food clean, the Ninja Pokemon used Double Team, splitting himself into 10 copies.
The real Greninja moved to the side, protecting the bowl whilst 5 Greninja clones had been taken out. This time, it was easy to tell which Greninja was the real one considering he was holding the bowl.
"Gre-nin-nin!" The other 5 Greninja then ran over to try and stop this stampede as they split up. Sanpei himself went with the copies.
"After that Greninja!" Apple Bloom shouted, pointing her hoof towards the real Greninja with the bowl. Emolga and Glameow chased after the real Greninja with Feint Attack and Acrobatics.
Emolga went ahead, zipping around and leaving behind afterimages of her rapid movements while approaching the Ninja Pokemon. Greninja narrowed his eyes as he formed a single Night Slash blade. When Emolga got close, Greninja raised the blade, using it to block the Sky Squirrel.
"Emol!" Emolga closed her eyes as she smashed her head right into the blade of Night Slash. And she made a pretty hard hit too, causing the blade to tremble a bit along with Greninja.
"G-Grenin!
"Emolga!" Emolga then suddenly gave a grin off, knowing that something else was coming. Greninja wondered what that grin was as coming right from the side was Glameow with Feint Attack. And she did just that.
Glameow made a feint, juking Greninja out to make him think that Glameow would go after the ball, prompting the Ninja Pokemon to raise his arm. But that only allowed Glameow to hit Greninja's side instead. "Glam!"
"Ja!" Greninja felt that as the bowl of dumplings was sent into the air after that hit once more. It's a miracle that none of the food had dropped at all.
"Emolga!" ANd as Greninja had been struck, Emolga followed up with Thunder Shock. Right up close. By summoning electricity from her body, the Sky Squirrel Pokemon covered the Ninja Pokemon with 20,000 volts of electricity.
"Grenin?!" The other Greninja clones looked to the sky, seeing that their real self had been shocked and the dumpling was high up. They left one single Greninja and Sanpei to deal with the stampeding Pokemon.
The clone Greninja had grabbed Sweetie Belle since she was the major cause of this. The clone then jumped into the air with the little unicorn, prompting the Pokemon to look up in the air. Diamond Tiara ran to the side, finding the nearest bush to escape from the stampeding Pokemon. Sanpei himself went straight for the Sweet Scent bottle that had been thrown away, figuring that it could be fully used to send them away. But then again, Sweetie Belle tried that already. But Sanpei had a better way of doing it.
"Oh! Thanks!" Sweetie Belle looked up at the clone.
"Grenin."
As for the other Greninja, one of the copies grabbed the bowl from the sky, sliding on the ground whilst the other clones surrounded Apple Bloom, Silver Spoon, Emolga and Glameow. The real Greninja had also moved back, joining with his clones.
"Emolga, Air Slash!"
"Glameow, use Play Rough!"
"Meow!" Glameow hissed, pouncing towards the clone that held the bowl as Emolga sent cutting waves of air towards all the other copies.
"Greninja!" The clone tossed the bowl away, allowing another clone to catch it as the cutting waves of Air Slash had destroyed it. The other Greninja clone caught the bowl, jumping in the air to avoid Air Slash. It was about to toss it towards another Greninja, but the other Greninja had been taken out by Glameow's Play Rough with just one hit.
"Emolga!" Emolga then aimed her Air Slash in the air, shooting it at the clone.
"Ninja!" Yet again, the clone tossed the bowl downwards to the next Greninja he could find. The cutting waves of Air Slash had missed the bowl but had destroyed the clone in the sky as the real Greninja caught the bowl.
"Glameow, Fury Swipes!"
"Glam!" Summoning her claws and extending them, the Catty Pokemon leapt forward, ready to swipe at the real Greninja. The remaining copies got in the way, however, acting as a shield for the real Greninja. "Meow?"
"Emolga!" Emolga had, however, taken care of those clones from above via Air Slash. Not only that, as the slash take out the copies, but it also created a dust cloud for Glameow to take advantage of. Instead of moving forward, the Normal-Type Pokemon zoomed to the side, aiming to slash Greninja there.
"Ja!" But Greninja's sharp senses kicked in. The Ninja Pokemon held out a blade with Night Slash, spotting Glameow lunge out of the smoke. He used the purple blade, blocking Glameow's swipe.
"Glameow!" Glameow didn't stop there. She kept swiping towards Greninja while Greninja managed to clash with her claws with just one hand.
As for the stampeding Pokemon, Sanpei found the bottle, jumping to the highest tree he could find. The ninja then looked down, seeing how the Pokemon were all standing there, trying to reach Sweetie Belle. At least, the ones who couldn't fly. The ones who could fly went straight for her and the Greninja clone holding her on a tree.
"Greninja, go down!" Sanpei commanded the clone.
"Nin!" By jumping down the tree and Sweetie Belle screaming, the clone had descended, evading the airborne Pokemon and standing before the rest of them. The Pokemon were now ready to run after Sweetie Belle again as the little unicorn gulped.
"Now!" Sanpei made his move as he jumped off the tree. And with a stylish flip, he poured the bottle of Sweet Scent down. Not just one target. But multiple.
He managed to coat all of the Pokemon in the Sweet Scent Great collectively with precise aiming. Now all of the Pokemon were full of the aroma. And with them having the aroma, that meant that they weren't attracted to one thing. But to each other. The Pokemon all stopped chasing after Sweetie Belle and just focused on each other this time.
"There."
"Phew." Sweetie Belle sighed. "Thanks for that."
"Grenin." The clone nodded, essentially saying that it was glad to help out. But as it gave a nod, the clone had disappeared. Not by its own will, but by sparks of flames that had struck its head. "Ja!"
"Huh?" Sweetie Belle was then dropped afterwards, sitting on the ground. Those sparks came from a Fire-Type Pokemon. And who else who would have one now than Scootaloo.
"Finally...no more running!" Scootaloo breathed in and out as her hungry stomach was getting to her. She had a bigger appetite than anyone here right now. "That bowl is ours!"
"Meow!" Glameow had been knocked back by Greninja's Night Slash, failing to get the bowl. Both Glameow and Emolga were on the verge of fainting even if Greninja has been holding back his true strength for a while now.
"There's the real Greninja!" Scootaloo locked her eyes onto the real Greninja with the bowl before throwing out a Poke Ball. "Let's add some extra help! Come out, Cyndaquill!"
"Cyndaquill!"
"Ponyta, use Flame Charge! Gible, Slash! And Cyndaquill, Flame Wheel!" All at once, the three of Scootaloo's Pokemon advanced towards the real Grenina with sharpened claws and auras of fire.
"Grenin!" The real Greninja saw that things were getting close now. Ponyta went ahead of his teammates, blazing through the ground as Greninja formed a Water Shuriken to block the Flame Charge. "Nin!"
To keep the bowl safe, Greninja passed it on to Sanpei, throwing it over him. As he pushed Ponyta back with Water Shuriken, along came Gible, jumping on Ponyta's back, using it as a platform for a higher height. "Gible!" The Land Shark Pokemon swiped his claws down, only to be met with Greninja's blade.
"Hoh!" Sanpei caught the bowl that Greninja tossed towards him. However, since Sweetie Belle was near him, the young unicorn suddenly grabbed onto his leg with her hoof. "Huh?!"
"Gotcha!" And out of the bush came Diamond Tiara who grabbed onto Sanpei's arm, trying to reach the bowl. This was similar to what Apple Bloom pulled earlier.
"This again...!" Sanpei groaned.
"Come on...!" Diamond Tiara flailed her hoof, trying to grab the bowl whilst her Purrloin made an entrance, jumping out of the bush too and coming from above.
"No, you don't!" Sanpei then used the Body Swap technique, swapping places with a log. Purrloin ended up crashing into the log whilst Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara fell. Sanpei backed away as all eyes locked onto him.
"Cyndaquill turn!"
"Cynda!" Cyndaquill turned with Flame Wheel, going for Sanpei instead. He drifted along the ground while Gible was knocked back by a Water Shuriken from Greninja.
"Gib!"
"Come on, Ponyta! Scootaloo jumped onto Ponyta's back. "Let's go! Gible, handle Greninja for us, please?"
"Gible!" Gible nodded as he could do that. Hopefully. If he didn't faint that was. Gible could certainly hold his own, plus he had Glameow and Emolga to support him. But they were on the verge of fainting so they had to make it all count.
"Emolga, Thunder Shock!"
"Glameow, Feint Attack!"
"Gible!" And as for Gible, Dragon Breath was for him. Glameow moved ahead, giving Greninja another feint, but this time, Greninja saw it coming. He blocked Glameow's feint, pushing her away, but afterwards, he had to deal with a light blue draconic breath and multiple bolts of lightning.
The Ninja Pokemon used Water Shuriken as a shield, holding it up with two hands to block the incoming ranged attacks. He was able to hold them back as Gible and Emolga poured it on, choosing to keep the pressure on Greninja.
"Play Rough!"
"Glameow!" And while Greninja was holding back Thunder Shock and Dragon Breath that was Glameow's cue. Greninja couldn't defend himself on other parts at the moment, giving the Catty Pokemon the chance to attack. She pounced towards Greninja, covering herself in a pink aura as she slashed her claw onto the Ninja Poke's stomach, dealing super-effective damage.
"G-Grenin!" Greninja's eyes widened as he certainly felt that. And after being struck by Play Rough, Dragon Breath and Thunder Shock broke through the Water Shuriken due to Greninja losing focus. The Water-Dark-Type had taken super-effective damage again in the form of Thunder Shock and neutral damage with Dragon Breath.
Those combination of attacks were enough to send the Ninja Pokemon flying as he rolled on the ground afterwards.
"G-Glameow..." Glameow was exhausted as she laid on her back. Silver Spoon went over to pick her partner up along with Apple Bloom who saw Emolga falling.
"Go, go, go!" Scootaloo pointed her hoof forward as Ponyta charged towards Sanpei. Speaking of Sanpei, he jumped over Cyndaquill's Flame Wheel, evading it.
"Cynda!" Cyndaquill then turned around for another Flame Wheel, going for another one. But Sanpei avoided that as well. He wasn't going to let this bowl be touched for a second.
"Get him!" Sweetie Belle bellowed as they all collectively decided to overwhelm Sanpei by just flooding him like a flock of Wingull. And that's what they did. They all collectively ran at Sanpei with their hooves, claws and arms out.
"Greninja, help!" Sanpei showed his teeth, a bit intimidated by the approaching ponies and Pokemon.
"Ninja!" And moving at a breakneck speed, Greninja dashed over, standing in front of Sanpei, becoming his shield. The Ninja Pokemon used both Night Slash and Water Shuriken, holding the two weapons in both hands.
It was going to be a close one. Greninja was ready to throw and slash at his opponents the moment they came close as Sanpei was prepared to bolt away with the bowl. Silver Spoon and Apple Bloom watched as Scootaloo jumped Ponyta to try and get the first touch.
Sanpei's eyes shifted as he saw Scootaloo approaching the bowl with her mouth open and hooves out. He was ready to juke her out and get the bowl away.
"Emol...Emolga!" But that's when Emolga used a tiny jolt of electricity, shooting it out of her fingertips. That one bolt travelled faster than everyone else as it was aimed for the bowl.
But instead, it struck Sanpei's hands, giving him a sudden shock, causing him to lose balance on the bowl of dumplings. "Ow!"
"Aha!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she saw the bowl tilt. And that was all they needed. With one snap of her teeth, the young pegasus had chomped on the first dumpling while her hoof connected with the bowl.
And that was that.
Scootaloo rolled on the ground as Sanpei maintained his balance with the bowl as well. But it was too late. Scootaloo had accomplished the main objective as she chewed on the delicious dumpling.
"Mmm! So good! It was worth it!" She exclaimed.
"Oh...You did it." Sanpei blinked a few times as Greninja halted his attack along with everyone else. It all came to an end at last as Scootaloo savoured this taste.
"Alright, Scootaloo!" Diamond Tiara and everyone flocked to Scootaloo, praising and congratulating her for succeeding in this test of endurance and pursuit. They lifted her as she swallowed the dumpling, filling her stomach as Sanpei nodded in approval. Greninja sighed as he sat down, hungry himself.
Ninja Village. Afternoon.
The training had ended and everyone had a fill of some delicious dumplings. It was a fairly intense test. More intense for a child to handle. But these children found a way to overcome it. With the skills that they've learnt over the years with the Pokemon involved and the Pokemon themselves.
"You five sure are something," said Sanpei, filling his mouth. "I think you've done a pretty good job. You're definitely going to make interesting ninjas. Less on the quiet side and more on the overwhelming side."
"Ain't we?" Apple Bloom chuckled whilst stuffing two dumplings in her mouth, making her cheeks look bloated. "Wait till Applejack, Granny and Big Mac hear about this."
"We got to do our own intense event that was super difficult!" Sweetie Belle cheered. "We're certified Pokemon Trainers now!"
"Really?" Diamond Tiara fed her Purrloin.
"Your teamwork was great. While ninjas can work individually, together, they are almost unstoppable. And you all showed that you can get something done when coordinating together. Just like me, my brothers and Greninja."
"Greninja."
"Yeah. Working as a team is pretty neat, isn't it?" Silver Spoon laughed.
"Well, tomorrow's gonna be our last training day before you all head off. We'll make it simple and short, how does that sound?"
"Works for us." Scootaloo nodded as everyone was in a collective agreement. They ate the afternoon away, filling those grumbling stomachs until they were so full the only thing they could do was just fall to the ground and head to bed.
They certainly have the potential to be ninjas. Maybe not the best, but certainly ones that are hard to predict. Until they grow up, that might change. But thanks to Ash and Ho-oh that might take a while.
But either way, they're happy to do whatever they can in this strange merged life filled with the strange and wonderful creatures we call Pokemon as the journey continues.
Pegalysium. A place that was once thought to be nothing but a foal's tale or a fabled myth had been confirmed to be real by Princess Celestia and Passion. Not much is known about this grand nation in the sky as Celestia hadn't fully explored it yet. But one day, she wishes to, along with her little sister, Princess Luna. And perhaps Celestia and Passion could meet up with Garnet one more time.
But, Garnet wasn't the only one aware of the existence of other ponies.
Within the castle, a conversation was occurring between some pegasi. Or rather, highly important pegasi to be exact. This part of Pegalysium is where the royalty and nobility live and the pegasi inside are without a doubt royalty. And their conversation related to what had occurred just yesterday.
"The Memoir Petal failed in erasing her memory it seems." The voice of a mare spoke.
"Right. And the clouds from before seemed to have further given exposure to our door, haven't they?" And the voice of a stallion responded to her.
"What should we do? We can't afford any interaction with Equestria at all." Another mare replied.
"The one who visited here was a princess and the current ruler of Equestria, wasn't she? Then there's only one obvious answer to that."
Kalos Region. Ninja Village. Day.
One final training session for the five fillies. Something simple and small. And it was once again all about focus. But this time, they weren't doing it on an empty stomach thankfully.
To see how much they've improved, they sat in a pool of nothing but cold water for minutes. Water so cold that drinking it might end up making your teeth freeze over. And they can thank the Wooper and Simipour of this village for that. However, despite how cold the water was, the five fillies weren't bothered by it.
To everyone's surprise, they were in total focus despite sitting in what many would consider torture in a sense. In truth, the way they overcame this was by thinking of what they enjoyed the most.
Scootaloo thought about becoming the number one Pokemon Trainer in Equestria and achieving the title of the Pokemon League Champion.
Sweetie Belle thought about becoming a Top Coordinator all across Equestria, excelling at every Pokemon Contest that comes her way.
The same went for Diamond Tiara, who was even shooting beyond the rank of a Top Coordinator. She was going for something greater and unseen.
Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon don't exactly have the same high ambitions as their friends. Apple Bloom herself has been alternating what she wished to do with Pokemon involved. Right now, it's being a monotype trainer of Grass-Type Pokemon, which is a goal that was a bit harder than it sounded. But, she was thinking of something else that she could pursue in the future.
Silver Spoon was the most ambiguous of them all. However, out of all her friends, she seems to be the most knowledgeable when it comes to Pokemon. Not on a grand scale like Ash, Twilight and Fluttershy, but she knows her stuff. If anything, Silver Spoon was thinking of pursuing knowledge from what she could tell.
"Impressive. For forty minutes straight." Sanpei looked at a timer. "Not bad. Not bad at all you five. Alright, let's see how good they really are right now." To really test them, Greninja gave Sanpei some berries.
He then held the berries out as he used his fingers to flick one of them towards Apple Bloom. The berry zoomed through the air at high speeds, but Apple Bloom suddenly opened her mouth, biting on the berry despite her eyes being closed.
That was a sign of her being in full concentration. But to really test this out, Sanpei then flicked more berries at the young fillies at faster speeds. Each of them opened their mouths, biting on the berries and swallowing them. They even managed to avoid some of them by swaying their heads.
Unfortunately, they were only able to dodge fr so long. Sanpei's flicking speed increased as the young fillies were being pelted and bombarded by colourful berries, unable to detect them all. Their focus was being thrown off as the cold water was getting to them.
After flicking a certain amount, Sanpei figured that now was a good time to stop. They've already gone past the time limit by this point. "Okay. We're done here."
"Really? Oh, thank goodness." Diamond Tiara grinned before jumping out of the pool of cold water with her friends.
"You five are naturals for sure." Sanpei nodded. "You have the makings of ninjas. Just...not the usual kind."
"We'll take any kind." Scootaloo smiled with her teeth full of berry juice.
"Well. That does it for now. You've learned a lot even if you've been here for a little while. Concentration and teamwork. If you want, you can still learn some more here."
"That'd be great but...We have to get going now. We promised our big sisters we'd be back. Don't wanna keep 'em worried, ya know." Apple Bloom stood up as Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement.
"I got it. But you're all welcome back here at Ninja Village. Happy to have you any time."
"Wait till we show everypony what we've learned. Oh! Maybe sneaking food over is gonna be easier this time!" Scootaloo gasped, thinking of the possibilities.
"Oh yeah..." So did Apple Bloom. They were still children at the end of the day and they had obvious mischief and antics brewing in their mind 24/7, waiting for the opportunity to utilize those antics.
"Don't get carried away though. That's not the ninja way." Sanpei warned them as they each gave unassuming smiles which just made Sanpei and Greninja nervous about what may come to the residents of Ponyville once the fillies return.
Aside from that, it was time for them to leave. But this wouldn't be their last time here at Ninja Village. Now that they know of the location and are interested in ninjas themselves, they are sure to come back for some more training. And everyone in Ninja Village will welcome them with open arms.
"Bye-Bye!" The five fillies waved goodbye to Sanpei, Greninja and most of the villagers here as they walked off into the distance. It wouldn't be a long walk home thanks to the detours Clemont and Bonnie had given them. They'll be home in no time and back on their soft comfortable beds.
Equestria. Ponyville. Day.
Once more, Rarity and Applejack were on the verge of losing it without their little sisters with them at the moment. They feared the worst every passing second. But that's just sisterly love oozing out.
Rarity had her hooves together, praying to Arceus for Sweetie Belle's safety. Applejack was trying to calm herself down by smashing some strawberries with her hoof. Apparently, that soothes her nerves at times. Not all the time.
Everyone else was casually going about their day. Some were even preparing for the Pokemon Dog Contest next week. Most noticeable, Mayor Mare. But it wasn't like Rarity and Applejack were the only worried ones. The parents of Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara were just as nervous about the safety of their children.
But just as Applejack was about to smash the next strawberry and Rarity was about to make another plea to Arceus up above, arriving over the horizon were the fillies that they worried so much about.
"Apple Bloom!"
"Sweetie Belle!" The two sisters cried out as they stopped everything they were doing, rushing to their little sisters. The two fillies were tackled and picked up by the two mares, receiving a powerful bear hug.
"Ough!" They both gasped.
"What happened?!" Applejack looked at her sister, beginning a flurry of questions. "Did those Unown hurt ya?! Where'd ya go?! Did the Ninja Village go well? Was it dangerous?!"
"I'm fine, I'm fine, Applejack." Apple Bloom replied.
"Oh, I know you're big enough to go on your own Pokemon journey, but I can't stand more than one day without you!" Rarity exclaimed, nuzzling with her sister while Sweetie Belle lowered her eyes. "I would've...I would've...not sure what I would've done, to be honest."
"It's fine. Everything went pretty good, sis." Sweetie Belle reassured.
"WE got to be ninjas and learn ninja tricks!" Scootaloo raised her hooves.
"Really?!" Along came Rainbow Dash, zooming to the scene after hearing that. "Cool! Can you show us some of those tricks?!"
"Take a look at this." Scootaloo cleared her throat as Silver Spoon walked up to her. The earth pony raised her hoof, giving Scootaloo a slight poke. And once she did that, right before Rainbow Dash's eyes, Scootaloo had vanished as a puff of smoke emerged. And out of that smoke came a log. That log had been swapped with Scootaloo's position as she was now behind Silver Spoon. "Ta-dah!"
"Whoa! How'd you do that?!"
"The Body Swap technique. Sanpei taught us." Silver Spoon spoke. "It's when we substitute ourselves for something else, mostly an object. It's really good for escaping anything harmful but we can't use it all the time."
"In short, it's an optical illusion." Diamond Tiara shrugged. "But we have to carry something along with us to make it work or else it's just useless."
"Well, I can see you've all certainly learned something." Rarity nodded. "But next time...would it be okay if we came along with you? I mean, for protection of course. Well, you have your Pokemon that's enough of protection but beyond that and..." Rarity was speaking rapidly still having her worried sisterly nature kicking in.
"Yeah sure." But Sweetie Belle was fine with it. "You can come along any time you want sis!"
"Really? Excellent!" Rarity gave out a nervous yet relieved laugh. Next time, she won't be freaking out as much but her sisterly instincts will still be prominent. Applejack also sat down, glad that next time she could be with Apple Bloom too on the next journey. "Oh, right. You have to prepare for your contest tomorrow. Both of you." Rarity faced Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara.
"Already ahead of it. I stayed up last night at Ninja Village to practise for my upcoming contest. Diamond Tiara and I even learned some new tricks when we were at Ninja Village. Plus..." Sweetie Belle then took out her Poke Ball, sending her newly evolved partner out. "My Espurr evolved into a Meowstic finally."
"Meowstic."
"Aww...Look at her." Rarity gushed, leading down to face Meowstic. But when she did so, Meowstic crossed her arms, looking away from Rarity and giving her sass.
"Meow."
"Oh!" Rarity pulled back, feeling a bit insulted. "I suppose evolving gave her an attitude, did it?"
"Hehe...Sorry about that." The little unicorn chuckled. "But her new style is going to get us through the contest tomorrow."
"Better get some rest first." Applejack spoke. "Just a short hour rest will do before ya head on out tomorrow, don't you think?"
"Yeah...Something softer would be nice." Apple Bloom was already getting comfortable just by being back home. And a softer bed beside the tents they were given would do. The five fillies went their separate ways, heading back to their homes for some perfect rejuvenation.
Canterlot Gardens. Afternoon.
Over at Canterlot, Premium Polish was also preparing herself for the Pokemon Contest over at Appleloosa tomorrow. She had just finished up for the afternoon with her Pokemon, developing new tricks.
"Good, you two." She went up to her Flareon and Steenee. "Those judges won't be able to comprehend what they'll witness! I think so at least."
"Oohoohoo!" Celestia clapped her hooves as she and Adagio had actually watched all of this take place. Adagio herself nodded her head in approval of Premium's tricks. "Well done, you all!"
"Now I want to see these contests for myself. Are they that good?" said Adagio.
"They sure are." Premium nodded in confirmation while petting Flareon. "You should come and see the one over at Appleloosa soon."
"Your highness." Arriving at the scene was one of the Canterlot Guards, obviously here for something important as Celestia got off the bench. "The ponies from the otherworlds are here in response to your Universal Alliance idea."
"Oh. Perfect timing." Celestia responded before turning to face Adagio and Premium. "I'll be a bit busy at the moment you two." She then took her leave via teleportation as Passion and Arcanine followed. Passion really just used her own teleportation by dragging Arcanine along.
And just as the guard said, they had arrived. Well, four of them at least. Having practically almost everyone from every universe here would be impossible. But the ones they were able to reach were certainly available.
And within the gateways opened up the Princess Celestia of Empress Twilight's world were other Celestia's Luna's and Cadence's from other worlds. Each having the same name but slightly different appearances from each other, making them stand out in their own way.
However, these alternate variants weren't fully within this world. Instead, they were standing in front of the gateway with their faces being seen. But, this could work either way. After all, there is a possible interaction between two individuals on different sides of each world.
Celestia and Luna arrived, witnessing their alternate selves and alternate Cadence's standing before them through the gateways.
"Glad you could all make it." The first Celestia spoke as she sat down. "How are you all?"
"We could be...better." One of the Luna's spoke, rubbing her hoof.
"But we are hopeful right now after hearing what your universe had done." Another Celestia responded. "Defeating the Empress and allowing the word to spread was a wonderful idea. Unfortunately, many of our subjects are still terrified."
"The Empress' forces still ruler over parts of our own world. Freeing those parts are not as easy as we hope them to be." Another Cadence sighed.
"Well, that's where we can assist, can't we?" Luna responded to the alternate Cadence.
"Oh yes. We have absolute faith that you can help us with this predicament, Universe One."
"Universe One?" Celestia and Luna both said.
"That is the name given to your universe after your accomplishment. We also found out that this universe came before our own, despite ours being in the future at this point."
"Hm. Oh, I do quite like that." Luna grinned, looking to the side.
"We know of ways we can help. But it won't be a cakewalk, that's for sure." Celestia shook her head before opening her mouth, thinking of her favourite food, cake. "Mmm...Cake." She then quickly snapped back to her senses at once.
"Will you be utilizing that Magic Siphoning Jar once more?" Another Luna asked.
"Well, we only used it on the Empress for the specific scenario. All of the weapons that the Empress' forces possess are filled with magic, aren't they?" Luna looked at Celestia.
"They are," Celestia replied. "We actually haven't attempted to use the jar on those weapons. Perhaps that might actually work in our favour. But aside from that, we have other ways. I would say the Pokemon, but having them over at other worlds will take time as well. Perhaps not too much."
"These Pokemon. Would it be acceptable if we could obtain some of them?" Another Celestia questioned. "We've heard great things about what they can accomplish. Having such power like that could free our worlds permanently from the Empress' rule."
"Hm. We could." Celestia pondered. "The Infinity Energy would have to adjust itself to your worlds but other than that, it's possible and acceptable. I also recommend that if we are to free your worlds, we must perform this when the Empress is unavailable or present somewhere else. If we appear during the wrong time, a second invasion scenario could occur, worsening the predicaments."
"Then in that case..." Pyrestar, who was also among this group had chimed in. "Leave that to us. My world has a spell that can do just the trick."
Meanwhile, in another universe where the Empress resides.
And speaking of the Empress, she was currently in another Canterlot castle that was not her own. She was still recovering from the major loss that she had suffered. A loss that will haunt her for years to come. At the moment, one of her allies, Daybreaker, was already setting off to perform her own plan to defeat Universe One and the Pokemon World along with Princess Starlight and Nightmare Rarity.
The Empress herself wasn't doing much except for just sitting on the throne, contemplating everything that had just happened. And by her side was Skyblue shine who was eternally loyal to her. There was complete since for a while until the Empress brought up something.
"Skyblue Shine."
"Yes, Empress?" The android looked up at the alicorn.
"The Magic Siphoning Jar. Who made it?"
"Oh. U-Unfortunately, I'm not aware of who created it, Empress."
"Then...find out who. I want you to head back to that world and search for any book or any source that shows records of the jar's creation and the original creator of it. Or...I might have to make my own."
"Your own, Empress?"
"Precisely. I already have the ability to absorb magic thanks to Tirek. But, I can go a step beyond that. I should be able to create my own Magic Siphoning Jar. At least something similar to it."
"I suppose so."
"But if I can't...then you must find out how it is possible, understood?"
"I-I'll get right on it, Empress!" Skyblue Shine saluted. "My Umbrage Thieves will find any form of origin of where the jar came from!"
"Good. Just you wait, Celestia." The Empress looked ahead with flaring red eyes. Only Celestia's world was on her mind. Now she no longer wanted to conquer it. Now, she wanted to destroy it.
It was time for the Appleloosa Pokemon Contest today. Many coordinators were showing up to this contest hall to receive their next ribbon which was the Appleloosa Ribbon.
And obviously showing up was Sweetie Belle, aiming to become the Top Coordinator in Equestria overall. And her friends and sister were here to support and watch her as always. The fourth ribbon was on the line for her.
And of course, the main announcer for every Pokemon Contest, Marian was here as the announcements were already being made. The lights opened up on the stage of the Appleloosa Contest Hall with them shining down on Marian. The crowd didn't just consist of ponies this time. Humans were also in the mix after months of getting comfortable.
"Ladies, Gentlemen and Gentlecolts, look around you," Marian spoke into the microphone. "Feel the excitement. With every step we take together, we make history. And history's about to be made again with today's Pokemon Contest! It's time for the Appleloosa Pokemon Contest."
With her words, the crowd had cheered, getting excited and pumped for what was to come soon. Ash and everyone had already taken their seats, waiting for the event to start. Team Rocket were also within the seats, right at the far back with a disappointed Jessie in the mix. She was a bit too late to register for the Pokemon Contest which made her fairly upset. But she was looking forward to next time.
Sweetie Belle had already registered herself as she was in the waiting room with her Pokemon. Today, she had made her selection of who she wanted to participate.
"Alright, Meowstic. You've just evolved so let's show them what you've learned, okay?" Sweetie Belle spoke to her Meowstic.
"Meow."
"It'll be a tag battle too, so Piplup, can you assist Meowstic, please?"
"Piplup!"
"Look at you already gaining prettier Pokemon." Through Sweetie Belle's eardrums was the familiar voice of a fellow filly unicorn who had a completely different persona when taking part in contests.
Premium Polish, of course. And beside her was her only bodyguard at the moment. The undercover Princess Flurry Heart of Empress Twilight's world. She was actually wearing the bodyguard outfit in the form of a black suit, shades and a ponytail mane style.
"Premium? And is that...Princess Flurry Heart?" Sweetie Belle squinted her eyes.
"Mhm. Now my official bodyguard for all Pokemon Contests? How neat is that?" Premium crossed her hooves. When taking part in contests, she takes her mother's advice and acts important and flashy as she can.
"Very neat." Sweetie Belle agreed.
"The guards didn't think I should be doing this but...it is kinda fun looking this cool." Sweetie Belle raised her glasses, winking at the young unicorn. "Still have to keep a low profile so that nopony spots and flocks to me."
"Just wait and see what we've learned," Premium smirked. "That Appleloosa Ribbon is mine."
"Oh yeah?" Sweetie Belle dashed over to Premium. "Well, we've learned some ninja tricks from Ninja Village. That's gonna wow everypony there."
"Ninja Village? Is that even a real place?" Premium raised an eyebrow.
"It totally is. Just been there yesterday for a few days." Sweetie Belle grinned.
"I hope I'm not interrupting my friends. But victory? That will be ours." And responding to Sweetie Belle and Premium Polish's words was the young earth pony from Themcolt known as Gelidity.
"Gelidity?" Sweetie Belle swivelled around.
"Hello again, Sweetie Belle. To be here again and possibly challenge you once more. What a fun thought." Once more, her unique way of speaking was still present here. While Sweetie Belle could understand it, Premium Polish was taking some time to get adjusted to it.
"Nice to meet you too again, Gelidiity." Sweetie Belle nodded. "But I'm the one who's gonna win!"
"Nuh-uh." Premium slid over. "That ribbon's staring me in the eyes! It's gonna look good in my case! You're not beating me a second time, Sweetie Belle!"
"The ribbon. That will belong to nopony else but myself. If I may." Gelidity responded with a calmer voice.
"Well, you three can go at each other's throats when the contest eventually starts, right?" Flurry Heart said to the three fillies. Only one of them could obtain that ribbon and neither will let the other get there before them.
"Correct. I shall prepare myself immediately." Gelidity walked off as the three fillies went their separate ways to prepare for the Appeal Stage.
"And now I have the honour of introducing our judges for today!" Marian spoke, moving her hand towards the table of the three judges. "First, our head judge and chief of the Pokemon Activities Committee, Mr Contesta!"
"Thank you." Mr Contesta responded. "I look forward to witnessing the fruits of all the coordinators training."
"Next we have the head of the Pokemon Fan Club, Mr Sukizo!"
"Hello, hello, Appleloosa. This whole place actually reminds me of home and my grandma's place back in the day. That's certainly remarkable!"
"And as a special guest judge, From Trottingham and Canterlot Boutique, Sassy Saddles!"
"This isn't my first time seeing a Pokemon Contest at all. But I'm expecting great things either way." Sassy spoke.
"Let's get things started. We'll begin with the always exciting Appeal Round!" Marian raised her arm. "Presenting our first coordinator now! Gelidity!"
And first up was Gelidity, appearing from the curtains while adjusting her mane. This time, ponies from her home at Themcolt were here to cheer the little earth pony on.
"Luck! We'll send it all to you, Gelidity!" The ponies of Themcolt cheered for their citizen.
"We evolved for this moment." Gelidity took out a Poke Ball, looking at it before tossing it into the air. "Please come out! Ninetales!"
"Ninetales!" Out of the Poke Ball came the evolved form of Alolan Vulpix, Alolan Ninetales as snowflakes also emerged once the ball had been opened.
"Hang on! Is that an Alolan Ninetales?!" This was Twilight's first time witnessing the Alolan form of Ninetales after witnessing Alolan Vulpix. She, the Mane 6 and Starlight took out their Pokedexes for this one.
"Ninetales. The Fox Pokemon. Alolan Form. Possessing a calm demeanour, this Pokémon was revered as a deity incarnate before it was identified as a regional variant of Ninetales. It creates drops of ice in its coat and showers them over its enemies. Anyone who angers it will be frozen stiff in an instant. The reason it guides people all the way down to the mountain’s base is that it wants them to hurry up and leave, but it won’t forgive anyone who harms nature."
"She's not the only one who evolved her ace? Oh, she could have something I'm not ready for...!" Sweetie Belle bit her hoof in anticipation.
"Ninetales, Moonblast!" Gelidity raised her hooves.
"Nine!" Starting off, Ninetales gathered energy from the moon itself, reaching the cosmos as the image of the moon appeared in front of her. But not just in front of her. More moon images had appeared. Ten pink energies in the shape of the moon had surrounded the Fox Pokemon from all sides.
"All of them! Scatter them with Extrasensory and use Aurora Veil!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales' eyes then flashed a vibrant blue as she mentally held all ten Moonblasts with her mind, giving them the same vibrant blue aura as it mixed with the pink aura. The Fox Pokemon then mentally pushed the blasts into different directions as they trailed out pink and blue stardust and sparkles.
Afterwards, Alolan Ninetales cried out as her body becomes surrounded by a veil of rainbow-coloured aura. She then expanded that aura to the point where it engulfed the entire stage and the ten Moonblasts. Not only did it engulf them, but it also painted the Fairy-Type attacks with its aurora colours. The ten moons shined as they were now being altered to match the appearance of the cosmos themselves. The moons were essentially the planets, Aurora Veil was space and the stardust and sparkles were the stars.
"Have a look at that! It's like outer space!" Ash leaned forward along with everyone else looking up.
"Pikachu!"
"And like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's mane! Neat!" Pinkie grinned.
"That certainly has a cosmic feeling to it." Mr Contesta said"
"Makes me want to take a trip to space myself with how beautiful that looked. Remarkable!" Mr Sukizo chimed in.
"Ten moons with just one move? Wish my Pokemon could do that. And if he could, it wouldn't look as good as that! Well done!" Sassy Saddles gave her own word.
Overall, Gelidity definitely impressed everyone without a doubt. Every time she shows up, she has something to offer. And her newly evolved partner is always there to make sure she stands out. The other coordinators were fairly intimidated by Gelidity. They were even nervous about what her other Pokemon could be considered this would be a tag battle.
Afterwards, every other coordinator came out to show off their own tricks. While not as stylish as Gelidity's cosmic showcase, they were eye-catching nonetheless.
Premium Polish was a part of this. Once it was her turn, she had sent out her Flareon for this with flames emerging from the thrown Poke Ball. "Get a good look at what Flareon can do! Flareon! Use Flare Blitz!"
"Flareon!" The Flame Pokemon stomped his paws on the floor, summoning a burst of scarlet flames that coated his body. After doing so, to everyone's surprise, Flareon turned around, charging towards Premium Polish. And Premium was just standing there unbothered as the Flame Pokemon tackled her, sending the little unicorn up.
Everyone gasped as they had witnessed Flareon hit his own trainer unexpectedly. All the while, Premium just kept a casual look on her face.
"That twerpette gipped my whole style...!" Jessie bit on her hair, pulling it. She is known for having her own Pokemon interact with her in contests when she was Jessilina. It was risky, but no one pulled it off better than Jessie. In fact, no one's ever pulled it off before.
Until now.
Premium Polish was knocked into the air as Flareon used the speed of Flare Blitz to lunge forward, also becoming airborne himself.
"Okay! Carry me Swift and then use Shadow Ball!"
"Flare!" To keep his trainer in the air, Flareon opened his mouth, shooting out multiple star-shaped rays while still using Flare Blitz. The rays of stars spun around beneath Premium, acting as a hurricane.
And like a hurricane, the speed of the stars created a wind pressure that managed to carry Premium Polish in the air. Now the young unicorn was hovering as Flareon then followed up with Shadow Ball. This Shadow Ball was extra large as it acted like a black hole, absorbing the stars of Swift.
But not only did it absorb them, but they also added their power onto the blob of shadows. A giant purple ball with stars glowing inside could be seen as it looked like Premium Polish was either standing on levitating over it.
"Well, well. That certainly reminds me of someone." Mr Contesta said with a slight chuckle. "Risky but effective, isn't it?"
"Mhm. Remarkable in its own way."
"I almost had a heart attack when I saw Flareon charge at her." Sassy Saddles let out a relaxed sigh while lowering her head. "But splendid either way!"
"Hahaha!" Premium Polish cackled as the Shadow Ball gently descended with the stars of Swift fading away. She felt proud of herself without a doubt. She even walked with pride, knowing how that she definitely dazzled everyone on that stage. She also felt confident of herself making it to the next stage.
"The next generation sure are something, aren't they?" Marian said whilst watching Premium leave the stage. "Well, next up, we have Sweetie Belle on stage!"
"Come on, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity cheered for her sister while waving a flag that had her face on it along with her friends in the crowd.
"My turn!" Sweetie Belle slid in, ready to show everyone what she's learned. And for this one, she chose to go for her Teddiursa. And once the Poke Ball was thrown, the symbol of moons started flowing out.
"Teddiursa!"
"Use Night Slash!"
"Teddi...!" The Little Bear Pokemon started by utilising Night Slash but in a different way. Instead of covering her paws in darkness or shooting out white crescent shapes, she used the same trick Greninja does. She formed a purple blade in her paws.
"Oho! That's Greninja's style!" Ash immediately recognized the look of that Night Slash.
"Pikachu!"
"Teddiursa!" Teddiursa then allowed the blades to expand in length as she then stuck them to the floor. There now looked like there were glowing purple towers on the stage.
"Now use Thunder Punch on the stage!"
"Ursa!" By forming electricity in her paws, the Normal-Type then smashed the Electric-Type attack to the floor, causing the volts to immediately start spreading. When they started flowing everywhere, not only did they colour the stage a vibrant yellow, but they also interacted with Night Slash.
The yellow volts from Thunder Punch surrounded the blades, giving them lightning sparks while also giving out a half-yellow, half-purple appearance with a neat symmetrical shape.
"Now let's use your new move! Power-Up Punch!"
"Teddi...Ursa!" Teddiursa lit both her paws up with an orange light, gathering Infinity Energy in them. She then struck both the purple and yellow blades at the same time, smashing them with Power-Up Punch.
The blades then shattered, but not before shooting out bolts of lightning upwards, lighting the stage up. As for the shattering blades, they scattered into multiple small and dazzling purple and yellow diamond-shaped shards, dropping like confetti.
That seemed to be a common theme with Sweetie Belle's moves. She's mostly known for showing off shards in a diamond shape. Fitting considering her big sister's Cutie Mark. It truly did work as everyone cheered in approval.
"That'll do it!" Marian nodded her head.
"Those shards may return but it's always nice to see them used in various ways" uttered Mr Contesta.
"Using a style of Night Slash that can only be seen by a Greninja and having them grow to match pillars is remarkable!"
"Forget that! The bear is absolutely adorable!" Sassy Saddles was more enchanted by Teddiursa's adorable appearance with her eyes being filled with hearts. And that was all the judges had to say as the next coordinators were making their appearances and performances.
Back at the waiting room.
"Hah..." Sweetie Belle sighed, sitting on the couch after her turn. "That Night Slash blade was pretty easy to get down. Teddiursa and I did it one night to make it work."
"Teddi."
"Is it possible? For you to teach me something like that?" Gelidity asked Sweetie Belle.
"The bladed Night Slash thing? Well, I guess I can...Just need a Pokemon that can hold stuff like blades, that's all. Y-You do have one, right?"
"Oh, my second Pokemon. The one that I am using for this tag battle. That is the one that can hold an object such as a blade without a doubt."
"Really? Who is it?"
"Please come out." By taking out a Poke Ball, Gelidity revealed her second Pokemon. And once it came out, it immediately flooded the space between Sweetie Belle and Gelidity with its size and made the floor tremble a bit.
That Pokemon was Nidoqueen.
"Nidoqueen!"
"Who are you?" Sweetie Belle took her dex out, aiming it at the Drill Pokemon.
"Nidoqueen. The Drill Pokemon. Nidoqueen’s body is encased in extremely hard scales. It is adept at sending foes flying with harsh tackles. This Pokémon is at its strongest when it is defending its young. It pacifies offspring by placing them in the gaps between the spines on its back. The spines will never secrete poison while young are present."
"Queen!" Suddenly, Nidoqueen picked up Gelidity, giving her a hug in front of Sweetie Belle and Teddiursa's eyes. "Nido-Nido!" She then spun around with Gelidity, making the floor shake while Sweetie Belle and Teddiursa bounced from the tremors.
"Sorry. Nidoqueen is really attached to me." Gelidity laughed. "Ever since I saved her life. Her love for me was made that day."
"Oh. What happened?"
"Oh. The story? Well..." Gelidity began thinking back to how she and Nidoqueen first met. And it was months ago, during the earlier days of the two worlds crossing over.
Twelve days it had been since the Pokemon met with our world. My family and I had been separated. Lost by the randomness of the Rift and everything. Somewhere unpleasant is where I ended up. Buried under snow. I was buried when trying to reach my home. I almost made it but the cold. It was far too strong.
Gelidity's body had been buried under the snowy landscape as a result of unfortunate teleportation from the two worlds crossing over. She had been in that snow for days, unable to call for her parents. Her body was freezing, even more than what she can usually take at her home in Themcolt.
The only way she was still standing was that she could still breathe in air. But her cold body meant that she would eventually perish. And no one could hear her too. After walking for so long, she was getting closer to Themcolt. But, since it had been days with her walking in the harsh cold, her goal might end up being robbed from her. It looked like this would be her unfortunate end.
But that was when Nidoran had appeared. She was also within the same area as Gelidity. And just like the little earth pony, the cold was getting to her. The Poison Pin Pokemon couldn't take it. She was already on the verge of getting frostbite at this point as she was whimpering. Nidoran was confused about where she was. One minute she was with her fellow Pokemon and now she was somewhere else.
However, Nidoran had a large endurance. But eventually, she would give out herself. Her limping eventually led her up a snowy hill as she was trying to find her way out of here. There was eventually something in the distance. A small town far away.
That town was Themcolt but the distance between her and the town was too far for her to make it. The distance between her and the town was immense. Nidoran wasn't even aware there was a town nearby as she stepped on the hill. But as she stepped on the hill, her foot came across something lumpy. The Poison Pin Pokemon then looked down, moving her foot away as some of the snow came with her.
And within that snow was Gelidity. Her body was being frozen over. She might soon be caught up in an ice prison. If it wasn't for her constantly living in Themcolt, the cold would've gotten to her a lot quicker.
Nidoran saw the little pony within the snow, seeing that they were both suffering from the cold. Nidoran's endurance was great but she wasn't accustomed to the cold at all. Gelidity would probably last longer than her. To save both of them, Nidoran used the one move that she could use at the moment. But she had little energy to use the full potential of it. But it had to be done either way.
It was Sunny Day.
Nidoran was only able to use a small portion of Sunny Day with the energy she had left. She was on the verge of fainting so she had to make it count. The Poison Pin Pokemon raised her arms with two orbs appearing. By raising her arms she then released two white beams from the orbs.
Those beams struck the sky, filling them with Infinity Energy. And that energy manipulated with the heavens themselves, blowing away the clouds and summoning the sun. At least a portion of it. But that portion was just what was needed as Nidoran had fainted.
"Nido..." The Poison Pin Pokemon fell to the ground, wasting all of her energy. However, it wasn't in vain. The warm glow of the sun, filled with Infinity Energy, had beamed down on the spot where Gelidity and Nidoran laid. That warmth was strong enough to alter the temperature and melt the snow that Gelidity was buried underneath.
If anything, Nidoqueen saved me first. A favour. That is what I had to repay to her for saving my life on that day. My body would've been in an eternal ice prison if I hadn't been saved by her.
And on that day, Gelidity managed to find enough warmth to continue her journey back home. But she didn't go alone. After seeing Nidoran manipulate the sky itself, Gelidity was amazed by the Poison Pin Pokemon, believing she had mystical powers.
And in a sense, she did. The little earth pony carried the Poison-Type on her back, eventually carrying her back to Themcolt with the warmth that had been given to her. On that day, both Nidoran and Gelidity had saved each other.
"We grew to know each other on that day." Gelidity looked at Nidoqueen. "An inseparable bond. That is what we both have together. The same goes for all of my other Pokemon too."
"Nidoqueen!"
"Aww..." Sweetie Belle gushed after that story. Flurry Heart had heard the whole story as she used her shades to try and hide the tars. But they wouldn't do the trick. So she lifted them and showed her tears either way. Premium Polish was also crying but her tears were made out of oil considering she was an android. But she was programmed to cry.
"Well, you two are really close. Kinda scares me if I have to go up against you in the contest." Sweetie Belle said, a bit nervous about what a tight bond Gelidity and Nidoqueen could do. She's already seen the capabilities of Ash and Pikachu's bond and it is already fierce to behold.
But she had Meowstic with her, with who she had a strong bond as well. The question was, was it as strong as Gelidity and Nidoqueen?
"Thank you for your patience!" Marian spoke as the last coordinator had finished up, closing off the Appeal Stage. "And now for the results. After careful consideration, the judges have made a decision! The following eight coordinators will be moving right along to the next round! Now take a look at the monitor!"
Appearing on a large screen, the first four faces had shown up on the top. One of which was the face of Gelidity as she had most certainly passed after that showcase. Sweetie Belle and Premium Polish bit their lips as the next four faces began popping up at the bottom.
And thankfully, they had both made on as they let out sighs of relief.
"Now using the computer, we've randomly decided all our battles for round 2!" Marian said as the monitor then shuffled the faces, showing who would go up against who.
Sweetie Belle would be facing off against Premium Polish. Their second battle was about to become reality as Gelidity would go up against a pegasus coordinator.
"Excellent. This time, you won't win by time, Sweetie Belle." Premium pointed her hoof over at the young unicorn with a large grin. "I've been waiting for this rematch!"
"Why is it always the first one..." Sweetie Belle sighed.
"My round. It seems it shall be first." Gelidity hopped off the couch, ready to head out and perform her match. With how much Gelidity has improved and the Pokemon she possesses, she seemed to be the biggest threat here in the contest. No one ever seems to come close when shows up.
"Just you wait, Premium. Those tricks I learned at Ninja Village are going to pay off. You won't even see one of them coming."
"I won't let you pull all of them off in that match. The moment I Show off more, your points will be lower than a Diglett." Premium gave her retort as the two unicorns locked eyes with lightning bolts shooting out.
Their determination was feisty. Flurry Heart shifted her eyes from side to side, seeing the rivalry in front of her. She didn't know competitions could potentially heat up. It's been a while since she's seen one either way considering her world. But either way, the goal for the Appleloosa Ribbon was on their mind as the journey continues.
The Pokemon Contest over at Appleloosa was underway and nearing its end considering the current ongoings within. Sweetie Belle, Gelidity, Premium Polish and the other coordinators inside were shooting for that Appleloosa ribbon, but after the Appeal Stage, only eight of them made it. Sweetie Belle, Gelidity and Premium Polish were among those eight. The three of them are looking ahead. Getting that fifth ribbon meant getting closer to the Grand Festival.
Gelidity finished her matchup quickly by utilizing both her Ninetales and Nidoqueen to come out on top. The coordinators kept a close eye on Gelidity's performance to see how they could overcome her. But, Gelidity is one unpredictable pony, that's for certain. She won't stick to the same tricks at all.
After winning her match, the other two coordinators of the first bracket had gone against each other. And in the meanwhile, Sweetie Belle was going over her plan with Meowstic and Piplup again. But as she did so, Plusle and Minun emerged from their Poke Balls, begging Sweetie Belle for her to use them.
"Plus! Plusle!"
"Minun-Min!"
"Hm?" Sweetie Belle looked at the duo of Electric-Types and how they were flailing their arms about. You two wanna go next?"
"Minun-Minun!"
"Ah, sorry. I kinda already planned for Meowstic and Piplup to go next, ya know?"
"Plus..."
"Min..." They both lowered their ears in disappointment as Meowstic gave a sassy grin. That one grin made the two of them twitch. Before, she was practically emotionless and static as an Espurr. But as a Meowstic, her attitude had risen to the absolute max.
Plusle and Minun both growled as they knew Meowstic was rubbing it in their faces. And Sweetie Belle noticed this. Evolution really does make certain Pokemon change in personality from the looks of it.
"Now, now You'll get your chance in our sixth contest, okay?" Sweetie Belle tried to calm them down. "And Meowstic. I know you're different in this form but please try to be a bit nicer?"
"Meowstic."
"Okay. We're up in 5 minutes. I can't wait! My fifth Ribbon here I come!"
Those 5 minutes went by after a victor had been decided for the top bracket. After that, it was time for the bottom bracket to have a go at things. And first up was Sweetie Belle vs Premium Polish. The two unicorns immediately made their way to the stage with their selected Pokemon.
"Now, it's time for the bottom bracket of our coordinators to go at it!" Marian spoke. "To my right, Sweetie Belle! And to my left, Premium Polish!"
"Okay! She just has to win this one and she can move on!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Go-go, Sweetie Belle!"
"She won by time against Premium last time. But I'm confident she can beat her without time at all in this one." Rarity nodded with confidence in her heart.
"Show them what you're made of, Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo and Apple Bloom bellowed, cheering for their best friend in the crowd. Sweetie Belle could hear the sounds of her friends and sister cheering while Premium wishes her own mother could be here to cheer for her.
She never comes to her contests anyway. But even if she didn't have her mother here, Flurry Heart was there to support the young unicorn and even ponies who were fans of her. So she wasn't truly alone in all of this.
But even still, to have her own mother watch and cheer her on would be the best feeling for her without a doubt.
"5 minutes on the clock! Begin!" Marian announced.
"Okay! Meowstic and Piplup! Showtime!" Sweetie Belle went first, sending out her Pokemon as the symbols Psychic eyes and bubbles flew out of the Poke Balls.
"Meowstic!"
"Piplup!"
"I've been waiting for this! I'm better with two! Flareon, Steenee! Come out!" Premium then sent out her Flareon and Steenee with vicious flames and a spiral of leaves flying out.
"Flareon!"
"Steenee!"
"We'll go first! Now, Meowstic! Psybeam! And Piplup, Aerial Ace!"
"Meow...!" Meowstic went first by putting her arms together and shooting out a purple beam of Psychic Energy. She aimed the beam forward but didn't allow it to go the full distance. Instead, it stopped midway with Meowstic holding it in place.
"Pip!" And that was Piplup's cue. By coating his flippers in a white aura, the Penguin Pokemon moved at blistering speeds, bolting off the grounds and leaving a small trail of wind. He became a blur as he made one of his flippers connect with Psybeam.
Piplup ended up sliding his flipper along the beam of Psybeam, merging it with the aura of Aerial Ace. He then pulled his flipper back, revealing that he now had a white and purple aura. The purple aura from Psybeam was even formed to make that of a sword on Piplup's flipper.
"Oho! Using two moves to make one isn't uncommon, but that's certainly a new way to do it!" Marian exclaimed.
"We're not done yet! Again Piplup! And coat him Meowstic!"
"Pip...Lup!" Piplup then used her other flipper to borrow some of Psybeam's energy. Not only that, but Meowstic had focused her amazing and new Psychic power, causing it to flow around the Little Penguin Pokemon. Piplup closed his eyes as his entire body was receiving some special treatment.
He now had an armour made out of Psychic-Type energy while also having Psychic weapons merged with a Flying-Type move.
"Look at that! Piplup's been given his own armour made completely out of Psybeam!" Marian gawked. "I bet that defence is hard to get through!"
"Oh, nice! That's like Dawn's Mamoswine and Ic Shard Armor!" Ash recognized the style choice of Piplup.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Sweetie Belle sure can learn a lot in just one night, can't she? Although I worry for her sleep schedule to be honest..." Rarity chuckled nervously.
"An armour of Pokemon moves is something I never thought of!" Twilight started writing this down, feeling as if this type of knowledge could be useful in the future. Especially for any future threats.
"Here we come! Give them an Aerial Ace and Psybeam combo, Piplup!"
"Lup!" Piplup once again bolted off the floor, this time with double the power on her side. The aura of Psybeam trailed out of her flipper and body as he went for both Flareon and Steenee.
"Hmph. That's no big deal. We'll break right through that armour eventually, just watch! Steenee, Triple Axel! And Flareon use Flare Blitz to soar up!"
"Flareon!" Just like what he did before, Flareon coated himself in a burst of flames, using the speed of Flare Blitz to leap into the air and gaining some airtime.
"Steen!" As for Steenee, her legs lit up with an icy cold exterior. The Fruit Pokemon placed her foot forward before spinning around like a ballet dancer. By spinning around on the stage, she used the ice to form a circular blockade of ice. This blockade erupted from the floor as the height was fairly impressive, towering over Steenee, Piplup, Flareon and Meowstic.
"Lup!" Piplup then smashed the Aerial Ace and Psybeam combination onto the ice. One hit and the ice didn't shatter, unfortunately. But it did leave some cracks.
"Flareon!" Flareon then increased the aura of Flare Blitz, causing the glow to grow. The scarlet glow of Flare Blitz lit up the room while also giving the ice a beautiful red tint. Half of the ice on the top was given a red tint while the bottom kept its light blue colouring.
"Now come crashing down, Flareon! Steenee, now use Aromatic Mist!"
"Stee-Steenee!" The Fruit Pokemon put both her arms out as she once again spun around. But this time, she did by emanating a pink mist with a delectable fragrance. This pink mist covered the ice blockade, giving it a third colour whilst Flareon came crashing down. The Flame Pokemon smashed into the floor, causing an eruption of flames.
Pillars of flames shot up, rising near the ice blockade, but not quite melting. However, the pink mist from Aromatic Mist had given the pillar of flames a beautiful coating. The combination of red and pink made a dazzling rose pink.
Eventually, the flames intensified, further erupting as they blew the blockade of ice back. But they also covered the ice in a flame aura, making them both hot and cold.
"A combination of Fire and Ice makes a beautiful barrage of rose pink shards! Is that hot or cold, I wonder?" said Marian.
Multiple flaming ice shards came flying out, pelting Piplup who was the closest to it with sharp flame ice. "P-Piplup!" Piplup cried out as the shards also flew over to Meowstic too.
"M-Meow?!" Meowstic gasped as she put her arms up to try and block the shards. Both Piplup and Meowstic were punished with flaming ice shards. Not only were they receiving hot damage to their body, but they were also feeling the cold too as they were both blown back.
Piplup's Psybeam armour even had parts of it shattering. Half of the armour had been blown off of his body as he tumbled on the floor.
"Piplup! Meowsitc!" Sweetie Belle gasped.
"That armour didn't last." Scootaloo dropped her ears. "She was gonna use it to try and bypass any major damage."
"Piplup's still fragile and hasn't evolved yet," said Fluttershy. "Any strong hit won't make that Psybeam armour last a long time, unfortunately.
"It's fine! Here, get a load of this! Meowstic use Disarming Voice! Piplup, Feather Dance!"
"Meowstic...!" Meowstic opened her mouth, aiming it at the air as Piplup's body became surrounded in gold, waving his flippers around in a dance-like motion as his whole body begins to glow gold.
Then, a golden powder appeared above Steenee and Flareon as a pink soundwave purple hearts came echoing out of Meowstic's mouth. The hearts mixed with the golden light of Feather Dance, turning them orange.
"Whatever you have, we'll throw it right back! Steenee, Nature Power! Flareon charge up with Flare Blitz and use Swift!"
"Steen!" The Fruit Pokemon raised both her arms, drawing on the power of nature. Since she was in Appleloosa, Nature Power responded to the power of Grass-Type in this scenario. The floor was given a circular green glow as green tendrils suddenly sprouted out from the glow, flying upwards.
"Flare!" And speaking of upwards, once, Flareon used Flare Blitz to rocket himself into the air. But this time, he used the flames of Flare Blit to move around, writing some words.
In the span of just 5 seconds, with his great speed, Flareon had written Appleloosa in the air for everyone to see. And he did this all while flying towards the hearts. Premium Polish was definitely playing to the crowd with that trick. After doing so, Flareon then fired Swift, shooting star-shaped rays over at the orange hearts.
The stars and hearts had clashed as Swift was starting to replace the hearts from Disarming Voice and show its already golden appearance with some more gold. The tendrils of Nature Power were also going to replace Feather Dance's glow.
"I don't so! Bubble Beam, Piplup! And Meowstic, carry him there and use Magical Leaf!"
"Meow!" Meowstic used her Psychic ability to hold Piplup and to levitate as well, carrying the Penguin Pokemon with her. They zoomed towards the air as the two of them unleashed a barrage of bubbles and glowing leaves from their mouths.
The leaves from Magical Leaf scattered as they had cut the stars of Swift in half, causing them to explode and drop beautiful gold sparkles from their destruction, filling the floor with a nice golden glitter. Bubble Beam also scattered, combining with the hearts of Disarming Voice.
The bubbles acted as protective shields around the hearts, giving them protection from the tendrils. The tendrils ended up connecting with the bubbles but ended up being pushed back by their bounciness.
"Oh!" Premium Polish gasped.
"Nice- nice! Now get a load of this! Secret Power, Piplup! And Meowstic, Wonder Room!"
"Pip...!" Piplup covered himself in a white aura as Meowstic launched the Penguin Pokemon up with her Psychic mind, allowing him to reach a high height.
Piplup then went into the golden light at the top of the stage, merging the white light with it. Everyone squinted their eyes as the brightness was incredible. And to add it on top, Meowstic then summoned a boxed room of purple energy around Steeenee and Flareon.
"Stee?"
"Flareon?"
"Here it comes! Go Piplup! Aerial Ace! Meowstic rain those hearts down!"
"Lup!" Piplup then spread the golden light of Feather Dance, overpowering it with something else. Piplup's body was now covered in pure white from Secret Power and the aura of Aerial Ace. The Water-Type then dashed downwards, leaving a white trail as he looked like a shooting star now.
Not only that, but with her command, Meowstic made the bubble protected hearts of Disarming Voice come flying down as they flew next to Piplup. The white aura around Piplup gave the bubbles some shine too.
"Take a gander! Piplup's whole body is nothing but a white light as it shoots down like a shooting star onto the world! And those falling bubble hearts gained a nice shine with the light!"
"Sweet Celestia!" Premium was actually intimidated by that. "Flareon, Shadow Ball! Steenee, Solar Beam!"
"Flareon!" Flareon opened his mouth, summoning a blob of shadows. He then threw that blob of shadows towards the boxed Wonder Room while Steeenee gathered power from the sun.
Since it was summer, Solar Beam's charge time was minimum. The Fruit Pokemon unleashed an orange beam from her hands as it soared onwards, merging with Shadow Ball and breaking through the Wonder Room box.
Shadow Ball's purple and black colouring gave Solar Beam a devious but beautiful appearance. Piplup then struck his flippers onto the beam, using the strength of Secret Power and Aerial Ace. The bubbles and hearts also connected, pelting down on the beam of solar power.
"P-Pip...lup!" Piplup groaned as he was trying to break through the beams with the hearts and bubbles by his side.
"Come on, Piplup! Go through!" Sweetie Belle cheered for her partner.
"Lup...!" Piplup's eyes were closing as the remaining hearts and bubbles had been destroyed after coming into contact with Solar Beam. After they blew up, they left sparklers of purple, pink and blue around.
Unfortunately, Piplup couldn't break through the Solar Beam and Shadow Ball combination even with his own combination of moves. The bam broke through, engulfing the Penguin Pokemon in its orange-black-purple light. However, due to the protective light of Secret Power also having the Grass-Type with it considering the location, the full damage was nullified. But Piplup still felt some heavy damage.
"Piplup!"
"Piplup, no!"
"Had me worried there for a second! Okay, you two! Iron Tail, Flareon! And Steenee, Triple Axel! Up close and personal!"
"Steenee-Steene!" Steenee ran forward, lighting her feet up as she summoned ice. But instead of creating a blockade, she used the ice to skate along the floor. She even made a trail of ice on the floor while also performing stylist tricks on it. Flareon ran behind her, using the ice she made to shake as well as his tail lit up with Iron Tail.
Flareon had actually used the falling sparkles from the previous moves to coat his tail with Iron Tail, giving it some shine and bedazzled.
"Not yet! Piplup, Aerial Ace! Meowstic, Disarming Voice on Piplup!"
"Pip!" Piplup stomped his feet on the floor as Meowstic fired Disarming towards Piplup. This time, Piplup was receiving an armour of Fairy-Type magic His whole body had been clad in a light pink armour with hearts swivelling around, acting as extra defence.
The Penguin Pokemon then bolted forward with his flippers glowing white. And just like that, he was about to come into contact with both Steenee and Flareon. It looked like it was about to be a direct hit as Steenee and Flareon were both grouped up.
"Is it gonna work?!" Rainbow Dash leaned forward as the anticipation was building up.
"Hehe..." But then, Sweetie Belle pulled off a cheeky little grin. She knew something that Premium Polish didn't.
And the moment Piplup got close to the two Pokemon, all of a sudden, Piplup's body had vanished out of thin air and had been replaced by a heart.
"Flare?"
"Steenee?" Flareon and Steeenee blinked as they wondered where Piplup went. He had just vanished unexpectedly without warning. They crashed through the heart that Piplup left behind as they were still going for Meowstic.
"What the?! Where'd he go?!" Premium moved her head around.
"Piplup!" And to everyone's surprise with collective gasps, Piplup was suddenly in the air of all places, raising his arm for one heavy Aerial Ace.
"How in the?!" Premium gasped.
"Oh! It's the Body Swap Technique!" Ash exclaimed.
"Amazing! One second he's there and the other second he's not there! It's like Substitution!" Marian said.
"There's the ninja trick she was waiting to use! Using a heart was a great call!" Rarity stood up, flailing her hooves around.
"This is the end! Now, Piplup, go! Meowstic, use Psybeam!"
"No, it isn't! Start ascending Steenee! Flareon, go for Meowstic!"
"Steenee!" Steenee then changed the direction of Triple Axel, using the ice to create a swirling platform of ice that allowed her to ascend. She skated across the carousel pillar of ice, heading for Piplup.
"Meowstic!" As for Meowstic, She put her hand out for Psybeam, putting all of her strength into it as she shot a purple bam out.
"Take that Psybeam for yourself, Flareon!"
"Flare!" But, by utilising Iron Tail, he used Steel's resistance to Psychic to his advantage. The Psybeam had instead been pulled into Iron Tail with a pink energy now matching the sparklers around it.
"Meow?!"
"Flareon!" After taking the light of Psybeam, Flareon whacked Meowstic in the face with a hard Iron Tail, sending the Constraint Pokemon flying.
"Nature Power! Flareon get in position!"
"Steene!" While ascending, Steenee used Nature Power on the ice instead of the floor. By using it on the ice, Nature Power drew upon the power of Ice-Type. And not only did the ice pillar expand in size, but Steenee had manipulated the ice with her tube.
"Lup?!" Piplup suddenly entered the tube due to how it was positioned. By entering it, he then slid through the tube as if he was a child on a playground slide. And waiting at the end was a hard surprise.
Flareon had got into position, standing at the end of the tube with Iron Tail ready. The Flame Pokemon had the power of Psybeam added onto his Iron Tail so this was going to sting if it even lands.
"I don't think so! Strike the tail and take it all for yourself Piplup!"
"Piplup!" Piplup maintained his composure when sliding down on the tube. He still had Aerial Ace ready and set. The Penguin Pokemon then came flying out of the tube, hitting the hearts with Aerial Ace and sending them to the Flame Pokemon.
Flareon used Iron Tail to absorb more of the hearts of Disarming Voice, adding to his strength. He then started swinging his tail about, creating a beautiful spiralling hurricane of energies as everyone gawked. The hurricane even reached the top of the concert hall.
"Pip...!" Piplup then rolled in the air a few times, ready to use Aerial Ace at the right moment. Flareon was also ready to swing his tail until...
"Time! That's it!"
Those 5 minutes were up. Piplup and Flareon both came to a halt with Piplup's flipper close to Flareon's tail. The ice tube from Steenee had shattered as the Fruit Pokemon descended.
Meowstic got back up, seeing that time ran out. She also looked over at the scoreboard with everyone else, hoping for a better outcome in her eyes.
"And the winner of the bottom brocket's first round is..." Marian built up the suspense on who won this round. "Premium Polish!"
It was Premium Polish who succeeded. But barely. She had just edged things out by a smidge. Her bar was almost lower than Sweetie Belle's by one point. But that smidge carried her to victory. She really did get her rematch win over Sweetie Belle.
"I won? Oh yes!" Premium jumped for joy before teleporting over to Steenee and Flareon. "You two, we did it! Ah, you were amazing! I was worried there for a second!"
"Steenee!"
"Flare!"
"It's mostly time that it comes down to, huh?" Sweetie Belle sighed before smiling. "Oh, well. Better luck next time. Piplup. Meowstic. You two were great. Sorry that you couldn't fully win with your new evolution Meowstic."
"Pip-Piplup."
"Meow..." Meowstic snarled as she turned away, crossing her arms and tapping her feet ferociously. She clearly wasn't so happy about this.
"Aw, come on. Don't feel too sour. This is only the second time we've lost. We've got two wins and two losses. We just have to beat out the score with our third win next time, alright?"
"Piplup!"
"Meowstic..."
"Phooey..." Rarity pouted with her ears lowering. "Just when she looked like she would be on a roll this time."
"Yeah. That's a shame. But she did really good to make things edge out at the end, huh?" Ash said.
"Pikachu."
"Still wanted her to win." Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon each said along with Pinkie Pie.
"Thanks for the great match, Sweetie Belle." Premium went over.
"Oh gee, you're welcome. I got a bit too greedy there with the whole armour thing. Guess I should really train Piplup up so that next time, he'll be strong enough to hold it."
"Pip."
"Well now that we're even, I'll break that even score the next time we meet in another contest," Premium smirked.
"I don't think so. I beat you once. You beat me once now. And I'll beat you the second time. That's a promise." Sweetie Belle held her hoof out.
"Hmph. We'll see." Premium also did the same as they both shook hooves by curling them. They now made a vow to challenge each other again and break the even score. They were now 1-1. They truly were rivals.
And the next time they meet, the outcome could be altered as they were both shooting for the spot of the Grand Festival and Top Coordinator as applause filled the stage.
Waiting room.
"Sorry I let you all down. But I feel pretty good about myself." Sweetie Belle spoke to Rarity and the others.
"It's fine, darling. You'll get the edge next time. Or even better. Total domination!" Rarity exclaimed while putting her hoof around Sweetie Belle's neck.
"Uh sure...But ya know! This calls for two big things!" She sat up on the couch. "First! I'm gonna evolve my Pokemon! I'm shooting straight for Empoleon! But uh...I don't think Teddiursa wants to evolve so...Ursaring. Next, I'll catch some new Pokemon to better my skills! The more Pokemon I have, the more I can learn, right?"
"That's the spirit." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"You can come by the Pokemon House at any time if you want," Fluttershy suggested. "We have new Pokemon showing up every day there so you'll have plenty of options."
"Oh. I need to do some evolving myself." Scootaloo bit her hoof.
"But this time, can you please manage your sleep schedule and train only during the day? Your bags might be receiving bags." Rarity said.
"I'll try." Sweetie Belle chuckled as she wasn't going to give a promise to that.
After that was said and done, the other rounds went by. Eventually, with enough rounds ending, only two coordinators were left to face off against each other.
Gelidity and Premium Polish.
Premium was a bit intimidated considering that Gelidity was the most threatening coordinator here and always kept that same innocent smile on her face. But after beating Sweetie Belle, her confidence was boosted as she had Steenee and Flareon out once more. As for Gelidity, it was her Nidoqueen and Alolan Ninetales.
"5 minutes on the clock girls! Begin!" Marian exclaimed.
"We'll make it sweet and short! Flareon, Swift! Steenee used Solar Beam plus Nature Power and ascend!"
"Steene!" Steenee gathered energy from the summer sun, charging Solar Beam up at a faster rate. She then aimed the beam downwards to the floor, firing it as she used its force to propel her upwards. She then used Nature Power to manipulate the beam of solar energy, causing it to change shape.
"Flareon!" As for Flareon, he swung his tail around, sending out star-shaped rays. The rays began swirling around the beam of Solar Beam while Nature Power had transformed the attack into a giant orange star. It even went well with the stars of swift.
The star then started spinning around, dropping solar energy everywhere. It was as if the sun itself had appeared on the earth at a smaller size.
"Hm..." Gelidity pondered for a moment. "Venoshock into Dragon Pulse. Aurora Veil and Moonblast." And she said it with such a calm demeanour too.
"Nido...! Nidoqueen opened her mouth summoning a dragon-shaped shockwave and shooting it into the air. It had the face and length of a dragon but that was about to change. Afterwards, Nidoqueen seeped poisoned through the energy of Dragon Pulse, not only adding the purple colour to the blue colour but altering the appearance of the dragon.
"Ninetales!" Alolan Ninetales then gathered power from the moon itself, summoning multiple Moonblasts, firing them towards the dragon. The moons flew beside the dragon-shaped blasts as Ninetales made them line up.
The multiple moons went on both sides of Dragon Pulse, giving it what seemed to be arms of some sort. But it wasn't done yet. She then used Aurora Beam, unleashing a multicoloured aura from her body.
The beautiful aurora gently flowed through the air, covering the moons. And what they did was give an illusionary appearance. From how Aurora Veil interacted with Moonblast, it looked like the Dragon Pulse was becoming an actual dragon as it now had claws.
There was now a multi-coloured dragon with poison oozing out of its body as it was larger than half of the whole stage itself.
"Oh my..." Premium's jaw dropped. She had done something similar to this before, but not on this scale.
"Go! Go forth, my dragon! And then use Superpower and Extrasensory!"
The dragon then dived down, heading straight for both Nidoqeen and Ninetales. Ninetales hopped on Nidoqueen's back, allowing her to give the Fox Pokemon a piggyback ride. The dragon then consumed the two of them as Ninetales was immune to it thanks to her being a Fairy-Type. And Nidoqueen's great defence just helped her power through it.
"Nido!" Nidoqueen then charged forward like a freight train, moving at a surprisingly swift speed considering her size and build. As she ran, she used the aura of Superpower to cover her whole body, making the already dazzling dragon glisten more.
The dragon was moving through the floor, letting out a roar as Ninetales used Extrasensory to boost its speed. The floor was being covered with various lights, mainly from the aura from Aurora Beam. Even the crowd were met with these lights as it complimented some of their hairstyles.
"Oh! This really makes my hair stand out, doesn't it?!" Marian noticed the beautiful glow her hair had received due to what the dragon was giving off.
"Holy moly! Fire!" Premium ordered.
The giant star then unleashed the full force of the Solar Beam as a giant orange beam came flying out, heading for the giant dragon. The dragon opened its mouth as Ninetales then continued to use Extrasensory. She used her Psychic mind to coat Solar Beam in a pink aura.
And then, with a twist, she had manipulated Solar Beam, allowing it to become a part of the dragon. After doing so, the dragon absorbed the solar energy of Solar Beam. Now the dragon was complete.
Instead of it having a similar body type to a Pokemon like Rayquaza, now it looked like a Salamence. Four legs and everything. It was hard to tell if this was just another illusion or not. But even if it was or wasn't the impact was certainly real as the giant dragon bit its energy teeth onto Steenee and Flareon.
"S-Steen!"
"Flare!" The two of them cried out as the dragon had vanished afterwards. But after Ninetales jumped off Nidoqueen's back, lunging into the air.
"Now for Dark Pulse and Moonblast!"
"Tales!" Ninetales opened her mouth, a wave of purple circles come out of her body. But as she did so, she also spun around in the air, making the wave surround her whole body. She then added one more in the form of Moonblast. The circles spread out a tad bit as a pink moon emerged with Ninetales' body being engulfed by it. After that, the circles then started circling the sphere like an atom.
The Fox Pokemon then descended, landing on top of Nidoqueen's head.
"Wow! All of those purple circles surrounding Ninetales looks like a planet with a gravitational orbit!"
"Not yet! Steenee! Triple Axel and Flareon, Shadow Ball!"
"Flareon ran backwards suddenly, shooting out multiple Shadow Balls in a straight line. There was now a row of at 10 Shadow Balls just laying there.
"Nee! Steenee!" Steenee then lit her legs up as she did consecutive backflips. With those backflips, she had landed on one shadow ball, covering it with a sharp ice armour. She then did the same for the other 9 shadow balls by continuously backflipping. Now every Shadow Ball had an ice coating around it. "Steen!"
After shielding them with ice, Steenee delivered one final kick, smashing her foot onto the back Shadow Ball. By hitting that one Shadow Ball, that created a chain reaction or domino effect. The other Shadow Balls then raced forward.
"Fire Punch please, Nidoqueen."
"Nidoqueen!" Nidoqueen roared as she surrounded her fist in blazing flames. With one mighty swing, she struck her flaming fist onto the sphere of Moonblast, launching Ninetales. The flames had also been added to the sphere, showcasing a trail of flames as Ninetales moved.
And from the superior strength and speed, Ninetales' Moonblast and Dark Pulse protected ball had absolutely ripped through the Shadow Balls with little effort. It was like they were just glass before her.
And after moving at breakneck speeds, the Fox Pokemon's whole aura smashed into Steenee and Flareon, engulfing them in an explosion of Fairy magic, Fire and Darkness. Those three colours went well with each other as some of the ice and shadows from Triple Axel and Shadow Ball could be seen in the mix.
After the smoke cleared, both Steenee and Flareon had tumbled on the floor. But they weren't getting up after that as Ninetales then slid on the floor before coming to a halt. They had both fainted.
"Steenee..."
"Flareon..."
"Oh! That's it! Both Flareon and Steenee are unable to continue!" Marian exclaimed. "Which means the winner of the Appleloosa contest is none other than Gelidity!"
"Oh, wonderful. Victory. That is ours today." Gelidity smiled as Nidoqueen ran over, picking up the earth pony and hugging her
"Nido! Nidoqueen!" Nidoqueen cheered along with the crowd as Ninetales ran over.
"Just two hits..." Premium's jaw dropped. "My she's terrifying...I can see why Sweetie Belle had such a hard time with her. Oh well... Thanks, you two. We almost made it there."
"Steen."
"Flare."
"Gelidity sure is a powerhouse for being so calm, isn't she?" Rainbow Dash's eye twitched.
"Yeah...it's pretty scary." Pinkie Pie laughed nervously.
"Hmph. Just you all wait." Diamond Tiara suddenly gave off a smug look whilst cackling. "Soon, everypony's gonna fear me and my contest moves when I'll really ready and at my best. That's gonna be nothing! Hahaha!"
The ribbon had been handed out to Gelidity by the Head Judge Mr Contesta as everything was coming to a close for the Appleloosa Contest.
"Here. The Appleloosa Ribbon. It's yours, my little pony." Mr Contesta said gifting the earth pony her ribbon.
"Many thank you's." Gelidity bowed as she took the ribbon. Once more, she proves to be a skilled and high-level coordinator despite her age.
"That's all we have for today folks!" Marian waved. "We can bring the Appleloosa Pokemon Contest to a close now! Thanks for coming! Until next time!"
Thanks to Gelidity being so strong and talented, this drove other coordinators to try their best and surpass her in every way. If anything, Gelidity is the biggest inspiration for those who want to improve as the journey continues.
Right now, Chloe's Yamper was asleep on the couch, waiting for his trainer to return home. And from the footsteps Yamper heard nearby outside, the Puppy Pokemon hopped off the couch, rushing over. "Yamper! Yamper!"
"I'm back!" Chloe said, opening the door.
"Yamper!"
"I'm back Yamper. Alright." Chloe said to the Puppy Pokemon before taking out a Poke Ball. Just yesterday, she had actually received a new Pokemon of her own. "Come out, Eevee."
"Eevee!" Eevee was that new Pokemon. Nowadays it seems that everyone has an Eevee here and there. But this Eevee was a fairly special one. In a sense that she tends to do a lot of copying and hasn't chosen her evolution path yet.
"Yamper!" And immediately, Yamper tried to jump on Eevee's back but the Evolution Pokemon moved to the side, causing the Puppy Pokemon to fall on his side with his tongue sticking out. "Yam!"
"Eevee!"
"Thanks for waiting." Chloe kneeled while patting Eevee on the head. "Have you been a good boy, Yamper?"
"Yam! Yamper!" Yamper laid on his back, allowing Chloe to rub his belly. And from the face he was making, he enjoyed it a lot. Eevee watched as she began thinking about how she could receive belly rubs as well. It seemed like a wonderful feeling.
"Eevee...Vee-Vee!" Eevee then laid on her back, wanting the belly rubs herself. But she then laid on her belly, failing to get into the proper position for the belly rub as Chloe chuckled.
"Since summer's here, I can stay behind as many times as I want with you two."
"Chloe. Welcome back." Welcoming his own daughter home was Professor Cerise, opening the door to his lab.
"Good to be back dad."
"Could you come here for a moment?" Cerise asked his daughter by giving a hand motion. Seems that there was something he wanted to show her.
Inside the lab of the other room.
Ash and Goh were there as they seemed to be looking at something up ahead. Chloe entered the room as Twilight could also be seen here. She did occasionally assist Cerise labs from time to time despite being her own Professor at Ponyville.
"Hey, Chloe," Goh said.
"Nice timing." Ash also spoke.
"What's going on?" Chloe asked as she looked ahead. On the screen, the face of a man could be seen. Not just any man though.
This man in particular was known as the Curator. A member and the president of the Pewter Museum of Science. He's actually someone who's met Ash, Goh and Chloe before. He met them while they were searching the Museum's excavation site attraction for fossils to restore.
"Hey! Have you been finding fossils enchanting?"" The Curator spoke in his usual melodic voice while giving a thumbs up with stars in his eyes.
"The president of the Pewter Museum of Science?" said Chloe.
"Apparently, he has a request for you," Cerise uttered.
"About investing fossils! Goh exclaimed.
"And it's in the Wild Area too!" Ash was getting pumped.
"I already have my fossil machine back at my lab ready!" Twilight grinned.
"Oh, over in Galar?" Chloe looked at Ash.
"Indeed! Indeeding!" The Curator chimed in. "You can find rare fossils in Galar, according to a rumour I heard. I'd like you to go and investigate what these rare fossils are like!"
"Oh yeah! I'll totally do it!" Ash bellowed.
"Pikachu!"
"That's a new Pokemon possibly staring me in the face so yeah!" Goh leaned forward. "I can meet lots of new Pokemon in the Wild Area! Right, Cinderace?"
"Cinder!"
"What about you, Chloe?" Cerise looked at Chloe.
"Well...Summer's just come up and I don't have school now so..." Chloe bit her lip before looking at Eevee.
"Eevee-vee-vee!" Eevee most definitely wanted to go. And the beaming look she had said it fully.
"You want to go, Eevee?"
"Vee!"
"Well...Okay. Dad, I've decided I'll go too." Chloe turned to face her father.
"Good stuff." Cerise gave a grin and a thumbs up. It was official. They were off to Galar.
Meanwhile, on a plane.
But they brought some company while flying on a plane. Obviously, Fluttershy was always up for seeing brand new Pokemon, much like Ash. And the rest of Twilight's friends do tend to enjoy going on Pokemon journeys either way. Ash's adventurous spirit had influenced practically all of them at this point. It would explain why some of them are choosing to go on their own journeys recently.
"What kind of Fossil Pokemon are we gonna find there, I wonder?" Applejack spoke.
"All of them are Rock-Type Pokemon, aren't they?" Spike said. "So it's gonna be one type and then Rock-Type."
"I've already told Maud about this! She's gonna be so excited when we discover a new Fossil Pokemon!" Pinkie Pie squeed with excitement. "What do you think it's going to be this time?"
"Well..." Twilight began listing the current Fossil Pokemon they have all seen so far. "Aerodactyl, Bastiodon, Rampardos Aurorus and Tyrantrum are dinosaur-based. Cradily is similar to a Crinoid. Armaldo seems to resemble an Anomalocaris arthropod from long ago..."
"Ano-what now?" Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Spike and Starlight squinted their eyes.
"Archeops and Carracosta are earlier variants of birds and turtles. Omastar resembles an ammonites star and Kabutops is a limulid or horseshoe crab for simplicity. That's all of them." Starlight finished things off for Twilight.
"So, they either be other dinosaurs or underwater creatures," Twilight said.
"What's a dinosaur?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Over at the human world with Sunset, I figured out what they were. They're pretty neat to look at honestly." Twilight smiled with her eyes closed.
"You two really looked into them a lot, didn't you...?" Chloe chuckled a bit.
"Eevee"
"Whatever they are, I can't wait to see them!" Fluttershy pressed her face on the glass along with Ash and Pikachu. Eevee did the same, always imitating everything she sees.
"Vee!"
"Ah, the sun's extra bright, Eevee. Maybe it's not a good idea to-" Chloe held Eevee, ready to pull her away from the window so the sun doesn't blind her. Right now, all there was were clouds being coloured by the sun's orange glow. Very soon they would move.
However, once they did move, Chloe and Eevee were given the sight of the beautiful sun of Galar. It did make their eyes move a bit but the sight was wonderful either way. With their eyes open, they were gaining one of the first major experiences of having an adventure.
Galar Region. Wild Area.
They were finally here. The Wild Area. The extensive area of the Galar Region. And it truly was extensive. The size of this place eclipsed most mountain ranges and fields from how huge it was. Ash and the others immediately started running and flying in this wide and expansive area. They even allowed most of their Pokemon to come out and move across the land.
"This place is still incredible to look at every time! Man, it's huge!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Look at all the Pokemon! Eeee!" Fluttershy squeaked as the number of Pokemon in this Wild Area were even bigger than the Pokemon House overall.
"Any Dragon-Types nearby?!" Spike moved his head around, looking at the Pokemon available here. He did see a Goomy but he already had a Goodra. But off in the distance, he had spotted a Flygon flying by. "Oho!" Immediately, he rushed over to try and see if he could catch the Flygon.
Rainbow Dash however was looking forward to catching some new Pokemon along with Goh. They saw an Electrike, Budew, Vulpix, Natu, Dwebble and other Pokemon of all other varieties.
"Yeesh, that's a lot to choose from! I'm heading in any way!" Rainbow Dash zoomed off.
"Wait! Rainbow Dash!" Twilight cried out but it was too late. Everyone else had something they wanted to do in the Wild Area and Twilight couldn't do anything to stop it, even though she wanted everyone to be close. But it couldn't be helped as she shrugged. "Oh well."
"You!" Rainbow Dash descended, looking down at a Pancham.
"Pan?"
"I wouldn't mind having a second Fighting-Type on my team. Plus I really want a Dark-Type too! Whaddya say? Battle?" Rainbow Dash held out a Poke Ball.
"Pancham!" Pancham ended up shaking its head, refusing Rainbow Dash's offer. Not because it didn't want to battle, but because it was a bit tired as it was seen lying on its back choosing to doze off.
"Ah...Maybe another time then." Rainbow Dash sighed as she flew off elsewhere.
"I know you guys bug me when you block the train tracks but you're just so fluffy to hold!" Pinkie Pie squeed as she had her hooves on a flock of Wooloo, holding them together while digging her face in their soft wool.
"Mew!" Mew tried to do the same by turning himself into a Wooloo, landing on top of Pinkie Pie. Pinkie was now buried within nothing but softness. From the Wooloo and her own Pokemon.
"Wool!" Just then, after being pulled in by the softness, the flock of Wooloo started rolling down the hill for fun, bringing Pinkie Pie along with them.
"Hm?" Pinkie then noticed the sudden movements as she couldn't exactly see anything considering where her face was. But as the Wooloo rolled down the hill with Mew following after, Pinkie Pie could feel the adrenaline either way and figure out what the Wooloo were doing. "Woohooo!"
"Galar's got some neat looking Pokemon, don't they? And who are you?" Twilight kneeled, looking at a Dottler that stood before her. She took out the Pokedex to read the data of this new Pokemon.
"Dottler. The Radome Pokemon. It barely moves, but it’s still alive. Hiding in its shell without food or water seems to have awakened its psychic powers. As it grows inside its shell, it uses its psychic abilities to monitor the outside world and prepare for evolution."
"Dott. Dottler." The Radome Pokemon then suddenly hid inside of its shell, hiding its face from Twilight, scared of the alicorn being up close.
"Oh, no, no, sorry!" Twilight gasped, waving her hoof. "I didn't mean to scare you!"
"Oh hey. I heard about this Pokemon. Isn't that the one that evolves into a beetle, ufo and ladybug?" Rainbow Dash flew over.
"Ladybug?!" Twilight shot up with her wings rising out of fear and shock as she backed away from Dottler.
"Gahaaha!" Rainbow Dash laughed after that little tease with Twilight scrunching her face afterwards.
"Aw!" Fluttershy zoomed over. "No need to be so shy, little guy." By getting closer to Dottler, the Radome Pokemon could feel the positivity of Fluttershy exuding his way. Dottler poked his head out, looking at Fluttershy's face as he didn't feel so shy anymore.
"Scorbun!" But, to be a bit of a playful scamp, Scorbunny appeared behind Fluttershy, raising his arms and flailing his ears about at Dottler.
"Dott!" Once more, Dottler hid in his shell.
"Scor-Scor-Scor!" Scorbunny giggled as Fluttershy looked at him with a not so pleasant face.
"Scorbunny..." Fluttershy spoke, making the Rabbit Pokemon shudder and gulp as he could feel the low tone coming from her mouth.
"S-Scorbun..."
"Eevee!" Eevee was playing around with Pikachu in the open field as she also ended up going down the hill like the Wooloo. But she just ran instead of just rolling.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Espeon!" Espeon yelled at Eevee, telling her to be careful when going down such a steep hill. Since she was an Eevee before, she knew how fragile the Eevee body can be.
"Vee-Vee!" Eevee giggled, not listening to Espeon as Pinkie and the Wooloo were rolling next to her. They were all feeling the rush. Unfortunately, that would come to an end as they crashed into the nearest Pokemon in front of them. "Vee!"
"Wooloo!"
And that Pokemon was a Boldore.
"Boldore."
"Ow! Hey why did we stop?" Pinkie Pie looked up, finally freeing herself from the softness. As she looked over she spotted the Boldore in front of her as Chloe ran down the hill. After crashing into Boldore, Eevee was knocked back, feeling a slight sting on her head.
"Ah! Eevee!" Chloe ran down to her Pokemon.
Bad news for them. Boldore is a Pokemon that can be agitated if the wrong scenario occurs. And it will attack without ever changing the direction it's facing. Eevee shuddered as she was a bit paralyzed after looking at the size of Boldore compared to her. The Evolution Pokemon then backed away as Boldore stomped one of its legs on the ground.
"Boldre!" When stomping its legs, it had summoned Stone Edge as blue crystals erupted from the ground, heading for Eevee, the Wooloo and Pinkie Pie.
"Vee?!" Eevee quickly jumped into Chloe's arms.
"Cinderace! Blaze Kick!" Goh immediately commanded after seeing the Stone Edge emerge.
"Cinder!" Cinderace jumped off the hill, lighting its feet with a blazing aura. The Striker Pokemon then kicked the crystals of Stone Edge, shattering them.
"Dore!" Boldore then used Harden, covering its body in a blue aura with ripples pulsating out of its body.
"Harden, huh? Okay! Cinderace, Quick Attack!"
"Cinderace!" Cinderace then bolted off the ground at lightning speeds leaving afterimages while charging at the Ore Pokemon.
Before Boldore could fully finish using Harden, the Striker Pokemon tackled Boldere at full-force with its shoulder and arm, sending the Rock-Type back as it slid on the ground.
"Bold!"
"Ace!"
"Okay! Poke Ball, go!" Goh threw his Poke Ball towards Boldore while it was flying through the air. One hit and the Poke Ball pulled the Ore Pokemon in, landing on the ground. Now for the shaking to begin.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Boldore was caught!
"Nice-nice!" Goh grinned, seeing that Boldore's data was now added to the Pokedex. Cinderace did a backflip, giving Goh a high-five with its foot.
"Cinder!"
"Oh...Thanks for the save, Goh," said Chloe.
"No problem. Now let's go and find those fossils!" Goh raised his arms as he rushed off. After seeing Goh bolt away along with Chloe, Ash and the others had to follow if they wanted to find the fossils. They can frolic around later in this field.
"Cinder!"
"Hm?" Spike noticed this as he was about to approach Flygon. "Oh! Wait for me, you guys!"
Dusty Bowl. North of the Wild Area.
Here, there were already many workers on the case of digging up fossils while wearing protective gear. Tables and tents were set up for camp as some of them were mining at the rocks with pickaxes.
Everyone here was looking for a fossil. Even if it was a pre-existing fossil that had already been discovered or even something new, they would search for them in every nook and cranny. Who knows what Pokemon have been stuck in the past centuries ago?
"Oh, this is the place for sure!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Well, then." Rarity adjusted her mane. "We know what we need to do. Don't worry. Spike and I are fairly experienced when it comes to digging and anything underground, aren't we Spike?"
"Oh yeah. But uh...Not sure I can track down fossils like gemstones." Spike chuckled.
"Let's get to work!" Goh already got out his mining and digging gear from his bag.
"I learned a lot back home at the Rock Farm! This'll be done in no time!" Pinkie Pie stretched her hooves as almost everyone was prepared to get their hands, hooves, claws and paws dirty for some fossils. They all ran forward, heading the first rocks that they saw.
But as they were all looking for fossils by heading for the rocks, once again, Chloe and her Eevee came across something that could harm them. And this time, it wasn't their voice as a voice rang out.
"Mudsdale! Double Kick!" The voice of a male shouted.
"Muds!" And right behind a giant rock, giant hooves smashed the material, sending large chunks flying.
"Huh?" Ash turned around, being the first to react to this impact as he witnessed the rocks flying by. And they were heading straight for Chloe and Eevee.
"Ah! Eevee!" Chloe gasped as she held Eevee tight while the rock was approaching.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Luckily, Pikachu was there to stop the rock as he hardened his tail, lunging forward and slashing the rock in half. Chloe and Eevee had been saved yet again.
"Are you two okay?" Ash ran over.
"We're fine. Thanks, Ash...The second time this has happened today." Chloe sighed.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. My bad right there." Just then, the one who had commanded his Mudsdale to use Double Kick had shown himself to everyone. A man wearing what seemed to be a lab coat with dirt on his glasses, showing that he's been working here for quite a while.
"Huh? Are you being rough as ever, Bray Zenn? Nothing's changed I see." And next to him was a female who was also wearing a lab coat but had more dirt on her. Mostly on her face.
"You were running late while being careless back at home though. Could've been here earlier to warn me, Cara Liss." Bray Zenn spoke to the other Fossil Searcher by the name of Cara Liss. "Just 5 minutes late, remember?"
"Well...I forgot to set my alarm clock okay?" Car Liss responded.
"You're so careless..." Bray Zenn sighed before turning to Ash and the others. "You all. Are you here for the fossil search as well? I can tell by those items you have?"
"Oh, we sure are." Starlight spoke as she already had her hooves dirty, starting earlier than others.
"Glad to have you along. My name's Bray Zenn." He introduced himself.
"And my name's Cara Liss." So did Cara Liss.
"We came here because we heard that there are rare fossils here in Galar with potentially new never-before-seen Pokemon," Spike explained.
"So, are there?" Applejack leaned forward.
"There sure are. You should get a look at this. Come with us." Bray Zenn said as he and Cara Liss led the Pokemon Trainers to the site where these rare fossils laid.
They weren't too far from here. Just a few walks away and near a lake in the Wild Area. Once they got there, they were met with these fossils that were actually plastered on the wall.
One was of some sort of fish and the other was seemingly another dinosaur. It still kept the trend of Fossil Pokemon being related to fish or dinosaurs. But there was something off about them.
"Hm..." Ash, Starlight and Rainbow Dash squinted their eyes while looking at the skeleton. "That's probably a hand? Or maybe a foot?"
"This one's a tail," Chloe observed with Fluttershy by her side.
"Ain't they great?" Bray Zenn replied.
"It's not complete yet, is it?" Chloe twirled her hair.
"Right. But dig here and there and we'll probably find the whole thing eventually." Bray Zenn held up a pickaxe. "Let's get this investigation started."
"And once that's done, we'll revive them." Cara Liss went into her bag to try and retrieve her pickaxe. "Ah! I forgot my pickaxe!"
"Man you're careless...here take mine." Bray Zenn tossed the pickaxe down near Cara Liss. After that, everyone got to work, using whatever way they could on digging. Some just used the regular pickaxe and other gear while some used their bare hooves and skills they learned back home.
Most of the fossils had been gathered up from coordination. Since they were all digging together, the process was faster and less time-consuming. But they did have some dust on them now.
Pinkie Pie emerged from the ground with her whole face covered in dust along with her mane. Spinda and Mew too. Rarity kept herself clean as all she needed was her magic for this. Eevee dusted away some of the dirt of the fossil that Chloe had found. But she dusted it a bit too much, causing the dust to cover her and Chloe. But they did end up finding a foot within the fossil.
Afterwards, with the fossils they were able to gather, they all placed them in trays with four colourful boxes on the side.
"Okay. How do all of these fit together?" Ash wondered as now they had to piece the right fossils together.
"Seems like there are two Pokemon in total," Starlight said. "One for the Fish-looking one and the other for the one that looks like a dinosaur."
"I'm not even sure which way they face," Goh asked.
"It'll be like a puzzle so it's gonna be extra fun." Pinkie Pie rubbed her dusty hooves together.
"That's the mysterious thing about Galar's Fossils. They're not fully together like other region fossils." Cara Liss raised her finger with a confident smile. "I think the right answer to this might just be some odd match-up that completely defies all prior ideas! Here's my prediction."
She then took out her tablet, showing everyone what she believes the combination of fossils properly looks like in four images. On the tablet screen, she moved the images around, starting with the fish head. Once she did that, the fish had gone towards what seemed to be the spine, merging the two images to create a figure.
"This and this one make one Pokemon. This area used to be a seabed. So it would've needed limbs that can move through the water easily." Cara explained, showing them the images. This whole place used to have a different appearance back in the past but now it's been altered after centuries had come by. "And since it swam deep in the ocean, this Pokemon needed a physiology that could eat prey above it."
She then further arranged the Pokemon by moving and flipping the image, showing a prediction of what the final and full form could look like. And it seemed to be a fish-plesiosaur hybrid fossil coloured blue and white.
"I call it Arctovish!"
"Ooooh!" Ash, Fluttershy, Goh and Pinkie Pie gawked at the image of this Pokemon called Arctovish. Twilight squinted her eyes, noticing something a bit off about it.
"Uh..." Twilight uttered while trying to really examine this Pokemon.
"I was just thinking..." Bray slid over with his own tablet as heads were turned to his attention. "I'd match up this one and this one." He also showed them his own images and prediction, merging images to form a full-body skeleton. "My hypothesis is once these were plains and this area had nothing but short shrubs. So bird Pokemon would need to run more than they fly, ending up with a stronger lower body."
Afterwards, the skeleton image changed, revealing a different kind of Pokemon result to everyone's eyes. This yellow-coloured Pokemon had a long neck that connected to a raptor-like head. The lower body of it seemed bigger than the rest of its upper body as Twilight's suspicions grew.
And every soon, everyone else were starting to see the oddities about these Pokemon. As if there wasn't something right about the way they appeared.
"I call it Dracozolt!"
"Oooh!" But Ash and Fluttershy were all for it.
"Don't it look like it could be right or easily just as wrong?" Applejack squinted her eyes.
"You weren't kidding when you said it was mysterious..." Chloe gawked.
"We've found all the fossils we need. Why don't we restore them right away?" Cara said while placing cases that fit perfectly on the boxes. So did Bray Zenn. They were about to make this a reality and see their prediction come true.
Maybe.
"Hm...This one is shutting properly." While Cara Liss perfectly placed the cases on the boxes, Bray Zenn wasn't doing it as well as he had little focus. At least the last and fourth box.
"Hey be more careful with that," Cara warned as Bray beat on the box to try and fit it in properly. After beating on it, it eventually did work and fit in.
"Okay, it's shut." He grinned.
"You're so brazen with things..." Cara sighed.
"My Dracozolt is this one and this one." Bray looked over at the four boxes with his own fossil skeletons inside. A blue and red box.
"Huh? Wasn't that my Arctozolt? I'm sure it was blue?" Cara grumbled while pointing at the blue box that Bray had his hand on.
"No, mine was blue. Yours is light blue."
"Huh? Light blue? I thought it was the blue one."
"Ah, well that's pretty much the same thing!" Bray exclaimed. "Let's just hurry and get the machine." After they sorted everything out, Cara Liss brought out the machine they would use to revive these ancient Pokemon.
"Ta-dah This the Fossil Restoration Device!" Cara bellowed, revealing the device. And of course, it had a lot of dust and dirt on it. "With this, we can restore the fossil pieces to their original form without fail. Amazing right? The principle is the same as Poke Balls." She was ready to explain it all.
"Don't bother with the explanation. Nobody gets it anyway." Bray walked by with his own dusty restoration device, making Cara pout.
"The withdraw button...on!" Cara pressed a blue button on the machine, causing it to activate. Out of the two speaker-shaped parts, some antennae emerged with red spheres on top. Out of those red spheres, a pink light started to glow. Out of that pink light, the spheres shot out a ray that went straight for the two boxes.
Once they struck the boxes, the two pink lights then pulled them in. And they did in fact work like Poke Balls in the retrieval sense. The same went for Bray as he did the same for his own boxes.
"Alright," said Bray.
"Now I just press the emerge button and..." Cara was about to press another button.
"No, the restore button." But Bray stopped her before she could press the wrong one.
"Oh, whoops!" Cara gasped, pulling her finger away from the wrong button.
"You're so careless..." Bray sighed as Cara press a light blue button to activate the restore function.
"Now the fossil pieces will be converted to light particles and reconstructed," Cara explained, ready to go into full detail.
"Or more simply put, like a puzzle piece." But Bray kept it short and simple.
"Then they'll appear fully restored!" Cara yelled with enthusiasm and her fists pumped.
"So uh...how long is that gonna take?" Ash asked.
"Two hours. No, maybe four hours." Bray replied.
"What should we do while we wait?" Goh wondered.
"Hm...I could still grab that Flygon if I hurry! Be right back!" Spike dashed off.
"I'm feeling hungry right about now." Pinkie licked her lips.
"I'm in on that!" Ash exclaimed as he could go for some food along with everyone else.
"Then...here at the Wild Area, there's only one thing to make." Bray crossed his arms as he nodded.
"It's curry!" Cara exclaimed while clapping her hands together. "Let's eat some curry together, why don't we?!" And everyone agreed on some delicious food as time goes by.
Meanwhile, out in East Lake Axewell of the Wild Area.
Spike had come across the Flygon he saw before, trying to catch the Mystic Pokemon. Flygon was eating from some of the berries in three as a Cherubi jumped out of it, hopping on the Ground-Dragon-Type's head. It took him at least three hours to find Flygon again but he did.
"Cheru."
"Flygon." Flygon just carried on eating the berries in the tree as Spike crept up from behind. But after appearing behind the Mystic Pokemon, the baby dragon cleared his throat, ready to grab his attention.
"Hey, uh...Flygon?" Spike called out Flygon, causing it to turn its head around.
"Fly?"
"Eh?" Spike pointed at the Poke Ball with a grin. "Whaddya say? I battle you for a chance to catch you?"
"Flygon!" The Mystic Pokemon suddenly roared, causing a wind pressure that blew Spike back a tad bit along with Axew.
"That's a yes, I guess!" Spike nodded as he held out a Poke Ball. "Alright, Goodra! Let's see what you can do now that you're back and stronger than ever. Come out!" He hurled the ball, sending the Dragon Pokemon out.
"Goodra!"
"Flygon!" Flygon certainly took a Pokemon Battle request as it went first. And it started by using the move Boomburst of all things. By opening its mouth, the Mystic Pokemon unleashed a melodic and yet destructive sound that boomed across the area. This explosive sound raged forward as it went for Goodra in the form of a white soundwave.
"Ow!" Spike twitched after that sound. "Goodra, let's put that amazing special defence of yours to good use! Block it and then use Surf!"
"Goo!" The Dragon Pokemon put his arms up in a blocking position, allowing the wide burst of sound to come his way. It was impossible to avoid considering its size and range. Goodra took the full force of Boomburst as his gooey body felt it. He moved back a bit as nearby Pokemon shuddered from this explosive sound. Parts of the ground even shattered.
After that, Goodra pulls back his hand, forming an orb of water in front of him. He then thrust his hand downwards on the ground, forming a big on land. Goodra then started surfing on the wave, slamming it on the Mystic Pokemon and the tree it was feeding on.
"F-Fly!" Flygon was being carried by this big wave. It was taking continuous water damage from Surf while moving across the Rolling Fields.
"Yes! Now use Power Whip!"
"Goo....!" Goodra's horns then emanated a green light as they extended. He then whipped them around, hitting the Mystic Pokemon and sending it flying into the air.
"Fly! Flygon!" After being hurled through the air, Flygon recovered before returning the favour to Goodra. The Ground-Dragon-Type then used a move that required its own scales. A move known as Scale Shot. The Mystic Pokemon suddenly shot its own scales at Goodra in the form of green energy considering that was Flygon's colour.
"It's shooting its scales?!" Spike gasped as Goodra had been pelted by the scales, taking super-effective damage from them. And more kept coming.
"Goo!"
"Knock them back with Breaking Swipe!"
"Dra!" After being pelted by some of the scales, Goodra lit his tail up, turning around and swinging his draconic-clad tail, hitting the scales back at Flygon.
"Fly!" But this time, Flygon dodged it by zooming towards Goodra as well, manoeuvring through the sky. The Mystic Pokemon then opened its mouth, boosting at a quicker pace as it suddenly bit onto Goodra's tail.
"Goo?!"
"Flygon!" After doing so, Flygon used the move, Giga Drain, draining the nutrients and energy from Goodra's body harshly as green energy could be seen emerging.
"D-Dra?!"
"Shake it off with Breaking Swipe!"
"G-Goodra!" Goodra winced as he continued to use Breaking Swipe, swinging his tail wildly as he also slammed it up and down, causing Flygon to hit the ground since its teeth were still clinging on.
"Gon!" Flygon cried out.
"Goo!" Goodra then spun around while using Breaking Swipe, moving in one position only. Flygon was already feeling sick at the moment from all of this spinning so it had no choice but to let go. But as it removed its teeth, Goodra smirked, causing Flygon to be flung off into the distance.
"Fly!"
"Okay! Now, let's use Fire Punch!"
"Goodra!" Goodra lit his arms up with flames before jumping into the air, heading for the Mystic Pokemon. Flygon narrowed his eyes, unleashing Boomburst the moment Goodra came close. An explosive soundwave erupted, rocketing the Dragon Pokemon back to the ground with a crash landing. "G-Goo!"
"Ah! Goodra!" Spike gasped.
"G-Goo...!" Goodra sat up from the rubble, growling at Flygon as the Mystic Pokemon was about to attack with another Scale Shot. It sent ten of its scales this time.
"Use Surf on those scales!"
"Dra!" Goodra got back up, summoning the orb of water again. Instead of slamming it on the ground to create a big wave, the Dragon Pokemon put the orb in front of him. The scales hit the orb as they were pulled in by the attack. Afterwards, Goodra unleashed Surf from the orb, sending a massive torrent of water upwards.
"Fly?! Flygon gasped as it covered its eyes. The giant torrent had crashed into the Mystic Pokemon, showering it with a big wave of water. Flygon lost its balance in the air, almost falling to the ground.
"Now's my chance! Go, Poke Ball!" Spike held out a Poke Ball, throwing it. The ball hit Flygon's tail, immediately pulling the Ground-Dragon-Type inside. And as the Pokke Ball landing, the shaking could begin.
1...2...Not quite.
Flygon broke free, roaring at Spike and Flygon was it wasn't going to be so easily caught. Which was a perfect challenge for Spike as Flygon still looked active and healthy. Probably from the Giga Drain.
"This might take a while..."
Back at the Dusty Bowl.
At the same time, while Spike was out battling against a fairly powerful Flygon, the cooking had come to an end with Bray doing most of the cooking.
"And it's done! Special whipped cream curry!" Bray Zenn announced as the curry had been made. It was...something. It had a whipped cream tower on top and some stew and rice on the side below it.
"Uh..." Rarity's eyes twitched as everyone was a bit lost on what they were looking at.
"W-What is this?" Ash stuttered.
"Nice, ain't it? The whipped cream is the secret ingredient!" Bray grinned.
"It's hardly a secret..." Chloe lowered her eyes.
"So brazen..." Everyone said while looking at Bray.
"W-Well why don't we try it anyway?" Cara suggested as plates with smaller whipped cream on them were sent out for everyone.
"First bite!" Pinkie Pie took the honour of trying the food first. She chewed into the curry with her bare mouth, seeing what the taste was like as everyone held their breath in. "Mmm!" Pinkie's eyes shot up along with her ears and mane. "That's good!"
"It is?" Everyone said as they stared at their plates. Altogether, they took a spoonful of the curry, eating it in unison. Once they did, they all tasted what Pinki Pie tasted. "Oh yeah! That's good!"
"See? Those are homemade skills showing. Pretty good isn't it?" Bray said while chewing on the curry.
"It's not bad." A mouthful Cara replied.
They truly did enjoy that curry despite its less than pleasing appearance. All the plates were empty and everyone's stomach was satisfied. Some even had extra servings. And perfect timing too. The machine made out a ding as the restoration process was done.
"Oh, it's done!" Cara shot up.
"The fossil restoration is complete!" Bray placed his cup down on the table.
"Ooh! Let's see! Let's see!" Fluttershy was excited to see these Fossil Pokemon. They all rushed over to the machine, cleaning themselves up as they were ready to witness the arrival of Pokemon that have yet to be brought back into the world.
"Okay, out they come," said Cara Liss.
"Don't press the wrong thing. It's the emerge button, remember?" Bray Zenn warned.
"Right, right," Cara responded as she and Bray pressed the merge button, allowing the machines to shoot out a blue light this time. And once those blue lights hit the ground, two figures started emerging from within.
Everyone had visible smiles on their faces, eager to see these Pokemon for themselves. They'll see new life being brought to this world. However, when the lights were fading and the figures were showing themselves, something seemed...off as Bray and Cara had menacing grins on their own faces.
After that, the first Pokemon appeared. And it looked nothing like the image that Cara Liss showed as it had cried out its name.
"Draco! Dracovish!"
And another one came out, not looking like what Bray Zenn showed everyone as it also cried out what was assumedly its name.
"Arctozolt."
"Whoa! They're really restored!" Ash gawked with stars in his eyes.
"Aww! They're so cuuute!" And so did Fluttershy as she gushed over the appearance of Dracovish and Arctozolt. From their cries and how Arctozolt had a runny nose like a Cubchoo.
However, while Ash and Fluttershy were admiring these newly-discovered Fossil Pokemon, Twilight and everyone had different reactions to this. And their reactions consisted of faces of horror, disgust, confusion and just being dumbfounded.
"Something is not right here...W-What are those things...?" Starlight whispered.
"They don't look like the Pokemon from the images...and those already looked kinda off..." Applejack whispered back as everyone else was speaking silently.
"Can that one even breathe properly?" Rarity grit her teeth while looking at Dracovish.
"That one's got a pretty bad cold...A-Are those the right bodies?" Rainbow Dash grimaced at Arctozolt.
"I don't think it's meant to be in that..." Twilight shook her head.
"Is this legal?" Pinkie Pie scrunched her face.
"Uh...Don't they look a bit different from the predictions?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah." Goh nodded.
"And that's the mysterious thing about Galar's Fossils!" Bray moved his hand over to Arctozolt.
"It is?" Everyone said except for Ash and Fluttershy as they were too busy admiring the two fossils.
"It doesn't quite match my hypothesis but look what potential they had!" Bray bellowed. "I call it Arctozolt! It lived in the ancient seas and must have chilled and stored its prey with its icy body!
"Arcto..."
"That's one switch-up of a hypothesis, isn't it..." Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes.
"Draco! Draco!" As for the other fossil that looked like it couldn't properly breathe, Ash and Fluttershy went up to it.
"What's this?" Ash, Fluttershy and their Pokemon slid over to Dracovish and Cara.
"Well, those are Galar Fossils. Aren't they something? If I had to name it..." Cara thought of a name/ "Right! Dracovish!"
"Draco!"
"With its powerful legs and jaws, it made it the apex predator of its time. Unrivalled on land! But it overhunted its prey and went into extinction." Cara gave her hypothesis. "Yeah! That's got to be what happened!"
"Really? Nice to meet you, Dracovish!" Ash walked up to the Fossil Pokemon with open arms.
"Draco...!" But suddenly, as Dracovish opened its mouth wide, it tried to bite on Ash's head, causing Ash to back up.
"Whoah!" Ash gasped. He then moved away slowly as Dracovish walked towards him, Fluttershy, Scorbunny, Chikorita and Audino. They each realized that they were about to be chased down by this fossil. And their realization was right as they immediately bolted away with Dracovish chasing them
"Draco!"
"Why?!" Ash cried out whilst he, Fluttershy and Pikachu were jetting for it, running across the area with Dracovish chasing them down with an open mouth.
"Looks like it likes him." Bray gave a smile without worry.
"A-Are you sure about that?" Goh said.
"Uh...i-It's not stopping." Pinkie stuttered.
"Dracovish!" Dracovish was determined to chomp on Ash and the others as it wouldn't stop running.
"Pikachu! Electroweb!"
"Pika-Pika-Pika!" Quickly lunging into the air, Pikachu summoned a ball of electricity, throwing it before it turned into a web that landed on Dracovish's head.
"Draco!" But, Dracovish ended up biting through the web as if it was nothing, continuing to charge forward. The Fossil Pokemon then used Water Gun, firing a rapid blast of water at Pikachu.
"Dodge it!" Ash cried out as he, Fluttershy and their Pokemon swayed to the side, avoiding the blast of water. But as they avoided it, it ended up hitting Arctozolt in the face instead.
"Zolt?" Arctozolt's head moved back before moving forward as it was immediately aggravated and provoked. In response, it had used Icy Wind, shooting a breeze of wind on the ground, gifting it a flash-freeze.
And as a result, Ash, Fluttershy and their Pokemon ended up coming across the frozen ground without warning. Fluttershy wished she had used her wings to evade Dracovish as she and the others started sliding on the ice, trying to maintain balance.
"Vish!" Unfortunately, before they could maintain their composure, along came Dracovish, smashing into them while also sliding on the ice.
"Arcto!" Now provoked, Arctozolt started firing Icy Winds everywhere t everyone, causing everyone to scatter immediately. Ash's group ended up being carried away with Dracovish as they were now on its back after being knocked into the air and landing on the Fossil Pokemon.
"Ash! Fluttershy!" Rainbow cried out as Dracovish kept running, heading off in the distance.
"Zolt!" Arctozolt fired so many Icy Winds that eventually, Cara Liss and Bray Zenn had been caught by it, immediately freezing.
"Oh my!" Chloe noticed the two of them freeze.
"Cinderace, melt the ice with Pyro Ball!" Goh ordered.
"Use Weather Ball Castform!" So did Rainbow Dash
"Cinderace!" Cinderace selected a random pebble, igniting it with his feet and turning it into a fireball before kicking it.
"Cast!" Castform, in his Sunny Form thanks to summer, shot out a ball of flames from his mouth. The two spheres of fire ended up landing near the icy prisons, melting the ice away.
"Arcto!" Arctozolt then turned around, looking at Chloe and Eevee as its next targets. It opened its mouth ready for another Icy Wind.
"Vee...Eevee!" But, thinking quick on her feet, Eevee jumped out of Chloe's hands, kicking her trainer's shoulder as they both avoided Icy Wind via a knockback from the Evolution Pokemon.
"Thank you, Eevee!"
"Let's calm it down immediately!" Goh slid over to Arctozolt, holding out a Poke Ball as Applejack and the others helped Bray and Cara out of the ice that they had been freed out of, choosing to warm them down.
Meanwhile, Ash and Fluttershy were holding on for dear life to Dracovish as it kept running. Cara was right about its strong legs as the Fossil Pokemon was heading for East Lake Axewell.
"How far are you gonna run?!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pika!"
"Hm? Spike, who was still in his battle with Flygon, noticed Ash and Fluttershy nearby. He also noticed a new Pokemon that was carrying them and running at ridiculous speeds. "What the...?"
"Goo?"
"Flygon?"
"Aaah!" Ash and Fluttershy cried bellowed.
"Fly!" Flygon then turned to face Goodra, going for a sneak attack.
"Catch Flygon with your horns!" But Goodra and Spike saw the Mystic Pokemon coming as he used his horns to wrap around Flygon's legs and arms.
"F-Fly!?"
"Let's finish this! Fire Punch!"
"Dra!" While holding on to Flygon, Goodra took the chance to deliver multiple Fire Punches to his fellow Dragon-Type. He struck Flygon in place consecutively, rapidly hitting the Mystic Pokemon.
"F-Fly! Fly! Flygon!"
"Dra!" Flygon then let go of Flygon, tossing him away.
"Let's try this again! Go, Great Ball!" Spike upgraded from a Poke Ball to a Great Ball, tossing it at the Mystic Pokemon. Once more, the ball pulled it in as the shaking began.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Flygon was caught.
"Yes!" Spike cheered while Goodra went over for a hug, picking the baby dragon up and covering him in slime. "Ew..."
"Goo! Goodra!"
"Anyway...what was that all about?" Spike wondered about that Pokemon he saw with Ash and Fluttershy.
"Boldore, go!" As for Goh, he had sent out his newly caught Boldore for this.
"Boldore!"
"I'm counting on you, Boldore!"
"Bold!"
"Draco!" Dracovish moved through the bushes with Chikorita and Scorbunny on the verge of fainting at the moment.
"S-Slow down, please!" Fluttershy pleaded the Fossil Pokemon as Dracovish's running with its open mouth ended up catching a random Rookidee. Another Rookidee appeared on Ash's hat since it was in the bushes.
"R-Rook?!"
Eventually, Dracovish's movements slowed down as it was above something. The lake of East Lake Axewell. Dracovish then dropped down into the lake while Fluttershy grabbed Chikorita and Scorbunny, flying up, but couldn't grab Ash, Audino and Pikachu in time. Thus, they went in the water with Dracovish, causing a big splash.
"Ash! Pikachu! Audi!" Fluttershy gasped as now Ash, Pikachu and Audino were swimming with Dracovish unwillingly.
As for Arctozolt, it and Boldore were staring each other down in anticipation while Bray and Cara were shivering after being freed. Rarity and Starlight gave them some warm blankets to stay warm.
"Zolt!" Suddenly, the Fossil Pokemon surrounded itself in a spark of electricity.
"That's Charge!" Rainbow Dash noticed as Arctozolt was building up power for something potent and destructive. Everything was coloured yellow from all that power.
"Arcto!" After using Charge, Arctozolt then used its signature move, Bolt Beak, covering itself in electricity and charging forward.
"Block it, Sceptile!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Tile!" Along came Sceptile, standing in front of everyone and acting as a shield. Arctozolt slammed into Sceptile as the Forest Pokemon ended up taking most of the electricity so that no one else would be hit by it. But he did end up being launched back. "S-Scep!"
"Thanks, Sceptile! Applejack! We'll take it from here!" Goh turned to Applejack before facing Arctozolt again.
With Dracovish, it looked like it would just keep moving rapidly without showing any signs of stopping, making it one energetic Pokemon despite how it looked like it couldn't even breathe.
However, after a few seconds, the Fossil Pokemon emerged from the water, moving at a slower pace this time as Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief, glad that Ash, Pikachu and Audino were okay.
"Draco."
"Huh? Oh, so you just wanted to swim." Ash realized as he saw Dracovish swim by moving its fins and legs.
"Dravoish."
"Oh, that's a relief." Fluttershy descended as the Rookidee from before showed up, landing back on Ash's hat. "I suppose being revived after so many years would give that reaction. Even if it was very aggressive."
"Rookidee."
"Ash! Fluttershy!" Along came Spike who caught up with them, standing near the lake. "What happened?! And what is that?!"
"Hey, Spike!" Ash waved back. "Ah, this is Dracovish. One of the fossil Pokemon. It uh...didn't look like what we thought it would but it's still neat."
"Pika-Pika."
"I-Is it?" Spike grimaced after looking at Dracovish.
"Hey. Why don't we take a look around? Been a bunch of years since you've swum huh?" Ash suggested.
"Vish!" Dracovish responded by flapping its fins as it suddenly jumped out of the water, landing back on the grass instead of staying in the lake.
"Huh?!" Ash held on to his hat as the Rookidee flew away again. Once more, Dracovish was running at high speeds as Fluttershy and her Pokemon followed after them.
"Woah-Woah!" Spike put his hand out along with him, Axew and Goodra. But even they couldn't stop the approaching Fossil Pokemon. As a result, Dracovish had brought the three of them along with it as Goodra was in the front.
"A-Axew?!"
"Goo!"
"Again?!" Ash cried out as Fluttershy just watched the Fossil Pokemon bolt away.
"Oh my."
Dusty Bowl.
"Boldore, Harden!"
"Bol!" The Ore Pokemon increased its defence by hardening its body as Arctozolt went for another Bolt Beak, smashing into the Rock-Type.
"Zolt!"
"Bol...!" Boldore slid back as it took minimal damage from that.
"Now, Stone Edge!"
"Dore!" Boldore then stomped both of its front legs down, summoning sharp blue crystals from below. The crystals moved rapidly as they smacked Arctozolt in the face.
"Arc!" Despite how hard that hit was, Arctozolt withstood it, shrugging it off as if nothing happened.
"It managed to withstand that?" Goh said.
"Tak about guts." Pinkie gawked.
"Look out!" And right behind them, along came Ash, Pikachu, Audino and Dracovish, heading back to the Dusty Bowl at speeds exceeding 40 mph.
"Oh! Ash! Spike! Twilight smiled before transforming it into a smile, seeing that they were heading here at high speeds, most likely on the very of crashing into someone.
And they certainly did. Dracovish, but mainly Goodra first who was at the very front, had crashed into Arctozolt, causing a collision that resulted in an explosion of dust. The dust cleared as both fossils were down on the ground along with Ash, Goh and Spike.
"A-Are you okay?!" Chloe asked Ash, Goh and Spike.
"Ah...What was that all about?" Spike groaned.
"That was a shock..." Goh sighed.
"You're not hurt anywhere are you?" Ash got up, heading over to Dracovish who also got up.
"Draco." In response, Dracovish it onto Ash's head but with a friendly nature this time, similar to what Totodile, Gible and Torterra, when it was a Turtwig, used to do.
"Hehe. Cut it out." Ash laughed after being bitten.
"Zolt." Arctozolt sat up, not feeling so provoked anymore after that heavy hit.
"Looks like it's calmed down now," said Goh. "Phew."
"That could've been pretty bad real soon." Applejack sighed.
"Yeah." Chloe nodded.
"Looks like both of them like you." Bray went to Ash and Goh. "So, what do you all think? These fossils are pretty neat, aren't they? Would you take care of them?"
"Huh"? Goh pulled back.
"We can?" While Ash leaned forward.
"Sure. We have our new data now, so we're satisfied, right?" Cara looked at Bray as he agreed.
"Nice! Arctozolt, will you come with me?" Goh asked the Pokemon with a runny nose.
"Arcto!"
"Let's be great friends, Dracovish!" Ash put his hand on Dracovish's head.
"Draco!"
"Poke Ball, go!" They both took out their Poke Balls, sending them to the two fossils. Once they pulled them in the shaking could begin but the outcome was already to be expected.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Both Dracovish and Arctozolt were caught! Their data would now be added to the Pokdex.
"Wait, that was a Dragon?" Spike pointed at the Poke Ball of Ash. "Aw, I missed out on another Dragon today!"
"Maybe next time, Spike." Twilight giggled along with everyone as Chloe had a smile on her face. For having an adventure with them all, this was fairly exciting.
After catching them both, Ash and Goh showed the Curator the newly caught Fossil Pokemon through their Pokdex screens.
"I See! Dracovish and Arctozolt! My they are enchanting to look at!" The Curator said.
"Maybe enchanting isn't the right word..." Rarity twirled her mane, laughing nervously.
"Thank you very much for your report! Ash and Goh! By then!" The Curator then hang up, off to do whatever else he does naturally. More fossil research.
"So how was it?" Cerise asked Chloe.
"Great! I had so much fun! I hope I can go again! Don't you agree Eevee?" Chloe gushed.
"Eevee!"
"You're not gonna be disappointed!" Pinkie Pie appeared near Chloe. "We've got all of the summer to have a blast! So let's make it count, okay?"
"Spinda!"
After a fun experience at the Galar Region, new Pokemon have been discovered in the form of Dracovish and Arctozolt. And most definitely, other new Pokemon are waiting to be discovered and found out there in the wonderful world of Pokemon as the journey continues.
Over at the Ponyville where Ash and everyone was currently located, something fairly important was happening today. But it wouldn't happen here in the Pokemon House.
"Pokemon Dog contest, huh?" Applejack spoke as Twilight had shown her a flier of the Pokemon Dog Contest taking place in Hoenn.
"It's exactly what it sounds like. A show where Trainers bring their Pokemon, more specifically dog-based Pokemon or anything related to the Canidae family. Like foxes, wolves and more." Twilight explained. "The challenges here look absolutely ridiculous? Sounds like something we can watch, right?"
"Hm...I reckon we can." Applejack nodded in agreement. "Anything Pokemon related is a hoot for sure."
"Oh yeah. We're definitely entering it for sure," said Ash. "Lucario's a Jackal so he counts."
"Lucario!"
"Does Luxray count"? Rainbow Dash looked over at her Luxray.
"I'm afraid Luxray is related to a lion which is a cat." Fluttershy squeed.
"Darn it..." Rainbow Dash lowered her head in disappointment.
"Then...what does that make Absol?" Twilight looked at Absol who was resting at the moment. "Is he a dog or something like that?"
"I thought he looked more like a cat." Pinkie Pie spoke.
"He kinda looks like both doesn't he?" Goh put his hand on his chin, squinting his eyes at the Disaster Pokemon. He then took out his Pokedex for clarity. "Maybe the Pokedex has something. Pokedex, what creature does Absol resemble?"
"Absol is a Pokemon that comes from the Field Egg Group. Its appearance is varied. The face matches a feline while the body resembles that of a wolf."
"That doesn't really help a lot..." Goh sighed.
"Ah, it's fine. I can just enter Ninetales. He's a fox so..." Twilight shrugged while Ninetals was currently laying on his back, dozing off and dreaming of whatever it is he dreams about.
"I don't know about you all, but Mew's certainly qualified." Pinkie said with confidence. "Right, Mew?"
"Mew-Mew."
"Oh yeah. Mew does have genes of every Pokemon, doesn't he?" Ash spoke.
"Pika."
"He sure does. And he can turn into any dog he wants, no problem. We're gonna ace that contest, aren't we Mew?"
"Mew!"
"Yamper! Yamper-Yam!" And of course, Chloe's Yamper also wanted to be a part of this. Chloe has been involving herself more with Ash and everyone recently ever since the whole Fossil search in Galar.
"You too, Yamper?" Chloe said to her partner.
"Yam!"
"Eevee!" And so did Chloe's Eevee. She was a mixture of a fox and a small puppy so she was definitely qualified for the job. Unfortunately, only one dog could enter the contest.
"Ah, hold on, I can't choose both of you." Chloe looked at the two Pokemon jumping up and down as each of them wanted to be in this contest.
"Hm." Applejack chuckled, admiring how her friends were eager to either watch or take part in this contest. For her, she'll just watch. But as she thought about that, running up to her was a certain dog.
This dog wasn't a Pokemon, but it was from this world. It was, of course, Applejack's own pet dog, Winona. The dog rushed over to her owner as fast as she could. After arriving here, she jumped over the sleeping Absol and slid underneath Lucario before appearing in front of her owner.
"Lu?" Lucario looked down.
"Winona? What are you doing here, girl?" Applejack turned her pet, asking her. Winona barked while wagging her tail and jumping up and down. She then lunged over, grabbing the flier that Twilight held and showing it to her.
"Oh. I think she wants to take part in the Dog Contest as well." Fluttershy translated as Winona barked in confirmation. She wouldn't dare miss out on something like this. She then thumped her tail on the ground with her tail. A Dog Show is an instant magnet for all dogs out there. This kind of contest had a mystical feeling that could instantly draw all canines in without error.
"Aw, Winona. That'd sound like a real hoot but...It's a Pokemon Dog Contest." Applejack nervously explained lowering her hat and giving an unassuming grin. Winona lowered her ears and whimpered as she already knew the answer. She wasn't a Pokemon. Just an average dog.
"Aww...don't be so sad." Fluttershy patted Winona on the head. "M-Maybe they'll allow dogs from other worlds to take part in it?"
"Maybe." Twilight looked at the rules. "The rules do say that it must be related to the Canidae family. No other species like cats, dragons, birds, etc are allowed. They probably mean Pokemon but..."
"I don't know, Winona...I mean, I wanna take you there but..." Applejack scrunched her face. Winona barked as she suddenly bolted off heading somewhere before returning to Applejack.
Applejack and the others looked at each other, wondering what she was up to as they waited for 6 minutes. During those 6 minutes, Winona found the time to enter Twilight's castle as she ran by Starlight who raised her hoof.
"Winona?" Starlight said as she saw the dog rush inside. Winona then passed Nyx, Cocoa and Rosestar each, having only one thing in mind. Once she was deep within the castle, she came across the one object that could grant her access to the Pokemon Dog Contest.
The Shift Stone.
The one that Trixie gifted to Twilight and Starlight days ago. This is what Winona wanted to use after hearing about it from Applejack. And as she found a necklace of it lying on the table, the dog then bit the stone, heading back to Applejack. And in little time too. What a fast dog.
She barked constantly, showing the Shift Stone Necklace to Applejack, obviously having a clear idea of what she could do with it.
"The Shift Stone?" said Applejack. "Hold on...you're not thinking of...?"
"Oh, that's not a bad idea." Rainbow Dash nudged Applejack. "Just turn her into a Pokemon for the contest and she counts. Then she'll be back to normal."
"Ain't that cheating though?" Applejack sighed.
"I mean if Mew can do it, so can she, right?" Pinkie Pie grinned as Mew transformed into a Ditto which then turned into Winona herself.
"Mew!" It was a bit odd seeing the sound of Mew coming out of Winona considering Mew is also meant to be a hairless cat seemingly.
"I guess. You know, let's see. If they count Winona then it's fine." Applejack shrugged as they were going to try and register. Winona for the Pokemon Dog Contest. If she gets in, then it'll be a great win.
But, competing against Pokemon, that's going to be another story. And while some Trainers who own dog-like Pokemon are raring to go, there was one Trainer, in particular, that was more prepared than them all. Two of them actually. One in Ponyville and the other in Canterlot.
One of them was Mayor Mare. Mayor Mare.
"Today's the day, Stoutland." Mayor Mare spoke to her Stoutland. "We will most definitely ace that contest and take home those medals and that trophy without fail!"
"Stoutland!"
"Now let's hurry. The gateways to the contest have just been opened up.
"Land!"
Canterlot.
"It's showtime, Arcanine," Celestia said to her Arcanine. "This contest might last a while, but we'll charge through the sun and moon until we emerge as the winner of it, right?"
"Arcanine!"
"Luna. Passion. Please support us all the way." Celestia asked.
"Gardevoir."
"Oh, no sister...I will not be supporting you..." Luna suddenly lowered her head with her mane hiding her face as a light chuckle could be heard from her.
"W-Why not?"
"Because it shall be me that emerges as the victor!" Luna held out a Poke Ball, sending out her newly caught partner Manectric. A Pokemon that definitely counted as a member of the Canidae family.
"Manectric!"
"Observe as Manectric and I steal the show in front of everypony." Luna patted the Thunderbolt Pokemon on the back making him pant as she hit the right spots. "I haven't been ignoring this upcoming contest, even after the invasion had come to an end."
"Hoh? Like I'd let you beat me." Celestia narrowed her eyes as Luna narrowed her eyes back.
"You don't have to let me win. Manectric and I shall do it without any handicaps or support."
"We'll see."
"We'll support you two either way!" And appearing out of nowhere without warning, Sunlight and Eventide showed up to support their daughters as they already had flags with their faces on them. "No matter who wins!"
"Oh, uh...Thank you, mother and father." Luna said as she and Celestia went in different directions, getting ready to head for Hoenn. The contest was starting soon so they couldn't be late no matter what.
Hoenn Region. Ever Grande City. The paradise of flowers, the sea, and Pokémon Afternoon
The city known as the paradise of flowers, the sea, and Pokémon.
The contest could be found in Ever Grande City. This city is blanketed in a profusion of colourful blooms. It plays host to the grand Pokémon League. A revered site that can only be visited by those Trainers who have dominated every last Pokémon Gym.
But aside from that, Pokemon Trainers were here for the Dog Contest instead as many of them were already lined up either inside or outside. This contest was certainly popular. Almost as popular as Pokemon Contests. Speaking of inside, Applejack and Winona had arrived at the Registration Table to see if Winona could get in.
And orchestrating the whole event was BigTime Ben. He didn't create the Pokemon Dog Contest, but he was a major part of it. He was this year's judge too.
"Hmmm? You want your dog to join?" A Nurse Joy judge said, looking at Winona as she barked.
"Eeyup. She really wants to, ya know. And I betcha she won't leave me alone until I do it." Applejack laughed while feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Should we?" A judge looked at Nurse Joy. "It's not a Pokemon and from this world but..."
"Hm. I don't know." Nurse Joy put her finger on her lip, thinking about this. "It is a dog and the rules do say that."
"So? Is it possible?" Applejack leaned forward.
"Well...Only one way to find out. "Mr BigTime!" Nurse Joy then called for BigTime Ben to solve this little predicament. As fast as his name was called, he had shown up here with his Gothitelle by his side.
"Yes?"
"Just a quick question. This Trainer here wants to have her dog take part in our contest. But since she's not a Pokemon but counts as a dog, it's difficult. We weren't really prepared for other world creatures honestly." Nurse Joy gave the breakdown.
"Oh, Applejack? Let me see here." BigTime Ben went over to the earth pony, spotting the dog that was beside her. Winona was certainly distinct from other dog-like Pokemon, that's for sure. "Ah, this is one adorable looking dog."
"Ain't she? Purebred Collie and everything." Applejack smiled as Ben rubbed Winona's chin while patting her.
"Oh, the same breed as a Boltund eh? Hm...Well, there's nothing in the rules that states dogs from other worlds can't participate. No one really anticipated two worlds crossing over anyway. So...I'll allow it."
"Oh! Really?! You mean it?!" Applejack's heart rate sped up as she gasped along with Winona.
"Mhm." Ben gave a simple response via a head shake.
"Yeehaw! Haha! Ya hear that, Winona?!" Applejack picked up her dog. "You're all in for this one!" And as a response, Winona let out a howl of victory which prompted nearby dog-like Pokemon to howl.
"But I should warn you, Applejack." Ben suddenly had one last thing to say. "Since this is a contest built for Pokemon, there might be certain parts where Winona will struggle. Are you sure about this?"
"As sure as I am honest. Even if we don't win, we'll do our best, won't we girl?" Applejack grinned at the collie who barked in agreement.
"Alright then. Let's finish setting things up." BigTime Ben walked away, allowing everything else to finish up before the show can begin.
As for Applejack, she and Winona walked off to tell their friends the good news. She didn't think Winona could qualify but since something like this doesn't exist in the rules, it was a pass from BigTime Ben itself. It pays to be good friends with someone popular. Ash should know.
"Good news ya'll! We're in!" Applejack slid over as her friends and family were already waiting.
"We know. Audino heard it all." Fluttershy nodded with a grin on her face.
"Audino!"
"Great that Winona was qualified. But this seems pretty risky. I mean...Pokemon are nsane!" Pinkie Pie outstretched her hooves and elongated her neck towards Applejack. "Can she even do all of the events there?"
"And does Winona know any tricks suitable for dog contests?" Rarity asked.
"She sure does. I taught her a lot way back then. She's got a bunch of tricks that she still knows, without a doubt." AJ nodded with confidence while Winona mimicked her nodding. "Win or lose, who cares? We'll get all the time to have fun together, Winona."
Now that Winona was certified to be in the contest, things might be a tad different. But what will most definitely stay the same is the antics and the actions the Pokemon will pull off. And what will also stay the same in every form of completion whether it be the Pokemon League, Pokemon Contests etc, rivalries will be born.
And some were about to return or be made anew at the moment as Celestia and Mayor Mare had come across each other with their Arcanine and Stoutland.
"Princess Celestia? You're taking part in this?" said Mayor Mare.
"I certainly am. Can't miss out on any summer fun now, can I?" Celestia smiled. "Plus, this is a good opportunity for me to really take part in these competitions. I couldn't join in the Canterlot Tournament and I'd rather watch Pokemon Contests. So this is perfect for me."
"Arcanine."
"Ah. Well then, I hope everything doesn't become too difficult now that you're here. But I have confidence in Stoutland and myself. Victory is within our sights."
"Stout!"
"Then it's a certified competition. Arcanine and I will excel over everyone here." Celestia pointed her hoof at herself, having her own confidence.
"Canine!"
Both Princess Celestia and Mayor Mare looked at each other for a bit with squinted eyes, pouted lips and a still atmosphere around them. This was the beginning of a rivalry that wasn't to be expected, but somehow, it worked in a sense. They stared at each other for a bit before backing away.
Many familiar faces were among the group of Trainers with their own canine-related Pokemon. Ash had his Lucario, Twilight had Ninetales, Chloe ended up choosing Yamper and Pinkie Pie had Mew with her.
Other familiar faces were Coco Pommel with her Glaceon, Roseluck with her Leafeon, Hollow with his Houndoom, Trixie was here with her Zoroark, even the young unicorn Premium Polish appeared with her Flareon, plus Gelidity her Alolan Ninetales.
Practically almost every canine-like Pokemon was here. The only ones exempt from this were the Legendary and Mythical Pokemon such as Zacian, Zamazenta the 10% form of Zygarde and the Legendary Dogs. Some even went through the effort of evolving their Eevees to take part in this contest.
But aside from that, the contest could now begin with all Trainers getting their introductions on their names, their Pokemon plus a single regular dog and then their hometown. The crowd had already sat down, ready to witness this contest go down.
Unlike ordinary dog shows, the Pokemon Dog Contest is something else with its own unique activities. Something that no one would want to miss out on, that's for sure.
Winona looked around, seeing her competition. And she certainly had some competition as she felt minuscule right now. Both figuratively and literally. Every Pokemon here towered over the collie with ease. Whether on four legs or just two legs. Even the smaller canines like Poochyena or Vulpix were bigger than her.
Winona shuddered a bit as many of them had menacing eyes of determination. She had never been around this many dogs before and was rather intimidated right now.
But, Ash's Lucario looked down at the collie, giving her a smile of confidence. Lucario essentially told Winona not to worry and give it her all, despite her opposing competitors' fierce appearances. And with that look from Lucario, Winona did receive that confidence.
The judges for today were BigTime Ben, the Nurse Joy of Ever Grande City, and some judges straight from Unova, Kalos and Sinnoh.
"Okay. Now that everyone is here and ready, we can begin the Pokemon Dog Contest once again." Ben said. "We have 30 canines here today. One of them is from another world and a full-fledged dog too. Without further ado, we can begin the first activity. Card Paw."
As the stage had been set, it also started transforming as everyone watched this unfurl. Large conveyor belts emerged from the ground as platforms. And on those platforms, cards had shown up. And on those cards were image faces of the Trainers, each on different tiles.
"This lasts for 2 minutes. Each canine must jump and pound their paws when landing on the faces of their own Trainers. It must match the card image that is shown on that giant monitor up there." Ben pointed to the biggest monitor here on the stage. "However, many cards can be variations of one card. For example, there can be a Trainer that has their eyes either open or closed. Sometimes winking. We took those pictures for a reason. Trainers can also instruct their Pokemon too. The cards will also shuffle constantly. And for the face match to be a confirmation, the Pokemon must press their paw on the image for it to count as a point. Really hard too."
"That doesn't sound so bad. Just find the real face and that's all." Applejack said.
"Zoroark can handle this, no problem." Trixie shook her head. "If anything, those illusionary tricks might make this an ace challenge without a doubt.
"We'll keep our eyes glued to that screen up there. "Ash said while Pikachu was on his shoulder.
"Pikachu..."
"And remember, the Pokemon can use the full potential of their abilities so moves are allowed. Ready...? Begin!" Ben exclaimed, beginning the activity.
All of the canines immediately scattered, rushing to the conveyor belt as they all saw their Trainers' faces on the screen. The screen was large enough to capture all of their faces. The images were also moving due to the conveyor belt, forcing the canines to also move quickly on their feet.
Winona saw that the image of Applejack's face had her eyes winking so she had to find the card with that specific image. The cards were starting to shuffle.
"Front left, Lucario!"
"Front right, Arcanine!"
"Luca!" Lucario and Arcanine lunged forward after seeing the faces of their trainers. Ash and Celestia both had their eyes open. Their jumping length was impressive as they landed on the cards that had open eyes before they could flip over, slamming their paws down as the card images glowed a green colour for confirmation.
Some Pokemon used moves such as Quick Attack, Extreme Speed or Feint Attack for extra speed, reaching the faces of their trainers as those that scored properly received 10 points for that. Winona didn't have any flashy moves, but she did have a good eye. However, keeping up with these magical creatures would be tricky since they surpass her in speed. Some Pokemon ended up mistaking the wrong cards of their Trainers.
Due to the movement of the conveyor belt on the platform and the constant shifting of cards, some Pokemon couldn't reach the faces of their trainers in time, unable to gain points. But there was still time left.
Manectric didn't find a problem with this. He was a generally fast Pokemon thanks to being an Electric-Type. So if he spotted Luna's face, he would immediately zip over and step on the right card before it could shuffle away. The Pokemon racked up 10 points each for getting the right faces of their trainers in time. But some were performing better than others. And as seconds kept passing, the shuffling increased with a new challenge.
More layers had emerged with more cards of the Trainers' faces. And this one had bluffs in the form of confetti. Just to give an example, when one of the employees tossed a rock onto the cards. Once the rock hit one of the cards, it exploded with confetti, revealing that one of them was fake and the other was real.
And as if it wasn't more risky, pressing down on the fake cards wasn't needed for them to be activated. The slightest interaction will set it off without a doubt.
"Ninetales!" Alolan Ninetales had used her ice to suddenly freeze the platforms and cards below, except for the face of Gelidity. She made it so that only her face was the one that wasn't frozen. She had also frozen the shuffling so that the card stays in place. From her giving the platforms and cards a flash-freeze, some of the canines already started slipping, losing balance and falling over.
Winona was one of them. While she ran, she ended up slipping on the ice, scurrying her feet as she tried to maintain her balance along with the others.
"On your belly, girl! Slide on your belly!" Applejack cried out. And Winona did just that. She allowed herself to lose balance, stretching all four of her legs out and having her belly fully exposed. By doing so, the collie had started moving on the ice like how a penguin would.
This allowed her to maintain some composure instead of losing said composure as she was advancing towards the next row while looking at the screen. And as she controlled her sliding speed, she stopped right below a card that had Applejack's face which matched the face on the screen. But pressing her paw on it would be tricky since everything is frozen.
"Nine!" But, Twilight's Kantonian Ninetales was going to put an end to this slippery floor. He had increased his body heat, instantly melting the ice away with ease. After melting the ice, all the other Pokmon could freely move without needing to slip and fall. Winona ended up pressing her paw on Applejack's face, turning it green before it could shuffle away for another card. A nice call and action from Kantonian Ninetales. Winona reached the next row up ahead on time right before the ice had melted.
All the other Pokemon reached the second row which forced them to try and find the real face aside from the fake one if they could. They all looked to the screen, seeing the faces of their trainers pop up.
"Manectric! Let's bypass that confetti with your amazing speed! Top right, second row!" Luna ordered as other trainers gave out their commands.
"Mane!" Manectric was essentially the fastest Pokemon here without a doubt. And by using his incredible speed, Manectric managed to move faster than the other cards could react. His speed caused delayed reactions, making the fake cards emerge confetti as he went for the card where Luna was winking.
Since the fake ones activate from the slightest interaction, Manectric had exposed them all without hitting the real cards of other trainers, which could deduct points from him.
And as he stomped his paw on the winking face, he was met with a surprise. While he got rid of the bluffs behind him, he didn't really think about the possibility of the correct bluff being a fake. Thus, the card he stepped on had erupted with confetti, blowing the Thunderbolt Pokemon back.
"Drat! A fake!"
"Arca!" Arcanine and the other Pokemon passed Manectric as they thanked him for clearing the way by getting rid of the bluffs behind them. But there were still more card images to get through. Tons of them.
"Zoro!" Zoroark's eyes glowed as she used her tricks to her advantage. The Illusion Pokemon ended up creating false illusions by transforming herself into a Ditto. After turning into a Ditto, she then turned into one of the card images, giggling.
When a Granbull came by to step on the image of their trainer with their paw, that's when Zoroark could strike. The moment the paw got close to the card, the Illusion Pokemon emerged with a Night Slash, knocking the Fairy Pokemon back by surprise with a slash of darkness.
"Gran?!"
"Zo-Zoro!" Zoroark giggled as he quickly rushed off.
"Mew!" But Zoroark wasn't the only one transforming. Mew was going through a transforming spree, turning into other Pokemon to try and find Pinkie Pie's correct face on the monitor.
"Luca!" But this was a cinch for Lucario. By using his Aura, Lucario could tell which one was a potential fake before he even reached there. A sort of foresight or looking into the future. After finding the bluff, he jumped over it and smashed his foot onto the Ash face that he saw on the screen.
The shuffling sped up along with the speed of the conveyor belt, forcing the Canidae Family to pick up the pace so that the platform doesn't force them off.
"Giga Impact, Stoutland!"
"Flare Blitz, Arcanine!"
"Stoutland!" Stoutland had used the invisible aura of Giga Impact growing it to hit the nearest faces of Mayor Mare, seeing which one was fake. He had found two fakes cards after the aura touched them, causing him to head for the ones that were real. If he could get there in time.
To make sure he could, he continued to use Giga Impact, utilizing the Normal-Type move to boost through the air. But right next to him was Arcanine with Flare Blitz. Both Pokemon were moving at high speeds, using auras of their own as they went straight for the faces of their trainers.
Winona ended up pressing her paw on a fake Applejack card, getting confetti in her face. But she quickly shook it off before running towards the next card. The cards shuffled around as Winona and the other canine Pokemon kept a close eye on their rapid movements.
After they finished shuffling and sliding, Winona made a quick turn, jumping on the back of a Lycanroc and lunging off as he stomped both her paws down on a face of Applejack's eyes closed.
"Lycan?" Midday Lycanroc had just witnessed the collie use it as a platform for a second jump. That was Winona's advantage. Because of her small size, she could pull off some tricks of her own.
"Houndoom!" Houndoom breathed fire out of its mouth, trying to coat and hide the cards with his flames. If he did so, that would mean the Pokemon would have to get through fire if they wanted to find the faces of their trainers.
It's a good thing these cards were made to handle Pokemon Moves.
"Ninetales!" But, Twilight's Ninetales wouldn't let that happen. He used his own flames to counter Houndoom's. Once the two flames clashed, they blew up, causing both an explosion and a large smoke cloud. This smoke cloud ended up obscuring everyone's vision and throwing them off.
The whole platform had been covered by the smoke as the Pokemon now had no idea where to head to. And the conveyor belt was only increasing in speed. Lucario used his Aura to see through as he was able to find Ash's face. He moved through the smoke as he was seemingly the only one here who could handle it.
Winona coughed within the smoke as she couldn't see anything at all. She started moving around frantically, unaware if she was going the right way. The view of the screen had been blocked too while the cards were shuffling.
"Umbreon!" But someone's Umbreon took care of that. The Umbreon had used Swift, spinning around and shooting star-shaped rays everywhere. These star rays had blown away the smoke from their light, making everything clear for everyone finally.
Once the smoke was gone everyone could see and finally make their move. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time for that at the moment.
"Time!" Ben exclaimed as this activity had ended. "That's that! Let's see how they did!"
The results started showing on the screen how each canine did and how many points they managed to rack up in just those two minutes.
Lucario, Arcanine and Zoroark received 40 points each, Mew, both Ninetales', Houndoom and Stoutland received 30 and Winona, Yamper and other canine Pokemon only received 20 points.
So far, Lucario, Arcanine and Zoroark had a lead with their points but this could change without a doubt. The crowd cheered for the results as they were looking forward to the next challenge.
"Oh, look at that! Winona got 30 points!" Apple Bloom pointed out. That belly sliding part helped out when other Pokemon were starting to lose their balance on the ice. Plus that jump on Lycanroc helped too.
Seems as if everything was fair game in this contest. Attacks, illusions and stage obstructions were allowed in this. But that's exactly what made it so exciting as the next challenge was coming up.
"Next we have the Rampardos Shove," Ben said as a new stage was being set. This stage had an upwards appearance. Just 12 feet off the floor. It even came with a pool so the landing would be safe if anyone fell.
"All canines must stand on this circular platform while the Rampardos are with you." Joy started explaining. "The Pokemon must avoid the mob of Rampardos and find gaps in the crowd to avoid being shoved into the pool of water. The Rampardos move faster each time. As they do. If the Rampardos succeed in pushing a canine into the water, that dog is out for the remainder of the game. The last Pokemon standing, or any left standing after 30 seconds, wins."
The Canidae Pokemon all stood firmly together as they weren't planning on being knocked to the side by the Rampardos. But that's going to be difficult. After all, Rampardos can take out an entire skyscraper with just one ram. And Applejack knew this.
She bit her hoof, worrying about what will happen if one of them hits Winona. She doesn't really have the same durability as a Pokemon, making her not just the smallest here, but also the most fragile.
"30 seconds on the clock. Ready...go!" Ben made the call for the game to begin.
"Rampardos!" Immediately, the Rampardos all started moving, rushing towards their targets to try and shove them off the circular stage. Swarms of Rampardos were just jetting it, looking fairly intimidating to everyone.
The Canidae family all rushed forward, approaching the Rampardos. Some of them tackled the Rampardos, trying to force them back. But pushing back a Rampardos is no easy feat. Manectric used his speed to zigzag around the Rampardos, avoiding them. But with how many of them there were, he would have to move quickly.
Zoroark and Mew ended up turning themselves into Rampardos for the sake of an illusion. They then started running beside each of the Head Butt Pokemon, acting unassuming.
"Arcanine!" Arcanine had used Extreme to charge and avoid through some of the Rampardos, sending them off the stage, evading them as they also went flying into the air. Lucario used Double Team to create illusions of himself.
Some Rampardos ended up hitting the illusions of Lucario, throwing them off as they fell off the stage for that. However, more Rampardos were coming as the numbers were aggressively increasing.
Twilight's Ninetales used Extrasensory to try and hold the Rampardos back. He was able to hold at least 20 of them, but not all of them, unfortunately. And he couldn't break his concentration. Thus, some of the Rampardos ended up shoving Ninetales to the side after charging towards him.
"Nine!" Ninetales cried out as he was almost shoved off the stage. He used his tails to create a balance, using them the same way a Spoink would. He let out a sigh of relief as he immediately sprang himself up with all nine of his tails.
Time was short, and Winona was looking around. However, this is where her small size benefited her. Since she was smaller than everyone, she was a less likely target. So, to capitalize on things, the collie had run underneath the legs of the Rampardos, lowering her head so that she wouldn't be hit by them. She even hid under the legs of other Pokemon, mainly the taller ones like Houndoom.
Canine Pokemon were being knocked off by the overwhelming amount of Rampardos. Some had already landed in the pool while others were on the verge and edge of the stage.
Mew and Zoroark's illusion had been disrupted once they realized they could not keep up with the real Rampardos. Thus, they had been shoved themselves for being slower, revealing their real forms. And after their real forms were revealed, the Rampardos shoved both Pokemon aside, causing them to fall to the water.
Glaceon and Alolan Ninetales tried freezing the Rampardos. But to their surprise, the Ramprados just broke through it with brute force. After that, they shoved Glaceon and Ninetales off. The number of canines was dropping as barely anyone could match the strength of the Rampardos.
Lucario slid back after being shoved by one of the Rampardos. But thanks to his Steel-Type body, he hung in there as Arcanine and Stoutland also slid by him. Yamper rolled on his belly as he bumped into Lucario's leg, saving him from fully falling off.
Even for such well-trained canines, the overwhelming amount of Rampardos was ridiculous. Luckily, it was short-lived.
"Time!" Joy called for the game to end as the Rampardos came to a screeching halt. "My that could've turned out ugly if it went any further. Let's see who was left standing."
Lucario, Winona, Stoutland, Arcanine, Houndoom, Yamper, Poocheyana, Rockruff and Leafeon were the only ones left standing on the platform, making them the winners. The smaller Pokemon dogs certainly benefit from this.
"Atta girl, Winona!" Applejack clapped her hooves together, proud of her pet for doing so well, despite not being a Pokemon.
If she kept this up, Winona just might make history in a way.
Next was something simple. A discipline test. This was to see how well behaved and obedient the canines were in response to certain things.
All Trainers had their Pokemon plus pet stand or sit down in a line as the judges would come over to each of them. It was time to see who had greater discipline. This could go either way due to the bonds of Trainers and Pokemon.
To test their obedience, they would have to seek the scent of the judges themselves. Would be easy considering the judges were right in front of them
However, that's where Gothitelle came in.
"Gothitelle." The Astral Body Pokemon coated the judges in a Psychic Aura as she suddenly turned all of them invisible before everyone's eyes. Now they would really have to try and track their scent while they were invisible.
The canines could now get to searching as they had to look for the judges. And this time, Lucario's Aura wouldn't be foolproof. It can't really see through anything invisible. But it can still sense anything nearby.
As for other Pokemon, they just did the traditional tracking. By using their noses. Since they were all canines, they were born with the innate and gifted ability to track down whatever they wanted with their scent. But some were more effective than others.
Stoutland started sniffing the floor beneath him along with Arcanine and Yamper. Yamper seemed to be on the speedier side with his sniffing. His legs moved quicker since he was a more rambunctious Pokemon than everyone here. And while not a Pokemon, Winona was fairly rambunctious too.
She was also moving her legs rapidly, tracking down the scent if she could. The judges were also moving while invisible, making things harder for everyone.
Houndoom could actually counter Gothitelle's Psychic abilities because of him being a Dark-Type. The same went for Zoroark. With their dark thoughts, they could perceive beyond the Psychic power as they started sniffing away. They were the closest to the judges.
Lucario closed his eyes, using his Aura to try and sense the Auras of BigTime Ben, Nurse Joy and the other judges. He couldn't see their figures but he could sense their presence. He then moved around, sensing their Auras were also on the move. The judges made no sound, making sure that no one would hear them at all.
Winona barked as she startled one of the judges nearby. After startling him, Winona ended up bumping into the leg of the judge, finding him.
Yamper did the same but multiple times instead of once. Zoroark and Houndoom took some time, but they eventually found the judges. In fact, practically everyone found them. This wasn't an activity that required a winner unlike the previous two.
They all had good noses as they only focused on the judges and no one else. It was official. All of them were well-behaved, obedient and had strong bonds with their trainers. Nothing more to be said here.
Other activities went and came where Winona would have a disadvantage because of her not being a Pokemon. But she went through them anyway with the best of her abilities.
She went through an obstacle course where she had to jump over some incoming obstacles. Her time on the farm paid off as she lunged over the incoming objects along with some of the Pokemon. They all had great jumping skills but the objects were ramping up in size, speed and intensity.
Winona didn't fully get through the course as a pillow ended up taking her out but she lasted a long while. Enough to get her some points.
She took part in an Agility course, which Manectric succeeded in, a Reaction Time course where the Pokemon had to use their reaction time to try and catch incoming objects with either their mouths or paws depending on the Pokemon.
Lucario won that one with ease without even needing to use Aura. Winona was already skilled in this after the times she and Applejack used to play Fetch together way back then. They still do from time to time.
There was a composure course where none of the canines had to break focus. And the way to challenge their focus was via tickling, foods that they enjoy and even the infamous Sweet Scent. Some Pokemon fell for it like Yamper, Mew and Kantonian Ninetales, but others like Umbreon, Glaceon, Lucario, Stoutland and Arcanine kept their focus.
Winona was already adept in something like this as she didn't fall for the Sweet Scent. Plus, Sweet Scent seems to only work around Pokemon. Must be the magic inside.
There was a Tail-Grip challenge where the Pokemon would have to hold certain objects with just their tails alone. That meant no Psychic-Type moves for this time. They would also have to carry these items to their trainers while having to deal with the weight.
The two Ninetales' did this without fail thanks to them having nine tails. But they still had to put some effort into them since the objects were heavy. And it did slow then down a bit. Some Pokemon had shorter tails like Yamper, Manectric and Granbull. Thus, the items they held slipped out of their tails, unfortunately. But, they could just pick the times up again and run anyway and hope they don't get Last Place.
Even those that had long tails were struggling with gripping these items. For example, Smeargle's tail was long, sure. But it didn't have the strength to carry the heavier objects.
Winona's tail was medium at best. She was gripping onto a comic book as she ran towards Applejack. Her tail grip strength wasn't on par with most of the Pokemon, but it actually did exceed Pokemon like Smeargle, Granbull, Poochyena and even Stoutland.
Poor Stoutland just couldn't do it with his tail strength as he was actually the one lagging behind everyone else. Winona had this advantage because of her time on the farm. Since she's an active and energetic dog, her muscles are fairly potent, allowing her to hold on to the book.
She ran ahead of her competition, running beside some of the biggest Pokemon here as she wasn't going to let her muscle give out now. And with those muscles and energy, she reached Applejack with the book, placing it down near her while barking.
"Good girl!" Applejack patted the collie on the head.
Winona came in 7th place with Kantonian Ninetales coming in 1st, Alolan Ninetales in 2nd, Arcanine in 3rd, Lucario in 4th, Houndoom in 5th, Zoroark in 6th, Furfrou in 8th and so on. Stoutland ended up being in Last Place, much to Mayor Mare's chagrin.
Afterwards, this day's contest came to an end. Ribbons were being handed out to the dogs that performed the best and racked up points during the games. All of them were lined up as they each exceeded in something to receive ribbons.
Som received ribbons for concentration and focus. All received one for discipline since they were all well behaved. Some received more ribbons due to the points they racked up. And Winona received a special ribbon that is rare to come by but special.
The judges spoke to all of the canines and their Trainers, congratulating them for today's contest. After all, the Pokemon Dog Contest is always open and never closed so they can come back any time for more. Ben spoke to Winona, concerning the ribbon.
"This is the Insurmountable Odds Ribbon, Winona," said Ben. "This ribbon is meant for those who manage to make it through odds that are stacked against them. It's a rare one to come by and few have had it. You've earned it for proving yourself to be a dog capable of competing against Pokemon."
"Ya hear, that girl? You're a natural." Applejack spoke as Winona barked.
"I think now we should allow ordinary animals from Equestria to join in other contests. Not a bad idea." Ben nodded as Winona's inclusion had sparked something in his mind. He then went on to speak to other canines.
"How about next time, we win that trophy when we come back here? Whaddya say, Winona?"
Winona was up for it. The next time she came back here, she'll have learned new skills and hopefully, emerges as the number one canine in this. In short, the collie felt proud of herself.
And she should.
Equestria. Canterlot Castle. Nightfall.
Hours after the Pokemon Dog Contest had ended. All was assumedly sound in Canterlot and most of Equestria. Many were asleep, but some were awake. Mainly Luna and a few of her Pokemon. Celestia was certainly asleep without a doubt along with Premium Polish. The guards were awake, however. When are they never?
But someone else who was awake was an intruder. Someone who isn't really meant to be here and is currently wanted. Someone who also has a strong relation to Premium Polish.
Skyblue Shine.
She was currently wearing her Umbrage Thieves outfit to blend in with the dark. And speaking of Umbrage Thieves, she had some of them by her side as they all appeared from the shadows. Only their eyes could be seen in the dark. They had one objective here.
Find any source about the origin of the Magic Siphoning Jar. The one thing Empress Twilight wishes to know about considering how much it hindered her. In the meanwhile, the Empress was attempting to make her own variant of the Magic Siphoning Jar or at least something similar to it in any shape or form.
And for Skyblue Shine and her Umbrage Thieves, the best place to be at the moment for knowledge was Canterlot. Mainly, the Canterlot Library. Luckily, it wasn't located in the castle, so they wouldn't have to infiltrate it and potentially cause trouble. However, it won't be easy either way.
Luna and Darkrai are essentially master and mistress of the night. It is under their full control. However, even if that was the case, Skyblue Shine knew of one thing.
Even if they watch over the night, for a set amount of hours, they have to watch over everyone's dreams. This was the perfect opportunity to get moving before they exit the Dream World.
Skyblue Shine and her thieves moved through the shadows, becoming invisible to the eye and making silent hoofsteps in the process. They zoomed towards the Canterlot Library while also making sure to avoid the guards.
And they've received some improvements since last time. Mostly due to how the whole invasion was a bust and some of the other Umbrage Thieves had been locked up as well.
Skyblue Shine went ahead of everypony else while the rest of the thieves would be on the lookout and guard. They slowed down, creeping around the shadows as the Canterlot Guards could feel an odd and eerie sensation behind them. But, the Umbrage Thieves were more worried about Luna and Darkrai finding them.
Skyblue Shine got out a bottle that had magical mist within it. Black mist to be exact. She opened the bottle and dropped the black mist on the ground, allowing it to flow. This mist was meant to make it look like the fog was laminating the area from all sides. And due to it also having the same colour scheme as the Umbrage Thieves' outfit, the can was perfectly masked.
The guards noticed how there was a black mist showing up unexpectedly. They looked around, seeing that every side was coated by this darkness. "What's going on?" One guard said.
"Is it foggy already?" Another guard said. They immediately put up their spears as their Golurk also got ready for whatever may come their way. Their weapons had been upgraded ever since the invasion. Due to them receiving weapons from the Empress' side, they have had some neat changes recently.
However, the black mist was not harmful at all. It was safe to breathe in. But that wasn't the point of it. Because of its colouring, the Umbrage Thieves could blend in with the mist, essentially becoming invisible and safely moving past it without anyone spotting them.
Truly a useful item.
But Skyblue Shie didn't need something like that. She just had her own skills to rely on. Mostly because she was an android at the end of the day.
Eventually, Skyblue Shine had reached the Canterlot Library. The door wasn't open so there was obviously another way of doing so. Skyblue Shine wished she had the Klefki she stole months ago since it could open any door due to its collection of keys but something else would have to do.
And that something was the obvious answer. Magic. The upgrades she received was still present here. Her magic being equivalent to Princess Luna means she could most definitely pull of spells that could open doors. And she didn't need to use brute force. By unlocking the door with her magic, Skyblue Shine had a clear entrance. She looked behind her, seeing that the black smoke had masked everything.
"Now then. Which books is it?" She got to work, beginning her search on which book could hold the origin of the Magic Siphoning Jar. She couldn't waste that much time here, especially when the morning arrives. And the other best thing she could do was just snag some of the books for herself and take them with her. So far, she hadn't been spotted and Darkrai and Luna were nowhere to be found.
At least, that's what she thought.
Unfortunately, Darkrai was active. His blue eye glowed in the dark as he noticed the black mist filling the area. The Pitch Black Pokemon does help Luna out in the Dream Word, but only when Luna really needs his help. Other than that, Darkrai is a free soul on the outside.
And once he spotted the black mist, he used his amazing perception to see through the mist, spotting the Umbrage Thieves. Their dark outfits weren't able to keep them safe from Darkrai.
The Pitch Black Pokemon immediately descended into the shadows, slithering to the outside in seconds. Once he reached the outside, he immediately held out a single Dark Void with his claw. But that one Dark Void then shot out smaller dark voids at high speeds as Darkrai could see every Umbrage Thief, except for Skyblue Shine.
The thieves didn't know what him that as they had been struck by orbs of darkness that moved faster than they could react. one by one they all started dropping, entering a sleep-state without warning. The guards heard the sound of bodies dropping as they moved around the dark mist, trying to see what was going on.
Darkrai had put them all to sleep as he then descended into the shadows, slithering away and returning to the castle to check up on Luna. The guards all came across the bodies of the Umbrage Thieves, seeing that they were asleep.
"Ah. Darkrai was here." The guards already knew that this was Darkrai's doing. "Alright. Pick them all up."
Even if the Umbrage Thieves were easily taken out by Darkrai, it didn't matter. Skyblue Shine was still undetected as she was already deep in the library, hidden from everyone else. It also helped that she used some magic to further mask herself. The thieves had kept Skyblue Shine safe, magic sure that she finds the origin of that jar.
She was going to be here for a while. As the journey continues.
"See? Look at this mom." Right now, the older Flurry Heart was currently spending time with the Princess Cadence of Universe One. After what she had been through for years, she needed this. And of course, she was showing her mother her current favourite pastime. Pokemon Cards. "These cards tell a story. They're my personal favourite."
"Oh, they do."
"Mhm. This one has a young boy and his Charmander. The second is the boy grown up and a teenager with a Charmeleon and now at the last one has him as an adult with a Charizard." Flurry showed her. "Aren't they best? I wish I could go through that! But...I'm a few years too late. Oh, maybe my younger self can do it!"
"Uh...Maybe." Cadence laughed while nodding at Flurry Heart's enthusiasm for Pokemon Cards. She wondered if her own Flurry Heart could get into them when she eventually grows up.
Although, it looks like that may be the case already. In the same room as her mother and older alternate self, baby Flurry Heart was currently attempting to eat a Lanturn card, but Cadence pulled the card away before that could happen.
"Best not to eat those, okay?" said Cadence as the baby lowered her ears and pouted. But Manaphy was there to cheer her up and make sure she doesn't bawl out in tears. Because if she starts crying, then Manaphy cries with her and the torture will continue until someone stops it. "Oh, by the way. Back home. How are your guards faring after the invasion? What happened?"
"Hm?"
"How well guarded is the Crystal Emp- I mean...The Crystal Kingdom in your world now? How have they responded to the invasion and Empress Twilight?"
"Uh...Not that great. Most of the guards there are exceptionally loyal to auntie. Being loyal to me doesn't exist. Now that she lost, I can't really head back there without them being against me." Flurry said while adjusting the cards and putting them in sets.
"Huh? B-But you've been back home a few times now ever since the invasion ended?" Cadence sat up. "Are they just now going against you?"
"No. I just went somewhere else besides the Crystal Kingdom. I ended up staying over at my world's Canterlot with my great aunt Celestia. That's all. I can't really head back to my own kingdom. So, I don't really have any guards." Flurry Heart awkwardly laughed.
"I-I see..." Cadence's eyes squinted while they were twitching. She then cleared her throat. "It's fine. I uh...totally expected something like this to happen. Alright, you can come in now!"
"Who?" Flurry raised an eyebrow as she was about to open another box set. But opening the door, before she could open her box set was a pony. Or rather an armoured pegasus who zoomed in her.
"Here, your highness!" The pegasus clad in golden armour had revealed himself to be Flash Sentry as he saluted to the two Princesses. Technically three.
"This is Flash Sentry. One of our guards here at the Crystal Empire." Cadence introduced. "He and the other guards can cover as your guards since...you're somewhat wanted. Maybe not at your word but mostly here."
"That's right. A pleasure to meet you, Princess Flurry Heart. Uh, other Princess Flurry Heart."
"Oh, just like what I do with Premium as her contest bodyguard?" Furry Heart leaned forward.
"Uhh...Sure. Just like that." Cadence nodded. "I hope you don't mind this. I mean, I heard you have a fairly good bodyguard in that one Ultra Ball you're holding."
"Ah, it's fine." Flurry Heart shook her head. "I kinda like this. Just like Premium, it'll make me feel cool!"
"Cool?" Cadence narrowed her eyes while pouting her lips after hearing her daughter's words.
"We the Royal Guards are honoured to help. You can count on us, Princess Flurry Heart." Flash Sentry said with confidence as Flurry Heart examined the pegasus, noticing something that stood out from him and every other guard here in the Crystal Empire.
"Hm...Why's yours golden?" Flurry Heart asked.
"Hm?" Flash opened his eyes.
"Your armour. It's golden. Everypony else's is silver. Why's yours golden? Oh!" She then gasped all of a sudden. "Are you a special guard?! A captain!?"
"Uhh actually..." Flash suddenly grith his teeth and looked away.
"You see, Flash is a guard here at the Crysta Empire, but not a seasoned one. He's fairly new actually." Cadence went over.
"He is? Oh, so rookie guards get golden armour then?" Flurry theorized.
"N-No...There's a reason why Flash Sentry's armour is gold."
"I don't wanna talk about it," Flash grumbled as his face was turning red. Whatever happened with armour is something that flustered him as Flurry Heart was even more curious now.
"Well anyway...Aside from cards, I wanna head out there and see the Pokemon for myself! I've only seen a hoofful. Maybe like..." Flurry Heart thought for a moment. "30? There are like how many Pokemon out there?"
"Too many to count. There are so many Pokemon species out there that have yet to be discovered surprisingly. Cadence showed how huge the number of Pokemon was by spreading her hooves and standing in a bipedal position. "No matter where you go, you'll find a Pokemon, without a doubt."
"Oh...That just gets me more excited!" Flurry Heart flapped her wings as she pranced on the spot. "Can I head out and experience some Pokemon, mom? Oh! Can I also catch them?!" Since she's gone without a mother figure for years, she was asking questions that a child would.
"Hm. Sure." Cadence obviously agreed to this. She wanted her otherworld daughter to have some enjoyment after what she's been through. "You'll need the proper gear. Go to Sunburst and he'll give you what you need, alright?"
"Yes!" And that got the young alicorn pumped as her bellow disrupted Flash's ears. Flurry Heart then dashed out of the room, ready to set off and experience what the World of Pokemon has to offer. Both here and possibly the many regions on the other side.
"Flash Sentry. Make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble, alright?"
"You can count on me, your majesty!" Flash gave his promise and word as he just casually walked out. He and the guards were ready to watch over Flurry Heart.
Canterlot Library.
Over at Canterlot Library, the usual was ongoing. Ponies filling their head with knowledge either with something new or familiar words. Adagio was among one of these many ponies. Now that she was Princess Celestia's student, she had to focus intensively on many spells that she had yet to learn.
But Adagio was a fast and adept learner. Whether it was her being half unicorn now or the natural talents that the siren species possess. She also had a great knack for focusing. Her mind can always stay on one thing with ease if she just concentrates. Her grudge towards Twilight and Sunset are great examples of that.
"Good work, Adagio." Celestia complimented Adagio while some of the ponies in here played with Arcanine's soft fur in the library. "I'd say you'd learn mostly everything in at least...3 years or less."
"Sounds good to me," Adagio replied, placing some of the books aside as she had a confident and cocky smile on her face. But with how skilled she was, why wouldn't she have one?
Adagio started gloating about her current achievements as Moondancer and her Umbreon heard every part of it, lowering their eyes. Although, Umbreon's eyes barely change expression except for certain instances.
But aside from the current ponies and Pokemon being inside the library, someone else was certainly unwanted here. This certain someone arrived here last night with the infamous group of pony thieves known as the Umbrage Thieves. Speaking of those thieves, they had been caught and locked up in the Canterlot Dungeons for questioning.
Skyblue Shine was the one inside of this library. She was here to do one thing. Find the origin of the Magic Siphoning Jar. Anything she could find would work. The smallest book she could find or the most obscure book there was. No matter what, she needed to return it to the Empress.
Skyblue Shine was hidden from everyone via the back room of the library, sitting amongst the pile of boxes that had new books inside of them. If anypony were to enter here, Skyblue Shine would use her suit and the black mist to blend in the darkness so that no pony else could see her.
And if she wanted a book from the main room, well that's where her stealthiness would need to advance. She's already used her magic to sneak some books away as fast as she could. Ponies weren't able to catch her magic aura once she did so, making her silent and practically non-existent to them.
Inside the backroom, Skyblue Shine was going through the books she managed to gather. Everything she read through so far had nothing relating to the jar.
"Useless." Skyblue tossed away a book with her magic as she sighed. She would have to head out to the main room again to grab more books. And if she couldn't find what she was looking for, then somewhere else in Equestria would have to do.
Or possibly even beyond Equestria.
Through her ear, she heard the voice of Princess Celestia. As if she wasn't already in heavy enemy territory, the ruler of Equestria was in the same building as her. If anything, she was more furious with Celestia than feared of her. She was the one who had humiliated Empress Twilight. Empress Twilight's hatred towards Celestia had also affected Skyblue Shine herself.
She wanted the chance to take revenge on Celestia right now and mend the Empress' dismantled reputation. But considering that not only were there so many ponies and Pokemon, a special Gardevoir, an Arcanine, a Darkrai and the fact that bot Reshiram and Zekrom are currently present here, probably not the best idea in the world.
So all she could do was continue keeping a low profile. But as she did so, through the doors came one of the Canterlot Guards, here to speak with the Sun Princess.
"Your highness!" He came barging in as the head librarian told him to hush. "Oh, sorry. This is urgent."
"Yes?" Celestia stepped forward. "What has happened now?"
"Well..." The guard scrunched his face as he suddenly moved to the side. He did this because there was actually something behind him that caused him to show up here.
Once he moved aside, before Celestia's eyes and a few ponies, there was a floating piece of paper, flapping about. This piece of paper had a blue outline around it as the ponies and Pokemon were mesmerized by its appearance. It was similar to an origami or paper aeroplane craft due to its appearance. The head librarian could care less about silence with what she was gazing at.
"Well...What is this now?" Celestia gawked.
"It seems to be some sort of letter. It came to me right from the sky itself. Seems that it is sentient and everything." The guard explained.
"A letter?" After saying that, the paper hovered over to Celestia, leaving behind blue sparkles from its movements as it laminated the floor with its sparkles. Celestia backed her head back a bit while Passion and Arcanine were ready to act in case anything dangerous was coming.
But there was no danger here.
The paper then opened itself, changing its shape into an A4 paper. After that, the words written on the paper had been revealed to Celestia's eyes to read. And the writing here was certainly unique.
It was understandable but the style of it felt different than what Celestia was used to. Almost as if it was from another land. And once she started reading it, the style of writing was starting to make sense.
"To the Alicorn that had arrived here. We are aware of your arrival and your discovery of our land. You have already come across the Memoir Petal that attempted to revamp your own memories. For that, we apologize. As a result, we have decided to speak with you, the current ruler of the nation known as Equestria in the Sky Monarch. Our land was not meant to be found at all so we wish to discuss that topic with you at any time. You are free to bring guests with you. From...Pegalysium?!"
After seeing the last word at the very bottom of the letter, it was revealed that Pegalysium sent this letter. That would explain the sentient paper and how it came from the sky.
"Seriously? That place in the sky?" Adagio spoke.
"The land from fables?!" The head librarian exclaimed. "Really?! Is it real, Princess Celestia?!"
"Oh, it certainly is." Celestia nodded in confirmation "I didn't think they'd end up writing to me. It's definitely not from Garnet, that's for sure."
"Gardevoir."
"Pegalysium?" Skyblue Shine whispered after hearing everything.
"Well...It seems as if things are advancing at this point. Um, thank you, letter." Celestia thanked the sentient letter. In response, the letter transformed into its bird-like shape before flying off, most likely heading back to return the message to the pegasi in Peglysium.
"Are you sure you should go? Adagio went up to Celestia. "If those ponies neglected Equestria, they could just be luring you into a trap. Trust me, I know something about traps like that."
"Maybe." Celestia pondered, shifting her eyes across the floor. "But, they could be different from what the foals tales and fables said. Or as we expect them to be. But if it means knowing more and possibly having something civil with Pegalysium, then I'll take that chance. Besides, I can bring a company with me. I know Passion and Arcanine will be by my side, won't you two?"
"Garde."
"Arcanine."
"Well then, I'll come with you." Adagio walked in front of Celestia with a quick-paced trot. "You'll need some more protection if your Pokemon aren't enough. You can count on me to give you that dazzling defence."
"Oh, uh...sure, Adagio. I was thinking of also bringing Luna and someone else too."
"Sure-sure. And if things get ugly, I say we bring the Magic Siphoning Jar. Just in case."
"!" That Skyblue Shine's attention. After mentioning the jar, she now was hoping that she could do something better than just finding the origin of the jar. Skyblue could just bring the real deal back to the Empress.
"Let's slow down, Adagio. We don't need to do that." Celestia laughed nervously as she ended up shutting down the jar idea, deleting Skyblue Shine's chances of getting her hooves on the item. "I say we head there to Pegalysium in a few days. There are some things I need to deal with first."
"Fine, fine." Adagio flailed her hoof. "Still think we should take extra safety and bring that jar anyway."
An invitation to the Sky Monarch in Pegalysium. Something that Celestia wasn't expecting. Adagio could be right. It could be a trap most likely considering that the stories of Pegalysium say that they wanted nothing to do with Equestria. And after centuries, entering the present, that may still be the case. But Celestia was inclined to believe that may have changed.
Possibly.
Skyblue Shine didn't think any information on Pegalysium was that important. Unless it could lead her to the origin of the Magic Siphoning Jar. A place like that being shrouded in mystery could explain the rare and practically non-existent information about the jar. It was a risky chance but she was willing to take it.
And perhaps giving this information to the Empress wouldn't hurt too.
Out in the fields. Afternoon.
Following Princess Flurry Heart, she was being accompanied by Flash Sentry and some other guards from the Crystal Empire for safety. Then again, considering she had Giratina in an Ultra Ball, it was safe to say that her safety was guaranteed.
They were out in the fields where many Pokemon could be found. It was slightly similar to the Wild Area in Galar, minus the abundance of Dynamax Power Spots and Dens.
"Look at all of them..." Flurry Heart's eyes lit up as she was witnessing new Pokemon that weren't exactly new to her eyes thanks to the cards, but experiencing the real deal was better than that.
She zoomed over to a group of Ivysaur, seeing that they were laying down with their eyes closed while drawing power from the sun. Flurry Heart gawked at it as she figured she could do the same. So she also laid down, closed her eyes, but couldn't draw power from the sun.
"Ivy?" The Ivysaur opened their eyes, spotting Flurry Heart mimicking what they were doing. They didn't mind it as they quickly went back to their solar gathering. Flurry Heart giggled as she spotted another Pokemon within her sights.
"Ludico!" Near a lake, a group of Ludicolo were doing what they do best. Dancing around since that is the most enjoyment that fills their spirits.
And wanting to get a piece of the action was Flurry Heart after seeing the Carefree Pokemon perform a joyful dance, just living their best life. The positivity they exude is almost terrifying. She was gathering information about the Pokemon she saw, taking out her newly obtained Pokedex from her saddlebag.
"Ludicolo. The Carefree Pokemon. Ludicolo begins dancing as soon as it hears cheerful, festive music. This Pokémon is said to appear when it hears the singing of children on hiking outings. Upon hearing an upbeat and cheerful rhythm, the cells in Ludicolo’s body become very energetic and active. Even in battle, this Pokémon will exhibit an amazing amount of power."
"Ooh! Can I join you guys?" Flurry Heart asked the Water-Grass-Types."
"Co? Ludicolo!" The Ludicolo were happy to have anyone dance with them as they immediately pulled Flurry Heart in, allowing her to dance with them.
"Woah!" Flurry Heart exclaimed after being grabbed. The guards stepped forward but Flash Sentry quickly stopped them, knowing that this is what Ludicolo do. It's harmless at best. "Hahaha!" And judging from that laugh she was doing as the Ludicolo were spinning her around, it was certainly safe.
She then started dancing with them once they let her go. But her dance moves weren't exactly the best. If anything they were abysmal. But that was to be expected with how she lived back in her world. The guards tried not to laugh at the Princess as scrunched their mouths, holding their laughter in.
"Colo!" After seeing the guards, the Ludicolo then chose to bring them in as well. Now they had been dragged into the dance. It was inevitable. Once the Ludicolo spot you and decide that you will dance with you, no questions asked.
"I didn't know they were this jolly like what the card said!" Flurry Heart grinned while speaking to Flash Sentry.
"Well, you know, many Pokemon are certainly different from what they appear on the cards, aren't they? Then again, I don't know much about Pokemon Cards." Flash replied with a shrug.
"By the way. What Pokemon do you have? I know everypony in Canterlot owns a Golurk and the same goes for here in the Crystal Empire, but wI haven't seen you or yours yet until now." She asked while dancing with the Ludicolo.
"Oh, mine? Well, this is my partner." Flash held out a Poke Ball, sending out his own Pokemon. "Come out, Pidgeot."
"Pidgeot!"
"Oho!" Flurry Heart took out her Pokedex to read the data of this Flying-Type.
"Pidgeot. The Bird Pokemon. This Pokémon flies at Mach 2 speed, seeking prey. Its large talons are feared as wicked weapons. By flapping its wings with all its might, Pidgeot can make a gust of wind capable of bending tall trees. This Pokémon has a dazzling plumage of beautifully glossy feathers. Many Trainers are captivated by the striking beauty of the feathers on its head, compelling them to choose Pidgeot as their Pokémon. Its well-developed chest muscles make it strong enough to whip up a gusty windstorm with just a few flaps."
"Just as great looking as the card! Even more! Are the feathers why you chose to catch it?"
"No. Pidgeot and I met last year when she was just a Pidgey. That's when I caught her. Good times. Good times." Flash patted Pidgeot.
"Pidge!"
"Oh, right! I came here to catch some Pokemon!" Flurry then remembered the second reason why she came here in the first place. She then turned to the Ludicolo who were dancing away. "Hey uh, can I catch one of you? Is that how this works? You ask them to be caught?"
"Well...usually it takes a Pokemon Battle for that to happen but sometimes you can ask them, yeah." Flash nodded.
"Co?" The Ludicolo then looked at each other after hearing Flurry Heart's question. They could see that she was completely new to Pokemon. Well, not completely new, she did have some knowledge. Just knowledge that pales in comparison to everyone else in Equestria.
"Ludi!" They collectively made a decision. They prefer to just dance together forever. But Flurry Heart was a kind soul, so they'll remember her and any time she decides to come by here.
"Guess not huh." Flurry lowered her head before raising it. "It's fine! Thanks for your time and the dancing, Ludicolo."
"Ludicolo!"
"Alright! Let's keep going and catch some Pokemon! Maybe I can take part in a Pokemon Battle! Uh...how are those done?"
"Hm? Haven't you seen them at the Pokemon Contests, princess?" A guard asked.
"Oh yeah. But that was more showy than battling. All of that was difficult to keep up with." The young alicorn giggled. "I did see Premium and Sunrise battle for a small bit too. But I'm kinda lost on it."
"Oh, I can show you." Flash nodded. "It's the easiest thing you could ever do. Ludicolo."
"Co?"
"Would it be okay if we showed Princess Flurry Heart how Pokemon Battles are done?"
"Ludico!" The Ludicolo were willing to assist in this as one of them stepped forward. A quick demonstration would be shown to the young alicorn. Nothing too complicated.
The other Ludicolo and the guards scattered, giving both Flash, Pidgeot and the single Ludicolo some space to have their battle. Ludicolo was already energetic due to the dance it was performing with the others. This battle wouldn't be a full one, it was just a tutorial on how it is done. No one would faint in this.
"Alright. Get a good look at this. You have your Pokemon in front of you and you, the trainer are standing behind it. In some cases, while your Pokemon is facing the other opposing pokemon, there'll be another trainer right behind the opposing Pokemon."
"Oh okay..." Flurry nodded, easily getting that. "How do I do the battling part?"
"Easy. Just give out your commands to your Pokemon and they'll pull off the move you want them to do."
"Oh...How do I know which moves they have?" Flurry scratched her mane.
"Oh. Well, you can always use your Pokedex and check the moves of your Pokemon. Like this." Flash took out his Pokedex, scanning Pidgeot with it.
"Pidgeot. The Bird Pokemon. Heat Wave. Twister. Fly. Quick Attack."
"Ooh." Flurry Heart was further understanding things after seeing what the Pokedex had done. Learning moves was just that easy. "And then?"
"Now, here comes the good part. Observe." Flash cleared his throat. "Pidgeot. Use Quick Attack!"
"Pidgeot!" Pidgeot covered herself in a white outline as Ludicolo was ready to give a further demonstration on how Pokemon Battles play out. Pidgeot didn't move until Ludicolo could ready its own move.
"Ludico...!" The Carefree Pokemon covered its head in mental energy, using Zen Headbutt.
"Oh, what's this?!" Flurry Heart sat up.
"Now that Pidgeot's utilizing a move, the opposing Pokemon will do the same to either block or counter the incoming attack. That's Zen Headbutt. Ludicolo's focusing all of its willpower on this attack. Straight from the head."
"It's willpower?" Flurry was continuously being shocked and surprised at every turn. She then turned to face Pidgeot, wondering what the white aura was. "And what about Pidgeot?"
"That's Quick Attack. Once she starts moving, she'll be moving at a speed that makes her almost invisible. Watch. Go, Pidgeot!"
"Dgeot!" The Bird Pokemon cawed as she indeed moved at a speed that left afterimages behind and seemed invisible. Ludicolo was ready as it pulled its head back for Zen Headbutt.
The two Pokemon clashed heads with Quick Attack and Zen Headbutt, going easy instead of all out. After butting heads, they separated from each other with Pidgeot flying back to Flash Sentry.
"That's a clash. It can go either way. Sometimes one Pokemon can overpower the other in it or they just equal each other out." Flash turned to Flurry Heart.
"Okay, I think I get it now! And you win if one of them takes a lot of damage, right?!"
"Essentially yes. The goal is to make them faint. And if you want to catch them, make sure that you only damage them a certain amount so that they don't faint. And then, if you feel like the time is right..." Flash took out a Poke Ball. "You toss a Poke Ball at them and let everything go from there."
"Oh, what does that look like? Is it that red light that pulls them in?"
"Pretty much. Watch. Go Poke Ball!" Flash then tossed the Poke Ball over at Ludicolo. Ludicolo stood there, letting the Poke Ball hit it. The ball then pulled the Carefree Pokemon inside with a red light as it dropped to the ground. "Now, watch as it shakes. When it starts shaking, that means it's counting down three times to see if the capture is guaranteed."
"Really?"
1...2...3...Ludicolo broke out. Just a tutorial after all. "Ludicolo."
"That's what it looks like when a capture fails. And if it does succeed, you'll notice the Poke Ball click with stars coming out of it, then you've got yourself a new Pokemon.
"Oh! Okay, that easy? Pssh! I can do that!" Flurry Heart flailed her hoof before sitting up. "Put me in and I'll show you a really good Pokemon Battle for sure!"
"That sounds great but...you'll need a Pokemon first, princess." said a guard.
"Oh, I've got one right here." With an innocent smile, unaware of what she was about to unleash upon everyone, the young alicorn took out the Ultra Ball that held the Renegade Pokemon inside. Everyone squinted, wondering what kind of Pokemon would be in a powerful ball such as that.
And with a carefree nature like the Ludicolo, Flurry Heart ended up sending out the Pokemon that watches over the Distortion World and a member of the Creation Trio.
Giratina.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" Flash and the other guards gasped, falling on their backs as the Renedage Pokemon let out a mighty roar that spread across the fields.
"This Pokemon right here has helped me out. Protected me from auntie and everything. Its name is..." The young alicorn pouted her lips, not knowing what Giratina's name was. "Oh, actually...what is your name?" To see for herself, she took the Pokedex out once more.
"Giratina. The Renegade Pokemon. A Pokémon that is said to live in a world on the reverse side of ours. It appears in an ancient cemetery. It was banished for its violence. It silently gazed upon the old world from the Distortion World."
"Oh. Giratina! That's a pretty cute name actually."
"Is it"? Flash gulped as the Ghost-Dragon-Type then turned around, looking down at the ponies below. Rightfully so, Flash and the others were intimidated by Giratina's appearance. But Giratina wasn't here to harm anyone. If anything, it just wanted to head back and govern over the Distortion World.
"I can battle with this, right?" Flurry put her hoof on the Renegade Pokemon.
"A-Are you sure? This seems a bit...unfair to the other Pokemon." A guard quivered in fear.
"Ah, I'm sure it's fine." Flurry Heart scoffed, flailing her hoof and not making a big deal about it. She then raised her voice, shouting out to speak to the Pokemon here. "Who here wants to battle and be my Pokemon?!"
But unfortunately, after seeing Giratina, all nearby Pokemon bolted away out of sheer terror and fear. None accepted Flurry Heart's request as the only Pokemon here were the Ludicolo who were so carefree, they practically feared nothing in life.
"Aw...Catching Pokemon is hard..." Flurry Heart pouted her lips. She really wanted a new Pokemon and there were so many options but none are obliging at the moment. Her disappointment was rising slowly.
"Ah, don't worry, Princess Flurry Heart." Flash went over to the young alicorn. "Maybe we won't be able to catch a Pokemon today, but experiencing everything the Pokemon have to offer can work too."
"It can?"
"Oh sure. There's more to Pokemon than battling. Sometimes just admiring them works. I mean, you had a pretty good go at that when you first showed up here? And those Pokemon Cards you love are just an extension of that. And I guess Pokemon Contests too."
"Huh...yeah. Those are fun." A smile was meeting her face.
"I don't know everything there is to do about Pokemon. Might have to ask Ash Ketchum and the teachers over at the Pokemon School for that."
"Well, I know what I want to do. I just want to experience Pokemon for myself." Flurry Heart ended up doing what her mother did earlier this morning by stretching her hooves out and standing in a bipedal position. "Who knows what I'm missing out on? Both here and possibly the other world. I can't let it go to waste, ya know?"
"That's the spirit, princess." A guard exclaimed as the Ludicolo clapped in agreement.
"Now come on! Let's have fun until the night comes!"
"Uh...All the way until nightfall? Wouldn't your parents of this world be worried?" Flash suggested.
"Bah, it's fine." Flurry Heart then put her hooves around both Flash and a Canterlot guard. "Late night fun never hurt anypony! Let's go!"
"Ludicolo!"
Kanto Region. Vermillion City. Afternoon.
"An offer to visit...Pegalysium?" Ash was currently reading a letter that Derpy sent all the way from Canterlot in Equestria. It came from Princess Celestia after she received her own letter.
"Pika?"
"What's that?" Goh asked.
"No idea. But it looks like something fun! Says that Twilight and everyone else can come along. Celestia needs some company there." Ash kept reading the letter. "We'll head there when Celestia's ready huh? Sounds like a new adventure, huh?"
"It sure does!" Goh nodded.
"A land in the sky? Well, I'll be..." Cerise and his assistants thought about that for a moment.
Right now, Ash was having his usual Pokemon World Championships match with an opposing trainer. He can't slack off if he wants to reach Leon and become the World's Strongest Trainer. His opponent had a Ferrothorn while Ash was Dragonite for this.
"Ferrothorn! Pin Missile!"
"Ferro!" The Thorn Pod Pokemon had fired multiple sharp pinks in the shape of arrows, right towards the Dragon Pokemon in rapid succession.
"Dragonite! Ascend and use Dragon Claw!" Ash commanded.
"Dra!" Dragonite immediately flapped her wings, taking to the skies. By ascending, she started evading the pins, but they acted like homing missiles, tracking the Dragon Pokemon down. Dragonite flew around in the sky with the pins still following her. Nearby ponies looked up, witnessing Dragonite and the many Pin Missiles.
The Dragon-Flying-Type then managed to fully avoid the pins by flying around a nearby tree. The pins ended up hitting the tree instead, blowing up afterwards. Dragonite then dived downwards, summoning green draconic claws around her arms.
"Gonite!" Dragonite then slashed Ferrothorn with Dragon Claw, causing green sparks to fly out. Ferrothorn was swiftly knocked back, but its great defence allowed it to recover quickly.
"Gyro Ball!"
"Ferrothorn!" After recovering immediately, the Grass-Steel-Type Pokemon started spinning at high speeds, heading for Dragonite who was closer now.
"Let's counter with our own spin! Dragon Dance, Dragonite!"
"Dragon!" To fight back against Gyro Ball, Dragonite pulled off the usual spinning Dragon Dance technique. By rotating her body, the Dragon Pokemon received an orange energy that consumed her body.
At the same time, Ferrothorn started slapping its three spiky feelers onto her at high speeds. Since it was an incredibly slow Pokemon, Gyro Ball's strength was at an all-time high.
"Dr!" Dragonite winced as she felt the heavy damage from Gyro Ball. But she kept spinning. And as she kept swivelling her body, her attack and speed were rising every passing second. She even turned into a self-tornado from her speed increase, forcing Ferrothorn back.
"Power Whip, Ferrothorn!"
"Thorn!" After using Gyro Ball, Ferrothorn then switched it up by lighting its three feelers up. It then swung all three of them right for the spinning Dragon Pokemon.
"Now, Dragonite! Dragon Claw!"
"Gonite!" Dragonite received a slap to the face from Ferrothorn's Power Whip. But after that slap, the Dragon Pokemon let out a grin that made Ferrothorn's eyes widen. And before Ferrothorn knew it, it had been smashed by two powered-up claws, right on the very top of its body. Thanks to Dragon Dance, this attack was stronger than before.
So strong that it bypassed the resistance Steel had to Dragon. Ferrothon had been flung like a slingshot, rolling through the ground after Dragon Claw. The trainer gasped after seeing her Ferrothorn tumble on the ground. The Thorn Pod Pokemon landed next to the Trainer as it had fainted.
"Ferrothorn..."
"Ferrothorn is unable to battle! Dragonite is the winner!" The Rotom drone announced. "Which means the victory goes to Ash!"
"Alright!" Ash pumped his fists up with joy. "Awesome work, Dragonite!"
"Pikachu!"
And just as excited as Ash and Pikachu, Dragonite flew over to gift the two of them a celebratory hug like she always does. Her large figure towered over them as she pulled the duo in with her arms, gifting them a hug. "Dragon!"
"Another neat win, Ash!" Pinkie waved flags of Ash's face around along with the younger ponies of Ponyville
"Good work, Ferrothorn." The trainer returned her Ferrothorn. "And good job to you, Ash and Dragonite."
"Thanks!"
"Dragonite!"
"The Pokemon World Coronation Series rankings will now be updated!" said the drone as it flew off, returning to the Pokemon World. The trainer was also heading back to the Pokemon World after having that battle, waving goodbye to Ash, Pikachu and Dragonite.
That was another battle done and Ash had gone a day without using too much Aura or coming under Delayed Aura Ataxia. However, he was actually hoping for it to happen since he wanted to solve this issue as soon as he could. If there was a time he wanted to pass out, now would be that time.
Aside from that, it was time to eat for Ash and his Pokemon as always. This time, they took a bite out of some food that Pinkie Pie had made. Everything carried on naturally in Ponyville as always. Complete silence. And no lurking threat of an invasion in the distance.
Some foals were singing a tune about the Pokemon World together that they had found out about. "I see Galar, I see Kalos..." And it just went on.
"So we're really invited to that place? What's it even all about?" Rainbow Dash was currently speaking to Twilight with matters concerning Pegalysium. Ever since Celestia gained her own invitation, she was allowed to bring some company with her. And there was no better company than Ash, Twilight and the others.
"Pegalysium. A place for just pegasi. It was made by pegasi to stray away from Equestria. They wanted to build their own nation. So they did it in the sky." Twilight herself was well versed in Pegalysium knowledge. Only from the foals tales fables that she had heard. Other than that, she barely knew that much.
"Just pegasi? That doesn't sound too fun." Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"You never know." Pinkie nudged the pegasus. "It could have a lot we've never seen before. Hah? Hah?"
"I'd like to see other pegasi like me. It must be a nice place if it's in the sky. I can only imagine what animals live up there, maybe." Fluttershy closed her eyes, thinking about what Pegalysium was like and the creatures they could have there.
"I guess..." The multi-coloured-maned mare scrunched her face while looking up at the sky. She wondered what it looked like beyond the clouds.
As they ate away, Pikachu's ears began twitching along with his tail. Whenever they twitch, this meant that something was approaching. It was almost as if Pikachu had a sixth sense for incoming scenarios.
"Pika?"
"Mmm. What is it Pikachu?" Ash asked while full of food in his mouth. From how Pikachu's ears were twitching along with his tail, he was sensing two things coming this way. One that was familiar and that other that was new but still had some familiarity with it.
And before Ash knew it, right in front of him and Pikachu arrived Princess Luna, unannounced unexpectedly. Ash and Pikachu gasped as they swallowed their food.
"Mm! L-Luna?!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pika?!"
"Morning, Ash!" Luna bellowed in front of Ash. "I see you're enjoying a wonderful morning meal after a battle, aren't you?"
"Uh yeah." Ash nodded afterwards once Luna was up in his face. "Just another World Championship Battle, that's all."
"Splendid. But, before you can have the chance to finish your current food, how would you enjoy some of my own." Luna suddenly revealed to Ash her own homemade food. She used her magic to bring it out of her bag.
"Oh! Really?!" Ash's eyes lit up as Twilight's senses suddenly kicked off. The young alicorn broke her eyes away from Rainbow Dash and shifted them towards Ash and Luna instead. "I could go for another bite!"
"Well then, feast away. This salad is my personal favourite. My own mother's recipe. And I learned it in just two days." Luna nodded as Ash rubbed his hands together. He did enjoy a good salad and couldn't wait to taste this one.
Twilight, in the blink of an eye, had shown up to Luna, knowing what game she was playing as Luna immediately turned to face Twilight when she teleported herself here. The two alicorns then looked at each other with lowered eyes. One had a smirk while the other had a frown.
The two of them distanced themselves a tad bit away from Ash while he was distracted by the food that laid before him. Including Pikachu and the rest of his Pokemon.
"A bit too late, Twilight Sparkle." Luna chuckled with her cocky smirk showing. "It seems I'm already one step closer to winning."
"Pssh. As if." Twilight scoffed.
"Oh, but you should believe it. After all, it is my own mother who said it herself. It went a little something like this." Luna was then reminiscing on what her mother taught her. Words that she could live by. According to Sunlight. And this had actually happened yesterday.
"Always remember, Luna. The best way to anyone's heart is food. No question about that. I mean, it's how I captured your father."
"...Really?" Strangely enough, Eventide, at that point in time, had squinted his eyes, indicating that was now how they truly fell in love.
"Yes, yes. My mother truly is a pony of wisdom, isn't she? You might have to keep up, Twilight Sparkle."
"Well...I can match that no problem! I already knew that Ash had a huge appetite and loves food, so hah!"
"Oh? Can you cook as well?"
"N-No." Twilight hung her head, knowing that she had no culinary experiences.
"Didn't think so." Luna gave out a light chuckle, knowing that she had won this round.
"But it isn't over yet!" Twilight pointed her hoof, connecting it with Luna's chest. "Just you wait and see."
"Hmph! I'll be waiting." Luna and Twilight had a clear rivalry. But not one out of ill-intent. If anything, it was a race for one goal while still being great friends. But as they looked each other in the eye, Pikachu's second sense was kicking in.
"Pika..." Luna was just the first one he picked up on. The second one was approaching. And Lucario could definitely sense this himself.
Right near Town Hall, out of nowhere, a gateway had opened up, startling everyone in Ponyville. They didn't expect one to appear right now as they all dropped what they were doing. Ash sat up, placing his food down. This is one of the many moments where he can get serious as he swallowed the salad.
However, noticeably, this gateway had a different appearance from the usual ones. The one thing that stuck out was the fact that butterflies were surrounding them and flying out.
"Butterflies?" said Pinkie Pie. The butterflies were one with the gateway, spiralling around it. But after the butterflies showed themselves, something even more surprising could be seen passing through the gateway with a silhouette.
A silhouette that matched the figure of an alicorn. Naturally, everypony immediately shot their worried senses up, believing that this could be Empress Twilight Sparkle showing up here. And Ash did too for a moment.
However, he then noticed something else about the silhouette. Something that negated the possibility t being Empress Twilight. Once she saw the figure fully, his eyes widened as he had a good hunch on who this might be.
And passing through the gateway was an alicorn of another world. An alicorn with the fur colour of butter and a mane as pink as a cherry tree while also having the ethereal mane with stars within it. Only one pony fits these two colour descriptions and Ash knew exactly who this was.
Princess Fluttershy.
"FLUTTERSHY?!" Practically everypony in Ponyville, minus Fluttershy herself bellowed after witnessing this familiar pony that had appeared before their town.
"Oh, finally!" Ash bellowed after everyone else while the pegasus Fluttershy stood there, shocked and bewildered by what she was witnessing.
"Morning." The alicorn Fluttershy spoke, giving her signature smile as right behind her was an alternate universe Angel Bunny, wearing a crown and a snazzy red cape.
"Neat! You made it!" Ash and Pikachu ran over to the alicorn Fluttershy. "And after everything that happened last week too."
"Pika-Pika?" This was Pikachu's first time seeing Princess Fluttershy. Only Ash had met her while unconscious in his Delayed Aura Ataxia state.
"Oh my goodness! Is that the Pikachu I've heard so much about?!" And of course, Princess Fluttershy was mostly here to see the Pokemon more than anything. And seeing Pikachu for the first time had her heart racing with joy.
And much like every Fluttershy that Ash has met so far, whether it be this world, the human world or even the alternate timeline, one consistent event occurs. And it always plays out like this.
"So cute!" The alicorn rushed over to Pikachu, picking him up with her hooves while placing them on his red sacs. She let out a playful giggle, feeling like a filly with how she was admiring the Electric Mouse Pokemon.
"Oh wait! Don't touch his-" Ash tried to warn her but it was too late.
"Pika...CHUUU!" And just like the other Fluttershy's she had been met with 100,000 volts of electricity along with Angel Bunny and Ash because Ash is always at least met with a shock as well. Most of the time.
Afterwards, Pikachu lowered the electricity as the alicorn Fluttershy was now a smoking mess. One second she appeared with a beautiful appearance, now her mane is frizzy and a tad bit burnt along with her face.
She still looked beautiful.
"Wow...What an output..." She coughed out smoke as Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder, giving his awkward apology.
"Pika-Pika." Pikachu knew this was a common occurrence and he couldn't help it. He's just really sensitive there. Along with his tail in certain instances.
"Ahem. Glad to finally be here. And it's nice to fully meet you. Ash Ketchum." Fluttershy bowed to Ash. "And everypony here in Ponyville! My name is Princess Fluttershy! But you can also call me Fluttershy if that's okay with you..." And she even had the same mannerisms this world's Fluttershy had.
"No way!" Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. "You're serious?!"
"Oh, so that's who Ash saw and mentioned! I didn't think she'd be here!" Twilight shook her head furiously as everypony immediately started gathering around Princess Fluttershy.
Seeing a friend of theirs from another world in the form of an alicorn was a sight to behold. She wore the regalia of Princess Celestia. From the crown, necklace and boots. Down to a T.
It was a bit odd seeing a tall Fluttershy, but it did remind them of how Fluttershy dressed up as Celestia during that one play. Made them wonder if there was a universe where Rarity looked like Luna.
Although...Nightmare Rarity was that answer.
"Y-You're really her?" Applejack asked while stuttering.
"Mhm. Sorry if this is a bit overwhelming to you all. I should've probably informed everypony." Princess Fluttershy gave a slight chuckle. "But it is good to see you all. Even if I just spoke to each of you yesterday. It feels like I've been blown into the past with this sight. Everything here still looks the same as it was before."
"S-s-so like! You're from the future and everything?! Are you the new Ruler of Equestria?!" Pinkie Pie questioned.
"I am. Princess Celestia and Luna gave me the role of being the new ruler. I suppose it was building up ever since I became her student years ago."
"You're Celestia's student in your world?!" Rarity bellowed.
"What's it like there?! What about us?!" Rainbow Dash leaned forward.
"Is everything the same over at your world?!" Scootaloo chimed in.
"And why would I do that?! Would I not become the next ruler of Equestria?!" Luna flew over. Soon, questions were being bombarded towards Princess Fluttershy. She felt a bit overwhelmed by how many were coming her way. But this wouldn't be the first time this has happened.
Meanwhile, the pegasus Fluttershy just stood in the back, hidden from Princess Fluttershy's sight. She was still taking everything in. Never in her life would she think that there was a possibility for her to become a Princess in another world.
But, after a few seconds, the two Fluttershy had spotted each other once their eyes met. And everyone else immediately separated, just now noticing the presence and potential synergy between practically the same individual.
Princess Fluttershy gazed at her younger self, feeling a nostalgic blast to her heart. The alicorn approached the pegasi while the younger Fluttershy scrunched her face, freezing in place. Something about her younger self just felt pressurizing.
Probably the identical appearance and taller height.
But as she got closer, that intimidating feeling had been washed away as Princess Fluttershy stopped trotting, having a moment of silence throughout the atmosphere.
"Hello. Younger me. Nice to meet you."
"Oh um. N-Nice to meet you too. Older me. I mean, Princess Fluttershy."
"Oh, please you can just call me Fluttershy. We're the same, aren't we? If that's okay with you."
"Oh. Sorry! I mean, Fluttershy." Fluttershy gave another bow to Princess Fluttershy. She was certainly acting differently against her alternate older self of all ponies.
"Ah, s-sorry if it's sudden for you!" Princess Fluttershy ended up giving her own apology by waving her hoof.
"It's fine," Fluttershy replied with yet another apology. And just like that, the cycle had begun. Each time one of them apologized, they would keep saying sorry, it's fine, if that's okay with you and more. They were definitely the same.
No doubt about it.
After some introductions, Ash did the honour of leading Princess Fluttershy to the Pokemon House, where she could see all the Pokemon for herself.
In a sense, this was a parallel to how the alternate universe Flurry Heart received the chance to explore the Strange and Wonderful Creatures known as Pokemon the other day. Alicorns seems to love their Pokemon.
And of course, Princess Fluttershy couldn't stop gushing and fawning over the variety of Pokemon. And the Pokemon in the Pokemon House were a bit perplexed. Every one of them here loves Fluttershy as if she was their own mother. And seeing an alicorn variant of her threw them for a loop.
"It's amazing how they all resemble ordinary creatures, don't they?" Princess Fluttershy giggled as she was currently hugging some of the smaller Pokemon. Even if they were blown back by this alicorn Fluttershy, they still felt the positivity and kindness radiating from her.
The Angel Bunny with the crown and cape ended up meeting this world's Angel Bunny after hopping off Princess Fluttershy's back. The royal bunny met eyes with the ordinary one, intimidating him a bit. He was fearful of what his other self could do, especially if he's now some sort of prince, king or whatever royalty he is.
However, he meant no harm. It seems that over in Princess Fluttershy's world, he's mellowed down over the years. And his non-threatening aura showed that.
"Check this out, Fluttershy!" Ash exclaimed, leading the Princess to the rest of the Pokemon.
"Pikachu!"
Ash was just as enthused as her, including this world's Fluttershy. Despite being a princess and mature now, when interacting with Pokemon, she couldn't help but gawk over them like a little filly.
She gave a Snorlax a huge hug, rubbing her face on its belly. She then got to skip alongside a Skiploom after seeing its movements. Princess Fluttershy even took the risk of coming into contact with a Grimer. But since Grimer can control its toxic bio-hazard body for those it likes, the Princess was safe.
"See? They can control their bodies in certain ways so that no one they like gets hurt." Fluttershy explained to her older alicorn self. "But there are some exceptions like Ferrothorn."
"Really? That is quite some control, isn't it?" Princess Fluttershy gasped as she dashed over to the lake of the Pokemon House. After heading then, she lowered herself, looking into the lake and all the Water-Type Pokemon there.
"Byss!" A Gorebyss splashed out of the lake, giving the princess a splash and making her mane and face wet. But she laughed at it.
"Hello there!" Princess Fluttershy laughed while the Water-Type Pokemon swam to her. Twilight and the others were just watching this unfurl. They had actually adjusted to the thought of a Princess Fluttershy.
If an Empress variant of Twilight Sparkle can exist, then there's no impossibility that a Princess version of either one of Twilight's friends could exist out there in the multitude of worlds.
"Did she really just come here for the Pokemon?" Applejack spoke.
"That's Fluttershy without a doubt." Rarity nodded.
"Hmph. Ash didn't get the chance to eat my food..." Luna grumbled with her hooves crossed. She then sent herself over to Princess Fluttershy, knowing there had to be a better reason for her being here. "Pardon me But surely you did not just arrive at our world for a gawk at Pokemon? I mean, I wouldn't blame you at all. They are wonderful creatures, aren't they?"
"Oh, Princess Luna." Princess Fluttershy raised her head as a Joltik climbed up her mane, giving it a shock and a frizz. "Oh, that's just the second reason I came here."
"Second? Then what would be the first?"
"Right, right. Serious business." Princess Fluttershy slapped herself in the face with a magic aura of hands, gaining concentration. "I had a premonition. It was about stopping Empress Twilight and Ghetsis."
"Stopping those two?" said Pinkie Pie.
"Uh, we kinda already did that." Rainbow Dash gave off a smirk. "That premonition already came true, no problem."
"Oh, I'm aware of you stopping them just last week. But I fear it's not over yet. My premonition told me that the worst is yet to come." Princess Fluttershy immediately sparked up worries in their hearts after hearing that.
"Sorry...The worst is yet to come?" Twilight gulped.
"Mhm. That invasion you all went through was just the beginning." The butter-coloured alicorn nodded as a Chewtle began chewing on her mane. She also sat down, holding a Chingling, Budew, Shroomish and Illumise in her hooves. "There is more on the horizon. More that will threaten not just your worlds, but mine and everyone else's. Worlds that have yet to be conquered by the Empress or even Ghetsis."
"Yeah. They did kinda retreat after everything was getting dicey." Ash responded. "Fluttershy told me everything when I was unconscious with Ataxia. We stopped them now, but they'll back for sure."
"Pikachu."
"Well now we know how to deal with them, right?" Spike raised his shoulders. "Next time they try and invade, we'll have something new for them. Plus, if we get in contact with those other worlds, we'll have a ton of backup."
"Spike is right." Luna turned to Spike then Princess Fluttershy. "My sister had already formed something known as the Universal Alliance. It was made to deal with the rest of the Empress' forces across other worlds and against her whole empire overall."
"Universal alliance? Really?" Princess Fluttershy spoke as Pikachu hopped into her hooves. "I hope you don't mind me asking but...could I join it?"
"Certainly. All allies are welcome." The Moon Princess nodded. "Especially any princess. Princess of...Ummm." Luna bit her lip. "I'm sorry...what are you the princess of in your world?"
"Oh. I'm also known as the Princess of Friendship in my world."
"Princess of Friendship...? You too?" Twilight repeated at a slower pace.
"Oh! What kind of Pokemon is that?!" Immediately, she became distracted once spotting a group of Marill. She went back to admiring the Pokemon, feeling too excited around them.
But, she now gave everyone something to prepare for in the future. If the worst was yet to come, then whatever was coming may result in them having to use more than 100% of what they can do.
"Ash! Younger me! Look at all of these unique Pikachu!" Princess Fluttershy dashed over towards the Electric Rodent Family consisting of Plusle, Minun, Pachirisu, Emolga, Dedenne and Todemaru.
"Neat huh? They're all like Pikachu. We call them the Electric Rodent Family." Ash slid over to the many Electric-Types, appearing behind them. "Pikachu, show her how you greet each other."
"Pikachu." Pikachu then went over to his fellow Electric Rodents, giving the traditional electric greeting. Each of them touched fingers, creating jolts and sparks of electricity while some used their tails to do so or their red sacs and cheeks, nuzzling them together.
Pikachu even did it with Electric-Types that weren't part of the Electric Rodent Family, like Joltik, Charjabug and Chinchou. Princess Fluttershy's heart felt like it was going to sink from how adorable this was. Seeing the Electric-Types greet each other in unique ways with their own electricity was too much for her to handle. But she did anyway.
"Cute!" She gushed, lowering herself and bring her face close to the Electric-Types.
"Pachi!" Pachirisu and the other Electric-Types gave Fluttershy an equal greeting by poking her face with their fingers or tails. The Princess received a shock that once again, frizzled up her mane. But she didn't mind.
"It was worth arriving here for certain!" She let out a childish laugh, clapping her hooves together before turning to face Ash, Twilight and the others. "Oh! Your own Pokemon! I haven't gotten a chance to experience them!"
"Oh, right. Dragonite. Everyone." Ash offered his Pokemon to interact with Princess Fluttershy while Twilight and everyone else sent out their Pokemon.
Immediately, Princess Fluttershy was met with more varieties of Pokemon than she could expect. Dragons, Fossils, mixtures of cats and dogs, foxes, Ghosts, cloud-like entities, tall insects and more.
"Oh my. I didn't think you'd all have such a unique selection!" Princess Fluttershy flew over to the first Pokemon she saw. Dracovish. "Hello! What's your name!"
"Draco! Dracovish!"
"Dracovish, eh? Nice to meet you!" Princess Fluttershy held her hooves out. In response, Dracovish did what it tried to do towards Ash the first time they met. Although this time, it pulled it off.
"Draco...!" The Fossil Pokemon ended up biting on the Princess' head, making everyone gasp after witnessing it. However, it wasn't a harmful bite. It was actually a friendly one as Princess Fluttershy giggled.
"Haha! Okay, okay!" She playfully laughed while Dracovish gnawed on her head before letting go. The Princess of Friendship then dashed over to the next batch of Pokemon to see what they were capable of.
Thus began a series of showcases.
"Check it out! Mew can transform into any Pokemon out there. Show her, Mew!" Pinkie said.
"Mew-Mew!" And Mew did just that. By spinning around, Mew transformed into a handful of recognizable Pokemon and even rare ones.
Princess Fluttershy watched as the New Species Pokemon switched into a Totodile, Joltik, Pyroar, Samurott, Gogoat and Rowlet with ease, performing it in the span of 12 seconds.
"Amazing! So it's like a changeling, is it?" She clapped her hooves together as Mew kept transforming, showing her all the varieties of Pokemon she can look forward to.
Next, she wanted to know about Lucario and Aura since it was so vital. And Ash would give her that favour with Twilight as assistance.
"Aura's basically everywhere!" Ash spread his arms out before patting Lucario on the back. "And no Pokemon knows Aura better than Lucario."
"Lucario!"
"With Aura, Lucario can sense anything from far away and Aura uses can create attacks, barriers, sense incoming danger and more." Twilight explained. "It's also one of the few forces that can interact with Rift energy. It does have Delayed Aura Ataxia as a problem..."
"Oh! S-So...Does that mean I have Aura myself?" Princess Fluttershy pointed at herself with her hoof. "Pokemon Aura, I mean!"
"Well...yeah. Now that you're here." Ash nodded.
"Wonderful!"
Next, she interacted with the Ghost-Type Pokemon. Mainly Gengar and Frillish. She put her hooves onto them, seeing that she could make contact with beings that were essentially no longer in this world.
"I can make physical contact with these Ghosts..." Her jaw dropped.
"That's not all. They can go intangible too. Observe." Luna nodded as Frillish turned himself intangible, along with Gengar. Now they were really like Ghosts as they phased through the ground, making Princess Fluttershy squee out of excitement.
Left and right, she wouldn't stop interacting with them. She was met with Dragonite's warm and lovable hugs for the first time as she melted in them. Her ears lowered, her eyes closed and her spirit felt calm.
"So warm..." She sighed with relief.
"Dragonite!"
Darkrai eventually showed up, emerging from the shadows. But, from the first glance, Princess Fluttershy wasn't even close to being scared. She was just intrigued by the Pitch-Black Pokemon.
"My. You're a certainly intimidating one, aren't you?" She giggled.
"Uh...Thank you." Darkrai said.
"Oh! You can talk?!" Princess Fluttershy was taken aback by this. So far, she's just been hearing the names of Pokemon. She didn't expect them to have a speaking pattern like this.
"Some Pokemon have the ability to use Telepathy and talk like us," Ash explained. "Pretty neat, ain't it?"
"But a Pokemon like Meowth can talk with his mouth. Right, Meowth?!" Fluttershy called out for Team Rocket's Meowth. But currently, he was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, they must have gone out"
"Talking Pokemon?! This just keeps getting better and better! I wish I could've brought Discord along. He would've loved this."
"You called?" And speaking of Discord, appearing out of thin air after responding to a familiar voice was the Spirit of Chaos. It was this universe's Discord.
He appeared traditionally. Having an absurd way of popping into place. Or sometimes, he keeps it simple with teleportation. However, when he showed up, his eyes were met with a perplexing sight.
Two Fluttershy's.
One was the one he knew and the other was an alicorn. The Spirit of Chaos quickly removed his eyes, shaking them a tad bit to see if he wasn't hallucinating. After shaking them, he placed them back on, spraying and polishing them with a cloth as he blinked a bit. He wasn't hallucinating.
"...What is this?" He asked, befuddled. "Is this another one of your prank's Rainbow Dash?"
"Nope. No way I can pull something like this off." Rainbow Dash shook her head before shifting her eyes towards Mew. "Unless..."
"Oh. Nice to meet you, Discord. Or at least, this world's Discord." Princess Fluttershy bowed her head to him. "My name is Princess Fluttershy. But Fluttershy is good too if that's okay with you."
"Princess...Fluttershy? I beg your pardon?"
"She's from another world. She came here to visit the Pokemon and experience them. And um...important business about Empress Twilight and Ghetsis." Fluttershy explained.
"Well...Well!" Discord quickly took the scenario in before stretching his lion paw out for a shake. "This is certainly something, alright. A pleasure to meet you, Princess Fluttershy!" He giggled as the princess shook his paw with her hoof. "I must say, you look as wonderful as this world's Fluttershy, hm?"
"Oh, thank you for the compliment, Discord." She giggled as Discord created a flower bouquet in his paw. "But I'm afraid my Discord won't be s happy if he finds out about this."
"Your...Discord?" Discord pulled back suddenly.
"Yes. Don't worry." She shook her head. "He's just as nice as you and lovable."
"Oh. Certainly. I would imagine every variant of myself would be lovable, isn't that right everypony?"
"Eh..." Twilight and everyone gave unconvincing smiles and sounds while Ash and Pikachu gave a thumbs up along with Fluttershy's approving nod.
"It's good to see that even in this world, you're still so enthusiastic and charming." Princess Fluttershy turned around. "All of you. Seeing how young you all are, takes me back. I should tell your older selves about this after I'm done here."
"You're not leaving early are you?" Pinkie leaned forward.
"No-no. I still want to experience more. THere's also the Pokemon World. I hear there are many regions with exclusive Pokemon out there!"
"Then, what are we waiting for?" Ash went over to Princess Fluttershy. "Come on and let's have fun the whole way through, okay?"
"Pikachu!"
"Sounds good to me!"
Somewhere else in this collection of Universes. A Universe dubbed Universe 11.
Here, there exists an Empire. But not one on the same size as the Empress'. This Empire, the main capital of it, had a similar appearance to Canterlot like others. But it was more reinforced, had a wider appearance and some changes to it.
However, one noticeable difference was the banners. Banners that had the sun on them. A fairly crimson sun. One that matched the appearance of Celestia's Cutie Mark.
And that made sense considering the individual that governed this Empire. An individual who was a part of the Empress' alliance.
Daybreaker.
Currently, she was on the move herself. After Empress Twilight's embarrassing defeat, Daybreaker found enjoyment in it and chose to deal with the Pokemon and Equestria threat herself And she would obviously need the assistance of her own Empire. Or, going by its official name
The Solar Empire.
Daybreaker had access to some universes with the gateway travel she was given. But it was fairly limited. However, she had to make do with what she had. And she would. Daybreaker shared Celestia's drive after all.
"Alright, alright." She looked at the Ultra Ball in her hoof while sitting on her throne. "I believe I've made up my mind. I know what I can do about our little predicament."
Right now, Ash was still touring Princess Fluttershy around involving Pokemon and what she can look forward to. And what better place to be at than Castelia City. It is quite a favourite location among the ponies in Equestria. Many ponies do tend to enjoy Unova over other regions. Alongside Ash and Princess Fluttershy was this world's ordinary pegasus Fluttershy.
A bit of a nice synergy between two ponies who were essentially the same entity.
"Mmm." Right now, Princess Fluttershy was helping herself to some ice cream. The famous Casteliacone of course. She found ecstasy within the flavour of the cone. "Ah..."
"Great, isn't it?" Ash spoke while giving Pikachu and Angel Bunny some of the cones. Both Angels.
"It is. I should be heading back soon. I still have important duties to fulfil back home after all. But, for the time I was here, it was enjoyable. I had the chance to meet so many wonderful Pokemon. Probably not even half of them!"
"So you'll come back, right?" Fluttershy asked her older self.
"Pikachu?"
"Certainly." She nodded. "It was truly a pleasure meeting you, Ash Ketchum." She stood up from the bench. "Pikachu and umm...me. And every Pokemon so far. I hope I can meet more. And stay safe and be ready for Ghetsis and the Empress, alright?"
"Oh yeah!" Ash nodded giving a thumbs up. "You can count on us, Fluttershy!" "Pikachu."
"Hm. AH!" Just then, as she gave an innocent smile, her eyes flashed open with a pink and yellow spark emanating. Princess Fluttershy gasped as she looked to the ground in shock.
"What happened?!" Ash and Fluttershy noticed this sudden shock.
"Pika?!"
"I just had another premonition...It's horrible..." Princess Fluttershy breathed in and out as she shuddered in fear.
"W-What was it?!" Fluttershy stuttered.
"I couldn't make it out. It was too fast." She sighed as she raised her head. "But I believe I saw Ghetsis in there for a second."
"Ghetsis again?"
"Sorry for the surprise. New premonitions do tend to pop up within me at random. When I least expect it as well." She rubbed her horn.
"It's fine. Whatever it is, we'll be ready for it. Right, buddy?"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Right. I'm counting on you. I'll inform you if something comes up again. Until we meet again, Ash. Pikachu. And my younger self." And with that, she could depart, right back home.
But she'll be back for sure. Probably with more premonitions and information. Mostly for the Pokemon. Definitely for the Pokemon. But since she shares the same love for them as Ash and this world's Fluttershy it was only natural.
She opened a gateway with butterflies spiralling around it. Dragonite gave the alicorn Fluttershy one last hug along with Pikachu gifting her a small jolt to her horn. Afterwards, she gave her goodbyes along with her own Angel Bunny before entering the gateway.
"Okay...What next?" Ash pondered for a moment on his next escapade for the day.
"Already planning on a new adventure, Ash?" Fluttershy said.
"Yeah. Oh!" Ash put a fist into his hand. "I could head to the human world where Sunset is. I did say I was gonna do that. How does that sound, Pikachu?"
"Pika-Pika."
"What about you, Fluttershy? Wanna come along?"
"Oh, me? Well...Maybe next time." Fluttershy shrugged. She wasn't too enthusiastic about heading to the human world as compared to experiencing the Pokemon World. Although, just like how Equestria has Equestrian Pokemon, Fluttershy thought that maybe, just maybe, there are exclusive Pokemon in the human world too.
As for Ash, he's always going to explore everywhere he can. No matter what.
A Universe known as Universe 25.
In this universe, this is where Ghetsis and Team Plasma retreated to. They had taken control of a weaker version of Equestria in this world and made it their own. A sort of substitute for Ghetsis' Harmonia Kingdom ever since it was destroyed.
However, right now, Ghetsis could care less about being here. Ever since he had to retreat from Ash and failed to use baby Flurry Heart's power for his own, it was safe to say that Ghetsis was frustrated. However, instead of breaking out into a fit of rage, Ghetsis had made a decision. One that he felt like he should have done a long time ago.
"Lord Ghetsis. All of our resources are still here in this world. So it's not all lost." Colress spoke to Ghetsis.
"I know that." Ghetsis replied in a low tone. He clearly wasn't happy at the moment as he had his hands together, blocking his face.
"By a few months or less, we could advance this kingdom to-"
"An Empire." Ghetsis suddenly interrupted Colress. "I'm seeking an Empire. Forget the entire kingdom business."
"An Empire? My that's a leap, Lord Ghetsis." Colress bit his teeth. "But, it is to be expected. You did want to rue over Unova before."
"I want more than just an Emire, Colress." Ghetsis then raised his head, showing his single red eye glowing. "Take care of everything here while I'm gone."
"I-I beg your pardon?" Colress stuttered as Ghetsis stood up from the throne.
"I will be out for a while, venturing on my own. In the meantime, you are in charge of Team Plasma and everything else while I am away. You can contact me with communications at any time if you wish."
"W-What's this sudden choice of decisions, Lord Ghetsis?"
"I want to become stronger and gain-no..." Ghetsis stopped suddenly before looking at his only arm, covering it with darkness. "Becoming stronger won't do it. I need to pursue more than that if I ever want to be fully successful without fail. I want to never lose ever again. Not to anyone."
"I-I see." Colress stammered as Ghetsis held his hand out, summoning another gateway. This gateway actually led to his own homeworld, Unova. Of all places, he chose to head back to where he originally came from.
"I'll be travelling different worlds for the time being. If you wish to attack Equestria or anywhere else, you're free to do so. Do what you can. I can rely on you to take things from here, Colress."
"U-Understood, sir! I'll make sure that none of our resources will go to waste! I can also call upon the other Team Plasma's from alternate worlds for assistance!"
"Don't worry about that."
"Eh?"
"When I'm back, I'll have more resources than ever." And those were Ghetsis' last words before he passed through the gateway. Afterwards, it had closed.
Ghetsis was now on his own with some Pokemon by his side. He was going on his own journey to better his capabilities. From this point onwards, he was going to make sure that he's always standing above everyone else, he had to improve constantly over time. No time for breaks or anything.
Ghetsis was going to make sure that eventually, no one, not even the very best of them all could stand in his way or stop him.
Equestria. Canterlot Castle. Afternoon.
Deciding to go to the human world to visit Sunset Shimmer and see what actions are occurring there, Ash was walking alongside Twilight and Goh for this. Goh, for the sake of having an adventure with him always and Twilight since she wanted to see Sunset again. Spike, being Twilight's assistant, also chose to come along.
They had just arrived upstairs where the mirror to the other world could be found.
"So, this other world. It's like Equestria but with...humans?" Goh said.
"Yeah. Their world got introduced to our world a bit later than ours. Everyone there's super familiar. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, you name it." Ash nodded.
"It's a bit of a bizarre sight to look at," Twilight spoke. "I know it was perplexing to me when I first went there. Spike didn't seem too bothered by it."
"Nah." Spike crossed his arms, shaking his head.
"Well, good luck in there all of you," Celestia spoke to them each. "Say hello to Sunset Shimmer for me, won't you? And maybe our other-selves. Oh, and I've decided we shall visit Pegalyisum next week."
"Okay! Come on you guys! Let's go!" Ash, as enthusiastic as ever, jumped into the gateway without hesitation and with his fist out along with Pikachu.
"Pikachu!"
"Oh! Wait!" Goh then followed afterwards, jumping in as well.
"Hey, Sparkle." But before Twilight could jump in there, Adagio interrupted, having something to say herself. "When you get there...can you buy me something?"
"Buy you something?" Twilight repeated, raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah...There's uh..." Adagio regretted asking Twilight for help. "A really cute dress in that one fashion shop that I couldn't get. C-Could you get it for me? I know you won't though."
"Oh, sure! I can do that!" Despite their feelings towards each other, Twilight was willing to help Adagio out now that she was an ally. Adagio felt like throwing up in her mouth from how sincere and generous Twilight was being, but she did appreciate it as both Twilight and Spike entered the portal. "Bye!"
Human world.
And with one pass, they had entered the human world. Of course, Ash remained the same as he was considering he's not originally from Equestria or anywhere related to it. And the same went for Goh. They stayed as their original selves.
Twilight and Spike changed, however, entering their human and dog forms. It was also the first time Goh would get to see Twilight and Spike with a new look.
"Here we are." Ash crossed his arms after passing through. He got a good look at the school in front of his eyes as the golden sun beamed down on it.
"Pika-Pika."
"Oh...Not bad." Goh rubbed his eyes after that portal transportation, gawking at Canterlot High. But as he turned around, he was met with Twilight and Spike's new appearances. "Oh!"
"Surprised?" Twilight flipped her hair. "You haven't seen anything yet, Goh."
"Mhm." And Spike replied with an approving nod.
"Okay." Ash clapped his hands, looking around. "Since it's summer, no one's gonna be here right?"
"Well, there's always Summer School."Goh raised a finger. "But...what are we even gonna do here? I mean, compared to everywhere else..."
"Who knows? Better find out!" Ash immediately ran ahead with Pikachu, setting off to do whatever they can here.
"Pikachu!"
"Wait up, Ash!" Twilight cried out as she, Spike, Espeon and Axew followed after him. Goh scratched his head, finding no purpose for being here. If anything, whenever he's around Ash's company, everything always moves so quickly.
But, he went along either way.
When moving through the grounds of Canterlot High, it didn't seem so empty at the moment. There was indeed a Summer School here as students could be seen being present. Goh noticed that some of the humans living here matched the appearance of ponies had seen before.
It seriously threw him for a loop, no doubt about it. He was expecting to see familiar faces in the forms of humans. It was bizarre, jarring and fascinating all at the same time.
Twilight took out her Xtransceiver, seeing if she could contact Sunset. Being a human, using the Xtransceiver with hands now was fairly useful. Even though these were built for ponies and anyone with hooves. It was certainly a nice feeling. Twilight, despite being freaked out as a human when she first came here, had gotten used to being one.
She didn't have to call for Sunset Shimmer because just up ahead, the one they were looking for was already there, sitting in the park with her friends. Familiar faces of friends. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie respectively.
"Sunset!" Twilight cried out, waving to her fellow student of Celestia. She ran ahead of Ash while Sunset also approached.
"Twilight! Ash!" She as well cried out. When coming in contact with each other, they both performed a high-five, similar to what Ash and Dawn are known for doing. "Glad you made it here. And during summertime too."
"Yeah. We were planning on coming later but Ash planned." Twilight grinned as they broke up the high-five. The rest of the human counterparts to the Mane 6 rushed over to see their friends from separate worlds. "How has everyone been? You all adjusted to the Pokemon yet?"
"Not that great, honestly." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "But Fluttershy's doing good." She then pointed over at Fluttershy who nodded in confirmation.
"B-But it's okay!" Sunset gave a thumbs up. "Since I'm pretty well-versed in Pokemon, I'm teaching them all about it. But uh...Can't say the same for everyone else."
"This whole world hasn't gotten adjusted to Pokemon yet?" said Spike.
"Well, there's a lot. They didn't go through the same type of merging event like ours." Twilight faced Spike. "Plus, Sunset's the only Pokemon expert here."
"Wish we got something like yours. No fair." Rainbow Dash groaned.
"It's a bit worse than it looks." Sunset rubbed the back of her hair. "Since no one really knows too much about Pokemon, they're kinda defenceless. I've been trying my best but there's so many to deal with in this world it's insane." She sighed while lowering her head."
"Yeah. Even after that...what's his name? Arceus guy fixed everything, everyone's just lost." Rainbow Dash spoke, following up on Sunset's words.
"And what's worse is that some people are being reported missing all of a sudden." Fluttershy put her own words in.
"Missing?" Ash, Twilight, Spike and Goh collectively said.
"Yeah. We've been trying to find them but...eh?" Sunset shrugged. "We have no idea where they went to. They could be anywhere at this point."
"Might be a Psychic, Ghost or even Fairy-Type Pokemon for that." Twilight theorized. "Sunset, I didn't know this world was struggling so much with Pokemon."
"Yeah. I just figured it out not too long ago. Just days before I learned about the invasion so...My bad for being a bit late."
"But hey!" Rainbow slid over to Ash. "We have an expert on Pokemon right here, don't we? You can help us out, Ash, huh? Huh?"
"Oh yeah!" Ash nodded in agreement. It was a no-brainer for him. He already helped Princess Fluttershy become accustomed to Pokemon. Why not do the same for this world? "You can count on us."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Nice! And uh..." Rainbow's eyes then shifted over at Goh. "Who are you?"
"Oh? My name's Goh!" Goh quickly introduced himself. "And I'm going to catch every Pokemon out there!"
After exclaiming his name and his goal, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie paused for a moment before looking at each other. Then, the three of them collectively spoke together with one word. "Is that even possible?"
"It totally is!" Goh replied as he felt a bit shot in the heart after their response.
"So how many are missing?" Ash asked.
"Not sure. Maybe a few? A lot? Don't know. We just know that they up and vanished one day. It could just be the magic here..." Sunset grumbled, thinking about the possibilities.
"Okay!" Ash put his hands together. "Looks like we have something to do! We're gonna find everyone's that's been captured pronto!"
"Pikachu!"
"How?" Applejack asked.
"Ah." Ash quickly squinted his eyes before coming up with a plan. And in just a few seconds, he came up with something. "Hmm...You've all got Pokemon of your own right?"
"Yeah, we've got some." Rainbow Dash responded, holding out a Poke Ball. "Sunset helped us all catch some. "Why?"
"Pinkie. Fluttershy. Do you two have a Slurpuff and Audino?"
"Audi...no? Oh, sorry. I haven't actually caught a Pokemon of my own." Fluttershy shook her head. Out of all of her friends, she did not have a Poke Ball at her disposal, nor does she have Pokemon of her own. "I've seen the Pokemon Audino if that counts for something."
"Oh! But I've got the Slurpuff!" PInkie raised her arm. "They came by my home all of a sudden! I think it was the sugar cakes I made. They just helped out of nowhere now that I think about it."
"The same with Rarity and a Pokemon called Sewaddle. Rarity woke up one day and It started weaving clothes for her. It was actually generous of it." Fluttershy smiled, nodding as this world's Rarity met with Sewaddle in a similar way the pony Rarity did. The same went for Pinkie Pie.
"Oh, I know what you're getting at. Nice thinking Ash." Twilight nudged Ash. "Audino can hear for their voices and Slurpuff can track their scents down." She then explained the use of Audino and Slurpuff to her human friends. "We have the Slurpuff but...Audino might be tricky."
"We just need to find someone those people were related to for Slurpuff's scent to really kick in." Ash then further laid out the plans. "Maybe we can skip out on Audino if we don't have one."
"Pikachu!"
"Where do we even start?" Goh questioned.
"There's one place we can start." Sunset stepped forward. "This world's Everfree Forest."
Canterlot Park.
Everfree Forest.
Much like its Equestria counterpart, this world has its own Everfree Forest. One that hasn't been affected by any Rift Magic of seeds of chaos. But there is something else from another world that lurks within it.
The layout was different from its Equestria counterpart. Expecting a fun summer adventure, the group was now graced with the task of finding missing humans that have been supposedly taken by Pokemon. Or worse, the Everfree Forest might have gotten them either way by some chance.
Everyone had their own Pokemon and thanks to Sunset, the human counterparts of the Mane 6 were well equipped for this. But their Pokemon battling abilities might be a different story.
They had entered the forest, no problem. Nothing was preventing them from entering. It's what was inside this forest that they had to worry about. But with experienced trainers like Ash, Twilight, Spike and Sunset, they might be in the clear.
"So, Ash. You're aiming to become a Pokemon Master, right?" Rainbow Dash spoke while they moved through the stillness of the forest. "What's that all about? What is a Pokemon Master?"
"Yeah. Sounds pretty important." Pinkie nodded.
"Ah, that's an answer Ash can't fully give out yet," Twilight responded to her human friends with her head shaking. At least, not until he finds that answer.
"Finds that answer?" Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash both said.
"Yeah. You see, I wanna become the first Pokemon Master ever. Being a Pokemon Master means more than just battling all the time, becoming champion and so on. It's something that I want to make happen in my way. Beating the league is one step closer to being one."
"The first? No other masters have existed before?" Sunset questioned.
"Apparently not." Twilight shook her head. "And when Ash finds out what being a Pokemon Master means, then the next generation of Trainers will have something to know about if they want to be Pokemon Masters themselves."
"Ooh..." The four of them each understood it clearly now. While the role of being a Pokemon Master was one shrouded in mystery, it was still something that could be at least properly understood on what it may be."
"Pika." Pikachu's ears twitched as he heard something nearby. The moment he twitched, that prompted Ash to come to a halt, and later everyone else.
"You sense something, Pikachu?" Ash asked his partner.
"Pika..." The Electric Mouse Pokemon narrowed his eyes while Eve also stayed on guard.
Everyone shuddered a small bit, ready to throw out their Poke Balls to whatever might be coming their way. Electricity sparked around Pikachu's red sacs footsteps could be heard, making the grass crunch.
However, what came into view wasn't something that seemed dangerous. Appearing from the acre of trees, there was a single person. Someone certainly familiar somewhere in Equestria.
Everyone spotted this random boy walking about. But the way he was walking was a bit odd. His eyes were closed, his mouth was open, his back hunched and his arms lowered.
"Hehe...That sounds nice..."And out of his mouth, he let out a small little laugh.
"Oh. Seems clear." Rainbow Dash sighed. "But what's up with him?"
"No idea. Looks kinda out of it." Sunset squinted her eyes. "Is he gonna be okay?"
"Looks more like he's experiencing some form of happiness. Maybe a delicious fruit in this forest?" Fluttershy gave her own two cents on why this man was walking and expressing in such a way.
Just as they spoke about him, the man then turned to face Ash and the others with that same expression. It was a bit intimidating in all honesty when he ended up facing them. Why he wasn't changing his expression was unknown. But what was known was that something was not right here.
Because right behind Fluttershy was another sound that passed through her ears. She immediately turned around, wondering what new sound was heading their way, or at least near them.
And as she turned around, she spotted the sight of a few people running away from a Male and Female Pyroar, screaming for their lives.
"Oh! Look!" Fluttershy called for her friends, pointing at the view of the Pyroar chasing down some people. "Some sort of lion Pokemon!"
"It's Pyroar!" Ash exclaimed as turning the focus back to the strange-faced man revealed more like him. Appearing out of the acre of trees, more people with the same face and body posture as the man had shown up, each of them making unintelligible sounds while experiencing some sort of happiness.
But that wasn't all. Aside from those that were being chased by the Pyroar. Some were being chased by other Pokemon such as Seviper and Zangoose. Usually, Zangoose and Seviper are enemies towards each other, but this time, they could make an exception.
"What is going on?!" Rainbow Dash bellowed, watching the mishap unfurl.
"Most of the people are from the Animal Shelter!" Fluttershy quickly noticed the people that she was seeing before her eyes. Most of them. She didn't recognize that strange-faced man but she did recognize the others who came out of the acre of trees along with the ones being chased down by Pokemon. "I was wondering where they all went last week!"
The Pyroar let out a collective roar as they chased their prey towards Ash and the others from the direction they were running in. The people tried putting some extra strength in their muscles. Unfortunately, they weren't strong enough to fully outpace a Pokemon for long.
The two Pyroar then breathed fire from their mouths, trying to burn down their prey. Trees and plants were caught up in these flames and obliterated on sight as some of them almost hit the people.
"Uhh...They're coming this way!" Pinkie Pie screeched as the Pyroar were also aiming at attacking Ash and the others too once they got close enough.
"Not good. Pikachu! Electroweb!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu hopped off his Trainer's shoulder, summoning a single orb of electricity. By throwing that orb with his tail, Pikachu formed an electric web. "Chu-Pi!"
The web flew over the people, forcefully missing them while only focusing on two targets. The Male and Female Pyroar. And with precise aim, the web had landed on the two Royal Pokemon, stopping them in their place.
"P-Pyroar!" The two Pyroar roared at Pikachu as the Electric Mouse Pokemon landed on his Trainer's shoulder. The people who had been chased by the Pyroar came to a halt after they had been saved. But there was still the issue of the Zangoose and Seviper.
But Twilight would handle that.
"Eve! Let's see how good your range is! Psychic!" Twilight turned to face the Seviper and Zangoose, pointing at them.
"Espeon...!" And with a blue light outlining her, the Sun Pokemon managed to get a good range towards her targets. From just 10 metres, Eve had sent an invisible wave of Psychic energy that travelled through the ground, moving the blades of grass and chipping the trees.
"Zan!"
"Seviper!" Before Seviper and Zangoose could attack their prey with Poison Fang and Crush Claw, their bodies were blown back by something they were unable to see. An invisible Psychic wave sent them hurling through the air, forcing them away from the people they chased. And the Seviper took the worst of this for being Poison-Types.
The natural enemies were sent further into the forest, far away from the people they were chasing down. And speaking of those people, they had taken a moment to catch their breath. All the time they needed. They either sat down or got on their knees, showing that they were exhausted.
All that was left were the strange-faced people but they seemed like they were currently safe and not in danger of being harmed in any way or fashion. The Pyroar couldn't break free of the Electroweb, making them fully restrained for the time being.
"Oh...Thanks." One girl said, breathing and out as he found some peace at last. "That was too close."
"Are you all alright?!" Fluttershy went over to her friends. "Is this where you've been all this time?"
"For five whole days." Another responded to Fluttershy as she held her head. "Sorry for the concern."
"Why were you all out here in the Everfree Forest of all places in the first place?" Sunset asked them.
"Sorry. We didn't plan on coming here. We were lured here. We tried to work better with the Pokemon since ya know...they kinda look like regular animals, don't they?" A girl shrugged.
"So we thought we could treat them the same way we treat normal animals. That backfired." A boy lowered his head. "Pokemon aren't like animals."
"Well I mean, they kinda are." The other shrugged.
"At least you're all okay." Fluttershy could smile with relief. "But what about them? Why are they acting like that?"
"No clue. When we got here, they were acting all funny with those faces. A bunch of them have been here for a bit." A girl swirled her finger around while pointing at them. "We saw them yesterday too. They might be new and got lost here as well."
They weren't just wondering aimlessly. They were all heading in one direction. Where they were headed was unknown, but they had a destination for sure. The Pyroar growled as they were trying to break out of Pikachu's Electroweb.
"Hold on." Fluttershy went over to the two Pyroar to see if she could calm down them. The two Royal Pokemon collectively snarled at her, trying to chew out of the web. Naturally, her friends, aside from Ash, Twilight and Spike were worried about this.
Pyroar was a Pokemon that was certainly deadlier than a regular lion. Not just the superior strength but the searing flames that come with it. Their flames were already erupting from their fangs as Fluttershy kneeled down to face them.
And with one kneel, she allowed them to see her welcoming and comforting face. And with an aura as calming as hers, the Pyroar's had lowered their flames. For better clarity on how harmless Fluttershy was, she put her hands on the muzzle of the Female Pyroar. She knew her animals. Even the wilder ones. And Pyroar being lions were no exemption.
The Pyroar had been calmed down by Fluttershy's own natural talents. Their anger had settled as Fluttershy rubbed their faces and head.
"My. Your fur is hot, isn't it?" Fluttershy giggled as she could feel the heat from Pyroar's fur. But both Pyroar's had simmered their flames so that Fluttershy wouldn't be harmed.
"How does she do that...?" Pinkie whispered to Rainbow Dash but Rainbow could only shrug. It was just something Fluttershy was skilled at. Best not to question it.
"Sounds like these two were just a bit mad at something. There was a sound here that was aggravating them to chase the people down." Fluttershy explained to everyone. "Sorry that you had to hear that sound you two."
"Well, now that that's done. What do we do about them?" Rainbow Dash turned to the strange-faced people.
"Leave that to me. Eve, Psychic."
"Espeon." Espeon swivelled, using Psychic one more time. The blue light of Psychic outlined them each, promptly freezing them in place. Afterwards, Espeon went straight for their minds by using her own mental capabilities.
With her great Psychic powers, the Sun Pokemon was able to interact with their minds, giving them a small invisible blast. Essentially performing an instant lobotomy.
"Oh!" After having their minds attacked by Espeon's Psychic, they had all snapped back to reality, letting out synchronized gasps as they opened their eyes.
Immediately, they were only befuddled as they just realized the state of their consciousness. Being attacked in the mind was a bit painful to them though.
"What happened?" A boy said, groaning as he felt out of it. The others were groaning. One second, they looked satisfied, now they seemed to be disgruntled.
"That worked. Great job, Eve." Twilight lowered herself, giving Espeon a high-five. Since she was a human now, she was naturally taller than Espeon, requiring her to get to a lower level. Before, she and Eve used to be roughly the same height with Twilight edging out a bit.
"Espeon!"
"You all feeling okay?! You looked pretty good before but now..." Pinkie Pie rushed over to the disgruntled group.
"Uh...I don't know...What was I doing?" One girl held her face. "And how did we get here?"
"They don't even remember how they got here? Is this just the forest being weird again." Rainbow Dash asked.
"Maybe. Are you certain you all don't remember anything?" Sunset further questioned them, wanting to know at least something. The forest is known for being bizarre, that much is natural in its own right.
"Well...I think we came here because we heard something nice in the forest. I think it was nice. It sounded nice." A younger girl finally answered. Seems her memory was still holding valuable information.
"Oh, really? What kind of sound was it?" Goh questioned.
"Not sure...But the Pokemon were heading for it." She then pointed up north. "I saw more people show up here days ago. Tons of them."
"Wait, so there's more?" Sunset gasped. "How long has this been going on for exactly...?"
"All of them up there?" Twilight looked up north. "That means something big is drawing them in. Which Pokemon could do that?"
"It could be a Pokemon that's singing. Just like how Flygon lured those people into the sandstorm." Goh theorized.
"Then let's get them back." ASh got up, immediately bolting ahead of everyone else.
"Ah! Ash! Can you at least wait for a bit?!" Twilight cried out, chasing after Ash as usual. As for everyone else, they desperately needed to head back home. They have been declared missing for a few days so heading back would be the best option.
And the same goes for the other missing people who have yet to be found. But, perhaps up north is where their answer lies.
North.
Arriving north, Ash came to a screeching halt with Pikachu. His halt led him to a den of leaves that exist within the forest. Ad near that den, many people could be seen lining up, all having the same hunched position and expression on their faces.
They were indeed here as they either stood outside or inside the den of leaves, staying completely still. None of the people were moving at all strangely enough. To keep her friends safe, Espeon kept Psychic up, holding it around their heads. Just in case they were affected by whatever noise there was.
"Looks like they're all here," Sunset said. "But where's the noise coming from?"
"Might be that den right there. What's inside of it anyway?" Twilight squinted her eyes, trying to look further inside. Ash advanced towards the den with the others as the people didn't even notice them walk by. They were too entranced.
And as they got closer to the den, very soon, Ash and the others could hear what exactly this sound was. They had picked up on strange soundwaves that were hard to explain. It made them twitch a bit while the Pokemon growled at this sound wave.
"Pika...!"
"Espeon...!"
"Pikachu? What's wrong?"
"A-Are you feeling okay, Eve?"
Both Ash and Twilight were concerned for their partners. They could see their faces changing shape to one of aggravation. Something was aggravating them. And that something was that same sound.
The frequency it was put at seemed to enchant humans with what sounded like joy but infuriated with Pokemon with something that could provoke them.
"Oh! Look!" And Goh was the first to spot this cause by looking past the crowd of people. Sitting on a large mound of leaves was one single object.
A music box. Of all things. But not just an ordinary one. It seemed to have custom additions. And those additions were antennae. Those antennae were the ones emitting the soundwaves.
"Well, there's our answer." Rainbow nodded. "But who left it here? And is the song that bad?"
"It doesn't sound so bad. Doesn't sound like a song either. More like something that's made to attract creatures in, like a dog whistle." Fluttershy responded. "That's probably what aggravated the Pyroar and the other Pokemon here."
"But dog whistles only like...make dogs happy and bring them closer. Is it like a human whistle or something?" A confused Pinkie Pie twirled her playful mane.
"No..." Twilight quickly realized what was occurring with her fast-thinking brain. "This sound is meant for the Pokemon. And right now, it's aggravating them."
"Then what are we waiting for. Let's turn it off and get home already." Rainbow Dash wanted to put an end to this immediately. She approached the music box sitting on the mound of leaves,s ready to shut it off.
But what she didn't expect was that bursting out from the other large pile of leaves here was the Daunting and Fighting-Dark-Type Pokemon.
Pangoro.
"Pango!" The moment Rainbow Dash even dared to try and shut the music off, bursting out of the leaves was Pangoro with a mighty yell as it raised its arm high.
"Woah!" Rainbow Dash cried out as she moved back. Pangoro's arm came flying down, hitting the ground and almost striking Rainbow with it. The Daunting Pokemon growled as it was obviously aggravated by the sound. But oddly enough, despite it being provoked by the sound, Pangoro chose to protect it.
"Pangoro?!" Ash gasped.
"Goro!" The Daunting Pokemon roared as it stood in front of the music box.
"It's protecting the music box!" Fluttershy pointed out.
"W-Why?!" Rainbow Dash asked while sitting on the ground. "Don't they hate the sound?!"
"Just like a dog whistle, it can be made to modify specific behaviours. That sound is both provoking the Pokemon, but also causing them to protect the sound!"
"Who would do that? And who even left this here?!" Sunset bellowed as Pangoro was on the verge of attacking them each at full strength to protect this sound.
"I'll try and calm-" Fluttershy was about to try her hand at calming Pangoro down. But that's when Rainbow Dash interfered.
"Nah. I got this, Fluttershy." She grinned as she held out her Poke Ball. "I've been looking for some fun like this and I could catch this Pangoro too if I tried. Go! Staraptor!" By throwing her Poke Ball, she unleashed the Predator Pokemon Staraptor, revealing it to be her main Pokemon.
"Staraptor!"
"Panagoro!"
"Get a load of this! Aerial Ace, go!"
"Star!" Staraptor cawed as he flew at the Daunting Pokemon and back-flipped in the air. The Predator Pokemon then dived down at Pangoro, his body becoming surrounded by white streaks.
"Pan!" Pangoro was already prepared to use a move the moment Staraptor got close. Unfortunately, it couldn't keep up with Staraptor's blazing speed as the Predator Pokemon slammed into Pangoro before passing it. "Goro!"
"Starap!"
"Pan!" But after being struck, Pangoro recovered quickly, grabbing onto Staraptor's talon on time before he could fly back to this trainer.
"Star?"
"Goro!" Pangoro had used Vital Throw. By holding tight to one of Staraptor's talons, the Daunting Pokemon then spun around with the Normal-Flying-Type with all of its speed.
"S-S-Star!" Starapator cried out after being spun around.
"Ah! Staraptor break free!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Goro!" Pangoro did that favour for Staraptor. Afterwards, it tossed the Predator Pokemon with the full force of Vital throw, sending him flying through the air as some leaves were blown away.
Some of the people here were almost hit but surprisingly, they were unphased by the Pokemon Battle. The music frequency was just that strong and enchanting. Staraptor then recovered himself in the air after being thrown like that.
"Okay! Close Combat, go!"
"Staraptor!" Staraptor them zoomed downwards while Pangoro was about to return the favour with the move Poison Jab. The Predator Pokemon stuck his talon out while Pangoro's fists were covered in poison. The talon and fist came into contact with sparks flying out.
They separated as Staraptor moved in for another hit, this time with his wings. Pangoro swung its poison-clad fists as they clashed with Staraptor's wings and talons. The two of them were striking at high speeds with their wings, talons and fists, leaving afterimages.
"Star!" Staraptor found an opening for having the superior speed to Pangoro. With that opening, the Predator Pokemon struck his wing onto Pangoro's face.
"G-Goro!"
"Star!" after that, he followed up with a second and final hit via a kick to Pangoro's chest with his talon. The Daunting Pokemon was blown back by the Close Combat kick, taking super-effective damage from that.
It slid back so far that it almost hit the music box behind it. But, the Fighting-Dark-Type regained its composure, making sure not to break the box or harm it in any way.
"Pangoro!" After recovering, Pangoro lunged forward with Night Slash, opening its mouth wide while having darkness around its hands.
"Use Close Combat again!"
"Starap!" Staraptor went for a second Close Combat. But this time, Pangoro was ready for him. The Predator Pokemon swung the first wing. Pangoro saw it coming as it swayed its body to the side, evading the first strike of Close Combat. "Star?!"
"Pan!" Pangoro found its own opening. It then struck Night Slash onto Staraptor's neck. Afterwards, it staggered the Predator Pokemon, delivering multiple hits with Night Slash. Staraptor was being pummeled by a barrage of hits from Pangoro with darkness flying out.
"S-Starap!"
"Goro!" Pangoro then gave Staraptor an uppercut, sending him to the sky with the last hit of Night Slash. Staraptor already looked like he was about to give in with that damage he took. "Pango!" Pangoro was ready for one final hit as it looked up at Starptor. It was going for Poison Jab for the last hit.
"Revenge, go!"
"Raptor!" Staraptor opened his eyes as he immediately boosted through the air, he flew around some of the people here as his body emanated an orange aura.
"Pangoro!" Pangoro roared, raising both of its poison-coated arms for a powerful slam. Staraptor narrowed his eyes as he spun around in the air, bringing the leaves up from the speed he moved at, allowing the leaves to spin around him too.
"Starap!" Staraptor then used the leaves to distract Pangoro, sending them towards the Daunting Pokemon. Pangoro had been given a whiff with the leaves, instinctively using Poison Jab on them.
"Pan?!"
"Star!" And with that bluff, Staraptor smashed its wings onto Pangoro's face, dealing massive damage to the Daunting Pokemon after the previous damage he took.
"Pango!" And with one mighty hit, Pangoro was knocked back like a slingshot, flying so far that it crashed through the mound of leaves that held up the music box, causing it to fall. The antennae had been disrupted by this, causing the frequency to stop.
And with the sound stopping, everyone here had snapped out of it immediately, letting out collective gasps, grunts and moans. They felt perplexed and lost at the moment and for a good reason. Their ears and minds were being met with an odd sound they had no control over.
"Goro..." Pangoro had also snapped out of it as it held its head, groaning.
"Here goes! Poke Ball, go!" Rainbow Dash took the chance to catch Pangoro, tossing the ball forward. The Poke Ball hit the Daunting Pokemon directly, sending it inside with the red light appearing. Afterwards, it dropped to the ground, ready for the shaking process to start.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Pangoro was caught.
"Haha, yes! Score!" Rainbow ran over, grabbing the Poke Ball. "Finally I got another Pokemon! And it's a super cool one too!"
"Staraptor!"
After stopping the music and obtain a Pangoro, the people here were given a quick rundown on what happened. Just like the people before, they wanted to understand the Pokemon more. But their goal to do so led them to the Everfree Forest and that's when the sound got them.
But aside from that, they just wanted to head home. And so they did. Now their closest friends won't have to worry any longer about their missing disappearances.
"Well. We dealt with that. But still...who put that box there?" Pinkie Pie wondered, turning around as Goh was holding the music box.
"No idea. Whoever did it must've been trying to search for something...Or...I don't know." Goh grumbled.
"Well, whatever the reason was, at least we solved the problem. Now we can just relax and have fun, can't we? I mean, that's why you all came here, right?" Sunset asked.
"Yeah. I wanna see what your world has to offer." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Oh, you're gonna love it, Ash!" Rainbow Dash put her arm around Ash. "Trust me! But uh...not sure it's gonna be as great as what you have over at your world."
"No need to worry. Best to find out either way and have fun, right?" Ash stayed positive as always.
"Pika-Pika!"
Everfree Forest.
Back at the Everfree Forest, right in the mounds of leaves that used to be here, someone else had approached this place. This, someone, stood before the leaves on the ground, knowing that an object was here.
This certain individual also had someone as company. A dog. But a very familiar dog. One that looked like Spike when he passes through the gateway. And this was confirmed by the voice who spoke here.
"Looks like that experiment was a failure." A feminine voice spoke, leaning down as she grabbed the broken antennae from the music box, holding it up. It was soon revealed, through the sun moving away and taking the shadows with it that this individual was none other than...
Twilight Sparkle.
"Something's up with these Pokemon creatures. And I'm going to find out what."
A trial to crown the World's Strongest Pokemon Trainer. In hopes of battling the Supreme Monarch and Undefeated Champion Leon, Ash is participating in the Championships.
Trainers from all over the world are taking part. They battle other Trainers in their class and the results of those battles determine their current ranking in the world.
Ash is currently ranked 415th place, which places him in the Great Class. His path to Supreme Monarch Leon remains a long one.
The Pokemon House. Day.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Right now, Ash was doing some training with his Pokemon to better his skills for the Pokemon World Championships and to hopefully face Leon one day.
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu had currently ascended into the air, shooting a bolt of 100,000 volts towards Gengar who was his training opponent.
"Gen...Gar!" Gengar flew over the Thunderbolt as it hit the ground. The Shadow Pokemon then used Psychic, outlining Pikachu in a blue light before shooting the Electric Mouse Pokemon down to the ground.
"Pika!"
"Lu!" As for Lucario, his training partner was Dragonite. The Aura Pokemon swung consecutive hits towards the Dragon Pokemon but Dragonite simply put her hands up to block every hit.
"Ooh! Awesome you guys!" Rainbow Dash applauded.
"You're doing great!" Fluttershy exclaimed while Audino held her.
They were training hard but the only one not participating in this training session was Farfetch'd. Instead, he was sitting by a nearby rock on his own with his eyes closed.
He stayed silent for a while until his eye opened up with a golden glare. "Far...fetch'd!" And by raising his leek, the Wild Duck Pokemon stomped his weapon on the ground, making everything around him tremble. The entire Pokemon House shook as everyone's balance had been disrupted.
"Woah!" Ash and the others gasped, almost falling over. Smoke covered the area before fading away afterwards. Farfetch'd still kept his cold, serious never-changing stare as he didn't even face everyone behind him.
"Farfetch'd. You're really pumped, aren't you?" Ash went up to the Wild Duck Pokemon. But the moment he approached him and got too close, Farfetch'd responded by swinging his leek onto Ash's stomach. "Woah!"
Ash was then slammed into the ground by Farfetch'd as everyone gasped from seeing Farfetch'd suddenly strike his own Trainer. But it wasn't uncommon for a Pokemon to do that.
"Ash! Are you okay?!" Twilight cried out as she and the others slid over to see if he was okay.
"Pikapi?!"
"That's some crazy power...I really felt that..." Ash laughed, shrugging off the damage he felt.
"Far..." But Farfetch'd still stayed serious even after slamming Ash. And just arriving here, missing out on Ash being struck by Farfetch'd was Goh alongside his Cinderace.
"Ash!" Goh bellowed.
"Yeah, what's up, Goh?" Ash got up immediately afterwards.
"Check this out!" He then showed Ash and the others his Rotomphone which had the image of a Geodude in it. "Get this. There's a Geodude outbreak! If I can catch Geodude then I can evolve it and register both Graveler and Golem in one fell swoop!"
"Oh! Nice thinking, Goh! Where is it happening?" Ash asked.
"This right here." Goh pointed at the location, showing it to everyone.
"Rock Tunnel, huh? Farfetch'd. This'll be a perfect chance for you to train!"
"Far?"
"What about our training? We were gonna train together, right, Ash?" Rainbow Dash flew over.
"Oh yeah, yeah. We're still gonna train up, Dash." Ash gave his thumbs up. "Oh, by the way...isn't the Equestria League Stadium close to finishing?"
"It certainly is. Have a look." Rarity took out a picture she received of the early build of the Equestria League Stadium. She showed it to everyone, revealing its early stage. "Very soon, we'll be seeing it in its full glory. Right near Canterlot as well."
"I'd say that thing needs four more weeks and it'll look good as new." Applejack spoke.
"A bunch of trainers could already be heading there...I gotta get the rest of my badges quick!" Rainbow Dash bit her hoof, beginning to enter a state of panic as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie calmed her down, making sure she wouldn't panic.
"Alright. Let's go, Farfetch'd!" Ash looked at Farfetch'd, ready to head to Rock Tunnel.
"Fetch'd?"
Rock Tunnel. Kanto Region.
Arriving here was Ash and everyone else. One for training and the other for catching a Pokemon. The rest were here for support. But mostly because they believed another Pokemon journey was bound to happen here. Plus, it's always entertaining to see what mishaps they can create along the way. Before, they would just stray away from any of that.
"Where's that Geodude outbreak?" Goh scratched his head as he and everyone noticed a large lack of Geodude at the moment. "Did they already leave?"
"Far!" And straying away from the group was Farfetch'd. He had just smashed some rocks with his leek in one just one hit. He then went on to destroy another rock, continuously swinging his leek. Many of the rubble from the shattered rocks started flying everywhere, almost hitting Ash and the others.
"Oh!" Applejack gasped as she ducked for cover. Everyone else scattered from the flying rocks as Farfetch'd had smashed practically almost all rocks that he had seen. He wouldn't stop until all of them were obliterated."Be careful why don't you?!"
Farfetch'd responded to Applejack with no words as he walked away, continuing his training. He then came across another rock, closing his eyes and holding the leek close to him.
"He wasn't this grumpy before..." Rainbow Dash said. "What gives?"
"Some attitude." Starlight pouted her face. "Did something happen to him earlier?"
"He didn't take part in the training earlier." Rarity shook her head. "Some Pokemon are hard to understand with their mood swings, aren't they?"
"Oh don't worry about it. Watch." Pinkie slid over to the Wild Duck Pokemon, already having some delicious food ready for him as she appeared behind the Fighting-Type. "Hey, Farfetch'd. Look, your favourite. Spicy vinegar cupcakes, eh?"
"Far?" Farfetch'd heard Pinkie Pie's words as an anger vein appeared on his head. Pinkie had just interrupted his focus, which displeased the Wild Duck Pokemon. IN response, Farfetch'd swung his leek onto the cupcake, knocking it into the air.
"AH!" Pinkie Pie cried out after witnessing the cupcake fly into the air.
"Mew!" But Mew would gladly take it if Farfetch'd didn't want it. The New Species Pokemon teleported into the air, grabbing the cupcake and biting on it. "Mew-Mew!"
"O-Okay! You're not in the best mood right now!" Pinkie let out a nervous grin as she backed away.
"Farfetch'd looks like he has a new focus on his mind. Some Pokemon tend to change moods when it comes to focusing at times." Fluttershy observed the Wild Duck Pokemon as Farfetch'd had put all of his power into this one swing.
"Fetch'd!" He smashed the rock in front of him at full force. And with that full power swing, out of it popped a Geodude. The Pokemon Goh was looking for as an eruption of energy emerged from the rubble.
"Geodude!"
"Aha! There!" Goh cried out as he took out a Poke Ball, launching it in a curved position. "Poke Ball, go!
With one throw, the ball struck the Rock-Type, pulling it inside with a red ball. And once it hit the ground, the traditional shaking could begin.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Geodude has been caught. And for Goh's Pokedex, its data will be added automatically without needing to scan it.
"Great! I owe you one, Farfetch'd!" Goh turned to Wild Duck Pokemon.
"All's well that ends well, right, Farfetch'd?" Ash approached Farfetch'd once more. But this time, Farfetch'd just walked away, staying silent. He then continued to smash the rocks in front of him.
"Well, at least he's consistently strong, huh?" Rainbow Dash said while Farfecth'd continued to ghost everyone around him, only focusing on one thing.
"Yeah. My Farfetch'd's aiming to be a Leek Master." Ash nodded.
"Leek Master?" They all said.
"Yup. The world's mightiest Farfetch'd, a true expert at fighting with the leek!" Ash gave a short explanation as it was somewhat similar to his goal of becoming a Pokemon Master. Except it was fully understandable as Ash went over to his Pokemon, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Let's chase after that goal together, Farfetch'd."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Far!" With a short stare into each other's faces, Farfetch'd gave his response to Ash in the form of yet another swing with his leek. This time he carried Pikachu along with him.
"W-Woah!"
"Pika!"
Both Ash and Pikachu crashed into a wall from Farfetch'd swing, leaving a crater in their body shape. Twilight and the others winced at seeing them both crash into the wall as the smoke cleared.
"Yeah...That's some intense power...Good job." Ash groaned while on the rocks.
"Pikachu..."
"Ash sure does have some high pain tolerance, doesn't he?" Fluttershy chuckled nervously while Farfetch'd walked past the ponies and baby dragon.
"I think some of that's rubbing off on me. Using Rainbow-Braviary and getting hit isn't a good time, ya know." Rainbow Dash held her head.
Ash slid down the wall with Pikachu as Starlight used her magic to remove the rubble from them. As they got off and cleaned themselves, Ash's Rotomphone started ringing. "Hm?" Immediately, he checked to see what was up. Since it wasn't the Xtransceiver that was ringing, that meant it had to be something related to the Pokemon World Championships.
And it certainly was.
"This is an official battle announcement." The Rotomphone alerted Ash.
"Pika?"
"Hard at work, I see?!" Right after the alert and announcement from the phone, the sound of a burly man could be heard from everyone nearby. They each collectively turned their heads to see where the origin of this sound came from.
They looked up at the same wall that Ash and Pikachu had crashed into. From one of the entrances of Rock Tunnel, a man and his Gurdurr could be seen as they were coming into view after the sun beamed down on them.
"Is that guy participating in the Pokemon World Championships too?" said Spike, raising his head as high as he could.
"Axew?"
"Hm!" And without hesitation, he and his Gurdurr jumped from the cliff, landing on the ground next to Farfetch'd. When they landed, they made the ground shake a bit with a surprisingly heavy impact.
Farfetch'd remained unphased by this, however.
After making their heavy landing, the burly man with a pickaxe and hard hat rushed over in the blink of an eye, suddenly putting his hands on the Wild Duck Pokemon.
"Very good! It's well trained! It's irresistible." The man suddenly said while examining and holding Farfetch'd. Naturally, Farfetch'd didn't take kindly to this up-close contact on him.
"Uh...H-He's not in the best mood to be touched right now!" Pinkie Pie tried to warn the man.
"Far...!" But it was too late. In response, Farfetch'd was ready to swing at this new target with his leek, gripping onto it tightly. "Far!" With a mighty yell, Farfetch'd swung his leek at the burly man, causing him to back up.
"Gurr!" But, in quick action, the ma's Gurdurr had rushed over, holding up his steel beam to block the incoming leek. Farfetch'd's leek smashed onto the beam afterwards, creating a spark of light that could be seen by everyone. It also made a loud ringing sound that raced through all of their ears.
"Gh!" Each of them closed their ears from this metal ringing sound as Audino had taken the worst of it, as usual. Both the benefits and curses of having amazing hearing are very clear. Afterwards, the two of them separated their main weapons.
"Woah...Perfect timing, Gurdurr." said the burly man as he patted his stomach. "Sorry about that kid. I was just watching your Farfetch'd. And it wields that leek well, that's for sure."
"Yeah. Your Gurdurr looks like a real pro with that steel beam, ya know." Ash also complimented the man's Gurdurr.
"Right. So there's only one thing to do! You're in the Great Class, aren't you, kid?"
"Sure am. You too?"
"Hm! I am Dozer!" The man introduced himself, spinning his giant pickaxe around frantically without even hitting himself once, showing how skilled he was with it. Gurdurr also started doing the same with his steel beam "Gurdurr and I have trained hard together! You can call me Dozer the Self-Made Man!"
"Gurdurr!"
"Ooh." Starlight clapped at their coordination, giving an applause for a brief moment with her hooves. It was clear that a Pokemon Battle was ready to ensue between Ash and Dozer.
They gave each other determined smiles before sliding back in unison. They took their places as Twilight and the others searched for a spot to sit down on. There was a small cliff where they could all view this battle as they collectively wet over, taking their seats.
And at the right time too. The Rotom Drone had arrived to spectate, announce and be the referee as always.
"The Pokemon World Championships has approved this Great Class Battle!" The drone said. "The matchup is Contestant Ash VS Contestant Dozer! The battle will be a 1V1! Now! Both sides, send out your Pokemon at the same time! 3...2...1...GO!"
"Let's do this, Farfetch'd!"
"Go forth, Gurdurr!" They had both chosen their Pokemon already since they were out in the first place. Both Fighting-Types ran ahead of their trainers.
"Far!" The Wild Duck Pokemon let out his war cry before putting his Large Leek over his back, ready for a good fight.
"Gurdurr!" Gurdurr also let out his own war cry, spinning his beam around and putting it over his head, ready himself.
Pinkie Pie had already gotten out some equipment to cheer Ash on. Mainly some cheerleader pompoms and a giant flag with Ash's face that she can wave all willy-nilly.
While she was the only one dressed for the scenario, the others chose to show their support by just holding the flags instead. Mainly Fluttershy and Twilight.
"Come on, Ash! Let's get those numbers up!" Pinkie Pie cheered while blowing on a trumpet.
"Give us a good show!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as Axew ad Audino were also holding flags with Ash's face on it. All of this was courtesy of the Ash Ketchum Fanclub in Ponyville. Most Pikie Pie.
"Xew-Xew! Axew!"
"Audino!"
"Battle start!"
"Gurr!" To work themselves up, both Gurdurr and Farfetch'd started sizing each other up by slowly swinging their weapons. By doing so, they kicked up some of the sand here in Rock Tunnel. Very soon, that sand formed into a sand tornado that surrounded them both as their swings sped up.
"Oh, they're sizing each other up! Nice!" Rainbow Dash grinned in approval, already knowing this was going to be an enjoyable battle.
"Here we go...Night Slash!" Ash gave the first command.
"Far!" Farfetch'd bolted forward, running out of the sand tornado he made while dragging his leek on the ground. A white trail of energy was already flowing out of the leek.
"High Horsepower!" Dozer roared, giving off his own command.
"Durr!" Gurdurr's body became surrounded by an orange aura. He then charged at the Wild Duck Pokemon, ready to slam into him with great force. "Gurr...!"
"Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd then jumped to the air with his leek, swinging it downwards. The leek met with Gurdurr's steel beam which was aimed upwards to block the incoming Night Slash. A hard impact met with the beam.
"Gurddur!" Gurdurr then pushed Farfetch'd's leek back after blocking it. The Muscular Pokmon gave his counter by smashing his beam into Farfetch'd's chest at full force.
"Far!" One single hit and Farfetch'd was sent flying like a rocket, crashing into a wall, just like Ash and Pikachu.
"Ah! Farfetch'd!" Ash gasped along with everyone else.
"Durr!" Gurdurr then slid back to his Trainer. Large rubbles of rocks dropped to the ground with Farfetch'd buried deep within them.
"How do you like that? Our High Horsepower!" Dozer bellowed before putting his fist out. "Tremble before the might with the skill of our steel beam!"
However, the Wild Duck Pokemon quickly recovered by blowing the rocks away with no time to spare. After blowing the rocks back, he came rushing in by dragging the leek again. "Fetch-Fetch-Fetch-Fetch!"
"Awesome, Farfetch'd! Use Night Slash again!"
"Farfetch'd!"
"Counter with Focus Blast!"
"Gur...Durr!" The Muscular Pokemon held his beam with one hand and stuck the other one out. Free of the beam. He then generated a ball of mental energy while Farfetch'd summoned those same blue trails, jumping into the air once more.
"Far!" With a mighty and faster swig, Galarian Farfetch'd struck Gurdurr's head before he could pull off Focus Blast, causing the Muscular Pokemon to twice afterwards.
"G-Gur?!" Gurdurr then went flying, crashing into a nearby rock and breaking it apart. The Muscular Pokemon tumbled after crashing into the rock. He then met with the walls, slamming into it just like the previous individuals who had been flung at them.
"Grr!" Dozer growled, turning around to see his partner against the wall.
"Fury Cutter!" But Ash wasn't about to let Gurdurr take a break.
"Farfetch'd!" And neither was Farfetch'd. The Galarian variant coated his leek in a green energy before dashing towards the pinned Muscular Pokemon.
"On your feet, Gurdurr! Focus Blast again, and make it count!"
"Durr!" Gurdurr flexed his muscles, blowing the wall behind his back as he jumped forward. He then flipped and landed on a rock mound before holding his hand out. This time, he had enough time to charge Focus Blast as he did it while flipping. Gurdurr then finally unleashed the blast of orange mental energy.
"Fetch'd!" But, aiming to make sure it doesn't land, when Farfetch'd jump in the air, he used Fury Cutter to strike the sphere, destroying it. From the destruction, an explosion of smoke emerged. And out of it came a wave trail of smoke. And within that trail was Farfetch'd as he eventually separated the smoke from his body.
By boosting forward, he then swung his leek in an overhead position towards Gurdurr before being met with a pre-emptive block. But since this was Fury Cutter, more than one hit was expected. After the first hit had been blocked, the power of the leek increased as Farfetch'd swung it a second time, this time to the side.
Gurdurr blocked that one as well. Farfetch'd went for another strike, this time from the top again. He pressed the leek onto the Muscular Pokemon's beam before he had been pushed back by Gurdurr. Farfetch'd move in again, continuing to swing the leek as he was putting the pressure on.
On and on, Farfetch'd wouldn't stop as Gurdurr was forced to keep his beam up for protection.
"Keep pushing him back, Farfetch'd!" Ash yelled along with Pikachu.
"Pikachu!"
"Far!" And Farfetch'd did just that. He didn't let up for one second. However, even with Farfetch'd's aggressive pressure and flurry of swings, Gurdurr had blocked every single one that came his way, preventing any proper damage to him.
"That's some skill!" Twilight gasped. "He's predicting every hit that Farfetch'd throws at him!"
"Come on, Ash! Farfetch'd! Knock 'em silly!" Rainbow Dash roared, trying to boost Ash's skills with her cheers as her Castform joined in the cheering.
"Switch it up with Night Slash!"
"Fetch'd!" Farfetch'd eventually switched things up by shifting into Night Slash. The light blue crescent shapes had already formed as Farfetch'd pulled his leek back.
"Gur!" Gurdurr smile as he suddenly zipped to the side the moment Farfetch'd swung his leek dow. An evasion occurred as Farfetch'ds leek hit the ground instead.
"Now!" Dozer roared. "Brutal Swing!"
"Gurdurr!" Gurdurr found his opening as he was ready to strike by covering his beam in a dark red aura.
"Raise your leek and dodge!"
"Far?"
"Durr!" Too late for that. Gurdurr then swung his beam, smashing it onto the side of the Wild Duck Pokemon's face. One strike and Farfecth'd was flung like a slingshot. Once more, he crashed into the rock walls of this area, creating more smoke and rubble along the way.
However, as he hit the wall, just above it and near the cliffside, someone had approached here, also arriving at the Rock Tunnel. On the cliffside, A Trainer and his Gallade were watching from above, choosing to spectate over this.
Larger rubble had formed, burying Farfetch'd in it. Quickly, Ash and Pikachu alongside the Rotomdrone had rushed over to see the state of the Wild Duck Pokemon.
"Farfetch'd!" Ash cried out.
"Pika!"
"Verifying condition." said the drone. It would make the decision and result of Farfetch'ds current state. "Scanning. Scanning. Scanning."
It continued to scan as Gurdurr stood by, waiting for the result. Twilight and the others held their breath, hoping that Farfetch'd could still battle on. Especially Ash. The drone continued to scan the rubble in front of it.
And thankfully, he could. Out of the rocks, an eruption of energy occurred, blowing them away. Farfetch'ds leek could be seen in the rubble as he used it to blow it away.
"Yes!" Ash pumped his fist. "Awesome, Farfetch'd!"
"Fetch'd!" Erupting out of the rubble with a mighty jump, Farfetch'd created an explosion of power that could be seen by everyone. His spirit was rising as he made a graceful landing, holding his leek on his back as always.
This battle was still on.
"Battle resume!"
"Farfetch'd! Focus Energy!"
"Far!" Galarian Farfetch'd's body was briefly covered in an orange glow. His strength had risen after that glow as all of his power was sent into his leek.
"You good to go?" Ash asked.
"Far!" With a stern smash to the ground with his leek, Farfetch'd was pumped and fully charged. He was raring to go. His eyes flared rared, glancing at his fellow Fighting-Type.
The force of him smashing his leek to the ground caused cracks that had reached Gurdurr from a fairly far distance. Large rocks were also rising from the tremor, threatening to strike Gurdurr. But the Muscular Pokemon simply stopped them by slamming his beam down. One hit and it caused an explosive outburst that stopped all the rocks. There was now a visible crevice on the ground.
"Very good...Looks like things are heating up!" Dozer smirked as Gurdurr told Farfetch'd to bring it on. And that just provoked Farfetch'd, causing him to act on his own instinct as he charged forward.
"Farfetch'd!"
"Huh?! Wait, Farfetch'd! You can't just charge in carelessly!" Ash cried out but it was too late. Farfetch'd had already set his mind on one thing as he prepared Night Slash. All the while, that same Trainer and his Gallade watched from the cliffs.
"Just like Absol?" Rarity said.
"Just like Absol. Guess some Pokemon really like doing things their way when they weren't caught, huh?" Twilight laughed.
"Okay then...Night Slash!"
"Bring it! Focus Blast!"
"Durr!" The Muscular Pokemon growled before holding his hand out again, preparing for one more mental energy blast. This time, he moved his hand around, making sure to carefully aim at Farfetch'd while he was approaching.
"Fire!"
"Gur!" Finding the right moment, Gurdurr fired the blast of mental energy. But just as he found the right time, so did Farfetch'd. With a flash of his eye, the Wild Duck Pokemon ducked underneath the sphere, evading it. The sphere had hit a nearby rock instead.
"Farfetch'd!" After Gurdurr missed, Farfetch'd capitalized. In a burst of speed, he slashed past his fellow Fighting-Type. And with that one slash, Gurdurr felt an instant strike that resembled multiple hits. An explosion of darkness happened behind him, causing him to be knocked back.
"Gurdurr!" Gurdurr staggered, but he quickly recovered by maintaining his composure and momentum.
"Nice hit!" Applejack cheered.
"Sceptile!"
"Keep it up, Ash!" Pinkie Pie aggressively blew on a trumpet, while Audino and Axe continued waving the flag around.
"Gah...That really stung!" Dozer started sweating as he grumbled. Gurdurr landed on his feet afterwards. He then adjusted his beam, pointing it at Farfetch'd.
"Gur..."
"Far..." Farfetch'd also adjusted his leek, putting it behind his back. Then, the two Fighting-Types glared at each other as they had a moment of silence. In this moment of silence, they began pivoting their feet to the side, watching each other's movements.
They then started approaching each other slowly with their pivoting feet. Neither one had struck yet. They were waiting for that opportune moment. In a sense, the two of them were perfectly synchronized when it came to their thoughts.
"Alright, Farfetch'd! Let's end this and keep our streak going!"
"Gurdurr and I can't lose here! We've been itching to battle many strong trainers! So let's give it our all! Bulk Up, Gurdurr!"
"Gurdurr!" The Muscular Pokemon raised his beam as he started building up power and energy. An orange aura coated him as his already muscular body started bulking up with new muscles. His veins were also throbbing.
"We'll power up too with Focus Energy!"
"Far!" Farfetch'd also increased his own strength by jumping up and having orange streams spiral around him. The streams then enveloped his body, giving him a blazing aura as he rocketed back on the ground. Farfetch'd was stronger than ever ow with the aura fading.
Once more, there was total silence between them. The Two Fighting-Types gazed at each other for one last time. And with their staredown, both of their auras were starting to show, clashing against each other.
Farfetch'd had a furious red aura while Gurdurr had a bold blue aura. Like two claws clashing with each other, their aura streams went back and forth as their power was building up.
"Brutal Swing!" At the same time, both Ash and Dozer yelled, giving out commands to their partners.
"Farfetch'd!"
"Gurdurr!"
In unison, they both coated their weapons in a dark crimson aura, spinning them around with their own battle cries. They were now up in each other's faces, smashing their weapons and entering a clash. Once their weapons met, they looked each other in the eyes, trying to push through.
Once they separated from each other, a back and forth clash began. With heavy hits, the two of them started clashing their weapons. Farfetch'd did a swing in the air, sending it towards Gurdurr, only for it to be evaded with Gurdurr zipping to the side.
Farfetch'd then turned around, continuing his assault as he went for an overhead. Gurdurr evaded it once more by moving back.
"We're not even close to done! Keep swinging!" Ash roared.
"Far!"
"You seriously believe a steel beam can lose to a leek?! Send 'em flying, Gurdurr!"
"Gurdurr!" Gurdurr blocked Farfetch'ds incoming swing with his beam, pushing the Wild Duck Pokemon away. Farfetch'd slid on the ground before rushing back at Gurdurr.
The Galarian Farfetch'd went for another swing, only to be met by a second block. The tension was rising as Twilight and everyone had no idea who was going to win this at this rate.
"Gur!" With another pushback, Gurdurr raised his beam for his own overhead smash. Farfetch'd used his wings to fly back, evading the overhead. But not only did he evade the beam, when it hit the ground in a diagonal position, the Wild Duck Pokemon then landed on it.
"Far!"
"Push back, Farfetch'd!"
"Far...!" After landing on the leek, Farfetch'd then gained a higher height with a long build-up for his leek. He had more power building up as he and Gurdurr met with their weapons once more. Gurdurr seemed to be the more defensive type here with all of his blocks while Farfetch'd was all about attacking. They had their weapons against each other as they both growled, comparing each other's raw power.
"We're comparing strength? Sounds wonderful! I accept your challenge!" Dozer bellowed.
They were seeing who could push through with the sheer amount of raw strength that they could exhibit. Pinkie Pie bit her hoof while also chewing on the trumpet, worried about the outcome.
Everyone kept their eyes open without blinking, unsure of how this would turn out. Farfetch'd and Gurdurr kept pressing their weapons with Farfetch'd being the one to add more pressure. They were both showings signs of straining as their limbs were struggling.
"F-Farfetch'd...!"
"G-G-Gurdurr!"
And then, to everyone's shock, Gurdurr's steal beam started to crack.
"What?!" Dozer and all of them shouted. The day they could witness something as fragile as a leek deal damage to something as sturdy as a steel beam was mind-boggling. Dozer and everyone shot up after experiencing this sight.
"That can't be possible!" Starlight gasped.
"Far!" With one mighty yell and one final push, Farfecth'd did the impossible. He broke through the steel beam with just a leek. Gurdurr's main weapon shattered to pieces and as a result, Farfetch'd's large leek smashed into the Muscular Pokemon's head.
"G-Gur!" And with a crimson explosion from the energy of Brutal Swing, Gurdurr was sent back, crying out. And with that cry, he slid on the ground. He didn't even tumble on it.
The effects of Bulk Up had vanished after he fell, returning his muscles to normal. And that meant only one thing if Bulk Up had stopped.
Gurdurr had fainted.
"Gurdurr..."
"Gurdurr is unable to battle! Farfetch'd wins! As such the winner is Contestant Ash!" The Rotomdrone announced.
"Alright!" Ash let out a mighty cheer as Pikachu also cheered, hopping on his best friend's shoulder.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Yay!" Fluttershy showed all of her enthusiasm by flying up and flailing her hooves around while everyone else cheered and applauded Ash's victory. "He did it!"
"Farfetch'd you did it!" Ash ran over to his Pokemon who was breathing in and out. "That steel beam slice was amazing!"
"We went and lost..." Dozer sighed while helping Gurdurr up.
"Gurr..."
"Based on the results of this battle, the Pokemon World Championships rankings will be updated!" And thus, the Rotomdrone could take its leave now.
"It went up!" Ash looked at his ranking on his Rotomphone. He was now ranked 381st.
"381st? Marvellous, Ash!" Rarity nodded in approval.
"Your name was Ash, right?" Dozer suddenly spoke to the one who defeated him. "I suppose we still have a long way to go. We'll have to start training again, Gurdurr."
"Gur...Durr." Meanwhile, Gurdurr was holding two parts of his steel beam after it had been broken in half. His upset face showed that he wasn't happy about his main weapon being shattered.
"Here." But, Dozer had a solution to that problem as he took the beams away. "Don't look so down, Gurdurr. I'll make you a new steel beam. Until then, you can use this." As a substitute, Dozer had given his partner the giant pickaxe that he carried around on his back.
"Gurr!" But not too big for Gurdurr to carry despite the size difference. The Muscular Pokemon let out a happy smile after receiving the pickaxe. While it wasn't his steel beams, it would certainly suffice for an extra weapon as he swung it around excitedly.
"D-Does that look safe?" Starlight scrunched her face, worried about the future Pokemon that might have the misfortune of going up against such a weapon.
"Looks safe to me." Applejack nodded in response.
"Far." Just then, Farfetch'd swung his leek on the spot, kicking up some sand while looking at Gurdurr.
"Again?!" Rainbow Dash turned to face Farfetch'd.
"It's got a look that screams that it's hungry for more battle!" Dozer pointed out as Farfetch'd suddenly walked away when Ash got down to face him.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Ash went after Farfetch'd but was met with the leek being pointed at him, forcing Ash to stop right there. The Wild Duck Pokemon was once again heading for more practice.
"Kid. He's got the eyes of a real warrior! I can tell." said Dozer as they all faced him. "His resilience is quite alluring. It's a Pokemon well worth raising!"
"Gurdurr!"
"You think so too?" Dozer turned to Gurdurr as the Muscular Pokemon nodded in confirmation. After that battle, why wouldn't he see that warrior spirit of Farfetch'd?
"Aha, see?" Dozer chuckled.
"Yeah. Thanks, Dozer!" Ash gave his last words before running off to his partner.
"Wait, Ash!" Goh and the others exclaimed as they followed Ash along. Dozer and Gurdurr then gave their waves to Ash and his group, granting them their goodbyes.
"See ya, kid!"
"Gurdurr!"
Farfetch'd continued his training with another rock smashed yet again. Even after all of that, he persisted as he went to the next rock, practising his leek swings.
"Is he not tired after such a gruelling battle?" Rarity spoke.
"No, he's definitely tired." nodded Fluttershy. "But I guess he has a harder time showing it."
"But he's gotten closer to being a Leek Master," said Ash. "It sliced through a steel beam!"
"How does that even work with a leek..?" Starlight was still trying to figure out how something like that was even possible. But Twilight gave her response with a pat on the back, knowing that this was just the absurdity of Pokemon.
"You'll get used to it, Starlight."
As Farfetch'd kept swinging his leek, practising his handiwork, or wing-work in this case, he suddenly stopped his movements. His eye flashed, moving to the side as he had sensed someone approaching.
And someone did approach and afterwards. From high up, the same Gallade that was watching the battle hand descended to the ground, appearing before everyone else.
"Oh! A Gallade!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"A wild one? Alright, that's a free catch!" Goh took out his Poke Ball.
"I'm afraid that's my partner." But of course, he had been interrupted by the actual owner of Gallade. And that owner was the same person who had watched Ash and Dozer's battle from high up on a cliff. This Trainer jumped down from the cliff, landing right in front of everyone.
"You're rather inadequate." And with such a calm demeanour too as he spoke to Ash.
"Huh?"
"I was observing your battle." He replied, walking by Ash and the others. "Your Farfetch'd. It was rough and unrefined and didn't seem at all aware of its surroundings. But due to sheer power, it won despite its inadequacy."
"Ah!" Rarity scoffed. "Rude!"
"What do you mean?!" Rainbow Dash narrowed. "Farfetch'd did awesome in that battle and won!"
"Are you here to offer advice?" said Goh.
"Perhaps..." He then went up to Farfetch'd nonchalantly. "Even I don't know why I felt compelled to come and lecture you. I just couldn't let you be."
"Starlight. Don't." Twilight quickly stopped Starlight from enacting something hostile.
"Hi there, Farfetch'd. My name's Rinto." The Trainer revealed his name, kneeling to face the Wild Duck Pokemon. "I am this Gallade's Trainer. How would you like to battle us?"
Farfetch'd like the sound of that as he turned around to face Gallade. He also aimed his leek at the Blade Pokemon, accepting the challenge.
"You're up for it, Farfetch'd?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
He certainly was. Immediately, both Trainers and their Pokemon took their places, standing on opposite sides. This was a Pokemon World Championships match so no rankings would be affected by this point.
"Farfetch'd doesn't seem to understand that which is most essential," said Rinto.
"Most essential?" Ash repeated.
"Part of battling is learning what that is. Here we go, Gallade." Rinto was ready as he delivered a holding blade pose which Gallade mimicked.
"Gallade."
"Okay. Farfetch'd! Show them how strong you are! Let's go with Night Slash!"
"Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd went first, dragging his leek and surrounding it with light blue blades. He then jumped into the air, swinging the leek down.
But with one hit, Gallade had simply blocked the attack by keeping his hand in the same stance as Rinto's own hand. That block not only negated Farfetch'ds attack, but it also made the Wild Duck Pokemon hit the ground instead, suddenly rebounding him.
"F-Fetch'd!"
"How'd he do that?!" Spike leaned forward as Gallade didn't even move his hand for that.
"Far!" Farfetch'd persisted, however. He went for another swing to see if he could land a hit this time. But as he swung his second hit, Gallade simply moved to the side casually, not trying that much in all honesty.
Farfetch'd kept swinging as he went for another hit, only to be met by more evasions from Gallade. The Psychic-Fighting-Type had short-hopped, ducked, swayed or raised one leg to avoid every single hit, despite how fast Farfetch'd was moving.
"Keep it up until you find an opening, Farfetch'd!"
"Far! Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd kept swinging his leek, only for Gallade to evade them even more by moving his head when it was attacked. Eventually, Farfetch'd did find an opening.
He struck his leek one second before Gallade, finding that opening and potential hit he needed. However, even though he found it, Gallade reacted fast enough to put his hand up and block the hit. And with that block, he moved his hand forward, pushing his fellow Fighting-Type away.
"Far!"
"Brutal Swing!"
"Fetch'd!" Farfetch'd took a slight moment to breathe before moving back in there with his leek being coated dark red.
"Double Edge!" Rinto gave a command at last.
"Gallade!" One of Gallade's arm blades glowed light green and extended. As Farfetch'd swung the leek, Gallade found his own opening. With superior speed, the Blade Pokemon slashed Farfetch'ds chest, interrupting Brutal Swing.
The slash was so strong that not only did it knock Galarian Farfetch'd away, making him fall on his back, but it also left a visible red mark on his chest.
"Ah! Farfetch'd!"
"F-Far...!" Farfetch'd groaned as he flipped over. He hadn't fainted yet but that damage was potent. He was straining as he tried to reach his leek that had fallen out of his hold. He didn't want to quit here as Gallade retracted his blade.
Unfortunately, since he had such a gruelling battle with Dozer and Gurdurr earlier, he wasn't at full power. Thus, he couldn't reach his leek.
"It's over." Rinto declared.
"Farfetch'd!" Ash ran over, picking the Wild Duck Pokemon up and holding him. "Hang in there!"
"Your Farfetch'd holds massive potential. Shame about its inadequacy." Rinto spoke. "Should we ever meet again, I hope to see you battling in unison. Shall we go, Gallade?"
"Gallade."
"Tch." Applejack grizzled her teeth while Rinto and Gallade walked away. "Who does he think he is I should take that blade of his Gallade and-"
But before Applejack could go off the rails, Ash stood up with Farfetch'd, causing everyone to look at him. Even after that defeat, he kept a smile on his face as always.
Ash already knew what he needed to do.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. Afternoon.
"Okay! Let's do this!" Ash suddenly raised a leek in his hand as they had all returned to the Pokemon House.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu also did the same, holding a leek in his own hand.
"Huh? Leeks?" Twilight said.
"Far?"
"Farfetch'd! We won't let up! We'll definitely beat that guy the next time we meet, ya hear? Let's train together!" Ash was always showing his enthusiasm and drive to improve alongside his friends.
"But...why leeks?" Spike asked.
"Rinto said he wanted us to battle in unison. So if we train with leeks, maybe I'll understand Farfetch'd better." Ash gave his own explanation.
"I mean...That's how your logic works Ash." Twilight laughed nervously.
"His logic works all the time so why not?" Applejack shrugged.
"Aim to be a Leek Master!" Ash raised the leek.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Farfetch'd!" And Farfetch'd was definitely on board with this. He and Ash truly had something special that was about to bore fruit.
They have decided that they will meet the mysterious Trainer Rinto and his Gallade again. And of course, they'll be pumped to show them what they're capable of next time as the journey continues.
"I'm back..." Inside the castle, Luna had arrived, opening the doors as she met with her big sister.
"Welcome back, Luna. My, you look more tired than usual." Celestia spoke, observing her sister's current state.
"I've just finished my training for today..." Luna groaned. "Gligar has evolved into a Gliscor...and I caught myself a Sawk as well." She put her hoof on her face with her eyes being baggy. "Couldn't catch any Pokemon that appear in the night...Shame."
"Oh, that's...great. Um...Are you capable of guarding the night this time, Luna?"
"Maybe..." Luna lowered her head, yawning. "Darkrai will take over this time."
"RIght. Get some sleep immediately. Remember, soon, we'll be heading to Pegalyisum."
"I know, I know." Luna gave her response as she used her magic to teleport away, leaving this spot and immediately entering her room. And she positioned herself perfectly as well. Right above her bed.
And with the perfect position, she placed herself on her nice and comfy bed, already beginning to close her eyes as she would let everything within her rest up.
A smile graced her face as her head rested on the fluffy pillow that she loves to sleep on oh-so-much. She also used her magic to bring a blanket over for her. After some adjusting, she felt cosy and at peace at last. Everything was silent for her. Just as she liked it during a nightfall rest.
Darkrai would already take everything from here as he had entered the Dream World by his own will. Luna deserved the rest for being such a hardworking Pokemon Trainer after all.
However, there was someone who wouldn't allow Luna to have a full nights sleep. And it was herself. Or rather, a part of herself. Not Nightmare Moon.
But Lunar Ire.
2 hours had passed and she had appeared, ready to bother Luna as always with her negotiations of letting the Moon Princess accept her.
"Sleeping well?" The embodiment of Luna's sorrow and rage spoke, waking the Moon Princess up.
"You?" Luna's eyes opened. "What do you want now? I'm trying to rest here."
"I thought I would show myself one more time. It's been a while since we've met. After all, you never utilized me during the invasion."
"I didn't need to. I had my friends by my side so you were obsolete in the end."
"Maybe. But I can guarantee you won't think of me as pointless in future endeavours. That much is true. Especially with that Pegalyisum instance. Who knows what that will bring? Possibly something that will make you truly accept me?"
"Look. I am trying to catch some wonderful sleep by now. If anything you're just forcing me to deny you even further."
"Oh, you won't need to sleep, Luna. Observe." And with a flash of an eye, Lunar Ire had performed the unexpected. As her eye flashed a dark blue, that same colour surrounded Luna, pulsating her body.
Luna gasped as she felt a sudden shock go right through her. But it was not harmful. Quite the opposite really. As she sat up, Luna noticed that she wasn't as tired as she was before. She looked at her hooves, realizing that her energy was back in a flash.
"W-What is this...?" Luna gawked. "I don't feel as tired as I was before. I feel refreshed."
"That's just one of the many things I can perform. You won't have to run out of energy or ever feel tired if you accept me." Lunar Ire chuckled. "Natural body limits will be a thing of the past."
"That is...impressive. But it's not convincing enough!"
"Hmph. Whatever you say, princess. Until we meet again. Probably soon on Pegalysium." And just like that, Lunar Ire faded away, returning into Luna's spirit and soul once more.
Now that Luna was energetic and awake, she had the chance to do everything else during the night. She didn't expect this, that's for sure. Darkrai had just finished his work at the Dream World in just an hour.
Luna left her room, opening the door as she could see all of the Canterlot Guards roaming about. What she could do now during the night was up to her. And at this point, since Lunar Ire can just replenish her energy, there's no telling if she may do the same next time Luna rests at night.
"Luna. What happened to you sleeping?" Darkrai floated over.
"Change of plans. My energy's been replenished thanks to that Lunar Ire. What a drag...I suppose I could head out and try my hoof at catching some more Pokemon. Are you willing for a midnight escapade?"
"Why not? I've finished with the Dream World anyway." Darkrai was happy to help Luna in her adventures as he always does.
Slide mountains. Midnight
Another one of the many exclusive locations that had been formed from the Pokemon's existence changing the geography of the world itself.
As the name suggests, the appearance of this mountainscape had slides of all things. Slides and also slopes everywhere, personally built by some of the Rock-Type Pokemon living here. This area was enough to make even a children's slide look embarrassing. Mostly due to the heights of each grassy and rocky slide.
However, sliding down them would be unpleasant as they're less comfortable than a playground slide. Some of them even had water flowing down like a water slide. These were originally generated by Water-Type Pokemon and eventually, so much water covered them that it became natural.
Luna had arrived in the middle of the night to perform what she wanted to do before she became exhausted. Catch Pokemon that appear in the night. Rare Pokemon are said to appear at this time after all.
Luna looked at her Pokedex as she already found a selection of Pokemon she wanted to catch. Midnight Lycanroc, Clefairy Sableye, Quagsire and Banette. She then closed the Pokedex afterwards.
Granted, she didn't want to be out here tonight, but thanks to Lunar Ire, she could do nothing about it. It was like she could tackle the whole day and end up falling asleep in the morning. That is if Lunar Ire chooses to replenish her energy.
Luna arrived at a high hill in the mountains, looking over the ground below her to get a better view. She began searching for her wanted Pokemon, shifting her eyes everywhere.
Many Pokemon were asleep, while the nocturnal Pokemon roamed about. But the ones that Luna sought weren't present yet. She also looked up at the sky, thinking about what Lunar Ire said about Pegalysium. Despite her rejecting Lunar Ire, her embodiment of all her sorrow and rage had a point regarding Pegalysium as she thought about it.
"Especially with that Pegalyisum instance. Who knows what that will bring? Possibly something that will make you truly accept me?"
Thinking about that made Luna cautious as she knew that Pegalysium shielded itself away from Equestria for centuries. So whatever lies up there, Lunar Ire may make an appearance. But Luna didn't believe that. Lunar Ire never arrived during the invasion and she believed that nothing in Pegalysium could match the chaos of that event.
"Ridiculous. If anything happens, I'll have my Pokemon and friends by my side. Now, who should I seek first?" The Moon Princess scanned the area, using her magic to create light.
A light blue aura shined out of her horn as it was used in the same way a flashlight, torch or candle would be used for those who wish to see in the dark. She moved the light around, shining it on the dark landscape of these slides. For better clarity, she also started moving.
However, the moment she took her first step, her ears picked up on something nearby. Luna snapped her head to the side, focusing on the direction she heard the noise come from. From what she could hear, it sounded like screaming of some sort.
"What's that sound...? Is it the Nightmare Pokemon again?!" Luna gasped. The Nightmare Pokemon were still prominent in Equestria even after they had seemingly been stopped by catching Musharna. Except it wasn't the Nightmare Pokemon. However, in a sense, it could be considered a nightmare for the individual apart of it. Coming into view with Luna's eyes was the sight of six familiar individuals.
Four of them were Crystal Empire Guards. And two of them were Flash Sentry and the older Princess Flurry Heart from another world as they were all screaming while sliding on the sloped mountains.
Five of them were screaming in fear while the other was screaming in excitement, AKA Flurry Heart. The mountains had been met with water, making it safe to slide down on them.
"Woohooo!" Flurry Heart bellowed, raising her hooves.
"Flurry Heart? The Crystal Empire Guards? What is the...?" Luna was a bit confused about what was happening, especially with all the water showing up.
But more importantly, someone else was behind Flurry Heart and the others. And it was one of the Pokemon Luna was searching for.
Midnight Lycanroc.
The Midnight Form of Lycanroc seemed to be seething with rage as it was also sliding on the water, roaring at the six ponies behind it. "LYCANROC!"
"Why did you have to provoke it, Princess?!" Flash Sentry cried out as water got in his face.
"Sorry about that! It just looked so fluffy from behind!" Flurry Heart apologized. "But isn't this place fun?! It's even better with water!"
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." One of the Crystal Empire guards felt like passing out from these movements. The water seemed to be appearing from the horizon, continuing to fill the rest of the sloped mountains.
"If I could...!" Flash's words were interrupted with water hitting his face each time he rolled on the slope. He couldn't focus and use his wings either. "Just reach my Poke Ball!"
"Lycan!" Lycanroc was perfectly surfing on the water as it had then used Stone Edge, summoning multiple rocks around its body. The Wolf Pokemon then unleashed all of those rocks, hurling them at the six ponies.
"Oh my! GO! Frillish!" Luna called for her Frillish, throwing the Poke Ball to release him out.
"Frillish!" Frillish emerged as he knew what he needed to do.
"Save them and use Hydro Pump!"
"Lish!" The Floating Pokemon zoomed through the air with surprisingly great speeds. After being trained a lot with Luna, Frillish was certainly faster than he was before.
By moving through the air, the Water-Ghost-Type unleashed a stream of water from his mouth that had high volumes behind it. That stream moved so fast that it easily outpaced the stones from Stone Edge, obliterating them all before they could hit the six ponies.
"Lycan?!"
"Oh! Flurry Heart and the others turned around after seeing that stream of water arrive. Once their attention turned somewhere else, they saw Princess Luna standing by one of the sloped mountains. "Great auntie Luna!"
"You all! Come here!" With her great magical might, Luna had used her magic, outlining Flurry Heart and the others with it. She had brought them all over here by lifting them from the flowing water and sloped mountain.
She successfully brought them near her while keeping Lycanroc away. However, Lycanroc still had an urge to exact revenge on the six ponies. Mainly Flurry Heart.
"Lycanroc!" Since Lycanroc had perfect control over the water, the Wolf Pokemon lunged forward with Foul Play, coating its paws in darkness. "Ly!"
"Right where I want you! Frillish, Hydro Pump!"
"Frill!" After blowing the rocks away, Frillish then aimed Hydro Pump at the approaching Wolf Pokemon. By opening his mouth, a large stream came flying out.
"Lyca!" One hit and Lycanroc had been struck by the high volume blast of water. It was sent flying back, crashing and splashing on the same waves that it was surfing on. Now Lycanroc was the one losing control on the water slides.
"Great Ball, go!" Luna then took out a Great Ball from her saddlebag, aiming it at the Wolf Pokemon. She needed to be careful with her aim as Lycanroc was frantically moving down on the water slide.
She narrowed her eyes, following the Rock-Types spiralling movements as she then looked at the end of the slide. Luna believed that if she could throw the ball at the very end at the right moment, it should hit Lycanroc. She just had to find the right timing.
"Lycan!" However, Lycanroc managed to recover its balance before everyone's eyes, performing a stylish flip in the process. It then started surfing on the water again. "Lycanroc!" After recovering, a second Stone Edge was in store. The Wolf Pokemon summoned multiple rocks before throwing them.
"Oh! Luna gasped as she put up a shield around everyone including Frillish was in the front. The shield was put up at the right time as the stones from Stone Edge were promptly blocked from Luna's quick thinking.
"Canroc!" Lycanroc growled as it suddenly jumped away from the sloped stream of water and the slides overall. It had left Luna's point of view, jumping to the lower levels of this mountainscape and escaping.
"Ah!" Luna lowered her shield as she saw that Lycanroc was now gone. "Drat...Got away. Thank you for the help, Frillish. Return." She let out a sigh as she recalled Frillish back to his Poke Ball.
"Gee, what a rush!" Flurry Heart giggled. "That was fun, right?! Wonder what other Pokemon exclusive locations there are?"
"Can you slow down, princess?" Flash and the guards sighed as they breathed in and out. Flash shook his head, removing all the water from his mane, face and body.
"You all. What exactly are you doing here at night? In a place as frantic as this no less." Luna asked.
"Oh. Well, I wanted to explore more of the Pokemon World and all the super special locations here in Equestria." Flurry Heart answered.
"And we were tasked with protecting her under Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armor's order." Flash further explained. "We've been out here for hours now. And just recently, we had that little Lycanroc issue."
"Yeah, that was my bad." The young alicorn gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that. But what are you doing here, great auntie?"
"I'm just searching for Pokemon to catch for the night. That Midnight Form Lycanroc was one of them. But now it's not within my sights anymore...yet."
"Oh, Pokemon catching? I wanna see that. I hear you're an amazing Pokemon Trainer, great auntie. "Like...one of the best in that Equestria League I think it's called."
"Well, I am a fairly skilled Trainer." Luna gave a proud grin while raising her chest and head. "Ranked Number Three Strongest Trainer in Equestria as of now. And soon, I'll emerge as the first Pokemon Champion in Equestria when I succeed in the league."
"Oooh..." Flurry Heart's interest was starting to increase. Every second, she's learning more about Pokemon in different varieties, roles and occupations. "Now I wanna see that!Oh! Can you show me how a powerful trainer really battles?"
"I'd be glad to. If you wish to become a Pokemon Trainer, then it's best to watch from a professional, Flurry Heart. Flash Sentry."
"Hm? Y-Yes, Princess Luna!" Flash stood up tall, saluting.
"Assist me in showing Flurry Heart a fantastic battle, wouldn't you? I also need to catch myself some Pokemon afterwards, so let us make it quick.
"Yes, princess!" He gave another command. He then let out a sigh of relief as he thought to himself for a moment. "Phew...thought I would have to go up against that Giratina Pokemon for the first time. Dodged a meteor there."
To show Flurry Heart what Luna was capable of, both Luna and Flash Sentry went on opposite sides of the ground. They chose the wider part of the field, just to make sure no Pokemon were caught up in the upcoming battle.
"Observe, Flurry Heart. If you want to be a great Pokemon Trainer, learning from the best is a splendid starting place in all honesty." Luna spoke.
"Got it! I can't wait! Good luck, great auntie! Oh, you too, Flash!"
"Be wary, Flash Sentry. I shall not hold back. I feel refreshed even though I was supposed to rest tonight. So you'll be facing me at my best."
"Uh...Y-Yes ma'am." Flash nodded as he could already feel the intimidating aura coming from Princess Luna. It was certainly making her tense and wary. At this rate, he might prefer going up against Flurry Heart and her Giratina instead.
"Now bring forth your Pokemon! I know who I shall choose!" Luna held out her Poke Ball with her magic, throwing it. "Come out, Gliscor!"
"Gliscor!"
"Okay. I guess I'll go with...Pidgeot then!" Flash chose his Pidgeot for this, launching the ball by using his wings to throw it. Out came the Bird Pokemon.
"Pidgeot!"
"Observe! This is how Pokemon Battles are meant to be played out! Gliscor! This is your time to shine in your new evolved form! Use Poison Jab!"
"Gli!" Gliscor went first. By covering his claws in poison, he dashed towards his fellow Flying-Type, holding both claws out.
"Pidgeot!
"Quick Attack, Pidgeot!"
"Geot!" But despite Gliscor having the first movement, Pidgeot was the one who attacked first as he moved at blitzing speeds. With his lightning-fast movements, he slashed his wing onto Gliscor first before the Ground-Flying-Type could pull off an attack.
"S-Scor!" Gliscor cried out after that swift surprise attack. But he also recovered swiftly. The Fang Scorp Pokemon immediately returned the favour to Pidgeot in just a second by smashing both his pincers onto Pidgeot's stomach with Poison Jab. "Gli!"
"G-Geot!" Pidgeot also cried out as he was knocked back by the double hits of poison. Thankfully, he hadn't been poisoned yet.
"Now, follow up with Acrobatics!"
"Gliscor!" Gliscor then continued his attack by also moving at nimble speeds equal to Quick Attack.
"Use Quick Attack again!"
"Pidgeo!" Pidgeot spun around in the air, quickly recovering with his wings as he once more moved at lightning speeds. Soon, he and Gliscor were both moving swiftly through the air.
The two Flying-Types then butted heads with their attacks, meeting eyes for a split-second They then separated from each other before ascending. Soon, they became white trails in the sky, hitting each other with head collisions with their fastest attacks.
"Ohohoho!" Flurry Heart liked what she was seeing with this aerial battle. Eventually, they reached an impasse with neither being able to win this head-to-head speed clash.
"Twister!"
"Pidgeot!" Next, the Bird Pokemon gave Gliscor a huge attack in the form of a draconic twister. By spinning his body around, forming a purple tornado filled with the power of a dragon.
"Make your own with Sky Uppercut!"
"Scor!" To match Pidgeot's Twister, Gliscor would make his own spiral of wind. The Fang Scorp Pokemon lit his claws with an orange energy as he used the force of Sky Uppercut, spinning it around.
With that spin, he formed an orange hurricane meant to counter Pidgeot's Twister. The two forms of wind then clashed against each other, creating a struggle between them as they picked up pebbles from their pressures.
"Amazing!" Flurry Heart flapped her wings. "Flying-Type battles are the best!"
The two hurricanes created a fissure as they seemed equal in strength. They cancelled each other out afterwards, causing a wind pressure that blew both Flying-Types back.
"Gli!"
"Pidge!"
"Use Heat Wave!"
"Pidgeot!" Pidgeot then heated his wings, flapping them ferociously. By flapping them, he sent a scorching and explosive wave of flames.
"Dodge and use Thunder Fang!"
"Gliscor!" Gliscor soared through the air, causing sparks of electricity to form around his teeth. He then flew above the wave of flames, avoiding them before diving downwards.
"Pidge?" Pidgeot looked up as Gliscor moved in with his fangs baring and mouth wide open. The Fang Scorp Pokemon then bit onto Pidgeot's wing, digging deep. And the sparks of electricity burst out once it connected. "P-Pidgeot!"
"Excellent!" Luna cheered.
"Gotcha..." Flash suddenly grinned. "Heat your wings with Heat Wave!"
"Dgeot!" In a twist, Pidgeot continued to use Heat Wave. But instead of flapping his wings to fire it, he allowed the heat to flow through his stationary wings. And once they flowed through, Gliscor's fangs felt a scorching sting.
"G-Gliscor!" Gliscor wailed as his teeth felt powerful flames burn them, forcing the Ground-Flying-Type to back away. "G-Gli! Gliscor!" Gliscor whimpered as his teeth were smoking.
"Twister!"
"Pidgeot!" And following up from Heat Wave, Pidgeot flapped his wings, sending the draconic tornado towards a whimpering Gliscor.
"Gliscor, dodge with Acrobatics!"
"G-Gli?" But it was too late. Due to Heat Wave really messing up his teeth, he couldn't evade the attack in time. Thus, he had been caught up in the spiral of draconic wind. "Gliscor!" Gliscor spun around in the twister as he was being battered by dark purple sparkles. Afterwards, the Twister faded away as Gliscor hurled through the air.
"Now, Quick Attack!"
"Pidgeot!" Following up afterwards, Pidgeot zoomed in at lightning speeds, slamming into Gliscor right after he hurled through the air from Twister.
"Is he actually going to defeat Princess Luna?!" The Crystal Empire guards gasped.
"I think not! Sky Uppercut!"
"Scor!" Gliscor's eyes flashed open as recovered from his spinning. The Fang Scorp Pokemon crossed his claws together, coating them in that same orange light.
"Heat Wave!"
"Geot!" As for Pidgeot, he flapped his wings, sending another scorching wave of flames. Gliscor narrowed his eyes as he zipped to the side, evading the waves. But the Bird Pokemon quickly turned his body, flapping his wings towards the Ground-Flying-Type.
Gliscor continued to evade the wave of flames by flying around Pidgeot. Pidgeot made the flames chase the Fang Scorp Pokemon down as they were now moving in a circle.
"Gliscor!" Gliscor then found an opening as he flew over Pidgeot and Heat Wave. Right when the heat was about to finally catch him. Once he evaded it, the Fang Scorp Pokemon dived down, smashing both his claws on Pidgeot's head. "Gli!"
"P-Pidge!" And a potent hit it was. So potent that it rocketed Pidgeot down to the ground. The Bird Pokemon crashed, startling Flurry Heart. Smoke emerged after the crash, and within that smoke was the downed body of Pidgeot. He had fainted.
"Pidgeot..."
"That's that. Phew..."Luna sighed as that battle was a bit closer than she expected. "Thank you, Gliscor. Come back."
"Gli." Gliscor stuck his tongue out before being pulled back into his Poke Ball.
"Good work, Pidgeot. Come back." Flash thanked his partner for a good battle, also recalling him.
"Aww...Flash lost. But that was incredible!" Flurry Heart laughed out of excitement. "Air battles are pretty nice to look at as well! You both did really good!"
"Now you've seen a Pokemon Battle at a high skill level." Luna nodded. "You can certainly expect more of this in the future. Especially when the Equestria League officially begins. Have you learned something?"
"I sure have! Oh....this makes me wanna battle in my own way too! Wanna?!" She held out the Ultra Ball as everyone shuddered and gulped. They knew that Giratina was lying within that ball and no one was willing to take the chance to take on such a beast. Not even Luna. At least not yet.
"Um...Perhaps another time." Luna cleared her throat. "Right now, I need to focus on the Pokemon I came here to catch. Midnight Lycanroc was one of them. These are the rest." She then took out her Pokedex, showing them the Pokemon of her choice.
"Hm..." Flash examined the list of Pokemon in front of his and everyone's eyes.
"I have plans for these Pokemon when I eventually end up catching them. If I can catch at least two or three of these for the night, then I shall be satisfied. Will you all assist me in this goal?"
"Yes, princess!" The Crystal Empire guards saluted.
"Hm...I think I know of a way to lure them out!" Flurry Heart shouted, raising her hoof as she had an idea of her own for Luna's goal.
Approximately 2 minutes later.
"Ta-dah!" Flurry Heart had placed down an assortment of what seemed to be Pokemon Food. All of which were on plates lined up in a perfect line that would make gourmet chefs and bakers proud. "This'll work!"
"Pokemon Food. A smart idea, Flurry Heart." Luna nodded.
"Isn't it? I learned how to cook in my own free time. Auntie never taught me and mom and dad weren't there to help so I picked up this skill myself. And learning how to make Pokemon Food was easy stuff. Way easier than it looks."
"Yeah...Kinda making me hungry too..." Flash held his mouth open with the other Crystal Empire Guards.
"Oh, you want some? Sure go ahead." Flurry Heart would be happy to gift them some food as she used her magic to grab some of them. "Open wide!"
"I'm not a baby, pr-" Flash spoke but Flurry Heart instantly sent the food into his mouth the second it had opened. The other guards had the Pokemon Food enter their mouths which were still agape. Afterwards, they took a bite out of the Pokemon Food, chewing on it.
"Mmm!" And they certainly enjoyed it.
The first taste anyway. The aftertaste was where things spiralled downwards. Their mouths opened up as they immediately coughed, having a distaste for the food. "Gagh!"
"Ooh. Was it too much?"
"Pokemon Food is only meant for Pokemon, dear." Luna sighed, putting her hoof on the young alicorn's back. "Curry is for everyone."
"Oh...hehe. Whoopsie." She let out her signature sheepish grin. "Oh, Flash. Could you fly up and do an aerial lookout for me, please?"
"I'm on it." Flash saluted as he took the skies. Now he would observe everything from above and give the call for when the Pokemon of Luna's choice were within his sights.
"I shall get into position." Luna zoomed off, taking out some of her Poke Balls, ready for an instant catch or battle. She hid behind a nearby hill.
"Ahem! Now" Flurry Heart cleared her throat before reaching into her bag, pulling something else out. "Now for the secret ingredient that'll get them here. I heard this stuff is great for attracting Pokemon."
Out of her bag, she pulled out a bottle that did not have a name tag on it. But it had a pink liquid inside. After holding this bottle up, Flurry Heart immediately poured it on the rows of food, laminating them with its pink appearance.
"That pink bottle. That's a Sweet Scent, isn't it?!" Luna asked from afar.
"Oh yeah. I bought it two days ago." She nodded, looking at the bottle. "Apparently I got the Sweet Scent Ultra."
"Sweet Scent Ultra?" Luna scratched her mane after hearing that. And that's when her eyes widened, quickly realizing what this meant. She recalled the incident that happened during the Pokemon Festival.
The infamous incident that caused all of the Pokemon in the Crystal Empire to draw themselves towards Ash, sticking to him like glue and refusing to leave his side. That was via the Sweet Scent Supreme. The strongest Sweet Scent. But there was no telling how potent this one could be.
And soon, everyone would find out as they all felt rumbling on the ground. Flurry Heart, Luna and the guards bounced off the ground from this trembling as Flury Heart then used her magic to pick the food up.
"This'll work! The scent's already passed through the air! Come and get it!"
"Flurry Heart, no! You'll attract-" Luna tried to stop Flurry Heart but it was too late. Arriving from both sides. Front, left, right and back were the Pokemon Slide Mountains. The moment the scent went into the air, every Pokemon had been alerted. Even the ones that were awake.
Immediately, they could already be seen approaching from the horizon while some were sliding down on the sloped mountains or even approaching from the skies.
"Oh my..." And Flash was in line for the airborne Pokemon, making him gulp.
"Oops." Flurry Heart bit her hoof. "Maybe it was too much?"
"Not good. Everypony move!" Luna cried out as she jumped out of the way with an incoming Hippodown charging through the hill she hid behind. She just narrowly escaped it.
"Hippowdon!"
"Uh oh!" Flurry Heart gasped as she and the Canterlot Guards immediately moved away from the approaching Pokemon. But they were blocked from all sides considered both land and air Pokemon were approaching. And speaking of Pokemon in the air, Flash was currently trying to avoid the Flying-Type Pokemon and the Pokemon that can fly naturally without needing to be a Flying-Type.
Unfortunately, since there were so many of them, he had been flooded by. "Ow-Ow!" He cried out as he was swarmed by the Pokemon. They dragged him down as they were all going after the food.
Naturally, that would be a good thing because then their attention would be focused on something else. Unfortunately, since there were so many of them, casualties could be made. Especially with Pokemon like Hippowdon who is huge. Luna and Flurry Heart were both the first to see this potential disaster.
"I think not! Darkrai, grab them all with the shadows!"
Emerging from the darkness was the Master of Shadows himself. Once Darkrai emerged, he manipulated the shadows themselves, creating claws that were made to grab any incoming Pokemon. And they worked effectively. The claws grabbed some of the Pokemon their feet and even extended to hold the Pokemon in the air.
Flash had tumbled on the ground after being dragged down by the Flying-Types, but thankfully, Flurry Heart saved him by catching the pegasus. And after catching him, she and the Canterlot Guards stayed back.
"Hm?" Darkrai noticed more Pokemon approaching from the side, going for the good. He had promptly stopped the first batch of Pokemon with the shadows as the next batch were behind Luna, approaching at great speeds. "Luna behind you!"
"Oh!" Luna gasped after hearing Darkrai's warning. For protection, Luna had put up a shield of magic to defend herself from the approaching Pokemon. The Pokemon had charged through the shield, shattering it with their overwhelming numbers and strength.
As such, Luna had been knocked away after the hordes of Pokemon broke through her shield. Darkrai gasped, flying over as he caught his Trainer safely with his claws.
"G-Get that food out of here immediately!" Luna ordered as the food was the massive form of bait. "Make sure no Pokemon harm themselves!"
The Canterlot Guards stood in front of Flurry Heart to defend her. But there was no way that they were going to block the Pokemon when they were charging.
"I'll get the food out of here!" Flurry Heart exclaimed. She rushed over to the food but was almost met with a Dugtrio erupting from the ground. She was almost hit by the emerging Dugtrio if Flash Sentry didn't pull her away. "Woah!"
"I gotcha, princess!" Flash cried out as more Dugtrio popped out, appearing in front of the food. The Dugtrio got the first bite as they created large holes in the ground to bring the food towards their territory.
But the Pokemon weren't having any of that. After seeing the Dugtrio build the holes, they knew what they were up to. The Pokemon wanted the food for themselves.
"Mandibuzz!" A flock of Mandibuzz cawed as they each used Air Slash towards the Dugtrio. The cutting waves of wind struck the ground, scaring the Dugtrio away as it also made the plates of food fly up as well.
"Shroomish!" Some Shroomish used Seed Bomb, shooting explosive seeds from their mouths at any Pokemon that approached the food. The explosion of the Grass-Type attack only further moved the plates food. The Pokemon were practically addicted to this scent now.
"They've gone mad for it," Darkrai said. "They won't stop until either one of them or a group obtains it."
"I'm sorry! Flurry Heart apologized. "I didn't know the Sweet Scent stuff was that strong!"
"Do not worry!" Luna replied. "We just have to focus on stopping this feud over the food at once. Do you still have more of that bottle with you?"
"Uh...All I have is this one that says, Sweet Scent Frantic." Flurry Heart took out another bottle from her bag "I don't know what they all mean, I just bought them because I thought they looked cute!"
"No idea what a Sweet Scent Frantic is but it shall do. Pour it on the Pokemon!"
"Okay!" The young alicorn nodded as she flew into the air, ready to pour it on all of the Pokemon from above. But she would have to get past the Pokemon moves that flooded their area.
Luckily, Flash Sentry was there to help. He also flew up while sending his Pidgeot out for assistance. "Pidgeot!"
"Pidgeot, Twister!"
"Geot!" The Bird Pokemon would create a way for Flurry Heart to succeed in pouring the liquid over at least some of the Pokemon. A large draconic twister came out of his wings as he flapped them. The Pokemon turned around, witnessing a purple tornado coming their way.
Some Pokemon were unable to stop this as they had been dragged into the Twister, crying out. Some Pokemon moves were even destroyed among the attack.
"Darkrai! Dark Void!" Luna ordered as she flew up. The Pitch Black Pokemon made an orb of darkness in his hand as he held it out. Out of that orb, multiple small spheres came flying out with the intent to put everyone to sleep.
The Pokemon caught in the Twister had been struck by the orb, immediately falling under a status of sleep as they closed their eyes. Even Pokemon that weren't inside the Twister had been hit by the Dark Void. Darkrai successfully put most of them to sleep. But more were coming for the food.
Flash helped Flurry Heart through the sea of Pokemon while also avoiding the Pokemon that arrived from the slides. Pidgeot helped clear the way by being in front of Flurry Heart and Flash Sentry.
"That should be close enough!" Flurry Heart cried out as she found the right moment. The young alicorn used her magic to grab all of the food, bringing it towards her.
Once she did that, all of the attention was now on her. The Pokemon immediately changed directions, dashing, soaring and crawling towards the young alicorn.
"Heat Wave!"
"Pidgeot!" Pidgeot became their shield as he flapped his wings generating a wave of flames that acted like a firewall. Some Pokemon had been knocked back by this heat, including the Midnight Lycanroc from before.
"Ly!"
"Aha!" Luna took the quick opportunity to grab Lycanroc as she threw a Dusk Ball at the Wolf Pokemon. Amidst this chaos, Lycanroc had been struck by the Dusk Ball as it pulled it in. Once it landed on the ground safely, the shaking could begin.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Lycanroc was caught.
"Here goes!" Flurry Heart then flew all over the Pokemon, opening the bottle and dropping the liquid. Pink liquid started flowing out as they had landed on the heads or faces of the Pokemon that were caught in it.
And once that happened, that's when the magic could happen. In an instant, the Pokemon had suddenly stopped what they were doing. It was like time stood still. The moment the Sweet Scent Frantic landed on them, they paused as their facial expressions shifted.
And just like that, the Pokemon suddenly scattered away with either faces of disgust or faces of joy. By scattering away, they went their separate ways as the scent coming from the food had been ignored. They were no longer pursuing it.
"They're all leaving...W-What's up with that bottle? What does Sweet Scent Frantic do?"
"Uh..." Flurry Heart looked at the bottle as she flipped it over. She then noticed something written at the bottom of it as it read this.
"Scents will vary between sweet or pungent or both."
"Guess we know why it's called Frantic then, huh?" The young alicorn grinned as everyone sighed, glad that potential disaster was over.
After that, they could all rest. The Pokemon food had been eaten by Pidgeot and some of Luna's Pokemon instead since they couldn't let it go to waste. Luna had now successfully caught herself a Midnight Lycanroc but there was no sign of the other nocturnal Pokemon she wanted.
"Sorry that I caused all of this, everyone. I didn't know those things were so strong."
"I wouldn't blame you, Flurry Heart. That was your first experience with Sweet Scent. It truly is a powerful substance and I shudder to imagine what other varieties exist out there. "Luna shuddered.
"But still...that was a bunch of fun! I could really feel the adrenaline! This has been the best night ever!" She raised her hooves. "Right?!"
"Well...it was something." Flash nodded along with the guards.
"We should do this more often! Get into problems that are super exciting and solve them, huh?" She had a wide grin on her face.
"Uh...p-perhaps not starting it ourselves..." Luna suggested as Flurry Heart let out a sheepish laugh. After that, they all chose to stay together and spend the night away. They had some energy to burn under the moonlight sky.
Home of Daybreaker. The pony that was once Princess Celestia. She had currently entered her chambers where most of her army worked for better military purposes. Here, she came across a certain object that would prove to be of great use.
"How is it coming along?" Daybreaker asked.
"Excellent, your greatness." The engineer responded. "Just 6 weeks and it will be complete without fail."
"That's what I like to see and hear. Good. I'm itching to use this. Our greatest weapon by far. The Supernova!" She raised her hoof, staring at the weapon before her eyes. This weapon's identity was hidden behind a cloth but it was safe to say it was massive.
Roughly around the same size as Eternatus. Possibly even larger than that if its true appearance was revealed and it when it would be finally finished. This weapon gave Daybreaker high hopes. Whatever was behind that cloth was something that could most definitely cause mass destruction. And the fire in Daybreaker's eyes confirmed that.
"Keep working on it and add some neat and dandy improvements if you want. As for me, I shall be a bit occupied at the moment. That Universe One is still my top priority."
"Yes!"
"Just watch Twilight. I'll show you how it's done."
Canterlot. Day.
"So we also get to come along to Pegalyisum, right?" Right now, the older Flurry Heart from another world was in Canterlot, arriving here for a playdate with Premium Polish as great friends.
"Well...Not sure if your parents would agree with that. We don't know the risk of that place after all." Celestia replied.
"Aw..." The young alicorn pouted, sitting down.
"But, maybe they'll accept it?" Celestia gave her the bright side of this. with a shrug and a grin.
"So can I go?!" Premium Polish asked with a beaming smile.
"You are most definitely not going, young one." Luna shook her head. "A foal like you will be potentially put under high risk if you set hoof there."
"Mmm..." Premium Polish also pouted as she and Flurry Heart were in unison.
"Hmph. Too bad." Adagio chuckled as she walked over. "I, however, am heading there with everyone else. Better luck next time, kids."
"So when are you gonna go there, then?" Flurry Heart questioned.
"Glad you asked. We're already preparing to head to Pegalysium today." Celestia announced.
"Today?!" The two young ponies exclaimed.
"We already have everything prepared," Luna revealed the bags of necessary items they would need for their arrival to Pegalyisum. Just in case. "Our trip there will be short, most likely. Depending on how it all plays out."
"Give us at least...2 or 3 hours and we shall make our return." Celestia theorized the time they could spend there. "In the meantime, you can have your play date while our parents take care of you."
"There's a lot we can do in that time. How about visiting Las Pegasus quickly? Can we do that?" Flurry Heart asked.
"My father will definitely keep an eye on you at a place like Las Pegasus. So, go ahead." Celesia allowed it. "When we return, we'll still be busy. Discussions about our Universal Alliance and other universes are to be made."
"Oh. I hope no one bad from another universe comes over suddenly." Premium shuddered. "That wouldn't be good."
"There won't be any surprise attacks. But I am pretty scared if someone from auntie's side shows up. Especially Daybreaker..." Flurry Heart also gave her own shudder with a gulp.
"Wouldn't Empress Twilight be scarier?" Premium asked the young alicorn.
"Well yeah...Auntie's scary. But not as scary as Daybreaker."
"I certainly didn't see her during the invasion at all. Plus, she seems to be just a mimic of Nightmare Moon, isn't she?" Luna scoffed, not thinking too much of Daybreaker. "DI don't see her holding many worlds as her own."
"Well, the truth is...auntie wouldn't have managed to conquer a bunch of other universes if it wasn't for Daybreaker. Even before that Ghetsis person showed up."
"I...beg your pardon?" Celestia, Luna and Adagio's attentions had been caught after Flurry Heart's reveal. "What do you mean by that?"
"You see, Daybreaker's the one who helped auntie succeed and get to where she is right now. Auntie only takes charge of everything because the whole alliance was her idea. Daybreaker doesn't have as much magic but she's still so terrifying. I don't wanna even think about her right now."
"W-Well..." Celestia and Luna looked at each other hearing Flurry Heart's words about Daybreaker. Perhaps, Empress Twilight was just the warmup of something worse to come. "G-G-Good to know. Again...our parents will keep you safe. We should be going now by the way."
"Okay! Good luck! Oh, bring us some sky souvenirs!" Flurry Heart exclaimed.
"Oooh, sky souvenirs! That sounds fun! Are those real?!" The little unicorn squeed as Celestia, Luna and Adagio were taking their leave. They had the whole castle to themselves now. Aside from Sunlight and Eventide filling in as their foalsitters and caretakers.
Speaking of Sunlight and Eventide, they were already present here. But as Celestia and Luna were leaving, Adagio went over to the two alicorns to speak to them for a moment. She would catch up with Celesia and Luna soon.
"Oh, Adagio. Excited to head to a brand new land? One in the sky nonetheless!" Sunlight grinned.
"Uh sure...I guess it's gonna be kinda exciting." Adagio shrugged. "But that's not the point. I need a request from both of you."
"What will it be?" Eventide asked.
"The Magic Siphoning Jar. May I have it?"
"Hm? Ah." Eventide raised an eyebrow before instantly realizing Adagio's question. "Cautious as ever, are you, Adagio Dazzle?"
"Of course. If that whole Pegalysium location strayed away from Equestria years ago and all of a sudden they just now want to talk to us after they spotted the first non-alicorn is pretty strange for a bunch of ponies who don't want anything to do with Equestria. Smells like trouble's coming this way. I should know. I'm pretty good at it."
"Well..." Sunlight twirled her mane. "I can understand your worries but, Celestia-"
"I know what she said." Adagio then interrupted. "But I can't be too careless. After how Celestia helped me these past months and even accepted me, I can't allow anything horrible to happen to her by any means. So please. May I have the jar?"
Sunlight and Eventide looked at each other than right at Adagio. They could see the sincerity and fiery drive in her eyes. Adagio meant this. The only things in life she would ever put before her is the safety of her sisters Aria and Sonata. The second would be her own singing voice. But now, she had something else she wanted to protect. Princess Celestia.
The two alicorns thought for a moment, also having the same ideas Adagio was having. She could be right. All of this seemed too sudden for the Sky Monarch to want a meeting with Celestia right as she had been discovered. And they loved their daughter to the core as well, wanting to keep her safe from harm's way. So, they decided by nodding together.
"Very well. We'll give you the jar." Eventide answered as a smile graced Adagio's face. "Just...do not go overboard with it and only use it when it counts or Celestia is certainly in danger."
"Trust me, I will." Adagio gave a reassuring and promising nod, having new words and a promise to stick by.
And of course, Ash and Goh were raring to go along as well. They already had everything packed, pumped to the core along with their Pokemon.
"Oh yeah! a trip to the sky!" Ash pointed in the air. "You psyched as I am, Pikachu?"
"Pika-Pika!"
"There might not be any Pokemon up there...but it sounds like a blast to visit anyway!" Goh's eyes flared with excitement.
"Ash. Goh. If you could do me a favour, could you send me records of Pegalysium? I'd like to know more about it myself." Professor Cerise asked.
"Hm? Ah, sure-sure." Goh nodded. "But uh...if they've been hiding from us a bunch, won't bring over records kinda bug them?"
"Just tell me what you discovered, that'll be safer," Cerise suggested.
"Being that high up must be dangerous, don't you think?" Chloe spoke. "The clouds in Equestria were made specifically for pegasi and alicorns to walk on without falling through them, right?"
"Yeah. But we've got the Pokemon to help us with that." Ash nodded as he and Goh referred to their Flying-Types. Or at least, the Pokemon that can levitate or have some form of flying.
"Vee! Eevee!" Eevee tried mimicking the movements of a pegasus by flapping her paws around, attempting to fly. But she couldn't because of obvious reasons.
"Sounds like an adventure waiting to be discovered. Right, Chloe?" Cerise said to his daughter.
"Yeah..." Chloe was actually curious about Pegalysium. Since she was on summer vacation, she had all the free time in the world right now. And with that free time comes opportunities. "Hey, dad! Y-You wouldn't mind if I went there?"
"Go ahead. You'll have Ash, Goh and every one by your side. It would've been worse if it was just you alone." Cerise laughed, allowing his daughter to go on this adventure.
"Oh! Thanks, dad! Are you excited about this, Eevee?"
"Eevee!"
"Alright! Let's go!" Ash pumped his fist in the air, immediately rushing out for a new adventure.
"Pikachu!"
Out in the fields. The same fields where Celestia found Pegalysium.
Gathering here were Ash, Celestia, Twilight and everyone else. No children were a part of this group. Unless you were to count Scorbunny and Chikorita. Everyone was ready to head up there, probably not for a long time.
After all, Celestia was just going to have a meeting with the Sky Monarch so their trip will be short. But a possible adventure was staring them in the face.
"Glad we've all made it here," Celestia spoke to Ash and the others. "Now, getting up there is no easy task with all of us combined. That is why I've personally asked Fluttershy to help us with this roadblock."
"Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash and the others turned to Fluttershy. "Wait, can you do something that can get us super high?"
"Oh no, not me. But Team Rocket can." Fluttershy gave her response, aiming her hoof and pointing behind her. Soon, over in the distance, everyone had witnessed something familiar and gigantic approaching. Breaking through the clouds and causing a loud noise by moving through the wind pressures was a giant ship.
Not just any ship. Team Rocket's ship after they claimed it during the invasion. That giant R was also prominent as always as the sound of Jessie laughing could be heard from above.
"Team Rocket?!" Ash and the others said.
"Morning twerps and twerpettes!" Jessie whistled with her voice echoing via the ship's speakers. "We'll be your personal envoy for now."
"So get on already," Meowth spoke through the speaker. As the ship had arrived, the lower door had opened, revealing the stairs to them all.
"Passion and I will head up there ourselves. The same way we did before." Celestia took out her Mega Stone, revealing that she would enter Celestial-Gardevoir for her own travel. "And remember. Do not cause any trouble up there. Avoid it if you can. The Sky Monarchy and I will just have a discussion. It shall be Luna and I having this discussion both."
"We'll stay silent, no problem." Ash gave a reassuring grin as they all walked over to the Team Rocket Ship.
"Pikachu."
"Mhm. You don't have to worry about a thing, princess." Rainbow Dash waved as they had each entered, walking up the stairs. The hatch then closed with the only ones standing outside being Celestia and Passion.
Once the door closed and everyone was inside, Celestia and Passion had already begun the process of Mega Evolution and their bonding. The red and golden lights flew out, covering the two of them as Celestia's body transformed into golden sparkles. Afterwards, a flash of light emerged on the ground, blowing away the pebbles as Celestial-Gardevoir had emerged.
In all of her radiance.
After arriving, Celestial-Gardevoir looked to the skies as she started flying, leaving a shockwave from her takeoff. Everyone on the ship would have to follow her since she was the one who found the way towards Pegalysium. James was at the helm of the ship, taking control. Only he had the expert flying skills to guide everyone through the skies.
The ship's engines could be heard as the flames from the fuel exuded out of the boosters from the back. Afterwards, James kicked the ship into fairly high gear, instantly pursuing the Alicorn-Pokemon-Fusion. Next stop, Pegalysium.
But they weren't the only ones heading there.
Revealing herself from mounds of rocks she stood behind was Skyblue Shine. She looked up in the sky, witnessing Celestial-Gardevoir and the ship take to the skies. They were already far away from her reach.
When looking up, she thought about what the Empress told her when she found out about Pegaylsium. A place where Skyblue Shine believed the origin of the Magic Siphoning Jar could be found.
"If by chance that Pegalysium place is where the Magic Siphoning Jar originated from, head there yourself. And if you can't, then continue searching for more information about the jar or wait for me to finish my own Magic Siphoning Weapon.
"Apologies, Empress. It seems I won't be able to reach Pegalysium. Unless..."
High above the skies.
Celestial-Gardevoir was already high up along with the ship as they had broken through the many layers of clouds the higher they went And of course, things got colder there. Celestial-Gardevoir had already been through this so she was able to slight resist it this time. The ship was perfectly fine as it was built to fly up into high areas. Possibly even space.
Celestial-Gardevoir felt that same rush of adrenaline coursing through her body as everyone on the ship felt it too. Even though this ship was built for high places, the higher they went towards Pegalysium the more they could notice the ship receiving a fairly potent toll. They all held on tight to something with their hair and fur blowing in the wind.
But, through that pressure in the sky, once they broke through the final layers of clouds, they had reached their first and required destination which was the highest point of the skies.
"Man what a rush." Ash was the first to notice this as he opened his eyes, gawking at the sight before his eyes. "We're seriously this high up, now?"
"Pikachu?"
"We're close," Celestial-Gardevoir spoke to everyone, raising her voice and using a bit of her Royal Canterlot Voice. "Keep following me. Up ahead is the Sea Cloud. It will take about 3 minutes for us to reach i."
"Sea Cloud?" Everyone repeated. Celestial-Gardevoir led the way, knowing the direction to land. As the ship moved through the azure skies, they wondered what this Sea Cloud looked like.
However, when Celestia returned home after first witnessing Pegalysium, she told Luna everything she had seen. And Luna obviously kept records of them. One of those records was her drawings. She had drawn the Sea Cloud that Celestia mentioned weeks back.
"Here. I drew my own artist rendition of this Sea Cloud." Luna took out the notebook from her saddlebag, opening the page that revealed her drawing.
And Luna's drawing skills were certainly something to behold. Everyone immediately froze after witnessing her drawings. It wasn't the Sea Cloud drawing that threw them off, it was the other drawings next to it. She had drawn many battle strategies in her spare time to become a better Pokemon Trainer.
The drawings were so erratic and jumbled up that it was hard to describe if they were artistically genius or just impossible to comprehend for better or for worse. If anything, this made Luna's strategies hard to mimic due to how chaotic the drawings were. Ironically, but unsurprisingly, only the drawing of the Sea Cloud was the best-looking one due to it just being a bunch of half circles jumbled up together with squiggled wave lines inside. But that wasn't saying much.
Probably. Maybe.
"From what my sister described, it acts exactly like how a sea would except with cloud formations while being both soft and wet at the same time," Luna explained, showing them her drawing.
"Soft and wet? So if Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy try and stand or walk on those clouds then..." Starlight spoke, waiting for Luna to finish the answer.
"They would swim through the clouds as if it was the sea itself." Luna followed after Starlight's question. "This Sea Cloud has three properties. The softness that a foal would expect from a cloud, the wetness of water and the capability to be stood on. Apparently, my sister surfed on it when she came across it. She was still in the form of Celestial-Gardevoir. I'm not sure whether it was her being half alicorn or the clouds there are capable for anyone to tread on without needing wings."
"We won't have to find out for long. Look." Goh spoke as he pointed at the window. Everyone turned to where Goh was facing. They all looked through the window as coming into view was the Sea Cloud itself.
And it certainly looked like a cloud of seas, that's for sure. Sounds of waves could be heard from it like the regular as the size of it was so wide it was larger than a lake and river combined. Even the way it moved resembled a sea from the crashing waves.
"Oh! It really is a sea cloud!" Ash gasped.
"Pika!"
"Well, would ya look at that!" Applejack raised her hat. "Ain't that a view?!"
"I'll say!" Rarity nodded in agreement.
"A-Are the clouds in the sea or is the sea in the clouds?!" Jessie stuttered. Celestial-Gardevoir was the first to approach the clouds as she was seen descending towards it. Everyone saw Celestial-Gardevoir come into contact with the Sea Cloud as she was able to stand on it.
It might be the Celestia part in her allowing Celestial-Gardevoir to stand on it without falling through. Her legs already felt wet from coming in contact with it.
"Wonder if we can stand on them?!" Ash and Pikachu were eager to test this out for themselves as they were already in a running position.
"Pikachu!"
"Stop!" But Twilight quickly stopped them both with her magic holding on to them. "That's way too risky and we're already high beyond Equestria's natural cloud limit!"
"Aw..."
"Pika..."
"Hm?" Just then, Celestial-Gardevoir noticed something up ahead while moving through the Sea Cloud. Something that was certainly never there before when she first arrived up here in these high blue skies.
She narrowed her eyes as she spotted a Cloud Waterfall. And not one that was a part of any land like how the rainforest she came across appeared to be. This Cloud Waterfall was one with the rest of the clouds in the Sea Cloud. Not only that, but more clouds were semi-blocking the view of this Cloud Waterfall while being a part of the Sea Cloud.
"All of this wasn't there before..." Celestial-Gardevoir said to herself. "Was it?"
"Sister!" Luna went up to the speaker on the front of the ship. "What is wrong?"
"That Cloud Waterfall and these clouds weren't there before when I first arrived here!" Celestial-Gardevoir replied with the Royal Canerlot Voice. "This is the same path I took to reach Pegalysium in the first place."
"What do we do then?" Fluttershy asked.
"If it's just in the way, can't we just like fly through it?" Goh suggested.
"Only one way to find out. I'm a pegasus so I'll be fine!" Rainbow Dash chose to head outside as James opened the hatch for her. The multi-coloured maned mare zoomed out of the ship, leaving behind a rainbow streak.
She was now the third individual to arrive on the outside of these high skies, out in the open. Celestia and Passion counted as two individuals despite being fused into Celestial-Gardevoir.
Rainbow flew next to Celestial-Gardevoir rubbing her hooves together as she was going to test it out for herself. But first, she wanted to a small trot on the sea cloud. As she descended, her hooves came in contact with it. And of course, she could stand on it perfectly without any worry.
At least, that seemed to be the case. Because once she let herself casually rest on the cloud, Rainbow Dash suddenly went down on it without her control. "Woah!"
"Rainbow Dash!" Everyone gasped after seeing Rainbow Dash fall through the clouds. Their hearts started racing and even stopped for a split second. However, that didn't last as Rainbow Dash's head popped out of the clouds.
"Oh! Whoa..." She blinked while shaking her head. It seemed that her mane and face were now wet from entering the Sea Cloud. She was perfectly fine right about now. "That was close! I thought I was a goner!"
"A-Are you alright?!" Celestial-Gardevoir flew over.
"Yeah, I'm fine. But check it out! I can swim in this stuff!" Rainbow Dash cackled as she started to show everyone the capability of swimming on these sea clouds. As she swam, clouds started splashing out of them. This just made Ash and Pikachu more eager to try this out, plus Pinkie Pie.
Rainbow Dash then flew out of the Sea Cloud after having a few fun moments of swimming. Her main goal was to test out this Cloud Waterfall and if they could pass through it. The pegasus then zoomed through the air, leaving everyone in the dust.
She felt the wind fly through her face, different from what she's used to in Equestria. As she flew forward, she ended up coming across one of the many clouds that had blocked parts of the Cloud Waterfall. And once she did so, instead of flying through it, all of a sudden, she bounced off of it.
"Oh!" Rainbow Dash wailed with her body landing on this cloud. To her surprise, it was 100% solid without her needing to control her movements on it as a pegasus. "What the?! Hey! This stuff is bouncy!"
"...What did she say?" Pinkie Pie narrowed her eyes as no one could hear Rainbow Dash since she was far away. No one but Audino.
"Audino."
"She says it's bouncy." Fluttershy translated as everyone could see Rainbow Dash bouncing on the cloud. "And they're fully solid too. She's not sinking through it at all even though it feels like water as well."
"That's bizarre...Is there anything this place doesn't have?" Starlight said.
"James hurry up and sped this thing along already!" Jessie ordered James.
"Alright, alright. At least have some patience." James replied as he increased the speed of the ship. Rainbow Dash kept bouncing on the clouds as Celestial-Gardevoir wanted to try this out for herself.
The Alicorn-Pokemon-Fusion ended up getting a taste of the fun too when she touched the clouds that blocked the Cloud Waterfall. "Oh my!"
"Fun, isn't it?" Rainbow Dash pulled off some stylish tricks while bouncing on the clouds. Celestial-Gardevoir ended up bouncing on them too by landing her feet on them.
This was definitely the playful side of both Celestia and Passion leaking out as they immediately found enjoyment in all of this. This was now making everyone else eager to try these clouds.
"Mew!" And Mew certainly felt the same as he teleported out of the ship without going through the door.
"Oh! Mew!" Pinkie cried out. "At least wait for me!"
"Mew-Mew!" Instantly, Mew was now bouncing on the clouds, wanting some of the action himself. The New Species Pokemon giggled while bouncing alongside Celestial-Gardevoir and Rainbow Dash respectively.
"Well...I guess those clouds are safe to go on, right?" said Spike.
"Axew."
"Alright. Let's check out that waterfall then." Rainbow Dash quickly put an end to her bouncing fun, wanting to see if her friends could pass through the Cloud Waterfall.
She was closer to it than anyone, so it was her role to test things out. And she zoomed forward, she flew over the bouncy clouds. Afterwards, the multi-coloured maned mare had easily passed through the waterfall without any issues. And once she did, she saw something surprising.
And after seeing it, she needed to tell her friends as she poked her head out of the waterfall, yelling at the top of her lungs. "Hey! Everyone! There's a gate here!"
"A gate?" Celestial-Gardevoir repeated. At this point, everything Celestia knew about Pegalysium when she first came here was being altered surprisingly. "Since when?"
"Mew?"
"Audino?"
"Gate?" Fluttershy translated for everyone. Now they all had to see this for themselves. Thankfully, James had sped the ship up to a point where they were finally close to the waterfall and bouncy clouds.
Once they got there, the hatch to the door had opened once again. They had all seen the gate for themselves. The gate had a banner with something written on it as it seemed that no one was stationed there. There were doors on the side of this gate as well. Its golden colours radiated a brilliant light as the design of it was somewhat similar to the doors of Canterlot James had stopped the ship right in front of the gate as it was now resting on the cloud, hovering there.
Everyone else had touched the clouds as they had found out that they could indeed stand on them. Even those that weren't pegasus could make contact with these clouds. They seemed to be truly solid.
"It really is a gate..." Rarity gawked. "And so is this Cloud Waterfall! True falls indeed! Where are they even coming from at such a height?"
"Look at that name right there." Applejack noticed a name on the gate right after Mew, Celestial-Gardevoir and Rainbow Dash spotted it themselves. On the banner, Applejack read it out. "Sky Gate. Think that's where we should pass?"
"That's odd. This was never here in the first place." Celestial-Gardevoir shook her head. "Were the coordinates wrong?"
"That is odd." Luna agreed. "Perhaps some form of illusion?"
"Nopony's here." Twilight navigated her head around.
"Not yet. Look! Up ahead!" Adagio was the first to notice someone approaching from the distance, right from one of the doors of the Sky Gate.
Emerging out there was an old pegasus mare wearing a white and golden robe. Everyone stayed silent as they watched this old pegasus walked ever so slowly. She then turned around, raising the hood of her robe up as she had also noticed the new faces that stood in front of the Sky Gate.
The old pegasus didn't seem to be bothered by this. Despite Garnet being shocked to see a pony like Celestia and a creature like Gardevoir, AKA a Pokemon, this old mare was unphased. Almost as if she's seen something more surprising than all of this.
"Password?" The old mare suddenly spoke.
"Huh? Password?" Rainbow Dash repeated.
"If you wish to pass the Sky Gate, what's the password? I am the Sky Gate Lookout here. One of many. So password?"
"Uh..." Adagio and everyone weren't sure how to respond. They weren't expecting passwords for this.
"Um, excuse me for a moment," Celestia spoke to the old pegasus. "But I have a question. B-Before, this Cloud Waterfall didn't exist when I first came here. Not to mention that the rainforest I found isn't in view either. I-Is there a reason for this?"
"Ah. That would be the movement of the clouds." The old lady spoke.
"M-Movement of the clouds?" Fluttershy repeated. "You don't mean..."
"Oh, I get it now!" Twilight figured it out instantly. "Clouds are always moving in the sky because of the wind carrying the parcel of cloudy air along. And Princess Celestia mentioned how everything here was below an assortment of clouds. So just like the clouds we have, they must also carry the islands with them!"
"Smart girl." The old lady nodded as Twilight hit the nail on the head. "Pass through. Now."
"Huh? What about the password? What happened to that?" Meowth asked.
"There was no password. I'm not a guardian or lookout either." She shook her head. "No one ever passes through here anyway. I just like to sound important."
"Uh-huh..." Luna nodded with her eyes glazed.
"Wait. If all of the islands move with the clouds, where is Pegalysium? I'm here under matters of a meeting?" Celestia questioned the old lady.
"I don't know."
"You d- You live in this land right?!" Adagio leaned forward.
"Yes."
"So you know of where we can get to Pegalysium even if all these clouds start moving, right? Princess Celestia even said the place was huge. It can't be that hard to miss." Adagio rambled on.
"I don't know. I haven't been there for years now." She shrugged as Adagio grizzled her teeth. Meanwhile, the old lady just gave a smile in front of Adagio's face.
"You old hag...!" Adagio growled.
"W-We'll just get there and find it ourselves." Celesta interrupted Adagio before she could go off the rails.
"Well in that case! Let's go!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
The trip to Pegalysium was different than expected. At least to Celestia and Passion. Now that they were aware of the clouds carrying the islands and various lands themselves, getting to the Sky Monarch will be tougher than they thought. But, a brand new adventure means more fun to be had as the journey continues.
The group had finally reached the skies where they could head to Pegalysium. Although, there was an issue. They had just found out that since everything here was below the clouds, many lands and islands have been moving via the clouds carrying them. And since Celestia has been away from here for a while, reaching Pegalysium the same way she did before won't be so easy, unfortunately.
Celestia's meeting with the Sky Monarch might be delayed at this point until they can find the right island. Or, as Celestia was hoping, finding Garnet.
But for now, an adventure was bound for them. They had just passed the Sky Gate after meeting with the first Pegalysium resident. An old lady who was seemingly a guardian but not really. Now, the group have entered their first location.
A jungle.
Not a rainforest unlike what Celestia and Passion first came across.
"Okay. Where to first?" Ash spoke, looking at this sky jungle.
"Luna and I will focus on heading to the Sky Monarch if we can find it. Along with Adagio. The rest of you are free to do whatever you want. Just remember not to cause too much trouble." said Celestia.
"We won't," Twilight responded with assurance for the Sun Princess. "Hopefully we don't get lost here at least."
"But check this out!" Pinkie Pie cried out as she saw clumps of clouds laying on the ground. She and Mew went up to the clumps as they started touching them as if they were messing with snow. "You can move these clouds around!" She and Mew were actually sculpting with the clouds like snow, making a cloud angel.
"Mew-Mew!" And just like that, in just 5 seconds, they had made their cloud angel, showing it to everyone.
"Really now?" Twilight scooped up a nearby cloud clump with her hoof. "How's this possible? Have clouds always been this...interactable?"
"Espeon!" Espeon, deciding to be playful, stuck her head in the clumps of clouds.
"Eevee!" Chloe's Eevee decided to mimic Espeon by hopping out of Chloe's arms. The Evolution Pokemon then dived into a clump of clouds, getting her face both wet and full of clouds. Her eyes could still be seen poking out. "Vee?"
"What kind of flowers are these? They're singing!" Fluttershy came across the singing flowers of various varieties. The flowers were singing a song that greeted Ash and the others to the skies above with a sort of triumphant melody.
"Krick!" Popping out of Adagio's mane was Kricketot who quite liked these flowers. He started singing along with these flowers in their melodic tone. "Kricketot!"
"They sang for us when Passion and I came here the first time," said Celestia. "They do add some nice ambience and flair. And they can somewhat act as warning signs."
"Warning signs?" Spike poked on one of the petals as the tempo changed to something quicker. "Oh, I get it now."
"Amazing! I'm sure it wouldn't hurt if we kept one of them, would it?" Rarity was certainly a fan of these singing flowers. She felt like picking one of them and using them for obvious flashy reasons. Having these flowers added onto something like a dress would really help her business. Who could resist this?
"This fruit is pretty weird too." Starlight spoke as she ended up grabbing what seemed to be a berry from the trees here. "It's super hard."
"Is it?" Twilight went up to Starlight.
"Yeah. Look." Starlight then showed Twilight how hard the fruit was by throwing it at a nearby rock with her magic. She threw it at top speed as the berry ended up breaking through the rock instead of squishing with a verbal splat. "Rock slid. Probably even stronger than rock."
"So we can't eat 'em?" Applejack tested it out for herself by grabbing one of the fruits. Fittingly, this fruit resembled an apple but with a blue colouring. She bit into the blue apple, expecting her to feel something hard. Instead, she actually ended up chewing it like it was an ordinary apple. And like the apples back home, these tasted wonderful. "Mmm! This ain't too bad!"
"Is it hard or not?" Goh grabbed another of the blue apples to see for himself. He knocked on the apple as it injured his knuckles. "Ow-ow! What's with this place? How come you can eat them fine, Applejack?"
"Mm?" Applejack shrugged while continuing to eat the blue apple. Celestia, Luna, Passion, Arcanine and Adagio had already walked off to try and find the Sky Monarch in Pegalysium. But Celestia gave one last piece of advice.
"Oh, right. One last thing. There are these things called Flow-up Clouds. They are quicker ways to travel upwards in this land. If you come across one and decide to travel up it, make sure to navigate yourself when you're inside or you may fall out. And you'll need to stay afloat in the air after you reach the top and exit it." Celestia warned.
"Got it." Ash understood along with everyone as they rushed off to experience this wonderful land that had many surprises just waiting for them around every corner.
"Pikachu!"
After that, Celestia and her group had left to try and find Pegalysium. But since everyone was eager and curious to see what else Pegalysium had to offer, they may end up going in different directions due to how expansive this jungle is.
Their walk through the jungle led the ground further down it, listening to the ambience of the singing flowers. They could also hear the sounds of the running cloud waves, matching the sound of water.
So far, there didn't seem to be any sign of wildlife here despite this being a jungle. Fluttershy was eager to see what kind of creatures would live up here in a land filled with nothing but the sky.
Ash climbed up a tree to see things from a better view while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew up next to him as well. They each narrowed their eyes, putting their hands and hooves over to see ahead. From what they could spot ahead, this jungle had a continuous path with a stream of water clouds.
"Hey look. Way over there." Ash noticed something in the far distance, resting on a floating island. "Looks like there's a bunch of temples over there."
"Oh, yeah, I see it." Rainbow Dash nodded. "Wonder what's inside?"
And speaking of wildlife, the three of them noticed something moving within the stream of water clouds. It seemed to be a fin obviously meaning that sealife creatures existed in this sky land.
"Oh...What do you think that is?" Ash wondered, watching the fin move.
"A shark?" Rainbow Dash theorized as she rambled on about what creature could possess that fin. A SkyShark? Maybe a Skydolphin or something. Or it could be a Pokemon?"
"But there aren't any Pokemon up here." But just to be sure, Ash took his Pokedex out to see if this was a Pokemon swimming about in the sky clouds. And when he did so the Pokedex responded in an expected outcome. No data. And not a single read from it. This was a creature that only existed in this world and this land.
But either way, Ash was excited to see something new along with Fluttershy. Both their eyes lit up but the supposed shark or dolphin creature dived down into the stream, disappearing. But this was confirmation that some wildlife existed here in this jungle.
And very soon, everyone else came across it.
Right from the tree that Ash stood on, popping out of the branches was some sort of squirrel-like creature as it gave Ash a slight startle.
"Woah!" Ash almost lost his balance on the tree as both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy zipped back a bit. This squirrel creature had shown itself as it had wings on its back. And those wings matched the colour of its brown fur. "Oh! Check it out! That squirrel's got wings!"
"Seriously?!" Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
"Oh, how cute!" Fluttershy gushed while flying over to this squirrel. "Hey there, little one. What kind of squirrel are you?" In response, the winged squirrel poked its nose onto Fluttershy's nose, making the pegasus giggle.
"So, wait. Do you think every animal here is like the animals back in Equestria...but with wings?!" Rainbow Dash gasped, thinking of a sight like that.
"Uh...I think you may be on to something Rainbow Dash. Look!" And very soon, Rainbow Dash's theory about animals having wings in this land had come true as Pinkie Pie pointed her hoof up at a nearby hill.
On that hill, a pack of monkeys with six wings could be seen. The winged monkeys looked down at Ash's group out of curiosity, acting like any regular monkey would. As for Ash and the others, they gawked at these aerial simians. Even though they weren't Pokemon, it felt like somewhere out there, there could be a Pokemon like them.
The pack of monkeys then flew off, using their six wings to do so. Everyone looked up, watching these primates take to the skies. This made Ash and Fluttershy want to see a Pokemon similar to that one day. Possibly a Normal-Flying-Type that isn't a bird-based Pokemon.
And the deeper they went into the jungle, the more winged animals they saw. Each of them having their own unique wings for their builds.
"Check this out! This fox is flying with two tails! Who needs wings when you can do something like that?" Rainbow Dash found herself a personal favourite. Instead of having wings like the other animals, this fox-like creature had two tails as it used those tails to fly.
Rainbow Dash picked up the fox with her hooves. In response, the fox put its paw on Rainbow's face, patting it repeatedly in a playful manner. Applejack found herself a winged meerkat that had landed on her hat, bouncing up and down on it and Sceptile's head before jumping into a hole.
Scorbunny came across some fellow rabbits that could not only fly but could also jump so high that they felt like anti-gravity from their movements. Scorbunny tried mimicking the high jumps with High Jump Kick. He was able to match their height, but he couldn't stay afloat like they could. The Rabbit Pokemon tried running in the air to try and stay airborne.
But Fluttershy being the helpful pony that she was helped grant Scorbunny that wish by holding him while flying.
They admired the wildlife around them while moving further throughout the dungeon. They now had something else to expect. But they were curious as to how this was possible.
"How do you think all of this happened? You know...all of these winged flying animals." Spike asked.
"Well...It could be that since they've been living up here for so long, their bodies have adapted to survive in the skies. Like how animals have done for years or even how Pokemon evolve to become stronger." Twilight gave her own theory." That has to be it. And magic might be involved with it somehow."
"Wonder how they even made to have magic up here so long if there are only pegasi." Pinkie wondered. "By the way...where did Team Rocket go?
"I think James is staying behind to keep guard of the ship. Jessie, Meowth and Wobbuffet might be there too." Fluttershy said, knowing where Team Rocket were currently at.
At least, that's what she believed.
Back at Team Rocket's ship.
"Alright. Now that we're here we can gip Pikachu at any time without them having the chance to head back down. After all, we have their ticket home." Jessie said as she and Team Rocket were already up to their plotting.
"Ah...but shouldn't we get Fluttershy back home?" James asked as Jessie scrunched her face.
"Darn it!" She put her hand in her fist. "Why did we have to become good friends with her...?! Change of plans!" She then raised a finger. "There's probably some treasure buried here in this place if it's so ancient! We should shoot right for it. Maybe the ones that no one has found yet!"
"Ancient treasure is the best kind of treasure!" Meowth clapped his paws together.
"Hm-hm." James nodded. "And the pegasi there won't have to worry since it's so old and buried away. Class-A thinking Jess."
"Now, let's get rolling and find ourselves some ancient treasure!" And now, Team Rocket had a reason to venture through this island.
Grab some dusty old treasure from somewhere random and possibly deserted in these sky islands and conceal it away from Ash and the others while getting home with some potential riches.
Celestia's group.
Meanwhile, Celestia, Luna and Adagio were heading for something more important than everyone else. More important than exploration and finding old treasure. If they could find the Sky Monarch and have this meeting, then hopefully, things will end peacefully and they can head home.
That is if the clouds don't mix up the locations and where they came from while the minutes and hours pass.
Right now, they had come across one of the temples that Ash, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy spotted in the distance. This temple was currently standing in their way and they weren't sure where to go so perhaps it could lead them closer to the capital of Pegalysium.
While Ash and the others had seen clean and beautiful temples, Celestia's group came across a half-destroyed temple. It stood near a cloud lake with moss covering it from all over. There was also a large crater near the temple along with a giant pathway that started from the crater, revealing why parts of the temple were destroyed.
"All of this destruction..." Celestia looked at the ground and the path that was made from the crater. "Something must've been dragged through here...Something big."
"Hm? Hey, look over there!" Adagio then spotted something on the sea clouds, grabbing everyone's attention. Over at the sea clouds, they could spot gondolas. More importantly, gondolas that were tipped over with the oars broken in half. The gondolas also had large holes inside of them.
Hundreds of these gondolas could be seen everywhere with many ruined oars. Very few of them were still intact as some of them washed up on shore, laying there for who knows how long.
"What happened here exactly?" Luna looked at the gondolas and then the temple.
"Not sure...We should keep moving." Celestia said as they all chose to enter the temple. They felt a foreboding sense of dread around this area. The damaged gondolas, oars and temple were just adding to that dread.
After entering the temple, they were met with a dark blue aesthetic that it was giving off. The moon wasn't up so the colouring here was odd to them. Since the sun was shining, it should give off a brighter appearance. But it didn't. Now that dread was just increasing.
The floors below looked like they were about to crumble and possibly send them through the skies and back down to Equestria from how old they were.
As they trotted through this old temple, they noticed an assortment of creations up ahead, just resting on the side of these mossy walls. There were statues lined up across the wall in perfect unison. These statues were of ponies with their eyes closed and hooves put together as if they were praying. The wings were also broken off with rubble laying on the floor.
Luna shuddered as she felt nervous just looking at these statues. Something about how they were designed just sent chills through her spine. As if that wasn't enough, the howling of the wind echoed throughout this temple, having a unique sound that didn't make anything better. Luna stayed close to Celestia for safety.
However, they wouldn't be safe for long. After they passed the row of statues, a giant hole in the wall had just opened up.
"Voir?!" And Passion was the first to sense this. Immediately, coming out of the giant hole was a large wooden log with a spike on both sides that was connected to a rope as it swung towards Celestia's group.
"Oh!" Celestia and the others gasped as they moved their heads back, avoiding the wooden log. The log then went back into the hole, promoting Celestia's group to move forward before it came swinging back at them. However, that wasn't the only log they had to worry about.
More were coming. From every part of the wall, spike-ended logs started flying out rapidly each time Celestia and her group advanced, putting pressure on them. In response, they started avoiding these incoming logs as much as they could by swaying or ducking. But there were so many of them moving at impressive speeds that they couldn't hope to dodge them forever.
"You must admit! Even after all of these years, the pegasi that lived here once have truly work to lethal effect to this day!" Luna spoke as a wooden spike clipped her tail, almost fully hitting her.
"Very sophisticated! Which is why I have to apologize for what is about to come next! Passion! Mystical Fire!" Arcanine, Flamethrower!"
"Garde...!"
"Arca...!" Both Passion and Arcanine prepared some potent flames via their hands and mouth. At the same time, the two of them spun around, creating a vortex of flames. These spiralling flames ended up burning away at the spiked wooden logs with ease due to how potent Pokemon fire is compared to regular fire.
Very soon, all of the logs had been obliterated, burnt to ashes before the flames of Passion and Arcanine. The two of them dispersed the aura of flames before descending. Now, Celestia and her group could advance onwards, safe from the first booby trap that this temple had.
At least, that's what the thought.
The moment they passed through an open square entrance that led to the other side of the temple, they were met with something else. In the blink of an eye, right near Adagio, a large silver rod came flying out of open holes in the wall, smashing into the wall and breaking pars of it off.
"A-Ah...!" Adagio stood there, frozen as she had just witnessed something that could've taken her out in an instant, but it had only missed her by a smidge.
That wasn't the only rod they had to worry about. Out of the rest of the holes, more rods were flying this way, targeting Celestia's group.
"Oh!" Celestia gasped as she quickly put a protective magical barrier around everyone, shielding them from harm. The rods rained down at high speeds, each capable of breaking the walls themselves. And not only that, but they could also damage Celestia's shield.
The rods made her shield tremble, sending pulses throughout as there seemed to be a constant array of them flying out. Celestia realized she couldn't block them forever, so she expanded her magical barrier, causing it to grow. It grew to a point where the rods were being pushed back, hitting the other rods that flew out each passing second. Because of this, the rods had destroyed each other in the process.
Soon all of them were gone thanks to Celestia's expanding magic as she made it disappear. At this point, they were expecting a third trap to meet them.
And that third trap was already ready for them. The moment the rods had been dealt with, the next trap had been activated. Celestia and the others took the time to have a breather. But that couldn't happen as the floor was trembling.
"What now?!" Adagio looked around, searching for the next trap. She wouldn't have to look any further as the next trap was approaching from behind them. And it came from the room where they had just avoided the logs. Turns out, that room had more than one trap waiting for them.
After the logs had been destroyed, the secondary booby trap activated. The eyes of the statues had suddenly opened wide, making a verbal sound that echoed throughout the temple. And once those eyes opened, they started crying. But these weren't simple tears.
The eyes had leaked out gigantic cloud waves, pouring them on the floor. This could be considered a Cloud Tsunami as it had the destructive force and movements of a regular tsunami but with a cloudy feel. Celestia and the others looked behind, feeling the tremor and hearing the sounds of something swooshing. Something wet.
That's when they saw the Cloud Tsunami coming their way.
"Go-go-go!" Celestia cried out as she and her group immediately bolted away. Adagio And Arcanine went on foot while Celestia, Luna and Passion chose to fly. The tsunami broke through the rubble and walls, moving at an aggressive pace as very soon, the entire temple may be consumed by it.
Celestia's group moved through the many entrances, entering other rooms to try and outpace this Cloud Tsunami. However, as they arrived at the others rooms, the other traps had been activated.
From below, eruptions of scorching fire had emerged with the first one appearing in front of Luna. Luna came to a screeching halt as she had almost been burnt by these flames. She flew around the flame in front of her while the rest of them erupted.
Rapidly with each passing second, flames were bursting out of the floor and walls, forcing Celestia and the others to slow down while a vicious Cloud Tsunami was chasing after them.
"How did the pegasi in this temple even get around?!" Adagio groaned while stepping away from an erupting flame. Arriving into this room by destroying the walls as the Cloud Tsunami kept going.
Normally, the Cloud Tsunami could get rid of the erupting flames and possibly destroy any other trap that Celestia's group would come across. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
Instead, the flames had become one with the Cloud Tsunami. The Cloud Tsunami absorbed the scorching flames, adding a blazing fury. Now the Cloud Tsunami had flames spewing and flaring out, holding the destructive fury of a tsunami and the heat of unbearable flames.
"Are you kidding me?!" Luna bellowed as they were now being chased by a Blazing Cloud Tsunami.
"Let's see if we can stop this! Passion, use Dazzling Gleam! Arcanine, Flamethrower, go!" Celestia ordered as she lit her horn up.
"Gardevoir!" The Embrace Pokemon and the Legendary Pokemon unleashed an array of multi-coloured beams and a flame even hotter than the ones inside of the Cloud Tsunami and erupting from below.
Celestia, Luna and even Adagio did the same by unleashing magical beams from their horns to try and hopefully prevent this Blazing Cloud Tsunami from consuming them.
The rays and hotter flames had actually managed to do something to this Blazing Cloud Tsunami. It had been pelted by the beams of Dazzling Gleam and magic rays, blowing parts of it off while Arcanine's Flamethrower had evaporated some of the water inside.
It was a success. The Cloud Tsunami had been held back by their coordinated efforts. However, since they were looking back at the Cloud Tsunami for a bit, as they passed through the entrance to the next room, another one of the traps had caught them off guard.
Mainly Adagio.
Large chains came flying out from the ceiling, having clamps on the end. Before Adagio knew it, she had been grabbed by the back of her neck via these clamped chains.
"Agh!" Adagio cried out as the chains had pulled her up instantly, right towards the hole they had emerged from as Celestia and the others looked up.
"Adagio!" Celestia cried out as another one of the chains almost caught her. Celestia's reaction time was quick enough to let her move out of the way. Other chains came flying out at high speeds, forcing everyone to back away. Because of the interruption of the chains, Adagio had been pulled into the hole.
"Gardevoir!" Passion wouldn't allow Adagio to vanish. By using her Psychic power, she caused a Psychic pulse that blew the other chains back, shattering them like they were bones. The Embrace Pokemon then flew into the air, heading for the hole as it was closing.
Passion then used Psychic with one hand to hold the hatch that could close the hole. She then used Thunderbolt with her other hand, shooting it at the hatch. And just like that, the hatch had been obliterated along with parts of the ceiling. Passion also destroyed the chain that held Adagio.
"Woah!" Adagio gasped as she used her siren wings to stay afloat, saving herself from crashing. "Thanks, Passion."
"Voir." Passion accepted Adagio apology as they all kept moving. The Cloud Tsunami wasn't finished yet. More of it was coming from the statues in the first room. And more traps were waiting for them the further they could go in this temple
But they weren't the only ones about to approach one of the temples.
Ash's group.
Nearby, Ash and his group were close to the other temples. The temple they stared at was sitting on one of the floating islands. But it could be accessed by flight. However, there was a second way to access it. There were multiple vines around this jungle area, perfect for swinging.
"Okay! Let's see if I still have it in me." Ash looked at the jungle vines connected to the tall trees as he held one of them.
"You know, Ash. It would be safer to just fly with Dragonite, wouldn't it?" Twilight suggested, wanting Ash to not do anything risky like he always does.
"Yeah," Ash replied with a single word before taking the risk of using the vines. With a wide grin, he jumped off the jungle that was held up, swinging on the rope as he let out a loud cry as if he was born and raised in the jungle. "AaaaaAAaaAAaaa, AAAaaAAAaaAAAAAAAH!"
"Ash!" Twilight exclaimed as Ash was now swinging between two cloud-bound islands and the azure skies, having the risk of falling. But, since Ash always took risks, he found ways around it.
And he certainly did as he swung far and high enough to reach the next part of the island where the temple was located. Adventuring through multiple regions for years definitely helped with this. Twilight let out a sigh of relief. She knows Ash loves to take risks, but she worries about the ones he goes for.
"Not a bad idea, Ash!" And following after Ash was Applejack who also took that risk. She grabbed onto one of the vines with her hooves, immediately swinging over. "Yeehaw!"
"Sceptile!" As for Sceptile, he was the most skilled at this as he followed after Applejack. Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash just took the normal way of travelling. By using their wings. Spike would have his Salamence take him there while Goh had his Flygon.
But Pinkie had a creative idea.
"Oh! Mew! Turn into Rayquaza and connect to both of these jungles!"
"Mew-Mew!" Mew nodded as he immediately spun around, shifting his body shape, length and size. With a flash of light, he emerged as the Sky High Pokemon.
Cleverly, Mew made the body of Rayquaza form into a straight line instead of one that wiggles with its body. After doing so, the New Species Pokemon descended, placing his head on the island where the temple was and his tail on where the jungle was.
He became a Rayquaza bridge for an instance as Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Starlight and Chloe walked on him. And just like that, they were also on the other part of the island, safe and sound. Mew ended up transforming himself back into his original self. Surprisingly, his back didn't ache at all. Perfectly fine and healthy.
They had reached this destination without any harm. Now they had come across one of the temples located here. It wasn't the one that Celestia and the others were currently located in.
But one thing's for sure, something was foreboding about it.
"Temples have always been ancient after many years have passed. Maybe the pegasi that live here still use temples." Twilight replied.
"Audino..."
"Audi says that she doesn't hear anyone." Fluttershy translated. "It's empty and deserted in there."
"Only one way to find out," Ash spoke as he and Pikachu were the first to approach the temple in front of them. The moment they set foot into it, already, the first trap here had been activated.
Right in front of Ash and Pikachu, a rapid steel door closed in on them, almost crushing their bodies. Luckily, Ash and Pikachu were fast enough to react to that as they pulled their feet away. The steel door then clanged together.
"Woah!"
"Pika!"
"Traps. Always exist in temples, don't they?" Rarity uttered.
"Haha!" Rainbow Dash put her hooves together, rubbing them while having a confident beaming grin. "This should be fun and a cakewalk! I've seen this in a bunch of Daring Do books already! Just let the expert take it from here."
Confident in her own skills and from what Daring Do had done, Rainbow Dash ould be the guide to getting through this temple. If it was identical to the ones in the books.
One thing's for sure, this temple had different booby traps than the ones Celestia and the others were facing. Whatever they were, there was a guarantee they were lethal, without a doubt.
Celestia's group.
Speaking of Celestia's group, they were still on the run, avoiding as many traps as they could. Poisonous arrows came flying from the ceiling, raining down as the Cloud Tsunami was still moving inside of the temple.
Passion had put up a Psychic shield to block the poison arrows from connecting. The next room they entered had multiple pits that looked bottomless, scattered everywhere in this wide space. Seeing this made Celestia and the others wonder how the pegasi who used to live here even got around in such a place. It seemed impossible to live daily here. Unless of course, they knew tricks that Celestia's group didn't.
The pits were crossable via flight. Celestia, Luna, Passion and Adagio could do that, no problem. Arcanine found a way through it via Extreme Speed. He used his amazing speed to jump a high distance.
However, there was something below the pit. More poisonous arrows came flying from below. Turns out there were arrows from both above and below. Passion reacted quickly, using Psychic to blow away the arrows, crushing them in the process as Arcanine made the jump to the other side.
"Look! I see an exit!" Adagio noticed an exit in the distance as the sun rays broke through the temple. As she said that, breaking through the wall was the Blazing Cloud Tsunami. It seemed to have increased in size since the source of this tsunami hadn't been destroyed. With constant cloud waters leaking out, it only increased its power and size further.
"Did it get bigger?!" Luna gasped.
"This was just supposed to be a quick and easy meeting!" Celestia groaned as she and Passion suddenly stopped flying as they turned to face the Cloud Tsunami. "Passion, let's end this!"
"Gardevoir!"
Together, the two of them had initiated Celestial-Gardevoir as Celestia took out the Mega Stone. New poisonous arrows went right after Celestia and Passion after they had come to a screeching halt. In unison, they had emanated golden and red lights out of their body.
A sphere of Mega Evolution energy formed, blocking the poisonous arrows and obliterating them until they were nothing but dust and ash in the wind.
Emerging out of the sphere was Celestial-Gardevoir.
Celestial-Gardevoir put her hands out, using Plasma Bolt by merging Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt as one. As she formed pure plasma, Celestial-Gardevoir fired a gigantic roaring bolt of plasma that was strong enough to almost push her back.
The bolt had struck the Blazing Cloud Tsunami. And the reaction went as followed. Celestial-Gardevoir blew a gigantic hole through it with the bolt. That giant hole managed to put an end to the tsunami that chased them down. And with such power as well.
But it wasn't over yet. The statues were still pouring out of Cloud Tsunamis as more of them appeared yet again, forcing Celestial-Gardevoir to fire Plasma Bolts. She did this while flying back. They needed to leave this temple after all.
Celestial-Gardevoir blew away the incoming tsunamis with constant bolts of plasma. But she didn't pay attention to the last and final trap that was above here.
Opening up a slim square shape, out came a sharp and slim steel bar that had the power to cut through even rocks. Celestial-Gardevoir gasped, sensing this incoming danger. She looked up, noticing that the bar was incredibly close to them.
But in a split-second, they had willfully ended their fusion by splitting up. Once they did, they managed to evade the bar by moving in different directions. After that, Celestia and Passion dashed off, following after Luna and Adagio.
And just like that, after holding back so many traps and evading all of them, they had reached the outside. And at the right time too. The Blazing Cloud Tsunami had just filled the temple, covering every last part of it.
Celestia and Passion tumbled on the ground after escaping the temple by a smidge. They breathed in and out before turning around. The Cloud Tsunami finally came to an end as the temple didn't sense anyone else inside of it anymore. The eyes of the statues had shut. All of the booby traps had ended.
"Oh...Finally." Celestia sighed as she laid on her back. "Props to the pegasi for building such a place."
"And yet...we have not arrived at the Sky Monarch." Luna groaned. "Where is it?"
"Doesn't look like it's gonna get any better." Adagio turned around as she noticed something about this part of the jungle. There was a second temple close to this one. There were the only temples that were connected.
Celestia and Luna lowered their heads, fearing that they would have to go through that temple next and encounter whatever bizarre traps were waiting for them.
Although, that may not be the case this time.
They heard hoofsteps approaching from the second temple. Hearing them made the group think that Ash's group had somehow reached here.
But it wasn't Ash's group. They were in another temple at the moment. Instead, arriving out of the entrance, the hoofsteps belonged to another pony. One they've never seen before. And neither was Celestia despite this being her second time up here.
Stopping immediately, this pegasus gasped after seeing some new individuals. Celestia's group weren't the only ones surprised.
"Ah, finally! Residents!" Celestia exclaimed with a smile on her face. "Hello there, my little pony!"
"Uh..." The stallion uttered, shifting his eyes around. He then started galloping on the spot, scrunching his face as he seemed to be nervous about something. "I-I wasn't sneaking around or anything!"
"Hm?" Celestia raised an eyebrow at his response.
"Oh. Phew. Thought I was caught for a second." He let out a sigh of relief with a beaming smile. He then faced Celestia and the others, quickly examining them with their eyes. The major things that stuck out to him were the horns, Passion and Arcanine. "Um...W-Who are you ponies?"
"Sorry if we're intruding. But, we are here to see the royalty in the Sky Monarch for a meeting. My name is Princess Celestia. This is my younger sister, Princess Luna, my student Adagio Dazzle and my partner's Passion and Arcanine."
"Gardevoir."
"Arcanine."
"...What?" The pegasus said quickly, a bit perplexed by a few things. However, he quickly had his brain receive a spark after hearing something about the Sky Monarch. "Oh! You're the ponies here to meet my parents! Right-right! I was wondering when you'd show up."
"Parents? wait! You're from the Sky Monarch?!" Celestia dashed over, getting in front of his face. "And you're parents are...?!"
"K-King Paramount and Queen Luminary." The pegasus stuttered after Celestia got close. "I'm their son. Shooting Star."
"Oh, thank goodness...Finally a lead." Celestia could find peace at last. "Nice to meet you Shooting Star."
"Yeah. So uh...what kind of pony are you? You've got something on your head. And what are those things?" Shooting Star asked questions what Garnet had asked when she first met Celestia.
"W-We can explain along the way. But for now, can you lead us to the Sky Monarch in the capital? A-Away from the temples." Celestia pleaded.
"Oh sure. Just follow me. I'll get you there in no time."
After going through a rigorous temple, Celestia, Luna and Adagio had come across some salvation in the form of a Pegalysium resident.
Not just any resident, but the son of King Paramount and Queen Luminary. His name was known as Shooting Star. He did the honour of leading them to Pegalysium, saving them the effort of going through another temple with even more dangerous traps that would force them to their limits.
Thanks to him being royalty and knowing his way around Pegalysium even with the clouds moving each part of the floating lands, he was able to guide them perfectly, evading every hazard as far away as they could.
Along the way, Celestia answered a lot of Shooting Star's questions. From the horns on Celestia, Luna and Adagio's head and what Gardevoir and Arcanine were. Plus Kricketot who had popped out of Adagio's playful mane.
"Pokemon, huh?" Shooting Star said. "That is a lot to take in. And there are that many?"
"Probably more than grains of sand on a beach," Celestia replied. "I've told Garnet about them as well. And I promised to show her more about Pokemon overall."
"Garnet? The pegasus that lives in Feathercoast?" Shooting Star turned to Celestia after hearing that name.
"Oh, you know Garnet?!" Celestia's eyes and ears shot up.
"Yeah. I kinda visit the regular towns when I'm not at the capital from time to time. I have a lot of free time on my hooves anyway. Garnet over at Feathercoast works as a foalsitter daily. Right next to the snack shop. I get all my favourite snacks from that shop. Every single day."
"I'm surprised your parents allowed you to do so. Which reminds me...why did you panic when we found you at the temple?" Luna asked.
"Uh well...my parents give me a bunch of freedom but...There are places where I shouldn't really go. Like those temples. They were built by the pegasi of the past. Way before I was born. My cousin's a bit of a history freak so she wanted me to get some information about the temples."
"Oh, research for your cousin. How sweet? That has the making of a good ruler in the future, don't you think so?" said Celestia.
"Uhh yeah...Not sure if I want to be next in line to rule." Shooting Star scrunched his face, putting his hoof at the back of his mane.
"Oh? Why not?" Luna asked.
"Well, it sounds nice to be next in line as King. But I want to be a knight. That's something I'd like."
"Seriously? A knight? Pssh. I'd take that royalty role in a heartbeat." Adagio scoffed.
"Yeah. But, you know!" Shooting Star suddenly turned around. "I could be both at the same time if I wanted! A Knight and a King! How does that sound?"
"Well...it's certainly something we've never heard of before." Celestia looked at Luna as they all passed through an assortment of trees. "But if that is your wish and goal, then shoot for it, young prince."
"Thanks, Princess Celestia. Not sure mom would think the same...She doesn't want to see me get hurt and everything." The pegasus laughed nervously before coming to an immediate halt. "Oh, we're here now."
"We are?" The three of them spoke.
"Mhm. Here's the full view. Pegalysium." To fully introduce them, he separated some large golden leaves, showing them the capital of Pegalysium. Also known as Pegalysium.
It was a familiar sight to Princess Celestia, but a new sight for Princess Luna and Adagio Dazzle as their mouths opened wide. It was just as beautiful as it was before when Celestia first saw it while being stunning to the eyes of Luna and Adagio. The way the sun complimented this place just added to that.
And this was just the scenery of it. Heading to the capital and experiencing the grounds themselves will be a different experience without a doubt. Celestia had once seen the view of it from afar, but after seeing it up close, she got to experience the full scope of it.
This city was layered with constructions of soft and dazzling marble comprising thousands of residential and modernized blocks leveraged one atop the other, forming a massive mountain usually capped by a crown of great spires that stretch thousands of metres into the sky, breaking through the many clouds here.
The many buildings here were all valuable in their own way. The more wealthy and powerful residents AKA where the nobility live, work and play.
"Oh..." Luna gawked as her crown almost fell off. Adagio's eyes lit up with stars after witnessing this royal area for herself. It was certainly a unique sight compared to everywhere else she's been.
"Right there. Mom and dad are waiting." Shooting Star pointed his hoof at the main castle in the middle of it all. "They've got great patience so it's fine."
"Amazing! Oh, I should tell Ash and the others about this. I wonder how they are faring out there at the moment." Celestia pondered.
"Ash and who?" Shooting Star said.
"Right. We came here with company as the letter allowed my sister to do so," replied Luna. "They have Pokemon of their own. And one of them is rather special in my eyes..." She was obviously referring to Ash who she certainly had high affection for.
"Oh. Well, I'd love to meet them. I'm now curious about all of this Pokemon stuff. Say! Do you want to check the rest of Pegalysium out before you head to my parents?"
"Sounds great, big guy. But we're already delaying things as it is." Adagio shook her head, stepping forward.
"Adagio's right. We should really be getting to the meeting right about now. But, perhaps after our meeting is over, you can tour us around." Celestia nodded.
"Hm...Okay. Follow me!" Shooting Star then spread his wings out as he was going to stay airborne while approaching the main castle. The Sky Monarch's castle.
Celestia, Luna and Adagio also spread their wings out, flying alongside the prince. And once they did so, they approached the capital of Pegalysium with Passion levitating and Arcanine simply walking.
And as to be expected, eyes were immediately shot and focused on them. Immediately after seeing Celestia's group, thoughts ran through the nobles and residents of the capital. Everypony stopped what they were doing to take a look at these individuals.
From Celestia's elongated horn, Adagio's siren wings and the sheer appearance of Passion and Arcanine. They were unlike anything they had seen before. And for good reason considering they've been living up here for centuries now. They've never seen an alicorn or siren/unicorn before and they certainly haven't seen Pokemon before. Immediately, silent gossip and chatter started to flood the atmosphere.
"What kind of ponies are they?"
"The wings on her are gigantic...They're as big as the King and Queen."
"And look at their manes...they're flowing like the stars and night sky themselves.
"What is that thing? Some sort of wolf?"
"It's not Winged Wolf, that's for sure."
"I can feel a menacing aura from that orange one. Her wings are also different than ordinary wings from the looks of it."
"And look how tall that creature is...What is it?"
"It has such a bizarre build. But that dress looks stunning on her."
"Are we sure that's a dress...? It looks like it is a part of her body."
"Seems we're already gaining major talk about us, hm?" Luna and everyone had heard it all. They expected gossip from ponies who have never seen other pony races or Pokemon ever. Especially the highest race of ponies, the alicorns.
"It's fine, Luna," Celestia responded with a hush. "Let's just head for the meeting and we will be on our way."
"Better speed up then...The kids here are pretty curious." Shooting Star whispered as they came across the gates where the main castle, the Sky Monarch resided.
Standing there were the guards. Their armour was somewhat similar to the armour that Canterlot wears, but it had a more medieval look to it. Something akin to the Elite 4 Steel-Type expert Wikstrom. They stood firm before Shooting Star, acknowledging his presence.
"Welcome back, young prince." The guards spoke. "Who are these with you?"
"Ah, they're okay. They're the ponies that mom and dad wanted to speak with." Shooting Star explained.
"Ah, the visitors. Right this way then." The guards moved aside, allowing the doors to the Sky Monarch to open. Celestia, Luna, Adagio and Passion descended as they all passed through with Shooting Star leading the way. Some guards also stood behind the group for safety.
Entering the castle and the hallways for the first time, their eyes had witnessed a pair of impressive curved staircases and guards dotted around. This place was certainly heavily guarded, making it difficult for someone to sneak in without coming across one pegasus at least.
The walls and ceiling were decorated with never-before-seen crystals that do not exist in Equestria. These crystals emanated a red and golden colour as they glistened, adding flair to the room. This castle also had an assortment of rooms within this long hallway. Both this floor and the upper floor. By looking through the windows, they seemed to be guest rooms.
But as they walked through the castle Celestia and the others were wondering what Ash's group was up to at the moment.
In one of the temples.
Right now, they were in the midst of trying to avoid all of the dangerous traps that the temple had possessed. The minute they came across one of these temples, they were met with all of the ancient traps here.
"I thought you said you knew what you were doing, Rainbow Dash!" Applejack cried out as she had narrowly dodged an incoming metal bar that came in rows. Sceptile used his vines to grab the bars, tossing them away.
"Sorry! I guess not every temple is the same!" Rainbow Dash apologized as her faith in the Daring Do books didn't help her this time. She flew over some of the metal bars that seemed to be endless.
"Lucario! Force Palm! Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash commanded his Pokemon while running from this room.
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu and Lucario had broken the metal bars either in half or pieces from their raw strength via a harder metal or a palm strike. After dealing with the bars here, everyone immediately entered the next room.
But they were immediately met with the next trap in an instant. Lucario reacted before everyone else thanks to his Aura as he came to a screeching halt. The Aura Pokemon pushed everyone back with a pulse of Aura, and at the right time.
A giant steel box was dropped from the ceiling, almost crushing them underneath it. It even shook the entire temple. Lucario smashed through the metal box with Force Palm, destroying it and giving everyone a free path. Once he did so, everyone advanced. However, that wasn't the only metal box.
Lucario sensed more falling from above in rows. Each step the group took, more boxes will arrive. The trap reacts to the movement of its targets.
"Luca!" Lucario created Aura Sphere within his hands as he allowed everyone to go ahead of him. The Aura Pokemon obliterated the falling boxes in the air by shooting multiple Aura Spheres. He eradicated each of them before they could even hit the floor or even touch Ash and the others.
"Thanks, Lucario!" Twilight thanked the Aura Pokemon. However, they weren't fully safe yet. Even though Lucario destroyed all of the metal boxes in this room, other traps were waiting for them.
And this time, the next entrance had different paths, each going in separate directions. Everyone came to a screeching halt, standing before the paths.
"Great! Now there's this?!" bellowed Starlight.
"Let's not take any chances! Stick to one path!" Twilight ordered everyone. They couldn't take the risk of going separate paths as that might make things worse for them. So, they chose to stick as one group.
However, as they all went down one path, the middle path, the temple would soon deny them the chance of sticking together as a group.
Turns out, those separate paths existed for a reason. Not just to make someone choose or path over the rest. Each path had its own booby trap. And the middle one was no exception.
By running across the middle path, the other pathways had suddenly descended, breaking apart before everyone's eyes, as if they were being dragged down. And once they descended, the area around Ash and the others revealed a bottomless pit as the pathways had fallen into this pit. Taking the middle path was both a good and bad idea.
The good part of it was that it was the only pathway that didn't sink to the pit. The bad part was that this pathway was now thinner due to other pathways sinking. And now everyone was walking on that thin pathway. As if that wasn't enough, arrows were being shot at them via pistons on the walls.
Lucario turned around, holding up an Aura Sphere to block the incoming arrows as everyone had to now walk on this thin path except for running. However, those that could fly chose to use the air instead, ignoring the trap's pits. More arrows kept showing up from all sides, threatening to hit them while they were on this thin path.
"Espeon!" Espeon had used Psychic to hold the incoming arrows, shooting them back at the pistons that they were fired from. Some of the pistons had been obliterated by the arrows as Lucario and Espeon successfully protected everyone from harm. But it wasn't over yet.
Behind them, the platforms were also starting to fall as they ran. Each step they took, the tiles of the middle pathway sank in response to the foot and hoofsteps that pressed on them. And more pistons with arrows were approaching. Lucario was forced to keep moving back from the falling tiles. It would be a bit harder to focus with the floor beneath him falling apart each passing second.
"Sceptile! Make some vines!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Sceptile!" The Forest Pokemon jumped into the air, holding his arms out and allowing all of the hidden vines to appear from him. Multiple vines flew across the room, sticking and latching onto the walls, forming the shape of a spider web.
Sceptile then landed on this spider web as he also used the rest of his vines to grab Applejack and everyone else bringing them up the vine web for protection. Plus, Sceptile's vines were thick enough to withstand the arrows. Lucario and Espeon then destroyed the pistons by using Aura Sphere and Dazzling Gleam on them.
That solved their arrow problem as all of the pistons had been obliterated. But even though they've stopped that trap, they still had to deal with the thin pathway below them along with the bottomless pit.
Thankfully, Sceptile and anyone else that could fly helped with that. With precision, they all gradually left this part of the trap room.
"This is a bit much, isn't it?" Chloe sighed. "Is there an easier way to get out of this place?"
"Only one easy way. Castform, use Weather Ball on the ceiling." Rainbow Dash ordered.
"Cast!" The Weather Pokemon flew out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag as his cells reacted to the bright sun, transforming him into his Sunny Form. Castform then opened his mouth, shooting a ball of fire upwards.
The ceiling had been struck, receiving a blown hole through it. Rainbow was hoping to have the ceiling reveal the outside of the temple. But it didn't. All it did was reveal the upper floor, much to her chagrin.
"Man, his place is tough," Ash said. "Bet the pegasi who built this must've really prepared for anything, huh?"
"Pikachu."
"How'd they even live in a place like this?" Goh sighed.
"This is most likely a temple meant for enemies," Twilight replied as they were all slowly moving on Sceptile's vines for safety. "There are average temples which were meant for living and temples like these for less habitual reasons. That would explain the massive path at the other temple."
"What massive path?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Right near one of the temples, I saw something noticeable. That temple looked like it was nearly destroyed with major parts of it missing. There was also a huge crater surrounding the temple along with a giant path, suggesting that something was dragged through it. Something big."
"So, you're saying the pegasi that lived here dragged something through that temple? Why?" Starlight questioned. "And what were they even dragging?"
"No idea. But judging from all the destruction around that one temple, they were most likely dragging it in a hurry instead of taking their time. Otherwise, they wouldn't have caused such visible damage."
"Oh! So like a really big battle happened here, then?!" Rainbow Dash put her hooves together.
"Maybe." Twilight simply shrugged as the group was about to enter the next room. They were prepared for whatever trap would come their way this time after having time to breathe.
However, thankfully, they had reached the end of this little temple run as the light from the sun revealed itself, showing Ash's group the vibrant green grass. They had endured the temple.
In truth, they ended up taking a quicker route through it without even noticing. But honestly, with how new this was to them, could anyone blame them? Sighs of relief exhaled out of their mouths as their hearts could beat normally. For their first temple run, that wasn't so bad, honestly.
Then again, Ash has been through a temple run himself via the Sea Temple so this wasn't his first rodeo. But that temple was certainly different from the Sea Temple.
"Man, what a rush that was!" Ash laughed, thoroughly enjoying himself after all of that.
"Pikachu!"
"Finally...That could've gone worse..." Starlight slumped on the vine web. "Let's not go through another one of those again, okay?"
"Where to next then?" Chloe asked as Sceptile lowered the vines, allowing everyone to get off and touch the soft grassy ground.
"What about the capital of Pegalysium?" Pinkie suggested. "We just gotta see what that place is really like, ya know!"
"I mean...we're allowed to go alongside Princess Celesia." Twilight sat down, placing her hoof on her chin, pondering for a moment. She would like to be by Celestia's side right about now and see the city for herself. "Heading there would be nice."
"Then it's settled." Ash put his hands together. "Next stop, the main city! If we wanna go up there, we might need to use those Flow-up streams, right?"
"Maybe not since the clouds have changed everything. But that does kinda sound fun actually." Pinkie bounced along as everyone started moving again throughout this sky land.
The temple experience did have its fun moments despite threatening their lives. If anything, theirs was a bit tamer than what Celestia had to go through. An entire Cloud Tsunami with flames inside was still bizarre to think about and they may never experience it.
Yet.
Sky Monarch. Throne Room.
Finally. The throne room.
Where Celestia needed to be. She and her group had to scale ten flights of stairs just to reach here. But the journey was worth it as the door had been opened by Shooting Star himself.
"Mom, dad! I'm back! And I've got your visitors!" He announced as he revealed the throne room and the ponies residing in it to Celestia and the others. They didn't focus on the interior of the throne room, but only the ponies sitting there.
King Paramount and Queen Luminary.
"My little Star!" Queen Luminary was the first to speak, not paying attention to Celestia, Luna, Adagio and especially not the Pokemon despite their unique appearances. Her son was the first thing she paid attention to. She dashed over to her son, gifting him a hug. "Where were you, do you have any idea how worried I was young stallion?! You were gone for 2 days!"
"I was only going for research since cousin Sandstorm asked me to." Shooting Star groaned as his mother was hugging him excessively.
"I know! But your father and I were worried sick! Isn't that right dear?!" She turned to King Paramount.
"You've finally made it." But King Paramount was the opposite. While Luminary was focused on her son, Paramount focused on Celestia's group. "Princess Celestia, was it?"
"Y-Yes." Celesia nodded as she could already feel the intimidating aura exuding out of the king. "Sorry for the delay."
"Hm. Have a seat at our roundtable. Shooting Star. You may leave." Paramount spoke to his son whilst walking to the massive roundtable that sat in the middle of the throne room.
"Oh. I was kinda wondering if I could just talk to them a little bit because the-" He rambled on as his father ended up giving him a sharp stare, immediately causing the young unicorn to stay quiet. "I'll just go to my room then." Just like that, he dashed out of the throne room to do his own business.
Celestia, Luna and Adagio sat down on the chairs that surrounded the roundtable while Passion and Arcanine stood beside their trainers. Out of curiosity, Luminary went up to the Embrace and Legendary Pokemon.
Passion already had her hands ready for whatever might threaten her while Arcanine built up some flames from within. However, as Queen Luminary came close, she put her hooves on the Legendary Pokemon's fur, touching him.
"Oh, look at this. It's softer than the Air Wolves we have here. And so adorable as well!" Luminary gushed as she was rubbing the right spots of Arcanine, satisfying the Fire-Type.
"Arca...Arcanine!" Arcanine panted with his tongue out, licking Queen Luminary's face. The Legendary Pokemon could sense no ill intent from her at the moment.
"Anyway..." King Paramount wasn't too focused on the Pokemon despite his wife's actions. "I believe you know why we are having this meeting and why I have summoned you here."
"I know. It's about Pegalysium being discovered by me on that very day." Celestia nodded. "I assume I should've never found it in the first place, correct?"
"That is right. Pegalysium should've been hidden to everypony below for all eternity. But the Concealment clouds seemed to have failed for a moment, revealing part of it." Paramount replied.
"Concealment clouds?" said Celestia, curious about those kinds of clouds.
"Here at Pegalysium, we have clouds of various varieties," Luminary spoke up.
"Aside from you finding it and the Memoir Petal failing to erase your memories, we have called you here to actually discuss your own land below." Paramount followed after. "It has been centuries up centuries that anypony from below has even gained knowledge or seen Pegalysium. The only time anypony has even heard of it was when it was first constructed above the clouds."
"I apologize for intruding." Celestia lowered her head, giving an apology. "Pegalysium had been a fable and foal's tale that existed during my mother and fathers time and faded away over time. If you wish for us to not spread information about it then I can promise that I will keep it all hidden away from everypony for years to come."
"Right. However, considering the events and actions that happened below...that may not be the case." Luminary shook her head.
"What do you mean by that?" Luna questioned.
"Even though we here at Pegalysium reside in the skies forever, we occasionally head below if we wish to find better resources for our subjects across the nation by sending secret pegasi to do so. They do not interact with other ponies, however. And we are most definitely aware of the Strange and Mysterious creatures known as Pokemon."
"Y-You know about Pokemon?!" Celestia leaned forward, gasping.
"We do. And we also know about the destructive fury they hold. Especially considering how they've affected Pegalysium." Paramount narrowed his eyes, giving Celestia and Luna a slight shock. "Your actions are included."
"Our...actions?" Luna spoke slowly.
"These battles that you have with Pokemon reached far greater than you can imagine. Pegalysium and other cities, towns and states have been victims of their battles and frequent power surges. The Pokemon have threatened to destroy our entire nation, and they have been come close at times. Last year, some sort of potent power shook the entire world while also destroying some of our cities." Paramount went on.
Hearing about the entire world made Celestia realize that was Passion's doing when she had an uncontrollable power surge as a Kirlia. Unknowingly, they affected Pegalysium as well before they knew it existed. Passion put her hands together, acting sheepishly as she also knew she was the cause of this.
"O-Oh..." Celestia simply said, feeling guilty.
"Not just that. Fairly recently, many weeks back, two dragon-like creatures shook our whole foundation by battling through the skies. They obliterated many clouds with their battle, including our own. The clouds that held many landmarks were obliterated, falling out of the sky. Fire and lightning eclipsed the clouds, threatening to destroy Pegalysium. We were thankful to save them with the combined magic of my wife and I."
Obviously, that referred to Reshiram and Zekrom's battle. Their battle was so intense that they obliterated many cloud formations and caused lightning and flames to erupt from said clouds. Reshiram and Zekrom certainly had the power to destroy the world themselves.
Celestia and Luna's nervousness and guilt were piling up. They weren't aware of this at all and the damage that they had caused as they scrunched their faces."
"They are wonderful creatures are certainly adorable to look at, however..." Luminary looked at Passion and Arcanine before turning to face the two princesses. "Our Royal Advisor had a clear vision of them in the future."
"A vision? W-What kind of vision?" Adagio asked.
"A vision that the Pokemon will destroy the world itself. No. Our universe." Paramount cut to the chase immediately as all three ponies gasped collectively.
"Destroy the world?! W-When?! Luna leaned forward.
"At any given time." He replied instantly. "With all that power they hold, the due date for the end of our universe could be any moment. However, we know of a way to stop this."
"You do? How?" Celestia was curious as she nodded rapidly.
"The Blue-Violet Hole. Months ago, we figured out how it functions. And it's simple. Once it leaves this world, all will return to normal and the Pokemon will leave as well. That is what we are hoping to make a reality. And possibly, the Blue-Violet Hole may grant us that wish soon."
"The Rift? Y-You actually want it to leave and pretend like none of this ever happened?" Adagio said.
"For the safety of Pegalysium and your own world. The Pokemon should have never been here in the first place. All of this is nothing but a fantasy that the Blue-Violet Hole has made possible and in the process, endangering the lives of many." Paramount stood up tall. "Our world should not be on the verge of destruction because some entity wishes to find enjoyment."
"Well...I agree on that part about the Rift's actions to witness entertainment." Celestia stood up. "However, we at Equestria, across the world and even in the Pokemon World wish to keep things the way they are?"
"I beg your pardon?" Paramount narrowed his eyes after.
"Down below, we have managed to actually form bonds with the Pokemon, gaining new friendships from them. Even the humans from the Pokemon World have become closer to us, forming unseen relationships. And they are certainly scared about having everything return to normal." Celestia explained her side while looking at Passion and Arcanine. "Having them just vanish from our memories as if none of this happened would be devastating and the loss of the friendships that we have formed. So are we choosing to keep things the way they are."
"You would allow these creatures to exist onwards in our world just for something like Friendship?" He raised an eyebrow as the atmosphere of the room was changing.
"D-Dear..." Luminary could feel that atmosphere changing and the tone of her husband.
"I do. Whether by Jirachi or by Cold Colt mastering his magic, we will stay with the Pokemon and humans. And we will prevent the universe from being destroyed by the Pokemon so we can continue to live in harmony." Celestia made her decision.
"Tch. I disagree. These Pokemon have already dealt so much cataclysmic damage to parts of our nation. Even our rival lands from the far north and east have suffered from their battles. The visions of our Royal Advisor never fail. In fact, the vision he had spoke of you finding Pegalysium, Princess Celestia. The universe will end with the existence of the Pokemon and we are going to make sure that never comes. And if the Blue-Violet Hole fails to restore everything to how it was before, then we will take it upon our own hooves to fix it."
"And what do you mean by that?" Celestia also narrowed her eyes, nervous about Paramount's response.
"We will harness the magic that comes from the Blue-Violet Hole to make things right. If it has the power to alter fate, then we shall do the same."
"Do you have any idea how long of a risk you are taking with that? Rift Magic is something that should only be interfered with slightly." Celestia placed her hooves on the table. "The Travel Spheres are examples of that. Changing and manipulating fate itself should be out of the question."
"I think not." He scoffed. "Who cares about boundaries when your own universe is at risk. And the fact that you are willingly choosing to have these destructive creatures continue living here, even though they were never meant to arrive here in the first place is rather jarring. You wish to keep the universe safe, don't you?"
"I do! But I don't want to say goodbye to the new friends I've made and forget them forever." Celestia shook her head. "The same goes for everypony who has had the pleasure of meeting with the humans and Pokemon. Even the new friends we've formed here in Equestria that were never meant to be possible in the original timeline. That is the future we want to keep."
"Hoh? And you arent changing fate yourself by doing so?" Paramount looked down at Celestia with his eyes flaring.
"Call it what you want. But I will not let you remove what we have found with this possibility. And we won't allow the universe to be destroyed, even if your vision says it will." Celestia declared. The room fell silent as even Adagio was nervous, holding her necklace and shifting her eyes to the side.
Princess Celestia and King Paramount glared at each other for a while with stern looks on their faces. Although, King Paramount always seemed to have a stern emotion and this was only intensified.
They were both hoping for a civil discussion in this meeting. But it seems that did not play out as they hoped it would. Outside, Shooting Star had heard the whole conversation as he backed away, fearing that the intensity may increase. After looking at each other for a while, the final words were spoken.
"Hmph. Very well then." Paramount sat back down. "Leave. Return to your nation and bring about the destruction of everything we hold dear. As for us, we shall pursue our goal of restoring everything to how it should have been. And if you even think about getting in our way..."
"I know. Luna. Everyone. Let's go." Celestia gave her final words as they all walked off. They were done here. Arcanine looked back at Queen Luminary who gave a sheepish grin and wave. In truth, she was actually supportive of restoring the world to its original timeline.
A world without the Pokemon.
Celestia was obviously going to tell Ash and the others about their departure. And she would do so by using her Xtrasceiver. She took out the communication device, instantly selecting Ash's Trainer number. The device started ringing as Ash picked it up immediately.
"Yeah? Celestia, what's up? Did you get there?" Ash spoke.
"We did. And we're leaving."
"Huh? Now?"
"Pikachu?"
"Yes. I'll explain everything along the way." Celestia then hung the call up before placing the Xtransceiver back in her saddlebag. They were leaving Pegalysium for probably the last time.
Celestia may never have the chance to see Garnet again and teach her about the Pokemon and what they have to offer. And the same goes for Shooting Star, who had his own thoughts about the Pokemon and restoring the original timeline.
It was time for them to leave. Although, Team Rocket may not be there due to their own little adventure. But even so, they can leave the skies another way as the journey continues.
"Really?! That really happened?!" Twilight spoke as she and the others had reunited with Celestia's group.
"I'm afraid our civil discussion was a bust." Celestia sighed with her head down. "The King and Queen have made their decision. And so have I. Though...I wouldn't blame them. They are only trying to protect what they hold dear."
"Yeah but like, we wanna protect our own loved stuff too, right?" said Rainbow Dash. "We wanna keep everyone safe from guys like Ghetsis and all that."
"I know." Celestia nodded. "But with how things are now, it seems that only two things can be protected in King Paramount's eyes. But I promised that I would both keep these worlds connected and prevent the universe from being destroyed. I can definitely finish the first one with the help of Jirachi but the second one might prove to be troublesome."
"They said that their Royal Advisor had the ability to see visions," Luna explained. "Thus, the advisor witnessed the collapse of our universe by the hands of the Pokemon themselves. Whatever may happen in the future might be something we will not be prepared for."
"But we're always ready for anything. Right?" Spike let out a sheepish grin.
"The fate of the universe might not be one of them. If that vision is true, then what could happen? Empress Twilight could be considered a threat to other universes since she's conquered them." said Rarity.
"Not sure." Celestia shook her head. "But as it stands now, I'm afraid this will be the last time we will ever come to Pegalysium ever-"
"Wait!" But before Celestia could finish her sentence, over at the distance and flying over one of the many floating islands was the son of King Paramount and Queen Luminary.
Shooting Star.
"Hold on for a bit!" He cried out as he came to a screeching halt, sliding on the ground before wobbling about. "Finally caught up. You all move fast."
"Prince Shooting Star?" Celestia turned around, facing the young prince.
"Prince?!" Everyone said, hearing about Shooting Star for the first time.
"Don't leave now! What about exploring Pegalysium? And showing me more about these Pokemon? Oh, and what kind of Pokemon are those?!" He pointed his hoof over at Ash, Goh and Chloe, thinking they were Pokemon themselves.
"Sorry, young prince. But the meeting we had with your father and mother-" Luna stepped forward.
"I heard it all. I know what happened. Don't get the wrong idea about mom and dad okay? They're just super nervous about everyone else and the whole universe too. And you can't go yet. I can allow you guys to walk around Pegalysium. Royalty and everything." He pointed his hoof at himself. "But uh...maybe not at the capital. Probably just the other cities and towns at best.
"Yeah, right. You're probably all for returning everything to normal, aren't you?" Adagio narrowed her eyes, suspicious of Shooting Star's kind gesture.
"Well, no. I mean, I don't know anything about Pokemon to be honest or how they're gonna destroy the universe and all." He put his hoof behind his mane, rubbing and scratching it. "But, hey you said you wouldn't let the universe be destroyed, right, Princess Celestia."
"I did. I made that promise." Celestia nodded.
"So, it's not a bad look yet, right?" He gave a shrug and a wide grin. "Since you really mean to save everything in some way."
"But your father has a point. The Pokemon can truly be destructive at any given time." Celestia interrupted. "Passion once almost destroyed both worlds from her uncontrollable Psychic power and all of Equestria and possibly beyond was threatened by Eternatus and Zekrom as well. And it seems that as time goes on, the scales are only increasing. There is a grand possibility that whatever your Royal Advisor foresaw with that vision may come true."
"I...I guess..." Shooting Star looked away sheepishly.
"Hmm...Aha!" Ash then got an idea to find a good alternative at the moment. "So you wanna know all about Pokemon, right?"
"Oh yes! I got a good look at Princess Celestia's Pokemon and I was hooked in a second! But I don't think I'm gonna see any Pokemon if my dad reverts everything."
"Well, you can look at all the Pokemon you want with this." Just then, Ash took out of his bag, his Pokedex of all things. "Here."
"Ash. Your Pokedex?" Fluttershy looked over at the Alola Champion.
"If you wanna look at a bunch of Pokemon and what they're all about. Use this. I've got a lot of Pokemon scanned with this thing, so it'll keep you busy." Ash explained as Shooting Star held the Pokedex in his hooves. "Just choose the Pokemon you wanna look at and it'll tell you."
"Oh...really? Awesome!"
"Ash, are you sure?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, it's fine. I can just get another Pokedex after all." Ash was fine with this decision. Completely unbothered by it. "And maybe if things change, you can come by and check out all the Pokemon the world has to offer."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Thank you so much!" Shooting Star had a beaming smile as he raised the Pokedex into the air. "Oh, I can't wait to see what it can do! Oh like this button right here!" He then aimed it at Pikachu, wanting to see how the Pokedex worked. He easily found the power button as it immediately read the date for the Mouse Pokemon.
"Pikachu. The Mouse Pokemon. Pikachu that can generate powerful electricity have cheek sacs that are extra soft and super stretchy. Whenever Pikachu comes across something new, it blasts it with a jolt of electricity. If you come across a blackened berry, it’s evidence that this Pokémon mistook the intensity of its charge. These appear to become electrically charged during the night while Pikachu sleeps. It occasionally discharges electricity when it is dozy after waking up. When Pikachu meet, they’ll touch their tails together and exchange electricity through them as a form of greeting."
"Oh, really?! So that thing can make electricity?!" He gazed over at the Electric-Type.
"Sure can."
"Pikachu."
"A-And what about that one?!" He then aimed it at Espeon.
"Espeon. The Sun Pokemon. Espeon is extremely loyal to any Trainer it considers to be worthy. It is said that this Pokémon developed its precognitive powers to protect its Trainer from harm. The tip of its forked tail quivers when it is predicting its opponent’s next move. Its fur is so sensitive, it can feel minute shifts in the air and predict the weather and its foes’ thoughts. Psychic power builds up in the orb on its forehead as it bathes in the sunshine. Espeon is not good at battling at night."
"Wow! There's so many to look at!" Shooting Star then started scrolling down at the Pokedex after reading the two entries. "And I can really keep this?! You're one interesting Pokemon!"
"Oh, I'm not a Pokemon." Ash laughed. "I'm a human. Like Goh and Chloe here."
"Oooh...No idea what that is." He shook his head while fanboying over the Pokemon. He was eager to try it out on the other Pokemon in front of him.
"We should head home now, maybe. Team Rocket should be-" Fluttershy spoke but her sentence was quickly broken up by the abrupt trembling of the sky island they stood on, startling everyone. "Oh!"
"What's going on?!" Ash gasped as everyone almost lost their balance.
"Oh, it's time for the clouds to change formations again." Shooting Star said, looking up at the sky. "You all should hang onto the trees here or just stand still. The clouds tend to move pretty fast through the air and mess with the wind currents at this time."
Heeding Shooting Star's warning, they all did exactly what he said. Hold on to a tree. If the island would move that fast, then staying airborne would be a bad idea with the wind currents being altered.
Immediately after they did so, the clouds began carrying the island at rapid speeds, accelerating in just a second. The pressure of the air could already be felt as everyone's hair and fur started blowing in the wind.
Just like what the old lady over at the Sky Gate said, the islands in Pegalysium change formations and positions each time the clouds carry them. But she didn't mention anything about them moving at a speed like this. Everyone held on tight while Shooting Star stood still. He was used to this.
The clouds in Pegalysium carried each land switching positions. However, some islands remained untouched by the clouds. Turns out, not all of them undergo the position switch all the time. Only a select few.
West of Pegalysium.
As for Team Rocket, the island that they stood on hadn't been moved by the clouds. Right now, they had found themselves the place they were looking for.
Since they were searching for an ancient treasure that no one would mind being stolen considering how old and hidden it was, they went for the oldest looking place in Pegalysium. At least, the nearest one.
And the oldest place they could find was one of the temples. However, unlike the ones that Ash's group and Celestia's group had to go through, this was a temple that had no traps inside. That was because these traps were long out of shape. If anything, this would be one the oldest temples out there compared to the rest.
And as they hoped, many objects were buried here. Mostly rubble but also weapons that were once used by the pegasi living here. Most were blunt and some were broken in half. But Team Rocket didn't care about that. They were just searching for treasure as they already had their shovels ready.
While digging, Meowth heard something in the far distance. Most definitely the clouds that were moving the islands around. The wind pressure noises they made were fairly audible.
"Hm? What's that all about?" Meowth wondered as he looked outside the window. His eyes had bared witness to the sight of the islands themselves moving with the clouds being the cause of it. "What the?!"
"What is it, Meowth?" Jessie soon followed where Meowth stood, looking outside the same window. And immediately, she witnessed the same thing Meowth had experienced. "Huh?!"
"Did someone find us out?!" James gasped, holding the shovel close to him. The islands kept moving, passing through other clouds before leaving the sight of Jessie and Meowth. Right before their eyes, everything had switched up.
"Dig faster! Before this one starts moving!" Jessie exclaimed as she and Meowth dashed over, digging as fast as they could with their shovels. They moved across the ground, sending dirt up at great speeds. They were determined to find their treasure even if it meant being stuck up here.
Luckily, their ship was still present in Pegalysium.
As they continued digging, James' shovel ended up coming across something solid and hard, making his shovel shake. "Oh! I think we've found the jackpot!"
"Really?!" Jessie and Meowth dashed over to where James was. They all made a team effort by digging in the same spot at the same time.
And with their combined effort, they were able to uncover something golden. And just like that, their wishes had come true. The treasure that they were hoping for was here. Gold. Millions of it, just buried underneath.
"Oohohohoho!" Jessie giggled with excitement as their eyes lit up. "That's what I like to see!"
"Temples never disappoint, do they?!" James grinned.
"Let's grab it all!" Meowth tossed the shovel aside, putting his paws out. After finding their dream treasure, Team Rocket started grabbing as much as they could at incredible speeds. That's when Jessie received an idea.
"Bingo! That this temple with something! Then we can come back and grab the rest of the loot!" She let out a devious cackle while raising the stacks of gold bars.
To tag this place so that they remember which temple they raided, Jessie would have to use something prominent and visible if she wanted to come back here.
However, before she could do so, Meowth noticed something else yet again. Despite this temple haven broken down traps that no longer work and were beyond repair, there was still something threatening residing here.
Meowth's hairs flared up as he could sense trouble approaching. With a light gulp, he then heard hoofsteps coming from the upper floors of this temple. The Scratch Cat Pokemon then slowly turned his head, looking at the upper floor as he heard footsteps nearby.
And right on those upper floors, his eyes were met with the sight of s wolf-like creatures that had a bit of a unique appearance to them. They were identical to the Timber Wolves. Much like how there are regular animals in Pegalysium that have extra body parts and attributes that allow them to adapt to the sky, the same goes for every other creature here.
These were Air Wolves. The same creatures Queen Luminary spoke of. And they lived up to their names. Their fur was pale as the air with a bit of blue inside. Not to mention that they had wind waves flowing out of their eyes and fangs as they snarled.
Meowth nudged James, prompting him to pay attention as he too spotted the pack of Air Wolves. James scrunched his face as he then alerted Jessie, causing her to look over as well.
"What?" Jessie spoke as she as well saw the pack of Air Wolves. From all sides, the Air Wolves stood before them, snarling with wind waves coming out. Jessie then slowly lowered the gold bars as that only aggravated the wolves even more. "Are those Pokemon...?"
"Not the same art style as us..." Meowth whispered to Jessie.
"Let's just mosey on out of here. I think we're in their territory..." said a nervous James. They all made the collective decision to get out of here with the current gold that they had.
But the moment they took the first step, the Air Wolves chose to attack their prey as they collectively barked and jumped off the floors. Team Rocket started screaming as they bolted off with their usual fast legs, holding the gold close to them.
There was now an immediate pursuit. The ferocious Air Wolves that wished to catch their prey and possibly devour them and the hasty Team Rocket, aiming to hightail it out of here with the treasure they have found.
Team Rocket were certainly faster than the average individual. Mostly from chasing Ash and Pikachu around for so many years and their excellent poses.
The Air Wolves had something special in store for Team Rocket. They were predators in the wildlife for obvious reasons. But the major reason was their howl. One of the wolves let out a single howl, and that howl caused a vortex of wind to fly out.
Team Rocket wailed once more as they had been blown back by this vortex of air, spinning around. If anything, that was a plus since it helped to boost them out of the temple. But they still had to escape from the Air Wolves even when leaving the temple.
Pegalysium Capital. Sky Monarch.
After a debate against Princess Celestia, the tense atmosphere remained inside the castle. Most of it was emanating from King Paramount.
He and Celestia had differing views However, their main motivation stayed the same. To protect everything from destruction by all means. Queen Luminary supported her husband's choices but felt as if that discussion could've gone better. That is when she suggested something else to the king.
"Another meeting?"
"Yes. Just a second chance for us to understand each other better." Luminary nodded.
"We have both made up our minds. We cannot understand each other in the scope of things. The fate of the universe is far too important to try and patch things up."
"Come on. They mean well. I could tell that they are good ponies at heart. They wouldn't want this universe to be obliterated, wouldn't they? Princess Celestia spoke of protecting it herself after all."
"I know...But I refuse to have another discussion with them." He closed his eyes, stomping his foot as to make his final point. But Luminary could care less about that.
"I'll do the honour of inviting them next time! And perhaps we can just spend some time together with a nice walk and exploration of our nation."
"Inviting them again?" Paramount shot up with his eyes opening.
"I'll prepare the letter! Bye, dear!" And with a whistle she flew off, heading her own separate way. Paramount put his hoof out to try and stop her but it was too late. She made up her mind and there was no stopping her.
"Ugh..." Paramount groaned afterwards. The king walked through the halls while Queen Luminary stood outside, speaking to some of her subjects.
As for Paramount, he had to speak with the one who could perceive the future with his visions. His Royal Advisor. He entered a chamber where the Royal Advisor resided, wearing a white and golden hood as his clothing.
"That was a disappointment." Paramount sighed. "The meeting with Princess Celestia ended poorly."
"Hm. It did." The Royal Advisor nodded. "To be honest, I didn't need my vision to know that discussion would turn out horrid."
"Does she not realize how allowing the Pokemon to exist in this world could doom everything to total annihilation. A world like this was never meant to exist in the first place. It disrupts the timeline, possibly bringing us to a worse outcome than intended in the original. Do you not agree, my advisor?"
"Sure." The advisor shrugged. "However which way it goes, the universe will end either way."
"That is what I am trying to prevent. Apparently, they call the Blue-Violet Hole the Rift. If I can harness all of what it holds, I can change fate itself. Right? I can possibly achieve such a thing and prevent the destruction?"
"I don't know." Yet again, he gave another shrug. "But, the future can be changed. After all, you have the other crux to bet on, remember?"
"Right. I remember. The Pegasus of Destiny. Obviously, my son, Shooting Star is that pegasus."
"Oh, he is. He's this decade's Pegasus of Destiny. But, unlike the previous ones, he may not be able to accomplish it by himself."
"Nonsense. My son is capable of handling himself. Most of the time..."
"Hm. Maybe." He gave a third shrug once more. "But my visions say otherwise."
"What do you mean? What is different about this destiny?" Paramount asked as the advisor trotted on, approaching a wall that had a curtain draped over it. The king followed after him.
The advisor then unveiled the carpet, revealing a mural. This mural had been on the wall for a while now as it looked to be fairly new. About 2 months old at best. This disposition of art showed the rendition of a pegasus. The king had seen this before as the pegasus in the very middle was meant to be his son but in a more artistic style.
However, he noticed something different. Three other pegasi were near the rendition of his son. Pegasi that were hard to make out as he squinted his eyes.
"Advisor...Who are those three pegasi? They were never there on the mural 2 months ago."
"That's where the vision came in, your majesty. Just 4 weeks ago, this mural had been altered to match my new vision. As you can see, three pegasi stand next to your son. Him being the new Pegasus of Destiny will gift him allies as opposed to the others that have been independent."
"Tch. I would've preferred if my son was by himself." Paramount scoffed, wanting his son to be so special that he could handle anything on his own. But this would have to do as well. "And who are these three pegasi?"
"Ah. From what my vision could muster up. These were the three. One with a charitable heart and the colour of butter. One that emanates a chromatic light. And one that is a hybrid and of a separate origin."
"Must you always add puzzles to your visions?" Paramount facehoofed.
"It's more fun that way. Besides, I cant' make out their faces or names. These three pegasi will assist your son in one sole event."
"Just one? So will they not stick around?"
"Not at all. Once they've served their purpose, the mural might have to change. But who knows? The future-"
"Might change, I know." Paramount finished the advisor's sentence as he already knew this song and dance after having his Royal Advisor for many years. "So, when will these three miraculous pegasi arrive? Or are they perhaps here in Pegalysium and we have yet to find out who?"
"You will have to wait and see. Oh, one more thing, your majesty. During our resources, one of our troops made an amazing discovery."
"And that is?"
"There exists a pony that has the power to control the Rift energy itself from what they have found. Perhaps that could be the answer to it? Would you like to make another invitation?"
"Really now? Come to think of it..." Paramount then turned around, putting his hoof on his chin as he recalled a few sentences from his meeting with Celestia.
"Whether by Jirachi or by Cold Colt mastering his magic, we will stay with the Pokemon and humans."
"Rift Magic is something that should only be interfered with slightly. The Travel Spheres are examples of that. Changing and manipulating fate itself should be out of the question."
"Seems as though Equestria already holds an adept grip on this...Rift Magic. This could also mean that there are remnants of Rift Magic across Equestria. Perhaps in the form of items." Paramount then turned to his advisor. "Our other resources can wait. We must receive any object that can grant us access to Rift Magic."
"Why not ask that one pony who was seen using it?" He suggested to the king.
"Fine. Ask her if she can assist us. If not then we will just focus on the objects." He gave his last orders for the day before turning around and leaving the room. "Just you wait and see, Princess Celestia."
West of Pegalysium.
After the clouds had stopped moving, many positions had changed. Ash and the others let go of the trees they held onto as they felt the rush through their bodies.
"Oh, man..." Ash held his head.
"Pikachu..."
"I didn't think they would be that fast..." Twilight said as everyone felt woozy and befuddled after the rapid movements of the clouds.
"Prince Shooting Star. How come you can take it without grabbing on something?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Oh, I just stand still because it makes me look cool." He smiled before changing his expression to something queasy. "But it does make me wanna barf sometimes!" He then turned around, facing a bush as he hurled rainbows out.
"Well...that was a trip. But we should be heading home right now." Celestia said, helping Adagio off the ground. "But how far are we from the ship now? Is it still up north?"
"Hold on, let me see." Ash had a solution to their little problem. Ash took out his Poke Ball, sending out the Aura Pokemon Lucario.
"Lucario!"
"Oh, what is that?!" The young prince found a new Pokemon to gawk at as he hovered the Pokedex on Lucario.
"Lucario. The Aura Pokemon. Lucario has the ability to sense the auras of all things. It understands human speech. By reading the auras of all things, it can tell how others are feeling from over half a mile away and read their thoughts and movements. Not only does it perceive auras, but it has also gained the power to control them. It employs them in battle. It’s said that no foe can remain invisible to Lucario since it can detect auras. Even foes it could not otherwise see. Only Trainers who have justice in their hearts can earn this Pokémon’s trust."
"Okay, Lucario. See if you can find Team Rocket." Ash said.
"Luca." Lucario was ready to do just that. He closed his eyes, allowing the Aura to do the work. Once he did so, everything around him darkened as he could see the Auras of Ash, Twilight and everyone here.
He then moved his sight throughout this jungle, moving miles in just seconds. He saw the Auras of the winged creatures and even the plant life here. Almost everything had an Aura here.
"Amazing..." Shooting Star's jaw dropped. "It can just do that?"
"Yeah. Lucario's a pretty special Pokemon!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as Lucario growled at her, wanting to focus without any distraction. "Oh, sorry."
As Lucario moved his sight, he could sense multiple Auras in one spot and they were each rapidly moving. Three of these Auras were very familiar.
That was because they belonged to Team Rocket. Lucario had found his targets. However, he sensed other high Auras chasing after Team Rocket. It was the Air Wolves. And from the direction they were running, they were close to here since the clouds carried this jungle to the west.
"Lucario!" Lucario opened his eyes, sending a pulse of Aura towards Ash, giving him a message.
"Really?!" Ash turned around after receiving Lucario's message.
"What?! What happened?!" Spike looked around.
"Up ahead!" Ash pointed forward, causing everyone to swivel in Ash's direction. Lucario's assumption was right about who was approaching here.
Right on the next floating island which was nearby was Team Rocket, holding the gold bards as they were still running from the Air Wolves. Not only could the wolves shoot out wind vortexes by howling, but they could also fly and become one with the wind due to their bodies.
"Team Rocket?!" Ash and everyone gasped.
"Oh! Air Wolves!" Shooting Star exclaimed. The wolves howled as they could move faster in the air. But Team Rocket could still edge out with their own speed.
They saw Ash and the others up ahead as they were aiming to jump over the current island to reach the next one. If anything, they knew that Ash and the others would be great bodyguards considering how strong they were. And they certainly needed protection from their pursuers.
"I won't give up one bar!" Jessie cried as she and Team Rocket jumped off the edge of the current floating island, attempting to reach the next one. Ash's group looked up as the Air Wolves then flew over Team Rocket while they were airborne.
"They ain't gonna make it! Sceptile!" Applejack commanded her Pokemon, knowing what he had to do.
"Sceptile! Sceptile ut his arms out, shooting the hidden vines he always carries with him. Team Rocket ran their legs in the air, trying to escape as the Air Wolves were closer now, snapping their fangs at them. Jessie screeched as her arm was almost bitten by these sky-based creatures.
Thankfully, Sceptile's vines were quick enough to save them. By wrapping around the Trio, the Forest Pokemon pulled them all back with his vines. Right before an Air Wolf almost bit on Meowth's tail.
"Tile!" Scptile then held Team Rocket in his hands, placing them down.
"Oh...Thanks for saving me again from certain doom." James looked at Appleajck.
"Haha!" Jessie taunted the Air Wolves, sticking her tongue out at them. "Too bad! We found this hidden gold fair and square, so hah!"
In response to Jessie's taunt, the Air Wolves continued their pursuit by moving through the air. They could essentially move from one island to the next in seconds. Jessie scrunched her face as the Air Wolves approached, howling in the azure sky.
"Time to go!" Luna exclaimed as everyone collectively chose to leave this place before things would get hairy afterwards. The Air Wolves sent out vortexes of wind from their mouths by barking. These vortexes blew away some of the clouds while also almost blowing the trees away.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder, sparking his body up with electricity before firing 100,000 volts. Those volts clashed with the vortex of wind before they both cancelled each other out. Pikachu then continued running alongside his partner.
The Air Wolves moved rapidly through the air, sending more waves of wind by just barking or howling. However, one of the howls was a call for assistance. And assistance certainly came. More Air Wolves moved through the air, responding to the call of their allies. And they were close by as well. Air Wolves seem to populate the west from what it seems.
Soon, a large pack started chasing Ash and the others down while trying to find the ship back home. Lucario snapped his eyes to the Air Wolves, creating an Aura Sphere in his palm.
"Lucario!" Lucario then shot the Aura Sphere, sending it towards his fellow canines. The Aura Sphere struck one Air Wolf, causing a pulsating aura explosion that blew away the other Air Wolves.
The wolves then worked together, creating a massive wind vortex by collectively barking. This vortex shredded through the jungle as Lucario put his arms up to try and block it. He successes somewhat. He took no damage but it did blow him away afterwards. The Aura Pokemon slid on the ground before running alongside everyone.
"Dino! Audino!" Audino could hear the engines of the ship through her ear. It was safe to say that they were going the right way.
However, more Air Wolves appeared in the front, startling everyone. The sky-based creatures then pounced at their targets. Paws forward, claws ou and fangs sharpened.
"Psychic!" In response, both Twilight and Celestia commanded their Pokemon. Espeon and Passion collectively fired an invisible mental wave of Psychic energy which blew away the Air Wolves.
"Dragon Pulse!" Applejack bellowed to Sceptile.
"Tile!" Sceptile held his breath, shooting out a giant dragon-shaped shockwave that blew through the sky-based creatures, causing a ferocious draconic explosion afterwards.
As they all ran or flew, their Pokemon assisted in protecting them from the massive pack of wolves that continued to pursue them. Castform fired a Weather Ball with flames which ended up burning some of the air that the Air Wolves possessed. Axew stayed in his regular first stage form, using Close Combat to smash away at the creatures with brute force.
Lucario used the energy of Force Palm to shoot out an orange beam, scaring some of the Air Wolves away. Pikachu and Passion used Thunderbolt at the same time. Chloe's Eevee saw this and chose to mimic them with Copycat, also shooting out some volts from her body.
"There it is!" Goh pointed forward at the ship. It was still there at the Sky Gate. One of the few islands that have not been moved by the clouds.
"Then let's head there in one final spurt of speed! Spike!" Ash turned to Spike.
"Oh, I got it! Axew, transform!"
"Xew!" Axew nodded in understanding as he jumped into the air. The Tusk Pokemon then put his arms together, allowing a golden light to eclipse his body. "Axew...! Ax...! Axorus!" Out came Haxorus, blowing away the light.
"Giga impact!" Spike commanded as he held onto Haxorus back. Ash did the same, grabbing onto the Axe Jaw Pokemon. So did Twilight. So did Adagio. And soon, everyone else grabbed onto each other in a chain position.
If they were going to get there with one might boost, they would have to rely on Haxorus' speed in Giga Impact. And once everyone held on, Haxorus could begin. He covered his body in an invisible aura as the Air Wolves approached the group from all sides.
"Haxorus!" With a mighty yell, the Axe Jaw Pokemon rocketed off the ground, leaving a shockwave that blew the Air Wolves away, confounding them before they even knew it. Haxorus moved through the sky at rapid speeds while everyone held on for dear life.
"Wooaah!" They all cried out. Shooting Star could see that he could take his leave now. He didn't need to go along. Plus, his father wouldn't approve and his mother would be worried once more. So, he let go of Haxorus, floating into the air.
"Goodbye, you all!" Shooting star bellowed, waving at the group. "I hope we meet again soon!"
A success. Not only did Haxorus move through the skies rapidly with Giga Impact, but he also stuck a neat landing on the nearby cloud with the ship. He made the cloud shake a bit with water dripping out of it.
"Xorus." Afterwards, Haxorus lowered the aura of Giga Impact with everyone dropping off of him.
"Oh...Thanks, Haxorus." Spike sighed.
"Haxorus." Haxorus gave a thumbs up before reverting into an Axew afterwards. "Axew."
"Disaster averted!" Jessie cackled as she and Team Rocket rushed over to the ship, not wasting any time. Everyone watched as the Trio ran into their ship through the open hatch. Immediately, they went to the backroom of the ship to keep the treasure safe.
All those gold bars had been placed down neatly afterwards. And not a scratch on them miraculously. This was Team Rocket's biggest achievement this week and they were proud of it. Everyone else was just eager to get home. Almost everyone. Some wanted to experience Pegalysium a bit more.
But that would have to wait.
Then, everyone got back on the ship with the doors closing. The engines increased their sound as they were ready to carry this ship wherever it can. Home is where it needed to be.
"Well, that was an experience." Twilight sighed. "Shame we might not come back here."
"Didn't even get to see the rest of the place and those cities..." Pinkie Pie slumped over.
"Sorry for the disappointment, everyone," Celestia spoke. "But, it is what it is. However, I'm sure when we end up stopping whatever threat may destroy our universe, then perhaps Pegalysium and us can cooperate."
"But when does that threat show up?" Rarity asked.
"Oh. This year's Grand Galloping Gala is closing in it seems." Cadence spoke as she looked at a ticket that allowed her to this year's Grand Galloping Gala. "This time we can make it."
"We can?" Shining Armor looked at the ticket. "Aren't we occupied for something?"
"It's next month so we won't be too busy by then." Cadence shook her head. "You've got one too Flurry Heart. And two more extra tickets."
"Ooh!" Flurry Heart took the ticket with her magic. "We had this back at home with auntie. But uh...I don't get to do much at that Gala anyways. Auntie just let me stand by her the whole night."
"Well now's your chance to really experience it. And with the Pokemon there, you can expect great things without a doubt. Now what to do with these two tickets?"
"Hmm...Oh! Can I bring somepony else with me?" She took the other ticket.
"Sure. Who will it be?"
"Uh..." Flurry Heart zoomed around, looking for a partner for the gala. If not, she may have to go by herself. But in truth, she will have Giratina by her side.
"Oh, by the way. The Equestria League Stadium has just finished." Shining Armor turned to Cadence.
"Really? I thought it would take another few days?"
"Turns out Psychic-Types can change that in a heartbeat. Now that the whole stadium's finished, we can watch the incoming matches. W-When everypony eventually finishes all the Gyms, that is."
"Oh! Flash!" Flurry Heart cried out to Flash who was currently standing with his fellow guards on the outside of the castle.
"Hm? Yes, princess?!" Flash responded by raising his voice.
"Could you come here for a second?!" Flurry Heart waved the tickets by holding one of them in her mouth and the other with her horn. However, she dropped the one from her mouth by opening it a bit. "Oops."
"I got it." Flash Sentry then flew upwards, catching the ticket in his hooves. He then flew over to the princess before looking at the ticket. "Oh, the Grand Galloping Gala in just 1 month."
"Mhm. That's an extra ticket right there." She leaned on the outside of the window. "I was wondering you could come with me. I mean...I can't dance."
"...I can't dance either, princess."
"You can't? Well, I was kinda hoping you could teach me." She giggled innocently.
"I can teach you both." Cadence walked up to the two of them. "I know a thing or two about dancing. Twilight used to do it a lot every time I went to foal sit her.
"Do I have to dance...?" Flash sighed.
"Not really. But hanging ut as friends in the Gala is just as entertaining, isn't it?" Cadence put her hooves around both their necks. "Oh, right. How would you like to take a look at the new Equestria League Stadium, dear? It just opened up."
"Would I?! I wanna see it for sure!" Flurry Heart nodded her head as her baby self was also in agreement. "Are we gonna see league matches already too?"
"Um...maybe not yet. But we'll see. Today is the opening for the stadium anyway. Are you coming, Flash?"
"I'll just stay here on patrol, your highness." Flash gave his response.
"Very well then. I'll be back to teach you what I know." Cadence broke the hug up as the older Flurry Heart and younger Flurry Heart were psyched to see the Equestria League Stadium in its prime and fresh-new appearance.
Canterlot. Day.
There it was.
In all of its glory. The Equestria League Stadium was finally complete. And it certainly had the look of a League Stadium as the golden sun beamed down on it, giving it some nice shine.
"Wow!" Ash was obviously there to see it himself along with the rest of his friends including the ponies of Canterlot. No one could ignore the scope and glamour of this arena. Not even the cold-hearted Adagio.
"Pikachu!"
"Brilliant, isn't it?" BigTime Ben stood before the arena. "After months of planning its design and a few patching here and there, it's complete. It took a while but it paid off in the end. Now the Equestria League or Canterlot Conference can come into fruition!"
"That is truly a job well done!" Celestia nodded in agreement with how wonderful it was. "How many ponies can it fit in there?"
"Combine that with the Pokemon, us humans, dragons, changelings and other species, I'd say...a couple billion or more." Ben speculated.
"Soon I'm gonna be standing there..." Rainbow Dash grinned with her eyes lighting up. She could already see herself battling in the stadium against anyone she could think of, mostly Spitfire, Daylight Blazer and Princess Luna. And very soon, she could become the first Equestria Champion and have a large trophy to carry around. "Oh, that reminds me. Where's the trophy?"
"Ah...the trophy's not ready yet." Ben scratched his hair. "Pinkie Pie chose the design of the trophy and it has yet to be completed. Said she wanted something that really represents Equestria and is distinct from other regional trophies. It will take a while but it'll be here during the day the League can truly begin.
"Sure did!" Pinkie shot up, admitting to the trophy being her idea. "It's gonna look great when it shows up! Trust me!"
"But in the meantime. I can declare the Equestria League Stadium open!" Celestia declared as everyone applauded. Now the place was officially available to enter and take part in Pokemon Battles. High-level Pokemon battles, that is.
Only the highly skilled Pokemon Trainers would be allowed to battle here as this would decide who was Equestria's best Pokemon Trainer and fit to be a champion.
"Right this way. Get a good feel of the place when you end experiencing the entire tournament." Ben said as he allowed everyone to enter. Immediately, they all rushed inside with Ash and Rainbow Dash being the first to enter.
The residents of Canterlot entered, immediately entering the stadium. They were first met with three doors. One that leads to the waiting room for the Trainers, one that leads to the stands where the viewers can sit and the other was just the snack hall. Just in case someone's hungry after a battle.
It was similar to the Canterlot Tournament Stadium that was sitting near it. And that made sense since that stadium was essentially a precursor to this one. Sort of an early model.
The waiting room also had a Mini-Pokemon Center that would obviously have Nurse Joy there. At the moment, Nurse Joy wasn't present but she'll be here when the time comes. Although, it's unknown which Nurse Joy from which city, town or region will fill this role.
Ash, Rainbow Dash and Flurry Heart ran out to the main arena where all the action will happen. Ben followed after them as they noticed the Equestria Flag in the middle. The surface for the arena itself was certainly tough. But how durable was it exactly?
Ash tapped his foot on the ground, feeling the hard marble coming from it. "This stuff's pretty tough. It can take a strong Pokemon move for sure."
"Pika-Pika." Pikachu tapped his tail on the arena to feel its durability.
"Ah, it's durability. We were planning to build it out of Skarmory wings but the stadium was already almost done." Ben explained. "But it should be more durable than the Canterlot Stadium. Every league hall in each region far exceeds the durability that other stadiums do. Strangely enough, Dig ignores this."
"Really?" Flurry Heart looked over at Ben. "So like...those Hyper Beams, Flamethrowers and all that other stuff. This arena won't even budge or break?"
"But how? Some Pokemon moves can obliterate the ground in seconds." Twilight flew over. "How come it can resist it? And why can Dig damage it? And only Dig."
"You'll have to see how tough it is when you battle on it. How does a quick Pokemon Battle sound to test things out? I want to make sure everything is just right for that fated day and future league battles." Ben suggested.
"Oh yeah!" Ash was eager for this.
"Ooh! Ooh! This could be my chance!" Flurry Heart dashed over, raising her hoof as if she was in a classroom.
"You two." Ben pointed both his fingers at Ash and Flurry Heart. "You'll have a quick battle to test the durability of this arena. Go all out but not too all out, understood?"
"Got it." Ash nodded. "Let's have a good one, Flurry Heart."
"Pikachu."
"My first Pokemon Battle...Do you know how psyched I am?!" Flurry Heart grabbed Ash by the shirt, shaking him up and down before flying over to her mother.
"I can see how psyched you are for sure." Cadence giggled before coming to a realization. Her eyes promptly widened after that realization. Flurry Heart might use Giratina. Her only Pokemon. "Wait...you aren't planning on using..."
"Come on, Ash! Let's get rolling!" She raised her hooves in excitement as Cadence gulped out of fear.
"Alright! Let's do this!" And Ash was eager to go for it. He was unaware of the overwhelming power that Flurry Heart was carrying with her. But then again, he wouldn't care.
Ash never backs down from a challenge.
They took their places on this fresh and new arena. To see just how strong this arena was, they would have an all-out Pokemon battle. It didn't matter if they could not finish their battle or if all of their Pokemon fainted. The residents of Canterlot sat down on the seats for the first time. This wouldn't be the last time. They were eager to see a Pokemon Battle anyway, especially one from Ash.
"This might turn out not so great..." The Princess of Love bit her hoof, panicking about Giratina as she shuddered.
"Why? Is something bad going to happen?" Twilight asked.
"Well...I have faith in Ash's skills so it might be so bad." She then cast a smile on her face. Albeit a nervous smile but a confident one as well. "G-Good luck you two!"
"Show us a great battle like always, Ash!" Rainbow Dash cheered.
Both of you. Bring out your Pokemon." Ben spoke, acting as the referee.
"Pikachu! I choose you!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, doing a flip in the air before sticking a stylish landing. He sparked his red sacs with electricity, ready for a good scrap.
"Okay...Just do what everyone here does. Flash taught you." Flurry Heart took a deep breath, preparing herself for her first battle. She wanted it to go well but also indulge in some fun with it. "Go, Giratina!"
"What did she say?!" Twilight and everyone stood up after hearing the young otherworld alicorn call out the name of her partner. Flurry Heart tossed the Ultra Ball, sending out the Renegade Pokemon.
Giratina.
"She has a Giratina?!" BigTime Ben fell on his back as Giratina let out a mighty yell, shaking the entire stadium and the buildings of Canterlot. Nearby, Reshiram and Zekrom sensed this tremor from a fellow Legendary Dragon-Type. They turned their heads, witnessing Giratina in the distance after letting out his roar.
"Giratina? Perfect!" Ash suddenly grinned, not worried about the giant Ghost-Dragon-Type in front of him. If anything, he was looking forward to this. Ash loves a challenge. And if he's going to defeat Leon and come out as the World's Strongest Pokemon Trainer, he will have to take on powerful Pokemon to prove it.
"Okay, Tina!" She gave the Renegade Pokemon a nickname, making most of the ponies hold their laughter in as some almost choked after hearing that nickname. "This is our first battle so let's do good! Wait, what moves do you have?" She quickly took out her Pokedex, reading the moves of the Renegade Pokemon.
"Giratina. The Renegade Pokemon. Shadow Force. Aura Sphere. Dragon Pulse. Iron Head."
"Sure. That looks good." She then put the dex away, readying herself. "Okay, I'm ready now!"
"T-Then!" Ben cleared his throat. "Go at it! Battle Start!"
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash pointed forward, making the first move with something instant and quick.
"Pika!" Pikachu immediately bolted off the ground, forming that same white aura around his tail as he moved at speeds so great, he left afterimages.
"Oh! Uh...!" Flurry Heart's mind started flashing at high speeds as she was thinking of a move to use. What could she possibly choose first? "Tina! Use Dragon Pulse!"
Too late for that. Pikachu moved at lighting speeds, already striking the Renegade Pokemon in his stomach with a swing of his hardened tail. Giratina flinched a bit as he was pushed slightly back from Iron Tail. But, Giratina went for Dragon Pulse either way. After being knocked back, the Renegade Pokemon opened his mouth wide summoning a dragon-shaped blast. With one burst, he fired a gigantic Dragon Pulse that tore through the air.
"Dodge and use Iron Tail again!"
"Pika!" Pikachu slid back after using Iron Tail. The Mouse Pokemon then bolted to the side, avoiding the incoming Dragon Pulse. The dragon-shaped shockwave struck the floor with a heavy and destructive force. And to everyone's surprise, despite an attack that strong hitting the arena, no damage was seen. Pikachu then jumped into the air, approaching Giratina's face with his tail hardening.
"Oh! Use Iron Head!" Flurry Heart exclaimed as Giratina hardened his head, also receiving power akin to that of pure steel. The Renegade Pokemon then roared as he smashed his head onto Pikachu's tail.
The two Steel forces collided, creating a loud clanging sound a vibrating shockwave that rung through the air, filling everyone's ears. And yet, the arena was unaffected by the shockwaves. Pikachu growled as he and Giratina had a small struggle before separating.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" After separating, Pikachu sent a bolt of 100,000 volts from his body while falling in mid-air. Thunderbolt gave him extra air time as it immediately engulfed the Renegade Pokemon.
Giratina had received a powerful electric shock, however, he did not budge from it at all. But he did gain sparks of electricity around his body, making him twitch.
"Are you okay, Tina?!" Flurry Heart gasped after seeing electricity surround Giratina's body. She promptly paused the battle, worrying for her partner. "Oh...This doesn't look good so far."
"Flurry Heart." Ash suddenly spoke, drawing her attention. "No need to worry. Don't get too worked up in it, alright? I know it seems pretty crazy going through your first Pokemon battle, but it's okay."
"I-It is?" She stuttered while facing Ash and Pikachu.
"Mhm. Trust in Giratina too." Ash nodded as the young alicorn turned to face Giratina. This is what she would have to expect if she wanted to get into Pokemon battling. Her Pokemon will receive damage in the long run. Whether small, large or even critical.
But her Pokemon will be there to power through it for the sake of their Trainer, much like how Ash, Twilight, Celestia and everyone's Pokemon do the same. Giratina gave an approving nod to his Trainer and so did Cadence.
"O-Okay!" Flurry Heart nodded before swallowing up her worries. "Then...Aura Sphere, Tina!"
By raising his legs, Giratina stomped on the ground, shaking the entirety of Canterlot and making everyone on the seats jump from the tremor. A giant sphere of Aura came flying out of the Renegade Pokemon's mouth.
"Pikachu! Advance with Quick Attack, then use Iron Tail!"
"Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu actually approached Aura Sphere instead of trying to evade or block it. Naturally, this seemed like a foolish mistake and recipe for a fainted Pokemon. But Ash is known for tackling odds with his Pokemon. And his Pokemon always find a way to hold their ground too.
Pikachu moved at blinding speeds with Quick Attack as he actually landed on the Aura Sphere. However, to avoid taking damage, when Pikachu landed on the sphere, he then instantly jumped off it, right when it blew up. He had bypassed Aura Sphere's damage by moving on it in a split second as a blue explosion erupted.
After doing so, Pikachu smacked Giratina in the face with Iron Tail, moving the Renegade Pokemon's head to the side. Giratina snarled as Pikachu then used Iron Tail on his neck for a second time before descending to the arena floor.
"Pika!"
"Let's try that one move! Shadow Force!" Finally, Giratina's signature move. Everyone, aside from Ash and Pikachu, was going to have the pleasure of witnessing this move for the first time. And a new one that they've never heard of before.
The middle of Giratina's head crest glows light blue. Giratina's body then turned black and disappears. He did this by travelling into another dimension that was separate from this one. Giratina did have that power after all. "Tina! Where'd you go?!" Flurry Heart looked around, wondering where her partner went. Everyone else wondered the same thing. Instead of just staying invisible like other Ghost-Types, Giratina was actually in another dimension, unclear to all eyes.
"I can't see Giratina at all..." Celesia narrowed her eyes, searching for any movements within the air patterns. "It's like it's not even here anymore. In this world."
"Did it go to another dimension?!" Twilight gasped, quickly putting the pieces together.
"Stay sharp, buddy." Ash already knew what Shadow Force was capable of. And so did Pikachu. They knew what to expect but they had to be cautious.
"Pika...!" Pikachu narrowed his eyes, preparing electricity in his sacs as everything fell silent. Only mutters from the crowd filled the air and the faint sound of electricity crackling.
After a total of 20 seconds, Ash's Aura felt something approaching. That's when he sensed the return of Giratina. The Renegade Pokemon was re-entering this dimension.
"Here it comes! Jump and use Electroweb!"
"What?! Where?!" Flurry Heart wasn't aware of Shadow Force's capabilities. And before she knew it, appearing beside Pikachu was her partner. In the blink of an eye, faster than the regular citizens and some Pokemon could react was the return of Giratina.
The air itself had broken apart, transforming into shards that faded away, showing how Giratina interacted with the dimensions themselves. His ability to move through them was so great that he actually shattered parts of said dimension with his movement.
A black blur was all that could be seen as the Ghost-Dragon-Type had a black and purple aura around his body, ready to smash into Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" But, the Mouse Pokemon was ready. At the right time, he used his nimble and fast body to jump high into the air. Right when Giratina broke through the dimensions. Pikachu was now above Giratina's large body as he already had Electroweb ready. "Pika-Pikachu-Pi!" And with a swing of a yellow orb that soon turned into a giant web, the Renegade Pokemon's head and most of his middle body had been caught by this.
Giratina's head was pinned down by Electroweb along with his neck and back, causing the Renegade Pokemon to stop moving for a second as he slid on the floor, crying out.
"Now, Iron Tail!"
"Chu...!" Pikachu then spun in the air, ready to send an overhead Iron Tail to the Ghost-Dragon-Type.
"Tina! Get up and use Dragon Pulse!"
Giratina's eyes flashed as he immediately ripped the net of electricity apart by just simply getting up, showing just how much natural physical force he has, despite being a Ghost.
Once he broke the Electroweb, he opened his mouth, firing an instant burst of Dragon Pulse from his mouth. Pikachu's eyes widened as his tail came into contact with Dragon Pulse. The collision resulted in an immediate explosion which pushed the Mouse Pokemon away.
"Pika!"
"Yes!" The young alicorn jumped for joy after finally landing a hit. "Okay, now use Aura Sphere!" After being blown back, Giratina then fired one more attack from his mouth in the form of Aura Sphere.
"Dodge with Quick Attack, then use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu grit his teeth as he used the speed of Quick Attack to move through the air. By using that speed, he dashed past Aura Sphere, evading it. The Mouse Pokemon then moved past Giratina at blinding speeds before shooting an instant bolt of 100,000 volts. Right from behind, Giratina had been struck by electricity.
"Iron Tail and spin around with it!"
"Use that Iron Head attack, Tina!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu slid on the floor after using Thunderbolt. He then jumped off the floor, spinning with Iron Tail. He was spinning so fast that he essentially became a yellow blur with the silver colouring of Iron Tail mixed in there.
Before Giratina could turn around for Iron Head, the Mouse Pokemon had smacked the back of his head with Iron Tail at a higher velocity, increasing the impact. However, even after being struck that hard, Giratina turned around with his eyes flashing. And in that second Pikachu's tail connected, the Renegade Pokemon responded by smashing his head onto the Mouse Pokemon.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out as he was rocketed to the floor from such a hard-headed hit. The Mouse Pokemon rolled on the durable floor but he wasn't out yet. Pikachu recovered by jumping off the floor and sliding afterwards.
However, even though Giratina landed a heavy hit with Iron Head, that's when Pikachu's Static kicked in. Large sparks of electricity formed around his body. He was now paralyzed.
"Oh! Tina what's wrong?!" Flurry Heart gasped.
"That would be paralysis," Ben spoke to the young alicorn. "Pikachu's ability is Static. Direct contact with him might result in immediate paralysis given the chances."
"Seriously?!" Flurry Heart turned to face Ben before looking up at Giratina.
"Le's go! Use Thunderbolt! Max power!"
"Pika!" Pikachu was going to do just that. He jumped high into the air, preparing one behemoth of a Thunderbolt. An instant burst of electricity coated his body as it was bigger than the previous auras.
"Tina, use Shadow Force!" Giratina couldn't move as quickly while paralyzed. Thus, Thunderbolt struck him before he could use Shadow Force. But he still went for it. He turned himself invisible, moving into a separate dimension.
"Spin with Thunderbolt!"
"Pikachu!" Afterwards, Pikachu landed on the floor before getting on his back. He used Thunderbolt one more time but this time in the form of Counter Shield. By spinning his body around, a frantic flurry of Thunderbolt flew about, going everywhere.
And once Giratina returned to this dimension, he was instantly met with some of the erratic Thunderbolts, shocking his body once more. Shadow Force couldn't be fully pulled off as the Renegade Pokemon was now made visible.
"Now, Iron Tail! Straight up!"
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu then stood up, rushing over to Giratina. Giratina was just recovering from Thunderbolt as Pikachu followed up with one more attack. He rushed over, getting in front of Giratina's face.
The Renegade Pokemon looked Pikachu in the eyes, delivering an upwards Iron Tail to his chin. Giratina had been knocked back a bit with his head moving upwards.
"He's seriously doing this good against a Legendary Pokemon?" Goh's jaw dropped.
"Well he is Ash after all, so it's not a big surprise." Spike shrugged.
"But Flurry Heart's not doing so great right now..." Cadence whimpered.
"Tina! Uh...um..." Flurry Heart's worries were kicking in again. Pikachu was winning this battle by a long shot. "Use um...Use-
"Alright, I think that's good enough!" Ben suddenly called this battle to an end. "I've seen how tough the stage can be so it looks durable enough for even Legendary Pokemon to battle on it."
"Oh. Oh..." Flurry Heart sighed. She was glad that it was over but also a bit upset it didn't go all the way. Giratina shook his head afterwards. "I totally messed that up. Thought I could win cause I had a Legendary Pokemon."
"Having a Legendary Pokemon won't always grant you victory if you're not using them to their full potential," Ben said. "But, for your first Pokemon Battle and with a Legendary Pokemon nonetheless, you did well."
"Sure did." Ash gave a thumbs up. "I mean, Giratina got a few licks in there."
"Pikachu."
"I guess so. Can't believe I was that nervous. I mean, I saw Flash and others do it. Why couldn't I do the same? It looks so easy!" The young alicorn.
"Practice makes perfect. I fumbled on my first Pokemon battle when I was young." Ben kneeled to face her as her mother flew over.
"Enough practice and you'll be ding great with Giratina like with Sylveon and I," said Cadence.
"Sylveon."
"A-Alright." She gave a stutter, then a nod. "Just kinda scared of seeing my Pokemon get hurt really badly. But I guess I have to go through it. Can you all teach me?"
"Well, your father receives training from Cobalion and the Swords of Justice so he and I can teach you a few things. Plus, Ash here helps out other upstart trainers."
"Mhm. I can teach you a lot. So can Hollow, Brawly, Volkner and everyone at the Pokemon School. I-It's not open yet but you can still visit them here and there." Ash grinned as Giratina gave an approving light growl. Flurry Heart then let out a smile, seeing how she was surrounded by wonderful individuals.
She never had this back at home. Everyone was so serious or either evaded her for the superior ruler, Empress Twilight, to who they showed loyalty. But being surrounded by new friends who would love to spend time with her was a beautiful feeling. Especially on that involved her parents. Eve if they aren't from the same universe.
"Thanks, everyone! I'll make sure to become an amazing trainer! Right, Tina?" She raised her hooves as Giratina gave a nod of approval.
"You sure will! But not as great as me! See all of this? I'm gonna be standing here as Equestria's Champion!" Rainbow Dash boasted, going on about the Equestria League.
"I think not." Luna interrupted. "I believe you mean, I will be Equestria's Champion. Let's not get everything confused, hm?"
"No way!" Over at the crowd, Daylight Blazer could be seen. "It's me!"
Obviously, the three contenders for Equestria's best trainer were all here, minus Spitfire who was at the Wonderbolts Academy. However, there were other ponies amongst the crowd who wished to be the champion. All have their own reasons.
And speaking of reasons, Spike was pondering something for a moment. After seeing the Equestria League Stadium, thinking about the trophy and everyone's reason for taking part in it, he figured that there was another way to see how good of a Dragon Trainer he could become.
"Something wrong, Spike?" Twilight turned to her assistant.
"Anyone can join, right?" Spike asked.
"Anyone as long as they achieve all 8 badges." Twilight nodded. "I hear some Dragons are looking to become the Equestria Champion themselves. Why?"
"All I needed to hear!" Spike let out a confident grin as Twilight already figured out what Spike was going for. And with that, Rainbow Dash and Luna felt a dangerous sensation after Spike's grin. They could already tell that they might have an incoming rival that they would have to deal with soon.
The Crystal Empire. Afternoon.
"Okay! Let's get rolling! I want to be as good as Ash or dad!" Flurry Heart stood outside the castle with Giratina casually out of his Ultra Ball. "Can we start training now, mom?"
"Sure-sure. But right after we practice that dancing we spoke of earlier today. Then we can train. Flash, come here!"
"Uh...Does it have to be near Giratina?" Flash gently walked over while Giratina stared at him. "And why does he keep staring at me most of the time?"
"I think he likes you." Flurry Heart giggled.
"Giratina's harmless. Come here." She dragged the pegasus along with her magic while the Renegade Pokemon's eyes tracked him down. Flash felt a foreboding sense of doom from Giratina's eyes as he was placed near the young alicorn.
Once Flash was near Flurry Heart, Giratina's red eyes flared for a split-second. And in that split second, Flash shuddered, feeling his heart sink. At any moment, he could be crushed, obliterated, eviscerated, eradicated or any form of doom that's possible.
But that day was not today.
With the Equestria League Stadium finally completed and at its best state, the day for the major tournament between ponies and potentially other races out there for the title of Equestria Champion is closing in. However long it may take, it will arrive either way as the journey continues.
The cause of everything happening at this moment. The reason for two worlds that were never meant to meet, actually crossing over. And it goes beyond that. Other worlds with alternate results and realities have been dragged into this event. And the remnants of the Rift are the result of that.
Remnants such as Cold Colt, Emerald Aura, Obsidian or even some Pokemon that have been affected by the Rift, such as Salamence, Axew and Togekiss. Unpredictable in every day, creating scenarios that many least expect or are unprepared for. And yet, they find a way to get through it.
However, some wish to harness what the Rift can offer. Some have achieved a semblance of this while others are in the process. Ghetsis and Empress Twilight Sparkle are prime examples, harnessing what the Rift has to offer and more for their own purposes. To rule over everything. While some wish to harness the Rift's energy for the sake of something better in their eyes, like King Paramount.
The number of those who want the Rift's power for themselves is low. But by themselves, they are powerful figures either way. And there was another powerful figure aiming to do the same. One by the name of Daybreaker.
But there is one who is unaware that she is a part of the Rift herself. Jade Skies.
Somewhere put in the fields of Equestria. Day.
Out in the fields, there exists a single mansion. And that mansion was made by Emerald Aura herself. Being a Rift Pony, she can do practically whatever she wanted with barely any limits.
If she wanted a nice cosy mansion to live in, she would create that mansion with no repercussions and no worries about paying bills. Speaking of which, the Rift Pony was currently sitting alone on a couch, reading some Daring Do books in the process.
There wasn't much Emerald Aura could do. Her role was essentially over and fairly short-lived. For her first day to create scenarios, the only thing that really stuck out for her was how she controlled Darkrai. And that was about it. But now, she's a free pony. However, that freedom does come with a drawback.
Loneliness.
Despite being free to do whatever she wants with her amazing magic, Emerald Aura truly felt alone living in this mansion in the fields. The mansion was nice, but she was missing some company.
"This blows..." The emerald-coloured pony sighed while placing the Daring Do book on the table. It was now just now that she realized being on her lonesome for so long was taxing.
The mansion was nice to look at sure. Everything she loved, her favourite foods and entertainment were all present here by just thinking about it. But it didn't mean much when there's no one else to socialize with. So, to fill that void, Emerald chose to make new ponies as her friends.
With a flash of her horn, she created 4 random ponies with randomized Cutie Marks as they all appeared out of thin air, sitting on the couches.
"There we go. This could work." She nodded in approval. "You'll all fill in for my friends, for sure."
"We will?" A gingerbread coloured stallion said.
"What are our names?" A mare coloured pony questioned.
"Well...I'll think about that. But your personalities are set in stone. You." Emerald pointed at the stallion. "You'll be gingerbread. And you'll be a thinker. A smarty-pants to be short."
"Oh. Okay." Gingerbread nodded. "I will?"
"You'll be Lapis." She pointed her hoof at the Lapis coloured mare. "You'll be clumsy. How does that sound?"
"Clumsy...Okay!" Immediately she put on a clumsy persona before thinking about it for a second. "Wait, why do I have to be clumsy?"
"Well because...Every group has an airhead, right?"
"I-I'm an airhead...?" After hearing that, Lapis started tearing up. She took that to heart despite not having a heart.
"W-Well yeah! But in a good way!" Emerald put her hooves out, trying to rephrase her words."
"Why can't I be the smarty-pants?" A lemon-coloured mare asked as she had already developed her own personality in just a few seconds. "Why him?"
"I was gonna give you something else. Just wait your turn."
"Well, I want to be the smart one."
"Oh, make me ambitious!" A diamond-coloured stallion stood up.
"I was thinking of making you noisy but looks like you've got that covered." Emerald lowered her eyes as Lapis started crying. Emerald was trying her best to soothe tears while the lemon-coloured mare crossed her hooves, still wanting the smart role.
"You better make me serious. Got that?" A dark purple mare sat in the shadows, glaring at her creator. She already emanated an intense pressure.
"Well...I was planning to be funny and make you cheery and energetic even though you look...scary?" Emerald shrugged.
"What?" The dark purple pony narrowed her eyes, not liking the sound of that. "Yeah, right. As if."
"Look! I made you all, you're gonna have to live with those traits and get used to them. And stop crying, Lapis!" Emerald bellowed.
"I can't!" Lapis wailed as tears were starting to flood the mansion. At this rate, Lapis might sink the mansion. The lemon-coloured pony started rambling on about her wanted personality trait and role before entering into an argument with Gingerbread.
Soon, it was chaos inside the mansion. Crying, scowling, arguments and energetic yells. Emerald was already on the verge of losing it and it has only been one minute at best.
"Aaaah! This isn't working!" Seeing that making random friends wasn't working out, Emerald use her magic to uncreate these ponies, erasing them from existence.
Afterwards, there was silence once more in the mansion. Emerald Aura sighed as the tears from Lapis faded away once she was taken out of reality. Making random ponies of her own choice be her friends was a bust.
Unfortunately for Emerald Aura, while she had the power, her concept of friendship was a bit lacking. She lowered her head, slumping on the couch as she was unsure of what to do now. She could try and bring back Lapis and the others for a second try but she wasn't really feeling the mood to do so now.
But, there were some friends that she did actually have. Two of them. Emerald Aura and Cold Colt. Fellow Rift Ponies who she spent some time with. Not much. Only one night really.
But, they were perfect. After all, Emerald did promise Cold that they would hang out again. A smile met her face as she was going to take a small trip to Ponyville.
Ponyville. Twilight's Castle.
Speaking of Cold Colt, he was currently undergoing one of Twilight's lessons to better his Rift magic. And assisting him with this was Zecora who had the cauldron of Fusion Magic.
"See?" Cold currently had his hoof in the cauldron. "No effect on me. Since I'm all Rift, I'm immune to it."
"Oooh." Twilight clapped her hooves together. "Look at you thinking ahead. That's my student."
"Yeah. I'll have this whole Rift thing down-pat in no time. Then I can figure out why my magic just got bigger all of a sudden." The young colt scoffed. "You think Apple Bloom will find me cool if I master it all?"
"Uh...sure." Twilight gave a nod with a wide grin. She wasn't actually sure if that would come into fruition in all honesty. But she did believe that Cold's drive to improve and become as good as possible will draw some eyes for certain.
But as Zecora was about to grab the cauldron, appearing in the scene was Emerald Aura herself. She showed up the traditional unicorn way. Teleportation.
"Squirt!" She immediately shouted when she showed up. Zecora gasped after the arrival of Emerald and her sudden bellow, almost falling into the cauldron and tipping it over.
"Emerald?"
"Great, you're here!" Emerald dashed over. "That's one out of two."
"Uh...what's up Emerald? You need something?" Cold asked his fellow Rift Pony.
"Yeah uh..." Emerald grit her teeth, trying to find a way to speak on her reason for being here. In reality, she was just lonely and wanted some friends to keep her company. But Emerald wasn't a fan of showing weakness, AKA being soft. Granted, she has shown to be soft and kind in front of Cold Colt at times but not to anyone else. "To hang out, duh! Couldn't miss out on a chance with spending time with you."
"Oh, really? That's great! But I'm kinda in a lesson right now. You know...learning how to control this." Cold tapped his horn with his hoof. "I wanna get it just right so I don't mess anything up."
"Can't it wait?" Emerald grumbled.
"You could watch him and his lessons, if that works." Twilight walked over to the emerald-coloured Rift Pony. "Plus, it'd be great if we got to know you better, Emerald."
"Uh...Sure." Emerald's tone immediately changed after seeing Twilight. "Where's Jade, by the way? I was thinking of hanging out with her too."
"Oh, Jade's with Maud right now. Are you looking to hang out with her as well?" Twilight asked.
"Just Cold and Jade. That's it. I did promise the squirt something like this anyway. Besides, we can hang out at my place after this."
"Your place? You have a home?" Cold looked up at Jade.
"Mhm. Mansion. Waned one, I made one with my magic. It's got some stuff that you'll really love in there. All the entertainment you want." Emerald spoke with pride in her heart.
"Oooh! I can't wait! Oh, can I bring some friends over?"
"F-Friends?" Emerald's tone shifted once more as she looked down at the little colt with widened eyes.
"Yeah! Hanging out with all of my friends is a pretty great thing, ya know. And can I bring Apple Bloom along as well?"
"Uh...I was kinda hoping it was just you, me and Jade." A tiny squee came from her mouth along with a nervous grin.
"Aw..." Cold pouted.
"B-But if you wanna bring someone along that's fine!" Emerald's kindness and generosity towards Cold were leaking out. After all, it's very known that she hates seeing Cold in a saddened or disappointing state. "Just don't make it a large crowd, okay?"
"Sweet! Oh, let me finish up here first!" Cold dashed over to Twilight. "Soon, I'm gonna be soo good at Rift magic that I'll make anyone happy! I'll give them whatever they want!"
"Whatever they want, huh? Are you sure about that? The Rift might not like that."
"Bah, it's fine." Cold flailed his hoof. "Besides, I'm not controlled by the Rift anymore. I'm free to do whatever I want, ya know! But uh...It's kinda hard to use my Rift magic even if I've gotten better with it. I still can't get a lot of things right."
"Practice makes perfect. I mean, at least it's not this." Twilight put her hooves on the cauldron. "Everything about this is unpredictable. Just one touch of this liquid and poof! You never know what you'll get with it."
"Yeah. WIsh I could control it somehow." Cold peered over the cauldron. "That'd be neat."
"You can." Emerald suddenly spoke as the ears of Twilight Sparkle, Zecora and Cold Colt had received that, shooting up as they each collectively turned their heads. Their pupils shrunk. Their attention had been certainly grabbed as they were all years.
"...Say what now?" Cold uttered.
"I said you can. Duh. You've got Rift energy inside of you. You can change it from unpredictable to predictable with your own magic, squirt." Emerald then tapped on her own horn.
"S-Seriously?! I can!"
"We can actually control?!" Twilight gasped. "This changes everything!"
"H-How! Do I do it?! You gotta teach me, Emerald!" Cold rushed over to his superior.
"Just do it yourself. You have the power." Emerald shrugged as Cold's head immediately snapped to the side. His eyes fixated on the cauldron of Fusion Magic.
Immediately, the young colt went up to the cauldron, ready to see if he could really make it possible for everything to be predictable under his own will. Twilight and Zecora scrunched their faces, eager to see the result as Cold's horn started glowing.
"Oh, but you should practice if you want that." Emerald suddenly said.
"Haha!" Cold then fired a blast of magic into the cauldron to test it out. The moment he did so, an eruption of Rift energy came out of the cauldron, blowing the young colt back as he tumbled on the floor. "Ow!"
"Oh! Cold!" Twilight gasped, putting her hooves on her mouth.
"Ugh..." Cold crashed into a table after that eruption. He hurt the back of his head a tad bit.
"Yeah. You're only gonna do it if you have full control, squirt." Emerald chuckled as she nudged Cold Colt's head, teasing him. "No way someone as you or inexperienced as you is gonna get it off right of the bat."
"Bummer..." Cold sighed.
"W-Well, at least we now know it's possible. " Twilight laughed nervously after that eruption as Zecora just on a poker face the whole way through.
"And you'd better do it fast." Emerald's tone suddenly shifted into something serious.
"Huh? Why? The young colt looked up at her.
"You're still young. Your body's adapting to all that Rift energy inside of you. Think like how Passion's power went all crazy when she was just a Kirlia. She was stronger than average Gardevoir, just like that. Something like that's gonna happen to you. When you get older, it'll be easier to manage all of that energy in you."
"Oh! Wait...we can age?"
"Yeah. Why do you think the Rift made you so young. It had pretty big hopes for you. Then you kinda went and blew it. But, looks like it's giving you another chance since you're still here. Plus you've gotten better with your Rift magic, haven't you?" Emerald poked Cold's horn.
"Yeah. I guess so. Still don't know where this much magic came from. Didn't have it before. But anyway!" Cold stood up tall in a bipedal position. "Just watch! I'll be so good with my magic, I'll make the unpredictable predictable! Mark my words!"
"That's the spirit!" Twilight cheered for her student, aiming to support and help him all the way. Emerald gave an approving smile as Cold Colt went over to continue his lesson.
Out in the fields. Emerald Aura's Mansion.
"Did she have to come along too?" Emerald Aura spoke as there were some extra guests aside from Apple Bloom. The Cutie Mark Crusaders plus Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were also here since they mostly stick as a group.
Maud was here too. She was currently hanging out with Jade so it only made sense for her to tag along, much to Emerald's chagrin. She was just hoping for the group to be limited.
"Ooh! Nice place ya got here!" Silver Spoon gawked along with all of the young foals. Immediately, they all scattered to experience this place for themselves.
Emerald already knew what she was in store for. If she wanted to, she could just send all of these ponies back home in a flash. But to keep Cold Colt happy, she couldn't.
"You've been living here in a place like this all by yourself?" Maud spoke in her usual deadpan tone. "Lucky."
"Being alone was cool at first. But..." Emerald pouted her lips looking to the side. "It gets pretty boring and lonely here for a while."
"Check out how comfy these couches are!" Scootaloo jumped on a couch, landing on her back as her fellow foals did the same. These couches were certainly comfy. So comfy they could absorb anyone who laid on it. Not only that, they were bouncy.
And the foals demonstrated this by jumping on the couches, gaining high heights in the process while also doing tricks in the air. Needless to say, they found enjoyment from this. Emerald did have some nice luxurious taste.
But, she wasn't really feeling the aura filling the atmosphere. Being with other ponies she barely knows only by knowledge rubbed her the wrong way. But, on the bright side, at least Jade and Maud weren't loud and energetic like these little ones.
"Okay, okay." Emerald sighed. "If you kids are gonna hang out here, you'd better not break anything or it's straight back home, got it?"
"Yes, miss!" They each said.
"Good. Now...what first?" Emerald pondered on what her first course of action could be. She's never actually hung out with friends before. This would be a first time experience in all honesty. "What do friends do when they hang out? Jade, do you know?"
"Well, Pinkie Pie taught me that we can do anything. Whatever any of us like...Something like that." Jade responded in a monotone voice.
"Anything any of us like? Ohoho!" Emerald gained an idea as she used her magic to form a scenario. More importantly, a scenario involving the party game known as Superfight. She placed everyone around a round table immediately as they were all seated. On the table, there were was a giant box with cards inside made by Emerald's magic.
"Hm? What's this?" Jade looked at the table.
"Hm-hm. A personal favourite party game of mine. Superfight!" She placed her hoof on the table. "You kids know about that, don't you?"
"Uh..." Sweetie Belle dazed out for a second before snapping back to reality. "Nu-uh!" The other foals have never heard of it for sure as they shook their heads in unison.
"What's...Superfight?" Jade asked being the only one here absent from this game.
"Glad you asked." She crossed her hooves, ready to sound smart and impressive in front of everyone. She then cleared her throat, ready to explain the rules. Superfight is a party game of superpowers and a bunch of weird problems. The game is all about arguing with your friends about ridiculous fights."
She then used her magic to open the box, revealing the plethora of cards that this juggernaut of a card game had to offer. It was certainly impressive to look at in the eyes of the children. Not so much to Maud and Jade.
Yet.
"I specialized it so that it has some Pokemon cards cause I know how you kids like those. There's also some Equestria cards in there. My own little touch to it. The core deck contains 500 cards. 160 characters, those are the white ones, and 340 powers and weaknesses. The black ones. Check this out." For a quick example, she pulled out a character card that had the word Samurott on it.
"Oooh..." The foals gawked.
"Players use a hand..or hoof of three white cards and three black cards and choose one of each to beat the player next to them. Then they get a random black card before fighting. Players then argue their case for why they should win and the table votes. It's the perfect game in my eyes. Endless fun. So who wants to try it out."
"Oh, I do! I do!" Apple Bloom raised her hoof. The rest of the foals raised their hooves as Maud and Jade were now interested in this. They were already imagining the scenarios. Maud especially.
"I didn't know you were a big fan of this, Emerald." Cold looked at her fellow Rift Pony.
"I am but...I-I've never played it. Mostly because I didn't have anyone to play it with." Emerald's heart sank a bit before rising. "But it's fine. I've got company now after all. Even if I just wanted two...So let's start this game."
"Okay! Who wants to be the judge?" Emerald asked. "One of you's gotta make some great judgement. No bias. Got it?" She then narrowed her eyes.
"I'll do it." Silver Spoon chose to be the judge.
"Great. Let's get this game started." Emerald grinned as the game could begin. She used her magic to place down 50 cards in both white and black each. Making a tool of 100 They all took one white card, already receiving their first character before grabbing a black card for whatever power they may have.
Once they got their characters, some had faces of confidence via smug smiles, grins and giggles while some had faces of shock via confusion, deep squinting and mane scratching.
"Allow me to go first," Emerald spoke, placing her first card down. "I'm a janitor." She then went for her first power card, placing it down. "And there are fifty of me!"
"Fifty janitors? Pssh. That doesn't sound so tough." Scootaloo chuckled as she placed down her own character card. "I'm a Talonflame! So I'm fast and I've got fire on my side!" She grinned before putting her first power card down. "And I can...animate dirt? Uh okay. I guess that's strong."
"My turn! A gymnast that has laser eyes!" Apple Bloom smashed both her character and power card on the table. "Beat that!"
"Oh, I can. Look at this!" Sweetie Belle put her two cards down. "I'm an android! And I can run 200mph but only in a straight line!"
"Uh...Wait. How does that sound better?" Scootaloo asked. "It's only like one line."
"Not if I charge through stuff with that speed. Everything's gonna break apart." Sweetie Belle crossed her hooves together, feeling confident in her victory.
"Well, I've got an Eelektrik that can't stop dancing." Cold Colt put his cards down as these were the best options he had. The others weren't that great in his eyes. "Not so great. What about you, Diamond?"
"Hehe..." Diamond Tiara chuckled, placing her card down. "I'm a Chimchar swinging a Sharpedo a chain! Picture that!"
"That does sound pretty...deadly I guess." Emerald winced before turning to face Jade and Maud. "What about you two?"
"I'm Princess Celestia and I'm made of mirrors." She placed her card down, revealing to have a fragile alicorn at her disposal. And the last one was Maud who already had her choice.
"I'm a mountain." Immediately when placing her card down, Maud had the biggest object out of everyone. Maybe not the strongest. At least for now as she placed the attribute card down. "And I'm made of lava." And there it was. Maud had the most intimidating card out of everyone else as they each gulped, minus Jade.
"Uh...O-Okay." Emerald stuttered. "Now for the last phase. Take out one more attribute card then we can see who wins this." She ordered as they all chose one last attribute card, looking at their randomized choice. "So I'm a janitor and there's 50 of me and I can clone myself! But each clone is half as smart as the previous? What?!"
"Heh. So much for those numbers. Because I'm a Talonflame that can animate dirt and I've got some sidekicks! So I can draw one more character card!" Scootaloo cheered.
"That's a thing?" Jade said as Emerald nodded in confirmation. "Wow. This game's kinda deep."
"And my teammate is...!" Scootaloo flipped the character card over. "A senior citizen bowling team? Sure. I guess that works."
"I'm a Gymnast with laser eyes that's...!" Apple Bloom's eyes widened as she flipped the character card. Ony to find disappointment. "Has no arms? Huh?"
"Pfft." Diamond Tiara and the others let out light chuckles while Apple Bloom had a face of disappointment now.
"I'm an android! And I can run 200mph but only in a straight line!" Soon Sweetie Belle's face also shifted from confidence to shock. "Trapped in a potato sack? Seriously! How am I gonna run fas in that?!"
"Eelektrik that can't stop dancing." Cold read out his set before placing the final card down. "And I'm 100 stories tall! Those shocks are really gonna sting now! The dancing part's not so bad too."
"I'm a Chimchar swinging a Sharpedo a chain and I can breathe underwater! That helps with the Sharpedo part!" said Diamond Tiara.
"Won't Chimchar's flame go out underwater?" Scootaloo asked.
"Not if I don't enter any water." Diamond Tiara gave a quick response.
"I'm Princess Celestia and I'm made of mirrors. And I have catlike reflexes. Sounds usable." Jade said with a blank expression. "What about you, Maud?"
"I'm a mountain that's made of lava." Maud then placed her final attribute card down, revealing it. "And I'm inside a giant robotic...oh I can get a new character card."
"Seriously?!" The foals and Emerald all gasped, shocked that Maud was getting an upgrade. Her luck was incredible for her first game as she took ou one more character rock.
"A pet rock." She placed the last card down. "I'm a huge fan of this game already."
"S-Seriously? No way that's a coincidence... Emerald grizzled her teeth. "But it's fine! It all comes down to the judge! Glasses! Go!"
"My name is Silver Spoon..." The earth pony grumbled while adjusting her glasses. "But uh...Who would I want to win? Well..."
"Actually. I've got a better idea." Emerald suddenly grinned as she once again used her magic to do the impossible. By flashing a green light, Emerald had consumed everyone around the roundtable within it.
And very soon, everyone found themselves in a massive open field. A field identical to the one where Emerald Aura's mansion was located with a lake nearby. And there was one noticeable difference. Everyone themselves. They soon found out that they had become the characters that their cards were plus receiving their attributes.
Emerald had made the scenario a reality as Silver Spoon was sitting atop a tall tower, wearing a judge uniform. Even the wig as well. "Hm? Oh!" She quickly realized her new getup while holding her wig.
"This should work." Emerald Aura spoke along with the fifty janitor variants of herself. Each of them had mops as well. "Now we can really see how it would go down. Reality can be whatever we want it to be depending on how this goes. Hope you're watching judge!"
"Is this what it feels like being an alicorn? Nice." Jade spoke while in the body of Princess Celestia. Albeit one that is made out of mirrors. She tapped on her horn while flapping her larger wings around.
"No arms blows..." Apple Bloom pouted as she sat down with no arms. Or in this case, front hooves. All she could rely on were her back hooves and her laser eyes. Cold Colt popped his head out of the lake as an Eelektrik while Diamond Tiara was now a Chimchar with Sharpedo at her disposal. Maud was very visible as she was a giant mountain in the distance with lava coating her body.
"Better start moving!" Emerald cackled as all fifty of herself went on the offensive first. "Go!" She ordered them all as they used their magic to hold their mops, utilizing them as their main weapons.
"Oh!" Diamond Tiara gasped as she pulled the Sharpedo along, trying to swing it. With a lot of strength, she swung the Brutal Pokemon around as if she was playing discus with it. "This thing's heavier than it looks!"
"Sharpedo!" With a mighty swing, Sharpedo ended up hitting away some of the janitors, sending them flying. Emerald Aura also cloned herself to increase the number, but she would have to deal with a less intelligent clone.
"Woah!" Apple Bloom gasped as she performed a stylish flip with just her back hooves avoiding the swing of the mops. Even without any front hooves, she could still maintain her balance perfectly. After doing so, she decided to try and use her laser vision. By willing it, out of her eyes, a red beam came flying out.
The red beam soared through the air, hitting one of the clones and janitors with it as they were vaporized by the impact. Turns out their bodies can't handle heat vision. Apple Bloom blinked before realizing the advantage she had.
Even if she had no front hooves, she could rely on her laser vision. She wouldn't need to move around much to have it fire after all. She cackled as she started obliterating each of the Emerald Aura clones and their mops, turning them to dust. Some of the clones snuck up behind her, whacking her in the back of the head with a mop.
"Ow!" Apple Bloom cried out as she also went. "The mops didn't hurt that much obviously, but the distance they gave was impressive.
"Hahaha! Numbers are what matter! With enough, I can-" Before one of the Emerald Aura clones could finish her sentence, thirty of them including that one had been obliterated by a large blast of magic. Obviously, that came from Jade Skies.
She kept a blank expression while having Celestia's appearance. It was fairly bizarre to see Princess Celestia look so unbothered. Truly a sight. "This magic stuff is pretty neat."
"Yeah, but you're super fragile!" Cold's voice rang out in the air as his large Eelektrik appearance appeared behind Jade Skies. Of course, he was dancing uncontrollably, unable to stop it. But that didn't matter. He was 100 stories tall. So his electricity would be greater. And to display this, he unleashed a burst of electricity from his body, trying to hit Jade.
But since Jade had catlike reflexes, she could just nimbly evade this. But instead, she used the magic from Celestia's horn to create a shield around her. The electricity hit the shield, doing no damage. But it did hit everyone else considering how large its range was.
"Gyaaaah!" Apple Bloom, Emerald Aura, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara and Cold Colt each cried out after being shocked. The only one unphased by this was Maud. And that made sense considering she was a gigantic mountain with lava covering her while also being armoured by a robotic pet rock of all things.
"Oooh!" Silver Spoon was too busy gawking at this.
"Urgh! Wish I could move right now!" Sweetie Belle cried out, hating the potato sack for wearing her down. So, if she couldn't move her back legs, she could always use her front hooves. She broke them free by smashing her front hooves through the sack. She couldn't do the same with her back hooves, unfortunately. It wouldn't be as quick but she had to make do. By using her front hooves, the Android Sweetie Belle started crawling instead of running. But even if she wasn't running, crawling counted for the 200mph ability to kick in.
She was now crawling at 200mph but only in a straight line. However, her target in front of her was Diamond Tiara. But she couldn't see her because of the sack. And if she moved fast enough, she could land her hit. "Here I come, whoever it is!"
"Yikes!" Diamond Tiara gasped as she immediately started swinging Sharpedo again. Sweetie Belle crawled at great speeds, but unfortunately, even with that speed, the Sharpedo had smacked her in the face. A result of being unable to dodge while trapped in a potato sack. Sweetie Belle had been knocked away via Sharpedo's smash.
"Woah-Woah!" She cried out as she started tumbling in the sack. She couldn't see where she was going as she ended up falling into the lake from all that tumbling.
"Phew." Diamond Tiara sighed. But she was quickly met with a giant shadow towering over her. That shadow belonged to the dancing Eelektrik AKA Cold Colt. "Ah!"
"Sorry about this!" Cold apologized before swinging his tail down. Diamond Tiara winced as she used the flames of Chimchar to try and stop this via breathing fire from her mouth. The fire struck Cold's tail, leaving a burn. "Ow!"
"Hehehe!" Just like a Chimchar, she giggled with a cheeky nature as she then swung the Sharpedo. Afterwards, the Sharpedo bit onto Cold's tail with its sharp fangs, making the Rif Pony cry out again.
"L-Let go! That stings!" Cold wailed. He then summoned a burst of electricity from his body. And that's what he needed. The electricity struck both Diamond Tiara and Sharpedo and it was certainly super-effective on Sharpedo.
"S-Sharpedo!" Afterwards, the Brutal Pokemon ended up fainting from Cold Colt's electric output. Seeing that her main weapon was now unable to continue, Diamond Tiara made a run for it.
Emerald and her many clones were currently going up against Jade by using constant magic rays. But, even with all of these magic rays coming from more than 50 variations of herself, Jade used Celestia's amazing magic to create a larger ray that was wide enough to eclipse the rest.
"You can't stop them forever!" Emerald laughed as she cloned herself more, adding her number to 100 and beyond. Many of the clones then levitated themself in the air, aiming to divebomb Jade.
That's where the catlike reflexes came into use. Jade had managed to swiftly evade the incoming clones that attacked from above, using the reflexes of a cat to do so. After that, the clones hit the ground from their miss as Jade then blasted them all with magic, obliterating them.
Along came Scootaloo as a Talonflame, not only breathing fire down but also manipulating the dirt itself. She made a dirt tsunami sending it towards the many clones, Jade and Apple Bloom with it. Apple Bloom and Emerald Aura screeched, trying to avoid this dirty attack. Not only that, but her army of bowlers all rolled their bowling balls along the ground.
Each of the clones used their magic to create shields while Apple Bloom used the skills of the gymnast to evade it. Jade simply used her reflexes to evade it. The dirt tsunami took out some of the clones by overpowering their shields with ease. And mostly because some of the clones weren't too bright to block it due to the ability that card gave Emerald.
The bowling balls also broke through some of the shields while some spread out to hit Cold Colt's giant Eelektrik body. And bowling balls are nothing to scoff at. If used right, they can be lethal.
Apple Bloom narrowly escaped the dirt tsunami as she slid on the ground afterwards. After sliding she ended up near the biggest threat here.
Maud. And speaking of Maud. She had yet to plan an attack. She just stood there with her giant pet rock armour, immobile. But not for long. Because in truth, Maud was assessing the scenario before her. And she found out how she could win. Fairly obviously anyway.
"Alright. I win." She immediately declared as she made her move. She opened up the giant pet rock armour as then summoned gigantic rocks from her mountain body. These rocks started flying out of her as they flooded the sky and ground in sense.
"Uh oh!" This was bad news for Scooaloo considering what Pokemon she was. To try and evade this, she would have to use Talonflames speed. But Maud had something else in store. She allowed the pet rock armour to cover herself once more. After doing so, she then started rolling with the armour like a ball.
By rolling as an armoured pet rock the size of an entire mountain, she would definitely take out anything in her way. And poor Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were victims of that. Some of the falling rocks hit Scootaloo's wings, causing her to slow down and use some balance. Just in time for Maud to hit her and Apple Bloom with both a metallic and rock-solid body. Apple Bloom's gymnast reflexes couldn't save her this time.
"Woah! The two of them cried out as they went flying. Maud was going to take out everyone in one fell swoop. The giant rocks rolled on the ground, taking out the rest of Emerald Aura's clones.
Cold Colt couldn't avoid this at all, considering his height. Some of the rocks pelted on him before his body was met with a giant rock, way bigger than him. He cried out as his body had been squished by the giant pet rock, promptly defeating him. He wasn't the only one defeated. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had been taken out after their previous hit.
All that was left was Jade, Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle. And Maud had the response for this via the mountain and the lava it carried out.
"Sorry about this, Jade." She apologized to her friend before removing the pet rock armour. It was time for the major attack. The most threatening one here.
Diamond Tiara could already sense this foreboding fear as she jumped into the water immediately for safety. Since the second attribute was being able to breathe underwater, she used to that.
But that didn't matter as Maud unleashed all of the lava from her mountain body, letting it flow. A large tsunami and overflow of lava started pouring out. Soon, the ground was consumed by the heat and destructive fury of the lava and anything that stood in its way would be obliterated.
Unfortunately, all of the Emerald clones were wiped out by this flow of lava, leaving only the real Emerald Aura behind as she put up a protective shield once more. Jade tried fending off the lava with Celestia's magic by using a beam to do so. But it was no use. Jade couldn't really control Celestia's magic anyway.
Thus, the lava had broken through and consumed her and Emerald too. It even melted through Emerald Aura's shield. Apple Bloom and Talon were absorbed by the lava too along with Cold Colt. Soon, everyone on land was caught by this furious overflow.
And no one underwater was safe either way. The lava was strong enough to laminate the lake. It was bigger than it too as steam already started flowing. Inside, Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle witnessed some of the large lava enter the water. Diamond Tiara's jaw dropped while Sweetie Belle was unable to see what was going on.
Thus, everyone had been consumed by the lava as Silver Spoon stood up, raising her hoof. "Okay! That's it!"
And with that call, everything returned to normal. Emerald's magic responded to Silver Spoon's voice, ending the Rift scenario. In a flash of light, they were all back in the mansion and their original bodies. Some of them were trembling after witnessing lava hit them. And for good reason. That was terrifying to experience.
"Okay...Yeah. Maud wins. No brainer." Silver Spoon declared Maud the winner.
"Yay," Maud said with little enthusiasm.
"Seriously?" Emerald groaned. "First time and I lose?"
"That was amazing!" Scootaloo and the others stood up, no longer trembling in fear. Needless to say, they enjoyed that card game to the fullest. It was more fun than they expected especially when they got to play out that scenario.
"Yeah!" Cold bellowed.
"You all seriously liked it?" Emerald had a smile grace her face as she may have found some candidates to play her favourite game with her.
"Yeah, we do!" Sweetie Belle cried out. "We wanna see more of those cards! Plus they're hilarious too!"
"Hilarious and unfair...But fun anyway!" Diamond Tiara nodded.
"It's pretty entertaining." Both Maud and Jade said in unison. Those are the words Emerald loved to hear. She did a playful grin a giggle before lightly clapping her hooves together. At this point, she might end up gaining new friends.
Originally, she just wanted Cold Colt and Jade Skies to be her friends. But after that one game, she figured that having other friends who aren't Rift ponies isn't so bad after all. The young foals were a blast to be around with their energetic and young personalities.
And surprisingly, so was Maud. After having that smile, Emerald cleared her throat. "Alright then. Who's ready for round two? You can keep your character cards or have new ones."
They were all ready for the second round of this game. A new judge would be formed and new scenarios would be made whilst Emerald made them a reality. Emerald was missing something. But now she truly had it. With new friends, she was finally finding enjoyment in her bizarre life rather than cause problems or sit alone in this mansion. They played Superfight the whole day away, finding countless enjoyment in it.
And now, Emerald sees the enjoyment she's missing out on in this crossover world of Pokemon, humans, ponies, dragons and more and is ready to experience it as the journey continues.
"Hatterene? Hatterene!" Starlight called out for her partner within the castle. "Come on! Dinner time! Where does she go during these nights?"
"Hatterene's gone again?" Twilight went up to Starlight as her Pokemon were already being fed their favourite foods before they clock out for the night. All except for Absol who will always stay awake.
"Yeah. She only started doing this last month. Heads out late at night and then comes back as if she never left the place." Starlight wondered. "I guess she really likes the moonlight, huh?"
"At least she comes back safely." Twilight sat down as Ninetales rubbed her mane with his nine tails, making her giggle. "But, I do wonder where she goes anyway?"
"Eh. Probably a forest. I mean, that's where I found her." Starlight shrugged as she prepared the food for Hatterene anyway. Even if she wasn't here.
But where was Hatterene exactly at this time?
Out in a marshland. An old abandoned preschool
There exists a marshland with an old preschool that was near the Pikachu Highlands, Frenzy Forest and Deerling Forest. Just north from here. This place was fairly disturbing by appearance. The mushrooms looked like they were withering and slumped over while some of the trees were crooked.
The school itself was ancient with nopony no longer using it. Most likely, this school was either disbanded many years ago or failed. Either way, it wasn't in the best shape. Yet the scaffolding remained.
A pink yet devious mist covered the area. Most likely either Fairy-Type mist. There wasn't much life in this marshland compared to other Pokemon exclusive locations. But there were individuals here.
Ponies had arrived at this marshland, setting hoof in its mysterious and eerie appearance. These ponies were Older Flurry Heart from another universe, Mayor Mare, Sapphire Flash, Premium Polish Sunrise Sprint and Flash Sentry. A bit of an odd combination of ponies but they were here for a reason.
"Alright. Remember. Focus on only finding these items. Ignore everything else." Mayor Mare instructed everyone, showing them a list of items. The items consisted of a Premier Ball, Shell Bell, a saddlebag with floral patterns and a lantern. "And if she shows up, do whatever you can to evade her. We only have a limited time. 30 to be exact. And we'll return them to the box over at Deerling Forest. Understood?"
"Got it. Oooh, this'll be so exciting!" Flurry Heart pranced on the spot. "I mean it's pretty scary but fun either way!"
"Just keep safe princess. Then again, I guess Giratina's safety enough, isn't he?" Flash scratched his mane. They were all here for one reason that they have yet to blurt out.
But what was known was that they needed to find these random items scattered across the marshland and possibly inside the school. More importantly, they were also tasked with avoiding someone unnamed. Whoever she was, she was clearly a threat as they all split up into groups.
Flash, Flurry Heart and Premium stuck together while Sunrise stuck with Mayor Mare and Sapphire. Flash's group went west, Mayor Mare's group went east.
And while they split up in their own two groups, within the shadows, light blue eyes started glowing, eyeing the group down. Afterwards, the light blue eyes faded with the silhouette also vanishing into the dark.
Flash's group entered the preschool, opening the rickety doors that felt like they could come off at any moment. Premium stayed close to Flurry Heart for protection. They were determined to find the first object they could get their hooves on. It couldn't be too difficult. After all, inside this preschool, there were a plethora of objects that have not been used for decades now. So the cleanest object here would be the item they needed.
"There should be at least a saddlebag here. It's a school after all." Flurry Heart commented as the three of them started venturing this schoolhouse.
"Might be too obvious. But we could find something," said Flash. They started with the first room which was a biology classroom.
Flash opened up a cabinet with dust flying out of it. Inside the cabinet was nothing but old knick-knacks that were well past their expiration date. Some were broken in half. But none were any of the items they were searching for. Flurry Heart used her magic to light up the place for a better view.
"Princess. Not so bright. She might see us." Flash whispered the alicorn.
"Oh. Sorry." Flurry Heart whispered back before lowering the intensity of the light. She then playfully pranced up the stairs, entering the first floor already. Up at the first floor and through the door, she came across another classroom. She shined her light into the classroom to see what she could find.
Inside, there was an assortment of chairs and tables that were stacked together in a tower formation of some sort. Multiple of them were all over the place, either stacked or tipped over. Even the chalkboard was slightly tilted. This looked like a good place to start.
Flurry Heart used her magic to move the tables and chairs, making sure not to cause too much noise. Or else she will hear. No other items seemed to be underneath the tables and chairs so far, but she kept moving them. And Flurry Heart was able to multitask.
She also had her magic hold on to the cabinets too while holding the chairs and tables. By opening the cabinet, Flurry Heart only found some books. But some of them were fairly interesting to her eyes. One of which was a storybook. "Oooh."
She brought the book over, having a quick read while moving the chairs and tables. Her magic potential was certainly something special. Ever since she was a baby, she showed great promise as an alicorn.
But as she moved the tables and chairs while looking at the book and searching for an item at the same time, her ears picked up on something. Right behind her, hoofsteps could be heard. Immediately, she had been startled as she dropped the book, tables and chairs. The drop made a louder sound than the hoofstep with constant crashing noises.
"Kyaa!" Flurry Heart squealed, prancing on the spot.
"It's just me princess...!" But it was soon revealed to be Premium Polish who had arrived up here.
"Oh...Okay." She sighed after being startled so easily. "Sorry about that. You don't think she heard that, did she?"
"Uh...?" Premium shrugged. "Even if she did, on the bright side, she's very slow."
"Yeah. That's one bright side. But wait can't she-" Before Flurry Heart could finish her sentence, both she and Premium Polish felt a pulse flow through the room. A pink pulse to be exact. The two of them shuddered as they could feel a chilling aura run through their spine.
After sensing that pulse, they immediately got moving to try and find the objects faster. They worked as a duo, rapidly moving around the classroom. This meant using their magic in unison to clear everything and open everything they can. They moved as fast as they could, but they couldn't find the necessary items. Much to their chagrin.
"Nothing here." Flurry Heart said as she and Premium felt that same pulse. After failing to find an item and feeling a horrible sensation, the two of them collectively left the biology room to head somewhere else in this abandoned school.
Elsewhere in this school, Flash had found himself in the cafeteria. Even way back then, they had these. Although, there was a large difference in today's cafeterias compared to this old and dated cafeteria. A place this messy and jumbled would be the best place to hide something.
Flash used his wings to move away whatever objects he could. He flew over some mouldy bread that was never cleaned up when this school shut down. He looked under the table to see what he could find. He did find some items. But most of them were just utensils. Rusty ones as well.
Flash then searched high and low for any of the required objects, moving as much as he could. Until he came across something up ahead. Just near the bin. "Oh!"
Right there. The Premier Ball could be seen.
"Bingo." Flash Sentry said as he flew over to the specialized Poke Ball. "That's one. Just a-" But the moment he found one of the items, that same pulse that startled Flurry Heart and Premium had passed through the cafeteria, reaching Flash as well. He immediately paused, feeling the uneasy pressure from that pulse.
Everything around him fell silent as he could feel something from behind was watching him. And he was right. Those same light blue eyes were glowing in the shadows as the pegasus slowly turned his head. And once he did, he saw the figure who had found him.
It was Hatterene.
"Hatterene."
"Oh." Flash scrunched his face as he slowly went over to pick the Premier Ball up. "H-Hey there."
"Terene!" Just then, Hatterene's claw started glowing. She went for the attack Psycho Cut. BY glowing her claw a purple colour, the Silent Pokemon swung it, sending multiple cutting waves of Psychic energy forward.
"Yikes!" Flash squealed as he spread his wings out, flying to the side. And at the right time too. The Psycho Cut had sliced the cafeteria tables in half. And in a perfectly symmetrical line too. Flash held the Premier Ball with his wings by curling them.
His main objective now was to reach Deerling Forest with the ball. But Hatterne wouldn't allow that. The Psychic-Fairy-Type then used Psycho Cut on the ceiling, shooting larger blades this time.
Flash's eyes widened as he promptly stopped flying with the Psychic blades almost scraping his face. But that wasn't Hatterene's intent. In truth, she meant to go for only the ceiling. After Psycho Cut struck the ceiling, not only did it destroy parts of it, but large rubble started falling from above.
The rubble flooded the air as some of it landed on Flash. Flash winced, having rubble hit his back and head. His wings lost focus on the Premier Ball, causing it to fall. This was Hatterene's approach. Flash was then dragged to the floor as the Premier Ball rolled on the floor. To make things worse, he was now buried underneath the rubble.
"O-Ow...!"
"Hatte." Hatterene then approached Flash Sentry with her eyes glowing. And for this, she would grab Flash with her menacing claw. But before that, she picked the Premier Ball up with her claw. The Silent Pokemon then tossed the special Poke Ball outside of the cafeteria by sending it outside, right through the massive hole she made in the ceiling. Flash could see that he would become a victim of Hatterene if he didn't act quickly. Not wanting to lose here, he aggressively spread his wings.
After spreading his wings, Flash sent most of the rubble away, freeing himself. Not only that, but the rubble also struck Hatterene, pelting the Psychic-Fairy-Type.
"H-Hatt?!"
"Sorry!" Flash said as he broke free, flying off. He quickly flew out of the cafeteria by using the ceiling Hatterene made. Convenient and perfect for retrieving the Premier Ball she threw outside.
"Tterene!" Hatterene shook her head with some of the rubble falling off her. She then looked up, seeing that her prey had got away. Most likely off to place the Premier Ball in the box.
But Hatterene wasn't done yet. She would get Flash Sentry eventually. While also targeting the rest of the ponies walking this old preschool and the marshland.
Meanwhile with Mayor Mare's group, since they chose the outsides, things would be murky for them. This was where the mist was the most prominent. Within this marshland with pink mist, the Pokemon that existed here were mostly Shiinotic and Morelull. Two of the same species.
"Stoutland." Stoutland was using his amazing sense of smell to try and track down the items that were hidden across the marshland and preschool. But finding an object he hasn't come across yet wouldn't be so easy for his nose. But he was willing to try anyway.
Sunrise decided to be playful by poking one of the Shiinotic. By doing so, he made the Illuminating Pokemon shine, creating a radiant light around him and his group."Can we take one of these Shiinotic? We could use 'em to see in the dark."
"Their light is too potent. Can't risk it at all." Mayor Mare shook her head in response before hopping over a mud pile with some Diglett popping their heads out of it.
They each then climbed up a hill of mushrooms, causing spores to come out. But those spores were surprisingly harmless when stepped on. While walking, they could feel a foreboding and deadly intent nearby. Sapphire heard the sounds of whispers that echoed throughout the night sky, filling the atmosphere.
"Uh...did you hear that?" Sapphire spoke.
"Nope," Sunrise responded while hopping over a cluster of mushrooms. The group were reaching high points of this marshland as the nearby Pokemon scattered. But they didn't scatter because of the approaching ponies. They scattered because something else was nearby and threatening.
That something was Hatterene.
Her light blues eyes flashed in the shadows once more as she locked on to her new prey. The Silent Pokemon used Dazzling Gleam, sending multiple rays of Fairy magic forward. The blades then hit the ground nearby Mayor Mare's group. Forming a large pink explosion.
"What was that?!" Mayor Mare gasped as the area around her gained a pink smoke that blended in with the pink mist. Everyone stayed sharp as Stoutland growled. The Big-Hearted Pokemon started sniffing the area to find out where that attack came from. Sunrise and Sapphire also backed away, feeling nervous. Sunrise was trying to hide his fears by acting brave.
After causing that distraction, the Silent Pokemon then teleported away from the spot she stood at. By teleporting away, she then reappeared. And she made her reappearance behind Sapphire Flash. Not only were her movements silent but the sounds she makes when teleporting are subtle and feint.
After appearing behind the little unicorn without making a sound. Hatterene then used her claws, grabbing Sapphire's mouth immediately and startling her. Before Sapphire could mutter words and cry out for help, the Psychic-Fairy-Type vanished again via teleportation.
"Huh?" Daylight said, turning around as he heard one single mutter. When turning around, he found out that someone was missing from the group. Sapphire Flash. "Sapphire! Where'd you go?!"
"What?!" Mayor Mare turned around after hearing Sunrise's words. "Drat! She pulled a fast one on us...! Let's keep moving! Quick!"
No time to rescue Sapphire Flash now. If they wanted to rescue her, they would have to get the main objectives out of the way first. Hatterene got her and it was unknown where she was taking the little unicorn.
But Sapphire Flash was going to find out soon enough. After teleporting away, Hatterene brought Sapphire Flash to one of the dampest parts of the forest. After doing so, she then stood by a crooked tree that had branches that almost seemed like they were moving and alive.
In truth, Hatterene's magic was manipulating the trees, allowing her to control them and partake in actions. She can even control them without having to be by them at all times. And speaking of the trees, the crooked branches had started moving, immediately grabbing onto Sapphire Flash and Hatterene let go.
"Oh!" Sapphire Flash gasped as she was being restrained by the tree branches. She tried screaming but once again, her mouth was blocked off. This time by a tree branch. "Mmm-mmm!"
Squirming and willing around, trying to use her magic to blast the branches, Sapphire Flash was then sent upwards, pinning towards the top of a tree while the rest of the branches continued to restrain her, adding layers. Now Sapphire Flash was trapped. Unable o free herself.
The branches then covered her eyes, preventing any vision as well. Now she was both silent and unable to see at the moment. With her first victim captured, Hatterene went off to grab some more.
Meanwhile, with Flurry Heart and Sapphire Flash, they had found themselves in the cafeteria, witnessing the destruction that befell it. They were unaware that Flash and Hatterene had been here. But they had already looked through the cafeteria and even with this destruction, the items they were searching for weren't in here. Not anymore at least.
They entered the room next to the cafeteria which was the playground. Usually, this would be where the young foals would come and play for a break. Even back then, they still had these kinds of playgrounds. Same model swings and everything. If someone wanted to, they could restore this school. But it's been left out here for decades that most have probably forgotten about it. But perhaps not the children who used to live here.
Aside from that, Flurry Heart flashed her magic light on this playground, scanning the area. Her light was even capable of revealing hidden details like prints of creatures. She had revealed the paws and hooves plastered on the ground. Most likely from some animal, Pokemon and a pony. Either one would do. Premium tried mimicking Flurry Heart, but her magic wasn't quite there yet.
"Oh. Can you carry me, Flurry?" Premium put her hooves up, wishing to be put at a higher height. Happy to oblige, Flurry Heart allowed Premium Polish to jump on her back. Now on her back, Premium could receive an aerial ride from Flurry Heart.
The young alicorn knew that Premium Polish planned to try and spot objects better from a higher height. And perhaps that massive yet half-broken jungle gym might do. However, before Flurry Heart could take to the skies, as she turned her head away from Premium and facing it forward, her light had revealed something.
Right in front of her face, Hatterene had arrived.
"Aaaaah!" The two ponies cried out, screaming at the top of their lungs with their hearts racing, their fears rising and their pupils shrinking.
"Hatterene!" Hatterene obviously wasn't a fan of loud noises as she raised her claw to try and grab the two ponies. But, with quick instincts, Flurry Heart had used the brightness of her magic to create a temporary flash ."H-Hatt?!"
Just like that, Hatterene was temporarily blinded as Flurry Heart flew past her with Premium Polish on her back. But Hatterene quickly regained her vision as she wasn't going to let another prey get away.
Flurry Heart went straight for the massive jungle gym as the Silent Pokemon teleported herself away from the spot she stood on and into the jungle gym. She appeared inside of the tube, predicting Flurry Heart's movements. After appearing, Hatterene then swung her claw, trying to strike the alicorn and unicorn.
"Oh!" Flurry Heart gasped as she ducked underneath Hatterene's claw. She then flew past the Silent Pokemon, but while Hatterene was a slow Pokemon when trying to get somewhere, she wasn't slow when it came to attacking. She immediately turned around, causing her claw to grab Flurry Heart's back hoof before could escape.
"Hatterene!" After grabbing onto her hoof, she started dragging the young alicorn back while the nearby trees were starting to move, ready to snatch them up.
Premium Polish then turned around, jumping on Hatterene's claw with her hooves. Her jumping managed to make the Silent Pokemon flinch and pull her claw back. Hatterene snarled as she last focus on Flurry Heart's hoof. That allowed the young alicorn to fly off and escape.
But it wasn't over yet.
The tree branches zoomed towards Flurry and Premium. Immediately after they flew through the tubes of the jungle gym, they were met with an army of them. The first branch had grabbed onto Premium's tail while the second met with Flurry's horn.
"Ow!" Premium winced as her tail was now being grabbed. It didn't hurt as for Flurry Heart but there was still some pain. More branches zoomed in and just like Sapphire Flash, they started grabbing every part of them, rapidly restraining the little ponies.
Flurry Heart mumbled with the branches covering her mouth and holding her wings. She closed her eyes, trying to flail her hooves about. Premium was the first to be snatched away as her grip on Flurry Heart weakened. The branches then pulled the little unicorn far from her friend.
Flurry closed her eyes as she mustered up some strength within her horn. And when she found that strength, she caused a massive magic pulse that blew everything away. The branches had been obliterated by her great magic potential. Even the ones that held Premium.
However, Hatterene wasn't going to let this end. After Premium was freed, she started falling. Flurry flew over to try and save her friend but was quickly met with the appearance of Hatterene. The Silent Pokemon teleported in front of Premium Polish in front of her. Already, her claw was holding her.
"Premium!" Flurry Heart cried out as she lit her horn up with magic. Hatterene's eye flashed, immediately snapped her focus onto the young alicorn while having her claw around Premium.
Once Flurry Heart was close enough, with a devious smile, the Psychic-Fairy-Type had used Hypnosis, sending an instant hypnotic spiral. And poor Flurry Heart had witnessed that spiral. Abruptly, all of her concentration had just faded away. Not only that, but Hatterene had put her to sleep instead of mind-controlling her. The young alicorn's eyes closed as she fell to the ground, sliding on the dirt.
Hatterene kept that terrifying smile as she turned to face Premium with it. Pure fear was met with Premium Polish's eyes as the remaining branches flew over, ready to grab Flurry Heart. As for Hatterene, she vanished into the shadows with the young unicorn crying out, trying to escape.
"Ugh..." But Flurry Heart woke up quicker than expected. But in truth, that was because of Giratina sending a pulse through her. The pulse helped her wake up as she gasped. "Ah!" By getting up, she instinctively blasted everything around her, unknowingly destroying some of the branches that came for her.
She then witnessed the disappearance of both Premium and Hatterene. She had failed to keep her friend close to her as she stomped her hooves on the ground. But it wasn't in vain.
The pulse of magic she did earlier destroyed parts of the jungle gym obviously. Not just the trees. And as a plus, she found two items near the rubble.
The saddlebag and Shell Bell. With a smile gracing her face, she flew over to the two items, successfully finding two of them. But at the cost of a friend. The young alicorn took the saddlebag, opening it and placing the Shell Bell inside.
All she had to do was return to Deerling Forest and place them in the box. And luckily for Flurry Heart, since she was an alicorn and held such amazing potential, her flying speed was exceptional.
Deerling Forest.
Flash had just arrived at the forest, placing the Premier Ball inside the box. He let out a sigh, ready to head back and find the rest. Hopefully, everyone else already has. But as he turned around, he was met with Flurry Heart zooming over with two items in store.
"Princess?"
"Flash! I've got two!" Flurry Heart cried out, revealing the Shell Bell inside of the saddlebag. "But she got Premium..." Her tone then changed to sadness and disappointment.
"We still have 20 minutes left to go. We can go and save her and continue finding the rest. We've already gotten three out of four. One more and we win this."
"Really! Thanks, Flash!" Flurry Heart gave him a powerful bear hug, almost making his eyes pop out of his head. "Let's go-go-go!"
"A-Abnormally strong..." Flash coughed, holding his neck as he flew with the future Princess of Love.
As for Mayor Mare's group, they have yet to find the lantern. Despite it being the brightest object here, it is the one that no one has found first or yet.
All they could see were mushrooms, Shiinotic, Morelull, Diglett, Dugtrio and a few other Pokemon. But no lantern. In a sense of irony, near the lake, a Lanturn had shown up, popping its head out of the lake.
"Lanturn."
"That is just cruel," said Mayor Mare with a slight chuckle. Out of both groups, her group had experienced the least danger. They were more on the searching side than just running from danger.
But that wouldn't be the case for long.
After seeing Flurry Heart escape from her spot, Hatterene went on the move once more. And she had found herself near Mayor Mare and Sunrise's location. Her eyes flashed once more with that same discomforting smile.
This time, instead of using the trees, she would have the mushrooms be of use. By using her Fairy magic, the Silent Pokemon spread tiny pink dust that influenced every mushroom nearby.
Now the mushrooms were alive as they were assigned to deal with Mayor Mare, Sunrise and even Stoutland. Immediately, the Big-Hearted Pokemon could tell that something was wrong here. He stopped his sniffing, snarling at the area around him, prompting Mayor Mare and Sunrise to stop themselves as well.
"What is it, boy? Is it Hatterene again?" She asked her partner.
And before they knew it, the mushrooms had suddenly opened holes in themselves. And out of those holes, fungal vortexes started flying out with that same fungal substance.
"Gross!" Sunrise exclaimed as he hid behind Mayor Mare. Stoutland acted quickly, using Ice Fang to bite down on the fungus. While disgusting, Stoutland was brave enough to suck it up and ignore the fungus as his bite froze them. But he couldn't bite all of them.
So, he then used Thunderbolt, shooting a bolt of lightning at the incoming fungus, electrocuting them as they fell to the ground with smoking substances now.
But there was more to worry about. Some of the mushrooms didn't use that vortex of mushrooms. Instead, some of them sent fungal mould that slithered on the ground. This mould moved relatively quickly under Hatterene's influence. She couldn't have anyone escaping that easily with superior speed.
Mayor Mare gasped as she grabbed Sunrise, raising him from the ground. And at the right time. The mould would've grabbed him. But instead of grabbing the young colt, it went for the Mayor instead. Her hooves were caught by this fungal substance.
She grits her teeth, making a grimacing expression as her hooves were now stuck underneath the mould. And it was about to get worse. The mould was rising, gradually consuming parts of Mayor Mare's body while she held Sunrise Sprint up.
Sunrise used his magic to blast at the mould, trying to destroy it. It somewhat worked. He made holes in them and blew some of them away. Unfortunately, his magic wasn't strong enough. But Stoutland was strong enough.
After seeing his trainer being caught by the mould, the Big-Hearted Pokemon quickly used Thunderbolt in the next direction. Right at the mould. With one blast, the mould had been met with 100,000 volts, blasting it away from Mayor Mare.
But his back wasn't protected. After blasting the mould, Stoutland focused on protecting his trainer and Sunrise. That allowed a mass of fungal mould to appear behind him. The Normal-Type turned around but it was too late to act. The mould had landed on top of him.
"Stoutland!" Mayor Mare cried out as more fungal mould appeared, regenerating from Stoutland's Thunderbolt. The mould then stuck itself on Mayor Mare once more. "C-Curse it all!"
Sunrise panicked as there was nowhere to run. The whole ground was filled with mould. If he even thought of jumping down, he would be caught by the mould as well. Mayor Mare decided to improvise now.
"Sunrise. Can you trust me to throw you?"
"What?" Sunrise raised an eyebrow.
"Can you? It's the only way I can think of saving you right now!"
"Uh...Sure! Yeah!"
"Good! Don't tell your brother!" With one mighty exertion in her muscles, Mayor Mare had tossed Sunrise Sprint with all her might. The young unicorn went flying through the air with his mouth open, screaming. But, she threw him a moderate height, making sure not to fully harm him.
"Woooooaaaaaah!" A necessary save. Because Mayor Mare's whole body was being coated by the mould. Her lower body had already been taken over. And now her upper body and face were next.
The Mayor of Ponyville closed her eyes, seemingly ready to accept her fate. But in truth, she was just going to utter one last command for safety. "Stoutland! Use...!" The mould got close to her mouth as she raised her head to get some extra time. "Use Giga Impact!"
And just like that, Mayor Mare had been consumed by the mould. Afterwards, the fungal mould formed into a ball, trapping her inside of it. The ball of mould then started rolling away as Hatterene's eyes faded away within the shadows, laughing deviously. The ball of mould also vanished into the shadows, most likely where Hatterene was heading.
"S-Stout...!" But within the large mass of mould, a golden glow started pulsating out. And nursing out of the mould, breaking and destroying it into oblivion was Stoutland. He had used Giga Impact to free himself, charging through the mass prison. But, he was too late.
His trainer had been taken, much to his dismay. After breaking the mould and scanning the area, his best friend was nowhere to be found. Seeing this, Stoutland howled into the night sky into defeat. But he couldn't give up now. He had to find Mayor Mare and possibly the final object. The lantern.
"Mmm!" The two little unicorns Sapphire Flash and Premium Polish kept squirming, trying everything they could to break free. But it was no use. Those branches were on tight. It seemed like they would be stuck here for good.
And joining them was Mayor Mare who was trapped within the fungal ball. Hatterene had parked the ball near the tree where Premium and Sapphire were. And to add insult to injury, she made the trees pick up the ball, having the crooked branches hold on tight to her. She was now pinned to the top of a tree while trapped in a ball.
Hatterene cackled as she had successfully captured three victims. But there were still some more that evaded her. The prime examples being Flash Sentry and Flurry Heart.
Speaking of which, the two of them were searching for Premium Polish while Flurry Heart had her light on. She stayed close to Flash for safety. But in reality, Giratina was all she needed.
If anything, Giratina is more terrifying than all of this.
So far, there was no sign of the pony they searched for. They looked through the entire preschool to find nothing. They then went outside to marshland for any better luck.
They noticed a trail of destruction up ahead. Most likely from Stoutland's Giga Impact and Thunderbolt. They made sure to stay away from that spot since it seemed to be bad news.
They flew up a hill of mushrooms that haven't been touched by Hatterene thankfully. But they weren't even aware of the sentient mushrooms. And speaking of which, not all of them had been obliterated by Giga Impact. Some survived Stoutland's attack, slowly slithering after spotting Flash and Flurry in the distance.
They then reached the other side of the marshland, still finding no sign of Premium. But soon, their ears detected a sound. The sound of someone approaching.
Flurry Heart squealed as she hid behind Flash Sentry. Flash's eyes widened as he was hoping he was ready for Hatterene this time. Thankfully, they didn't have to worry.
It was just Stoutland.
"Stout! Stoutland!"
"Oh...It's just Stoutland." Flurry let out a sigh of relief.
"Stoutland. Where's your group, boy?" Flash went over.
"Stout! Stout-Stoutland!" Stoutland barked, trying to explain that his group had been taken by Hatterene. He did this by mimicking Hatterene's devious smile.
"Hm...Must've been Hatterene." Flash could slightly make it out. "Great. Now we've got more to save."
"Well, let's hurry then! We've got only...how many minutes?"
"Considering how long it took for us to move from place to place. Deerling Forest to here and the time we took searching the school...I'd say we only have 10 minutes left. Let's hurry!" Flash broke down the time they all had. They definitely had to keep moving.
Stoutland offered them a ride on his back. He could definitely get places on foot. Taking his offer, the two of them hopped on the back of the Big-Hearted Pokemon.
And with great speed, Stoutland boosted across the land, searching for his trainer and friends.
With Sunrise, he was on his lonesome. He ended up in the dampest and murkiest part of the marshland. He was already on the verge of falling asleep. His bedtime was close so it was only natural.
"So tired...Should've done this 2 hours ago or something." He grumbled as his walking speed was slowing down. "Or big bro could've come over and helped..." His eyes started closing as his speech was failing him. He wouldn't have the strength to continue.
Thus, he fell asleep on the spot. And right down a hill too. The young unicorn dozed off, falling flat on his face. And once he fell on his face, he started rolling down the hill while snoring. By rolling down, he had fungus cover him along the way.
Just like Mayor Mare, mould was covering him as well. But not as extreme as the mayor. As he rolled down the hill with great speeds, he eventually came to a halt by crashing into a tall mushroom.
"Ow!" That woke him up for sure. He groaned, wanting to head back to sleep as he looked up at the large mushroom. However, he couldn't sleep now.
Luck was shining on him.
Because once he sat up and removed the mould from him, he ended up sitting something glowing behind an assortment of mushrooms. He used his magic to separate the mushrooms, making them wobble too. And hiding behind them was the final object.
The lantern.
"Haha! Score!" He chuckled with excitement before getting his hooves on the lantern. "Okay. NowI just gotta get this to Deerling Forest. Oh."
The realization kicked in. The distance between him and Deerling Forest was absurd and impossible to reach in time. And with only 7 minutes left to spare. He let out an annoyed sigh. But Sunrise wasn't one to give up. If his brother won't give up when he loses a Pokemon Battle, then why should he.
With perseverance, he would try and make that trip.
"There they are!"
Finally, Flurry Heart had spotted her friends as Stoutland ran atop a large hill. With that hill, they could gain a better view. They were all trapped by those crooked trees and their unsettling branches, trying to break free. But to no avail.
"Stoutland!" Stoutland then ran down the hill, using the speed of Giga Impact for some more momentum. He was aiming to break the trees down with his strength.
Obviously, Hatterene wouldn't let that happen. The Silent Pokemon was expecting someone to come and save these three. And her assumption was correct.
With a sudden flash and that same creepy smile, she appeared up ahead, standing in Stoutland's way. "Hatterene." The Psychic-Fairy-Type was ready to give out another Hypnosis.
"Don't look!" Flurry Heart warned as she closed her eyes along with Stoutland and Flash. They successfully avoided Hypnosis by closing their eyes as Stoutland had tackled Hatterene in the process.
"H-Hatt!" Hatterene cried out as she fell over from Stoutland's tackle. After doing so, they had opened their eyes. The Big-Hearted Pokemon slid on the ground, arriving at the trees.
"Mmm! Mmm-mmm!" Premium cried out.
"Hold on! We'll get you all down from there!" Flurry Heart said, lighting her horn up with magic. But, quickly, she was met by Hatterene interrupting with Dazzling Gleam.
"Princess!" Flash ran in front of Flurry Heart, using himself as a body shield. He had been hit by Dazzling Gleam, taking multiple fairy rays to his front body. "Ow-ow!"
"Oh! Flash!" Flurry Heart gasped, seeing how Flash protected her before he fell to the ground in pain.
"Stoutland!" Stoutland growled, using Giga Impact once more. He launched himself like a rocket, heading for the Silent Pokemon while having an invisible aura around him.
"Tterene!" Hatterene snarled as she used the brightness of Dazzling Gleam, creating a shine that blinded Stoutland.
"S-Stout!" After being blinded, Hatterne used her claw to smash the Big-Hearted Pokemon with Psycho Cut. Stoutland received some damage before falling on his back. "Land!"
But Stoutland made a great distraction. Flurry Heart used her magic to slice the branches off. Giratina used his antimatter from within the Ultra Ball to fend off any incoming branches for extra support.
The three of them had been dropped from the trees with Flurry Heart successfully catching all three of them with her magic. There was still the issue of Mayor Mare. But, one use of her magic and the mould had been dealt with it.
"Ugh..." Mayor Mare groaned, adjusting her glasses. "Disgusting."
"Are you three okay?!" Flurry asked.
"We're fine...bit prickly now," Sapphire mumbled.
"Look!" Premium then put the focus on Hatterene and Stoutland. The Silent Pokemon grabbed Stoutland by the neck, squeezing him for a bit before tossing him aside like a ragdoll.
"S-Stou!"
"Not my Stoutland!" Mayor Mare gasped as Stoutland tumbled on the ground. Hatterene then used Dazzling Gleam again, shooting multiple rainbow rays into the sky. Everyone looked up as the rays started raining down, threatening to bomb them.
"Oh!" With instinct, Flurry cast a dome-shaped barrier. The beams then beat down on the barrier, but they failed to break through it. After Flurry Heart lowered the barrier, they all made the conscious decision to book it.
Hatterene wouldn't allow that. She then had every branch in the marshland extend and chase after the group, including the mushrooms. Soon, they were all being chased by a mass of fungal mould and hundreds of crooked tree branches under the night sky.
Flurry Heart used her magic to try and blow away all of the mould and branches. Flash quickly sent out his Pidgeot for assistance. He knew he would be of great help.
"Pidgeot!"
"Use Heat Wave!"
"Geot!" The Bird Pokemon exuded heat waves from his wings by flapping them. The heat burnt away at the branches while also cooking the fungal mould as well. Stoutland ripped apart any of the branches with his teeth alone.
A giant eruption of mushrooms appeared in front f them, promptly stopping all of their movements. The erupting mushrooms had struck Pidgeot from below, knocking him back and allowing the branches to grab him. "P-Pidgeot!"
The eruption also caused a slight earthquake, making everyone jump. Flurry Heart and Flash stayed airborne by flapping their wings. But now the branches were closer this time as one of them grabbed Flurry Heart's tail. The branch then pulled her to the ground.
"Woah!" She cried out as she was on the verge of being smashed down. But, with a quick save, Flash Sentry held onto her hooves with his own, preventing the crash. Unfortunately, that allowed the other branches to wrap around him. But he didn't let go.
"I got you, princess!"
"P-PIdgeot!" Pidgeot used Heat Wave again, burning the branches away as he then went to rescue his trainer. The Bird Pokemon used Twister, generating a draconic hurricane by spinning around.
The twister blew away the mushrooms and branches with ease. But Hatterene was unaffected thanks to her being a Fairy-Type. The Silent Pokemon then used Psycho Cut, knocking Pidgeot out of the sky with multiple cutting blades.
The Bird Pokemon fell to the ground as the mould immediately stuck to him. After being freed thanks to Twister, Flurry Heart used her magic to slice away the mould that held her friends down on the ground. Flash Sentry continued to use himself as a shield against Hatterene's incoming attacks.
But this time, Stoutland assisted. He used the aura of Giga Impact, blocking Psycho Cut from hitting Flash as he stood in front of the pegasus. But there were too many branches and mushrooms in this marshland to deal with. From every side, more kept approaching as they blocked the night sky of the moon with only faint moonbeams shining through.
Everyone felt backed into a corner as Hatterene cackled. They couldn't stop all of them forever as the branches and mushrooms were caving them in. Hatterene herself was charging up one major Dazzling Gleam that was sure to deal massive damage.
Flurry Heart lit her horn up, preparing for her biggest magic blast yet. The atmosphere was intensifying with both forms of magic being charged up. It looked like this would be truly destructive until...
The bell from the preschool had rung.
Time was up.
And with that, the branches and mushrooms moved away after hearing the bell. Hatterene lowered her claw along with Flurry Heart's magic. Everything could simmer down. It was over.
"OH! Finally!" Sapphire sighed as she fell on her back. "That was harder than last time!"
"Indeed. Hatterene's certainly gotten better, hasn't she?" Mayor Mare chuckled as Hatterene remained calm this time.
In truth, this wasn't anything made out of ill-intent. What they were doing was some sort of game. Similar to a scavenger hunt but with the added horror aesthetic with Hatterene chasing them down.
"That was fun! Let's do that again sometime!" Flurry Heart giggled, jumping up and down.
"Maybe when I'm not getting hit next time?" Flash groaned.
They had successfully returned 3 out of 4 items. Meaning that they had won. As long as they had returned the items to the box. They would've only lost if Hatterene removed the items from the box and kept them for herself.
Speaking of which, Sunrise had fallen asleep, trying to get the lantern to the box. He didn't even make it halfway there as he was snoring with his head resting on a mushroom. Stoutland would eventually find him via his great scent.
But they all had a blast. It was a bit disturbing and terrifying but it was fun nonetheless. Saying it was harmless fun would be a stretch, however.
Ponyville. Twilight's Castle. Night.
And of course, Hatterene had returned to the castle, appearing in front of Starlight's eyes.
"There you are!" Starlight ran over, hugging her partner with all of her compassion.
"Hatt?"
"Again. Where do you keep going? I should be worried but you always come back in one piece. Plus the night is sort of your thing, isn't it?"
"Hatterene." Hatterene stuck her tongue out, showing a teasing expression. Starlight squinted her eyes as she still couldn't understand her own partner. But it didn't matter. They loved each other anyway.
"Another invitation." Just now, Princess Celestia was graced with that same letter that had sentience. Once more, it had revealed an invitation to Pegalysium. Second time in a row. "And this soon as well."
"Hmph. This time, I bet it's a trap." Adagio said while laying on Arcanine's soft and warm body. She was still holding on to the concept of it being a trap. She was wrong the first time but the second time could be right.
"This time it says it's from Queen Luminary. She says that our first discussion got off on the wrong hoof. A second chance would be nice. Her husband may not agree to it, but she ordered it."
"Oh. Well I mean...she seems nice enough at least." Adagio pouted her lips.
"Arcanine." And Arcanine could agree. He did sense a good spirit and heart from Luminary when they first met in the Sky Monarch.
"Still don't trust her. Want me to bring the Magic Siphoning Jar?"
"W-Well...there may not be any need for that." Celestia laughed nervously. "If we can have our second discussion, we might be able to understand each other and save the universe together."
"Maybe." Adagio sighed, lying on Arcanine's back. "Still have that king. I mean who does he think he is?"
"He's just trying to protect his subjects and everyone. Even if it means reverting everything." Celestia's smile transformed into a frown. She then regained the optimistic smile before focusing on other important matters. "Anyway. We'll head there another time. Right now, I need to attend with the other universes. Adagio. Could you continue studying in the library for me?"
"Sure. I'll get to it." Adagio yawned while on Arcanine's back. Celestia giggled, knowing that Adagio would ace her lessons once she got to the library.
But with how hard she's been working, taking a break wasn't a bad idea. She's earned it. As Celestia walked forwards to her throne room where Luna and Cadence were waiting for the meeting, the Sun Princess felt an oddity fill the air. Just at that moment, she stopped as she felt a tremor and pulse that she could not see.
Nothing dangerous was ongoing here. But she could feel as if something was wrong. Somewhere out there. Probably not in this universe. But another.
Unova Region. Day.
Out there in the Unova Region, there existed some ruins. But these ruins weren't actually as old as they seemed. Most ruins are centuries old, existing in the far past. These ruins were at least 17 years old. Fairly young.
That was because there were the ruins where Ghetsis first lost to Ash and his friends years ago. The same place where he once had control of Reshiram but failed to keep that control.
Speaking of Ghetsis, this is where he currently was. He sat on a tipped over pillar by his lonesome. No Pokemon. No other Team Plasma Grunts. Nothing. It was just him. He was recovering from his draw with Ash.
But in Ghetsis' eyes, he lost that battle.
Ghetsis vowed to get so strong that he would never lose again. To no one. Not to any Pokemon Trainer. Whether they're new, experienced, Gym Leaders, Elite 4 members, Champions, Princesses and other rulers. And especially not a kid from Kanto.
Ghetsis was undergoing something similar to the Cerebral Training that Celestia and Luna underwent as taught by Olympia. It involved mental concentration and picturing how a battle against certain opponents would go.
In Ghetsis' case, he was imagining how his rematch with Ash would end up the next time. They both stood in an endless field of darkness with black flames flowing.
Ash was there with his Pikachu while Ghetsis obviously had his Hydreigon. Ghetsis had his stoic yet vengeful stare while Ash had that same confident smile on his face. They had already begun their battle 5 minutes ago and were in the heart of it.
"Hydreigon! Dragon Rush!"
"Hydrei!"
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Pika!"
And within this mindscape, their Pokemon Battle played out. Ghetsis was hoping to win this so he could see how to properly defeat Ash the next time they meet. Both Pikachu and Hydreigon approached each other with Pikachu's tail clashing with Hydreigon's draconic aura.
They separated for a bit with Pikachu sliding on the pitch-black surface. Hydreigon shook all three of his heads while moving back.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash grinned, tightening his fist while commanding Pikachu.
"Dark Pulse! Flash Cannon and Flamethrower! Now!" Ghetsis roared. His Hydreigon went first with all three heads firing three separate beams with different elements.
"Get a better strike in with Quick Attack and then blast 'em!"
"Pika!" Pikachu used two moves in one. He used the speed of Quick Attack to bolt forward. But not only that, he slid underneath the three attacks, evading them. He also slid underneath Hydreigon, sending Thunderbolt upwards. "Chu!"
"H-Hy!"
"Iron Tail!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu then hardened his tail, striking Hydreigon's stomach with it after giving him a bolt of 100,00 volts.
"Grr! Smash him to bits! Outrage!"
"Hydrei!" Hydreigon bellowed as he coated himself in destructive red energy. In a fury, Hydreigon started swinging his headmouths frantically at Pikachu, trying to hit him.
"Alright, buddy. Use Quick Attack to zip around!"
"Pika! Pika!" In a flash, Pikachu's used the speed of Quick Attack, evading one of the first swings by dashing backwards. Hydreigon hit the ground as he flew after the Mouse pokemon.
Pikachu avoided Hydreigon's attacks with his superior speed, making the Brutal Pokemon miss each time. He even jumped on one of Hydreigon's heads before leaping off it, making the Dark-Dragon-Type hit himself. "D-Drei!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu then slid on the void-filled surface, lunging forward and hitting Hydreigon's back with Quick Attack.
"Just hit him already! Hyper Beam!"
"Hydrei...!" Hydreigon then surrounded all three of his mouth with Hyper Beam, ready to blast him into oblivion. Meanwhile, Ghetsis went for Ash by using his Dark Magic. He sent a black bolt from his palm, only to be met by Ash immediately dodging it with his quick reaction time.
"Electroweb and Iron Tail, go!"
"Pikachu...!" Pikachu then slammed his tail down, forming a net of electricity instead of tossing it forward to Hydreigon.
"Dreigon!" Hydreigon then unleashed three massive beams of Infinity Energy that raced forward. And at the same time, Pikachu had jumped onto Electroweb, using it as a spring or trampoline. By using the web, he launched himself in the air. And with perfect timing.
With the height he gained, Hyper Beam hit the web instead, causing the explosion to go off. Afterwards, Pikachu's tail lit up with steel as he flipped in the air. With a mighty swing, he smashed Hydreigon's head with it.
"H-Hydrei!"
"Just hit him already!" Ghetsis bellowed as he was struggling to hit Ash himself. Ash kept avoiding Ghetsis' crystals and black bolts while keeping a smile on his face. Ghetsis' anger was rising as Hydreigon continued to attack Pikachu with violent swings.
Pikachu also maintained a smile as he was easily evading the incoming hits while also landing Iron Tail every single time. Hydreigon as well was becoming frustrated.
"Chu...Pika!" And with a mighty swing to the face, HYdreigon had taken the biggest hit yet. And with that hit, he fell over, fainting. Ghetsis looked to the side, seeing his ace Pokemon fall. As if it couldn't get worse, Ash had pulled the staff of Sir Aaron out of thin air.
"What?!"
"Here goes! With one use of the staff, Ash created a giant dome-shaped blast of Aura that eclipsed the area, lighting it all up. The azure light from the Aura was so bright that it eradicated the darkness, covering it with Aura. Ghetsis closed his eyes as he had been consumed by the bright Aura along with Hydreigon.
After that, Ghetsis was sent out of his mind and back to reality.
"Ah!" Ghetsis gasped after being brought out of his mind. He held his head afterwards. "Darn it. Even after these past days, I can't seem to beat him." In truth, Ghetsis has been doing this as his main method of training for days now ever since he left to be by himself. "Why? Why can't I beat him?"
Ghetsis tried again. He figured if he kept making mock battles with Ash in his mind, he would eventually find a way to defeat him for good when they meet in reality.
However, as he re-entered his mindscape, he lost again. Even when attacking Ash, he couldn't land a hit on him. And even when Hydreigon struck Pikachu or any of Ash's Pokemon, they came back, succeeding in the end. Ghetsis attempted it again but lost once more.
Each time he went back in Ash's mind, the losses kept piling up, non-stop. No matter what, he couldn't beat Ash. And each time he failed, his frustration grew. He smashed his fist onto one of the walls, shattering it after yet another loss. "Curse it all! What am I doing wrong?!"
He breathed in and out as his dark aura started emanating out of his body. His rage correlated with his anger. And he could see that. The angrier he became, the more his aura started showing. It's definitely more visible with emotions. That's when Ghetsis decided to try and find out what was wrong with his losses.
He then thought back to his battles with Ash, looking at a key detail. He noticed how the entire time, Ash kept his calm demeanour, not showing any signs of losing his cool. He remained calm. Meanwhile, Ghetsis was feeling frustrated each time. And it all came from him and Hydreigon losing each time. Even with his other Pokemon, he lost.
Soon, Ghetsis found that it was his frustration and Ash's calm composure that made a barrier between them. Ash would win because he has such a handle on everything. After all, Ash barely shows signs of frustration.
Ash has perfect control of his emotions while Ghetsis doesn't. The hatred inside of him constantly allows him to erupt with frustration and aggravation. And it showed. Each time Ash interfered with Ghetsis, starting from Saddle Arabia to Pyrestar's world, Ghetsis is always annoyed and enraged in the end.
Ghetsis knew that if he wanted to overcome Ash, he would need to put aside his anger and let himself be calm. But that was fairly difficult considering how much Ghetsis struggles to hold his enraged temper at certain moments. But it is mainly because of Ash.
Celestia, Twilight, any of the Mane 6, none of them have managed to push him to frustration like Ash. Mostly because Ash and Ghetsis have danced around before. Ghetsis took a deep breath as he now had a new goal. Overcome his anger and stay calm in front of Ash.
To work on that, he returned to his mindscape, focusing once more to better himself.
Universe 30. Empress Twilight's spare palace.
Right now, Empress Twilight was working on a way to make her own variation of the Magic Siphoning Jar. If she wanted this to become a reality, she would have to add some of Tirek's magic, which she already absorbed.
The object in question that she was crafting was unknown for now. But from how she was building it, it seemed to have an octagonal shape. Although, this could change later on.
One thing's for sure, it would work like the Magic Siphoning Jar, with a bit of the Empress' touch. But as she worked hard on the jar, entering the room was one of her best soldiers and her Royal Guard. This guard was absent from the invasion, much to the Empress' chagrin. She believed if she was here during the invasion, victory would've been theirs. But that wasn't the case.
That guard was Tempest.
"Empress?" She entered the room.
"Tempest! Finally." She immediately turned to face her Royal Guard with a smile gracing her face.
"I was told everything that had happened," said Tempest. "Apologies for not being here sooner. The rebelling forces over at the eighth universe were truly stubborn and persistent.
"Nevermind that. It was my fault for not bringing you along anyways. Because everything is going to change now that you are here. And with my new creation on the verge of building. Celestia and her universe will pay, without a doubt."
"And what should I do Empress? I can repay for my absence during the invasion."
"You do that. Make sure not to start another invasion there. That world has too much potential and is brimming with strength and capabilities that could end my rule for good. Attack with a safer method, understood?"
"Understood. But, I've also gotten word that same universes have been infiltrating our other conquered universes?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Seems as they're aiming to free each universe. From what our sources say, they've formed some sort of Universal Alliance with the other universes." Tempest explained.
"Curse that Celestia...!" Empress Twilight's own frustration was building up. "But it's fine. We haven't fully lost yet. Skyblue Shine is already out there searching for the Magic Siphoning Jar. If you find her, assist her. Plus, I need Luster Dawn back. Travel to the Pokemon World and find her in whatever prison they're holding her in."
"I will get on it." Tempest saluted before leaving the room. Empress Twilight felt as if she could be at ease now with Tempest on the scene. She had that much faith in her.
In the meanwhile, she would continue to build her item to perfection.
Universe One. Equestria. Afternoon.
Speaking of Skyblue Shine, she remained in the library. She failed to go to Pegalysium but she did give the information to the Empress and was waiting for a response.
Aside from that, she had given up on the library entirely at this moment. Now she was aiming to find another source for the Magic Siphoning Jar's origin. She was still holding onto it being Pegalysium as the main source.
Other than that, she now had to move somewhere else. First, she had to find her way out of Canterlot without being caught. She was definitely wanted by Equestria. She waited for the library to have fewer visitors inside. And her waiting paid off. Very few ponies were now in the library, exiting it. Few were remaining with the most notable being Moondancer.
With very few being here, Skyblue Shine then walked out of the storage room, revealing herself to everypony here. Moondancer and the few ponies plus the main librarian had turned their attention to the android.
"Huh? Hey! You're-" Before Moondancer could do anything or finish her sentence, SKyblue Shine had used her magic to hold everyone here. Her upgrades would help greatly in this.
Everyone was now restrained by Skyblue Shine's magic. And not only that, she used a spell to put all of them to sleep. Before they knew it, Moondancer and everyone here had been put under a sleeping spell. Their eyes lowered, unable to do anything against this.
Thus, they had all fallen asleep. Skyblue Shine then dropped them all with her magic, causing them all to fall on either the tables or floors they were nearby.
After that, she could make her leave and head somewhere else in Equestria. Anywhere but Canterlot. But leaving the library would be tricky since that would lead her to the streets of Canterlot. She needed to find a way out of here without being seen.
And there was an easy solution. Blast a hole through the storage room. With a smirk on her face, Skyblue Shine went for that plan. As she teleported herself back into the storage room, the android already had a blast of magic ready for use.
She aimed it at the very back, firing one single blast. A perfect sized hole. Plus, it revealed the outside which led to the Canterlot Gardens. Right near one of the hedges. With that, Skbylue Shine galloped along, jumping through the hole she had made.
But she had to cover her tracks. For that solution, she would use her magic once more. There wasn't a reparation spell in her arsenal. But she could place something to mask off the entrance. The boxes of books would be a good substitute.
The Umbrage Thief had used the furthest box in the back as that mask. She stacked the other boxes together, allowing them to hide the hole. Either way, she won't return here so her destruction wouldn't matter in the long run. After doing so, she was now ready to leave Canterlot.
But as she started galloping, looking for the next place to locate herself, she spotted something that she couldn't ignore at all. Or rather someone.
Her daughter, Premium Polish.
Right now, Premium was enjoying a nice day out with her friends. She's certainly made new friends in Canterlot. Whether as her reputation as a Pokemon Coordinator or just being great to be around. Or possibly her being known for hanging around two princesses. One from this world and the other from another.
She was having a brilliant experience as she hid inside Flareon's large fur with her head popping out. Seeing her daughter be happy even without her mother here was 50/50 for Skyblue Shine. On one hand, Premium Polish being happy was a nice sight for Skyblue Shine's eyes. It's also pleasing to parents in general. If the children are happy and enjoying their life towards the future, the parents could have relieved smiles on their faces and steady hearts.
However, this also meant that Skyblue Shine may never interact with her own daughter ever again with the reputation she's made. Not only that, but Skyblue Shine certainly feels guilty for missing out on all of Premium Polish's contests and other activities. That was the only wrench in their relationship. Skyblue Shine was so loyal to the Empress and her role as an Umbrage Thief that she had never gotten the chance to truly see her own daughter's achievements play out.
Only the contest ribbons in her room and no more.
Skyblue Shine wished that she could speak to her daughter without having to worry about anything. But her loyalty for the Empress was far too great. Skyblue Shine herself wondered why this was the case. All she knew was that she couldn't interact with her daughter anymore. Then again, she barely did in the first place that much.
Knowing that hard truth, the android went along her way, sneaking out of Canterlot. And as she left, Premium Polish herself could feel something. As if someone familiar was nearby.
But, she didn't think too much about it. She just continued to play with her friends as the journey continues.
"Ash!" A knock on the door and a whistle from Delia Ketchum came through as she opened the door to Ash's room. "Your friends will be over soon for your training day. I'll be heading off to Canterlot in a bit. Those jewels are too tempting not to buy. I hope you have everything neat and ready for guests."
"Everything looks fine here." Ash gave a thumbs up, showcasing his room. It wasn't messy but it could use some freshening up. Delia's eyes had one of doubt as she gave a slight nod.
"Pikachu."
"Mhm." She simply responded. "If you're going to train, make sure it isn't too destructive, please?"
"Righ. Oh but uh...it's not just Twilight and the others like usual. A bunch more are gonna be here." Ash gave a grin while scratching the back of his hair. "Sorry. Might get a little crowded here at Pallet Town."
"Well, as long as everything stays intact. I can count on you and Pikachu to do so, right?"
"Oh yeah! Leave it to us!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
Delia could put her faith in her son and Pikachu without a doubt. Those two are great at living up to faiths. A slight giggle met her mouth as she left Ash and Pikachu to their own devices.
By leaving the room she went up to the picture frame of her, Ash and her husband standing together for a family portrait, picking it up. "Oh, dear. You should see Ash now. He definitely gets it from your side of the family. A spitting image."
Minutes later, ponies had arrived from their world to come and practice with Ash. Ponyville was a bit occupied with an event, so Ash suggested training at Pallet Town would be a good alternative.
Plus, his other Pokemon were nearby and he could teach them a few things for sure. The Mane 6 were obviously here as well as younger ponies since they were still new and inexperienced.
Delia herself would just stay indoors. But later, she would have a small trip around Equestria for the sake of it. However, seeing her son practice and make some food for those who work hard was also on her mind.
"Alright, gang!" Ash exclaimed. "Let's continue where we left off last time!"
"Pikachu!"
"This time can we try with Oshawott? He's been very eager." A little pony held up an Oshawott to Ash.
"Osha! Oshawott!"
"Sure sure!" Ash nodded as they were about to take things underway. Not all of them began training with Ash yet. Some of them were waiting their turn. And in the meanwhile, they can hang around Pallet Town for the time being.
"You're entering it too?" Delia spoke to Spike and the others.
"Yeah. Proving myself as a great Dragon Trainer to everyone and being a champion is a chance I'll take." Spike crossed his arms, nodding in confirmation.
"Yeah but like...I'll be the first Champion of Equestria." Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Besides, you'd better hurry. The league could be starting soon once everypony gather all 8 Gym Badges."
"By the way. Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle. How are your Gym Battles and Contests coming along?" Delia then asked the five fillies, giving them some pie.
"Pretty good. But some of the coordinators are really tough to deal with it." Sweetie Belle sighed while Apple Bloom and Scootaloo locked their eyes to the pie. "Gelidity's just too good."
"Yeah. I'll be near the Equestria League the more I push myself. The fourth Gym's the scariest they say, right?" Scootaloo chewed on the pie.
"But you saw Rainbow Dash win it, so it won't be a problem, right?" Apple Bloom said.
"Just take my advice, okay?" Rainbow Dash flew over. "Zecora's gonna outspeed you, no problem. So you gotta use her speed against her. All those ramps in her Gym are pretty good. Or uh...maybe your Ponyta's speed might work. Either way."
"And we'll support you all through!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, holding up Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Spike and Ash flags. "Especially the World Championships! I can't wait to see Ash as the strongest trainer!"
"Your kids are your competitions." Delia giggled. "Ah, reminds me of when I was a trainer back then. A shame. I could've shot for the Pokemon League myself back then."
"What were you like as a Pokemon Trainer, Mrs Ketchum?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, I was something!" Delia stood up, getting enthusiastic all of a sudden. "At such a young age, a lot of people saw promise in me as a Trainer. But that might've been my attitude back then. Definitely different from now. I was known as the Raging Leaf at that time."
"Raging Leaf?!" Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash and Spike sat up.
"Mhm. I would've travelled to other regions for the chance to win every league but...I met the love of my life, got married and you know the rest by now." Delia nodded. "But don't get me wrong. I still have those instincts in me."
"You sounded like you were something back then," Twilight said. "Are you as good as you were back then?"
"Am I?" Delia pondered. "Hmm...Hard to say, honestly. I rarely battle except for certain moments. But they're so few and far between. I have the memories but the spirit is kind of lacking."
"Well, I'm super curious!" Rainbow Dash flew over. "Say, Mrs Ketchum. Would it be okay if we had a Pokemon Battle?"
"A Pokemon Battle now?" Delia responded, thinking about it for a moment. She certainly hasn't had a battle in a while. The last battle she had was at Alola, a few years ago. Having a Pokemon Battle for fun never hurt anyone. "I can head to Equestria at any time so...Sure! I'm always up for battle, is what my son says. Mimey. Will it be okay if I let you sit out for this battle?"
"Mime-Mime!" Mr Mime was okay with the decision.
No one from Ponyville or Equestria has really seen Ash's mom battle before. So this will be a first.
Delia chose one of Ash's Pokemon for assistance. She went with Charizard and of course
Ash, who was currently training everyone, took a moment to watch his own mother's battle. He rarely gets to see his mom battle so this will be a treat for certain.
Rainbow Dash stood on the left side while Delia stood on the right side. And their battle would take place just near the outskirts of Pallet Town. AKA, right next to Professor Oak's lab.
"I hope you're ready Mrs Ketchum!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "I won't hesitate at all!"
"I hope you don't, Rainbow Dash." Delia closed her eyes, giving a nod. "Because if you do..." Just then, she opened her eyes as a foreboding sense of dread filled the air. A lethal aura rushed towards Rainbow Dash, making her shudder as she froze in place. She had never felt such horror from just a simple stare from Delia's calm and happy stare. "I'll obliterate you and your Pokemon before your heart gives off another beat...Okay?"
"Y-Yes ma'am..." Rainbow Dash gulped. That one stare made it clear that Rainbow Dash might end up having a rough time. She was even having second thoughts about this. Twilight and the others felt that pressure as they held each other, quivering in fear. "Alright! Braviary, go!"
Rainbow Dash chose Braviary. If she was going to give everything she had, it's best to go with her strongest Pokemon, right? By throwing the Poke Ball with her wing, out came the Valiant Pokemon, Braviary.
"Braviary!"
"Charizard. I'm counting on you to win this, okay?"
"Charizard!" The Flame Pokemon responded with a bellowing roar that rustled Braviary's feathers and blew Rainbow Dash's mane along with everyone else's.
"Be careful, Rainbow Dash! All of Ash's Pokemon are well trained and strong!" Twilight cried out. "Even when someone else is with them!"
"I know, I know! That's why I'm going first. Get a load of this! Braviary, let's start with Aerial Ace!"
"Viary!" Attacking first was Braviary. A white aura outlined his body as he spread his wings out. Braviary soared down at his fellow Flying-Type, moving so fast he became a blur.
"Charizard, use Dragon Tail!"
"Char!" Charizard let out another roar as his tail was coated in a green draconic light. The Fire-Flying-Type then soared into the air, evading Braviary's Aerial Ace being appearing above.
"Bravi?" Braviary let out a slight gasp before quickly looking up. Charizard could certainly keep up with his speed, even with Aerial Ace. After evading it, the Flame Pokemon swung his tail, smashing Braviary's back. "Braviary!"
"Ah! Braviary!" Rainbow Dash's gasp was stronger as her partner hurled through the air, tumbling on the ground a bit before recovering.
"Slash, Charizard!"
"Charizard!" Charizard let out a small grunt before covering his claws in light. The Flame Pokemon then soared towards his fellow Flying-Type, ready for consecutive slashes. Or one might work as well.
"We'll hit you with something, harder! Superpower!"
"Viary!" Braviary cawed as he had a mightier move in-store. By coating his wings and talons in a furious and blazing orange energy, Superpower was ready for use.
"Breathe Flamethrower on your claws!"
"Say what now?!" Rainbow Dash and Braviary froze after hearing that. Charizard slowed down for a bit to allow himself to focus on his claws. To everyone's shock, Charizard had breathed fire on his own claws. Not to harm himself, but to increase his strength and match Braviary's Superpower. By breathing on his claws, he merged Flamethrower with Slash, creating flaming claws.
Now everyone can see where Ash's ridiculous strategies come from. They'd think he got it from his father, but there's a chance Delia might be the cause of it all.
"What is with this family?!" Twilight screeched after witnessing this.
"Now, strike with your Blazing Claws!" She even gave this combination of moves a name. She tends to nickname some of Ash's Pokemon, so it was in her nature.
"Charizard!"
"Bravi! Braviary and Charizard eventually met face-to-face. With them roaring at each other, although, Braviary's was more of a caw, their wings and claws had met.
Instantly, a powerful collision occurred with sparks flying everywhere. Charizard's Blazing Claws were enough to match Braviary's Superpower. The added might of Slash and Flamethrower was perfect for this as Bravairy could already feel the heat.
The two of them stared at each other in the eyes before separating. They then began swinging their wings, talons and claws at each other continuously. Streaks of flames came out of Charizard's arms as he swung, smashing them onto Braviary's talons.
"Bravi!" Braviary used his talon to hold Charizard's incoming claw while using his wing to strike the Flame Pokemon's head. An effective method as he quickly pulled his wing and talon away from Charizard's other incoming claw.
"Zard!" Charizard then ducked underneath an incoming swing from Braviary's wing, slashing his Blazing Claw upwards and sending the Valiant Pokemon into the air.
"Vi!" Braviary cried out as Charizard followed after him, ready to follow up with Blazing Claw. Braviary quickly put his wings up to try and block the incoming attack with Superpower's strength.
"Charizard!" The Flame Pokemon slashed his Blazing Claw onto Braviary's wings, causing a mild shockwave in the air. Braviary staggered a bit as Charizard went for another swing, hitting Braviary's wings while the Valiant Pokemon continued to block.
"Blow Charizard away!"
"Viary!" Braviary cawed as he then exuded energy from Superpower, sending out a pulsating shockwave that blew the Flame Pokemon back.
"Char!"
"Yes! Now use Brave Bird!"
"Braviary!" Braviary then spread his wings out, coating his body in a new aura. A lighter orange this time. With that light orange aura, the Normal-Flying-Type ascended into the air for a higher height and better momentum. More momentum means a heavier attack. The Valiant Pokemon then boosted through the air, leaving an orange trail behind while diving towards the Flame Pokemon.
"Charizard, grab him!"
"Charizard!" Charizard wasn't worried about this. He held his claws out as he was ready to take on Braviary even when he was approaching at top speed. Braviary made a powerful wind pressure from his movements while also burning parts of the air and atmosphere.
"Bravi!" Braviary then crashed into Charizard, only for the Fire-Flying-Type to not only take a direct hit to the stomach but also grabbing Braviary's wings by breaking through his orange aura.
"C-Chari!" Charizard growled as he felt the impact on his stomach, staggering him a bit. But, he could withstand it. However, Braviary received recoil damage from that much power, staggering him as well. SInce Braviary caused such an impact, his stagger lasted longer.
Just what Delia wanted.
"Now tickle him with Dragon Tail!"
"Charizard!" In a surprise choice of words, once Charizard had Braviary within his clutches, he wouldn't let go. But that wasn't the important part. The Flame Pokemon put his tail out, moving it to the side as the green draconic energy laminated it.
But instead of using it to smack Braviary, Charizard started using the tail to tickle the Valiant Pokemon instead. Right on the beak as well by using the tip of the tail. "Chari. Charizard."
"B-B-B-Bravi! Braviary!" Braviary immediately started laughing as to be expected. He certainly didn't expect an attack like Dragon Tail to be used in a way such as this. Charizard not only had Braviary in his clutches, but he also had his fellow Flying-Type distracted. "Braviary!"
"Seriously! Braviary, break free with Steel Wing, quick!" Rainbow Dash cried out. But Charizard was really gripping those wings with his claws deep inside.
"Well...that's certainly one way to use an attack..." Rarity gawked.
"Yeah...Wonder if I can do that with my Salamence? But the build's not the same is it?" Spike spoke.
"It's a good thing Rainbow Dash isn't in Rainbow-Braviary right now or else all that focus would be gone." Fluttershy chuckled as they all admired this hilarious yet effective tactic. Even though there was a Pokemon move known as Tickle, Charizard could improvise without needing that move.
Then again, it is the Ketchum way.
"How do you like our Dragon Tickle? Now, grab him and go crazy!" Delia cheered, raising her arms while also moving them in a spinning motion. Charizard could tell what Delia was going for.
After tickling him, Charizard then used Dragon Tail to wrap around Braviary's neck. Due to that distraction via the tickling, Braviary couldn't get out of the way.
"B-Bra?!"
"Braviary! Try flying around and throw Charizard off! Then use Aerial Ace!"
"I don't think so! Go, Charizard!"
"Charizard!" Charizard flew through the air while pulling Braviary along. The Flame Pokemon then started spinning around, denying Braviary, the chance to break free. The objective was to make Braviary feel dizzy. And Charizard definitely succeeded in that.
V-V-Viary!" Braviary was already feeling sick from this spinning as he was struggling to find the right moment to break free of this grasp. And as Charizard spun around a bit, that's when he went in for the heavy blow.
"Char!" The Flame Pokemon then zoomed towards the ground, flipping his body as he slammed the Valiant Pokemon down. He also chose to let go of him at this moment. One hit and Braviary hit the ground hard as the grip of Dragon Tail had ended.
"B-Braviary!"
"Now, Wing Attack!"
"Charizard!" After slamming Braviary down, Charizard was going for the finishing blow by lighting his wings up.
"Steel Wing, quick!"
"Viary!" Braviary tumbled on the ground before recovering himself. He wasn't about to let himself fall here. He quickly hardened his wings with pure metal. He and Charizard then clashed their wings against each other.
Braviary's wings were just a tad bit stronger than Charizard's as he overpowered Wing Atack. With him succeeding in the clash, he sent Charizard back with superior force.
"Fire!" Delia cried out as she quickly responded to Braviarys' pushback. And so did Charizard. After he was pushed back, he actually flapped his wings while still using Wing Attack. He sent a barrage of airwaves by flapping his wings ferociously.
"Vi?!" Braviary gasped as he was instantly pelted with rapid waves of wind that forced him back on the ground. And they bombarded him to boot with Charizard sending more before bringing it to an end. A large smoke cloud coated the Valiant Pokemon due to all of that damage and his fall.
"Oh, no! Braviary!" Rainbow Dash cried out, leaning forward to see the state of her partner. And after a barrage like that and the previous attacks like Dragon Tail, Slash and Flamethrower, Braviary couldn't handle it.
He had fainted.
"Braviary..."
"That's that~" Delia whistled while Charizard descended. "A shame that I didn't get to see Rainbow-Braviary. But oh well. Good job, Charizard!"
"Charizard."
"Yikes..." Rainbow Dash stood there stunned. She was Ash's mother for a reason. Battling was in the family. She could only imagine and dread what Ash's father was like when it comes to battling. Perhaps Ash and Delia's battling styles are inspired by his. Aside from that, Rainbow Dash flew over to her partner afterwards. "Good job, Braviary. Looks like we still have ways to go, don't we?"
"Bravi." They certainly did. They got to experience why Delia was once known as the Raging Leaf back in the day and to have further reasons to better themselves. So did Spike and Scootaloo.
If Delia, someone who doesn't battle frequently can do so well and win against a constant battler such as Rainbow Dash, then they had a lot to work on. The old trainers who are retired might as well give them a run for their money. Then again, humans have been around Pokemon more, so it was to be expected.
"Oh, it's nothing too special. It's just a natural Ketchum attribute, that's all." Delia chuckled, shrugging off her impressive battling skills as everyone was now intimidated by Delia.
She already had an intimidating aura around her but after witnessing that battle, they had a bigger reason to fear her. But overall, she also has a pleasant aura, making it nice to be around her either way.
Equestria. Canterlot. Afternoon.
Afterwards, Delia went on her merry way, wanting to spend some small time in Equestria. Delia preferred simple and calming things in life rather than Pokemon Battling. Her younger self would disagree on that without a doubt.
But before she left, she made some food for everyone to enjoy while she was away. After they finish training, it was all theirs.
When arriving at Canterlot, some ponies couldn't take their eyes off of Delia. She was Ash's mother so she did have some reputation and popularity present.
Some ponies also admired her for her beauty. They felt as if they could have a chance with her but since she was already married, that chance wouldn't happen. Plus, no one knows who Ash's father is but since he and Ash are apparently alike in practically every way, it's best not to meddle. Some may try anyway.
"Hey, Mrs Ketchum." Some ponies greeted her as she walked by. Some ponies slid over, holding many flowers to Delia to try and swoon her. Delia appreciated the flowers either way.
She gave her own greeting back while heading for the stand that sold those jewels she set her eyes on.
Speaking of jewels, Jewel was also present here in Canterlot, speaking to Twilight Velvet too. Princess Celestia and Premium Polish could be seen in that same space themselves.
"Hi, Mrs, Ketchum!" Premium waved over.
"Hellooo!" Delia whistled to the little unicorn, kneeling to face her. "How have you been lately?"
"Great!" Premium exclaimed as Delia picked her up. It's always stunning how different the humans and ponies are in size. Adults seem like giants to the ponies. "And your contests?"
"I could be winning them but...they're really hard." Premium pouted.
"Hang in there. Part of having a satisfying and fulfilling victory is going through the hardships of that path. That's what my husband says anyway." Delia chuckled. "Are you all here to buy some of these jewels too?"
"I want to give some to my Pokemon so that the moves look better when I'm at the contest." Premium explained her reason as Celestia already brought her some jewels.
"I'm just here because they look nice." Velvet spoke.
"Well, I came here since I don't know what to get my baby." Jewel gave her own reason. "I figured something pretty would be nice in all honesty."
"Jewels for babies? That's different." Delia responded with her finger on her lip.
Yeah. I-I'm not that experienced with babies. I mean...I'm gonna be a mother for the first time and I can't wait!" Jewel giggled in excitement. "But it'll be something new to me. I asked Velvet for some advice." Velvet nodded in confirmation. She already had her own motherly advice to give out. "What about you, Delia? What can you give me?"
"Well, Velvet's probably given you the most advice you can give. I know that for sure." Delia already knew that Velvet was a great mother so if she advised Jewel, then there wasn't much Delia could do. Except for one thing. "But...I can maybe give you this."
"That is...?"
"You'll have your babies crying all the time. It's inevitable isn't it?"
"Yeah...It is." Velvet sighed, knowing the frustration of heaving to deal with Twilight's crying when she was just a baby. She could still hear the cries, echoing at night whenever she falls asleep along with Night Light.
"I found a way through that. A nice song is always the way to go. One that soothes them. Ash and Pikachu know a thing or two about that."
"A song?" Jewel twirled her hair. "Really?"
"Not all songs. But a special kind. Like so." Delia went over to Celestia's Arcanine to give an example. Arcanine himself wasn't too bothered. He's always calm anyway.
"Arca?"
"This is a song Ash and I always use on Pikachu. But it works well on other Pokemon." She then kneeled to face Arcanine. Delia Ketchum then put her hand on the back of the Legendary Pokemon.
The song she referred to was something known as Goodnight My Pikachu. But for this, she would stylize it for Arcanine.
The Poké Ball is your bed Curl up and close your eyes In the morning your wounds will heal If, if you come into my dreams
To play with me... It's just something I thought about Good night, good night, good night A bright star is shining
I have sleepless nights too Come here into my arms We'll talk, just the two of us If, if we don't have a meeting
I want to listen to you, but...
Good night, good night, good night The star has drifted away now
Good night, good night, good night Soon, I'll sleep too
"Canine..." Arcanine felt like falling asleep to that song. He was already calm but now he was at peace with all of his nerves being stable. The Legendary Pokemon let out a pant and a satisfying yawn as he laid on his back.
"There. Though, you should only use something like this at night.
"Oh, I get it now!" Jewel exclaimed. "What an amazing song!"
"Yeah...it sure is." Premium Polish grumbled as the song had affected her. She was already on the verge of falling asleep. Passion and Kirlia were most definitely ready to fall asleep after hearing that. The song seems to be effective on only children and Pokemon.
"Gardevoir..." Passion yawed as she sat on the ground.
"Kirlia..." Kirlia dozed off as she rested her head on Passion's leg. They were both put in this trance. However, Celestia and Velvet quickly woke them up with her magic. "Kir?!"
"Garde?!"
"Oops. My bad!" Delia giggled, giving an innocent smile.
After giving some extra motherly advice to Jewel, Delia and the rest of the mothers, plus mother figure, AKA Celestia, bought their jewels. Delia took some time to stay in Canterlot for a bit and chat with them. Premium played around with Arcanine, Kirlia and Passion in the meanwhile as they watched the golden sun turn orange and slowly descend.
Kanto Region. Pallet Town. Night.
Delia returned. And already, Pallet Town was silent. Ash's training with his friends had ended. Some small rubble of pebbles could be seen as a result of this training. Thankfully, nothing has been destroyed.
When entering the house, Delia could see that all of the food had been devoured. In fact, since she arrived back at Pallet Town, she had to go through Ponyville too. And Ponyville certainly had some satisfied ponies, indicating at a good meal.
And as for Ash and Pikachu, they were asleep. Out from all that training and eating like always. Delia was ready to leave them to their own peaceful night, but not before putting a blanket over the duo. Ash and Pikachu snored, feeling the blanket over them. Yet they did not wake up.
After that, Delia left the room, calling it a day.
Right now, another one of Cold Colt's magic lessons are underway with assistance from his teacher, Princess Twilight Sparkle. He sat on a table with an assortment of books as he's actually been studying since yesterday, leading up to today.
And of course, he can't ever get tired simply because he is a Rift Pony. He is incapable of feeling exhausted and never has to worry about overworking himself. He essentially has an infinite supply of energy. And that pleased Twilight for sure.
"Well, Cold. You've made great progress." Twilight went up to him. "I think I can say you might end up finishing sooner than expected."
"You think so? Wait...am I gonna have to leave soon?"
"Well, if you want to. I mean, Starlight's not ready to leave yet. So you don't have to worry too much about it, okay?"
"Oh, sure! Besides, I don't think I wanna leave here anyway. I mean, I know all about Ponyville ad Equestria and all that..."
"I get it, I get it." Twilight patted the little colt on the head a few times, understanding his worries. She had a similar experience when Princess Celestia sent her here and Starlight had one too weeks back.
"Oh, I should totally tell Apple Bloom! Do you think she's gonna be more impressed and into me if she finds out about this? I could become like you and be popular, right?!"
"Uh...Sure. You go ahead..." Twilight gave a slow-paced nod.
"Yes! I'll be right back!" In a spurt of excitement, he teleported himself out of the castle to meet with Apple Bloom. The Apple Family was like his own family since Applejack accepted him. And all of Ponyville too of course.
"Has he already left?" Entering the room was Nyx, who wanted to speak with Cold Colt personally.
"Off to impress Apple Bloom like always." Twilight explained. "Did you need something from him?"
"Well, I was hoping I could give him this. He wished for it during the second Pokemon Festival." Nyx showed Twilight a stylized Pokemon gear for young trainers. Stylized Pokedexes, Poke Balls and quality of life objects and more. "I had to gather up as many Pokedollars as I could."
"For this?" Twilight pointed her hoof at the gear. "Bit fancy, don't you think?"
"He said he wanted to look the part when taking part in Pokemon Battles. So, I decided to buy this for him. The price was abysmal in all honesty."
"That's sweet of you, Nyx!" Twilight nodded in approval. Seeing Nyx do this for Cold Colt made it seem like a sibling relationship. In a way, it almost was. Although Nyx sees Twilight as her mother figure, Cold mostly sees Applejack as that mother figure overall. "I'm sure Cold would love this when he gets back."
"He will. By the way, about that Holon Region? Anything new of it?"
"Oh, right. We should be getting to Holon to see what it's like." Twilight said. "There's also Jirachi. So far, my tracker hasn't found any new Psychic readings. Or even Steel readings. I thought Mew was elusive...But in any case, we'll find Jirachi for sure. I just hope it's before everything returns to normal."
"Do we know when that happens?"
"Well...Cold said that the Rift would end everything during something known as the Battle of the Bell." Twilight began reminiscing.
"Battle of the Bell?"
"Right. But apparently, since the timeline has changed, that outcome won't be the same anymore. Now we certainly don't know when the Rift may leave. Which is uh...pretty nerve-wracking." Twilight chuckled nervously with her heart rate speeding up a bit.
"We'll make sure that never happens, right, Twi- Mother?" Nyx went up to Twilight, giving her a reassuring smile. Her optimism was certainly shining more than ever after they won the invasion.
"Yes! We sure will!"
Sweet Apple Acres.
"Well, look at you! Already going up right now." Applejack spoke to Cold after he told everyone about his recent accomplishments.
"Yeah. I feel pretty good about myself right now. What do you think, Apple Bloom? Pretty neat, isn't it?" Cold grinned, trying to impress the little earth pony. He even flexed his hoof for extra points.
"Mhm. Good job, Cold." And Apple Bloom agreed. Seeing that approval made Cold feel at ease. Inside of his own mind, he let out a verbal cheer of success.
"And, you know, if I graduate or something like that, I could head off somewhere big in Equestria. I could become my own pony someday! Turns out we Rift ponies age. Well...The Rift allowed me to age. That's why I'm a colt looks like."
"Ya do now, huh?" Applejack's interest was piqued. "Well, guess we're gonna see you become a mighty fine stallion later on, huh?"
"Uh-huh. I hope I get a longer mane. And boy, Emerald's gonna be so proud of me after this. Next thing you know, I'll be the best Rift Pony around and can do whatever I want."
"Ooh! Can you give me a horn!" Apple Bloom pleaded.
"Think you can fix this back?" Granny Smith leaned in as she also had her own plea.
Uh, sure, sure. I can do that. I can do anything!" Cold raised his hooves, knowing he'll have great power in the future.
"Better not get carried away with it, ya hear?" But Applejack was there to make sure Cold doesn't abuse his power. She wouldn't want a repeat of their first meeting but worse.
"I won't, I won't." Cold stuck his tongue out while flailing his hoof. "Hey. You wanna see what I can do now with all my magic?"
"Would I?!" Apple Bloom pranced on the spot. She was eager to see this for herself out of everyone else. Applejack, Granny Smith and Big Mac would be busy, but that's fine with Cold Colt. More time with Apple Bloom is a plus in his book.
Out in the fields. Emerald Aura's home. Afternoon.
Speaking of Emerald Aura, she was currently relaxing at her own home. However, this time, she wasn't alone. Ever since she had that playdate with Cold Colt, Maud and the others, she's felt a bit more open to others.
Mainly over Superfight and that is about it. She's still far from truly interacting with everyone out there. Both in this world and the Pokemon World. However, when it comes to her favourite card game, it's a step in the right direction.
At this moment, she was actually playing Superfight with some Pokemon that live near these fields. She invited them over and they were willing to have some fun. However, playing a card game with Pokemon is harder than it looks. So, to fix that, she gave the Pokemon some sentience for quality of life. And of course, she made the card game feel more real by making the scenarios real. Just because she can.
However, after that fun little game, the Pokemon had left the house with Emerald removing their amplified sentience. After that, it was just her. But he was in a happier mood after an entertaining team.
However, she was about to receive new visitors to her home. And this was shown by a knock on her door. Emerald quickly turned, trotting over to the door. And once she opened it, the visitors were revealed.
Pegasi soldiers from Pegalysium. They had arrived on this land via a chariot. Immediately, there were 5 of them standing in front of Emerald Aura.
"Excuse us. Emerald Aura right?"
"Hm? Yeah? What is it? what do you want?" Emerald spoke to the soldiers.
"Right. Sorry for the intrusion. But we're here under important matters and a request. A request from his majesty, current King of Pegalysium, King Paramount."
"...Who?" Emerald squinted her eyes, not knowing a thing about King Paramount despite the knowledge she had been given.
"It is for the safety of this universe. We are aware that you are a Rift Pony, correct?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"Read this, if you will." The soldier then showed Emerald Aura one of the many sentient letters. The letter flew out of the pegasus' helmet, revealing itself to the Rift Pony. It opened up in front of her eyes with the worse materializing.
She then read the words on the letter as fast she could. She did this by allowing herself to speed read with some Rift magic so that she could get it over with. The letter mentioned the possibility of the Pokemon bringing about the destruction of this universe.
And the letter even mentioned how King Paramount required some power from the Rift to fix this. After all, those with Rift energy or magic can practically do whatever they want, much like Discord's Chaos Magic. King Paramount was aware of Emerald Aura from what his soldiers tell him. And he needed her help. Along with Queen Luminary.
"Uh-huh...The destruction of the universe? Really?"
"Really. You must understand the king's request and worry. Your amazing magic can help solve this approaching disaster if you assist us."
"Yeah, right. Like that's gonna happen. I've seen this song and dance before. And it won't work."
"You assume we're lying? This is no matter where we lie."
"That so? Well, let me test that theory quickly." To see if they were lying or not, Emerald used her Rift magic, outlining the soldiers in her emerald-coloured light. She would bring the truth out of them.
The pegasi were helpless as they had no defence against Rift Magic. Very few do except for the Pokemon, just recently Celestia, Ash and other Rift related beings.
After doing so, she tapped into their minds, forcing them to speak the truth and only the truth. And to her surprise, this was the response.
"What we're saying is true. The entire universe will perish under the Pokemon's existence inevitably. Unless something is done to stop it. As in changing fate." He said without spewing a lie.
"No way...you're really telling the truth. The universe will end because of the Pokemon?" Emerald lowered her magic, revealing a shocked expression on her face.
"That's why we came here by the king's orders. His request is to have you help change this fate so that our universe isn't obliterated. However, it may be destroyed. The king believes that the power of the Rift can change fate, so he wishes to do so. Even if it takes him a while to control it."
"I don't get it. How are Pokemon gonna destroy the universe? And why?"
"Our royal advisor witnessed this with his ability to have visions. The Pokemon will destroy the universe. We don't know how or when this will happen. But it could if things continue the way they are. Please understand the concern of the king for the safety of everyone out there."
"Hmmm..." Emerald thought about this for a moment. It would be a shame for this universe to be obliterated. After all, Cold loves it here. He's found himself a nice new home with friends and a family of sorts. Emerald does enjoy seeing Cold happy, and to have all of this just be destroyed would be devastating.
Emerald already knows that Ash and the others are focused on Jirachi to keep everything as it is before the Rift leaves. However, with how elusive Jirachi is, that may not happen in-time before everything ends. And since the due date for when the Pokemon will destroy everything is unknown, the tension was reaching critical mass. Emerald wanted to keep things how they were. And unfortunately, her magic wasn't able to change fate considering how the Rift put those limitations on its creations. But, she concluded, asking one more question.
"I can't change fate...but your king. You said that he'll try and find a way to control my magic, right?"
"Yes. Though, it's unknown how he'll do so." The soldier answered. To be extra cautious, Emerald Aura wanted to see what this King Paramount was. Her comic book reading has led to her imagining various archetypes.
She dug into the mind of the pegasi, checking what memories they have of King Paramount and how trustworthy he could be. By digging into their mind, she found records of the king alongside Queen Luminary in some visions.
King Paramount was seen as a great-hearted, benevolent and steadfast ruler. He had an intimidating and fearsome pony to look at with those sharp eyes and fairly regal mane. But, beaming out of that stance and expression was a congenial soul.
He was strict yes. And he was not afraid to speak his mind or hesitate to tell the truth. But he was admirable either way. This was everything Emerald Aura saw from the soldiers' minds and seeing memories of the king. She even saw him spending time with his wife and son. Luminary and Shooting Star. Truly, he did want to save the universe.
"Alright." Emerald sighed. "Let me talk to this king of yours."
"You are free to come to Pegalysium any time. No rush."
"How am I gonna get to Pegalysium if I don't know where it is?"
"...Good point." The soldiers nodded as they were willing to take the unicorn to Pegalysium and King Paramount. However, despite seeing into their minds and learning about King Paramount's, Emerald was still cautious. When she gets to Pegalysium, she'll make sure to stay on guard.
At least, that would be the case if the real version of herself was going. As she walked behind the guards towards the chariot, Emerald Aura used her Rift energy to create a clone inside of her. She phased through the clone, making her movements silent as she then slid back into her home.
The clone would head to Pegalysium instead.
Pegalysium. Sky Monarch. Afternoon.
Speaking of which, King Paramount was currently in his throne room, looking at a map of Pegalysium. This map had everything in Pegalysium. Every nook and cranny.
Pegalysium was so vast that it was just as large as Equestria. Possibly more considering how expansive the skies are in comparison to how much Equestria covers. However, the map might have to change.
After the invasion and other occurrences involving the Pokemon, parts of Pegalysium were now either heavily damaged or destroyed, much to the king's dismay. He saw Pokemon as catalysts for certain destruction. But Paramount believed in changing fate over everything.
Even if fate was something not to be trifled with, some would and have altered it. In fact, the drastic change of this timeline is a result of fate being changed due to the actions of Ash, Ghetsis and everyone else. Paramount was looking to do the same, but one that changes everything back into what it was supposed to be.
The true timeline.
And that may come true as entering the room was the guest of honour. The soldiers took the easiest and quickest shortcut to get here as Emerald Aura had arrived.
"Your majesty. Here she is." The soldier introduced the Rift Pony. Except, this was just a clone. The real one was far too cautious to really show up.
"Excellent." King Paramount said as the soldiers left the room. The clone of Emerald Aura then lightly trotted into the room with the doors closing. She couldn't sense anything foreboding in this room. Despite not being the real Emerald Aura, she still had natural senses and everything.
"So. This is Pegalysium? Can't believe I never knew about a place like this." Emerald said. "So, you're King Paramount?"
"Yes. Welcome. I'm glad you could make it, Emerald Aura." He stood tall. "My soldiers have told you everything, haven't they?"
"Yeah. Truth and everything. So your advisor saw this whole universe being destroyed by the Pokemon? Seriously?"
"As serious as I can look." And he did look serious. Whether happy, stoic or upset. "These strange creatures known as Pokemon bring an approaching calamity that will doom us all. The day when it will happen is unknown. But most likely, one major event will result in it."
"Oh." Emerald thought for a second. Ever since this world crossed over with the Pokemon World, scenarios that are on a destructive scale have been popping up. Whether it's Eternatus, the invasion, Ghetsis' attack on the Changeling Hive and especially Passion's overload. "Yeah. They can get pretty destructive."
"That's why I summoned you here. You are a creation for the Rift, correct?"
"Rift Pony's what I am."
"Then, you have the power to fix this, do you not?"
"Uhh..." Emerald grizzled her teeth nervously, fearful of giving a direct response to the king. But she went for it anyway. "See uhh...when the Rift made us, it gave us limitations. I mean, I can do anything sure, but I can't mess with fate. Sorry about that."
"I see." King Paramount sighed. "But deep down, your Rift magic can achieve it, right?"
"It's in its nature. But no way the Rift's gonna allow me to do that." Emerald chuckled, giving off a light shrug.
"Then, what about me?" Paramount pointed his hoof at himself. "Perhaps I can bring out the rest of that magic?"
"Uh...Seriously?" She gave another chuckle. "You really think you can do that? I mean, how are you even gonna do that?"
"I didn't study magic for no reason. I studied it to protect my subjects and what they hold dear. Learning every spell in Pegalysium to shield them. If by chance, you can give out some of your Rift magic to me. I can use it to keep this universe from being destroyed by the Pokemon. Changing everything."
"Oh, something like this?" To show the king, Emerald created a glowing sphere of Rift energy that laid before his eyes. It had the same blue and purple appearance as the Rift.
"Exactly."
"Not sure I can trust anyone with a power like this," Emerald said. "After all, even if the universe does end, there's always Jirachi that can handle things."
"Celestia spoke of Jirachi and how it would prevent everything. But I don't believe they'll find Jirachi in time. Not at all." He shook his head in disapproval. "If you can please lend some of that magic, I can fix everything much sooner than when this Jirachi creature will show up."
"Hm." Emerald squinted her eyes as she wanted to see how the king really felt. Once more, she used her magic to bring out the truth. She wanted to see if King Paramount had good intentions.
The king stood there, having his body outlined. But he was not phased at all. Emerald then observed his expression, looking into him. What she found was as followed. King Paramount definitely wanted to prevent the destruction of this universe. It wasn't just the soldiers exaggerating and making their ruler seem that great.
However, as she had her magic around her, she felt a slight tingle in her mind, causing Emerald to lose focus. It was as if she couldn't keep her magic around the king for much longer. "Ow!"
"Apologies. My magic can be fairly volatile if not careful." Paramount bowed his head.
"It's fine. At least I know you're serious about this. But, I can't really guarantee all of this. I mean, magic can't even touch Rift magic. So I don't see how-"
But to her surprise, with his wings glowing a golden colour, he outlined the sphere in his magic, shocking the pegasus. To see a pony that is not related to the Rift in any way interact with Rift magic was actually stunning to her. Then again, she hasn't seen Celestia yet.
Paramount then raised the sphere, walking along with it. "You were saying?"
"H-How? What?!" Emerald shook her head. "Since when!"
"For the first few months of the Rift's appearance, we realized that magic did not affect it. So, to fix that, I just went above and beyond. That is my Cutie Mark."
And of course, his name being Paramount made more sense. Plus his Cutie Mark. A talent that allows him to surpass obstacles and limitations that he would naturally have. Seemingly with magic alone. Truly a special kind of mark.
"O-Oh...W-Well uhh...it's still tough to change fate!"
"Maybe. But I won't know until I try. Once I understand this magic, I revert and change everything to how it was before. Our universe will be safe."
"Wait...W-What do you mean by revert? What's there to revert?" That's when Emerald felt the atmosphere changing as she stuttered.
"The original timeline. Without the Pokemon. That is what I wish to bring back. All of this destruction can be avoided if we work as one to return things to how they were."
"Hold on!" Emerald exclaimed. "You're thinking of doing that?! But then..." She soon thought about Cold Colt. If everything returns to normal, then Cold will cease to exist with this timeline never existing in the first place. "You'll erase Cold from existence! And me as well!"
"Hm?"
"I was made by the Rift. And if it leaves, I'll cease to exist as well. Including a great friend of mine. You're going to erase us if you change this timeline, you know that?!"
"Really? Then I'll change that as well."
"Huh?" Emerald pulled back.
"I'll make sure that you and your friend remain, even with the Rift's departure. You have my words." Paramount gave a new promise with honesty. He did not lie once.
"Well...T-That's nice and all but...Cold loves the Pokemon! I mean, he'll still have his family and everything but-"
"Like Celestia. You would prioritize these Pokemon over everything else?" Paramount narrowed his eyes. "They will end up causing the end of this universe and the friend that you hold so dear."
"I..." Emerald scrunched her face, thinking about it for a second. King Paramount made a point. He saw Pokemon as irrelevant and believed they had no need in this timeline at all. However, much like Celestia and practically every other trainer, bonds have been made with the Pokemon. Bonds that they would hate to leave behind. "I know what you're saying, but the Pokemon, they're friends too. And I know for a fact nopony down at Equestria would want to give up on their friends."
"Friends, you say? I understand friendship is important. However..." Paramount then suddenly made the Rift energy enter his body by having it zoom at lightspeed in him. "The fate of everyone else in this universe is more important. No questions asked."
"I won't let you change fate! Jirachi's gonna be the one to fix everything!" She pointed her hoof at Paramount aggressively. "What you're doing is kinda good but it's got some major drawbacks."
"Hm. Say what you will. My mind has been made up. Besides. You can leave now, clone."
"Wait, what?" Immediately, he found out that she was a clone. And with the usage of his own magic, King Paramount had covered the Rift Pony in his golden magic. Before she knew it, the clone of Emerald Aura had disappeared into a puff of smoke by the king's magic.
"But I'll keep my promise to the real you. No doubt about it." King Paramount said to himself. Even if his decisions would seem off to those who would want the Pokemon to stay, he still kept his ideals.
He understood the importance of friendship and how wonderful it can be. But unfortunately, King Paramount prioritises the existence of everything over friendship. With him now having Rift magic at his disposal, he now sees himself as able to fix everything. To return everything to what it used to be.
Spectacular to behold. Home of the most mysterious of all creatures. With numbers too abundant to count or even keep track of. Pokemon of all different kinds of species with their own uniqueness to them are very much present.
In the lush green forests. Up in the heavenly blue skies. In the crystal blue sea. Within the cosmos and space. Populating even the settlements and civilizations, there are bound to be Pokemon everywhere. Even in the other world separate from it which has now grown accustomed to these Strange and Wonderful Creatures.
The lives of people, ponies, dragons, changelings, yaks and griffons have been bound together since these worlds have met. And for people, it has been this way since the beginning of time, sharing their endless bonds throughout generations.
Whether they are rulers of Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses, Aura Guardians, Pokemon Rangers and more, they all have their own bond with these colourful creatures. And of course, the most prominent ones are the Pokemon Trainers. And one of those Pokemon Trainers seeks to become the very best out of all them out there.
A young man by the name of Ash Ketchum, who hails from Pallet Town. He and his partner Pikachu work together to battle and catch Pokemon. Ash is continuing on his journey to becoming a Pokemon Master. And with the support of his friends from Equestria with Twilight Sparkle and her own friends, that journey continues.
For every new Pokemon they meet, a brand new and exciting adventure awaits them.
Deerling Forest. Day.
"Hah...So hungry..." Ash's head laid on the table. His stomach was growling as he and his friends were currently on a nice picnic day out in Deerling Forest. Nothing more. Pikachu and the other Pokemon were currently playing around in the forest along with the Deerling and Sawsbuck that populated it. "I can't move a muscle..."
"You already ate some of the food in the picnic basket. How are you still so hungry?" Twilight went up to Ash.
"Scratch that, Twilight. I'm starving here too." Pinkie Pie said patting her stomach. "Guess we should've made more when we came here, huh?"
"Yeah." Ash sighed. "I could really go for some Slowpoke tail right now..."
"Pika-Pikachu." Pikachu hopped on the table, patting his best friend on the head.
"Chikorita and Scorbunny getting all the food they need right now. Isn't that right, you two?" Fluttershy spoke to Chikorita and Scorbunny, who were both absorbing the summer sun.
"Scorbun!"
"Chiko!"
"Well, it is a lovely day outside. And to boot, the Pokemon can extend the duration of summer, correct?" said Rarity.
"Hope it ain't too long. The summer sun's pretty nice and all but...that heat can really get to someone." Applejack scrunched her face, using her hat as a shadow away from the sun.
"Looks like Misty's no longer the 2nd Gym Leader at Dodge Junction." Rainbow Dash said while sitting on a tree. "Bummer. She seemed pretty cool."
"Yeah, Misty's cool for sure..." Ash nodded while still craving for a bite. "How's Scootaloo's Gym Battle coming along?"
"That fourth gym badge is staring her in the face. She'll be fine." Starlight replied.
"Great..." Ash nodded with both his mouth and stomach grumbling. Just as he desired some more food, his Rotomphone started ringing suddenly. That meant only one thing.
A Pokemon World Championships battle was imminent.
"Huh?" Ash took out the Rotomphone, looking at the indication. Right nearby, another member of the Great Class was present. And just in time, that trainer had arrived in the form of an older lady.
"You there." The lady spoke to Ash, holding her own Rotomphone out. "Are you Ash from Pallet Town?"
"...Mmmm yeah?" Ash sat up as everyone faced the trainer and her arrival.
"Excellent. How does this look? A World Championships battle!" The lady held a Love Ball out.
"Oh yeah!" Ash immediately felt energized, casting away his hunger as he sat up with high energy. "If somebody wants to battle, why not? One step closer to Leon!"
"What happened to the guy who couldn't move a muscle?" Twilight asked.
"I can have a Pokemon battle before snacking down some more! Maybe two!" Ash spread his arms up, clenching his fist as his trademark grin met his face.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Is battling on an empty stomach the best option, darling?" Rarity questioned. But there was no pointing in asking that question since Ash will battle no matter the conditions.
The Rotomdrone came flying in, ready to declare this an official Pokemon World Coronation Series battle. It seems to be everywhere for some bizarre reason. But aside from that, after it arrived and declared this battle as official, it revealed that this would be a 3V3 Great Class Battle.
Ash sent out his first Pokemon in the form of Gengar. The lady then threw her Love Ball, sending out a Floatzel. Ash commanded Gengar to use Shadow Ball while Floatzel was told to use Aqua Jet. The Sea Weasel Pokemon immediately took off like a jet, surrounding itself in an aura of water.
Gengar summoned two blobs of shadows in its arms but was quickly struck by Aqua Jet. Floatzel struck Gengar in the stomach, knocking the Shadow Pokemon back. However, after being knocked back, Floatzel persisted by launching the two spheres anyway.
Floatzel received two Shadows Balls after using Aqua Jet. The Water-Type was consumed by their darkness while being blown back by the dark purple explosion. The lady then ordered Floatzel to use Hydro Pump. Floatzel recovered, shooting out a large stream of water from its mouth.
In response, Ash told Gengar to use Ice Punch on the Hydro Pump while moving. And Gengar did this by flying to the side to avoid it and holding its hand out while coating it in ice. Gengar's ice-coated hand had frozen the stream of water.
Hydro Pump had been frozen, allowing Gengar to strike while the iron was hot. Or cold in this instance. The Shadow Pokemon smashed the frozen Hydro Pump into pieces while also smashing the rest of Ice Punch onto Floatzel.
A double hit from Ice Punch. One to the face and one to the chest. Enough to knock the Sea Weasel Pokemon out, granting Gengar the victory.
Ash cheered as Gengar flew over to him, flying around the Alola Champion. Ash chuckled from Gengar's spin as they both gave a high-five. After losing Floatzel, the lady returned her partner before preparing to send out her next Pokemon.
Ash returned Gengar, already sending his second Pokemon out. It was Dragonite's turn. Lovable and huggable yet fierce and mighty at times. The lady then sent out a Purugly in response. The Tiger Cat Pokemon asserted her dominance by stomping her paw.
Purugly was an impressively fast Pokemon for its size and build as it had used Super Fang. The Tiger Cat Pokemon lunged in the air with her fangs out, ready to gnaw on the Dragon Pokemon. In response, Dragonite was told to use Dragon Dance via spinning.
By spinning her body around, Dragonite created a whirlwind. If she wanted to compete with Purugly's speed, she would have to build up some speed. Purugly bit onto Dragonite's tail, bypassing the whirlwind. Dragonite cried out as she tossed the Tiger Cat Pokemon off by swinging her tail.
Purugly then moved in with Play Rough, ready for some super-effective damage on the Dragon Pokemon. Dragonite had raised her attack and speed after using Dragon Dance. She matched Purugly's speed, soaring to the side. Purugly saw her own attack miss, but she didn't let up.
The Tiger Cat Pokemon continued using Play Rough, lunging herself at the Dragon Pokemon for a super-effective hit. Dragonite readied a Dragon Claw, swinging it towards the Normal-Type. Her claw met with her paw, causing a collision with mild shockwaves. Dragonite then let out a grin as she opened her mouth.
Purugly gasped as she saw Hyper Beam being summoned. Dragonite could definitely multitask. Purugly quickly separated herself from Dragonite to escape from Hyper Beam, but the Dragon Pokemon was ready for this.
She unleashed Hyper Beam on the ground, causing a massive dome-shaped blast to form. The explosion engulfed Purugly while startling everyone. And flying out of the explosion was a fainted Purugly. The winner of this was Dragonite.
Ash jumped for joy, celebrating another with Dragonite doing what she does best. Gifting Ash a hug. After winning, she immediately grabbed her trainer and Pikachu as well, granting them both warm hugs that they could melt in.
The lady was down to one Pokemon as she returned her Purugly. Her final Pokemon was revealed to be a Serperior. Ash then returned Dragonite, already knowing which Pokemon he'll use last.
Who else but Pikachu?
The Mouse Pokemon jumped off Ash's shoulder, ready to grab this victory for this trainer. Both Ash and Pikachu had that same confident look on their faces with high octane energy behind them.
Serperior was ordered to use Dragon Pulse. Out of the Regal Pokemons mouth came a devastating shockwave of draconic energy. Pikachu used Quick Attack to dash in. He then jumped over the Dragon-Type move, picking up more speed along the way.
Serperior closed his mouth, using Iron Tail next. Pikachu quickly swapped into Iron Tail, clashing his own tail with Serperior's. The two of them went back and forth with Iron Tail clashing them like swords. Serperior's movements were certainly quicker due to his body build. The Regal Pokemon twisted his body around an incoming Iron Tail, using his serpentine appearance to his advantage.
Serperior then struck Pikachu in the face with Iron Tail, launching the Electric-Type afar. Pikachu slid on the ground as Serperior wasn't done with him. The Regal Pokemon followed up with Frenzy Plant, summoning rapid and large plants from the ground. These vines then chased after Pikachu.
Pikachu then bolted forward, readying an extra-powerful thunderbolt. Pikachu avoided every approaching plant that erupted from the ground, even jumping and running on some of them for better momentum.
Hundreds of plants cluttered the area as Pikachu combined Iron Tail while charging Thunderbolt. He cut the vines in half before using Quick Attack as well. He was using three moves in one as he zoomed past the rest of the plants.
Once he was close enough, not only did he smash his head onto Serperior's head with Quick Attack, but he also unloaded Thunderbolt, releasing 100,000 volts of high octane electricity. The electricity poured on Serperior as it expanded, reaching a size so great that it could be seen from afar.
Not only that, but the bolts pierced through the clouds, reaching most of the skies themselves. Now everyone could definitely see it. From Canterlot, Ponyville and Pikachu Highlands. Speaking of Pikachu Highlands, the Pikachu living there were reaching for their fellow Mouse Pokemon.
Afterwards, an explosive burst of electricity occurred. And jumping out of it was Pikachu as he slid on the ground. But falling out of it was Serperior who had just fainted.
That was all three Pokemon and Ash was the victor.
"Serperior is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! Thus, the winner of this battle is Contestant Ash!" The Rotomdrome announced.
"U-Unbelievable..." The lady's jaw dropped after witnessing the whole thing play out. "Not a single one fainted."
"Alright! We won, buddy! Yeah haha!" Ash cheered along with his friends. They always loved to see an Ash victory, especially when it ends with some flair to it.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"That's what we like to see Ash!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.
"Oh well. I picked the wrong opponent to go against anyway..." The lady sighed, going up to Serperior and thanking her partner for a job well done.
"Due to the outcome of this battle, the Pokemon World Championships leaderboard will be updated." said the Rotomdrone as it flew off, ready to continue its job elsewhere.
Afterwards, Ash and the lady gave each other a handshake before saying their goodbyes. And Ash was so satisfied after that battle that his hunger wasn't as severe anymore. But he still wanted something to bite on.
3 hours later.
Eventually, he did. Pinkie Pie managed to whip up something quickly for everyone. Ash got himself a celebratory meal in the process. A meal fit for a winner, plus Pikachu and the rest of Ash's Pokemon. Soon, this little picnic day would come to an end eventually. They were just here to hang out anyway.
And they succeeded. They had some fun, got to witness and experience some Pokemon battles and then some. Simple but effective.
"Ah...That's more like it." Ash felt satisfied as he laid on his back, patting his stomach along with his Pokemon.
"Pika-Pika..."
"Already past our recommended hours at this point. We can call this picnic day a success, can't we?" said Rarity.
"Oh yeah." Ash gave a thumbs up. "Same time next week, you guys?"
"You bet!" Pinkie rushed over to Ash. "And I'll make sure to stock up on some more food next time! Ooh! We should totally bring Maud and Jade along too! Maud loves picnics! Not sure about Jade though."
"You all can go ahead. I'll stick around here for a bit." Ash chose to stay here, taking in the summer sun. The brightness seemed to be better here too.
"Alright. We'll see you soon, Ash." Rainbow Dash jumped off the tree, looking over at Luxray who was sleeping near a rock and some deerling. "Come on, Luxray. Let's go."
"Lux."
Everyone started packing their things, already leaving to head back to Ponyville. Ash sat up, looking over the horizon of Deerling Forest, spotting the Pikachu Highlands. All of his friends took their leave, except for Twilight and Fluttershy, who turned around to gander at Ash.
After that battle and having a good snack, Ash was only staying here to not only take in the summer sun but to just feel the environment around him. He and Pikachu tend to do that a lot but there are times where they are really into it.
Twilight was willing to spend some time with Ash whenever she can get the chance. Her friends were already leaving and there would be no harm in hanging around with another friend. Or in this case, someone she sees more than just a friend.
Fluttershy just enjoys hanging around with her friends nonetheless. Plus, being at Deerling Forest is always a treat. It's such a simple forest yet there's something magical about it.
Must be the Deerling or Sawsbuck.
"So, Ash," Twilight spoke as she and Fluttershy trotted over. "What now? You're always looking forward to doing something new. Even after a Pokemon Battle and some food."
"Yeah. I always gotta be on the move. You know, if I wanna become a Pokemon Master. But, sometimes, just kicking back is nice too."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Pokemon Maser. Wouldn't expect less." She nodded her head in approval. "But, when do you think you'll finally reach that goal? I mean, if it's a one of a kind goal, how long is gonna take?"
"How long? Not sure. But I know this. I wanna go on the greatest journey ever. No matter where it may be. Becoming a Pokemon Master is just a part of it. I don't know when I'm gonna reach that goal." Ash looked up at the blue skies and the Flying-Type Pokemon that governed it, flying by. "Every day and all the time, I'll train to be the best. Maybe I can't guarantee it. But I'll live it honestly and true. You know what I mean?"
"I know what you mean. That's why we're here to help you there. E-Even if it takes a while." Fluttershy nodded.
"And it's awesome to have you guys here with me. Boy, dads gonna love all of this when he and grandpa get back. Plus I gotta win the bet too!" Ash sat up.
"What bet?" Twilight asked.
"Dad and I made a bet. Which one of us could have the best journey out there. We made it when he left to go on a journey with grandpa. Even then, he never stopped going on a ton of adventures. Just like when he was really young back then."
"Well...who's having the better journey now?" Fluttershy wondered.
"Not sure. But I bet I'm gonna beat him at it!" Ash raised his fist. "And I'm not gonna stop either. Just like him."
"Pika-Pika!"
"I can believe that." Twilight giggled, appreciating Ash's competition with his father. A competition involving having an amazing journey was definitely one on a large scale. Larger than any competition in existence.
But like Father like Son.
And as they had their conversation, arriving here at Deerling Forest, just nearby, was Dew Drop. One of the students of Hollow's class. Usually, her home would be at Canterlot. But, Dew Drop has been exploring the world more recently with her shy nature being dialled back a bit.
"Hello, Mr Ash. Princess Twilight. Mrs Fluttershy." She greeted.
"Oh, hello, Dew Drops." Twilight greeted the little earth pony back. "What are you doing out here alone? Heading for a Gym Battle or a new Pokemon?"
"N-No, I don't really do Gym Battles. Or much. But I like catching Pokemon. I'm here for that. To win something."
"Win something? You taking part in a contest?" Ash questioned.
"It's this." Out of her saddlebag and with her mouth, she revealed a poster. Ash was right about it being a contest. Or rather a competition. On the poster, Ash, Twilight and Fluttershy read what it said.
"Pokemon Catch Race? In just two days." The three of them said.
"Mhm. You see...There's this really cute reward that comes with winning this. It's a giant Pikachu Plush. And I really want it." Dew Drop then revealed why she wanted in on this contest. If anything, she wasn't focused on the competition itself. Just the toy.
"Aw, that is pretty cute." Twilight approved of its appearance.
"Pikachu." And so did Pikachu. If anything, he approved of it the most. Dew Drops' favourite Pokemon was undoubtedly Pikachu. She wanted a Pikachu from the start, though she never obtained one even to this day and seeing Pikachu puts her at ease when she gets nervous.
"I came here to try and practice my catching skills. I'm...not good at catching." Dew Drops admitted. "But mom and dad thought it would be a good idea to practice it."
"It is a pretty good idea. Catching Pokemon helps a lot, ya know." Ash crossed his arms, having a proud smile.
"Yeah. Even better if you were a part of a baseball team, Ketchum." Twilight playfully nudged Ash, knowing of his excellent throwing skills. A bit too excellent.
"Mhm. But, this is my first time doing it. The competition's in just two days. I don't know if I can compete with everyone else who knows how to really catch." Dew then explained her worries. She had a point.
Since she's not as active as other Pokemon Trainers, her catching skills are lacking. Everyone at least knows how to catch a Pokemon and their throws are improving as time goes on. Dew Drop only had two Pokemon. And one of them was from an egg.
"No need to worry." Ash suddenly spoke. "I can teach you."
"Oh. Really?" Her eyes beamed with excitement.
"Oh, yeah. I'll show you some neat tricks. Then you'll be catching super well in no time. And maybe get that Pikachu Plush." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
"Ash definitely knows how to throw and catch. That much is true." Twilight intervened. "Since he was a little league baseball player, he's the best Trainer to learn from."
"Thank you, Mr Ash." Dew held her hoof out, wanting a shake. Ash granted her that wish by shaking her hoof. "Can we start today?"
"Sure. Those two days won't even be a worry. Let's try one of the Pokemon here, okay?"
"Okay!"
Some catching practice was needed now. Deerling Forest was already the best place to start. Dew Drops already had some Poke Balls with her, but it wasn't many. Only seven. Thankfully, Ash, Twilight and Fluttershy had spares.
They had their eyes on a Summer Form Deerling, grazing and chewing on some grass. The Season Pokemon raised its head, noticing Ash and the others standing before it.
"Alright. Throwing is the obvious thing to do. But you gotta know the right kind of power behind it. Don't throw the Poke Ball too hard. They can break if they hit something too hard, ya know." Ash instructed.
"Um. Okay. How hard do I throw it?"
"Not too hard. Look at this." To give a demonstration, Ash held out a Poke Ball while Pikachu chose to assist. He would have the Poke Ball be thrown at him.
"Just hold it the way you wanna hold it. Doesn't matter how. But if you wanna put some extra oomph in it. Shout out something like this! Poke Ball, go!" Ash did his signature throw by turning his hat around and throwing the Poke Ball.
The ball spun around, hitting Pikachu right in the head. But of course, Pikachu already had his own Poke Ball so this had zero effect. "Pikachu."
"Like that." Ash then picked up the Poke Ball.
"Oh. That's pretty easy." Dew nodded gently.
"It is. Throwing a Poke Ball thankfully doesn't require too much effort," said Twilight. "Now you try."
"Okay." Dew held her own Poke Ball, walking over to the Deerling. This would be her first full effort catch. Giving it her all. She wanted that Pikachu plush badly so she was willing to work hard for it.
But as she approached the Deerling, Dew saw that the Deerling also made slight movements in response to the incoming earth pony. Those movements startled Dew Drops, making her squeak as she backed away, hiding behind Ash's leg.
"Deerling?"
"Sorry! I'm still pretty timid about some Pokemon!" Dew cried out.
"It's fine. You don't need to get super close to them to throw it." Ash patted the little earth pony on the head.
"Nah. Sometimes, far away throws are really good. Plus you can even stylize your throw. Goh's got a pretty good curveball." Ash replied.
"Pika-Pika."
"Okay but...What about other Pokemon? At the contest, some of them could be really big and scary." Dew Drops shuddered.
"Deerling's not big and scary. It's cute." Twilight pointed her hoof over at the Season Pokemon. "Cutest deer I've ever seen for sure."
"Deerling." Deerling heard that, giving an approving wave with its hoof.
"Yeah." Dew felt a bit embarrassed of herself. Her shyness was something else. Timid to go near most Pokemon and rarely opens up to others. Only those she can trust and sense good from. She pouted her head. "M-Maybe I shouldn't go to that competition. Everyone else will know what they're doing."
"Aw, Dew Drops." Twilight gave a saddened tone with her voice. "Are you sure?"
"I don't know." Dew sat down, pouting her face. "Mom and dad even won't even catch new Pokemon for me because of how afraid I am. What does Sunrise say?" She then thought about one of the many things Sunrise Sprint says, repeating it. "This blows."
"What now?" Twilight looked at Ash and Fluttershy. Dew Drops herself rolled the Poke Ball on the floor, playing around with it while keeping her usual saddened expression.
"Well..even if you can't enter it. I can help you with something." Fluttershy trotted over. "You don't want to be shy all the time, right?"
"No. I don't." Dew shook her head.
"Then I can help you with that. I know a thing or two about this." Fluttershy gave a smile while sitting down next to the young filly. Dew liked to hear that. Anything to deal with her constant timid nature. She wanted to experience Pokemon for herself. Everything that they had to offer. Including the world. And she wouldn't be able to do so with how she is right now.
"Thank you so much, Ms Fluttershy!" In a spurt of excitement, Dew Drops went over to hug Fluttershy by surprise, throwing the pegasus off guard. Fluttershy's eyes widened before patting the little filly on the head. "Oh. I know something! Mr Ash. Can you enter the competition for me?"
"Hm? Me?"
"Pika?"
"Please." She put her hooves together. "I really want that Pikachu Plush but I don't know if I can be in a competition about racing and Pokemon and lots of ponies watching and the-"
"I get it." Ash stopped her before she could go on about the things that make her nervous. "I'll enter for you if that's what you want. I'll get that Pikachu for you, no problem."
"Ash. Really?" Twilight turned to Ash. He simply gave a nod in response. If that was Dew Drop's decision, then Ash would accept it for her. "Alright then,"
"But I still want to learn how to catch Pokemon by myself. I want to see everything out there too." Dew spread her hooves out.
"Yeah. I gotcha. Whaddya say? We practice a lot today, some more tomorrow and check out a bunch of Pokemon at the same time?" Ash suggested.
"Mm! That'd be great!" She pranced on the spot. When Dew Drops shows energy, she certainly shows it. But she only seems to display it around small groups instead of large ones. But the filly wished to exude all the energy she can in large groups one day.
And so it was. Dew Drops would have three things to look forward to. Catching Pokemon. Becoming a bit braver and experiencing some wonders of the Pokemon World too. All things she wouldn't want to miss out on.
The next day. Slide mountains.
"Okay!" Tomorrow had arrived and Ash, Twilight, Fluttershy and Dew Drops were together again. This time, they were out in the Slide mountains. "Let's get this started! You ready to catch some Pokemon and see some cool stuff?"
"Mhm. I can't wait." Dew spoke as she was currently wearing protective gear. Courtesy of her parents and the fear for their daughter.
"First...Check out these slides!" Ash went first as he immediately ran towards one of the sloped mountains with Pikachu without hesitating. "Woohoo!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Oh! Ash! Some buildup would be nice!" Twilight and Espeo went after him and Pikachu. Dew Drops looked at the slides, seeing their high heights. High heights were also a fear of hers. Then again, it's a fairly common fear as her hooves were shaking.
"Come on." Fluttershy picked up Dew Drops. "I'll help you through it." Dew felt safer with Fluttershy holding her. Once she was within her grasp and Twilight went down the slide, so did the two shy ponies.
Fluttershy held Dew tightly as she jumped onto the water. Immediately, she started sliding as well and the adrenaline could already be felt. Ash was definitely feeling it along with Pikachu as they raised their arms.
"Oh yeah!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"W-Woaaah!" Twilight was getting used to this but she quickly found her balance along with Espeon. And once they both found their balance, they could experience the enjoyment out of it. "Oh wow! This isn't so bad!"
"Espeon!"
"Oh my!" Fluttershy could feel some of the water getting on her face and mane. But soon, she started giggling, enjoying the momentum and flow of this mountain water slide. Dew was at first petrified by this, closing her eyes and holding onto Fluttershy for dear life.
But once she figured out that she was safe, the filly got to experience the true feeling of this slide. While it was certainly speedy, another thing Dew is timid towards, it had the right kind of speed. One that could give a rush but also safe enough for anyone to move across.
And with that, she started giggling herself, enjoying this speed. It was just right. And it was about to get even better. As the group moved across the slide, some Flying-Type Pokemon could be seen flying next to them. Dew opened her eyes, witnessing a flock of Flying-Types.
"Starly!" The Starly all cried out as they stared Dew Drops in the eyes. Dew kept one eye closed, gazing at the Starling Pokemon. Thankfully, they weren't here to harm anyone. The Starly were just enjoying a nice flight and could definitely vibe with the energy Ash and the others were giving off on the slide.
The same goes for the other Flying-Types. Dew held her hoof out, wanting to see if she could interact with a Starly. And much to her surprise, a Starly did the same. This one Starly put its wing out, touching Dew Drops' hoof.
Dew Drops would usually pull her hoof away in fear or shock. But the touch was gentle and steady that she wasn't startled. After the touch connected, Dew had another smile grace her face. She found another Pokemon she wouldn't have to be afraid of.
"Emolga!" An Emolga soared over the group, landing right on Fluttershy's head.
"Oh?" Fluttershy looked up as water got on the Sky Squirrel Pokemon.
"Emol." Emolga then shook the water off it as some of it had landed on Dew Drops, making her giggle.
"This is so much fun!" She cheered as a Tailow landed on her head, much like Emolga to Fluttershy. Their little slide fun was about to come to an end as they were reaching the bottom.
Ash slid on the ground after reaching the end of this mountain slide along with Pikachu. But they certainly had some fun sliding down it Twilight, Espeon and the others eventually reached the bottom, sliding on the ground with their manes and fur wet.
Their hearts were beating fast after receiving such an adrenaline rush. Twilight held her head while Fluttershy and Dew couldn't help but giggle at this. It wasn't over yet. There was still more to experience as the Starly stayed on Dew Drops' head.
Ash ran ahead some more without slowing down. Everyone followed after him as it was time for some more catching practice. But first, admiring the Pokemon was due.
Ash and everyone stopped to look at the scenery before them. The Slide Mountains were much like the Wild Areas in Galar. Not as expansive but definitely vast. And the Pokemon were active themselves.
Immediately, rolling next to Ash and the others were some Marill. Their circular bodies definitely helped them roll about without issue. Although the tail is a bit of a bump. Dew was slightly started from the rolling Marill, standing next to Fluttershy. But as she watched them, she admired their playful movements while rolling.
Some of the Marill even stopped by for a quick wave. Dew Drops waved back at them in a playful manner as they continued to roll away. The Starly and Marill were enough encouragement for Dew Drops to try her hoof at interacting with other Pokemon. And of course, trying to catch some.
Her eyes immediately locked on to another Pokemon that she deemed adorable like Pikachu. A Mawile. Unfortunately, she wasn't aware of what was at the back of Mawile's head.
"Oh!" Dew lightly galloped towards the Deceiver Pokemon. "That one is really cute!"
"Oh! Dew Drops be careful! That's a Mawile!" Fluttershy cried out as the little earth pony stopped in front of the Steel-Fairy-Type.
"Maw?" Mawile was seen from the front and not the back as it looked Dew Drops in the eyes. The little filly came to a screeching halt, seeing that she was getting a bit too close. She wanted to keep her distance still. She then scrunched her lips, attempting to fully interact with Mawile.
"H-Hello."
"Mawile." In response, the Deceiver Pokemon turned its head around, revealing its massive jaws on the back of its head to Dew Drops. One look at Dew Drops was petrified by this. Witnessing the jaws were perplexing to her eyes, but Mawile quickly turned around, showing its cute face to her. "Maw."
"Mm...Scary!...But still cute!" Dew closed her eyes, exclaiming as she spoke her mind. Mawile then walked away, going on with its day like normal.
Ash then took a nice stroll, attracting some of the Pokemon here. Some of them could sense Ash's positive aura, resulting in them coming towards him. Ash was surrounded by some of the Pokemon as he sat down to admire them. He patted a Poochyena on the head while a Dwebble sat on his hat.
Ash certainly loves to just experience the pokemon and their natural actions at any given time. What a feeling. Dew Drops wanted to experience that feeling. Fluttershy encouraged the little earth pony to try the same. But on a smaller scale.
And with that encouragement, she went over to the trio of Pansage, Pansear and Panpour. Fluttershy stayed by her side for this. Dew felt safer that way.
"Pan! Pansage!" Pansage greeted Dew Drops and Fluttershy as well as the other two elemental monkeys. They started jumping around the duo playfully. And this time, Dew Drops wasn't startled.
Mostly because she now knows when to expect a Pokemon's sudden movements. Plus, she was near Fluttershy who was like a big sister to her. Dew Drops wasn't a massive fan of hyperactive Pokemon, but she could get behind it eventually. She wanted to show Ash her throwing skills now as she took out a Poke Ball.
"Mr Ash, look!" Dew called for Ash who was surrounded by Pokemon. "I've uh..I've been practising during the night too. I think I'm good at throwing too!"
"Oh. really? Let's see it."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Okay..." Dew held the Poke Ball close to her as she wasn't aiming at any Pokemon. Only a rock mound. After taking a deep breath, she then used the advice Ash gave her yesterday. "Poke Ball, go!"
By screaming with all of the energy she had, the Poke Ball was launched. And with one mighty throw, the ball moved through the air, spinning around. Ash and the others gawked as the ball had hit the rock mound, bouncing off it.
"Not bad!" Ash sat up. "That's a Trainer throw for sure!"
"Pikachu!"
"Really? Thank you. Mom and dad thought so too." She giggled while picking the Poke Ball back up.
"That certainly is a stunning throw to look at." Just then, another voice filled the atmosphere. One that didn't belong to Ash, Twilight or even Fluttershy. This belonged to someone else.
Queen Chrysalis. With Anthophilia on her back as always.
"Oh, Chrysalis!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Morning, Ash. Pikachu. Good to see you again." She raised her hoof as a greeting. "You as well Fluttershy. Twilight."
"Papa!" And of course, after seeing Ash, Anthophilia couldn't help but fly off her mother's back and right towards the human she saw as her father. Ash held the little changeling, noticing how different she was from this new look.
"Hey-hey. Great to see you again." Ash giggled along with Anthophilia. Ash then spun her around, playing a small game with her. "Oh, look at you. You look and feel different, don't you?"
"Hehehe! Feel!" The baby babbled gibberish, repeating Ash.
"Might I ask what you're all doing here at the moment? See anything here you like?" Chrysalis asked.
"Ah, we're just showing Dew Drops here what Pokemon have to offer," Ash explained, walking over to the little earth pony and kneeling to get on her level. "She hasn't really gotten the chance to experience a bunch so we're giving her that chance."
"H-Hello." Dew greeted back to the Changeling Queen. Normally, she'd be intimidated by a changeling, but Chrysalis' form had such wonderful beauty and radiance behind it that it was impossible to be afraid.
"Hello, little one. So. You haven't experienced much, have you?"
"No. I was a bit too shy. Even with Mr Hollow's lessons, lots of Pokemon really scared me. But I like some of them. The cues one. Not the big and scary ones."
"I see. So, how do you feel about Ribombee then?" Appearing out of Chrysalis' mane was the Bee Fly Pokemon Ribombee. The Totem one of course.
"Ribom!"
"Ribombee? Oh...I love it!" Dew Drops gave her opinion with a gentle nod yet loud bellow. "I think bees are cute. But I'm allergic to them."
"Are you allergic to Ribombee then?" Twilight asked.
"No. It looks fine." Dew Drops said. There was no allergic reaction. Whether that was the uniqueness of Ribombee or the fact that Pokemon bees are different from regular bees.
"Bombee." To show her own greeting, Ribombee had used Pollen Puff, generating a delectable ball of pollen out of thin air.
"What's that?" Dew wondered.
"Ribombee's Pollen Puff. It's like food and it's super tasty too. You should try it." Ash explained, encouraging the earth pony.
"Ribom." Ribombee held the pollen out, insisting that Dew Drops should have a bite. The filly could smell the sweetness and enticing aroma from the pollen. With that scent, she couldn't resist. So, she gently took the pollen from the Bee Fly Pokemon.
And with one bite into it, she was hooked. The sweet nectar it held was irresistible as the little earth pony felt at peace with this. "Mmm...So good."
"Isn't it?" Chrysalis nodded. "Aside from love feeding, Ribombee's pollen is the best thing to eat. Whether in the day, afternoon or morning."
"I like it." Dew nodded as she snacked down on the pollen.
"How are things over at the Changeling HIve?" Fluttershy asked.
"Great. It's been better than ever. There's barely any bickering amongst them all now. Although, I do miss the hissing oddly."
"Say. I'm gonna be in a Pokemon Catch Race tomorrow. Wanna check it out?" Ash recommended Chrysalis.
"Certainly. I'd love to see this Catch Race of yours. And you Anthophilia?"
"Catch Race! Catch!" The changeling baby raised her hooves in approval. Anything involving Ash she was here for as she then clapped her hooves together.
"Okay. Let's try those throwing skills again, Dew. It was awesome the first time. Let's make it cooler the second time!" Ash exclaimed, showing off high amounts of energy. Dew Drops could appreciate Ash's energy. In fact, Ash's enthusiasm and how it affected everyone inspired her too.
"Y-Yeah!" She also raised her hooves in enthusiasm. Not as much as Ash, but enthusiastic either way. They continued their throwing practice while also admiring the Pokemon around them. They were too majestic to ignore.
Chrysalis and Anthophilia stuck around with Chrysalis chatting with Twilight and Fluttershy. Anthophilia couldn't help but latch herself onto Ash at all times. Dew Drops' confidence was rising. Her timid nature faded away when around those she can trust and feel safe around.
And that smile on her face was an indicator of that.
The next day. Las Pegasus. Afternoon.
The day for the Pokemon Catch Race had arrived. And the best place to do it was Las Pegasus. Hundreds, possibly thousands of ponies had gathered there to see this race. Whether from Canterlot, Ponyville, the Crystal Empire etc. Even some Changelings could be seen in the mix.
"Hello everyone!" An announcer exclaimed. "We're just about to begin the Pokemon Catch Race! The rules are simple. Pokemon with a special mark are waiting all over Las Pegasus for Trainers to come along! But some of them are very strong Pokemon too! Fierce and burly! And they won't be caught so easily! Participating Trainers must catch these Pokemon with special Catch Race Poke Balls. Points will be awarded according to a Pokemon's strength. The Trainer with the most points at the end of the competition will be the winner!"
"This should be something!" Rainbow Dash said as she and many of her friends were here at Ponyville. "Come on, Ash! Win that toy!"
"Yeah! Yeah!" Pinkie Pie cheered along as she, the CMC and Fluttershy were holding those same flags. Usually, they're only for World Championships battles. But this could work too.
"P-Please win that plush for me, Ash! Do your best!" Dew cried out before closing her mouth and making herself small to everyone else. She doesn't usually shout in public. In fact, she was standing in the least populated area in Las Pegasus with the Mane 6 being her guardians.
"Ready buddy?" Ash said to his partner.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Trainers to the startling line! Ready...? Go!" The announcer began the race as every Trainer and their Pokemon immediately bolted forward without wasting any time.
"Let's hit it Pikachu!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"We'll catch a bunch and win that plush!" Ash exclaimed as they ran down some stairs with countless ponies, Pokemon and even humans watching them race.
"Croagunk!" The first Pokemon had arrived for them. Jumping from one of the balconies here was the Toxic Mouth Pokemon Croagunk. The Poison-Fighting-Type then used Poison Jab, lunging at Pikachu.
"Croagunk, huh? Use Quick Attack the Thunderbolt!"
"PIka-Pika-Pika!" With a burst of speed, Pikachu took off like a rocket, moving at lightning speeds and leaving afterimages. The Mouse Pokemon's head clashed with Croagunk's Poison Jab. They cancelled each other out before Pikachu slid back, shooting a bolt of 100,000 volts in a flash.
"C-Croa!" Croagunk received a smite from Pikachu's bolt, faster than it could react.
"Here goes! Poke Ball, go!" Ash took out the first Catch Race Poke Ball, launching it at Croagunk. One hit and the Toxic Mouth Pokemon was in with a blue light instead of a red one this time. And these Poke Balls didn't need to shake. Croagunk had been caught. "Yes! Let's head for the next one!"
"Pikachu!" They continued on their way, heading for all the Pokemon they can get. They were shooting for the stronger Pokemon too for the really big points.
Speaking of stronger Pokemon, some Trainers have already come across a powerful Pokemon in the form of an Exploud. And they weren't doing so well.
"EXPLOUD!" One burst of sound and the trainers and their Pokemon had been blown away. They had been knocked over Exploud was preventing them from getting too close. The Loud Noise pokemon would continue to use the move Uproar constantly.
"Yikes, it's strong!" A Biker girl said as she held her Pawniard. No one could get close to Exploud so far. No one except one of the Trainers showing up.
Spitfire was a part of this competition as well. What did she want with a plush? That much was not known yet. But then again, everyone loves a good plus, no matter the age.
"Scizor!" Scizor moved in with his large pincers. Exploud turned around to see the Pincer Pokemon showing up. But before it could do anything, Scizor gave Exploiud a strong right to its jaw. "Zor!"
"E-Ex!"
"Scizor!" Scizor then gave an uppercut to the Loud Noise Pokemon, sending it upwards into the air. Scizor then followed up by flying into the air and striking Exploud's stomach from below.
"Aha!" Spitfire found her opening as she threw the Poke Ball at the Normal-Type. Just one touch and the ball actually started shaking. The stronger Pokemon would require more effort and time. But with only one shake, Exploud had been caught. "That's what I like to see! Come on, Scizor!"
"Zor!"
Other trainers were doing well with catching their Pokemon. Not many have gone for the strong Pokemon. Only a few of them. But racking up lots of smaller points can also guide them to victory.
Ash and Pikachu came across their next Pokemon. A Gardevoir. Certainly a strong Pokemon, without a doubt, and worth lots of points.
"Gardevoir!" The Embrace Pokemon had used Moonblast, sending a sphere-shaped attack that had borrowed power from the moon.
"Pikachu! Hit it back with Iron Tail, then strike!"
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu ran forward, hardening his tail to be as hard as iron. And with a mighty swing, Pikachu struck the Fairy-Type attack with heavy force, sending it back at the Psychic-Fairy-Type.
"Voir?!" Gardevoir put its hands up, blocking its own attack. A pink explosion emerged afterwards as Pikachu found the right time to strike. He moved through the smoke, revealing himself to Gardevoir.
"Chu...Pika!" And with another great swing, he had smashed Iron Tail onto Gardevoir, knocking the Embrace Pokemon back.
"Garde...!" But Gardevoir wasn't down yet. The Psychic-Fairy-Type then used Focus Blast, shooting it at the Mouse Pokemon. Pikachu's instincts were sharp, however. He then leapt over the incoming blast of mental energy, avoiding it.
"Pika!" Pikachu delivered one last swing. An overhead. By smashing it on Gardevoir's head, the Embrace Pokemon cried out as it was knocked back. Ash then used another one of those Poke Balls, sending it at Gardevoir.
The ball had pulled Gardevoir in with its blue light as it shook once. That one shake was a confirmed catch. Gardevoir was caught.
"Got a Gardevoir!" Ash bellowed as he and Pikachu continued on their way.
"Go, Ash! Go-go!" Sweetie Belle cheered.
"Garchomp!" A Garchomp was another powerful Pokemon for many Trainers to handle. It was definitely worth a lot of points. Many Trainers were shooting for it either way as they commanded their Pokemon.
"Use Zen Headbutt Rampardos!"
"Dodrio, Tri Attack!"
"Reuniclus, Psyshock!"
"Gar!" Garchomp roared as Rampardos charged right at it with mental energy being shown on its skull. The Mach Pokemon immediately responded by rushing forward and smashing its own head onto Rampardos'. It had pushed Rampardos back while also following up with Dragon Claw. "Garchomp!"
"Rampa!" Rampardos was knocked back by a single Dragon Claw. But it wasn't over yet. Tri Attack and Psychock were heading for the Mach Pokemon.
In response, Garchomp had used Dragon Claw once more to cut the attacks in half. And in a perfectly symmetrical shape too. And with that cut, Garchomp then used Earthquake, stomping on the ground as it blew away the rest of the Pokemon and Trainers nearby.
"Garchomp!" Garchomp roared as it was definitely the toughest Pokemon here. Garchomp then ran around, moving across Las Pegasus and passing nearby citizens of it. The citizens stood back, allowing the Mach Pokemon to move on its way.
But chasing after Garchomp was both Ash and Spitfire.
"Ash! I won't let you get that Garchomp before me!" Spitfire exclaimed while flying next to Ash with Scizor.
"We'll see!" Ash grinned, eager for a challenge.
"Pikachu!"
"Dhelmise!" Appearing from one of the windows was the Sea Creeper Pokemon Dhelmise. Once it showed up, it had used its signature move Anchor Shot, shooting out a long anchor by materializing it.
"Woah!" Ash and the others gasped as they moved out of the way of Anchor Shot. The anchor latched onto a vase, crushing it and startling the pony next to it.
"Iron Tail!"
"Night Slash!"
"Pika!"
"Scizor!" Both Pikachu and Scizor attacked Dhelmise. With one slash of Iron Tail and Night Slash, they had struck the Sea Creeper Pokemon while also moving past it.
A double slash at the same time and that was it. Dhelmise spun around from the shockwave as Ash threw his Poke Ball first before Spitfire. One touch, one shake and Dhelmise was caught. "Sorry, Spitfire! But I'm not losing for Dew Drops!"
"Oooh! Ketchum!" Spitfire growled as she and Scizor continued flying. Everyone cheered, enjoying this exciting race.
The Garchomp was definitely the eye of it all. And certainly the fastest. Garchomp tackled all nearby Pokemon away, preventing them from dealing any damage to it. The Mach Pokemon was on a roll.
Ash ran up to the higher places of Las Pegasus as he looked down at a sea of Pokemon. "Pikachu, Electroweb, go!"
"Pik!" Pikachu then sent a web of electricity that was formed after it was just an orb. That orb landed on some of the Pokemon below. The Pokemon didn't see it coming as they were now underneath the ball. And by jumping an incredibly high height, Ash tossed down multiple Poke Balls while moving through the air.
Those Poke Balls hit the Pokemon underneath Electroweb, pulling them in. Ash received a streak of captures for that. And he looked good while doing it too. Ash was racking up points but the big catch Garchomp has yet to be made.
And that's where the extra high jump came along. Ash gained a great distance with that jump as he ended up landing in front of the Mach Pokemon, Garchomp.
"Gar?"
"There!" Ash said while sticking the landing. "Garchomp!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu ran up the same stairs Ash did, jumping off it as well as he landed on the shoulder of his best friend. He was ready for Garchomp.
"Garchomp!" Garchomp roared at Ash and Pikachu.
"Hold it right there!" Spitfire cried out as she was seen arriving. She had just caught a Palossand seconds ago and was ready to catch Garchomp next. "That Garchomp is mine! X-Scissor!"
"Scizor!" Scizor lunged like a missile, crossing his pincers together. By doing so, he formed green energy around them, ready to slash at the Mach Pokemon.
"Chomp!" Garchomp was ready for this. It turned its attention away from Ash and Pikachu, using a swift Stone Edge towards Scizor. The Mach Pokemon stomped on the ground, summoning large crystals from below.
"Sciz?!" Scizor gasped as the first crystals knocked him back. Right in the front of his face too.
"Ah! Scizor!" Spitfire cried out.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, rushing towards Garchomp with a hardened tail.
"Gar!" Garchomp's eyes flared as it had even seen Pikachu coming. It already had Dragon Claw ready. However, Pikachu landed the first hit by smashing Iron Tail onto Garchomp's face. Garchomp staggered a bit but quickly retaliated by knocking Pikachu away with a swing of Dragon Claw. "Chomp!"
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out as he went flying like a rocket from Garchomp's swing.
"Oh, no! Pikachu!" Ash watched his partner fly past him, tumbling on the ground. Ash quickly ran after Pikachu to see if he was okay.
"Not yet! Scizor, Night Slash!"
"Scizor!" Scizor slid on the ground, chasing after Garchomp with Night Slash ready for use. Garchomp bellowed, still having Dragon Claw ready. It swung its claw, clashing with Scizor's pincers. The two Pokemon looked each other in the eyes before clashing their attacks like swords.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu got back up after that Dragon Claw as he shook his head. As Ash ran over, a Liepard ran past both him and Pikachu.
"Liepard!"
"Quick! Let's get that Liepard and back to Garchomp! Quick Atack!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded, moving at lightning speeds. They call it Quick Attack for a reason. With great speed, Pikachu tackled the side of Liepard, catching the Cruel Pokemon off guard.
"Pard!" Liepard hissed as it slid on the ground. In response, the Dark-Type used Dark Pulse, shooting it from its mouth.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" Pikachu slapped his red sacs, sending a blazing blast of 100,000 volts from his body. The blast connected with Dark Pulse as they both blew up.
"Quick Attack!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu then moved through the smoke, smashing Liepard's head with his own, causing the Cruel Pokemon to be knocked back.
"Lie!"
"Go, Poke Ball!" Ash then launched the Poke Ball. Yet again, with one shake, he captured his next Pokemon. A strong and agile one too. Liepard was certainly worth a lot of points.
"Yes! Now for Garchomp!" Ash and Pikachu then ran back to Garchomp's position.
Speaking of Garchomp, Scizor was still locked in a furious battle with it. Garchomp had then used Earthauke after breaking up the Dragon Claw and Night Slash clash. By stomping its foot on the ground, large white shockwaves erupted from the ground.
"Fly back, Scizor!"
"Scizor!" Scizor flew away from the approaching shockwaves. Garchomp was ready for that as well. After using Earthquake, the Mach Pokmon lunged at Scizor, ready for a Fire Fang.
"Gar!"
"Sciz?!"
"Pikachu! Quick Attack!" But coming to save was Pikachu. He moved through the air, hitting the side of Garchomp's head. Garchomp flinched from that as it fell to the ground.
"Pika!"
"Ash!" Spitfire noticed the return of Ash. "Quick, Scizor! Bullet Punch!"
"Iron Tail!"
"Scizor!"
"Pikachu!" Both Pikachu and Scizor approached Garchomp, ready to strike it. In response, Garchomp surrounded its body in Stone Edge as a shield. It then fired all of the stones surrounding its body in all directions. Pikachu and Scizor had destroyed the stones with their Steel-Type moves, however.
"Gar!" To follow up, Garchomp had readied Dragon Claw. Both Pikachu and Scizor got close enough to strike as their attacks met with Garchomp's Dragon Claw.
"Pika...!"
"Scizor...!"
"Gar...!"
The three of them were locked in a heavy struggle as Garchomp pushed them both away. The duo went flying through the air as Garchomp followed up with Earthquake instantly.
"Electroweb, then launch off of it!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu quickly sent an electroweb to the nearest wall. By doing so, he created a trampoline that he landed on. And that allowed him to avoid the shockwaves of Earthquake. Not so much Scizor.
Scizor was hit by Earthquake, taking super-effective damage. But he did not faint. Pikachu then launched himself off the net like a rocket, gaining high-speed momentum through the air.
"Iron Tail!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu then spun around with Iron Tail while moving through the air. The speed he gained made him seem like a yellow and silver ball as he smashed his full force attack onto Garchomph's head. "Pika!"
"G-Garchomp!" Garchomp felt that as it almost fell over from such a heavy hit to the head.
"Go, Poke Ball!" Ash took the chance to catch Garchomp. With a swift and powerful throw of the device, Garchomp was sent inside. Now for the shaking.
1...
2...
3...
Gotcha! Garchomp was caught!
"Alright!" Ash bellowed with victory, getting on his knees.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"That's the way, Ash!" Twilight jumped up for joy. "Woohooo!"
"Woohoo!" Anthophilia couldn't help but mimic Twilight's energetic cheer. "Woohoo!"
"Aw geez..." Spitfire sighed accepting the loss of Garchomp. "Well played Ketchum. Come on, Spitfire. Let's see if we can still rack up some more points."
"Scizor."
20 minutes later.
Eventually, the race came to an end.
All of the Trainers had lined up afterwards. Each of them had their own points but some were larger than others as Clesia was there to hand out the prizes.
"We present the second place prize in the catch race to Spitfire." The announcer said. "For racking up 140 points."
"Well done, Spitfire," Celestia said, giving her a silver trophy. Everyone else received a reward that they could benefit from.
"I'll take it. Pretty neat, right Scizor?" Spitfire held the trophy, showing it to her partner.
"Scizor."
"And the first place prize goes to Ash for racking up 200 points! He wins the gold trophy and this adorable Pikachu Plush!"
"And well done to you, Ash. Jumping from that high made Luna's heart race a bit." Celestia gave Ash the trophy and plush while whispering to him. "Can't resist doing daring actions, can you?"
"My bad." Ash laughed as he held both the trophy and plush in his arms. "Woah, this thing is heavier than it looks!"
"Pika-Pika."
"We'd like to thank everyone for coming here today! Until next month's Pokemon Catch Race! Over at Hoenn nex time!" The announcer waved to them all with the final cheers filling Las Pegasus.
And that was the end of that. Ash had granted Dew Drops her wish as everyone was ready to head home. The Alola Champion went up to the little filly, having her gift in his hands.
"Here you go. Right for you. It's pretty heavy so be careful." Ash kneeled, giving the plush to the earth pony. Dew Drops felt like crying as she had never been this happy before.
"I love it!" She immediately grabbed the Pikachu Plush, giving it a powerful hug as if it was her own. She spun around with the toy with glee in her heart and face.
Although, she accidentally grabbed the real Pikachu out of too much excitemen.
"P-Pika!"
"Oh!" Dew quickly noticed the mistake before letting go. "Sorry, Pikachu."
"Pika-Pika..." Pikachu breathed in and out as he saw his life flash before his eyes. Everyone else just laughed after that. A successful day yet again.
Another adventure on this day was about to come to a close. There's always an adventure o be had with the Pokemon World. And with Trainers such as Ash, that adventure can go beyond its limits and be birthed into something new.
Ash himself is still on a Master Quest. A quest and dream that he will keep pursuing until he makes it a reality. And with amazing friends by his side, he's sure that it will happen. The quest to become a Pokemon Master is far from over as the journey continues.
"You know, Passion, I thought you were a Grass-Type when I first came across you." Currently, Celestia and Passion were having a conversation together.
"Gardevoir?"
"Then again, I've mistaken a lot of Pokemon Types. Some of them can be misleading, can't they?" Celestia giggled along with Passion.
"Garde."
"Your highness." Just then, a Canterlot guard had arrived, walking up to the Sun Princess. "Important news."
"Hm? Yes? What is it this time?"
"A Rift Pony would like to speak with you." said the guard as he moved to the side. Moving through the open doors were a few Canterlot Guards and behind them was most definitely a Rift Pony.
Emerald Aura was here.
"You. You're Emerald Aura, aren't you?" A wide-eyed Celestia raised her hoof at the emerald-coloured unicorn.
"Yeah, that's me. This is kinda awkward." Awkward for a couple of reasons. Emerald is fairly known by Celestia. Previously, she was an accomplice with Obsidian. But she is also a good friend of Cold Colt, making her safe for the moment. But, Emerald felt a sense of dread around her either way.
"Hm. Why are you here exactly? Is this about the Rift?"
"Well...kinda." Emerald rubbed the back of her mane while having a nervous grin. "I...kinda screwed up. Big time."
"Gardevoir?"
"So uh, you know that Pegalysium place? I mean, I just found out about it two days ago." That caught Celestia's attention as she and Passion leaned forward.
"You've been to Pegalysium?!"
"Y-Yeah..." Emerald stuttered. "Met the king and everything. And I may have kinda doomed everything."
"How so? What happened between you and King Paramount?"
"Uh...So, he wanted to apparently change fate or something like that. And he thought that the Rift magic would-"
"He has some of it doesn't he?" Immediately, Celestia put the pieces together with her fast thinking mind. She didn't even need to wait for Emerald Aura to finish talking.
"Y-Yeah..." Emerald scrunched her face. "But it was an accident! I wasn't gonna give him any, I swear! He totally gipped it from me! I didn't even know he could affect Rift magic, no ordinary pony can!"
"I can affect it as well." Celestia suddenly spoke, throwing Emerald Aura off guard. "My Boundless Cutie Mark allows me to do so."
"O-Oh...Okay then." Emerald then turned around, whispering to herself. "Geez...What have I missed out on?"
"I understand that you did not mean for that to happen. But now that he has Rift magic at his disposal..." A nervous Celestia bit her hoof, imagining what Paramount might be doing at the moment. "We're going up there."
"Wait? We?" Emerald pulled back.
"Having assistance from a Rift pony wouldn't hurt. Besides. Queen Luminary offered to have a second chance with us. Let's hope we can discuss this properly with them or else everything might spiral out of control."
"I don't know. That king looked pretty serious...Do you really think he'll listen, Princess?"
"We won't know unless we try. Adagio." Celestia turned to her student. Adagio immediately came over, having the Magic Siphoning Jar at her hold.
"Already on it. Should I bring the jar now?" questioned Adagio.
"If you wish. But we won't engage in any conflict despite our previous interaction with them. Understood?"
"Yeah, yeah. I got it. Still think this is a great ace in the hole." Adagio shrugged before placing the Magic Siphoning Jar in her saddlebag. Just in case. Luna already heard everything from the next room. She was certainly ready to head there a second time.
It would just be Celestia, Luna, Adagio and now with the company of Emerald Aura. They were hoping for a better outcome as compared to the last time.
Pegalysium. Sky Monarch. Afternoon.
And speaking of Pegalysium, over at the Sky Monarch, Queen Luminary was waiting for the day that Celestia and the others would return. She hoped that they had accepted her invitation. All the while, she was worried about her husband. He had just obtained Rift Magic at last. And with his great adaptability, there's no telling how long it could take for him to properly understand it.
But in the meanwhile, over at Shooting Star's room, that was a different story. His room was one fit for a prince. It was truly regal as it was beyond the mansion that belonged to Skyblue Shine and Emerald Aura's. But aside from that, right now, the young prince was too busy looking at the Pokedex given to him by Ash.
Ever since he was gifted it, he was glued to this Pokemon Encyclopedia, scrolling through the various lists of Pokemon that Ash has scanned for his Pokemon Research for Professor Cerise.
He's even been cooped up in his room ever since. Thanks to Ash's research, he has managed to enter over 753 Pokedex entries.
"This one is so cool!" Shooting Star gandered at a Ninetales, reading its dex entry while admiring its regal and majestic appearance. Having nine tails is fairly impressive after all.
"Ninetales. The Fox Pokemon. Legend has it that Ninetales came into being when nine wizards possessing sacred powers merged into one. This Pokémon is highly intelligent—it can understand human speech. Ninetales casts a sinister light from its bright red eyes to gain total control over its foe’s mind. This Pokémon is said to live for a thousand years. Grabbing one of its many tails could result in a 1,000-year curse."
"That sounds pretty serious...But boy do they look fluffy! Wonder if they feel soft and hot at the same time?" As he gawked at the Pokemon, entering the room was his father.
King Paramount.
"Son. You haven't left your room in a while now." Paramount spoke. "Usually you enjoy socializing with everypony. Is something wrong?"
"Oh, dad. Sorry about that. I've just been pretty glued to this thing right here. Ta-da!" The young pegasus held out the Pokedex to his father, in all of its crimson glory.
"...What is that?" Paramount had no idea what he was looking at. He wasn't sure what to make of the Pokedex's appearance. Was it some sort of book? It had the shape but not quite,
"It's a Pokedex. It's like some sort of encyclopedia for Pokemon. Tells me everything about these monsters. And there's like a bunch of them. You won't believe how awesome this thing is!"
"Pokemon...? An encyclopedia for them?" The king's attention had been caught. The creatures that he was determined to send away from this timeline and restore everything to how it was had been mentioned.
"Yeah. Well, it's not all of them. There's a bunch more. But 753's a pretty good number anyway. My favourite's the one with the Aura."
Shooting Star was too fixated on the Pokedex to realize his father's current emotion. However, King Paramount did not panic in front of his son's new form of entertainment. Instead, his curiosity had been peaked. He sat down with his son, wanting to know about the Pokedex.
"So. It holds records of Pokemon, does it? How does it work exactly?"
"Oh, like this. How about I show you...this Pokemon!" Shooting Star scrolled through the dex before selecting Dragonite's dex entry.
"Dragonite. The Dragon Pokemon. Dragonite is capable of circling the globe in just 16 hours. It is a kindhearted Pokémon that leads lost and foundering ships in a storm to the safety of land. This Pokémon is known as the Sea Incarnate. Figureheads that resemble Dragonite decorate the bows of many ships. Incur the wrath of this normally calm Pokémon at your peril, because it will smash everything to smithereens before it’s satisfied."
"Pretty fast, huh? I can't even fly that fast. Can you dad?" Shooting Star turned to his father, wanting his opinion and answer on it. But Paramount just sat there, taking in what he had just heard. "Dad?"
"Hm. I see I see." Paramount nodded his head a few times. "All the data it needs and reveals truths about them, hm?"
"Huh?"
"So they have Dragons as allies. And what other kinds of Pokemon are there?"
"Well...there's this one. Blissey." Shooting Star scrolled over to find Blissey's Dex Entry.
"Blissey. The Happiness Pokemon. Blissey senses sadness with its fluffy coat of fur. If it does so, this Pokémon will rush over to a sad person, no matter how far away, to share a Lucky Egg that brings a smile to any face. Even the most ferocious Pokémon become calm when they eat Blissey’s egg, which is said to be filled with happiness. Whenever a Blissey finds a weakened Pokémon, it will share its egg and offer its care until the other Pokémon is all better. Only Chansey that share a strong bond with their Trainer can evolve, so people say."
"How do you think that egg tastes? I mean, it must be really good if it can just make you happy instantly. Might be better than the Sky Hens and their eggs, right dad?"
Once more, Paramount was too focused on the Pokemon's dex entry. When reading them, he had already learned a lot from just two Pokemon. Hearing Dragonite and Blissey's Pokedex reminded him of something Celestia said during the first discussion.
"Down below, we have managed to actually form bonds with the Pokemon, gaining new friendships from them. Even the humans from the Pokemon World have become closer to us, forming unseen relationships. And they are certainly scared about having everything return to normal. Having them just vanish from our memories as if none of this happened would be devastating and the loss of the friendships that we have formed. So are we choosing to keep things the way they are"
"I wonder..." He spoke to himself instead of his son, locking his eyes onto the Pokedex. "Son. May I see the rest of the dex entries for a moment?"
"Uh sure. Oh, check this one out." Shooting Star then began showing his father many dex entries about certain Pokemon. Paramount himself wanted to make sure what he was getting himself into.
Many of the dex entries were varied and unique. King Paramount noticed how every Pokemon had something about them that could be considered friendly and safe but also dangerous and lethal.
From Gardevoir's black holes, Leavanny's nurturing nature, Haxorus' intimidating appearance yet kind-hearted soul all the way to Tyranitar's brute strength. There was a lot to take in.
King Paramount was right to worry about certain Pokemon as they definitely had the power to cause mass destruction. The black hole part from Gardevoir was a massive red flag. Tyranitar didn't make it any better. However, Pokemon like Leavanny, Haxorus and more also showed him the pure side of Pokemon.
But as he watched the dex entries, reading them closely, entering the room was one of the guards, here for their own important news.
"Your majesty. You must hear this."
"Hm? Yes, spill out what you have." Paramount nodded, flailing his hoof as he was too focused on the Pokedex to look at anything else.
"It's Princess Celestia again. She's making her way here. Along with a few others."
But he could focus on that for sure. His eyes shot away from the dex as he stood up tall. He looked his soldiers in the eyes with his usual sharp look. The guards were a bit intimidated by their king's sudden stare. Paramount knew that this was only because of Luminary. After all, she issued a second meeting in the first place.
"Let them come." Paramount allowed Celestia to arrive as the guards nodded in response. A second meeting was due. Besides, Luminary wouldn't let Paramount hear the end of this if he didn't go with it. The guards then left the prince's room to meet with Celestia, Luna, Adagio and Emerald Aura.
"Oh, Celestia? Are you gonna try again with them, dad?"
"Possibly. Stay here and continue enjoying this...Pokedex." Paramount turned to his son before walking off. Shooting Star would just stay here in his room, looking at all the Pokemon in the Pokedex.
But before the king could reach the throne room, he felt like checking up on one thing for a moment. That room was the same chamber where the mural laid. The same mural that had Shooting Star as the apparent Pegasus of Destiny along with three other pegasi who will assist him in the future.
Paramount opened the doors to the chamber, wanting to speak with his Royal Advisor one more time. Speaking of his Royal Advisor, he was taking a short nap, dozing off with his head on a table. But he immediately woke up when he heard the hoofsteps of the king.
"Ah, you're majesty. Anything new you might need?" The advisor yawned, stretching his hooves. "Goodness, I'm getting old."
"Just something quick. Tip-off." Paramount spoke the same of the Royal Advisor. His name was Tip-off. Fitting since he gives advice at the end of the day.
"Yes?" Tip-off replied.
"Your vision of the Pokemon destroying the universe. That was truly what you witnessed, wasn't it?" The king questioned. After reading the dex entries of multiple Pokemon, he found out that some of them aren't that dangerous, but some were certainly capable of destroying nearly everything.
"Yes? Is something wrong, my king?"
"...Hmm. Join me for this next meeting soon. We have much to discuss."
"Another one?" Tip-off adjusted his hooded robe before seeing the king leave the chamber. "Hm. Oh well. Some more rest would be nice right now..."
The throne room.
A rearrival. Celestia, Luna, Adagio and Emerald were in this room for a second time. And once more, Paramount and Luminary were present as well. And this time, Tip-off, the Royal Advisor and the one capable of having visions was within the room.
A tense atmosphere could be felt between the two groups. And Luminary noticed. She was the only one not adding fuel to the tense atmosphere. Paramount was certainly not happy to see Celestia again and neither was Celestia happy to be in this room. Their differing views could really be felt.
"Ahem." Luminary attempted to break the silence. "So. Welcome back. We certainly got off on the wrong hoof the other day, but second chances can't be wasted, can they? Dear, would you like to start?"
"So. Here to convince me again?" Paramount spoke.
"We're here for what you have, The Rift magic inside of you," Celestia replied, pointing her hoof at the king. "Seems like you got ahold of it at the right time."
"Exactly. The magic I need to put everything at peace. After I do so, I will leave behind this newfound magic." Paramount put his hoof on his chest.
"Totally mine in the first place..." Emerald puffed her cheeks.
"B-But aside from that!" Luminary exclaimed. "We should probably focus on finding a middle ground. My lovely husband is obviously worried about everything that exists in our world and wants to protect it. And you all wish to not only protect this world but keep things the way they are. Clearly, we all have good intentions here."
"Yeah, if you count making us forget about our friends' good intentions," Adagio spoke, leaning forward while jeering at King Paramount.
"Tch. Bite me." He gave a quick retort.
"What our Royal Advisor Tip-off envisioned clearly spoke of something horrifying and shattering that could end us all before the Rift even leaves. The Pokemon themselves," said Luminary as everyone turned to Tip-off.
"You're the one with the visions?" Luna asked.
"That's me. Pleasure meeting new pony races." Tip-off bowed to Luna and the others. "What they say is true. Having a precognitive vision is my forte."
"What if you're just doing it as a scare, huh?" Adagio stood up. "I bet there's no major chance the universe is gonna end with the Pokemon doing so." She was in denial, refusing to believe that the Pokemon would cause this. And what reason would they?
"Please understand that the Pokemon would never want this themselves. They are indeed highly destructive and some are very much threats. But none would destroy the universe. It doesn't make any sense." Celestia shook her head.
"Tip-off did certainly see the universe end from the Pokemon's actions. And as much as I hate to admit it, his visions are never wrong." Luminary explained. "They always come into fruition one way or another."
"The Pokemon will destroy the universe. How? I don't know. When? Don't know that either. But they will. And they can." said Tip-off.
"But we can reach a solution." Luminary put her hoof on the table. "I propose we find a workaround to solve our problem. If we can work together, we can prevent this issue from occurring. You're searching for this Jirachi Pokemon, right?"
"Yes. Jirachi has the power to grant wishes." Celestia nodded. "We will have it wish for this timeline to remain. And technically..."
"We would have two wishes left. Jirachi can grant three in total." Luna followed. "Prevention of the universe being destroyed could be our second wish. I-If Jirachi is generous."
"Can you even reach this Jirachi in time? If it's so elusive, who's to say that it might be too late?" Paramount questioned.
"We'll totally reach that Jirachi in time!" Adagio scoffed at the king. "And we'll prove you wrong!"
"Vision's can't be proven wrong." Tip-off shook his head with a proud smile, making Adagio's eyes twitch.
"Even if you return everything to normal, there's still one major obstacle that you cannot overcome!" Luna stomped her hooves on the table.
"And what's that?" Paramount raised an eyebrow.
"You'd have to deal with Empress Twilight and her invasion. You know, the same invasion that put the stakes of our nation and world at risk?" Luna smirked. "If everything reverts to how it was in the original timeline, how do you expect to go up against a force that has connections over various universes and numbers too large for you to count? We managed to win the assistance of the Pokemon and that was fairly difficult in its own way."
"...You underestimate the kind of force Pegalysium holds," Paramount replied, showing no concern over this. But from how he stared at Luna and how serious his response was, he could be right that there was something Pegalysium had that was definitely powerful. "An empire of massive force is nothing new to us. If they threaten Pegalysium and our world again, then they will have to answer to us."
"And you expect to beat them all by yourself? What happens if you can't even do it?" Adagio asked.
"We can and we will." Paramount leaned forward. "Without the Pokemon."
"Pah! There's no way that you have something that can be greater than the Pokemon!" Adagio chuckled.
"You'd be surprised." Another response and this time it sent chills down Adagio's spine.
What kind of force did Pegalysium have that could potentially be greater than the Pokemon themselves? If it was greater.
"Dear. Princess Celestia, Luna and everyone obviously care about the Pokemon as much as they care about the ponies they already know and love." Luminary turned to her husband. "I want to keep our universe safe as well as them, but surely there's an easier way around this. If this Jirachi Pokemon can truly fix everything, then please give them a chance."
"Hmm..." Paramount looked at the pleading eyes of his wife. His answer would be swift. He could obviously sense the tone of Celestia and the others when it came to Pokemon. And after reading some Pokedex entries, he was obviously smart enough to know not all Pokemon are that dangerous. But there are equal amounts that are safe and destructive at the same time. The king pondered for a moment before concluding. "Alright fine."
"Oh?!" Celestia and the others gasped.
"Clearly, I misjudged the Pokemon. And it is my own fault for not giving you all that chance. I speak of changing fate, yet I refused to let you do the same for a better future. My deepest apologies. Take that chance to prove me wrong and reach Jirachi."
"Really? Oh! Thank you very much!" Celestia had a grin beam her face as Luna, Adagio and Emerald Aura had a sigh of relief grant their hearts. "I promise you, King Paramount. We won't fail."
"However." Paramount suddenly stopped them. "If everything gets too out of control, that's when I will need to step in. Understood?"
"We understand." Celestia nodded.
"Success!" Luminary cheered, clapping her hooves together. "See? The second try is always the best! I'm sure we'll all save our universe together without fail! And you're welcome back to Pegalysium to tour around it anytime you want!"
"That's not what I said dear-" Paramount wasn't too keen on the touring idea but he knew there was no point in arguing with his wife. She tends to make up her mind immediately. "Nevermind."
"Oh my." Just then Tip-off felt a sensation go through him. And in the blink of an eye, his body started glowing a green and yellow colour while his eyes flashed. Everyone's attention was immediately shot towards him.
"W-What's happening to him?!" A wide-eyed Emerald Aura stuttered.
"Oh. He's just going through one of his visions." Luminary answered, showing everyone how Tip-off's visionary abilities work.
"Tip-off. What can you tell us? What have you seen this time?"
"Oh." His visions instantly ended with the light fading away as he held his head. "More about the Pokemon."
"Yes? Go on? What is it?" Paramount, Celestia and everyone leaned in, wanting to know about this one.
"Still couldn't make it out. But I did see something. Some sort of prism. Something that appears to be constructed out of a black crystalline material."
"A prism?" Celestia repeated.
"Black crystalline material? D-Do we know a Pokemon that's like that?" Adagio asked but Luna simply shrugged.
"Ah, that's all I can give you. Sorry." Tip-off shrugged.
"Well. In any case. Be on your way. However, my son has obviously grown a great interest in the Pokemon. If you would be so kind as to teach him, and possibly my wife and I about these strange creatures, it would be an honour. Just nothing too drastic." Paramount requested.
"Oh, that's easy. We can have Ash, Fluttershy and few others be your guide." Celestia smiled. "Thank you for this second discussion. I promise we won't fail in saving the universe."
"I hope that you don't fair," Paramount said.
"Hey hold on! What about my Rift magic? I still want that back!" Emerald exclaimed.
"The magic stays with me. End of story." And just like that Paramount shut the Rift pony down, making her sit down, crossing her hooves with a pouty face.
"No fair."
Equestria. Canterlot. Afternoon.
"Well. That went well. Not so bad as I thought he was, hm?" Luna nudged Celestia as they had returned to Canterlot after their trip.
"Yes. Though he is very sharp and strict. He'd make Starswirl look kind in comparison if given enough time." Celestia laughed after the nudge.
"Shouldn't we be serious about this prism and black crystalline Pokemon? That sounds major." Adagio asked.
"Right, right. We're still clueless on what Pokemon that could be. Emerald Aura. Would you happen to-" Celestia requested an answer from Emerald Aura but she was long gone from here. She only came to inform Celestia and hopefully retrieve the Rift magic from the king.
Only one of those happened.
"Oh well. We'll find out eventually. But in any case, let's focus all of our efforts on Jirachi, shall we?" Celestia declared. Now more were involved with finding Jirachi.
Larger numbers could be the key to finding this powerful wish-granting Pokemon. Hopefully. A new promise had been made with the King and Pegalysium. A promise that they would not break at all costs as the journey continues.
Equestria. Hunter J's secret base in the mounains.
Pokemon Huner J. Truly, a terrifying individual. Currently, her base remains the same, a secluded part in the mountains with a well-hidden cave. J has kept this her new base even through harsh events.
Especially the invasion. She took no part in the invasion, staying out of it completely. However, while she did not help with the invasion in any way, she did find herself some goods.
And those goods were from the invasion. Various weapons that belonged to the Empress' forces had been found by J's expeditions. Whether they were still intact or damaged. While most of them had been taken by Celestia's forces, some weren't and were just left behind.
Those were the ones J had collected. And she found herself some profit from this. Certain items she kept to invest and work on herself since J is rather brilliant with technology. But other items she sold on the Pokemon Black Market and received more rare objects for her own gain.
As for the Pokemon of these mountains, they had evacuated, searching for a new home as they were just that afraid of Hunter J.
Right now, Hunter J was ready to head on a new hunt for some Pokemon. And this time, she was upping her game. J had found out about Equestria's exclusive Pokemon.
The Equestrian Regional Variants.
"Regional forms from another world could definitely go for a high price. Possibly the highest they can get." J spoke while gearing up. She wasn't expecting to immediately find Regional Variants. Any Pokemon would do. However, J won't miss up on a chance to find some either way.
She got on her new vehicle. One of them. A specialized van, reminiscent of the one her henchmen used to use. Fast enough to move across the land and it even had the function of moving on water, much like the Galar bicycles. She had stylized weapons that were originally from the Empress' soldiers. But, she personally customized them for easier use.
As if that wasn't enough, some of the robots that had been damaged during the invasion were up for J's grabs, allowing her to tinker around. She was certainly a force to be reckoned with now.
Not only that, but the Desire of Twilight Sparkle fused with her own Desire still resides in her. The two of them have their own inner chatter with J sometimes looking insane by talking to herself seemingly. Then again, no one else notices this.
"I say take the chance to catch one of Twilight and her friends' Pokemon, wouldn't you agree?" The Desire spoke.
"Not yet. She's still friends with that brat. I'll wait for the right moment. Plus, I can't do it all on my own. I need a new team like before." J adjusted her handle on the vehicle. "But those brats are going to pay. That's for sure."
Frenzy Forest. Grass and Water section. Afternoon.
Over at Frenzy Forest, practically a civilization for Pokemon, a few ponies were here for some practice. The Cutie Mark Crusaders plus Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
They've formed their own little adventuring team ever since the second Pokemon Festival and the trip to Ninja Village. Much like how Ash always has his own adventure team in practically every region he has been in.
Right now, Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara were practising for contests. Specifically, they were trying out new contest moves together while Apple Bloom and the others just watched.
So far, it was going that well.
"Lup!" Piplup tumbled on the ground as he was originally at a high place earlier with Purrloin. Purrloin had also fallen over as a result of this slip-up.
"Purr!"
"Oh! Are you okay!" Sweetie Belle gasped, rushing over to the Penguin Pokemon.
"Piplup..."
"Not my Purrloin!" Diamond Tiara picked up her partner. "You're not badly hurt are you?"
"Purrloin..."
"Eugh. That could've gone better." Silver Spoon grimaced as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom nodded in approval.
"No good. It's way too thin and fragile. We need to make it wider and stronger." said Diamond Tiara. "Or else any Pokemon can just break through it."
"I know, I know. Making a maze with Pokemon moves is pretty tough isn't it?" Sweetie Belle chuckled.
"How about another go!" Scootaloo bellowed. "Oh, and don't forget, I'm next up!"
"M-Maybe we can try something else. Then we can work on the maze." Sweetie Belle gave a suggestion, raising her hoof.
"Like?"
"Oh! How about a solar system move! Would that work?!"
"Solar system?" Diamond Tiara squinted her eyes, thinking about that kind of contest move and how it would play out. There were some variables in here but a good chance that it would require a lot of work and muscle to make it happen. It was possible. "Hm...Maybe not now."
"A really long baton!" She then gave her next idea. "Then we can have our Pokemon run on it!"
"Oh, that could work! And maybe a...um..." Diamond Tiara pondered for a moment, wondering what other contest trick they could try. Nothing new was coming up yet.
Piplup and Purrloin wanted to take a quick break as they both sat by the nearest tree they could find, letting out sighs of relief. Their trainers allowed them to rest as Sweetie Belle would use another one of her Pokemon. Unfortunately, Diamond Tiara didn't have a second Pokemon with her.
But as they were discussing new ways to improve their contest skills, while also using tips that Dawn had lent them, someone was drawing near here. Two individuals.
Scootaloo was the first to hear the sound of footsteps crunching the leaves of this forest. She turned her head, noticing that it was coming from behind them. "What's that?"
Soon, the rest of her friends turned around as they heard the sound as well. And from what they could hear, it sounded like those footsteps were getting faster. Someone was definitely running.
Piplup and Purrloin removed their fatigue for the sake of their trainers' safety as they stood up. The fact that these movements were slow at first then started picking up with speed was just suspicious. It could be a hostile Pokemon ready to pounce out and attack. And well, a Pokemon did pounce out indeed.
It was a Gible.
"Gible!" The Land Shark Pokemon cried out as it jumped out of the acres of trees, gaining an impressive height.
"Gible?!" Sweetie Belle and the others said while looking up at the Dragon-Ground-Type. Gible had also spotted the ponies below him. And with his mouth still open, he dived down, aiming for the first pony he saw.
Silver Spoon.
"Gible!" With one dive and one perfect aim, the Land Shark Pokemon had placed his mouth on the head of Silver Spoon. "Gib."
"Aaaaaa!" Silver Spoon screeched as she pranced on the spot. And for a good reason. Gible stayed on her head as she flailed her hooves, running around while screaming. "Get it off! Get it off!"
"Hey, Gible!" But shortly after, flying out of the acres of trees was the trainer of Gible. The current Dragon Lord of the Dragon Lands, Ember. "There you are!"
"Gible!"
"No, Gible! She's not a snack, get off of her!" Ember quickly rushed over, grabbing the Land Shark Pokemon. She attempted to pull Gible off of Silver Spoon, but the bite of the Dragon-Ground-Type was stronger than expected. There is a reason why his name is related to the motion of biting. "Ngh! You four, help out here!"
"Oh! Right!" Apple Bloom nodded as they all rushed over. A team effort had been made. Ember was mainly holding onto Gible while the little ponies held onto each other with Apple Bloom holding Ember, Scootaloo holding Apple Bloom and so on.
With their combined force and muscle, they managed to pull Gible away from Silver Spoons' head. The four foals fell over while Ember flew back, holding Gible close to her. As for Silver Spoon, she was twitching a tad bit while her glasses were losing balance, almost falling from her face.
"Ugh.." Diamond Tiara and the others groaned after falling on their backs.
"Phew..." Ember let out a sigh of relief as she descended to the ground. Gible himself kept an innocent look on his face as if he did nothing wild in just a few seconds. Ember felt exhausted from her own face. "Gible...Every time...Why are you like this?"
"Gible."
"Ow-ow..." Silver Spoon whimpered, holding her head as Gible's bite definitely stung. He even gnawed on her head for a bit before being pulled off.
"Say you're sorry to her, Gible. Now." Ember made Gible face Silver Spoon.
"Gible." Despite all of that, Gible was respectful enough to give a straight and wholehearted apology. After apologizing, the Land Shark Pokemon received a head pat from his trainer.
"Good boy. I hope you aren't like this when you evolve."
"Ooh! Aren't you um...the uh..." Scootaloo stuck her tongue out, trying to recall the name of Ember. "Spike mentioned you...Ember, right?!"
"I think it's Dragon Lord Ember," said Diamond Tiara.
"Yeah, that's me," Ember responded with a nod. "You're Spike's friends, are you?"
"Eeyup!" Apple Bloom stood up, pulling all of her friends together while Silver Spoon adjusted her glasses. "Cutie Mark Crusaders right here! Plus Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon."
"Hi." The pink earth pony gave a wave with a wide grin. "It's an honour to be meeting a Dragon Lord! I mean, I've never met or heard of one before...so this is really big!"
"Uh, thanks, kid."
"You've got a Gible of your own too? Are you gonna become a great Dragon Trainer like Spike?" Scootaloo asked.
"I'm working there. Came here to practice." Ember rubbed Gible on the head. "Since there's something called a Dragon Master, why not take it? All of this Pokemon stuff's caught my attention anyway."
"Sweet! I've got a Gible too! Look!" Scootaloo took out one of her Poke Balls, throwing it up. And once it went upwards, emerging out of it was another Gible. Her own Gible.
"Gible!" And immediately, when Gible emerged, his eyes locked onto the first thing in his vision. That was Ember. Or rather, who she was holding in front of her. A fellow Gible. "Gib?"
"Gible!" Ember's Gible waved at Scooataloo's gible.
"Ble!" After Scootaloo's Gible waved back, he suddenly jumped into the air with everyone's eyes following him. And with that jump, he repeated what Ember's Gible had done.
Just like that, Scootaloo's' Gible had bit onto Ember's head, returning the favour from before. And Ember's Gible didn't respond to this, he just let it happen. As if it was just natural.
"...Seriously?" However, while Silver Spoon started screaming and screeching, Ember just had a disappointed sigh and expression on her face. She's used to this. "Guess it's just a thing for all Gible to do, huh?"
"Gible."
"Come on, Gible! That's a super important ruler!" Scootaloo put her hooves out. If only she could fly at this moment. "Sorry! Super sorry for this."
"Don't worry about it," Ember said as she tried pulling Gible off her head. "Just gotta let it happen, right? But your Gible's got a strong bite as well."
"He sure does." Scootaloo grinned. "Oh! Uh, if you don't mind Dragon Lord Ember."
"Ember's fine," Ember suggested before finally getting Scootaloo's Gible off.
"Oh, okay, um, Ember. Can we have a Pokemon Battle? You know, just you and my Gible? Please?" And with a touch of the usual child puppy dog eyes, the little pegasus had the dragon locked in an enchanting trance.
Not many could evade the innocent and pleading eyes of a child. Those many victims fall prey to its gaze and can't help themselves to act in response. Ember was one of them. But she wasn't too affected by it. Mainly because she already had an answer.
"Sure. Why not?" A smile graced her face as she was now holding two separate Gible.
"Yes!" Scootaloo jumped for joy, staying airborne for a few seconds before descending. It was officially. A short battle between two Gible was about to commence soon, here in Frenzy Forest.
To begin their battle, they stood on opposite sides of the Grass and Water section. Scootaloo stood on the left while Ember stood on the right. As their referee, Silver Spoon took that offer.
"Okay, you two. Just one Pokemon each," said Silver Spoon. "You've got whatever time you want. No limit at all. Now send your Pokemon forward."
"Go, Gible!" Scootaloo pointed her hoof forward with her Gible running ahead, standing in front of her.
"Gible!"
"You'll always be my first pick. Get in there Gible." Ember looked at Gible who was latching on her back. Her Gible jumped off his Trainer's back, landing in front of her.
"Gib! Gible!"
"Battle start!" Silver Spoon as her glasses almost fell off from her movements before adjusting them.
"I'll go first! Gible! Slash!" Scootaloo made the first move.
"Gib!" Her Gible lit his claws up before running towards his fellow Gible.
"Use Metal Claw!" Ember put her claw out.
"Gible!" Her own Gible had an attack that could leave a mark as well as it gave off a silver light, much like the other Gible's Slash. He also ran at him.
The two Gible had met their attacks with synchronized slashes. One clash between the two claws and a mild shockwave blew away the pebbles while moving the blades of grass. The two of them went back and forth, trying to hit each other with their own attacks.
"Gible!" Ember's Gible was the one who found an opening, striking at the right moment. And when he struck his fellow Gible, he did it with a slash to the chest, sending him flying with a strong knockback.
"Gib!" Scootaloo's Gible cried out, sliding on the ground while almost tumbling on the ground. But he recovered himself with his claw gripping the ground.
"Gible! Are you okay?!" Scootaloo gasped.
"Gible!"
"Okay! Use Dragon Breath!"
"Gible!" The Land Shark Pokemon immediately released a light blue beam from its mouth at the opponent, almost pushing himself back from the force he gave out.
"Dig!"
"Gib!" Ember's Gible spread his claws out, using them to dig through the ground. As he burrowed before jumping in, he made a visible pitfall as well. The beam from Dragon Breath ended up missing Gible after he entered the ground.
"Stay sharp, Gible! He could appear from anywhere!"
"Gible!" Scootaloo's Gible locked his eyes onto the moving dirt that moved through the ground, knowing that his fellow Gible could pop out at any moment.
"Gib!" And he certainly did. Once was close enough, out of the small mound of dirt, Ember's Gible emerged by jumping up, going straight for an upwards slash.
"Ble!" Scootaloo's Gible put his claws together to try and block this upwards slash. It was a success with Scootaloo's Gible being pushed back.
"Okay, Bulldoze, go!" Scootaloo bellowed.
"Gible!" Gible put his claws down before coating his body in an orange aura. The Dragon-Ground-Type bolted forward, ready to bash into his fellow Gible.
"Twister, go!"
"Gib!" Ember's Gible put his claws out, summoning a spiral of draconic wind, ready to fire it. However, this time, Scootaloo's Gible managed to land a hit before that could happen, bashing his body onto Ember's Gible. "G-Gible?!"
"Now Dragon Breath!"
"Gi...Ble!" After bashing his kin, Scootaloo's Gible followed up by unleashing a light blue beam of draconic energy from his mouth. And since he was up close and personal, the beam immediately caught Ember's Gible, pouring on him and dealing super-effective damage.
"Gib!" Ember's Gible cried out before being caught up in a draconic explosion as he tumbled on the ground. "G-Gib! Gible!"
"Now, Gible! Release it!"
"Gible!" Ember's Gible recovered from his tumble by sliding on the ground. He then put one claw out while sliding, and that one claw unleashed a blue spiral of draconic wind that made its way towards the opposing Gible.
"Dodge it, quick!"
"Gib-" Too late for that. The attack was too wide and Gible couldn't find the right moment to evade. Thus, he had been struck by the draconic wind. "Gible!" Immediately, the attack started spinning him around on the spot while also carrying him back, dealing super-effective damage along the way.
Scootaloos' Gible ended up crashing into a nearby tree from it as the Twister had faded away. But it left its mark as Gible felt a bit dizzy from it.
"Now! Double Edge!"
"Gible!" Ember's Gible then rushed at the opposing Gible. While charging, he left behind a gold trail from his movements. Such a powerful move for a small Pokemon like Gible to have.
"Yikes! Gible, quick! Dragon Breath!"
"Gible!" Gible held his head as he saw his fellow Dragon-Ground-Type approaching with a great force behind him. To try and stop this, Gible held his breath longer than he usually does, building up all of the draconic energy he could. And once he found that good amount, he unleashed the attack. "Gib!" A large blue beam came flying out, almost burning away the grass.
Dragon Breath met with Double-Edge as Ember's Gible was closer to Scootaloo's Gible when the impact occurred. A powerful collision happened between the two attacks. But it didn't result in a power struggle clash. Instead, the first contact they made ended in a vicious explosion that eclipsed a small area.
The two Gible's were victims of that explosion as it had engulfed them. Scootaloo and Ember closed their eyes from the explosion and light that came from it. Afterwards, they looked forward to see the end result.
Flying out of the smoke first was Scootaloo's Gible. From a vicious explosion like that, he had unfortunately fainted. But Emer's Gible was still standing. Barely. The recoil damage almost took him out.
"Gible..."
"Scooaloo's Gible is unable to battle! So Ember's Gible wins! And Ember too!"
"Hm-hm. Nice." Ember crossed her arms together as her Gible jumped into the air, going for a congratulatory bite. But, Ember grabbed the Land Shark Pokemon with one claw, preventing him from doing so. "Great job, Gible."
"Gible!"
"You did good, Gible." Scootaloo went over, helping her own Gible up.
"Gible..."
"That was fun! Same-Species Pokemon battles are pretty great!" Sweetie Belle clapped her hooves.
"You did good kid. Scootaloo, right?" Ember flew over while holding her own Gible. "You've got a good Gible like mine. You could've won actually."
"Really? Thanks!" The young pegasus let out a grin. "Next time, can we have a full battle? I mean, you've got a team full of Dragons, right?"
"Well, yeah I do. But I learned something useful. I haven't been catching just Dragon-Type Pokemon. Pokemon from the Dragon Egg group also work."
"Oh. Pokemon like Charmander and Seviper?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"That's right. They're a bit easier to come by than actual Dragon-Types. N-Not Charmander. That was pretty hard to find. Is Spike doing the same?"
"Uh, nope. He's going just Dragon-Types so far." Scootaloo shook her head. "Hey! Now that you're here! Why don't we practice together!"
"Oh yeah!" Sweetie Belle slid over, nodding her head in approval.
"Well, I did come here to practice with my Pokemon so-" Just as Ember would give her answer, right nearby, just north from this area, one of the trees had suddenly been knocked over, startling everyone.
Flying out of that spot were a flock of Tailow, flying furiously as they cawed in fear. Everyone turned in the direction of the tree being knocked down. Some Pokemon there even ran off. A group of Rattata from the Normal-Type area could be seen fleeing. And the reason for this came from one individual.
Pokemon Hunter J.
Her van had broken through the trees with pure power. Soon, the vehicle revealed itself to the eyes of Ember and everyone. And within J's sights, she saw the familiar faces of the five foals she met during the Pokemon Festival.
"Well...well..." J grinned as she opened the hatch, standing up. Afterwards, she showed herself to the group.
"It's you!" Scootaloo gasped.
"Pokemon Hunter J!" Sweetie Belle cried out.
"Pokemon Hunter?" Ember turned to Sweetie Belle before looking a J.
"Nice to meet you brats again," J spoke.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Diamond Tiara roared at the hunter.
"You know what I'm doing. And you won't delay my work, got it?" J threatened them by holding her arm cannon out. "But actually, are those Gible I see? Those are some rare Pokemon to come by, aren't they?"
After saying that Scootaloo held her Gible close to her. From what Ash had told them, J mostly goes after rare Pokemon that would sell a lot on the Pokemon Black Market.
And Gible is certainly one of them.
"You want our Gible?" Ember could already sense the maliciousness coming from J. And from how she was a Pokemon Hunter, she was right to be cautious.
"Go! Ariados!" J chose to try and take the Gible for herself. By holding out one of her Poke Balls, she threw it forward, sending her Ariados out.
"Ariados!"
"String Shot! Now!"
"Dos!" The Long Leg Pokemon went first, shooting out multiple strings instead of the traditional one. It was aiming for both Gible, ready to overlay them with thick strings.
"Metal Claw, Gible!"
"Slash!"
"Gible!" Both Gible had successfully stopped this by cutting the strings apart with their own claws. An obvious outcome that J would expect when coming across a Gible. This wouldn't be easy.
"Hmph. Go, Drapion!" She sent her second Pokemon out to assist in this capture. Out of the Poke Ball and landing near its fellow Poison-Type was Drapion.
"Drapion!"
"Night Slash, Drapion and Ariados, Poison Jab!"
"Drapion!"
"Aria!"
Both Pokemon rushed forward, ready to restrain and subdue their targets with either one strong slash or some poison seeping into their bodies.
"Gible, Bulldoze!"
"Use Metal Claw!"
Both Gible ran together to try and prevent this capture from happening. Scootaloo's Gible went for Drapion while Ember's went for Ariados.
Scootaloo's Gible bashed his shoulder and orange-coated body onto Drapion's incoming claws that were covered in darkness. Ember's Gible met with Ariados' poison horn with his claw.
"Dra!" In a multi-tasking scenario, while Drapion's claws were clashing with Gible's Bulldoze, it used its long tail, grabbing Ember's Gible with it. The Ogre Scorp Pokemon had also slapped Scootaloo's Gible away with Night Slash, winning the clash.
"Gib?!"
"Ariados!" With Gible being held by Drapion's tail, Aradios struck by smashing its poisonous horn into Gible's neck.
"Gi-Gible!"
"Ah! Gible!" Ember gasped as Drapion had then used its tail to toss Ember's Gible into the air.
"There!" With Gible being in the air, J took the chance to try and fire her arm cannon. She raised her arm, aiming at the Land Shark Pokemon. She wanted to make this shot clear and precise.
"No, you don't!" But coming to his save was Ember herself. She took the skies, zooming through the air as she grabbed her partner. And at the right time too. J had just fired a beam from her cannon which was actually cancelled out by Ember's pink flame.
Ember's fire was certainly strong enough to counter this stone-turning beam. The Dragon Lord then flew back, landing behind the five foals while placing her Gible down.
"Tch! Get them!"
"I don't think so! Piplup use Aerial Ace!" Sweetie Belle and the others were here to join in.
"Purrloin, use Fury Swipes!"
"Glameow, come out and use Feint Attack!"
"Gible, Slash!"
"Use Dig, Gible!"
All at once, each of their Pokemon went to attack. Silver Spoon threw her Glameow out as the Catty Pokemon was already prepared to attack. They ran alongside each other, approaching the two Pokemon.
Soon, a struggle between both sides occurred. Drapion and Ariados continued to use Night Slash and Poison Jab against their opponents. And just them both were able to handle six Pokemon at once surprisingly. Mainly Drapion who swung its claws at Purrloin and Piplup
Ember's Gible emerged from the ground, hitting Drapion's neck with an upwards hit, dealing super-effective damage. In response, Drapion staggered, allowing Purrloin and Piplup to attack. Piplup slapped Drapion in the face with two Aerial Aces, making Drapion stagger even more while Purrloin swiped her claws a total of ten times.
However, Drapion quickly responded with Iron Tail. It rapidly turned around with superior speed, striking Gible, Purrloin and Piplup with its hardened tail at the same time. The three of them were launched back. Ariados had also used its legs for Poison Jab. Its horn met with Gible's Slash, pushing the Land Shark Pokemon away.
Glameow's method of Feint Attack was clever. She juked the Long Leg Pokemon out, thinking that she was going to strike from the side. But instead, she juked the Bug-Poison-Type out, striking Ariados in the front of its face. A great feint.
After that feint, Gible then attacked the staggered Ariados, using Slash once more. That one Slash was powerful enough to knock the Long Leg Pokemon back while also leaving a mark. It was safe to say that Ember and the others had a chance of winning this with their coordination.
But J wasn't having any of that.
"Let's get this over with." J suddenly put on a gas mask of all things for protection. But what did she need to protect herself from? The answer came from her utility belt. Out of it, she pulled out a purple capsule that was as large as her thumb. This was obviously an item from the Pokemon Black Market.
And with one flick of the item, it hit the ground. One hit and the capsule opened. Out of the capsule, an instant explosion of poisonous smoke erupted from it, spreading at high speeds and covering this part of the forest.
Scootaloo and the others immediately stopped what they were doing before they could give out new commands. That was because they immediately felt the poisonous smoke in the area.
"Ugh!" Scootaloo groaned as she started coughing. The little pegasus got on her floor as her friends soon felt horrible coughs come through them with the area gaining a purple aesthetic. The Pokemon weren't safe from this either. This was similar to the Poison status from the Poison-Type.
"W-What is this....?!" Ember strained with her throat failing her. She got on her knees with her hands supporting her. She coughed furiously, finding it hard to see in this purple smoke. Everyone was struggling. They weren't expecting something like this to happen.
However, the only ones unaffected were Drapion and Ariados. Them being Poison-Type Pokemon benefited them in this situation. It's why J bought the Poison capsule after all.
"There. That wasn't that difficult. Now then." J walked forward, aiming her arm cannon at the two Gible. The Gible were gripping the grass, trying to sustain themselves in this poison. However, Drapion had picked them both up with its tail, preventing them from tying anything.
"Put my Gible down...!" Ember growled as she tried breathing fire from her mouth. But with all of this poison, that wasn't happening.
"You big... bully...!" Scootaloo groaned as she was on the verge of fainting.
"Actually...I think we can bring a few more with us." J looked at Piplup and the other Pokemon. Not only that, but she also looked at Sweetie Belle. "Plus, I hear ponies can go for a lot. Especially the unicorns."
"W-Wha-" Before Sweetie Belle could finish her sentence, the moment she looked up, J fired the beam from the arm cannon at her. One hit and poor Sweetie Belle was one of the victims.
Her whole body was being turned to stone, starting with her face and ending at her tail. Sweetie Belle was now a stone statue.
"Piplup!"
"Sweetie Belle!" Her friends all gasped.
"Next." J turned fired her cannon over at Ember's Gible, turning him to stone next without hesitation. Ember's Gible was the second victim.
"Gi-" No words from him anymore.
"Gible!" Ember cried out.
"And as for you-"
"Aggron!" But obviously, this wouldn't go on forever. After all, one of the Pokemon living in this area was Aggron. Aggron came running over, furious for a few reasons.
For starters, the poison was polluting the forest and this was also where Aggron acted as a gardener, looking after its environment. Including the Pokemon that lived here. Needless to say, Aggron was not happy. Not at all.
And he came with help. Some Pokemon were braver than others. Mainly Vespiquen from the hive in the forest alongside her Combee. They could be seen approaching towards J. Since Aggron is made out of Steel, he would be fine moving through the poison with a perfect immunity.
"Tch. This I don't need." J could see that things could get ugly if she stayed with Aggron here. "Let's go!" She then returned her Pokemon before grabbing the statues. Hunter J then carried Sweetie Belle and Gible with her, making a run for it.
"C-Come back...G-Give me back my Gible...!" Ember put her claw out, trying to get up. But she ended up fainting along with everyone else. J placed the statues she had in the back of the van. The hatch opened automatically after the van recognized her appearance.
"Vespi!" Vespiqueen ordered her subjects to attack. She and the Combee had used Gust, sending a barrage of spiralling wings towards J and her van.
The hunter jumped into her van while the hatch had closed. The moment she got inside, her van was met with a bombardment of Gusts. The wind they made was enough to slightly lift the heavy fan up. But not by much.
J growled as she kicked her van into high gear. By doing so, the van accelerated immediately, moving through the ground with great speeds. And with that high speed, she zoomed along out of here, evading the rest of the Gusts and the slow-moving Aggron while also breaking through some more trees.
J had escaped.
Vespiqueen, her Combee subjects and Aggron had come to a halt. They weren't quick enough to stop her. After coming to a halt, the poisonous smoke was still present here. It wasn't fading anytime soon. It wasn't permanent but it certainly had an effect. That is until someone blew it away.
"Delphox!" That, someone, was Delphox. By using her Psychic powers, she blew away the smoke of poison that polluted the area as if it was nothing. Aggron, Vespiquen and the Combee watched the Fox Pokemon remove the poison with her wand.
And just like that, the forest was clear of Poison. However, there was still the issue of Ember and the others. The poison would soon end their lives if they weren't treated.
"Phox!" Delphox ran over to the fainted ponies, dragon and Pokemon. She could see the visible poison marks on their faces and bodies. They had been hit hard by it.
Clearly, since Pokemon poison is far greater than regular poison, this was a critical situation and they needed treatment immediately. The Fox Pokemon kneeled, putting her hand on Ember. "Del! Delphox!"
Delphox told Aggron and Vespiquen to assist her in getting them to her hut. She knew how to treat them. Her Psychic abilities unfortunately couldn't interact with their inner bodies. Something else would have to do.
Aggron and Vespiquen agreed to help. The Combee were sent to do the queen's work while Aggron went over with his shadow overlaying them.
An unfortunate event. What started as a fun training day to help improve themselves, turned into a horrible scenario where they came across Pokemon Hunter J. Now their best friend and Pokemon were due to be sold on the Pokemon Black Market as the journey continues.
Unova Region. Near Lentimas Town. The Pokemon Black Market. Hidden beneath the ground. Afternoon.
Lentimas Town. A town that boasts of porcelain and pottery made from volcanic clay. It is also known as where the rough mountain trails lead. This town was located in the eastern part of Unova. Just east of Reversal Mountain. But that town wasn't the main focus. It was what's underneath and hidden away in it.
Hidden away somewhere in Unova was the Pokemon Black Market. The worst place to be in the Pokemon World. Full of people who trade an assortment of objects that are hard to get or just banned and illegal. Not only that, but illegal Pokemon Battles take place. Instead of the Pokemon fainting, the outcome is sometimes unfortunate for the losing Pokemon and their own life.
And of course, this was where Pokemon Hunter J was.
She had something to trade here in the Black Market. That being Sweetie Belle and Embers Gible. Poor Sweetie Belle would be a victim of the Pokemon Black Market as J placed the two statues down.
"What's this now, J?" A hunched back worker at the Pokemon Black Market said.
"Well obviously, I have a Gible with me this time. Rare Pokemon to even find. But even better. I've got a pony with me. One of those unicorns."
"Ooh. Excellent." The worker rubbed his hands together. "Ponies go for high prices now. And a unicorn nonetheless. They say they can potentially make good pets nowadays. Especially the ones that have both wings and horns."
"Yeah. Just make sure to get the poison out of her first. Someone's gonna complain if their pet pony isn't in the land of the living anymore."
"Right, right." To get the poison out of Sweetie Belle, the worker took out a special antidote needle for poison and other ailments. The needle was strong enough to pierce through the stone material as it was stabbed right in Sweetie Belle's neck. The poison had then been pulled in, curing Sweetie Belle. "So, what will it be, J? Anything that grabs your fancy?"
"Two things. First, I want a new crew. Can't go solo forever. If I'm going to be at my best, I need to leave off of when I was at my best. Before that Future Sight incident."
"Oh, we can do that. We've got some workers who are looking forward to something like this. You'll have a great team of hunters by your side. Fairly experienced Pokemon Hunters but just enough for you to lead them."
"Good. Secondly, I'd like...that." J pointed at the first item her eyes locked onto. A specialized glove. More like a gauntlet than a glove really.
"Oh, the Protean Gauntlet. Good choice. You'll have to win that one at the auction though. I'm sure your unicorn will be a sure-fire deal for the gauntlet, no doubt about it."
"Either I get that gauntlet for the trade immediately, or I'll keep this little pony as one of my trophies, making this place miss out on a major trade. How's that?"
"Oh, J. You may have been gone for years but the rules are still the same. Newly rare items need to be put on auction." The man shrugged. "But that Gible isn't new, though it is rare. You can trade this for your new team."
"Tch. Fine. Anyway, next, I think I'll go for those Equestrian Pokemon." J looked at her hand, already having a plethora of malicious ideas. "New forms of Pokemon always work well here."
"This afternoon's auction starts in just 1 hour. Got anything else you want to trade?"
"I've got some more Pokemon in the van. Think I'll stop by one of the routes for some spares as well." J left the Pokemon Black Market, heading off to bring some of the Pokemon she stole while also planning on capturing some more.
Sweetie Belle was immobile in this state. She could see but was immune to doing anything. The man took the little filly and Gible, ready to put them up for an auction.
Over at Delphox's hut, Ember, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon and their Pokemon were all currently laying on beds made by Delphox. Delphox herself was treating them since they had been previously poisoned by Pokemon Hunter J.
Thankfully, Delphox dealt with that. She had the assistance of some Fairy-Type Pokemon from the Fairy section and the Pokemon from the Grass section that just managed to escape from the poison smoke. They had used all of the healing moves they knew with Delphox adding some Psychic power in there. With the combination of Grass and Fairy's healing properties and Delphox's Psychic advantage of Poison, they were able to remove the poison within.
"Ugh..." Scootaloo groaned as her eyes were opening. Her body was aching a bit but nothing she couldn't power through. She then sat up with all of her friends waking up as well. "What happened...?"
"Delphox." Delphox went over to them.
"Delphox?" Scootaloo grumbled, trying to process everything. She then realized where she was. She was still in Frenzy Forest with her friends. Almost all of her friends that is. "Ah! Sweetie Belle!"
"Gible!" Ember cried out as well. She recovered quicker than everyone else as she was starting to enter a state of panic. And for a good reason. Her partner was missing. "Gible! Where are you?!"
"Delphox!" Delphox tried to calm Ember down as she started breathing pink fire from her mouth. She was entering a bit of a frenzy now. Scootaloo and the others backed away as Ember kept breathing flames. Delphox then held the Dragon Lord, preventing her from damaging the rest of her hut and potentially anyone else. "Del!"
"Hoh..." Ember breathed in and out with pink smoke coming out of her. Delphox knew exactly how to calm someone down. Pokemon, human, pony, dragon or anyone really. With deep breaths, Ember had calmed down before remembering what happened to Gible. "That's right...That Pokemon Hunter."
"J." Apple Bloom pouted. "She took Sweetie Belle..." After hearing that, everyone felt like crying. And why wouldn't they?
"Darn her...We're gonna get my Gible and your friend back!" Ember got off the bed, already raring to try and find Hunter J. She snorted out smoke to showcase her fury.
"But how? We don't even know where she is?" Silver Spoon asked. "She could be far from here."
"I...I don't know." Ember sighed, lowering her head and arms. She was thinking about her Gible right now, not wanting to imagine what could be happening to him. She had no idea what the Pokemon Black Market was and the result of her partner.
"Wait!" But then, Silver Spoon had an idea. "We can call Ash and the others! They can help! Oh, where is it?!" She dug into her saddlebag, searching for her Xtransceiver.
"But we still don't know where they all are," said Diamond Tiara.
"But we can find 'em easily." Apple Bloom. "Pinkie Pie's Slurpuffs got a pretty good nose and Rarity's Pheromosa can go really fast too!"
"Oh yeah...w-what do we tell Rarity?" Scootaloo stuttered. Everyone froze as they knew they would have to break the news to Rarity eventually. If anything, Rarity loves her sister as much as she loves her friends. Possibly even more.
If she finds out about what happened to Sweetie Belle, well, the reaction can go two ways. Everyone held their breath as they were ready for the response. Silver Spoon rang for Ash, and in the span of 7 seconds, he answered.
"Oh, hey Silver Spoon." Ash greeted them. he was currently with Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie and Spike. The rest weren't with them. "Are you guys getting some good practice out there?"
"H-Hi Ash." Silver Spoon said sheepishly. "Um, we were having a pretty good time until..."
"What happened?" Ash could see this sheepish emotion and worried expression. "Are you guys okay?"
"N-No. You see Ash..."
"It's Hunter J. She took Sweetie Belle and Ember's Gible." Apple Bloom revealed the truth as she showed her face on the screen.
"WHAT?!" Raritys' voice boomed through the Xtransceiver, blowing everyone back, including Delphox as it could be heard from outside the hut. The unicorn appeared in front of the Xtransceiver screen with furious eyes that could intimidate some of the fiercest Pokemon. "SHE TOOK SWEETIE BELLE?!"
"SHE POISONED YOU?!" And Applejack was just as loud, showing herself as well as she was furious at the thought of Apple Bloom being poisoned.
"W-We're fine now!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "But Sweetie Belle's still gone..."
"We're sorry, Rarity. Applejack. We messed-"
"Forget that! That isn't your fault! Where are you all now?!"
"We're still at Frenzy Fo-" Silver Spoon was about to speak the full name but Rarity didn't have to hear it. She knew where they were as she immediately sent out Pheromosa.
"Mosa!"
"Let's get going now! To Frenzy Forest! We'll see you there!" Rarity was then picked up by Pheromosa along with Applejack. They weren't wasting any time. When it comes to family, they don't slow down.
"Oh! Hold on, Rarity! We'll get Twilight. Her Ninetales knows Hidden Power." Ash informed.
"Alright. Please hurry, Ash." Silver Spoon said. Ash gave a nod as the sound of Pheromosa bolting away like a rocket could be heard.
"Got it."
"Pikachu."
And just like that, the call ended. Silver Spoon and the others sighed, feeling the pressure being put on them. With both Sweetie Belle and Gible gone, they felt responsible for letting something like this happen. Delphox could sense their guilt of having their friend being taken away. The Fox Pokemon also felt a bit guilty for being too late to stop this.
Delphox went up to the four fillies, sitting down with them. She then chose to comfort them all, making them feel less horrible about themselves. Delphox had a motherly nature in her. And it definitely shows.
"Delphox."
"Thanks, Delphox," said Scootaloo. "But we still feel pretty bad. Sweetie Belle and Gible are gonna be put on the Pokemon Black Market now. What if we don't make it in time?"
"Del. Delphox." With a pat on the back, Delphox reassured them that they would make it in time. She had high hopes for their friends.
Ember was just thinking about Gible, hoping that her Pokemon was alright. The same goes for Piplup. He greatly missed Sweetie Belle as he couldn't help but sulk, hoping for Sweetie Belle's safety.
18 minutes later.
With her amazing speed, Pheromosa had arrived here in Frenzy Forest at great speeds. Entering the hut was Ash, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Spike. It was just them this time.
"Sis!" Apple Bloom jumped off the bed after witnessing the arrival of her big sister.
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack ran over to her little sister, immediately picking her up with a potent hug. "Oooh! That poisons still not around is it?!"
"N-No...but your hugging might do me in...!" Apple Blooms' eyes felt like popping out from Applejack's mighty hug.
"Ember. What about you?" Spike looked to his fellow dragon. Ember was still sat on the bed, thinking about her partner only. But she wasn't completely mute
"I'm fine. But not sure about Gible." Ember sighed. "Hunter J..."
"Just give me 5 minutes with that jezebel in a room!" Rarity growled, putting her hooves together as she personally wanted to see Hunter J. Her teeth were moving against each other as she held out one of Sweetie Belle's contest ribbons. "Slurpuff. Smell. Now."
"You heard the lady. Go for it, buddy." Pinkie Pie said as she already had one Slurpuff out.
"Slurpuff." Slurpuff got to work. She immediately used her powerful smell on the ribbon to try and track the young unicorn down. And with that one scent, she was able to sense everything in Frenzy Forest. The entire area. "Slurpuff!"
"Looks like she's figured it out already," Ash said.
"Good. Let's move." Rarity ordered as she didn't want to stand around dawdling. "As for you little ones. You all are going home immediately."
"No way! Sweetie Belle's our friend!" Scootaloo sat up.
"We can't leave her!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed.
"Ain't no way ya'll are going anywhere near J." Applejack shook her head. "She tried to poison yall and that ain't happening again."
"But we can help!" Apple Bloom replied. "Besides, Empress Twilight was way more dangerous than J!"
"I don't want you getting hurt anymore, sugar cube." Applejack went over to her little sister with her tone changing. "I know you wanna help your friend but if I end up losing you to some hunter, I don't know what I'd do.
"But..." Apple Bloom pouted, obviously wanting to help her friend more than anything. Even if it endangered her own wellbeing.
"You can take her home and keep her safe if you want, Applejack." Rarity suddenly spoke while being held by Pheromosa. The Lissome Pokemon was also holding Slurpuff and Pinkie Pie. "I'm heading for my little sister."
"Even if you won't take them with you, I'm coming for my Gible." Ember walked over to the towering figure of UB-02 Beauty.
"Please, Applejack." Apple Bloom started tearing up as the other fillies gave their own pleading expressions. And these faces weren't just used for reconsideration. They were also sincere. A close friend to them is something that they can't ignore.
Applejack looked at their faces, seeing their determination. In truth, they're not that horrible with danger. They managed to make their trip to Ninja Village while going against the Unown and have certainly grown. Not just as trainers but with how capable they were.
"Ugh...I'm gonna regret this." Applejack lowered her hat. "Fine! By stay us, ya hear?"
"Yeah! We will!" Apple Bloom and the others nodded. They promised to keep themselves away from trouble by always staying by their superiors.
"Ninetales. Get ready to use HIdden Power Dragon when we find Sweetie Belle, alright?" Twilight spoke to Ninetales inside of the Poke Ball. In response, the Poke Ball shook, showing signs that Ninetales was listening.
"Delphox." Delphox suddenly spoke as she stepped forward, approaching the group. The Fox Pokemon had also made up her mind. She wanted to assist as well. "Del."
"You too? Well, more help is good." Pinkie Pie nodded.
"Okay. Let's get going. Just wait for us, Sweetie Belle. Gible." said a determined Ash as they were all heading for Sweetie Belle's location thanks to the brilliance of Slurpuff's scent.
"Pikachu!"
Unova Region. Out in the peaks of Unova near Lentimas Town and Reversal Mountain. Afternoon.
Near Lentimas were Ash and the others. After Slurpuff had sniffed the surrounding area of Frenzy Forest, she managed to track down the direction that Sweetie Belle had went.
Pheromosa blazed through the lands, moving at great speeds. She managed to go from Frenzy Forest to these plains in just 20 minutes. Truly, her speed was something behold and it would only get faster thanks to her ability Beast Boost.
For everyone else to follow, Pheromosa couldn't hold them all despite her long size. So, as usual, Sceptile used his vines to latch onto the Lissome Pokemon, allowing others to grab onto him. And for extra support, Mew transformed himself into a Tangrowth, also using his vines to let others hold on.
With that team effort, they were all along for the ride. As Pheromosa ran through the land, Slurpuffs hyper-sensitive nose was reaching critical mass.
"Slur!"
"Oh! Stop!" Pinkie cried out, causing the Lissome Pokemon to come to a screeching halt. She slid on the ground, kicking up some large smoke from her speed alone.
"Phero?"
"Slurpuff senses them both. And something else. Three scents!" Pinkie explained.
"Three scents? Wait, does that mean the third scent is..." Scootaloo paused her sentence, waiting for an answer.
"Yeah. It's J." Pinkie Pie nodded. "Looks like she still had her hands on them both. "She's close here."
"Is she now?" Rarity narrowed her eyes. While she wanted to rescue her sister badly, she also wanted to personally get her hooves on J with not so pleasant results. But, she put her sister as priority number one. However, if Rarity came across J, then a quick side-tracking event would have to occur.
"Slur. Slurpuff."
"Looks like they're really at Lentimas Town." Pinkie spoke for Slurpuff. "We should be super sneaky about this. J could spot us."
"Good idea." Ash got off Mew's back as a Tangrowth. They would have to draw less attention. Unfortunately, Pheromosa's ludicrous speed was definitely something that couldn't be ignored.
The Lissome Pokemon placed everyone down as they would all be moving on foot individually. Minus Mew and Ember, who just float and levitate constantly. Their main stop would be Lentimas Town. Slurpuff was ahead of the group since her nose was the ace in the hole for this.
If they encounter Hunter J, then things could change drastically.
Up ahead, they could spot Lentimas Town. It was a fairly small town. Only four were there. Just three and no more. Three of them seemed to be homes and the fourth was a Pokemon Center.
As the group got closer to the town, they could spot those three buildings, finding it odd that was the limit. No town in the Pokemon World or other world is this barren and empty.
"I don't like this..." Diamond Tiara shuddered as she held on to Ash's leg. Once more, she showcased how she has the innate ability to sense something ominous and off-putting. It's how she sensed J during the second Pokemon Festival.
"I've heard of Lentimas but...I didn't think it'd be this small." This was also Ash's first time arriving here. This is one part of Unova he had never explored before. Among a few others.
"Pika."
But as they were advancing towards Lentimas Town, Slurpuff's nose picked up on J's scent again. And once she did, she realized that J was actually approaching in this direction, much to their dismay.
"Puff! Slurpuff!" Slurpuff waved her arms around, warning everyone of J's arrival.
"Oh! She's coming this way!" Pinkie Pie gasped as everyone was put on high alert. They immediately swivelled to face where Slurpuff was looking. And the nose of a Slurpuff never lies.
Just up ahead, the van of Pokemon Hunter J could be seen. She was blitzing through the peaks, heading back to Lentimas Town. And this time, she wasn't alone. As she was promised, for trading in Gible, she received a team of her own.
A total of 20 members so far. They weren't as dangerous as J but they were certainly hazards. And the moment J's van came into view, she spotted Ash and the others.
"Tch. Should've known. "Can't stay out of my business, can he?" J kissed her teeth. As she hissed at Ash and the others, she spotted two things that caught her interest. "Mew? A regional Axew? And an Ultra Beast?!" Now that's a catch!" After spotting Mew and Pheromosa, J found a new opportunity.
"There she is...!" Rarity growled with her vengeful eyes locking onto J's van. You lot. Get out there and deal with them. Make sure they don't find the Black Market at all." She then opened the hatch with 15 of those members jumping out. Turns out, they can perfectly exit a moving vehicle without worrying about injures.
As for J, she was planning on changing directions. However, she knew that one of them had a Slurpuff with them, so they could find the Black Market eventually. All of J's hunters stood before Ash and the other's preventing them from getting to the Pokemon Black Market.
"Where's my Gible?!" Ember bellowed.
"Like we'd tell you. Go!" A member spoke as they all sent out their Pokemon. Their Pokemon consisted of Poison, Ghost, Ice and Dark-Types. Types that are perfect for capturing Pokemon.
"I don't have time for any of you!" Rarity could do without dealing with these hunters. She wanted her little sister back. "I need my sister back! Pheromosa, get going!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa picked up her trainer. Ember wanted her Gible back so she grabbed onto Pheromosa's back, taking a ride. And in a spurt of speed, Pheromosa took off like a rocket, leaving behind a large smoke cloud.
"Rarity, Ember, wait!" Pinkie Pie cried out. "You still need Slurpuff!"
"Twilight, Pikachu, Eve and I. You can take things from here, right guys?" Ash said.
"Oh, we sure can. Just watch." Spike crossed his arms with confidence as his Axew and Deino were already prepared. Mainly Axew, Deino was just here for the experience. She was still young and oblivious after.
"Good luck!" Ash and Twilight immediately ran after Pheromosa who was heading straight for Lentimas Town. Applejack, Spike and Pinkie Pie would handle everything else here.
"Glalie! Ice Beam!"
"Toxapex, use Sludge Bomb!"
"Honchkrow, Wing Attack!"
"Dusclops, Fire Punch!" Many of the hunters ordered their Pokemon to attack Applejack and the others. All 15 of them. An overwhelming number to come across. But nothing new for Applejack, Spike and Pinkie considering how they took part in an invasion. But certainly a lot of the foals.
"Axew, transform and use Close Combat! Deino, Head Smash!"
"Sceptile, Acrobatics!"
"Mew, do something about them! Psyshock!" Pinkie flailed her hoof around.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile went ahead while Axew transformed himself into Haxorus immediately. The Forest Pokemon ended up moving through the air nimbly with Acrobatics, meeting his leg with Honchkrow's wing.
"Haxorus!" Haxorus had emerged, moving to the side as he avoided Glalie's, Ice Beam. The Axe Jaw Pokemon then approached Glalie but was stepped by Dusclops.
"Dusclops!" Dusclops had Fire Punch ready, throwing it at the Equestrian Haxorus. Haxorus growled as he grabbed Dusclop's Fire Punch. "Dus!" Dusclops then continued throwing Fire Punch at Haxorus, trying to properly land a hit on him. However, Haxorus blocking and grabbing each punch thrown at him.
"Deino!" Thankfully, with some assistance, Deino came charging in with Head Smash. Her body became surrounded by a whitish-blue aura, making Deino look black and white. Deino then shot herself at the opponent, smashing into Dusclops at full force.
"D-Dus! Dusclops!" Dusclops certainly felt that as it had been launched afar, taking major damage from that. However, Deino received recoil damage from Head Smash. The Irate Pokemon fell on her belly afterwards, but Haxorus picked her back up, placing his fellow Dragon-Type on his shoulder.
"Xorus!" After thanking Deino for pushing Dusclops away, the Axe Jaw Pokemon lunged into the air, appearing before Glaile with impressive speeds.
"Glalie! The Face Pokemon was ready to blast another Ice Beam at the Equestrian Haxorus, aiming to freeze him in the air.
"Deino!" Deino then jumped off Haxorus' shoulder, heading for Glalie with another reckless Head Smash. Before Glalie could fire the beam, the Irate Pokemon smashed her head onto the Face Pokemon, staggering it a bit with some super-effective damage.
"G-Glai?!
"Haxo!" Thanks to Deino's delay, Haxorus could finally land Close Combat. With one mighty strike, he smashed his fist onto Glalie. Glalie staggered once more as Haxorus then stomped on its head, forcing it to the ground.
"Tile!" Sceptile slid back away from Honchkrow after a Dark Pulse came his way. Honchkrow pursued Sceptile along with a few other Poison-Type Pokemon.
"Sceptile, Dragon Pulse!"
"Scep!" Sceptile opened his mouth while jumping back. He unleashed a dragon-shaped blast from his mouth, clashing with Honchkrow's Dark Pulse.
"Mew!" Mew dealt with the incoming Poison-Types. He used Psyshock, sending in multiple thick masses of energy. The Poison-Type Pokemon had been blown away by these thick masses with some of them fainting.
However, the hunters had more Pokemon in store. After some of them had their Pokemon faint, they just sent in more of them, showing that this could definitely take a while. Scootaloo and the others wanted to help in this. To show their support and assistance, they sent out their Pokemon as well. Scootaloo's own Gible was still out along with Diamond Tiara's Purrloin.
Piplup wasn't actually present here. He had gone with Pheromosa, Ash and the others to retrieve Sweetie Belle back. He couldn't miss out on a chance to rescue his Trainer after all.
The Pokemon Black Market. Auction Room. Afternoon.
The auction was about to begin. Many shady people from across the Pokemon World had gathered here for the chance to buy the rarest things they could get their grubby little hands on.
Noticeably, some of these people were from Team Rocket. They were the ones that stood out the most. All of them were either Pokemon poachers, hunters and various other cruel occupations. They all had something to trade.
The list of items were placed around a table. And poor Sweetie Belle would soon be traded for some of them. Gible had already been traded for the hunters as he was being kept outside the auction room for display. As for Sweetie Belle was about to be put up for an auction, potentially being taken away by someone she didn't know. Other things were there that were valuable, but none more than Sweetie Belle.
As for Hunter J, her little detour managed to get her away from Rarity and the others. Her van wasn't fast enough to keep up with a Pheromosa, but it certainly had the speed to outpace her for a bit. Rarity and the others had no idea where J went. She went out of sight the moment they started chasing her.
After making her escape, J brought in some new Pokemon for the chance to win that Protean Gauntlet. She entered the auction room with the others, here to trade.
"And so ladies and gentlemen, we move to this afternoon's auction." A crooked woman spoke to them all. "We have a lot to pick from here. Let's start with the biggest one. The Protean Gauntlet."
The auction had begun with many people already standing up, showing what they wanted to trade. Some had the traditional way of trading in an auction. Money. Others had different ways. Rare items and Pokemon were their answers.
The auctioneer started speaking out every item that she saw, seeing which one would work the most for the Protean Gauntlet. But, J was saving Sweetie Belle for the big one.
"A black-tailed Pikachu. Those are hard to come by." The auctioneer said, looking across the room. "I see a bid of a Dratini. A Togepi egg. A bid of a Skull Fossil." She kept reading out the objects as the stakes were getting higher.
And at the right moment, J then took the chance to strike by standing up, showing what she wanted to trade. In her hands was a petrified Sweetie Belle as she showed it to the entire auction.
"Oh! A pony! And a unicorn nonetheless! Does anyone want to try beating that?" She asked the people, expecting to see something greater than Sweetie Belle. But after a total of 10 seconds, no one had something that could surpass that. "No? Then Sold!" The auctioneer slammed a gavel, declaring the bidding over.
J smiled as she had already won the first bidding. She wouldn't have to do any more. She got what she needed. Sweetie Belle had been taken away, ready to be put up for yet another trade.
She was only traded for the gauntlet. Next, she would be traded for keeping in another bidding, potentially becoming the pet of someone. And there was nothing she could do about it.
Outside. Lentimas Town.
Ash and the others had stopped by Lentimas Town. It was as barren as it seemed. Very few people lived here. A population of just 12 people.
Twilight immediately started asking people around if they know anything about a Pokemon Black Market. But unfortunately, no one genuinely knew about this place. They've heard of it, but the whereabouts are a mystery to them.
"No luck. No one here's ever seen the Black Market." Twilight sighed. "How do we find them now?"
"No need to worry. Lucario's already on it." Ash spoke, pointing his thumb over at Lucario. He had sent Lucario out for one reason. Aura. The Aura Pokemon put his paw on his chest, closing his eyes as he was starting to read the aura of this area. He opened his eye as it was now glowing blue.
Lucario's vision moved through the area until he decided to go underground. He figured that something as shady as a Pokemon Black Market could be found deep below the surface. And his search was correct. The moment he went underground, he could already sense thousands of Aura signals all at once.
"Lu!" Lucario gasped as he turned to Ash. He sent an Aura Pulse, communicating with him. "Luca! Lucario!"
"So it's underground, huh?" Ash translated.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Immediately, after Rarity heard that, she made the first action. "Pheromosa, breakthrough!"
"Mosa!" Without wasting any time, the Lissome Pokemon smashed her foot right onto the ground. Everyone jumped up from Pheromosa's hard stomp as a large hole had immediately been made from her sheer power. Rarity is terrifying when she's enraged, that's for sure.
Then again, who wouldn't be?
The people in Lentimas were certainly afraid. After that massive hole had been made, pipes were revealed. Pipes connecting to the Black Market. Not only that but deep ahead, some stairs could also be seen. They found their catch.
"Yeah. That works. Let's go." Ash nodded as he was the first to jump into the hole with Pikachu. Next was Lucario, followed by Rarity, Pheromosa, Twilight, Espeon, Ember and Piplup. They went straight for the stairs. They were going to crash this Black Market at full force.
The Pokemon Black Market.
Speaking of the Black Market, Sweetie Belle had been placed on the shelf for future bidding. As for J, she got what she wanted. The Protean Gauntlet. She immediately put it on, feeling its metallic yet smooth texture. She was comfortable as her fingers were a perfect fit.
It was almost as if it was made for her. Now she had an arm cannon and a powerful gauntlet to go with it along with other gadgets. She's certainly improving herself.
"Hm. Not bad." J moved her fingers around.
"A fair trade, eh, J?" The hunched back worker said.
"Fair indeed. If I can get this with just a unicorn, I wonder how much an alicorn would give me. Or even better, an Equestrian Pokemon."
"Well, we'll be waiting for when you come with those items. You are our best customer and trader after all. How would you like to see how this thing works?"
"With pleasure. "J was eager to test the power of this gauntlet. She aimed it at the first thing she saw. A Totodile being carried in a cage. With one use, she managed to shoot out a beam of electricity that acted more like a whip. This electric whip had struck Totodile, giving him the same amount of damage and pain he would receive from an Electric-Type attack.
"T-Toto!" The Big Jaw Pokemon cried out after being whipped and shocked. J then pulled the whip back, retracting the electricity into the gauntlet.
"Just as I hoped for. All 18 Types are inside of this gauntlet for me to use. No Pokemon will resist this."
"There's rumoured to be 19 Types and more. Very soon, that gauntlet might come out of style and use."
"Whatever. I'll use it while I can before the next gauntlet comes along. Now, h-" Before J could continue her sentence, a sudden tremor could be felt inside of the Black Market, startling everyone.
"W-What was that?!" The worker said as everyone started chatting, wondering what that tremor was. They believed it might be a Ground-Type Pokemon causing a ruckus. But J knew exactly what this was.
"They're here...Those brats..." J growled, tightening both her arms. And her assumption was right on who had just arrived.
Ash and the others were here in the Pokemon Black Market.
Unova Region. Underneath Lentimas Town. The Pokemon Black Market. Afternoon.
Ash, Twilight, Rarity and Ember had broken into one of the most dangerous places in the Pokemon World. All to rescue Sweetie Belle and Ember's Gible. They had certainly started a ruckus as their entrance was loud and shook the entire Pokemon Black Market.
Being sneaky was not an option when it came to a close friend. Especially to a little sister. Now that they were here their arrival was made clear by Hunter J. She knew why they came here. And this was a good time to see how well her new gauntlet worked.
She put on her special goggles, deciding to go for the first targets she could find. And with her heat-seeking vision that comes with the goggles, she found them immediately.
Everyone else in the Black Market was worried that their Black Market might have been found by either Officer Jenny, the Pokemon Rangers or other authorities. Some were already choosing to leave while most stayed behind.
"Where is she?!" Rarity roared as she currently grabbed a member of the Pokemon Black Market with her magic. Already, the moment they showed up, they came across their first group. And immediately dealt with them. "Where's J?! Where's my sister!"
"I don't know!" The member cried out.
"You're useless!" Rarity then tossed him aside with her magic. "They have to be somewhere here..."
"This place is bigger than it looks." Ash looked around the area, seeing the scope of it. "But we can make this quick. Lucario, see if you can find Sweetie Belle and Gible."
"Lucario." Just like before, Lucario would use his Aura to try and find the two of them. His eye flashed blue as his vision had been enhanced. The Aura Pokemon had moved his visions across the area, spotting various Auras belonging to a multitude of people and Pokemon.
That's when he found two distinct Auras. Both were almost lifeless. Barely responding. That was a clear sign of Sweetie Belle and Gible. After finding them, Lucario sent a pulse of Aura towards Ash, telling him that they were both in separate rooms. But he also told them that J's Aura was nearby too.
"Alright! We know where they are! Sweetie Belle's over at the west of this place and Gible's north! J's close too."
"West is it?" Rarity ran ahead with Pheromosa and Piplup by her side. Ember chose to go north, heading for her partner, hoping that it wasn't too late.
"Hold on! I need Ninetales to use Hidden Power on both of them! We can't just split up!" Twilight called out but it was too late. They were so fixated on saving the ones they hold dear to them to even focus on anything else. "Guess there's no point...Let's go for Sweetie Belle first! Ash, can you go with Ember?"
"Sure!" Ash nodded in understanding as he went north as well. Twilight would follow Rarity to the west.
West of the black market.
When arriving at the west, Rarity and Twilight were greeted with the sight of a chamber. Within this chamber was obviously an assortment of illegal and rare items. But more importantly, items that have been missing for years. Rarity could see famous paintings of certain individuals from the Pokemon World, most likely from the past. Some of these have yet to be sold or were just here for display.
"We should be a bit quiet about this Rarity. This place is huge with how who knows how many criminals?" Twilight whispered.
"I know but...I can't slow down for Sweetie Belle. If I end up failing to save her without being fast enough, then-"
"We'll save her. But if we act too recklessly that might never happen. Try to understand, okay"? Twilight gave words of advice while giving a pleading yet reassuring expression to her friend. Rarity looked Twilight in the eyes as she understood her words. With a deep breath, the fashionista simmered down.
"You're right. Thank you, Twilight." Rarity then formed a smile before facing the west with a stern look. "Now...Which part of the west would she be in?"
"Nowhere you'll ever reach." Responding to them was the voice of the one who started this problem. Walking out of the corner of this chamber of stolen goods was the dastardly and horrifying hunter.
Pokemon Hunter J.
"J!" Twilight gasped.
"You...!" Rarity's eyes flared as her anger was starting to build back up. Just when Twilight had calmed her down. "What have you done with my sister?!"
"Calm down. Soon, you'll be joining her. A little unicorn already sold a lot for me. I wonder how much an adult one will sell? Better yet, how about an alicorn?"
"Espeon...!" Espeon hissed at the hunter, refusing to let J harm or even touch Twilight.
"What do you mean sell? What did you do?!" Rarity leaned forward.
"Piplup?!"
"As clear as it sounds. Traded your little sis for this nifty gauntlet." J chuckled, revealing the Protean Gauntlet to them. "She'll be next and make a good pet for whoever gets her in the next bidding."
"How dare you!" Rarity exclaimed with magic showing up on her horn. "Pheromosa, Triple Kick!"
"Phero!" Immediately, Pheromosa shared the same ill-intent towards J as she jumped into the air. She put all of her strength into her legs, ready to attack Hunter J herself.
J stood there, unbothered with a smile on her face. And for a good reason. Appearing from the corner, with just as great speeds and wide-open mouth was J's Salamence.
"Sala!" It almost bit Pheromosa's leg with a vicious charge, forcing the Lissome Pokemon to instinctively back away.
"Mosa?!"
"Don't lose your cool now!" J exclaimed as she put her gauntlet out, aiming it at Rarity. Out of it, she used the electricity within it to send out that same electric beam whip from before. Rarity gasped as the whip definitely moved at the speed of lightning, which she wasn't expecting.
Pheromosa jumped in the way, acting as a shield for her trainer. But as a result, the whip had not only shocked her but it had wrapped around the Lissome Pokemon's supple body. "Mosa!"
"Ah! Pheromosa!" Rarity gasped.
"Gotcha!" J grinned as she then swung Pheromosa around by moving her gauntlet. The hunter immediately forced Pheromosa to hit her own Trainer.
"Agh!" Rarity cried out as she was struck by a swung Pheromosa with both of them hitting the walls.
"Rarity! Pheromosa!" Twilight bellowed before turning to face J. "Eve! Dazzling Gleam!"
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon lunged into the air, coating her body in an aura of rainbows. After conjuring those rainbows, she then began releasing rapid-fire rays of rainbows out of her body.
"Flamethrower!"
"Salamence!" Salamence immediately responded by breathing flames out of his mouth. Those scorching flames managed to cancel out Espeon's Dazzling Gleam with ease. However, as a sneak attack, Piplup moved in with Aerial Ace, hitting Salamence's neck. "Sala?!"
"Lup!"
"Let's see what else this does!" J grinned as she tested out more of the gauntlet. She switched to the fire option. And as to be expected, when she utilized the fire option of the gauntlet, she unleashed a ferocious burst of flames that went for Piplup.
"Pip?!" Piplup looked ahead, noticing a furious flame coming his way. One that was so strong that even Water-Type Pokemon could feel it without a doubt. Luckily, Twilight used her magic to pull Piplup away before that could happen. "Lup!"
"I got you!"
"Salamence!" But right after Twilight saved Piplup, Salamence flew right after the Princess of Friendship, ready to bite her with Crunch. Twilight's eyes widened as she was on the verge of being Salamence's snack.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa had shown up to stop that. After recovering from being swung, she pushed the Dragon Pokemon away with a swift kick.
"S-Sal!"
"Let's add more to this, shall we? Drapion, go!" By launching another Poke Ball into the air, she sent out her next Pokemon. Drapion.
"Drapion!"
"Drapion, Night Slash! Salamence, Thunder Fang!"
"Eve, Quick Attack!"
"Pheromosa, use Rapid Spin!"
"Espeon!" Espeon moved at lightning speeds, meeting face to face with Salamence. The Sun Pokemon managed to get the first hit, striking Salamence before he could hit her. A direct tackle to the head, but Salamence immediately recovered, biting Eve's body with Thunder Fang. "E-Esp!"
"Piplup!" Piplup freed Espeon by unleashing a bombardment of Bubble Beams from his mouth, sending them to Salamence's eyes.
"Sala!" Salamence now had water in his eyes. Even if he resisted it, water being sent inside of an eye would sting regardless of the target. Although, there are some Pokemon that are exceptions. Salamence is not one of them.
"Espeon!" After Piplup saved her, Espeon unleashed Dazzling Gleam, pelting the Dragon Pokemon with super-effective rainbow rays. Salamence had been pushed back by these potent rays, finally receiving major damage.
As for Drapion, he swung his claws, clashing with Pheromosa's legs. The Lissome Pokemon was finding it hard to catch Drapion off guard. That tail of his was a major threat. Each time Pheromosa went for a sneak attack, Drapion immediately used his tail.
Pheromosa separated herself, not wanting to take the risk of interacting with Drapion's tail. "Phero!"
"This could go on forever! We need to get to Sweetie Belle now!" Twilight suggested Rarity.
"That I can get behind!" Rarity agreed. As much as she wanted to give J the beating of a lifetime, her sister came before everything else. "Pheromosa!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa understood as she grabbed Piplup and Rarity off the floor. Espeon jumped right onto Twilight's back for a ride. They were ready to leave and find Sweetie Belle besides engaging with J.
"I don't think so!" J held her arm out, using the electric option once more. Yet again, the electric whip came flying out. And just as fast as Pheromosa's movements. It was lightning after all. Before Pheromosa could leave with a spurt of speed, the electric whip had latched onto her leg.
"Phero?!"
"Salamence, Drapion! Get them!"
"Sala!"
"Dra!"
"I don't think so!" Twilight immediately responded to this by blasting a magic beam onto the whip. One hit and the whip had been cut in half, freeing Pheromosa. After she was freed, the Lissome Pokemon took off like a rocket, leaving the chamber of this room.
"After them!" J cried out as she hopped on Salamence's back. After doing so, the Dragon Pokemon and Drapion began chasing after Pheromosa and the others. An immediate pursuit began. And through the hallways as well.
Pheromosa looked back to see the approaching Hunter J with Salamence and Drapion. Drapion crawled on the walls as that seemed to be a quicker way for him to travel than on the floor. Salamence's flying speed was just quick enough to keep up with Pheromosa, of all Pokemon.
J put her arm cannon out, attempting to turn Pheromosa or any of them into stone. The beam came flying out, going straight for the back of Pheromosa.
"Jump, Pheromosa!" Rarity cried out.
"Phero!" She did just that. She managed to jump over the beam, causing it to miss and hit the walls instead. However, J then decided to use her other arm, going for the gauntlet.
She decided to try the Rock-Type option. And once she did so, she found out that the rock option had the ability to send out a sandstorm. Spiral shaped and everything. The sandstorm had rocks within it as it spiralled through the hall, covering most of it. From top to bottom, making it impossible for Pheromosa to avoid something like this.
"Mosa?!"
"Eve, Psychic!"
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon turned around, lighting her eyes with blue colouring. After doing so, she sent an invisible blast of Psychic energy. The Psychic energy then met with the spiralling sandstorm, cancelling it out before it could reach Pheromosa. IN a sense, J essentiallY had Pokemon moves in this gauntlet. And she immediately figured that out.
"Salamence, Dragon Pulse! Drapion, Venoshock!" J ordered as she then used the Fire-Type option from the gauntlet, sending out a large stream of flames.
"Salamence!" Salamence and Drapion joined in, sending a dragon-shaped blast and liquid stream of poison. The flames were strong enough to affect the walls, leaving burn marks and threatening to destroy them.
"Pip-lup-lup!" Piplup used Bubble Beam to try and fend them off. Obviously, she couldn't do it alone. Twilight and Rarity turned around, using their own magic to push these incoming attacks back. Eve tried the same with Dazzling Gleam. Soon, there was a back and forth clash through the hallways.
Pheromosa could hear the constant usage of moves as she didn't look back. She just kept moving forward. However, while it was dangerous from behind, the front wasn't safe either way. Up ahead, she noticed some more bad company.
Two Team Rocket Grunts right in front of her, standing in her way.
"An Ultra Beast! Wonder how much that will go for!" A grunt said as they both had Pokemon out, ready to capture Pheromosa and the others.
"Pheromo!?"
"Tentacruel, Water Pulse!"
"Magnezone, Zap Cannon!"
"Tenta...Cruel!"
"Magnezone!" Both Tentacruel and Magnezone sent orb-shaped moves forward. One with Water and the other with electricity. And Zap cannon would definitely paralyze Pheromosa. Twilight and the others were occupied with J and her Pokemon from behind so the options were slim at the moment.
However, Twilight had covered the Lissome Pokemon in magic coating along with everyone else, granting her temporary protection while dealing with J and her Pokemon from behind.
"Pheromosa!" Pheromosa smirked as she now had protection. It was so effective that when Water Pulse and Zap Cannon hit, the damage could barely be felt. It definitely stung and made the Lissome Pokemon stagger, but she managed to keep her momentum either way.
The Ultra Beast ran through the smoke, instantly smashing her knee onto Tentacruel and Magnezone at full force. With that knee smash, she sent the two Pokemon flying, crashing them into their trainers.
"Gah!" The two Team Rocket grunts cried out after being hit by their own Pokemon. Pheromosa then jumped over their bodies before turning to the next part of this hallway. Further west. She slid on the floor when making that turn as she pulled it off successfully. Not only that, after heading to the further west with that turn, she evaded the incoming moves, causing Twilight, Espeon, Rarity and Piplup to breathe.
But it wasn't over yet.
J and her Pokemon made the same turn but with less baggage on them. They were still hot on their trail. After making the turn, the two groups were now in a bar.
And in that bar, other criminals could be seen, immediately locking eyes on the approaching Lissome Pokemon and her group. However, before they could act, Pheromosa blitzed past them with great speeds, causing some of them to fall over. The bartender dropped the drinks from Pheromosa's speed creating wind.
"Enough of this! Time to see what this one can do!" J was getting tired of this chase. She wanted to end this quickly. So, she went for the Normal-Type option. She was ready to unleash the full force of this one. And she found a good option. Because out of the gauntlet, a gigantic orange energy beam came bursting out with so much power that it also blew J and Salamence back from its sheer force.
This was the equivalent of the Normal-Type move Hyper Beam. And it showed. With an incredible amount of force, everyone inside the room ducked for cover as the beam tore through the floor itself with a thunderous roar.
Eve tried to fend this off with Psychic along with Piplup, Twilight and Rarity but it was no use. It was just as strong as an average Hyper Beam. As a result, Pheromosa had been blown away by the large explosion, causing her to lose her balance while dropping her friends.
"Mosa!"
Twilight and the others screamed as they fell on the floor. This entire room had been heavily damaged from the usage of J's gauntlet. Twilight and the others were also hurt by it. They had scraped their hooves whilst the force of the explosion could also be felt through them.
Piplup rolled on the floor as the group ended up falling down some stairs from the direction they went in. It was a bumpy ride all the way down. They hit a flight of stairs with Pheromosa receiving the worst of it thanks to her supple body.
Twilight just managed to recover at the last second, using her magic to hold everyone. She saved them from hitting the end of the stairs with a hard impact at the right time. Thank goodness for alicorn endurance.
The young alicorn then descended, placing everyone on the floor gently. She looked over to see a massive smoke cloud caused by the explosion. She took this chance to escape with her friends as rubble fell from the stairs. She carried them all with her magic, flying off before J could find them.
And speaking of J, she got up from the floor, holding her head. She saw the destruction the gauntlet had caused just from that one usage of a makeshift Hyper Beam. She then looked at the gauntlet, finally realizing what kind of power she had on her side.
"Amazing..." J gawked before gaining a devious grin. "I've scored a big one. Wonder what else it can do?" She was ready to test this thing out more and see the rest of its capabilities. She noticed that Twilight's group was gone now. They had just escaped after that explosion. J scoffed, knowing that they were going towards the further west.
And that was exactly where Sweetie Belle was.
North of the black market.
Towards the north, Ash and Ember were on the higher floor of this black market. They looked through a massive window while having their backs on the wall. Seeing through it made them witness hundreds of criminals, still wondering what that tremor was. And the Hyper Beam from J caused further discussion.
In this room, there were also Pokemon that were inside cages, a part of the illegal Pokemon battling that happens down there. Some of them already had signs of them being injured from all their battling. Some cages were empty, showing that the other Pokemon here met unfortunate ends in their own battles. Seeing that built Ash's anger up, but he was able to contain his anger like always.
Along the way, Ash and Ember had already taken out some Team Rocket grunts. So far, not everyone knew they were here despite the audible and rumbling entrance they made. Their eyes moved through the window as they realized they would be seen through it. Moving ahead would make them visible.
"Looks like we're gonna have to take a different route if we wanna keep going north," said Ash.
"Pikachu."
"Hm?" Ember didn't respond. Instead, when peering her head from the side, looking through the windows, she noticed something. The workers here were all carrying items of all sorts. Each of them were in either cases or boxes. And in one of those cases, Gible could be seen. "Gible!"
"Huh? Where?!" Ash looked over to where Ember was looking. One gaze and Gible was inside one of the cases, being carried off somewhere in the Black Market.
"Why those...!" Ember growled as she immediately flew through the large glass window, shattering it and startling everyone. Not only did she startle them, but she also alerted everyone in this room.
"Oh, Ember wait!"
"Pika!"
"You! Give me back my Gible!" The Dragon Lord roared as she immediately breathed out her destructive pink flames. One usage of her flames and she immediately set the first thing on fire. A table. And that began the process of having the flames spread like wildfire.
The people sitting on that table backed away as Ember moved her flames around. Everyone backed away from her approaching flames with some falling on their backs. Ash and Pikachu jumped through the window, appearing in this room as well. Ember then closed her mouth with pink smoke fuming out of her mouth in rage.
"Nice entrance. "Ash said to the Dragon Lord.
"Hey! Isn't that..." One criminal raised her finger, pointing ahead as she and a few others noticed Ash.
"Yeah, it is! Ash Ketchum! And that special Pikachu!"
"That brat's responsible for a lot of our income losses!"
"Bet if we capture him here, it'll remove a lot of problems off of everyone's back, won't it?"
"Better. Let's just get rid of him. Someone like him could continue running everything for years to come if he sticks around. We can have the Pikachu still!"
"About that, how's he still so young?"
"Looks like you're pretty popular, Ash," Ember spoke to the Alola Champion.
"Hehe..." Ash giggled, acting calm as if he wasn't in a heavy danger room.
"But enough of this! I'm here for my Gible! If you give him back to me, then I might just leave without torching your whole place down."
"As if! Get that Gible out of here!" A Team Rocket grunt exclaimed to the workers. But they were already ahead of them. The moment Ember mentioned Gible, they ran for it, leaving this room.
"No need to worry, Ember. We can get through this."
"Pah! You've outnumbered a hundred to three!" A criminal scoffed at Ash. "Get him!"
"Not yet," Ash smirked as he looked Ember in the eyes. The criminals had already sent out their Pokemon to deal with Ash and Ember. However, soon, the numbers would change a bit as Ember understood what Ash was going for.
The Dragon Lord used er flames once again, but this time, she aimed them at the cages that held the Pokemon captive. Hr flames were strong enough to swiftly melt the metal cages. The first few Pokemon trapped inside were freed.
"Monferno!" A furious Monfero jumped out of the melted cage, taking out one of the criminals' Pokemon with Mach Punch. The rest of the Pokemon ran out of their cages, rushing over to Ash and Ember's side. They were obviously the side to be around for safety.
"Why you! Haunter, Shadow Ball!" A grunt exclaimed as they all ordered their attacks against Ash and Ember.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
"Come out, Drakloak! And use Scald!" Ember then held a Poke Ball, sending out one of her other Dragon-Type Pokemon.
"Drakloak!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu jumped into the air, sparking his body with an aura of electricity. He wasn't alone in this. The Pokemon that had been freed by Ember's flames would assist the Mouse Pokemon. Lucario did his usual signature Aura Sphere. As for Drakloak, she unleashed a stream of boiling water from her mouth. All at once, each Pokemon attacked with their own moves. From both sides.
The number of Pokemon plus Pikachu's superior electricity managed to even things out. The clash between moves caused an immediate smoke cloud to form. While the smoke cloud appeared, Ember took the chance to breathe more flames onto the other bars.
The bars had melted, freeing the rest of the Pokemon as the smoke was clearing. And speaking of flames, Ember's own flames were still spreading across the room, giving it a pink ambience. Soon, they would grow in size. Now, Ash and Ember had many Pokemon on their side, quickly gaining numbers to deal with the hundreds of criminals and their Pokemon.
"Let's clear this room out, you guys!" Ash spoke to everyone while holding out two Poke Balls. "Dragonite, let's go!" With red lights streaking upwards, out came the Dragon Pokemon.
"Dragonite!"
"Let's go!" Ash pointed forward, commanding his own Pokemon and the other Pokemon that had been freed. Very soon, an immediate battle between both sides occurred. The Pokemon themselves were feeling vengeful for what they had been put through, so their rage would help with their strength. "Hyper Beam!"
"Dra!" Dragonite opened her mouth, summoning a single orb. Out of that orb, a large beam came flying out, hitting the floor. One hit and a dome-shaped explosion emerged near the side of the criminals. That one usage of Hyper Beam had blown away some of the opposing Pokemon.
Just like that, Dragonite had showcased why the Dragonite species is so powerful. One Hyper Beam and many of the Pokemon had fainted with some of the criminals being struck by their own Pokemon. And thanks to that, the Pokemon on Ash's side was gaining a massive numerical advantage.
The enraged Pokemon were able to do fine on their own too. Some of the criminals were terrified of the enraged Pokemon running for their lives while others had their Pokemon overpowered by pure primal rage.
"Ash! They couldn't have gotten far with Gible! Let's go!"
"Got it!" He nodded as he then hopped onto Dragonites back with Pikachu on his shoulder as always. "Full speed, Dragonite!"
"Dra!" Dragonite understood as she would fly at her top speed. After all, an average Dragonite can go around the globe in just 16 hours. Lucario, Ember and Drakloak would follow after them.
Dragonite broke through the walls of the room instead of just using the door Then again, she was too big for the door anyway. By breaking through the wall ad flying at great speeds, in just seconds, she had already spotted the workers with the items and Gible at their disposal. They were currently heading for the next room while moving down the stairs.
"There!" Ash pointed.
"Come back here!" Ember growled as she breathed flames on the floor, allowing them to spread rapidly. The stairs were being consumed by Ember's flames as the workers entered the next room.
However, even when they entered the next room, Dragonite just broke through the walls, causing large rocks to fly out. The workers felt this tremor from Dragonite breaking through as they almost lost their balance.
"Aura Sphere!"
"Luca!" Lucario roared, sending a few spheres of Aura. The Aura Pokemon then rolled the spheres on the floor, causing them to act like a bowling ball. And much like a bowling ball, get close to it when it's rolling and someone will trip.
In this case, it was the workers. The Aura Spheres hit their legs, blowing up with small blue explosions. They all fell over, dropping their items from the explosion on their leg. Gible was one as he flew into the air.
"Quick Attack, Pikachu!"
"Pika!" Pikachu then bolted off Ash's shoulder, moving at lightning speeds as he held his hand out. And with great speeds, the Mouse Pokemon grabbed Gible's statue successfully. "Pika-Pikachu!"
"Awesome!" Ash raised his fist in joy.
"Ugh...You brats! Why I should-" The workers were getting back up, planning on dealing with Ash and the others. But as they got up, the imposing figure of Dragonite stood behind them. The workers shuddered, seeing a massive shadow cast over them.
They turned around, gulping as the glowing eyes of Dragonite could be seen. Since she was close to them, there was no way she was going to let them take out their Poke Balls. And if they even made sudden movements, Dragonite would move faster than they can act.
They wouldn't have to do any of that. Because Lucario had an easy solution for everyone. To save them from having the pain of dealing with Dragonite's fury, the Aura Pokemon casually walked up to the workers, tapping one of their heads.
One tap and he set a pulse of Aura that went through the heads of the other workers. And just like that, the workers had fainted, falling to the ground, unconscious.
"Lu."
"Pika-Pikachu." Pikachu went up to Ember, raising Gible to Ember.
"Thanks, Pikachu." Ember patted Pikachu on the head before grabbing the statue of her partner. "Oh, Gible."
"No need to worry. One Hidden Power and he'll be back at his best."
"Pikachu!"
"I know. Let's hurry and find Twilight."
Further west of the black market.
Speaking of Twilight's group, they had actually taken a different way to move towards the further west. The ventilation systems. Twilight used her magic to remove the cover as Rarity returned Pheromosa. The Lissome Pokemon was too tall for this. After they all entered the vents, Twilight then used her magic to place the cover back on, making sure they weren't traced.
They moved through the vents, hearing the sounds of furious Pokemon battling against the criminals. It was a complete ruckus. But then again, with Ash's group, it's always a ruckus.
Causing an uproar is what they do best.
Rarity kept thinking about Sweetie Belle, hoping that it wasn't too late. If she fails, she could never face her parents or anyone ever again. She would even think she failed as a sister. However, Rarity kept her hopes and spirit up, not letting them down for a second. Sweetie Belle would be saved. But someone wouldn't allow that.
J.
With her special goggles, J was able to see through the walls thanks to the many properties it holds. J's goggles have also improved over the months, making her more dangerous than she was before. And with an increase in her goggles, she noticed four signals moving.
J raised her head, spotting Twilight, Rarity, Espeon and Piplup moving through the vents. She had found them. "Aha."
With one use of her gauntlet, she used the Steel-Type option. By using that option, multiple steel spikes were shot out of the gauntlet, heading for the walls. One hit and the walls had holes blown in them, right near the vents too.
"Ah! Twilight gasped afterwards as her friends came to halt. Not only that, one of the spikes had reached the vent, almost going all the way through. It was a few millimetres from hitting Twilight in the eye. "J!"
"Come out, my little ponies~!" J whistled as she then used the Fire-Type option from the gauntlet. This time, explosive fireballs were sent instead of a stream of fire. This was similar to Fire Blast.
The explosive fireballs hit the walls, further blowing holes in them and threatening to destroy the vents. Twilight and the others sped up their movements in the vents. The fireballs had revealed the ventilations as J kept her goggles active. She saw them moving as they just couldn't escape her sight.
"Salamence, break it apart with Hyper Beam!"
"Sala...mence!" The Dragon Pokemon opened his mouth, ready to unleash a behemoth of a Hyper Beam. Twilight heard the command, already knowing what could happen. For safety, she cast yet another magic coating around her friends.
The large Hyper Beam was sent. And as to be expected, there was no way the vents were withstanding this. A large outburst of Infinity Energy had spread out engulfing the upper part of this room. J watched as the explosion consumed everything within the vents. A chain reaction happened with the ventilation being obliterated.
Thankfully, these vents didn't connect to anywhere important. This was the underground and a secret hideaway after all. But it would leave a lasting effect, that's for sure.
Twilight and everyone closed their eyes as they had been blown back by the explosion. However, the magic coating managed to protect and nullify some of the damage. But they could still feel it. Hyper Beam was nothing to scoff at. As they were blown back, the group fell out of the vents, entering the next room.
This room was some sort of storage room, filled with rare items and boxes that also had rare items in them. Possibly even more than that.
"Ugh!" Twilight and the others fell on their backs while entering this room. The magic coating had done its job. While they were hurt, it wasn't a severe amount. If Twilight never used that spell, the Hyper Beam would've done more than just hurt them.
"Esp!"
"Pip!"
"I-Is everyone okay?" Twilight groaned as she got up from the floor.
"Barely. I'm not sure your coating spell can handle anymore darling." Rarity sighed while getting up.
"Esp? Espeon!" Just then, Espeon called for everyone, finding something of great importance. They all turned to where Espeon was facing. And it was certainly of great importance. Rarity's eyes widened. Her lower lip shaking as her hooves were quaking.
Sweetie Belle was here.
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity exclaimed, galloping over to her little sister. She immediately hugged the petrified filly with all of her love. Even though Sweetie Belle couldn't do anything as a stone statue, she could hear and see Rarity.
Then again, she can only look in one direction and hear her surroundings. But in this case, with Rarity here, she was happy to hear and see. Rarity teared up, continuing to hug her little sister. The last time she showed this much emotion was when Spirtiomb attacked.
"Come out, Ninetales." Twilight then sent out the answer to this problem. Ninetales.
"Ninetales."
"Use Hidden Power Dragon."
"Tales." Ninetales nodded as he got to work. By covering his body in a white light, he shot out a gentle version of Hidden Power instead of its usual destructive one.
The white light covered the petrified Sweetie Belle. Rarity continued to hug her, not letting go for a second. She needed this moment. The white light then increased in size as Rarity's eyes were opening. Once they opened, she could no longer feel stone. But instead, her sister.
"Mmmrgh..." Sweetie Belle grumbled as the light faded away. Her eyes blinked a bit before looking Rarity in the eyes. "Rarity! Piplup!"
"Sweetie Belle!" The big sister raised her little sister in the air. The two f them had a splendid reunion giggling with excitement. They jumped around together, showing their sisterly bond.
"Piplup!" Piplup also had to get in there as he lunged into the air, landing Sweetie Belle's head. "Lup! Pip-Piplup!"
"Oh! Are you still hurt at all?!" Rarity asked.
"Nope! Totally fine now!" Sweetie Belle grinned. "Thank you all so much for rescuing me! I thought I was a goner there!"
"Now we just need to get to Gible. Let's hurry before J finds us," said Twilight.
"Espeon!" Espeon was already ahead of that. She hissed at the door, knowing exactly who was showing up. Approaching the storage room was Hunter J herself.
"Not quick enough, princess," J spoke while opening the door, revealing herself and her Pokemon to Twilight's group. "I'll admit, you're just as elusive as your friend, Ash. Seems like that just comes naturally with whoever he befriends. Makes me sick to my stomach."
Sweetie Belle hid behind Rarity while Espeon and Piplup acted as shields for their Trainers. Ninetales growled as he also stepped forward. His tails flared up at the sight of J.
Hunter J ow had them cornered in the storage room. The outcome of this was yet to be decided. But with Sweetie Belle free, there was still hope. And with Ash and the others on their way to try and find Twilight's group, this little scenario is reaching its climax as the journey continues.
Unova Region. Underneath Lentimas Town. The Pokemon Black Market Storage Room.Afternoon.
Right now, it was utter pandemonium. Due to the Pokemon that have been trapped her having their freedom thanks to Ember melting the bars, they were exacting their revenge on those that kept them here. The vengeful Pokemon and the criminals of the Black Market were going against each other.
As for Ash and Ember, they had successfully caught Gible. Now they were just looking for Twilight and the others. Thanks to Lucario's Aura, that could be done. The Black Market was huge so finding their Auras took a while. But eventually, he found their signals.
No one can detect Auras better than Lucario.
"Luca!" Lucario sent a pulse of Aura towards Ash while he was on Dragonite.
"Lucario says they're at the east in some sort of storage room with J!" Ash translated. "Let's hurry!"
"Good! Just you wait, Gible." Ember looked at her partner, hoping that they can get to Twilight and Ninetales as soon as they could.
However, some criminals ignored the Pokemon and focused on Ash and the others. Mainly, Team Rocket Grunts. They were most aware of Ash Ketchum, mainly because of how he thwarted Giovanni's plans during the whole Meloetta event. More importantly, they knew him for having the one Pokemon Giovanni wanted.
Pikachu.
"Stop right there!" A grunt exclaimed as they had their Pokemon out already. "You have something the boss wants! It's been 25 years in the making but we're taking that Pikachu! Arbok, use Fire Fang!"
"Golbat, Wing Attack!"
"Fearow, Drill Peck!"
"Persian! Power Gem!"
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Lucario, Double Team then Force Palm! And Dragonite, Dragon Claw!" Ash commanded while jumping off Dragonite's back. After doing so, Pikachu then lunged off the shoulder of his best friend, already summoning 100,000 volts from his body.
"Pika...Chuu!" Pikachu was the first to attack. By sending a bolt of electricity from his body, he gave Fearow an immediate smite before Drill Peck could even reach him.
"Fear!"
"Lucario!" Lucario split himself into multiple clones, causing Persian's multiple glowing rocks to hit the clones instead of the real Lucario. Afterwards, the real Lucario appeared behind Person, right from above too. The Classy Cat Pokemon gasped, quickly realizing where the real Lucario was.
"Per?!"
"Ca!" But it was too late to act. Lucario gave Persian a heavy downwards palm smash with the energy of Force Palm added onto it. One good hit and Persian had been forced down with an eruption of smoke. And only one hit was needed to faint this Normal-Type.
"Dra!" Dragonite had been hit in the stomach by Golbat's wing attack. She winced a small bit as the hit was harder than she expected. But, after being hit in her stomach, with Golbat close to her, the Dragon Pokemon retaliated via a swift yet heavy Dragon Claw. "Dragonite!"
"Gol!" Golbat had been smacked like a pinata by Dragonite's claw once she swung them. The hit was so great that Golbat went flying into Fearow, causing an immediate crash.
"Fearow!" Fearow cried out as it had also been knocked back. Soon, all three Pokemon had been taken out as well as Fearow and Golbat being sent towards their trainers. The Team Rocket grunts had fallen over while the remaining one ran off, retrieving her Persian after seeing it faint.
Ash dealt with this issue swiftly. Ember and her Drakloak didn't even need to do anything this time.
"Let's hurry!" Ash looked at Ember and the others before hopping back on Dragonite's back. There was no time to pause. Only rapid movements were needed for this.
Over at the storage room, Hunter J had Twilight, Rarity and Sweetie Belle in a corner. They had just freed Sweetie Belle from the certification thanks to Ninetales' Hidden Power. Now there were two main objectives. Find Gible and free him. And then get out of here as soon as they can.
"Get them! Crunch and Night Slash!" She ordered her Salamence and Drapion. The two Pokemon viciously advanced towards their targets, ready to try and end them for good. They've gotten in their way a few times to the point where J's own Pokemon were experiencing the same frustration she was.
"Eve, Dazzling Gleam! Ninetales, use Mystical Fire!" Twilight ordered both her Pokemon.
"Ampharos! Come out and use Power-Up Punch!" Rarity got out Ampharos' Poke Ball, sending it into the air as the Light Pokemon emerged.
"Ampharos!"
"Piplup, Aerial Ace!" Sweetie Belle joined in, wanting some revenge herself.
"Espeon!" Espeon and the others retaliated. The Sun Pokemon lunged forward at Salamence with a sphere of rainbows acting as her shield. Piplup ran by her side while Ampharos approached from above. As for Ninetales, he unleashed a stream of magical fire, acting as back support.
"Sala!" Salamence went for a Crunch on Espeon but was interrupted by Piplup's Swift Aerial Ace. The Dragon Pokemon's attack was delayed thanks to Piplup, causing the Sun Pokemon to slam into Salamence with Dazzling Gleam. "Salamence!"
"Lup!" Piplup continued. After Espeon struck the Dragon Pokemon, the Penguin Pokemon delivered another strike from Aerial Ace, hitting Salamence's head to the side.
"Flamethrower!" J bellowed.
Salamence growled as it had used Flamethrower as a rebuttal. Scorching flames emerged from his mouth as Piplup and Espeon had been pushed back by the flames. "Pip!"
"Esp!"
"Nine!" Ninetales showed Salamence his own flames, sending Mystical Fire towards Salamence. Salamence quickly retaliated with Flamethrower. Two Fire-Type attacks were now going against each other.
"Ampha!" Ampharos met with Drapion's claw. The Ogre Scorp Pokemon used Night Slash to counter Ampharos' Power-Up Punch. Ampharos was pushed back by a swing from Drapion's tail. The Light Pokemon slid back before lunging forward for another hit. Drapion put his claws up to block the incoming Power-Up Punch. However, Ampharos' attack was greater than ever thanks to Power-Up Punch's effect. And the stagger that Drapion felt showed that to be the case.
"Drapion!" Drapion then caught Ampharos off guard by his tail while blocking. The Ogre Scorp Pokemon had grabbed Ampharos by surprise before then unleashing a Dark Pulse from his mouth. "Dra!"
"A-Ampharos!" Ampharos was both gripped and blasted by a pulse imbued with dark thoughts. However, Ampharos grinned as his ability kicked in.
Static.
Drapion got a bit too close to Ampharos and greedy. As punishment, Ampharos' Static had caught him. The Poison-Dark-Type felt a rush of electricity shock his body as he was now paralyzed. "D-Drap!"
"Pharos!" Pharos then kicked Drapion's neck, forcing him to let go. The Light Pokemon then backed away as he had a bit of a bruise from Drapion's tail gripping him tightly.
"Excellent! Pin that tail, Ampharos! Power-Up Punch again!"
"Cross Poison, Drapion!"
"Drap!" Drapion roared at Salamence, going for a Cross Poison next by coating his claws and even tail in poison.
"Pha!" Ampharos continued with Power-Up Punch, jumping over the Ogre Scorp Pokemon instead of clashing with his claws. Ampharos had one thing in mind. Drapion's tail. He already saw it as a massive threat. So, to deal with that, the Light Pokemon aimed Power-Up Punch at the tail.
"Ampha!"
"Drapion!" Drapion wouldn't let that happen. He was ready to grab Ampharos with his tail.
"Piplup, Bubble Beam!"
"Piplup-lup!" Piplup quickly switched directions, shooting a barrage of bubbles at Drapion. If Ampharos was going to successfully pin the tail, he needed Drapion to be inactive. And thankfully, the barrage of bubbles allowed Piplup to promptly distract Drapion. And as a bonus, he fired some bubbles at the tail too.
"Dra!"
"Pharos!" Ampharos yelled as he smashed Power-Up punch onto Drapion's tail at full force. He shattered a bit of the floor as he had successfully pinned Drapion's tail.
"Salamence! Get to Drapion!" J cried out as she aimed her arm cannon at some of the Pokemon. However, Rarity wouldn't allow that to happen. Quickly, the unicorn had fired a blast of magic at J's arm cannon.
"Ah!" J cried out as her cannon had been attacked, harming her hand a bit as she pulled back. She made sure to make her arm cannon stronger than before, so it still functioned even after that blast. "Why you...!"
"Stop Salamence with Quick Attack, Ninetales!" J bellowed as Salamence ended the clash between him and Ninetales' flames, ready to assist his teammate.
"Ninetales!"
"Ninetales!" In a spurt of speed, Ninetales bolted of the floor, tackling Salamence from the side. That gave everyone enough time to attack Drapion consecutively. Eve had Shadow Ball, Piplup used Bubble Beam, Ampharos used Dragon Pulse and Ninetales had gone last, using Hidden Power Dragon.
All at once, their attacks had been fired in unison. And with that combination and with a wide-eyed Drapion looking at the incoming moves, they had landed with great power. A vicious explosion. One that J had to cover her eyes for, even when wearing the goggles. She looked ahead, witnessing a large cloud of smoke as a massive hole had been made in the storage room. Although, there was already one there from minutes ago.
The illegal items inside the storage room had also been destroyed from his outburst as the smoke was starting to clear. Out of the smoke was a fainted Drapion. No way it could take all of those attacks.
"Drapion..."
"Yes!" Twilight cheered as they finally took out one of J's Pokemon. She and the others quickly turned to J and Salamence with confident grins. "Now for your Salamence!"
"This isn't over yet...!" J's frustration was rising. She wanted Twilight and the others out of her hair for good along with Ash. So, she decided to see what else the gauntlet had to offer as she raised it. The Hunter then selected the Shadow-Type option, expecting great things from it.
And great things did happen.
Immediately, the gauntlet pulsated, sending out what seemed to be black and purple smoke. Instead, they were just black and purple streams that created smoke but more importantly, the way they affected Twilight and the others were surprising.
Immediately, the streams grabbed Piplup first since he was the closest. They moved at a speed as great as lightning, making them surprisingly fast for what seemed to be shadows. After that, they latched onto Twilight's group like glue, catching them before they could react.
"W-What is this?! Shadows?!" Rarity winced as she tried lifting her hoof.
"T-They don't feel like shadows!" Twilight growled, attempting to blast her magic through them. She made a hole through it but they ended up regenerating. "What are these things?! It's like something's grabbing me!"
And Twilight wasn't too far off. It felt like millions of hands were starting to hold them down, preventing them from moving any of their limbs. The streams just multiplied afterwards, covering the room in nothing but black.
"Oh, trading that pony for this was so worth it," J smirked, immediately figuring out what these black streams were. "How about I try this one then?" While the black streams held Twilight's group, she switched the Type options. J went for the Ground-Type option.
Immediately, some sort of nail came out of the gauntlet, dropping to the floor. That nail stabbed into the ground, hammering down. Afterwards, the nail suddenly caused an immediate magnitude to occur. That magnitude was equivalent to an earthquake. And that made sense considering the Type being used.
J felt the tremor, possibly threatening to affect her as well. However, she quickly found out how well-built this gauntlet was. The tremor only truly went towards her targets as a gigantic majority of the floor had been shattered. The only part that wasn't affected was where J herself was standing.
Unfortunately for Twilight and the others, they could do nothing to prevent this. The shadows restrained them from doing so. Thus, as the floor shattered, they fell through it.
"A-Aaah!" They all screamed with Twilight summoning magic around her horn, trying to do something. She managed to do so by putting some magic coating around everyone's body. It proved to be successful once more, but as they hit the floor, even the coating couldn't always protect them. They had already suffered some damage from the Hyper Beam earlier. They have barely had much time to take a break.
They fell to the lower floor. A sort of basement in this Pokemon Black Market. The shadows still covered them as they stuck like a child refusing to let go of their parents.
"Ugh..." Twilight groaned, writhing her body around. J walked over, looking at the massive tremor made by the earthquake. She currently stood victorious as Twilight and the others couldn't do anything.
"Well, this is fortunate," J spoke, smirking down at Twilight's group. To taunt them, she showed her gauntlet, displaying just how useful it was. "I'm like my own Pokemon with this thing on."
"J!" Rarity roared, moving her body around. But that didn't matter against these shadows.
"Now. Hold still." J then aimed her arm cannon at the group, ready to turn all of them to stone. She wasn't going to waste this opportunity. Out of her arm cannon, the beam came flying out.
In response, Twilight used her magic to prevent this. She could still use magic as her own beam met with J's beam. Alicorn magic could certainly handle something like this. Not only that, but Twilight's beam overpowered J's, almost hitting her in the arm.
"Tch! Accursed alicorn...!" J pulled her arm back. "Then...how about some more shadows to keep you from trying anything." Hunter J then planned to use the Ghost-Type option once more. If more shadows were to show up, then they would definitely be stuck.
"Eve! Shadow Ball! If it's a Ghost-Type, then something Ghost will work on it!" Twilight cried out.
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon nodded in understanding. Her head was sticking out but that was perfect. Shadow Ball always comes from her mouth anyway. In the spur of the moment, the Psychic-Type summoned an orb of shadows.
"I don't think so!" J aimed the gauntlet at Espeon, sending multiple black and purple streaks out. However, Eve then aimed her head upwards instead of downwards, sending it at the incoming streaks.
Shadow Ball met with the Shadow Streaks, cancelling each other out for them both being super-effective. J backed away from the explosion of shadows. Afterwards, Twilight decided to try and expand her magic to push the shadows away.
If she couldn't destroy them by blasting holes in them, then perhaps hitting them all at once with an expanding field of magic would work. In unison with her Espeon, they both attacked the shadows. Espeon's Shadow Ball actually managed to destroy the streaks of shadows, freeing Piplup and herself from it. As for Twilight, she was able to expand a magical field, pushing the shadows away.
She did this so that the streaks could not regenerate in time. Her alicorn magic was certainly ripe for the job as a purple light had obliterated all of the black and purple streaks. Everyone had been freed.
However, that didn't stop J.
"Ariados, come out!" Out came her next Pokemon after Drapion had been defeated. Ariados. J clearly had more to offer. She was the best Pokemon Hunter for a reason by many criminals.
"Ariados!"
She went back up to the group, aiming both her gauntlet and arm cannon at them. She had selected the Fire-Type option, ready to burn them and petrify the ponies and Pokmon afterwards. Ariados was already prepared to trap them all with its thick string while Salamence had either Dragon Pulse, Flamethrower, Hyper Beam or anything ready for the group.
Twilight was ready to reach for her next Poke Balls to send out Absol, Togekiss and Cinccino for assistance. The same went for Rarity. She was prepared for Milotic, Lopunny and some of her Leavanny to deal with this predicament. And Sweetie Belle wasn't exempt from this.
However, that wouldn't need to happen as some new guests broke into the storage room.
"Iron Tail and Dragon Claw!" The voice of Ash rung out, making J's heart race along with her eyes opening. As she turned around, she was greeted with the sight of Pikachu in the air alongside Dragonite.
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu and Dragonite had attacked Salamence and Ariados from behind. A heavy Iron Tail to Ariados's head and a super-effective Dragon Claw at the back of Salamence.
"Mence!" Salamence, after being given that sneak attack, was sent flying back, almost falling into the hole with Twilight and the others. However, the Dragon Pokemon recovered by ascending into the air afterwards. Ariados recovered by just sliding on the floor.
"You!" J turned around, facing Ash, Ember and their Pokemon. Salamence himself looked down, noticing Twilight, Rarity, Sweetie Belle and their Pokemon below him.
"Twilight! Everyone! Are you guys alright?!" Ash bellowed, asking them from a distance.
"We're fine, Ash!" Twilight exclaimed. "Do you have Gible with you?!"
"Yeah! Just get Nine-" Ash would speak further, but was quickly interrupted by J who stomped her foot forward.
"Enough!" J cried out. If I get rid of you here, all my problems will fade away!" She aimed both her gauntlet and arm cannon at Ash and his Pokemon. However, someone was quick to stop her.
And that someone was Ember. She immediately noticed J's next move, flying off the floor and putting her own hands out. But not before placing Gible down for Pikachu to hold.
J had used the Fire-Type option while also shooting out the beam from her cannon. However, Ember had grabbed J, causing her to misfire out of balance as she flew into the air. Ember had quickly prevented Ash or anyone from being torched or turned to stone.
"Oh! Ember!" Ash looked up.
"Pika!"
"You meddling kids!" J threatened to hit Ember with her arm cannon, putting it right in front of Ember's face. In a spurt of quick thinking and an obvious answer, Ember had used her pink flames to counter this. The flame and the beam had met, proving to be equal once more.
They both blew up against each other as Ember and J went out of the storage room, right through the massive holes that had been made from the earlier battles. J had pushed Ember off as she rolled on the floor. Ember stayed airborne instead. J snarled at Ember before aiming her gauntlet at her.
She kept the Fire-Type option, spraying scorching flames towards the Dragon Lord. Ember put her arms up, thinking she could block the flames. However, Pokemon flames were nothing to scoff at. Especially when they had been implemented in a gauntlet.
Ember was consumed by the flames as she could already feel their pressure mounting on her. Ember putting her arms up didn't matter as she closed her eyes against these flames.
J let out her signature devious grin as she stood up. She continued to pour more power into the gauntlet, increasing the intensity of the flames. Not wanting to be burnt to a crisp, Ember retaliated by breathing her own flames. Pink flames erupted from her mouth as they had pushed the opposing flames back.
Soon, J and Ember had their flames go against each other. A Fire Struggle would be the correct term for this. However, this wouldn't last forever as J aimed her arm cannon Ember. Planning a sneak attack. Ember saw this as she pulled herself away from J, ending the struggle. And with great timing. J's beam flew out of her arm cannon, missing Ember.
J had more to offer. She switched over to the Electric-Type option, sending that same electric whip out. She seemed to favour it out of everything else. Ember's claw had been caught by the whip as it wrapped around it, giving her a shock of 50,000.
"Ugh!" Ember groaned, trying to hold the pain. But that many volts was hard to handle, even for a dragon, like herself. Afterwards, J swung Embr with the whip, hitting her against the wall with it, further injuring the Dragon Lord.
As for Ash and the others, they were dealing with Salamence and Ariados. And with their superior numerical advantage, they were having a good run-through. Ash held Gible instead of Pikachu, keeping him safe while giving commands.
"Pika...Chu-Pi!" Pikachu ascended into the air, sending an Electroweb towards Ariados. The web had pinned the Long Leg Pokemon down, allowing Lucario and Drakloak to finish the job.
Together, Lucario had used Aura Sphere while Drakloak used Scald. The two moved raced towards the immobile Ariados who was already being shocked by electricity.
"Dos!" Ariados received the full force of the attacks. The web of electricity had been blown away from the outburst of both attacks, forcing the Long Leg Pokemon to submit. But, it didn't submit by will. It couldn't withstand that, causing Ariados to faint. That was another one of J's Pokemon down. And now there was one more.
Salamence.
Dragonite was busy with Salamence as Twilight and the others came out of the deep hole made by the earthquake. Twilight was the first to arrive, helping everyone else up with her magic afterwards. But not before avoiding an incoming spark from Dragonite and Salamence's draconic duel.
"Twilight! Here's Gible!" Ash ran over while Dragonite and Salamence battled above. Debris and rubble from the walls and storage boxes were flying everywhere from their feud as Ash placed Gible down.
"Okay! Ninetales, Hidden Power!" Twilight looked to her partner.
"Ninetales!" Ninetales was already on it. His tails flared as the white aura emanating from his body flew over to the petrified Gible. Like a mother wrapping around her child for comfort, the light gracefully consumed Gible.
Everyone backed away, allowing Hidden Power to work its magic. The stone material was being eradicated by Hidden Power, revealing the true body inside.
With glorious success, Gible was free.
"Gible?"
"Alright! That's all of them!" Ash cheered along with the others. They had successfully freed both Sweetie Belle and Gible now without any harm Gible was a bit perplexed at the moment. But it wasn't over yet.
There was still the issue of J and her Salamence. Plus, exiting a place like this with many criminals roaming about. Speaking of Salamence, Dragonite had been pinned against the wall by her fellow Dragon-Type via a Crunch.
"Sala!"
"D-Dra...!" Dragonite growled as she held Salamence's head, pushing him away. Afterwards, Dragonite threw Salamence into the air, flapping her wings next. By flapping her wings, she used Twister, summoning a furious draconic tornado. Salamence was pulled in by this tornado, taking super-effective damage in the process.
"S-Salamence!"
And to end it off, Dragonite would use Hyper Beam. She wasted no time building up all of her remaining strength. With a bellowing voice and heavy usage of her own lungs, Dragonite unleashed Hyper Beam as everyone looked up, witnessing this.
Salamence took the hit while still within Twister. The result was a violent paroxysm that forced everyone to duck for cover as the ceiling and walls had been blown away. And as a result, the victor had been decided. Salamence couldn't handle anymore.
Flying out of the smoke was a fainted Salamence. Dragonite had won as her fellow Dragon-Flying-Type had crashed onto the floor.
"Dragonite." Dragonite closed her mouth with smoking fuming out. She then descended, feeling a bit injured from her battle with Salamence.
"Wait! What about Ember?!" Sweetie Belle gasped. And right on cue. Ember had been thrown through the open and obliterated walls of the storage room, landing by everyone else's side.
"Ember!" They all cried out. They looked ahead, noticing Hunter J. J wasn't in the best shape either. Ember had scratched her clothes, leaving her own marks. There was a strong struggle throughout this.
"Gible!" Gible quickly ran over to his partner, showing her that he was in top shape. A smile graced Ember's face, pleased that her partner was freed and A-Ok.
"R-Return..." J then returned Ariados and Salamence as she stood before Ash's group. She kissed her teeth, giving them all scornful looks. "All of you...Words can't even describe what I think of each one of you...!"
"It's over J!" Ash said. "We've won."
"Hmph." J aimed her gauntlet at the group, ready to use another one of the Types. However, she quickly found out that despite how powerful this gauntlet was, it had limitations. And that limit was energy. After using it so many times with the Normal-Type burning it out, the gauntlet was low on power. There was no way J could win with this little versatility. "Tch. Fine. You win."
She announced. Not before letting out a smirk. She put her hands in her pocket, seemingly giving up. And while she did give up on this battle, she wasn't about to let herself get caught. So to make her gateway, within her pockets, J flicked her finger, sending out one of her many items for hunting. Another pill had come out. But it wasn't the poison pill.
"Lu!" Lucario was the first to sense this thanks to his Aura. With quick instincts, he threw an Aura Sphere at the pill. However, hitting the item had actually triggered it.
This pill acted as a giant mist. Once Aura Sphere had hit it, an explosion of mist emerged, covering the entire area. It even had some force behind it, pushing Lucario back after he got a bit too close to it. J then made her escape, running through the mist. J knew her way through the Black Market. She also knew of an easier way out of this place rather than just taking the exit.
"Luca!" Lucario could obviously try and track her down with his Aura. And he was ready to do so.
"Lucario." But Ash promptly stopped him. They had done what they needed to do. They shouldn't risk being here any longer. Not with all the fighting between two sides.
It was time to leave. And thankfully, Twilight knew where the outside was after first appearing here. One of the many perks of teleportation. After it was all said and done, Twilight Sparkle surrounded her friends with her magic, preparing to send them out of this dark and shady market.
Outside. Lentimas Town. Late Afternoon.
And speaking of the outside, when they arrived, they were greeted with a pleasing sight. Spike, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, the Cutie Mark Crusaders plus Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were tasked with dealing with J's grunts on the outside.
And they did a smacking job. Mostly thanks to the raw power of Spike's Dragon-Type Pokemon, Applejack and Sceptile's amazing coordination and Pinkie and Mew's sheer force. The fillies helped out too, that couldn't be denied.
Not only that, but Officer Jenny, along with other authorities had shown up. Spike was the one who called for them. Obviously, if they were near a Black Market, they couldn't miss out on the chance to inform the authorities about this.
"You're all okay!" Spike waved his arms around.
"Sweetie Belle!" Immediately, at impressive speeds, Scootaloo and the other fillies lunged at Sweetie Belle. A dog pile was due. Rather, one major group hug. The young unicorn was instantly overwhelmed by the affectionate hug of her friends as tears were flowing out of their eyes.
"Oof!" The eyes of Sweetie Belle felt like popping out as she puffed her cheeks. "M-Missed you too, girls!"
"Is everyone okay? How are things in there?" Jenny went up to Ash, questioning him and his friends who had just escaped the ruckus that was occurring inside.
"We're fine. But a bunch of Pokemon that got freed are battling in there." Ash pointed his thumb behind him. "Don't know which side is winning."
"Right. You all can head home. We'll take it from here. Come on all of you." Jenny and the rest of the police force would handle the rest, allowing Ash and the others to head home and go on with their life.
It was safe to say that the Pokemon Black Market would be shut down. At least, the one in Lentimas. There were other Pokemon Black Markets out there, scattered across every region.
Sweetie Belle desired some rest as she stayed close to Rarity. Gible bit onto Ember's head, but this time, Ember allowed Gible to stay there. He needed a good head-bite after all of that.
"Guess I'm not going out on my own again, am I?" Sweetie Belle said, pouting at Rarity.
"Oh, Sweetie Belle." A sigh left Rarity's mouth before patting her little sister. "I can still trust you to do so. But, you won't be alone. Your friends are with you."
"Yeah but...they almost got taken away too if someone didn't come and stop J."
"Good point. How about we discuss things back home. My hooves are already tired anyway." Rarity took Pheromosa out as the Lissome Pokemon immediately picked both sisters up from the ground.
"Mosa!"
"Okay!"
South of Unova. Nightfall.
As for J, she had made her escape via her van. She hid it out of sight, making sure no one would ever find it. She placed it near Reversal Mountain, right beside one of the lower caves.
After that, J and the few hunters she had inside of the van were making their way back to Unova. Right to J's secret base. Hunter J was already thinking of the various ways she could beat Ash and the others in the future. With the Protean Gauntlet, that could be made a possibility. All she had to do was get used to it and see what else it had to offer.
But as she had that in mind, something passed her eye. J gasped as she felt a deadly presence nearby. Her eyes widened. Her heart raced and her fears were building up. In a split second, J had turned her head to see what was causing that. And when she turned around, she saw him.
Ghetsis.
Ghetsis also had his eye movements. His single crimson eye stared J in her own eyes, sending shivers down her spine. But it was only for a split second. After that J continued on her way with the van speeding up. But that one meeting was something J wouldn't forget.
Nightfall. Where many enter a sleeping state and the Dream World. As always, those that govern the Dream World are Princess Luna and Darkrai. Sometimes they take turns and sometimes they go in altogether. Aside from that, almost everyone in Equestria was asleep.
Twilight was having her own dream at the moment. She always has different dreams each time, truly varied in their own way. However, 60% of them are about Ash. Before the worlds crossed over, this was never the case. Even during the earlier days of the Rift's arrival. Only around when Tirek was defeated did this start to spark up.
But that wasn't the case right now. Twilight was having a dream about visiting the rest of Pegalysium. Her interest in that place has certainly sparked up. She thought of what the rest of the buildings could look like. She never did get the chance to see the Sky Monarch and the Capital, so she had to make her vision of the buildings in her own dream.
Her vision wasn't too bad. She imagined the nation of Pegalysium to have buildings as tall as the skyscrapers in Unova, Kalos and other Pokemon regions. If they have been living in the skies for so long, then perhaps they have buildings that go beyond the sky. Twilight imagined them to be beyond the world. Probably in space.
"Morning." A Pegalysium resident greeted the Princess of Friendship as she trotted about. Each time she moved, she imagined the residents of Pegalysium to have some of the most dazzling appearances there were. After all, she saw Shooting Star, who had blue tips on his feathers.
Twilight went into a shop, believing that Pegalysium might also have hayburgers. Or at least, something similar to that. It is her favourite food so anywhere she can eat it would be splendid. But as she was about to enter, her city dream was interrupted by the unexpected.
Bursting out of the shop was a gigantic Kirlia, causing Twilight to fall over while every other Pegalysium member gasped in shock.
"KIRLIA!" The giant Emotion Pokemon said with a wide smile and her arms up.
"Kirlia?!" Twilight gasped, wondering why there was a Kirlia in her dream. But more importantly, on the head of Kirlia, a certain pony could be seen.
Her mother. Twilight Velvet.
"Mom?!"
"Twilight Sparkle!" Velvet bellowed her voice echoing throughout Twilight's dream. "When are you doing to confess to Ash? I want grandkids!"
Reality. Ponyville. Twilight's Castle. Night.
"Ah!" Twilight gasped, sitting up from her bed as she was now awake. She was a bit perplexed by her mother's intrusion and the words she spouted out. But, it wasn't a nightmare. More of a surprise dream. An interference really. "Oh..."
"Espeon?" Espeon grumbled with her eyes opening. She heard the sound of her Trainer and just couldn't ignore it.
"It's fine, Eve. Just a bit of a shock." Twilight patted the Sun Pokemon on the head, giving her some reassurance. Espeon purred at the pat as she was prepared to doze off once more.
Twilight was now awake and did not feel like sleeping through the rest of the night. Perhaps burning out some energy afterwards will get her back in the resting mood. The young alicorn hopped off her bed while her Pokemon were sound asleep.
Almost all of them. Absol was awake for night watch, as always. He rarely sleeps, proving just how much stamina he had. Living in the wild for so long definitely gave the Disaster Pokemon some advantages over his teammates. He wasn't the only one awake.
Cold Colt is always awake. The major benefit of being a Rift Pony was that he never has to worry about feeling exhausted, burnt out or even sleepy. Usually, he sticks around Sweet Apple Acres since that is his new home with the Apple Family being his own family. This time, he stayed behind in Twilight's Castle for the night.
Mostly because he was having a sleepover with Nyx. The two of them have been bonding recently, finding things that they share a common interest in. Despite the age difference, Cold has been a teacher to Nyx about Pokemon. His knowledge of it definitely benefited her.
Aside from that, they were playing the card game that Emerald Aura deemed as the best thing ever. Emerald gave a copy to Cold, allowing him to experience it with his friends. The card game Superfight. Unfortunately, since Cold doesn't have full mastery of his Rift magic, he can't make the scenarios on the cards real, unlike Emerald.
But playing it normally without being in the scenario works out as well. And as a bonus, Jade came over as the judge. She found fondness in the game too after her experience with it. She acted as the judge in this.
"So who won, Jade? It's totally me right. No way a Cyborg with roller skates and fours arms is gonna lose." said Cold.
"As if. I believe nothing is stopping me 10 stories tall Smoke Monster with an insane clown posse. Right, Jade?" Nyx asked the other Rift Pony.
"Well...A cyborg is tough." Jade spoke in her monotone voice, beginning to judge the result.
"Yeah?" A smile beamed on Cold's face as Twilight spectated over the card game.
"And having four arms already makes it dangerous enough."
"Yeah-yeah?" Cold's excitement was building up as Nyx bit her hoof, feeling nervous that she might not win this.
"...But I don't know. Hitting a Smoke Monster must be impossible. The clown posse can be dealt with but, I don't see the cyborg beating the monster. So, I'll give it to Nyx for this round."
"Huzzah! Victory!" Nyx raised her hooves, celebrating this round as Cold fell on his back, groaning in defeat.
"Aw, come on. Seriously?" Cold gave a jealous pout while looking at the ceiling. Nyx clapped her hooves together, finding enjoyment in this game.
"You three are having a great sleepover, aren't you?" Along came Twilight after witnessing that round of Superfight.
"Mother? Oh, yes. This card game isn't so half bad." Nyx responded, patting the box with her hoof. "Your friend Emerald Aura has a splendid selection of games, Cold."
"Yeah. Let's go another round. I can win still. Right, Jade?"
"Hm." Jade shrugged at Cold's question.
"Do you wanna join in, Twilight?" Cold then turned to his teacher.
"No thanks." A swift headshake came from Twilight. "Oh, by the way. You all can pick your new destination. Turns out, we're allowed in Pegalysium now after the recent negotiation. Or, we can try and head to the Holon Region. What do you think?"
"Pegalysium or the Holon Region? Um..." Cold thought about which destination he would like to go to first. The Holon Region was tempting.
"Hold on...Jade." Nyx then turned to Jade. "You could be from Pegalysium actually. We might find out where you truly came from."
"Really?" Jade's eyes met the floor, thinking about that possibility. She was still clueless about her being a Rift Pony and leaning toward the idea of being from this world originally. "Maybe that's true. I'd like to go to Pegalysium."
"Pegalysium for me as well. If I get the chance." Nyx chose her destination.
"Sure. I'll save the best for last. Pegalysium and then Holon. When do we head there?"
"Any time. But when we get there, let's make sure not to cause too much trouble, okay? If anything goes wrong, the king and queen might end up believing that the Pokemon will end everything, starting with their nation. And um, we wouldn't want whatever problems come next, don't we?"
"We won't." Cold waved his hooves. "Oh. Do you wanna see what I can do now?" He decided to show Twilight and the others his magic process as he tapped his horn. To display his progress, Cold had created an assortment of cardboard boxes out of thin air. "Eh? Now I can finally make stuff out of thin air. I'm getting back to my roots now, ya know?"
"That's nice." Jade went over to one of the boxes, immediately jumping inside of it. She was a perfect fit. If it fits, she'll sit in it. And she certainly did while keeping her unchanging expression. "Very nice."
"I'm starting to think that's not Togetic's Joy Dust kicking in anymore." Twilight patted the little colt in the head, praising his progress. "Alright. I should probably burn myself out for tonight. You all keep playing that Superfight of yours."
"Okay!" Cold exclaimed with his hooves held high. The three ponies then continued to enjoy their card game while Twilight walked off for the night.
Universe 25. Team Plasma's other base of operations in Equestria. Colress' lab.
"Colress!" A Team Plasma grunt barged through the door of the lab.
"What is it?!" Colress turned around.
"The Zeraora and Suicune! They've escaped! They've used one of the Travel Spheres to make their escape!"
"Impossible! There is no possibility of them figuring out how to use the Travel Spheres." Colress shook his head in denial. "Which universe would they have gone to?"
"The one with the most Infinity Energy. Universe One."
"Well then, we're going to find them. We've already let two Pokemon escape and be under the possession of Celestia and her world. We can't afford to lose two more. Travel to universe one. They can't escape from us. Make sure not to draw too much attention in that world either."
"Yes sir!" The grunt nodded as he headed off. Now with Suicune and Zeraora missing, a hunt for them had begun. They would have obviously retreated to the one area which was brimming with Infinity Energy. Where Zeraora can regenerate some electricity and Suicune can feel nature pour into it once more.
Colress was taking charge of everything while Ghetsis was away to improve himself. Ships were already starting up, ready to head over to universe one. They had what they needed to try and recapture Zeraora and Suicune. Capturing a Legendary and Mythical Pokemon was not an easy feat to pull off after all. But with heavy numbers and an assortment of equipment, it could be pulled off.
The heavy ships passed through the gateway to Universe one, choosing to head to a discreet location in Equestria. Aboard one of the ships was the Shadow Triad. That just improved the chances of them recapturing the two powerful Pokemon had increased.
Universe 1. Equestria. Far south. Out in the rocky mountains. Night.
Over at the far south, Skyblue Shine could be found there. She was still searching for any leads to the creator of the Magic Siphoning Jar. She was thinking of heading to Pegalysium, however, she hasn't made that trip yet. Her journey led her to the far south of Equestria.
There, she found an odd mountainside. Equestria has a plethora of mountains, but most of them seem ordinary at best. These mountains were off, however. Stretching a total of 48,000 kilometres, possibly being the largest mountain range in Equestria. Strangely enough, it's been hidden mostly. Skyblue Shine essentially found a rare landscape.
Most noticeably, she saw some ruins, indicating that there used to be a building here. However, these ruins were fairly limited and small. Perhaps, those that lived here had a small building.
The android approached the ruins, wondering what she could find here. As she advanced, she came across a pathway of sedimentary rock that led to an open hole in the mountains. Skyblue Shine was definitely on to something here. She had no fear of what could be within that hole. But she would take it anyway.
As she trotted on this pathway, she could see how fragile it had become over the years. Parts of it had crumbled as she moved by. The android ended the hole, squinting her eyes when approaching the darkness. To add some light, she used her magic to brighten up the place.
But when she did, she discovered what was inside of this open hole. This pathway, leading to this hole revealed a hideout, filled with pillars that had moss growing around them. Someone definitely used to live here or at least retreat to it. Now it's long abandoned.
Skyblue Shine navigated her way through this area while keeping her light on. The pathway continued, leading to only one straight direction. As she continued, she found that this hideout was also a dungeon. This was made clear by the giant door in front of her.
The android opened the door, feeling the cobwebs fall from her and the audible sound it made as it echoed through the inside of the mountain. Once she opened it, she was met with a flight of stairs. There was an archway connecting to the downwards stairs. The walls of this dungeon were primary grey stone, and the large stone archways, topped by glowing orange shapes.
Her first instinct was to make her way down the stairs. Skyblue Shine descended through the flights, finding more of them around each corner. And surprisingly, bonfires could be found here. Inside a place like this, it was surprising that flames could sprout. However, these flames were of a different colour.
"Dark red flames?" said Skyblue Shine as she observed them. These dark red flames creating an eerie appearance for the already ominous dungeon. It was about to get stranger. Skyblue Shine quickly stopped by the next turnaround. After passing through so many stairs, she came across a pool of lava. The android simply levitated over them with her magic.
Afterwards, Skyblue Shine came across what could be considered a jackpot. Broken tables could be seen in the corner, but those weren't important. What was important was the contents the tables had. Paper.
Torn-up paper with words that were cut off. Either from age or the flames and lava of this dungeon. Either way, Skyblue Shine had to explore this herself. She brought the pieces of paper towards her, stacking them together. Although, there wasn't any point in stacking them since most of them were either shredded pieces or had parts ripped off.
Except for one.
Skyblue Shine focused on that one piece of paper, reading the words that were on it. It was the only one intact with little damage. The words were a bit blotted and burnt off. But the most important parts were still there. And once the android laid eyes on them, she gasped as she may have found what she was looking for.
"For my decisive resource, I have constructed my greatest item yet. This item will funnel up all forms of magic with ease. Greater magic will be pulled in with the force of a black hole. Smaller magic will be the equivalent of a small tornado. No drawbacks will be left behind with this creation. To my greatest archnemesis. Gusty the Great. This almighty component will be your downfall."
Skyblue Shine observed the name Gusty the Great before reading the very end of the word. The name Gusty didn't stick out to her at all. Her eyes widened after witnessing the final words.
"The Magic Siphoning Jar. By a ram as smart as I...Grogar?!"
The creator had finally been found. The infamous Grogar. The magically powerful tyrant that existed long ago. Even in Pyrestar's universe, that universe's Grogar had already sealed away the earth ponies and pegasi, proving to be a vast threat from the beginning.
Now it added up. The appearance of the jar made sense. The horns could have been a dead giveaway if there was further inspection. Aside from that, Skyblue Shine now had something inform. Plus, this was now confirmed to be Grogar's base. Or at least one of them possibly.
She needed to report to the Empress immediately.
The android already started the opening of the gateway. One usage of a Travel Sphere and the gateway to Universe 30 was open. Skyblue Shine looked around to see if anyone was watching, but an abandoned place like this had no one here. She hopped in, entering the 30th Universe.
Universe 30. Another Equestria. Empress Twilight's palace.
"Empress!" Along came Skyblue Shine with the important news. She galloped through the hallways, passing the guards and soldiers. They wondered why she was in such a hurry as their eyes noticed a piece of paper being carried by her.
Skyblue Shine decided that galloping would delay things. Teleportation was the way to go. So she utilized that instead. One flash and she was out of the hallway and into the throne room of the Empress, where she was working on her own alternative to the Magic Siphoning Jar.
"Empress!"
"Hm?" Empress Twilight swivelled, facing her loyal android. "Oh, you've returned. What have you found out?"
"I've discovered the original creator of the jar! It's Grogar!" Skyblue Shine showed the paper to her ruler.
"What?!" Empress Twilight gasped as she immediately used her own magic to snatch the paper. The alicorn's eyes immediately started examining it, seeing how most of the words were cut off. But not the crucial ones.
It was confirmed and official. This was indeed Grogar's hoofwork. After witnessing that, the Empress lowered the paper, before putting on a poker face.
"So that's it? Even in another universe he still manages to be a part of my life, eh?" said the Empress.
"Now that we know of the original creator, Empress, we can head to another universe and have that Grogar make one for us." SKyblue Shine suggested.
"No. That is pointless. Any version of Grogar can't be trusted. Besides, we won't need him to make another one for us. After all, don't you remember?" Empress Twilight then pointed her hoof at herself. "Grogar is one with me ever since that day. I practically have his intellect already. Not that I needed it before."
"I remember. But he can't influence you, can he?"
"Absolutely not." Empress Twilight turned around. "And he won't. I made sure to keep him in that bell where he belongs. But aside from that, this changes everything."
"What should we do now, Empress?"
"What about that Pegalysium place you told me about? Apparently, it has been hidden away from Equestria?"
"Apparently so. For generations and centuries. Princess Celestia and the rulers there had a small fallout from what I heard during their return. However, I still can't reach a place that high in the sky."
"That's fine. I'll handle that eventually. In the meanwhile, I want you to do one more thing for me. Retrieve your daughter. Bring her here. Soon, it'll be time for her to fulfil your purpose."
"I-I'll get on that. Empress." Skyblue Shine nodded in understanding. She knew this day was coming. The day her daughter would be pulled into all of this. She was a bit hesitant but, with high loyalty, she followed the Empress' orders either way.
The android left the room as Emperss Twilight now had knowledge of the jar's creation. Grogar hiimself. With a cruel smirk, the Empress had various thoughts swirling in her head. She continued working on her creation, making sure that it would especially effect Celestia the most.
A famous convention that is held annually in various regions. A time where many fans of Pokemon culture, which is practically everyone, come together and meet various types of people. Pokemon story creators, great trainers, sometimes a champion or Elite 4 member. Here, new things for the Pokemon World can even be revealed such as new items, movies from PokeStar Studios etc.
And one of the best parts was seeing everyone's costumes. Whether handmade or purchased. Everyone has a favourite Pokemon. And they certainly display it here. Some are simple and straight to point while others are extravagant with tons of creative freedom. Simply put. It's a convention for all things Pokemon.
And visiting this convention was Princess Twilight Sparkle herself. Alongside Pinkie Pie, Jade Skies Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Cold Colt, Fluttershy and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. A fair group. Not all of them were present here though.
"Oh, yeah! This is more like it!" Rainbow Dash's face lit up with excitement. "The Pokemon World has everything!"
"Mhm!" Pinkie, Fluttershy and Cold nodded in agreement. Immediately, Rainbow Dash, Cold and Pinkie Pie scattered to experience the full scope of this convention for themselves. The four foals couldn't help themselves either. A place like this was eye-candy for a child.
"A convention about Pokemon? Not bad." Twilight gazed around. "Is there anything this world doesn't have? Right, Rarity?" As soon as Twilight turned to face Rarity, she noticed that her friend was currently a different pony somewhat. The fashionista had dyed her mane yellow while putting on some sunglasses and a sun hat. "Uh..."
"Sorry. If you're already aware, my PokeStar Studios reputation can lead to large crowds in a place like this." Rarity adjusted her sunglasses.
"Oh. I got it. So, do I have to stay secretive too? I mean. I am a princess now."
"Oh, no I'm sure you're fine." Rarity shook her head, walking by her friend. "By the way. I thought that Ash would be here with you. Where is he?"
"Ash is helping Applejack out over at Sweet Apple Acres. He could still make it. He does get a lot of things done in the morning anyway."
"Hm. Oh. Better prepare myself for something else soon. Today, a new PokeStar Studios film will be announced. Can't miss my fellow cast members." Rarity pranced along with Twilight and Espeon following her. They were going straight for whatever grabs their attention before Rarity could prepare herself.
"Espeon!"
Exhibition Hall.
Rainbow and Pinkie had arrived at the exhibition hall. Where they could buy comic books and toys from various companies and brands. One of those brands was the same brand that marketed parts of Equestria. All the way back in Castelia City. Rainbow Dash was already eyeing down some good items for her to purchase.
"Nice." Rainbow Dash picked up a few Pokemon comic books. Most of it was about superheroes, sci-fi and adventures. She liked what she was seeing. A real eye-catch these items were. "I can totally make room for some of these with my other books."
"I know what you mean, Dashie." Pinkie Pie replied as she picked up some good-looking toys. In her hooves, she held some Pikachu cosplay toys along with a Tyranitar to remind her of Limestone. "The Cake Twins are gonna love some of these when we get back."
"Yeah." The pegasus nodded in response before spotting the Gym Leader, Elite 4 and Champion section. This was where various Gym Leaders, Elite 4 members and Champions gather to speak with other Trainers or those that are just fans with them. And there, Rainbow Dash spotted some familiar faces.
Brawly, Roxanne, Roxie and Fantina. Each were teachers at the Pokemon School in Canterlot. They were currently the only ones visible to Rainbow Dash's eyes. There were probably more somewhere in this convention.
Roxie had noticed Rainbow Dash, staring at her and her fellow Gym Leaders, waving back at the pegasus and earth pony. Pinkie Pie also waved back, causing her and Rainbow Dash to go over.
"Hey-hey!" Roxie cried out. "Glad to you see you two here."
"Rainbow Dash." Brawly held his hand out for the pegasus. "This place caught your attention didn't it?"
"Sure did." Rainbow Dash responded by putting her hoof on his, initiating a hand/hoofshake. An easier name for that would need to be made. "So what's up with this stuff? And where's everyone else."
"This year, some of 'em couldn't attend," Brawly answered. "Cynthia's too busy enjoying her vacation after all. And getting in touch with some Elite 4 members is tough sometimes."
"But they certainly show up at different conventions from time to time," said Roxanne. "This is more of a Fan-meetup. We Gym Leaders do have our fair share of fans."
"Yeah. But my fans come to see my music." Roxie slid over. Check it out, I even brought my whole band with me for this. Wanna see a performance later today?"
"Yeah!" The pegasus and earth pony nodded in approval.
"Oh, I bet when I become champion, I can be in one of these booths. Can you imagine?" Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves, imagining herself as the Equestria Champion. She would have a plethora of fans from across the world coming to meet her and giving her respect. Rainbow Dash liked the sound of that.
Another thing that caught their eye was the cosplayers here. There was certainly a lot to gawk at. Some trainers had made specialized costumes such as a Samurai Machamp, an Angel Swanna, a surprisingly buff Sudowoodo, A Grim Reaper Mimikyu and so on.
"The way they innovate with their costume designs is just so, Éblouissante isn't it?" Fantina commented, complimenting and praising the costumes of everyone she saw. She did like a good design and adores splendid ones. "You could try some yourself, you two."
"Oh, I'd look awesome in one of them. I've got one coming this Nightmare Night soon."
"I can have Mew turn into-" Before Pinkie could speak her words, Roxie suddenly put her hand over the earth pony's mouth before that could happen.
"Ssshh! You don't wanna give away anything on Mew. If everyone sees that you have a Mew with you, then things are gonna get pretty hectic fast." Roxie explained as Pinkie Pie nodded in understanding. She knows that keeping Mew a secret from most of the public was vital, however, there are times when she can accidentally slip. Luckily, she has friends that can help with that.
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie decided to stick around with the Gym Leaders for the time being. The Gym Leaders themselves seemed like they wouldn't have much to do aside from Roxie's upcoming performance. However, in truth, they are just as free as the people who come and visit this convention each year, finding equal enjoyment.
Newcomers were arriving here at the convention. Some had to go long distances just to get to Nimbasa City, even with the gateways everywhere.
One of these newcomers was Team Rocket. Of course, they had some disguises on. They matched the appearance of tourists which would most definitely work since no one can seemingly see-through Team Rocket's disguises. And there may never be a soul out there that will.
"A convention for cons like ourselves!" Jessie whistled. "What do you think's a good catch here?"
"I know what's worth a catch! Bottlecaps, that's what!" James nodded with excitement. "I've heard that this convention grants a years supply of bottle caps! Rare ones even. This is an opportunity that can't be missed or taken away from me."
"How about conning this con in the meantime?" Meowth grinned, giggling with a mischievous nature.
"Sounds good to me. James?"
"You do that!" James immediately took off like a rocket, only focusing on the bottle caps and nothing else. When it comes to his greatest wants and needs, he'll put aside his role as a Team Rocket member. Every single time. "Wait for me bottle caps!"
"Hm. Well anyway." Jessie shrugged. "The biggest suckers are in places like this. Let's get to work!"
"Wobbuffet!"
With Twilight and Rarity.
Twilight and Rarity were currently witnessing the autograph section. Famous Pokemon writers could be found here. Twilight did enjoy some stories and novels for sure. However, she hasn't really read a Pokemon storybook yet. Mostly just history and fact books than anything. So this will be a first.
Rarity continued to keep a low profile as to not draw too much attention to herself. She would check up the fan meetup booth next while planning on buying some Pokemon accessories. Some would work well on her own Pokemon plus Sweetie Belle's.
Speaking of fan meetup, a few foals had come up to Twilight, instantly recognizing her from a far distance while not being able to see through Rarity's disguise. A good sign that it was effective. These foals were all wearing fan attire. Ash Ketchum attire that is.
Hats, jackets, even going as far to put the signature thunderbolt birthmark on their faces. Some even had Pikachu toys on their backs for further detail.
"Oh. You're Princess Twilight, right?" A filly said.
"Hm? Yes, that's right. Hello everypony." Twilight waved to foals in front of them.
"So, is Ash with you right now?" A colt asked.
"Yeah. We really wanna see him here!"
"Oh, um, Ash? About that...." Twilight put her hoof behind her head, gaining a nervous grin. "Ash...isn't here right now..."
"He's not?" Immediately, disappointment and sadness graced their faces and hearts. It was clear as day that they mostly came here to see Ash considering how popular and looked up to he is in Equestria. And to not have him here on their very first Poke-Con was upsetting.
"But we can still bring him here!" Twilight quickly spouted out, putting her hooves up. Just like that, hope had been restored in their hearts once more.
"Can we? Really?" Rarity whispered.
"Yeah. Ash only has to deal with one thing for the day and that's it. It won't be long after all." Twilight whispered back before turning to face the foals. "Just wait a bit, okay?"
"Okay!" They all consecutively said.
"Alright. We don't know how long Ash is gonna take so call Applejack as soon as you can, Rarity." Twilight turned to the fashionista, whispering.
"Already on it." Rarity had her Xtransceiver out and ready. She selected Applejack's number, calling for the earth pony. She waited for a bit until a response came through. "Hello? Applejack?"
"Rarity? Yeah, you need something?"
"Mhm. Just quickly. Is Ash with you at the moment?"
"Ash? Nope. He left a while ago."
"I see. We most definitely need him at the moment. The hopes of many foals are hanging in the balance right now." Is he free?"
"Well, he ain't free now. Went off to journey with Goh and Chloe."
"Just now?" Rarity almost raised her voice. "Well, where are they?"
"Heading to Hoenn. Pokemon Research business and all that."
"Great. Delays. Well, go and see if you can catch up with him then. Tell him that after his trip to Hoenn, head to Nimbasa City soon."
"Hm...Alright. Sure." Applejack sighed, giving a light shrug. "I'll let ya know."
"Splendid. Sorry if this is a bit of a bother, darling." Rarity gave an apologetic grin before hanging up on Applejack. She took a deep breath before giving a reassuring nod to Twilight. That nod made her believe that Ash would be here soon.
"Alright. Just give it some time, children," said Twilight. "In the meantime, before Ash gets here, let's-" Just as Twilight was ready to give a recommendation, something flashy had occurred.
Bursting through the doors and drawing everyone's attention, the entire convention suddenly went dark. All the lights had been cut off. Red lights suddenly flared, replacing the natural lights in this convention. These red lights were similar to the ones in the Galar Region. Mainly Wyndon Stadium.
The lights moved around as they also showed up on the floor with fireworks popping. Small fireworks so that no one gets hurt. But extravagant either way. Everyone looked ahead, spotting a silhouette in the distance. That silhouette had crossed arms, showing that someone was there. And that someone revealed themselves with style.
Champion Leon.
Alongside his Charizard.
"Hello, hello, Nimbasa City! Champion Leon is here!" Leon exclaimed before showcasing his signature Champion Pose.
"Oh! Champion Leon!" A trainer exclaimed as a majority of the people here were gawking, fanboying and fangirling over the World's Strongest Trainer. Chatter quickly turned to applause and cheers of pure excitement. This convention had skyrocketed as they all gave their praises.
"The unbeatable champion! And his Charizard!"
"You guys are the greatest!"
"Thank you. Glad to be here at this year's Poke-Con. I trust that almost everyone here is carrying on with training their Pokemon and never shy from battle. Then come challenge me for the champion title."
"We're on it!" A youngster bellowed with his father carrying him for a better height and view. "We've all been working on our battle skills like you've taught us, Champion Leon!"
"But that Charizard of yours is way too strong for the likes of us to take on!" A voice in the crowd shouted.
"Too true that Charizard is blazingly strong. But other Pokemon can be strong as well! That's why I want the strongest of challengers to blaze on through the Pokemon World Coronation Series and come battle me!" Leon closed his eyes before crossing his arms and looking over at the massive crowd. "My wish is for the world's trainers...No...Both world's trainers to work together to become the World's Strongest Trainer! Charizard and I will be waiting for the day that trainer comes by."
"Charizard!"
"Man. Always has to make an entrance, doesn't he?" Brawly commented.
"I'm surprised he managed to find his way here without getting lost." Roxanne's eyes widened.
"Now then! Let's enjoy this convention!" Leon walked off as he was here for the Champion Meetup. Currently, he was the only Champion here.
Cynthia is enjoying her vacation and freedom away from a plethora of battles, Steven is off doing what he does, best. Exploring. Diantha is most likely working on her fashion job while the two other champions of Unova and Alola are most definitely busy.
Ash was off in Hoenn while Unova's champion...well, that's a story for another time.
"Ah! Champion Leon! That's a good time killer before Ash gets here, right?" Twilight looked to the foals while pointing her hooves at Leon.
"Yeah but...it's not Ash." One filly pouted.
"Yeah, he's not. But he battled Ash and won. And is the one Ash is aiming to beat soon. That's enough, right?"
"...Uh...Okay!" The foals agreed. They would have a meetup with Champion Leon before Ash can get here. If he does, then it'll be two champions in one room.
Twilight and Rarity were hoping that Ash would be here.
Leon stood in the champion booth, already having a ton of people come over to him. After being crowned the Supreme Monarch and World's Strongest Trainer, he was the eye of the storm and the trainer to beat. Plus, some just admired how amazing he was. Leon noticed the arrival of Twilight and Rarity, recognizing Rarity by easily seeing through her disguise.
"Oh. Twilight. Rarity." said Leon. "Nice to see you two again."
"Hi, Leon!" Twilight waved.
"Gh!" Rarity winced after being found out. She looked around, hoping that no one would immediately flock to her after Leon spoke her name. Thankfully, his voice wasn't that high and some trainers were just too focused on Leon. "Phew..."
"So. Do these kids want an autograph?" Leon looked to the foals beside the Princess of Friendship and fashionista. "Or something else?"
"You battled Ash, right?" A colt asked.
"Mhm, right." Leon nodded. "It was a fine battle if I do say so myself. I'd like to battle him again soon."
Yeah? Well, Ash is gonna beat you next time!" A filly suddenly exclaimed. "And become the World's Strongest Trainer!"
"Yeah!" Other foals agreed with her as they were all rooting for Ash to defeat Leon. And they were bold enough to say it in front of Leon himself plus Charizard.
"Children...!" Rarity gave a silent shout at them. "Bit rude, don't you think?"
"It's fine." Leon chuckled. "I'm looking forward to encountering the Trainer that can finally defeat me and Charizard. Ash and Pikachu show a lot of promise, that's for sure. By the way, is Ash here?"
"Not yet. He's journeying Hoenn. The kids here really want to see him." Twilight explained. "But, he'll be here! He wouldn't want to miss out on something like this."
"Hm-hm." Leon nodded in response before being met with other fans. They certainly wanted an autograph. Leon gave them that autograph on the items or clothing they showcased. "Come on. Let me give you all a tour of this place. There's a lot you have yet to see."
Meanwhile, Jessie and Meowth had already placed a stand in the Poke-Con just now. If they were going to see a chance to make some money, this would be it.
Despite having treasure from Pegalysium's old, ancient and ruined temples. They were bold enough to sell vintage knick-knacks that may or may not look vintage. Team Rocket had some smooth handiwork, so they could probably get away with it for a couple of days before they get found out.
"This should do it," Jessie spoke. "Now for the suckers to be reeled in."
"This and the treasure from that Pegalysium place is gonna get us places."
"Mhm! It'll benefit the boss and us. Plus, I'll be loaded in dough that I'll have my own special bodyguards like that Premium pony or whatever." Jessie put her arms behind her head while laying back a bit.
"Meowth, that's right!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Now. Who's the first sucker to-" Before Jessie could pull in some customers, she noticed something that really caught her eye. In truth, she should've noticed this in the beginning. But she was so focused on this whole con act to even spot it.
The cosplay.
Jessie enjoys a good look. Especially when it comes to dresses. Her sense of style is probably why she and Team Rocket are so splendid at disguises. Aside from that, smart, creative and innovative designs were a catch for her. She witnessed all of the cosplay ideas that filled the convention. The brilliant designs many trainers had were an eye-catch for her. Her eyes lit up, jaws dropped as she couldn't resist this view.
"Hold on...These geeks have the right idea." Jessie stood up with Meowth and Wobbuffet looking up at her. "Cosplay, right? Where can I get me one of those?" She bit her finger, wanting a go at this whole cosplay shtick.
"Jess?"
"Wobb?"
"You! Hey you!" Jessie called out to a trainer in a Serperior queen-themed costume. "Where can I get one of those?"
"This?" The trainer pointed at herself while tugging her costume. "They actually sell some cosplay costumes over at the Show Floor. Pretty pricey."
"Fine by me!" Jessie slammed her hands on the booth, having a beaming look on her face. "Thanks for the advice!" After that, the trainer walked off. Now Jessie had a new goal. "Alright! Let's book it to that Show Floor!"
"What about the knick-knacks?"
"Forget about the knick-knacks! Style is waiting! You handle everything from here, Meowth. Wobbuffet. Be right back!" With a whistle, and just like James, Jessie bolted away, ready to get her own costume and showcase it to as many people as she could.
However, she soon came back, realizing one small detail. She didn't have any Pokedollars available. She went back to Meowth, realizing that they would have to sell their knick-knacks if Jessie wanted those costumes.
"B-But first...Some money for it would be nice."
"Uh-huh..."
"Wobbuffet."
As for James, he was standing before an assortment of rare bottle caps. Diamond bottle caps. Emerald, amethyst, black opal, jade and more. They were pricey, of course, but there was a chance to earn them besides money.
A quiz.
Trainers had lined up for these bottle caps, ready to take part in some quizzes. James was confident in his knowledge as he would put it all to the test for the super rare bottle caps.
"Question 1!" A lady managing the quizzes said to the trainers. "What's the Masked Royal's known record streak?"
"Hah!" James pressed on the buzzer before anyone else could, moving at lightning speeds. "21 victories!"
"Correct! Next question! Here in Unova, Elgyem was first discovered in a UFO crash site in a desert how many years ago?" Once more, James' hand rapidly pressed on the button, preventing anyone from getting a chance.
"About 50 years ago! Now technically 56!" James exclaimed as the other Trainers groaned, failing to move as fast as James.
"Correct again! Next question."
"Those bottle caps are mine..." James grinned while letting out a light chuckle. Red death eyes from the trainers were all locked onto James without him even noticing. Too focused on the bottle caps.
"True or false? Macarago's body is truly hotter than the sun."
"Th-" But surprisingly, James had been cut off by someone moving slightly faster than him. He gasped, hearing the buzzer as his head turned in the direction of that noise. To his surprise, the other competitor of this was an actual close friend to him.
Fluttershy.
"Both. Magcargo's outer body is just regular magma. But the inside is where the true 18,000 degrees exists." Fluttershy answered while having her hoof on the buzzer.
"Correct! Bonus for giving the proper explanation as well."
"Yay." Fluttershy cheered along with Audino, Chikorita and Scorbunny.
"Kh!" James grit his teeth, having a poker face as he wasn't expecting this. Fluttershy was certainly a Pokemon expert. More on the biological side of things. "Of all the competitors to be here..."
"Next question." This was where James and Fluttershy compete rigorously. Questions would be thrown at them while each would answer rapidly. The other competitors could not keep up sadly. "Over at Anistar City, what is rumour of the sundial's origin."
"Outer space!" James exclaimed.
"What is a major drawback with Rattata?"
"If the incisors grow too long, it struggles to eat properly and unfortunately passes away." Fluttershy let out a saddened expression after answering that.
"What happens with some Stoutland?"
"Their fur can sometimes blind them from how much grows!"
"What is the difference between being poisoned by a Pokemon with the Poison-Type and a Pokemon without the Poison-Type?"
"Poison-Types poison faster and have stronger poison in them."
"All Electric-Type Pokemon rely on what kind of electricity?"
"AC to DC!"
"How many ways are there to hit Ghost-Type Pokemon that are immune to Normal-Types.?"
"Three. The ability Scrappy, the moves Odor Sleuth and Foresight can make them vulnerable."
"Final question. What is the biggest Pokemon?"
"Wailord!" Yet again, James gave a swift answer at rapid speeds.
"Sorry. That's wrong."
"What?! How can it be wrong?! Everyone knows that Wailord is the biggest!"
"Not anymore. That's been updated recently." She wagged her finger.
"Eternatus." Fluttershy interrupted. "Wailord used to be the biggest until Eternatus was recently discovered. Scaling 328 feet long, or exactly 100 meters, making it undeniably the world's largest Pokemon."
"Correct! Props for keeping up with recent events. Then again, you were there, weren't you, Fluttershy?"
"Curses..." James bit his sleeve.
"It's okay." Just then, Fluttershy patted James on the back to make him feel better. She couldn't actually tell it was James. A perfect disguise as always.
"T-Thanks."
"But that's all the questions for this round! Let's congratulate our main winner. For having bonus points for both the Magcargo and Eternatus question, you've won this quiz." The lady congratulated Fluttershy along with everyone else. James couldn't help but applaud her as well. She played well after all.
"Oh. Thank you so much." Fluttershy gave a shy smile after hearing the applauds.
"Now then. Choose a bottle cap of your choice." The lady then showcased Fluttershy the selection of super rare bottle caps.
"Well...I'm not too fond of bottle caps. But I know James is." Fluttershy selected 20 bottle caps. "He really loves them. Every night before we head to bed, he tells me all about his bottle cap collection. It's really sweet."
James froze up, knowing and realizing that he had just won. Even though he didn't win the quiz, he was still going to get the bottle caps for himself. As Fluttershy chose the bottle caps, James began tearing up, putting his hands over his eyes. Fluttershy was truly a great friend to have, even with his status as a Team Rocket member.
"Fluttershy...You're too kind...!" He silently said, trying not to give himself away.
20 minutes later.
20 minutes have passed. Time with Leon and his tour was over as he went back to the meetup spot. But throughout those 20 minutes, Ash hadn't arrived yet and the foals were getting worried.
To make thins clear and hope for Ash's arrival, Rarity got in touch with Applejack once more, using her Xtransceiver as Leon showed the foals what the Wyndon Stadium truly looked like via models.
"Applejack. How are you faring at the moment?" Rarity asked.
"Uh yeah...About..." Applejack said as a burst of fire could be seen in the background.
"Hm? What's going on over there?" Rarity narrowed her eyes.
"Sorry! Got into a bit of a pickle with some Pokemon!" Applejack ducked as Pikachu's voice could also be heard through the Xtransceiver. "Might take a while more!"
"More time? W-Well, how long will this one take? And are you still in Hoenn?"
"Eeyup! Still in Hoenn!" Applejack ducked an incoming Psybeam. "Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"
"Sceptile!"
"Ugh...Hurry if you can. We might be transitioning into the late afternoon eventually."
"I'll try!" Applejack nodded before having her Xtransceiver cut off by an incoming Flash Cannon. She didn't even hang up by herself. Rarity sighed, dreading that the foals would not get the chance to see their idol today.
"What now?" Twilight slid over.
"Apparently an issue has come up in Hoenn. Now there are even further delays. Just our luck."
"Ash isn't going to make it?" One of the foals heard their conversation as she was on the verge of crying. A tear was already forming as Twilight and Rarity gulped.
"I-It's fine! He'll still be here! Just a little bit late! Always save the best for last, right?" Twilight laughed nervously.
"Ehehehe...." Rarity also gave off a nervous laugh before whispering back at Twilight. "Twilight, darling. I may not be able to help out much longer. I have a movie trailer to attend to."
"I know, I know. Just hold out a bit longer, okay?" Twilight whispered back before clearing her throat. "Ahem. How about we all go and check out Roxie's performance. Music always kills time doesn't it?"
To further stall time, Twilight would guide the foals towards Roxie's music performance. It was currently due at the moment. Already showing u there was Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie after they started hanging out with the Gym Leaders.
Rainbow Dash had bought so many comic books that they could barely fit in her bags. There were at least 30 of them inside. As for Pinkie Pie, the abundance of items she bought were toys. Arguably bigger than the comic books although some were smaller. She had 50 of them at her disposal.
"Oh, hey Twilight! Rarity!" Pinkie Pie waved at her friends after they came over. "You here to check out Roxie's music?"
"Sure are. With these little ones one too. Hopefully, it lasts long enough for Ash to get here."
"We really wanna see him!" A filly jumped up and down, showing enthusiasm as her Ash hat almost fell off.
"Ash isn't here yet?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"No. Apparently, there are issues in Hoenn that need to be solved. Bit it's fine. It shouldn't take too long." Immediately after Rarity said that, right now Applejack was calling through the Xtransceiver once more. "Ah. That sounds like good news to me. Just wait, children. He'll be zooming here before you know it." Rarity gracefully picked up the call of the Xtransceiver, expecting good news. "Yes, Applejack?"
"Bad news! Things are getting pretty hectic out here!" Applejack's hat was off as she was currently running at the moment. Pikachu's Thunderbolt and Cinderace's Pyro Ball could also be heard.
"Pikachu!"
"Seriously?! What now?! Where in Hoenn are you?!"
"Kirikiri Mountain!" Applejack exclaimed as Pikachu came flying in with an Iron Tail, protecting the cowgirl from an incoming Energy Ball. "Thanks, Pikachu!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"What the hay's going on?" Rainbow Dash looked over.
"Nothing too big! Just a small problem!" Applejack put her hat back on as an Aura Sphere could be seen flying across the screen. "I gotta go! Ash is gonna be there! Promise!" Once more, Applejack hung up. And this time, the foals heard everything.
Rarity turned around to face the foals with a nervous grin. The foals were now feeling tenser and tenser as time goes on. At this rate, Ash may not make it before this all ends. And that would truly be a shame.
"Ehehehe..." Rarity chuckled along with Twilight as the fashionista took out a Poke Ball. Out of the Poke Ball, Pheromosa had emerged.
"Pheromosa!"
"Just a moment~" Rarity whistled before whispering to her partner. "Pheromosa. Head to Kirikiri Mountain in the Hoenn Region. Ask anyone in Hoenn where it is and bring Ash here as soon as you can. Please."
"Mosa." Pheromosa understood her trainer's plea. She was already on it. With a burst of speed, Phromosa took, startling nearby trainers. And the moment she left, the performance was about to start.
The room went dark once more with Roxie and her band appearing. Spotlights were placed on her band. Cheers were filling the convention as Roxie was more than ready. Joining her this time was Roxanne. Roxanne had taken an interest in music after Roxie had taught her. She wasn't fully in Roxie's band, but she was great to have around. Brawly joined in. His experience with the drums ever since he was little had been reborn. He decided to practice himself after many negotiations with Brawly.
"Okay! Here we go!" Roxie exclaimed, raising her hand to everyone. "I've been waiting for this one for a while now! Are you ready, Roxanne?"
"Positive!" Roxanne gave a confident nod. "And you Brawly?"
"Mhm." Brawly just gave an approving thumbs up.
"Nice. Here we go!" Roxie was ready to start the concert as the music started playing. Everyone could already feel the tempo as the foals were certainly getting into it. Music does tend to change moods in a flash.
"Here I stand looking to the future
What it brings, nobody can be sure But I'll smile throughout every challenge I'll be strong and I'll show endurance
These feelings here, I will hold them oh so dear And now I know what I can do! To reach you!"
Roxie and Roxanne looked at each other, standing close together while singing in unison. They were really getting into the mood for this song. Especially Roxanne, who was showing so much enthusiasm.
"Ooh Yeah!
Keep on pushing against the fierce wind! Keep on pushing through, reaching the end! Never give up, never back down Yes, I'm OK!
Ooh Yeah!
Keep on charging up to build more power! Keep on burning this courage hotter! Never give up, just believe and I can go far!
We are here 'cause we work together
And with strength, we'll get even better So right now my emotions go through time And with you, they are far more energized
We're standing here So much closer with no fears And now we know what we must do
To be true!
Ooh Yeah!
Nothing now can ever go wrong! All our worries, forever begone! Everything's fine, we're together, but are you OK?
Ooh Yeah!
All this passion and strength is too strong Just to give up and never live on! Let's take our chance, we cannot fail, now we'll go on!
Ooh yeah!
Keep on pushing against the fierce wind! Keep on pushing through, reaching the end! Never give up, never back down
Yes, I'm OK!
Ooh Yeah!
If we work together, we cannot lose! Never give up until we're through! Everything's fine, we're
together, but are you OK?
Ooh Yeah!
We are here to grow together! On this hard, but great adventure! Never give up 'til you Reach your
Dazzling dream!"
And with a final flurry of guitar strums and drum beats, the song was coming to an end as Brawly was exiting his focused zone. The song had come to an end as everyone cheered afterwards.
"Haha!" Roxanne giggled before holding both of Roxie's hands, jumping up and down. "That was incredible! My first performance! Can you believe it?!"
"Y-Yeah I can! But you're kinda hurting my hands here, Rox!" Roxie grinned before feeling Roxanne's surprisingly supreme strength. Everyone truly enjoyed that. Pokemon songs do spark up that excitement.
Pinkie Pie flailed her hooves around after hearing that. That was the only musical performance for this convention but it was certainly worth it. Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Cold Colt also enjoyed this themselves as they were in the crowd. The four of them went on a shopping spree earlier as seen by the abundance of items in their bags.
The foals had wide smiled on their faces, almost forgetting about Ash arriving here or maybe not. Either way, that was a great time killer to be sure. Everyone else just went on with their day afterwards.
6 hours later.
6 hours had passed. Rarity joined her fellow cast members for the upcoming PokeStar Studios. The movie looked promising. fantasy setting. Those are always fun. Everyone applauded as Rarity could finally take off her disguise. Rainbow Dash had received one thing from Hearths Warming/Christmas. A TV. Now when that movie exists for a while, she'll be able to watch it there for free.
Aside from that, the con was starting to end. At least, the first day. They usually last for four days. And still, Ash hadn't arrived. Neither has Pheromosa despite her great speed.
"It's getting late." Twilight looked outside as the moon was starting to reveal itself. "Are your parents here?"
"They're here in Nimbasa. Doing some shopping." A colt said.
"Okay. Let them come and pick you up some soo, alright? Sorry that Ash couldn't make it here." Twilight apologized as she stood beside her friends.
"But perhaps tomorrow or next year, that can be a possibility," said Rarity. "Ash would never give up on something like this, especially if it involves someone wanting to see him."
"We know. Bit this was really fun." A filly spoke as all the other foal agreed. "Even though we didn't get to see Ash...this was a blast!"
"Yeah, it was!"
"I got free comics!"
"I got to see an awesome musical!"
"And I got this!" Sliding into the scene and interrupting the children's flow was Jessie. She sold enough knick-knacks to purchase one of the cosplay choices. "Voila!" She wore herself a flashy Pyroar dress, mainly the female one. She had the appearance of an empress.
"Uh...That looks good. Um...who are you?" Fluttershy asked before Jessie realized she was still in a disguise. Technically two disguises in one.
"Um...Sorry for the intrusion!" Jessie giggled before bolting away. Everyone found that a bit odd, however, they didn't think too much about it.
Everypony was ready to head home for the day. They had their fun. They might come back tomorrow with new guests. Spike definitely wanted to come here tomorrow. But that was up for debate. However, before they could leave, someone entered the convention. Late, but still present. Twilight could feel this familiar aura as she and her friends turned to face the entrance.
Ash and Pikachu were here at last.
"Hey, guys! Sorry, we're late." Ash waved as Pheromosa and Applejack were also here, looking fairly bent out of shape. Ash's clothes were a bit torn too.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash! Pikachu!" The foals cried out as they rushed over to their idols.
"Oh, my goodness. Ash, what happened to you?"
"Yeah. Got into some trouble with the Pokemon at KiriKiri Mountain. But it's all okay now. I heard everything from Applejack." Ash kneeled to face the children. "Sorry I kept you all waiting."
"It's okay!" A filly said with a beaming smile. They were all just happy that Ash and Pikachu were here now. A colt wanted to be picked up by Ash and he was granted that wish. Ash picked the little pony up before gracing his eyes on the convention.
"Looks like I missed out on a bunch. We can totally hang out tomorrow, can't we?"
"Pika-Pika?"
"Oh yeah!" The foals all bellowed. Any time with Ash was the best time they could have. Ash was back and he promised to be here for the remaining three days.
"Finally..."Applejack sighed as she almost passed out. "Boy...That was something, wasn't it?"
"Pheromosa..."
"Let's get all of us home, shall we?" Rarity chuckled, helping Applejack up and returning Pheromosa. It was time to head home. Maybe they'll be back here tomorrow. Ash, Pikachu and the foals certainly will.
The convention was enjoyable nonetheless. But that's to be expected when it comes to the World of Pokemon. Truly, excitement lives everywhere. And more exciting adventures were due as the journey continues.
"Okay. Today's the day!" Ash pumped his fist in the air. "Let's visit Pegalysium for real this time!"
"Pika-Pikachu!" It indeed was that day. A second trip to Pegalysium. And this time, a proper visit. After the peaceful negotiation with King Paramount and Queen Luminary, mostly Paramount, they were free to come up to Pegalysium at any time. And Luminary would be honoured to tour them.
"Just think, Jade! You could really be from Pegalysium! How exciting is that?!" Pinkie turned to Jade, holding her emotionless face and puckering her lips.
"I'm psyched," Jade said in a dry tone.
"Right?!" Pinkie Pie squeed.
"Do you have everything, ready Team Rocket?" Fluttershy spoke to Team Rocket who currently had their Rocketship with them. They had indeed named it and they went with the most generic name out there. But it worked so well with their team.
Rocketship.
"All set!" Team Rocket whistled with a heavy thumbs up from Jessie and James.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Great, but um, are you sure this is a good idea? Bringing all of these Pokemon onboard." Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy as many Pokemon from the Pokemon House were getting onboard the Rocketship. The ship was large enough to hold most of them thankfully.
"Shooting Star said he wanted to see some Pokemon as they really are. He's only seen ours and is probably looking at just the Pokedex. Experiencing so many Pokemon as they are will be amazing for him. And don't worry. They'll all be on their best behaviour. Right everyone?" Fluttershy turned the Pokemon as they all cried out in confirmation.
They will certainly behave.
"Okay!" Ash ran into the ship with Pikachu and Cold Colt by his side. "Let's go!"
"Pikachu!"
"Wait. What about all of those clouds moving? Pegalysium might not be in the same spot as it was before, remember?" Chloe reminded everyone of the moving clouds.
"No need to worry. I thought about that and found a workaround for it." Twilight smiled with confidence. "Besides, we might end up in a different city, town or whatever in Pegalysium than just the capital. Now, what are we waiting for? Let's get going."
Immediately, everyone flocked to the Rocketship. It was time for yet another adventure in the sky. However, this time, under good terms thanks to Celestia's second meeting.
And speaking of Celestia, she wouldn't be joining Ash and the others this time. Neither would Luna. They have no reason to head back now. Although, Celestia did have one reason that she has yet to fulfil. Meeting Garnet again and teaching her about Pokemon. Much like Shooting Star.
Pegalysium. Sky Monarch. Day.
Speaking of Shooting Star, over at the palace and the dining room, Shooting Star himself looked a bit exhausted. Normally, this would be natural since it is the day. It's common to be tired in the morning, especially if the sleep schedule is altered and varied. However, Shooting Star was so tired, that he could barely touch his food.
"Dear. Are you alright?" Luminary asked her son. "You haven't eaten yet. Do you need more sleep?"
"Mm...Maybe." Shooting nodded slowly while planting his face in his food unconsciously. "Sorry. I've been looking at the Pokedex for a long time now. All-day, all night."
"Well, you should take a small break from it don't you think? I know it seems exciting but too much time on that thing could really throw your sleep schedule off course."
"Yeah...I know mom."
"Besides. I worry the same could happen to your father. He's taken a mass interest in it as well. A king can't be oversleeping now can he?"
"Mhm. Dad's gonna be fine. You know he went 2 weeks without..." Just as Shooting Star babbled on, he fell asleep on the spot, further digging his face in food. His snoring could also be heard.
"Okay." Luminary sighed as she believed the best option was to let her son rest for a bit longer.
His sleep schedule could forever be altered at this point. Luminary picked up her son, placing his sleeping body on her back. Shooting let out a smile, feeling comfortable on his mother's back. As if he was a baby again.
She flew over to his room, opening it to see how messy the bed was. Since he's been focusing on the Pokedex so much, he hasn't bothered to clean his room like he usually does. Luminary sighed as she trotted over to his bed. The queen then placed her son down, laying his back perfectly on it. Messy or not the bed is still comfortable.
Shooting Star had his hooves spread out as Luminary then placed his blanket on him. Fittingly, the pattern of his blanket was shooting stars with some comets added to them. Shooting Star felt at peace. He might wake up during the night but oh well. Luminary was fine with however her son sleeps at any time.
But as she was about to leave, she spotted the Pokedex on Shooting Star's bed. Just near his head. Her son and husband have already experienced the Pokedex for themselves, getting a hooffull of information. It wouldn't hurt to learn some Pokedex entries herself.
Out of curiosity, Luminary went over to pick up the Pokedex. "Sorry, sweetie You wouldn't mind if I borrowed this for a while, would you?"
"Mmm...Shhmmmrrh..." Shooting Star grumbled in his sleep with babble and indescribable words. Luminary took that as a yes either way.
She took the Pokedex, leaving the room as she gently closed the door, allowing her pride and joy to rest for the day. Afterwards, it was just Luminary and the Pokedex. It was already turned on with some of the first few Pokemon being shown on it.
Now it was time for her to see what this Pokedex was all about. She used her wings to scroll and interact with the Pokedex rather than her wings.
"Hm...All of these colourful monsters. Most of them are so cute to look at! Ah! This one looks nice!" Luminary found the first one of her choice. Altaria. She selected the Humming Pokemon with her wing, seeing what the dex had to offer.
"Altaria. The Humming Pokemon. Altaria dances and wheels through the sky among billowing, cotton-like clouds. By singing melodies in its crystal-clear voice, this Pokémon makes its listeners experience dreamy wonderment. This Pokémon catches updrafts with its buoyant wings and soars way up into the wild blue yonder. This Pokémon has a kind disposition, but if it’s provoked, it will threaten opponents with shrill cries before attacking them without mercy."
"Ooh. Beautiful but scary. I like that. What else is there?" Luminary began walking while reading and scrolling through the Pokedex. And just like her husband and son, she was immediately hooked. She had to see the next entry.
No one can resist the Pokedex.
Luminary was so fixated on it, reading the next entry, that she didn't have a set destination at the moment. In fact, she ended up walking out of the palace and out into the streets of the capital. The doors opened for her as the guards bowed to their queen.
Luminary trotted along the streets, focusing only the dex as the nobles of Pegalysium noticed her arrival. Usually, this is where they would head up to the queen and ask her questions, requests and have a casual discussion. However, they all noticed the Pokedex she was holding before they could do so.
"My. What is that she's holding with her?" A mare said.
"Seems like some sort of...book?" A stallion responded.
"That's no book I've ever seen. It's flat but there are no pages on it." Another stallion observed the Pokedex. "And there seems to be light coming out of it."
"Is it some sort of magic book?" Another mare spoke.
"Oh! Mother, can I have one?" A filly jumped up and down, already feeling attracted to the dex.
"Well, we'll have to see if they're in-store, dear."
"Your highness." Just then, a guard went up to the queen, breaking her out of the Pokedex's trance.
"Hm? Yes?" Luminary looked over at the soldier.
"We may have a bit of trouble, unfortunately. Remnants of the Rift have seemingly found their way here in Pegalysium. Just over at Big Sky."
"The Resort City? How?" Luminary's attention was now fully grabbed by this. "And when did this happen? Just now?"
"Just now."
"Well...what caused it? Did the Rift leave something behind?"
"Unfortunately, we aren't sure. But one of our troops saw what seemed to be some sort of...I believe they're called humans? That is all we saw before the supposed human vanished."
"I see. Has anypony at Big Sky noticed? Have they interacted with the Rift magic?"
"The magic vanished once it was dropped off. We were too late to catch or find it. It could be anywhere."
"That could be trouble. My husband is the only one with Rift Magic here." Luminary bit her hoof. "Problems will only emerge if the Indigo Alliance obtain it. Search and investigate Big Sky for a while until you can find any trace of that Rift magic and if anypony has interacted with it. I'll let my husband know of this."
"Yes, your majesty. But what about the Indigo Alliance? If they find out about this-
"I know, I know. That's what I'm hoping doesn't happen." Luminary gulped. This Indigo Alliance she spoke of seemed to be something rather infamous. Seemingly a group of ponies that reside in the sky with a different reputation from everyone.
Rift Magic is now lurking around Pegalysium, left by a Rift Human. And there are only two individuals that could be responsible for this, of course.
Far south of Pegalysium. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, Ash and the others had just arrived at Pegalysium, breaking through the clouds. They knew of the clouds moving every island, switching the locations at random without any consistent pattern. The Rocketship soared through the skies and near the Sea Cloud while Ash looked over at the view.
"Hm...Yeah. There's definitely stuff different about this place now." Ash observed.
"Pikachu."
"Just see if you can find one city. Or any civilization, James. Anything to have Jade find her original home." Pinkie Pie said. James nodded in agreement. "Do you think your parents are there? I mean, they gotta be. They'll be so excited to see you again, won't they?!"
"Probably. I don't really know if I have parents." Jade responded, staring through the window with a blank expression.
"Can't wait to see Shooting Star again. Bet he's psyched to see a bunch of real Pokemon, right pal?" Ash looked to his partner.
"Pikachu!"
"Speaking of which...the Pokemon are unusually quiet in there." Rarity turned to the south of the ship, wondering why the silence was so common.
"I told them to behave after all. Sometimes they take it a bit too far and become silent for a while." Fluttershy giggled while Scorbunny climbed on her mane.
"Hm?" As James steered the ship, moving through some clouds, he noticed something odd. One of the clouds was acting off. Then again, every cloud here is bizarre and unlike a natural cloud. However, there was something about this one cloud.
One was the appearance of it. Clouds are usually consistent with their shapes and sizes, no matter the universe. But this cloud seemed to be unusually long.
Unbelievably long.
It was about as long as the Sea Cloud. It was also moving at a slow pace, similar to the rest of the clouds. James didn't think too much about it. After all, everything in these skies is surprising. So he kept moving the ship.
"Hey, Dash. Cold. Check this out." Ash spoke to Rainbow Dash and Cold Colt, wanting to impress them for a moment. It was about Sir Aaron's Staff. Ash now has ownership of it and thanks to a spell from Twilight, Ash can willingly summon the staff by enlarging it. Originally, he couldn't due to the size difference. He held his hand out, standing tall and putting a serious face on. "Staff! Come to me!"
And with that command, the staff suddenly appeared in Ash's hand, enlarging to its original size and unleashing Aura particles by responding to Ash's Aura. Ash then held the staff, putting one fist on his hip and pulling off a heroic pose in the process. Pikachu posed on his shoulder for extra flair.
"Huh? Pretty cool, right?"
"Pikachu!"
"Yeah, it is! You looked so good doing it!" Cold starting geeking out. "Do it again, please!"
"Nice, Ash! You should wear a cape with that, ya know?" Rainbow Dash flew over.
"Think so? Oh, capes do look awesome on everything."
"Cape coming up!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as Mew turned himself into a Ditto and immediately into a cape. The New Species Pokemon flew over to Ash, immediately placing himself on his back.
"Mew-Mew!" Mew spoke while being a cape. And indeed, Ash holding the staff with the cape suited him well.
"This is more like it!" Ash laughed while still posing. Rainbow Dash wanted to see more flashy looks as Ash gave her the staff. Now Rainbow Dash was the one posing with it as Mew switched over to the pegasus, still acting as a cape. They were all having a good time overall.
However, as the ship moved through the skies, James noticed something from the side. That same long cloud. While it was still up ahead, James sotted more of them appearing from the side of the ship. Strangely, enough, they weren't there before.
"Something's not right," James commented.
"What? What is it?" Jessie asked.
"These clouds are acting a bit too odd." James looked to both sides of the windows, seeing the down long clouds move beside them. He also noticed how they were now starting to move at the same pace as the ship instead of the clouds. And the ship was faster than the clouds.
"Audino?" Audino's ears started sensing something nearby. Just from the outside as they twitched. The Hearing Pokemon turned to the window, wondering what she was hearing. It sounded like hissing on her part.
"You hear hissing, Audi?" Fluttershy translated.
"Maybe the Pokemon are getting active now," said Rainbow Dash.
"No. She says it's coming from the outside. Is there some sort of creature outside, Audi?"
"Dino." Audino nodded in confirmation. She told Fluttershy about how this hissing wasn't from any serpent Pokemon she recognizes. Not Serperior, Seviper, Arbok, or any of them. Plus, the chances of them being outside in the sky would be very low.
That's when it hit James. What Audino was hearing was what he was sensing. James decided to test things about a bit more by speeding the Rocketship forward. He would increase its speed and see how the clouds would react. Lo and behold, the moment he accelerated the ship, so did the long clouds.
"Aha!" James exclaimed, exposing these clouds as he went over to the window. "Those aren't clouds! Those are-"
James did figure out that these weren't ordinary clouds. Then again, the clouds in Pegalysium are anything but ordinary. However, as James was about to say what these clouds were, they revealed themselves for the Team Rocket member either way. James' grin slowly transformed into a frown as he could see one of the long clouds rise, casting a large shadow over him.
And the same went for the one on the other side too. It also arose, casting its own shadow. Soon, the inside of the Rocketship had two shadows as everyone looked to both sides, wondering what this could be. Everything wouldn't have to worry as red eyes were suddenly descending, showing themselves to Ash and everyone. It was soon confirmed what these were.
Sky Serpents.
Standing 5.5 m total with the body of clouds, red eyes like fire, these creatures of the sky had encountered Ash's group in what would seem to be their territory. It would also explain what was up ahead.
"What are those things?!" Goh gasped.
"Some sort of snakes! Sky Snakes?!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Everyone stayed cautious. And for a good reason. Immediately, once their eyes had met, the Sky Serpents didn't hesitate to attack.
The one on the left had bashed his head on the ship, delivering the first hit. For something made out of nothing but clouds, it left a powerful impact on the Rocketship, making it tremble as everyone felt it.
"Woah!" Ash held his hat as most of his friends almost lost their balance. Pinkie Pie and Chloe certainly did. The Sky Serpents were now on the offensive, choosing to attack everyone inside. The one on the right attacked next, opening its mouth to reveal surprisingly sharp fangs. Of course, they were made out of clouds.
Very solid clouds.
The right Sky Serpent bit into the side of the ship, making it shake once more. This time, it left a mark. The fangs were so sharp, they could pierce through the rocketship, leaving visible bite marks. Applejack backed away as she was almost caught by these fangs.
"If that's how they want to play then so be it!" James went back to the controls, decided to retaliate against these Serpents of the Skies. He gripped the controls close to him as he activated the ship's defences. The most common one was the shield of magic that it always had with it.
The shield had been summoned, pushing the Sky Serpents away while also damaging them with some magic in the process. They hissed loudly as they certainly felled that. Their hissing echoed throughout the skies as well. The serpents now saw this as a challenge. And they would give a challenge.
After being pushed back, the two serpents slithered through the air, bashing their heads on the magic field. The impact they gave off caused the magic field to shake, showing that they had the potential to break it. James responded by using the many ship defences, including the ones that he and his teammates personally installed.
"For anything in the sky that wants to be a bother..." James looked at the module with a multitude of buttons, pressing the one on the far right. "How about the feeling of a hurricane!"
Immediately, the magic field was lowered as the side of the ship had opened some hatches. Emerging from those hatches were tubes of some sort. Instantly, those tubes fired out spirals of wind from both directions. And as James said, they had the feeling of a hurricane. Plus the force one.
The Sky Serpents certainly felt that one as well. Immediately, they were blown back by these spiralling winds with parts of their bodies fading away. James grinned as it proved to be an effective method.
However, that wouldn't matter for long as the Sky Serpents were starting to regenerate all of a sudden. James' excitement shifted into one of confusion as he saw some extra clouds appear on these serpents of the skies. They could indeed regenerate with spare clouds from the skies.
And there was no limit considering how vast the sky is.
The serpents hissed, slithering back as they decided to wrap around the ship. And they had the length to do so. James wouldn't allow that to happen as he continued to use the hurricane tubes to try and push the Sky Serpents away. However, each time he attempted it, the Sky Serpents just regenerated themselves by adding more clouds on their bodies.
As long as the skies and clouds exist, they won't fade away.
"Oh just vanish already!" James exclaimed. He looked to the module, wondering what other defence he could use against these creatures. "Let's try something else then!"
"Hold on, James!" Ash and Rainbow Dash suddenly interrupted. "Let us help."
"Pikachu!"
"Outside there? Ash! Rainbow Dash! Are you sure?!" Twilight asked.
"Suit yourself." Immediately, James did not hesitate to grant them their wish. He opened the top of the ship, allowing for Ash and Rainbow Dash to confront the serpents. And they would need to act fast. The serpents had already wrapped the first half of their bodies onto the side of the ship, ready to constrict it with their coils.
Rainbow Dash flew out of the ship while Ash jumped an impressive height, climbing onto the top of the ship with Pikachu holding onto his shoulder. Twilight sighed as she knew there was no point in stopping them. She truly had daring friends, didn't she?
Ash, Pikachu and Rainbow Dash came face to face with the two serpents and their humongous appearances. Their crimson eyes glaring at them. But of course, Ash, Pikachu and Rainbow Dash weren't intimidated by this.
The snakes then chose to attack Ash, Pikachu and Rainbow Dash next while also wrapping their body on the ship. They certainly had the length to multitask.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Castform, Weather Ball!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder while Castform emerged from Rainbow Dash's saddlebag. The Mouse Pokemon and the Weather Pokemon both unleashed their attacks at the same time. A bolt of lightning and a sphere of flames. "Chu!"
"Castform!"
And with those two attacks, the two serpents were met with 100,000 volts and scorching flames, strong enough to knock them back and almost break their concentration on the ship. The serpents hissed, shooting out whirlwinds from their mouths all of a sudden. Similar to how the Air Wolves could howl wind. The wind had pushed Pikachu and Castform right back to their trainers.
"Pika!
Cast!"
Pikachu slid on the top of the ship while the serpents went in for a bite. Their hard fangs baring and zooming down, threatening to even go through the ship.
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu responded by swinging his tail and hardening it. One swing and the teeth of the Sky Serpent had been rattled.
"Castform, fly above and use Energy Ball!"
"Cast!" Castform did just that. He evaded the fangs of the snake before summoning an orb from nature itself. The Weather Pokemon then unleashed the orb, striking the Sky Serpent's head. Dead-on. The serpent hissed as its upper body fell back from the Energy Ball.
The Sky Serpents could see that they had some tough prey. Pikachu and Castform were not to be taken lightly. One Iron Tail and the Sky Serpent's tail was already on the verge of shattering, almost eliminating its freedom to bite ever again.
Seeing how strong the Pokemon were, the Sky Serpents chose to call for help. By hissing into the air, they let out a cry for help. And Fluttershy could tell.
"Oh my! More are coming!" Fluttershy gulped as her ears dropped. "Maybe we shouldn't be by their territory!"
"You heard her, James! Get us out of here!" Jessie exclaimed.
"There's still one up ahead!" James responded, ready to put the ship at full speed. However, back outside, the serpents ceased their wrap on the ship, allowing themselves to have more freedom. The Sky Serpents then slithered into the air, aiming to divebomb themselves onto the Rocketship.
"Uh oh!" Ash and Rainbow Dash noticed this as the Sky Serpents were slithering at impressive speeds. "Pikachu! Electroweb!"
"Braviary! Come out and use Superpower!" Rainbow Dash took out her Poke Ball while Pikachu summoned a net of electricity from his tail. Out came Braviary once Rainbow tossed the Poke Ball.
"Braviary!" Braviary understood what needed to be done as he covered his wings and talons in red energy. The Valiant Pokemon soared through the skies, flying beside the Electroweb.
Electroweb had landed on the face of the Sky Serpent, slowing its movements down by shocking it. The serpent lost its balance from that as Braviary clapped his wings together. By clapping his wings, he sent a wind pressure greater than the one the Rocketship gave out. This wind pressure blew both Sky Serpents away with the force of a tornado. An even greater one to boot.
The Sky Serpents certainly felt that one as they went flying so far back, they were essentially defeated with the web still one the face of one. Pikachu landed on Ash's shoulder as they saw the two Sky Serpents fall. However, it wasn't over yet.
There was still the Sky Serpent in the front, dead ahead. And to make things worse, the other Sky Serpents heard the call. Ash and Rainbow Dash looked to the side while Twilight and the others looked at the back window.
Lo and behold, a pit of Sky Serpents were making their way here, ready to get a piece of the action. At least 40 of them were approaching.
"Oh, well." Pinkie Pie shrugged, knowing that something wild like this would happen. "Can't say we didn't think this would be an easy trip. Mew! Let's show them an even bigger sky snake! Transform into Rayquaza!"
"Mew-Mew!" Mew understood as he flew out of the hatch, reaching the outside. Mew took it a step further. He ascended higher into the air before shifting his appearance. His body length extended to an astronomical difference. By spinning into the air and having a length that surpassed the Sky Serpents with ease.
Mew had become Rayquaza. Pinkie Pie then hopped onto the back of her partner, riding on the transformed New-Species Pokemon. Now she had the superior lizard.
"Hah! Mine's bigger! Okay, Mew! Psyshock, go!" Pinkie giggled before giving an order. Mew opened his mouth, summoning an odd Psychic wave. He then released the wave, transforming them into three thick masses of lights. Pink, purple and violet respectively.
The masses had easily blown the Sky Serpents away, causing a Psychic explosion that had eclipsed parts of the sky. The nearby Sky Serpents had also been blown back by this outburst.
However, more were approaching. Seemingly an endless amount. This was certainly their territory. James accelerated the ship, forcing it to outspeed the serpents and get as far as away as possible.
Mew flew beside the ship while also shooting out some more Psyshocks and occasionally an Aura Sphere. James noticed that they were about to approach land soon in the form of a forest with a settlement nearby. However, the other Sky Serpent in the front was still present.
And speaking of the serpent in the front, it was the only one not going on the offensive, unlike its fellow serpents. More serpents revealed themselves as they were hiding in the clouds. After showing themselves, they slithered from all sides, soon zoning the Rocketship out.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Braviary, Superpower! Castform Weather Ball!"
"Mew, Aura Sphere!"
Ash, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were certainly keeping everyone safe at the moment. Mew's great size as a Rayquaza, Pikachu's advantage over anything aerial related ad the coordination between Braviary and Castform helped to make this possible.
However, as the ship went ahead with many of the Sky Serpents dropping like flies, the one serpent in the front was finally moving. It rose, turning its head. It had spotted the ship, Pokemon and its fellow serpents. Noticeably, this serpent had green eyes instead of red.
One look and the serpent could tell what was occurring.
We'll just phase through as if it was an actual cloud!" James was ready to fly through the serpent in the front with zero hesitation. He gripped the controls tighter, having a confident look on his face.
But this is where things took a turn. The green-eyed Sky Serpent moved out of the way, allowing the Rocketship to pass through. Seems that this snake was not so hostile.
"Thank you!" Fluttershy thanked the green-eyed Sky Serpent. Afterwards, Ash and the others hopped back into the ship with Mew transforming into his original form. They were close to the forest and settlement now.
As for the Sky Serpents, the green-eyed Sky Serpent stood in front of its kin, preventing them from advancing any further. This serpent seemed to be on the protective side, deciding to defend others instead of randomly attacking the first prey it sees.
Everyone looked behind but their view was quickly cut off by an assortment of clouds. The last thing they saw was the green-eyed serpent charging at the other Sky Serpents.
"Well...That was something. Wasn't it?" Applejack scrunched her face from that. They all nodded in agreement. And with James slowing the ship down, they had arrived at the forest.
That was a bit of a rush.
"I hope that snake's alright. Fluttershy was worried about the green-eyed Sky Serpent that allowed them to pass through and chose to protect them.
"No time to worry about that, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash said as the doors to the ship started opening. After yet another intense trip through the skies, they had reached their first destination.
And the best part about this. No temples. They were ready to also head over to that settlement and see what it was all about. They didn't know what to expect but they were eager either way.
However, as the ship had parked near the land, hidden within the trees, a mysterious face watched from the shadows. With some sort of purple clothing, the eys had witnessed the arrival of the ship. Clearly, their arrival wouldn't be unknown.
Finally. Their second trip to Pegalysium. After going through an attack from Sky Serpents, of all things, they had arrived at a forest with a nearby settlement. And they had a large crowd with them. Many of the Pokemon from the Pokemon House had come along just for Shooting Star to see more Pokemon. In the flesh.
Jade was also here to see if she was truly from Pegalysium. Unfortunately for her, there's a good chance she'll be hit with disappointment only. Team Rocket would stay behind to guard the ship, but they might end up going treasure hunting again.
"Bringing all these Pokemon here is a bit much, don't you think, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked as the group were on their way to the settlement.
"It'll be fine. Trust me, Twilight. This way everyone. It should be through here." Fluttershy spoke to the Pokemon as they were behind the Trainers and their own Pokemon.
They had moved through the forest which was the most average forest yet. Nothing too spectacular about it. It wasn't riddled with temples like the jungle or anything. It was just a forest.
But that allowed them to come across their very first settlement in Pegalysium. A nice and humble town. Known as Feathercoast.
"Oooh." Ash and everyone gawked at the sight of this settlement. From the first glance, it was certainly something. The architecture of the buildings seem to be colourful and extravagant, and many of them have wavy patterns and checkered rooftops. The buildings were fairly modest as most of the architecture was surrounded by mostly woods with acres of trees. There was also a sizable port with various boats and ships.
For a town, it had almost everything there. Small-time restaurants and shops to satisfy almost any need. There existed a large clock tower at the very centre which also seemed to be a Town Hall. There was also a large bridge that was essentially the pathway and entrance to Feathercoast. Underneath this bridge was a lake of clouds as well. To everyone, this reminded them a bit of Ponyville from the aura it was giving off.
"Oh, this isn't so bad!" Rainbow Dash observed, flying above everyone.
"Ooh! Your home looks amazing Jade! I mean, it could be your home, but still!" Pinkie Pie shook Jade.
"I don't remember any of this. But it does look nice." Jade responded without changing her expression. But she truly did find this place impressive.
"Are we sure this is the capital of Pegalysium?" Rarity asked.
"Nope. Says here it's called Feathercoast." Applejack went up to the sign that gave the name and description of the town. They weren't close to their location at all.
And after gazing at it for a while, the first pegasus had come up towards them. Right from behind instead of the town itself. Seems as if this pegasus was coming back from someplace.
If anything, she was the first pegasus to spot them all. None of the citizens here had seen the group yet. Well, not until the mayor approached the group. Audino heard these hoofsteps which prompted everyone else to turn around, coming across a Pegalysium citizen.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" The mare spoke, showing herself to the humans, ponies, Pokemon and dragon. "And who are you all? Every last one of you that is."
"Oh. Um." Twilight almost stumbled on her words. She then waved her hoof to pegasus along with everyone else. They all introduced themselves in massive numbers. Way beyond a normal greeting they're used to. "Hello. My name's Twilight Sparkle. And these are all my friends. A lot of them...really."
"Hm...Wings and a horn." The mare started observing the appearance of just Twilight and Twilight alone. "Oh. Are you that alicorn Garnet mentioned about?"
"Oh. Y-You know about alicorns?" Twilight leaned forward. "And Garnet?!"
"Why, I sure do. Right here in Feathercoast. And you must be visitors. What kind of creatures are you all meant to be? Hairless monkeys?" She referred to Ash, Goh and Chloe. "Rats? Wolves? Blobs? My, this is odd. And some of you don't have any wings on you."
"Hairless monkeys...?" Goh and Chloe said silently, realizing that she meant them and Ash.
"Oh, right! These are Pokemon." Ash introduced the Pokemon to the mare. "My name's Ash. And this here's my partner Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
"Poke...mon? Pokemon..." The mare then bit her hoof, feeling as if she's heard that name before. It took her a few seconds before clicking it to mind. "Ah! Those things Garnet went on about. These are them? And they're actually real?"
"Yep. All of them." Ash looked at all of the Pokemon. "Real as they look."
"Well. I thought Garnet was just trying to come up with something for the foals." The mare chuckled. "Pokemon. What a name. And some of you must be earth ponies and unicorns, right?"
"R-Right. Unicorns here." Starlight grinned as she and Rarity nodded in confirmation.
"I'm not a Pokemon though," Spike spoke, pointing at himself. "I'm a dragon. Well, there's Dragon Pokemon like my buddy Axew here. But I'm a dragon from here. If that makes sense..."
"Axew."
"I see, I see. So have you come to visit Garnet then?"
"Well, we just came here to visit Pegalysium overall. And maybe show Prince Shooting Star some real Pokemon. He has Ash's Pokedex after all." Fluttershy explained.
"The prince? Oh, you're miles away from meeting the prince at the moment, that's for sure. But in the meantime, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Second Wind. Welcome to Feathercoast. Please enter."
The mare known as Second Wind introduced herself and kindly allowed everyone to enter Feathercoast. She didn't seem to have a problem with it. Despite the centuries and generations of being away from Equestria, the pegasi here were kind without a doubt.
They walked the bridge or flew over it. Some even swam on the cloud lake being Water-Types and everything. And once they entered Feathercoast, everyone took notice of them.
And how could they not? The first things that stood out to them were the humans and Pokemon. Not the other pony races. Although, they did take notice of Spike too.
"Ms Second Wind. W-What are those things?" A pegasus asked, stunned and bewildered at what he was witnessing. All of them were. There were mixed reactions. Some were amazed, some were confused, some were terrified and some had unexplainable emotions.
"No need to be fearful. These are just visitors. Do you all remember what Garnet said about those Pokemon? A laugh for a while, wasn't it?"
"We do...yeah?"
"Well. Apparently, it wasn't just some myth. These are the Pokemon she spoke of. Not the hairless monkeys or the dragon. Our world's dragon apparently." Second Wind shrugged.
"We're known as humans!" Chloe exclaimed, puffing her cheeks.
"These...are the Pokemon? They look so..." No one knew how to describe them. Every Pokemon had a unique appearance to them. Whether cute, terrifying, cool or all of the above.
"I know, I know. They are certainly something to behold, aren't they?" Second chuckled. "I trust that these Pokemon are well trained."
"Um...they're not pets..." Twilight said.
"Mhm." Second Wind nodded in response. "Welcome these visitors and their Pokemon, why don't you? Garnet should see this. Where is she exactly?"
"I'm here! I'm here!" Right on time, Garnet herself had shown up, flying in the distance. And on her was one of the Sky Foxes with two tails, clinging onto her back. That wasn't all. Since she was a foalsitter, some foals were clinging onto her face, stretching her. Some were also holding onto her hooves. Garnet then landed down, attempting to pull the foals off of her. "Ow-ow!"
"Perfect timing, Garnet. Looks like you weren't joking at all, hm?" said Second Wind.
"Mhm. I told you they were real! And look! An alicorn!" Garnet pointed her hoof over at Twilight. "Just like Princess Celestia! Not so crazy now, am I?"
"So, you're Garnet, huh? Great to meet ya." Ash put his hand out for hand/hoofshake.
"Pika-Pika." Pikachu did the same.
"Oh. Hello. Hu...man? Right?" Garnet put her hoof out, going for a shake. That is until one of the foals had jumped off of Garnet's hair, landing on Ash's face.
"Gh!" Ash grimaced as his body shuddered, feeling attacked from the foal.
"Pika?!"
The foal babbled as Ash fell on his back from the sudden attack on his face. The other foals left Garnet's vicinity and invaded Ash's. Soon, Ash Ketchum was overwhelmed by the constant foals.
"Oh! No! Bad! Get off of him!" Garnet cried out as she attempted to remove the foals away from Ash. "That's not how we treat guests!"
"Oh, but what's this?" A mare went up to Pikachu. "What kind of Pokemon is this? Am I saying it right?"
"Pikachu."
"Pfft. What kind of voice is that?" The mare held her laughter in after hearing Pikachu's voice.
"Well, I think it's cute!" An excited mare went up to the Mouse Pokemon, putting her hooves on his red sacs. It wasn't just her. Many of the children here were attracted to Pikachus cuteness. They could help but drive themselves towards the Electric-Type.
"Pi-Pika?" Pikachu was overwhelmed. Just like his Trainer. Those that found him adorable had their hooves on the Electric-Type. Ash and Pikachu were now prisoners of this as they couldn't break free. And by touching Pikachu's red sacs, the traditional event occurred.
"W-Wait!" Ash looked over at his partner as Garnet was still trying to pull the foals off of Ash with a few other ponies helping. "Don't touch his-"
"Pika...Chuuuu!" Pushed to his limit, Pikachu shocked everyone around him with 100,000 volts of electricity by exuding it out of his body. Everyone cried out as they were punished and treated to Pikachu's Thunderbolt. No one was spared except the Ground-Types as the electricity could even be seen from a faraway distance.
On the bright side, it freed Ash and Pikachu from the hold.
"My...What strength..." Second Wind coughed as some of the ponies had fallen over.
5 minutes later.
After recovering from Pikachu's massive crowd electrocution, the pegasi of Feathercoast were truly introduced to the Pokemon. And the only way they could know the Pokemon was by learning from experts. Mostly Ash, Twilight and Fluttershy.
They had the necessary knowledge to tell them almost everything about Pokemon. And Garnet and the pegasi were here for it. The Pokemon were all scattered across the town of Feathercoast, making the place feel like home instantly. Some ponies were still intimidated by the Pokemon. They were already afraid of normal animals in their own nation and the Pokemon were a different story.
However, while the pegasi were all for learning about the Pokemon, Ash and a few others wanted to know about Pegalysium overall. Starting with Feathercoast.
"So like it...can read minds?" A stallion spoke to Twilight, mentioning Espeon and her innate ability to predict her opponents' movements. "Is that true?"
"Sure is. Some Psychic-Types are capable of doing so." Twilight responded. "Eve can use her red orb and fur to pick up any slight shift in air currents. If the orb on her forehead goes dark, that means her Psychic power is temporarily depleted.
"Espeon."
"So if I do...this!" A mare wanted to test it out for herself as she lunged at Espeon. But was immediately met with a faceplant to the ground as Espeon simply moved to the side with ease. "Ow!"
"Eon."
"That's fast I guess...Or maybe that's just instinct..." The mare groaned, laying on her back.
"Espeon."
"Well...I'll let you check out the rest of my Pokemon. Come out all of you." Twilight used her magic to hold all 5 of her Poke Balls. And out of them came Cinccino, Ninetales, Absol and Togekiss. "You all. Get along well with everypony here, alright?"
"Nine?"
"I want to know all about Pegalysium." Twilight trotted off, leaving her Pokemon to handle things from here. "I'll be right back!"
"Toge?" Togekiss scratched her head before witnessing the area around her. Ninetales gawked at Feathercoast while Absol didn't care. He just sat on the ground, deciding to take a nap. Absol will take a nap wherever he wants. Ninetales was more enthusiastic to be involved with this. After seeing the pegasi in front of him, the Fox Pokemon greeted them by flaring his tails.
"Wow! He's got more tails than a Sky Fox!" A filly gasped as they were all amazed by Ninetales' tail number. "Wonder if I can touch it?"
"Wait!" Twilight's voice rang out. "Whatever you do, don't touch his tails!" Her warning was crucial, forcing the filly to back away. Touching Ninetales' tails could result in a horrible curse. And that would just be an unpleasant time for anyone. Ninetales stuck his tongue out, knowing that to be the case.
But in truth, Ninetales can decide who gets to be cursed.
A group of pegasi went over to Absol, attempting to pet the Disaster Pokemon. Just out of curiosity. However, the moment their hooves came close, Abols's eyes glowed a devastating red as he growled at them. The pegasi squealed, immediately fearing Absol as they backed away.
As for the tour, Second Wind was touring Ash, Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Jade about this. They were the most interested in Pegalysium's existence.
"If you want to know about our nation, then start here. Something that I own myself. Our town's Museum. Also known as the Pegalysium Gallery. One of many. This is where history can be found." said Second Wind as she displayed the museum to the group. When entering, they were immediately met with the dazzling lights and sparkles of the interior. It was certainly polished to be giving off this much light.
Aside from that, it was certainly a museum. The first thing in sight was a massive pegasus statue made out of stone. It stood in the middle and near the entrance of the museum.
"Say hello to my museum's best helper when you're at it. Oh, Kaleidoscope~" Second Wind whistled for her best assistant, sending her voice as an echo throughout the museum.
"Here! Here Ms Wind!" Already, a response had been made by the voice of mare, as approaching here as fast as she could, was the pegasus known as Kaleidoscope.
"Splendid timing as always. Kaleidoscope. Say hello to the Pokemon. The creatures that your friend Garnet was going on about weeks ago." Second Wind aimed her hoof at Pikachu and the others. "Real as they can be."
"Oh, really? Well..." Kaleidoscope shifted her eyes across the floor. "This changes everything then. Nice to met you all. I'm Kaleidoscope. An assistant here at the Pegalyisum Gallery.
"My best assistant. Let's not forget that." Second chuckled, putting her hoof around Kaleidoscope's neck.
"Well, I guess so. But everypony else here works hard, Ms Wind.
"Oh, don't be so humble. Embrace your greatness. Because of you, we have so much history that we could've never found before. You're a real thinker, hm?"
"I agree on that. That is impressive." Twilight nodded in approval.
"Thanks." Kaleidoscope blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed by this praise. "So, these Pokemon. Since they're real, what can you tell me about them? Are they a part of our history?"
"There's a lot. But Nah. We're not from this world originally," said Ash.
"Pika-Pikachu."
"The Pokemon come from a separate universe. Their own universe in the Pokemon World." Fluttershy held Scorbunny, nuzzling his head.
"Scorbun."
"Speaking of history...!" Pinkie Pie slid over to Kaleidoscope with Jade Skies. "Recognize this pony here. Jade Skies. Huh?"
"Jade Skies?" Kaleidoscope turned to the earth pony and jade-coloured pegasus.
"Yeah. She's gotta be from somewhere here, right? Somepony would put up missing posters around or be worried about her, wouldn't they? Pinkie grinned, expecting an amazing answer from Kaleidoscope.
"I'm...sorry. I don't think anypony here in Feathercoast knows about somepony named Jade Skies." Kaleidoscope shrugged as Second Wind shook her head too. Pinkie Pie's ears dropped after hearing that. She was upset that nopony here in Feathercoast was aware of Jade. But she was expecting the rest of Pegalysium to know. "I wouldn't even think the Indigo Alliance would know. Then again they might."
"Indigo Alliance? Who are they?" Fluttershy wondered.
"Well..." Kaleidoscope scrunched her face, moving her eyes across. Whatever she was about to say made her nervous and caused her heart to beat a bit faster. "They say this. Beware the Indigo Alliance that watches all the time. Within the shadows, they're always watching with infinite eyes. Whether out in the streets, your own bed, the forest, peaks and mostly the skies. Centuries, they've been around. And more centuries, they're here to stay."
"Uh..." Pinkie Pie and the others froze up after hearing those words. That was incredibly ominous of Kaleidoscope to let out and it certainly sent shivers down their spines. All except for Jade, who wasn't phased and Second Wind who merely let out a light chuckle.
"Sorry for the scare. But they're just that terrifying."
"Oh come now, Kaleidoscope." Second Wind nudged her assistant. "You know that's just a story. I mean, is there really a secret society of rich powerful ponies who silently rule the nation from the shadows? That's just absurd. I mean, King Paramount and Queen Luminary certainly believe it."
"There aren't?" Ash asked.
"Not at all. It's just something used to scare the little ones to bed. Nopony from some Indigo Alliance will come and destroy anypony who dares even expose their existence? I think not. Don't think too much about it. Especially you all. Our guests."
"S-Sure." Twilight nodded with a slight stutter.
"Anyway. Look at all the history that you want in here. I'll be off for a while. Kaleidoscope, I entrust you to properly school and teach our guests everything they need to know. And they will certainly tell you about the Pokemon." Second Wind spoke.
"Again. But you already came back from Big Sky, Ms Wind."
"The King is holding a press conference over at the main hall. I can't miss out on it. And if you can find any origin of Jade Skies here, that would be." Second Wind went up to Jade, putting her hoof close to the Rift Pony. But as her hoof was one inch from making contact, Second felt a slight tingle through her body. She pulled her hoof back after feeling that tingle. "Ow."
"Something wrong?" Jade asked.
"Nothing at all. I'll be back~" Second Wind whistled as she left everything in the hooves of Kaleidoscope. The assistant cleared her throat as she was in charge.
"Okay. So you want to know most of Pegalysium, right? Then follow me. Although, this is the smallest museum we have."
"Doesn't look small." Ash looked around, witnessing the scale of this expansive area. "It's just as big as the Arceus Museum.
"Pikachu."
"Oh, there's an even greater one at the capital. The Great Pegalysium Institute. That's where even deeper history can be found. It's a very popular place to had to. But maybe I should show you about what the pegasi were before today."
"Oh, we know." Twilight interrupted. "Warriors, right?"
"Wait? You already knew that?" Kaleidoscope turned to face the Princess of Friendship, surprised at her knowledge of the pegasi's past.
"It's a tale told during Hearth's Warming and how Equestria was founded," Twilight continued. "We know something about pegasi way back then. But not much or anything about Pegalysium. The rest we know about it is that it was founded right after Equestria was."
"Wow. I didn't know you were that informed."
"Oh, it's nothing. You could say I have my own history back home." Twilight chuckled. "I even have something for Pokemon ever since our worlds crossed over just a year ago."
"Really?" Kaleidoscope zoomed over to Twilight. "I can learn about Equestria's history and the Pokemon back there? You know I love to learn!"
"So do I!" Twilight gasped as they looked each other in the eyes with grins. They clicked immediately. "Wanna do a trade? Equestria and Pegalysium history for both of us?"
"Sounds good to me!" Kaleidoscope nodded as the two of them spoke the same word in unison, showing that they already had something major in common that they could relate to.
"History Buddies!" They both screeched, prancing on the spot while Audino's ears felt assaulted from that. Pinkie clapped her hooves, Ash and Pikachu gave an approving nod while Jade stood there, unchanging her expression.
"If you wanna know about Pokemon some with all those gene stuff, then my buddy Mew is your answer!" Pinkie came between Twilight and Kaleidoscope with Mew popping out of her mane.
"Mew-Mew!"
Pegalysium Capital. The Main Hall. Afternoon.
Just as Second Wind said, there was a press conference being run by King Paramount. Hundreds of ponies have already gathered here to hear the King speak. Second Wind herself had also arrived. The distance from Feathercoast and the capital didn't seem to be too far.
"What is Pegalysium to me?" King Paramount spoke through a magic shell that acted as a microphone. "Home is the answer I would say. That's the truth that I can answer without a doubt. But before that, I wasn't so sure. When I was still young, I saw the world as too big for me to handle. But then I remembered something, my mother, Queen Ascent, used to say to me before bed, no matter how I was feeling. Happy or sad. She'd say; Paramount. Tomorrow may seem far, but it's also a dazzling dream away." I still remember those words close to me."
Paramount's words reached everyone as Second Wind and many other nobles or interviewers watched the conference. Luminary wasn't here at the moment and neither was Shooting Star. But he was still asleep. But, Paramount knew he could do it without his family. He had that much confidence.
"As you all may know, despite how great our nation may be, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. There are times when it can all seemingly fall apart. The days following the tragic loss of my parents were the worst of my life. I felt despair, enmity, and grief. But even so, my mother's phrase never left my head. They always came back to me. And deep down, I knew what she meant. I knew as much as things seemed to be reaching their end, that it was all hopeless, there was always a way for it to get better."
"He has such a way with words, doesn't he?" A mare gushed as everyone was so enchanted by this speech.
"I know you didn't come here to hear a sob story from me. But we've all certainly gone through our own struggles haven't we? Ever since the Spring Cloud incident 20 years or anything following after that. Some things that we were unable to control and when we see the result of it, we'll feel our own fears and frustrations come out. The worst of us all. But if we stop looking to the present and the past, and instead look to the future, we can find out what tomorrow can and will be. All of us can shape Pegalysium's future without a doubt. Nobility or not. And perhaps..even Equestria's assistance can help in that."
"Equestria?" Some of the pegasi said, hearing about that name for the first time.
"I will let you know soon. And I know your concerns. About the Indigo Alliance. Some see them as just a scary foal's tale. Unfortunately, they are as real as they can be. I know some of you may still not believe it. But even so, I'll promise to keep you safe. I couldn't protect my parents, so I'll protect all of Pegalysium. Not just my family."
And that was the end of that. A great speech from the king as he wrapped it all up. Everyone gave rousing applause for their ruler's speech. Paramount wished that his wife and son would've come here to see and hear it, however. But oh well.
Afterwards, Paramount told them all about Equestria. A nation below that has its own history behind it. Everything that he knew. Which wasn't much. Everypony here would follow King Paramout's ideals to the very end for an even greater Pegalysium.
As if it wasn't already great at all.
Second Wind felt like she could leave now. She only came here for the speech after all. But she did take some food with her along the way. However, after that excellent speech, within the shadows, another pony was watching.
A pony that wasn't seen or head by anyone. Within the shadows, eyes could be seen along with an indigo piece of clothing. This pony had heard everything from King Paramount. Especially the part about Equestria. After hearing the speech, the mysterious pony left, disappearing into the shadows. But before that, their eyes were narrowed.
Clearly, not all agreed with King Paramount.
Below. Afternoon.
Ash and the others weren't the only ones visiting Pegalysium. After also learning of its existence, Empress Twilight decided to investigate that land, or rather sky herself. And instead of sending any of her troops or best forces there, she did something better.
Empress Twilight would visit Pegalysium herself.
Arriving on her own ship was the Empress. And she still had some forces inside of her ship. Just in case. However, the Empress wasn't here for any conflict. All she wanted to do was talk to the rulers of Pegalysium. Why? Well, it could be for the sole goal she still seeks.
Pegalysium. Feathercoast. The Pegalysium Gallery. Afternoon.
At the moment, Ash and his friends were still experiencing Pegalysium. Now, it was the settlement. And the first one was Feathercoast. The Pokemon already flooded Feathercoast with the pegasi taking more interest in the Pokemon rather than the humans and other pony races in front of them. Though, they did have some interest in Spike.
Ash, Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Jade were more interested in learning about Pegalysium's history. Mainly Twilight, who made a new History Buddy, as they've dubbed it, in the form of Kaleidoscope, the assistant of the Pegalysium Gallery.
"So, you still kept the warrior nature of the pegasi up here ever since?" Twilight spoke to Kaleidoscope as they stood before an exhibit, showing them the history of the pegasi right after they distance themselves from Equestria.
They were greeted with the sight of ancient armour from the old Pegalysium and the weapons that they used to wield. From large battle chariots and carriages to massive shields that could protect at least
"Never left it behind. The founding pegasi of Pegalysium never strayed away from their warrior history. And because of that, it allowed Pegalysium to gain great military power afterwards. Centuries of weapons have been built and advanced ever since. But...even with all of that, Pegalysium has so much peace that there's barely any conflict." Kaleidoscope explained.
"Barely?" said Fluttershy.
"Barely. There have been a few but not many. Most of the amazing weapons and military power we have now is barely even used." Kaleidoscope chuckled. "But there is that Indigo Alliance."
"Didn't Second Wind say it was just a story?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"I know but...I get the feeling they're totally real." Kaleidoscope whispered, shuddering after mentioning the name of the Indigo Alliance. "If they've been around for centuries, pulling strings, a group like that has to exist. I mean, even the king believes it. You all do too, right?"
Well...It's not impossible." Twilight shrugged. "We still don't know much about Pegalysium so we can't say much about it. Sorry."
"It's okay. I guess I still cling to it since mom and dad would tell me about them as a filly. It definitely put me to sleep all the time, that's for sure. But hey, how about you all teach me about the Pokemon some more. Garnet said something about Pokemon moves. What's that all about."
"Yeah. There's a lot to see, ya know." Ash nodded along with Pikachu. "We can show a bunch of 'em! All 18 types!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"We'll help! Since Mew's all of them in one, no one's a move expert like him!" Pinkie Pie held Mew out.
"Mew-Mew!"
"You have my interest, that's for sure." Kaleidoscope chuckled.
"Then let's do it! Pikachu, use-"
"Don't do it in here!" Twilight roared, startling Ash and Pikachu. The Trainer and his Pokemon rubbed the back of their necks after Twilight's roar, causing Kaleidoscope to chuckle some more.
Outside.
Meanwhile, on the outside, Rainbow Dash did the honour of showing off her accomplishments and bragging about them. If there's ever a chance to impress her fellow pegasi it was now. She had a lot to offer.
The Sonic Rainboom. Her Gym Badges. Rainbow-Braviary and more. And of course, the ones who were the most impressed were the foals with a few adults in the mix. Aside from that, there was other attention being drawn to Rarity, but more in secret. Some stallions did find her naturally attractive, whispering about Rarity in secret.
"She's a real catch. Are all unicorns below like her?"
"I don't know. Never been below before anyway." They had their own conversations while Rarity was unaware of this. However, it was nothing new in a sense. As for Goh, he showed everyone his main dream and his Pokedex.
"See? I've only caught this much. But if I can catch every Pokemon out there, it'll take me one step closer to Mew! My real dream!" Goh exclaimed.
"Ooh...How does that work?" A confused stallion raised an eyebrow as many of them weren't sure how that would help Goh reach Mew. Not many do really. Not even Chloe, who didn't know what to make of this.
As she held Eevee in her arms, Chloe was met with a tug towards her leg. She and Eevee looked down to see the source of this tug. And it was from a little filly. An incredibly young one too.
"Hm? Uh, can I help you?" Chloe looked at the little pegasus.
"You have a pretty flower on your head."
"Oh. Thank you." Chloe smiled, holding the flower accessory on her braided hair. The pegasus was attracted to it. Perhaps a bit too attracted. She put both her hooves up, asking a question towards Chloe.
"Can I have it?"
"Um...N-Not sure it's an accurate size for." Chloe chuckled. "But I can make you one. Mom taught me how to use flowers for accessories after all. Does that sound nice?"
"Uh-huh!" The filly was up for that as she grabbed onto Chloe's leg. She was an impressionable pony at this age. And fairly clingy. Much like the foals that Garnet had to deal with. Chloe found it a little bit strange that the filly had latched onto her so quickly. But, she is a child after all.
"Eevee!" And of course, Eevee had to mimic anything she saw interesting. She hopped out of Chloe's arms, also latching herself onto her own trainer's legs. Now two individuals were hugging Chloe's leg.
"Not you too, Eevee..." Chloe sighed, knowing that she couldn't fight back against this. No matter what. It was harmless anyway.
"Yeah. Pretty impressive, isn't it?" Rainbow Dash sat on a chair, acting cool about her accomplishments. "All that speed and I can make one big Sonic Rainboom. The only one who can also do the same is Braviary but he's as cool as me. Aren't you, buddy?"
"Braviary!"
"So you can really fly fast? Are you like, the fastest ever?" A filly asked.
"Impossible. She can't be faster than the king that's for sure." A mare shook her head.
"I totally am! I can prove it, no problem!" Rainbow Dash sat up.
"That's adorable Rainbow Dash, but let's not get too confident." Rarity walked up to her friend. "After all, Pheromosa can give you a run for your money." She then took out her Poke Ball, revealing the Lissome Pokemon to everypony. In all of her tall glory.
"Pheromosa!" Once Pheromosa emerged, everypony took notice of two things. One. Her height. Pheromosa was an exceedingly tall Pokemon. Not the tallest out of her friend group, Goodra and Flygon have her beat. But still tall nonetheless. But just as noticeably, was how she had the same kind of beauty as Rarity.
"I mean...I could totally be faster still." Rainbow Dash pouted her lips once Pheromosa had shown herself. To prove to everyone that she was fast, she was going to personally fly through the air at her best speed.
Rainbow Dash got off the chair as everypony was eager to see this. She licked her lips before gazing at the clouds of Pegalysium. But before she could, something else grabbed her attention. Nearby, some fillies were playing around with what seemed to be a scooter. Similar to the one Scootaloo has.
However, the difference was that this scooter could fly and ride on clouds.
"Hold the phone!" Rainbow Dash paused her current action and focused on something else. She zoomed over to the scooter and the fillies, leaving behind a rainbow streak. She appeared before the fillies, halting their scooter movements.
"Oh!" The fillies almost had a heart attack as Applejack and Rarity had a bad feeling about this. Rainbow Dash tends to get a bit overexcited at times and 50% of the time, it never leads to something safe.
"What kind of scooter is that?!" Rainbow Dash asked with a fantastic grin. The fillies felt a bit intimidated by the older pegasus and her wide grin.
"Oh. This is uh...a Sky Scooter." One filly answered, backing away from the scooter and Rainbow Dash.
"Sky scooter, huh? Can I ride it?!" Rainbow Dash pleaded.
"Well, it's not ours..." A filly scrunched her face, moving her eyes to the side. "So...Sure?"
"Sweet!" Rainbow Dash cackled as she helped herself to this Sky Scooter. Since the fillies were using it, it was obviously not the appropriate size for a child. A teenager or an adult would have better luck using it. Like Rainbow Dash.
She made herself comfortable with the scooter. In this instance, she felt like Scootaloo. Almost completely mirrored as here hooves were adjusted onto the Sky Scooter.
"Be careful with that thing, Rainbow Dash!" bellowed Rarity from afar. "You've never ridden a scooter before! Have you?"
"Nope! But it'll be a blast!" The pegasus giggled, finding her footing. She then realized one last thing she needed to do. "So uh...how do you ride a scooter? Or a scooter like this?" This was indeed her first time riding a scooter. She was oblivious to how it was done. However, she quickly found out when she twisted the handle of the scooter.
And by doing so, she found a way to start it up. In a spurt of speed, the Sky Scooter accelerated at a high velocity, boosting Rainbow Dash unexpectedly.
"Woah!" Rainbow Dash cried out as her mane and tail were already waving in the wind. Fairly intense wind too. Up here in Pegalysium the air currents are far greater than the air below. She could also feel the rush as well. Moving this fast was nothing for her, however.
In just a few seconds, Rainbow Dash adjusted herself perfectly to this vehicle. It wasn't too hard to understand. She immediately felt the scooter ascending into the air, becoming airborne. It was just as smooth to ride as it was on land.
"Oh, this isn't so bad!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she began manoeuvring the Sky Scooter. Her eyes narrowed as she zoomed over the roof of all these various buildings. "I don't even need to use my wings! How cool is this?!"
"How does it move through the sky?" Goh wondered.
"It just does." A stallion responded as they all nodded. But soon, Goh and the others realized that answer still wasn't clear to them. Rainbow Dash laughed as everyone watched her movements. Castform flew out of his saddlebag, feeling a bit dizzy from Rainbow Dash's speed.
"Castform..."
"Look, mom! No hooves or wings!" To show off some more, Rainbow Dash stuck her hooves out, further boasting herself. And to boot, she even performed tricks in the air. Just because. Ash and the others walked out of the museum, witnessing Rainbow Dash fly by without using her wings and just the Sky Scooter.
"Pika?!"
"Oh! Awesome!" Ash was immediately hooked by this. Seeing Rainbow Dash on a scooter that was flying was a sight to behold for him and Pikachu. Plus Pinkie Pie of course.
"What is that?!" Twilight gasped.
"Sky Scooters." Kaleidoscope answered. "They're aerial vehicles that can move both on land and in the sky. Wings aren't needed for something like that."
"You just have something like this here in Pegalysium?!" Twilight turned to Kaleidoscope.
"There's a lot. But I'm sure it doesn't compare to what Equestria has, right?"
"Well...I don't know what else Pegalysium has either." Twilight shrugged as she and Kaleidoscope giggled together while Rainbow Dash could be heard bellowing in the background, sending her shouts throughout the skies via an echo.
She then redirected the Sky Scooter, sliding through the air before stopping in front of Ash. And she did so while acting so casual about it.
"This place is pretty neat. And this is just a town, right?" said Rainbow Dash.
"Yep." Ash nodded. "Boy, I can't wait to see what the rest of Pegalysium is like, ya know."
"Pikachu."
"Say, Rainbow. We were gonna show Kaleidoscope how Pokemon moves work. How about a battle to help her see the full scale of them?" Ash asked, requesting a battle from his friend.
"I got a better idea. Why not just have everypony watch. That'll be way cooler, won't it?" Rainbow Dash grinned before hopping off the Sky Scooter. Ash liked the sound of that. Any type of battle is okay in his book.
"You're not planning on battling here, are you?" Twilight's mouth dropped, knowing the destruction that could come from Pokemon battling. Especially between two powerful trainers. They would need some distance for this to be done as both Ash and Rainbow Dash laughed nervously.
As for the Pokemon, perhaps they had made themselves too comfortable here. While they were told to behave by Fluttershy, some just had natural habits that couldn't be controlled.
Some of the Pokemon had attracted themselves to the scent of Pegalysium food. It definitely had a distinct fragrance from Equestrian food. Especially the food that Fluttershy feeds them.
There was a large bucket of produce near the grocery store of this town and the Pokemon immediately swarmed to it, deciding to take a bite out of the bucket. Lots of bites. Of course, they removed the lid first.
"Oh!" Fluttershy gasped as the owner of the grocery store froze after witnessing these colourful creatures open the lid to the bucket of food. "No! I told you all to behave!" Fluttershy quickly fluttered over to them. "There's all the food you need back in the ship!"
As she came over, the Pokemon immediately froze, knowing that Fluttershy would scold them if they took the first bite. Thankfully, they dodged a massive bullet as they did not bite into the bucket of produce. They scrunched their faces, pretending to act innocent as an Elekid placed the lid back on. But they weren't fooling Fluttershy.
"I'm sorry for this!" Fluttershy turned to the grocery store owner.
"Oh, it's fine. It's not common for creatures to eat out of produce bucket. Inside or outside." The store owner chuckled. "But if they're hungry and curious, then go ahead. I get an abundance of buckets every week anyway. This isn't even most of it."
After hearing that, the Pokemon helped themselves. They were free to eat from this bucket. And eat they did. An Elekid removed the lid, allowing everyone to chow down. They wasted no time. Fluttershy sighed as food bits had gotten on her face from the rapid eating of the Pocket Monsters.
Aside from these mouth-hungry Pokemon, the rest of the Pokemon weren't too active or hungry like them. They allowed the pegasi to investigate them. The pegasi of Feathercoast made great discoveries. The Pokemon showed them their unique traits and what they were capable of, fixating the pegasi on them.
Whether it's their innate ability to glow, cause unique sounds, build up electricity, absorb sunlight and more. They were certainly different from the creatures that they had up here. But there was also the Pokemon moves, which Ash and Rainbow Dash were going to demonstrate.
Everyone's eyes turned to face Ash and Rainbow Dash as they were standing across from each other. Garnet, who was still foalsitting, came over to witness this herself.
"What's going on?" Garnet asked with some foals beside her.
"Garnet." Kaleidoscope turned to her best friend. "You're just about to see how Pokemon moves work. It'll be our first time seeing it. Have you seen some before?"
"Oh, totally. Princess Celestia's Gardevoir shot out some magic rainbow beams from her hands. I beat everypony to the punch with this Pokemon stuff, didn't I?"
"Pikachu! I choose you!" Ash chose his tried and true Pikachu as the Mouse Pokemon jumped off his shoulder, making a landing with his red sacs emanating electricity.
"Pikachu!"
"Go! Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash chose her very first Pokemon. Whirlipede. By throwing the Poke Ball with her wing, out came the Curlipede Pokemon.
"Whirlipede!"
"Look at that thing! It's round like a wheel!" One of the pegasi pointed outed out as they were given the grace of witnessing a new Pokemon.
"What are they about to do?" Another wondered.
"A Pokemon Battle. You all have to see this." Rarity answered.
"Alright! Get a good look! This is how moves really work! Pikachu, Quick Attack!"
"Pika!" Pikachu went first, running at lightning speeds. While running, a white trail was formed from his movements, appearing behind him. Everyone witnessed the blitzing speeds Pikachu moved at.
"Rollout, go!"
"Whirl!" Whirlipede rolled on the spot, building up some speed before he charged himself forward. He rolled on the ground, picking up speed while looking exactly like a wheel.
Pikachu's head ended up tackling Whirlipede's body, initiating a momentary clash with shockwaves flowing out. The manes of the pegasi blew from this shockwave as they could feel the impact and collision. Pikachu slid back while Whirlipede rolled back after the clash. Whirlipede's speed had increased thanks to Speed Boost as his body flashed green for a bit.
"What was that? Why did it flash green?" Garnet asked.
"That's Whirlipede's ability, Speed Boost." Rarity explained. "All Pokemon have abilities. Right now, Whirlipede is faster than he was before and his speed can keep going."
"Really..." The pegasi gawked.
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu leapt into the air, hardening his tail to match that of metal. Everyone gasped as they had just seen a little yellow mouse make his tail into iron.
"Iron?!"
"How's that possible?!" Kaleidoscope's jaw dropped. It was a bizarre sight to see a mouse of all things conjure up actual iron. But it was about to get weirder for them.
"Iron Defense, Whirlipede!"
"Pede!" Instead of attacking, Whirlipede increased his defence, coating his body in a silver light. This silver slight raised his physical defence, allowing him to take a heavy hit. And he certainly did. Pikachu smashed his tail on Whirlipede with yet another shockwave coming out.
Everypony was stunned at how Whirlipede withstood a hit from iron without even flinching. But then again, he technically used iron himself for protection. Pikachu backflipped, sliding on the ground as he smiled. Whirlipede couldn't smile but if he could he would.
"Our turn! Venoshock!"
"Whirlipede!" Out of Whirlipede's feelers, streams of poison came flying out, zooming for the Mouse Pokemon. Some of the pegasi gasped as they could obviously tell that was poison.
"Wait! Maybe we should stop!" Kaleidoscope was especially worried about this. Poison was a big deal afterwards as some of the ponies covered the eyes of the foals.
"No need to worry! Dodge and then use Electroweb!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped into the air, evading the streams of poison. After evading them and appearing in the air, the Electric-Type summoned an orb from his tail. That orb was thrown as it had formed itself into a web.
The web had then landed on Whirlipede, trapping the Curlipede Pokemon within it. And as a bonus, not only did it slow Whirlipede down, but it also gave him some shocks in the process.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu was about to follow up with Thunderbolt as he slapped his face, creating an aura of electricity. Everyone already knew about Thunderbolt since Pikachu shocked them all with it when the ponies were getting a bit too touchy.
"Breakthrough with Rollout!"
"Whirl!" Whirlipede cried out as he used the current speed he had built. He lost some speed thanks to Electroweb, but it was still enough. The Curlipede Pokemon had enough force to break right through the web and ascend into the skies.
"Chuuu!" Pikachu unleashed Thunderbolt while Whirlipede was right in front of him. It was unleashed at point-blank range. That close of a collision caused an explosion in the air that everyone either gawked at or covered their ears from. Explosions were still pretty surprising.
Pikachu and Whirlipede had both taken damage as they flew out of the smoke. Pikachu landed on the ground while Whirlipede bounced thanks to his circular body.
"Awesome!" A bunch of foals cheered as they were massive fans of this. Some of the ponies were surprised that such colourful creatures were capable of this much violence. Meanwhile, the older ponies were all for it.
"Yeah! Hit 'em some more!" The older ponies cheered as they were surprisingly massive fans of action. Especially battling. Might have something to do with their past most likely as they were loving this.
"Is this what Pokemon Battles are like?" Kaleidoscope asked Twilight.
"They are. They can get pretty hectic, fast and wild though. But you'll get used to it. Especially with the bigger Pokemon." Twilight nodded in response.
"Espeon."
Ash and Rainbow Dash were starting to get into the heart of things, heating it up. Sometimes, whenever they practice, they tend to get carried away and overboard, turning their training session into a full-on Pokemon Battle. But that's what they do as friends. However, this battle would come to a halt after the arrival of a special pony.
"What is going on here?" A voice passed through Feathercoast as all of the residents immediately froze. They recognized that voice anywhere. It was of great importance as they all slowly turned around to see this pony.
"M-Mayor Umbra!" They all said while turning. Ash and his group had yet to see the face of this pony. But once they heard her name, they wanted to see this mayor for themselves.
"Mayor Umbra? Ash and the others turned around, witnessing this Mayor Umbra. And once they did, their eyes shot open as they saw something unexpected. This Mayor Umbra looked a lot like a certain pony from the Crystal Empire.
"King Sombra?!" The Mane 6 gasped, immediately recognizing her as Sombra. Mane, eyes and fur. Ash and Spike blinked for a bit while Starlight and Chloe had no idea who King Sombra was.
"...Who?" Starlight and Chloe said.
"No way. She looks just like him, huh?" Ash said. "Probably a doppelganger like Dawn and Salvia, right?"
"Pika..."
"I'm no king. I'm a mayor." Umbra walked forward, navigating her eyes at her own town. "Mayor Umbra Streak. And what is all of this, exactly? What are these creatures."
"Oh! M-Mayor Umbra!" Kaleidoscope ran over with Garnet. "Sorry about this! But um...do you remember what Garnet said about the creatures known as Pokemon she saw?"
"Yeah. What I said!" Garnet nodded. "This is them! These are Pokemon! Way more than the one I saw! N-Not the one with clothes those are humans. And the other one's a dragon."
"These are the Pokemon you spoke of?"
"Mhm! I wasn't bluffing at all! I told you I was telling the truth!" Garnet said with a proud smile.
"I didn't doubt you at all Garnet. You're not one to lie." Umbra walked past Garnet and Kaleidoscope after that response, heading towards Ash and the others. "However. Why do I see violence exactly?"
"Ah, sorry, sorry. We were just having a Pokemon Battle." Ash chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck along with Rainbow Dash.
"Y-Yeah. We were about to get carried away again too." Rainbow grinned.
"Pika-Pika."
"Hm. As long as it wasn't based around any conflict. But why are you here? What business do you have in my town?"
"Ms Second Wind allowed them in here, mayor," Kaleidoscope spoke, running up to the mayor. "Plus. They only came here to see Prince Shooting Star and show him the Pokemon. He saw some too apparently."
"Second Wind? Because of course." Umbra sighed, delivering a facehoof. "I swear, sometimes she makes her own rules for this town. "No mess?"
"No mess here, mayor. Everything's as clean as it looks!" Garnet smiled, telling the truth. Umbra then observed the scenario, seeing that everyone was fine for the most part. Despite Pokemon being wild in nature, they were well behaved as ordered by Fluttershy.
No destruction was made despite the battle between Pikachu and Whirlipede. Plus, Umbra was also focused on Applejack, Rarity and Starlight, never seeing ponies like them before.
"Very well. Guests aren't harmful. But next time, let Second Wind allow me to make the order. Then again, she won't listen will she?" Umbra lowered her eyes as Kaleidoscope shrugged. She knew how Second Wind was. Almost as if she was a secondary mayor. "As much as it intrigues me at the moment to know about all of you, I'm afraid you may have to leave during the night."
"Why the night?" Spike asked.
"We're having a celebratory event here in our town. Our 400th anniversary. We can't afford a crowd of this size for this event if you will."
"What? But we just got here?" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"It's fine. We'll go." Ash nodded in confirmation. "But uh...could you tell us where the capital of Pegalysium is? We really came here for Shooting Star."
"Let Garnet show you. She tends to head over to the nursery over at the capital." Umbra turned to the Foalsitter who currently had some foals chewing on her mane.
"I'll get you there in no time." Garnet removed the foals off her mane. "Just come by tomorrow or any time."
"But. You still have all the time in the world." Umbra looked at the clock tower. "So by 7:00 PM, I will ask you to leave."
"We'll make it count then, right guys." Ash looked to his team.
"Oh yeah! Totally!" Rainbow Dash uttered as the rest of her friends promptly agreed. They can stay and bolt off at the right time without any drawbacks. After all, experiencing Pegalysium without heading to their needed destination, the capital, certainly gave them an adventurous feeling.
"By the way. Why exactly did you call me King Sombra?" Umbra brought up the exclamation from earlier. She couldn't ignore that. She certainly wasn't a king.
"Well...about that..." Applejack grizzled her teeth as the other felt nervous to say it. "You kinda remind us of some pretty nasty king back at the Crystal Empire. King Sombra. S-Sorry."
"Uh-huh." Umbra just said one word and that was it. Despite her familiar appearance and somewhat similar personality, she wasn't as terrifying as they imagined. But she definitely carried that sense of terror with her. Although, it was more along the lines of her being strict than anything. "Second Wind should hurry back as well. I don't want the Indigo Alliance catching her by surprise."
"You believe that too, mayor?" A stallion asked. "It's just some scary story at the end of the day.
"It's not a myth of a foal's tale as some will say." Umbra turned with her eyes glaring a deep red. "The Indigo Alliance do exist."
North of Pegalysium, within one of the nobility houses. Late afternoon.
The nobility holds a plethora of homes, of course, each with its own form of royalty. However, a current affair was occurring within one of the nobility's homes. And approaching this building was a pony who wasn't from here, but was actually a noble herself.
Second Wind.
She had entered the mansion of this nobility house as it wasn't even her own. In fact, it couldn't be considered a house at all. In truth, it should be considered a parliament.
Second Wind stood by a bookshelf, looking directly at it. She then spread her wings out, allowing them to grow a dark blue colour. She formed a magic circle as it had responded to the bookshelf. By using this magic, the bookshelf had moved to the side, revealing a secret passageway.
Second Wind walked into the passageway which had a downward slope. But not before she put on what seemed to be a robe.
More importantly, a robe of indigo.
She moved down the slope with the bookshelf passageway closing itself. Second Wind then closed her eyes, allowing herself to only see darkness. Then again, it was nothing but darkness up ahead.
She eventually came to a halt. It was time for her to open her eyes. She found her footing easily, not tripping over despite her eyes being closed. After she opened them, she saw only one thing. A seat of robed ponies such as herself.
"Grand Judge. Welcome back." The robed ponies all said. Their ominous voices echoing throughout the room, adding to the already uncomfortable aura here.
"Thank you. Sorry for the delay." Second Wind said. "Is it still here?"
"Here, Grand Judge." One of the robed ponies went up to a glass container sitting at the centre of a table. On that table and in that container, there was a single source of energy residing there.
Rift energy.
The same Rift energy recorded to be discovered in Big Sky but had suddenly vanished. In truth, it had been taken away by these ponies and kept here for themselves. Second Wind approached the container, removing the hood of her robe as she gazed directly at the blue and purple light from the Rift Energy.
"Excellent. But it seems this isn't all of this energy." Second Wind then spoke to all of the ponies in this courtroom. "There exists a pony by the name of Jade Skies. I have made physical contact with her. She possesses the same energy as this. Perhaps even greater. As the Indigo Alliance, you know what we must do, right?"
Sky Monarch. Late Afternoon.
Over at the Sky Monarch, within the palace, Paramount walked in to see his son asleep. He certainly tired himself out after looking at the Pokedex. Luminary had eventually placed the Pokedex down, right near Shooting Star's head.
"I'm worried about his sleep schedule now," Paramount spoke as Luminary was also beside him.
"It'll be fine. He has your spirit, so it won't be a problem, will it?" Luminary nudged Paramount, causing him to smile. He can certainly smile, even if he rarely shows it. "Apologies for not being there to see your speech, darling."
"It's fine. You sat through my last one for hours, so consider yourself lucky missing out on this."
"It wasn't longer than the previous speech." Luminary chuckled, prompting Paramount to also chuckle. As they were having a good time, a Pegalysium guard entered the room, here to deliver some news as always. "Yes?"
"My King and Queen. We have new reports. There seems to be a meeting requested with both of you."
"A meeting? From who exactly?" Paramount asked.
"She goes by the name of Empress Twilight Sparkle."
Empress Twilight Sparkle had arrived at Pegalysium. But for once, she wasn't here to invade or attack. All she wanted was to speak with the rulers of this place.
And by entering those doors with some guards by her side. King Paramount and Queen Luminary agreed to speak with her, allowing the Empress to enter the palace. However, upon entering, the Empress already filled the air with an ominous aura. And why wouldn't she?
Plus, the fact that she had an eyepatch didn't really make her seem welcoming at all. The guards of Pegalysium led the alicorn to the main throne room, allowing her to witness the two rulers. Paramount and Luminary. Even when walking, she acted like she was the biggest pony in this palace or city. The Pegalysium Soldiers already had a bad feeling about this. A gut feeling really.
"Your Majesties. Empress Twilight Sparkle is here." A guard said before leaving the room, standing by the door with other guards inside of the throne room.
"Welcome. It's nice to see another alicorn here." Queen Luminary greeted the Empress. "And an Empress as well."
"Charmed." The Empress replied with a neutral feeling. "Glad you could invite me here. Quite generous and welcoming for a pony you've never seen before, hm?"
"We're welcomed to have any guests over for a discussion," replied King Paramount. After all, being shrouded from other parts of this world, we were curious anyway. Unless that guest in question proves to be an issue." He then narrowed his eyes, already having a bad feeling about the Empress. Empress Twilight narrowed her eyes back at the king as well.
"D-Dear..." Luminary hushed, hoping that this situation would not take a turn for the worst. "Ahem. What have you come to talk to us about? Princess Celestia and Princess Luna already came for matters involving the existence of our nation, the Rift and Pokemon."
"About that. What do you know about the Rift?" Empress Twilight seated herself.
"Soon, all I need to know. I already have some with me." Paramount showcased this by coating his body in Rift aura. He was already abundant with blue, so the colours of the Rift went well with him.
"Y-You have it?!" This shocked the Empress. She was expecting them to find the Rift enigmatic and beyond their understanding or control. However, Paramount disproved this by gaining control of it. Very soon, he won't find it to be too enigmatic.
"Certainly. I plan to use this magic to prevent absolute destruction from the Pokemon and their actions. That is if Princess Celestia and her friends can prove me wrong."
"Celestia..." Empress Twilight growled, moving her head to the side after hearing that name. Celestia had angered her so much that all she could feel was scorn when that name is brought up. "Aside from that, I'm here with parts of my Empire to speak about a bit of a union."
"Union?" Paramount and Luminary repeated.
"Yes. You see, I was made aware of Pegalysium from one of my loyal subjects, Skyblue Shine. Frankly, it made sense that I wouldn't know of it. Even in my own universe. Exclusive locations and all. If it sounds plausible and acceptable to you all, I would like to-"
"Hold it." Paramount paused. "Why would you want to form a union with us even during our first meeting?" He narrowed his eyes. Empress Twilight shuddered for a bit as she feared that Paramount might easily see through her. "I'm sorry. But even with this encounter, we cannot casually accept an alliance with someone we've just met."
"I'm afraid my husband is right. It's all too sudden, you see." Luminary shrugged.
"Tch. I suppose I was getting ahead of myself." The Empress smirked.
"Now that I think about it. You said Empire, didn't you? Tell me. Are you responsible for the invasion last month?" Paramount asked, putting the Empress in a rougher spot. Empress Twilight could see that King Paramount was very intellectual.
She thought she could work some mind games on the king but with how perceptive he is, that might be impossible. The Empress' soldiers were also feeling nervous. Something about King Paramount just terrified them. The Empress now knew that King Paramount was an imposing force as she couldn't help but admit to this.
"Yes. That was me." She admitted to being the cause of the invasion as Luminary and the Pegalysium guards gasped. But Empress Twilight had a follow-up. "However! I wouldn't have done it if it weren't for the circumstances!"
"And what would those be?
"Princess Celestia and her Equestria refused to be a part of my empire in the first place. Before we even met, they objected to my universe. Deeming me a threat. And to be fair, I am a threat. However, my way of Friendship apparently conflicts with their way. Other events occurred, leading to that invasion. But now, I'm here to work around that."
"There is no workaround." Paramount stood up. "An invasion is unacceptable. No matter what. What makes you think we'll just ignore that? The fact that you attempted to conquer this world speaks volumes, doesn't it?"
"My, what a king you are." Empress Twilight's eye twitched. "Won't even hear me out? Yes, I invaded this world. But honestly, I would've let Pegalysium off the hook. After all, I was only aiming for Equestria after their denial. I would've spared or allied with your world."
"And I'm to assume you would've gone easy on us? Would you really have not come for us even if you hadn't known of our existence?" Paramount questioned her further. "Deciding to conquer another nation due to them denying whatever your ideals were is utterly despicable."
"Tch!" Empress Twilight growled, seeing that it was practically impossible to convince the king. And there was no luck with Luminary with how she shared the same views as her husband.
"Feel lucky for yourself. Since this is our first encounter between your empire and ours, I will ask you to leave instead of placing you within confinement. But I trust that eventually, Princess Celestia and Equestria will get to that. Whatever you came here for, you won't get it. That much is sure. Now leave."
"Hmph. Fine." Empress Twilight sat up as she and her soldiers were ready to leave. "Here I thought we could have a civil discussion. You're quite the charmer, aren't you, king? Fine. But, how about we make a deal or promise before I leave?"
"And what's that?" Luminary asked.
"That whole Pokemon destroying the universe debacle? I'm not sure how that'll happen, but if I can prevent it and keep away from your nation, will that suffice?"
"I've already put my faith and trust in Princess Celestia and Equestria. Why should I put my trust in you?" Paramount walked up to the Empress as they both gazed at each other with blazing eyes.
"Touché." Empress Twilight was impressed yet again. King Paramount is a hard nut to crack and convince. "Just watch. Then you'll be convinced, your majesty."
With that, Empress Twilight would leave with her soldiers. The atmosphere of the throne room was tense, just like how it was with the first meeting between Princess Celestia and King Paramount. Empress Twilight smirked while the king kept a straight and serious face.
"I'm worried about this just becoming an arguing room..." Luminary sighed as Paramount gave her a comforting pat, causing the queen to smile. The guards had heard everything. They always do. However, one guard definitely heard it all. A bit too much.
This guard then walked over to the dungeons. Not to check up on any prisoners or anything. But for something else. The guard looked behind, making sure nopony was watching him. The coast was clear for him. He found a spot in the dungeon that he could stand by.
After doing so, the guard pulled out a shell of all things. But this shell could not only float, the guard could even use it for one purpose. Communication. He spoke into the shell.
"There has been the appearance of a third alicorn, Grand Judge." In truth, this was another member of the Indigo Alliance, posing as a Pegalysium Guard. A spy. "Just like the previous two alicorns."
He was sending information towards the Indigo Alliance. From everything within the palace and its ongoings. After all, King Paramount believes in the Indigo Alliance and wishes to put an end to them. And the Indigo Alliance were against that possibility. The king holds all the power in Pegalysium after all, next to the queen.
After that, a voice came through the shell, responding to the spy's information. The spy then nodded in confirmation after receiving that message. "I'll continue to stand by."
Pegalysium. Out in the fields. Nightfall.
By this point, Ash and the others were ready to head back after their time at Feathercoast. The Rocketship, owned by Team Rocket, was waiting. The islands hadn't moved today. Thankfully. So the locations were still in one spot.
But before they could leave, someone had to come and see them. Two of them really. Garnet and Kaleidoscope. Out of everypony in Pegalysium, they were the most intrigued with Pokemon. Well, Shooting Star as well.
"Wait!" Garnet cried out as they soared over the trees, appearing before the group. Here in Pegalysium, the pegasi are faster than normal. Living in just the skies and nowhere else helped them adapt to have better speed. "Don't go just yet!"
"Hm? What's up?" Ash asked.
"Before you leave...We talked with Mayor Umbra," said Garnet. "We told her if we could come and see the Pokemon World for ourselves."
"And?" Fluttershy and the others leaned forward.
"She said no." Garnet and Kaleidoscope lowered their heads with that disappointing news. "But!" They both exclaimed at the same time. "She said it was okay for you all to come by next time anytime. So when you do, can you teach us more than Pokemon? I'll take you to the Sky Monarch next time too for Prince Shooting Star."
"Works for us." Ash nodded to that.
"Pika-Pika."
"And Twilight. Bring me anything to learn more about Equestria, okay?" Kaleidoscope asked her new History Buddy as they've dubbed it.
"I sure will. Show me more of Pegalysium too." Twilight giggled as they gave each other a high hoof.
"Oh, I've got that covered. Here." Kaleidoscope revealed something out of her bag. Just what Twilight wanted. A comprehensive history book about Pegalysium. One of many. And it was all for the Princess of Friendship.
"Oh! Thanks, Kaleidoscope!" Twilight held the book before giving a bright smile. All the Pokemon had entered the ship, flooding it with their abundance. It was time for Ash and the others to leave as well. But now, they were free to come to Pegalysium at any time.
"Say hi to Princess Celestia and Passion for me! Garnet waved her hoof, saying her final goodbyes as they all entered the ship. After that, James started the Rocketship. The ship had ascended from the ground, taking to the skies as Garnet and Kaleidoscope could see the group waving through the front window.
And that was that. The ship flew off, heading back to Equestria. Garnet and Kaleidoscope could head home themselves. But not before Garnet had a few ideas running through her head.
"You know...maybe we could convince the mayor a bit more. And then she might let us had down there."
"Eh...I don't know." Kaleidoscope shook her head. "She seemed very final about it, didn't she?"
"Yeah. But can you imagine how many Pokemon are out there? Or what Equestria or even the Pokemon World is like?" Garnet spread her hooves out, looking at the night sky while imagining the scope and scale of both Equestria and the Pokemon World. "It could be unlike anything we've ever seen before!"
"It definitely could. But our ancestors never wanted us to interact with Pegalysium? I can show you the exhibit where that is if you want."
"I've already seen it. Besides, it's been generations and centuries." Garnet shrugged. "I'm sure that rule isn't so big and important anymore. I mean, we just got a bunch of visitors recently that found our nation. Besides, what's stopping us?
"The Sky Monarch? Kaleidoscope answered as she and Garnet trotted away.
"Well...yeah. But the king sends troops down for more resources, doesn't he? I'm sure he's cool with it. He's fine with most things. He came to my birthday once, ya know."
"He came to mine first. Even dressed up all silly for it." Kaleidoscope replied with a smirk, making Garnet puff her cheeks.
"You were a year younger than me then, so he was less mature!" Garnet exclaimed as she and Kaleidoscope had their banter. They tend to have it a lot as best friends. It's only natural anyway.
However, as they made their way home for their town's 400th anniversary, the Indigo Alliance, a few of the members, hid beneath the shadows. They weren't looking at Garnet or Kaleidoscope. Instead, it was directly at the Rocketship. They had one thing in mind.
Jade Skies.
Since they found out Jade was connected to the Rift, making her an entire walking Rift supply, the goal was to capture her for the Indigo Alliance and nothing else. The pegasi then vanished into the shadows once they laid their eyes on the Rocketship.
They weren't going to personally follow the ship. That meant leaving Pegalysium itself.
Equestria. Ponyville. SugarCube Corner.
After that second visit, everyone returned. Ash, Goh and Chloe returned to Kanto in the Pokemon World while others just went to bed, ready for tomorrow.
Unfortunately for Jade, no source of her origin in Pegalysium could be found. However, Jade wasn't too bothered by it. But it was hard to tell whether she was upset or not.
"Sorry we couldn't find anything about where you came from, Jade. Maybe next time when we visit Pegalysium, we can find out something."
"It's fine, Pinkie. Besides. I kinda made up my mind a long time ago."
"You did?" Pinkie tilted her head whilst eating a cupcake beside Mew, Spinda and the rest of the Slurpuff.
"Even if I can't find my original home, you and everypony here have given me a new one. Mr and Mrs Cake are like parents to me, and I see Cold as a little brother too. So I guess I have new family and friends now. And I'm happy with that." Jade said everything on her mind and how she truly felt to Pinkie Pie.
And for once, Jade was able to form a smile."I'm glad to stay here."
"Oh, Jade!" Pinkie Pie teared up while creating some cupcakes with the crumbs flying out. Mew, Spinda and the Slurpuff also couldn't help but tear up as well from that.
"Come on." Jade suddenly walked past Pinkie Pie, aiming for the outside. "I want to show you something at night. If we hurry, we can still catch it."
"Catch what?"
"One time, Maud caught a Minior. A lot of them. She had all of the Minior fly across the sky and create a great looking sight. Cold, Absol and I see it sometimes at night. I want to show you that sight again in the sky."
"Oooh! Sounds good to me!" Pinkie Pie bounced along, eager to see one of Jade's favourite past times. She rarely has many, but now she's gaining more as time goes on. She led Pinkie Pie, Mew and Spinda outside with the Slurpuff staying behind.
Already, Cold and Absol were out late at night as always. One can't ever get tired and the other chooses not to sleep. Cold waved over at Jade and Pinkie Pie as he knew today was that day. To see the Minior fly by once more. Absol even finds some enjoyment from it. It eases him down.
If they wanted to see this sight, Lapras Lake was the place to be. After they arrived at Lapras Lake, they were just on time to see the Minior sight. Some Pokemon at Lapras Lake even take the time to see this.
They looked up at the night sky, waiting for the Core Form Minior to arrive. And they wouldn't have to wait any longer. Because they had arrived and in wonderful numbers too. Places where Minior fall from the night sky are few and far between, with Alola being one of the precious few. But, now Equestria has it. 100 Minior could be seen flying across the sky, creating red and white streaks in their Core Forms.
But they wouldn't just casually fly around in the sky. The Meteor Pokemon knew that they are fairly popular for stargazing. And for a good reason. So, to live up to this, the Minior would make randomized patterns in the night sky with their red and white streaks.
And so they did. Immediately, the 100 Minior formed an entire galaxy from the movements. Not on the scale of a real galaxy, but it was fairly huge considering how many streaks there were. Pinkie Pie and the others in Lapras Lake gawked at this pattern as the Minior kept going.
After forming a region, they crossed streams with their streaks, forming a Mobius Strip while having white streaks move across the Mobius Strip. Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves while Cold made some popcorn appear with his Rift Magic, allowing him to eat and enjoy the view.
The calming sight of the night sky and Minior patterns allowed some Pokemon to sleep through it. They do have a calming aura. And for the second time in a row in one night, Jade smiled once more. She rarely smiles back to back. But being with great friends, seeing the night sky a deciding where her place in this world was is just enough to make this Rift Pony smile.
And she was glad.
However, near Lapras Lake, standing at a far distance, was the Indigo Alliance. Four members in total. They had followed the Rocketship, leaving Pegalysium and ending up in this part of Equestria. Their eyes watched Jade Skies as they observed the area. They had one goal.
To come and capture Jade.
However, not all of the Pokemon were asleep. There was the threat of Absol, the Lapras, a few other Pokemon Types and the Sharpedo which are now allies of Lapras Lake and Ponyville. This number difference was too risky for them to grab Jade and get out of here. To send this information, one of the pegasi spoke into that same communication shell.
"Grand Judge. There are too many of these Pokemon here. What should we do?"
"Don't engage them now. Wait for another time and then take your chance. We can't afford to let anyone suspect a thing. Especially those guests from before."
"Yes, Grand Judge." So it was. The pegasi disappeared into the shadows, having a new approach. They would wait for the day when Jade was vulnerable and by her lonesome. Or at least with little crowds. And then, by that time, they will strike and grab their target.
But even if Jade wasn't aware of this, she was just enjoying life as it was for her. Confusing at the start, but with a great friend like Pinkie Pie and everyone else, not anymore. She truly felt at peace now.
A large expanse with several craters filled with a green substance. The land has what looks to be metal pipes growing as roots throughout the rock. A few red monoliths also stuck out of the ground. Several geysers are also present shooting out steam.
In this Ultra Space, the Launch Pokemon Celesteela existed here, present in the ground and the world is frequented by earthquakes as Celesteela fly out of the ground and into the sky. Holding a spectacular size of 9.2 m and a weight of 999.9 kg. These Pokemon were heavy individuals in this large mountainous expanse The sky was yellow due to geothermal activity from the geysers.
An Ultra Wormhole could be seen in the sky of the Ultra Crater. Fairly high up. Almost leaving the planet. However, despite that height, that was no problem for one Celesteela. These Pokemon are known for gaining great heights thanks to their flying capabilities. With ease, it had passed through the wormhole.
But it wasn't just one. Other Celesteela were curious about this as they were drawn to the wormholes. A few of them went straight for the Ultra Wormholes, making it a crowd instead of just one.
Equestria. Out in the mountains. Late night.
Out in the mountains, another Ultra Wormhole could be found. They were still up and active thanks to Team Plasma and have yet to be closed. However, the Swords of Justice have been doing a great job of keeping any rampaging or troublesome Ultra Beasts in check.
However, they can't get to every single Ultra Wormhole. There was quite an abundance of them after all. But the numbers wouldn't stop them. At this time, a new Ultra Beast was showing itself to this world. Passing through the wormhole was UB-04. The Launch Pokemon, Celesteela. A total of 6.
The Launch Pokemon let out a cry. However, they didn't call out their names like most Pokemon. It was more akin to a Legendary Pokemon in which it has a unique sound that does not revolve around its name. Celesteela's cry sounded like a heavenly sound. As if angels were descending from the skies.
After arriving here, the Celesteela observed their surroundings. It reminded them of their home back in the Ultra Crater. Mountains and everything. The Ultra Beasts were already familiar with the landscape. Now that it was here, the Celesteela only had one goal.
To fly around as much as they want. Simple but effective. Equestria seemed wider than the Ultra Crater, which pleased the Launch Pokemon greatly. All the space they needed for a prolonged flight. Celesteela got to work. By expelling gas from their two massive arms, the Launch Pokemon all took off like rockets, generating powerful flames.
They went in separate directions since each of them enjoy flying in their own space. Celesteela are generally friendly Pokemon. Their greatest enjoyment is just flying. However, their huge size makes them hard to be around at times. But gentle nonetheless.
Unfortunately, with all of this fuel, the ground below wasn't so safe. Especially the grass. The Celesteela and their flames immediately affected the grass of this landscape, causing it to spread like wildfire. With so much fire coming from six Celesteela, the fire was multiplied in abundance and ferocity.
And that didn't spell good news for the Pokemon. This wildfire moved at radical speeds, unseen by most Fire-Type Pokemon. Nearby Pokemon ran for the hills while the Water-Type Pokemon would join together to prevent their home from being destroyed. But they had to act fast. This fire was spreading at a ridiculous rate. Probably too fast to stop.
Ponyville. Rainbow Dash's home. Day.
"Alright. Check this out." Ash was currently at Rainbow Dash's home with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. He had something special to show them. Since Rainbow Dash received a TV for Hearth's Warming and Christmas, she's been given the honour of watching everything made in the Pokemon World.
This was mainly for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Ash and Rainbow Dash had a brilliant idea in mind that they figured they should've used sooner.
Cartoons.
Ash turned on the TV while Rainbow Dash switched to the channel. And right before their eyes, a Pokemon Cartoon was playing on the screen. And just as they expected, one look and the three fillies were hooked.
"Oooh! What's this?!" The three of them gawked
"Cartoons. Some of my favourites from when I was a kid are in here too." Ash explained. "Rainbow Dash found them when she was channel surfing, right?"
"Mhm. I'll say it again." Rainbow Dash nodded in response. "Best Hearth's Warming gift ever. I've seen a lot of cool stuff on this thing, ya know! Like this one show called Red Aura with a Riolu? You should check that out for sure."
"Man...Wish I had some of those cartoons way back. I didn't see a bunch of Pokemon back when I was young. Ash grumbled. But he knew he could watch up on some missed cartoons in the modern-day.
Aside from that, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were ecstatic to watch these cartoons. They saw a glimpse of them during Poke-Con when passing by one of the booths. The show that was one was Red Aura. As appealing as it was to Rainbow Dash, it had the same effect on the children as well.
"Yeah. That'll work." Rainbow Dash smiled in approval. She was about to get on with the rest of her day, planning to practice with Ash, until a special guest showed up.
"Ash! Rainbow Dash!" Twilight appeared, teleporting inside of Rainbow Dash's room. She startled Ash, Pikachu and Rainbow Dash, but the fillies were too focused on the show to be startled. "Big news!"
"Huh?! What happened Twilight?!" Ash asked.
"Pika-Pika?!"
"Look!" Twilight took out her Energy Tracker that showcases various energy signatures for Pokemon-Types. Mainly one type instead of two. And on that screen were six silver-coloured orbs. "Steel-Type signatures! Do you know what that means?!"
"Uh..." Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes, unsure of what answer she should give? "There's a bunch of Legendary Steel-Type Pokemon somewhere in Equestria?"
"Better! It could be Jirachi!"
The three fillies definitely paid attention to that. Hearing Jirachi's name made them turn around as they all gasped with Ash, Pikachu and Rainbow Dash.
Seriously?! Is it really Jirachi?!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu?!"
"Jirachi's primary typing is Steel. But there's only six of them instead of one. They ould be other Legendary Pokemon sure, but we can't miss out on a chance to find Jirachi."This is an opportunity to reach Jirachi and make our wish! I already have a pen and ink ready!"
"Let's hurry then," said Rainbow Dash. "Sooner we get to Jirachi, the better."
"RIght on that. Because all six are moving fast." Twilight showcased the speed of the signatures. They were moving incredibly fast despite being the most defensive typing. Steel.
"This is great!" Scootaloo grinned as she and her friends stood up, aiming to go along. But they soon turned around to the TV show. "Oh but this show's really fun..."
"You three can stay behind." Rainbow Dash suggested. "We'll be back, okay?"
"Okay!" The trio replied before shooting their attention to the cartoon in front of their eyes. The intro to the show had just ended, resulting in the opening scene. And with great timing. Currently, the very first episode is playing so they don't have to worry about catching up or binge-watching.
As for Ash and Pikachu, they would head off to find this signature with Twilight and Rainbow Dash. And with the extra company of Goh and Starlight.
They would need to hurry.
The Crystal Empire. Day.
"But mom! Just one more!" The voice of Flurry Heart could be heard within the castle. At this moment, a bit of a squabble was occurring between her mother. Not just that, but her baby self from this world as well.
"Absolutely not. You've already ravaged through yesterday's chocolate frosted eclairs and the day before that. A total of 240 just like that." Cadence said as she was holding back both Flurry Hearts from gaining their hooves on the eclairs. "You'll get an addiction to them."
"We won't! Just one more bite, please!" Flurry Heart pleaded as she and her baby self held their tongues out, panting like dogs as they were truly drawn to the eclairs. After eating them, they were hooked.
"You'll have them tonight and in the afternoon tomorrow. That's that." Cadence made her word final as she was unyielding. Even the pleading eyes of two daughters' wasn't enough to break past her.
"Mmmrrgh...!" Both Flurry Hearts sat down on their respective chairs, crossing their hooves and pouting at the same time. They were truly in unison with their emotions and expressions. But it only made sense. They were essentially the same pony. Although, it is a bit odd seeing an older pony act like a baby with perfect synchronization.
Cadence passed the eclairs to a Canterlot Guard, allowing him to place the eclairs somewhere else where both Flurry Hearts' wouldn't get their chocolate-addicted hooves on them.
However, the two young alicorns were already plotting on finding them, no matter where their mother would hide. The two Flurry Hearts' looked at each other with conniving grins, knowing what needed to be done.
"Well uh...I'll just head to my room and open my new Pokemon Cards then." Flurry Heart sat up, holding her little self. "And I'm sure my baby me would love 'em too. She really likes all the pink Pokemon."
"Alright then," Cadence responded. "Just stay away from the eclairs for a while, please? It took decades for Aunt Celestia to even slow her cake addiction down. I'm afraid it might be coming back as well."
"We will." Flurry Heart and her baby self let out seemingly innocent smiles as they zoomed away from the current spot. But at the same time, they started giggling mischievously in the process. And Cadence heard this, causing her to sigh.
Taking care of two daughters who were essentially linked with everything. Whether she made her role as a mother harder or not, it's something she chose to tackle. And yet, she did find some enjoyment out of their antics.
As for Cadence, it was off to her royal duties while Sylveon laid at the corner of the room, sleeping through the day with Manaphy on her head. But as Cadence trotted off, a Crystal Empire guard came sliding over here as fast as he could, stopping in front of the Princess of Love.
"Your majesty!"
"Hm? What is it?" Cadence asked the scurrying guard.
"I had to come here as soon as I could after the news I received. It's Frozen North. It's being melted away." He said, causing Cadence to gasp as it woke Manaphy and Sylveon up all at once.
"All of it?!"
"All of it. The fire is incredibly ferocious, spreading at an alarming rate. It might end up reaching the Crystal Empire soon, engulfing us in it."
"That's all I needed to hear," said Cadence as she knew what needed to be done. "How much of the north is intact and how far is the fire?"
"Some of us soldiers have been trying to keep the fire at bay. The Golurk may resist the flames but it can't be contained for long."
"No time to waste then. Sylveon!"
"Sylv!" Sylveon stood up with Manaphy hopping off of the Intertwining Pokemon.
"Mana?"
"Manaphy. You'll be of great help as a Water-Type against this." Cadence looked to the Seafaring Pokemon for assistance. Manaphy would help without hesitation. Manaphy hopped onto Sylveon's back as they set off to the Frozen North to stop these flames before they consume the Crystal Empire.
And possibly Equestria as well.
As Cadence transported her, Sylveon and Cadence to the Frozen North, the two Flurry Hearts peeked their heads through the door, wondering where their mother was headed to. However, they weren't focused on that. They were really focused on getting those eclairs. Even during a raging wildfire.
The Frozen North.
And as to be expected, the wildfire showed no mercy, The Frozen North was suffering, slowly dying out with these flames. Surprisingly, they didn't come from a Fire-Type Pokemon. And they always have the strongest Fire generation out there with no equal.
The Pokemon living here either fleed for their lives or attempted to stop the flames. The Ice-Type Pokemon were essentially powerless to do anything, aside from a few such as Walrein and Cloyster were doing their best.
Unfortunately, they weren't enough as the wildfire kept approaching. The Golurk tried utilizing their resistance to Fire for this. It slightly worked. Their bodies could take the flames for a while, but they were unable to fend the flames off, forcing the Golurk to back away along with the Canterlot Guard.
The Walrein and Cloyster could see the flames getting closer, prompting them to back away. With the ice melting from all this heat, there would be no Frozen North.
Celesteela fuel is that powerful.
Cadence had arrived with Sylveon and Manaphy. Just like the guard said. It was incredibly ferocious and spreading at an alarming rate. Not only that, but it looked like it had also shown up from the west as well.
"Oh my..." Cadence gawked at the flames.
"Sylveon..."
"Mana..."
"Right!" Cadence quickly slapped her face. "Let's see what we can do! Sylveon, use Shadow Ball! Manaphy, use Rain Dance to try and end the flames!" Cadence ordered them both even if Manaphy wasn't hers. Cadence also unleashed a magic beam to try and blow the flames back as well.
"Syl...Veon!" The Intertwining Pokemon hurled a blob of shadows after using her mouth, causing the attack to fly beside Cadence's beam.
The beam and blob of shadows met with the raging flames. And upon contact, they did some considerable damage. The beam and blob had managed to push the fires back with Cadence pouring a continuous magic beam onwards. Sylveon also repeatedly unleashed Shadow Balls second after second.
"Mana! Manaphy!" As for Manaphy, she started dancing around, attempting to use Rain Dance and put an end to these flames. After dancing around, the clouds had been manipulated, altering to form into rainclouds. Rain poured from above, immediately covering most of the Frozen North while dropping on the flames.
The rain managed to eliminate some of the flames with how heavy it was pouring. But the furious flames were capable of fighting back against the rain as well. The Golurk was starting to get overwhelmed as they backed away along with the guards.
"Phy! Mana!" Manaphy then went the extra distance, using her next move. Waterfall. By raising her arms, the Seafaring Pokemon summoned a platform of water that sent her up. This platform quickly turned into Waterfall as Manaphy now towered over everyone. Even the Golurk.
"Oh!" Cadence gasped as she and the others knew they had to make way for Manaphy's Waterfall. The large Waterfall with Manaphy on top had been dropped on the raging flames along with the rain from Rain Dance.
And it was truly effective. Thanks to Rain Dance, the effects of Waterfall were boosted, making it stronger. Strong enough to put the flames out with ease. At least, the ones in this direction.
"Nice work, Manaphy!" Cadence and the others cheered.
"Sylveon!"
"Your majesty! There are still more flames coming from other directions! Possibly all over Equestria!" bellowed a guard, pointing his hoof over at the west.
"We'll stop those as well. But what caused this?" Cadence and everyone were not sure what force made this all possible. This looked like it would've been the work of a Magcargo, Houndoom, Camerupt and other extremely powerful Fire-Types. However, their answer would soon be made.
Up in the sky and through their ears, Cadence and the others heard something angelic nearby. They collectively gasped as they all raised their heads to the sky. Once they did, they saw something they had never seen before.
A Celesteela.
And voila. It had flames coming out of its two arms, using its seemingly endless fuel to soar through the skies with a beaming smile on its face.
"What kind of Pokemon is that?!" Cadence took out her Pokedex, observing the Ultra.
"Celesteela. UB-04 Blaster. The Launch Pokemon. One kind of Ultra Beast. Witnesses have seen it burn down a forest by expelling gas from its two arms while flying across the sky at high speed. High energy readings can be detected coming from both of its huge arms. Although it’s alien to this world and a danger here, it’s apparently a common organism in the world where it normally lives."
"So that's what caused all of this?" Cadence spoke before closing her Pokedex. They found their source.
"Should we deal with it, your majesty?"
"Wait." Cadence stopped the guards before they take action. She observed Celesteela's face and its behaviour as well. "It doesn't seem to be harming anyone else at the moment. Look. The flames are just naturally coming out of its arms. Do you know what that means?"
"Um..." The guards were trying to keep and find an answer to Cadence's question.
"It means that it isn't doing this on purpose. Perhaps, when arriving from an Ultra Wormhole, it decided to take off. But those flames affected the land, quickly spreading fire at a rapid pace. And it doesn't seem like there's anything it can do about it. Even when flying, the flames remain. Cadence explained it all to them. The guards understood clearly now.
"But then...if it decides to take off and fly again at any time, what now? The flames could start again."
"Hm...What to do...?" Cadence tried thinking of a solution to this predicament. She pondered for a bit before coming up with something. "Aha! That might work!"
Shroomish Marshlands. Afternoon.
Over at the Shroomish Marshlands, where many Grass and Poison-Type Pokemon can be found, was where Ash, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Goh and Starlight went to track the Steel-Type signature. One of six."
"Here. This signature should be closeby to these Marshlands." Twilight looked at the tracker. "Just a few more seconds and we'll be seeing its arrival. If it's not Jirachi then we'll head somewhere else."
"I hope it is Jirachi," said Starlight. "Soooo much trouble can just be swept away. Plus it can grant three wishes, right? Why don't we wish for something else when we meet it?"
"What would you even wish for?" Twilight asked.
"I'd wish for um...Hm." Starlight put her lip, squinting her eyes and shifting her pupils around. "Not sure. What do I want? Goh?"
"I know what I want. To have something like Twilight so I can find any Pokemon of any Type but way more than it!" Goh spread his arms out. "That way, finding Pokemon will be way easier since I'll know where to go. What about you, Ash? Gonna wish to be a Pokemon Master?"
"Nah. I can't wish for something like that. Gotta make it real by my own terms."
"Pika-Pika."
"Oh! Here it comes!" Twilight alerted everyone as their attention was drawn to the direction of where the signature was coming from. Just from the east. They were all ears and eyes.
Although, in this case, ears were the only things that mattered. Because immediately, their ears picked up on a certain sound. It almost sounded like some sort of jet or aeroplane was currently flying by here in Equestria. Definitely not the sound of a small Pokemon.
However, Ash and Pikachu instantly recognized the sound of those aerial movements. That was most certainly not something that belonged to Jirachi. Not only that but he and Pikachu heard a cry along with it. It was a fairly audible cry.
"Wait a minute...that's Celesteela!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Princess Celestia?" Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Goh and Starlight repeated, believing Ash was mentioning Celestia's name.
"No! Celesteela! Look!" Ash pointed ahead as the figure of Celesteela was coming into view. It indeed was the Launch Pokemon and Ultra Beast, Celesteela.
"What is that?!" Starlight gasped as she, Rainbow Dash, Goh and Twilight took out their Pokedexes for this. They all had Celesteela's dex entry come to them. They learned all about its powerful two arms and how it expels flames from them and everything.
Celesteela cried out while soaring through the skies at great speeds. Greater than it looked considering that it was a Steel-Type Pokemon. And speaking of Steel, Twilight quickly realized the truth of the signature.
"So no Jirachi? Twilight, dropping her ears.
"It's something even better...I'm gonna catch it!" Rainbow Dash and Goh suddenly said as they both looked at each other for a moment.
"Sorry, Goh! But I've got a new partner to add to my team!" Rainbow Dash spread her wings up, taking off like a rocket and causing a shockwave that knocked Goh back.
"Woah!" Goh cried out before falling on his back. "No fair, Rainbow Dash!"
"Ah, Rainbow Dash! Wait!" Ash bellowed trying to reach her. But Rainbow Dash already made up her mind. She wanted an Ultra Beast for herself. The multi-coloured maned pegasus stopped in front of Celesteela, causing the Launch Pokemon to halt its movements. A confused angelic cry left the Ultra Beast's mouth.
"Rarity's got an Ultra Beast of her own. Pinkie Pie's got a Mew. It'd be sweet if I got my own rare Pokemon too!" Rainbow Dash held out her Poke Ball. "Get ready for this! Go, Braviary!" Out of the Poke Ball came the Valiant Pokemon Braviary.
"Braviary!"
"So it was just Celesteela the whole time, huh?" Ash said while looking up. "Then the other five signatures moving fast must mean that they're all Celesteela."
"Pika...
"There's still a chance the other signatures could be Jirachi! Hope isn't lost!" Twilight bellowed, keeping her hopes up.
"Braviary! Use Aerial Ace!" Rainbow Dash attacked first, ordering her Braviary.
"Bravi!" Braviary cawed before coating himself in a flashy white and blue aura. The Valiant Pokemon then vanished from the spot, confusing Celesteela. Before it knew it, Braviary appeared in front of the Launch Pokemon, flying past it while slashing Aerial Ace on its body. Celesteela barely felt that damage. But a frown did meet with its face. And Ash saw this change.
"Rainbow Dash! BraviaryWait! Don't battle it!"
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash and Braviary looked down after Ash's call.
"Bravi?"
After that attack, Celesteela felt threatened, prompting it to retaliate. And it did this via Flash Cannon. But putting both of its massive arms out, the Launch Pokemon gathered all its light energy and released it at once in the form of a massive silver beam. Two of them from both arms.
"Ah!" Rainbow Dash and Braviary both gasped after witnessing these beams come towards them at surprisingly rapid speeds. But, they were quick enough to move out of the way. Celesteela then redirected the beams, sending Flash Cannon to follow its prey.
"Lucario, stop it!" Ash took out his Poke Ball, throwing it upwards and towards the Flash Cannon. Out of it came the Aura Pokemon Lucario.
"Lucario!" Lucario roared as he put his arms out. The Aura Pokemon personally took the massive Flash Cannon, shielding Rainbow Dash and Braviary for it. An outburst of explosive energy emerged with a large smoke cloud. However, Lucario jumped out of the cloud, tanking the attack without a scratch.
"Celesteela, wait!" Ash shouted towards the Launch Pokemon drawing its attention. The Ultra Beast faced Ash and the others below, wondering what they had to say. "Sorry about that!"
"Pika-Pika!"
Celesteela...actually understood the accident. It was a very understanding Pokemon as it could tell what a sincere apology was. With that, it ceased its attack, descending to the ground without expelling flames from its two arms for once. It doesn't need to when descending.
"My bad." Rainbow Dash sighed, apologizing to the Launch Pokemon as well with Braviary doing the same. "Thought I could get a good battle in and a catch."
"Braviary..."
"No need to worry." Ash patted Rainbow Dash on the back. "I was kinda like that way back then."
"Pika-Pikachu." Pikachu did the same to Braviary.
"Yikes these Ultra Beasts keep getting bigger don't they?" Starlight gawked at Celesteela. The size of it was just overwhelming to look at. Not on the same scale as Wailord or Eternatus but still wild. "It's taller than Pheromosa."
"Buzzwole came here to flex his muscles. Pheromosa came here for exploration and beauty. Kartana just wanted to cut things." Twilight listed some of the Ultra Beasts and their needs. "What did Celesteela come for?"
In response, Celesteela unleashed a heavenly cry, expanding to all of them what it came here for. And essentially, all of its fellow Celesteela. Lucario had received that message as he passed it over to Ash via an Aura Communication Pulse.
"Oh. You just came here fly as much as you want with a ton of space. And the same goes for your friends, right?" Ash translated for everyone as Celesteela nodded in confirmation. "Not a bad wish."
"That's it? Just flying around?" Goh scratched his head.
"Mhm. But the last Celesteela Pikachu and I met had something higher than that. Back in Alola, one Celesteela wanted to head to the moon. It was buried under Alola for 200 years, trying to find the energy to break free. Thanks to Sophocles that happened."
"200 years?!" Goh and the others screeched after hearing that astronomical number. Celesteela can certainly live for a long time.
"So, they're all just Celesteela? Aw..." Twilight was further disappointed that her Jirachi hope had been crumbled into pieces. Shattered and obliterated.
"Pi? Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu then alerted the group as he smelled something off. Something like smoke. And speaking of smoke, over in the distance, where Pikachu alerted the group and pointing towards, smoke could be seen rising.
"What's up with that?! A forest fire?!" Twilight gasped. Celesteela could see ahead thanks to its towering size. And it quickly realized what was the cause of this. Its brain thinks fairly past, almost on the same level as a Psychic-Type Pokemon. The Launch Pokemon then let out another heavenly cry for Lucario to gather.
"Lu!" Lucario then sent another pulse to Ash, telling him what exactly Celesteela said.
"Is that what happened?! Then Equestria's gonna be burned down at that rate! Ash translated before he and Pikachu ran ahead. No time to stand around as they had to stop these flames from going off.
"Ash! Wait!" Soon, Twilight and the others followed after him and Pikachu. Celesteela decided not to take off. It would just cause damage to the land if it expelled flames from its flight. The Launch Pokemon could only stand by.
"Hey! W-Why aren't you coming along?!" Rainbow Dash turned to Celesteela.
"If it takes off, it'll just make more fire!" Ash rapidly answered before rushing off. Celesteela had a disheartened frown meet its face. It wished it could've known this from the start.
After all, the Celesteela have been taking off on the ground instead of anything flammable like grass. They aren't used to something like this considering how long they've been living in the Ultra Crater.
And this was happening everywhere else.
The Celesteela and their combined flames had spread across Equestria, causing furious wildfires that no one expected. Not even the Fire-Type Pokemon. If something isn't done, Equestria will become nothing but ash.
Equestria. A forest near the Shroomish Marshlands. Day.
At this moment, a furious wildfire was starting to eclipse Equestria. Flames were made by the six Celesteela after they took off from the land. Specifically, grass. But this was done by accident instead of on purpose. The Celesteela are unable to control the flames after all. They need it to take off.
Right now, North, South, East and West of Equestria were being ravaged by these increasing flames. There are those trying to put a stop to this. Mainly the Water-Type Pokemon considering their advantage over Fire. But it wasn't just them. Princess Cadence was also on the scene, having an idea herself to deal with this.
But at the moment, Ash, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Starlight and Goh have come across another victim of the flames. A nearby forest. In the distance, the Celesteela that they have met could be seen. Celesteela wished it could help, but if it even thought of taking off, it could cause more damage to the land.
Many Pokemon living in this forest were weak to Fire. None had any moves that could stop these furious flames from tearing through their home, as seen by Ash and the others.
"No Water-Types here. But we gotta try something! Pikachu, Lucario! Push it back with Thunderbolt and Aura Sphere!" Ash ordered.
"Pika...Chuuu!"
"Luca!" Both Pikachu and Lucario went first, unleashing 100,000 volts and an array of Aura Spheres onto the flames. Upon contact, the volts and spheres managed to either push back or blow away the flames. However, more work would be needed to prevent all of this.
"Let's see...Do I have any Water-Types?" Goh searched through his Poke Balls to see which Pokemon would be fit for the job. He then found the perfect one. "Aha! Go, Sobble!" By launching his Poke Ball, out came Sobble.
"Sobble."
"Use Water Gun!"
"Castform! Use Reflect-Type on Sobble and use Weather Ball! Braviary flap your wings with Superpower!" Rainbow Dash had her own idea. Braviary could push the flames away with a powerful wind pressure while Castform needed his Rainy Form for some progress.
"Cast!" The Weather Pokemon immediately looked at Sobble, covering him in an aurora colour. With that, he ended up mimicking Sobble's Typing, turning into a Water-Type. Or even better, his Rainy Form. But not before unleashing a pulse of water that had fought back against the flames.
After that, Castform then used Weather Ball, conjuring an orb of water. He then used this orb of water to fight back against the flames.
"Starlight. Let's see if we can get some of the Pokemon out of here." Twilight and Starlight would choose a different approach. Saving the Pokemon from harm. They ran off together, ready to stray them away from the flames while Ash, Goh and Rainbow Dash would handle the flames from advancing.
"Lombre!" A group of Lombre had used their Water-Type attacks to try and douse the flames. Unfortunately, there weren't that many of them. And they were the only Pokemon inhabiting this forest that had protection against Fire thanks to Primary Typing.
The flames grew strong enough to overpower even their Water-Type attacks, raging towards the few Lombre, forcing them to hop away. "Lom!"
Some Pokemon were hiding behind what they could. But it's not like that mattered. The flames would burn everything down eventually. A Tangrwoth was protecting the smaller Pokemon with its larger size, acting as a shield. But that wouldn't work out as the flames would burn through them. The flames roared as they even grew in size, casting their light above Tangrowth and the other Pokemon.
Thankfully, Twilight and Starlight were here. Twilight used her magic to shield the Pokemon, putting them in a magic bubble. The flames met with the bubble and were blocked entirely. Starlight had also done the same for other nearby Pokemon who didn't have massive shields like Tangrowth.
Twilight and Starlight then pulled the magic bubbles with the Pokemon away, bringing them to a safer spot before the flames could continue moving. That is until Ash and the others can get rid of this forest fire.
Speaking of which, they were doing a good job in holding these flames away. Braviary's wing flaps were potent enough to create a strong wind pressure while Castform and Sobble could douse out some of the flames. But, even they won't be able to keep it up for long.
"Dragonite! Come out and use Hurricane!" Ash quickly switched to his next partner, Dragonite. Out of the Poke Ball, the Dragon Pokemon emerged.
"Dragonite!" Once showing up, Dragonite flapped her wings, creating spirals of winds alongside her friends. Now she was joining in on the action. And with the power of Psuedo-Legendary Pokemon, the odds were being made in their favour. With Dragonite's Hurricane, the flames were standing less of a chance now.
Twilight and Starlight then placed the bubbles near the end of the forest, allowing for a safer time until they can get rid of these flames. Twilight then noticed some Pokemon trapped underneath a massive log that had been caught on fire. They were using their strength to try and push the log away but to no avail.
Twilight quickly used her magic to slice the log in half, freeing the Pokemon from the struggle. Espeon also did the same by using Dazzling Gleam on any falling trees affected by the flames.
As Ash and the others were doing their best, in the distance, near the Marshland, Celesteela was still out there. It could tell that the group were erasing what its fellow Celesteela were up to. A shame that it couldn't take off, which would result in more damage to the land.
A frown graced the Launch Pokemon's face as it wished to fix the mistake and warn its fellow Celesteela as well. But it wasn't going to make any progress like this. Celesteela then gained pure determination as the Steel-Flying-Type knew it had to do something. That's when the Ultra Beast realized something.
While it was quicker in the air, it wasn't that fast on land. If anything, it moves a tad bit faster than a Shuckle. But that's not much. The Ultra Beast did this by exerting as little fuel from her arms as she could.
Small flames came out of its arms as the Ultra Beast was trying to use as little force as she could to prevent further destruction. The speed she was moving at just wouldn't do, unfortunately. But it had to try.
The nearby Pokemon witnessed the Launch Pokemon moving, knowing what it was trying to achieve. They could also see the smoke rising in the distance. Celesteela's hovering wasn't as fast as she was hoping. Celesteela made her way towards the forest, attempting to help.
The Pokemon could see how slow she was moving, knowing all of that, the Pokemon decided to help. Many of them had given Celesteela a boost in speed by ramming their bodies into its back.
The Steel-Flying-Type made a confused heavenly cry before looking behind it. It saw how all the Grass-Type Pokemon here were trying to push the Ultra Beast ahead to the forest. Celesteela soon knew this was not a hostile attack.
Unfortunately, the Ultra Beast was so heavy that the Pokemon themselves were greatly struggling. The pace did increase, but not as much as they wanted it to. That's when Celesteela had one final solution.
Autotomize.
The only move where Celesteela can lower it can lower its weight and increase its speed. The Ultra Beast was hoping that it would be enough. But it would come at the cost of adding more fuel and flames. Celesteela warned the Pokemon about what it was about to do and the risk that came with it. The Grass-Types nodded in response as they allowed Celesteela to used its fuel.
With a mighty cry, the Ultra Beast had used Autotomize, coating its body in a green and silver light. After that, Celesteela's weight had decreased. Now it was lighter but had better speed.
The flames spewed out of its arms, allowing Celesteela to pick up better speed than she was already moving at. And as to be expected, when coming in contact with the grass, new flames had sprouted, spreading out. The Grass-Type Pokemon had scattered after the flames emerged.
Celesteela moved at a lower level instead of ascending high into the air. She made her way towards the scene as fast as she could, leaving a trail of fire in the process.
Speaking of the scenario, it wasn't about to wrap up just yet. The combined might of Pikachu and the others was enough to deal with the flames. But there were some more coming from the side since fire tends to split up into several groups, only intensifying.
Twilight and Starlight had saved an abundance of Pokemon from any harm, gathering them all at the safest spot they could find.
"Look! Some of the flames are heading somewhere else!" Goh pointed out, spotting some flames moving in a backwards direction, threatening to rampage across another part of Equestria.
"Then we'll catch up to those flames and stop them before-" spoke Ash before he was interrupted. Arriving at the scene was Celesteela and her drive to help stop these flames. "Celesteela?"
"Pika?"
With an angelic cry, the Launch Pokemon did what it could. It had one move that could work well with fire. Stone Edge. By putting its two arms out, Celesteela sent out large sharpened stones, right past Ash and the others.
These stones served one purpose. Land on the flames and put them out. And they certainly had the size and strength to do so. One stone was enough to overlay a tree-sized flame. And the other stones could do the same. Perhaps even more. One by one, the flames were being crushed and put out by Stone Edge.
And with such precision too. Celesteela's idea worked out splendidly. And with the unification of Pikachu and the others, they were able to put out the flames in the forest with no casualties.
"Awesome job, Celesteela!" Ash exclaimed, walking up to the Launch Pokemon.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Phew." Goh sighed. "Well done, Sobble."
"Sobble."
"It's not over yet. Look." Rainbow Dash alerted everyone as there was still the threat of the other flames in the distance that have already branched in other directions. This wildfire wasn't slowing down any time soon.
"We have to deal with how many of these? There were six Celesteela, right?" said Goh.
"They all took off during the night. So the flames have been spreading for a long time now. Who knows how much there is now." Ash explained the rest of Celesteela's words to them all. "But we can't stop now. Everyone out there's gonna try and put them out after all."
"Yeah. Hold on. There's something I want to try." Twilight stepped forward, looking at the faraway flames as she had an idea sprouting in her head. She had her magic take out just one Poke Ball. And out of that Poke Ball came Ninetales.
"Ninetales!"
"Ninetales' ability is Flash Fire. Meaning that no matter what, Ninetales will end up absorbing the flames instead of feeling them, adding to his strength." Twilight broke down her plan to the group. "All Ninetales has to do is stand or run through the flames and they'll be drawn to him like a magnet."
"Oh! Smart thinking, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash approved. "Let's do it then!"
"We can deal with the ones here but...there are so many of them across Equestria. And they all appeared and sprouted during the night. I'm not sure Ninetales will be enough." Twilight looked down.
"We'll figure something out. Right now, let's get to work." Ash encouraged Twilight, kneeling to her level.
"Pika-Pika."
"Right. Go, Ninetales!"
"Nine!" The Fox Pokemon got to work. With great speed, he ran towards the flames in the distance. The rest of his friends followed after him with Celesteela aiming to do the same. However, they had just put the fire out in this forest. So she had to be careful not to start another one.
"Don't worry." Starlight suddenly said as she coated Celesteela with her own magic. She would personally carry the Launch Pokemon. "I've got you." A great alternative. And since Celesteela had already used Autotmize, she was lighter, allowing Starlight to have an easier time.
As for Ninetales, he was having a buffet with all of these flames. He already reached the flames in the distance, running into them. And when he did, his body automatically absorbed the flames with ease. Barely any effort. Plus, Ninetales was gaining extra strength from it.
All Pokemon moved away from Ninetales, allowing him to work his magic. And with a few runs, Ninetales had prevented the flames in this area from spreading any further, absorbing them all.
"Nine! Ninetales!" Ninetales let out an innocent smile while his body glowed red from all the flames he had absorbed.
"It's settled. That's the ultimate plan. All we need is to get Ninetales across the land as fast as he can. And I know the best way to do that. Pheromosa." Twilight had her eyes set on Rarity's Pheromosa. A true speedster of a Pokemon.
"Skip on that! I can get him around!" Rainbow Dash intervened, deciding to let herself take Pheromosa's role. "It'll be easier since I'm already here."
"Alright. I can trust you with speed, Rainbow Dash." Twilight nodded in approval. They now had great utilities in this. Rainbow Dash's speed coupled with Ninetales' Flash Fire, they could now prevent Equestria from being consumed.
But there was still one other problem. The other Celesteela. Celesteela knew that its fellow Ultra Beasts would take breaks and land. And eventually, they will take off, causing more wildfires with their fuel once more.
If anyone was going to speak to them it was another Celesteela. This Celesteela.
Canterlot. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, near Canterlot, one of the Celesteela was approaching. Not only that, but the flames were also making their way towards Canterlot. But not before tearing through the landscape.
Princess Celestia was made aware of this immediately when a guard spotted the flames. The Sun Princess got to work, ordering her guards to deal with these flames while she would do the same.
She had just cleared up some flames that were close to Deerling Forest and the Pikachu Highlands, returning to the castle. She had a massive map on her table, showing the rest of Equestria. Passion and Arcanine were beside her as assistance.
"Alright. We've cleared those flames. Keldeo's doing a splendid job along with the Swords of Justice." Celestia spoke, looking at the map of Equestria and seeing where she could head to next. "But there are so many flames to count. We'll need to at least trace over and cover Equestria for possibly a whole night if it goes on. Let's try-"
Just as Celestia made plans to end this approaching disaster, bursting through the doors, startling her, Passion and Arcanine was the Princess of Love, Cadence.
"Auntie!" Cadence bellowed, prompting Celestia to face her. "I know what we can do!"
"Cadence? I see you're already aware of the flames."
"How can I not? Those Celesteela really left a number on everything, haven't they?" Once Cadence uttered those words, Princess Celestia squinted her eyes, taking in the name 'Celesteela' for a second.
"I...I didn't start the fire." Celestia shook her head.
"No, the Pokemon Celesteela. Look." For a better view, Cadence took out her Pokedex, showing the dex entry of Celesteela to Celestia, Passion and Arcanine. The dex gave out Celesteela's entry, showing the three of them all that they needed to know.
Now the cause of the fire made sense.
"I see. The fuel is what caused it."
"But it was on accident." Cadence pulled the dex away. "I believe they're unable to control their flames when they take off. It is their fuel. Besides, it is somewhat similar to the Kartana that came here."
"Kartana?" Celestia tilted her head. "Oh, right. The Ultra Beast Twilight told me about."
"Right. In its world, Kartana are known for cutting objects for fun. It sliced the Sylveon Statue back at the Crystal Empire, tuning it. It's adapted to its homeworld, after all for it to slice with such precision. And the same goes for Celesteela. They must come from an area where there is nothing but the ground. And that's the key to stopping any more flames from emerging."
"I see now..." Celestia picked up on what Cadence was going for immediately. "Unlike grass or ice, the barren ground will be unaffected by the destructive flames. Clever, Cadence."
"Thanks, Auntie. We can catch up with the Celesteela before it decides to land and take off again. But after that...I'm not sure what we can do with it." Cadence bit her hoof. She didn't plan this far ahead. She only thought of how to prevent further flames from sprouting due to the Celesteela and their takeoff.
"We'll think of something." Celestia spread her wings out, ready to take off. "Where is it and how far has it gone?"
"It looked like it was heading west. Flying freely without a care."
"West it is. Passion. Arcanine. Let's get moving."
"Gardevoir!"
"Arcanine!"
Manehattan.
Meanwhile, over at Manehatten, a Celesteela could be seen flying by. However, the flames haven't yet reached Manehattan thankfully. At this moment, this Celesteela decided to take a break from flying.
As it descended, it was going straight for the streets of Manehattan. Celesteela's descent involved some leftover flames that would soon vanish. Luckily for Manehattan, since the streets were made out of stone, the results wouldn't be too disastrous. The flames reached the ground before fading away as Celesteela had made its landing. Upon touching the ground, the Launch Pokmon shook the nearby ponies, making some of them jump.
"Hot! Hot!" One pony was met with fire to the hoof as she backed away, prancing on the spot and shaking her hoof to try and get it off. Many ponies moved away, confused by Celesteela's appearance. Ultra Beasts were still an oddity to them, especially how when they first saw Pheromosa.
Some ponies fell on their back due to Celesteela's landing. Plus, they were overwhelmed by its size. Definitely larger than Pheromosa. They were also moving away from the incoming flames, screaming in the process. And this confused the Launch Pokemon.
Celesteela looked around to see many ponies and Pokemon screaming and trying to avoid the flames it had created. The noise was plentiful considering the population of Manehattan. All of this noise was getting to Celesteela, ringing through its ears even though it was hard to tell where its ears were.
This noise was irritating to the Launch Pokemon. So irritating that it chose to leave somewhere else. And that meant that it would take off once more. By activating its fuel, the Launch Pokemon began ascending. The leftover flames it made wouldn't last long on the ground thanks to the streets of Manehattan. However, the takeoff flames would definitely do something.
Once the Ultra Beast took the skies, it unleashed greater flames than before. The streets were still resistant due to it being concrete, allowing it to take the flames. They would eventually fizzle out but that doesn't mean anyone could just stand around.
Luckily, help was on the way.
Ash and the others had approached Manehattan after seeing another Celesteela in the distance. Ash was riding on Dragonite's back with Starlight and Goh as Starlight used her magic to drag Celesteela along. As for Ninetales, he was being carried by Rainbow Dash who was flying beside Twilight and Braviary.
"There! Another Celesteela!" Ash pointed out.
"Pika!"
"Geez! What have you been feeding him, Twilight?!" Rainbow Dash groaned as she was trying to hold Ninetales together with all of his weight.
"Alright, Celesteela. Your fellow Ultra Beast is up to you," said Starlight as they were all leaving it up to Celesteela to speak with its brethren. As for Ninetales, it was time for him to work his magic once more.
"It looks fine there. The ground's not that affected by the fire." Goh noticed.
"Even still, we can't ignore it. Go, Ninetales!" Twilight shouted allowing, Rainbow Dash to let go of the Fox Pokemon, much the pleasure of her hooves and back.
"Ninetales!" Ninetales howled as he was ready to feed himself with all the fire he could get. Once he landed, he came in contact with the first batch of flames. Just like a black hole, the flames came to him. Nearby flames were pulled in by Ninetales' Flash Fire without fail.
The ponies gawked as they witnessed the Fox Pokemon take all of the flames away from the area. Even the pony that her hoof set on fire was free thanks to Ninetales. And with all the flames absorbed, Ninetales was powered up.
"Nine!"
As for Celesteela, it appeared in front of its fellow Celesteela in the air. That's when a conversation broke out. All anyone could and will hear are heavenly voices from them. Celesteela spoke to its fellow UB-04 Blaster, explaining the current circumstances.
It spoke about how their blast off resulted in furious flames from their fuel. Since they've been living in the Ultra Crater for so many years, they're used to blasting off from the ground instead of something flammable like grass. As a result, a wildfire was now moving across Equestria. The other Celesteela understood the severity of the situation, nodding in response.
It also knew that it had to inform the other four Celesteela before Equestria becomes torched. The two Celesteela then hovered over to Ash and the others after their discussion.
"Great job, Celesteela." Ash gave a thumbs up. "Now let's stop the rest of those flames together."
"Pikachu!"
"And Ninetales looks better than ever." Twilight noticed how Ninetales was energized by all these flames. Now that they had the assistance of two Celesteela, this will be easier.
And since Celesteela was now in the air, it didn't need Starlight to drag it along. It could stay afloat after exerting some fuel. Plus, Ninetales would just consume it.
All across Equestria, Ninetales was the go-to option for dealing with the flames. Any form of fire and he'll just eat it up like it's breakfast, lunch and dinner. Thanks to the speed of Rainbow Dash, they got around Equestria quickly, leaving behind a red trail.
Ninetales was dropped off on various parts of Equestria. Cities, towns and landmarks. Flash Fire kicked in every time, allowing the Fox Pokemon to grow stronger. Plus, the other two Celesteela could track down their fellow Ultra Beasts by letting out angelic howls.
These angelic howls echoed throughout the sky. And in response, the Celesteela from afar would do the same after hearing it, howling in the distance. That was essentially a group call, allowing for the Celesteela to track each other down. All the while, Ninetales went on a Flash Fire frenzy.
Speaking of fire, Ninetales was absorbing so much fire, that he was essentially breaking past his limits. Normally, Flash Fire isn't used this much. Ever. Ninetales' body was actually emanating a red aura now.
"What's up with Ninetales?" Starlight noticed.
"I think he's taking in so much fire that he's going past what he usually gets." Twilight observed. "Ninetales? Do you feel alright?"
"Nine." Ninetales nodded. He felt peachy. Nothing wrong here. However, he did feel like something was a tad off, but it wasn't too noticeable. As the group moved along, Rainbow Dash suddenly dropped Ninetales when trying to pick him up.
"Ow!" She cried out, pulled herself back as her hooves had smoke coming out with burn marks.
"Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?!" Ash asked.
"Ow...That burns...What the?" Rainbow then looked at her hooves, seeing the burn marks for herself. Ninetales' body was now a walking radiator.
"Looks like it's too much fire now!" shouted Twilight. "Ninetales, are you sure you're alright?"
"Nine?" Ninetales whimpered, feeling bad for burning Rainbow Dash's hooves. He didn't mean to do so. However, because he has absorbed so much fire, he can't actually control his heat anymore like he normally could.
After that whimper, an explosion of energy could be seen in the nearby mountains up ahead with smoke coming up, alerting the group. And flying out of that smoke was the third Celesteela.
"Another one! What's going on over there?!" Goh gasped. From what they could observe, it seems that Celesteela was engaging in some conflict. They witnessed the Launch Pokemon use the move Meteor Beam, shooting out a gigantic beam from the cosmos themselves.
It struck the ground, causing an equally large explosion. Ash and the others definitely had to see what was going on and what had proved this Celesteela.
Over at the mountains, the Celesteela was actually facing off against some of the Pokemon that lived here. For one reason. The Pokemon blamed Celesteela for causing the flames. And they weren't wrong. Right now, their home was being set on fire since Celesteela decided to take off here.
Thus, a battle between the Pokemon in the mountains and UB-04 Blaster had ensued. And the poor Pokemon were not standing a chance. Celesteela was too much for them. In terms of power and defence, it was just a well-rounded Pokemon overall.
However, they've been battling for a while many Pokemon approaching to try and overwhelm the Launch Pokemon. And that irritated the usually gentle Celesteela into one of aggravation. Now, things were aggressive Celesteela whacked some Pokemon away with its large arms.
The other two Celesteela cried out, seeing its fellow Launch Pokemon harm the other Pokemon while the mountains were being engulfed in flames. They cried out to try and stop this Celesteela, however, it was so aggravated that it only wanted to deal with the Pokemon here. Once the two Celesteela got close, the aggravated Celesteela pushed them away with Superpower.
"Celesteela!" Ash exclaimed as the two of them went flying, crashing into the ground afterwards.
"Those are your friends! What gives?!" Starlight roared but that only drew the attention of the enraged Celesteela. Now it had eyes on Ash and the others. "Uh oh..."
In response, the Launch Pokmon held out its two arms, using Fire Blast. Two massive blasts of all-consuming fire were sent out, right towards Ash's group.
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder while Dragonite opened her mouth. At the same time, the duo unleashed a powerful blast of 100,000 volts and a full-force beam of Infinity Energy. Those two attacks were enough to cancel out Fire Blast, preventing any harm to their friends.
Now the aggravated Celesteela was against them as it flew over to the group, ready to use Superpower on all of them. But jumping in the way was Ninetales who appeared in front of Celesteela with a surprisingly great jump.
"Nine...tales!" By himself, Ninetales had used Mystical Fire, unleashing a magical blast of flames in front of the Launch Pokemon and guarding his friends. He didn't even need Twilight to say anything.
Due to Flash Fire, Mystical Fire was powered up to the extreme. So powerful that it could even break through Celesteela's amazing defence. The woes of being a Steel-Type. Celesteela had been struck and pushed back by Mystical Fire, crashing into the ground while an explosion of flames occurred. An explosion that was so grand it was larger than what a regular Mystical Fire can generate.
"Sweet Celestia..." Twilight's jaw dropped after witnessing the raw power of Ninetales. He was stronger than ever now. However, his body started twitching due to the number of flames in his body. Despite all that power, he couldn't contain every single flame inside of him.
He still has his limits.
"I'm surprised I'm still an expression." And responding to Twilight's words were Princess Celestia, who had just arrived with Cadence by her side.
"Princess Celestia! Cadence!" Twilight and the others turned to face the two alicorns.
"Right on time. Looks like the flames haven't completely ruined this part," said Cadence. "And the Celesteela?"
"Not in the best mood right now." Rainbow Dash replied as the aggravated Celesteela stood up after Ninetales' Mystical Fire. Now it was personal as it charged up a Meteor Beam. As for the other two Celesteela they had gotten up, flying over to try and convince their friend.
"Three of them?" Cadence noticed three Celesteela in one spot. That would explain the rapid movement of fire overnight.
"Nine..." Ninetales groaned as he was trying to keep it together. He had to endure the overwhelming out of flames in his body as he ran towards the aggravated Celesteela while absorbing nearby flames.
"Ninetales, wait! Eve, go help him before he really hurts himself!" Twilight exclaimed, seeing that Ninetales was starting to feel off.
"Esp!" The Sun Pokemon nodded as she jumped off of Braviary's back, going after her teammate. Ninetales was ready to use Mystical Fire again with even more power added onto it. "Espeon!" In response, Espeon used Quick Attack to get in front of Ninetales.
The aggravated Celesteela had finished charging Meteor Beam faster than expected. After doing so, two massive beams with cosmic energy came flying out of its arms.
The other two Celesteela stood in front of Espeon and Ninetales, protecting them from any harm. They had used Flash Cannon together to try and stop their friend. Unfortunately, their silver beams weren't enough to stop the Meteor Beam. It had overpowered their attacks, hitting them instead.
The two Celesteela fell back as Espeon and Ninetales jumped over them. Espeon used Dazzling Gleam while Ninetales used Mystical Fire. Rays of rainbows and a magical beam came flying forward. Celesteela responded by using Fire Blast on them both. Fire Blast overpowered Dazzling Gleam, destroying it and heading for Espeon. But it tied with Ninetales' Mystical Fire.
"Nine!" Ninetales noticed Espeon being threatened by Fire Blast. So to protect his friend, he personally jumped to the side, taking Fire Blast for himself. And once he did, he observed the overwhelming power of Fire Blast with Flash Fire, adding to his already amplified state.
"Espeon?"
"NINETALES!" Ninetales roared as he unleashed a mighty red aura from his body from all the flames he had absorbed. The aura was so grand that it coloured the mountains a reddish-orange while also expelling heat.
"Just like the show Red Aura..." Rainbow Dash noticed as she felt like geeking out. But now was not the time for this considering the situation.
Everyone could feel this heat. It was as if they were near a volcano. Everyone started sweating from the heat that Ninetales was producing. The only ones who could resist this were Arcanine and Dragonite thanks to Arcanine's Fire-Typing and Dragonite's Dragon-Typing.
"W-What's up with this heat...?" Rainbow Dash groaned, sweating as Castform automatically turned into his SUnny Form from what Ninetales was giving out.
"Ninetales is hotter than ever..." Twilight breathed in and out. "I knew he would do a great job of absorbing the flames but, I didn't expect this!"
"NINE.!" And with this increase of power, Ninetales performed to things. His red aura had grown to a point where it could be seen from afar. It eclipsed the mountains while also colouring the clouds themselves, reaching some of the highest points in the skies.
Almost anyone could see it. Even all the way from Manehattan, Las Pegasus, Canterlot and Ponyville too. His power had reached an all-time high. But not only that, he had learned a new move.
Gone was Mystical Fire. NInetales now had access to Flare Blitz.
"NINETALES!" Ninetales growled as his body pushed past his limitations. He was about to faint from all the fire he had received. But not before using Flare Blitz in one final burst of strength. The Fox Pokemon took off like a rocket, leaving behind a flame shockwave from his speed, crashing right into the Launch Pokemon at full force while having his red aura active.
With a gigantic aura of fire crashing into Celesteela, Ninetales caused a massive pillar-shaped explosion to emerge, forcing everyone to close their eyes.
"Garde!" Passion protected everyone by casting a massive Psychic shield as protection. And a good call too. The explosion was certainly big in the radius department.
Afterwards, Ninetales fell out of the smoke, fainting from absorbing so much fire and the recoil of Flare Blitz just did him in as well. But, Celesteela perished too. It couldn't take that much power. As a result, it was down and out.
And that was the end of Ninetales' Flash Fire. It served its purpose today.
"Ninetales!" Twilight gasped, rushing over to her partner along with Espeon.
"Espeon!"
"Nine...tales..." Ninetales groaned, feeling a bit dizzy and befuddled from all of that. He sat up from the ground, shaking his head as he was trying to regain his balance. "Nine?"
As for Celesteela, the other two went up to their friend, seeing that it was no longer enraged. Now that they had their friend in the spot they wanted it to be, not attacking anyone, they could explain it all.
They explained everything. From how their takeoff started the flames to everything leading up to now. The enraged Celesteela could see why the Pokemon blamed it for this. Even though it was all accidental, Celesteela and its brethren felt guilt from this with a saddened heavenly cry.
However, its two fellow Launch Pokemon comforted their friend, telling it that it would be alright in the end. The Pokemon heard this as they understood it was an accident as well. They apologized for starting this battle in the first place and aggravating Celesteela.
One last thing occurred. Due to them making heavenly cries in the sky to call out and find their fellow Celesteela, the remaining three Celesteela had shown up after following the cries in the sky.
And the giant explosion of fire of course.
All 6 were now present here. All 6 reunited. Just where Cadence wanted them since she had a plan. They greeted their other friends after responding to the cry.
"Looks like that's that," Ash said.
"Pikachu."
"Well, we came here at an odd time, didn't we?" Celestia laughed.
"Gardevoir."
"Sorry, Ninetales. I should've known that absorbing too much fire was bad for your body."Twilight apologized. But to Ninetales, it didn't matter. He did his best, causing the Fox Pokemon to lick Twilight playfully. "Haha! Knock it off!"
"Ninetales!"
4 minutes later.
"So you planned to find them a place where they can take off and fly whenever they want?" Twilight said Cadence had given her plan to them all and what it was about.
"Mhm. Since they enjoy flying and are seemingly familiar with the ground rather than grass or anything like that, somewhere less flammable would work while also having all the space they need. And I know the one place for that." Cadence smiled, raising her hoof as everyone was anticipating the answer. "You remember that place in Unova? That...what's that sea called?"
"Oh! The Arcane Sea!" Ash called out.
"That's it! That was my plan. If not then somewhere else. What do you think? Not a bad idea, right?"
"The Arcane Sea is massive. And Ultra Beasts can breathe in space." Starlight nodded. Plus with all that water there, it's impossible for something to be set on fire."
It was a good idea that many could agree on. However, after hearing that, the Celesteela had made up their mind. With a heavenly cry, they sent a message towards Passion. And Passion passed it on with a Psychic pulse to Celestia.
"I see. They say that they wish to head back to their home for now." Celestia translated.
"Huh?! But what about the Arcane Sea?!" Cadence pulled back as the Celesteela sent another cry with Passion passing it on.
"They're considering it. This won't be the last time they appear apparently." Celestia once again gave the translation to them all. "But first. They want to help clear out the rest of the flames that they've spread before they leave."
"Then what are we waiting for? Ninetales, you can rest now." Twilight looked to her partner, returning him to his Poke Ball. He played his part wonderfully and took out most of the flames. All that was left was a few and they could call it a day.
Afterwards, the Celesteela teamed up with the Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon to put other flames out across Equestria. With their teamwork, they finished up all of the flames they had to get rid of. And with little injuries too. Plus, having the power of an Ultra Beast helped greatly.
Once that was said and done the Celesteela were now heading back to their home, reaching the mountains where the wormholes were.
"Bye! Take care!" Starlight waved.
"When you get back, can I catch one of you?!" Goh shouted up at the six Celesteela as they all gave their farewells.
"See you at the Arcane Sea one day okay?! Maybe during the next Pokemon Festival!" Ash roared.
"Pika-Pika!"
The Celesteela responded by giving heavenly goodbyes in their own way. One of them even made fun of how Princess Celestia shared a similar name to them by sending it to Passion.
"G-Gardevoir..." Passion giggled after hearing that as she then sent it to Celestia.
"Of course..." Celestia sighed before laughing herself. She could find some humour in it. The Celesteela then entered the wormholes, finally leaving.
A shame that the Steel-Type they tracked down wasn't Jirachi. But, a potentially horrible disaster had been taken care of. Plus, with Ninetales becoming stronger than ever and gaining a new move, new adventures were coming along the way as the journey continues.
"Oh..." Delphox had just woken up, feeling the golden sun beaming on her face. She grumbled, sitting up from her bed while her wand dropped off her head. "Mmm...Morning." She sat there for a few minutes, having her eyes closed as she wanted to take this in for a while.
But this was quickly disrupted by a knock on her door. Delphox sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to get some extra sleep at this rate.
"Coming." She got off her bed, picking up her wand while adjusting her fur. It was a bit rugged in the morning after all. Once she opened the door, she was met with the sight of Combee. "Combee?"
"Morning, Ms Delphox! Important news from her majesty, Queen Vespiquen!" The Combee said as the third face had a letter in its mouth, giving it to Delphox. The Fox Pokemon took the letter, reading what it had to say.
"An Open House event for the forest? Oh." Delphox spoke before squinting her eyes at the paper. She was too tired to concentrate at the moment, but she could make this out. "That's today?"
"Today!" The three faces spoke.
"I'll be there. Just give me some more time." Delphox nodded while yawning. The Combee thanked her by buzzing as they left her hut to report to their queen. Delphox had to prepare herself for today. An Open House for Frenzy Forest meant new Pokemon were due to show up and check out their new homes. Much like how the Pokemon House at Ponyville acts.
Speaking of Frenzy Forest, it has already gone through some changes over the days. More and more, it's becoming the secondary Pokemon House for Pokemon. Not quite on the same scale as the Pokemon House, but still fairly big.
It was slowly becoming a forest for Pokemon to live in and essentially a settlement or a civilization. Best of both worlds, really. Plus the sun looks better in this area, even if it gets in their faces.
Delphox got herself ready for the day as she walked out of her hut. By waking out, many Pokemon could be seen outside. Old and new. The new ones were here for the Open House of course. And for that event, that would take place over the Hive, where Vespiquen and her subjects reside.
Some of the Pokemon waved to Dephox as a greeting. Some were even more formal, calling her Miss. In truth, Delphox had earned the respect of many Pokemon in this forest, for being such a great help to them and a mother figure in some way.
Even Vespiquen, who seemed incredibly strict with her royal power, showed respect to her. And why wouldn't they? Delphox got a good look at all the Pokemon here. With all these newcomers, they would be assigned to certain sections depending on their Typing. The only one exempt from this is Delphox since she has her own hut. Speaking of newcomers, as Delphox would out into the open to see the new Pokemon, one of the newcomers came to her. A Dottler.
"Oh, hello there." Delphox kneeled to face the Radome Pokemon. "Welcome to Frenzy Forest. Here to find a place to establish your new living style?"
"Likewise," Dottler spoke while sniffling a small bit, looking up at the Fox Pokemon. "I've heard of this place and the Pokemon House. How they are free to all Pokemon. Quite superb for a condominium such as this."
"My you use such big words." Delphox chuckled, surprised at how intelligently this young Pokemon was speaking. Then again, he was a Psychic-Type. They do have smart brains.
"You acknowledge my teacher for my vocabulary."
"Oh, who's your teacheeeeer?!" Delphox's words became a bit prolonged as she looked up, noticing a shadow being cast over her. After looking up, she saw a Gothitellte standing before her. A Gothitelle with a fairly crooked expression. "Ah!"
"Morning. Ms, Delphox." She spoke in a dry voice.
"Ahaha...Y-Yes." Delphox chuckled, trying to regain herself as she held her hand out for a handshake. "Sorry about that. You scared me there."
"Likewise." Just like Dottler, she spoke like him. It made sense where he learned this vocabulary for such a young Pokemon. An actual child. "Pleased to be in this forest. Hopefully, you treat us well. Our previous establishment was destroyed by some sort of flying steel machine.
"Oh, we will. You won't be disappointed. Trust me. Everyone here's just great. Just head on over to the hive and let Queen Vespiquen handle things from there."
"Hm. Come along, Dottler," said Gothitelle as she and Dottler made their way towards the hive with the newcomers. Delphox sighed after receiving that shock from Gothitelle. She certainly had a different expression than most Gothitelle, that's for sure.
"Boy, she's creepy." And a nearby Litleo agreed. The same Litleo that met with Twilight and Applejack. Alongside him was a Karrablast and Makuhita.
"Ah!" Delphox turned to the three of them. "Litleo! You three! Don't be rude!"
"That shouldn't bother you three. After all, Aggron is intimidating to look at and you three don't mind, do you?"
"Yeah, but Aggron's super nice and saved us once," Makuhita responded while patting his stomach. "Fed us too. I can still feel it in my belly.
"Just don't think badly of her. Come on. Let's head to the hive." Delphox pleaded with them as she led the three young Pokemon to the hive, following the newcomers as Open House Day was ready.
Bug-Type section. Vespiquen's hive.
Over at the Hive, the new Pokemon were all allowed inside by order of Vespiquen. Here at the Open House event, all the new Pokemon had to do was say why they came here and Vespiquen would have something for them to live in. Frenzy Forest was massive and had a ton of space. She had Delphox and a few Combee by her side.
"Why exactly have you come here and wish to reside in this forest? Speak your mind." Vespiquen said to the newcomers as they would have to take turns answering questions. All of them gave their reasons and their answers all had a similar pattern.
First was a Flaaffy.
"I came here because my home was obliterated by some large storm monster. It was massive! Tore our whole home apart, even if we resisted electricity."
Next was a group of Shelgon.
"Our cave was torn apart by some giant electric monster. Stomped right on it all. The rest of us Shelgon left the remains of our home. There was no cave like it."
Then a flock of Swoobat.
"Woooeell! An invasion came along and wooooshed everything we had. All of our food is gone. Wooo..." The Swoobat all hung their head in sadness.
And then, a flock of Pideotto.
"A giant pulse of electricity destroyed our home and harmed us. Nowhere seemed suitable to call home. Plus, some invasion came along and made things harder for us. Then a wildfire showed up. We can barely go anywhere without something ruining our nests."
And the only straightforward one that didn't involve destruction or an invasion that messes up their home in one way or another. A Mightyena and a Poochyena.
"We heard the food here is good."
"Good! Hand over the food!" Poochyena repeated after her father, trying to make herself look bigger than she is by bristling up her tail.
From hearing the constant barrage of answers, Vespiquen and Delphox noticed one similar pattern with all of them. And a very recognizable one.
The Storm Behemoth and the Invasion of Equestria.
"These all seem very similar, don't they?" Delphox whispered.
"What do you expect? This world can't catch a break at all," said Vespiquen. "It wouldn't surprise me if this world ends up meeting its end in a blaze of glory or something else that'll obliterate it."
"R-Right...Let's hope that doesn't happen." Delphox chuckled nervously before calling for the next Pokemon and their reason. "Next, please!"
Meanwhile, on the outside, the Pokemon that already lived here were watching their soon-to-be neighbours walked in and out of the hive. Watching this was also Litleo, Karrablast and Makuhita. But as they stood by, seeing the array of Pokemon come and go, they also noticed two certain individuals.
The Gothitelle and Dottler. Delphox already told them not to look and judge them. Especially Gothitelle. But the expression she gave was just so haunting to them. It made Makuhita's legs quake.
"Should we keep looking?" Karrablast asked.
"No, duh. Psychic-Types are super smart. They'll notice us easily if we keep staring." Litleo then responded. "But boy, I'm getting some bad feelings from them."
"They don't seem too bad." Makuhita rubbed the back of his head while his legs were still quaking.
"You're still shaking!" Litleo pointed out.
"Yeah. But she's just scary to look at. That doesn't mean she's bad or-" Just as Makuhita said that the Pokemon around this area heard something approaching, bursting through one of the trees was a Heracross, flipping a Krabby over with its horn.
Everyone gasped as the tree broke through with Krabby tumbling on the ground. Heracross made a landing with this sudden attack. Not only that, but it was breathing in and out with squinted eyes.
"Urgh..." Heracross groaned, having a bluish aura around his eyes as he then let out a bellowing yell, swinging his horn and chopping off a tree with it.
"What's wrong with Mr Heracross?!" A Marril exclaimed.
"I don't know...He just started swinging for no reason..." Krabby groaned before fainting. Heracross then locked onto the group right here, confusing and startling everyone. Especially the newer Pokemon. However, they were used to Wild Pokemon attacks anyway.
Heracross then started attacking everyone, using Megahorn as it jumped into the air. Heracross is a powerful Pokemon. So powerful that not many Pokemon in the forest would even think of challenging him. So, when the Single Horn Pokemon started attacking, some of the Pokemon scattered away.
Heracross smashed his horn on the ground, causing a seismic wave to form, blowing the blades of grass and even some Pokemon away. Delphox and Vespiquen felt that as the Single Horn Pokemon landed in front of Litleo.
"What was that?!" Delphox stood up after feeling that shockwave.
"Litleo! This way! This way!" Karrablast called out as he and Makuhita had already run from the hills. They weren't risking being in the same area as a seemingly rampaging Heracross.
"No way!" Litleo suddenly responded with a headshake whilst looking up at Heracross. "I'm gonna be a big and strong Pyroar soon like my dad! Now's my chance to prove it!"
"Are you crazy?!" Makuhita screeched.
"Get a load of my Fire Spin!" Litleo let out a cute roar, trying to act tough. He opened his mouth, immediately breathing out a fierce vortex of fire, sending it right towards the Bug-Fire-Type. It made contact thankfully. Heracross didn't dodge or block the attack at all.
Probably because it was seemingly feeling befuddled and stupefied, especially with the blue aura coming from his eyes. He had been pushed back slightly with super-effective damage and flames surrounding his body. However, even if the attack was super-effective, it barely did much to him. Litleo was still fairly weak as the Single Horn Pokemon gave the Fire-Type a death stare.
"Uh oh." Litleo gulped, realizing that he was outmatched at the moment. Heracross decided to respond with Aerial Ace, rushing towards LItleo at incredible speeds, ready to strike the Lion Cub Pokemon. "I'm sorry!" He cowered in fear, afraid to be hit by any attack.
Thankfully, that didn't happen as someone had shielded the Lion Cub Pokemon from Aerial Ace. Litleo opened his eyes to see who his guardian was.
It was his father of course.
"Dad!"
Pyroar snared as he took the force of Aerial Ace by using his head as a shield. After doing so and narrowing his eyes, the Royal Pokemon increased the heat of his mane to great degrees while also breathing out a hot breath from his mouth.
"Agh!" Heracross cried out as he felt the flames catch onto his hand after Pyroar lit his mane. Not only that, but his chest felt the scorching-hot breath attack, forcing the Single Horn Pokemon to back away.
Pyroar then followed up with a mighty roar, enchanting everyone around him. The Royal Pokemon then attacked with Iron Tail, swinging his hardened tail around and whacking the Bug-Fighting-Type in the face with it. Heracross received a powerful smack as Pyroar then pounced on his prey.
"You think you can harm my son?!" Pyroar growled while pinning down the Single Horn Pokemon. Pyroar was one of the few Pokemon who could stand up to powerful Pokemon in the forest. He was powerful himself. His son, Litleo, immediately gained starry eyes. His father was his idol after all.
"Cool...Go get 'em, dad!" Litleo gawked as Makuhita and Karrablast pulled him away from the scenario. While pulling their friend away, they noticed how Gothitelle was looking at the action unphased. In fact, Gothitelle had a blue aura in her eyes, similar to what Heracross had. Not only that, but Gothitelle seemed to be muttering something under her breath with her eyes tracking Heracross. "Hey..."
"Oh my!" Delphox and Vespiquen had arrived outside, witnessing the current scenario taking place. "Heracross? Pyroar?" Delphox gasped, seeing the two of them battling.
"They don't usually battle at all. And what is all of this destruction?" Vespiquen said whilst noticing the destroyed trees, rubble and fainted Krabby.
"G-Get away from me!" Heracross shouted as he pushed Pyroar off. The Royal Pokemon slid on the ground before unleashing a mighty Flamethrower from his mouth. Heracross countered by using Brick Break to cut the attack in half. The Single Horn Pokemon then groaned, holding his head in pain.
"Aha! I see what it is!" Delphox noticed what was wrong with Heracross. "Pyroar! Let me handle this!" After calling out to her fellow Fire-Type. Pyroar backed away, allowing Delphox to deal with this.
The Fox Pokemon held out her wand, aiming it at the Single Horn Pokemon. She could see that Heracross wasn't in his right mind at the moment. So the best thing to do was to snap him out of it. And Delphox did this by using Signal Beam.
She sent a sinister beam of light that was constantly flashing. This beam came in contact with the eyes of Heracross. The flashing lights were actually able to break the blue aura around Heracross' eyes, freeing him from this current state.
"Ugh..." Heracross groaned after being freed. "W-What?"
"Heracross? Are you alright?" Delphox went up to the Single Horn Pokemon, knowing that this wasn't his fault. He would never do this on purpose. All the Pokemon came over to see that the rampage had stopped ."You looked like you were under control there."
"Sorry. I don't know what happened. I was just feeding off of Shuckle's juice and then I ended up going crazy." Heracross scratched his head. "My bad."
"Don't worry. Just get some rest and you'll feel better. It's okay everyone!" Delphox then bellowed to the Pokemon. "Heracross here was just under some mind control."
"Probably by Gothitelle..." Litleo whispered to his friends as they gazed at Gothitelle. Her eyes were no longer glowing blue as she turned around, not facing Heracross like the others Dottler walked next to her. "Those blue eyes are a dead giveaway, aren't they?"
"Son. Let's go," said Pyroar as he walked up to his son.
"Aw, right now, dad?" Litleo groaned. "I'm totally fine. See? No scratches."
"I can see that." Pyroar then grabbed his son by biting onto his back and picking him up. He then walked off with the Lion Cub Pokemon in his grasp. "But your mother will yell at me if I don't return you. It'll only be for 20 minutes."
"But the Gothitelle might control someone else again!" Litleo cried out. "We should help!"
"Let Queen Vespiquen and the others handle that."
"I'll be with you guys! Just give me 20 minutes!" Litleo flailed his paws around to Makuhita and Karrablast. The two little Pokemon turned around as the Open House event carried on even after all of that.
The Heracross attack thankfully didn't convince anyone to leave Frenzy Forest. Pokemon attacks aren't uncommon after all. It's something every Pokemon has grown to deal with it. And right on cue, the next ones for the Open House event were Gothitelle and Dottler.
1 hour later.
The event had finished. Every Pokemon had given their reasons and Vespiquen had given them homes to live in. Litleo met up with his friends again, here for one thing. To see if they could stop Gothitelle from controlling another Pokemon. And they met up at the Psychic-Type section, where all Psychic-Types are assigned.
If they have Psychic as a secondary typing and another as their primary, the Pokemon can actually choose which section they wish to stay in. A perfect alternative.
"Okay. So when do you think she'll do it again?" Litleo asked.
"Meh. Anytime," said Karrablast. "But why would she do that? Do you think she came here to have fun with controlling others?"
"I don't know what seems fun about that. Heracross wasn't having any fun." Makuhita shook his head. "But maybe we're being too harsh on her. She could have a good reason."
"Maybe." Litleo shifted his eyes while nodding his head. "We should still be super careful. Cause we've got a mystery on our paws now with this."
"What are you boys conversing about?" Right on cue, the one to reply to the young ones was the intimidating individual herself, standing behind them.
Gothitelle.
"AH!" They screeched before jumping back, grabbing onto the nearest tree after seeing her face. "Ms Gothitelle! Oh and Dottler. S-Sorry."
"W-We're talking behind your ba-" Makuhita was ready to reveal the truth before Litleo put his paw over his mouth. But it was too late. Gothitelle could make out Makuhita's words.
"Were you now?" She squinted her eyes, further instilling fear in the pre-evolved Pokemon. "It is coarse to do so, as you should know. And for what purpose?" She wanted the truth out of them. Unfortunately for the young Pokemon, the fear that Gothitelle excused was enough to force the truth out of their mouths.
But thankfully, that didn't happen as Delphox had come over to see all the newcomers and how they were faring in their new homes here in Frenzy Forest.
"Ah. Gothitelle. And little Dottler. How are things now? Is this the place for you?" Delphox asked as the three little Pokemon let out sighs of relief.
"Exceptional. This section seems peaceful enough for us to work. Especially alongside our fellow Psychic-Types." Gothitelle put her hands behind her back.
"Work? How so exactly?" Delphox was curious.
"Come now, Delphox. You as a Psychic-Type yourself should know why. We Psychic-Type Pokemon practice to increase our cerebral capabilities to the utmost prime. Making sure we never saunter in our proficiency. So we improve on what we can already perform. Whether it's telekinesis, precognition, mind control-"
That part caught the attention of the little ones as Gothitelle went on to Delphox. Mind Control. As if that didn't make them nervous enough.
"Mind control?" They said to each other as they slid down the tree. At the same time, while Gothitelle rambled, Dottler went up to his fellow young Pokemon. Although, he was slightly older than them. Second stage Pokemon tend to lean more towards teenagers at times.
"Apologies if my teacher terrifies you," Dottler said.
"Pssh. Nah." Litleo scoffed, puffing his chest up and out to make himself seem brave and steel-hearted. "Not anymore. Just a little startled, that's all."
"Didn't feel little to me." Makuhita sighed.
"Don't fret about my teacher. You'll get used to her expression someday. But while you three are here, do you know about a certain object? Right underneath us."
"Underneath?" The trio of little Pokemon looked down on the ground, wondering what Dottler meant. Obviously, he was referring to something being below the ground itself. "What's there?"
"Not many know. All they know is that during the meeting of both worlds, certain items were scattered across the worlds' randomly, much like us Pokemon. Rare items. A Xatu told my mother and I of this premonition. And it apparently revolves around this forest."
"So a really rare item is down here? Like what?" Karrablast wondered.
"Why don't we find out? I'm game to get my paws dirty." Litleo grinned, up for this offer. He had his paws ready to dig through the ground.
"Should we get a Ground-Type Pokemon for this?" Makuhita asked.
"Hold it. First, we'll need the coordinates before we can start digging. It must be perfectly aligned." said Dottler as he walked past them. "Follow me."
"Can't we just dig in any direction?" Litleo grumbled as they all followed him. All the while, Delphox had listened to everything that Gothitelle had said, no matter how long.
"For absolute perfection and little margin for error." Gothitelle finished her rambling at last. It was a lengthy one for Delphox, that's for sure.
"Well, that's understandable." Delphox nodded. "Over at my hut, I'm doing something similar. Maybe not to those extremes. I focus on all sorts of things, including magic."
"Would you be so kind as to show me your hut?"
"Yes! You'll be amazed by what's in there. I'm sure little Dottler would also-" Delphox was ready to face the Radome Pokemon, only to find that he was gone, along with Litleo, Karrablast and Makuhita. "Dottler? Children?"
"Hm. Seems as if he has ventured off with those three. About them. They seem to have suspicions about me." Gothitelle brought out the more serious and judgemental subject.
"Oh, don't worry about that. They're just a bit spooked, that's all. Hopefully, they don't cause any trouble." Delphox chuckled, worrying about what the trio might end up causing with Dottler tagging along.
Normal-Type section.
The group had arrived at the Normal-Type part of the forest. They had followed Dottler since he was smart enough to have the coordinates to where he believed this item was hiding.
"Here. The premonition from Xatu spoke of this spot in the forest," said Dottler. "Our rare item should be exactly below this spot and obtainable."
"I still don't get why we need it? Does it do anything for us?" Makuhita asked.
"If it's rare then it has to." The Lion Cub Pokemon then turned to the Guts Pokemon. "Maybe it's something tasty! Or even valuable! Or it'll make us stronger!"
"Oh! Maybe it can make evolve instantly into an Escavalier!" Karrablast gasped, imaging himself as his final evolution and absolute best. They all had their own ideas on what it could be.
"Hm. Feeling rather peckish at the moment. And I've forgotten my Lum Berry. You three hold on for a moment." Dottler walked off before digging below the ground. He would grab himself a quick snack while the trio looked at the ground.
"So. Do any of us know Dig?" Karrablast questioned.
"I can just dig normally with my paws. I mean, mom's pretty good at it. I can also use Strength if that works." Litleo answered.
"I only know Arm Thrust, Focus Energy and Sand Attack," Makuhita said out his only known moves. None of them had a move that a Ground-Type move. Litleo had his paws and Makuhita could deal some damage to the ground with Arm Thrust and increase that damage with Focus Energy.
As they wondered what their next course of action would be, popping out of the bushes unexpectedly, scaring the three Pokemon, was a Hakamo-o.
"Graaah!" Hakamo-o bellowed, raising his arms while appearing before the children and the nearby Normal-Type Pokemon. Not only that, one good look and they had also noticed that same blue aura around Hakamo-o's eyes.
"That aura again!" Litleo gasped. "Gothitelle!"
"Ow...!" Hakamo-o held his head as he started attacking just like Heracross did earlier. The Normal-Type Pokemon backed away at the sudden arrival of the Scaly Pokemon. Litleo was feeling brave again like before, not fearing the Dragon-Fighting-Type in front of him.
"We'll just snap him back to it like with what Ms Delphox did! ANd I'll be cool like my dad!" Litleo let out a cute roar before lunging at Hakamo-o.
"Wait! Litleo!" Karrablast cried out but it was too late. He already made up his mind. Litleo had used Strength, covering his body with the best his strength could muster as he swung his paw at maximum power.
A direct hit. Hakamo-o had been smacked in the face by Litleo's strength. Unfortunately, it didn't do that much damage to the Scaly Pokemon. But it did make him close his eyes and push him back a bit. Litleo felt like he was getting somewhere. However, right after that hit, Hakamo-o growled, retaliating.
The Scaly Pokemon had countered by using Counter, fittingly. He whacked the Lion Cub Pokemon away with his tail, returning the damage he had already taken.
"Ough!" Litleo cried out as he certainly felt that. A super-effective hit on the Normal-Fire-Type as he crashed into Makuhita. Thankfully, his big-boned friend had the defence to take the impact. But that didn't mean Makuhita wasn't immune to the crash as they both fell over.
"Hey!" Karrablast was definitely tilted from that as he faced Hakamo-o with the cutest furious face he could make. To return the favour, the Clamping Pokemon ran up to the Scaly Pokemon with Headbutt at his disposal.
Karrablast lowered his head as his horn started glowing white. Hakamo-o looked down to notice another little Pokemon attacking him. And with swift movements, Karrablast headbutted the Scaly Pokemon in the face. Right with the horn as well. Hakamo-o growled from that as he was pushed back once more.
But his recovery was swift, soon grabbing Karrablast's horn right after the headbutt. He now had the Bug-Type in his grasp, much to the dismay of Karrablast.
"Uh...Ehehehe..." A nervous Karrablast chuckled, trying to ease his way out of this. But with how Hakamo-o was feeling, that seemed impossible. The Scaly Pokemon was ready to use Dragon Breath on the Clamping Pokemon with a purple draconic aura forming around his mouth.
"Ugh...!" But, Hakamo-o was so befuddled, he could barely focus. He then held his head, trying to keep his focus. "It hurts..."
"Aha! Take this!" And with Hakamo-o distracted, along came Litleo with a swift Take Down. He smashed his head onto Hakamo-o's stomach, causing the Scaly Pokemon to open his eyes. Again, barely much damage, but it was felt. And at this rate, if they keep piling on damage, they could eventually take Hakamo-o out.
"Sorry about this!" Karrablast then attacked by using Acid Spray, shooting out an acidic fluid from his mouth. The fluid landed on Hakamo-o's face as it did some considerable damage. After all, it is acid, despite how small the attack looked.
"Gagh!" Hakamo-o moved back, holding his face from the acid. Litleo then slid back, following up with another attack as Karrablast had been dropped. The Lion Cub Pokemon then used Fire Spin, sending an intense spiral of fire. The attack was not very effective as it had consumed the Scaly Pokemon.
Hakamo-o roared as he blew the fire away with ease. He looked truly furious, giving a cold and serious stare to the trio of Pokemon. He wasn't going down anytime soon. Litleo and the others gulped, soon realizing how outmatched they were at the moment.
"Run," Litleo said as the trio then bolted off, not wanting to be smacked around by a Psuedo-Legendary Pokemon. Soon after, Hakamo-o would chase them down. And poor Makuhita was too slow to keep up with his friends.
Dottler returned with his Lum Berry, seeing that his new friends had left the area and the destruction caused by a short-lived Pokemon Battle. Now no one was here to help him dig. "Drat."
Hakamo-o was naturally faster than all three of them as he caught up immediately. His first target was Makuhita as he had a Dragon Breath brewing. Makuhita tried putting more muscle into his bones, trying to gain a burst of speed. Not before Hakamo-o used Dragon Breath, exhaling a mighty gust of draconic energy.
The blast hit the ground near Makuhita, launching the Guts Pokemon via an explosion. Makuhita went flying forward, going ahead of his friends, but resulting in a crash landing, right onto a tree.
"Oof!" Makuhita cried out before hitting the tree.
"Makuhita!" His friends cried out as Hakamo-o then lunged into the air, having a Mega Punch ready for them. With a mighty roar, the Scaly Pokemon thrust his fist downwards, ready to smash it onto the two of them.
But it was promptly stopped by a Psychic barrier. A Psychic barrier that was formed by Delphox who had her wand out. "That's enough!"
"Ms Delphox!" They both said."
"Huh?" Hakamo-o looked at Delphox, still feeling enraged. Delphox saw the blue eyes once more as she had used Signal Beam yet again. This time, by covering her body in the flashing lights of Signal Beam. Hakamo-o gazed at the lights as they were enough to break away the blue colouring around his eyes.
Just like Heracross.
"Oh..." Hakamo-o groaned as he fell to the ground, feeling dazed from that. Delphox helped him up, knowing this wasn't by Hakamo-o's own will. "Ms Delphox...."
"There, there. You're okay now. Can you recall what had happened?"
"I don't remember. All I saw were blue eyes looking at me funny. And then this happened..." He held his head as Litleo and Karrablast helped their friend off the tree.
"Yet another attack?" Gothitelle had shown up to the scene with the trio gasping, knowing that this was their chance to say something about Gothitelle and what she's been doing.
"Aha!" Litleo exclaimed as he rushed over here with his friends. "The jig is up, Gothitelle!"
"I beg your pardon?" She raised her non-existent eyebrow.
"Litleo? Not now." Delphox was afraid that Litleo and his friends would mock Gothitelle for her creepy appearance and make a scene.
"No, Ms Delphox. It's not about the look. She's been mind-controlling Heracross and Hakamo-o!" Litleo exclaimed as Gothitelle pulled back.
"Uh-huh!" Karrablast nodded his entire body. "She even has the same blue eyes! She was saying something when controlling Heracross back there! We uh...we couldn't tell."
"Gothitelle, is this true?" Delphox asked while standing up with Hakamo-o.
"Absolutely not." She scoffed with disdain. "These children and their absurd assumptions. Although, one thing is true. My eyes do illuminate a vibrant blue. As so." The Astral Body Pokemon then demonstrated by using Psychic, lifting Litleo from the ground with her eyes glowing blue.
"Woah!" Litleo gasped as Gothitelle pulled him over.
"Even so, that is a common colour for Psychic-Type Pokemon aside for pink or purple. And besides, why do you think I was speaking in that instance?"
"To give Heracross orders, duh!" Litleo responded despite being in the face of someone he was intimidated by.
"Wrong. I was trying to break the Psychic hold on Heracross. Someone else was using Psychic." Gothitelle kissed her teeth while Litleo snarled. "And besides. If it was me, the Pokemon wouldn't be rampaging in such a callous and disorganized manner."
"...They wouldn't?" Litleo squinted his eyes as he could believe that.
"No. A Psychic control such as that would never belong to one as experienced and skilled as myself." Gothitelle said. And as she said that a tall burst of smoke had erupted nearby, grabbing everyone's attention.
Now they all had to see this for themselves. Delphox quickly ran over while Gothitelle dropped Litleo on his head, following the Fox Pokemon. Litleo groaned, holding his head as Makuhita helped him up. The trio of pre-evolved Pokemon then followed after Delphox and Gothitelle to see what caused that explosion of smoke. And once they got there, they found something surprising.
Dottler and a Chesnaught
"Dottler?!" Gothitelle gasped as Dottler was currently on the head of a Chesnaught. This Chesnaught also had blue eyes, indicating another control. And this time, it was made clear who was behind it. Dottler. Right below, there was a large hole that had been made. Most likely from Chesnaught. And it was a deep hole.
Not only that, but Dottler had some sort of helmet with 18 spheres in each hole. And it fits perfectly on his head as well as he started chuckling. Litleo, Karrablast and Makuhita had their jaw drop after what they were seeing.
"Hello, teacher."
"What is the meaning of this?!" Gothitelle questioned.
"And what's that on your head?!" Litleo asked.
"What I was searching for. One of the many items randomly scattered across the worlds ever since the Rift arrived. Just what Xatu foresaw. This beauty of an object used to belong to a place known as the Pokemon Black Market. Behold! The Protean Helmet!"
"Protean...Helmet?" Delphox tilted her head.
"With this helmet, I have full control over all types. Dragon, Ghost, Flying, Poison, Bug, doesn't matter! I have become a great and powerful Dottler! And soon, the Apex Predator beyond all other Pokemon! The World's...no...Universe's Strongest Pokemon!"
"...How did we get here?" Makuhita wondered.
"This was underneath the forest the whole time? And you were just after that alone?" Delphox gasped.
"You foolish boy! And here I thought I taught you well." Gothitelle walked up to her student. "Even if you do become the Apex Predator, you aren't indestructible considering what you are. If anything, you're just a downgrade of Arceus himself."
"Arceus? Pah! Only a fool would believe in such a Pokemon. You're not as smart as I thought...teacher!" Dottler cackled as he used the Dark-Type sphere. Out of his eyes, he shot out a makeshift Dark Pulse, striking his own teacher with it in the chest.
"Agh!" Gothitelle cried out as she flew back from it.
"Gothitelle!" Delphox ran over to the Astral Body Pokemon as all the other nearby Pokemon gasped.
"So it was you this whole time?!" Karrablast gasped.
"Indeed. And controlling the Fighting-Types was the way to go. They're so weak to Psychic it's pitiful. Now! Attack! Claim this forest for me as I will soon reign supreme!" Dottler ordered Chesnaught. And thanks to the Protean Helmet, Dottler's Psychic control was greater than before.
"Yes sir!" Chesnaught responded as he obeyed Dottler's every command. Dottler was also aiming to control the rest of the Pokemon as well. The Spiny Armor Pokemon started attacking everyone around him, charging at full force.
However, there were Pokemon that could fight back this time. Jumping in the way was a Krokorok that had used Facade. Its caws met with Chesnaught, but unfortunately, it wasn't strong enough.
Chesnaught immediately smacked the Desert Croc Pokemon with a swift and heavy Hammer Arm. Other Pokemon started attacking from afar, using ranged moves of different varieties. Since most of this area had Normal-Type Pokemon, they had a ton of moves to choose from. The biggest movepool out of every other type after all.
Chesnaught blocked these incoming attacks with his signature move. Spiky Shield. All the while, Dottler used his helmet to amplify his Psychic capabilities. He then used Psychic on some nearby Pokemon, putting them under his control. Now there were more Pokemon that fought for his side. This time they were Normal-Types instead of Fighting-Types.
They attacked their fellow Normal-Type Pokemon and the other Pokemon that came to help stop Dottler's actions. There was soon a battle between two sides as Delphox helped Gothitelle up.
"Ugh...That foolish boy." Gothitelle groaned as she stood up. "Without that helmet, he's just my novice student in the end."
"All we have to do is get it off of him. Easy as that," said Delphox.
"I can do that!" Litleo suddenly ran ahead, deciding to be the biggest Pokemon here as he was going for Dottler.
"Ah! Litleo!" Delphox knew that Litleo would do something like this. But she was too late to stop him again. The Lion Cub Pokemon ran up the shield of Chesnaught, using him as a platform as he had approached Dottler.
"Hey, Dottler!" Litleo cried out, alerting the Radome Pokemon. Before Dottler knew it, Litleo had punched on him, pushing the Bug-Psychic-Type off. Not quit removing the helmet.
He and Dottler tumbled on the ground afterwards, avoiding the incoming ranged attacks from other Pokemon. Dottler used his Psychic power to push the Lion Cub Pokemon off, recovering afterwards.
"You have no power here, Litleo," Dottler said while Litleo snarled. "As for me. I have all the power I need!" Out of one of the spheres, Dottler used the Water-Type option. A giant blast of water came flying out, the equivalent to either Scald or Hydro Pump.
Litleo dodged it by running to the side. However, Dottler kept the attack up, forcing the blast of water to follow the Lion Cub Pokemon. He was swift enough for sure. The Normal-Fire-Type then opened his mouth, shooting out a Fire Spin. Unfortunately, Dottler had used the blast of water to block this from happening. Not only did he block the flames, but the blast of water overpowered them, heading for Litleo.
"Oh!" Litleo gasped as he had been hit by the blast of water. It had sent him flying, pushing the Lion Cub Pokemon against a rock in the process while also dealing super-effective damage. Litleo groaned before rolling on the ground. Dottler just laughed afterwards, walking up to the Lion Cub Pokemon.
But he was soon interrupted by one of his friends. Along came Karrablast with Headbutt. With his horn, Karrablast had smashed his head onto the Radome Pokmo pushing him away, Unfortunately, Dottler was still lightweight.
"Litleo! Are you okay?!" Karrablast soon turned to his friend after the Headbutt.
"Inferior Bug! Begone! Dottler bellowed as he used the Rock-Type option. He summoned a giant boulder from the helmet, shooting it at the Clamping Pokemon.
But if Litleo had friends who came here to help him, that went for all of his friends. Especially Makuhita. Jumping in the way was the Guts Pokemon, using his body as a shield, plush his resistance to Rock. The boulder shattered upon meeting Makuhita.
"Ow, that stings..." But he still felt the impact either way. Litleo went up to his friends as they stood side by side. They had one goal. Take that helmet off and this will all be over.
As for the other side and their constant battling, Delphox and Gothitelle had teamed up as fellow Psychic-Types. And they stood before Chesnaught to do so. Chesnaught went up to them with Thunder Punch, only to be met with the ground as the two of them had slid away.
Delphox had used Mystical Fire with her wand, covering her fellow Kalos Starter in a blast of magical flames. Chesnaught winced from that as he used Spiky Shield to get rid of some of the damage. But then there was Gothitelle.
The Astral Body Pokemon had used Psychic, raising the Spiny Armor Pokemon from the ground. She then slammed Chesnaught to the ground like a hammer to a nail. All the while, Chesnaught still had Spiky Shield up. But he couldn't keep it up for long.
Gothitelle slammed him up and down repeatedly with Psychic, showing no signs of stopping. Even Chesnaught couldn't handle all of that as he broke out of his Spiky Shield. That allowed Delphox to go in front for an attack. The Fox Pokemon rushed in, creating two Mystical Fires with her wand and hand.
Chesnaught gasped as he quickly retaliated with a Mud Shot, shooting out a blob of mud from his hands. Delphox had been promptly stopped by Mud Shot with the mud pushing her away. Gothitelle caught her fellow Psychic-Type thankfully.
Chesnaught then ran in, ready to deliver a powerful Thunder Punch to both of them. Delphox and Gothitelle then both smiled at the same time, putting their hands out. Delphox tossed her wand into the air before doing so.
At the same time, Delphox used Psychock while Gothitelle used Psychic. Two powerful Psychic-Type moves had pushed Chesnaught back. The Spiny Armour Pokemon went flying like a rocket after taking super-effective damage two times in one hit.
And for a flashy finish, Delphox grabbed her wand which still had Mystical Fire. The Fox Pokemon aimed the wand at Chesnaught who was still dying. Gothitelle assisted in this by adding a Psychic aura around the wand.
"Here goes!" Delphox unleashed a mixture of Mystical Fire and Psychic, sending a red and blue blast. It travelled faster than light, easily catching up to Chesnaught. The Grass-Fighting-Type shook his head, but it was too late.
A direct hit. And the rest was an outburst of red and blue explosive energy. Enough to take out Chesnaught. 4x super-effective after all. Chesnaught had fallen out of the smoke, not only fainting but breaking out of Dottler's control.
"Yes!" Delphox cheered as she suddenly hugged Gothitelle. Gothitelle winced from this sudden hug before rolling her eyes. But, she did enjoy the victory as well.
As for Dottler, he was dealing with Litleo, Karrablast and Makuhita. Despite the power of that helmet, Dottler was still a glass cannon like them. All they needed was one strong hit and that was it for the Radome Pokemon.
Dottler had grabbed both Litleo and Makuhita with strings. Right from the Bug-Type option. The strings were incredibly thick, wrapping around them a few times. Along came Karrablast, using Bug Bite to rip apart the strings.
After freeing his friends, he and Litleo attacked as Litleo used Fire Spin and Karrablast used Acid Spray. Dottler used the Dragon-Type option to make a draconic face that had chewed the flames and acid with ease. As if they were breakfast.
"What's wrong?! Can't get a simple helmet off my head?!" Dottler mocked. Makuhita charged up some of his power with Focus Energy while Litleo charged headfirst with Strength in store.
The Lion Cub Pokemon swung his paw, only to be met with a spike from the Steel-Type option. Litleo's paw smashed the spike, causing him to hurt himself. But he ended up knocking the spike away thankfully. Karrablast jumped over his friend, using Acid Spray once more. Dottler used the spike to cancel out the Acid Spray, utilizing Steel's immunity to Poison.
The Radome Pokemon then used the Flying-Type option, creating a spiral of wind that blew his fellow Bug-Type Pokemon back. Karrablast crashed into a tree with it. Not only that, but the tree started falling over. Litleo saved his friend with an immediate Fire Spin, burning the tree away.
Dottler then decided to use two types in one attack. One was a Water-Type attack and the other a Fire-Type attack. A blast of fire and water went flying, focusing on Litleo and Karrablast. But being best friends, they had the same idea.
"Swap!" Litleo cried out as he and Karrablast swapped places. Litleo took the Fire attack, resisting it, while Karrablast took the Water attack. He didn't resist it. It was neutral but he was still alright.
"I'm ready!" Makuhita had finished charging up as he was at his absolute best with Focus Energy.
"Then go get him big guy!" Litleo grinned as he smashed his head onto Makuhita's back with Strength. One good hit and the Guts Pokemon was launched towards the Radome Pokemon.
"Woah!" Makuhita wailed whilst flying through the air.
"Insolent pudgy dull-minded Fighting-Type! Out of my sight!" Dottler was ready to end this with one powerful Psychic-Type move.
But that didn't happen thanks to a distraction from Litleo. A quick Fire Spin forced Dottler to block the incoming flame with a water shield. But that prompted Makuhita to strike at the right moment.
He used Arm Thrust, smashing both of his arms through the shield. One strike through and they smashed the helmet itself. Since it was underneath the earth for a while, it was weak. All it needed was one good hit to be no more. And that's what happened. Makuhita's Arm Thrust had shattered the Protean Helmet into bits. Right before Dottler's eyes.
"No!" Dottler gasped in shock. He didn't expect it to just break in one hit. With that stun and stagger of shock, it allowed Liteo to get the final hit in. And a strong and swift Take Down was what did it.
He bashed himself onto the Bug-Psychic-Type, knocking him down while also receiving some recoil damage from it. But it was worth it. The helmet had been destroyed with the spheres falling out as Dottler had fainted.
"Curse you...inferior types."
5 minutes later.
After all that was said and done, the Pokemon that were being controlled by Dottler were freed after the helmet was destroyed. As for the spheres, Delphox picked them all up along with the Combee.
Dottler himself was standing before his teacher. One very disappointed and furious Gothitelle. With the failure of his plan, he knew the worst was about to come his way.
"I apologize for my student everyone. If I had known he had ulterior motives and wanted to be taught by me for a different reason, I would've acted sooner." Gothitelle said. "Apex Predator, are you ridiculous?"
"I could've been..."
"Never in a million years. Not with that behaviour." Gothitelle picked Dottler up, squeezing his head. "I'll be sure to straighten you up while we're in this forest. I can tell there are some Pokemon who would rather skip out on chores. Perhaps you can assist with that."
"Ow-ow-ow! I yield! I concede!" Dottler cried out after being grabbed.
"Ms Gothitelle. Sorry for doubting you." Litleo lowered his head. "My bad..."
"Apology accepted little one. But...you have a knack for sensing danger, don't you? Don't let that falter. Train up your senses, understood?" Gothitelle suddenly gave a smile. And it was actually a beautiful smile. Beyond that crooked face is something glorious. And Litleo's eyes lit up from that.
"Y-Yes ma'am!"
"I'll have Queen Vespiquen decide what to do with these spheres. Until then! Everyone enjoy your stay here at Frenzy Forest!" Delphox cheered as all the other Pokemon cheered with her.
In truth, this was just another day in Frenzy Forest. Nothing too crazy.
Canterlot. Afternoon.
"What do you believe the Pokemon in Frenzy Forest do, exactly?" Luna wondered looking outside the window with Celestia by her side.
"Meh. Who knows? Every Pokemon has their own story, don't they?"
"So the next Gym changed?" Rainbow Dash said as Twilight showed her an official Equestria League guidebook. It was just made 2 weeks ago. How swift.
"A decision from the official Equestria League." Twilight explained. "Now you'll have to deal with this Gym. An Unpredictable-Themed one. It's exactly what it says it is. This Gym isn't very consistent at all, so it throws a lot of Trainers off balance. Even ruins strategies in the long run."
"Unpredictable, huh? So who's the Gym Leader there?" Rainbow wondered.
"It says here that the Gym Leader is..." Twilight flipped the next page to see the Gym Leader. Seeing it stunned and also sent a sense of fear in her heart. "Ms Harshwinny?!"
"Seriously?! Why do I have a bad feeling about this..." Rainbow Dash groaned while slumping on her seat. "What kind of Pokemon does she use?"
"It looks like it's just Normal-Type Pokemon. But there could be more. You never know with different Pokemon Trainers." Twilight shook her head. "You'll have to be careful. Apparently, she's the biggest roadblock for the Equestria League. Not many Trainers have gotten past her."
"I thought Zecora was the biggest roadblock? Or even Sunset?" said Pinkie Pie. "Is Ms Harshwinny that strong?"
"Probably. I'm getting chills thinking about what she could do, ya know." Rainbow Dash shuddered as Castform shook with her.
"But you're psyched to head there, aren't ya?" Ash looked at Rainbow Dash as they both gave each other a grin. "Ms Harshwinny sounds tough."
"Oh yeah, I'm psyched! My sixth Gym Badge is staring me in the eyes at this moment!" Rainbow Dash stood up with excitement. "Roadblock or not, we're getting past that Gym. We didn't train and have major battles for nothing."
"That's more like it!" Rarity clapped her hooves along with the CMC. "Where is this Gym exactly?"
"The Crystal Empire. Ms Harshwinny's probably expecting a new challenger to show up if she's so difficult to beat." Twilight showed the destination of the sixth gym. "Wish Spike could make it."
"Now that ya mention him, where is Spike?" Applejack navigated her head around.
"He's taking part in the Equestria League so he's off for his own Gym Battle. The first one with Roseluck too. He might be a bit occupied for a bit." Twilight explained before closing the book. "Right. Let's head to the Crystal Empire before somepony else challenges Harshwinny."
"Right. Just wait for me Sixth Gym Badge!"
"Castform!"
The Crystal Empire. Afternoon.
Right there. Just behind the Crystal Empire Contest Hall, the sixth Gym could be found. And already, there was a line of Pokemon Trainers. An incredibly long line, much to the chagrin of Rainbow Dash, who was hoping to get here before it was flooded.
But it was too late.
"Oh come on! This many?!" Rainbow Dash pulled her mane in annoyance. She then let out a sigh of defeat. "Guess we can wait until nightfall or something."
"I don't think so. Look." Fluttershy and everyone else noticed something off with the Pokemon Trainers. They weren't just lined up. They were slumped, exhausted and face down. If anything, they were more sparse instead of forming a straight line. "They don't look alright."
"You don't have to worry about anything, Rainbow Dash..." An exhausted mare sighed. "You can go in after the next trainer. We lost."
"Lost? Wait. All of you lost?" Rainbow moved her hoof around at the hundreds of defeated Pokemon Trainers. They weren't here because they were taking turns to battle Ms Harshwinny. They were here because they had all lost which would explain their current state and positions. "No way..."
"Is it too late to leave now?" Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie gulped, terrified of Ms Harshiwinny's capabilities.
"They do say she's the biggest roadblock for the Equestria League. At this rate, the league is going to have fewer trainers participating in it than expected," said Twilight. "If they can beat her."
"That's some power, huh?" Ash gawked.
"Pika..."
At that moment, another Pokemon Trainer came out of the gym with his head hung low. That was a good indication that he lost. Yet another defeated trainer to add to the pile.
"Role Play...What kind of move is that?" He said whilst laying flat on his face.
"Looks like that's your cue, Rainbow Dash." Starlight nudged Rainbow Dash who was now intimidated. Before, she wasn't too nervous after hearing that Ms Harshwinny would be the sixth Gym Leader. Now, she's shaking in her hooves and her nervous meter was rising. "Good luck."
"O-Okay." But she was going to try and win anyway. She had the trust of her Pokemon by her side. Rainbow Dash and her friends had entered the sixth Gym for the first time.
And upon entering it, it was by far the blandest one yet. In fact, it looked like an office room. Shot for shot. Not just any office room. Ms Harshwinny's office room. It was as if she brought her own room to this gym. The only difference was that the traditional arena was present here.
"Already?" Ms Harshwinny said as she had just returned her current Pokemon. "I'm used to one at a time for 2 minutes or so at this point. Welcome to the Sixth Gym. Rainbow Dash. And friends."
"Uh, hi." Rainbow Dash and everyone waved to her as the earth pony walked up to the group. This would be Ash, Pikachu Starlight and Goh's first time meeting her as well. Ash has only heard about Ms Harshwinny during the Equestria Games.
"Ash Ketchum, correct?" Harshwinny went up to him.
"Yeah, that's me. Heya."
"Pika-Pika.
"A pleasure to meet you at last. I've heard of what you've done." She said in a lighter tone, holding her hoof out for a hoof/handshake. Twilight felt relieved as she thought Harshwinny would be harsh on Ash. But there was no reason for that. "The work you do as a Pokemon Trainer for both our world and your own is truly efficient, professional and ace. The same goes for you Pikachu."
"Thanks." Ash gave a grin in response, shaking her hoof. Pikachu did the same by getting his own hand into the mix, making a triple shake.
"Pikachu!"
"So can we get it started already?" Rainbow Dash intervened, itching for a Poke Ball. But a deeper part of her was a bit nervous and hoping that time could be delayed.
"Not yet. Patience. I've just finished my current one. Have a seat before we can start." Harshwinny then placed her Poke Balls to the side. She had an abundance of Poke Balls at her disposal, showing that she had definitely been busy. Whether during the earlier days of the worlds crossing over or months ago.
"Oh, right." Rainbow Dash understood as she took a seat at the nearest chair. Again. It was basically her office. Just bigger and with an arena.
"If she defeated so many trainers, how long do you think she's been battling for. We're just 2 hours away from the afternoon by now." Goh wondered.
"Might've been early in the morning. Like 6:00. She's probably defeated them so quickly between the span of..." Twilight began thinking about how many seconds or minutes it would've taken for Ms Harshwinny to win most of her battles and create a pile of defeated trainers. "I don't know. Maybe a minute or less."
"And depending on how many Pokemon they had, she'd use the same amount, right?" Starlight repeated as Harshwinny could be seen rearranging her desk and getting things ready.
"Man, just thinking about how strong she could be is getting me pumped!" Ash was containing his excitement. At this rate, he would want to battle Ms Harshwinny himself to see how strong she was. "Right Pikachu?"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Now then," Harshwinny spoke, clearing her throat. "Before we begin. How many Pokemon do you have at your disposal, Rainbow Dash?"
"Oh. I've got six!" Rainbow Dash got off the seat.
"Hm. Then. You shall use three Pokemon and so shall I."
"Only three?!" Rainbow Dash was shot in the heart by that. She was expecting this to be a 6v6 considering she had six Pokemon and Harshwinny was definitely above six. "W-Why?!"
"Oh, you shouldn't worry about this one, Rainbow Dash." Harshwinny suddenly smirked. "For you see, the remaining two gyms will have one less number than this one. Just two. I will give you that warning. The battles will become harder as you go, so prepare yourself for what's to come."
"I-I got it, Ms Harshwinny." Rainbow Dash said with defeat. She had a plan brewing in her head. Now it had been knocked out of existence after hearing the 3 Pokemon only rule.
"Then we can officially start."
Indeed they could. They stood on their opposing sides. Rainbow Dash on the right and Harshwinny on the left of the battlefield. Standing in between them was a unicorn referee.
"The Crystal Empire Gym Battle is about to commence! The battle will be a 3-on-3 battle! The battle will be over when all 3 of one trainer's Pokemon are unable to continue. Ony the challenger will be allowed to make substitutions during the battle!" The referee laid out the rules quickly.
"I hope you've read or had prior knowledge about my gym, Rainbow Dash. Sometimes, that helps. Just ask the pile of trainers outside and how their knowledge was lacking."
"Not much. But I ain't gonna let some knowledge get in my way. Hasn't stopped me before and it won't stop me now, Ms Harshwinny." Rainbow Dash responded with high determination.
"Hoh? Are you sure?" Harshwinny smirked while lowering her eyes. "There is a reason why this Gym is an unpredictable theme. For all you know, I could be your most challenging opponent yet. Or perhaps a pushover, depending on the moves you make. Which is as it should be. But enough with all this rabbling. Let us begin."
"Right! I'll go first!" Rainbow Dash held out her Poke Ball as she threw it. "Let's go, Luxray!" First up was Luxray on her side.
"Lux...Ray!" The Gleam Eyes Pokemon let out a mighty roar while exuding electricity from his body. Ms Harshwinny wasn't impressed or phased by this roar as she held out her first Poke Ball.
"Come to my aid. Sudowoodo." Her first Pokemon turned out to be the Imitation Pokemon, Sudowoodo.
"Sudowoodo!"
"I don't know what Sudowodo is capable of but...We'll have to wait and see." Rainbow Dash had a sense of dread. As if something was wrong. By this point, she's learned not to underestimate the less fearsome and funny-looking Pokemon. They pack as much power as the bigger and fiercer Pokemon at times.
"Allow me to go first. Block." Harshwinny gave the first command.
"Sudo...Woodo!" The Imitation Pokemon went first, causing its body to glow a vibrant green. Bonsly then summoned a beam of energy that instantly appeared around Luxray before he could even move or react.
"Ray? Luxray?" Luxray looked at himself, wondering what was wrong. He didn't feel off. He felt fine actually.
"Luxray! Are you okay?!" Rainbow Dash asked as Luxray nodded in confirmation. Rainbow Dash was still cautious. "What was that?"
"Block. For a simple explanation, Bonsly has made it so that your Luxray cannot escape," said Ms Harshwinny. "So now, you and I are on a similar playing field."
"Say what now?!" That blew Rainbow Dash back. "Geez, that messes things up for me...But it's okay! Luxray's still pumped! Use Wild Charge!"
"Ray!"Even if he couldn't be recalled, Luxray was still going to give it his all. He bolted off the ground, covering his body with an aura of electricity.
"Take it."
"Sudo...!" Sudowoodo braced itself for this damage. It was going to take it head-on, surprising Rainbow Dash and the others. That just made them more intimidated by Harshwinny. And the Imitation Pokemon took it. The full force of the attack as Sudowoodo closed its eyes. Luxray took some recoil damage as he and Sudowoodo were both pushed back.
Luxray shook his head from the recoil as well as Sudowoodo. It kept a strong face and was proud of its high defence.
"Sudowoodoo"
"Now. Mimic."
"Woodo!" Just then, Sudowoodo cried out as it had glared directly at Luxray. WIth that glare, the Imitation Pokemon suddenly coated itself in electricity.
"Mimic? Is it like Copycat?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Mimic is more like Smeargle's Sketch," Ash answered. "Copycat copies a move for one moment. Mimic allows the opponent to keep the move as long as they want. So now Wild Charge belongs to Sudowoodo."
"That's not a good sign...Braviary and Castform might suffer from that." Twilight gasped as Rainbow Dash had heard it from behind.
"Luxray's own move for the entire battle?" Rainbow Dash repeated, gritting her teeth.
"Precisely. Return the favour with your own Wild Charge!"
"Sudo!" Now it was Sudowoodo's turn to strike. The Imitation Pokemon mimicked what Luxray had done. Also rocketing off the ground and charging at great speeds.
"Yeah right! Iron Tail, go!"
"Lux...!" Luxray jumped into the air, hardening his tail to match iron. He then lunged himself at Sudowoodo, performing an overhead swing with his tail. "Ray!"
Sudowoodo's aura of electricity plus head had clashed with Luxray's tail. The two moves cancelled each other out from collision with both Pokemon moving back from it. Sudowoodo did not suffer from any recoil damage by using Wild Charge. And Rainbow Dash could guess why.
"Rock Head." She figured the ability out immediately. "Iron Tail again!"
"Luxray!"
"Let's be a bit more forward with this one." Harshwinny was changing her approach. "Earth Power!"
"Woodo!"Sudowoodo did have some attacking moves with it. A move perfect for an Electric-Type like Luxray. The Imitation Pokemon stomped on the floor, causing golden shockwaves to sprout up and move across the field.
"Jump!"
"Lux!" Luxray found a simple way through this. All he had to do was jump over the attack. And that's what he did. With one swift jump, he evaded the shockwaves of Earthpower.
"Again!"
"Sudo!" However, Sudowoodo just used Earth Power again. It stomped on the floor once more, causing the shockwaves to increase in height and size.
"Ray?!" Luxray grimaced, unsure of how to avoid this one. Unfortunately, he couldn't fly or double jump. And Rainbow Dash knew this. So there was only one thing to do.
"Power through it and strike!"
"Luxray!" A risky choice. But one Luxray was willing to tackle. He allowed the shockwaves of Earth Power to connect with him. "L-Lux!" Luxray cried out, taking super-effective damage from the attack. But, with a high risk came a high reward.
Luxray closed his eyes before opening them. The Gleam Eyes Pokemon then recovered as soon as he could, swinging his tail either way. This time from the side. He barely powered through the Earth Power. One swing and Sudowoodo was struck by Iron Tail.
"W-Woodo!" And it certainly felt that, being knocked off its feet and everyone. Everyone cheered after Luxray got a great hit in. Sudowoodo rolled on the floor before jumping up. Its defence was spectacular. "Sudo!"
"Lux...Lux...!" Luxray breathed in and out before regaining some energy, getting in the heat of things.
"I wish I could switch Luxray out right now. The only way that's gonna happen is if I can win this whole battle with Luxray. Or if he and Sudowoodo take each other out." Rainbow Dash said to herself. "This was only the first Pokemon and it was already this troublesome."
"Block and Mimic together's pretty scary, isn't it?" Scootaloo gulped. "I have to battle that someday..."
"Yeah. I've heard about Ms Harshwinny taking advantage of Electric-Type Pokemon the most," said Twilight. "And for a good reason. Electric-Type Pokemon have only one weakness. So Sudowoodo is her go-to Pokemon to start with. Or another most likely. Either way, I feel bad for anyone that has an Electric-Type and shows up here."
"Oh." Scootaloo realized she had a Pachirisu with her Essentially, that means when she eventually reaches the sixth Gym, she'll have to experience this."
"Okay...Sudowoodo's defence is stupid powerful. All I gotta do is knock it out and that'll get rid of Block overall." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath before making her final decision. "Okay! Let's finish this! You're strong up close but what about from afar?! Discharge, go!"
"Lux...Ray!" Luxray roared, letting loose a flare of electricity. And indeed, Sudowoodo's special defence was lacking as compared to his physical defence.
"Woodo!" Sudowoodo was going for it anyway. The Imitation used Wild Charge once more, rushing forward as a violent flare of electricity was moving all over the place.
Sudowoodo used the aura of Wild Charge to defend itself from Discharge. A perfect defence, coupled with its ability Rock Head, making this Imitation Pokemon a force of nature. Rainbow Dash realized that Sudowoodo was using Wild Charge's aura as a shield and soon did everyone else.
"Grr! Iron Tail!"
"Lux!" Luxray quickly let down his flare of electricity before switching moves rapidly. Now it was time for Iron Tai. "Luxray!" The Gleam Eyes Pokemon swapped at the right time. He then swung his tail the moment Sudowoodo came close to him.
"Sudo!"
"Lux!"
They had collided once more. But this time, the impact was even greater. An explosion of electricity had formed from Sudowoodo's Wild Charge. One great enough to eclipse most of the field. Rainbow Dash and Harshwinny had one eye closed after that.
The explosion was starting to settle, along with the smoke that it had made. Everyone gasped, wondering who came out on top after that collision. And the answer was simple.
Once the smoke cleared, it was soon revealed. Luxray and Sudowoodo had both fainted from that. Sudowoodo's great defence couldn't fully protect it from a full power Iron Tail. Luxray already took some heavy Earth Powers, especially when he couldn't be swapped out. All those Wild Charges had also done him in.
"Luxray...."
"Sudowoodo..."
"Both Luxray and Sudowoodo are unable to battle!" The referee announced.
"Hah..." Rainbow Dash sighed, lowering her head as she felt as if a huge load had been taken off her back. She then returned the Gleam Eyes Pokemon. "Better than putting Luxray in danger, that's for sure. Thanks, Luxray. You did your best and took out one. Now rest."
"You've played your part, Sudowoodo. And you played it wonderfully." Harshwinny looked at Sudowoodo's Poke Ball. "Leave it up to your teammates to handle everything else."
"That was just the first one. I'm actually happy that it is only a 3 on 3." Rarity could feel her heart racing after that first battle. The same went for Fluttershy, Starlight and the little ones.
"I can see why they say her gym is unpredictable. She might have preparations and contingencies for every possible scenario." Twilight said as a sweatdrop met her face.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Pinkie Pie shuddered along with Mew and Spinda inside of her playful mane. Everyone was now waiting for the next battle.
"Well done, Rainbow Dash. Getting past my Sudowoodo like that. I suppose brute force is sometimes the way to go." Harshwinny held out her next Poke Ball, as did Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah. No one's better at brute force than Luxray. That's for sure."
"Then show me what the rest of your Pokemon can do," Harshwinny replied before bringing out her second Pokemon. "Assist me, Wobbuffet!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Wobbuffet, huh? Barely get a chance to battle against that. But Wobbuffet has a small movepool so I can work with this. Okay, then! Go, Whirlipede!" Out came her second Pokemon, Whirlipede.
"Whirlipede!"
"Smart thinking, Dashie!" Pinkie clapped her hooves. "Wobbuffet doesn't have any attacking Psychic-Type moves at all for Whirlipede! This is great!"
"Wobbufett's only pure defence," said Fluttershy. "It's surprising how little moves the species has at its disposal. The only threat to worry about is Mirror Coat if this Wobbuffet has it."
"But if the species is all defence, that means it can attack using its own defence." Starlight replied before looking up. "What do they say? The best offence is a good defence?"
"Yeah." Ash nodded in confirmation as he and the others were eager to see how this would play out. Wobbuffet is not to be underestimated at any cost.
"We'll go first this time! Steamroller, go!"
"Whirli!" Whirlipede made the first move, rolling on the spot before charging forward. Wobbufett stood there with his traditional poker face. Ms Harshwinny was anticipating the right moment to make her command. And with how fast Whirlipede was moving, she found her chance.
"Destiny Bond."
"Wait what?!" Rainbow Dash heard that loud and clear.
"Wobbu!" Wobbuffet braced itself for impact. But while bracing himself, The Patient Pokemon's eyes flashed purple in that instance for a split-second. Whirlipede smashed into Wobbuffet at full force, dealing super-effective damage while also causing the Patient Pokemon to move up and down like a punching bag.
After all, Wobbuffet is based on a punching bag.
But after doing so, Whirlipede had two swirling purple lights come out of his body. Most definitely from Wobbuffet's eyes glowing as he and Rainbow Dash noticed this.
"Seriously?! Destiny Bond?!" Rainbow Dash bellowed before grumbling. "Guess Fantina warned us about this."
"What's Destiny Bond?" Starlight asked.
"It's a move that essentially makes the opposing Pokemon faint if the user faints." Twilight explained. "Just as the word implies. Destiny Bond. But there's a way around it and Fantina taught us."
"Yeah, there is." Rainbow Dash grinned, holding out Whirlipede's Poke Ball. "Sorry, but we're not letting Destiny Bond stop us. Return for now Whirlipede."
But strangely enough, Whirlipede didn't return. At all. Not that he didn't want to. He couldn't as the Curlipede Pokemon looked behind in confusion. And so did Rainbow Dash, trying again to return him. But to no avail.
"W-What the?!" Rainbow Dash looked at her Poke Ball. "But we beat Sudowoodo! Is Block still active?!"
"That isn't Block, Ms Dash." Harswhinny chuckled, shaking her head before looking at the pegasus. "That would be Wobbuffet's Shadow Tag. Similar to Block. Except it's an entire ability. Now your Whirlipede has the same effect as your Luxray before."
"Say what now?!"
"Oh yes! There's no stopping the Destiny Bond that is coming your way. Unfortunately for your Whirlipede, Wobbuffet and I will force-feed all of that damage to him."
"W-Whirli...!"
"She even has a backup for trapping Pokemon from leaving..." Applejack gawked, taking her hat off. "Woah nelly, she's good."
"Too good. S-She didn't go to the Pokemon School, d-did she?!" Twilight stuttered.
"You could say that." Harshwinny nodded in response. "I offered to take special classes at the school. The Gym Leader Norman was my teacher. Along with Princess Luna as my classmate. I have to say, it was a bit embarrassing being in school again. But feeling like a filly again was oddly enthralling."
"Norman taught her? Yeah, that explains a lot." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu..."
"Now, what will you do, Rainbow Dash?" Harshwinny asked, knowing that she had Rainbow Dash in a complicated spot right now. The pegasus then started thinking to herself.
"What do I do? No matter what I do, Whirlipede's gonna faint thanks to Destiny Bond...And if Wobbuffet takes Whirlipede out and prevents Destiny Bond, and I don't know what else is gonna come next. Destiny Bond might mess up my next Pokemon too...Boy, this blows..."
"No? Then allow me to do this. Wobbuffet, Amnesia."
"Fett..." The Patient Pokemon stood there, dumbfounded. Wobbuffet then temporarily emptied his mind to forget his concerns. And with that, his special defence had been raised. "Wobbu!"
"Grr...Fine! We're gonna have to risk it!" Rainbow Dash made up her mind as Whirliede was waiting for it. "I've got one last Pokemon to count on. Whirlipede, Steamroller, go!"
"Whirlipede!" Whirlipede used Steamroller yet again. And this time, his speed had risen thanks to Speed Boost. He knew that if he defeated Wobbuffet, he would fall. But he was willing to take it.
"Counter."
"F-Fett...!" Wobbuffet took super-effective damage once more with Whirlipede smashing onto him. However, the Patient Pokemon returned the favour by acting like a punching bag. His head moved back once Whirlipede crashed in him, resulting in the Psychic-Type launching his head forward and smashing it.
"W-Whirlipede!" Thankfully, the attack was not very effective, but considering how much damage Whirlipede gave to Wobbuffet, the receiving damage was great enough to almost bypass Whirlipede's resistance to fighting. The Curlipede Pokemon's speed increased as he rolled on the ground. It felt like there was a countdown to Whirlipede's end thanks to Destiny Bond.
"Now, Wobbuffet. Charm."
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet surrounded himself with pink hearts as he spread his arms out, making a cute face to try and catch Whirlipede.
"Don't look at him, Whirlipede!"
"Pede!" Whirliede closed his eyes, trying to resist Charm.
"It's no use. Vision matters not with Charm. Go, Wobbuffet!" Harshwinny raised her hoof with a bellow.
"Buffet!" Wobbuffet bellowed as the pink hearts immediately surrounded the Curlipede Pokemon. There was no escaping from Charm. Eyes closed or not. After the hearts zoned in, they entered Whirlipede. Once they entered, Whiripede's strength had been lowered, much to his dismay.
"W-Whirli..."
"There. Now your Whirlipede's strength has been lowered. I'm afraid that Destiny Bond will keep buying its time, Rainbow Dash. Now then...what is your next move?" Harshwinny asked, smirking.
"We're just getting started! We can raise something else! Whirlipede, Iron Defense!"
"Pede! Whirlipede!" Whirlipede coated his body in a silver aura, raising his defence with it. Harshwinny saw what Rainbow Dash's new approach was.
"Then in that case...Charm, once more!"
"Wobbu!" And as retaliation, Wobbuffet used Charm again, affecting the Curlipede Pokemon with those pink hearts. Whirlipede's strength was taken away once more.
"Iron Defense again!" But Rainbow Dash persisted, allowing Whirliede to keep raising his defence.
"Charm!" And so did Ms Harshwinny, allowing Wobbuffet to decrease the power of Whirlipede until he had the strength of a feather. The two of them repeated this constantly, each having their own ideas.
"What are they doing?" Goh wondered as everyone watched this back and forth of different moves. They wouldn't stop until one of them lets up.
"Rainbow Dash wants to take Wobbuffet out as soon as she can." said Twilight as she explained." If Wobbuffet manages to defeat Whirlipede, the Destiny Bond won't activate, allowing Wobbuffet to use it again on the next Pokemon. And if that doesn't work, there's a chance the third one might be as unpredictable or even more than its teammates."
"Geez, this is harsh." Pinkie Pie frowned with her ears drooping.
"Okay! We should be good now! Let's get our strength back! Rollout, go!"
"Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash chose to use Rollout. A wise choice. Rollout can actually increase in strength the more times it is used. Whirlipede then started rolling forward at high speeds.
"Rollout. A clever choice. Counter!"
"Strike and find a way to avoid counter.!"
"Whirl!" Thanks to Speed Boost, Whirlipede was insanely fast now with great swiftness. So swift that he appeared beside Wobbuffet instantly, faster than Wobbuffet could react.
"Wobbu?!" Wobbuffet soon realized this dramatic speed increase as he turned around. Once he did, Whirlipede smashed into the Patient Pokemon. And to avoid Counter, he simply rolled back before Wobbuffet could wobble forward, evading Counter.
"Again!"
"Whirlipede!" Whirlipede went with it again, moving at high speeds as he crashed into Wobbufet once again. However, Ms Harshwinny didn't say anything. She wasn't allowing Wobbuffet to attack.
"Again!"
"Pede!" Yet again, Whirlipede went for the attack, hitting Wobbuffet constantly. Ms Harshwinny didn't say a thing Rollout was gaining strength every passing second. And Ms Harshwinny still stayed silent, allowing Wobbuffet to take all of this damage.
"I know what you're up to..." Rainbow Dash growled. "Whirlipede. You know what we have to do, right?"
"Whiripede!" Whirlipede understood what needed to be done. It was unavoidable, but what else could they do in this instance. Wobbuffet and Harshwinny had them backed into a corner. It was best to go out in a bang.
"Let's go! Full power, Steamroller!"
"Whirli...!" Whirlipede was going to give it one final strike. A full-power spin was coming from his part. He started rolling on the spot as hard as he could, building up smoke from it and even leaving marks on the floor. And with one mighty burst of speed, he took off like a rocket. "Pede!" The Bug-Poison-Type made his way towards Wobbuffet at dramatic speeds, ready to end it.
"Counter." Ms Harshwinny finally gave a command.
"Wobbu....!" Wobbuffet took the full force of Steamroller. The absolute strongest it could get. It was so strong that it almost sent Wobbuffet flying from the amount of force it exhibited. But not force that Wobbuffet wasn't familiar with. "Fett!"
By wobbling and acting as a punching bag, Wobbuffet delivered the strongest Counter yet. In truth, Ms Harshwinny was saving up all of that damage so that Wobbuffet could give a startling attack. And her certainly did. By striking Whirlipede, he sent the Curlipede Pokemon flying back at the same speeds that he would have with Speed Boost.
"W-Whirl!" Whirlipede cried out as he crashed into a wall from the speed he was thrown at. Rainbow Dash turned around to see her partner crash. The Curlipede Pokemon then dropped to the floor.
He had, unfortunately, fainted.
"Whirlipede! No!"
"Whirlipede...."
"Whirlipede is unable to battle! Wobbuffet wins!"
Taken out before Destiny Bond could do it. Scootloo and the others felt their hearts sink a bit as now Rainbow Dash had a slight disadvantage with only one Pokemon left and the final Pokemon of Ms Harshwinny has yet to be revealed. Rainbow Dash recalled her partner.
"Thanks, Whirlipede. You were great."
"W-Wobbu..." But then, to everyone's attention, Wobbufeft starting groaning, almost losing balance off the floor. All of that punishment it took and that mighty Steamroller actually left a mark.
"Wobbuffet's looking weak!" Apple Bloom pointed out.
"She can take it out instantly that way then!" Starlight squeed.
"Alright. Whirlipede wore you down." Rainbow Dash held out her last Poke Ball. "Now it's time to make sure his loss wasn't in vain! Let's go! Altaria!" Out came the Humming Pokemon, Altaria.
"Altaria!"
"Ah, Mega Evolution. I was actually expecting this from you, Rainbow Dash. At least Rainbow-Braviary if that was the alternative."
"Check this out! We're not gonna hold anything back!" Rainbow Dash suddenly put on her goggles that had the Mega Stone in them. It was very clear what was about to happen.
"Alta!"
"We'll finish this one hit! And the next Pokemon that comes out is gonna be blown sky high with the power of Mega Evolution!" Rainbow Dash activated the stone as a golden light shot out of it. Altaria's keystone started reacting to the Mega Stone as blue lights came out of her. "Altaria! Mega Evolve!"
"Altaria!" The gold and blue lights clashed together, forming a DNA symbol. Afterwards, the lights entered Altaria, forming red lights next. Those red lights coated her as her body started morphing, growing and altering. Afterwards, the lights burst out with the Mega Evolution symbol appearing.
Mega Altaria was here.
"Altaria!"
"Let's finish this! Dragon Pulse, go!"
"Alta...!" Altaria opened her mouth, summoning a blue draconic beam as she was ready to fire.
"Destiny Bond!"
"W-Wobbu..." Wobbuffet was ready to use Destiny Bond. However, he was so damaged and worn out from Whirlipede's attack that he couldn't move fast enough to pull it off.
"Go!"
"Taria!" The Humming Pokemon unleashed Dragon Pulse, summoning a gigantic dragon-shaped shockwave that had opened its mouth towards Wobbuffet.
"W-Wo?" Wobbuffet looked up, seeing the dragon coming towards him. It had struck him head-on, resulting in a draconic blue explosion afterwards.
And just like with what Rainbow Dash said. All she needed was one hit. And one hit was needed. Flying out of the smoke was Wobbuffet. He didn't wobble, he just flew. And that was a good indicator that the Patient Pokemon's great endurance had timed out.
He had fainted.
"Wobbuffet..."
"Wobbuffet is unable to battle! Altaria wins!"
"Yes! She's still got a chance!" Pinkie Pie blew a party blower while the others had their hopes skyrocket. Rainbow Dash could pull this off after all, despite how arduous this all was.
Harshwinny smiled before retrieving Wobbuffet to his Poke Ball. "You were marvellous, my little Wobbuffet. Allow your final teammate to finish things here." She then took out her third and final Poke Ball. The Pokemon that will decide this. "Go. Alakazam!" And it would be Alakazam for the final pick.
"Alakazam!"
"Alakazam, huh?" Rainbow Dash scrunched her face, knowing that Alakazam can be a threat. "Okay. We got this, Altaria."
"Tari."
"Role Play."
"Role Play?" Rainbow Dash repeated as she remembered the previous trainer mentioning something about a Role Play. This was the move the trainer was groaning about.
"Kazam!" Alakazam's face started to glow brightly and the top half of his face morphed to look like the opponent. That freaked Rainbow Dash, Altaria and everyone out until Alakazam's face returned to normal. Alakazam suddenly gained a burst of blue and pink energy around him.
"What was that?! What's Role Play?!" Rainbow Dash leaned forward.
"Ah. You have yet to be taught by Olympia in the Pokemon School. A quick lesson. Role Play is a move that allows a Pokemon to copy the target's ability. As you can see, my Alakazam is now a Dragon-Fairy-Type.
"Alakazam."
"Seriously?!" Rainbow Dash was losing it at this point. "Whatever! Altaria! Moonblast!"
"Taria!" Altaria set another attack from her mouth. This time by gathering the power of the moon itself. After doing so, she summoned an orb of pink energy, shooting it forward.
"Disable."
"Alakazam!" Alakazam stood there, allowing the attack to come to him instead of countering it. The orb struck him, creating a beautiful pink explosion. But within the pink smoke, Alakazam's eyes started glowing.
Alakazam then threw his spoons in the air, crossing them. Rainbow Dash and the others looked up, wondering what was up now. The spoons illuminated a red colour as they released a red shock to the Humming Pokemon in a flash.
"Tari? Taria?!"
"Now what?!"
"Disable. A move that prevents the foe from using the move it last used. Your Moonblast to be exact." Harshwinny answered, giving Rainbow Dash a shock.
So now, not only was Alakazam now a Dragon-Fairy-Type, making him immune to Dragon Pulse, Moonblast was out of the picture for this one. The only moves Rainbow Dash could rely on were Ice Beam and Pluck. Ice Beam was here ace in the hole.
"Yeah...I can see why a bunch of trainers lost in this gym." Rainbow Dash nodded as she maintained her cool. "But we're not going to let it get to us. Altaria! Ice Beam!"
"Alta...Ria!" Out of her mouth came a large chilling light blue beam of ice.
"Alakazam, Psycho Cut!"
"Ala...Kazam!" Alakazam held his spoons as he covered them in Psychic energy. He would use them as makeshift blades in a sense. He then swung his spoons at the same time, slashing the beam. Both attacks cancelled each other out with a cold explosion occurring.
"Pluck!"
"Tari!" Altaria moved forward, causing her beak to glow. If there's one true thing, Alakazam's physical defence was lacking as compared to his special defence. But Ms Harshwinny had a contingency for that.
"Wonder Room."
"Kazam!" Alakazam brought his spoons together, tapping them a few times. Once he did, a giant purple room had formed around the opposing Pokemon. Right when Altaria struck Alakazam as well. However, Alakazam took it like a champ. All thanks to Wonder Room. Their defences had been swapped. Now Alakazam was the more bulky Pokemon and Altaria the fragile one.
"Wonder Room, are you kidding me?!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "Ice Beam, go!"
"Tari!" Altaria released a short burst of ice from her mouth. Her attacks wouldn't be that strong any more thanks to the Wonder Room's effect. But they would still be super-effective.
"Dodge and use Psycho Cut!"
"Kazam!" Alakazam simply teleported away from the incoming beam of ice. Ice Beam hit the floor, freezing it all. He appeared above the Humming Pokemon with all of his spoons spinning. "Alakazam!" The Psi Pokemon then ordered the spoons to attack Altaria.
It was a shame that Altaria was now as fragile as Alakazam in the physical department. Psycho Cut being a physical move made it all the more difficult.
"Alta!" The first spoon had struck the Humming Pokemon, knocking her back as the second spoon approached.
"Dodge and use Ice Beam!"
"Altaria!" Altaria zoomed out of the way, avoiding the second spoon. However, this is what Ms Harshwhinny and Alakazam wanted. And it had to do with the frozen floor from the previous Ice Beam.
The second spoon had hit the floor with incredible force, causing large chunks of ice and smaller shards to fly up from the floor. Alakazam's spoon came back to him as he used it as a shield against the incoming Ice Beam.
As for the ice, the smaller shards had pelted Altaria for super-effective damage. Right below as well. "A-Altaria?!" She was getting pelted by them as the large chunks were approaching.
"No way!"
"Just as planned," Harshwinny spoke. "Alakazam's quick thinking helps with this as well. Now. It's about time we ended our battle. Psycho Cut."
"Alakazam!" Alakazam moved in while the barrage of ice continued hitting Altaria. His spoons were ready for the smackdown as Altaria kept receiving raining ice.
"Grr! Altaria! Ice Beam, go!"
"Alta....!" Altaria let out a mighty roar that blew away the shards. She then opened her mouth, ready to unleash the mother of all Ice Beams for this one. Alakazam looked back at Harshwinny as they both nodded at the same time. "Aria!" Altaria then shot out the largest Ice Beam she could make.
And in that instance, Alakazam threw one of his spoons while keeping the other. The spoon went flying as the Psi Pokemon was hit by Ice Beam. But that was all according to plan. "A-Ala!"
With the other spoon free, it had zoomed Altaria before charging in from behind. With a single Psycho Cut, the spoon had slashed the Humming Pokemon's back.
"A-Al?!" Altaria's eyes widened after the cut. It was a shock in a million. Way beyond what she was expecting as everyone gasped. Right after that slash, Altaria closed her eyes as she started falling. Alakazam slid on the floor as his spoon returned to him.
"No! Altaria!" Rainbow Dash's voice echoed throughout the room as the Humming Pokemon dropped to the floor with closed eyes. Not only that, but her body started glowing, reverting her to her base form.
Altaria had fainted.
"Altaria is unable to battle! Alakazam means! Thus the victor is Ms Harshwinny!"
"It was decided. Ms Harshwinny had won, much to the chagrin of Rainbow Dash. The CMC, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy sighed after that loss. They were hoping that Rainbow Dash could've pulled it off.
"Bummer..." Pinkie Pie whimpered.
"She had a plan for almost every scenario possible," said Twilight. "And those were just a few of her Pokemon. It's no wonder why she's the biggest roadblock to the Equestria League."
"Espeon."
"Thank you, Altaria. You did your best." Rainbow Dash went up to her partner, helping her up while also feeling her soft wings. Altaria groaned before biting Rainbow Dash's ears. "Ow-ow! Haha! Okay, cut it out!"
"A job well done, Rainbow Dash." Harshwinny and Alakazam walked up. "I must say, even when the situation looked dire for you, you kept your chin and attempted to find a way. It takes a very professional and composed Trainer to do so." She then held her hoof out.
"Yeah. Thanks, Ms Harshwinny." Rainbow Dash shook her hoof back. "But next time, I'll be ready. Your team may be unpredictable, but we'll break past that."
"Hm. We shall see. I'll await your return. And do try and gain knowledge of me next time, please?"
"Sure thing!"
After that, they had left the gym. Rainbow Dash felt the loss, but she wasn't going to let it get to her. This isn't the first time she's lost a Gym Battle. And she won't make it the last. Rainbow will aim to bounce back from this.
"Okay, so!" Rainbow bellowed. "She's unpredictable for a reason. So we gotta figure out how to outsmart her. Yeah, yeah. Outsmart."
"How are you gonna do that? Alakazam's super smart and so is Ms Harshwinny." Pinkie Pie asked.
"Meh. I'll think of something. And I know Ash is gonna help me with that, right?"
"You bet. Let's work hard so you can get past that gym, okay?" Ash gave a thumbs up while putting her fist out.
"Pika-Pika!"
"You know it, pal!" Rainbow Dash returned the favour by smashing her hoof onto his fist, creating a fist/hoofbump as they both laughed. After all, friends help each other improve. And that's exactly what's going to happen between these two.
Ms Harshwinny is certainly a force of nature. A real strategist to the core. Which is exactly why Rainbow Dash aims to surpass her and prove that she is capable of reaching the Equestria League as the journey continues.
The Human World. Canterlot. Fluttershy's home. Day.
At the moment, Ash, Twilight and Spike were visiting the human world once more. Teaching more about Pokemon was what they were here to do. And over at Fluttershy's home, it had an abundance of Pokemon. She's great with animals and the same goes with Pokemon.
However, it's harder to understand Pokemon considering how bizarre and unique they are. Plus, the human version of Fluttershy doesn't exactly have the same unique talent of speaking to creatures like the pony version, unfortunately.
Thankfully, Ash and the others know how to. Especially Spike, who can communicate with Dragon Pokemon via a golden light. Sunset Shimmer, who was present here, could even dabble in it. She's spent a lot of time around Pokemon after all.
"Thanks for helping out, everyone. It's been a handful taking care of them. Even though they're so attracted to me." said Fluttershy. "Is it like this back at the otherworld?"
"You could say that." Twilight nodded in response. "I mean, there's a whole house of Pokemon that your other self made there. I guess this counts as one?"
"Well, they do flood up the place." Fluttershy picked up a Growlithe. "The animal shelter won't take them, unfortunately. They tend to be...pretty destructive."
"Last week, every animal fled the shelter once a Houndour claimed it." Sunset chuckled nervously. "Safe to say the owners were pretty mad about it."
"What about everywhere else?" Twilight asked. "Did something get destroyed in the process?"
"Let's see...." Sunset began listing the number of incidents revolving around the Pokemon. There was a lot to list due to how many months it's been since the Pokemon came here. An entire year. And to do that, she wrote a list of the most visible problems, showing them to Ash and the others.
A Snorlax ended up blazing through the school cafeteria and every other restaurant here.
People keep passing out after seeing an Inkay or Hypno.
Purugly just sits wherever it wants to.
The Impidimp and Nickit have stolen who knows how many things.
The Sableye won't stop eating from the jewellery store, making the place almost go bankrupt at this point.
Anyone that tries to pick up Stufful because they're so cute and cuddly gets flung with that supernatural strength.
The Spearow are just annoying to be around with all their pecking and chasing.
Loudred wakes up the neighbourhood all the time, mostly at night.
The Ghost-Type Pokemon keep freaking the kids out, making it hard for them to even go to school without leaving the house or for anyone else to walk around safely at night.
And Tyrogue picks a fight instantly with whoever looks at them funny. Same with the Electrode and that just sets off a chain reaction of explosions.
"So yeah. That's just a few," said Sunset. "But no need to worry as you say. Doctors, vets and professors from all around the world are doing their best to fully understand Pokemon. Soon, we'll be smooth sailing like your world. I mean, it took less time for you to get the hang of things, right?"
"Yeah. It took like 5 months for everyone in Equestria to get used to Pokemon." Ash spoke. "Things weren't super easy even with a bunch of help."
"Pika-Pika."
"Guess that makes it more fun to understand Pokemon, huh? But it's not all so peachy. Some Pokemon around here are tough to manage. Even for Fluttershy. We'd better fix it fast. Before some Pokemon ends up destroying a bunch of the land." Sunset put the list away.
"Hm...I think I know how we can have everyone handle it." Twilight snapped her fingers, coming up with an idea. "But what about the problems here? How about we help out with those first and clear them up."
"Oh, right. Well, the most common and frequent ones are the Snorlax, Purugly and Loudred. Thankfully, Pinkie Pie handled the Snorlax part without a problem. Now it lives at the Sweet Shoppe. Loudred is kinda simple to handle. But Purugly is something else. They kinda boss a bunch of us around." Sunset sighed.
"When did they start?" Spike asked.
"Just a week ago. But they're already major problems for just showing up." Sunset nodded while crossing her arms. "Rarity and few others had a pretty good idea. Keeping the Purugly as a house cat. But that's not going so great right now."
"One of them even smashed my windows because it wanted to sit here." Fluttershy went up to a window that had been smashed by a Purugly. Indeed, there wasn't just one Puruguly around.
"Purugly's gonna be tough though. But let's see what we can do!" Ash radiated his positive energy which bounced off everyone. When he trusted his fist in the air, so did Twilight, Sunset and Fluttershy. Pikachu, Espeon and Spike used their paws and hands.
They were all walking out of Fluttershy's home, ready to see what they could do in this town before the Pokemon turn it into their territory and overrun everything.
"Oh yeah. By the way. Do you guys remember what happened back at Everfree?" Sunset gave a quick reminder to Ash, Fluttershy and Spike about the small Everfree scenario. "The one with the Pangoro, missing people and sound waves?"
"Yeah?" The three of them nodded in confirmation.
"Something like that sound wave thing's been sorta happening again. But different with something bigger. Do you think it's the same person who put that radio there?" Sunset Shimmer asked.
"Could be." Twilight shrugged while walking beside her friends. "But aside from maybe Team Rocket, Plasma or the Umbrage Thieves, who in this world would try that?"
Crystal Prep Acadamy. Twilight's Room. Afternoon.
Over at the Crystal Prep Academy, parallel to the Crystal Empire and yet another school, there existed a room that belonged to one individual. Aside from the principal's office, a room for this world's Twilight Sparkle existed. Her own private room where she can conduct her research.
And right now, she certainly was performing some intensive research. And what else but on Pokemon. The Strange and Wonderful Creatures that are as bizarre as they are abundant.
Twilight had managed to gather up some valuable knowledge about Pokemon. Mainly by researching them. It's what she does best. However, she's also done what Pokemon Trainers commonly do. Catch Pokemon. And she found out about it frequently.
"Teleportation, hypnotization, super strength, super speed, flight, elemental manipulation. There's so much to go through. And these kinds of creatures are just roaming around." Twilight spoke. "I'm surprised no one's been hurt yet, right Spike?"
Spike responded with a simple bark.
"So I can use these to capture them." She held a Poke Ball in her hand. Poke Balls had now gained some recognition which was building up in this world after they had been discovered. Sunset Shimmer was to thank with that. "Sometimes it'll work, sometimes it won't. That's not very consistent."
She had a few Poke Balls out as Twilight had already figured out how the Pokemon worked. However, there were no Pokemon of her own. She has yet to catch one. But that test was about to happen.
"I think I know enough about them for now. Time to go for the real deal."
She was going to personally get a closer look at the Pokemon. So far, she's only seen them on her laptop, tv and outside due to sightings. Twilight has not interacted with Pokemon fully. She left her private room and the school without being seen. Then again, even though it was summer, she does tend to stay here for further learning.
Most of the students were off enjoying their summer vacation while few remained. Twilight walked out of the academy, having multiple Poke Balls and other necessary equipment at her disposal.
She knew of one area where Pokemon are most commonly found. There weren't many around the academy or where she lived anyway. However, that same area also had multiple energy signatures that Twilight's tracker formed. Not as grand as the Pokemon, but still grand.
The suburbs. Afternoon.
The suburban city of Canterlot. This was where her journey led her. Twilight rarely ever comes here if ever. This is actually her first time visiting this place. And she picked the right place to learn more about Pokemon.
Immediately, a crowd of Pokemon could be seen. And after the months that they've been around, the Pokemon and humans here have actually started to form bonds of their own. Now there were Pokemon that had Trainers. Even though the humans saw them as pets and preferred owners.
But she wasn't here for owned Pokemon. She was searching for wild Pokemon. Canterlot also had some Pokemon that were wild around here. Luckily for her, most of them could be found in the nearby forests and hills.
Twilight knew that this was dangerous. Pokemon are very powerful creatures, easily capable of crushing her like a twig or even obliterating her until she was nothing but ash. But she was ready. For science.
But in the same area as Twilight were Ash, Sunset, Fluttershy, Spike and the Twilight Sparkle from Equestria. Right now, this group were focused on the Purugly.
And there was certainly a lot of them. The Purugly basically owned Canterlot at this point. This suburban city was theirs. Their dominant and boss attitude made sure that barely anyone could deny them. They sit where they want. They sleep where they want. They eat where they want. Doesn't matter where or who they're facing.
Simple as that.
"Okay. There's a bunch so this won't be easy." Ash spoke. "Let's try and split up. Twilight, Eve. You can come with me and Pikachu."
"Oh. Sure!" Twilight could get behind that as she nodded aggressively. Ash, Pikachu, Eve and Twilight walked off in a different direction. At the same time, Twilight gave a fist pump while looking back at Sunset and Fluttershy. Twilight enjoys spending time with Ash for certain. She then let out a silent; "Yes!"
Meanwhile, Fluttershy, Spike, Axew and Sunset Shimmer would also form their own group. Each would deal with the Purugly in their own way. Ash's group was heading straight for the first spot with an abundance of Purugly. The Diner.
Already, the Purugly had made their mark by barging into the diner. With hunger in their stomachs, they went for the food here. The workers here had to stand by and watch as their food was being devoured by the Purugly. Customers were being lost because of this disruption. How can they enjoy their food if a group of giant cats are strolling along to eat it all for themselves?
Ash's group entered, witnessing the Purugly chow down the food and rule the diner. They had already devoured a plethora of food. The Tiger Cat Pokemon weren't ready to finish either.
"Oh, man. They've really taken over the place, huh?" Ash said.
"Pika."
"Purugly!" The Purugly meowed at the cashiers and workers, demanding more food. And the workers had to comply. Unfortunately, they couldn't stand up to these Pokemon. They didn't have Pokemon of their own as the Purugly stomped their paws on the table.
"Alright, alright! We'll get you some more!" The employee here whimpered as they got to work, making some more food for the Purugly. The sheer power of Purugly's stomp and being able to break the table threatened them even further.
"Let's just try and reason with them like we planned. Purugly's not that ferocious after all," said Twilight as she approached the first Purugly. "Hey, Purugly.
"Pur?" The eyes of the Tiger Cat Pokemon immediately locked onto Twilight. All of them. EVery Purugly in this room now focused on the Princess of Friendship.
"Uh..." Twilight froze on the spot as all eyes were on her. She then regained her composure, attempting to perform what Ash and Fluttershy are known for doing. Communicating with Pokemon on an equal level. "Hi. Just a moment of your time. You probably know this but-"
"Purug!"Not even a moment for Twilight to reason with them. The Purugly slapped aside a cup, causing it to fly past Twilight and shatter against the wall. The Tiger Cat Pokemon then started approaching Twilight from all front sides.
"!" Twilight's face scrunched as she soon realized that the Purugly chose not to listen to her. All of them stood up, giving serious stares to Twilight.
"Okay...You don't wanna talk. That's fine." Twilight backed away while the Purugly approached. She didn't expect them to be so aggressive. Now she could see why so many weren't brave enough to stand up to them.
And after Twilight's approach, the Purugly wanted her out of here. Espeon stood in front of her trainer, protecting Twilight from any harm as usual. Ash and Pikachu sighed as the peaceful approach wasn't becoming a reality as they were hoping for.
"I-If you're here to help, can you head to the forest too!" The cashier said while hiding behind the counter. "We're missing a lot of valuable things that you know...every diner needs."
"Ash, you can head to the forest quick and head back here!" Twilight recommended. "Eve and I can handle the Purugly."
"You got it!" Ash gave a thumbs up before rushing out of the diner. "Come on, Pikachu!"
"Pikachu!"
Meanwhile, with the other Twilight, she came across her own Purugly in the forest. Two of them. Both were hoarding items for themselves. A cash register with tons of money inside was one of them along with a menu sign. Most likely items that belonged to the diner. Twilight hid in a bush, spotting the two Pokemon for herself. She was a bit too nervous to go up to them, but Twilight was still curious about catching them.
"They look exactly like an average house cat but...a bit too rotund." She observed while whispering in the bushes. "At least 1.0 metres tall. They're bigger than your average house cat that's for sure." As she looked at the two Purugly further, Spike started barking.
After all, Spike is a dog and Purugly is a cat at the end of the day. Albeit a magical one. So it was natural for Spike to be agitated just by seeing the two of them. Plus, the two Purugly were starting to feud over their hoarded objects. Not only is this Pokemon a brazen brute, but it can be envious.
Just then, Spike jumped out of the bush, barking at the two Tiger Cat Pokemon. His natural canine instincts were hard to ignore or avoid at times. Most of the time is the correct term.
"Spike!" Twilight cried out, popping her head out of the bush. Now both she and Spike ended up alerting the two Puruguly, unfortunately. Now they were both targets. "Uh oh..."
"Purugly!" The two Purugly tossed aside their conflict over their hoarded items and chose to attack Twilight and Spike instead. They stomped their paws o the ground, causing a small tremor that made Spike jump. Spike shuddered at the tremor as he quickly scurried over to Twilight. He then hopped into Twilight's arms, whimpering.
The Purugly then attacked with the first one using Body Slam. The Tiger Cat Pokemon jumped into the air with its paws out, ready to drop onto both of them with its full body weight.
"Ah!" Twilight gasped as she made a run for it. And at the right moment. Purugly smashed into the ground, creating a crater that had its shape. The second Purugly then pursued Twilight and Spike, using Quick Attack. The Normal-Type lunged at its targets at a speed that made it almost invisible.
And of course, there was no way Twilight was avoiding this. She had been hit in the back by this Quick Attack at full force. She groaned and cried out as Spike fell out of her arms. Twilight then fell to the ground afterwards with her back slightly injured.
"Pur...!" Purugly then growled at Twilight, hissing while also approaching her. Twilight looked back as she started scurrying away while on the ground. Unfortunately, despite its massive size, Purugly is one fast cat.
Seeing that she couldn't outrun the Tiger Cat Pokemon, only one solution left. The Poke Ball. Twilight took out the first Poke Ball as she lunged it at Purugly.
"Pur?" Purugly looked up to see the catching device coming towards it. The Poke Ball touched Purugly's nose, automatically pulling the Tiger Cat Pokemon in with a red light. This was Twilight's first time witnessing the Pokemon enter the Poke Ball. And with it touching the ground, the results were pending as the Poke Ball started shaking.
1...2...Not quite. Purugly had broken free, shattering the Poke Ball as its anger towards Twilight and Spike grew even further, much to the chagrin of Twilight.
"Purugly!" The other Purugly had used Swift, jumping into the air, swinging its tail and sending out multiple star-shaped rays at its targets.
"Guess that didn't work!" Twilight cried out before picking Spike up again. She ran away from the incoming star-shaped rays. But that wasn't all that she had to worry about. The other Purugly had Dig in store. The star-shaped rays of Swift blew up each time they struck the ground, startling Twilight.
Twilight was aiming to get out of the forest as soon as she could. She knew the way out of here thankfully. However, her pathway to the exit would be blocked once the other Purugly emerged with Dig. By bursting out of the ground and creating a hole in it, Purugly startled them, blocking their way out of here.
Twilight backed away, almost falling over. Not after experiencing one of the rays from Swift blowing up near her. The explosion affected Twilight, causing a wind pressure that had pushed her and Spike away. Twilight screamed as she held Spike close to her.
She tumbled on the ground with her jacket being damaged in the process. All this time, she had made sure Spike wasn't injured in any way. With scratches showing on herself, Spike started whimpering as Twilight was now starting to feel a lot of pressure.
She sat up, breathing in and out as the Purugly started slowly walking up to her. Twilight realized that this whole experiment was a bust. But it was about to get worse.
"Arbok!" Jumping out of the shadows in these acres of trees was an Arbok. Twilight gasped as the Arbok appeared before her. And once it did, Arbok did what it was usually good at.
Arbok transfixed its prey with the face-like pattern on its belly. It's a sure-fire tactic that mostly works on weak and frightened individuals. And it certainly worked on the frightened Twilight. She looked at Arbok's pattern with fear and shock in her eyes and heart.
The Cobra Pokemon then slithered towards Twilight as the two Purugly walked off. Since Twilight had a new problem, they felt like they could leave it up to Arbok for this. Frozen with fear, Arbok took advantage of its victim, wrapping around Twilight and Spike.
Twilight closed her eyes as she could feel herself being bound, restrained and constricted. Her glasses were starting to fall off as she was whimpering just like Spike. Arbok hissed as it was ready to feed on them. And once Arbok wraps its body around its foe, escaping its crunching embrace is impossible.
With how things were looking, it looked impossible for Twilight and Spike to escape. Not until she heard the words of someone give out a command.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"
"Pikachu!" At lightning speeds, Pikachu had approached and tackled Arbok in the face with Quick Attack. A direct and full force attack too.
"Bok!" Arbok cried out as its focus on Twilight and Spike was disrupted, freeing her and Spike. The Cobra Pokemon then cried out as it now had an intensive stare towards the Mouse Pokemon, utilizing its patterns.
However, Pikachu wasn't afraid of Arbok. And it made sense considering which Pikachu this was and who the Trainer was. Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town.
Twilight panted as she noticed the arrival of Ash and Pikachu. They were here for the objects from the diner, but after spotting Twilight and Spike in peril, they switched rapidly.
"Arbok!" The Cobra Pokemon then lunged at Pikachu with Poison Jab ready on its tail.
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu also lunged forward as his tail clashed with Arbok's tail. However, Pikachu had used the immunity of Steel-Type towards Poison-Type to his advantage. With a cunning grin, Pikachu pushed Arbok's tail away with his overpowering Iron Tail.
"Ar!"
"Pika!" Pikachu then slapped the Cobra Pokemon in the face with Iron Tail, knocking it back. Twilight's jaw dropped as she was witnessing a Pokemon Battle for the first time.
"Ar...Arbok!" Arbok slid on the ground before firing Dark Pulse from its mouth.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu jumped into the air, slapping his face a couple of times as he summoned an aura of electricity. By doing so, Pikachu unleashed 100,000 volts of electricity from his body.
The bolt and pulse clashed, entering a short beam struggle. But one that Pikachu won easily as Thunderbolt tore through Dark Pulse like a black hole consuming light. Arbok's eyes widened as it had received a smite from Pikachu's Thunderbolt, feeling the punishment of 100,000 volts.
And with Thunderbolt striking and causing an outburst afterwards, a charred Arbok emerged from the smoke. Arbok quickly realized that it was outmatched. So, the smart option was to run away. And that is what it did, slithering off so that it wouldn't receive further punishment from Pikachu.
The Purugly had also witnessed this, seeing how powerful Pikachu was. Ash turned around to face the Purugly, but as soon as he did, they made a break for it, not wanting to be caught up in this mess. They had left the stolen items as well.
"Pikachu." Pikachu then turned to face Twilight and Spike, immediately recognizing their familiarity. "Pika?"
"That's two in one," Ash said whilst walking up to Twilight. "Are you okay?"
"Pikachu?"
"Oh hey..." As Ash held his hand out, he quickly recognized these faces too. "Twilight? Spike?"
"T-Thank you." Twilight grabbed his hand as she was helped up. "Do I know you? And what was that?"
"Pika..." Pikachu and Ash then looked at each other before Ash quickly realized what this was. He knew that Twilight was at the diner, dealing with the other Purugly.
"Oh, I get. You're this world's Twilight and Spike, right?"
"W-What?" Twilight squinted before blinking a few times. Her glasses almost fell off before they were adjusted. She wasn't sure what Ash was on about.
And Ash knew this. There was a lot to explain as not everyone in this world is aware of parallel universes and how the Pokemon managed to end up here.
"Ah, it's a long story." Ash laughed nervously. "If you want I can tell you about-"
"Yes!" Twilight bellowed. "You look like you know what you were doing back there! All those commands you gave to uh...um..." She then looked down at Pikachu, trying to figure out what he was. "W-What is that?"
"This is my partner Pikachu." Ash smiled before Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder. "My best friend and buddy."
"Pikachu!"
"And those...w-what were those things?" She referred to Arbok and the Purugly.
"Arbok and Purugly. I'll just run something short with you first."
5 minutes later.
Ash and Twilight sat down on a log with Ash explaining the quick gist of everything. How the crossing over of the worlds came to be. The Rift. The Pokemon and all events that have happened so far. At the same time, Pikachu was playing around with Spike.
"That's pretty much it. There's way more!" Ash spread his arms out.
"I...see..." Twilight nodded. "So that's why there are so many of them. And this is more frequent in a parallel world from here?"
"Oh yeah. There's a bunch you're missing out on. I mean, your parallel self's gone through a lot of it."
"I have a parallel version of myself?!" Twilight gasped as she was taking notes.
"Yeah. Oh, right. I should be getting back with the objects now." Ash adjusted his hat. "Sorry I couldn't stay around a bit more. But boy was it cool meeting another Twilight."
"Wait. Don't leave yet." Twilight stood up. "You're obviously an expert when it comes to this...Pokemon thing. Please, I need help understanding them. I mean, I almost got chewed up and slammed by them minutes ago."
"Pika-Pika?"
"These scientific creatures, I assume are so bizarre and hard to understand just as much as they are hard to reach. It'd be really helpful if you could assist me. IF that's okay with you."
"Sure thing." Ash nodded, giving hope to Twilight. "I can teach you a lot, no problem."
"Pikachu!"
"Really? Thank you! Here!" Twilight wrote something on her notebook before ripping some paper off. She then showed Ash her home address. "You can find me either at Crystal Prep Academy or my home."
"Got it." Ash took the paper. "How about I show up tomorrow?"
"That sounds good to me...um...What's your name?"
"My name's Ash Ketchum." Ash pointed at himself. "Nice to meet ya."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Well, Ash. Thanks for saving me back there and thanks for offering to help. Hope I can see you tomorrow. I-If I don't get eaten by a Pokemon. Actually, um..." Twilight scratched her hair. "This forest is a bit too dangerous, can you help me out of here?"
"Sure. Where to?" Ash walked beside Twilight.
"Crystal Prep Academy is fine with me," Twilight spoke as they made their way towards Crystal Prep. Along the way, they started chatting. And Ash took this as a great opportunity to continue telling and teaching Twilight about Pokemon. While they still have the time.
Back at the diner. 7 minutes later.
After that was said and done, Ash returned to the diner with the stolen objects. Plus the money was safe inside. And at the diner, Twilight had tamed the Purugly, surprisingly.
"Woah. You calmed them all down?" Ash gawked.
"Mhm." Twilight scratched an itch on a Purugly. "I just did what I do to Eve when she's stressed out. After all, they're cats, right?"
"Pur...."
"Awesome. Okay, here's your stuff back." Ash placed the cashier down on the table while still holding the sign. "Sorry, the menu sign's a bit broken."
"It's fine. We can figure something out." The cashier said, taking the sign. "Thank you all so much for your help. We would've gone bankrupt and out of business at this rate."
"You're welcome. Alright, how are Sunset and the others doing?" Ash wondered about the rest of his friends. Right on time. Sunset and the others had arrived with tattered clothes and messy hair.
"Oh! What happened to you all?!" Twilight sat up.
"It's cool..." Sunset trembled with a thumbs up and a nervous grin. "Took care of the Purugly. Found a pretty good place for them to stay at."
"It wasn't easy..." Fluttershy chuckled nervously as Spike and Axew had fainted.
"Okay. I think it's time we called it a day." Twilight picked Spike and Axew up as they were no sound asleep after fainting. They dealt with the Purugly problem. Short and sweet in the end.
Ash and the others could return home now.
But as they were turning home with Sunset and Fluttershy heading to their respective abodes, Ash decided to drop something massive on Twilight, regarding what had just happened today.
"You met an alternate version of me?! Here?!" Twilight gasped.
"Mhm. Right at a forest." Ash responded. "I promised I'd help her understand and learn about Pokemon too. So I'll be heading there tomorrow to help out." He then showed Twilight the note her other self gave her. "Guess everyone's got an equal in this world, huh?"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"That's a bit bizarre...Then again I should've seen it coming." Twilight chuckled. "What do you think would happen if we met? I mean, would time, space and all of reality break apart?"
"Uhh...not sure." Ash pondered as they approached the portal. "I mean, I met Red and you met the Empress right?"
"Yeah. Probably nothing big. Oh, by the way." Twilight then twirled her hair. "Just this coming month and pretty soon, the Grand Galloping Gala's closing in. I know this hasn't happened before but...would you dance with me, Ash?"
"Sure. But uhh...I'm not that great at dancing." Ash laughed even though he had taken some dance lessons in Kalos. But he was still a novice.
"I can show you a thing or two." Those were the last words she said in this world before jumping right through the portal with Ash.
Ash now had made a promise to return tomorrow for a new friend he had just made. Technically, the same friend as the one he already has but not really. Parallel worlds sure are a befuddling enigma. But that adds to the excitement of them as the journey continues.
Just as he promised, Ash had arrived at Twilight's home to assist this world's Twilight in the knowledge of Pokemon. And there was a lot to inform her about. Ash would let her get caught up to speed with it.
"Ash!" Twilight opened the door. "You actually came! That rarely happens."
"Yeah. Got a bit lost. This place is huge and new, ya know."
"Pikachu."
"Thanks for showing up in the end," said Twilight. "I don't normally get visitors or guests here. Only my parents. So you're the first one here. But helping me with something that catches my interest is something I really appreciate."
"No problem. So you've been researching Pokemon in here all the time? Since last year?" Ash spoke.
"Not last year. 5 months ago really. And most of it was over at Crystal Prep Academy." Twilight replied as Pikachu started playing around with Spike. "I'm a bit late to it all, being coupled up in my room here. Then again, everyone in the world is way behind as compared to your world and the parallel one. But that's why you're here, right? To bring me up to speed."
"Sure am. There's a lot so your other self gave me these!" Ash then took out of his bag multiple books that he borrowed from Twilight just yesterday. "This should work."
"Oh, it will!" Twilight grabbed one of the books with high excitement and enthusiasm. "It'll do nicely. But experiencing the real deal works too. Like your Pikachu. How does it work really? Conducting electricity and iron at the same time. It would have to have AC to DC energy in it for that."
"Oh, that's Infinity Energy." Ash kneeled to face Pikachu who was carrying Spike on his back.
"Infinity Energy?"
"Yeah. It's like the power source of every Pokemon out there. It's also where they all get their strength from and how they use attacks. It's pretty neat stuff. There's even Aura, which is the life force. I've got a bunch of Aura in me. And so does Lucario."
"Aura? Infinity Energy?" Twilight was getting all of this down. "So this Infinity Energy, is it endless as the title of it suggests?"
"Pretty much. It kinda never stops going no matter what. Even Pokemon that aren't naturally made can use it. Man, even Ghosts can use it too!" Ash raised his arms. "It's pretty neat and nifty. That's how Pikachu uses his attacks. When he's shooting out a Thunderbolt, he's letting out a ton of Electric Infinity Energy. Same for everyone else. All 18 types."
"Pika-Pika." Pikachu nodded as he demonstrated by conducting a spark of electricity on his finger.
"Ooh!" Twilight gawked. "Then what about Aura?! And what's a Lucario?"
"Oh, right." Ash selected one of his Poke Balls with Lucario inside. He also had his Pokedex ready to really blow Twilight's mind. "Come out, Lucario."
"Lucario."
"A...jackal...?" Twilight's jaw dropped. "I thought they were only from Egyptian times and a complete myth! And how come it's so...humanoid?"
"Lucario's the Pokemon with the biggest amount of Aura. No one has it better than him, right pal?"
"Lu."
"And check this out." For further shock towards Twilight, Ash revealed the Pokedex to her. The ultimate device for knowing Pokemon, even rivalling books. "This is the Pokedex. A bunch of stuff that you wanna know about Pokemon is in here. It's like an encyclopedia.
"Really now?" Twilight went up to the Pokedex, adjusting her glasses to take a closer look at it. "And how does it work."
"Like this. Check it out." Ash gave a quick demonstration by aiming the Pokedex at Lucario, allowing it to read his entry out loud.
"Lucario. The Aura Pokemon. It has the ability to sense the auras of all things. It understands human speech. By catching the aura emanating from others, it can read their thoughts and movements. A well-trained one can sense auras to identify and take in the feelings of creatures over half a mile away. It concentrates its mental energy and fires off mysterious waves called Aura Waves, which can crush boulders of large size to dust. Only Trainers who have justice in their hearts can earn this Pokémon’s trust."
"Ooho!" Twilight interest had been shot up once more as she even took interest in the Pokedex. "You weren't kidding! Everything?!"
"Yeah! Boy, I'll tell ya, these things have come in handy a bunch in the past. Plus it's super fun to look at how much you've got sometimes."
"Can I see and test it myself? And do you have more Pokemon with you?"
"Sure do. Come out, guys!" Ash took out all of his Poke Balls, throwing him into the air. Almost all of them, he held Dragonite's Poke Ball mostly due to the size of the Dragon Pokemon. Aside from that, out came Gengar, Galarian Farfetch'd and Dracovish.
"Gengar!"
"Farfetch'd."
"Draco! Dracovish!"
"Check it out! The rest of my Pokemon. Well, almost. Dragonite's pretty big to fit in here." Ash looked at Dragonite's Poke Ball.
"You have a Dragon?!" Twilight gasped before being handed the Pokedex. "And what even is that thing? What creature is it based on? An imp maybe?" She pointed over at Gengar, who was zooming across the room, giggling about.
"Gen-Gengar!"
"Oh, no. Gengar's a Ghost."
"Ghost?!" Twilight squeaked from that as Gengar appeared in front of her, giving the student a sudden scare.
"Gen!"
"Aaaah!" Twilight screeched as she fell on her back after seeing Gengar's face. The Shadow Pokemon then giggled playfully, doing what it does best. "Oh..."
"Sorry about that." Ash chuckled. "Gengar does that a lot. It's also a Ghost-Type's way of saying hi."
"Gengar.
"Ghosts, Jackals and Dragons, oh my." Twilight held her hair before standing up. "Here I thought they were just animals and fantasy creatures. I would've never expected some like a ghost. And what's wrong with that...fish?" She referred to Dracovish.
"Right. Dracovish here is a Fossil Pokemon from the Galar Region." Ash patted Dracovish on the back which prompted the Fossil Pokemon to bite on his head. As is tradition. "Ow..."
"This is a fossil? How so? Fossils are well...meant to hold what used to be a creature in the past. There's no way they can ever come back unless you were to go back in time or something like that.
"That's the awesome part about the Pokemon World!" Ash spread his arms out while having Dracovish gnaw on his head. Twilight was a bit worried about that. "We've got machines that can revive Fossil Pokemon too. There's a couple of 'em like Aerodactyle, Carracosta, Archeops, Tyrantrum and so much more! And it gets better. Farfetch'd here's got a different appearance."
"Different appearance?" Twilight kneeled to face Farfetch'd. The Wild Duck Pokemon merely closed his eyes, shifting them away from Twilight. "Hmph. Rude."
"Yeah. You see, this is a Galarian Farfetch'd." Ash began explaining. "A different form of Farfetch'd that comes from the Galar Region. And you know what that means?"
"That there's..." Twilight started building up her thinking process before reaching the answer. "Another variant out there?!"
"Mhm! The Kantonian Farfetch'd! Check this out." Ash then showed Twilight the two different Farfetch'd. One from Kanto which was a Normal-Type and the other from Galar which was a Fighting-Type. "They're not the only ones. There's even more. There's Alolan Pokemon too. And uh...I don't know if there are other regional variants out there, but I'm gonna take a good guess and say that there are."
"Okay," Twilight noted everything down on her laptop and notebook, being a great multitasker. "This is great so far. I'm loving this already." She giggled, finding massive enjoyment in learning something new and wonderful. "But you're going a bit too fast, Ash. I want to research the Pokemon one at a time before rushing things, ya know."
"Oh, okay, I gotcha." Ash understood Twilight's decision. Indeed, Twilight wasn't super eager to hear or experience rapid-fire discoveries. She prefers her research to have a stable time where she can take everything in and properly keep up with things.
"So anyway, let's try our first Pokemon activity. Any way on how to? I forgot to make a list of what we could do today, so your call."
"How does catching a Pokemon sound?"
"Well, I tried that on the Purugly but..." Twilight pouted. "That didn't work out. I thought you just had to throw the ball and they'd be inside and captured. Maybe another time. I want to stick to just researching them rather than catching them right now.
"There's way more to it. But I'll show you later. How about we head out and research some Pokemon then? There's a bunch you just gotta see."
"Outside? Oh well...I'm a bit nervous. Last time those cat Pokemon and snake Pokemon almost cut my life short. Not sure that it's safe to be out there with the Pokemon. But everyone else looks like they can handle it."
"No need to worry. Pikachu and I will keep you safe." Ash and Pikachu pointed at themselves. "So you don't have to be attacked by anyone. How does that sound?"
"Pika-Pika."
"You're the expert here, so sure." Twilight sat up. "Just nothing too extreme, okay? Just so that Spike doesn't get rattled and everything."
"Roger that." Ash saluted along with Pikachu. He returned his Pokemon as Twilight followed Ash to wherever they would go. Most likely another forest out there.
Out in the forest. Day.
"So there's more than one of these Poke Balls?" Twilight spoke while walking with Ash through a forest. A forest is always the best place to start when searching for Pokemon. There's a guarantee that there will be some.
"Yeah. There's Great Balls, Ultra Balls, Premier Balls, Dusk Balls, Quick Balls a whole bunch!" Ash listed them all while pushing some vines away. "But the real heavy hitter is the Master Ball. It can always catch a Pokemon without fail, no matter what."
"So then...why doesn't everyone just use that kind of Poke Ball then?"
"Master Ball's are super rare, so it's not that easy." Ash chuckled before spotting his first Pokemon. "Ah, that's great!"
"What? What did you see?" Twilight walked beside Ash who had just currently stopped. Twilight soon saw what Ash saw. A group of Whimsicott. Certainly, a good Pokemon to start with. Adorable, beautiful, easily approachable, safe and powerful as well.
"Whim! Whimsicott!" The Windveiled Pokemon started dancing around, drifting on the wind with their light bodies. They were even manipulating the wind too.
"Flying cotton?" Twilight tilted her head.
"Those are Whimsicott. Check it out." Ash took out the Pokedex for her, scanning the Whimsicott.
"Whimsicott. The Windveiled Pokemon. Whimsicott doesn’t live in a fixed location. It floats around on whirling winds, appearing all over the place to perform its mischief by scattering cotton all over the place as a prank. If it gets wet, it’ll become too heavy to move and have no choice but to answer for its mischief. Like the wind, it can slip through any gap, no matter how small. As long as this Pokémon bathes in sunlight, its cotton keeps growing. If too much cotton fluff builds up, Whimsicott tears it off and scatters it."
"A living being of cotton. It's like a sheep or something." Twilight observed as Ash approached the Whimiscott, causing her to gasp. "Hey! Ash! What are you doing?!"
"It's fine," Ash said while standing next to the Grass-Fairy-Types. "Whimsicott are safe. But they can pretty powerful and dangerous when they want to. Right you guys?"
"Whimsicott!" The Whimsicott confirmed that with approving nods. They could sense Ash's aura, knowing that he was pleasant to be around. Twilight saw that it was currently safe without any danger nearby. Plus, she was curious about how a Pokemon felt. Mainly Whimsicott and all that cotton.
Twilight was cautious about approaching them, but Ash encouraged her to give it a go. Having Ash's encouragement affect her, Twilight walked of the acre of trees, approaching the group of Whimsicott.
And once she did, she stood by them, surprised and pleased to see that they weren't attacking at all. After all, these are Fairy-Type Pokemon. Most of the time, they are just naturally kind. But there are some exceptions.
"Cott? Whimsicott." One of the Whimsicott approached Twilight, spinning around her playfully while also using some of its cottons. With a playful attitude, the Whimsicott placed a cotton ball on Twilight's hair, giggling. "Whimsicott!"
"Hey!" Twilight held her hair, taking the cotton off while the Whimsicott backed away, hiding behind its friends and chuckling at its own mischief. "Is playful one of them?"
"Eeyup," Ash said Big Mac's catchphrase with a thumbs up. "Oh hey check this out too. Ready to see some Fairy, or maybe Grass-Type moves?"
"Grass I can understand. But Fairy? Are you talking fairy tales or like, the mythical creature fairy?" Twilight wondered as she kept removing some of the leftover cotton balls. She was curious about what the Fairy-Type was.
"Well, Fairy's a lot like magic. Then again, most Pokemon are kinda magical creatures."
"Magic? I don't know about that..." Twilight pouted while looking to the side. She wasn't really a firm believer in magic. She was a science person rather than a magic person. After all, in her eyes, science explains almost everything. Although it's hard to describe what the Rift counts as. "All of this seems more scientific than magic. Right?"
"Well, you're not wrong. There are some scientific Pokemon out there that aren't magic. But most of them are. Like, a bunch." Ash then held a Whimiscott that flew up to him. "Hey, Whimiscott. Show her what you can do."
"Whimsi...Cott!" With pleasure, Whimiscott used a Pokemon move for Twilight to see. This move was Fairy Wind. By spinning around, the Windveiled Pokemon formed a pink tornado, but in the process, also carrying Ash in it.
"Huh? Hey, wait a minute..." Ash quickly realized that he was still grabbing Whimsicott. And Whimsicott planned this, making its cotton sticky so that Ash couldn't break free so easily. Thus, Ash was being carried and spun around by a pink tornado.
"Ash!"
"PikaPi?!"
"Woah!" Ash cried out as Whimsicott and its fellow Whimsicott giggled. Afterwards, the playful Whimsicott lowered Fairy Wind once it had some good fun. But, after ending Fairy Wind and making the cotton less sticky, Ash had been flung off by the wind pressure, crashing into a tree.
"Oh my goodness!" Ash are you okay?!" Twilight ran up to him. She expected him to be hurt and wincing in pain. But to her surprise, Ash was chuckling along with Pikachu and the Whimsicott. As if nothing bad had happened.
"No need to worry!" He gave his signature grin as Twilight looked at the Whimsicott and Ash, confused as to how they just brushed it off. It looked like it hurt. But Ash has taken worse punishment before. "Pretty neat how the Whimsicott can do that, right?"
"It is neat I guess. Was that really Fairy Magic?"
"Yep. The real deal." Ash stood up, removing some of Whimsicott's cotton off. "There's a bunch more. Guess I should show you Dragonite." He then dug into his pocket, taking out Dragonite's Poke Ball. Twilight was eager to see what a Dragon truly looked like in real life aside from a book or screen.
But it wasn't as massive as she expected. Not something that could tower over skyscrapers. Instead, Dragonite, while still massive compared to humans, ponies and some Pokemon, was playful and innocent looking. At least this Dragonite. There are some exceptions. Twilight recognized this dragon as a cartoon dragon she sees in kid's shows.
"Dragonite!"
"Oh my...An actual dragon..." Twilight backed away, dropping her notepad. The moment she made movements, Dragonite's eyes were locked onto her.
"Dragonite here's a Dragon-Type. They're magic in its purest form." Ash went up to the Dragon Pokemon, patting her in the stomach. Dragonite greatly enjoyed that. "Dragonite. This is this world's Twilight. You know, the one where Sunset lives now?"
"Go...? Dragonite!" Dragonite understood what Ash meant as she now had a new friend within her vicinity. To show her gratitude, Dragonite approached the student with open arms, ready to give her signature warm hug. However, to Twilight, this looked like an attack with how Dragonite was approaching her, wings spread and everything.
"Aaaah!" Twilight screeched, closing her eyes as she was never going to outrun a Dragonite. She braced herself for the worst, but there was no need to worry. Before she knew it, with a massive shadow covering her, Twilight could feel something grabbing her. But not with vigour or aggression. This grab had a gentle and soft feeling.
Actually, it wasn't a grab at all. It was a hug. This world's Twilight was graced with the wonderful and calming hugs of Dragonite. And they were certainly calming. Once she realized what was happening and she looked up at the Dragon Pokemon, Twilight ended up melting in the embrace of Dragonite.
"So warm..." Twilight let out a pleasing smile with her glasses falling off. She felt like she was in paradise. Somehow, Spike had been dragged into the hug as he felt the warmth of it, howling happily.
"No one hugs better than Dragonite. Except maybe Pheromosa," said Ash.
"Pikachu."
"Mmm...Anyway!" Twilight quickly broke up the hug before zooming over, raising her bag. "Now that we're here and haven't been attacked yet...now's a good time to set everything up." Out of her bag, she brought out recording gear. Mainly a large camera and a stand for it. She even had a table ready for all of this. "There. This should be good."
"You're going full force with this research, aren't you?"
"Of course, I am. I always go full force." Twilight set up everything that she had in her bag with the Whimsicott pressing their faces on the camera. "Today, we can sightsee the Pokemon and learn about how they act. Tomorrow and the days after that, it's learning about moves and how they work. Just like before, I can try and use what I've made to interact with the Pokemon."
"What you've made? Like...?" Ash wasn't sure about what inventions Twilight had built. She knew about the Equestrian Twilight's inventions for sure. How little they may be in abundance.
"I made specialized whistle since some Pokemon are apparently like dogs. Any use of this will allow every canine-like Pokemon to respond." Twilight raised up a custom made whistle. "A tracker for the energies the Pokemon exude. They do let out a lot. Like...a lot. Plus, there was that music box that got trashed. So much for that one."
"Music box?" Hearing that brought Ash back a bit with some quick memories. He remembered back when he and his friends found a music box at the Everfree Forest which was causing the Pokemon to act aggressively. Funnily enough, dog whistles were also mentioned during that scenario. "Wait, that was yours?!"
"Pikachu?!"
"Hm? You thrashed my music box?!" Twilight gasped before giving a not-so-pleasant expression to Ash.
"Well no. A Pokemon Battle kinda messed with it." Ash shrugged. "But why'd you place it there? The Pokemon were getting all aggressive from the sound it made."
"I planned that. I wanted to know more about Pokemon in various ways, so I fine-tuned that music box to try and see how they would respond. I couldn't get to any of them at all. All it did was just anger them even though they wouldn't stop listening to it. I didn't mean to aggravate them anyway." Twilight then looked to the ground, feeling guilty for that.
"Pika-Pikachu." Pikachu then patted Twilight on the back, reassuring her that it was alright. Twilight was surprised that the Mouse Pokemon was able to convey emotions and mannerisms like her.
"Wow...You're pretty smart to do that." Twilight gawked.
"Pika-Pika."
"Okay. Let's see what's first. Aside from already knowing what the Whimsicott can do." Twilight held the camera, navigating it to find her new sight. Up ahead, she found her first catch.
Emerging from the lake was a School Form Wishiwashi, bringing a ton of water with it as everyone's attention turned to it. That was Twilight's first looked at a specialized form.
"Look at the size of that fish!" She gazed at the ferocity and scale of the Small Fry Pokemon. "Ash! Record, it quick!"
"Ah, gotcha!" Ash quickly dug into his pocket, pulling out the ultimate Pokemon Encyclopedia, the Pokedex once more.
"Wishiwashi. The Small Fry Pokemon. School Form. Wishiwashi assemble in this formation to face off against strong foes. It boasts a strength that earned it the name 'Demon of the Sea'. At their appearance, even Gyarados will flee. When they team up to use Water Gun, its power exceeds that of Hydro Pump. But if they get wounded in battle, they’ll scatter and become solitary again."
"I see. A School form." Twilight wrote it down after hearing the Pokedex. Wishiwashi then crashed down on the lake, creating a massive splash. "Gathering together forms something like that. Is that the same for all Pokemon?"
"Nah, not all of them. But that's Wishiwashi's ability Schooling. Let's it turn into that."
"Schooling? Abilities? Okay, what can you tell me about that?"
"Every Pokemon's got an ability. Boy, are there a lot. Pikachu here has Static. Any damaging contact with him and there's a chance you'll be paralyzed." Ash patted Pikachu on the head. "Plus, another Pikachu out there could have Lightning Rod as another ability. Some even have ones that are unique to them and all of that."
"Well, I know what we're studying tomorrow." Twilight wrote abilities down as she had something new to look forward to. She was amazed at how much Pokemon had to offer. Moves, abilities, special forms, regional variants, typings and more. There was an abundance and no shortage of them. She then focused her camera on Dragonite, seeing it spend time with the Whimsicott. They started flying around together afterwards while Pikachu dug into Ash's bag for food.
"You know...how about we try something ambitious. Can we try riding on a Pokemon?" Twilight then asked Ash who had his face covered in cotton. Ash removed the cotton once his voice became muffled.
"Sure thing. Dragonite's a good start. Let's head for a fly!" Ash exclaimed before hopping onto the Dragon Pokemon's back. Pikachu lunged onto his partner's shoulder, as always. "Come on, Twilight."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Right. I didn't think it would happen actually." Twilight chuckled before walking up to Dragonite. Ash held his hand out to assist her upwards. Thankfully, Dragonite was big enough to hold two humans, possibly even three if she tried. Twilight groaned a bit when being pulled up as she had to adjust herself. This was her first time getting on the back of a dragon of all things. Perhaps not the size she wanted.
"Whim! Whimsicott!" And the Whimsicott were eager to have a flying session with Dragonite as well. Twilight held onto Ash's back, a bit nervous about what this could be. Even though she came up with the idea.
"Okay! Come on, let's fly!" Ash shouted, raising his fist in the air.
"Pikachu!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite let out an excited roar as she was ready to take off. She was building up speed by flapping her wings, ready to give them the fly of a lifetime.
"Let's be a bit careful. I'm kind of afraid of-" Just as Twilight said that, Dragonite started flying through the air at a well-paced speed. "heeeeeeiiights!"
The Dragon Pokemon was now carrying them through the skies with the Whimsicott chasing after them. Twilight started shaking, holding onto Ash tightly for dear life as she closed her eyes. She already knew that Dragonite was high up at this point.
But afterwards, she opened her eyes, seeing how high they were. Obviously, it was pretty high, but something majestic caught Twilight's eye. Being this high up meant that there were clearer views of the azure skies. And flying in these skies were Flying-Type Pokemon of different kinds.
A flock of Pidgeot and Swellow could be seen flying in unison, left to right. The Whimsicott spun around Dragonite as well, leaving behind some cotton in the air. Twilight took a moment to take in this view as the Pidgeot and Swellow got closer to her.
And with this view of the Whimsicott, Pidgeot and Swellow, being so high up wasn't so bad after that. Also showing up in the air, without needing to fly, rather jumping incredibly high was two Jumpluff.
"Jumpluff!" Jumpluff passed by Twilight, leaving behind cotton spores. Those spores caused her to sneeze a small bit along with Pikachu.
"Achoo!"
"Pika...chu!"
Then, Dragonite decided to descend a bit. And by descending, she and everyone were closer to the Pokemon that could only go so high. Mostly levitation and hovering rather than flying. Not only that but they were gifted with the sight of what was below, seeing the full scope of the forest and how the Pokemon had influenced it.
Twilight gawked, seeing the beautiful flowers of the Floette and how they danced with it. Speaking of dancing, she saw the Bellossom dance with the Ludicolo. Three dancers in the same spot with equal enthusiasm, although Ludicolo was bigger, was something to behold.
A smile graced her face as she was seeing just how wonderful these strange creatures can be. The lake wasn't exempt from her view. Dragonite's shadow could slightly be seen in the water as a variety of Water-Type Pokemon emerged, swimming at great speeds. Twilight witnessed how some Pokemon live in groups, big or small and bond together with either family or friends.
The same Wishiwashi could be seen dashing through the lake with a Mudkip and Spheal sitting on it. Despite being called the "Demon of the Sea", they can be friendly Pokemon and allow other Water-Types to sit on top of them. Until their form ends that is.
Twilight kept her gaze at the area around her as she felt something land on her head. A Togetic. It was also flying about and had ended up landing on Twilight's head.
Usually, this is Swablu's role. Twilight looked up to the Happiness Pokemon hold onto her head. Afterwards, Togetic giggled, flying off while spreading some joy dust on Twilight.
"Togetic!"
"This is amazing..." Twilight uttered with disbelief.
"It sure is." Ash nodded after seeing Twilight's enjoyment. Afterwards, Dragonite's flying session would come to an end. She flew back to the spot where Twilight's equipment was. Ash waved goodbye to the Flying-Types along with Pikachu and Twilight.
Dragonite descended, returning to the area after that eventful flight. And Twilight definitely enjoyed it. She hopped off the Dragon Pokemon's back
"That was amazing!" Twilight giggled with excitement. "So much for being afraid of heights, right?! Did you see all of those Pokemon, Ash!" Out of pure rush, she held Ash's shoulders, shaking him and Pikachu. "All of those Pokemon! I've been missing out!"
"Y-Yeah I-I saw!" Ash stuttered while being shaken. Twilight then let go, taking in deep breaths as she had never felt so much enjoyment before.
"Hoh...That was worth it."
"Mhm." Ash nodded before having his stomach growl along with Pikachu's. That meant only one thing. "But we're kinda hungry right now. Got any food?"
"Pikachu."
"No, but...how does the diner sound? I mean, I've never gone there so..." Twilight shrugged.
"Works for us!" Ash laughed with his arms crossed along with Pikachu. They truly were in perfect sync.
"Pikachu!"
The Diner. Afternoon.
"Mmm!" Already, Ash and Pikachu were devouring the food in front of them. Since Ash helped with the diner and Purugly problem yesterday with the other Twilight, he received free food for today. "So good!"
"Pikachu!"
"Do you two have manners?"
"So! Do you wanna keep sightseeing?" Ash asked while drinking some soda.
"That Dragonite flight was perfect sightseeing. That view was just so beautiful." Twilight gushed, thinking about the wonderful view she had seen. "If I'm being honest, that definitely beats out the camera."
"Then let's give it another go. Sound good?"
"Well...sure!" Twilight thought about it before approving. But at that moment, Ash remembered something as he swallowed his food.
"Right! I gotta help Rainbow Dash right now!" Ash stood up. "Sorry, Twilight. But we can continue this next time if that's okay with you."
"Oh, no it's fine. I had a blast today anyway." She flailed her hand. "But thanks for spending time with me Ash. I haven't had this much fun with someone since I was little. It's a great feeling I missed."
"Isn't it? And I'll be back soon. Just give me a few days, okay?" Ash put his fist out for a fist bump. Twilight isn't that fond of fist bumps as she's never done one before. But this would be a first. She could trust Ash with it as at this point, she and Ash had become friends.
"Sure." Twilight gave him a fist bump back. "I'll be waiting."
"Right. Come on, Pikachu!" Ash and Pikachu then rushed out of the diner to get back to Equestria as soon as they could. "See ya soon, Twilight!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"See you, Ash." Now that Ash was gone, Twilight was with Spike only once more. But even still, being around someone she could call a friend was wonderful. After working in a private room for so long and having barely any guests come over to her home, if not at all, having someone do all of that worked out of her. Twilight had a great smile on her face as she looked at a Poke Ball in her hand.
She wondered what else she could look forward to and what Ash has to show. She waits eagerly for his return to truly understand the World of Pokemon as the journey continues.
At the moment, Summer School was in progress for the Pokemon School. Even during summer, it was still active. There were few teachers in this school at the moment. Most were over at their own regions, enjoying their vacation.
One of them was Olympia, who had a lot of free time on her hands along with Roxanne. Speaking of which, showing up to the Pokemon School was Rainbow Dash.
After her loss to Ms Harshwinny in the sixth gym, she wished to improve and get past Harshwinny's unpredictable tactics. To do that, she's obviously been training with Ash for improvements. But more importantly, to head to the one trainer that taught Harshwinny some tricks.
Olympia.
"Can I help you?" Olympia opened her classroom door, spotting Ash and Rainbow Dash.
"Ms Olympia!" Rainbow Dash roared, startling the Kalos Gym Leader and making her heart race. "You gotta teach me some tricks to beat Ms Harshwinny!"
"Oh my goodness..." Olympia sighed, taking a deep breath as her heart was racing. She held her chest before calming down at last. "Rainbow Dash. Don't scare me like that. Are you and Ash here for summer school?"
"Kinda. You see..." Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head. "I had my sixth Gym Battle with Ms Harshwinny three days ago. And boy it didn't go so well. She had me beat in everything. I lost cause I didn't know what she could do. They weren't kidding when they said unpredictable and-"
"Stop right there." Olympia swiftly halted Rainbow Dash's speech. "I can see why you're here. Yes, I've been hearing of Ms Harshwinny and her Gym. Apparently, the hardest Gym Leader in Equestria to get past. There are even rumours of her becoming the 8th and final Gym Leader."
"Yeah. I can see that." Rainbow Dash lowered her eyes as she had a first-hoof experience on how powerful Ms Harshwinny was. "And apparently, you taught her some tricks and so did Norman. I want to beat her when I Have a rematch. So I know what to expect."
"And you came to me." Olympia nodded. "Well, Norman isn't here but I certainly am. Are you sure your chances of defeating Harshwinny will increase if you were to learn from me?"
"Well..." Rainbow Dash was about to shot out before taking in Olympia's question. There was a lot more thought to it after all. "Yeah. I guess?"
"Hm. I see your approach." Olympia smiled, holding her chin while thinking for a moment. "And I assume Ash has been training you, like always?"
"Sure have," Ash confirmed with a thumbs up.
"Pikachu."
"So can you teach me something? I mean, you probably know all of her tricks right?" Rainbow Dash flew up to Olympia's face, pleading.
"I taught her some moves along with Norman, yes. But Harshwinny perfected them. She found a way to use each move correctly at the right time against the right opponents, even if she was facing them for the first time. A truly professional Pokemon Trainer if I do say so myself. That doesn't mean I can't help you."
"Yes!" Rainbow Dash cheered. "So what can you teach me? Anything great."
"I won't teach you what I taught Harshwinny. Instead, I'll have a different kind of experience for you. And it involves the assistance of a Pokemon Trainer over at Kalos."
"Sure! But...who?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed before wondering which trainer Olympia was talking about. That trainer has yet to be seen.
Kalos Region. Anistar City. Afternoon.
At Anistar City, near the Pokemon Showcase Theater, there existed a small building that had the words 'Ace Trainer Works' on it. This was where Olympia led them and where this mystery trainer can be found. And when entering the door, they came across the first person in here.
"There you are, Kardia," said Olympia to the Pokemon Trainer.
"Ms Olympia," Kardia responded before walking up to the Anistar City Gym Leader, shaking her hand.
"Ash. Rainbow Dash. This is Kardia. An Ace Trainer from the Holon Region and the one who will give you the advice you need." Olympia introduced.
"Hold on...Holon?!" Ash and Pikachu shot up after hearing that. The same region Twilight mentioned about. "The Holon Region?!"
"Pika?!"
"Sure am." Kardia greeted with a wave. "Straight from the centre of Mirage Forest. Great to meet you all. Do you need something from me today?"
"Yeah. Olympia told us you would be the one to teach me some training tips for dealing with unpredictable trainers." Rainbow Dash explained. "Can you do it?"
"Oh, is that why? I rarely get some of that around here." Kardia chuckled after hearing that.
"Kardia is an Ace Trainer that is well known for inventing various provisional and unforeseeable skills when in a Pokemon Battle. From where she comes from, she's known as the Wild Card Trainer back home. Similar to Ash as well."
"Are you a wild card too, Ash?" Kardia asked.
"Ash is the biggest wild card you'll ever meet." Rainbow Dash patted Ash on the back. "Guy comes up with some of the weirdest tricks out there."
"Thanks, Dash."
"Learning from two wild cards can better your skills, Rainbow Dash," said Olympia. "And as a bonus, Kardia here has access to many moves that Ms Harshwinny may have. After all, you have seen her Poke Balls and how abundant they are."
"Yeah. Boy did she have a lot..." Rainbow's eyes shot up to the ceiling, recalling the amount of Poke Balls she saw back at Harshwinny's Gym. There were a lot for sure. And there is a good chance that whatever Pokemon was within them were made for every situation.
"Then you can count on her." Olympia chattered as Kardia stepped forward, getting closer to Ash and Rainbow Dash. "She taught her Pokemon many moves that no one expects. From what you're saying Rainbow Dash, it's more along the lines of what kind of moves you are going up against."
"What kind of moves...?" Rainbow Dash scratched her mane, wondering what Olympia meant by that.
"What Ms Olympia means is that there are certain Pokemon moves you'll rarely see be used." Kardia explained.
"Really?"
"Really. Nowadays, most Pokemon Trainers go for moves that directly deal damage and nothing more. Perhaps a status effect in the process, recoil or anything involving weakening your opponent. There's a pretty good chance that you won't meet a trainer that uses moves that are more...technical than anything. Was that Ms Harshwinny being technical?"
"Yeah. I mean, she had some move called Disable which just got rid of one of my moves!" Rainbow raised her hooves with enthusiasm. "Then there was Mimic, Destiny Bond which I couldn't do anything about something like Block which just totally ruined a lot of stuff for me!"
"That sounds about right." Kardia nodded before sitting at a table. "Those moves are good, but you'll rarely see anyone use them. I mean, when are you gonna see someone use Block?"
"That was my first time seeing it." Rainbow Dash grumbled while pouting her lips. "So what do I do against that? How am I supposed to know what moves are coming, I mean isn't every Pokemon Trainer different?"
"Yes. Every trainer is different from how they battle. But moves such as those require preparation. One mistake and underestimation of them can result in absolute loss. That is why Kardia will have you go against moves such as that."
"That's right. With all the Pokemon I've caught and trained, I'll let you go through another unpredictable battle. A Double Battle. How does that sound?" Kardia hopped off the table.
"Works for me! Let's get this started already!"
"Okay." Kardia then held out her first two Poke Balls, sending out two Pokemon. An Oranguru and a Golduck.
"Oranguru."
"Golduck!"
"Send out your first two Pokemon now," Kardia asked. Rainbow Dash already knew who she had in mind. After their loss earlier, she wanted to make it up to them. Whirlipede and Altaria. Whirlipede for being unable to take down Wobbuffet and Altaria for struggling against Alakazam.
"Whirlipede!"
"Altaria!"
"Just watch you two. When we head back there, we'll be more than ready." Rainbow Dash spoke to her partners, reassuring and promising their inevitable victory and 6th Gym Badge.
"Are you two ready?" Olympia asked as they both nodded in response. "Remember. This is only training. Nothing too serious or overboard. Now then. Let us begin this training session now."
"Me first! Protect!" Kardia commanded her Pokemon, spelling out one familiar move and an unfamiliar one.
"Gol...duck!" Just then, unexpectedly, Golduck had unleashed Dragon Pulse. Altaria's own Dragon Pulse It even fired the attack before she could. Out of Golduck's mouth came a hyper-fast Dragon Pulse, striking the Humming Pokemon with super-effective damage.
"Alta!"
"What the?!" Rainbow Dash gasped as Whirilipede's rolling movements had been stopped once Oranguru placed a protective barrier around itself, forcing the Curlipede Pokemon back. Whirlipede's speed was increased thanks to Speed Boost. "What was that?!"
"That was Me First." Kardia raised her finger. It's a move that allows user cuts ahead of the target to steal and use the target’s intended move with greater power. Right now, your Altaria received an even stronger Dragon Pulse than its own."
"You can just do that?" Rainbow Dash's eye twitched. "Seriously?"
"Mhm. But of course, that doesn't mean your Pokemon can't pull off the move you told it to use."
"Really? Well then in that case...let's try something else instead! Ice Beam, Altaria! And use Steamroller, Whirlipede!"
"Taria...!" Altaria opened her mouth, summoning a beam of ice while Whirlipede zoomed forward with the force of a steamroller within him.
"Oranguru, Instruct!" Kardia suddenly only commanded her Oranguru but for a good reason, one that Rainbow Dash was about to discover.
"Oran." The leaves on Oranguru's fan glowed multi-coloured as it thrust it forward. This caused Golduck to become outlined in a white glow.
"Gol...Duck!" Just then, Golduck had suddenly used Dragon Pulse once more, clashing it with Altaria's Ice Beam. And the risk was that Oranguru had taken a hit with Whirlipede crashing into him for super-effective damage. As for Dragon Pulse and Ice Beam, they cancelled each other out.
"Okay, now what was that?" More questions were asked by Rainbow Dash.
"Oranguru's signature move Instruct. Whatever Oranguru tells its teammate, they'll use the most recent move. In this case Dragon Pulse. Even though it only belongs to one Pokemon, it's still super useful and is like having another Pokemon Trainer on your team. Neat, right?"
"I guess." Rainbow Dash pouted her lips. "All of this is a lot to take in. I mean, moves like that exist?"
"Try to relax Rainbow Dash." Olympia intervened for some advice. "Going against Pokemon that break away from the norm can be different and difficult to adjust to. But I assure you, they are not unstoppable. You can work your way around them in the end."
"But how...I mean, all I can do is just read a bunch of books with moves, can I?"
"Not quite. You have to be unpredictable yourself, Rainbow Dash." Kardia wagged her finger. "That's one way to beat an opponent that you can barely predict at all."
"Unpredictable myself?"
"Ash is already unpredictable with what he can do after all." Olympia gave the best example in the form of Ash, someone who is the master of being unpredictable. "He has his own way. So does Kardia. And while I'm not an unpredictable trainer, I do tend to come up with my own unique way of befuddling opponents. You need to find your own way, Rainbow Dash. Something that you can use to your advantage."
"Okay...I got it. But what can I do?" Rainbow Dash scrunched her face, closing her eyes as she was digging deep for an answer. Rainbow Dash did have a few tricks, like Braviary's Superpower Thunder Clap and how her Castform has a unique ability to exude Infinity Energy whenever he copies a type. But other than that, there wasn't much on her plate.
Rainbow Dash's options were limited, unfortunately. But that is why she can make new options with the Pokemon she has. She had picked up Ash's Countershield, but even that won't suffice forever as she hasn't even mastered it like Ash. The pegasus quickly realized this with opened eyes. She then looked at Altaria and Whirlipede, seeing what they had to offer.
Whirlipede had a circular body that allowed for high mobility and tricks that very few Pokemon can perform, aside from Electrode and Voltorb. Whirlipede also had Speed Boost but that was to be expected. However, Altaria had a bit more to offer.
Her wings resembled clouds for a reason. They were soft after all, still having the qualities of a Swablu even with the fully-evolved state. Altaria also had the talent to sing in a gorgeous soprano without needing a move. No Hyper Voice, Sing, Disarming Voice or any sound-related moves.
Then, Rainbow Dash hatched an idea.
"Alright! Let's try this out! Altaria, grab Whirlipede and use Moonblast! Whirlipede use Venoshock from above!"
"Tari!" Altaria spread her cotton wings out before zooming over to her partner. The Humming Pokemon grabbed the Curlipede Pokemon, ascending with him.
"Oh?" Kardia was actually curious about Rainbow Dash's new approach. Had she found a new trick to throw her opponents off guard.
"I know Ms Harshwinny's gym is a single battle...but can't hurt to try new stuff! Fire!"
"Alta...!"
"Whirlipede!" Both Whirlipede and Altaria unleashed attacks while moving through the air, acting as aerial attackers. Although, Altaria already was one. Whirlipede coated his feelers in poison, ready to fire a stream of poison while Altaria gathered the power of the moon.
Unfortunately, the feelers had struck Altaria, causing her to take damage and feel a poisonous sting in the process. With that sting, Altaria's focus had been broken, causing her to drop Whirlipede.
"Aria!" An injured Humming Pokemon cried out as Whirlipede hit the floor hard. Altaria's flying was also thrown off as she had descended. Thankfully, her cotton wings acted as protection.
"W-Whirl!"
"Oh! Are you two okay?!" Rainbow Dash flew over to her partners to see their conditions. Thankfully, it wasn't anything too serious, although, a poisonous sting was now on Altaria's neck as seen by Rainbow Dash. She dug into her saddlebag to quickly resolve this, pulling out an Antidote. "Here. Use this."
With one spray, the poison had been taken away along with the injury. The beauty of Pokemon Medicine. Afterwards, Rainbow Dash sighed with Kardia and Olympia walked up to her.
"A daring attempt. But not quite there yet," said Olympia.
"Yeah. Sorry, you two." Rainbow Dash apologized to them both while petting Altaria. "Guess I was getting a bit ahead of myself, huh? If you get seriously hurt, then it's all my fault."
"No shame in trying. After all, there's always another attempt." Kardia tapped her head. "Don't worry. We can also try with the rest of our Pokemon too."
"Thanks. But, I'll hold off on it for now. I wanna find something I can work with. And uh, in a single battle style too for Ms Harshwinny. I also wanna try some stuff on my own if that's okay."
"Any way you believe you can improve yourself is up to you, Rainbow Dash. But right now, I think I could go for something to eat." Olympia gave some advice to Rainbow Dash before feeling peckish herself.
"Same here. Kardia patted her belly before walking off. "If you need something to know, check out one of our books hee. You might find something."
And of course, if someone nearby is hungry, that also meant that Ash and Pikachu were hungry too. Just this morning, they had some training with Rainbow Dash. And they could go for a bite themselves. The two of them giggled as Rainbow Dash knew what was coming next.
10 minutes later.
Outside the building, Ash and Rainbow Dash were having a delicious lunch. Sometimes, taking things slow and relaxing was just as good-feeling as battling or training.
"Mmm. This is more like it." Ash said while devouring the food in front of him. Pikachu did the same, stuffing his cheeks with food while Rainbow Dash drank a carton of apple cider.
"You know, Ash." Rainbow Dash spoke after biting on an apple. "With all of these Pokemon Battles for the Equestria League, I'm kinda feeling nervous of when I get to that league, ya know."
"You are?"
"Yeah. Last year, I was the first pony to really do a gym battle and everypony went crazy, remember? Since then, everypony joined the league and started rising up like crazy. Spitfire, Princess Luna, Daylight and now even Spike's getting into the mix. Kinda feeling a bit small here. So many strong trainers keep showing up every day, right?"
"I get how you feel." Ash nodded as he and Rainbow Dash looked in the distance with the orange glow of the sun slowly setting. Nightfall was approaching in a few hours. "I remember when I was younger back then. I wasn't really the top trainer out there. In each region I went to, I always met someone really pretty good. Great even."
Ash then started remembering about his past. Indeed, he has gone through some tough battles in the past like Rainbow Dash but with more to count. Even in the present timeline.
"Gary, Paul, Lenora, Ritchie, Wulfric, Brandon, Tyson, Alain and way more out there. Boy, did they give me some trouble? The world's pretty massive, Rainbow Dash. You'll never know what's out there and what's waiting. Bigger and better things are what's out there." He then spread his arms out. "But, that's why you gotta find those and overcome them, right?"
"Yeah. Right." Rainbow Dash agreed with that. "I'll overcome them, no problem."
"With all your full power might, right? You're gonna be the champion!" Ash then thrust his fist into the air to show enthusiasm and encourage Rainbow Dash. "You'll never give up!"
"I'm gonna be the champion! I'll never give up!" Rainbow Dash had thrust her hoof in the air as well after receiving Ash's encouragement. Then, after doing so, the two of them looked at each other before laughing. Rainbow Dash patted Ash in the back, thinking what they had just done was a bit silly.
Ash then gave Rainbow Dash a noogie playfully with Rainbow Dash chuckling afterwards, doing the same to Ash by flying over him. Pikachu playfully jumped onto Rainbow Dash's head to do the same, but he didn't have the same physical strength as he laughed in the process.
The three of them continued to have fun with Castform joining the mix. Now it was four. The four of them ate while messing around with each other. And after that, they looked to the distance of the sunset, seeing how beautiful it was.
"Hey. How about we do some quick practice to get into the mood of things?" Ash recommended Rainbow Dash.
"Now you're speaking my language!" She agreed without hesitation. They would do a quick practice battle to rile themselves up. They always do this, it isn't something new.
They ran off towards the nearest route to have their quick battle as the sun was about to leave the view of the earth and soon the moon will rise for the night.
Route 18. Late Afternoon.
"Okay! Let's try something neat." Ash raised a finger. "Celestia already did this with Passion. Pikachu and a few of my Pokemon did it way back then. Sometimes, finding your own style is by getting inspiration from others. No shame in that!"
"Okay! I hear ya!" She nodded in response to Ash.
"Let's see...what moves would work pretty well?" Ash then began thinking along with Rainbow Dash. Move combinations are always a fun idea because of the possibilities they hold. With so many Pokemon moves out there, it's hard to put every single one of them as combinations. But, an idea sparked in Ash's head. "Oh, I got something!"
"Yeah?"
"Well, it's for Pikachu. You see, Pikachu used to know a move called Volt Tackle back then. Boy, it was a tough move. If we wanted to get in there and charge with full force Volt Tackle was the move to go, right buddy?"
"Pika-Pikachu." Pikachu crossed his arms with a proud smirk. Indeed, he found Volt Tackle to be a great move. Despite it causing recoil damage. Now he no longer knows it.
"That's why...we'll make a Makeshift Volt Tackle!" Ash declared.
"A Makeshift Volt Tackle?!"
"Pika?!" Even Pikachu was taken back by that.
"Right. If we can't use the move anymore, we're gonna have to cheat the universe and find a new way to use it. And I know just how. Quick Attack and Thunderbolt."
"Okay..." Rainbow Dash nodded with Castform, slowly understanding Ash's approach. Ash then looked at Pikachu with the Mouse Pokemon already agreeing to this. He had large faith and hope in his partner.
"Okay, Pikachu. Shoot Thunderbolt into the air!" Ash began the practice for the Makeshift Volt Tackle.
"Pika...Chuuu!" Covering himself in an aura of electricity, Pikachu then shot out 100,000 volts from his body, straight to the sky. Pikachu manipulated his electricity so that it would come crashing down afterwards as if someone was trying to smite him.
"Now, Quick Attack upwards then charge!"
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu built up some energy before shooting into the air like a rocket. He made sure the bolt of Thunderbolt would only hit him. By flying into the air, heading straight for the bolt, Pikachu crashed into Thunderbolt afterwards. He had used his natural electrical biology to contain the electricity so that it doesn't badly hurt.
And by doing so, Pikachu then covered himself in an even bigger electric aura. And after that, the Mouse Pokemon continued to use Quick Attack, shooting to the ground at lightning speeds. Once he hit the ground, he caused a crater to form from the sheer impact and speed. And boosting out of the smoke was a hyper-fast Pikachu, laminated in so much electricity that his body looked black and white as he left a trail of lightning.
Just like Volt Tackle.
"Pika-Pika-Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu then crashed into a nearby boulder, shattering it to bits with full force. "Pika!"
"Awesome job, buddy!" Ash cheered.
"Awesome is right!" Rainbow Dash then gawked.
"We're gonna name it uh..." Ash was thinking of a new name for this spare Volt Tackle. "Volt Tackle 2.0 or...ah, Just Makeshift Volt Tackle works."
"Pikachu."
"So, Dash. Got any move combination ideas for your Pokemon?"
"Hmmm..." The pegasus dug deep in her mind, trying to think of something new and interesting. She thought about her Castform, coming up with something. "I got it! Castform's got special cells, right? He reacts more to things than an average Castform. Plus, when he used Reflect Type, he copies a type."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. I was thinking we could do something with that. But what...?"
"I got something." Ash walked over with an idea. "You see, back when my Torterra was a Grotle, he kinda accidentally ate his own Energy Ball when he was using it."
"Say what now?" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow after hearing that.
"Yeah. But when he did, his Grass-Type moves powered up afterwards. It's pretty nifty. So maybe, Castform can eat his own Weather Ball, use Reflect Type to mimic a type and then, before they know it, he eats the ball again to change types by random."
"Oh, I get what you mean! So that Castform can gain resist other types randomly! Nice thinking, Ketchum!" Rainbow Dash nudged Ash's chest. "Yeah, let's try that! You game, Cast-"
"Castform..." But Castform was fast asleep inside of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag. It was late after all.
"Uh...maybe tomorrow." Rainbow Dash chuckled with Ash. Tomorrow sounded good for them. They could still practice with some of their other Pokemon during the night. And that's what they did.
30 minutes later.
Olympia and Kardia came out to the Route to see Ash and Rainbow Dash. But when they arrived there, they saw that they had fallen asleep, most likely from an intense training session.
Ash was laying on a tree with Rainbow Dash sleeping next to him. Pikachu slept on Rainbow Dash's head too. They were perfectly relaxed.
"Hard-working trainers, are they not?" Olympia said.
"They sure are. Can't wait to meet more of them during the World Championships. You're joining too, right Ms Olympia?" Kardia asked.
"Indeed. You may not see me as active in the Championships, however. But, I can definitely see Ash being active in it. He might become the eye of the storm that shakes up the Championships. As for Rainbow Dash, well, the Equestria League is still in its infancy, but I sense great things from her."
"I get what you mean. Everyone in Holon is gonna be watching my performance. I can't slack off. Some training tomorrow again?"
"Yes. We'll train tomorrow. As much as Rainbow Dash chooses." Olympia nodded before walking off, leaving Ash, Pikachu, Rainbow Dash and Castform to sleep.
The moon shined on them afterwards with the night sky glistening. Indeed, these two battle-hungry trainers have a decorative future ahead of them. One that they have to make a reality. And with their high octane determination, they'll make sure it will be a reality as the journey continues.
Somewhere in the desert, Ghetsis could be found. He was still on his own journey to improve his capabilities. It has been weeks now since he has been this far away from Team Plasma.
Recently, he had discovered one major factor to why he has been constantly having a stalemate or coming close to losing to Ash. And it has something to do with his own emotions as compared to Ash's. Ash is calm and collected when having a Pokemon Battle, especially when the stakes are high. Meanwhile, Ghetsis' frustration builds up whenever he struggles to fully defeat Ash, resulting in him failing to finish the job.
And once Ghetsis discovered that flaw, he has been working on it ever since. With his constant mind training, imagining how his battles with Ash would turn out, each time he failed, his frustration decreased.
Ghetsis had also picked up a few tricks along the way with his Dark Magic and Aua. To test it out, he was going to practice on the landscape itself. Coming out of Ghetsis' only hand was a stream of darkness with black electricity around it. And that stream ended up forming a giant hole in the ground the moment it had been unleashed, having an outburst of dark paroxysm.
Ghetsis looked at his hand and the massive hole, seeing how much damage he had done to the land. He found it promising. For another test run, he aimed his hand at the nearest mountain.
By using his magic, Ghetsis was able to rip out a massive chunk of the mountain off, bringing it towards him. However, the amount of magic pressure he was making was so great that he couldn't control it. As such, the mountain chunk crumbled as well as the mountain itself with some of the darkness still around.
"Tch. Magic. So confusing to understand. But I can work with this." He smiled before exuding some more of that aura. He now had more options rather than crystals or black bolts. But now, it was time for something different. Ghetsis wanted to try his own magic on himself. He formed another Dark Aura around his hand before touching his chest. By doing so, Ghetsis' whole body was outlined.
And with that, all of a sudden, his feet were leaving the ground. This meant only one thing. Ghetsis had found out how to fly. He looked at himself, realizing that he now had the capability of flight without needing wings. However, Ghetsis couldn't tell if this was the result of either his Dark Aura, Dark Magic or the tiny semblance of Rift energy he still has in him.
Either way, this was promising. To see how well he could fly, Ghetsis started moving through the air. By doing so, he left a black trail while ascending to the skies. Even when just discovering it, he had gotten the hang of it. Ghetsis is a quick learner after all when it counts.
He then chose to speed himself up while managing his momentum in the air. He allowed his magic to keep him afloat, still unaware of what was causing this. While flying through the air, Ghetsis looked like a black orb in the sky to whoever saw him.
In just a few seconds and soon to be a minute, Ghetsis had perfectly handled his newfound flying capabilities. He landed on top of the tallest desert mountain he could find, ceasing his flying. It did seem to burn out a lot from him.
He looked around to see the trail he had made. His Dark Aura had actually affected the land whilst moving, leaving behind black sparks everywhere. Ghetsis knew he was improving, but not enough to defeat Ash. He then held his hand out, looking at one of the Poke Balls at his disposal.
He obviously had his Hydreigon which had been mutated due to some experiments. Not in appearance but in capabilities. However, Shadow Mewtwo was also on his mind. A Pokemon that Ghetsis aimed to use, but unfortunately for him, Shadow Mewtwo's psyche was harder to break.
Ghetsis planned to use Shadow Mewtwo when it was under his full control. However, Ash arrived before any of that could happen. At this very moment, Shadow Mewtwo's mind was still being altered by Team Plasma and most importantly, Colress.
However, after looking at his Poke Ball and then the landscape, Ghetsis spotted something odd in the distance. Nearby, he noticed a Cacnea, a few of them really, pass through something. Right at a mound of sand, the Cacnea walked through the mound of sand, disappearing as the last thing seen by them was a pulse of magic.
That caught Ghetsis' attention.
Anistar City. Day.
Over at Anistar City, Rainbow Dash's training with Ash, Olympia and Kardia at Ace Trainer Works was ongoing. All for the rematch against Ms Harshwinny. Yesterday and during the night, she and Ash had become creative recently.
Ash invented a makeshift Volt Tackle simply called Makeshift Volt Tackle. By combining Pikachu's Quick Attack and Thunderbolt to mimic the attack. And Rainbow Dash had found something new as inspiration from Ash via the Own Attack Eating. Pioneered by Torterra when he was a Grotle.
Right now, Rainbow Dash had her Altaria out against Kardia's Ludicolo, one of her many Pokemon. This was a single battle instead of a Double One like yesterday. Ash and Olympia stood by to watch.
"Alright, Rainbow Dash. Show us what you've learned." Kardia spoke.
"Oh, I've learned something already. You go first, Kardia." A confident Rainbow Dash exuded a smirk on her face. She knew what she was doing.
"Okay. Ludicolo! Use Teeter Dance!"
"Co! Ludicolo! Ludicolo!" Ludicolo went first, outlining itself in a festive light blue aura. The Water-Grass-Type then started dancing while performing an exotic Ludicolo dance that only the Ludicolo can perform. By doing this dance, Altaria's body gained that same blue outline.
But Rainbow Dash was ready for this.
"Then let's get in the mood too. Altaria! Start singing!"
"Altaaaaaa!" Just then, Altaria decided to join in the fun of Ludicolo dancing instead of trying to dodge it. The Humming Pokemon did what she does best. Singing.
More importantly, she wasn't using the move Sing or anything like that. She was just using her natural talent. Kardia was wondering what Rainbow Dash was planning. And Ash knew her approach.
The song that Altaria was singing was very familiar. Not to Kardia, Ludicolo or Olympia. But it was certainly familiar to Ash and Pikachu especially.
That was because this song was Goodnight, my Pikachu. Rainbow Dash had taken inspiration from the song that Ash and Delia use to put Pikachu to sleep. Not just Pikachu, but other Pokemon.
And it was proving to be effective to Ludicolo as its dancing suddenly slowed down once Altaria's beautiful voice echoed through the air, filling the atmosphere.
"Ludi...co...lo..." Ludicolo grumbled.
"Oh!" Kardia gasped. "Ludicolo?!"
"Ta-da! Who needs moves when you've got natural talents!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Ash gave me this idea yesterday. Have Altaria sing Goodnight, my Pikachu. Works on all Pokemon, and can put them to sleep or make 'em drowsy. How's that?"
"Impressive. Using Altaria's natural ability to sing beautifully was clever."
"Yeah. Ash taught me and everypony in Ponyville about something like this months ago." Rainbow Dash turned to Ash. "Sometimes, using a Pokemon's natural talents, abilities and skills work just as well as using their moves."
"You know it!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Well done." Kardia approved, crossing her arms. Ludicolo was now falling asleep as Kadia allowed this. She had something under her sleeve. And Rainbow Dash could see this. Once Ludicolo was asleep, she could act. "Use Sleep Talk."
"Ludi...Colo..." Just then, while asleep, Ludicolo lunged at Altaria, striking her with a full force headbutt, startling the Humming Pokemon.
"T-Taria?!" Altaria cried out as she went flying from this surprise attack. Never did she think someone could hit her while they were asleep.
"What the?! What is that?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"That, Rainbow Dash, is Sleep Talk. Even if the opposing Pokemon is asleep, Sleep Tak allows them to attack. A perfect counter to the Sleep Status."
"There's seriously a counter to that...?" Rainbow then groaned, putting her hoof on her face.
"Not just that. There's Snore and the ability Insomnia. Everything has a counter, Rainbow Dash. You have to be ready for anything in a Pokemon Battle."
"Figures." The pegasus sighed before shaking her head. "But it's okay. I'm feeling pretty good about myself right now. So is Altaria."
"Alta."
"Tomorrow, we're gonna beat Ms Harshwinny for sure, and shoot ourselves up to the 7th Gym!" Rainbow Dash curled her hoof with high enthusiasm and vigour. Altaria did the same but with her wings. "Let me show you some other tricks, Kardia."
"Looking forward to them. Give me your best shot, Rainbow."
And so it was. Rainbow Dash showcased all of the tricks she learned yesterday with Ash, preparing herself for her rematch with Ms Harshwinny.
She showcased Castform using Reflect Type on Kardia's Carracosta, receiving the Water-Rock-Type and creating a pulse. Then, the Weather Pokemon used Weather Ball, forming an orb of water in his Rainy Form. Castform then ate the orb instead of firing it. And just like what Ash said and how his Torterra performed it in the past, Castform's Water-Type moves had been boosted, making him stronger. And to swap types, he could just use Reflect-Type on another Pokemon and repeat the cycle.
As for Braviary, the Superpower Thunderclap was still the go-to option due to how useful it was for granting distance. Sort of a Get-Off-Me attack. But it was time to improvise with Braviary. Rainbow Dash had Braviary combine Steel Wing and Superpower.
It didn't go so well in the beginning with Braviary struggling to hold both the heaviness of Steel Wing and the sheer power of Superpower. But he and Rainbow Dash were going to work on it. One thing was to be kept in mind. The battle against Harshwinny would be a single battle only. Plus, she would most likely have new Pokemon and not the ones she had before.
Rainbow Dash needed to be ready for whatever Harshwinny had to offer. She had three trump cards. Mega Evolution, Rainbow-Braviary and the Fightinium Z for Mienfoo. But, those can't be guaranteed ways to win. And she knew that. Rainbow Dash would need to find alternatives to victory while still keeping her trump cards ready.
And for once, Rainbow Dash took Twilight's advice and hit the books. Kardia had a selection of Pokemon books for her to look at, detailing certain moves and abilities and what Rainbow Dash could expect.
"Rototiller. Tilling the soil, the Pokemon makes it easier for plants to grow. This boosts the power of Grass-Types moves." She muttered while skimming some pages. "Then why's it a Ground-Type move? Oh wait...yeah that makes sense. Nevermind." She then read different moves that she had never heard of. Moves that would definitely throw her off guard.
"She's certainly a hard worker when it calls for it. I'm eager to see her in my class when she advances in the Pokemon School," said Olympia. "I can see a bit of Twilight's influence rub off on her."
"What do you think? She'll beat that Harshwinny tomorrow? I mean, I've never seen her before anyway." Kardia shrugged while asking.
"Even if she doesn't beat her tomorrow, no way Rainbow Dash is gonna give up," Ash replied, knowing his friend very well. Rainbow Dash will try as many times as she wants if she has to.
"Pikachu."
Canterlot. Afternoon.
Over at Canterlot, all seemed fine at the moment. Right now, Celestia was currently having discussions with the Universal Alliance that she made alongside Luna and Cadence.
All the while, Adagio and Premium Polish did whatever they wanted in the castle. Speaking of Adagio, ever since she became Celestia's student, shooting up in performance, she's made herself comfortable here recently.
And by comfortable that also meant that most of the guards were now at her beck and call. And she took advantage of this. After all, Adagio's main goal was still the same. To be adored by all. While the ways of making this possible have been decreased, one thing didn't change. Adagio's power to control.
Right now, she was sitting on her own personal chair that was carried by some guards. She was acting like a princess with how she ordered the guards around and had them carry her. She was also drinking from one of Canterlot's most exquisite cups, just because she can. Although, she was abusing the power of being Celestia's student.
"This is more like it," Adagio spoke while finishing her current drink. "Fetch me another grape drink."
"Yes, Ms Adagio!" The guards said as they dashed over to grab Adagio another drink. Watching this was Premium Polish who was riding on the back of her Flareon.
"Can't believe you have your own bodyguards, Ms Adagio," Premium said as Flareon brought her over. "Are you heading for a Pokemon Contest?"
"Not at all." Adagio was being fanned by another guard to combat the summer heat. "I'm just living my best life right now. kid. Being treated like this is a great feeling, isn't it?"
"Well...my bodyguards didn't do that but yeah, I guess so." Premium nodded before noticing the grape drink that had been brought to Adagio. "Oh! Can I have some too?"
"You're getting the foal's version of it," Adagio said before drinking the grape.
"Aww..." Premium pouted, slumping on Flareon's back. Yes, everything was fine in Canterlot. All seemed normal with the inclusion of Adagio's interesting way of living.
However, there was one oddity within here. An oddity that had come directly for Premium Polish under the importance of a certain someone. Of course, this was Skyblue Shine.
She was tasked with retrieving her daughter for her special cause by the Empress. However, she has yet to do so. Premium Polish has been around Canterlot for a while which hosts Princess Celestia, her incredibly powerful Gardevoir, Reshiram and Zekrom, Luna, Darkrai and so much more.
Trying to grab Premium in a crowd this massive and powerful just asking for trouble. Skyblue Shine knew that she had to grab her daughter at the right time. When she is the most defenceless and alone. Skyblue has been hiding out in the Canterlot Mines to try and find that moment.
However, while waiting, each time she took a peek outside, Skyblue witnessed the happiness of her daughter and how much fun she was having. Fun so great that Skyblue Shine felt guilty to try and even take it away from her. The one thing she wishes for is to see her daughter happy. Taking her away from those that make her happy would go against what Skyblue Shine stands for.
But it would also go against the orders of the Empress, to who she swears absolute loyalty too. It was at this moment that Skyblue Shine began thinking of her duty as a mother and a loyal subject. She was contemplating this as she continued to wait for the time to strike.
Ponyville. Afternoon.
But she wasn't the only one. Jade Skies was a target too and was secretly under the same situation. By the Indigo Alliance. Sent by the Grand Judge, a few members of this secret society were also biding their time.
Jade had more Rift energy than a simple sphere. Her whole body was one. Something that the Indigo Alliance refused to ignore. They wanted all of what Jade had to offer. However, Jade had friends that she was around a lot.
Pinkie Pie was one of them along with the Mythical Mew. There was Applejack, Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy and more. Mayor Mare was also a major obstacle when she has her Stoutland.
Things weren't any better during the night. Since Jade can't sleep, she has those who are in the same boat as her. Cold Colt was present along with Nyx during the night as well as many nocturnal Pokemon. Not to mention Absol who has that disaster sensing horn. Needless to say, she had many defensive options.
One of the Indigo Alliance Members used the communication shell to speak to the alliance hidden in Pegalysium.
"Apologies, Grand Judge. But this Jade Skies is heavily guarded. There seems to be no instance where she is all alone. What should we do?" The member spoke to Second Wind, the Grand Judge of the Indigo Alliance.
"Clearly, you need more ponypower for this. Stay there. I know of a solution to our problem." She spoke before hanging up. In the meantime, these members would have to stay and wait for the opportune moment.
Whenever that is.
Meanwhile, with Ghetsis, he had passed through the sand mound that the Cacnea had gone through. He wondered what this was. There wasn't a gateway nearby, yet the pulse of magic made it seem like there was.
After he passed, through, Ghetsis had come across someplace unexpected. It was indeed a gateway. Or rather, a portal. But it didn't lead to another desert on some other world. Instead, it led to a populated area. A city.
Ghetsis had arrived in the human world. The parallel to Equestria. And this was made clear by the oddly coloured humans walking about. Ghetsis then looked behind him, witnessing the mound. In this world, it was a rock mound instead of a sand one.
"What is this...?" Ghetsis was slightly perplexed. But he soon regained himself. He had just discovered another means of transportation than the gateway. He then looked up to see a massive billboard that had something familiar in a way.
An advertisement to join Canterlot High. And right on the billboard was this world's Celestia. Principal Celestia.
"Oh, I see. Very interesting. After seeing that billboard and the humans here, Ghetsis truly knew what was going on. A smile graced his face as he had an idea brewing.
Returning to Ponyville was Rainbow Dash, alongside Ash and Pikachu. Greeting them were their friends. They had just had two whole days of training to help Rainbow Dash prepare for her rematch against Ms Harshwinny.
"Welcome back! Did you get something that might work?" Twilight asked.
"We got a few." Rainbow Dash nodded. "But that's just enough to beat her. This time, we're gonna win for sure. Everything that Olympia, Kardia and Ash taught me."
"Oh? What did you learn?" Fluttershy flew over.
"You'll see when we get there." The multi-coloured maned pegasus chuckled, knowing about her plans and how she could use them to each victory. "Enough talk! Let's get going!"
The Crystal Empire. Afternoon.
It was time for a second go at this. Reaching the Crystal Empie and the gym that it had, Rainbow Dash and the others were greeted with the same sight as before. Defeated trainers who just couldn't get past Harshwinny and her unpredictable tactics.
Standing here was Princess Cadence surprisingly. She wasn't here for the Gym Battle, she was here to comfort everyone who had suffered losses to this gym. The least she could do as the princess after all. Most of them were down about their losses after all as Cadence noticed the arrival of Twilight and the others.
"Twilight! Everyone!" Cadence exclaimed once spotting them. "Welcome!"
"Cadence! Great to be here. What are you doing right now?" Twilight asked before flying over, witnessing Cadence tend to the trainers.
"Well, most of these trainers here aren't too happy, so I'm doing what I can to cheer them up. You can probably wonder why right?"
"Yeah, we know." Rainbow Dash stepped forward, gazing at the gym. "It's gonna be Round 2 this time. And I'm gonna win."
"Oh, you know. And you've lost already too," said Cadence. "Ms Harshwinny sure is one massive roadblock, isn't she?"
"Rainbow Dash learned some tricks that might help her in this," Fluttershy spoke. "But we don't know how this one will turn out. Hopefully great. Tank's cheering Rainbow Dash all the way from home after all."
"I gotta know. What exactly does Ms Harshwinny have that gives everyone so much trouble?" A curious Cadence wondered after hearing about Rainbow Dash's first loss and seeing the other trainers disappointed.
"I think it's best if you saw it for yourself, don't you think, Cadence?" Twilight nudged her fellow alicorn with a wink, suggesting that Cadence viewed this battle for herself. She'd get to see a Gym Battle and what Ms Harshwinny is capable of. That sounded like a good idea to Cadence, but she chose to take care of the ponies here first.
"Maybe later. I should cheer everypony else up. But I won't miss it."
"Enough chat. Let's get this started." With high energy and enthusiasm, Rainbow Dash opened the door to the gym, ready to receive her rematch. She wasn't as nervous as before. Now, her confidence was higher. But the dread of Ms Harshwinny's unpredictable tactics still lingered as she had entered the gym.
And with good timing. Harshwinny had already cleared everything. Her previous Gym Battle was 10 minutes ago. After opening the door, her attention was grabbed as Harshwinny seemed to be packing up a few items.
"Ah, Rainbow Dash," Harshwinny spoke. "Just by an inch. I was about to close off the gym for today."
"Well, I'm here. And I'm ready for my rematch, Ms Harshwinny."
"Of course you are. Everypony so far is." Harshwinny stood up from her seat. "This will be the last battle for today in this gym until next week. I hope you've come prepared."
"Rainbow Dash totally has!" Suddenly, Scootaloo bellowed, getting some words in. "She learned a bunch of tricks that uh...she hasn't told us yet."
"Ms Harshwinny, I'm exhausted. Can I leave already?" The unicorn referee groaned to Harshwinny. He had been working since yesterday, the day before that and today. He needed a break and he wasn't willing to speak over this upcoming battle.
"Go on." Harshwinny was kind enough to let him leave. With a bright smile, the unicorn teleported out of the gym to live the rest of his day. "Now then. I'll need a spare referee at the moment. Starlight Glimmer. Will you take that role?"
"Oh." Starlight shot up before shifting her eyes around. "Uh...sure-sure. I can do that." She pranced over to the battlefield to be the spare referee. She's never done it before but after seeing so many Pokemon Battles, it was easy to do. Anyone can be the referee.
After that, Harshwinny shuffled through her Poke Balls, wondering which Pokemon to chose for this battle. She never sticks with the same ones most of the time as known by everyone else. Rainbow Dash scrunched her face after seeing Harshwinny make her own decision.
"So, Dash. Whaddya got for this one? Same Pokemon like before?" Applejack whispered.
"Nah. I'm gonna do things differently. I'm still gonna use Altaria, but no Mega Evolution." She whispered back at the earth pony.
"No Mega Evolution? Won't that be a big help though?" Pinkie slid over.
"I know. But I wanna try something new. Just wait until it all comes to an end." The pegasus grinned before rubbing her hooves together. She then walked forward to the field, having her three Pokemon ready.
Harshwinny was also prepared, finally selecting the Pokemon of her choice. Both trainers stood on opposite sides from each other, readying themselves.
"Okay. I can do this." Starlight spoke, assuming the role of the referee and aiming to perfect it. "The Crystal Empire Gym Battle is about to commence! The battle will be a 3-on-3 battle! The battle will be over when all 3 of one trainer's Pokemon are unable to continue. Ony the challenger will be allowed to make substitutions during the battle! Nailed it."
"Allow me to go first, Rainbow Dash. Come out, Trevenant!" Harshwinny sent her first Pokemon out. The Elder Tree Pokemon, Trevenant.
"Trevanant!"
"Let's go Castform!"
"Trevenant, huh? If that's the case, it might have that move...I know who to start with." The pegasus bit her lip before grinning. "Let's go, Castform!"
"Castform!" Castform flew out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, eager to make his trainer proud. Once he emerged, his cells reacted to the weather of the Crystal Empire, forcing him into his Snowy Form.
"Battle Start!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Okay, Castform! Let's get that Ghost-Type and hit with a strong pulse! Reflect-Type!"
"Cast...form!" Castform made the first move. By covering his body in a blue light, he did the same to the Elder Tree Pokemon. Once doing so, he had copied the Ghost-Grass-Type. And as a bonus, a pulse of shadows and multiple leaves came flying out, striking Trevanant."
"T-Tre...!"
"Forest's Curse."
"Treva!" Trevenant's eyes shined green, causing a ring of the same colour to shoot out of his eyes as they hit the ground. The floor then erupted purple vines grow out as they immediately constricted Castform.
"C-Cast?!" Castform was small so his entire body had been restrained by these vines. Once he was held by those vines, his typing had changed with a green aura covering him. The vines then faded away.
"Okay! What was that?!" Scootaloo wondered.
"Forest's Curse. Now Castform is only a Grass-Type thanks to the curse Trevenant has put on him." Twilight explained. This sounded familiar. A lot like how Soarin's Eiscue had Soak to turn opposing Pokemon into Water-Types.
However, this had played to Rainbow Dash's advantage. She knew about Trevenant's signature move, Forest's Curse. Having Castform copy his type, including Ghost, only to lose it and keeping Grass, allowed Castform to be free from any Ghost-Type moves that Trevenant would have.
"Now! Poison Jab!"
"Venant!" The Elder Tree Pokemon then lunged forward, covering its claws in poison while casting a shadow over Castform.
"Here goes! Castform, Weather Ball! Up close!"
"Cast...!" Castform conjured up a ball of ice from his mouth, holding it in place. The Weather Pokemon had used Weather Ball as a shield against Trevenant.
Trevenant swung its claws forward, only to be met with Weather Ball, shielding Castform from direct damage. The impact resulted in Weather Ball exploding, causing an icy outburst in the process. Both Castform and Trevenant were forced back from it.
"Thanks, Castform. Return for now." Rainbow Dash then recalled Castform. The Weather Pokemon flew into the saddlebag to take a quick break. Rainbow Dash had a plan continuously sparking in her mind.
"Just what I want!" After recalling Castform, Rainbow Dash took out her next Poke Ball, throwing it. "Go, Altaria!"
"Altaria!"
"Go-go! Use Ice Beam on the floor!"
"Taria!" Not allowing Harshwinny to get a word in, Altaria unleashed a blast of ice from her mouth, aiming it at just the floor and nothing else. Rainbow Dash refused to make the same mistakes as before. Her goal was to put pressure on Harshwinny through and through.
The whole floor had been frozen immediately, creating an ice battleground. So far, Harshwinny hasn't done anything too surprising, but Rainbow Dash wasn't ready to be too safe.
"Impressive. But how will you respond to this? Trevenant! Spread your vines all around!
"Venant!" Instead of using a move, Trevenant had used his vines, spreading them out. Multiple vines left the Elder Tree Pokemon's body, rapidly moving through the room. They had also latched onto the walls and ceiling as Rainbow Dash and Altaria's eyes followed them. So did everyone.
Soon, the whole room was being flooded by vines which Trevenant could also detach, making one of the vines stick to the floor to keep the rest from detaching. Trevenant had made an entire jungle out of these vines, each having frantic directions and no consistency.
"Okay...What is this?" Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. She wasn't expecting something like this to happen. An entire jungle of vines.
"Watch your blindspot, if you can find it in time. Trevenant, Phantom Force!"
"Treva..." The Ghost-Grass-Type then vanished suddenly, leaving behind an afterimage as he was no longer visible to Rainbow Dash or Altaria.
"Be careful, Altaria. Wait for when he even has a moment to show up and then use Ice Beam.
"Tari." Altaria navigated her head around the area, waiting for the right opportunity. She slowly charged Ice Beam, building up power with it so that it would hit extra hard. However, as she was charging it, many of the vines had suddenly moved, shooting towards Altaria.
The vines had then latched, wrapped and coiled themselves around Altaria's wings, legs and neck respectively, catching her off guard as Ice Beam was interrupted.
"Alta?!"
"Oh!" Rainbow Dash then gasped afterwards. Right after they caught her, other vines came flying forward, whipping and smacking Altaria while she was restrained. "Altaria!"
"T-Taria!"
"Even without the usage of moves, Trevenant can use his natural ability to his advantage. By manipulating all forms of plant life. All the while still having access to moves. A perfect multitasking scenario." Harshwinny smirked.
"She even knew about the natural talent thing..." A shocked Rainbow Dash uttered. "Ah who am I kidding? Of course she does. But no way that's gonna stop us! Freeze the vines!"
"Al...Taria!" Altaria could still use her moves even in this state. Out of her mouth came a chilling beam of ice that had struck the vines around her. These vines had been frozen instantly, causing Altaria to easily break out of them by just moving her wings. However, more vines were approaching her and Trevenant was still invisible.
"Dodge and attack them with Ice Beam!"
"Altaria!" Thus began a chase and a counterattack. Altaria zoomed through the air as fast she could, fleeing from the approaching array of vines. At the same time, she used Ice Beam, shooting out a chilling beam at any vine that got close to her.
The vines that had been frozen dropped to the floor, shattering. However, there were so many around the area that Altaria was struggling to find some good space. More vines kept approaching regardless, and the fact that they were spread out so frantically made it difficult.
Altaria couldn't freeze all of them. It wasn't like she had two heads. Thus, some of them caught her by surprise, whacking the Humming Pokemon with heavy force. Altaria was knocked back by some of the vines, causing her to fall into the jungle gym of other vines.
By falling into it, the Dragon-Flying-Type was immediately tangled up in this mess of plants. Not only that, but some other vines moved, wrapping around Altaria's body once more. This time, the whole body without missing one.
"A-Al...Altaria!" Altaria wriggled around, trying to break free from the vines with Ice Beam. However, the vines had held her beak, making sure that she does not unleash Ice Beam at all.
"Trevenant!" Finally, Trevenant had shown himself. By appearing out of thin air, the Elder Tree Pokemon smashed its claws onto the Humming Pokemon. Altaria couldn't counter at the moment because of her current predicament.
"Come on, Altaria! Break free with Moonblast! Or Ice Beam, or Dragon Pulse!"
"T-Tari...!" Altaria growled, moving her body as she was putting every ounce of power into her bones. There were actually signs of her ripping the vines, showing that she had the strength to do so.
Never underestimate the strength of a Dragon-Type.
"Now then. Trevenant, Poison Jab!"
"Treve...!" Trevanant lunged at Altaria with his claws covered in poison. Altaria pulled as hard as she could. She managed to rip off two vines but it still wasn't enough. There were so many wrapped around her. Unable to free herself in time, Trevenant stabbed his claw into Altaria's body. "Nant!"
"Altaria!" With that, Altaria's eyes widened as she gasped afterwards. Trevenant backed away once he placed the poison inside. And due to him inserting poison, Altaria had now been poisoned. "T-Tari..."
"Altaria, no!" Rainbow cried out.
"I'm not just creative with moves, Rainbow Dash. As you can see. Trevenant, Disable."
"Venant." Trevenant then used Disable, a move that Rainbow Dash was expecting to encounter again. But with Alakazam and not with Trevenant. The Elder Tree Pokemon had disabled Altaria's Ice Beam, making it useless.
"Let's end this, shall we?"
"Not yet! Return." Rainbow then recalled Altaria, seeing that she was in a rough spot at the moment. "Rest up, okay?" She then looked at Castform, choosing him next. "Round 2, Castform!"
"Castform! Cast!"
"Trevenant, Phantom Force!"
"Ve!" Once more, Trevenant disappeared while also manipulating the vines themselves. They were going to hold Castform while Trevenant gets a powerful strike in.
"Let's finish this! Weather Ball and then eat it!"
"I beg your pardon?!" Harshwinny pulled back as she was actually surprised by that. This tactic was unheard of towards her. Finally, something that she did not know of.
"Form!" Castform summoned a ball of ice in his mouth. Instead of firing it, he ate it. This was Ash's Torterra's' tactic. Once he at the ball, his radioactive cells reacted to the ball, more than what he's usually used to.
Castform's cells went insane from this reaction. Not only did it power up his Ice-Type attack, but he had also gained a sharp shield of ice that surrounded his body. The temperature was that low for it to happen.
Not only did it protect him, but the sheer chilly aura from it was enough to freeze the vines. The sharp ice shards weren't even needed to protect him. This level of chill was close to what a Vanilluxe can do. AKA, enough ice to form a ferocious blizzard that would freeze all.
"Incredible..." Harshwinny was stunned along with everyone else. Ash and Pikachu nodded in approval, knowing that Rainbow Dash formed this just yesterday during training.
"Trevenant?!" Trevenant could feel the chill from Castform even when invisible and at a far distance. It was just that great. So great that it broke Trevenant's concentration, forcing him to reveal himself. "T-Trevenant!"
"There! Now, Weather Ball, full power!"
"Cast...!" Castform was ready to unleash an extra powerful Weather Ball thanks to him eating it. Not only that, but the sphere was large than before. Larger than Castform's body and around the size of a Glalie.
So pretty big to be exact.
With a burst strong enough to create a shockwave, a gigantic sphere of ice came flying out at Mach Speed due to the power increase. Trevenant was struck by this, taking super-effective damage. But not only that, he had been frozen by the attack. Even the vines, every last one of them had been frozen.
"Yes!" Rainbow Dash then flapped her wings with joy after getting a successful freeze. "How's that?! I knew Castform's cells would go crazy with something like this. Since his cells are way more radioactive than an average Castform, everything he does is gonna be bigger than normal."
"Cast!"
"Now you're right where we want you! Castform, Reflect Type!"
"Cast...Form!" Once more, Reflect Type was used. And an even larger pulse and leaves came out, raging towards the Elder Tree Pokemon. The vines were shattered from this pulse as Harshwinny gawked before smirking.
"Well played, Rainbow Dash." She said as she knew there was nothing Trevenant could do in this frozen state. Thus, once he was hit by the pulse and leaves, the ice prison shattered. The Elder Tree Pokemon fell on his back afterwards.
He had fainted.
"Trevenant..."
"Trevenant is unable to battle! Castform wins!" Starlight bellowed.
"Alright!" Rainbow Dash cheered as Castform flew over to her, circling his trainer. "You're awesome, Castform!"
"Cast! Castform!" Castform cried out, bouncing on Rainbow Dash's head as they both laughed. Pinkie Pie stood up, clapping her hooves ferociously as the others were glad of this first victory. Harshwinny then returned Trevenant to his Poke Ball.
"A job well done, my friend. Rest up." She placed the Poke Ball away before getting out a new one. "Assist me! Clefable!" By throwing the next Pokemon, out came the Fairy Pokemon, Clefable.
"Clefable!"
"Clefable, huh? That's a tough Pokemon to deal with." Rainbow Dash said as she looked at Castform. The Weather Pokemon nodded, believing that he could handle this one in his powered-up state. "Okay, let's give you another go, Castform."
"Cast!"
"Clefable's a really good Pokemon, isn't it?" Sweetie Belle asked. "It knows like...a lot of moves! Like Mew."
"It does, darling." Rarity nodded. "Not to mention how durable it can be. I assume Rainbow Dash prepared herself for an opponent like this. After what happened with Wobbuffet."
"Oh, she has," Ash responded. "She's just gotta pull it off to make it work."
"Pika."
"Let's see what you've got! Castform, show Clefable and extra strong Weather Ball!"
"Cast...!" Castform summoned another massive sphere of ice in his mouth, guaranteed to freeze if it made contact.
"Hm." Harshwinny didn't seem bothered by this potential attack. "Clefairy. Prepare yourself and use Metronome."
"Fable!" The Fairy Pokemon stomped her foot on the ground, putting her hands out. She was actually going to take the attack directly as she started wagging her finger. Just then, the sphere had made contact with Clefable, resulting in a massive outburst of ice. The floor was already frozen, but now, a second layer of ice had been added to it.
Twilight and the others could feel the chill emanating through the room because of this as Starlight was freezing over. Luckily, Ninetales came out of his Poke Ball to warm everyone up. However, once the blue smoke faded away, Clefable wasn't frozen. She was still wagging her finger. She barely even moved from that attack.
"It didn't freeze?!" Rainbow Dash bellowed before realizing what it was. "Magic Guard...Of course...Alright then, Castform! Energy Ball, let's go!"
"Castform!" Castform chose another sphere to fire with, in the form of Energy Ball. By using the power of nature itself, the Weather Pokemon unleashed the green ball.
"Cle!" Clefable finally found a move that she could use with Metronome. And that move in question was Metal Burst. Which meant that she would have to take another attack for this to work.
The ball hit Clefable as Rainbow Dash and the others were wondering why she hadn't attacked yet even when using Metronome. But once she was hit, she could use Metal Burst. A giant white ball formed in front of her with her hands holding it. The Fairy Pokemon then unleashed the ball towards Castform.
"Dodge it!"
"Surround the area with Dazzling Gleam!"
"Fable!" To make sure Castform wouldn't go anywhere, Clefable unleashed multiple rainbow rays while Metal Burst was still flying. The rays were spread around with Clefable spinning to make this possible.
"C-Cast?!" Castform was surrounded by these rays from all sides as Clefable kept spinning. He tied using his small body to escape from them but there were too many. Thus, Metal Burst had struck the Weather Pokemon. "Form!"
"Castform, no!" Rainbow cried out as she witnessed a silver outburst form. Out of the smoke, Castform could be seen flying down. Rainbow Dash held her hooves out, catching her partner.
He had fainted.
"Castform..."
"Castform is unable to battle! Clefairy wins!"
"Metronome's a problem. Who knows what she can do with it?" Fluttershy spoke, worried about the outcome of this battle and how it could be a repeat of before.
"Thanks, buddy." Rainbow Dash flew over to Fluttershy, giving Castform to her. "Get some rest. Take care of him, Fluttershy."
"Okay. I will."
"So, Rainbow Dash. What will it be this time?" Harshwinny asked.
"Gotta admit, Ms Harshwinny. You're not as dangerous as you were when I first battled you. Are you going easy on me?"
"Absolutely not. I have different ways I approach my battles with the Pokemon I choose. You have just improved, that's all. That shows the growth of a strong trainer, wouldn't you agree?"
"Guess so." The pegasus chuckled before holding out her next Poke Ball. "Alright! Let's tip the scales! Go-go, Altaria!"
"Tari! Altaria!" Altaria roared before wincing. She was still poisoned, so her performance was lacking just a bit.
"I know how dangerous a Clefable can be. That's why I'm gonna make sure you don't do anything. Altaria! Let's put her to sleep! You know what to do!"
"Tari." Altaria nodded as it was time to sing the one song that can put any Pokemon to sleep. Goodnight, my Pikachu. Even if she was poisoned, her humming hadn't changed. "Alta...Altaria!" She began singing without even needing a move to do so as everyone recognized this tune.
"Goodnight, my Pikachu?" Applejack noticed. "Yeah, that'll work."
"It can put anyone to sleep successfully." Fluttershy nodded. "Mrs Ketchum really made a great song, didn't she?"
"Hmph. You think you're the only one who thought of something such as this?" Harshwinny and Clefable smirked suddenly, throwing Rainbow Dash off guard.
"Say what now?"
"Clefable. Do it."
"Clefable...Cle..." Just like Altaria, Clefable began exuding soundwaves from her mouth without needing a move to do so. This song was also made to put Altaria to sleep. Both are equal in usage. Their soundwaves ended up clashing once they met. One being blue and the other being pink.
"When I was a filly, my own mother and father would a sing a song that put me right to sleep. Effective and efficient on Clefable as well," said Harshwinny.
"They aren't using any moves and there are still soundwaves coming out. How's that even possible?" Pinkie Pie wondered. If no moves wee being used then there shouldn't be any soundwaves forming at all.
"It's still Infinity Energy inside of that," Twilight answered. "Even without using moves, they can still expel Infinity Energy from their bodies. Just like how Pikachu can shock others by exuding electricity without needing to use Thunderbolt all the time."
"No way you're gonna put us to sleep! I heard that Clefable's ears are pretty sensitive like Audino. Even a pin dropping won't be ignored! Then in that case...amp it up, Altaria!"
"Taria!" Altaria changed the tone of her singing. Instead of something peaceful, she made it aggressive as her soundwave increased in size and scale.
"Allow us to do the same!" Harshwinny responded.
"Fable!" Clefable also increased her soundwave in power. And once that happened, the struggle between both sounds was in full swing. Their singing wasn't so peaceful. Yet it was still harmonic.
Soon, their soundwaves ended up causing tremors, shattering the ice floor below them. They increased their volumes at the same time, shaking the room itself. Audino covered her ears as she was the most sensitive to this.
Altaria and Clefable started moving around, only to have their soundwaves continuously meet with each other either way. None of them were giving up as they were in perfect harmony with each other.
Rainbow Dash's rematch with Ms Harshwinny was in full swing. And despite them both being down to two Pokemon and this being a 3 on 3 battle, the length of this was impressive. Only one of them is emerging as the victor in this as the journey continues.
"Alright. I've dealt with everyone outside and-" Cadence entered the gym to see the Gym Battle for herself. And she came in at an interesting time.
Right now, Altaria and Clefable were having a sound battle. A blue soundwave from Altaria and a pink one from Clefable. Cadence froze for a moment after witnessing this. Twilight waved over to her fellow alicorn as Cadence chose to teleport instead of walking over. That was the safer option anyway. These soundwaves were causing tremors after all.
"My. This battle is already fairly intense." Cadence said, sitting behind Twilight. She closed her eyes after another tremor came through. "Who's winning so far?"
"It's even now. Both Rainbow Dash and Ms Harshwinny have two Pokemon left. But Altaria's badly poisoned right now." Twilight answered. "We're hoping Rainbow Dash can win this time."
"A-Alta...!" Altaria could feel herself weakening thanks to the poison. She couldn't keep up her singing for long. Clefable was still fairly healthy and full of energy without needing to worry about effects thanks to Magic Guard.
"Clefable!" Clefable had more oomph to give as she increased her volume. Altaria was unfortunately weakened to add some extra power to her singing. The poison was slowly eating her away. Her soundwave increased in size, pushing Altaria's back.
"Hang in there, Altaria! Add Ice Beam onto it!"
"A-Al...Taria!" Finally, Altaria had used a move. By combining Ice Beam with her natural singing voice, she sent a beam of ice that merged with the blue soundwave. The colours complemented each other as Sweetie Belle had a new idea for a Contest move.
Clefable noticed the beam approaching her as she continued to increase her tempo to fight back against it. Even without using a move to do so, showing just how powerful Clefable was. However, Harshwinny was aiming for something else.
"Break it up!"
"Clefable!" Clefable was the one who ended the soundwave struggle, sliding back as she had avoided the incoming beam of ice. Before, the force of the soundwaves had destroyed the ice on the floor. Now, the ice was back thanks to Ice Beam.
"Allow us to be more frontal! Approach Altaria!"
"Fable!" Usually, Fairy-Types don't do up close and personal actions. They are more of a ranged type, focusing on far distances. However, there are exceptions. And this was one of them.
"We'll get close too! Spin your beak around and use Pluck with it!"
"Alta!" Altaria dived, lighting her beak with an aura. After forming the aura, Altaria made it spin around her beak, creating something akin to Drill Peck.
"Clefa!" Clefable slid on the floor, using the ice to her advantage as Altaria approached. Once she was close enough, the Fairy Pokemon lunged into the air, evading the spinning aura of Altaria's Pluck. After evading it, Clefable personally got on Altaria's back.
"Tari?!"
"Right where we want you," smirked Harshwinny as she had a plan brewing.
"I've seen this trick before! Spin around and cover yourself in Ice Beam, Altaria!"
"Tari! Altaria!" Altaria knew what needed to be done. By summoning an Ice Beam and spinning, the Humming Pokemon would use the ice as a shield to deal with anyone that would dare get too close.
"Coat her with Dazzling Gleam!" But Harshwinny had a counter to that. A surprising one that was more akin to what unicorns and alicorns do.
"Clefable!" The Fairy Pokemon gripped Altaria's soft wings to keep herself on. She felt like she was going to be sick with Altaria spinning but she maintained herself in the meanwhile. After gripping her, Clefable then used Dazzling Gleam, sending out Fairy magic. But instead of it being in the form of rainbow rays or even a blinding flash, Clefable manipulated them to laminate Altaria.
"What the?!" Rainbow Dash pulled back as Altaria's body was now covered in Fairy-Type magic all around. Clefable then jumped off, avoiding the spiralling Ice Beam.
"That's just like the Magic Coating Spell!" Twilight stood up, recognizing the similarity. Altaria looked at herself, noticing what was currently surrounding her.
"It wasn't that difficult to understand. Fairy-Type Pokemon are the most magical of all the types aside from Dragon-Types. I just had to utilize their magic in the same way a unicorn or alicorn would. Now you're all covered in it." Harshwinny gave a quick explanation as always.
"Hah! That means it's a shield!" Rainbow Dash bellowed with a confident grin, believing that Harshwinny had sabotaged herself. "We can use this, Altaria!"
"Wrong." The earth pony shut the pegasus down immediately with that response. "Unlike that spell, Dazzling Gleam works differently. Observe. Clefable, if you will?"
"Fable." Just then, with a casual motion, Clefable had snapped her fingers. And by doing so, she caused some of the Fairy magic to blow up around Altaria, resulting in a colourful explosion.
"A-Altaria!"
"No, Altaria!"
"The magic is hers to manipulate! Now, Clefable! Gravity!"
"Fable!" As if it wasn't enough, Clefable also had Gravity on her side. By putting her hands out, Clefable had altered gravity itself, making it heavier. With that weight increase, the Humming Pokemon had been forced to the floor, crashing with heavy pressure.
"A-Aria!"
"Altaria! Break out of the coating with Ice Beam!"
"A-Alta...!" Altaria was ready to counter this. She felt her body being pressed down, but she wouldn't let it get to her. The Humming Pokemon made her mouth agape before summoning Ice Beam, which she didn't fire immediately. That's when Harshwinny and Clefable realized what she was planning.
The same trick that Castform performed earlier. Even though the ice wouldn't freeze Clefable thanks to Magic Guard, chances couldn't be taken at this rate.
"Dazzling Gleam!"
"Clefable!" The Fairy-Type bellowed, putting her hands together as she fired a barrage of rainbows towards Altaria.
"Now! Fire!"
"Taria!" Instead of consuming the ice, Altaria fired it forward. That was just a fake-out for Harshwinny and Clefable to fall for. And they did. Ice Beam collided with Dazzling Gleam, cancelling each other out in the process with only a cloud of pink and blue smoke left behind.
"Now, charge and use Pluck!"
"Tari!" Altaria could no longer fly properly thanks to Gravity. But, she could still use her legs and as a bonus, the ice was a great means of mobility. The Humming Pokemon immediately stood up, using the ice to slide over to Clefable with her beak lighting up. She jumped through the smoke, diving her beak onto Clefable's chest. "Alta!"
"C-Cle!" Clefable was knocked back after the initial hit, causing her to fall over due to the slippery floor. After hitting Clefable. Altaria continued to slide on the ice, approaching Clefable, who was currently spinning around on her back.
"Let's finish this! Pluck! One more time!"
"Altaria...!" Altaria was ready to perform the biggest Pluck she could give. She jumped into the air, feeling the strain of Gravity limiting her flying. But she persisted either way.
Clefable looked up to see Altaria powering her beak up for the strongest Pluck she'll probably ever do. Strangely enough, Harshwinny hadn't said anything yet as Clefable's eyes closed, fearing that she would be hit. However, it was soon discovered by Ms Harshwinny didn't say anything.
The poison had gotten to Altaria.
She had frozen in the air for a split second before closing her eyes, falling. The Humming Pokemon could no longer continue as she fell face-first onto the ice. She had fainted.
"Altaria..."
"Altaria is unable to battle! Clefable wins!" Starlight announced as Clefable let out a sigh of relief. Rainbow Dash also sighed as she recalled Altaria.
"Thanks for the help, Altaria. Rest up."
"That was a bit too close." Rarity said with her heart racing. "Just one Pokemon left at this rate. Surely she's planning on using Rainbow-Braviary for this. She didn't even use Mega Evolution for Altaria."
"If she was, she wouldn't have kept it a secret." Applejack replied, referring to Rainbow Dash's comment earlier. "She's got something."
"Well, it'd better be good cause there's only one Pokemon left." Pinkie Pie bit her hooves.
"I was expecting Mega Evolution from your Altaria, Rainbow Dash. Why not use it?" Harshwinny asked.
"I just wanted to test a few things out. But now, I'm gonna settle it with my final Pokemon. My ace in the hole." She then held out her final Poke Ball. Harshwinny was expecting to encounter Braviary, potentially entering Rainbow-Braviary. But no. She threw the Poke Ball with her wing, revealing who it was. "Here goes! Mienfoo go!"
"Mienfoo!"
"Mienfoo?" Scootaloo scratched her mane. "Why?"
"Most of the Pokemon Ms Harshwinny uses are strong against Fighting-Type Pokemon," Twilight added. "So even if she can somehow get past Clefairy, who knows what her final Pokemon could be? The last one is always the strongest, right?"
"Espeon."
"If this is your final choice, I'm curious to see what you will do." Harshwinny raised her head, curious about Rainbow Dash's final decision.
"Just watch. Are you ready, Mienfoo?"
"Mien-Mienfoo!" Mienfoo asserted her dominance by stomping on the floor and smashing her fist on it, forming some cracks. She also exuded some energy from her fighting spirit.
"Let's go! Acrobatics!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo went on the offensive, lunging into the air with an impressive flip.
"Dazzling Gleam!"
"Clefa!" As Mienfoo approached, Clefable had used Dazzling Gleam, causing a blinding flash of light to exude out of her as Mienfoo had witnessed it. Mienfoo flinched from that as she then covered her eyes. Not only that but Clefable had expanded the light, causing it to hit Mienfoo.
"F-Foo! The Martial Arts Pokemon was sent flying back as her eyes reopened. She regained her balance and momentum once she slid on the floor.
"Use Acrobatics on the walls and ceiling! Go!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo then changed directions. Instead of going towards Clefable, she performed a backflip, landing on the walls. The Martial Arts Pokemon then leapt towards the next wall with her natural agility and the strength of Acrobatics.
"I see what you're planning. Gravity!"
"Fable!" Seeing through Rainbow Dash's plan, Clefable had used Gravity once more. However, if she wanted to get Mienfoo down, she would need to have the Fighting-Type in place. That was tricky since Mienfoo was moving rapidly. Clefable summoned gravity fields, trying to trap Mienfoo in them. But each time Mienfoo leapt from wall to wall plus ceiling, the field ended up missing.
"Hm. We'll need an easier hit then. Dazzling Gleam!" Harshwinny raised her hoof as Clefable then sent an array of rainbows to try and knock Mienfoo down. The rays hit the walls and ceiling, damaging the area as Mienfoo was still on the move.
"Now go!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo then leapt from the ceiling, rushing downwards. Harshwinny and Clefable were expecting a downwards strike from Mienfoo with great speed.
And they weren't wrong. However, it wasn't towards Clefable. Instead, Mienfoo had smashed her foot on the floor, shattering most of the ice. That's when Rainbow Dash smirked. Once Mienfoo shattered the ice, massive ice chunks rose from above. Not only that, but the floor itself shook, almost throwing Clefable off balance.
"Fury Swipes!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo then revealed her claws, rapidly slashing the massive chunks of ice instead of going towards Clefable. After swiping them, she launched them all at the Fairy Pokemon.
This was payback for what happened with Altaria in the first battle against Harshwinny. Harshwinny's own method had been used against her.
"Send them all down with Gravity!"
"Clefable!" But Clefable was ready for that too. Once the shards came closer, she simply made a Gravity field to force them all down. The chunks struck the ground, shattering into pieces.
"Metronome!"
"Now smash the rest of the ice and use Force Palm!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo then smashed her fist into the remaining ice. And she received a good chunk of it. Two large chunks of ice had been taken by the Martial Arts Pokemon. By doing so, she now had the chunks as weapons. The Fighting-Type then rushed towards the Fairy-Type with two cold and hard weapons.
"Clefa!" By wagging her finger, the Fairy Pokemon had come up with a new move already. Mienfoo narrowed her eyes as Clefable gained access to Lugia's signature move.
Aeroblast.
"Fable!" Clefable fired multiple beams of yellow-orange from her mouth which eventually converge into a single destructive beam, surrounded by a vortex of wind.
"That's Lugia's move!" Ash gasped, recognizing it instantly. After hearing Lugia's name, everyone shuddered as they knew this was a powerful attack. Plus, since it was a Flying-Type move and one of the strongest, that didn't spell good news for Mienfoo.
"Here goes! Use the chunks of Mienfoo!"
"Mien...Foo!" Just then, with a stroke of genius, Mienfoo put all of her muscles into her left arm, throwing the left ice chunk forward. By throwing it, she used it as a decoy and shield against Aeroblast.
And it was a success. Mienfoo jumped on the left chunk, using it as a boost for a higher height as she leapt off it. With a dangerous timing as well. Once she jumped off it, the chunk had been obliterated by Aeroblast. But that allowed Mienfoo to get as close as she wanted.
"Clefa?!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo then roared as she appeared above the Fairy Pokemon. And with brute force, she summoned an orange light around her paw with Force Palm before smashing the chunk on Clefable's head.
"C-Cle!"
"Mien!" After smashing the chunk and shattering it, the Martial Arts Pokemon delivered her final blow, striking Force Palm onto the Fairy Pokemon's head. A mighty hit that destroyed the rest of the ice as Clefable was sent flying.
The Fairy-Type tumbled on the floor like a bouncy ball, flying past Harshwinny. Ms Harshwinny turned around to see her partner tumbling around uncontrollably. And with no control before crashing into the wall, that meant one thing.
Clefable had fainted.
"Clefable..."
"Clefable is unable to battle! Mienfoo wins!"
"Mien-Mien!" To assert even more dominance, Mienfoo let out a bellowing roar of victory along with everyone. They were proud of Mienfoo's performance.
"Yes!" Way to go, Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash raised her hooves. "Now there's just one more left!"
"Great performance as always, Mienfoo!" Rarity applauded along with the CMC.
"My that is one aggressive Pokemon..." Cadence was stunned by how ruthless Mienfoo was when it came to Pokemon battling. Fast and strong.
"That's Mienfoo's best trait. No one puts the pressure on better than her," said Twilight. Harshwinny let out a nod of approval before returning Clefable.
"Splendid work, Clefable. Rest, my friend." She then placed Clefable's Poke Ball away before holding out the final one. Her final Pokemon. Perhaps not her strongest, but certainly one that she can rely on. "Now, Rainbow Dash. Make sure this isn't a repeat of our previous battle. Only one of our Pokemon remain, remember. Make this count."
"I will." Rainbow nodded, gulping a bit before taking a deep breath.
"Then...Assist me, Grumpig!" Just as expected, the final Pokemon of Ms Harshwinny was another Pokemon strong against Fighting-Type Pokemon. This time, it was the Manipulate Pokemon Grumpig instead of Alakazam.
"Grumpig!"
"What is that?" Scootaloo took out her Pokedex as some of them have never seen Grumpig before.
"Grumpig. The Manipulate Pokemon. Grumpig uses the black pearls on its body to amplify its psychic power waves for gaining total control over its foe. When this Pokémon uses its special power, its snorting breath grows laboured. It does a strange dance to control foes’ minds. This Pokémon’s black pearls are valuable as works of art."
It all came down to this. Mienfoo vs Grumpig. The Manipulate Pokemon gave a cocky and downplaying smirk towards Mienfoo, personally aiming to aggravate and taunt her. And considering how aggressive Mienfoo is, it was effective. The Martial Arts Pokemon was already getting riled up, wanting to pulverize Grumping as hard as she could.
The sun could be seen setting in the background as a few ponies from outside were actually watching this battle from the windows, anticipating the final act. Rainbow Dash then looked at the one item she was carrying with her. Not the Mega Stone, but the Fightinium Z.
"Mienfoo! Fury Swipes!"
"Mien-Mien!" Mienfoo went first. Bolting forward and revealing her hidden claws. She was going to put her speed at full display.
"Teeter Dance."
"Pig! Grumpig!" Grumpig chuckled before outlining himself in a festive light blue aura. The Psychic-Type then started dancing, performing an exotic Grumpig exclusive dance that had immediately caught Mienfoo. This was similar to what Kardia's Ludicolo had done as Rainbow Dash noticed this.
"M-Mien...?" Mienfoo suddenly slowed down as her vision was becoming obscured. Once Teeter Dance caught her, she was immediately confused. "Mienfoo...!"
"It's okay, Mienfoo! Hit yourself with Force Palm!" Luckily, Rainbow Dash had a solution for this. Since Kardia showed her this move, she found an easy way to get past the confusion. Mienfoo then stopped, using Force Palm on herself. The Martial Arts Pokemon started hitting herself in the face continuously to try and remove the confusion.
"Mien! Mien! Mien!"
"I think not! Psyshock!"
"Grum!" The Psychic-Type created a stream of purple energy in between his hands before firing a purple beam of aura from his hands.
"Risky but we'll take it! Smash your head onto Psychock!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo then changed her actions. Instead of hitting herself, she then allowed the attack to hit her. Rainbow Dash was right. It was risky. But a risk worth taking. The Martial Arts Pokemon pulled her head back before smashing it onto the stream of purple energy.
Even Ms Harshwinny was surprised by that as Mienfoo was then blown back by the attack, rolling on the floor before recovering. However, it was a good call. Both hitting her head and smashing it against Psyshock had snapped Mienfoo out of the confusion, shocking everyone as Ash nodded in approval.
"That broke the confusion?!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "Genius!"
"Genius is right..." Harshwinny gawked. "Such a brazen approach yet well-thought.
"Awesome! Now let's keep it up! Force Palm, go!"
"Hm. I believe we'll be physical for a moment. Grumpig! Fire Punch!"
Both Mienfoo and Grumping were about to enter a close-quarters battle with Mienfoo jumping into the air. However, Grumpig had one trick up his sleeve with Fire Punch.
"Cover yourself, Grumpig!"
"Grumpig!" With yet another surprising tactic, Grumpig had used Fire Punch in a unique way. Similar to what Clefairy did with Dazzling Gleam, Grumping hit himself, coating his body in Fire Punch instead of his body.
There was ow a Flaming Grumpig approaching Mienfoo with an extra set of armour while still having the flames on his hands. But Mienfoo wasn't intimidated as everyone gasped at this fire armour.
"Mien!" With a bellowing roar, Mienfoo threw the first punch with Grumpig blocking it. Mienfoo's paw met with the flames as she could feel the blazing heat exuding from them. "M-Mienfoo!"
"Pig!" Grumpig then gave a counter-attack, granting an uppercut to Mienfoo. The Martial Arts Pokemon was knocked back by this as she cried out. Grumpig then jumped towards Mienfoo, aiming to slam on her with his blazing body.
"Mien!" Mienfoo wouldn't allow that to happen as she landed on the floor before jumping back up. The Martial Arts Pokemon and the Manipulate Pokemon's attacks both collided, exuding a shockwave. However, there was barely a struggle as Mienfoo could feel the heat yet again. She closed one eye as she was trying to withstand it.
"Grum-Grumpig!" Grumpig chuckled, knowing that Mienfoo would struggle against this armour of fire. Seeing the weak spot, Grumpig grabbed the Martial Arts Pokemon by the face with his other hand. The Manipulate Pokemon then descended, slamming Mienfoo to the floor. "Pig!"
"M-Mien!"
"Mienfoo, no!" Rainbow Dash gasped. Mienfoo growled as she was now pinned to the floor. Not only that, but she could still feel the flames.
"Add Psyshock onto it."
"Grumpig!" Grumpig could still use other moves while having an armour of fire, making him truly a dangerous opponent to battle against. He summoned a green light in his hand, ready to unleash it on Mienfoo's face. Everyone was afraid of what would happen to Mienfoo's face if this attack went through.
"Mien!" But, Mienfoo had one natural and clever instinct. Just bite. And so she did. She bit Grumpig's hand, causing the Manipulate Pokemon to cry out. His focus had been broken, negating Psyshock. So was his grip, allowing Mienfoo to break free. And she freed herself by kicking the Psychic-Type's stomach. However, she also hurt her teeth in the process.
"G-Grum!?"
"Reversal!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo was ready to use all the damage Grumpig did to her, sending it right back to him. The Martial Arts Pokemon leapt forward, smashing her knee onto Grumpig's face, also burning her knee.
"Fire Punch!"
"G-Grumpig!" Grumpig growled, throwing another flaming fist towards the Fighting-Type.
"Force Palm!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo responded with Force Palm as they clashed again. However, this time, Mienfoo wasn't too bothered by the flames. She still winced but she kept a strong focus.
"She's not struggling as much!" Fluttershy noticed as she stood up.
"Mienfoo's great at adapting after all. She's really good at recklessly charging headfirst even despite the circumstances," said Twilight. "That's what makes her so strong after all."
"Mien!" Mienfoo jumped over Grumpig's next punch before hitting him in the back. Grumping immediately turned around, swinging Fire Punch. Mienfoo blocked the next move as she ended up sliding back.
"Exude your flames and merge them with Signal Beam!"
"Pig!" Grumpig then exuded some of the flames around this body, sending a burst of fire while also using Signal Beam. The Manipulate Pokemon added a sinister green beam of light into the flames, causing them to grow in strength.
"Fight back with Force Palm!"
"Mien...Foo!" With pure power, Mienfoo smashed her fist onto the burst of flames and the beams inside of them. It was risky, of course. She, unfortunately, couldn't fight back against flames at the moment. Thus, she had been blasted away by the combination of flames and Signal Beam. "M-Mien!"
Mienfoo slid on the floor as she had gained the burn effect now from all of that physical contact with flames. But, she wasn't ready to give up at all.
"Such persistent and vigour your Mienfoo has. But I believe it's time we finished this." Harshwinny flipped her mane as everything paused for a moment.
"I hear ya." Rainbow Dash knew that it was time. Time for the big finale. And there was only one way to do it. She held out her Z-Crystal while also taking out her Z-Ring.
"Oh! It's Z-Move time!" Pinkie Pie bellowed as Rainbow Dash placed her Z-Ring on. A perfect fit too. It was custom made to fit a pony after all as she placed the Z-Crystal inside. Once inside, a golden aura flared with the power of Alola being gathered in Equestria.
"Grumpig. Show them your Flaming Psyshock."
"Grumpig..." Grumping put his hands together, merging his flames with the power of Psyshock. Three thick masses were formed from this combination with an aura of fire surrounding them, Grumping was also building it up to make sure it was extra strong and large.
"Here goes!" Rainbow Dash raised her arm, activating the Z-Ring's power. "No strategy for this one! We're just going to hit you with our full force Z-Move!" She roared before having a golden light come out of her body. She then began posing by starting with a bipedal pose.
"Mien-Mien!" Mienfoo was also surrounded by this golden light as Grumpig's Psychock was growing ever so. Rainbow Dash then struck a series of poses, memorizing the Z-Pose well ever since she first saw Hala use it.
"Get ready! This is what Mienfoo and I were waiting for! We're going to hit you harder than you'll ever be hit!"
"Mienfoo!"
"Mienfoo! ALL OUT PUMMELING!"
"Mienfoo...!" Mienfoo's body then burst with a mighty orange aura, showing her true fighting spirit. After that, she sent a barrage of punches and kicks by rapidly moving her paws and feet. "Mien-Mien-Mien!"
"Grumpig!" Grumpig had then unleashed his attack, throwing a massive beam of Fire and Psychic energy forward. The ball then clashed with the multitude of punches and kicks, promptly creating a struggle between them.
The orange punches and kicks rapidly pummeled the beam, trying to break through with Mienfoo continuously throwing her attacks.
"Come on, Mienfoo! Breakthrough!" Rainbow Dash encouraged.
"M-Mien...!" Mienfoo narrowed her eyes, putting everything she had into this. So was Grumpig. Both wanted to win this struggle. Both of them could feel their legs shaking as the floor below was cracking. Ash and the others held their anticipation for the final moment, wondering how this would end.
"M-MIENFOO!" Mienfoo had more to give out as she unleashed the remainder of her Z energy and fighting spirit into one last spurt of energy. And that's all she needed. A large fist had charged through the flaming beam, overpowering it as Grumpig's eyes widened.
And with that, the fist had struck Grump head-on, obliterating his Blazing Psychock to dust. The result was a paroxysm of Infinity Energy that formed into a dome with its outburst.
Mienfoo's aura faded away as the windows had shattered, starling everypony nearby. The Martial Arts Pokemon kneeled, feeling exhausted after all of that. The Z-Ring had also lost its power. But it wasn't in vain. With the smoke clearing, it had been decided. Grumpig had fainted, meaning only one thing.
"Oh!" Starlight gasped. "Grumpig is unable to battle! Mienfoo wins! Which means the victor is Rainbow Dash!"
"Alright!" Rainbow Dash bellowed with victory as she dashed over to her partner. With high energy and happiness, she granted Mienfoo a hug. "Mienfoo, you're so awesome!"
"M-Mien?!" Mienfoo grimaced as she wasn't a big fan of hugs. She sighed, accepting it either way. "Mienfoo..."
"Yes! Nice one!" Ash and the others stood up, applauding and celebrating their friend's victory. Cadence may have been a bit late but she got to experience a truly frantic and entertaining battle.
"Pikachu!"
"Well done, Grumpig." Harshwinny went over to the Manipulate Pokemon, hugging him before helping him up. "Rainbow Dash."
"Hm? Yes?" The pegasus then turned after having her name called out.
"Congratulations. Proving yourself in our rematch wasn't a waste at all. You're certainly a trainer with potential."
"Thanks, Ms Harshwinny. I gotta admit, I was getting pretty nervous there." She chuckled in response. "Guess I should expect something bigger with the last two Gym Battles, huh?"
"Indeed. With only two Pokemon being allowed in those, you will have to be as strategic and careful as you can be. Your place in the Equestria League is on the line."
"Yeah. I know. I won't mess up. I'll get the last badges, reach the league and become the first champion."
"Speaking of badges..." Finally, Harshwinny revealed the major prize of this. The sixth badge for Rainbow Dash was here. "The Capricious Badge. It's yours."
"Alright!" Without wasting time, she took the badge that was handed to her, getting a good look at it. "I got my sixth gym badge, haha! Seventh and eight, here I come!"
"Mienfoo!"
After all was said and done, Harshwinny closed the gym for the day. Rainbow Dash and the others had left with Cadence feeling satisfied after witnessing that battle.
Rainbow Dash's future as a trainer is looking bright. A future that she aims to live to the fullest and the best it can possibly be. And with such amazing partners like Mienfoo on her side, there's a chance for that to happen. The Equestria League Conference is nearing as the journey continues.
Right now, Goh was going through his usual task of catching Pokemon, just to fulfil his goal. Joining him in this was Starlight who supported his goal, despite how massive it was. Goh had just caught a few Pokemon today successfully, adding new data to his Pokedex.
"Nice! I got myself a Delcatty!" Goh raised the Poke Ball which currently had a newly caught Delcatty within it.
"Good job, Goh!" Starlight clapped her hooves, applauding her friend. "That's...how many Pokemon left to go?"
"Not sure. But ah, who cares? As long as I can catch 'em, it's fine with me." Goh placed his Pokedex back in his pocket. "So, what's next?"
"You're the catcher here." Starlight shrugged. "I don't have much to say right now, anyway."
"Ah, that's it!" Goh then sparked an idea, putting his hands together. "How about we get you your second Pokemon? Someone new for Hatterene?"
"Oh, my second Pokemon." The unicorn looked up, pondering for a moment. "I guess I'm really limited to one Pokemon, aren't I? Even Applejack has a Golett now. E-Even though if it tagged along in the first place. Having another Pokemon and a new teammate for Hatterene doesn't sound so bad."
"Nice. So which Pokemon will it be?"
"Eh..." Starlight shrugged. "I mean...Normal-Types are pretty cute. So are Fairy and Grass-Types, I guess. I don't know really. You choose."
"Guess we're gonna have to find out which one works, huh? Oh, maybe those ponies over there have something." Goh then noticed some ponies passing by, going on a stroll. He waved at them, grabbing their attention.
"Oh, hey." A mare spoke. "Aren't you Ash's sidekick?"
After hearing that, Goh froze on the spot while still maintaining an open-mouthed smile. Being called a sidekick was a shot to the heart as he then fell to the ground afterwards. The mare put her hoof on her mouth, quickly realizing what she had just said.
"Oops! Sorry!" She apologized before getting on her merry way with her friend. But the damage was already done. Goh laid there with his head hung low on his knees.
"S-Sidekick..." Goh grumbled. "Guess that's what I am to everyone here."
"G-Goh!" Starlight rushed over, patting him on the back. "Don't say that. Of course, you're not Ash's sidekick, you're just um...not that well known around here. That doesn't mean you're a sidekick."
"Right." Goh scrunched his face before standing up, crossing his arms to try and shrug off the pain. But he was still feeling it as a single tear fell from his eyes. "Anyway! Let's get rolling and catch some Pokemon!"
The two of them moved to the nearest part of the fields. Near the fields, there was a biome all for Rock-Type Pokemon and some Water-Types known as Rock-Soft Hills. Starlight was personally into cute Pokemon as her choice. Rock-Types aren't known for being the cutest but some are. Plus, any Pokemon can be considered cute in some way.
They climbed up a hill to get a better view of the place before heading to a lower part of the area. There were some selections for Starlight. Plenty. But nothing that would really catch her eye. However, she knew that she wouldn't make any progress by just gazing and thinking.
"Just to have a better chance, I'll use these." She took some Great Balls out of her saddlebag. They would clearly help for a better catch efficiency. "This would work fine. And I think I'll take a Lapras. Those are cute."
"Lapras, huh?" Goh looked at his Pokedex, checking out Lapras' data. "Alright. Lapras it-" But just before he could finish his sentence, over at the distance up north, a loud and visible explosion occurred.
The two of them were alerted by it as they faced the direction of the explosion. What was left was a large smoke cloud afterwards. But not only that, some Pokemon were running for the hills. Or even swimming away as fast as they could.
"What was that?!" Starlight gasped. They wouldn't have to wonder soon as their answer had been granted. In the distance, up in the sky through the smoke, they had seen a familiar sight.
A blimp. Not just any blimp. A Team Plasma blimp.
"Team Plasma?!" They both exclaimed. If Team Plasma were here, that meant only one thing. There was something that they wanted in this world, obviously.
The blimp travelled through the air as a few Team Plasma grunts could be seen exiting it. Starlight and Goh quickly hid behind a large rock mound to conceal themselves.
"Suicune is hiding somewhere here. Search everywhere in this area." A grunt spoke as Goh and Starlight found out why they were here.
"Suicune?" The duo said after hearing Suicune's name. It was clear as day. They were searching for Suicune. The same Suicune that escaped from their base along with the Zeraora. Their escape had led them to this universe and Team Plasma was aiming to retrieve them. They had been searching for a few weeks now without slowing down.
A couple of grunts could be seen, moving across the land as they were scaring some Pokemon away from their destructive entrance. Starlight and Goh kept quiet as they knew what had to be done. However, they couldn't do it alone. Not with all of these grunts.
"If they get Suicune..." Starlight said before pulling out her Xtransceiver. "Looks we'll need all-" Unfortunately, to their surprise, the rock mound that they hid behind had been obliterated, blowing them both back. "Ah!"
Goh and Starlight were both knocked back by this explosion as they crashed into a nearby hill with pebbles falling on them. The cause of this? Not a Wild Pokemon. But Team Plasma themselves.
The rubble settled along with the smoke as it was revealed that they had found Goh and Starlight. A few of them at least. The others were going for Suicune. And with them, they had a Luxray, explaining how they had been found.
"Sticky Web!" Another grunt spoke, commanding his Araquanid by his side.
"Quanid!" With quick movements, the Water Bubble Pokemon weaved a sticky web around the duo. The web had also pinned them against the wall
"Nice find, Luxray." A grunt said.
"Luxray!" The Gleam Eyes Pokemon growled at the two of them.
"U-Ugh...What happened to using only Poison, Dark and Ghost-Types?" Starlight groaned.
"Hmph. Those became boring and pointless quick. Using other types makes things much easier for us." Another grunt said as she chuckled.
"You're Ash Ketchum's friends, aren't you? We've made a great find." A grunt stepped forward. "Can't stay out of our business, can you?"
"What do you want with Suicune?! It's not a Pokemon that gives a lot of power like Reshiram or Zekrom!" Goh exclaimed as Starlight tried using her magic to break free. Araquanid just added more webs, causing the trap to become thicker and harder to break out of.
"Lord Ghetsis and Colress have their plans with each Pokemon. Even the less powerful Legendary Pokemon have their purpose. But you don't need to know what. Speaking of Suicune, it's high time we bought it out." The grunt then turned around, holding a Poke Ball. Out of this Poke Ball came a Weavile.
"Weavile!" As Weavile emerged, other grunts went up to the lake with their Pokemon. Despite them using new Pokemon of different types, they still had Poison and Dark-Type Pokemon with them.
"Use Poison Jab on the water."
"Toxic." A few other grunts ordered. Each would use some form of poison as the Pokemon spat out an intensifying toxic out of their mouths.
"Wea...vile!" The Sharp Claw Pokemon covered its claws in poison before dipping them into the lake. By doing so, Weavile and the other Pokemon immediately polluted the lake with an abundance of poison.
The naturally beautiful blue water had been corrupted, gaining a murky deep purple colouring. That didn't spell any good news for the Water-Type Pokemon living in it as there were no signs of the poison stopping or even slowing down.
"That should do it. Practically something that it won't resist." A grunt chuckled before Goh and Starlight realized what they were doing.
"I've heard about Suicune...it purifies water! You're gonna drag it out with this?!" Starlight bellowed before trying to use her magic to break through this thick web. Even if her magic was on par with an alicorn, the web from a Pokemon was tough to break.
"Clever horse." A grunt replied before having his Araquanid add more webs, making it harder for Starlight to break free. As the webs were added, the Water-Type Pokemon were already in a predicament with dealing with this water. They were aiming to swim somewhere else for safety.
And at that same time, the sound of a powerful Pokemon crying out could be heard. That Pokemon being Suicune. The grunts smirked, knowing that their bait was working.
"Good. But first. Let's get rid of you all." The grunts then turned to Goh and Starlight, aiming to do more than just trap them here. "Lord Ghetsis will appreciate it if some of Ash's friends are out of the picture." She chuckled before approaching Starlight and Goh.
The grunt noticed that Starlight had her Xtransceiver out. It was still out since she was aiming to call her friends. After seeing it, the grunt personal snatched the communication device from the web. She held it up, allowing Weavile to break it apart with a slash of its claw. Starlight's eyes widened as she just saw her Xtransceiver perish that easily.
"Wea!"
"There. Calling your friends won't be so easy now, will it? Weavile, Poison Jab."
"Araquanid, Scald."
"Wea...!" Weavile jumped into the air, coating its claws it poison yet again. Araquanid shot out scalding hot water from its face, aiming to burn them alive with water of all things.
"C-Come on!" Goh put everything into his muscles but the webs were too thick. Starlight closed her eyes as she tried expanding her magic. Scald would obviously reach them first before Starlight could break free. However, something interrupted them.
Another Scald came flying in, intercepting Araquanid's Scald as they cancelled each other out. That allowed Starlight to create a shield around her and Goh from Weavile. The Sharp Claw Pokemon ended up slashing a barrier instead of its intended prey.
Araquanid and the grunts turned round to see who had intercepted the attack. It was a Lapras and other Water-Type Pokemon who weren't too fond of Team Plasma polluting their water.
"Tch. There's always some interruption either way. Head for Suicune!" A grunt ordered as they all scattered, aiming to not waste any time. Once the other Pokemon approached, Team Plasma rushed off to focus on what really mattered. Suicune.
"Grrr!" Starlight groaned as she concentrated all of the magic she had. By doing so, she ripped the web off, freeing her and Goh after having enough time. However, some grunts weren't about to allow their plans to be interrupted.
A few of them stayed behind to deal with Goh, Starlight and the other Pokemon while the rest went off to nab Suicune. If they could find it. Now that they were free, Goh and Starlight could use their Pokemon.
"Like we'd let you get to Suicune! Come out, Cinderace!"
"Go, Hatterene!" At the same time, they threw their Poke Balls. Out came the Striker Pokemon and Silent Pokemon, standing in front of their trainers. And they had assistance from Lapras and some other Water-Types.
"Cinderace!"
"Hatterene!"
"Cinderace, use Blaze Kick!"
"Hatterene, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Cinder!" Cinderace stomped on the ground before igniting its own feet. The Striker Pokemon then leapt forward, flipping in the air before putting its foot out. Hatterene stood back, unleashing multiple rainbow rays from her claw as the Water-Types assisted. Dazzling Gleam was accompanied by Water-Type attacks that also flew past Cinderace.
"Sigilyph, Ancient Power!"
"Galvantula, Discharge!"
"Weavile, Night Slash!" Each of the grunts ordered the rest of their Pokemon. About 12 of them were present. Just enough to even the odds against Cinderace, Hatterene and the Water-Types.
Weavile lunged into the air, clashing with Cinderace's leg by using Night Slash yet again. The two of them entered a clash with Weavile trying to properly slash Cinderace as Cinderace was looking for a clean hit with Blaze Kick. Galvantula unleashed a flare of electricity so strong that it had overpowered the Water-Type attacks, hitting the Pokemon that had unleashed them.
Sigilyph's Ancient Power had met with Hatterene's Dazzling Gleam with both attacks being equal. A few other Pokemon had used Sludge Bomb and Hidden Power. Cinderace and Weavile separated as streams of sludge and white beams with different typings came towards its direction along with Hatterene.
"Ace?!" Cinderace put up its arms to try and block this as attacks had landed right around their area. Discharge had already struck the Water-Types, dealing super-effective damage. Not only that, but the poison within the water was still present. And eventually, those inside the water would be poisoned as well.
Cinderace and Hatteene had been hit by Discharge due to its range as well as the other attacks, taking damage in the process. The two of them had been knocked back afterwards.
"C-Cinder!"
"Hatt!"
"Now, use Hyper Beam!" A grunt ordered their Exploud.
"Ex...Ploud!" Exploud summoned an orb of energy in its mouth, charging it so that it would take everyone out in the process.
"Pyro Ball!"
"Cinderace!" Cinderace recovered before kicking a pebble. That pebble ignited afterwards, forming a ball of fire. The Striker Pokemon then kicked the fireball as hard as it could, right when Exploud unleashed Hyper Beam. Pyro Ball and Hyper Beam with them equalizing each other, resulting in an outburst. Afterwards, smoke filled the area while some of the Water-Type Pokemon were already leaving the area while the poison continued to spread.
Through the smoke, Weavile had shown up, appearing above Hatterene with Poison Jab. Galvantula had also sent an Electroweb through the smoke, catching Cinderace with it.
"C-Cinder!" Cinderace had been restrained against a hill with a net of electricity crackling bout.
"Hatterene, Protect!"
"Tterene!" To defend herself, Hatterene put up a barrier around her body. Weavile rapidly swung its claws at the barrier while Cinderace writhed around, attempting to break free.
"Muk! Sludge Bomb!" Two grunts ordered their two Muk. The Muk shot out sludges from their mouths with one aimed at Cinderace and the other towards Hatterene's shield.
"Cinderace!" Goh got in the way, shielding his partner as he took the Sludge Bomb instead. As a result, Goh had been hit by the sludge, falling over afterwards. Cinderace growled after seeing Goh harmed. With pure power, it broke out the web, shattering it. As for Hatterene, her shield was being battered by poison. Unfortunately, she couldn't hold it for long.
"H-Hatt!" Hatterene groaned, however, she quickly gained help. Starlight used her own magic to add a second shield, layering it. That greatly helped her.
"Hyper Beam, again!"
"Ploud!" Exploud unleashed another Hyper Beam as Weavile jumped out of the way. The Hyper Beam struck the double shields at full force. It was a move certainly strong enough to damage shields if used correctly. One hit and Starlight's shield trembled.
"There's way too many of them!" Goh said as he stood beside Cinderace. "Let's go!"
"I'm with you on that one!" Starlight agreed as she removed her shield along with Hatterene's Protect. They were greatly outnumbered right now with the Water-Types aiming to head somewhere clean and safe without poison.
Goh and Starlight recalled their Pokemon before dashing off. However, the grunts wouldn't allow them to get away scot-free. They had a goal. And they didn't want anyone to ruin it. Before they could rush off, Lapras had actually stayed behind, using Ice Beam to create a large sharp blockade of ice.
"Lap! Lapras!" The Transport Pokemon could see that Goh and Starlight were good in the heart, so it allowed them to run off. But it was feeling vengeful against Team Plasma.
"Thank you, Lapras!" Starlight thanked the Transport Pokemon as she and Goh managed to leave the sights of Team Plasma. The grunts faced Lapras, aiming to quickly deal with it and continue their pursuit.
"Stay here." However. They weren't alone in this. One of the more elite members of Team Plasma had come along with them in their hunt for Suicune.
One of the Shadow Triad members. He could be seen on a hill as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He ordered the grunts to stay behind and deal with Lapras while the rest find Suicune. The triad member himself would deal with Goh and Starlight. He had other stronger Team Plasma grunts by his side to make sure that would happen.
Goh and Starlight had found a place to hide at the moment. A nearby cave. They were out of the grunts' sight at the moment. They took a moment to breathe. If they had continued their battle any further, chances are, they would've lost. Team Plasma had better numbers and they had seemingly improved their battling skills, which was not a good sign.
"Okay...This looks good enough." Starlight sighed. "We still need to find Suicune before they do."
"Where?" Goh asked. "Suicune could be anywhere. Doesn't it move around the land quickly?"
"Suicune won't ignore any contaminated water at all. They know that it'll come right to it no matter what. There's also a lake nearby." Starlight explained.
"We can't do this alone." Goh took out his Rotomdex to try and call Ash.
"Then you never should've gotten in our way in the first place." Responding to Goh in a heartbeat was none other than the Shadow Triad member.
That quickly, he had found them with little effort. Beside him were other grunts as he had his Banette out. The three grunts beside him had a Salazzle, Barbaracle and Liepard with them.
"How'd they find us so fast?!" Starlight pulled her mane.
"No time!" Goh quickly selected Ash's number, knowing he needed t call him fast. The call went through with some beeping. However, Team Plasma refused the chance of Ash and the others showing up. The Triad Member took a single needle out, flicking it.
He flicked it with so much force that it moved at incredible speeds. The needle then pierced through Goh's Rotomdex, interrupting the call as it was dropped out of his hands.
"Oh!"
"Now." The Triad Member descended to the lower ground with the other grunts, facing Goh and Starlight. Already, they had cornered them despite their being less than 12 as opposed to the previous grunts from before.
Goh held out a Poke Ball, ready to defend himself in whatever way he could. As for Starlight, she was ready to do the same, but not before using her magic to do one little thing. The telepathic communication spell. A handy spell that Twilight taught her and was also used during the invasion.
"Twilight! If you're hearing this, Goh and I need help! Serious help!" Starlight communicated with Twilight from afar with this spell. The sound travelled through the land of Equestria, all the way from this rocky biome to Twilight's castle.
"Starlight? What's wrong?" Twilight had received it, responding. "Where are you two?"
"Rock-Soft Hills! We've run into some Team Plasma Trouble!" She explained as she sent out Hatterene while Goh sent out his Flygon. "They're after Suicune!"
"Team Plasma?! Suicune?! We're on our way! Just hang in there, okay?!"
"Banette, Phantom Force."
"Nette!" The Marionette Pokemon vanished, evading Flygon's incoming Dragon Claw.
"Fly?"
"Liepard! Play Rough!"
"Lie!" Liepard lunged at Flygon right after it had missed Dragon Claw. The Cruel Pokemon pounded on the Mystic Pokemon, pinning it to the ground before covering Flygon in a cloud of pink smoke.
"Salazzle, Fire Lash!"
"Lazzle!" Salazzle held her tongue out, igniting it with scorching flames before swinging it at Hatterene.
"Psycho Cut, Hatterene!"
"Hatt!" Hatterene quickly responded by swinging her own claw with Psychic energy around it. Her claw met with Salazzle's tongue as they started clashing back and forth like swords.
"Barbaracle, use Ice Beam!"
"Barbaracle!" As for Barbaracle, it stood from afar, firing a beam of ice towards Flygon once it was knocked out of Play Rough's smoke. Flygon recovered in the air, evading Ice Beam at the right time. However, as a sneak attack, Banette appeared from the shadows, whacking the Mystic Pokemon down to the ground.
"F-Fly!"
"Bar!" After Flygon was sent down, Barbaracle used another Ice Beam. A direct hit. Flygon had taken super-effective damage yet again as its body had been frozen afterwards.
"Ah, Flygon!" Goh gasped but he didn't have to worry. Starlight used her magic to break the ice prison around Flygon, freeing the Mystic Pokemon.
"Hatterene, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Hatt!" Hatterene formed a dome-shaped rainbow around her body. BY doing so, she made a blinding light that had affected the opposing Pokemon. Liepard, Barbaracle and Salazzle had been blinded by it. Not only that, but the dome expanded, blowing the opposing Pokemon away with some damage added in. But not Banette.
"Bane!" The Ghost-Type emerged from the shadows with Phantom Force once again, hitting Hatterene from behind.
"H-Hatte!" Hatterene cried out as she almost fell on her face. Banette then reappeared, hitting her in front this time, knocking her back. The Psychic-Fairy-Type was sent towards Starlight. Hatterene had crashed into her own partner as they both fell over.
"Flygon, Dragon Rush!"
"Gon!" Flygon roared before enveloping its body in a giant blue draconic aura. The Mystic Pokemon then charged like a rocket with all it had. Flygon smashed into Liepard, which then prompted it to crash into Barbaracle. Flygon got a two-in-one hit with that move as both Liepard and Barbaracle went flying.
Salazzle jumped out of the way, responding with Dragon Pulse. The Mystic Pokemon had been hit from the side with Dragon Pulse, crashing into the ground afterwards. "F-Fly!"
"Flygon, no!" Goh cried out as Flygon groaned, on the verge of fainting. He attempted to return the Mystic Pokemon by holding out his Poke Ball. However, Banette appeared in front of Goh along with the Triad Member and Salazzle. They had forced Goh to move back, cornering him once more.
Goh was shaking with fear as he wasn't' expecting today to end up like this. Hatterene had already taken super-effective damage from Banette two times in a row as Starlight helped her up. Starlight lit up her horn with magic, aiming to do something about this predicament without using Pokemon at all. This looked like a difficult situation. That is until the Pokemon of the hour arrived.
Suicune.
Appearing on top of a hill and letting out a bellowing cry, the Aurora Pokemon had shown itself, at last, grabbing everyone's attention. They all gawked before collectively saying its name.
Suicune. The Pokemon that was the reason for this situation. Team Plasma were on the hunt for it ever since. And bumping into them were Goh and Starlight. The lake had been poisoned to drag Suicune out. And the plan had worked. Appearing before Goh, Starlight, the single Shadow Triad member and three other grunts, was Suicune itself.
"Suicune!" They all exclaimed. The Aurora Pokemon let out a cry as it exuded a beautiful blue aura from its body. The Triad Member narrowed his eyes, finally gaining sight of the main target.
"Perfect. Right on time too. Banette, use Phantom Force!" The Triad Member ordered as the other grunts chimed in with their ow Pokemon.
"Salazzle, Dragon Pulse!"
"Barbaracle, use Stone Edge!"
"Liepard, Shadow Claw!"
They had changed their focus from Goh and Starlight to Suicune only. Suicune was the main target after all. Banette vanished out of thin air while Liepard lunged towards the Aurora Pokemon with claws made out of shadows. Barbaracle and Salazzle stood from afar, unleashing a dragon-shaped shockwave along with a barrage of sharp crystal stones.
Suicune retaliated by simply jumping over the incoming stones and dragon blast. Afterwards, the Aurora Pokemon used Ice Beam in an instant, sending a hyper-fast chilling beam from its mouth. The beam had struck Barbaracle faster than it could even react. With that, Barbaracle had been frozen solid.
"Bar-"
"Bane!" Banette appeared out of thin air, attempting to whack the Aurora Pokemon. However, with quick instincts, Suicune avoided Banette's initial attack before using its tail to whack the Marionette Pokemon away. It then butted heads with Liepard's Shadow Claw, taking it head-on. Suicune pushed Liepard away with its sheer strength alone. Afterwards, the Aurora Pokemon used Hydro Pump, blasting Liepard away with a high volume blast of water.
"Tough. Of course, it is." The Triad Member said as Goh and Starlight gawked at Suicune's performance. Handling all these Pokemon by itself was worthy of the title Legendary Pokemon. However, they noticed scratches around its body, indicating that it had a battle earlier.
"It's already hurt." Goh noticed. "Did Team Plasma find it before?"
"No worries. We have other ways." The Triad Member added before standing tall. He knew what was coming. And so did the other grunts. Speaking of grunts, appearing to the scene were other Team Plasma grunts that had eventually caught up to Suicune after pursuing it.
Goh and Starlight noticed the increase of grunts. Now they were most certainly outnumbered. Suicune also looked around, growling at its pursuers. The Triad Member noticed Suicune's injuries and how the Aurora Pokemon was looking tense after all of these grunts showed up.
"But...you gotta be running out of steam right now. Ever since last week when we found you roaming the fields. Healing the lake only added to that, didn't it?" The Triad Member spoke before having Suicune growl again.
"They've been chasing it since last week...?" Starlight silently gasped.
"Let's see how much you have left now! Attack!" The Triad Member ordered as all of the grunts focused their attacks on Suicune. This time, all of them were ranged attacks, meant to hit from afar without risking the chance of the users being hit. Multiple attacks were fired onto Suicune.
The Aurora Pokemon cried out in pain, trying to fight back against these attacks. Goh and Starlight stepped forward but were immediately met with some remaining grunts who stood in their way. Goh and Starlight had a massive disadvantage at the moment. They wished to help Suicune in whatever way they could.
Suicune was forced off the hill as it fell to the ground, taking a beating from all of these hits. Each time it tried to use Ice Beam or Hydro Pump, an attack would interrupt it. That's when Goh gained an idea via the ground itself.
"Here goes nothing..." Goh gulped. "Flygon, Dragon Rush on the ground!"
"Fly...!" Instead of charging the enemy with Dragon Rush, Flygon would use it on the ground. "Gon!" By covering itself in a draconic aura, the Mystic Pokemon smashed its body onto the ground at full force. So much force that not only did it cause a mild earthquake with everyone almost losing their balance, but a massive hole had been made from the power alone.
The grunts were regaining their balance afterwards as their attention was then drawn towards Goh, Starlight, Flygon and Hatterene.
"Now, Sandstorm!"
"Flygon!" Flygon finished things off by whipping up its signature sandstorm. And the Mystic Pokemon made sure that this one was extra large. The same one it made when it first encountered Goh. By swinging its tail, a giant sandstorm had emerged, grabbing everyone's attention as it started to consume most of the hills with its size and rage.
Suicune noticed the actions of Flygon and the massive hole it had made. If there was any chance of it escaping, this was it. The Aurora Pokemon saw that the grunts were distracted by the sandstorm, allowing it to leap over all of them. Suicune then jumped into the hole made by Flygon, just what Goh wanted.
"Yes! Come on, let's go!" Goh exclaimed before he hopped on Flygon's back. Starlight returned Hatterene, also hopping on Flygon's back for a quick ride. The Mystic Pokemon went for the hole it made for a quick getaway. However, this wouldn't be ignored.
The Shadow Triad Member saw their escape into the massive hole by keeping one eye open. "Sneaky little...you won't get away!"
"Goh! How are we gonna hide the hole?!" Starlight asked. But Suicune had an answer for that. The Aurora Pokemon went for Ice Beam, shooting out the biggest one it could make with the amount of energy left within it.
Suicune directed the beam by first hitting the top of the hole. After it did that, Suicune made an ice blockade all around it, adding some layers. The Aurora Pokemon left 10 layers of ice, making it thicker and tougher to break through. And it showed. One grunt tried having their Salazzle burn through the ice, but only the first layer was starting to melt.
That would definitely keep them occupied. However, moving with the hole was the much-needed option right now before the ice is all broken apart.
The Triad Member looked down at the blockade as Salazzle and the other Pokemon were trying to break the ice or even melt it. "They won't get away far." He said. "Keep destroying that ice and the rest of you, spread out. They could come up from anywhere.
Deep within the hole.
Flygon had made an impressive hole. One deep enough to reveal the underground cave system that was present here.
"Phew...That was a close one. Good job, Flygon." Goh said.
"Flygon." After a nod from Flygon, Suicune let out a small howl before staring at Goh and Starlight. The Aurora Pokemon was actually snarling at the duo, much to their surprise.
"W-Why doesn't it look so happy with us? We got it away from Team Plasma, didn't we?" Starlight gulped after Suicune's snarl. She noticed that it was only her and Goh but not Flygon.
"It's probably still mad after everything that's happened. Wait, Suicune!" Goh put his hands out which only alerted Suicune further. The Aurora Pokemon shot a small burst of ice that had passed Goh, hitting the ground. "Hold on! We're not here to hurt you at all. I had Flygon make this hole for you."
"Flygon!" Flygon even cried out, speaking to Suicune to basically confirm this fact. Goh did in fact help with Suicune's escape. Suicune scoffed before wincing. Turns out, one of the attacks ended up poisoning it. Now it was in an even worse condition.
"Let's get you to a Pokemon Center so that you'll feel-" Goh recommended but was quickly cut off when Suicune walked off. The Aurora Pokemon chose to take a nap and rest up that way, sitting at the other side of this cave.
Goh and Starlight went to the other side to be met with Pokemon living here. The Pokemon immediately growled at Goh and Starlight once they had seen them, showing hostility. There was also a stream of water coming from the cave, forming a puddle. It most likely came from the lake nearby.
"Now what?" Starlight scrunched her face after seeing the hostile Pokemon growling at them.
"These Pokemon. They look like they're protecting Suicune." Goh realized after examining the scene. "Suicune purified the water connected to the lake here. Hold on. We're not one of Team Plasma. But I guess that doesn't really help much does it?"
"Twilight might take a while to reach here. This is in the western part of Equestria after all," said Starlight. "What do we do now before Team Plasma gets here."
"Pheromosa can handle it no problem. But for the meantime..." Goh dug into his bag, holding out a Poke Ball. "Come out for a bit. Out of the Poke Balls emerged Raichu.
"Rai-Rai!"
"Raichu. Can you go and grab some food? Team Plasma are only here for Suicune. They'll ignore you like every other Pokemon here." Goh requested.
"Raichu!" Raichu understood what she needed to do. She gave off a salute before running off to find some food, mainly berries. As for Goh, he had another approach. He would heal Suicune's cure with an Antidote and heal him with a potion.
The Pokemon were nervous and cautious about Goh approaching Suicune, but Flygon spoke to them, insisting that they trust Goh and Starlight as non-hostile. They allowed Goh to pass through. But Suicune was still cautious. Goh sprayed the Antidote on Suicune, removing the poison instantly while using the Potion to re-energize the Aurora Pokemon.
Suicune winced after its wound had been sprayed with the potion, but it saw that it served a purpose to heal it. Thus, it didn't fight back at Goh. Starlight just sighed, waiting for Twilight and the others to get here as soon as they could.
As for Team Plasma, they were just about to break and melt the last layers of ice. Meanwhile, other members were moving across the hills, waiting for Suicune to pop out for an ambush.
12 minutes later.
Without being acknowledged by Team Plasma, Raichu had returned with some Oran Berries. "Rai-Rai."
"Go on. Eat up, you guys." Goh encouraged Suicune and the other Pokemon to eat. Suicune and the Pokemon looked at each other before deciding to listen to Goh. Suicune took the first bite out of the Oran Berry with the other Pokemon following after. By eating those, more of Suicune's energy had been rejuvenated. Not just by the potion.
The Pokemon all then started eating the plethora of berries in front of them. Goh had more as he pulled out a box of other Pokemon food inside for all of them to eat.
"Looks like there's one wound left." Goh spotted a wound on Suicune's leg. He went to touch it, however, it caused Suicune to snarl at Goh. Sorry about that!"
"Good thing I brought this." Starlight spoke as she pulled a handkerchief from her saddlebag. She went over to the Aurora Pokemon, tying the piece of cloth around its wounded leg. "All Suicune needs is some stamina back and it'll be good as new."
However, she suddenly heard rumbling from above. That meant only one thing. Team Plasma were near. Rumbling could be heard along with the sound of ice being broken.
Team Plasma had finally reached the last layer of ice with Salazzle melting it. The remaining ice had transformed into water, dropping down the hole. And after seeing that, one of the grunts had an idea.
"Hold on." The grunt stepped forward, holding her hand out. "How about we drown them? Suicune will be fine thanks to that Water-Typing. The others, not so much." After that recommendation, the other grunts liked the sound of that as they nodded in approval. "Cloyster, Hydro Pump!"
"Dhelmise, Brine!
"Sharpedo, use Scald!" All at once, each of the grunts commanded their Pokemon that were capable of using Water-Type attacks. Streams of water were sent through the hole. Some cold, one hot.
The size of these attacks, specifically Hydro Pump, were large enough to fill such a deep hole as the sound of water gushing could be heard. By hearing it, Goh and Starlight already figured out what Team Plasma were doing. And it was only confirmed when they saw a droplet of water touch the ground.
"Don't tell me they...!" Starlight gasped as the Pokemon shuddered. The stream of water was moving rapidly as it had already reached the lower parts of this hole and cave.
A massive flood of water was now heading for them as their eyes saw the sheer scale of it. It covered most of the area, consuming it as the Pokemon each hid behind Suicune.
Thankfully, Starlight had a response to that. She formed the biggest barrier she could make, shielding everyone around here. And with great timing. The giant flood of water had reached the shield, stopping right upon contact. Unfortunately, the rest of the cave wasn't so protected. All of it had been filled with water.
Starlight's shield was strong enough to stop the flood. However, if she lets that shield down, there is a good chance the rest of the water will charge through and drown them either way. Starlight held her breath in, aiming to defend against this flood somehow. She just needed to think of something. Suicune saw how all this time, Goh and Starlight were truly choosing to help it.
"Starlight! I'll see if there's an exit somewhere here!" Goh asked as Starlight opened a hole on the back of her dome-shaped barrier. "Just keep that flood busy for a bit!"
"T-Trying!" Starlight puffed her cheeks before expanding her magic to push the water back. Goh ran through the hole with Raichu by his side. Starlight was actually making some progress by pushing the water back with her magic.
However, as she pushed it back, the grunts below noticed this. They could see the water itself being reversed. Usually, that's an odd sight to see. That meant only one thing in their minds. Goh and the others were fighting back against the flood.
"Tch. Add some more! Hydro Pump!" The grunt ordered as the rest of the Pokemon added even more Water-Type attacks to increase the power of the flood. And that only made work harder for Starlight.
Her hooves scraped on the ground as she noticed the sudden increase of pressure. "Hurry up, Goh!" She cried out, closing her eyes. However, here to assist her was her own Pokemon. Hatterene forced herself out of the Poke Ball just to Starlight.
"Hatt!" And help she did. The Silent Pokemon used Protect, adding her own dome-shaped barrier to Starlight's. This was essentially a return favour for how Starlight did the same to Hatterene's barrier earlier.
"Oh! Hatterene!" Starlight had a wide smile before seeing her partner. Hatterene doesn't usually smile, but when she does, it's gorgeous. She smiled at Starlight, reassuring the unicorn that she had her back. The two of them put some oomph into their shields to try and fend off the water.
As for Goh, he had found an entrance up ahead once passing through some of the cave pathways. An entrance that would allow them to escape from the flood. However, right when he saw the entrance, he also saw a Whiscash swimming in a small pool.
"Whiscash?" The Whiskers Pokemon looked up at Goh with a tilted head of confusion.
"Oh...That'll do." An idea sprouted in Goh's head afterwards. He had something brewing. Specifically for Team Plasma.
5 minutes later.
5 minutes had passed. The flooding had stopped as the grunts had seen. They believed that the water had eventually gotten through, thus all attacks had ceased. Now, they were just waiting for Suicune to show itself. While it does well in water, it cannot live in it forever.
On the other side, some grunts were waiting to ambush Suicune. The rest of the grunts looked at the large pool of water before walking off. They had met up with the rest of the grunts afterwards.
"No sign of Suicune. But those brats should've definitely drowned by now." One of the grunts said. "No one's shown up from the entrance yet."
"Give it a few more hours for Suicune to emerge." said the Triad Member. "But. There are other ways to drag Pokemon out by force."
"Hm." A grunt nodded after hearing the Triad Member. She knew what she could do. "Lairon, Metal So-"
"Fissure!" Just then, the voice of Goh could be heard booming from an opposite direction. Before everyone could properly react, a fissure opened in the ground. Not as big as the hole Flygon made, but wide enough to trap someone inside. The grunts and Pokemon gasped as some of them had lost their balance, falling inside.
Some of them screamed as they were stuck between the ground via a tight gap. And it was all thanks to Whiscash. Goh caught Whiscash just for that one moment. That was a good approach to take out a good amount of the grunts.
"Nice! Now, Cinderace, Quick Attack!"
"Cinderace!" Along came Cinderace, moving at lightning speeds. The Striker Pokemon tacked a few of the opposing Pokemon right when they were regaining their balance once Whiscash made a fissure. The opposing Pokemon had been knocked over by this attack.
"Psycho Cut!" And beside Goh was Starlight and Hatterene.
"Tterene!" The Silent Pokemon followed up by hitting the opposing Poison-Types with tearing blades of Psychic energy. Some of them had been knocked out from the incoming blades. A great sneak attack from Goh and Starlight.
"You...!" The Triad Member growled as he turned to face the duo. "Clever sneak attack. That'll be the last one you'll ever get. Banette, Throat Chop!"
"Nette!" His Banette moved through the air, ready to strike anyone's throat. And the first Pokemon it saw was Cinderace.
"Flygon, Sandstorm!"
"Gon!" Along came Flygon, standing in the way of Banette. The Mystic Pokemon whipped up a sandstorm with its tail, using it to blow Banette back. It kept a good distance with that attack as some Pokemon had also been blown back by this whirling sandstorm.
Goh grinned, only ticking the Triad Member off as his Cinderace, Flygon, Whishcash and Raichu stood beside him to protect and assist their trainer.
"As for all of you." Starlight went up to the grunts and Pokemon stuck in the gap. She had a devious look on her face. along with Hatterene. One that could send chills down their spine. "Rest, why don't you? Hatterene, if you will?"
"Hatterene..." One look and Hatterene already had all the targets she wanted within her trance with Hypnosis. Hatterene moved her claw around to hypnotize them easily. And just like that, the grunts had been put to sleep.
"Raichu, use Thunderbolt! Whiscash, Water Pulse! Flygon, Dragon Rush! Cinderace, Pyro Ball!" All at once, Goh's Pokemon had attacked with Dragonite moving ahead. The other grunts commanded their Pokemon to try and win this battle.
Flygon charged through some Pokemon with Dragon Rush, knocking them away while flying into the air. The Mystic Pokemon then dived down, crashing into even more of the opposing Pokemon. Raichu unleashed 100,000 volts from her body along with Whiscash unleashing a pulse of water.
The bolt and pulse had clashed with other incoming ranged attacks. But they wouldn't be enough. Luckily, Cinderace got a fairly large pebble, using that as a base for Pyro Ball. With some devastating kicks, Cinderace sent its biggest Pyro Ball yet. It completely blazed through the ranged attacks, allowing Thunderbolt and Water Pulse to pass through. A triple hit from both attacks as an outburst of different elements emerged up contact. The Pokemon and grunts had been blown away with some of them fainting.
"I see. Return, Banette." The Triad Member recalled his Banette before examining the scene. Thanks to Fissure, most of the grunts had been dropped to the ground and put to sleep by Hatterene's Hypnosis. And that allowed Goh's Pokemon to have a better chance at evening the odds. "Go, Bisharp!"
However, the next Pokemon the Triad Member had wouldn't be so pleasant to go up against. A Bisharp. "Bisharp!"
"Let's make this quick. Lash Out!"
"Bi...Sharp!" Bisharp roared before exuding multiple black tendrils from its body. They flew in every direction, enough to catch dozens of Pokemon. And they certainly did. Flygon had been struck by one of these tendrils, falling out of the sky once it whacked it.
"Whiscash, Fi-"
"Ice Beam!" Interrupting Goh's Whishcash was the Barbaracle from before. A stream of ice came flying over before Whiscash could slam its body on the ground. The beam struck the Whiskers Pokemon, freezing it.
"Ah, Whiscash!" Goh gasped after seeing Whiscash enter a frozen state.
"Bisharp, use Night Slash, now!"
"Dhelmise, Power Whip!"
"Lairon, Earth Power!"
"Araquanid, Liquidation!" Team Plasma were now going on the offensive with pure aggression. Even with fewer members active, they were still a force to behold.
"Cinderace, Blaze Kick! Flygon, Dragon Breath! Raichu, Thunder Punch!" Goh's Pokemon fought back as well. Cinderace jumped over Dhelmise' incoming Power Whip, but doing that allowed Dhelmise to strike Whiscash, dealing super-effective damage.
The Whiskers Pokemon had fainted from that initial hit. As if being frozen wasn't enough. Goh quickly returned Whiscash for it to rest up. Cinderace performed a dive kick, smashing its foot into the body of Dhelmise. A super-effective hit as an explosion of flames happened afterwards, knocking the Sea Creeper away.
However, the moment Cinderace did so, along came Bisharp, moving faster than Cinderace expected. The Sword Blade Pokemon caught Cinderace off guard, slashing the Striker Pokemon's chest. "C-Cinder!" Cinderace went flying from that as it tumbled on the ground afterwards.
"Raichu...!" Raichu approached Araquanid with Thunder Punch, clashing with the Water Bubble Pokemon's Liquidation. The moves reacted to each other as water and electricity normally do. Once that happened, they had separated. But just what Araquanid wanted. Right as they separated, the golden shockwaves from Lairon's Earth Power caught Raichu. "R-Rai!"
Raichu was also sent back as she wasn't the only one hit by this. Once Cinderace hit the ground, the golden shockwaves struck it as well, not giving the Fire-Type a break.
"Cinderace! Raichu!" Goh cried out before having Bisharp run over to him. He gasped, witnessing the Dark-Steel-Type approaching him with a Night Slash.
"Hatterene, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Hatt!" But, there was Hatterene to defend him. Hatterene covered herself in a sphere of rainbows, charging towards the Sword Blade Pokemon. But it was all in vain. Bisharp had switched from Night Slash to Iron Head. With pure power, the Dark-Steel-Type smashed its head onto Hatterene's sphere.
One headbutt and the sphere had been overpowered, breaking it apart. Bisharp's head also smashed Hatterene's own head, causing her to cry out. The Sword Blade Pokemon then followed up with Night Slash after staggering Hatterene. Poor Hatterene had been sent flying from this double hit. "Sharp!"
Just like that, Bisharp had turned the tables along with the rest of the Team Plasma Pokemon. Fewer active members meant nothing when they had a Shadow Triad Member on their side, plus other highly skilled grunts who certainly aren't pushovers.
"You kids really know how to drag things out. But I'm afraid your luck is running out now." The Triad Member cracked some of his bones to adjust himself. "Bring it out."
To Goh and Starlight's shock, right out of the cave that they hid from, Suicune had emerged. But not by its own will. Some Team Plasma grunts steered away from the battling portion. They chose to capture Suicune.
And capture it they did. A weakened Suicune, still not at full strength, was within their hold. They had used pure a metal collar, placing it around Suicune's neck. Not only that, but other metal restraints were all around it. Its muzzle, mane and legs. And each time Suicune struggled and attempted to break free, the restraints would active their electrical functions, shocking the Aurora Pokemon.
"Suicune!" Goh and Starlight turned around to see Suicune being pulled and restrained by these objects. Courtesy of Colress, of course. The restraints even had chains for the grunts to hold. Suicune's muzzle was being restrained the most with how tight the metal clamp was.
The grunts them yanked the chains, slamming Suicune on the ground with a daily hard impact. The Aurora Pokemon cried out in pain once more.
"Stop it!" Goh ran over to try and save Suicune, only to be met by a speedy Bisharp that appeared in front of him. Bisharp had a Night Slash ready, swinging a blade of darkness at him. Goh's shirt was slashed by this as Bisharp barely missed him. Goh fell on his back, looking up at the Sword Blade Pokemon with tears forming in his eyes.
"Bisharp."
"Oh! Goh! Hatterene! Da-" Even Starlight couldn't get a word in. Both her and Hatterene were met by a Sticky Web from Araquanid. Right from behind as well. The two of them had fallen over with the web landing on them. Their faces met with the floor. An unpleasant position to be in. "Mmmrph!"
Starlight tried using her magic to break free, only to have the Shadow Triad Member walk up and step on her horn. Starlight cried out as her magic had been interrupted. To add insult to injury, the Triad Member brought his Banette out once more.
"Banette!" Banette giggled before circling the two of them. It had used Psychic to hold them in place while Araquanid added some more webs to the mix. Poor Suicune was trying to break free but was only met with electrical shocks afterwards.
"Stop!" Try as he might, Goh's words wouldn't work. There was no way Team Plasma was going to stop this. Not until they had Suicune. And that looked to be the case. Until...
"Pikachu! Quick Attack! Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
"Use Quick Attack too, Eve! Absol, Night Slash!"
"Pika-Pika-Pika!" Moving at breakneck speeds was the Mouse Pokemon, Pikachu and the Sun Pokemon Espeon. Faster than everyone could see, Pikachu and Espeon had tackled the Triad Member, knocking him away from Starlight and Hatterene.
"Absol!" Absol had dealt with Banette via Night Slash. The Disaster Pokemon forced the Marionette Pokemon away with a swift slash of darkness, gifting super-effective damage. Absol had even cut off the web holding Starlight and Hatterene.
"B-Bane!"
"Luca...Rio!" As for Lucario, he jumped into the air, summoning a large sphere of Aura. He growled before lobbing the sphere at full strength. The sphere moved through the air, large enough to engulf multiple Pokemon.
And it certainly did. Lairon, Araquanid and a few others had been struck by this attack. Some taking super-effective damage in the process. Lucario landed down with the smoke clearing.
Ash and Twilight had arrived.
"Goh! Starlight! Are you okay?!" Ash asked.
"Ash! Twilight!" Hope had filled Starlight's heart after she saw her friends arrive. "How'd you get here so fast without Pheromosa!"
"Heh. I've been taking some lessons from Rainbow Dash." Twilight had a proud smile on her face. "Also there was a shortcut."
"Ash Ketchum..." The Triad Member sat up from the ground after that tackle. "Can't help but meddle in everyone's business! You and your friends! Bisharp, Night Slash!"
"Lucario, Force Palm!"
"Lu!" Lucario bolted off the ground, leaving behind a shockwave and a small crater. He approached Bisharp before ducking underneath the incoming Night Slash. He gave the Dark-Steel-Type a swift upwards hit with Force Palm, knocking Bisharp into the air.
"B-Bisharp?!"
"Cario...!" Lucario then followed up with a secondary hit. Once Bisharp was in the air, the Aura Pokemon jumped up, appearing before it. With no mercy for those who harm and threaten his friends, Lucario put a ton of strength into this next attack. He smashed his concentrated paw onto Bisharp's stomach, rocketing the Sword Blade Pokemon down. A hard impact was made on Bisharp had crashed. Not only that, but it had fainted from the initial hit and crash landing.
"Bi-Bisharp..."
"Tch!" The Triad Member recalled his Bishar before sending out his next Pokemon. "Accelgor, come out!"
"Accelgor!"
"Accelgor, Water Shuriken! Banette, use Throat Chop!"
"Now, Galvantula, use Discharge!"
"Araquanid, Crunch!"
"I don't think so! Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
"Eve! Absol! Stop them Psychic and Night Slash"
All at once, Ash and Twilight's Pokemon were in perfect sync. Pikachu and Lucario unleashed 100,000 volts and a sphere of Aura forward, clashing with the double Water Shurikens and Discharge.
Absol's horn clashed with Banette's claws as they were both coated in darkness. Araquanid moved past them both, summoning fangs of darkness in front of its mouth. Araquanid went straight for Espeon, which ended up being a massive mistake.
Espeon's eyes flared blue, holding the Sea Spider Pokemon in place. Araquanid quickly realized that it was now being restrained. The Sun Pokemon then sent Araquanid flying, crashing into Galvantula and Accelgor.
"Nice, Eve!" Twilight cheered as Absol slid back, separating his clash with Banette. Goh returned his injured Pokemon, all except for Cinderace ho was still active. Starlight helped Hatterene up who was a bit exhausted at the moment.
The two forces stared each other down with electricity flaring out of Pikachu's red sacs. The Shadow Triad member still had a lot more to give out as well as the grunts.
However, one of the grunts decided to play things with a stealthy nature. Hiding behind one of the hills, she had spotted the battle taking place. A quick assist to her team wouldn't hurt.
"About time we got Ash Ketchum and his friends out of the way." She whispered. "Dusclops, Hyper Beam!"
"Dusclops!" Phasing through the hill and ascending into the air was not one, but two different Dusclops that were under her possession. Both Dusclops had used Hyper Beam in unison, shooting it downwards at Ash and the group while their attention was somewhere else.
Just then, their attention was turned towards the beams. Lucario was the first to react to Aura, however, it was too late to stop them both. He had to try. He created a single Aura Sphere, building up its power.
But Lucario wasn't alone. With a mighty gale of wind, a stream of water suddenly intercepted the two Hyper Beams, pushing them away. The Hyper Beams had been cancelled out by another powerful move.
One that came from Suicune. The metal restraints were still on its body. However, someone had dealt with the grunts. That, someone, was the Lapras from before, using Ice Beam to freeze the grunts in place. This allowed Suicune to have this one chance of action.
"Oh! Suicune! Thanks, again Lapras!" Goh smiled with joy as Suicune stood up, feeling a bit tense from all the shocks it had taken. "Cinderace, Blaze Kick!"
"Ace!" Luckily, Cinderace was there to handle that. The Striker Pokemon ran up, perfectly kicking the metal restraints off the Aurora Pokemon with an ignited foot. And without any damage.
Suicune then unleashed a majestic roar while exuding a blue aura around it. The roar enchanted everyone as Suicune, while not at full strength, was strong enough to lend a hand. The furious gale it exuded continued a Goh and Suicune looked each other in the eyes.
At that moment, Suicune understood Goh as the gales calmed down. With that stare, Goh understood what Suicune was trying to say. The Aurora Pokemon would happily assist them. "Suicune...You'll really help us?"
And Suicune merely responded with a cry. And that certainly made Goh smile.
"Alright! Then in that case...Suicune, use Hydro Pump!" Goh commanded as Suicune actually listen to him. The Aurora Pokemon leapt off the ground, sending a high volume blast of water forward. And it did this multiple times without needing to take a small break.
Banette and the two Dusclops were blown back by the repeated Hydro Pumps. The speed they came out at was ridiculous. But, they were being used by a Legendary Pokemon, so it only makes sense. And with attacks that powerful, Banette and Dusclops were dealt with easily.
"Like you'll stop us here! Accelgor, use Sludge Bomb!"
"Araquanid, Hydro Pump!"
"Galvantula, use Bug Buzz!"
All at once, each Pokemon unleashed their attacks, entering yet another clash of moves. However, things were different this time. With added numbers, the odds were altered once more. Thunderbolt and Dazzling Gleam broke through, shocking Araquanid while also bombarding Galvantula with rainbow rays and darkness. Accelgor had been struck by Psychic blades and a sphere of Aura.
"Here goes! Ice Beam!" Goh roared, raising his hands. Suicune let out one last powerful roar before unleashing a chilling beam of ice on its pursuers without mercy. The beam travelled at ferocious speeds to exhibit Suicune's anger towards Team Plasma.
And with one wonderful hit, Accelgor had fainted as well as the other Pokemon who had been struck by the opposing attacks. And to add insult to injury, the grunts had also been frozen by Suicune's Ice Beam. Minus the Shadow Triad Member of course.
It was safe to say who had won this battle.
"C-C-Cold..." The grunts shivered within the icy prison. Suicune scoffed before having a leftover cold breath. The Triad Member saw the outcome and wasn't ready to deal with the rest of this.
"Curse it all." That is all he said before suddenly vanishing. Once more, he used the shadows to disappear. How do he and the other members do it? Unknown. But most likely, something similar to the ninjas at Ninja Village. He had escaped for now.
"That's that. Great job." Ash nudged Goh while Twilight nudged Starlight.
"Pikachu."
Afterwards, Officer Jenny had been called by Ash. They had used a gateway to make a quicker journey here. Now the Pokemon Police Force has access to Travel Spheres, most likely thanks to the Pokemon Rangers. How nifty.
Jenny and the other officers had placed the frozen grunts in multiple police vans. There were quite a lot of them. The ones frozen up here and the others stuck in the gap made by Whiscash' Fissure.
"We'll take care of the rest," said Jenny. "It's hard to find Team Plasma nowadays anyway. Good job, all of you."
"It was nothing." Starlight had a proud smile and grin on her face along with Goh. Jenny and her officers left, entering the van and carrying the grunts off while they were still frozen. And since this was Pokemon ice, it wasn't melting any time soon.
Starlight was also exceptionally happy because she also ended up catching her second Pokemon. The Lapras from before. It was of great help after all.
"Finally...glad that's over with." Goh let out a sigh of relief before turning around. He bumped into Suicune after doing so. "Oh. Suicune?"
The Aurora Pokemon stared Goh in the eyes after their little encounter. Goh wasn't sure what Suicune was ready to do at the moment. But to his shock, the Aurora Pokemon dug into Goh's bag, pulling out an unexpected item.
A Poke Ball.
Suicune then dropped the Poke Ball in Goh's hands while Goh had a bewildered look in his eyes. He quickly realized what Suicune was getting at.
"H-Huh? Are you sure? You serious?" Goh asked. Suicune merely responded with a single nod. Ash and the others kept their eyes focused on this. Goh understood Suicune's decision with his own nod as he threw the Poke Ball. "Go, Poke Ball." One-touch, transitioning into the shaking.
1...2...3...
Gotcha! Suicune was caught.
"OOoh!" Ash and the others gawked at this capture. "Nice-Nice!"
"Nice is right! I got a Suicune!" Goh raised the Poke Ball with joy. "Wait till Professor Cerise hears about this!"
Speaking of Cerise, over at the Cerise Park, Goh had sent out Suicune, showing it to Cerise and his assistants Chrysa and Ren. Naturally, they were star-struck
"I didn't think I'd ever see it this up close..." Cerise gawked at the Aurora Pokemon.
"Awesome! You really caught Suicune!" Ren exclaimed.
"It's so pretty...!" Chrysa was just in awe, unable to close her eyes.
Then, Suicune jumped onto one of the hills of Cerise Park with all eyes on it. After reaching the highest point, the Aurora Pokemon let out its majestic cry once more, bringing yet another gale.
"Suicune?" Goh wondered what Suicune was up to. Wondering would have to wait as the gale affected everyone. Including the Pokemon living in Cerise Park. They closed their eyes from this fairly potent gale. And once they opened them when the gale ended, they found out that Suicune was gone.
"W-Where'd Suicune go? "Twilight wondered.
"It's there," Goh answered. "Maybe not present in this spot, but it's there, even if we can't see it. I can tell."
"Uh..." Twilight paused at that answer, trying to figure it out.
"Yeah. I get what you mean." Ash nodded. "That's right!"
"You do?" Twilight and Starlight both said before looking at each other. It seems they still don't understand humans at all. Especially people like Ash and Goh. But that just comes naturally after all.
Goh has formed a clear bond with the Legendary Pokemon Suicune. It's a large step towards his dream. But the world still holds many more Pokemon. And many of them have yet to be met as the journey continues.
The Human World. Out in the forest near a town. Nightfall.
Out in a forest, Ghetsis was present. After finding a portal that led to this world, he had stayed around for a while. He instantly knew that this world was parallel to Equestria, the Changeling Hive and other locations in that world.
But, Ghetsis had no idea what he could really do here. While it was interesting to be here, nothing had come up for him. However, while Ghetsis was still aiming to get stronger, he was slowly thinking of how he could not only rule this world one day but use it to his advantage.
He sat atop a tree, looking at the suburban town in front of him with people walking by. No one had noticed him. Mostly because his clothing helps him blend in the dark. As the people walked by, Ghetsis heard them chatter away with words involving Pokemon. He knew that the humans here weren't knowledgeable about Pokemon. An advantage that Ghetsis could take.
"It's weird. She should be in juvie, yet Sunset Shimmer's been found over at Canterlot High. Don't you find that a bit odd?" A man spoke.
"Probably just some poser. That Sunset has caused this town so much trouble even as a child. I doubt she'd ever get any education out there." A woman replied. "I'm more worried about these Pokemon. One of them completely eradicated a mountainside in just 5 minutes."
"5 minutes is ridiculous. That sounds like something from a comic book."
"Hmph." Ghetsis scoffed after hearing that conversation. The Pokemon in question could've been a Tyranitar most likely. Or another powerful Pokemon. "If only they all knew just what the Pokemon were truly capable of."
Ghetsis decided to get a move on. He wasn't going to make any progress sitting around. Just two days ago, he had discovered the ability to teleport. And he did so by vanishing from the tree and ending up at the farther part of the forest. Ghetsis barely needed to rest anymore. Both the Dark Aura and Dark Magic within him had altered him in a few ways. Making him look younger partially, possibly by each passing month and even changing his own stamina.
But, hunger was still necessary for him. He grabbed some fruit from the trees nearby as his Dark Aura intimidate nearby Pokemon, forcing them away. Ghetsis took a bite out of the fruit before he could focus on learning something new. But as he ate, his magic had reacted to something.
Ghetsis felt a slight twitch as he ceased eating for the time being. This twitch he was feeling was odd yet recognizable. It felt like magic to him. That's when, by turning his head to the side and the south of the forest, he saw something up ahead. It was faint but visible.
Ghetsis decided to investigate for himself. By approaching the south of the forest, Ghetsis' magical aura was acting on its own without his will. The magical aura had obliterated the grass and nearby trees as Ghetsis kept on walking. And as he advanced, he saw something.
A small pool of magic. Very little of it. It was green in colouring while having yellow sparkles fly out of it. This was the parallel to Equestria after all. So magic was to be expected.
"Hello. What's this now?" Ghetsis kneeled to see what this pool of magic had to offer. However, as he kneeled, he felt something else. This time, it wasn't magic But instead, his Dark Aura. "Gh! This again...So much for fully understanding this accursed force."
Indeed, this isn't the first time this has happened. Ghetsis' Dark Aura made him wince as he held his head. But as he did so, Ghetsis then looked at his hand to find his Dark Aura emanating without his will yet again.
This meant something and Ghetsis wanted to find out what. He began focusing on just his Dark Aura and nothing else. The pool of magic would have to wait. And as he did so, Ghetsis' eye flashed as he had seen something new that shocked and intrigued him.
Here at Pallet Town mostly everyone was asleep as well. Almost. Ash was actually unconscious due to one reason. Delayed Aura Ataxia. However, this was on purpose.
His goal was to in the true cure of this Ataxia so that no other potent Aura users would have to fear anymore. And with him was the Staff of Sir Aaron. Waiting outside was Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie who had seen Ash pass out this afternoon. Pikachu and Delia were also waiting patiently, hoping for Ash's safety and him resolving this Delayed Aura Ataxia issue.
Inside of Ash's mind, he was already in a plane full of nothing but Aura with his eyes opening. Ash looked at himself, seeing that it was a success.
"Alright. I'm in here. Now, what did Sir Aaron do again?" Ash crossed his arms before recalling the key to ridding Aura Ataxia for good.
"That thing was the manifestation of Aura itself. I've heard about it but I didn't think it was really real, just a myth at first. But...It was far too powerful. I barely managed to overcome it. If it's that strong for even me, then I don't think anyone else could stop it. There has to be an easier way to get around it for all Aura users."
"Yeah, that's right!" Ash put his hands together. "Something about Aura Manifestation. But where even is it?"
"Ash?" Just then, responding to Ash was a familiar voice. One he's heard before multiple times. Ash's attention had been grabbed as he turned around to see what was the cause of it. Lo and behold, it wasn't just one. It was multiple.
Cynthia. Brawly, Applejack and the little pegasus known as Rumble were here. Each looking confused themselves.
"Cynthia? Guys? What are you doing here?" Ash gawked. "Did you get affected too?"
"Man this must be some dream. This is a dream, right?" Brawly asked.
"This isn't a dream. I've heard about this." Cynthia looked around, observing the plane of aura. "Ash. This is your mind within the Aura, right?"
"Uh...yeah-yeah. But I was thinking I was the only one meant to be here. How'd you guys get here?" Ash scratched his hair before realizing something. Cynthia owned a Lucario and so did Brawly. Meaning that they had Aura within them. "Oh...You guys have pretty big auras, that's why! Is that how you're able to get here?"
"We do. Although, it's odd that only a few of us are in here." Cynthia shrugged before facing Applejack and Rumble. "Do you two own a Lucario yourselves?"
"Nope. I ain't got one. But Brawly did say I had some potent aura in there." Applejack turned to Brawly. The Hoenn Gym Leader nodded in confirmation. "Guess that counts."
"Uh...I have a Riolu, so I guess that also counts." Rumble raised his hoof.
"Awesome. Now that we're here, where's that manifestation?" Ash looked around.
"Is the manifestation the cause of this issue?" Cynthia asked him.
"Yeah. All I gotta do is find it and overcome it. Just like what Sir Aaron did. Maybe if I just think it?" Ash put his finger on his chin, tapping his foot. Finding or witnessing this manifestation wasn't as easy as it seemed.
What even was the manifestation of Aura? He was even wondering why only Cynthia, Applejack, Brawly and Rumble were the only ones here. Ash knew other Aura users like Korrina, Riley, Maylene and more after all. Cynthia and the others were wondering what should even happen next.
They wouldn't have to wonder any longer. Just then, up ahead, a spark of Aura had occurred, drawing their attention. This spark seemed to be continuously combusting just like how an explosive would. Everyone stayed on guard, acting cautiously as they had no idea what to expect.
"Ash. This is your mind. Ya know what this is?" Applejack asked before biting her lip.
"No idea. I don't know what that's all about." Ash shook his head as the spark seemed to be getting bigger. It wasn't responding to Ash at all. Almost as if it was acting on its own will. Seeing that basically confirmed that there was indeed something within the Aura that was alive and sentient.
However, they could not see it at all. The aggressive combustion was something to behold. But despite its size, it wasn't approaching Ash and the others. Rumble stayed behind Applejack for safety. But as they stared at the spark, slowly holding their breath in, just then, the spark had formed into a vibrant white light.
The group closed their eyes from this blinding light. But after that, once they opened them, they were greeted with a new sight. The spark had torn open a hole in this aura world, revealing a door-shaped light before their eyes.
"Woah...That wasn't there before." Ash was stunned by what he and the others were seeing. "Is it a door?"
"Looks to be that way." Cynthia stepped forward. "Perhaps an entrance passage. Anything familiar possibly inside, Ash?"
"Uh..." The Alola Champion scratched his head. "Not sure. Only one way to find out!" With high enthusiasm, Ash rushed over towards the light gate without hesitation. Brawly, Cynthia and Applejack were curious about this while Rumble stayed behind.
"Y-You all can go ahead. I'm still pretty confused about all of this." Rumble stuttered.
"You can head out of here Rumble. Just uh...wake up or enter the dream world, maybe." Ash snapped his finger. And the moment he did that, Rumble suddenly vanished out of thin air. Ash and the others gasped before witnessing Rumble disappear. "Oh!"
"Woah Nelly..." Applejack's hat almost fell off before she readjusted it. "How'd you do that, Ash?!"
"I-I don't know. All I did was say something and then snap my fingers like this." Ash snapped his fingers as he thought about Rumble. And when he thought about Rumble while also snapping fingers, along came the little pegasus, reappearing into the area.
"Hm?" Rumble's eyes blinked after reappearing. Everyone was stunned by this as Rumble needed a moment to gather himself. "How'd I get back here? When did I get back here?"
"Awesome..." Ash looked at his hand as it was exuding Aura afterwards. Cynthia and the others went to take a closer look at Ash's hand themselves. I can do that?"
"I've heard of this," said Cynthia. "Sir Aaron knew about many Aura secrets. One of which was that Aura users can have complete control within themselves. I assume he meant the mind of an Aura user instead of the outside. Ash. You might have the same thing right here."
"Really? So I can do anything?" Ash was being more amazed by the second. This was essentially a dream world with what he was capable of doing. Anything he wanted really. At least, that seemed to be the case. Ash wanted to test things out for himself. "Slowpoke Tail!" He snapped his fingers.
But, lo and behold, that didn't work. Much to his chagrin.
"Aw, man...I thought that would work." Ash slumped with disappointment.
"It must only work with anything related to Aura." Cynthia chuckled as Rumble scratched his head, still lost on how he reappeared here. "Perhaps we will have more answers once we enter the door."
"But do we even know what's in there? If this is Ash's Aura mind...place...whatever, then what's it holding?" Brawly asked.
"Well...Maybe staying here a bit longer won't hurt." Rumble squeed, changing his mind. He was curious about what was beyond there. After all, he was a child, so curiosity was one of his stronger urges that would be impossible for him to resist.
Now that they understood a few things about this Aurascape, it was time for them to pass through this light to see what was truly beyond it. They walked through together, ready to embrace it all.
They passed through with the white light enveloping them both. They closed their eyes to avoid any blindness. Then, as they passed the light, the white shifted into blue once more, to represent the door closing. Or rather, vanishing from existence was the accurate term.
Opening their eyes gave them another dazzling sight. This time, the view was plentiful with so much to take in. Their eyes widened at what they were seeing.
Around them all, an abundance of large Aura Spheres could be found, filling the area. And within these many spheres were familiar faces. Pikachu, Delia, Misty, Brock, Professor Oak, Twilight, Gary, Celestia, Fluttershy and so on. Everyone that Ash has met and made friends with could be found here seemingly.
Every corner, he could see all these familiar faces. Inside of these spheres, the familiar faces were all standing still with no motion. The only motion was the moving Aura Spheres. Only their faces could be seen with familiar expressions. Happy, cocky, grinning and so on.
The other objects that seem to act as extra terrain were large asteroid-like objects that float around with Aura around them. Within the background are odd vibrant colours that circulate the landscape.
"No way...This is like...everyone I know," said Ash. "What is this place?"
"Oh, there I am!" Brawly pointed at his Aura Sphere. "And Roxanne, Wattson and...well every Gym Leader I know from Hoenn. Huh."
"I even see myself as well." Cynthia went up to her Aura Sphere, seeing not just herself but also her grandmother, Professor Carolina. "Are these your memories by any chance, Ash?"
"I don't think so." Ash crossed his arms, thinking as he was trying to figure things out. "Still no manifestation of Aura. How do we even pull this stuff out?"
"Can we touch it?" Applejack wondered, putting her hoof out. Unfortunately, the Aura Spheres were all in the air, so making contact with them would require some higher ground.
But, to test this out, since this was his own World of Aura, Ash had actually ascended. He managed to fly by himself, realizing how much control he truly has. "Oh, sweet! I can fly!"
"Ooh!" And so did Rumble. But he could naturally fly thanks to being a pegasus anyway. He flew towards Ash, joining him in an airborne state. Cynthia, Brawly and Applejack looked at each other as they were curious about their own control in this world.
Rumble flying made sense since he was a pegasus and this was Ash's own Aura World, so it was his will to fly about. But what about these three, who can't fly at all?
Cynthia tried it out herself. She lifted her leg from the non-existent ground or even surface. And once she did, her aura was showing. It reacted to the aura around her as the Sinnoh Champion ascended, just like Ash. "Oh. This is something."
"Seriously?" Brawly gawked as he repeated Cynthia's own movements. And when did by lifting his leg, his Aura showed, lifting the Hoenn Gym Leader as he was now airborne. "Nice!"
Applejack gave it a go as well. She jumped, instantly having her Aura show. Applejack's Aura was fainter than the rest. Mostly because the others had Lucario and a single Riolu. Applejack didn't really have a Pokemon like that. But, either way, she could fly as well.
But the real test would come from connecting with the Aura Spheres. Ash went up to Pikachu's Aura Sphere to see what would happen if direct contact was made. All of this was his own Aura after all. And his Aura has the same pattern as Sir Aaron's. It would have to do something.
However, the moment Ash got close to Pikachu's face, he was suddenly forced back unexpectedly, rocking to the non-existent ground while making a crash landing. "Woah!"
"Ash!" Applejack and the others cried out before having their bodies crash down as well by some unseen and unknown force. They tumbled around, being denied the chance to touch the Aura Spheres. At least for now.
"W-What happened...?" Ash wondered as he sat up. But as he regained his balance, he felt something from behind slowly creeping up from behind him.
He felt a foreboding chill, one that was familiar to him. Ash stood up, swivelling to face the cause of this chill. Once he did, he saw something else that threw him off guard and the cause of him and the others being pushed back.
The face of Ghetsis was here.
"Ash Ketchum. What a different encounter this is, hm?" The floating face of Ghetsis with darkness surrounding it spoke as Cynthia and the other faced this abnormal force.
"Ghetsis?!" Ash cried out as Rumble quivered in fear, hiding behind Applejack for safety. He's heard about Ghetsis so being afraid was a rational response. However, Ash and the others were wondering how Ghetsis managed to appear here in this kind of form.
Reality. Outside Ash's Mind.
Meanwhile, on the outside, Ash himself was experiencing something while unconscious. His body was emanating a vibrant aura with darkness being slightly inside of it as he started writhing around. Most likely Ghetsis' doing.
"Pika-Pi?!"
"What's happening?!" Twilight and the others gasped after seeing Ash's Aura emanate with his body moving. The Staff of Sir Aaron was also moving around as well, responding to Ash's Aura.
"Ash!" Delia rushed over, holding her son in fear and worry. But Ash would obviously not respond. Not in the state he was in. He couldn't hear her either. However, as Sir Aaron's staff trembled with Aura exuding out, Lucario had emerged. He forced himself out of his Poke Ball.
"Lu."
"Lucario?" Delia and the others said. Lucario stood before them with narrowed eyes and a steely look. He saw how his Trainer was suffering and couldn't ignore it.
"Pika-Pika?"
Lucario had to help. He stepped forward as his Aura was also reacting. Lucario had the most Aura out of any Pokemon after all. The Aura Pokemon closed his eyes, allowing himself to react with Ash's Aura.
Aurascape
"Well, isn't this something? Sinnoh Champion Cynthia." The face of Ghetsis spoke with a smirk.
"How'd you get here, Ghetsis?!" Ash bellowed.
"I could do this before. Invading the minds of others. But, having to invade something like this is above it. I'm learning new things myself, boy.
"You're just one big face now!" Applejack stepped forward. "What can ya even do here?"
"This." To demonstrate, Ghetsis breathed out black fire from his as if he was a dragon. Ash and the others scattered from these flames as they ferociously struck the non-existent ground.
Ghetsis laughed as he redirected his flames, navigating them to chase Ash and the others down. And he certainly did. Ghetsis continuously breathed black flames, chasing the group down. Its flames obliterated parts of Ash's Aura.
"Since when could he do that?!" Applejack gasped. Ghetsis laughed as he was able to cause a tremor whilst laughing. To further demonstrate what he could do, Ghetsis suddenly made black aura hands appear out of thin air, grabbing Applejack, Rumble and Brawly from behind. "Mmmph!"
"O-Ow!" Rumble cried out as Brawly was being pulled back.
"Quick learner, aren't I?" said Ghetsis as Ash and Cynthia hadn't been grabbed yet. Ash figured that since he could do a lot in his own Aurascape, he could also defend himself.
And so he did. Ash put his hand out as he caused an Aura Pulse. This pulse had wiped away the dark hands, scattering them like in Ash and the wind. Applejack, Brawly and Rumble were freed while the pulse removed the rest of the hands.
Ash grinned before realizing what he could do now. Ghetsis scoffed, knowing that Ash had options. And when he has options, Ash will use them to his fullest. Ghetsis breathed fire from his mouth once more while Ash put his hands up, creating a barrier of Aura.
The flames met with the barrier, pouring on it with fury and hatred. But, Ash had a home-field advantage since everything here was his own Aura. He was able to fend off the flames while expanding his barrier. The expanding barrier blew away the flames while also hitting Ghetsis' face.
"Gah!" Ghetsis cried out as he suddenly felt a sting with the pulse hitting him. He growled as his eyes glowed red. He was ready to test out more of his capabilities. However, he felt that twitch again in his body as he paused. "Not again...Seems as if I'm not ready for something like this..."
"Huh?" Ash lowered his hand. Ghetsis' face was suddenly fading away before his eyes and everyone else's.
"We'll meet again brat. When I fully understand this Aura nonsense." Ghetsis' voice faded away as he couldn't handle this kind of Aura usage yet. He was still a novice with it. But he was aiming to master it one day.
Speaking of fading away, Ash also felt his body twitch as the Aurascape around him was fading. He paused, feeling odd. "Oh man...right now? We're leaving?"
"Wait, now?" Rumble looked around as the Aura Spheres were all fading away. Including him, Applejack, Cynthia and Brawly. "Aw..."
"Seems as if your Ataxia didn't last this long either," Cynthia said.
"No, wait. It's something else. Lucario." Ash recognized this Aura feeling. It wasn't just him leaving the Aurascape and becoming conscious. Lucario was helping from the outside. "Man. Thanks, buddy. We'll pick off next time when we're in here guys. Sorry that I dragged you into this."
"It's fine. Anything to help." Brawly gave a thumbs-up as he was the first to vanish.
"Yeah. This was pretty fun. Let's come back here soon!" Rumble jumped for joy as he faded away next.
"I know you'll overcome this and stay strong, like you always have, Ash." Cynthia nodded as she was slowly fading away. "Overcome this Ataxia for all of us."
"Just don't overdo it so much, alright?" Applejack nudged Ash before fading away after Cynthia. Once all of them were gone, it was Ash's turn. He gave a smile before closing his eyes, ready to become conscious once more.
Reality.
Ash had woken up with Delia and Pikachu hugging him out of worry. Tears flooded the room as Ash grumbled from his mother's potent hug. Lucario had a smile of relief. He certainly played his part in protecting Ash.
"So, Lucario. You can break me out of the Ataxia?" Ash said.
"Cario..." Lucario looked at his palm. That was his first time achieving something like that. It wasn't just Ash and Ghetsis learning something new.
"Alright. We need to put more work in." Ash stood up, adjusting his gloves. "Ghetsis isn't the only one improving. We can't let him catch up and overcome us. We need to do it before he can. Right, guys?"
"Pikachu!"
"Lucario."
After that bizarre experience, Ash's goal to rid the Ataxia was speeding up. But not without help. He couldn't do this alone as seen by Lucario, Cynthia, Applejack, Brawly and Rumble. Before Ghetsis can fully understand Dark Aura or even Dark Magic itself.
In short, all they have to do is 1-UP Ghetsis along the way. And that's what they intended to do. As the journey continues .
Up here in Pegalysium, all is sound. Perfect silence with mostly everypony asleep. The exceptions are of course the guards, King Paramount and a few citizens. Peace truly does exist in Pegalysium and for good reasons.
Over at the royal chamber, the Royal Advisor Tip-off was about to head to bed himself. But before that, he looked at the mural, showing Shooting Star the Pegasus of Destiny once more. Obviously, the three other pegasi were standing next to him who would aid him in fulfilling his destiny. However, Tip-off felt as if something was a bit wonky with this mural.
"Hm...Strange. For some reason, it feels like there should be one more pegasus on this? Or is it really just three that will aid the prince?" He thought before rubbing his eyes. "Bah. Maybe tomorrow. But when are those pegasi going to show up?"
Tip-off left the chamber before closing it. And as he closed it, the mural itself started changing on its own. By the cause of magic, a fifth pegasus had shown up, confirming Tip-off's presumption. As he left the chamber, he was met with the sight of King Paramount walking the hallways.
"Goodnight, your majesty." Tipp-off yawned. "How goes that Rift learning curve."
"Good. But, I'm holding it back for a while instead of advancing things further." Paramount replied.
"Hm? Why is that? You did take it to fully master it, didn't you, your majesty?"
"I know. But Princess Celestia and the rest of Equestria have made a vow and promise to fix everything in the end. So until that promise can be made before the calamity can happen, I won't use much of the Rift magic unless necessary. I'll hold it off until then."
"Hm. Fair enough." Tip-off nodded in approval.
"Speaking of Rift energy. The one found in Big Sky. Was it ever retrieved or noticed by any chance?"
"Sorry, your majesty. Ever since it disappeared, that was it. Most likely, somepony has already taken custody of it. And I assume the Indigo Alliance is the first thing that comes to your mind?"
"You'd be correct, Tip-off." The king responded before turning to face a painting of previous Pegalysium rulers. "They obviously must be aware of it. If they utilize its power, there's no telling what will happen. We must find out where their main base of operations is at once."
"There's also the issue of the missing ponies from five days ago. Still, no report of them being found. If it is all the Indigo Alliance, if they exist, then probably, they've been taken by them."
"Probably. My parents and their parents before were unaware of the Indigo Alliance, dismissing them as just a foal's tale at best. They never believed in a secret society of ponies. However, I'm inclined to believe that they are the reason my parents perished that day." Paramount suddenly changed the mood as Tip-off's eyes shifted. "On that same night, when my father told me the story of the Indigo Alliance, he and my mother were involved in an accident. But I believe that was no accident. It was most likely done on purpose."
"I remember." Tip-off nodded. "But if so, why would they want to rid your parents from this world?"
"Remember how the words from the story went?" Paramount looked down with the lighting and atmosphere changing to fit the mood. Tip-off scrunched his face by this sudden change while also intimidated by the king's gaze. "Beware the Indigo Alliance that watches all the time. Within the shadows, they're always watching with infinite eyes. Whether out in the streets, your own bed, the forest, peaks and mostly the skies. Centuries, they've been around. And more centuries, they're here to stay."
"R-Right. Goodness, that is a chilling story." Tip-off shuddered.
"Ah, what am I saying? I shouldn't be giving my subjects a scare like this. I should be focusing on finding the alliance and putting a stop to them. We should do what we can to eventually find them. Either tonight, tomorrow or whenever that day comes."
"At least me rest first, your majesty." Tip-off grumbled before closing his eyes. Paramount would do that favour for him. The king carried Tip-off on his back, aiming to take him to bed.
However, Tip-off had already dozed off the moment he was on Paramount's back. The king would then carry Tip-off to his room, allowing him to rest up the whole night.
Morning.
Along came morning and Shooting Star woke up from his bed. Finally, he had slowed down his Pokedex searching for a bit. Now, he could sleep properly. Before, it was a mess. He would fall asleep in the morning then wake up in either the afternoon or evening.
And as he woke up with a yawn, many butlers and maids rushed in to assist him in the morning. The yawn is what made them enter in a heartbeat. Immediately, they started getting him ready for today.
"Morning, young prince." A maid said before brushing his hair Shooting Star had one eye closed as he was still a bit sleepy at the moment. He opened his mouth, allowing his teeth to be brushed.
"I could just brush my teeth myself, ya know..." Shooting Star grumbled before having his golden regalia put around his hooves and neck. He opened his mouth as his favourite food, pancakes, were dropped into his mouth. A whole plate of them as he scarfed it down in one bite. But there was another plate for him to eat on his own. "What's happening today."
"Well, nothing for today but tomorrow, you and your mother, her majesty, shall be seeing your cousin Cloudflare today and her new school over at the Pegalysium High Academy for an induction. Your father will be busy tomorrow to join you."
"Cousin Cloudflare? Boy, I haven't seen her in a while." Shooting Star was feeling nostalgic. "I remember we used to call each other doofus and dweeb a lot back then. That was fun."
"A constant babble of it while with your grandfather, if I recall, young prince?" A butler asked.
"Uh-huh." Shooting Star confirmed with a nod. "Boy, that summer was weird. Can't wait to see her again. And then?"
"An opening for the local animal shelter that your mother had commissioned. Your favourite animal will be there for you to see, young prince. The Sky Peacock."
"But I'm afraid of peacocks." Shooting Star frowned before having his mane adjusted to match its usual look by the maids.
"I thought you were afraid of clowns, young master." A maid said before tightening Shooting Star's regalia, in case it fell off randomly.
"Not anymore. So what else is happening?"
"That will be all for today, young prince." The butlers and maids were leaving as they had done their job. "Oh. But your parents were considering experiencing the Pokemon for themselves down below. Possibly today, tomorrow or whenever."
"Really?!" The young pegasus sat up, flying in the air out of excitement. "Yeah-hahaha! Thanks, mom and dad! Wonder if I'll meet Ash and the others again." Filled with anticipation for tomorrow, Shooting Star laid on his back, taking a moment to breathe while the butlers and maids had left.
He had something fun to look forward to tomorrow. But for today, he could do whatever he wanted until then. The young pegasus soon left his room to roam the streets of Pegalysium. Pegalysium itself was entertaining. After all, with a nation full of nothing but pegasi, some entertainment was needed when never seeing other pony races out there.
At the moment, a street sale was occurring for anyone to buy something that they might fancy. Pegasi from less rich parts come here and sell off their goods to the nobles here. And they do get some nice rewards in return.
Shooting Star brought the Pokedex with him. He couldn't stay away from it after all. He promised to give it back to Ash when they meet up again. So that he can have his own Pokedex and get information on Pokemon himself. And that looked to be the case with tomorrow
Shooting Star brought some goods from the street sale after seeing the few things that caught his attention. Mainly, something he holds close to him as a child.
"Oohoo! A Bluewing action from Sky Quest!" And already, he was gushing over the sight of a pegasus action figure. Straight from a series that he certainly enjoys. There was even an assortment of books about this series for sale. "I couldn't get this one before!"
"You want it? It's yours for free, young prince. High royalty is an exception." The salespony said.
"No way!" Shooting Star slammed a huge heap of bits on the table, overwhelming the sales pony as her eyes shot up with money signs. "I'll take it full price! It'll be extra special that way!"
"Deal!" The salespony nodded before grabbing the money and giving the action figure to the young prince. Shooting Star was satisfied. After that, he went off to buy other eye-catching objects. He had the currency to do so. Being royalty helps with that.
Shooting Star bought a nice soda hat for him to drink from, some other knick-knacks that he believed would fit well on his shelf, some gifts for his parents, some for his friends and so on. All the while, the young prince was acknowledged by other ponies due to his fame. But he was too focused on the action figure and other objects to even notice.
Eventually, Shooting Star decided to venture out into the local forest. There, some ponies were having a picnic for the day. Shooting Star had bought himself a special ear enhancement object in the shape of a shell. The equivalent to an elephant's 20/20 hearing or even Audino's spectacular and unparalleled hearing abilities.
Here, he could hear a lot in the forest. From the ponies having a nice day to the nearby sky creatures that roamed the forest. While all of this was nice, Shooting Star was looking forward to tomorrow the most. So many Pokemon for him to see. So much he has missed out on, but some catching up was coming his way.
In the meantime, he chose to sit on a tree while playing with his newly bought action figure. He needed to make sure no one was watching him. Seeing a young prince of high royalty playing with a toy would be odd to the eyes without a doubt. Especially considering he wasn't a colt anymore.
And to make the scene even better, just before he came to the forest, he stopped by his home to pick up some more action figures from this Sky Quest series Just to immerse himself in what was about to happen. He looked around, seeing that no one was watching him. He could play to his heart's content while drinking from his soda hat.
"Few years late but it's cool." Shooting Star said whilst messing around with the figures. He felt like a kid again using these figures, even if he found it a tad embarrassing. "I bet they have Pokemon action figures down there too."
"Oh, so you do know about them?" Just then, a voice had replied to him, startling the young prince as he had held his action figures close to him.
"Ah!" He screamed before turning around. The pegasus who had replied was Garnet from Feathercoast.
"Apologies, young prince!" Garnet apologized, lowering her head. "I just saw you here playing with...dolls?"
"They're not dolls! They're action figures!" Shooting Star exclaimed while proudly holding his action figures.
"R-Right. But I also heard you speak about the Pokemon yourself."
"I do. Had Ash and his friends show me. Even gave me this." Shooting Star showed the Pokedex to Garnet. She nodded as she had already seen the Pokedex when Ash and the others ended up in Feathercoast. "I'm heading down there maybe today, tomorrow or whenever. That way, I'll get to see all the Pokemon up close."
"Oh. I already have," Garnet pointed her hoof at herself. "They came to Feathercoast and everypony there saw them. Boy, they were something."
"You have?! Lucky!" Shooting Star pouted. "I wanna see some more Pokemon. But it's fine. I'm heading there soon."
"That's even luckier, prince Shooting Star. You'll have the chance to head down below. Wish we could but...Mayor Umbra hasn't allowed it."
"Well, you know...if my mom and dad are okay with finally heading down to the lower nation, then maybe it's okay for me to bring someone along. Pretty sure king and queen are above mayor, right?"
"...So...you 'll bring someone along...like me?!" Garnet shot up with a beaming smile.
"Yeah?"
"Excellent!" She flew into the air, flapping her wings rapidly while clapping her hooves. "I'll tell Kaleidoscope about this! She can come too, right?!"
"Mom and dad won't mind. He came to Kaleidoscope's birthday party after all. Then again he comes to everyone's birthday party. Somehow." Shooting Star pondered about his father's presence while Garnet was psyched.
But as he was enjoying his time in the forest with Garnet, away from most of the public, something caught his attention yet again. The special ear shell was picking up something, allowing for Shooting Star to hear this. He promptly stopped his fun to find out what that noise was.
"The Rift magic has been multiplied now. There should be more reserves for us." A mare said.
"That Jade Skies pony has yet to be captured." A stallion replied. "But this should suffice at the moment. At least, enough to use for a month. But how exactly are we to use that magic without being seen? After all, one bit of it is potent enough to destroy a forest."
"The Grand Judge said that she would find a way. As well as finding a way to capture Jade Skies. In the meantime, meet up at Big Sky next week."
Hearing that gave Shooting Star a sudden realization. The missing Rift energy and missing ponies. All of it had led to those two ponies which also led up to the biggest suspect. The Indigo Alliance. Another known part of the story was about a sort of judge within the secret society.
His dad's assumption of the Indigo Alliance wasn't looking to be made up after all. Then again, Shooting Star always trusted his father anyway. To see this for himself, the young pegasus placed everything he had in his bag before flying over. Shooting Star stayed hidden within the trees for secrecy.
"Young prince. Where are you going?" Garnet went after him once he made a suspicious face. One of doubt and eavesdropping.
And when they made it there, they spotted two ponies walking separate ways. They had finished their conversation, but they were most definitely the ponies Shooting Star had heard.
"Maybe they're part of it." He said to himself, watching them walk off.
"Part of what?"
"The Indigo Alliance."
"Oh, that thing again?" Garnet pulled back. "Been hearing a lot about recently. More than usual."
"I could wait next week but...that's kinda long. I should just tell dad." Obviously, using the communication shell was the clear answer. Plus, he had seen the faces of these two pegasi, knowing who they were as well as knowing what they were up to. Shooting Star took the shell out of his bag to try and speak with his father.
However, as he took the shell out, the young prince and Garnet were met with a surprise. They both felt something behind him in the trees with an ominous chill. They froze on the spot, wondering if someone had already spotted them. And he was right. By turning around, he saw a large hooded figure in the same tree with him.
The same hood and clothes that belonged to the Indigo Alliance.
"Oh!" The young prince gasped and Garnet as the mysterious pegasus lunged at them, pushing both Shooting Star and Garnet out of the tree. The big-bodied Alliance Member had pinned the prince and foalsitter down afterwards, making him drop his shell and even causing his soda hat to fall off. "My hat!"
"You can't be speaking and having discourse in secrecy about what you should never know about. Young prince." The pegasus said with an unrecognizable voice. One that sounded like obscure and hard to pick out. "Especially with a commoner."
"Woah, your voice sounds cool..." Shooting Star gawked, quickly forgetting he was in danger.
"I don't think that's important, prince!" Garnet cried, trying to break free. However, this pony was fairly huge, so it wasn't that easy to do.
Shooting Star then realized he was in danger when he saw other Indigo Alliance Members emerge from the bushes. He didn't see them before which confused him. Their clothing didn't even match the colours of the bushes. "H-How did you all...?"
"What should we do? This is the young prince? Far higher than anypony we've dealt with. Aside from the previous ponies years ago." The members started speaking with each other while Shooting Star and Garnet were on the ground.
"It doesn't matter. Unlike his father, he's inexperienced and not very cautious. But the magic he can exude is just as fast as his parents. As expected of royalty."
"Hey." Shooting Star frowned.
"Am I invisible or something?" Garnet pouted.
"But he's still the son of King Paramount and Queen Luminary. And the Pegasus of Destiny. As if the king wasn't bent on finding and ending us already. Whatever we do will only give him a larger incentive to do so."
"King Paramount is a massive threat, obviously. But in due time, he'll be dealt with when we finally have our chance. As for his son here, perhaps either a wipe of the mind or something more will do. Perhaps he can become a candidate for us. However, the girl will be dealt with."
"H-How so?" Garnet gulped.
"You aren't of royalty. So your value and use won't be worth anything." By saying that, Garnet quickly realized what they were planning on doing.
"Well, you're right about one thing about me and my dad. And my mom too.." Shooting Star let out a sudden grin which made the ponies curious and cautious. "When it comes to magic, no one in Pegalysium does it faster than us." Indeed, the advantage the royalty have in Pegalysium was that they can use magic quicker than others.
And it showed. The blue tips on Shooting Star's wings glowed as they exuded an instant flash of blinding light. Fittingly, one that was blue. The members had all been blinded by this light. Just enough for Shooting Star to free himself and Garnet and leave here. And they did so by taking off.
Unfortunately, Shooting Star could no longer use his communication shell with where it was right now. Shooting Star made his exit, flying off to tell his father what he knew. But the Indigo Alliance wouldn't allow that to happen. They turned around, facing the young prince and Garnet but instead of flying after them, they just stood there.
And for a good reason. The two of them suddenly bumped into something that he could not see. He cried out before falling to the ground. He felt perplexed after that. One second they were flying as an escaped and the next they crashed into what seemed to be nothing. In fact, there was nothing there. Everything seemed natural.
"What the...?" Shooting Star held his head in confusion. That's when they noticed a green pulse ripple around the air before vanishing. He also noticed the approaching Indigo Alliance members who were casually trotting towards him as if they had all the time in the world.
The young prince stood up before trying to fly off again. But when he did, he just ended up bumping into something once more, forcing him back. This time he tumbled on the ground while also noticing that same green pulse appear around. After tumbling and witnessing this, Shooting Star then realized something.
"Wait...Is this an invisible barrier?" He said with open eyes. "Awesome...Not the point! How do I get out of here?" He stood up, searching for a way to exit the area from the Indigo Alliance.
"What do we do, young prince?!" Garnet asked. "I didn't plan to get into something like this!"
"You won't be going anywhere." Just then, another obscure voice had replied to her. Obviously, this was the Indigo Alliance again. However, they still hadn't reached Shooting Star and Garnet yet.
Instead, it was the Grand Judge. AKA, the leader of the Indigo Alliance. Without warning or even sensing her, she had appeared behind Shooting Star and Garnet.
Before the two of them could react, the Grand Judge had finally used the Rift Energy that she and her alliance had obtained weeks ago. She did mention how she would use it herself. Now was the time to prove it as so. And with the Rift energy, she could use magic at the same speed as royalty. One flap of her wings and she had cast a sleeping spell on them both.
"Oh, this blows..." Shooting Star uttered before being afflicted by this sleeping spell. He felt his body failing him as he was losing his balance. He then fell to the ground, closing his eyes.
"Prince Shooting Star..." Garnet grumbled, slumping to the ground, face-first. "I don't wanna..." And that was the last word she said before being put to sleep.
"As expected. Now I can keep pace with royalty itself." The Grand Judge looked at her wings and how they exuded a vibrant green colour. "Making an invisible barrier isn't s time consuming anymore."
"What should we do with them both, Grand Judge?" A member asked as they had all finally approached the area where Shooting Star and Garnet laid.
"The prince could be of use...As for Garnet, she's a friend of my best assistant Kaleidoscope. Let's not get rid of her. Instead, she can prove to be useful. I know what Garnet is like after all. We can make her one of the Cloven."
Shooting Star and Garnet were now victims to the Indigo Alliance. Asleep and unaware of what was to come. The Indigo Alliance had one major hostage in the form of royalty. Fittingly, the son of the pegasus they fear the most. King Paramount.
"Son. Son?" Paramount spoke within the hallways. At the moment, he was searching for his son, wandering around without seeing or hearing him. The same went for Queen Luminary. "Hm. Have you found him yet, dear?"
"No. Not yet. Oh, did he go ahead of us to the lower land?" Luminary frowned, worrying about her son's sudden disappearance.
"Not at all. He enjoys going places new with his family. Just like his cousin and grandfather. Perhaps he may be outside in the street sale. Guards." Paramount called for the royal guards as they instantly arrived.
"Yes, your majesty!"
"Find my son. We'll be heading to the lower land for the first time. Possibly even Equestria." He ordered as the guards saluted, rushing off to find the young prince. Paramount had a foreboding feeling while Luminary believed her son was alright. "I hope this isn't a repeat of the past."
"What do you mean by that, dear?"
"Not only did I bring up the Indigo Alliance last night, but I even recited the words from the story. Just like with what happened with my parents."
"Oh, dear. No, no." Luminary went up to Paramount, shaking her head already as she knew what he was about to say. "They couldn't have taken him. Besides, don't they operate at night?"
"They do. But it seems all too suspicious. I swear, if they've gotten their hooves on my son, I'm going to..." His anger was showing up as he was already thinking of all the things he could do to the Indigo Alliance if he found out where Shooting Star was.
"He'll be fine." Luminary calmed him down immediately. "And he'll be here. After all, he wouldn't want to miss this for the world."
North of Pegalysium, within one of the nobility houses. Late afternoon.
Within the nobility with many homes, another affair was occurring within one of the nobility's homes. The one where the Indigo Alliance can be found. And in the main courtroom where many Indigo Alliance Members gather, they had a fairly important guest with them. A guest that shouldn't be here and was forced here against his own will.
Shooting Star.
"Oh..." The young prince groaned as he was finally waking up. He had previously been hit by a sleeping spell. He was out for a few hours. With his eyes opening, he saw them all.
Robed ponies with hidden faces, obscured voices and eyes that continuously gazed without every closing. From every corner, there was a member of this secret society. He took a moment to breathe and take in the scene for himself. Thousands of them were gathered here today, only staring at Shooting Star with those never-closing eyes.
"Welcome, Prince Shooting Star." And greeting him, standing at the podium and being the most important pony here aside from Shooting Star himself, the Grand Judge.
"Ow..." He tapped his hoof on his head, feeling a bit numb. "Some welcome. That stung."
"We tried to be as gentle with royalty as we could, young prince."
"Who are you anyway?"
"I am the Grand Judge of the Indigo Alliance." She introduced herself.
"Oh, so it wasn't totally a legend or foal's tale." Shooting Star's jaw dropped as he quickly realized where he was. In the heart of the Indigo Alliance. His first time seeing them.
"We are indeed a legend. But, a factual legend to be exact. As they say, we stood behind every corner of Pegalysium. Whether it be a wall, shadow or the skies themselves within the clouds. Any time our name is mentioned, Pegalysium quakes with a foreboding sense of fear. Truly, we are in the golden age. But, not for long."
"Uhh...?" The young prince wasn't sure where this was going as he was scratched his mane.
"Your father. King Paramount could bring this golden age to an end with what he has. Aiming to put an end to what our parents and great grandparents created. We are and always have been the sons and daughters of some of the wealthiest ponies in Pegalysium. Not more than your family, of course."
Shooting Star then looked around to see that there were some children in the crowd, wearing smaller versions of the robes. That threw him off to see foals being a part of this secret society. "Whoa..."
"Unlike your father, we know far better what's best for Pegalysium. Especially more than some rabble."
"Oh, so you wanna like control Pegalysium?"
"How else to build a better city than what your father is aiming for. Besides, you should know about the far past. How Pegalysium was only formed due to the refusal of becoming a part of Equestria. The reason our ancestors stuck by this choice from the beginning. And you father aims to break that choice by reaching Equestria and possibly other lands."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"No. There was a reason why many pegasi strayed away from Equestria in the first place. It has been steady for generations with no interruption. And now, your father had put a wrench between it. Then again, he wasn't the first to do so."
"Then...who did it first?"
"His mother and father. King Thunderglaze and Queen Ascent. They had the same ambitions and goals as your father. If anything, that speech he gave was a perfect mirror of his parents. They tried to break this steady and calm cycle as well in the past. If that comes to fruition, Pegalysium would never be the same again."
"That doesn't sound so bad. I mean, there's like a whole bunch of stuff down there. Not to mention, Pokemon!" The prince then spread his hooves out in enthusiasm. "They're like these magical creatures that look like all sorts of things. And can do a lot too, like-"
"That is not important." The Grand Judge interrupted. "The vision of Pegalysium's future, our future, stands in line with Pegalysium only. Not your father's outlandish vision. But you, young prince. You can understand what this could bring. You're not fairly bright though..."
"Hey."
"But you should know that your father might end up dooming us all with his decision. Which is why you can help make him see what he might bring. You are his son after all."
"But what dad said is pretty neat. I mean, making new allies and friends beyond Pegalysium sounds good to me. Plus, I already met some last month. I don't get how that's gonna doom everything."
"Thought you might say that. Which is why he had this to let us see the truth." The Grand Judge them aimed her hoof at an object covered in cloth. One of the members took off the cloth to reveal a speck of Rift Energy inside. What's left of it.
"Wait a sec..." Shooting Star squinted before noticing what that was. "That's Rift Magic. Just like what my dad just got."
"Your father owns it as well?" That alerted the judge and the rest of the ponies inside as they started making small gossip and chatter with each other.
"Yeah. He got it last month but he's pretty great at it so far. So this is where the other energy went?"
"Indeed. Under our custody. But not without a reason. I had absorbed most of the magic that it held for myself. And when I did, I saw a vision of a future Pegalysium."
"You did."
"Correct." To demonstrate and further prove her point, the Grand Judge used her magic to create a projection of Pegalysium. The entire nation. "Pegalysium, a glorious nation, will soon spiral into chaos."
As she said that, the projection began showing destruction and anarchy affecting the entirety of Pegalysium. Showing Shooting Star just what could apparently happen in the words of the Grand Judge. "It could become a cesspool of nothing but trouble. The vision that the Rift showed me how Pegalysium would become a magnet for deranged ponies from other sides that have...other intentions. Everything that had been kept safe and contained will be broken. Little control. And it will bring about horrible forces that my vision had given."
Appearing on the projection was a humanoid figure of a familiar appearance. One that was a silhouette of Ghetsis. And the others were silhouettes as well. Multiple of them.
"But, that all can change, young prince. And be prevented as well." But just then, right below Shooting Star, another podium was appearing.
But this podium had robes. The same robes that every Indigo Alliance Member wore, tailor-made for the young prince to make him seem more important than the rest. Royalty, after all.
"Join us. Together we can prevent what is coming. Before this vision can be fully realized. And perhaps, your father can see the same."
"Hmm..." Shooting Star raised the robe by holding it. He pouted his lips before examining the garments before him. "It doesn't look like it'll fit me."
"We can adjust it to further fit your size.."
"But I don't like wearing robes. They kinda itch." He grinned.
"You need to be kept in secrecy. Who cares if they itch?"
"But I get pretty loud when I'm itchy? Oh, can it be white too?"
"We're the Indigo Alliance. Indigo is in the-"
"It'd be pretty neat if it was. It'd go with my fur and all that. I'd be extra sneaky and all that, blending in." He then made the movements of sneaking around, trying to demonstrate how he would act as a member. Certainly, an expressive one for sure as everypony here froze, watching the prince's actions. They knew he was enthusiastic but in the face of danger, he still kept his personality. "Oh, and gold would go pretty good with it too. But that would take away some stealth points. Can I also get an awesome cape too?"
"Our dress code doesn't involve capes."
"But you've got a cape on yours." Shooting Star pointed at the Grand Judge who did in fact have a cape with her robe for extra flare. "How come no one else has one?"
And by saying that, the ponies actually looked at each other, somewhat agreeing on how nice the cape looked. At the end of the day, capes are beloved, no matter what. By most individuals anyway.
"W-Well, because I'm the Grand Judge, that should be obvious." She stuttered, pointing her hoof at herself before keeping everyone's chatter.
"Well, I'm a prince. So I want a cape." He let out a cheesy grin that the Grand Judge didn't take kindly to.
"Fine, fine! You'll get your cape!" The Grand Judge was feeling a bit irritated by Shooting Star's way of words. She took a moment to breathe, regaining her cool. "Doesn't change anything either way. But are you ready to join us, young prince?"
"Wait. I just wanna know one thing." That's when Shooting Star recalled something. Before, he wasn't alone in the forest. Even before the Indigo Alliance found him. Garnet was with him. "Where's Garnet? The pony that was with me before?"
"She's being kept and prepared for something greater. A pegasus of her potential will be great for our Cloven."
"Clo...ven?"
"The Cloven are our highly-skilled members in our alliance. They are only used for special situations. But are great to rely on. Garnet can be one of them. We've seen what she's capable of. And that doesn't involve her role as a foalsitter. She will become something greater."
"You kidnapped her for that? Does she even want that?" Shooting Star didn't like the sound of that at all. "And what's this about a pony named Jade Skies? Are you trying to kidnap her as well?"
"For a good reason. She holds more Rift Energy than the sphere I had taken for myself. She could become either a great member of our alliance or the best Cloven we have."
"Yeah right." Even Shooting Star could see through those words, shaking his head. "Let her go. And whoever else you've kidnapped. Uh...since I'm a prince, I order you to!"
"You have no power here, young prince. And by what we're hearing, it seems that you are refusing our offer, correct?"
Shooting Star shifted his eyes around, seeing how outnumbered he really was. There really wasn't much he could do. But he was set on getting himself and Garnet out of here. So, he came up with a plan.
"Let me think about this." Shooting Star placed the robe back on the podium. "Back home. But I still want Garnet free. Or else I'll let my mother and father know about this place."
"You wouldn't dare let King Paramount be aware of our location."
"I totally would. But I won't unless you let her go." He smirked, knowing how much the Indigo Alliance fears the king. The Grand Judge growled for a bit. She actually believed that Shooting Star would join them under that one condition.
She also knew that since Garnet comes from the town as her, once everypony finds out she's missing all of a sudden, it could cause quite a stir unless the Grand Judge, AKA Second Wind, could make up an excuse. So, she conceded.
"Very well. We'll let her go. But you have already agreed to be one of us."
"Oh yeah, totally. S-So where's Garnet?"
"Right here." She aimed her hoof to the side of the wall. By doing so it had opened up with the members making way. And with the wall opening, a secret room had been found.
One that had large containers with multiple ponies inside. And within those containers were strange green liquids where the ponies laid. They had their eyes closed as it was unaware if they were unconscious or in a worse state. And of course, Garnet was there.
However, her container had yet to be fully covered with that same green liquid. It was filling up and hadn't reached her full body. But she was certainly unconscious. And also within containers were the kidnapped ponies from 5 days ago.
"What is this...?"
"This is where we make our Cloven. They remain sleeping deep within this inner sanctum until they are called upon for our services. Most of these are ponies from the past."
"Ponies from the past?"
"Yes. Some of them come from different decades, centuries and generations. They have been kept here to conceal their lifespan and become our cloven. With their years of experience, they are truly an amazing force to have on our side. And keeping them alive only helps with that. What better ally to have than one with this much life experience."
"...So they're like zombies? You've been keeping zombies here?"
"Not zombies, young prince. They are still very conscious and aware."
"But you haven't let them pass on peacefully at all. And you were gonna do the same to Garnet for a long time? and everypony else that's been kidnapped?"
"Precisely. Now. Take the girl and leave. And return here with open hooves to our alliance." That was all she had to say to Shooting Star for now. The young pegasus now had a lot to inform his father and everyone else. For now, he was sticking to Garnet. Matters like Jade Skies and the kidnapped ponies are something he knows only his father can handle.
The container with Garnet inside had opened with all of the liquid falling out. Garnet was kept unconscious as to conceal the location of the alliance's base. And the same went for Shooting Star. The Grand Judge used the sleeping spell once more, flapping her wings towards Shooting Star.
"Aw, not this again..." Shooting Star sighed before falling to the floor, sleeping once more. The members would take things from here as they picked both Shooting Star and Garnet up to take them out of here.
As they were being carried away, the Grand Judge watched with one of her members walking up to her. Obviously, something needed to be said.
"I don't trust that boy. I can sense massive hesitation in his heart." A member spoke.
"Of course. He is his father's son. But, deep down, I can sense he's one of us. He is still young after all. He can change sooner than you think. But, somepony should keep an eye on him to be sure if his thought of joining us was true. The spy in the Sky Monarch is still present there, correct?"
"Still. The King and Queen have not suspected a thing."
"Good." Second Wind removed her hood before grinning. She then let out a light chuckle afterwards with some of the members looking at her and then at themselves. Apparently, she tends to do this a lot.
Pegalysium. Out in the forest.
"This is where the citizens said they last saw him, your majesty." Right now, King Paramount and a few guards had arrived at the same forest where Shooting Star was previously at. They had asked the citizens at the city and street sale about where they last saw Shooting Star.
Lo and behold, the soda hat that he had bought could be found here as well as his other purchased street sales items. Including his communication shell. King Paramount picked them up, seeing that his son's objects had been just casually left here. Including one from his favourite series.
The guards could already feel the king's anger rising. He holds his family close to him more than anything. Even more than Pegalysiu mas a whole. And anyone that comes across that might have an unpleasant experience. However, before the king could erupt with anger, something else occurred.
"Your majesty! We found him!" One of the guards said as the king's attention shot that way.
Indeed, Shooting Star had been found. Along with Garnet. He and Garnet were still asleep due to the spell as the Indigo Alliance had just left them here. Paramount rushed over to see his son and Garnet laying on the ground. He was relieved as Shooting Star was snoring.
"Thank goodness..." Paramount let out a sigh of relief. "Perhaps a burnout was the cause. But what of Garnet over here?"
"We found her asleep here as well, your majesty." The guards observed after examining the foalsitter. "Plus, Garnet seems to have some liquid substances on her that are unnatural."
"So, someone did this to her." Paramount stepped forward. "I'll find out who. But as long as they're both alright, that's all that matters now. "And whatever is wrong with Garnet, take her for some medical attention."
The guards did just that, picking Garnet up from the floor. They also had to be careful with her. The green liquid from before was clearly not natural at all. As for Shooting Star, King Paramount would pick him up himself. The trip to the lower land was still a-go.
But, he has yet to know about what truly happened with his son and Garnet.
20 minutes later.
The spell wasn't as potent as before. And this was shown with Shooting Star waking right up after 20 minutes. He let out a powerful yawn before stretching his hooves. His eyes were open as he was met with the face of what wasn't really a ceiling. More of the skies themselves.
"Mmm...What's going on?" Shooting Star groaned as he sat up. He then realized he was in a chariot with his father and mother. "Mom? Dad?"
"Good. You're finally awake." Paramount spoke.
"Worrying us like that. When do you not get into odd situations?" Luminary nudged Shooting Star.
"My bad." The young prince laughed, thinking it was just another scenario where he had just fallen asleep on the spot. But after a few seconds, he had quickly realized what had really happened before. While not the brightest, he certainly wasn't slow or unaware. He remembered the scene where he was in the court, facing the Grand Judge, witnessing the Cloven and Garnet and the sleep spell. "Well, there's actually a reason and...hey where are we going actually?"
"To the lower land for the first time. You wanted to see the Pokémon, after all." His father explained, seeing his son's excitement shoot up. Both Paramount and Luminary enjoyed seeing their son happy. Any family member really.
"Oh sweet! Pokémon here we come!" He then raised his hooves with joy before putting on his serious face in a flash. "But seriously. I didn't fall asleep like normal. Someone put a spell on me."
"Hm?!" Paramount and Luminary shot up after that. They were all ears. "Who?!" And once they asked that, one of the guards carrying the carriage shifted his eyes to the side.
"Dad. That Indigo Alliance thing? It's pretty real. They took me and Garnet earlier by putting us to sleep. I was there."
"So that's why. Why those..." Paramount felt like breaking something as he was definitely not fond of his family being caught up in this secret society.
"Yeah. They wanted me to join them too. But uh...I said no. Plus, they were planning to make Garnet into some sort of special pony called Cloven? I didn't really get that part myself."
"Son. Tell us everything carefully." Paramount held his son. "This is the biggest lead of the Indigo Alliance that we have after all. I want to make sure you're safe next time. As well as everyone else."
"Okay. I got it, dad. But uh..when are we gonna get to the lower land?"
"You won't have to wait. We're already here." Luminary said as she was right. The chariot had broken through the final clouds as they came across a nation separate from there.
They had arrived at Equestria at last. And the first view was the beautiful fields that were either Equestria-made or the cause of the Pokemon changing the world itself. Either way, it was glorious to look at. Shooting Star and Luminary had open eyes of pure joy and wonder while Paramount just had a simple smile. But he was excited either way. They weren't sure what to expect here, but they were certainly going to have an experience and have it to the fullest.
The chariot had landed on the fields as the royal family were far from Pegalysium for the first time. The guards had stood by at the chariot, biding their time until the king and queen finished their journey. One guard needed to head back to Pegalysium for an extra chariot or updates on the royal family. Just for safety.
And that guard was the same guard who reacted to the words surrounding the Indigo Alliance. He chose to head back to Pegalysium while the others stayed behind. But as he took off, he revealed his communication shell within his own armour. He had other information to give out. Still concerning the royal family of course. But not on good terms. As the journey continues.
Right now, the royal family was visiting Equestria for the first time. Mostly for Shooting Star to see the Pokemon. But this was also a chance for Paramount and Luminary to do the same while also seeing what else was out there. The world is vast after all, and staying in Pegalysium and only seeing what's in Pegalysium might not do it forever.
"Okay! Now that we're here, let's look for some Pokemon!" Both Shooting Star and Luminary said.
"Just don't get too venturous. This is a whole new world for us in a sense." Paramount halted them before they could get moving.
"I know. But where do we start? I mean, I'll get to interact with Pokemon up close. The real deal!" The young prince raised his hooves, shouting to the sky as some Flying-Type Pokemon were startled by that.
"Perhaps, meeting with Princess Celestia first would be the best option. Surprise her with our own arrival." Paramount suggested before watching the Flying-Type Pokemon zoom through the skies. Luminary nodded as she also liked the sound of that. "Now. Where would she be? Canterlot, correct?"
"Well, that really big castle in the distance might be where she is." Shooting Star was the first to notice Canterlot in the distance. In fact, they were within one of the fields that was close to Canterlot. "But hey, does the sun look brighter here in Equestria?"
"We know where we're headed then. But, let's see what we find along the way." Paramount walked past his family before spotting the first thing within his sight.
Yes indeed, a Pokemon. A group of them really. Since these were the fields, there were bound to be Normal, Grass Bug and Flying-Type Pokemon lounging around here. Maybe some other types for rarity's sake.
This will be a first-time experience. But then again, they're not too late when it comes to Pokemon. Equestria itself is still getting the hang of things when concerning these magical creatures. They would have some guards by their side. The rest were keeping watch of the chariot.
The first Pokemon that their eyes met was a group of Bulbasaur, soaking in the golden sun of Equestria. A Pokemon that Shooting Star had already seen thanks to Ash's Pokedex.
"There. Bulbasaur." Shooting Star pointed. "They're like number one in the Pokedex apparently."
"Are they some sort of dinosaur?" Luminary tilted her head, gazing at the Seed Pokemon. All 8 of them.
"Bulba. Bulbasaur." The Bulbasaur were certainly refreshed after soaking up some good sunlight. Afterwards, they had noticed the three pegasi staring at them. "Bulba?"
"Apparently, the seed on their back is nutritious from what the Pokedex said, correct?" Paramount asked.
"Oh yeah. Kinda makes me wanna try it myself." Shooting Star thought about having the nutrients from Bulbasaur's bulb as he could only imagine what they taste like. The royal family flew past the group of Bulbasaur, advancing towards Canterlot while checking out the scenery.
By taking to the skies, they were greeted with the sight of more Flying-Type Pokemon. The Flying-Types flew by the royal family, not really on purpose. They just tend to naturally do this whenever someone else is in the skies with them. A flock of Staraptor zoomed past them, flying at great speeds.
"Staraptor!"
While flying through the air and admiring the Pokemon beside, they saw natural Pokemon activities ongoing below. A Tauros and Boufallant were currently bashing their heads against each other to see who had the superior charging and bashing strength.
And speaking of the Bulbasaur from earlier, along came a Heracross to suck the nutrients from their bulb. Indeed, they were tasty. At least to the Heracross, no one else has really tried them yet.
But as they flew through the skies, Shooting Star noticed two figures fly through the sky. Two very large figures. Paramount and Luminary as well. They looked in the distance to see these figures. And what they saw seemed to be two dragons. One white and one black.
Obviously, this was Reshiram and Zekrom.
"W-What are those?!" Shooting Star gasped.
"Are those...dragons?" Luminary's jaw dropped as she was overwhelmed by the sheer size of these two dragons and the speed they moved at. They had vanished into the distance with the clouds masking their view.
"Without a doubt," Paramount confirmed with a nod. But they are certainly of a different build. Then again, this our first time being here, isn't it?"
"I've heard about dragons from the past. But last time I checked or was told, they weren't of that scale?" Luminary replied.
"Most likely, those are Pokemon. They are fairly large aren't they?" Paramount chuckled. "Perhaps the Dragon Pokemon aren't the best to approach. At least not for now."
"What about the other ones? Like Fire, Water, Electric or Ghost?" The young prince questioned.
"Those can be dangerous as well, as long as you're careful. After all, those Ghost-Types tend to do a lot of soul action, don't they?" Paramount nudged his son on the head, causing him to laugh.
They continued on their way towards Canterlot, watching over the land and the various Pokemon around them. Seeing the real deal pays off a lot for sure.
Canterlot. Afternoon.
Speaking of Canterlot, at the moment, Reshiram and Zekrom had just arrived. They descended to the ground as the guards allowed them to have all the space they needed considering their size.
At the same time, Celestia was spending some time with Arcanine when she's not practising with Passion or attending to her royal duties.
"Come on, boy! Fetch!" She used her magic to throw a frisbee far off. Right now, it was just a simple and fun game of fetch between her and Arcanine.
"Arca!" And of course, Arcanine went after it, using Flare Blitz for greater speed and distance. Bit of a show-off as Premium Polish, Passion and Adagio watched the Legendary Pokemon bolt off with an aura of fire.
Speaking of Legendary, Reshiram and Zekrom approached Celestia, having something to say. They've obviously been staying here until each universe can be restored due to the actions of Team Plasma and Empress Twilight.
"Reshiram. Zekrom. How goes things?" Celestia asked.
"Excellent news. Seems we're not the only Pokemon from Team Plasma that have escaped. We've learned that Zeraora and Suicune have escaped themselves." Reshiram spoke. "Suicune seems to have been caught by that Goh human last week. Zerarora is still out there, undetected."
"Splendid. Once we have all the Legendary Pokemon free, it's back to your universes'. How many are left out there?" She then turned to Zekrom.
"From what we've heard from the time we've been around Colress' lab, at least 20 of us were present there. Some were duplicates from other worlds. So far, both of us, Giratina, Suicune and Zeraora are the only free ones. The rest are either being kept in the lab or under the control of the Empress' allies."
"Still a lot of work to do it seems. But, I'm sure we'll make it. So far we've had the other universes receive-" Before Celestia could ramble on, along came Arcanine as he had returned with the frisbee in his mouth. However, thanks to Flare Blitz, the frisbee was charred and on the verge of being destroyed.
"Canine!"
"Oh! Good boy!" The alicorn praised the Fire-Type, taking the charred frisbee and petting Arcanine. The Legendary Pokemon panted after being praised and receiving a comfortable head rub. Seconds later, the frisbee had disintegrated into ash. "Oh, Reshiram. Zekrom. I want you to head to one of the other universes parallel to ours. Some of the Empress' forces are still present after all. You'll meet some of mine along the way."
Reshiram and Zekrom nodded as they were both on it. Anything to bring balance to everything. How it should be. There were already some gateways opened for them. The other universes would have massive help in the form of two powerful dragons who are two halves of the World's Strongest Dragon, Kyurem.
The twin dragons took the skies, flying off to help others. As for Celestia, with the frisbee charred, other activities would be done in the meanwhile. At least, that would be the case, until one of the guards walked up.
"Your majesty." The guard spoke to the alicorn.
"Yes?" Celestia replied rubbing and massaging Arcanine's fur. The Legendary Pokemon wagged his tail, sticking his tongue out while rapidly patting his foot on the ground.
"It's the royal family from Pegalysium. They're here for a visit."
"Huh? Seriously?!" Celestia and Adagio shot up while Premium Polish just looked in confusion. Indeed, it didn't take them long to reach here. Then again, they've been flying in the skies for years and have inherited the wing strength from their ancestors who only stayed in the skies. Their speed was quite impressive. "Well...Let them in, please."
Pegalysium. Pegalysium Local Hopsital. Medical room.
Waking up from her slumber was Garnet after so many hours. She had finally recovered with her eyes meeting the ceiling. The pegasus grumbled before sitting up. Her mane covered her eyes since they were a bit wet after the previous experience within a container with unexplainable and unknown liquids.
"Oh no..." Garnet groaned, holding her head. "What happened this time?"
"Morning." A nurse greeted the young pegasus. "Glad to see that you're awake. How are you feeling?"
"Uh...I don't know. What happened again? What did I do? Am I still in Feathercoast?" Clearly, she was a bit out of it. Even her mane was a mess at the moment.
"You fell asleep out in the forest suddenly. But that isn't the reason you're in here. We found an odd green liquid around you. One that was certainly unusual."
"Really? Was it like green water or something?" Garnet tried readjusting her mane to restore its original appearance.
"Well, you'll be surprised." The nurse brought over some files with the most important piece of information up in the front. "Our doctors ran through what they could and this is what they found."
By showing the paper, Garnet saw her name, date of birth, wingspan, etc. But what really mattered was the subheading that said effects.
"Young lady. You seemed to be covered by something known as Reanimate Tears."
"Reanimate tears...? Oh!" Garnet's ears rose with her mind being jogged. "I've heard of those. Aren't those from way back then?"
"Way back then is right. In the past, these were apparently tears that came from a special lake as a result of a sorrowful pegasus. These tears were able to restore practically anypony that they came in contact with. In short, absolute healing. But that was generations ago. And you just happen to have some around you. Do you know why?"
"Not sure. All I remember was being in the forest with the young prince and...that's about it." Garnet groaned. It seemed that she couldn't remember anything about the Indigo Alliance. Neither did it come up. "But, are things gonna be bad for me?"
"Absolutely not. The Reanimate Tears are all good after all. But the fact that you managed to find some despite their long-time disappearance is very shocking. We could use that for better medical purposes. This also proves that there are still some of those tears out there. What a nice find."
"Thanks. So...can I go home now?"
"Oh yes. After all, you were only asleep and surrounded by a safe liquid. You're in an equally good condition as the young prince."
"Oh, that's right! Prince Shooting Star!" Garnet then gasped. "W-Where is he?"
"Gone down to the lower land to view the Pokemon with his parents, the king and queen. Just missed them."
"Aw! I was gonna go along with him today! How far have they gotten!?"
"W-Well, they left an hour ago or so. So, unfortunately, they might be fairly far by now. Apologies."
"That's fine!" She then hopped off the bed. "I didn't become a foalsitter for nothing. Keeping all those hyperactive foals steady by flying around with such swiftness is definitely something that'll pay off."
"W-Will it now?" The nurse was having a hard time believing that. But with Garnet's confident smile, that looked to be the case. Probably. Maybe. 50/50.
Garnet rushed out of the medical room as fast as she could, eager to reach the lower land for the first time. She knew Umbra Streak wouldn't approve of this but oh well. This was a better time than any.
Equestria. Canterlot. Afternoon.
They had shown up. King Paramount, Queen Luminary and Prince Shooting Star. Right in front of Celestia, Adagio and Premium Polish. Celestia was certainly surprised to see them here. They never said anything about coming over, neither did Celestia give an invitation.
"This is a surprise," Celestia said, shaking hooves with Paramount and Luminary. "So you've taken interest in our land below?"
"Certainly. Mostly because of our son." Luminary nudged her head over to Shooting Star.
"That's me." The young prince waved his hoof after having himself be mentioned.
"Our visit here won't be long at all. We did show up in the afternoon after all. So, what can you teach us about Pokemon?" Paramount asked.
"A lot really. That includes Premium Polish and my student Adagio Dazzle. You've already met her after all."
"What about your sister, Princess Luna?" Paramount asked another question.
"Luna's out there practising with her Pokemon, catching some as well in the process. For that." Celestia then showed the royal family the Equestria League Stadium nearby. The main reason for every trainer's drive. "For the Equestria League."
"Equestria League?" The Royal Family each said.
"Mhm. We have a lot to discuss." Celestia nodded before guiding the three of them towards the stadium. Premium wanted to see what residents of Pegalysium was like after she never had the chance to head there. A great opportunity considering the Royal Family from Pegalysium was here. "How about we start small with everypony here? Everypony certainly has a Pokemon of their own."
"So, what's it like in Pegalysium?" Premium went up to the first pony which was Shooting Star. "A place for just pegasi."
"What's it like? Well, where do I start?" The young prince had a lot to say. Just like Celestia. "How about you tell me about Pokemon as well? Ya know, in return."
"Sure. But what's up with your wings? Why is some of it...blue? And how come your parents don't have it?" Premium pointed out the obvious but not-so-obvious blue-tipped wings. Surprisingly pegasi like Shooting Star, Garnet, Kaleidoscope and practically everypony else in Pegalysium have tips but not Paramount or Luminary.
"Oh about that. They're like really important pegasi...and tall too. So they don't have tips like the rest of us. Neat, isn't it?"
"So what about you? You're royalty? Are they just gonna go away someday?"
"Oh yeah. They will. Kind of a bummer. I really like 'em."
"You can keep them," Luminary spoke, causing her son's attention to shoot up as he gasped. "There's a spell for that."
"Wait! I can?! Oh yes!"
Exploud Chasm. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, Garnet had shown up to Equestria at last. And it only took 1 hour to get here. However, she didn't end up in the same spot as the Royal Family. Her trip led to Slide Mountain instead.
"Great. So much direction." She sighed, observing the area around her. No sign of the Royal Family anyway. But, there were signs of Pokemon. Even better. It was the reason she was so eager to come down here after all. Her interest was already piqued as she had a lot of options to choose from.
She would need to be quick. She did get here a little late and the sun was already giving off a sunset glow while slowly lowering. Plus, if she was gone for too long, there is a good chance Mayor Umbra Streak would let her have it. However, Garnet knew that she had the excuse of the Royal Family, at least Shooting Star, allowing her to get off scot-free.
But as she exuded a cheesy grin of happiness, that happiness was one major shield, blocking her from what was nearby. Because while she did end up in Equestria, she also ended up in one of the most dangerous places to be in.
And the Exploud would be that reason. Here, they casually cause earthquakes for a living. Ever since this place had existed, the Exploud have caused so many earthquakes in this area, there is constant terraforming and landscape-altering. And at the moment, another one was due.
Garnet was minding her own business before hearing the sound of an Exploud bellow. That one bellow initiated the process for an earthquake. And initiate it did.
"W-Whoa!" Garnet felt a tremor occur. And immediately, the ground beneath her was cracking. The ground then broke apart immediately, causing Garnet to fall through a massive hole before she could fly. "Not like this!" She cried out as her voice echoed out.
Massive rocks fell as well, threatening to crush her with how many there were. Garnet closed her eyes as her back with the walls of this hole. She wanted to fly but the many rocks above her said otherwise. Thus she was forced to go down. But along the way, she started sliding down the hole with the rocks falling with her.
Garnet scrunched her face while sliding. Seems that the tremor didn't just make a large hole, it also formed alternate paths. Whether just now or the cause of the previous earthquakes in the past. Either way, Garnet was headed straight for them.
While sliding she had gone through the middle path. And how lucky was she? The other paths had been blocked off by the falling rocks while the middle one was untouched at the moment. By sliding through the middle path, Garnet then saw light at the end of this tunnel canyon. Fairly bright light as well.
She slid out of the tunnel as the speed she went caused the foalsitter to go flying into the air. Even without using her wings. But once she realized she was airborne, now might be a good time to use her wings. As she came out of the tunnel and spread her wings out, she was no longer in Exploud Chasm.
She had ended up in Kingdra Durance. But not before coming across a plethora of large hills that were also close to each other with little gaps stood in her way. Garnet squeed as she quickly flew to the side, avoiding the first hill. But then, there were the other hills to evade. And it didn't help that there were Pokemon on these hills.
Specifically rolling Graveler. Kingdra Durance wasn't just full of Water-Type Pokemon. There are bound to be other types around like in practically every other location. The Graveler almost hit Garnet as she flew by. Each of them was a close call as her body might've been smashed or crushed by the rolling Rock Pokemon.
However, her wing was clipped by one of them causing the foalsitter to wince. Garnet lost her momentum for a bit with her wings being clipped as she was heading downwards. Straight towards the sand of the durance. But, standing in her way was a Quagsire. The young pegasus had crashed right into Quagsire's body at full force.
"Quag?" The Water Fish Pokemon looked down. After crashing, Garnet had actually been pushed back with some sort of bobble effect from Quagsire. She fell into the water from this rebound.
The foalsitter was perplexed with what was going on at the moment. She tried gaining some time to regain herself and cool her head. She also held her breath while in the water. Her eyes looked up as inside of her mind, all she could do was sigh. If only she had woken up at the right time, then she could've joined Shooting Star and his family.
But there was no time to think about that. Because right behind her, a Sharpedo was approaching at high speeds. The pegasus swivelled to see the Brutal Pokemon baring its fangs while zooming through the water. Garnet's eyes expanded with her fear with bubbles also coming out of her mouth. Not wanting to be fish food on her first visit to Equestria, the young pegasus rapidly moved her hooves, trying to swim out as quickly as she could. Unfortunately, wings are fairly useless underwater.
"Sharpedo!" Sharpedo was already incredibly close, ready to bite out of the foalsitter. There was no chance of her swimming out of the water in time. Thankfully, the other Pokemon here were helpful enough.
"Bruxish!" A Bruxish had used Aqua Jet, moving through the water at great speeds. Just great enough to outpace even Sharpedo. Speaking of which, the Gnash Teeth Pokemon tackled Sharpedo out of the way, allowing Garnet some time to escape.
And she did. She gasped for air afterwards with her hooves meeting the sand. Garnet was relieved that she didn't become shark food. So far, for her first visit here, it has been quite the ride.
"Oh..." She sighed before laying her head on the ground. Just when she had gotten the Reanimate Tears off of her, now she was back to being wet once more. Mane ruined yet again. But as she laid there, walking up to the pegasus was a Krabby.
"Krabby."
"Huh...?" Garnet looked up, facing the River Crab Pokemon. "Oh...cute crab."
"Krab!" And in response to that, Krabby had pinched Garnet's nose with its pincers. Fairly hard too
"Ow-OW!" Garnet cried out as she flew into the air with her hooves on her nose. She then descended, sitting on a nearby hill, whimpering. "Mmm...This blows."
Safe to say, she wasn't having the best day today. It would be made worse for her if she ever found out what happened to her hours ago while she was asleep. And even worse when she gets back with Mayor Umbra Streak finding out about her disappearance.
She sat on the hill for a moment, wondering where to go next. She was essentially lost at the moment. If only she had woken up a bit longer or at least brought a map. Then again, Pegalysium didn't have a map of Equestria at all. Another sigh met her mouth. One with disappointment as the sun was setting.
"Hey there!" But she wasn't alone in this. Arriving at the scene were two particular ponies who were related. Sonata Dusk and Aria Blaze. Sonata was the first to rush over, meeting with Garnet. "Why so glum, chum?"
"Oh. Just bummed out that my trip to Equestria isn't going so well. I'm kinda lost right now." Garnet pouted. "And I can't find the Royal Family anywhere right now."
"Aw...No need to worry!" Sonata put her hooves on Garnet's face, causing her to smile. "I'm sure you'll find 'em."
"Wait. Did you say Royal Family?" Aria asked.
"Yeah?"
"They're at Canterlot right now. Aria nudged her head to the north. "Adagio told us. But then again...you aren't a pegasus from Pegalysium, are you?"
"Oh yes!" Garnets' hope had been restored as she now had a location to head to. She completely bypassed the Peglysium question. "Thank you so much uh..."
"Sonata Dusk, at your service!" Sonata introduced herself with high enthusiasm.
"Aria Blaze." And Aria did so with a deadpan voice and little enthusiasm. "Seriously. Are you like, from Pegalysium?"
"I am. First time visiting. Can you please take me to Canterlot?"
"Sure will. Plus, you're gonna see and learn a lot of great stuff with Pokemon." Sonata put her hoof behind Garnet's neck as she and Aria started guiding the pegasus.
"I think I've learned a few things," Garnet grumbled, referencing the Exploud, Quagsire, Sharpedo and Krabby. They were certainly something as she had no idea what else to expect here.
Canterlot. Late Afternoon.
"That does sound like something worth becoming a champion over," Paramount spoke after Celestia had given her a tour of both the Equestria League Stadium and the Pokemon School.
"Yeah, it does! I totally wanna become a champion too! Can I join, dad?!" Shooting Star was hooked. Obviously. It was too tempting not to avoid, the Pokemon League.
"You'd have to go through a lot," Celestia uttered. "Receiving all Eight Gym Badges and having a team capable enough to partake in the Equestria League. The second one would be the longest."
"And you're still not as knowledgable about Pokemon yet, son." Luminary said.
"Then let me join that school. I could learn a lot there, ya know."
"What do you think dear? Should we?" Luminary asked Paramount. The king thought about it for a moment. His son already had an education back in Pegalysium which he had finished. But, an education on something like this wouldn't hurt.
"Hm. It does sound interesting. Princess Celestia?"
"Fine with me. You see, the Pokemon School was made for everyone to join. Just last week, Dragon Lord Ember was aiming to have dragons learn here as well. So, having a student from another nation in the skies would be something. We can have him without a doubt."
"Awesome!" Shooting Star raised his hooves with joy while also flapping his wings. Paramount and Luminary looked to the sky as Celestia was setting it.
"Luna should raise the moon in the next hour now," Celesti said while lowering the sun. "Do you perhaps need to be somewhere?"
"Unfortunately yes. You see, my son was captured by the Indigo Alliance. A secret society of ponies. Thus, our trip was delayed a few hours. We couldn't come here as early as we hoped." Paramount shook his head. "Now that I know what they've done, I know what I'll do to them when I get back."
"But in the meantime, there's always tomorrow." Luminary stepped forward. "Sometimes these visits get so s-"
"Hey!" Interrupting Luminary was Sonata's voice as she, Aria and Garnet had arrived at Canterlot. Celestia and the others noticed their arrival, especially Adagio who was expecting them in the first place. More importantly, Paramount, Luminary and Shooting Star had spotted Garnet.
"Garnet?" Paramount and Luminary both said.
"Oh sweet! You made it!" Shooting Star cried out.
"Not in time though..." Garnet whimpered before walking over. "Where were you? You said you were going to bring me along, remember?"
"I did but...stuff happened. The Indigo Alliance, that is." The young prince nervously chuckled.
"As long as you're safe and healthy now." Paramount walked up to her. "Apologies for your being so late."
"Yeah...Getting here was a ride. But it's gonna be worse for me when I get back to Feathercoast. Mayor Umbra's gonna freak." Garnet wasn't having the best day as she shifted her eyes to the side while pouting.
"Do not worry. I can vouch for you." Just then, Paramount gave words of hope to her.
"R-Really?!"
"How about...you spend some extra time here in Equestria. Mainly Canterlot. I will head to Feathercoast and speak with Mayor Umbra. Who knows? Perhaps she may be convinced to allow everypony else to come down here."
"Oh...thank you so much, your majesty!" To show great gratitude, Garnet bowed her head continuously while having tears fly out of her eyes. This truly meant a lot to her. Celestia walked up to Garnet as it had been a while since they've met. Now was a good reunion too.
"Long time no see, Garnet. Shall we do some catching up?"
"Princess Celestia." The pegasus wiped her tears "Catching up sounds good. Uh...hope it's not a bother or anything but...can I stay here for the night until tomorrow, your Majesties?"
"Do so. But return home safely." Paramount and Luminary agreed.
"I will. So how about that Mega Evolution and you fusing, huh?" Garnet's tears faded away before changing the subject to something else. Already eager to learn.
Sonata and Aria just came here to visit and spend time with their big sister. Nothing much to it. As for the Royal Family, they'll be here tomorrow. It was a good thing they weren't too busy at that time, however, Paramount had something he wanted to do before he got back.
Pegalysium. Nightfall.
However, over at Pegalysium, one of the guards who had returned to Pegalysium returned for another reason. He had walked up to one of the ponies living with the nobility homes. A member of the Indigo Alliance. He had something, in particular, to say with a whisper.
"Prince Shooting Star has told his family. They know." He whispered.
"Knew we couldn't trust that brat." The pegasus groaned. "Tell the Grand Judge immediately. There's a lot we can do now with this out."
"I'm home." Returning home was Chloe. She didn't have any school due to it being summer, but that didn't mean she couldn't head out and explore places. Greeting her was Yamper who barked, running around his trainer.
"Yamper! Yam!"
"Come out, Eevee." And coming out of the Poke Ball was her Eevee as she was free to run around inside the lab as always. She immediately started playing around with Yamper as the Puppy Pokemon was the first thing Eevee saw.
"Eevee!"
"Chloe. How was Ponyville?" Her father, Professor Cerise asked after entering the room.
"Once you hang around it a bit longer, it's a really fun place to be in. It's definitely more active than my home."
"I wish I didn't have so much work on my hands." Cerise crossed his arms. "I would love to check out Equestria myself for when I have the time."
"Well, I'm not doing with Ponyville yet. I'm heading back to it. But do you have a book I can read there? For me. And for Twilight too since she's read almost everything in her library."
"Sure thing. I have a few you and her might like." For his daughter, Cerise went off to grab some books from his room. Two of them that he believed would pique Chloe's interest. Plus Twilight's. One of these books was known as the Tale of Glimwood Tangle.
Chloe took the Glimwood Tangle book which already had a bookmark on it. By opening the book, she was met with the sight of a Pokemon she's never seen before. It seemed to be a Ponyta and Rapidash but of a different appearance.
"Huh? What's this?"
"Eevee?"
"Oh..." She examined the image for a bit. "They're beautiful!" Chloe then admired them. But as she gazed at their beauty, everything around her suddenly became a bright pink. She paused for a moment before taking her eyes off the book. And by doing so, she had a vision.
Up ahead, the strange Ponyta and Rapidash could be seen. The Rapidash was laying down while the Ponyta was near it, seemingly tending to its further evolution. Eevee had this vision as well.
The visionary Ponyta of a different appearance then turned to face Chloe and Eevee with a face of distraught and sadness. After that, the vision was over as Chloe and Eevee snapped out of it.
"Oh!"
"Eevee?"
"A-Are you two okay?" Cerise asked.
"Y-Yes. But dad...what are these Pokemon? They look like Ponyta and Rapidash." Chloe held the book to her father, allowing her to observe them both.
"Ah. That would be the Galarian forms of Ponyta and Rapidash."
"Galarian? I've never seen one like them before compared to the other two..."
"Take it over to your friends. They'll learn a lot about this rare species of Pokemon." Cerise suggested. Chloe was already curious about these Pokemon. And if they were rare, Ash and the others would obviously take a massive interest in them as well.
The Pokemon House. Day.
"Ponyta. The Unique Horn Pokemon. Galarian Form. . It is said that they were exposed to the overflowing life energy of the Glimwood Tangle forest over many generations, and this is why their appearance became unique in the Galar region. Its small horn hides a healing power. With a few rubs from this Pokémon’s horn, any slight wound you have will be healed. This Pokémon will look into your eyes and read the contents of your heart. If it finds evil there, it promptly hides away."
"Rapidash. The Unique Horn Pokemon. Galarian Form. Little can stand up to its Psycho Cut. Unleashed from this Pokémon’s horn, the move will punch a hole right through a thick metal sheet. Brave and prideful, this Pokémon dashes airily through the forest, its steps aided by the psychic power stored in the fur on its fetlocks."
Ash's Pokedex had taken in all the information as well as everyone else's Pokedex. Now they were aware of yet another regional form. It's a nifty thing that the Pokedex can even read images.
"That's another regional form for us to see," Ash said. "Great find, Chloe."
"Pikachu."
"Thanks. I was curious about these two after all. They live in a place known as Glimwood Tangle, apparently. I'd like to see them." Chloe held the book in her hand.
"Glimwood Tangle seems to be all the way in the Galar Region. We really don't visit Galar like every other region, do we?" Twilight said.
"Sounds like a bet for all of us to check it out, right? Or is everyone busy?" Twilight took the book asking her friends. Everyone looked at each other as they actually weren't busy at the moment. Nothing too major is happening. Starlight shrugged while Pinkie Pie and Applejack shook their heads. Fluttershy was eager to see some new Pokemon like Ash and Goh, however.
The only ones absent were Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Spike and Rarity for this.
"It's settled," Ash said. "Let's head for Glimwood Tangle!"
"Pikachu!"
Galar Region. Glimwood Tangle. Afternoon.
And so they went. It didn't take too long for them to reach Glimwood Tangle. Thankfully, there was a nearby gateway that could give them a shortcut. And once they arrived, they were immediately taken back by its appearance.
This beautiful forest had several, maze-like paths. Though perpetually dark despite it being the afternoon, luminescent mushrooms provide small circles of light at various points on the paths. When arriving here, Pinkie touched one of the mushrooms, finding out that they glow upon contact. The light had expanded because of this.
"Oooh. Now this place is pretty!" Pinkie Pie giggled after touching the mushrooms. "Glowing mushrooms? How neat is that?"
"Just like what the book said about it." Chloe nodded. "According to dad, Galarian Ponyta and Rapidash live hidden deep in the forest and almost never show themselves. Staying hidden here is probably why their bodies adapted to the forest so quickly."
"Bit of a maze-like appearance to it.?" Starlight asked. "Hopefully, we won't get lost in this."
"We won't. Audi can already hear everything nearby," said Fluttershy. "We can find each other easily in this. Although, without those mushrooms, it'll be hard to see in the dark. Let's light up these mushrooms with every chance we have."
"Splitting up doesn't sound like a bad idea then. I wanna see if can catch those two. I'll go this way." Goh walked off, heading to the east with Starlight while Ash and Pikachu had Twilight, Espeon, Fluttershy, Audino, heading to the west.
Pinkie Pie decided to wander off with Mew and Spinda, heading north. Chloe was left with Eevee as they were all searching for these two specific Pokemon. However, as some distance was made between each group, Eevee was the first to notice something.
"Vee. Eevee!"
"What is it, Eevee?" Chloe asked before facing her partner's location. Right there, the Pokemon of the hour was here. GalarianPonyta. Standing on a mushroom, gazing at Chloe and Eevee while the Evolution Pokemon kept crying out."Oh! Ponyta!"
After being spotted, the Unique Horn Pokemon started jumping from mushroom to mushroom, lighting them up while they made a mystical sound. Ponyta then galloped away.
"Ah! Wait!" Chloe cried out before she and Eevee began pursuing the Psychic-Type. The Unique Horn Pokemon had stopped to look at its pursuers before galloping off. Ponyta was seen jumping off a nearby cliff.
"Vee!" Eevee did the same without hesitation. Thankfully, there were some more of those mushrooms to cushion hers and Ponyta's fall.
"Eevee!" Chloe cried out before seeing both Pokemon jump from mushroom to mushroom to get to the lower ground. Chloe then looked at the ground, seeing the height scale. She let out a sigh, knowing that she had to jump it. "Why did we have to split up?"
She was already regretting the group separation idea. Chloe then started gently moving down the cliff instead of jumping like Ponyta and Eevee. With careful steps, she managed to get down to their level without any harm done to her.
And there Ponyta stood, simply staring at them. However, this would be its last stop. Simply due to what was behind the Unique Horn Pokemon. It's further evolution.
Galarian Rapidash.
Just like in the vision, Rapidash was down on the ground with Ponyta next to it. And it was certainly tending to it. Rapidash's knee had been bruised.
"You're hurt. Just like what I saw before..." Chloe said to herself, recalling her vision. "A-Are you okay?" She then approached the injured Rapidash. Ponyta then let out small neighs of sadness, indicating that it needed help. "Do you want me to help?"
"Ponyta..." Ponyta then suddenly used Heal Pulse. Galarian Ponyta's mane, tail, and feathering glowed a beautiful pink which had spread out, affecting Galarian Rapidash as well. This was to try and heal Rapidash. After all, Galarian Ponyta is said to have healing capabilities. All of it was focused on the knee alone.
However, to Chloe and Eevee's surprise, Heal Pulse did not work. Chloe then saw that there was a ravine nearby, quickly putting the pieces together. "Did it fall down that ravine before?"
"Eevee?"
"Ah! I know what we can do!" An idea sparked in her mind as she gathered the Glimwood Tangle book from her bag. "Just like in the book. She turned the pages before finding what she needed. "There's a part in this book around Rapidash being healed. Dew from the rainbow flowers blooming deep in the forest has a healing energy and drinking it makes you feel better, it says."
"Ponyta?"
"How does that sound?"
"Ponyta!" Just then, Ponyta galloped off to search for these dew. It wasn't wasting any time for Rapidash's sake. However, yet again, Ponyta stopped to look at Chloe. The Unique Horn Pokemon was all for the help of someone it had just met. Mostly because it could sense good in Chloe's heart as it galloped away.
"Wait for us!" Chloe closed the book before she and Eevee followed the Galarian Ponyta to find those dew. Rapidash opened its eyes, seeing the three of them head off.
North part of the forest.
Meanwhile, over at the north, Pinkie Pie, Mew and Spinda were having too much fun with the mushrooms, constantly lighting them up. Just to really remember this moment, Pinkie Pie pulled out her Xtransceiver. It had a built-in photo option as well.
"These mushrooms sure are a blast. Let's get a good pose, you three." She held the Xtransceiver up, activating its photo mode as Mew and Spinda got next to her.
"Mew-Mew!"
"Spinda!"
The three of them gave wide smiles as Pinkie Pie took the picture while the mushrooms were still giving off their beautiful luminescent glow. A perfect picture. But Pinkie Pie was itching for some more. "One more wouldn't hurt."
And so, she took another one. This time with her, Mew and Spinda doing different poses. With that other picture taken, she didn't stop there. Pinkie took another picture, this time with a Morelull in the background. And then another with her lips pouted. And another. Then it just kept going as she was capturing every shot with her Pokemon in the mix. Eventually, she did find a time to stop. She had enough pictures of Glimwood Tangle.
"Good enough for me~" She whistled before placing the Xtransceiver away. She giggled with her Pokemon after having that entertaining moment. Pinkie Pie sat on the mushroom for a while, just relaxing with her friends.
However, unbeknownst to her, someone unknown was in the same area as her. Appearing from the far distance was an old crooked figure. An old lady. She was currently walking through the forest by herself until she stopped.
This mysterious lady stopped for one reason. Pinkie Pie. Not the obvious Mythical Pokemon Mew floating right next to her that practically everyone in the world wishes to see. No. It was Pinkie Pie. Her eyes locked onto the earth pony, observing her.
"That pony. Now that's what I call pink! That perfectly bubblegum pink mane and tail. That immaculate pure pink fur that compliments her mane and tail. And such depth with her jolly expression. The mark is a bit immersion breaking...but it will do. Yes. It'll do." She said, examining Pinkie Pie thoroughly with just her eyes.
"Every day and all the time I will train to be the best." Pinkie started singing, currently unaware of what was behind her. "But despite my efforts, I can't-" And then, that's when she felt it.
A sudden chill ran through her spine as she could feel a horror unlike any other present near her. Pinkie Pie's heart was racing as she knew that someone was behind her. But did she dare look behind her? Even Mew and Spinda did not look as sharp eyes stared her down.
"You." The lady said as her voice echoed from a far distance. Pinkie Pie slowly turned her head to see the origin of this voice. She spotted the old lady staring her down. But the moment she saw her, the old lady suddenly started running. And not at a slow speed. She was running at ludicrous speeds. Faster than how she would be with her age.
Pinkie Pie breathed in and out rapidly as she turned her head, facing forward. She could hear the rapid movements of this lady closing in as Mew and Spinda hid in her mane. Pinkie Pie was so intimidated that she was struggling to run away as the old lady was approaching.
"Aaaah!" But she eventually found that strength as her mouth expanded, screaming with genuine fear and terror. The earth pony then galloped for the hills, dashing as fast as she could. However, the old lady's speed was so great that even Pinkie Pie's sometimes abnormal speed was nothing to her.
Pinkie was now escaping from this old lady as they blazed through the forest. The lady left a massive trail of smoke from her speed alone.
"Allow me to introduce myself!" The lady jumped into the air, leaping over Pinkie Pie before landing in front of her. She even made the ground shake with cracks forming. "I am the Ballonlea Gym Leader Opal! And you have the perfect amount of pink!"
"That's nice!" Pinkie Pie screeched before turning around. She kept running from the Gym Leader. But Opal wasn't about to let her prey escape. She continued pursuing Pinkie Pie at great speeds.
"HELP!"
Her scream had also echoed throughout the forest. And the one to hear it at full volume was Audino, of course. She heard Pinkie Pie's cry for help. Something wasn't right.
"Audino?"
"What happened Audi? What did you hear?" Fluttershy asked.
"Dino! Audino!" Audino explained that she heard Pinkie Pie cry out for help. That immediately alerted Fluttershy and the others, believing that their friend was in danger. And well...she was in danger. Just not the kind of danger anyone would expect.
Speaking of Pinkie Pie, she was actually close. Ash's group had noticed a massive smoke cloud nearby. That was because Pinkie Pie was heading this way as she running for her life.
"What the..".Ash and the others had seen their pink friend jetting towards her. But they had also seen Opal coming this way at speeds that were considered unnatural for an old lady. She was moving so fast that there was enough time to take everything in.
"Pika?"
"RUN!" Pinkie Pie cried out before dashing past her friends. Ash and the others had the same idea as they started running for their lives too.
Opal broke through some of the mushrooms from her running speed as she was showing no mercy. Ash and the others weren't exactly sure why an old lady was chasing them down in the first place as they moved across the forest.
And soon, they reached the east part of the forest. And standing there was Goh and Starlight. Goh had just caught himself a Morelull before hearing rapid footsteps nearby. "Huh?
He and Starlight had also witnessed this chase as true fear had been installed in their hearts once they had seen the terrifying image of an old lady running at high speeds with little effort.
"What the?!" Starlight gasped as she grimaced. Ash and the others promptly stopped running as they realized they had reached a dead-end. Goh and Starlight were caught in this mix as they held each other in fear of Opal.
After that, Opal came to a halt with her smoke cloud taking time to vanish. She had the group in a corner from how fast she caught up to them. They weren't sure what was going on or why this was even happening as Opal reassumed her usual crooked old lady pose, holding her cane as if nothing happened.
"Pinkie, what's going?!" Twilight asked while shivering at Opal's stare.
"I don't know!"
"Pink one," Opal spoke in a slow tone, alerting everyone as they were being cautious about this. They weren't sure what Opal was about to do. Mainly to Pinkie Pie since that's who she's the most interested in.
"Y-Yes...?" Pinkie pie gulped.
"How would you like to be a Gym Leader?"
Just like that, they all froze. She chased Pinkie down all the way from the north part of the forest to here just to ask that simple question. Everyone was thrown off. But mostly Pinkie Pie, who realized she wasn't in any real danger.
"H-Huh...? Uh...Me a Gym Leader?"
"First. A quiz to see if you're worthy of it." Opal intervened on Pinkie Pie's words. "You have all the pink in your heart and on the outside. So this is for you only."
"Is that what this all was?" Twilight let out a sigh of relief while Ash and the others let out nervous laughs.
"Well, I like Quizzes, so sure." Pinkie Pie hadn't answered the Gym Leader question. But she was eager for a normal quiz, that's for sure."
"First Question! What is my favourite colour? 1. Pink. 2. Purple."
"Well...you liked me for looking pink..." Pinkie Pie pondered. "And I've got a bunch of pink all over me...So it's Pink!"
"Bzzt!" Opal then mimicked the sound of an incorrect buzzer. "The answer was purple. Pink is what I like to see in others but it's not what I like for myself."
"Aw seriously?!" Pinkie Pie cried out.
"Next question. How old am I? 1. 16 years old. 2. 88 Years old."
"Pssh. That's easy. 88!" Pinkie Pie raised her hoof with enthusiasm, believing that she had gotten the right answer with this one. Opal stood there motionless and silent before saying something.
"Well you're not wrong but you could've been a little more sensitive. You might have the pink on the outside, but you're lacking some of it on the inside a bit."
"Huh?!" Pinkie Pie pulled back while Mew simply giggled. "S-Sorry."
"That's fine. You still have great pink in you. Let me bring it out for you. The same for you all." Opal then approached Pinkie Pie slowly, causing the earth pony to back away in fear. Ash and the others did with nervous grins.
"Uh...A bit too close, don't you think?" Pinkie uttered as she had no idea what they had gotten themselves into.
Meanwhile, with Chloe, Eevee and Ponyta.
They stood beneath some mushrooms, searching for the dew from the rainbow flowers. However, so far, they have not seen a smidge of them at all. But as they stood under the mushroom, it started to glow without anything needing to touch it.
Ponyta went ahead, jumping on the mushrooms to get to higher ground. Chloe and Eevee did the same as they were certainly finding some enjoyment out of this. Eevee bounced on the mushrooms, further lighting them up as she almost reached the top. She slipped, but thankfully, the mushrooms not only cushioned her blow, they launched her into the air, causing the Evolution Pokemon to land into Chloe's arms.
"Vee!" Eevee then jumped out of Chloe's hands to try and reach the top again. Chloe promptly followed. The two of them reached the top as Ponyta had been waiting for them, staring back.
"Hoh..." Chloe breathed in and out after those past movements as she also sat down with Eevee lying flat on her face. Eevee also had scratches from her slipping, falling and jumping about. "Should we take a little break?"
"Vee..."
They needed some time to breathe, so Chloe took out a flask of water with a cup as well. This cup was meant for Eevee as she poured some water in for the Evolution Pokemon. Eevee started drinking it to replenish herself.
"Pony." Ponyta then walked up to them.
"Do you want a drink too, Ponyta?"
"Ponyta..." Instead, Ponyta was using Heal Pulse, giving off that pink glow once more. This time, it was focused on the scratches that Eevee had.
"Ooh! Nice call!" Chloe nodded in approval.
"Eevee!"
"Thank you, Ponyta!"
"Eev?" Just then, Eevee noticed how Chloe had a bruise on her elbow too. Seeing her trainer's slight piece of damage, Eevee decided to repeat what Ponyta had done. By using Copycat to replicate Heal Pulse. Eevee's body became surrounded by a pink aura as she pointed the tips of her ears at Chloe's elbow. Just like that, Chloe's bruise had been wiped away.
"Nice call as well, Eevee."
"Eevee."
However, while they weren't looking, six strange eyes were looking from within the bushes. Chloe, Eevee and Ponyta got a move on. They had to find those dew.
And thankfully, after walking a good distance, they had spotted them in the distance. Ponyta first spotted them before alerting Chloe and Eevee that is. They sat atop a hill.
"There they are! The rainbow flowers! We're nearly there, let's hurry." Chloe, Eevee and Ponyta stepped forward. However, as they took their first steps, three pink figures rapidly moved, appearing in front of them.
Standing in their way was the Wily Pokemon Impidimp. Three of them.
"Imp! Imp-Impidimp!" They started laughing.
"What are you?" Chloe wondered as she had her Pokedex read out the entry for Impidimp. She learned everything from the entry while the three of them kept laughing "Wily...huh?"
"Impi-Impidimp!" They laughed once more before two of them revealed something in their heads. Chloe's bag and her water flash. Without her, Eevee or Ponyta noticing, they had been swiped from under their noses. "Impidimp!"
"Huh?!" Chloe noticed how they were suddenly gone from her. "Those are mine!"
"Eevee!" Eevee immediately rushed over to retrieve the stolen items. The Impidimp knew this would happen so they came up with a perfect little activity.
A game of hot potato. Once Eevee got close to them and the items, one Impidimp would just toss the bag and flask to the other, forcing Eevee to switch. And when she switched, the items were passed around once more. Try as she might, Eevee couldn't catch them at all as the Impidimp taunted her with a laugh.
"E-Eevee!" The Evolution Pokemon felt dizzy as she rolled on her back, heading back to Chloe and Ponyta.
"Ah! Eevee!" Chloe cried out as the Wily Pokemon played around, waving the items at Chloe with disrespect. Chloe puffed her cheeks, feeling irritated by them. "You guys...Give them back!"
Enraged, she then started chasing the three Impidimp herself. The three Wily Pokemon cackled before bolting away with her items. But not only did they run away from her, cackling as always, but they also lured her into a trap. There was a ditch with wooden planks up ahead. And Chloe, unfortunately, fell through it.
"H-Huh...?" She just realized what had just happened.
"Impidimp-Dimp-Dimp!" And all they did was just taunt her constantly.
"Oh come on..." Chloe came out of the ditch. "Listen, please. Could you just let us through? We need dew from those rainbow flowers over there." She pleaded as one of the Impidimp started drinking from her flask. It then swapped as the second one drank some water. Then the third.
Afterwards, they kept water in their mouths before collectively unleashing beams of water. Three beams of water were spat out from them as they struck Chloe, Eevee and Ponyta each. They had been tricked once more with the Wily Pokemon cackling yet again. They truly do love mischief.
All the while, Rapidash was waiting for them to return. It let out a bellowing neigh into the skies. "Rapidash...!"
"What should I do...I don't have time for this..." Chloe whimpered.
"Eevee! Eevee had one last ace up her sleeve to try and get the items back. She ran up to the Impidimp yet again, having a different approach.
"Imp-Imp!" The Impidimp continued to laugh, sticking their tongues out and waving their hands. That's when Eevee decided to do what she does best.
Copy.
"Vee...Ee-Vee-Vee-Vee!" The Evolution Pokemon sat down with her paws out and her tongue out, copying the mannerisms of the Wily Pokemon. And that certainly threw the three Impidimps off guard as they looked at each other. "Vee-Vee-Vee!"
The trio then ran up a tree in response with Eevee following them. And a surprise attack, a grape had been thrown at the Normal-Type, causing her face to become a purple mess. "Eevee?!"
"Dimp-Impidimp!" They laughed at her misery.
"Eevee!" Agitated, Eevee ran up the same tree, but not directly towards the Impidimp. Instead, she went over to the grapes. The Evolution Pokemon then whacked one of the grapes off the tree with her tail, sending it flying. And right into the face of the middle Impidimp as payback.
"Imp! Imp..." And in response, the other Impidimp had laughed at their fellow Wily Pokemon. But soon, they received the same treatment with grapes being smashed on their faces, making a purple mess.
"Eevee-Vee-Vee!" Eevee laughed at them to mock the trio, but she was soon given another grape to the face, halting her laughter.
And soon, a grape fight ensued. A back and forth exchange with Eevee and the Impidimp throwing grapes at each other non-stop. All the while Chloe and Ponyta stared.
"They look like they're having fun," Chloe said, seeing how harmless things were. She then realized something in a flash. "Maybe the Impidimp just want to play with us?"
And in that instant, a grape was sent flying towards her, slamming into the face of Chloe while Ponyta grimaced. But it wasn't left out either. Ponyta also received a grape to the face.
"Pony?!"
"Now you've done it...Follow me, Ponyta!" Chloe cried out as she and Ponyta were ready to get in on the fun.
"Ponyta!" The Unique Horn Pokemon bashed its head onto the tree, causing it to shake. Eevee, the Impidimp and a bunch of grapes had fallen out of the tree.
Chloe giggled as she then started throwing grapes herself. She and Ponyta were now enjoying themselves as well as they all had a feud with the Impidimp and Eevee. Eevee was knocked down so hard, she landed upside down while Ponyta bucked the grapes with its hooves.
Overall, it was just harmless fun.
5 minutes later.
Time had passed. They had their fun as they each cleaned themselves. The lake gained a purple tint with grape juice added into the mix.
"Playing along with their mischief was really tiring." Chloe sighed.
"Eevee..."
"Impidimp..." The Impidimp needed time to breathe as well despite their hyperactive personalities. They looked at each other before deciding on one thing. To help Chloe.
One of the Wily Pokemon then went over to the rainbow flowers, pulling the petal as the dew had been poured right into Chloe's flask. It was the least they could do as thanks for giving them such a fun time via grape tossing. The Impidimp then scaled the hill where the rainbow flowers were, moving carefully as to not spill the dew.
With kindness in their heart, they had returned the flask, cup and bag to Chloe. Despite what the Pokedex may say, Impidimp can return stolen items out of generosity. "Impidimp."
"Oh. Thank you." Chloe took the objects as the trio then dashed off. They were off to get on with their day. But not before giving one last goodbye.
"Impi! Impidimp!" And their form of goodbye was a laugh. In classic Impidimp fashion.
"Now, let's hurry back to Rapidash.
And to find their way back, all they needed were the mushrooms. Chloe touched them to light the way. Thanks to the mushrooms, they could see where they were going. Right back to Rapidash. There, Chloe poured the dew into the cup.
"Rapidash. Here. Drink this." She gave the cup to the Unique Horn Pokemon.
"Rapidash..." The Psychic-Fairy-Type looked at the cup before sitting up. It looked Chloe in the eyes for a moment, seeing that it could definitely trust her. Taking that trust, Galarian Rapidash drank the dew from the cup. Every last bit of it.
And just like in the book, the dew was taking its effect. Rapidash's body exuded a golden glow as it stood up with its mane and tail flowing majestically. The injury on its hoof had been taken away with a rainbow aura surrounding it.
"Yes! Worked like a charm! B-But can you stand?"
"Ponyta?"
To see if it could, the Unique Horn Pokemon stood up, struggling a small bit. However, instead of finding its balance, Rapidash ended up falling back down.
"But why? Your wound's healed. Or maybe...you're low on stamina, aren't you?"
"Ponyta..." To recover its stamina, Galarian Ponyta used Heal Pulse on its final evolution, exuding that same pink light. But it wasn't alone.
"Eevee." Eevee hopped off Chloe's shoulder, using Copycat to replicate Ponyta's Heal Pulse. She was going to aid the Unique Horn Pokemon with twice the Heal Pulse.
And the combined efforts of their Heal Pulse did the trick. Rapidash's eyes had opened with a golden glow sparking out of them. The Unique Horn Pokemon stood up faster than before as it let out a majestic neigh afterwards. "Rapidash!"
Now it really worked like a charm.
"Oh thank goodness. It really did work." Chloe sighed with happiness in her heart as Rapidash walked by her. But not before lifting Chloe from the ground and on its back. "Huh?"
Ponyta was given a stare by Rapidash as it knew what it needed to do. Just like with Chloe, Ponyta lifted Eevee, placing the Evolution Pokemon on its back.
"Eevee?"
"Rapidash!" Only one clear answer to this. They were taking them on a ride. And so they did. Rapidash and Ponyta had galloped off with Chloe and Eevee taking a ride. They hopped on the mushrooms, lighting them up on the way as Chloe screamed, a bit surprised by this sudden ride.
But it wasn't for nothing. Just like the Impidimp, this was a show of gratitude. And as they ran, Chloe and Eevee were given a beautiful sight. From the speed the two of them ran, the glowing mushrooms looked better than ever when they passed by. It looked like millions of lights were constantly filling the air with how they were moving across the land.
"It's so beautiful!" Chloe gawked.
"Eevee!"
Ballonlea.
Opal's little escapade had led the group to Ballonlea. There was indeed a town here, just close to the forest itself. In fact, this was where Rapidash and Ponyta were heading.
And at the moment, Ash and the others, minus Pinkie Pie, Mew and Audino were dressed in pink. Pink hoodies, pink hats, pink glasses, pink scarves and more. All were perfect fits.
"Next question," Opal said.
"How much longer is this quiz...?" Starlight groaned.
"Sorry, Pikachu." Ash looked to his partner who was also dressed in pink. But to be fair, he looked good in it.
"Pikachu..."
"This isn't too bad...I guess..." Twilight grumbled as the pink hat covered her eyes.
"Espeon."
"This is the last question," said Opal. "Who do you think that is over there?" Right on cue. Chloe and Eevee had returned with Galarian Rapidash and Galarian Ponyta.
"Oh! That's them! Galarian Rapidash and Ponyta!" Fluttershy fluttered her wings with excitement. "Look at how cute they are! You're so lucky to ride them, Chloe, Eevee!"
"Rainbow Dash and the others have gotta see this!" Pinkie took out her Xtransceiver, taking a picture of them both.
"What a fine lass she is," Opal observed Chloe. "Ponyta and Rapidash are very cautious and don't let anyone ride them."
"Thank you for helping me get here." Chloe put her hand on Rapidash's face as thanks.
"Vee-Vee!"
"Chloe! Eevee! What's it like?!" Fluttershy dashed over, eager to know more. But as she came close, along with the others out of curiosity, Rapidash and Ponyta had galloped away, returning to Glimwood Tangle. "Oh...wait..."
"Maybe next time." Chloe chuckled while Fluttershy and the others lowered their heads.
"So, young lady. How about that spot of being Ballonlea's Gym Leader?" Opal asked Pinkie Pie, sending chills down her spine.
"Uh...Y-You know...I think I'm okay with just working at SugarCube Corner." Pinkie nervously chuckled, giving her response.
"Hm. Shame. Oh well. I'll find another to replace my spot."
"And I hope I see them again." Chloe could now only think about Ponyta and Rapidash after that experience. Indeed. Someday, their paths will cross once again.
And without any notice, the book inside of Chloe's bag had vanished, returning to Cerise Labs automatically. By returning there, the book had opened the page of where Ponyta and Rapidash were. And in that book, a lady with an Eevee could be seen next to them, completing the fairy tale. One that looked like Chloe herself.
A little bit of Fairy-Type magic mischief at play.
Chloe and Eevee have met new Pokemon and shared new experiences. They'll surely never forget the dreamlike time they spend in that forest as the journey continues.
"Ah..." Garnet, the visitor from Pegalysium was currently spaced out. She had been down here for 4 days now, having the chance to see all the Pokemon for herself. She was out of it as she had an experience of a lifetime.
Premium waved her hoof in Garnet's eyes. However, she did not respond. She was truly spaced out and unaware of her surroundings.
"What happened to her?" Premium asked Celestia.
"Ah. The other day, when I was showing her all the Pokemon she could see, she accidentally looked into the eyes of an Inkay. It seemed to have a lasting effect, that's for sure." Celestia explained. "Even Passion is having a hard time snapping her out of it."
"Gardevoir." Passion spoke as her hands were on Garnet's face.
"She'll recover soon enough. And then it's back to Pegalysium this afternoon. But at the moment, how goes your contest, Premium? Practising well for the next?"
"Mhm. I've learned a few tricks from seeing some of the Gym Battles and how they work. I bet I can beat Gelidity with what I've learned so far. M-Maybe."
"Adagio's doing well herself. I do have to say, she's progressed faster than Twilight and Sunset which is a surprise." Celestia looked at the sky. "She might end up finishing earlier than them. If only Vivace could see her now."
"Oh yeah. Where is Adagio?"
Well...to see how much she's improved, I sent her on a small little journey for a day. She's stopping by Ponyville to meet her sisters before that. I know she'll do fine on her own."
"Ah!" Just like that, Garnet snapped out of it as she was no longer spaced out. She blinked a few times. "Whoa...What a rush. Let's head back there again!"
"Are you sure, Garnet?" Celestia walked over to her. "It might be someone else that puts you in a trance aside from Inkay. That place certainly holds many Psychic-Types."
"Totally." Garnet shrugged as she didn't mind the risk. "Let's get rolling! There's still more Pokemon I need to see!"
Ponyville. .Day.
"No! Not yet!" Sonata's cries could be heard bellowing through the house. At the moment, she was holding onto her Eevee with a tight grip, standing in the corner while Aria was facing her, holding a Water Stone. "I don't wanna evolve Eevee just yet!"
"What are you talking about?! It's already been months and you wanted a Vaporeon from the start! Your Buneary evolved into Lopunny the other day so just evolve her already!"
"Mm-mm! Not yet! Eevee's super cute and I don't wanna lose that cuteness!"
"Then what was that point of-" Aria looked dumbfounded before she shook her head. "So what? Vaporeon's not cute?"
"Vaporeon's cute...but it's not Eevee cute." Sonata pouted her lips before looking away.
"Well, what does Eevee think"? For a unanimous vote, Aria asked Eevee herself. Sonata was expecting Eevee to agree with her. After all, she is her Pokemon at the end of the day.
"Vee." To Sonata's surprise, Eevee wanted to evolve, throwing Sonata off guard as she was betrayed by her partner.
"Eevee no!"
"Looks like it's unanimous." Aria gave off a cocky grin. "Bring the fox over here."
"Never!"
"Sonata!" Thus, a scuffle between siblings began. It was more of a chase than a scuffle. Sonata started galloping while holding Eevee as Aria chased her down with the Water Stone at her disposal.
The two of them rushed around the room with Sonata screeching. Eevee just stayed motionless, waiting for all of this to be over. And entering the house was Adagio who had just arrived at Ponyville to see her sisters. When she arrived, she witnessed her siblings rushing around frantically, causing a mess from their movements.
Adagio was unphased by this. It was common for her sisters to have feuds such as these. Even if they were physical or not. It happened back home in the sea when they were young and it will continue to happen unless they're a certain age.
"Do I even need to ask what all of this is?"
"Adagio! Tell Aria she can't evolve my Eevee!" Sonata jumped over the table while wailing.
"Tell Sonata that Eevee agreed and wants to evolve already!" Aria pushed the table aside while having a devious grin and stare on her face.
"Like that matters?" Adagio groaned before using her magic to grab them both. Each of them had been halted in place by Adagio's magical aura. Even Eevee and the Water Stone. "Listen. You two. We're going on a little journey together."
"We are?" The two of them said.
"Mhm. Celestia wanted me to head off on my own for a bit. But I can't do it without you two. Maybe." Adagio shrugged. "How does that sound?"
"A journey together sounds great. It'll be like old times when we were venturing Equestria together!" Adagio flailed her hooves around whilst still being held by Adagio's magic.
"Those weren't good times. We only went on journeys when we were turned into ponies, duh." Aria shook her head while Sonata stuck her tongue out.
"Aside from that! Let's make this journey count. I should be back by nightfall anyway."
"Sweet. So uh...where are we going?" Sonata asked before Adagio lowered her magic, dropping her sisters.
"N-Not sure. Celestia just said 'Head out and find a new meaning' or something cryptic like that." The older sister shrugged before using her magic to bring over a glass of water, drinking from it.
"There's a sweet punk concert happening over at Manehattan. Let's check that out." Aria suggested as she had her preference.
"Bleh. Forget that." Along came Sonata to interrupt. "Let's try Pokestar Studios again over at Unova. I've got a great movie idea in mind!"
"Same thing. We've already done that like a bunch." Aria scoffed. "Let's try something new like music concerts!"
"But we do music so that's already been done!" Sonata got up in Aria's face.
"Not the same thing!" Aria did the same as the two of them had already entered yet another argument. They can barely go a day without being in one, unfortunately for Adagio. They went back and forth, arguing about where to go to. Adagio was already getting sick of this as her anger was boiling.
"Shut it! We're going where I say we go! Wherever we end up, got it?!"
"Fine..." They both conceded after Adagio made the call. She is still the leader after all.
Alola Region. Konikoni City. Day.
It ended up being the Alola Region. A perfect region to be in during the summer. After arriving here, the sun was already in their eyes as there was a potential of them receiving a migraine.
"So much for my concert..." Aria sighed with disappointment.
"No movies." Sonata hung her head, also feeling disappointed.
"Too bad. I figured we'd try something else. Along the way, I picked this up." Adagio held a flier that involved a camera and what seemed to be a trophy near it. "A photography contest. Have a look."
"We gave up a rad concert-" Aria spoke before being interrupted by Sonata.
"And movie making!" Sonata stepped in with Aria shoving her aside.
"For photographs? Seriously? This is even lame for you, Adagio." Aria shook her head.
"I've just taken new interests okay?! Plus there's also art involved with a trophy. You know how tempting those are. Hope you two know how to make some decent art at least." Adagio gave off a smug look before tossing the flier away.
"Uh...Maybe?" Sonata shrugged with uncertainty while Aria just groaned.
"Should be a photo club somewhere here...Aha!" Before looking around, she spotted her main goal. The small contest of photographs and artwork was already ongoing. But it wasn't too late. After all, it was still the morning.
Adagio rushed over with actual enthusiasm that she barely uses for something as small as this. Aria and Sonata looked at each other before walking over. She was available to be registered in this competition as she went up to the first person she saw.
"Hey. Not too late to enter, right?" Adagio spoke to the woman in front of her.
"Not too late at all. And you're from Equestria, correct?" The beautiful woman spoke.
"Good. My sisters and I want to enter this contest."
"We didn't agree to this!" Sonata shouted in the distance.
"Your name then." The lady held out a registration paper and a pen in her hand.
"Adagio Dazzle. That's me. The deadpan one is Aria Blaze and the loud one is Sonata Dusk, my little sisters. And I can already see that trophy within my sights." Adagio rubbed her hooves together as she let out a grin. The image of the trophy replaced her pupils as she was really in it for that. But she did genuinely have a new hobby and interest that she could get into. Making movies in Pokestar Studios was just the start of it. Now it won't just be music that she enjoys.
"Adagio...Dazzle? Oh, you wouldn't happen to be friends with Rarity now, would you?"
"Hm? Her friend? No way." Adagio scoffed. "But she's not so bad."
"Oh, I see. And here I thought I would have to deny you. After all, Rarity and I aren't exactly on great terms with each other." She flipped her hair. "Well, at least she's not so aware."
"Why? What happened?" Aria asked.
"Hmph. What happened wasn't much. You see, I am Livadi. An amazing beauty trainer. A wonderful Pokestar Studios actress and soon to be the world's greatest Pokemon Trainer once I defeat Leon in the Pokemon World Coronation Series." She introduced herself with so much flair and enthusiasm along with the way she posed.
And to top it all off, she even had a supporting crowd of people cheering her on. Obviously, she was one famous individual. Merchandise and flags of her face made it very clear. Sonata clapped to show some excitement as well while Adagio and Aria stood there unphased.
"Uh-huh..." Adagio nodded in response. "So can we get this contest started or what?"
"Right, right. The rules are simple." Livadi raised her finger for a quick explanation. "All you need to do is take a picture of something that catches your fancy and make art of it. Nothing else to it. The best artwork wins."
"Oh...That doesn't sound so bad." After hearing the rules, Sonata's mind had been changed. What sounded a bit mundane was instantly interesting to her. Even Aria took attention to this.
"Just take some of these and you'll be set." She handed artbooks, canvas, cameras, pens, paint and paintbrushes to the three of them as well as a special ink that had her face on it. Just because. "Work well as a group and your team will win for certain."
"Oh, we will. Come on you two. I know the perfect place where we can start." Adagio smiled, holding some of the objects with her magic while Aria and Sonata held the rest.
Equestria. Canterlot. Afternoon.
And the place they stopped by was Canterlot. Adagio knew she could get something good out of here. Over at the Pokemon School, some summer school lessons were being taught at the moment.
But aside from that, some teachers weren't working at the moment. Instead, they were hanging out. Those two being Brawly and Roxanne.
"You know, I was thinking about adding Z-Moves to my Gym. Make it a bit harder." Brawly spoke to Roxanne.
"I don't think so. Don't make it unfair for the challengers." Roxanne shook her head whilst Brawly chuckled. But as they had their conversation, something else had alerted them.
All of a sudden, appearing out of nowhere without any sound or warning was Sonata, snapping a picture of both Brawly and Roxanne conversing.
"Oh!" Brawly and Roxanne were startled by that.
"Sorry for the startle! But I got a good shot." Sonata said with a chuckle.
"More than a good shot!" Adagio said as she and Aria appeared, snapping pictures themselves. "Get a look at this scene. Looks like a forbidden relationship between two teachers! Or something weird that the kids like, I don't know."
"Relationship?!" Roxanne gasped, pulling back after that.
"What are you two doing?" Brawly asked. "Some sort of school project? Wait you guys don't even go here, now that I think about it."
"Photo Art contest over at Alola," Aria explained in a few words. "Now do something more interesting instead of standing and sitting around."
"Yeah. Plus this didn't come out so great." Sonata grumbled as the picture she took had come out. It was, unfortunately, a bit blurry due to her hoof movements.
"Is this your first time using those?" Brawly walked up as Sonata and the others nodded. Their pictures were all a bit off. This was their first time taking pictures after all.
"Bah, we'll pick it up as we go. Plus, we can use this messy look as a base." Adagio raised the picture she had taken. It was a mess but a base nonetheless.
"Well, this is where I can come in." Roxanne stood up, clearing her throat. "I happen to know a bit about camerawork myself if you must know."
"You look like the type with that getup," Adagio said as Roxanne froze in place. That was an insult on Adagio's part.
"Ahem. Anyway. You have the base part down already. What you need to know is using your thoughts. By using the thoughts you had when you took it, the picture will naturally become interesting."
"Oooh..." Sonata gawked at her picture, already having an idea. "That case, let's not draw the same thing! Pose for us, you two!"
"I-I don't really do photoshoots..." Roxanne shook her head.
"Get this!" But Brawly was into it. His enthusiastic nature was the cause of it as he already struck a pose. In fact, it was one of the Z Poses. The Fightinium Z Pose to be exact.
"Nice!" Sonata and Aria started taking pictures. Brawly kept the pose for a bit, allowing all the pictures to emerge. Adagio looked at her camera before aiming at Roxanne.
"Do something. Chumps prefer girl pictures anyway." Adagio said to her.
"Well...it wouldn't hurt to try." Roxanne agreed to it as was curious about it. She doesn't usually pose but she has a tiny bit of experience via the Z Pose lesson that took place in Alola a few months back. But, she didn't use any of that. Instead, Roxanne spread her arms out, flapping them to try and imitate a bird.
"Uhh..." Adagio uttered for a moment.
"Pretend I'm a Flying-Type. Eh? That's good right?" Roxanne let out a nervous grin, hoping she was giving a good enough pose. Adagio shrugged as she would take it either way.
1 hour later.
After they took their pictures, The Dazzlings went off to make some art. And the result? Their artwork is absolutely atrocious. Mostly Aria's. Adagio and Sonata still had bad artwork but not on Aria's level.
"Oh..." Brawly and Roxanne observed, grimacing at the monstrosities before their eyes.
"Pfft. Some artwork, Adagio." Sonata felt like chuckling.
"Oh please! Like yours is any better!" Adagio exclaimed as Sonata laughed instead of shouting back. Aria stood in the corner as she knew that her art was horrible.
"This blows..." Aria sulked.
"O-Oh! Don't worry about it, Aria! It's your first time drawing, correct? You'll get better!" Roxanne tried to erase Aria's brooding and disappointment in her heart.
"I'm never gonna win that trophy at this rate..." Adagio growled, realizing the massive disadvantage she had for having such poor artwork. "But there's a solution to every problem." Her from quickly shifted into a grin as she had an idea.
Magic. Adagio went up to the pictures as she knew a spell that was capable of interacting with the drawings. And of course, it came from the Canterelot Library. Thanks to her innate magical potential, she was able to learn this spell quickly as did she with many others.
A golden aura covered the drawings, altering their shape as Brawly and Roxanne watched this transformation take place. However, even though she learned the spell, she didn't have the full capabilities of it. The drawings ended up becoming mediocre at best. At least they weren't hard to look at.
"Pah." Adagio kissed her teeth. "This'll have to do. Might have to work on this spell a bit more."
"Oooh! Much better!" Sonata applauded. "Goes well with the ink now! Right, Aria?" She said as Aria came over to see the chance. Her atrocious drawing wasn't so atrocious anymore.
"Meh. I'll take it." Aria shrugged.
"Are you sure about this? Isn't this cheating?" Roxanne asked.
"Not cheating if you don't get caught," Adagio chuckled before holding the three drawings with her magic, placing them in sleeves. "Come on. Let's head to that Frenzy Forest for some of the good-"
"Attendez!" But, bursting through the doors with amazing speeds, startling everyone was Fantina. Her ears had heard everything about photos and artwork. And someone like her couldn't resist. "Before you head off, please do not leave me out!"
"Fantina?" Brawly and Roxanne said.
"Get a good shot and drawing of me, if you would." Already, the moment she showed up, she gave off a pose by sitting on the table. Adagio and her sisters looked at each other, realizing how fabulous and beautiful Fantina looked.
With an appearance like that, they couldn't resist if it meant they could get a drawing out of it. And so, they took pictures of Fantina. And Fantina herself performed different poses each time, wanting herself to stand out.
She even dragged Brawly and Roxanne in for a group photo. Roxanne felt a bit embarrassed by this as Brawly was all for this, much like Fantina. Although, Fantina was definitely more into it than Brawly.
And once they got their pictures, they drew their art with Adagio using her magic to fine-tune it, shifting it so that it become something mediocre. However, noticeable, the effects of Adagio's spell had increased after the second usage of it.
"Merci beaucoup." Fantina thanked the Dazzlings. "Would you mind if I kept one of them?"
"Hmm..." Adagio thought for a moment before using a spell to duplicate the drawings. "There."
"Ahaha!" Fantina gawked as she took the drawings, holding them close to her. "This would do nicely on my wall! Jusque là~" She gave her final thanks before wishing them a final goodbye. Fantina left the room with high hopes and happiness.
And with Fantina happy, that same mysterious golden aura surrounded Adagio's body without her knowing. It had the same effect like it always does. Making others feel at peace. That meant everyone in this room.
"Think I might head home early for today..." Brawly smiled before scratching his hair.
"I know I should continue my work but...Cynthia isn't here so one day off won't...no!" Roxanne snapped out of it. "But I'm not really teaching anyone at the moment, am I?"
"Nope. Come on. I can teach you how to surf. Then you won't just be good at drumming." Brawly suggested as he held his hand out.
"Surfing sounds a tad dangerous. But then again, I do seem to be learning and gaining new hobbies along the way." Roxanne held Brawly's hand as a rush of ideas started going through Sonata's mind.
"We're done here girls," said Adagio. "Let's go."
Alola. Konikoni City. Afternoon.
The contest continued with everyone having their artwork while taking unique pictures along the way. However, in the meanwhile, Livadi decided to stray away from the contest for a small bit, standing behind the building.
She saw that the coast was clear as she then took out a communication device that was different from the Xtransceiver and Rotomphone. It was shaped like an ordinary phone but with some flashy details. She opened the phone as the face of one man showed up.
Colress.
"Colress. Long time no see."
"Livadi? You're still around?" Colress spoke.
"Surprised?" She flipped her hair. "And here you thought I didn't exist anymore."
"How are you contacting me exactly at the moment?"
"When I was on my lonesome, I picked up a few new things along the way. Fairy-Type magic certainly has its new experiences and uses. That and I became one popular trainer, that's for sure."
"Well if you're calling me back now, what could you possibly want? You weren't there during the awakening of Reshiram and neither were you present when we had made new bases in new universes."
"Sorry if I didn't want to be fully a part of your whole universe mumbo jumbo. But, that doesn't mean I don't keep up once in a while. If anything, I've been putting in work on my own, if you must know. Including work that involves ponies."
"And this matters because...?"
"Learning Fairy-Type magic wasn't for nought. It helped me figure out how Equestrian Magic works."
"...Go on." Colress attention was now fully grasped as Livadi smirked.
"I know you're not into magic as much as you are into science. But aside from that, what I've learned about Equestria Magic isn't so difficult. For me at least."
"You've learned Equestrian Magic? Impossible?"
"Not at all. It's actually simple in all honesty. Like for instance, the ink that I had made. These poor suckers will be using it for the art. Not all of them probably. That ink will act accordingly at the right moment. While that happens, how about you tell me where you are?"
"You're still a part of Team Plasma?"
"Still. I never left in the first place."
Frenzy Forest. Afternoon.
Over at Frenzy Forest, the Dazzlings took all the pictures they could get. Frenzy Forest had a lot to offer with a variety of Pokemon doing all sorts of failing things. And as the drawings turned out poorly, Adagio fine-tuned them. Yet again, the more she used her magic, the better it looked. She was gradually progressing with it.
"Ooh. This looks like the best one so far." Sonata held up her drawing of Delphox. "Right?"
"Mines better." Aria showed her drawing of a Litleo, Karrablast and Makuhita. Sonata shook her head as they already had an argument of who had the better artwork.
Meanwhile, Adagio was too busy looking at her artwork which also featured her. She had decided to add herself into the mix just for vanity points. But as she admired herself, the ink from the special that they had used on their artwork had started taking effect. Just like what Livadi said.
Some ink had gotten on Adagio, Aria and Sonata before when they were drawing. Just a natural process of art. However, with that previous ink on them, it was also moving as well. Sonata and Aria were the first ones to notice. They saw that the ink was suddenly spreading throughout their body like some sort of leech.
"H-Hey. What is this?!" Aria stuttered as she moved back, seeing how her whole body was being covered in the ink.
"Ew...Gross, gross!" Sonata pranced on the spot, squealing. Adagio responded to the cry of her siblings as she noticed how their whole body was being consumed by this ink.
"Aria!? Sonata?!"
"Get it o-" Sonata tried to finish her sentence, however, soon her mouth and face were covered. She was completely immobile as her body turned into a drop of ink. That drop of ink that floated towards the bottle that it came from, becoming a part of it.
"Ada-" Aria couldn't finish her sentence as she also became a blob. And just like Sonata, she went into the ink bottle as Adagio had witnessed her sister's odd outcome. She also soon realized that the ink was getting on her.
"K-Kricke!" Kricketot whimpered as he was terrified of the ink, not wanting to be caught in it. But he also stayed by Adagio's side.
Luckily, Adagio had magic to deal with this. And powerful magic as well. Adagio exuded magic from her body, blowing away the ink and saving her. She was thankfully alright, along with Kricketot. However, her sisters weren't.
"Aria! Sonata!" She went over to the ink bottle, picking it up. She used her magic to open the lid, hoping her sisters would emerge. Unfortunately, they didn't.
Adagio had realized what had happened. They had become one with the ink bottle by some strange magical cause. And by looking at Livadi's face, she could find out how and why. Adagio was clearly furious about this. She had some vengeance to dole out. But not before saving her sisters.
"I'm going to have to go in there, aren't I?" Adagio spoke.
"Kricketot?"
"If it's magical, then that means I can go in it the same way Luna goes into the Dreamworld. Are you alright with coming along, Kricketot?"
"Tot!" Kricketot would stay by Adagio's side to the bitter end as he agreed.
"Good." Adagio nodded before concentrating her magic on the ink bottle. She was going to take one bizarre trip. "Hold on you two. I'm coming."
Adagio was ready to enter the ink bottle. Of all things. But not without a reason. Her sisters had been pulled into the bottle after the ink had consumed them, turning their bodies into ink droplets. She had to save her sisters and eventually, reach Livadi for some revenge. This was her bottle after all.
However, before she could do so, she knew that the bottle was just sitting out there in the open, unguarded. So whoever finds that bottle can grab it and take it anywhere. She would need assistance and for someone to guard it. Luckily, there was one individual in this forest in who she could trust.
Delphox.
Adagio had gone to Delphox's hut, explaining everything to the Fox Pokemon. She gave her the bottle, explaining how her sisters were in it and she was the one who needed to rescue them.
"Keep watch of this. Don't let it get out of sight at all." Adagio said.
"Delphox." Delphox understood clear as day what she needed to do. She promised Adagio that she would keep the bottle safe. And that was a relief for Adagio.
After that, Adagio faced the bottle, having her magic surround it. She also covered Kricketot in this golden aura as he was coming along with her, always staying by Adagio's side to the bitter end. And with the usage of her magic, a bright light exuded out as Adagio and Kricketot had vanished.
A world of ink.
Adagio opened her eyes to be met with an odd landscape.
"So this is inside the ink bottle? Here I was expecting all darkness." Adagio spoke as she was currently met with an assortment of colours of all kinds. Different from the ink that she had seen on the outside. "Aria! Sonata! Where are you?!"
She called out for her little sisters in this liquified world. Kricketot did the same with his cry. "Kricketot!" But there was no response from them yet. Adagio was already starting to fear the worst. But she kept her hopes up. She believed she could find her sisters.
Adagio started moving across this world of ink. Moving on it felt like moving on water itself. But a bit rougher and stickier. Traversing through it was going to be difficult. However, since Adagio was born and raised in water, she would get used to it. But, it was too uncomfortable for her taste so Adagio used her magic to levitate as she would rather do without a sticky surface.
By levitating through the air, she could have a higher view Not that it mattered. This world had no bottom from what she could tell. Or limit to the very top aside from maybe the bottles entire build.
However, she did eventually find life here. Up ahead. But it wasn't her sisters. Instead, it was a group of random people and Pokemon. Some Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon were present here.
"Hey!" A young man waved at Adagio and Kricketot. "Over here!"
"Hm?" Adagio raised an eyebrow after spotting the group. If there was life here and a group, she might find her sisters. She immediately teleported in front of them. "This is a good sign. Hopefully."
"Oh. Did you get dragged in here too?" A young woman asked. "So sorry this had happened. She played us all for a fool in the end."
"Yeah...A fool..." An old man sighed before lowering his head. "Still looks beautiful either way. Hehehe!"
"I didn't get dragged in here. I let myself in here with magic. I'm here to get my sisters and leave once that's done. Where are they?"
"Oh...you mean those two ponies who just got here?" The young man said.
"Yes! Them! Where are they?"
"Bit too far from here. They fell at a far distance in all of this ink. Right now, their bodies are being adjusted so that they can fully live here."
"What do you mean by that...?" Adagio froze for a moment.
"When we all came here, we were doused in strange ink so that our bodies would be nothing but ink. We're barely solid anymore. And we practically live here and are unable to live like normal people ever again. If we come out of the ink bottle, we'll be nothing but liquid, unable to do anything." An older woman shrugged. "The same could happen to your sisters. Nothing but gel and solution."
"Why would she even do this? What's the point?"
"Pokemon Black Market. Plus, some of us are from fairly wealthy families or have some sort of fame so we'd obviously go for a high price. I myself am a baron if you must know." The old man said. "I can't leave all of my wealth out there whilst being stuck in this world of ink."
"Some of us are here due to her having spite. All I did was say her clothes were tacky..." The woman sighed. "And maybe more than that..."
"Where's this dousing thing then?! And...how long have you all been here for?"
"3 weeks." They each said.
"The dousing pool of ink is just up north. You'll notice a large fountain of purple ink when you get there." The old man showed, pointing his finger in the far distance. Adagio narrowed her eyes as she knew where she needed to be. "But, it won't be easy. You'll have to get past Livadi's Malamar if you want to save them."
"Fine by me. Sonata. Aria. Wait for me."
"Wait!" A young girl interrupted Adagio before she could head off. "Y-You'll get us out here, right?"
"Mmmm..." Adagio paused, looking the little girl in the eyes. She wasn't planning on doing anything about the humans and Pokemon trapped here. However, after seeing her little innocence and the pleading nature of everyone else here, Adagio grit her teeth while closing her eyes. She groaned for a bit before deciding on something. "Fine! I'll get you all out of here!"
"Woohoo!" The young girl cheered.
"But we'd still be liquid once we're freed. How are we to live normally? Or even do anything at all?" A woman asked. "We still need to be solid again."
"I-I'll let Celestia or...someone figure that one out!" Adagio stuttered before heading off to rescue her sisters.
She made her way towards the fountain of ink whilst also preparing herself for Malamar. Wherever it may be. Kricketot waved goodbye to the people and Pokemon by popping out of Adagio's massive mane.
The Dousing Pool.
Speaking of which, Sonata and Aria were indeed present there. A massive pool of ink with various colours existed within this area. It was without a doubt, the largest source of ink in this bizarre Inkscape. Sonata's eyes were starting to open. But Aria was already awake minutes ago before Sonata awoke.
"What...?" Sonata groaned.
"Finally wake. Geez, you're slow." Aria's voice could be heard as Sonata looked to the side. She noticed that her second oldest sister was currently restrained by what seemed to be a cocoon of ink. Sonata gasped before realizing she was restrained by this ink cocoon herself.
"H-Hey!" Sonata cried out as she started moving around. But as she did so, she realized that breaking free was not possible at the moment. Only her neck and head were free from this ink cocoon. "What is this stuff?! What's going on?!"
"Ask that guy." Aria nudged her head up ahead. And right up ahead was the Pokemon of Livadi. Malamar. The Overturning Pokemon was currently using its tentacles to gather up different colours of ink while facing away from the two of them.
"Oh right. We got caught by ink. What was up with that?" Sonata asked.
"No idea. But I can't get out of this stupid ink cocoon. How is ink even this thick?" Aria groaned.
"Malamar." The Dark-Psychic-Type turned around as it had selected light purple and blue inkblots, holding them with its telekinetic hold. They fitted Sonata and Aria's colours perfectly. Malamar then smirked, giving off a devious grin as it hovered the blots of ink over them.
"Whatever you're gonna do, you'd better not!" Aria roared. "Or else I'm gonna turn you into sushi, ya hear-" Her rant and threat soon stopped as Malamar dropped the blots of ink onto the two sirens due to their fur colour.
Once dropped, the colours had overlapped over the black ink, replacing it with more vibrant colours. It seemed harmless at first as Sonata did like the view of the new ink colour. It matched her own fur colour.
However, that wasn't all. Malamar then picked them up with its tentacles once again, ready for the Ink Dousing Process. The Overturning Pokemon brought them towards the fountain as Aria and Sonata started writhing around to try and break free. However, Malamar's grip was certainly strong enough to keep them in place.
"Grr...!" Sonata growled as she rotated her body around in the cocoon. But even slipping out of it wouldn't do. So, she went for a risky attempt. One that she would most definitely do. Sonata had opened her mouth, grabbing some of the blue ink with it as it was now within her mouth. "Mmm!"
"Ew!" Aria grimaced as even Malamar was thrown off by that action.
"Mal?"
"Ptooo!" But it had a reason. As a sneak attack, Sonata spat out the blue ink as it had struck Malamar in the eyes.
"M-Malamar!" And it was a success. As if the Overturning Pokemon wasn't thrown off guard already. But that one distraction allowed Sonata to do something. Malamar's grip had weakened as Sonata rolled out of the tentacles. Aria was also dropped by this weakened hold of appendages.
Sonata rolled as hard as she could as she had bashed her body onto Aria's body. "Ow!" Aria cried out as she started rolling as well. However, her rolling was faster than Sonata's due to how much force was put in. "Ooooh...Sonata!"
"Worth it-" Sonata chuckled before having her body lifted suddenly. Malamar recovered quickly from that as the Dark-Psychic-Type wasn't too amused with what Sonata had done. The Overturning Pokemon's eyes glowed dark purple, gazing into Sonata's own eyes.
"Malamar...!"
"Hehehe..." Sonata let out a nervous laugh before noticing how much danger she was in now. "Help!"
"Popplio, if you can hear me...!" Aria groaned, trying to reach her partner. "I need your help!"
But Popplio did not emerge from the Poke Ball. Mostly because she was unable to do so. The ink was blocking her exiting since the saddlebag Aria had was also covered in ink.
Malamar exacted revenge on Sonata by using Psychic to toss her around. The Overturning Pokemon slammed Sonata into a solid ink wall, causing it to crack with some ink flying out.
"Ow-Ow!"
"Sonata!" Aria growled before trying her best to break free. Nothing was working against this ink cocoon. So, the best thing to do was improvise. Even if she couldn't break free she could still move. Aria stood up as she lunged over at Malamar.
"Mar?" Malamar held Sonata up with Psychic before noticing the arrival of Aria. Before it knew it, Aria had bit onto Malamar's head. She stuck to that sushi threat, biting into the Overturning Pokemon like she would with actual sushi. "Mar!"
Having ink in its eye and being bitten all happening in the span of a few seconds. Malamar cried out as its Psychic hold on Sonata had been weakened as well. Aria made sure to get some deep bites in with her teeth.
She is a siren at heart. And while she may not have her usual sharp fangs anymore, she certainly had the biting strength as compensation. Sonata did the same. After being freed, she lunged forward and bit on Malamar's leg, further harming the Overturning Pokemon.
"Sonata, you dunce! Go find a way to escape!" Aria cried out while still having her teeth sink into Malamar. Even with her mouth a bit full, Sonata could understand her.
"What about you?!"
"Adagio said that the older sister puts the younger sister before everything else!" Aria growled as Malamar tried using Psychic to pull her off. But, Aria wasn't letting go. She made sure her teeth stayed there. And with Malamar pulling, that only made the injury worse. Malamar quickly realized that was a bad call. So, a change in pace was needed.
Sonata started hopping away, however, Malamar turned to face her. Instead of using Psychic on Aria, why not on Sonata who wasn't biting onto her. Aria wouldn't allow that either. The second older sister switched from biting the head to the next best thing.
The beak. Without any remorse or hesitation, Aria dropped herself. But getting a bite in at the right time for her to stay hanging. And with a hard bite to Malamar's beak too.
"MALA!"
One common thing about Psychic-Type Pokemon is that they needed absolute focus to do amazing things. If not, then there's not much they can do. It's why Dark-Types are immune to them due to their dark thoughts and the same goes for Bug-Types who can irritate Psychic-Types with their endless buzzing.
And getting bit in the beak is probably the same feeling but worse. Sonata had slid down a flowing sea of ink, using it as her getaway. Aria had successfully protected her little sister. And that was all she needed to see.
Malamar was beyond irritated as it had used Flamethrower on itself, igniting its body with flames. That prompted Aria to finally let go. And right on time for Malamar to grab her with Psychic, quickly switching away from Flamethrower. Aria was now helpless once more.
But that didn't matter as long as Sonata was safe.
Unfortunately for Aria, she was then tossed into the pool of ink, unable to do anything to stop it. She closed her eyes as she allowed herself to fall. She made a fairly big splash as her body sank into the pool of ink.
Malamar held its beak whilst Aria was within the pool. It had tears come out of its eyes as that bite from Aria was super-effective. No Fairy or Bug-Type move will ever come close to the sheer pain that Malamar was currently feeling.
After a few seconds, Aria emerged from the pool. The ink coating she had on her before had dissipated, freeing her. The process was over as Aria realized her freedom.
"Hah! Sucker! I'm all free now!" Aria chuckled before deciding to try and push Malamar. But as she did so, she noticed that she went through Malamar. Mainly her hooves. "What the?!"
Indeed, Aria's body had now been liquified. No longer solid like it used to be as Malamar stood there. Aria froze for a moment, quickly realizing what had just happened to her. Malamar chuckled, knowing that it was indestructible against everything that Aria could do to her.
"In that case..." Aria had a last-ditch effort. Popplio. While the saddlebag was also affected, the Poke Ball wasn't since it was safe from the ink. "Popplio, come out!"
"Popplio!" Emerging out of the Poke Ball was the Sea Lion Pokemon herself. Popplio was currently the only one who could interact with Malamar since she hadn't been affected by the ink yet.
"Popplio. Be careful not to get anywhere near that pool of ink, okay?"
"Lio!"
"Malamar." Malamar looked unbothered by Popplio emerging in front of it and facing it down. This isn't the first time it has been challenged to a battle in this world.
"Popplio, use Hydro Pump!"
"Popp...Lio!" The Sea Lion Pokemon opened her mouth before launching a high volume blast of water with great pressure by it. Malamar swayed its body to the side, easily avoiding the Hydro Pump with little effort. Afterwards, the Overturning Pokemon zoomed in with a Brutal Swing.
"Mala!" Its appendages were coated in a dark red aura as Popplion looked up, still having water come out of her mouth.
"Dodge, Popplio, quick!"
"Mar!" But it was too late. Malamar had swung its appendages violently, knocking the Sea Lion Pokemon back. And of course, it had knocked her into the direction of the ink pool.
"P-Popp!"
"Popplio, no!" Aria cried out.
"Lio!" But Popplio quickly recovered in midair as she used the strength of Hydro Pump to keep herself airborne. The high volume blast of water acted as a rocket for her as she ascended higher into the air.
"Good stuff! Now use Hyper Voice!"
"Popplioooo!" Out of her mouth, a horribly echoing shout in the form of white soundwaves came flying out the Sea Lion Pokemon's voice.
"Malamar!" Malamar responded by using Psycho Cut. By using its appendages, the Overturning Pokemon had cut the sound waves in half with tearing blades of Psychic Energy. "Mal..."
"It isn't over yet! Aqua Jet, go!"
"Popp!" Popp then descended before lunging towards the Dark-Psychic-Type with an aura of water, moving at high speeds. Malamar used Brutal Swing, violently throwing its appendages at the approaching Water-Type.
Popplio's aura and head had clashed with Malamar's dark-coated appendages. The Sea Lion Pokemon and Overturning Pokemon had been pushed back by their collision as Popplio continued to use Aqua Jet.
"Zigzag around, go!"
"Popplio!" Popplio then moved to the side, attacking Malamar on its left. She picked up some more speed each time she used Aqua Jet.
"M-Mal!"
"Lio!" Popplio then started moving in a zigzag pattern, striking Malamar at unpredictable positions. And she kept doing this until she had Malamar on the ropes.
"Mar!" Until Malamar turned things around. But instead of using a Pokemon move on Popplio. It had used the ink itself. From around the world ink, Malamar had sent a stream of ink to come to its aid.
"What the...?" Aria noticed tendrils of ink coming this way under Malamar's control. "Popplio, look out!"
"Lio?" Popplio soon noticed what Aria had noticed. She was now a target of ink. The ink tendrils raged forward, threatening to either drag or consume her.
"Hydro Pump!"
"Popplio!" As a quick counterattack, Popplio had used Hydro Pump, sending a massive stream of water. It was strong enough to fight back against the tendrils of ink as they had cancelled each other out.
However, one tendril of ink sneaked up from behind, emerging from below Popplio and grabbing her tail. Right where Malamar wanted her.
"L-Lio?!"
"Popplio, get out of there with Aqua Jet!"
"P-Popp!" Popplio groaned as she attempted to use the speed of Aqua Jet to zoom away. However, it wasn't working. Now that Malamar had her trapped, the Overturning Pokemon sent more ink to attack. This time in the form of whips.
Popplio had been whipped by a barrage of solid ink whips. All the while, having her body restrained and unable to act or dodge. Aria tried to help, but it was in vain. When she got in front of the whips, she just had them go through her liquid body. She was currently useless with her current state.
Afterwards, the ink then raised the Sea Lion Pokemon, aiming to drop her into the Dousing Pool. Soon, Popplio would become noting but ink, making her unable to fight back against Malamar as the Overturning Pokemon chuckled menacingly.
"Think think...!" Aria was thinking as hard as she could. A way to prevent this. She then decided to try the one trick that Ash had taught everyone in Ponyville. "Here goes...Popplio! Spin with Hydro Pump!"
The Counter Shield. That was the answer to this problem.
"Lio...!" Even though she couldn't break free from the ink, just like Sonata before, she could spin around it. But that didn't guarantee her victory. However, Hydro Pump was a different story.
By spinning around with the powerful Water-Type move, Popplio summoned a massive, violent and frantic flurry of water, moving around like a whip. Just like the tendrils. Malamar backed away as the Counter Shield threatened to hit it as well. And it was a success, one of the frantic moving Hydro Pumps had destroyed the ink that held her.
Popplio was now free.
"Looks like your ink isn't strong enough to surpass Hydro Pump! And if that's the case...Popplio! Use Hydro Pump on the pool!"
"Popp...?!"
"Mala?!" Malamar realized how big of a problem that would be if Popplio was to flood the pool. Hydro Pump could most definitely obliterate the Ink Pool. The Overturning Pokemon made its way towards the Sea Lion Pokemon while riding on a sea of ink. "Malamar!"
"Knew you'd get fussy about that. Turn around!"
"Lio!" With a surprise attack, Popplio had turned around, unleashing Hydro Pump towards Malamar instead of the pool as the Overturning Pokemon would expect. And a successful surprise attack at that.
"M-Malamaaaar!" Malamar had been sent flying after being blasted by a huge volume of water launched under great pressure. The Overturning Pokemon went flying into the distance as Aria laughed at its failure.
Popplio still went through with the process of using Hydro Pump on the pool. The Sea Lion Pokemon unleashed the stream of water that had entered the Dousing Ink Pool. And just like what Malamar feared, with Hydro Pump being the only thing to counter the ink, the blast of water had obliterated the ink pool.
"That's what I like to see!" Aria cheered as Popplio cheered alongside her.
"Popp! Popplio!"
"Come on. Let's get moving and find Sonata. There might be a way out of this place." Aria got moving as Popplio started swimming in the ink to move around. "Or maybe...Adagio's found a way already."
And as for Malamar, it had crashed into a solid wall of ink from being blasted that hard. The Overturning Pokemon recovered as it had noticed the destruction of the ink pool in the distance. "M-Mala...!"
This is was bad news. Mostly for its trainer. And speaking of its trainer, Malamar sent a Psychic pulse that moved through the ink world and into reality to try and reach its trainer.
And reach it did.
Over at Konikoni City, Livadi had received the communication pulse from far away. Even when she wasn't at Frenzy Forest in Equestria. After receiving it, Livadi gasped with shock.
"It's been destroyed?!" She growled. "Ugh...It's fine! I'll make another one next time. In the meantime, I'll head in there and help you. Before those ponies end up ruining everything else."
Meanwhile.
As for Adagio, she was still heading north for the pool, unaware of its destruction. She was hoping her sisters had been dipped in it yet. However, as she was flying, she noticed something in the distance.
Sonata could be seen. Still inside of the cocoon since she has yet to be freed from it. "Sonata!"
"Adagio! Over here!" Sonata jumped whilst in the cocoon raising her voice. Her big sister appeared in front of her via teleportation. No time to waste with flying.
"Are you okay?! Have you been dipped yet?! Where's Aria?!"
"Dipped? No idea what you're talking about. But Aria's way back there. Dealing with that freaky Malamar. I don't know what else is happening there."
"So you haven't been dipped yet. Good. Hold still for a bit." Adagio moved back for a moment before locking her eyes onto the cocoon. Sonata stood still, not moving a muscle. Then again, all she could do was hop, roll and wriggle so there wasn't much movement at all.
Adagio used her magic to slice up the ink like butter. What a success. The ink cocoon that held Sonata had been removed with a perfect middle slice, causing it to drop. Sonata was free.
"Alright!" Sonata spread her hooves out. "Who knew ink could be so uncomfortable when in it?"
"You said Aria was up north, right?"
"Adagio! Sonata!" But they would have to wait any longer. Swimming towards them was their other sister Sonata alongside Popplio. Sighs of relief were met with Adagio as she was glad that both her sisters were okay.
"Aria!" Sonata lunged forward for a hug. But as she went for that hug, the youngest sister had phased through her second older sister with ink gushing out. Sonata then fell flat on her face. "Huh...?"
"Yeah. Sorry about that." Aria shrugged. "Found out what that pool was all about."
"Aria. You were already doused?" Adagio went up to her little sister.
"Yep. Now I'm all ink. Well, except for Popplio. You did an awesome job dealing with Malamar and destroying that pool too, girl."
"Popp!"
"But now I can't do anything." Aria went to touch Adagio, only for her hoof to deform into ink before growing back. "This totally blows."
"That Livadi wanted this from the beginning," Adagio growled. "But I'm getting you all out here. Hopefully, Celestia knows of a spell for this. In the meantime, you're unaffected Sonata, so I'm getting you out of here."
"No way. I'm staying with you until we figure this out." Sonata shook her head.
"Are you crazy?! Even if the pool's destroyed, there's no telling what else is in this world."
"But we stick together, right?" Sonata gave a sunny and innocent smile that had gotten to Adagio, much to Adagio's chagrin. "And I don't wanna risk losing you two here at all."
"Which is why you three will stay here as long as I wish!" Just then, responding to Sonata's beautiful words was someone of beauty but with a not-so-beautiful heart.
Livadi.
She had shown up in this world as she had said earlier to Malamar. And lo and behold, she was also riding on a sea of ink. She had indeed learned magic, for being a Team Plasma member. It wasn't just Ghetsis who had magic as a source of power.
The three sisters, Kricketot and Popplio watched as the beautiful trainer had arrived with her arms crossed, acting like she owned the place. And she certainly did. Livadi had a few things she wanted to do to them each. And most definitely, nothing pretty as the journey continues.
"Livadi...!" Adagio snarled with her siren fangs baring at the beautiful trainer. She had just arrived after her Malamar told her of the current ongoings in this world of ink.
"You're by far the most troublesome bunch in this world. The one who came close was that old man." Livadi spoke whilst looking down on them. Both figuratively and literally. "Thinking about leaving this world? Tough!"
"Tch! You're trying to put us on the Pokemon Black Market, are you? We're not even wealthy. Well...not yet." said Adagio.
"Wealth is one part of it. But it's also quality. Ponies are pretty rare and hot in the Black Market after this whole World Crossing mumbo jumbo came about. Like this." Livadi then showed her fingers to give a demonstration. She manipulated the ink, showing numbers and silhouettes of various ponies. "Out of the various pony races, unicorns are pretty well profitable. The younger ones are easily as profitable as a rare Pokemon. Adult unicorns are beyond that. And the best part is the alicorns. Now that's what we call rare. On par with a Mythical Pokemon. Perhaps even Legendary.
"So you're just gonna sell us because of what we are?" Aria gasped.
"That's so mean!" Sonata cried out.
"Oh, no, no. I'm a Pokemon lady first and foremost. I'll only sell those. You, however, will look great in my room. I'm a collector as well if you must know."
"And the humans you have trapped here. What about them?" Adagio asked as her anger was building up even further.
"Them. Meh. I don't even bother with them." Livadi shrugged. "It's their Pokemon I care for. Besides, I didn't trap them here because I felt like it. That old man figured out I was up to something from the beginning. And he warned those other people around him. I could have that. Honestly, the people can stay here for all I care. Besides, this ink world of mine is fairly new. Just last month I discovered it. Equestrian Magic is so simple to understand."
"So it is Equestrian magic after all." said Adagio.
"Yeah but...why ink?" Sonata wondered.
"Why? Ink is a universal force and language! Beautiful art can be made by the usage of this wonderful gel. No matter where in the world, the stellar capabilities that ink can give out are unparalleled!" Livadi exclaimed as she spread her arms out to prove a point. She was certainly passionate about it.
"Pssh. Paint is better." Just then, Aria scoffed at those words. And she certainly pushed a button. Livadi took offence to that as her fingers and eye twitched from Aria's response.
"Hmph. Say what you want! Learning magic this new wasn't so difficult. This Parasitic Ink is truly wonderful."
"So if this is new...then there's still a chance to save everyone in here," said Adagio.
"Pah! I'd like to see you try. With me in this world, I have absolute control of everything! Let me show you why!" She put one hand out before using the other to hold a Poke Ball. Out of the Poke Ball came a Dragalge.
"Dragalge!"
"Malamar, Brutal Swing! Dragalge, use Sludge Bomb!"
"Malamar!" Malamar was carried by a stream of ink via Livadi's control while Dragalge swam in the ink due to being a sea-born Pokemon. Even if it didn't have the Water-Typing with it, it was in the Water Egg Group.
"I don't think so! Popplio, use Aqua Jet!" Aria commanded.
"Go, Lopunny!" Sonata took out her Poke Ball, summoning the Rabbit Pokemon instantly. "Use Mega Kick!"
"Popp!"
"Lopunn!"
Popplio zoomed through the ink with an aura of water at high speeds whilst Lopunny leapt into the air. Popping out of the ink with its head out was Dragalge, shooting out explosive sludges from its mouth. Popplio was able to avoid some of them, but not all. She had been struck, causing her to roll back in the ink. "P-Popp!"
Lopunny's Mega Kick ended up missing due to Malamar swaying to the side. The Overturning Pokemon then retaliated via a Brutal Swing, violently swinging its appendages at the Rabbit Pokemon. Lopunny received the same treatment as Popplio via a knockback. "Lo!"
As for Adagio, she went for Livadi. The siren flapped her wings, soaring towards the beauty trainer whilst Livadi stood there with a smug and cocky look on her face. Something that only Adagio could pull off. That gave her another reason to be mad.
But once Adagio came close, she was met with sharp and solid ink tendrils that she just narrowly dodged. Adagio scrunched her face, realizing how bad that would've been if she had been struck. "Oh!"
Adagio was then being pursued by this array of ink tendrils while Livadi just stood there unphased. Livadi was chuckling all the way through as Adagio then used her magic to fend off the ink.
"Why you...!" Adagio growled, giving a Livadi a hateful stare as she was slapped in the face by some ink.
"What's wrong? Struggling with some ink of all things?" Livadi taunted Adagio while flipping her mane.
"Oh yeah? Get her, Kricketot!" Adagio had a surprise attack at her disposal. In the form of her partner, Kricketot.
"Tot!" Jumping out of her large and playful mane was the Cricket Pokemon. With his arms spread wide, he latched himself onto Livadi's face by surprise.
"H-Hey!" Livadi growled as she had been pinned down by Kricketot. She put her hand on the Cricket Pokemon, attempting to remove him. And she did. Livadi effortlessly grabbed Kricketot, pulling him off her face and then launching the Bug-Type far away. "Get lost!"
"K-Kricke!" Kricketot cried out as Adagio watched her partner being thrown away.
"Kricketot! Why you...!" Next to harming her sisters, Adagio would not accept a close friend of hers being harmed as well. To take her anger out on Livadi, Adagio formed a large expansive field of magic around her. This field of magic had blown away most of the ink that threatened to harm her while also destroying the sea of ink that Livadi sat on.
Livadi held onto her hat as she had another sea of ink catch her. Adagio then flew over to Livadi to try and blast her with some magic. However, Livadi wad constant walls of ink protect her.
"Lopunny!" Lopunny cried out as she had been blasted by Malamar's Flamethrower while Popplio received a powerful Dragon Pulse from Popplio. It wasn't looking too good for them so far.
"Are you okay?!" Sonata went up to Lopunny after she had fallen on some solid ink. Popplio had the worst of it. Aside from Kricketot, she was the most fragile Pokemon here. Aria helped her partner up as Dragalge was zooming towards them both with an Iron Tail.
"Popp!" To protect herself and Aria from harm, Popplio used Hydro Pump to try and fend the Mock Kelp Pokemon away. However, Dragalge ended up cutting the stream of water in half by swinging Iron Tail over it. "Lio!"
Aria gasped as she pulled Popplio out of the way, saving her partner at the right moment. Dragalge's tail smashed the solid ink, missing Aria and Popplio. Then again, Dragalge isn't the fastest Pokemon out there. And Aria capitalized on that weakness.
"Sonata! Dragalge's slower than Malamar! Swap with me!" Aria cried out.
"Okay!" Sonata nodded as she and Aria switched opponents. Lopunny hopped over, landing in front of Dragalge. "Acrobatics!"
"Lopun!" The Rabbit Pokemon nimbly moved through the air, approaching Dragagle. She was most definitely faster than the Mock Kelp Pokemon. Dragalge could not keep up with Lopunny as it received a swift kick to the face by Lopunny's destructive legs.
"Popplio, Hyper Voice!"
"Popplio!" Popplio then attacked the opponent who she had previously managed to hold back. Malamar. A white sound wave echoed out of her mouth as Malamar used Psychic to retaliate. An invisible blast of Psychic energy is what had clashed with these soundwaves.
Both moves were equal in strength as seen by how they were able to negate each other. It was a good idea to swap opponents since Popplio already knew how to deal with Malamar and Lopunny was swift enough to outpace Dragalge.
Livadi could see this shift in tides. A quick change of pace was needed. So, instead of using the liquid ink, it was time for the solid ink to have a turn. By manipulating this world itself, Livadi had summoned massive blocks of multi-coloured ink from above.
"Huh?!" The Dazzlings looked up, noticing all of these square-shaped blots of hard-solid ink approaching them. And there was an abundance of them too. Malamar and Dragalge had pulled back to avoid being struck by these cubes.
Lopunny hopped back with her amazing jumping capabilities while Popplio swam away. The cubes came crashing down, landing on the other solid ink blocks. One hit from them and they would've been crushed. However, things weren't going to get any better from here.
Because the sold ink that they were all standing on started to be manipulated as well. Aria, Sonata and Lopunny lost their balance as they felt the solid ink they stood on starting to move. The ink had moved at overwhelming speeds, dragging the three of them along.
"W-Woah!"
"Lopun!"
They held onto the surface for dear life, to not fall off with horrifying results. Especially for Aria who was now fully liquid after being doused in the ink pool. The platform then ascended, bringing them to a higher level as Adagio watched her sisters go up along with Popplio.
Livadi had then caused a second cube to appear above the one that was already zooming upwards. The aim was to crush them flat.
"Lopunny, Mega Kick!"
"L-Lopunny!" Lopunny found her footing despite the rapid movements. In that instant, Lopunny's leg started glowing gold as she leapt into the air. The Rabbit Pokemon then used the power of her destructive kicks, smashing it onto the upwards cube. Lopunny's leg managed to keep the cube there, preventing it from fully coming down as she even stayed airborne.
However, a second cube emerged, smashing onto the first one, adding more weight for Lopunny to handle. It was too much for her to handle really. Her other foot was unable to be used. Thus, the cubes overpowered her, forcing the Rabbit Pokemon down.
"Lopunny!" Sonata cried out, trying to catch her partner. Aria quickly pulled her out of the way as it was no use. Adagio saw this as she had to do something. The unicorn-siren hybrid used her magic to hold the two cubes in place. She was just strong enough to do so. But it was certainly straining poor Adagio.
It was just enough for Lopunny to have a safe landing. She immediately bounced back to her trainer after being saved. Adagio then dropped the cubes, allowing them to come crashing down as they obliterated the platform below them.
Adagio took a moment to breathe. But Livadi didn't allow that. Large ink tendrils came flying forward, grabbing Adagio all around by surprise. "Ah!"
"You're the biggest threat here! Best get rid of you now! Don't worry! I'll still make sure you're in one piece for the Pokemon Black Market!" Livadi said. "Dragon Pulse! Flamethrower, go!"
All attacks were now aimed at Adagio alone. A scorching stream of fire and a dragon-shaped blast came flying her way. Adagio used her magic to blow away the ink that surrounded her, but some extra tendrils of ink came flying to catch her again. Just a split-second after the previous ones had been destroyed. And these held onto Adagio's horn as well, preventing her from instantly using her magic.
Thus, Flamethrower and Dragon Pulse landed their mark, hitting Adagio head-on while she was fully restrained. "Adagio!" Her little sisters cried out for her. The smoke cleared as Adagio already had scratches on her. She took a deep breath as she was still conscious. Not the state that Livadi wanted her to be in.
"Lopunny, Mega Kick!"
"Popplio, Aqua Jet!"
To save the sister of their trainers, the Rabbit and Sea Lion Pokemon leapt and swam through the air and sea of ink to rush to Adagio's side. However, a massive tornado of ink got in the way, preventing them from advancing. In fact, the ink tornado had pulled the two of them in, causing the duo to be caught in the hurling frenzy of it.
Adagio was being covered with more ink tendrils that came her way whilst Lopunny and Popplio were blown away from the ink tornado, crashing into their partners. Both Sonata and Aria were then knocked over by this. Adagio was struggling to even see with all of these ink tendrils surrounding her.
Soon, the unicorn-siren hybrid had been covered in nothing but ink. The centre was a red sphere of ink while blue ink tendrils acted as chains. Adagio was now immobile. Aria and Sonata gasped, seeing their sister's current state. They were attacked by triple the number of tendrils that held Adagio. Loppuny tried kicking them away but there were too many for her to keep up with. Popplio certainly wasn't fast enough to avoid them. The only one absent from this was Aria who had her entire body liquified. The ink just went through her. But the same couldn't be said for Sonata.
She, Lopunny and Popplio had been restrained and put in the same prison as Adagio. Spheres and tendrils and all. Aria watched as her sisters and friends had been captured before her eyes.
"There," Livadi said as she had a sea of ink carry her towards Adagio's prison. "That should hold you. My you ponies are certainly stubborn. But a hybrid such as yourself will do well in the Pokemon Black Market. So it'll all be worth it in the end."
"You let my sisters and friends go!" Aria roared.
"And what are you gonna do about it, twin tails?" Livadi scoffed before crossing her arms. "You're completely useless in your current state. Be a good pony and stay here why don't you? Soon, your sisters will join you as nothing but liquid. Malamar. Dragalge. Stay here and keep guard."
She laughed at Aria's misery before disappearing from her world of ink. Malamar and Dragalge would stay behind for guard duty. Aria knew she couldn't do anything no matter how hard of a face she put on or how furious she was.
But she wasn't alone in this. Kricketot was still around. The Cricket Pokemon was safe after being thrown as he climbed up one of the solid ink surfaces. Kricketot then noticed the state of his best friend, witnessing Adagio in an ink prison.
"K-Kricketot?" The Cricket Pokemon whimpered after looking up. Aria went up to him, shaking her head as to tell him that she was indeed captured.
"Sorry, little guy. But she's gonna be in there for a while. And I can't do anything. But I promise we'll think of something."
"Tot." Kricketot then lowered his head in sadness. But as he did, he noticed a golden pulse of magic radiating from the ink prison as it up the ink surface. Adagio's magic was still active as Aria noticed this. "Krick?!"
"Adagio...?!" She whispered.
"Y-You two..." Adagio managed to used to spell to communicate with Aria from afar, ignoring Malamar and Dragalge. She had made a magic bubble that muted the two Pokemon, allowing for only Aria to hear her.
"M-Mala?" Malamar and Dragalge noticed the bubble as they attempted to break free from it. However, Adagio kept it up with all of her strength whilst speaking to her little sister.
"This isn't over yet. There's still a way around this," said Adagio. "Besides. This ink isn't too hard to get around. But right now, I'm leaving things up to you."
"How? I can't do anything. I'm nothing but ink now." Aria sighed. "Plus she's got full control of this world and everything."
"You think I don't know that? She's going to be occupied for a bit making that pool. I need you to distract her and her Pokemon so that I can have enough time to break out of here, free Sonata and get us out of here." She ordered as her magic managed to destroy one of the ink chains.
"But I'm still ink. What can I do?"
"Whatever you can. Convince the people and Pokemon here to help if you can do that. And keep Kricketot safe. I promise I'll get everyone out of here. And besides, you're my sister. You'll figure something out."
"Okay. I'll see what I can do." Aria went off with Kricketot as Adagio lowered the magic bubble. Malamar and Dragalge noticed their freedom as they had a larger reason to keep an eye on Adagio now.
As Adagio was gradually freeing herself, Livadi was out in the real world, planning a new pool. She had the magic capabilities to make a new one but it would take time due to how effective the pool was. And this time, she was going to make it stronger than before.
And in the meanwhile, Aria had an idea. Adagio told her to do whatever she could. Thinking quick on her hooves, Aria had a solution. She had found the people and Pokemon residing here, having something that they could do. The same distraction job that Adagio assigned her to.
"There you all are!" Aria landed on their surface.
"Hm? Oh, you're that pony the other one's looking for." A young man said.
"Nevermind that. I need your help right now. If you all wanna get out of here."
"Unfortunately, we're unable to help. We're ink now." The old man spoke, shrugging as everyone agreed. What could they do as nothing but liquid? But that was exactly why Aria was here.
"Yeah, I know. Same here. But you don't need to get physical. I just need your help with some distractions."
"Well...We can still do that." A woman nodded. "Distraction for what now?"
"That Livadi girl's gonna be busy making a new pool. My sister Adagio's gonna break free eventually and get us all out of here. But she can't do it if Livadi's aware. I need you all to keep Livadi and her Pokemon distracted as long as you can."
They all agreed to do so. After all, they were tired of being stuck here in this ink world and wanted freedom immediately. Adagio was the only one who could grant that for them as well as hopefully Princess Celestia who might have a spell to turn everyone back to their original solid forms.
Aria gave out the plan. It was simple. Nothing complicated. All they needed to do was distract Livadi for Adagio to do her thing.
Meanwhile, Malamar and Dragalge kept a good eye on Adagio after she had pulled that magic bubble trick. At the same time, Sonata was waiting patiently for some freedom. She then looked at her saddlebag, seeing how it was restrained in ink as well. She wished she could call out for Eevee at this moment. But there wasn't much the Evolution Pokemon could do. Not while trapped within this ink prison. But there was still one other piece of hope.
The Water Stone.
If Eevee was to evolve into Vaporeon with the stone, the advantage would change due to Vaporeon being the most liquified Pokemon out there. Not only that, but it could become intangible and physical at the same time. Unfortunately, Sonata couldn't do so due to her saddlebag being restrained by the ink. All she had to do was wait.
Adagio was biding her time as well. Malamar and Dragalge kept watching her as she couldn't break all of the chains one by one with those eyes focused on her. She had to wait for Aria's distraction to break herself free. And that's where Aria, Kricketot and the others could come in.
"Hey did you hear?" A young man spoke to a young woman as they were standing a bit near Malamar and Dragalge. Just near enough for the two Pokemon to hear them.
"Hear what?" She replied.
"Apparently, they found a way out of here. And for us to become solid." He whispered to her whilst leaning forward. The goal was to have Malamar and Dragalge be nosy as they can be.
And it was working. After the whisper, Malamar and Dragalge came close. And interruption the conversation was the old man as he spoke with a clearer voice. "You two. Not while they're watching."
The three of them turned to face Malamar and Dragalge as they walked off. That just made the two Pokemon even more curious than before. They noticed that all the people and Pokemon that had been trapped here were all heading towards one location.
Aria popped her head out of the corner of a hard surface as she decided to scream as loud as she could to really grab their attention.
"Hey! I found a way out of here!" Aria bellowed as that had caught Malamar and Dragalge's attention. She put her hooves in her mouth, pretending to be surprised. But in truth, this was part of the plan. "Follow me, quick!" After shouting, everyone followed Aria as she was the ringleader.
That prompted Malamar and Dragalge to pursue them. Just what Aria wanted. They believed that they did in fact face a way out of here. The two Pokemon were now in hot pursuit of the group while Aria decided to hide behind another surface. She then looked at Kricketot, nodding at him. There was a second plan in all of this.
And thankfully, with that distraction, Adagio could continue to use her magic without being watched. She broke off the ink chains around her as fast as she could as she was breaking past her natural limitations. Adagio put everything she had into one major spell, causing a vast explosion of golden magic to destroy the ink sphere and chains. It was so wide it even destroyed Sonata, Popplio and Lopunny's prisons.
"Woah!" Sonata cried out as she started falling. Luckily, Lopunny caught her for being such a good airborne Pokemon. Despite not being a Flying-Type. "Thanks, Lopunny!"
"Lopun!"
"Now's our chance to do something!" Adagio exclaimed as she locked onto both Malamar and Dragalge. With absolute precision, she unleashed a blast of magic from her horn. Two of them. The two beams flew forward, hitting Malamar and Dragalge from behind.
"Mal?!"
"Dra?!"
Their attention had been switched. They saw that Adagio, Sonata, Lopunny and Popplio were now free. They were having a hard time deciding on who to focus on. Adagio's group or Aria's group.
"What's going on here?!" But that's when Livadi showed up. She couldn't ignore this commotion as she appeared with another tower of ink. She watched all the captives in one area along with her Pokemon, currently in a scurry. "I asked you both to keep guard and this happens!?"
"Mal..."
"Dragalge."
"Fine. I'll deal with all of you then! You'll be heading to the Black Market tomorrow! Dragon Pulse and Flamethrower, now!" She put her hand out, summoning a stream of ink to try and consume them all. At the same time, Malamar and Dragalge unleashed their attacks, sending them towards Adagio, Sonata, Popplio and Lopunny each. Adagio found an opportunity to act.
"Kricketot! Bide!"
"Kricketot!" Along came Kricketot, leaping into the fray. He jumped off of Adagio's mane, taking the blast of ink, fire and draconic energy head-on. But he had endured it. "K-Kricke...TOT!" After enduring the attacks, his body became outlined in white as he then fires a massive white beam from his body.
Livadi, Malamar and Dragalge gasped as they had been struck by this massive white beam. A direct hit and just what Adagio had wanted to do with Kricketot for so long considering Bide was his only move.
Not anymore. After finally having the chance to battle for the first time, Kricketot had learned a new move in the form of Bug Bite. A small step for something great in the future.
"Ugh!" Livadi groaned as her dress had received scratches from the counterattack. She wasn't too happy about that considering her love for beauty. "Why you...!"
Sonata then took out her Poke Ball and Water Stone. Knowing what she needed to do. She took a deep breath as it involved her cute Eevee being transformed into something else.
"I'm gonna miss my cute Eevee." She sighed before sending Eevee out.
"Eevee!"
"Okay, Eevee. You wanted to evolve so here you go!" Finally, Sonata could accept Eevee evolving into something else. She then threw the Water Stone into the air as Eevee lunged at it.
"Vee!" The Evolution Pokemon poked the stone with her nose as the evolution process could begin. The Water Stone reacted to Eevee's irregular genetic code as they both started glowing. A stream of water enveloped the Evolution Pokemon as Sonata stood back.
The water then touched the surface, swirling around and creating some beautiful imagery. And with that, the water separated, revealing the Bubble Jet Pokemon Vaporeon.
"Vaporeon!"
At the same time, Adagio was fending off the constant barrage of ink. She had finally gotten around to dealing with the ink after her previous encounter with it. Adagio sliced it up whilst forming a shield around herself, protecting her from Malamar and Dragalge's attacks.
"Kricketot!" Kricketot decided to put his new move to good use. He jumped over Adagio's shield while landing on Malamar's head.
"Mal?!"
"Kricketot!" The Cricket Pokemon then used Bug Bite. His teeth glowed white as they also grew slightly longer. He then bit down on Malamar's head repeatedly while dragging his head back and forth where he was biting. "Tot! Tot!"
"M-Mala! Malamar!"
"Popplio, Hydro Pump!"
"Lopunny, Acrobatics! And Vaporeon, use your new move Copycat!"
Popplio, Lopunny and Vaporeon all teamed up against one single foe. Dragalge. Lopunny moved at high speeds along with Vaporeon who was faster than ever. She mimicked Lopunny's Acrobatics while Popplio unleashed a powerful blast of water from her mouth.
Dragalge couldn't keep up as it had been struck numerous times by both Lopunny and Vaporeon. It had been staggered by that barrage of hits. Just enough time for Hydro Pump to hit its mark.
"D-Dragal!" Dragalge went flying in the distance after that blast. As for Malamar, it had taken super-effective damage from Bug Bite. Being a Dark-Psychic-Type was horrible against Bug-Types.
"Mal...!" Malamara was also staggered as Lopunny quickly rushed over. Without Sonata's command, the Rabbit Pokemon had used Mega Kick on the Overturning Pokemon. One kick and just like Dragalge, Malamr was out of here.
"Nice!" Sonata cheered, clapping her hooves together.
"Ugh!" Adagio came crashing down on the hard ink surface, however. Even though she understood the ink, t was hard to beat it due to Livadi being in control.
"This is my world! You can't beat me here!" Livadi cackled before hovering over to Adagio. Kricketot got in the way, only for Livadi to slap the Cricket Pokemon away. Sonata and the others stepped forward to help their big sister
"You're right. Maybe I can't beat you in your world." Adagio sighed before standing up. A smirk then met her face before her eyes glowed a vibrant gold. "But what about the real world?"
"What?" Those were the last words Livadi said before she and Adagio had suddenly vanished. Adagio had used the same spell she did to get in here, just to leave this place. But not with everyone else. With just her and Livadi.
"Adagio!" Her sisters cried out.
"Kricketot!"
Frenzy Forest. Delphox's hut. Afternoon.
And instead of returning to Konikoni City in Alola, their destination was Delphox's hut, where the ink bottle was. Livadi gasped along with Delphox who was confounded by the sudden appearance of Adagio and someone else.
"Delphox?!"
"You...sneaky...little!" Livadi growled, shifting her hatred towards Adagio before realizing what she had done.
"You have no power here!" Adagio grinned as she used her magic to lift Livadi into the air. Indeed, Adagio had all the power here since this was Equestria. Her home. Livadi, not so much as she was forced against the wall, unable to move.
However, even if she had all the power in the ink world, Livadi still had some magic that could be used on the outside. It's how she got into the ink world in the first place.
"Don't get cocky...!" Livadi yelled as she returned the favour to Adagio by also lifting her with some magic of her own. Adagio was surprised to see how Livadi had advantages in the real world and ink world. Even though the ink world was where she shined.
"Get lost, already!" But, Adagio still had the major advantage as she added extra force onto her magic. By adding this extra force, Adagio forced Livadi through the walls of Delphox's hut and out of the forest Livadi couldn't do anything about that as she screamed whilst being flung far off. Half of the hut had been destroyed by this force.
"A-Adagioooooooooo!" Her voice faded in the background as she landed somewhere in Frenzy Forest. Adagio took a deep breath as she descended. The siren was exhausted. What a day it has been.
"There...That should...keep her away for a while." Adagio breathed in and out as Delphox went up to her.
"Phox? Delphox?"
"I'm fine. Just out of it." Adagio chuckled. "It's over for now. All I need is Celestia. And a bath..."
10 minutes later.
10 minutes had passed. Adagio took some time to rest while also using her magic to free Sonata, Lopunny, Popplio and Vaporeon. However, the rest would be handle by Princess Celestia.
She had shown up to Delphox's hut after being alerted. Of course, Celestia could also enter the ink world like Adagio. She was a master of entering other worlds. And even more of a master of many forms of magic. And thankfully, there was a spell to deal with this ink solution.
After all, the ink spell was of Equestrian origin. Celestia knew a way around it. She used a spell to make all of them solid once more reverting everyone to their original selves. And what a relief that was.
The people and Pokemon thanked the Dazzlings, Celestia and their Pokemon for their assistance as they stuck around Frenzy Forest for a bit before heading home.
"Thank you so much. But about Livadi?" The young man asked.
"Slow down." The old man stepped forward. "I can alert Officer Jenny and the police about Livadi back home. Besides, let's take our minds off of her for now. And get home, why don't we?"
"Take care all of you," Adagio said before yawning. "You'd better not waste your life after all we did for you."
"We certainly will thank you for your help, Adagio. All of you." The old man and everyone thanked them before making their way out of the hut and the forest entirely.
"So, Adagio. How was this experience?" Celestia asked.
"Something alright. Still don't know why you asked me to go on my own. Plus I didn't even go by myself. My sisters were here with me."
"That's good." Celestia nodded. "I sent you alone for a reason. I knew that you would eventually have someone by your side to either tagalong, get to know or just hang out in general. I was expecting some friends but...not your sisters. However, Kricketot and the others are friends, aren't they?"
"Yeah..." Adagio turned to face the Pokemon that belonged to her sisters as well as her own partner. "They are. No better friends I'd rather have than them."
"Kricketot!"
An odd day. But then again, that's only natural when it comes to Pokemon. Livadi is now a posable threat, lurking somewhere in the Pokemon World. And one thing is for sure, she will not forget about Adagio and her sisters. Aside from that, it was time to head home and relax after a long and strange day as the journey continues.
Currently, Twilight was working in her private learning room. About Pokemon again of course during summer school. Normally, Ash would be here to help.
But he wasn't present in the Human World at the moment. Then again, it was early in the morning. She was also listening to the radio to see if anything new about Pokemon would pop up for her to learn about. But this went on for a while so nothing new had emerged about Pokemon.
"Now, tomorrow's horoscope. Virgo and Gemini. Bad luck awaits for you both, so stay inside. But the luckiest star sign today is Leo. Libra. Your day might bring you great wealth soon."
"No." Twilight turned the radio off as there was nothing about Pokemon for her to learn. "Nothing yet, Spike. And Ash isn't here yet either. I can't be too sure to head out without him helping."
Twilight sat up before holding a Poke Ball in her hand. She has yet to really use it on any Pokemon. Neither does she have one of her own. She was even wondering what it would be like to have her own Pokemon.
Twilight already had some good notes about Pokemon. She was starting small with it. So far, she had found out about Infinity Energy and Aura. Two major forms of energy for the Pokemon. One of which holds life. Twilight was waiting patiently for Ash to show up as soon as he could.
After all, Ash is never a no-show.
But for now, she was about to leave her private room. She doesn't always stay in it after all. As she went out, some students had passed by, either entering or heading for their classes at the moment. Twilight wanted to sightsee some Pokemon in the meanwhile before Ash gets here. If he gets here.
"Hey, Twilight." One of the students called for her. A student by the name of Indigo Zap alongside her friends, Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet. Twilight froze on the spot after her name had been called out. "Say. Have you worked out this Pokemon issue already?"
"Oh. Not yet." Twilight shook her head before facing them. "It's not as easy as it looks. It never was anyway."
"Well, can you like hurry up? Those Pokemon have already messed up my home a few times." Sugarcoat groaned. "At least tell us how to deal with them."
"Well...There is this." Twilight did in fact have a solution to their problem. A solution that was 50/50. She pulled out a Poke Ball from her bag. "This."
"..." The three of them squinted their eyes, gazing at the Poke Ball as they were clueless as to what this could be. And Sour Sweet was the one who asked a question next. "Uh...What is it?"
"A Poke Ball. With this, you can easily deal with the Pokemon by catching them in this." Twilight explained.
"Ooh, that's a great idea!" Sour Sweet said in a sarcastic tone before being rude. A bipolar trait of hers. "If it made any sense. It's not even big enough to catch most of them."
"Yeah, it's only as big as our palm," said Indigo Zap. "H-How are we supposed to catch them in this?"
"Oh, right. You see, it looks small but really, it's capable of holding even some of the biggest Pokemon. It's simple. One throw of it and there's a chance that the Pokemon might be caught in it. If it's fully healthy, then it won't be as effective. But if it's weakened, that's when the chance skyrockets." Twilight broke it down for them.
"Seriously?" Indigo's eyes opened.
"That's..." Sour Sweet was about to bing out her bipolar personality but she couldn't due to how impressed she was by that. It genuinely surprised her. "Actually pretty cool. Really?"
"Really."
"Knew we could count on you to figure something out, Twilight." Indigo nudged her.
"Well, I couldn't have done it on my own. I have Ash to thank for that." Twilight held the Poke Ball close to her. "And a lot of other things."
"Who's Ash? Does he go here?" Sugarcoat asked.
"Not really. You see...he's from another world." And once she said that their faces became dumbfounded at her words. They froze for a second, trying to comprehend what they had just heard.
"Huh?"
"He's someone that knows all about Pokemon. Like, a lot. He's experienced Pokemon for years now when he was young." Twilight mentioned Ash, giving a quick explanation of who he was. "He came here through some magic portal just to help me learn about Pokemon. I would've been snake food if he didn't show up honestly."
"Magic. Really?" Indigo squinted.
"Yes. I mean, the Pokemon are essentially magical aren't they? And it's a bit weird that they showed up all of a sudden without warning, right?"
"Oh yeah..." Sour Sweet and the others agreed to that. Twilight did have a point. Pokemon are also considered magical creatures. Plus, since they can shoot out various elemental attacks, that further proves Twilight's point.
"So, these Poke Balls. Just use them and you'll solve your Pokemon problem in no time."
"Cool but like...just one?" Indigo shrugged. "The Shadowbolts and I have to deal with at least 40 Pokemon back home. It's messing with our practice a lot, ya know."
"Oh, right. More. Um...I don't actually know where to get more, but I can have Ash bring you some. W-When he gets here."
"And that's..." Sugarcoat lingered on her words, waiting for Twilight to give the requested response on Ash's arrival.
"I don't know. But he'll be here. Hopefully." She scrunched her face before lending Indigo Zap a single Poke Ball. It would have to do as Twilight wasn't loaded with Poke Balls to cover every Pokemon here. It was impossible.
"Well, when he shows up, maybe he can help out a lot like you say he does. Plus, when the Friendship Games come around, we don't want any Pokemon messing things up for us." Indigo said her last words as she and the others left while Twilight went on with her merry way to sightsee.
Equestria. Ponyville. Carousel Boutique. Day.
"So what do I need to do again?" Ash was currently at Carousel Boutique, chatting with Rarity while Sweetie Belle was being carried by Pikachu.
"You're a Champion and a hero in many ways," said Rarity. "Your hat has already become popular with the youth and a few others from far away. All three of them. It's time to think bigger, Ash!"
"Really?"
"Really. My workers over at Kalos think so too. So, your summer getup. Nice isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is!" Ash raised his arm. It's super comfortable to move in. Even reminds me of my other region clothes, ya know. Might even keep it all the way through."
"Well, I have noticed that you are a short-sleeve kind of person. So, ask me this. If, by chance, you do decide to change your outfit someday. What would you like? Some have already voted on this poll." Rarity pulled out a large board that had a poll of outfits that would suit Ash.
Ash looked at the options before him as there was a lot to choose from. Some would prefer him to wear a cape to fit the hero motif. That was the majority vote. Another major percentage voted for him wearing a robe. Suits, crowns etc. All the options were nice to look at.
"Nice...But I already had something on my mind."
"Such as?" Rarity leaned forward.
"Well, when I'm older, I wanna wear a really cool jacket on my shoulders!" Ash spread his arms out. "Like when I'm a bit taller of something. And when I become a Pokemon Master, maybe it'll have something on the back that says 'Master'. Y-You know...when that happens."
"You do have a big mind, Ash." Rarity nodded. "I'll remember that cape in the future. But um...the now?"
"Ooh! Wear the cape next!" Sweetie Belle came over whilst being carried by Pikachu. "That'd be nice!"
"Pikachu!"
"You think so?" Ash looked at a mirror, imagining himself in a cape. Pheromosa also appeared behind him in the view of the mirror, flailing her arms around. "That would be pretty sweet."
"Mosa!"
"Sweet is right." Rarity slid over. "Oh. And your hat? How would you feel about a new look for it."
"I kinda like this one the most." Ash took his hat off, looking at it. "So I think I'm gonna keep it up."
"Hm. I see. Understandable." Rarity nodded before heading towards a spare wardrobe of various hats that were all meant for Ash. Each having their own unique design to them. She closed the wardrobe afterwards. "Another time, my darings."
"Okay...What next?" Ash crossed his arms, thinking of what he could do next. It was still early in the morning and the day was young and barely even close to the afternoon. He tapped his foot on the floor as Pheromosa mimicked him. Also mimicking them both was an unexpected guest in the form of Scorbunny.
"Scorbun." The Rabbit Pokemon said, alerting Ash and the others. If he was here, that meant two things. Scorbunny only came here for Milotic, or Fluttershy was also present. It was the second one.
"Ash. Today's the day," said Fluttershy as she had shown up through the doors.
"Right! A total upgrade for the Pokemon House!" Ash grinned along with Fluttershy. They were both enthusiastic about today. The Pokemon House has mostly remained the same for months now. Practically a whole year. But after some time, it had received an expansion.
"Ooh. Today you say?" Rarity uttered as she and Sweetie Belle were interested. Ash wasted no time as he rushed out of Carousel Boutique with Pikachu jumping onto his shoulder.
The Human World. Day.
Meanwhile, Twilight ended up heading out to undergo her little sightseeing and observation. And she would do so by the same spot she and Ash had previously gone to observe Pokemon. It was also where she got the chance to experience riding on a Pokemon, mainly Ash's Dragonite.
However, she wasn't just going to sightsee and observe. After her previous ride across the area, Twilight felt a bit encouraged to fully interact with the Pokemon. Not just by sight. But by vision too. She already felt what it was like to ride on an airborne Pokemon. But what about other Pokemon on land and sea?
"Okay...I can do this. It was really fun the first time." Twilight took a deep breath before observing her surroundings. And the one thing that caught her eye was the lake. Some water riding could be made with that. Maybe not a prolonged once since the lake wasn't the biggest out there but still fairly big.
And popping out of the lake was a regular Wishiwashi, spotting Twilight and Spike up ahead. "Wishi?
"Oh?" And soon, Twilight noticed it as well. "You're that Wishiwashi Pokemon. The one that can form into a bigger Pokemon when a whole school of yours gather?"
"Washi?"
"C-Can you do that?" Twilight asked as she hoped that the Pokemon could understand her. She felt a little bit silly for requesting a Pokemon. But then again, she does talk to Spike a lot so it's ordinary in this world. Twilight was also hoping for a ride from the School Form Wishiwashi if possible.
"Wishiwashi." In response, the Small Fry Pokemon had descended into the lake afterwards. Twilight wasn't sure that Wishiwashi accepted her request. She felt a bit awkward now as she rubbed the back of her hair.
"Guess not." She laughed nervously. "M-Maybe the local beach has some Water-Type Pokemon for us to try and ride. Or some regular land riding here wouldn't do. Let's-" However, as she spoke, she felt something off.
So did Spike.
Spike noticed that his collar was missing. Twilight also saw that her bag and equipment had just up and vanished. Even her coat was nowhere to be found. At least, at first.
"What?! Where'd they-" Soon after, Twilight looked up ahead as she and Spike noticed the culprits. Mainly three of them.
Three Ducklett had nabbed their stuff. One had Twilight's coat on its head, one had Spike's collar around its neck and the other had a Twilight's bag on its back.
"Ducklett!"
"Hey! That's ours!" Twilight cried out. "Give it back!"
"Duck? Ducklett!" The Ducklett Trio chuckled as they immediately made a run for it. And that prompted Twilight and Spike to follow after them.
And the moment they left, Wishiwashi had emerged. Not a regular Wishiwashi. But a School Form Wishiwashi. It did receive Twilight's request and fulfil it. But as it emerged from the lake, the Demon of the Sea noticed Twilight chasing down three Ducklett's that had nabbed her objects.
A little too late.
"Wish?"
"Duck!" But as Twilight and Spike were running after the trio, one of the Ducklett had suddenly stopped. That Ducklett had used Scald, sending boiling hot water that had struck Twilight's face.
"H-H-Hot!" She cried out before flailing her arms and stopping in place. "What's up with this scalding water?!"
"Ducklett!" The two Ducklett laughed as they had run off into the distance after the other Ducklett had stalled for time. Scald had eventually stopped as Twilight held her face. Spike looked at his owner before barking at Ducklett. "Lett!"
"Oh..." Twilight whimpered before trying to cool herself off However, her water bottle was in her bag so that was no good at the moment. "Spike, wait!"
The chase continued. But now, they had no idea where the other Ducklett had run off to. A strange start to her day as Twilight let out an irritated sigh. However, she wasn't about to give up. After all. They were just three mischievous ducks. She knew she could find a way past them.
"Okay...I've seen something like this before. There's a good chance that they've split up in different directions. If they're basically ducks, there are only a few places they would be at." Twilight was certainly perceptive. For her to figure things out, mainly about Pokemon, she would have to think about the natural animals that live in this world.
And with that knowledge, Twilight could capitalize on that.
Equestria. Ponyville. Day.
The Pokemon House's new appearance was here. It was now fully landscaped with a creek, water mill/workroom, gardening areas, hives for mainly the Combee line, an exclusive farm for just the Bug-Types. There were also multiple connecting pathways in the form of slides. For certain Pokemon who want to either get around in a more exhilarating way or are just too lazy to move. Like Snorlax.
And best of all, in Fluttershy's eyes, there was now a park for the Pokemon that stretched out far enough to reach the outskirts of Ponyville and near Lapras Lake. Only by a bit.
"Isn't it wonderful? Zecora even chose parts of the design based on her home." Fluttershy said whilst looking at Zecora.
"I made sure that it would have a homey and familiar feeling to it," Zecora replied. "Not just for me but for the Pokemon for however way they see fit."
"Yeah. Talk about an upgrade." Ash admired the view.
"Pikachu..."
"This makes things a lot easier. It was getting pretty crowded in here with all the new Pokemon showing around." Fluttershy hovered over to the Dark-Type room. "But now, with this extra space and more quality of life additions. Plus its child friendly now."
"It wasn't before?" James spoke.
"Okay...there's something else I gotta do today," Ash said. "Say, Fluttershy. You got any Pokemon Food with you?"
"Mhm." The pegasus nodded in response. "Need it for something."
"Oh yeah. There's some more stuff I gotta show the human Twilight. I'm teaching her all about Pokemon. Taking a while since she likes it slow though."
"I'm sorry, what?" Jessie, James, Meowth and Zecora were surprised by what Ash had said. A human Twilight? Unthinkable to them as they were unaware of the otherworld.
Fluttershy gave Ash an array of Pokemon Food for him to carry for the day. However, most of it would probably just be taken by Twilight. Berries and Pokeblocks. The two common food sources in the Pokemon World. And to an extent, the elusive Rare Candy.
Ash didn't stop there. Regarding the Poke Ball situation, Ash had stopped by to grab as many Poke Balls as he could. Varieties of them. He received ordinary Poke Balls from Twilight's lab while also choosing the Rarity Ball, courtesy of Rarity. He grabbed a few other things before getting ready to head towards the Human World.
"Okay. Let's not keep her and Spike waiting, buddy."
"Pikachu!"
The Human World.
Meanwhile, Twilight had found the Ducklett in the one place she suspected. The local beach. And she already had a plan for them. The Ducklett were swimming across the water with Twilight's objects being affected. Her bag and everything was now wet.
"Just as I thought. Ducks love open areas after all." Twilight said before pulling out some makeshift fishing rods. Two of them. If there's one thing she's good at, it's improvising with what little she has. She had used an array of straws, meshing them together while also adding a thread and thorn to complete the look. And on the leaf was a breadcrumb. "These should work."
Twilight then held both makeshift fishing rods, casting them at a great distance. She made sure to choose some long threads for this. The threads went far as the bait had been sent far, landing right next to the Ducklett.
"Ducklett?" Obviously, they were each pulled towards the breadcrumbs. No matter what universe, ducks love breadcrumbs to the core. They swam towards the two large breadcrumbs They weren't pint-sized at all.
However, the middle Ducklett suspected something was wrong. So, in response, the middle Ducklet grabbed the first bait with a strong bite.
"Ah!" Twilight got her catch. She was ready to reel the Water Bird Pokemon in. However, Ducklett had a counter for this. With a complete turnaround, Ducklett used the full force of its biting strength to keep the lure and bait in place. As Twilight tried to reel them in, she noticed how the bait was being held there. "What?!"
"Ducklett!" The other Ducklett laughed as they bit onto each others tail for extra holding strength. Twilight growled as she started putting extra effort into her reeling capabilities. She reeled as hard as she could while the two Ducklett started pulling their fellow Water Bird Pokemon back. It was a tug of war situation.
One that Twilight unfortunately lost. Not only did the Ducklett overpower Twilight's reeling with their combined strength, but they had also pulled her towards them. Twilight went flying through the air from how hard the Ducklett pulled. "W-Woah!"
Spike barked as Twilight screamed whilst being flung. Thankfully, it wasn't too high as Twilight had crashed landed on what seemed to be a sandcastle. However, this was no sandcastle.
This was a Palossand.
"Palo." The Sand Castle Pokemon's attention had been caught by Twilight. Twilight sat up, quickly hearing the voice of a new Pokemon while the Ducklett laughed at her misery. Twilight had noticed what she had crashed landed on. Palossand and her looked each other in the eyes.
"A...sandcastle Pokemon? What?" Twilight had found a new species of Pokemon to gaze at. A sandcastle. One of the many species of Pokemon she would've least expected. But that wasn't important. Because now Palossand had its prey.
Palossand is a Pokemon that controls humans, making them build a sand castle that provides camouflage and also raises its defensive abilities. And it did the same for Twilight.
"Huh...Hey, I-I can't move!" Twilight was immobile. And without warning. This was the cause of Palossand's ghostly curse. This curse was made to control any human that Palossand encountered without letting go. Twilight was one of those victims. Twilight was unable to do something to counter this as the sand itself was consuming her feet.
Spike ran over to try and save Twilight, only to be met with some sand rising from the ground and whacking him away. "Spike!" Twilight cried out as she groaned. She took a deep breath realizing that struggling against Palossand was hopeless. The curse was reaching her mind, ready to put her under Palossand control.
However. That was until something odd happened. The moment the sand got close to Twilight's mind, something dark had shown itself for a few seconds.
An ominous form of energy and a strange winged silhouette had flashed out behind her. An aqua blue fire could also be seen bursting out of the silhouette. The silhouette seemed to resemble Twilight a bit as its hair was flowing up. Devious purple eyes had gazed Palossand in the face while Twilight herself was looking down.
In those little seconds, that odd darkness had not only forced the sand away but also gave Palossand a scare. It's rare for a Ghost-Type Pokemon to be scared, making it more impressive.
"Palo?!" Terrified by what it had seen, the Sand Castle Pokemon fled, descending into the sand and leaving the beach entirely. Twilight quickly looked up, seeing that she was free from the sand.
"What happened?" Her glasses fell off while Spike ran over to her. He was a bit hurt after that whack from Palossand however. "Oh, Spike. Are you okay?" She asked as he gave a bark to reassure his safety. Twilight then looked over at the Ducklett who had also witnessed that dark silhouette form from Twilight.
"D-Ducklett!" They were so terrified with what they had seen, the Ducklett had tossed the objects they had stolen back to Twilight. Twilight caught them as she was confused about what was happening. The three Ducklett then swam off, not wanting to know what was lurking inside of Twilight. "Duck! Ducklett!"
"What was that all about...?" Twilight said with her eyes blinking. Spike had no clue either. "Well. The important thing is that we got our stuff back." She smiled before placing Spike's collar back on. It was time for them to leave. Perhaps head back for a wash.
But as they got u, popping out of the water was another Pokemon. The Pokemon she had just missed back at the forest. And the same Pokemon that granted her request.
School Form Wishwashi.
"Wishiwashi!"
"Wishiwashi...? You actually did it!" Twilight ran over to the Small Fry Pokemon, witnessing the School Form for the first time. It was just as amazing as Ash had described. "So...can I have that ride now?"
"Washi!" The Demon of the Sea had already agreed to it. It had turned its body around, allowing for Twilight and Spike to get on. Twilight let out a giddy laugh before getting on Wishiwashi while holding onto Spike.
And with them on, Wishiwashi could begin the ride. Back to the forest it was. Getting from the beach to the forest was certainly something that wouldn't take too long. However, Wishiwashi was going to make it fun for them both. The Small Fry Pokemon began dashing through the waves with Twilight holding on close.
Along the way, just like the Dragonite ride, Twilight got the chance to experience some beautiful Pokemon in all their natural habitats and activities. Mostly on the water this time. She got the chance to see the beautiful Lumineon and Lanturn light up the sea and give off glorious vibrant lights with their natural bodies as they swam by Wishwashi.
Flying over her head were some Mantine. Twilight looked up with wonder as she saw the Kite Pokemon glide for over 300 feet. Just a result of them building up enough speed. Twilight couldn't help but gaze at what she was seeing. She definitely saw the appeal of Pokemon now. They truly are strange and wonderful creatures.
Twilight's home. Afternoon.
Early in the afternoon, around 12:00 AM, Twilight had returned after having a great ride on Wishiwashi. She has now experienced an air ride and a sea ride. Now she was hoping for a land ride and possibly a fourth one that she hasn't even thought about.
She was a bit of a mess with the sand so some cleaning up was done as well as for Spike. The day was still young, now entering the afternoon. Twilight had more she wanted to do. So far she's learnt about 6 things about Pokemon. A 7th was due eventually. But she was also hoping for Ash to guide her on what to do next.
And thankfully, that time was now.
He had shown up. Because of course he would. He always does. Early, on-time or even late. It didn't matter. "Hey, Twi!"
"Pikachu!"
"Ash! Yes, you made it! You won't believe what happened today!" Twilight rushed over. "W-Well...you might because of your world but get this! I got into trouble with some three Ducklett, taking mine and Spie's stuff and all..."
"Three Ducklett? Oh, I think know those three." Ash nodded, recalling the meddlesome Ducklett Trio that gave him, Iris and Cilan trouble in the past.
"Yeah. But...I'm a little too excited right now." Twilight squeed, struggling to find her words. Ash entered the room as Twilight had a bit more to tell him. But Ash had more to give out. As well as Poke Balls. Just what Twilight needed after she promised to find a solution to the Pokemon overabundance issue.
However, this dark enigma was still lurking inside Twilight without her knowing. But that didn't matter now. What did matter was that Twilight was learning everything she could from someone she could most definitely call a friend as the journey continues.
Equestria. Emerald Aura's home out in the fields. Day.
Emerald Aura was just minding her own business today. Nothing eventful was happening at the moment. She played her favourite card game Superfight with the local Pokemon and that was that. However, as she was enjoying her day, ready to eat her favourite food, Emerald Aura had a sudden surge of Rift magic go through her. Her eyes opened as she gained a vision.
"!" She dropped her food before standing up with shock and horror. She had no idea what that vision was since it was too quick to notice. But a horrible foreboding sense of dread met her, causing the Rift Pony to be worrisome. "I've got a bad feeling about today..."
Canterlot. Day.
Over at Canterlot, some guests had returned for a visit. Three of them. Shooting Star, Garnet and Kaleidoscope. As of recently, ever since the Royal Family went to the land below for the first time in centuries considering they were from Pegalysium, it led to this. Celestia went up to them each for a greeting. "Great to have you here again, Prince Shooting Star. Garnet. And you friend um..."
"Kaleidoscope."
"Kaleidoscope? Oh!" Celestia then recalled a name like that. "You're Twilight's new friend of 'History Buddy' correct?"
"That's right. I was hoping I could see her today. I've already brought some stuff to trade with her."
"Well...I can just get in contact with her and she'll be here in no time." Celestia gave her promise as she was ready to give the Pegalysium residents another tour.
Watching the tour was Adagio who was relaxing at the moment. She had done most of her lessons already with little effort so she has all the time for a break. Kricketot latched onto her face, obscuring Adagio's vision. However, Adagio wasn't even irritated by this. She let out a smile before grabbing Kricketot. Kricketot was someone who she couldn't be irritated by.
Premium Polish went up to Adagio, speaking to her and the Cricket Pokemon respectively. Yes, nothing eventful was truly happening at the moment. For anyone, really.
However, lurking near Canterlot, still undetected, was Skyblue Shine. She was still here for one reason. Her daughter. Not to take her back as her role as a mother. But for the Empress. Premium had a larger destiny than she expected. A destiny that the Empress had seemingly laid out.
"Today's the day." Skyblue Shine spoke, gazing from afar with her android eye being used to see from great distances. But she wasn't alone in this.
Instead of her Umbrage Thieves joining her in this, someone else from the Empress' side would aim for Skyblue Shine in Premium Polish's capture. The Royal Guard Tempest and her troops. The one pony Empress Twilight puts the most trust in and wishes she had used during the invasion.
"You're looking a bit hesitant there." Tempest pointed out Skyblue's current emotion. "You're not thinking of having second thoughts now, are you?"
"N-No. Absolutely not." Skyblue Shine responded by staring into the distance with an unchanging face.
"Because if you are, we can also remodel you, just in case." Tempest's words made the android shudder. "Or, a memory change if that's safer with you."
"I swear I'm not. Can we just get this over with?" He scrunched her face before closing her eyes.
"Right. Let's wait until late afternoon. That's when we'll take our chance."
Ponyville. Near Saddle Lake. Day.
And over at Ponyville, the same sort of situation was brewing. By staying hidden from everyone else, the five members of the Indigo Alliance were waiting for the Grand Judge to arrive. Just to take Jade Skies away. And speaking of which, the Grand Judge, AKA Second Wind had just arrived.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting. Some inconveniencies came up." Second Wind said whilst looking over at Ponyville. "But now it's time for us to act accordingly. We just need one big distraction. A distraction so great that it will be the only major focal point of everypony's eyes.
"Like what, Grand Judge?"
"Well, after Kaleidoscope and that Princess Twilight Sparkle pony had been trading history with each other, I took the liberty of looking into one of these books." She had brought a book that was originally owned by Twilight but borrowed by Kaleidoscope. "But we're not going to the far past. We'll be focusing on something that happened last year."
"Last year? W-What do you mean by that, Grand Judge?" The members were confused about what she was on about.
"Just watch. Once that sun colours the sky orange is when we move." Just like Skyblue Shine, the Indigo Alliance were ready to capture a certain pony while planning their attack.
Both had one similar goal. And they weren't ready to let it slip away from their hooves.
But while all of that was being prepared with barely anypony knowing about this, over at Twilight Castle's a lesson was going on. One with Cold Colt that is.
Just now, he had improved so much. Cold Colt was now able to do more than he ever could. He summoned himself an array of comics books and some of his favourite food that Twilight would not approve of. But aside from that, he was never able to do this much before.
"Check it out! How great am I now?!" He chuckled as he made himself a pillow to rest on.
"Pretty great!" Spike agreed as he was given his own pillow too. The two of them started eating and drinking what Cold had conjured. Spike could get used to having something like this in the castle at all times.
"Well, Cold. I can say that you're close to well...finishing all my lessons." Twilight went up to him. "Pretty soon, there won't be much I can teach you. You and Starlight might be in the same boat soon."
"Really?" Cold looked up. "Sweet. Didn't think I'd make it this far honestly. How lucky am I? That Togetic joy dust really came in handy, eh?"
"To be honest, I think you've gone past the joy dust now. That's your own magical talent shining." Twilight complimented which made Cold a bit embarrassed. His face became red with embarrassed pride.
"Heh. Well. I mean." He stumbled on his words, unable to find something cohesive to say. The day went on with not much happening aside from Cold improving to a point where he might be reaching his prime.
15 hous later.
15 hours had passed. The sun was giving off its late afternoon glow as usual. And it looked especially good in Ponyville. But, as beautiful as the glow was, something unexpected was about to be brought with it.
The Grand Judge looked over at Ponyville as she found the right time to strike. And she would do so with the Rift Magic she had inside of her. And what was this great distraction she mentioned?
Second Wind had figured out that Rift Magic allowed for many possibilities. So, she became creative with what she could think so. Her wings started glowing dark blue as she flapped them. The cosmic energy from the Rift energy was showing as a mixture of cosmic and natural magic emerged as it was dropped to the ground.
Second Wind then backed away along with the five Indigo Alliance Members. They could now allow Second Wind's magic to handle everything. And handle it did.
Second wind had thought of one major distraction. Something that would draw everyone's attention in with high pandemonium. And that something was a blast from the past.
The Storm Behemoth and Tree Behemoth.
Four of them in total. Two Storm Behemoths and three Tree Behemoths.
They erupted from the ground, shattering it while also making their signature thunderstorm noises that could be heard from afar. While the Tree Behemoths made an eerie howling sound of a cursed forest.
Second Wind watched her creation come to life. These were certainly from last year and a blast from the past. She summoned two of them near Ponyville, right here on Saddle Lake while the other two had emerged out in Exploud Chasm, which was near Canterlot. Second Wind knew that they would have to be occupied by four different entities of different sides of Equestria.
And it was working like a charm.
Immediately after the Storm Behemoth emerged, its 500ft appearance could be seen from afar as the thunderstorm noise it made from howling alerted everypony in Ponyville. And the second Storm Behemoth unleashed its thunderstorm roar which could be heard from Canterlot.
"Now. Head off and find Jade Skies. Grab her amidst the commotion." Second Wind ordered.
"Yes, Grand Judge!"
Twilight's Castle. Late afternoon.
"The Storm Behemoth?!" Twilight gasped after witnessing the return of this titanic electrifying beast. She even noticed the silhouette of the second one in the distance. It wasn't hard to miss. The creature was gigantic after all. "And there's two of them?! H-How?!"
"Espeon?!"
"Uh...W-What's a Storm Behemoth?" Starlight asked as she and Nyx were clueless about this creature.
"No time to explain! If it's back and there's two of them, then this must be the cause of Rift Magic." Twilight gulped as the closest Storm Behemoth was making its way towards Ponyville, sending pulses of electricity while scaring the Flying-Type Pokemon away.
"Is Obsidian back?" Cold sat up.
"Hopefully not!" Twilight spread her wings out. "Spike. Starlight. Nyx. Come with me. Cold...You can come too."
"Yes!" Cold pumped his hooves after being allowed to come along. It was time for him to see just how great his magic had become. He was glad that he wouldn't sit out of this one.
As the Storm Behemoth approached, everypony in Ponyville was on high alert now. However, unlike before, not everyone was scared of the Storm Behemoth anymore. Before, they were petrified by its sheer size and how much destruction it brought about.
But, after months of being with their Pokemon and improving their trainer skills, they're now only slightly intimidated by its size. But most were able to know that they could indeed stop this behemoth. Especially Pikachu and other Electric-Type Pokemon.
Speaking of which, Ash looked up, witnessing the return of this monster with him and Pikachu looking forward. Pikachu knew that the surefire way to defeat the behemoth was to absorb all of the electricity it sends at it and then blast it back. And just like the Storm Behemoth's first appearance, Pikachu and the Electric-Types were feeling off.
But this odd feeling was how they were able to overcome the Storm Behemoth in the first place. It was simply an overflux of electricity. The rest of the Electric-Type Pokemon could barely handle it. But Pikachu, being the special Pokemon he is, can handle more electricity than the average Pikachu can. Way more than he can hold.
However, Second Wind planned for this.
The book she held also included what led to the downfall of the Storm Behemoth. Knowing this, Second Wind added an extra trait to the Storm Behemoth to prolong the distraction.
The Storm Behemoth looked over Ponyville as it had raised its leg, ready for one might stomp.
"Braviary, Aerial Ace! Castform, Weather Ball!" However, taking control of the skies was Rainbow Dash. Braviary came zooming in at blitzing speeds, confounding the 500ft electrical monster. Following up with that, Castform unleashed a blast of fire from its mouth, hitting the creature square in the face.
A thunderous cry emerged from the behemoth as it had been staggered by those surprise attacks. The leg it raised had descended. However, a pulse came out of it either way with a small earthquake. After that stagger, the Storm Behemoth swung its arm towards Braviary and Castform.
They were obviously faster due to the behemoth's massive size, giving them plenty of time to evade it. However, the force of the behemoth's swing still carried its usual wind pressure. But the Storm Behemoth had also received some new upgrades. Now its swings shoot not only wind pressures by frantic sparks of electricity that were similar to the Counter Shield.
The sparks had struck Rainbow Dash, Braviary and Castform as they had felt the force of 30,000 volts go through them. "Aaah!" She cried out along with her Pokemon as they fell from the sky. They certainly weren't expecting an aftereffect of electricity.
Braviary managed to recover however as he soared through the skies. The Valiant Pokemon caught Rainbow Dash and Castform on his back, saving them whilst still feeling staggered by the electricity.
"T-Thanks, Braviary."
"Braviary!"
"We gotta wait for the right time for it to shoot out a bunch of electricity. In the meantime..." Ash held out two Poke Balls, sending out Lucario and Dragonite. "Lucario! Dragonite! Come out!"
"Lucario!"
"Dragonite!"
And as they emerged, Twilight and her group had shown up, noticing Rainbow Dash, Braviary and Castform right next to the behemoth. Braviary carried them each away from the behemoth, arriving at Ponyville. The Storm Behemoth hadn't approached Ponyville yet so it would take some time.
"How could that thing have possibly come back?!" Rarity gasped as she had rushed outside. "Wasn't it blown to bits?"
"That ain't all. Look!" Applejack exclaimed as she pointed her hoof to the east. Indeed, it wasn't all. Because there was one other behemoth to deal with.
The Tree Behemoth. The creature of corrupted nature had emerged with its crooked branch claws grabbing onto the top of Town Hall. It arrived here quicker than the Storm Behemoth due to its smaller size. However, it was still massive either way.
The creature had wrapped around multiple vines around Town Hal, squeezing it. Already, Town Hall was trembling after the arrival of this wooden monster. And all the while, the Storm Behemoth was approaching closer with each step, sending electrical pulses.
The Storm Behemoth had outstretched its arm. Due to how huge it was, the length of it was outstanding too. It could reach Ponyville despite being in the vicinity of mostly Saddle Lake. The arms moved through the air, causing wind pressures and lightning bolts to fly out as well.
"Here it comes! Eve, Dazzling Gleam! Absol, use Dark Pulse!" At the same time, Espeon and Absol had unleashed bright rainbow rays and a pulse of darkness in perfect unison. The two attacks flew forward, heading for the behemoth's hand.
However, this was where the change came in. Before, the Storm Behemoth had the ability to absorb attacks and use it within its own body and add it as a vacuum. But with Second Wind's addition, it could do more than that.
The Storm Behemoth saw the attacks coming this time as it chose to absorb them. But instead of using them to fuel its power, the Storm Behemoth was manipulating them instead. arms, both of them, were being coated in rainbows and darkness at the same time.
Not only could it absorb any form of energy to fuel itself with extra power, but it could also now make that energy its own from being more than just walking electricity.
"No way!" Twilight pulled back along with everyone. "Could it always do that?!"
"Espeon?!"
"Absol?!"
The behemoth roared as it had used its newfound abilities to good use. By putting both its arms out, the Storm Behemoth unleashed a giant rainbow blast of Fairy magic and a humongous vortex of darkness. This would most definitely deal major damage to Ponyville before the behemoth even gets there.
"Not good! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt! Dragonite, Hyper Beam! And Lucario, Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded.
"Ampharos, Zap Cannon!" So did Rarity.
"Sceptile, Dragon Pulse!" And soon Applejack.
All at once, they launched a counterattack against the gigantic rainbows and darkness with a bolt of 100,000 volts, a beam of Infinity Energy, a sphere of pure electricity, a dragon-shaped blast and a large sphere of Aura.
The attacks clashed with the behemoth's attack head-on. And they managed to hold them back. However, the Storm Behemoth could multi-task. As it opened its mouth, letting out a thunderous roar, it also unleashed a blast of electricity from its mouth while the other attacks were occupied. And without a doubt, its electricity was far stronger than the darkness and Fairy magic it had absorbed.
"Oh!" Twilight gasped as she quickly saw the bolt of electricity passing by the other attacks and heading for Ponyville. Before she could give a command, Rainbow Dash ad Braviary showed up.
"Absorb it with Steel Wing!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she hopped off Braviary. The Valiant Pokemon hardened his wings, turning them into metal. He then put them into an X-shape to try and block it. But he would do more than just block it. Braviary was aiming to conduct it.
The giant blast of lightning struck Braviary's wings as he flinched from the contact. HE closed his eyes, trying to endure the massive amount of electricity being poured onto him as his wings were reacting to them. "B-Braviary!"
As for the Tree Behemoth, it had spread out its vines, currently dealing with Mayor Mare and a few others after latching itself onto Town Hall. The Tree Behemoth had also received some improvements that were about to be shown. Stoutland jumped back after using Giga Impact on it.
"Stoutland!"
The Tree Behemoth suddenly used the seeds that were hanging from its body. The seeds had all dropped off one by one. And once they hit the ground, something within them started to emerge as they sprouted.
Smaller, yet house-sized Tree Behemoths had emerged. Just like how the Storm Behemoth could do the same as well. Speaking of which, the Storm Behemoth had done the same. As if it and the Tree Behemoth were in sync with each other.
But that only made sense considering who had brought them here. This was all part of Second Wind's plan to cause more commotion. The small behemoths started going on a rampage with the Tree Behemoths being the first. The Storm Behemoths had jumped out of the larger behemoth, leaping at a great distance. Great enough to reach Ponyville as they flooded the sky, blocking out the sun.
Now there were more distractions to deal with.
Second Wind and the alliance members looked over at the scenario happening in the distance But their eyes were mostly focused on SugarCube Corner. There, Jade was still present.
Since she didn't have a Pokemon of her own, Jade could not defend herself. She had to rely on her friends for that. That was the one weakness that Jade had after the members informed Second Wind.
And due to the distraction, Pinkie Pie, the one pony who could guard Jade Skies was outside, witnessing this event play out. Just as Second Wind wanted. Which meant that the only ponies remaining indoors were Mr and Mrs Cake, the Cake Twins and Jade herself.
Mr and Mrs Cake and their children also have Pokemon. But nothing too threatening in the eyes of Second Wind as opposed to Mew. While everyone was distracted, Second Wind had ordered her members to fetch Jade Skies as soon as they could.
The five of them advanced towards Ponyville, but not before having Second Wind use Rift Magic once more. She allowed the power of the Rift to make them invisible. That involved the sounds they made either flying or galloping.
Inside, Jade was staying in her room, waiting for all of this to be over. While she could not emote, she was essentially afraid of the current scenario. But Jade had faith in her friends to put a stop to this as soon as they could. The Cake Twins were also in their rooms with their parents protecting them.
And entering SugarCube Corner without being detected was the 5 Indigo Alliance Members. No one had seen them at all. An invisibility spell is always the way to go most of the time. They knew where to head. Jade's room. Grab her and leave.
However, even though they couldn't be seen, that didn't mean they couldn't be smelled either. WIthin SugarCube Corner were the Slurpuff. Just two. But two alone were enough to sniff out almost anything. And they sensed something new arriving.
"Puff?" The Slurpuff sniffed the air as they noticed the arrival of 5 individuals that they've never seen or been near before. Then again, they couldn't see them. But they could smell them. The Slurpuff were tasked with keeping the others safe. "Slur!"
The Indigo Alliance froze on the spot after Slurpuff looked their way. They picked up on their smell as the Meringue Pokemon approached their direction. The alliance members backed away as they didn't expect to be detected via their scent. One member rushed out to tell Second Wind of this.
Meanwhile, the residents of Ponyville were actually handling the miniature behemoths with their Pokemon or even their magic. They certainly weren't afraid of much anymore compared to the previous months. As for the Storm Behemoth itself, it was now close to Ponyville. Just right near the Everfree Forest which was growing back.
The Indigo Alliance member went over to Second Wind, telling her about the inconvenience of Slurpuff. As long as Slurpuff is there, its' impossible to leave with Jade if they're able to catch their scent.
"S-So you see, Grand Judge. Their sense of smell might be our downfall. What should we do?"
"A potent smell ability. I see. Leave that to me." Second Wind smirked as this time, she used her regular magic for this one. The Grand Judge had made a magic circle in front of her before pushing it. The magic circle had then vanished. But it didn't vanish out of existence.
Instead, it had emerged inside of SugarCube Corner, right in front of the Slurpuff.
"Slurpuff?" The two of them tilted their heads. The Slurpuff were cautious about what this magic circle could be. And they soon found out as it had unleashed a beautiful perfume fragrance that was akin to Sweet Scent. However, even though the Slurpuff felt enamoured by it, the fragrance was too potent, even for their noses. "S-Slur!"
Slurpuff's sensitive nose was both its greatest strength and weakness. If it is overloaded, then Slurpuff might react in an unpleasurable way. Like so. The Meringue Pokemon couldn't handle the perfume scent as it was too much for their noses to handle. They got on the floor afterwards.
That gave the Indigo Alliance the chance to reach Jade. They flew past the Meringue Pokemon, allowing the perfume to work its magic. After doing so, they had emerged inside Jade's room. But they didn't gently open the door. They opened it with full force.
"Who's there?" Jade said after witnessing the door open. She couldn't see who had opened it. She thought it was just the wind. However, the Indigo Alliance members surrounded her, ready to grab the Rift Pony.
And they did so. With no hesitation or time to waste, they immediately put their hooves onto Jade, covering her mouth with a tight headband as well.
"Mm?" Jade wanted to sound surprised but she could, unfortunately. The Indigo Alliance had their members. Now for their getaway. One of them blasted a hole through the wall with their magic, revealing the outside. While someone would suspect Jade's disappearance, they knew that no one would know who took her.
They flew through the broken wall while carrying their culprit. Jade was unable to speak at all or even move with her hooves, wings and even tail restrained. Only her eyes remained but they didn't matter against an invisible force.
At least, that would be the case. Yet again, another instance where Jade's latent Rift abilities show themselves. Her eyes started glowing as she was unconsciously using Rift Magic once more. And by having her eyes glow green, she was able to see through the invisibility spell, spotting her captors.
"?"
Canterlot. Late Afternoon.
Meanwhile, over at Canterlot, Celestia and the others had taken high notice of this. She ordered the guards to keep Shooting Star, Garnet and Kaleidoscope safe from this attack. The miniature versions of the behemoths had already arrived at Canterlot to attack.
As for the main Storm Behemoth and Tree Behemoth, Celestia and Luna would confront it themselves. Taking out the big threat was the way to go.
"Passion! Plasma Bolt!"
"Gardevoi!" Passion had damaged the Storm Behemoth before during the first battle. And now, it had the means to deal more damage. The Embrace Pokemon unleashed a blast of plasma, shooting the Storm Behemoth with it. However, the behemoth was stronger than before, able to take a hit better than its previous incarnation. It let out a thunderstorm roar before returning the favour towards Passion with an instant blast of electricity. "V-Voir!"
Passion had been struck faster than she expected as she went flying. Darkrai had caught her thankfully, unleashing a Dark Pulse with his other arm. However, much like the Storm Behemoth over at Ponyville, this one had also absorbed the darkness for itself, adding it to its two arms.
"Impossible...It was never capable of that before..." Luna gawked.
"Looks like this is going to be tougher than we thought..." Celestia uttered before knowing how greater this Storm Behemoth was compared to the previous one.
But while that was all going down, Skyblue Shine, Tempest and the rest witnessed this massive attack. Skyblue Shine was surprised while Tempest let out a smirk and a chuckle.
"This is a surprise. I was actually planning my own distraction but...this works as well." She laughed while Skyblue Shine knew that her daughter's capture was now closing in. "Well, let's not waste any time. Get the girl."
Currently, an unexpected attack had emerged. From the Storm Behemoth and Tree Behemoth. Two of them. Entities that were once destroyed but now reborn thanks to Second Wind and her method of distracting everyone, just to get Jade Skies.
And it worked. Everyone's attention was focused on these behemoths. Including over at Ponyville. Jade had been taken by the Indigo Alliance under this distraction while Premium Polish was next.
Skyblue Shine was joined by Tempest and her troops to capture the little girl. A situation where Skyblue Shine was greatly hesitant. Her own daughter or her loyalty to Empress Twilight Sparkle.
While Celestia and Luna were occupied with the behemoths, the rest of Canterlot had the miniature behemoths to deal with. The visitors from Pegalysium AKA Prince Shooting Star, Garnet and Kaleidoscope were being kept safe from this attack. It would be terrible news if the king and queen found out about their son being harmed.
But Shooting Star was enjoying the view, seeing how the Pokemon battle.
"This is amazing!" He gawked whilst looking out the window, witnessing an array of Pokemon moves being thrown about. "How great is this, you two?!"
"Considering the current circumstances...not so much." Kaleidoscope shook her head. "But at least now we know the Pokemon Battle."
"But what about that thing? Is it a Pokemon?" Garnet wondered as she looked outside the window. The Storm Behemoth's roar could be heard from afar, causing the glass to tremble and almost break.
"That's no Pokemon." A guard said. "That is the Storm Behemoth and Tree Behemoth. Creatures that are of Rift Origin. They once attacked Equestria last year and one was blown to bits while the other was destroyed along with the corrupted chaos magic that it brought along with it. But somehow, they've returned."
"Cool..." Shooting Star and Garnet both said. They then covered their eyes after hearing the loudest thunderstorm the Storm Behemoth had made. NOt only that, but some of the miniature behemoths had broken into the castle due to their overwhelming numbers.
Some either came crashing through the windows or the walls. And there were some around Shooting Star's group area. The guards were alerted by the break-in of these smaller behemoths. But they had Pokemon of their own to deal with this, no problem.
Within Premium Polish's room, she was being guarded with her door locked and windows shut. She had to wait until this was all over. Hopefully soon. She could hear the sounds of many guards rushing over to deal with the miniature behemoths. Meanwhile, a few other guards chose to stay and protect the little unicorn.
However, the miniature behemoths weren't the only break-ins at all. Despite her windows being shut, that didn't matter much to the power of magic. Like so. Her windows had been unlocked by a glow of blue magic.
She looked over to see this outline of magic emerge and coat her windows. Premium already had her magic ready as she was nervous as to who this was. As the windows opened, she saw three things.
A strange dark blue mist had emerged around the room with Skyblue Shine looking around. She wasn't sure what this mist was. However, it seemed safe to breathe in. The second thing she saw was a gateway outside of her window, floating there.
And the third was a certain group of ponies.
Her mother Skyblue Shine and Tempest. They had used magic to levitate themselves here while the pegasus troops just flew through the window, entering the room.
"M-Mom?!" Premium gasped as that strange dark blue mist surrounded the area. "Help!" Normally, her voice would've passed through the room and alerted the guards. But that is where the mist came through.
The mist had blocked off all sound within this room from passing through to the outside, essentially making everything mute. Skyblue Shine, Tempest and the troops had set hoof into the room with Premium Polish backing way.
"W-What are you doing here?"
"I should thank that behemoth for causing such a distraction," Tempest said. "This mist should keep everything quiet for as long as we need. Now then. You know what we need to do, right, Skyblue Shine?"
"I know." She nodded before facing her daughter. "Premium Polish. You're coming with me."
"No way!" Premium exclaimed before going to reach the door. However, Tempest had shot a blast of magic near her, almost hitting the little filly. The doorknob had been blown off without a sound being made from the outside. "After what you did, I don't know if I can come along with you!"
"Obviously she would decline. She is your daughter, so set her straight why don't you. Or else we'll have to take her by force."
"Premium." Skyblue Shine walked up to her daughter. "I wish I could've gone a different route in my life that you would've appreciated. But sadly, that isn't the case. But understand that you're needed for a greater purpose."
"Greater purpose?"
"It involves another world. You know that we are both androids. Machines to the very end. We weren't just made without a reason. Especially you. What you were made to do can connect everyone. Your real purpose."
"Correct. But we're practically wasting time with this stalling," said Tempest. "We might get caught up in that monster's carnage if we don't hurry."
"I don't care what you say! I'm still not going!" Premium shook her head. "I can't go with you or live with you any more mom. I mean, it's great that I got to see you and everything but..." Premium started tearing up whilst rubbing her eye. Skyblue Shine looked down in disappointment as she turned around.
Tempest and her troops gazed at Skyblue. Skyblue Shine knew what needed to be done. But seeing her daughter cry was one of the largest regrets she could ever make. SKyblue then turned to face her tearful daughter once more, still standing there without much action.
"Skyblue Shine. You're not thinking what I think you are, correct?" Tempest narrowed her eyes.
"N-No but..."
"But what?"
Skyblue Shine couldn't find the words to respond properly. She scrunched her face as she was in the toughest decision yet. Not when she had been caught by her daughter, Celestia and Luna. O even having to see the Empress upset. But this moment was the hardest she's ever been in.
Universe 28. The Empress' spare palace.
All the while, Empress Twilight was waiting for Skyblue Shine and Tempest to return with Premium Polish. She was biding her time despite the delays. And some scientists within the lab where many Skyblue Shine clones were being kept were with her.
"Empress." A scientist spoke to Empress Twilight. "Are you sure it was wise to send Skyblue Shine for her daughter? Family ties are potent after all. She might end up not going through it."
"Oh, I know that. But...No matter how hard she loves her daughter...she cannot betray me." The Empress laughed. "After all, she owes me her life after I saved her."
"Saved her? But...you and the other scientists built her, didn't you?"
"Oh yes. We built her. The remains of what was that is. For you see, Skyblue Shine is not of pony origin." The Empress faced the scientists as even they were unaware of this. For a quick showcase, Empress Twilight used her magic to form a projection.
A picture.
This picture in particular had something familiar on it. Something that could be found in Skyblue Shine's basement in the mansion. But it wasn't the blueprint for her android body. It was something else. The picture on the wall that Luna had seen as the view of two humans were coming into view. One a full-grown woman and the other a baby.
"In fact, it took me last year to realize the connections. The humans from the Pokemon World resemble the humans of another world out there in the universe but with one noticeable difference. A world without Pokemon. And living there was Skyblue Shine. She was originally a human. by the name of Ciel."
To the shock of everyone, they had found out Skyblue Shine's true origin. Before she was an android. And the baby within her arms was her child. Premium Polish.
"Yes. During my little escapades, I found a world full of humans. But this world was identical to the Pokemon World. Except for one difference. There were no Pokemon. It was as average as it could be. No sign of magic. Nothing special. The only thing that stuck out about it was that this particular world was on the verge of falling."
Another universe. Another earth. 15 years ago.
That world was being eaten by a creature that wasn't of magical origin. More a scientific one. It came from the cosmos itself. A creature that feasts on a planet's time. It came to that world to reek as much havoc as it could. And it did. By eating through the planet's time itself, many civilizations, nations and continents fell as they were unaware of how to deal with such a force. They didn't have magical creatures to defend them after all. And Skyblue Shine, or rather Ciel at that moment, was on the verge of her last moments too. Until I found her.
The city was truly a mess. Barely anything was left. This creature had eaten through the planet's time itself. Turning buildings into either old and decaying rubble or before they were ever constructed. This worm-like creature could manipulate with time in any way.
And sitting in one of the decayed houses was Ciel. In her arms was a baby Premium Polish that had yet to receive a name. She was a newborn. And unfortunately, she was born in the wrong timeline. Ciel and many others did what they could to escape from this creature. However, its overwhelming size and rapid speed made it impossible.
"Haah..." Ciel let out a soft breath of stress and pain. She was a mess right now. The only thing stable here was her daughter. She had done everything in her power to keep Premium safe. And she did a rigorous job at it.
Ciel had witnessed many of her friends and family be affected by this creature. Whether they had been turned back to a point where they were never born or even to an age where they were reaching their final hours. Everyone she knew was gone.
Except for her baby. Premium Polish started crying whilst being held by her mother. The atmosphere was corrupted by this creature's presence. It was barely safe to be in except for the indoors. But the indoors didn't matter either considering the destruction this worm-like creature had brought.
Ciel herself was beginning to lose hope. There was no future for her. Mostly because a piece of the creature was on her. When she was escaping from its rampage, red particles from this time beast had affected her. This particle stayed on her arm, rapidly taking away her lifespan with each passing second. Her final days came closer than she thought.
She sat there on a bed, feeling her lifespan reaching its final moment. Nothing she could do. And unfortunately, the same went for her daughter. Premium Polish was not safe in this world. She wouldn't grow up with a mother at all. Or even grow up herself.
Because despite all of Ciel's hard work, even if the baby wasn't injured or even had scratches or anything on her, the particles were still there, taking a young life away.
"I'm so sorry, dear." She apologized to the baby before looking at the dark-red coloured skies. "I wished I could've seen you grow up and live with you through it. Maybe in another life on the other side, that can be possible." She gave out what she believed would be her last words.
The baby had heard all of that. While unable to understand speech at her age, she could tell what sounded good and what sounded bad. And to the baby's ears, what Ciel said was a mixture of both. Premium stayed silent the whole way through as Ciel closed her eyes, accepting her fate.
However as hours went by, that was when Empress Twilight had arrived. Her ship emerged, hovering through the skies of this dying world. And the Empress herself had spread her wings out with a beautiful grace. Ciel heard the sounds of the ship as she had opened her eyes.
What she had witnessed was amazing. Empress Twilight, with the time that she was here, had gone up against the worm-like creature. She had been dealing with it for at least an hour now.
But after those hours, the Empress had won. With all the amazing magic she had stolen from a plethora of alicorns, she was able to vanquish this creature by unleashing a massive blast of magic. However, even with the defeat of the creature. The damage was already done.
This world would perish either way.
Ciel was amazed by what she had seen. A horned and winged horse had defeated the biggest threat to this world. In her final moments, it was a sight to behold. It gave her a slither of hope. But not enough to fully restore it.
After the creature's defeat, Empress Twilight looked at the landscape, seeing how horrid it was. She then descended before seeing the only human currently present in this ruined city. The alicorn's figure shined with the sun behind her. Her eyes had then met with Ciel who was now starting to decay away.
"W-Who are you?" Ciel uttered.
"Your poor thing." Empress Twilight said, observing the mother and her baby. "This world is long gone by now. Unfortunately, I can do nothing about it. A shame. I would've probably enjoyed this world like the rest."
"Oh...I figured as much." Ciel lowered her head. "But thank you either way."
"Your thanks mean little to me. Considering your final moments. However...even if this world is on its last legs, I suppose there's one thing I could achieve from it." Empress Twilight thought for a second before gazing at the mother and child. "Let me spark up hope in your heart. If you still had it. I shall save you."
"Y-You will?"
"Yes. I can. I will give you a new life in another world. I can't say the same about every human here, unfortunately. But you and your daughter will live." Empress Twilight held her hoof out as a wide smile met Ciel's face.
"Oh...Thank you. Thank you so much." She sobbed as she was relieved to hear something amazing. "I'll hopefully remember-" Her final words were said as she had closed her eyes. Her body had fully decayed away. Soon, the same would happen for Premium as she was crying all the way through after her mother's passing.
In her last moments, she truly had hope. While her sentence had been cut off, she meant that she would remember Empress Twilight's wonderful deed for her.
And would be forever in her debt. With her life.
After that, before hers and Premium's body could fully decay, I took the last remaining parts of her hair, using that as the reference and base for the Skyblue Shine we know today.
"But of course, even so, I did alter most of her memories. She doesn't even remember that she was a human once or that strange creature eating up the planet. All she remembers is that she owed her life to me." Empress Twilight chuckled before lowering the projection."
"So...her daughter?"
"Obsolete. I knew that the bond she and her daughter would have might get in the way. So, to make sure that would never happen, only the debt was kept as a memory. Building her daughter was easier said than done. Not many memories to play with when it comes to a baby. They forget a lot of things when they reach a certain age anyway."
"So that's why she can never betray you."
"Of course." The Empress flipped her mane before having her eyes glow purple. "And she won't."
Canterlot. Late Afternoon.
Skyblue SHine took a deep breath as she made a choice. Just like what the Empress said, her betrayal was not possible at all. Not with how she was built and reconstructed. The android opened her eyes before instilling fear into her daughter.
"As your mother, you're coming with me." By force, she had used her magic to hold Premium Polish. Telling her to come along wouldn't do. It was force after all.
"No!" The little unicorn cried out. She tried breaking free with her magic but her mother's magic was far superior to hers. She was built that way after all.
Premium knew there was no chance of her escaping her parents alone. She couldn't reach her bag for her Poke Balls either. But, there was still one way to call for help. With the magic she could muster up, the little unicorn unleashed a blast of magic at the door, blowing it open.
"That brat!" Tempest gasped as the door had a large hole through it. And even without any sound, the guards had been alerted by this as they looked through.
"Hey...Hey!" A guard exclaimed as their attention had been shifted somewhere else. Now that they were caught, some speeding up was due.
"We have who need. Let's go!" Tempest ordered as Skyblue Shine ran ahead of everyone. Tempest and the others acted as her shield, getting in front of her.
"Golurk! Stop them!" The guards ordered their Golurk. Not caring about the height difference considering the situation, the Golurk had burst through the door, breaking the arch and everyone around it. Their massive hand went over to try and grab Premium, Skyblue and practically everypony here.
But, Tempest was informed of the Golurk and how they were in the invasion. So, as a response, she used the one spell that seemingly only Empress Twilight could use. The Gravity spell. By using her magic, she created a field of gravity that was inversed.
"G-Golurk!" Soon, the Golurk were then pushed back by the force of Gravity, crashing into the trainers instead. The guards gasped as they had been pinned to a wall by the flying Golurk. And at the same time, the miniature behemoths were making their way here to cause some more havoc.
With that distraction, it gave Skyblue Shine enough time to pass through the gateway. Tempest smiled before she and her troops walked off, calling it mission accomplished. But one guard wasn't ready to give up. He got off his Golurk with all of the strength he had.
This guard then used Golurk's body as a platform, lunging forward. And with haste as well. Tempest turned around to see that this single guard had attempted to come along. And he did so by pushing Tempest through the gateway. He was now along for the ride.
"H-Hey-" Tempest exclaimed before being pushed through. Those were her last words here as the other guards watched their fellow guard go in. After that, the gateway had been closed off.
Meanwhile, outside, Celestia and Luna were still struggling with both the Storm and Tree Behemoth. Their new improvements created a few complications for them. They had to be careful as to not give the Storm Behemoth new energy to absorb and use as its own.
"Alright. All we have to do is find the right moment to hit it with Passion's Plasma Bolt with the most energy she can make." Celestia explained. "Even with these changes, it's still vulnerable to an overload of electricity."
"Understood. But will it be enough?" Luna asked.
"With this, it will." Celestia then revealed the Mega Stone. Passion then looked over at her Gardevoirite. Mega Evolution was decided upon as they both nodded at each other. Celestia then activated the Keystone with the lights flaring already. Her body started giving off a golden light as Celestia and Passion were about to become one.
Passion closed her eyes as she was being coated in Infinity Energy. Celestia did the same as she allowed her and Passion to merge. They both opened their eyes as a burst of light that was identical to the sun had erupted.
The Storm Behemoth and Tree Behemoth looked on to see this burst of light emerge. And out of it, the Mega Evolution Symbol emerged along with hot pink eyes.
Celestial-Gardevoir was here.
"We'll make it quick. Luna. Darkrai. Distract them for a moment until I can find the right moment to overload it." Celestial-Gardevoir crossed her arms as Luna and Darkrai nodded in confirmation.
Celestial-Gardevoir ascended high into the skies, even moving past the higher clouds. She could reach Pegalysium at this point. The Storm Behemoth's eyes followed Celestial-Gardevoir but that was a mistake. That allowed Darkrai to unleash a sneak attack Dark Pulse and Luna with a magic beam.
Meanwhile, Arcanine was mostly dealing with the Tree Behemoth. Usually, his flames would be able to burn the wood. However, the Tree Behemoth's improvements made it tougher and more resistant to fire. Arcanine slid back, evading an array of thick and sharp branches that stabbed into the ground.
Along came Celestial-Gardevoir to aid her teammate. Celestial-Gardevoir had dashed through the skies as fast she could, heading straight for the Tree Behemoth.
The Tree Behemoth was ready to pop out some extra miniature behemoths from its seed, only to be met by Celestial-Gardevoir grabbing it by the head.
"Arca?"
"Arcanine. When I say now, you unleash Flamethrower. Understood?" Celestial-Gardevoir gave a command as Arcanine nodded. He wasn't sure what she was planning but it was clearly meant to be something that would prove to be effective.
The Alicorn-Pokemon fusion had then used all of her physical strength to lift the 130ft creature. With a spurt of speed, she immediately blazed through the skies despite the weight of the behemoth.
The Tree Behemoth attempted to remove Celestial-Gardevoir by flailing an array of sharp wood thickets at her. Celestial-Gardevoir had placed a protective barrier of magic to deal with that obstacle as she kept flying.
And she was going as high as she could. Celestial-Gardevoir flew through more than just the clouds. Her goal was to take the Tree Behemoth to space. The behemoth wouldn't allow this. It had released a mass multitude of extremely sharp thorns in all directions from its body to try and pierce the shield. And it succeeded.
Celestial-Gardevoir gasped as the thorns pierced through her shield. And an array began pelting it, slowly breaking the shield apart. Her grip on the behemoth had loosened because of that. However, Celestial-Gardevoir persisted as she wasn't about to let go.
With all of her strength, she moved at incredible speeds, combining the flying speed of both Celestia and Gardevoir into one. With that, she was able to move closer towards the stratosphere. And unfortunately, while it wasn't as weak to fire as it normally should be, it was still wood.
Thus, the chill of the skies would eventually get to it. The Tree Behemoth was already feeling chilly with parts of its body being frozen over with ice. Celestial-Gardevoir was feeling the chill herself, however, she had used Mystical Fire as an aura of warmth.
It worked. The Tree Behemoth had parts of it frozen over, unable to focus. That was when Celestial-Gardevoir could finish the job. And that involved throwing the behemoth back to the ground at full force. "Back down you go!"
With all of her force, she launched the behemoth downwards, causing it to gain an aura of fire whilst falling at great speeds. Celestial-Gardevoir then chased after the falling Tree Behemoth as they were returning to the planet.
That's when Arcanine saw the behemoth falling along with Celestial-Gardevoir pursuing it. "Arcanine, Now! Flamethrower!" She shouted as she had prepared a potent Mystical Fire in her hands.
"Arca...!" Arcanine opened his mouth, preparing to unleash a mighty blast of fire. Since the behemoth was now mostly frozen, parts of its body were vulnerable. Its thick protection wouldn't mean anything now. "Nine!"
At the same time, Celestial-Gardevoir and Arcanine unleashed streams of fire. One from below and the other from above. The Tree Behemoth had been sandwiched by these attacks whilst having its body be consumed by it. The behemoth cried out before having no chance to counter.
Thus, it had been obliterated by the combined flames. Just as Celestia planned. The behemoths improvements were made specifically for fire but for space and the potential for it to be frozen.
As for the Storm Behemoth, it was occupied with Luna and Darkrai. Luna flew past the arms of the 500ft monster, unloading a blast of magic across it to grab its attention. The behemoth roared, attempting to face and catch Luna, only to have its attention be shifted towards Darkrai, who had used Poison Jab on its face.
The Behemoth roared, unleashing a flare of electricity from its body that flew in multiple directions. It was a way to hit multiple targets at once. Luna and Darkrai flew around, evading the incoming bolts of electricity that flew all over the place.
Some of the bolts ended up hitting the castle of Canterlot and other parts of the landscape with how many there were. luna then appeared above the behemoth via teleportation before using her magic to create a blinding light. The behemoth looked at the light becoming befuddled for a moment as Darkrai unloaded Dark Pulse from behind.
"Sister! Now!"
"On it!" Celestial-Gardevoir nodded before finding her chance. She had Plasma Bolt ready by combining Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt as one powerful fusion move. She then put her hands out, slamming them into the behemoth while flying forward.
A thunderstorm roar came out of the behemoth as it had been staggered afterwards. Now that she made contact, Celestial-Gardevoir had to overload it. And that, she could most definitely do. She ended up pouring multiple surges of plasma into the behemoth by increasing the power of Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt as much as she can.
Gigantic sparks of plasma were shooting and exuding out of the behemoth as it was feeling itself receiving too much energy within it. The behemoth went to grab Celestial-Gardevoir, only to be met by Darkrai using Poison Jab to claw its arm away.
Celestial-Gardevoir's eyes flashed a vibrant white as even her body became an aura of plasma. The overloading was a success as the behemoth was starting to tremble. The Alicorn-Pokemon hybrid flew back afterwards, witnessing this overload.
With an uncontrollable assortment of movements, the behemoth gave out. Thus, it had blown up. A gigantic explosion of electricity emerged from the behemoth's overload with the final thing echoing out being its cry. Celestial-Gardevoir made a massive shield around everyone to protect them from the explosion.
That was the end of those two behemoths. Their miniature versions perished along with them due to their destruction. Just like before.
"Hah..." Celestial-Gardevoir sighed before defusing. "At least it was quicker than last time."
"Gardevoir."
"Still. How could it have possibly returned?" Luna flew over to her big sister. "And what of the second one?"
"I think Twilight and the others might already be facing it as we speak." Celestia nodded as she, Luna, Passion and Darkrai descended to the ground. But as they did so, one of the Canterlot Guards rushed over.
He had news of great importance. And that news was about a certain filly android and her mother. "Your Majesties!"
"Is anypony hurt?" Celestia asked.
"NO, but...It's Premium Polish. She's been taken."
"What?!" The two sisters bellowed with shock. While all of this was ongoing, the pony that they were meant to take care of had been taken from underneath their noses.
And at the worst time as well.
Ponyville.
But over at Ponyville, they had taken care of the Storm and Tree Behemoth as well. Pikachu found the opportunity to allow himself to be hit by the Storm Behemoth's attacks. Once that was said and done, he unleashed all of the electricity from his body, overloading the behemoth in the same way he did in the past.
The electricity was so great that it even blew up the Tree Behemoth to bits. A job well done by everyone in Ponyville. It was shorter than the last encounter with these two behemoths. They've certainly all grown as trainers.
However, they were just the distraction. It didn't matter how quickly they fell. The Indigo Alliance had taken Jade successfully. And speaking of which...
"Jade! Jade!" Pinkie Pie cried out for Jade in SugarCube Corner. Minutes after the behemoth's defeat, Pinkie went to see if everyone was alright. The Cake family were in one piece along with the Slurpuff who were still recovering from that overwhelming perfume. But Jade was nowhere to be found. But Pinkie Pie did find something.
A hole in the wall. Right in Jade's room.
"Jade?!" Pinkie Pie gasped after seeing that hole. Horrible thoughts were going through her head. She believed that maybe it was just the cause of the Storm Behemoth and Tree Behemoth attacking. However, not once did they get close to Sugar Cube Corner at all.
So, that meant one thing.
Pinkie Pie rushed out to her friends who were still conversing about the behemoths' return. Her heart was racing as one of her friends had just up and vanished with the only thing being left behind is a broken wall.
At the moment, the guard who had jumped through the gateway to rescue Premium Polish was now in the worst-case scenario he could ever be in. He had recently shoved Tempest through the gateway which led him here. Now he was backed into a corner. Figuratively and literally.
"Good job. You played the hero and look at where you are now." Tempest spoke to the single Canterlot Guard who was heavily surrounded.
"Hehe." He laughed nervously. "It worked well with others before." After speaking, multiple weapons were pointed at the single guard. There was not much he could do. His Golurk was back at Universe One. However, Canterlot Guards now came with two Pokemon. But, he couldn't unleash it now due to the spot he was in. Unfortunately, he would have to wait.
"But you're in luck. You can become a part of the Empress' Empire now that you're here. Take this one to the cells and prepare him for a proper change."
With that, Tempest's troops had picked the guard off the floor. In a sort of lucky break, the Empress never destroys troops from her opposing enemies' side. She always goes for the option of turning them to her side. However, the invasion might've been an exception.
The guard sighed as he realized the situation he had gotten himself in. But he was still banking on his last Pokemon to save him. The only Pokemon aside from Golurk. He just had to wait for it.
As for Premium Polish, Skyblue Shine had brought her daughter to the Empress at last. She succeeded in her mission. Even if meant seeing her daughter crying and upset at her, much to Skyblue Shine's chagrin.
"A job well done, Skyblue Shine." said the Empress as she had used her magic to restrain Premium Polish, allowing Skyblue to rest. "Hello, little one. This is your first time seeing my face, isn't it? Or rather, you already have in the form of my younger self."
"Nyeh!" Premium stuck her tongue out at the Empress. She wasn't afraid of her at all. Empress Twilight scoffed at her insult.
"Now that you're here, your greater destiny can be formed. One that, in all honesty, should've been done ages ago. You know what I mean by that, Skyblue Shine. But your daughter here, not so much."
"What destiny? I don't get it!" Premium wailed before flailing her hooves around.
"To put it in a short sentence, you'll be the passage for the Magical Unite." There. She had revealed it to the little unicorn but it was still up in the air.
"Magical...Unite?"
"The ultimate way of uniting everyone. Not just in this universe. But across every other. The Magical Unite is a force of power that connects all magic in this world and others. From Equestria to the Badlands and even uncharted territories. It activates when the greatest form of magic is spread out and hits the cosmos themselves within 6 days and engulfs every planet, every star, galaxy, it doesn't matter."
"A-And...what's that great form of magic?" Premium's fear was finally showing as she wasn't too fond of how this Magical Unite was sounding.
"The Magic of Friendship, of course. One that I had perfected. No greater force than it. And within you resides a semblance of it. When you were made for this specific part of your destiny, you needed something that would eventually spark the Magical Unite. There was no better option than the Magic of Friendship. With it, the magic can spread at an amazing rate with nothing to stop it."
"Inside of me? But why? And what does it even do?"
"The Magical Unite will unite everyone, as I've already said. But more importantly, much like my loyal soldiers throughout the Empire, they will be under my control. Showing and teaching the Magic of Friendship to other worlds isn't so easy anymore. Improvisations were made. That's where the Magical Unite comes in."
"You're gonna control everyone! That's not friendship!" Premium pouted while yelling at the Empress. "And why me?!"
"Why? There was nothing suitable at all. If I wanted to do so, that would require myself being in a... less unpleasant state. But an android was the perfect solution. Of course, you're unaware of why this is the case. But you'll find out soon enough."
"No way! I don't wanna do something horrible!" Mom!"
"Your mother has no say in this. Her mind has been made up, little Premium." Empress Twilight laughed while nudging the little unicorn's head.
"Dear. Understand that in just 6 days, it'll all be over. Your purpose won't last that long at all." Skyblue went up to her daughter. "Just wait for those days to pass."
"I thought you were good, mom. W-Why are you doing this?" The filly started crying oil from her eyes as Skyblue Shine couldn't stand to see her like this as always. "Were you always bad?"
"Sentiments can wait. It's time." The Empress stomped her hoof, drawing the attention of the two unicorns. She led Skyblue Shine while carrying Premium Polish to the laboratory residing her. Whatever this Magical Unite was, it had more than just Premium Polish as the source.
Premium looked at herself, now knowing that she had a semblance of an impossibly great power residing within her. But, one that was not what it used to be. The Empress had shifted something as wonderful as the Magic of Friendship into something more devious.
One for absolute control.
After arriving at the lab, the scientists were already prepared for the filly's arrival. And within this lab was something odd and overwhelming.
A cylinder-shaped machine that stretched wide and tall enough to fill the whole room. It had a multitude of wires connected to every part of it. It was run by both electricity and magic. Mostly magic. And in the centre of it was a familiar shape.
The shape of a little unicorn. Mainly Premium Polish. This machine was meant for her as she could fit in it. Skyblue Shine stood back as she knew there was nothing she could do now. Her loyalty was cemented after all. The filly gasped with shock as she knew what was coming.
"Place her inside."
Troops went over towards Premium, bringing the little unicorn to the machine. Kick and flail as much as she wanted to, it was pointless. She was not strong enough despite what was lying within her. Skyblue Shine stood in the corner as she was waiting for all of this to be over.
It would only take 6 days for the control to fully happen. And after that, Premium Polish would be free. However, when she ends up being free, how would she see her mother? And how would Skyblue Shine respond? Those were moments that the android was fearing for the most.
However, in this instance, Skyblue Shine felt like doing something about this. She couldn't describe or understand it, but her hooves were shaking uncontrollably. As if, seeing her daughter in this kind of scenario triggered some instincts within her.
Premium Polish had been placed inside of the machine. A perfect fit. However, to make sure that she was fully inside, cables emerged from the machine, latching onto the little unicorn. "Mm!" Premium winced after these cables entered her. The magic was already flowing through as the process could finally begin with a great buildup.
"W-Wait!" Skyblue Shine suddenly intervened with a shout. The Empress turned to face the android, not too fond of this interruption. "Let's wait a bit longer. After, all Princess Celestia and the others might arrive here. They have that alliance with other universes. we've been to before. Perhaps, they know about this universe and our location."
"M-Mom?"
"Hm. You raise a good point. They would have knowledge of this universe. And just like before, Celestia and her annoying friends would just destroy everything with how reckless they are. We'll formulate a trap and setup in case of their arrival."
"Ah..." Skyblue Shine let out a relieved sigh.
"However, the process will continue." But soon after, it had been shut down by the Empress' words. "We can't afford to waste time."
"R-Right, Empress. I don't know why I was potentially on the verge of delaying it." Skyblue lowered her head, allowing for the magical process to continue. Premium Polish had suddenly become unresponsive as something within her had shut down. Her eyes stayed open, however.
She was in a truly unpleasant state. She could see what was ahead of her, but her body was immobile. Everything inside of her body had been shut down except for her consciousness. She was in the middle of being both asleep and awake.
6 days for this multiversal control to occur. And during this first day, the Empress already had a trap ready for Celestia's forces in case they do find this world.
Empress Twilight wouldn't allow a repeat of last time.
Ponyville. SugarCube Corner. Nightfall.
"Jade's gone! I don't think she just left the place like that!" Pinkie Pie bellowed, worrying about her friend. Recently, Jade Skies had been captured by the Indigo Alliance in secrecy. And this was happening during the attack of the reincarnated Storm and Tree Behemoths.
Her friends had been alerted as they saw this massive hole and the rubble it had made. The Slurpuff had just recovered from the perfume after having their noses go through sensory overload. Ash and the others witnessed the scene as there was very little to observe. Only the hole.
"Jade would never do that." Pinkie Pie shook her head.
"That means someone took her," Twilight said. "Did anypony in here see who?"
"The Cake Family were safe in their room and the Slurpuff were having their noses act funny so no." Pinkie Pie shook her head.
"Noses! We can still track Jade down with her scent." Fluttershy intervened. "If someone did take her, we can just follow Jade's scent and-"
"Slur. Slurpuff." Just then, the Slurpuff had also intervened as they walked up to Pinkie Pie and the others. They had something to say. And they knew something that no one else did yet. The two of them held their noses, still feeling a bit overwhelmed. "Puff! Slurpuff!"
"A perfume circle?" Fluttershy translated as everyone leaned in.
"What do they mean by that?" Rarity asked.
"Slur! Slur!"
"They said that during the attack, there were five individuals who came in here. They couldn't see them but they could pick up their scent. But after that, some sort of circle appeared and sprayed out perfume. The perfume was too sensitive for their noses so they couldn't focus at all."
"So whoever made that circle must've taken Jade." Twilight realized. "An invisibility spell is what they probably used. And that circle... did it look magical to you two?"
"Slur." They nodded in confirmation.
"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Pinkie Pie shook Fluttershy, zipping around. "We have to find Jade! Do you know how scared she could be! I mean...I've never seen her scared but still!"
"We'll find her, Pinkie," Ash reassured while Pinkie was grabbing his shirt, hyperventilating. "We've got Slurpuff and some other Pokemon that can handle something like this. But who would want Jade?"
"No idea. Team Plasma doesn't have anything they can do with Jade. Plus, I'm not sure they've figured out spells all except for Ghetsis who uses Dark Magic."
"Maybe it was Ghetsis and Team Plasma. Who else?" Rainbow Dash replied. "I say we barge in there and get our friend back right now!"
"But...where? Team Plasma switched locations didn't they?" Spike asked as Rainbow Dash scrunched her face. She wasn't aware of her their current location at all. Now they were in a bit of a rock and hard place.
"Then we'll ask Princess Celestia." Ash already had an idea brewing in his head. "She has that Universal Alliance with her. We can sniff them out with Slurpuff and other canine Pokemon and see which universe they fled to."
"Pikachu."
A good call from Ash's point. However, little did they all know, while they were pursuing their friend, another one of them had been captured as well. A situation that Celestia was pursuing.
Canterlot. Nightfall.
"So all of that havoc was just enough of a distraction for them to take her," Celestia said, observing the empty bedroom of Premium Polish. "I can't believe they were able to even bring those kinds of behemoths back."
"Well, their plan worked," Luna replied before facing the guards. "Did you see which universe they fled to?"
"No, unfortunately. The distance made it unclear for us to take a closer look through." The guard shook his head. "Plus we were...pinned to the wall and downed."
"So, we have no proper lead on which universe she's in. Curse it all!" Luna stomped her hooves in irritation.
"It's not all hopeless yet. The conquered universes are all aware of the Empress' various locations and spare palaces. We can get in touch with our Universal Alliance to solve this issue." Celestia quickly rekindled all hope with just that comment alone.
"Uh...sorry if we're butting in but..." Shooting Star, Garnet and Kaleidoscope peered their head through with nervous grins. "Is everything okay?"
"Prince Shooting Star." Celestia went up to the pegasi. "Apologies for the inconvenience. But major issues have currently overtaken this day. I'm sorry that this guide has been interrupted like this."
"Well, it's something. I mean, over at Pegalysium, conflicts rarely happen, right?" Garnet shrugged.
"W-We can just come back another time." Kaleidoscope said. "Maybe when nothing's being attacked at all."
"Get home safely, you three. We need to act fast and-" But before Celestia could finish her sentence, along came the surprise entrance of Ash, Twilight and the others.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed, giving everyone a startle. "We need your help!"
"Twilight? Oh, sorry. But I'm afraid my hooves are full and occupied with something else right now." The older alicorn flew over. "Premium Polish has been taken by the Empress' forces. Due to the behemoths being distractions." A stressful sigh was let out by Celestia.
"Well...we came here because Jade was captured too. And we think it might be by Team Plasma." Twilight explained. "Maybe. We don't know. It's even stranger why they would take Jade."
"Jade as well?" The Sun Princess pulled back. "Two captures in one afternoon?"
"That calls for even greater concern. But...why would they want Jade Skies of all ponies?"
"Hang on a sec." Shooting Star intervened as his brain was rapidly moving, scrolling through his memories. He had heard the name Jade Skies and recalled one instance in the Pegalysium forests.
"That Jade Skies pony has yet to be captured. But this should suffice at the moment. At least, enough to use for a month. But how exactly are we to use that magic without being seen? After all, one bit of it is potent enough to destroy a forest."
"Oh, you mean the Rift Pony?"
"Rift Pony?!" Everyone's attention was alerted by that without a doubt. Hearing Jade and Rift Pony in the same sentence threw a lot of them off.
"Yeah. The Indigo Alliance said something about capturing a pony by the name of Jade Skies. Guess they achieved their goal in the end."
"Jade's a Rift Pony...?" Pinkie Pie and the others were the most surprised by this. Yet another RIft Pony was secretly their friend. But it all made sense. How she never slept. Much like Cold Colt. How she had no apparent home. Neither Equestria nor Pegalysium.
"She's like me...Awesome." And Cold was the most ecstatic about this. Not only did he have Emerald Aura, now he had Jade Skies as a fellow Rift Pony friend.
"Aw, even in another nation we can't go one day or week without hearing about this alliance?" Kaleidoscope sighed.
"So this Indigo Alliance is behind this, are they?" Celestia asked the young prince. "What do they want with Jade exactly?"
"Well, they already managed to get some Rift Energy after finding it in Big Sky. But they want more. And the best way to get it is by having a pony that's all Rift Energy. That was their plan from what I heard." The prince explained.
"So it's still a lot like what Ghetsis and Team Plasma went for." Rarity replied. "And if that's the case, who knows what they might do to poor Jade?!"
"Either way, we're saving them both. On our own, we can't be in two places at once. One place is arguably more dangerous than the other. How dangerous are the Indigo Alliance exactly?" asked Celestia.
"Mm." Shooting Star shrugged. "I mean they sounded dangerous in the stories I've heard. I don't know about as dangerous an entire empire and all that."
"Heading into enemy territory again, especially one of that scale. This is the Empress' we're talking about." Luna warned Celestia. Her mind was already being made up on how to approach these two scenarios.
"I know. But this time, we have more allies. We just need to figure out how to work our way around saving Premium from a place as hazardous as that. Each of us will split up and go to the Empress's palace and Pegalysium. I'll be going for Premium. Everyone else?"
"Well...this does sorta involve our nation and the problem it's caused. So we'll go for Jade!" Shooting Star raised his hoof as Garnet and Kaleidoscope gasped.
"What?!" Garnet grabbed Shooting Star, lifting him off the floor whilst shaking him rapidly. "We didn't agree to this! I don't want any part of some freaky secret society!"
"B-B-B-But they captured you t-t-too!" Shooting Star stuttered with each shake."They even put you in some weird green stuff I can't remember!"
"They did? Is that what happened on that day?" Garnet paused for a moment, recalling the time she woke up unconscious in a medical room with the Reanimate Tears around her. "That's not important! L-Let your mom and dad handle this instead of us!"
"Right, right." The young prince chuckled nervously.
"We'll go for Jade at Pegalysium," Ash said as he, the Mane 7, Cold Colt and Spike would shoot for Pegalysium. Their numbers were great in their own way. Plus, together, they make an amazing team with splendid coordination.
Celestia would go with her little sister, of course along with Passion, Arcanine, Darkrai and practically every Pokemon that Luna owned. Which was a lot. They would also receive massive help from others. The Empress is a force that requires a multitude of help to even go against.
"We'll need a plan, however. I'm afraid barging into the palace just like before won't do. We also have to rescue the guard who jumped in there." Celestia pondered, coming up with a scheme that could assure Premium Polish's return.
"Oh, wait!" But Cold had one final thing to say before they all set off. "I know someone else that can help!"
Pegalysium. The Indigo Alliance's Courtoom.
"We've done it. The largest source of Rift Energy we could have. And in the form of a pony." Second Wind AKA the Grand Judge spoke to the many Indigo Alliance members.
Chatter moved across the room as they agreed to this result. With Jade as their main source of Rift Energy, it was practically endless. The things they could do with her magic.
Jade herself was being kept within one of those same containers that Garnet was in. This time, without the Reanimate Tears within them. She was conscious ever since she was captured and taken here instead of being put to sleep.
"Jade Skies. You will be the greatest cause of relinquishing Pegalysium from any other issues or threats that may emerge one day." The Grand Judge said. "With you Rift Magic, the possibilities are endless. The king won't ruin the future of Pegalysium with you at our hold."
"Me...? Rift Magic?" She spoke in her monotone voice as always, feeling unimpressed. However, deep down, she was shocked by this revelation.
That's right. You are a Rift Pony. The best kind of pony imaginable! Brimming with Rift Energy from within. Unless...you never knew, hm?"
"I didn't...Is that why I don't remember my past...?" Jade's mouth opened slightly with her eyes shifting about. It was all clicking to her finally. This was the last thing she excepted. Now that she knew she was a Rift Pony, everything made sense to her.
Jade Skies took a moment to take it all in. She was on the verge of showing a shocked expression. But she wasn't quite there yet. Jade had a lot to tell Pinkie Pie and the others when she reunites with them. As she believes she will.
"Don't worry. Even with this realization, you will do great things for us. As a way fo Pegalysiums' shining future!" A potent laugh came out of Second Wind's mouth as more chatter filled the room.
"You're gonna lose." Jade simply said with a deadpan expression as she quickly shut down Second Wind's words. The room fell silent afterwards.
"I beg your pardon?"
"My friends are gonna find me and defeat all of you. Maybe trash the place with all their movements. They're good at doing that. Even with Rift Energy, you're not gonna win 100%"
"You think so? We'll see about that. Our connections throughout Pegalysium are stellar! More than what even the king can comprehend or know. Even those Pocket Monsters won't stand a chance despite how impressive they seem. But...we should be careful. Such powerful creatures could ruin everything if not taken care of."
"If I may, Grand Judge. There might be a way to deal with these Pokemon when the friends of Jade Skies eventually arrive." A member walked up. "But, we might have to be quick about it. They may not know of our existence or this location but..."
"I understand. We'll make sure they won't even get close to here at any cost." Second Wind declared as she looked over at Jade while exuding Rift Energy from her body. Both sides knew of the incoming and potential arrival. And they were already preparing for the seemingly inevitable encounter.
Two captives. Jade Skies and Premium Polish. One will be used for endless power while the other for absolute control. 6 days remain until the Magical Unite can link to every living being out there as the journey continues.
Within the lab, Premium Polish was the conduit for a force known as the Magical Unite. A form of magic that will link every living being across not just this universe, but other universes via the Magic of Friendship lying within Premium Polish. All the while, having every being in multiple universes ruled by Empress Twilight. Only 6 days for it to fully take effect as Skyblue Shine was waiting for those days to pass quickly.
But arriving at the scene was an unexpected guest in the form of Daybreaker. She showed up via gateway travel, right next to the Empress as she was setting up a trap for Celestia and the other's inevitable arrival.
"Oh, what's this? Relying on children now?" Daybreaker spoke with a faint chuckle as she had witnessed Premium Polish within the machine. "My, how desperate can you get, Twilight?"
"Daybreaker. What do you want?" Empress Twilight asked.
"Well, I came to check on what you were up to. After all, even though I did decide to have a turn on dealing with the universe that gave you so much trouble, you're already fixated on revenge aren't you? What is this exactly?"
"A way to control everyone out there in multiple universes. My greatest creation. The Magical Unite!" Empress Twilight spread her hooves out. "Something I had planned for years now."
"Uh-huh."
"Not even those Pokemon will be able to resist its control. Speaking of which, I'm a bit busy making one large trap for when Celestia and her group decide to barge in and take the girl. So I don't have time to gossip." The Empress made her way towards her throne whilst Daybreaker teleported in front of her.
"About that. I'm not sure if anypony's told you yet, but I had a recent chat with Cosmos the other day and-"
"Cosmos?!" The Empress raised her voice, startling the guards as the room trembled. "Why would you converse with her?! Are you insane?!"
"Pssh. Not my fault you decided to add her to the alliance. You're the one who wanted more powerful allies and you just happened to pick the most powerful one by far."
"Tch." The Empress scoffed. "I hate it when you're right..."
"And you expect to control everyone out thee in just 6 days? Seems like just delay towards the inevitable, hm?" Daybreaker put her hooves on the machine. Premium Polish was unresponsive even though she could see everything in front of her.
"Precisely. And what about you? Relying on just Cosmos?"
"Oh, no. I have plans of my own." Daybreaker sat on a chair, acting like she owned the place while breathing a small spark of fire from her mouth. "They'll be in full swing. Plus, they're a bit above and beyond what we usually do. You see, I've decided to investigate the Pokemon World myself?"
"The Pokemon World? The real one instead of the new correct?"
"Correct." Daybreaker ended up stealing the food of a scientist for herself, heating the food with her fire breath. "If you want to defeat your enemies, you have to sometimes use what they have against them, catch my drift? And I've already discovered a few things that could help. I even heard rumours of a Sea Temple in the Pokemon World. And what it holds is tremendous."
"So you're saying I should try to visit Pokemon World a visit myself? I suppose I could learn something over there of great use. Those Pokemon hold wonderful power after all."
"Exactly." Daybreaker took a bite out of her food. "But anyway. Seems you're about to be involved in something interesting. I wonder how this little rescue mission will play out?"
"It won't play out at all once the trap is sprung. Celestia and her group won't even get near the child. No matter what." Empress Twilight declared before getting up in Daybreaker's face.
"If you say so. Gotta go~" She pranced off the seat whilst opening a gateway. "Might come back soon before those 6 days pass by. If Cosmos comes by, then things will be just as riveting." Those were her last words before just went through the gateway, closing it afterwards.
"I lose one invasion and she acts all high and mighty. Hmph." A disdainful scoff came from Empress Twilight as she walked off. "Who does she think she is? But, Daybreaker, or rather Celestia always had the best suggestions. The Pokemon World itself might have something I'm missing out on."
Pegalysium.Day.
The rescue of Jade Skies was in motion. Team Rocket had brought Ash and the others to Pegalysium via their Rocketship. And the one to guide them through Pegalysium would be Prince Shooting Star.
As Team Rocket stayed on guard near the ship, the group were currently on a jungle island, going through their plan once more. There was a way to possibly find Jade even if the Indigo's Alliance was unknown.
And coming along with them, with the involvement of Cold Colt was Emerald Aura. She didn't want to be here at all, but it was for a friend. She couldn't turn down Cold's help. And a chance to save another Rift Pony friend of hers. Jade.
"Alright." Shooting Star said. "So this plan's a surefire success. Your Slurpuff can just track them down and find their hideout with no problem and then everything else will be left up to you guys."
"That's right. We may not have seen them, but Slurpuff can identify anyone's scent after being near them for the first time." Pinkie Pie nodded, patting Slurpuff on the back. "We're counting on you, pal."
"Slurpuff!"
"But uh...you ll should be a bit careful. I mean...everypony over at Feathercoast and my parents are gonna be cool with you all showing but...not so much elsewhere." Shooting Star gave a warning to everyone before having a nervous grin.
"What do you mean by that?" Emerald Aura asked.
"Well...you kinda already know about the whole Pegalysium being away from Equestria since that's why it was founded in the first place. Feathercoast and my parents may move away from that but not sure about the rest of the Pegalysium locations. They might even be scared."
"He's right. Most of us are different from pegasi. Only Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and...maybe me might fit in." Twilight replied before looking at her horn and wings.
"So do we need a disguise? But...how are we gonna look like pegasi? And what about the Pokemon?" Starlight wondered. True that the rest of Pegalysium might be overwhelmed and shocked by the arrival of different ponies tribes considering the reason for Pegalysium's existence.
"The Pokemon...eh." Shooting Star shrugged. "They'll just think they're regular animals that are extra special."
"Ooh! I know what I can do!" Cold Colt spoke as he raised his hoof. An idea had already come to fruition for him. And he would showcase it like so. Not too long ago, just yesterday, his Rift Magic capabilities had improved to the point where Cold was almost at his absolute best.
It was time to show how far he's come. And he did so by disguise Twilight, Starlight and Rarity's horns via invisibility while also giving Applejack and the rest wings. He could now change appearances. At least, with certain parts. Twilight and the others gawked as all they had now were wings. Everything else was there but shrouded in invisibility.
"Ooh! Not bad, Cold!" Applejack gawked before looking at her wings. Much to her surprise and the others, she could actually move them. "And they're real!"
"Yeah. I put a levitation spell on them so it makes look like you're flying. Pretty great, huh?" Cold crossed his hooves, feeling proud of himself as always.
"Great is right. I'm so proud of how far you've come." Twilight complimented the little unicorn before giving him a head pat. Cold Colt felt embarrassed with more compliments as he let out an unintelligible laugh.
"Well done, squirt. You're a real prodigy now." Emerald was mostly proud of him, seeing how far the little colt had come. From utilizing simple mind control to ow forming invisible disguises. Such growth.
"Wait. What about you two?" Shooting Star pointed his hoof over at Ash and Spike.
"Oh me? Well, I'll just say I'm a Pokemon and blend in. Easy." Spike shrugged, already having a solution. "And Ash?"
"Hmm..." Ash crossed his arms before standing there. Indeed, he was technically the odd one out being a human and all. However, it was at this moment that something sparked in Ash's mind. A memory.
Last year, when he was just sitting on the bench in Ponyville, he remembered a certain scenario. When he wondered what it would be like to be a pony, Discord appeared out of nowhere and granted him that wish. Granted it was only for a day, however, even though Ash returned to normal, Discord decided to keep the pony form of Ash inside of him. Just in case for a special day.
And that day was today.
"Aha! Thanks, Discord!" Ash grinned before closing his eyes. He wouldn't be using his Aura for this. He would be using the small semblance of Chaos Magic lurking within his body. He hadn't used this form a second time in a year ever since he obtained it.
Chaos Magic covered Ash as everyone had backed away. They had witnessed a transformation of a different kind happen before their eyes. Ash's eyes lashed as his shape was being altered rapidly. Shooting Star's jaw dropped as he immediately saw a pony silhouette forming.
Out of the magic, Ash's Pony self had emerged. AKA Aura Ash.
"Haha! Still works!" He exclaimed while standing in a bipedal position. He quickly realized his stance before getting on all fours. "W-Woah..."
"Pikapi!"
"Oh, right!" Twilight exclaimed. "The pony form Discord gave you! You can really still use it to this day?"
"We ain't seen that in a long time...Second time actually!" said Applejack.
"Good to have you back, Aura Ash." Pinkie put her hooves around Ash's neck. "Now we're all matching!"
"Awesome! H-How'd you do that?!" Shooting Star gawked.
"Oh, a friend of ours named Discord gave me something like this. I haven't used it in a while, but if there's any time to use it, it's now." Ash nodded whilst adjusting his hat. "Do I look the part even with the hat?"
"Hm..." Cold narrowed his eyes before hiding Ash's horn and giving him the same wings. "Now you do."
"Nice. Okay, guys. Let's get our friend back as soon as we can. And maybe bust a secret society along the way." Ash spoke as Pikachu hopped on his back.
"Pikachu!"
"Let's get to tracking. Go for it, Slur-" The path to Jade Skies was about to begin, only for an interruption to halt and shift things for a moment. That interrupted involved the sky jungle that everyone was standing on.
Without any warning, the island started to move with the wind currents becoming more ferocious and aggressive. This was of course meant to be another scenario where the islands are constantly shifting to random locations.
"Oh, this again?! Can't there be a warning for these?!" Rainbow Dash groaned before holding onto a tree.
"N-No! Something's not right!" The young prince bellowed while trying to keep his balance. "The clouds moved yesterday! They don't usually move this fast! And this wind is stronger than it usually is!"
Indeed, something was not right according to the prince. He knows Pegalysium more than everyone else here. And most definitely, there is an anomaly. And the prince saw this after seeing the island being outlined with a form of green cosmic energy.
Rift Energy that is.
The jungle moved rapidly under the control of Rift Energy. It wasn't even the clouds being manipulated. Just the land itself. Thus, this made the movements more erratic than usual. Not only that but the skies were being covered by an odd mist of Rift Energy. That's when Shooting Star saw an Indigo Alliance member on the nearest island, using Rift Energy to move the islands. Soon, Ash and Twilight saw the member too.
Once the member was found out, they decided to do one last thing before rushing off. The member manipulated only the wind currents this time. And by doing so, it made the currents so hazardous that it had scattered the entire group into various directions.
"Oh!" Ash cried out as each of his friends were sent flying through multiple air streams. The member then rushed off after the deed had been done. The goal was to confound Ash and the others. And it certainly happened.
The Indigo Alliance knew that Ash and the others would come for their friend after Jade made the statement of them losing. And they most certainly took it to heart.
"C-Come on...! Dragonite!" Ash cried out whilst flying through the air with Pikachu, Shooting Star, Twilight, Fluttershy, Audino, Chikorita, Scorbunny and Starlight. He called for his Dragon Pokemon to help them as the distance they went was ridiculous.
"Dragonite!" And she did respond. Emerging out of the Poke Ball was the Dragon Pokemon Dragonite. Once she showed up, she saw how some of her friends were being thrown through the sky, travelling on wind currents without any control of themselves. "Dra?!"
Kowing the danger they were in, Dragonite kicked it into high gear, flapping her wings as fast as she could. The Dragon-Flying-Type chased down her friends and the wind currents carrying them.
Twilight, Shooting Star and Fluttershy were unable to control their aerial movements. These wind currents were strong enough to throw their wingbeats off balance. Thus, they had to rely on Dragonite for this one. But not just Dragonite. Togekiss forcefully exited the Poke Ball after sensing Twilight in danger.
"Togekiss!" Now there were two Flying-Types here to save their trainers and friends. One was a Dragon and the other a Fairy. They flew beside each other, heading for their trainers and friends.
Dragonite and Togekiss entered the wind currents as even they were starting to feel their balance gaining with how powerful it was. Perhaps even greater than a hurricane. However, they both powered through as Dragonite grabbed Ash, Shooting Star, Fluttershy, Scorbunny and Audino whilst Togekiss caught Twilight, Starlight and Chikorita.
"Gonite!" And to counter this powerful air current, Dragonite used a powerful form of wind herself. With her eyes glowing, the Dragon Pokemon had used Hurricane by flapping her wings. By doing so, she was able to negate the currents made of Rift Magic.
"Thanks, Dragonite!" Ash thanked his Pokemon.
"Great save, Togekiss!" So did Twilight.
They had found a nearby island to land on. Dragonite and Togekiss landed safely, placing their friends down without any harm done to them. They did feel a bit bewildered after that unpleasant air ride.
"Phew...That was close." Starlight sighed before sitting down. "You said this wasn't right, Prince Shooting Star. That they don't normally move this early. What do you mean by that?"
"Usually it only takes about 5 or 4 days for the clouds to move the islands. They only just moved yesterday. But I saw an Indigo Alliance member move it."
"That means they know we're coming for Jade," said Ash. "Guess stealth's never an option for us, huh?"
"Pikachu."
"Plus we've been separated from everypony else. And they covered the sky with Rift energy for any high views..." Twilight looked onto the distance before shouting out for the rest of her friends. "Rainbow Dash! Rarity! Applejack! Spike! Can any of you hear me?!"
No response towards her shout, unfortunately. The alliance member had done their job. They had all been separated across Pegalysium. Just to throw them off guard.
But the plan was still in motion.
"We'll meet up with them again. No time to waste either. We need to get to Jade." Ash believed that he and his friends would reunite once more. But in the meantime, they must pursue Jade Skies. Rainbow Dash and the others would be doing the same.
"Up ahead. There's a city over there where we can maybe get some answers or...something. Uprear Borough." Shooting Star pointed his hoof to the north. There was a city for them to head to. If they wanted to find the Indigo Alliance, they would have to also ask questions.
Then again, the Indigo Alliance have been stories for 400 years. It was hard to say who would be honest or who would flat out disregard it as a foal's tale like it always seems to be.
Equestria. Canterlot. Day.
Meanwhile, over at Canterlot, plans to rescue Premium Polish were also ago. Celestia would need all the help she could get. For that, she had summoned her Universal Alliance, informing them of Premium's capture. And now, she gave out a plan to rescue the little unicorn and the one guard that had been taken.
"Unlike last time, we'll be all stealth when it comes to it," Celestia spoke to her other versions. "And I know just the trick. I call it, the Celestia Frenzy!"
"Celestia Frenzy?" Luna and everyone turned to her. "W-Why is that exactly?"
"Well, if there's one thing that we most definitely know...Empress Twilight can't stand my guts at all. I'm no psychic but I can tell she probably hates me more than anypony out there."
"Oh yes." An alternate universe Cadence nodded. "Even her troops talk about how she rants about you when they pass by."
"Precisely. Which is why, when we show up there, she won't hesitate to try and capture me. Taking all of my magic for herself. That's where we all come in. Every Celestia."
"All of us?" Each of the Celestia's said before quickly picking up on what their other self was getting at. "Oooh...We see."
"Nice catch on. How does an overwhelming amount of Celestia's sound?"
"Wait." Luna stopped her big sister in place. "Sister. I know what you're planning...but won't that risk your capture as well. And the rest of the Celestia's too?"
"I know, I know. But in truth, we will be taking it a step further. You see, we'll be there but with a few details. Such as this." By using her magic, Celestia took out a particular item. The Shift Stone. Multiple crystals of it.
"Trixie Lulamoon's Shift Stones? Wouldn't it have been better to request Chrysalis and the Changelings for assistance?"
"Chrysalis is a bit occupied at the moment. So these are great substitutes. Obviously, we can change shape and form with these crystals as said by Trixie. "But that's not all. There's one spell we can use to further confound the Empress' forces and herself." Celestia took out a book, opening it to a specific page. "The Duplication spell."
"An coupled with the Shift Stone...oooh..." Luna's mind was catching on as well as she gave an approving smile, knowing what Celestia was going for. "Sister, you really are cunning."
"Thank you. Now!" Celestia closed the book before standing up. "Here's what we shall do. Each of us will take a Shift Stone while utilizing the Duplication Spell. Our duplicated selves will be able to hold the stones and use them to their full advantage. However, our clones are fragile. They can disappear if something attacks them. Once they use the stone to transform, we will take it from them. That way, when they disappear, the stone will not be revealed to the Empress' troops. Aside from that, these are the disguises we can utilize. A common soldier, the Empress herself, Ghetsis or even a random object that blends in with the environment."
"Any more?" Luna asked.
"Well, you're all going to be creative in your own ways. Once in there, be as stealthy as you can be. Try not to draw too much attention. And if you do plus your disguise being discovered, used the telepathy spell to communicate with us. Now, here's how we'll enter it without making a scene."
Universe 28. Empress Twilight's spare universe.
As the trap was being laid out, the Empress was multitasking. Both forming the trap and continuing on her own Magic Siphoning Weapon. At the same time, Premium Polish was gradually building up the Magical Unite.
Skyblue Shine sat down, watching her daughter build up the magical energy for this multiversal force. She hadn't been assigned to any job at the moment by the Empress. The android sat there, waiting for the 6 days to pass for the sake of her daughter. But while she sat there, appearing behind her was a surprise guest. Someone who was already here before.
Daybreaker.
"Some mother you are," Daybreaker spoke as she startled Skyblue, causing her to jump back.
"D-Daybreaker?!"
"Sorry for the scare." Daybreaker trotted past Skyblue Shine. "But honestly, I had to think about something for a moment. After seeing your daughter her in this machine?"
"And what's that?"
"Well, it surprises me that you're okay with this. Okay with having your own flesh and blood, well...bolts and oil be used in such a way. Against her own will nonetheless. My, you are beyond a strict mother, aren't you?" Daybreaker chuckled.
"I'm doing it for a greater cause." Skyblue Shine narrowed her eyes with a pout. "Once these few days are over, then we can live peacefully. At least...I hope Premium Polish will accept me after this."
"I highly doubt she will. After all, won't she despite you since you essentially chose somepony else other than herself. The loyalty towards Empress Twilight beating out the love you have your daughter is...Well, it's unique." Daybreaker shrugged as Skyblue Shine shifted her eyes. The alicorn then went over to the android, whispering in her ear. "Honestly. Do you expect things to ever be the same again after this? The trust of your daughter will be severed. If it already isn't that is. All because of somepony you can't break loyalty too. Makes me wonder if you love your daughter truly."
"I do love my daughter!" Skyblue Shine stomped her hoof after that response.
"Then act like a mother and prove that you do." Daybreaker stood up tall, giving potent words for Skyblue Shine to remember. And Skyblue Shine's facial expression showed it.
Daybreaker said all she needed to said as she backed away into the gateway, leaving Skyblue Shine to think about what the alicorn had just said. Daybreaker left a smile as the gateway closed.
Skyblue turned to face her daughter, taking Daybreaker's words to heart. Truly, her trust with her daughter was broken at this point. First the incident at Vanhoover and now this. Skyblue Shine needed some time to think and take a break as she walked off. For now, there was nothing she could do.
Feathercoast. The Pegalysium Gallery. Second Wind's office.
There, Second Wind, the current leader and Grand Judge of the Indigo Alliance sat at her office. Not too bothered by anything. She was actually feeling like the luckiest pony alive right now. Having access to Rift Magic and having Jade Skies. The biggest source of Rift Magic she and her alliance could ask for.
The rest of the Indigo Alliance Members had now obtained a semblance of Rift Magic due to Jade Skies. However, Second Wind held the most due to her status among them all. She whistled in her room, hoping for her massive dreams to come true. Until one of the nobles, aka an alliance member entered.
"Grand Judge." He whispered.
"Please. Call me Second Wind in here. I expect good news from your arrival?"
"Well...n-not really. Jade Skies' friends did indeed make it here. And...I was unable to get rid of them." He lowered his head which disappointed Second Wind.
"Even with the Rift Magic I gave you, how were you unable to get rid of them?" She sat up.
"Apologies. Controlling so much powerful magic is still difficult to handle. Especially when using it on the wind and islands. Besides, they were saved by these two odd Pokemon. A Dragon and some bird crea-"
"I don't care how they were saved. The point is that we're supposed to remove any chance of Jade Skies being rescued. Those Pokemon are incredibly powerful from all the chatter and gossip going across the town. And from what Kaleidoscope receives from her History Buddy. One mistake and that's it. They could bring us down faster than we can imagine."
"Y-Yes. I understand."
"We can still get them out of the way. They want the girl. All we need to do is keep them away from Jade Skies and remove them all from the picture. Get in touch with everypony about their arrival. Do whatever you can. Understood?"
"Yes, Grand- Um...Ms Second Wind!"
Pegalysium. Uprear Borough. Day.
Uprear Borough. The fourth-largest city in Pegalysium with the capital being number one, Big Sky being number two and the third a mystery for now. It was certainly close to a sprawling metropolis. The layout of this city was identical to two wings. It was more of a port city with many hangars, docks and waterways. Those same boats that are capable of riding on the sea cloud could be found there.
Right now, one group had entered here. That being Ash's group. Ash himself was undercover in his pony form also known as Aura Ash for the first time. He had Discord to thank for that. And he also had Discord to think for giving him this form last year. His group consisted of Shooting Star, Twilight, Starlight and Fluttershy.
Thanks to Cold Colt's magical improvement he made most of his friends blend in as pegasi. Ash, Twilight and Starlight had their horns hidden while those without wings were giving fake ones that were controlled via Cold's levitation. He truly had improved since his first arrival.
By arriving at Uprear Borough, they had blended in perfectly as just ordinary pegasi. Albeit ones without coloured tips on their wings.
"Okay. The others might find Jade before we do. But let's ask questions." Shooting Star instructed. "I mean, I'm the prince so they've gotta answer, right?"
"I mean...sure." Twilight shrugged. "But if it's this -secret society, would anyone want to answer?"
"Unless they're a part of it." Starlight said. "Plus, since you're here, Shooting Star, they might get cautious. They did capture you, remember?"
"Oh yeah. Good point. I'll stick out like a sore-hoof. Not just because I'm the prince."
"Let's get started then," Ash said as he went ahead of his friends, going for the first pegasus he saw. Twilight and the others did the same, scattering for questions.
It was a shame they didn't have time to stick around and experience this city for themselves. They were prioritizing their friend above anything else. But they were already planning on experiencing this city once they save Jade and maybe put an end to the Indigo Alliance.
"So do you know anything about an Indigo Alliance of any sorts and where they could be?" Twilight asked.
"Indigo Alliance? There's no location for a foal's tale at all." A pegasus shook her head as Twilight frowned. She expected that to be the most typical answer. Dismissing the secret society as just a story.
"Nothing?" Starlight spoke to one of the pegasi who already gave his response. "Not even a bit...?"
"Don't go chasing myths. Especially when you won't find it at all." The pegasus walked off, leaving Starlight disappointed.
"Hmmrgh..." The unicorn grumbled. But as she didn't get an answer, Hatterene's Poke Ball was suddenly shaking. She had an idea of her own. And Starlight knew what that idea was.
"Hatt...!" Hatterene's voice echoed from the Poke Ball as she was ready to burst out and use Hypnosis on everyone, forcing them to give out the location.
"Hatterene, no!" Starlight exclaimed, shutting the Silent Pokemon down. "Not everything needs to be done with mind control...At least not yet."
Prince Shooting Star had many ponies surround him. Of course, since he was royalty, this was to be expected. He asked questions about the alliance and Jade but was only met with constant fan praising. It was hard to get an answer when everyone is only admiring. Some just didn't have an answer at all.
"Eeugh...This is tough. Uh, can anypony say something about their whereabouts?" Shooting Star requested but received no proper answer.
As for Ash and Fluttershy, they had yet to ask somepony a question. Mostly because of the four individuals next to them. Pikachu, Audino, Chikorita and Scorbunny. The pegasi nearby had locked their eyes onto the Pokemon. And why wouldn't they? They were creatures that they had never seen before. Way past the animals they naturally have up here.
"Oh! What is that thing?!" A pegasus gasped, pointing his hoof over at Pikachu as everyone gawked.
"I think those are the Pokemon creatures the King and Queen mentioned!" One pegasus brought up Paramount and Luminary. Indeed, the name Pokemon has been going around ever since King Paramount made them known to Pegalysium. At least they knew of the species.
"Pikachu?"
Immediately, Ash and Fluttershy were surrounded by pegasi. Mostly the foals, teenagers and a few mares and stallions. How can they resist these magical creatures that were standing before them? It was mostly Audino who made everyone aware due to her size.
"Should've seen this coming, huh?" Ash rubbed the back of his hair while Fluttershy nodded in agreement. "Looks like you all know about Pokemon already. I can teach you all later about them, but Fluttershy and I've got a question."
"What's that?"
"Do any of you know where the Indigo Alliance is?"
And right after that, their attention had been shifted away from the Pokemon. They started chatting and gossiping about the Indigo Alliance. They weren't being secretive at all. However, they all wondered why Ash would mention what was deemed as a myth.
But as they chattered, a group of pegasi inside of the ships heard this conversation. Mainly those within the more fancy and pristine ships. These ships belonged to some nobility. And the ponies hearing this were nobles. They then started chatting amongst each other.
"Them...I thought they had been dealt with today?"
"That doesn't seem to be the case. Considering their young, they're obviously persistent and stubborn. The worst kind of youth."
"What do we do? They aren't going to stop until they get her back."
"Simple. We just draw their attention away and get rid of them ourselves..."
"Sorry. But that's just a foal's tale. Didn't you know?" A pegasus shook her head.
"We've heard of that," Fluttershy spoke. "But they took our friend. And we really want her back."
"Wait, so they're real?" A colt said to his parent, only to be met with a shrug.
"Totally!" Ash nodded. "I mean...I guess you guys haven't seen them and everything so..."
"I don't want to get snatched up too!" A foal exclaimed as the younger ponies were obviously afraid of the Indigo Alliance. The story of the Indigo Alliance is framed as a bedtime horror story meant to put children to sleep early. And it is effective.
"Hold on, hold on. What's this now?" Interrupting the conversation was one of the pegasi from the nobility. Joining her were other nobles. She made an appearance as everyone split up to make way for her. "Are we having a chat about this secret society?"
"Oh yeah!" Ash replied. "So you know about them! Do you know where they are? We need to find our friend as soon as we can."
"Pika-Pika?"
"Can't say we do." The nobles shrugged. "But...Is the pony you're looking for of the jade colour?"
"Yeah! That's her! Her name's also Jade Skies!" Ash and Fluttershy shot up, nodding aggressively. "Have you seen here before?!"
"Well, that may be the pegasus you are looking for. I saw her in the middle of the night." She flipped her mane. "Not sure what that was all about. But I did see her head west. She could be somewhere else."
"West, huh?! Okay! We know where we need to go! Guys!" Ash cried out for the others. Twilight and Shooting Star immediately turned to face them. "We've got something! Let's head west!"
"Oh! Really?!" Twilight squeed before flying over. Shooting Star quickly moved away from the crowd surrounding him to head for his friends.
West it was. At least, those were the words of the mare. In truth, Jade's location was at the centre of Pegalysium. Which would technically be north. Even with the continuous movements of the clouds, the centre of Pegalysium remains either way.
The mare and to an extent other nobles that had informed Ash and the others about Jade's false location were in fact members of the Indigo Alliance. Similarly, the same ponies within the Indigo Alliance all seemed to be nobles, which held up Second Wind's comment about the Indigo Alliance and its legacy.
The noble mare watched Ash and the others take off with a devious smile on her face. The nobles then left to their ships afterwards.
Big Sky. Day.
Near Big Sky, the second-largest city in Pegalysium and a place identical to Las Pegasus, Rarity, Cold Colt, Spike and Emerald Aura had ended up here after that sudden change of directions.
They ended up on the outskirts of Big Sky from the direction they were launched at. Thankfully, they were saved via Spike's Salamence catching them all.
"Great. Just when we were all together...this happens." Cold Colt groaned before sitting up, observing his surroundings. "Where are we?"
"Somewhere amazing! Look!" Rarity exclaimed, pointing her hoof ahead. There, they had seen Big Sky for themselves. In all of its fantastical glory. Cold, Spike and their Pokemon also gawked at this sight.
It was truly a wonderful place to look at. Not only were there casinos but there was also a wide variety of shops, cafés, and restaurants are spread throughout the entire city and are popular with both tourists and locals alike. The outer portion of the city was lined by tall buildings and wide brick and cobblestone boulevards, while the avenues of the inner portion are lined by smaller buildings.
There's a reason this was the second-largest city in Pegalysium and a famous place for any casino lovers. It was a sight to behold. Even Emerald Aura, who didn't care too much about the locations, couldn't help but be amazed by this.
"Wow." The Rift Pony said.
"Wow is right..." Rarity nodded as she could only imagine the possibilities for her in Big Sky. Her eyes shined with a wide smile also forming. However, she shook her head, remembering the task at hand. "No! No time for gawking and dreaming! Jade is waiting for us!"
"Yeah. Let's get going." Emerald walked past them. "Plus, I kinda figured that someone with Rift Magic repeated us
"Really?" Spike asked.
"Yeah. We Rift Creations can sense when someone else is using Rift Magic. And whoever used it on the wind and jungle clearly doesn't want us to reach Jade at all. They were probably drawn in by Cold Colt using his magic to disguise you all as pegasi."
"Gee that makes things tougher." Spike sighed. "So, what now?"
"Cold and I shouldn't use too much Rift Magic. That'll just draw more problems for us in the end. Got it, squirt?"
"Yeah, I got it." Cold nodded before thinking for a moment. "But wait. What if the pony who used it was one of the Indigo Alliance Members? If we use Rift Magic again, maybe we can draw them here and interrogate them. Eh?"
"Ooh...Good thinking! Looks like it's not just your magic that's improved." Emerald complimented the younger Rift Pony, causing Cold to be embarrassed and put on a proud smile too. He tends to do that a lot when being complimented and praised for his achievements. "Okay...What do we do?"
"Something big!" Cold Colt spread his hooves out. "Oh...maybe not too big."
"I got it." Spike slid in. "How about I just make Axew transform into Haxorus again? He's got Rift Energy in him too, remember?"
"Oh yeah." Cold turned to Spike and then Axew. "That could work. Axew always lets out like a bunch of Rift Energy when he transforms, Emerald. Let's have him do that!"
"Sounds like a sure-fire way to drag them out. Okay. Go for it." Emerald was all for it.
"You head them, Axew. Transform!"
"Axew!" Axew nodded as he stood firm on the ground. He wanted to make this his biggest transformation yet. So big that the Rift Energy would probably be oozing out of him. The Tusk Pokemon closed his eyes, allowing all of the cosmic energies to flow within his body.
"Xew...Axew!" He then yelled as his body was engulfed in a radiant golden light. Spike and the others backed away, witnessing this transformation take place.
The golden pillar of Rift Energy erupted, expanding in size. The width of it forced everyone else even further back as the length was skyrocketing, piercing through some nearby clouds. Axew was changing shape as well.
After the light grew, the pegasi over at Big Sky couldn't ignore this. Their eyes were alerted to this radiant light as they wondered what it could be. Some even stopped what they were currently doing for this.
And the Rift energy emanating from Axew was outstanding. Emerald Aura and Cold Colt could definitely feel it. Their Rift Magic reacted to Haxorus' outburst.
"Ax...Ax...Axorus!" And bursting out of the pillar of golden energy with a mighty figure and pulsating power was Equestrian Haxorus in all his glory. "Haxorus!"
"Oh yeah. I felt that one..." Emerald nodded as Cold felt woozy from that. "Since they're newbies to Rift energy, I bet that gave them a scare. The less experienced they are, the more it'll be felt. Right squirt?"
"Good thing I'm advanced..." Cold trembled before regaining his balance. Haxorus them deformed, returning as Axew to keep a low profile around all pegasi.
"Well, they certainly reacted to it." Rarity looked over at the nearby pegasi who had witnessed Axew's transformation. Some of them walked off, continuing with their day while others were very curious.
However, the most curious was seven ponies who were watching through the window via one of the tall buildings. They had witnessed not just Axew's transformation, but also the ponies around them. Familiar in appearance. Just as how Secon Wind described them. These were also Indigo Alliance Members.
They had their targeted ponies within their sights. The three ponies looked at each other, knowing what needed to be done about Rarity's group. They promptly paused their poker game for this. After gazing at the group, they decided to use Rift Magic.
After all, Second Wind did say to get rid of them in whatever way they can. Which almost meant by all means. They came together, thinking of how to use the Rift Magic for this. They left the casino to deal with the group afterwards.
Rarity and the others had entered Big Sky for the first time. No time to wander off and gawk at the view of it. Their friend was the top priority. Spike couldn't help but notice how all eyes were on him and Axew. They were the ones that stuck out the most. Cold, Emerald and Rarity fit in due to Cold disguising them as pegasi.
Spike and Axew just tried to stay as silent as they could be whilst walking with their friends. Big Sky was certainly loud with a multitude of events ongoing everywhere. While it was morning, it certainly shines best at night. Figuratively and literally. Everything about it was so fantastical. Rarity and the others were thinking of enjoying themselves here right after they save Jade and get her home that is.
Just like Ash's group, they stopped by to ask questions about the Indigo Alliance. And just like before, many either had no clue or dismissed it as a myth. Even entering the casinos was a bust. Or both. However, Emerald Aura had a solution to this.
"You," Emerald spoke to a nearby pegasus, using her Rift Magic on him. The pegasus froze in place as his eyes started glowing the same colour as Emerald's magic. He was intimidated by Emerald's stare as he had no idea what was going on. He started flailing his hooves randomly. "Where's the Indigo Alliance and their hideout? Talk. Tell me everything you know."
She used the power of her Rift Magic to try and force the truth out of the pegasus. It seemed like the easier option despite her methods. However, the answer she received was unpredictable as the pegasus blurted out something that everypony heard.
"I secretly dress up as Queen Luminary sometimes! It makes me feel powerful!" He exclaimed as everyone's eyes shot over to him. Emerald scrunched her face before lowering the pegasus.
"Oh. Uh...Good for you, I guess? He's not a part of them." Emerald sighed as the pegasus walked away sheepishly, feeling embarrassed after letting out a secret of his. "Sorry!"
"Emerald. You don't have to be so forceful like that?" Cold Colt went up to Emerald.
"I'm only doing it so that we can get to Jade as soon as we can. Whoever caught Jade also has Rift Magic on their side because I can't reach her at all. Or maybe they're using something else?" Emerald used her magic to try and head towards Jade or at least bring her here. But, there was no success to it.
"We understand but try not to make a scene." Rarity suggested. "We have no idea what this place has in store for us. After all, if there is an Indigo Alliance Member somewhere here, then...I'm not sure what they would do. Prince Shooting Star did say they were dangerous though."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Emerald shifted her eyes away from Rarity.
"Xew...?" Axew then felt something due to his draconic senses. His ear twitched as he knew something was off. He felt it coming from the left. Right through one of the windows of the casino, a small but fast and strong ray of Rift Magic phased through without causing any damage.
And this ray was aimed straight at Rarity. Axew acted fast as he transformed into Haxorus in a flash, getting in front of Rarity. "Xorus!" The Axe Jaw Pokemon then put his arms out, acting as a shield for Rarity.
He ended up taking the ray of Rift Magic himself. And to his surprise, not even his hard armoured body could fully withstand it as the ray struck his chest. Haxorus' eye widened as he not only staggered from receiving a powerful hit but he had also been poisoned.
"Haxorus!" Spike gasped as Rarity backed away. Everyone gasped after seeing Haxorus' transformation.
"H-Hax...!" Haxorus growled as he almost fell on his back. He managed to regain his balance, however, the Dragon-Type started breathing in and out due to the poison. The goal was to try and poison Rarity with an unseeable and swift ray. But it had struck someone else.
Cold Colt and Rarity had looked over to see the ponies that had done this. They had also spotted Spike before they rushed off after being caught. Haxorus got on his knee with Spike tending to him. He took out an Antidote in his bag for this solution.
"There are some suspects!" Rarity cried out as she instantly pursued the seven pegasi. Haxorus' poison wound had been sprayed by the Antidote. Haxorus' potentially lethal injury had been wiped away like that.
"Xorus..."
"You okay, pal?" Spike asked.
"H-Hax." Even after being healed from the poison, the staggering effect of the ray still had Haxorus a bit uneasy. But he would manage as he stood up tall for Spike and everyone's sake. "Haxorus!"
"Awesome!" Spike hopped onto Haxorus' back. "Now let's get those guys!"
"Haxo!" Haxorus roared before running off and carrying Spike. Emerald Aura quickly chased after them as all. They now had suspects within their sights. Anyone attempting to take them out specifically would obviously be a part of the Indigo Alliance.
Rarity had the seven ponies in sight after reaching the second floor that they were on. The ponies looked behind to see Rarity chasing after them with a determined face. That's when they realized that they easily outnumber her.
"Hey wait a minute. Why are we running from her? Get her!" A pegasus stopped, ordering an attack on Rarity. And once more, they used the Rift Magic instead of their own magic.
The use of the Rift Magic this time had formed a large wall of steel with the intent to fall and crush Rarity. The wall took up most of the room with its size as it started falling.
"Pheromosa, go!" Rarity had an answer to this. By throwing the Poke Ball with her magic, out came the Lissome Pokemon, Pheromosa.
"Pheromosa!" Once she emerged, Pheromosa kicked the steel wall into millions of pieces with just a single hit. The ponies gasped to see such sheer strength come from this tall and bizarre-looking creature. Pheromosa kicked away some of the metal shards away from Rarity once they started falling.
"That's some strength..." One pegasus gasped.
"Yeah...But can she deal with the strongest metal we have? I bet they can't break through Dynasite!" Another pegasus grinned as he had one more trick to try. By using the Rift Magic, he ended up summoning what was the strongest metal in all of Pegalysium. And this time, it was in the form of long cylinders.
This material known as Dynasite had a somewhat transparent, mirrorlike substance that was teal. This mystical material had a slick texture in solid form. Their own unique metal that seemingly exists in just Pegalysium. The Dynasite cylinders were sent flying towards Pheromosa at high speed.
"Triple Kick!" Rarity commanded.
"Pheromo!" After kicking the last shard away, Pheromosa went on to attack the incoming cylinders with a series of just three kicks. However, once she threw the first kick on the first cylinder, it did not break at all. Not only that, but Pheromosa winced as she did not expect to feel sudden pain from making contact with this material. "Mo?!"
Pheromosa cried out as she managed to kick away the first cylinder, but barely. It had injured her foot. Due to this injury, she had been hit by the other cylinders. And that wasn't good for her fragile and supple body. "Phero!"
"Pheromosa!" Rarity gasped as her partner had been knocked back. The cylinders dropped to the floor, causing a loud sound and shaking the floor. Pheromosa had gone flying through the window, falling to the first floor afterwards.
She fell onto a pool table as everypony started wondering what was going on. Panic was starting to build up. It started with Haxorus and now Pheromosa.
After seeing how not even Pheromosa's amazing strength could shatter the Dynasite, the obvious solution was just to constantly use that form of metal. And so it was. Another Dynasite cylinder was thrown towards Rarity to try and crush her.
Rarity gasped as she tried using her magic to hold the metal. But it was too heavy for her to hold. Luckily, she wouldn't have to fret. Along came Haxorus, acting as a shield once more.
"Hax!" Haxorus roared before grabbing the Dynasite cylinder. Upon grabbing it, he slid on the floor, surprised by its amazing weight. Haxous staggered as his hard armoured body was able to withstand the metal. But it was still potent. "X-Xo...!"
The pegasi saw how resilient the group was being as Cold and Emerald were making their way here. To try and end them quickly, they used the wall trick once more. But this time, not only with Dynasite but also with multiple layers of them. Multiple walls of Dynasite were stacked together in a straight line before being tipped over.
"Haxo?!"
"Oh!" Cold gasped as he came to a screeching halt in front of this odd material. Haxorus looked up to try and hold the walls in place by using all of his strength. Rarity hid behind Haxorus for safety as the walls came tumbling down. Emerald showed up and right as she did, the walls were already close.
"Haxorus!" Haxorus held the first wall of Dynasite with his arms up. But then, along came the second one, landing on the first wall, adding a layer. This added to the weight, forcing Haxorus to put more muscle into it. Emerald Aura saw the third layer fall with Haxorus' knee dropping to the floor. "X-Xo!"
"No way you're holding all of those together!" Emerald exclaimed as she was ready to use her Rift Magic to deal with this material. With her horn glowing, the pegasi felt the Rift energy within them react. That was a sign that Emerald Aura was also a Rift Pony.
"She's one as well!"
"Two won't hurt. The Grand Judge will love this!" One pegasus saw an easy opportunity to have two Rift Ponies. He used his Rift Magic, shooting out a stream of what seemed to be sleeping smoke. It was just as wide as the Dynasite walls too.
"Huh?" Emerald noticed the arrival of the sleeping smoke coming this way. Her focus on the wall had been dropped with shock and realization coming to her face. But before she could react. Along came Cold Colt, doing what Haxorus did and using himself as a shield.
Not only did he protect Emerald, but he also used his Rift Magic to create a wind pressure, blowing away the smoke. However, this sudden attack of smoke gave the Dynasite wall all the time in the world to fall. Every last layer. Haxorus' knees were all down as each of the walls broke the floor apart.
Haxorus and everyone fell while he kept holding the walls. Despite the multiple layers, Haxorus would not let go just for the safety of his friends. As the second floor shattered, panic ensued as everyone on the first floor started running and flying for their lives. This one casino room was coming down on them.
Pheromosa looked up to see everything falling as well. She saw everyone was in danger and wouldn't be able to leave the casino in time with this destruction coming their way.
"Phero!" To save everyone, Pheromosa used her amazing speed to her advantage. The Indigo Alliance Members looked down as they quickly flew off. They felt like their job was done. And the last thing they saw was the massive layers of Dynasite walls crashing down onto the first floor, covering it entirely.
"That should it. That's a few of them out of the picture." A member said.
"Wait till the Grand Judge hears about this tonight." They truly felt like the job had been done. Nothing could be seen on the first floor since the Dynasite walls were in the way. They had essentially replaced the first floor.
The Indigo Alliance truly show little remorse for safety and harming others just to have a job done. And with Rift Magic, the dangers they bring are even greater than before as seen by this damaged casino. The rescue of Jade Skie was just beginning as the journey continues.
One of the casinos in Big Sky had been damaged. Due to an attack by the Indigo Alliance that wasn't as sneaky as they were hoping for. Their goal was to try and take out Rarity and Spike. Anyone that was friends of Jade. They had used the strongest metallic substance in their nation known as Dynasite. And it was effective.
Multiple layers of Dynasite walls had destroyed the floors of the casino, causing a panic. Seemingly, everyone within the casino had been crushed by these Dynasite walls. The members called it a job well done, seemingly believing Rarity and the others had perished.
However, that wasn't the case.
"H-Haxo..." Haxorus had lifted the walls. He had originally held up the Dynasite walls to try and save his friends. The metal was hard. Even for him. But, he managed to hold it up because of one reason. Emerald Aura. She had used magic in the last second to strengthen Haxorus' muscles.
Afterwards, having a lot of time to breathe more, Jade had removed the walls by using her Rift Magic to wipe them out, freeing Haxorus of the stress. Not only that, but Pheromosa successfully saved everyone. By using her great speed, she got everypony out of the casino thanks to Haxorus and Emerald holding back the walls.
"Geez...That was too close." Spike sighed. "Are you okay, Haxorus?"
"Xorus."
"Oh...Thank you so much." One of the pegasi who was being carried by Pheromosa thanked the Lissome Pokemon. They all did. Their lives had just been saved by the most unusual creatures they've ever seen.
"Mosa.
"What was that metal? Not even Pheromosa could shatter it." Rarity wondered.
"That was Dynasite." A pegasus said. "The hardest material here on Pegalysium. But usually, there's never this much in one spot. Well...except for maybe with the Royal Guard and Army."
"Those Indigo jerks," Emerald growled. "Trying to get us out of the picture so we can't reach Jade at all."
"At least we were near some of them," said Cold. He realized that he had some scratches on him after everything fell apart. His mane was a mess as he shook the rubble off.
The law of Pegalysium came over to see what all of this carnage was about. Apart from the royal guard, Pegalysium has another separate force of law in the form of a sheriff and deputies.
"What happened here?" The sheriff of this area looked around. "Who did this?"
"That's our cue to leave," Emerald whispered to Cold.
"But we can tell them that the Indigo Alliance was-" Cold was about to give a suggestion, only for Emerald to shake her head and interrupt him.
"Squirt. They don't believe in that stuff, remember? No point in trying to convince them at all. Unless they see them in their robes or something, they're just a myth to them."
"Okay..." Cold pouted. It was time for the group to leave. However, they didn't leave without anything. The pegasi here knew of how they had saved their lives. For that, they were very grateful to Rarity's friends. However, they weren't ready to leave just yet.
"Hold on." Rarity stepped up as all of the attention was drawn towards her. "Just a quick plea. If we return here, there's a chance that those ponies might attack us again. In the same area or perhaps somewhere."
"Wait. You're being attacked? By who?" The sheriff came over as it was his duty to investigate scenarios such as this. "Tell us the names and we'll get right on it."
"Oh. Well you see, a friend of ours has been taken." Rarity started explaining. "Her name is Jade Skies. She's a pegasus of a jade colour. Slightly similar to my friend back there." She nudged her head over to Emerald.
"We're not friends." Emerald Aura replied, shutting down Rarity's words.
"The rest of my friends are out searching for her. She's been taken by-" Rarity then scrunched her face, knowing that no one would buy the whole Indigo Alliance thing. So, she decided to improvise. A way for the law to get involved in all of this as a smile met her face. "Well, a group of unknown ponies. They attacked us this morning and even just recently in this casino. Poor Haxorus almost suffered from poison."
"Haxo." Haxorus nodded while Spike patting his leg.
"Most likely, the same will happen over and over again until we are out of the picture, sheriff."
"I understand. Someponies are out there trying to get you. We'll keep a good eye on the rest of Pegalysium for any odd happenings. But in the meantime take this." The sheriff then pulled something out of his seemingly oversized saddlebag.
Out of his bag emerged one of these communication shells. However, his seemed to have a distinct appearance to it. It had a mirror-like substance instead of the shell substance that the rest of them have. "Oh my. What is this?"
"Our lawful shell alert. We only give it out to those that need protecting. With this, if you're ever in danger, just speak into the shell and the alert over at our department will sound off. Don't worry. I've got a ton of deputies all across Pegalysium who'll rush to your aid."
"This is...perfect! Thank you so much!" Rarity shook the hoof of the sheriff.
"But your name. We need to know who you are so that we can come for you."
"Rarity is the name, darling. Alright, you all." Rarity then turned to her friends. "Let's get going. Hopefully, we're closer to Jade. And I believe I have a plan to force those hooligans out."
"It doesn't involve anypony being harmed, does it?" The sheriff asked.
"Not at all. Jade. Cold. Can you two do something for me quickly?"
East of Pegalysium.
Meanwhile, over at the east, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie had ended up here due to the wind streams. Unlike everyone else, they didn't come across a city or town. Instead, they found themselves in one of the more unique areas in Pegalysium. Then again, everything here in Pegalysium is unique.
They had found themselves in possibly one of the largest caves they'll ever see. And within that cave, it was all covered with Pegalysium's unique gemstones. These Gemstones had the texture and glow of magma. As if they were on fire.
"What kind of gemstones are these?" Rainbow Dash went over to the gemstones with her face near one. Once her face was close, she could feel herself becoming warm. Out of curiosity, she poked the crystal with her hoof. Upon contact, she felt a burn, causing her to pull back. "Ow!"
"Cast!" And surprisingly, Castform reacted to the heat of this gemstone as well, entering his Sunny Form.
"This stuff is hot!" She blew on her hoof. "What's up with these?"
"Kinda looks like magma." Applejack observed. "Probably as hot as it too."
"That's gotta be hard to grab and keep." The pegasus pouted before flying away from the gemstones. Then again, they were mostly everywhere. "Pinkie Pie. Slurpuff. Got something yet?"
"Slurpuff's hot on the trail. Just gotta keep going north." Pinkie Pie answered while Slurpuff led the way. North was a long way from here. And there didn't seem to be any faster means of getting to their needed location. The islands were further apart from each other due to the member using Rift Magic. Getting to Jade was taking longer than they wanted.
By advancing through the cave and seeing these magma-like crystals light it up, they came across a part of the cave where the entire ground was nothing but these crystals. As if there was a sea of them.
"What's up with this?!" Rainbow Dash bellowed. "There's a whole area with these crystals?"
"Ain't no way we're walking through those. Sceptile, get to swinging." Applejack looked to her partner.
"Sceptile."
"Just use those fake wings Cold gave you." Rainbow Dash spread her wings, ascending into the air. They had easy solutions to this predicament. This didn't seem like a threat at all. Until...
"Slur!"
"Wait! Slurpuff senses something..." Pinkie halted everyone as Slurpuff's nose was picking up on something new. And it wasn't the gemstones.
The Meringue Pokemon sniffed out the area around her, wondering what she was sensing. After a few seconds, she picked up two familiar scents. The first ended up being the gemstones but with a different kind of scent. And the second was something unfamiliar. Slurpuff then deduced that other ponies were within here.
But not friendly ones.
Right above Rainbow Dash's group, just on the higher part of the cave, Indigo Alliance Members could be seen. Yet again, they had found the targets they were looking for as they spoke through their communication shell.
"Grand Judge. We've found more of Jade Skies' friends down below. All of them are still in one piece." A member spoke to Second Wind through the shell.
"Good. Unfortunately for them, all across Pegalysium, we have eyes everywhere. Our ancestors truly did an amazing job making sure that nopony would be able to escape the sight of the Indigo Alliance. Deal with them at once."
"Yes, Grand Judge." The member replied. Indeed, the Indigo Alliance seemed to always appear at the right moment when searching for their targets. And there was a reason, a disturbing and eerie reason for that.
Within the corners of the caves, hiding within and behind the gemstones were these ominous red spheres. The spheres seemed to resemble that of eyes. Even having a darker red circle in the middle to mimic an iris. In a sense, they were like spy cameras but with a magical aesthetic.
After finishing the call, the Indigo Alliance took action. They already had something planned but they just needed confirmation from Second Wind. At their disposal, they had a large cauldron of magma. The same magma that was identical to the gemstones. This was all smelted from those magma-like gemstones.
They got to work, utilizing the massive cauldron as they poured all of the magma within it through one of the crevices of this cave. But not only did the magma start flowing through, but it also reacted to the gemstones.
The Indigo Alliance Members made a run for it as they already knew the situation was about to become less than pleasing. The magma destructively reacted to the stones. Once one drop of magma connected with the gemstone, it exploded, causing a burst of magma to emerge.
This only made more magma start flowing. The plan was to drown and destroy them in a sea of magma. And with so many gemstones around, that sea was possible.
"Puff...Slurpuff!" Slurpuff then gasped before warning everyone of the impending disaster that was heading their way.
"What is it, Slur-" Just as Pinkie Pie was about to ask, bursting through the walls of the cave was a destructive sea of magma caused by the elemental reaction. An abundance of magma that was almost on par with a volcano met with them whilst moving at great speeds.
"Woah! Woah!" Rainbow Dash gasped as her quick instincts prompted her to fly off. Mew and Spinda popped out of Pinkie Pie's mane, witnessing the arriving magma whilst Pinkie and Slurpuff also made a run for it.
"Mew?!"
Spinda?!"
Sceptile grabbed Applejack before using his vines to swing out of here. However, it wasn't just one side. Multiple sides had magma bursting out due to the abundance of stones. The incoming magma reacted to the stones on the ground and walls, worsening the situation.
An overflow of magma erupted while also causing an outburst after the reaction. An outburst so great that it made the cave shake. Sceptile's vine had been burned away due to the stones. They were even strong enough to burn off Sceptile's vines due to their heat. There was too much magma everywhere, making it difficult to escape. And Mew knew this.
"Mew...!" So, to save his friends, Mew would try casting a massive barrier around them. They had all been given a wonderfully large barrier that had shielded them all. And with great timing. The magma had crashed onto the barrier as everyone was safe within it.
"Thanks, Mew!" Pinkie Pie thanked him.
"Mew-Mew!" Mew raised his arm as everyone was safely guided out of the cave. They knew where they entered before. And even with the overflow of magma, the barrier negated it.
Everyone successfully left the cave without a scratch on them. As for the cave, the amount of magma had destroyed parts of it with destructive fury. However, due to the cave being so massive, not much had been destroyed.
Mew had lowered the barrier once everyone was safe as they watched the magma fill up the cave. They had witnessed the dangers of this cave and how the stones only added to that danger. They weren't sure how the magma had started, however.
"Well...now what?" Applejack asked. "This cave here's the last part of this island up north. I don't see any other islands with clouds up ahead."
"I didn't see that coming." Pinkie sighed before having her ears drop. She sat on the ground with a pout. "Now we're just stalling for Jade..."
"Mew." Mew felt Pinkie Pie's sadness as he, Slurpuff and Spinda hugged her face for comfort. Pinkie smiled afterwards. Despite all of these delays, she had faith and hope that they would get Jade back.
Now, they had to find another way to go up north. Slurpuff was still picking up Jade's scent from that direction. Their trip was long but rigorous. Sceptile got up the tree to see where the rest of the islands were if they wanted to continue north.
"Scep?" However, as he stood on the tree, that's when noticed something stunning and shocking just at the west of this area. The Indigo Alliance Members were nearby. They had escaped from the cave right before the magma started overflowing and were still within the vicinity. "Tile! Sceptile!"
"What is it, partner?!" Applejack asked as Sceptile used his vines to bring her up. There, Applejack saw them too. Indigo Alliance Members. Right ahead. "There they are!"
"Hm?" The members heard the shout of Applejack before swivelling around. Indeed, their plan to drown and burn them in magma failed thanks to Mew. And what's worse, now they knew of their existence. Soon, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie had spotted them as well. "Oh!"
After being found, they made the conscious decision to fly off as fast as they could. They couldn't afford to be caught by any means. But Pinkie and the others wouldn't let them do so.
"Oh, no you don't!" Rainbow Dash growled before taking off like a rocket. She caused a shockwave from the speed she was moving at as Sceptile used his vines to swing from tree to tree.
Mew transformed himself into a Garchomp, allowing Pinkie, Spinda and Slurpuff to get on his back. They were all heading for those members with more than questions being lined up.
It didn't matter how fast the Indigo Alliance Members flew. No pegasus can outpace Rainbow Dash. As demonstrated by how she passed by them. The superior pegasus then stopped right in front of them, forcing the members to halt in place.
"Aha!" She cried out, startling the members. "You guys aren't going anywhere!"
"H-How did she-" One perplexed member looked behind her, wondering how Rainbow Dash could move that fast in just a few seconds flat.
"Oh, that speed is just unfair!" Another member gulped as Applejack and the others were approaching. Their escape had been delayed due to Rainbow Dash's speed. The other members felt like this would be a tight spot. But one member had an answer for this.
"You morons! We have them here, we can still get rid of them!" She exclaimed. She saw an opportunity to get rid of Rainbow Dash and the others to erase their chances of seeing Jade ever again. They had relied on the Rift Magic like the others. It was the way to go for magic aside from their own.
For this usage, the Rift Ponies decided to use the magma from the cave to their advantage. Even from a great distance, Rift Magic allowed them to affect it from afar. Bursting out of the cave was a stream of magma as caused by the gemstones within it.
And the stream wasn't directed towards Rainbow Dash. But to her friends. A massive monsoon of magma came flying in, threatening to rain down on Pinkie and the others.
"Oh! Guys!" Rainbow Dash gasped as she was about to take off, crying towards her friends. But, this was part of the alliance's plan. To put Rainbow's friends in danger.
Because after she noticed the magma approaching, the Rift Magic had been used once more. This time, in the form of the wid currents being changed. Just like before and how everyone got into this mess. Rainbow Dash's flying was thrown off balance as she was pushed back by the wind currents, falling into a cloud lake with a huge splash.
"What do we do about that?!" Pinkie Pie screeched as she and the others witnessed the ridiculous amount of magma coming towards them.
"Garchomp!" The transformed Mew had used the barrier trick once more to shield his friends. Just like before, the barrier protected them from the magma stream.
"Hm." One of the members saw this barrier, knowing that it would just get in the way. "Some of you deal with the rainbow one. We'll take care of those ponies."
The members worked in unison. One side would focus on Pinkie Pie and the others while the rest would deal with Rainbow Dash. And speaking of Rainbow Dash, she held her breath within the cloud lake. It was just like ordinary water except with clouds after all.
The pegasus knew she had to save her friends before they're scorched and melted away. But before she could fly out of the cloud lake, one of the alliance members had used Rift Magic to summon the hardest material in Pegalysium.
Dynasite, of course.
Massive cubes of Dynasite came crashing down through the water, threatening to crush Rainbow Dash. The multi-coloured maned mare gasped while holding her breath as she quickly swam away from the incoming cubes.
The cubes slammed onto the bottom of this lake, creating visible and fairly large craters. But that was to be expected considering how strong this substance was. Strong enough to even give powerful Pokemon like Haxorus and Pheromosa trouble.
More kept flying down as Rainbow Dash wasn't exactly the best when it came to underwater. She was an air pony at her absolute best, not a sea one. Castform came out of the saddlebag, trying to use Weather Ball to melt this metal. Unfortunately, that required him to breathe.
While the water allowed him to shift into his Rainy Form, this form did not grant him the ability to breathe underwater. Thus, Castform was unable to use any moves for this situation as he rushed back inside Rainbow Dash's saddlebag. But there was one Pokemon who could perform well underwater without being a Water-Type.
Whirlipede.
Due to his mouth being hidden through his hard, segmented shell, not needing any mouth-based moves and having high mobility, Whirlipede could work well here. He emerged from his Poke Ball by himself after sensing Rainbow Dash's call for help.
"Whirlipede!" Whirlipede cried out before using Steamroller. The Curlipede Pokemon rolled through the lake itself, heading straight for one of the cubes with the aim to ram it. Or even shatter it. Depends on which one happens as Rainbow Dash encouraged her partner.
However, she then experienced Whirlipede failing to do so as the cube overpowered him. Whirlipede was knocked back with even his shell being damaged.
"W-Whirl!"
"Mm-mm-m!" Rainbow Dash cried out for Whirlipede while still holding her breath. As she faced her partner, Whirlipede noticed how an array of cubes were coming towards his trainer and Castform. What's worse was that Rainbow Dash couldn't hold her breath for long. She was already showing signs of struggling.
"Pede!" Whirlipede couldn't allow any harm towards Rainbow Dash. He knew that he wasn't strong enough to break the Dynasite. But, he could certainly save his friends. By using Steamroller once more, Whirlipede moved at breakneck speeds through the water, tackling Rainbow Dash as he knocked her away.
"Mm!?"
Whirlipede saved Rainbow Dash while also saving himself thanks to his speed. He also knocked Rainbow Dash out of the water, allowing her to breathe.
"Gah!" Rainbow Dash gasped for air before flailing her hooves underwater. Whirlipede burst out of the water with grace as the Indigo Alliance members looked up at the Curlipede Pokemon.
"Whirli!" Whirlipede then spotted those that would harm his friends. To show some payback, the Bug-Poison-Type rolled through the air, smashing into one of the members at full force.
"Oof!" He cried out before being forced onto the ground by Whirlipede's impact. Rainbow Dash flew out of the water, ascending above them members.
"You guys are gonna pay for that! Castform, Weather Ball, go!"
"Form!" Out came Castform, this time transforming into his Sunny Form. By opening his mouth and gathering the power of the sun, the Weather Pokemon unleashed an orb of fire from his mouth.
And this time, the pegasi relied on their usual magic, not thinking too much of Weather Ball as they used a shield. Castform's Weather Ball struck the shields, shattering them instantly as the members were then knocked back by the explosion.
As for Applejack and the others, the barrier that Mew made was being constantly attacked by an array of magma. Seeing that the magma didn't work, the members chose to use Dynasite themselves in the form of rods.
The rods pelted onto the barrier as they were showing significant effects. Mew's barrier was stronger. But the metal known as Dynasite was also strong and capable of being even with seemingly anything.
Coupled with the magma streams, Mew's barrier wouldn't last for long as he was struggling to keep them up while flying as a Garchomp."
"G-Gar!"
"Hang in there, Mew! Just until we get to them!"
"Just break already!" The Indigo Alliance member bellowed increasing the intensity, putting extra pressure on Mew's barrier. Sceptile himself was struggling to swing from tree to tree at this rate. The barrier had also covered the trees to allow Sceptile for mobility.
Mew's barrier started cracking as his concentration was being dropped with each passing second. His transformation as Garchomp was also starting to give out as the New Species Pokemon held his breath.
The Indigo Alliance members laughed as they saw how their methods were working. So, they continued to intensify it as much as they want. But that's when something shocking happened.
"!" Without warning, they had all felt their bodies tremble. Their hooves were shaking, suddenly feeling heavy as their knees were also weak. "W-What's happening?!"
Interrupted by surprise, each of the Indigo Alliance members couldn't understand the change in circumstances. That is until one of them figured out why this was the case.
"The Rift Magic is...too much..." She said as she and the others suddenly passed out. Indeed, they couldn't fully handle Rift Magic due to how tremendous it was. Using so much of only did them in. They all fell to the ground, unconscious as Rainbow Dash and the others witnessed this happen.
That's one way to win.
The group had landed, meeting up with Rainbow Dash, Castform and Whirlipede. They stood above the passed out ponies and how their bodies failed to sustain the Rift Energy.
"Ooh...So they can't handle Rift Magic that much, can they?" Rainbow Dash said. "Well, that's good to know."
"Now that we've got 'em we can ask 'em where's Jade. W-When they wake up." Applejack spoke. "Sceptile, tie 'em up."
"Sceptile."
They would have to wait for them to awake. However, now they had some members that they can interrogate. This was a sign that they could possibly be getting close to Jade. Hopefully. And with this knowledge on how Rift Magic can be overwhelming was major news to pass on.
Universe 28. The Empress' spare palace. Laboratory. Day.
Meanwhile, over at the lab, Premium Polish's body kept building magic for the Magical Unite without any interruptions. The trap for Celestia and the others had been sprung when they eventually arrive here. And at the same time, the one Canterlot Guard was still being locked up with attempts to convert him.
All seem uninterrupted within this castle. That is until a gateway opened up. But not within the castle. Underneath it. Even in this universe, despite the ages that have passed, the Canterlot Mines still exist.
The numerous Princess Celestia's, Luna's and Cadence's had arrived here to rescue the filly. All with a unified plan in store as they walked through the gateway.
"Eugh. Can't believe I'm seeing this place again." An alternate universe Cadence said as her other selves agreed.
"Let's not waste any time. We know what to do." Universe One's Celestia spoke to everyone. "Our priority is getting Premium back and that's it. Plus, we can also count on you since you're an expert on retrieving." Celestia turned around to one other individual.
This individual wasn't a pony. But a human. Someone she could rely on and was essentially the catalyst for their victory during the invasion.
Pokemon Ranger Jackie.
"You can count on me, princess." He gave a proud smile with a grin as his Chatot named Casey was on his shoulder.
Celestia, Luna, their alternate universe selves and the alternate Cadence's joined by Pokemon Ranger Jackie had arrived to rescue Premium Polish.
They had a plan that they were aiming to perfectly execute. No wasting time or shortcuts. They had already used the duplication spell to create fake copies of themselves with the Shift Stone. Once they arrived here via a gateway, Empress Twilight felt it.
Just like what Emerald Aura said. Those that have a semblance of Rift Magic can sense when some of it is being used. And with the Empress being able to open gateways, that was the case.
"They're here." Empress Twilight said with a malicious smirk. Her trap had already been completed since yesterday. Speaking of yesterday, only 5 days remain until the Magical Unite is fully complete.
To enter the palace without being seen was also a difficult task. Especially if they emerge out of the Canterlot Mines. That would just raise suspicion even more. But there was an answer to that. The duplicates immediately used the Shift Stone, turning into different ponies. Some turned into troops of the Empress' side while others disguised themselves as weapons for the troops.
"Hm. Clever." Celestia approved of the improvisation as she would have her own way of entering the palace. "Alright. Go on ahead."
The duplicates left the mines with the real troops witnessing this. They weren't sure why some of their forces were underneath there. Not much left in the Cantertlot Mines after all. But to fully blend in, Universe One's Luna's disguised herself in the best possible way.
By becoming a stone statue. The other disguised Celestia's pulled the statued Luna within one of the minecarts that reside here in the mines.
"Princess Luna?!" The troops gasped, seeing her being carried. "How did you get her in this state?!"
"She came through the Canterlot Mines by using a gateway.." The fake troop replied. "Surprisingly, she appeared as stone when she came through. What do you want us to do with her?"
"If she's stone, then the Empress has a spell that can reverse this. She'll want Luna's magic. Take her to the throne room."
"Will do." The fake troop nodded as they had clarity. This was their way into the palace. A simple yet effective method to get in. They carried the frozen Luna while Luna herself gave a conscious Yes in her mind.
As for Jackie, he had a different approach to entering the palace. One downside for Jackie was that there weren't that many Pokemon in this universe. Only a few via the Umbrage Thieves and the Empress' drive to utilize Pokemon as much as she can. But, if he can get to those Pokemon, then some interesting scenarios would take place.
Darkrai himself was prepared for this as well. The shadows were his friends in this. Even though it wasn't nightfall, the sun could still give off shadows to individuals, allowing for the Pitch Black Pokemon to get creative.
Within the palace, it was heavily guarded. All for Premium Polish and of course, Celestia's arrival. Eyes were being watched from each are. High or low.
While frozen, Luna used the telepathy spell to speak with Celestia even in this state. "Sister. The layout of this castle is still the same despite its massive appearance. Much like the one in the Empress' main universe."
"I see. Then just stick the routes you know and vice-versa. If they came for Premium Polish, then obviously, there's something important about her. They wouldn't keep her in the dungeon if that was the case."
Luna had been brought into the castle by the fake troops. So far, nothing had been suspected. This trap that Empress Twilight made had yet to reveal itself. The Celestia's carried Luna without acting too unusual. Although, walking in a smaller body than they were used to felt strange.
As they walked by, they saw many guards were marching along. The sounds of their hoofsteps echoed with intimidation. Luna herself was a bit nervous about this. If there is a slip-up, they would be caught within problems that they would rather not be a part of.
When walking through the palace, Luna looked through the windows while being still. There, she saw the various laboratories within this palace. In these labs, animals from Equestria and the creatures of Everfree were being experimented on to create greater forces for the Empress.
Similar to what Fluttershy had seen in the Empress' main universe during the invasion. The sight horrified Luna and the others, but they had to press on and rescue Premium Polish.
Jackie on the other hand was taking the lower option. He was planning on using the underground of Canterlot to emerge out of it. Granted, he didn't have the right Pokemon for this situation, like a Ground or Rock-Type. But he was skilled enough to adapt.
He started burrowing his way through the ground as fast as he could. Since this was still Canterlot and he's been here before, Jackie knows his directions.
"The lowest part of this whole place is that dungeon. We'll start there and work our way up." Jackie said, burrowing while having the Shift Stone ready for usage.
"Tot! Work our way up!" And Chatot repeated.
Darkrai hid in the shadows, undetected so far. He used the shadows to enter the palace, only sticking to the shadows of multiple ponies and occasionally the corner. Mostly where the sun rays don't shine.
But Darkrai wouldn't just move in the shadows. Some Dark Void shenanigans were due. The Pitch Black Pokemon appeared on the second floor, hiding behind two guards. He used Dark Vod, popping his claws out of the shadows and gabbing the faces of the guards.
"Mm!" The guards gasped as they were immediately put to sleep via a black orb. They dropped to the floor instantly, dozing off with nightmares inbound.
"Hey!" Another guard came by as Darkrai returned to the shadows. "No sleeping on the job!" He yelled at them, but they wouldn't respond. Dark Void wouldn't let them wake up until the nightmare was over. And they can last a while.
Over at the throne room, the Empress sat on her throne, waiting for Celestia and the others to arrive. She was also waiting for the Magical Unite to eventually finish for her multiversal reign. As for Skyblue Shine, she wanted to take a moment by getting outside. Being inside the palace where her daughter was being used made her uncomfortable.
"I just need some fresh air, Empress." She said with a lower tone than usual before heading for the door.
"You're an android. Why would you need air at all? But if you wish to head out, then at least take under another mission with your team."
"Yes?" The android turned around.
"Tempest is busy tracking Luster Dawn so she won't assist you at the moment. But, I want you to do two things. Head to the Pokemon World and find this Sea Temple that Daybreaker spoke of. Including its region. And...head to Pegalysium. See what you can gather there."
"Yes, Empress. But...can I have some time first?"
"Fine. A day but then afterwards, you'll set out on your mission. Tempest will join you eventually." With that approval, Skyblue Shine left the room. In truth, she just wanted to take a break away from anything involving her daughter. Especially considering that she captured her.
She needed some time to think things over. Especially with what Daybreaker said to her. Those words were still ringing in her. At the moment, she wanted to head over to the Universe One. It had some tranquil areas. And even if she was now an enemy of that universe and especially wanted, it had become a second home to her.
But as she walked off, heading towards the balcony, she noticed something through the windows. The carriage with Luna and the fake troops could be seen. Skyblue Shine narrowed her eyes, surprised that a captured Luna was here.
She heard nothing about any attacks on any Luna's out there. In fact, the Empress hadn't been anywhere as of recently. She had been here yesterday after all.
"That's odd." She said before approaching one of the guards. "You there. Was there any order to head for another universe out there? To capture a random Princess Luna?"
"No, Mrs Skyblue Shine. But apparently, that Luna was found in the Canterlot mines after arriving here with a gateway She was already stone once she showed up." The guard answered.
"Just randomly?"
"Just randomly." He nodded in repeat and confirmation. That's when Skyblue Shine gained suspicions. Unless they had an ally assisting in Empress Twilight's cause or something else. Her fast-acting android brain thought of another possibility.
Celestia's group had already reached here. To test it herself, Skyblue Shine decided to approach the fake troops carrying the petrified statue of Luna. With teleportation, of course.
By using teleportation, she appeared in front of them in an instant, startling the group. "Oh!"
"That statue. Where did you find it?" She questioned immediately.
"The Canterlot Mi-"
"I know that." She interrupted. "But from who? If a gateway appeared, that means someone must've summoned it and brought her here. Did you look through?"
"Uh...w-well-" One of the disguised Cadence had no response for this. They weren't sure what excuse they could make for this question. Until one of the Luna's had something in mind. Something simple yet effective.
"Well...there is a chance that this is a trap by Universe One." She answered as the others gulped, wondering what she was up to. Even the statue was getting nervous.
"A trap?"
"Mhm. This Luna might just be a construct instead of the real one. Much like the Trojan Horse used years ago before Equestria was founded."
"Of course. The Trojan Horse trick." Skyblue Shine nodded as Luna had her right where she wanted her. The other Luna's, Cadences and Celestia's caught on as they nodded as well. That's when they all collectively had an idea.
One of the Celestia's used her magic to communicate with another Celestia from afar. "Try this. How about we send them on a wild goose chase?"
And with that message, the other Celestia nodded in understanding. She was currently standing outside of the palace, not doing much. But now was her time to act as she sent a message towards the three duplicated Celestia's and Luna's. A new plan had been sprung as the other Celestia decided to raise her voice.
"Hm? Hey!" She cried out, alerting the other guards. "Over there! The three princesses!"
Three duplicated Celestia's Luna's and Cadence's would be the bait. They showed themselves out in public to the city of Canterlot, grabbing the attention of every guard in sight. Not only that, but a few other duplicates had utilized the Shift Stone, transforming themselves into Passion, Arcanine and Darkrai for extra detail.
The Empress even heard this as she stood up from her throne. She immediately went to the balcony for a better view. And indeed, she saw the sight of the pony she hated the most. Celestia.
"Celestia..." She snarled as the duplicate Celestia looked up at the Empress. "I would've expected you to be a bit more stealthy about this. But then again, you and your world are known for being rowdy."
"Twilight. I don't know why you need Premium Polish. But she's coming back with us." Celestia replied.
"Premium Polish is staying here. For something great. Something she was destined for. Which fulfils what I wish for without a doubt. Of course, I don't expect you to understand."
"She's just a child!" Luna exclaimed.
"Right. But she's an android. And I built her for a reason! Not to frolic around with ponies and Pokemon for the rest of her life. No, no, no. Besides, once her purpose is done, you won't even know what hit you."
"Hm?" Celestia raised her eyebrow.
"However, now that you're here...I can take all the magic away from you as I wished to before. Including the ones from your Boundless Cutie Mark! After them!" The Empress spread her wings out as the order to capture Celestia, Luna and Cadence were made.
The citizens hid inside their homes while the guards and troops all rushed off to capture Celestia and Luna. They geared themselves up considering they were not only going up against alicorns but also ones that had Pokemon by their side.
The bait had been sprung. And the original Celesta, Luna and Cadence's were proud of their duplicates as tears fell from their eyes. Now they could move across the palace without much worry.
As for the clones, one good hit and they would end up disappearing. Much like a Double Team clone. So, to sustain their existence, they had two approaches that they would utilize.
Swap out themselves for other duplicates as fast as they can and the current one, blowing a hole through the ground. Which is exactly what the Celestia duplicate did. By using its weaker magic, the clone blasted through the ground, making a large hole for something so weak. That Boundless Cutie Mark sure is useful.
The duplicates then masked themselves in the smoke by using the Shift Stone to become clouds of smoke, flying into the hole with greater speed. This was a well-placed distraction for Celestia's side as the chase had begun.
Pegalysium. West. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, over at Pegalysium, Ash's group had arrived west, hoping to get closer to Jade. But in truth, they weren't close to her at all. At the moment, they stood on a group of islands, not seeing anything of worth nearby.
"No. Nothing here." Ash shook his head. "Where do we go now?"
"She said west. But we've been going for a while now. Do you know where we are, Prince Shooting Star?" Fluttershy asked.
"Ah, there's a small village up ahead. I guess we can try that." Shooting Star shrugged. "But the stories said that they were rich ponies that hide in secrecy. They wouldn't be in a village at all, would they?"
"Well, we have to find her somehow." Twilight sighed before walking off, hopping onto the next island. However, as she did so, Shooting Star noticed something odd about the island. And for once, it wasn't it randomly moving and swapping locations.
Shooting Star narrowed his eyes as he noticed fangs forming within the crevices of the island. He also saw red glowing berries on the island. One good look and he quickly realized what these were.
"Twilight! Get away from that island!" Shooting Star yelled before flapping his wings, soaring onwards.
"Is it gonna move too?!" Twilight gasped as she was greeted with an odd sight. The crevice of the island had opened up, quickly revealing what she was on.
The island itself was growling. But it wasn't an island. It was a monster. Those two berries were revealed to be eyes, hence why they were glowing. With the mouth of the creature opening, Twilight was about to be devoured as Shooting Star wouldn't make it in time.
"Aaaah!" Twilight cried out before looking down, seeing a massive chasm below.
"Espeon!" Luckily, her partner was there to fix that. Espeon used Psychic as had as she could holding her trainer. With all her strength, she pulled her away. And in the nick of time too. The monster had just crunched its fangs together with rubble flying out.
"W-What is that thing?!" Fluttershy shuddered as Twilight was brought safely over.
"An Isle Monster!" Shooting Star exclaimed as the monster turned to face the group. "It's a monster that fakes itself as an island just to eat up anyone who stands on it. But they usually live in the south instead of the west!"
The monster roared at the group, causing a mighty wind pressure. Out of its sides emerged massive arms and claws. Perfect for grabbing its food or even crushing them.
"Pika...!" Pikachu growled as he was ready to use Thunderbolt.
"Pikachu! That thing's got some ground on it so Electric-Type attacks won't work!" Ash quickly warned his partner before he started attacking. Pikachu lowered his electricity, knowing it would have no effect.
All the while, as the creature faced the group down, over at the distance, some reoccurring faces watched onwards. The same nobles that originally told Ash and the others about Jade being seen heading west last night. Except, it was revealed to be a lie as they were Indigo Alliance Members. The same mare chuckled knowing that she was the cause of this. Her wings were glowing as she was the one who brought an Isle Monster here, just to crush the others.
"This should get rid of them." She said. "Only the King has managed to defeat an Isle Monster before and no one else. Let's report back to the Grand Judge. I don't want to see some horrific imagery."
And Audino heard that. Unlike last time, she wasn't in a heavily crowded area. So now, she could hear the familiar voices and the truth of why they were sent west. She had something to say afterwards.
As for Ash's group, the Isle Monster charged at them with claws and fangs out to grab, smash and gnaw. And considering its size, it had the range to do so as Shooting Star screeched.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash and the others retaliated before they could be harmed.
"Eve, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Audi, use Hyper Beam! Scorbunny, Ember and Chikorita, Magical Leaf!"
"Chu...Pika" Pikachu leapt into the air, hardening his tail to mimic steel as he swung his tail. The Mouse Pokemon struck the hand of the monster when it approached, causing some rocks to fall off.
Espeon, Scorbunny, Chikorita and Audino stood back, unleashing sparks of embers, a barrage of leaves with a magical pink aura around them, rays of rainbows and a gigantic beam of Infinity Energy.
Each had struck the monster with Hyper Beam doing the most significant damage. The monster roared as it certainly felt those attacks. A taste of what Infinity Energy is capable of.
In retaliation, the monster shot out large boulders from its mouth at great speeds. Pikachu sliced one boulder in half with Iron Tail but an array of them would be hard to take out. Especially considering how the monster was continuously firing them.
Ash and the others scattered as the boulders crashed onto the ground, shaking the island. Shooting Star was the most terrified as he stayed far back from the chaos.
The monster then aimed its boulders without stopping them at all. It wouldn't stop firing until its targets had been crushed to bits.
"Let's get up close and personal then." Ash used his horn to take out Lucario's Poke Ball. However, the Aura from his hor automatically reacted to Lucario's Aura, forcing the Aura Pokemon out of the ball.
"Lucario!"
"Lucario, Force Palm, go!"
"Ca!" Lucario rushed onwards, approaching the Isle Monster with his palm glowing. A boulder came right towards the Aura Pokemon, however, Lucario had just powered through it. His steel body was certainly of great use in this scenario.
The Aura Pokemon then jumped on the incoming boulders, using them to travel towards the monster faster. The monster gazed at Lucario with its crimson eyes as Lucario glared back with his own red eyes.
"Lucario!" Lucario then smashed all of his concentrated energy from his palm into the face of the monster. A direct hit. And a heavy one too. An explosion of energy emerged from that with Lucario jumping back. The creature bellowed but not before using the trees within it to its advantage.
By surprise, massive roots came flying out of the Isle Monster, wrapping around Lucario while he was in midair. While it may be a fake island, it still has the power of nature.
"Lu?!"
"Lucario!" Ash gasped as some more roots were coming towards him and his friends. "Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Eve, use Psychic to move those roots!"
"Audi, Protect!"
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped forward, cutting the roots off of Lucario with Iron Tail. However, more kept coming, threatening to grab Pikachu and Lucario.
"Espeon!" Espeon used her mind to control the roots before they could reach her. However, she soon found out that these roots were stronger than they looked, requiring Espeon to use more force.
"Audino!" Audino put up a protective shield around her friends as the roots aggressively crashed into them, forcing the Hearing Pokemon back. "D-Dino...!"
"Scorbun!" Scorbunny jumped over Audino, using Flame Charge to burn away the roots, giving less stress to Audino. However, after using Flame Charge, one of the roots grabbed Scorbunny by surprise. "Bunny?!"
The roots then pulled the Rabbit Pokemon towards it with Audino grabbing Scorbunny's leg before that could happen, trying to get him back. "A-Audino!" Fluttershy joined in, holding Audino and pulling her.
"Hang on, Scorbunny!"
"Quick Attack and Aura Sphere, go!"
"Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu ran on the roots with lightning speeds, approaching the Isle Monster whilst Lucario jumped from root to root, charging up the biggest Aura Sphere he could make.
The creature both made more roots and shot out some boulders from its mouth at the same time. Pikachu jumped over the boulders while running on the roots. He got close, smashing his head onto the monster's face. As for the boulders, Lucario took out a majority of them with a massive Aura Sphere consuming them.
One boulder passed by, going straight for Shooting Star. The young prince gasped as he ducked for cover, closing his eyes. Thankfully, Chikorita used her vines to pull the young prince away, saving him before he was crushed. "Chiko!"
"Oh...thanks..." Shooting Star sighed.
"This thing is resilient!" Twilight exclaimed as Eve jumped away from an incoming root. "We're just stalling for Jade at this point."
"We won't stall anymore." Ash put on his serious face before turning back into his human form. He stood up tall, adjusting his hat before putting his hand out. Ash closed his eyes as everyone was wondering what he was doing. "Aura Staff! Come!"
Appearing right in front of him was the Staff of Sir Aaron. He had used his Aura to enlarge it, summoning the staff to his hand. Ash gripped the staff as his Aura was showing. Shooting Star's eyes opened after witnessing this.
"Fluttershy. Twilight. Mega Evolve now." Ash commanded while looking at the monster. "I'm gonna try and use my Aura for this one."
"A-Alright!" Twilight nodded before sending Absol out. "Come out, Absol!"
"Absol!"
"Mega...Evolve?" Shooting Star tilted his head, wondering what Mega Evolution was. That was when he remembered a dex entry in the Pokedex that Ash gave him. He had recalled seeing Mega Lucario in the dex. "Oh, wait! You mean...!"
"Mega Evolve!" Both Twilight and Fluttershy said at the same time. Their stones reacted to the keystones with golden and red lights emerging, forming the DNA symbol. Absol and Audino became enveloped in this aura of Infinity Energy. Their appearances were altered as bursting out of the energy was Mega Absol and Mega Audino.
"Okay! Now use the strongest moves you can think of!" Ash gave another order with Twilight and Fluttershy nodding.
"Got it! Absol, Giga Impact!"
"Audi, Hyper Beam!"
Two of the strongest Normal-Type moves had been used. One that was up close and personal and the other that was from afar. Absol lunged forward while Audino stod back. That's when Ash tried something new with his Aura. By using Sir Aaron's staff which was going, he coated Absol and Audino's attacks in Aura.
"Yes, it works!" Ash cheered.
"You coated them in Aura?!" Twilight gasped as Absol looked around him. He could work with this. However, as new as this was, Ash couldn't fully keep it forever as the Aura was starting to fade. But not in vain.
Hyper Beam and Giga Impact had connected, smashing and blasting the Isle Monster with the combination of Infinity Energy and Aura. And it was beyond effective. The face of the Isle Monster cracked with massive rubble falling out. It had also been knocked back, crashing into another nearby island from the force it was launched.
With that much damage, the Isle Monster had no choice but to retreat. It wasn't winning this battle as the Aura faded away from Absol and Hyper Beam.
"Whew..." Ash sighed. "Nailed it."
"Ash! How did you do that?!" Twilight went up to Ash. "When did you learn to do that?!"
"Well, I figured if Aura can used to coat me and stuff, why not put it on someone else. Plus...I kinda heard a voice in my head tell me to."
"That was totally wicked!" Shooting Star flailed his hooves around. "That's Mega Evolution?! Oh, that's the coolest thing I've ever seen!"
"Isn't it?" Ash gave a thumbs up before shrinking the staff.
"Pika-Pika."
"Audi. Audino-Audi." Now was a good time for Audino to tell Fluttershy what she had heard. She told them about those same nobles and how they led them here, just to be attacked by the Isle Monster.
"So...West was a trap the whole time." Fluttershy translated, grabbing everyone's attention. "By those same ponies who told us to come here."
"Then that means, they're in the Indigo Alliance," Ash replied. "They don't just want us far from Jade. They want us out of the picture entirely."
"Well...What do we do now that we know about this?" Twilight asked. Everyone thought for a moment about how to approach this.
Delays were being made at this point without any success in finding Jade Skies at all. At this rate, they'll end up being lost in Pegalysium. Even with Shooting Star by their side. That's when Twilight gained an idea. "Aha! I've got it! Prince Shooting Star. Can you take us to see your dad?"
The day carried on. Jade had yet to be found. And as for Premium Polish, only 5 days remain until the Magical Unite is completed. However, with how Celestia and the others were in the palace, the scales may tip. But that all depends on fate itself as the journey continues.
"Alright. This is a perfect place for a good and large view. Now. Let's make our plan work." Rarity spoke as she was currently about to enact the plan she had which involved Emerald Aura and Cold Colt. "I'm also relying on this nice little shell the sheriff gave me. This will certainly lead them to us."
"But will it work?" Cold Colt asked. "I mean, what if they don't fall for it? If we use our Rift Magic, they'll know we're up to something either way.
"Have faith, pal." Spike nudged Cold Colt. "This'll work for sure. Plus, it'll make it easier for them to get to us."
"Let's just do it," Emerald said before having her horn glow. So did Cold Colt. The plan was simple. Lure the Indigo Alliance in with whatever method they can use.
And that method was simple. It was related to how Rift users can sense when other individuals use Rift magic. But bumped up to an all-time high with extra nerves. At once, Cold and Emerald used their magic, causing the aura to glow as much as it could.
The goal was to overload their nerves with Rift Magic. Anyone that even has a semblance of it was their target. However, it would go beyond overloading them. And the nearest one being Axew felt it.
"X-Xew!" Axew twitched as he could feel the Rift Energy inside of him go wild. He began twitching as Spike held his partner to comfort him. His body then gave off Rift Energy as it was oozing out of his body. The light from his body grew to a point where it not only covered the area but could be seen from certain distances.
This was a sign that it was working. The objective was to reveal every form of Rift Energy across Pegalysium the same way flares are used in the sky.
From this island, all the way to the civilizations themselves. Due to Cold and Emerald being full-on Rift Ponies, they would obviously be able to output this much magic. It felt like hitting their elbows on a table or worse.
Feathercoast. Pegalysium Gallery. Second Wind's office. Afternoon.
"Yes, yes, I know." At the moment, Second Wind was speaking on the phone, unaware of what was coming her way. "Tonight, we'll meet up and dis-"
Just then, she received a shock through her body. The Rift Energy that she kept was reacting from a great distance. And since she, the Grand Judge has the most Rift Magic out of the Indigo Alliance, that didn't spell good news for her.
"Ah!" She gasped before dropping the phone. Her body was giving off an equally large aura of Rift Energy as Axew as she clenched her teeth. Her eyes twitched as her hooves pushed everything off her desk. She wasn't sure what was going on Where this sudden pain was coming from. "W-What's going on?!"
"Ms Second Wind! Are you okay?!" Kaleidoscope rushed into the office after hearing the painful sounds of her boss, slamming the door open. She witnessed the cosmic energy of the Rift emanating from her body without her control. This was not her natural magic colour. Or even magic size. "M-Ms Second Wind?"
"Grr...!" She growled as her light went so far, it phased through the building itself. Everypony in Feathercoast could see it now. From all directions.
"Something is not right...!" Second Wind snarled. She then recognized it as her Rift Energy from the colouring. Kaleidoscope backed away as the other employees rushed in. "We might have to meet up sooner than tonight..."
"Meet up where? Ms Second Wind." Kaleidoscope asked.
"Nothing that concerns you, dear. I'll be leaving for a while." She got off her chair before walking off. "Watch over the museum until I get back, understood"?
Even up north, those same lights could be said. And this time, it came from the ponies that attacked Rainbow Dash's group. They were unconscious before, but once those nerves kicked in, they awoke whilst being tied up by Sceptile's vines.
"Ugh..." They groaned while grouped and restrained.
"What's up with this?" Rainbow Dash observed their bodies glowing. "Is it a bad sign?"
"Doesn't look like it." Applejack shook her head. "What do you think, Pinkie?"
"Mm." Pinkie Pie shrugged. "But one thing's for sure, we're asking where Jade is. Hey! Where's Jade!" She took out a Megaphone, blasting her voice in their faces. Their faces received a shocked expression after the shout.
"Like we'd tell you..." One member chuckled before twitching. "Ow..."
"Thought you'd say that." Pinkie nodded, expecting a typical answer like this. It is never that easy after all. She then looked at Applejack, knowing what needed to be done. "Applejack."
"Already on it." Applejack rubbed her hooves together, having a devious idea as the Indigo Alliance Members were getting nervous. "This trick always works on Apple Bloom when I gotta know something. It's for sure gonna work on ya'll."
"W-What is she doing?" A member stuttered as Applejack was getting closer with her hooves out. The members backed away while they were tied up, intimidated. "H-Hey. You stay back! We're warning you! Once we get out of these vines, we're gonna-"
"Don't struggle. It's just gonna make it worse for ya'll." Applejack grinned as the members were officially terrified after that statement. She then lunged at them with their fears at an all-time high.
"Aaaaah!" Their screams could be heard from afar. Truly, Applejack was doing something unthinkable that even Rainbow Dash and Pinkie would rather not see. However, Mew started giggling at it.
"Mew-Mew!"
"Pegalysium Capital.
And over at the capital city of Pegalysium, the light was glowing there as well. Coming straight from King Paramount. His was as large as Second Wind's. However, unlike everyone else, King Paramount was able to withstand the nerves thanks to his great magical talent.
"This is odd..." He said while twitching. Luminary gazed at her husband, wondering why he was glowing all of a sudden? He wasn't using the magic as of now.
But while this was happening, arriving at the capital was Ash, who disguised himself in his pony form once more, Twilight, Shooting Star, Starlight and Fluttershy. Twilight had a plan, just like her friends.
Aside from that, they had noticed the lights in the distance and how they were exuding. Shooting Star saw one emerging from his home, prompting him to rush and worry about his parents.
"What's that all about?!" Starlight exclaimed while she and her friends followed Shooting Star. They couldn't take their eyes off the light as they were not only coming from the castle, but some of the noble houses were giving off that light.
"It looks like Rift Energy!" Fluttershy noticed as she looked over at Chikorita. "Even Chikorita is glowing!"
"Chiko?!" Chikorita soon noticed her body glowing as well. She could feel her nerves being overwhelmed, prompting the Leaf Pokemon to stop running. "C-Chikori!"
"Audino!" Thankfully, Audino picked her up, carrying the Grass-Type. Twilight looked over at the homes belonging to the nobles with her eyes narrowing. After seeing them glow, she then uttered a single word.
"Aha."
North of Pegalysium.
"Success!" Rarity exclaimed. "A job well done you two. Using your magic to reveal other Rift Signatures was a splendid idea."
"Gotta say, I'm pressed by that too." Emerald nodded in approval. "I didn't even think about that before. That could come in handy a few times."
"Mhm." Cold agreed with his own nod.
"How long can you keep those auras up before we get there exactly?" Rarity asked.
"Pssh. Forever, duh." Emerald flailed her hoof. "It's not like we're gonna run out. Now which one belongs to Jade? There's a bunch of them."
"Yeah, I was kinda expecting it to be a few," said Cold with his eyes navigating the areas around him. "Did everypony in the Indigo Alliance take Rift Magic for themselves?"
"Whatever the case, let's find one of those members. And I believe that little truth trick you pulled back in Big Sky will come in handy, Emerald." Rarity smirked before sending Pheromosa out. Emerald smiled back at Rarity, liking the way she thought. Now she had a reason to force somepony to tell the truth.
"Mosa!" As Pheromosa emerged, she picked up Rarity, Spike, Cold and Emerald with her tall body. Each within her arms. "Pheromo."
"Pheromosa. Go for..." Rarity bit her lip, moving her hoof around as she was wondering which Rift aura to go for first. "That one! The nearest one up ahead."
"Pheromosa!" Pheromosa replied as she took off like a missile. With amazing speeds, the Lissome Pokemon made a massive smoke cloud from her movements alone. They had their targets as they were getting closer to Jade seemingly.
Universe 28. The Empress' spare palace. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, another major scenario continues here. The Empress' forces were chasing down a fake duplicated Celestia, Luna and Cadence, believing that they were the real ones.
They followed them through a hole with some of their greatest equipment for three great threats. Noticeably, Universe One's Princess Cadence never came along. Only her other selves from other universes.
However, the Empress did not follow after them. She stayed in the palace. Standing beside her was Skyblue Shine as they were both anticipating Celestia's return. Empress Twilight knew that Celestia wouldn't fall to mere troops as they were essentially cannon fodder to her. But the trap that the Empress and her forces had made was a different story.
As for the real Celestia and Luna, they were within the palace still, searching for the room where Premium Polish was being held captive. Luna was still disguised as just a petrified statue while the duplicates were still posing as troops. Celestia had just entered the palace, posing as Empress Twilight herself.
"Still nothing. This palace seems more confusing than the previous one." Celestia said as she showed herself to her duplicates, disguising herself as the Empress.
"It seems that not every Canterlot is the same, sister," Luna spoke quietly through her petrified state. "Darkrai should find her easily hopefully. All he has to do is find her shadow."
"I can't find her shadow." Right on time, Darkrai emerged from the shadows above Celestia and the others, startling them.
"W-What?!" Luna gasped. "How come?!"
"It's not like I haven't found her yet. But for some reason, her shadow isn't showing at all. Every one here is fully grown instead of a child." Darkrai said. "But I'll keep looking for her." He then descended into the shadows, moving rapidly through the area.
Some more guards passed by marching along as Celestia trotted with her chest held high. She needed to act like the Empress after all.
The guards saw the Empress before turning away, marching off to grab the fakes. However, an idea sprung with Celestia. As the disguised Empress, she walked up to one of the guards. She already had an effective question in-store without sounding too suspicious.
"You there." She called for the guard. "How is Premium Polish faring? None of Celestia's forces have found out about her location yet, have they?"
"Not yet, Empress. The laboratory is still being guarded even during this. Premium Polish continues to remain where she is."
"Hm." Celestia pouted her lips, squinting her eyes on the guard and shifting them around. "Ther has to be more with how Celestia and her forces decided to approach this universe in such a way. Show me then. You can never be too sure with Universe One's unpredictability."
"Yes, Empress!" The guard saluted before guiding the fake Empress towards the lab. Celestia then turned around, winking at her sister and duplicates as they followed after her. Luna winked back as Celestia executed her words perfectly.
That's why she's the Ruler of Equestria after all.
They would finally know where Premium Polish would be. They were deciding on what kind of approach they should take with this? Smash and grab or do it when nopony is watching. Celestia was more of a Smash and Grab pony while Luna would most definitely go for the stealthy option.
However, as they were about to leave the second floor and onto the third, that's when the traps finally revealed themselves. As she took her next step, Celestia's body froze unexpectedly.
"!" She gasped with the guard stopping afterwards. The duplicates stopped walking while carrying Luna's petrified statue state as well, wondering what was going on. The room started giving off an alert sound all around. One that could be heard across the palace.
"Empress?!" The guard gasped.
"G-Ghhh!" Celestia cried out as her Boundless Cutie Mark was reacting to this. She noticed that an odd field of magic was around her. One that felt greatly familiar.
It felt like Tirek's magic.
Her body was being pressured with great force. As if something was not only pushing her down, but also affecting her magic and torturing her body. She screamed continuously from this as it was difficult to move.
And with this shock and pressure on her body, forcing her to become immobile, Celestia's concentration with the Shift Stone had broken, removing her disguise and revealing her true form.
"Celestia?!" The guard pulled back.
"Exactly." And arriving at the scene, after hearing the alert was Empress Twilight. To be a showoff, she appeared flying above Celestia with Skyblue Shine levitating by her side. "Gotcha."
"T-Twilight...!" Celestia growled.
"Like what I've made?" The Empress descended, approaching Celestia. "I figured one of the more genius ways to capture you was by utilizing your own Cutie Mark against you? And what better way than using Tirek's magic. Perfect for that Boundless Cutie Mark of yours. I made sure that it would react to multiple Cutie Marks and yours just so happens to be that one."
"C-Clever..." Celestia couldn't help but applaud that.
"I know." The Empress flipped her mane. "Trying to send me on a wild goose chase didn't work out for you, did it? All I need is your sister and Cadence. Speaking of which, the next trap for that isn't so technical."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Come out already." Empress Twilight spoke to an unseen pony. It wasn't Skyblue Shine. But instead one of her allies.
Nightmare Rarity.
Flying out of the shadows was Darkrai himself as he crashed into the walls. Someone had forced him out. That was Nightmare Rarity. She emerged from the shadows, having the same ability as Darkrai. Darkrai also flew through other walls as the force he was sent flying at was fairly potent.
"Darkrai!" Celestia cried out, witnessing the Pitch Black Pokemon fly a great distance. Luna wanted to shout but she would give out her position as Nightmare Rarity trotted along.
"Still don't know why you need me to deal with your problem, darling," said Nightmare Rarity. "I mean, you are the one who lost to that Universe in the first place. Plus your hatred for them is just outstanding for your first loss. But I understand the frustration, don't worry."
"Nightmare...Rarity?" Celestia's jaw dropped. "She recalled Pyrestar mentioning a Nightmare Rarity. But she had never seen her before. Rarity is that you?"
"Indeed." Nightmare Rarity stood tall. "Like the look? I certainly do. Being taller is such a wonderful feeling especially with beauty as divine as this. Now, where is that younger sister of yours?"
"You see, Nightmare Rarity has a little something special for Luna. Something she thought she could defeat, but Rarity over here not only rekindled it but was able to fully control it."
"And what would that be?"
"This." To demonstrate, Nightmare Rarity revealed something that shocked Luna even in her already petrified expression as a statue.
The Tantabus.
Princess Luna's Tantabus that she tried so hard to defeat was with Nightmare Rarity. Not only that but there was a second one. A Tantabus belonging to Nightmare Rarity herself.
"That's the Tantabus!" Celestia bellowed. "It wasn't destroyed in your universe!"
"Oh, it was. I just brought it back." Nightmare Rarity replied. "Perfected it and coupled it with my own. Nifty, isn't it?"
"Enough talk. Wherever Luna is, you can deal with her. I'm here for your magic, Celestia." The Empress glared at Celestia.
"You won't get it that easily, that's for sure...not with my friends by my side."
"I know that. And I won't ever underestimate you at all. Even without your Pokemon." The Empress' horn started glowing as she noticed Celestia's own horn glowing. Even when immobile, she could still act and use her magic. "But that's why I have this to keep you steady."
Just then, on the same spot that Celestia was stuck on and that same field, she noticed an orb of magic surround her body. It didn't feel like Tirek's magic this time.
"What is this?!" Celestia growled as the orb was now carrying her. The orb raised the princess into the air while the effects of the trap were still lingering.
"This? After my defeat, I've been investing in new ways to use my spells. Even attempting to make my own magic. This is the result of my greatest spell. The Gravity Spell. While I can't use the full power of Gravity anymore due to your shenanigans, I was able to make a Gravity Zone! An entire separate dimension! You'll be trapped there feeling the effects of ever-changing gravity!"
"Garde!" Bursting out of the disguise and deactivating the Shift Stone was Passion and Arcanine. They couldn't stand back and watch their trainer be in any danger. They tried keeping themselves on a low profile but their loyalty was too great as they lunged forward.
"Passion! Arcanine!" Celestia cried out with one eye closed.
"Idiots..." The Empress smirked as she knew what came next. As Passion and Arcanine went towards their trainer, the gravitational pull from the orb had dragged them both in.
Celestia gasped as she could feel her body being warped into an entirely different space and dimension from here. She put her hoof out, trying to have Passion grab her hoof. Unfortunately, Passion and Arcanine came along with her.
"G-Garde?!"
"A-Arca!"
They cried out with their bodies twisting in this spiralling void, distorting their forms as they moved between dimensions. The orb then shrunk, disappearing from existence as the duplicates and Luna herself gasped.
"Now stay there until I'm ready for you." The Empress picked up the orb.
"You...What did you do to my sister?!" Luna broke the focus of the Shift Stone, revealing herself in full as she ascended, unleashing a furious blast of magic from her horn.
However, Nightmare Rarity quickly stepped in front of Empress, using the Tantabus as an extra shield. The beam came in contact with the Tantabus, causing an unusual effect.
The Tantabus had morphed Luna's beam into an array of horrifying claws. These claws replaced the beam as they were sent towards Luna at great speeds. Princess Luna had been blown back by these claws, hurling through the air. These claws had also hit the fake troops, destroying them as they are entirely fragile.
"More duplicates?" said the Empress. "Hm. Can't believe I almost fell for that."
"Ugh!" Luna was still flying through the air until Darkrai emerged, catching her. "Darkrai!"
"Luna! We need to go for the next approach if we want to avoid any trouble!" Darkrai suggested. "We'll leave into the Dream World and-"
"But, my sister has been taken to another dimension!" Luna flew off Darkrai's grasp. "We need to get her-" Just as Luna said that along came Nightmare Rarity, almost hitting Luna in the face with some magic. Luna's mane was grazed instead of it being a direct hit.
"We'll do it later!" Darkrai exclaimed before dragging Luna into the shadows. Not just the shadows, but soon the Dream World. Troops within the castle were now on the move for Princess Luna.
"Oh. Don't tell me I have to chase them down, do I?" Nightmare Rarity sighed, knowing what would come next.
"You do. Luna's a slippery one. And with less magic than I have now, it won't be easy to catch her. But a pony who knows her ins and outs can. Like you."
"But I was to get my mane done today. Fine." Nightmare Rarity shrugged before having her Tantabuses float beside her. "If they're heading to the Dream World, this will only take a while."
By using her natural abilities, Nightmare Rarity was able to travel through the Dream Realm easily. Just like Nightmare Moon as they are identical. If anything, she is Luna minus the alicorn appearance.
As for everything else, the Empress issued a full lockdown on the palace. Everything had been closed off for this moment. Even if Celestia was traped along with her heavy hitters, she could not risk anything. Especially with Luna.
"Cover the entire palace as well." She ordered. "Make sure there's no chance of them escaping from here. And be sure to look out for any of Celestia's forces. She wouldn't be foolish to come without them after all."
Gravity Dimension.
"Agh!" Celestia and her Pokemon had arrived here. But when they did, they felt the effects of gravity kicking in. Heavy gravity. The trio crashed onto the ground with the force of heavy gravity around them.
"G-Garde!"
"Canine!"
"Ugh..." Celestia groaned before getting up. But getting up was difficult suddenly. Thanks to the field of gravity. Celestia could feel herself being pressured immensely, having a hard time casually moving. "The gravity here is ridiculous...Does she intend to crush me and steal my magic afterwards?"
"Garde...Voir!" Passion started shaking with her knees failing her in this situation. Arcanine was laying on his belly, unable to stand up.
Celestia noticed how this dimension was shown to be composed of an innumerable amount of randomly arranged and differently sized rectangular prisms amongst a dark and seemingly endless void that had the colour of purple instead of black.
She noticed how some of the cubes were floating up as the cause of lighter gravity. Celestia and her Pokemon just ended up in the area with heavy gravity instead when being sent here.
"Alright. At least know where Premium is located. All we have to do is get out of here as soon as we can. This is her dimension, isn't it? Then we'll just break it apart. If it's all gravity, then a black hole can be our answer. Passion."
"Garde." Passion nodded in response as she knew what to do. Make a black hole and break this dimension apart for an escape. However, the Empress knew about Gardevoir's ability to create black holes. Especially Passion who can do it casually.
As Passion put her arms out, a force of Gravity had suddenly launched the Embrace Pokemon back with a mixture of heavy and light gravity.
"V-Voir!"
"Passion!"
"Garde!" Passion crashed into one of the cubes, being pinned there by the pressure of gravity. It was soon revealed what caused this. As a way to deal with Passion and her Black Hole Shenanigans, the Empress had made her own duplicates.
The only difference was that these ones don't exactly fade away with a hard touch. Not to mention how they had pale appearances as compared to the Empress' natural vibrant colours.
"You're not going anywhere." The three duplicates said together.
"Ugh...This will take a while. It's up to you now, Luna. Jackie." Celestia stood up as she, Passion and Arcanine were now facing off against these duplicates.
The Dream Realm.
And the same went for Luna and Darkrai. Even though they managed to enter the Dream Realm, so did Nightmare Rarity as she appeared right after they did.
"Terribly sorry, but I can't allow you to leave. I would've done this at a much later date but the Twilight can be persistent and stubborn." Nightmare Rarity said. "But it will be fun dealing with essentially the original creator to my beautiful form.
"Tch. Smile all you want. This isn't over yet." Luna narrowed her eyes. "Darkrai and I may be in here, but there's one other Pokemon of mine lurking around the palace. He'll scramble everything while we're in here. My Frillish."
"Okay. I don't care." She shrugged as Luna pulled back.
"Y-You don't?"
"Not my universe. Not my problem." Nightmare Rarity was honest about her words. She wasn't too bothered by this which only made her more menacing in the eyes of Luna. Even if she cared not about this universe, she still decide to deal with Luna either way.
Pegalysium. Afternoon.
"Dad!" Shooting Star burst into the throne room, hoping that his father was alright. When he showed up, he saw his father sitting there with a glow around him while his mother remained the same. "Are you okay?!"
"Son," Paramount spoke. "Do not fret. I'm still in one piece here. This glow just suddenly appeared around me. It gives off an odd feeling but I can manage it."
"Oh...Thank goodness..." Relief met with Shooting Star's heart.
"Oh. Who are your friends?" Luminary stood up gazing at Ash, Twilight, Fluttershy, Starlight and their Pokemon.
"Hey there." Ash waved before turning himself back into his human form. "My name's Ash. And this is my partner Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
"My name's Twilight Sparkle, your majesties. And this is Eve."
"Espeon."
"Hello." Fluttershy gave a soft wave. "I'm Fluttershy and these are my friends Audi, Chikorita and Scorbunny."
"Audino!" Audino waved over with Chikorita doing the same under her grasp.
"Chiko."
"Scorbun."
"Starlight's the name."
"Ash and Twilight. The ones Celestia spoke of." Paramount said before walking over to them and putting his hoof out. "A pleasure to meet you all. And your friends as well."
"The pleasure is all ours, King Paramount." Twilight shook her hoof back at the king, able to reach despite the height difference.
"So that's Pikachu? Eeee!" Luminary hopped off the throne. "Seeing one up close makes it even more adorable!"
"Pika-Pika?"
"And this one looks very huggable!" Luminary went up to Audino. "My they are taller than I expected..."
"Oh, right. Your majesty. We came here to tell you something important." Twilight got to the matter at hoof immediately, not wasting any more time.
"And that is?" Paramount asked as a smirk met with Twilight's face while she looked outside the window.
"We know where the Indigo Alliance may be. And it's closer than you think."
"The nobles?" King Paramount said within the throne room. Just now, Twilight had given him a shocking revelation involving the Indigo Alliance. "Are you sure?"
"Positive." Twilight nodded. "When we were showing up here, all of the nobles homes' started glowing that same light as yours. That means they have Rift Energy. And you're the only pony in Pegalysium we know that has Rift Energy."
"Then the alliance has been under my nose this entire time..." Paramount gasped, coming to a sudden shock and realization. But the story and theory about rich and powerful ponies making a society connected with it. "Some of my subjects?"
"Dear." Luminary comforted her husband, knowing that he was distraught about this. But he didn't let it get to him too much.
"No time to drab about it." Paramount shook his head. "Now that I know, how am I going to approach this?"
"Uh, dad there's another problem. One of their friends was taken by them. Somepony named Jade Skies." Shooting Star stepped up. "She's a Rift Pony and they're using her as a way to use Rift Magic as much as they want."
"Like Emerald Aura?" Luminary turned to him. "When was this?!"
"Just yesterday. Mom, dad we haven't found her yet. And we're getting super worried now."
"I understand. Now that I know about this thanks to Princess Twilight, I've already decided on what I should do." Paramount took a deep breath. "I promised not to use my Rift Magic until it was necessary but this is a moment for that."
"Then we're going for Jade now." Ash turned around. "If she's in one of those houses then we need to find her."
"Hold on, Ash!" Twilight got in front of Ash before he could bolt away. "We could try King Paramount's idea for a safer trick and-"
"No. You go on ahead." Paramount interrupted. "If you need to save your friend desperately, then do not stop for anything, understand?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Paramount!" Ash gave a thumbs up before running off. Twilight sighed, following after Ash anyway alongside Starlight. Gone was the decision of stealth. The Ash way is always the one way everyone returns to.
"So, now what, dad?" Shooting Star questioned. "What's your plan?"
"After this, things will drastically change in Pegalysium. I'm not sure how I'll fully feel after dealing with my subjects. Which whom I call my friends." Truthfully, Paramount did have many friends. Whether noble or not.
And having to judge his friends due to their actions affected him. He may have a strong will and heart, but when it comes to those he cares for, his other natural side shows.
"It's alright, dear." Luminary, once again, comforted him. "We'll get through it together. Isn't that right, son?"
"Yeah. But uh...what are we gonna do about all those homes then? Oh! Can I live in one of them?!"
"Wait. You already have your room. Why need a whole different house?" Paramount squinted his eyes, question his son.
"Why? It'd be cool, right? Right?" He gave a wide grin, prompting his mother to laugh while his father just shook his head, smiling anyway.
Outside.
Ash and the others approached the first noble house they saw, aiming to get to the bottom of this. The lights were still being given out as courtesy of Emerald and Cold. But then, at that moment, Ash's group ended up meeting with two other groups.
One being Rarity's group as they were being carried by Pheromosa and her amazing speed and the other being Second Wind who came here for an afternoon meeting with the Indigo Alliance.
"Rarity! Guys!" Ash exclaimed whilst coming to a screeching halt. His human form was there for everypony in the capital to see as they were more shocked by Ash's appearance than the Pokemon. "And...Second Wind?"
"Darling. Apologies for the excessive amounts of light. We had Cold Colt and Emerald Aura use their magic to reveal other users of Rift Magic." said Rarity before she and everyone locked eyes onto Second Wind. "Actually...why do you have that light as well."
"You...what?" Second Wind heard Rarity's words before realizing her current position. That went for some of the nearby nobles.
"Wait a second...Are you a part of the Indigo Alliance, Ms Second Wind?" Twilight asked, making the already awkward atmosphere thicker.
Second Wind's heart was beating rapidly as she shifted her eyes around. Some nobles were confused about what was going on while the others walked away slowly in secret. Second Wind was thinking of something to say.
"Who knows? Let's find out." That's when Emerald Aura stepped up, approaching the pegasus with her horn glowing. If there was a time to use magic to force the truth out it was now.
"I-" Second Wind uttered before having her body be covered by Emerald's magic. That's when the truth came out against her will.
And to be petty and disrespectful, Emerald made sure that she said it with a booming voice for everypony in Pegalysium, even the Royal Family to hear. "I am. The Grand Judge of the Indigo Alliance, Second Wind!"
"Aha!" Emerald Aura exclaimed as Ash and the others gasped. Second Wind backed up, realizing what she had said. And it was made public as well. "Now where's Jade?!"
"You...You!" Second Wind growled at Emerald as the Rift Pony gave a cocky grin, backing up. The Royal Family stood on the balcony, hearing the whole thing with their own ears.
The jig was up. So much for those 400 years of secrecy. Now everypony knows that the Indigo Alliance are real. Not a myth or foal's tale like before. Commotion filled the atmosphere of Pegalysium as not all nobles were a part of this society.
"Second Wind. Is this true?" Paramount's voice echoed throughout Pegalysium and towards Second Wind.
"Whatever! You found out! That doesn't change much anyway!" Second Wind exclaimed before using the Rift Magic to create a violent flare of smoke that engulfed the entire city. This smoke was also made to blow everything around Second Wind away. Out of desperation, she had used this to escape.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out as he and many others were forced back by this expulsion of powerful smoke. However, this smoke was quickly diminished by King Paramount's magic. No usage of Rift Magic was needed from him.
As the smoke cleared, Second Wind was gone. She certainly made a fast getaway, that's for sure. Panic started building up within the capital as many ponies were rightfully fearful of the Indigo Alliance. Not a myth as much anymore. Now it's a reality to them. The horrible things that the alliance has said to do could be done to them. So they believe.
"Second Wind is the Grand Judge of it all?" Luminary gawked. "But she seemed so nice! And that cute little figurine she keeps at her museum on her desk is just so heart-twisting!"
"Disappointing. But looks can be deceiving sometimes, dear," said Paramount before looking down on all the subjects. He had one important announcement that needed to be said. And most likely might cause major distrust. "Citizens of Pegalysium! I regret to inform you that the Indigo Alliance is more present than you can imagine! For you see, many of those members are closer to you at this very moment and-"
"Hold on, let me bring it back!" Emerald suddenly interrupted, using her magic to show the light of Rift Energy on those who owned a semblance of it. "There. The light's what you need to see only."
Those without the aura gasped, witnessing other ponies having this aura. Many of their close friends were indeed members of a secret society that they have dismissed for so long. The ponies that had been found out immediately started moving away as soon as they could but were surrounded by Pegalysium guards. Even around their homes.
"Thank you...Emerald Aura." Paramount sighed as he didn't get to finish his speech. "Those apart of the alliance, round them up! All that's left is Second Wind and the hideout."
"We're going ahead! There's a bunch of those lights coming from that building over there!" Ash pointed at one particular building that was giving off numerous lights instead of a few. Around 50 at best. Paramount nodded as he would take things from here, allowing Ash and the others to go after their friend.
Indigo Alliance Courtroom.
Within the courtroom, members were already here for the afternoon meeting. But they had no idea what was coming their way as Second Wind had arrived. And she wasn't even wearing her robes for this.
"All of you! Out, now!" Second Wind ordered.
"W-What's happening, Grand Judge?!" A member asked.
"We've been found out! Curse those meddling kids and-
"Told ya." Jade interrupted as she was trying to form a smug smirk. But she just couldn't do it with how she was. But deep down, she was smirking with smugness still radiating from her body. "There was no way you were gonna 1UP my friends, ya know."
"Silence! We may have been found out, but it isn't over yet. I have a lot to rely on still. The Cloven. The Rift Magic I have in me. And of course...you."
"We'll see."
"Release the Cloven from their tubes and set them out. They'll provide enough distraction. As for us...we'll need to change our courtroom location, unfortunately. But if any of you are feeling brave enough to use your Rift Magic then-"
"A-About that, Grand Judge. I used the magic to do some of my daily chores in the morning. And...I passed out." One member stepped forward.
"So did I." And another.
"And me as well." And another again. All of them shared the same answer as they were all victims of too much Rift Magic for them to handle.
"I'm afraid we all can't handle this magic. It's too much for our bodies and-"
"We'll sort that out later! Now out and flee!" She roared, scaring the courtroom and sending them into a frenzy.
With that command, the members scattered in a panic as they had been found out. They moved like cockroaches, not wanting to be caught by the guards of Pegalysium. As for the Cloven, one of the members was off to release them.
"As for you...You're coming with me. Jade Skies. I still need the magic from you after all." Second Wind proclaimed as she used her magic to place Jade in a spherical prison, removing her from the tube.
Jade remained unbothered. Not because she was devoid of emotions but because she knew her friends would get here. After all, they've already busted Second Wind and the Indigo Alliance just now.
With the dimension made by the Empress via the most she could do with her Gravity spell, Celestia, Passion and Arcanine were dealing with duplicates of herself that would keep her occupied until Empress Twilight can absorb Celestia's magic.
And for duplicates, they were certainly troublesome. Especially with how gravity was in this world. It was a mixture of light and heavy, making it difficult for Celestia and her friends. But not for the duplicates. It was as if they had free range of the gravity here.
"This is an unfavourable situation...!" Celestia groaned, feeling heavy gravity on her while using her magic to conjure up a shield, protecting her from an incoming magic blast. "But all we need to do is break free from here and get Premium as soon as we can! Passion!"
"G-Gardevoir!" Passion understood Celestia's approach. All Passion needed to do was break this dimension. And luckily for her, she was just that strong to do so. However, it would still require a ton of effort. Mainly with focus and possibly Mega Evolution if necessary.
But that focus was difficult with gravity messing her up. Passion winced as one of the duplicate Empress' whipped the Embrace Pokemon with flaming hair. "Voir!"
"You're not leaving until our real self allows it!" The first clone exclaimed before rapidly whipping Passion with her flaming mane. She even cackled each time she struck Passion.
"After all!" The second Twilight clone held Arcanine's neck with her hair, lifting the Legendary Pokemon and slamming him around. "You won't have to worry about your magic being stolen, Celestia! Not with that Boundless Cutie Mark of yours!"
"And because of that...our real self can steal as much magic as she wants for all eternity!" The first clone teleported away before she came crashing down on Celestia with a massive cube. Ripped right out of this world's landscape while also having low gravity on it. Around 50gs.
"!" Celestia gasped as she used her magic beam to push her back with great propulsion.
"Never having to worry about running out or even hopping from universe to universe. You're a good enough or even greater substitute, Celestia!" All three of the clones said as Arcanine was tossed aside after chewing off the mane.
"They're just as insane as the real one..." Celestia grimaced at the insanity of these duplicates. They had the Empress' personality down to a T.
"Garde."
"Arca."
"We need enough time to make the strongest black hole we can if we wish to break out of here. Perhaps using this dimension's gravity to our advantage could work. Arcanine. Passion. Scatter!"
"Gardevoir!" Celestia, Passion and Arcanine did just that. They scattered across the area, prompting the clones to follow them. Despite the heavy gravity, they had their ways of quicker travel.
Celestia used the propulsion of her beam to launch her forward, fighting back against the gravitational pressure. Arcanine used Extreme Speed while Passion used her Psychic abilities to boost herself forward. The clones chased them down, using the cubes as their means of transportation.
Celestia saw in the distance how some smaller cubes were floating upwards. She had a good idea of where the lighter gravity was. The Twilight's each sent multiple heavy cubes towards Celestia and the others as fast as they could.
Passion held the cubes with Psychic, pushing them back at the clones. However, the clones repaid the favour by using their magic to send the cubes back. And the extra gravity only added to this. It was all against Passion in this dimension. The odds were stacked against her.
"Voir!" One of the cubes struck Passion's leg. And they were certainly hard and heavy, causing her to fall over. The back of her leg had been greatly injured as a pile of cubes started falling on her, forcing the Embrace Pokemon down. "G-Garde!"
"Passion!" Celestia gasped, turning around to try and save her partner. But she was met with some of those same cubes coming her way. Celestia quickly ducked, evading the incoming cubes. Passion's eyes glowed as she blew away the cubes with her Psychic energy.
"G-Gardevoir!" Passion was still going strong. However, more came her way along with one of the Empress clones with some larger ones in store. Passion had to get to an area with higher gravity as soon as she could. So, to improvise, she summoned a quick and small black hole.
The Embrace Pokemon formed the black hole in front of her, using it to absorb the incoming cubes. She ended up pulling the cubes in with her gravitational pull, erasing them from existence. However, this black hole wasn't strong enough to counter this dimension.
But it was strong enough to deal with the duplicate. The clone Twilight had used gravity to her advantage to try and combat this black hole. The black hole was Passion's weakest by far. But it was still strong enough to fight against this gravitational field.
As for Celestia and Arcanine, they found a good spot. They could feel the heavy gravity diminishing as they were entering an area full of lighter gravity, allowing their movements to change.
"This should do!" Celestia exclaimed before using her magic to hold the lighter blocks. She used all of the blocks as a blockade, shielding herself in a box full of gravity cubes.
The clone Twilight approached the cubes, using the heavier cubes to try and crush them into bits. Celestia felt her blockade trembling from these hits. But, aside from that, this was enough time to activate Celestial-Gardevoir. She took out her Mega Stone, looking at it.
"Alright. Here g-"
But, with a sudden interruption, Celestia felt herself falling. Not downwards because she was already on the ground. But instead, sideways.
"Hahaha!" The clone chuckled as she was manipulating the gravity field. Celestia gasped as she was falling sideways from this shift in gravity. The cubes started falling along with her, threatening to crush the Ruler of Equestria. The Mega Stone Celestia had started falling as well.
"No!" She cried out as the stone was falling, right past her and through the cracks of the gravity cubes. Celestia noticed some heavy cubes coming her way as she quickly put a barrier around her.
With her Mega Stone lost in those cracks, getting them back would be an issue. The clone Twilight laughed at Celestia's misery, knowing that everything for Celestia wouldn't be made easier from this point on.
"Great."
The Dream Realm.
The same thing could be said for Luna and Darkrai. Dealing with Nightmare Rarity was difficult in itself. But with her having control of two Tantabuses, the difficulty had spiked.
Darkrai was currently holding the Tantabus as it had attempted to bite him. The strength of these manifested nightmares were far stronger than the one Darkrai face months ago.
But Darkrai has gotten stronger too over the months. He pushed the Tantabuses away before unleashing a Dark Pulse on them. The Tantabuses warped their body, evading the pulse of darkness.
"A shame you're not Nightmare Moon now!" Nightmare Rarity chuckled while chasing Luna down with constant magical beams flying around. "I would've loved to go up against a pony of my height! Or do I possibly have to wait for you to grow up and reach your sister's height?"
"Talk all you want! But your larger height means you'll fall easier!" Luna responded before flying around Nightmare arity as fast as she could. Luna summoned a tornado out of dream mist. That same tornado then transformed into a cocoon, wrapping around Nightmare Rarity while also summoning spider webs made out of dream mist.
Nightmare Rarity was now restrained. But it didn't last long. She gave a cocky smirk as Luna gasped, feeling something emerge from behind her. It was Nightmare Rarity. She had appeared behind Luna by surprise, disappearing from the cocoon without being seen.
"Oh!" Luna gasped, quickly putting a shield, only for Nightmare Rarity to break through it. The Princess of the Moon was knocked down, crashing onto the ground. "Agh!"
"Wonder what I'll do with you when I beat you." Nightmare Rarity came crashing down, aiming to stomp her hoof on Luna. The alicorn rolled on the ground, avoiding the initial hoof crush as a massive dent had been made on the ground. "You are feisty, Luna. So you deserve something grand!" Her eyes flash as she summoned an array of magic arrows
Luna stood up, blowing away the arrows. However, some had slipped through, knocking Luna back as she went hurling through the air. The alicorn recovered, holding her head afterwards.
"Goodness, she's strong. But on the level that I was expecting." Luna panted, descending before facing down with Nightmare Rarity who was giving off a cocky smirk. "If I don't hurry, my sister could be in danger...and we would fail to save Premium Polish."
"I believe this is a good time for me to step in. Wouldn't you?" Just then, from the side of Luna, appearing as only a face once more was the manifestation of her Sorrowful Desires.
Lunar Ire.
"Oh?" And Nightmare Rarity could see her.
"I don't have time for your words, Lu-"
"Ah." Lunar Ire interrupted. "I won't do much talking at all. "All I ask is that you use me. After all, the stakes have been raised at this point. And you don't want to delay any further correct?"
"Yes, I know. She's very identical to Nightmare Moon in every way. But...possibly even more than that. She even has the control of two Tantabuses."
"Don't it?" Nightmare Rarity flipped her mane. "With those two, I'm well beyond Nightmare Moon as just a mere imitation of her. I have gone above her and become a true Sovereign of Dreams and Nightmares. Not a bad title, wouldn't you say?"
"I understand your drive to win. But you cannot do some things on your own. Darkrai is occupied at the moment with those things. But I will assist you. You may not like what I stand for, but just this once, allow me to lend a hoof and put an end to this."
Luna thought it through. Lunar Ire had a great point. She'd be wasting time with Nightmare Rarity if she didn't find a way to end this rather than just leave the Dream Realm. Two Tantabuses was a lot to deal with. Even for Darkrai. Luna wanted to save her sister and Premium as soon as she could and get out of here. So, she finally accepted Lunar Ire. But just for this instance.
"Fine. Help me."
"With pleasure...!" Lunar Ire entered Luna. But not to hide in her this time. To merge and possess her. After entering, Luna, the Princess of the Night suddenly vibrated with her eyes glowing white.
Nightmare Rarity pulled back as dak red and blue spurts of magic started rising from Luna. Her heartbeat could be heard, echoing throughout the Dream Realm as Darkrai paused to hear this, witnessing Luna transforming.
"Luna?"
With the heartbeat speeding up, Luna's mane, tail and fur starting shifting colours. The form she had once awakened during her sadness and anger at Celestia being harmed was returning. She opened her mouth, breathing out smoke as if she was a dragon as a ferocious pillar of magic erupted from her body.
Red and blue lightning started crashing down, almost hitting Nightmare Rarity while some of them struck the Tantabuses, shocking and leaving holes in them.
"This isn't something from the Dream Realm...this is real lightning!" Nightmare Rarity gasped as Luna's pillar aura then formed into an orb that covered her. The orb shattered, as bursting out of it was the manifestation of Luna's sorrow and rage. The true form of Sorrowful Rage Magic.
Lunar Ire.
"Aah...!" Lunar Ire took a deep breath, closing her glowing white eyes before opening them. "The sight of my sister being taken in front of me...and the thought of the Empress using a child. Both Sorrow and Rage are coupled into those things...being enough to summon this form of magic!"
"Hmph! So what?! Your mane got spikier and your palette has been swapped!" Nightmare Rarity scoffed. "What are sadness and anger meant to do?"
"You'll see. I'll send you crying back to your universe. Or even worse." Lunar Ire stepped forward, having a voice that was the collection of two Luna's in one.
Universe 28. The Empress' Spare Palace.
Meanwhile, in the palace, two individuals, in particular, were moving around. Luna's Frillish and Pokemon Ranger Jackie. Frillish used his ghost physiology to be as sneaky as he could be during all the commotion. And he was good at it. Phasing through the walls and only through the walls.
Frillish had stopped by many rooms, shooting blasts of water on every form of technology to fry them. The scientists were unsure of why this was the case. Their creations were being overloaded suddenly.
As for Jackie, he had burrowed his way here, popping out of the dungeon with a hole he made. He was a bit of a mess after all that digging.
"Okay. We're in, Casey." He spoke to his Chatot. "Now..."
"Now you'll stay and be locked up in here." With impeccable timing, Empress Twilight had shown up. "Thought someone would show up to the dungeon first. But I was expecting Cadence to make an appearance. Who are you, human?"
"Me? Pokemon Ranger Jack Walker." Jackie crossed his arms while smirking. "Call me Jackie please."
"Well, Jackie. I assume you're with Celestia's friends, aren't you? Here for the girl?"
"Sure am." Jackie gave a thumbs up, acting as calm and natural as he can be in front of the Empress. "We're just going to grab her, take her home and all of this trouble will be over. You won't even have to have anything destroyed here unlike...well last time."
"Too bad. I could do anything to you. A regular human. Or maybe have some of my allies like Daybreaker fry you. Or just something simple like locking you up here for as long as I want. Or maybe having a human pet would do as well."
"Okay then." Jackie shrugged. "That last one's a bit too much but I do like 'em feisty."
"I-" The Empress paused for a moment. "What?"
"I mean, you look like that type, don't you?" Jackie approached the Empress while having her stay in place. He wasn't fearful of all the potential magic at all. "If I had to take a wild guess, no one's matched you in certain parts other than magic. But I can guess that I can match you in one part."
"W-Which part is that?"
"You're a pretty good catch for anyone who's not up to your preferences, anyway." Jackie a bit of her mane. "Nice and lush ethereal mane, very striking dress. And those that vicious indifference you have in your eyes."
"I-I which-how...say what?!" Empress Twilight was getting flustered all of a sudden from Jackie's words as the prisoners felt like throwing up.
"Feeling kinda mixed up about me, huh?"
"N-No!" She scrunched her face. "I mean, you're pretty good and all but- don't get the wrong idea!"
"Don't worry. No ideas here. Unless you're the one thinking of it, right?" Jackie grinned as the Empress squealed a bit.
"Oh well, you know..." She giggled before prancing on the spot, stumbling on her words for the first time in years. "Ruling for this many years by yourself gets an old mare needy sometimes, ya know and-"
"Chatot...!" Just then, Chatot had used Sing, right on the side of the Empress's ears. She gasped before falling asleep to this peaceful and beautiful melody. Right on the cold, hard dungeon floor as the prisoners felt sick from watching this.
"Nice work, Casey."
"Chatot!"
"Alright. Now to find that kid." Jackie cleaned himself off before stretching. "And hightail it out of here for some more summer vacation."
Right now, a major revelation has occurred, shocking the entirety of Pegalysium. Mainly the capital, the news would travel tomorrow. The Indigo Alliance was now known by the capital. No longer a myth or a foal's tale. And many of the nobles were exposed.
Especially Second Wind for being the Grand Judge and leader of it all. Commotion filled the city while the nobles that had been exposed were rounded up by the Pegalysium guards. Paramount felt betrayed that some of his friends would be a part of the alliance. The same alliance that presumably caused the fate of his parents.
Aside from that, Ash and the others were pursuing Second Wind after finding the one building with the most Rift Energy lights shooting out. And in that building, or rather out of it, many of the Indigo Alliance members started escaping from a secret exit after being found out.
"So this is it," Ash said as they had found the secret entrance via Pheromosa's kick. Works every time. "Jade's past there, right?"
"Yeah." Emerald nodded in response. "Hers was shining through here. It's pretty distinct from everypony else's since she's a Rift Pony. But I can also feel her moving. That Second Wind's trying to make a quick getaway with Jade."
"She won't get away for long. Pheromosa, go!" Rarity had her Pheromosa run ahead. But not before picking Rarity, Cold, Emerald and Spike up.
She left the others in the dust, however, they could still keep pace. Going on many adventures throughout different regions and being an alicorn has its perks after all. They were joined by some allies in the form of spare Pegalysium Guards who were here to capture Second Wind and other members of the Indigo Alliance.
After moving through the passageway in the form of a slope which they all slid on, the group had entered the courtroom of the Indigo Alliance. Only to find nothing here. Every member had cleared out as soon as they had been found. It was devoid of any members. Especially Jade.
"Mosa."
"Nothing here. But they couldn't have gone far." Rarity said. "Not with your speed by our side, Pheromosa."
"Mosa, Mosa!"
"Let me see something." Emerald narrowed her eyes, using her magic to make the floor luminescent. When she did so, she had exposed hoofprints everywhere. From every member within the Indigo Alliance. She then showed more, trying to figure out which direction is the exit.
However, they soon came to find out that not everypony had left. And unfortunately, they were ponies that were less than healthy. As Emerald showed more hoofprints, looking for the exit, one of the walls had opened up, alerting everyone.
They stayed on guard, wondering what was going on. Why would the wall just suddenly open? Was this the secret exit? Unfortunately, not so much. It was the special group of ponies that have been kept in containers that had the legendary Reanimate Tears within them.
The Cloven.
They emerged from the containers after they had been opened. Once open, they jumped out of it, groaning together as stood before Ash and his friends. One look and Ash and everyone saw these ponies and their oddly wrinkly faces and somewhat sluggish stance.
"Something's not right with those ponies." Cold stuttered. "Why are they like that?"
"They look like...Zombies!" Spike gasped after getting a good look at them. "Zombie Ponies!"
"Seriously?! Cool!" Ash was shocked and then impressed at the same time. But as he got the last word in, the Cloven then started attacking with the first few lunging at Ash and the others. "Woah!"
They groaned, just like how a zombie would. Even their eyes were hollow and seemingly lifeless as they had pinned Twilight, Spike, Cold, Emerald and Rarity to the floor. Ash and Pheromosa had the Cloven latch onto their bodies.
"H-Hey! Get off!" Emerald cried out as she used her magic to toss these zombie-like ponies off. However, as they struck the wall, they barely felt any pain at all as more of them started leaping and jumping on the group.
Pheromosa wasn't a fan of harming other ponies but this was an exception. She used her destructive kicks to knock them all away. However, they stood up immediately after being struck by Pheromosa's powerful kicks. They looked like they weren't even phased.
"Mosa?!" Pheromosa gasped. Not many can withstand her kicks. Not many at all. Even Twilight, Emerald, Cold and Rarity were shocked by how they shrugged off the magic like it was nothing.
"Didn't they feeling anything?!" Cold moved back in shock. "They really are zombies!"
"Pretty fast zombies too!" Emerald gulped as every Cloven within this room either galloped and lunged at the group or used their magic. Despite their condition, they still had access to magic via their wings.
There were so many of them to try and keep track of considering the abundance of tubes there were here. Axew had transformed into Haxorus to try and scare them away. But they weren't fearful at all. They instead grabbed onto Haxorus despite his intimidating appearance.
The Cloven then started biting down on their targets without a second thought. Even though Haxorus had a hard-armoured body, he was shocked to see them take this approach. "Xo?"
"P-Phero!" But Pheromosa certainly felt it. Her supple and lissome body made her fragile to almost anything as she cried out. Everyone else, while not feeling as much as Pheromosa, still felt something.
"Ah! You brutes!" Rarity gasped before using her magic to blow away a Cloven that was gnawing on her mane. More kept coming, trying to bite on her only for Haxorus to grab them with his claws, tail and his mouth as a bit of irony.
"We won't make progress will all of them biting us like this!" Twilight winced before thinking of a spell to use. "Here goes nothing!"
With her horn flashing, she had cast a massive sleeping spell that had engulfed the entire room. She made sure to only hit the Cloven and not her friends.
However, she soon came to find out that the Cloven were immune to that as well. Even when the pulse went through them, they did not sleep at all. They just kept attacking, much to Twilight's chagrin.
"Are you kidding me?!" She squealed before Espeon saved her from an incoming group of Cloven. This was getting repetitive at this point with Jade possibly getting further with each passing second and minute.
"Pikachu! Paralyze them with Thunderbolt!" Ash said while holding a Cloven that was trying to bite him.
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu unleashed a blast of 100,000 volts from his body in all directions, shocking the Cloven. If they couldn't put them to sleep or knock them out, then paralyzation was the key.
And it turns out, it was. The Cloven wailed as they stopped in their tracks. Their bodies couldn't handle being paralyzed, that's for sure. Even a zombie can't resist it.
The Cloven had been paralyzed, unable to move. That gave Ash and the others a chance to leave. Now they would really act like zombies with sluggish movements. The group followed the hoofprints revealed with the help of Emerald Aura. However, the Cloven wouldn't stop persisting as they had a goal to catch them. But mostly, they were the distraction.
Universe 28. Dream Realm.
Lunar Ire had arrived.
With Luna reluctantly accepting help from the manifestation of Sorrowful Rage Magic, this new Luna had emerged. Lunar Ire was her name instead. She revealed it in front of Nightmare Rarity, who was stunned by this new look. Darkrai, who was dealing with two Tantabuses couldn't help but gaze at this as well.
"Luna?" Darkrai said.
"Think it's just an appearance change? Not at all." And with this new appearance came a cockier attitude. One that resembled Nightmare Rarity's. "Observe!"
For a quick demonstration, Lunar Ire used her magic first. And immediately, she performed something big. Nightmare Rarity noticed that the area surrounding her was being masked in Lunar Ire's magical aura which was a mixture of red and Luna's original aura.
By control the area, Lunar Ire had twisted the Dream Realm inside out. By doing so, everything, including the dream mist, stars, land and everything. All of it had been swapped to its opposite effect.
Darkrai and Nightmare Rarity then saw the area around them. Instead of the usual black void that is common in the Dream Realm, they were greeted with a white void instead.
"What is this?!" Nightmare Rarity gasped, observing the area. "What did you do?"
"I just inverted the Dream Realm, of course. But more than that, I've completely flipped the metaphysical state that we usually have in this realm. Mostly you and your Tantabus. Allow me to show you what I mean!" In an instant, Lunar Ire released a quick-acting yet strong beam from her horn.
Nightmare Rarity smirked, aiming to use the intangibility that comes naturally with the Nightmare state. However, she soon found out that wasn't possible as the beam struck her either way, knocking the unicorn back. "Ugh! W-What?! What happened to my intangibility?!"
"I inverted it." Lunar Ire walked up. "When I was Nightmare Moon, I could do anything Luna could do but more. Luna can't become intangible in the Dream Realm, but Nightmare Moon can. While she never got the chance to do so thanks to Twilight and her friends, it was still a possibility. And the same goes for you, Nightmare Rarity."
"Pah! This is still the Dream Realm." Nightmare Rarity stood up. "And I still have control over this one with both my Tantabuses. There is no inversion to a Tantabus if you must know."
And as she said that, one of the Tantabus went straight for Lunar Ire, letting the other one deal with Darkrai. The Tantabus and Nightmare Rarity had manipulated with the Dream World, summoning 10 great lightning bolts from out of nowhere.
However, Lunar Ire smiled as the flow of electricity within the lightning had changed. Not only were they weaker than before with fewer volts within them, when they struck Lunar Ire, she barely felt it.
"That tickles." She chuckled before blowing Nightmare Rarity and the Tantabus away with the stomp of her hoof, creating an unseeable force of magic. Lunar Ire then flew towards Nightmare Rarity as the two of them clashed horns.
The Tantabus went over, transforming the blank surface into an array of spies. Lunar Ire inverted those as well, turning those solids into liquids. And she capitalized on it. After turning the spikes into liquids, Lunar Ire had a tsunami at her command, sending it towards the Tantabus and Nightmare Rarity.
Nightmare Rarity countered this by simply splitting the tsunami in half with her horn, however, the Tantabus had been struck by it, being carried by the vicious tsunami. Nightmare Rarity retaliated by dreaming of an array of massive golems. The golems went after Lunar Ire as the alicorn was ready to invert them too.
But Nightmare Rarity wouldn't allow it. She then flashed her mane, causing it to shoot out small strands. But those strands weren't smooth and silky like her mane. Instead, they were sharp. Lunar Ire quickly realized this before avoiding the incoming strands. However, after missing their mark, the strands then expanded to replicated Nightmare Rarity's massive mane. The mane then stretched, wrapping around Lunar Ire's hooves and neck.
The alicorn growled before looking up, seeing the Golems about to attack her with their massive hands. In response, Luna had constructed the figure of a massive alicorn that was identical to her. The giant alicorn had emerged, knocking the golems away while Lunar Ire sliced the manes with her magic.
The massive alicorn approached Nightmare Rarity, ready to stomp on her. Only for Nightmare Rarity to smirk and have the Tantabus deal with it. The Tantabus wrapped itself around the giant alicorn, forcing it to flail around and get this oddity off of it.
The Tantabus manipulated with the alicorn, transforming it into a sea of lava that started falling towards Lunar Ire's direction. Lunar Ire didn't have time to invert all of it, so instead she did something better.
For simplicity, she had exuded her magical aura from her body, allowing the pressure to exhibit. And by doing so, she not only turned the lava into dream mist, she even obliterated the golems, manes and greatly damaged the Tantabus, making it lose parts of its ethereal body.
"!" Nightmare Rarity gasped after feeling this pressure coming from Lunar Ire. She wasn't just giving out pressure, she was utilizing the dreams of multiple ponies, humans and Pokemon she's met in her life, forming them into aura itself. "Amazing...This is quite the surprise..."
Darkrai paralyzed the other Tantabus with Thunderbolt, causing it to freeze in place. The Pitch Black Pokemon then used the shadows, summoning dark claws from the surface as they had slammed and tossed the Tantabus away. Darkrai then flew over to Lunar Ire for further assistance.
"Oh yes. It is the surprise." Suddenly, Nightmare Rarity's shock turned into a sinister grin and devious chuckle. Something was brewing in her mind. "Thank you so much for this demonstration and showcase, Lunar Ire. I believe next time, I'll learn from this and bring some fun new surprises."
"Hm?"
"Toodles~" Nightmare Rarity suddenly whistled as she vanished from the Dream World as a spark of magic. She took the Tantabuses with them of course, leaving only Lunar Ire and Darkrai behind.
After leaving, Lunar Ire faded away, returning into Luna and bringing out the Princess of the Night once more. Once Luna returned, her head ached a bit as she almost fell over. Darkrai caught her luckily.
"My goodness..." Luna sighed. "What a rush...I've been harbouring that within me for this long?"
"Feeling okay?" Darkrai asked as he saw that Luna's horn was smoking along with her mane and tail. But afterwards, the smoke faded away with Luna relaxing. "You did good, Luna. But I'm afraid the next time we see her, more unnecessary surprises will come our way."
"I know. And we'll be-" Just as Luna was relaxing, another shock came to her. Involving her big sister. "Celestia! Darkrai! We need to find a way to free Celestia from that...orb...gravity...prison thing! Whatever it is!"
"We can't go out there at the moment, Luna. Not with how they know we're around now. We're greatly outnumbered in this scenario after all."
"Curses," Luna growled, knowing that heading out there was just asking for them to be imprisoned and for Luna to lose her magic. But, that's when Luna's smarts kicked in. She found an opportunity. "I still have the Shift Stone...And Nightmare Rarity has left..."
"Yes?"
"I have an idea." She rubbed her hooves together, hatching a plan. "Simple. But effective."
Empress Twilight's spare palace. Dungeon.
"Ah!" The Empress had woken up after being hit with Chatot's sing. All thanks to Pokemon Ranger Jackie who had tricked her by giving some trifling compliments and words. "Darn it...Sing got me. I can't believe I got tricked by that..." She then realized how she was truly tricked. "I can't believe I got tricked by that!"
"I know! Boy, that was embarrassing!" A prisoner laughed as all of them started mocking and making fun of the Empress for falling for Jackie's dallying words. "I was gonna be sick from all of that, haha!"
"Grr...!" The Empress' face turned red. Not with anger but embarrassment as the laughs continued, echoing throughout the dungeon. She had never felt this much awkwardness in years. "Shut up! All of you!"
But they wouldn't stop laughing. Despite how they were locked up and around the most dangerous alicorn in here, they couldn't help but laugh at the previous scenario. One prisoner even mocked the Empress by pouting her lips, making fake kisses.
"Jackie...You're going to pay for this!" The Empress roared as she flew out of the dungeon in anger and with a new goal. To deal with Jackie. And as she exited the dungeon, she saw that the guards were already out cold. Jackie was already on the move without being caught.
Castle hallways.
And speaking of Jackie, he was certainly on the move with no one even coming close to catching him. And if they did, he had a response for that. A more physical response.
Right now, across the hallway, some guards had fallen to the floor, looking relaxed and at peace. And standing above them as Jack Walker, who dusted himself.
"W-What did you do..." A guard said.
"Easy. Horses are sensitive on the nose, lips, mouth, and possibly the ears. Hooves don't really respond to touching but various parts of the hoof are able to feel touch either way."
"H-How did you know?"
"You're equines. Not too different from a Rapidash, Zebstrika or a Mudsdale. Just gotta think of those guys and you're all pretty easy to beat. We Pokemon Rangers are trained for this, ya know."
"Chatot! Trained for this, ya know!" Chatot repeated.
"But usually, Rapidash and the others have better endurance. Sorry." Jackie chuckled before hearing reinforcements come in. And those reinforcements were using the many vehicles also used in the invasion to try and subdue Jackie. "Oh geez...yeah I can't handle that. Time to go!"
"Chatot! Time to go!"
Jackie made a run for it as the weapons started firing their ammo towards Jackie. Mainly magical rays. Jackie kept two of those electrical staffs with him for this. Just in case.
Jackie ran around the corner as the rays struck the pillars, damaging them in the process. The airborne vehicles zoomed through the hallway, catching up to Jackie with their faster and aerodynamic mobility. The ponies piloting them had Jackie within their sights, firing magical rays at him.
"Casey, use Boomburst."
"Cha...TOT!" With a single echo, the Music Note Pokemon had sent a destructive power of a terrible, explosive sound in the form of massive white soundwaves.
The vehicles quaked from the force of Boomburst as many of the controls within them had been affected by Chatot's shout. The windows of the palace had also shattered in the mix. The ponies inside evacuated as soon as they could as the vehicles crashed into the walls and ground, breaking apart thanks to Boomburst.
"Alright. Now's a good time for some backup." Jackie took out a Travel Sphere from his pocket, picturing the one place he wanted to reveal. He wasn't heading anywhere with the Travel Sphere. Instead, he was calling for help.
Celestia's troops.
Jackie opened up a gateway to Universe One. Right over at Canterlot where Celestia's troops were waiting to arrive at the right moment. And this was the right moment. After seeing the gateway open, it was their turn.
Throwing the Empress off with a distraction, keeping her occupied and then moving in with a large army to tip the scales while Premium Polish was the main target. Grab her amidst the chaos and dash out of here. However, Celestia and Luna weren't present yet.
"Frillish...!" Phasing through one of the vehicles' was Luna's Frillish. He showed himself in one of the larger and stronger ones, knowing they would be massive threats. So to deal with that, the Water-Ghost-Type used Hydro Pump inside of the vehicle.
"Oh!" The troops inside gasped after witnessing Frillish appear out of nowhere. And right as they reacted to him, their vehicle started malfunctioning thanks to Frillish messing the controls with Hydro Pump.
The Floating Pokemon then emerged out of the vehicle, going to the next one. He began repeating the process, unleashing Hydro Pumps each time he phased through.
At the same time, as the troops of Canterlot came through, the whole palace was throwing into a frenzy. Empress Twilight walked through the hallways, looking through the shattered windows as she witnessed this scuffle between both sides occur.
"Curse you and your meddling, Celestia. But no matter what. You won't get your hooves on the child." Empress Twilight uttered before walking off. "We're going to speed things up."
Showing up to the scene was Princess Luna. Or rather, Luna in the disguise of Nightmare Rarity. She used the Shift Stone to not only mask herself as Nightmare Rarity but also gave herself scratches and a messy mane in the process as she approached the Empress.
"Rarity. Did you deal with Luna and Darkrai? And...my, how difficult was that battle?"
"Very." Luna sighed. "Darkrai escaped somewhere, but Luna should be occupied in the Dream Realm for a while. Her magic backfired a tad bit for her."
"Good. Listen up. Get your universe ready."
"Hm? Why is that?" The fake Nightmare Rarity asked.
"I'm speeding up the Magical Unite. Celestia and her annoying friends and sister are causing too many problems for me. The Magical Unite process might be interrupted at this point. If I want those remaining five days to pass by for absolute control, I can't risk it with all of this."
"Magical Unite? How does that relate to Premium? And what is it?" She said to herself before asking a question that didn't sound suspicious. "Risky, don't you think?"
"So what? As long as it gets the job done and everyone in the multiverse is under my absolute control. But, that would mean pushing Premium Polish's body to its limits. There's a chance she might break and I don't have enough time to build a new one."
"O-Oh," Luna uttered, shocked at what she was hearing. Now she knew why Premium Polish had been brought here. Somehow, her existence correlated with this Magical Unite.
"Not enough magic or power is flowing through the machine. If only I had Zekrom with me still. But either way, I'm still going through with it."
"But can you do it before Celestia and the others stop you?"
"Probably not. But I have an ace up my sleeve." The Empress smirked. "To make sure that Celestia, Luna, their forces and that pretty clean-cut Pokemon Ranger...get lost here as long as they can. It's time to reshape the castle."
The Empress teleported to one of the many laboratories within here, having an idea for this intrusion. Luna shuddered as to what the idea could be. The Empress always had something. As arrived at the lab, she raised her voice to the scientists, giving the command for this idea.
"All of you! Assemble the Reshape Function! Let's make it a maze for them all!"
With that order, the scientists all got together, activating a module made for the castle itself instead of some sort of robot. After doing so, seconds later, the palace started shaking. Everyone within the palace felt it. Celestia's side and the Empress' side.
The scientists all sat down, having seat braces to protect them from what was coming. Just as the Empress said with that command. It involved reshaping. And there was certainly some reshaping going on.
Luna looked around, noticing the palace itself was starting to change shape with an odd mutation. "What is happening?!" Even those outside witnessed it.
It looked like something a child would play with when assembling or disassembling colourful toy blocks. That was because this function was made to reassemble and reshape the palace into something different. Everyone started falling in numerous directions due to this change in balance. Jackie held onto a pillar for dear life while having Chatot near him.
All the while, the machine Premium Polish remained in was unaffected due to its hard titanium exterior. She could still see what was going on but was unable to react. After some reshaping and assembling, the palace had changed. Its usual shape was altered.
It was now a jumbled up piece of mess. No consistency or anything. The entrance couldn't be found, neither could the exit. But the broken windows were an exception. Everyone within the palace was confused.
Except for the Empress's troops, who had experienced this before.
"Hahahahaha!" The Empress laughed, knowing that what she had just done had shifted everything for her advantage. "Now let's see you try and get out of this, Universe One!"
Celestia, Passion and Arcanine were still dealing with the clones of Empress Twilight and the gravity of this dimension. Celestia was pursuing her Mega Stone which she had dropped within the crevices of the many cubes here. All because the gravity started moving sideways instead of up or down.
She had currently put herself between these crevices, searching for the Mega Stone. All the while, the clone was chasing her down with those gravity cubes by her side.
"Where is it...?!" She wondered as multiple smaller yet powerful gravity cubes came flying through the crevices, threatening to break every bone in Celestia's body.
"Keep running, Celestia! That'll just prolong all the time in the world, preventing you from reaching your goal!" The clone exclaimed.
"You'll see. I refuse to let Premium down." Celestia replied before avoiding an incoming array of cubes. She allowed her magic to glow as bright as it could. This meant that it would make her more visible, but it would help in the dark crevices. "If I can just have gravity cater to my side, I would make it fall to my side..."
Just then, Celestia had a breakthrough. She couldn't use gravity herself, but she could use a makeshift version of it. Controlling the area with her magic of course. If she wanted something to fall in her direction, then using her magic was potentially the way to go.
If she was strong enough.
"Alright. Here goes!" Celestia then aimed to control the cubes around the area as if she was lifting them. And with her level of magic, she was able to show that she could.
Celestia started lifting the heavier cubes with her magic, trying to make them all fall sideways to reveal her Mega Stone. She started ripping the cubes out of the ground with all her might. They were incredibly heavy so high amounts of effort were needed for this.
"What are you even trying to do?" The clone came in, sending heavy cubes down on Celestia's back while she was trying to control the land itself.
"Ugh!" Celestia cried out after having heavy cubes rain down on her back while she attempted to flip the land sideways. However, despite this array of falling cubes punishing her, the Ruler of Equestria maintained herself. She wouldn't allow herself to fall or lose here. For the sake of a pony that she promised to protect.
Celestia dug deep as her Boundless Cutie Mark started flashing, rapidly cycling through a multitude of Cutie Marks in a second with Celestia's always staying in the middle. With that, Celestia's eyes flashed as she not only managed to rip the cubes out of the ground, hitting the clone away on accident, but she also managed to twist them.
"Agh!" The clone cried out after being struck by the cubes, flying back. She then witnessed how Celestia had rotated the land itself without using Gravity at all. And by rotating everything, she saw the Mega Stone fall.
"Gotcha!" Celestia used her ethereal mane to catch the Mega Stone, manipulating in a somewhat similar way to the Empress. That large mane wasn't just there for show. "Passion!"
"Garde?!" Passion turned around while being in a beam struggle with one of the clones.
"It's time!" Celestia smiled before activating the power of the Mega Stone. Once she did so, Passion's keystone reacted to it. The clone flew over to Celestia, extending her mane while also sending heavier blocks to crush the Princess of the Sun.
However, it was too late. Once the Mega Evolution process began, Celestia body turned into light, dashing off towards Passion. Passion herself started winning the struggle after having her body glow. She gave off a grin, pushing the cubes and mane back before having her body become consumed in a radiant golden light.
And bursting out of that light was Celestial-Gardevoir.
"Surprise!" Celestial-Gardevoir exclaimed before blowing the clone away. The clone Empress crashed into the other clone as they both fell on the side of some heavy cubes. "Arcanine!"
"Canine!" Arcanine and the third clone took notice of this. The Legendary Pokemon used Extreme Speed, tackling the clone with confounding speeds before heading over to his fused friend.
"Keep them occupied while I break us out of here," said Celestial-Gardevoir as she took the skies. Arcanine nodded in understanding. Even if he struggled with one, he would try his best. And for this, he tried one of Ash's many tricks.
The Counter Shield.
Arcanine had used Flare Blitz, utilizing the gigantic aura of fire to his advantage. Instead of charging forward, Arcanine started spinning rapidly, forming a gigantic and ferocious vortex of frantic flames that moved in erratic and unpredictable directions.
"Don't let them escape!" The clone cried out before mashing together multiple gravity cubes to make a collage of them. The two clones tried to advance, only for an incoming flame from Counter Shield to knock them back.
The cube was shot towards the sky, however, Counter Shield intervened once more. Due to it moving everywhere with no consistency, the destructive flames had got in the way of the cube, causing it to hit the fire instead.
"Here goes...!" Celestial-Gardevoir was now high enough as she put her hands out. With all of this magic and power residing within her, she was able to conjure up a Black Hole in a flash.
She held the Black Hole together as it was already pulling in the cubes due to its powerful gravitational pull. Something that could rival and surpass the gravity in this world. The clones each saw how big a problem was. They couldn't afford to have them escape.
"No!" A clone bellowed before unleashing a violent thunderstorm with her magic. Gigantic bolts of lightning came crashing down towards Celestial-Gardevoir, shocking her.
"A-Aaah!" Celestial-Gardevoir cried out as her focus on the Black Hole had been diminished. More thunderbolts came crashing down, however, Celestial-Gardevoir would not take her eyes off the Black Hole. Despite her being constantly shocked, she persisted.
The clones found an easy way around Counter Shield as one of them summoned a violent tsunami with her magic, sending it towards the Legendary Pokemon. Arcanine had been struck by this tsunami as his flames had been put out, forcing him out of Flare Blitz.
"A-Arca!"
With Arcanine being taken away, the clones could now freely attack Celestial-Gardevoir with the cubes without vicious flames getting in the way. Millions of heavy gravity cubes were sent towards Celestial-Gardevoir while she was charging up the Black Hole. "A-Almost...there!"
"A-Arca...Arcanine!" To make sure his friend would succeed, Arcanine wouldn't allow any harm done to Celestial-Gardevoir. So, he immediately recovered from the tsunami, jumping on a cube before combining Extreme Speed with Flare Blitz.
By merging those two moves, Arcanine moved faster than he's ever moved, blitzing through the sky and appearing like a comet flying upwards instead of downwards. With that speed, Arcanine used himself as a shield, taking all those million cubes for Celestial-Gardevoir.
"Ah! Arcanine!" Celestial-Gardevoir gasped as her friend had taken all the hits. Arcanine gave a smile as he had successfully given Celestial-Gardevoir enough time. He fell, leaving the rest to the Alicorn-Pony-Hybrid.
With that motivation and rescue, Celestial-Gardevoir expanded her Black Hole so much that not only was everything within this dimension being pulled in, the magic keeping this dimension itself was being distorted.
The clones noticed that the sky was cracking along with the ground. Celestial-Gardevoir's Black Hole was doing its job and more as the clones started panicking.
Arcanine was about to hit the ground, but right before he could, Celestial-Gardevoir had successfully shattered the Gravity Dimension and the orb containing her.
Reality. The Empress' spare palace. One of the many laboratories. Nightfall.
Within this lab, the orb Celestia, Passion and Arcanine had been trapped in was being kept and encased inside of a titanium orb. They were being blocked via two layers. One that was magical and one that was titanium. However, that wouldn't matter.
The force of Celestial-Gardevoir shattering the Gravity Dimension was so great that it even broke the titanium orb and even blew away inventions, tables and the scientists within the lab.
"Arcanine!" And right as they broke free, Arcanine's impact was less painful now. Celestial-Gardevoir groaned as she got on her knees. That was a lot of magic to exhibit from her body as she immediately defused.
"Gardevoir..." Passion stood up along with Celestia and Arcanine, as she held her head.
"Ugh...!" As Celestia stood, her eyes flash golden whilst staring at the scientists. "Where's Premium?!"
"Oh! They've escaped!" Immediately, the scientists went into a panic frenzy. They scattered, running for their lives as they feared Celestia, Passion and Acanine would obliterate them. Luckily for them, they would never do such a thing. However, Celestia is certainly furious at everyone here, that's for sure.
Every scientist left the lab with the alert going off. Celestia soon realized that she wasn't in the hallways anymore. In fact, by looking out the window, she also saw that something was not right with the palace. The layout looked and felt different from what she previously saw.
As she and her Pokemon rushed outside, they saw the layout alteration. Everything was different now. Locations had been swapped and scattered due to the Reshape Function.
"W-What happened here?" Celestia's jaw dropped.
"Gardevoir?"
"Arcanine."
"No. We can't stop and wonder any further. We have to find Premium. At least we know where she is now. But which lab, exactly? Arcanine. Sniffing everything out.
"Canine!" Arcanine got to work, sniffing the area to try and find Premium Polish. He was waiting to do this but without o enemies nearby. Speaking of which, Celestia's forces and the Empress' forces were currently going at it despite the reshape of the palace.
Another Laboratory. With the Empress.
Meanwhile, the Empress approached the machine where Premium was being held. Her plans were being accelerated due to how things were turning out for her.
"Empress." Skyblue Shine spoke as she had stayed by her daughter's side. "What's going-"
"Change of plans. Those 6 days for the Magical Unite to fully go through won't do with the meddling of Celestia and her forces." The Empress interrupted before approaching Premium Polish. "We're accelerating the process."
"Of the Magical Unite? But how?"
"Normally, Zekrom's lightning would be enough to grant my wish. But we know what happened with that possibility." She stomped her hoof. "But...we have other uses. I thought about it for a bit on how to speed it up. There are two possibilities. The item that is meant to replicate the Magic Siphoning Jar is close to being completed. But I don't want to waste any time. So the second-best option is much quicker."
"And...that would be?"
"Infinity Energy. Bring them in!" The Empress order as entering the room were the Pokemon that the Umbrage Thieves had captured for the empire. They were all being restrained in specialized prisons based on their Types and their natural talents.
"Infinity Energy?!" Skyblue Shine gasped.
"Precisely. But not just that. I still have some leftovers from the Mega Rocks I used on Zekrom. Both that and Infinity Energy could change everything."
"W-Will it work?"
"That's why we're going to test it out." The Empress grinned as she surrounded all of the Pokemon with her magic. After doing so, the Empress stood in front of Premium Polish, taking aim.
She started extracting Infinity Energy from the Pokemon for the first time. And for her first attempt, the process was unsettling for the Pokemon. Each of them started wincing in pain or even screaming out with bellowing cries as they had their life force ripped out of their bodies and challenged through a single alicorn horn.
The Empress started gathering the power of multiple types. Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Flying, Ghost, Normal and more. The only ones exempt were Dragon, Poison and Dark. After channelling these types, she growled, trying to withstand them as the force of it was surprisingly heavy.
"Grr..! This Infinity Energy is harder to control than I thought...!" She groaned with her hooves quaking. The Pokemon had fainted after having their Infinity Energy absorbed while the Empress was sustaining it." But...this should be strong enough!"
She then fired the collective Infinity Energy in the form of a multi-coloured beam straight towards the little unicorn. The beam had struck Premium Polish, promptly making her aware of the current feeling. And it was an unpleasant one.
"A-Aaaaaaaah! AAAAH!" Premium cried out as her android body was not only taking Equestrian Magic but also Infinity Energy for the first time. And the pain was shocking and hard for the little pony to hold as she gained some extra consciousness due to this.
Skyblue Shine watched as her daughter cried out in pain from receiving all the Infinity Energy. This was clearly an overwhelming force of power that was not meant for somepony so small. At least, not to this extent. Mega Evolution and Z-Rings are safe for everypony in Equestria due to how they are able to connect to both Trainer and Pokemon. Even the Bond Phenomenon, despite how risky it can be, involves the Pokemon Trainer in some way.
But not this kind of Infinity Energy.
It is a power only meant for Pokemon and the moves they can perform. And it showed as Premium's eyes widened with her android body heating up.
"E-Empress! She's going to overload and combust!" Skyblue Shine cried out, prompting the Empress to stop firing. The last thing she wanted was for Premium Polish to explode.
"Hah..." The Empress took a deep breath as she noticed how much power the machine was building up after that. Premium's consciousness was weakened once more as her body was heating up, showing signs of smoke coming out as the pain had ended.
"Empress. The process has been sped up." A scientist spoke, showing Empress Twilight the progress. Approximately 12 hours of magical conversion have passed by."
"12 hours you say? Excellent. Then that's a sign this Infinity Energy can work. Another one should do, but with more power and Pokemon behind it."
"Empress, wait!" Skyblue Shine then ran in front of the Empress before further action could be done. "If you unleash another blast, her body may not survive. It's already showing signs of overheating with all of that smoke. Premium Polish is still a filly, so she is fragile. Please. Give her a break at least."
"Hm. You're right." Empress Twilight nodded. "While we could repair her, we can't afford to slow down. We'll postpone. Give her 3 hours. But after seeing all of that Infinity Energy, more Pokemon may be needed. Perhaps, Celestia's Gardevoir could finish the process." Now she had a new idea in mind.
Passion. An incredibly powerful and special Pokemon. Stronger than the average Gardevoir when she was just a Kirlia and has the unbridled potential to continuously get stronger each time she breaks her boundaries and limits. Essentially, having no end to how powerful she can become.
The perfect candidate for a ton of Infinity Energy. And luckily for the Empress, Passion was within this palace. However, not imprisoned as she expected her to be.
"Thank goodness..." Skyblue Shine sighed. In truth, she was just relieved that her daughter wouldn't be obliterated on the spot. However, that could still be the case with more Infinity Energy potentially coming soon. Especially from Passion, who holds a plethora of it.
And speaking of Celestia, one of the scientists' burst into the door, breathing in and out. "Empress! Celestia and her Pokemon have escaped!"
"Are you...kidding me?!" The Empress growled. "Curse that Celestia! Everyone from that universe is so persistent and stubborn it's just frustrating!" She then took a moment for a deep breath. "It's fine...We can finish the Magical Unite sooner than expected. In fact, how about we skip Passion and go for the Legendaries."
"L-Legendaries, Empress?" Skyblue Shine stuttered. That didn't sound good at all. For Premium's sake.
"That's right. Specifically the ones our alliance owns. Zekrom is out of the question...but not the rest. Get Daybreaker here as soon as you can. Get to it."
"Y-Yes, Empress!" Skyblue Shine nodded but showing reluctance in her movements. She was fearing the worst now. And the worst was potentially closing in.
Pegalysium. Far East. Nightfall.
Meanwhile, Second Wind and the other Indigo Alliance Members who had promptly escaped had all rendezvoused to another secret hideout in Pegalysium.
That being one of the temples in Pegalysium. Made by the pegasi of the past. Centuries ago. The outside looked to be a rundown temple like the rest, but in truth, a special magical illusion spell made it seem that way.
The Indigo Alliance had polished it up to fit their grandiose look and style. Within the temple, they decided to hide here for a while with Jade still in their possession. However, Second Wind knew this wouldn't last and was aiming for other plans.
"Because of you and your meddling friends, everything that we've been building and planned for is being turned upside down...!" Second Wind growled at Jade who kept a stoic face whilst being restrained.
"Tough. But then again, it's only natural for this to happen." Jade replied with a hint of sarcasm in her words. She wanted to crack a smile for extra points but it just wasn't happening.
"Oh...but we the alliance are known for changing the tides. We've been doing it for centuries ever since this secret society was founded. And we'll continue to do so without end." Second Wind smirked.
"But...what do we do now, Grand Judge? We are no longer a secret or myth anymore." A member asked as all of them were stumped.
"Cease your whining. There are ways around this. The first is to deal with that Royal Family. Or better yet...wipe the capital off the map."
"Off the map?" Everypony gasped before discussing.
"The news will travel towards the rest of Pegalysium by tomorrow. Then, everypony will truly know of our existence as reality instead of myth. Unless...we wipe out of the capital and everything in it so that the news never travels in the first place. The Royal Family and every other noble will suddenly vanish without a trace. As if nothing happened. Plus...once they vanish, we can build a new society in the erased capital. One for us. And perhaps...I would look good as a Queen."
Hearing that, the members saw where the Grand Judge was coming from. They agreed with this approach by collectively nodding.
"No way you're gonna go unnoticed. If you destroy it, everypony's gonna notice." Jade said. "You're dumber each time I listen to you."
"Foolish child!" Second Wind then slapped Jade in the face, only for Jade to be unphased. "I said to wipe it off the map, not destroy it. That means utilizing the one thing that can do so without leaving a trace. Rift Magic. And don't worry. I'll make sure to deal with your meddling friends too."
With a devious cackle, Second Wind started extracting Rift Magic from Jade's body once more, giving it all to herself. The goal was simple. Destroy the capital to the point where nothing no longer exists. And with no one left to tell the tale or spread the news.
But of course, Second Wind would need a weapon for this. And by using the Rift Magic within her, she used it to amplify an already existing weapon. The temple itself.
The layout of the temple was starting to change under the control of Second Wind. She wasn't actually using Rift Magic for this. Just her natural magic. But not for long.
With some rearrangements, identical to the Reshape Function from the Empress' forces, the temple had turned into a gigantic pegasus. This has always been a part of the temple. Just for use for whoever could discover. Jade witnessed the appearance change as she was now inside of a building shaped like a pegasus.
"Impressive isn't it?!" Second Wind chuckled. "The pegasi of old built some amazing traps within their temples! But the greatest one without a doubt is this one! The Gallant Pegasus!"
"...That's actually a pretty cool name." Jade couldn't help but complement it. Second Wind then used Rift Magic onto this giant, giving it improvements. Originally, the entire thing was made out of cobblestone. Ordinary Temple materials.
But with Rift Magic, that changed. She had swapped the cobblestone for something better. Dynasite. With this, the giant was practically indestructible. And with pegasus magic already powering it as a form of ammo, Second Wind added one more form of power.
The Magma Stones. Everything that the Indigo Alliance had used against Ash and the others was being combined into this absolute juggernaut of a weapon.
Ultimate defence in the form of Dynasite and grand power in the form of the Magma Stones, Pegasi Magic in the form of every Indigo Alliance member inside and a pinch of Rift Magic.
"Now...Let's erase the capital, shall we?"
Pegalysium. In the middle of the west and east.
Meanwhile, Ash and the others were following the trail where Second Wind and the rest of the alliance had taken Jade too. With Pheromosa's great speed, they moved from island to island in little time. However, it still felt as if they were getting farther away from them.
"Mosa..." Pheromosa looked around, wondering where to go next. Emerald noticed that the hoofsteps stopped abruptly, making her magic useless at the moment.
"Nothing. They must've flown afterwards," said Emerald. "I'm getting pretty tired of this stupid game of tag right now..."
"Ash! Twilight! Guys!" Just then, a voice bellowed from the distance, alerting Ash's group. Arriving at the scene as they were also tracking down Jade was Pinkie Pie's group. They had arrived and met up with their friends after Slurpuff tracked down the scent of Jade.
"Awesome! You guys are okay!" Ash turned to them. "Did you find, Jade?"
"No! We thought you did!" Pinkie came to a screeching halt along with Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "Did you?"
"Sorry. But we were close to finding her." Starlight shook her head. "On the bright side, at least everypony knows about the Indigo Alliance being real so..."
"Still no good. It's already nightfall and we're being delayed every time we're close." Twilight looked at the moon. "At this rate, we could be on an endless chase. And with Rift Magic on their side, it'll be even harder."
"They should pass out from using too much Rift Magic," Emerald spoke. "But since there's so many of them and one's dangerous enough, that's a problem alright."
"So...What do we do now?" Cold asked.
"We can-" Just as Ash was about to give an idea, bursting through the clouds with a loud stomp that shook the many islands, rustling the trees and booming through the skies.
Everyone turned in the direction of this potent sound as they had witnessed something unexpected. Something that reminded them of the Storm Behemoth and Tree Behemoth. But this time in the form of a pony.
The Gallant Pegasus.
"OMG! What is that?!" Pinkie Pie gasped as everyone was stunned by this gigantic moving pegasus. It towered above them. Not quite the size of the Storm Behemoth but more along the size of the Tree Behemoth at best.
"Good evening, brats!" Second Wind's voice echoed throughout the area. "You like what you see?! Feast your eyes on the Gallant Pegasus! The thing that's going to wipe you and the capital off the map! Not without help from your friend, of course. This is what you get for your meddling!"
"Jade!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Second Wind! You wanna destroy the city just because of that?!" Ash questioned.
"Pikachu?!"
"I wouldn't expect you kids to understand! The Indigo Alliance is the real reason Pegalysium has been as stable as it currently is! But now that stability is breaking apart! If anything...the alliance rules Pegalysium! Wiping that city and the Royal Family out of existence without anyone left to know how is just what we're used to! And you'll be first!"
With another cackle, Second Wind began attacking Ash and the others with the Gallant Pegasus. At least, they're closer to Jade now. However, not in the scenario they were expecting. But at the moment, the time for the Magical Unite had been decreased to 12 hours during nightfall. Now, it was closer to being completed as the journey continues.
The home universe of Daybreaker. This was where Skyblue Shine had come to request assistance from Daybreaker as a courtesy of Empress Twilight. The goal was to have her Legendary Pokemon grant Infinity Energy to Premium Polish, just to speed up the process of the Magical Unite.
Something that Skyblue Shine was questioning.
"Daybreaker!" Skyblue Shine called out her name as she stood in the Canterlot Gardens. There, Daybreaker was admiring the flowers and hedges before responding to the unicorn.
"Hm? Skyblue Shine, welcome." Daybreaker walked over. "I assume you're here because you've made the right choice?"
"I came here as a request from the Empress. She needs your assistance. In order to have the Magical Unite reach its maximum output in time, the Empress requires more energy to speed up its process. Celestia and her forces are currently intercepting the palace to rescue my daughter. The Empress fears it will be too late to fully use the Magical Unite with their meddling."
"And how can I help?"
"Infinity Energy seems to be the best option to speed it up. The Pokemon alone were able to fast forward to 12 hours of energy gathering. The Empress suspects that a Legendary Pokemon will be more than enough. Perhaps even capable of fully completing the process in just a second."
"Ah. So you want me to use my Pokemon to charge up your daughter, hm?" Daybreaker took out an Ultra Ball with her magic as Skyblue Shine nodded. "But...that can't be safe for your daughter...can it?"
"W-Well..." Skyblue Shine started stuttering as she looked to the ground. "When she was given it, her body could barely withstand it. It started smoking, overloading her senses and-"
"That's all I needed to hear. I refuse. I am many things, Skyblue Shine. But I refuse to harm a child." Daybreaker put her Ultra Ball away. "But I'm not so sure about you."
"I-I would never harm a child! Especially not my own daughter!"
"Hoh? Really? Then why is it that you are following through with this?" With that question, Daybreaker shocked Skyblue Shine once more. "Would you let your daughter go through an unbearable process just for the sake of somepony else? Even though you know it will end up destroying her. She's an android after all."
"I..."
"Besides. I don't think the Pokemon I own will be of great use. Isn't that right?" Daybreaker then took out her Ultra Ball again, releasing the Pokemon inside of it.
This Legendary Pokemon was one of destructive fury. Untold power that can only be released under certain circumstances. It had a vaguely humanoid shape with its body appearing to be constructed out of a black crystalline material. Three large spikes were protruding out of it along with the top as it had a dark grey symbol resembling a star in the centre. This Pokemon was none other than the devourer of light itself.
"Necrozma."
"O-Oh my..." Skyblue Shine stepped back after witnessing Necromza's entrance and appearance.
"As I said. Necrozma isn't exactly the Pokemon you want to use for this. Isn't that right, partner?" Daybreaker turned to Necrozma as the Prism Pokemon nodded.
Necrozma and Daybreaker seemed to already have a bond. One that was as simple as the average Pokemon Trainer and Pokemon themselves. Necrozma gazed at Skyblue Shine, giving her a terrifying look with a never-changing face.
"T-Then I take it...you won't assist in this?"
"I would've never done so in the first place. Not with a child involved. Plus, Necrozma sort of does the opposite of what you're looking for."
"I see." Skyblue Shine lowered her head before opening a gateway to Universe 28.
"But, before you leave, I hope you're understanding your role as a mother. If you truly love your daughter as you say you do, then you'll show your love at its purest...won't you?"
Words that Daybreaker had left behind for Skyblue Shine to think about. The android said nothing as she entered the gateway with it closing. Daybreaker shrugged before heading over to one of the hedges.
"She'll figure it out. Eventually."
Pegalysium. Nightfall.
The Gallant Pegasus stood before Ash and the others, threatening to destroy them. With Second Wind controlling it, the massive weapon raised its Dynasite-clad hooves, stomping them.
Everyone immediately moved back, avoiding the stomp as this part of the island had received a massive crater, just from the texture and hardness of Dynasite. Massive rubble emerged with the ground quaking afterwards, forcing everyone to move even further back.
"What power...Covering it with Dynasite was the way to go." Second Wind spoke.
"That's all Dynasite?!" Rarity gasped as Pheromosa placed her down. "There's no way we can break through that if that's the case!"
"Why?" Twilight asked.
"Dynasite's this super hard metal here in Pegalysium!" Spike turned to Twilight. "Not even Pheromosa could break through it!"
"You're serious?!" Twilight and everyone turned to Pheromosa. The Lissome Pokemon nodded as it was true. Even Pheromosa's amazing strength wasn't enough. She could hold the metal back, but even coming close to breaking it seemed impossible.
The Gallant Pegasus then started unloading blasts of magic from the holes within its wings. This magic was supported by the Indigo Alliance members as they came flying out.
"Audino!" Audino used Protect, shielding her friends from the incoming rays. But not all of them considering how much were approaching and how fast they were fling out.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Castform, Weather Ball!"
"Eve, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Hatterene, Psycho Cut!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu, Castform and Espeon quickly countered these blasts with 100,000 volts of electricity, tearing blades, a sphere of energy without any elements due to it being evening and rainbow beams to do so.
"Pheromosa, Triple Kick!"
"Haxorus, Close Combat!"
Both Pheromosa and Haxorus approached the building weapon, aiming to crush the hard armour. Even though Dynasite seemed indestructible, there was no shame in trying. Two Fighting-Type moves could be something.
However, since this was modelled after a pegasus, the Gallant Pegasus simply flew into the air, avoiding the incoming attacks. But that didn't mean they couldn't pursue it. Pheromosa then jumped into the air with her amazing speed, hitting the Gallant Pegasus' hoof.
"P-Phero!" Pheromosa winced as her leg felt the hardness of the Dynasite material. The Lissome Pokemon fell after her leg shook as Haxorus caught her.
"Haxorus!"
The Magma Stones within the Gallant Pegasus had been utilized next. The Indigo Alliance activated the stones by pouring magma onto them. By doing so, the Gallant Pegasus unleashed streams of magma that came flying out.
"Tile!" Sceptile quickly pulled Applejack away from the incoming magma with his vines whilst everyone else scattered. Castform's cells reacted to the magma, forcing him into his Sunny Form.
"Ninetales! Absorb it with Flash Fire!" Twilight quickly flew back, throwing the Poke Ball to send Ninetales out. If anything, Ninetales would gladly take these flames and use them as his own power.
"Ninetales!" The Fox Pokemon's ability kicked in as he casually moved through the magma. The heat from the magma had been absorbed into his body as Ninetales now had increased flames.
"If it's so indestructible, then let's see if it melts! Flare Blitz, Ninetales!"
"Nine...Tales!" Ninetales then lunged at the moving weapon with a stream of fire around his body. Perhaps melting was the answer to defeating Dynasite. But in truth, once Ninetales crashed into the metal, nothing happened. Only recoil towards Ninetales. However, he did manage to push the Gallant Pegasus back. "Nine!"
"It won't even melt?!" Twilight pulled back in shock.
"But it's not unbeatable! Pikachu, use Iron Tail! Dragonite, Lucario! Come out and use Force Palm and Dragon Claw!" Ash commanded before throwing out two more of his Pokemon. Out came Lucario and Dragonite, already on the move as they flew and dashed past Pikachu.
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu jumped into the air, swinging his metal tail onto the neck of the Gallant Pegasus. Iron certainly wasn't strong enough to match the hardness of Dynasite. But, Pikachu did push it back a bit along with Lucario and Dragonite who had struck the weapon.
"Get lost!" Second Wind cried out as the Gallant Pegasus responded by whacking the three Pokemon with its wings and tail. Pikachu and Lucario tumbled on the ground while Dragonite recovered in the air.
The Gallant Pokemon then raised its hoof on Pikachu and Lucario as they were on the ground, threatening to step on them. Lucario quickly kicked Pikachu out of the way to save him. And as for Lucario, he was saved by a zooming Pheromosa who had grabbed him. With great timing too as the hoof had been smashed down.
"See? Not even your magical creatures can do anything to this." Second Wind taunted. "Kind of disappointing considering how much you've hyped them up, hm?"
"Oh, yeah?!" Rainbow Dash growled as she sent Braviary out. "We'll show you!"
"Braviary!"
"There's no way that thing's unbreakable. We'll use the Bond Phenomenon to prove it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed before banking on Rainbow-Braviary to deal with this weapon. Immediately, Braviary had been consumed by a pillar of rainbows.
He and Rainbow Dash were syncing together. Emerging out of the pillar of rainbows was Rainbow-Braviary himself. "Braviary!"
"Superpower, go!"
"Viary!" The Valiant Pokemon approached as the Gallant Pegasus turned its attention to the approaching Normal-Flying-Type. Magic rays came out of its eyes and wings each to try and shoot him down.
Rainbow-Braviary soared his way through the skies, avoiding the rays. Once he was close, the Valiant Pokemon coated his wings in energy before smashing them onto the Gallant Pegasus. The Dynasite metal still did not break. But, Superpower greatly knocked the Gallant Pegasus back.
"Tch!" Second WInd scoffed as she had the Gallant Pegasus shoot out rods of Dynasite from its body. The rods had struck Rainbow-Braviary, knocking him out of the sky.
"Bravi!"
"Agh!" And Rainbow Dash felt it too. Getting hit with Dynasite was not pleasant as the pegasus got on the ground, groaning and holding her stomach. "T-That hurts!"
But there was more. More of those rods started emerging from this pegasus as they rained down everywhere. And at the same time, Second Wind made the Gallant Pegasus deliver one last stomp to this floating island. This time, with both hooves while cladding them with magma.
Everyone attempted evading the rods but that was the least of their worries. Once the hooves struck, a giant stream of magma emerged, flowing through the land.
"Oh geez!" Pinkie Pie squealed after seeing a massive magma storm coming towards her and her friends. Ninetales stood in front of the incoming magma stream, acting as a shield for his friends.
And he was an amazing one. The Fox Pokemon took all of the magma, using the power of Flash Fire as a black hole. The magma gravitated towards Ninetales. Even the ones that were away from him on different sides. Ninetales took in all of the magma, building up his power. He had successfully saved his friends from the magma stream. However, absorbing too much can leave Ninetales a bit iffy and befuddled.
"N-Nine!"
"Kh! You're just delaying things at this point!" Second Wind was getting frustrated with how Ash and the others were still around. Not crushed or vaporized like she was hoping. At this point, the Royal Family and all of Pegalysium would find out about her actions if she wasn't quick.
"Then give us back our friend already!" Emerald Aura shouted back. "I know she's in there!"
"Like I'd give up the greatest source of magic we could ever have! You and that brat over there could add to that. Rift Ponies could do so much for us."
"Our friends aren't your property!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Tough! These Rift Ponies aren't technically even meant to be here in the first place! They're anomalies at best! And with that...rules and morals can be thrown out of the window with them involved."
"Yikes, she's cuckoo..." Spike grimaced as Rarity nodded in agreement.
"I don't know much about you humans...but you seem as equal bothers as well. Every one of you. You should've never come to Pegalysium or even know about its existence. What's worse is how the Royal Family decides to endorse something that our ancestors have denied and established. Everything is falling apart now. But that's fine. With Rift Magic, that won't be the case for long."
"Blah, blah." Applejack mocked. "Like we care about that."
"Fine...Let's see if you care about this!" Second Wind gave a horrifying face as she made the Gallant Pegasus open its mouth. And out of its mouth came a gigantic sphere of Rift Magic.
But it wasn't aimed at everyone here. Instead, the sphere was sent towards the capital of Pegalysium with some magma infused within it. Everyone gasped as they witnessed this sphere fly off.
"Gotcha!" Just as Second Wind planned. Distracting them with something major such as that, only for her to have the Gallant Pegasus obliterate the island they stood on with its hooves.
It wasn't just that island. It was every other surrounding floating island nearby. The force of this hit was strong enough to shatter them all as they started crumbling.
"W-Woah...Woah!" Ash cried out as everyone was losing their balance. And to make sure none of their Flying-Types would save them, Second Wind had the Gallant Pegasus flap its wings, changing and altering the wind currents. The winds themselves were thrown off balance, forcing Dragonite and Braviary to lose focus themselves. Even the ponies that could fly were thrown off balance.
"D-Dra!"
"Braviary!"
"So long!" Second Wind bellowed before using Rift Magic once more in the form of giant lightning bolts that came crashing down.
"P-Pikachu!" Ash cried out.
"Pika...!" Pikachu slid on the ground as he looked up, seeing the incoming lightning bolts. The Mouse Pokemon lunged into the air, going straight towards them. And after they hit him, Pikachu absorbed their electricity for himself.
"What?!" Second Wind gasped.
"Pikachu...!" After absorbing it, Pikachu used Thunderbolt. But this time, he gave out an output of 200,000 volts. He struck the moving weapon, still unable to break the Dynasite. But it greatly pushed the Gallant Pegasus back.
"S-Sceptile!" Even if everyone who could fly were unable to focus due to these wind streams, Sceptile could. He used his vines to his advantage, latching onto the farthest island that hadn't crumbled. He then used every vine he could muster to grab all of his friends.
Sceptile was struggling to hold all of them. This much weight was a lot for him to handle as his grip was loosening. Thankfully, since he held them, he allowed the others to have enough time to think.
"D-Dragonite, Hyper Beam on that sphere!"
"D-Dragonite...!" Dragonite's eyes flashed as she was able to get one Hyper Beam in. Right towards the sphere as it was heading for Pegalysium. The Dragon Pokemon unleashed a massive beam from its mouth. And thankfully, Hyper Beam was swift enough to catch up to the sphere.
One hit and the sphere had been destroyed.
Emerald Aura used her magic to safely transport everyone to the closest island. The closest island was also the farthest, unfortunately. But it would have to do as the Gallant Pegasus crashed into the ground from Pikachu's Thunderbolt. Everyone inside started trembling from it.
"W-What's with that abnormal strength?" Second Wind growled before regaining her balance. She then saw that her targets were gone due to Emerald transporting everyone away. "Where'd they go?! Bah, forget it! I'm wasting time. I need to vaporize the capital at once!"
Second Wind advanced. She sent the Gallant Pegasus into the skies, heading straight for the capital. The islands here all fell. Except for the one that Emerald Aura had gone to.
Everyone was safe, thankfully. They watched the Gallant Pokemon fly off into the night sky. Pikachu's body crackled with electricity while Rainbow Dash winced from the shared pain with Rainbow-Braviary.
"How are we gonna beat something we can't even breakthrough?" Spike sighed.
"As long as she has Jade and Dynasite, she's almost impossible to stop," said Starlight.
"No way." Emerald stood up. "No one's unstoppable. Especially not her."
"We just need to get past that metal. Maybe Aura can have an effect." Ash theorized before helping the rest of his friends up. "I've got an idea. Let's try something, you guys."
Pegalysium Capital.
With a gigantic shadow looming over the city, the Gallant Pegasus had arrived with all eyes on it. King Paramount and Queen Luminary, who were judging the remaining Indigo Alliance Members, looked onwards as they witnessed its arrival.
"W-What is that, dad?" Shooting Star stuttered.
"The Gallant Pegasus..." Paramount gawked. "A great weapon used by the ponies of old. How is it here?!"
The Gallant Pegasus stayed in the air for a moment as Second Wind allowed everypony to bask in its radiance. She even decided to show off by using Rift Magic to make it shine.
"Bask in its beauty for the first and last time, Pegalysium." Second Wind uttered as she was ready to end it. And to erase Pegalysium off the map, she would use Rift Magic for it. The Gallant Pegasus opened its mouth, conjuring another sphere. This one was focused on wiping the city out of existence. Completely off the map.
And it made sure it was extra large. The sound of the sphere charging up could be heard as it was growing with size each increasing second. Paramount quickly realized what this was as he gasped.
"Everypony! Out of the city, now!" Paramount ordered. He didn't need to tell them twice. It's already been a confusing day for them, so they were willing to go with anything now. And because it was the king's orders.
The pegasi all started flying off. Even the captured members were being carried out of here. As for Paramount, while his wife and son were fleeing, he wasn't. He wasn't about to leave the city just because some giant appeared before him. He had to fulfil his role as king.
"Staying behind, your majesty?" Second Wind's voice passed through. "How noble."
"Second Wind? Because of course...How did you get your hooves on something such as this?!"
"How? Easy. The advantage that the Indigo Alliance has over the Royal Family is resources. Since we've been working within the shadows for centuries, we've been able to gain ahold of many ancient and powerful forms of magic for ourselves without anypony else finding out. The Reanimate Tears and Gallant Pegasus are just the biggest examples."
"Hm. Then answer me this. Do you know something about the sudden demise of my parents on that fateful night?"
"Do I?" Second Wind chuckled for a moment before rubbing her hooves together. She then looked down on Paramount with disdain. "I planned it."
"You what?!"
"Your parents were just as big of a threat as you were with their ideals. Then again, most of your family line is practically like that overall. So, to erase those ideals, I decided to weed out the problem. I wanted it to be grander for the royals, but a chariot incident was good enough for me."
"So you're the reason why." After hearing that, Paramount now had someone to target all of his anger towards. However, he made sure not to lose his cool.
"But don't worry. You'll meet them soon. Oh, wait." Second Wind thought for a moment. "If you're going to be wiped out then I suppose you won't. Your existence won't be there anymore! Buh-bye!"
With that, Second Wind had the Gallant Pegasus reach the max capacity of this sphere. Paramount promised himself not to use Rift Magic until Celestia fulfilled her promise. But for the sake of his subjects and city, he would use it anyway. But that wouldn't be necessary.
"Aura Sphere!" In the distance, Ash's voice could be heard. And following that was an incoming sphere of Aura. One of the few things that can properly interact with Rift Energy. And it certainly did.
Aura Sphere struck the Rift Sphere, cancelling out with the power of Aura. The sphere imploded, knocking the Gallant Pegasus back as everypony within the weapon fell over.
"What now?!" Second Wind growled before facing the right. Ash and the others had arrived at Pegalysium. Wasn't that hard anyway. They had many options. Pheromosa and Dragonite's speed or just teleportation from any magic users here. "You! Why can't you just butt out for one second!"
"Children. Are you alright?" Paramount asked.
"We're fine. Glad this place hasn't been wiped out yet," said Twilight.
"Okay, guys. Let's try it out. Probably the only way we can break through Dynasite." Ash spoke.
"Break through Dynasite?" Paramount turned to him. "Impossible. Nothing in Pegalysium history has been able to even dent or crack it. Not once."
"We'll see about that. We'll be the first to do so. Aura Staff, come out!" Ash then held his hand out, summoning the Staff of Sir Aaron by enlarging it.
"Pheromosa, Triple Kick!"
"Pheromosa!" One more time. And hopefully, with better success, Pheromosa leapt into the air, ready to deliver three consecutive hits. But this time, with the assistance of Aura.
Ash closed his eyes, focusing his Aura on the staff. Afterwards, he coated Pheromosa's legs in Aura. So far so good. But the damage had yet to be seen.
"This is just redundant! What part of indestructible metal do you not under-" Just as Second Wind spoke, Pheromisa kicked the face of the Gallant Pegasus with Aura involved.
And to everyone's surprise, something happened. A crack had formed as shards of Dynasitee flew out of the Gallant Pegasus after the initial hit, knocking the weapon back. By using Aura, Pheromosa was able to fully damage it.
"What?!" Second Wind roared in shock and confusion. "Impossible!"
"Yes, it worked!" Ash cheered as a smile graced Pheromosa's face. But she wasn't done yet. Two more kicks to go. The Lissome Pokemon kicked the Gallant Pegasus in the face two more times, shattering more of the Dynasite.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa then descended, feeling proud of herself for being the first one to properly damage the seemingly indestructible Dynasite.
"So Aura can affect it!" Twilight flapped her wings in surprise before realizing something. She then took out one of her Poke Balls, sending Togekiss out into the fray.
"Togekiss!"
"Togekiss, use Aura Sphere!"
"Mew, you use Aura Sphere too!" Pinkie chimed in. Those that had a semblance of Aura at their disposal could do something. In unison, spheres of aura came flying out of their mouths.
And as to be expected, once the spheres struck, they damaged the Dynasite armour. This time on one of the wings as shards dropped to the ground, piercing through some buildings.
"Well, I'll be..." Paramount's eyes widened as the residents of Pegalysium were equally as amazed by what they were gazing at. The seemingly indestructible Dynasite had been damaged.
And Second Wind didn't take kindly to that.
"This shouldn't be happening. First, they have a counter to my magma...then my electricity and now Dynasite?! What is with these creatures?!"
"Pokemon are awesome, aren't they? Alright, everyone!" Ash raised his staff. "Do what you can! I'll give you all the Aura in the world to damage it!"
Confidence had been raised. Now that the weapon was vulnerable to the always reliable Aura, everyone had as many options as they wanted.
Ash could only coat them in Aura for around 7 seconds at best. But that was enough. Audino and Dragonite simultaneously used Hyper Beam with Ash coating it in Aura.
The two Hyper Beams struck both wings, damaging multiple Dynasite feathers and blowing them off. Ash also coated Rainbow-Braviary's wings when utilizing Superpower, allowing Rainbow-Braviary to freely damage and break off Dynasite chunks.
The Gallant Pegasus tried melting the ground with incoming magma streams, only for Ninetales to get in the way. However, Ninetales was reaching his limit on how much magma he could absorb as he started wincing.
Thankfully, Audino was there to help. She used Heal Pulse to recover the Fox Pokemon, allowing him to feel less strained about the flames. This allowed Ninetales to continuously absorb the flames without any worry.
Dynasite rods came flying out of the Gallant Pegasus as they started raining down and destroying everything in sight. Many buildings had been crushed by these rods with ease.
Dragonite and Haxorus used their brute strength to grab these rods, throwing them aside. Pheromosa quickly pushed everyone out of the way when some rods got a bit too close.
Pikachu jumped on some of the rods with Iron Tail ready. Ash covered his partner's tail in Aura, allowing him to land an effective hit on this weapon.
"Get lost, already!" Second Wind blurted out before having the Gallant Pegasus' hoof fly towards Pikachu.
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu flipped in midair, avoiding the hoof and swinging Iron Tail down. One wing and the hoof was almost cut in half.
"!" Second Wind gasped as she quickly pulled the hoof away. She then made the Gallant Pegasus whack Pikachu away with its Dynasite tail.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out as Dragonite caught him. After catching Pikachu, Dragonite used Hyper Beam, going straight for the damaged hoof. And with assistance from Ash's Aura, the hoof had been blown off by Hyper Beam. One major part of the Gallant Pegasus was now gone.
"Why I-" Before Second Wind could give her next command, Haxorus had grabbed the other hoof of the Gallant Pegasus suddenly. He was going to try and rip it off. And with Ash covering his claws with Aura, that could happen.
Not wanting any further damage, Second Wind made the Gallant Pegasus extrude gigantic Dynasite cylinders from its hoof, hitting Haxorus' stomach and forcing the Axe Jaw Pokemon back.
"Now it's my turn! Like I'll let you get an advantage ever again, you brats!" Second Wind let out a wide and devious grin before exuding more Rift Magic onto the Gallant Pegasus. She had the weapon flap its wings, sending out two gigantic whirlwinds that had already blown away some buildings.
"Dragonite, counter with Hurricane!"
"Clap your wings with Superpower, Braviary!"
"Dragonite...!" In unison, Dragonite and Braviary counteracted these whirlwinds by forming their own forms of wind. Dragonite did so by flapping her wings while Braviary used Superpower to do so via wing claps.
"Jade's still in there...Let's try and get inside! Lucario, Form Palm!"
"Lucario!" Lucario then jumped in the air, using the falling rubble to gain some extra height. He concentrated some Aura into his paw before hitting the neck of the Gallant Pegasus. A massive hole had been made from the initial impact, pushing the weapon back."
"Get back!" Second Wind yelled before having the Dynasite cylinders come out and knock Lucario. She then used Rift Magic once more, regenerating the damage Lucario had made. "I told you, with Rift Magic, I can do anything! Even regenerate this beauty!"
"Not unless we do it faster than you can regenerate!" Eve! Togekiss! Dazzling Gleam!"
"Use Dazzling Gleam as well, Hatterene!"
"Espeon!"
"Togekiss!"
"Hatterene!"
The three Pokemon released multiple rays of rainbows after forming a sphere of magic. The rainbows were coated in Aura, allowing for them to damage the Dynasite. With the rays rapidly hitting the armoured weapon, it caused shards to fall out faster than they do.
And indeed, Second Wind couldn't regenerate it as fast as she hoped she could. She still has her limits as a pony with a limited reaction time.
"Tile!" Sceptile had used his vines to grab the hoof of the Gallant Pegasus. With all his strength and some Aura coating, he ripped off the second hoof successfully.
"Darn it!" In response, Second Wind caused more of those Dynasite rods to erupt from the ground. The erupting rods struck the stomachs of Espeon and Togekiss, knocking them away.
"Espeon! Togekiss!" Twilight gasped before watching her partners hit a nearby building. They were still conscious but taking something like that to the stomach was unpleasant. More of those rods came flying out, threatening to hit everyone.
Dragonite, Sceptile, Lucario, Haxorus and Pheromosa started defending their friends by catching or breaking any rods that got near. Meanwhile, Ninetales jumped on one of the rods, using Flare Blitz to go straight for the head of the Gallant Pegasus.
Second Wind had the Gallant Pegasus headbutt Ninetales, knocking the Fox Pokemon back. Audino was ready to heal him until Second Wind saw how much of a threat Audino was. Not wanting any healing shenanigans, a rod emerged from the ground, going for Audino.
"Chiko!" Chikorita's fate-changing leaf kicked in. Removing a fairly big piece of it as it had touched the Hearing Pokemon. With that, fate had changed, altering events as the rods ended up missing. Second Wind witnessed this for herself, seeing that there were now more threats other than just Ash, Aura and Audino.
This time, she manipulated the buildings via Rift Magic. With some telekinesis, she raised the buildings from the ground, sending them towards her targets.
Rainbow-Braviary and Togekiss moved through the air with Brave Bird and Sky Attack. They evaded any incoming buildings with their speed as they had some aura coat them. The two Flying-Types crashed into the Gallant Pegasus, breaking massive chunks off.
Second Wind's frustration was only building up from here as buildings started falling everywhere. Magma steams came out of the Gallant Pegasus' eyes, going straight for Audino.
Chikorita's leaf activated once more. However, a large chunk of it came off, forcing Chikorita to put more effort in. The leaf touched Audino, saving her from being melted.
"R-Rita...! However, with a massive leaf chunk taking off of the Leaf Pokemon, she was getting tired as she fell to the ground.
"Rest for now, Chikorita!" Fluttershy quickly returned Chikorit to her Poke Ball for rest.
But it wasn't just Chikorita. Ash was feeling some effects too. Not only could he summon Aura for 7 seconds only, using so much in one instance was starting to bring Delayed Aura Ataxia into the mix.
"Ugh!" Ash groaned as he gripped onto the staff. "That Ataxia's lurking around right now...Not sure if I can keep giving everyone Aura."
"Hang in there, Ash!" Pinkie Pie cried out.
"Oh, getting sloppy and tired? Excellent You youths are too energetic anyway for your own good!" Second Wind taunted before regenerating the broken hooves of the Gallant Pegasus. After doing so, she made an earthquake happen via hoof stomps.
Everyone on the ground had been affected, minus those airborne. Those affected lost balance, falling over from the earthquake as the force started opening up a chasm.
Second Wind then had magic beams fly out of the chasm by surprise, hitting Ninetales, Pheromosa and Audino with them. The three of them fell back as more of those magic beams came flying out.
Twilight and Starlight cast a protective barrier around their friends as the beams rapidly pelted the barrier. Second Wind then infused Rift Magic with it, causing the barrier to shatter easily.
"M-Mosa...!" Pheromosa's fragile body was getting to her. Being hit like that made the Lissome Pokemon quake.
"Return for now, darling!" Rarity quickly returned Pheromosa before switching out to another. "Ampharos come out!"
"Ampharos!"
"You too, Ninetales! Rest up!" Twilight did the same as Ninetales had been recalled. She then swapped him out for Absol for this scenario. "Go, Absol!"
"Absol!"
"Send out as many of your pets as you want! I'm still on the verge of winning here!" Second Wind declared before influencing the skies themselves with Rift Magic.
"Ash. How much Aura can you give out now?" Twilight asked.
"Not sure. But I won't stop either way." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"I gotcha covered." Emerald Aura went up to Ash, using her Rift Magic on him. By doing so, Emerald had restored Ash's stamina, dialling the effects of Ataxia back. "There."
"Thanks, Emerald!"
"Pikachu!"
"Then in that case..." Twilight took out her quill holder which led her Mega Stone. Spike knew what Twilight was going for as he sent Salamence out for one purpose.
"Salamence!"
Together, they all took out their Mega Evolution accessories. Twilight, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy were ready to Mega Evolve and put an end to this as they each activated the stones.
"Mega Evolve!"
All at once, the Infinity Energies started flowing out of the stones, striking their targets. In unison and with perfect timing, Absol, Audino, Ampharos, Sceptile and Salamence had Mega Evolved, unleashing their mega forms.
"So what, you changed forms?! One of them looks like it can barely stand!" Second Wind mocked them. She then used her Rift Magic to do something intimidating.
She multiplied the Gallant Pegasus ten times, creating copies. This was a problem for numerous reasons. However, this problem quickly ceased once Cold Colt stepped in, removing the clones away.
"Huh?!" Second Wind looked around, noticing how the clones had faded.
"Hehe." Cold stuck his tongue out. "Clones are naturally weaker so getting rid of those was super easy."
"You brats! Why are you all so stubborn?!" Second Wind went on the offensive. That's when all the Mega Pokemon did the same. With Ash's Aura covering them they were better than ever.
Absol used Night Slash to cut an incoming Dynasite cylinder into pieces. Salamence took the skies, using his sharp wings to cut parts of the Dynsaite material around the neck. Ampharos and Sceptile had used Dragon Pulse together, hitting the neck as well after Salamence had damaged it.
Second Wind quickly regenerated it, only for Audino to interrupt with Hyper Beam, hitting the neck and breaking it once more. Second Wind had a giant tsunami emerge from the chasm, threatening to drown everyone.
Pikachu used this to his advantage as he went up close to the Gallant Pegasus. After getting close, he used Thunderbolt, mixing it with the water and some Aura in there. He shocked the Gallant Pegasus, causing it to almost fall over.
"Steady!" Second Wind tried keeping the weapon's balance after the shock.
"Hatt!" Along came Hatterene's Psycho Cut, slashing the hoof and cutting it off. After doing so, the Gallant Pegasus tipped over as Second Wind couldn't keep the balance.
The weapon hit the ground as it had finally lost balance, falling over. Second Wind and everyone inside fell as well from this balance reduction.
"Now's our chance! Rip that face off, Haxorus!"
"Haxorus!" Haxorus moved through the tsunami with Spike on his back. With Ash helping out, the Axe Jaw Pokemon grabbed the face of the Gallant Pegasus, promptly ripping it off. "Xorus!"
"No!" Second Wind cried out as the face had been removed. She tried regenerating it, only for Lucario to come over and interrupting with Force Palm.
"Mew!" Mew flew over, transforming himself into Rayquaza, just to wrap around the Gallant Pegasus. He constricted the weapon with Rayquaza's long body as an advantage.
Second Wind had the Gallant Pegasus spurt out magma, burning Mew's body. Mew cried out as he was forced off the Gallant Pegasus, turning into a Vaporreon to cool himself off.
"Pika...!" Pikachu jumped into the air, charging up one last Thunderbolt. And with Aura covering him, he made sure that this was the one to leave a lasting effect.
"Just to be safe..." Emerald narrowed her eyes as he had thunderstorms appear from above. The thunderbolts crashed down, striking the Mouse Pokemon Pikachu was powered up more because of that.
"Pika...CHUUUU!" Pikachu then released over 1,000,000 volts of lightning thanks to some great assistance. Second Wind gasped as she quickly had a Rift Shield appear around the Gallant Pegasus.
"I refuse to lose to some outsiders and their pets!" Second Wind bellowed as she expanded the shield, forcing Pikachu's Thunderbolt back. Pikachu strained, trying to break through the shield of Rift Magic.
"Absol...!" Absol and the other chimed in with Dark Pulse, Hyper Beam from both Audino and Dragonite, Dragon Pulse from Sceptile, Salamence and Ampharos, Brave Bird from Braviary, Dazzling Gleam from Espeon, Togekiss and Hatterene each along with Giga Impact from Haxorus.
Each of them met with the shield, attempting to shatter and push through it Second Wind's resilience was strong as she refused to let the shield break. The members inside the weapon assist by adding their shields to it.
"Lucario...!" Lucario jumped into the air, holding a massive Aura Sphere as he tossed it downwards.
In the end, it was the Pokemon that succeeded as the attacks broke through. All at once, each attack struck the Gallant Pegasus with Aura surrounding it. The Dynasite armour had shattered from these merged attacks, removing the Gallant Pegasus' main defence. And it even struck the cobblestone it was originally built with.
A gigantic outburst of paroxysm emerged from this impact as everything in the capital had been blown away. No buildings were safe from this. But at least it wasn't wiped out.
All the Pokemon breathed in and out after exuding so much from their bodies. Paramount and the citizens were awe-struck as Shooting Star could only say one thing.
"So cool..."
"U-Ugh..." Out of the massive smoke, Second Wind crawled out. No one within the weapon was harmed thanks to Emerald Aura. But the Gallant Pegasus itself, not so much. It was now a wreck as every Indigo Alliance member jumped out of the destroyed weapon. "T-This isn't over yet. I can just regenerate it and-"
However, Second Wind then met the effects of using too much Rift Magic. She twitched as her body was on the verge of fainting. Paramount and his soldiers surrounded the members as the king approached the Grand Judge.
"That's that." Ash before putting Sir Aaron's staff away.
"Second Wind," Paramount spoke. "I've already decided your judgement after what I've witnessed. And with what you have done to my parents."
"Y-Yeah right..." She scoffed. "Like you'll get your hooves on me!" Even if she couldn't use Rift Magic right now, she used her ordinary magic to immediately teleport away, abandoning this area.
"Should we go after her?" Twilight asked.
"We'll get her eventually. But other than that...excellent work. All of you. E-Even though it resulted in the destruction of the city."
"Hehe. Our bad." Ash chuckled along with everyone.
"Pikachu."
"Ah! Jade!" Pinkie then noticed one last pegasus walk out of the smoke. Jade Skies. Still in one piece and unbothered. After all, she knew her friends would rescue her.
"Hey, everyone." She said.
"Jade!" Pinkie rushed over, hugging her friend with the full strength of an earth pony. Everyone else came in for a hug as they surrounded Jade. It was now a loving group hug all around. "We were so worried! We had to go through magma, some crazy hard metal, tsunamis, earthquakes, thunderbolts and-"
"I hear you." Jade stopped Pinkie Pie. "I knew you'd come for me. But...there's something you should all know. I just found it out yesterday."
"You're a Rift Pony. Like us." Emerald already gave an answer as she stepped forward. "That prince sot of spoiled it already."
"You're like us! How cool is that?!" Cold squeed.
"It's pretty cool. I mean...I didn't think I'd be one." Jade looked down. "Guess my origin ended up being some cosmic force in the end. But, I don't care. I've met you all right?"
"Mhm." Pinkie Pie nodded as the unthinkable happened. After seeing how her friends came to her aide and cared for he despite her origin, Jade was truly around the bestest friends she could ever ask for which caused her to smile.
After cracking her first smile, Jade felt at peace as everyone gasped at this sight. The citizens of Pegalysium returned, cheering for this stunning victory despite their destroyed homes. They also enjoyed seeing a Pokemon Battle for the first time. Intense but exciting to witness.
As for the Gallant Pegasus, the guards gathered up the pieces, bringing them in. Everything had simmered down now in Pegalysium. But there was one thing left.
"Hold on." Emerald looked over at the destroyed city before using her Rift Magic to do one last good deed for the night. With the amazing power of the Rift, Emerald Aura had restored the destroyed city to its prime. Just like that, the buildings of every kind, whether household or store-based had been restored. "There we go. Good as new."
"Oh! Now that we're done here, Celestia and Luna need our help! Premium could be still captured!" Ash alerted everyone.
"You're leaving already?" Luminary walked up.
"Sorry. But we have another friend to rescue. Wish we could stay a bit longer." Fluttershy apologised.
"No need for apologies." Paramount shook his head. "You have another friend to save after all. Go. We'll take things from here."
"Awesome. Thanks." Ash gave a thumbs-up as everyone here was ready to head off to the next universe. One last friend was in need of help. Premium Polish.
Universe 28. The Empress' spare palace.
"Great. Now I'm lost." Jackie said whilst moving through the jumbled palace.
"Chatot! Lost!"
"Gotta be here somewhere." He ran through the hallways and their new twisted appearance. Premium Polish had yet to be found. So far, Jackie hadn't found anything. All he heard was the sounds of ponies fighting. Something he'd never thought he'd hear.
That is until he hit the jackpot.
A laboratory full of captured Pokemon. Just what Jackie needed. More help. And being a Pokemon Ranger, this would count as a rescue. With his capture styler ready, Jackie was ready to add to the chaos.
"Capture on!" By using his styler, a golden beam zoomed through the windows of the lab, circling all of the Pokemon within the lab. Even the ones that were being contained in cases. The styler could affect practically anything.
Once it wrapped around them, all of the Pokemon were now following Jackie's orders. But not only that, the styler had healed them, granting them their full strength. With their strengths' regained, the Pokemon were able to break free of their prisons with a Poliwrath being the first to do so.
"Poliwrath!"
It was a Pokemon breakout now. All the Pokemon, finding extra strengths had targeted all that strength towards the scientists. The scientists started panicking, running from the Pokemon. If they could that is.
Jackie gave an approving nod as some of the Pokemon had exited the lab, coming to the Pokemon Ranger after he had saved them. With extra help from new Pokemon, Jackie continued on his mission to find Premium Polish. And with extra help along the way.
Right now, it was absolute chaos inside of the palace. From the freed Pokemon thanks to Jackie's capture styler and the reshaped palace that looks like a puzzle that a child had horribly made.
Celestia, Luna, Jackie, Darkrai and Frillish were on the move, searching for Premium Polish. But with how the place was jumbled up, that was taking a while.
But help was on the way in the form of Ash and the others. They had just finished saving Jade from the Indigo Alliance in Pegalysium after a difficult battle against a seemingly indestructive pegasus weapon. Not indestructible against Aura as it was discovered.
With the help of Emerald Aura, they had entered the 28th universe. Just amid all the chaos. As for Jade, she was sent home with Emerald assisting her back. Her friends would take everything from here. As they had arrived, the first person they bumped into was Jackie himself.
"Ash! Everyone! Perfect timing." Jackie greeted.
"Oh, Jackie!" Ash responded. "You're here too? Did you find Premium?"
"Sorry. Not yet. Plus, you came at a weird time. This whole palace has been jumbled up. There's no consistency here anymore." Jackie shrugged. "But, I've got a good feeling about you all arriving. Especially that Audino and Slurpuff you own."
"Good call." Pinkie Pie nodded. "With us here, it'll be easy. But uhh...how are we gonna get through this new looking place?"
"That's for us to find out. Just be a bit careful not to fall out."
With Jackie on their side, the group got to searching. Audino's hearing and Slurpuff's nose would come in handy for this. Audino couldn't hear Premium's voice at the moment so it was up to Slurpuff's nose to track her scent.
But along the way, they came across the one pony they hoped they wouldn't cross. Empress Twilight Sparkle. She walked around the corner, appearing before the group as they pulled back.
"Thought I sensed usage of Rift Energy," said Empress Twilight. "Celestia and her friends just love to intervene, don't they? But...you're all in one place and spot. How lucky is that?"
"Empress. Back for more." Jackie smirked as Empress Twilight snarled at the Pokemon Ranger. "You looked pretty riled up after what happened last time. Was it too much?"
"Shut up! You just caught me off guard back then!" The Empress snapped at Jackie, pointing her hoof at him in frustration with her face turning red. Jackie kept an unchanging cocky expression.
"Wait, what did you do?" Twilight asked.
"Don't answer that!" The Empress roared, causing her younger self to yelp before hiding behind Ash. "Anyway! Back to the topic at hoof! Where was I? Right! I have you all in one spot...but I'm clever enough to know that dealing with you all once is just stupid."
"Gonna chicken out then, egghead?" Rainbow Dash chuckled, taunting her.
"You'll see. Very soon, all of you will be under my control. But just to leave you something for a moment. Here!" The Empress' eyes flashed as everyone prepared themselves for the worst.
Before they knew it, the Empress was gone. Transporting back to her throne room. Everyone looked around, seeing that nothing had changed at all.
But suddenly, without warning, a door had opened beneath Applejack and Sceptile as it had opened. Applejack quickly realized what had just happened as she fell through. The door closed afterwards.
"Woah!"
"Sceptile!"
"Applejack!" Everyone cried out as the same started happening to them. Ash, Pinkie Pie and Cold Colt fell through a door below while Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Rarity were pulled in by a giant claw that emerged from another randomly summoned door.
"Guys!" Spike screeched as it was just him and Jackie now. "Where'd they go?! What was up with all those doors?!"
"How do you like my Arc of Doors Spell?" The Empress' voice echoed throughout the hallways. "Allows me to open off of any surface. Even air. Let's see you try and find her with all of this."
"All your tricks are just making this drag on, Empress," Jackie said. "We'll find her eventually. Come on, kid."
"O-Okay!" Spike followed after Jackie, hoping to find his friends and avoid some random doors that lead to who knows where.
Speaking of which, after falling through the doors, everyone ended up in random parts of the palace. But the Empress made sure none of them went towards the lab where Premium was being held in.
However, Empress Twilight had one special door for a certain somepony. Her younger self. Princess Twilight. Twilight and Espeon had fallen into a random room where Empress Twilight stood there, waiting for them.
"Ow...!" Twilight held her head before spotting the Empress. She instinctively jumped up with a squeak before backing up.
"I have you all to myself, younger me." The Empress started circling her younger self. "I've been waiting to take your magic. I wasn't too interested in it since it was just the run of the mill. But thanks to the Pokemon, your magic is exceptional. Probably on the verge of being greater than mine. And that can't be allowed to happen."
"No way you're taking my magic." Twilight's eyes followed her older self as she stayed alert. "Or anypony else's. By the way. What do you even want with Premium anyway? She's just a filly."
"Heard that question already. And the answer's still the same. She has a great purpose. One that'll give me eternal dominion over everything. No matter the universe. But such control is complete without absolute power. You and your friends took a majority of my magic away from me, greatly weakening my strength. But not only will I get it all back, but I'll also go beyond what I was capable of."
"Not happening."
"Espeon!" Espeon snarled before wincing. She was a bit exhausted after the previous battle and all the running around she did back in Pegalysium. "E-Esp!"
"Rest up for a while, Eve. Let me and the others deal with things here." Twilight returned Espeon, allowing her to rest.
"After I'm done with you, you and all of your friends will be under my absolute control. I wonder how much Infinity Energy your Pokemon will give out due to how strong they are. I can't wait!" The Empress cackled before using her Bone Spell to summon giant bones out of the floor.
This spell was weaker than before due to the Empress lacking the amount of magic she had before. But even still, these bones were nothing to scoff at with their strength and speed.
Twilight gasped before flying to the side. She used her magic to blast apart the incoming bones, shattering them to pieces. Some bones burst out of the walls as the Empress sent them everywhere. Twilight made a shield to protect herself from some incoming bones. After shielding herself, she held out a Poke Ball, sending out Cinccino for assistance.
"Cinccino!"
"Minccy, Aqua Tail!"
"Ccino!" The Scarf Pokemon rushed forward as Twilight lowered the shield. She covered her tail in water, using it as a weapon to smack away the bones. With her small body, she was agile enough to avoid the bones successfully.
After avoiding them, Cinccino slapped the Empress in the face with a tail full of water, knocking her back. "Oof!" She gasped before receiving another slap from Cinccino. The Empress growled as some bones erupted from the floor, wrapping around the Scarf Pokemon.
"C-Cinno!" Cinccino cried out before being slammed against the wall. Twilight went to Cinccino's aid, only to be blocked by a wall of bones. The young princess sliced the bones in half with her magic before grabbing Cinccino.
"You okay?!"
"Cinccino!" She was still healthy as she gave a reassuring smile. The Scarf Pokemon then hopped out of Twilight's grasp, choosing to use Tri Attack without a command. "Cinno!"
Cinccino unleashed three beams of three different elements. Fire, Electric and Ice. The Empress used the bones to shield herself from these beams. The bones had either been burnt or frozen over from the elements. Twilight herself chimed in by unleashing a blast of magic. The Empress summoned a mirror that had reflected the beam at the young princess.
"Agh!"
"Cinccino!" The Scarf Pokemon gasped as her partner tumbled on the floor as a group of bones had caught her afterwards. Twilight was now within the grasp of the bones. "Cinno!"
"You're not going anywhere, you rodent!" The Empress cried out as she extended her hair, setting on fire as well to try and grab Cinccino. The Scarf Pokemon turned around, using Aqua Tail to counter the flaming mane. Cinccino whacked away the mane before approaching her friend.
"Cinno!" Unfortunately, blocking her way were more bones. And these came by surprise, whacking the Scarf Pokemon aside. "Cin!"
"M-Minccy! Twilight growled as she tried breaking free with no luck so far. Cinccino rolled on the floor, landing near the Empress' hoof. After getting close, Empress Twilight threatened to stomp on the Scarf Pokemon.
"Buh-Bye!" She grinned before stomping her hoof. However, Cinccino gave her own grin. A very cocky one. Cinccino has an oily scarf that protects it from physical blows. Like stomps. Once her hoof got close, the Empress felt the oil as her attack was not only deflected, but she also slipped. "Woah!"
"Cinn!" After slipping the Empress, the Scarf Pokemon then jumped far back, slashing Aqua Tail onto the bones that held Twilight. The Empress stood up, holding her head after being caught off guard by CInccino's oil.
"That's my girl!" Twilight chuckled after being freed.
"Cinccino!"
"You two..." The Empress scoffed before giving a disdainful glare. "You're quite the combo, I'll admit."
"Minccy's my first Pokemon. We were great with each other from the start."
"Cinccino!"
"But...let's see how you respond when I send bones to everywhere in the palace. Including your friends!" With the stomp of her hoof, the Empress had multiplied the number of bones. Not just going for Twilight and Cinccino, but also going for everyone else.
She used the Arc of Doors Spell once more to allow the bones to pass through them, heading in various locations. The bones also moved through the walls and the palace in general.
"Oh!" Twilight gasped before protecting and Cinccino with a shield. But she couldn't do anything about the bones going for her friends.
Indeed, by moving through the doors and walls, the bones soon flooded the palace while all of this chaos was ongoing. They were only targeted towards Celestia's side.
Speaking of Celestia, some bones came flying out of doors that had randomly appeared without warning. Even some that burst out of the walls. The bones had immediately wrapped around Arcanine once they emerged as Passion's leg had been caught.
"Arca?!"
"Gardevoir?!"
"Where did all these doors come from?!" Celestia bellowed before slicing the bones in half with her magic. Arcanine heated up his body to melt the bones while Passion exuded Psychic energy from her body.
The bones ferociously attacked the trio while still being under the Empress' control despite the distance. Many of Celestia's troops had been grabbed by these bones or even whacked away by them.
The Golurk were able to hold them thankfully. They learned their lesson after the first time they encountered this vicious magic. With their great strength, they held the bones back. Some even managed to break them due to their coordination.
A plethora of bones spiralled around while approaching Rarity. Unfortunately, Pheromosa wasn't too healthy now to assist after what happened in Pegalysium. So, Rarity counted on Ampharos, Leavanny and Lopunny for assistance. Leavanny had cut the bones in half with X-Scissor. Lopunny's High Jump Kicks shattered the bones as if they were brittle while Ampharos obliterated them with just electricity alone.
Pikachu's Iron Tal made quick work of the bones with assistance from Farfetch'd, Lucario and Gengar. Everyone had their own response to these bones. Going through an intensive battle through Pegalysium really helped with this.
And Twilight knew that her friends would manage as she stayed confident with a smirk.
"You're looking too confident for somepony in enemy territory. Expecting this to turn out like last time?" Empress Twilight scoffed.
"Why not? I've got all my faith in my friends." Twilight replied as both of them started walking up to each other. "It's how we beat you before and we'll do it again."
"Not gonna happen. Your friendship will be outclassed by the one I've discovered and perfected." The Empress fired a beam while walking only for Twilight to slap it away with her magic aura.
"Your way of friendship is not the one that I hold close to me," Twilight responded. "It's why you're going to keep losing to us no matter what."
"Hmph." They both had their faces close to each other after walking a certain distance. "Maybe so. But I've got more than that up my sleeve. You of all ponies should know that I always have something planned."
"That makes two of us." Twilight then looked at her older self with disdain as they gazed at each other for a while. However, the Empress gave off a grin, planning something in the spur of the moment.
Both alicorns jumped away from each other as Princess Twilight made the first move. "Minccy, Thunder! Absol, come out and use Dark Pulse!" She quickly threw out Absol who had emerged from the Poke Ball.
"Cinccino!" The Scarf Pokemon put his hands out, unleashing a blast of lightning from her hands. After Absol emerged, he unleashed a pulse embued with dark thoughts from his mouth.
"Sol!"
"Perfect!" Just what the Empress wanted. She stood still, focusing her magic on one spot. But she wasn't about to counter these attacks. Instead, she was aiming to absorb them. The Infinity Energy that they hold.
Empress Twilight made her horn act as a lightning rod for the attacks, pulling them in. After they were focused on her horn, she had then stood her ground, feeling the Infinity Energy being absorbed by her.
"Huh?!" Twilight gasped.
"Grrr...! Yes...!" Empress Twilight growled while giving out an insane smile. "Your Pokemon are extra strong! Ths Infinity Energy already beats the rest without a doubt. This'll do just fine!"
After gathering the Infinity Energy, the Empress summoned a door out of thin air behind her. With her body twitching and a menacing cackle, she jumped through the door to make her getaway.
"Sol!" But Absol wasn't about to let that happen. He had used Giga Impact to boost through the air, flying right through the door before it could close. The door had shut, vanishing out of existence afterwards.
"Ah! Absol!" Twilight gasped, witnessing her partner recklessly jump through.
"Cinccino!"
Absol rolled on the floor after recklessly charging through the magic door. He had ended up in the same spot as the Empress. The lab where Premium Polish was being kept at.
Empress Twilight was stunned by Absol's daring entrance as the scientists and Skyblue Shine had pulled back after the arrival of the Disaster Pokemon.
"Are you insane?!" The Empress exclaimed as Absol got up, growling at her.
"Absol!"
"Empress!" Skyblue Shine quickly came over, standing in front of the Empress. "I already know how dangerous Absol can be! Let me handle this!"
"You do that. Right now, I've got some Infinity Energy to give out. And this one will be extra tasty for her." The Empress walked over as Skyblue Shine and Absol faced the machine. Skyblue shuddered, knowing more Infinity Energy was about to be given to Premium.
That didn't spell good news at all.
Absol was the first one to find Premium Polish and know about her whereabouts. After spotting her, the Disaster Pokemon knew what to do. Break the machine and free the child. That wouldn't happen with Premium Polish in the way.
She paused for a bit, thinking about her daughter's condition. But afterwards, she put her focus on Absol, sending her Aggron out.
"Aggron!"
"Sol...!"
"Take this outside. Now then..." The Empress then faced Premium with greater Infinity Energy than before. She wanted to see how much power can be gained from these two alone. With precise aim, she unleashed the blast of magic onto the little android.
"A-AAAAAH!" Premium cried out once more after being given Infinity Energy that she was never meant to receive. Her body trembled as the energy within the machine. The scientists' had observed the buildup as a total of 20 hours had passed by after the energy went through. Premium's body was smoking again as her eye was about to pop out with wires already showing.
"Sol!" Absol lunged over to try and stop this, only for Aggron to whack him aside with Thunder Punch.
"Ggron!"
"Empress! 20 hours worth of energy has been passed by!" A scientist exclaimed. "At this rate, we'll be finished with the Magical Unite in just 2 days or less!"
"Wonderful! Actually...we could finish today!" Empress Twilight cackled. " My younger self and her friends are worth something good after all. In fact...one of them's in the same room as us."
"Absol!" Absol stomped his paw, whacking a table aside after being launched by Thunder Punch. The DIsaster Pokemon did not take kindly to the torture being given to Premium Polish.
"It'll be so ironic that this Pokemon of all Pokemon will be the one that grants me absolute control over the universe. Guess Absol and Twilight are bound to do amazing things together, hm? Come on, Absol. Unleash an attack already." The Empress taunted her.
Absol observed his surroundings. He was outnumbered with three individuals being a massive threat to him. Skyblue Shine, Aggron and Empress Twilight. He now knew what the Empress was planning. Absorbing his attacks and sending them to Premium Polish to complete some sort of machine.
The Disaster Pokemon may be stubborn, persistent and a holder of an unyielding resolve. But he's not foolish enough to put everyone else in danger. He knew that attacking would just allow Empress Twilight to potentially steal some Infinity Energy. And if she does, the Magical Unite could be completed faster than expected.
So, Absol made concluded on what he could do in this scenario.
He immediately used Night Slash on the floor. With a swing of his horn, the Disaster Pokemon had cut the floor in half with such precision too.
The room itself started crumbling as Absol made sure to leave Premium out of it. Then again, the machine was stuck to the floor, making it hard for it to move even if the floor had been sliced in half. All of the scientists started falling through the sliced floor along with Aggron.
Skyblue Shine levitated herself with magic while the Empress simply flew, scoffing at Absol. Speaking of Absol, he started falling as well. At least, it seemed that way. He used the falling rubble as platforms, jumping from them each. He then approached the Empress.
"Yes! Come to me!" The Empress grinned, wanting Absol to attack her. However, much to her chagrin. Absol didn't do so. He lunged over the Empress, using Night Slash again.
This time, he sliced the walls in half, damaging the room even further. The Empress turned around before extending her mane to grab Absol's tail.
"Ab?!"
"I know what you're planning and I won't let you!" The Empress exclaimed before pulling Absol back, slamming him against the wall.
"Absol!" After being slammed into the wall, Absol opened his mouth, unleashing a Dark Pulse. But yet again, he didn't go for the Empress. Instead, Absol released a quick-fire Dark Pulse that had zoomed by the Empress at great speeds, preventing her from absorbing the Infinity Energy.
Afterwards, Absol's Dark Pulse travelled through the destroyed walls, heading further through this jumbled palace. This was part of Absol's plan.
He had continuously fired Dark Pulse across the area frantically with short but strong bursts. He didn't want the Empress to catch them at all, so he made sure that they were hard to track as each wall kept receiving holes.
"Hold still!" And this frustrated the Empress as she couldn't catch the bursts of Infinity Energy. Her palace walls were being attacked as the holes were increasing with further destruction. Absol was looking for the one spot where he could call for assistance.
And after a few more, he found that spot.
The Dark Pulse had gone so far that it struck the spot where Fluttershy could be found. The pulse hit the ground, coming to an end as Fluttershy, Audino, Chikorita and Scorbunny were alerted by this, witnessing the pulse show up.
"Wait...Absol!" Fluttershy gasped, realizing who this was. After seeing it, the group advanced towards the location where Dark Pulse came flying in. All they had to do was follow the numerous holes in the wall.
"Absol!" Absol smirked, knowing he had aggravated the Empress. And to respond to that, Empress Twilight had dragged Absol across the floor with her hair.
"You...You...Whatever animal you are!" The Empress roared as Absol had then cut parts of her mane off with his horn. The Disaster Pokemon recovered, almost falling through the lower section after he sliced everything up.
This area of the palace was crumbling as Aggron had saved everyone from falling due to his massive size. He barely felt the impact of himself hitting the floor as the scientists fled.
"I'll just absorb your Infinity Energy another way!" The Empress exclaimed as she was aiming to rip out the Infinity Energy by force via energy extraction. The Empress approached the Disaster Pokemon with her horn flashing rapidly.
"Sol!" Absol jumped over the Empress in response. With great agility and instincts, he had evaded the incoming attack. Afterwards, Absol unleashed a Dark Pulse onto the Empress' back while she wasn't looking.
"Gh! Why you!" The Empress winced as her dress had been damaged by Absol's Dark Pulse. She turned around, manipulating the blocks around the area. She disassembled them, rocketing them towards the Disaster Pokemon.
"Absol!" Absol simply cut them in half with Night Slash, destroying all the incoming blocks. The Disaster Pokemon then whipped his tail at some rubble, returning the favour to Empress Twilight.
The Empress scoffed as she used her mane to whack the rubble away. She paused for a moment, glaring Absol down as a massive chunk of rock landed next to them.
"You're something alright. I can see why my younger self chose you as her Pokemon. What power." The Empress sneered while chuckling as well. "I'm a bit jealous, honestly. But that's fine. Because once the Magical Unite finished, you'll be under control either way."
"Absol."
"Yes. Everyone. No one will be left out. Pony, dragon, griffon, Pokemon and soon, the humans. Speaking of the humans, I'll get to them eventually, starting with Ash Ketchum, of course. The humans are probably the greatest weapon I could ever ask for. Their experiences with Pokemon over aeons, centuries and decades will benefit me greatly. I'll have all the power I need from them. Wouldn't you agree, Absol?"
"Sol."
"Aggron!" Suddenly, jumping back into the fray after a long climb was Aggron. The Iron Armor Pokemon roared in Absol's direction before standing next to the Empress.
"Empress. Forgive me for the rough start. But I'll finish things from here." Skyblue Shine went over.
"No. You can play your part another way."
"Huh?"
Just then, the Empress faced Aggron, aiming to take his Infinity Energy. He was a powerful Pokemon also brimming with Mega Evolution Energy. Just what the Empress wanted. She immediately aimed her horn at the Iron Armor Pokemon, extracting his Infinity Energy.
"A-A-Aggron!"
"Aggron!" Skyblue Shine gasped before stepping back. She witnessed her partner get on his knees as all of his Infinity Energy was transferred to the Empress.
"Sol?" Even Absol was taken aback by this.
"Yes...! This is good! Let's see how quick this one is!" The Empress cackled before facing Premium Polish. Premium Polish's body was still smoking after the previous usage of Infinity Energy. She hadn't taken a long enough break to recover.
And Skyblue Shine knew this. If her daughter was to receive another one that has even greater power than the average Pokemon, then results would be less than fortunate.
"Empress, wait!" Skyblue Shine put her hoof out as she acted on an instinct she wasn't expecting. However, as she stepped forward while the Empress unleashed the beam, along came Absol.
"Sol!" Absol jumped into the way of the beam, acting as a shield for Premium Polish. Once he took the hit, the Infinity Energy went to him instead, powering the Disaster Pokemon up.
"Absol?!" Skyblue Shine bellowed.
"Ab...sol!" After absorbing the initial energy, Absol then used Giga Impact, charging forward like a rocket. He was faster and stronger than ever thanks to the extra Infinity Energy.
"Oh, n-" The Empress was a prime target for Giga Impact. As seen by how Absol tackled her. After being tackled, Absol and the Empress went flying in the far distance with the Empress taking most of the hits, crashing through wall after wall, pillar after pillar.
"Aggron! Are you okay?!" Premium went up to Aggron as he breathed in and out.
"Ggron..."
"Mom..." Premium Polish's voice suddenly spoke. Her consciousness went from just staring to finally being able to speak. The previous shock of Infinity Energy that happened minutes ago gave her some form of consciousness.
"Premium!" Skyblue Shine went up to the machine and her daughter. Premium was able to move her eyes now as she looked down at her daughter.
Even though she could speak, she was finding it hard to speak the words she wanted to say. Whether it was from the smoking body or everything that's happened to her so far.
That's when Daybreaker's words came back to Skyblue Shine. The words that stuck with her the most as she could not remove them from her memories. Despite being an android.
"Honestly. Do you expect things to ever be the same again after this? The trust of your daughter will be severed. If it already isn't that is. All because of somepony you can't break loyalty too. Makes me wonder if you love your daughter truly."
"Then act like a mother and prove that you do."
"If you truly love your daughter as you say you do, then you'll show your love at its purest...won't you?"
After recalling all of them and looking up at Premium Polish, Skyblue Shine thought back to everything that has happened so far. Her loyalty towards the Empress has truly strayed her away from her daughter. Though she doesn't remember her previous life, she knows she owes the Empress her own.
But, hearing Daybreaker's words through her memories made Skyblue Shine scrunched her face. She shook for a while before also looking at Aggron, who was still on his knees. She then heard all of the ongoing battling happening across the palace.
All of this was happening because of her daughter.
"Premium. I wish I could stop this but I just don't know why I can't." Skyblue Shine said before oil started leaking from her eyes. Truly, her being built as an android and being forever loyal to the Empress held her back from fulfilling her role as a mother.
"Fine. I'll do it myself."
Suddenly, arriving here with the usage of a gateway was the pony she couldn't get out of her head. The alternate universe version of a corrupted Princess Celestia.
Daybreaker.
"Daybreaker?!" Skyblue Shine looked up while whimpering with oil falling out of her. Daybreaker shook her head, showing pity to the android.
"Poor little thing. That programming is truly revolutionary, isn't it?" Daybreaker put her hoof on Skyblue Shine's face as she kept crying. Premium witnessed this flaming Celestia, confused as to what was happening anymore. "Don't worry. I can fix all of this."
"What?"
With the flash of her eyes, Daybreaker had cast a spell. One that had interrupted with Skyblue Shine's insides had been greeted with magical flames.
Her insides had been coated in a magical flame as Skyblue Shine was reliving memories that she had never seen before. And one that she had forgotten about.
She had seen memories of when she was built in the Empress' lab. Every part where she was made to be loyal to the Empress. But she also remembered the words said on the day before she was made. When she was a human. She remembered everything from Daybreaker's spell, recalling how it all turned out.
"W-What are these memories...?" Skyblue Shine backed away before holding her head. "What did you do to me?!"
"It's a good thing you're not fully a robot. After all, you were built from the remains of a human. Albeit with little skin. So, using my Memory Spell against you wasn't a waste."
"What...?"
"I was there for your creation, Skyblue Shine. Including your daughter." Daybreaker started circling the android. "Well, parts of it. Not really the whole thing. The process was just unsettling to look at. I knew you'd be built to stay loyal to the Empress no matter what. Especially with your memories gone. I mean, it's not like she hasn't done it before. Conversion is her one of her favourite past-time hobbies. And what you've seen just now were memories of your past. Your previous life."
"I was a human? And Premium as well."
"That's right. Empress Twilight promised you a better life after she saved you. You owed her your life after she made that promise. And well...she gave you life, that's for sure. Life as an android pony in this world. I suppose in hindsight, that's a good thing isn't it?"
"Mom? What's going on?" Premium asked.
"T-This is the better life that the Empress gave me." Skyblue Shine stood up. "Right? I'm loyal to her after my creation and I suppose now saving my life. This life I have hasn't gone to waste."
"Are you sure about that? Tell me...does the lab back at the Empress' original universe ring a bell."
And there it was. Skyblue Shine then recalled what she had seen back at the lab in the Empress' original universe during the invasion.
The same laboratory that had multiple Skyblue Shine androids sitting there. She didn't think too much about it in the beginning, but with these new memories, it was all clicking to her.
Skyblue Shine was the best version of those androids because she was currently the only functioning and long-lasting one compared to the rest. The other clones hadn't been destroyed or tossed aside for one reason.
The Empress would require their services. Skyblue Shine realized that she was essentially expendable. She was an android after all. If she breaks, there were two options.
Rebuild or replace.
And judging by how many clones she had seen, a replacement was the better option. Skyblue Shine sat down before contemplating everything. All that she's known was starting to flash through her memory chips at great speeds.
"But..you should feel lucky. Ever since the invasion, the palace had been destroyed. Which means that every Skyblue Shine clone was obliterated as well. You're the only one left, dear. The best one out of all of them."
"But I was disposable this whole time?" Skyblue Shine started to mourn while lowering her head. "If I wasn't the best version, would I have been useless and put next to the clones?" She then started blubbering from her sadness. "Did all of those clones have memories as well? Am I only important for this one reason?"
"Maybe." Daybreaker shrugged. "I wasn't frequently around that universe anyway. But, I do know one thing. Androids and most if not all robots are generally built for a sole purpose and nothing else. The only one who managed to break away from this was your daughter. But it seems that fate has brought her back to why she was built in the first place."
"Mom!" Just then, Premium Polish interrupted the conversation, drawing the attention of her mother. "Please don't be sad. I know everything's pretty weird right now and I don't get it all myself. But, even if there's a bunch of clones of you, you'll always be my real mom."
"Premium?" Skyblue Shine looked over while Daybreaker gave her an oil-absorbent tissue to wipe her oily tears.
"Even though you did some bad stuff, I still love you. In any way that you look. Pony or human." Despite being stuck in a machine and having her body used as a weapon, Premium was still able to give a smile. Something that Skyblue Shine enjoys seeing.
"R-Really?"
"Mhm."
"Oh, Premium!" Skyblue Shine went up to the machine, hugging it. She couldn't hug her daughter's full-body, unfortunately. So this would have to suffice. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I don't know if I can call myself your mother or even be one at this point."
"Alright." Daybreaker stepped forward, interrupting. "The sentimental words can wait. This machine is a problem. The Empress built it so that no form of magic would break it. Not even mine. But...since it was made before she discovered the Pokemon, then I have a predictable idea on how to break it."
"Y-You're going to free my daughter?"
"Don't you want her to be free?" Daybreaker raised an eyebrow as Skyblue Shine nodded. She did want her daughter to be free after all.
"I know I shouldn't go against the Empress but..."
"Save it. Use your Aggron and let's get this over with."
Within the dungeon, the same Canterlot Guard that had bravely jumped through the gateway to save Premium Polish was still here. After being captured, he was to have himself be converted to the Empress' side.
However, due to all of the chaos happening within the palace, that wasn't happening at the moment. But this was a good opportunity for him as he had an ace in the hole. He was just waiting for the right moment. And this was that moment.
"Hehe." The guard grinned before pulling out a secret Poke Ball from his mane. "Now's my turn to shine. The others are gonna think I'm so cool after this."
"What are you on about?" Another prisoner spoke, yawning.
"Watch this. Come out, Probopass!" Emerging out of the Poke Ball was one of the many Pokemon that assisted in stopping the invasion. The Compass Pokemon Probopass.
"Probopass!"
"What is that thing...?" The prisoners stood up, squinting their eyes at this odd nose-haired monster. Some even started chuckling.
"My ticket out of here and my ace in the hole." The guard patted Probopass on the back. "With Probopass' magnetism abilities and considering where we are, this is a great opportunity. Plus, everypony's occupied already."
"Magnetism?" The prisoners all said.
"Probo!" To demonstrate, Probopass used its magnetism, manipulating every steel bar within the dungeon. By doing so, he had dropped them all to the ground, freeing everyone.
"Just like that." The guard stood in a bipedal position, feeling proud of himself. One of the rare moments in his life where he'll ever feel proud considering that he's just another guard from Canterlot.
The prisoners ran about with glee as they had finally been freed. And they had the guard to thank for that. How ironic that it was a group of guards that had put them in this dungeon in the first place and a guard was the one to free them in the end.
Plus, this place was perfect for Probopass to use its magnetic abilities. The guard was here to rescue Premium Polish. And he was hoping to beat everyone else to it.
However, someone already did. And it was two individuals that no one would ever expect.
Daybreaker and Skyblue Shine freed her. Aggron had used his brute strength to shatter the machine that Premium was being held in. The machine was made to be immune to any form of magic so that Premium would never break free.
However, this machine was built before the Empress knew about Pokemon, making it vulnerable to Pokemon attacks. And with Dragon Claw, Aggron shattered the machine to bits.
Premium fell out of the machine with the wires detaching from her body. Skyblue Shine caught her daughter in her hooves after she fell. "Premium! Are you okay?!"
"Mom?" Premium looked up at her mother.
"I'm so sorry for all that's happened. This is my fault. If I had just put you before everything else. But I couldn't. I can't disobey the Empress with how I'm built. I wish I had more free will."
"My work here is done. You never saw me here." Daybreaker let out a cute giggle before summoning a gateway to her universe. "Toodles~"
"Wait! Daybreaker!" Skyblue Shine stood up, only for Daybreaker to stay silent and pass through the gateway. She said nothing. Daybreaker played her part.
Skyblue Shine took a deep sigh afterwards, holding her daughter close to her. Indeed, she regretted her absolute loyalty to the Empress. The fact that it overpowered her love for her daughter was something that Skyblue Shine couldn't help but loathe.
And what Daybreaker said was true. Androids or robots, in general, are always made for a specific purpose. Skyblue Shine was a major example of that. Unyielding loyalty.
And speaking of the Empress, bursting through the walls as Absol who had just been launched back by Empress Twilight's magic. The Disaster Pokemon rolled on the floor before crashing into the remains of the machine, groaning.
"A-Absol."
"Skyblue Shine!" Empress Twilight bellowed as her eyes glowed purple, gazing at the two androids. What she had seen wasn't pleasant to her eyes. From her point of view, it seemed that Skyblue Shine had freed Premium Polish. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Empress!" Skyblue Shine gasped as Premium hid behind her mother. "I-It's not what it looks like!"
"Oh, it is." Her voice was raised with a hint of the Canterlot Royal Voice as all of the rubble and furniture started levitating from the rubble. "Explain yourself if you can. Why is Premium Polish out?"
"I...I assisted in her breaking free." She admitted the truth before scrunching her face. Skyblue Shine's fear was increasing. However, she stood firm, not moving an inch as the Empress descended. "I had to. Even if I knew I wasn't supposed to."
"You weren't. But you did anyway." The Empress approached her. "Tell me. Are you betraying me, by any chance? Because if you are, then clearly, I didn't make a good enough android."
"Is it true?" Skyblue Shine then had her own question for the Empress instead of answering. "That Premium and I were once human? That the clones in that lab were spares. I may be the best version but that means nothing with those?"
"H-How did you-?"
"You could say my memories had been jogged more than they should have. But is it all true? My real reason for existing. Even if the lab with my clones was never destroyed, would you have replaced me in the end?"
Now she had the Empress frozen. The Empress' mouth stayed open as she hadn't found a response yet. Skyblue Shine held Premium Polish close as they could both see the Empress' tone and expression change.
"T-That's ridiculous! You're the best version out of all of them." She chuckled nervously. "Why would I need to-"
"You big liar!" Just then, Premium Polish interrupted. "You were gonna do it anyway!"
"Quiet you!" The Empress hissed as Premium yelped afterwards. "This doesn't concern you!"
"It most certainly does!" Skyblue Shine shouted back at the Empress, causing her to pull back. "I should've done something about it long ago but my daughter had been used for something such as this. And she's the only android with free will."
"Limited free will." The Empress corrected her. "The Magical Unite was her destiny in the first place. I only gave her free will until that moment would come. You knew that in the first."
"But after the Magical Unite was completed? Would you have let her go? My daughter was on the verge of being destroyed. Far past the due date. I want the truth, Empress"
"Would I? To be honest with you, no." The Empress decided to be honest due to how stubborn Skyblue and Premium were being. No point in arguing against them. "I said it would give me control over every multiverse. But what I meant by that was the world's parallel to ours. I still have more out there to obtain. The Pokemon World is one as well along with other worlds out there with who knows what kind of power they're holding."
"So...you would've never let her go until you conquered everything?"
"Precisely. Every possible form of existence until there is only one absolute ruler but me. And I'll have your daughter to thank for that. As for you Skyblue Shine, you should feel lucky that you're the only clone left. Indeed, I would've replaced you if the clones weren't destroyed during the invasion. You're all that's left. So reconstruction is the better option rather than replacement."
"You would've replaced me in the end. Is that what my life is worth to you?"
"You're an android. You have a purpose to serve. Your life is one-note and simple. You were made to be my loyal servant through and through. And you seemed that way for a long time. But it seems that your creation wasn't fully completed. Let's fix that." With her eyes glowing, the Empress then approached the mother and daughter, having unfortunate scenarios for them.
"Aggron!" Aggron got in front of Skyblue Shine, acting as their shield. "Agg! Aggron!"
"Move over!" The Empress roared before blasting the Iron Armor Pokemon away with a pulse of magic.
"Aggron!" Aggron went flying, crashing through many walls. The Empress then summoned a door out of thin air, causing Aggron to fall through it and vanish.
"Aggron!" Skyblue Shine cried out.
"Once I rebuild you, I'll make sure to remove something as limiting as Family! And if not, I'll just make another one of you that's more competent!"
"Premium! You have to go now!" Skyblue Shine held out a Travel Sphere with her magic, turning around with it. "You have-"
But unfortunately, the Empress wouldn't allow that. She extended her mane, obliterating the Travel Sphere. Skyblue Shine and Premium Polish watched as their ticket out of here had been obliterated.
"You're not going anywhere! The Magical Unite will finish today!"
"You don't even have a machine anymore! How do you expect to complete it?!"
"Hah!" The Empress scoffed. "Think I wouldn't make more? The universes that I have conquered have spares. This isn't even my original universe in the first place. The first machine was destroyed and now this one. Spares really do come in handy, don't they?"
"Premium. Run! Escape from here if you can!" Skyblue Shine exclaimed, ordering her daughter. Premium understood her mother's intentions, knowing that she couldn't afford to ask questions.
"O-Okay!" The little unicorn nodded before rushing off.
"I told you, you're not going anywhere!" The Empress stomped on the floor, summoning bones from below. These bones not only wrapped around Skyblue Shine, but they had also raced after Premium Polish!"
"Premium!" The android put her hoof out, calling for her daughter. Premium looked back to see bones approaching her faster than she can move.
"Absol!" But an unlikely rescue had occurred. In the form of Absol. He had used Night Slash, sending multiple white cutting waves that had sliced through the bones, freeing Skyblue Shine from the hold.
"Absol!" Premium gasped as the Disaster Pokemon stood in front of her. He had heard everything. And he was willing to get the little filly out of here safely.
"Sol." Absol had picked up Premium, placing the little unicorn on his back. It was now his duty to get her out of here. The Disaster Pokemon turned to face Skyblue Shine, giving her a state that essentially made the android trust him. "Absol!"
"Woah!" Premium cried out as Absol lunged through the holes, making his getaway.
"You won't get away from me!" Immediately chasing after her was the Empress. She had left the laboratory and Skyblue Shine behind. She was determined to have her absolute control, no matter what.
Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu were still wandering around the palace, searching for their friends. To find them, he had Lucario use his Aura. The best form of power to use in this scenario. He ended up meeting with a few of them as they had reunited. Twilight and Rarity.
"Twilight! Rarity!" Ash called.
"Pika! Pika-Pika!"
"Oh, Ash! Glad we found you! We have a problem!" Twilight ran over. "It's Absol."
"What happened with Absol?" Ash asked.
"He jumped through one of those doors and ended up where the Empress also was." Rarity explained. "I swear, you and he have a lot in common."
"Absol could be in danger at this rate! But we haven't found him yet or the right room! What's up with this palace?!" Twilight pulled her mane as Cinccino patted her for comfort.
"No need to worry. We'll find Absol. Plus, he's a tough one. He can hold his own." Ash kneeled to Twilight's level. "We just have to find everyone else. Lucario's Aura is what helped us find you guys after all."
"Pika?" Just then, Pikachu's nose picked up on a familiar scent. That scent belonging to the Princess of the Sun and a certain kind-hearted pegasus. "Pika-Pika! Pikachu!"
"Hm? Yeah, buddy?" Ash stood up, facing the direction where Pikachu pointed. Arriving at the scene were Celestia and Fluttershy as they had also reunited. "Awesome! You guys are okay!"
"Glad we could meet up again. Even in a place as confusing as this." Fluttershy said.
"Audino."
"But we're still lost." Rarity sighed. "What are we to do now except move in what seems to be an inconsistent maze."
"Have no fear, Rarity." Celestia went up to the unicorn. "I've moved around this palace for at least an hour or so and I've figured it out. After all, it's modelled after Canterlot Palace. And despite the size increase and jumbled up positions, the pathways aren't as inconsistent."
"They are?" said Twilight.
"Right. And now I know where we can go. Follow my lead. Ash, have Lucario keep sensing their auras." Celestia ordered.
"Got it!" Ash nodded along with Pikachu and Lucario.
"Pikachu!"
"Lucario!"
Lucario's eyes flashed a vibrant blue. Instantly, he could see the Auras of everyone within the palace. From Celestia's forces to the Empress' forces. There was a lot to go through, but thankfully, Lucario had an easy answer to this.
His friends all have distinctive auras that he can instantly recognize after being around them for so long. Applejack especially since she is said to have some potent Aura within her. He was able to track down Applejack and Starlight's Aura first. And they weren't too far.
Applejack and Starlight had regrouped after they were escaping from the many vehicle weapons within the palace. Sceptile and Hatterene had sliced these weapons in half with Leaf Blade and Psycho Cut, forcing the troops to flee.
Soon, Ash and the others had reunited with them via Celestia's guide and Lucario's Aura senses. And at the same time, they had also saved some troops of Celestia when they were in the bind. Their numbers were growing with this assistance.
And within one of the labs, the scientists were making plans on changing the scales to their side. However, there was one issue that came to fruition. One that would hold them back from winning
"What happened?!" A scientist gasped, looking at the control module. "Who spilt water on it?! At a time like this?!"
Nopony here had spilt water on the module to fry it. Instead, it was a Pokemon. Luna's Frillish, of course. By using his Ghostly attributes, he could sneak by and unleash spurts of water onto any mechanical or electrical substance here.
"Frillish." The Water-Ghost-Type giggled before phasing through the walls. He was playing his part well without a doubt. But more on the secretive side.
And the same went for Darkrai. He snuck up on ponies, using Dark Void to put them to sleep. Because of this, Celestia's side had a greater advantage since their opponents were fast asleep.
Many ponies caught on that it was Darkrai putting their troops to sleep but no one could counteract it. Darkrai is a Pokemon that is difficult to counter, especially during the night. And what's worse for the Empress' sides was that the Pokemon Jackie had freed were still on a rampage.
Speaking of Jackie, he and Spike were doing well together. Although, they've encountered fewer opponents than their friends. Jackie came by any Pokemon he saw being held in the various labs, utilizing his capture styler to free them, only adding to the chaos.
"How long are we gonna keep on moving?" Spike asked as he and Jackie were riding on a Gogoat.
"Just until we find Premium," Jackie responded. "Your friends will be okay without a doubt. They've got Ash with them after all."
Right as they advanced, moving through some shattered stairs. They avoided some falling rubble along the way with Gogoat using Aerial Ace to knock them away. But as they ran through the hallways, they were greeted with a huge surprise.
Bursting through the walls was Absol and Premium Polish. Still being pursued by the Empress who had melted the walls away with her flaming mane.
"Absol!" Spike gasped.
"Jackpot! There's the girl of the hour!" Jackie exclaimed as Absol slid on the floor. Premium held the Disaster Pokemon tight for her own safety as she started whimpering. Empress Twilight's eyes shined through the smoke as she appeared before the group.
"Sol!"
"Enough of this!" The Empress roared as her frustration levels were reaching critical mass. Everything that has happened has frustrated her to no end. The veins on her head and constant breathing in and out were evidence of this. "You all keep ruining everything! Give me the girl, now!"
"Spike!" Jackie stepped in front of Spike before getting off of Gogoat. He then took out his Travel Sphere, holding it for everyone to see. "You go along with Premium and get out of here!"
"But what about you, Jackie?!" Spike asked.
"I'll be fine. What's important is that she gets home no matter what."
"No one's going anywhere!" The Empress declared as she used a spell that had multiplied the number of pillars within the castle. Tons of pillars started popping up rapidly, surrounding the group while also creating tight gaps. The Empress had made a small space for her to have her prey right where she wanted them.
She had also stomped on the floor, creating a magical pulse that almost knocked Jackie off his feet. Jack Walker held the sphere as tight as he could, making sure he wouldn't drop it. Jackie was waiting for the right moment to use the sphere without the Empress' interference.
"Axew! Break the pillars by transforming!" Spike commanded as Axew was ready to break these pillars with ease. However, the Empress had immediately made the pillars close in on Axew and Spike each.
"Xew?!"
"Gogoat!" Acting swiftly, Gogoat had used Aerial Ace to obliterate the pillars before they could harm anyone. He had also knocked some of them in the Empress' direction.
"Axew...Haxorus!" Thanks to Gogoat, Axew had time to transform. Emerging into the fray was Equestrian Haxorus in all of his glory. Immediately, he used Close Combat to attack the pillars. The first pillar fell easy to his tail once he swung it.
In response, the Empress had then used a spell to manipulate the skies themselves, all the way from the outside. She manipulated the weather, sending a gigantic lightning bolt crashing through the palace.
"G-Go!" Gogoat and Haxorus had been struck by this lightning bolt as they cried out. The floor beneath them shattered, throwing Absol, Spike and Jackie off guard as massive holes were being formed.
The ceiling started falling apart as Absol used Night Slash to cut apart the rubble. But there was too many for him to keep track of. Premium Polish screamed as the rubble kept falling.
However, if there was one advantage that Premium Polish had, it was her body. Since she was an android, a being with some metal properties, the rubble didn't hurt her as much.
Jackie, Gogoat, Spike, Axew, Absol and Premium fell through the destroyed wall as caused by the might lightning bolt. The Empress looked down as she immediately pursued them with her wings out.
"H-Haxorus!" Haxorus growled as he held his arms out, grabbing Spike, Absol and Premium Polish. The Axe Jaw Pokemon then used Iron Tail, stabbing into the wall so that he could stick. However, Jackie and Gogoat were still falling.
"Jackie!" Spike cried out.
"Oh!" Jackie dug into his bag, pulling out a grappling hook" Aha!" He used the grappling hook while also grabbing Gogoat's horn to save it. The hook then latched onto the edge of the hole with Jackie and Gogoat hanging there.
However, the Empress then used her magic to slice up the wire of the grappling hook, causing Jackie and Gogoat to fall either way. G-Gogoat!"
"Salamence! Get them!" Spike quickly threw out his next Poke Ball, summoning Salamence into the fray.
"Salamence!" The Dragon Pokemon emerged, blitzing through the skies as he passed by the Empress. Salamence flew so fast that when he passed Empress Twilight, she was sent hurling through the air via a wind pressure from Salamence's speed.
"Ah!" The Empress cried out before almost losing her balance in the air. She crashed into the wall with her wings being injured by some rubble.
"Sala!" Salamence successfully caught Jackie and Gogoat, carrying them on his back. The Dragon Pokemon then approached Empress Twilight with his fangs bearing.
"!" The Empress had a slight sense of fear in her heart, thinking that Salamence was about to bite her. In truth, all Salamence did was just give her a scare. A scare good enough to juke her out as he then carried Absol, Spike and Premium Polish on his back while flying out of the massive hole. "Why you...!"
"Nice one, Salamence." Spike gave a thumbs up
"Salamence!" The Dragon Pokemon smiled as he sped up.
Now it was time for Jackie to use the sphere. He raised it, aiming it towards the air. Jackie thought of the safest place to be at and that was, of course, Canterlot back at Universe One. The sphere responded to his request, shooting a blue beam and opening a gateway above.
"NO!" The Empress roared after seeing the gateway open. She refused to even skip one second where she could lose it all. Her wings had been damaged. But not her horn.
With all of her might, the remaining amount of magic she could muster, Empress Twilight had cast a spell that formed a gigantic burst of magic power. One that was enough to blow away the palace.
The explosion moved at rapid speeds. Faster than anyone was expecting. It was so fast that it exited the hole in just a second as everything around the Empress was being obliterated.
"Sal-" Salamence was just about to pass through the gateway, only for the magic pulse to disrupt the air itself, creating highly destructive shockwaves. Salamence was thrown off balance as well as everyone who was on his back.
Absol, Jackie and everyone had fallen to the floor without any way of recovering due to how vicious this outburst was. Every wall had been shattered to the point where the outside had been revealed.
Due to her low magic reserves, the explosion wasn't as potent as she was hoping it t be. But it was good enough right now as it downed everyone she wanted. Salamence fell on his back while Haxorus crashed into a tree. The gateway to Universe One remained in the air within the palace while Jackie was outside.
The Empress breathed in and out as she expended more magic than usually does. She approached the outside, walking up to Premium Polish who was still being covered by Absol.
The Empress used her magic to grab the little unicorn with telekineses, pulling her over. The Empress then summoned some bones, wrapping them around the filly for restraints.
Absol was still able to stand albeit slowly. Living in the world did him wonders. And Salamence and Haxorus were still able to stand due to them being Dragon-Types. However, that explosion of magic was strong enough to even give them trouble as they started wincing.
"A-Absol...!" Absol and the two Dragons stood firmly. Not relenting. Jackie sat up, holding his head while the Travel Sphere was still within his grasp.
"Enough of this." The Empress exhaled as she stood before them. "The Magical Unite will finish. No matter what." And she wasn't alone in this. Since she was outside now, many of her troops came to her aid. Whether by hoof or via the many large vehicles.
They greatly outnumbered Absol and the others as they hadn't been damaged yet. Spike held out two Poke Balls while sitting up, ready to send out the rest of his Dragon-Types.
"Don't try it." Empress Twilight said. Or else, I'll melt her into nothing." She threatened by igniting her mane with flames, putting on a horrifying grin.
"Ngh...!" Premium winced as she was unable to break free with her magic. The Empress summoned more bones around her for further restraint.
"Empress!" Just then, calling out her name was the mother of Premium Polish herself. Skyblue Shine as she had exited the falling palace. "Let go of my daughter now."
"You're in no position to give me commands, traitor." The Empress spoke without turning around. "I have plans for you once this is all over. Rebuilding you with new additions is going to be swell. I can't wait to remove the weaknesses within you."
"Do what you want with me. But leave my daughter out of this."
"Pah." The Empress scoffed as many of the vehicles surrounded Skyblue Shine. They had heard the conversation, immediately deeming Skyblue Shine as an enemy. "As if."
"Ab-" Absol was ready to charge in and slash the bones. However, Jackie promptly stopped him, pointing in the air. The Empress had a lightning bolt ready. Four of them. Absol stood still, knowing the risk. The Empress was truly prepared to strike at any moment.
"You've cornered us right now. But not for long I can tell you that." Jackie said as the air became still from the tension. "The kid's coming back home. And this whole empire of yours will come crashing down."
"As if. My empire is too mighty to fall. It'll last forever. Especially with how hard I had to build it all up. I can thank my world's Celestia for teaching me about the Magic of Friendship. It's brought me a long way. But here come all of you, ruining it."
"Absol...!"
"But enough chatter. Let's wrap this up. Destroy them!" The Empress gave the order for Jackie, Skyblue Shine and the others to be destroyed. The vehicles started charging along with the lightning bolts in the sky.
Absol snarled as Salamence and Haxorus were ready to defend their friends to the bitter end. Skyblue Shine closed her eyes, trying to think quick on her hooves.
That is until the unexpected happened. Without warning, the vehicles had suddenly been smashed into each other with brute force. The titanium materials that surrounded them clashed, creating a powerful and devastating impact that startled the Empress.
As the Empress turned around, the vehicles were suddenly launched towards her. She gasped, quickly putting a shield up for protection. Absol acted fast, using Night Slash to cut the bones apart.
The cause of the vehicles acting like this was from Probopass belonging to the Canterlot Guard. He hid behind some rubble as the Empress had noticed him. "You!"
"Hehe..." The guard laughed nervously before waving. All of the Empress' backup had been thrown off balance by simple magnetism. She then resorted to one other option.
The lightning bolts. All at once, all four of them came crashing down towards Jackie and Spike. But, there was one more interference.
"Pika!" In the form of the Mouse Pokemon Pikachu. Pikachu used Quick Attack to move at lightning speeds, dashing through the air. And with his great speed, he ended up absorbing the four lightning bolts for himself. "Chuu...!"
"Pika...Pika...Chuuu!" After absorbing the four lightning bolts, Pikachu unleashed a blast of 500,000 volts from his body. And he aimed it right at the Empress.
"What the-" The Empress bellowed in shock as she couldn't finish her entire sentence, she was struck with those amount of volts. Not only was she struck, but she had been sent flying far back. The impact of the Thunderbolt was so great that it affected the remaining vehicles.
Their systems were overloaded by the ridiculous number of volts. The troops had jumped out of the vehicles for their safety as the Empress crashed into a large pile of rubble with the vehicles following after her.
Ash had shown up thanks to Lucario tracking down their Auras. Mainly Spike's Aura. Joining him was Celestia and everyone else as they had stepped out into the outside where the moon beamed down on them.
"Are you guys okay?" Ash asked as Pikachu twitched from the after-effects of 500,000 volts.
"We're fine. Nice save, Ash." Jackie approved.
"Whew...That was too close." Spike sighed, sitting down afterwards. "And you cut it close too, ya know?"
"Apologies, Spike," said Luna. "But at least we're all here. And Premium?"
"I'm fine. But I feel a bit jittery now..." Premium slumped on the ground as Haxorus picked her up. "Thanks, Haxorus."
"Haxorus."
"And the Empress?" Rainbow Dash turned to face the massive rubble. So far, no one had seen the Empress emerge from it. Usually, she would show up, enraged and ready to crush everyone.
But, she was hit so hard that all Empress Twilight could do was lay there. Celestia's forces ended up winning this battle due to their advantages. Darkrai emerged from the shadows after putting a ridiculous amount of ponies to sleep. Frillish returned, phasing through the walls as he flew over to Luna.
As for the guard and his Probopass, he showed himself to Celestia with his helmet off. By himself, without the assistance of other guards, he managed to break free and assist greatly in this.
"You've done well, Cerulean. Someone's getting a promotion and rank up after this." Celestia gave an approving nod to the guard.
"Yes!" Cerulean cheered. You hear that, Probopass? It all paid off in the end, didn't it?!"
"Probopass!"
"Still no sign of the Empress. Do you think she ditched the place and went somewhere else?" Spike wondered.
"Either way, we're done here. Premium is safe now." Celestia replied as everyone's attention was drawn somewhere else. Not towards the Empress. But Skyblue Shine. "Oh! Skyblue Shine!"
"Mom!" Calling out her name made everyone gasp as they believed it wasn't over yet. Skyblue Shine still remained as she had recalled Aggron who was greatly hurt and drained at the moment.
Skyblue Shine stood tall before turning around. She wasn't here to engage them at all. Not after all that's happened. Premium hopped out of Haxorus' arms to speak with her mom.
"Premium!" Celestia held her hoof out, worrying about Premium Polish getting close to Skyblue Shine. But the filly gave a nod that essentially told Celestia not to worry. She had it under control.
"Mom, wait!" The little unicorn cried out. "All those things I said before. About you being a bad pony. I'm sorry. I didn't-"
"No." Skyblue Shine interrupted. "I'm the one who should be sorry. For putting you through this and not putting a stop to it before it began. It wasn't until that moment that I realized it. Some mother I turned out to be." The android lowered her head, feeling ashamed of herself.
"Did she betray her?" Rarity whispered to Applejack.
"Looks like it."
"I've failed as a mother. If only I had taken Daybreaker's advice in the first place." Skyblue Shine started whimpering, trying to wipe away her oil tears.
"You didn't fail mom. I still love you." Premium went up to her mother, hugging her leg. Skyblue Shine sniffled before patting Premium Polish on the head, giving a smile. "Even all that bad stuff you did doesn't change that you're my mom no matter what."
"Thank you, Premium. But I'm afraid, I won't be seeing you for a while." Skyblue then backed away, holding out a Travel Sphere. Premium's emotions shifted rapidly as she looked up at the Travel Sphere. Skyblue Shine then thought of where she wanted to go.
Someplace where nopony here knows as the gateway had opened. "M-Mom! W-Where are you going?!"
"I need to go my own way for now. I can't take care of you with how things are. But I promise I'll return."
"But-But...You're not gonna stay?" Now Premium was the one whimpering.
"Sorry. But, you won't be alone. You have friends with you, don't you? Something that I could never have had." Skyblue then turned to Celestia who stayed silent through this. "Princess Celestia."
"Yes?"
"Take care of my daughter until I'm ready to come back for her. And I want to apologize for all the trouble I've caused you. Both Equestria and the Pokemon World." She gave a bow before walking over to the gateway. Celestia gave a nod of approval.
She respected Skyblue Shine's decision. She now had another promise to keep, adding it to the pile of promises.
"Mom!" Premium Polish was trying to go after her mom, only for Celestia to pull her back with magic. "Let me come with you! Please! Mom!"
"We'll meet again soon. Take care." Those were her last words. The gateway then closed as Skyblue Shine had gone to another universe to discover herself. But she promised to return one day.
Premium pouted with her sadness reaching an all-time high. However, this time, the sadness was infused with hope. Hope that her mother would return. But it still devastated the little filly as she started crying. Celestia tended to Premium Polish with some tissues for her. The unicorn wiped her tears while continuously crying. But everyone was there to comfort her.
"We'll still have to deal with her when she returns." Luna went up to Celestia.
"I know. Community service is already the option I'm going for. And I have high hopes for when she returns." And with that, everyone returned home.
Jackie opened the gateway with his Travel Sphere, connecting it to Universe One. It was a long two days. But they had succeeded in their missions. Both Jade Skies and Premium Polish had been saved.
As for the Empress, she was buried underneath the rubble, still recovering. Those 500,000 had definitely messed her body up. More than she expected. But this loss had driven the Empress.
She had officially lost to Celestia and her friends for the second time. And one of them was once her loyal servant. The Empress had a larger reason to defeat Celestia now. Her drive for vengeance did not die out.
"Celestia...! Skyblue Shine...! Jackie...! She roared out their names while under the rubble. "I won't forget this...One day...I will have my vengeance!"
Universe One. Ponyville. SugarCube Corner. Night.
At SugarCube Corner, Jade sat in her room, still thinking about how she was a Rift Pony. But, she didn't have to worry about it at all. After all, Cold had been accepted as a part of this town and Emerald is...getting there. Jade was already a part of this town the moment she was found at the Pokemon Festival.
Pinkie Pie entered the room, giving her friend a big hug. "Jade! Glad it all turned out well, huh?"
"Mhm." Jade nodded with zero energy. "Thanks. I can always count on you and everyone to make things better, Pinkie Pie. Coming to my rescue and everything."
"No problem! So now that we know you're a Rift Pony, can you do some cool stuff?!"
"I don't know. I never tried. I don't have a horn either."
"Ooh! Maybe it works the same way as Pegalysium pegasi. On your wings!" Pinkie raised Jade's wings, trying to see if she could get some Rift Magic out. Pinkie Pie and Spinda latched themselves onto Jade's head, hugging it while Pinkie rambled on.
And for the second time in a row. A complete rarity. Jade had cracked another smile. Moments like these already gave her joy. But as time passes on, her hidden emotions start leaking out.
She had the greatest friends she could ever ask for.
It's been about a week ever since the rescue of Jade Skies and Premium Polish from the Indigo Alliance and Empress Twilight Sparkle. Life returned to normal with some new additions. Jade being revealed as a Rift Pony and Skyblue Shine heading off to discover herself for a while.
Aside from that, everything returned to normal for now. At the moment, Jade was in Twilight's Castle, wanting to see how she could use Rift Magic. Possibly, it works the same way as the pegasi in Pegalysium. Using magic via their wings. Helping her in this endeavour was Cold Colt himself.
"So does it come out of my wings like in Pegalysium?" Jade asked.
"Well...Not sure." Twilight shrugged. "I mean, you were made a pegasus and so was Obsidian before he decided to become a unicorn. So it has to be used somehow without a horn."
"Flap your wings!" Pinkie Pie, who was also here had blurted out. "Maybe that will work!" Following the advice of her friend, Jade flapped her wings, trying to see if she could bring out some Rift Magic perhaps.
But as Jade was practising with her friends, all of Twilight and Spike's Pokemon were having morning breakfast. Spike fed his Dragon-Types their personal favourites. And when they have their personal favourites in front of them, they eat like maniacs.
However, Spike noticed someone missing from the group.
"Hm? Where's Deino"? Spike noticed. He looked at Deino's Poke Ball which was open. The Irate Pokemon was here a minute ago and then up and vanished suddenly.
However, her location was soon found out once Twilight went over to grab a book at her library. To see what other ways ponies use magic. Whether it's horns, hooves or wings.
But as she got there, something shocked her.
"Aaaaaaaaaah!"
"Twilight! What is it!? What happened?!" Starlight immediately rushed into the room along with Spike, Cold Colt, Jade and every other Pokemon within the castle.
What they saw shocked them as well. But not as much as Twilight. Deino had been found. But doing something much to Twilight's dismay.
She had chewed on the books in Twilight's library. A good amount of them. She had her idea of a morning breakfast as many pages and covers were scattered on the floor. Ripped up with drool on them as Deino swallowed some paper.
"My books!" Twilight cried out, getting on her knees. Her heart sank, witnessing this life-crushing sight.
"Dei?" The Irate Pokemon tilted her head, facing her friends.
"D-Deino?" Spike stuttered. "W-What did you do?"
"Deino."
"She ate them, that's what!" Twilight rushed over, picking up the remaining books off the floor. "Please not something super important! Please, please!"
"Dei." Deino walked over to Spike with an innocent grin. Although, she wasn't so innocent right now considering the collateral damage done to the library.
"Eugh..." Starlight grimaced. "This isn't so pretty."
"No, it's not!" Twilight bellowed before turning to face Spike and Deino with her eyes glowing red. "Spike!"
"T-Twilight! Spike put his hands out. "I know what you're gonna say and I'm sorry on Deino's behalf! I guess she was hungry for something else. I'm super sorry for what happened to your books! I won't let Deino do it again!"
"Deino."
"At least there are copies over at Canterlot..." Twilight sighed. "Nothing too important had been touched by it. Just keep Deino on your eye, okay?"
"Got it. Come on, Deino. You know those books are important to Twilight." Spike faced his partner while Deino burped out some paper.
"Dei." Afterwards, Deino walked off as if nothing had happened. Spike followed her, just to make sure nothing like this happens again to Twilight's library.
But the next target wasn't in the castle or library.
Carousel Boutique.
Over at Carousel Boutique, many ponies had shown up for one reason. Mainly younger ones with their parents. Rarity had made pony-sized clothes and hats based on Ash's clothes. All three of them. The first clothes that Rarity made him along with the first hat and the second hat plus gloves. The new clothes were also there with the new hat too.
Being that many were fans of Ash, especially the Ash Ketchum Fanclub located below Ponyville, they came here in a heartbeat.
"Have a look at this. These clothes also come in different colours. Do some look familiar to you?" She demonstrated the array of clothes that had unique colours to them. Not just blue.
Not only did they have unique colours, but some of them also had the theme of the rest of Ash's friends. There was one that had Twilight's colours, Rarity's colours, Spike's colours, Rainbow Dash's colours etc.
The hats also had the Cutie Marks of everypony for extra detail. Rarity went above and beyond for this. Her craft has certainly improved. But she also had assistance from the many Leavanny here.
"Pheromosa." Pheromosa tried on some of the clothes. Unfortunately, she was too tall to fit on them so the hat looked tiny on her head.
"And don't worry. All of these also have Leavanny's strings, so they are nigh-indestructible. Just don't get too careless, alright?"
"Uh...Ms Rarity." A colt called for Rarity, grabbing her attention. "Why is that Pokemon eating the clothes?"
"Eating the-" Rarity faced the direction the colt was pointing his hoof at. Soon, she saw a horrific sight that was on par with what Twilight had seen earlier.
Deino was chewing on her clothes.
Just now, with almost absolute silence, Deino had entered here and taken a bite out of multiple clothes easily. Not even the hard fabric of Leavanny's strings could escape her bite as the floor was now a mess. From the new clothes to the old ones, Deino ate them anyway with some of them having holes in them. Pieces of fabric littered the floor too.
"Aaaaaaaah!" Rarity also got on her knees like Twilight, screeching. "M-My hard work!"
"Deino!" Spike burst into the boutique, spotting Deino's new snack. "This again?!"
"Spike! What is the meaning of this?!" Rarity pulled her mane as she started hyperventilating. Pheromosa picked up Rarity to try and calm her down.
"Sorry, Rarity!" Spike quickly held Deino. "Really! I am! Deino, again? You came here for this? Why?"
"Dei-Dei."
"Mosa." Pheromosa cheered Rarity up, showing her that most of the clothes were still intact. Especially the Ash ones. Only the hats were really damaged. "Pheromo."
"I know Pheromosa. Those are fine but...My dress for the Grand Galloping Gala this year!" Rarity wept, holding her gala dress. It was a victim of Deino's snacking, unfortunately. "Oooh...Deino!"
"Uh...!" Spike started panicking as he could sense Rarity's emotions shifting. "Look! The same thing happened with Twilight today. Deino ate some of her books. I don't know why she's doing this today. She's always eaten normally!"
"Deino."
"Deino. I was kinder to you earlier since it was the first time but a second time?" Spike turned to the Irate Pokemon with a disappointed face. "What's with you today?"
"Uh...Should we come back another time?" A mare asked.
"No! It's fine!" Rarity bellowed before holding her ripped clothes close to her. "Browse and purchase as much as you want. Sweetie Belle, Pheromosa and the Leavanny will take care of things here. As for me...I have to go remake this and weep for a bit." She whimpered as Pheromosa dashed towards Rarity's room.
"Wait, I don't know how to run a shop!" Sweetie Belle cried out as Spike carried Deino, walking slowly out of the boutique.
"Sorry again, Rarity!" He cried until he was outside. "Deino. Why?"
"Deino." Deino sat down, acting innocent as always. Spike gave a sigh before holding out his Poke Ball.
"Maybe just stay inside the Poke Ball for a bit, okay?" Spike suggested as the Irate Pokemon had been recalled. Spike pinched the middle of his eyes after all that had transpired. "I can maybe help Rarity fix her dress. Yeah!" Spike quickly ran back inside of the boutique to try and cheer Rarity up, hoping to avoid any further destruction of clothes and accessories.
He wasn't sure why Deino was suddenly going on an eating spree, eating things that she normally never devours. Books and clothes. And it was hard to tell how the Irate Pokemon was feeling due to her never-changing expression. Spike was hoping that this was only a one-time thing and nothing more.
But as he made he entered the boutique, by her own will, Deino had forced herself out of her Poke Ball. She ended up outside of the boutique.
"Hm?" Spike heard the sound of a Poke Ball being opened, even though he had done nothing. He then looked at his bag, spotting for anything unusual. And he sure did find something unusual. Deino's Poke Ball was open. "Deino?! Oh no..."
He swiftly turned around to see that Deino was already on the run. This time, She was heading in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. Spike face palmed before chasing after Deino.
Unfortunately, Spike was not faster than Deino. Pokemon are naturally faster after all. Immediately, he had lost her. But thanks to Axew, he could track down her scent. Dragon noses are sensitive after all.
"Ugh...Come on, Axew!"
Sweet Apple Acres.
"Oh..." Applejack yawned as she got up later than she usually does. She was only 2 hours late for her usual schedule. But as she woke up, she was greeted with a surprising sight.
"Golett!" Golett appeared, holding up breakfast for the earth pony.
"Golett?" Applejack uttered, squinting her tired eyes. The Automaton Pokemon had a plate of breakfast for Applejack to give out. The Ground-Ghost-Type placed the breakfast tray on the bed for Applejack to eat. Her personal favourites were in the mix.
"Lett!"
"D-Did you do this?" Applejack's jaw dropped after witnessing the food in front of her. Golett shook its head before pointing towards the door.
Apple Bloom was the one who made it as she raised her hoof. "Guilty! I got pretty good at something like that when I was making curry back at the Pokemon Festival, ya know. Golett just wanted to bring it over."
"Golett!"
"Thanks. Nice job, you two."
"Gole!"
"Oh. You should also kinda see this. Something's happening outside, sis."
"What's happening?" Curious, Applejack paused her morning breakfast to check out the events transpiring outside. And once she got out of bed, reaching the outside, she was greeted with a terrible sight. So did Sceptile, Big Mac and Granny Smith.
Deino had devoured most of the orchard in just 3 minutes. Not just the apples, but the trees as well. She had used Head Smash to rattle the trees, causing the apples to fall while using Dragon Rush to rapidly move across the area. That would explain how she did it so quickly as many devoured apples laid on the ground.
But more than that, she had also ripped off the trees by biting them. There were more destroyed trees than there were devoured apples as Big Mac, Sceptile and Granny Smith had seen this seconds ago. Applejack wasn't too late to the party.
"W-What the...!" Applejack's eyes finished observing this sight before her instincts kicked in. She was being reminded of the Vampire Fruit Bats because of this but on a more destructive scale. At least the Vampire Fruit Bats did not destroy the trees. "Deino! What in tarnation are ya doing?!"
"Deino?" The Irate Pokemon looked over. Afterwards, Deino went over to take a bite out of what seemed to be another apple. But once her teeth were about to sink into it, the Dark-Dragon-Type was met with a Rollout that had knocked her back. "Dei!"
That wasn't an apple. It was one of the many Applin living in Sweet Apple Acres. The Applin clearly wasn't happy about all of this and how Deino was ready to chomp on it.
"App! Applin!" Applin berated its fellow Dragon-Type with a flurry of words.
"Deino." But Deino didn't seem to care that much.
Irritated, Applin took out its anger towards Deino. The Apple Core Pokemon had used Rollout again, spinning rapidly towards the Irate Pokemon. A Pokemon Battle had been initiated.
"Dei?" Deino tilted her head before having Applin crash into her. "No!"
"Pplin!" After crashing into its fellow Dragon-Type, the Grass-Dragon-Type used Rollout once more. And with the attack gaining greater power.
"Dei...No!" But as Applin approached, Deino retaliated with a Head Smash. One smash of her head and the Apple Core Pokemon was sent flying like a rocket into the far distance.
"Aaaaaappliiiiiiiin!"
"Deino." Deino then went back to what she was doing as Machamp quickly ran after Applin to try and save it. The other Applin had seen this attack on their brethren as they all started approaching Deino.
"Machamp!"
"See." Apple Bloom spoke while Sceptile went over to Deino. "Just a minute ago it started doing this."
"Tile! Sceptile!" Sceptile got in front of Deino and in the way of the Applin. He knew things would escalate with what had just happened. "Scep-Scep!"
"App! Applin!" All the Applin ranted with the equivalent force of an angry mod, directing their anger towards the Dark-Dragon-Type.
"Deino!" Along came Applejack, sliding over with Golett riding on her back. "What's up with this?!" She then showed the Irate Pokemon the destruction she had caused.
"Applejack! Hold on!" Along came Spike, riding n the back of his partner who had just transformed into a Haxorus. A Unovan one instead of the Equestrian one.
"Spike. Mind telling me why your partner's done...this!" Applejack showcased the carnage as Deino started walking off as if nothing happened.
"Haxo." But this time, Haxorus had grabbed her, making sure that the Irate Pokemon wouldn't go anywhere.
"Dei?"
"Sorry. It's kinda been happening today so far First he ate some of Twilight's books, then some of Rarity's dressed and now...trees?"
"And apples too." Applejack picked up an apple. "The Applin ain't too happy about all of this. They love living in the trees. And the barrels too but mostly trees."
"I know, I know." Spike nodded. "Sorry about this, Applin. But I don't get what's up with Deino today. I know she's kinda rowdy but like this!"
"Is she super hungry?" Apple Bloom came over. "We can give her some of Applejack's breakfast if she-"
"Uh, let's not do that." Applejack quickly interrupted Apple Bloom. She loved the way that breakfast looked and would rather perish than lose it. "Spike. Did ya feed her?"
"I was gonna feed her like all of my other Pokemon. But she just keeps eating other stuff on purpose. I'm not sure what's wrong with her. It can't be that she's just hungry can it?"
"Maybe the Pokedex has something." Apple Bloom quickly took out her Pokedex, reading Deino's entry.
"Deino. The Irate Pokemon. It tends to bite everything, and it is not a picky eater. Approaching it carelessly is dangerous. They cannot see, so they tackle and bite to learn about their surroundings. Their bodies are covered in wounds. If it likes what it tastes, it will commit the associated scent to memory."
"That sounds like it, right?" Apple Bloom said. "If she can't help biting everything then that's probably what it is."
"Well yeah, Deino do bite everything but...it's usually anything food-related they bite." Spike shrugged. "You should've seen her last month. She ate all of the food in Pinkie Pie's fridge in one night. Mew wasn't too happy about that one."
"Deino."
"Well...Check up on Fluttershy. Maybe she knows what's up." Applejack recommended. "But she's helping up with cleanup here. The whole orchard's a mess now."
"Got it. Deino will totally clean all of this mess up. I'll help too. Right, Deino?"
"Dei." Deino sat down with her tongue out. It was hard to tell if it was a yes or no answer. Spike sighed as Deino was giving him a lot of trouble right now. Trouble that he did not want.
The Pokemon House. Day.
After helping clear up the destroyed trees at Sweet Apple Acres with Spike and the rest of his Pokemon helping out, they had shown up at the Pokemon House to get some answers.
There, Ash was currently playing Rock Paper Scissors with some of the Pokemon. They had their reason for partaking in this game. Most likely a bet or deal. Aside from that, Fluttershy had heard the words from Spike as she gave this response.
"So, she won't stop eating other things, no matter what?" Spike said.
"Yeah. I'm getting worried. I know the Pokedex says Deino eat anything but I thought it was just food." Spike rubbed the back of his head.
"Deino."
"It is just food. But there's probably something beyond Deino's reason for this." Fluttershy went up to the Irate Pokemon who was already aiming to chew off bits of the Pokemon House. "Deino."
"Dei?" Deino turned to Fluttershy.
"Can you tell me why you've been eating things like books, clothes and trees currently?"
"Dei. Deino-Dei. Deino." Instantly, the Irate Pokemon explained herself to Fluttershy. Her reasoning for this small and seemingly soon-to-be-large scale consumption.
Fluttershy nodded as she also had her eyes widen. The words that Deino were saying were truly stunning to her. Shame that Spike could not understand, otherwise this issue would have been solved long ago.
"Oh my..."
"What? What did she say?" Spike asked.
"Apparently, Deino's been practising. Practising to have the best possible Crunch ever." Fluttershy translated.
"Crunch?" Spike narrowed his eyes before Ash walked over, winning the Rock Paper Scissors game. "Wait, like the Pokemon Move? Is that what this is about?"
"Mhm." Fluttershy nodded. "I think what she means is that she wants her Crunch to be better than any other Crunch. From any other Pokemon too. Ash. You know what I mean, right?"
"Yeah. Just like how Farfetch'd's training to be a Leek Master, the best Leek User out there. Sounds like Deino's going for the same thing. But with Crunch." Ash replied. "That's a major plus. Especially when she becomes a Hydreigon. Boy, do they know how to bite."
"Pikachu."
"Oooh, so that's why you started chewing on everything." Spike turned to his partner. "And the trees were the hardest so far, right?"
"Dei-Dei," Deino admitted with a nod. She did want to perfect her Crunch craft. Actually, she doesn't even know Crunch yet. All she knows is Head Smash, Dragon Rush and Focus Energy.
"Well, if that's the case then...sure. We can do that. If you want the best Crunch ever I can help you. Just uh...ask me first before you go biting randomly, okay?" Spike pleaded to the Irate Pokemon.
"Deino."
"Well help too. Guessing that Deino wants to bite on the hardest stuff she can find. She bit on trees, didn't she?" Ash kneeled to get to Spike and Deino's level. "We'll have you Aim to be a Crunch Master.
"No need to worry." Fluttershy raised her hoof. "I know exactly what she can bite on. Well, mostly Zecora does. And it's a bonus that Deino doesn't have any teeth."
"You said it'll be even better when she becomes a Hydreigon, right Ash? Is Hydreigon's biting power that strong?" Spike asked.
"It sure is. I mean, it's got three mouths and it's a Dragon? Why wouldn't it be tough? But I bet she'll have more than any other Hydreigon, no...any other Pokemon in the world!" Ash spread his arms out as Spike liked the sound of that. He gave an approving nod with a wide grin.
"Nice. Nice. Then let's get started! Deino, you-" As he turned to face his partner, he found out that Deino had wandered off to bite something.
That something being the walls of the Pokemon House as she was gnawing on the bricks. She had no teeth to sink through. Then again, even if she did have teeth, they wouldn't go through either way.
"Deino. Deino."
"Uh..." Spike zoned out for a bit. "She really goes for the tougher ones first? So, what should we have her bite?"
"Ta-dah!" Fluttershy dug into her saddlebag, pulling out a metal feather. More importantly, a Skarmory Feather. "Here. A Skarmory Feather. They're made of steel so they're naturally hard."
"She can also try biting on a diamond." Ash had something of his own to test Deino's gnawing capabilities. "Those are tough for sure."
"Pika-Pika."
"Yeah. You're right. Let's start small. I wanna see if Deino can break..." The baby dragon started examining the area, looking for the first thing that Deino could gnaw on. "Uhh...Not much, huh?"
"I've got it!" Just then, Ash and Pikachu had an idea in sync.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder, hardening his tail as he had formed Iron Tail, landing in front of Spike. "Pika. Pika-Pikachu."
"Hey, Deino!" Ash called out for the Irate Pokemon. "Try biting on Pikachu's Iron Tail!"
"Pika!"
"Seriously?!" Spike gasped. "I-Is that safe?"
"It'll be fine. Pikachu's Iron Tail can clash with the toughest attacks, ya know."
"Pika-Pika."
"Dei? Deino." Accepting Ash's offer, the Irate Pokemon went over to Pikachu to sink her non-existent teeth in. Pikachu wiggled his tail in front of Deino, tempting her even more. "Deino!" Deino took one big bite on Pikachu's Iron Tail without wasting any time.
Upon contact, Pikachu felt nothing due to Iron Tail's hardness. Deino kept biting on his tail to learn Crunch as soon as she could. And each time she bit it, Pikachu's tail remained unharmed.
A good start. Deino showed that she was capable of biting iron With that, they could increase the hardness scales. Fluttershy took out the Skarmory Feather in her saddlebag, giving it for Deino to chew on.
The Irtae Pokemon gnawed on the feather without wasting any time. Still, she hadn't learned Crunch yet. As she chewed on it, Deino attempted to swallow the feather too, finding it tasty.
"Deino, no!" Fluttershy gasped, stopping Deino before she could swallow the feather. A quick and effective save.
Next, they tried their hands and hooves on a couple more objects. Ash and Pikachu had gathered many objects after asking the residents of Ponyville if they could borrow some. Thankfully, some of these objects were either outdated or were on the verge of being thrown out and useless.
Deino had many options of the hardest materials here. Steel tables, plastic boxes, a used game device that Button Mash had no further use for, a ceramic vase, a tossed out marble tile floor and more.
She got to work, biting on all of them at the same time instead of going up a level. She wanted to make sure her Crunch could shatter anything. Even counter anything thrown at her. That way, when she becomes a Hydreigon with three mouths, she'll see herself as unstoppable.
Arriving here were Twilight, Applejack and Rarity who were a bit bummed out after what happened today. They came here to let their Pokemon hang out with the rest of the Pokemon as usual. But as they showed up, they saw Deino's biting spree continue with more objects.
"Oh, no, not again!" Twilight gasped.
"Oh! Twilight!" Spike turned to face Twilight and the others. "I know it looks bad but trust us. This is all intentional!"
"Axew!"
"It is?" Applejack said.
"Yeah. Still super sorry about what happened today. But turns out, Deino's just trying to learn Crunch. Not only that but the best Crunch in the world." Spike explained.
"...That's what this is about? For a Pokemon move?" Rarity squinted her eyes. "I suppose so, but she could've told us first."
"Deino!" Deino had then ripped apart the plastic boxes in half. An impressive feat considering how tough plastic can be. And as soon as she ripped the plastic in half, something happened to Deino.
She had suddenly summoned a yellow aura shaped like a set of teeth in front of her. After summoning it, Deino bit down on the steel tables, shattering them. "No!"
"Oh!" Spike and the others gasped. "Is that Crunch?!" He quickly took out his Pokedex to see Deino's updated moveset.
"Deino. The Irate Pokemon. Headbutt. Dragon Rush. Head Smash. Crunch!"
"Score!" Spike jumped for joy. "You learned Crunch, Deino! Isn't that awesome?!"
"Dei-Dei." Deino nodded as she bit on more objects with her newly discovered moves.
"Well, at least she got what she wanted," Twilight spoke. "How long do you think it'll take before she can perfect her Crunch?"
"Not sure." Fluttershy shook her head. "When she evolves, she'll have a greater biting power as a Zweilous with two heads. And triple that with Hydreigon's strength. But to crush anything in the world would be tough. It would probably take a year to master."
"Then we'll just shorten it to a few months by working harder," said Ash.
"Pikachu."
"No. Deino." Deino then went up to Ash and Pikachu, requesting something from them. Ash kneeled to face Deino as the Irate Pokemon jumped up and down.
"It sounds like she wants to test her new move with a battle." Fluttershy translated. "She said she also wants to counter moves by biting?"
"Counter moves by biting?" Spike turned to Fluttershy then Deino. "Is that even possible?"
"Sure is." Ash nodded in confirmation. "Let's do it, Spike. Deino. I've got some moves you can try and break."
"Deino!"
It was settled. Spike and Deino would have a short battle with Ash to test out Crunch's current capabilities. Ash had his Lucario and Gengar out for this. Both Trainers stood on opposite sides of a Pokemon Battlefield. The Pokemon House did receive some upgrades and a field for Pokemon to battle in was one of them. This area could be found in the Fighting-Type section.
"Okay, try biting on a Shadow Ball to stop it!" Ash suggested.
"Okay!" Spike exclaimed. "Get ready, Deino."
"Dei-Dei!"
"Gengar, use Shadow Ball!"
"Gen...!" The Shadow Pokemon put its hands together, forming a blob of shadows before tossing it at Deino.
"Deino, use Crunch!"
"Dei...!" Deino held out her mouth, summoning the yellow aura of Crunch. Once Shadow Ball came close, the Irate Pokemon gnawed on the purple and black ball.
Upon contact, she was hoping to crush it. And for a moment she managed to squeeze Shadow Ball as everyone stared in surprise. But, it didn't last as Shadow Ball broke the yellow aura, hitting Deino anyway. "Dei!"
"Oh! Deino!" Spike gasped as Deino slid back. "So close. It looked like it was gonna break with all that squeezing."
"That just means she's got the potential to do it." Ash encouraged. "Let's try that again. Shadow Ball one more time!"
"Gengar!" Again, Gengar hurled another for Deino. The Dark-Dragon-Type stomped her hooves on the ground, summoning the yellow aura of teeth as she was determined to shatter and counter the blob.
Crunch connected with Shadow Ball, squeezing it once more. This time, with a prolonged duration. Deino stood firmly on the ground, making sure not to lose her balance. "D-Dei...!" She put more effort into her body, attempting to break her limits.
And by forcing her body to work harder, the Irate Pokemon managed to crush Shadow Ball until it blew up in her face via a black and purple explosion. Success. Deino managed to counter her first Pokemon move by biting n it.
"Alright! You did it, Deino!" Spike cheered along with the others. Despite what had happened with them today with how Deino chewed on their stuff, they encouraged the Irate Pokemon anyway.
"Lu...Ca!" Lucario put his hands together, forming a sphere of Aura as Deino was ready to bite on that one too. Before, Shadow Ball being a Ghost-Type move meant that it was weak to a Dark-Type move like Crunch. But a Fighting-Type move like Aura Sphere could be a different story as Lucario fired the sphere. "Rio!"
"Deino...!" Deino formed the energy of Crunch once more, widening the yellow aura. Crunch had connected with Aura Sphere, but it lasted shorter than Shadow Ball. Aura Sphere instantly shattered the yellow aura, hitting Deino in the process. "D-Dei!"
Deino went flying back from the impact of Aua Sphere as it dealt super-effective damage. the Irate Pokemon tumbled on the floor before falling on her back. "Deino! You okay?!"
"That didn't last long." Rarity shook her head.
"This is Ash's Lucario so it wouldn't work on the first try. I'm not sure the second try would be as good either." Twilight replied as Deino sat up.
"Dei." Deino shook her head, trying to shrug off the damage done to her. However, because back at Sweet Apple Acres, she took recoil damage from using Head Smash on the trees, she was very weak right now. And Aura Sphere only added to that as the Irate Pokemon started wobbling. "Deino...Dei..."
"Oh, my. She looks tired." Fluttershy went up. "Maybe she should get some proper rest before continuing, don't you think?"
"Yeah. Sounds good to me. Let's try later, okay, Deino?" Spike suggested as Ash recalled Gengar and Lucario.
"Deino."
Deino took some time to heal with Fluttershy and Audino doing so. At the same time, the Irate Pokemon was having some lunch. But without using Crunch for it.
"Hey, Deino." Spike sat next to his partner. "You know, when we get to the Equestria League, we'll show everyone just how strong your Crunch is. Not only will it be the best in the world, but when you evolve, we'll make sure you're the best Hydreigon out there. How does that sound?"
"Dei-Deino." Deino could get behind that. She wanted to be a Hydreigon badly. Plus also wanting the best Crunch possible. While eating her food and being healed, Deino accidentally bit on Audino's hand.
"A-Audino!" Audino scrunched her face, pulling her hand back as she cried out.
"Oh! Are you okay, Audi!" Fluttershy gasped, looking at her partner's bitten hand.
"Sorry!" Spike put his hands together, apologizing on Deino's behalf yet again on this day. Deino gave out a chuckle as even though it was on accident, being cheeky was a part of her.
She may be clueless most of the time, but Deino sure is a Pokemon that knows what she's doing. Even if she's rough and brash with it. But aside from that, training went on. The practice for the best Crunch in the world went on with Spike's friends assisting. Deino's quest for the best Crunch was far from over as the journey continues.
At the moment, over at the Crystal Empire. Some double training was due. One that involved Cobalion, Shining Armor and Doublade and another involving Ash and Farfetch'd.
Both Doublade and Farfetch'd had almost identical goals. One wanted to be a Swordmaster while the other wished to be a Leek Master.
Ash held a leek and so did Goh. Goh decided to help Ash and Farfetch'd in their endeavour. As for Shining Armor, his training his Cobalion was the same as always. Nothing new.
"Here goes!" Ash cried out.
"Give it your best shot!" Goh replied.
"Haa!" Ash then rushed towards Goh, swinging the leek at him. Goh quickly put up the leek for protection. Ash started rapidly hitting Goh's leek from above, trying to break through while Goh backed away.
"Woah! Woah!" Goh was feeling the pressure as his foot came in contact with a nearby pebble. He ended up losing his balance because of that pebble. "Ah!"
"You're mine!" Ash roared before jumping into the air.
"Afraid not!" Goh responded, only for him to have a leek smack him in the face. "Oof! Gah...!" Goh then fell on his back after the initial hit. The winner of this was Ash.
"Pika!" Pikachu cheered for Ash's victory while Cinderace's ears dropped from disappointment.
"Cinder."
"That's it." Ash put the leek on his shoulder before thinking about something. He wanted another round. "No, I'm not done yet. I have to get much better or I won't be able to keep up with Farfetch'd's special training. Applejack, do you want a go next?"
"Nope. Pass." Applejack shook her head. "But uh...there a point with battling a leek?"
"Yeah. Is there?" Goh sat up.
"There is a point." Cobalion went up to them. "I don't need to explain what it is. You already know the answer, Ash."
"Sure do." Ash held the leek out. "If we're gonna be Leek Masters, we gotta keep training with just leeks and nothing else, ya know? I mean, everyone else looks like they're getting into it."
"Sceptile!" Indeed, Sceptile and the other Pokemon were. Sceptile held a leek and so did Pheromosa, Audino, Golett Scorbunny and even Keldeo.
"Keldeo put the leek down. You don't need it." Cobalion shook his head while Keldeo let go of the leek from his mouth.
"Aww..." His ears dropped with disappointment.
"Leek!" Flurry Heart, who was currently being carried by her older self from another universe also wanted to hold a leek. She brought one over with her magic, holding it in her hooves.
"Uh...I got a question!" The older Flurry Heart raised her hoof. "How are leeks strong? I mean, they're pretty soft when ya think about it. I could like bite into one and that would be it, right?"
"Yes. But a Farfetch'd's leek is a cut above the rest. It's larger than the average leek and has a durability equal to that of plastic." Cobalion explained.
"Far!" And at the same time, Farfetch'd smash some ice rocks with his leek with little effort. He emerged from the smoke, immediately going after the next ice rock without end. "Far! Farfetch'd!"
"He's gotten better, alright." Pinkie Pie nodded.
"Yeah. Ever since he lost to Gallade, Farfetch'd's training has been happening day in and day out." Ash gripped the leek tightly. "And that's why I wanna help in any way I can!"
"Hm?" Just then, Goh's Rotomphone started ringing. It was a call from Cerilse Labs all the way in the Kanto Region. "Professor Cerise?" He answered the call.
"Goh. Is Ash still with you?" Cerise asked.
"Yeah. We're still doing leek training with Farfetch'd." Goh replied.
"Good. Then this is some great timing. Since Ash is looking for a great place for Farfetch'd, I've found something that could interest them." Cerise said as Ash and everyone immediately started listening in on the conversation.
"Farfetch'd?" Especially Farfetch'd.
"Well, my assistant Ren discovered something quite interesting. There's this location in the Kalos Region. Take a look." Cerise had then shown everyone the image of a certain Pokemon Trainer. An Elite 4 member.
Wikstrom of the Kalos Elite 4. Standing behind a castle with his signature Aegislash.
"The Castle of Chivalry." Shining Armor readout. "All Trainers and Pokemon who desire to find their true strength are welcome. Oh, hold on a sec!" Shining Armor then took a closer look. "This looks like something Doublade and I need!"
"Receive personal training...by Wikstrom of the Elite 4?!" Ash also readout, noticing the name. "Awesome!"
"What's an Elite 4?" The older Flurry Heart asked.
"From what we've been told, the Elite 4 are a group of Pokemon Trainers that are regarded as the toughest in their regional Pokemon League." Cadence explained. "Just behind a Champion."
"Oooh..." Flurry Heart and her baby self gawked.
"We have to go, Cadence!" Shining Armor turned to Cadence. "I mean, he's got an Aegislash and is an Elite 4 Four member. This could be a major breakthrough for me and Doublade!"
"I'm not objecting to it." Cadence shrugged. "If it helps you and Doublade get better then sure. What say you, Cobalion."
"Go for it. Having multiple teachers only brings greater benefits, Shining Armor." Cobalion was instantly onboard with it. He would support his student all the way through.
"Sounds like a safe bet to us. So what do ya say, Farfetch'd?" Ash kneeled to face Farfetch'd. "Wanna go?"
"Far." With golden twinkles in his eyes, the response was clear as day.
"Alright! We're gonna make a one-stop visit to the Kalos Region!" Ash stood up, with his hand in the air. "Shining Armor and I are gonna be great at swinging weapons, right?"
"Uh...I can't swing." Shining Armor pouted. "Cause ya know...hooves."
"Scyther!" Just then emerging from Goh's Poke Ball by itself and hearing the whole conversation was Scyther. "Scy! Scyther!"
"Hm? Scyther?" Goh turned to the Mantis Pokemon who was flailing its arms around. "Are you trying to tell me you wanna come along too?"
"Scyther!" It certainly did.
"You're right." Goh scratched his hair. "I haven't been bringing you to battle a lot lately. Okay! Come along!"
"I'll be waiting for your return," said Cobalion. "Improve yourself there. The Swords of Justice and I will keep the Crystal Empire safe in the meanwhile."
"Sweet. Let's go to Kalos!" Ash raised the leek with enthusiasm as he had a massive group coming with him. As always.
Kalos Region. Castle of Chivalry. Afternoon.
Always looking for ways to get stronger, Ash and his friends had travelled to the Kalos Region, ready to see what awaits them at the Castle of Chivalry. This would also be a big experience for Shining Armor and Double. And they had Cadence and both Flurry Hearts to support them.
And about this Castle of Chivalry, it certainly was a castle. Ripped straight out of medieval times with its old yet sleek appearance and spectacular size.
"This looks like the place. Castle and everything," said Ash as they all stood at the door. "I mean it sure looks like it."
"But how are we supposed to get in?" Flurry Heart asked. But as soon as she said that, the doors started opening in front of everyone's eyes. And standing there was the man himself along with his ace Pokemon.
Wikstrom of the Elite 4 and his Aegislash.
"Ye who seeks strength!" Wikstrom spoke in a medieval language. " I bid you good day! I am a member of the Kalos Elite 4. The Trainer of Steel. Wikstrom by name!"
"Wow. That guy's intense." Rainbow Dash uttered.
"It is my belief that chivalry is the only path to true strength."
"Aegis." Aegislash agreed as it and Wikstrom went up to the group.
"I have established the Castle of Chivalry! To extend this concept to Trainers and Pokemon all over both worlds. From all regions to Equestria! Now! All of you! Would you like to reach to the top altogether?!"
"Aegislash!"
"Heck yeah, we do!" Ash radiated enthusiasm.
"It would an honour!" Goh nodded his head.
"Can't turn down something like this, so please yes." So did Shining Armour.
"Gh!" With responses like that, Wikstrom backed with tears in his eyes after hearing their passion. "That's excellent! Such refreshing determination and unclouded eyes! The youth bring glory to our future!" He then put his arms over his eyes, crying.
"Um, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked the weeping Elite 4 Member.
"He seems super passionate." Twilight's eyes widened as everyone shifted their eyes.
"Espeon."
"Mm!" Wikstrom sniffled before ending his crying, putting on a serious face. "The challengers' names please!"
"My name's Ash! This is my partner, Pikachu!" Ash, Goh and Shining Armor started introducing themselves.
"Pikachu!"
"We came here to train up Farfetch'd!"
"Far!"
"I'm am Goh! And this is Scyther!"
"Scyther!"
"Name's Shining Armor! And this Doublade!"
"Dou!"
"Oh! I like your fire!" Wikstrom complemented before looking at Farfetch'd's serious eyes. The other two were determined but not more than Farfetch'd. "It seems you are worthy of training. Now. Let's get you three in armour."
"Armour? I like the sound of that." Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"Oh! I didn't bring my armour with me! I didn't know we'd need it!" Shining Armor gasped, putting his hooves over his head with panic starting to emerge.
"Do not worry, my little pony! Last year I made sure to make armour that would fit species from Equestria. So we have your size right how you would want it."
"Oh...phew. Thank Celestia."
5 minutes later.
After 5 minutes of heading inside and attempting to put the armour on, the six of them were ready. Ash, Goh, Shining Armor, Farfetch'd and Scyther wore armour. Doublade was excluded due to his body being somewhat armoured already thanks to the Steel-Typing.
"Pika." Pikachu and the others gazed at their armoured appearances.
"Looking good, you three!" Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves.
"Wow! We look cool!" Ash gawked at the armour.
"Yeah. But why are we wearing the armour and not just the Pokemon?" Goh asked.
"There is but one reason and that is because you are trying to attain true strength. And once we begin our training, you will understand."
"Sounds good to me! I feel so psyched!" Ash exclaimed.
"First an explanation!" Wikstrom raised a finger. "The Castle of Chivalry has three areas. When Pokemon and Trainer clear those three areas and stand atop the highest castle point, that's proof of their true strength! There they shall receive the symbol of the title of knight. The Knight Medal!"
"Let's get it, Farfetch'd. Okay?" Ash looked down at Farfetch'd.
"Farfetch'd...!"
"Good luck, dad!" Flurry Heart and her baby self cheered for their father. And so did Shining Armor's wife and little sister.
"Now! Training area one!" Wikstrom closed his eyes before becoming passionate once more, clenching his fist and raising it. "A knight must be stronger than anyone. Polish to shine! Sharply honed!"
"To be stronger than anyone? That means...we start with battles, right?!" Ash asked.
"Far?"
"It means running 10 laps around the castle!" Wikstrom gave out the real objective as they each gasped. They knew that would take a while but they were up for the challenge anyway.
"Go, you six! And get that medal!" Twilight cheered along with her friends.
"Pika!" Pikachu waved his arms as the six of them began the challenge.
"Tourist exercises? Start with the basics!" Ash said as Goh was already showing signs of struggle due to the armour.
"Yeah! But 10 laps won't be easy! This armour's at least a ton!" Goh panted.
"Good thing I'm already used to wearing some armour!" Shining Armor responded. "But this does feel different from what I'm used to."
"It'll be a piece of cake you two! We'll finish this up in no time!" But Ash didn't seem to have an issue with running in this armour. Travelling across regions for so many years and being in perilous situations truly does come in handy at practically every moment. "Right, Farfetch'd?"
"Farfetch'd!"
"Scyther!"
"Doublade!" All three Pokemon were really into this. Although Doublade got it off easy due to him being made of steel already and having the ability to float as a Ghost. The concept of running was nonexistent to him.
"Probo!" But suddenly, jumping from one of the castle pathways up above was the Compass Pokemon Probpass as it stood in front of Ash and the others. "Probopass!"
"A Probopass?" said Ash as they had passed the Rock-Steel-Type. "It's probably here training just like us. Wonder if there's more?"
"Probo...!" Just as the six of them passed the Compass Pokemon, Probopass then turned around with its eyes glowing gold suddenly. It wasn't here to train. Rather, it was here to train the six of them. With its eyes glowing gold, it emitted a red and blue aura from its body, utilizing its magnetism powers.
"Oh!" Ash and the others noticed how their bodies were getting heavier due to Probopass affecting their steel armour. Doublade was affected due to already being Steel. With this magnetic manipulation, they started slowing down. "T-This is Probopass' magnetism! Man, this is heavy!"
"Probopass is a dear companion who helps me in the first round." Wikstrom suddenly appeared on the higher pathway above Probopass. "The strength that it takes you to run past his magnetic field will reveal a strong body and heart!"
"Is that even possible?" Twilight asked. "I mean, Probopass' magnetic abilities are insane. They can even move massive ships."
"Have no fear, Princess Twilight. Probopass is limiting its magnetic pull for fairness. But if the body and heart are strong enough, then perhaps, even at Probopass' absolute limit, it could still be possible to breakthrough."
"Pika."
"We'll totally...breakthrough!" Ash strained while trying to overcome Probopass' magnetic field. "Right, you guys?!"
"T-This is a bit much though!" Goh groaned. "Just how difficult can this get!?"
"F-Far! Farfetch'd!" But Farfetch'd, Scyther and Doublade were going ahead, passing their trainers.
"We gotta keep going...!" Ash roared. "We can't let them down!"
"Hm. The indomitable will to carry on." Wikstrom observed as Probopass ended the magnetic pull. "Most impressive."
"Huh?" Ash soon noticed that the field was gone. "We did it!" They had proven that even when having their bodies restrained by a powerful and overpowering force, they would press on either way. Not thinking of stopping for even a second.
With that, they were free to run 10 laps across the castle with no worry. But it was a bit exhausting, however. The magnetic pull really had some after-effects that it left behind. Plus, the castle's huge size and having to run 10 laps around it was time-consuming.
"That was very well done." Wikstrom praised. "All of you have passed the rigorous first trial."
"Yeah. Alright." Ash grinned. A bit out of breath.
"Ah..." Shining Armor fell on his back. "My body's completely worn out. In a good way."
"Mmm!" Just then, Wikstrom broke into tears once more, putting his arms over his eyes. His intense passion was showing again. "I've bared witness to your extraordinary drive and determination!"
"Slash." Along came Aegislash with a handkerchief for his trainer. Wikstrom took the handkerchief, wiping his tears and blowing his nose.
"And with that drive and determination....there!" Wikstrom then pointed over to the castle door. "To the second location!"
Inside.
"Area number two. The Labyrinth of Doubt!" Wikstrom introduced as they had all entered the castle. Even the inside was medieval as a Litwick could be seen acting as the candles for the castles.
"Litwick!"
"Labyrinth of doubt?" Goh repeated.
"Kind of a creepy-looking place, isn't it?" said Shining Armor.
"A knight is braver than all others." Wikstrom turned to face them. "The battlefield is filled with doubt and fear pressing every moment. A Pokemon and its trainer must walk side-by-side, passing countless traps and tricks, then emerge gloriously!"
"Then let's get going! We're not gonna let anyone beat us on the battlefield, ever! Right, Farfetch'd?" Ash exclaimed. However, Farfetch'd suddenly walked ahead, not responding to Ash's words. "Huh? Hey, wait for me."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu then tried going along, only for Wikstrom to grab him. "P-Pika!"
"Hold on. This trial is a test of the one-on-one bond between the Pokemon and Trainer taking part in the challenge. We shall all go to the labyrinth exit to await their arrival. "
"No need to worry, Pikachu! I'll see ya after!" Ash waved before leaving everyone's view. Pikachu's ears dropped with disappointment as he wished to explore the labyrinth as well.
The six of them moved through the labyrinth, passing many medieval weapons that were hung on the walls. After moving a certain distance, they had two directions to chose from.
"The path goes two directions. Which one should we take?" Ash wondered.
"There's six of us and only two of it," said Shining Armor. "Maybe we can-" Suddenly, his words were cut off when a massive steel gate down from above, getting between Ash, Shining Armor and Goh. "Oh!"
"What's going on?" Ash looked around.
"Guess this is what they call the fated parting of ways," Goh spoke. "You and Shining Armor can go ahead since you're in the same spot."
"Sure thing. Then, let's meet up at the goal line!" Ash pointed his thumb at the pathway as he and Shining Armor went ahead. It would them, Farfetch'd and Doublade while Goh would stick by Scyther.
If the castle was large on the outside then the inside was just as if not larger. Goh and Scyther started shimmying across the castle walls, acting cautiously. The little amount of light in this castle and silence made them cautious.
But that silence would soon break up once they heard the sounds of swords being either clashed against each other or unsheathed. Either way, they were approaching that sound, hearing the volume go up.
"What's this?" Goh wondered as he and Scyther came across the source of the noise.
"Escavalier!" Appearing in front of them with the walls themselves flipping to the side was the source of the noise. The Cavalry Pokemon, Escavalier.
"Ah!"
"Scy?!"
"Escava...!" Immediately, Escavalier went on the offensive, attacking Scyther without hesitation. The Cavalary Pokemon struck its lances at the Mantis Pokemon, only for Scyther to block it and push its fellow Bug-Type back.
"Scy!" Scyther then attacked as well, hitting Escavalier once with its scythes.
"Escavalier!" After being hit, Escavalier returned to the wall, causing it to flip as it had vanished.
"Phew..." Goh sighed. "Way to go Scyther."
"Scyther."
"Okay. Let's keep going!" Goh and Scyther pressed on. They were bound to run into surprise Pokemon after that little encounter.
And as they ran, a camera was watching them. This camera was meant to monitor the actions of Trainer and Pokemon. And spectating over this was WIkstrom and everyone else from the end of the labyrinth. The camera was connected to a phone that Wikstrom would use to see and track their movements. He pressed an arrow that showed Ash, Shining Armor, Farfetch'd and Doublade.
"It splits off again," Ash observed. "Think we should split up too, Shining?"
"Far." But going ahead by himself once more was Farfetch'd. Not even taking a moment to wait. With that, Ash, Shining Armor and Doublade ended up following Farfetch'd.
"Hold on, Farfetch'd!" Ash cried out. But as they followed the Wild Duck Pokemon, from the lower part of the wall, another wall flip had happened. But on a smaller scale. That was because the Pokemon in question was relatively small. A Dedenne.
"Dedenne!"
"Oh. Dedenne." Ash kneeled.
"Aww, it's cute." Shining Armor gushed at the Antenna Pokemon as the Electric-Fairy-Type hopped into Ash's arms.
"What are you doing that for, Dedenne?" Ash chuckled as Dedenne started nuzzling his face. "Haha! Stop that tickles!"
"Dede. Dedenne." But in reality, Dedenne was just building up electricity for one reason. To shock Ash, Shining Armor and Doublade. "Denne!" And it did just that, unleashing 40,000 volts and shocking all three of them.
"Aaaaah!"
"Dou!"
"Guh..." Ash and Shining Armor fell on their backs while Dedenne hopped off, returning to where it came from. Farfetch'd didn't care, however. He just pressed on.
"D-Doublade!" Doublade didn't take too kindly to this. The Sword Pokemon hovered over, landing in front of Farfetch'd to speak with him. "Blade! Doublade!" Doublade asked Farfetch'd to assist them in this. Going ahead in this trial without any help would probably go against the whole point.
"Far? Farfetch'd." But Farfetch'd dismissed Doublade's words, deciding to act on his own volition instead of staying with the group. He already made that clear in the beginning as he walked past Doublade.
"Dou? Doublade!" But Doublade insisted on their concept of teamwork, trying to convince Farfetch'd. In response, Farfetch'd aimed his leek at the Sword Pokemon. Doublade felt threatened by this. So, he also responded by slapping Farfetch'd's leek back.
"Far? Far!" Farfetch'd didn't take too kindly to that as the two of them started eyeing each other down. Clearly, there was some slight hostility around.
"Hold on you two!" Ash got up as he and Shining Armor rushed over to put a stop to the potential conflict. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, okay?"
"Try to calm down, Doublade." Shining Armor said.
"Doublade."
All the while, Wikstrom had observed this scenario with his eyes squinting. He saw how Farfetch'd responded to others and how the potential battle between him and Doublade had almost happened. Wikstrom kept a close eye on those two especially.
Farfetch'd didn't listen as he went ahead again. Even when Ash and Shining Armor were trying to solve the potential conflict. They did solve it but not in the way they were hoping to. Farfetch'd just walked off.
And as he walked off, popping out of the side of the wall was another surprise Pokemon. This time it was the form of Doublade's pre-evolution. Honedge.
"Hone!"
"Farfetch'd look out!" Ash cried out after noticing Honedge going towards the Wild Duck Pokemon. Ash leapt forward, trying to stop Honedge. Farfetch'd just kept walking as Honedge moved out of the way, causing Ash to hit the floor.
"Honedge!" Honedge then went back into the side of the wall. As for Farfetch'd he noticed that he ended up coming across a dead-end. Nowhere left to go in this part of the castle.
"Far."
"Dead end," said Shining Armor. "No way out too. What now?"
"Let's go back to the last point," Ash recommended before he, Shining Armor and Doublade changed directions. But Farfetch'd had a solution to this problem.
"Far!" Destruction. Farfetch'd swung his leek, smashing the dead-end wall as a crack had formed. "Fetch'd!"
"Y-You're kidding, right? Does that even work?" Shining Armor stuttered, wondering if there was something past a dead-end wall. He's always assumed there wasn't.
Farfetch'd kept swinging at the wall to try and shatter it. A commendable effort and display of determination. Albeit on his own. With a few mighty strikes and brute force, Farfetch'd had shattered the dead-end wall. Revealing another area.
"Farfetch'd."
"Well, that's one way to do it." Shining Armor blinked a few times.
"Awesome work, Farfetch'd!" Ash praised Farfetch'd for coming up with a fairly simple approach to dealing with the dead end. They followed after Farfetch'd as he seemingly knew what he was doing after all.
"That Farfecth'd has a rare battle sense and attack power," Wikstrom observed while observing the group. "Refusing to retreat. A splendidly talented swordfighter, who forges its own path and then bravely proceeds on it."
"He's great isn't he?" Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared on Wikstrom's shoulder.
"Truly. However..." That's when Wikstrom changed the mood. "He will never attain true strength in his present state."
"How far is it gonna be until we get to the end?" Shining Armor wondered as Doublade had something in mind. The Sword Pokemon was aiming to phase through the walls for a quick exit but Shining Armor already knew about that. "Don't even think about it, Doublade."
"D-Dou!"
"Far." Farfetch'd and the group came across another hallway, leading to another direction. However, as Farfetch'd approached the end of the hallway, the floor beneath him suddenly opened up. "Far?! Fetch'd!" And with that open hole, he fell through, screaming.
"Ah! Farfetch'd, no!" Acting rapidly, Ash rushed over towards the hole to save his partner.
"Ash!" Shining Armor cried out after seeing Ash rushing forward and Farfetch'd encountering a trap. He and Doublade looked down at the hole to see a hopeful sight. Farfetch'd had managed to save himself by grabbing onto a protruding brick.
"F-Fetch!"
"Farfetch'd! You gotta grab my hand!" Ash called out before putting his hand in the hole.
"Far!" Farfetch'd moved the feather that his leek was holding, putting it on the brick. Ash leaned his arm down as far as he could as he managed to grab ahold of the other feather instead of the one holding the leek.
"Gotcha!" But as Ash managed to get Farfetch'd's feather, the leek ended up falling.
"Far!"
"Your leek!" Ash gasped as he dragged Farfetch'd out of the hole and then later jumping into the hole without a second thought. Farfetch'd landed on the floor as Shining Armor and Doublade had come over.
"Farfetch'd!"
"Ash!" Shining Armor and Farfetch'd each bellowed Ash's name as was diving deep down. Ash grabbed the leek as that was all that mattered.
However, even when falling down a hole, he always had a plan. Ash swiftly spread his legs out, using them to stick on the walls of the hole. Farfetch'd was also planning on jumping in for Ash and his leek, only to find out that Ash saved himself.
"Heh. Close one right?" Ash laughed.
"Too close, Ash." Shining Armor said before dragging them both out with his magic. "You could've waited for me to use my magic and grab Farfetch'd.
"My bad," Ash said before giving Farfetch'd his leek. "Here ya go, buddy. Good thing it's still fine."
"Far." Farfetch'd help the leek before looking closely at it. He then looked up at Ash who had that signature grin on his face.
"You care about that leek more than anything. Isn't that right?" said Ash. After hearing that, Farfetch'd looked at his leek once more, realizing that Ash knew its importance to Farfetch'd. "Now, let's get moving!"
After that little adrenaline rush, Ash and the company pressed on. Farfetch'd, for once, was behind everyone else. Witnessing this, Wikstrom gave an approving nod.
"I think a see a change," Wikstrom observed as everyone else leaned in to see. "Good."
After walking a good distance, Ash and Shining Armor ended up coming across Goh, reuniting. That meant only one thing if they were both here.
"Oh. Ash! Shining Armor!" Goh cried out. "Does that mean...?"
"Yes! You have all passed the second trial!" Wikstrom cried out as he and the others appeared before Ash, Goh and Shining Armor.
"Pika!"
"Nice work, dad!" Flurry Heart flew above everyone else to make herself the loudest in the room.
"Oh yeah! We did it!" Ash cheered.
"Excellent!" Goh clapped as his form of cheering. He also gave Scyther an elbow nudge.
"Scyther!"
"Mmm!" Once again, Wikstrom's passion was showing as he was about to tear up and weep once more. And he did. Bawling out into tears immediately. "Bahahaha! Perfect!" And coming to his aid was Aegislash with another handkerchief. "It was stupendous!"
"Aegis."
"To the candidates who made it this far, I offer my heartfelt respect," said Wikstrom as he went over to grab three swords off the wall. "And next is the much anticipated third trial. I suggest you get prepared. The Kalos Elite 4 Member then gave each of them swords to hold. Shining Armor would use his magic to do so.
The third trial was about to begin.
And this one would take place on the upper floor of the castle. The room they were in had green lights for the ambience as it was incredibly empty. More so than the other rooms and floors.
"This area seems pretty empty," Goh observed.
"Wonder what kind of trial this is?" Ash wondered.
"This trial will be the deciding round." Along came Wikstrom and Aegislash, carrying his own sword. "As I informed you in the beginning, passing this last trial will earn you the Knight Medal. The object of the trial is quite simple." Wikstrom then turned to the long hallway in this room with a door up ahead. "If you are able to open the locked door behind us, you will pass the test. And the key that you seek..."
"Klef!" Floating into Wikstrom's open hand was the Key Ring Pokemon. "Klefki!"
"If Trainers and Pokemon can combine their skills to take the key from Klefki and open the door, then all shall be considered to have passed the trial!" Wikstrom bellowed before holding his sword out. "However! Taking it shall be no easy task."
"Aegislash!" And getting in front of Wikstrom was Aegislash.
"So that's what it's about." Ash held the sword with both hands as he, Goh and Shining Armor caught on quick.
"A swordfight? How fun!" Rarity and Cadence clapped their hooves.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Looks like you'll get to swing a sword after all, huh dad! Flurry Heart bellowed.
"Are you six prepared?" Wikstrom added as all six of them had determined looks on their faces. They were prepared without a doubt. Alright! And now! Let's go!"
"So all we have to do is steal that key!" Ash grinned. "The first move wins! Farfetch'd use Night Slash!"
"Far...!" Farfetch'd made the first move, jumping into the air while getting ready to swing his leek that was coated in a white aura.
"Now, Scyther use Slash!" Goh commanded.
"Scyt...!" Scyther zoomed ahead with its claws out.
"Doublade, Fury Cutter!" And next was Shining Armor.
"Dou...!" Doublade lit up both his blades with a green aura, dashing forward.
"Aegislash! Defend!" Wikstrom commanded, putting his hand out.
"Aegi...Slash!" Aegislash put his shield forward for defence. And what a great a defence it was. Farfetch'd's leek smashed onto Aegislash's shield, only for it to be blocked. Scyther and Doublade followed up by slashing the shield but even their attacks had been blocked by Aegislash's precise timing with his defences. He had also used his bladed body to block the hits.
"Use Fury Cutter!" Both Ash and Shining Armor bellowed.
"Scyther, Air Slash!"
"Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd kept the pressure on along with Doublade as they both used Fury Cutter, trying to break through Aegislash's defences.
"Doublade!"
"Scyther!" Scyther flew back, slashing the air as it sent cutting waves of wind forward. But with each movement and attack that came his way, Aegislash was still able to block each of them with his shield and body. No matter what, Aegislash would not let his guard down.
"Man. Aegislash is really tough," said Ash.
"Wait a sec." Shining Armor then noticed Klefki. "You know there's nothing keeping us from taking the key, right?"
"Oh yeah!" Ash gasped as they each grinned at each other. "While we've got the chance!" Altogether, the three of them leapt for the key, going straight for Klefki. "That key is ours!"
"Didn't I say it would be no easy task!" But interrupted the trio was Wikstrom who had swung the sword in their direction, forcing them back.
"Woah!"
"You mean you'll be fighting as well?" Goh stepped back.
"These swords are harmless training replicas." Wikstrom played with the sword as it was revealed to be flexible. "But, you should never let down your guard. Alright! Your move! Have at thee!"
"That explains the armour. I've got some experience with some swords! Ash stood firm with the sword out. "Maybe not much but the training with the leek's is gonna pay off. Let's go!"
Ash, Goh and Farfetch'd rushed towards Wikstrom with their swords. All the while, their Pokemon were trying to get the advantage over Aegislash. No matter what they did, they couldn't seem to find a blind spot. Truly, Aegislash was a Pokemon worthy of the Elite 4 status. Ash swung first with Wikstrom moving out of the way. The Trainer of Steel then avoided Goh's hitting, knocking him in the back. The Kalos Elite 4 Member had then blocked Shining Armor's incoming sword swing before pushing him back.
Ash ran back in for another slash only for it to be evaded again. The same went for Goh and Shining Armor as they missed their swings too. Wikstrom was too adept with a sword, meaning he knew every possible moves they could make.
"Klef! Klefki!" Klefki chuckled throughout all of this.
"Come on, Shining! Stab right through his armour!" Cadence cheered while holding onto Flurry Heart. She was getting too excited about this with her adrenaline rising. The same could be said for the others.
"Bonk him on the head, Ash!" Rainbow Dash roared. "Or the knee or something!"
"Is that all?" Wikstrom slid as Aegislash got in front of him. "Really?"
"Aegislash!"
"We're not gonna let it end like this!" Ash declared. "Okay. Shining Armor and I will deal with Wikstrom. Farfetch'd. You keep Aegislash busy. While we're doing that, you and Scyther go get the key."
"Farfetch'd!"
"I gotcha!" Shining Armor responded with a nod.
"Doublade!"
"Got it!" Goh replied.
"Scyther!"
"Let's do it!" Ash and the others charged forward with Goh and Scyther going after Klefki instead.
"Klef?! Klef-Klefi!" Klefki started flying away as fast as it could with the two of them chasing it down. Ash, Shining Armor and Wikstrom ended up clashing swords, meeting face to face.
"Courageous decision. However, it may have been foolhardy." Wikstrom said.
"We're gonna win!" Ash and Shining Armor said together.
"We'll see about that!" Wikstrom pushed them back before slashing the duo.
"Oh!" Ash kept his footing without losing his balance as Shining Armor bumped into his knee.
"Pikapi!"
"Ash! Shining Armor! Are you okay?!" Twilight gasped.
"We're fine!"
"Far!" Farfetch'd and Doublade kept swinging at Aegislash, only for more blocking to get in their way. However, they made sure to put the pressure on so that Aegislsah would be overwhelmed. That is until Wikstrom gave a command.
"Aegislash! Use King's Shield!"
"Aegis!" The Royal Sword Pokemon put his shield in front of him, blocking Farfetch'd's incoming hit. Farfetch'd kept swinging as the effects of King Shield could be seen emanating each time the leek struck the shield.
"Far...Fetch'd! Fetch'd! Fetch'd!" Farfetch'd fell on his back after all the swinging. But he quickly regained his momentum, swinging his leek in a familiar fashion. One that Ash had seen before.
"Like when he fought Gallade," Ash observed the familiar movements. "That's not gonna work."
"How can you worry about others now?!" Wikstrom roared before pushing Shining Armor away and swinging towards Ash. Ash Ketchum quickly jumped out of the way, evading the initial hit.
"Far?!" Farfetch'd gasped after seeing Ash almost take a heavy blow.
"Hold it!" As for Goh and Scyther, they were rapidly chasing Klefki down, trying to catch it. The Steel-Fairy-Type's small body allowed it to be speedy and outpace them. "Slow down!"
"Scyther!"
"Klefki! Klef!" In response, Klefki used Fairy Wind, spinning around and sending a spiral of magical wind that blew Scyther away.
"Scy!"
"Ah! Scyther!" Goh cried out before cutting away the pink winds with his sword. Klefki then flew off after that mild distraction. "You okay? We're still looking out for each other."
"Scyther!"
"Let's try again! We'll come from both sides and corner Klefki!"
"Scy-Scyther!"
"Your movements are sharp. But not sharp enough!" Wikstrom said as he knocked Shining Armor's sword off of his magical grasp. Shining Armor yelped as he had been pushed back, going against the wall. Ash had also been backed against the wall by Wikstrom's precise movements. "Let's finish this up!"
"Far! Fa?" Farfetch'd then stopped swinging at Aegislash as he and Doublade noticed how their trainers were backed into a corner. Farfetch'd then started thinking about how Ash put himself in danger for his leek. He could've just moved on after saving Farfetch'd but he didn't.
"Here ya go, buddy. Good thing it's still fine. You care about that leek more than anything. Isn't that right?"
"Aegislash!" Aegislash caught them both off guard, lurking next to them like an actual Ghost.
"Now, Aegislash use Sacred Sword and then Night Slash!"
Aegis...Slash!" Aegislash's body was cloaked in a blue light as he swung towards Farfetch'd while he wasn't looking.
"Far?!"
"Blade!" But protecting him was Doublade. Before, they had their differences during the trial. But thee were no hard feelings at all as he had protected Farfetch'd, utilizing his immunity to Fighting. However, Aegislash quickly switched attacks, using Night Slash to knock the Sword Pokemon away. "Dou!"
"Your Farfetch'd cannot hope to defeat Aegislash!" Wikstrom exclaimed.
"I don't believe that! I trust Farfetch'd all the way!" Ash roared.
"Far!"
"You can have your trust! As you fall together!" Wikstrom swung at both Ash and Shining Armor, ready to end this.
"Farefetch'd!" But getting in the way of their attack was Farfetch'd who had turned around. By turning around, Farfetch'd had been slashed in the back by Aegislash's Sacred Sword.
"Slash!"
"Far! F-Fetch'd!" But even with that attack, Farfetch'd powered through, lunging towards Ash's direction. With great timing, he had blocked Wikstrom's swing, protecting them both.
"Oh! Farfetch'd!" A smile graced Ash's face as Doublade quickly stood in the way of Aegislash, preventing him from going after Farfetch'd. Ash also saw the slash on Farfetch'd's back.
"Hoh...Farfetch'd even took damage to come and defend his trainer." Wikstrom observed. "And Doublade is acting a personal shield for Farfetch'd to have a chance."
"Aegis." Aegislash floated over to Wikstrom.
"Farfetch'd!"
"But it won't be enough to brush off this next attack! Aegislash! Combine Sacred Sword and Night Slash!"
"Aegis! Aegi...Slash!" By merging two moves into one, Aegislash rushed over to both Farfetch'd and Doublade, ready to end it.
"Dou!" Once again, Doublade used himself as protection, making sure none of his allies would be harmed. But that's when the roles had been reversed.
Farfetch'd's eyes glowed blue as he had knocked Doublade out of the way. Not only did he knock him away, but the Wild Duck Pokemon had also moved at lightning speeds, leaving behind afterimages of himself as he evaded the attacks.
"Oh! What move is that!?" Flurry Heart gasped.
"It's Detect!" Twilight stood up.
"Right! Follow it up with Night Slash, Farfetch'd!"
"Farfetch'd!" He rushed back in, striking back with Night Slash as he finally found an opening on Aegislash, dealing a super-effective hit.
"A-Aegis!"
"Far...!" With a reckless surge, Farfetch'd was ready to swing again while Aegislash was flying through the air. Until...
"Hold up, Farfetch'd!" Ash promptly stopped him as Farfetch'd ceased his attacks. There was a reason why he had stopped Farfetch'd.
Goh had retrieved the key.
"Guess what? I just got the key." Goh twirled it around.
"Oh! They did it!" Fluttershy flapped her wings with excitement as now everyone could collectively cheer now that the final trial had ended. And they filled the rooms with their voices.
"Excellent!" Wikstrom nodded in approval. He was proud of them.
With the final trial ending, they reached the top of the tower where the medals could be given out. Wikstrom had a few words to say beforehand.
"A knight fights for either the sovereign or for the weak who do not possess the strength to fight for themselves. It is when you fight to protect those you hold dear, that your strength increases many times. This is true for everyone out there in each world. Each universe. Farfetch'd. Ash. Goh. Scyther. Shining Armor. And Doublade. I acknowledge your success and present you each with a knight medal!" Holding a box in his hands, Wikstrom had shown them six medals. All for them each for a job well done.
"Awesome! We just got the knight medal!" Ash roared with victory, raising the medal like he does with Gym Badges and Z Crystals. Goh and Shining Armor did the same as their Pokemon wore the medals.
"Now that was fun! Wish I could've done it too!" Flurry Heart pranced on the spot.
"By the way, Goh. Shining Armor. I wonder about your partners. Would you like it they evolved?" Wikstrom suggested?
"Evolved? Well, we were planning to head to Evolution Valley one day, but we haven't gotten around to it. Too busy and all that." said Shining Armor. "But I'd love to evolve Doublade and grant him his wish."
"Dou."
"Same here." Goh nodded. "I'd like a Scizor."
"Scyther."
Wikstrom granted them their wishes. He had Aegislash bring over two items in particular. The Dusk Stone and the Metal Coat. He then led the group to one other room. A room that had a Trade Machine. Goh recalled Scyther as it had the Metal Coat.
"Firstly. If we have Scyther hold a Metal Coat while transferring it through this Trade Machine, evolution will take place." Wikstrom explained. Indeed, Scyther immediately went through an evolution process as the screen switched it to Scizor.
The Poke Ball came out as Goh grabbed it. He then released the newly evolved Pokemon inside. Out came the Pincer Pokemon Scizor.
"Scizor!"
And as for Shining Armor, it was simple. Give Doublade the Dusk Stone and the evolution will begin. Which is exactly what happened. Doublade's body reacted to the rock with a light glowing out of him. His body changed to resemble the Pokemon he had fought and dreamed to be.
Aegislash.
"Aegislash!"
"Finally! Look at you, pal! Wait till Cobalion sees this!" Shining Armor laughed as baby Flurry Heart immediately latched herself onto Aegislash. "Oh! Flurry Heart, that's dangerous!"
"Aegis?!"
"Thanks for everything, Wikstrom." Ash went up to the Elite 4 member.
"Well, I expect you to stay diligent, Ash Ketchum."
"Right. Count on it." Ash pit his fist on his chest before facing Farfecth'd. "Hey, Farfetch'd. What do ya say you beat Gallade next time?" He put his fist out.
"Far!" Farfetch'd was finally syncing ell with Ash as he put his leek on Ash's fist as respect and gratitude. "Fetch'd!"
Ash and Farfetch'd discovered strength, bravery and kindness. By the way of chivalry. As did Shining Armor, Aegislash, Goh and Scizor. Many adventures are still to come as the journey continues.
Currently showing up in Canterlot today was Team Rocket. They haven't used their Rocketship to get here. Just their usual method of travelling. They walked the streets of Canterlot as Jessie and Meowth looked down.
"Keep those smiles up!" James encouraged.
"How can I keep a smile when my insides are frowning?" Jessie mumbled as her stomach growling. "We just ate today. How are we so hungry already?"
"Tell that to the Snorlax back at the house." Meowth groaned.
"A shame you couldn't try some of Applejack's apple pies." James grinned. "Those are delicious. Being a friend of Apple Bloom has its perks."
"Could've told us that before!" Jessie held James' shirt. "But I was pretty hungry even yesterday. Need something that I can eat for hours."
"My stomach's lost a bunch of hours." Meowth held his stomach. But very soon, their wishes would be granted as a wafting scent met with their noses. Immediately, their attention had been drawing to a wonderful smell that they couldn't ignore.
The smell of food.
"Oh but that's all about to change..." Jessie said as she and Team Rocket made their way towards the scent. Immediately, they across a small food store that was right near the Pokemon School.
They had something they could eat. At least, Jessie and Meowth did. James was all full. After entering, they selected the food of their choice once they got in there. Their stomachs would be filled with the best that this stand had to offer.
"Ooh! Merry Medley!" Traditional Pokemon Curry was for them. Specifically the Spicy Mushroom Medley Curry. They dug in with great energy, filling their stomachs as much as they could.
"S-Spicy!" Meowth breathed fire as the heat of the curry was hotter than expected. However, they continued to eat it anyway, despite the heat.
After that, they had instantly finished their meal, feeling stuffed. James was beyond stuffed since he had some good food earlier at Sweet Apple Acres.
"Mmhm." Jessie nodded after a good meal. "Splendid. Now, go ahead and pay our tab, James."
"Me? But I'm flat broke." James pointed at himself as Jessie's eyes widened.
"What do you mean you're flat broke?! You didn't spend it all on that pie did you!?" Jessie got p in James' face.
"The pies were free!" James waved his hands. "It was a courtesy meal!"
"It's fine. Let's just juke this place out and scram." Jessie whispered. "A satisfying meal is one without pay."
"So you don't have anything to pay the tab do you?" Just then, the owner of the shop heard their conversation, appearing behind them and startling Team Rocket.
"Aaah!" Team Rocket screeched, holding each other. Jessie then rushed over, kneeling at the unicorn for some convincing and hopefully an easy way out. "Now, look. It was in the spur of the moment and-"
"Don't." The mare interrupted her with a sigh. "This isn't the first time this has happened. "Luckily for you three, I have a solution to this."
"You do?" Team Rocket said. The earth pony had brought to them to the back of the food store for one purpose. There, Team Rocket stood firmly, awaiting what they believed to be a punishment.
The mare had brought over some aprons for them. Fittingly, some were human-sized and the others just the perfect size for a Meowth. Almost as if a moment like this was anticipated. Jessie, James and Meowth looked at the apron before realizing what this meant.
"Since you can't pay, you can make it up to me-"
"By working here?!" Jessie intervened.
"Right. But more than that. You're going to have to cook instead of cleaning the dishes and scrubbing the floor. All for the customers that come here." The mare explained as Team Rocket scrunched their faces. "You can cook, right? That's not going to be a problem, is it?"
"Oh sure, sure!" Jessie rubbed her hands together before putting the apron on. "We can cook without a doubt!"
"We'll make it up to you so much it'll feel like paying full price!" James gave an OK finger sign.
"Price to pay for missing price!" Meowth grinned.
"Hm." The mare squinted her eyes. "I see. If you say so. Work for at least 10 or 11 hours to make it up for me and you're free to go. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am!" They each said as Wobbuffet suddenly appeared.
"Wobbuffet!"
At the moment, Jessie, James, Meowth and to a small extent Wobbuffet were now workers at this small food store near the Pokemon School. A way to make up for the lack of money.
But more than that, Team Rocket were opportunists. Not just with capturing Pokemon when the time is ripe, but also when it comes to money. If there's a chance to make money, no matter what form, they'll take it. And this was one of those moments.
However, for old habits, Team Rocket had put on disguises. And by disguises, they essentially just altered their hairstyles and replaced their normal Team Rocket clothes for something else while putting on the aprons.
Works every time.
Team Rocket stood in front of the stand, ready to take orders. Lo and behold their first customer was an important one. Princess Luna.
"Hm. That's strange. Where is Glittercook?" Luna asked after showing up at the store.
"Busy at the moment. We're filling in, princess~" Jessie whistled. "Now, what would you like, your highness?"
"Right. I'm heading for my final gym today. And I want to be ready on a full stomach. Give me the best possible food that you believe will carry me to victory. Oh and some for my Pokemon, if you can."
"A princess and a future champion deserve only high quality. We'll get right on it!" James snapped his finger as Team Rocket got to work, choosing the food for Luna. They went for some curry but with their own unique twist and flair to it.
Actually, all three of them went for their own instead of making a collective meal. James was making a Spicy Boiled Egg Curry, Jessie went for Sour Leek Curry while Meowth had selected Sweet Bone Curry. They were positive about which one would be perfect for Luna as they went above and beyond to make their meals fit for a princess. They even started adding extra parts to their curry.
"This should do." James crossed his arms as he made multiple eggs, piling them together. He also put some Smoke-Poke Tail in the mix. Straight from a Slowpoke. The tails were placed through the eggs and also surrounding them too. "This is a meal for royalty here! Spicy too."
"That looks like it would mess a stomach up in just a few seconds." Jessie grimaced. "Try some inspiration from this." Jessie's Leek Curry had additions from other curry parts. The leeks were decorated with the Decorative Curry. The decorations were of various Pokemon such as Seviper, Yanmega, Dustox and Mimikyu. All Pokemon that Jessie used to own. "Ta-dah!"
"That brings back memories." James narrowed his eyes. "But isn't that a mess too?"
"It's consistent and festive," Jessie smirked. "Meowth. How goes yours?"
"This!" Meowth showed his creation. He had mixed the Bone Curry with the Fresh Cream ingredient. Forming a massive cream tower in the form of an Alcremie. He also added some Peccha Berries in there for extra sweetness. "How's that?"
"Whichever one the princess prefers will be good enough. As long as we get paid. Getting cash from royalty is a big deal after all!" Jessie giggled as Team Rocket rubbed their hands and paws together. They then grabbed their curries, rushing over to Luna who was waiting.
The Princess of the Night was given the curries as they were all placed on the table she sat on. Immediately, once the curries appeared before her, Luna's eyes widened with shock and horror. The amalgamation of various curries was perplexing to the eyes. Luna wasn't sure what to make of this.
"Our own little touches, princess~!" Jessie whistled. "It's sure to get you raring for the final gym."
"Fit for all Pokemon too!" James nodded.
"In all flavours." Meowth grinned.
"Dig in!" All at once, the three of them exclaimed. Luna pouted her lips as even her Pokemon were a bit befuddled by the food in front of them. They had never seen curry being mixed.
"T-Thank you." Luna stuttered before using magic to grab a soon. She went for the Boiled Egg Curry as that looked the most pleasing to her eyes. But not by much. She dug in, grabbing a part of the egg and tail into the spoon for a spoonful.
Her Pokemon went for the other curries by opening their mouths. In unison, Luna and her Pokemon bit onto the curry. They braced themselves by closing their eyes and holding their breath. They expected the worst. And in reality, it wasn't as bad as they thought. But the mixture of various things definitely felt strange as they kept eating.
"Not too bad."
"Right, right?" Team Rocket uttered while nodding in unison.
"This will have to do." Luna accepted the food as she started finishing it all along with her Pokemon. Team Rocket felt like they had done a swell job.
After a few minutes, Luna and her Pokemon had full stomachs, satisfied with the meal they were given. She could commend Team Rocket for doing a good job of being substitutes.
"Many thanks for the meal. Here." Luna gave out what Team Rocket wanted. Currency. They had received piles of bits that had been placed on the table for them to gawk. And gawk they did with their eyes flashing stars. "Now we are sure to win this final gym. All of you. Let's go."
"Thank you for your patronage!" Team Rocket thanked as Luna left the premises. Jessie grabbed the bag of its, gawking at it.
"We're in business now you two! Let's up our game for some more!" Jessie giggled excitedly.
"Yeah. But..." Meowth suddenly stopped her. "We kinda used a bunch of that food for the curry. We're looking a bit low here." He held up the various food items such as the Fresh Cream and Leek, showing that they had used a large amount just fr Luna and her Pokemon.
"Already?!" Jessie screeched as she bit her thumb. "That's fine. We'll improvise."
"And buy some more?" James leaned in, poking at the bag.
"Sacrifice this much cash for some food products?!" Jessie gasped, pulling herself and the bag back. "You've lost it, James!"
"Pah, that's got an easy answer!" Meowth raised a nail. "We'll just use the cash from some other customer and buy stuff with that. While the royalty's cash is still all for us."
"Nice, nice." Jessie and James nodded in approval.
"Wobbuffet!"
Team Rocket started working with what they had as some more customers came along. They had specific orders that the trio could fulfil. At least, with the number of products they had left. They started making curries of all kinds, even adding their own touches to them again.
Glittercook, the owner of this store, entered the storage to see that a majority of her products had already been used in the span of 20 minutes. She only worked for 13 hours a day, so her food storage, while not massive, wasn't limited. The unicorn pouted her lips, knowing exactly why the products had been diminished so rapidly.
All because Team Rocket decided to be creative with their food. That is a common theme with them. Great ideas. Great execution. But the aftermath always ends up turning on them in some way.
"You three. Don't go wasting all the products." Glittercook walked over to try and lecture the trio. "There's only-" But once she got there, Team Rocket were nowhere to be found. Only Wobbuffet.
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet not only had an apron on him but also a sign that said Gone Shopping. Left by Team Rocket. They had left Wobbuffet to do the cooking as he saluted.
"...." Glittercook paused for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Okay then. Let's hope you're a good enough cook."
"Wobbu!"
Wobbuffet was not a great cook at all. The way his body was built was not made for cooking. He could take orders but cooking the food was another story as he got these orders from familiar faces.
"I want tacos! Lots of them!" Sonata exclaimed as she was here with her sisters. "Oh, but also Oran Berry Juice, plus some Haddock Sandwich, Butternut Squash Soup, Popcorn Shrimp and-"
"You're taking too long." Aria pushed Sonata aside. "Give me Pasta Primavera. And add some Spiced Sparking Grepa Juice with it."
"Disgusting. Spice and juice don't mix well together." Adagio intervened, getting in front of her sisters as she felt like gagging after hearing their orders. "Observe. I want a Tri-Colour Velvet Cupcake, some Fruit and Yogurt Parfait, Caprese Salad and some Lemonade. And give some berries to Kricketot. See? Nothing too bizarre or disgusting."
"Salad is pretty gross though. Bleh." Sonata stuck her tongue out.
"Pah. What do you know? At least I eat healthily." Adagio smiled with confidence.
"Cake doesn't sound healthy." Aria shook her head.
"It is healthy. Plus, Princess Celestia loves them so that just proves my point."
"Pfft. Yeah, because you're her student." Sonata chuckled while having her hoof over her mouth. Adagio gave her a vicious stare with glowing red eyes. But Sonata kept laughing as Adagio started barking at her.
As the sisters went on their usual rambling, it was Wobbuffet's duty to make the food of their choice. Unfortunately, he was incapable of doing so. But perhaps not on his own. That's when Wobbuffet had a solution to this issue.
"Wobbu-Wobbu!" He cried out to the sky, calling for one Pokemon. Pelipper. Not just Pelipper. But the Rocket Prize Master machine that Team Rocket use for spare Pokemon.
"Pelip-Pe-pep-pepper!" Along came the Water Bird Pokemon, dropping the machine as it crashed right outside the store. Pelipper then flew off, returning to the Pokemon House.
Wobbuffet went outside to recruit some Pokemon to assist him in his culinary endeavour. Meowth wasn't here to activate the machine, but there was a solution to this. While small, the bits would be good enough substitutes. Wobbuffet used the bits that had been dropped from the bag, putting them on the machine.
After a few cranks and an approving Giovanni face by the machine, a few Team Rocket Poke Balls came rolling out, landing on the ground. Out came these Pokemon specifically.
The Milk Cow Pokemon, Miltank. The Mitosis Pokemon, Duosion. The Scale Pokemon Vivllion with an Archipelago Pattern. The Numb Pokemon, Numel. And a new one that Wobbuffet had never seen before. The Chimp Pokemon Grookey.
"Grookey!" Immediately after emerging out of the Poke Ball, Grookey jumped onto Wobbuffet, beating him on the head with its stick. "Key! Groo! Grookey!"
"W-Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet cried out, putting his hands on his head and trying to shoo it away. Grookey beat on his head a few times more before jumping somewhere else.
The Chimp Pokemon landed on Adagio's mane, hitting Kricketot in the process while also lunging from head to head on different ponies and Pokemon.
"Ow! Hey!" Adagio winced as Kricketot fell out of her playful mane. Sonata giggled while Aria was the only one exempt from his head bounce by simply moving away. The rest, not so much.
Wobbuffetl looked in the distance as Grookey had runoff. Now they were down one Pokemon, unfortunately. But some effort could still be made either way.
"Wobbu!" Wobbuffet began speaking to the group, explaining the situation. Team Rocket were currently out buying more products so it was up to the Pokemon to fill in for a while until they return.
Wobbuffet had good faith in them. The flames of Numel could be used to heat up food. Miltank's milk is self-explanatory. Duosion was incredibly smart and had two brains so that could be of great help. Vivillion was up in the air but there was probably some use.
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet gave a salute as everyone saluted back. They were going along for the ride as Team Rocket Pokemon. Glittercook stood by, deciding to observe how this would turn out.
Manehattan. Afternoon.
As for Team Rocket, they were currently shopping. However, things were taking a bit of a turbulent shift. Mainly on Jessie's side. When arriving at Manehattan, instead of going straight for the food products and some traditional grocery shopping, Jessie shot right for the clothes instead.
"Oohohoo!" Jessie gawked at some clothes through the window. "I like what I see! All I need to do is adjust them and they'll be Jessie suitable!"
"What about the food?" James and Meowth asked.
"Yeah. In a minute." Jessie held up the bag of bits. "We'll just make a quick purchase before that."
"Hm. Hey, get a look at that." Meowth spotted something surprising, causing Jessie and James to change their attention. What he saw was in the same area as the clothes that Jessie couldn't resist.
While the clothes were attractive for anyone wanting to look beautiful or even for the Grand Galloping Gala that was closing in, there were some involving the one Trainer that they always end up meeting with.
Ash Ketchum.
No matter what, Team Rocket could not escape Ash. The clothes that Rarity had made had gone on sale and retail. They had become smash hits instantly due to Ash's reputation. And with that reputation, his clothes were prominent with great abundance.
"No matter where we go, the twerp is always around, isn't he?" James scratched his hair.
"Grr...! How come I don't have dresses based on me!" Jessie grizzled her teeth with jealousy. "We've been around him for years! We helped stop that invasion too!"
"You win some, you lose some. But we've been losing all the time to that twerp and his Pikachu, right?" Meowth shrugged as Jessie sighed with disappointment.
Indeed, Ash was always there to haunt them. One way or another.
Canterlot. Afternoon.
Back at Canterlot and the food store, things weren't so pleasant at the moment. The Dazzlings were waiting for their food while some new customers were showing up. Mainly Brawly, Roxanne and Valerie who were also hungry.
"I could go for some of that Gigantamax. It's new and fresh." Brawly said, holding his stomach. "Think it'll make me grow big?"
"I'm not sure that stuff works on humans." Roxanne shook her head.
"You never know." Valerie stepped forward. "I mean, I was affected by Fairy magic. So there's a chance it could do something."
"Anyway. I bet it would taste good either way." Brawly shrugged. "Glittercook's the best cook we have at the Pokemon School. And...kinda the only one too. Won't we get more?"
"Ms Cynthia's been thinking of getting the brothers Cilan, Chili and Cress to try and fill in for the Pokemon School," said Roxanne. As they made their way to the food store, there wasn't' a line there luckily.
But, while that part may have been lucky for them, the rest, not so much.
Because currently within the store, Wobbuffet and the other Pokemon were as disorganized as a box of jigsaw puzzles. Despite how some of them would work well with cooking, their coordination was abysmal.
"Wobbu! Wobbu!" Wobbuffet cried out, going into a panicking frenzy.
"Mil!" Miltank was spraying milk everywhere on the foods that did not need milk at all. It was also unable to aim properly, causing some of its milk to fly all over the place, making a mess of the area.
"Duo. Duosion." Duosion, despite being a Psychic-Type, the type with the most intellect, was struggling. Ironically, it was with its brains. Since Duosion has two brains, they are both constantly trying to take two different actions at once. And this was another scenario where that happened.
One part of Duosion's brain recommended that they add more to the pasta, even though it would most likely take forever to eat and cause a stomach ache while the other recommended less to the point where the pasta would only take 1 minute to finish, ruining the mood.
Vivillion was no help. It started scattering its colourful scales on all of the products that it had collected. The food was now being contaminated by scales that Vivillion barely had any control of.
Numel was heating the food, but the amount was too much. Thus, the kitchen caught on fire immediately from Numel's flames. After all, Numel stores magma of almost 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit within its body. That's some serious firepower.
All the while, Glittercook sat in the corner, watching everything unfurl before her. She knew something like this would happen. Team Rocket leaving one Pokemon that summoned other Pokemon that had no experience in cooking at all to handle everything was screaming disaster.
"Where's my food already?" Adagio came over, tapping her hoof on the stand.
"Buffet! Wobbu!" Wobbuffet raced over, trying to convince Adagio to wait a bit longer. The Dazzlings looked inside of the store to see smoke coming out and scales flying all over the place along with the milk.
They didn't ask questions as they went to sit back down, waiting for their meals to arrive. While all of this was happening, Brawly and the others were ready to order.
"Gigantamix Curry. Please." Brawly ordered for him and his friends as Wobbuffet saluted, rushing off to pass that order to his partners.
But it didn't end there. More customers were showing up for food. One of them being Spike as was being carried by Haxorus to have a higher height when making an order.
"Give me the hardest food you can make," Spike said as he held Deino in his hands. "For this little gal, right here."
"Deino."
"Wobbu!" Wobbuffet passed it on again.
Once more, another order came by. And this was an order from Daylight Blazer and Sunrise Sprint. The two siblings were feeling peckish. And once they had their orders, more kept coming. Familiar faces and new faces came by to the store, asking for various meals.
Unfortunately, they would be disappointed due to how the Pokemon were unable to cook and how few products they had left. They were already waiting time as the kitchen was ablaze. Wobbuffet started panicking as he was about to break down.
"We're back!" Jessie entered the room as Team Rocket had returned. Once they made their return, they witnessed the chaos occurring within the kitchen. "Uhh..."
"Welcome back." Glittercook walked up to them. "Good job leaving your work to Wobbuffet over here. Really made a difference."
"Apologies for the wait!" James apologised while holding multiple bags and dresses on his shoulders.
"As long as you're here. You still have time so don't let me down. We've got a lot of orders to finish up. But with how things are, that'll be difficult. Luckily for you, I can use my magic to-"
"Save the magic! We'll make it up to you!" Jessie suddenly tossed aside the rest of her newly bought dresses, putting on a serious face. "What are the orders?"
"Oh my." Glittercook's eyes widened. She was shocked to see Jessie suddenly become serious despite what she was previously doing. Buying dresses. Wobbuffet brought over the orders that he had written down.
Team Rocket placed their aprons back on as they got to work. They looked at the others clearing everything up within the kitchen. By utilizing the products they used, Team Rocket were not only able to make the requested orders but also add their own flair to them. They made the hardest food for Spike and Deino successfully, allowing for the Irate Pokemon to practice his crunch. The Dazzlings got their dream food and feasted like queens. Brawly and his friends received the Gigantamax. They didn't grow big but oh well.
Afterwards, Team Rocket had successfully served every customer here. They were indeed good at cooking. It wasn't just for show. Hours had passed and Glittercook nodded in approval.
"Good job, all of you," Glittercook said. "Seems I misjudged you. You may not have the cash, but you can back things up, can't you?"
"Sure can!" Team Rocket said in unison.
"How about this? Sometimes, you can stop by and work a few hours? A job for you to take."
"Hm? We already have a job over at the Pokemon House sometimes." James said.
"But, a second one won't hurt." Jessie stepped forward. "If it means making some sweet moolah."
Then we'll snatch that chance for the cash!" Meowth giggled.
"Good enough for me." Glittercook shrugged. "Well. I'll see you all around."
"Buh-bye!" And with that Team Rocket bolted off. Off to do whatever it is they do on a daily basis. Whether to steal Pokemon or help Fluttershy at the Pokemon House. They sure are interesting characters as the journey continues.
Currently, Ash was once again helping this world's Twilight discover more about Pokemon. Today's topic was about the Pokemon moves in general. Ash showed her more than just attacking moves. There were a plethora of moves that had multiple uses and work well with each other.
"Pretty nifty, right?" Ash spoke to Twilight. "I know a bunch of people and Pokemon that get hit with Hypnosis. Whether it's mind control or being put to sleep."
"And they just carry something like this around?" Twilight replied as Ash nodded. "That's a bit much for me. Mind control freaks me out after all."
"I hear ya. But get this. There are some moves that can be good for others. Like Sweet Scent. It's a move that draws Pokemon in with something really delicious."
"If it's that easy to just drag them out." Twilight pouted her lips. "I've been missing out. Today. Let's try something different. How about...a Pokemon Battle!"
"Oh, you wanna battle?!" Ash had a wide grin.
"No! Not me!" Twilight shook her head aggressively. "I don't even have a Pokemon of my own. I was hoping you'd battle a Wild Pokemon instead."
"I gotcha. But about having your own Pokemon, when do you think you're gonna get one?"
"Not sure, honestly. I don't even know if I'm ready to have one. I mean, they're like pets but way more destructive, right? Feels like it'd be dangerous keeping them around."
"I get what you mean. They've got a lot of power behind them, don't they?"
"But it'd be interesting to have one. So many of them are soooo cute!" Twilight gushed. "I don't know. Should I have one? What do you think, Ash?"
"Uhh..." Ash scratched his hair. "I mean if you want then sure. But if not, then that's cool."
"Pikachu."
"Sorry." Twilight sighed. "I switch from word to word quite a bit. How about...that cave over there!" She then switched her focus to something else. Within this area, there resided one cave and nothing more.
"Caves huh? Those are always fun." Ash rubbed his hands together.
"Are they...?" Twilight squinted her eyes. She wasn't too sure about caves being fun considering how dark and damp they can be. You never know what's lurking in there. However, with Ash here, she felt safe to go to such a creepy place.
They had entered the cave to see what awaited them. Perhaps some Rock-Type or Ground-Type Pokemon for them to view. However, the moment they entered, they were greeted with some dazzling crystals instead. A good first impression so far.
As for the Pokemon themselves, the first one had emerged. A Joltik. It appeared out of the shadows, jumping onto Twilight's mane by surprise. It took a moment to process what was on her head. The crystals gave off a reflection, allowing Twilight to see this for herself.
"Joltik.
"Aaaaah! Spider!" She roared. "Getitoff! Getitoff! Getitoff!"
"I got it." Ash grabbed the Joltik off of Twilight's hair. After doing so, Jltik had shocked Ash, startling him. "Woah!"
"Tik!"
"What is that thing?!" Twilight backed up.
"Joltik. Another Electric-Type. They're one of the smallest Pokemon ever, ya know. Aren't they cute?"
"I mean. I guess so." Twilight observed Joltik closer. It did have a heavy cuteness factor to it. Being one of the smallest Pokemon ever comes with that perk. The Attaching Pokemon then hopped out of Ash's grasp, crawling on the walls to continue with its day.
"Come on." Ash and Pikachu ran ahead with Twilight and Spike following after them. While running, the crystals emanated blue sparkles that started following them. It was soon revealed why this cave suddenly glowing crystals everywhere.
Carbink was the cause. They ran past some Carbink that were actually disguising themselves within the crystals for camouflage. It was some effective camouflage, that's for sure." Twilight wished to know about them as Ash raised his Pokedex, scanning the Carbik for her.
"Carbink. The Jewel Pokemon. Born from the temperatures and pressures deep underground, it fires beams from the stone in its head. It has slept underground for hundreds of millions of years since its birth. It’s occasionally found during the excavation of caves. It’s also said that this pack has a queen."
"Wow!" Twilight gawked as she then went over to the Carbink out of curiosity. The Carbink looked back at Twilight, stunning her with their lights. "Ah!"
"Carbink!"
"Oh! Twilight are you okay?!" Ash rushed over.
"F-Fine." Twilight blinked a bit before removing her glasses. "This is fun so far. What else is there? What other interesting Pokemon live in this cave that we can play around with it?"
"Nice that you're getting into it. I mean, there's a bunch of neat stuff you can do even with the crystals." Ash put his hands on the crystals.
"Like?"
"Oh. Have I told you about Pokemon Contests?"
"Well..." Twilight thought for a moment. "You told me about the Pokemon League and your goal to become a Pokemon Master so I guess there's that."
"Right. You see, there's something else other than Gym Battles and Leagues." Ash stood up. "There's Pokemon Contests. The way flashier side of Pokemon."
"How can it be flashier? Aren't Pokemon already flashy enough?"
"Yeah. But that's where their moves can do more than just attack or mess with an opponent. Some moves can create something awesome to look at!" High with enthusiasm, both Ash and Pikachu spread their arms out.
"Okay?" Twilight nodded, interested in where this was going. While she sat there, staring at the Carbink, the Joltik had appeared again, latching onto her back. This time she wasn't too bothered by it.
"Let's see...How can I show you?" Ash pondered for a moment. That's when an idea sparked in his head with the snap of his fingers. "Aha!" He then dug into his pocket, taking out a Poke Bal as it had been enlarged. "Lucario! Come out!"
"Lucario!" Out came the Aura Pokemon.
"Get a load of this." Ash demonstrated before looking around. There was enough space in the area for him to try out the demonstration without any collateral damage. Twilight sat down with the Joltik on her shoulder as the Carbink were also eager to spectate. "Pikachu! Electroweb! And Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
"Pika-Pika! ChuPi!" Pikachu jumped into the air, summoning an orb of electricity. That orb then formed itself into a web that stayed in the air for a while.
"Cario!" Lucario then put his arm out, making one Aura Sphere. He then tossed the sphere into the air as it had collided with the web. Electroweb had then closed, trapping Aura Sphere. With the two together, they emanated a bright light with the blue rays of Aura gleaming out and the sparks of Electroweb also flying out and mixing with the Aura.
"Ooh!" Twilight marvelled at the sight along with the Pokemon. Pikachu gave a bow as Twilight applauded the short demonstration. "That was beautiful!"
"Right? There's way more than that. Some of my friends like May and Dawn do Pokemon Contests and they're super good at it. Do you wanna try?"
"Me?" Twilight pointed to herself.
"Yeah. Go ahead. Just give out any move command you want, mix 'em together and see what happens." Ash insisted as did the Carbink and Joltik. "Got any moves you wanna try?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Twilight crossed her arms together. "Plus, I picked up on what you taught me earlier."
"Really?"
"Mhm. How Pokemon of certain types have stronger moves if they're identical to its type. Like Pikachu's Thunderbolt or Gengar's Shadow Ball."
"Right on that." Ash snapped his finger in response. "Just like how we practised too. Pikachu's volts can..."
"Increase whether he receives electricity from another attack or by his own control." Twilight finished Ash's answer as the Alola Champion nodded in confirmation. "And being an Electric-Type means Pikachu can't be paralyzed either!"
"Yeah! That's it!" Ash gave a thumbs-up as the Carbink and Joltik cheered for Twilight's Pokemon knowledge. "You're on your way to becoming a great Pokemon Trainer with that knowledge."
"Well, I have you to thank for that. Ash. Pikachu. No one else is helping me out. I mean, they don't know much about Pokemon either. So I'm grateful to have you here for me."
"No problem. Now let's see some Contest Moves!" Ash and Pikachu's eyes flashed as they were eager to see what Twilight was capable of. And she had help from Wild Pokemon. Being naturally friendly around them made them casually hang about. That wasn't just Ash's natural charisma showing. Parts of Twilight influenced them as well.
Ponyville. Afternoon.
As for Equestria's Twilight, for some reason, she felt a disturbance in the universe despite being in another world. While she was looking at her Pokedex, Twilight twitched with her heart skipping a beat.
"Something's wrong. I can feel it."
"You feel it too?" Discord suddenly appeared without warning, popping into the castle beside Twilight.
"AH! Discord!" Twilight almost fell off her chair. Thankfully, Espeon had used Psychic to save her. "Wait. I don't actually know what I'm feeling. Do you know?"
"I most certainly do." Discord made himself his own chair, sitting to face Twilight. "But you don't realize it yet, princess."
"I just feel a bit iffy. Ya know...it happens sometimes" She bit her hoof.
"Mhm." Discord nodded.
"But ah, it's probably nothing." Twilight dismissed the sense, trying to play it cool as she sat back down. She drank some juice before going back to check on her Pokedex.
"Are you sure it's nothing? After all, it might have something to do with Ash." After saying that, Twilight's face scrunched as she looked up at the Spirit of Chaos. "That odd feeling involved him, didn't it?"
"Uh yeah...Not sure why." Twilight shifted her eyes. "I mean, he's doing fine, right?"
"Of course he is. He wouldn't be Ash if he wasn't." Discord showed an image of Ash in his paw as Twilight nodded. But soon, Discord showed the image of Twilight. But not this world's Twilight. The Human World's Twilight Sparkle.
"That's an interesting way you look at me." Twilight squinted her eyes at her human self.
"Oh, this isn't you." He shook his head, allowing for Twilight to take a closer look. Discord then put on a wide smile as Twilight was putting the pieces together in her mind. "Looking at this makes me wonder when Ash is bringing this little bookworm over? Don't they look good together in this pose?"
"Wait!" Twilight then sat up, slamming her hooves on the table as Discord was startled. But, this was all part of his plan as seen by the look on his face. "I should've predicted this...If she's me then..."
"Well, I shouldn't bother you right now." Discord hovered into the air. "Whatever you're about to do, make sure not to regret it. I mean, he's friends with you. Twice. That's not so bad, is it?"
"Not it's not but..." Twilight puffed her cheeks as Discord vanished out of thin air, returning to his home. Twilight then sat down, putting her hooves together while taking a deep breath.
"Don't think about it too much, Twilight..." She uttered, trying to maintain herself. "He's just helping her out with Pokemon. That's all. Yeah." She crossed her hooves while sitting, acting steadfastly. That is until her eyes opened with another realization coming through. "Just like in the beginning. And that's exactly how..."
"Esp?"
"Eve! We're going to make a quick stop at the human world for a bit!" Twilight jumped out of the chair. "Starlight!"
"Yeah?" Starlight responded with her head poking out of the door.
"I'll be right back!"
"Going somewhere? Did you find another energy signature?" Starlight asked.
"No uh...I just need to check something out for a bit. Catch ya later!" In an instant, Twilight fled the castle with her wings out as Espeon followed after her.
"Weird..." Starlight observed, knowing that Twilight was acting off. She then closed the door, waiting for the Princess of Friendship's return.
The Human World. Afternoon.
"Okay! Let's try it one more time!" Currently, those contest moves were a-go. But not with much success. However, Twilight wasn't stopping now with the Carbink and Joltik. She was currently on her 4th try. "Carbink, use Power Gem! Joltik, Discharge!"
"Carbink!" Each of the Carbink shot out multiple rays of light that sparkled as if they were made of gemstones. Each of the gemstones reached the air, staying there for a while.
"Jol...Tik!" As for Joltik, it had exuded a flare of electricity from its body, sending them towards the gems. The flares connected with the gems, successfully coating them in electricity as Twilight smiled. However, some of the flares ended up hitting the top of the cave, causing some rubble to fall. Even the gemstones, while they were surrounded, managed to have some of them slip.
The rubble and gemstones fell, pelting Twilight in the head as she put her hands over them. "Ow-ow!" She cried out as the rubble knocked her glasses off while also slightly hitting Joltik and the Carbink. "Aw...Again?" She pouted.
"No good, huh?" Ash stood up.
"Sorry. I'm still new to Pokemon moves and everything." Twilight removed the rubble from her hair. "Contest moves seem harder to pull off, don't they?"
"Yeah, they are. But no need to worry." Ash gave back Twilight's glasses by putting them on for her. Twilight closed her eyes once Ash put the glasses on as she re-opened them. "You can just stick to regular moves if you want."
"Thanks. Besides. Simple is best, right?"
"Right." Ash nodded before raising a finger. "Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. But I got you something that you're gonna love." He then picked up his bag, opening it before revealing the main essentials for every Pokemon Trainer. "Your very own Pokedex and Poke Balls. Check it out."
"Oh!" Twilight gasped before holding them. "You got one for me?"
"Yeah. Well, I stopped by Professor Oak while heading back from Vermillion City and he hooked me up with some for you. Now you can really check out all the Pokemon you want as if it was brand new."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Thank you so much, Ash!" Twilight held the Pokedex close to her before placing the Poke Balls in her bag. To show her appreciation, she gave a surprise hug to Ash, throwing him off guard.
"No problem!" Ash replied after the initial hug. Twilight then backed away before laughing.
"Sorry about that." She gave a sheepish smile. "But again. Thanks for all your help, Ash. Now that I have these with me, guess I can call myself a Pokemon Trainer now. Well...until I catch a Pokemon."
"Mhm." Ash nodded before having his stomach growl. "But uh...Let's eat before we continue. I'm starving here."
"I already gave you something to eat back at my place? How are you hungry now?" A befuddled Twilight said.
"That was just the warmup. Now it's time for the real deal!" Ash bellowed with enthusiasm as he, Pikachu, Lucario and the other Pokemon roared with equal excitement.
"Pikachu!"
"Uh-huh..." Twilight grimaced. But she wasn't surprised by his enthusiasm anymore. He constantly radiates it after all. "And then after that?"
"Well, then we check out a battle. And then we try and see some evolution. You remember how it goes right? It goes like baaaang!" Ash raised his arms to replicate the explosive motion of evolution.
"Oh, I remember. You told me how it feels. And then after then bang it goes fwoooosh!"
Oh yeah! And then later goes ba-baaaang!" Ash gave another exaggeration, following up with Twilight as they both started laughing together after making such radical and wild arm motions. Afterwards, they went off to eat some food, saying goodbye to Carbink and Joltik in the cave.
Meawhile.
Twilight from Equestria had shown up. Human form and everything. As she emerged, the first person to see her was Sunset who was hanging around the park with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.
"Hey, Twilight!" Sunset greeted. "Is there something-"
"Sunset! Girls!" Twilight rushed over. "Have you seen Ash anywhere?! Was he hanging around with me?!"
"Uh...N-No. I mean, you just got here so I guess he wasn't hanging around with you."
"Not me!" She shook her head rapidly." The other me! You know which me I mean!"
"The you that we know you mean?" Fluttershy repeated as her head started spinning.
"Yes! Gah!" Twilight bellowed. "This world's me that exists somewhere!"
"Why, do you need to see her? And...is that gonna cause some paradox or something?" Sunset asked.
"I hope not. I just...need to check if everything's okay." She bit her tongue. "You know...Ash is meeting my other self right now and I've got a bit of an odd feeling. Shouldn't be too big of a deal."
"Oh. SO she doesn't beat you to the punch, right?" Pinkie raised a finger as Twilight's eyes snapped towards her. "I get what you mean. I wouldn't want anyone to beat me to something I want!"
"How did you...?" Twilight lingered on her words.
"Figured it out pretty quickly." Pinkie nodded with confidence. "And Sunset just gave hits."
"Sorry." Sunset raised her hand with guilt. "But, Twilight. It sounds like you're feeling jealous about your other self Which is uh...pretty weird."
"I'm not jealous!" Twilight roared. "I'm just cautious, ya know."
"Right." Sunset nudged Twilight. "Because you and Meloetta at the Pokemon Festival made that pretty clear, didn't you?"
"Mmmm..." Twilight growled with her face turning red. She had been exposed in a few seconds. "Curse it all. Getting all jealous of myself. I mean, we're practically the same, right?"
"Ah, don't worry about it too much." Sunset patted Twilight on the back. "I'm rooting for you myself. Plus, you and your other self will become good friends. Then you'll bond. Then...history might repeat itself the same way you were introduced to Pokemon." Sunset started seeing what Twilight was seeing. Worries and everything.
"Uh-huh." Twilight gave a simple reply with a nod.
"L-Look! Parallel worlds exist for a reason!" Sunset laughed nervously. "I mean, this world's Twilight hasn't even met Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and the others. I'm pretty sure the same thing won't happen here again."
"I guess so." Twilight sighed. "Sorry about that. I shouldn't have come here either way. Curse that Discord and his convincing ways." Twilight grizzled her teeth, knowing that she had been played by Discord once more.
"Well your timing's pretty neat, isn't it? I mean they're right over there." Pinkie Pie said as she pointed over at the nearby restaurant. Indeed, Twilight's timing was impeccable as both Ash ad this world's Twilight could be seen entering the restaurant.
"Oh!" Twilight shot up after seeing that. Moving faster than the eye could see, she then hid behind a bush, watching them enter the restaurant, most likely for some food. Feeling curious, Sunset and Pinkie Pie stared as well while Fluttershy stood back.
"Um, should we be doing this?" Fluttershy asked.
"No." The three of them said equally. "But..."
Within the restaurant, they had already ordered some food. Ash being Ash chose something wild that he could eat for hours. When in reality, large foods usually end up being eaten in just minutes when Ash is involved. Pikachu just adds to that.
Twilight and the others peeked through the back of the restaurant's windows, observing them. This was also Twilight's first time seeing her human self in this world. Aside from her own human form. Sunset was watching with curiosity while Pinkie Pie was in for the ride.
"Is that what I look like in this world? Not bad..." Twilight complimented herself.
"Time to dig in!" Ash exclaimed as he started eating the food in front of him rapidly. He does not waste time when it comes to the culinary arts.
"Pikachu!"
"So, Ash." Twilight leaned in while the Alola Champion munched like a maniac. "You mentioned someone by the name of Professor Oak. Are there already Pokemon Professors that are experts like you?"
"Oh yeah," Ash spoke with a full mouth, swallowing his food before eating something else and stuff himself. "They're even way better than me at knowing about Pokemon. If anyone's got all the knowledge about Pokemon, it's them. But I guess they're learning stuff too."
"Really?! You have to take me to see them one day!" She gasped with excitement. "I'd get to meet professors all about Pokemon! Do they all live under one building?!"
"Nope. They've all got their own regions and labs. There's Professor Oak, Elm, Ivy, Birch, Rowan, Juniper, Sycamore, Kukui, Magnolia and Sonia. Probably even more out there."
"Wow..."
"But, just like Sonia, one of them's a bit new. You see, back over at Equestria, that world's Twilight's a Pokemon Professor too." Mentioning her name made the Equestria Twilight listen closer. "She's really great at it too. Boy, does she pick up on stuff fast? I'll tell ya, she's gonna be an even greater one."
"Yes!" Equestria's Twilight pumped her fist, feeling victorious.
"My other self sounds amazing. I can't wait to meet her one day. But...would that cause any issues?"
"Nope. Wouldn't be the first time she's met another version of herself. Say, do you want one?" Ash held out a hamburger to Twilight.
"Oh! I love hamburgers!" Twilight immediately grabbed it as she started eating like Ash. She has her own favourites that she couldn't hold back on.
Equestria's Twilight and her friends backed away, seeing that there was no need to worry. But Twilight was still a bit worried even with a relieved sigh.
"I'm panicking for little reason right now," Twilight said. "I'm gonna head home now."
"Thought too much about it, huh? It'll be even crazier if she ends up coming to Equestria right?" Sunset replied as Twilight crossed her arms.
"Well...either way! Even if it's a Mythical Pokemon, Grass-Type, princess, queen or myself from another world, I won't lose, okay? I've come too far!" She cried out with determination before looking around. Some people gave her odd looks after her shout as she grimaced from embarrassment. Her friends chuckled, causing her to chuckle too. "I-I'll just head home now."
Being jealous of yourself is uncommon. It's only possible during certain circumstances. But in this case, it's more common than expected. Not so much for Ash, however as that is how it may remain forever as the journey continues.
Summer was nearing its end at last. But what a summer it's been. Some students had already made early returns to the Pokemon School before the due date.
"Glad to have you all back to school this early," Roxanne spoke to the students, welcoming them back. "And now that you're back, we can jump to today's task. Get ready. Because today, we're trading Pokemon."
"Trading Pokemon?" All of them said. Young and old equally as they currently in the same classroom instead of separate ones like usual.
"That's right. A temporary trade between each of your Pokemon among your classmates and friends. I want you all to get to know other Pokemon other than your own. And this is the best possible scenario for it. Plus, it was Fantina's idea in the first place. How does that sound?"
"That's not so bad," said Rainbow Dash as everyone agreed. "Wait, how many of our Pokemon?"
"As many as you want. Whether it's your whole team or a handful. Now, Fantina's already put up a bracket to show you who exactly swaps with who." Roxanne interacted with the board, showing the brackets as multiple faces of each student started appearing in pairs.
Twilight would swap with Pinkie. Rainbow Dash would swap with Fluttershy. And Rarity would swap with Applejack. Aside from the Mane 6, other ponies would swap with certain partners.
"Now. Your exchange will be for the weekend and then you'll switch your partners back this coming week. Make sure you take care of each other's Pokemon," said Roxanne. "Because I don't want to be at the front of many complaints."
"Here you go." Twilight gave Pinkie each of her Poke Balls while Eve went to Pinkie Pie's side. "You'll be fine without me, won't you, Eve?"
"Espeon!"
"Don't worry. You'll have a lot to eat back at SugarCube Corner. More than usual." Pinkie Pie looked at the Sun Pokemon.
"Uh...M-Maybe it's not a good idea to overfeed her."
"Never had this many Pokemon before. Just two." Applejack looked at the Poke Balls given to her by Rarity. Comparing Rarity's full team of 6 and how she had 12 Leavanny's, it was a big number for Applejack since she's only used to Sceptile and Golett.
"Fun, isn't it?" Rarity nodded. "If it gets a bit too overcrowded and plentiful back home just let me know. And be careful. Some of my Leavanny...and especially Milotic can get a bit fussy. But other than that, you should be fine. And I'll do well with you on my side, ride, Sceptile?"
"Sceptile!"
"Hope this doesn't throw my training for my next Gym Battle off but...here." Rainbow Dash gave Fluttershy all of her Poke Balls plus Castform who flew out of the saddlebag. Rainbow Dash could be seen trembling after giving them away.
"Rainbow Dash. Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked, witnessing her fellow pegasus scrunch her face.
"Totally...Just take good care of them, okay?" She whimpered, trying not to get too emotional.
"You don't have to worry. I know it'll be a while without your Pokemon." Fluttershy held Castform. "But you can always stop by the Pokemon House to see them, remember?"
"Oh yeah..." Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of relief. "That's right...Wait a sec. Where's Scorbunny?"
"Oh. Scorbunny's not my Pokemon. He just likes tagging along, that's all. But if you want him to be involved then I can try and convince him."
"So. Class will be ending early. Have a great weekend." Roxanne bid her farewell to the students as she would see them all next week on this coming Monday. But to fill in that time, they would have the chance to experience time with other Pokemon.
Ponyville. Day.
Since most of Ponyville's residents go to the Pokemon School, a lot of them had swapped Pokemon with each other. They would have to try and adjust to living with these different Pocket Monsters until the task is over.
Immediately after arriving at Twilight's Castle, Mew started flying around without wasting any time, showing his endless energy. So did Spinda as she ran around the castle.
"Right to it, huh?" Twilight said. "You've been here a few times so it won't be too odd to you all, right?"
"Mew!"
"Spinda!"
"And then the rest of you too." Twilight then used her magic to release the rest of the Pokemon inside of the remaining Poke Balls. The 6 Slurpuff originally owned by Pinkie Pie.
"Slurpuff!" While not having high energy as Mew and Spinda, most of the Slurpuff dashed off to experience the castle for themselves. One Slurpuff was too lazy to do so as he laid on his back, relaxing.
"Slur-Slur."
"So, you will have to care for them?" Nyx went up to Twilight. "Will it be fine?"
"It will. They're also my friends after all and they've been here a few times. What could go wrong?"
Carousel Boutique.
Meanwhile, over at Carousel Boutique, Sceptile had entered with Golett being released from its Pokemon. It wasn't just Rarity. Sweetie Belle had also forgone a swap with her friends back at the Pokemon School.
For her, she ended up swapping with Sapphire Flash's Pokemon. She was hoping to swap with either Scootaloo or Apple Bloom, but unfortunately, that fate did not happen. Sapphire Flash's Pokemon were Lilligant, Inkay, Dewpider and Shuppet.
"Shuppet." Shuppet started roaming the house, phasing through the walls of the boutique out of curiosity while Inkay just stood there on its head.
"Tile? Sceptile." Now that Sceptile was here, he wasn't sure what to do. Usually, he would help Applejack on the farm, but he wasn't on the farm right now so that was out of the question. The same went for Golett as it scratched his head, sitting there.
"Don't feel too alienated, you two." Rarity went up to them both. "You'll feel right at home here for the weekend. Isn't that right, Sweetie Belle?"
"Uhh...yeah." The little unicorn nodded while tracking her eyes on Shuppet who kept on moving. Dewpider crawled onto her head as Sweetie Belle wasn't sure what to do now that she had other Pokemon besides her own. "So...how are you all at contest moves?"
"Dewpider?"
Rainbow Dash's home.
Entering was Audino and Chikorita. It wasn't their first time here either as they were accustomed to Rainbow Dash's home. But living in it was a different story.
Rainbow Dash sat there, staring at Audino and Chikorita, unsure of what to do now that she had them for the weekend. She sighed, feeling stumped.
"Okay...now what do I do?"
"Audino." Audino didn't know.
"Chiko." Neither did Chikorita.
"Hmm..." The pegasus pouted before shifting her eyes. She then came up with the only idea that she knew of when it comes to Pokemon. "You guys wanna battle? I mean, I'm not gonna use you in any Gym Battles, but...I can't get sloppy. How does that sound?"
"Dino...Audino." Audino could get behind that as she and Chikorita nodded. It was a start and the only way to break this awkward silence.
"Sweet. Now let's see what you've got." Rainbow Dash's excitement was building up as he used her Pokedex to scan the two of them for their moves.
"Audino. The Hearing Pokemon. Hyper Beam. Protect. Heal Pulse. Refresh."
"Chikorita. The Leaf Pokemon. Magical Leaf. Aromatherapy. Synthesis. Tackle."
"Wait, that's it?!" Rainbow Dash gasped at the moveset as Audino shrugged. But, it was to be expected. Fluttershy isn't really a battle heavy-Pokemon Trainer like everyone else so it is what it is. "Oh, Fluttershy...And Mega Audino can't be activated by me at all. How am I gonna work with this?"
"Chiko?"
"I'll figure something out! You two. Let's head out and get to work!"
Sweet Apple Acres.
As for Applejack, she was dealing with the most Pokemon. 12 Leavanny, Pheromosa, Milotic and Ampharos. Quite a hoofful for her as all the Pokemon had been lined up. Apple Bloom ended up receiving Scootaloo's Pokemon.
Applejack had already decided what to do. The best and only thing to do was have them work at the farm for the weekend until this was all over. And so far, hers was showing the most promise.
Thanks to Pheromosa's height, she could grab apples easily. Not only that, but her kicking strength was so great that she could knock the apples off the trees as well. She was perfect for the role of a farmer.
"Nice work, Pheromosa!" Applejack applauded the Lissome Pokemon for being such an effective worker.
"Mosa." Pheromosa smiled, taking the compliment to heart. She always enjoys it when she gains praise from her friends. As for the Leavanny, they were doing their own thing.
Applejack knew that the Leavanny loved to make dresses. It's why they sync well with Rarity so much. So, to make them feel at home, Applejack had the 12 Leavanny craft whatever they wanted. Specifically for Granny Smith.
She wasn't going to Grand Galloping Gala this year, unfortunately. So, for compensation, making her a dress was the one thing Applejack could think of. And with the skills Leavanny had learned from Rarity and the natural skills they have as the Nurturing Pokemon, it was no problem.
"This ain't a problem." Applejack nodded before seeing Pheromosa use some of the apples as decorations. The influence Rarity had left her made the Lissome Pokemon dress herself in whatever she can find. Applejack chuckled after that sight. She felt at ease, knowing that Rarity's Pokemon were getting well with her.
Minus one exception. Milotic.
Milotic was currently sitting away from the rest of her friends, not really interacting with them. Milotic yawned as she was not interested in this little school project at all. Applejack wouldn't be able to bond with all of Rarity's Pokemon if one was exempt.
"Ampha. Ampharos." Ampharos went up to Milotic with a basket of apples, trying to convince her to join in. "Pharos?"
"Milotic." Milotic, once again, yawned, showing her disinterest in this. It wasn't just the project that disinterested her. It was the farm as well. She didn't find it all that enthralling as she waved her tailfin at Ampharos.
"Ampha." Ampharos was unable to convince her as Apple Bloom was riding on Ponyta's back, galloping across the farm.
"Yeehaw! Go, Ponyta! Go!" She cried out.
"Ponyta!"
"Ampharos. Don't worry about it." Applejack went up to the Light Pokemon and Milotic. "I'm sure she'll come around. We got two days after all."
"Lotic."
Fluttershy's Cottage.
Out came all of Rainbow Dash's Pokemon. Being here in Fluttershy's cottage for a few days would be a change of scenery for them, even more so than visiting Pegalysium or moving from place to place during a massive invasion.
"Castform!" Castform started jumping on Fluttershy's bed while Braviary decided to rest outside on a tree. On that same tree, some ordinary birds rested on Braviary's head as a symbiotic relationship. Luxray and Altaria were currently being fed at the moment. Whirlipede started rolling around to increase his speed as he circled Fluttershy's home.
"Just two days, all of you," Fluttershy said before giving more food to Luxray and Altaria. "I've never owned six Pokemon before. How fun! Isn't that right, you all?"
"Braviary." Braviary and the others agreed as Fluttershy saw their enthusiasm. However, there was someone who didn't agree and was currently doing her own thing, distancing it from Fluttershy.
That was Mienfoo.
"Mienfoo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon, much like Milotic, wasn't interested in this. However, hers was on a bit of a larger scale. Mienfoo was determined to improve as she was currently punching the trees with her paws to build up strength. The Flying-Types and birds flew off after reacting to the initial hit.
Mienfoo kept hitting the tree as she wasn't losing sight of what was important. Even if she wasn't under the care of Rainbow Dash right now, the Martial Arts Pokemon felt like she could do everything else on her own.
"Mienfoo." Fluttershy flew over with some food. "Would you like something to eat before you continue training"?
"Foo?" The Fighting-Type turned to face the pegasus. Fluttershy placed some food down for her as Mienfoo immediately kicked the bowl into the air. "Mien!"
"Oh!" Fluttershy gasped. Mienfoo then leapt into the air, chasing after the bowl. The Martial Arts Pokemon then devoured all of the food in the bowl to look stylish. Fluttershy applauded Mienfoo's trick. Mienfoo then ate the food in seconds before landing on the ground, crossing her arms.
"Mienfoo."
"Wow! That was impressive!" Fluttershy squeed before putting some more food in the bowl. "Will you do it again, please?!"
"Foo." Mienfoo turned around, continuing to punch the tree repeatedly. She was feeling hungry and that was just a quick snack. Aside from that, the Martial Arts Pokemon was as full as she needed to be.
"Right. I understand. You're training to become better. Well, don't you worry. I'll make sure you have all the time to train even without Rainbow Dash here. If you're feeling like it, head to the Fighting-Type room. They'll love to train with you."
"Mien?" Mienfoo actually took interest in that. She thought it would be boring being in a peaceful place such as Fluttershy's home. Fluttershy then went back inside, leaving Mienfoo to her own devices.
SugarCube Corner.
And as for Pinkie Pie, the following events went like this. Once emerging from their Poke Balls, Pinkie Pie had already treated the Pokemon to a welcome feast of their favourite foods.
"Ninetales!" Ninetales jumped into the pile of hotcakes without hesitation, stuffing himself. The Fox Pokemon immediately started devouring everything that was his personal favourite.
"Cinccino?" Cinccino looked ahead, seeing that some massive frosting from Ninetales' feast had gotten on her. And right on the face too while the frosting was still cold. "Cinn!"
"Eat up all of you. Your personal favourites. You'll be eating like kings and queens in this place!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as Cinccino growled at herself getting messy. Togekiss then licked the frosting off of CInccino, doing the cleaning for her.
"Togekiss."
"Okie Dokie. How are you guys at...baking?"
"Esp?" Espeon and the others looked at her in response.
"Nothing, huh? Well, I knew that already. But don't worry. I can teach you how to bake with me. Then, you'll get to make your favourites as much as you want with Twilight. Sound good?"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales burst out of the hotcakes, agreeing to that. Cinccino and Togekiss also agreed as well. Espeon, while a bit hesitant to overdo it, would like to learn herself.
Absol wasn't interested. One common theme between each friend group was that there was one Pokemon that was just not interested in things. Pinkie Pie began showing them how it was done and how they could bake and cook all they want with their personal favourites.
And with that, Friday was about to end with Saturday incoming.
Saturday. Twilight's Lab.
The morning had come. And over at Twilight's Castle, things weren't going so well for Twilight. Mostly with Mew and Spinda. Their playful natures meant that they were rambunctious and hyperactive every second. They barely had time to slow down and the only time they do slow down is the night. They had more energy than Ninetales. But, Twilight managed.
"You two...Do you ever slow down?" Twilight sighed.
"Mew-Mew!"
"Spinda!"
As there was a moment of silence, Mew brought over a plethora of toys that he had retrieved from SugarCube Corner via teleportation. He placed the toys in front of Twilight before circling her. He also brought over some Pokemon Food, placing it down too.
"You just ate. And playtime already? We just had it last hour. I was kinda hoping to study you, Mew. After all, you're the ancestor of all Pokemon, aren't you?"
"Mew?" Mew tilted his head before lifting a toy at Twilight, shaking it. The toy made sounds when it was shaking.
"Fine. We'll play one more time for a bit and little more food. It helps bond with you some more." Twilight stood up, grabbing the toy and food with her magic. She decided to play with Mew and Spinda a bit more. She then poured the food into the bowl for Mew to chow down on. At the same time, downstairs, a delicious scent could be sensed.
That scent came from the craftwork of the 6 Slurpuff. They had simultaneously used Sweet Scent, sending a beautiful aroma through the air. Aside from that, they also brought over some food. Since they're under the care of Twilight and Pinkie Pie, they have nothing to make. Barely a kitchen.
Twilight paused to pick up on the scent as the Slurpuff had all entered with food that Twilight absolutely adored. AKA, Hayburgers and other foods that she enjoys.
"Oh! You got me hayburgers!" Twilight tossed the toy aside before zooming towards the hayburgers. "Thanks, Slurpuff!"
"Puff-Puff!" The Slurpuff all knew what Twilight loved after what Pinkie Pie had taught them. If anything, having all of Pinkie Pie's Pokemon here was like having eight Pinkie Pie's in one room.
But at least this time, none of them are clones from a magic pond.
"I'll just place these here." Twilight placed the hayburgers on the table. But as soon as she did so, along came Mew, opening his mouth and devouring the burgers in a second. "Ah!"
"Mew-Mew!" Mew cried out before falling on his tummy. The New Species Pokemon licked the sauce off his mouth before enjoying the taste of this delicacy. It was clear that the hayburger was enough to fill his hungry stomach. "Mew."
"Well...At least you're full." Twilight pouted. But her hope had been rekindled once the Slurpuff in the back had revealed another one to Twilight. "Ah! Slurpuff! You're a lifesaver!"
"Slurpuff!"
"Okay. We'll eat later. Mew."
"Mew?" Mew sat up, looking up at the Princess of Friendship.
"Transform into..." Twilight started pondering on which Pokemon Mew could have a go at. That's when she gained an idea. "Oh! Transform into a Zorua. And then use Zorua to become Spinda. How does that sound?"
"Mew!" Mew was right on it as he immediately transformed himself into the Tricky Fox Pokemon. A Pokemon that has the same ability as Mew. Transformation. "Zorua!" After becoming a Zorua, he then looked at Spinda, mimicking her appearance by spinning around and appearing as the Spot Panda Pokemon. "Spinda!"
"Good, Good! Just as I thought!" Twilight squeed. Even when becoming another Pokemon capable of transformation, you're able to utilize that as well. A double transformation."
"Spinda."
"So now we know this. You can't replicate Jirachi's Wishing Abilities or else we would've solved this Rift problem long ago. Can you mimic Victini's Infinite Power?"
"Mew." Mew shook his head.
"No. So that proves it. You can't copy certain things from Legendary or Mythical Pokemon. But other Pokemon like Pikachu and Bulbasaur, you can do just fine. Even mimic their special traits. Wait, do you even hide like how a Mythical Pokemon would?"
"Mew!"
"You even choose to mimic their mannerisms and how they act around others. Then that means..." Twilight pondered for a moment before sparking up an idea. "Aha! I think I know how to find Jirachi. Might take a while. Or sooner than we think."
"Mew?"
"Okay, Mew. Let's do something that'll help Rainbow Dash in the future. Transform into Scizor and a few other Pokemon for me, won't you?"
"Mew-Mew!"
Saddle Lake.
"Alright, Chikorita! Since you're cool with some battling, let's do it. Fluttershy won't mind if you get stronger, right? Rainbow Dash asked as she was currently about to battle with Chikorita while Audino sat down.
"Chikorita!"
"Audino. I know you wanna help others, so I won't let you battle."
"Audino."
"Now." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath before staring down at a Carnivine. "Where were we?"
"Carni!" They were actually in the midst of confronting a Wild Carnivine. This would be Chikorita's first time battling with Rainbow Dash, who was a completely different battling style to Fluttershy.
"Chikorita! Use Tackle!"
"Chiko!" Chikorita went first, charging without hesitation. This was Rainbow Dash's way of bonding. Similar to how Ash does it at times with his Pokemon.
"Vine! Carinvine!" In response, Carnivine had used Leaf Tornado, spiralling its arms around. Out of Carnivine's arms came a whirlwind of sharp leaves that even tore through the ground.
"Chiko?!"
"Oh! Dodge!"
"Rita!" Right on time, Chikorita managed to dodge the incoming Leaf Tornado by zooming to the side. The sharp leaves ended up destroying a nearby rock. After evading the leaves, Chikorita smashed her body into Carnivine, knocking the Bug Catcher Pokemon back. "Chiko!"
"Carni!"
"Good stuff! Now use Magical Leaf!"
"Chikorita!" After the tackle, Chikorita jumped back, firing multiple leaves that were surrounded by a mystical green aura. The leaves struck Carnivine, staggering it.
"V-Vine! Carni!" Carnivine then quickly recovered before using vines to grab Chikorita's leg. It had then pulled the Leaf Pokemon towards it.
"Chiko?!"
"Quick, Chikorita! Break free with Magical Leaf!"
"Vine!" Too late for that. Carnivine had Toxic, dropping a massive blob of poison onto her. Immediately, once she was splashed by the poisonous substance, the Leaf Pokemon had been poisoned.
"C-Chiko..."
"Huh? But her ability is Leaf Guard! It should totally ignore that, right?!" Rainbow Dash was thrown off by Chikorita being poisoned. With Leaf Guard, that shouldn't be the cause as Carnivine tossed Chikorita aside. Rainbow then took out her Pokedex to check something quickly.
"Leaf Guard. Leaf Guard prevents the bearer from succumbing to major status ailments such as sleep, burns, poisoning, paralysis or freezing during sunny weather. It does not prevent minor status ailments such as Confusion or Infatuation, nor does it prevent self-inflicted status conditions such as from using Rest."
"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash looked up to see that while the sun was up, it wasn't harsh at all. That was because of summer ending. The sun wasn't as hot as it was before. "Just our luck..."
"Carni!"
"Wait a sec! Duh! We've got this!" Just then, Rainbow Dash recalled one move that can ignore this. "Use Aromatherapy!"
"Chiko...!" Chikorita then exuded a green light from her body. A light so strong and bright that it forced Carnivine back. A soothing scent was also released, coating Chikorita as her poison status had been healed. "Chikorita!"
"Carnivine?"
"Good stuff. Guess Fluttershy kept that just in case something like this would happen. Not bad, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash nodded before grinning. "Okay! Now, Chikorita! Jump on Carnivine and use your vines to spin it around! Then slam it!"
"Ch-Chiko?" Chikorita took a moment to process what she had just been told as she faced Rainbow Dash. So far, the previous commands were easy to follow and execute. But now, Chikorita was in new territory that she hadn't touch. She wasn't sure how to respond to such a command.
"Come on! You can do it! Right?"
"Rita..."
"Oh, right. Different Pokemon, different styles." Rainbow Dash awkwardly rubbed the back of her mane while Carnivine was patiently waiting. "J-Just have a crack at it and see what happens. Start by grabbing it with your vines!"
"Chikorita!" Chikorita went with it anyway, unleashing her vines as they wrapped around Carnivine's arms.
"Carni?"
"Now get on its head!"
"Rita!" Chikorita then lunged while still having her vines wrapped around Carnivine. As she moved through the air, she ended up lifting the Bug Catcher Pokemon off the ground, showing her impressive strength. "Chiko?"
"C-Carnivine!"
"Oh, wait!" Rainbow Dash gasped as she saw Chikorita flowing through the air with some small airtime. She then crashed into a tree due to her having no balance. Not only that, but the vines moved forward, crashing into another tree with Carnivine taking the hit.
"Chiko!"
"Carni!"
"Chikorita..." Chikorita fell from the tree with her face having a red mark. Carnivine also fell as they both landed on their backs. However, due to the damage dealt before and the smack on the tree, Carnivine had fainted from that.
Chikorita won by accident.
"Oh! You did it, Chikorita!" Rainbow Dash zoomed over, picking the Leaf Pokemon up. "You didn't even need your special leaf for that! That was all skill! Totally!"
"C-Chikori?" Chikorita smiled as her eyes felt dizzy. Audino quickly ran over to heal her as soon as she could. Carnivine got up, also feeling dizzy as it walked off, wondering what just happened and how it was defeated in such a way.
"You've got some polishing up to do with those skills. But I bet, when you evolve and train some more, you'll become awesome." Rainbow complimented the Leaf Pokemon. "Think Fluttershy would mind if we some more training some other time?"
"Chikorita!" Chikorita was actually up for it. Anything to protect Fluttershy at all costs.
However, just then, Rainbow Dash's Pokedex started beeping. She promptly picked it up to see what it could be. Lo and behold, that one battle against Carnivine had done something. Given Chikorita a new move.
"Alert. New move learned. Body Slam. Would you like to replace a move for Body Slam?" The Pokedex asked.
"Awesome! You learned a new move!" Rainbow Dash grinned before getting rid of Tackle and replacing it with Body Slam. "There ya go. Now you've got an even stronger move, huh?"
"Chiko!"
Sweet Apple Acres.
Meanwhile, over at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack found out how to get to Milotic and communicate with her. And it was an unusual way of doing so. Polishing the Tender Pokemon was the key, according to Milotic.
"Milotic."
"This much?" Applejack sighed as she polished Milotic's skin, making sure that it would shine. "Does Rarity do this all the time?"
"Milo. Milotic." With that cry, Milotic confirmed it.
"Woohoo!" Suddenly, with high energy, Apple Bloom, Ponyta, Gible, Cyndaquil and Pachirisu jumped into a dirt mound, spraying dirt all over the place.
The dirt flew rapidly, landing right on Milotic. The Tender Pokemon gasped as Applejack backed away slowly, scrunching her face. Apple Bloom and the others giggled as they were just having fun. But not to Milotic.
"Milo...!" Milotic growled as her rage was building up. She despite getting dirty as the ground started shaking.
"Huh?" Apple Bloom looked over to see Milotic's eyes turn red. That wasn't a good sign. "Uh Oh."
"Hold on there!" Applejack quickly rushed in, getting in front of the Water-Type before she could try anything risky. "Sorry about my little sis. You know how kids are."
"Milotic...!" Milotic scoffed before turning her head.
"Don't worry about it. We can get you clean in no time. Uh, Pheromosa!"
"Phero?" Pheromosa responded to Applejack as she was currently wearing a dress made out of leaves and apples that she and the Leavanny had made.
"Uh...Nice dress but don't use too much of the apples, ya hear? And can ya get me a bucket?"
"Pheromosa!" Pheromosa saluted before dashing off, entering the house. In just a few seconds with her amazing speed, she had returned, placing the bucket near Applejack. "Mosa."
"Gible!" Along came Gible, leaping in as he took a bite out of the Apple Dress before burrowing underground. Pachirisu and Cyndaquil also leapt in to snag some apples for themselves.
"Those three." Applejack chuckled before putting the bucket in front of Milotic. "Here. Use Hydro Pump on this. That'll fill the bucket up with some water for cleaning."
"Tic?" Milotic looked to the bucket with dirt in her eye. The Tender Pokemon then unleashed a blast of water from her mouth. The blast had filled the bucket immediately, almost overflowing.
"Nice. Oh." Applejack then looked closer, seeing that there were a few things missing. She looked at Pheromosa who had nodded in understanding.
The Lissome Pokemon rushed back inside the house to grab some soap and a brush. She then returned in seconds, having the essentials with her. Applejack took the brush as she got to work. First, she poured water on the Water-Type as she then started scrubbing Milotic all around. She had already polished the Tender Pokemon, so this will add more polish to her.
With haste and precision, Applejack had removed the dirt from Milotiic's body. Every part of it. And as a bonus, Milotic sparkled. Much like how Rarity would. And just like that, Milotic was clean.
"Tic?"
"Not bad, huh?" Applejack chuckled as Milotic smiled. Finally, she had gotten through to the Tender Pokemon.
"Milotic."
The Pokemon House.
"Mienfoo!" And the same went for Fluttershy. She had allowed Mienfoo to train to her heart's content. Mainly at the Fighting-Type room. Fluttershy held up a dummy that Mienfoo was currently beating on.
"One more time, Mienfoo," Fluttershy said while standing behind the dummy, wearing protective gear. And then next, you can go ahead, Braviary."
"Mien...!" Mienfoo attacked the dummy one more time with Force Palm. With one hit and all of her muscle put into it, she almost shattered the dummy into bits. " Foo!"
"Great job!" Fluttershy praised as Mienfoo slid on the floor. Her palm was smoking from all those hits. Fluttershy went over to Mienfoo to tend to the Martial Arts Pokemon.
"Mien?" Mienfo looked up as Fluttershy put a cold and wet towel over her palm. Mienfoo winced from this feeling, however, Fluttershy held her arm to help her through it. "F-Foo..."
"There, there," Fluttershy said as the pain from all those hits was fading away. "You're okay. You sure are something, Mienfoo. That determination to keep going. I can't wait to see what else you'll do when you enter the Equestria League. You'll have my full support, okay?"
"Mien?" Just then, Mienfoo looked up at Fluttershy after hearing all of her words. At that moment, Mienfoo had then been inspirited by Fluttershy with her eyes sparkling and her face blushing. Something that she has never done before. Fluttershy had definitely gotten to her.
Everyone managed to bond with all of their friends' Pokemon without fail. It took a while and a lot of convincing, but they succeeded. Having friends they understood helped them understand the Pokemon as well, as the first day had ended. The second day came along with little problem too.
Espeon, Cinccino, Ninetales and Togekiss were all stuffed from the foods they had eaten. After Pinkie PIe taught them, they started making their favourites. Absol even ate some, although not as much. They did receive tummy aches aside from Absol thought.
Sceptile received a polish and shine that made him sparkle. He also wore a suit that made him look dapper and smart. The Forest Pokemon felt embarrassed but he could get used to it. Golett was given a small bowtie and a tophat to wear. It fit him well.
Monday. Canterlot. The Pokemon School.
"Well. It looks like you've all done well with this task." Roxanne said as all of the students had returned with the Pokemon.
"Chikori!" Chikorita jumped into Fluttershy's hooves, happy to see her again.
"Hi, Chikorita!" Fluttershy hugged the Leaf Pokemon. "Oh. You feel different. Did you get faster?"
"Rita."
"Sceptile. Golett. What are you two wearing? You look kinda good in it. Plus, you're shining like crazy." Applejack said to her Pokemon as Sceptile blushed, crossing his arms.
"S-Sceptile.
"Golett." Golett tipped his hat to Applejack.
"Braviary!" Braviary and the rest of Rainbow Dash's Pokemon dog-piled Rainbow Dash with a massive group hug. They were happy to see their trainer again.
"Ow! Guys! You've only been away for 2 days!" Rainbow Dash chuckled. The same happened to Twilight and Rarity as she was being bombarded by hugs.
"Okay, you all!" Twilight and Rarity exclaimed. "Calm down! It's only been 2 days!"
"Well, well. It looks like exchanging partners was productive." Roxanne observed.
"Sure was. I did some battling with Chikorita and now she's tougher." Rainbow Dash said.
"Chikorita!"
"I did the same for Mienfoo. But I also allowed her to meditate and relax. She can get stronger that way as well." Fluttershy nodded.
"I got to learn all about Mew in just those two days. And something special I can't wait to show." Twilight grinned. "But uh...Eve. Everyone. Your tummies look a bit different.
"Espeon." Espeon nodded as she and her teammates licked their lips that had frosting around them. Pinkie Pie patted Ninetales' tummy as he laid on his back.
"They learned a lot. Now they're bonafide bakers." Pinkie Pie uttered.
"Same time next week, Sceptile? I can make you another suit for the Gala if you want." Rarity said to the Forest Pokemon.
"Sceptile." Sceptile was up for it.
"This wasn't a bad idea at all. Perhaps we can try this another time." Roxanne pondered. "How does next month sound? Before Christmas?"
"Sure thing!" Everypony in the class was okay with having a second go at this. Perhaps to get even closer with other Pokemon.
A temporary swap has given everyone a chance to learn about their friends' Pokemon. And in the process, they've learned even more how precious their own partners are. This will happen another time. And with different experiences but most likely the same results as the journey continues.
"So yes. I have a plan to find Jirachi. Might not be foolproof, but it could work." Twilight said as she was speaking to Celestia and Luna. "Mythical Pokemon all have one thing in common. They tend to shelter themselves away from others. Except for either when they're feeling playful or when another one of their kind is around."
"And so...what are you getting at, Twilight Sparkle?" Luna asked as she and Celestia leaned in.
"We have Mew transform into Jirachi to try and bring out the other Jirachi. Granted, there's more to the plan, and I haven't figured out where we should go? Or even if it will fully work." Twilight pouted.
"It's a good idea in general, Twilight." Celestia went up to her fellow alicorn. "If it's an effective way of finding Jirachi, then we'll tackle it. Let's think about it a bit longer. Unless...you two have an idea?" Celestia then turned to the corner as her parents' Sunlight and Eventide were there.
"You saw us? Usually, it takes hours for you to notice our arrival." Sunlight said as she and Eventide emerged. "Look at you having greater senses than usual."
"That's my girl." Eventide nodded. "We're here to see the ongoing at the Pokemon School. This time, up close instead of afar in the Ambrosial Plane."
"Oh!" Realization kicked in for the Princess of Friendship. "I was too focused on telling you about the plan! I'm almost late for the second session."
"Twilight. Just teleport." Celestia said, calming Twilight down.
"Oh. Hehe. Right." Twilight chuckled before using the Teleportation Spell to vanish. She was off for classes, not late at all. Now it was just the Royal Family. Not for long anyway as Sunlight and Eventide would make their way there as well.
"Um, about that whole Jirachi thing. What animal is it meant to be?" Sunlight leaned in, whispering to Celestia. "You know...some Pokemon that are similar to the animals in our world have the same preferences as their less magical counterparts. What is Jirachi?"
"I'm...not sure. I'll have to ask Ash." Celestia whispered back. "I-If it's based on something."
"Well, anyway. Can't wait to see them learn. Wish I could join the school myself, but...you know how I am with education." Sunlight chuckled before Luna lowered her eyes.
"We know." Luna nodded. "It's why sister is the Ruler of Equestria in the first place."
"Luna." Celestia nudged Luna after that little comment. Sunlight let out a small giggle afterwards.
The Pokemon School.
"In any case. If you do want to be some sort of billionaire or trillionaire, using Meowth and the move Pay Day won't grant you that wish. I'm sorry." Roxanne instructed the students. "Meowth can only give out so much money before it exhausts itself. After all, it can only do so much. The same goes for other Pokemon that can learn it. You can use the move as much as you want for all the money you need. But reaching the triple digits, that's where a roadblock will come in the way."
"Can't we just like...catch a bunch of them and have them use Pay Day?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"You could. You could do that." Roxanne nodded. "But it would take longer than you think." She then started drawing and writing on the board. "At most, Pay Day can give you around 900 Poke Dollars or 1000. Higher depending on how it's used. If you can win a battle by using only Pay Day, then your money chances skyrocket."
"So it is possible to get rich with that move."
"Yes. But take my advice. Don't rely on one Pokemon. If you want to reach that level, then just catch an abundance of Pokemon with that move. But I don't recommend it unless you're good at managing money. If not, you're better off just having your opponent pick up the cash after the battle or just buy whatever pleases you and-"
"Hello!" Bursting into the room was Sunlight as she opened the doors, startling everyone. "Oh, sorry."
"Greetings, everypony." Eventide greeted. "And Pokemon. And human."
"Who are you two? Are you new here?" Roxanne asked before observing the two alicorns. She recognized the similar colour patterns to Celestia and Luna, quickly recognizing who they were. "Oh wait! You're King Eventide and Queen Sunlight!"
"Former king and queen." Sunlight intervened. "We're just here to check up on things and how lessons go here. I mean we already know from way up there but this time up close. So, what are you up to?"
"Nothing too important." Roxanne shook her head before thinking for a moment. "Well, it is money so I suppose it is important. Just details about certain Pokemon Moves like Pay Day and how the move can only have its usage for so long."
"What's the big idea? I know somepony with a Psyduck that uses Pay Day when she's in a bind." A student said. "But uh...it's only for when she's in the Pokemon World. It can't make bits."
"Ooh. Mind showing us then?" Eventide stepped forward.
"Sorry. None of my Pokemon know that move. But aside from that, we're moving on from currency." Roxanne then switched boards, revealing another one. "Still on the subject of moves, we'll be talking about certain status moves that can contradict each other and how to utilize that. But take a small break before that."
With that order, a break had been issued, allowing for the students to converse. They had sent out their Pokemon for this break. Sunlight and Eventide chose to stay around just for the fun of it.
Soon, the room was flooded with various Pokemon of different types, roaming Roxanne's classroom. At the same time, some noise could be heard from the other classroom nearby. That being Roxie's classroom and her constant usage of music.
Twilight also started conversing with her friends, she also brought up the plan to find Jirachi A plan that was still a work in progress to them. "So that's what we'll do. After we swapped Pokemon and I figured out what Mew can replicate, that's our best shot at finding Jirachi. 'Cause, it's not like there's a secret way to summon it."
"And we're trying to figure out what animal or creature Jirachi is based on," said Sunlight. "If we can find out, it should be easy to bring it here. Fluttershy. You're the animal expert. Any idea?"
"Oh. Sorry. But since none of us have ever seen Jirachi before...I'm not sure." Fluttershy shook her head.
"We only saw a bit of what it could look like back at the Pokemon Festival." Rarity chimed in. "Over at Ponyville, there was a wishing booth that was modelled after Jirachi. It seems to have some sort of arrow-like appearance. Not sure about everything else."
"No luck with Jirachi yet?" Just then, Roxanne came over. "I don't blame you. I can't think of any other Pokemon as elusive as it is. It's certainly the one Pokemon with the most time away from everything."
"Roxanne. You're from Hoenn. And Jirachi's most common there. Can you recall a time where you heard about Jirachi showing up and where? And Brawly too since he's from Hoenn as well." Twilight asked.
"Sorry. But even in Hoenn, Jirachi's impossible to catch wind of. You'll only hear from the elders about Jirachi, but even they have trouble recalling Jirachi's presence. One second it's there and the next it's not."
"Not even Mew's this tricky to find." Pinkie Pie looked up at Mew who was resting on her head.
"Please tell me we ain't going on a wild goose chase for just one Pokemon." Applejack sighed. "I could use a wish right now t find that Wish Pokemon already."
"Mhm." Twilight and the others agreed.
"How exciting. All of this reminds me of my younger years when I used to go on adventures. Usually for the harder parts of journeying." Sunlight squeed. "Why, I'm more envious of my daughters having more exhilarating adventures than me honestly."
"How many did you go on?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Too many to keep track of. But, they promptly stopped when it was decided that Celestia would end up becoming the ruler of Equestria."
"Just like that? Why didn't you continue? I mean, if you were free, then you could do whatever you want, right?" More questions emerged from Rainbow Dash before remembering why. "Oh, right. Your magic was uh...leaking and messing everything up."
"Yes. That's true. Not any more thanks to how the Pokemon have changed the world." Sunlight looked at her hooves and how her body was giving off an endless golden glow. "We'll be happy for Celestia and Luna when they eventually become like us. They won't have to worry about harming others."
"And as a greater bonus, they will still have the thrill of adventures to look forward to," said Eventide. "They, well currently Celestia is a greater ruler than we ever were."
"Oh, but you two were probably wonderful rulers back in your time too, right?" Rarity said. That's when the two alicorns scrunched their faces and mouths as if they were feeling thirsty.
"W-Well..." Sunlight leaned back with her mane covering her eyes. "About that..."
"Honestly..." Eventide took a deep breath. "There is a reason why we aren't as remembered in the history books that much as compared to other figures from before. The truth is, we were never great rulers, to begin with. In fact, that is why our reign over Equestria ended sooner and lasted less than our daughters."
"You sucked as rulers?" Rainbow Dash uttered before being nudged by Applejack. "Oops. Sorry."
"It's fine," said Eventide. "Yes, our time as rulers of Equestria was one of...less stellar proportions. But it was not terrible per se. Let's take you through the past a bit." Everyone sat down to hear what Eventide and Sunlight had to say. They were intrigued about the past and their roles as previous rulers of Equestria.
8000 Years Ago. Canterlot.
You see, we weren't alicorns yet. Back then, alicorns were practically non-existent. I was still an earth pony and Sunlight was still a unicorn. But even so, we managed to become the rulers due to Sunlight's heritage. It wasn't until we had our daughters and later on in the future, we would become alicorns during their younger years.
Canterlot back then had a different appearance compared to what it looks like now. Some buildings had yet to be constructed as this was during the earlier years of Equestria's founding. Currently, many of the Canterlot Guards were searching for a certain pony without much success.
"Where is she?" A guard said, moving across the hallways while the rest were around Canterlot as fast they could, looking in a hurry. "Queen Sunlight!"
"We have searched everywhere inside and outside the castle. No sign of her anywhere. Should we inform King Eventide?" Another guard asked.
"I think that is for the best. He always knows where the Queen is." The guards then went over to inform the current King of Equestria Eventide. Back then, his magic wasn't leaking out and threatening to harm everything else.
The servants of the castle watched as the guards rushed over to the throne room to ask the king. But right now, Eventide was going through an issue. He was currently sorting the court, speaking to ponies that had many requests for him and to an extent Sunlight.
And from the look of his distressed face, it was clear that he had a hooffull.
"Your majesty. The extra food we've been able to store in the granaries has attracted more settlers. What shall we do? Should we let them in?" A pony asked.
"Finally. Some good news. Let them in, please." Eventide nodded with a smile on his face.
"About that. I haven't finished yet your majesty. The stock is a bit infected. If we let more of them in, it will cost us a heap to replace it, but if we don't, ponies could get sick. Should we do it?"
"Oh." Eventide's frown had returned with disappointment in his heart. "Then no. We'll let them stay until we can refresh everything." He made his decision as the pony left. Another pony came with a different question.
"Your majesty. If it is not a bother and my love for plants, would it be fine for me to open up a garden here in Canterlot? For others to come and experience it."
"A garden in Canterlot sounds agreeable." The earth pony nodded. "Certainly. It will be ready in a few weeks." The pony left as the king had slumped over. His eyes seemed baggy along with his mane being messy.
"Your ma-" Another question was about to come through, only for one of the Canterlot Guards to interrupted.
"Your majesty! Apologies for the interruption, but have you seen the Queen by any chance?"
"She's missing already?!" Eventide sat up. "It's only been two days since we've started..."
"Seems her old habits are sticking to her even during your current rule, sire." A royal advisor said. "For a Queen to be constantly moving out without attending to her kingdom is very detrimental."
"I know, I know." Eventide groaned. Indeed, they had just become rulers of Equestria. It has only been two days since their coronation. They were adults now, but a bit on the younger side. However, they were not alicorns yet. At this time, making their roles as Rulers of Equestriathe opposite of what would come later. To speak with Sunlight, he had used the Telepathy Spell to do so. Even in this time, it existed.
The spell reached from Canterlot to an area that would one day come to be known as Saddle Lake in the future. Sunlight had found herself there after some exploring. She was currently relaxing in a pile of leaves, basking in the afternoon sun. That was when she heard Eventide's voice.
"Dear. Where are you right now? You're needed desperately."
"Oops. Sorry about that." She communicated back. "I just found this nice area when venturing around."
"You're having an adventure right now? We've just started our duties as King and Queen. We shouldn't be slacking off or going on adventures at all. Or rather frequent adventures."
"I know but I'm still getting used to this. I was a princess not too long ago after all."
"Just don't overdo it. Being ruler doesn't mean absolute freedom."
"Phooey." Sunlight pouted her lips. "But it's also so boring, all of those tasks. I won't have to do them for centuries, will I? Sitting around and saying yes or no to a lot of requests?"
"I thought you were ready to tackle something like that."
"Oh, right. Apologies. My younger self is still somewhere in there." Sunlight chuckled. "I'll be right there."
10 years later.
During those 10 years, they carried their duties as king and queen out with little issue. They could give out orders without fail. However, despite that, Sunlight was disinterested. Throughout her years of being a queen, while she enjoyed the citizens here and their company, doing good deeds for them and seeing the kingdom thrive, her other side wasn't feeling it as much.
She wanted to get out there and go on perilous adventures. But, she knew that her role as a princess was more important. She could perhaps go on journeys that involve her stepping in, but those are rare to come by. During this time, Equestria had few dangers roaming around.
As for Eventide, while he was mostly unbothered by everything happening around him, he was certainly not used to so much overwhelming demand. He was the opposite of Sunlight. Whereas Sunlight is all about excitement, Eventide is on the slower side of things.
But despite all of this, they managed to push through. Eventide encouraged Sunlight to hang in there. She could still find excitement even during all of this. After all, fun events don't need to take place somewhere else. And it showed.
As time passed on in Canterlot, new buildings were made. Buildings that had grabbed Sunlight's interest. She wasn't fully bored of the place ever since these little moments occurred. Hearing news from around the world about new lands being discovered whilst sitting on the throne had its own excitement. Even seeing new ponies arrive at Canterlot to settle down was just as entertaining.
Despite how it may sound, we did manage through it all. We may have had preferences on how to live, but that didn't matter. Our kingdom came before everything else. Sunlight and I tossed aside our drive for excitement and weakness to overwhelming abundance for Canterlot and all of Equestria.
That's when Celestia was born first. Even with her birth, things didn't become more difficult for us. But we were treated to a lot of crying in the morning and night. But she did cry more in the night than the morning.
19 years later.
Then after that, Luna was born. But right before she was born, we had collectively decided on something. Celestia was already prone to be the next heir of Equestria. But we weren't sure about passing such a huge burden to her. But surprisingly...
"So you see, Celestia. Very soon, you'll be on the throne as Princess. And then maybe soon, you can find yourself a king to sit by you." Sunlight said. "We hope it's not too much of a burden."
"Wait. You're going to retire soon?" Celestia said.
"No-no-no. We won't retire. Not at all. Not even soon either." Eventide shook his head. "It is just something natural to Royal Families after all. You're the heir."
"Oh. Okay. But, am I ready for that? I mean, being a ruler sounds like a big deal." Celestia scrunched her mouth. "And what about my sister? Is she next?"
"Most likely. But listen. When you become princess or queen, you'll have to go past what you're normally used to. Your father and I weren't used to the activities and events that happened here. But, we learned to adapt to them. Can you do the same?
"Well...it sounds boring." Celestia pouted. "Sitting around all day and everything. I mean, nothing interesting happens in Canterlot or Equestria."
"That's not true. Well...partially." Sunlight uttered. "It's true. This kind of life isn't the most exhilarating. We thought the same thing ourselves. But there are ways they can be. Like friends."
"Friends?"
"Yes." Eventide nodded. "Despite the circumstances or situation, you can always count on your friends to give you that enjoyment you're missing. Friends have their way of having fun. Besides, who said you didn't need to have fun as a ruler?"
"Oooh...I get what you mean." Celestia nodded in understanding. "But...do you two even like being king and queen?"
"It's alright." They both said.
"But what matters more than that is putting your subjects before everything else. No matter what, you'll never abandon them, even if it gets rough, right?"
"Right. I won't. I'll do my best, mother. Father."
Reality.
"Were you expecting something different from what we told you?" Eventide said.
"Wait, that's it?" Twilight sat up. "That's all? I thought there would be more! Maybe something massive happened to push you over the edge! Or-or maybe you ended up deciding to-"
"Nothing like that." Sunlight shook her head. "Because you see, compared to our time as rulers, nothing dark threatened Equestria. But Celestia's time certainly did. Tirek, Discord, the Everfree Forest, Sombra and more. So many threats had usurped during her time as compared to ours. I'm a little bit jealous she and Luna got to have so much to tackle while we were left within nothing."
"Oh. So...I guess your time was just peaceful. That's all. Is that why you aren't that noticed in history books? Doesn't seem like something for that." Twilight sat down.
"Oh, no. That's not why. Celestia and Luna just had a bigger impact on things. We're still remembered despite all we've said." Eventide chuckled. "Yes. Their legacy won't be forgotten, that's for sure. And you all. Can you make new legacies that will last forever as well?"
"Yeah, we will!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "When I become Equestria's Pokemon Champion, I'm gonna leave behind one monster of a legacy."
"We'll leave our behind. Mine is spreading friendship to all walks of life." Twilight said. "So that it'll last forever."
"And the rest of you?" Sunlight asked as everyone shrugged. They weren't sure if they could ever leave their own legacies behind. Some already had something in mind, however. "Well, you all think about that. And when you do leave those legacies, we'll make sure to spread them to others. After all, we alicorns aren't going anywhere."
"Same here." Pinkie Pie raised her hoof. "Thanks to Ash and Ho-oh, we're gonna live waaaayyy longer. Like you all!"
"Huh?!" Sunlight pulled back along with Eventide. "Y-You're joking right?"
"Glad she ain't." Applejack nudged as everyone laughed. After a while, the break had ended up with lesions resuming. Sunlight and Eventide stayed behind to watch them play out.
While they may not be as memorable as their daughters, it's undeniable that they had their own impact. Sunlight and Eventide are the reason for Celestia and Luna's strong hearts. And it was safe to say that this impact will carry on from pony, Pokemon, human, dragon etc as the journey continues.
"Jirachi's not based on any animal?" Flurry Heart and the others said while speaking to Ash.
"Yeah, sorry. I can't think of anything Jirachi really looks like." Ash shrugged with a grin. The matter involving Jirachi was still being discussed upon. Even after the previous days. They couldn't ignore such an important Pokemon that had the power to make both worlds remain together even if the Rift leaves.
"So much for Princess Celestia's plan." A sigh met Twilight. "It's fine. We can still work something out. My plan to find Jirachi's still a work in progress."
"Is Jirachi really going to be called towards that?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight. "I mean, I know Mythical Pokemon are all secretive and don't trust many but..."
"It's all we can do for now. We just have to hope that it works. Unless there's another Pokemon that can bring Jirachi to us. Is there, Ash?"
"Uhh...nope." Ash thought about it for a moment. So did Pikachu. "Is there? I mean...Mewtwo's pretty great with Pokemon. Both of them. But then there's Volcanion. Boy, he's good."
"Pika-Pika."
"Who's Volcanion?" Flurry Heart asked.
"Oh, Volcanion. Yeah, I haven't told you all about him yet. Alright. Get around for this." Ash rubbed his hands together. Everypony nearby got in close as Ash was about to give out his and Pikachu's many wild adventures that still exist with their memories. "So, this is one that happened in Kalos. And boy, I'll tell ya, it's where Pikachu and I got to see a bunch of Mega Evolved Pokemon in one day."
"Pikachu."
5 years ago. Kalos Region.
So it all happened when we were going through Kalos. Pikachu and I were with Serena, Clemont and Bonnie back then. But then one day, Volcanion came crashing down out of nowhere. Turns out he was being chased down by some Pokemon Hunters. And those hunters had some kind of weird attaching device on them. It hit me and Volcanion and we were both stuck to each other for a while. And a lot happened with that. Especially since Volcanion and I didn't get along at first. Plus we also met a Magearna then. It went a little something like this.
"So. They call you Volcaion, don't they?" Ash spoke with his Kalos Pokemon next to him. Of course, Pikachu was on his shoulder. Behind him were Greninja, Talonflame and Noivern.
"Hm. And what if they do?" Volcanion spoke with a gruff voice before turning to Magearna The one Pokemon that he could trust and holds dear to his heart.
Magearna started speaking to the Steam Pokemon, trying to convince him that Ash and his Pokemon were friendly and safe to approach along with the rest of his friends. Volcanion just growled at that.
"Magearna. You really are a one of a kind Pokemon." Ash walked up to the Artificial Pokemon.
"Pika."
"Magearna. Everything okay?" Ash asked. The Steel-Fairy-Type replied with a confirmation cry. "My name's Ash. And this is my pal Pikachu."
"Pika-Pikachu." Pikachu greeted as Magearna greeted back.
"Nice to meet you too." Ash held his hand out for a handshake, only for Volcanion to use one of his cannons to push Ash away from her. "Doh!"
"Don't touch it!" Volcanion exclaimed before aiming his cannon at Ash and Pikachu. He was clearly defensive when surrounding Magearna. He tried firing a blast of water, only for steam to come out instead as the blue lights around his cannons turned red.
This was because Volcanion needed a supply for his all water to recharge. He couldn't just shoot out an endless amount. Luckily, there was a nearby river for him to refill himself. He placed his cannons in the river, using them to absorb the water. Much like a vacuum, they automatically gravitated towards his cannons.
"Hey. What are you doing?" Ash asked, curious.
"I can't blast anything without water," said Volcanion.
"Oh, you can't?" Ash replied.
"Pika."
"Don't worry. Those guys show up again, we'll chase them away." Ash was referring to the Pokemon Hunters as Volcanion closed his eyes.
"I don't need help from humans," Volcanion replied. Ash wasn't sure how to respond as Pikachu hopped off his partner's shoulder to have a word in.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Stay out of this, electric nuisance!" Volcanion snapped at Pikachu surprisingly.
"Pika?!" Pikachu didn't take too kindly to that as he started going off at the Fire-Water-Type. "Pika-Pika! Pikachu!"
After that rant, Volcanion's cannons had been recharged, turning blue as an indication. He removed them from the river, walking over to Pikachu with loud footsteps. Pikachu then backed up. "Listen up! I'll tell you just once. I will never trust humans!" He then glared over at the rest of Ash's Pokemon as they were cautious and ready for an attack. "And Pokemon like you posing up to humans, I don't trust them either!"
"Pika-Pika...!" Sparks of electricity could be seen emerging and crackling from Pikachu's red sacs. Anyone that would insult his friends would be a target of him.
"You pipsqueak." He then aimed his cannons at the Mouse Pokemon. "Wanna fight?!" With that threat, all of Ash's Pokemon readied up to challenge Volcanion.
"Come on. Everybody just calm down now." Ash said, trying to dismantle the situation. Magearna came over to do the same thing, trying to convince Volcanion.
Yeah, we weren't the best of friends, that's for sure. Being attached didn't make it any better. It took us a while. But, Volcanion and I got to understand each other. Even when we were stuck. Clemont tried a few things to get it off, but that thing was glued to us both.
"You seem to always have the most unique relationships with Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, don't you?" Rarity said.
"Yeah. That happens a bunch. But it always works out in the end." Ash chuckled. "Volcanion was the toughest to be around by far."
"I really wanna see it." Flurry Heart sighed. Luckily, Mew could grant that wish. The New Species Pokemon had suddenly started glowing with everyone's attention focused on him.
Just like that, Mew had become a Volcanion right in front of everyone's eyes.
"Yeah. Like that." Ash pointed at Mew. "But he had like a really big frown on his face, like a bunch. He only ever smiled when Magearna was happy. So anyway. Eventually, we got free from that device thanks to Clemont's awesome science stuff." He continued the story.
So, later, Volcanion showed us a special place called the Nebel Plateau. A place where Volcanion allowed every Pokemon to be safe. That's when me and Volcanion started understanding each other on that day. And I have Pikachu to thank for that.
"What?" Volcanion spoke as Ash had brought over some food for him.
"I brought Poke Puffs. Serena and Kimia made them," said Ash.
"Pika."
"Oh?" Ash and Pikachu then noticed a Gulpin poking its head out of the view of Volcanion's leg. After seeing Ash, it immediately hid back, squealing.
"Gulpin!"
"You were surprised back there, weren't you?" Volcanion said to Gulpin. "He just didn't understand. Please. Forgive him." At this time, Ash and Volcanion had reached a mutual understanding. Volcanion saw Ash in a different light. Even if he was still sceptical.
"Gul."
"Sorry, Gulpin." Ash kneeled, facing the Poison-Type.
"Pikachu."
"Gul...Gulpin." After looking at Ash for a bit, Gulpin could see that there was nothing to fear from him. Especially with that never-changing smile on his face.
"This little one came here after being abandoned by its trainer," said Volcanion as Ash and Pikachu gasped afterwards. "We don't know if anything happened before that. He doesn't tell me and I don't ask. The only thing I know is that right before its trainer left, he gave Gulpin a vacant heart. All of the Pokemon here have been wounded by the selfishness and lies of humans. They may be laughing now, but their wounds have been deeply wounded. And that's the reason I can't trust humans." He then turned to Ash as all the Pokemon were playing with Serena, Clemont and Bonnie's Pokemon. "Pokemon are incapable of lying. But humans are. And do."
"Pika!" Pikachu had something to say about that as he hopped off of Ash's shoulder. "Pika-Pika!" He started telling Volcanion that humans and Pokemon are capable of making the same mistakes. He also mentioned how Ash was a massive exception from all of them.
"Really? This one doesn't lie?" He looked at Ash.
"Pika! Pikachu! Pika-Chu!"
"He fights with all he has to protect the ones he loves." Volcanion translated.
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu nodded as he would defend Ash to the bitter end. No slander will pass by towards the Trainer that showed him all the love in the world.
"Thank you for that," Ash said to his partner. "You're right."
"Pikachu."
"Both of you are spewing nothing but flowery sentiments." But Volcanion was still in denial. He then took a moment to lower his tone after what he had said. "I'm sorry. Before the others get used to you, I want you to leave. Though I'm very grateful for what you did for Magearna and Amaura."
"Here." Ash then placed the plate of Poke Puffs down. "Go ahead and eat." He and Pikachu then backed away, allowing Volcanion to snack away. The Steam Pokemon looked at the Poke Puffs for a bit, then at Ash. He then gave one last stare to the Poke Puffs before taking a huge bite out of them.
"Hm." He savoured the taste, taking in all that the puffs had to offer. "Mmm. Not bad."
"If ya like it, then why don't you say ya like it?" Ash asked.
"Hmph. Eat. Both of you." Volcanion encouraged Gulpin and a nearby Litwick to eat the Poke Puffs after he enjoyed them. They gladly did so as Litwick took one puff. Gulpin, however, opened its mouth wide, devouring most of the Poke Puffs in one bite.
"Cool. But when does the awesome stuff happen?" A colt asked as all the younger ponies were eager to hear about the action mostly.
"Yeah! When?" They all started asking Ash. While the story about him bonding with Volcanion was nice to listen to, most of them are all in it for the amazing things Ash has done. Since he is such a massive inspiration to them and one of the few examples of a hero, it was only natural that the more exciting stories are what they really cared for.
"You wanna skip right ahead to when things went wild?"
"Uh-huh!" They all exclaimed.
"Alright, alright. So. Here's what happened next. Well...actually. This one's from Pikachu's point of view since he was there on the outside. I was on the inside. You remember, right buddy?"
"Pikachu!"
So, these hunters had these things called Mega Braces. It's what made them force the Pokemon to Mega Evolve. A bunch of Mega Pokemon showed up to the plateau, just to destroy everything and get Magearna.
Emerging to the scene was almost every Mega Evolved Pokemon out there, minus the Legendary Pokemon and a few others. Aggron, Pidgeot, Tyranitar, Swampert, Houndoom, Steelix, Beedrill, Sharpedo and more.
"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu was currently on Talonflame's back as he was also flying beside Noivern and Hawlucha. Greninja had taken a ride on Noivern's back.
"Alakazam!" Mega Alazakam levitated in the air with its amazing Psychic powers which were already amazing enough. But with Mega Evolution, they had been boosted. So much so that it could carry the rest of the Pokemon off the ground with levitation, allowing them to fly. Sharpedo was sent flying through the air, attempting to bite Pikachu and the others, only to end up missing.
"Shar!"
After evading that, Talonflame flew under a massive rock connected to a building as right around the corner, Swampert was waiting. "Pert!" Swampert almost struck both Pikachu and Talonflame, but Talonflame's advantage in the air helped greatly.
He flew past a Pidgeot as a Glaile was incoming. Pikachu had a response to that via Thunderbolt. While on Talonflame, the Mouse Pokemon had shocked the Face Pokemon with 100,000 volts. "Chuuu!" Not only that, after shocking Glalie, he also shocked the same Sharpedo that came by, dealing super-effective damage.
As for Greninja and Noivern, Steelix went to try and bite them with its massive mouth, only to be evaded. "Ninja?" Greninja then noticed Beedrill coming up next, using its massive stingers to charge right in.
"Beedrill!" Beedrill came flying in like a rocket, but Greninja had jumped off of Noivern, causing Beedrill to miss them both as Noivern swooped down.
"Ninja!" Greninja then landed on the ground, evading an incoming Dark Pulse from Mega Salamence the moment he descended. Such quick instincts and reaction time.
"Sala! Sala!" Salamence didn't let up. It continuously fired Dark Pulse's over at Greninja to try and catch him. Greninja ran across the ground, dodging each pulse that came his way. He moved through the explosive smoke, creating water kunais. The Ninja Pokemon then slashed Salamence in the face with both of them.
"Greninja!"
"Camerupt!" Camerupt came long to try and bite Greninja. The Water-Dark-Type jumped off after giving Salamence a good slash. Before Camerupt could do something, Noivern used Boomburst to halt the Eruption Pokemon. "Rupt!"
"Noivern!" Noivern flew out of the smoke with Tyranitar roaring at it. Tyrantiar used Stone Edge, stomping on the ground to summon multiple floating purple rocks as they were sent towards Noivern. The Sound Wave Pokemon started evading by spinning in the air.
"Pika...Chuuu!" As for Pikachu, he had jumped off Talonflame as his body blocked the sun. The Mouse Pokemon landed on the ground before unleashing a massive Thunderbolt that had shocked every nearby Pokemon in his line of fire. Glalie, Houndoom, Tyranitar, Banette and Aggron received the full force of Pikachu's electricity.
As for Volcanion, he wasn't left out of the action. Steelix looked up to see an incoming Steam Pokemon charging downwards like a raging rocket. And with the force of a rocket, Volcanion tackled Steelix, knocking the Mega Evolved Iron Snake Pokemon off balance.
He made his landing by spinning as Hawlucha moved out of the way. After arriving, Volcanion used Steam Eruption as his eyes and body glowed light blue. An orb of water then formed in between the two cannons on its back and exploded, creating a massive blast around Volcanion.
These giant blasts had struck every Mega Evolved Pokemon continuously. No one was spared from Volcanion's attack. And he followed up with one last attack. Fire Blast. He summoned a symbol of fire before striking Steelix with it.
After that, me and the others ended up showing up to help. Along with one of our new friends Kimia and her Gardevoir. We were trying to stop someone named Alva from taking control of the Azoth Kingdom. Things went wild since Magearna was the main focus through it all. And her Soul Heart.
"What's a Soul Heart?" Pinkie asked as Mew transformed himself into a Magearna.
"It's Magearna's ability. But also its heart." Ash went up to Mew, pointing at the heart in the middle that resembled a Poke Ball. "It's what keeps Magearna going. It may be artificial, but it's still its heart. We did a lot to protect it. The one who made Magearna wanted that heart to keep going on. So Volcanion and all of us did everything we could to save it. And we did. Boy, it wasn't easy. Magearna suffered a lot until we had to save her."
"Her heart. Why does it look like a Poke Ball?" Twilight asked. "Or is it unexplainable like Voltorb and Electrode?"
"Oh, yeah. About that. You see, Magearna's practically one big Poke Ball. Made 500 years ago, so it's kinda like the first Poke Ball. How neat is that?"
"This is what Poke Balls used to look like?" Rainbow Dash squinted at the Soul Heart.
"No, but I think this inspired them." Ash shrugged. "Either way, it's important to Magearna. It's like our hearts, ya know."
"Well, that Mega Evolution part was cool!" The young ponies started chattering. Clearly, their favourite part was that Mega Evolution section that Pikachu had told with Fluttershy translating. However, some did find excitement with Volcanion. "Is there something else like that?!"
"What happened after? Did you and Volcanion become good friends?!"
"Yeah. We're good friends now. Along with Magearna. We wrapped everything on that day. And as for Volcanion and Magearna. Well..."
After an adrenaline-pumping rescue for Magearna, Volcanion was on the ground, damaged after all that had happened. He seemed more than just unconscious. Desperate to save her friend, Magearna produced flowers from her arms. The pollen got in Volcanion's nose and made him sneeze, reviving it much to everyone's delight.
But after that, goodbyes were made. Especially with Ash and Volcanion, who had the rockiest relationship at the beginning. But not anymore.
"You know what...I'm going to make you all honorary Nabel Plateau Pokemon." Volcanion said to them all.
"Oh! That sounds really cool!" Serena exclaimed as she understood it.
"Yeah! I wanna be one!" Bonnie repeated excitedly. The single Zygarde Cell, otherwise known as Squishy as a nickname, popped out of the bag in response. "Yep. Right, Squishy?"
"Well, I'm happy to accept. It's a real honour." And Clemont had something to say as well. All the Pokemon then cheered afterwards, welcoming this group of humans and trusting them. They had certainly built a bond after this.
"Pika!" Pikachu then hopped off Ash's shoulder, rushing over to Volcanion and the others as did Dedenne. Pikachu jumped around, thanking the rest of the Pokemon around Volcanion. "Pika! Pika-Pika!
"Hey. Electric nuisance." Volcanion grabbed his attention. "Your friend Ash. He always seems to be getting himself into trouble. Take extra good care of him."
"Pika? Pika!" And with that, the relationship between Ash and Volcanion had reached its peak. No longer did resent each other or get on each other's nerves. Now, their relationship is the equivalent of two best friends who can't stop arguing all the time. A perfectly swell bond as Pikachu promised.
"Pika! Pikachu!"
"Yeah. I think that's all I got." Ash pondered. "Guess this one was a bit tamer than the ones I've told before. Or maybe it was wilder. What do you guys think?"
"Mega Evolution is intense...but that Kyurem and Keldeo story wasn't too bad," Spike said.
"You told Sweetie Belle and the others about the whole Temple of the Sea scenario. Anything underwater is already fairly intense." Rarity nodded.
"Is there more?" A colt asked.
"Oh yeah. I've got lots more stories! There's more from Kalos, Sinnoh, Unova, Johto, and way past that. You're not gonna be bored when I tell you the rest."
"Oooh! Can we hear the rest now?!" The foals pleaded.
"Yeah! Can we?!" Flurry Heart stood up as she was acting like them now.
"Another time. I've got some stuff to do." Ash chuckled. "Plus, I think I know who can help us find Jirachi now. All the way back at Unova. You thinking what I'm thinking Twilight?"
"Trixie?" Twilight repeated.
"Right on. Let's go!" Ash stood up, ready to head to Unova with his friends to further advance the whole Jirachi quest.
"Pikachu!"
Truly, Ash had lots of stories to tell. To the youth and even to the elders. There was something for everyone Whether it's under the sea against a pirate, being chased down by living ice and the World's Strongest Dragon or even having to deal with multiple rampaging Mega Evolutions, Ash's adventures are never dull, much like his extravagant dream to become a Pokemon Master as the journey continues.
Unova. Undella Town. Trixie's Great and Powerful School. Afternoon.
"Well, well. How can the Great and Powerful Trixie be of service to you all?" Trixie spoke whilst sitting in her chair. Currently, Ash and the others paid her a visit over one important thing.
Jirachi. Their quest for Jirachi was ramping up as they felt as if they were getting closer to the Wish Pokemon. Hopefully, they were. Twilight pouted her lips, knowing that this conversation with Trixie could go either way now that she was in the same room as her.
"Hello, Trixie..." Twilight sighed.
"Hi, Trixie!" Starlight had a different expression as she waved her hoof.
"Yeah, Trixie. You see, we've got something big in mind. And we need the help of you and your Zoroark." said Ash.
"And what would that be? State your request and I'll see if I have the time to do so."
"You see, we want to find Jirachi as soon as we can." Fluttershy flew forward. "And we know of one possible way we can do so. Jirachi could respond to one of its own kind. Another Jirachi. Some Pokemon respond well to the same species after all. Especially Legendary and Mythical Pokemon. Mostly Mythicals which are shy."
"Jirachi? Hm. Feels like I've heard that name before. Nopony would keep quiet about it. What's that all about?" Trixie drank some grape juice while relaxing on her chair. "And why should I help actually?"
"Because if you don't then the chances of us remembering the Pokemon and keeping the worlds' connected drops drastically." Starlight nudged Trixie. "Jirachi's the only Pokemon that can fix this."
"Hm. Good point." Trixie nodded, agreeing to their request. "Besides, this is where Trixie gets to shine. I'll be directly responsible for saving two worlds from memory erasure? How neat is that?!"
Trixie loves to stroke her own ego with any opportunity she can find. But she has toned it down over the months. Trixie used her magic to send out not one but 5 Poke Balls. Out of those Poke Balls came Zoroak and her 4 Zorua. She had been busy catching more than one Zorua ever since. And obviously, she had her trusty Mismagius with her, who was once a Misdreavus.
"Mismagius."
"Who's that Pokemon?" Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex.
"Mismagius. The Magical Pokemon. Its cries sound like incantations. Those hearing it are tormented by headaches and hallucinations. While they usually torment targets, some chants bring happiness. Mismagius have been known to cast spells to make people fall in love, so some people search for this Pokémon as if their life depended on it."
"So. What's the plan?" Trixie asked. "And where do we go?"
"We have two options. here in The Pokemon World or our world," said Rarity. "Well, actually, multiple. Jirachi could be anywhere in any region or land."
"Ah, don't worry." Trixie got off her seat with Zoroark carrying her. "I know how we can properly drag ut this Jirachi. We'll visit both worlds, but with a mega-sized approach."
"Mega-sized approach?" Pinkie and Rainbow Dash repeated.
"Just watch." A confident Trixie grinned as she generally had something in mind.
Unova. Pledge Grove. North of Floccessy Town. Afternoon.
Pledge Grove. The small forest-like location was one of these choices. Trixie chose it herself as part of her plan. And her plan would go something like this.
"Zoroark is a Master of Illusions. She won't just be able to mimic the appearance of a Jirachi, but also even the scenery too. The plan is simple. If we want this Jirachi Pokemon to come out, Zoroak will have to be larger than life. Literally." Trixie explained.
"Larger than life?" Ash pondered before getting it. "Oh! I get what you mean! Big enough to be seen everywhere, right?"
"Right. Everyone in the Pokemon World will see one big Jirachi. And if that doesn't work, there's always Equestria. My Zorua are already planning to do the same thing. One Zorua isn't enough. But multiple sure are enough to match Zoroark's illusion capabilities."
"Jirachi can be found in space too, right?" Twilight spoke as she was currently holding her Energy Tracker. It would help to find traces of Psychic-Type energy in case Jirachi does show up. "So, will it be big enough to go past the earth?"
"We'll just have to see." Trixie shrugged. "Show them how amazing you can be Zoroak." She then poked her head through the nearby gateway to Equestria. "You too, Zorua."
"Zorua!" Over at the nearby gateway, the Zorua were being watched by Applejack, Rarity, Goh, Spike and Pinkie Pie while Ash, Twilight, Starlight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were over at Zoroark's side.
"Is this really gonna work? That easily?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight.
"Think of this as a test." She answered. "This one might not work but we still have other plans to try and find Jirachi. Hopefully, they're effective. Right, Trixie?"
"Of course it'll be effective. My Pokemon are always effective." Trixie adjusted her hat. "Now! Begin!"
"Zoro...!" Zoroark and the rest of the Zorua were in perfect sync. By using their illusionary abilities, the two Dark-Types started transforming into one Pokemon.
Jirachi.
One Zorua became Jirachi while the rest would use their illusions to gigantify their fellow Tricky Fox Pokemon. Zoroark could do both by herself without issue. At the same time, the two Jirachi had started growing to planetary sizes, expanding past the natural landscapes.
Ash and the others backed up to see Zoroak grow. Soon, as they grew, everyone else nearby would notice. The Pokemon living in the grove and Equestria noticed this expansion as they had already moved past the clouds at this rate.
Nearby towns and villages gazed upon this growth. They all stopped what they were doing to look at this. How could they not look? Soon, cities would see this as well. Anville Town, Mistralton City, Manehattan, Vertress City, Themcolt, Appleloosa, the Changeling Hive and more.
Even Pegalysium saw this due to the massive height of this illusion.
"What the..." Garnet, Kaleidoscope and the other residents gazed at the sight of this sudden expansion. Every city and town in Pegalysium bared witness to it as well.
And over at Canterlot, Celestia knew what was happening. She gave an approving nod after seeing the Jirachi. Just like how they wanted, Pokemon were watching as the size matched and transcended the planet. The head of Jirachi was now poking out of the earth.
Everyone was watching, including Legendary and Mythical Pokemon that would be close. Rayquaza, who is mostly seen in space and way above the skies saw this. So did Deoxys and any Pokemon that happened to be roaming around the cosmos.
Over at Kyurem's Castle, Kyurem had seen this along with the Cryogonal. Plus, the Swords of Justice who were protecting their original world at the moment caught wind of this.
"Is that Jirachi?!" Keldeo gasped. "And when did it get so big?!"
"No. That is the same plan that Princess Twilight and the others gave out," said Cobalion. "Hopefully, the real Jirachi sees it."
Every region in the Pokemon World bared witness the suddenly giant Wish Pokemon just floating there. Delia came out of her home to see this along with Mimey. Professor Oak and everyone in Pallet Town did the same. Some weren't sure what was going on, however.
Yes, everyone did notice it. Especially two individuals who were in separate locations of both worlds. Both essentially the same Pokemon with similar origins but have never met each other.
Mewtwo.
They took notice of Jirachi, also knowing how it had the power to keep both worlds connected. Acting quickly, both Mewtwo had immediately gone after the gigantic Jirachi just to speak with it. They flew through the air simultaneously without even knowing, heading straight for the illusion that they couldn't see through, unfortunately.
But it wasn't just them. Team Plasma spotted this.
Colress never stopped his little spycam actions even after a majority of them had been obliterated. He had made sure to hide them in less predictable areas this time. Albeit a low number as compared to the previous abundance of spycams. And through those spycams, Colress had noticed Jirachi. Super-sized.
"This is interesting," Colress said. "The Pokemon that is the answer to all of their problems is right there. Larger than usual seemingly."
Colress took this chance. If there was ever a time to snag what was essentially the most important Pokemon in this entire cross-world event, now was the time. However, this time, Colress would make sure he and Team Plasma came with the right essentials. After all, they had previously tried chasing down Suicune and Zerarora. Suicune was a failure with Ash and the others interfering and Zeraora has yet to be found.
When aiming for Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, powerful equipment is needed. And after Team Plasma failed to capture Suicune along with the previous failures thanks to Ash and his friends meddling in their affairs, Colress had upgraded and learned from those failures.
Team Plasma would be making their way to the set location as soon as they could.
As for Ash and the others, Twilight's Energy Tracker was picking up not one, but two Psychic signatures. Little did she know, these were just Mewtwo. Both of them.
"Oh! I've got two Psychic ones!" Twilight gasped "I-I'm not sure which one's Jirachi though. Is it here or in Equestria?"
"Hmph. That only means one thing." Trixie crossed her hooves while standing in a bipedal position, smirking and laughing confidently. "The Great and Powerful Trixie and her Pokemon had managed to draw out two different Jirachi! Isn't that a milestone?"
"So do we get six wishes then if there's two?" Fluttershy asked, referring to the three pieces of paper that can always be found on Jirachi's head.
"It'd be pretty neat if we did." Rainbow Dash nodded, thinking of all the possibilities that she could have come true with Jirachi's wishing powers. Twilight and the others thought the same. They had their own ideas in mind, but it was mostly the wish of keeping both worlds connected that remained constant with them.
The Zorua were keeping the illusion up for as long as they could while one of them stayed there as a Jirachi, looking around. To many, it looked like Jirachi was lost with all of its head movements. Much like how a child was lost, looking for its mother. Or in this case, another Jirachi.
Pinkie Pie and the others looked around, waiting for Jirachi to potentially appear. Either from space or via sudden teleportation. Eventually, after 2 minutes, something was approaching.
But not what they were expecting.
Far off in the distance on both sides of the world, they could see two humanoid figures approaching. Audino's ears could hear the high-speed movements of something flying through the air. She immediately realized what this was.
"Audino!"
"Mewtwo?!" Fluttershy translated as everyone looked ahead. By squinting their eyes, they indeed saw the Genetic Pokemon Mewtwo approaching. Just like how they first met it. This Mewtwo was the one discovered 25 years.
"It is Mewtwo?!" Ash gasped as the Psychic-Type was approaching this location.
"What's a Mewtwo?" But Trixie had no clue who Mewtwo was.
"So if this one is Mewtwo..." Twilight said to herself, looking at the tracker. "Then Jirachi must be in Equestria! Right?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried out to Mewtwo after seeing his arrival. Mewtwo himself had seen the group, recognizing the familiar faces there. Minus Trixie. The Genetic Pokemon came to a screeching halt after breaking the sound barrier.
"Ash. All of you." Mewtwo spoke before looking up at the giant Jirachi. "Did you do it? Did you make the wish?"
"Hey, Mewtwo Sorry but it's not what it looks like," Ash replied. "That's not really Jirachi."
"No?"
"What kind of Pokemon is that...?" Trixie gawked at Mewtwo. His general appearance was slightly intimidating. Whether it's his steely stare or surprising height. Zoroark then removed the illusion, reverting to his original form afterwards. He revealed himself to Mewtwo.
"Zoroark."
"So, it was just an illusion by Zoroark."
"But this means that right past that gateway might be Jirachi," Twilight said, holding the energy tracker out to Mewtwo. "There's still a chance."
"Wait. You know about our wish?" Fluttershy asked.
"I know about Jirachi. And especially how it is the only Pokemon capable of keeping both worlds together. It was only logical that you would all pursue it."
"Yeah. If we can just ask Jirachi for that one wish, then this will all be over. Bummer we couldn't find it today. And sorry for dragging you out here, Mewtwo." Ash apologized.
"Pikachu."
"Do not apologize. You're just trying to keep your friends and precious memories in whatever way you can." Mewtwo smiled, causing everyone to heave sighs of relief. "Now. About the other world? Jirachi is there too?"
"There's a second Psychic signature. So it has to be Jirachi. Only one way to find out!" Twilight immediately ran through the gateway with Espeon by her side. Ash and the others did the same, hoping to find Jirachi there.
Mewtwo essentially had the same idea as them. It was against the Rift but could see new bonds that Pokemon made with the residents of the other world, even if he was judgemental. Mewtwo was all for making the Pokemon happy. And seeing them more than upset and instead, losing their precious memories was something he couldn't allow. Thus, Mewtwo also moved through the gateway.
However, as soon as they got there, they saw Pinkie Pie and the others with open jaws. They were shocked as their eyes had witnessed something else. Soon Ash and the others saw it too.
The other Mewtwo.
"Hm?" She looked over at the gateway and the individuals that passed through. And just like that, both Mewtwo had seen each other. Both were made by scientists inside of labs. The only difference was that one of them was capable of Mega Evolving.
The two Mewtwo looked at each other with open mouths and shocked expressions. In all their years of roaming around, helping other Pokemon and witnessing various events, this was one scenario that they would least expect. Seeing another of their kind that was not a Mew.
"Whoareyou?" They both said before pointing at each other.
"Wait...Mewtwo?" Ash said before recognizing the other voice. He remembered the Mewtwo he met over 8 years ago during the Genesect debacle. "Oh! You're that Mewtwo!"
"Pika!"
"Oooh. This is interesting." Pinkie Pie grinned, moving head from both Mewtwo as Mew flew around his clones.
"Mew-Mew!"
"So it's not Jirachi. Darn." Twilight sighed as disappointment hit her heart. This was the fourth time she had misled herself to believe that Jirachi was close. "Why do I keep falling for this?" She wasn't even shocked by the presence of two Mewtwo.
"I thought I was the only one. How is this possible?"
"Wait. You spoke of this before." She turned to Pinkie Pie and the others, recalling their first meeting at the fields of Equestria. "Of how there was another one of me out there. And here I thought that was a myth."
"How great is this?!" Pinkie Pie got in the middle of the two Genetic Pokemon. "I told you we'd meet up again uh...First Mewtwo. Now we've got two of you meeting for the first time? Isn't this sweet? Mew thinks so too!"
"Mew! Mew-Mew!" Mew flew in front of the first Mewtwo, waving. This was not the same Mew Mewtwo met 25 years ago. But another one. However, he was still related either way. Mew also just enjoyed being around Mewtwo, as if they were bonded by their similar genes.
The two Mewtwo looked at each other for a moment. This was a lot to process despite it being easy to understand. Ironic considering their intelligence. They never thought they would meet another like them, apart from Mew. They gave each other stares as the atmosphere was silent for a bit. That is until something happened. They both held their hands out to greet each other.
"Well. This is a surprise. But a welcome one." He said while shaking her hand. It felt odd making contact with someone who was essentially the same entity as him.
"Right. I feel a bit at ease for seeing another one of me. Uh, minus you Mew."
"Mew."
"Were you dragged out here by an illusion as well?"
"I was. To find Jirachi. Seems we were both aiming to give out the same wish, weren't we? Your illusion trick worked well, all of you. Sorry to disappoint that we aren't the Psychic-Type you're looking for."
"Ah, pssh! Don't worry about it." Pinkie Pie flailed her hoof as Trixie pouted. Her illusion was effective and it did bring out Legendary Pokemon. Just not the one she was hoping for. Soon, she and Twilight felt the same way.
"Phooey." Twilight and Trixie said.
"If there's two of them now, what do we call them?" Starlight asked. "Saying Mewtwo and Mewtwo is just a bit repetitive, don't you think?"
"There's no plural for Mewtwo is there?" Rarity pondered. "Mewtwos? M-Mewlings? A flock of Mewtwo?" She had a hard time coming up or thinking of something that would work for these two. Unlike most Pokemon, Mewtwo is rare as two Legendary Pokemon of the same species are rarely if ever seen in the same location as each other. "What was that nickname you gave the second Mewtwo, Pinkie Pie?"
"Oh yeah. I called her Mewie last time. But how about..." Pinkie dug deep through the library of nicknames in her mind. Then, she had something in mind. Since the Second Mewtwo was a bit younger than the First Mewtwo in terms of their creation, there was only one logical nickname. "I got it! Newtwo!"
"Newtwo?" They all repeated, facing Pinkie.
"Please do not call me that." Newtwo wasn't fond of that name. But at least it was less embarrassing than Mewie which had a cutesy feel to it. "At least it's better than Mewie I suppose."
"Nice to meet you. Newtwo." Just then, Mewtwo started playing along to this name as a smile met with his face. Despite his seemingly cold heart, Mewtwo had a joking side to him. After all, he was a clone of Mew, so the playful side was lurking in there somewhere.
Newtwo lowered her eyes after hearing Mewtwo call her that. Unfortunately for her, she would now be known as Newtwo for a long time. Possibly forever.
They then sat down on some rocks, deciding to spend some time around each other. Why wouldn't they? If there was another of them right in front of their eyes, they would most certainly take the time to be around them. Twilight placed the Energy Tracker in her bag, declaring this plan as a failure.
"That's the first plan to bring Jirachi out of the picture. Maybe Celestia's way of fine-tuning it can work...I don't know." Twilight sighed.
"Don't worry, Twilight." Ash went up to her. "We can always try again but even better next time."
"Pikachu."
"So. You were made by Team Plasma?"
"Commissioned to be made. They had secret scientists somewhere in Unova just to work on me. However, they aimed to make me greater than the first Mewtwo made in New Island from Team Rocket. That would be you. For me to better, they gave me the power of Mega Evolution. Team Plasma had discovered my Mega Evolution by using small stones that had their energy within them. After making that discovery, they used it on me. The Mega Stone inside of me is essentially a part of me."
"I see. Seems that both Team Rocket and Team Plasma are to somewhat thank for our creation. I am a bit jealous that I am exempt from Mega Evolution. What do you do exactly? I made a duty for myself to take care of Pokemon."
"I roam by myself. I have nothing to take care of. I occasionally spend time with some Pokemon when flying by but...that's about it. Why don't you roam around freely? You and I were cut from the same cloth with an identical purpose. So you should be free to be wherever."
"We are identical yes." Mewtwo nodded with a smile. "But I suppose we don't share the same goals. I seek freedom, yes. But, I also wish to protect the Pokemon. Give them a safe haven and keep them from harm. Exploring the world detract me from that. The only time I truly move around is when searching for new lands to keep them safe or search for food."
"I've never seen Mewtwo smile so much. Have you, Ash?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, I've seen them smile but not all the time. Being around each other since they're the same brings it out of them, huh?"
"Pika-Pika." Pikachu agreed as the Mewtwo kept conversing.
However, as the Mewtwo started speaking with each other, far off in the distance, something was approaching. Something unpleasant in response to the giant Jirachi which was now gone.
Team Plasma.
The Plasma Frigate was moving through the skies with 50 Team Plasma airships beside it. Since these were Legendary Pokemon, holding back was not an option. Colress was manning the Frigate as it was the main one.
Within the Plasma Frigate and airships, the many Team Plasma members were ready to nab themselves a Jirachi. Especially Colress. All for Ghetsis. Colress noticed the sudden disappearance of Jirachi as he had his computer zoom in to see if Jirachi was still around. He believed that Jirachi may have just returned to its normal size.
But as his computer zoomed in, he found something that wasn't as great as Jirachi, but still wonderful either way. Something that he could take the chance of.
The two Mewtwo.
The one made by Team Rocket and the one made by Team Plasma. Sitting in one location. And of course, Ash and the others were there with them.
"Oh. This is interesting." Colress smirked. "Well, it's a good thing we have strong firepower for not one but two Mewtwo. And especially the one we made."
Colress then decided to contact Ghetsis before making a move. The reason for this was because this supposed firepower for the two Mewtwo needed clarity and confirmation from Ghetsis. Meaning that it was truly something powerful.
"Colress. What is it?" Ghetsis' face appeared on the screen. He was still in the human world parallel to Equestria.
"Lord Ghetsis. Excuse me for interrupting your training but...may I be allowed to use Shadow Mewtwo?"
"Shadow Mewtwo?" Ghetsis narrowed his eyes. "I gave you the right to take charge of Team Plasma yes. But why would you need the assistance Shadow Mewtwo exactly?"
"Because we have found the original Mewtwo. Two of them. The one that we made and the one from Team Rocket. Such powerful Pokemon would require even greater power to stop them, wouldn't it?"
"Hmph. That cursed Mewtwo. I was meant to control it and its Mega Evolution." Ghetsis scoffed. "Shadow Mewtwo is a better substitute anyway. But...having three Mewtwo wouldn't hurt. How is the control of Shadow Mewtwo?"
"It has great resistance Lord Ghetsis. It took us months to even try and mind control it for you. The mind control is incomplete but one more week and it should be fully converted. It's tolerant at best now."
"Use it. If it's that close to being under my control, then use it to crush the other Mewtwo. I will allow this if it means they can both be under my control."
"Yes, Lord Ghetsis. Oh, one more thing. Ash Ketchum and his friends are in the same area as them? What about that?"
"Because of course they are." Ghetsis groaned. "Do whatever you must to obtain them, even if those meddling brats are in the way. Besides...there is no way they can stop Shadow Mewtwo with what we have done to it." With that Ghetsis had left the computer screen, leaving Colress to handle everything.
Colress would gladly take the opportunity to deal with Ash and company while also obtaining both Mewtwo. He looked behind him as Shadow Mewtwo could be seen resting in one of the tubes with its eyes half-open.
"Well, Mewtwo. It's your lucky day to finally prove yourself as a Team Plasma Pokemon." Colress said to Shadow Mewtwo before turning around. "But first. How about we catch them off guard?"
He had then gone over to the table that had multiple Ultra Balls around. Within them was a Legendary and Mythical Pokemon for each situation. Colress picked two of them before facing the tubes. Some of these tubes were connected to the ship's computer for one reason. He then released the two Pokemon inside as they entered the tubes.
Articuno and Regice. Each from a different universe. Somewhere out there, a world was missing their Articuno and Regice to maintain the balance. But of course, Team Plasma did not care as the tubes stated gathering the energy of both Articuno and Regice.
The Plasma Frigate had unleashed its newest addition. A weapon. One that was made to cause mass destruction. This weapon had no physical source like a cannon or anything like that. Instead, it was the blue tip at the front of the ship. Colress then activated the ship's weapon, ready to catch the group off guard.
At the tip of the ship, a red sphere of Infinity Energy could be seen forming. It had ice surrounding it. Colress then caused the tip to adjust as it faced downwards. Audino started picking up on something. She could hear the sound of something charging up.
"Audino?"
After facing the ground, he unleashed the weapon. Out of it, a gigantic red beam with ice came flying out. The beam moved at light speed, hitting the ground. But instead of causing an explosion, this was where the ice came into play. This weapon, at least this part of it, was meant to do one thing.
Cause a flash freeze.
In just a few seconds, the landscape was being turned to ice rapidly. From the hills, grass, trees and even the water. Nothing was safe as the ice was rapidly moving.
Soon, everyone else noticed this with Audino standing up, pointing ahead. "Dino! Audino!"
"What the?!" Ash gasped. "What's going on?!"
"Pika?!"
"That's way too much ice!" Rainbow Dash pulled back as the ice was covering the entire landscape instead of parts of it. Colress chuckled, knowing how powerful this weapon was.
"How's that?!" He laughed. "With the power of Articuno and Regice, this whole land will become nothing but a frozen landscape in seconds! Let's see you try and counter that."
"Everyone! Get behind me!" Mewtwo flew in front of everyone, believing he could stop this mass array of ice before it gets out of hand.
He had put his hands out, using Psychic to try and hold back or destroy the ice. And with his amazing strength, he could. However, this ice had the power of two Legendary Pokemon behind it. Even Mewtwo would find difficulty in hold it back. And he did.
He managed to hold the ice in place with Psychic, stopping it before it could spread. After stopping it, the Genetic Pokemon removed the hold as he had successfully halted the flash freeze. But he was surprised that it took some struggling. Mewtwo had the power to cause tsunamis, hurricanes and end the world at any time. He believed that a mere flash freeze was child's play.
Colress saw how Mewtwo had slightly struggled with holding it back. That was a good sign to him. After seeing that, he unleashed the weapon once more with another flash freeze emerging. And this time, he made sure that the overwhelming pressure would be greater for Mewtwo to handle.
And the airships were involved too. They had weapons but on a smaller scale compared to the Plasma Frigate. Immediately, all 50 of them were loaded under Colress' order. Eventually, the ships were coming into view as Ash and the others had seen them arrive.
"Team Plasma!" Ash bellowed.
"Pika-Ka!"
"What's ith all of those ships?!" Rainbow Dash was shocked by the outstanding number of aerial ships in the sky. A total of 51. And once they had been seen, the ships started firing at the group.
The main usage of ammunition for Team Plasma was also based on Infinity Energy. Colress was certainly busy. Pokemon that they had captured were being used to power these weapons with all the Infinity Energy they needed.
"!" Mewtwo then put up a large barrier around him and everyone else for protection. And in the nick of time too. Right as he had made this barrier, the beams of Infinity Energy started pelting it with a vicious onslaught.
Mewtwo was certainly strong enough to hold them back, even if some of those were from Dark-Types. Mewtwo also managed to reflect some of them.
Mewtwo managed to blow away all of the incoming rays as they even struck the ships that had fired them too. The ships had been damaged by their own attacks as Mewtwo lowered the barrier. The onslaught had ended for now.
"Tch." Colress kissed his teeth."Show off. Well, it's fine. We have the superior Pokemon here after all."
"They must've come here in response to the fake Jirachi," said Newtwo. "Seems everyone fell for it."
"Impressive right?" Trixie chuckled, feeling proud of herself before realizing that she was a part of a Team Plasma attack. Her first one too. Not something she would be proud to remember.
"Even if they won't find Jirachi, they'll definitely come after you two." Fluttershy looked at the two Mewtwo. The two Mewtwo nodded in agreement, knowing that they were massive targets out in the open. "You should go and-"
"No. We'll stay." Mewtwo and Newtwo chose to stay behind. After all, they had no reason to run considering how powerful they were. They never retreat anyway. "All we have to do is take out all 51 of those ships. And saving the Pokemon inside, of course."
"Sounds like it will be our first time battling together. I feel somewhat honoured to get to work alongside my other-self. Even if I am a clone of a clone." Newtwo smiled as Mewtwo smiled back. "How does fighting side by side with another Mewtwo sound?"
"Hm. I could do that." Mewtwo nodded as they both faced the ships. They would obviously appreciate the help of Ash and the others. But they didn't need to ask them since they knew how they were already. They would help either way. With that, the two Mewtwo took off from the ground like rockets, flying straight towards the ships.
"Huh?! Wait! They're coming straight for us?!" Colress pulled back. "He was hoping that he would come to them. He adjusted his glasses before facing Shadow Mewtwo. It was time for him to use Shadow Mewtwo for this very moment.
The two Mewtwo had simultaneously covered their bodies in Psychic energy before charging through four ships as their first attack. Their incredible speed and the coating around them allowed the duo to easily break through the airships. Massive holes had been made. Unfortunately, they could not use their full strength as to not harm the Pokemon inside of them. Thus, they had to hold back for their sake.
"Oohoo!" Ash and the others gawked at the two Mewtwo flying around. "Awesome!"
"Pikachu!"
The ships tried shooting both Mewtwo down with beams, only for the duo to effortlessly evade them. But there was an abundance of them, meaning that they could not dodge forever.
"The one at the centre seems to be the most important," Newtwo observed. "How about we deal with the biggest threat here?"
"Right." Mewtwo agreed as they both went straight for the Plasma Frigate. This time, they would land on the ship to also save the Pokemon in them. Charging through wasn't an option this time.
As they landed on the ship, looking stylish while doing so, Colress was already there, prepared for them. He stood at the deck of the ship with his hands behind his back. Once the Mewtwo landed, their pressure caused Colress' coat to blow in the wind.
He did not look bothered when coming face to face with two extremely powerful Pokemon. Not at all. That was because he had another powerful Pokemon by his side. One that was perhaps greater than the duo.
"Mewtwo. Both of you. Nice to meet you." Colress greeted. "Oh, that rhymed."
"I remember you. Colress." Newtwo narrowed her eyes before standing upright. "I've heard talks about you during my time in the lab You were the one to grant me Mega Evolution, weren't you?"
"Oh, right on that. This is our first time properly meeting, Mewtwo. And um...Mewtwo." He bowed. "How good is this luck since both of you are present here?"
"There is no luck for someone like you. Especially since you came here hoping for a wish from Jirachi."
"Hmph. It is a shame that there wasn't a Jirachi. Just some Zoroark and Zorua. But that's fine. Eventually, we will find Jirachi. It can't evade us forever. But, we have greater substitutes for Jirachi's absence." Colress cleaned his glasses. "One day, we aim to gather the Infinite power from Victini for ourselves. Or even the power to live forever from either Ho-oh or Xerneas."
"Is that all you aim for Legendary Pokemon that will give you seemingly endless power?"
"Why else? Legendary Pokemon and to an extent Mythical Pokemon are the greatest source of power anyone could wish for. The ability to have endless energy and always win, immortality, control of time and space itself and nature overall. How can someone resist? And to think...we can have all of that with just the usage of these tiny objects." He then held out a Poke Ball.
Indeed. So much power from the Pokemon can be contained in something made to befriend and calm down Pokemon in the first place. Mewtwo took offence to that as he had crushed the Poke Ball with his Psychic crush.
"Hmph. Bitter. But that's fine. Eventually, or very soon, you two will have someone to look up to. As your superior."
"We'll never look up to you ever."
"Oh no. Not me." Colress shooks his head before stepping aside, revealing an entity hiding with the shadows and emerging on the upper deck. "Him."
Shadow Mewtwo.
Naturally, the two Mewtwo were thrown off guard. Now they had met yet another one of their kind in the same day. But this one was different from them. Especially with the Synergy Stone engraved in his skin. They stood there in awe and amazement with another Mewtwo here. But this one wasn't here to chat.
Equestria. Out in the mountains. The Plasma Frigate. Afternoon.
Shadow Mewtwo. A Mewtwo that is obscured from the other two that are facing down with it. The first Mewtwo made by Team Rocket 25 years ago and the second Mewtwo made by Team Plasma more than 8 years ago. Also known as Newtwo as dubbed by Pinkie Pie.
Mewtwo and Newtwo now face down against Shadow Mewtwo. Another one of their species that was once considered a one of a kind species of Pokemon. But it seems that was slowly shifting.
"Another Mewtwo?!" Newtwo gasped.
"The better Mewtwo. Shadow Mewtwo if you will. A Mewtwo that had been born after being possessed by something known as the Shadow Synergy Stone, merging with it. Not only does he have its power but the ability to Mega Evolve as well." Colress explained. "Who needs multiple Pokemon to deal with you when you just need one? Essentially yourself. Now Shadow Mewtwo. You are loyal to Lord Ghetsis and Team Plasma overall. So you know what to do."
"You're just mind-controlling him. We can see it clearly." Mewtwo said, looking at Shadow Mewtwo's glowing eyes. "If anything, this is against his will."
"Right on that." Colress snapped his fingers. "But I'll make sure that doesn't change. As for you two, you'll go well with Lord Ghetsis' future team. Think about. One a Dark Mega Mewtwo X. The other, a Mega Mewtwo Y. And the last one a normal Mewtwo. The only thing missing will be a normal Mega Mega Mewtwo X. But aside from that, it would look matching, wouldn't it?"
"Newtwo. We should take this somewhere else. If all three of us end up battling, the Pokemon living here along with the landscape will be obliterated immediately. We need to find somewhere to deal with this Shadow Mewtwo. At least high above the skies might work.
"I told you not to call me Newtwo. But I don't see anywhere else but the skies. Even passing through the gateway means putting our original world in danger. I don't see any other scenario where we head somewhere else without Pokemon. Even in the skies, we risk the chance of harming the Flying-Type Pokemon. So be careful."
"Of course I'll be careful. It-" But just as Mewtwo was about to finish his sentence, in the blink of an eye, faster than he could usually react, Shadow Mewtwo had appeared right in front of him.
Everything slowed down for a moment. Mewtwo's mind started processing what was going on. It was like Shadow Mewtwo melted into the air, unable to be detected. Shadow Mewtwo went over to grab Mewtwo's face with a Shadow Ball up and ready.
But, thankfully, Mewtwo was eventually able to keep up as he flew back. Right in the nick of time. Shadow Ball had just been unleashed, hitting the walls of the upper deck and causing a black explosion. Colress left the upper deck, leaving everything to Shadow Mewtwo. Newtwo also moved away after the initial explosion.
Shadow Mewtwo then looked up at his cloned variations before raising his arms. By raising his arms, the corrupted and mind-controlled Mewtwo made a radius of pillars erupt from the deck, damaging it in the process. Mewtwo and Newtwo narrowly evaded these pillars as they broke through the clouds.
"We should snap him out of it since he's under mind control!" Newtwo exclaimed while hovering through the air. "How good is your mind control?!"
"I was able to control a Nurse Joy once but that's about it!" Mewtwo replied. Right as he replied, Shadow Mewtwo left the floor of the upper deck, flying straight towards the duo. The corrupted Mewtwo had then used what seemed to be Flamethrower. He had spurt fire from his palm as it had maintained a horizontal movement.
Newtwo had put up a barrier, pushing the flames back. After Flamethrower had been negated, Shadow Mewtwo had then teleported above his clone. Newtwo specifically. Newtwo gasped before surrounding herself with the barrier.
However, Shadow Mewtwo had grabbed the barrier despite Newtwo being inside of it. And like a ball, he had thrown the barrier and Newtwo towards Mewtwo with full force. Newtwo's barrier ended up hitting her fellow Mewtwo as they both crashed into the walls of the upper deck.
After they hit the walls with Newtwo lowering the barrier, Shadow Mewtwo didn't waste any time attacking. The corrupted Mewtwo had then used Psywave but in the shape of a blade. He had absorbs the Psywave itself, converting it into a different shape as he now had a blade. Two of them. Both on each hand as he flew towards his targets.
Mewtwo shoved Newtwo aside to save her as he used Psytrike to try and push Shadow Mewtwo away. Mewtwo created a white force field that expanded rapidly from his body. It was meant to explode on Shadow Mewtwo, but that didn't come to fruition.
Instead, Shadow Mewtwo's Psywaves had cut the Psystrike in half. Mewtwo's own signature move had been overpowered, shocking him as that has never happened. As Mewtwo gasped, he had been slashed by the Psywaves two times. Shadow Mewtwo then kicked his fellow clone into the air as Mewtwo started spinning.
"Mewtwo!" Newtwo gasped, aiming to catch Mewtwo and prevent him from being harmed. However, Shadow Mewtwo acted fast, putting his hand to the side and unleashing Flamethrower. A burst of flames came flying out as Newtwo quickly put up her arms for protection.
The flames had pushed her back, burning the wood of the Plasma Frigate as well. Newtwo's hands felt scorched as she then lowered them. But as soon as she did, those same pillars emerged from the floor, engulfing her. Newtwo cried out while being punished by these pillars. Afterwards, they had erupted with a golden explosion as Mewtwo tumbled on the floor, almost falling off the ship.
Colress observed everything from his monitor while grinning. He was not worried about Shadow Mewtwo losing. But he was right to be cautious about the mind control being overpowered. However, he had a contingency for that.
"Try as you might...with this indicator, I can tell when Shadow Mewtwo's control is on the verge of being broken." Colress held up a metallic stick that multiple bars on it. "One touch of this and the control will return as if nothing happened."
Meanwhile, Ash and the others looked up to see the scuffle happening above. They witnessed golden lights and constant Psychic waves flying about. The ships had also stopped attacking suddenly, no longer firing their beams.
"What is happening up there?" Rarity wondered as they all squinted their eyes. "Are the Mewtwo okay?"
"Every other ship's stopped all of a sudden." Twilight observed. "Maybe they're all focused on just Mewtwo and Newtwo.
"I'll go and check." Rainbow Dash chose to check up on Mewtwo and Newtwo. But she wouldn't get close to the ships. Instead, she would just stay a far distance while in the air.
"Be careful, Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy cried out.
"No pr-" Just as Rainbow Dash ascending, a loud explosion came from the ship with a massive wooden floorboard flying through the air. The floorboard almost struck Rainbow Dash as she instinctively managed to move out of the way. "Woah!"
A close call. The floorboard had then crashed into a hill, breaking afterwards. Rainbow Dash had a shocked poker face before gazing up at the location of the explosion. A massive smoke cloud could be seen afterwards.
And out of that smoke was both Mewtwo and Newtwo each. They were still there but they were not having the best of times. Everyone gasped after seeing them hurt. But more than that, they had also seen another Pokemon fly through.
Their first time seeing Shadow Mewtwo.
The corrupted Pokemon flew through the smoke before grabbing both of his clones. By holding their legs, he then tossed them back onto the Plasma Frigate at full force.
"Is that...another Mewtwo?" Spike gawked.
"Yeah but it's different." Ash took out his Pokedex, trying to read the data of this Mewtwo. But he was met with just one response.
"Data not found."
"Data not found? So it's a new kind of Mewtwo!?" Ash looked at the Pokedex before gazing up at the sky once more.
"Pika?!"
Back on the Plasma Frigate, Shadow Mewtwo had flung three shocks of electricity by using Thunder. The three shocks zoomed towards their targets. Newtwo quickly countered by using Aura Sphere to destroy them both.
Mewtwo then got up from the floor, using Shadow Ball. Two of them. He summoned two Shadow Balls, hurling them at Shadow Mewtwo. The corrupted Mewtwo seemed unbothered as he had cut the blobs of shadows with his Psywave blades.
And speaking of Psywave, he had then used Psywave differently. A vortex. Once again Shadow Mewtwo absorbed the Psywave and spun into a tornado of dark energy. This dark tornado started tearing up the floor of the upper deck, even going past that and reaching the other floors as well.
Mewtwo got in front of Newtwo, using Hurricane to retaliate. He put his hands out, summoning a giant gale that had matched the size of the tornado. Both forms of wind had wrapped around each other before cancelling out.
After they had vanished, Shadow Mewtwo dashed midair towards his clones, then drilled downward feet first. Mewtwo quickly used Poison Jab to counteract this incoming attack. He managed to force his clone away after the initial collision as Shadow Mewtwo flew back. Newtwo then followed up by using Aura Sphere, sending multiple shares of Aura upwards.
But, there was a response to that. The corrupt Mewtwo had used those blades again. But this time, in the form of Fire and Ice instead of Psywave. He had absorbed Flamethrower and Ice Punch to make this possible. He then cut the spheres in half as they had separated, crashing into the floor and blowing up.
"Is there nothing he can't do?!" Newtwo gasped.
"He's like us. But much like us and every Pokemon, he's not unstoppable." Mewtwo said before standing upright. Shadow Mewtwo hovered there with those Fire and Ice blades out. Mewtwo and Newtwo started coming up with a plan to deal with their corrupted kin.
They did this telepathically instead of speaking out loud. After going through their plan and with approving nods, both of them enacted their plan. And it started with Newtwo using Mist. By putting her hands together, she formed a thick white mist that had cloaked a majority if not all of the upper deck. Even the skies themselves.
Shadow Mewtwo covered his eyes before using his tornado to blow away the mist. But once he did so, Mewtwo was gone with Newtwo approaching. The corrupted Mewtwo gasped, realizing that Mewtwo was behind him.
Both of the regular Genetic Pokemon had used Thunder Wave in the form of whips. They mimicked what Shadow Mewtwo had done with Psywave, Flamethrower and Ice Punch, altering the natural shapes of this paralyzing Electric-type attack.
Before he could turn around to face Mewtwo, Shadow Mewtwo's arms and legs were restrained by multiple whips of electricity. Once they wrapped around him, they immediately paralyzed the corrupt Pokemon. That would slow him down for a bit as he winced.
After doing so, Newtwo moved in with a Brutal Swing. She had swung her dark-coated hand with darkness, striking the corrupt Mewtwo while he was still restrained. Shadow Mewtwo had finally taken some damage as his eyes widened after the initial hit. Felt like getting slapped by a train to him.
After being hit by Brutal Swing, Newtwo did it again, this time coating her tail in darkness and whipping Shadow Mewtwo. Following up from that, Mewtwo had then tossed Shadow Mewtwo into the air with the whips of Thunder Wave.
Shadow Mewtwo struggled to use his natural speed due to paralysis as the two Mewtwo then chased after their kin. It was their turn to overwhelm him. Both of them used Psycho Cut at the same time, covering their arms in Psychic energy. After doing so, they started giving Shadow Mewtwo a flurry of Psychic hits by repeatedly walloping his stomach.
Shadow Mewtwo growled as his stomach was taking more punishment than usual. In response, the corrupt Mewtwo had then used Reflect in a split second, summoning a giant reflective screen in front of him. When the next hit from the duo came, the screen reflected them, forcing the two Mewtwo to a lower level.
Afterwards, Shadow Mewtwo amped things up with his destructive capabilities. He raised both his arms before crossing them in a swiping motion. Shadow Mewtwo had used Psystrike. Not once. Not twice. But three times. Two gigantic fields of Psychic energy exuded out of his body as they rapidly travelled with volatile destructive power.
Colress realized this as he had put a shield around the Frigate for protection. Everyone else on each ship did the same to try and nullify the damage. The Psystrike had struck both Mewtwo as they had put their hands out to try and stop it with their Psystrike. Only for Shadow Mewtwo's to easily overpower them.
As the Psystrike expanded, it was reaching the lower lands. Ash and the others quickly realized the approaching destructive field. They all made the smart and conscious decision to run for it. The hills and mountains were being obliterated this gigantic field as the shields on the ships would not nullify something this powerful. But the Frigate would.
Mewtwo and Newtwo realized that the Pokemon onboard were in danger of being obliterated. Not only that but the Pokemon on land even the sky as well if something wasn't done. So, they dug deep, exuding more Psychic power to try and prevent that from happening. Both of their eyes glowed purple as they had just barely destroyed the barrier of Psystrike. But at the cost of harming themselves.
The duo had crashed into the ground after stopping Psytrike. A large dust cloud formed after their crash landing which was right near Ash and the others. Craters had also been formed.
"Mewtwo! Newtwo!" Ash ran over, seeing how they were both on the ground.
"Pika-Pikachu?!"
"A-Ash. Pikachu." Mewtwo groaned before looking up at Ash and Pikachu. He had scratchers and tatters on him which was rare for a Pokemon like Mewtwo. Ash and Pikachu had never seen him or Newtwo like this before. "Get the Pokemon off the ships. As long as they're there, we both can't perform at our best. Even if you can't save them all."
"Yeah. I gotcha." Ash helped Mewtwo up as everyone else nodded, knowing what they needed to do. But as Mewtwo was helped up, descending to the ground with his own fearsome crash landing was Shadow Mewtwo.
He made a pressuring entrance with his landing as everyone's hair had been blown in the wind. Shadow Mewtwo was finally on the ground level. They had bared witness to Shadow Mewtwo at their level. And it was safe to say that he was here for them as well.
"Pika...!" Pikachu's red sacs started giving off electricity as he wasn't scared of this corrupted Mewtwo.
"Don't, Pikachu." But Ash stopped him. "Let's focus on getting all the Pokemon out of there."
"I keep a Travel Sphere just in case," said Twilight. "We can try and use that to send them through to the other world for safety. But there are so many ships to try and use it."
"Do it. We'll provide a way for you to send them all through." Newtwo stood up, wiping the dust off of her. She could see that Shadow Mewtwo by himself was enough for two Mewtwo. So, to get the upper hand, Newtwo had finally used her Mega Stone.
The Mewtwonite Y.
Since it was within her, she didn't need a second stone to activate it. She did it by will. The red and gold lights of Mega Evolution wrapped around the Genetic Pokemon as everyone witnessed the emerge of Mega Mewtwo Y.
But, Shadow Mewtwo had the same thing in-store. He tapped into both the Synergy Stone and Mewtwonite X within his body. After doing so, his energy started warping the area itself. With his amazing power, Mewtwo had formed a mysterious subspace rift that started turning the floor into what seemed to be crystals.
Everyone looked around them, seeing the area being altered. These crystals were actually all Synergy Stone Shards instead of random crystals as mountains of them were being made, replacing the already existing mountains in this landscape. The lake had been covered by this new area, blocking off the water. The sky was suddenly black with cosmic vortexes flowing around.
Shadow Mewtwo did not replace this land. Instead, he had brought everyone else somewhere different.
"What is this?!" Ash looked around at this subspace that had a dark and foreboding sense to it. Everyone else believed that Mewtwo had replaced everything.
"Did he change it all?!" Starlight gasped. "Is all of Equestria-"
"No. He sent us to another dimension." Mewtwo and Newtwo were able to tell immediately. "This is his subspace. We're in his world now."
Shadow Mewtwo then stepped forward as the Mewtwonite X and Synergy Stone had wrapped around him. As he walked forward, the subspace was trembling with shards rising from Shadow Mewtwo's growing power. And in a flash, he had Mega Evolved into Mega Mewtwo X.
He had a seemingly broader posture and a more muscular appearance. However, orange shards of the Shadow Synergy Stone were now shoved up all across Shadow Mewtwo's body as orange veins coursed along his body, arms and legs. Purple energy and black accents now surrounded Shadow Mewtwo, while the outline of him occasionally pulsated a cyan colour.
"Another Mega Evolution?" Spike gaped. "W-Which one is that?"
"I wasn't aware that there was a second one. So this was the Mega Mewtwo X Colress mentioned."
"Wait! How are we gonna get out of here?!" Pinkie Pie squealed.
"With this." Mewtwo held his hand out, covering Ash and everyone in Psychic energy. He could send them out of this dimension and back to reality. "Go. And save the rest of the Pokemon. At least in here, we can't worry about harming anyone else."
"Alright. Good luck, you two!" Ash said before he and the others were sent back to reality. Now it was just the three Mewtwo. One was not Mega Evolved while two were.
Shadow Mewtwo then stopped walking before standing face to face with what he would consider his lesser kin. But of course, he wasn't in his right mind thanks to Colress.
"Follow my lead, Mewtwo. You don't want to lag behind us Mega Pokemon, do you?"
"Hmph. Don't get cocky because you have Mega Evolution. I'm capable enough on my own." Mewtwo gave a snarky retort as the two of them then challenged Shadow Mewtwo in this lone subspace.
Reality.
Meanwhile, after being sent out to reality, Ash and the others were dropped off near a hill. Right out of Team Plasma's sight. Team Plasma and Colress were shocked to see that Shadow Mewtwo and the others had vanished. But they were unaware of Ash and company returning.
"Okay. Leave everything to Mewtwo and Newtwo. Let's find a way to get all the Pokemon from those ships free." Ash said.
"But how? I mean, that's 51 ships in total." Starlight asked. "We only have one Travel Sphere too."
"Let's just get some more." Rainbow Dash suggested. "We'll make a bunch of gateways then get all of the Pokemon through and deck some ships in the process."
"Or you know...let's just leave it to the Mewtwo." Trixie shuddered as everypony faced her. "They're strong enough right?"
"Not strong enough if just one Mewtwo can give them trouble. And after we struggled with one months ago." Twilight pointed her hoof at herself before thinking of a plan. "There's another way. Princess Celestia has some extra Travel Spheres just in case. Plus, there's also Reshiram and Zekrom."
"Oh yeah. What happened with those two? I don't see them around Canterlot anymore." Spike asked.
"Reshiram and Zekrom were sent to help the other universes stop the Empress' forces. They've been busy moving around from world to world."
"So they're occupied. Great." Applejack sighed.
"Not entirely. All they need is a word from Princess Celestia." Twilight cleared her throat as she now had a proper plan for this situation while the Mewtwo take care of the hard part. "Having extra support doesn't help either. As long as we can get them to leave while having the Pokemon safe, then it'll be fine. Trixie."
"What?" Trixie shot up with another gasp as she was still processing the situation she was in.
"Can you help with your illusion one more time?"
"Well..." Trixie bit her hoof before thinking about it. "Despite how intimidated she looked in this situation, this wasn't too overwhelming for her. After all, she had experienced an invasion. However, Trixie did want to boost her reputation so that her students would find her amazing and have more ponies come to her Great and Powerful School. Plus, she'd also be a great friend in front of Starlight. A grin graced her face. "Sure. Why not? I'm already an honorary hero after that invasion."
"Good. Pinkie Pie. I'll need you and Mew to help Trixie with this."
"You got it!" Pinkie Pie saluted.
"Mew-Mew!"
Shadow Mewtwo's Subspace. The Dark Colosseum.
Currently, even with the power of Mega Evolution on their side, both Mewtwo were still struggling against Shadow Mewtwo in his Mega Evolved state.
All three were clashing with giant spheres of Psychic energy surrounding them. Their spheres clashed like swords, destroying the landscape around them with the number of pulses coming out. However, Shadow Mewtwo had expanded his to be larger than theirs, overpowering the duo.
Mewtwo and Newtwo had both crashed into hills of Synergy Stones after a rough attack from Shadow Mewtwo. The hills had broken with shards falling afterwards. Both of them groaned as Shadow Mewtwo proved to be relentless.
The corrupt Mewtwo immediately zoomed forward, covering himself in Psychic energy as he tackled Mewtwo while was still up against the hill. By tackling him, he sent his fellow clone through the hills with a massive hole left behind. Newtwo gasped as Mewtwo was being carried through the air and smashed through multiple hills with little time to breathe.
But he could break free. The Genetic Pokemon had used Psytrike to force Shadow Mewtwo back, allowing himself to breathe. Mewtwo then followed up with Stone Edge, summoning multiple glowing crystals that orbited him. The regular Mewtwo then sent the array of rocks towards Shadow Mewtwo, only for them to be crushed by his telekinetic hold.
Newtwo came flying in, attempting a sneak attack. However, Shadow Mewtwo seemed to be swift enough to notice her. Both Mewtwo's had clashed, locking hands with each other with shockwaves emitting from their collision.
"I-If I can just use Hypnosis at the right time...!" Newtwo growled while trying to overpower Shadow Mewtwo. However, she couldn't as they were seemingly equal in strength. At least for now. Shadow Mewtwo was starting to overpower her.
Now that she was up close and personal with him, using Hypnosis was now. Her eyes started glowing blue as the goal was to try and break Shadow Mewtwo's mind control. And with her eyes making contact with his, she started affecting him.
"!" Shadow Mewtwo snarled for a bit as Newtwo's Hypnosis was doing its job, getting into Shadow Mewtwo's head. The corrupt Mewtwo closed his eyes as Colress' control was being combated by Newtwo's Hypnosis. In response, Shadow Mewtwo had used Zen Headbutt.
He covered his head in Psychic energy, smashing it forward and giving Newtwo a devastating headbutt. Newtwo cried out as her grip had been weakened, allowing Shadow Mewtwo to go on the offensive. Shadow Mewtwo summoned blue energy in the shape of a punch, hitting Newtwo's stomach.
After giving her a hard hit, he then kicked her away as if she was little on the street. And for a finishing blow, he then flew after her to unleash a purple tornado. Mewtwo flew in the way to protect Newtwo, using Solar Beam after gathering enough energy in this subspace that had no sun. A large green beam of solar energy came flying out of Mewtwo's hands afterwards.
Shadow Mewtwo had used the purple-coloured tornado on the Solar Beam instead. And it was certainly larger than it. So large that not only did it consume Mewtwo, but also Newtwo. Both of them had been hit, flying through the air once more.
And it didn't stop there. As they flew through the air, Shadow Mewtwo instantly transported to their location via teleportation. Newtwo gasped as the corrupted Mewtwo had grabbed her face. Newtwo tried to pull his hand off her face, only for Shadow Mewtwo to use Flamethrower. The flames scorched her face as Shadow Mewtwo then flew downwards.
Newtwo was powerless to stop it, causing Shadow Mewtwo to smash her into the ground. The ground had both shattered and torched by the flames. Shadow Mewtwo kept his hand there for a moment, not letting Newtwo break free.
But Mewtwo would deal with that. The regular Mewtwo came flying in, using Poison Jab to force Shadow Mewtwo off of Newtwo. He also added Psystrike into it for a further knockback. And it worked. Shadow Mewtwo was forced off of Newtwo, sliding back.
"Are you okay?" Mewtwo helped Newtwo up.
"I'm fine." Newtwo held her face after feeling the heat of Shadow Mewtwo's crushing Flamethrower. "But I just need to use Hypnosis without him breaking my focus. I saw that it was working with how he started wincing. If I can just get some more time and-"
"You don't have to do it alone. If we combined both our Hypnosis', we can break his mind control." He suggested. Newtwo could get behind that. Combined forces are always a plus.
Shadow Mewtwo stood upright as his body kept pulsating a cyan colour, showing that his strength was rising and overflowing her in this subspace.
This time, it was Mewtwo and Newtwo that went towards Shadow Mewtwo first. Together, they both used Poison Jab and Brutal Swing in unison. Shadow Mewtwo summoned those same Fire and Ice blades by absorbing Flamethrower and Ice Punch.
The three of them made eye contact with Poison Jab and Brutal Swing meeting with those two blades. They started pushing Shadow Mewtwo back by forcing their strength onto the blades. Shadow Mewtwo attempted to grab them with his tail, only for Newtwo to use her own tail to stop it.
The trio separated as Shadow Mewtwo spun around in the air, creating those golden pillars of light in the same radius once more. Multiple of them. Each for both Mewtwo.
But the Mewtwo were ready for this as well. They had zoomed and navigated their way around the pillars, evading them narrowly. After evading them, Newtwo went up to Shadow Mewtwo with Aura Sphere. She put her hand, expecting Shadow Mewtwo to react with a predictable move.
And he did. He had made an orb of Psychic to simply counteract the FIghting-Type move. But that's what Newtwo wanted. She then tossed the Aura Sphere. But not at Shadow Mewtwo. Instead, the sphere of Aura had passed the corrupt Mewtwo.
And right behind him via teleportation was the regular Mewtwo. Mewtwo had used his own Aura Sphere, adding it onto Newtwo's. By merging the spheres, a massive Aura Sphere had been made as Mewtwo used his tail to launch it.
Shadow Mewtwo soon realized this before turning around. Too late to do anything about it as the gigantic Aura Sphere had struck him. The corrupted Mega Shadow Mewtwo X went through many Syngery Stone hills, obliterating them as the Aura Sphere destroyed more with its expansive size.
However, after being carried by the sphere for a while, Shadow Mewtwo had then kicked it away. Aura Sphere went into the air, blowing up afterwards s the azure explosion of it complimented Shadow Mewtwo's menacing stare with his eyes glowing purple.
Shadow Mewtwo's Synergy Stone kept pulsating as he had then exuded a larger aura than before. He went straight for Newtwo, faster than before. Newtwo was met with a Gatling kick made of blue energy upward. However, she had used Substitute, causing a giant doll to take the hits.
Shadow Mewtwo quickly realized the doll as it had been destroyed. Right as the doll was crushed by the force of these kicks, Mewtwo and Newtwo caught Shadow Mewtwo off guard. Together, they had used Aura Sphere in unison. They put their hands together before flying at the corrupted Mega Evolution.
They then thrust their hands right in front of Shadow Mewtwo, releasing it as a combined burst of the aforementioned dual Aura. Shadow Mewtwo stood there in awe as he didn't have enough time to do something about this. Before he knew it, he was consumed by the giant sphere of Aura as a blue gale had emerged.
The ground below was obliterated by this combination as the entire subspace trembled. The duo shoved there, seeing how a gigantic bottomless pit had been formed from the destruction.
As the dust was settling and the smoke fading away, Shadow Mewtwo could be seen floating there. The Aura Sphere had almost knocked the wind out of him as he felt befuddled.
"Now!" Mewtwo cried out as they both flew towards their fellow clone. Shadow Mewtwo quickly regained consciousness, only to be met with two hands grabbing his arm. The corrupted Mewtwo had been restrained by his kin, pinned against a Synergy Stone hill.
The aim was to use a Double Hypnosis. Shadow Mewtwo tried forcing them off with Psytrike, only for both Mewtwo to use coat themselves in a protective Psychic aura. Psystrike had obliterated the hill behind them into nothing but dust. However, they would not let go.
Together, they had used Hypnosis with their eyes glowing blue. They made contact with Shadow Mewtwo's mind, controlling it. Shadow Mewtwo groaned as he realized that he could not keep himself in this subspace for long.
Despite his amazing power, Shadow Mewtwo does have a limit. And the Shadow Synergy Stone is to blame for it. After all, he was trying to hold it back. He winced, trying to allow the other Mewtwo to remove the brainwashing so that he could be freed.
But over in the real world, Colress' indicator had gone off, giving him the alert. He smirked, knowing that he would completely ruin the chances of Shadow Mewtwo being freed.
"I don't think so." He said before clicking the device. With just a click, an electromagnetic pulse had been sent through Shadow Mewtwo's brain.
Once that pulse came through, Shadow Mewtwo's brain had rapidly changed cells. His eyes flashed as he had then unleashed a gallant Psychic wave from his body in response to the Dual Hypnosis. Mewtwo and Newtwo were blown back by this pulse along with every hill in this area.
The subspace was practically almost obliterated with nothing left. A bottomless pit and an endless void all around as the duo of Mewtwo managed to save themselves by holding onto the last remaining pieces of rubble. They used their Psychic powers to keep the rubble afloat.
"It didn't work?!" Newtwo gasped with one eye closed.
"It was working! Something came up and changed it, however!" Mewtwo replied.
Shadow Mewtwo then hovered over with his body trembling. Clearly, he was reaching his limit. He aimed to end this as soon as he could or else the Shadow Synergy Stone will end him. He was ready to face down Mewtwo and Newtwo one last time.
Reality. The Plasma Frigate.
Colress knew that his little action had succeeded as the indicator was no longer going off. Shadow Mewtwo was still under the control of Team Plasma. But aside from that, Colress was wondering about Ash and the others. He had seen them enter the subspace that Shadow Mewtwo had made and had not heard from them since. To Colress, he believed that they were still in there.
"If Shadow Mewtwo ends up destroying them, then there's one major problem out of Lord Ghetsis' hair," said Colress. "Even if he still aims to harness the Magic of Friendship for himself."
"Colress. Sir." A Team Plasma grunt came in.
"Yes?"
"Should we leave? Ash Ketchum and the others haven't returned yet. Perhaps we should maybe wait for Shadow Mewtwo to bring them out?"
"Shadow Mewtwo has a limit to how long it can maintain itself along with the subspace. Eventually, it will return. And the chances of Ash Ketchum and the others defeating Shadow Mewtwo is considerably low. But then again, they have proven to wedge themselves out of difficult situations." Colress thought for a moment.
"So then we wait, right?"
"Wait for Shadow Mewtwo to return. Don't go anywhere." Colress ordered. "When it-"
Just as he continued speaking, his words were cut off immediately once he had witnessed a portal open up. His attention was drawn towards it. Out of that portal, Shadow Mewtwo had emerged. Along with Mewtwo and Newtwo plus Ash, Twilight, Fluttershy, Starlight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, but noticeable not everyone else. Some were missing. They had all fallen to the ground with Shadow Mewtwo holding them up with Psychic.
"Oh. Nevermind." Colress said. "Right where we want them. But it seems not all of them were able to return safely."
"Should we capture them or let Mewtwo handle them?"
"The two Mewtwo are coming with us. Lord Ghetsis still wants Twilight Sparkle and the others. Even though they are all not here. Some reserves would work either way."
"Return to the base and refill on Infinity Energy. A few of us will take things from here."
"Yes sir." The grunt saluted before heading off. Multiple gateways had opened just for some of the ships. The Plasma Frigate and a few others would stay behind.
Shadow Mewtwo flew over towards the Plasma Frigate with some grunts there to pick up Ash and the others. Colress was ready to leave through the gateway as well.
"What are we gonna tell Lord Ghetsis when some of them have been destroyed?" A grunt asked. He still wants all 6 of them for power."
"Meh. We'll just say Shadow Mewtwo destroyed them by accident. Did you, Mewtwo?" Another grunt asked.
Shadow Mewtwo didn't respond as he then casually tossed Newtwo over to the grunts letting them catch her. And the grunts would with open arms. At least, that seemed to be the case.
As the grunt went to grab the Genetic Pokemon, they suddenly crashed onto the floor, feeling something heavy go down on him. "Oof! H-Heavy! Are Mewtwo's this heavy?!"
"No, but Audino is." The voice of Ash suddenly spoke, causing the grunts to gasp. They then looked over at the unconscious Ash Ketchum. Except, that wasn't actually Ash. With a head turn, a grin had faced the fake Ash Ketchum. It was instead one of Trixie's Zorua.
"Teehee!" The Tricky Fox Pokemon had revealed himself. The grunts then looked over at Twilight and the others and they turned out to be Zorua's as well.
"Zorua?! T-Then...!"
Shadow Mewtwo smirked. Except it wasn't Shadow Mewtwo. It was Mew. "Mew-Mew!" But, he wasn't the true cause of all of these fake outs. Zoroark was. She had used her amazing illusionary abilities to disguise everyone else as fakes. Obviously, Trixie didn't have enough Zorua or Zoroark for disguises. But Zoroark's illusions were able to compensate for that.
Audino was truly Audino and that was indeed the full weight of an Audino on Colress. And with that weight, he was not getting off no matter what.
"Why you tricky little...! Get off!" The grunt grunted, unable to remove Audino from him.
"Ssshh..." Starlight suddenly hushed before having Hatterene use Hypnosis on them all. "Go to sleep."
"Hatterene." Hatterene had put the scientist to sleep with hypnotic spiralling waves. Just like that, the grunts had been put to sleep. Except for Colress as he had already made his getaway by entering the inside.
And this was where Celestia's assistance came in as she couldn't refuse a scenario such as this. However, Celestia assisted without anyone seeing her coming. Zoroark's illusion went past just disguising everyone.
The ships were going the wrong way, surprisingly. They believed that they were entering the gateway back to their base. But instead, Celestia had used her magic to interfere with the gateway, shifting its original position somewhere else. Zoroark had just given the illusion of it being there still.
The ships ended up crashing into something. Everyone onboard believed that they had crashed into a gateway. But not at all. Instead, they had crashed into Reshiram and Zekrom. Zoroark's illusions were still being kept up.
"What did we hit?!" Colress gasped as the Plasma Frigate started trembling. "Is there another ship on the other side?!"
With Zoroark's illusion still active, Reshiram and Zekrom took the time to deal with the weapons. Each of the ships had cannons on them. It was self-explanatory. Destroy the cannons. And so they did.
Reshiram and Zekrom flew at blistering speeds as they simultaneously used Steel Wing. By using Steel Wing, they slashed the cannons off of the airships, causing them to fall. Their goal was to save the Pokemon so no Fire and Lightning for this one.
With the assistance of Luxray, they could have a clear view of the Pokemon inside. Since all of the airships were aligned in a straight line thanks to the gateway. And since all of the airships were built the same, thanks to Luxray's X-Ray vision, he could see where all the Pokemon were. On the back of Reshiram and Zekrom were Ash and the rest of them.
"Luxray!"
"Awesome find, Luxray." Rainbow Dash said. "Now we know where to hit 'em.
And that someone was Passion.
"Now, Passion! Plasma Bolt!" Celestia ordered.
"Garde...!" Passion put her hands out, combining Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt into one attack. But minimized as to not fully obliterate everything. Zoroark's illusion was starting to fade away.
"Hurry! Zoroark's illusion is dropping!" Trixie gasped.
"Now!"
"Voir!" Passion unleashed Plasma Bolt. She struck the back of the first ship, piercing through it. Afterwards, the bolt travelled rapidly at great speeds, breaking through the other ships as if it was a domino effect.
The ships were already damaged due to crashing into Reshiram and Zekrom earlier and this just added to it. With clear precision and accuracy, Passion had pierced holes through almost every ship in her line of sight. Unfortunately, she could not hit them all but she got a considerable amount.
The ships had been damaged further with alerts going off. It was just then that Zoroark's illusion had ended. With the illusion fading away.
"Now, Pikachu! Overload it with Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled.
"Pika...chu...!" This was Pikachu's time to shine. He had used Thunderbolt on the closest ship, sending 100,000 volts right through it. But he was assisted by others.
"Luxray, Discharge!"
"Passion, Thunderbolt!"
Luxray and Passion had assisted, adding their electricity into the mix. And this time, Zekrom could actually do something. He could use his electricity without destroying the ships. A total of 800,000 volts had been sent towards the first ship.
And that was enough. Not only did it overload the systems within the ship, causing something on par with an EMP minus the deactivation, but it acted as chain lightning, springing onto the next ship with greater speeds. Like a parasite.
The ship's electronics had been overloaded, causing the restrains on the Pokemon to be removed. Now that they were free, the Pokemon could run amok. Except, that wasn't going to happen.
It was soon revealed where Celestia had placed the gateway. The same holes that Passion had blasted throughout the ships. Slurpuff had used Sweet Scent to draw the Pokemon in, swaying them away from a potential rampage.
"A diversion!" Colress gasped, looking at the monitor and outside. "Those accursed Zoroark and Zorua..." Just as he growled, Ghetsis' came into view as Colress contacted him. "Lord Ghetsis!"
"Colress. I'd better hear some good news."
"We have a problem! Ash Ketchum and the others have tricked us with Zoroark's illusions! Most of our ships are undergoing electrical problems as well as missing cannons! I'm not sure where Shadow Mewtwo is now and-"
"Are you telling me that you've lost Shadow Mewtwo?" Ghetsis' tone changed with narrowed eyes. Colress shuddered at Ghetsis' crimson stare.
He quickly tried picking up on Shadow Mewtwo's signatures. He could do so even when Shadow Mewtwo was in its subspace world. After searching, he found it. "Ah! It's still in its subspace! Seems that it's still dealing with the two Mewtwo!"
"Retreat," Ghetsis ordered with words that Colress never thought he would hear him say.
"I beg your pardon, Lord Ghetsis?"
"Don't try and fight this. They've already brought upon a large sneak attack on you. Your weapons have been damaged too as well as Shadow Mewtwo being occupied. "It's pointless to try and stop this as you'll risk everything we have on board of the ship, do you understand?"
"Y-Yes. But how am I to return Shadow Mewtwo if it's still in subspace?"
"Do I have to do everything myself?" Ghetsis sighed as he put his hand out. By doing so, he had opened a gateway that had connected to the Plasma Frigate. His hand had stuck out as he could now interact with this universe. Ghetsis had then covered his hand in darkness. By doing so, Ghetsis had managed to interact with Mewtwo from afar.
He clenched his hand as Mewtwo within subspace felt his head twitch. He immediately ceased his attacks on Mewtwo and Newtwo. But then again, he wasn't attacking them anymore. He had defeated them both. Shadow Mewtwo held Mewtwo and Newtwo by their necks, emerging as the victor.
The corrupt Mewtwo could hear Ghetsis calling for him. He also couldn't stay here much longer without rest. The Shadow Synergy Stone was getting to him. With that, the subspace had vanished as it had also reached its limit.
With Ghetsis' command and influence upon the Genetic Pokemon, Shadow Mewtwo had returned to reality, inside of the ship. Mewtwo and Newtwo were on the ground, barely able to move. They were still conscious but badly damaged.
Shadow Mewtwo hovered back to the ship, holding his head as he had deformed out of Mega Mewtwo X. The same went for Newtwo as she reverted to normal.
Colress had given the order for them all to retreat. Ghetsis' word was final. Because of this, they had ignored Ash and the others, much to their chagrin. Ash and everyone were ready for a Pokemon Battle, only to find out that wasn't happening.
"Wait. How come they're leaving?" Spike noticed while on Salamence's back.
"They're retreating," Celestia said. "I didn't see that coming at all."
"Hah! We got 'em scared!" Rainbow Dash chuckled, pointing her hoof out as everyone else remaining on the ship had gotten off, taking a ride of Reshiram and Zekrom's backs.
"I wouldn't say scared," Twilight replied. "With how things are, I can see why they'd leave. So is that our cue as well?"
"Mhm." Celestia nodded. "Our work here is done. We may not have been able to stop them all, but they'll certainly remember this."
The ships had all retreated with Colress opening up a new gateway with his Travel Sphere. As for the Pokemon, Sweet Scent did its job. However, since not all the ships had holes pierced through them, there were still some Pokemon remaining and they had unfortunately passed through the gateway that Colress had made.
Colress looked at the distance, growling as he slammed his fist on the table. This was a confirmed loss. One that he would have to live with.
"Curse you all...I'll get you back for this one day! You'll never outsmart someone like me ever again!"
"Mewtwo! Newtwo!" Ash cried out as all of the ships had left. They approached Mewtwo and Newtwo who were sitting on the ground, exhausted. "Are you okay?! You two look really beat up."
"Pika!"
"We're fine. But unfortunately, we lost." Mewtwo lowered his head. "We were so close to breaking the mind control."
"That Shadow Mewtwo was something else. I've never struggled so much before. And to think, Ghetsis and Team Plasma will be using someone like that."
"Well, good news. We managed to save the Pokemon like you wanted. They're safe over at Viridian Forest if that's good enough."
"It is." Mewtwo and Newtwo smiled as Audino went up to heal them with Heal Pulse. "We knew we could count on you all. Thank you for protecting them."
"What are you two gonna do now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I now can no longer underestimate Team Plasma. They are too dangerous to ignore. Especially with Shadow Mewtwo on their side. I promised myself I wouldn't get out there too often but...I might have to make an exception."
"I've already decided. I wanted to stop Team Plasma in the beginning when they made me. This is my second chance to make it a reality. But I can't do it alone. Mewtwo. Will you help me?"
"I already thought the same thing as you. But I'm afraid just as two won't be enough with Shadow Mewtwo. However, I can certainly count on you. Ash. Pikachu. And all of you to an extent."
"Yeah. If they come by next time, we'll do what we can." Ash replied.
"I should get going now." Mewtwo stood up. "I've left the Pokemon alone for too long. Newtwo. Will you come with me?"
"I told you not to call me that. And well...Maybe next time. I need to find a way to become stronger. But I'll certainly come to when I need help."
"Hm. And here I thought the one with the Mega Stone didn't need help." Mewtwo started acting playful.
"Oh, don't you start." Newtwo nudged him as the others started laughing. The two Genetic Pokemon went their separate ways, bidding farewell to Ash and the others.
As for Ash and company, it was time for them to leave as well. This Jirachi plan turned upside down for them after all and was a bust. But it was still a work in progress. Meanwhile, Trixie would definitely head back to brag about this to her students. How she got to ride on two Legendary Dragons, encounter three Mewtwo and take on Team Plasma.
This wouldn't be the last they would see of Shadow Mewtwo. Truly a terrifying force. But one that could not control himself because of the Shadow Synergy Stone and Team Plasma as the journey continues.
Out in the outskirts, the older Flurry Heart from another universe along with her assigned guard Flash Sentry could be found. Flurry Heart's quest to know more about Pokemon continues. Right now, she was holding some binoculars with her magic, spying on a group of Snorunt moving about in the snow.
"Nice." She nodded while spectating the Snow Hat Pokemon. She then started approaching them with her hooves pressing on the snow. Flurry Heart decided to get close while Flash would make sure nothing too wild happens.
As she got close to them, the first Snorut had noticed her arrival. "Sno?" Contact had been made. Both of them were gazing into the eyes of each other now. This went on for a few seconds as they essentially entered a staring contest.
"Hmmm..." Flurry Heart had uttered.
"Uh. What are you doing exactly, princess?"
"Trying to be one with the Pokemon. Like everyone else and you. This is how they do it, right?" She turned to the pegasus before gazing back at Snorunt.
"Um, I suppose so," Flash replied in a confused tone.
"So. Am I getting something now?" Flurry Heart wondered as she leaned forward. Unfortunately, as she got closer, she was only met with a bite to the nose from Snorunt. An Ice Fang to be exact.
"Sno...runt!"
"Mmm...! Cold!" She shuddered before falling on her back. Her nose had also been frozen with some mild frostbite as the Snorunt giggled as Flash went to pick the young princess up. He then gave the Snorut a serious stare as he could not allow any harm to be done to royalty.
"R-Runt!" The Snorunt backed away. running off after being given a steely look from Flash Sentry.
"Please, princess. Don't try and mess around too much with the Pokemon."
"Okay." Flurry Heart pouted as the ice had melted. "So! What next?" She then sat up, looking around to see what else could catch her eye.
"Well, your parents recommended one thing the other day. How does visiting the Pokemon World sound?"
"Yes please!" Flury Heart flew into the air immediately with high octane excitement. "I've always wanted to check it out! Ehehehe! Thank you, mom and dad! So where are we going? Which region?!"
"Anywhere. Kanto, Sinnoh, Hoenn, it doesn't matter. As long as you're safe as they said. Plus, only five hours in whatever region you choose. As they said."
"Aw...I wanted it to be the whole day." She puffed her cheeks. Her parents still gave her limitations despite them not being her world's parents. But they are still her parents in a sense. "It's okay. We'll make the most of it. Let's go to...Alola. I'm feeling in the summer mood, ya know."
"Uh, princess. Summer ended days ago." Flash shrugged as Flurry Heart then put on a poker face before shifting her eyes around. "Bah, whatever. It's tropical enough to practically be summer there forever. Let's go to Alola!" She raised her hoof into the sky while flapping her wings.
"Alola it is."
Po Town.
A town barricaded with tall walls that seem to reach the sky. It is occupied by a certain team in Alola. Compared to everywhere else, this was the least tropical part of Alola, much to the dismay of Flurry Heart and the shock of Flash Sentry. It was also raining with little sunshine as the sun was blocked by grey clouds with only a slight glow being seen.
"This is not what I was expecting." She stood there with her mouth agape. "Where's the super bright sun? The nice beaches and drinks?"
"I guess we found the wrong gateway, didn't we?" Flash Sentry said. "Maybe another town or city is up ahead if we move past this one. It'll take too long to find another gateway to Alola, so it's best to work up from here."
"I guess so." Flurry Heart sighed. "Might find something neat here maybe."
"Yo, yo!" However, this town had some residents despite how run-down and barren it may have seen. Coming into view for Flash and Flurry Heart were the residents. The team that was full of delinquents that failed the Alola Island Challenges.
Team Skull.
"Hm?" Flurry and Flash looked over, seeing them walk towards them with a funny pose. As they always do.
"Oh, this looks like trouble just waiting to happen." Flash grimaced before turning around. "Perhaps we should take another direction, princess."
"Hold on." Flurry Heart promptly stopped him. "Can't back out now since we're this deep in."
"Wh-" Flash froze for a moment. "Yes, we can. The gateway's only 20 feet away!" He pointed his hoof to the south.
"Sup, my little ponies." The first grunt by the name of Tupp spoke. Joining him were his friends Rapp and Zipp. "What are you doing here in Po Town, huh?"
"Yeah, you looking for sum'thn?" Rapp asked as she sat on a nearby destroyed car.
"If it's trouble then ya came to the right place." Zipp nodded.
"Pfft." Flurry Heart then had the urge to laugh as she bloated her cheeks with her mouth scrunched. "Why are you guys talking like that? Hehe."
"Think it's funny, huh? This is the Team Skull way, ya know." Tupp leaned forward.
"Sure." She nodded while trying to contain her laughter. "Like I know who Team Skull is?"
"Oh, ya don't. Well, you're new here so we'd better tell you what Team Skulls is all about." Tupp stood up tall with Rapp and Zipp standing next to him. "We're all being the toughest and most unbreakable team there is. Tough as a Machamp. We've got numbers big enough to back it up and Pokemon to spice it up. Giving up ain't our beat but going on is what we can rock with, ya dig? But we don't hold a candle to our big sis Plumeria and the big boss, Guzma, ya hear. Represent!"
"Uh..." Flash squinted before processing all of those words. "I hear ya..."
"Yeah. But do they all talk like you?" Flurry Heart couldn't help herself as she found amusement with their voices.
"Don't diss the style, yo!" Tupp exclaimed with his eyes bulging out as he roared the young alicorn. Flurry Heart snickered before pulling back and having a massive grin on her face. "Grr! Fine! How 'bout this then! A Pokemon Battle! Right here, right now!" Tupp exclaimed.
"Ooh!" Flurry Heart's attention and interest were now piqued as Team Skull held their Poke Balls out. "Count me in! I've been itching for one for a while!"
"Go, Salandit!" Tupp sent out three Salandit.
"Out ya come, Zubat!" Rapp sent out three Zubat.
"Yungoos!" And Zipp had sent out three Yungoos. They were all matching in numbers.
"Hope you don't mind the numbers. Team Skull gang up for all. Don't nobody get easy way outs when battling us, ya hear?" Tupp spoke.
"Nine on one, huh? Oh. I've got the perfect Pokemon to deal with this." A menacing tone came from Flurry Heart as she had held out Giratina's Poke Ball. She let out a devious chuckle with her eyes glowing red.
Flash soon realized that if Flurry Heart were to unleash Giratina here, it could cause major problems. He quickly looked at both sides before stepping forward.
"I'll battle you instead!" Flash declared.
"Huh?" said Team Skull.
"Ah. Flaaaash!" Flurry Heart cried out. "But I wanted to battle. My Pokemon can totally deal with these ones, no problem."
"Yes, but your parents did say not to draw too much attention with him." Flash tried reasoning with the young alicorn. "And this could definitely do it. Just let me handle this. Plus, I have more Pokemon with me."
"What gives buddy?" Tupp intervened. "Ya trying to get in the way?"
"Not at all. But before we start, how about this? If I beat you three, will you all do us the honour of showing Princess Flurry Heart around Alola? She came here for a beautiful view after all."
"Hm. Betting eh? I like that style. Fine. But if we win, you're gonna uh..." Tupp pointed at Flash before freezing. He wasn't sure what he could add to this bet. "Aha! You hand over that crown and gold armour you two got on!"
"Ooh, not bad!" Rapp agreed. "Think that crown would look good on me?"
"It can't even fit you," Zipp replied.
"Fine." Flash agreed to it. "Might regret this but we have spares for a reason. Come out! Pidgeot! Golurk!" Emerging out of the Poke Balls were Pidgeot and Golurk. Golurk was to be expected since every guard owns one. Pidgeot was Flash's ace so that was to be expected.
Flurry Heart sat back, spectating this battle as she would cheer Flash on. "Woohoo! Go, Flash!" But it wasn't just her. The rest of the Team Skull members watched from afar, cheering their fellow members on.
"Show 'em your strength with Venoshock, Salandit!" Tupp and his team went first.
"Yungoos, Crunch!"
"Leech Life, Zubat!"
"Salandit!" All nine of them used the same moves in unison. The Salandit jumped into the air, spitting out poisonous purple and pink projectiles from their mouths.
"Pidgeot, use Quick Attack! Golurk, Focus Punch!"
"Pidgeo!" Pidgeot flew at blinding speeds, evading the incoming poison as they had hit the ground instead. With the superior speed, Pidgeot had slashed past the three Salandit, hitting them at the same time. The three of them were then knocked down from a speedy wind pressure.
"Golurk...!" As for Golurk, it was tightening its focus, making sure that Focus Punch would hit its mark. Approaching him were the Zubat and Yungoos with their fangs being bared. Each of their fangs were covered in green and dark-red colours as they swarmed the Automaton Pokemon.
"Zu!"
"Yun!"
"Golurk...!" In an immediate response, Golurk returned the favour. It did not lose its focus even when being bitten into. Its great defence practically ignored the impact of the moves even though Crunch was super-effective. The Automaton Pokemon then swung its fist with Focus Punch, hitting all six of them at the same time. "Lurk!"
The Pokemon were sent flying back as they crashed into the ground where the Salandit were. As if they had never left the same spot they were on.
"Woohoo! Some strength!" Flurry Heart clapped her hooves together.
"Salandit, Flame Burst!"
"Landit!" The Salandit swings their tails, causing red liquids to come flying out from the red patterns of their bodies.
"Counter with Heat Wave, Pidgeot!"
"Geot!" Pidgeot flapped his wings quickly, generating heat. Like a heatwave in the summer sun, a wind of flames had coated the atmosphere, making everything distorted and wavy. The waves had also cancelled out the red liquids.
"Now, use Twister, Pidgeot! And Golurk, Gyro Ball!"
"Pidge! Pidgeot!" Pidgeot then flew higher into the air, spinning around. He had summoned a twister out of draconic energy, sending it through the air.
"Go...Lurk!"Speaking of spinning, Golurk used its slow speed to its advantage. It started spinning around, heading straight for the trio of Yungoos and Zubat.
"Get rid of it with Dragon Pulse, Salandit!"
"Air Slash, Zubat!"
"Go use Crunch again, Yungoos!"
"Salan...dit!" The Salandit all sent dragon-shaped shockwaves towards Twister to try and cancel it out. As for Zubat and Yungoos, they went for Golurk again. Cutting waves were sent from above while the Yungoos lunged.
"Get a load of this! Golurk, enter the Twister!"
"Go...Lurk!" Golurk suddenly changed its direction, spinning towards the Twister instead. By merging Gyro Ball and Twister, the Automaton Pokemon now had a shield around it.
And with the combined efforts of Gyro Ball and Twister, nothing could stop Golurk. Dragon Pulse had been obliterated with ease as the grunts had gasped. Soon, Salandit, Zubat and the Yungoos had been struck by the spiralling Golurk. They had taken double heavy hits from two powerful moves merged into one.
Afterwards, they tumbled on the ground. But they weren't going to recover from this. As they had fainted.
"Oh!" Team Skull gasped after seeing their Pokemon fall. The winner of this battle was Flash Sentry and his Pokemon.
"Done and done," Flash said while Flurry Heart cheered. "Guess we're getting that tu after all, hm?"
"Woohoo! Good stuff, Flash! Way better than what I would've done!" Flurry bellowed as the grunts sighed, returning their Pokemon.
"Now then. Since I won fair and square, I believe you three know what to do, right?"
"Yeah, yeah we hear ya. No need to rub it in already." Tupp crossed his arms while Rapp and Zipp lowered their heads. "Man, even after we trained with the boss. Got beat by some pony from another world. If the boss were here, he would've wiped the floor with you's."
"Yeah! Let's go again!" Zipp held his Poke Ball. "My Garbodor hasn't had a turn yet!"
"Nuh-uh. I already won." Flash waved his feather as if he was waving a finger in denial.
"Flash isn't just somepony." Flurry Heart went up to the pegasus. "He's also a royal guard and helped stop an invasion. If you didn't know. So he's strong for sure."
"Pssh. Bet he ain't stronger than the boss." Rapp scoffed with her arms crossed.
"What's going on here?" Just then, an important voice rang through the atmosphere, grabbing the attention of not just Tupp, Rapp and Zipp.
The big sis of Team Skull. Plumeria.
"Big sis!" The trio stood firmly together as if they were being intimidated. And in all fairness, Plumeria did have an intimidating look to her. "You didn't see that whole battle, did you?!" Tupp asked.
"No. But I'm guessing you three lost." She said to them as they lowered their heads. "Because of course, you did." Plumeria then faced the duo of ponies. "And who are these two?"
"Princess Flurry Heart here." Flurry Heart waved before putting her hoof around Flash. "And my guard for the day or I guess weeks, Flash Sentry. AKA, the one who beat your team." She gave a smug smile. "Now they gotta tour us around."
"Uh, don't worry about that. The princess tends to speak a lot on her mind." Flash laughed nervously, not wanting any further trouble. "And you are?"
"I'm Plumeria. The Team Skull Admin here. I'm the big sis to these skull heads over here." She nudged her head over to the trio and all of Team Skull. "You're in ou turf, but that's cool. As long as you don't start anything."
"Nice to meet ya, bis sis." Flurry Heart winked as Flash's nervousness was rising with how she was being in front of fairly intimidating and troublesome looking individuals. "Are you gonna tour us around?"
"Oh hey!" Tupp exclaimed. "Now that you're big sis, you can wipe the floor with 'em with a Pokemon Battle! How does that sound?"
"Yeah!" Rapp and Zipp were up for that. "Floor 'em big sis!"
"Shut up!" She roared at them, causing the trio to pull back. "I ain't doing that. And I'll pass on touring you two. Since you beat them, it's only fair that they take you along."
"Aw, are you for real, big sis?!" Tupp groaned as Plumeria looked back at him. Plumeria didn't say a word as she walked off, minding her own business later on. She left everything up to the three of them now.
"Ugh." Tupp groaned. "Alright, alright. We'll tour you around. But not for long, ya hear? we'll make it quick and skedaddle. Team Skull ain't tourists. At least for today."
"Sure, sure." Flurry Heart shrugged. "Lead the way, guys."
Heahea City. Afternoon.
A coastal city situated on Akala Island. This city was founded by Trainers from Kanto and Johto. Considered the front door to Akala Island, this town's residents treasure visitors and welcome them most warmly. Well, most but Team Skull.
When showing up, Team Skull started walking in their usual manner with Flash and Flurry behind them. "We ain't just gonna tour you around. We're gonna show you how Team Skulls moves around Alola." Tupp said.
"Cool, cool." Flurry Heart nodded as she tried mimicking their movements. With her hooves mimicking Team Skull's manner of walking, Flurry Heart looked ridiculous as she could barely balance herself.
"Um, not sure that's what he meant, princess," Flash whispered.
"So if you guys are like a team, what do you do? And what's up with your team base? It's all messy." Flurry Heart asked.
"We Team SKull members are failed Island Challengers, so we all came together at the one place that makes us feel the same, ya know. The boss chose that place since it's got a run-down mansion. Whoever owned that place should've left it fancy for us." Tupp explained.
"Failed Island Challengers? That's the thing for Z-Crystals, right? Everyone there failed? Even that scary-looking lady back there?"
"Right on. But we don't care about that." Rapp shrugged.
"Check it out. They're selling one of those charms and caps over there." Tupp pointed ahead at a store that was selling Oval Charms and Gold Bottle caps. "Couldn't get one last time. Let's try again and snag 'em."
"Snag 'em? You don't mean...steal do you?" Flash questioned.
"Pssh, what else? We do it the Team Skull way, yo."
"Hold on!" Flash flew in front of Tupp. "Are you telling me we're being toured around by criminals?!"
"What's your deal, huh? Ain't nun of ya business." Zipp said.
"It is. For somepony of my status, I can't allow something like this to happen. I don't even need to be a guard for this."
"Man, scram. You ain't even the law of this world. Probably the guard of some pretty place. Where ya even from? Ponyplace?" Tupp dismissed them.
"We're from Equestria!" Flash bellowed in Tupp's face.
"The heck's an Equestria?" Tupp moved back, surprisingly not knowing of Equestria despite how many months have gone by.
"Hold on, you two! Let's not get too crazy here!" FLurry Heart got in between the two of them. "We're all allies here, aren't we? Here to have a good time."
"I refuse to spend time with a criminal." Flash scoffed.
"Delinquents are what we're used to. Get it rid, pal." Tupp retorted.
"Come on." Flurry then used her magic to pull them both in. "We're only here for 5 hours so let's make the most of it. After this, we'll be out of your hair!" She then gave an innocent grin.
And after seeing that grin and observing Flurry Heart for a few moments, something clicked in Rapp's head. She loves cute things and it only took her until now to realize that Flurry Heart and potentially everypony on the other side was cute.
"OMG!" She suddenly grabbed Flurry Heart, causing the young alicorn's eyes to bulge. "You're sooooo cute!"
"Ooof!"
"Princess!" Flash gasped.
"I don't know why I didn't see it before! Your so adorable with that hair and magic you use!" Her tone changed. Her usual tough girl attitude had fizzled out just like that. She started nuzzling Flurry Heart, not giving her the chance to break free.
"Guh...!" Flurry Heart stuck her hoof out, trying to free herself. "T-Thanks...!"
"I so totally want a pony of my own!" Rapp squeed.
"The princess is not a pet!" Flash quickly snatched Flurry Heart away from Rapp's clutches.
"They're the enemies right now so stop talking sense!" Tupp bellowed Rapp, causing her to snap out of it. He then pointed at Flash Sentry with some more to say. He then poked Flash in the stomach a few times. "Listen here, pal. You ain't the law in our world, so you can't do anything. Hah!"
"Oh yeah?! I may not have much power here, but I can still use other ways to deal with you!" Flash returned the favour by poking Tupp's stomach with his hoof. "An officer Jenny lives, here, doesn't she?"
"Heh. Officer Jenny doesn't care about us." Zipp said.
"Okay, okay. Let's try this again." Flurry Heart caused all of them to sit down with some magic. With her alicorn magic, she had absolute power here. "I know we have our differences right now, but it's gonna be okay. Flash. Don't worry about this?"
"How can I not worry about it, princess?"
"Don't be toooo nosy." She poked him on the nose, giggling. "Besides, we can get those charms and bottle caps without needing to steal them."
"Heh. Yeah right. Like we're ever gonna get sum'thn for free." Tupp let out a slight scoff.
"You don't need to do it. I'll do it." Flurry Heart stood up, showing Pokedollars in her saddlebag. "Mom and dad gave me a bunch. Just in case."
"You'll seriously get it for us?" Rapp asked.
"Mhm. And I'll get you all something you might like. Be right back!" Flurry Heart flapped her wings, soaring over as she left Flash Sentry and the Team Skull Trio on their own.
Flash and the trio looked at each other with less than pleasing eyes. Clearly, there was some animosity around them. One was identical to a police officer or a sheriff of some sort while the others were troublemakers, delinquents but not quite villains. Team Skull certainly isn't the most dangerous team out there compared to Rocket and Plasma.
Although, there is one team out there less dangerous than them.
"That pony princess of yours ain't too bad to be around," Tupp spoke. "With some working around, she could go well with Team Skull. Maybe."
"There's no chance Princess Flurry Heart will be a member of your team. If she comes back as a delinquent to the empire then..." Flash began thinking of what Shining Armor and Cadence would think of this in his head.
He imagined Flurry Heart wearing a pony styled Team Skull outfit while sitting around other members. He even imagined what she would say. "This town is ours, ya hear?!"
Flash also thought of the reaction of her parents. How it would rebound onto Flurry Heart and himself. Especially with his position as a soldier.
"My daughter's a delinquent now! Where did we go wrong?!" Cadence started weeping, using Sylveon's ribbons as tissues while Shining Armor shook his head.
"Flash Sentry. You're demoted. Fired. Get lost." Shining Armor said as Flash had his armour taken away in a flash. In his head, he started screaming before snapping back to reality.
"No way! It won't happen!" Flash shook his head.
"That's why I said maybe, duh. She's way too successful to be a part of Team Skull. But if she messed up a bunch, then she'd fit right in." said Tupp.
"Hah! Well, good luck with that." Flash crossed his hooves while leaning back on a rock. "If you must know, Princess Flurry Heart was born with latent magical potential. And also as Equestria's first baby alicorn. She's too powerful and important to fail. If anything, she'd make you all look bad and herself better."
"Oh yeah? Bet you ain't hot stuff either!" Tupp stood up as Flash ascended with both of their heads clashing. "You compensating for something with that gold armour, big shot?!"
"The gold armour was an accident. But at least it looks better than that tacky getup you have on!" Flash snapped back.
"How about we have round two right now? This time, we'll win! No one disses our style and gets away with it!" Tupp growled as Rapp and Zipp stood up.
"Any time!" Flash held out his Poke Ball. "I was going easy on you two away!"
"I'm back!" But interrupting the potential scuffle was the princess herself as she showed up with teleportation. "And I got goodies!"
With her, not only did she buy the charms and bottle caps, hoards of them, she also brought something for everyone, holding these items with her magic. She gave the charms and caps to the trio first. "Here. With how much money I had, these were pretty cheap."
"Yo is she for real?!" Tupp gasped after looking at the charm and caps. "I can actually get my Salandit to be better than ever with this...I can even get a new and better partner too!"
"Same here!" Rapp gawked.
"Oh, there's also this for you, Rapp. I know how much you like cute things. I can't be your pet but..." Flurry Heart then brought out one of the many plushies of the Mane 6. She had given her a Fluttershy plush to keep.
"Oh!" Rapp immediately grabbed the plush hugging it. "I don't know what pony this one is but it's so cute!"
"Zipp. I wasn't sure what to get you, so have a go at these. Some of these are for your Garbodor." Flurry Heart gave Zipp some Ultra Balls and a bag full of Poison Barbs and Black Sludges. Items that can benefit Poison-Types.
"No way!" Zipp gaze at the items. "Garbodor's gonna be indestructible with these! Oh, thanks, princess!"
"You ain't too bad, my little pony." Tupp held the charm up. "Guess being all goody-two-shoes has its perks."
"You got that right, bro." Rapp nodded.
"Wait. What about me?" Flash felt left out. "Don't I get something, princess?"
"Well, you didn't ask for anything, Flash. But don't worry. I thought about it either way. Plus, this is for everyone. Tadah!" Flurry Heart had then revealed the most famous food in all of Alola.
The Malasada.
"Malasadas for everyone! I got to have a fee sample and they were gooood! I had to buy a bunch for everyone!" She then showed multiple bags of malasada. "Eat up!"
"Geez, she's stacked with cash ain't she?" Zipp uttered.
"Benefits us, so I ain't complaining." Tupp took the malasada before removing his mask. So did Rapp and Zipp.
"Sorry if it's not too important, Flash. I didn't have time to think of something neat that you would want." Flurry apologized before eating the malasada. "If it makes you feel better, I can make or get you something back home."
"It's fine, princess." Flash shook his head. "I'm just surprised that you decided to help these grunts out. Guess you have your mother's kindness, don't you?"
"Well, it wasn't easy." She chuckled. "I mean, I didn't have my parents arund for years when they were turned to stone. I had to learn some stuff on my own when I was a teenager and all that. Even if I'm not that big of a ruler back in my original universe, I'm still the Princess of Love either way. That much won't change. And I won't change it for my parents' sake. My real ones. I can't wait until one day, we can free them."
"And we'll help you on that, day princess," said Flash. "I promise that we'll find your parents and revert them out of their stone status."
"Thanks, Flash. Say. The Grand Galloping Gala's coming up in just two weeks. How's that dancing going?"
"Uh, decent. I'm still not great at it. Maye I wasn't fit to be a dancer." Flash grumbled while FLurry Heart chuckled.
"You ain't a dancer? This I gotta see. Come on, get to dancing already." Tupp asked.
"No way. I can't let anyone see me in that form." Flash hid his face behind the malasada. "Can we leave soon, princess before that happens?"
"Only 4 more hours to go!" She whistled while devouring the malasada whole. "We'll come back here tomorrow! O the day after that. Either works. Next time. Can I meet your boss, Guzma?"
"Ey, ey, ey. Ya can't just casually meet the boss. He's a busy guy, training us and all that. But we'll see if we can do something." Tupp shrugged.
"Works for me! Come on, Flash! Let's finish up here!"
A sort of mutual yet growing relationship had been made with the members of Team Skull. While they may be delinquents, they are certainly fun to be around at times. Especially with Flurry Heart only amplifying that. Flash, not so much. This won't be the last time they meet each other. Whether tomorrow or the day after that. New unexpected friendships will be formed always as the journey continues.
"Hm." Rainbow Dash sat on her bed, looking at her TV while using her wing to hold the remote. While she does train, it's not all the time. Sometimes, she likes to kick back and relax. And with the TV she got for Hearth's Warming, she could do all of that and more. "What's on?"
She turned on the TV, beginning a phase of channel surfing. Something that was new to her and Equestria. She would have the chance to see what this new experience would feel like.
Channel One.
The first thing she saw was a commercial. And that commercial was about Trixie's Great and Powerful School. She had managed to commission a commercial for this as her grin could be seen entering the view of the screen.
"Greetings every human, Pokemon and whatever species may be out there," Trixie said. "Have you ever wanted to try magic? Genuine magic that you can use for as much as you want? Well, I have wonderful news for you. If that's your mojo, then Trixie Lulamoon's Great and Powerful School is the place to be."
She then moved back, allowing the camera to view her while it was also following her. It also gave a good view of the school's front layout.
"You see, it's important for a Pokemon and their Trainer to always be improving. But how can that be done if only the Pokemon learns some new tricks? Well, wouldn't it be useful if both the Trainer and Pokemon could give out some flash?"
She then entered the school, showing there numerous students learning various magic tricks with their Pokemon. Some more daring than others but with supervision, of course. The teachers here were both humans and unicorns that were younger than Trixie but older than the students.
"Here at Trixie's Great and Powerful School, we can have our students be on par with their Pokemon, learning and performing magic. Now some of you may be thinking. 'Trixie. Humans can't learn magic.' But that's where you're wrong. I know some trainers that can tell you otherwise. But either way, try it out and see what you can learn."
The camera then showed Trixie's principal office. The Shift Stone was being hidden by a massive black cloth so that no one would suspect a thing.
"My school provides the best possible teachers for magic. AKA, Fairy-Type Trainers." She chuckled before lowering her eyes and saying something under her breath. "Yet I still can't catch a single Fairy-Type Pokemon...!" She then turned back to the camera before clearing her throat. "Ahem! And if you enrol here, you'll get a free Zorua, no charge from yours truly. And we'll-"
"Trixie, that's enough. We're wasting time on this and you've already gone past the natural run-time." One of the people working on this commercial went up, whispering to the union as she froze. "Wrap it up, please."
"Oh. Uh. Hm." Trixie once again cleared her throat. "Right. Remember! Enrol to be Great and Powerful!" She then waved to the camera before the channel had been changed.
Channel 13.
A show by the name of Superior Tales of Galar Special Forces showed a scene of two police officers that were both Slowking, interrogating a Barbaracle.
"We'll begin the tape recording of this interrogation...now." The Slowking pressed his hand on a tape recorder as it started rolling. "Now then, Mr Barbaracle. Maybe you can start by telling us your connections to the Toxitricity Night Club?" The first officer asked.
"I didn't have any connection to it." Barbaracle. immediately gave his only answer with a raised tone. The officer sat there, chewing on his gum after the response.
"Funny. Cause according to this forum, you're one of the directors." He then slammed a large forum on the table, making Barbaracle jump. "I already have the tape inside for Exhibit A plus holding an application for a homeowner's loan of the club."
"I've never seen that before in my life." He crossed all four of his arms, still in denial.
"Really?" The officer then smirked, looking to his partner who was standing up. Both of them chuckled a bit. "Well, maybe they made a mistake, eh? Perhaps instead you can tell me about the receipts that were found in your duffel bag earlier today."
"!" Barbaracle shot up after hearing that. However, as he looked over, the officer ended up placing something entirely different on the table instead of what would be expected.
"Expenses totalling 4,500 Pokedollars." He had suddenly put a potted plant on the table instead of the receipts. Xavier paused for a moment, unsure as to why he would bring that out. "Well? What do you have to say about this?"
"What? That's a plant!" Barbaracle looked to the other cop before outstretching his arms towards the plant.
"You allegedly said your receipts were planted in your duffel bag this weekend." He then took the plant away as Barbaracle tried explaining himself, only to be cut off by the officer as the plant returned to the bag. "Let's move on."
"Ugh..." He groaned.
"Tell me. Do you recognize this Graveler?" The Slowking then nudged his head over to his friend who had brought over a picture frame of a man with a top hat.
"Yeah," Xavier admitted to that.
"The suspect is identified as Graveler of Hulbury, currently-" But as he went on, Barbaracle cut him off again.
"Wait, no-no-no, hang on! That's not the guy I-"
"Alright, so you're telling me you don't know this Graveler, eh?" The officer pointed over at the Collective Pokemon.
"Well-" He sighed a bit. "I know of him. I've seen him, but that's all-"
"Right, perfect, perfect, Mr Barbaracle. Let's move on." Cut off by the officer once more, unable to fully finish most of his sentences. "Right so, when you met Graveler, what did you two talk about?"
"Look. I've never met Graveler. I-" Just as he spoke, he then noticed that Slowking had paused the recording. "D-Did you just pause that?!"
"Are you refusing to answer, Mr Barbaracle?" Slowking then resumed the recording.
"No, I've got six witnesses that can prove that I was there, that night!" He put two of his hands together.
"Suspect refuses to answer." Slowking pressed the pause button once more as Barbaracle stood up. "Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Not going very well is it?"
"You've got nothing on me!" Barbaracle sat up, frustrated by Slowking. "And you're-"
"Sit down, please.2 Slowking used Psychic, forcing Barbaracle to sit back down. "Now I can tell you're a very busy Pokemon and I'll cut straight to the chase. Now I've got one very, very, simple...question..." Suddenly, Slowking started speaking as if he was in slow-motion, delaying his sentences. "Mr...Barbaracle. Did...you...drown...the nightclub?"
"Yes...?" The other Slowking leaned in, doing the same slow-motion voice as his friend. But he had used it to try and act as Barbaracle. As if the Collective Pokemon had answered himself.
"Thank you..." Afterwards, he returned to chatting at a normal pace instead of slow-motion. "Mr Barbaracle, that's all we have today and what we need. Interrogation over." Slowking stood up.
"What?! This is a setup!" Barbaracle moaned as the slowing were clearing everything.
"Uh, hold on." Just then, the other Slowking paused for a moment, looking at the recording. "There's no tape in this." Indeed, the whole time, there wasn't even a tape inserted in the recorder, meaning the whole interrogation had not been contained.
But that would change as Slowking brought over a nearby tape with Psychic, placing it inside the recorder. With that, they could start over, much to the chagrin of Barbaracle.
"Right." The main Slowking said, ready to sit down. "Mr Barbaracle, have a seat please."
"No, no, I've had enough for one day!" Barbaracle shook his head but it was too late to try and fight it as Slowking resumed the interrogation. "Ugh..."
Channel 24.
The next show was a Game Show called Are You Smarter Than an Alakazam?. The show host was an Alakazam using telepathy while the competitor of this game was an Abomsanow who had his Trainer as his translator. He was currently lined up with some Skitty to try and overcome.
"Welcome back to Are You Smarter Than an Alakazam?." Alakazam said. "Now, Abomasnow. You're on thin ice right now. Heh, get it?" He nudged the Frost Tree Pokemon.
"Aboma..." Abomasnow gulped while his trainer patted him on the back. His score was currently 50 PokeDollars. Not great.
"But, you can still come back from this with our Lightning Round. All you have to do with this one is when you see an answer that matches the category, shout it out as soon as you can. The faster you pick an answer, the more cash you make. But more than one answer can be right. But each time you're wrong, some cash will be taken away from you instantly. And for this one...your trainer can't help you."
"Stay strong, Abomasnow." She said to her partner. "You can do this."
"Bomasnow!" Abomasnow pumped himself up.
"Remember the clue, okay? Now...begin!"
The first word showed up on the screen with a clock counting down. Some menacing music was also being played. The word was Inverted Evolution.
These were the names of Pokemon that had begun showing up. Galarian Yamask, Azurill, Mantyke and Tyrouge were the first ones as they faded away. Abomasnow needed to shout at the right word that pops up into view with the right Pokemon. And he got it.
Inkay.
"Aboma!" Abomasnow cried out, knowing that Inkay can evolve while being upside down. Some points had been added to him with applause. The next word showed up with the music getting louder and fiercer. Not only that but the speed ould increase, forcing Abomasnow to keep up and answer quicker.
This word was Legendary Trio of a Colder Climate. The first words to show up were The Legendary Birds, Legendary Beasts and Tao Trio.
He saw the Lake Trio pop up on the screen, shouting out. "Snow!" Points were added to him as a few more trio names started showing up. The Three Genies, Light Trio and the Swords of Justice. None of those were chosen, except for the one that came afterwards.
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow shouted at the Aura Trio, gaining more points. All he needed was two more questions to fulfil as his heart was beating. That wasn't the only thing beating. The speed and momentum had picked up, putting the Frost Tree Pokemon on edge.
The next word was Scarier on the inside than outside. The words that showed up first were Marowak, Whirlipede, Polteageist and Forretress.
"Snow!" Abomasnow ended up shouting at Marowak and Whirlipede before they could vanish. Unfortunately, those were wrong as points had been deducted from him. "A-Aboma!"
And even worse, before words like Mimikyu and Magcargo could pop up, the question had ended, robbing Abomasnow of an answer that he could have gotten if he had just waited a bit longer.
The last question came up. And it was the word Alternate when on the edge. This was a question about Pokemon Abilities. The first words that showed up rapidly were Wimp Out, Emergency Exit and Blaze.
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow shouted at Wimp Out and Emergency Exit, but those were wrong. Double points had been taken away as the speed accelerated. The last word was showing up as Abomasnow had to take this chance, no matter how risky it was.
Zen Mode.
"Snow!" Abomasnw roared as he ended up getting that one right. Darmanitan's Zen Mode alternate forms when in danger. And that was the last one, ending the game.
"Time!" Alakazam exclaimed. "Well, I could hear your heart beating from over here. Let's see how you did." The scores were being tallied. Abomasnow managed to get a total of 5 questions right and two of them wrong. Totalling up all of those points gave Abomasnow a total of 8,000 PokeDollars.
"Ooh. Not quite enough to reach 10,000." Alakazam said, facing the Frost Tree Pokemon. "But, either way. You did pretty well despite all of that struggle. Plus, I could work with just 8,000, don't you think?"
"Yeah. Sorry that we couldn't fully get it all." The trainer said to her partner. "But we can still head home with this much. And next time, we'll do better, right Abomasnow?"
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow felt proud of himself. "He struggled in the beginning but turned it around at the last minute. And his trainer plus the audience were proud of him for that.
Channel 37.
"You can perish in the cold or you can join my school, it's up to you so enrol now, you-" Trixie came back into view, desperately trying to get her school recognised all over the world.
The channel was changed after that.
Channel 10.
The next one was a show that was similar to Red Aura that the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Rainbow Dash herself were fond of. This show wasn't that. It was something else that she had happened to come across. No new episodes for today. Just re-reruns.
Currently, the scenario was that Infernape, the protagonist, was facing off against a Mega Garchomp in a city full of destroyed crystals and a red sky. Draco Meteors and lightning were raining down, harming the damaged city. This scenario was a final battle-type situation with how it was framed.
"I've got a better reason for that," Infernape spoke as his fist had been ignited with flames. The background had constant lightning shooting down with portals in the sky. "For my friends. To protect them. That's why I'm still alive!" His entire body was being covered in an aura of flame then. " That's why I fight! And why I'm gonna stop you!"
"This time, you won't get out so easily!" Garchomp roared before rushing over to Infernape. Draco Meteors kept growing in numbers with the civilians, AKA the Pokemon, running for their lives.
"Hraaah!" Infernape also ran at Garchomp with an aura of fire always on him. He jumped into the air, hitting the Mach Pokemon's head two times and forcing him back.
"Ugh! Curse you!" Garchomp bellowed before returning the favour with a barrage of Dragon Pulses. Infernape put his arms up to try and defend them as the multiple dragon-shaped shockwaves had struck him repeatedly, forcing the Flame Pokemon back.
"Agh!" Infernape cried out before crashing on the ground. Garchomp finished things off with one final Dragon Pulse. A massive one. He unleashed the attack right on Infernape while he had just hit the ground. The result was a massive paroxysm of explosive draconic energy. Garchomp's roar echoed through the city and land.
Soon, everything was set ablaze as the Mach Pokemon descended with his mouth smoking. He believed the job had been done. "Hah...You weak, miserable, Infernape."
There were a few moments of silence amidst the destruction. However, a silhouette started showing through the smoke and flames. Garchomp gasped before seeing this silhouette.
Emerging out of it was Infernape, whose crown of fire had intensified, turning a blue colour. Different from his usual red-orange fire. He looked up at Garchomp afterwards.
"Blue fire?!"
Infernape then gave out his own roar that had blown away the smoke and red clouds that covered the sky. After roaring, the Flame Pokemon moved towards Garchomp at new speeds, giving the Mach Pokemon a Mach Punch. That initial hit then launched Garchomp into the air.
Infernape then chased down the Dragon-Ground-Type into the air with a trail of fire. While in the air, Infernape had delivered an unrelenting flurry of hits to Garchomp with sparks flying everywhere. Infernape's hits were also clearing the skies of their red colours and revealing the night sky.
"Impossible!"
"Nothing's impossible with-"
But Rainbow Dash changed the channel since she had already seen it. But it was enjoyable while it lasted.
Channel 50.
Another commercial had shown up. One about food and an establishment known as Poke-Fast.
"Hello and welcome to Poke-Fast." A female employee said. "You've probably heard this already, but we're revamping our image."
"But you may not know about all the wonderful new changes in store for our customers." A male employee said. "Have a look at this. Our old mascot Snorlax unfortunately had a greater destiny to follow. Apparently..." He whispered under his breath. "So, we have our new mascot already selected. A great substitute."
"Introducing Slurpuff as our new mascot and-" As the employee removed the curtains, it was revealed that a substitute doll instead of Slurpuff. "Huh!? A substitute doll?! Where's Slurpuff?!"
"Oh. Did you not mean an actual substitute?" A nearby employee spoke, asking the female employee. "I thought we were in agreement that it looked cute enough to be our mascot."
"Of course I didn't mean an actual substitute! Slurpuff is the substitute!"
"My bad."
"Anyway." She cleared her throat. "We also have some new food options for your Pokemon exclusively. Introducing the Bombadier Poke Puffs. Now with extra Pomeg berry for some more spice. And the Enigma Berry." She then held the food in her hand, feeding it to her Skitty.
"Skitty!" Skitty took a bite out of the Poke Puffs. One bite as she could feel the spice. But not in a good way. Skitty's eyes opened as she scurried away with her trainer following her. "S-Skitty!"
"Ah! Skitty! Are you okay?!" She followed after Skitty.
"But don't worry. We still have you and your Pokemon's favourites and the classics." The other employee carried on. "Like the Mocha Flavoured Poke Puffs. The Spring Flavoured berry sandwiches and more."
"Hoh..." The other employee returned, breathing in and out as she had returned Skitty to her Poke Ball. The janitor came by, sweeping away the mess made by Skitty after she threw up the food. There was a clear distaste for it. "Now let's talk desserts. And back on the topic of spice."
"The apple filling in our baked apple pie was too hot for many. So, we had the Enigma Berry regulate the heat so it's warm instead of too spicy. Now you can enjoy your apple pie with-"
"Wait. It's not always going to do that." She interrupted.
"What?
"The Enigma berry is random, remember? We're not gonna guarantee a warm sandwich all the time. Might even be chilly"
"Well, you could've told me that sooner...!"
"I did! I said it was a berry that can change things up...!"
"You could've worded it differently! We were already planning on changing things up here so-"
"Ahem." The camera crew grabbed their attention.
"Uh...in any case! Come by Poke-Fast to try out ur new options and free hug with our mascot." She laughed nervously before waving at the camera. "Remember. We're revamping our image, hehe...Bye!"
Back to Channel 10.
Revisiting Channel 10 gave a different experience than the previous show as a reality show was on.
"Everyone in here is a demon."
Rainbow Dash wasn't interested as she switched the channel."
Channel 3.
This one had Rarity on it. A movie was playing on the TV, courtesy of PokeStar Studios. In this movie, Rarity was the protagonist with her supporting cast being a Skiploom, Torracat and a Gardevoir. Rarity was wearing an outfit that matched the appearance of a Gardevoir but with the style of a pony.
"Stay right where you are!" Rarity cried out as she was currently running up some stairs. The background was a red factory room that was steaming with unbearable heat. There was also magma nearby as one of Rarity's Leavanny was currently being carried along a cage. "Leavanny! Don't worry! We'll-"
"Welcome to the end of the line!" Just then, the main antagonist of this movie which was a Vespiquen had shown herself to Rarity. Alongside the Vespiquen were horribly mutated Combee that were freakishly large and vicious. "Came right for Leavanny. How touching. It's too bad none of you will ever live!"
Vespiquen let out a yell that shook the factory as all of the Mutated Combee assembled, getting in front of Vesqipuen as a shield. They then all collectively attacked Rarity and the others.
"Torracat! Gardevoir, keep them busy!" She ordered while getting on the back of Skiploom. "Skiploom, get us to Leavanny!"
"Skip-Skip!" Skiploom skipped away as Torracat and Gardevoir would handle the Combee.
"Voir!" The Embrace Pokemon had kicked away a group of Combee with three consecutive kicks by using Triple Axel. She even knocked some of them into each other.
"Torra!" Torracat jumped over Gardevoir, landing on the heads of one of the Combee. The Fire Cat Pokemon stomped on the Combee's head, knocking it down before jumping to the next one. Like a platforming game, Torracat jumped and knocked down as many as he could. He had also used Fire Fang to gnaw on some of them, causing a blazing explosion.
"Skiploom!" Skiploom skipped high enough to reach the cage where Leavanny was being held captive. Rarity then lunged from SKiploom, using the height advantage as she went for the cage.
"Leavan!"
"I don't think so!" Vespiquen came flying in, using Slash to knock away Skiploom while chasing after Rarity.
"Skip!"
"Oh!" Rarity gasped as she quickly levitated herself with magic. She also put up a protective barrier around her, causing Vespiquen to hit only the barrier.
"Like you'll stop me from making my Bug Paradise!" Vespiquen started rapidly slashing the barrier, trying to break it. "I've already turned the rest of your bugs to my side! Soon, in just 10 minutes, the whole world will become nothing but Bugs!"
"W-We'll see about that! Skiploom, Rage Power!"
"Skip-Skip!" Skiploom had scattered a cloud of irritating powder to draw attention to itself. Soon, with the power flying through the atmosphere, all of the Combee had focused on the Cottonweed Pokemon.
"Hah! Why would you even think of doing that?" Vespiquen chuckled.
"For this. Now!" Rarity had expanded her barrier, causing it to contain Skiploom. But not the opposing Combee. At the right moment, Gardevoir had used Hyper Beam, sending a gigantic and destructive beam of Hyper-Energy flying forward while Torracat used Fire Blast.
"Garde...Voir!"
"Torracat!"
With all of them focused on Skiploom, they were wide open, allowing for Hyper Beam and Fire Blast to hit their mark. All of the Combee had been struck by the attacks at full force with a massive explosion occurring. The barrier had shielded Skiploom from any harm.
"Why you...!" Vespiquen growled, seeing her subjects faint. She pulled away from the barrier, ascending above everyone else as it was raining Combee. Gardevoir and Torracat got beside Rarity and Skiploom, looking up at the Bug-Flying-Type and her seething rage. "You're just delaying the inevitable at this point! I have more in store."
"More?!" Rarity gasped.
"Oh, that's right. But to be frank, they won't be needed for this." Vespiquen chuckled as her body started rumbling. She was starting to morph into something as an extra arm burst out of her skin. "When I show you my true form, everything I've aimed for will be-"
Grossed out by this transformation sequence, Rainbow Dash instantly switched the channel to something else.
Channel 25.
And this one plus the last one for the day was Trixie again, showing up on the screen.
"Remember. Join my school. Please?" She gave an innocent grin while standing next to her students. "If you do, you'll have the chance to get an autograph from the pony who helped stop an invasion, hold back Team Plasma and even solve-"
"Okay, that's enough." Rainbow Dash turned off the TV, feeling satisfied. "So that's channel surfing. I like it." She smiled before hopping off the bed. "Alright. Training time. Can't slack for the next Gym Battle."
"Braviary!" Braviary got up as Mienfoo was psyched to train again. However, she grew fond of that one Infernape and Garchomp show, wishing to see it again.
"Hey, do you think I could be on TV one day? How cool would that be?!" She started gawking, imagining the possibilities of her on TV. "Maybe Rarity can do something for me! Ooh, ooh! Or maybe I just ask BigTime Ben. That works too."
"Hey, there~" Celestia entered Luna's room while whistling. She was currently facing Luna, who was sick, unfortunately. "Feeling better?"
"No." Luna. sniffled while resting comfortably in her bed. A cold is what she came down with. A very nasty one too. "That's the last time I try and lick a Vanilluxe. I thought mother and father said that I wouldn't experience something like sickness or any harm due to the spell they put on me. Why is this happening?"
"I'm afraid sicknesses were exempt from that, Luna." Celestia squeed.
"Arcanine." Arcanine was providing heat for Luna by constantly staying by her side. Luna also had some of her Fire-Type Pokemon.
"But don't worry. Your big sister is here to keep you company." Celestia used her magic to bring over a chair, sitting down on it while having a book with her. "With a story!"
"A story? Of what kind?" She sniffled.
"It's a fantasy adventure with all sorts of mystical elements. You know the usual. Mother and father used to read this to us back then and-"
"SIster. We're in a fantasy world. Reading this would be tedious, don't you think?" Luna interrupted as Celestia scrunched her face.
"True, true...but how about..." Celestia thought of a way to spice up the story. "We add Pokemon into the mix! And ourselves in the story?"
"...Go on." Luna's interest was now piqued with that idea.
"Right." Celestia cleared her throat, ready to begin the story. "Once upon a time, in the distant past. Following the adventures of some of the noblest group there is."
A small town. Day.
This town greatly resembled Ponyville. For obvious reasons. All of it was told in the view of Celestia. Although, this town looked a bit older. Living in this town was a pony identical to Twilight. In fact, her name was Twilight as she sat in her room with two of her friends, looking at a book. These friends resembled Applejack and Fluttershy. Same names too.
Twilight was a unicorn in this story instead of an alicorn. She had the role of a villager here. So did Applejack and Fluttershy as their roles were identical to the ones in real life. They even had the same Pokemon with them.
"See. Look at this," Twilight spoke, pointing her hoof at the book. "Somewhere out there, a Thunder Creature and a Creature Master located underneath two mountains. How does that sound?"
"Not pleasant." Fluttershy shook her head. "It sounds like it would be horrible underneath two of them at the same time."
"You're showing us this, why?" Applejack asked.
"Apparently, this is meant to be a sign. When the shooting stars burst to the north and the moon shines blue, that's when the bell of freedom resounds in the night sky and allow these two to arrive."
"That's...really ominous." Fluttershy shuddered. "Is it meant to be ominous?"
"More like hopeful. I looked outside to see the stars move in new directions. That means they're going to awaken soon. Probably today. Or tomorrow. Depends."
"Sounds mighty fine and all. But why?" Applejack questioned further.
"Well..." Twilight thought for a moment before shifting her eyes. "I-I'm not really sure. There's no danger around Equestria recently apart from some dangerous creatures. They should only appear when they're needed the most."
"There's that one creep far south. What's his name? Dark Lord Ghetsis." Applejack raised her hoof, imagining this world's version of Ghetsis. "He ain't bother us here that much but he sure bothers everywhere else."
"If that's the case, then should we be worried?" Fluttershy gulped. "Something bad is coming this way, right?"
"Nothing bad's gonna happen, Fluttershy." Applejack shook her head. "Never in Crossville anyway."
"Right. Sorry for the scare, Fluttershy." Twilight squeed. "But anyway, let's get ready for today's royal visit. It's not often that the Princess' pass by here."
"They showed up last year, didn't they?" said Fluttershy. "Oh! Do you think this time we'll get to see more of the Gardevoir and Arcanine? They're my favourite!" She gushed at the thought of meeting those two Pokemon.
"Can't be late then." Twilight opened the door to the outside. "Let's go."
The trio made their way outside with their Pokemon beside them. Already, every citizen was patiently waiting for the princesses to arrive. And in this story, not only were there Pokemon but humans as well. The name Crossville made a lot of sense now.
Speaking of princesses, they had arrived. In a chariot of course. The town welcomed them with applauding cheers. Fireworks, courtesy of some Fire-Type Pokemon had gone off. And this story had its own Pinkie Pie who was the cause of the fireworks and planning the welcome party. She was a baker even in this story.
"Woohoo!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "Second time this year, princesses! Welcome back!" Rarity was also a part of this story, looking over from home with Sweetie Belle Her role in this was an Armourer, making armours for everyone.
"This time, she has to at least try this one." Rarity held up an armour that looked like Cobalion. "The princess never stops talking about him."
"Oh, I'm sure she will." Pinkie Pie nudged Rarity as she, Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack had gathered. Only one was missing which was Rainbow Dash. About Rainbow Dash, she was just above the clouds, relaxing and watching over.
Within the carriages, Celestia and Luna had taken the role of princesses. As to be expected with a story being narrated by Celestia herself. The two sisters had their Pokemon beside them while also having an extra guest in the form of Adagio. Celestia included her in this story.
"Look at how lively they are today. More than last year." Celestia looked around. "And that was our first time here."
"Hm-hm." Luna nodded. "When can we meet some of the locals here? We barely spent an hour last time."
"It's a bit dangerous at the moment. Dark Lord Ghetsis is more active than ever." Celestia replied.
"What do you mean by that?" Adagio asked.
"Look." Celestia then aimed her hoof at the azure sky, causing her sister and student to look in the same direction. "You see? The Serene Star's been moving further north, even showing its sparkle during the day. That is a great sign for all of us but a horrible sign for Ghetsis. It means that something greater than him is coming, signalling his end."
"Is that what that is?" Adagio narrowed her eyes. "Didn't think a star would tell all of that. So, someone can put a halt to Ghetsis' empire? That easily?"
"With some assistance of course. But they'll have something significant to display. We will have to wait and see when that day comes. And hopefully, Ghetsis doesn't show up." Celestia explained.
Except he did.
Appearing in the skies in great numbers were the forces of Ghetsis. And in this story, they were Team Plasma. Or rather, the Guild Plasma. They even had their Plasma Frigate although it looked older in this story. Their ship hovered above the skies, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Guild Plasma!" Everyone gasped as many of the grunts were dropped from above. Not only that but magic rays from the ship were sent down, attacking the town as the citizens started screaming. Celestia, Luna and Adagio looked outside to see the guild attacking the town.
But more importantly, the one inside of the ship and orchestrating this whole attack was Dark Lord Ghetsis himself. He came into view for everyone by standing on the tip of the ship.
"Ghetsis!" Celestia exclaimed.
"Ghetsis?!" Everyone else repeated.
"Crossville. You all may not know why I'm here. Except for maybe you, princess." Ghetsis looked to the two princesses. "But something's coming. Something that I can't afford to let happen at all."
"Scared of the Thunder Creature and Creature Master awakening?!" Celestia bellowed.
"Not just that. A seer prophesied that another princess would be born, aside from the one of love. That third princess will give me equal trouble as the Thunder Creature and Creature Master. No matter what, that will never become a reality."
"Why come here then?!" roared Luna.
"Because the seer told me that the next one is residing somewhere in this town. So, I've come to erase that potential princess by taking all of her potential magic." But don't worry. Both of you aren't exempt. I still want your magic for myself, using you both as an endless power source."
Right as he said that, Guild Plasma had barged into multiple homes with their Pokemon, not wasting any time to obliterate this future princess. Many were running in fear from this attack, witnessing buildings damaged with rubble and material flying all over the place.
Some tried retaliating with their Pokemon, only for the Guild of Plasma to greatly outnumber them in every way. Thankfully, the princesses had guards that do something. Especially the ones carrying the chariot plus the princesses themselves.
The Golurk had emerged from what seemed to be an old-school Poke Ball. One that was crafted of magical wood for authenticity. "Golurk!"
The Golurk emerged, protecting everyone as the giants they were. They encountered the opposing Pokemon, engaging in a rigorous battle with them.
"Passion! Come to me!" Celestia got off the chariot as Passion had appeared out of thin air via teleportation. She was ready to fight alongside her best friend.
"Gardevoir!"
"Come forth, Aurorus!" As for Luna, she had sent out Aurorus for assistance.
"Aurorus!"
Can Darkrai be in this story?
Reality.
"Pardon?" Celestia looked to Luna.
"Darkrai." She sniffled as Passion gave her some hot tea. "Can he be in this story?"
"Oh. I was hoping to save Darkrai for something important but...sure." Celestia shrugged. "This is all for you anyway. Now. An immediate feud began in the town against the Two Sisters and Guild Plasma. However, Guild Plasma not only had the number advantage but also the horrifying power that Dark Lord Ghetsis had with him." She continued the story.
"Garde...Voir!" Passion had used Dazzling Gleam, striking every Dark-Type she could with this attack. However, they kept coming in large numbers. Celestia also used her magic to push back as many as she could while Adagio stayed in the chariot, hiding.
Aurorus was able to freeze some of them, only for the Fire-Types or those that had Fire-Type moves to melt them away and go on the offensive without relenting.
Some of the Pokemon snuck up from behind, attempting to strike while the princesses and their Pokemon weren't looking. But also sneaking up from behind was Darkrai. He had emerged from the shadows, manipulating them and grabbing the enemies by surprise. He was even able to put some of them to sleep.
That's when Ghetsis stepped in. And this story, he had his Hydreigon with him. Ghetsis rid on the back of his Hydreigon as a ride as the Brutal Pokemon descended But not before breathing down fire from above.
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon's flames had immediately scorched the grass and tree with unbelievably destructive power. The Brutal Pokemon was also approaching Celestia and Luna.
Meanwhile, Twilight had entered her home, grabbing all of the valuables she could find so that they can be safe. AKA her books. Espeon was doing the same, knowing how important they were to Twilight. There was a safe room somewhere in this town, mainly where the mayor was.
"Let me just get the last ones and-" But as she was about to get the last batch of her books, bursting through her room was a Team Plasma grunt with a Salazzle.
"Salazzle!"
"That one's a unicorn. They say that unicorns have a higher chance to become princesses." The grunt said, narrowing her eyes over at Twilight. But she wasn't alone. More had shown up in this one home. Not only that, but some of them had got Twilight's parents. Twilight Velvet and Night Light.
"Mom! Dad!" Twilight gasped after seeing her parents being held captive. They were both unicorns so they were prime targets. "Eve! Stop them!"
"Espeon!" Acting quickly, Espeon went for the grunts to try and save the two unicorns. Only for a group Drapion to get in their way. They used their tails to grab the Sun Pokemon, slamming her against the wall. "Eon!"
"Sala!" Salazzle went for Twilight, using Flame Burst to try and burn the young unicorn.
"E-Espeon!" Espeon quickly recovered, using Shadow Ball to intercept the attack, saving Twilight. The Drapion then faced Espeon, slamming her aside with Poison Tail.
"Eve!" Twilight caught Espeon in her hooves with her face immediately warping into that of fear. And as she caught Espeon, another Drapion appeared from behind.
Terrified, Twilight closed her eyes, holding her partner close to her as she had used her magic. But in this moment of fear and worry, her magic skyrocketed suddenly. So much so that as she went to cast a field of magic while ducking, the field expanded to an astronomical size.
The field had blown away the grunts and their Pokemon. But also acting as sort of a failsafe for her parents as it did not affect them or Eve. But it certainly affected the house. Twilight's magic expanded to the point where it not only consumed the house but also blew it apart.
And Ghetsis saw this. This expanse of magic was unnatural for a unicorn. He also noticed how it did not come from either of the princesses. He had found the next princess.
"There you are. Hydreigon. Hide a Draco Meteor in the sky." Ghetsis said before redirecting Hydreigon towards Twilight's now destroyed home. Celestia also saw this. It was impossible to ignore something of that scale. Twilight gasped, realizing how the area around her had changed. She was unaware of what she had done before noticing her mother and father.
"Mom! Dad! Are you okay?!" Twilight went to her parents.
"Oh..." Night Light held his head. "We're fine, Twilight."
"Twilight! Over here!" Applejack cried out from afar. Grabbing the attention of her friend, Applejack waved her hoof to one of the safe rooms in this town. The mayor wasn't the only one with a safe room. Twilight, Eve and her parents saw this, quickly making their way towards Applejack's location.
There were already some ponies within the safe room. Ghetsis followed them, only to be stopped by Celestia, Passion and now the involvement of Arcanine.
"Hoh. So you've seen it too." Ghetsis spoke. "You know that unicorn over there is the next one. That kind of magic doesn't come naturally for any unicorn."
"I do. And you certainly aren't getting close to her." Celestia replied whilst Arcanine snarled at Hydreigon.
"Hm. Well, they will." Ghetsis pointed at the sky, averting Celestia's direction. That's when Draco Meteor had come into play. Raining down from the sky were gigantic meteors of draconic energy in great numbers.
Celestia gasped as the town was met with a violent barrage of destructive meteors that cause even further damage. Celestia and Luna acted quickly, using their magic to put a large shield around the town. Their magic combined made one impressively large shield that could defend the town from such destructive fury. Passion had helped by also putting up her own shield.
"Now, Colress." Just what Ghetsis wanted. Appearing from a far distance, Colress had used a device that acted similarly to J's arm cannon. Except this one was a large cannon.
"With pleasure," Colress said as the cannon had fired a beam that went straight for Celestia, Luna and Passion while they were trying to hold the Draco Meteors away.
"Arca!" Arcanine, Darkrai and Aurorus got in the way, using Ice Beam, Flamethrower and Dark Pulse. However, much to their dismay, those three attacks did not stop the beam as it had overpowered them. The trio gasped as they were struck. But once they were hit, they weren't harmed Instead, they were turned to stone. Much like J's device.
"Passion! Arcanine!" Celestia gasped.
"Darkrai! Aurorus!" So did Luna. They soon realized how defenceless they were now. They had to deal with the meteors via their shields and were unable to stop the incoming cannon. Colress charged it up as it was ready to be unleashed once more.
"Wait. I thought we were the main characters?"
Reality.
"Oh. Sorry." Celestia squeed. "This is how it originally goes and how the story can work out. Just with new additions. You don't mind that, do you, Luna?"
"Mrrgh..." Luna grumbled before pulling a Darkrai plush over to her. She held the plush close to her before putting the sheets further over her. "Fine, alright. Continue."
"Ahem." Celestia resumed, picking up from where she left off. "The potent weapon of Guild Plasma was highly volatile and seemingly impossible to stop. As the princesses stood there, too busy fending off the meteors, they were unfortunately turned to stone. The safe room had been damaged due to the destruction the meteors brought. Only a few managed to escape. Among those few were 6 ponies.
Celestia and Luna had been struck, becoming petrified like their partners. And the same went for the citizens who were unfortunately turned to stone and could not escape in time. Ghetsis wanted all of their magic for himself, so they were all being taken to the Plasma Frigate.
As for the town, it was a wreck now. Thanks to Hydreigon and Guild Plasma. The protection that the princesses had made only did so much. Adagio peeked her head out of the chariot as she had witnessed the carnage. She had also seen her mentor in a petrified state while being taken away.
"Oh..." She said while hiding back in the chariot. "Great. So much for being a prime student." She started speaking to herself in the chariot. She felt guilty that she hid and gave no assistance to her teacher. "It's fine. It's fine. No need to panic yet. Just need to find some help."
She gulped as the Plasma Frigate was ready to take off. Adagio looked around for any sign of help. But there was none. The streets were empty. Seeing as there was no current choice, Adagio made one of her own. She used her siren wings to fly right for the Plasma Frigate. An attempt to save her teacher. Right before it could leave the town itself, Adagio hopped onto the back of the ship, hitching a ride.
As for those 6, they hid behind large piles of rubble. They were this story's variation of the Mane 6. Twilight poked her head out, seeing that the coast was clear. Plus, the Plasma Frigate had just left.
"What just happened?" Pinkie Pie said.
"I believe we've been ransacked, invaded and defeated." Rarity lowered her head. "All in just 5 minutes."
"Gah! If I had some time, I would've thrashed them all!" Rainbow Dash roared before blowing away the rubble. The remaining citizens came out of hiding, seeing their damaged town.
"What now?" Twilight lowered her head as her mother came over.
"Don't worry, Twilight." Velvet said. "This is a sign that the Thunder Creature and Creature Master will awaken and stop Dark Lord Ghetsis, right? Perhaps today."
"Plus, you saved us back there. How did you let out so much magic?" Night Light asked.
"I'm...not sure." A confused Twilight shrugged. "It was in the heat of the moment I guess. I've never used that much before."
"Aaaaaah!" Just then, Applejack and Rarity screeched before realizing something off. Since mostly every citizen had been taken, that also meant their little sisters as they were nowhere to be found.
Some of the citizens also screeched as members of their family were gone too. Obviously, this caused great panic and worry as their family and even friends would have their magic taken away.
But then, as all seemed put into a spur of anarchy, something started glowing on the ground. Twilight turned her focus to the golden light pulsating below. The young unicorn leaned in, squinting her eyes at this pulse. But the moment she got close, the pulse erupted a golden light that forced Twilight back.
Everyone gasped, gazing at the sight of this pillar. They thought it was another attack from Guild. But instead, it was a projection of one of the princesses. Celestia.
"Princess Celestia?!" Twilight screeched with an agape mouth. "You're okay?!"
"Not quite." The project spoke with an echoing voice. "This is the only spell I can use while petrified. But it's enough for me to warn you about this."
"Warn us about what?" Fluttershy asked.
"As you know, Dark Lord Ghetsis came here to find the newest and fourth princess. So that he can absorb her magic before she can become an alicorn. But, he believes that he's destroyed the fourth princess, calling this invasion a success. When in truth, she's still here."
"Really? Where?" Pinkie Pie looked around. "Who is it?"
"It's you." Celestia pointed her hoof at Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle."
"Me?!" Twilight pulled back.
"Oh, that makes sense now." Her parents said swiftly while nodding in unison. Everyone else looked at Twilight, surprised that she was the fourth alicorn. It didn't add up to them, but that expanse of magic explained a lot.
"Ghetsis believes he's destroyed you. But not at all. There's still a chance for the fourth alicorn to show up since you're still around."
"Wait, hold on! Why me?!" Twilight pointed her hoof at herself. "I've never heard of something like this! Wasn't today supposed to be for the Thunder Creature and Creature Master."
"About that. You will have to find those two under the dual mountains. They will assist you in rescuing us and stopping Ghetsis."
"How cool is that, Twilight?!" Rainbow Dash nudged Twilight. "You're like, a destiny pony now!"
"Yeah! Lucky you!" Pinkie Pie cheered.
"Uhh..." Twilight was having a hard time processing this. There certainly wasn't a mixup. That massive magic field spoke for itself. She then looked at her surroundings, the destruction that Guild Plasma had left. Not only that but how her friends were missing important individuals. Relatives and more friends. Twilight didn't like the idea of heading out there, putting herself in danger. But if it was for her friends and loved ones, she would gladly do so.
"Okay." She took a deep breath before exhaling. "I'll do it. Where do I need to go to reach these mountains?"
"The two mountains that they're located at are the Aura Peaks. Far north. That's where you will find them. For a quicker way to reach them, seek the assistance of the Great Dragon Spike that rests in the Dragon Isle. Hopefully, this isn't too much to process."
"It's not. I got it all, princess. Don't worry. I'll come and save you and everyone else soon."
"I know you will. I will continue giving you advice along the way and-"
"Wait. What about me?" Luna paused the story again.
Reality
"Can I not cast the same spell as well?"
"Oh, right." Celestia chuckled nervously as Passion brought over some food for them all. "Sorry about that. But how are you enjoying the story so far?"
"It's...achoo!" A sneeze came out. "Good. I hope it's not too long. Can we skip ahead?"
"Ah, I'm afraid I can't do that. It's not the longest story out there, but it takes time, Luna." Celestia held the book out as Luna grumbled with her ears flopping. "But, we can probably simplify and shorten a few things here and there!" Celestia found an alternative. All for the sake of her younger sister.
"Yay," Luna said with a smile.
"Ahem. Alright." Celestia was ready to simplify the journey towards Spike. "The projections of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna guided Twilight Sparkle. However, she would not be alone in this endeavour. She had her friends. From Espeon to Rainbow Dash and the others. They could not let their friend go at it alone with such a perilous journey."
East. Out in the mountains.
"Thanks for coming along with me, you all." Twilight looked at her five friends. "Not sure I could get through this with little help. My Pokemon plus all of you make an army almost."
"Don't sweat it, Twilight." Rainbow Dash said. "Any chance to help out is all for us. Plus we might even become legends after this!" Stars arrived in her eyes.
"You helped us in the past. It's only right if we help you too." Fluttershy spoke while being carried by her Audino. "But, are we close to the Great Dragon yet?"
"Audino." Audino was obviously the method of tracking down any noise. Plus, Slurpuff's nose could be a great factor in this too.
"What about the third princess? Princess Cadence?" Rarity asked. "Has Guild Plasma gone after her yet?"
"Hopefully not. My brother won't like that one bit." Twilight shook her head. "He has a bit of a huge crush on her. But I don't see it."
"You never know." Pinkie Pie bounced past Twilight. "Love is unpredictable. Just like the Pokemon. Ooh! What do you think the Thunder Creature and Creature Master are like?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Rainbow Dash flew to her side, clearing her throat. "They'll be really strong and unbeatable, wouldn't they? Probably dress all cool like too?"
"If he's a Creature Master, then wouldn't he understand all Pokemon without issue?" Fluttershy chimed in, imagining what this legendary individual would be. "He's probably met all of them."
"Someone of legendary status would have to look dashing right? Hats are a fantastic look." Rarity came in with her own imagination. "You can agree with that, right, Applejack?"
"Eeyup." Applejack nodded. "About that Pokemon too. If it's an Electric-Type, it'd better be important. I mean, I don't know much important Electric Pokemon. Do I?"
"In any case, whoever this Thunder Creature and Creature Master may be, we'll need their help more than ever for this. So, how close are we to the Great Dra-"
Just as Twilight spoke, she had bumped into something that caused her to fall on her back. "Oof!"
"Espeon?" Espeon looked over at her partner before noticing a massive shadow loom over. "Eon?!"
"Oh!" Rainbow Dash and the others gasped before noticing what was in front of them. The most dangerous Pokemon in all the land, holding the most destructive power.
Dragon-Types.
And in this case, Salamence and Druddigon were the ones standing before them, stomping on the ground and causing a mild earthquake. The group froze at the sight of the two dragons before being met with a potent roar from them.
"SALAMENCE!"
DRUDDIGON!"
"As the jour-"
"Wait it's ending?" Luna interrupted.
Reality.
"Hm?" Celestia looked over as a response.
"You were about to say something along the lines of 'As the journey continues. Is that really where it's ending."
"Oh. My mistake." Celestia chuckled with her wings flapping. "I don't know what came over me. That came out of nowhere. Ahem. Ignore that. Anyway, let's continue."
Luna was still sick as Celestia was ready to continue the story. A fantasy story involving Pokemon, humans, ponies, dark lords, guilds, dragons and masters. All for her little sister. As she was about to continue the story, emerging into the room was Raven Inkwell. Princess Celestia's secretary.
"Uh, princess." Raven entered. "I regret to inform you that a civil war has broken out in the Pikachu Highlands. One of the Pikachu requests a chance for you to assist in this. Shall I tell them about your response?"
"Oh." Celestia's eyes widened after hearing that. "I'll be right there soon. Tell them I'll arrange a meeting between...whichever sides there are."
"Yes, your majesty." Raven left the room as Celestia prioritized her younger sister's wellbeing over everything else. She went back to reading the story, making sure to simplify it for Luna.
"Anyway. The group had come across a fearsome duo of a Salamence and a Druddigon when searching for the Great Dragon Spike."
"SALAMENCE!"
"DRUDDIGON!"
The two dragons roared at the Mane 6, intimidating and even getting a fright out of them. They even blew their manes and tails with the force of their roar. Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie squeaked while hiding behind Audino and Slurpuff. Rainbow Dash and Applejack weren't too intimidated, but the sight of two powerful dragons in front of them was still something to be nervous about as they were shaking.
"I...I guess we can say we're close to him, huh?" Pinkie Pie stuttered.
"Dragon Peaks are known for having a multitude of dragons," said Twilight. "I'd say that we're at our destination." She backed away as Espeon snarled at the dragons. Druddigon gave Espeon a quick menacing glare that made the Sun Pokemon jump.
"Well, they don't look so tough!" Rainbow Dash flew in front of them. "I bet we can just beat 'em and get past!" She was eager for a Pokemon Battle as she held a Poke Ball out, ready to throw it. "Bring it!"
"Wait, wait!" Just then, a voice interfered to calm this situation down. Approaching from the distance, with a seemingly massive shadow as another dragon with a somewhat identical build to Druddigon. But smaller. There was also a second one on the horizon.
Rainbow Dash promptly stopped before looking ahead. Even Druddigon and Salamence came to a halt. Two dragons had emerged. One was an Axew. An Equestrian Axew. And the other was a baby dragon wearing some robes while holding a sceptre with a red gem in it.
This was none other than Spike and his Equestrian Axew.
"Let's not tear each other up just yet, okay?" Spike spoke.
"W-Who are you?" Rainbow Dash stammered as everyone squinted at the baby dragon. Fluttershy gushed instead.
"Who am I? Can you see the sceptre and robes?" Spike grinned. "I'm Spike. The Great Dragon Spike. Nice to meet you."
"You're the Great Dragon?" Twilight pulled back.
"I was kinda expecting a super big dragon." A doubtful Pinkie made a poker face while squinting her eyes.
"Oh! He's so cute!" Fluttershy gawked, flapping her wings with excitement as she squealed like a kid at a candy store. "And that other dragon beside him!"
"Axew!" Axew raised his hand as a greeting.
"I'm not cute! I'm fierce!" Spike put on a serious face, trying to act intimidating while stomping the staff. But everypony else just gave out light chuckles. "Ugh...Nevermind. Anyway. Sorry about Salamence and Druddigon. They're high strung lately since they sensed something bad incoming. What are you all doing here exactly?"
"Right. We came here looking for you, Great Dragon Spike," said Twilight. "You see. There's a problem. The Dark Lord Ghetsis has turned everyone, including the princesses into stone. All because he came looking for me. The fourth princess."
"Wait. You're the fourth princess? An alicorn?" Spike pointed at Twilight, examining her. "You don't look like an alicorn. Just a regular unicorn to me."
"Yeah, well, I guess I haven't become one yet." Twilight shrugged. "I don't know. But what I do know is that we need the help from the Thunder Creature and Creature Master over at the Aura Peaks. And you can apparently get there faster than anyone else. That's why Princess Celestia and Princess Luna set us here."
"Well, if he's coming for you, then you have to be hiding something. Plus, you came to the right place. Salamence and Druddigon, and practically every Pokemon here could feel that something like this was happening." Spike turned to face his Pokemon. "Dragon Pokemon are the most arcane of them all. They can sense when something is wrong from a mile away."
"So you'll help us?" Twilight questioned.
"Well, I-" Spike was about to give his answer until he saw something that had stunned him. It took him a moment to realize this, but Rarity's appearance had grabbed him. Immediately, his eyes shifted with pulsating hearts while seeing Rarity with a pink background. His actual heart was also pulsating as he was in love. Much like reality. "Uh-uh, sure!" He agreed for a separate reason "Anything for my friends the princesses!"
"Wonderful! Thank you so much, Great Dragon Spike." Rarity thanked, much to Spike's pleasure
"Call me Spike. And you'll see how we can get to the Aura Peaks quicker. I know a shortcut, plus you need a Dragon to get there." Spike then led them towards the Dragon Isle, allowing them to bear witness to it.
The isle was hidden behind a wall of dragon scales. These scales looked to belong to a Kommo-o. A perfect entrance considering how hard Kommo-o's scales are. Druddigon had moved the scales away, revealing the isle to the group.
"Oooh!" They all gawked at this giant island that was filled with Dragon-Type Pokemon. The island itself was even shaped like Kyurem. Dragons roamed everywhere, living in harmony in their own ways. Sometimes battling. Not only that but there were regular dragons that acted as Pokemon Trainers. Such familiar faces included Garble.
"Neat, huh?" Spike spoke. "Yeah, I've been ruling here for quite a while now. A certified Dragon Master. Dragons are super hard to control, but I figured it out. Plus some are just really friendly. Isn't that right, Axew?"
"Xew. Axew."
"So anyway. We can head there by air. Good thing a lot of Dragons fly. We can take you with Salamence, Flygon, Druddigon, Dragonite, you name it. Either way, we'll get you there in no time."
"Any is fine. As long as we can head to the Aura Peaks as soon as possible." Twilight nodded. "Before Dark Lord Ghetsis absorbs all of the magic and finds out that I'm still free and roaming around."
"Yeah. Plus, which one of these is fast?" Rainbow Dash asked before observing the group of Dragons.
"Most of them are. I'll choose for you." Spike hopped onto Salamence's back. "No time to waste then. If you need something before you leave, then don't worry. The Dragon Isle has you covered. Need something to eat, then gemstones are for you."
"Uh...We don't eat gemstones." Applejack shook her head.
"But I'll gladly take some if you don't mind." Rarity chimed in. "Besides. They'll fit in this without any issue." She then placed a massive bag of items that she had carried with her along the way. Just in case they needed to rest for the night. "But make sure it's not too much. I've brought some armour for the Thunder Creature and Creature Master."
After that, everyone else got on the backs of Salamence as they could all fit on him due to his superior size. Spike then recalled Druddigon.
The Dragons looked to see their leader taking off to the skies, knowing that he was off on important business. He waved to them as Salamence let out a powerful roar that echoed throughout the sky.
"Is this all foreshadowing?" Luna interrupted.
Reality.
"It feels like it is." Luna sniffled. "Did you or the story predict this?"
"Well, it's not impossible, is it?" Celestia replied. "Spike does want to be a Dragon Master, plus the original character in this story is a Dragon Emperor. So there's some relation."
"Is the Creature Master part the foresha- Achoo!" She sneezed mid-sentence. "Foreshadowing for the future?"
"Ash is aiming to become a Pokemon Master. I know for a fact that you'll want to see him reach that goal more than anyone. And hopefully beat Twilight to the punch." Celestia nudged her little sister.
"Mmrgh...Wish Ash was here...Can we skip to the part where they find him and Pikachu?"
"Not yet. We have to go over to the villain's side and what they're up to." Celestia resumed the story. "Meanwhile, over at the Dark Lord's Castle..."
The Dark Lord's Castle.
There, the castle resided. A massive spiralling black tornado always hovered above it with a black mist as well. It was even shaped like the castle that Team Plasma used to have back in Unova.
Ghetsis was already extracting magic from everyone for himself. He didn't waste any time. He had put his hand out, absorbing the magic of humans, ponies and Pokemon. He had them all lined up horizontally for him to constantly feed on them.
Especially Celestia and Luna. They could give out the most magic including Passion and Darkrai. But, Ghetsis, while feeling victorious, was still wary. About the Thunder Creature and Creature Master.
The Seer then came over, entering the castle herself. The Seer was none other than Starlight Glimmer as she arrived before Ghetsis.
"Ghetsis." Starlight Glimmer said.
"Seer. I've outplayed your premonition. The fourth princess has been destroyed in the meteor fall and most of the magic here is mine to consume. Soon, I'll have enough magic to end the Thunder Creature and Creature Master without issue."
"Hmm...Nah." Starlight shook her head as Guild Plasma gasped. Ghetsis then turned to her with red glowing eyes.
"What?" He said with a growl.
"You didn't. The fourth princess is still out there." Starlight smiled, unbothered. "Seems like a slip-up, if you ask me."
"Still alive?!" Ghetsis roared. "Always one that manages to weasel their way out of things, isn't there?"
"You'd better not get sloppy, Ghetsis. Or else, you'll end up failing because of a few things that flew over your head. As a Seer, I make sure to always look for anything that might be a drawback. Inconsistencies are important.
"Enough." Ghetsis stopped her. "So what if I made a mistake? I can just correct it. Now with this magic, I won't miss my designated target again. Tell me, Seer. Where is she?"
"Ah...I'll tell you. But it'll cost you." Starlight wiggled her eyebrows, using her magic to send out a money jar. Ghetsis scoffed before placing the money inside. "Pleasure doing business."
"So. Where are they?"
"I can tell you this..." She gave a sneaky grin. "Good luck!"
Just then, Starlight had vanished, using teleportation. All she wanted was the money. She had just scammed Ghetsis. The Dark Lord took a deep breath but ignored it.
"Forget her. I'll take care of her once I have everything under my control. Now." Ghetsis faced his guild. "We're going to find that fourth princess before she can become an alicorn. Even if it means destroying everything in our path."
Reality.
"And so, the Dark Lord and his forces set off to find the fourth princess before she could become an alicorn," Celestia said. "They flooded the land, covering the sky. All the while, the group made their way towards the Aura Peaks. A perilous journey as the method of getting there was not easy. Horrible tornadoes. Fearsome thunderstorms. Terrifying whirlpools and typhoons galore."
"That doesn't sound so pleasant for someone so heroic," said Luna.
"Important figures are usually harder to reach, Luna. Or rather, there are extra steps to it. The invasion was a good example of that."
"Hm." Luna ate a cookie. "I suppose. How long until this story ends? That civil war might spiral out of control and somehow affect us."
"Don't worry. We're reaching the rising action. How about we simply and shorten the journey to the Aura Peaks?"
"That would be nice." Luna sniffled as Celestia resumed the story.
As they moved through the perilous obstacles, the group felt like any moment would be their end. But thanks to the Great Dragon Spike's expertise with Dragon Pokemon, they managed.
"Woah!" Twilight and her friends held on for dear life as three great thunderbolts came crashing down. Salamence's amazing manoeuvrability allowed the group to be kept safe. Spike kept a straight face, unbothered. "H-How close are we, Spike?!"
"See that giant mountain shaped like a sphere?" Spike pointed up ahead as a hurricane was chasing the group down. "That's where we need to be."
"How is this the easier and quicker way?!" Rarity screeched as the hurricane destroyed everything in its path. Salamence quickly used Hyper Beam to blow the Hurricane away, however.
This was just one big natural disaster area. Almost every kind of disaster was present and threatening to harm the group. Minus the earthquakes since they were below. There was one other disaster. One that was more unnatural.
The nearby mountains started closing in suddenly. As if they were about to clap. Nothing was stopping that, especially considering the scale of these mountains. They were high enough to reach past all of the clouds.
"Oh. This actually looks like it's gonna be close." Spike observed.
"Close?!" They all squeaked. It looked grim for them. But then, that's when the projections of Celestia and Luna came to assist. Even though Ghetsis was sucking away their magic, they could still muster some.
"Rainbow Dash! Use Braviary's Superpower to push back the mountains!" Celestia spoke as their projections flew beside Salamence.
"The force of the pressure is enough to even control the weather!" said Luna.
"Got it. Braviary! Come out and use Superpower!" Not wanting to be crushed, Rainbow Dash had sent out Braviary for assistance.
"Braviary!" The Valiant Pokemon cawed before enveloping his wings with energy. He then clapped his wings together, causing a powerful wind pressure and shockwave that had momentarily pushed the mountains back.
But not for long as they would move again. But that allowed Salamence to move ahead with spare time. "Thanks, Braviary! Return! " Rainbow Dash recalled her partner.
However, the other disasters would not cease. Especially the lightning bolts, which were the most frequent occurrence here. Multiple of them threatened to strike them down as even Salamence couldn't keep up with all of them.
"Rarity! Use one of your many armours to direct the lightning somewhere!" Luna spoke to Rarity, giving her own advice. "It will conduct it instantly!"
"Aww....!" Rarity took out a helmet from her bag "But I was to give this to the Thunder Creature!" She groaned before knowing what needed to be done.
Rarity threw the helmet either way and other armour objects located inside. And just like that, with the abundance of them outnumbering the lightning bolts, they immediately conducted. The lightning had focused on the armour instead, straying away from the group. Rarity watched as her hard work fell to the disaster zone.
With that, they had narrowly escaped the closing mountains before it could crush them. They had left the disaster zone finally. Salamence could slow down as he descended. Everyone else took deep breaths after that adrenaline rush.
"Done. See? The quickest way here." Spike grinned as he hopped off Salamence. Everyone else fell off the Dragon Pokemon's back. That was far too perilous for them. But it was to be expected considering the situation.
But at least they had reached the Aura Peaks. Aside from the giant sphere-shaped mountain, the two great mountains that the Thunder Creature and Creature Master are said to be within could be found. Funnily enough, they were shaped like thunderbolts.
The group was exhausted since it has been hours since they left Crossville. They would require some rest and something to eat soon. Necessary essentials for going on an adventure. Salamence stayed behind to keep watch as Spike led the group towards the mountains.
As they got there, they noticed two humans standing by the two mountains, wearing robes of their own. One had red robes while the other had pink robes.
These two were Goh and Chloe.
"Hm?" Goh looked ahead, noticing the familiar face of Spike. But the unfamiliar faces of the Mane 6. "Great Dragon Spike. Nice to see you again. Who are they?"
"Afternoon." Spike greeted. "They're my guests. Or I guess adventurers that were aiming to arrive here at Aura Peaks. For the Thunder Creature and Creature Master."
"The Thunder Creature and Creature Master?" Goh repeated. "Why? They're not set to awaken for another billion years. I'm afraid they can't see them."
"It's urgent. My Dragon Pokemon could sense that something was wrong. They always do. Dark Lord Ghetsis has already captured the two alicorn princesses and has maybe already taken their magic. Turns out he's planning to put an end to all of this. Even coming after the fourth princess."
"Who's the fourth princess?" Chloe asked.
"Her." Spike turned to Twilight as the unicorn gave a wave. "I mean, she's not a princess or an alicorn yet. But if Ghetsis finds her, that'll be it for the alicorn legacy. And we can't have that."
"Hm, I guess so. But wait. The shooting stars haven't burst to the north yet." Goh looked up. "We've been checking ever since. Plus, the bell didn't ring so...eh?"
"Seriously? We gotta wait for that stuff to happen?" Applejack groaned. "Can't ya just...wake him up?"
"Sorry. We can't." Chloe shook her head. "We also have to ring the bell for it to happen. See?" Chloe pointed to the west as there was indeed a bell near a shrine.
"So as long as the stars are-" Goh was about to finishing speaking until Twilight interrupted.
"Hold on. They are." She said, pointing her hoof at the sky, causing everyone to look. "They've burst north."
"Uh...We didn't see it." Goh shrugged. "It looked like it was the same position as always."
"Actually, Goh. I said earlier that the stars might be different today. I felt it. remember? But we didn't see it did we?" Chloe intervened.
"Nope." Goh scratched his hair. "Weird. Maybe it's the position of the sky? Nah that can't be right."
"Hm. Eve. Can you take a closer look at the sky?" Twilight requested. The Sun Pokemon looked up at the sky with clear vision. She knew what Twilight was getting at as her gem started glowing.
She took a closer look at the skies above to see if anything was wrong. That's when she noticed something irregular. Something only a Psychic-Type would notice. A few stars were not twinkling. Instead, they were motionless. Static without any movement. Meaning that they were fake.
"Esp! Espeon!" Espeon jumped up and down.
"Eve says that some of the stars are off! They're not twinkling at all!" Fluttershy translated as everyone gasped.
"They're not!" Goh pulled back.
"Ghetsis." Twilight quickly deduced it. "He must've hidden the stars so that the bell wouldn't be rung ever."
"I told you something was off!" Chloe bellowed as Goh yelped. "Oh geez! We should've known today was the day! The sky was flashing blue yesterday!"
"My bad, my bad!" Goh tried calming Chloe down. "I misread it okay? H-How about we just ring the bell before things get out of hand?"
"Fine." Chloe walked over to the bell as everyone was eagerly waiting for the arrival of the Thunder Creature and Creature Master. The Mane 6 were the most excited, wondering who these Legendary Figures were. Chloe rang the bell as it resounded in the night sky. In order to erase the uncertain future, that bell would ring out a melody that would ensure everyone that it would be alright.
Blue sparkles of aura exuded once the bell rang as they filled the skies. Everyone watched in wonder as the beautiful aura particles flew everywhere. The Aura particles were so great that they also broke apart the illusion that Ghetsis had made.
As for the two mountains, they started trembling. Lightning bolts crackled around the mountains, sending sparks flying. The sparks clashed with the Aura, creating a nice synergy between the two. This was it. To see what this legendary figure looked like.
The two lightning bolt mountains had then exploded with a burst of lightning as two silhouettes could be seen emerging from the rubble and smoke. The human was giving off a radiating blue aura with glowing eyes while the Pokemon was constantly exuding electricity. 100,000 volts worth of it. Everyone looked on to see the individuals of legend.
The Thunder Creature and Creature Master.
Or in this case, Ash and Pikachu.
In this world, Ash almost looked the same. Except, he wore a long jacket with golden lines while having a hat that resembled the one he has in reality.
"Aaah! Man, finally! I've wanted to get out there for so long! Right buddy?" Ash stretched his arms along with Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" And Pikachu agreed.
"T-The Thunder Creature and Creature Master are...them?" Goh squinted his eyes as he was surprised by this as well. "They don't look like what I imagined them to be."
"Doesn't really have the look of a master, does he?" Chloe whispered. "I would've thought it was Zekrom that was the Thunder Creature."
"Hat." Applejack and Rarity said after looking at Ash.
"Cool looking." Rainbow Dash also spoke.
"He almost fits the description, doesn't he?" Twilight said as Pinkie Pie nodded. "But is that really him?"
"Hey." Ash raised his hands to them all. "How are you guys?" They expected him to be someone overly serious, only to find that he's happy and energetic altogether.
"Pika-Pika."
"Uh...Thunder Creatue and Creatue Master, right?" Twilight went up to them both.
"Yep. My name's Ash. And this is my partner Pikachu." Ash introduced himself as Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Oh, thank goodness we found you! It's urgent!" Twilight jumped up, meeting with Ash's face. "Like, really urgent! I think we might be running late too. The D-"
"Ghetsis took Celestia and Luna and is looking for you. The fourth princess, right?" Ash responded, answering Twilight before she could explain everything in long sentences.
"Wh...How'd you know?" Twilight stuttered.
"The Aura told me. It told me everything since it's everywhere." Ash said before showing everyone the Aura particles flying about. "I got it all. No need to worry." He gave a thumbs-up as did Pikachu.
"Pika!"
"Wow. He's good." Pinkie nodded.
"Ah, sorry about the delay." Goh chuckled. "I didn't really think about how the stars would look weird or any illusion. Some guards we were, huh?"
"Ah, don't sweat it." Ash patted him on the back. "I'm out now. Besides, Pikachu and I get to go on adventures as long as we want. Forever!"
"Forever?" Rainbow Dash repeated.
"Yeah. We live forever, ya know." Ash and Pikachu pointed at themselves. "You can thank Ho-oh for that.
"Pika-Pika."
"Well, we won't be needing this anymore." Chloe grabbed the bell, tossing it aside. "Now that he's free forever. There's no need for another one."
"Oh my goodness! It was worth coming here! That Pokemon is so cute!" Fluttershy gushed at Pikachu, picking him up and touching his red sacs.
"Pi!?"
"Wait! Don't touch his-" Ash tried warning her, but it was too late. Soon, everyone within the vicinity of Pikachu had been struck by Pikachu's Thunderbolt. A serving of 100,000 volts.
"Pika...Chuuuuu!"
"Aaaaaaah!" They all screamed as it even struck Salamence.
"Ugh...Still cute." Fluttershy coughed smoke as Pikachu apologized.
"Pikachu."
"As they had found the Thunder Creature and Creature Master of legend, Guild Plasma had managed to trace the group down via the Dark Lord using a spell to see past usual distances. Unbeknownst to them, they were approaching. All except for the Creature Master, who could read the Aura patterns in the air."
Reality.
"This is where the good part comes, Luna. Are you ready?"
"Mhm." Luna nodded while sneezing again. "Achoo! I can't wait."
"Neither can I." Celestia took a deep breath, ready to continue until Luna's stomach started growling. "Oh, Luna. Didn't you eat already?"
"Just the cookie," Luna grumbled. "Other than that, I haven't been eating my usual amount due to my sickness. What a shame."
"Oh, I was so wrapped up in the story, I forgot, Luna. I'm sorry." Celestia put a bookmark in the book before getting off the chair. She then put her hoof over her sister's head. "Seems like you're getting better. Wait right here. I'll get you your food, okay.
"Mmmkay."
Celestia promptly left the room to better care for her sister At the same time, she would try and get a word in about the civil war in the Pikachu Highlands. Multitasking.
But as she had left, Darkrai emerged from the shadows, holding the book and sitting on the chair. It was at this moment that Luna was reminded that yes, Darkrai has legs. "Feeling better?"
"A little bit." Luna twitched.
"Good. I'll take over for Celestia. Heard the whole thing. Not a bad story"
"Thank you, Darkrai." Luna smiled.
"Okay then. Let's move to the really good part." Darkrai would be the one to continue the story. All for his best friend and partner. He's never read a book before. No Darkrai ever has. But there is a first time for everything when it comes to Pokemon and the bonds they are able to create.
Taking a break from reading Luna a story, Celestia had shown up to the Pikachu Highlands while food for Luna was being made. A civil war between the Pikachu was about to begin. One involving the rulers, Emperor PikaSupreme and Empress PikaRegal.
Both PikaSupreme and Empress PikaRegal were currently arguing against each other. They argue sometimes as a married couple but not to this degree.
"Pika! Pikachu-Pi!" The Pikachu on PikaSupreme's side exclaimed as they all sat around a roundtable. Sitting in between them was Princess Celestia herself, trying to diffuse the situation.
And as a form of extra help, she brought Fluttershy. She was the perfect translator for this. And hopefully, she could also understand the quarrel between both sides.
"Let's calm down here," Fluttershy said. "I know you're both adamant on what you want to do with the empire. Replacing it or not. But we won't get anywhere by-"
"PIKA!" A Pikachu slammed his fist on the table, causing lightning to erupt and sparking up the conflict once more. Fluttershys' ears dropped as Audino held her close.
Celestia sat there with an unchanging face. She was tapping her hoof, waiting for this to be over. She was thinking of heading for Luna's food while also continuing the story for Luna. But from how things were going, time will be consumed greatly.
She wishes she could just leave and get back to Luna. Which she could with teleportation. However, this civil war could maybe threaten Canterlot and the rest of Equestria. That was a risk she could not take. For the sake of her sister and subjects, Celestia chose to wait.
"Hang in there, Luna."
Canterlot. Afternoon.
Darkrai had filled in for Celestia, deciding to read to Luna instead. He's not a reader but he would try his best. Luna was eager to see what a Pokemon like Darkrai had to offer when it comes to reading.
"Are you ready?" Darkrai asked.
"Mhm." A sick Luna nodded. "Can you read the exciting part? And make it authentic with some shadows."
"Alright, alright, I will. Actually." Darkrai paused for a moment before using his shadows to grab Luna's saddlebag. By doing so, he brought over all of her Poke Balls. Darkrai had most of Luna's Pokemon into the mix. Not just five or six of them. Most of the Pokemon she's caught over the months and last year. "Let's add some authenticity to it."
"Huh?" Luna squinted her eyes before sneezing again. "Achoo! What do you mean by that?"
"We'll have moves fit the mood of the story. Good thing we have every possible element for that, hm?"
"Mhm. Good thinking Darkrai. Go on"
"Right." Darkrai looked at the book as he manipulated the room by making everything dark "They soon knew that the Dark Lord was searching for the fourth princess. And with Ghetsis' spell, they could be tracked without too much time being consumed. However, Ash and Pikachu, the Creature Master and Thunder Creature, already eager to assist, knew of a way to evade them. But also a way to counterattack and rescue everyone captive."
Ash and Pikachu knew of a way to evade Guild Plasma before they could arrive. And surprisingly, he led the group to a place that didn't fit the current circumstances.
A beach.
"Haha! Yeah!" Ash lunged through the air as he jumped into the water with Pikachu as well.
"Pika-Pika!"
"A beach?" said Twilight.
"We're supposed to be saving Apple Bloom and the others. And we're here?" Applejack wasn't sure about this. She was afraid that delays for saving her sister were just being made at this point.
"No need to worry." Ash popped his head out of the water. "We're gonna rescue them when their ship gets here. I wouldn't waste any time for someone in danger. The Water-Type Pokemon are gonna help us."
"Pika-Pika."
"Wait. I thought we were running from them since they're looking for us," said Pinkie Pie. "We're gonna let them come to us?"
"Kinda. Come on inside and I'll show ya." Ash encouraged the group to enter the water. They weren't sure what Ash's approach was in this, but they felt like they could trust him. Spike had even joined in. He hadn't left the area due to him being infatuated by Rarity.
"Okay!" Pinkie Pie was already eager as she performed a cannonball into the water, causing a fairly big splash. Twilight and the others hopped in afterwards. Soon, all of them, including their Pokemon were in the water.
"So...what now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Check this out. Yoohoo!" Ash then whistled a nice tune. One that resembled the Poke Flue tune as it echoed through the area. Audino heard it first thanks to her hearing as she immediately gravitated towards Ash.
"Audino."
"Espeon." So did Espeon and a few others as Ash was surrounded. Everyone could see that Ash's white was some kind of method for drawing Pokemon in. And the Water-Type Pokemon were the prime objective as they can assist, according to Ash.
As Twilight and the others looked around, that's when they felt something massive elevate them and make physical contact with them. The group convulsed with shock as they felt like they were about to lose their balance. Except they didn't. Immediately, emerging from the waters of the beach was a Wailord.
The World's Largest Pokemon.
"WAILORD!"
"Sweet Celestia!" Rarity gasped as the group had witnessed the Float Whale Pokemon carrying them all. They were stunned by its size as they had never been up close to a Wailord before.
But it wasn't just Wailord. Other Water-Type Pokemon had emerged from the water, such as Lanturn, Whiscash, Seadra, Corsola, Alomomola, Sharpedo and more. Almost every Water-Type Pokemon was here under Ash's call.
"Alright, you guys. We've got big trouble coming this way." Ash said to the Pokemon. "So we're gonna hatch a plan, okay? I say we've got at least an hour to make it happen."
"Lanturn! Lan!" Lanturn and the other Pokemon agreed and understood Ash.
"What about us, Creature Master?" Twilight asked.
"Ah, Ash is fine. You guys can help out too. I bet you've got a lot of neat tricks, ya know." Ash nodded along with Pikachu.
"Pika-Pika."
"Well, we have magic." Twilight and Rarity tapped their horns.
"Yeah! Plus, Twilight's meant to be the next princess!" Pinkie dashed over. "Wonder when that's gonna happen? Do the wings just show up randomly?"
"I'll try my best." Twilight shrugged. "Rarity can make armour but I'm not sure they'll fit on the Pokemon. Plus, you used all of your armour against the lightning, didn't you?"
"All of it." Rarity sighed. "What a shame...and a waste. But it was for the greater good!" She then raised her head, holding it high as she pressed forward. But a teardrop fell down her eye.
"Cool." Ash gave a thumbs-up. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do.
"And so, they began crafting a plan to confront and throw off the Plasma Frigate when it ends up arriving. Everyone's own strengths would be utilized. The Water-Types would play a great role in this for their ability to disrupt anything mechanical or electrical. But at the same time, the group would bond with each other."
Everyone had their pans ready. But the Mane 6 were feeling exhausted and hungry after all they've been through. So a slight break was needed. Thankfully, Rarity's bag had some food within that Pinkie Pie had placed before they set off on this adventure.
"Mmm!" Ash devoured some food along with Pikachu and everyone else. "Nice!"
"Pikachu!"
"So. What are you guys gonna do after all this is over?" Ash asked with his mouth full.
"Hm? Not sure. I guess we'll go back to living our normal lives. Well, until I become an alicorn. Whenever that happens. If I become a princess, will I get my own castle?"
"I mean, yeah. Why not?" Pinkie Pie replied. "Maybe it'll be in Crossville. Can't wait for you to be an alicorn. Ooh! Can I be your Royal Baker when that happens?!"
"I was thinking of something similar." Rarity peered her head over. "I could be your Royal Armourer. Plus, I already had a massive dream ahead of me similar to that. That could add to it."
"Uh, what Pinkie Pie said." Applejack nudged her head over at Pinkie. "I could make some food. But if the castle ain't in Crossville then, I don't know. I get a bit homesick, ya know."
"Well, how does something similar to the Canterlot Gardens sound? There are lots of Pokemon there for us to view. We could have something like that one day." Fluttershy suggested. "Plus, that's also been my dream to have something like that. Like a Pokemon House for all Pokemon. Where they can all gather if they want a place to be."
"Well, I've already got my dream," Spike said while eating some nearby gemstones. "But, I could want more. What about you, Rainbow Dash? What's your dream?"
"My dream." Rainbow Dash blew her mane. "I don't know. I like Pokemon Battles but...not really much to go for it. They're fun though." She then laid her back on Wailord.
"I got it!" Ash stood up, putting his hands together. "How does a tournament sound?"
"Tournament?" Everyone looked at him as Rainbow Dash's attention was now grabbed.
"Yeah. If you really wanna kill that boredom and get some satisfaction, then how about a tournament where all the toughest Pokemon Trainers come around and battle it out to become champion? Sounds like a neat idea, doesn't it?"
"Oh, yeah it does!" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, ascending with excitement. "You know what's up, Creature Ma-uh, Ash. Thanks!"
"No problem. But..." Ash adjusted his hat. "I'll be entering too. I may be a master, but that won't stop me from having fun."
"Oh come on. At least let me be a champion." Rainbow Dash puffed her cheeks while Ash chuckled.
"Okay." Ash then felt the Aura Patterns around him change. "Looks like Guild Plasma's getting closer. Let's get ready, team."
"Okay!" Everyone, including the Pokemon had cried out in agreement. They would ready themselves with a major surprise attack as positions were being set.
"From how you're reading this, it sounds like there'll be more." Luna interrupted the story.
Reality.
"Will there be more?" She blubbered almost letting out another sneeze.
"No. I was just getting in the mood of things." Darkrai said. "I can thank Celestia for immersing me with this."
"Hm. That reminds me. Do you count as a Royal Guard to me, Darkrai?"
"Technically, yes." Darkrai nodded. "Including all of the Pokemon here. But in truth, we're more your friends than guards."
"That is true." Luna nodded before sniffling. "Go on."
"Hang in there. We're reaching the end soon. Way before Celestia can show up. But I wonder what's taking her so long?" Darkrai pondered as the Pokemon set the mood once more.
Pikachu Highlands. Afternoon.
"Pika!" A Pikachu had thrown a chair as a brawl had broken out in the palace. Celestia and Fluttershy had their hooves full as the situation was not being neutralized at all.
"I never knew Pikachu can get so violent like this!" Fluttershy squeaked. "Even my stare has no effect!"
"Ugh...This was meant to be a civil discussion." Celestia sighed before avoiding an incoming chair that was thrown to another Pikachu. Electric-Type moves were being thrown as the roundtable had been flipped. "Luna. Hang in there for me."
"I've got a trick we can try!" Fluttershy gasped, gaining a breakthrough. "Audi! Use Heal Pulse at its absolute limit!"
"Dino! Audino...!" Audino had a way to calm everyone down. And potentially a way to make this discussion more civil and solve the problem. Celestia pouted her lips, hoping to end this as soon as possible.
Back in the story, the Guild Plasma ship had arrived. Its gigantic shadow hovered over the land as the Dark Magic from Ghetsis started giving everything a dark ambience. Guild Plasma was expecting to see the fourth princess after approaching, but so far, no sign of her. Just Water-Type Pokemon seemingly living their normal days and lives.
"She's close. But where is she?" Ghetsis wondered. "Colress. Is that cannon ready?"
"It is, Lord Ghetsis. Thanks to the magic, now it can fire two times in a row." Colress patted the cannon.
"Good." Ghetsis then turned to face the outside. He even went the outside of the upper deck, looking across the land as he had one way to drag out the princess. "I know you're somewhere here, princess! Come out!"
Ghetsis put his hand forward, using his Dark Magic. He had summoned dark flames, aiming them at the grounds of the beach. The flames connected, causing a violent eruption and wildfire that started spreading. His aim was to either drag Twilight out with destructive flames or incinerate her in them.
Either way, he would've accomplished his goal.
But as the flames spread, even threatening to infect the water, standing on top of a tall mountain was Ash and Pikachu. They looked onwards at the ship as Ash took a deep breath. They currently weren't in view of Ghetsis due to them being hidden in the clouds. These mountains were unnaturally tall. Now was the time to throw Guild Plasma off balance.
"Here goes. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, jumping into the air summoning an aura of electricity. Afterwards, he sent a blast of 100,000 volts that had struck the ship. Not only that, but it had damaged the engines that allowed it to move forward, backwards or any direction really.
"!" Ghetsis gasped as the Plasma Frigate trembled. He almost lost balance from that, falling off the frigate. The ship was now headed for the mountains up ahead with no way to change course. That's when Ghetsis squinted his eyes as the clouds started to move.
He had seen Ash and Pikachu.
"The Thunder Creature and Creature Master!" He called out before smirking. "I've been waiting for this." Showing no fear, Ghetsis hopped onto his Hydreigon, flying towards Ash and Pikachu.
"Here he comes!" Ash then whistled, giving out the command for everyone else that was a part of the plan. But not only did he give the command, but he also summoned the Flying-Type Pokemon for assistance.
High above the skies, flying over and beside the Plasma Frigate were all of the Flying-Type Pokemon within the vicinity. But, this was where the Water-Types came into play. All at once, under Ash's command, they had used Water-Type attacks, shooting them upwards.
The electricity from Pikachu's Thunderbolt was still lingering. Perfect for water to touch it. And the water did indeed touch it. Upon contact, the water and electricity had mixed, causing a violent reaction. And that reaction further scrambled the Plasma Frigate as its power had been depleted. It was now prone to fall towards the water instead of into the mountains. Arguably, not as safe.
But, that's where Wailord would come in. Everyone else was still within the ship, petrified. So the fall of the Plasma Frigate needed to be safe for everyone's sake. Wailord acted as the cushion. Despite its size, it is a surprisingly soft Pokemon. Perhaps one of the reasons why it can float.
The Frigate landed on Wailord, taking minimal damage. However, due to the mixture of electricity and water, not only were the engines fried but the grunts had been affected too. Most of them were shocked and paralyzed due to this chaotic combination. Some enemy Pokemon even fainted too.
And next were the Flying-Types. They immediately boarded the ship or either stayed back for distance support. The Water-Type Pokemon also swarmed towards the Plasma Frigate. Not only that, but the ones that showed up were wearing armour.
Rarity had made armour for most of the Pokemon here with the resources she could find. And she even went the distance of giving them ones that matched with their physiology.
And as a bonus, everyone was energized, thanks to the cooking of Pinkie Pie. So no one would feel sluggish. Full stomachs meant full strength. Aside from that, Ghetsis had arrived where Ash was, staring him down.
"So you're awake. So much for that illusion." Ghetsis said. "If I could find your resting place, I would've destroyed you long ago."
"Sorry. Aura Coating only allows certain individuals in." Ash replied with a smirk. "You were never gonna get there in the first place anyway."
"Then, I'll just make this place your new resting place. So that everyone can see it and know that the Thunder Creature and Creature Master had been defeated by me." Ghetsis declared. "Generations of Dark Lords have failed to find you. But now the universe has delivered you to me as an act of providence. Once I defeat you, everyone will acknowledge me as the world's greatest and ruler of all."
"Oh yeah?" Ash tightened his gloves. "You talk big, but can you back it up?"
"Pikachu!"
"Oh, I most certainly can. Hydreigon!" Ghetsis raised his arm. "Crush them with Brutal Swing!"
"Hydrei!" The Brutal Pokemon flew in, attacking first with its head-arms covered in a dark aura.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail, go!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu leapt of Ash's shoulder, swinging his hardened tail. Pikachu and Hydreigon had now clashed, engaging in a Pokemon Battle for the first time.
While that goes on, the Water-Types and Flying-Types had boarded the ship. The Plasma Frigate was now full of Pokemon inside, going against Guild Plasma while Wailord just sat there. It was playing its part by keeping everyone safe.
And as the Pokemon were occupied with them all, that allowed Twilight and the others to enter the ship, not engaging in any conflict so far. All they had to do was look for everyone that had been taken.
And thankfully, with the little amount of magic they both had, Celestia and Luna would guide them. They appeared as projections.
"Twilight. Everyone. Head north and to the west." Celestia said as a Water-Type move had passed through her projection. "Then, head to the second deck."
"Okay!" Twilight nodded as she and her friends followed Celestia's direction. They would have to avoid the crossfire of Pokemon moves, however. Either friend or foe.
Audino and Slurpuff were playing their part, trying to track down the scent of the Pokemon, humans and ponies that they were familiar with. As they moved, Fluttershy and the others noticed how Twilight's horn was flashing. Not only that, but the visage of wings also flickering on her sides.
"Oh! Twilight!" Fluttershy called out. "You're on the verge of becoming an alicorn!"
"I am?!" She looked at her flickering wings. "Oh! So that-"
"Ahead of you, Twilight Sparkle!" Luna's projection passed by, giving a warning as Twilight's words had been cut off. By a group of opposing Weezing that had shown up. And of course, the grunts that owned them. Twilight came to a screeching halt as she almost bumped into a Weezing.
"Weezing!"
"Ah!" Twilight gasped.
"Espeon!" But, acting quickly, Espeon had used Psychic to blow the Poison-Type aside. She also made them crash right into their trainers, causing them to fall over.
"Thanks, Eve! Let's keep going!"
Twilight and her friends had then advanced north before turning west like how Celestia said. The Plasma Frigate was starting to fall apart with all of the actions ongoing.
Meanwhile, Colress was readying the Stone-Turning Cannon. Just in case someone barges in here, they would immediately become stone. He aimed it at the door before checking its energy. But as he did so, there was one stowaway within the ship. Someone that had hitched a ride earlier without no one noticing.
Adagio.
She was currently hiding amidst the chaos with her back in a corner. She had seen Colress set up the cannon, knowing what kind of power it held. After all, it turned her mentor into stone. Adagio held her breath, making sure not to notify Colress.
"There. This should be enough to cover a whole corridor." Colress stood up after checking the cannon. He then aimed it at the door, anticipating for someone to open it.
Adagio scrunched her face, knowing she had to do something or else she could not only be stuck here forever but failing Celestia as her student. Something she couldn't let happen. She had too much pride within her. So, acting on her own volition, Adagio had used her magic.
A swift magic beam was sent towards the cannon, piercing through it. Adagio had just as much potential as Twilight, even in this story. The beam pierced through the cannon, starting Colress with sparks flying as a gaping hole was now left in it.
"Oh!" Colress backed up as the cannon was damaged. He then looked over to see the source of the blast. Adagio quickly hid her head, but it was too late. Colress had seen her. "You!"
"Mm..." Adagio showed herself from the corner with a grin. "Hehe."
In response, Colress held out his Poke Ball, sending his Klingklang out. "Klingklang!" Adagio had drawn attention to herself, but not too much. That was better than grabbing the attention of the entire guild.
"Klingklang, Thunderbolt!"
"Klin...!" The Gear Pokemon started building up electricity to blast Adagio.
"Gah!" Adagio screeched before making a run for it. Or rather a fly. She used her siren wings to fly over Klingklang before it could use Thunderbolt. She then went for the door, hoping to open it in time.
"Klang!" Too late. Much like the speed of thunder, Klingklang had unleashed 100,000 volts. Adagio was still fairly quick. But not quick to cast a spell to stop Thunderbolt. Instead, the next best thing.
Dodge. She flew to the side, allowing Thunderbolt to hit the door instead. One hit and the door had been blasted off, giving Adagio the chance to escape.
"Thanks~" She whistled, waving her hoof at Colress and Klingklang before flying through the door and leaving. "Bye!"
"Curses!" Colress slammed his fist on the cannon. He then realized that he wasn't making the cannon any better as it had been damaged. "Now it can only fire one shot. But one shot is good enough."
With Ash and Ghetsis, they were still batting high up with their Pokemon. They had also moved from mountain to mountain with Ash gaining the assistance of some Flying-Types to move around.
"Pikachu, use Electroweb!" Ash commanded while on the back of a Pidgeot. Ghetsis was using his Hydreigon as a means of flying through the air.
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu tossed a web of electricity while lunging off the head of Pidgeot. Hydreigon ripped the web in half with Fire Fang. The Brutal Pokemon then pursued the Electric-Type, but not before unleashing a Dragon Pulse.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Pidgeot, get a hit in with Aerial Ace!" He also had Pidgeot assist in this battle.
"Pidgeot!" Pidgeot swooped forward at blinding speeds while Pikachu countered the Dragon Pulse with Thunderbolt. They had cancelled each other out afterwards. After that, Hydreigon was met with a sneak attack from Pidgeot. The Bird Pokemon had struck his stomach with his wings as it flew by.
"Drei!"
"Nice!" Ash cheered after the initial hit as Pidgeot flew back to catch Pikachu. Ghetsis scoffed before putting his hand out. He sent a black flame to try and shoot down Pidgeot from the sky.
Pidgeot manoeuvred through the skies as the flames chased it down. Hydreigon had also recovered, following Pidgeot and allowing Ghetsis' arm to track the Bird Pokemon. One of the flames ended up striking Pidgeot's wings after Ghetsis expanded it. That threw the Bird Pokemon off balance.
"Pi-Pidgeot!" Pidgeot cried ut.
"You did good, Pidgeot! Head back and rest!" Ash said before he and Pikachu jumped off Pidgeot. They allowed the Bird Pokemon to fly away. Ash and Pikachu were now falling with nothing to catch them.
Except there was. Mantine came flying in, catching the two of them. "Mantine!" The Kite Pokemon cried out before soaring through the skies and using Water Pulse to cancel out Ghetsis' dark flames.
"Awesome, Mantine! Now use Supersonic!"
"Mantiiiine." Mantine generated odd sound waves from its body, sending them towards Hydreigon. The Brutal Pokemon's ears had been punished with this sound. All 6 of them.
"Now, Iron Tail!"
"Pika-Pika...Chu-Pi!" Pikachu leapt off Ash's hardening his tail and giving Hydreigon a hard smack in the face with Iron Tail while he was confused.
"H-Hydrei!" The Brutal Pokemon was befuddled in more than one way. Ghetsis scoffed before using his Dark Magic to create a back whirlwind. The whirlwind had blown Pikachu away while also harming him. "Pika!"
"Pikachu!" Ash quickly caught Pikachu with Mantine flying by.
"Snap out of it!" Ghetsis used his Dark Magic to break Hydreigon's confused state by attacking his mind. The Brutal Pokemon was no longer confused.
"Dreigon!"
"Now, Giga Impact!"
"Hydrei!" Hydreigon then cloaked himself and Ghetsis in an invisible white energy before boosting through the air like a rocket.
"Hydro Pump, go!"
"Man...tine!" Mantine quickly replied with an amazing powerful move as well. A huge volume of water launched under great pressure, clashing with Hydreigon. Hydreigon had the superior output as he broke through the Hydro Pump. "Man?!"
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon then crashed into Mantine, blowing it, Ash and Pikachu away.
"Woah!" Ash and Pikachu cried out as they were being hurled through the air after the initial hit.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Let's put an end to this! Draco Meteor!"
"Hy...Drei!" A sphere of bright orange energy formed inside of Hydreigon's mouth as it was fired into the sky. Up there, the sphere exploded, releasing multiple gigantic spheres of draconic energy that rained down. Not only did this threaten Ash and Pikachu, but also everyone within the area.
This included the Flying-Types. Once the meteors started coming down, the Flying-Type Pokemon had been hit by these attacks. Not all of them, but most of them, considering the abundance of meteors.
That went for the Pokemon in the water and even those within the Plasma Frigate. Similar to how the meteors rained down back in Crossville. Mantine quickly recovered, trying to evade all of the incoming meteors. Ghetsis watched as Hydreigon's destruction started flooding the skies, land and sea.
Pokemon on both sides had been struck. Good or bad. The frigate trembled as Twilight and her friends all felt the tremor, almost losing their balance. Some meteors had been broken through the ship, almost hitting them. Twilight and everyone backed up, only to have another meteor crash through in between them.
They gasped as more of them broke through the ship violently. They were now separated with these massive chunks of rocks in their way. Not only that, but explosions were going off due to this. And they were only increasing in amounts.
"Twilight!" Fluttershy cried out before another meteor came crashing through.
"Braviary!" Braviary had used Superpower to shatter the rocks that had separated them. They had all reunited in that instance thanks to Braviary. However, there was still more to handle.
"Audino!" Audino quickly used Protect to shield her friends from the incoming explosions and meteors. However, she wasn't enough. Rarity chimed in by using her magic to add an extra shield. But that wasn't enough either.
Then, from above, the biggest meteor so far was about to drop on the Plasma Frigate. One hit and it could destroy everyone on board. Just the one meteor. Protect and Rarity's shield would not stop this. Twilight knew her own shield wouldn't either even when added.
But either way, she did not want to lose her friends. So, just like how she reacted when her parents were in danger, Twilight's emotions allowed her alicorn magic to show itself. Her shield had been used as the flickering wings were starting to materialize into actual wings.
"Emotion?" Luna intervened once more.
Reality.
"Did you know about how I became an alicorn? Did my sister tell you?" Luna asked.
"You became an alicorn by emotion?" Darkrai replied.
"I was feeling emotional that day, so in a sense, yes. Achoo!" She sneezed. "Sometimes, emotions hep with magic. Isn't that wonderful?"
"Hm." Darkrai nodded as the mood had been set to a hopeful one. Manectric's electricity was used to create some light in the darkness that Darkrai had made via Discharge. "Well, here comes the climax. In that instance, the young unicorn had released the reserves of her magic, much like how she reacted to the status of her parents. For her friends, she had become the fourth princess. An alicorn."
A massive shield of magic was what shielded them all from the gigantic meteor and explosions. The meteor had been pushed back by telekinetic control, flung to the far reaches of the land. Twilight had saved them all. Not only that, but she had become an alicorn in this instance.
Her wings spread out as her horn was radiating brighter magic than she usually has. Her friends gawked as the fourth alicorn had been revealed, sending away an entire meteor and putting an end to these explosions. Twilight felt dizzy afterwards.
"Woah..." She said, almost falling over as Rainbow Dash caught her. "D-Did I...Did I do it?"
"You sure did! And you're an alicorn now!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed before Twilight noticed her wings. She had a prolonged gasp before Pinkie Pie blew confetti in her face.
But this was no time to celebrate as things were still escalating. The projection of Celestia and Luna showed up as their magic was weakening. They had witnessed the birth of a new alicorn.
"Well done, Twilight," Celestia said. "But we can celebrate later. Hurry along. If you keep moving, you could encounter Adagio."
"Adagio's here?" Twilight said before flying. However, she wasn't used to flying as she had just gotten wings. So she ended up crashing into a wall instead. "Oof!"
Meanwhile, Ghetsis had seen how the meteor had been sent away and the burst of magic. Disappointment filled his face along with anger.
"How frustrating. But, in all honesty, I should've known that somehow you and your antics would tip the scales." He spoke before facing Ash. "But no matter. I haven't lost yet. All I have to do is defeat you, and morale will be greatly decreased."
"We'll see about that," Ash smirked.
"Pikachu!"
"Hydreigon! End this with Dragon Rush!"
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon released a blue, dragon-shaped energy that covers his body. Even Ghetsis had to get off for this as he landed on the nearest mountain.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack and Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder, shooting a Thunderbolt into the sky. He then merged Quick Attack with Thunderbolt as the bolt of 100,000 volts came crashing down on him. Pikachu absorbed the lightning as he moved through the skies at lightning speeds. This was the Makeshift Volt Tackle.
And it was very effective. He crashed right into the head of Hydreigon as Ash closed his eyes while still on Mantine. Pikachu and Hydreigon were clashing, trying to overcome each other.
But as that was going on, Spike came in with his assistance. He had summoned the assistance of his Dragons. Not just the ones he owns, but also does from his land where he rules. Ghetsis watched as a plethora of dragons started approaching over the horizon with Spike on Salamence's back.
"What?!" Ghetsis gasped before facing the ship. "Colress!"
Colress heard the cry of Ghetsis as he had brought the cannon outside. It was heavy, but nothing a few wheels could solve. Colress ducked, avoiding all incoming Pokemon moves that just happened to pass by. "I'm here, Lord Ghetsis!"
"Turn them all to stone!"
"Yes!" Colress then aimed the cannon at all of the dragons up ahead. Not only that but also Ash and Mantine while Pikachu was distracted. Colress could only use one shot with the cannon since Adagio had damaged it. But that one shot was good enough.
"Not good!" Mantine, get in close and use Air Sash!" Ash ordered before Mantine flew in. At the same time, Colress had unleashed the beam from the cannon, right towards Spike and the others. It looked like it would be a direct hit as Ghetsis grinned. It was even going for Ash.
Until Ash found a good alternative to stopping the beam. He had taken off his long cloak, throwing it at the incoming beam. And by doing so, the beam reacted to the cloak, turning it to stone. It wasn't continuous. Meaning it couldn't just break through. Even with its massive radius.
"!" Both Ghetsis and Colress gasped as the beam had failed. Mantine then flew in, slashing the cannon apart with Air Slash. Colress moved back as the already damaged cannon was now damaged even more. Even sliced up thanks to Mantine. However, it was still functional. But not in the right way. It was out of control.
Beams started shooting out of the cannon uncontrollably with Colress having no control. Everyone moved out of the way to avoid being turned to stone as the cannon moved in random directions also.
"Pika...Pika...Pika!" Pikachu cried out as he tried breaking through. He and Hydreigon seemed equal. Until Spike had an idea.
"To all those that know some Electric-Type attacks! Focus it on Pikachu!" With that command, all of the Dragons that had some Electric-Type attacks with them focused it all on the Mouse Pokemon.
Pikachu was immediately given extra electricity from moves. Mostly Thunder and Thunderbolt since Dragon-Types can only learn so many Electric-Type moves. But it was just enough.
"Pika?" Pikachu gasped as he could feel all of it enter him. A much needed and welcome gift. The Mouse Pokemon smiled as he now had the necessary strength. "Pika...Chuuu!"
"H-Hy!" Hydreigon was unable to retaliate against this superior strength. Thus, the Makeshift Volt Tackle had defeated Dragon Rush, knocking the Brutal Pokemon away" Hydrei!"
"Oh!" Ghetsis gasped. Not because his Hydreigon had been overcome and defeated, but also because Hydreigon crashed into him. "Ough!"
Both Hydreigon and Ghetsis were knocked off the mountain together as Mantine swooped in, allowing Ash to catch Pikachu. As they both fell, one of the beams from the cannon had struck them. Ghetsis and Hydreigon were unable to know this due to their eyes being closed. But they certainly felt something for a split second. They had been turned to stone.
"Whoops..." Colress backed away, whistling as he wanted no part in this. He then ran off as fast as he could. Ghetsis and Hydreigon fell, landing on Wailord's body. After their immediate fall, Guild Plasma looked over to see that their ruler had been defeated.
And just like what Ghetsis said, morale would be greatly diminished. However, it didn't happen on Ash's side. It even went a step further. This also meant total defeat for Guild Plasma without their ruler and weapon to carry them to victory. They had lost.
"Nice." Ash gave a thumbs up to Pikachu and Mantine.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Mantine!"
After the initial defeat of Dark Lord Ghetsis and Guild Plasma, the princesses were freed via a collective spell from Twilight and Adagio. But mostly Adagio since she was more experienced than Twilight. They could not free everyone at once since they had their limits, but they knew Celestia and Luna could. As they freed them first, they allowed the two sisters to do the rest.
With their magic, everyone had been removed from their petrified state. Being brought back after being turned to stone was an odd and cold feeling. Gasping for air is the first reaction and natural one.
"Oh geez..." Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom groaned, sitting down. The moment they were brought back, they had been picked up by their big sisters with potent bear hugs. "Oof!"
And as a bonus, Guild Plasma had surrendered, with Colress running off. His whereabouts were unknown. But Ghetsis was currently being held by one of the Golurk along with Hydreigon.
Th-
"And they all lived happily ever after?" Luna spoke.
"That's how the story ends, correct? It's been a while since I've been read it so..."
"Well..." Darkrai flipped through the pages. "There are still some parts left. A few more pages. Then an epilogue that immediately goes right into the sequel of this story. In fact, I even skipped ahead for this. You see, there was this whole chapter of all of her friends coming together to unlock a hidden power together, and even a page where the Great Dragons heads back to his land to recruit the dragons. But I skipped that one."
"How many of that did you skip?" She sniffled.
"At least...120 pages worth," Darkrai said. "You wanted it to be quick, remember?"
"Yes. That is my fault and word." Luna nodded. "Well, can you at least end it?"
"Alright. And so, with all said and done, the new princess was born, the Thunder Creature and Creature Master went off on their own adventure as the free spirits they were, blah blah blah, the Dark Lord was imprisoned, something about the helper of the Dark Lord returning for revenge and done!" Darkrai closed the book. "That's the end. How was that?"
"I liked it." She smiled. "Short stories give me peace. Thank you for reading it to me, Darkrai. And to my sister as well. I wonder what's taking her so-"
Right in the nick of time, but too late to finish the story herself was Celestia. She had teleported inside of the room with her mane a mess. A horrid mess with a tired out face. "I'm back."
"Sister!" Luna sat up, feeling a bit better. "How did it go? The discussion about the civil war?"
"Well..." Celestia sighed. "Audino managed to calm them all done. Who knew Heal Pulse could be used in such a way...But other than that, rowdy Pikachu are an absolute nightmare to be around."
"She's right you know." Darkrai nodded. He's had his fair share of nightmares with Pikachu.
"Well, welcome back anyway. I'm feeling a bit better now. Plus, I've just gone through a brilliant story. Isn't that right, Darkrai?"
"Hm." Darkrai nodded.
"Aw...I wanted to end it off." Celestia mumbled with her head lowering. Luna went up to her for comfort.
"But other than that, you and Darkrai were great storytellers," Luna said, making Celestia smile.
"Thank you, Luna." The two of them burrowed each other as Darkrai descended into the shadows. His work here was done along with the rest of the Pokemon. "So! How about the second part of the story? I still have the second book!"
"Uh...maybe another time. When you're sick." Luna chuckled, teasing her big sister.
A nice story for the Princess of the Night by both her sister and partner. While it may all be fiction, that story certainly had some parallels to reality that they could write home about. Perhaps, even some foreshadowing. But that would be absurd, as the journey continues.
Nightfall in Manehattan. All seems calm. Plus, some decorations for Nightmare Night could be seen steadily approaching. Some were asleep and some weren't. But a few ponies were on the move.
The Umbrage Thieves. They had just finished stealing some Pokemon from both the Pokemon World and Manehattan in just a few hours. Now, they were looking for a place to escape.
However, they had ended up capturing some Pokemon that were not wild. They still had Pokemon that belonged to trainers, however. They had advanced from owned Pokemon now as they looked around.
Unfortunately for the thieves, they had pursuers. In the form of Officer Jenny. She had tracked them down alongside other police officers. They came all the way from the Pokemon World to Equestria. The officers had backed the group into an alleyway. The darkest corner of it.
"You all," Jenny said before hopping off her motorcycle. "You're all under arrest. 40 captures in one night. BIt less than your usual amount."
"Arcanine!" Arcanine barked at them. But surprisingly, the Umbrage Thieves did not put up a fight. They just raised their hooves, accepting surrender as they dropped the Pokemon.
At the moment, the Umbrage Thieves had low morale and less coordination for one reason. The disappearance of Skyblue Shine. Ever since she left to have her own adventure understanding herself and choosing who she was, the thieves were thrown off balance afterwards. Skyblue Shine was the one who could keep them in sync.
And so, they were arrested by Officer Jenny and her forces. The Pokemon were all returned to their original owners afterwards. An easy capture for Jenny and her team.
Sinnoh. Dandelion Island. Nightfall.
A police department could be found in Dandelion Island. The island itself was relatively small. It was covered with mountainous and forest terrain. Dandelion Island is most often visited as a restock point for ships in the town on the southern coast of the island.
A place like this would barely be noticed. The Umbrage Thieves had been placed in here by Officer Jenny. They were being held accountable as Jenny made the reports, writing away and wasting heaps of ink in the process.
And ever since both words have acknowledged each other, thanks to Canterlot, Officer Jenny and every other authority had received items to deal with pony prisoners. Magic restraining cuffs for unicorn horns.
However, as they had been brought here, despite all of them looking grim, one of them was smiling. As if they had something planned. The group of thieves were being sent to their jail cells as the one smiling noticed a certain pony being restrained along with another.
Luster Dawn and Obsidian
This was where they were. The one place that wouldn't be noticeable to many if not anyone at all. Dandelion Island was the perfect place to hide them due to it being not so common.
Luster Dawn and Obsidian had been locked up after their crimes had been found out. And thanks to these magical restraints, they could do nothing. By the look on their faces, they were not happy. Being trapped here for a few months, unable to call for help. Luster Dawn never got the chance to join the invasion or even knew about the Empress' failure.
Each of the Umbrage Thieves was placed within certain cells, mostly separate from each other. The pony that was smirking was placed in the cell across Luster Dawn. Afterwards, the guards showed up to keep watch.
"Great." Luster Dawn sighed. "Just add that to the pile of failures on our side."
"Maybe you won't be for long. All of us won't." Just then, the Umbrage Thief had revealed herself, appearing from the shadows. Except, she wasn't an Umbrage Theif. She was just posing as one.
It was Tempest.
"Tempest?!" Luster and Obsidian gasped. "They got you too?!"
"Shh." Tempest hushed Luster as the guards kept a good eye on them. Tempest smiled, seeming unbothered by all of this as she had given herself up. Luster would have never expected Tempest to be captured due to how skilled she was.
But in truth, after seeing Tempest's smirk and unbothered face, Luster knew that her fellow unicorn had planned this. Not only that, but despite the magical restraints, Tempest was able to utilize the Telepathy Spell on Luster and Obsidian. They couldn't use the same spell due to their restraints, but they could still hear what Tempest had to say.
"H-How are you...?" Obsidian stuttered.
"The Empress taught me a few things. Such as situations as these. You have a lot to learn, Luster Dawn."
"Fine, fine." She scoffed before speaking silently. Luster Dawn and Obsidian made sure to choose their words carefully so that the guards would not suspect a thing. "Just say what you need to say."
"Finding you wasn't easy. We had searched a majority of this world's prisons just to find you. Skyblue Shine and others failed miserably. So, I suspected they would keep you in a secluded and less known area. I had tried other obscure locations in the past weeks such as Milos Islands, Greenstation Town, Neighbourly Town, Misty Village and so much more. The smallest were my decisions. And after going through a few of them, here are we."
"What about the Empress? Is she worried about me?" Luster asked.
"If by worried, you mean annoyed. The invasion ended a few months ago. The Empress had lost. Mostly because I was absent, let's face it."
"Th-The Empress lost?! Impossible!" Luster Dawn screeched. The guards thought that Luster Dawn was going crazy, seemingly speaking to herself. "I should've been there! Then we would've won!" Tempest then decided to speak normally without telepathy while Luster was having a breakdown.
"Oh please. You and I both know that wouldn't happen." She shook her head. "You would've lost during the first night to an Electric-Type. That much is true."
"Hmph." Luster scoffed before crossing her hooves. Tempest then went back to using the Telepathy Spell.
"Anyway, aside from that. There are two things you must know. Our base of operations have changed to Universe 35 now. We're also heading out to a certain location out in the Pokemon World. Somewhere in Hoenn. A Sea Temple."
"A Sea Temple?"
"Yes. Otherwise known as Samiya."
"Oh, I know about that place." Obsidian leaned forward. "Now I'm interested.
"The Empress believes a great power is hiding there. Soon, we'll have to check it out. And the Empress wants you...and I guess Obsidian on that mission. Then again, with great supervision, since you know..."
"Tch. Yeah, I know." Luster crossed her hooves.
"Plus. We may have to get there before Daybreaker can."
"Daybreaker?" She lowered her hooves at Tempest's words. She didn't expect Daybreaker's name to come up. "Her too?"
"Daybreaker knows about it. So she'll go after it. If anything, out of everyone here, she moves the fastest and wastes no time at all. Aside from that, here's how we're going to escape from this place."
Equestria. Out in the mountains.
At the moment it was close to the morning. The moon had yet to set and the sun was waiting patiently. Currently out here was the alternate universe Flurry Heart, currently being guided by Flash Sentry and a few other guards from the Crystal Empire.
Some more Pokemon sightseeing was due. And obviously, Flash and the guards were obviously exhausted as they had been out here for a while. From 1:00 to 5:30. Flurry Heart wasn't as tired, but she was on the verge. She had a lot of energy to spare after being so excited with Pokemon.
"Princess. Can we head home now?" Flash groaned, trying to stay awake. "We guards have lives too, ya know."
"Eeyup." The rest of the guards nodded.
"Yeah, I know. Sorry, I got a bit carried away. But this was a pretty successfully night, wasn't it? I got to see some Machamp casually suplex each other. How fun was that?" She squeed.
"Bit terrifying if you ask me..." Flash scrunched his face. "They do that regularly?"
"Anyway. Where did we end up?" Flurry looked around. They had definitely ventured out in the more obscure parts of Equestria, far from home. This area didn't have a unique name yet. At best, it was just known as the mountains.
The group might as well be lost. But not entirely. Pokemon like Morelull, Shiinotic, Shinx, Vulpix and other Pokemon that can give off light were lighting up the mountains at night. Plus, Flurry Heart could just teleport back.
The way they brought upon light made the skies look better. Flurry Heart and the guards took a moment to look at this view, despite their current stamina. The night sky was it up thanks to these Pokemon. Seeing the stars with Pokemon influencing them is truly something special.
The Minior in the sky just made it better. However, as they sat down to watch, that's when Flurry Heart and soon everypony else noticed something unusual. One of the Minior had suddenly lost its glow. The light that the Core Form usually gives off had vanished.
Afterwards, Minior started falling. But not how it usually falls to the earth on a regular basis. This one was different. And Flurry Heart immediately gasped, seeing the Meteor Pokemon revert to its Meteor Form.
She used her magic to catch the Rock-Flying-Type, rescuing its life. She then placed it on her hooves for safety before descending.
"Are you okay?!" She asked.
"Minior..." The Meteor Pokemon groaned as the light from its body had been sucked away. But it wasn't just it. The guards all pointed their hooves to the sky, alerting the princess.
The rest of the Minior above were starting to fall as well with their lights being absorbed, forming them out of their Core Forms. Much like the first Minior, they all started falling without any control. Less control than they usually have. Flurry Heart squealed as she would need to use a majority of her magic to catch these Minior.
And so she did. The young alicorn managed to catch them all safely. Her magical talent and potential greatly helped in this without a doubt.
"What's happening?!" A confused Flurry Heart looked to the skies before placing all of the Minior on the ground. "Flash! Get some Potions!"
"Yes!" Flash and the guards looked at their saddlebags, seeing if they had any Potions for the Minior. Or enough is the better word for it.
But as they searched for these healing items, Flurry Heart noticed another form of light go out. This time from one of the Electric-Type Pokemon living here. She saw the electricity vanish. But not in a natural way. The electricity was being distorted, almost as if something had sucked it up.
She then saw some of the fire lights vanish as well. From how they were disappearing, Flurry Heart had to see this for herself. "All of you! Please take care of the Pokemon!" She immediately flapped her wings, heading towards the area.
"Princess!" Flash noticed her flying off. Immediately, he chased after her. The rest of the guards had already gotten out their potions, using them on the Minior to try and heal them.
However, as they sprayed them Potions, Super Potions and even Hyper Potions, there was no effect. Usually, they would work. But not at all. The Minior were unaffected by the potions, much to the surprise of the guards.
Meanwhile, Flurry Heart immediately arrived at the scene before the final light of a Morelull could fade away. She stayed airborne, flapping her wings before freezing with terror and shock in her eyes and heart. Flash also stayed airborne, coming to a screeching halt beside the young alicorn. He also saw what Flurry Heart saw.
The Pokemon that had given off light were all on the floor, seemingly unconscious. Shinx, Shiinotic, Volbeat and other Pokemon were immobile after their light disappeared. This was more than just being unconscious during a Pokemon Battle. It looked like something worse. And there were two culprits that stood right before Flurry Heart and Flash Sentry as the last Morelull had its light absorbed.
Daybreaker and Necrozma.
"M-Morelull..." Morelull cried out as Necrozma tossed it to the side, absorbing all of its light.
"Great auntie, Daybreaker!" Flurry Heart gaped as Daybreaker looked over.
"Oh. Flurry Heart. Fancy meeting you here." In her usual condescending tone, she greeted her fellow alicorn. "I see you have Flash Sentry with you tonight. A nice match." She winked.
"Princess Celestia...?" Flash was just as surprised as he also focused his attention on Necromza, taking out his Pokedex. "And what is that?"
"Necrozma. The Prism Pokemon. Reminiscent of the Ultra Beasts, this life-form, apparently asleep underground, is thought to have come from another world in ancient times. Light is apparently the source of its energy. It has an extraordinarily vicious disposition and is constantly firing off laser beams that will cut anything to pieces. Living in the underground has granted impurities accumulated within it, causing its body to darken."
"You did all of this?!" The young alicorn roared.
"Well, it was mostly Necrozma here. I helped by sending it out." Daybreaker nudged the Prism Pokemon. "But I would've thought you were more surprised about me being in this universe."
"I am! But what is this?!" Flurry Heart navigated her hoof over the fallen Pokemon that had their light taken away from them. "You've hurt these Pokemon! Are you here to invade like auntie?"
"Invade? No-no." Daybreaker used her wings to form a feather finger, wagging it while kissing her fanged teeth. "I'm actually doing this for Necrozma. To help it."
"Help...it?" Flurry Heart pulled back after hearing that response.
"Mhm. You may see all of this as bad and I'll agree it does look shifty, doesn't it?" Daybreaker stood in front of the Prism Pokemon. "But in truth, it's to benefit my partner. You heard what that little mechanical dictionary said right?" She pointed her hoof over at the Pokedex.
Flash's Pokedex did explicitly say that Necrozma absorbs light. And from what they had seen, it most definitely does. A majority of it. It also explained what happened to the Minior.
"You're helping your partner Pokemon?" said Flurry Heart.
"I am. Necrozoma's a bit grumpy since it looks like this. It needs light. Light for it return to its true form. Whatever it looks like. I'm just helping it reach that as much as I can. As friends. Nothing wrong with that, right?"
"W-Well...no." Flurry Heart shook her head as Daybreaker had her in a bit of a differing state. She was not opposed to helping others, especially if it was for their health. Although, it was hard to tell if Necrozoma was healthy or not. "But, did you have to harm the Pokemon?! Why can't you absorb light in your own world?!"
"Are you insane? My light is my light." Daybreaker puffed her chest while scoffing. "Necrozoma will feed on light from other worlds except for mine. I wouldn't want my subjects living in total darkness, would I? Who am I, Luna? Hohohohoho!" She then chuckled pompously.
"Forget that!" Flash Sentry stepped in front of Flurry Heart. "Not only are you a part of the Empress' alliance, but you assisted in harming Queen Pyrestar and her capture. By law of Equestria and the Crysta Empire, you, Daybreaker are under arrest."
"Oh. Pssh. Please." She stuck her tongue out. "Like you can do anything. Besides. I'll be leaving soon. This world, as opportunistic as it is, is not my objective right now. I have places to be and lights for Necrozma to absorb."
"So...you're not here for us?" Flurry scrunched her face, still feeling cautious.
"Not at all. Unlike your very disappointed and frustrated auntie, I hold no ill-intent towards you, Flurry Heart." Daybreaker shrugged before grinning. "But, before I take my leave, I have an offer. Would you help me gather a bit more light?"
"Absolutely not." Flash Sentry intervened with an answer as he held out his Poke Ball. "You won't be allowed to harm any more Pokemon and-"
"Wait." Flurry Heart interrupted, suddenly getting in front of Flash. "You can absorb light. But please. Absorb something that won't harm anyone."
"P-Princess! What are you doing?!" A flabbergasted Flash asked. Flurry Heart just looked at him, giving Flash a look that said 'Trust me'
"Light that won't harm anyone? Hmm..." Daybreaker grabbed a nearby mushroom, roasting it with her Fire Breath before eating it. "That would insinuate life from lifeless beings like lightbulbs or lamps. That's less fun."
"But it's the safer way. No one will get hurt and Necrozma will have light to consume." Flurry Heart suggested. "Please. I don't want anyone to get hurt."
"Geez, you're soft." Daybreaker pouted. "But, I'm not here for long anyway. So, sure. Give Necrozma some light here and we'll be on our way. And don't think about trying to capture us, pegasus boy. You won't get even get close to me."
"Why you...!" Flash was immediately provoked from that.
"Flash. It's okay." Flurry Heart stepped in again. She chose to vouch for Daybreaker at this moment. "I'll make sure nothing bad happens. Okay, great auntie. You can take the light from me."
"You?!" Flash looked over at the young alicorn.
"You?" Daybreaker repeated with the same reaction.
"Yes. I can give you some magical light. I know you won't give up your own light. So have some of mine." She had willingly showcased her magical aura, choosing for Necrozma to absorb it. Flash just had his jaw out the entire time.
"My. I guess your softness has its benefits. Very well. Necrozma. Eat up." Daybreaker allowed the Prism Pokemon to consume Flurry Heart's light.
The Psychic-Type approached, gladly wanting Flurry Heart's light. It was also wondering how good alicorn light was. Flurry Heart stood there, radiating her magical aura as she did not move a muscle.
However, the moment Necrozoma got close, that was when Giratina's Poke Ball promptly reacted. Within the Ultra Ball, Giratina sent a pulse of Antimatter that pushed Necromza back. The Renegade Pokemon did not take kindly to any threat to Flurry Heart as the ball started shaking.
"Giratina. It's okay." Flurry Heart spoke to the Ghost-Dragon-Type, reassuring him that all would be alright. Giratina trusted Flurry Heart, allowing Necrozoma to continue.
After that, Necrozoma had absorbed the light from Flurry Heart's horn as if it was a vacuum. The magic lights were being distorted, spiralling into Necrozma's body. Flurry Heart winced as the feeling was tougher than she thought it would be. But she endured.
Flurry Heart then ended her light, only allowing Necrozoma to take a bit of light. Necrozma then backed away, floating beside Daybreaker.
"Well. How kind of you, niece," said Daybreaker. "Necrozma certainly enjoyed that."
"There. Will you go? And not harm anyone else here?"
"Hm...sure. Since you offered some of your light. I suppose I can lay off this world in the meanwhile."
"Meanwhile?" Flash didn't like the sound of that.
"Ah, I wouldn't worry too much. Return, Necrozma." She recalled the Prism Pokemon as she then opened a gateway behind her. "Well, it's good to see you're doing well, Flurry Heart. Take care. We'll certainly be seeing each other later on. Toodles~" She gave her goodbyes before entering the gateway, leaving.
"Princess. Are you okay?" Flash went to Flurry Heart who had held her head. Having light, AKA magic being absorbed from her body was a bit draining. Thankfully, she had amazing magical potential to keep herself steady.
"I'm fine. All's well that ends well, right?" She chuckled, staying optimistic.
"That was very reckless, princess. You could've been in grave danger in that instance. Are you sure you made the right choice?" Flash asked.
"Great auntie Daybreaker's always been nicer to me than auntie. She's dangerous but I know that she's always being honest and telling the truth."
"Really?" Flash squinted. "Because she's honest?"
"Mhm. I know she is. But, maybe I did mess up by letting her leave since she's sort of wanted."
"It's fine." Flash sighed. "She's already gone now. Let's just head home and I'll give the report." Flash said as Flurry Heart nodded. They would leave, but not before tending to the Pokemon that were still harmed. But they would soon come to find out that their lightsource was no longer present as Flurry Heart picked up a Shinx.
"S-Shinx..."
"Here." She sprayed a potion on it. But it had no effect. "Nothing?"
Its light's been taken away, princess. I'm not sure that-" But before Flash could finish, Flurry Heart had personally given Shinx her own magical light.
And by doing so, she managed to restore the light in Shinx, making the Electric-Type energetic again. And it showed this energy by instantly shocking Flurry Heart with 40,000 volts out of excitement and gratitude. "Shiiiiinx!"
"Guh!" Flurry Heart stammered as she and Flash had been shocked. She then coughed smoke as Shinx nuzzled her. "Y-You're welcome."
"Shinx!"
Dandelion Island. Police Departmant. Morning.
Early morning.
It was time for Tempest to free Luster Dawn. And it would be done without wasting any time. Tempest could still use her magic despite the restraints due to a trick the Empress taught her.
The moment the guards went to grab some food and bring it back, Tempest did the most obvious spell. Teleporation. Except, she only brought Luster Dawn and Obsidian with her, leaving behind the Umbrage Thieves.
"She left us." A thief said.
They had teleported to the outside of Dandelion Island. Just on the outskirts. Afterwards, Tempest casually removed the cuffs off her horn as if they were nothing. She then used her magic to blast away the other cuffs.
"How did you do that? Using your magic while restrained?" Obsidian asked.
"It's call the Radial Trick. The Empress invented it, knowing that one day, she could end up having her horn restrained. She taught it to me due to how much she trusts me." And to add insult to injury, Tempest smirked at Luster Dawn.
"Mmmrgh...!" Luster did not like that one bit since she considers herself Empress Twilight's favourite. "Just get on with it. When are we heading to this stupid Sea Temple?"
"Soon. And when we're ready. First. Let's head back. The Empress won't be happy that you've been gone for long. But, she will be happy about my successful mission. As always."
She taunted Luster Dawn before opening up a gateway to the 35th universe. Tempest had made a successful mission in retrieving Luster Dawn and Obsidian. But more than that, Daybreaker is now allowing Necrozma to absorb light. Both sides are set to go for Samiya. The Sea Temple. An ever-moving island that had no consistent location. But that wouldn't stop them as the journey continues.
"Oh, Princess Twilight! Everypony in the hospital is so excited for your visit today!" Nurse Redheart spoke to Twilight with her Chansey beside her. They were walking through the castle with Spike writing everything down. Ash was currently eating some food after helping out with Jade and Cold for the day.
"I'm never too busy to visit sick foals. I can't believe a whole class just came down with the horsey hives!" She replied as both her and Redheart's ears dropped.
"On school picture day, too." The nurse shook her head as Chansey patted her. "Oh, the poor dears really do need cheering up. Unfortunately, my Chansey hasn't become a Blissey yet. If she did, then that egg of hers would've solved the entire problem in seconds."
"Chansey."
"Well, don't you worry. We'll do our best. We'll bring snacks, I'll read to them, and get them gifts! Plus, they love my Pokemon." Twilight giggled as Espeon jumped on her back. "Togekiss is really good with foals too."
"Espeon!"
"Food and presents always cheer us up." Spike and Axew chimed in as Ash and Pikachu gave a thumbs up in the distance.
"Mm-mm!" Ash said with a full mouth.
"Pika!"
They made their way towards the door, preparing to take care of all those foals. With some assistance of course. The cuteness factor of Twilight's Pokemon and the coolness factor of Spike's Pokemon go well with the foals' preferences. Redheart galloped out of the door as Twilight waved goodbye.
"We'll see you soon!" She said before closing the door.
Okay." Spike looked at the long list. "If we want to be at the hospital by lunch, then we have three hours to buy get-well presents, borrow a book from the schoolhouse and...pick up treats." He sighed at the abundance.
"It's a lot, but if we stick to the schedule, I know we can get it all done."
"Yeah, knock on wood." After saying that, Spike indeed, went to knock on the wooden door. But as he went for it, a knock already came through, beating him to the punch. Someone was here as Twilight and Spike looked at each other before opening the door.
"Surprise!" Shining Armor cried out as he, Cadence, Sylveon, Manaphy and baby Flurry Heart were here. And both ponies had messy manes and baggy eyes for obvious reasons. Flurry Heart then giggled at her auntie.
"Oh, my gosh!" Twilight gasped before putting on a smile. "How's my favourite niece?" She went up to the little alicorn, receiving a face hug.
Just then, Shining Armor came to mimic Flurry Heart's voice, even though she couldn't currently speak. "I'm good! I was hoping my favourite aunt could watch me for a few hours."
"Hope you're not too busy," said Cadence. "We tried having the older Flurry Hear take care of her but she's too busy and...I'm afraid of what kind of chaos those two will create together."
"Actually, we kinda are-" Spike was about to show them the list until Twilight stopped him via hoofblock.
"Busy?" Twilight scoffed. "Would the best aunt ever be too busy to spend time with this adorable little one?" There was a slight pause as Spike got in front of them, tapping the list for Twilight to see. "No! Come here, Flurry!"
Flurry Heart giggled as she flew over to Twilight. Immediately, the baby alicorn was met with a stomach blow that made her laugh. "Flurry! I've got a surprise for you!" Twilight then guided Flurry Heart as the baby took a ride on her back.
Twilight momentarily stopped, placing Flurry Heart down. The baby alicorn tried standing, only to fail. But afterwards, she got up, standing successfully, prancing on the spot with her wide and open smile.
"Just a couple of toys that reminded me of Flurry." Twilight opened a nearby door that had unleashed a plethora of gift boxes. The boxes fell like a landslide, landing on the little princess.
"Oh!" Twilight gasped after seeing them fall on her. But soon, Flurry Heart was pulled out with magic, unharmed as she kept giggling.
The baby then went over to Espeon, pulling on her purple tufts of hair. "E-Esp..."
"I'm excited to show you I've done some shopping for Flurry Heart." Twilight turned to Shining and Cadence.
"Oh-ho-ho, you're so sweet." Cadence chuckled. "You didn't have to do all that."
"I know, but I can't help myself! Best aunt ever!" Twilight was certainly proud of herself, being an aunt and all. More proud than being a princess or even a Pokemon Professor. "Open this one, Flurry." Twilight opened one of the gift boxes, showing two pluses of Frillish. Both the male and female forms.
Flurry Heart cooed, picking up the Male Frillish plush and hugging it. She then made her face as stoic as a Male Frillish, trying to mimic the ghost-like nature of it. She then laughed afterwards.
"Knew the Frillish toys were a success. The parallels of both their facial expressions just go so well!" Twilight picked up the Female Frillish. "Hey, Flurry. How about a battle?"
Twilight then sent the Female Frillish over to the Male Frillish, creating a pretend Pokemon Battle with the baby. Flurry Heart immediately caught on as the two of them started participating in a fake Pokemon Battle.
They started having a good time, using moves that Frillish would normally use. Twilight and Flurry made weak and small beams of magic to try and mimic moves like Water Gun, Shadow Ball and more. Manaphy jumped in, using Espeon as her own ride.
"Espeon!" Espeon was not bothered by it at all. It soon became a party of three as Axew had jumped onto Espeon's back, adding weight to the Sun Pokemon. But, she could handle it.
"Mana! Mana!"
"Xew-Axew!"
"We'll just put Flurry's things over here, Twily!" said Shining Armor.
"Uh-huh. Totally." Twilight replied before spinning Frillish
"Mashed peas, her favourite." Shining Armor brought over a can of peas as he and Cadence brought over a plethora of essentials. "And diapers." Cadence placed them over along with some more. "Uh, extra diapers. Oh, and backup extra diapers. Heh." She was clearly out of it due to taking care of a baby.
And the same went for Shining Armor as he even started repeating things he had already said. "Mashed peas, her favourite. Wait, did I say that already?"
"Uh-huh." Spike pushed a bag of diapers off of him.
"Oops." Shining squeed.
"Ash. Cold. Will you two be fine helping out?" Cadence turned to Ash and Cold Colt.
"Mhm," Ash replied with a full mouth as Cold swallowed his food, almost choking.
"Gah..." Cold Colt let out an elongated gasp. He quickly made a glass of water to savour himself. "Nice."
"Oh, and this is the most important thing of all – her Whammy." Cadence brought out a plush toy of a snail.
"I take it Flurry named it?" Spike questioned before holding the plush.
"Yup. If she gets fussy, just give her the Whammy and she'll calm right down." Cadence gave a quick breakdown before Sylveon yawned, feeling on the verge of falling asleep.
"Sylveon..."
"You getting all this, Twily?" Shining Armor asked his little sister.
"Whammy. Got it." Twilight had Flurry sit on her back once more. "Where are you guys headed, anyway?"
"You remember my friend from the royal guard, Spearhead?" Shining questioned as silence filled the atmosphere. Both Twilight and Spike looked at each other before facing Shining Armor.
"Honestly, all of your friends' names are very similar." Spike shrugged.
"Well, he has a pop-up art show at the Ponyville Cafe, and we decided to go at the last minute." Shining Armor explained as Aegislash came along to shave his stubble.
"We're not exactly art enthusiasts, but we could really use a night out." A cute yet exhausted squee came from Cadence.
"You mean day?" Spike correct her as Cadence blinked a few times.
"That's what I said! Isn't that what I said?" Cadence looked at Shining Armor before almost zoning out. She really needed a break at this rate. "Either way, are you sure you can watch her?"
"Uh-uh-uh!" Spike shook his head in denial. "Have no fear! The best aunt ever has everything under control!"
"Mmmmh." But Twilight nodded her head in approval. Shining Armor and Cadence then brought Flurry Heart, giving her a goodbye kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks again, Twily," Shining said his last words before leaving with Cadence.
"Okay, let's grab that Whammy thing and go. Meet up with us later, Ash! Cold!" Spike ran off, shouting to Ash and Cold Colt in the distance.
"Mm-mhm-mm!" Ash nodded, still having his mouth full. He had finally finished his food before patting his stomach. "Aaah...Awesome."
"Pikachu..."
"Nice eating skills, you two." Twilight chuckled, before walking off. But immediately, Flurry Heart teleported in front of her, stopping her fellow alicorn. She babbled before putting her hoves out, pouting her face and causing a magic bubble to appear in front of her. "Oh, you want to pretend we're the Pokemon. I suppose we have time for a quick game."
"Do we, though?" A worried Spike asked as Twilight galloped away with Flurry Heart, playing as Frillish. "Ash, Cold, can you hurry here?"
"Gimme a sec..." Ash raised a finger before getting off the chair. "Okay. All we gotta do is take care of her and everypony else at the schoolhouse, right? Twilight's already good at that, isn't she?"
"I sure am!" Twilight popped in front of Ash, trying to scare him. She ended up scaring Cold instead.
"Aah!" Cold jumped, holding onto Ash.
"Let's just not make it too long, please. 'Cause we've got lots to do! Horsey-hives-covered foals counting on us, remember?" Spike showed the list.
"Got it." Twilight nodded before Flurry Heart and Manaphy landed on her head, causing them each to giggle. Flurry Heart zoomed around, still acting like a Frillish. Twilight then chased her around the hallway with Ash and the others watching.
Twilight then vanished with Flurry Heart wondering where she went. She was a bit worried. That is until Twilight did the same vanishing and reappearing trick on Flurry Heart, giving her a scare. And it was effective. Flurry Heart gasped, covering herself with her large wings and a shield of magic as she descended to the floor.
"Uh-oh. Sorry, bug. Did that scare you?" Twilight also descended before tapping on the magic bubble. "It's okay. It's just Auntie Twily!" She pressed her face on the bubble, trying to cheer the baby alicorn up. Flurry Heart smiled before sticking her tongue out.
"Bleh!" She cried out before hugging Twilight.
"You know, that was a very advanced spell for somepony your age. Looks like you're already taking after your Auntie Twily," said Twilight as she winked.
Flurry tried winking as well, only to fail at it. She would get it one day.
"All right, that was pretty adorable." Spike agreed. "But now..."
" I know, Spike, we're leaving," Twilight replied before hearing Flurry Heart's stomach growl. "I just have to feed her real quick. Did you guys leave anything behind?"
"Uhh..." Ash, Pikachu and Cold looked behind to see that everything had been devoured. They had huge appetites so they would eat like giants. Nothing was left for Flurry Heart. "Whoops." They said.
"Pika."
"It's fine. There's always mashed peas." Twilight brought over the can of peas as Flurry Heart sat down. Once Twilight got a spoonful of them, the baby alicorn suddenly denied them. So much for them being her favourite food. After blowing a raspberry, she then used her magic to fling the peas at Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu opened his mouth, allowing the food to enter. "Pika-Pika." He was satisfied with that.
The streets of Ponyville.
Meanwhile, Shining Armor and Cadence were already observing the art, trying to see what wonders they could gaze upon. But, immediately, they were met with something that was less on the wonderful side and more on the bizarre side. They couldn't exactly make out what they were seeing.
A bunch of shields and crooked hook racks piled together in a wooden bucket
"Is this art or... a mistake?" Shining spoke.
"I have no idea. But who cares? We're not changing diapers." Cadence felt relieved as the pony they mentioned earlier had shown up. Spearhead.
"Shining Armor! Cadance! How are the new 'rents? Gimme some hoof. "Spearhead waved before appearing in-between them both. Shining Armor then gave him a high-hoof. As did Cadence, but she got it wrong. "Oh, it is so good to see you, dudes! Hey, thanks for coming." He pulled them both in with a hug.
"Of course! We're having a great time! Loving all the... art!" Shining had a nervous grin, trying to compliment Spearhead's work. But he was actually facing a trash can.
"Uh, that's a trash can." Spearhead replied as Amethyst Star placed some trash in it.
"So it is! I knew that!" The unicorn tried to play it off all cool-like.
"But hey, who's to say it's not art?" Spearhead rambled. "Art can be anything that speaks to you. It changed my world." He then guided them to one of his actual pieces works of art. A black piece of paper on the wall. "This is my latest piece – 'A Thousand Nights in a Hallway'."
"Wow, I guess nighttime in a hallway can be pretty dark." Cadence tried sounding impressed.
"There is none more dark." Spearhead replied with a serious tone. He had truly seen something dark for him to make and say this.
"Yeah. Totally." Shining put his own words in.
Despite how uninteresting this seemed so far, Cadence could safely agree that this was less active than what she had to deal with on a daily basis. "We're just so happy to be here. Usually, we're covered in mashed peas by now."
Twilight's Castle.
And speaking of which, back at the castle, Twilight and the others were covered in mashed peas. The castle walls were also decorated with them. Pikachu gladly ate the peas, finding them delicious.
"When they said mashed peas were her favourite..." Spike grumbled before receiving another splash of mashed peas in his face. Flurry Heart laughed afterwards. "...did they mean her favourite thing to decorate a room with?"
"Pikachu." Pikachu licked the rest of the peas away while Espeon sighed, sitting down before being met with a gigantic splash of peas.
Now she looked like her Shiny Form.
But as this mess was going on, Pikachu and Espeon noticed something. Sticking the topic of food, one of Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff could be seen grabbing food from Twilight's kitchen. Mainly snacks.
"Pika?"
"Esp?"
"Slur?" The Meringue Pokemon looked over, seeing that she had been spotted. Pikachu and Espeon immediately rushed over to their friend, wondering what she was doing.
"Pikachu! PIka-Pika!"
"Slurpuff. Slur-Slurp." Slurpuff giggled nervously, explaining that she felt adventurous today. She had already tried most of the food varieties at SugarCube Corner what Pinkie Pie could come up with so far. So, she wanted to try out something new, choosing Twilight's castle first.
"Espeon!" Espeon started scolding Slurpuff, not taking too kindly to whoever steals from her Trainer. Even if they were her friends.
"Puff." Slurpuff promptly avoided, still wanting to try something new. Pikachu saw an incoming mashed pea being flung by Flurry Heart.
"Pika!" He saw an opportunity. Pikachu got in front of Slurpuff, using her as a body shield. But not just a body shield. A way for Slurpuff to eat.
Mashed peas were less creative and bombastic than everything in SugarCube Corner. Plus, mashed peas are not as sweet as them. And it barely fit a Pokemon like Slurpuff. And it showed. The moment the peas entered her mouth, she felt like she was going to be sick.
"S-Slurpuff..."
"Pikachu." Pikachu patted her on the back, encouraging her not to give up on Pinkie Pie's ideas. She will always have something new in mind. Especially with Halloween Nightmare Night closing in.
But then soon, Pikachu and Espeon noticed someone missing within the castle. Manaphy was nowhere to be seen. Usually, she's always with Flurry Heart, but not this time."
"Pikachu?" He and Espeon started looking around, wondering where Manaphy had hopped off too. And once they looked out the window, they had seen that the Seafaring Pokemon was outside. "Pika!"
"Esp? Espeon!"
"Pika-Pi! Pikachu!" Pikachu turned to Ash, calling for him. He told Ash that he and Espeon would rush off to grab Manaphy off while they deal with Flurry Heart.
"Okay. You guys do that. We'll handle the rest." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu replied as he and Espeon rushed off to the outside of the castle. They knew how troublesome baby Pokemon can be. Especially when spending time with other babies.
"Say, Twilight. We should be going now," said Ash. "It's been uh..."
"20 minutes," Spike commented. "We're only 20 minutes behind schedule."
"20 minutes?!" Twilight gasped before exhaling. "It's fine. We can totally do this." Afterwards, she was met with another splat of mashed peas in the face." She then let out an embarrassed giggle.
Pikachu and Espeon had arrived outside, searching for the Seafaring Pokemon before its too late. At the same time, Team Rocket had just returned from their little food job over at Canterlot.
Meowth right now as bored, complaining about how nothing interesting was happening so far. "How come we ain't snatch any new Pokemon lately?"
"Beats me," Jessie replied, yawning.
"I'd say that Pokemon House and Fluttershy have us by the hook." James jokingly said. "We're slacking aren't we?"
"Not for long. One day, we'll have to break out of our imprisonment there and get back to doing what we do best. For the boss!" Jessie pumped her fist.
"And Zecora?" James asked.
"Not yet. I want to learn more potions before we scram away from her. When's that stupid forest going to regenerate already?"
"Yeah, well, make it quick. Nothing's ha-" Just as Meowth spoke and they kept walking off, the Scratch Cat Pokemon then saw something that caught his eye.
Right on an overhead balcony, Amethyst Star's Skitty could be seen resting there. Meowth, also being a cat, was struck by his fellow feline. Lovestruck that is as Jessie and James had walked off, unaware of Meowth's pause.
"Skitty." Skitty yawned as Meowth gawked.
"What a beauty!" Meowth gushed before blowing a puff of smoke in the form of a kissing face towards the Kitten Pokemon. It floated up, only for Skitty's tail wag to blow it away. That was instant love denial. "Gh! It's fine!"
But Meowth did not give up. The second best thing in his eyes was a love poem. He came up with one on the spot, clearing his throat and getting on one knee to try and impress Skitty.
"How do we come to be here next to each other
in the night
Where are the stars that show us to our love and..." Just then, Meowth had paused, trying to find something to rhyme it with. "Uh...I can't be out of rhymes now! Zecora ain't help much, did she?" He thought of a rhyme, digging deep into his mind while Skitty just sat there.
"They call that art?" Just then, Amethyst Star showed up at the balcony for her Pokemon. "Skitty. Come on. Bath time."
"Skitty!" Skitty then hopped off the balcony before back inside of her home. At that moment, Meowth had come up with something at last.
"Bingo!" But it was too late. The moment he turned around, Skitty was gone. Meowth's hurt sunk with disappointment meeting his face. "Guess it wasn't meant to be. Bummer..." Saddened, Meowth walked away.
And right as he walked away, Manaphy hopped over him, moving swiftly from place to place thanks to her light body. "Manaphy!"
Unable to find Manaphy anywhere, Pikachu and Espeon knew they were not enough. So, to cover more ground, they would rally a search party. And they could count on their friends for that.
They gathered, Audino, the one Slurpuff from before, Braviary, Sceptile and one of Rarity's Leavanny plus her Pheromosa. All of them weren't busy at the moment, so this was a good opportunity to require their help.
"Pika-Pika. Pikachu." Pikachu laid out the plan. He could rely on Audino and Slurpuff for easy tracking with their senses. Braviary could cover the skies thanks to this aerial advantage. Sceptile to an extent with his vines. Pheromosa and Leavanny would come with Pikachu and Espeon on foot. Especially Pheromsa who could run fast while holding other Pokemon.
Everyone knew what they needed to do. Find Manaphy and return her before she causes any trouble. They scattered across Ponyville, hoping that she hadn't ventured off too far.
Toy store.
Over at the toy store, Twilight was off to pick up some toys for the foals. Here at the toy store, many toys tailored to Pokemon could be found here.
"Okay, we just need to grab some toys and we are outta here. Ash. Cold. Can you go ahead of us to the schoolhouse? We'll meet up with you later."
"Okay." Both of them said before walking off. As they left, Flurry Heart, who was in a shopping cart, wanted to continue playing as Frillish with Twilight.
"You want to play, don't you? Well, I know a game that's even more fun!" Twilight squeed before Spike poked her, showing the Princess of Friendship the list. "And more efficient. Race Carts!" Immediately, Twilight had hopped into the cart, using magic to move it. "Woo-hoo!"
Spike and Axew then chased after them, but the cart was moving too fast. "Axew!" Axew then had the clever idea of transforming into Haxorus and doing the same to Spike.
"Haxorus." The Axe Jaw Pokemon grabbed a nearby cart, placing Spike on it. This way they could keep up with Twilight and Flurry Heart.
"Neat thinking, Haxorus! After them!"
"Haxo!" Haxorus pushed the cart with stupendous strength, chasing after the alicorn duo. While moving with the carts, Twilight used her magic to grab some toys, placing them in the basket.
Flurry Heart felt the wind blow in her face as the base was being filled with an abundance of Pokemon toys. Some were bigger than others and some came in pairs. Spike and Haxorus caught up, running beside Twilight and Flurry Heart.
"Spike! Haxorus! Glad you could get into this and join!"
"We're not joining, just keeping up with you. But this is actually pretty fun." Spike laughed. But very soon, he was getting into the adrenaline of it. They then came to a halt at the counter, having the toys ready. Great multi-tasking on Twilight's side. "Nice thinking, Twilight.
"Best aunt ever!" She exclaimed, feeling proud of herself again. Flurry Heart then tugged on Twilight's tail, wanting more of that. "Hang on, Flurry. The race cart's taking a pit stop."
Sadness filled Flurry Heart's face until it turned to happiness. She was a quick thinker as she could just her magic on the cart And that's what she did. The baby alicorn manipulated the wheels of the cart as it was jittering. She closed her eyes, trying to properly move it until she managed to do so.
Now she was riding solo. She giggled, dashing through the store with the cart. Ponies and Pokemon watched as this baby was going full speed through the store.
Right ahead, there was a pile of Chimchar, Butterfree, Natu and Carracosta toys stacked together in perfect order. It would be a shame if something ruined that perfect pile. And something did. A baby on a cart crashing right through them. She broke through the piles as if they were minor roadblocks. The pony nearby dashed away, not wanting to be smushed.
Twilight, Spike, Haxorus and the Salespony went over to the mess as a few others watched.
"I'm not a detective, but I think we got a suspect." Spike removed a Chimchar toy, revealing Flurry Heart buried underneath, giggling.
"Huh!?" Twilight giggled before Flurry Heart's emotion transformed into a frown, fearing that Twilight was about to scold her. Spike then showed her the list, causing her to sigh. "Well, we'd better get to cleaning. We've got no time to waste!"
Instantly, Twilight used her magic to rearrange the Pokemon toys on the pile as soon as she could. And she did so successfully, calling it a job well done as their time here was done.
"Thanks, but they were organized by colour." The salespony said as Twilight froze from those words. She sighed before choosing to rearrange them how they were originally placed. The Chimchar toys went on the top, the Butterfree in the upper middle, Natu in the lower middle and Carracosta at the bottom.
Meanwhile, the search for Manaphy went on. So far, no sign of her yet. Until now. The first ones to spot her were Braviary and Sceptile. They saw her jumping across the road on the heads of ponies going n with their daily lives. From the direction she was headed, it looked to be Saddle Lake.
But before that, she ended up landing on the head of Derpy's Wooper. "Wooper?" Wooper bobbed back and forth like a bobblehead for a moment before spotting his fellow Water-Type.
"Mana!" Manaphy kept going as Braviary and Sceptile pursued her.
"Woo? Wooper!" Wooper, being the confusing Pokemon that he was, decided to follow after. He loves some good fun in any way shape or form. He immediately joined with the Seafaring Pokemon on whatever little venture she was on.
"Okay! Have fun, Wooper!" And Derpy allowed it, waving goodbye as Sceptile swung past her. And speaking of bouncing, Manaphy had the move Bounce with her.
"Manaphy!" The Seafaring Pokemon saw Wooper joining along as she told him to hitch a ride. Unfortunately, Wooper doesn't have any arms to grab with. But he did have a mouth. He immediately bit onto Manaphy's antennae as a substitute.
"Wooper!"
"Phy...Mana!" By using Bounce, Manaphy hopped a great distance. Too great of a distance. Her jumping strength was impressive but that was to be expected for a Pokemon known for jumping out of water constantly.
"Scep?!" Sceptile gasped, seeing how incredibly high they had jumped. Even Braviary was surprised. Sceptile ended up crashing into a tree after his focus was thrown off. "Tile!"
For show and flair, Manaphy had then used Hydro Pump to fly higher through the air. The high volume blast of water had also struck Braviary while Manaphy was spinning with it. "Viary!"
"Mana! Manaphy!" Manaphy and Wooper were now heading for Saddle Lake indefinitely. Braviary shook the water off of him as he then called out for his friends.
Audino heard Braviary's call, now knowing where she was headed. Audino went on to alert her friends about Manaphy's next location. Saddle Lake.
Ponyville Schoolhouse.
Twilight and Spike were only 55 minutes behind. Yikes. Ash and Cold were already at the hospital by now, doing what they could for the foals.
"Sorry we're late," said Twilight, pushing a box of books.
"Oh, no problem," Cherilee replied. "But I gotta say, I'm surprised you came to me for a book. Don't you have a huge collection?"
"Yes, but—" Twilight was then cut off by Flurry Heart cooing and wanting extra playtime with Twilight. "Sorry, one second." Spike showed her Whammy as Twilight gave the snail pet to the baby alicorn.
"I didn't think the foals would be interested in The Unabridged History of Amulets in pony Latin. Plus, no new and exciting Pokemon Books for them yet. The ones we brought from Poke-Con have already been read. We only brought so few of them."
"Yeah, it was good you came to me. How about the complete collection of Ponyville Fables and Stables?" Cherilee showed the book with its heavy size.
"Hmm...Too long." Twilight shook her head.
"Alien Alicorns vs. Space Pirates?" Cheerilee suggested another one.
"Well, the science there is preposterous even with the world we're living in now." Twilight scoffed.
"I'll take that!" Cold used his magic to borrow the book, finding interest in it.
"How about Burnferno, Warrior from Within?" Spike gave his own book choice. "It's about a handsome dragon warrior who slays evildoers with his breath and his snappy comebacks!"
"Let's borrow that for you and keep looking." Twilight giggled.
Spike sat down, reading his chosen book with Axew by his side. Deino came out of her Poke Ball automatically, aiming to devour the book, only for Spike and Axew to stop her.
As Twilight searched for another book, Flurry Heart chewed on the toy before throwing it to the floor. She wanted something new and riveting to do. That's when she locked onto Deino. A perfect substitute. The baby giggled before levitating her way towards the Irate Pokemon.
"Dei." Deino bit on a table before being met with a baby alicorn tackle to the head. "Deino?" Deino turned around to see the arrival of Flurry Heart. She had no idea what was coming her way.
"Uh, how about Gusty the Great?"
"Ooh, that was one of my favourites when I was a filly! We'll take it!" Twilight pranced. But just then, a surprise was met with Cheerilee's face as she saw Flurry Heart up to something.
"Dei! Deino!" Deino had cried out as she was being levitated by Flurry Heart. Not just her, but most of the furniture in the classroom. She started pretending that she was using the move Gyro Ball. Except, Flurry Heart didn't take into account that Gyro Ball meant that the user was spinning, not the area around them.
"Gah!" Twilight screeched after witnessing this. Ash and the furniture, including the chalkboard was being flung around rapidly like a tornado. Twilight quickly used her magic to overlay Flurry Heart's magic hold on everything. Flurry Heart's magic came to an end as everything had been stopped and fell. But before falling, Twilight had rearranged everything, placing them in their original positions, including the chalkboard before it could be smashed to bits.
"D-Deino..." Deino felt dizzy until Axew caught her.
"Xew."
"Cheerilee, I am so, so sorry! I didn't even hear her leave!" Twilight apologized before heading over to Flurry Heart.
"It's fine. At least the chalk on the chalkboard is okay." Cherilee let out a safe cry as Twilight and the others promptly left before things got worse.
Saddle Lake.
Manaphy and Wooper had arrived at the Saddle Lake. Pheromosa, with her great speeds, came to a screeching halt as everyone followed after her.
Upon arriving, they had seen that Manaphy had bounced onto the head of a Feraligatr that was peacefully resting there, only receive some disruption. "Mana!"
"Fera?" But not only that, Manaphy was still using Hydro Pump for extra height as the Big Jaw Pokemon was met with water to the head. Feraligatr didn't even bother leaping out to chase after Manaphy. She was already long gone with how high she bounced.
"Pika..." Pikachu sighed as they were already far from the hospital at this point. "Pikachu! Pika-Pika!" A new plan was devised by Pikachu. They would have to cut Manaphy off.
Front, back, side. All sides will have to do. They reworked their plan as they all nodded in unison. But they knew that Manaphy would not make things easy for them. Mythical Pokemon are difficult to keep up with.
SugarCube Corner.
And speaking of Mythical Pokemon, over at Carousel Boutique, Mew had given Axew some sweets to eat. Twilight and Spike stopped by for some food for the foals.
And at the same time, Flurry Heart could spend some time with the Cake Twins and not cause any trouble. At least, that's what Twilight was hoping. Upon meeting her fellow babies, they immediately started bonding along with their Plusle and Minun.
"Spike. Axew. You two watch Flurry. I'll take care of everything else." Twilight asked as Spike saluted. She went over to Pinkie Pie who was currently serving food to a certain Fighting-Type Gym Leader. Bea from Galar.
"Mmm!" Bea gasped after Twilight had shown up. But thankfully, it was someone familiar. She was afraid that eventually, she would be caught having a sweet tooth. Something that Bea wouldn't want to be made public. "Mmm."
"Hi, Pinkie! How's it going? I need to pick up the cupcakes for the foals at the hospital! And can you do apology treats?" She asked rapidly.
"I'm good. Here they are. Of course I can!" And Pinkie replied just as fast, already having some ready-made.
"Do you still have a giant file on everypony's favourite treat?"
"In my secret party planning cave!" She pressed one of the buttons of the cash register that had revealed a switch. "BRB!" She then pulled the lever, opening a hatch as she dropped through it. Instantly, she returned with the files, placing them on the table.
"Hee-hee! Remind me to tell you later how amazing you are." Twilight said before asking about Cheerilee's favourites. "Cheerilee?"
"Eh. I am pretty awesome." Pinkie gave a proud grin before Mew brought over the right paper file. "Cherry oatmeal cookies with yellow sprinkles."
"Mew..." Mew gagged at the thought of anything related to oatmeal.
"Oh come on, Mew, it's not that bad." Pinkie said.
"Great! Can you write 'sorry' on them?" Twilight requested.
"I've got a stamp for that," replied Pinkie as Mew held the stamp, putting one on Twilight's head.
"Mew-Mew!"
In the meantime, while Spike was checking the list, the Cake Twins along with their Pokemon were arguing. They were fighting over a single toy hot air balloon with both sides trying to pull the balloon for themselves.
"Plus!"
"Min!"
"Xew? Axew!" Axew went over to try and diffuse the situation. "Axew-xew!" But, his word's weren't doing it as he was met with not only a slap to the face by a pegasus wing but also electric shocks from both Plusle and Minun. "A-Axew!"
Flurry Heart quickly grabbed Spike's attention, showing him what was occurring as Axew fell over. "Oh! Axew!" Spike ran over, helping his partner up. "Hey, you guys! No need to fight! Uh... Hang on!" He ran over to the toy box, searching for a new one. "I'm sure there's another one! Ugh, no, not this one..." He tossed out some toys. "Oh, that's cute..."
Flurry Heart found her solution. She grabbed the toy with her magic before ripping it in half. She then gave it to the babies, hoping to have solved the problem with a smile. The babies looked at the broken toy, clearly not happy about it. To show this, they tossed the toy aside, no longer wanting to play with it.
Flurry Heart gasped as the Cake Twins started chasing the baby alicorn down. Plusle and Minun just sat there, watching them move around. They had already seen the toy break so what was the point of doing anything now? However, going through a chase was always fun. Even though the two of them were unaware that this wasn't a friendly chase as they joined their partners.
The Cake Twins started throwing cupcakes at Flurry Heart, trying to hit her. Plusle and Minun did the same but their intentions were less hostile.
"The salespony at the toy store..." Twilight kept piling up the requests for ponies who had their stuff messed with thanks to Flurry Heart.
"Apple strudel cupcake with caramel drizzle!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"C-Could I have that one?" Bea found interest in something called that. Pinkie Pie nodded before seeing something terrifying. Her eyes almost popped out as she ripped the paper.
"Oh, no. You're making the same face Cheerilee made." A worried Twilight said before turning around. She had soon witnessed the colourful and tasty carnage made by the babies. Cupcakes everywhere, splattered. "Pinkie, remind me what your favourite treat is."
"Mmm... The sampler platter." Pinkie grumbled.
"We'll take three of those." Twilight sighed before Flurry Heart flew to her side. "Hopefully, Pikachu and Eve are having better luck than me."
Saddle Lake.
Speaking of which, Manaphy looked around, seeing that Pikachu and the others were nowhere to be found. She thought they had stopped pursuing her. The only one chasing her was Braviary.
But as she moved across the area, Manaphy and Wooper were drawn in by a Sweet Scent. They couldn't help but go towards it. But that Sweet Scent was a trap from Slurpuff.
Manaphy soon found out that Pheromosa had appeared in front of her, creating a massive cloud of smoke. "Mosa!"
"Mana?!" Manaphy gasped as she immediately turned around, aiming to use Bounce to get away. But right behind her, appearing from the shadows was Espeon. They had cornered her from front and back.
"Espeon!"
Manaphy was ready to just jump up in a straight line, only for Leavanny to make a plethora of String Shots that had wrapped around the Seafaring Pokemon's legs. Now Manaphy could not use Bounce.
"Leavan!"
"Phy...Mana!" But Manaphy still had Hydro Pump as she unleashed a massive stream of water that had sent her upwards and even destroyed the threads from String Shot.
But there was a surprise waiting for her there as well. Sceptile had used his vines to make a grass cage in the form of a massive dome. Manaphy bumped her head onto the dome before falling. "Mana?!"
"Sceptile!"
"Wooper!" But that's where Wooper came in, using Haze. A massive haze had emerged, clouding everything for everyone. That allowed Manaphy to go next. The Seafaring Pokemon had then used Hydro Pump to hit the String Shot, obliterating it as she had freed herself.
She was ready to head off and make her escape until Pikachu came in. The Mouse Pokemon used Quick Attack, moving at blinding speeds to block her. Espeon had then used Psychic to hold both of them. But Manaphy quickly resisted by using Psychic as well to blow Espeon's hold away.
At this rate, Manaphy would not give up as she stood before everyone else. "Pika...!" Pikachu's red sacs flared with electricity, asking Manaphy to stay still. "Pika-Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu told Manaphy that she had to get back to Flurry Heart.
"Mana?" Manaphy had then realized that she was far away from Flurry Heart. She was about to break into tears after seeing that her friend was not around. Pikachu and the others gasped as Manaphy was on the verge of crying.
"Phero!" Pheromosa quickly grabbed Manaphy, running off to reach Flurry Heart before things get worse.
Hospital
Finally, after many delays, they had arrived at the hospital. Ash and Cold were already there, doing what they know best to cheer the foals up. Ash himself along with his Pokemon were admired while Cold showed off with his Rift Magic and what he could do.
Once Twilight had finally arrived, she wasted no time and went towards reading to the foals. Of course, Gusty the Great was her choice. Childhood nostalgia got the better of her.
"...and while nopony had ever tried to reach Cloudsdale on hoof, Gusty the Great was not deterred! She and her unicorn warriors marched up the hill. But suddenly, they encountered..." Twilight read.
"Encountered what?!" Spike gasped as he was getting into the story. He had held Axew, shaking while eating cupcakes.
"It was the treacherous Grogar..." Twilight revealed the name as they all shuddered. At the same time, Flurry Heart was being bored of this, wanting something exciting to happen. She wanted to play more. "...and Gusty could tell he was ready for battle. Gusty called out to the unicorn warriors—" Interrupting her was Flurry Heart with another tail tug.
"Ow! Not right now, Flurry. These foals really want to hear this." Twilight said. And Flurry Heart did not take kindly to that. Her face heated up as she couldn't handle another denial.
And because of that, she broke into tears as she accidentally tossed her Whammy away. But even after that, Twilight kept reading. 'We can fight Grogar together!' And the unicorn warriors shot magical beams into the clouds that wove into one! The beam, stronger than a thousand armies, shined down!"
Flurry looked around, searching for her Whammy as it had ended up on a cart, unfortunately, carried away. After searching the area, Flurry Heart's sadness increased. She pushed side the cushion of a sick pony resting on it, desperately searching for the toy.
All the while, Twilight was still reading. "It wrapped around Grogar and pulled him to the ground! 'Don't let him escape!', yelled Gusty!"
Cupboards, other rooms where patients were. Flurry Heart flew and teleported around. "Say 'ah," Redheart said to a patient.
"Aaah..." The patient opened his mouth, only to be met with Flurry Heart showing up and opening it even more. "Aaaah!"
Flurry Heart left afterwards, using her magic to lift objects up, searching everywhere she could so far. And with each passing second, her fear was building as she started making worrying squeaks.
She returned to the room Twilight was, lifting every bed, searching for Whammy. "Grogar was strong, for fear gave him power, and he broke through the bonds!" Twilight read as the ponies gasped at the sight of Flurry's actions. "I know! So good, right?" But Twilight thought it was something else.
"Twilight! Look up!" Spike cried out.
"Spike, you're floating." She casually said, looking up before kicking into realization. "You're floating!"
"So are you!" Spike cried out in response as everything in this room was being carried.
"Hey, guys." Cold entered the room. "Ash said that he found-" As soon as Cold entered, he had been carried too. "Woah! What's happening?!"
"Flurry, honey, you need to stop this. Put us down, please." Twilight pleaded as Flurry Heart was panting more with fear rising within her.
"Twilight! Look out!" Both Cold and Spike cried out. A bed was coming Twilight's way. But thanks to Twilight's magic, she held everything and reverted it all to normal. "Nopony panic. Everything's gonna be okay!"
But immediately, Flurry raised the beds once more, only for Twilight to lower them. There was a constant back and forth with them controlling the beds and everypony nearby with magic. Afterwards, Flurry started teleporting away, only for Twilight to chase after her.
Meanwhile, Ash had gone out to buy something for the foals as he was now returning to the hospital. He was unaware of what was occurring inside. But what surprised him was Pheromsa running at breakneck speeds, passing him by with Manaphy crying.
"Huh?" Ash paused while holding the bags of objects. "Pheromosa?"
"Pikapi!" Up ahead, Pikachu could be seen approaching. He jumped onto his partner's shoulder, pointing ahead as the rest of Pokemon joined with Ash.
"What's going on?"
"Audino!" Audino pushed Ash, trying to get ahead of things before Manaphy makes everything spiral out of control. But that wasn't the only thing spiralling out of control.
"W-Woah!" Ash exclaimed after being pushed inside.
Within the hospital, Twilight just could not keep up with Flurry Heart, no matter what. "Oh, I can't keep up with her!"
"Oh, yeah, where's her Snoozle?!" Spike questioned, getting the name of Whammy wrong.
"Her what?!" Twilight replied.
"You know, her Whacky Whompy thing?" Spike looked into the carriage, searching for the toy as it was not inside there either. "The snail? Where is it? Cadance said it calms her down."
"Pheromosa!" Entering the hospital room was Pheromosa as she had found the baby. She came to a screeching halt, almost bumping into a nearby bed.
"Mana! Manaphy!" Manaphy had then used Psychic again, this time expanding it as it blew Pheromosa off. Now the Lissome Pokemon was being carried by Psychic, similar to everyone else here.
And the room was on the verge of being a crying zone. When Flurry Heart cries, Manaphy cries. And when Manaphy cries, Flurry Heart cries, creating an unending cycle until both are calmed down in some way.
Flurry Heart heard Manaphy crying as it was about to make her cry. Twilight looked around, seeing the mess made here, knowing this had to end.
"Flurry Heart! Put us all down this instant!"
"!" Flurry Heart gasped as even Manaphy was startled by her shout. Flurry Heart dropped everyone with her magic along with Manaphy's Psychic. Twilight safely brought them down.
"Is everypony okay?" Twilight asked as noises of assent came from the foals. Redheart fainted after what she had witnessed. Ash had entered the room after the other Pokemon brought them here.
"Oh geez..." Ash sighed as he held his back. "Could've been more gentle, ya know. Hm?" He then looked at the scene.
"Flurry, that was very, very bad! You could have hurt somepony!" Twilight scolded. And in the end, Flurry Heart ended up crying either way. And thus, Manaphy went back to crying as well as they both held each other. Flurry Heart used her magic to create a shield. "Oh, Flurry, Manaphy, I didn't mean to—" But Flurry Heart and Manaphy kept crying.
"Espeon." Espeon went up to her partner, breathing in and out as she was a bit exhausted. Pikachu slumped over, also tuckered out.
"Sweetie, you don't have to be scared. It's just me, see?" Twilight said, pressing her face on the bubble. But Flurry Heart moved away with the bubble.
"Pika-Pikachu." Pikachu nudged Ash, asking him how they could fix this. That's when, amidst all of that magic holding, the cart where Whammy was on had been manipulated from afar, dropping the toy.
"Leavanny." Leavanny brought over the toy as Ash spotted it.
"Nice find, Leavanny." He replied before putting the pieces together. "So all of this was because of..."
"Pika?"
"You're scared of me. Because I yelled at you." Twilight's ears dropped. Oh, Flurry, I'm so sorry. I've been a terrible aunt today. All you wanted to do was play, and I've barely been able to pay attention to you. None of this is your fault. It's mine. So much for being the best aunt ever. But I hope you know how much I love you."
Always knew the right words to say as Flurry Heart giggled, immediately smiling before squeezing Manaphy. However, Manaphy was still upset, but there was a solution to that. As Flurry Heart went to hug Twilight, emerging out of the Poke Ball was the Dragon Pokemon, Dragonite.
"Dragonite!" Dragonite pulled everyone in for a hug, sparing no survivors. From Ash, Twilight, Flurry, Manaphy, Redheart, the Pokemon and the foals, they were all apart of Dragonite's group hug.
"O-Ough!" Twilight's eyes bulged. "G-Good timing as always, Dragonite!"
"Gonite!"
"Oh yeah...! Leavenny!" Ash turned to Leavanny.
"Leavan." Leavanny had revealed Whammy as she had found it. To Flurry Heart's glee, she grabbed the toy, feeling happier than before.
"Thanks, Leavanny. How about we head home now." Twilight suggested before Nurse Redheart gave an ahem and hooftap. The ponies at the hospital weren't too happy still. "After we clean up."
Ponyville.
Back at Ponyville, where Meowth was picking flower petals that he took from Carousel Boutique after not scoring on with Sktty, Shining Armor and Cadence were actually feeling the effects of being away from their daughter for a while.
"This one kind of reminds me of Flurry's hair," Cadence mumbled, on the verge of crying as she looked at a cupcake that had Flurry's hair patterns.
"Uh-huh. And this one reminds me of Flurry too." Shining also started numbing with tears sprouting, looking at a small piece of art.
"How so?" Spearhead asked.
"It's small... like her!" Shining cried. "I-I can't do this anymore! Spearhead, this has been great, but—"
"Say no more." Spearhead stopped him. "My art has always spoken to me about what I love. But knowing that it spoke to you about what you love speaks to me.
"What...?" Shining paused before Spearhead said his last words to them.
"Go to her."
The Pokemon Huse.
"There you are. Where have you been?" James asked Meowth after he showed up.
"Heartbroken..." Meowth slumped over.
"Get over it," Jessie replied. "Whatever it is. We've got work to do."
"Yeah, yeah, I hear-" But as Meowth replied, raising his head, in some odd twist of fate, he had seen Amethyst Star's Skitty again. She was here since Amethyst wanted a new Pokemon. "Hold the phone! Fate's not given up on me yet!"
"What's he on about?" James looked to Jessie.
"Mm-mm." Jessie shrugged as Meowth went after Skitty for a third try. Unfortunately, Skitty had accidentally swung her tail whacking Meowth away.
"Gaaaaah!" Meowth cried out while flying off into the distance. "It's a solo blast off!"
"Skitty?"
Twilight's Castle.
"I'd better get going now," said Ash to Twilight as the rest of Twilight's Pokemon, minus Absol were playing with Flurry Heart and Manaphy. "Good luck with things, Twilight."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Right. Thanks for your help, Ash. Pikachu." She bid farewell before closing the door. The door had reopened with Shining and Cadence showing up.
"Flurry?! Where's our little foal?!" Shining Armor cried out before Flurry flew over. "Ah! Oh, we missed you so much!" He and Cadence hugged her.
"Ninetales!" Ninetales ran over, holding his tails out. He allowed Flurry to grab onto them and feel warm. Usually, grabbing them meant that a cause would be placed upon the target. But Ninetales could control who gets the curse. And a baby certainly wasn't one.
"But it looks like you had a great time without us." Cadence sighed.
"Actually, not so much," Twilight said. "Flurry got into some mischief, but it wasn't her fault. I shouldn't have agreed to watch her with such a jam-packed schedule. It was too much to juggle. But Flurry taught me an important lesson today. It turns out being the best aunt ever isn't about spending the most time with your niece, but spending quality time with her. And she taught me a really cool Frillish game, so I guess I learned two things."
"And I helped somehow!" Cold chimed in with his head popping out of the corner.
"Yes. Thank you for your input, Cold." Twilight nodded as everyone chuckled. Suddenly, breaking through the window was Meowth. The power of that tail smack was surely potent as everyone gasped.
"Ugh..." Meowth groaned as Ninetales went up to him.
"Nine-Nine." Ninetales licked Meowth's face.
"I ain't done yet...One day, I'll get to her." Meowth groaned before fainting.
Weeks have passed since the Indigo Alliance incident. And a lot is changing in Pegalysium. Especially in Feathercoast as Second Wind was revealed to be the ringleader of it all.
The Pegalysium Gallery, aka the museum, had taken a heavy hit because of this revelation. All workers in there practically had no job now that Second Wind had been found out and is currently on the run. Especially her best worker, Kaleidoscope. She was currently inside of the museum, unsure of what to do.
"8th time I've been in here and I still don't know what to do." Kaleidoscope sighed as Queen Luminary walked up to her. "What do I do, Queen Luminary? I mean, do I even have a job anymore?"
"I wouldn't say so." Luminary shook her head. "I would try and run it, but I don't know the first thing of running a museum. Neither does my husband."
"What about the Pegalysium Nation Museum at the capital? Can the museum owner claim this one too?"
"Well, I'm working on that. In the meantime, chin up." Luminary put her hoof on Kaleidoscope's chin. "I know this is difficult for you. It is for everypony else here who knew Second Wind."
"She was so nice though. I can't believe she'd be the ruler of it all." Kaleidoscope sighed. "Been a bit hard for everypony. Especially the young ones."
"I know. Right now, there's a chance that Second Wind has retreated to the south and at the neighbour kingdom of Pegalysium. I'm afraid she'll be back."
"And if she comes back, she'll have a lot to answer for." Entering the room was the doppelganger of King Sombra, Mayor Umbra Streak. "I always knew Second Wind was off. How she always called shots and made her own rules and orders despite me being the mayor."
"Good to see you too, Umbra Streak." Luminary smiled. "I see you're not as affected."
"I am. In my own way." Umbra replied before shrugging "I do feel for the ones that were attached to her. But, no time to pity a criminal. After all, I may have to shut this place down immediately."
"Shut it down?!" Kaleidoscope pulled back. "But I work here! I mean...I don't have a job anymore but..."
"After what had just happened and other ponies that were in on this secret society, I can't take my chances." Umbra already brought over the papers to officially close down this museum. "Sorry about this, Kaleidoscope."
"Hold on, Umbra." But, Luminary hastily paused her. "That won't be necessary. I've chosen to keep the museum active and assign somepony else to own it. So the jobs here won't fade away."
"Hm." Umba Streak replied with just one word and a head nod.
"Head home and rest Kaleidoscope. Soon, everything will be okay. You'll have your job back and then some."
"Okay. Thank you, Queen Luminary!" Kaleidoscope thanked her before rushing off.
"You know..." Umbra went up to the queen. "If Second Wind has been orchestrating this secret society for years including the previous ones before here, there might be exhibits in this museum that have been altered, haven't they?"
"Probably. But since they've twisted history to their vision, I wouldn't say that it is all fake. Just warped. Besides, it'll give a reason for everyone to see what the Indigo Alliance used to be and what they've done." Luminary giggled.
North of Pegalysium. Cold Frontier.
Over at the north, an icy landscape could be seen. One that was as chilling as the Frozen North in Equestria. Probably because they're both in the same area.
Over here, official Pegalysium workers were working on the sky for a reason. They were preparing for winter. Pegalysium has no concept of a holiday such as Halloween or Nightmare Night. Mostly because Nightmare Moon is absent from their memories.
The pegasi in Pegalysium manipulated the clouds differently than the ones in Equestria. To allow more snow to fill the area, they had used their magical wings. They flapped their wings, causing them to glow their respective colours as they sent their auras through the clouds.
After doing so, they had all created a unified snow spell, causing the clouds to send out heaps of snow that spread across Pegalysium. Not only that but the skies too.
"There we go." A worker wearing snow clothes said. "Up until February, all this snow will be plentiful. Do you think the King would mind if we placed some near the south?"
"He would." Another worker nodded. "The south's still a pretty much-uncharted territory. Perfect for the Indigo Alliance to hide in."
"But it's kinda strange. Can't believe you brothers and even parents were a part of them?" One worker laid on her back, making a snow angel.
"Yeah, well, my parents saw him as more important than me. I didn't amount to much. That's why I became a worker for the king and he become next in line to inherit my family's fortune. But hey, at least I'm not the one imprisoned. Hehe!" He chuckled before laying on a tree.
"Wait, so does that mean you'll inherit the fortune now?" She asked as the stallion quickly kicked into realization. His mind started rapidly moving as he gasped.
"Oh yeah...!" He nodded. "Good thinking! When I get that fortune, I'm gonna buy all the Boomexploding Apples I can get! My favourite!"
"Aren't those dangerous for your stomach?"
"Well, not if you dip them in water. But they do make you burp a lot. Part of the fun."
As they had their conversation, the snow that filled the area was suddenly increasing in abundance. As well as the temperature decreasing unexpectedly. The workers here had set the temperature to 0 degrees. The standard one for snow here.
However, the temperature had decreased to nearly -60 degrees Fahrenheit. And the workers here could feel it. Even with their snowsuits, they started shivering within this chill.
"What's up with the temperature?" The worker with a noble family asked. "We put it to 0, didn't we?"
"We did." The mare replied as she looked at the comically massive thermometer they carry around. Lo and behold, it was nearly -60 degrees. "It's at...-60 degrees?! How the-"
"We can generate that much cold." Another worker came by. "Maybe something's wrong. Let's report back and see if we can-"
"F̷r̴o̷s̴l̸a̷s̴s̶." That's when the sound of a Pokemon passed through, alerting everyone to the chilling voice that echoed throughout the cold atmosphere.
This voice belonged to the Snow Land Pokemon Froslass. Her light blue eyes glowed within the cold icy smoke, staring down the ponies. The worker all gasped after seeing this sight, unsure of what creature was there. Froslass' appearance was obscured by the cold mist.
And once they looked at her, their bodies, especially their snowsuits, started breathing as Froslass kept breathing out those same chilling breaths.
"Ah!" The workers gasped, noticing how they were being encased in a prison of ice. Unable to move under Froslass' influence. They started panicking as they could not slip out of their snowsuits. The ice started from their hooves and worked its way up to their upper bodies.
Froslass was obviously going to do what it naturally does. Steal its prey and use them as decorations at its home. And these poor ponies would be victims of that. Froslass emerged from the misty ambience, appearing before the ponies.
They had never seen a Froslass before so the appropriate reaction was to scream at the top of their lungs in fear of the Snow Land Pokemon. "Aaaaaaaah!"
"Gh...!" One worker managed to work around this. The pegasus who would eventually inherit his family's will smashed his body onto the tree he laid on, breaking the ice.
He was the only free one. He then flew off as fast as he could for help. Froslass noticed this as she switched her focus to the pegasus, not allowing any prey to escape. So to make sure, she used Blizzard, increasing the abundance of snow, summoning a howling blizzard that affected the landscape.
Massive snow piles started emerging from the hill. They would act as barricades, similar to how giant boulders pile in front of a cave. But, the stallion managed to escape at the last second before the snow could fall on him.
Froslass had missed one. But, it was minuscule to the plethora she obtained. After making herself a successful catch, she used Psychic to grab them all, carrying her victims to her chilly den.
Pegalysium capital.
Snow poured as winter had started earlier for Pegalysium. Similar to how summer lasted longer in Equestria thanks to the Pokemon and their influence upon the world.
Emerging outside was Shooting Star in his snowsuit. The capital of Pegalysium had undergone some changes ever since it was revealed that a majority of the nobles here were a part of the Indigo Alliance. Many homes had been shut down instantly. Until the King and Queen can decide to do with them.
However, Shooting Star chose to hang around there since they had no owners anymore. Pegalysium certainly felt quieter than usual after those events.
"Morning, young prince." A mare said, decorating her home with the equivalent of Christmas and Hearth's Warming. They clearly have an earlier holiday leap here in Pegalysium. "Off to lounge in those homes again?"
"Yeah, Mrs Quartz Jumper. I mean, nothing interesting there, but still. There might be some neat stuff hiding in those homes."
"Hm. Better not be planning on stealing. Even if it's from a secret society?" She narrowed her eyes, pouting her lips with a judgemental look.
"Bah. I say let him." An old pony on a rocking chair spoke. "Those Indigo chumps are the reason I lost 40 years worth of free Ruby Mythrills. Take back what they took from me, young prince!" He shook his hoof with vengeance in his heart.
"Uh...I'll think about it, Mr Bassquill." Shooting Star fluttered his wings before backing up slowly. He was about to enter until he had been bumped into by a pony in a rush. "Oof!"
"Ow!" The other pony cried out. It was the pony from before that had managed to escape from Froslass. After bumping into him, the nearby guards rushed over, pointing their Dynasite spears at him. Harming royalty was obviously an offence here. "Eek!"
"Explain yourself!" The guards said with their spears right near his face.
"Hold on!" Shooting Star stood up, halting the guards. "Just a bump. That's all. No need to worry. Are you okay?" He put his hoof out for the worker.
"Fine now!" The worker grabbed the young prince's hoof before getting up. "I came here with important news! Big news! Life-threatening!"
"Sounds big for sure! What is it?!" Shooting Star gasped as the guards and even Quartz Jumper and Brassquill leaned forward.
"We were bringing about snow for this year's Coltivity over at the south!" The name of the holiday had been revealed as Coltivity. Their equivalent to Christmas or Hearth's Warming. "And then, the temperature dropped to -60 degrees!"
"-60 degrees?!" They all gaped.
"Uh-huh!" He nodded. "And then, this-this...thing came out of nowhere!" He spread his hooves out. "It was so creepy! It had a creepy-looking shape and it kept floating! And it looked like it was wearing some sort of dress! It had light blue eyes and uh...I don't know what else. It was just so weird."
"Wait." Shooting Star then squinted, looking to the sky as he felt like he could make out which Pokemon matches that description. He processed it for a moment. "Dress. Lightblue eyes. Floating...What did it sound like?"
"Uh...Well, the only thing I heard was that it said something about a lass?"
"Froslass!" The young prince exclaimed. "I remember that from Ash's Pokedex! It's Froslass!"
"Fross-who?" The old ponies said.
"Well...I guess that's its name." The worker nodded. "After it showed up, everypony else working there got turned into ice by it. I-I don't know what else happened after that. I escaped before it could catch me too with all that ice. I don't know what it's going to do with them."
"Make them into decorations." Shooting Star answered. "The Pokedex said that it brings frozen prey back to its lair and neatly lines them up. So it's definitely gone to wherever her den may be and use them all as decorations and sometimes food. Probably even eat them too!"
"We've heard all we needed to hear." The guard said. "Good job for returning safely. We'll head there, rescue them and-"
"Wait." Shooting Star stopped them. "Uhh...I think we'll need more than just heading there to rescue them. I read about Froslass in the Pokedex. It's like a hybrid between two types. Ice and Ghost."
"Ghost?" They all said.
"Mhm. This means we can't touch it. Well, when we want to touch it, she could just make herself intangible. And that's a problem."
"Oh, he's got a good point." The guards nodded. Just then, Brassquill sighed before getting off his rocking chair. He had something to say.
"I knew this day would come. Ghosts." Brassquill said.
"You have something, Mr Brassquill?" Shooting Star asked.
"Oh, no. Are you talking about those potions you keep in that eerie basement of yours, are you?" Quartz Jumper asked, groaning. "You know how overworked you get when those are brought up."
"Heh. Yeah, I do." Brassquill chuckled. "You always were creeped out about them, weren't you Quartz?"
"Wait, you actually have something for that?!" Shooting Star gasped.
"Always have something for everything. Besides. WInter's when things get weird. So I always keep some out early on the porch." Brassquill went over to a box that he kept nearby.
He opened the box as everyone leaned in. A purplish and green glow emitted from the box, shining on their faces as they all gawked. Within the box, a plethora of potions could be found, even stunning the guards who had an abundance of royal weapons.
"Sweet..." Shooting Star and the worker said.
"Hehehehe." Brassquill chuckled. "The Indigo Alliance couldn't keep this away from me. Get a load of this. Kelpie Tonic." He picked up a green potion, showing it to them all. "With this stuff, you can interact with any troublesome spirit. No problem."
"And...y-you just kept something like this the entire time?!" Quartz stuttered. "How long have you had this, Brass?!" She leaned in, wanting questions.
"Bah. The king gave 'em to me!" He scoffed. "Besides, I was like a surrogate father to him, remember? Anyway, use this and that Frost girl won't be a problem for you."
"Froslass. And thanks, Mr Brassquill." Shooting Star took the potion. "So do we drink them to make it work?"
"Drinking's for tryhards. Just pour it on you. Only lasts for 2 hours."
"Hold on, young prince. You're not thinking of coming along, are you?" The guards asked. "We can't risk putting you in any danger. The king will surely punish us for that."
"Ah, it's fine." Shooting Star flailed his hoof. "I can handle myself. Pegasus of Destiny and everything, ya know?"
"Thank you so much, young prince." The worker shook Shooting Star's hooves as thanks. "Please get my friends back."
"We will. But we'll need some extra equipment if we're going around an area with -60 degrees. And I know just the stuff." Shooting Star had wings performing a snapping motion, similar to how humans do with fingers.
South.
"Algidity suits! Full of Cyanosite and perfect for this!" Shooting Star exclaimed as he and the guards were wearing specialized snowsuits that only the Royal Guards had. These suits were made out of a spongy substance known as Cyanosite. The only thing that could withstand absurd cold temperatures such as the negatives. "These'll do perfectly. Now, where would we find a den?
"There aren't many cave systems in this part of the north." A guard said before looking around. He then shivered suddenly. "By Septimus, it is still cold here!"
"Yeah. Even these suits are struggling. That Froslass' ice must be something isn't it?" Shooting Star replied. "Okay, team! Let's go!" He then flew ahead with the guards following him.
"Who made him captain?" A guard asked her fellow guard.
"Mm. Royalty." He shrugged.
The group had moved further to the north, unsure of what to expect. Except for Shooting Star. Reading the Pokedex had helped him prepare for certain situations with Pokemon if he ends up coming across more of them.
The area had already been affected by Froslass' -58 degrees, almost -60, was fairly potent. More snow than usual could be seen. Even the lake had been frozen over from this aggressive and unforgiving chill.
They couldn't find any hoofprints or trails of ponies being dragged. This was because Froslass had carried them off the ground, making it impossible for them to find any drag trails or clues at all.
Everything was almost silent here. All of the natural animals that used to live here had fled somewhere else due to this cruel cold. The frozen lake didn't help either. There was no way they could hibernate through this. Pokemon cold far exceeds natural cold.
The pegasi flew over the heaps of snow, making sure not to cause any noise in case of an avalanche. They also observed from high up, hoping to spot any potential dens nearby.
That's when Shooting Star noticed something up ahead. A silhouette on a hill as he squinted his eyes. Everyone else soon saw this silhouette. A humanoid figure sitting on top of a snowy hill. As Shooting Star remembered, one Pokemon that does have a humanoid figure, somewhat, is Froslass. Albeit a ghostly one.
However, as they got closer, it was soon revealed that it was not Froslass. But instead, one of the Rift Humans here.
Lucien.
"A human!" Shooting Star pointed about before zooming towards Lucien. Shooting Star was hoping that Lucien might have seen Froslass somewhere and know where the den was. "Hey!"
"Hm?" Lucien looked over at the incoming pegasi. Shooting Star then stopped in front of him with Lucien scratching his hair.
"Hey. Sorry if I'm being a bother right now. But I was wondering, have you seen a Froslass anywhere? With other ponies?" Shooting Star asked.
"Oh. You're the ponies that live here?" Lucien squinted. "You certainly have unique looking wings but that's about it."
"The prince has asked a question. Answer it." The guard ordered.
"Pssh. I don't have to answer anything right now. I'm trying to think of something big here." Lucien scoffed. "A way to outdo Sienna and the alliance stuff."
"Alliance? You mean the Indigo Alliance?" Shooting Star leaned in. "And what do you mean outdo?"
"Oh, right. You guys don't know." Lucien crossed his arms as he had something to shock them with. He grinned before leaning back. "Sienna found this place, dropped some Rift Energy there and she called it a day."
"Wait...the Rift Energy found in Big Sky. That was from her?!" The guards gasped.
"Mhm. You see, we're Rift Humans. Get a load of this." Lucien raised his finger, showing a spark of Rift Energy as they all gawked. Rift Energy right before their eyes. Seems like they haven't seen the last of this form of energy. "So, all I need to do is outdo her. I mean, the whole attack on Pegalysium thing was good and all, but I bet I can do better."
"Hold on! Are you saying that you're planning on putting Pegalysium in even more danger?" That's when Shooting Star's attitude changed. If something involved harming Pegalysium then he would take immediate notice.
"Right on. A part of our little competition. I can't let her get the best of me." Lucien stood up on the hill. "I have to go beyond what she can do until I can create the best possible event!"
"Well, I don't need excuses to know what we need to do." A guard said as they all aimed their spears at Lucien.
"Eh." Lucien shrugged as he turned one of the spears into a cotton bud.
"Oh!" The guard gasped after dropping the giant cotton bud.
"Doesn't matter anyway. Soon, something's gonna happen to this nation that'll be all my work. Then I'll be better than Sienna and prove her wrong." Lucien crossed his arms. "Oh, and that Froslass? Went over there." He actually did show then where Froslass was.
Around a spiral of snow, there was a singular den amongst this chilling landscape. Only 40 miles away. After that, Lucien had suddenly vanished, disappearing to who-knows-where. "Bye!"
Got away..." The guards sighed.
"But. At least we know where they are now. Let's hurry." Shooting Star quickly rushed over to the den with the guards. They would worry about Lucien and potentially Sienna later.
Den of Froslass.
"Hah!" One of the workers gasped as she had awoken after being unconscious for a bit. Whenever Froslass gets her prey, she leaves their heads exposed at least. Everyone here had their heads exposed in Froslass' den. "Huh? What's going on?"
"Froslass." Speaking of Froslass, she was already in the process of making ice decorations for her den. She had already planned everything out and how she would like her decorations to be. "Lass."
"Ugh...this is cold..." A worker shivered. "What's that thing doing?"
"I think making decorations out of us." Another observed. "How quaint."
"Not quaint when we're the decorations!" Another roared, trying to break free. But it was no use. No one was breaking through Froslass' ice.
Froslass had placed each pony in specific areas, using some of them as totems. She even had some of them as furniture, even though she does not sit at all.
Except for her visitors. Entering the room were some Snorunt. 7 of them. They waddled their way indoors as the workers watched these little monsters walk by. "Snorunt. Sno-Sno."
"What are those things...?" A burly worker gawked.
"Aww...they're so cute." Another gushed. The Snorunt were the reason for the decorations. If anything, they were not visitors, but rather family to Froslass.
Once they arrived, Froslass had used Powder Snow to write something on the walls. Everypony watched as Froslass had written the words Happy Birthday Snorunt.
Although it was unclear as to which Snorunt it was.
"Birthday? Is that what this is?" A disgruntled worker spoke.
"Oooh...We're the decorations. All for its children? That's sweet, isn't it?"
"Yeah if we weren't being hung up right now." A worker groaned, lowering her head.
"Froslass, Fros." Froslass had then looked at one of the ponies, preparing a Will-O-Wisp. She had summoned a sinister, bluish-white flame from her hands.
"Eeek! W-What's she gonna do with that?!" The pony gulped.
"Oh. Guess we know who's the birthday cake, huh?" A smug worker chuckled.
"You're only laughing cause you're not gonna get eaten! Someone help!" He squirmed, trying to shatter the ice by banging his head on it.
"Lass. Fros?" But before Froslass could do so, she noticed something was wrong. She looked at the Snorunt, counting them each. "Fros-Lass-Fross-Lass-Fross-Lass-Fros-" That's when she realized something.
One was missing.
The one that had a birthday today. "Fros?! Froslass?!" Froslass ended WIll-O Wisp before being sent into a panicking frenzy. She lifted her decorations, searching for Snorunt anywhere if it was hiding. But it was not here.
"What now?" A worker asked.
"Looks like it's looking for something. Guess this party's gonna be postponed for a bit."
"Oh thank goodness..." The pony that was bound to be a Birthday Cake let out a sigh of relief.
"Froslass!" Froslass knew that Snorunt was now officially missing. And she couldn't allow that to continue. Wanting one of her own to be safe, the Snow Land Pokemon chose to venture off and find the eighth one. "Lass!" But not before telling the others to stay and behind and not move a muscle.
"Snorunt." The Snorunt sat down, waiting patiently for Froslass to return. And now, silence filled the den as time went by. But not before one of the ponies had an idea.
"Psst. Hey. Little guys." She whispered and called for the Snorunt.
"Sno?" The 7 of them looked over.
"I know your uh...who's that your caretaker or family member? Friend? Whoever that may be, is out and looking for something. But...ya think you could get us out of here? Please?" She pleaded.
"Runt?"
"We kinda have places to be right now. Lives to live. I'm sure uh...whoever's birthday will be a blast, but our co-worker here would rather not be food. I mean, he always adds Coacoberries to his baths so he probably tastes good." She chuckled.
"You're not helping!" He bellowed.
"So please? Let us go. If it's any better, we'll wish you a happy birthday and bring a gift over, eh? Eh?" She nudged her head, trying to convince the Snorunt.
"Sno..." The Snorunt then looked at each other, contemplating what they should do. They then huddled, discussing among themselves. "Snorunt. Sno-Sno."
Now the ponies had to wait for an answer.
Meanwhile, Shooting Star and the guards were approaching the den eventually. However, as they got closer, the abundance of snow became greater, making it harder to see through all of it and even harder to fly.
The group had to go on hoof as the winds were blowing them out of the sky. A shame that they could use their natural advantages thanks to this snow. Even these advanced snowsuits were struggling.
"Oh geez...!" Shooting Star groaned before putting on some goggles. "This is the most snow I've seen in Pegalysium! How long till we're there?"
"I can't see much through this snow, young prince!" A guard said, trying to squint through. He almost tripped over a rock because of the ridiculous amount of snow. "It may take us more than an hour to get there!"
"An hour isn't enough! They could be eaten by now!" Shooting Star replied as the wind intensity was increasing. They could barely move forward any further.
With the wind pushing them back and the area becoming nothing but a white canvas, the group was starting to separate from each other. Their vision had become obscured from all of this. Even the sound of the aggressive snow blocked out all hearing.
"Guys?!" Shooting Star cried out before hearing nothing but aggressive wind. No one responded. He was now lost with no one by his side. The young prince could also barely maintain himself with his hooves being threatened by the harsh winds.
That is until he used his magic. Being Royalty meant that Shooting Star had excellent magic potential. He was able to make it so that he could sustain himself in the environment for a bit, even if it wasn't enough.
Shooting Star looked around, walking through the snowy landscapes to see nothing but white and an occasional blue. He sighed, knowing that time was being delayed further at this point. "Great. Just our luck."
"Runt! Snorunt!" Just then, the cry of a Snorunt could be heard nearby, alternating the young pegasus. Shooting Star turned around to see a Snorunt running this way. "Snorunt!"
"A Snorunt?"
"Sno!" Unfortunately for Snorunt, even though it is a Pokemon meant to live in icy and snowy areas, it was still little and fragile. Thus, it struggled to move in the snow. And from how much was blowing, Snorunt was bound to be blown away without any control. "Runt!"
But thankfully, Shooting Star saved the Snow Hat Pokemon by using running over and grabbing it. Right in the nick of time before a great distance could be made. "Gotcha!"
"Sno?" Snorunt looked up to see the young prince holding him. That spell came into good use for having him withstand the unforgiving cold.
"You okay? I mean, I know this is your natural habitat but this is kind of excessive, don't you think?"
"Snorunt."
"But...everyone's been separated from me. I don't even know if I'm going the right way anymore."
"Runt! Snorunt!" Snorunt nudged Shooting Star, trying to tell him something.
"Hm? What is it?" He asked.
"Snorunt! Sno-Snorunt-runt! Sno!"
"Uhh...Sorry. I don't speak Pokemon." He grinned nervously. "Wish I could understand you."
"Snorunt." Snorunt sighed before putting on a serious face. The Snow Hat Pokemon then pointed her hand forward, telling Shooting Star to move ahead. While he could not understand Pokemon speech, gestures were not out of the question.
"Ahead? You know a safe way?"
"Runt!" She nodded.
"Okay." Shooting Star then followed Snorunt' s directions. Even if the wind was harsh and Snorunt could barely move in it, she still remembered her way through this area either way.
And she most definitely knew of a way to a safe place. AKA, the den of Froslass.
And speaking of Froslass, she could move through the cold and cruel environment, no problem. Her body was more fit for this than Snorunt, even if Froslass also somewhat fragile in her her own way.
As she searched through the snow, that was when she spotted the guards. "Lass?" She looked over, seeing them wondering the cold open with no direction. Froslass knew she could just turn them to ice right now and add new decorations.
But Snorunt came before everything else.
The guards soon noticed the Froslass through the snow, spotting the Snow Land Pokemon. They squinted their eyes, processing her appearance as she matched what Shooting Star and the worker said. "Ah! That's Froslass!" The guards exclaimed
"Froslass?"
"After her!" They then chased after the Ice-Ghost-type to hopefully reach the captured ponies.
"Froslass!" Not taking kindly to this response, Froslass had used Blizzard, sending a gigantic whirlwind of ice in their direction. The moment the guards went close, they were stopped in their tracks.
"!" They felt an extra chill course through their body. Thankfully, the Dynasite armour they wore had granted them resistance. Coupled with the snowsuits they were wearing, they were able to resist Blizzard and being frozen. But they were still pushed back. "Woah!"
"Lass!" Froslass then used Shadow Ball, tossing a blob of shadows at them. They had been struck by the Ghost-Type move as their snowsuits had taken damage. Unfortunately, those were not resistant to the Pokemon moves like Dynasite. With the suits damaged, that means their resistance to ice had been diminished.
Seeing that they had been struck, the guards used their wings to hold the spears. Their spears all had the Kelpie Tonic on the tips, allowing them to interact with Froslass. However, Froslass had used Psychic to remove their spears, moving them towards her.
"Oh, that's just not fair!" A guard groaned as Froslass used their spears against them. She sent the Dynasite spears at the original users, causing the grunts to run off in fear.
With great aim, Froslass could hit them. The spears connected with their armour, shattering the Dynasite around them. The guards gasped, seeing that parts of their Dynasite armour had been damaged. That was not a good sign. Especially in this atmosphere.
After doing so and with parts of them exposed, Froslass used Blizzard once more, sending another whirlwind. And this time, it could freeze her prey. Their exposed parts had been caught up in Blizzard. Especially their hooves which had been hit by the spears. Soon, Froslass had new decorations for Snorunt's birthday.
If she could find her.
"Runt!" Snorunt could smell Froslass nearby, encouraging Shooting Star to change directions to the west instead. She nudged her head that way.
"West this time? Okay! If you say so!" Shooting Star nodded.
Meanwhile, as Froslass thought she had new prey, one pegasus was fairly sneaky, hiding in the snow and waiting for the right moment to catch Froslass off guard. And she certainly did, creeping up from a snow hill.
"Gotcha!" The guard jumped from the hill, lunging and grabbing onto Froslass. Thanks to that tonic, she could interact with the Ice-Ghost-Type.
"Lass?!" Froslass gasped before wriggling around. The guard did not let go as she made sure to hold on tight.
"Tell us where you sent them!" She demanded. One of the guards leaned forward, using his mouth to grab the spear. Since not all the Dynasite armour was destroyed, his wings were still free. He used his wings to hold the spear, aiming them at Froslass.
"F-Fros...Lass!" Froslass then used Blizzard on herself, creating another violent whirlwind. The pegasus then threw the spear, only for it to be blown away by the spiral of ice and snow.
As for the pegasus on her, she closed her eyes, trying to maintain her hold. But it wasn't enough. She was eventually knocked off when Froslass decided to merge Blizarrd with Psychic.
"Ah!" She gasped before crashing into the snow hill. The Dynasite armour cushioned the impact, making it barely hurt at all. They were nigh-indestructible with this material.
"F-Fros..." Froslass panted, shaking her head before realizing how much time she was wasting. She looked at the guards with seething anger, just wanting to find Snorunt.
But the guards just wanted to rescue the ponies that had been captured. The pony that had been tossed away used her Dynasite spear to shatter the ice, freeing the ponies. Froslass was ready to manipulate the spears once more and put an end to this.
"Snorunt!" That was when the voice of Snorunt called out. Froslass promptly stopped what she was about to do before responding to this familiar voice.
"Froslass?" She spoke before looking to the side. So did the guards. Appearing through the white canvas of snow was a silhouette. Two of them.
One belonged to Shooting Star and the other to Snorunt. Thanks to Snorunt's senses, she could find Froslass even through the snow.
"Young prince!" The guards exclaimed.
"Froslass!" So did Froslass.
"Sno! Snorunt!" Snorunt hopped out of Shooting Star's hold before leaping through the air at impressive heights. But she soon remembered how harsh the wind was. Thankfully, Froslass' Psychic caught her. They then embraced each other with loving hugs. "Snorunt!"
"Fros! Froslass!"
"Yeesh. What happened here?" Shooting Star helped free the others by also using the Dynasite spears to break the ice. "Everything okay? Did you find the others?"
"No. Sadly." The guard shook her head. "And you, young prince?"
"I think I came here to bring Snorunt back to Froslass over there. Looks happy to be back"
"Runt!" Snorunt then turned to Shooting Str with a happy smile. Shooting Star replied with an approving nod. But, Froslass still saw the others as enemies, ready to use Psychic. "Snorunt!" But, Snorunt quickly stopped her.
Snorunt could see that the guards were with Shooting Star. And considering Shooting Star helped her meet up with her mother, he was not hostile. Snorunt convinced her not to harm the others.
"Fros...Froslass." Since it was Snorunt's birthday, her wish was her command. Froslass knew what had to be done next. The remaining ponies at her den.
"We still want answers about everypony else." A guard said to Shooting Star.
"I got it." Shooting Star walked up to the Snow Land Pokemon. "Uh, excuse me, Ms Froslass. Sorry if my guards here caused trouble. We're just looking for some workers that came by here earlier. We think you may have them. If so, could you please bring them back?"
"Runt. Snorunt."
"Froslass." Froslass agreed to that request. It was mainly Snorunt's request anyway.
Back at the den, the other Snorunt were still discussing. They had yet to finish even after all of this time. Some ponies had fallen asleep in the process.
"Zzzz...."
"Geez...How long are they gonna talk? Just make up your mind!" A worker bellowed.
"You're not helping pal." Another sighed. "Things like these take time."
"Not this much time!" He clapped back at her. "I'm hungry. We were supposed to go on lunch right about now. I just wanna eat my Buttered Salt-Crusted Horseradish Onion and Spinach Asparagus with Cream sauce." He sighed with sadness in his voice.
"Uh...Maybe it's best you stay here." A worker replied after hearing that food choice.
"I know! Speaking of food, let's just eat our way through! I'll start!" A rambunctious worker started eating the ice, trying what she could to break free. But the moment she took the first bite, her teeth and tongue felt cold, causing her to pause. "C-Cold!"
"Froslass!" Returning to the den was Froslass herself. But with guests. Appearing in were the Pegalysium guards, the last Snorunt and Prince Shooting Star.
"Prince Shooting Star!" The workers said with happiness in their hearts and eyes. Froslass had used Psychic to control the Dynasite spears, poking the ice and shattering them.
The workers trapped on the wall had been freed, dropping flat on their faces before the Snorunt broke up their lengthy discussion. "Runt?"
"Sno! Snorunt!" The 8th Snorunt ran over to her siblings, twirling around in the process too. She then started jumping and dancing happily with her siblings after a reunion.
"Glad everyone is okay." Shooting Star helped one of them off the ground. "That could've gone worse, couldn't it?"
"I'll say. Feels like I'm in space with this chill." A worker shivered. "Can we head home please?"
"Sno! Snorunt!" Snorunt walked up to Shooting Star, grabbing his attention. Snorunt then jumped up and down, pointing over at the Happy Birthday plastered on the wall via Powder Snow. Shooting Star could tell what she was saying since ehe's been in this situation before.
"Oh. You want us to stay behind for your birthday?"
"Snorunt!" She nodded.
"That'd be great. But I should really get everyone back home. They're cold and shivering. Plus, staying behind here won't do our health any good. You understand, right?" Shooting Star explained.
"Sno.." A disappointed sigh met her heart as she lowered her head. But she understood that their health was more important.
"But Happy Birthday either way." He patted her on the head. "And hey. At least you found yourself a new home here in Pegalysium. I think you're the first Pokemon to live here. Well, the ones we've found anyway."
"Snorunt."
"If it makes you feel any better, how about we come and visit each other from time eto time? Okay?"
"Snorunt!" Snorunt liked the sound of that as she hugged Shooting Star on the face, making him chuckle.
Froslass bowed to the ponies, apologizing for her trouble. She just wanted decorations for her child's birthday. But she took it too far. Then again, Froslass do tend to do this a bit. Shooting Star would accept their apology himself.
Afterwards, they bid each other farewell, wishing Snorunt a happy birthday. Shooting Star and Snorunt would see each other again after making this promise.
New bonds are made even high above the skies in distant lands. But these bonds are natural and nothing new. Yet effective always. And for Pegalysium and Pokemon, it all starts with Shooting Star and Snorunt as the journey continues.
A rich, rainbow coloured city where people and Pokémon gather. This city is also known as the City of Rainbow Dreams, located in Central Kanto and is the most populous city in Kanto and the eighth-most populous in the Pokemon World. Certainly a juggernaut of a city.
"Retro...the good old days." A man over at Celadon sat on a bench, sighing. He looked at the environment before him, seeing how advanced everything was. Unfortunately for him, at his age, he couldn't adapt to the advanced technology that came with modern times, much to his chagrin. "Back when everything was simpler." He sighed. "Wish I could experience those days again..."
And that was when appearing from the skies and responding to his desire was a Desire. Made by Sienna. It had found a new target. At incredible speeds, the Desire made itself a part of the old man.
Once his Desire had entered, he immediately passed out on the bench. The Desire could work its magic now. A gigantic purple pulse emanated from his body, showing the manifestation of his Desire in the form of a humanoid outline. AKA him.
This Desire not only had his appearance but also what seemed to be a clock. After emerging, the Desire had raised its arm, sending a vibrant flash across the area. Not just the area and Celadon. But the world. Plus, the other world as well. It happened in a split second. But it did what it needed to do.
Everything modern was suddenly being transformed by this flash. Modern-day cars had been turned to the ones that could be found during the 1940s or less. Buildings retained their look from 94 years ago.
Calculators over at a nearby school and every school in the world had been turned into Abacus. The originator of the modern-day calculator. People using phones were suddenly shocked when their Rotomphones or Xtransceivers were turned into telephones. The time when they were first invented.
Naturally, confusion came from this as people and even Pokemon were wondering what was going on. Officer Jenny looked around, seeing that she was wearing the old police uniforms from the past.
"What is happening right now?" She wondered.
"Grandpa!" A child related to the old man said, walking up to him. She noticed that her grandpa had passed out on the bench unexpectedly. "Grandpa? Oh, Grandpa!"
Ponyville. Day.
"So. Look at this." Ash sat down with some of his friends, holding a flier. "There's gonna be a Tag Battle Tournament coming to Equestria for the first time. Even some Trainers from my world are gonna show up. And it's gonna be happening at Canterlot too. First-ever Equestria Tag Battle. How awesome does that sound?"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Tag Battle?" Pinkie Pie repeated. "So like... Double Battles?"
"Yeah, like that. I remember when I had mine over at Hearthome." Ash nodded. "
"Sounds fun, lemme see!" Rainbow Dash took the flier, gazing at it. Her eyes shot up with excitement. "Oh. This I like. We only do double battles when we're going up against a big threat. Would be cool to do one in a contest. Right?"
"Hmm...Yeah. It would." Twilight nodded. "We work better in Pokemon Battles as a team after all."
"Sounds great. But I think I'll pass." Starlight waved her hoof. "Plus, Hatterene's kinda my only Pokemon."
"It's gonna be a blast when we get to do it. Plus, it'd be neat to see which one of you's stronger than who." Ash stood up.
"Don't need to wonder." Rainbow Dash flew over. "I battle the most so I know I'm the toughest out of my friends."
"I wouldn't say so, Rainbow Dash." Rarity intervened, smirking. "You never know. I could be the one who has the most to give in a battle, hm?"
"Same here." Twilight raised her hoof. "I mean, I doubt I'm that much better but..."
"I know I'm tough." Spike grinned, leaning on a chair.
"That's what's gonna make it so fun!" Ash was getting excited. "I'm getting psyched here!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Where's Applejack? Wonder if she wants to try?" Ash looked around.
"Cold Colt wanted to show Applejack...mainly Apple Bloom, some neat Rift tricks. She'll be occupied." Twilight said before going for a drink. But as she went for the drink, very soon, her body pulsated purple. As did everypony else.
In that instance, they had been affected by this double planetary flash. And with that, their appearances were made retro. At least, retro in their own right and ways that they would not expect.
"Hm?" Ash noticed that something was off as he gazed over at Twilight. "Oh! Twilight!"
"Yeah?" Twilight looked over after her drink before noticing alterations with Ash and Pikachu. "Ash? When did you have time to change? And Pikachu why are you more round than usual now?"
"Huh? What the?" Ash noticed he was wearing his Kanto clothes from years ago. It's like he never grew out of them.
"Pika?" Pikachu looked at himself, noticing and feeling his extra rotundness.
"More than that...you look different!" Ash pointed at Twilight. "Like your mom!"
"Of course I look like my mom. It's genetic and-" Twilight turned around to face her friends before noticing their appearance changes too. "Huh?! Girls!? What happened?!"
"That's what I'm wondering! Why do you look like your mother?!" Rarity pointed her hoof at Twilight before looking at her own. "And why am I pink!?"
"I've got wings!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she suddenly took the skies. "Woohoo!"
"Wait! Where are my wings?!" Rainbow Dash gasped, looking at her wings and how she no longer had them. She was now an earth pony. "Aaaaaah!"
"I still have mine. But this is so odd...W-What happened?" Fluttershy stammered, flapping her wings. "And Twilight. You're back to being a unicorn."
"I am..." Twilight gaped. "I can't feel my wings anymore! Why is this happening?! How is this happening?!"
"Oh, Spike. You don't look too different. You just look kinda look lighter than usual. Plus your ear fins are replaced. Pinkie observed.
"Oh. I do?" Spike looked at himself, seeing the lighter colouring and new ears. "I dig it."
"Not just us. Look." Fluttershy used her wing as a finger, pointed ahead. Everyone had soon seen changes across Ponyville and its residents.
Not at all of them, but some of them had been transformed into different ponies that still managed to look like their original selves. Those that weren't changed gasped in awe and shock.
The buildings hadn't changed too much except for how they were given earlier looks. As if they had just been built. Ponies were feeling confused and lost while some, much like Pinkie and Spike, were finding interest in this. Every other Pokemon seemed to be unaffected, except for Pikachu, who had undertaken a slight alteration.
The objects remained unchanged. Except for a few. For starters, Ash saw a flash in his bag, taking out the Pokedex. The Pokedex had been reverted to the earlier model. The one he had back in Kanto. "And my Kanto dex too?!"
"Pika!"
"Oh!" Ash then put the pieces together. "Something must've made everything uh...retro!"
"Retro?" They repeated.
"Yeah. Like old-school. Seeing Pikachu like thIS, me wearing this and holding this kind of Pokedex definitely screams it. I don't know what happened, but something must've turned us all into this. But I don't know what's up with you guys. You don't even look like how you would as foals."
"I don't either." Twilight shook her head. "I look way more like my mom than I usually do!"
"Do you think Discord did this?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"Axew. Xew-Axe." Axew interrupted, shaking his head.
"Axew said that it wasn't Discord because he felt some Rift Energy being used." Fluttershy translated. They recalled how those with Rift magic, even a tiny bit inside of them could sense when Rift Magic is being utilized. And Axew certainly sensed it. "Which means someone with Rift magic did this?"
"Ooh. Maybe Cold's really gotten good if he can do this!" Pinkie Pie squeed before realizing something. "Wait! What do you think Applejack looks like?!"
Curious to see what Applejack would look like, they rushed off to Sweet Apple Acres. And as they went there, they saw how everything had a retro-feel to it. Especially Twilight's lab. Its modern look had been swapped for something akin to Professor Oak's lab when Ash first went there.
Her castle remained the same. Castles are retro in their own way after all. If anything, Ponyville was already sort of a retro-like world. Nothing too advanced about it.
The ponies that had been changed also switched tribes. Some had shifted from pegasi to unicorns, unicorns to pegasi, earth ponies to pegasi and more. Their Cutie Marks had changed as well.
And so far, despite how bizarre this was, no one was in danger at all. It all seemed harmless. Just confusion, excitement and wonder was filling it. Ash and the others got behind it, even if a few of them were still shocked.
Ponies just kept living their normal lives even with this radical change. Some even started having fun with it with however which ways they could.
After arriving at Sweet Apple Acres, they were ecstatic to see what Applejack looked like. But when they got there, they found out that Applejack remained the same. Unchanged.
"Howdy ya'll. H-" Applejack paused as she and Cold gazed at the new appearance of their friends. "W-What in tarnation happened to ya'll?!" She gasped.
"Applejack! How come you aren't different?!" Rainbow Dash pointed out.
"Oh yeah." Cold stepped forward. "I think it's because I was using Rift Magic on her as well when I sensed some other Rift Energy coming through. Guess it shielded her. Totally on accident, but cool, right?" He grinned.
"Ooh...Bummer. I wanted to know what you'd look like." Pinkie puffed her cheeks.
"So Cold. You didn't do this?" Twilight went up to her student.
"Nope. I was trying to show Applejack new tricks. And I didn't plan for this. Someone else must've done this. Uh...Emerald wouldn't, I know that. Maybe Lucien and Sienna did it. I did sense that it came from the other side. Not Equestria but the Pokemon World."
"They don't sound like the types to do something good like this." Rainbow shook her head.
"We'll have to go searching for them there, won't we?" Twilight sighed. "That might take a while. Or maybe they came here. Or not. I don't know."
"Yeah. Won't know unless we see!" Ash quickly rushed off with Pikachu to head over to Pallet Town. Everyone else promptly followed after that.
"Pikachu!"
Pallet Town. Day.
Pallet Town looked the same. Nothing had changed at all once they got there. However, even if the buildings remained, the people living here were affected. Their clothes came from a different time from the effects. Delia gasped, seeing how Ash was instantly in his Kanto clothes while passing by.
"Ash. This is nostalgic." Delia stepped out of the home. "What made you choose to wear those again? And Pikachu, you look like you've gone back in time as well?"
"Oh, mom. About this! We've got a problem. Someone's turned everything us and others retro!" Ash explained. "We're trying to find them and see who else has been hit.
"Pika-Pika."
"Retro, you say?" Delia nodded before looking at the others. "You all certainly have alternated appearances. Except for you Applejack. You look the same."
"Sure do." Applejack tipped her hat.
"That would explain a few things. The TV in the living room had suddenly changed." Delia looked at the TV and how it was an early model. The one with the dial of course. "Actually...a few of my furniture changed to.
"Mime-Mime." Mr Mime nodded.
"Well. Guess we know it reached here too," said Spike.
"Wonder why they'd wanna make everything older?" Ash wondered.
"Pika..."
"Cold, dear. Please tell me you've improved to the point where you can track them down?" Rarity asked.
"Sorry." Cold shrugged. "I don't really know how to do that now! Oh! But we can always ask Emerald!" Cold immediately chose to have Emerald Aura help.
And, being a Rift Pony, he could mimic the Telepathy Spell made in Equestria. He used it to contact Emerald from a far distance. All the way in the fields at the western part of Equestria.
Emerald's horn flashed as she received a telepathic link to Cold from Pallet Town. Emerald stopped what she was doing to listen to her fellow Rift Pony.
"What is it, squirt?" Emerald asked.
"Hey, Emerald. Uh, could you try and see who used Rift Magic? Sienna or Lucien? And if you know-"
"It wasn't them." Emerald interrupted. "I sensed it. The Rift Magic that went through wasn't natural. It came from something else. Someone who hasn't used Rift Magic before. You can tell who used Rift Magic, squirt. But us more experienced and mature Rift Ponies and Humans can tell what kind of Rift Magic is used. Neat right?"
"T-That is pretty neat. So who was it?"
"That would be a Desire. That thing that Sienna made. Looks like someone desired something a lot and that made your problem come up."
"Oh. Could you help turn everything back then? I mean, this doesn't look like it's harming anyone."
"I would but..." Emerald looked up, seeing that Rift had appeared the moment she was about to finish her sentence. The Rift wanted enjoyment and it was clearly enjoying this. "The Rift's starting to enjoy this. You're on your own for now."
The link ended a Cold sighed. "Turns out it wasn't any of them. "It's someone who's never used Rift Magic before except for now. And they made a Desire."
"Oh, so all of this is from a Desire." Ash looked at his old school before seeing older cars pass by. Cars that he had not seen before in Pallet Town. Carriages were even spotted. Even though the buildings of Pallet barely changed, parts of it did.
"Well, they have fairly good taste." Rarity said before flipping her mane. "I could get used to this colour scheme. But...everything at its normal state is better."
"Princess Celestia and Passion know how to deal with this." Twilight turned around. "Let's hurry back for help. Before I get too into this!"
"Oh come on? Not even a little bit?" Pinkie Pie replied.
"I kinda wanna fly again, ya know." Rainbow Dash grumbled. "But at least I kept my original colours, huh?"
"Come on!" Delia shouted as she went out into the streets of Pallet Town. At the moment, an old school radio could be seen as retro music was also playing. Music that Delia enjoyed. "Don't you all want to dance? This was my favourite song back in the day. Crazy Monferno!"
"Sorry, mom! But we have to turn everything back! But you have as much fun as you want, okay?!" Ash cried out.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Fair enough! Just don't take too long!" Delia giggled as she kept dancing with the group. Ash's Pokemon could also be seen joining in on the fun nearby. Still within the range of Professor Oak's lab though.
Equestria. Canterlot. Afternoon.
Canterlot was just as energetic. 50% of the buildings were given a retro look while some ponies remained the same while others changed appearance. However, as Ash and the others arrived, they noticed a mixture of eras.
Some of them had clothing that would be worn in Unova's 1800 years. Some had equipment that would come from the 1900s. Even having some older designs of the Poke Ball. Miraculously, the Pokemon were still inside despite the design change.
"How am I supposed to work with this?" Sunrise Sprint's game device had been altered. It had a more retro look to it as well. It had a bulkier appearance than before with a green screen.
"That's not so bad." Daylight said. "You can still work with it."
"Mmmrgh..." Sunrise grumbled before pressing on the buttons, trying to figure this one out.
Meanwhile, Celestia and Passion had already arrived outside. Celestia took notice of this shift in appearance the moment she saw the buildings outside change right before her eyes. It took her a while since there wasn't much retro about Canterlot.
"Something is wrong here. Well...not bad wrong just odd wrong." Celestia looked around. "Either an advanced time spell had been used. Or..." She then turned to Passion as the Embrace Pokemon nodded. "It's a Desire, isn't it? You felt it, Passion."
"Gardevoir." She replied.
"But what kind of Desire is this?" Celestia wondered before seeing a nearby pony wearing clothes from the '70s. "Excuse me."
"Yes, princess?" The pony stopped.
"Mind if I have Passion look at you for a moment?"
"Go ahead." She raised her '70s shades, fitting perfectly in them. "I feel in a good mood with this look, ya know."
"Voir." Passion kneeled to face the pony, holding her face. After making contact, Passion started digging deep into the mind of the pony. Afterwards, she was instantly able to find the Desire lurking within.
Passion's vision zoomed through a slew of purple particles before seeing the reason for the Desire. Passion saw the view of a house. A house from the past. Around 1928. 3 years after the first Poke Ball had been made. And within that house, a young boy could be seen.
This young boy was the old man in the current day. The child could be seen running around his home with high energy and excitement. As kids naturally do at a young age. The child seemed happy with his family and what he had. But, that wasn't the answer to the problem so far as Passion dug deeper.
She managed to move ahead in time, seeing what else it had to offer. The boy had grown up, reaching the age that Ash had during his first Pokemon journey. He then saw how when growing up, everything around him grew too. He was able to adapt to it due to his youth, no problem. He still looked happy.
That wasn't the source of the problem either. Passion kept looking, searching for something. She searched, moving through the timelines and eras this one person went through. Eventually finding a wife and then settled down in Celadon City. But as she went further, Passion had been interrupted. A first for her Desire searches.
The Desire had noticed her. Not only that but the old man too in his adult years. He turned around to face Passion as if he was looking through a TV screen.
"Garde?!" Passion gasped, pulling back after that shock. She didn't expect an interaction such as that as her heart was beating.
"Oh. Did I do something?" The pony looked around, confused.
"Passion! What happened?!" Celestia asked as the Embrace Pokemon breathed in and out repeatedly after that scare. No Desire has ever been able to interact with her when looking through someone. If this was a first, then it could be a major sign for things to come.
Good or bad.
Kanto. Celadon City hospital.
The child had reported to Officer Jenny about her grandfather suddenly passing out. He was immediately brought to the hospital for safety as the child waited.
"Your grandfather had just passed out suddenly. The doctors say." Officer Jenny said. "Not sure when he'll awake, honestly."
"Oh. Okay." The child moped.
"Where are your parents? Are they nearby?" Jenny kneeled to face the child.
"Grandpa was taking care of me for the weekend. I was staying over while mommy and daddy were busy at Alola."
"Alola? That's not too far at all. Okay. We'll contact them and have them see you. Is your grandfather's home close?"
"Mhm." She nodded. "It's just me, him and Phanphy at home."
"Alright. Come on. Stay here. I'll go over and call them. But what's your name, little one?" Jenny asked her name so that she could get in contact with her parents' family name. While answering, the the child looked back, hoping that her grandfather would be alright.
But as she looked back, the Desire acted once more, looking upon the world it created. Surprisingly, although it had managed to affect every region in the world, even the other world too, nothing had been thrown into chaos.
Everything was peaceful. As if everyone immediately got used to this lifestyle of time-shifting. This was certainly based on a time where the old man was the happiest. But, even the Desire knew one thing that the old man knew.
Things like these do not last long.
As if the old man and the Desire shared a conscious, the Desire snapped its fingers, creating another purple flash that surfaced across both universes in an instant. And this time, it had a different purpose s the body of the old man started twitching, even while unconscious.
Everyone playing in the streets and getting used to this lifestyle suddenly froze. Their faces of happiness and joy soon turned to one of sadness and despair. They started falling to the ground, sitting or kneeling as a different kind of emotion overtook them. One that was all too common for scenarios like this.
Pallet Town.
Delia and everyone's dancing came to an end as they sat and kneeled, feeling dismayed as they collectively sighed. And at that moment, Delia said one word.
"Things were better back then..."
And soon everyone else said the same thing. "Things were better back then..." As if they were all linked to the same thought and emotion. And thanks to the Desire, they were. A Desire for the past was something to not be underestimated.
Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, every other region had been struck by this until the entire world all said; "Things were better back then..."
Equestria.
Over at Equestria, the same was happening. As Ash and the others were making their way towards Canterlot, they suddenly froze too. Just like everyone over at the Pokemon World, they gained the same emotions.
"Things were better back then..." They said.
"When I still had Butterfree and Pidgeot..." Ash said.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu was reminiscing on how he missed Kangaskhan and the baby she had.
"I wish grandma and grandpa were still here..." Twilight also spoke.
"When my parents were still around." Applejack sulked as everyone had their reasons for being hit with the Desires potent ability.
"Things were better back then..." They said again, repeating the same sentence.
Even Celestia and Passion, the ones who could look into the Desire and the few individuals aside from Ash and Lucario who could stop Desires had been hit along with everyone in this world.
"All of my friends from long ago are gone..." Celestia sighed before sitting on a bench. "I've seen them all pass away...And I'm just getting older without any end. Living almost forever at this rate. Things were better back then...
"Gardevoir..."
Even at the New Changeling Hive over at the Faye Mountains had Chrysalis and the others sigh, thinking about the past. Which was not that far in their eyes considering how long it's been since they've gained these new forms.
"The way we used to devour love..." Chrysalis sat on her throne, holding Anthophilia. "Our old forms...It was enjoyable causing that much anarchy honestly..."
And eve Emerald Aura and Cold Colt, Rift Ponies were hit by it. Lucien and Sienna as well, wherever they may be including Obsidian. All of them said something that related to a past event somewhere. And they said it in unison as if they were connected.
"I wish I never became the Rift..." The Rift creations said. "I wish I would go back and start over and live a normal life. Make everything right..."
As the feeling of nostalgia overwhelmed everyone, their ability to think started degrading. But not only that, some of them noticed something off. Their bodies were starting to fade.
Most notably, the younger ponies. They were a new generation, so they would be younger than those from the old generation. Their bodies were starting to fade out of existence. But, they were so dismayed to even notice.
Very soon, every young individual would cease to exist. But it could further than that. After they are gone, soon, the old generation will fizzle out too.
Until everything in the universe is wiped out of the history books. But there won't be any history books to record an event like this. Ever.
"Back then..." Ash said before thinking for a moment. His Aura started rising as he recalled everything that had happened to him. He remembered his father. Someone that had been absent for years now as Ash saw him leave for his Pokemon Journey. Even though he loves his father, he still wishes he could see him again soon.
But then, Ash recalled the many life lessons his father taught him. Lessons that skyrocketed him to the path he was on and what Ash stood by for years now. Especially the one word his father said to him.
Whenever Ash would tell other kids about his goal to become a Pokemon Master, they just laughed at him. But his father said this that made Ash have a Never Give Up attitude for all eternity.
"Ash. Don't listen to them. The map to your goal is inside yourself. If you give up, your dreams' never gonna come true."
"Back then..." Ash said again. "Everything was..." Ash then took what his father said to him, sticking by it. Those words that the older Ketchum left behind had impacted Ash's life.
So much so that he remembered each time it had come up in his journeys. Even though he released Butterfree and Pidgeot, he made new friends along the way with brand new Pokemon. Even if he lost his first Pokemon League, he never stopped trying. Even when he didn't know where to go after he completed Kanto and Johto, seeing Ho-oh again gave him the strength to press on.
If anything, his father, Ho-oh and his friends are what kept propelling him forward. And because of this, Ash had made some amazing memories. Met a plethora of colourful and unique people and Pokemon. Seen so many places that existed for years, even going back in time. Became the King of the Sea and more.
The bad memories were soon drowned out by what Ash had truly experienced. What his memories had to offer. After realizing this, he stood up tall, shaking his head.
"Yeah...Everything was just as great then as it is now!" He roared. "And it's going to keep getting better, even when I become a Pokemon Master!"
"Pika...Pi?" Pikachu blinked before remembering every memory he had with Ash. While yes, as a Pichu, he was alone with no one to be close to him and he ended up leaving Kangaskhan, despite the hardships, he's made the same memories Ash has made. "Pikachu!" Pikachu then stood up, jumping on Ash's shoulder.
"Yeah..." Twilight nodded as her memories of her straying away from her previous friends with all that studying and isolation were overlapped by memories of her new friends. Even her old friends, reuniting with her were coming into fruition as they overpowered the Desire. "You're right!"
"Guys!" Ash went up to the others, sending Lucario out. "Snap out of it!" He knew that Aura was the way to break parts of the Desire. And so he did so.
"Lucario!" With Lucario out, he placed his hands on Fluttershy, picking her up. Ash then focused all of his Aura onto the pegasus, making sure not to break any focus. And with his positive energy and potent Aura, Ash managed to break the Desire within Fluttershy.
"Oh!" Fluttershy gasped before blinking. "Ash!"
"Nice! Lucario!"
"Lu!" Lucario nodded before putting his arms out. He sent a stream of Aura that had wrapped around all of his friends. Soon, they were all snapped out of the Desire's hold.
"Woooo!" Pinkie Pie jittered with her tail and mane trembling. "Aw, you did it before I could snap out of it." She pouted.
"Yeesh. That was something." Applejack shook her head. That Desire's crazy strong, ain't it?"
"I'll say." Rainbow Dash groaned. "Can't believe I was thinking Pokemon Battles weren't any good."
"I can't believe I remembered being an egg." Spike held head his head. "How does that work?"
"Okay!" Ash stood up tall. "Let's find Celestia and this Desire as soon as we can!"
"Pikachu!"
Canterlot.
Upon arriving at Canterlot, they saw how the foals were starting to fade, slowly flickering as their existence was on the line. Thankfully, no one had been fully wiped out yet. But if something wasn't done soon, that could be the case.
Ash and Lucario went up to Celestia and Passion, breaking them out of their current state via Aura interaction. Celestia and Passion gasped afterwards.
"Oh! Oh, that was ominous!" Celestia exclaimed. "How far gone were we?"
"Not too much. But look." Ash pointed over at the fading youth.
"Eugh!" Celestia grimaced. "We need to move fast...Passion. Can you still find the source anywhere?"
"Gardevoir!" Passion nodded as she would try again. Hopefully with no surprise. She went to the nearest pony, putting her hands on them.
She immediately looked through, getting a good view of the purple particles. Once more, she was greeted with the sight of the old man as a boy. But Passion fast-forwarded, continuing her she left off. In the man's adult years.
Then, she looked for what could be off. Nothing so far. So, Passion accelerated, moving through and reaching the old years of the man. She ended up at an age where he was around 70 years old. By this age, he slowly started to look like his current self.
And at that instance, he watched as his world started changing. His children had grown up, going their separate ways and living their lives. And that made him happy. Despite how everything was developing with greater advancements, the old man just sat there happy.
But that was when the Desire reappeared, looking at Passion. Passion was less surprised this time after the previous encounter. However, as the Desire appeared in front of her vision, she started groaning. Her hold on the pony was starting to weaken. She tried maintaining her hold as the Desire was trying to force her out of it.
"G-Garde...!" Passion groaned. But thankfully, she wasn't alone. Ash and Lucario put their hands on her back, sharing their Aura with her. With the combination of Passion's amazing Psychic abilities and the shared Aura of Ash and Lucario, they could handle this. "Voir?"
"Good luck, Passion." Ash gave a thumbs-up.
"Lu."
"Voir." Passion nodded before exuding more of her energy. "Gardevoir!" The Desire was struggling to force Passion away thanks to the interference of Ash and Lucario. Because of this, Passion could then fast forward to the present day, seeing where the old man was.
Celadon City hospital.
"Gardevoir!" Passion had found the location. But as soon as she did, the Desire then put its hand together. It had eventually forced Passion away from the hold with a pulse. But Passion had already seen what she needed to.
"Celadon is where we need to be!" Celestia translated. "The nearest one is Kanto's gateway and Pallet Town. I remember that location so I can teleport us all there. We won't know what to expect. Desires can be unpredictable."
"Bah. We've dealt with unpredictable stuff before." Rainbow Dash scoffed. "And we're still A-OK."
"In any case, let's hurry. Before everyone fades away." Celestia said as everyone gathered around her. She would cast one large teleportation spell to send the group off to Pallet Town.
Kanto. Pallet Town.
But once they got there, the Desire took notice of the group, chasing after them. Or, more accurately, it had possessed the nearest person in Pallet Town. And that was Delia, who was still upset.
Delia's body started trembling as the group had arrived at Pallet Town to see this. Especially Ash and Pikachu, witnessing Delia's body giving off a purple light of Rift Energy.
"Mom!"
"Pikachu!"
Erupting from the light in the form of a pillar was pure Rift Energy. They all looked up as Delia had wobbled, falling to the ground unconscious.
And out of the light came the cause for all of this. The Desire. Still having the outline of the old man. Albeit larger than the original host.
"The Desire!" Ash cried out.
"Pikachu!"
Everyone stayed cautious around this Desire, not sure what to expect and what attacks it might use. Considering what it had just done, the obvious answer would be something relating to time. And it definitely had time on its side. The Desire went forward its arms out. Multiple lights flared within it, indicating that each of them was a moment in time for the old man.
"If it wants to be retro...then we'll be retro too!" Ash smirked. "Charizard! If you can hear me, use Flamethrower! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Charizard!" He could. The distance wasn't far at all. Showing up to the scene was Charizard, using Flamethrower to get the first hit in. The Flame Pokemon then appeared before the others. Charizard had recalled the precious memories that he had with Ash. He wouldn't let the Desire diminish them and the new memories made.
"PIka...Chuu!" After the initial Flamethrower, Pikachu sent 100,000 volts that shocked the Desire. The Desire moved back, shaking its arm.
The same went for Bulbasaur, Kingler and Muk. They had seen the Desire from the distance, knowing that it was behind this. So, as a sneak attack, they had used Sludge Bomb and Bubble to hit its back. So far, the Desire had not pulled off an attack yet.
All of Ash's Pokemon came to him to see if their trainer was alright. Along the way, Snorlax ended up crashing through the Desire by accident due to his large size and bulk. So did the Tauros as they came rushing over like a stampede.
"Thanks, guys," Ash said to his Pokemon. Now they had considerable numbers to deal with the Desire. However, the Desire then hovered there, gazing at the group.
It then spoke suddenly, asking a question. "All of you. How do you feel about the present?" The voice of the old man said as they all gasped. "Are you happy?"
They all nodded in response. They were already happy with how things were right now. It's how they managed to snap out of it after all. The old man within the Desire was happy too. Despite his words, he allowed time to move on. But his Desire said otherwise, conflicting with him.
"Then. Why is it that my original self can move on, but I can't?"
"I-Is it saying that it's separate from its original user?" Twilight whispered to Celestia. "I didn't know it could do that."
"Neither did I." Twilight shook her head.
"Don't sweat it," said Ash. "I've had my doubts too, ya know. Everyone does. Sometimes, I'm worried if I'm really okay with a few things even though I say I am. But after a while, I know how I feel."
"Pikachu."
"I get living in the past brings you and everyone back to some nostalgic times. And you can't let the past die, can you? But it's okay. You can let the young, like us, go on a great adventure, have fun and create new memories."
"And I? Of my time?"
"Well..." Celestia intervened. "My parents told me to let all the elders share the stories of their glories and the wisdom they all share."
"It'd be fun to live in the past, but that's all gone now," said Pinkie.
"And there's a lot we wished we could do again." Fluttershy chimed in. "But it can't happen forever."
"Moving on's pretty great, ya know. I should know. It ain't easy, but it's what you gotta do. I mean, Twilight also knows."
"I do?" Twilight looked over. "I guess so. Besides, this whole Jirachi thing is one big example of that, isn't it?"
"Mhm." Rarity nodded. "That's one part of time we wouldn't give up. The time spent here and there with all of our friends. Which is why we're so determined to find Jirachi and keep these memories."
"But we can still make some new ones either way." Ash spread his arms out. "I know I did with all my friends. Right guys?"
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu and the rest of Ash's Pokemon agreed.
The Desire had heard what they had to say. It paused for a moment before concluding. "Then...promise me you won't allow anything like this to happen again. Never again for a desire to rewind everything."
"We promise. We'll keep it all memorable but move on from it." Ash nodded, keeping to that promise. The Desire then accepted it, trusting in their promise.
"Thank you. Goodbye then." The Desire then faded away into a beautiful array of purple Rift Sparkles. The conflict between the old man and Desire had ended. And with that, everything reverted.
Their original appearances were brought back. Ash returned to his modern clothes while Twilight and the others regained their original appearances. Buildings, objects and more were brought back to normal.
"It was fun while it lasted. I do miss that colour palette." Rarity sighed.
"Well, I'm just glad to have wings back!" Rainbow Dash ascended. "Can't think of a day or year without them!"
"I must say...that Desire was tamer than the rest." Celestia thought for a moment. "The others are fairly aggressive. I wonder what this could mean?"
"I know what I mean right now. I'm starved." Ash's stomach growled. "Hey, mom! Can we eat?!"
"Uh..." Delia groaned before sitting up. "S-Sure, Ash. Just need to collect myself for a bit. Has the music stopped?"
"Bulbasaur." Bulbasaur helped Delia off the ground with his vines. Delia and everyone felt a bit dazed from that, but they would manage as all was normal once more.
Celadon City Hospital.
Meanwhile, over at Celadon, Officer Jenny had called the parents while the child stayed to watch her grandpa. And at the same time, the old man awakened. He looked around himself to see that he was in a hospital.
"Oh my..." The old man groaned. "What did I do this time?"
"Grandpa!" Wasting no time, she rushed into the room, tackling her grandpa with a potent hug.
"Ooof!" The grandpa's eyes widened after the initial tackle. He was dropped back on the bed afterwards. "H-Hey! What's all this about?"
"You're okay! You passed out and-and-and-"
"Passed out? Hm...I don't usually pass out that soon. Usually, it's only 7 years apart when that happens." He pondered. "Odd."
"Oh?" Entering the area was Officer Jenny after she had just finished calling the parents. She saw how the grandfather was up and okay while the kid was crying in her grandfather's shirt, making it wet. The old man patted her on the head, comforting her. "Hm."
Jenny smiled as she would have to make another call, cancelling the trip for the parents. This was one Desire that managed to come to an understanding. Perhaps, even solve itself if things were different. The old man, apart from his Desire, could accept that he couldn't return to the past and he would keep things that way with what he has now. And what he can cherish.
The Human World. Somewhere near a town. 2 hours before morning.
Ghetsis was still around. Staying in the human world while improving himself. He's been here for a month now and soon to be two months. And with this span of time, knowing how to adapt and overcome his losses, Ghetsis has grown into an even more terrifying force than he was previously.
He sat on a boulder as his Dark Magic had grown. Now he could do more to the point where Sombra's crystals were an afterthought to him. But, Ghetsis wasn't ready to return just yet. He wanted to test himself and see what he could do in this world.
He opened his mouth as he ended up breathing black flames. He then promptly closed his mouth, coughing afterwards. Breathing out flames is fairly surprising for anyone. But, as Ghetsis sat there, closing his eyes, he felt a premonition come along. With his improvements came slight foresight into the future.
And what he saw was the arrival of Ash here. Not only that, but Ghetsis could sense the familiar Aura with his Dark Aura. Ash has been here to this world a couple of times.
"Why am I not surprised that he's been here? I suppose when he shows up today, I can draw his attention." Ghetsis smirked before hatching a plan. "Yes. That'll do."
Canterlot. Day.
It's time for this year's Grand Galloping Gala. Finally. Everyone is already ready for this big night. Possibly bigger than the last one which ended in a massive flood via Pokemon antics. Celestia already had the invites, planning on making this gala more exciting than the last.
Adagio was invited t this year's gala, being Celestia's student and all. She wasn't too big on it, but beautiful dresses and gorgeous looks spoke to her without a doubt.
"That should be good enough for tonight." Celestia looked upon the layout of this gala hall. "I know which Pokemon will definitely find opportunities with this."
"Are you sure this is safe, your majesty?" A pony asked.
"It is. Plus, anything to make the galas less boring. Also, Chrysalis and a few of her subjects will be showing up, so make sure you have their favourites."
"Yes, your majesty."
"I'm curious though..." Celestia's head started thinking of certain scenarios that could happen tonight. She knew of how Ash had a bit of a trifecta to deal with. When it came to those who had an interest in him. "Let's see. Twilight, Luna and Chrysalis each like Ash. Twilight and Luna know of their rivalry but Chrysalis is unaware. As of now. Hmm..." Celestia then thought a bit more.
"Garde?" Passion looked over at Celestia, wondering what she was up to.
"Hm-hm. Am I missing someone? Does Fluttershy love Ash? No, they're just really good friends. Put those three together with Ash as the topic and..." Celestia then grinned before having a sparkle in her eye. "Yes. This will be the best one so far. I made the right choice inviting her."
"Voir?"
Kanto. Pallet Town. Ketchum household.
Ash's Xtransceiver was currently ringing. As of recently, he had given Twilight of the human world her own Xtransceiver last week. Twilight had called as Ash had answered. They had a chat about the usual things. Ash would help Twilight understand Pokemon more.
"So, I was hoping you could come over and help with that. I'm not really an evolution expert."
"Sure thing. I can do it before the Gala starts too." Ash replied.
"Gala? You're going to a gala? I didn't take you for the dancing type, Ash."
"Nah." Ash laughed. "I can't even dance that good anyway. Just gonna hang out with my friends, that's all."
"Well, okay. Oh, right. You told me you had more Pokemon with you? Could I maybe see them? From Professor Oak's lab."
"No problem." Ash nodded. "I can have Charizard and a few others show up. That'll be fun."
"Pika-Pika."
"Oh, who are you talking to, Ash?" Delia went up to Ash looking right at the screen of the Xtransceiver. She had then seen a familiar yet surprising face. It was Twilight. But not the Twilight she knew. "Twilight? You look...different. Is this another Retro or Desire scenario again? Is there a Human Desire?!"
"No mom. This is the Twilight of the human world that's opposite to Equestria." Ash explained. "It's a bit of a long story. I think. I guess."
"Pika."
"Oh, um. Hello, Mrs Ketchum!" Twilight greeted with a wave. "Nice to meet you."
"Hello, Twilight! Or, other Twilight. I suppose you're still Twilight either way."
"Yeah. That might be a bit confusing." Twilight giggled. "It's great that Ash has been able to help me this much with Pokemon. Do you know a lot too?"
"Not as much as my son." I mostly stay home. But I have seen my fair share of Pokemon without a doubt. Plus, I can teach you a thing or two. Right, Ash?"
"Yeah-Yeah." Ash agreed thoroughly. "I'll be right there, Twilight. Right before the Gala can happen."
"Okay. Thanks, Ash." Twilight then hung up as Ash took off. It was off to Professor Oak's lab first, then Rarity's Carousel Boutique for clothes, the human world and then finally the Grand Galloping Gala. A few places to visit but he could cover them without fail.
Professor Oak's Lab.
"Charizard..." Charizard and the rest of Ash's Pokemon were relaxing, minding their own business and doing what they do naturally. But at that moment, both Charizard and Bulbasaur felt a familiar presence showing up. "Chari?"
"Bulba?"
It was Ash. After seeing their trainer, Charizard and Bulbasaur rushed over to greet him as always. And from the excitement in their eyes, they were more than happy to see him.
"Charizard! Bulbasaur!" Ash cried out before hugging Bulbasaur. "Been a few months, hasn't it? Haha!" He chuckled as Charizard came in for a hug as well. And very soon, the rest of his Pokemon noticed him, coming towards their trainer.
Ash was soon surrounded by Snorlax, Bayleef, Quilava, Heracross, Totodile, Donphan, Sceptile, Torkoal, Corphish, Infernape, Buizel, Gible, Pignite, Oshawott, Krookodile, Noivern, Hawlucha, and Talonflame. Quite a number.
"Ah, you guys!" Ash looked at most of his Pokemon. Speaking of most of his Pokemon, the Tauros, all 30 of them had spotted their trainer's return.
"Tauros!" Their eyes opened with happiness as they charged towards the Alola Champion with high spirits and happiness, causing a stampede.
"Oh, Tauros!" Ash smiled before quickly realizing that he and Pikachu were about to be tackled like always. Before they realized this, the rest of Ash's Pokemon had separated as to not be hit themselves. Ah, wait! Slow down!" He put his hands out, trying to stop them, but it was too late.
He and Pikachu had been tackled by the Tauros, sent flying through the air as Professor Oak and Tracey watched. "Aaaaah!" Ash and Pikachu cried out while falling. Thankfully, Muk had caught him.
"Oh."
"Pika?"
"Muk. Nice save."
"Muk!" Muk was also happy to see Ash again, hugging him by drowning his trainer and Pikachu in his toxic fluids. Thankfully, Muk could control the toxic fluids depending on the relationship with others. And it was safe.
Ash chuckled before being dropped. He stood up, wiping the dust off of his clothes before looking at all of his Pokemon that were energized. They all cried out with happiness.
"Everyone. Glad to see you all look so happy!"
"So, Ash. Decided on who you want to take along?" Oak went up to him.
"Yeah. I think I can take maybe 10 of them so they'll fit my bag. I'll take..." He then started looking at his options of Pokemon to bring along.
"Bay! Bay!" Bayleef got in front of everyone else, jumping up and down to try and grab Ash's attention. It was clear that she wanted to come along.
"Okay, okay. You're coming along, Bayleef." Ash chose Bayleef as that greatly pleased the Leaf Pokemon. She then tackled Ash with a surprise hug, pinning him to the ground. "Ow!"
"Bayleef!"
Equestria. Ponyville. Carousel Boutique. Day.
"Ow!" Cold cried out as he had been put in a tight suit by Applejack and Granny Smith. For the Gala, of course. He was not a big fan of suits and tight ones did not help. But it was all to impress Apple Bloom. "Oooh..."
"There." Applejack nodded in approval. "Now ya look dapper."
"I hate this." Cold sighed.
"Oh, don't mope now, Cold." Rarity said. "But I suppose you don't want to hear this news. This years gala will last longer than the previous ones."
"Longer? By how much?" Cold asked.
"I'd say about..." Rarity pouted her lips. "8 hours. The moment the sun glows orange is when it will start. So it will be a lengthy one. How exciting!"
"Ugh..." Cold groaned. He was not looking forward to this. But he would try and make the most of it.
Entering the boutique was Ash with Pikachu running in first. Ash had already grabbed a handful of Poke Balls with his Pokemon. At least, enough for him to fit in his bag without squeezing them. Not all of them could fit inside.
"Perfect timing, Ash. Here." Rarity showed Ash his suit that he would wear. "I know you're not a big fan of suits, but I picked one that truly speaks to you. Blue and yellow. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good." Ash looked at the suit. "Kinda makes me like suits more, ya know."
"Pikachu."
"Just gonna gab these, get to the other Twilight and head back for the Gala." Ash was given the suit before placing it in his bag. "Okay, Pikachu. Let's go."
"So soon?" said Rarity. "But you haven't seen the accessories I plan to give you." She brought over some accessories for Ash's suit with her magic.
"Right." Ash also took those, placing them in his bag. "Okay, now we can go. Can't let Twilight down. I've got more of my Pokemon to show her."
"Like your old ones?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yep. Like Charizard, Sceptile, Infernape and some more." Ash walked out of the boutique. "I'll see you at the boutique! Gonna grab some food as well!" He waved goodbye with Pikachu hopping on his shoulder.
"Pika-Pika!"
SugarCube Corner.
"Here you go." Pinkie gave Ash a few boxes of food. "That'll keep you both full in the meantime. Since both Twilight's are kinda the same, I figured they like the same thing. Just with differences, ya know."
"Right on that. Thanks, Pinkie Pie."
"Oh, Ash. While you're there, could you get a picture? I'm pretty psyched to see what human Twilight looks like! It'll go great on that wall, right there." Pinkie Pie pointed her hoof at a wall near the stairs.
"I'll get one. And uh..." Ash pondered for a bit. "You wanted to come to the human world and experience being a human too, right? How about after the Gala, I bring you over tomorrow."
"Sounds good to me. I can already hold Mew and Spinda perfectly with hugs." Pinkie pulled the New Species Pokemon and Spot Panda Pokemon in with her hooves, hugging them. "But I can't hug Slurpuff. If I was a human, I'd get to hug them and pick them up too."
"You'll get that chance without a doubt. See ya soon!" Ash bolted out of the corner. Jade came downstairs, holding her dress with her mouth.
"Pinkie," said Jade with a lifeless expression. "This dress is missing some extra grey. Maud and I promised to get matching ones for the Gala. This one's not fully matching."
"Ah, I gotcha on that!" Pinkie zoomed over. "Back to Rarity, we go!"
Meanwhile, as Ash exited SugarCube Corner, heading for Canterlot, he had a lot at his disposal. A suit, accessories to go with it, food for him and Twilight and some of his Pokemon in his bag. It was a miracle that it wasn't full or ready to burst with all he had inside.
But as he made his way there, foals from the Pokemon Schoolhouse came over to speak with Ash. "Hey! Hey Ash!" The foal by the name of Twist called out as they all stopped in front of him.
"Yeah?"
"You uh, you know the gala tonight?" Silver Spoon asked. "We didn't get invitations to it this year, so we were wondering if you could just spend time with us while everyone else is there."
"Please?" They pleaded.
"Hm..." Ash thought a moment. "I'm invited and I won't have enough time but...I know who will." He then dug into his pocket, taking out one of his Poke Balls that weren't in his bag. This was his team for the Pokemon World Championships. "Dragonite, come out." He had sent out Dragonite to solve this solution.
"Dragonite!"
"Dragonite will spend time with you while I'm busy at the Gala." Ash kneeled to face them. "She knows how to have fun just like me, and she's great at taking care of kids."
"Gonite!" Dragonite grabbed all of the foals with her superior size, hugging them. "Dra!"
Immediately, the foals melted within Dragonite's grasp. Dragonite truly gave the best hugs, only rivalled to Pheromosa's hugs. The foals were satisfied with this. "Yeah...this'll do." They collectively said.
"Awesome. Take great care of them, Dragonite. And if you wanna get a chance to spend some time with me, then hang around the Canterlot Gardens okay?"
"Dra!"
"Okay!" The foals said as Ash continued on his merry way to Canterlot for that special mirror gateway. The foals immediately started playing with Dragonite, hanging on her arm, grabbing her tail of riding on her back.
Canterlot. Day.
Arriving there, at last, was Ash. But as he made his way towards the room with the mirror, Celestia came over to him with something on her mind. Something relating to Ash that happened this morning.
"Ash. Just the person I was looking for. Heading somewhere?" Celestia asked.
"Just gonna head to the human world and help the other Twilight out. Then I'll be back for the Gala. Not too late either." He explained.
"I see. Not sure you know this, but Chrysalis and a few of her subjects will be showing up for this night's Grand Galloping Gala."
"Chrysalis ane the Changelings are coming? Oh, that means Anthophilia's tagging along too, isn't she? Guess I've got a lot of stuff to catch up on after I get back, huh?" He chuckled.
"You're bringing your other Pokemon along for this like last time, right? It was so much fun last time. And with Discord combined too, the best Gala in years. I bet this one could be topped."
"Oh yeah, I've got some of my Pokemon in here." He showed his bag. "Not all of them, but a good handful, ya know. We'll make sure to make this next one a blast."
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu pumped his fist while flexing his muscle to show up.
"Well, I'm looking forward to it." Celestia giggled. "Be back soon."
"Gotcha! Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash then turned to the mirror, jumping through with excitement.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu did the same with a mighty leap as they were both out of Equestria and in the human world now.
The Human World. Day.
Finally, he had shown up. But not before spotting Sunset and the others through the window of the school. Sunset, Applejack and Rarity waved at him.
He wished he could spend time with them, but he had places to be right now and Pokemon plus evolutions to show a certain human counterpart.
"Ash! Where are you headed?!" Sunset cried out after opening the window.
"Gonna help Twilight like always, ya know! Got a lot to cover today! Pretty busy too!"
"You should see what's happening in here if you're talking about busy!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Ah, it ain't so bad." Applejack nudged her. "Those Ghost-Types are just getting in the mood for Halloween, ain't they?"
"Yeah, about that. The school's been receiving a haunting thanks to a sudden appearance of Ghost-Types. Like a lot. Mostly small ones weirdly enough." Sunset explained. "I mean, it fits the Halloween mood, don't you think? But it is causing some trouble a bit."
"Hmm...Aha!" Ash snapped his fingers before taking out another Poke Ball from his pocket. "This should do. Come out, Gengar."
"Gengar!" The Shadow Pokemon emerged, immediately appearing in front of Sunset, Rarity and Applejack's face with his tongue out, startling them. "GEN!"
"Aaaaaah!" They held each other while screaming. Gengar chuckled before flying over to Ash.
"Gengar here's a pro at that stuff. If anyone can handle Ghost-Types, it's him." Ash nodded.
"Gen-Gen."
"R-Right. He certainly scared us more than the others." Sunset laughed nervously.
"Gengar. The school's got a bit of a haunting problem. I can trust you to handle everything with the other Ghost-Types in there, no doubt about it." Ash held his hand out to Gengar.
"Gengar." And Gengar could most certainly handle it. He shook Ash's hand before flying towards the school.
"I'll meet you back here or in Canterlot for the Gala, Gengar! Good luck!" Ash waved before rushing off.
Out in the forest. Day.
Ash and Twilight finally started working together as always. And for the topic of evolution, Ash knew of one Pokemon group that can evolve simultaneously.
He also brought out all of his Pokemon to show them to Twilight. From Kanto to Kalos. Immediately after meeting them, Twilight gawked at the appearances of these new Pokemon.
"Wow! These are amazing!" Twilight gazed at the sight of them. "Another Dragon?!" She looked at Charizard.
"Nah, Charizard's not a Dragon. But he's got Dragon qualities." Ash patted Charizard as he was met with a Flamethrower to the face. "Gh!"
"Charizard!"
"Oh my gosh!" Twilight gasped after seeing Ash's face be struck with scorching flames. "Ash! Are you okay?!"
"Hehe. Totally fine." Ash gave a peace sign, showing that he was A-OK. Charizard's mouth smoked as laughed. Twilight let out a sigh of relief.
"Are you immortal or something...?" She sighed.
"Osha. Osha." Oshawott went up to Twilight, pulling on her shoe to grab her attention. Twilight then looked down to see that Oshawott had been lovestruck by her. "Oshawott!"
"An otter?" Twilight observed as Oshawott would not stop looking at her with hearts in his eyes. "Is every Pokemon related to some kind of animal?"
"Every. I mean, there are still a bunch more Pokemon I haven't seen yet. Who knows what's out there? But that's what makes it fun, right?" Ash grinned.
"Yeah. It is." Twilight agreed with her before picking Oshawott up. "So what evolution are we looking at today?"
"Check that out." Ash pointed his thumb over at a tree of Silcoon. They then went up to the group of Silcoon. "You see, Silcoon stick themselves to tree branches using silk to keep them from falling. And at every tree branch, they wait for evolution. So that they can end up becoming Beautifly next."
"Wow..." Twilight gawked. "So, will they be evolving today?"
"Saw them in this forest the last time I was here. They'll definitely evolve today." Ash nodded. "And then they'll fly off together. It's a great sight. Goh and I saw it before last year."
"Can't wait!" Twilight squeed while holding Oshawott tight. "I brought my good camera for this too!"
"O-Osha!" Oshawott's eyes expanded, but he was happy to be held anyway. Twilight then turned her focus on Ash's Pokemon, wanting to know all about them.
Oshawott hopped out of her grasp, deciding to be the first to do so. He loved showing off and this was one of those scenarios as he stood there with pride. "Oshawott!"
"Pignite!" Pignite got in the way, flexing his muscles as he wanted Twilight to observe him first. Oshawott didn't take kindly to that as he got in the way as well. Pignite did the same thing again, blocking Oshawott. But Oshawott blocked him back. Soon, there was a back and forth of both of them trying to get Twilight's attention.
"Oshawott!" The two of them then butted heads with their argument with lightning sparking from their eyes.
"Pignite!"
"Sni!" But getting in the way of both of them, jumping on their heads, forcing them down and using them as platforms or rather pedestals was Snivy. She would introduce herself first, acting above them. "Snivy."
"Ooh. I like this one." Twilight kneeled as she chose Snivy.
"Pignite..."
"Osha..." Oshawott and Pignite sighed in absolute defeat from Snivy. The rest of Ash's Pokemon introduced themselves in their unique ways.
Charizard sent a blast of flames into the air, Gible went to bite on Twilight's head, only for Ash to catch him before that could happen, Sceptile simply shook her hand, Buizel crossed his arms along with Hawlucha. Bayleef saw Ash and Twilight laughing at each other as she didn't take kindly to the atmosphere and aura coming off of them. She did not like this one bit.
Twilight went over to drink some water she had just gathered. But as she went for the bottle, Ash noticed something off with it. He saw that it had a familiar Dark Aura as particles within it.
"Twilight! Don't drink that!" Ash cried out as Twilight paused. She then looked at her water bottle, noticing how the Dark Aura was suddenly in it.
"Huh?!" Twilight dropped the bottle as it had been consumed by the darkness. Ash then turned around to see that the nearby lake had been hit with these black particles too. The Water-Type Pokemon inside felt ill once surrounded by it. They swam away from the particles to avoid the dangers they brought. "What are these?"
"Ghetsis..." Ash recognized this familiar Aura. "He's here."
"Pika."
"Ghet...sis?" Twilight wondered.
It wasn't just the liquids here that were contaminated. Ghetsis had spread as much of his magic as he could to draw Ash's attention. And he did. Ash noticed how mostly water was affected. This was Ghetsis' way of having Ash take action.
Ash noticed how every form of water in this forest had been struck because of this. These particles seemed to consume water until it's infected with a horrible magic. And that meant everywhere else.
"Twilight! Stay here!" Ash was about to run off. "Some of you, take care of Twilight and come with me."
"What? Why do I have to stay? What's going on?" Twilight wondered.
"Ghetsis is way too dangerous for you to be around with me. I need you to be safe around here in case he shows up." Ash explained. "My Pokemon can protect you."
"Is he that dangerous?!"
"Very!" Ash nodded. "But if he's doing this with the water...can you go around and warn everyone in town about the water being infected?"
"I can do that!"
"Okay. But once I see Ghetsis, you're out of here, okay?"
"Okay. I got it."
"Bayleef. Noivern. Talonflame. Buizel. Corphish. Bulbasaur. Oshawott. You watch over Twilight. The rest of you, come with me." Ash ordered as half of his Pokemon came to assist him. The rest would protect Twilight.
"Bay! Bay-Bay!" But Bayleef wanted to come along in case Ash would've been in trouble.
"Don't worry, Bayleef!" Ash looked back while running off. "I'll be fine!"
A sudden interruption from Ghetsis. With him now interfering, Ash had one more thing to deal with before finishing his research with Twilight and then heading to Gala. He was truly a busy trainer. But this is exactly what Ghetsis wanted. He sat there, waiting for Ash to take action and show up as the journey continues.
The Grand Galloping Gala has started in the afternoon. Late afternoon to be exact. Ponies, Pokemon and now changelings were showing up to it.
Hundreds were already gathered within the hall. Almost everyone invited was here. Keyword being 'almost'. Ash was not present. Currently, he was over at the human world. But he promised to be back to experience the rest of the gala. And that was a promise.
"Welcome, Chrysalis." Celestia greeted Chrysalis at her first Grand Galloping Gala. "I thought you would've brought a dress of your own."
"Eh. I'm not a big fan of dresses." Chrysalis shook her head. "Never worn one, never will."
"Just like Ash. Excepts he wears his suits when he needs or is asked to." Celestia nodded.
"By the way. Where is Ash? Was he not invited?" Chrysalis looked around.
"He was. He just needs to finish something in the human world before he could get here. I assure you, Ash will show up by I'd say..." Celestia bit her lip while Ribombee started playing with Passion. "2 or 3 hours."
"I can wait. You as well, Anthophilia. Right?" Chrysalis looked back at Anthophilia.
"Papa!"
"He's not your dad but whatever. Hopefully, he shows up soon. If you must know, I've been training to be a better Pokemon Trainer. Ribombee and I have improved. I would assume Ash would take interest in it and congratulate me."
"Oh, he will. In the meantime, enjoy yourself. I brought over some of your favourite foods. At least, the ones Ash told me about."
"Maggots?!" Chrysalis gasped.
"Uh...yes. That." Celestia nodded while leading Chrysalis to the buffet which was less than favourable to many ponies' eyes. But certainly favourable to the changelings.
Also showing up for her first gala was the older Flurry Heart from another universe. The Grand Galloping Gala in her world became non-existent after certain unfortunate events. This was her first in this world. She was here to have the time of her life, accompanied by protective Crystal Empire guards along with Flash Sentry.
"I'm excited...are you?!" She turned to Flash.
"Eh. Can't feel the same way." Flash shrugged.
"Same." Nearby was Cold Colt who also had the same sentiment as Flash.
"Don't look so uninterested." She nudged the pegasus. "Besides, mom taught us how to dance, so let's not make it go to waste. But uh...let's wait for the moon to rise. That's when it looks better, right?"
"I mean usually, yes." Flash nodded. "That's why it's called dancing in the moonlight."
"Exactly." Flurry then turned her attention to the first thing that could distract and keep her occupied for hours. The food of course. What else? She immediately rushed over to eat at the buffet before Pinkie Pie could finish it all.
Pinkie was already snacking away at the food in front of her along with her Pokemon. No time would be wasted for either of them as Flurry joined in the munching process.
Flash watched as the young princess devoured the food instantly. Some food even got on him due to how much was being consumed with such force. It didn't help that the changelings also joined in, choosing food over dancing.
Luna entered the Gala, holding Musharna still. Musharna was currently hungry for some dreams and she couldn't hold back at all. This was a problem that Luna had to deal with all the time. The usual answer was Darkrai using Dark Void to put her to sleep, but he's not always there. Right now, Darkrai is keeping watch over the palace with the Canterlot Guards while everyone enjoys the gala.
Twilight was spending time with her friends, waiting for Ash to get back. It was a good time killer when around her friends. Especially when it's more than just her 5 friends.
Human World. Afternoon.
Over at the human world, Ash was searching for Ghetsis and wherever he may be. Currently, Ghetsis had infected every form of water in the area with his Dark Magic. The Twilight of this world was helping but was told to stay away from Ghetsis due to how dangerous he is.
Bayleef. Noivern. Talonflame. Buizel. Corphish. Bulbasaur and Oshawott were tasked with watching over Twilight for protection while Pikachu, Charizard, Infernape, Gible, Sceptile, Pignite and Snivy would come with Ash.
Ash and here would both try and warn everyone about the water. The town they were currently in was where Twilight lived. Not near Canterlot or the portal back to Equestria. Ash could also feel that Ghetsis' Aura was only around this area, meaning he didn't have to worry about everywhere else.
"Mom! Dad!" Twilight burst into her home, bellowing at her parents. "Don't drink the-" But it was too late. As soon as she showed up, her parents were already struck by it. Dark particles emerged from their bodies as Night Light held his stomach while Velvet was on the floor, holding her head.
"Twilight, dear...is that you?" Twilight Velvet spoke, groaning. "I don't feel so good..."
"It's okay!" Twilight helped her mother up. "We can get you to the local hospital right now! Oshawott! Everyone! Can you help me carry them?"
"Osha!" Oshawott saluted along with everyone else crying out in response. Twilight then realized that she could have Noivern carry them for faster travel. Noivern picked Night Light up, placing him on his back. Twilight would have to carry Velvet in the meanwhile. Twilight and the rest of the Pokemon rushed out of her home to head to the hospital as soon as they could.
However, Twilight then saw that others around her were starting to feel odd, indicating that they'd drunk water or bathed with water. Either way, Ghetsis had corrupted it. There are a plethora of people living here as even some Pokemon who drink or live in the water were harmed by this.
Twilight approached the hospital, only to see a disappointing sight. Over at the hospital, the nurses, doctors and even patients had been hit. Noivern was the first to notice this before placing Night Light down.
She then quickly took out her Xtransceiver, calling for Ash. Ash instantly responded to Twilight's call. "Ash! My parents are affected! Along with the hospital! What do I do?!"
"Lucario and I thought of something," Ash replied. "Since Ghetsis' Aura is the cause of it, then our Aura can get rid of it."
"Your aura? Will it work?!"
"Already has." Ash was indeed helping others with his Aura along with Lucario. By using it, he could negate Ghetsis' Dark Aura. The two of them always clash after all.
He and Lucario had just saved two people by covering them with Aura. Their combined Auras eliminated the particles around them. They felt odd from it, but they would manage.
"Oh...T-Thank you." She thanked them before fainting with her friend. Ash and Lucario would then have to use their Aura on everyone here. That was prime for Delayed Aura Ataxia to return. But anything to save others.
He and his Pokemon rushed to Twilight's location at the hospital as soon as they could. Ash Pokemon stayed close to him in case Ghetsis would pop out of nowhere. But so far, there was no sign of him anywhere.
With Ghetsis.
This is what Ghetsis wanted. He continued to sit in obscurity, away from Ash and the view of everyone else. He knew that Ash would have an answer to these infected waters. After all, Ash's Aura is a perfect counter against Ghetsis' even with Dark Magic involved.
He wanted Ash to do this. If anything, Ghetsis would've done worse to this town if he wished to. Ghetsis could sense every time Ash used his Aura, anticipating his arrival. But Ghetsis also knew that progress wouldn't be made by just sitting around. So, he went on the move.
He stood up from the rock he sat on. The leader of Team Plasma had other ways to bring Ash to him. To do so, he would not only start walking but also allow his Dark Aura to grow so that Ash could keep following him. He made his way towards civilization.
And as he showed up, the first person he came across was this world's Twilight Sparkle, holding her parents while waiting for Ash and Lucario to show up. Immediately after emerging, the rest of Ash's Pokemon noticed that Ghetsis was here as they stood in front of Twilight.
"Huh? What is it?" Twilight wondered before facing where they were facing. She as well saw Ghetsis there. But she wasn't aware of his actual appearance. "W-Who are you?"
"You. You're this world's Twilight Sparkle. I can tell." Ghetsis spoke, sending a chill through Twilight's spine. Ash's Pokemon snarled, growled or showed any form of disdain towards Ghetsis. "Where is he?"
"Where's who?"
"Ash Ketchum of course. If you're around, then so is he."
"Wait..." It then sunk into Twilight. She realized who this was before letting out a massive gasp. "You're Ghetsis!"
As soon as she said that, Ghetsis smirked, lifting his arm. Acting quickly, Oshawott and Buizel both used Aqua Jet to stop Ghetsis from doing whatever he was planning on doing. But as soon as they lunged from the ground with auras of water, emerging from the shadows under Ghetsis' own control was Hydreigon.
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon roared before using Brutal Swing to knock them aside.
"Osha!"
"Bui!"
"I don't have time for all of you. It's your trainer I want." Ghetsis then pointed over at Twilight. "But...if you're a close friend of his and the opposite to the other Twilight then that means..."
"Noivern!" Noivern had interrupted Ghetsis by using Boomburst, emitting giant soundwaves from his body. Hydreigon retaliated by using Copycat to mimic his Boomburst. Both ended up cancelling each other out in the process.
"I don't sense much magic from you. You're obviously just living as an average human in a Pokemon World, aren't you?" Ghetsis observed. "You're of no use right now. But perhaps later."
"Whatever it is you want, butt out!" Twilight held her parents close. "If you're so worried about Ash, then he's beat you before!"
"Oh, he has. While we tied in Pokemon Battles, many of what I gained I lost to that brat!" Ghetsis roared, gripping his staff with irritation. "I couldn't bear to keep losing to him over and over again. It frustrated me to no end!" His Aura then started rising, correlating with Hydreigon's.
Ghetsis then took a deep breath, calming down as he knew that his anger was a major reason for parts if not all of his losses to Ash. "But...not anymore. The next time we meet, whether in a small or large scale scenario, the odds will be in my favour. This time, I will be the one emerging victorious.
"No way."
"Hmph. You won't be saying that for long when your world and the others end up being mine."
"Oshawott!" Oshawott stood up, using Razor Shell to try and slash Ghetsis. Surprisingly, Ghetsis recalled Hydreigon as Oshawott's Razor Shell phased through him without contact. "Osha?!"
"Ash is close." Ghetsis spoke before descending into the shadows. "I'll pay him a little visit."
"Don't!" Twilight cried out as Ghetsis had vanished without a trace. She then shook her head before making her own decision. "Oshawott! All of you! Go and help Ash!"
"Osha?"
"Ghetsis only wants him so you don't have to worry about me. Just get to him and protect your trainer." She suggested. She had a point. It was only Ash he wanted. Twilight didn't matter. That meant that they could go after Ash and protect him from harm.
They left Twilight with her parents to go for their trainer. Twilight then waited for Ash to show up with Lucario in hopes of healing her parents with Aura.
However, as soon as all of Ash's Pokemon were out of distance and view from Twilight for a few minutes, that's when Ghetsis' plan had sprung into motion.
Twilight turned around, only to be met with a shadow hand grabbing her leg. She gasped before having the rest of her consumed by shadows. These shadows came from Ghetsis as Twilight's mouth had been covered as well.
"Kidding." He chuckled before emerging from the shadows behind Twilight. "I won't head for him just yet. This was just a way to separate those meddlesome Pokemon of his. But I can use you as a hostage. And hopefully, I can bring out that magic hidden within you. Depending on how much you have.
"Mmm!" Twilight tried breaking out but there was no way she could affect the shadows. Just then, Night Light grabbed onto Ghetsis' cloak, still weak.
"Ugh..." He groaned. "Get your hands off my daughter you freak..."
"Tch." Ghetsis scoffed before using his staff to knock Night Light to the side, causing him to become unconscious. Velvet groaned, seeing her husband pass out while she was struggling to keep herself together.
"Mm! Mmm!" Twilight cried out for her mother and father before descending into the shadows just like Ghetsis. Ghetsis had further plans as he was still aiming to have Ash where he wanted him.
As for Ash's Pokemon, they were searching for their trainer. Noivern and Talon observed the skies while the others either took rides on these Flying-Type Pokemon or went on foot.
However, Ghetsis' plan didn't stop there. Having this many Pokemon on Ash's side was nothing but trouble waiting to show up. That's when Ghetsis knew that splitting them all up would give him a greater advantage. He knew not to engage them all at once, even with his Hydreigon and other Pokemon that dwarf in number size to Ash's.
So, Ghetsis ended up using some of Sombra's magic for this. While he found little use for it other than the crystals which he now barely uses, he could use it as a crutch for certain scenarios.
And the one thing Sombra is also known for is his fear illusions. Ghetsis could utilize those fear illusions but also warp them to become different illusions. And by doing so, he twisted the appearance of the town a slight bit.
While flying through the air, Noivern, Talonflame ended up going through different cloud formations than usual. Oshawott and Buizel were on their backs as they saw how the road looked different. Vastly different from what they saw earlier.
"Bui-Bui?" Buizel pointed out as Noivern and Talonflame looked down. The moment they did so, they could no longer spot Bayleef, Bulbasaur and Corphish anywhere. "Bui!"
"Noivern?!" Noivern and the others gasped. They wondered if they had gone separate directions. without them knowing. When in reality, Ghetsis had warped everything via illusions.
Just like that, they had gone separately, lost via illusions. And none of them had the capabilities of seeing through them at all. No one except Gengar. Unfortunately, he was occupied after being tasked with dealing with the other Ghost-Types back at Canterlot High. What unfortunate timing. The paths they took were not consistent.
One group went south and the other went north.
As for Ash, while going after Twilight, he and Lucario had freed everyone they could with Aura. One after the other, sometimes in pairs, Ghetsis' Dark Aura had been overridden. And each time Ash used his Aura, Delayed Aura Ataxia was creeping in.
"Worst time for this to show up..." Ash growled. "But I shoulda seen it coming. let's hurry to Twilight as soon as we can." He said whilst riding on the back of Charizard.
So far, the rest of his Pokemon have not been affected by the illusion. Mostly because Ghetsis has yet to utilize it on them. Their perception of the road was consistent and how it is originally. Nothing had been altered.
But while he hadn't utilized it on Ash, he certainly aimed to utilize it on the rest of his Pokemon. Once they got further into town, searching for Twilight and others to heal, that's when the illusion kicked in.
Immediately, Infernape and Sceptile were lost via the blockade of some stores that were not originally there. Ash noticed this before looking around. "Infernape? Sceptile? Where'd they go?"
"Pika?"
Wondering where they went, Charizard scanned the area from above, only to find no sign of them. Ash believed they must've either split up and gone separate paths or had found Ghetsis already. But as he thought that, he saw someone else on the ground, affected by those Dark Particles.
Charizard quickly stopped by, allowing Ash to get off. "Hey! It's okay." Ash went up to him, ready to use Aura along with Lucario. But as soon as he got close, he and Lucario had a simultaneous reaction. Getting close to this person gave them a bad feeling as Lucario pushed Ash to the side.
"Luca!"
"Woah!" Ash cried out before Lucario ended up avoiding black flames that erupted their way. And those flames came from the person on the ground. At least, they seemed helpless, but in truth, it was just Ghetsis utilizing his illusions as a disguise.
"Hm-hm-hm-hm-hm." He chuckled before standing up, facing Ash and his Pokemon. He then ended up revealing his true face to them.
"Ghetsis!"
"Pikachu!"
"Ash Ketchum. Glad we meet again. And with such little assistance by your side." Ghetsis smirked as Ash turned around. In that instance, Ghetsis' illusion worked its magic as Gible, Pignite, Snivy and even Charizard had vanished.
"Huh?! What the?!" Ash gasped. When did-"
"Impressed? My illusionary capabilities are now either on par or above that of a Zoroark." Ghetsis suddenly made the area around him black. They weren't in the town anymore. Or at all in the first place. Just a zone that Ghetsis had for just him and Ash. "Using illusions on those who can't see it was so simple. Even on you. Though that Pikachu and Lucario are harder to separate than I thought."
"What's the big idea harming everyone here? Are you trying to conquer this world too?"
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I, brat?" Ghetsis then started moving within the darkness, floating there while leaving howling sounds with his movements. "I would've already conquered Equestria if you, Hollow and those annoying Swords of Justice didn't get in the way."
"Pika...!" Pikachu's red sacs flared, ready to attack Ghetsis at any time.
"Yeah. We stopped you a few times, and we'll do it again. Me and my friends."
"Hmph. I would believe you in the past, but not now." Ghetsis then hovered above Ash, looking down on him. Figuratively and literally. "After all, when it comes to what we know...you're not as well-versed as me, are you?"
"Huh?"
"I've tapped into Dark Magic and discovered Dark Aura in the process. From my time training alone, I've discovered many unique tricks and abilities that I can utilize and possibly to their full potential. "You on the other hand...barely know that much about Aura apart from a select few. You know barely anything as compared to the versatility I've obtained."
"It ain't the first time I'm gone up against someone with a lot up their sleeve." Ash was calling back to Drake from the Orange Islands and his powerful Dragonite.
"Hmph. Optimistic. That's one trait I could learn from you." Ghetsis gave a slight compliment to Ash. "Even in the face of adversity, you know what to say. It also annoys and sickens me to the core." He scoffed.
"Yeah. I'm pretty good at doing that, aren't I" Ash smirked.
"PIka-Pika!"
"But after learning what I needed to...I'm slowly straying away from the Ghetsis I once was." Ghetsis then revealed his arm, summoning the captive he had with him. Twilight. Restrained by shadows, Twilight emerged from the void, floating near Ghetsis.
"Twilight!" Ash gasped.
"Pikachu!"
"Lucario!"
"This one's a special case." Ghetsis looked at Twilight. "The parallel to the Twilight of Equestria yet lacking in magic. But I can sense the magic potential in her somewhere. She's just less experienced. This world in general has so much potential for me to tap into. How thrilling!"
"Mm!" Twilight called for help, looking at Ash.
"Don't worry, Twilight. I'll get you out of there."
"Hoh? I think not." Ghetsis then wagged his finger. "Fo you see, I'm about to pull something grand for this world. And if I can exert a bit more...the other world as well."
"Huh?"
"Haven't you noticed something from our previous encounters? Our battle at Saddle Arabia and over at the castle. Our Auras. When they clash at their peak, I've noticed that some form of Rift Energy forms from it. I couldn't ignore this. Not at all. That's when I figured out how both our Auras can do so much more when it comes to a separate form of power."
"And you're gonna want both of those to interact again, huh?" Ash finished the sentence.
"You're not so dumb at all." Ghetsis laughed. "That's right. And I know just what to do. Besides...can you stop me and save everyone before that Ataxia gets to you."
"Pika-Pika!" Moving at lightning speeds, Pikachu went to take Ghetsis. But appearing out of the shadows and acting as a body shield was Hydreigon as Pikachu tackled into him instead.
"Hydrei!"
"Pi?!"
"Dreigon!" The Brutal Pokemon then retaliated with Brutal Swing, knocking Pikachu back.
"Pika!"
"Luca!" But after seeing his teammate get launched, Lucario instantly unleashed a giant sphere of Aura towards the Dark-Dragon-Type.
Just what Ghetsis wanted. He pushed Hydreigon to the side before using Dark Aura against it. By putting his hand out, his Dark Aura instantly met with the Aura Sphere.
The sphere stopped in place as Ghetsis' arm twitched a bit. But he managed. He had the Aura right where he wanted as let out a horrifying grin. "Yes!"
Immediately, with both Auras meeting, they created the same reaction that occurred in Saddle Arabia and Pyrestar's universe but within this void instead.
Ash and the others had their eyes widened a gigantic ripple occurred in the middle. By reacting with each other, Ghetsis' smidge of Rift Energy also responded.
With high octane energy, the ripple and reaction caused the Rift Energy to react, unable to handle two Auras as it expanded across this zone, even reaching the outside. The result was a blue and black orb of both Auras battling it out
"What's happening!"
"I think it's about time this world received proper connections to the other worlds! Wouldn't you agree?! I'll turn this entire world upside down!" Ghetsis cackled as he ended up making an unstable gateway from this collision.
This gateway was not like the others. Even Ghetsis wasn't sure what it would fully do, but he knew it had something to do with gateways. Immediately, rubbing occurred from all over the place. The town and beyond trembled.
Over at Canterlot High, Sunset was ready to head to the Grand Galloping Gala as she had been invited. But she was promptly stopped after feeling this rumbling go on.
The building started shaking as dimensional distortions started happening out of thin air. "W-What's going on?!" Sunset looked around as the school was being put into a panic from this. They all immediately ran outside to feel safe, but the same thing started happening outside as well.
Space itself was being warped.
Equestria. Canterlot. Afternoon.
And Equestria wasn't safe either. During the gala, everything trembled. The buffet of food had been ruined with all the food dropping to the floor.
"Huh!?" Flurry Heart backed away, seeing all the food drop. Even her favourite eclairs. "Nooo!"
Soon everyone saw a shift in dimensional space happening before them. As if someone was grabbing reality and twisting it like a wet towel. Commotion filled Canterlot as Twilight and her friends all kept their distance. The tables had been split open from this dimensional disruption before shattering.
Windows broke as even dresses had been snatched away because of this. Cold's body started trembling as he was walking Rift Creation. He felt jittery, unable to keep stable. "Gggghhh!" He cried out as Applejack held him for safety.
"What is this?!" Celestia and Chrysalis gasped before sensing these two familiar Auras. "Ash! Ghetsis!"
"Ash and Ghetsis?!" Twilight looked at the two rulers. "This is them?!"
"Something must be happening over at the word parallel from ours," Celestia observed. "Ash and Ghetsis' Auras when merged with Rift Energy causes something like this to happen!"
"What do we do?!" Fluttershy squeaked.
"Ah, all this panic for nothing." Then, the only individual who could stop something like this floated over. Discord. He had been invited too. With a snap of his fingers, he managed to break away the dimensional disruption, forcing it away from Canterlot.
But it was happing around Equestria too as Discord could feel this magical imbalance. His body wobbled as did Cold. Soon, Axew, Celestia, Chikorita and Togekiss shook too. Each of them had a semblance of Rift Magic within them.
"Ooh. Might be bigger than I thought." Discord shook his head before snapping his fingers once more. And with a second snap and knowing how large a scale this was, he removed the disruptions immediately.
But another one showed up as Ghetsis was still forcing this. Discord backed away in shock as he kept trying to fend these disruptions away. "Come on! It can't be this consistent!"
On the outside, the gateways connecting to various Pokemon World's were being swapped. A handful of them. Thanks to these disruptions, various gateways that everyone once knew led to certain areas had been replaced unexpectedly. All what Ghetsis wanted. But there was more he wanted.
The only gateways unaffected by this was the gateway that led to Pallet Town and the one that led to Castelia City. That was all that remained.
Discord had some help. Celestia used her magic to try and push these away. With the combined force of Chaos Magic and Magic from the Boundless Cutie Mark, they were able to do some significant effect.
"Ash. Please be okay." Twilight said with worry in her heart.
The Human World.
"Ugh!" Ash struggled to maintain his balance with everything shaking. The orb was growing and intensifying each passing second as Pikachu and Lucario held on tight.
"See the difference between you and me?!" Ghetsis roared. "You're just an average Pokemon Trainer with a few extra tricks! I on the other hand have developed magic from Equestria and tapped into an Aura just for me, learning to adapt and learn from it! You were always insignificant compared to me, Ash Ketchum!"
"Y-Yeah...That's why I'm aiming to be the very best! To better than those with a lot going on for them!" Ash snapped back before finding his footing. He then looked at the orb, knowing what he had to do.
He put his arm out as he managed to summon Sir Aaron's staff. He gripped before standing up tall, allowing his Aura to glisten around it. "Lucario! Aura Sphere on that orb!"
"Luca...!" Lucario put his arms together, forming an Aura Sphere.
"No, you don't! Stop them, Hydreigon!"
"Hydrei!" Hydreigon roared, rushing over towards Lucario before that could happen. He had each of his mouths use Fire Fang, Thunder Fang and Ice Fang respectively.
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu...!" Pikachu then jumped off Ash's shoulder, hardening his tail to match that of Iron. "Pika!" He then smacked his tail onto Hydreigon's main head, staggering the Brutal Pokemon as he flew to the side.
"Mm!" Twilight cheered while still being restrained.
"Rio!" Lucario then unleashed the sphere of Aura, sending it right towards the orb. Ghetsis wanted none of that to happen as he had shot black flames from his hand. The flames met with the Aura Sphere, forcing it to clash with it.
"Mm-mm!" Twilight then closed her eyes before opening them, seeing that Hydreigon was going to attack Ash from behind after blending in with the shadows. He had Hyper Beam on all three mouths ready. Not wanting to see a friend of hers be injured, in that instance, Twilight's emotion correlated with her magic once more.
Just like with the Ducklett, her hidden magic was being revealed. The silhouette and aura of that same odd entity that looked like Twilight a smidge showed up as it had melted away Ghetsis' shadow hold when he wasn't looking. Twilight's mouth had been freed, along with everywhere else the shadows were.
"Ash!" Twilight cried out before grabbing onto Ghetsis from behind.
"What the?! Get off of me!" Ghetsis cried out as his concentration with the black aura had been broken thanks to Twilight. Twilight would not let Ghetsis go as the Ruler of Team Plasma put his hand on her head.
"Pika!" Pikachu sensed Hydreigon, using Quick Attack to catch him by surprise.
"Drei!"
"Thanks, Twilight! Go Lucario!"
"Lucario!" Lucario then unleashed another Aura Sphere, adding onto the first one. With Ghetsis no longer focusing on the flames, the double Aura Spheres clashed with the orb. And with Ash adding his Aura onto it, it created another reaction.
But this time, a positive one. Ash's and Lucario's Aura with their combined synergy managed to put a halt to this disruption by erasing the orb. Each of them faded away as blue starlight scattered after the orb's eradication.
Ghetsis' zone had also been wiped out as Twilight moved away. They were back to reality as the illusion had also been broken off as well. "Ugh!" Ghetsis held his head. "You brats...!
"Oh geez!" Ash twitched as the Delayed Aura Ataxia was starting to show its colours. "That was super risky...But worth it!"
"Pikachu!"
And with the illusion broken, Ash's Pokemon were able to tell that something was off. After finding out, they immediately regrouped, tracking down the scent of their trainer.
"How annoying but..." Ghetsis then looked around, seeing that he had already done what he needed to do. And he knew it based on that smirked. "I've done what I sought out to do. Now the gateways are mine to manipulate..."
"Twilight!" Ash went to help Twilight up. "Are you okay?!"
"Fine." Twilight nodded as Ghetsis saw Ash's Pokemon incoming. He only set out to do that one act as he had disappeared into the shadows once more. "Hey! He's getting away!"
"Pika!"
"It's alright, Twilight." Ash stopped her. "Can't let anything else bad happen again. Plus, this Ataxia's really getting to me right now. Can't stop him if I pass out."
Ash's Pokemon then reunited with their trainer. But it wasn't over yet. There was still the town to deal with. Ash's Delayed Aura Ataxia would drain him and cause him to pass out if he was to continue going across town to cure the rest of them. Granted, he had managed to cover a handful of them.
Lucario would take care of things from here, allowing for Ash to rest up. "Sorry that we couldn't watch the Beautifly evolution. I think we've missed it, haven't we?" Twilight sighed.
"No need to worry. There's a Cascoon one that could happen tomorrow. How does that sound?" Ash grinned while twitching as Charizard supported him up.
"Mm. Sounds good. Today was a bit scary for me honestly. Getting captured and seeing my parents like that. But thanks for being there to make it all okay."
"No problem. Now I just gotta clear this up, get Gengar and head to the Gala."
Equestria. Canterlot High. Nightfall.
After it ended, commotion about that event still went through about the gala. The moon had just risen. The gala continued afterwards anyway. Waiting patiently was Twilight, hoping that Ash was okay.
And lo and behold, retuning with Gengar was Ash himself as he entered the room with the rest of his Pokemon. Lucario had finished healing the remaining people over at the human world, letting Ash recover and such.
"Ash! You made it!" Twilight cried out before her friends turned their attention towards him.
"Yeah. Sorry for the delay. Got caught up in the parallel world." Ash said.
"Against Ghetsis?" Celestia and Chrysalis went up to him.
"Yeah. He wanted to do something, but I don't know what. Did something happen here?" Ash wondered.
"Well, aside from space being warped, not much." Rarity shrugged. "Discord and Celestia solved it. Everything is fine here. I suppose you stopped Ghetsis for...the third time, is it?"
"Third time in a row I guess. But man, finishing an encounter with him really tires me out a bit." Ash chuckled. "I had to go around a lot, helping others and getting Gengar. Good job befriending those Ghosts, pal."
"Gen-Gen."
"Well, if you're not too tired, how about a dance?" Chrysalis requested with her hoof out. Twilight immediately saw this with her eyes snapping onto Chrysalis' hoof as focus.
And in that instance, Celestia had a grin take over her face. Twilight stepped forward, putting her own hoof out. "Uh, dance with me first, Ash! I've been practising!"
"But I can't dance." Ash shook his head.
"Neither could Flash Sentry but look at him." Twilight nudged her head over to Flash who was dancing with Flurry Heart.
"Uh, maybe later. Right now, I'm starving after all of that." Ash chose to eat before dancing. His stomach gave him the right answer as he took out the food Pinkie Pie gave him.
Twilight and Chrysalis sighed as they would have to wait for Ash to finish eating. Luckily, the night was still young so there was time. Plus, Ash does finish his food in either a minute or less so there was still hope. The gala carried on with no one knowing what happened.
Except for Ghetsis.
The Human World.
Ghetsis sat away from civilization, knowing what he had done. To see if he had pulled it off flawlessly, he put his hand, using the Rift Energy within and merging it with his Dark Aura. And by doing so, he summoned a gateway.
Not just any gateway, but the gateway to one of the many places in the Pokemon World. Floaroma Town. He then returned the gateway to its original position before bringing another that led to the Pixie Plains from Equestria.
Ghetsis now had the ability to swap pre-existing gateways. Just like he planned. "Excellent." He cackled. "Oh, what I can do with this..."
"They've been swapped and missing?!" Celestia gasped after receiving shocking news. A Canterlot Guard had told her about how the gateways connecting to certain parts of the Pokemon World have been swapped and made harder to find.
"Yes. We found out just after the gala had ended. We informed Princess Luna first since she was awake. Many of the gateways that lead to different regions and areas have been switched, causing confusion. Some can't even be found."
"After the gala...Ghetsis!" Celestia then figured out who was the cause of this. After what happened last night it made sense. The disruption between two Auras is what resulted in a situation like this. "How much confusion?"
"Well, thankfully, it's not severe. But certain routes will need to be altered and adjusted. However, some of them have vanished without a trace. As if they had been taken away."
"That creates some unnecessary problems certainly." Celestia sighed. "The Canterlot Tag Battle is soon, and it would be a shame if those wanting to participate get lost. I'll handle the gateway issue soon. Let everypony know."
"Yes, your majesty!" The guard saluted before walking off.
Celestia slumped on her throne, knowing there was more to handle. And of course, Ghetsis managed to be part of this new problem. Only her, Ash and to an extent Discord could interact with anything Rift related.
Ash being a bit of a novice to it all since he's not exactly the most versatile Aura user out there. But he's getting there, that's for sure. So far, few gateways had been unaffected. The gateway to Pallet Town and Wyndon were in the same spot.
The most popular gateways such as Castelia City was now connected with Manehattan. Fitting. Lumiose City could be found near the Crystal Empire and Jubilife was smack dab over at the Faye Mountains AKA the new Changeling Hive.
If anything, Ghetsis' actions had done some good. But even if Ghetsis wasn't aware of these gateway placements, he now had the power to control gateways. Not just by opening them to reach certain locations, but interacting with pre-existing ones in whatever way he wishes.
Universe 11. The Solar Empire. Day.
And observing this was Daybreaker. She had seen how the array of gateways had been mixed up thanks to Ghetsis' plan. All for the advanced control of gateways, far beyond what Daybreaker and Empress Twilight could do.
"Yeesh. All of that trouble just for some portals?" Daybreaker grimaced. "Well, I could say the same about my previous actions so understandable. But that Ghetsis is truly persistent. Wanting to conquer everything, even universes not connected or related to each other in any way." Daybreaker slumped on her throne. "Reminds me of Empress Twilight but somehow more competent."
"Queen Daybreaker?" Entering the throne room was this world's Spitfire, who was the chief Air Warfare specialist. And the chief of course. "We should probably inform you that there might be...most definitely is a chance those Pokemon might show up here. The ones moving through other worlds to stop the rest of the Empress' rule."
"Oh, Reshiram and Zekrom? Hmph. They won't get here. Our universe will be made inaccessible. Even if Ghetsis has somehow managed to manipulate gateways to his own usage."
"Right. I'll still keep my forces completely focused on the skies in case they show up somehow." Spitfire said.
"I know you will. That's why you're the expert. Speaking of gateways, there's a place we're going to have to beat Empress Twilight's little group to before they get there." The alicorn put her hoof on her chin.
"Where? Say the word, your majesty."
"Well, my trusted sources did a little escapade through the Pokemon World at night...Eugh..." She shuddered at the thought of a nighttime considering who she was. She then used her magic to reveal a certain book that only had two pages on it. Most of them were ripped out. "This. The book about the Sea Temple. Samiya."
"Samiya?" Spitfire repeated as Daybreaker placed the book on the nearby table. Spitfire and Daybreaker then gazed on the book to see what it entailed. Only 2 pages to work with.
"The Sea Temple Samiya is an underwater palace built by the People of the Water. A complex structure that greatly exceeds anything we've built. The People of the Water built the temple where the Manaphy lived. All Manaphy have homing instincts that guide them to the temple's location even though it has a cloaking device."
"I see. And what of it? Is there something we need there?" Spitfire asked.
"Sadly, the pages are only two. Someone ripped off the rest to try and censor this part of history. But of course, everything will be found eventually. And this was the only record I had about Samiya apart from the Empress making her own discovery as well. And there is something there. For Necrozma."
Indeed. After hearing that, Necrozma's Poke Ball trembled with Spitfire looking over at it. "That thing...Yikes, it's creepy." Spitfire grimaced.
"Oh, you'll get used to Necrozma eventually. Especially when it reaches its complete form. Which is why Samiya is the place to be at. The same form of power that the Empress wants is there and can benefit Necrozma. The crystals can give off light. Perfect for Necrozma, but also perfect for being a ruler of practically the entire world. Ocean wise.
"Ruling? What are a bunch of crystals gonna do about ruling?"
"Because whoever wears this supposed Sea Crown is crowned King of the Sea. Since the sea is most of the world, including other earth's, essentially, the one who rules most of the world. But that's not the important part. What truly matters are those crystals. We need them for Necrozma."
"I get it. I'll have my forced and then some head for this Samiya and grab those crystals."
"Unfortunately, Samiya has inconsistent placing. It constantly moves across the world due to the sea's current, barely staying still for weeks or more. We won't find it in the same place."
"Then how are we going to find it?" Spitfire asked, lifting her hat. "Seems the Empress is ahead of the game. The answer is simple. We follow her forces there. You know what to do, Spitfire."
"Already on it." Spitfire saluted before heading off to give orders.
"As for me, I should get a move on first. More light for Necrozma is needed. And I think the Pokemon World, especially Alola is a good place to start."
The Human World. Day. Out in a forest.
Since yesterday after all that had happened, Ash promised Twilight that they would witness Pokemon evolution take place. They had just missed out on the Beautifly evolution process thanks to Ghetsis interrupting them. But today, the Cascoon into Dustox could take place.
"Thanks for showing up for today, Ash. Shame we couldn't see the Beautifly one." Twilight spoke, speaking to Ash and his Pokemon.
He had brought over Charizard and a few others even after yesterday. Thanks to Ghetsis, Twilight couldn't finish observing all of his Pokemon for the day before the gala could start.
"No problem. Just in time too. Plus, you got to learn a lot from Snivy, right?" Ash replied, looking at Snivy who was being held by Twilight.
"Mhm. I don't know why, but I like her a lot. Maybe it's her whole personality." Twilight looked at the Grass Snake Pokemon as Oshawott sighed, wanting to be adored by Twilight due to his crush on her.
"Oshawott..."
"Ah, don't feel down, Oshawott." Ash patted the Sea Otter Pokemon. "Twilight's still curious to know about you, after all, so cheer up and look forward to it, okay?"
"Sha? Oshawott!" Oshawott nodded, preparing himself for that moment with high hopes. But never mind that. Right now, the evolution process was about to begin. Twilight would have the chance to witness Pokemon evolution.
Apart from the Silcoon who tether themselves to tree branches with silk, the Cascoon create a protective cocoon by wrapping their bodies entirely with a fine silk from their mouths. Once the silk goes around their bodies, they harden.
And that was when they started glowing. A blue light consumed them all, the common look for Pokemon evolution. Twilight gawked as each of the Cascoon merged their lights to form one massive blue sphere that engulfed the grass and trees.
Afterwards, after radiating a vibrant blue light that had merged, the sphere had dispersed, revealing the Poison Moth Pokemon at last. After being revealed, each of the Dustox started flying through the air, leaving behind blue stardust and sparkles of the evolution light.
Twilight gawked at this sight after witnessing her first evolution. It was a beautiful sight, especially when it's with multiple Pokemon. The Dustox then took the skies, flying in a group like a flock of birds. It was unknown where they were headed, but it was beautiful either way.
"Wow..." Twilight uttered with wonder in her eyes.
"Neat ain't it?" Ash nodded as Twilight also nodded in approval. "There's like a bunch of Pokemon out there that can evolve. Pokemon that I didn't even know could have evolutions. And that's what makes it so much fun!"
"It was worth waiting another day!" Twilight got giddy. "Makes me want to see more and-"
"Osha! Oshawott!" Oshawott quickly stopped Twilight by nudging her boot once more, wanting attention.
"Oh, right. As soon as I learn more about you. Sorry." Twilight laughed as she switched her focus towards Oshawott and the rest of Ash's Pokemon. They had a lot to offer even if it wasn't limited. Twilight got to see what Ash's Pokemon were all capable of during their years of travel with their Trainer.
Oshawott, wanting to stick out the most, showed his move combination of Razor Shell and Aqua Jet in which the Razor Shell acts as a lance that causes more damage as Aqua Jet hits its mark. But unfortunately for Oshawott, that wasn't enough to compete with the rest of Ash's Pokemon.
Snivy would quickly outdo him with how she was currently Twilight's favourite. Snivy was nothing less than a Pokémon shrouded in mystery. But even Snivy would be outdone by the rest of Ash's Pokemon, especially Charizard and Infernape. Twilight had a plethora of fun studying and learning about all of them including what they've been through.
She learned about Infernape's Blaze and how the flame on his head gets hotter if he's pushed to his limit to the point where it acts as an explosive volcanic eruption. She learned about Donphan was a Pokemon that Ash saw before he got to the Johto Region and received a Phany of his own that became a Donphan later.
If anything Ash has seen a lot of Pokemon that predate the region he eventually learns about. But that was part of the adventure. Snivy and Twilight seemed to bond some more as she got to witness Ash's Pokemon perform amazing tricks and specialities.
Such specialities as the Counter Shield and Ice Aqua Jet which was helped by Gengar's Ice Punch. Even the newly discovered Makeshift Volt Tackle as Ash called it was showcased. By combining the usage of Quick Attack and Thunderbolt, Pikachu could bring back the powerful Volt Tackle without even needing to use the official move and having the power of two moves at his disposal to make it work.
She learned about their personalities as well. Each of them had unique personalities of their own. Snivy had the personality akin to the pompous princess yet she was earnest and honest respectively. Most of Ash's Pokemon listen to her when she has something to say despite her size.
Bulbasaur was almost identical to Snivy with how he can sometimes become the leader of the pack and even has the unique trait of calming everyone down and stopping fights when they start escalating.
Sceptile, Buizel, Pignite and Krookodile put on a cool persona at all times. However, Sceptile always gets a horrible flashback whenever he's around Bayleef. There was one instance in his life that involved the evolution of Bayleef, Meganium. An instance that he regrets and wishes to forget as Twilight laughed nervously.
Everyone had something to offer. And they all shared one thing in common. They were starving. Thankfully, Ash brought over some food that Pinkie Pie made him today as they would all eat away.
"Time to eat!" Ash rubbed his hands together, giggling with excitement at the food in front of him. So did his Pokemon as they were all pumped. In unison, they started eating the food in front of them.
Twilight watched how most of Ash's Pokemon either ate the same way or differently. Like gluttons eating like there was no tomorrow or gentle and normal with a natural pace. It was obvious which of his Pokemon did each action.
"Don't you get sick when eating so fast? It increases your risk of becoming overweight and obese, it's also linked to other health problems, including the risk of insulin resistance, which is characterized by high blood sugar and-"
"Nah!" He interrupted. "If you wanna become a Pokemon Master and the very best, you gotta have a strong gut!" Ash punched his stomach while holding some food. "That goes for all of your Pokemon too! Right guys?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu and the others agreed with their cries.
"Guess I'm not one to talk am I? I love me some hamburgers don't I?" Twilight laughed.
"They sure taste great! Just like these cupcakes Pinkie Pie made. Want some?" Ash held his hand out, offering the food to her. Twilight shook as she would pass on it. Ash then tossed it into the air for Noivern to swoop by and catch.
"Noi-Noi!"
"You know, Ash. One day, I want to catch a Pokemon of my own. But I don't know if I'm ready for it." said Twilight. "I mean, I take care of Spike since he's my pet but...a Pokemon doesn't sound like a pet. From what I've seen from you and a few others, it's more like a friend."
"Spike's a friend too. Even if he's a pet." Ash replied. "And yeah. Having Pokemon kinda gives you some responsibility and such. But that's no problem. If you love Spike the way you do, then you'll definitely love whatever Pokemon you get. Spike and that Pokemon will be your friends forever. Count on it."
"Wow. Didn't take too long for you to convince me." Another chuckle came from Twilight. "How about we start Ummm...Next week? But I can wait if that's okay with you."
"Sure thing."
"Oh and uh, Ash. The Friendship Games are coming up soon as well. I was wondering if you could come and watch me take part in it?"
"Friendship Games?" Ash thought for a moment. "Oh! Like the Equestria Games! Sounds good to me! We'll be there when we can! First I gotta get through the Canterlot Tag Battle soon."
"You're a busy trainer, aren't you?"
"Can't slow down if I want to become a Pokemon Master. Every day and all the time, I'll train to be the best. No matter what. And with my friends with me, I can make that dream happen." Ash looked to all of his Pokemon as they cried out in agreement.
"Pika-Pika!"
A spark of inspiration came to Twilight from this. Ash had inspired her to press on when it come to learning more about Pokemon and even achieving her dreams. Twilight had dreams of her own that she wished to achieve and having a drive like this was perfect.
But more than that, Twilight saw more than just inspiration within Ash that she could learn from. Being that they were friends, they were getting closer each minute. Twilight could feel their bond growing as this was an experience she had never felt before.
Equestria. Ponyville. Twilight's Castle. Day.
"Geeeeugh!" Twilight shuddered as Starlight and Nyx took notice. Her teeth clattered, her mane and tail stood up as if she had Pinkie sense. Or Twilight sense in this case.
"Twilight, what's wrong?!" Starlight gasped, worrying for her friend.
"I've got that bad feeling in me again....!"
The Human World. Out in the forest. Day.
As the group kept eating, Noivern had something to report. After he had eaten the cupcake while ascending into the air, flying around, Noivern noticed something in the distance. Something surprising. He came back to Ash to tell him what he saw.
"Noi! Noivern!"
"Hm? What's up Noivern? What did you see?" Ash stood up.
"Vern! Noivern!" To translate, Noivern shown the spiral inside of his ears, allowing Ash to instantly put the pieces together, showing just how well synced he is with his Pokemon.
"There's a gateway here?!" Ash translated as all of his Pokemon gasped. "Seriously?!"
"Noivern!"
"Gateway? To where?" Twilight wondered. "And how long has it been here?"
"Food can wait!" Ash hopped onto Noivern's back to see this for himself. The rest of his Pokemon that could fly soon followed after him. AKA Charizard and Talonflame.
Twilight just sat there with the rest of Ash's Pokemon. Noivern spotted the gateway at the far north. And once they got there, lo and behold, there was indeed a gateway, lying near the mound of rocks.
"Woah! No way!" Ash gasped. "There really is one! But...where does it go?"
"Noi. Noivern."
"You peeked through already, huh?" Ash translated. "Let me see."
Noivern then brought Ash to a lower level, allowing for his trainer to look through the gateway. He would be surprised at which part of either world he would come across. While the portal back at Canterlot High leads to Equestria, this one led to the Pokemon World.
And once he peeked through, he was shocked to see which part of it. This gateway led to Eindoak Town. The place where the People of the Vale and Victini reside. This gateway was never here at all. Ash never saw it. That's when he remembered the encounter with Ghetsis yesterday. Just like how their first clash of Auras summoned more gateways, this could be another example of them.
The town found between Castelia and Nimbasa City now had a gateway accessible through this forest near another town. Twilight was curious as she and the rest of Ash's Pokemon followed after him. They soon arrived in the same area as Ash and the others were.
"Ash! What's going on?!" Twilight asked before coming to a screeching halt. She as well saw the gateway. Her very first one as well. "That's a gateway?!"
"Yeah. Right through Eindoak." Ash looked back at Twilight. "Oshawott! Snivy! Pignite! You guys remember that place, don't you?"
"Snivy!" Snivy and the other two Unova starters certainly recall Eindoak and the actions that went through during their time there.
"Man, this is exciting! We'll get to meet Victini, Carlita and the others through here!" Ash grinned. "Hey! You wanna come along Twilight?"
"Uh...go through there?" Twilight pulled back.
"Yeah. Check out Eindoak."
"Oh...I don't know. Maybe I'm not ready to visit new worlds just yet, Ash. I'll need some time for that." Twilight pleaded. "If that's okay with you."
"I gotcha. I should be getting ready myself for the Tag Battle. Let's finish up some research and maybe one day, we'll check Eindoak out. Plus, getting you your first Pokemon. Figure out which one you want?"
"Not sure." Twilight shook her head as Ash went up to her. "It has to be really cute! But I guess every Pokemon is cute, right? In their own way."
"Yep." Ash laughed before returning to snack on some good food with Twilight. The gateway to Eindoak will have to wait. But it was certainly a surprise to be sure.
Even though Ghetsis may have had his own plans concerning the gateways, this one scenario had brought new experiences to both worlds. Including the Human World which was smack dab in the middle of all of this. The gateway confusion was still prominent and would take some time to get used to as the journey continues.
The time had come for Canterlot's first Tag Battle. Originating in Hearthome and then later latching onto other regions, it had finally reached a new world.
Many were excited. Especially those aiming to make it to the top of the Equestria League. And for them to enter, they would need an entree card with a number on it.
Ash already received his as he was entree number 7. He then gave the rest of his friends that wanted to enter their own cards. The one pony exempt from this was Starlight due to her limited number of Pokemon. AKA just Hatterene. Goh was also exempt as he would prefer to watch. Not much of a battler type.
"Here you go, Fluttershy. Your card." Ash gave the last one to Fluttershy as she was number 20.
"Thanks, Ash. I'm pretty excited to take part in a competition like this. I missed out on the Canterlot Tournament months ago." Fluttershy took the card.
"You'll have only three Pokemon while Applejack only has two to use. Are you sure you two will be okay in this tag battle?" Twilight asked.
"I got faith in Sceptile and Golett." Applejack seemed calm about this. No problem."
"Well, Discord said it was okay if I could use his Krookodile for the meanwhile. So I guess I have four Pokemon with me," said Fluttershy. That'll be enough I think."
"I'm psyched." Ash got all giddy along with Rainbow Dash. "I haven't been in a tag battle for a long time. Can't wait to get started!"
"Pikachu!"
Canterlot. Day.
It was time. Of course, it would take place in the Equestria League Stadium. The poor Canterlot Stadium had been left out for this ever since the Equestria League Stadium arrived. What a shame.
Many Trainers had shown up here. Human and pony. After the gateways had been warped thanks to Ghetsis, directions were readjusted immediately. Thankfully, the ones that could make it had gateways that were connected to locations closer to Canterlot, eliminating the struggle of getting here.
And the one being the announcer for this was the same announcer for the Canterlot Tournament, reprising his role. "It's battle time! He shouted as everyone cheered. "Get ready for some action! We're going to have a fine time here and nothing more! And I should know. I'm announcing this."
"I've been waiting for this," said Ash. "Good thing I cleared a bunch of stuff up before this could happen, right?"
"Mhm." Rarity nodded. "I do enjoy these Pokemon competitions honestly. Hopefully, I'm not as burnt out as the Canterlot Tournament."
"We get to see who's the best out of all of us! But uh...bit unfair if you're here, Ash." Rainbow Dash spoke.
"Why. Scared that Ash is gonna win this?" Applejack nudged Rainbow Dash while chuckling.
"N-No! Besides! There's a chance we could pair up, ya know." She crossed her hooves.
"Sorry if you got a bit lost getting here. Gateway problems and all that. Happened during the gala. But now that you're here, we can get this started. All you have to do is just take out your registration cards as I was told."
Everyone then took out their cards as they all had their respective numbers on them. Ash was 7, Twilight was 14, Rainbow Dash was 31, Fluttershy was 20, Applejack was 15, Spike was 32, Rarity was 18 and Pinkie Pie was 24.
"Now look at the monitor. Whoever shows up next to you will be your tag team partner throughout the competition. Time to see who's who!"
After everyone took out their cards, a tournament bracket showed up on a giant monitor with their faces being revealed. 44 challengers were there in total as each of their numbers showed up on the brackets in duos.
"Okay. Now find your partner!"
Everyone immediately got to searching, looking at the monitors and the numbers on their cards. They were all excited and nervous about who their partners could be.
"Uh. I'm number 15!" Applejack had Sceptile raise her card, searching for her partner. She would be paired up with someone who was number 10. She looked around until number 10 came her way.
"Right here." Number 10 was revealed to be Barry. He had returned to Equestria just for this moment. Anything to battle after all.
"Oh, you're..." Applejack squinted her eyes, trying to remember Barry's name. "Who are you again?"
"Barry. Ash's equal." He gave a confident smile before beating his own chest. Applejack looked to the sie, doubting him as Ash's equal. Not likely at all.
"Right...Looks like it's you and me. If you gave Ash a tough time before, then I can count on you, right?"
"Sure you can. Watch and trust me." Barry slid over. "We'll win this before the next day even begins. You hear that Ash?!" He then shouted, grabbing Ash's attention.
"Huh?" Ash then looked over, spotting one of his few Sinnoh Rivals nearby as he gasped. "Barry! You're here?!"
"Pika?!"
"Surprised?" Barry snapped his fingers. "Get ready to lose in this one, Ash. Consider yourself lucky, 'cause I won't have to give you a fine if I win."
"And I win?" Ash asked.
"Then it's a fine at lightspeed!" Barry pointed his finger at Ash, making this a statement. A declaration. One that involves him swearing to defeat Ash and anyone in this Tag Battle Competition.
"Heh. We'll see." The Alola Champion smirked before looking at his partner. "Lucky. Guess we're teaming up, aren't we?" Ash looked at his card as he and Fluttershy were partners in this."
"Mhm." Fluttershy nodded in response.
"Those two working together is already pretty scary..." Twilight shuddered as she knew she pitied the one to go against Ash and his Pokemon. She then looked around for her partner while holding up her number.
Lo and behold her partner for this was Aria Blaze who went up to Twilight. Or rather, she showed up behind Twilight, giving her a fright after saying a word. "Hey!"
"Oh!" Twilight jumped back after hearing her, turning around.
"Are you number 14?" Aria spoke.
"Aria? Yeah. Number 3?
"Right here." Aria raised her card, revealing herself to be number 3. "We're a team now, Sparkle."
"Do you have to call me by my last name like Adagio?" Twilight said nervously. "Wait, don't you have just Popplio with you as your only Pokemon?"
"I got busy. Plus, once this thing got announced, Sonata forced me to catch some more Pokemon. So now I'm up to three Pokemon total."
"That's great. Gives Popplio a chance to rest, doesn't it? Which Pokemon do you have?"
"These two," Aria revealed her newly caught partners, sending them out of Quick Balls. They were Croagunk and Ledian. And once Ledian came out, Twilight froze before jumping back and screaming once more.
"Aaaaah!"
"What are you screaming about this time?!" Aria exclaimed.
"Ladybug!" She pointed her hoof at Ledian while Espeon held her with Psychic.
"Ledian?" Ledian realized she was talking about her. Aria then facehoofed after that.
"Please don't tell me you're gonna lose focus because of Ledian being around?" The siren groaned.
"Mmm...no way!" Twilight scrunched her face. "I won't let it break my focus...Even if it's bigger than an average ladybug." She then shuddered as Aria returned Ledian.
"Espeon." Espeon sighed, feeling a bit embarrassed by her trainer's fear of anything related to ladybugs.
As for Rarity, she was searching left and right for her partner who was meant to be number 1. She looked ahead to see somepony raising the number 1 sign. And to her surprise, Ember was holding it. She came all the way here from the Dragon Lands just to partake in this competition. It was made public after all. Not just for humans and ponies.
"Ember!" Rarity teleported in front of Ember, startling her and Gible.
"Oh!"
"Gible!"
"Number 2, right? Number 18 right here." She used her magic to wave the card around. "I can tell we might make a great team, don't you think?"
"Uh, sure. At least it's someone I know." Ember scratched her head. "Not sure if I would do well with someone else I don't know."
"By the way...this completion lasts more than a day so...shouldn't you be at the Dragon Lands instead?" Rarity asked.
"Bah, it's fine. They can handle themselves for a week or more." Ember shrugged. "Besides, dad's filling in for me in the meanwhile. He's still got the qualities of a Dragon Lord."
"Gible."
"Me." Ember pointed her thumb at herself. "I came here cause I'm sick of battling against Dragon Trainers all day. I need to battle something new. That's why I came here. Getting better with Dragon Pokemon doesn't mean I can't try new Pokemon that aren't Dragon Types. Have to reach the top other ways after all."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were aiming to be a Dragon Master like Spike? And even take part in the league."
"Nah, pass. That Equestria League stuff's not my interest. I'll stick to being a Dragon Lord than a champion."
"Fair." After all those words, Rarity just nodded in understanding. "But let's make a great team, shall we?"
Meanwhile, Pinkie was searching high and low for her partner. Her partner's number was 16 as she couldn't spot them yet. She squinted her eyes, watching over the sea of trainers before finding number 16.
And her partner ended up being one of the students of the Pokemon School. The younger one. Sunrise Sprint as he spotted Pinkie Pie. After spotting the pink pony waving at him, Sunrise grimaced before turning away with embarrassment.
"Oh no..." He said as Pinkie Pie bounced in his direction. He wanted to have a cool and stylish partner by his side like Ash or even his brother. Daylight. "Why didn't I get my brother?"
"Hey there!" Pinkie showed up. "Looks like we're partners! Isn't this exciting?!"
"Mmmrgh...I guess so." Sunrise grumbled. "At least you have a Mew, that's strong. Wait, where is your Mew?"
"Oh. Since some humans are here, Mew's gonna keep a low profile. Right, Mew?" Pinkie looked up at her mane as Mew popped his head out of it.
"Mew-Mew!"
"Oh! Mew!" But Barry instantly saw Mew's head and heard his voice, pointing at him. Everyone turned to face where Barry was pointing instantly after hearing about Mew. Pinkie Pie squeaked as the New Species Pokemon hid back in Pinkie's mane, lowering his head.
"Uh...Now all of them know." Pinkie Pie giggled.
"Mew."
"Everyone's getting their Tag Team partner but...where's my partner?" Rainbow Dash wondered, currently unable to find hers in this massive stadium.
"How come I'm getting paired up with you?" Just then, a familiar voice spoke in the direction of Rainbow Dash. The pegasus then turned around to see who her partner was. And it was the one pony she wasn't expecting.
Lightning Dust.
She was number 27 as Rainbow Dash gasped, stepping back after seeing her fellow pegasus. "It's you?!" She cried out in shock, dropping her card.
"Just my luck." Lightning Dust said. "Guess we're in this together, aren't we?"
"Aw seriously?" Rainbow Dash groaned. "I'm stuck with you?"
"Hey, isn't that Lightning Dust?" Twilight observed as she and Aria were close to Rarity and Ember. "What are the odds of those two getting paired up?"
"Luck of the draw is what they call it, right?" Rarity replied as Spike and Scootaloo agreed. Spike ended up partnering with Scootaloo, becoming small tag partners together.
"I don't have a choice anyway cause of this thing." Lightning Dust spoke, waving the card around. "Just don't lag behind me, okay?"
"Lag behind-" Rainbow Dash stuttered, squinting her eyes. "What are you getting at?"
"I want to win this and show everypony I've got what it takes to enter the Equestria League and become Champion. And show her most of all." Lightning Dust then pointed her hoof at a group of trainers competing in this.
Up ahead was a dangerous duo that had managed to be paired up, Spitfire and Daylight Blazer. But Spitfire was Lightning Dust's main focus after she had been kicked out of the Wonderbolts after all. Rainbow Dash pieced it together instantly.
"Yeah, well, the champion's gonna be me. I already swore on it." Rainbow Dash retaliated.
"No way!" Lightning Dust scoffed. "I'm not gonna let you steal my thunder again. Not for something this big."
"As if we can even beat those two combined." Rainbow Dash nudged. "Maybe if I was with one of my friends..."
"And remember, in a tag battle, the real key to success is to create the spirit of partnership between both Trainers and their Pokemon. To learn to truly rely on each other. At least, that's what I've been told." The announcer said. "And so, to the team that emerges victorious, the grand prize for this competition are these!"
He had then revealed the major prize to everyone here. That prize being something of great value. Rare to come by yet a powerful took for all Pokemon Trainers.
"10 Master Balls!"
"10 MASTER BALLS?!" They all gasped and bellowed. That was a sight to behold. The most powerful Poke Ball. And 10 of them were up for the taking depending on who wins.
All that friendly spirit had been swapped out for competitive spirit after their eyes were laid upon these objects. Many of them wanted those Master Balls no matter what. Some didn't care or were unaware of how effective a Master Ball can be.
"I need those..." Rainbow Dash's mouth was agape, gazing at the 10 objects.
"Now there's a must-have!" James exclaimed as he, Jessie and Meowth were currently working their food job for Glittercook. They were concessions for this. "With those, who cares how much you have to struggle against a Pokemon?!"
"That's basically a 100% catch rate staring us in the eyes!" Jessie gawked, rubbing her hands together.
"Makes our inventions irrelevant but who cares?!" Meowth giggled as Team Rocket posed together afterwards.
"Don't look and don't stop." A mare and her child passed by Team Rocket after their little stylish pose.
"Now that you've all found your Tag Battle partners, the battle festivities will commence this afternoon, so you've got time to prepare and practice. I'll be eating in the meantime."
"Let's work together at the Canterlot Gardens, Fluttershy. I hear Rainbow Dash helped Chikorita out when you swapped Pokemon, didn't she?" Ash said.
"Mhm." Fluttershy nodded in reply. "Like you always say. It'll be a blast!"
"Pikachu!"
"I've got a team fit to go against a champion, so don't worry." Barry wagged his finger to Applejack. "But your Sceptile looks pretty good too."
"Of course he is. Sceptile's my one of a kind partner. Isn't that right, buddy?" The earth pony patted Sceptile on the back as everyone started leaving the stadium to practice.
But not all of it was in good spirits. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust were already making the atmosphere tense due to their not-so-pleasant relationship. Them being partners and bonding might be a greater challenge than any opponent they have to go against.
Celestia was excited about this most of all. Luna couldn't be here to participate as she was out there catching more Pokemon to become a better trainer for the eventual Equestria League. But even if Luna wasn't here, she could still watch over her friends and what they have to offer. Adagio was mainly watching since one of her sisters was participating.
2 hours later.
The afternoon was here. And the first matchup was about to begin for the first bracket. And in the first bracket was Twilight and Aria, going up against a combination of a Human Trainer plus an earth pony trainer.
"Alright!" The announcer returned to his seat. "I made it! Almost was late. Anyway, here are the rules. Each trainer is allowed to use one Pokemon with no time limit. There won't be any substitutions. Well...apart from the move Substitute but you get what I mean! Whichever team ends up being unable to battle is defeated. Then tomorrow, the winners will advance to the second round battles. Now today our first battle will be the A Block. So...it's off to the Pokemon Battlefield! Let's go!"
"You're first, Eve! Go!" Twilight chose Espeon as her first partner.
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon ran forward, standing in front of her trainer.
"Mmm...Croagunk." Aria decided on who would be first, sending the Toxic Mouth Pokemon out.
"Croa."
The opposing team had sent out a Vikavolt and a Heat-Rotom. Sonata was in the stands, cheering for her big sister by trying to be the loudest in the group. Her voice was almost drowned out by the crowd.
"OK! Battle start!" The announcer gave the order for the battle to finally begin.
"We'll get the first hit!" The earth pony exclaimed. "Vikavolt, use Thunderbolt!"
"Rotom, Ominous Wind!"
"Vika...!" Vikavolt's huge jaws generated 100,000 volts before shooting them out. Joining it was Rotom which had created a gust of repulsive wind, ready to throw it out.
"Eve! Use Shadow Ball!" Twilight chose to cancel out the incoming bolts of electricity and hopefully Ominous Wind too.
"Croagunk! Sucker Punch!"
"Croa...!" Croagunk got the first hit out of all of them. He took off from the ground at a high speed, before suddenly hitting Rotom with a darkened arm. He did it before Rotom could get a move in. "Gunk!"
"Ro...!"
"Es...Peon!" The Sun Pokemon lunged into the air, opening her mouth as a blob of shadows had emerged. She then released it, creating a bit of push back on herself as the sphere of shadows met with Thunderbolt. They ended up cancelling each other out.
"Rotom!" Rotom ended up using Ominous Wind anyway, sending it for Croagunk. Croagunk jumped back, but it was too late to avoid it as the wind had hurled the Toxic Mouth Pokemon. But, Croagunk recovered afterwards, sliding on the ground.
"We'll be fast too! Go and use Quick Attack, Eve!"
"Espeon!" Moving at lightning speeds, Espeon bolted towards Vikavolt while leaving white afterimages behind.
"Stop Espeon with Swift, Rotom!"
"Vikavolt, Air Slash on Croagunk, go!"
"Rotom!" Rotom started spinning, sending out star-shaped rays that moved just as fast as Espeon's Quick Attack, forcing her to be on her feet. The Sun Pokemon started evading the rays, trying to get close to Rotom.
Unfortunately, Rotom's spinning and constant usage of Swift forced Espeon to stay back as the stars ended up hitting her. The Psychic Type took damage, falling back as she tumbled on the ground.
"Esp...! Eon!"
"Eve!" Twilight gasped before Espeon recovered, standing upright and shrugging the damage off.
"Vikavolt!" As for Vikavolt, it had sent multiple cutting waves of wind at the Poison-Fighting-Type hoping for super-effective damage.
"Croagunk, Vacuum Wave!"
"Gunk!" Croagunk put both his arms together, sending a wave of pure vacuum that collided with the slashes of wind. Both attacks equalized each other out.
"Aria. Let's try something quickly." Twilight spoke to Aria, already having a plan. "Let's see if we can give them both status conditions. Paralysis or poison. Your Croagunk has Poison Touch as an ability, right?"
"No, but he's got Poison Jab. Why? What are you getting at?"
"Just watch. It'll be worth it. Eve! Jump in there and use Dazzling Gleam on Vikavolt!"
"Espeon!" Espeon then covered herself in a sphere of rainbows before jumping into the air, ready to unleash her rays.
"Thunderbolt, go!"
"Rotom, use Discharge!"
"Vikavolt!" All at once, Vikavolt and Rotom had used Electric-Type moves. One that can hit a single target while another that hits both targets. Thunderbolt was aimed for Espeon while Discharge went for her and Croagunk.
"Croagunk, dodge and use Poison Jab!"
"Croa!" Croagunk tried to avoid Discharge, but it was of no use. The move was too widespread as Croagunk had been shocked by 50,000 volts. "Croa!"
"Curses!" Aria stomped her hoof as Croagunk slid on the ground. But Twilight stuck to her plan as Espeon has yet to unleash Dazzling Gleam.
And because of that, Thunderbolt and Discharge had struck the Sun Pokemon. She felt 100,000 volts and 50,000 go through her body. But she endured it. Allowing for her ability to take motion.
Synchronize.
After allowing all those volts to hit her, Espeon had been paralyzed. But not before sending the effect back to Rotom Rotom's Discharge is what paralyzed her. Thunderbolt only added to the damage. Heat Rotom was now paralyzed, just as Twilight planned.
"Yes! Just as planned! Too bad we couldn't poison Vikavolt!" Twilight exclaimed.
"I can fix that! Poison Jab, again!"
"Croagunk!" Croagunk moved forward, going for Vikavolt while it and Eve have slowed down thanks to the Paralysis.
"Thats' why I have this move on Rotom! Rotom use Hex on Espeon!"
"Vikavolt! Vise Grip on Croagunk!"
Vikavolt got in front of Rotom as a shield. Its massive jaws glowed as it went straight for Croagunk, ready to snap and grab him. But Twilight wouldn't let that happen.
"I don't think so! Eve! Switch and unleash Dazzling Gleam go!"
"Espeon!" Espeon still had the aura of Dazzling Gleam active. After keeping it there for a while, she allowed the rays of rainbows to come flying out rapidly, forcing Vikavolt to stay away from Croagunk. Vikavolt went for Croagunk, only to be blocked by the incoming rainbow rays.
And at the same time, Rotom's eyes glowed purple and red. It then created a sphere of black energy with a red-eye in the middle. The eye then unleashed multiple dark blue rings of energy at the opponent.
Hex had passed through Dazzling Gleam, but it did not negate the attack. Vikavolt was struck by a barrage of Rainbows. And not without timing. Both Espeon and Vikavolt had taken damage. Major damage. They were both sent flying back after Hex and Dazzling Gleam struck. But once Rotom finished with that, along came Croagunk for Poison Jab, switching to Rotom instead of Vikavolt.
"Croagunk!" The Toxic Mouth Pokemon moved through the smoke, almost as if he was invisible. He had then jabbed his hand right into Rotom with poison.
"R-Ro!"
"Croa...Gunk!" Croagunk then followed up with a second Poison Jab, slapping Rotom away.
As for Espeon and Vikavolt, they both fell to the ground. And after taking that much damage from Discharge, Thunderbolt and now Evil Eye which was super-effective, Espeon, being the glass cannon that she was, had fainted.
But not before taking out Vikavolt with her powerful Dazzling Gleam grabbing Vikavolt's attention. Both of them had fainted.
"Both Espeon and Vikavolt are unable to battle!" The unicorn referee exclaimed.
"That was super risky, Sparkle." Aria looked at Twilight. "But thanks. Now you've made Croagunk faster than that thing because of this."
"No problem. It was worth the risk." Twilight stuck her tongue out as she picked Espeon off the ground. "Good job, Eve. You did your job. Now it's time for us to win."
"Esp."
"Rotom! Use Swift, quick!" The trainer said, starting to worry.
"Sucker Punch!"
"Croa!" Moving faster than Rotom could, Croagunk had vanished and reappeared beside the Plasma Pokemon, giving it a surprise punch to the side.
"R-Ro!" Rotom cried out before spinning, sending out the star-shaped rays. However, Croagunk was now the fastest Pokemon here as he could easily keep his distance from the rays.
"Easy! End it with Vacuum Wave!"
"Gunk!" After avoiding the rays, Croagunk jumped into the air, firing a giant wave of wind. The wind had blown away the stars of Swift, consuming Rotom afterwards.
Rotom spun around before crashing to the ground next to Vikavolt. And with that final hit coupled with Sucker Punch, the verdict had been made. Heat Rotom had fainted.
"Rotom..."
"Rotom is unable to battle! Which means the winners are Espeon and Croagunk!" said the referee. The first battle had been decided.
"And the exciting first battle of the A Block has been done and done!" The announcer said as everyone cheered.
"Phew." Twilight sighed. "Got through it. Was a bit nervous there. It's a good thing Eve's built to deal with status effects, no matter which ability she gets."
"Nice. But you had to be thinking ahead to come up with a plan like that." Aria turned to Espeon.
"Not really. Ahem." Twilight cleared her throat. "You see, Electric-Type Pokemon have the least weaknesses out of every type. Only weak to Ground. I figured that since most trainers would go for an Electric Pokemon due to their single weakness and incredible speed, having a Pokemon that has the ability to turn their abilities against them was an obvious strategy choice. Plus, it's not easy to paralyze an Electric-Type."
"Huh," Aria replied as Twilight's lengthy explanation. "Well, you know what you're doing so I can't complain. We're going to win this and maybe not make Adagio mad after this."
"Uh...sure. Not make Adagio mad." Twilight chuckled. After the battle, both teams showed respect afterwards. Twilight and Aria were wished good luck for the future battles.
"With Twilight on Aria's side, she can't lose! Go, sis! GO!" Sonata cheered, waving a flag with a poorly drawn Aria face on it.
The next matchup between other trainers could begin. And after that, it would be Barry and Applejack battling against another team. Applejack was trusting Barry despite the eccentric energy that he holds.
In the meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust still weren't taking kindly to each other. But, they would have to put up with each other for this tournament. Both of them wanted those Master Balls and they would have to work together no matter what.
The day was young for this Canterlot Tournament as it had just begun. Everyone here could have some chemistry that could bounce off each other. Good or bad. As the journey continues.
Equestria. Canterlot. Equestria League Stadium. Afternoon.
The Canterot Tag Battle Competition was off to a rousing start. With Ash, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Applejack, Rarity and Scootaloo in the fray. Each of them had their own tag partners.
Ash and Fluttershy were the closest, pairing up. Twilight was partnered up with Aria Blaze, much to Adagio's chagrin. Applejack got Barry who was a surprise member in this competition for Ash. Spike partnered with Scootaloo, Pinkie Pie got Sunrise Sprint even if he wasn't so fond of it while Rarity and Ember became partners.
But by far, without a doubt, the most interesting one was between Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust. They had been partnered together. And while Spitfire and Daylight might seem like a power duo, the atmosphere that these two pegasi create is too great to ignore.
Aside from that, right now, Barry and Applejack would be up next in this competition. No one knew how Barry does in a double battle considering he's always been seen as a solo act. Their opponents would be two humans for this. After this match would be Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust teaming up and a few would follow involving Ash and Fluttershy and then the day would end. But right now, they were just eating and waiting for the next match to begin.
"So are you gonna mega evolve your Sceptile for the next one? Then we'd win no problem." Barry said to Applejack.
"I'm only gonna use Sceptile's Mega Evolution when it counts." Applejack replied. "Can't go around using it all the time. Do you even have Mega Evolution?"
"Nah." Barry slumped on the seat, drinking some soda. "But it'd be cool if I did...At least Ash doesn't have Mega Evolution so I'm okay."
"I would've thought you of all people would've had Mega Evolution before us." Rarity turned to Ash.
"Hehe." Ash scratched the back of his hair.
"But those 10 Master Balls. Seems like a steal, doesn't it?" said Fluttershy. "If anyone gets ahold of that then...they can have any Pokemon they want!" She gasped.
"I could catch some of the Pokemon I struggled a bunch with!" Barry's eyes were replaced with stars as he was thinking of all the possible Pokemon he could obtain. "I could get myself a Lucario! Or a Charizard! A Noivern! Or even a Legendary Pokemon..."
"I wouldn't go that far, pal." Applejack shook her head. It seemed impossible for someone like Barry to own a Legendary Pokemon. As if it would be a ripple in the universe and natural order.
"Why not? She's got one." Barry pointed over at Pinkie Pie, referring to her Mew. "Well, Mythical but you know what I mean."
"He's got a point." Pinkie nodded in agreement with Barry. As they discussed each other while waiting for the next match to start, Team Rocket, who were getting more food for people and ponies to eat in the stands overheard them.
They moved to a more populated area so that Audino wouldn't hear that. Her hearing is powerful after all, only weakened by crowd noises and other things that distracted her.
"For once the hyperactive twerp is right," Jessie whispered to James and Meowth. "Those Master Balls can catch anyone. If only it could catch Pikachu..."
"But on the bright side, certain Legendary and Mythical Pokemon are up for grabs, aren't they?" James replied. "What was that one we couldn't grab because we were scared? Arceus?"
"All of 'em. None of those top dog Pokemon were easy to reach." Meowth shook his head.
"In any case, any Pokemon we want will be Team Rocket property with just a single throw. Goodbye to complex inventions and traps." Jessie giggled. "Just think of all the ones we could catch for the boss."
"And how he'll love all of 'em." Meowth started thinking about Giovanni and how each Legendary Pokemon, around 10, could benefit him. "Picture this."
If there's one big power outage all over, ruining the boss' night, that's alright! Zapdos or Thundurus can sort it out with just a tickle of a jolt. Or how about sometime in the winter? It's too chilly to walk around or even do anything. Moltres and Reshiram have that covered. Some sweet music? Meloetta's the one. Boy, he could even wish for anything if Jirachi's around. And after we've got all those Pokemon he'll say;
"Thanks to that Meowth and friends I've got all the Quality of Life Pokemon I need. I think I'll have Jirachi grant them any wish they want. That's right!"
"And the wish will make us stinking rich!" They said together before James realized something.
"Hold on. Reshiram was in there right? Don't those two already have Poke Balls? And is it a good idea to steal from a place like this?" James asked.
"Pssh. Princess Celestia broke both Reshiram and Zekrom's Poke Balls, making them wild. But you're right. This place is nothing but Twerp Worship. And he won't stop until he stops us." Jessie bit her thumb. "Plus Fluttershy's not gonna be happy with us..."
"On the bright side, that forest's coming back real nice." Meowth snapped his paws. "That weird Castle of Two Sisters too. Once Zecora gets her hut back, we'll have our groove back in no time!"
"Wobbuffet!"
Just then, an alert went off, indicating that Barry and Applejack were up next. "That's our cue!" Barry jumped off the seat. "Let's smash this one!"
"Barry looks like he'll be a hoofful. Will you be okay?" Twilight asked Applejack.
"I'll be fine." Applejack said before walking off with the eccentric Sinnoh Trainer. But despite this, Applejack found Barry amusing since he carries this stride with him. Plus a dash of absolute confidence and bravado.
They entered the stadium with their names being announced and standing before the trainers. Apple Bloom, Granny Smith and Big Mac were within the stands, obviously here to cheer their family member on. Not much for Barry though.
"It's time for the next round in our A Block." The referee said. "Both sides please take out your Pokemon."
"Okay! Roserade, let's go!" Barry spun his armour around a bit before unleashing Roserade onto the field.
"Roserade!"
"Hmm...Golett. You go." Instead of Sceptile, Applejack chose Golett as her first choice. Golett has yet to partake in a Pokemon Battle so this would be a great first opportunity.
"Golett!"
"Come out, Sigilyph!" A young girl sent her Sigilyph out.
"Go, Quilladin!" And a young boy sent out his Quilladin.
"Quilladin!"
"Roserade? I'm familiar with a Roserade so this won't be so bad." Applejack said, referring to Roseluck's Roserade and how she and Sceptile have a bit of a rivalry. Even though Sceptile has won each battle so far.
"Battle, start!"
"Watch this! Roserade, use Fury Cutter!" Barry went first, raising his arm and giving the command.
"Rose...rade!" Roserade spread his arms out, coating them in a light green aura. The Bouquet Pokemon then focused his attention on Sigilyph.
"Golett, Shadow Punch!"
"Gol!" Golett pulls back one of its arms as purple and black energy appears around it and forms into its arm. Golett then brings its fist forward and released a black fist in the shape of Golett's fist.
"Quilladin, use Needle Arm!"
"Sigilyph, stop them with Air Cutter.
"Quil!" The Spiny Armor Pokemon had summoned thorns around its arms, swinging them wildly towards Roserade. Both Grass-Types ended up clashing with their physical moves.
They pushed each other back before clashing Fury Cutter and Needle Arm again as if they were using swords. As for Sigilyph, it had sent out razor-like wind, blocking Golett's Shadow Punch from getting close. Golett then pulled its shadow arms away afterwards as Roserade and Quilladin came to a stalemate.
"No damage yet, but that's fine!" Barry flicked his hair a bit. "Just watch us turn things around, right Applejack?"
"Guess so. Don't' know what to expect anyway." She replied as the young boy and girl looked at each other, thinking of a way to throw off their opponents.
"See, look at that!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Golett's new to this and it's going great! Applejack's good at that stuff, ain't she?!"
"She sure is." Ash agreed. "Golett's also been working hard to live up to Applejack's expectations when a day like this would come. Talk about great timing."
"Pikachu."
"Roserade! Let's try that Counter Shield trick that Ash uses! Petal Blizzard!"
"Rose...Rade-Rade-Rade!" Just then, Roserade got on his back, summoning a violent petal blizzard from his body as he had used the Counter Shield technique. Soon, there was a frenzy of sharp leaves spiralling everywhere.
"You know the Counter Shield too?!" Applejack pulled back.
"Took me 5 years and just last month to master it but it was worth the effort! I'm unstoppable with this thing!" Barry chuckled. "Don't get hit Applejack, it doesn't work well in double battles."
"Could've told me that first...Golett! Careful, ya hear?!"
"Gol-Gol!"
"Everyone's really taken your Counter Shield and using it to their advantage, huh, Ash?" Twilight spoke to Ash.
"Yeah. But really, it's Dawn who's to thank for this. If she never showed me that contest move, I would've never used it on Fantina and worked on it later."
"Pssh. Watch this." The young boy adjusted his glasses before smirking. "Sigilyph, Gravity!"
"Si...Gil!" Just to rain on Barry's parade, Sigilyph cast a powerful gravity field that went downwards. The field started from a high place, overlaying over Roserade's sharp leaves and intensifying the gravity. The leaves had been pushed down, hitting Roserade repeatedly.
"R-Rose!" Roserade cried out after being hit by her own leaves.
"Roserade!" Barry gasped as Golett got on its knees after this gravitational increase. The battlefield was now tailored to Sigilyph's and Quilladin's favour since they were unaffected by the gravitational field.
"Golett! You doing okay?!" Applejack asked, worried that Golett might be feeling weighed down by this heavy gravity pressure.
"G-Golett!" But, Golett could manage. Even if it wasn't a Flying-Type Pokemon, the pressure of gravity could still be felt. As well as for Roserade. The Automaton Pokemon stood firmly even under this pressure.
"Hm-hm-hm." The boy's glasses glistened. "We've heard about the Counter Shield and how it was popular here. So, I had my Sigilyph learn Gravity for this situation."
"He's right," Ash spoke as his friends faced him. "The Counter Shield works since it's like one big tower. All it does is go up in every direction. Gravity's the perfect way to counter it."
"Pika..."
"Yikes." Twilight grimaced. "There's a move for every scenario, isn't there?"
"Espeon."
"Now, Sigilyph, Psybeam on Roserade!"
"Go, Quilladin! Grass Knot on Golett!"
"Quilla!" Quilladin, usually slow, summoned vines from the ground as they swapped around Golett's leg. It had a better overall speed now thanks to the gravitational field that was only focused on Roserade and Golett.
Golett had then been slapped by the vines of Grass Knot repeatedly, taking super-effective damage while rolling on the ground while a beam of Psychic energy came out of Sigilyph.
"Dodge, dodge, dodge, Roserade! Then counter with Poison Jab!"
"R-Rose...!" But it was too late for that. The gravity field was too much for Roserade as he had been struck by Psybeam, taking super-effective damage as he rolled on the ground. He got up afterwards, holding his head.
"This victory's ours! A double attack on Roserade! Psybeam!"
"Quilladin, Grass Knot!"
Both opposing Pokemon went for Roserade, aiming to take him out with simultaneous attacks. Roserade growled ready to take the attacks head-on as he was not showing any fear.
"That won't stop us! Roserade, use-"
"Golett, jump in and use Shadow Punch!" Applejack suddenly interrupted Barry.
"Gol!" Golett got in front of Roserade, acting as his shield. The Automaton Pokemon put its hands out, summoning two shadows out of them. One shadow hand punched the beam of Psychic energy while the other grabbed Quilladin's vines. Golett then used the shadow hands to toss them aside.
"Huh?" Barry froze for a second.
"Rose?"
"Barry. Your Pokemon's obviously stronger than mine right now. I can't do too much, so I'll be your shield." Applejack said. "Go for it!"
"Oh...Nice, nice!" Barry liked Applejacks' approach as he rubbed his hands together. "Petal Blizzard!"
"You're still slower than us with that field! Sigilyph! Heat Wave!"
"Get in there and protect Roserade, Golett! Shadow Punch!"
"Gol!" Golett then jumped in, being Roserade's shield as he took the scorching flames, receiving little damage thanks to his Ground-Typing.
"Go...lett-lett!" Golett, after powering through Heat Wave, unleashed a flurry of Shadow Punches that went back and forth of hitting Sigilyph. The Avianoid finally took some major damage as it was knocked back.
"Quilladin! Gyro Ball and make sure to stay away from the field!"
"Ladin!" Quilladin then came into the fray, spinning its body around and utilizing its slower speed for greater power. Golett, after hitting Sigilyph, was then whacked by Quilladin's spin getting knocked back. Quilladin made sure to Golett while staying away from the field. Wouldn't want to be pressured by intense gravity as well.
"Gol!" But, since it was a Ground-Type, Golett still took little damage. But it was starting to feel the effects of this battle taking a toll on it. Golett could only act as a body shield for so long. Plus, the gravity was just torturing right now.
"Rose!" Roserade then used Petal Blizzard as it had met with Qulladin's while it was still spinning. The blizzard picked his fellow Grass-Type up from the ground, spiralling Quilladin around.
"Q-Quil!"
Quilladin fell to the ground afterwards, feeling a bit dizzy before recovering. Neither side was giving an inch. Even with this gravitational field forcing Roserade and Golett to feel slower.
"Hold on." Applejack then narrowed her eyes, noticing the scenario and how she could use it. Sigilyph had the advantage with its Flying-Type status. However, if brought towards the gravitational field, that could change. The opposing Pokemon were avoiding the field after all. "I got it!"
"Got what?" Barry asked as Applejack whispered into his ear. After hearing what she had hatched, Barry nodded in agreement. This plan sounded good. "Wow! That's simple yet useful!"
"Golett! Shadow Punch!"
"Gol!" Instead of jumping ahead, Golett had put its arms, summoning a shadow arm that raced after Sigilyph. The goal was to grab the Avianoid Pokemon.
"I think not! Air Cutter!"
"Quilladin, stop them with Needle Arm!"
"Roserade! Use your thorns!" Barry ordered. Applejack's plan had been revealed. She was the one who taught Roseluck that Roserade had hidden thorns within the bouquet, able to be used at any time. And now was a good time as Barry had rarely thought about that before.
"Roserade!" Out of Roserade's flower hands, two thorns came flying out, wrapping around Quilladin's arm. Before Quilladin could even do anything, it had been restrained by Roserade's thorns, allowing Golett to continue.
Shadow Punch clashed with Air Cutter with no interruptions. Only for Golett to utilize the second shadow arm, sending it forward. Sigilyph and the boy gasped as the Avianoid Pokemon had been grabbed by it, too focused on the first arm.
"Sigil!?"
"Come here!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Golett!" Golett then forced Sigilyph towards its location by using Shadow Punch to drag it over. Sigilyph was powerless to stop this drag as super-effective energy was also going through its body. Quilladin was then tossed aside by the thorns as it was too late to save Sigilyph.
Now Sigilyph had been affected by Gravity. And it was made worse for the Avianoid Pokemon since Gravity is most useful on Flying-Types and allows Ground-Type moves to hit. Not a good sign for Sigilyph.
"Hehe. Your ours now, pal." Barry and Applejack gave synchronized grins along with Roserade, gazing at Sigilyph with malicious intent.
"S-Sigil...!" A sweatdrop came to Sigilyph as all at once, Barry and Applejack made the order.
"Poison Jab!"
"Shadow Punch!"
"Rose...!" Roserade and Golett simultaneously pulled their arms back, ready to slug Sigilyph like there was no tomorrow.
"Sigilyph! Uh-uh-uh! The young boy didn't anticipate something like this happening at this moment as he was struggling to find a move to counter this.
Too late to find out which move would work as Sigilyph was met with a double smack to the face by Shadow Punch and Poison Jab. With two heavy hits, the Avianoid Pokemon was sent flying in Quilladin's direction.
"Catch Sigilyph, Quilladin!"
"Quil!?" Quilladin caught Sigilyph. Barely. It slid on the ground, trying to maintain the weight.
"Game over! Petal Blizzard!"
"Rose...Rade!" Roserade then unleashed one last Petal Blizzard while Quilladin was holding onto its partner. The Spiny Armor Pokemon gasped, witnessing a violent blizzard of pink petals coming its way.
And just like that, they had both been struck by the petals, spiralling in the air as everyone looked up. Afterwards, both fell to the ground, cashing. They had fainted.
"Quilladin and Sigilyph are unable to battle! Thus the victors are Roserade and Golett!"
"Haha! I got a bit worried there!" Barry chuckled, putting his hands on his waist. "Awesome job, AJ! Those thorns came in handy, didn't they?"
"Sure did. I know a good friend of mine who knows how to use 'em!" Applejack and Barry gave each other a high-hoof-five in respect.
"That's me!" Within the crowd, Roseluck could be heard as Applejack's family celebrated her victory in the A Block. And so did her friends.
"Gravity's always been a problem for everypony, but good thing there's a way around it." Twilight nodded. "Forcing the opponent to taste its own Gravity is clever!"
"Guess I don't need to find a way to stop the counter to my Counter Shield after watching those two." Ash approved of this, getting inspired from this battle.
"Pikachu."
"Now it's us." Rainbow Dash looked at Lightning Dust who slumped on a nearby seat. It would now be their time to battle against the next trainers. Their synergy compared to everyone else was not the best. Applejack and Barry gave respect to their opposing trainers before walking off.
Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust soon made their way to the field. At the same time, Celestia used her telepathy spell to contact Luna from far away.
"Luna. Where are you? You missed out on registering for the Tag Battle Competition. You can still come by and watch it."
"Sorry. Occupied. There are apparently rare Pokemon sighted ever since Ghetsis changed most of the gateways. I'll be home by tonight and raise the moon."
"Okay. See you soon."
It was time for this battle to commence and a few others to end the first day off. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust up against two unicorns. They looked to be related as one seemed to be a younger version of the other.
"I'm feeling pumped for this. I know who I'll start with first." Rainbow Dash spoke with a smirk before holding out her Poke Ball, throwing it with her feather. "Let's do this Mienfoo!"
"Mien...Foo!" After emerging, Mienfoo let out her battle cry to assert dominance as always.
"Go, Incineroar!" Lightning Dust revealed her Pokemon in the form of the Heel Pokemon Torracat.
"Incineroar!" But Incineroar let out a greater roar than MIenfoo, startling her. Mienfoo covered her ears afterwards.
"M-Mien...?!"
"Come out, Simipour!" The opposing trainers sent out their Pokemon next.
"You too, Aromatisse!"
"Simipour!"
"Aromatisse!"
"Get ready, Lightning. This could be tough," said Rainbow Dash after observing the opposition. One Water-Type to deal with Incineroar and a Fairy-Type to handle Mienfoo. These were great counters.
"With Mienfoo, tough is right." LIghtning Dust snapped back.
"Incineroar's not great in this either, ya know." Rainbow turned to Lightning. "Not with Simipour out."
"Yikes. Fairy and Water." Spike winced. "With those two Pokemon out, this'll be hard to watch. And long too."
"And it doesn't help those two are partners." Twilight sighed, shaking her head. But Ash stayed optimistic about this. He had seen this scenario before. WIth him and Paul.
"As if I didn't have anything planned for Water-Types." Lightning smirked before looking ahead. "Just watch me."
"Battle Start!"
"Our time to shine! Aromatisse, Trick Room!"
"Aroma!" Aromatisse put her hands out, summoning a giant purple box that encased everyone within it. By doing so, Aromatisse had twisted the dimensions, making slower Pokemon faster. And Aromatisse was certainly a slow Pokemon so this helped in her favour.
"Trick Room, huh? Not bad. But we can work around it!" Rainbow Dash stayed confident as always. "Let's smack that Simipour silly! Use Force Palm!"
"Mien...Foo!" Mienfoo bolted off the ground, covering her paws in an orange light as she lunged towards Simipour.
"Simipour, Aqua Tail!"
"Simipour!" Simipour covered his tail in a veil of water before turning around. Aqua Tail had clashed with Force Palm as the Martial Arts Pokemon jumped back, going for another hit.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo then started clashing with Simipour's tail, trying to hit the rest of the Geyser Pokemon. But they reached a stalemate, separating from each other.
"Not yet." Rainbow Dash bit her hoof. "Let's try Acrobatics then!"
"I'll show you how to hit your mark, Dash. Darkest Lariat!"
"In...cine!" Incineroar then took off from the ground, almost blowing Mienfoo away with the shockwave it made. The Heel Pokemon's hands then become covered in yellow-orange fire. It then started spinning rapidly while holding out its hands, going for Simipour.
"Mien? Mienfoo!" Mienfoo went ahead anyway, using Acrobatics as she lunged through the air.
"Aromatisse, Moonblast!"
"Simipour, use Brick Break!"
"Simi!" Simipour switched over to Incineroar instead of Minefoo. He raised his arm, covering his hand with an orange colour as he was ready to give the Heel Pokemon a nice and hard bonk to the head.
"Aroma...!" Aromatisse went before everyone else, unleashing a moon-shaped blast that came from the power of the moon itself towards Mienfoo. The Martial Arts Pokemon wasn't any faster with Acrobatics, unfortunately. But she could still cancel it out and try and move in for an attack. If she could keep up with this speed.
"Foo!" And she could do that. Mienfoo kicked the incoming sphere of Fairy magic, cancelling it out before sliding on the ground. She then moved in for another Acrobatics, hoping to strike before Aromatisse before another Moonblast came along.
"Roar!" With Brick Break incoming, Incineroar could handle a super-effective hit that was coming his way either way. While he was slower thanks to Trick Room, he was still a durable Pokemon. And quick acting one too. Incineroar had put his hand out, grabbing Simipour's hand and promptly pausing Brick Break.
"Simi?!" Simipour gasped before being met with a muscular arm to the neck. "Pour!"
"Incineroar!" After stopping Brick Break, Incineroar continued Darkest Lariat, spinning around with Simipour along for the right. There was now a red and blue whirlwind.
"Throw Simipour at Aromatisse!"
"In...cine!" Incineroar had then sped up his spinning before aiming for Aromatisse. The Heel Pokemon released Darkest Lariat, sending Simipour towards his partner.
"Aro!" Aromatisse was about to use another Moonblast, summoning a second sphere as Mienfoo was close to her. She would be quicker if Trick Room wasn't active, but right now, she moved a mediocre pace more than anything.
But as Mienfoo got close, she and Aromatisse looked to the side, noticing Simipour approaching. Mien!" Mienfoo gasped as she quickly zoomed back with the last of Acrobatics. And due to this last-second dodge, she managed to avoid the incoming Simipour.
But not Aromatisse. She had been hit by her partner at full force considering how hard Incineroar threw him. A force like that from such a powerful Pokemon was to be expected as they went flying.
"Nice." Lightning Dust nodded.
"Watch it! You almost hit Mienfoo!"
"Can't hold back at all, Rainbow. If you're not giving it your all, you can't win." Lightning replied. "Now, Incineroar, Flare Blitz!"
"In!" Incineroar then covered himself in an aura of fire before charging right towards Aromatisse and Simipour. They were both still together after Incineroar launched them.
"Aroma?!"
"I got it! Simipour, Protect!" The stallion acted quickly on his feet.
"Pour!" Simipour stood in front of Aromatisse, putting up a green shield. Just in the nick of time and thanks to Trick Room. Incineroar had crashed into the shield, dealing no damage in the process as he slid back.
"You can't protect twice! Again! And then use Thunder Punch!"
"Roar!" After sliding back, Incineroar went for both of them while they were still together.
"Scatter, quick!" The young filly cried out. Simipour and Aromatisse were already on it as they went in separate directions. Just in time for Incineroar to miss his next attack.
"Not yet! Chase them down!"
"Incine!" Incineroar then changed directions with the aura of fire still around them as he would not let up for a second. Trick Room was delaying his speed, however. He then switched into Thunder Punch, ready to paralyze and deal super-effective damage as well.
"Too slow for us! Aromatisse, Substitute!"
"Aromatisse!" Aromatisse had stood there, seemingly allowing Incineroar to hit her. But in truth, she had vanished as Incineroar ended up hitting a clone.
"Roar?"
"Aqua Tail!"
"Simi!" Simipour then appeared in front of Incineroar after his attack hit a fake. With swift movements, he slapped the Heel Pokemon in the face with water, knocking Incineroar to the side.
"I-In!" Incineroar stuttered before rolling on the ground. He managed to recover swiftly.
"No hit yet! Darn it!" Lighting stomped her hoof.
"Hold on, Lightning!" Rainbow Dash paused her. "Double Battles aren't as straightforward as Single Battles. Incineroar can't do it alone."
"And I don't see you giving any new commands to your Mienfoo, Rainbow. Not really helping out much, are you?"
"This is Trick Room. Which means every slow Pokemon is fast and every fast Pokemon is slow." Rainbow Dash observed. "Incineroar's the slowest right now. Mienfoo and Simipour are tied. And that Aromatisse will beat us in speed without any problems."
"I know that. Duh. That's why I know how to beat Trick Room. If they wanna be faster, then I'll just have to put the pressure on until there's not enough time for them to relax."
"I guess that works..." Rainbow Dash thought about it for a second. Putting pressure on a fast Pokemon does end up resulting in something good. "Let's just try and combine Incineroar and Mienfoo together, or this could take forever."
"After how you stole my leader spot from me that one time. Forget it." Lightning retorted.
"You're still mad about that?!"
"Of course I am! And I'm not about to let you ruin this for me too! Cross Chop, Incineroar!"
"I didn't mean to- ugh, never mind!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "Mienfoo, Fury Swipes!"
"Incine!" Incineroar crossed his arms together before rushing in towards Simipour.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo revealed her hidden claws before dashing alongside Incineroar.
"Simipour, stop them with Water Pledge!"
"Simi...!" Simipour raised his hand before slamming it onto the ground. Giant pillars of water started emerging from the ground rapidly. They also started summoning rain.
"Aromatisse, Psyshock all around Water Pledge!"
"Roma! Roma!" Aromatisse then summoned multiple thick masses of light that raced alongside the pillars of water.
"Foo!" Mienfoo swiped at the masses of light, trying to push them back. But it was no use. The combination of Water Pledge moving everywhere on the ground made it difficult as the Martial Arts Pokemon had been overwhelmed. The same went for Incineroar.
While he did manage to cut through some of the water pillars, he couldn't stop them all. The Psyshock did nothing to him but that didn't matter anyway. It did do something to Mienfoo however as both Pokemon were knocked back by this move combination.
"How do you like our move combination? My sister and I worked hard to make it work." The stallion said.
"Lucky that we were chosen as partners, right big bro?"
"If I can't land a single hit, how am I gonna reach Spitfire?!" Lightning Dust growled.
"I told you! We need to work together! I know you're bitter about that whole leader thing but get over it already! At least for this!"
"This is what we were afraid of, weren't we? Grudges on the battlefield lead to such unpleasant circumstances." Rarity shook her head along with Pinkie Pie.
"Lightning's trying to do her own thing. And she looks good doing it." Twilight said. "But two against one isn't enough. Rainbow Dash and her can't' seem to find a good opening yet."
"Look. Sorry, okay?! But you totally wasted your spot after doing something so dangerous like that. You put my friends in danger." Rainbow Dash berated her. "And you're gonna lose this too by putting my friend and yours off-balance as well."
"Tch! I'll show you that I need just my Pokemon for this." But Lightning Dust wasn't willing to cooperate that much.
"2 on 1 won't work if both our opponents are just as good and smart. Just listen to me for a bit okay?" Rainbow Dash pleaded as Lightning Dust pouted, looking over at her fellow pegasus. She then started whispering a plan.
"Fine...What is it?"
"Okay." She whispered. "Incineroar can bypass Fairy-Type attacks thanks to being Fire and even Aromatisse's Psyshock for being Dark. Going for Simipour's a bad idea. Let Mienfoo handle him since she's got equal speed as him. Just swap and we should be good."
"I guess that works. Fine, we'll go with that one." Lightning chose to listen this time.
"Okay. We're done scheming! Let's go! Force Palm!"
"Incineroar, Thunder Punch!"
"Incineroar!" Incineroar bellowed before covering his hands in electricity.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo then jumped over Incineroar with a stylish frontflip, covering her hand in energy as she went straight for Simipour. After being jumped over, Incineroar ran towards Aromatisse. However, they would trick them by seemingly going for their disadvantages.
While they focused on certain Pokemon, everyone saw Mienfoo go after Aromatisse while Incineroar dashed at Simipour, seemingly a bad idea from a first glance. But all according to plan.
"Simipour, Brick Break!"
"Aromatisse, Moonblast!"
"Simipour!" Simipour ran at Incineroar with his hand also glowing, ready for a hard punch. Aromatisse formed a sphere of magic formed by the moon.
And that's when they switched. Incineroar and Mienfoo swapped with Mienfoo sliding under the Heel Pokemon. She slid towards Simipour, jumping off the ground and rolling through the air.
"Mien...Foo!" Mienfoo then ended up intercepting SImipour, striking his hand with her paws as Simipour gasped, not expecting Mienfoo to be the one he would interact with.
"Simi?!"
"Foo!" After her FIghting-Type move clashed with his Fighting-Type move, Mienfoo then followed up with her other paw, hitting Simipour's face with it."
"Pour!" Simipour cried out after being struck that hard. Mienfoo then kicked him away as Incineroar appeared in front of Aromatisse.
"Tisse?!" In the spur of the moment and with shock, Aromatisse unleashed Moonblast. But upon contact, Incineroar and his muscular build powered through it with neutral damage. After powering through it, he grabbed Aromatisse's face, showering it with electricity. "Aroma!"
"Incine!" Incineroar roared before then striking Aromatisse's stomach while she was being held. He instantly paralyzed her before tossing her into the air.
"A-Aroma!"
"Let's not waste any time! Acrobatics on Aromatisse!!" Rainbow Dash took Lightning Dust's advice on putting the pressure on. Something that Rainbow Dash was already good at doing.
"Mien!" Mienfoo then dashed ahead with Acrobatics. But she wasn't going for Simipour. Aromatisse was her target.
"Protect Aromatisse, Simipour!"
"P-Pour!" Simipour got up before seeing Mienfoo head towards Aromatisse. He was ready to protect her as a shield, utilizing the natural jumping strength of a monkey.
"Jump on Incineroar!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo used Incineroar as a platform for Acrobatics. She jumped on his head, gaining a higher height.
"If anyone's knocking a Pokemon out it's me! Cross Chop!"
"Roar!" Incineroar followed after Mienfoo, using Cross Chop to move through the air. And with Cross Chop, he ended up hitting Mienfoo along the way, right on the back.
"M-Mien!"
"Ah! Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash gasped, seeing Mienfoo take a hit while falling. She crashed onto the ground as Incieroar reached Simipour before he could reach Aromatisse.
"S-Simi?!" Simipour wailed before being struck in the stomach by Cross Chop. His always closed eyes didn't open. But if they did, they would right now as Simipour also fell out of the sky. And there was no one to catch Aromatisse either.
"Let's finish this with one Thunder Punch!"
"Incineroar!" Incineroar then sealed the deal by hitting Aromatisse while she was in the air with Thunder Punch. The Fragrance Pokemon crashed onto the ground alongside Simipour and even Mienfoo.
The Heel Pokemon then made a powerful landing with his eyes glowing within the smoke. The trainers gasped, wondering the state of their partners. Unfortunately, after such heavy hits from a powerful Pokemon, they had fainted. Along with Mienfoo.
"Simipour..."
"Mienfoo..."
"Aromatisse..."
"Simipour, Mienfoo and Aromatisse are all unable to battle! Which means the victor is Incineroar and still Mienfoo!" It had been decided.
"What was that for?!" Rainbow Dash snapped at Lightning Dust. "Incineroar took out Mienfoo!"
"All's fair in love and war. Mienfoo used Incineroar as a platform, didn't she?" Lightning smirked.
"Yeah but that was a way to get higher! She wasn't trying to hurt Incineroar!"
"Whatever. We won. That's that. Your plan wasn't so bad, even if I got the last hits in." She then gave a cocky grin, rubbing Rainbow Dash the wrong way.
"Well, they won. Not by flying colours, sadly." Fluttershy said.
"Not the best example of teamwork. But that one instance seemed well played." Rarity replied. "Will they be alright through it all."
"Hah. That's just an easy win staring us in the face." Barry grinned. "If we face them that is."
"It worked today, not sure about tomorrow." Twilight scrunched her face. "Rarity. You and Ember are batting tomorrow too, aren't you? Same as you. Spike. Pinkie."
"Yeah, we haven't had our turns yet. But when we'll do, we'll make it look good." Spike declared.
"Axew!"
"We're up soon, Fluttershy. Ready to go over what we learned at the Canterlot Gardens." Ash looked at Fluttershy.
"I sure am!"
"Audino!"
"From now on, stay out of my face." said Lightning Dust as Mienfoo was being held by Rainbow Dash.
"Get off it! We work as a team whether you like it or not! That's why you came here, didn't you? To team up with someone here."
"Mienfoo!"
"Just wish it wasn't you." She scoffed before recalling Incineroar. Incineroar gave Mienfoo a grin, irritating the Martial Arts Pokemon.
"Mien...!"
An unlikely team indeed. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust managed to pull off an impressive victory. Not to mention the victories of Barry and Applejack which were very impressive. The contestants are shortening with still so much time left for this as many have yet to battle. Only one team is coming out on top as the journey continues.
The Canterlot Tag Battle Competition was closing to an end with the remaining battles finishing off. Soon, Ash and Fluttershy would have to go up next along with a few others and that would be the first day over.
Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust won theirs but with lacklustre teamwork. But they pulled through either way. The prize for the 10 Master Balls is still on the line. A worthy and easily desirable prize.
After the few battles had ended, it was time for Ash and Fluttershy to make their move. And tomorrow, Spike and Scootaloo would have their turn. Trainers that had already battled were having their Pokemon healed up by a nearby Nurse Joy joined by Nurse Redheart.
In the meanwhile, Team Rocket was thinking about how to grab the 10 Master Balls. It would be a tough object to grab considering the massive population and important figures around. But 10 Master Balls are irresistible.
"Time for us to make our move." Ash sat up. "Let's do this, Fluttershy."
"Okay," Fluttershy replied. "We'll do our best. But uh, what are you gonna do with those Master Balls, Ash?"
"Hm? Ah, nothing really. I just entered it for fun. Might keep them over at my home." Ash shrugged.
"You won't use them?!" Rarity sat up, almost choking on her food. "Are you insane?!"
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie also sat up with shock, roaring in the process. "Those are Master Balls!" Master Balls! I mean, wouldn't the Future Pokemon Master need those!"
"Yeah, but Master Balls make things too easy. Trying to catch a Pokemon makes it fun, ya know." Ash instantly explained why he wouldn't want a Master Ball.
"Fair enough." Rarity and the others said as they immediately went off to watch Ash and Fluttershy's match take place. Rainbow Dash was currently sitting on a couch, taking a deep breath after the battle she had. Not her best performance.
She would have to cooperate with Lightning Dust all the way through until the victor of this Tag Battle Tournament can even come to an end. Her next Pokemon would also have to work well with Lightning's next Pokemon. Mienfoo and Incineroar didn't exactly get off to a good start as they show zero fondness towards each other.
Out on the field, Ash and Twilight faced their opponents. An earth pony and a human wearing a funny-looking Snorlax hat. Instantly, they were told to send out their first Pokemon for today.
"Pikachu! I choose you!" Ash went with his tried and true partner first.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, ready to go.
"Discord would be so proud of you when he finds out about this. Maybe." Fluttershy held a Poke Ball, sending Krookodile out of it.
"Krookodile!"
The opposing trainers sent out their Pokemon next. An Armaldo and a Shiftry. Each Pokemon was out as very heavy cheers filled the atmosphere. More than usual. This was because Ash, who was a big fan favourite amongst many was present here, battling.
"Go, Ash! Go!" Some ponies acting as cheerleaders exclaimed, holding signs that either had Ash and Pikachu's names or faces on them. Pikachu felt embarrassed, putting his hand on the back of his head. He still wasn't used to such praise.
"Pika-Pika."
"You're a crowd favourite, Ash. Best not disappoint I guess," said Fluttershy.
"We're not gonna disappoint, Fluttershy," Ash replied. "Let's make us and our Pokemon crowd favourites, okay?"
"Okay!" She nodded, feeling Ash's enthusiasm and confidence rub off on her as she faced forward.
"Battle Start!"
"Check out our speed! Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"
"Pika!" Pikachu went first, taking off from the ground and running at speeds so fast, he could be seen as lightning. Fitting as he was also leaving behind white afterimages. "Pika-Pika-Pika!"
"Krookodile, use Shadow Claw!"
"Krooko!" Krookodie's claws had extended, receiving a shadowy and mysterious exterior as he ran with Pikachu. Not as fast as him when he's using Quick Attack, of course.
"Shiftry! Stop them with Knock Off!"
"Go and use Crush Claw, Armaldo!"
"Shift!" Shiftry summoned a dark aura around its hands, swinging them towards Pikachu. Pikachu utilized the speed of Quick Attack to avoid the incoming Crush Claw by zooming to the side. "Try?!"
"Pika!" Pikachu then got the first hit off, striking Shiftry's face with Quick Attack and evading Knock Off. The Grass-Dark-Type had been staggered and knocked back a bit before Pikachu zoomed off.
Shiftry then held its head before chasing after Pikachu, not finishing with Knock Off. It wanted one good hit in as Pikachu stood firm after zooming backwards.
"Armaldo!" Armaldo and Krookodile had a bit of claw-to-claw action with Shadow Claw and Crush Claw. One collision and sparks were already flying. But, they were equal in strength, thus neither could overpower the other. Thus, they separated afterwards.
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu hardened his tail once Shiftry came after him. He had clashed Iron Tail with Knock Off, creating a small collision between them. Pikachu had forced Shiftry to back away, preventing the Wicked Pokemon from landing a proper hit.
"Shiftry, use Seed Bomb!"
"Try! Try!" Shiftry had then sent a frenzy of hard-shelled seeds into the air. The seeds then started raining as if someone was bombing the arena. And someone was.
"Pika!" Pikachu and Krookodile started evading the incoming Seed Bombs as constant grass explosions emerged after every hit. Thanks to Pikachu's quick speed, he could evade a lot of them. But the explosions were harder to pass by.
Krookodile had been struck by some of the incoming Seed Bombs, taking super-effective damage. He put his hands up while siding back. Krookodile could manage despite how abundant these raining Seed Bombs were.
"Krookodile!" Krookodile then grabbed Pikachu, pulling him back as a Seed Bomb almost landed in front of him. Krookodile had just saved Pikachu from that instance as the Mouse Pokemon thanked him.
"PIka-Pika."
"Dile."
"See Ash? I took your advice on making Seed Bomb act like Draco Meteor. Great, right?" The Shiftry Trainer spoke to Ash.
"Yeah. You really went and made it your own. Proud of you." Ash nodded in approval.
"Hear that?!" The trainer squeed with excitement, looking at his partner with equal excitement. "Ash is proud of me!"
"But don't get distracted! Makeshift Volt Tackle!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu then jumped into the air, combining the speed of Quick Attack and the power of Thunderbolt to make a temporary Volt Tackle. By shooting Thunderbolt into the air as it came down, engulfing the mouse Pokemon, Pikachu moved at lightning speeds with a massive lightning aura. "Pika-Pika-PIka-Pika!"
He caught Shiftry off guard, smashing into it with the full force of the attack."Shif!" The Trainers then got back into focus after their little geek out.
"Okay, Armaldo! Use Sunny Day!"
"Armal...!" The Plate Pokemon spread its arms out, manipulating the skies and sun itself. After doing so, Armaldo had intensified the sun, granting a beautiful glow that beamed across Canterlot and Equestria.
"Sunny Day? Then that means..." Ash squinted his eyes over at Shiftry. His assumption was about to come true.
"Solar Beam!"
"Shif...try!" With the power of Sunny Day, Solar Beam was instant. Shiftry had unleashed a massive green beam packed with solar energy. No time for charging up as it went straight for Krookodile.
"Krook?!"
"Pikachu! Block it with Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Pikachu hopped in front of Krookodile, using the hardness of Iron Tail to block the incoming Solar Beam. Steel's resistance to Grass helped in this, however, the force of Solar Beam was not to be scoffed at. Pikachu did manage to block it as the beam blew up in front of him. However, he took some chip damage from that, sliding back as his tail had trembled a bit. "Pi-Pika!"
"Thanks, Pikachu!" Fluttershy thanked as Pikachu gave a thumbs up.
"Pika-Pika!"
"They're strong. Good." Ash grinned. "That's what I like. Say, Fluttershy. Why don't we try our new trick on them?"
"Right now? Okay. Sounds good to me." The pegasus replied with a gentle nod.
"Pikachu! Get on Krookodile's head and use Thunderbolt!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu suddenly jumped behind Krookodile, taking a ride. He had latched onto the back of Krookodile's head with a cheeky grin. Afterwards, the Mouse Pokemon had summoned 100,000 volts of electricity from his body.
And obviously, this did not affect Krookodile since he was a Ground-Type. Ash and Fluttershy's little trick had been revealed as a gigantic and fierce electric aura surrounded Krookodile.
"What the?!" The opposing trainers gasped as everyone looked in awe.
"Get a load of this!" Ash exclaimed, raising his arm. "The new trick we came up with just today! With Krookodile's immunity and Pikachu's electricity, we've made a powerful armour!"
"We sure have. It wasn't difficult to perform either. Since Krookodile's immune to Electric-Types, no one got hurt." Fluttershy explained. "It's the easiest plan we've ever come up with."
"Yeah. It's just like my other strategy. The Thunder Armor. But we call this one the Electricifying Krookodile!" Ash snapped his fingers. "Krookodile's not golden so it looks kinda different."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Krookodile!"
"Now, let's show them how invincible you two are! Pikachu, keep powering Krookodile up!"
"Krookodile, go and use Brutal Swing!"
"Krooko!" Now having an aura of electricity as his shield, Krookodile was a walking electrical weapon. Aside from Pikachu. Anyone that gets close to him is prone to a shocking. Especially the opponents in front of him.
"D-Do we get close?!" The earth pony that owned Armaldo said. It didn't seem safe to get into close-quarters combat with Krookodile considering the constant aura of electricity around his body.
"Not if we stay back! Solar Beam, again!"
"Shif...!" Shiftry drew the power of the sun in, instantly charging Solar Beam in a flash thanks to Sunny Day. But Krookodile didn't seem worried at all.
"Counter with Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu added some extra electricity. He charged up 100,000 volts, merging it with the electricity that was already around Krookodile, making it 200,000 volts.
Out of Krookodile's body, a burst of electricity then shot out, intercepting Solar Beam once it came out. The 200,000 volts were greater than the average Thunderbolt, making it potent enough to cancel Solar Beam out via an explosion following afterwards.
"Dile!" Krookodile moved through the smoke, appearing before Shiftry. The Intimidation Pokemon then swung his claws at Shiftry, giving it a good slap and knocking it aside. But not only that, the electricity had affected it.
"Try!" Shiftry cried out before being sent flying as the aura of 100,000 volts had paralyzed its body, making it slower in the process.
"Armaldo! Flash Cannon!"
"Ar...mal...do!" Armaldo opened its mouth before gathering all its light energy and releasing it all at once in the form of a silver beam.
"Dile!" Krookodile roared as he used the aura of electricity as a shield while also putting his arms up. With the double usage of protection, he was able to power through Flash Cannon. Plus, he resisted Steel-Type attacks due to being a Ground-Type. So, in the end, the Intimidation Pokemon shrugged off.
"Maldo?!" Armaldo gasped as a Brutal Swing was coming towards it.
"Dodge, Armaldo!"
"Armal!" Armaldo quickly jumped back, evading the incoming Brutal Swing.
"Go! Iron Tail!"
"PIka!" Pikachu then jumped off of Krookodile's head, pursuing Armaldo after it had jumped away. In that instance, the Mouse Pokemon brought upon Iron Tail, rolling through the air and striking Armaldo's head in the process. "Pikachu!"
"Mal!" Armaldo grimaced before being smashed into the ground. That was certainly a super-effective hit without a doubt. And with that hit, Armaldo had fainted. "Armaldo..."
"Armaldo is unable to battle! Pikachu wins!"
"Alright!" Ash pumped his fist as Pikachu landed on the ground, facing Shiftry who was the last one. And thanks to Pikachu defeating Armaldo, Sunny Day had ended. "Now there's just Shiftry."
"Aw, seriously...?" The defeated earth pony got on the ground sighing.
"Don't worry about it. I've got an ace in the hole for this one." The other earth pony grinned with a devious plan in mind. Pikachu and Krookodile stayed cautious.
"Pika...!"
"Krook...!"
"Shiftry...EXPLOSION!" She exclaimed, dropping her hair accessories from how the wind blew after she bellowed out the devastating attack name.
"Explosion?!" Ash and Fluttershy were even shocked by that. It is not an attack that is used commonly and for a good reason. The sheer power of it was catastrophic for almost every Pokemon minus Ghost-Types.
"Shif...!" Shiftry started gathering all of its Infinity Energy with golden lights flaring out of its body. It was going to make sure that it would take Pikachu and Krookodile out in one fell swoop.
"W-W-What happens if they're all down and out?!" Pinkie Pie screeched. "Is it a Tiebreaker?!"
"Only one way to find out!" Twilight bit her hoof.
"I can't watch!" Rarity, terrified by the attack, put her hoof over her eyes in fear.
"That's gonna be bad news when that hits! It could take us out in one go!" Ash gasped. "Let's try-"
"Don't worry, Ash! I know what to do." Fluttershy stepped forward. "Krookodile! Outrage on the ground!"
"Kroo...Ko...DILE!" Krookodile then become enveloped in a fearsome red aura as his pure unbridled rage had been unlocked. And by doing so, he used pure draconic power to smash the ground. Afterwards, he grabbed a large rock that had been separated after the crack he made, lifting it.
This rock would act as a shield. And for extra safety, Pikachu added another Thunderbolt, bumping up the volts to really make the electricity the ultimate defence.
"Try!" And after building up enough power, Shiftry unleashed a gallant and catastrophic outburst of Infinity Energy that made a fiery gale in the shape of a dome as always.
Pikachu held onto Krookodile tightly while closing his eyes. The fearsome explosion expanded, making contact with the massive platform of rock and the electric aura.
Everything around Shiftry had been blown back as Krookodile stood his ground, trying to maintain himself from this overwhelming force. The rock in front of him was being obliterated, but he held on, not letting up.
The rock had been obliterated as Krookodile had only the electricity to rely on. And with Pikachu adding more volts in it, bumping it up to 400,000 volts, the protection was heightened.
The explosion came to an end as Krookodile fell on his back. Pikachu quickly hopped off before he could be crushed. Krookodile barely withstood that. If that Thunderbolt shield was not up, that would've been it for him.
And it was certainly it for Shiftry as it had fainted after using such a risky and potent move. "Shiftry..."
"Shiftry is unable to battle! Thus, the winners are Pikachu and Krookodile!"
"Yes! We did it, Fluttershy! Awesome stuff!" Ash cheered as he and Fluttershy gave each other a high-five-hoof. Pikachu and Krookodile did the same with their hands too. Cheers resounded across the stadium due to their stunning victory. And so did their friends.
"Those two have great chemistry, so it was to be expected." Rarity nodded in approval. "A little terrified if Ember and I end up facing them."
"Using Krookodile's immunity to Electric-Types and forming a defensive shield was brilliant! That Ash comes up with the weirdest things, doesn't he?" Twilight said.
"Too weird." Barry grizzled his teeth before rummaging his hair. "I don't get Ash sometimes! What else does he have that I don't?!"
"Well, he's not as loud as you," Ember replied before holding her ears.
"I've forgotten how it felt to be in a real Pokemon Battle! It's so...exciting!" Fluttershy got all giddy, prancing on the spot. After the match had ended, both sides respected each other. Now they could make way for the next matches to come along.
And with that, the rest of the matches could continue until this day ended. And the orange glow of the sun slowly setting was a sign of the first day coming to a close.
Nightfall.
And with the last match, everyone could rest tonight. Nightfall had come with the mon shining. The later matches would happen this coming morning along with the afternoon, thus making the second day longer than the first.
All Pokemon had been healed up by Nurse Joy to their full strength. Redheart felt a tad bit jealous that Nurse Joy was better at healing the Pokemon than her. Then again, every Joy family member has been trained for taking care of Pokemon so it was to be expected.
The Canterlot Guest rooms were used to rest up for the night for everyone. Some were eating before heading to bed. Dinner or even a midnight snack.
Rainbow Dash's Pokemon were eating for heading off for a night of good night sleep. All except for Mienfoo, who was still bitter after what Lightning Dust's Incineroar did. She sat there with her arms crossed, not eating her food.
"Come on, Mienfoo. Are you not hungry?" Rainbow Dash went up to the Martial Arts Pokemon.
"Mienfoo." She scoffed, turning her head away from the food.
"Still upset about that Incineroar thing, aren't you?" Rainbow asked as Mienfoo nodded in confirmation. "Ah, don't worry about it. We won, didn't we? Sorry that you couldn't take anyone out. I know you enjoy at least getting good licks in and the finishing blow."
"Mien..." Mienfoo grumbled as she was already itching to pick a fight with someone. Out of everyone in her friend group, from Ash's Pokemon, Twilight's Pokemon and more, she was the most hot-headed of them all. Quick to start a fight and rapidly get angry over certain things. Big or small.
Speaking of Lightning Dust, Rainbow Dash saw her outside, practising with her Pokemon. She had three of them out as Rainbow Dash got to see the rest. Her Incineroar, a Tyrantrum and a new Pokemon Rainbow Dash and the others had never seen before.
A Toxtricity.
"Woah! Who's that Pokemon?!" She cried out as Ash and the others instantly came to her location to witness this new Pokemon. They too had seen Toxtricity for the first time, taking out their Pokedex.
"Toxtricity. The Punk Pokemon. Amped Form. When this Pokémon sounds as if it’s strumming a guitar, it’s actually clawing at the protrusions on its chest to generate electricity. This short-tempered and aggressive Pokémon chugs stagnant water to absorb any toxins it might contain."
"An Electric-Poison-Type? Sweet!" Ash and Fluttershy geeked out at this new Pokemon. They share the same love for Pokemon after all. Especially ones they've never seen before.
Rainbow Dash opened the door to see Lightning Dust and how she had her Pokemon out to improve them. "Hey, Lightning!"
"Hm?" Lightning turned around before chewing on some food. "Mmm? What?" She swallowed her food.
"I see you're training for tomorrow. Great stuff." Rainbow Dash went up to her. "How about we do the same?"
"Why?" She asked, not sure if she was fond of Rainbow Dash's approach.
"Well, we'd work better if we trained together, wouldn't we? I mean, that's what teamwork's all about, isn't it?"
"Pass. Besides, I told you I didn't wanna team up with you. I can get stronger with just my Pokemon and that's it." She gave her retort.
"Seriously?" Rainbow groaned. "How are e gonna win this if we can't even work as a team? In case you've forgotten, we're gonna be going up against Trainers that are way better at us as a team. Do we really wanna lose to that?"
"Well, no." She bit her lip. "I obviously want to beat Spitfire and shove it all in her face and everything."
"Then we can do it together. We can both shove it in her face." Rainbow Dash said before looking around. "Uh...she didn't hear that, right?"
"But I still don't want to work with you."
"Gah, you're still on that whole leader thing? I know it meant a lot to you and everything but-"
"I don't wanna hear it. As long as I can win this and prove Spitfire wrong, I'm good. Besides, I've got something else in mind. Totally separate from the Wonderbolts."
"Huh?"
"Oh yeah. Since I can't live out my dream-dares thanks to the Wonderbolts, I found a way to make that come to reality. I made the Washouts for this."
"The Washouts?" Rainbow Dash repeated.
"Oh yeah. My professional stunt team full of ex-Wonderbolts. And we don't need Wonderbolts regulations to do our thing over there."
"No regulations? That doesn't sound like a safe job at all." Twilight gasped.
"Obviously not. It's only for ponies who really wanna do it their way. The best kind of team!" Lightning spread her hooves out. "And it's going good so far."
"Out of spite. Ooh." Rarity shuddered.
"When I win this and beat Spitfire, it'll help boost the Washout's popularity. Probably even more than the Wonderbolts. And if I don't get the chance to battle her then, eh. The Equestria League will have to do."
"We're only gonna beat them if we work as a team." Rainbow Dash brought up teamwork once more. But, her irritation was starting to show due to how Lightning Dust was pulling away from teamwork. "Can you at least do that?"
"If you won't hold me back."
"I'm not holding you back!" Rainbow Dash bellowed. "I never hold back! Ever!"
"Well, in the next match, don't let me outdo you again and take all the faints." Lightning smirked, further filling Rainbow Dash's irritation.
The multi-coloured mane mare repeatedly stomped her hoof on the ground as Pinkie Pie, rushed out of the castle pulling Rainbow Dash away before something brash could happen. But she wasn't the only one to pull away. Mienfoo hopped over Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, landing in front of Lightning Dust.
"Foo! Mienfoo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon had a higher temper than Rainbow Dash as she started roaring at Lightning Dust, demanding that she brought out Incineroar for a 1-on-1 battle, no holds barred.
"Mienfoo! Now's not the best time!" Fluttershy pleaded, translating for Mienfoo.
"You guys are throwing my training off. Get lost."
"Fine." Rainbow Dash pouted before holding Mienfoo. The Martial Arts Pokemon flailed her arms and legs around, wanting a fight desperately. "We'll go. But if we lose tomorrow then it's on you."
"We'll see about that." Lightning snapped back before facing her Pokemon. Rainbow Dash didn't say anything else as she just entered back inside to finish her food and rest up.
"Ash. You've come across something like this before, right. Anything to fix it?" Twilight asked.
"Not that easy." Ash shook his head. "This is something Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust have to solve on their own. And if not then I could try something."
"Pikachu."
Morning.
The next day had come. And the matches for the day were up and ready. Battling today would be a group of friends. The first matchup was Spike and Scootaloo against two human trainers.
With Spike's powerful Dragon-Types and Scootaloo's fairly speedy Pokemon, they were able to hold their own in this battle. Especially with their Goodra and Cyndaquil.
"Goodra use Surf!" Spike ordered.
"Goo...Dra!" Goodra put his hands out, summoning an orb of water before shooting it on the field. He then swamped the entire battlefield with a giant wave of water, riding on it.
"Throh! Use Wide Guard!"
"Throh!" Throh had the move for this. A move as widespread as Surf needed a move that could protect both Pokemon with ease. The Judo Pokemon put his arms out, summoning a giant and wide shield that had blocked the incoming Surf. Both Throh and Swalot had been guarded against Surf.
"Cyndaquil! Flame Wheel!"
"Cynda...!" Cyndaquil spun around in the air as his body became engulfed in flames. He then charged right for Swalot at high speeds.
"Swalot, dodge and use Body Slam!"
"Swa..." Swalot waited for Cyndaquil to get close. Once the Fire Mouse was close enough, the Poison Bag Pokemon jumped into the air, ready to drop its full body weight on the Fire-Type.
"Sucker..." A cheery grin graced Scootaloo's face. "Cyndaquil, drift!"
"Cynda!" But, Cyndaquil didn't stop his momentum. He drifted across the ground, evading Swalot as the Poison-Type ended up crashing onto the ground, hitting nothing. "Quil!" Cyndaquil then came back around, smashing into Swalot.
"Lot!" Swalot cried out as it was knocked back. The extra momentum with that Flame Wheel made sure the knockback was greater than it would usually be.
"Throh, use Storm Throw!"
"Swalot, recover and use Sludge Bomb!"
"Swa...Lot!" Swalot instantly recovered, shooting out unsanitary sludge. As for Throh, he lunged into the air, approaching Goodra.
"I don't think so! Grab him back with your horns, Goodra!"
"Goo!" Goodra had then used his horns to counter Throh. Before the Judo Pokemon could even grab Goodra, he had been grabbed instead as Goodra's horns wrapped around his arms and legs while in midair.
"Throh?!"
"Now, Power Whip into that Sludge Bomb!"
"Goo...Dra!" With amazing strength and green-coated horns, Goodra had swung Throh towards Sludge Bomb, intercepting it. And instead of hitting Cyndaquil, the poison sludge had struck Throh instead. Not only that, but Goodra dropped Throh onto Swalot.
"Throh!"
"Swa?!"
"Thanks, Spike!" Scootaloo thanked. "Now, use Incinerate!"
"Cyndaquil!" And to finish things off with power, Cyndaquil opened his mouth, unleashing a giant stream of dark fire that engulfed both Throh and Swalot.
A fearsome explosion of fire emerged afterwards in a dome-shaped flame. Cyndaquil landed on Goodra's head after that powerful attack hit its mark. And with Incinerate plus POwer Whip adding up to all the damage done to the opposing Pokemon in this battle, there was only one outcome.
Throh and Swalot had fainted.
"Throh..."
"Swalot..."
"Throh and Swalot are unable to battle! Thus the winners are Goodra and Cyndaquil!"
"Yes! Yes!" Spike and Scootaloo jumped for joy as Goodra picked them both and Cyndaquil up for a massive group hug of victory. And of course, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and their friends cheered for their victory. They would be advancing onto the next round today without a doubt.
Afterwards, they gave respect to their opponents. And the next matchup would end up being Rarity and Ember going up against Pinkie Pie and Sunrise. This would be the first one where three friends would face-off at last.
"Would ya look at that!" Pinkie looked at the monitor. "It's our turn, Sunrise!"
"Oh, r-right!"? Sunrise stuttered before standing up. "I'm ready! But uh...are you gonna show Mew since...everyone knows?"
"Eh. Mew's popular and rare to everyone." Pinkie shrugged. "But it doesn't matter. Gonna use him anyway."
"Yes!" Sunrise pumped his hoof. "This means with Mew, we might win this!"
"I wouldn't get too confident, darling." Rarity said. "You never know what could happen in a Pokemon Battle after all. You have to be as careful and focused as you can be. You want to face your brother Daylight, right?"
"Oh. Y-Yeah." He nodded. "You're right. Bit nervous if I have to face him."
"If you can beat us." Ember pointed at herself.
"We are gonna beat you! Just watch!" With high bravado, Sunrise made a statement. He was also hoping his brother would be watching him.
The opposing trainers took some time to prepare, thinking of which Pokemon to lead with. After doing so, they made their way onto the field once everything was cleared. And just as Sunrise was hoping for, Daylight was watching from the crowd. Because why wouldn't he? Sunrise wanted to make his big brother proud while his big brother wanted to see his little brother do his best. Even if he doesn't win.
Sunrise's friends from the Pokemon School were also present. The most notable are Sapphire Flash and Dew Drops. Sapphire and Sunrise had a bit of a rivalry together as Sapphire found mild amusement in Sunrise's mishaps. And this was one she was looking forward to.
"I can't wait for this." The little unicorn grinned, holding popcorn with her magic. Dew Drops was adamant and more along the lines of rooting for her friend rather than Sapphire's amusement in his less than stellar performances.
"How good is your little brother?" Spitfire asked her fellow orange-haired pony.
"Uh..." Daylight scratched his man, having an uncertain look on his face. "He's not bad, I'll say that much. But he knows how to improve when it counts. I just hope this loss doesn't hit him as hard as the Gym Leader one."
After getting on the field, both teams looked at each other, anticipating this to begin. "Both sides. Please bring out your Pokemon." The referee ordered.
"Come out, Leavanny!" Rarity chose her strongest Leavanny as her choice for this round.
"Go, Drakloak!" And for Ember, it was her Drakloak.
"Leavanny!"
"Drakloak!"
"I can always trust this Pokemon! Gurdurr, go!" Sunrise chose who he saw as his ace. His Gurdurr.
"Gurdurr!"
"Showtime, Mew!" Mew popped out of Pinkie Pie's mane, appearing before everyone. The humans were still shocked to see that Mew was just out in the open, owned by a trainer that didn't make such a big deal out of the ancestor of all Pokemon.
This next battle was about to be underway as Celestia watched, eating some leftover cake with Adagio and Premium Polish by her side. But as she watched, one of the guards came up to the Ruler of Equestria along with Luna.
"Sister," Luna spoke. "Hope we're not interrupting. I mean...we are. But we should probably tell you that what seems to be the Empress' forces have been spotted in the Pokemon World."
"They have?" Celestia gasped silently. "You saw this when training, were you? Did you follow them?"
"I lost them, sadly. But they seemed to be roaming around with no clear sense of direction at all." Luna replied. "But from the looks of it, they're looking for something out there. Plus...they didn't seem like they had the same armour as the Empress' forces. Maybe it was just an improvement."
"Maybe a Pokemon. I'll take notice of it as well." Celestia said as she would get to the bottom of this. Any involvement with the Empress was nothing to ignore. Little did they know, it was more than just the Empress heading for the Pokemon World for one reason.
"Battle Start!"
But aside from that, the battle had begun. "Mew! Go first with Aura Sphere on Leavanny!" Pinkie made the first move.
"Gurdurr, use Slam!"
"Mew-Mew!" Mew opened his mouth and put his hands out before gathering Aura. Gurdurr had held his steel beam tight before running forward with it. And at the same time, Mew had thrown the sphere of Aura.
"Leavanny, X Scissor!"
"Drakloak! Dragon Pulse!"
"Leavan!" Leavanny and Drakloak followed afterwards. Leavanny approached the Aura Sphere with her arms crossed while Drakloak readied a pulse filled with nothing but draconic energy within it just for Gurdurr.
This battle was just getting started along with this competition. Some more battles were soon to come and eventually, the final two teams will have to face each other for victory as the journey continues.
Equestria. Canterlot. Equestria League Stadium. Day.
The Canterlot Tag Battle Tournament continues. Right now, Rarity and Ember were facing off against Pinkie Pie and Sunrise Sprint. It was Pinkie's Mew, Sunrise's Gurdurr against Rarity's strongest Leavanny and Ember's Drakloak.
"Lea...Van!" Leavanny managed to slice apart Mew's Aura Sphere with X-Scissor. Afterwards, the Nurturing Pokemon advanced, hitting Mew with a super-effective X-Scissor and knocking the New Species Pokemon back.
"M-Mew!" Mew cried out, hurtling through the air.
"Gur...Durr!" As for Gurdurr, his steel beam came in contact with Drakloak's Dragon Pulse. Gurdurr tried holding the dragon-shaped blast back or at least reflecting it back.
He couldn't reflect it as Dragon Pulse ended up knocking his steel beam away. But at least Gurdurr himself wasn't struck by the attack. Only the force of the explosion had pushed him away as his steel beam was stabbed into the ground.
"Sorry kid! But Drakloak's part Ghost! Slam wasn't going to do anything either way!" Ember exclaimed. Now, Drakloak! Use Infestation!"
"Drakloak!" Just then, following up with the next attack, Drakloak had summoned multiple bugs around her body as if she had a gravitational orbit. Afterwards, she had sent multiple of those bugs towards Mew and Gurdurr.
"Bugs?! What move is that?!" Pinkie gasped as the bugs instantly circled Mew and Gurdurr. The bugs instantly started attacking them rapidly, much like how actual bugs would via a rampant infestation.
"M-Mew-Mew!" Mew winced, trying to shoo the bugs away. But they kept bombarding her with constant small tackles. While the damage was low, it was certainly bothersome. Pinkie and Sunrise have obviously never seen this move before.
"While they're distracted, Leavanny! Energy Ball!"
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Leavanny!" Leavanny then unleashed a green sphere of nature and a draconic shockwave towards the opposing Pokemon.
"Eugh, not good!" Pinkie grimaced. "Mew use Transform to turn into a Weezing!"
"M-Mew...!" Mew's eyes flashed as he let out an outburst of Infinity Energy. With that outburst, Mew had transformed into Weezing. "Weezing!" And by transforming into a Poison-Type, the Energy Ball was not very effective on him. But Dragon Pulse certainly hit Gurdurr for good damage.
"Oh, right. He can do that." Rarity bit her lip.
"What the- Is it some kind of Ditto?!" Ember gasped.
"Mew's the ancestor of all Pokemon. Which means he can transform into any Pokemon and mimic their typing." Rarity explained. "I should've seen something like this coming, but I never expected her to use it here."
"Hahahaha!" Pinkie Pie chuckled like a supervillain. "And since it's what Mew can do naturally, I can have every Pokemon in the world all at once!"
"Any Poke-" Ember froze for a second as all the humans were taking pictures of Mew, witnessing his ability to transform. IF there was any time that they could have intensive research of the elusive Mew, now was the time. "Is that even legal?!"
"It's allowed." The referee said before bringing a rulebook out with his magic. "Pokemon are allowed to utilize their natural talents such as Umbreon's secret poison or Roserade's thorns, it is what the Pokemon is naturally capable of."
"Darn..." Ember lowered her head.
"It's even scarier since Mew's not using the move Transform to do it," Ash said from the stands. "It's just natural to him. Which means he still has 4 moves to attack with."
"Pikachu."
"No need to worry, Ember. Even if Mew can turn into whatever he wants, that won't stop us from winning." Rarity smirked, keeping her confidence. "I've been around Mew long enough to know my way around him."
"Weezing."
"This is the most we'll ever get out of Mew! Let's not waste it!" The humans started writing down, taking pictures and getting whatever they can just for Mew.
"Mm..."Sunrise grumbled before looking at Drakloak and then at the stands where Daylight was sitting. His big brother was keeping a good eye on him as so far, Sunrise hasn't been impressing so far.
"Hey, what's wrong, Sunrise?" Pinkie asked, noticing Sunrise's current emotion.
"I don't know what to do. Most of my moves have no effect on Drakloak since it's a Ghost. And the only one that does, Poison Jab, isn't very effective on Ghost-Types either. I'm stumped."
"Hey, don't worry about it." Pinkie patted him on the back. "It might look tough, but there's still a way. I won't let you let your big brother down. How about I focus on Drakloak and you go for Leavanny."
"But Leavanny resists most of my moves? Stupid Bug-Types..." Sunrise sighed.
"Doesn't mean you can't try. Then you won't end up doing much. Just trust me okay." Pinkie pleaded before Sunrise looked at her in the eyes. She gave a confident nod to encourage Sunrise. Sunrise then thought of his brother and nodded back.
"Okay."
"Okie Dokie! Here we come! Psyshock, go-go-go!"
"Weezing!" Mew then surrounded himself in an odd psychic power. And at the same time, the bugs from Infestation were beating on him. They weren't going away for a while as he charged towards Leavanny with an orb of Psyshock.
"Drakloak, Hex!"
"Drak!" Dark purple wisps of energy appear around Drakloak as they formed into rings. Drakloak then unleashed the rings towards the incoming Mew that was now a Weezing.
"Weez!" Mew bashed into Drakoak with the Psychic field while also having Hex engulf him. Both Mew and Drakloak had taken damage. Thankfully, Mew had resisted it due to him being a Koffing now. Poison resists Ghost after all. The New Species Pokemon was knocked back after the resulting collision along with Drakloak. "Zing!"
"K-Kloak!"
"Okay! Here I go! Gurdurr, use Bulk Up and then Slam on Leavanny!"
"Gurdurr!" Gurdurr then flexed his muscles, building up power as his attack had been raised. He then gripped his steel beam, lunging in the air towards Leavanny.
"I think not! Aerial Ace!"
"Leavan!" Leavanny jumped over Drakloak, dashing through the air like some sort of superhero. Her leaf hands emanated a beautiful blue colour as she approached Gurdurr.
"Have some super-effective damage back, Ember! Shadow Ball!
"Weezing!" Mew then opened his mouth, shooting out a blob of shadows at Ember.
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Drakloak!" But, Shadow Ball was quickly cancelled out by Dragon Pulse, resulting in a beautiful blue and dark purple explosion. Mew then reverted to his normal Psychic-Type self, no longer a Weezing. As for Gurdurr, he swung his beam at Leavanny, trying to hit her.
Leavanny's swiftness surpassed Gurdurr. She was the faster Pokemon overall as she swayed her head, striking Gurdurr with her leaf hands and landing a super-effective hit. "Lea!"
"G-Gur!" Gurdurr's eyes opened before being rocketed to the ground. He struck the ground hard with a large dust cloud forming. Leavanny descended afterwards.
"No hit in yet...!" Sunrise growled, feeling pressurized already. But he wasn't ready to give up now. And what's worse is that the bugs from the Infestation had yet to go away.
"Those bugs are gonna make this bad for us...Aha!" Pinkie had another idea in mind. "Mew, transform into Machamp and use Shadow Ball! And make sure you flex those bugs away!"
"Mew-Mew!" Mew then transformed on the spot. This time, appearing as a Machamp. "Machamp!" After doing so, he used Machamp's amazing muscles to flex the bugs off, ending Infestation. He had then summoned four Shadow Balls onto his four hands.
"Woah!" Ember was taken aback by that, including Rarity. "That's actually smart and terrifying at the same time."
"So much for your Infestation plan if Mew can just do that." Rarity shook her head. "But a second Infestation wouldn't hurt now, would it?"
"A second one would do but with that Mew, he could transform into anything and maybe get rid of the bugs," Ember replied, now knowing just how dangerous Mew is with the ability to transform. "That sure is one dangerous Pokemon."
"Isn't he?" Pinkie stuck her tongue out. "Get 'em, Mew!"
"Poison Jab, Gurdurr!"
"Ma...Champ-Champ-Champ-Champ!" Mew, as the Superpower Pokemon, had then tossed all four Shadow Balls towards Drakloak at great speeds.
"Gur!" Gurdurr got up from the ground before covering his steel beam in poison. The Muscular Pokemon then ran towards Leavanny, hopping for a super-effective hit.
"Dodge it Drakloak!"
"Kloak!" Drakloak became zooming through the air to try and avoid them. But with how fast Mew threw them and how many there were, Drakloak only managed to dodge two Shadow Balls before being struck by the other two. "Dra!"
"Drakloak!" Ember gasped. Drakloak hurled through the air, almost falling to the ground. But with how powerful those Shadow Balls were and how much power Mew packs in general, Drakloak was already starting to feel a bit weak now.
"Leavanny, Aerial Ace!"
"Leavan!" Leavanny and Gurdurr clashed once more. Gurdurr smashed his steel beam onto Leavanny's incoming leaf hand. They equalized each other out before Gurdurr swung his beam once more, trying to get just one hit in if he could Leavanny hopped over the beam, kicking Gurdurr in the face.
"Durr!"
"Come on...!" Sunrise was getting frustrated at this point. Pinkie Pie could see this as she would do whatever she could to break that frustration and help Gurdurr out. The bugs were also still hurting him as he had yet to move them away.
"Mew, grab Gurdurr!"
"Ma!" Just then, Mew used one of Machamp's four arms to hold the Muscular Pokemon like he was a child. He then flicked his muscular fingers, forcing the bugs away from Gurdurr.
"Gurr?"
"Ms Pinkie, what are you doing?!" Sunrise asked, not sure about Pinkie Pie's approach.
"If Ash and Fluttershy can do that Electrifying Krookodile thing, then so can we. Plus, this'll help you more, Sunrise. Mew can carry you while you can attack as Gurdurr. Plus, he's got three more arms to spare. How does that sound?"
"Uh...Good! That sounds good!" Sunrise liked that idea. If it would help him better he would take it. "Let's do it."
"Okay then! Mew, get in there and use Shadow Ball again!"
"Gurdurr, Poison Jab!"
"Durr...!" Gurdurr held his beam up while Mew zoomed towards both Leavanny and Drakloak with three Shadow Balls in his hands.
"That could prove troublesome! Leavanny, stop them with Energy Ball!"
"Drakloak, Dragon Pulse!"
"Leavanny!" Leavanny and Drakloak set out to destroy the triple Shadow Balls that were incoming before any serious damage could be done.
"Now's my chance! Hit them back, Gurdurr!" Sunrise found a moment to capitalize and finally do something major. And so did Gurdurr.
"Gur!" Gurdurr cried out, swinging his steel beam and smashing it against Energy Ball. Not only did the Poison around the beam nullify the Grass Infinity Energy from Energy Ball, but with the right force, Gurdurr had reflected the Energy Ball, sending it towards Leavanny.
"Lea?!" Leavanny gasped before being hit with her own attack. Afterwards, she was knocked back by a verdant explosion. While not super-effective and Gurdurr had yet to properly land Poison Jab, it was still something.
"Yes!" Sunrise cheered. "Okay, get me close, Ms Pinkie!"
"You got it! Mew!"
"Champ!" Mew threw one Shadow Ball over at the incoming Dragon Pulse, cancelling it out. But after unleashing that one Shadow Ball, he threw the next one over at Drakloak.
"Kloak!" Drakloak took super-effective damage once more, falling alongside Leavanny. Afterwards, Mew threw Gurdurr towards Leavanny while Gurdurr raised his beam, still having Poison Jab available.
"I think not! String Shot!"
"Lea!" Leavanny slid on the ground before opening her mouth. She summoned two pieces of string. One to grab Drakloak and the other for Gurdurr. She wrapped her string around the Caretaker Pokemon, pulling her away.
Just in time too. The last Shadow Ball had almost hit Drakloak if Leavanny hadn't pulled her away. As for Gurdurr, Leavanny formed the string of silk into a shield, using it as a defensive option.
"Durr!" Gurdurr smashed his beam onto the shield, causing a tremor around it. Leavanny trembled as parts of her silk had been melted away by the poison. Gurdurr then started winging violently onto the string shield, trying to break it.
"Ooh, a shield made out of String Shot!" Twilight gawked. "I guess that's her best Leavanny for a reason."
"Rarity's been having her 12 Leavanny use String Shot for months now. She's learned way more than just making dresses. Neat, huh?" said Ash.
"Pikachu."
Gur! Gur!" Gurdurr's poison was gradually melting away at the string, forcing Leavanny to be pressured.
"Looks like we're the ones feeling the pressure now." Rarity scoffed. "But there's no time to panic now! Leavanny!
"Lea!" Leavanny then unleashed another String Shot, this time, one that held Gurdurr's arms.
"Gur?" Gurdurr gasped as he was flung back before he could swing the next beam. Mew had then caught Gurdurr, saving him from falling to the ground. "Dur."
"Machamp!"
"What now?" Ember asked as Leavanny ended her String Shot shield. "They're turning things around at this point. Not good for us."
"I know. But I have a plan. Listen up." Rarity pulled Ember in as she started whispering. "Mew and Pinkie Pie are practically in perfect sync with each other. If Mew has the urge to transform to tip the scales, then Pinkie will follow suit with the Pokemon she knows will work best in the current scenario."
"So. How do we beat that?"
"We've already been focused on putting pressure on them as they've brought it back to us. But the one weakness of Mew and Pinkie is also the unification."
"Uh...Isn't the whole point of a Pokemon and Trainer to be in perfect sync?" Ember scratched her head, confused.
"Yes. But it can also be used against them. Mew will change into whatever Pokemon can get him out of a difficult situation. And all we have to do is keep putting the pressure on him so that whatever he turns into, he can't find the right Pokemon to become."
"Oooh..." Ember's eyes flared before she nodded with a smirk. "I get what you mean. I can see what Spike sees in you now."
"Alright then!" Rarity bellowed. "Leavanny, String Shot, all around!"
"Lea...Van!" Leavanny then used her greatest String Shot yet. Dozens and then soon transitioning into an abundance of thick silk came flying out of both her hands and mouth. But this time with a frantic nature.
The abundance of silk started moving across the battlefield like a deranged spider web. Or more accurately, a child's jungle gym. Chaotic either way. Mew and Gurdurr watched as these strings flooded the area.
They were now trapped within this fierce inconsistent maze of string from all sides. But Pinkie had a way around this. And that way would have to come fast as some of the string snuck up on Mew, wrapping around Machamp's large body.
"Hehehe...! Transform into Seviper!"
"Ma!" Mew then shifted forms. This time into a Pokemon that had a sleeker look. Seviper. By doing so, he managed to slip through the strings with a snake's natural slithering capabilities. "Seviper!"
But Rarity knew this would happen as more strings arrived, changing shape. These strings were built for a Pokemon like Seviper. Almost like a husk or cocoon for it as they grabbed Mew from behind.
"Sevi?!"
"Hm-hm-hm!" Rarity chuckled with her mouth closed. "You should know by now Pinkie Pie! I've made dresses, suits and all forms of clothes for not just ponies but humans and Pokemon too! Especially with my Leavanny! I know all of their shapes and sizes!"
"Oh!" Pinkie Pie gasped before pulling on her mane. "She's right!"
"Don't worry! I can break them! Gurdurr, Dynamic Punch!"
"Gur...!" Gurdurr tossed his beam into the air before lunging over at the strings that held Mew's body as a Seviper. His fist was glowing afterwards. But before he could do so, along came Drakloak.
"Go, Drakloak! Take Down!"
"Kloak!" Drakloak used her intangibility as a Ghost-Type to easily phase through the array of strings, bashing into Gurdurr and knocking him away.
"Gur!" Gurdurr cried out before falling back. His steel beam came crashing down, stabbing near him into the ground. His Dynamic Punch had failed.
"Mew! Turn into Tynamo!"
"Sevi...!" Mew transformed once more. This time into one of the smallest Pokemon in the world. "Tynamo!"
"Leavan!" But Leavanny had strings for those as well, making the smallest husk of string as it had caught Tynamo. There won't be any sipping through tight gaps with this.
"Ty?!"
"Again!"
"Voltorb!" Mew then became Voltorb, blowing away the string with this circular body. But Leavanny had made a circular silk hush that was tight enough for him. "V-Vol!"
"Again!" Pinkie cried out, starting to panic. Mew turned into a Whimsicott. Only to be caught again, unable to escape from the frenzy of strings. He then became a Magcargo, a being full of magma. And that was a great counter as the magma had melted away the strings. "Aha! Beat that!"
"Magcargo!"
"I won't, but she will!" Rarity grinned as Drakloak ascending into the air, looking through the gaps of the string.
"Hex!"
"Dra...Kloak!" Drakloak had Mew within her sights as she covered his body in a shadowy aura. With how slow Magcargo was, there was no time for Mew to evade. But there was time for him to transform into a faster Pokemon. And one that was immune to Hex.
A Normal-Type. More specifically, Ursaring.
"Ursaring!" Mew roared as Hex had no effect on him. Drakloak and Ember gasped afterwards.
"Clever Pinkie Pie..." Rarity bit her lip.
"U-Ursa...!" But with all of this, MEw was starting to feel a bit fatigued. He has never transformed this much and this is the most taxing battle he's been in so far. Even during the invasion, he only fought a few battles for certain minutes. This was beyond that as it was back to back.
"Hang in there, Mew!"
"D-Drakloak...!" The same went for Drakloak who had already taken a few super-effective Shadow Balls. Even Leavanny was tired from shooting all those String Shots out. Gurdurr especially after taking the most damage so far.
"L-Leavan.
"All of them look pretty beat. If they keep going, they might pass out together." Rainbow Dash said.
"This might never end." Fluttershy chimed in. "It could go on forever."
"But Pinkie has something else that can use." Twilight narrowed her eyes as she looked over at Pinkie Pie's move. And there was something she could use to end this.
The Z-Crystal.
Out of Pinkie Pie's mane, she revealed the Mewnium Z, shocking Rarity and Ember. "The Mewnium Z!" Rarity gasped. "I should've seen this coming...!"
"We'll go straight for Leavanny with one big hit!" Pinkie Pie then allowed the power of Alola to channel through the crystal as Sunrise stood back in awe. With the power flowing, Pinkie Pie's mane and tail started flaring with a golden aura appearing. Mew had also reverted to his original form so that this attack would pack some extra punch.
"I don't like this...!" Ember stood back as everyone looked in awe. Many humans would have the chance to see Mew's Z Move for the first time. Something they never thought they would even witness or hear about it.
And much like before, every Pokemon within the area, Canterlot and beyond started glowing in response to Mew's Z-Move. Their bodies sent out lights went straight towards the New Species Pokemon as this was a move that required assistance from all Pokemon that are related to Mew. Minus a few exceptions.
"Okay, Mew! Are you ready?!" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Mew!" Mew cried out as he was surrounded by Z-Power. From Pinkie Pie, the crystal and all of his descendants. It was time for him to unleash his full force Z-Move. Mew-Mew!"
"GENESIS SUPERNOVA!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, allowing the Z-Move to finally arrive at its absolute best.
"MEW-MEW-MEW!" The New Species Pokemon let out a shout that echoed throughout Canterlot, even ringing through the skies as it sounded like his voice had ascended. Millions of spheres had appeared before merging into one singular ball. His arms lit up white before he threw them forward. With a burst of power, Mew launched the gigantic ball of Psychic energy at full force.
DNA from trillions of Pokemon were packed into this attack as it raced towards Leavanny as its sole target. The Nurturing Pokemon stood there stunned, ready to do what she could to defend herself.
"Sweet Celestia...!" Rarity gulped. "We'll do what we can! Leavanny! T-"
"Get in there, Drakloak!" But suddenly, interrupting Rarity was Drakloak. She had flown in front of Leavanny with her great speed, appearing before the sphere could reach the Nurturing Pokemon.
"Lea?!" Leavany gasped as Drakoak looked back. The Caretaker Pokemon chose to sacrifice herself for Leavanny's safety. She took the least damage after all and had the better options of moves against both opposing Pokemon. Drakloak nodded before being struck by Genesis Supernova.
Leavanny and the others then closed their eyes as an outburst of DNA and Psychic energy emerged with a vicious paroxysm. Everyone gasped after seeing the sacrifice. Especially Rarity.
Out of the smoke, Drakloak came flying out with smoke trailing from her. She then fell to the ground as it had been decided. She had fainted.
"Drakloak..."
"Drakloak is unable to battle! Mew Wins!"
"Ember..." Rarity turned to Ember.
"Sorry, but I couldn't allow your Pokemon to faint. She stands a good chance after all." Ember picked Drakloak up. "It's up to you now."
"Right. Thank you." Rarity accepted Ember's choice as her horn was glowing with adrenaline. "Leavanny, let's finish this! Aerial Ace, go!"
"Lea...Van!" Leavanny then moved at blinding speeds, rushing towards Gurdurr.
"I didn't think she'd do that! But it's fine! Mew, Ancient Power, go!"
"Mew-Mew!" Mew summoned rocks filled with ancient energy before launching them.
"Uh, Gurdurr! Poison Jab!"
"Durr!" Gurdurr raised his beam, ready to smack Leavanny when she gets close. But just then, Leavanny jumped into the air with Aerial Ace, stepping on the rocks as a platform.
"Now follow up with String Shot and hit your mark!"
"Lea!" Leavanny then opened her mouth, grabbing Mew as she picked the New Species Pokemon up. She hadn't struck just yet.
"M-Mew?!"
"I got it! Throw your beam, Gurdurr!"
"Gur!" Gurdurr then launched his poison-clad steel beam, breaking the string in half and freeing Mew. Mew recovered by hovering afterwards.
"Gotcha! Divekick!"
"Leavanny!" Leavanny then rolled in the air before dive kicking with Aerial Ace. And with no steel beam to hold, Gurdurr was defenceless as Leavanny smashed her foot into his chest.
"G-Gur!" And with a powerful super-effective hit like that, Gurdurr went flying so far he was out of bounds, almost crashing into the walls of the arena. That meant only one thing. He had fainted. "Gurdurr..."
"Gurdurr is unable to battle! Leavanny wins!"
"No! Gurdurr!" Sunrise cried out.
"It's okay, Sunrise!" Pinkie stopped him before he could get upset. "Thanks to you and Gurdurr, you've given Mew and us a chance to keep going after saving us from String Shot! Mew, use Ancient Power!"
"Mew-Mew!" Mew summoned more of those rocks, lobbing them like baseballs.
"Not yet! Energy Ball!"
"Lea!" Leavanny's eyes then snapped to the side as she summoned a ball of energy in her hand. She then launched it, almost falling over with how much force she put into the throw. The ball came in contact with the rocks as they blew each other up.
"Let's finish this with grace, Leavanny! X-Scissor!"
"Lea!" Leavanny put her arms together, going for the final blow with X-Scissor.
"Me too! Psyshock, go-go-go!"
"Mew!" And so did Mew, aiming to end this with a field of Psychic power. Both Pokemon approached each other with the strongest moves they could give out.
Everyone held their breath, anticipating the final hit. Leavanny and Mew came into contact with X-Scissor slashing onto the field of Psychic power.
Sparks flew out as Leavanny and Mew tried pushing through each other. They looked each other in the eyes, giving everything they had. But only one would emerge victorious as they passed by each other. Leavanny and Mew ended up on opposite sides after their attacks.
Silence filled the air once they dashed past each other. Fluttershy's Audino could already hear the tense heartbeats occurring all at once. Mew lowered the field of Psychic energy as Leavanny lowered her arms.
And at the same time, both of them started falling as collective gasps filled the air. But, before they could both hit the ground in unison, Leavanny got on her knee, maintaining some ground support. But not Mew as he fell flat on his face.
"Mew..."
"Mew is unable to battle! Thus, the winners are Leavanny and Gurdurr!"
"Thank heavens, we won!" Rarity had a sigh of relief as thunderous applause and cheers filled the stadium and Canterlot. That was by far the greatest battle of the competition.
"We did it!" Ember got so excited, she picked Rarity off the ground, hugging her. Rarity was surprised by the hug but enjoyed it. Ember paused for a moment before realising what she was doing. The dragon quickly placed Rarity down, crossing her arms. "I mean, yeah. The winner was obvious, right?"
"Oh well." Pinkie Pie shrugged. "She battles more than me so it's to be expected. Good job, Mew!"
"Mew." Mew sat up, laughing with his tongue out. Pinkie tossed Mew a cupcake to eat, revitalizing the New Species Pokemon. "Mew-Mew!"
"We lost..." Sunrise sighed before smiling. "But that was fun."
"That's right." Pinkie went up to Sunrise as Gurdurr walked over. "Even if we didn't win, we had fun the whole way through, right?"
"Right. Sorry. I get so competitive sometimes." Sunrise laughed nervously before looking at the crowd. He saw how his brother started clapping his hooves along with everyone else. Safe to say he was proud of his little brother. Even if he didn't win.
"My. I need a rest." Rarity held her head, almost fainting as Leavanny had caught her. "Oh...A splendid job as always, Leavanny. You will need some rest too after this battle."
"Leavanny."
"Your little brother's got some spirit." Spitfire nudged Daylight. "If he was a pegasus, I'd say he'd be fit for the Wonderbolts, no problem."
"Thanks. But, if he didn't have any friends to encourage him, then he'd never be here in the first place." Daylight referred to Pinkie Pie after looking at Sunrise. "It's great that he's surrounded by such good friends, isn't it?"
This battle had come to an end. And thus, other battles could follow suit. After a few more battles, Twilight and Aria would be up next, facing off against Daylight Blazer and Spitfire. That was a dangerous sight for certain.
This Tag Battle competition wasn't over yet with more impressive battles to come this way just for those 10 Master Balls as the journey continues.
Equestria. Canterlot. Equestria League Stadium. Day.
After a rigorous battle between Pinkie Pie, Sunrise, Rarity and Ember and so far the longest one, the competition continued. The current battle between trainers was about to end as Twilight and Aria would be up next. But their opponents would be highly dangerous to go up against. Daylight Blazer and Spitfire.
"Okay, Aria. Let's go over this." Twilight spoke to Aria at the lounge while the current battle gets ready to close off soon. "So, Spitfire and Daylight won't be easy. They're some of the strongest trainers in the Equestria League. But, with a little planning, we can overcome them."
"And how are we gonna do that?" Aria asked. "Didn't think I'd go up against those two so soon."
"Eh. What can you do?" Twilight shrugged. "But don't worry. I've come up with a plan. And it even goes as far as defeating their Mega Evolution."
"Your Absol, right?" Aria leaned in.
"Well, that's one answer. But in truth, Ninetales is the answer. If anything, Ninetales is the perfect counter against both of their Pokemon." Twilight sat up straight as her transforming smile indicated that her plan would be something cheeky and stellar.
"And how so?"
"You see, Ninetales will already be amazing against Spitfire's Scizor since he's both Bug and Steel. A heavy Fire-Type attack will be able to push Scizor on edge and possibly make it faint. Even in Mega Evolution. Ninetales' Flare Blitz is among one of the strongest Fire-Type moves out there. Plus, against Blaziken, it's even better. With Ninetales' Extrasensory, Blaziken's Fighting-Type will be his greatest weakness and Ninetales' ability, Flash Fire not only makes him indestructible against Fire-Type attacks but also powers him up. If anything, Ninetales was built for this battle."
"Wow...That's uh..." Aria looked around, impressed. "That's actually really cool. You thought about this, didn't you princess?"
"I did. I can't slack off against anyone. Especially those two and their Pokemon. I mean, I could've had something for their previous match if we ended up going against each other. They used Flygon and Medi-" Just then, Twilight froze for a moment, realizing one fatal flaw.
"What? What is it?" Aria asked, noticing Twilight's face of despair.
"Oh no..." Twilight uttered with genuine fear in her heart. "What if they don't use Scizor and Blaziken?!"
"Huh?"
"I didn't think this through!" Twilight cried out, pulling her mane with magical aura hands. Her natural panic attack and freakout had begun. "Wait! It's totally fine!"
"Uh, Twilight." Aria went up to Twilight from behind.
"There's a chance they could use them...But what if they don't!" She went back to having a panic attack. "What if they use Flygon and Sawsbuck?! No, wait! Togekiss is good against those two. Hahaha. I was totally worried over nothing." She then chuckled before freaking out again. "No, wait! There's Daylight's Salazzle! And Scizor knows Bullet Punch!"
"Twilight," Aria repeated, trying to get her attention.
"It's fine." She took a deep breath, becoming calm once more as she was alternating between emotions. "Salazzle against Ninetales means nothing against his Flash Fire. And Ninetales can handle Sawsbuck." But then, the fear returned "No wait! Electivire! Gah! It has only one weakness! And I don't have any Ground-Type moves at all! We're totally doomed! Ah! And Ninetales is bad against Flygon! No, wait...Ninetales has Hidden Power Dragon. "
"Twilight!" Aria exclaimed, unable to reach her currently.
"Gah! but if they use Sharpedo or Araquanid, Ninetales is done for! And there's no way he can outspeed Sharpedo!" She roared as her pupils were shrinking. "But what if he can outspeed and-"
"Sparkle!" Aria raised her voice, finally getting Twilight's attention.
"Huh?" Twilight looked behind her with tears in her eyes.
"Look. It doesn't matter what they have. We're going to get in there and smash their Pokemon flat, okay?" Aria held Twilight, trying to break away her panic and worry.
"S-Smash their Pokemon flat...That's not physically possible but okay." Twilight's tears faded away after Espeon used Psychic to wipe her tears. The young alicorn then smiled afterwards. "We're going to win. Hopefully."
"You'd better not." Just then, Lightning Dust spoke to Twilight, appearing before her. "I can't have you win against Spitfire."
"Lightning Dust? Why?" Twilight asked.
"Because I wanna win against her, duh! It's why I came here. And to boost my popularity plus the Washouts but mainly Spitfire! If anyone's going to beat her, it's gonna be me."
"Pssh. As if." Aria sat up. "You think we're gonna lose just because you wanna win against someone else?"
"It'd be nice if you did." LIghtning Dust smirked as Twilight and other contestants within this room were starting to feel the tension. Even Nurse Joy and Nurse Redheart. "But, let's face it. You're a bit of a rookie, aren't you? No way you'd even come close to giving Spitfire a good challenge."
"Tch." Aria kissed her teeth. "Well, I guess to prove you wrong, we'll win this battle."
"As if you can win. I've got a better chance at doing it if Rainbow Dash isn't holding me back."
"Hoh? Maybe it's the other way around." And just like that, with Aria's response, she had also gotten to Lightning Dust. Both had levels of irritation that could be reached. Aria's was arguably higher than Lightning Dust's but she knew how to reply and put anyone on her level.
"What?" Lightning's tone changed as she pulled back.
"From what I've seen so far, it's Rainbow Dash who's being held back because of you. I may not know a lot about her and practically almost everyone in Ponyville, but she's not a weak trainer at all. Because she's here for a better reason than you." Aria praised Rainbow Dash as all she said was true. She should know. She had experienced the human world's Rainbow Dash and now this world's to know how they share one thing in common.
"Uh, Aria...Now's not the best time for-" Twilight tried simmering the situation before it could get out of hand. But Aria put her hoof out, not finished with her speech.
"Hah!" Lightning scoffed. "So you don't know how she really is and everypony else. Why even be here, hm?"
"I didn't want to be in this competition at first but Sonata ended up convincing me. But it's good she did. Cause now I'm having fun. And I could say the same about everyone else here. I don't know any of them that well. Or even at all. But I know that they're all here to have fun instead of settling some petty grudge. Even those who've lost looked like they had fun all the way through. Unlike you."
"Why you...!" Lightning growled back at Aria.
"Just watch us win this next match. And if we do go up against you, I'll be looking forward to that the most." And to end things off, Aria gave a confident smirk. A smirk that only she knows how to do.
"W-Whatever!" Lightning replied, unable to find a perfect counter. "I'm gonna go get some popcorn to watch you get smashed by Spitfire." After that, she left the scene to buy some popcorn. She did mean it.
"Whew..." Twilight sighed, glad that the situation had ended before it could escalate into something more physical and highly verbal. "Yikes, you sirens can be scary when you're upset."
"I get it from my mom." Aria shrugged. "Us sirens get heated when we feel attacked. Hm. Heated. Ironic." Aria chuckled, realizing she had made a subtle pun about heat and sirens. "Okay, Sparkle. Let's get out there and show Lightning wrong."
"But what if we can't win? Do you have the Pokemon capable of something like this?" Twilight asked.
"To tell you the truth, I don't care if I win or lose. But I'd rather be back to making others upset with my singing than have her get away with that. And even if we do lose, I'm counting on someone else to beat Spitfire before she can. Know what I mean?"
"I know what you mean." Twilight nodded. "So, is it Popplio this time? Or are you going to try using...Mmm." Twilight gulped for a split second. "Ledian?"
"Nah. I'm counting on Popplio for this. She never lets me down after all. I'm also counting you since you're experienced. And I'm feeling pretty psyched about this one. Great...I'm starting to sound like Ash." Aria scratched her mane as Twilight giggled.
"Popplio!"
"Let's see what Popplio has that can help." Twilight quickly took out her Pokedex to scan the Sea Lion Pokemon.
"Popplio. The Sea Lion Pokemon. Aqua Jet. Hydro Pump. Hyper Voice. Encore."
"Wow. Not bad. I've got a good feeling about this. But is Encore meant for just singing only?"
"Meh. Popplio liked the way it sounded so I let her keep it. Plus, it can help out one day." Aria patted Popplio on the head. "Also, I'm planning on using it for Nightmare Night. Just something I wanna scare Sonata with soon."
Just as she patted her partner, it was their turn. The next match between their opponents would begin at last. The alert went on, calling for the four competitors.
They had arrived on the field. Twilight Sparkle and Aria Blaze vs Spitfire and Daylight Blazer's battle was about to begin. Keeping a good eye on this were Sonata and Adagio. The trainers that their sister was going up against were formidable. But Twilight was just as formidable without a doubt.
"Whatever Pokemon they send out, we'll have to do our best," Twilight said to Aria.
"Yeah, I know. Besides, Popplio's small body will make her extra fast. I'll be hiding behind your Pokemon a lot if you don't mind, Sparkle." Aria replied.
"Come on, Aria!" Sonata cheered from the crowd, waving a flag. "I wanna see an awesome upset!"
"Pssh. There's no way she's going to beat my big brother." Sunrise replied, having a cocky smirk on his face. "He's too good. And uh, Spitfire too."
"No way!" Sonata denied that. "They'll win for sure!"
"You may both send out your Pokemon now." The referee said.
"Sticking to the plan! Go, Ninetales!" Twilight sent out Ninetales, staying firm with her plan despite her many worries.
"Ninetales!"
"Out you come, Popplio!" And Aria went for Popplio.
"Popplio!"
"Come out, Gallade!" Spitfire went for Gallade. A Pokemon she still counted on as the Blade Pokemon had emerged.
"Gallade!"
"Go, Araquanid!" And as for Daylight, his choice was Araquanid.
"Araquanid!"
"Just stay close to Ninetales, Popplio," said Aria. "You're too fragile for this, but you hit hard. A glass cannon like Pikachu. Okay?"
"Pop-Popp!"
"Battle Start!"
"Gallade! Go ahead and use Slash!"
"Araquanid, use Scald!"
"Lade...! Gallade!" Gallade lunged forward, going straight for Popplio who was the frailest out of everyone here. As for Araquanid, it stayed back, unleashing scalding hot water from its mouth.
"Ninetales, use Hidden Power Dragon!"
"Popplio, intercept with Aqua Jet!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales stomped on the ground before summoning a beautiful white aura around his body. That white aura then formed into a ray that had the face of a dragon in the front. Popplio on the other hand, took off from the ground like a rocket, moving at rapid speeds as she clashed with Gallade's blades head-on. The Hidden Power ended up meeting with Scald, cancelling each other out.
"Gallade!" Gallade moved back after he and Popplio had their little clash. But Gallade went in for another Slash, swinging it at Popplio.
"Dodge with Aqua Jet!"
"Lio!" Acting quick, Popplio zoomed to the side, avoiding Gallade's second Slash in the nick of time.
"Now, retaliate with some Hyper Voice!"
"Popp...LIO!" Popplio then slid on the ground, opening her mouth before unleashing a giant soundwave. And thanks to her ability Liquid Voice, it was considered a Water-Type move, boosting the attack even further.
"Block it, Gallade!"
"Lade!" Gallade put his hands up, using the strength of his blades to block the soundwaves. They were powerful enough to make his legs move a bit. But Gallade stayed firm on the ground.
"Well, Popplio hasn't fainted yet. So that's good." Aria said. "How's our next approach."
"They haven't done anything wild and unpredictable yet. But I don't want to play it safe throughout this." Twilight replied.
"I give it 5 minutes before that Popplio of hers drops down." Lightning Dust smirked, eating a bucket of popcorn. "No one can beat Spitfire's Gallade in physical strength. But my Pokemon can. And they'll beat Spitfire, not her."
"Psycho Cut, Gallade!"
"Gal...Lade!" Gallade then spread his arms out, covering his blades with pink energy. He then went straight for Ninetales while lunging from the ground.
"Ninetales, Extrasensory!"
"Popplio, Hydro Pump!"
"Oh, no you don't! Araquanid, intercept with Scald!"
"Quanid!" Araquanid quickly intercepted Popplio's Hydro Pump with Scald. Both Water-Type moves cancelled each other out as Hydro Pump did not strike Gallade.
"Lade!" Gallade ended up slicing Ninetales' Extrasensory with his blades. Even more than that, Gallade landed in front of the Fox Pokemon, striking him with Psycho Cut and knocking the Fire-Type back. "Gallade!"
"N-Nine!"
"Now, Araquanid! Go after Popplio and use Leech Life!"
"Araquanid!" Araquanid, using those long legs of it, rushed towards Popplio with energy fangs in front of its head, ready to sap the life out of the Sea Lion Pokemon. Araquanid was the slowest Pokemon here, only slightly behind Popplio. Popplio was the second slowest unless Aqua Jet was utilized.
"Don't let it! Use Hydro Pump!"
"Lio!"
Popplio unleashed Hydro Pump, sending a high volume blast of water Araquanid's way. But the moment the blast of water approach the Water Bubble Pokemon, it had suddenly been absorbed, doing nothing. This was an immunity effect.
"Popp?!"
"What?!" Aria pulled back as Popplio had been bitten by Leech Life. Not only was her energy sapped away, but she was also knocked back.
"It must be Water Absorb!" Twilight observed. "It's just like my Ninetales' Flash Fire. Any Water-Type attacks will be absorbed by Araquanid."
"Because of course..." Aria sighed, putting her hoof on her face. "That means Hyper Voice is out of the question. But it's fine! I'll just have to deal with it!"
"I like this one." Spitfire nudged her head over at Aria. "Reminds me of...Me. Just a bit."
"Reminds me of my brother." Daylight chimed in. "Must be natural for siblings to have those traits."
"Any ideas now, Sparkle?" Aria asked.
"Well, there's no chance of us beating Gallade in an up-close battle. That's ruled out. And Dewpider has an amazing special defence, plus immunity to Popplio's attacks. This might put us on edge."
"Wish I brought Ledian for this," Aria growled with a crooked grin.
"It's slow but I've got a bad feeling about this battle. Don't you guys?" Pinkie shuddered.
"I hear ya. I mean, Popplio's kinda in trouble a bit, ain't she?" said Rainbow Dash. "Not many options but Encore. Ninetales is all she can rely on."
"But Ninetales is really good at protecting others." Fluttershy stayed optimistic. "Popplio's safe around him."
"As if." Lightning Dust debated that. "Not only is Gallade strong, but he's also incredibly fast and durable too. You'd need a miracle to try and stop Gallade. That Popplio just needs one good hit from either of them and it's game over."
"Oh yeah?!" Sonata exclaimed as she heard Lightning Dust from the other side of the seats. "My sis doesn't go down so easily! Just you watch!"
"Sparkle. Cover Popplio for me. I want to see the rest of their moves." Aria pleaded.
"The rest of their moves? Why?"
"Just wait and see. Popplio, get under Ninetales' tails!"
"Popp!" Popplio hopped over as NInetales used his tails to cover her. But he did more than that. Ninetales had wrapped two of his tails around the Sea Lion Pokemon, holding her. "Lio?"
"T-That works too." Aria stuttered.
"Okay, Ninetales! Flare Blitz on Gallade!"
"Nine...!" Ninetales' eyes flashed as he charged at the Bade Pokemon. He left behind a trail of orange fire as it circles around his body until completely covering Ninetales' body like a fiery aura.
"Gallade, Close Combat!"
"Gallade!" Gallade then unleashed a flurry of slashes with his bladed arms, swinging them towards Ninetales' fiery aura. Ninetales' Flare Blitz tried breaking through as Gallade managed to hold him back via his swings.
"Tales!" Ninetales slid back, revealing slight recoil damage. Gallade also slid back after the clash.
"Daylight! Let's try that idea now!" Spitfire said.
"Gotcha! Bite!"
"Araqua...!" Araquanid utilized Bite, making dark energy fangs. But instead of going after either Ninetales or Popplio, Araquanid used it on Gallade, biting his arm.
"G-Gal!"
"Huh?!" Twilight, Aria and most of the crowd gasped after witnessing this sudden friendly fire. No one excepted this to happen. Araquanid attacking its partner forcefully instead of against its will.
But it was for a reason as Gallade's body started glowing orange. Ash quickly realized what ability this was and why Araquanid did this. "It's Justified!"
"What's Justified?!" Rainbow Dash asked.
"If a Dark-Type attack hits the opponent, their attack is raised. And it's all for justice." Ash explained as everyone realized how bad that was. Gallade was already a heavy hitter.
But now he was an even heavier hitter than before.
"Gallade!"
And Twilight knew about this ability too. "Justified. Great. Just great. They're not making things easier for us at all."
"I ain't scared." Aria pouted. "Do your worst."
"Gallade! Close Combat!"
"Gallade!" Gallade came rushing in with a greater attack than before. He strafed across the ground, aiming to hit both Ninetales and Popplio at the same time.
"Extrasensory!"
"Nine!" Ninetales then leapt into the air, avoiding the first swing of Close Combat. Afterwards, Gallade turned around, lunging after Ninetales. But before he could use the next move, Ninetales had held him in place with Extrasensory, knocking the Blade Pokemon away with an odd unseeable power.
"Gallade!" Gallade slid on the ground as he went after Ninetales once more, jumping back into the air for another Close Combat. He would not stop until it lands.
"Scald!"
"Araqua!" And Araquanid assisted. It had unleashed scalding hot water while Gallade was approaching Ninetales.
"Nine?!" Ninetales couldn't keep track of two attacks at once, that much was true. But with assistance, he could.
"Hyper Voice!"
"Popp...!" Ninetales moved two of his tails, allowing Popplio to be put to the side. "LIO!" After being held out by the tails, the Sea Lion Pokemon blocked Scald with Hyper Voice, saving Ninetales.
But Ninetales wasn't so safe from Gallade. The Blade Pokemon managed to land a hit on Ninetales, sashing his face. "Nine!" Ninteales cried out before falling. But, Ninetales was still in this as he recovered on the ground.
"Popplio, Hyper Voice on Gallade!"
"Popplio!" Popplio was then held out by Ninetales' tails, screeching out a horribly echoing shout with Water imbued within it. Gallade slashed the attack in half with his blades.
"Gallade!"
"We need to get rid of that Popplio quick, Daylight. Ninetales can't protect her forever,"
"Ninetales is pretty slippery to catch too. That speed is no joke." Daylight replied to her. "All we have to do is draw Ninetales out and break his tail hold. A few good hits will knock him out.
"Hm. Bite!"
"Araqua!" Araquanid went to bite Gallade again, just to boost his attack. However, Gallade would still take damage from it either way. Just minuscule at best.
"Gallade!" Gallade had been powered up.
"Ninetales, Hidden Power Dragon on Araquanid!"
"Popplio, back him up with Hydro Pump!"
"Nine!" Ninetales, still holding Popplio, unleashed Hidden Power again with a dragon face coming out. It zoomed past Gallade and made its way towards Araquanid.
"I think not! Mirror Coat!"
"Araqua...!" Araquanid stood there, deciding to take the attack. Hidden Power struck the Water Bubble Pokemon with some impressive force behind it. However, after the hit, Araquanid's body emanated a golden colour as he had retaliated by bouncing a giant beam over at Ninetales.
"Nine?!"
"Lio!" But Popplio stopped it with Hydro Pump, having enough power to stop the golden beam.
"That's it!" Aria gasped before having a revelation.
"Gallade, Psycho Cut!"
"Gallade!" In came Gallade with Psycho Cut up and ready. This time, he would attempt to separate Popplio and Ninetales from each other.
"Energy Ball!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales opened his mouth, using the size of Energy Ball as a shied and attack against Gallade. But, instead of going in front, Gallade slid to the side, evading the firing of the Energy Ball.
"Lade!" After evading it, Gallade slashed Ninetales' two tails, harming him and breaking his focus.
"Nine!" Ninetales had then dropped Popplio as his focus was broken. The Sea Lion Pokemon then landed on the ground, right on her back.
"P-Popp!"
"Gall!" Gallade then went for another Psycho Cut, only for Ninetales to use his tails to block it. The blade slashed onto Ninetales' tails as Popplio had been protected once more.
"Gallade?"
"T-Tales!" Ninetales winced before using his tails to push Gallade back. Gallade slid on the ground afterwards, appearing beside Araquanid.
"Lade."
"Ninetales! Are you okay?!" Twilight gasped after seeing that Ninetales' tales had bruises on them. Getting slashed by a Gallade with that much power certainly stung.
"N-Nine...!"
"Looks who's dragging who down." Lightning said from the crowd, taunting Aria from afar.
"Aria. I don't think Ninetales can protect Popplio forever. Not with his injuries." said Twilight.
"I know. But I've got a plan. Come here, Sparkle." Aria then dragged Twilight over, giving her an idea to work upon. Daylight and Sunrise took a moment to breathe and plan themselves.
"How many hits do you think Ninetales can take? He can't defend her all the way through." Rainbow Dash bit her hoof. "Plus, Gallade could end it with one Close Combat!"
"It's terrifying to think about." Rarity's heart was beating from this battle. "But there is no chance that Twilight would give up so easily. She has to find a way somehow."
But it was Aria who found a way.
"Okay. Let's do it." Aria and Twilight stood forward as they finished planning. So did Spitfire and Daylight as the battle could resume.
"Let's not hide anymore, Popplio!" Aria pumped her partner up.
"Lio!"
"Gallade! Close Combat!"
"Gallade!" Gallade was aiming to end this with one good Close Combat. And it would be on Popplio mainly as he ran forward. Ninetales didn't stand in front of Gallade to defend her.
"Ninetales, Extrasensory!"
"No, you don't! Araqua-"
"Encore!" That's when Aria interrupted Daylight. In that instance, she had utilized Encore for this moment. Popplio raised her flippers as a white orb of energy appears between them. The Sea Lion Pokemon then fires the orb at the opponent in an instant.
The orb instantly covered Araquanid and as soon as Daylight finished his sentence, Encore took effect. Instead of using the move Daylight wanted, Araquanid had used Mirror Coat.
But unfortunately for Araquanid, no one had attacked it yet, making Mirror Coat useless. "Quanid?!"
"What?!" Daylight pulled back. "Gah, not Encore!" He then cried out, pulling his mane.
"Encore's the move to keep you occupied! Let's tag team him! Aqua Jet!"
"Lio!" Popplio then switched targets, going for Gallade. Gallade had both Extrasensory and Aqua Jet coming his way. He swung towards Popplio, only for the Sea Lion Pokemon to dodge by zooming to the side.
"Lade!" Gallade missed, only to be hit by Extrasensory after not focusing on it for one second. "G-Gallade!" Gallade staggered as Popplio came back around for a hit to the back via Aqua Jet.
"Popplio!"
"Gallade!" After that hit to the back, Gallade lost balance, almost falling over.
"Second time, Araquanid! Leech Life!" Encore does last three times and no more. Daylight studied every Pokemon move so he knows about that. It had now been washed a second time due to Daylight's next command. But thanks to this delay with a failed Mirror Coat, Araquanid wasn't fast enough to help.
"Flare Blitz, go!"
"Nine!" Ninetales then rushed in for Flare Blitz, moving at breakneck speeds with a flaming aura. Popplio did the same thing as she would do it with water. And poor Araquanid had to wait for Encore to be over. It already happened the first time, now to two more times for the effects to run out.
And as it waited, it was powerless to help Gallade. The Blade Pokemon had been sandwiched between Aqua Jet and Flare Bitz. What Gallade excels in strength and fairly good special defence, he lacks in physical defence due. And with two physical moves hitting him with one having amazing power, it was a hard one.
Coupled with Araquanid's Bite which had damaged him just to boost his power, Gallade could only take so much punishment. Thus, after Poppio and Ninetales separated with Ninetales receiving recoil damage, an upset had occurred.
"G-Gallade..." To the surprise of everyone, Gallade got on his knees, fainting.
"Gallade is unable to battle! Ninetales and Popplio win!"
"No way!" Lightning Dust stood up as the crowd went wild. No one expected that to happen. They all thought that Popplio would be the first to fall. But in reality, it was the mighty Gallade.
Every Pokemon move has its use.
"Oh yeah!" Sonata stood up with joy. "That's my big sis! She can take out those super-smart and strong Pokemon no problem! Woohoo!"
"Oh snap..." Daylight scrunched his face as Encore had ended with Araquanid using his third Mirror Coat which failed. Spitfire's jaw dropped before she blinked a few times.
"Well, I'll be..." She was taken aback before returning Gallade. "Not bad, Aria Blaze. Thanks, Gallade. You were great."
"Phew." Aria sighed. "That just leaves Araquanid."
"Daylight's still formidable so be careful," Twilight warned. "None of Popplio's-"
"Moves will have any effect. I know." Aria interrupted. "I told that Lightning Dust I would be able to win. Now's our time to prove it. Popplio will provide backup from afar."
"Popplio."
"Wish I had Mega Evolution with me right now. Oh well. Can't have 'em all. At least now in this scenario." Daylight smirked before transforming his smile into a frown. "Araquanid, use Scald!"
"Quanid!" Araquanid could finally attack properly. Out of his mouth came a stream of hot water, right for Ninetales.
"Dodge and use Energy Ball!"
"Nine!" Ninetales zoomed to the side, evading Scald before summoning Energy Ball in his mouth.
"Mirror Coat!"
"Intercept with Aqua Jet!"
"Wait what?! Aria, it won't have any effect!" Twilight gasped.
"Doesn't matter! Can't let Ninetales fall anyway! Go, Popplio!"
"Lio!" Popplio lunged off the ground as Araquanid's body started glowing gold, ready to bounce Energy Ball back. But before it could do so, Popplio had crashed into the Water Bubble Pokemon, doing no damage.
"Araqua!" Araquanid scoffed as Ninetales unleashed Energy Ball. It then knocked Popplio away with its leg, making the Sea Lion Pokemon roll on the ground.
"How about we give you our own Bite! Snack on it, Popplio!"
"Popp!" And just then, Popplio had bitten on Araquanid's leg to throw it off focus. And by doing so, while Mirror Coat did end up being activated, it couldn't be unleashed properly as Araqunid took damage either way.
"A-Araqua!"
"Lio!" And Popplio stayed there as Daylight gasped.
"What is up with that Popplio?!"
"Popplio and I are kinda the same. She may look all kind and timid but she knows how to get aggressive when it counts. Just like yours truly." Aria grinned as her maniacal siren face showed, startling Daylight.
"Yeesh, you're creepy! Leech Life!"
"Araquanid!" But, Araquanid could still attack her. It formed the energy fangs from Leech Life, biting on Popplio's head and draining her energy for its own.
"P-Popp!" Popplio gasped before losing her grip on Araquanid. That one attack did her in as she fell to the ground. In that instance, she had fainted. But not before Twilight acted swiftly.
"Go, Ninetales! Hidden Power Dragon!"
"Ninetales!" After Popplio fell to the ground, Ninetales ran in, summoning the aura of Hidden Power around his body.
"Uh-oh! Mirror Coat, quick!"
"Quanid!" Araquanid quickly turned away from Popplio to see Ninetales incoming. The Fox Pokemon came to a screeching halt, unleashing Hidden Power Dragon.
Just as the gold light of Mirror Coat had emerged, Hidden Power hit its mark. Ninetales jumped back afterwards. However, that final Hidden Power sealed the deal.
Araquanid fell to the ground, fainting.
"Araquanid..."
"Araquanid is unable to battle! Thus, the victors are Ninetales and Popplio!"
In the biggest upset of this competition, Twilight and the not-so-rookie trainer Aria had won. She was never a rookie, to begin with. Just an average level trainer as Lightning Dust soon figured that out. Roars of applause filled the area along with gasps of shock as Lightning Dust dropped her bowl of popcorn, stunned.
"They did! They won!" Pinkie Pie and Sonata held each other, jumping for joy. Pinkie had miraculously reached Sonata's spot in an instant. Rainbow Dash was equally shocked as Lightning Dust. But on a good note.
No one excepted them to win against the Top 3 ranked trainers in the Equestria League. If this was a full 6-on-6 battle then the outcome would be vastly different predictable. But not in this competition. And as it all came to a close, something started happening to Popplio.
Her body started glowing as all attention was on her. An eruption of water emerged from her body, piercing the clouds with music notes spiralling around. This was evolution. At last, Popplio was evolving past her first stage the water then dispersed, making beautiful rain and a rainbow.
And emerging out of the water was the Pop Star Pokemon Brionne.
"Brionne!"
"Oh! You evolved?!" Aria was agape with wonder as she quickly took out her Pokedex along with some others.
"Brionne. The Pop Star Pokemon. A skillful dancer, it creates a sequence of water balloons as it dances, and briskly bombards its enemies. It cares deeply for its companions. When its Trainer is feeling down, it performs a cheery dance to try and help. It gets excited when it sees a dance it doesn’t know. This hard worker practices diligently until it can learn that dance. As if dancing, it artfully dodges the attacks of its enemies. All the while, it’s busy forming a bunch of balloons to overwhelm its foes. On nights when the sea is calm, Brionne dance with one another to the singing of the Primarina that’s leading them."
"Looks like your Brionne earned that evolution," Spitfire said as she and Daylight went up to Twilight and Aria. "And so do you two with this win. You outsmarted us with those crafty movements of yours."
"Thanks, Spitfire," Twilight replied. "That Bite on Gallade was genius. Having him increase his attack like that was pretty risky but amazing too."
"We both have ways to go. We may be Equestria's Top 3, but that doesn't mean we're unbeatable. Now we've seen there are other trainers that we need to outpace." Daylight spoke as Spitfire nodded in agreement. "Good luck through the rest of the competition."
"And Aria. Have you considered joining the Wonderbolts?" Spitfire asked.
"Pass. Besides, I ain't a pegasus," She shrugged while holding Brionne.
"Right on that. See ya later. We'll be watching." And just like that, they both left to heal their Pokemon and watch as spectators as the next trainers would go against each other soon.
"She lost..." And yet, Lightning Dust was still shocked as she got off her seat, walking away while leaving the bucket of popcorn. A nearby Munchlax came over to eat all of it off the floor.
"Munch-Munch."
Outside.
After healing their Pokemon, Spitfire and Daylight went outside to take a small break. But as they walked off, Lightning Dust was approaching.
"You know. I'm kinda thinking of having one pre-evolved Pokemon on my team after that. Wouldn't hurt to have glass cannons, would it?" Spitfire said. "I mean, there's Ash's Pikachu and-"
"Spitfire!" Lightning Dust roared, grabbing Spitfire's attention. "You...You weren't supposed to lose! Especially not to some above-average Pokemon Trainer!"
"Lightning." Spitfire sighed.
"I was supposed to beat you after you won. And you go ahead and lose like that?!"
"What can you do"? Spitfire shrugged. "Looks like you won't be beating me at all."
"Lightning!" And chasing after Lightning Dust after knowing what her reaction was to Spitfire losing was Rainbow Dash. She arrived at the scene to see Lightning distraught.
"I can't believe this...!" LIghtning groaned, closing her eyes in irritation and frustration. "What was the point of coming here in the first place?"
"If you came here to just beat me, then sorry." Spitfire turned around. "Wish I could scold you for that, but you're not a part of the Wonderbolts anymore."
"This wasn't supposed to happen." Lightning lowered her head as Spitfire walked off. Daylight followed with an awkward scrunched face. He could already feel the tension.
But Lightning Dust also started walking away. However, not in the direction of Equestria League Stadium. In fact, instead of walking, she chose to fly as she spread her wings, flying off.
"Huh? Lightning!" Rainbow Dash gasped as she also spread her wings to follow after her. From where Lightning was headed and how she was feeling, Rainbow Dash knew this meant only one thing.
"Don't follow me!" Lightning roared at Rainbow Dash forcing her to stop. "I quit!"
"What do you mean you quit?!" Rainbow Dash pulled back. Currently, after the defeat of Spitfire and Daylight Blazer under the hooves of Twilight Sparkle and Aria Blaze, in the biggest upset of the Canterlot Tag Battle Competition, Lightning Dust was distraught.
She expected Spitfire to win so that she could potentially face her later on. But to her dismay, that never happened. Her battle against Spitfire had been wiped out of existence due to that upset.
"What about the Washouts and getting them to be popular?! Aren't you gonna win for that?!"
"It was meant to go together with Spitfire's defeat! I can't go on with this!" LIghtning exclaimed. "I prepared my team to face Spitfire and everything and now it's all been turned upside down because of some siren and her Popplio! How did they even win?!"
"Well, Twilight's pretty good at protecting others, but besides that, you can't quit. We're a team. The competition's not over and we've still got-"
"I told you, I don't want to be your partner!" Lightning exclaimed, cutting Rainbow Dash off. "I don't know why you keep thinking that. You know I didn't come here to have fun or something like that. The reason I came here's been blown away thanks to...whatever her name is."
"It's Aria." Just then, a voice replied to Lightning, grabbing her attention and Rainbow Dash. Appearing above the skies was the older sister of Aria and the one here to laugh at Lightning's misery.
Adagio Dazzle.
"Adagio?" said Rainbow Dash.
"And my oh my...that was the best thing I've had to witness yet." Adagio chuckled. "What happened to all that bravado about my sister losing to the Top 3?"
"Y-You heard all of that?"
"I sure did. Pays to snoop. But honestly, you should've seen the look on your face when that happened. Ah, if I never stopped absorbing despair as magic anymore, I would've consumed all of this. It still feels delicious!"
"Come here to rub it in?!" Lightning growled.
"Yes!" Adagio was honest as her eyes widened with a devious smile. "Priceless wasn't it?! Hohohoho!" Her cocky laughter and taunting of Lightning Dust irritated the pegasus. "Honestly, I have a good feeling about this competition now. I wasn't too interested but if there's a chance my little sister could win this then why not? It'd also be impressive if she manages to outdo you two as an above-average trainer."
"What are you getting at?" Lightning narrowed her eyes.
"I'm just saying. She proved you wrong big-time. And she's probably more than an above-average trainer if I'm being honest. Seeing her work with Twilight Sparkle made me a bit sick in the mouth, but their teamwork is exceptional. Definitely better than what you two churned out yesterday. But that's to be expected from us sirens. We talk big and we can back it up too." Adagio snickered with a smug expression while laying her head on the clouds.
"No way!" Lightning exclaimed before turning around. She then recalled everything Aria said to her. It was Aria who made the challenge of beating Spitfire and shocked Lightning Dust. If there's one thing about Lightning Dust is that she can't let something go. And this was one of them. "There's no way I'm going to let her 1UP me!"
"So, what are you gonna do about it?" Adagio smirked before laying on a cloud.
"I'm winning this competition and beating that Aria Blaze. I may have lost my chance to beat Spitfire...but I won't lose my chance to beat her!"
"Then run along, my little pony." Adagio flailed her hoof in a shoo-mootion. "Can't wait to see you lose."
"I won't lose!" Just then, Lightning Dust flew back towards the stadium with high energy. Rainbow Dash looked at Lightning before looking back at Adagio.
"Uh..D-Did you?"
"I did. The only way to convince her to keep going." Adagio hopped off the cloud. "Us sirens are good at getting others heated, after all. Plus, I wouldn't miss out on this. Not one bit."
"So, you think we're gonna lose?"
"Meh. You, I have some hope for. Not for your partner there. Take some advice from yours truly." Adagio pointed her hoof at herself, showing off her superiority complex. "My sisters and I make an amazing team for various reasons. It's a bit like the team you have right now. We argue a lot as well. Well...not to that level."
"You know how to make and Lightning work together for real?" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Depends. She kinda reminds me of Aria. Just a tad bit." Adagio shrugged. "I know her types all too well. But she looks harder to reach than Aria."
"Gee...That's some advice." The pegasus sighed.
"But the point is, we put aside our differences to focus on one thing. It's how we've been so good at absorbing magic and causing negativity for a good time. Lightning doesn't look like she can. But maybe you with your weird friendship powers or whatever can do it."
"Can I?" Rainbow Dash wondered as she wasn't so sure of herself. But this didn't last long. She's not new to something like this. Mienfoo was essentially the catalyst for Rainbow to find some middle ground.
"I don't know. Why are you asking me?" Adagio turned around, heading back to the balcony to watch the battle. "Good luck on your next battle. Hope my sister wins~"
"Uh, thanks." The pegasus scratched her mane before flying back to the stadium. The next matches were taking place now.
Equestria League Stadium.
It was time for the next match to ensue. One between Barry and Applejack against Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust. Thanks to Adagio, Lightning Dust had the strength to carry on.
Aria sat with confidence in the lounge after her win. She held her newly evolved Brionne with pride. And as she sat there, Lightning Dust had passed by.
"Off to win or lose?" said Aria, grabbing Lightning's attention.
"Just you watch! When I win this, I'll go against you soon!" Lighting pointed her hoof at the smug siren. "Don't get cocky with that Brionne of yours next time!"
Afterwards, Lightning ran off into the field. Rainbow Dash flew by, shrugging as Barry and Applejack followed suit. Aria seemed unphased by Lightning's words.
"I'm not even using Brionne next." She said.
"Brionne."
And now, with both teams on the field, the next round of this section could begin. There certainly were an abundance of competitors, but gradually, they were being dropped down with each round. Either today or tomorrow could this Tag Battle Competition end.
"You looked pumped now, Lightning. Guess this means we can-" Rainbow Dash spoke to Lightning Dust, hoping that she would cooperate after seeing what she was up against now.
"Save it." But she didn't. Lightning still refused to properly team up with Rainbow Dash. "From now on, I'm doing things my way and my way alone. I work better with my Pokemon anyway than anypony else."
"Nice attitude." Rainbow Dash adjusted her Mega Evolution goggles, pouting. "Well, have it your way. I'll still try and help you in any way I can."
"Hahaha! Just watch us!" Barry chuckled with his arms crossed. "Applejack and I are gonna make history right here! Then I could be a hero here in Canterlot like Ash!"
"I dunno about that one..." Applejack scratched her mane. "But, you're eccentric alright, so I know you'll do something crazy like Ash does."
"Oh, you know it! Let's be eccentric together, AJ!"
"Me?" Applejack pulled back. "Eccentric? Hmm...Okay!" Applejack was actually all up for being eccentric. Barry rubbed off on her for sure.
"Pretty soon after this, we'll get to go up against you and Ash." Spike looked at Ash and Fluttershy. "Should I be nervous?"
"Is it okay to be nervous right now?" Scootaloo chimed in.
"No need to worry." Ash gave a thumbs up. "We'll have a blast all the way through it."
"Pikachu!"
"Both sides. Please bring out your Pokemon." said the referee.
"Sceptile, it's all you." Applejack finally went for Sceptile considering her opponent was Rainbow Dash. Not to be taken lightly.
"Sceptile!"
"Then for me, it's Empoleon!" And as for Barry, with a mighty swing of his arm, out came the Emperor Pokemon Empoleon.
"Empoleon!"
"I know the Pokemon for this! Go, Altaria!" For this round, Altaria was Rainbow Dash's choice. Perfect against Sceptile being a Flying-Type. All Lightning had to do was choose a Pokemon to counter Empoleon and even Sceptile.
And she had the Pokemon for that.
"Toxtricity! Go!" She used her wing to send Toxtricity out his Poke Ball.
"Toxtricity!"
"Battle Start!"
"Empoleon! Ice Beam!"
"Poleon!" Starting off strong, Empoleon used Ice Beam towards Altaria. He had a move that was already super-effective against the Hummoning Pokemon.
"Oh! Altaria, fight back with your own Ice Beam!"
"Taria!" Acting quick, Altaria also used Ice Beam to cancel the attack out, resulting in an icy blue explosion mid-air.
"Kay, Altaria, use Pluck on Sceptile!"
"Tari!" Altaria's bean emanated a vibrant blue light with sparkles coming out. She then made her way towards the Forest Pokemon.
"Toxtricity! Boomburst!"
"Tox...TRICITY!" Acting next, Toxtricity had strummed his electrical organs on his chest, releasing a blast of powerful white sound waves. They were highly widespread as they affected the ears of every Pokemon here. Especially poor Audino who had the most sensitive ears out of any Pokemon.
"A-Audino!"
"Taria!" Altaria was hit by Boomburst too with how wide it was. It knocked her back including Sceptile and Empoleon. However, Empoleon resisted it thanks to his Steel-Typing as he slid back.
"Altaria! Are you okay?!" Rainbow Dash gasped as Altaria recovered herself through the air.
"Altaria!"
"Follow up with Sludge Wave on Sceptile!"
"Sceptile, Slam!
"Tile!" It was Sceptile's turn to make a move as he approached Toxtricity with his hands out. He wasn't going to hit him in the head, rather, actually slam him like a wrestler would. And Sceptile had the speed and strength to make it happen.
"Toxtricity, use Sludge Wave!"
"Empoleon, go for Steel Wing!"
"Empol!" Empoleon wanted some licks in. By covering his flippers in steel, he lunged over at Altaria. As for Toxtricity, a big wave of dark purple sludge formed around Toxtricity. The sludge was then hurled at the incoming Forest and Emperor Pokemon with the movement of his hands.
"Dodge it!"
"Tile!" Sceptile leapt over the sludge while Empoleon was unaffected thanks to his Steel-Typing. After jumping over, Sceptile used his vines to grab Toxitricity from afar.
"Tox?!" Toxtricity gasped before noticing the vines wrap around him. Sceptile then pulled him into the air with great force, making him gasp. "T-Tox!"
"Sceptile!" And to finish Slam off, Sceptile had slammed Toxtricity into the ground with his vines. The heavy impact caused some cracks to form as Sceptile pulled his vines away.
As for Empoleon, he went to swing at Altaria, only for the Humming Pokemon to narrowly dodge it. But Empoleon didn't stop there. "Poleon!" The Emperor Pokemon lunged forward, going for another Steel Wing to try and hit his mark. Altaria zoomed to the side, evading it once more.
"Tari!" Altaria cried out after evading twice, much to the chagrin of Barry and Empoleon.
"Now retaliate with some Dragon Pulse!"
"Altaria!" After evading the Steel Wings, Altaria went on the offensive, throwing out a quick Dragon Pulse from her mouth. Only for it to be deflected by Empoleon's Steel Wing.
"Empol!"
So far, only Toxtricity had suffered damage from Sceptile's Slam. Sceptile, Altaria and Empoleon remained untouched as they were playing it safe. Playing it safe is never a bad approach as it helps to be defensive. Rainbow Dash had learned this through her months of battling. Before, she was an up-close and personal battler. Now, she's a mixture of good offence and good defence. What a leap.
The same can be said for Applejack and especially Barry. Barry's experience with Ash, Paul and the Sinnoh League had driven him to grow as a trainer. And Applejack has grown herself alongside her Sceptile.
"Hm-hm-hm." Barry chuckled, putting his finger over his nose. "Too bad for you two, it's not just Ice Beam that's good for this battle."
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust both said.
"This won't do anything to Altaria, but it'll sure do something to Toxtricity! Empoleon, Earthquake!"
"It knows Earthquake?!" Lightning pulled back, knowing that Toxtricity was heavily weak to Ground the same way Altaria is heavily weak to Ice. Empoleon would channel the Ground-Type move into his wings.
"Empol...!"
"I don't think so! Counter it with Boomburst!"
"Stop 'em Sceptile!"
"Scep...!" But Sceptile wouldn't allow his teammate to fail using Earthquake. He put out his arms to quickly send out his vines to try and grab Toxtricity before he blows everything sky-high with Boomburst.
"Altaria, Moonblast!"
"Tari! But saving Toxtricity from that was Altaria after she gathered power from the moon. After doing so, she had blown away the vines with the sphere.
In sync, Empoleon and Toxtricity had both unleashed Earthquake and Boomburst. Two insanely powerful Pokemon moves had made contact. They equalized each other as none of them had taken any hit from their attacks meeting. But the force of them certainly shook the field. From Earthquakes tremor and Boomburst affecting the air itself.
"I told you I don't need your help, Dash!" Lightning exclaimed at Rainbow Dash.
"Fine, be my guest and get double-teamed." Rainbow Dash gave a snarky retort.
"Whatever! Toxtricity, Overdrive!"
"Tox!" Now, Toxtricity had utilized his signature move. Overdrive. By using his organs, he strummed them with the equivalent of a guitar or bass guitar, causing a huge echo and strong vibration with electricity flowing out.
"What move is that?!" And being that this was Toxtricity's signature move, it was now to him, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Ash and many others within the crowd.
"Block it with Steel Wing!"
"You too, Sceptile! Dragon Pulse on it!"
"Empol!" Empoleon and Sceptile defended themselves against Overdrive with Empoleon using Steel Wing and Sceptile holding it back with Dragon Pulse. However, the force of it was so great that it managed to stagger Empoleon and even result in a slight shockwave that pushed Sceptile back. "E-Em!"
"Tile!"
"That Sceptile's just delaying things! It should be down and out by now! Toxtricity, Fire Punch!"
"Tox!" Toxtricity then moved in with yet another super-effective move, rushing in with hands of flames balled up into a fist.
"Leaf Blade!"
"Pluck! Go!"
"Counter with Steel Wing, Empoleon!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile also approached with his strongest physical move. Both Sceptile and Toxtricity had clashed Leaf Blade and Fire Punch with sparks flying out. They butted heads, trying to break through each other's attacks. Both Pokemon jumped back afterwards.
"Tox!" Toxtricity ran in, trying to push Sceptile with Fire Punch, only for the Forest Pokemon to move to the side. Sceptile's evasion allowed him to strike with Leaf Blade. He struck his blades onto Toxtricitiy's head, giving him a good whack.
"Scep!"
"T-Tri...!" Toxitricity gasped as even though he resisted Leaf Blade, Sceptile's strength was nothing to scoff at. Afterwards, Toxtricity returned the favour turning around and slapping Sceptile in the face. "City!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile cried out, gaining a burn mark as he stepped back. Sceptile then swung his tail, whacking Toxtricity to the side. The same went for Altaria. Empoleon's physical strength overpowered her as Steel Wing knocked the Humming Pokemon aside.
"Tari!" Altaria cried out before she and Toxtricity bumped into each other after having a dual knockback from different Starter Pokemon. Both had taken some damage.
"It was an accident, okay?! Let's switch our target now! Altaria, go for Sceptile with Ice Beam!"
"Altaria!" Altaria switched from Empoleon to Sceptile. FIghting Empoleon was difficult after all, considering that he resisted all of Altaria's moves.
"Tile?!" Sceptile gasped before using Leaf Blade to block Ice Beam. His bladed arms felt a bit chilly as he moved back.
"All we need is one hit! Earthquake! Hard and fast!"
"Poleon!" Empoleon smashed his wings onto the ground with Earthquake, forming gigantic white shockwaves that went towards Sceptile.
"Jump on Altaria, Toxtricity! For safer ground!"
"T-Tox...!" Toxtricity held his head before looking over at Altaria. He didn't have enough time to use Boomburst. But he did have time to dodge and jump. And so he did. By lunging into the air, and jumping on Altaria's fluffy back.
"Tari?!" Altaria grimaced for a spit second as Toxtricity had avoided Earthquake. But by using Altaria as a platform, he ended up forcing her down. And by doing so, she had almost been hit by the shockwaves of Earthquake, despite her being immune to Ground-Type attacks. Altaria flapped her wings for safety.
"Now, Boomburst midair!"
"TRICITY!" While in the air, Toxtricity had used Boomburst, blowing Sceptile and Emploeon back. As well as Altaria. This move was certainly dangerous to use when in a double battle.
"Watch it! You almost hurt Altaria!" Rainbow Dash roared.
"Pah! It's not like she was gonna be affected by it anyway! Fire Punch!"
"Tox-Tox!" Toxtricity had landed on the ground before rushing over to Sceptile, who was still staggered by Boomburst. But not Empoleon. Being a Steel-Type helped greatly.
"Be his shield, Empoleon!"
"Empol!" Standing in Toxtricity's way was Empoleon. Toxtricity's Fire Punch met with his body. While being a Steel-Type a bonus for defence, unfortunately, he was now neutral against Fire-Type attacks. But the Emperor Pokemon could still stand strong even after being struck in the chest by Fire Punch.
"Tox?"
"Grab Toxtricity!"
"Empoleon!" And after taking the hit, Empoleon had put his massive flippers around the Punk Pokemon, giving him a bearhug. And he had the strength to do it.
"T-Tox!"
"Sucker!" Lightning Dust grinned. "Overdrive!"
"T-Toxtric...!" Toxtricity's eyes started glowing after being given a bear hug. This was a perfect time to use Overdrive. Except for one small problem.
Toxtricity needed to strum its organs to perform its attacks.
"Ah!" And soon, Lightning Dust realized that. Toxtricity was now stuck with no way to attack. All of his attacks required movement of his hands after all. "Find a way out of there!"
"It's all you, AJ!" Barry snapped his fingers.
"I hear ya, partner! Sceptile, go for it! Dragon Pulse!" Applejack exclaimed as her hat almost fell from her head.
"Scep!" Sceptile quickly used his vines to adjust Applejack's hat while also jumping into the air. He huffed and puffed, building up more draconic energy than he usually does.
"Oh, no you don't!" But that's where Rainbow Dash stepped in for assistance. "Intercept with your Dragon Pulse!"
"Alta...!" Altaria did the same, huffing and puffing as well as she unleashed the same attack Sceptile did. The first Dragon Pulse from Sceptile was heading straight for Toxtricity. Empoleon would be fine since he resists Dragon. He was essentially using himself as both a meatshield and a way for Toxtricity to stay still for some damage. And the second Dragon Pulse from Altaria met with the first.
Both Dragon Pulses ended up crashing against each other, blowing up beside Empoleon and Toxtricity. With that explosion, Empoleon and Toxtricity had been knocked back with Toxtricity taking the most damage.
"E-Empol!"
"T-Tox!" Toxtricity got on his knees afterwards. He's certainly taken some punishment in this battle.
"Oooh!" Barry pulled his hair, growling. "If I could just land Ice Beam and Earthquake, it would be done faster than Paul's battle with Cynthia!"
"Slow down there, Barry." Applejack calmed him down. "It ain't over yet. We just gotta be faster than 'em to really catch 'em off guard."
"My Empoleon's not that fast, but your Sceptile's got great speed," Barry said before realizing what Applejack was planning. "Unless..."
"Got that right." Applejack put her hoof on her hat. Within her hat was the apple hairpin that contained The Sceptilite for Mega Sceptile.
"Great! You hurt my Pokemon too. Guess we're even then." said Lightning in disdain.
"Only have to save you from being double-teamed. I've only got Pluck and Ice Beam for Sceptile, but he's way too speedy for Altaria. Plus, Empoleon's too big of a threat with that Ice Beam it's got.
"Then use that Mega Evolution of yours already if this is so difficult."
"Altaria still won't be faster than Sceptile." Applejack put her hoof on her aerial goggles which contained the Altarianite. "But she'll be stronger enough to overpower his defences. Moonblast and Ice Beam will also do a lot and Dragon Pulse won't do a thing to Mega Altaria."
"Just do it already and let's get this battle over with. I want to get to that Aria Blaze as soon as I can."
"Okay!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack both knew what was coming as did Ash and everyone. They were excited for Mega Evolution to finally show itself in this competition. "Altaria!"
"Sceptile!" Applejack held up the hairpin.
"Mega Evolve!" Both Trainers cried out, allowing for Mega Evolution to take place. In unison, golden lights flared out of the keystones before surrounding their Pokemon. A red and blue light coated both Sceptile and Altaria. Everyone watched in awe as Mega Evolution was occurring before their eyes once more. it never gets old.
And emerging out of the lights were Mega Sceptile and Mega Altaria. Two Mega Hoenn Pokemon were on the scene. Similar in types but different in what they could do.
"Sceptile!"
"Altaria!"
"Finally! Mega Evolution! Go, sis!" Apple Bloom cheered along with others.
"Go! Ice Beam!" Rainbow Dash made the first move.
"Energy Ball it, Sceptile!"
"Altaria!" Altaria's boost in Mega Evolution allowed her to form instant Ice Beams that flew out of her mouth. But the same went for Sceptile. He had used two Energy Balls with both his hands, throwing them at Ice Beam. The two of them were enough to stop the chilling beam of ice.
"Sludge Wave!"
"Counter with Hydro Cannon!"
"Tox-Tox!" Toxtricity then made a wave of sludge around his body like some sort of shield. He spun around, causing multiple sludge projectiles to fly around. And at the same time, Empoleon opened his beak as a blue flash of light appears in front of it.
"Empol!" Then, a glowing light blue ball of water appeared in front of Empoleon's beak where the flash was as Hydro Cannon's giant ball of water got in the way of Toxtricity's Sludge Wave.
The multiple sludge projectiles met with the ball of water. And Hydro Cannon's strength certainly showed itself as it had depleted the sludge and went straight for Toxtricity. The Punk Pokemon's Poison Shield had been broken through by Hydro Cannon.
"T-Tox!"
"Leaf Blade!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile then rushed towards Altaria with extended blades. Longer than what he normally has.
"Pluck!"
"Tari!" Altaria would get physical as well. Sceptile was tough to keep up with naturally. But as Mega Sceptile, he was faster than ever, appearing right in front of Altaria. But Altaria was no slouch either. Her beak glowed as she thrust her head forward.
Her beak had met with Sceptile's blades. And with equal strength too. Altaria pushed Sceptile back before chasing after him. She went for another Pluck, only for Sceptile to duck his head. "Tari?"
"Sceptile!" After ducking, Sceptile struck the lower body of Altaria with an upwards Leaf Blade, pushing the Humming Pokemon back.
"Let's get this over with already! Overdrive!"
"Tox!" Toxtricity strummed his organs, sending out his signature move once more. But while it would do something to Empoleon, Mega Sceptile was a different story.
"Steel Wing to block it!"
"Empol!" Empoleon used Steel Wing as a conductor. Once Overdrive came his way, he used the metal around Steel Wing to absorb it, nullifying the damage.
And that wasn't the only thing nullified. Sceptile had phased through the attack as his special attack had been raised, much to the dismay of Lightning Dust.
"What the?!" LIghtning Dust gasped. "How?!"
"It's Lightning Rod! Just like Flash Fire and Water Absorb!" Rainbow Dash explained instantly before focusing on her next attack! "Moonblast!"
"Tari!" Altaria ascended into the air, drawing the power of the moon with her biggest Moonblast yet. She then hurled it like she was hurling food as it came rocketing down like a bomb.
"Leaf Blade and then Energy Ball!"
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile easily cut the Moonblast in half with Leaf Blade as it fell into two separate positions. He then put one of his hands out, summoning an array of vines to grab Altaria. And with his speed, he succeeded as the vines wrapped around Altaria's wings.
"Tari!?"
"Scep!" Sceptile then dragged Altaria down, aiming to hit her with Energy Ball with his other hand already having the attack.
"Freeze it with Ice Beam!"
"Altaria!" Altaria quickly froze the vines with Ice Beam. After causing a flash-freeze, she had headbutted the vines, shattering them before flying away. Just in time to dodge Energy Ball.
"Empoleon! Earthquake!"
"Boomburst, Toxtricity!"
"Dragon Pulse on Toxtricity!"
With one final Hail Meloetta attempt, Empoleon and Toxtricity were looking to end this. All at once, they had unleashed these dual hard-hitting moves. But not without assistance.
"Ice Beam on the ground, Altaria!"
"Aria!" With assistance from Rainbow Dash, even though Lightning kept denying any help, Altaria had unleashed Ice Beam on the ground. And by doing so, caused a flash-freeze that had frozen the battlefield. Not only did it trap Sceptile's legs, but it also promptly stopped Earthquake from happening due to Ice's advantage of Ground.
"Scep!?"
"Empol?!"
And Boomburst was exempt since it travelled through the air. Not just the ground. And with that, Boomburst had struck Empoleon and Sceptile. But while Sceptile remained steady, even after having his feet frozen, Empoleon did not. With that final Boomburst, Empoleon had fainted. But not without someone going down with him.
Dragon Pulse also travelled the air as it had struck Toxtricity, unable to be stopped by Ice Beam on the ground. Both Toxtricity and Empoleon received damage, in the long run, fainting.
Just like how Empoleon fainted against Paul. Standing up as his feet were stuck. Toxtricity just fell on his back as defeat.
"Empoleon..."
"Toxtricity..."
"Empoleon and Toxtricity are both unable to battle!
"Ah! Not my Empoleon!" Barry got on his knees gasping. "Curse that Ice Beam! Wish I got mine off on Altaria!"
"Guess that's it..." Lightning Dust sighed before lowering her head. "I couldn't knock out a single Pokemon..."
"Lightning." Rainbow Dash looked at Lightning Dust and her disappointment. She desperately wanted to get through this and hopefully face Aria to get some form of revenge. But that wouldn't happen. Even if her reasons were petty, Rainbow Dash could understand her as she faced forward with determination.
"Don't worry about it, Barry. I'm ending this." Applejack adjusted her hat before carrying on Barry's will to avenge his Empoleon. "Sceptile! Spin your tail!"
"Tile!" By spinning his giant tail, Sceptile shattered the ice with ease, despite his heavy weakness to Ice-Type attacks.
"Go! Leaf Blade!"
"Altaria! Ice Beam!"
One last attempt. Sceptile slashed the ground with Leaf Blade, summoning large chunks of ice to float up. He then jumped on the chunks of ice, using them as a platform to get higher. At the same time, Altaria was preparing one final Leaf Blade to end it off.
Both Pokemon approached each other with Sceptile facing Altaria's open mouth with an ice ball inside. And in a flash, Sceptile had used his vines to grab Altaria's beak, closing it shut.
"Tari?!" Altaria gasped as her beak had been shut off, causing the Ice Beam to backfire on her. It backfired so hard that it ended up freezing her body, placing her in an ice prison.
"What the?!" Rainbow Dash pulled back.
"GO!" Applejack exclaimed, boosting Sceptile's confidence with that scream as everyone looked up in awe.
"Scep...TILE!" And with his strongest swing yet to date, Sceptile had slashed past Altaria and her ice prison, cutting it in half. Beautiful snow droplets fell from above as Sceptile stuck a superhero landing with style.
And after that, having her own attack backfire on her and taking Leaf Blade, the result had been made. Altaria fell from above, unable to battle as she had fainted. Thankfully, her fluffy body cushioned the fall.
"Altaria..."
"Altaria is unable to battle! Thus the victors of this battle are Sceptile and Empoleon!"
"Woah! I didn't see that one coming!" Pinkie Pie freaked out as Applejack's family, all of them, cheered with their highest voices that they could muster. Everyone thought Sceptile was a goner for being Grass-Dragon now. But thanks to those vines, he turned it around.
Ever since Roserade and Roseluck, Applejack has really relied on those vines. And they certainly haven't let her down for a second as she went over to hug Sceptile. "Sceptile! We did it! You're the best partner I could ever ask for!"
"Sceptile."
And just as the battle ended, Applejack's Pokedex started ringing. She took it out to see what was happening. And before her eyes, Sceptile had the potential to learn two new moves.
Frenzy Plant and Thunder Punch.
"Sceptile wants to learn Frenzy Plant and Thunder Punch. Would you like to get rid of two moves?" The Pokedex asked.
"What do you think, Sceptile? What's good for you?" Applejack asked.
"Tile." Sceptile pointed at Energy Ball and Slam. "Scep-Scep."
"You got it." Applejack nudged the Forest Pokemon.
"Boy..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "We lost. But ah, what can you do? That just means my friends are strong too. That's great. I've got a bigger reason to grow as a trainer if they can go hoof-to-hoof with me."
"I'm out of here." After that defeat, Lightning Dust returned her Toxtricity before flying back to the lounge and potentially out of Canterlot.
"Lightning, wait!"
"Best leave her, Rainbow," said Applejack, halting her friend. "She ain't in the best mood right now."
Rainbow Dash watched as Lightning Dust left the scene. Not angry, just upset. Arguably, that was worse than being frustrated by Spitfire's loss. Her own loss got to her as she would not make it into the final round.
The Canterlot Tag Battle Tournament was nearing its end as Rainbow Dash still chose to follow Lightning Dust. Without Applejack watching of course as the journey continues.
After the battle between Barry and Applejack against Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust with Applejack's team being victorious, the remaining battles could continue. Up next was Ash and Fluttershy against Spike and Scootaloo.
But before that, a slight break was in session. And during that break, Lightning Dust was leaving after her loss. She was not advancing to the next round, much to her dismay. And following her was Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash had seen that Lightning Dust hadn't left Canterlot yet. Instead, she sat on one of the benches just near the Canterlot Gardens. Lightning Dust was visibly dismayed by all that had happened. Not having her chance to battle Spitfire since she lost and losing her current round as well.
She looked at her four Poke Balls. Four Pokemon that she never got to use and show off with. A shame. Rainbow Dash was interested in what other Pokemon she could have potentially. Wouldn't be the first that she's lost something, especially her position.
But as she sat there, she had only one pony to blame. Rainbow Dash. "It's all her fault. First, her stupid friends messed everything up for me by getting me kicked out of the Wonderbolts and now this?" Lightning said. But in that instance, she also knew that for this scenario, she was at fault too in a sense.
Rainbow Dash did try and encourage her to use teamwork. After all, Aria Blaze, a trainer who is less experienced than both Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust managed to defeat Spitfire and Daylight Blazer via great teamwork with Twilight. And Lightning didn't want to admit it, but it was certainly true.
She then thought of her team. Not just her Pokemon, but the ones she had back at the Wonderbolts and the new ones the Washouts. In reality, it was Lightning Dust who had no cooperation throughout this competition. And she knew it.
"Great. I blew it." Lightning Dust sighed before admitting to her failures. However, much like Rainbow Dash, despite her failure, she refused to let up. "But it's not over yet. Even I lost this, I can still win the next big thing. The Equestria League. And then I'll become Equestria's Champion. Hah!"
"Talk about rebound..." Rainbow Dash whispered as she and Castform watched Lightning Dust.
"Castform."
"I know you're there!" Lightning Dust exclaimed before noticing Rainbow Dash's shadow. Her fellow pegasus jumped after being noticed.
"Oh!" Rainbow Dash appeared in view. "I didn't hear much!"
"Forget it. Don't even know why I'm still here anyway." Lightning Dust hopped off the bench. "Well, I guess you were right about one thing. We needed to work as a team."
"Bit too late for that, don't you think?" Rainbow Dash shrugged. "We could've totally made it far if you didn't get all surly back there. But uh...Not sure about the Spitfire part."
"Doesn't matter. Because that's the last time I ever team up with you. I'll have something way better to look forward to. The Equestria League. And I'll beat everypony there. Plus, I mean, it's pretty obvious that Spitfire's gonna be there."
"What about me?" Rainbow Dash aimed her hoof at herself. "You know, I could reach the league soon and become champion before anypony else."
"No way." Lightning Dust scoffed. "It's gonna be me. My team was made to destroy Spitfire's."
"Yeah well my team's got counters too, ya know. Plus, I've got Pokemon that can beat yours." Rainbow Dash smirked, knowing that was true.
"Yeah, just your Mienfoo to my Toxtricity, duh." Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash went close to each other, butting heads as always. Physically and figuratively. "You don't have anything for the rest of my Pokemon!"
"How do you know?!" Rainbow Dash growled, pushing Lightning's head back with her own.
"You hang around with Ash whose super popular, how can I not know?! Besides, I'm not the one stuck with 6 Pokemon for months."
"I can beat you with just 6 Pokemon!"
"That means you're on par with me, duh!"
Their arguing went back and forth as Castform hid inside Rainbow Dash's saddlebag to avoid the crossfire and hostility of pegasi. After a few seconds of growling and giving each other stink-eyes, they separated at last.
"Fine! I've been itching for some rivals in this league! Just you wait and see." Lightning officially made a declaration of Rainbow Dash being her rival and a worthy one too. "I'll get there. Way before you and Spitfire do. And I'll be ranked number 1 on those leaderboards. Just you wait and see.
"We'll see about that!" And Rainbow Dash accepted that declaration. Whether it was her competitive nature or Lightning Dust rubbing off on her. But as they both declared, their stomachs were both growling in unison.
And also in unison, they said the same thing. "Oh, I'm hungry." Both needed something to eat. And all the good food was back inside as they rushed over to snack away.
Celestia's throne room.
After learning about spotting what seemed to be the Empress' forces in the Pokemon World, when in reality, it was Daybreaker's, Celestia took notice, wondering what they were up to. To find discoveries, she had some of her forces set off and spy on them.
Not only that, but with the assistance of the Universal Alliance, she gathered some more information on ponies who could potentially be in on it. And with troops returning plus some word from the alliance, this is what she found out.
"From what we heard, they're looking for a Sea Temple." The guard said.
"Sea Temple?" Celestia repeated. "Where would that be?"
"Nopony knows." The guard shook his head. "Apparently, it moves with the sea currents, so it's never in one place at all times. Even they seem to be struggling to find it."
"That makes sense. The sea is vast." Celestia replied. "This also means those rumours I heard from other universes were correct. That sea temple must have something so great that Empress Twilight would go after it.
"Well, it's not just her." The guard had one other revelation to give out. "Apparently, Daybreaker is searching for the temple. And that explains why those armours were different from what we saw originally."
"Daybreaker?" Celestia thought for a moment. "Oh, right. That other variant of myself. Still have yet to do anything about her. Or the others really. Really, we haven't seen much action from them at all."
"Action or not, they're too big of a threat." Luna walked up to Celestia. "You remember what Flurry Heart said. That Daybreaker was far more terrifying than the Empress. "Whatever's at that Sea Temple cannot be found."
"I know. I say we search for it as well. Since it's so difficult to keep track of, it's unclear who can find it first." Celestia suggested. A small team would be set out to try and find Samiya.
But it was unclear who would be first to do so. Celestia. Daybreaker or Empress Twilight. Samiya is almost equivalent to a once in a lifetime experience. Finding it feels like one as well.
Equestria League Stadium.
Before the next matches could start and for this day to soon close off once late afternoon arrives, the break was nearing its end. But Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust weren't too late to eat. They sat at separate tables, eating the same way. They were identical in many ways after all.
"So did you and Lightning make up?" Twilight asked Rainbow Dash. "I'm surprised she didn't leave."
"No way." Rainbow Dash pouted while eating. "Never in a million years. We're rivals now. Gonna be racing to the top. 'Course, I'm gonna get there first."
"So much for you two being friends..." Twilight chuckled nervously. "Sorry, you lost the second round by the way."
"Ah don't sweat. Gave me a better reason to get stronger, didn't it? Kinda bummed I didn't get to battle Spitfire though. Or you and everypony else." A disappointed Rainbow Dash put her hoof on her cheek, sighing. Truly a massive missed opportunity on her part.
Aria came over to talk strategy with Twilight. But as soon as she showed up, she and Lightning Dust had made eye contact. Apart from Rainbow and Lightning's rivalry, there was not anything friendly about this atmosphere and relationship.
Rainbow Dash swallowed her food before gulping. So did Rainbow Dash and others who were aware of these two and how they reacted to each other.
"Aria." Lightning narrowed her eyes with pure and utter disdain.
"Well, looks like you didn't leave Canterlot after all," Aria smirked with the opposite. Confidence and a smug look. Aria knew how to be petty at the right moment. And she could back up that pettiness. Definitely a trait she shares with Adagio as Lightning slowly swallowed her food.
"Aria. Whatever you're gonna do, please don't do it." Twilight whispered, pleading at the siren.
"I won't." She chuckled, closing her eyes before turning around. "But it's petty fun. Kinda reminds me of the old days. Before we ended up in the human world."
"Right, right. So what did you want to talk to me about?" Twilight asked as the alert went off. It was time for the next match to begin. Ash, Fluttershy, Spike and Scootaloo got off their seats to prepare themselves. Once their battle ends, that would leave the remaining matches and thus the top 4 teams for the quarterfinals and then soon the final match tomorrow.
So far, out of these 44 competitors, few remain. Certainly a tad bit longer than the Hearthome City Tag Battle years ago. The remaining matchups would be Rarity and Ember vs two other trainers and then Twilight and Aria against some random trainers as well.
"Please send out your Pokemon."
"Dragonite, I choose you!" Ash sent out Dragonite for this.
"Dragonite!"
"It's your turn." Fluttershy picked up Scorbunny, placing him on the field. But Scorbunny hopped out of her hooves to land on the field instead. Just to show off.
"Scorbunny!"
"Ash does know that Spike kid has Dragon-Type Pokemon too? Why go for another?" Aria asked.
"Ash loves to challenge himself." Twilight explained. "That's how he sees himself becoming a better Pokemon Trainer. And he's goo at it without a doubt."
"If it's Ash, then I'll use my strongest Pokemon. And that would be..." Spike alternated between Salamence, Goodra and Axew. Salamence did have Mega Evolution and Goodra has not disappointed ever since he came back from Avaun's training. Axew's ability to transform into Equestrian Haxorus was impressive as well along with his amazing strength."
"Xew. Axew!" Axew tried convincing Spike to choose him. But Spike had reached a conclusion.
"Sorry, Axew. I think I'm going with Salamence," said Spike. "Maybe later. If we uh...make it through this battle."
"Axew." Axew lowered his head in disappointment. But he would cheer Spike on anyway.
"Go, Salamence!" Out came Salamence into the fray.
"Salamence!"
"I can't believe I get to battle Ash!" Scootaloo pranced on the spot with excitement. She was clearly fangirling. "I'm so psyched! And pretty scared too! But I know who I'm sticking with! Ponyta, come out!" And for Scootaloo, she chose her strongest Pokemon by far. Her trusty Ponyta that she received from BigTime Ben.
"Ponyta!"
"Battle Start!"
"Me first! Ponyta, use Flame Charge!" Scootaloo started off, but not before Fluttershy acted quickly on her hooves too.
"You use Flame Charge also Scorbunny!"
In perfect sync after having commands given to them, Ponyta and Scorbunny used Flame Charge. They both repeatedly stomped on the ground until a cloud of dust covers their bodies. Both Fire-Types then emerged from the cloud while surrounded by an orb of red-yellow flames as they ran at each other.
"Dragonite, Dragon Claw, go!"
"Dra!" Dragonite put her arms out, covering them in Draconic energy. All focus was on Salamence for equal super-effective damage. But of course, Salamence also had some super-effective moves. Especially a move that he had traded out for Dragon Tail.
"Dragon Pulse, go!"
"Mence!" Out of Salamence's mouth, Dragon Pulse had been used in the form of a blue dragon-shaped shockwave. Dragonite came in contact with it, using her claws to hit the blast, resulting in an equalization. That wasn't the only contact made.
Ponyta and Scorbunny had butted heads with Flame Charge. Or rather auras to be exact. After coming in contact, they entered a rush where both Pokemon tried pushing each other back. But it reached a stalemate as they slid back. Both their speeds had been increased afterwards.
"Dragonite, use Dragon Dance!"
"Dragon!" Dragonite, instead of attacking, would increase her attack and speed respectively. And she did this by using her usual spinning technique.
"Sala...!" Salamence opened his mouth for another Dragon Pulse to hit Dragonite while she's not attacking. But, this was all part of Ash's strategy. Dragonite spinning with Dragon Dance isn't anything new. She spun around so much that she made a self-whirlwind around herself that had knocked away Dragon Pulse.
Just like against Korrina's Lucario.
"Should've seen that coming! Zen Headbutt!"
"Sala!" Salamence then rushed in with his willpower being focused on his head. He rushed in, smashing his head onto Dragonite's body after she finished using Dragon Dance.
"Gonite!"
"Now it's our turn! Dragon Claw!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite then flew in after being knocked back, faster than ever. She then gave Salamence a swift slap to the face with Dragon Claw, dealing greater damage thanks to Dragon Dance.
"Sal!" Salamance's eyes widened after being slapped away. Wouldn't be the first time he's been slapped in the face by Dragonite.
"So far so good, right?" Fluttershy looked at Ash.
"Right. But I know things are about to get even more fun." Ash excitement for an entertaining battle was rising.
"Okay, Ponyta! Double Kick!"
"Salamence, use Flamethrower! Let's try and burn Dragonite!"
"Ponyta!" Ponyta rushed over with his back legs being used. Salamence flew over the Fire Horse Pokemon, looking for a burn. Dealing damage over time to Dragonite was a good option.
"Scorbunny, High Jump Kick!"
"Dragonite, Hurricane!"
"Scorbun!" Scorbunny's leg lit up as he also had a Fighting-Type move of his own, heading straight for Ponyta. Dragonite started flapping her wings to form a hurricane.
But that's when Salamence switched things up. Instead of just attacking Dragonite, he had also attacked Scorbunny. And he did so by using Flamethrower as a widespread move via spraying. "Salamence!" Salamence breathed out fire while moving his head, making sure it would hit both targets.
While Hurricane managed to fend off the flames, some of them reached Scorbunny while he was making his way towards Ponyta. "Sco?!" The Rabbit Pokemon noticed the incoming flames as they had immediately struck him. He resisted it, but Salamence's power was strong enough to put pressure on him.
"Oh! Scorbunny!" Fluttershy gasped as Scorbunny's High Jump Kick had been halted. Afterwards, Ponyta moved in with his back legs, kicking Scorbunny away.
"Now follow up with Swift!"
"Ponyta!" Ponyta followed up his attack by swinging his tail, sending multiple star-shaped rays at Scorbunny who was still flying through the air after that incredibly surprising team-up attempt.
"Dragonite, protect Scorbunny!"
"Dra!" But acting as a shield, Dragonite stood in the way of Swift, taking the star-shaped rays head-on. She brushed them off like they were nothing. Scorbunny had been saved, sliding on the ground.
"That was close..." Fluttershy sighed along with Scorbunny. "I think Scorbunny's safer if he's closer to Dragonite, Ash."
"I hear ya. Just have Scorbunny get on Dragonite and we'll be good."
"Okay. Scorbunny, get on Dragonite for safety."
"Scorbunny!" He did just that. By leaping through the air, the Rabbit Pokemon took a temporary ride on Dragonite's head. That way, he can be protected by Dragonite and attack at the same time.
"How am I gonna reach him now?" Scootaloo pouted. "Oh, wait! I know how! Bounce!"
"Ponyta...!" Ponyta used one of his latest moves. Bounce. By using the strength of his hooves, he leapt into the air to chase after Scorbunny.
"Salamence, Pulse!"
"Dodge and use Hyper Beam!"
"Ember!"
"Scorbun!" As Dragonite swayed to the side, avoiding the incoming Dragon Pulse by her scales, Scorbunny spat out constant sparks of ember from his mouth. Dragonite unleashed something far greater from her mouth. A Hyper Beam.
"You use Hyper Beam too!"
"Sala!" Salamence countered Hyper Beam with his Hyper Beam as there was now a beam struggle between both of them in the meanwhile.
Ponyta managed to leap over the sparks before diving straight towards his fellow Fire-Type. Everyone marvelled at that impressive height gain from Ponyta.
"Pony...!"
"Flame Charge!"
"Scorbunny!" Scorbunny ignited his body while on Dragonite's head. He used the aura of Flame Charge as a shield. And a very good one too. Once Ponyta dived in with his hooves first. They ended up meeting with Ponyta's flame aura. But this time, Ponyta managed to breakthrough.
His hooves smashed through the flame aura and smacked Scorbunny in the face. "Ponyta!"
"Scor!" Scorbunny cried out as he fell off Dragonite's head. Dragonite looked back as she was still in the middle of a struggle with Salamence. She saw that Ponyta was about to land on her back due to this positioning.
The Dragon Pokemon chose to end this struggle of Hyper Beam as no one was winning this. Both beams cancelled each other out, but as consequence, both Dragonite and Salamence were forced to recharge. Thus, Dragonite could do nothing about Ponyta on her back for a while.
"S-Scor!" But, Scorbunny ended up gabbing Dragonite's tail to save himself.
"Double Kick!"
"Pony...!" Ponya was ready to strike Dragonite's back. Even though it wouldn't do much, it was still something other than just standing around and doing nothing.
"Quick Attack!"
"S-Scorbunny!" Acting swiftly and with lightning-fast reflexes that were natural for rabbits in general, Scorbunny leapt off of Dragonite's tail, tackling Ponyta before he could do anything.
"Pony!" Ponyta cried out after being tackled. The Fire Horse Pokemon was knocked off Dragonite's head because of this. Now he was the one falling.
"Salamence!" But along came Salamence. He and Dragonite had just finished recharging as the Dragon Pokemon caught Ponyta on his back for safety.
"Nice save, Salamence! Now let's get back into some action! Zen Headbutt!"
"Use Dragon Claw, back to back!" In that instance, a constant back and forth with Dragon Claw and Zen Headbutt occurred. Dragonite and Salamence approached each other with their physical attacks. By using his willpower, Salamence made Zen Headbutt a shield from super-effective Dragon-Type attacks.
"Swift!"
"Ember!"
And Ponyta and Scorbunny played their part. As Ponyta sent out star-shaped rays only for them to be stopped by Ember's sparks. So far, it was even. Two powerful Dragon-Types and two speedy Fire-Types going at it with no sign of each side slowing down.
"This is pretty good stuff right here," Spitfire said as she was still here with Daylight. No shame in watching the competition even if she lost. "Ash taught them well."
"He sure did. But we're pretty sure he also did it so that one day, he could face all of us." Twilight replied. "And I don't blame him. Pokemon Battles can get exciting, can't they?"
"Dragonite!"
"Salamence!"
The struggle ended. Neither side gave an inch as Ponyta hopped off Salamence's back. Salamence shook his head after using all of those Zen Headbutts.
"Well, we're not down yet." Scootaloo laughed nervously. "I think I know what I gotta do next. Do you, Spike?"
"Don't I?" Spike raised his arm to show his Mega Bracelet. That meant only one thing. Fluttershy and Scootaloo had the same idea as they both held out Z-Crystals.
More specifically, the Firium Z. They both obtained it after completing a dual trial in Alola and have been holding onto it ever since. Now was a good time to use it.
"Z Crystals and Mega Evolution in the same place?!" Rainbow Dash gasped. "So awesome!"
"Here we go, Salamence!" Spike tapped on the keystone as the Mega Evolution process began.
"Bring it." Ash encouraged them to use everything they had. And he was looking forward to it, unaffected by fear whatsoever.
"Mega Evolve!" With Spike order, Salamence began Mega Evolving right before everyone's eyes. With a flash of red, gold and blue, out came Mega Salamence, in all of his glory.
"Salamence!"
"Go, Salamence! Dragon Pulse!"
"Mence!" Faster than ever and packing quite a punch, Salamence had sent out a larger Dragon Pulse that tore through the atmosphere.
"Dodge and use Dragon Dance!"
"Dra!" But Dragonite's speed was nothing to scoff at. Especially Ash's. By zooming into the air, she managed to evade Dragon Pulse. Afterwards, she spun around once more, increasing her attack and speed to gradually match Mega Salamence's. However, Salamence continued Dragon Pulse by unleashing another one!"
"Dragon Claw!"
"Quick Attack, Scorbunny!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite and Scorbunny moved in with Scorbunny going ahead thanks to Quick Attack's speed. Dragonite had obliterated the Dragon Pulse with her claws.
"Ponyta, use Double Kick!"
"Ponyta!" Ponyta neighed before raising his hooves. He waited for Scorbunny to appear at the right moment. Once Scorbunny was close, he jumped over the Rabbit Pokemon, evading the speedy Quick Attack.
"Scor?"
"Nyta!" After jumping over him, Ponyta landed behind his fellow Fire-Type, kicking him in the back with two consecutive hoof kicks. Scorbunny gained average knockback from that.
"Retaliate with Ember!"
"Scor!" Scorbunny recovered by hopping into the air. He then spat out sparks of ember from his mouth in a raining motion. After using Double Kick, Ponyta was bombarded by raining Embers.
"Hurricane!" Ash roared as Dragonite flapped her wings, sending a giant spiral of wind towards Salamence.
"Break it with Hyper Beam!"
"Sala!" Salamance unleashed a greater Hyper Beam. The beam instantly tore through Hurricane. Not only did it break the attack, but it also hit Dragonite square in her stomach.
"D-Dra!" Dragonite winced as she was blasted through the air by that Hyper Beam. But considering how resilient and tough Dragonite was, specifically this one, she didn't go down so easily. And after using Hyper Beam, Salamence needed time to recharge.
"Now's our chance! Dragon Dance!"
"Use High Jump Kick on Salamence!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite took the time to boost herself. With one final Dragon Dance, she was certainly on Salamence's level now as Scorbunny jumped into the air, approaching the recharging Dragon Pokemon.
"Stop him with Bounce!"
"Ponyta!" Ponyta wouldn't allow Salamence to be hurt while recharging. In the nick of time, the Fire Pokemon got in Scorbunny's way.
"Aha!" But Fluttershy found an opportunity. "Swap Scorbunny!"
"Scorbunny...!" Scorbunny's eye flashed as he switched the direction of his attack. Instead of attacking Salamence, he smashed his foot onto Ponyta's head, sending the Fire Horse Pokemon down.
"Ah! Ponyta!" Scootaloo gasped as Ponyta rolled on the ground like a ragdoll. The Fire Horse Pokemon grimaced before barely recovering himself. One more good and powerful hit and that could be the end of Ponyta. But the same could be said for Scorbunny as they were both fragile First Stage Pokemon after all.
"This is getting bad. I think now's a good time to use it." Scootaloo was now heading for her Z-Crystal. She immediately placed the Z-Ring on for it to be used.
"I should wrap this up as well." And so did Fluttershy, having the same idea. She also took out her Z-Ring placing it on. This would be one of those rare moments where two Z-Moves collide.
After placing the crystals in, the power of Alola had been brought to Equestria once more, flowing through the bodies of Ponyta and Scorbunny. Ash and Spike prepare themselves for this as they weren't sure which Pokemon would be getting each Inferno Overdrive.
"50 bits say my Z Move hits first!" Scootaloo exclaimed after performing a series of poses. Ponyta's body became enveloped in an aura of fire.
"I don't have 50 bits," Fluttershy said before also performing those same poses. "But I won't lose! Um...if that's okay with you."
"Gotta wait for it..." Ash stayed steady, having something in mind.
"Okay! Ponyta!"
"Now Scorbunny!"
"INFERNO OVERDRIVE!"
Finally, the Z-Move had been activated. Both Pokemon summoned a gigantic ball of fire out of thin air with Scorbunny holding his while Ponyta used his mouth. With the energy they had left, they both hurled their attacks at full force. And instead of going for each other, they chose to attack the Dragon-Types, hoping for massive damage.
"So they were coming for us?!" Spike gasped. "Salamence, use your wings to cut it in half!"
"Here goes nothing! Dragonite! Dragon Dance into the flames! And combine it with Hurricane!"
"What did he say?!" Pinkie Pie stood up.
"What hair-brained scheme has he come up with this time?!" Twilight wondered. Ash always knew how to make the strangest plans. This was another one of them.
Salamence was understandable. As a Mega Pokemon, his wings could cut through almost anything. But Dragonite not so much. Salamence dashed forward at great speeds, smashing his wings onto the fireball from the side. They started burning as he tried pushing through the attack.
"Dragonite...!" Dragonite started spinning as the fireball was heading her way. And while boosting her attack and speed, she covered herself in a whirlwind due to Hurricane. The fireball connected with Dragonite as the other one had just been barely cut in half by Salamence's wings.
"Sala!" Salamence's wings took damage however but ended up slicing the gigantic fireball in half. After being cut in half, the fireballs two sides landed on the ground, causing a massive flaming explosion that coloured the atmosphere and background with a darker ambience. Salamence managed to overcome the Z Move.
And as for Dragonite, once more, she proved to be one of Ash's strongest Pokemon to date. Everyone watched as the fireball started spinning as if caught in a hurricane. And it was. By combining Dragon Dance and Hurricane, not only did Dragonite have an aura of wind, but the speed of Dragon Dance allowed her to move faster, creating a spare whirlwind. And after doing so, she combined the flames of Inferno Overdrive into her wind.
Dragonite was now spinning with a gigantic flame tornado. Everyone gawked as Sweetie Belle and other coordinators noted this down for future Pokemon Contests.
"What the...?!" Spike and Scootaloo moved back.
"Check it out! I call it the Inferno Hurricane!" Ash snapped his finger, naming yet another ludicrous strategy. "Okay, Dragonite! Send it back!"
"Drago...!" Dragonite then flapped her wings, causing the mixture of Inferno Overdrive and Hurricane. It tore through the ground and went for both opposing Pokemon.
"Salamence, Hyper Beam!"
"Uh-uh! P-Ponyta, Swift!" Scootaloo panicked. Salamence unleashed a major Hyper Beam while Ponyta did what he could with Swift.
The attack overpowered them with ease, consuming both Pokemon in the process. The wind had been blown along with hairs, furs and tails within the crowd and battlefield. The referee even had to duck for cover from this potent outburst. Afterwards, everything settled.
And it was clear that Ponyta could not withstand that as he had fainted. As for Salamence, barely. He barely hung on. The combination of two moves in one was powerful but a Mega Evolved Pokemon was nothing to scoff at.
"Ponyta is unable to battle! Dragonite and Scorbunny win!"
"Look at that! Salamence is hanging on!" The announcer gasped. "What a trooper!"
"S-Salamence...!"
"That's Spike's Salamence for you. It sure is tough." Ash said as Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"Pika-Pika."
"Can you keep going, Salamence?" Spike asked his partner.
"Sal." Salamence looked back at Spike, giving him a smile even though it's hard to tell when Salamence is smiling or not. However, his body gave out at the last second. With his eyes whiting out, the Dragon Pokemon fell to the ground, de-evolving to his normal form.
He was a resilient one. But he had his limits as Salamence had fainted. "Salamence..."
"Salamence is unable to battle! Thus, the winners are Ash and Fluttershy!"
After an explosive end, the crowd cheered with excitement. Scootaloo pouted before smiling. That was fun without a doubt as she and Spike went up to their partners.
"Up you get, buddy." Spike went up to Salamence. "Guess we're not quite there yet to keep up with Ash."
"Sala."
"You're close," Ash said as Dragonite descended. "Just gotta keep getting better, don't you?"
"You all did really well." Fluttershy held Scorbunny. And Scobunny got stronger after that, didn't you, Scorbunny?"
"Scor." Scorbunny nodded. But he was hoping to evolve after that amazing battle. "Bunny?"
"Looks like your evolution will have to wait." Fluttershy giggled.
"Let's have another battle again someday Ash. When I've gotten way better. It'll be a full 6-on-6 battle." Spike suggested.
"Yeah, me too! When I get a full team and get stronger as well!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"I'll be waiting for that." Ash accepted. Why wouldn't he? Being the battle-hungry trainer that he was, this was an easy decision. And with that, the remaining battles could continue.
Twilight and Aria ended up winning their battles with the assistance of Cinccino and Croagunk. They would be advancing. Rarity and Ember also succeeded due to Rarity just having an impossibly powerful Ampharos. But Ember did well too thanks to her Gible.
"We now have our four tag teams!" The announcer said. "We'll be back tomorrow for our quarterfinals and then it's our final match! I need another break from all this speaking." He sighed, before drinking some water.
This fun competition was reaching its final hours at last. But no one is going to forget this at all and they'll certainly grow from it as the journey continues.
While it may be nighttime in Universe 1, here in Universe 11, it is constantly daytime. And Daybreaker is to thank for granting an eternal day. Over at her castle, some of her guards were standing there, but not without things to say to kill time.
"I've got a theory." A guard said while leaning on the palace doors. "On what her majesty might do and what she might take next for extra power. Apart from that sea temple."
"Oh yeah?" The other guard wondered, yawning in the process while resting on his spear and the walls of the palace. He also had an apple to eat plus a basket of apples that had the tag FlimFlam Farm on it. All of it was for the guards.
"I bet that...very soon, or somewhere along the line, she'll take the sun."
"That's stupid." The other squinted with his reply. "You can't just absorb the sun. I mean she can do a lot but, absorb the sun? How are you even gonna fit-"
"I mean Necrozma. Duh." He stuck his tongue out to correct his fellow guard.
"Oh." The other guard stood firm, accepting his correction of who would absorb the sun.
"Of course I know the Queen can't absorb the sun. I mean..." He thought for a second. "I don't think she can or can't. Can she?"
"Mmm." The other guard shrugged. Neither knew much about Daybreaker's spells and what she was capable of. She rarely has to do much considering her status and the empire she had built over the years.
"Okay. If it ends up happening someday. Give me 100 bits."
"As if it'll happen. But you're on. If you win, you get your 100 bits. But if I win then uhh..." The second guard pondered. "I'll think of something."
"You do that. I'll be waiting since it'll happen for sure." The guard chuckled as another soldier from the empire showed up in high spirits.
"Hey, guys! Guys! Commander Spitfire remembered my birthday! She really does care!" He cheered.
"Happy Birthday. And aren't you supposed to be searching for that Sea Temple thing?" The first guard asked.
"We just returned from our current search this day. Nothing yet. Finding a moving Sea Temple that goes with the ocean isn't easy. Even when in the air." He sighed before taking off his helmet.
"What if it's underwater?" The second guard eating an apple said as they both turned to him. "I'm just saying if it's a Sea Temple, then wouldn't it be underwater than on the surface? I mean, the Hippogriffs are the same."
"Oh, right-right!" The soldier nodded before gasping. "I have to tell Commander Spitfire!" With haste, he rushed off to continue this search mission for Samiya. The guards were once again left to their own devices.
"So about that sun."
Universe 1. Equestria. Canterlot. Equestria League Stadium. Nightfall.
While the 11th Universe had an endless day cycle with no night, the 1st universe had a natural and consistent cycle of day and night. The final 4 tag teams would be battling tomorrow morning and then the final two will be decided.
The remaining four teams were Ash and Fluttershy, Twilight and Aria, Rarity and Ember, and Applejack and Barry. Before that, they were all enjoying the last night. fact, before that, Celestia issued a small cosplay party at the castle. It wasn't the Grand Galloping Gala. That had already passed. Just to beat out Nightmare Night/Halloween by a smidge.
Everypony that participated and spectated were here. Not just ponies, but humans as well. Fittingly, they had costumes that fit them. AKA, Celestia used her magic to make some.
"Do I really have to wear these clothes?" Aria groaned as the clothing she wore right now was not her taste.
"Yeah! And they look great on you!" Sonata nudged her big sister. "Come on, come on! There's some great food in there and I don't want Pinkie beating me to it!"
Out there, everyone had unique costumes based on something. Twilight decided to go as a mixture of favourite story idol Gusty the Great and her Espeon. The purple of Espeon complimented the dress.
"I'm excited to reach the quarter-finals," Twilight spoke to Applejack who went simple with a Roserade dress. "Didn't think I'd make it this far. I thought you'd reach the final four, Rainbow Dash." She then turned to Rainbow Dash.
"It is what it is." Rainbow Dash shrugged as she tossed some chips in the air. Only for Castform to fly up and grab it in his mouth.
"Castform!" He exclaimed, chewing the food in front of Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash couldn't get mad at him for that. Plus that was a nice catch from him.
"Well, I knew I'd make it here!" Along came Barry wearing what seemed to be a soccer suit but posher with trousers instead of the traditional shorts that come with soccer players. "Didn't think it'd be in Equestria but ah who cares? We make a great team, don't we AJ?"
"Sure do. You're not so bad, Barry. You're loud, but you ain't bad." said Applejack.
"Loud and proud." Barry pointed his thumb at himself. He had the confidence in his own eccentric nature that was for sure. All of Ash's friends have personalities to affect others. And the same could be said for his current friends.
"By the way, where's Ash and Pikachu?" Twilight wondered, looking around for the dynamic duo. Everyone else was here but those two. Either they fell asleep or are too busy gawking at clothes.
Fluttershy could be seen playing with her Pokemon, including Scorbunny and Krookodile. Krookodile felt a tad bit embarrassed to be wearing a suit as Fluttershy wished that Discord could see his Pokemon now. Then again, Krookodile and Discord barely interact. If not at all.
"About time you made it here." Meanwhile, Adagio saw Aria show up. "You don't usually take so long to put something on."
"Meh. Nothing's been hitting my taste so far." Aria replied as Sonata rushed past her sisters for the food.
"But this hits my taste!" Sonata stuck her tongue out as Pinkie Pie was already snacking away before she could. "A siren or...pony's gotta eat!" Soon, with her siren instincts, she started devouring the food without slowing down. She then went for her some of her favourite food only to see that most of it were gone. "Huh?! Where'd all the Strawberry Cupcakes go?!"
"Oooh, just missed it," said Pinkie Pie. "Somepony named Arctic Ace ate most of 'em. Sorry."
"Aww..." Sonata pouted before grinning. "Oh, well! There's still all of this!"
"Princess Celestia sure is generous. To invite suck roughnecks here." Adagio spoke, looking at certain individuals who were far away from being posh and gentle. Barry, Pinkie Pie Rainbow Dash, many of the Pokemon and Applejack come to mind the most.
"I'm with 'em. You can call me a roughneck too, ya know." Aria smirked with Brionne appearing out of her mane.
"Brionne!"
"Where's that Ash guy? He's usually the kind to stand out from everyone else isn't he?" Even Aria wondered.
"Normally he'd be running wild where we're all standing, wouldn't he?" Along came Princess Luna. "What a shame. I hope he's not asleep. Oh, wait." Luna then grinned. "I could visit his dreams like always if that's the case. Hehehe!"
"You're being creepy..." Adagio shuddered.
"Lightning Dust's gone." Rainbow Dash noticed. "Guess she didn't want to stay behind."
"Probably off to better herself," Twilight said. "So that she can be better than everypony else. I mean, Spitfire's still here along with Daylight, so she must be working hard."
"I need to work hard too!" Rainbow Dash put her game face on. "Can't let her beat me to the punch, no sir!"
"Castform!"
"You said you wanted some punch?" Spike said as Axew was holding a bowl of punch.
"X-Xew-Axew."
"Nope, but thanks." Rainbow Dash grinned, grabbing a nearby cup with her wing and scooping some of the punch for herself.
"So. If Ash ain't gonna use those 10 Master Balls for nothing, who else?" Applejack asked. "Fluttershy?"
"Fluttershy doesn't use Poke Balls." Rainbow Dash drank the punch. "If you ask me, I think he'll give it to one of us. It'd be so lucky if I got them. Can you imagine how many Pokemon I could catch?!"
"But, Rainbow Dash. You haven't been catching a lot of Pokemon recently. You just suddenly stopped at Mienfoo and that was it." said Twilight.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." She shrugged. "Just occupied and stuff. That whole invasion, Jade and Premium being captured, Desires, blah-blah. It's been a busy universe, ya know."
"It is a big universe." Pinkie Pie nodded. "Not as big as my hunger though."
"Mm-mm. Mine's bigger." Sonata objected with food in her mouth.
"Nuh-uh. I've been eating like a maniac the moment I said my first word." Pinkie Pie boasted. It was unclear if that was true or not. But considering Pinkie Pie, there's a 60% chance it is true.
"I've been eating before I was born!" Sonata boasted as well before pausing, realizing the flaw in her statement. "Wait."
"Eating contest then! Go!" Pinkie Pie challenged Sonata to an eating contest to see who had a bigger appetite.
"Challenge accepted!" And Sonata was eager for that challenge. They both faced the buffet of food, putting their hooves together and thanking some cosmic force for the meal. Afterwards, they started devouring the food once more to test their voracious mettle.
"What about you, Rarity? If you and Ember end up winning, what will you do with the Master Balls?"
"Mm. Probably decorate them as new Rarity Balls." Rarity shrugged. "Speaking of Ember, where is she?"
"Ember didn't want to put a dress on, so she's staying outside until this is all over. And eating some food too." Spike explained.
"Oh. Looks like Princess Celestia's about to make a speech." Rarity alerted her friends, pointing her hoof at the balcony that was at the top. Trumpets were blown to signal Celestia's appearance via the guards as everyone's attention turned there. Celestia always had something to say and it was never dull. Mostly because Celestia loves being as entertaining as possible.
They were all ready to take heed of Celestia's words. However, that's when something seemed odd and off. Unusual, unnatural and almost as if there was a fracture in the natural order and reality. Because as the sounds of someone approaching the balcony could be heard, echoing throughout the hall, Audino was the first to realize that those were not hoofsteps.
Rather footsteps.
"Audino?"
"Wha-?!" And Twilight soon realized it with her face becoming one of confused shock. And soon, everyone else as well as Celestia wasn't the one to appear on the balcony.
Rather, it was Ash.
"My subjects! Make yourselves comfortable!" Ash put his hand out as if he was a king, appearing as a ruler with the getup. No crown as his hat was essentially his eternal crown. And of course, Pikachu was there with him. "Hahahaha!"
"Pikachu!"
"WHAT THE?!" Everyone in the hall across Canterlot bellowed in disbelief at what they were seeing. This was so sudden to them.
"All hail king Ash, my loyal subjects!" Ash then put his fists on his waist. "New ruler of Equestria!" He then raised his arms with yet another cackle.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"This is a surprise change..." Luna's crown fell off her mane in shock. "But a welcome one. I think?"
"Thought we'd swap for a bit." And along came Celestia, wearing what seemed to be a ponified variant of Pokemon Trainer clothes. She even wore a hat with her Cutie Mark on it. "I'd say this little joke turned out well."
"Gardevoir."
"Oh, Ash..." Twilight gave a facehoof of embarrassment. She then started laughing along with her friends, knowing this was Ash messing around as always.
"That idiot..." Adagio had a different calling for Ash as Aria was not bothered at all.
"Ash! Since when were you allowed to be king just now?!" Barry pointed up at Ash with veins popping out of his head. "I'm gonna have to fine you for chalking up the position so fast!"
"Hah! Ya can't fine a king, Barry!" Ash pointed back before squinting. "Wait? Can you?" Ash didn't know squat about being a king other than the ruling part.
"Pikachu."
"Ah, who cares! Let's party!" Ash crossed his arms, revelling in this little joke for a bit longer. Everyone continued having fun as Ash and Pikachu joined in on the eating contest Pinkie Pie and Sonata took part in. Turns out, the four of them have equally big appetites, making them equals.
After that, the small night party could continue before the final day of the Canterlot Tag Battle Competition could commence.
Equestria League Stadium.
After that fun party, the final day could begin. The remaining 4 Tag-Teams were ready to take charge. The announcer was ready to speak up as always.
And the first ones to go up against each other were Ash and Fluttershy vs Twilight and Aria. They made their way to the field, already having their Pokemon selected.
"The first match of the quarter-finals can now begin. Both sides please bring out your Pokemon." said the referee.
"Lucario! I choose you!" Ash chose his Lucario for this, launching the Poke Ball forward.
"Lucario!"
"I have good faith in you, Chikorita." And for Fluttershy, it would be Chikorita today. She hasn't had her turn yet so this would be great. Plus, during that small time with Rainbow Dash weeks ago had made her into a stronger Pokemon. She even borrowed some of Rainbow Dash's gestures and traits for when she's in a Pokemon Battle. Beneficial for Fluttershy.
"Chikorita!"
"I feared that Lucario would be next. But I can rely on Absol for this one!" Twilight used her magic to send out the Disaster Pokemon Absol.
"Absol!"
"Sparkle. I'm gonna bring out Ledian. Promise me you won't freak out." Aria held out Ledian's Poke Ball.
"I promise." nodded Twilight. "All I have to do is focus on the battle and stay clear away from Ledian. I'll only have my mind set on the battle and nothing else."
"That's what I like to hear. Then, out you come, Ledian!" Aria threw the ball, unleashing the Five Star Pokemon. Once he emerged, Twilight squealed for a bit as Aria's head snapped over.
"Ehehe...Sorry. Force of habit." A sheepish and nervous smile came from Twilight as Aria lowered her eyes.
"Rainbow Dash helped Chikorita get into the battling mood, Ash," said Fluttershy. "It looks like Chikorita prefers battling than healing."
"Really, huh?" Ash turned to the pegasus. "That's gonna help a lot. The battling spirit is what it's all about!"
"Rainbow Dash helped you gain Body Slam, Chikorita. And you even learned a new protective move after all that hard work you've done on your own. Let's try our best, okay?"
"Chikori!"
"Battle start!"
"First strike for us! Lucario, Force Palm!"
"Lu!" Lucario rushed in with his paws giving off a radiant golden light. Obviously, his main target was Absol.
"Here he comes! Use Night Slash, quick!"
"Ledian, Mach Punch!"
"Ledi!" Moving before anyone else, Ledian blitzed through the air with two of his hands glowing white. Before Lucario could reach Absol, the Five Star Pokemon swung at the Fighting-Steel-Type.
"Ca?!" Lucario gasped before putting one of his arms up to block the speedy Mach Punch and the other to catch Night Slash from Absol. He managed to block two attacks thanks to his Aura Senses. But he could not counteract. As such, both Ledian and Absol pushed Lucario back while he had a blocking stance.
"Now, Ledian! Bug Buzz!" Ledian bellowed loudly, which released red sound waves from his. A horrible sound wave formed from it as it rushed over towards Lucario and Chikorita each.
"Chikorita, use Magical Leaf!"
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
"Chiko!" Chikorita swung her leaf around, sending more leaves into the fray to push back these soundwaves. The leaves that flew out as she swung had a pink aura around them as Lucario slid on the ground, cupping his hands for Aura Sphere. The Aura Pokemon thrust his arms forward to send the sphere of Aura forward.
Both attacks managed to stop Bug Buzz before it could properly reach them.
"Chikorita, use Reflect!"
"Chiko!" Chikorita bellowed before summoning a pink aura around herself and Lucario. Thanks to this aura, both the Leaf and Aura Pokemon were now resistant to physical attacks. And that was good for a Pokemon like Lucario. Especially when threats like Ledian's Mach Punch and Absol's Counter exist.
"Awesome stuff, Fluttershy! Now let's get as up close and personal as much as we want!" Ash tightened his gloves. "Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
"Chikorita, use Body Slam!"
"Lucario!" Lucario sent another Aura Sphere forward, this time with the intent of making contact with Absol. As for Chikorita, she ran forward to gain some distance.
"Thunder Punch, go!"
"Absol, use Dark Pulse!"
"Ledian!" Ledian's arms sparked with electricity as he swung them at the incoming Chikorita.
"Ri!" Chikorita managed to jump over Ledian's Thunder Punch as he swung. Chikorita was much faster thanks to that instance with Rainbow Dash during the swap. "Chiko!" After evading it, Chikorita slammed her body onto Ledian from above. Starting from his head as he had been forced down.
"Led!" Ledian cried out as Chikorita forced him to the ground with Body Slam. And worse for him, Chikorita didn't get off. She stayed there for a while. And with the side-effects of Body Slam, Ledian had been paralyzed. "L-Ledian!"
"Great job, Chikorita! Stay right there!"
As for Lucario, his Aura Sphere had met with Absol's Dark Pulse. Aura Sphere won this struggle as it broke through the pulse of darkness. And after doing so, it struck Absol for super-effective damage.
"S-Sol!" Absol cried out, almost falling on his back.
"Counter!"
"Absol!" But he quickly landed on his feet, instantly moving at lightning speed with an orange glow around his feet and horn. In a flash, Absol appeared in front of Lucario, swinging his horn. The Counter had struck Lucario's shoulder, causing the Fighting-Steel-Type to cringe a bit as he had also received super-effective damage. The Aura Pokemon was knocked back by Absol's retaliate.
"Give it right back to them! Reversal!"
"Luca...!" BUt Lucario decided to return the favour with a swift jab to Absol's face via Reversal. The same speed Absol moved at was the same speed Lucario gave out. Absol was hit in his jaw, forcing him to move back. "Rio!"
A-Ab!" Absol growled before skidding on the ground. Lucario also ended up growling at him, holding his damaged shoulder.
"Ledian, get her off with Bug Buzz!"
"Led!" As for Ledian, he found a way to escape. Via using the soundwaves of Bug Buzz. And they worked. Not only did they mess with her ears, but the red soundwaves damaged and knocked the Leaf Pokemon back, dealing super-effective damage as well.
"C-Chiko!" Chikorita cried out before rolling on the ground.
"Chikorita! Are you okay?!" Fluttershy gasped. There was no need to worry. Chikorita was still active and able to battle. Even if that Bug Buzz stung.
"It's not time to Mega Evolve yet, Absol," said Twilight. "Let's do what we can before that can happen. I know it's worthy for Ash, that's for sure."
"Absol."
"Yeah, but let's end this fast." Aria stepped forward. "The last thing I wanna deal with is Ash's wacky strategies."
"Fair enough. Absol, Giga Impact!"
"Ledian, use Comet Punch!"
"Sol...Absol!" The Disaster Pokemon's body became surrounded by an invisible energy. A bright flash of yellow light appears in front of his face as he then shot himself at the opposing Aura Pokemon. An orb of light purple energy with spiralling light yellow streaks around the aura appeared around Absol's body in the process.
"Get ready, Lucario! Charge in with Force Palm!"
"Magical Leaf, go!"
"Lu!" Lucario charged in with leaves following behind him. Thanks to Reflect, these physical moves won't do much to him. Plus, he was a Steel-Type so he resisted both of them, minus Mach Punch and Counter so far.
"Ledian-an-an-an!" Ledian started throwing a flurry of punches with all four of his arms, knocking each other leaves away with that flurry. But Chikorita kept throwing more. Ledian's body twitched thanks to the paralysis as that made him struggle with knocking all of the leaves away. Some managed to scrape and chip the Five Star Pokemon as he threw his flurry.
"Absol!" Absol roared as Giga Impact came in contact with Lucario. The Aura Pokemon struck Force Palm towards Giga Impact, creating a short struggle. But Giga Impact was the superior move as it pushed Lucario's Force Palm away, causing Absol to smash into the Fighting-Steel-Type. "Sol!"
"Ca!"
"Aura Sphere!"
"Lu!" Lucario then looked to the side with one paw creating an Aura Sphere. He then launched it like a bowling ball at Absol. And after using Giga Impact, Absol needed to recharge. Thus, he had no choice but to take this Aura Sphere.
"A-Absol!"
"Ledian, Mach Punch!"
"Led!" Ledian then moved at great speeds, rushing over towards Chikorita with Mach Punch while evading all of the magical leaves. Even if he was paralyzed thanks to Body Slam, Mach Punch was still fast regardless.
"Aura Sphere!"
"Luca!" Lucario came to Chikorita's rescue. He put his hands together for a quick Aura Sphere, launching it at the Five Star Pokemon. And with equal swiftness to Mach Punch, Aura Sphere got in Ledian's way.
"Ledian?!" Ledian gasped before quickly knocking the Aura Sphere away with Mach Punch. A good and quicksave thanks to Mach Punch's swiftness.
"Now, Razor Leaf!"
"Chikorita!" After that distraction from Lucario, Chikorita unleashed Razor Leaf once more, striking Ledian with it. The Five Star Pokemon took all of those hits before being blown away. It was a good thing he resisted Grass-Type moves for being a Bug-Flying-Type and having great special defence over everything else.
"Absol! HIt him hard with Night Slash!"
"Sol!" Absol leapt into the air, going straight for Lucario with his horn glowing.
"Double Team!"
"Lu!" Lucario's eyes flared as the moment ABsol's horn came close, the Aura Pokemon had separated himself into multiple clones. These clones appeared instantly all over the field. Surrounding both Absol and Ledian.
"Sol?!" Absol looked around, keeping his guard up and searching for the real one.
"We'll find the real Lucario! Together, Aria! Dark Pulse!"
"Comet Punch!"
Together, Absol and Ledian started working to find the real Lucario. Absol spun around with Dark Pulse while Ledian threw constant Comet Punches at high speeds in every direction.
"Now's my chance...Synthesis!"
"Chiko...!" Chikorita took the time to heal herself while Absol and Ledian were busy with all these clones. Her leaf started glowing as she gathered power from the sun. Celestia was kind as always. And with that, Chikorita removed all of the damage she had taken from that super-effective Bug Buzz.
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
"Lu!" After all the clones were destroyed, the real Lucario showed himself from above. He already had an Aura Sphere up and ready to fire. And it was a big one. Bigger than Lucario's head and torso combined. "Cario!" The Aura Pokemon then unleashed the giant Aura Sphere down on the distracted Absol and Ledian.
"Above you!" Twilight and Aria cried out.
"Sol?!"
"Ledian?!" They both eventually gazed up to see the incoming Aura Sphere. One good hit from this will leave any Pokemon staggered, minus a Ghost-Type Pokemon. But a Dark-Type like Absol would get the worst of it.
"Giga Impact, Absol!"
"Absol...!" Absol leapt into the air, charging right at the Aura Sphere. It was risky, but Absol is all about risk. And with his stubborn nature, he ended up breaking through Lucario's Aura Sphere, surprising many. Even Lucario was taken aback. The Disaster Pokemon then crashed into Lucario.
"C-Ca!" Lucario growled after being struck by the mighty Giga Impact. Absol's was stuck to him for a while due to the force and height of the powerful Normal-Type move. Both Absol and Lucario fell to the ground after losing their air time. But they were still able to battle.
"What a battle!" The announcer sat up with excitement. "I can't sit still!"
"You doing okay, Lucario?" Ash asked.
"Lucario." Lucario stood up, cracking his bones as he still had a lot of fight left in him.
"Absol? Can you stand?"
"Absol." Absol could continue. He needed to recharge after using Giga Impact. But his stubbornness and primal and feral nature allowed him to carry on.
"So. Now do you think is a good time to use it?" Aria turned to Twilight.
"Yeah. Now's a good time." Twilight nodded. They were obviously referring to the major ace in the hole for this Pokemon Battle. "Mega Evolution."
"Oh yeah. I've been waiting for this." Ash grinned.
"She's gonna Mega Evolve! Oooh, Mega Absol's so great when he shows up!" Pinkie Pie squeed.
"Too great. Combine Absol's primal instincts with Mega Evolution and you have yourself a dangerous Pokemon."
"I can agree on that." Spitfire nodded in approval. "I gotta see how this one turns out."
"Come on, Ash! Flatten her already!" Adagio roared from the balcony, wanting Twilight to lose. She still showed some dislike for the Princess of Friendship, but that dislike was fading away.
"It's time." Twilight used her magic to take out her quill holder which contained the keystone. "Absol!" She then tapped on the keystone, allowing Mega Evolution to take place. "Mega Evolve!"
With Mega Evolution approaching during the quarterfinals of the Canterlot Tag Battle Competition, things were ramping up. This was already the first battle of the day and this much was occurring. High hopes and expectations were being gathered and with the skilled trainers present, those hopes and expectations would be met soon as the journey continues.
Equestria. Canterot. Equestria League Stadium. Day.
"Mega Evolve!" Twilight cried out. She had just initiated the process for Absol's Mega Evolution. The quarterfinals of the Canterlot Tag Battle was underway and with high octane energy everywhere. Looking to put an end to this, Twilight brought upon Mega Evolution against Ash's Lucario and Fluttershy's Chikorita. And of course, Twilight was teaming up with Aria's Ledian.
With the red, blue and golden lights enveloping him, Mega Absol emerged from the lights with the Mega Symbol shining. Mega Evolution had arrived once more.
"Absol!"
"Oh. Now I wish I had Audino out for this." Fluttershy gulped. "Absol in his Mega Evolved form is dangerous."
"Yeah. The best opponent to go up against." Ash grinned. He loved a challenge. And so far, Mega Evolution has always proven to be the greatest challenge for him. However, Dynamax is seemingly closing that gap soon someday.
Thunderous applause filled the area as Mega Absol was sort of a fan favourite amongst many ponies in Equestria. Considerably Twilight's Absol since that is the only Mega Absol they've ever seen. Everyone was excited to see what Mega Absol could bring today.
"Let's wrap this up, Absol! Do me proud as always! Use Dark Pulse!"
"Ab...Sol!" Absol got the ball rolling by smashing feet on the ground. And by doing so, he summoned a massive field of darkness that expanded. Far from the usual mouth blast that he uses with Dark Pulse.
"Block it and protect Chikorita!"
"Luca!" Lucario stood in front of Chikorita as a shield, putting his arms up. With his resistance to Dark, Lucario blocked the massive field of darkness as Ledian even had to move away from it for safety. Lucario was slightly staggered by this amazing power, but he remained steady as Chikorita had been protected. "Rio...!"
"That some power..." Aria was amazed by Mega Absol and what he was capable of. She was trembling by how big of a leap this was from regular Absol.
"Count on Absol's strength to help us. Absol, Night Slash!"
"Ledian! Bug Buzz!"
"Sol!" Faster than before as well, Absol leapt off the ground, running straight for the Aura Pokemon with his horn being coated in darkness. Ledian would stay back as support by emanating red soundwaves from his body, aiming for Chikorita.
"Force Palm!"
"Chikorita, use Magical Leaf!"
"Lucario!" Lucario also rushed in as he and Absol growled at each other, meeting face to face. Lucario's palm clashed with Absol's horn as they both stayed there for a while. They separated as Absol began swinging his horn wildly. Lucario backed away, dodging and deflecting each incoming Night Slash that Absol attempted. The soundwaves from Bug Buzz were also being combated by Chikorita's Magical Leaf.
"Change Night Slash to a far range!"
"Sol! Absol then used the second variation of Night Slash that Farfetch'd seems to always use with his leek. Absol quickly jumped into the air, swinging his horn as white waves came flying out. Night Slash was now being used as a ranged attack for better usage.
"Ca!" Lucario gasped as he used Force Palm to deflect the incoming white waves. But, Absol was throwing an obscene amount of it, forcing Lucario to stay on his feet. But he couldn't for long. Eventually, Lucario was overwhelmed by all the Night Slashes as he had been pelted and bombarded by them. "L-Lu!"
"Oh! Lucario!" Ash gasped as Lucario was pushed back until rolling on the ground. The Aura Pokemon got back up via a jump, but that overwhelming number of Night Slashes caught him off guard. Chikorita and Ledian ended their struggle as well.
"This isn't over yet! Reversal!"
"Luca!"
"Help, Lucario! Use Body Slam!"
"Chiko!" Chikorita immediately jumped on Lucario's head, using him as a platform for a higher height. And with that platform, Chikorita leapt through the air, gaining impressive airtime as she was actually going for Absol.
"You don't get to switch opponents! Ledian, Thunder Punch!"
"Led!" Ledian quickly turned around, zooming towards the Leaf Pokemon with sparks of electricity.
"Absol, Night Slash one more time!"
"Sol!" Absol then raised his horn for another ranged Night Slash instead of an up-close and personal one.
"Oh no you don't! Double Team!"
"Lucario!" Before using Reversal, Lucario split himself into multiple afterimages. But not only that, he affected Chikorita in the process, making Chikorita afterimages.
"Absol?!"
"Led?!" And clearly, Absol and Ledian were thrown back by this. They didn't expect multiple Chikorita as their heads navigated the area.
"Look at that!" Scootaloo gasped. "How's he making Chikorita appear a bunch of times!"
"Double Team works in two ways. Either you make clones of yourself or you move so fast you leave behind afterimages. Lucario's using the second one while holding Chikorita, so it looks like she's using Double Team as well." Spitfire explained.
"W-Which one is the real one?!" Aria stuttered.
"We just have to do what we did before! Dark Pulse, Absol!"
"Ledian! Comet Punch!"
Just like how they cleared the effects of Double Team before, Dark Pulse and Comet Punch were the way to go for clearing these afterimages. However, things were different. This time, the afterimage of Lucario and Chikorita were moving, making it harder for the attacks to connect since they weren't standing still.
"Wait for it..." Ash was biding his time, waiting for Lucario and Chikorita to strike at the right moment. They couldn't be too hasty as each variant of Lucario and Chikorita were being blown away.
"Wow! I didn't think Double Team could get this confusing!" Barry gasped. "How long is gonna take until the real ones are there?!"
"Ash and Lucario are playing the waiting game here." Rarity observed. "Is there any trick he won't perform in a Pokemon Battle?"
"Now! Go!" Ash balled his fist before calling to Lucario with an Aura sync.
"Lucario!" And that's when the real Lucario and Chikorita showed themselves. But not before using an afterimage as a means of tricking Absol and Ledian. Once the afterimage in front of them had been blown away by Absol's Dark Pulse, the real versions struck.
"Chiko!" Lucario had tossed Chikorita off, allowing her to perform Body Slam. And he would go for Reversal as his palm was glowing. Chikorita actually targeted Absol for Body Slam, throwing the Disaster Pokemon off guard while Lucario had a double plan in mind. "Rita!"
"Sol!" Absol cried out as Chikorita performed Body Slam on his back. His weight was greater than hers as Chikorita didn't get the paralysis. But she dealt damage either way and bounced off Absol.
"Luca!" After that, Lucario struck, smashing Reversal onto the face of Absol. The Disaster Pokemon was launched back by that attack. And not only was he sent flying but right into Ledian as well.
"Led?!" Ledian gasped as he had been hit by his teammate thanks to Lucario's sneak attack.
"Counter!"
"Ab...sol!" Absol growled with his eyes flashing. He managed to recover by keeping his balance in a bipedal position, but not Ledian. Despite that hard hit to the face, he could give out another attack. He immediately swung his horn at the first Pokemon close to him. And that was Chikorita.
In a blink of an eye, the Dark-Type swung his horn onto Chikorita, knocking her to the side as Ledian fell. He wasn't the only one that fell. Chikorit was knocked away like a fly being swatted. She flew past Lucario, only for the Aura Pokemon to lunge and grab her. "C-Chiko!"
"Lu!" Lucario caught her in the nick of time. But, that time had some delay as the damage had already been done to her. And the same went for Ledian. In a shocking outcome, both Pokemon gained the same result.
They had each fainted.
"Chikorita..."
"Ledian..."
"Both Chikorita and Ledian are unable to battle! Lucario and Absol win!" The referee announced. A double K.O from both sides, leading only two Pokemon remaining. Naturally, the crowd loved suspenseful battles such as this as they spark so much enjoyment. Especially when it's unknown how certain matchups will turn out.
And with Chikorita's defeat, Reflect had ended. Meaning that Lucario's physical resistance to Abso's Counter and potentially Giga Impact have been wiped out, reverting things to normal.
"Bummer..." Aria sighed. "Not the best first look for Ledian. Sorry, pal."
"Led-Led." Ledian sat up before flying towards Aria.
"You and Ledian did great, Aria," said Twilight. "Don't worry. Absol and I are still here. We'll patch things up from here-on."
"Absol."
"Sorry I lost, Ash." Fluttershy picked up Chikorita from the ground. "You did your best, Chikorita."
"Chikori."
"It's all up to now, Ash. Do your best."
"I always give it a 100%. No need to worry. Lucario and I will take things from here." Ash grinned, staying optimistic as always.
"Lucario."
"Do you think Lucario can make it through? Mega Absol hits way harder than any Pokemon here." Scootaloo wondered.
"Yeah, but Lucario is resilient and quick enough to deal with all of that. Plus, all his moves go well against Absol." Rainbow Dash replied. "But Mega Evolution's no joke."
"Can't believe I'll have a chance to beat Ash. Feels like I'm dreaming." Twilight chuckled. She then started thinking to herself. "I guess sometimes you can defeat those you admire in the long run. Like you, Ash. I know that I can't let my feelings for you overrule everything else. And I wanna try and win this as much as you enjoy Pokemon Battles."
"Come on, come on!" Ash turned his hat backwards. Whenever that hat turns backwards, Ash amps everything up. "Lucario and I want you two at your best!"
"Oh! I've heard of this!" The announcer sat up. "The Hat Turn! I don't know why it's so special but apparently, it's supposed to signify some sort of adrenaline or power boost? How does that work with a hat?"
"Absol! Let's go! Use Night Slash!"
"I'm all fired up now! Lucario, Force Palm!" And with no time to waste, both of their Pokemon leapt into action. Lucario's palm and Absol's horn, once again, entered a slight encounter as if they were swords. But this time, Absol managed to push Lucario back by forcing his horn forward.
The Aura Pokemon staggered a bit before lunging in. Lucario then returned the favour by swinging his Force Palm onto Absol's face instead of his horn. Absol went flying before recovering mid-air. He then used the ranged variant of Night Slash, sending cutting white waves after his recovery.
"Rush in and knock 'em away, Lucario!"
"Lu!" Lucario used Force Palm to destroy or deflect them while heading for Absol. He aimed to close the gap between them. And he managed to do so by deflecting every Night Slash. Afterwards, Lucario gave out a puncturing Force Palm that knocked Absol off his balance as he was plummeting downwards, making a hard crash on the ground.
"Now! Aura Sphere!"
"Lu...Cario!" Lucario, still in the air, held his arms up as he formed a crackling Aura sphere in both hands above his head. The Fighting-Steel-Type then launched them all down in an enormous rain of Aura Spheres, aiming to overwhelm the Dark-Type.
"Counter! Quick!"
"Absol!" But Absol could retaliate against this. He covered his body in an orange energy before using it to form a temporary shield. The continuous Aura Spheres bombarded the battlefield as Absol used his temporary shield to rush in as his horn was glowing. "Sol!"
After breaking and charging through all Aura Spheres. He then gave Lucario a nasty slash to the chest with a strong Counter via his horn. Lucario staggered once more in the air. And to bring him to a lower level, Absol then swung his horn again, forcing the Aura Pokemon back to the ground.
"Dark Pulse!"
"Ab!" Absol wasn't finished there. While in the air, he used the opportunity to perform Dark Pulse from above. Lucario tumbled on the ground before rolling to the side. He managed to avoid Dark Pulse at the last second.
"Reversal! And make it long!" Ash put his fist out, indicating an alternate approach for Reversal with that command.
"Lu...!" Lucario then stood up, holding his arm back. But instead of jumping in with Reversal, he concentrated all of the Infinity Energy into his palm for an alternative variant. Similar to how Galarian Farfetch'd and Absol can use Night Slash in a ranged variant despite it still being a physical move.
And Lucario would do the same with Reversal. "Ca!" He thrust his arm forward, sending out an orange beam from his palm. This was Reversal conjured in a different shape.
"S-Sol?!" Even Absol was taken aback by this as he was shot out of the sky by this faraway Reversal. Just like Lucario, he too tumbled on the ground. And of course, given how he and Lucario essentially share the same stubborn and resilient nature, Absol wasn't down yet. But his limits were showing. "Absol!"
"This is amazing!" The announcer stood up, geeking out at this battle along with many others.
"AH, I missed out on my chance of battling Ash!" Spitfire groaned. "This is so cool!"
"It is cool!" Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo agreed.
"It's not over yet! Absol and I still have more to give out! Absol, Giga Impact!"
"Sol!" Absol got up from the ground, creating cracks beneath him. These cracks were made by the force of Giga Impact's buildup. And speaking of buildup, it was instant as Absol immediately charged with the invisible aura already forming around him. He was ready to use the full force of his body.
"Double Team, then use Force Palm!"
"Lu!" Lucario's eyes flashed blue with Aura as he instantly multiplied himself into fake clones. Right as Absol came close with Giga Impact, causing the attack to fail. That meant recharge for Absol as he missed the real Lucario.
"Ab?!"
"Ca!" All the Lucario then rushed Absol, using Force Palm simultaneously. Absol was being pressurized by incoming Force Palms via the many Lucario that ran by him. Whether it was from the side, top or bottom belly, he had been hit.
But thankfully, as all of those Lucario attacked him for seconds, his recharge time with Giga Impact had come to an end, allowing for Twilight to strike.
"Now! Counter!"
"Sol!" Absol howled into the morning sky, creating an orange shockwave that blew all the clones away. This also struck the real Lucario, dealing super-effective damage.
"Reversal!"
"Ca...! Rio!" The real Lucario slid before lunging in. He returned the favour to Absol via a Reversal as all of the clones had faded away.
"Counter!"
"Absol!" Absol did the same. After being hit by Reversal, he also used a retaliation move in the form of Counter. And this time, he skidded on the ground, lunging in to headbutt Lucario. Another super-effective move struck as they just kept coming.
But at this point, both Pokemon were on the verge of fainting. They may have the stamina to run, train and exercise for hours, days, weeks, possibly even months, but their bodies have limits to how much damage it can take. They're not invincible.
"L-Lucario...!"
"A-Absol...!"
"Let's finish this!" Ash and Twilight both said.
"Giga Impact, go!"
"Aura Sphere!"
"Absol!" Absol gave one last Giga Impact for this. All he had left in him as the invisible aura became more visible with this last ounce of energy left.
"Lucario!" As for Lucario, he had one last Aura Sphere yet. Both Pokemon were about to make it count. Everyone ducked for cover after Lucario's Aura Sphere and Absol's Giga Impact came into contact. A paroxysm of blue and white explosive Infinity Energy was caused by this.
But this light wouldn't last long. They all looked ahead, seeing the light fade with the smoke clearing. And out of the smoke, someone emerged. By the skin of his teeth, the one Pokemon to almost fall over was Lucario.
"Lu." He got on his knees, barely able to stand. But he managed. And as the smoke was clearing, Absol's eyes were glowing as he was struggling on standing up. Everyone was surprised to see how both of them could still carry on despite what they've been through.
Talk about resilience, stubbornness and persistence. But only one of them could carry on. And thanks to the benefits of super-effective hits, it was Lucario as Absol fell to the ground, fainting.
"Absol..."
"Absol is unable to battle! Thus, the winners of this battle are Lucario and Chikorita!" And with that, the first battle of the Quarterfinals had ended with Ash and Fluttershy being the victors. They would be moving on to the finals.
"Yeah-haha!" Ash raised his arms as Fluttershy flew up in excitement. Lucario walked over with Ash supporting him, just so that he wouldn't fall. "Awesome job as always, Lucario."
"Lu."
"So much for making it to the top." Aria sighed before forming a smile. "But...that was a lot of fun."
"Wasn't it?" Twilight laughed as she helped Absol up. "That's what Pokemon Battles should be all about. Fun. I, well actually, we, learned that from Ash."
"Absol."
"And this just means I have a lot to learn from Ash. I may not be battle heavy but it doesn't hurt to learn some more, does it?" said Twilight. "Thanks for the amazing match, Ash. Fluttershy.
"It was a blast," Ash replied with his signature thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
And now, with that battle over, the second battle of the quarter-finals could begin. Barry and Applejack vs Rarity and Ember. And whoever wins that would end up in the final match.
"Boy, that Ash sure knows how to make things entertaining! Okay! Now it's us!" Barry exclaimed. "Let's 1UP him and make one heck of a show, AJ!"
"We're sure to make it to the finals with our teamwork, aren't we, Ember?" Rarity said to Ember.
"I didn't think I'd make it this far." Ember chuckled. "I'll have something to tell back at the Dragon Lands. Makes me look like a greater Dragon Lord, doesn't it?"
"Gible."
The lounge.
Over at the lounge, Ash, Fluttershy, Twilight and Aria healed their Pokemon as a courtesy of Nurse Joy. Now Ash and Fluttershy were off to the Canterlot Gardens to practice some more.
"Where are you two going?" Twilight asked.
"To train. Gotta workup before we face the final two, ya know." Ash answered.
"Pika-Pikachu."
"That does sound like you but...I didn't think you'd wanna do the same, Fluttershy. Especially multiple times during this whole competition." Aria spoke.
"Oh, you know, when it comes to Pokemon Battling, something comes over me." Fluttershy grinned with a light squeed as she put her wing over her face.
"Let's hurry and try something new. Maybe a new move combo's staring us in the face," said Ash as he and Fluttershy rushed off to the Canterlot Gardens. And speaking of rushing off, after having some time to think, Barry rushed off to the field with Applejack similar walking to.
"Good luck on you match you all!" Twilight waved at Applejack and the long-gone Barry. Rarity and Ember passed by as well as they were off to the field.
"I needed a break after that..." Meanwhile, the announcer took a deep sigh after the previous battle. It had everyone's adrenaline pumping. "Uh, anyway. The second battle of the quarter-finals can begin. Whoever wins this goes to the final two."
"Both sides, please bring out your Pokemon."
"I know who I'm choosing for this one! Go! Heracross!" Barry's choice was Heracross in this endeavour.
"Heracross!"
"Golett it is. Get in there, Golett." Applejack looked down at the Automaton Pokemon.
Gol!" Golett nodded before running ahead, standing beside Heracross. "Golett!"
"Thought you would choose Golett for the next match. Which is why I choose Milotic!" Rarity smirked before using her magic to send out the Tender Pokemon Milotic.
"Milotic!"
"Still only two Pokemon, but I can always count on Gible." Ember threw out her trusty Gible for this.
"Gible!"
"Weren't there any rental Pokemon for this one? How come Applejack and Ember keep using the same two Pokemon a lot?" Scootaloo wondered.
"Sadly, no rentals for this competition, unfortunately." Twilight shrugged. "But they've done well to work with what's been given to them."
"We'll end this in a few hits. No one hits harder than my Heracross." A confident Barry pointed his thumb at his chest.
"Just back me up, okay? Golett won't do so good against Milotic and all that," said Applejack, knowing how vulnerable the Automaton Pokemon was with Milotic in the fray.
As the battle was about to begin, with both sides ecstatic, Celestia had gotten new information about the Sea Temple and how Daybreaker and the Empress were both searching for it. A guard had come over after receiving said info.
"News from the Universal Alliance spies. The temple has yet to be found, your majesty. But apparently, their next approach is underwater, where it may most likely be." The guard informed.
"That would make the most sense." Celestia nodded. "Alright. Keep investigating. I should also ask someone who might know a thing or two about the Sea Temple. Perhaps Ash?"
"Battle Start!"
"Go-go-go, Heracross! Stone Edge!"
"Golett, use Shadow Punch!"
"Hera...Cross!" Heracross and Golett went first. The Single Horn Pokemon surrounded himself in an orbit of stones while Golett extended out shadow arms as if he was made of rubber.
"Milotic, use Dragon Tail!"
"Gible, Dragon Claw!"
"Milo!" Milotic made a beautiful cry as she and Gible would dual Dragon-Type moves. It started with Milotic coating her tail in a green draconic aura as she started swinging it at the incoming stones. With her precision, she was able to knock away the stones.
And the same went for Gible. He managed to knock away Golett's incoming Shadow Punches with the swipe of his draconic aura claws.
"Go! Use Night Slash!"
"Hera!" Heracross then rushed in, going for an up-close encounter. What he's best at. His arm was trailing out a black aura with red in it.
"Golett knows more than Shadow Punch now that I ain't got any Flying-Type Pokemon here to mess things up!" Applejack smirked. "Use Dig!"
"Gol!" Golett could finally use other moves. With no Flying-Type Pokemon around, he had versatility now as he burrowed his way underground via a simple punch.
"Follow after it! You use Dig as well, Gible!"
"Gible!" Gible did the same. Also burrowing through the ground to follow after his fellow Ground-Type Pokemon.
"Hm! Milotic, Wrap!"
"Milo!" Milotic allowed Heracross to approach her. But as a way to bait him in. She used her serpent-like and slim body to swiftly avoid Heracross' Night Slash swing.
"Cross!" But Heracross' speed was nothing to scoff at or ignore. Because right as Milotic dodged it, trying to go for Wrap in this instance, Heracross instantly turned around, giving the Tender Pokemon a surprise Night Slash to the face, knocking her aside.
"Lotic!" Milotic cried out as her Wrap approach didn't pan out so well so far.
"Ah!" Rarity gasped as that plan failed.
"Don't underestimate my Heracross's speed! Now, Megahorn!"
"Heracross!" With his horn growing just a bit longer, Heracross followed up with another physical move to deal some heavy damage.
"Push Heracross back with Hydro Pump!"
"Milo...Tic!" Milotic opened her mouth as she was able to grant herself some distance thankfully. And at the right moment as Heracross was close. Out of her mouth, a high volume blast of water came rocketing out. It had successfully pushed the Single Horn Pokemon away while also dealing big damage.
"H-Hera!"
As for Gible and Golett, they had eventually encountered each other underground. Applejack and Ember looked down, wondering when the two of them would pop out and who would win this Digging battle.
"Gib!" Down below, Gible and Golett were partaking in a strength competition. They locked hands, or rather claws, trying to push each other back.
"Gol!" But in terms of raw strength, Golett was the winner by a smidge as it had headbutted Gible, breaking his focus. After doing so, the Automaton Pokemon swung its fist, knocking Gible upside his head as h rolled through the underground.
"G-Gib!" But Gible retaliated, rushing through the ground and headbutting the Ground-Ghost-Type from the side. After that Golett was also sent back, but not before retaliating.
"Golett!" Both Gible and Golett ended up hitting each other at the same time. And that simultaneous hit, they knocked themselves out of the underground, finally coming back to the surface.
"There you are! Use Twister, quick!"
"Gib!" Gible slid on the ground before holding his hand out. Out of it came a giant purple spiral of draconic energy with enough power to carry a mountain.
"Stomping Tantrum!"
"Gol-Gol-Golett!" Golett had then stomped on the ground aggressively to counter Twister. And it did. Massive white shockwaves along with some dust emerged from all of its stomping, just enough to cancel out Gible's Twister.
"So far so good." Barry crossed his arms, keeping that grin on his face. "Let's end this in a few hits, why don't we?"
"Let's swap for a bit, Ember. I'll go for Golett and you can handle Heracross. How does that sound?" Rarity questioned.
"I know I shouldn't take on Pokemon bigger than me, but that's what I'm all about. Okay. Let's do it." Ember and Gible took the risk. But they knew one good Water-Type attack from Milotic would end Golett. "Gible, use Double-Edge!"
"Milotic, Hydro Pump!"
"Gi...Ble!" Gible suddenly used a move that was a double-edged sword as it was aimed at Heracross. The Land Shark Pokemon generated a greenish energy surrounding him as he left the ground to use this attack.
"Quick, Heracross! Close Combat!"
"Golett, use Dig!"
"Hera!" Heracross prepared for Gible's approach while Golett dug underground, evading Milotic's Hydro Pump at the last second.
"I think not..." Rarity smirked, knowing a way through this. "Now, fire through the hole Gible made!"
"Milotic!" Milotic turned her head to the hole that Gible made earlier when using Dig. The approach was simple and easy to understand. The Tender Pokemon unleashed Hydro Pump through the hole, allowing high amounts of water to travel through.
"Gol?" And Golett saw this coming. It witnessed a gigantic stream of water appearing underwater. Not what it was expecting as the water flooded the underground. "L-Lett?! Gol!" Golett immediately tried burrowing out of here but it was too late.
The water was faster than him as it had grabbed the Automaton Pokemon without mercy. And afterwards, Hydro Pump emerged from the second hole that Golett dug earlier, not the one it dug just now. As for Gible, he met with Heracross' fist as Double-Edge and Close Combat were tied with brute force. The result was Heracross being pushed back while Gible took recoil damage, rolling on the ground.
"Ah! Golett!" Applejack gasped as Golett was blasted out by Hydro Pump. Afterwards, the Automaton Pokemon fell to the ground. But this time, his gutsy nature wouldn't help. A powerful attack like that from a powerful Pokemon against a fairly fragile Pokemon like Golett only had one outcome.
Golett had fainted.
"Golett..."
"Golett is unable to battle! Milotic wins!"
"One down." Rarity said with an approving nod as Applejack's family pouted with sadness.
"Sorry about that, Barry." Applejack lowered her hat as she picked up Golett from the ground. "Guess it's all you now."
"Ah, it's fine. I'm still pretty awesome when riding solo!" Barry exclaimed as he would take things from here.
"Now Heracross should be easy to defeat with both of us combined," said Rarity to Ember as Gible held his head from Double-Edge. "Let's make these final moves count."
"Wish I had a hat to turn." Barry patted his head, imagining that he would have a hat like Ash. But he had something. A scarf. He could at least tug on that. And so he did. "Let's go Heracross! Stone Edge!"
"Cross!" All on his own Heracross would have to handle everything. He summoned multiple stones around his body, launching them afterwards.
"Knock them away with Dragon Tail!"
"Do the same with Dragon Claw!" Just like before Milotic and Gible were able to just knock the stones back with their physical Dragon-Type moves. No problem.
"Switch it up!"
"Hera!" Unless Heracross had a different approach. He had used the second variation of Stone Edge. The one involving the crystals. He instantly smashed his fist onto the ground, causing the giant blue crystals to erupt from below as they rushed towards the opposing Pokemon.
"Gib!" Gible had swung at the last flying stone before being hit by the erupting crystal from below, taking surprise damage. Milotic managed to hit the first incoming crystal by the inch of her scales.
"Milo!"
"Megahorn!"
"Heracross!" Heracross revealed his wings, flying towards his opponents with a glowing and slight elongated horn.
"Now, let's try Wrap one more time!"
"Gible, help her out with Dragon Claw!"
"Milotic!" The Wrap plan wasn't done with just yet. Milotic stayed there as Gible went in for Dragon Claw. He and Heracross had butted heads with Heracross's horn meeting Gible's claws. In terms of power, Heracross was the victor was he easily overpowered Gible's physical strength, knocking him away with Megahorn.
"Gible!"
"Think I'm gonna come close!? Think again!" Way back, Heracross!"
"Hera!" Just like what Absol did today and a bit of Lucario, Heracross had used the second variation of Night Slash much like the second variation of Stone Edge. He had ascended into the air, not only keeping his distance from Milotic and Wrap but also attacking her from afar.
"Milo?!" Milotic gasped as she closed her eyes, being bombarded with raining Night Slashes as Rarity was also agape.
"Clever...!" Rarity growled with her teeth showing. "Use Hydro Pump!"
"Gible, Twister!"
"Milotic!" Milotic and Gible performed a double attack. A combination of Hydro Pump and Twister as they flew side-by-side towards the air.
"Let's make a sick divebomb with Close Combat!"
"Heracross!" Heracross ascended high into the air, evading the incoming move combo. He had all the airtime in the world thanks to those wings. Afterwards, he dived down while evading the attacks, heading straight for Gible.
"Here it comes! Dragon Claw!"
"Milotic! Turn around and use Hydro Pump once more!"
"Milotic!" Milotic quickly turned her head, aiming at the diving Heracross in order to protect Gible. One more Hydro Pump came out.
"Okay, Heracross! Give 'em what for with some good old fashioned friendly fire!"
"Cross!" Heracross ducked his head once Gible swung his claw, avoiding it. The Single Horn Pokemon then whacked his horn, smacking Gible to the side. And in the right position towards Hydro Pump.
"G-Gib!"
"Oh! Pull back! Pull back, darling!" Rarity gasped, pulling on her mane. But it was too late for Milotic to change the direction of Hydro Pump as the attack had struck Gible. The Land Shark Pokemon received the full force of it coupled with Close Combat from Heracross. Not a great feeling.
And as the explosion of Hydro Pump occurred, Gible fell to the ground, accumulating too much damage in this battle. Thus, the outcome was simple. He had fainted.
"Gible..."
"Gible is unable to battle! Heracross wins!"
"Wow! Just by himself!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "Barry's something!"
"He's Ash's rival so that's to be expected." Twilight nodded. "He seems empty-headed but when he battles, his mind moves at lightning speed. Just like Ash."
"Espeon."
"My bad, Rarity. Didn't see that coming." Ember sighed.
"Nopony did Ember. Don't feel so bad, darling. I'll finish things from here." Rarity put her game face on.
"Milotic,"
"We're on a roll! And let's keep it that way! If I'm gonna have a chance to get back at Ash for a rematch, it's today! Heracross, Megahorn!"
"Hera!"
"Dragon Tail, Milotic!"
"Milo!" MIlotic and Heracross entered a close-quarters clash with their horn and tail. Sparks flew from the back and forth hits. But it looked like Heracross had the advantage on account of Milotic needing to turn to the side to make this attack work. Thus, the Tender Pokemon was being pushed back.
"Now's our chance...!" A sparkle emerged in Rarity's eye as she found an opportunity. "Wrap!"
"Milotic!" Milotic cried out as Heracross went for another horn swing. Just in time for Milotic to end Dragon Tail and raise her tail. By doing so, she ended up wrapping around Heracross' body halting the Megahorn. "Tic!"
"Heracross?!"
"Oh!" Barry pulled back.
"H-Hera...!" Heracross tried breaking free, but his body was trapped as he wriggled. And as Milotic tightened her grip, the Single Horn Pokemon took damage as well.
"Darn. Moves like Wrap are hard to get out of." Rainbow Dash kissed her teeth. "That's a problem."
"It's just like Bea's Grapploct and its Octolock. But just like that move, there's a way around it somewhere." Twilight observed.
"Let's end this quick, Milotic! Hydro Pump!"
"Milo...!" Milotic opened her mouth, charging up one final Hydro Pump to end this battle off.
"Rule one of battling a Heracross, Rarity!" Barry suddenly cried out, raising his arm as he was giving advice to Rarity and the crowd. "Never leave the horn exposed. Give 'em a Galar Kiss!"
"Galar Kiss?" Everypony repeated as trainers from Galar knew what meant.
"Hera...Cross!" With instant speed, Heracross gave a sudden headbutt to the face with his horn, flinching Milotic. A Galar Kiss was essentially a surprise headbutt. And it was an effective one as Milotic's grip had ended.
"M-Milo!"
"Of course! The horn!" Rarity faced hoofed. "It isn't over yet! Dragon Tail!"
"Milotic!"
"Right back at you, buddy! Grab it and enjoy those skies!"
"Hera!" Once Milotic swung her tail, Heracross had grabbed onto it. He wanted to pay Milotic back. And after grabbing her tail, he revealed his wings, ascending into the air.
"M-M-Milotic?!" Milotic gasped, wriggling about. And for her, it was successful. Milotic actually managed to slip out of Heracross'' clutches once he went into the air.
"Huh?!" Even Barry was surprised by how easy that was. "How come it didn't work me!?"
"I always give my Pokemon the best moisturizing cream! It makes them silky smooth! Hahahaha!" Rarity chuckled after giving that surprise. "Now, Hydro Pump for the final time!"
"Megahorn!"
"Milotic!" Miotic released her final Hydro Pump to the air once she touched the ground. As for Heracross, he was going in at full force with his horn glowing. Everyone leaned in to see how this would end.
"Hera...Cross!" And with pure strength, Heracross used Megahorn to since through the blast of water as if his horn was a butterknife and Hydro Pump was butter. With that slice, he managed to push through the attack and reach Milotic's level. With one final swing, he smashed his horn onto the Tender Pokemon, flying back afterwards.
"Milotic, no!" Rarity cried out as her partner fell to the ground with droplets of water falling after Hydro Pump had ended. Milotic had gone through quite a lot in this battle. Thus, she had no more strength left.
She had fainted.
"Milotic..."
"Milotic is unable to battle! Thus, the winners of this battle are Heracross and Golett!"
"And with that, we have our final two teams! Finally!" The announcer exclaimed with applause filling the atmosphere. Rarity helped Milotic up afterwards.
"Thank you, Milotic. You were stunning."
"Milotic."
"Not a bad battle." Barry went up to them with his Heracross. "I got goosebumps. You sure are trained well by Ash. Felt like I was battling him for a while there."
"Shame we didn't make it to the end." Ember pouted. "Oh, well. This was fun. Way better than just sitting around in the Dragon Lands all day. Pokemon Battles are the best!"
"Aren't they? And here I thought they were barbaric in the very beginning." Rarity chuckled. "I wouldn't try any other sport than this one! Well...maybe Pokemon Contests. Oh and good luck in the finals, Applejack. Well done for making it this far."
"Thanks, Rarity. Next, Sceptile and I are gonna win this." Applejack adjusted her hat as Sceptile nodded.
"Sceptile."
"And I get to battle Ash one more time." Barry got all giddy. "Get ready, Ketchum! This time, I'm gonna-" He pointed at the crowd, only to see that Ash was not here. "Huh?! Where is he?!"
"Oh. He and Fluttershy went to practice while our battle went on." Rarity explained. "You were so eager to get out there, you missed him."
"Grr...No watching my battle...!" Barry growled. "I'm gonna fine him when he gets back!"
And with the final two tag teams, the last battle of the Canterlot Tag Battle Competition was about to end. But this would be a day to remember. Only one winner is due for this with both teams aiming to give it their all as the journey continues.
Equestria. Canterlot. Equestria League Stadium. Day.
The final match of the Canterlot Tag Battle Competition was closing in. And the two teams were Ash and Fluttershy vs Barry and Applejack. Everyone was riveted and pumped for this last match as only a few minutes would go by until it was time.
"Looks like it's us now," Ash spoke to Barry and Applejack. "Guess I've got another chance to battle you, Barry."
"Right. And this time, I'm coming out on top, Ash." Barry gave a cheesy grin. "Don't get too embarrassed when I become Hero of Equestria when I beat you."
"Huh?" Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, don't count on it, partner." Applejack shook her head, instantly shutting down Barry's words. "But that winning part, I can see. Don't get too gentle there, Fluttershy."
"I won't." Fluttershy giggled. "I'll always do my best."
"So, Barry. After this, what are you gonna do?" Ash asked.
"I'm aiming to enter the Pokemon World Championships one day. Heard you were in it and it got super popular when I started hearing about it. Beating Leon and getting to the Masters 8 is like a dream come true. That's where I'm headed!"
"So, it's not becoming Champion of Sinnoh? That's fine. Because I'm gonna be the one to beat Leon, ya hear?" Ash declared.
"Pikachu!"
"Not before I beat him first!" Barry and Ash once again butted heads. Just like the old days in Sinnoh. And it would happen once more on the battlefield as the alert had gone off. It was time for both teams to battle. "Let's settle this on the field!"
"You know it!"
"Pika-Pika!"
In a rush, they both ran off, shoulder to shoulder as one was trying to beat the other there first. Their competitive nature and spirit still remained to this day as Applejack sighed.
"Oh geez..." She uttered as Fluttershy found amusement in it. The two of them then went to the field at a regular pace. But Applejack was reminded of her competitive nature with Rainbow Dash. It still existed to this day.
Everyone was waiting. Major fans of Ash were cheering him on and Barry had managed to accumulate his own fans on account of his previous matches. But most of the popularity went on Ash's side.
"Finally! This is it! The final match of the Canterlot Tag Battle Competition! Only one winning team here, aiming for the ultimate prize!" The announcer then raised the 10 Master Balls. "10 Master Balls! I'm psyched right now!"
"So. Whaddya reckon, Barry?" Applejack said to Barry. "Which Pokemon's coming out?"
"Hm-hm-hm." Barry closed his eyes as his hand was grabbing his chin. Seems he knew something with a calculative mind. Calculative and Barry don't usually work well with each other. "If I know Ash, he loves a flashy finish. And from what I've seen...he's either gonna go with Pikachu or Lucario to end things off."
"Yeah. That sounds flashy." Applejack agreed with a nod as she was now expecting Pikachu or Lucario. But soon, they would find it was not the case.
"I know who I'm choosing for this! Here's your debut, buddy! I choose you!" Ash held out a Poke Ball, launching it. Emerging out of the Poke Ball wasn't Lucario.
It was Dracovish.
"Draco! Dracovish!"
"!!!" Immediately after appearing, millions, practically everyone in the stadium froze in shock and horror. Not from Ash having a new Pokemon, but the appearance of said Pokemon. Just like how Twilight and the others reacted to the fossil Pokemon, the same went for this.
Utter shock.
Seeing Dracovish was like seeing an entity from another plane of existence. An alien almost. It might even be beyond an alien as faces off fear overtook every crowd member here. Even the humans are blown back as Dracovish is an impossibly rare Pokemon to come by due to it being extinct.
"W-What is that thing...?" Daylight Blazer grimaced.
"Can it even breathe properly...?" Spitfire uttered.
"I don't think its head is supposed to be in that direction." A pony said, covering the eyes of her daughter.
"I think I'm gonna hurl," Ember uttered, feeling drained just by looking at Dracovish.
"Ew. There's flesh sticking out at the bottom..." A human spoke. "That doesn't look safe."
"Sweet Celestia..." The referee ended up fainting on the spot due to seeing Dracovish. As a way to fix this, a spare referee instantly came in, replacing the fainted referee.
"What the?!" Barry pulled back. However, he was actually the only one surprised that Ash chose a different Pokemon instead of Dracovish's confusing appearance. "Ash Ketchum, you're not this unpredictable! Where's your Lucario!" Barry pointed at Ash. "Fess up or I'm gonna have to give you a fine!"
"I wanted Dracovish to have a shot. It hasn't battled so this will be great for it."
"Dracovish!"
"Fine! I'll still take...whatever that thing is on!" Barry held out his Poke Ball, winding it up before throwing it. "Go, Staraptor!"
"Staraptor!"
"Go for it, Audino. Help Dracovish as much as you can." Fluttershy chose Audino as her final Pokemon, fittingly.
"Audino."
"Last ride, Sceptile. Get in there." Applejack chose Sceptile, relying on her ace against a powerful opponent such as Ash.
"Sceptile!"
"Battle Start!"
"Staraptor! Let's end this in one hit! Close Combat on Audino!"
"Star" Star was aiming to perform a One-hit KO. And with a powerful Fighting-Type move like Close Combat against a Normal-Type such as Audino, major damage was due without fail.
"A-Audino?!" Audino gasped, seeing that she was a prime target for Braviary.
"Audino, Use Pro-"
"No need, Fluttershy!" Ash stepped in, deciding to protect Audino himself. "Ice Fang, Dracovish!"
"Dra!" Dracovish cried out, yawning for a small bit. But after that yawn ended, the eyes of the Fossil Pokemon flashed blue as its lower jaw became covered in light blue, icy energy. Once Staraptor came close, Dracovish took a quick bite, snapping its jaws onto the wings of the Predator Pokemon.
"S-Star!" Staraptor took super-effective damage as his left wing had been frozen. And with that damage, Dracovish threw Staraptor to the side, but not before leaving a powerful mark. Due to Ice Fang freezing his wing, Staraptor's flying capabilities and skills had been diminished.
"Gah!? You messed up my Staraptor's wings!" Barry grabbed his hair. "What's the big idea, Ash Ketchum?!"
"Don't moan, I got it. Sceptile, break that ice." Applejack said.
"Scep." The problem was easily resolved. All Sceptile had to do was smash the ice. And he did so, freeing Staraptor from his permanent icy prison. "Sceptile."
"Staraptor!"
"Hehe. Ash crossed his arms before adjusting his hat. "We're just getting started with all our tricks! Okay, Dracovish, head in and use Fishous Rend!"
"Audino! Help Dracovish with Safeguard!"
"Dino!" Audino raised her arms, casting a verdant green aura of light around hers and Dracovish's bodies. Status moves such as Sceptile's Thunder Punch causing paralysis were to be noted. And the rest of Staraptor's moves are unknown but it pays to be cautious.
"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"
"Staraptor, use Uproar!"
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile approached the Fossil Pokemon with bladed leaves. This would also be the first time that everyone would witness Fishious Rend and how powerful it could be. As for Staraptor, he had cawed, making blue sound waves come out of his mouth directly towards Audino.
"A-Audi!" Audino had been hit by Round after she ended Safeguard. But due to her being a bulky Pokemon like her sister Pokemon Blissey, the Hearing Pokemon wasn't even pushed back. For this, Audino would just be support for Dracovish since the only attacking move she has is Hyper Beam.
"Tile!" Sceptile swung at Dracovish, actually hitting the Fossil Pokemon in the process. But not without retaliation. Dracovish instantly snapped back with a swift bite to Sceptile's arm.
"Draco!"
"S-Scep?!" And Sceptile was the first to experience this as Dracovish now had Sceptile within its fanged clutches. It did not let go once its fangs had connected. Fishious Red was certainly hard-hitting, especially on this Pokemon.
"Vish!" After holding Sceptile, Dracovish slammed him onto the ground, not letting go for a second.
"T-Tile!"
"Sceptile! Get out of there! Use your vines to grab onto Staraptor!" Applejack cried out.
"S-Sceptile!" Sceptile held his arm out as vines shot out. Just in time for Staraptor to grab them with his beak. The Predator Pokemon then tried pulling Sceptile away but was shocked that it wasn't an instant rescue.
"Star?!"
"What gives?!" Barry gasped.
"Ooh, look at that!" The announcer gasped. "That...whatever Pokemon that is...has Sceptile completely stuck! How strong are those jaws?!"
"The Pokedex says that its powerful legs and jaws made it the apex predator of its time." Twilight explained. "So apex that its own overhunting of its prey was what drove it to extinction. Those jaws are no joke."
"Dragon Pulse, Sceptile!"
"Sceptile!" But at least, Sceptile had a way of escaping. His vines may have failed but Dragon Pulse didn't. He opened his mouth, unleashing a blast of draconic energy that had struck Dracovish in the face.
"Vish!" Dracovish staggered as its grip had been weakened, allowing for Sceptile to break free. The Forest Pokemon was finally free, however, he noticed that he had some bruises from that Fishious Rend.
"Yeah. Shoulda known." Applejack adjusted her hat. "Can't have Dracovish bite us, or that's game. Barry. Don't let it bite your Staraptor."
"Got it, got it. Distance is key." Ash pumped his fist.
"For a Pokemon that can barely breathe and is rearranged incorrectly, it sure is dangerous..." Rarity gawked. "I hate to imagine what its true form was capable of in the past."
"Let's go wild, Dracovish! Water Gun, go!"
"Audino! Heal Pulse!"
"Dracovish! This time, Dracovish would keep its distance, shooting out a stream of water from its mouth that packed more power than your run-of-the-mill Water Gun. And at the same time, Audino would provide healing support.
With Heal Pulse, she was able to heal herself and Dracovish with a beautiful and light green aura, erasing the damage done by Uproar and Dragon Pulse.
"Let's try one of those new moves ya learned! Frenzy Plant!"
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile stuck his hands in the ground as giant roots erupted out of the ground in a frantic frenzy. Similar to Discharge or the Counter Shield.
"Brave Bird!"
"Staraptor!" And Staraptor would be attacking with yet another heavy move. Many hard-hitting moves were being used in this battle as the Predator Pokemon zoomed in, flying and manoeuvring the array of plants. While he was on the same team as Sceptile, getting hit by those plants was still a probability.
"Now's our chance to attack! Hyper Beam, Audino!"
"Audi...!" Audino was finally going on the offensive. She put her hands together, gathering up heaps of Infinity Energy as she unleashed a giant orange beam that flew alongside Dracovish's Water Gun.
Water Gun and Hyper Beam connected with Frenzy Plant as their combined might was enough to cancel Frenzy Plant. Mainly Hyper Beam due to how powerful it was. But Staraptor was safe.
Since all of the plants from Frenzy Plant got in the way of Water Gun and Hyper Beam, the Predator Pokemon was free from damage. After using Frenzy Plant, Sceptile suffered the same effects as Audino's Hyper Beam. He had to recharge in the meanwhile.
"Star!" And that allowed him to move through and attack his target. And for Staraptor, that target was Dracovish as he was up in front. The Normal-Flying-Type Pokemon crashed into Dracovish at full force. But not without taking recoil damage as the Fossil Pokemon was knocked back.
"Dra!"
"Let's head back in there with Ice Fang!"
"Push it back with Uproar!"
"Staaaaaaar!" Staraptro promptly pushed Dracovish away with blue soundwaves, creating a safe distance as the Fossil Pokemon was knocked back. And after that action, Sceptile and Audino were recharged, back to full strength.
"Ice Fang, again!"
"Dracovish! Dracovish then ran ahead with the intent to freeze. In came Dracovish with glowing blue fangs and impressive running speed, despite not being in any body of water right now.
"Sceptile, use Thunder Punch!"
"Steel Wing, Staraptor!"
"Scep!" Sceptile and Starptor would meet with Dracovish with a synchronized attack. The same time Sceptile used Thunder Punch, Staraptor would use Steel Wing. And with these two being close to each other, Steel Wing conducted Thunder Punch as Starptor now had a combination of two moves in one. Adding that to Sceptile's Thunder Punch makes three.
"Starap!"
"Draco!" But as they swung their fist and wing, Dracovish, with its unreasonably massive mouth, chomped on both of them at the same time. They were slightly close and Dracovish's head size allowed it to grab both the first and wing into its clutches. There is a reason why it was the Apex Predator back in the day. Even more of a predator than Staraptor, the Predator Pokemon.
"Scep?!"
"Star?!"
"It got both of us?!" Barry gasped as the effects of Ice Fang occurred. But it would affect one Pokemon. And that unlucky customer was Sceptile. The ice instantly froze him in a flash. A flash-freeze to be exact. The Forest Pokemon gasped as he was now put in an icy prison while receiving super-effective damage. And as a bonus, Dracovish had them both in its grasp.
"Right where we want you!" Ash grinned. "Your move, Fluttershy! Dracovish and I will buy you all the time for a recharge!"
"Thanks, Ash! Audino! Hyper Beam one more time!"
"Dracovish! Throw them!"
"Audi...!" After being fully recharged, Audino went for a second Hyper Beam. But not without support. Dracovish used its powerful jaws to throw the two Pokemon into the direction of Audino's Hyper Beam. "No!"
"Gah! Staraptor, Block with Steel Wing!" Barry screeched as Hyper Beam was coming in hot.
"Star!" Staraptor quickly recovered through the air despite taking super-effective damage. The Predator Pokemon immediately hardened his wings, flying in front of Sceptile.
And just in the nick of time. Staraptor had successfully shielded against Hyper Beam with Steel Wing as a way to resist the damage. However, even with Steel Wing's protection, Hyper Beam was incredibly powerful as Staraptor staggered. He managed to hang in there as his wings were smoking. But more importantly, Sceptile had been saved.
"Fishious Rend!"
"Staraptor, behind you!"
"Star?!" Staraptor quickly turned around to see Dracovish attacking as Audino went through another recharge. With Dracovish getting a back attack due to Staraptor's fixation of Hyper Bea, the Fossil Pokemon bit onto the tail feathers of Staraptor.
"Draco...Vish!"
"Raptor!" Staraptor cried out as he was sensitive there. Anyone would be. Immediately after getting bitten, Staraptor flapped his wings in pain.
"Yes!" Ash pumped his fist. "Now, switch into Ice Fang!"
"Staraptor, Shake it off!"
"Star-Star!" Staraptor flew into the air as Dracovish was ready to change its biting style. The Normal-Flying-Type soared through the skies, spiralling in a circle. Staraptor started spinning so fast he was kicking upwind around his body. And by doing so, he managed to make Dacvoish dizzy, halting Ice Fang. But even so, Dracovish's bite was so great that even when being befuddled, it would not let go.
"D-Draco! Draco...!"
"Ah! Dracovish!" Ash gasped.
"That should be good enough! Now, do a fly-by Close Combat! Break Sceptile free while striking Audino!" Barry raised his arms to give more Oomph to his command.
"Staraptor!" And Oomph it gave. Staraptor immediately dived downwards, moving at his top speed. He would act in the same way a rocket or meteor was entering the atmosphere. Enough force to obliterate the first thing in sight. By swooping down, Staraptor then flew forward once he was low enough. And by zooming, he used the strength of Close Combat to shatter the ice prison around Sceptile. And he did this while still heading for Audino.
"T-Tile!" Sceptile gasped as he was finally free.
"Protect!"
"Audino!" But Audino had a response to Close Combat. After recharging, he put a massive field of protective energy around her. Once Staraptor's wings came in, they were immediately blocked by Audino's Protect.
"No problem! Slam Dracovish!"
"Star!" Staraptor's eyes flashed as he had then flipped over, using Dracovish as a weapon. Audino's Protect only works sparingly, so there was no chance of it protecting against what came next. And what came next was shocking as Staraptor had slammed Dracovish through the barrier and into Audino.
"Audino!" Audino cried out.
"Oh! Let go, Dracovish!"
"Draco!" Dracovish finally released its grip on Staraptor, only for Barry to take this chance while Audino and Dracovish
"Hehe! Close Combat!"
"Staraptor!" Staraptor took the chance as well, wailing his wings and talons onto both Dracovish and Audino all at once. He struck them both with heavy hits before landing his final hit, knocking them both back.
"Vish!"
"Dino!"
"Phew. Nice save there, partner. That could've been bad." Applejack sighed. "How ya looking there, Sceptile?"
"Tile." Sceptile held his head. That Ice Fang from Dracovish did a number on him for sure. Dracovish's fangs could end this battle at any second as both of them were each to its Ice Fang. Audino had taken big damage from Close Combat, but her bulkiness allowed her to stay on top.
"Shouldn't waste any time now. I know what I gotta do." Applejack took out the hatpin for Mega Evolution as Fluttershy gasped.
"They're going to Mega Evolve. Audino. Should we as well?"
"Audino." Audino nodded, agreeing to Mega Evolution. Just like the battles before this one, simultaneous Mega Evolution was due. Fluttershy revealed her Mega Bracelet, swapping her Z-Ring out for it.
"Here it comes again! Double Mega Evolution!" Scootaloo squeed in excitement.
"Mega Evolve!" In unison, Applejack and Fluttershy called for the power of Mega Evolution. The lights of Infinity Energy shot out of their keystones, enveloping around their partners while also forming the DNA Symbol. And at the same time, dispersing out of the lights were Mega Sceptile and Mega Audino.
"Brave Bird!"
"Frenzy Plant!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile and Staraptor used the same tactic they used before with Frenzy Plant and Brave Bird. Violent plants erupted from below as Staraptor easily evaded them while approaching his target.
"Protect, Audino!"
"Use Water Gun to dodge!"
"Dracovish!" Dracovish aimed downwards, unleashing a stream of water from its mouth. By using this tactic, the Fossil Pokemon had sent itself upwards as Water Gun was its support for the air. By shooting into the air, it managed to evade some incoming plants while also dodging Staraptor's Brave Bird. Audino managed to protect against some rampant plants, successfully blocking the might Grass-Type move. Sceptile had to recharge now.
"After it, Staraptor!"
"Star!" But Staraptor wasn't done. Still using Brave Bird, he redirected himself, chasing after Dracovish while he was in the air. Dracovish was at a great disadvantage when airborne, thus there wasn't much it could do. "Raptor!" Staraptor slammed into Dracovish, knocking the Fossil Pokemon down while taking recoil damage.
"Hyper Beam!"
"Audino!" Audino struck while Sceptile was recharging, sending Hyper Beam his way. Sceptile had no choice but to take this. And once the attack hit him with an outburst of explosive energy, Sceptile took it like a champ. That Mega Evolution also helped boost his defences. Now Audino was the one needing to recover.
"Sceptile, Dragon Pulse!"
"Steel Wing, Staraptor!" Now Barry and Applejack were beginning to put the pressure on. Sceptile fired Dragon Pulse at Dracovish while Staraptor flew at Audino with Steel Wing. Both super-effective.
"Water Gun!"
"Dracovish!" Dracovish quickly recovered from the ground before unleashing Water Gun towards Sceptile's Dragon Pulse. Dracovish saved itself by cancelling Dragon Pulse out.
"Star!" But the same couldn't be said for Audino as she hadn't finished recharging. And now that she was part Fairy in her Mega Evolved state, Steel Wing hurt. Staraptor slashed his wing onto the Hearing Pokemon, knocking her back with super-effective damage.
"A-Audi!"
"Steel Wing again!"
"Staraptor!"
"Protect!"
"Dino!" Audino quickly put her arm out as she finished recharging. She had cast a barrier around herself, right as Staraptor had used a second Steel Wing, only for it to be blocked.
"Ice Fang, go!"
"Leaf Blade!"
"Dracovish!" Dracovish and Staraptor approached each other with fangs bearing and blades appearing. They entered an up-close encounter with Dracovish biting onto Sceptile's blade. But this time, Sceptile worked past that, using his other arm to slash Dracovish.
"Tile!"
"Dra!"
"You can't block the next one! Steel Wing again!"
"Staraptor!" Indeed, Audino couldn't. She took another Steel Wing, staggering afterwards. Staraptor kept swinging his wings, striking the Normal-Fairy-Type repeatedly.
"Dracovish! Help, Audino, with Water Gun!"
"Draco...!" Dracovish quickly turned around, opening its mouth to use Water Gun.
"Hold on there! Sceptile! Grab Dracovish!"
"Tile!" Sceptile sent his vines out, grabbing onto Dracovish's jaws and essentially its whole head. With that, Sceptile finally put Dracovish's aggressive jaws on hold.
"Don't underestimate those jaws, AJ!" Ash turned his hat. "Ice Fang!"
"Dra...Co!" Dracovish found an easy advantage to this. Its jaws were being held by the vines, yes. But the elements were still usable. Instead of using Water Gun, Dracovish used Ice Fang, causing the chilling aura to freeze the vines of Sceptile. They even almost reached Sceptile with how they travelled through the vines. "Vish!" Dracovish then crushed the frozen vines.
"Star...!" Staraptor went for another Steel Wing, only this time, Audino had grabbed his wings, standing her ground, "Star?"
"A-Audino...!" Audino growled as while she didn't have ludicrous physical strength, her Mega Form gave her that Oomph.
"I'm okay, Ash! Hyper Beam!"
"Audi...No!" Audino opened her mouth, using Hyper Beam from there instead of her hands.
"Ah! Break free Staraptor with Uproar!"
"S-Star!" Staraptor opened his mouth, unleashing a mighty echoing voice. And that was sensitive to Audino's ears as she winced. Her ears trembled along with her body.
"D-Dino...!" Audino cried out, closing her eyes. But her grip did not loosen. She was not going to let go for a second. She may be a healer Pokemon, but she's also one to be a trooper.
"Hah! Those ears are too sensitive! How about some more?!"
"Star! Star!" Staraptor kept using Uproar, harming Audino's sensitive ears and damaging her over time.
"Frenzy Plant!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile made the roots emerge once more, going for Dracovish.
"Push back with Water Gun!"
"Vish!" Dracovish made a quick dodge by shooting Water Gun to the ground, this time at a different angle that allowed it to move back. But some of the roots ended up hitting Dracovish, staggering it. But the Fossil Pokemon hung in there.
"Uproar! Don't stop, Staraptor!"
"Audino!" But Audino wouldn't allow that. After powering through the Uproar, she then unleashed Hyper Beam in an instant. Her great defence and bulk allowed her to stay in there as she engulfed Staraptor in Infinity Energy as Barry gasped.
And with that Staraptor was blown sky-high as Audino had let go. Everyone watched as the Hyper Beam tore through the sky, even breaking through the clouds as well and startling some nearby Flying-Type Pokemon.
And falling out of it with smoke trailing out of him was a fainted and defeated Staraptor. That was all he could muster in this battle as he crashed.
"Staraptor..."
"Staraptor is unable to battle! Audino wins!"
"Ah! No! Barry got on his knees, holding his hair in defeat.
"Just one more left! Let's go, Fluttershy!" Ash turned his hat around.
"Okay, Ash!" Fluttershy nodded. But Audino would have to recharge. And the same went for Sceptile who had just used Frenzy Plant.
"Dracovish! Ice Fang!"
"Dracovish!" Dracovish moved in for a super-effective Ice Fang on Sceptile.
"Gotta do something...!" Applejack growled. "Sceptile get ready! Turn around!"
"Scep...!" Sceptile turned around, using its tail to block. This was all he could do while recharging. Dracovish lunged in, going for an Ice Fang as it chomped on Sceptile's tail. "T-Tile!"
"Now spin!"
"Sceptile!" But just what Applejack wanted as Sceptile spun his tail around, causing Dracovish to spin. Just one of the few traits that came with Mega Sceptile. But Dracovish would not release his bite.
"Now, Fluttershy!"
"Audino! Hyper Beam!"
"Au...!" Audino cupped her hands the same way Lucario does with Aura Sphere. "Di...!" She then made a Hyper Beam orb appear as it was crackling with Infinity Energy. The ground below started shaking as rubble and rocks rose from the pressure Audino was giving out. "NO!" She then unleashed her strongest Hyper Beam as it tore through the ground, moving faster than usual.
"Ah! Sceptile! Frenzy Plant!"
"Don't think so! Dracovish, chew as much as you like!"
"Draco!" Dracovish then let go of Sceptile's tail before lunging towards his head. The Fossil Pokemon then bit on Mega Sceptile's head to throw him off before he could use Frenzy Plant.
And with great timing. Hyper Beam hit its mark. Everyone closed their eyes or covered their ears as a giant field of a horrific explosion emerged from Audino's Hyper Beam. The entirety of Canterlot lit up from this as even the wind and cloud patterns changed. It could be heard and seen from afar.
And with everything settling, from dust to rubble, the crowd and everyone looked ahead to see the result. In a stellar show of power, both Sceptile and Dracovish had been taken out by Audino's Hyper Beam. They had fainted.
"Dracovish..."
"Sceptile..."
"Sceptile and Dracovish are unable to battle! Thus, the winners of the Canterlot Tag Battle Competition are Ash and Fluttershy!"
"They did it!" Twilight flew up with happiness. "Woohoo!" And the crowd cheered as well as the victors had finally been decided.
"Applejack lost but that was so great!" Apple Bloom let out tears of joy for her big sister along with her family. They were proud of her in the long run.
"Man, you guys rock!" Ash complimented Dracovish and Audino. Dracovish immediately got back up, biting on Ash's head out of love.
"Draco-Draco!"
"Audino!" Audino hugged Fluttershy after her amazing achievement. "Audino!"
"I'm so proud of you, Audino! You've really grown!"
"Thanks, partner." Applejack helped Sceptile up. You were a real champ out there."
"Sceptile."
"Guess we've still got ways to go, Staraptor."
"Star-Star."
"And now for the crowning prize." Celestia brought over the box of 10 Master Balls. Ash and Fluttershy stood on a podium as Fluttershy blushed out of embarrassment and so much attention. Much like Ash, she was now a fan favourite to many. "We're pleased to present you both with these. The 10 Master Balls."
"Thanks." Ash and Fluttershy took the Master Balls before raising them. "We got ourselves Master Balls!"
"Pikachu!"
"Audino!"
"Let's also give a big hoof, hand, claw, paw or whatever limb you have to all the other Pokemon and Trainers who battled so hard during the competition." With Celestia's words, applause for everyone who took part went out.
An exciting and rousing final battle for this competition. And one for the history books. While this may be the final day, some wrapping up was left to do as everyone was about to head home.
As for the 10 Master Balls, Ash made up his mind on what he wanted to do with them. He placed them in his bag as he would execute that action later on. Right now, some rest was needed along with some food.
"Hey, Ash," Barry said to Ash. I'm heading off now. But I'll tell you this, we'll meet again! At the Pokemon World Championships!"
"Sure! I'm looking forward to that! And it's gonna be me that reaches Leon first!"
"We'll see about that!" Barry chuckled.
"Leaving so soon, Barry?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah. I've got stuff to do. But you'll see me around. Maybe. Just call Trixie or something." Barry jogged on the spot. His stomach then started rumbling. "But uh...Mind if I stay behind for some food first?"
After the Canterlot Tag Battle Competition ended with Ash and Fluttershy emerging as the winners, some food was in store for a job well done. For every trainer. Ash and Barry were eating away at what Celestia had given them. But more importantly, Celestia had something to ask Ash.
"Mmm-mm! Worth it all..." Ash said before patting his stomach along with Barry, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah." The three of them agreed. "Worth it."
"Shame I missed out on some battles," Luna spoke. "Some of my Pokemon would've enjoyed it, honestly. Congratulations on you two winning, by the way,"
"There's always the Equestria League. At least I'll get to use all my Pokemon there." Rainbow Dash uttered.
"Ah, well anyway!" Barry stood up. "Thanks for the food, Princess." He then bowed, showing his respects. "I'm heading off now, Big road ahead. See ya when I see ya, Ash."
"Same to you, Barry. Good luck out there." Ash also stood up as he and Barry have handshakes of respect, vowing to see each other again somewhere out there. Whether in this world or the Pokemon World.
"Peace!" Barry immediately dipped, off to do what he does best. Whatever that is. Barry immediately waltzed his way out of here, but the guards of Canterlot would help him. They had a Travel Sphere out for those who wished to exit to the Pokemon World. But as a guard opened a gateway, something happened.
The Travel Sphere blew up.
"Ah!" The guard gasped as he backed away along with Barry.
"Yikes!" Barry squealed as the sphere had tiny mechanical bits fall to the floor. "That was close!"
"Are you two okay?!" Ash asked as everyone had witnessed the destruction of the Travel Sphere. They thought it was a malfunction with just that one sphere, but with a guard showing up and Audino hearing the sounds of humans outside, it was clear something was off.
"Your majesty!" A guard rushed in. "We have a problem! It's the Travel Spheres!"
"I noticed." Celestia nodded before looking at the broken bits of machinery. "What exactly is happening with them?"
"Well, when we went to use them to send some of the humans back to the Pokemon World, they suddenly blew up on us without warning. It was instant as well."
"The same happened here. You don't suppose it could be related to the various gateways being altered?" Luna looked at her big sister.
"I'm afraid it is. Ghetsis." Celestia said Ghetsis' name as it sent shivers down everyone's spine. His name just made the atmosphere cold and nearly dead. "Much like how I recognized his Dark Aura on that day, it must have also affected anything related to gateways."
"So all of the Travel Spheres have Dark Aura in them now?!" Luna gasped. "What exactly did he do?! Ash! You were in the human world that day. Could you inform us of what occurred there?"
"Yeah. You said Ghetsis showed up and caused trouble?" Rainbow Dash turned to Ash.
"RIght. But I didn't know what he did." Ash scratches his hair before thinking back to the gateway in the Human World that led to Eindoak Town. He also remembered how Ghetsis said this during their encounter.
"Haven't you noticed something from our previous encounters? Our battle at Saddle Arabia and over at the castle. Our Auras. When they clash at their peak, I've noticed that some form of Rift Energy forms from it. I couldn't ignore this. Not at all. That's when I figured out how both our Auras can do so much more when it comes to a separate form of power."
"Oh wait!" Ash finally realized what Ghetsis was after. The appearance of gateways that led to alternate universes where Red, Blue, Gold and Silver existed and how the gateways had been mixed up during the night of the Grand Galloping Gala. It all added up. "That's what he was aiming for!"
"So does this mean the Travel Spheres are useless now?" Twilight gulped.
"Hold on! How am I gonna get home?!" Barry screeched. "Don't tell me I gotta take the long way back? Any close gateways to Sinnoh?"
"Sadly, the Sinnoh gateways have also been mixed up. We're struggling to find them." Celestia apologised with her eyes closing. "Sorry, Barry."
"Grr...That Ghetsis...!" A flaming aura appeared around Barry. He was not too happy about this as he grizzled his teeth with a red vein appearing. "When I see him, he's getting a fine!"
"For once we agree on something," said Rarity.
"What now, Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked. "It'll be hard for some of them to get back home at this rate."
"I know. The Travel Spheres weren't acting up like this when we first used them. The second usage of them is probably what allowed Ghetsis' influence to sabotage them." A sweatdrop appeared on Celestia's head. "That means the Ranger Union could suffer the same issue. And unfortunately, I have yet to learn how to use Planewalking like the Empress. "She lowered her head.
"So, most of them are stuck here now?" Fluttershy said as Celestia nodded in confirmation.
"Bummer." Rainbow Dash groaned. "Just when we were all getting back from a good competition and all that."
"It's not all lost." Rarity shook her head. "The alternative is the gateways that are still available and unchanged. And the gateways back to other regions still exist. Albeit it far away."
"We've yet to locate all of them, but it would not hurt to try and get every single one of them back home," Luna suggested to her big sister. "All we need to do is find every last one. And that way, we'll have the capability to teleport in and out of those locations afterwards."
"Is that how their teleportation stuff works?" Barry asked Twilight.
"We can't teleport a place we've never been to before." Twilight explained. "For the spell to work, you need to have been there before and inject it in your memory. Teleportation's easy but it's complicated too."
"We'll get to searching. Send every troop across Equestria and find all of the missing gateways. As for everyone else, I suggest taking the gateway in Ponyville to Kanto and the one in Manehattan that connects to Castelia City. That's the only way for now."
"Yes, your majesty!" The guards saluted before heading off.
"Come with me, Barry," said Luna. "I'll take you to Manehattan and Castelia's gateway."
"Thanks a bunch." Barry gave a thumbs-up of appreciation as he stood near Luna. After being near the Moon Princess, Luna instantly sent herself and Barry out of Canterlot and to Manehattan. Luna would take things from here. For all of one second, she returned via teleportation again.
"That's one down at least." Luna sighed. "A hundred or...thousand to go." But after she sighed, Ash got a call from his Rotomphone. Barry was calling as he promptly picked it up.
"Yeah? What's up Barry?" Ash asked.
"WHAT GIVES?! I CAN'T PASS THROUGH!" His voice boomed through the Rotomphone as Audino's ears got the worst of it. Everyone gasped afterwards.
"What do you mean you can't pass through?!" Ash asked as Luna quickly returned to Manehattan to see the issue.
Indeed, back at Manehattan, Barry could not pass through. He tried moving through the gateway, only for his body to be repulsed by a pulse of cosmic energy and Aura. "Ow!" He fell to the ground as he got back up. "Let me through!" Barry rushed at the gateway, bashing his body against it. But he was pushed back once more.
Luna appeared to see Barry trying to push through as everypony here watched. Barry truly could not push through the gateway at all. "Unbelievable..." Luna gawked. "How much did Ghetsis affect everything...?"
"Geez." Barry groaned. "This blows!" As he exclaimed, Luna instantly brought him back to Canterlot.
"Manehattan's gateway is blocked off as well?!" Celestia bit her hoof. "Who knows how many gateways have been blocked off as well?!"
"Can't we just go one month without something like this happening?" Spike sighed.
With the gateways being suddenly blocked off, the humans were reasonably upset about this as they demanded answers as to why this was happening. And they directed those answers to Celestia, but first, the guards were being questioned as they were being bombarded by questions.
"How come we can't leave here at all?" A man asked.
"I need to head back home to Hoenn as soon as I can!" A woman pleaded.
"Why haven't the rest of the gateways been found yet?" And more questions just kept flooding in. The guards were unable to keep up with all of them as Celestia looked outside her window. Just when they had a great competition, somehow, without him being there, Ghetsis had ruined it for everyone.
No one was able to head home right now. In fact, every human that had shown up to see this competition were stuck here with little hope of returning. A shame. At least, for now, that is. Celestia knew one of one solution and it involved Cold Colt.
"Cold." Celestia sighed. "Can you get Emerald Aura, please?"
"Uh, I'll get on it, princess." Emerald Aura was the ace in the hole. Hopefully, she could fix this predicament. But right now, other important matters were on her mind.
"By the way, Ash. I should've brought this up earlier. But tell me. You've been on adventures throughout the Pokemon World for years now. Do you know about a Sea Temple?" Celestia asked.
"Yeah! Totally." Without thinking for another second, Ash nodded in confirmation. "Samiya. I told a small story about it to the Cutie Mark Crusaders when I was foalsitting them."
"Excellent!" Celestia exclaimed as some relief had come through. Finally, some good news. "Oh. That's wonderful to hear!"
"So, what's up? Do you wanna know about Samiaya?"
"Well, actually, it's more along the lines of getting there. You see, during the competition, yesterday and before, Luna had spotted what was apparently the Empress' and Daybreaker's forces in the Pokemon World. They were present there during the afternoon, nightfall and a bit of the day. And they were all searching for one thing. The Sea Temple."
"So they know about it too..." Ash gawked.
"Pikachu..."
"SO far, none of them have found it. Neither have us. But, since you've been there, you should know how we can reach it even if it moves with the sea currents? Is there a secret password to chant?" Celestia looked around. "A hidden entrance? A special item? Perhaps we can get in by-"
"Well, the special item's true but there's an easier way." Ash chuckled as all ears were on him. "All we need is Manaphy."
"Manaphy?" They all repeated. "That's it?"
"Yeah. You see, every Manaphy knows how to find the Sea Temple. They're connected to it. All Manaphy have homing instincts that guide them to the temple's location even though it has a cloaking device. How neat is that?"
"Very neat." Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie said.
"Oh...That's surprisingly easy." A relieved Celestia laughed a bit.
"And we have a Manaphy as our friend. Baby Flurry Heart's Manaphy," said Luna. "How simple and right on time. I believe we know what we should do next."
"This Sea Temple stuff's pretty interesting." Barry slid in with his usual smug face, nudging Ash. "Spill it, Ash. What else do you know about it?"
"Huh? Well..." Ash scratched his face. "I've only been there once and I was kinda running for my life when I was in the temple so..."
"Pikachu."
"Alright. I spoke to Emerald." Cold said. "She used her magic to find every gateway's location."
"Good," Celestia replied. "W-Why doesn't she just fix their positions exactly?"
"It's the same way Ghetsis' Dark Aura could mess with our Rift Magic. Or even Discord's Chaos Magic when I was captured that one time." Cold shrugged. "It's like he planned for me to do something like this. I don't think he knew about Emerald being on our side."
"Can she at least send every human to the set locations that she's found?" Luna asked.
"Oh yeah. She can do that." Cold nodded as he quickly informed this information to Emerald via some telepathy. That was at least one problem taken care of for a bit. But the other issue remained. Getting the humans through the gateway.
"Now how exactly can we have them pass through if Ghetsis has blocked everything off? The humans are essentially stuck here until we find a way." Luna wondered. She sat in a corner, digging deep.
"Wait. Why do they wanna reach the Sea Temple?" questioned Ash. "Unless they're going for the Sea Crown or the crystals!"
"Pikachu?"
"Whatever form of power they need." Celestia turned around. "I'll call for the Crystal Empire and see if we can get in touch with Flurry Heart's Manaphy. We'll also find a way to pass through the gateway."
Truly a troublesome day. Because of this inconvenience, the humans were stuck in Equestria until the problem could be solved. At least they would know where each gateway would be. Aside from that, another problem was hovering above the horizon. Samiya. But at least that one had an easy solution. Manaphy.
Speaking of Manaphy, Celestia immediately got in touch with the Crystal Empire. Specifically Cadence. Questions about Manaphy's assistance were due. As for the gateway issue, Ash wondered something.
"Maybe I could try." Ash looked at his hands before summoning Sir Aaron's staff. "My Aura works against Ghetsis' Aura. Think I could fix this somehow?"
"If it's much like the first time your Auras interacted, some of your own is in those gateways," said Twilight. "Will it work? W-Won't you get Delayed Aura Ataxia again?"
"We can't know unless we try." Ash gripped the staff.
"Pikachu."
Manehattan. Afternoon.
The obvious first place to try it was Manehattan and the gateway that led to Castelia City. Luna brought Ash here as he stood in front of the gateway. With the assistance of Sir Aaron's staff, he had good faith that his Aura would work. Even if his own Aura was mixed in due to Ghetsis forcing this mixture.
"Come on, Ash. Use some of that Aura magic and get me out of here." Barry patted Ash on the back. "But this place actually looks pretty nice."
"Rooting for ya, Ash!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "Come on and fix those gateways!"
"I got it." Ash gave his approving and signature smile before facing the gateway in front of him. He then looked at the staff, feeling Sir Aaron granting him some strength from the afterlife.
He then put one hand forward, heading for the gateway. The residents of Manehattan took a little peek to see what Ash was up to. They were curious as to why everyone was giving so much attention to this one gateway. Ash allowed his Aura to flow through and exude out of him. His hand connected with the gateway to Castelia City with his Aura surrounding it.
What followed was a dazzling pulse of Aura stardust that started flowing out. The gateway started rippling from Ash's reaction as everyone gawked. With his influence, the gateway was starting to change properties. Twilight and the others looked close to see that Ash's hand managed to travel through the gateway. A great sign as they all had smiles grace their faces. Ash could indeed reverse what Ghetsis did.
Until something shocking happened.
While Ash managed to make the gateway passable, as soon as he pulled his hand away, a devious and instant black aura emerged, latching onto his arm. It made a hissing and roaring sound once it had emerged startling everyone that heard and witnessed it.
"Oh!" Ash gasped as he moved back. The black aura suddenly wrapped around his arm like a leech as he fell to the ground. It came straight from the gateway as everything around the area was starting to lose its light. The howling of the black aura increased as it started consuming the rest of Ash.
"PikaPi!"
"Ash!" They all cried out.
Celestia acted quickly, using her magic from her Boundless Cutie Mark. She was also one of the few who could interact with something like this. By using her magic, she made a golden light that had blown away the black aura, disintegrating it. It had also disintegrated the black aura that came from the gateway, obliterating it from existence. Ash and the gateway were free.
"Ugh...!" Ash's arm twitched as he still sat on the ground.
"Ash! Are you alright?!" Celesti asked Ash. But Ash didn't immediately get back up. Instead, he sat there. Looking drained. And after a few seconds of silence, he suddenly fell to the ground on his back with his eyes closed.
Delayed Aura Ataxia had happened. But not in its usual way. This time, a separate Aura managed to affect Ash instead of his own. An Aura belonging to Ghetsis. "Ash!" His friends all gasped, running to his side. He had fainted for sure. Unknown of how long it may be.
Celestia knew this was Ghetsis' doing as she could feel it with her own magic. Everyone in Manehattan started chatting, wondering what could've happened to Ash all of a sudden. Panic and worry filled the streets as Celestia uttered something.
"Ash! Ash!" Words cried out to Ash Ketchum, calling for his name. He could hear the voice of Twilight come through. But others joined in. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and more. But he couldn't see them. That was because he was once again back in his mind. A result of Delayed Aura Ataxia. However, this time, it wasn't his own Aura that caused it. Ghetsis' Aura was at fault now.
"Man...What happened?" Ash held his head before looking around, hearing the voices of his friends. He then recalled what happened back at Manehattan. He went to fix one of the gateways, only to have his arm suddenly attacked by Ghetsis' Dark Aura, putting him in this Ataxia. "Oh, right! What was all that about?! I can't believe that put me in this."
Ash then scratched his hair, still hearing his friends call out to him. Now that he was in here, he was wondering if he could summon any of his friends in here just like before. Granted, they were asleep when he managed to get them, but no shame in trying now.
However, before he could do that, someone was showing up in the distance as Ash took notice. He stayed on guard as the silhouette of a human could be seen approaching. Ash was fearing it might be Ghetsis. He was also able to enter here before. It wouldn't be farfetched to believe he would do it again. But as the silhouette came closer, it was a familiar face.
Delia.
Except it wasn't. This was the same entity that takes on the appearance of loved ones. It happened with Celestia when she became unconscious. Still, this entity was unknown but it was seemingly related to the Rift somehow.
"Mom?!" Ash gasped.
"No, sorry." Delia shook her hand. "I'm not your mother, Ash Ketchum."
"T-Then? Who are you?" He wondered.
"Oh. Have we not met before?" Delia pondered for a moment with her finger on her chin. "I met Celestia...Did I meet Luna? No that was Lunar Ire? Oh well, never mind that. Allow me to introduce myself. The reason you see me as your mother is that my fifth-dimensional form doesn't allow it."
"Say what now?" Ash was still confused.
"What you are seeing right now, Ash Ketchum is only a projection of what holds the most sway in your hearts. Your mother being one of many." She explained as she then transformed into Professor Oak. "Like so."
"Ooh." Ash nodded, understanding it.
"You took a surprising hit there, Ash, my boy," Oak said. "Having that Dark Aura latch onto you like some sort of leek. Well, good thing Celestia was there to save you. Her Boundless Cutie Mark is a miracle isn't it"
"So that Dark Aura. What gives? Is that new with the gateways since Ghetsis messed with them?"
"It is." He nodded. "Unfortunately, what was once a fun way for two universes to connect and bond has turned into an inconsistent mish-mash. Many known locations aren't the same anymore, and there's just confusion now. Plus, getting through isn't as pleasant anymore."
"And they can't get through either..." Ash lowered his head. "Man...I didn't think that's why he forced me to use my Aura too."
"Shame really. But, there's little you can do. On the bright side, that Dark Aura only affects you. Anyone else without your Aura Patterns will be immune from any leeching."
"I gotta do something!" Ash balled his fist. "I gotta stop Ghetsis as soon as I can and help everyone get back home."
"Ah, slow down, slow down." Oaky flailed his hand downwards. "I came here for a reason. Not just to visit you in your unconscious state."
"Oh yeah?" Ash sat down.
"You see, Ash. I came here for assistance. Please listen." Suddenly, the entity had become Lyra Heartstrings. "I need to talk to you about the Rift. I need your help."
"Help?" Yeah sure, what's up. Is something wrong?"
"This is going to be a long story. Listen closely cause I have a lot to say..." The entity shook her head before transforming into Bayleef. It was surreal hearing Bayleef speak just like Ash while also having the tone and pitch of Bayleef. "You see the Rift and I are related."
"Related huh?" Ash scratched his hair. "Mmm...I don't know if I see it, really."
"Okay. I'll stop being cryptic. I should've told Celestia this sooner. You see, the Rift and I were once humans. We came from Earth as well. Another earth in another reality.
"You were humans?!" Ash gasped. "No way!"
"Yes way. Have you noticed that Rift sounds like a boy and a girl when it speaks at the same time? Truth is...they're two people in one. My son Lucien and my daughter Sienna."
"Lucien and Sienna?" Then it hit Ash. Lucien and Sienna were already roaming out there free, sharing the same name and connections to the Rift. "Woah...So are you like um...Their mom and dad?"
"Good catch on, kid. We also became one. But not without reason. You see, in our time, our world had developed amazing technology by that time. Technology that allowed us to do amazing things. Ah, it was wonderful."
"I bet. Man, I really wanna see it now!" Ash got all giddy. "Wait, so then...who are Cold Colt, Emerald Aura and Obsidian? Your kids too? I mean, they appear as ponies and stuff..."
"Oh, those three? They were horses back at our stable home." The entity chuckled. "I didn't think I'd ever seen them in such deformed yet adorable forms. But anyway, while we made amazing things, there was one creation that was far too risky. And it led to the creation of the Rift and the fifth-dimensional form you cannot see."
"What happened? Did something from it hit you?"
"Well..." The entity sighed before turning into Cadence. "That's where the sad part comes in. An invention known as the Empyrean was our greatest and most volatile invention yet. It was meant to discover alternate worlds and see what was out there. But it became unstable in the long run. My children worked at the facility where that invention was made. The Empyrean started malfunctioning. Not just threatening to blow up like any machine, but it had the potential to obliterate multiple countries off the map. Possibly even the world if further development continued.
"What made it go crazy?" More questions were asked by Ash as he was enveloped by this story.
"It's unknown. But aside from that Lucien and Sienna aimed to solve it. They were like you. They had powerful ambitions and a drive to never give up despite the circumstances. But that's exactly what led to them undergoing a transformation. When trying to stop the Empyrean, the quantum particles it exuded were also becoming unstable. Within the midst of the meltdown, my children were struck by these particles. Bathed in the radiant light it gave out, they were torn to pieces by the force of the Empyrean. Instantly they were vaporized, much to my dismay."
"So...if they were vaporized..." Ash thought for a second. "How'd they keep living? I'm kinda getting lost here?"
"Ah." The entity clapped her hooves before appearing as Fluttershy. "That's where things get odd. The quantum particles ended up transforming over time. Not instantly though. Their consciousness began to progressively attempt to retake material form. Instead of appeasing separate, they became one."
"Those particles fused them..." Ash caught on quick as always. "That is pretty odd."
"Mhm. But not only after becoming one being, they even gained the capabilities of the Empyrean and more. The failure of the invention made a single entity capable of not only visiting other worlds but also gaining memories of their timelines, how certain events play out and the power to manipulate that as well."
"And that's how it all happened. So did the same thing happen to you? Where you hit by those particles when it was failing and stuff?"
"I learned of my children and what had become of them. Turns out, those particles did more than just change their appearances and merge them, it also changed their mindset too. It even started calling itself the Rift. With this new mindset, it had new ideals and ambitions in mind. The Rift branched off and formed its own path in the long run. If there's a Pokemon that I would relate it to. It's Zekrom. The Rift had ideals, wanting absolute freedom in every way. Not a bad idea.
"Not at all." Ash shook his head.
"But, perhaps it gained too much freedom. For better or for worse. It instantly travelled to other worlds to experience them. Either it was Lucien's sense of curiosity or Sienna's creative mind, the Rift couldn't help but interfere with those worlds. As for me, I forced myself to be hit by those particles. But I received a different outcome than my children. Only my appearance changed. The fusion still happened. However, I gained less power than the Rift. I was limited in what I could do. Entering minds is the best thing I have to offer."
"I get it now. Man, your inventions sound pretty intense. Just like Silph CO. and a bunch more.
"None more intense than the Empyrean. It...didn't seem like a bad thing at first. But, the Rift got too carried away once he discovered other universes with their unique realities. Faster than I thought."
"Yeah, Celestia told me about that. I think even Arceus was the first to tell her when everything crossed over, right?"
"Right on, kid. In fact..." The entity then transformed into Serena, standing up and holding her hand out. "I have that exact same conversation. Here's how it went." She then summoned a projection of Arceus and Celestia meeting for the first time.
"Yes. This mysterious force has been in countless other worlds. Worlds where men in blue and red fly across the skies, where creatures move faster than sound itself, where wizards dominate the world. And now it has come to us."
"So this force has been present everywhere else. But why does it do this then?"
"From what I can tell, it seems that it does this to see what the outcome would be if the work different universes became one. Almost like entertainment to it. After it is done, the two worlds return to normal and it leaves."
"Ash. You are the only one who understands the Rift." The entity said before appearing as Pikachu. "You understand why it does what it does. You even said that you also like to experience new things and possibilities, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I did." Ash nodded. "I get why it's doing all of this. "I wanna have fun too. But not when it puts my friends and everyone else in danger."
"I tried stopping the Rift but...it moved from universe to universe too fast for me to find it. Mostly because it was unsatisfied. But this is the longest one so far, so I was able to find them Unfortunately, I can't reach them...But I think you can."
"Me?" Ash pointed at himself.
"Yes. Can I trust you, Ash Ketchum? Help me bring my children back. I want things to go back to how they were. So that we can go home and become human again. Even if the Rift is eventually unsatisfied and prepares to leave. No matter how you help it with whatever method. I just want my children back along with my horses."
"Yeah." Ash suddenly smiled, giving his signature promise look. "You can count on me. Even if it takes until the end of this crossover, I'll get them back to you, no matter what. Wait, what about Cold and the others? Do they have to go back too?"
"Cold seems happier here. It would be best if he remains with his new friends and family. Emerald...well, that's up to her in the long run."
"I got it. I'll handle things from here. No need to worry!"
"Thank you." The entity smiled before slowly fading away as stardust. "By the way. I'll wake you up from your Ataxia now. Don't want you missing out on something important."
"Ugh..." Ash groaned as his eyes slowly opened. The first individuals he saw were Pikachu, Twilight and Barry. He was currently laying on a guest bed as Arcanine licked his face. "Oh, man..."
"Pika-Pi!" Pikachu instantly hugged his best friend after he got up.
"You're up! And it didn't take a whole day or more!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Woah...How long was I out for?" Ash held his head.
"Just under 50 minutes! You're getting better!" Pinkie Pie cheered, blowing on a trumpet with confetti flying everywhere.
"Oh. Well, I was kinda woken up earlier so yeah." Ash chuckled. "Oh, Barry. You're still here."
"Had to check on you. Good news though." Barry snapped his fingers. "Everyone's heading through Castelia to head home. Your little Aura thing totally worked. That's gonna be a lot of airplane tickets though."
"Great." Ash sighed. "Glad it worked."
"But, Ash." Suddenly, Celestia walked up to him. "I would advise staying away from the gateways for a while. After seeing that black aura pop out and latch onto you, it's too dangerous, especially for your health."
"You sure? But I gotta get everyone home."
"I know. Just until I can find a way to force Ghetsis' Aura out of the gateways."
"Alright. I got it." Ash nodded before getting off the bed. "I'll keep it cool for a bit. But I've got something super important to say. You guys have really gotta listen to this."
Approximately 7 minutes later.
"Seriously?!" Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Spike and Pinkie Pie each bellowed, causing the glass to shatter.
"I'm a stable pony?!" Cold stood up, shaking Twilight out of shock. Ash had told them everything as everyone within the room was stunned by how the Rift used to be humans, how Lucien and Sienna are what the Rift used to look like, Emerald, Cold and Obsidian being stable horses and so on.
"You met it as well, Ash?" Celestia leaned in. "I thought I was the only one who saw that entity. Who knew it and the Rift were humans from another universe? That would explain a few things."
"I wanna help get their kids back. And also keeping things the way they are."
"Hold on!" Cold interrupted. "Wh-What about me? Does that mean I have to head back too?"
"No. You're okay. It said that you can stay since you've found a nice home here. Emerald...that's her choice and all that."
"Phew..." The Rift Pony unleashed a relieved sigh.
"Looks like we've got more than just Jirachi and Ghetsis to worry about, huh?" Ash laughed. Despite everything he had been told and all that's happened, the Kid from Kanto always kept a positive aura around him at all times. "Oh yeah. Celestia. You wanted to head to the Sea Temple, right?"
"Yes. I've already informed Cadence. She says that Manaphy will be glad to help." Celestia replied.
"Then let me help too." Ash put his fist on his chest. "I can't let anything bad happen to the Sea Temple. Plus I know some stuff. So does Jackie."
"Jackie's been there?" Twilight responded.
"Any help from you is wonderful, Ash. And Jackie, of course." Celestia nudged Ash. "We'll certainly reach the Sea Temple before them. And on a better note, it seems that the Pallet Town gateway is active still."
"Oh yeah?" Ash looked outside the window to see some humans passing through the Pallet Town gateway, entering Kanto. Taking a plane would cost a lot due to this confusion. And it was honestly an Arceussend that this gateway was the only one that had been untouched by Ghetsis' Dark Aura. "Good news for us, huh?"
"Pika-Pika."
"What about Lucien and Sienna? Think they're gonna listen?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Hardly." Rarity shook her head. "I'm positive they're fully under the Rift's orders without any sign of second thoughts. They've already caused problems for us. I fear the other problems they could bring our way."
"They won't be easy to talk to." Twilight shook her head. "But we'll have to try and when we meet with them again."
"We'll talk to them either way." Ash put his hat back on. "But other than that, we've still got the rest of the day to go. Let's see what's up ahead!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
After his recovery, Ash took some time to hang around Ponyville. Downtime was needed. After finishing the Canterlot Tag Battle Competition, restoring a gateway, being leeched by Dark Aura and going through Delayed Aura Ataxia, Ash needed this without a doubt.
He saw that while some humans were passing through the gateway to Kanto or either Unova, some were hanging around for a bit. Either they weren't bothered to pass through or just wanted to experience Equestria for a bit. In a weird sense, Ghetsis' actions had brought everyone closer in a way.
Ash sat down on a bench, yawning and stretching his arms. He had a lot to deal with ever since that entity had given him new information. But he was prepared to tackle it like always along with his partner Pikachu. But something else was on his mind. Something that Ash knew he needed to do.
"Buddy..." Ash said to Pikachu while looking into the sky. "What Ghetsis said back there was right." He then started recalling what Ghetsis said to him back at the human world.
"After all, when it comes to what we know...you're not as well-versed as me, are you? I've tapped into Dark Magic and discovered Dark Aura in the process. From my time training alone, I've discovered many unique tricks and abilities that I can utilize and possibly to their full potential. You on the other hand...barely know that much about Aura apart from a select few. You know barely anything as compared to the versatility I've obtained."
"Hate to admit it, but he's right. I gotta get on his level and more. I gotta work on my Aura and strengthen it. Me and Lucario."
"Pika."
"If I want to protect my friends, I need to go through with it. And I know you'll help me all the way as well. Right, buddy?" He closed his eyes before grinning at Pikachu.
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed as they gave each other a high-five.
"Hey, Ash." Just then, showing up to the scene was Barry. He had yet to leave despite their being a gateway to Kanto right here in Ponyville.
"Oh. Hey Barry." Ash sat up.
"Good luck on your whole saving everyone thing." Barry held his hand out. "Wish I could come with you to that Sea Temple and take out some bad guys, but I've got stuff I wanna do. Like beating Leon."
"I hear ya." Ash stood up, holding Barry's hand. "If you're ever feeling curious, you can always join in. Pikachu and I will be ready. And even more ready for the Pokemon World Championships. Cause we're in it to win it!"
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu got on Ash's shoulder, pumping his fist.
"We'll see about that! Catch ya later!" Barry gave a peace sign goodbye before rushing off. But, he didn't head for the gateway. Instead, Barry went straight for SugarCube Corner, unable to resist what it had in store.
As Ash carried on with his day, he felt the presence and essence of the mysterious entity that requested his help nearby, informing him of what needed to be done. The entity resided in the wind as a background force. Just like it said before. Ash was already set on fulfilling that promise as the journey continues.
Over at Feathercoast, everything had returned to normal after the whole Indigo Alliance debacle. The members have been charged and put in prison, but Second Wind was still out there. As for the Pegalysium Gallery, it was now being run by the pony who also runs the Pegalysium National Museum.
Kaleidoscope and everypony there still had a job, thankfully. Speaking of Kaleidoscope, she was currently hanging out with her friend Garnet for some lunch. However, Garnet appeared in a less-than-stellar state. Her mane was rugged, her eyes were a bit baggy and she looked like she had been mauled by a bear and just barely escape. But Kaleidoscope knew why this was the case.
"The foals giving you trouble again, Garnet?" Kaleidoscope asked.
"Always," Garnet muttered with one of her eyes twitching. "They're cute but they can be absolute demons at times. Especially that Updraft...oh he is soo frustrating to deal with!" Garnet growled before almost breaking the table.
"Okay. Let's chill out for a bit." Kaleidoscope chucked, hoping that Garnet doesn't end up unleashing her wrath right here. Garnet can be terrifying when frustrated. And Kaleidoscope should know. She's seen it. "But hey, I know something that'll get work out of your mind."
"What?"
"You know about the Alta Grotto? Just near the Iron Manse. Well, turns out, some Pokemon have shown up there." After Kaleidoscope said that, interest had sparked within Garnet. "Recently Pokemon have been making their way here to Pegalysium. The young prince even said he saw some through heavy snow."
"Really?" Garnet gasped. "There are Pokemon living here now?"
"Guess they found some nice habitats. Not sure how they got up here, to begin with. Plus, they're making a scene over at the Grotto. So, what do you say, Garnet?" Kaleidoscope nudged her. "We check it out?"
"Of course!" She slammed the table, standing up. "Why wouldn't we?!"
"Great! I also invited Clear View along to join us!" As soon as Kaleidoscope mentioned that name, Garnet froze with her face scrunching. She then blinked for a bit before gazing at Kaleidoscope.
"You what?" She went back to twitching her eye again. "W-Why?"
"Now, I know that sounds bad, but don't worry." Kaleidoscope squeed. "Besides, she wants to know a lot about Pokemon much like us. Why not bring her along?"
"Did you have to?" Garnet mumbled before looking to the side. "Clear View can't speak properly. You know, after what happened back at Wispy Plains? Adventuring's not really her favourable kind of scenario after that."
"I know. But Clear View couldn't resist joining in after she learned about the existence of Pokemon. Sorry. Should've asked you first." Kaleidoscope shrugged as Garnet pouted with disappointment.
"Okay, okay..." Garnet sighed. "Clear is pretty capable still. Let's just make sure we keep her out of trouble. Her big brother won't like it one bit if something were to happen."
"Anyway! Let's head on an adventure! We'll have a blast!"
Drifting Peaks.
Before they could reach their estimated grotto, the pegasi needed to get past a location known as Drifting Peaks. As the name suggests, these were peaks that drifted in cooperation with the clouds. They scaled beyond even the islands themselves as multiple of them could be witnessed from far distances.
Cloud waterfalls poured from these peaks along with glowing butterflies that left trails of white stardust. The stardust landed on petals, causing them to gain the same white aura as well. Just a beautiful sight in general. Only possible here in Pegalysium.
And joining Garnet and Kaleidoscope was Clear VIew.
"Over here, Clear," Garnet said, helping Clear View. The pink-maned pegasus could not speak, just like how Garnet said. Indeed, something happened at Wispy Plains that led to this. And what also made Garnet weary of bringing Clear View on other adventures.
Clear View flew towards Garnet and Kaleidoscope, reaching the lower levels of the peaks. Clear also had a Crystal Ball in her possession. One that flew beside her instead of her holding it. Clear was using her magic from her feathers to make this ball float.
"If we see any Fire-Type Pokemon near here, you know what to do, right?" Garnet asked. Clear View gave a nod. "Wait...hold on. Kalei. What types of Pokemon are there?"
"Mm." Kaleidoscope shrugged. "Just some Pokemon. Can't tell which types were found. I'm hoping that most of them are Grass-Types. I hear they have delicious things about them. N-Nectar and stuff like that, not their bodies of course."
"So we're going in blind. That's still fun. What Pokemon Type interests you, Clear?" Garnet turned to the mute pegasus. Clear used her Crystal Ball to create magical words. The words had a nice pink glow to them to match Clear's mane colour. Her choice of type was Dragon. "Dragon? Why?"
In response, Clear View made the Crystal Ball say other words. "Dragons are cool."
"Fair enough." Garnet and Kaleidoscope both shrugged.
"Oho! Girls! Look over there!" Garnet immediately exclaimed, pointing her hoof forward. They all looked in her direction as their eyes expanded with awe. "An abandoned pirate ship!"
Laying in the sea clouds was a pirate ship. Pegalysium did, or rather more accurately, used to have pirates. Now they were seemingly long gone from history. But the pirate ships in Pegalysium were stellar to behold. Not only were they capable of flying, but even when they were abandoned, the ships were still functional. Thanks to a special material that keeps them functioning.
"Lucky us! Finding one of these out here." Garnet flew over to the ship. "To think they can still hold together even when the crew's long gone and no one uses it anymore. That Terranium is effective, isn't it?"
"Too effective. Wonder if I could use those to make myself a robot out Terranium." Kaleidoscope said before feeling the ship's texture. "Using my own skills."
"Your skills? Just head over to Mr Mustang shop for that." Garnet looked over. "That's easier."
"Can't. I'm uh...banned from there for a few months." Kaleidoscope scrunched her face.
"What do you do this time?" Garnet sighed with lowered eyes.
"I couldn't help it!" Kaleidoscope cried out. "Besides, It's not my fault Mr Mustang makes everything so easily interactable. I mean seriously. Who puts interactive controls around the walls? That's just asking for some wall leaning."
"You and Mr Mustang have a pretty comical relationship sometimes," Garnet chuckled. "How long until we reach the grotto?"
"Hold on." Kaleidoscope then used her magic to bring out a map from her saddlebag. She then opened it as the map had a glowing dot on it. This glowing dot acted as an indicator for where they currently were. It was fairly useful and essentially the equivalent of a GPS. "Just past the crevices and gaps of these peaks. Not too far. But, we'll have to get past the monument of Morning Style."
"Her monument isn't that big." Garnet looked over, ascending to the skies as she witnessed a gigantic monument of a famous pegasus. Her monument was built in between a cloud fountain while also standing in the perfect spot for the sun to shine bright. Works well with her name after all.
It was so huge that it took up almost an entire mountain. Anyone could mistake this monument for a giant if they were to look beyond. But could soon realize it was just a monument after seeing the stone it was built out of.
"Nevermind," Garnet said. "Guess experiencing new locations really brings out a bigger world view, doesn't it?" After saying that, Clear agreed with a nod. She then used her Crystal Ball to make another word come out.
"It's a big universe too."
The group then continued exploring until they could find themselves some Pocket Monsters of any kind. Whether it be Grass, Dragon, or even more fittingly, Flying.
Getting past this massive pirate ship that was still functioning was an obstacle in itself. Plus, an arrangement of stream clouds in the distance would make it difficult to get to the grotto.
The windows to the pirate ship were free to pass through as the trio of pegasi had entered. While it was still functioning, being left out here for centuries has made everything about it a mess. An abundance of moss and cobwebs to behold. Clear View used her Crystal Ball, not just to visualize words, but to capture the scenery
Her Crystal Ball also acted like a camera. This relic was certainly special, being able to translate for the mute pegasus and even act as a camera. Truly a handy object to have as the images entered the ball.
They passed the captain's room as Garnet had noticed some leftover treasure there. The captain of this ship must've forgotten to bring their treasure along, leaving it here along with everyone else on the ship. Upon seeing the treasure, Garnet's eyes turned into gold doubloons with a grin gracing her face.
"Easy cash." Garnet chuckled before zipping over towards the treasure. "The pirates won't mind if I borrow this. I mean, they're long gone by now, aren't they?" Clearly, she was enamoured by the treasure within.
Being a foalsitter meant that she got paid for her hard work. However, Garnet wouldn't mind some extra pay for a different occupation. AKA an adventure.
"Won't all that treasure weigh you down?" Kaleidoscope asked.
"Right on that. Can't let anypony else grab it too." Garnet's eyes squinted as she scouted the area. To keep the treasure safe and steady so that she can bring it back later, Garnet used a spell to form a cloaking aura around the chest. She also ripped out her hairband, letting her mane down. She used the hairband, covering it in a red aura of magic, tossing it onto the floor near the hidden chest. "There."
"You really want that chest, huh?" A sweatdrop appeared on Kaleidoscope as Clear View had a silent laugh.
"I overwork myself when taking care of the foals. The pay's good but this is better." Garnet cleared her throat before flying out of the captain's room. The group were ready to leave the captains room. But as they moved along, Clear View stopped for a moment, feeling an ominous presence nearby.
The mute pegasus froze on the spot before using her Crystal Ball to perform a ringing sound. The equivalent to a wolf howl as her friends were alerted instantly.
"What's up, Clear?" Garnet turned to her. "You see something?"
In response, she used her Crystal Ball's magical aura to make arrows. The arrows pointed through the windows that led to the outside of the ship. And on the outside, a crevice could be seen. The trio then looked to the crevice as Clear View felt that ominous presence moving through the air. Garnet and Kaleidoscope collectively squinted their eyes, wondering what fantastical yet dangerous force was within there.
And they wouldn't wonder long enough as a serpentine figure with a long body covered in slightly overlapping scales flew by the crevices with impressively length. The group gasped as they saw more of this body. It was mostly blue with a yellow underbelly, and it has a row of yellow spots down each side. This appearance only belonged to one Pokemon.
The Atrocious Pokemon Gyarados.
"W-W-What is that...?!" Kaleidoscope whispered while hiding behind the captain's chair. Reasonably, the group was intimidated by Gyarados' appearance, even if they have yet to see the rest of it Fittingly, Gyarados' first ability is Intimidate so it was working its charm at all times.
"I don't know...!" Garnet replied while holding Clear close to her. Clear was the most intimidated and afraid of Gyarados' appearance. "But it's safe to say that could be a Pokemon. Looks like nothing we've ever seen in Pegalysium."
As they whispered amongst each other, trying not to alert Gyarados, they witnessed the Atrocious Pokemon's face appear through the gap of the crevice. There, they got to witness Gyarados' fearsome fangs and vicious red-eyes with slits.
And unfortunately for them, Gyarados is a very cautious Pokemon, always checking its surroundings. Even in the smallest places. And this was one of those instances as the Water-Flying-Type had noticed three colourful little ponies within the ship. Not their bodies but their tails of all things.
There was no use in hiding. Gyarados could also sniff them out, noticing an intoxicating perfume and the scent of overworking stress from both Kaleidoscope and Garnet. The two ponies then let out innocent grins, trying to look as peaceful as they can be while silently giggling.
But that wasn't sliding with Gyarados.
"GYARA!" Gyarados found some new prey to potentially snack on as it roared, shaking the ship. After spotting them, the Atrocious Pokemon then opened its mouth, preparing a Hyper Beam with an orange orb appearing. Even with this crevice from the mountain in the way, Hyper Beam could just blast through it with ease.
"Time to go!" Garnet cried out as the three ponies immediately made a run for it. And with good timing too as Gyarados had unleashed the Hyper Beam at full force. They flew out of the pirate ship through the nearest window as Hyper Beam tore through the crevice with ease. The Normal-Type attack then struck the pirate ship, blowing a huge chunk of it into oblivion.
Including the treasure chest and hairband that Garnet had. A ferocious explosion occurred within the ship, but thankfully, the trio managed to fly out of the ship in time. But not before being slightly blown back due to the magnitude and force of the explosion. It had knocked them off balance, causing the trio to fall to the ground. Flat on their faces too.
After falling, Garnet looked back to see the spot where the treasure and her hairband once laid. It was now all gone thanks to Gyarados. "My treasure!" She cried out with her hoof sticking out.
As soon as she cried out for her obliterated treasure, flying out of the smoke was the Atrocious Pokemon as it wasn't done yet. It may have destroyed parts of the ship and knocked the trio off their hooves, but it had yet to get a bite.
Immediately after showing up, Gyarados had used Aqua Tail, swinging its tail that was covered in a veil of water. The trio gasped as they immediately turned around, getting off the ground and flying as fast as they could. Not a fast enough recovery as Gyarados' Aqua Tail had caused a massive wind pressure. While the Aqua Tail didn't hit them, the pressure certainly did, once again, ruin their air balance.
They went hurling through the air before crashing into a wall together. After crashing into the wall and crying out, the trio then fell into an open hole that was part of the wall. And Gyarados followed after them. Thankfully, the impact on the wall wasn't too hard but the impact on the ground below would be.
"Aaah!" Garnet and Kaleidoscope held each other, crying out fear until they saw Clear do the most obvious thing here. She easily saved herself from falling via her wings. "Oh." They both remembered they had wings as they started flapping them, preventing the potential squishing of colourful palette ponies.
"O-Ow..." Even though the impact on the wall wasn't too hard, it was still there and difficult to ignore as Kaleidoscope groaned. Her wing had also been harmed as pebbles fell out of her mane. "All that exercise at the gym hasn't paid off yet, huh?"
"GYARA!" Gyarados appeared above them, roaring into the hole before floating in. No time to pause and slow down. Constant movement was needed against a Pokemon as ferocious as Gyarados. They scurried in the air before zooming off. Thankfully, this hole had a pathway that led to another part of these peaks.
The trio flew through an entrance within this open hole while moving above the grass, causing the blades to flow. Gyarados followed them inside as its body was almost too big to fit. But even if that was the case, Gyarados could just break through it because why wouldn't it?
After going through the entrance that led to a mini-cave system, the trio looked behind them to see that the Atrocious Pokemon obliterated the walls of the hole with ease. Just by moving. There was light at the end of this cave, hopefully, to somewhere safe.
But Gyarados was incredibly fast. While faster in water, it could still move at impressive speeds in the air. If Garnet, Kaleidoscope and Clear View weren't pegasi, they would've been caught long ago. While flying off, Gyarados started unleashing Ice Beam, shooting out a chilling beam of ice.
The ice struck the walls, causing an instant flash-freeze, but not hitting its mark. The trio gasped after seeing how this Pokemon could not only control the destructive power of a beam and even Water but ice as well. Gyarados kept firing Ice Beam in hopes of hitting them.
"Yikes!" Garnet squealed as her wing was almost struck by Ice Beam. She managed to zoom underneath it in time. The cave was being frozen by this attack, sending a horrible chill through it. This chill was potent enough to make the group shiver immediately.
But Clear View would not allow that. She used her Crystal Ball, casting a spell around it. She had cast a heat spell that gave the ball a radiant and warm aura. This aura was enough to keep her friends and herself warm, countering the chill of Ice Beam.
Clear then turned around to face Gyarados. Despite her being intimidated, she wasn't fully afraid of the Atrocious Pokemon. Her hair ended up covering her eyes once she turned around, only for Clear to move them aside.
"Clear! What are you doing?!" Kaleidoscope cried out after noticing Clear's sudden stop. The mute pony had then used her Crystal Ball to first create words of warning to her friends.
"Close your eyes!"
Seeing their friend create those words Garnet and Kaleidoscope closed their eyes in response. After their eyes were closed Clear View then used her Crystal Ball to create a massive flash of light. She closed her eyes as this flash of light had appeared right as Gyarados was about to bite on her.
"G-Gyara!" Gyarados cried out as its eyes were attacked by this blinding light. It missed its mark with its bite as it was the only one blinded. After missing, Gyarados crashed into the side of the walls and later on the ground. Clear View then flew towards her friends after befuddling the Atrocious Pokemon.
"Look at you! Not so scared as always, huh?" Garnet nudged Clear VIew as the mute pony let out a proud yet embarrassed blush. However, as they approached the exit, it wasn't over.
Even while blinded, Gyarados could still cause some destruction. And cause some destruction it did. By using Hyper Beam, the Atrocious Pokemon unleashed the blast of Infinity Energy. But since it was blinded, its aim was off. Hyper Beam was fired haphazardly with no consistency.
The beam almost hit Kaleidoscope, giving her body a tingle of fear. The beam had then hit the walls, causing a gigantic explosion to form. The trio gasped as Garnet quickly used her magic from her wings to create a protective shield around her friends. And with good timing. The destructive explosion not only obliterated massive chunks of the area, but it had also created a powerful force that could push anything back.
Within the shield bubbe, the explosion had pushed it back causing the trio to close their eyes and brace for impact. They had been successfully saved from the explosion, however, it wasn't over yet.
With the chunks of the wall caved in, their exit was halted for the meanwhile. And at the same, Gyarados' blindness had ended with clear vision appearing on it once more.
"Gyarados...!" Aggravated by that blinding light, the Atrocious Pokemon slithered towards the trio while the exit was caved off. The trio of pegasi were backed into a corner, looking up at Gyarados.
"Okay...What now...?" Kaleidoscope gulped.
"You big jerk...You destroyed all of my potential money! How am I gonna-" Garnet exclaimed at Gyarados, still upset at the treasure being destroyed.
"GYARADOS!" But Gyarados quickly interrupted via a vicious rare that blew their manes and tails. Garnet then scrunched her face after her interrupted. With how things looked, there was seemingly little chance of them escaping.
But Clear View saw a chance. She stepped in front of her friends, using her Crystal Ball. Her friends watched as their usually shy and timid friend was being brave. But in reality, Clear was still scared. Her hooves were weak and shaking out of fear from Gyarados.
Clear had courage. While she was afraid of what was in front of her, she had the courage to stand up to it and overcome that fear at all costs. And with that sense of courage, she used her Crystal Ball to create a distraction.
And the best distraction she could come up with was an illusionary view of cute Gyarados. The Pokemon that was chasing them down for food was being used as a distraction. Clear grinned as she made the cute Gyarados act like a sock puppet. She even placed it on her hoof, standing in a bipedal position.
The real Gyarados titled its head, unsure of what it was looking at as Clear View had then made cute variations of her friends on her other hoof. She was reenacting the scenario of them being chased down by Gyarados but in a cutesy and funny way.
"Those sock puppet classes she took might pay off finally," Garnet said to Kaleidoscope after watching Clear's performance.
"GYARADOS!" But it was clear Gyarados did not care for it at all as it roared at her, blowing the illusions away as Clear closed her eyes. Gyarados then went in for the bite as Clear's friends gasped, taking off from the ground to save their friend.
But they wouldn't have to.
From the side, a burst of fire came flying in. While not super-effective against a Pokemon like Gyarados, it hit like a truck regardless as this Fire-Type attack had struck the Atrocious Pokemon from the side, causing it to stagger. An attack this powerful would have to be from one of the strongest Fire-Type moves out there. Blast Burn.
The pegasi looked in awe as the orange light from the attack illuminated the cave. They also saw how Gyarados had fallen with whited out eyes. Not only did it just fall, but it also fell outside of the cave. The rocks that once blocked it had been obliterated by the same thing that struck Gyarados as the Atrocious Pokemon was long gone from here now.
"W-What just happened?" Kaleidoscope blinked while stuttering. She and her friends looked to the side to see how parts of the walls had been melted from Blast Burn. The attack certainly packed a punch. They then looked outside to see the Pokemon responsible for this.
A Wild Charizard.
Clear's eyes widened after seeing Charizard. Unfortunately for her, Charizard was not a Dragon-Type Pokemon. But it was close enough as a Dragon-Type and within the Dragon Egg Group so it was good enough.
"Is that...a Dragon?" Garnet gawked as Charizard flew off afterwards. Pebbles fell out of their manes as they saw the Flame Pokemon disappear into the clouds. But the direction Charizard went to was also the direction they needed to be to see all those discovered Pokemon.
"After it!" Kaleidoscope took the skies, showing her map to her friends. "If we follow that Dragon, we could find all those Pokemon! Quick!"
Following their friend, they flew towards the path where Charizard had gone through. And they would have to be fast before Gyarados wakes up.
After following Charizar'd flight pattern, the group had come across the grotto at last. But more than just a grotto. There was a gateway right next to it, leading to a random part in the Pokemon World. They gawked as many Carbink resided her, causing lights to shine from their bodies.
A few Nidoran could be seen running around along with some Bonsly. Covering the skies were Pidgeot's that nested on top of the grottos. The Pokemon here lived in harmony with a Mantyke popping out of the small lake to suck on Bulbasaur's bulb. Like many already do. Mainly Heracross.
"Finally..." Garnet sighed. "Worth it..."
"Yeah, but what's that?" Kaleidoscope pointed her hoof at the gateway nearby. It was hard to miss it considering it was just standing there out in the open. "Is that one of those Rift things?"
"I think so." Garnet nodded as Clear View used her Crystal Ball to take pictures of the scene. Especially the gateway. The trio then spotted the Pokemon that had saved their lives.
Charizard. The Wild Charizard was sitting near a rock after noticing the trio. The three of them then flew over towards the grotto to thank the Flame Pokemon. It would mean entering an area full of Pokemon which was exciting to them. The Pokemon noticed their arrival but were not afraid of the ponies showing up.
Charizard stood up before the pegasi as Clear View used her Crystal Ball to capture everything. She also got excited with a big grin on her face after seeing Charizard.
"Um, hello, Mr Dragon," Garnet said nervously with a hoof wave. Charizard, while not as intimidating as Gyarados, still had an intimidation factor. "Thank you for saving us back there."
"Charizard."
"Chari...what?" Kaleidoscope squinted. "W-What did it say?"
"I think its name is Charizard," Garnet replied. "Ya, see, most Pokemon say their names as cries. Makes it easier to tell what they're called."
"Oh, I get it."
Clear View then stood beside Charizard, using her Crystal Ball to take a picture. She was proud at this moment as she could safely say that she stood side by side with a Dragon.
Even though Charizard isn't one.
Charizard then gave something for Clear to remember. The Flame Pokemon opened its mouth, shooting a Flamethrower into the air. Clear's eyes widened as she captured this view too. Garnet and Kaleidoscope looked up to the sight of the flames shooting into the sky. A great sight to behold. It was worth coming here.
Once they were here, the Pokemon gathered around them. Mantyke could see that they were slightly dirty after being chased by Gyarados. So to clean them, the Kite Pokemon used Water Gun, spraying them. The trio had their eyes open after that spray. Their manes were now dripping and wet.
But to cool them off, Charizard used its tail to do so. The Fire-Flying-Type wrapped its tail around the trio, pulling them in. The size comparison between them allowed Charizard to do so effortlessly.
"You know, we should show the young prince this too," Garnet said. "After all, he did promise me that we'd experience a lot of Pokemon after discovering them."
"Sounds to me like you just wanna spend some time with him." Kaleidoscope teased with a chuckle as Garnet's face twitched.
"Kalei!" She growled, trying to grab her friend but Charizard held her back. "Anyway...What's through that Rift thing? That gateway?" Her attention was then turned to the gateway.
Charizard knew where it led to as it had been through there. The Flame Pokemon decided to show the group where that gateway was connected. Charizard allowed the trio to ride on its back, even though they could fly. Afterwards, the Flame Pokemon went towards the gateway with the rest of the Pokemon wishing it luck.
Garnet found it a good opportunity to call Shooting Star about this. But as soon as she was about to do so with the shell, Charizard had flown through the gateway. And this gateway connected to a place in Hoenn.
The Battle Frontier.
More specifically, the Battle Pyramid.
A massive 7-layer pyramid owned by the Pyramid King himself. Brandon. The trio gawked at the view of the Battle Pyramid and the scale of it. Little did they know what lies beyond that pyramid. A trainer of great power who has equally powerful Pokemon with him.
"Amazing!" Kaleidoscope bellowed. "I haven't seen a pyramid in real life before! Only storybooks! This trip was worth it!"
Clear View was just amazed as she replied to Kaleidoscope's words with her Crystal Ball. "Go Team Tri-Pegasus"
"Tri-Pegasus?" Kaleidoscope looked at the words. "Not bad. I like that."
"As great as this trip was...we should head back soon," Garnet said. "Already far from home. Plus I don't wanna be scolded by Mayor Umbra Streak again. Clear, you should get back to Quill Bay. Your brother should be getting worried by now."
"We're leaving already?" Kaleidoscope groaned as Clear pouted.
"Well...We can stay for a bit longer." Garnet was guilty of wanting to experience more of Pokemon. Missing out on all of this would be a waste. "Plus...we could find some more treasure, maybe!" And of course, that was another reason.
Charizard would gladly help them see what the Pokemon World had to offer. At least for the time being in a limited range. Plus, there were other locations in Pegalysium with more Pokemon that the trio had yet to see. That went for everypony in Pegalysium.
They may be late to the party, but it's never too late to learn about the Strange and Wonderful World of Pokemon as the journey continues.
There, Lucien was sitting on a cloud, pondering what he should do next for entertainment. Specifically entertainment for the Rift among anything else. It was a tough decision, coming up with a problem. "Hmmm..."
"Still deciding?" And appearing next to him via teleportation was Sienna. Both of them were still quarrelling. "Guess you're a bit too late to ideas."
"Pssh. And you aren't?" Lucien scoffed. "It ain't easy coming up with something new when so much is the same.
"Oh, no, no, no. There's one trick we haven't tried yet. And I'm gonna do." Sienna chuckled as her eye twinkled. Lucien was curious about her idea.
"Yeah? What is it?" He asked. In response, Sienna raised her hand, ready to snap her fingers and make the problem come to reality.
"I'm gonna swap Ash and Ghetsis' bodies."
"You're gonna WHAT?!" Lucien stood up for that as all nearby Flying-Type Pokemon flew away from his shout.
"It's simple but effective enough to shape up everything in this world. Neat, huh?"
"Sienna, hold on!" Lucien halted her. "You realize what you're about to do is groundbreaking, right?"
"Yeah so? We're here to entertain the Rift. And this is just entertainment waiting to happen. Besides every story has the body swap scenario."
"I know but...What happens next could shake everything up. Are you sure wanna go through with this?" Lucien asked, trying to make Sienna think through with this. She was playing with fire.
More accurately she was playing with the sun. But her mind had been made. "Yep. But that's gonna make it more fun!" And with her decision passing through, Sienna snapped her fingers. The body-swap had begun.
Two sides of different worlds. Ash had just returned home to Pallet Town while Ghetsis was still out there to improve himself. Specifically, Ghetsis was roaming around the human world that was parallel to this. And as Ash was ready to head to bed and Ghetsis walking about, the change happened.
In a flash of light, their bodies had been swapped as they froze on the spot. Their bodies pulsated as if something had hit them in the heart. The link between the two worlds and their amazing distance meant nothing when it came to the power of the Rift.
And just like that, Ash now had Ghetsis' body and Ghetsis had Ash's body.
"W-What the?" They both said, standing there for a moment. Their voices were the same, only their eyes were altered. Very soon, they would come to realize the drastic change that had happened to them.
"What just happened...?" Ghetsis said as he could tell he felt different. As soon as he blinked, he saw someone on the nearby bed. Someone close to Ash. Pikachu.
"Pika-Pi?"
"What?!" Ghetsis gasped after seeing Pikachu on the bed. He backed away as Pikachu jumped off, unsure as to why Ash was startled.
"Pika-Pi? Pika-Pikachu?" Pikachu asked if Ash, or rather in this case, Ghetsis was alright. Ghetsis was processing his surroundings, observing the room. Having his body swapped would naturally make him feel perplexed. He even felt lighter in this body.
Ghetsis turned around before turning at the windows in Ash's room. He looked at the mirrors, seeing what was true in front of him. He saw Ash. Or rather, Ash within him. Ghetsis froze, looking at his hands as he indeed had Ash's gloves and hands at his disposal. His control.
He then looked at the room, noticing a few trophies, a ton of badges and other items Pokemon-based. And especially Pikachu. That familiar Pikachu. Ghetsis had put the pieces together. He had body swapped with Ash.
"Hm." Ghetsis smirked before he started chuckling and speaking to himself. "So that's what that is? What an opportunity."
"Pika-Pi?" Pikachu was seriously worried for Ash, hoping that his best friend was alright. Ghetsis knew that being in the same room as Pikachu would be a bad outcome if something went wrong. He couldn't allow this.
"Ah, don't mind me," said Ghetsis, deciding the play the role of Ash Ketchum in this instance. But even though he sounded like Ash, the stoic and menacing voice of Ghetsis was still present there. "How about we get some rest?" Indeed, Ghetsis was also tired considering before the body swap, he was walking out in the night. He needed sleep as well."
The Human World. Out in a forest. Nightfall.
"No way!" Ash cried out as he was currently looking at a nearby lake, seeing who was currently. Ghetsis. "I'm Ghetsis! How'd this happen!?"
He checked out the long coat-robe combination clothing he had on along with how he had an accessory on his eye. Ghetsis only had one healthy eye along with one healthy arm. Ash could feel that Ghetsis' other arm was nearly-non existent. Everything about this was weird to him.
"Wait...!" Ash then realized something. "If I'm here as Ghetsis...then that means...!" The Alola Champion then realized that this was a case of body swapping. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened to him. Realizing this, he knew that Ghetsis was in the same room as his mother, Mr Mime and Pikachu. "Mom...Mimey...Pikachu! I gotta get back there now!"
Ash wouldn't allow anything to happen to his mother and friends. But he wasn't sure of how he could get there at all. Until he recalled one thing that Ghetsis could do. Access gateways.
"Ghetsis opens up gateways all the time, doesn't he?" Ash said before looking at his arm. "All I gotta do is just get home. Here goes!" He then put his arm out, aiming to open the gateway.
But to his shock, he couldn't. Nothing happened when Ash stuck his hand out. All that happened was a slight gust of wind and ruffling of the clothing and nothing more. Ash tried again to open the gateway, but it was another failure. "Come on! Why won't it show up?!"
He tried and tried, doing his best to summon a gateway inside of his home. And in the meanwhile, high up on the clouds, Lucien and Sienna were watching this go down. They saw how Ash's attempts failed. Then again, he's never opened a gateway before.
"Wow. You even forced him not to use Ghetsis' abilities in this body? That's cold." Lucien said. "Even for you."
"Hm? Oh no, I didn't do anything about that." Sienna shook her head. "I think he just doesn't know how to use gateways. But then again...just to make sure it doesn't last too long." She then snapped her finger once more.
This time, she had placed a slight seal within Ash. Or technically Ghetsis' capabilities. Fearing that Ash could end this experiment soon, Sienna limited what he could do with Ghetsis' Dark Aura and Dark Magic active.
"So, how long is gonna take for him to unlock it?" Lucien asked.
"Just wait. It's all gonna pay off. Plus, this is the best plan ever. Better than what you have to offer." Sienna smirked, instantly irritating Lucien.
"Whatever!" Lucien stood up. "This is impressive, I'll give you that. But I swear, I'll find a way to outdo you! Actually...I've already got one right now." He then grinned, snapping his fingers.
"W-What did you do?!" Sienna gasped.
"1UPed you, that's what I did." Lucien then crossed his arms. "I gave Ghetsis back his Dark Magic. Ghetsis in Ash's body I mean."
"Hey! This was my plan! Why'd you have to go ahead and butt in like that?!" Sienna growled and roared Lucien. Lucien just stood there with a smile and closed eyes.
"Oh please. Without Dark Magic for Ghetsis, it was gonna be a slow burn. I just made things interesting, duh. Just watch. By the end of all of this, my decision is what makes this all entertaining."
"We'll see about that!" Sienna declared before vanishing out of thin air. Lucien chuckled before also vanishing as well.
"Man...What am I gonna do now?" Ash shuddered before lowering his arm. He then thought for a second before realizing something. "Wait! I'm in the human world. So Twilight's here. Sunset and everyone else." But as his smile returned, it faded away with a frown replacing it. "No, wait. I can't show up like this. And even if I use the portal to Equestria, that's gonna make things worse."
Indeed, Ash was in a rough spot right now. Looking like Ghetsis was an instant walking hazard. Even greater than Muk and Grimer who are actual bio-hazards. Ghetsis was an enemy to many. Mostly Equestria. If Ash was to get his body back and warn his friends, he would have to go all out.
And that's when Ash's usual quick thinking came into play.
"Alright!" He snapped his finger before gaining a rush of ideas. "I can go ahead and grab a Shift Stone that Twilight has back in her castle. But I gotta be sneaky about it. I can't let anyone know I'm there no matter what. And if I can maybe reach Manaphy and her Heart Swap, that might be a good way to fix things too. I gotta move fast. Who knows what Ghetsis could do?"
Ash immediately started running. While he was in the forest, he was close to civilization. Specifically a city. Not Canterlot, unfortunately, but he'll have to work with what he has. Ash was certainly slower in Ghetsis' body, however, ever since he gained Dark Magic, Ghetsis has started to look younger each day, so Ash wasn't too slow.
He had to hurry before the worst could come.
Equestria. Ponyville. Day.
"Wasn't easy catching it, was it?" Pinkie Pie spoke to Goh. Currently, Goh had a Grookey beating on his head with a stick.
"Not at all." Goh sighed with each head beat. "Energetic Pokemon are just harder to catch overall, aren't they?"
"Good job, anyway!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Only a few 100+ more to go before you meet one of Mew's pals!"
"Mew-Mew!"
Everything was normal so far in Ponyville. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Life went on as usual. However, there was an oddity lurking around and soon to enter this location. That being Ghetsis now within Ash's body.
Ghetsis had arrived, passing through the gateway to Ponyville. He realized that this was the one gateway that he was unable to affect out of all of them. Upon arriving, Ghetsis' eyes glowed red as Pikachu jumped through. Ghetsis already made the atmosphere tense with his presence while Pikachu stretched.
"Pikachu...!"
"Ash! Pikachu!" And spotting them were Pinkie Pie and Goh. Pinkie bounced her way towards Ash and Pikachu while Goh just walked with Grookey on his shoulder.
"A Mew?" Ghetsis said to himself, gazing at the Mew floating beside Pinkie Pie. He was unaware that Pinkie had a Mew with her. This was a shock to Ghetsis.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu waved at Grookey.
"Grookey!"
"So, Ash. What's up for today? When are you gonna head to the Sea Temple with Princess Celestia?" Goh asked.
"Sea Temple?" Ghetsis replied as his interest had been caught by that. "And a place where Celestia will be heading as well. What has this brat been up to as of late?" He thought to himself. But, Ghetsis had to play along if we wanted to blend in without being suspicious. "Later. Right now, there are other things I need to do."
"Is this about meeting with the other Twilight? Cause I wanna come along too." Pinkie Pie nudged Ghetsis. But as soon as she did so, Ghetsis moved away, avoiding any further contact with Pinkie Pie as he walked off. "Huh? Ash?"
"Pika-Pi?"
"Pikachu." Ghetsis then turned to Pikachu. "Stay here for a while. I want to roam around alone for a bit."
"Pika?" The Mouse Pokemon tilted his head. But he accepted his trainer's request either way. Wouldn't be the first time Ash was walked on his lonesome without his Pokemon. Ghetsis then decided to roam and investigate Ponyville for himself. To see what it had to offer.
"Ash seems pretty calm today, huh?" said Goh. "You think he's having an upcoming Championship Battle soon?"
"Nah. Even I can't tell." Pinkie squinted. "He's waaaaayyy different than before. Looked super serious too. Did something happen yesterday?"
"No." Goh shook his head as Pikachu was reasonably worried about his Trainer. Except, he wasn't aware that this was not his trainer at the moment.
Passing through the gateway here was Delia as she had boxed food in her possession. She appeared within the view of Pikachu, Pinkie, Goh, Mew and Grookey. "Off he goes," Delia said.
"Mrs Ketchum?" Pinkie Pie looked over, noticing the boxed food. "Oooh, free food for the day?!"
"For Ash mainly. He just got up from his bed this morning and didn't even eat his food. The last time he did that he was in a hurry, so I thought I'd bring him some of his favourites. Can you give this to him for me? Ash wouldn't mind sharing with you either way." Delia gave the box to Pinkie Pie.
"Don't mind if I do!" Pinkie Pie giggled, aiming to eventually consume from this wonderful box of tasty goodies. Hopefully, she doesn't eat through it all before Ash does.
Ghetsis roamed the streets of wonderful and jolly Ponyville. He could see how many ponies were getting on with their day. He also saw how decorations were being brought in for Christmas/Hearth's Warming. Nothing that peered towards his attention at all. Ghetsis knew that since he was in Ash's body now, he should take advantage.
He had a few goals in mind. Since Colress' spy cams had been dwindled and obliterated due to recent events, Ghetsis would have primary research on Equestria, observing every location he could come across. That much was obvious. But there was more in mind.
"Canterlot. That's where I need to be." Ghetsis already had a set destination in mind. "No. That's too sudden. I'm not the same Ghetsis as before. I can't rush it or else everything I've planned will dissipate. I need a new approach." He closed his eyes before allowing his brain to think. And idea sparked up the instant he saw Twilight's Castle and the Pokemon House on two separate sides of the town.
Ghetsis had many options to choose from now that he was Ash. And the first one he chose was Twilight's Castle. "I know what I can do. And in the meanwhile, I'll ruin his life in the process."
Twilight's Castle.
Ghetsis had entered Twilight's castle. And the moment he walked through those doors, high upstairs, Absol's horn was shaking. He could sense a potential disaster incoming. But he wasn't sure what it was at the moment.
Upon arriving, Ghetsis was met with the sight of Twilight Sparkle herself. When Ghetsis saw the young alicorn, he stayed steady and stoic as always. However, to better match Ash's visage and look, Ghetsis had to force himself to look happy. Mimicking Ash's smile and eyes. Unfortunately, that was hard for Ghetsis since he has a steely face in general.
"Ash. Looks like we won't be heading to the Holon Region just yet with all this Sea Temple stuff." Twilight went up to him. "But about the Sea Temple. Samiya. When you were telling that story to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, you mentioned how you became the King of the Sea, right?"
"King of the Sea? What exactly has he been through these times?" Ghetsis thought to himself.
"Since you're king, think you could whip up something special when you get there?"
"I'll keep that in mind." Ghetsis replied before walking past Twilight. "Where's your library?"
"Library? Just up ahead. Do you need something?" Twilight turned to face his back.
"I need to learn some magic spells as soon as he could." Ghetsis was playing with fire with the words he chose. However, he was planning it out instead of making mistakes.
"Magic spells? You? Haha!" Twilight chuckled. "Since when do you want to learn magic? And why?"
Ghetsis did not face Twilight after her response. But he gave a narrowing and sharp look to his face. Ghetsis knew he had t control himself or else, things could get awry. But with a smirk, he knew exactly what to say next and the best excuse. "I need it for Ghetsis. He's coming here."
"Ghetsis coming here!?" Twilight gasped as Ghetsis had her where he wanted her. "When?!"
"Soon." Ghetsis turned to face her. "But it looks like his magic's already affected me. Look." Ghetsis then pointed at his face, choosing to show Twilight his red eyes. "I woke up today with these crimson eyes. But I could feel Ghetsis was behind it. Both our Auras tend to clash a lot, remember?"
"They do." Twilight nodded. "What did he do to your eyes?"
"Not sure why he'd target my eyes specifically." Ghetsis turned to the side. "But, I can't ignore it. I need to learn some magic. I already have an Aura that's opposite to his. Why not have magical capabilities of my own?"
"Hmm...Good point but...can you learn it in time?" Twilight wondered. "I mean, you've got great Aura potential since you have the same Aura patterns as Sir Aaron, but magic?"
"Won't know unless I try." Ghetsis mimicked words that Ash would say in response naturally. "I'll be in the library." He then walked off towards the library to learn some magic. But he already knew magic. However, Ghetsis wanted to know more. More of what Equestria had to offer and use it to his advantage.
"Oh! Maybe I could be a teacher to Ash!" Twilight squeed and pranced on the spot. "Yes! Talk about a massive chance, Twilight!"
Within the library, Ghetsis already started browsing the collection of books that Twilight had to offer. And he only chose the advanced books. Ghetsis already knew a plethora of magic spells thanks to his Dark Magic. It wouldn't hurt to gather more.
He sat down with many books around him. Ghetsis only looked through what he had never heard about before. He wanted to play things slowly until the moment to strike was right. As soon as he started reading, moments and minutes later, books were being piled up around where Ghetsis sat.
Twilight and Starlight took a peek, witnessing how Ash, of all people, was reading. Specifically, intensively. Something that many will never see him do. Until now. Piles of books were seen around him as he was certainly busy.
"I've never seen Ash like this." Starlight said. "Now that's a sight. What kind of spell did Ghetsis use on him to get him to do this?"
"I wouldn't say it was a spell, Starlight. Ash already knows how much Ghetsis has done since he has Dark Magic with him. I mean, not too long ago, Ash was attacked by Ghetsis over at the human world and even when trying to fix a gateway, he received Delayed Aura Ataxia by Ghetsis' magic. Ash just doesn't want that to happen again."
"But can he learn magic?"
"It's not out of the realm of possibility." Twilight made one of her feathers wag as if it was a finger. "Fairy-Type Trainers know magic. Plus, Discord did give Ash the ability to become a pony. So when you think about it, it's possible."
"Fair enough." Starlight nodded. "But shouldn't we warn Princess Celestia about Ghetsis showing up soon?"
"Right on that!" Twilight exclaimed as she and Starlight rushed off. Ghetsis heard everything they had said as he formed a cunning smile. But as he sat there, Absol came into the room.
"Hm?" Ghetsis then looked over at the Disaster Pokemon. Absol and Ghetsis locked eyes for a moment. Both of them had intensive stares. Ghetsis arguably had the biggest one. But, not wanting to draw any attention, he looked away from Absol.
"Sol." Absol also looked away, waiting for the disaster to come as he went to the other room to lay down. Ghetsis continued reading, unbothered.
And as he kept reading, certain pages caught his interest. His eyes widened as he had already made some discoveries. These discoveries were certain locations and spots in Equestria that already exist and have been interacted with by either one of Ash's friends.
Ghetsis had discovered them from his research. And the first one that caught his attention was the Mirror Pool. Part of the Everfree Forest and the same pool that Pinkie PIe had once used. Ghetsis was right on time as the Everfree Forest was being regenerated gradually with certain areas restored.
"Interesting." He said before closing the book. "This is what I need. The Human World has magic but not enough of it. Equestria has all the magic there can be." Ghetsis then looked around, deciding to speak in his head. "Absorbing magic is my best speciality by now. Might as well take advantage of it in any way, shouldn't I?"
The Human World. A city. Day.
Ash had finally arrived at the city with civilization. It took a while considering the distance and how this body was tired for the night. But he made it. Now all he had to do was find the quickest way to reach Canterlot High.
Thankfully, Ghetsis wasn't that known in this world, so Ash could walk around safely in this area. "Okay. I gotta find maybe a bus or a train. But man, I don't have any money with me." He sighed before looking around at the bustling city. This city somewhat reminded him of Manehattan. Perhaps this was its parallel. Ash went up to the first person he saw to ask her for directions. "Hey there. Can you tell me where I can go to reach Canterlot High?"
"Canterlot High?" She turned around. "Oh, sure. You can take the subway train there. It's a long way though."
"Train, huh? No money with me." Ash thought for a second, thinking of how he could take the train.
"Well, if you want to make some money, there's always street performance." She recommended before pointing over at a group of people playing some music for money. "But I mean, you gotta have something talented."
"Yeah...Yeah!" Ash snapped his finger. "That's it! Thanks a bunch!" Knowing this Ash went to try some street performances to get to his friends. And he knew of a few tricks.
One thing was similar with him and Ghetsis. They both owned Pokemon. But as he was about to stand out in the street with a wide space for him, he noticed something at the corner of his eye. A familiar face could be seen just up ahead in one of the buildings. The person inside had come out with two people beside her.
That person was Sunset Shimmer.
"Oh!" Ash gasped before hiding behind the first building he came across. He couldn't let Sunset Shimmer see him like this. She knew who Ghetsis was after all.
At least, the Sunset he knew. But soon, Ash would hear a conversation that sounded off and unexpected. And it came from the two people who were police officers by the looks of it.
"Well, Sunset Shimmer. You did your time in juvie well. 30 days with no issue. You're free to go." The first officer said.
"Juvie?" Ash said to himself before peeking from the side.
"But seriously. We don't want to see you here again. You're young and you've got your whole life ahead of you and-" The other spoke before being cut off by Sunset Shimmer walking off.
"Whatever." She replied. "I just wanna go home right now."
"Sunset's in juvie?" Ash thought for a moment. "Wait, what's juvie?"
But as Sunset Shimmer walked away and Ash had no idea what juvie was at all, Sunset ended up spotting Ash from the side and how he was talking to himself. She then moved to the side with her head tilting as he saw her peeking.
"What's up with that guy?" She said, noticing Ash's movements from the side. She didn't think too much about it as she would go on with her day.
"Oh!" Ash gasped before hearing Sunset speak about him. He had been found and revealed. He and Sunset locked eyes as his cover had been blown. Now was a good time to either bolt away or try and explain the situation to Sunset Shimmer.
"What's up with you?"
"Su-Sunset! I can explain!"
"How do you know my name...?" Sunset Shimmer pulled back, having a confused look on her face. "Do I know you?"
"Uh, I-" Ash passed for a moment before realizing something. He scratched his hair as his mind was processing things for a while. He then realized that this was not the Sunset Shimmer he knew.
Rather, this was this world's Sunset Shimmer. The human variant. If this was the one he knew, she would instantly either call for help or battle Ghetsis here. Either one would've occurred. But it didn't.
"S-Sorry." Ash laughed nervously. While laughing, he had an evil-sounding laugh. Ghetsis naturally has a menacing laugh so any form of it, whether happy or sad sounds devious. "Was kinda zoning out there, ya know."
"Whatever." Sunset shrugged before walking off.
"Oh, wait!" But Ash quickly stopped her. "You wanna see something cool?"
"Something cool?" Sunset turned around. "I've got better things to do back home right now. What is it?"
"Check it out." Ash was then ready to use Ghetsis' Pokemon for the first time. He wasn't sure how it was going to go, but he would do his best. And the first batch of Pokemon he chose were Bisharp and Hydreigon. But he wasn't unaware of which Pokemon was which. "No idea who these two are...but here goes! I choose you!" He then threw the Poke Balls with his signature catchphrase.
"Hydreigon!"
"Bisharp!"
"W-What the?!" Sunset gasped as everyone's attention had been turned to Ash. They had witnessed what looked to be a hydra and some sort of bladed creature. This world was aware of Pokemon, but unlike the parallel world, they have yet to properly bond and interact with some.
So this would be a first.
"Okay. You two." Ash spoke to the two Pokemon as Bisharp turned around. "How about a Mock Battle? Just to show everyone here how Pokemon Battles go. We'll st-"
"Hydrei...!" But while Bisharp was listening to who he deemed to be his trainer, Hydreigon wasn't. Instead, Hydreigon was growling at the people here. They were immediately intimidated by the Brutal Pokemon as flames started fuming out of Hydreigon's mouth.
Being in a populated area like this was already getting the Brutal Pokemon started. It wanted to attack everyone here. And Ash saw this.
"Hydreigon. Now's now a great time to do what you're about to do." Ash went in front of the Brutal Pokemon. "How about we-"
"Drei!" Hydreigon suddenly knocked Ash to the side with one of his heads, causing him to fall over.
"Ough!" Ash cried out before dropping the Poke Balls. Everyone stayed their distance as they had no idea what was about to happen. But Ash did as Hydreigon was thirsty for some violence. "Guess that's one mood to have for a battle..." Ash held his head before getting up.
He had a handful to deal with. A Hydreigon wanting to attack everyone in the city and getting himself back to Equestria to change himself back. Truly, this was an unfavourable situation for Ash. Having his body suddenly swapped like this. It wouldn't be the first time, but it was certainly the worst as Ghetsis had plans in the meanwhile. But Ash wouldn't give up either way as the journey continues.
Currently, Ash and Ghetsis have swapped bodies thanks to Sienna. Ash needed to return to Equestria as soon as possible while Ghetsis currently had plans.
At the moment, Ash had Hydreigon and Bisharp out right in front of the people of this city and this world's Sunset Shimmer. There was a rising issue as being in such a populated area meant that Hydreigon wanted to cause destruction to everyone here. Sunset and a few others had their phones out to record this.
"Hydreigon!" The Brutal Pokemon roared, startling some people.
"Hydreigon, calm down please!" Ash tried reasoning with him. But so far, it wasn't seemingly working. Hydreigon roared once more, but this time, using Flamethrower as he shot a stream of flames into the air. Everyone screamed in shock and awe as they were truly witnessing a real-life dragon on display.
"Sick..." Sunset said as she was loving this. Hydreigon then turned his attention towards Ash, aiming to attack him. Hydreigon couldn't actually tell that this wasn't Ghetsis. Instead, Hydreigon's anger is so great that he would attack his own trainer at times. Only Ghetsis was capable of keeping him in control.
Unfortunately, Ash wasn't Ghetsis. Well, he was, just, not the person himself. Plus, Ash lacked the necessary control that Ghetsis has on Hydreigon. "Drei!" The Brutal Pokemon then flew over to Ash, going for Thunder Fang.
"Guess I've got no choice...!" Ash growled. "Bisharp! Use Night Slash!"
"Sharp!" Bisharp listened to Ash. He had no idea that this wasn't Ghetsis at all. But he would listen to his trainer either way due to the visage. The Sword Blade Pokemon moved swiftly, raising his arm as he had blocked Ash from harm. Hydreigon's fangs bit down on Bisharp's dark-coated blade arm.
Thankfully, since Ash has battled against Bisharp before, he knew all of his moves. The one advantage to being in Ghetsis' body right now.
"Hydrei!" Hydreigon moved his head back before going for Flamethrower. The Brutal Pokemon unleashed a stream of flames as the people here were witnessing their first-ever Pokemon Battle.
"Night Slash again!"
"Sharp!" Bisharp slashed his arm downwards, cutting the stream of fire in half. Everyone marvelled at this sight. It's rare to see fire be split in half. And this was an opportunity to witness it. One they'll never forget.
"Now, Bisharp! Head in there with X-Scissor!"
"Bisharp!" Bisharp moved in with his arms being coated green as he swung at his fellow Dark-Type. In response, Hydreigon used Brutal Swing, covering his head-arms in darkness. The two Dark-Types then started clashing within the streets with sparks flying.
Bisharp pushed Hydreion back before lunging in. Hydreigon was struck by Bisharp's next slash, causing the Brutal Pokemon to stagger. Some kids came by, already loving the view of this Pokemon Battle. Many people believed that this was a street performance. And judging by their reaction, they truly did believe it.
Unfortunately for the music street performers, they felt jealous since this battle had overtaken their performance. "Done in by a lizard again..." The guitarist sighed before sitting down. Moments later, he witnessed the battle for himself, seeing how entertaining it was. Now he was into it.
"What is going on out here?" The police officers from before showed up. Soon, they had seen the battle between Hydreigon and Bisharp taking place with the people loving this.
"Drei...! Hydreigon!" Hydreigon was clearly getting frustrated. And to show that, the Brutal Pokemon had used Frustration in response. His body glowed red as he had unleashed a gigantic burst of energy full of pent-up anger.
The ground shook as the people lost their balance. The burst of energy came towards Bisharp, threatening to blow everything sky high.
"Counter with Night Slash!"
"Bi...SHARP!" But, with excellent sharpness and vicious blades, Bisharp managed to cut the energy in half with Night Slash. Not only splitting the attack but saving everyone nearby. After doing so, Bisharp lunged in with another Night Slash. The Sword Blade Pokemon landed a harder hit than before with this next Night Slash. And Hydreigon felt it.
"This could go on forever...now's my chance!" Ash looked at the Poke Ball on the floor before picking it up. "He then held it out while Hydreigon was still staggered from that hard Night Slash. "Hydreigon, return!"
And with that stagger and nothing to stop him, Hydreigon had been sent back to his Poke Ball. Ash let out a sigh of relief as potential destruction had been avoided. And ironically, he had Bisharp to thank for that as he held his Poke Ball out as well. "Thanks, Bisharp. Return."
"Bisharp."
"That was awesome!" Sunset cried out as many applauded what they thought to be a street performance. Cheers filled the air as money was passed by, given to Ash. "Yeah, it was worth staying around. Thanks for the show, old man!"
"Old man...?" Ash paused for a moment. "Uh, no problem." He laughed, seeing all the money fall to him. Even the previous street performers couldn't help but praise this.
"Do it again! Do it again!" Some kids jumped up and down, wanting to see a repeat Pokemon Battle.
"Sorry, but. I gotta get to Canterlot High fast." Ash said to all of them. "My body's been swapped so I need to get it back."
"Your body's been swapped?" Sunset said as some of the people scratched their heads. Ash said a strange sentence indeed, making him sound odd.
"Yeah uh..." Ash then thought of something to make it sound believable. There was an obvious answer here. "See, there's a Pokemon that has the power to swap bodies. And it happened to me and some other guy. I'm in his body now."
"Oooh." That they could believe. Since Pokemon are so mysterious to everyone, it's not too farfetched to believe something like this.
"Where can I get the train to Canterlot High?"
"Canterlot High? Ugh, that place is for squares..." Sunset muttered. "Is your real body there or something?"
"No, uh...It's complicated...A bit.." Ash rubbed the back of his hair as Sunset pointed over at the west. That was where Ash could find himself a train. "West, huh? Okay! Thanks, Sunset!" He then rushed over to the west while grabbing the money that had been given to him.
"Hey, old man!" Sunset cried out to him before Ash could leave the area. "What's your real name anyway?! And teach me how you did all of that?!"
"It's Ash! Ash Ketchum! I might see you again when I come back as my real self! I'll teach you everything I know!" Ash gave a thumbs up with a smirk before rushing off.
"What a weirdo..." Sunset said after that look Ash gave her. "But if I could do something like that with those Pokemon or whatever they're called, that'd be amazing."
Indeed, this world's Sunset Shimmer and many others were interested in Pokemon. And after seeing how someone was able to command these Strange and Wonderful Creatures, opportunities were in the air.
Ash had rushed to the west of the city. He couldn't use Hydreigon to fly considering the relationship right now. The only way Hydreigon could be used is if he was away from a big populated area.
Ash instantly arrived at the train station, using the money he gathered from his battle to pay for the ride. Since so many enjoyed the battle between Bisharp and Hydreigon, he had enough money to pay for an hour or more long train ride. He asked where the train to Canterlot went to. And he was just in time. The train was just arriving.
"Yes!" Ash pumped his fist, witnessing the train coming. "Just you wait, Pikachu. Everyone. I'll get there as soon as I can."
Equestria. The Everfree Forest. Day.
Over at Equestria, Ghetsis was making his way towards the Everfree Forest. His interest had been piqued by the Mirror Pool. He had found a lot of interesting things about Equestria, mainly spells that he could utilize. As for the Everfree Forest, it was close to finishing up due to the regeneration that was Rift influenced.
Many familiar spots of the Everfree Forest had been restored, even the Castle of the Two Sisters had been rebuilt. Just in time for Ghetsis to take his chance. But spotting Ghetsis were the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Just like everyone else, they were unaware that Ash and Ghetsis had swapped.
"Ash! Hey, Ash!" Scootaloo cried out as the three fillies rushed over to him. Ghetsis immediately stopped, knowing that distractions were bound since Ash is friends with an abundance of ponies, if not almost all of them.
"Great..." Ghetsis sighed before putting on a fake smile for the three of them. He then turned to face the trio. "What is it?"
"Great news!" Apple Bloom exclaimed as her friends took out multiple Poke Balls from her saddlebag. She also took some out, revealing them to Ash. "I got a bunch of Grass-Type Pokemon like I said I would! A whole bunch! Well, some of 'em are repeats but still!"
"And we helped." Scootaloo let out a proud smile with her eyes closed.
"Mhm." Sweetie Belle nodded.
"But now that I've got a lot of Grass-Types, what do you think I should do next? Electric?!" Apple Bloom squeed.
"I chose Fire for her," Scootaloo said. "Fire's cool."
"Well, I choose Fairy." While Sweetie Belle raised her hoof. "But what do you think works best, Ash?" They had questions that were brimming. Many questions that only a child could bombard someone with.
"Later. I'm busy." Ghetsis replied before facing the forest. "There's something I need to do."
"You're heading into the Everfree Forest?" Sweetie Belle spoke. "Wait, is it done now?"
"Looks pretty done to me." Scootaloo squinted at the forest, seeing how it had retained its original shape over the past weeks and months after what Luster Dawn had done to it. "Ooh, is there something new in there? Can we come?"
"Yeah, can we?"
"No. This is something I'm doing on my own." Ghetsis replied. "I need something in there. Plus, this forest is far too dangerous for you all."
"We can help you find it, maybe. If ya didn't know, Ms Roxie's been teaching us neat tricks. Like how to be like a Pokemon. I think I have a good chance of being a Charizard." Scootaloo said.
"I don't know about that..." Apple Bloom laughed. "I think I'd make a pretty great Staraptor, don't you girls think?"
"Ah, those are too way out there. You need to think simple." Sweetie Belle put her hooves close to each other. "Like um...Stoutland!
"Stoutland's too basic though." Scootaloo pouted. "I mean it's cute and all but..." As they spoke, Ghetsis went ahead, not having time for their childish conversation. "Oh, Ash! Wait up!"
"What happened to not coming along?" Ghetsis growled, using the hat to hide his facial expression.
"Yeah, we know. But we're safe around you, right? No one can scare you!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "Not even the Everfree Forest!"
"Still creeps me out..." Sweetie Belle shuddered as the trio started chatting once more. They had simple conversations that were not that entertaining. At least to Ghetsis. He was starting to lose his cool with all of this talking. Scootaloo rambled on about how she wanted to be a mixture of Ash and Rainbow Dash when she grows up. Almost like she'd be the most fearless Trainer out there.
Sweetie Belle went on about her contests and how when she's older, she could make it big time with all of her contest achievements and reach the same kind of popularity status as certain Pokemon Celebrities. Being a Pokemon Celebrity wouldn't be too bad. Apple Bloom was even thinking of being a Pokemon Breeder or Doctor now that she's gotten so far in her Monotype goal.
"That'd be great wouldn't it?" Scootaloo giggled. "I can't wait!"
"Neither can I! What do you think, Ash?" Sweetie Belle and the others turned to him.
"Yeah?" Scootaloo and Apple Bloom both said at the same time.
"SHUT UP, YOU ANNOYING BRATS! I SAID I'D DO THIS ON MY OWN!" Ghetsis lost his cool in front of the fillies. His eyes glowed a vibrant yet dark red as he gazed at the fillies in their eyes. Even his Dark Aura was unleashed as it filled the atmosphere, sending fear into the three of them out of pure rage.
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle froze as they had never seen Ash like this. In truth, Ash would never act like this. Only Ghetsis. Their hearts raced as they backed away. Ghetsis then walked deeper into the forest on his lonesome.
"O-Okay...See you later then." Apple Bloom said as the three of them walked away. After being yelled at by Ghetsis, with such overwhelming rage too, the three of them started crying, trying to hide their tears.
"Pestering gnats. Of course, Ash Ketchum would be able to handle such annoyance..." Ghetsis sighed before putting his hand on his face. He only had the pool in mind right now.
But Ghetsis knew he had created one issue. Yelling at the CMC. He knew that would create problems and form a chance of his cover being blown. But, that was something he chose to bypass.
As he roamed through the regenerating forest, he came across one of the few creatures residing here. With the forest being regenerated, many of the creatures that once lived here had returned to their natural habitats. One of which being the Cragadile. Ghetsis entered the murkier parts of the forest as the Cragadile could be seen emerging from the mist.
It growled at Ghetsis, seeing him as prey. But as soon as the Cragadile emerged, Ghetsis gazed at the creature with a greater intensified stare.
"I'm not in the mood right now. I'd suggest you scurry along if you wish to see tomorrow's sun." Ghetsis said with a devious tone. He even exuded his Dark Aura to intimidate the creature. Immediately, the Cragadile gained an expression of fear as it ran off, not wanting to experience what Ghetsis had to offer.
The Mirror Poo.
Finally, the Mirror Pool. What Ghetsis was looking for. After showing up here, he gazed upon the pool that had the capability to clone anyone who so uses it. Truly a useful form of magic. One that Pinkie Pie used but had backfired hard. However, Ghetsis was not only aiming to absorb the magic from it but use it to his full potential.
His reflection emerged on the mirror pool. But surprisingly, as he looked at the reflection, instead of showing Ash, it showed his real self. The Mirror Pool was capable of even seeing through body swap magic. How impressive.
"I can't get any further with the magic I have." Ghetsis spoke to himself as his voice echoed throughout the area. "I need more magic. Magic that I've yet to tap into. And this is where I can begin." He looked at the Mirror Pool as he summoned an aura of black flames around his arm.
Ghetsis then placed his arm inside the pool as he began the process of absorbing the magic within. It was similar to the Magic Siphoning Jar made by Grogar. The only difference was that Ghetsis needed to make direct contact with his target.
The pool started rippling with horrible tremors going through. Ghetsis' flames not only layered but polluted the pool with what Ghetsis was performing. The flames began spreading, rising from the water and filling the atmosphere and area with its ebony horror.
The cave system was met with a terrible and uncomfortable field of Dark Aura that only had the intentions of consuming, destroying and so much more. And this horrible feeling wasn't just around the cave and the Mirror Pool. It could be felt beyond the Everfree Forest, even reaching Ponyville.
Twilight was currently hanging out with Applejack, Pinkie and Goh until she felt the atmosphere change. A chill ran through her body as Absol's horn started vibrating. It only ever vibrates when disaster is prone. And after sensing this, the Disaster Pokemon sat u from the floor. He had to investigate.
"Twilight. Are you okay?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Fine. Just felt something weird happen." She shuddered in response, not thinking too much about it. However, as soon as she saw Absol leave the castle in a hurry. If Absol is in a rush like that, something was up. And Twilight knew this about Absol after the times they've been together. "Uh, hold on. Maybe I was onto something."
Twilight immediately started following Absol. Absol's intuitions are always on point. "What is it, Absol? Is Ghetsis already here? Should we tell Princess Celestia right now?"
"Absol." Absol didn't know the answer since his horn can only detect disasters, not know what the disaster is going to be exactly. He and Twilight would just have to wait and see when they get there.
But meanwhile, at the Mirror Pool, Ghetsis had successfully absorbed all the magic from the Mirror Pool. His arm started trembling but he endured it. Ghetsis then pulled his arm back as a howl echoed from the Mirror Pool. All of the wonderful magic that it once had was robbed, gone forever. A mythical mystical spot was now devoid of magic.
And that form of magic now belonged to Ghetsis as he looked at his arm. It was now pulsating with magic. He had never absorbed magic like this before. A grin graced his face as he could feel everything that the Mirror Pool had to offer. And what's more, he knew what it was capable of.
Not only did Ghetsis absorb the magic from the Mirror Pool, but he had also copied its capabilities. Ghetsis raised his arm as he created a pulse of darkness that filled the area. After doing so, Ghetsis had created copies of himself that appeared out of thin air. Just like the Mirror Pool and what it could do. Ghetsis was now his own walking Mirror Pool.
He created around 7 versions of himself that all appeared. The right number he felt necessary at the time. However, since the Mirror Pool had the power to see through body swaps and reveal a person's true form, all of the clones appeared as Ghetsis.
"Interesting. Being able to see through the body swap. This pool is truly stellar." Ghetsis observed his clones before reaching into Ash's bag. "But...That can be arranged." Out of the bag, Ghetsis had taken out one of the few items he stole and brought along with him.
The Shift Stone.
A source of Rift Energy he couldn't ignore. After feeling its power connect with his Rift Energy, Ghetsis knew he had to take advantage of it. And he did. He gave shards of them to his clones. All 7 of them.
"You all. We've got work to do. Many magical secrets lie within Equestria and I am going to find them no matter what. But even with this favourable situation, I can't do it alone. All of you will scatter and find what you can. Ash Ketchum and his meddling friends have tons of information as well. Find every magical spot and gather as much information as you can. Use those stones to disguise yourself.
"We know. We're one-in-the-same after all." A clone said as they all concentrated their focus onto the Shift Stones. After doing so, they each transformed into Pokemon.
Specifically, Pokemon that their voices are similar to. Considering that the Shift Stone does not change the voice and keeps it the same. FInding the Pokemon that matches Ghetsis' gruff and low voice was surprisingly easy. One that they could mimic. The Pokemon they chose were Nidokings.
"Good. Now let's get moving." Ghetsis cackled as the clones hid the Shift Stones away and were ready to take action.
Ghetsis' plan was now in motion. He arrived out of the Mirror Pool with his clones disguised as Nidoking. And as they were leaving the forest, Twilight and Absol had shown up. Absol was searching for the disaster.
But he was too late.
Ghetsis had already finished the disaster that was absorbing the magic pool. His horn stopped vibrating as he gasped, halting his movements. "A-Absol?" This has never happened to Absol. Where a disaster had finished before he could warn or reach the scene.
"What's wrong, Absol?" Twilight asked. But the Disaster Pokemon stood there perplexed at how he had missed a disaster. Now he had no idea what that disaster was.
And coming into view were Ghetsis and his clones. He had seen Twilight as kept his low profile. If there's anyone he didn't want to be caught by, it was Twilight and her smarts.
However, Ghetsis knew one thing. He could also steal magic from Twilight. He had always been aiming to discover the Magic of Friendship and how he could harness it into his own power to use. Absorbing magic from the Princess of Friendship might be that solution.
"Good..." Ghetsis said to himself before facing his clones. His clones already had the right idea. Since they shared the same mindset as Ghetsis, they knew what approach was needed for this steal.
"Ash? You're here?" Twilight said. "What's with all the Nidoking?"
"I was busy. The Nidoking here had-"
"Nidoking!" One of the clones had suddenly attacked, rushing over towards Twilight. This was part of their plan.
"Twilight!" Ghetsis cried out as he had picked up Twilight from the ground, moving her away from the attacking clone. Just what Ghetsis needed. Direct contact.
"Ab...Sol!" Absol then used Dark Pulse, unleashing a blast of darkness that had struck the clone. The clone was sent flying off into the distance before vanishing into dust. That was one of Ghetsis' clones destroyed.
A necessary sacrifice as it got Ghetsis to absorb Twilight's magic. And he did. In the split second that he managed to grab Twilight, Ghetsis' Dark Magic started secretly stealing magic from Twilight.
"Dust?" Twilight gawked after seeing the clone vanish.
"I knew there was something wrong with that Nidoking. Looks like the other Nidoking are 100% real."
"Weird. But nice save, you two," Twilight said to them both.
"Absol."
"Um...Ash. You can put me down now." Twilight blushed for a moment. "But if not then that's okay-"
"Ugh...!" Ghetsis grimaced as he felt uncomfortable by this. He immediately placed Twilight down, cutting her sentence off as he had drained her magic successfully.
"Oh." Twilight held her head, feeling the drain's effects kicking in for a moment. She almost lost her balance as Absol managed to keep her steady.
"Absol?"
"I'm fine, Absol...Just a bit woozy there." She groaned before blinking a few times.
"Get some rest." Ghetsis said while walking past Twilight. "I'll be busy with the magic still."
"Oh. Right. But I've never seen you so focused Ash. It's actually kinda creeping me out. Well aside from the fact that you have Ghetsis' eyes and all." Twilight chuckled.
"This will all be over once I solve it. By the way...when do you plan on coming to the Human World with me?" That's when Ghetsis struck while the iron was hot. He needed to know how Ash would return to Equestria and the Pokemon World respectively.
"Well, I mean...you're obviously busy with my human self right now." Twilight shrugged. "Can't interfere since you're teaching her everything you know about Pokemon. Spending quite an awful lot of time with her too." Twilight spoke under her breath with that last sentence. It was clear that she was slightly jealous of herself.
"Why not you too? You know a lot about Pokemon yourself. Why not help her then?"
"I guess I could do that. I mean, no one knows me better than me, right?" She squeed. "Or does this count? I mean, it's me, but-"
"And about Ghetsis. Since he's still in the human world, your other self's already in peril. And maybe here if Ghetsis finds a way to pass through."
"You're right." Twilight nodded before running in front of Ghetsis. "We still don't know when Ghetsis is going to show up here. But if he finds the portal at Canterlot High..." Twilight then thought of her friends on the other side. "Ash! We need to warn them quick! Maybe they can see Ghetsis coming first before we do."
Hook, line and sinker. Just what Ghetsis wanted. Since he's felt Ash arrive at the human world a few times, he already knew that there was a way of entering that world that he had yet to find. And now was his chance to find that way.
"Teleport us there. It'll be quicker."
"Teleport. Got it." Twilight winked as she and Absol gathered around Ghetsis. The clones were left to their own devices for this. And with a flash of magic from Twilight's horn, they had immediately arrived at Canterlot.
More specifically, the room that led to the portal to the human world. Ghetsis was playing his cards well. He truly created a scenario where Twilight was fearing for the worst to come. Twilight approached the mirror as she was ready to jump through it. Ghetsis had found access to the human world.
"It's almost time for the afternoon. By this time, everyone would've been at the cafeteria. So we might be right on time to warn Sunset and the others." said Twilight. "Let's hurry."
"Go through. I'll warn Princess Celestia." Ghetsis chose to stay behind. He had now seen the portal for his eyes. So he knew what to do next time.
"Right. Come on, Absol!" Twilight nodded before jumping in with her partner.
"Absol!" The two of them had passed through the portal with Ghetsis witnessing. He had smirked afterwards before approaching it. But he wasn't going to go through it. Instead, Ghetsis found the opportunity to take its magic.
He placed his hand on the mirror, absorbing the magic that it had held. Ghetsis already had the power to move through worlds thanks to his gateways. But not the power to move through this world as it lacks gateways. That is until he messed with every gateway, bringing some of them to the human world. But having a spare form of teleportation would not hurt at all.
With his Dark Aura emanating he had successfully absorbed the magic from within. Afterwards, he walked off. But not before doing one final thing.
"I won't forget the rest of the magic I need from you, Twilight Sparkle. But just to make sure you don't come back here..." Ghetsis then pointed at the mirror before unleashing a bolt of darkness. That bolt had enough power to crush stone and it certainly had the might to damage this mirror.
And so it did. The mirror to the human world had been hit by Ghetsis' bolt. Right in the centre too. But Ghetsis didn't stop there. He performed a few shots to the side of the mirror. With all of this, Ghetsis had disrupted the mirror. First, he had stolen its magic and now he had damaged it, filling it with his Dark Aura.
Now the access of the mirror to the other world had been interfered with. Ghetsis' finger started smoking as he started laughing. He had much more than he wanted to do.
"Splendid! Just splendid!" He cackled. "This is the greatest feeling yet! How ironic it's in this body." He then placed his arm out. "Alright then. Another thing for the meanwhile. Princess Twilight. Thank you for the magic. Teleportation should be easy as 1 2 3. Like so."
By using teleportation, Ghetsis had instantly left the area. But he had a unique way of doing it. While Twilight's teleport involves a flash of light based on her magic colour including other unicorns and the alicorns, Ghetsis left behind a burst of black flames that immediately started burning whatever was close.
The carpet within the room had been burnt into nothingness as even other objects here were affected. Ghetsis had left. And moments later after he left, Passion and Celestia were searching for the presence they felt. Celestia could send Ghetsis' magic after all.
"Where is he? Where did he go?"
As for Ghetsis, he used teleportation to arrive at Twilight's Castle. There was a certain loose-end that he needed to tie up. One that involved a certain Rift Pony. Cold Colt.
Speaking of Cold Colt, he was enjoying some good food in the meanwhile. Courtesy of the ponies that he sees as his family. The Apple Family. Obviously, he sees Apple Bloom as something else. And it wasn't family.
"Don't eat so fast." Starlight said to Cold. "You'll get a tummy-ache."
"Mm-mm." Cold shook his head with his mouth full. "Applejack's apple pies are the best. How can I not?"
"If they're the best, wouldn't it be better to savour them instead of rushing?"
"Oh-" Cold paused for a moment. "You've got a point." He then started eating the apple pies slowly. Such wonderful food would need to be savoured so it felt like eating it for an eternity.
And after showing up here, Ghetsis opened the door to the room, appearing before Cold Colt and Starlight Glimmer. He had unfinished business with Cold Colt. Specifically his Rift Magic. Immediately after entering, the room became cold and horrid once more. Starlight and Cold turned around to see who they assumed to be their friend. Ghetsis' eyes flared red as he was here to claim another prize.
"Oh, hey Ash. What's up?" Starlight Glimmer said. But as soon as she spoke to him, Ghetsis started approaching the two of them with his shadow lingering over. He was about to get more physical now.
"Sweetie Belle." Rarity spoke, entering the room of her little sister. She could hear Sweetie Belle crying and she could not ignore it at all costs. "Sweetie, what's wrong? Are you nervous about the next contest?"
"No..." She sniffled as she was holding Meowstic for comfort. Meowstic patted her trainer on the head.
"Well then, why are you upset?" Rarity went up to her. "What happened?"
"Ash yelled at me today. And my friends." She answered as Meowstic used her telekinetic abilities to bring over a handkerchief, wiping her trainer's tears. "It was really scary."
"Ash yelled at you? That's hard to comprehend." Rarity's eyes widened. "Why did he yell at you? What happened?"
"Well...He said he was going to the Everfree Forest alone. And we wanted to come with him, but he didn't want us to. Then he yelled at us." Sweetie Belle gave a simplified explanation of the scenario. And it was accurate too.
"Oh, well he must've been bothered or stressed out by something that caused him to yell. But I'll talk with him. This doesn't mean Ash hates you, darling." Rarity comforted her sister with a hug.
Twilight's Castle.
Meanwhile, at Twilight's Castle, Ghetsis had performed less than pleasing actions. He came here for Cold Colt and would use his usual force to make this happen. And what occurred was a horrible sight.
The room had been trashed, showing signs of struggle. And there indeed was struggle. Ghetsis had attacked the little pony and Starlight at the same time. The result was a sudden sneak attack that caught them all off guard. Right now, Starlight was on the ground with Hatterene by her side.
And the more terrifying notion was that Ghetsis did not rely on any of Ash's Pokemon. Only what he knew and had. That's all he needed ever since his increase in magic. He held Cold Colt around his arm before dusting himself off.
Espeon was here as her time to relax had been gravely interrupted. She was taken aback by Ash suddenly attacking her. And because of this sneak attack, no one was prepared. They were all harmed while Ghetsis was fine and healthy.
"Ash...Why?" Starlight groaned.
"You put up quite a fight, there," said Ghetsis. "I'll admit, that's impressive. But you're all still so inexperienced. And now I get to have everything that I deserved. You brat. I was robbed of having all the Rift Magic I could get with you. Now, I won't miss out on this chance."
"W-Wait..." Cold thought for a moment, thinking of why Ash would say that But very soon, he realized that only one person would say this to him. "Ghetsis?!"
"G-Ghetsis?!" Starlight gasped.
"There goes that cover. Unfortunately, for you. You won't be around to see tomorrow's light. But I'll still need some of your magic for a while." Ghetsis wanted to take Starlight out of the equation. He put his hand out, sending out a spiral of flames that had gone towards Starlight while she was on the ground.
"Hatterene!" Acting as her shield, Hatterene got in the way, taking the hit for her trainer. Hatterene was hit by the flames, but she maintained herself. If she were to fall here then that would leave Starlight vulnerable.
So, to make the situation better, Cold Colt had bitten on Ghetsis arm. "Gah!" Ghetsis cried out as he lost his grip on the little pony. "Why you...!"
"H-Hatterene...!" Hatterene groaned as she fell to the floor beside her trainer.
"Body Swap. That's what that is, right?" Cold said.
"Right on that." Ghetsis used his magic to heal himself. "And what an opportunity this is! I've already taken so much power for myself. How could I not use Ash Ketchum's influence and trust with everyone else to its full advantage."
"Then where's Ash?!" Cold exclaimed.
"Hopefully far from here. But by the time he potentially arrives, it'll be too late. I'll have all the magic I need, and very little can stop me. And I use the term little loosely."
"I can stop you." Cold declared. He was dead serious as he made a statement with that one line. A statement that Ghetsis could not take seriously at all.
"You? Hah!" Ghetsis pointed at Cold Colt. "What can you do to me? Besides, you don't want to harm the body of your friend, do you? I wouldn't take that risk."
"I can't harm Ash. No." Cold shook his head as Ghetsis was right about that. "But I can do this!" Via teleportation, the little pony appeared in front of Ghetsis latching his hooves onto him.
"Wh-" Before Ghetsis could finish his sentence, he could feel Cold Colt's magic surrounding him. Ghetsis did want to absorb magic from Cold Colt, but this wasn't what he had in mind. Instead of absorbing his magic, Ghetsis felt something else when he tried touching Cold to rip him off. "What are you doing?!"
Ghetsis was feeling weak. His knees were starting to tremble as Cold's body kept radiating an azure light. His signature magic colour. It was so bright that only did it light up the room, but it had also passed through the windows for a few citizens to see.
"I'm taking some of your magic away!" Cold said as he was twitching a bit. "I've learned some neat tricks too! Thanks to Twilight!"
"Get off!" Ghetsis tried his best to pull Cold Colt away. Deciding to help, Starlight found the strength to move. And with the movement she could muster, she had grabbed Ghetsis' leg.
Ghetsis could feel himself losing power by the second. Cold Colt had grown significantly. Before, he had the magic potential of a baby unicorn. Now, he's essentially two unicorns in one with how much he's grown in magic capability.
"H-Hatterene...!" Hatterene also chimed in by having her claw move out. The claw had wrapped around Ghetsis' other leg to stop him from moving as Cold kept going.
"Enough!" Ghetsis cried out as he used his Dark Magic to blow them all away. The three of them were pushed back along with every object in the room. Or worse, they had been obliterated as Cold tumbled on the floor.
It was a good thing Rift Ponies don't get tired. Otherwise, Cold would've been burnt out from that stunt he pulled. Ghetsis breathed in and out as he held his head. He wasn't expecting the unicorn he underestimated before to perform such an amazing feat that almost knocked the wind out of him.
Ghetsis could feel that certain magic reservoirs from him were gone. And he could tell which ones were gone too. He felt that his ability to move within the shadows had been wiped out along with even the crystals that he stole from Sombra. Then again, he stopped using the crystals when gaining new tricks.
A few other things were gone from Ghetsis as he balled his fists out of frustration. He then turned to Cold Colt, aiming to fire a black bolt at him. But he soon came to realize he couldn't do it anymore.
"My magic..." He uttered. "You nuisance! How much did you take?!"
"Just enough." Cold Colt held his head before getting up. "Ow. Anyone can steal magic, but being a Rift Pony, I can do it with ease. Well, now I can. Couldn't do it before.
Cold Colt wasn't lying. Ghetsis then tried one of the newer magic he obtained. One from the Mirror Pool. But considering how much magic was from the Mirror Pool, that was affected as well. Ghetsis realized that higher forms of magic were absorbed quicker than the rest.
Ghetsis could no longer clone himself with the power of the Mirror Pool. And to make it worse, he had already ruined the original Mirror Pool, so no point in going back there.
Naturally, Ghetsis was frustrated by this. To think that the one who would reverse his magic capabilities wasn't someone of higher status like Celestia, Luna, Cadence or even Chrysalis. It wasn't even Ash who was responsible for this. In the end, it was a colt who was just starting to regain what he had lost.
And unfortunately for Ghetsis, since Cold Colt can never get tired and never runs out of magic at all, playing the waiting game was pointless. Plus, it could end in a never-ending chase.
"I underestimated you, boy," said Ghetsis. "But that only gives me a larger reason to steal the rest of your magic with how you are now."
"I won't let you. Bye!" Cold quickly ran over to Starlight and Hatterene to get them out of here. Ghetsis immediately went after him. He still had some magic left within him. Ghetsis could still use the black flames from his arms. And he did exactly that, sending a stream of black fire towards the little unicorn.
"Oh!" Cold gasped, quickly putting a protective shield of magic. Ghetsis stated pouring flames onto the shield, trying to break through it.
"Uh, Starlight. I'm gonna need you or Hatterene to send us out of here!" Cold exclaimed as his shield started trembling. "Can't multi-task over here!"
"I'm hurt but I can still try." Starlight stood up with her knees weak. Ghetsis had really given her a beating. But, perhaps that experience during the invasion boosted her endurance much like everyone else. Unfortunately, Starlight couldn't get up as Cold Colt's barrier was breaking. Starlight fell to the ground as she had been hurt far too much.
"H-Hatterene." But she wasn't alone. Hatterene then decided to share the little amount of Fairy magic she had with Starlight. She gave her the strength to carry on. Only for a bit.
"Thanks, Hatterene." Starlight smiled before getting up. The Fairy Magic was helping greatly as Starlight held onto her partner, picking her up. She then held onto Cold Colt, thinking of one area they could escape to. Anywhere but here.
Ghetsis increased the intensity of his flames, but it was too late to catch his prey. Starlight thought of the quickest place to be at. The Pokemon House.
"You want to go somewhere? Here!" But Ghetsis wouldn't allow such a swift getaway. He put his other arm out, using the power of the gateway to his advantage. Now he was thinking with portals. Right before Starlight could use what she had left, Ghetsis unleashed a gateway from below. Cold's shield was in the shape of a dome, meaning below was fairly exposed.
And with a gateway opening below, the dome-shaped shield and everyone within it had been sent through. And Ghetsis made sure the height was high enough for the intent to break concentration. However, he felt as if there was no need to fear, considering where he sent them.
But even after doing that, Ghetsis knew that Cod Colt had gotten the better of him. Something he never thought would happen. Ghetsis released his anger, knowing that many forms of magic he had stolen were now gone. Especially the more recent ones.
"Curses!" Ghetsis smashed his fist onto the wall out of frustration. "I thought if I had this body I would accomplish even more...! Those wretched ponies! But i's fine." He held his face, keeping his cool. "I still have more to give. You haven't won yet, boy.
Ghetsis then started looking around. Even though he lost the Mirror Pool's abilities, his clones were still out there, disguised as Nidoking. He still had some cards to play. But Ghetsis knew there was no need to worry about him being exposed now that Espeon, Cold, Starlight and Hatterene were away from this world. And after all, every gateway to the Pokemon World was his to control.
Except for the Pallet Town gateway.
"I have to move." Ghetsis said to himself, knowing that there could be others suspicious of him. Especially the CMC. "I have to do something or else it'll all be for nought." He made his next move swiftly. He had to make sure no one in Ponyville could stand in his way. Plus, he wasn't worried about Twilight returning or even Ash considering what he had done to the mirror portal.
But Ghetsis by now knew not to get too safe.
The Human World. Canterlot High. Afternoon.
Over at the human world, Twilight had already arrived to warn Sunset Shimmer and the others about Ghetsis But what she was unaware of was that the only way back home had been destroyed due to Ghetsis' actions.
As for Ash, after making the subway ride here, he had finally arrived at where he needed to be. But not without an issue. He had to be cautious still. While most everyone in the school would not recognize his appearance, Sunset Shimmer would.
"Gotta be extra sneaky about this..." Ash said while having his back behind a tree. He observed his surroundings to see if any familiar faces would spot him. Not only did he have to watch out for Sunset, but if he used the portal, everyone would want to use it and that could lead to problems.
The Kid from Kanto shuffled around, zipping from tree to tree. He looked silly doing it while having the appearance of Ghetsis as some nearby Pokemon witnessed this. It was currently lunch so everyone was either in the cafeteria or outside of it.
Some people noticed Ash shuffling from tree to tree. They couldn't help but stare and wonder. "What's with that guy? Is he looking for something?"
"Uh...Just ignore it."
And speaking of the cafeteria Twilight was speaking with her friends in there.
"So. You know what to do?" Twilight asked.
"Totally! When we see that Ghetsis guy, it's instant battling!" Rainbow Dash raised her Poke Ball. "That's easy."
"Um, I don't know if I could do that. He seems way too scary." Fluttershy shook her head.
"Pssh. He doesn't sound all that." Applejack scoffed.
"We don't know when he'll show up. I'm afraid of my other self being harmed." Twilight bit her thumb. "But we'll be ready, right girls?"
"Sure-Sure." Pinkie Pie nodded. "Tall guy with green hair and a black cape-robe thing. That's not hard to miss. By the way, is your Absol okay?"
"Absol..." Absol was currently being held and hugged by many people who found him to be adorable. And Absol didn't take kindly to it, but he couldn't attack innocents.
"It's so fluffy and cute!"
"It reminds me of my dog! Wait, is it a dog?"
"It looks like one? But a cat at the same time too."
"Who cares?! It's adorable!"
"Absol..." Absol sighed, wanting this to be over. He looked for a safe place to hide from all of these people. But as soon as he looked at the window, that's when he saw who he assumed to be Ghetsis. "Sol? Absol!"
The Disaster Pokemon immediately blew away the students by unleashing a loud howl. Strong enough to create its own pressures of winds as they were forced back from the Dark-Type
"Did you find him, Absol?!" Twilight turned to him. Absol immediately started moving, lunging through the air and breaking through the window. Soon, after the window had been broken, Twilight and the others had seen what appeared to be Ghetsis.
"Ghetsis!" They cried out.
"Uh-oh!" After his eardrums received the shout through the cafeteria, Ash looked to the side with a nervous scrunched face. This was the one scenario he was hoping to avoid.
"She's gonna have to pay for that," said Granny Smith.
"W-We know. We'll handle it." Sunset laughed nervously before following Twilight. Absol had arrived on the outside first, instantly having the instinct of attacking Ash.
"Absol!" And he did so by using Dark Pulse instantly. Out of his mouth came a pulse imbued with dark thoughts. Ash only managed to narrowly evade it. But in the process, part of the cloak had been torn off.
"Yikes!" Ash cried out.
"Ghetsis!" Twilight stepped outside of the broken window, her friends by her side. Most of them. Fluttershy was standing back for a safe spot.
"Twilight!" Ash cried out before thinking of a way to get out of this issue. He was hoping to avoid them and pass through the portal. But that wasn't happening right now. "Oh, geez, what am I gonna say?"
"That's Ghetsis?" said Pinkie Pie.
"He doesn't look that intense like you said he would. Or even how you mentioned him." Rainbow Dash whispered. "Are you sure this is the right guy?"
"That's because he and Ash have swapped eyes. I don't know how. But it does look pretty weird when Ghetsis looks all...peaceful like that." Twilight grimaced at Ghetsis' new expression. "Why'd you do it, Ghetsis?"
"Swap eyes? There's a spell for that?" Ash said before shaking his head. "No! The reason why our eyes are different is because we swapped bodies!"
"Body swapping? Oh, this day became far more interesting." Rarity smiled with an interested no. "Wait, did you know about this Twilight?"
"As if. I'm not letting you get the best of me, Ghetsis." But Twilight wasn't buying it. She was expecting Ghetsis to take out any of his Pokemon. Or even use his magic. But nothing yet.
"I'm serious! I'm not here to harm anyone. Especially not you guys." Ash pleaded.
"Maybe he's telling the truth," said Fluttershy. She could read Ash's emotions. "He seems like he is.
"I don't know..." Twilight uttered, staying vigilant the whole way through.
"Gah, forget it!" Rainbow Dash stepped forward with a Poke Ball in her hand. "You said he was dangerous right? Let's just get this over with!"
"Aw, come on..." Ash looked over at the portal. "I just wanna head home right now. We can talk about this..." He was building up the right time to run. "Later!" And he found that moment as he bolted off. Ash wanted to at least get back to Equestria.
But as he ran towards the portal, he immediately crashed into it instead of passing through. Upon the immediate crash, Ash fell over as everyone felt that impact even if they weren't the ones to take it. "Oh geez...!" Ash groaned after falling on his back. "That smarts...W-Why didn't it go through?"
"What?" Twilight gasped after witnessing this. That sight did not spell good news. She then saw Ghetsis sit up, holding his head. She looked at him for a moment, seeing that he had yet to attack her or any of her friends. Twilight looked closer to see that his movements matched that of Ash. Everything did. Twilight then looked at their eyes once more, deciding to ask him something.
"Hey...Are you lying? Are you really Ash?" Twilight asked. She was still on the fence.
"Yeah. Sorry if I don't look like it right now." Ghetsis chuckled. "Was kinda hoping I'd charge through the portal and make a run for it. Maybe get the Shift Stone or have Manaphy turn me back."
"Wait. Is the body swap thing real?" Sunset asked. "Did they really swap bodies or is this just one good act?"
"Only one way to find out." Twilight was still cautious as she wanted to try one thing. "Ash. If you really are him. Do you know what the name Ash means?"
"What kind of question is that?" Rarity questioned. "Ash is an average name. Right?"
"It's average. But for my family line, it's pretty special. Mom told me my name means clear thinking and quick-witted. It's small but it's there. Just like how her name means Luster." And after answering her, Ash had truly revealed himself to everyone.
Only Ash and his mother would know about his family's history with certain names. And of course, his father would too. Twilight gasped before realizing the meaning behind those eye swaps. It wasn't a spell. Just an example of body switching. Usually, eye changes arent used with body swaps. "It really is you."
And she now realized that Ghetsis was within the vicinity of her friends.
"Oh. Oh no..." Twilight said before looking at the portal. Previously, Ash failed to pass through. She wanted to see if the same was for her. She went over to the portal, placing her hand on it.
Lo and behold, it did not pass. Shock and fear struck Twilight's hearts as she was now conscious of the situation she was in. And the situation that Ash was in.
"T-Twilight. Why didn't your hand go through?" And it stood to reason that Sunset would be worried as well as her eye was twitching.
"I don't know!" Twilight pulled on her hair. "It was working minutes ago!"
"It's Ghetsis." Ash went up to Twilight. "Since he's in my body, he's gonna wanna know everything I know. He found out about the portal, didn't he?"
"Yeah...And I led him to it." Twilight sighed. "I messed up big time. Guess he ended up getting the best of me either way."
"No need to worry, Twilight." But, despite being in the body of a terrifying individual, Ash was there to comfort her along with the rest of her friends. "It was just something that caught us off guard. That's all."
"Ash. Sorry for, um, almost attacking you there." She laughed nervously before frowning. "But now what we do? The only way back to Equestria's out of the picture now."
"Absol."
"Not yet." But Ash knew there was still hope. And there indeed was. Something he recalled from his time with the other Twilight. "There's a gateway that leads to Eindoak Town in this world."
"Eindoak Town?" Twilight looked over.
"It's a town somewhere between Castelia and Nimbasa City. The Unova Region. And since it's close to those places in Unova, you know what that means?"
"I can teleport to Pallet Town..." Twilight uttered with a slight gap. The rules of teleportation did specify that the user had to have visited a certain location to remember it for future transportation.
And Twilight has been to Pallet Town plus Castelia and most of Unova a lot. Truly, there was still hope. Even if this portal was unable to properly work. "Ash, you're a genius! Where's the gateway?!"
"It's at a pretty far forest. But we can get there quicker if we run for it." He explained, looking up north. The forest was the same forest he and the other Twilight tend to do their research together. "We'll get to Pallet Town or maybe Manehattan and warn everyone."
"Wait. How are you gonna get back to your original body?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Oh wait! There's a spell for that, duh. Right?"
"Actually...there isn't. Not that I know about." Twilight shook her head as Rainbow Dash and the others were surprised.
"Wh-...No body swap spell?!"
"No. But there's one that could work well enough. Manaphy's Heart Swap. Hopefully, that's enough to do the trick." Keeping that optimism made Twilight's confidence and smile radiate even more.
"Yeah. Let's go! We'll head to Ponyville and then the Crystal Empire!" Ash raised his arm before hearing and feeling his stomach growling. He hasn't eaten ever since the body swap after all. "But first I gotta eat something..."
That was indeed Ash as Twilight sighed. Ash performs at his best with a healthy and full stomach. Luckily, his friends still had some food for him to eat.
Unova. The White Ruins. Afternoon.
The White Ruins. Built around a dormant volcano, and are located near the Dragonspiral Tower and Icirrus City. This was where Ghetsis and Team Plasma faced off against Ash and his friends with events involving Reshiram and the Light Stone.
And underneath it, that was where Ghetsis had sent Cold, Espeon, Starlight and Hatterene. Buried right underneath it. Unfortunately for them, they had no idea of what location they were in. Cold knew of the White Ruins, but not the underground due to what his memories of the timeline held.
"Are you all okay?" Cold asked them.
"F-Fine...But my hoof hurts." Starlight groaned, laying on a wall. "Wish we never received that sneak attack."
"It'll be okay." Cold said before walking up to Starlight. Thankfully, he had some healing capabilities with him. The little unicorn illuminated his horn, focusing it on Starlight's hoof. He also started healing Hatterene too.
"Espeon." At the same time, Espeon aimed to find a way out of here. And fast. They were fairly deep underground. In fact, they were closer to the buried volcano from this positioning. This underground was murky due to certain events affecting it over time.
But, considering this was an underground system, that meant that Pokemon lived here, no matter what. And the Pokemon living underneath here had shown themselves. With the size of this underground, it was perfect for large Pokemon to reside here.
And considering Ghetsis had experienced the White Ruins, he knew which Pokemon could be found here. Some live above the White Ruins. Conkeldurr, Pidove and Sawsbuck respectively. But underground was a different Pokemon.
Golurk.
"Golurk...!" The sounds of Golurk echoed throughout the area before their silhouettes came into view. Espeon paused for a moment as the ground shook. She looked to the side to see the arrival of two Golurk.
"E-Espeon?!" Espeon gasped before stepping back. But she soon snarled at the incoming Golurk. Little did they know, this was their territory.
"Did Ghetsis plan this?" Starlight groaned while having her injuries healed.
"I wouldn't put it past him. But we're far from home now!" said Cold Colt. "If we don't hurry, we could be too late to warn everyone about Ghetsis!"
"I know, I know." Starlight tried getting up despite her state. Cold had healed her enough thankfully to at least last for a while. "Hatterene. Can you stand too?"
"Hatterene." Hatterene could, thanks to Cold Colt. Soon, they all faced the Automaton Pokemon, knowing that they would have to get past them to reach their friends.
Ghetsis, while losing some of his magic, hadn't given up yet. With his body still in Ash's, he will use any opportunity to gain what he can. Plus, his clones are out there still.
As for Ash, he and Twilight were making their way back. Back to Equestria via a different method of travelling and a way to bring Ash's body back. The only way for it to happen was with Manaphy's Heart Swap. So it was off to Eindoak to Ponyville as the journey continues.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. Afternoon.
Over at the Pokemon House, Fluttershy was feeding all of the Pokemon there. It was lunchtime. Fluttershy and every Pokemon within the Pokemon House weren't expecting any visitors now. Neither were they aware of what was occurring within Ponyville. Then again, almost everypony wasn't aware.
Ghetsis, still in Ash's body, was arriving at the Pokemon House. For him to arrive here, there were two reasons. To steal the magic that Fluttershy had while also hoping to catch some new Pokemon he could find some use for. And he desperately needed some after Cold Cot manage to sap away an impressive amount.
"Scorbunny!" Scorbunny and Angel were currently fighting over the same biscuit, pulling it back and forth. This biscuit must've been extraordinarily delicious for them to fight over it.
"You can both share either way." Fluttershy went up to them as she used her wing to cut the biscuit in half. That was some impressive wing strength for her to do that.
After slicing it in half, they could now have one side respectively. It was good enough for them but they would've preferred the full thing instead. As they started eating, at the same time, Ghetsis was getting closer.
But not without someone walking up to him. Earlier, Rarity told Sweetie Belle she would speak with Ash after the shout. Poor Rarity, much like everypony else in Ponyville is unaware of who was truly here. It certainly wasn't Ash.
"Ash. A moment please." Rarity said, walking up to him.
"I'm busy." Ghetsis replied, walking past him. He clearly wasn't up for more discussion as he needed to get back in motion after what Cold Colt had done.
"Just for a bit. It's about Sweetie Belle and the others." But Rarity persisted in trying to have a chat with him. "I know you must've been bothered or stressed out, but, yelling at them seems-"
"I don't care right now." Ghetsis put his hand on his face before speedwalking. "Leave me be." And with that sentence, he gave a demanding tone. And Rarity could tell as she didn't take too kindly to it.
"Ah. Not even for a bit? What's with you?" Rarity raised her tone, causing Ghetsis to turn his head. "First you yell at the Cutie Mark Crusaders and now your exuding this attitude out. This isn't you, Ash."
"You're right about that." Ghetsis said to himself, knowing that he certainly wasn't Ash. "And get over it. Children need a good yelling too here and there."
"Ah!" Rarity gasped, shocked by Ash's response. She narrowed her eyes before puffing her cheeks and scoffing. "Rude!"
"What's going on here?" Hearing the conversation first was Audino as she and Fluttershy had shown up. They were close to the Pokemon House after all. Ghetsis immediately turned to Fluttershy as he wanted magic from her. Plus Rarity too. He hadn't forgotten about her and the rest of Ash's friends. "Ash? Rarity?"
"Audino?"
"I-It's fine, Fluttershy." Rarity sighed. "Ash and I are just having a less-than-stellar chat. And frankly, I'm willing to leave it."
"Oh. Well, what's wrong?" Fluttershy asked. "Did something happen between you two?"
"Nothing." Ghetsis groaned as he was looking for the right moment to steal their magic. The main problem was Audino and her excellent hearing. The only way to get past Audino's hearing capabilities is by drowning it out with an array of sounds. Unfortunately, Ghetsis wasn't in the heart of Ponyville right now to make that work. But he was close to the Pokemon House.
"Oh, it's something alright." Rarity stepped in front of Ghetsis. There was some slight unfinished business and answers that Rarity demanded. Fried or not, she put the feelings of her little sister above everything else. Ghetsis then glared Rarity in the eyes as they entered a stare-down.
The air was tense as Audino could hear how the wind was changing because of it. Fluttershy as well along with a few other Pokemon nearby.
"Oh my." Fluttershy gulped. Ghetsis was still searching for that moment to strike. He wasn't too juiced with magic thanks to what Cold Colt did, so he had to use his magic less frequently and rely on tricks that he could still perform.
"What does it matter to you, anyway?!" Ghetsis questioned Rarity before allowing small shadows to descend from his fingertips silently. The shadows then started blending in with everyone else's shadows.
The corrupted shadow then moved along, becoming one with the shades that the trees gave off. Ghetsis had a plan to steal their magic without looking too obvious.
"It matters to me!" Rarity exclaimed. "Especially when it involves my friends and family! I'm upset but I want to help my friends at all costs!" She poured her heart into those words. And Ghetsis, aiming to make Ash's life worse, found a good opportunity to give a shocking rebuttal.
"Then in that case, maybe you should reconsider your friends. Or maybe I should reconsider." And after saying that, Rarity froze with shock while Fluttershy put her wings over her mouth. Ghetsis had them right where he wanted them to. A response that would taint the real Ash.
"A-Ash. You can't say-" Fluttershy tried reasoning with Ghetsis, only for Rarity to stop her.
"Leave it, Fluttershy." Rarity lowered her tone before turning around. She was now going to leave out of disappointment and shock. "You can forget about your future clothes, Ash. I'm-"
And right as she would give her parting words to Ghetsis, the shadows had acted out. Since the Pokemon House is surrounded by an acre, thanks to Fluttershy's cottage and current living conditions, that means it was prone to fire. Or in this case, black fire.
The shadows that Ghetsis made had transformed into his signature black flames. The first patch of grass it came into contact with allowed the flames to spark and begin the one thing that could distract Fluttershy and Rarity.
A forest fire. A massive one too. The trees and grass had instantly been consumed and coated by black flames that started roaring. And they even let out a giant roar that caused the flames to rise. High enough for Fluttershy and Rarity to notice.
"A forest fire?!" Fluttershy gasped, seeing the raging black flames as they had spread faster than even the deadliest of wildfires. Fluttershy knew that the Pokemon over at the Pokemon House were in danger due to how close it was.
Ghetsis gazed at the flames with a smirk as Fluttershy flew over to the scene. Rarity also had the urge to help. Fluttershy was her friend after all. But as Rarity ran off, she looked behind to see that Ash wasn't following.
"Ash!" Rarity called out. "Come on!" BUt Ghetsis didn't reply. Instead, he stood there, walking off and not saying a word. As if Rarity couldn't be more surprised. "Fine then Go along! Some friend you are!" Rarity went off to help Fluttershy stop this wildfire. She felt heartbroken that a supposed friend of hers would reject this. Everything she saw was so unlike Ash.
"Good." Ghetsis smiled as his plan was going into full motion. "That should keep them distracted for long. I won't just take your magic...I'll destroy everything around you and this entire world gradually."
Ghetsis then started moving, waiting to sap the magic from them while they were going to be occupied by the flames. And hopefully, after taking their magic, Ghetsis was hoping to see them consumed by the flames eventually. He wanted all of Ash's friends out of the equation after he had some of their magic to keep for himself.
Unova Region. The White Ruins. Underground. Afternoon.
And speaking of taking his friends out of the equation, the Golurk below began attacking Espeon, Starlight, Cold Colt and Hatterene. Ghetsis already knew they could be hostile.
"Golurk" The two Golurk swung their arms, breaking parts of the walls of this underground as they were both targeting Espeon and Hatterene. Cold Colt had his Cubchoo out considering the Golurk were Ground-Types.
"Espeon!" Espeon swiftly jumped over the arm swing of Golurk's Dynamic Punch while also using Shadow Ball. She opened her mouth, hurling a blob of shadows forward. The first Golurk was knocked back by this super-effective hit.
"G-Gol!"
"Hatterene, use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Cubchoo, Frost Breath!"
"Hatterene!" In unison, a breath of chilling ice and rainbow rays of fairy magic were sent towards both Golurk at the same time. The rays battered them like pellets while Frost Breath wrapped around them with an icy force.
"Gol!"
"Now, use Psycho Cut!"
"Cubchoo, use Brine!"
"Cubchoo!" Cubchoo sneezed as he always does, releasing a stream of water from his nose. As for Hatterene, she swung her claw around, sending tearing blades of Psychic Energy.
"Golurk!" The Golurk were once again pushed back, especially from Brine. However, these Golurk were impressively durable, but that was to be expected. In response, the first Golurk had used Flash Cannon while the other used Gyro Ball.
Two Steel-Type moves that spelt bad news for Pokemon like Hatterene and Cubchoo who were fragile against it. The second Golurk started spinning while the other unleashed a silver beam of light energy from its hands.
"Oh!" Starlight gasped as she put a protective spell around her friends. Right on time as Flash Cannon struck the shield. Ripples passed through the shield. Pokemon moves still pose a threat against magic. And Gyro Ball especially, considering that it's stronger the slower the Pokemon is.
"Lurk!" The second Golurk crashed into the shield, making it tremble along with everyone inside of it. Starlight shuddered along with her horn, but she was able to keep the barrier intact.
However, after the second Golurk crashed into the barrier, it started using Hammer Arm along with the other one using Dynamic Punch. They both simultaneously landed the powerful Fighting-Type moves onto the barrier at full force. Way more than what Starlight could handle as her barrier had broken.
And with the barrier shattering, everyone within it had been pushed back by the Golurk. They either tumbled or rolled on the ground. Either way, they had been harmed. And the force of those hits caused the underground to tremble as rocks started falling.
"Ow-ow-ow" Cold held his head as some rocks pelted his head. Fairly larger ones started falling, showing major signs of danger to them all.
But not to the Golurk as rocks were essentially minor tickles to them. They approached the group on the ground with one of them having Flash Cannon ready.
"We don't have to keep doing this forever" Starlight exclaimed. "Let's just find our way back and avoid trying to beat them!"
"Yeah, but that's a bit hard right now..." Cold spoke through his teeth. "I don't know where to teleport or where we are."
"Then I'll go." Starlight stood up. "You're in better shape than me anyway." To break out of here, Starlight aimed her magic upwards, shooting a beam at the top. It was deep underground so one blast of magic wouldn't do the trick. Some extra force was needed.
Golurk had sent out Flash Cannon, only for Espeon and Hatterene to combine their Dazzling Gleams, counteracting the Steel-Type move. After stopping the Flash Cannon, the other Golurk went to grab the two Psychic-Types with its massive hands.
"Cub...Choo!" Only for Cubchoo to use Frost Breath once more via a sneeze. And this time, when it flew over, it managed to freeze the hand of Golurk.
Starlight's magic kept breaking through the top of the underground as the other Golurk witnessed this. To prevent any escape, it had used Dynamic Punch on the top. And with just one hit, the entire underground rumbled with massive chunks of rocks large enough to crush a king-sized bed came falling.
Starlight gasped as the rocks rained down with their massive shadows casting over her and her friends. Once more, she used that large barrier to protect them, but it wouldn't last thanks to the Golurk as they had the means and power to break through it.
The barrier protected them from the rocks, but against the next incoming Hammer Arm, not so much. They were in a difficult spot. A spot that they could only escape from if they can manage to break through the underground.
"Ugh! This could go on forever!" Starlight groaned as Golurk smashed its arm onto her barrier. The barrier started cracking as the other Golurk joined in.
"Wait! I've got an idea!" Creativity struck the mind of the young unicorn. They had to find a way out of here and Cold Colt felt like he had discovered that way.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. Afternoon.
As for the Pokemon House, it was not a good sign. The black flames made by Ghetsis were so destructive and ferocious that not even Water-Type moves could keep them at bay. They could extinguish them but the flames would instantly rebirth and continue to spread with greater malice.
And what's worse, the flames were starting to reach Ponyville as well. Very rapidly with little to stop it. Fluttershy rounded up all the Water-Type Pokemon she could find, only for them to struggle to stop these black flames. Rarity's Milotic couldn't put it out either. She even had her Ampharos and Lopunny out for his. Her Leavanny were all the way back at Carousel Boutique, doing their job and unaware of the incoming flames.
"Why won't they go out?!" Fluttershy whimpered whilst moving back. "They keep coming back every single time!"
"These eternal flames seem to burn on forever!" Zecora said as she and Team Rocket were trying their best as well. "If we can't find a way to neutralize it, then this will be a pointless endeavour!"
"Worse! Look!" James pointed ahead, aiming his finger at Ponyville in the distance. Since the flames kept on burning with barely anything being able to properly slow it down, they had eventually reached Ponyville. And it was too late to stop the spread.
"Pheromosa!" Rarity then turned to her tall partner.
"Pheromosa?"
"Run and get everypony out of there as soon as you can!" Rarity ordered, showing Pheromosa the trail of destruction from the black trails. The trail was so great that many beautiful patches of grass had been wiped out along with trees withering away. And the same might be said for Ponyville. "Milotic! Help her!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa and Milotic nodded as the Lissome Pokemon picked Milotic up. Using her incredible speed, she had zoomed off to save as many citizens as she could. Hopefully in time as the black flames were just as swift as her.
And watching those swift movements, seeing the Lissome Pokemon carry the Tender Pokemon towards Ponyville was Ghetsis. Truthfully, Ghetsis wasn't aiming for a scenario like this so soon. But thanks to Cold Colt, his plans have been accelerated.
He lurked within the shadows, watching the Pokemon try their best to take out the flames. And the Pokemon that were too afraid were being kept at a safe distance. But even that safe distance could vanish with these continuing flames. Fluttershy watched as the exclusive areas for each Pokemon Type and their preferences were being damaged and incinerated by these flames. All that hard work was vanishing before her eyes. But she wouldn't let all of it fade away as every Pokemon did their best.
But as everyone was distracted, now was the time for some magic absorption. He was aiming for both Fluttershy and Rarity. Ghetsis had used a ton of magic for those shadows to summon this fierce fire.
He was already running low on it, so he needed some time to recharge. But he still had some to spare either way. He used the remainder of his magic to manipulate the shadows of Rarity and Fluttershy. One of the few tricks he has that does not require too much magic. After manipulating their shadows, he managed to make them all sink.
"W-What is this?!" Rarity gasped as her body was sinking through. She held her hoof out, trying to escape, only for her next words to be cut off once she was fully through.
"Ampha!" Ampharos and Lopunny gasped as they saw their trainer vanish. Too late to grab her as it had happened out of nowhere. But Fluttershy was delayed as she had yet to sink through.
"Dino! Audino!" Audino went up to Fluttershy, grabbing her hoof as she tried to pull her out.
"Audi!" Fluttershy cried out as Chikorita used her vines to grab Fluttershy. Krookodile joined in, adding his strength into the mix. Scorbunny and Angel chimed in as well.
Ghetsis growled as his grip on Fluttershy was being resisted by the combined force of these Pokemon and a single critter. He wished that he had more magic to pull her through. But only Rarity was successfully caught. Ghetsis decided to release the shadow grip on Fluttershy, settling for Rarity for now.
"Oh!" Fluttershy gasped as her friends had successfully pulled her out. They fell on their backs with Fluttershy landing on Audino's stomach. However, it was not all well. Rarity had been taken. "Rarity! Rarity!"
Speaking of Rarity, Ghetsis made her rise from the shadows. As Rarity ascended, she had shadows wrapped around her to make her immobile. Ghetsis felt himself incredibly low, barely having any magic to manipulate more shadows.
"Ash!" Rarity bellowed before witnessing Ash beside her. "W-What's gotten into-" But Ghetsis didn't want any noise. Not with Audino as a threat. He made the shadows wrap around Rarity's mouth to silence her.
"Quiet. Unicorn magic should be healthy enough to get me back on my feet." Ghetsis said before approaching Rarity. Rarity tried breaking free with her magic as her horn was glowing. Her aim was to try and expel these shadows if she could while also wriggling.
But that wouldn't come to pass as Ghetsis grabbed onto her horn. After grabbing onto her horn, he allowed his Dark Aura to flow through. He took a deep breath as the unicorn magic within Rarity was being passed into him. As for Rarity, she was experiencing a horrible feeling from this. This was much worse than what Tirek had done to her. Rarity could not scream at all for help as it felt like she was being pulled by a powerful gravitational orbit.
Ghetsis' eyes started flashing after gathering the magic. He felt himself being rejuvenated from this. Granted, Rarity's magic wasn't stellar but it was enough. Rarity's eyes then went white from having a majority of her magic absorbed. So much so that she fainted from it. Ghetsis breathed once more before letting go of Rarity.
"Hah..." Ghetsis exhaled before standing upright. Rarity fell to the ground with the shadows separating from her. She was unresponsive as Ghetsis sat down, taking this all in. "I wouldn't have to go through extra steps if it wasn't for that brat. But, nothing wrong with regaining. At least one of these meddlesome friends will be lost."
Ghetsis then stood above the fainted Rarity with his shadow casting. The black flames reached here, threatening to burn this part of the forest down until it was nothing but ash in the wind. Ghetsis knew it wasn't safe for him to be here, even around his own flames.
He immediately sunk into the shadows as the flames consumed everything. Rarity was unable to get away from it due to her fainted status. Pheromosa, Milotic and Ampharos were busy trying to save everyone from their flames.
But it would seem as if their own trainer would be forgotten, lost to these ebony sparks. Rarity's last moments, without her knowledge, could be on this very spot with no one left to find her. Except not.
"Braviary, Superpower!"
"Bravi!" Soaring above the skies and getting a good view of the area was Rainbow Dash's Braviary. The Valiant Pokemon came flying in, flapping his wings while covering them with Superpower. He flapped his wings, creating a wind pressure strong enough to blow the flames back for a while.
Just enough time for Rainbow Dash to swoop in and pick up Rarity from the ground. It was wonderful that Rainbow Dash and other pegasi along with their airborne Pokemon could watch over from above. And of course, Rainbow Dash would watch out for her friends.
"Rarity! Are you okay?!" Rainbow Dash asked. But Rarity was still unconscious at the moment. Having so much magic taken from her after all. Rainbow Dash then hovered above the skies with her partner, watching as the flames continued. "How'd this happen?"
The roofs of homes were being torn apart along with benches being wiped out in an instant. Everypony started running or flying for their lives as their Pokemon tried fending off the flames. Those that could barely escape were helped by Pheromosa's speed.
Homes were being attacked by these flames, only for the trainers to try and push the black flames away from destroying their homes. Aria had her Brionne use Hydro Pump, some trainers tried using Rock-Type moves to block out the flames. Some even tried Flying-Types, hoping for success. Everyone was doing their best.
Mayor Maer instructed her citizens to either stay far distances or try different methods to take out the flames. The little foals were kept as far away from the flames as possible, while their Pokemon tried stopping the black flames
And Ghetsis watched, witnessing the carnage that he had created. But even so, he wasn't satisfied. Ghetsis still needed magic, starving for it. He would try and take everyone's magic if he can.
The Human World. Out in the forest. Afternoon.
"Right there!" Ash pointed ahead whilst running with Twilight. After moving through this forest, they had spotted the gateway that led to Eindoak Town. "That's gonna be a safe way home!"
"Wait, Ash!" Twilight cried out. "Shouldn't we try and have Manaphy use Heart Swap on you first?! I mean if you head back there and show yourself, so much panic is going to go through"£
"Yeah. I guess that would be the best option." Ash nodded before closing his eyes, thinking about Pikachu and the others. "Sorry, Pikachu. Everyone. Just wait for me a bit longer."
"Hold on." Twilight paused for a moment along with Ash. She stood in front of him, having an idea. "I've got something that'll give us an advantage. Against Ghetsis. Hold still for a moment, Ash."
"Huh?"
"Absol, Dark Pulse!"
"Ab...Sol!" Suddenly, Absol struck Ash in the stomach with Dark Pulse, causing him to stagger and almost fall back.
"Ow!" Ash cried out. "What'd you do that for?"
"Sorry. Had to weaken him." Twilight smiled as Ash laughed nervously, After their laugh, they jumped through the gateway, hoping to make it in time.
Little did they know, Ponyville was being attacked by a flame that started from the smallest shadow. And if it was not stopped, it would move across Equestria with seemingly no end in sight. Everyone was in danger right now. And just as Lucien predicted, everything would be thrown off because of this body swap. And it indeed was as the journey continues.
Eindoak. A relocated home of the People of the Vale. It is also where Victini's home resides. A nice and humble town that tends to sometimes hold its signature Eindoak Town's Harvest Festival battle tournament.
As much as Ash would love to reunite with his friends Carlita, Juanita and Damon, he had other friends that he needed to save instantly. He and Twilight had passed through, just entering the outskirts of the town. And since Eindoak was somewhere between Castelia and Nimbasa, Twilight knew where to teleport.
Not in either of those towns. But instead, Pallet Town. All the way in the Kanto Region. Truly a leap of teleportation that was only possible if been in said location before. And Twilight certainly has.
The goal was to get to Manaphy and have Heart Swap take place. But Ash wished to reach Pikachu and the others before. However, he realized that having this appearance and voice wouldn't be a good idea. Especially considering what was occurring in Ponyville.
They had passed through the gateway to Manehattan which resided next to Castelia City. Manehattan was closer to the Crystal Empire. But none of that mattered right now as Twilight could instantly take Ash there. However, even when arriving, Ash would have to say secluded since he still had the appearance and voice of Ghetsis.
"Stay here, Ash," Twilight said to Ash as he hid behind a mountain of snow. "Wait. Before I go, how much distance can Manaphy's Heart Swap cover?"
"Jackie and I managed to swap hearts when he was on a ship, sailing off with the others. So it can cover some pretty good distances. But I don't know about this kind of distance. I mean, Ghetsis could be anywhere else." He shrugged.
"We'll have to test that distance either way." Twilight smiled before heading off to the castle. All Ash had to do was stay here and not get caught. But he was chilly right now. He could use some heating up. Even with Ghetsis' cloak, he was cold. That was just a sign of winter approaching.
Or the influence of Ice-Type Pokemon.
Twilight appeared in the castle, there to request assistance to end this little body swap charade before it causes any more harm. Unfortunately, it already has, unbeknownst to Twilight. All she knew was that the portal to the human world was now disrupted thanks to Ghetsis.
"Cadence!" Twilight entered the room, appearing before her sister-in-law and former foalsitter.
"Twilight. What is it?" Her fellow alicorn asked as she was near the older Flurry Heart.
"Sorry if this seems sudden, but I need your help. From Manaphy." Twilight looked around for baby Flurry Heart. She wasn't here. So she was definitely in her room. "It's about Ash and Ghetsis."
"What happened?!" Cadence asked as hearing the name Ghetsis put her on high alert.
"Well um..they sort of swapped bodies." Twilight squeed, causing the air to become silent.
"Swapped bodies? Oh, did Manaphy accidentally come into contact with them?" Cadence scratched her mane.
"It's unknown how it happened. But since they've swapped bodies now, it's causing confusion. And my friends are near Ghetsis now. I don't know what he could do now that's he's there, but Ash and Ghetsis need to return to their normal bodies right now!"
"Alright, alright. I hear you. All we need is for Ash to be here for Manaphy to make contact. Where is he?" Cadence questioned.
"Right. Just uh...make sure no one freaks out. Especially when baby Flurry Heart sees him." Twilight said, knowing that the baby was absolutely terrified of Ghetsis. Especially when he kidnapped her, harming her family and friends just for power.
The same went for Manaphy. Both were terrified after what happened. Who wouldn't be in their situation? Cadence was hoping for that result.
"I'll try and calm them down." Cadence sighed. "But they won't like it."
"Alright. Just hold on." With a flash, Twilight was out of here, returning to the spot where Ash stood. Ash shuddered, wanting something warm to stand by. A Fire-Type Pokemon would do. "Ash!"
"Ready?" Ash said, breathing out cold air that became visible.
"Ready. Let's just make it quick. I want all of this to be over as soon as possible. I just hope Eve and the others are okay." Twilight nodded, going close to Ash. Once more, Twilight went back to Cadence. But this time, with Ash by his side.
Immediately after arriving, the guards got a major shock and spook after seeing the appearance of Ghetsis. They knew it was Ash but still. Seeing Ghetsis brought back horrible memories.
"Hey, Cadence. Everyone." Ash waved with the voice of Ghetsis. The guards and Cadence nervously waved back at their friend who had the appearance of a dangerous enemy.
"This is awkward," Cadence spoke through her teeth. "Especially with those eyes."
"Yeah, I know. But I know what it feels like to be taller." Ash chuckled. "This'll all be over. And I gotta hurry back to Pikachu and everyone else before they get hurt."
"I understand." Cadence nodded before leading them all to Flurry Heart's room. They had to be careful not to scare her with Ash's current appearance. The reaction would be most likely destructive.
Speaking of Flurry Heart, she was currently within her room, playing with Manaphy, unbeknownst of the events happening. And why would they need to be? They're babies. They have all the freedom in the world until they grow up.
While walking through the hallways, some guards strayed away from the terrifying visage of Ghetsis. The only one unaffected was Flash Sentry. Ash was just wanting this to be over so that all of these odd stares would fizzle out forever.
"Flurry Heart? Manaphy?" Cadence opened the door to her daughter's room.
"Mana?" Manaphy and Flurry Heart looked over.
"You have a visitor. Who's a friend of yours but not really but..." Cadence was trying to find the words to not make her daughter and Manaphy panic. However, through the open door, Manaphy noticed a familiar coloured cloak peeking out. A cloak belonging to Ghetsis.
"Mana?" Manaphy uttered as her face was being formed with fear. She could instantly recognize someone even by the slither of their clothing. Unless they're wearing the same clothes as someone else, of course. By seeing this, she would have two possible responses. Cry or fight back.
Or both at the same time.
"No, no!" Cadence quickly stopped Manaphy, walking up to her. "Listen. Ash is here. But he's not quite himself. He's swapped bodies with a very bad person. So Manaphy. I need you to use Heart Swap to change him back. And Flurry Heart. It's just Ash. So don't be scared, okay?"
"Manaphy." Manaphy nodded in understanding. But Flurry Heart was still intimidated by Ghetsis' appearance either way. But she would try.
"Okay. Come in, Ash." Cadence ordered. Now was the moment of truth. Ash entered with the appearance of Ghetsis. Tall, brooding, but not quite so with the eyes. After seeing him, Flurry Heart's heart started racing as she held onto Manaphy. Just Ghetsis' appearance alone when standing still was enough to remind her of horrible memories.
She could already see Ghetsis standing over many ponies that she knows while harming them. Even harming Manaphy. She even envisioned the sight of a destroyed room, much like what Ghetsis had done when he first came here.
Flurry Heart was still a baby so her reactions to certain things and individuals would go as followed. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore and forget the horrible things Ghetsis had done but it was difficult for her. As a result, her horn started glowing as with impulse, she blew everything with the room back with a pulse of magic.
Everyone near or within the vicinity of the room had been affected. Even Manaphy was forced off Flurry Heart. And poor Ash received the brunt of it despite Manaphy being the closest. He was slammed onto the wall. As if he already hasn't had a tough day.
"Ow!" Ash cried out before slumping on the floor, holding his head. "Oh, man..." He groaned as Flurry Heart's tears kicked in. She was already upset and ready for another wailing breakout.
"I was afraid this would happen." Cadence sighed. "Alright. Let's try-"
"It's fine, Cadence." Ash stood up from the ground, dusting himself. It was as if he barely felt it. He then went up to Flurry Heart while helping Manaphy back onto the bed. Flurry Heart started crying, until, Ash placed his arm on her head. Ash then patted the baby to calm her down. Something he was adept at.
Flurry Heart's crying started to cease as she looked up after feeling a sudden pat. By looking up, she had seen the face of Ghetsis. But not one with malice as before. She looked closer to see how it was a face of comfort. And as a bonus, she giggled after the head pats. They could make any baby laugh after all. And after giggling and looking at his face, Flurry Heart sensed and felt no danger anymore.
"There, there," Ash said. "Sorry that I spooked ya. But I'll be back to my normal self in no time. And after that, how about we check out Alola again?"
"Mana! Mana!" Manaphy hopped on Ash's head as she and Flurry Heart liked the idea of that. Now that she knew this was indeed Ash, Manaphy could use Heart Swap.
"Just knock me out first before you do that. You wanna capture Ghetsis, right?" Ash tapped his head as he raised a good point. Twilight nodded as she aimed her horn at Ash.
With a zap, instead of knocking him out, Twilight just put him to sleep. Instantly, Ash's eyes closed as he fell flat on the floor. He made a fairly hard impact too as almost everyone felt that despite how sudden it was. Now that Ash was asleep in Ghetsis' body, Manaphy could go to work. "Phy! Mana!" The ends of Manaphy's antennae glowed pink as each produces pink energy from them.
The antennae had touched Ash's head, gathering his energy. And once that had happened, a trail of pink energy came flowing out, searching for the target that Manaphy was aiming for but can't quite see.
Ghetsis.
But even if he wasn't here, Manaphy remembered his face, knowing how to swap hearts with. The trail of pink energy flowed through the castle before exiting it. Everyone watched the light travel by looking through the window. They were hoping that the swap could happen before something horrible occurred.
Ponyville. Afternoon.
Unfortunately, with the black flames, horrible scenarios were just ramping up. Everyone was doing what they could to keep the black flames away. And with excellent leadership from Mayor Mare, they were able to keep the flames back. But not put them out. As Zecora said, these flames seemed to be eternal and kept burning on forever. But, there had to be a way to put them out for good.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had placed Rarity in her home for safety. Rarity had her magic taken from her thanks to Ghetsis. Ghetsis was also the reason for these flames. For having little magic after what Cold Colt did to him, it was impressive that he could cause this much destruction. Rarity was still fainted as everyone else down below, dealing with the flames. Or even above.
As for Ghetsis, he was ready to steal all the magic he could possibly find. Some trainers hid in their homes, unable to do anything against the flames due to their Pokemon. It was for their own safety. But also for Ghetsis to strike.
Diamond Tiara stayed in her home, watching many Pokemon moves being thrown at the black flames. She even saw an entire tree vanish and wither away from just a rising flame.
"Purrloin." Her Purrloin stayed close to her as comfort. But it wasn't just Purrloin. Diamond Tiara's parents were there too. Filthy Rich would protect his daughter and even Spoiled Rich. Their relationship had been rekindled over time.
"Can't wait for this to end already..." Diamond Tiara sighed before laying her head on a cushion. "Why can't those flames just go out like normal fire?"
"Ah, who knows," said Filthy Rich. "If there was ever a plausible answer, the most obvious would be Pokemon wouldn't it?"
"It's always Pokemon." Spoiled Rich rolled her eyes, getting a slight chuckle out of her daughter and husband both. Jokes are a good way to momentarily ignore the lurking force of disaster nearby.
And speaking of which, from behind, one of the flames had reached their home. Not only did it reach it, but it incinerated the walls with a destructive outburst and a swift flash. The family gasped as Purrloin stood in front of them on all fours. She was ready to defend what was essentially her family.
The black flames managed to slither their way past everypony else and towards this building. Or rather, someone manipulated them. And that someone was Ghetsis.
Appearing through the smoke of the obliterated wall was Ghetsis himself. The silhouette of Ash could be seen through the eyes of the ponies and Dark-Type Pokemon. For a moment, after seeing his familiar silhouette, they had hope.
"Ash!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed with an open-mouthed smile. "You're here!" Being an idol to everypony, mostly the young foals of Ponyville, seeing Ash here in a time of need was an excellent sign.
Unfortunately, all this brought was despair as another silhouette showed itself. The silhouette of a pony being held. Ghetsis was currently holding the unicorn Lyra. He had absorbed her magic too, allowing him to use more of the flames. Diamond Tiara's hopeful face soon transformed into a frown along with her parents after the dust had cleared.
Lyra was drained, fainting just like Rarity. Her magic had been stripped away and given to Ghetsis. Ghetsis had some extra strength because of this as he had tossed Lyra to the side.
"A-Ash...?" A terrified Diamond Tiara stuttered as Ghetsis turned his attention to her and her family. They were his next prey for magic absorption. After tossing Lyra aside, he approached the family with the black flames rising from behind him. "What are you doing?!"
"Purrloin!" Purrloin hissed at him.
"Mr Ketchum! I don't know what you're-" Spoiled Rich stood up, demanding an answer to Ash's, or rather Ghetsis' actions. It started with him tossing Lyra aside and now walking up to them all menacingly.
But before Spoiled Rich could get her full sentence in, Ghetsis put his hand out, sending the same black flames out as they had forced Spoiled Rich onto the ground. Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich witnessed Spoiled Rich be struck by these horrid flames as she had almost fainted from it.
"Mom!" Diamond Tiara cried out as Ghetsis picked up the pace, running towards them both.
"Loin!" But Purrloin wouldn't allow that. She jumped in the way, using Feint Attack on Ghetsis as a defence for her family. And she got a good hit in, swiping Ghetsis' face with her claw.
Ghetsis grunted for a bit, but he shrugged the swipe off. In response, he gave a simple whack with his arm that sent Purrloin flying across the room. He could get used to having Ash's inconsistent yet abnormal physical strength that he possesses.
"Purr!" Purrloin cried out before crashing into a table. After knocking Purrloing aside, Ghetsis had then raised his arm, summoning flames around the front of the house for an extra blockade.
"I'll start with you." said Ghetsis as he had grabbed Filthy Rich off the ground. But, now that Ghetsis had two arms as Ash, he could do a double pick. And with his double pick, he grabbed Diamond Tiara too.
"Ash! What is the meaning of this?!" Filthy Rich cried out shaking his head. "Is it something that my daughter said?!"
"I didn't say anything!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed. "Ash! Why are doing this?!"
But Ghetsis gave no response. Instead, he cut to the chase, absorbing the amount of magic they had in them. Both ponies started screaming as their magic was being ripped out of their bodies And considering that Diamond Tiara was a foal, he passed out faster than her father. But Filthy Rich passed out afterwards as well.
Ghetsis' absorption was quicker than usual after gathering magic over time. He then dropped the two earth ponies as Purrloin was just recovering.
"P-Purr..." She got up from the rubble of flames before noticing the scene. Her trainer and Filthy Rich were down on the floor. And now, Ghetsis was going for Spoiled Rich as the last source of magic in this house. "P-Purr...Loin!"
"Hm?" Ghetsis heard the sounds of Purrloin before turning his head. The Devious Pokemon snarled before using Play Rough. She leapt off the floor with her paws glowing pink. Purrloin was furious after seeing harm done to her family.
And knowing this, Ghetsis capitalized on it. He picked up Diamond Tiara from the floor with some shadows, holding her in front of Purrloin as a shield.
"Purr?!" Purrloin gasped. She could not harm her trainer no matter what. Just what Ghetsis planned. After using Diamond Tiara as a fake-out, Ghetsis then put his arm out, using one to absorb Spoiled Rich's magic while another to blast Purrloin away. The Devious Pokemon was hit with the black flames, flying back to the same spot Ghetsis whacked her over to. "Loin!"
"This isn't any good." However, despite his absorptions, Ghetsis was not satisfied. He was still missing heaps. "I need something larger. Absorbing the town might do the trick but...perhaps an alicorn would work."
Ghetsis kept moving as the flames kept growing. Speaking of flames, the house was being incinerated from the inside and outside. That involved the unconscious ponies inside as they would be taken by the flames too as Ghetsis left the area.
"P-Purrloin..." Purrloin groaned as she hadn't fainted still. But she had taken a beating by just two hits. The Dark-Type Pokemon stood up on all fours. No bipedal stance for her due to her taking harm. Purrloin watched as everything she loved was being threatened and consumed by the flames. And unfortunately for the Devious Pokemon, she had no moves to stop this. "Purrloin!"
So her only hope was to cry out and hope that someone could hear her and call for help. She then ran next to Diamond Tiara, standing by her side even in this horrifying situation. Purrloin, while weak, would act as Diamond Tiara's shield. And a shield for Filthy Rich and Spoiled Rich. Truly a loyal Pokemon to the end.
And speaking of loyal Pokemon, blowing the flames around this house away were the wings of Braviary. A Braviary belonging to Rainbow Dash. No house would be ignored. And assisting Braviary was none other than Pikachu.
"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu used Iron Tail to break through the window. He had seen Purrloin and her friends in their current state. A terrible one. "Pika-Pika!"
"P-Purrloin..." Purrloin was starting to faint due to the heat of these flames as she could barely keep herself balanced.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu called for his friends. And they arrived. Jumping through the window was Spike's Goodra and Rainbow Dash's Altaria.
If there was one advantage they had, it was that they were resistant to the flames. Normal fire, Pokemon fire or magic fire, it didn't matter. Dragon-Types naturally resist the four main elements no matter what.
Goodra used his horns to pick both Spoiled Rich and Filthy Rich while Altaria would carry Diamond Tiara and Lyra. They had then rushed out of the building before it could catch them.
At the same time, Pikachu was wondering where Ash was, hoping he was okay during this sudden mass wildfire spread. In fact, he hasn't seen Ash for an hour now, making the Mouse Pokemon worry.
"Pikapi..."
As for Ghetsis, he aimed to go on an absorbing spree. With this massive distraction, he could catch anyone off guard by appearing as their good friend Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town.
He has already absorbed over 8 ponies and their magic. Little but enough to get him back on his feet. And right now, Ghetsis was going for the next target that was closest to him. That target was Rainbow Dash.
But as Ghetsis set his eyes on the pegasus, hiding in the shadows, that's when he noticed something approaching from the far distance. A pink glow was radiating. Ghetsis turned his attention towards the pink glow out of curiosity. To see if it was anything interesting.
And it certainly was. From across the Crystal Empire, covering a great distance, Manaphy's Heart Swap was approaching as it finally reached Ponyville. Ghetsis gasped after seeing the pink energy coming his way.
"Heart Swap?!" He cried out before putting his arm. Ghetsis wasn't done with this body just yet. So, as he usually does, he denied whatever opposed him. And he did so by creating a repulsion forcefield around him. This field came into contact with Heart Swap, holding it back.
The pink energies were also being pushed back by Ghetsis' Dark Magic. The darkness within infected the energy of Heart Swap, sending a transmission back to Manaphy in the Crystal Empire.
And at the Crystal Empire, Manaphy received a stunning blowback as her Heart Swap was being rejected. "Mana!" The Seafaring Pokemon whimpered after being staggered. Twilight and the others gasped after seeing her take a hit despite being completely still.
"It's Ghetsis! He's resisting Heart Swap!" Cadence observed from the dark particles rising out of the pink line. But, Manaphy wasn't giving up. She tried linking Ash and Ghetsis further.
"He can resist it!" Twilight turned to Cadence and back at Manaphy. She scrunched her face before thinking of what Ghetsis could be doing or where he could be. Especially with her friends. Since the Heart Swap was being pushed back, the reversion wouldn't be so easy. "I have to go, Cadence! To see if my friends are okay!"
"Go. We'll handle things from here." Cadence replied. Twilight then nodded before focusing her attention on the one place to head back to. Ponyville.
And back at Ponyville, Ghetsis managed to fully fend off Heart Swap. But barely. The clash between his forcefield and Heart Swap forced him to put a ton of effort in. And he didn't have high reserves of magic. Manaphy twitched as she was ready to use Heart Swap again.
Ghetsis took some time to recover, expecting another one. But as he breathed in and out, a nearby pony running for their life was close to him. Just what Ghetsis needed for a quick recovery. This pony in question was Derpy.
"Oh, hey, Ash!" Derpy did her usual greeting despite the circumstances. "I've got-" But she was soon cut off after Ghetsis had grabbed her. "!"
With a swift grab, he had absorbed Derpy's magic. But surprisingly, Derpy did not faint. Yet, that didn't matter to Ghetsis at all. He still got his magic. But the moment he did so, descending to the ground after witnessing it with her own eyes was Rainbow Dash.
"Ash...?" Rainbow Dash uttered. "W-What are you doing?" But just like before with Diamond Tiara's family, Ghetsis did not respond, instead choosing to stay silent. He dropped Derpy before facing Rainbow Dash. "Seriously! What are you doing?!"
"Tch." Ghetsis scoffed as he knew he could get a great deal of magic from Rainbow Dash. With a devious grin and a flick of his fingers, he made shadows appear from every shade of trees nearby. At least, the remaining shades.
"Oh!" Rainbow Dash gasped before being almost caught by them. However, her reaction time was splendid, allowing her to zip out of the way. Ghetsis was ready to use his arms to try and catch Rainbow Dash and take her magic next.
That's when Heart Swap, re-used by Manaphy, came flying in. Rainbow Dash also saw the pinky energy from Heart Swap arriving. It travelled faster this time, heading in the same direction. Ghetsis knew he couldn't take his eyes off of Heart Swap at all.
So, to escape it, he came up with the best solution. He had kicked Derpy towards the pink energy. He used her as a substitute. A successful substitute. The energy had made contact with the wrong individual. Not Ghetsis. And with that failure, Derpy and Ash had swapped hearts.
"That was a close one." Ghetsis said. "Now for you."
"It didn't work!" Ash cried out, now in the body of Derpy. "Rainbow Dash! Little help here!"
"Heart Swap..." Rainbow Dash thought to herself before realizing that Derpy had now been swapped with someone else. And she soon realized that Heart Swap was meant for Ghetsis instead of Derpy. "You...You're not Ash at all."
"You catch on fast too." Ghetsis replied by moving his arms again, summoning more shadows to try and catch Rainbow Dash. One shadow zoomed instantly, wrapping around her hoof.
Rainbow Dash growled, managing to pull her hoof away from the shadow and ripping it apart. But the rest were still approaching. The pegasus started flying through the air. Ghetsis could not keep up with Rainbow Dash. She was too fast for him. But that was to be expected.
"Horrid-little speedster!" Ghetsis cried out as Rainbow Dash then made a turnaround. She wouldn't hesitate to attack Ghetsis at any time as she came diving in with her hooves out first. But Ghetsis took advantage of one weakness.
"Are you sure you're willing to hurt this body?" Ghetsis laughed. "Harming your-"
"Ash has been through worse!" Rainbow Dash instantly answered, throwing Ghetsis off guard. Rainbow Dash would attack the body of Ash Ketchum, but only because she knew how stubborn and resistant Ash was. She crashed into Ghetsis, making a smoke cloud as the shadows faded.
As for Derpy, or in this case, Ash, he had seen it all. He could barely stand as Ghetsis had already drained the body of Derpy from her magic. "Just great...Derpy's gonna get thrown into the dungeon...and I can't move!"
"Wait. Ash! Is that you?!" Rainbow Dash turned to Ash while pinning Ghetsis to the ground.
"Yeah. Sorry about all this confusion. But I need your help. If I can get up first."
"Ash Ketchum. Just you wait when I'm finished with this one." Ghetsis shifted his eyes towards the pegasus before trying to grab Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash fought back, pushing her hooves onto Ghetsis' hands. The two of them entered a pushing struggle feud with Ghetsis trying to shove her off.
"Ash! I don't know if I can do this forever!" Rainbow Dash growled. "He's got your strength!"
"I know!" Ash scrunched his face before slowly standing up. Whether it's a different body, Ash will not waver either way. He dug deep, finding the strength to gt up as Derpy.
"How can you still stand?!" Ghetsis bellowed before using a magic pulse to push Rainbow Dash off. Ash shook his head before looking up at his true body now possessed by a tyrant. "I swear, every time I'm this close to achieving what I need, you and your meddlesome friends somehow turn it around. Not this time!"
"Y-You're something, alright, Ghetsis," Ash smirked as Ghetsis looked down at him. "But, even you can't take on everyone by yourself. You always gotta have someone by your side to help out. No matter what. Lucario!"
And at that moment, Ash called out for his Lucario. Lucario was within his Poke Ball along with the rest of Ash's Pokemon. Now that Ash was here, having Aura within the body of Derpy, his Aura responded to Lucario's.
Ghetsis felt a tremor below him as the Poke Ball inside of Ash's pocket started shaking. Ghetsis had no control over this. And for a good reason. Lucario, after hearing the call and Aura of his trainer, had emerged. He would be in for some news.
"Lucario!"
"Ah!" Ghetsis stepped back as Lucario had arrived onto the scene. The Aura Pokemon stood tall before radiating his Aura. He then looked over at the body of Derpy, knowing that it was indeed Ash.
"Lu." Lucario picked Ash up, carrying him on his back.
"Thanks, Lucario. Sorry that I couldn't reach you I was super far away, ya know." Ash laughed.
At this rate, the scales were tipping to the other side. But not without further destruction. The flames here were still present and ongoing as Ghetsis even summoned more within his vicinity.
"I still have your body. Think you can try Heart Swap again?" Ghetsis scoffed.
"I can't get there. But Rainbow Dash can. Go!" Ash looked up at the multi-coloured maned pegasus. Rainbow Dash knew that she had to get to the Crystal Empire and help Derpy. With an instant take-off, she left a shockwave in the air before flying off at speeds that Ghetsis could not keep up with.
"I don't think so." But he wouldn't allow it either way as he started speaking telepathically with the 6 clones he had made that were scattered now. "Stop Rainbow Dash from getting to the Crystal Empire immediately."
"Luca." One of the traits of Lucario was being able to sense the thoughts of others. And with a pulse of AUra, he rad Ghetsis' mind, knowing what was coming next. Lucario then sent a pulse of Aura for Ash to take in.
"I gotcha." Ash nodded in understanding. Ash couldn't do much now. Not at all. But, even so, he pressed on without giving up. Neither did Ghetsis as they both stood in an area of black flames.
Twilight, after arriving at Ponyville sooner than the Heart Swap, had come across a malicious sight. Ponyville was being swarmed by black flames, courtesy of Ghetsis. Thankfully, none of her friends were harmed. Or so she thought. Twilight went to her castle to see if Cold Colt, Starlight and Espeon were safe.
But they were no longer present here. Still within the underground of the White Ruins in Unova. Twilight was starting to panic, fearing for the worst. But not before looking outside to see Rainbow Dash soaring. "Rainbow Dash."
The alicorn went after her friend, wondering where she was going in a situation like this where everything was being burnt down gradually. She flew out of the shattered window from Ghetsis' attack, going after her friend. "Rainbow Dash!"
"Twilight?" Rainbow Dash responded, slowing down for Twilight.
"Where are you going?! We need to stop those flames!"
"I know! But I gotta save Derpy first before that!"
"Derpy?" Twilight tilted her head. "W-What happened?"
"You know Manaphy's Heart Swap? It didn't hit Ghetsis. It hit Derpy instead." She explained while looking forward.
Oh...Oh!" Twilight soon realized how severe that problem was. Poor Derpy would be imprisoned instead of the actual Ghetsis.
"Yeah. I gotta hurry. But, Twilight. Ash is down there, pretty drained in Derpy's body. He's over there, going up against Ghetsis." The pegasus aimed her hoof in the direction of the area she took off in. "You gotta help him."
"Okay. I'll do everything I can. " Twilight replied as Rainbow Dash increased her speed. It was coming down to the wire. But even when harmed, Ash had Lucario by his side. But Ghetsis had tricks up his sleeve either way. Especially these flames that proved a threat to all.
The challenge to get Ash and Ghetsis back in their original bodies was a difficult one to achieve. Harder than it was to be expected as the journey continues.
The black flames raged on with residents of Ponyville and their Pokemon trying to extinguish them. Ghetsis had caused quite a storm as many homes had been damaged and nearly obliterated by these flames.
As for Ghetsis himself, once more, just like his first, second and now third time, he had an encounter with Ash. And in this instance, Ash's body had been swapped with Derpy after Ghetsis managed to avoid Heart Swap. Now Ash, who was on the back of Lucario, was standing before Ghetsis while the flames consume this part of Ponyville.
And coming to his aid was Twilight who tried to descend. But the black flames were abundant, making it hard to land almost anywhere. The flames were rising to the point where even the skies would be inaccessible. Smoke from these devious flames started infecting the air as Twilight observed from above.
"Ash!" Twilight exclaimed from above. "Are you okay?!"
"Yeah. But I can't stay around here. Even Lucario too." said Ash as Lucario was starting to sweat from these flames. He was a Steel-Type after all.
"Running away? I thought you never backed down from a battle, boy." Ghetsis smirked. "Perhaps this is a good time to permanently get rid of you at last?"
"I don't. And I never will. But I'll defeat you later. Until I save everyone from these flames. Lucario, clear the way with Aura Sphere!
"Luca...Rio!" Lucario then held out his arms, summoning an Aura Sphere to try and blow the flames away. He formed the sphere before launching it towards Ghetsis.
"!" Ghetsis gasped, thinking that he was about to be hit by Aura Sphere. But instead, Lucario aimed for the flames behind him, just scraping Ghetsis. The Aura Sphere had managed to counteract the black flames with its Aura, blowing them back with considerable and effective results.
"Lu!" After that, Lucario jumped over Ghetsis with an impressive leap, heading for the streets of Ponyville. Ghetsis watched the outstanding leap as Lucario landed in the safest area. The one where his Aura Sphere cleared a way. Afterwards, the Aura Pokemon zoomed off to help others. But not without Ash improvising.
"Catch me if you can!" He stuck his tongue out at Ghetsis while looking back.
"Don't think you can escape, boy!" Ghetsis exclaimed as Twilight flew after Ash to help her friends and everypony in Ponyville as well. Ghetsis would give chase to them, knowing how big threats they can be when working together. And especially when Ash gets in the mood of things.
Heading towards the Crystal Empire was Rainbow Dash. The Heart Swap from Manaphy was a failure. It was meant to hit Ghetsis so that he and Ash return to their original bodies. However, Ghetsis, using Derpy as a substitute, meant that Derpy was prone to be sent to the dungeon unfairly.
A rush to help Derpy and tell Cadence the others was made. But not without interference. The remaining clones that Ghetsis had made were on the scene, making sure that Rainbow Dash would not ruin Ghetsis' plans. They were all currently disguised as Nidoking to try and blend in with the environment.
But this time, with the usage of the Shift Stone, they would become another Pokemon. They knew the direction to the Crystal Empire, so cutting Rainbow Dash off was straightforward. Each of them had transformed into different Flying-Type Pokemon.
Pidgeot, Fearow, Honchkrow, Swellow, Skarmory, Staraptor and Mandibuzz respectively. With the Shift Stone, mimicking the flight of the Pokemon was simple. They then took the skies, heading where Rainbow Dash was also headed.
"Hang on, Derpy," said Rainbow Dash. "We'll get your original body back, have Manaphy use Heart-" But she was cut off when a Honchkrow flew beside her. "Huh? Honchkrow?"
After saying its name, Fearow and Staraptor appeared as well. From the other side and behind, forcing Rainbow Dash to look around. This was an odd sight as she was unaware of the clones next to her. And once the rest of the Flying-Types showed up, they started attacking her.
It started with Swellow bashing into Rainbow Dash from the side. A small tackle but enough to kickstart things. "Hey! What are you-" But she was cut off by an even harder hit from Skarmory. And that metal body made it worse. "Ow!"
Soon, they all started bashing and tackling Rainbow Dash from all sides, disrupting her motion in the air and her flight in general. Anything to stop her from reaching the Crystal Empire.
Rainbow Dash didn't have Braviary by her side for this one. He was busy trying to stop the black flames and saving others in danger. Altaria as well. But she did have one Pokemon still with her. Always within her saddlebag.
"Castform!" Out came Castform, using Weather Ball by gathering the power of the sun. He had sent a sphere of fire that had hit Skarmory. And upon striking the clone, Skarmory and the clone Ghetsis, in general, had faded away.
"Fading away into dust?" Rainbow Dash gasped after seeing the clone vanish into dust. "What's up with that?!"
"We're fragile, remember? So don't take too much damage." said the Pidgeot clone. Rainbow Dash recognized the voice as Ash's voice, quickly putting the pieces together.
"Ash? No, wait. Ghetsis!" From each side, she was cornered by Ghetsis clones. Minus the one that had been obliterated. All the clones then focused their attention on Castform, who could easily make them disappear with Weather Ball or Energy Ball.
The clone Skarmory had grabbed the Weather Pokemon with his talons. Skarmory's talons were bigger than Castform's entire body so this was an easy grab. "C-Cast!"
"Castform!" Rainbow Dash cried out before dashing over to Skarmory. But she was quickly stopped after Staraptor had bit her tail, halting the pegasus. "Hey! Let go!" Instinctively in a way Rainbow Dash only knew, she kicked the face of Staraptor to try and shoo him.
The other Flying-Types then swarmed Rainbow Dash, closing the gap on her. They used their talons to hold her, preventing the pegasus' chances of escaping. Castform was being squeezed by Skarmory's talon as both of them were dragged down.
After being dragged down, the group of cloned Flying-Types then pinned Rainbow Dash and her partner to her ground. Delays were now made towards the Crystal Empire. But at this rate, Rainbow Dash might never make it there.
"C-Castform!" Castform cried out, trying to break free as he wriggled his tiny body. But Ghetsis had his Skarmory talon squeeze tightly, preventing him from escaping.
And speaking of prevention, one of the other clones ripped off Rainbow Dash's saddlebag where all of her Pokemon were inside of. Elimination of every chance of escaping was in session.
"Just wait. Once we get you to our real self, all of your magic will be gone. In fact, you're the one we're looking forward to the most." One of the clones said.
"M-Me?" Rainbow stammered.
"You're responsible for that Sonic Rainboom, aren't you?? That spark that led up to you and your friends meeting on a fateful day. You even have some of that Rainbow power in you from what I recall. So, the magic brimming within you must be excellent."
"You won't get a bit out of me!" Rainbow Dash growled before having her face further slammed into the ground. Rainbow Dash had to act fast somehow. And she knew one way to do so. Castform was her answer to that. Rainbow Dash's eyes navigated the area before spotting a Corvisquire moving through the air. "Castform! Reflect Type up there!"
"C-Cast...Form!" Castform looked over at the sky, also spotting Corvisquire. While he may be held down by Skarmory, he could still use Reflect Type either way. He gazed at Corvisquire before copying his typing. And by doing so, Castform's radioactive cells started acting up.
Upon gaining the typing of Normal-Flying, his cells allowed him to create a dual pulse of two Types. Normal and Flying. White energy and an array of feathers burst out of him as all of the clones had been blown back by the pulse. It was so mighty that it ended up destroying them in the process. It was just the right amount of force.
These clones were down and out. And after their defeat, from a great distance at Ponyville, Ghetsis felt this, knowing that his clones had failed. Thus, all of the information and locations of magic that he aimed to discover had been ruined thanks to Castform's highly reactive cells.
"Great job, buddy!" Rainbow Dash hugged the Weather Pokemon. "Didn't even break a sweat!"
"Castform!"
"Now come on. Let's hurry and get Derpy out of there. Then we gotta find the right spot to use Heart Swap on Ghetsis." She picked up her saddlebag as Castform went inside of it. Since it had been ripped off, it could not be placed on Rainbow Dash anymore, unfortunately. But she could still carry it. Once Castform was in, Rainbow Dash held the bag with her mouth before taking to the skies, heading north.
Ponyville. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, Ghetsis had to change his plans after he felt his clones being destroyed. Now, there was a likely chance for the Heart Swap to come through again with Rainbow Dash successfully escaping. After feeling it, he lost Ash within the flames.
Speaking of Ash, he was helping out as much as he could with Lucario blowing away the flames with Aura Sphere. But Ash was mostly looking for Pikachu.
"Pikachu! Buddy!" He cried out for his partner. But, now that he was Derpy, his voice wouldn't be recognizable to his partner at all.
But that's why Lucario exists.
Lucario closed his eyes, searching for Pikachu's Aura. And it was an instant find. Lucario bolted towards the Aura signal while covering his body in Aura as protection.
"Ash!" Twilight bellowed before flying beside him. "Lucario's Aura can protect him from those flames it looks like. Maybe your Aura could do something about these flames too."
"Really?"
"Really. But you're a bit too weak right now. And I don't want you getting Ataxia now of all times. Let's just focus on-" As Twilight spoke, right in front of them, Lucario had almost bumped into someone. But Twilight certainly did. And what she bumped into was a Golurk. Right in the chest too. "Ough!"
After the initial hit, Twilight fell on her back as Lucario managed to avoid the crash. He then stayed on guard against this Golurk, despite having no moves to deal with it. But, there was no need to worry as a head poked out from the side.
And that head was Starlight. Along with Cold Colt and Espeon. They were each behind not just one, but two Golurk. The same Golurk that attacked them in the underground of the White Ruins.
"Espeon!" Espeon cried out, jumping off of Golurk and landing on Twilight, happy to see her trainer again. Upon descending, Espeon started licking Twilight's face out of happiness.
"Eve!" Twilight hugged her partner. "I'm so glad you're okay! And you two as well! Where were you anyway?"
"Ghetsis sent us somewhere in Unova. We couldn't tell at first, plus we met with these Golurk that attacked us," said Cold Colt. "It was pretty rough. Battling against Golurk isn't easy."
"But thanks to Cold here, we managed to get them on our side. He did it by learning a trick from yours truly." Starlight nodded as Twilight narrowed her eyes. She looked closer to see that the Golurk were under mind control. Not control from Hatterene but this time, Cold Colt. A bit nostalgic since Cold Colt's first encounter was mind-controlling a group of Weavile.
Starlight wasn't kidding when saying yours truly.
"Oh right!" Cold gasped. "Twilight! Ash isn't-"
"I know." Twilight then cut him off before nudging her head over at Derpy. "There's Ash. Right over there." After showing them, Ash waved his hoof with his signature smile being shown via the appearance of Derpy Hooves. He still kept that smile either way.
"Oh." Cold and Starlight said. "Wait a sec..." They then realized how confusing this was. Ash was in Derpy's body while Ghetsis was still in Ash's body. That threw them for a loop. "Huh?"
"Look. All we need to do now is help everyone and try and get Manaphy's Heart Swap in position. Ghetsis isn't going to just stand around and let it happen after all. We need to find a way to make him stay still."
"How about I live up to my name and freeze him cold?" Cold suggested.
"Any spell that could make him immobile could do the trick. If we can get past his magical defences." Starlight followed up. "Golurk. You all save nearby Pokemon."
"Golurk."
"We'll have to come up with a plan. But I think I know of a way to handle these flames." Twilight then turned to Ash and Lucario. "Ash. Lucario. Your Aura can protect not only you both but even others. Remember when you used it in Pegalysium?"
"Yeah. We made it break right through Dynasite." He replied.
"Well, then how about this? Out you come, Ninetales!" Twilight threw up her Poke Ball, summoning Ninetales into the scenario.
"Ninetales!"
"Wait! Hold on a sec!" Starlight got in front of Twilight in a rush. "You're not seriously thinking what I think you're thinking?! Right?!"
"Right." Twilight nodded as he already knew where Starlight was going. "It's the one way I can think of getting rid of these flames. But with Aura added onto it. Ninetales. I need you to use your Flash Fire to absorb all the black flames here. Ash. Can you use Aura to protect him? Ninetales can't absorb too much fire or he'll be hurt. I believe Aura's the only way to sustain it."
"We'll give it a shot." Ash was all for it. Granted, this was a risky decision and he knew it. But, it wouldn't be the first time he's taken risks.
Meanwhile, with all of these flames, many were starting to get tired. Mainly the ponies. Pokemon have longer stamina than ponies and most of their trainers in general as they were still going. However, even they couldn't last forever.
And showing up to the scene was Ghetsis, appearing before everyone else. Everypony and Pokemon looked over to see Ghetsis coming over the horizon. They saw it as Ash coming to help. An excellent sign as the sun radiated.
"Oh. Perfect timing, Ash!" Mayor Mare cried out as Pikachu heard Ash's name called out.
"Pika?" With high hopes, Pikachu looked ahead to see the silhouette of his best friend. A smile graced his cute and cuddly face. "Pika-Pi!"
Everyone else was happy that seemingly, Ash was here as the sun could not have had better timing. When seeing Ash, they felt safe every time. But this wasn't the case. As soon as his visage came through, Ghetsis then smirked, knowing what was coming next.
"Pika-Pi!" Pikachu then ran over, wanting to be by Ash's side. The poor Mouse Pokemon was unaware of what was truly afoot. When he got close, Ghetsis then held his arm out.
Just then, the beautiful glow that the sun gave out, was suddenly being blocked out by the black flames, eventually forming into a gigantic array of dark smoke. The fire had raged on for so long that Ponyville had a dark ambience with an abundance of black fire. Soon, the azure skies had been coated by darkness with tiny parts of blue lights shining through. The sun was also barely shining through with small light rays.
"Pika?" Pikachu then came to a screeching halt as everyone looked up at the sky and its dark appearance now. This was foreboding and did not spell wonders or happiness. After doing so, Ghetsis took advantage of everyone's shadow.
After putting his arm out, he then balled it, starting with the shadows of Applejack and her Sceptile. And it soon spread out to all of their shadows. From below and even the skies themselves, shadow tendrils came out. With both arms and control from every shadow in every nook and cranny, he had grabbed everyone by catching them off guard.
And due to them being friends with Ash, it was easy for Ghetsis to catch them all off guard. Everyone gasped as their mouths were agape with shock. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Ash was the one attacking them. But not only that, with his eyes glowing, he also controlled the flames, causing them to swarm around the group.
"Ash! What are you doing?!" Applejack cried out.
"If this is a prank, it isn't funny, okay?!" Some of them bellowed. Soon, other words came flooding in with the ponies wondering what Ash was doing.
"Pika-Pi!" Especially Pikachu. He wanted to know why his trainer was doing this during a dangerous situation that could spell the end of Ponyville.
"Quiet!" Ghetsis used a spell to make his voice echo as it had shut everyone up. The tendrils then restrained them all as Ghetsis could feel them even from a distance. With this, Ghetsis knew he could absorb their magic with this grip. They all started groaning and screaming once their magic was being taken away. Whatever ounce they had in them that is.
And so he did so. He started pulling their magic from their bodies with his shadow grip while also heating them with flames. However, some of the Pokemon started resisting. Mainly Spike's Dragon-Types. Goodra and Haxorus were starting to break free from their strength alone as they fought back against Ghetsis' grip.
"Accursed Dragons!" Ghetsis growled as his focus on absorbing magic had been cut off. Haxorus started biting the shadows, tearing them apart in the process. Goodra used his horns to try and break free. "Your strength is admirable. But soon that strength will belong to me once I control you! I've come this far! So I won't let anyone stop me!"
Ghetsis' yell prompted him to push himself further. He started exuding more magic to try and realize his goals. By exuding more, he had tapped into the remaining reserves of Sombra's magic, using it to his advantage. And with the little amount of Sombra's magic he had left in him, he had utilized the vision of fears to his advantage.
The flames had then trapped everyone as a black smoke of fears went towards the Dragon-Types and even everyone else. They may resist the flames, but fears, that was another story. The smoke had entered their nostrils as they had accidentally breathed them in. And the same went for everypony else and their Pokemon.
Soon, with the influence of King Sombra, they were all starting to experience their worst fears with their eyes whiting out afterwards. Ghetsis took some time to breathe as he had already used up so much magic just to hold this many ponies. It may look easy but the output is tremendous. This would've been a different story if Cold Colt never meddled.
And speaking of Cold Colt, he, Ash, Twilight and Starlight arrived, just in time to see their friends be put into a fear state while also being gripped by shadows and surrounded by black flames that could burn them out at any time. They were too late to stop Ghetsis from draining everyone's magic but not too late to stop Ghetsis.
After absorbing the magic, Ghetsis then opened a gateway below them. This gateway led to another part of the Pokemon World. And joining all of them would be the flames. He was aiming to burn them all out in another world.
"Now's our chance!" Ash capitalized on the situation. Right on time as even his best friend Pikachu could be dragged through and incinerated. Lucario! Double Team into Aura Sphere!" After giving out the command, the others then commanded their Pokemon.
"Eve, Quick Attack! Ninetales, get the flames!"
"Hatterene, Psycho Cut!"
"Cubchoo, use Frost Breath!"
"I would make this town the place where you all rest. But it seems I was too late to change my-" As Ghetsis boasted and taunted, he was met with a surprise attack. From behind. He heard the sounds of someone running, immediately rotating.
In came Espeon at lightning speeds, hitting Ghetsis from the side before he could make a full 180. "Esp!" With that tackle, she had staged Ghetsis.
Just in time for Cubchoo's Frost Breath to come in. The breath of ice swarmed Gehtsis, rapidly giving him a flash-freeze around his arms, legs and torso. "Choo!"
"Luca.!" Lucario then split himself into clones as each of the clones had destroyed the shadows with multiple Aura SPheres. Everyone held by this grip had been freed thankfully as there were enough Lucario's to severe the shadows. And including Hatterene, who had used Psycho Cut to slice the shadows in half.
"You!" Ghetsis growled with his eyes glowing red along with parts of his body. Ninetales came into the fray, jumping straight in the black fire itself. He would be the vacuum for all these dark flames. But not without Ash protecting him. Ash began sharing Aura with Ninetales, at risk of bringing Delayed Aura Ataxia into this.
"Now, Cold! Do it!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Okay!" And of course, there was the one who took away most of his magic before. Cold Colt. He leapt in, ready to take everything away from Ghetsis this time.
"I think not!" Ghetsis shouted with an echo as his glowing red eyes managed to coat Cold's body. These eyes were used as a form of telekinesis. He held the little unicorn in place. Midair too. He prevented Cold Colt from moving forward.
"Oh come on!" Starlight groaned.
"P-Pika...?" The only one resisting the fear magic was Pikachu. He blinked a bit as he had heard what was happening in front of him while also seeing it. "Pikachu?"
"I won't dispose of these ponies and their Pokemon just yet," said Ghetsis as he made the Dark Aura melt the ice away. He freed himself just like that. "Before that, I'll make them see you as their worst fear!"
Ghetsis cackled before causing the visions of fear on everyone to change. They were still seeing what they feared most. But with a change from Ghetsis, it had been altered. Now, the things they hate most were targeted towards Ash, Twilight, Cold and Starlight. They had a burning desire to get rid of what they despised.
"Oh geez..." Cold gulped as all eyes were on him and the others. They even had the signature colours that Sombra used to have when his magic was radiating. "Rainbow Dash, please hurry."
"Nine!" Ninetales had absorbed what he could. The black flames were poisonous to his body. But thanks to Ash, he was able to withstand them. They still stung as they entered his body. Ninetales twitched with black sparks exuding out each second.
His Fire-Type moves were now powered up with a tint of darkness. As for Ash, he was already drained in Derpy's body as using Aura only boosted that. Now he would have to deal with his friends who were being controlled by fear.
"What now?" Starlight started panicking as Ghetsis was leading most of Ponyville.
"It isn't over yet." Ash stood in front of the others before facing down his fear-controlled friends. "We're not losing here. Not like this."
"Give it up already," said Ghetsis. "I've drained the magic of your friends, now using them as my own puppets and I still have your body to boot. I may have lost a lot, but I retrieved a good amount of magic. You and this town will be left in the history books. History books that I myself will form."
"No way," Ash replied before almost fainting. "It isn't gonna happen. Not when I've got my friends to stop that."
"You're still able to continue? You should know when you're beaten, Ash Ketchum." Ghetsis scoffed as all of the fear-controlled residents had surrounded Ash and the others. Pikachu instantly saw Derpy as Ash afterwards. He ran to his partner's side, finally reuniting with him.
"Pika-Pi!"
"I don't want to hurt my friends. Not sure if I have the same strength as Rainbow Dash to do it." A sweatdrop met with Twilight as the sky was not pitch-black dark with no sign of the sun.
"Same here." Cold Colt felt the same way. He didn't want to harm Applejack, who felt like family to him. "Oh, this blows! I wish I was at my best right now!"
"Thanks for the tip about that Sea Temple, princess. I'll keep that in mind too." Ghetsis said to Twilight, shocking her. "And I think I can get used to this. Yes...I'll live like this! I'll be Ash Ketchum! A new Ash Ketchum for those to look differently at. And an Ash Ketchum to rule. One with a younger age. This body swap is the absolute greatest thing to happen so far!"
"You sure are something, Ghetsis." Ash then replied before closing his eyes. "You're just one guy and yet you came this far on your own."
"Hm?" Ghetsis then paused his monologue once as Ash cut in.
"You've managed to outsmart and get ahead of us each step. Even when things look rough for you, you find a way to bounce back and take control of things in your favour." Ash went on.
"Ash?" Twilight looked at Ash.
"Maybe if you were someone different, I could've had a fun and awesome Pokemon Battle with you at all times." He then stood up tall. "Maybe there's a universe out there where that's possible."
"Hmph. I would call this pointless babble, but I'll admit this. You truly do know how to give a retort, don't you? But, you should learn when to quit, Ash Ketchum. Know when you're beaten!" Ghetsis exclaimed as all the fear-controlled ponies and Pokemon attacked Ash and the others.
Twilight and Starlight combined their forces, making one large forcefield of magic. One from an alicorn and the other from a high-level unicorn. Pokemon moves were thrown at them, causing the combined forcefield to shake.
Ash didn't want to harm his friends. He was holding onto one last thing. Ninetales was the same as even though he had so much fire in him, he would risk incinerating them all. The barrier was starting to break as Twilight and Starlight could not hold it for much longer. Ghetsis turned around, recovering himself as he was waiting for the shield to break.
But Ash had the right idea to always count on hope. And especially count on one of his friends who just so happens to be one of the fastest individuals he's ever met.
Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash had returned. And alongside her was Cadence and Manaphy. Plus, the body of Ghetsis that had Derpy within. Manaphy was now closer to Ghetsis, which meant that Heart swap could travel at a faster distance. Cadence held Manaphy into the air. Her antennae connected with Derpy's head as the pink energies began moving.
From only a few feet, the pink light rushed at great speeds, targeting Ash to reverse the swap. It passed through the rubble and leftover flames that Ninetales couldn't manage to absorb. None of that mattered as it was going at full force. And if it could travel through those, it could certainly travel through a nearly destroyed barrier.
The pink light then struck Ash's body as the swap could begin. In a flash of pink light that illuminated the dark ambience, Ash and Derpy had swapped. Their souls moved rapidly with the balance almost being resorted. Once they swapped, Ash was more active in Ghetsis' body. He was both wide awake and healthy still.
And now with one body swap successful, there was one more left as Manaphy used Heart Swap again, touching the back of Ash's hair.
"Go, Ash!" Cadence exclaimed.
"Okay!" Ash nodded before rushing off to the scene. His body was radiating a pink light as the light was also following him to Ghetsis, being his guiding light. Ghetsis, after recovering, saw that the barrier broke. Twilight, Cold and Starlight were now vulnerable.
"I didn't get the chance to finish absorbing all of your magic, princess. Alicorn magic is what I yearn for." He spoke before approaching her. Lucario, Ninetales, Pikachu, Cubchoo, Hatterene and Espeon stood in the way, however.
"Ghetsis!" Just then, Ash called out Ghetsis' name. Ghetsis pulled his hand before facing the other side. But as soon as he did so, he was immediately met with Ash holding his arm out.
"You!" Ghetsis gasped after seeing Ash leap towards him. It was so sudden and rapid too, giving him no time to counter this with a spell. And not only that, once Ash touched Ghetsis, the light of Heart Swap came through.
It felt like time froze once they connected. The speed of Heart Swap was the reason for that. With this up-close contact, the swap was instant. Both of them felt the rush of adrenaline pass through as a dome of pink light formed before fading away.
And with that, the swap was successful. Ash's true heart returned to his body while the same went for Ghetsis. Manaphy's Heart Swap was truly the only way to fix this. With the transfer over, both Ash and Ghetsis fell to the ground.
But not before some tumbling. They both started tumbling away before coming to a halt. Ash got up first with Ghetsis second. They both then noticed something familiar. For starters, their voices were back to normal and they were still wearing the same clothes from yesterday.
"Ah! Yes! It worked!" Ash cheered with his arms up. "Thanks, Manaphy!"
"Ash! You're back!" Twilight gleed with giddy as Cadence arrived at the scene.
"Pika-Pi!"
"Twilight. I'll deal with this issue." Cadence knew how to deal with those that saw fear. Ghetsis was using Sombra's magic, so the solution was simple. And she had the magic to do so.
As for Ghetsis, after he stood up, he witnessed Pikachu and Lucario hug him. His plan to stay in Ash's body was a failure as he was back in this. "No! This can't be! Manaphy! No worries. I can always-" He went for Hydreigon's Poke Ball, only to find that it wasn't there anymore. Along with his other Pokemon. "What?!"
"Hah! Tough!" Rainbow Dash grinned with her hooves crossed. "I did the honour of taking your Pokemon away. Ya won't be needing them for a while, will ya?"
"Why you...!" A vein appeared on Ghetsis as he wasn't too happy about that.
"Let's end this! Ninetales! Let all of your flames out!"
"Nine...Tales!" Ninetales could finally use the black flames that he had absorbed. And he did so by unleashing a giant burst of black and red fire that went straight towards Ghetsis.
But even without his Pokemon, Ghetsis was still dangerous. He put his arm out, forcing a protective force of magic. He still had some to spare. However, having his own magic be turned against him in the form of a powered-up Fire-Type attack was difficult. "I-I won't lose!"
"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash instantly commanded Pikachu to take action.
"Pika...!" Pikachu jumped into the air, slapping his red sacs before sparking up some volts. His body was enveloped in a beautiful golden electric aura that broke through the darkness. "Chuuu!" The Mouse Pokemon then curled up a bit before sending a bolt of 100,000 volts.
Combining that with Ninetales' attack and did the trick. Ghetsis failed to defend himself against such a combo. It broke through his defences and blew him back. His eyes widened before that, knowing he was beaten. And now, Ghetsis knew what Team Rocket felt like. However, in this case, he was flying forward instead of upwards.
And with good timing. Cadence broke everyone's fear with her magic, preventing this scenario from escalating any further. They all came back to reality.
"Hah..." Ash took a deep breath as there was no sign of Ghetsis. Talk about a launch. Now, it was over. And with that, Ash fell on his back with relief. "Finally...It's over."
But it wasn't. There was one major issue. Ghetsis had given Ash a bad look to everyone in Ponyville. They now saw Ash as the victim of this attack as they saw him use the flames as well. Ash sat up before noticing meany horrid looks at him.
"Oh...uh...Hehehe." He laughed nervously. "Guess there's that problem, huh?"
"Ash...!" Carrot Top growled as many were ready to say what they wanted to say and even do less-than-pleasant actions to Ash. Some involved attacking.
"How could you...?" Roseluck muttered with disbelief.
"Were you just planning on doing this the entire time or what?!" Bon Bon roared.
"Hold on, hold on!" Twilight and Cadence got in the way. They could vouch for Ash along with Cold Colt, Rainbow Dash and Starlight."Hear this before you say anything!"
Bidoof Beach.
As for Ghetsis, he was blasted all the way towards the end of Bidoof Beach. Ghetsis laid on the sands with his clothes damaged. He almost went unconscious from that combination attack. He had lost once more. And he hated it more than ever.
"No..." Ghetsis stood up, getting on one knee before slamming his fist on the ground. "No! No! No! How?! How could I lose again?! I don't understand!"
Frustrated beyond belief, Ghetsis could only take out his anger by hitting what he could. He had no more dark magic to show his anger right now. "Again and again! What am I doing wrong?! Why can't I win!" He screamed into the sky, demanding answers to his loss against Ash and his friends.
"My. I thought I could get heated." But here to speak with him was somepony else. Somepony that was still an ally to him. Ghetsis paused for a moment as a gateway was right behind him. And passing through that gateway was Daybreaker.
"Daybreaker?" He said.
"I heard it all." She replied afterwards. "You losing. Again. What a shame. But, Ash does have a point. It's commendable that you made it this far by yourself with no assistance. You're almost a one-man-army. Almost. But there's a reason you lost?"
"And what's that?"
"You're too dependent on yourself. You think you can take on everything on your lonesome." Daybreaker shrugged. "I swear. You worked better with your Team Plasma. You're strong Ghetsis. And very stubborn. But you can't win something like this alone. You need help."
"Tch." Ghetsis scoffed. But Daybreaker had a point. Most of Ghetsis' earlier wins in Equestria were the result of him and Team Plasma. One cohesive group that had great teamwork. Ever since Ghetsis went on his own to improve, he lost sight of that. Thus, leading to this failure.
"But don't worry. I can help. Partner Team Plasma with the Solar Empire. I mean we already are. Stay in my universe for a while. Empress Twilight is there too."
"Her? Why?"
"She lost horribly as well. Although, she actually had support in that instance. But then again, she's still young and has much to learn. You and she are so alike."
"We are?" Ghetsis squinted.
"Mhm. You're so eager for power. Just hungry for it non-stop. And I don't blame you. Power is irresistible. You want as much as you can get, no matter what. But, it can only get you so far. That's why you need to spice it up. Find alternate ways to gain power. You and Empress Twilight failed to see how your relentless thirst for endless power was moving too fast, costing you all. You might be threatening and certainly have an arsenal worthy of recognition. But there are limits."
"..." Ghetsis could not argue back against that. For once, he had no clever or cocky retort. He just closed his eyes, balling his fist in defeat.
"But don't worry." Daybreaker then faced the gateway to Universe 11. "I will show you what it means to truly obtain power. Come. We have much to do."
Ponyville. Late Afternoon.
After explaining everything to everyone, the residents of Ponyville understood it all. Body swapping can lead to scenarios such as this. Ash could finally catch a break as he was glad his reputation and status hadn't been tarnished and sabotaged fully.
Ponyville was a wreck. The flames had damaged so much it was absurd. Thankfully, Cold Colt had a friend who could fix this. Emerald Aura. Ponyville was back to normal after Cold got in touch with her.
Emerald was of great help. She even agreed with Cold's request to restore the magic stolen from everyone. After doing so, she would leave. "Great to come around and see you like always, squirt," said Emerald. "Next time, you should try and solve these problems when your magic improves."
"Oh, I will. Trust me."
But Ash just wanted to get away from that body-swapping nonsense. Once more, he was hungry. Luckily, Pinkie Pie saved the food that Delia brought him. It was still in one piece, undevoured.
"Ah...Finally..." Ash sighed before looking at the amazing food.
"I totally knew it wasn't him!" Scootaloo said with a cocky smile, acting tough. When in reality, she was still affected by Ghetsis' yell. "Ash would never yell at us like that."
"Yeah right..." Sweetie Belle silently replied.
"Sorry for that, you three." Ash apologized to them all. "And everyone."
"But you didn't do anything, Ash. It was Ghetsis," said Rarity. "Responsible for causing so much harm to us, stealing our magic and so forth."
"I know. But I kinda feel like I gotta you. My mouth after all." He chuckled. After all of that, he went back to things as if they were normal. "But. We can't slow down now."
"We can't?" Twilight repeated.
"No way. That body swap wasn't from Manaphy. If I had to guess, Lucien and Sienna were because of it. We can't let them keep doing stuff like this. Or else next time, it could be even worse. Plus, I promised to bring the Rift back to its parents.
"I suppose you're suggesting we finally take action on those two?" Rarity spoke.
"Yeah. Plus, there's the Sea Temple too now that Ghetsis knows about it. We can't let him find out how to get to it as well. We'll have to give it more than 100% percent if we want to protect everyone and everything we love."
"I hear ya, Ash." Rainbow Dash patted him on the back. "Good to have you back anyway."
"Good to be back. Now let's eat!" Ash clapped his hands together before beginning his devastatingly wild devouring of the food in front of him.
"Pikachu!"
And of course, he shared with his friends. They deserved some food to eat after that rough experience. And after going through what felt like a nightmare, they were stronger than ever. They grew as stronger Trainers and gained extra resilience to black fire now. Neat.
High above the skies, Lucien and Sienna watched as it all came to a close. Sienna then laid on a cloud, feeling proud of her achievement. "Well, that's that. I wanted it to last a bit longer but that was great either way. Best plan ever. Top that?"
"Technically, I made this entertaining." Lucien interrupted.
"What?!" Sienna then stood up with a roar. "It was my idea!"
"True. But I was the one who gave Ghetsis his Dark Aura and magic even in Ash's body. Face it. If I didn't do that, this would've been over sooner. Gonna have to try and beat that."
"Oh, I will. Just you watch. I'll have something beyond the body swap. And it won't be focused around Ghetsis this time!" She crossed her arms as their rivalry continued.
It's been 2 days since Ash and Ghetsis went through that body swap debacle. Everything has somewhat returned to normal. However, after what Ghetsis did, some damage had been done. Even though he lost, he's learned quite a bit. Plus, in the few hours that Ash and Ghesis were away from each other, Ghetsis managed to do so much that had affected Ash's reputation.
While all of Ponyville knew of the body swap, everywhere else was a different story. Ash was outside at the Canterlot Gardens which was just near the Pokemon School. He needed some time to rest after everything that has happened.
But aside from that, the Pokemon School was in session as always. And this time, the focus was on Roxanne's class. And as always, it was on the topic of music. They had already covered a lot with the hours they had left. Right now, it was about to finish for this class as they would go home early. So Roxie had to be quick.
"Yeesh. He's had it rough, huh?" Roxie looked outside the window to see Ash in the gardens. "Kinda impressed how he can keep going after all of that."
"He's amazing isn't he?!" Sweetie Belle said with glee.
"I'll say. Okay, you guys!" Roxie exclaimed. "I've got you all the instruments you wanted. Wasn't easy. Getting and making instruments for your size and preference was pretty tough. Plus, hooves are kinda hard to deal with it."
Indeed, Roxie, who has encouraged her students to be more passionate about music, got them all their own instrumental sets. What they preferred and what they believe they would work well with. Since they were all foals, these were miniature versions of popular instruments.
The only ones that weren't new were violins, trombones and drums since ponies can already play those without issues. But considering Roxie's all about rock, it was clear which instruments were the most common to use.
"Thanks, Ms Roxie!" Scootaloo held a guitar that was suitable for her size. "You made all of these for us? Wow!"
"Well, not just me. I had help. From the same guy who made my instrument back in the day. He's a real craftsman about all this stuff."
"So, we're gonna finally play some real-real music?" Sapphire Flash said while having a violin.
"Like in a band?" said Sweetie Belle.
"Today's that day. We're gonna rock so hard that all of Canterlot is gonna know about us. No! All of Equestria! Even better! This whole world! Even more than that! Both worlds!" Roxie was getting into it as she pumped her fist into the air. And with her enthusiasm, everyone else did the same with their hooves.
"Yeah!" They all screamed in unison. Roxie knew how to fire everyone up.
"Now let's-"
"Roxie!" But ruining the mood via a heavy door open was the voice of a fairly burly man. Roxie and everyone got startled as they froze in place. Roxie recognized that voice instantly and the aggression behind it. All the students sat down as if an imposing force had shown up.
And indeed there was an imposing force here. One of the teachers, Drayden of Opelucid City had shown. His presence made everyone silent and Roxie petrified. The Poison-Type specialist then slowly turned around, giving off an innocent smile to try and sway Drayden.
"Y-Yes, Mayor Drayden?"
"Hmm...!" Drayden grumbled before holding out a sheet. This sheet turned out to be about the Unova League and the Gym Leaders that major obstacles towards the league. Drayden then pointed at Roxie's name on the sheet. "It has been 2 weeks. 2 weeks of you skipping missing out on your Gym Leader duties. Many trainers are waiting to earn their final Gym Badge and make it to the Unova League. What have you been doing this whole time?!"
"S-Sorry, Mayor!" Roxie bowed her head in apology. "I got really into making instruments for the kids! I wanted to make sure they had the best stuff they could have so it took longer than I thought!"
"I understand teaching here, but you're still a Gym Leader after all. Don't let that slip away from you. And again..." He sighed. "We've been over this. I'm not even Mayor of your city."
"Yes sir!" Roxie then started calling her sir. "Sorry, sir!"
"You can make up for all those missed Gym Battles tomorrow. Spend hours there against the trainers who have already completed their 7th Gym Battle."
"I'll take full responsibility, sir! Totally!" She then saluted.
"Alright then. Good luck with your lessons." Drayden then left, closing the door and hoping that Roxie would do some catching up. Missing out on two weeks was a big deal for a Gym Leader. It was essentially delaying a trainer's pathway to the league.
"Hah..." Roxie let out a sigh of relief before facing her students. "Almost blew that one. Talk about some corrosion."
"Are you gonna be okay, Ms Roxie?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be fine. Just got a lot of work to do tomorrow. And a lot of battles to go through." She chuckled to remain optimistic. "Let's uh...take it slow this time, okay?"
"Aw, slow?" Rumble groaned.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But we'll pick things up along the way. That's music for ya." She replied. "Let' hear each of you play and see what you've got. Sweetie Belle."
"Mm?" The unicorn was alert.
"Let's use our imagination for this. Close your eyes and let me see you play that harp."
"Close my eyes?"
"Yeah. Just break through those conventional obstacles and let your mind do what it wants you to, okay? And also feel what it...well...feels like."
"Got it." With that order, the little unicorn closed her eyes. She had her mind only set on the harp as she placed her hoof on it. The strings on this harp were made to tailor to Sweetie Belle's preference. These strings were also made from an Oval Charm.
With some tweaking, it was capable of being utilized by a pony. Sweetie Belle started strumming on the har, but the melody was only 7 seconds long. But it was 7 seconds long of good sound. And as she closed her eyes, she felt like she was on the beaches of Alola right now with the crashing waves.
"Feels good?" Roxie nudged her.
"Feels good!" And Sweetie Belle agreed.
"Awesome stuff. Here." For a reward, Roxie tossed Sweetie Belle some candy from her box. Sweetie Belle grinned, having her magic catch the sweet midair. "Okay. Sapphire. How's your violin skills? You hyped it up pretty big last time. How does it feel to play it?"
"Good as they can get so far. When I play it, feels like experiencing Las Pegasus for the first time again."
"You've been to Las Pegasus?" A student said. "Lucky."
"Let's hear it then. I wanna know what a big-time place sounds like."
Sapphire started playing her violin via her magic. She already had some experience with it so she was not a novice. Roxie was lucky to teach the children and not those around her age like Twilight and the others. It helped her teach new blood about variants of music.
When Sapphire played the violin, she wasn't kidding when saying it felt like experiencing Las Pegasus. The sound that came from the violin had a sort of jazzy feeling to it. Roxie could picture herself in someplace similar to Las Pegasus. AKA Nimbasa City. One that she was familiar with.
"Great, great. Makes me wanna head to Nimbasa right now. Those football games get pretty good." said Roxie. "How does everyone else feel? Sunrise. What about those drums?"
"Well um...I don't know." He scratched his mane.
"Come on, we learned about this a few weeks back. You've got something with those drums and I want to hear all of it. Plus, your Gurdurr has something there too. Kinda surprised those steel beams haven't broken the drums yet. Just show me your imagination."
"But he's got no imagination." There went Sapphire, teasing Sunrise as always.
"Yes, I do! Watch this!" He then used his magic to raise the drumsticks. And the moment he started drumming, he was envisioning his big brother Daylight Blazer. The pony who he looks up to the most. The way he was drumming had the momentum of a Pokemon Battle. Something that Roxie could relate to.
"Nice. That reminds me. Tomorrow. You can all come to my Gym and watch me battle. You'll learn from that too."
"A Pokemon Battle's always fun!" Rumble shouted.
"It sure is." Roxie gave a thumbs-up in response. "Okay, but there's another sound we need. Like singing. And a bunch of other stuff. Like naming our band. And maybe getting some sweet clothes too."
"Ooh, can I name 'em?!" Apple Bloom raised her hoof along with a few others who had names of their own.
"Will get to that when we get to it. Now, let's make all of those sounds come together." Roxie then cleared her throat. "Scoot. Play that electric guitar and follow me. Remember what I thought you."
"Okay." Scootaloo held her electric guitar as she was using her wing to hold a custom pick. This pick was made for her, crafted by Roxie's own hands.
"Pluck along with me, kid." Roxie started off by playing a small tune of one of her favourite songs. Afterwards, Scootaloo followed, playing that same tune as well, but hers had a different pitch, yet sounded the same.
Roxie then went for another tune, playing the strings to a different song. She even put some emphasis by nodding her head to the tune. Scootaloo did the same with her electric guitar, also nodding her head.
"Yes...!" Roxie was feeling Scootaloo's momentum as she was a quick learner as much as she is in a Pokemon Battle. Fittingly, all of this was meant for Pokemon Battling. Roxie's unique take on it that also seems to exist within Vinyl Scratch.
Scootaloo was getting into it as she kept following all of Roxie's movements carefully, wanting to do her best. And when she wishes to do her best, she makes great progress.
"Okay. Awesome. Stay right there." Roxie pointed at her before gazing at the rest of the students. "Amber. Play that piano. Let's use the tempo of the song we listened to last time."
"Uh, sure." Amber nodded as she looked at her piano. She then started playing on the keys as Roxie and Scootaloo started playing to the rhythm of the song. Roxie was getting ready to sing, but she wanted some assistance with that.
"Who here wants to sing along with me?" Roxie then wanted some backup singers. The ones to raise their hooves were Sweetie Belle and Sapphire Flash. "Sweetie Belle. Sapphire. Drop those instruments for now and sing with me. Sunrise, you stay on those drums."
"Yes, ms!" Sunrise exclaimed.
Roxie started banging her head as she would sing from the beginning. Sweetie Belle and Sapphire would be her backup singers for this. Roxie was about to sing...
Until the bell rang.
That was it.
And immediately after hearing the bell, the students placed everything down as Roxie gained a frown on her face. At the worst possible time for the lesson to finish. After the class had finished, the students started leaving with their instruments being left here. They would return for them in the next lesson as they were school property still.
"Seriously? But I didn't finish teaching you guys how to bring all the sounds together yet." She sighed.
"Sorry, Ms Roxie. Maybe tomorrow you can do it," said Apple Bloom.
"She's gonna be at her Gym tomorrow. Plus, we're gonna be there, right?" Scootaloo replied.
"Right. Right. Head home and show up at Virbank City for another lesson." Roxie twirled her head as all the students had left the scene. A shame they couldn't fully play today.
But as they left, along came Dew Drop who was a part of this class. She waited for almost everyone to leave until the only ones left were her and Roxie. She had something to say.
"Um. Miss Roxie."
"Hm? Yeah, what's up, Dew?" Roxie asked the shy pony.
"I want to sing too. Like Sweetie Belle and Sapphire. And you as well."
"You want to sing? Well, why didn't you raise your hoof when I called for you?"
"Sorry about that." She looked to the side.
"Well, don't worry about it. If you want to sing then you've got the position." She kneeled to get on her level. "We'll do great together when we jam out. Okay?"
"Okay. Thank you, Ms Roxie." A smile graced her face.
"Awesome. Now head home and get ready for tomorrow. Music is just one way to battle after all."
Roxie was ready to leave back to Virbank. She would have to take the Manehattan gateway to Castelia since there was still a gateway problem across Equestria. And as she was about to leave the school, she came across Ash in the hallways.
"Hey, Ash!" Roxie called out for him before running over. "You doing okay? You know...after all that stuff that happened 2 days ago with Ghetsis."
"Roxie. Doing good. Still, pretty burnt out though." Ash said.
"Pikachu."
"I've been thinking of taking things easy and having fewer battles here and there. But I also have a lot I gotta do. Like helping Celestia and making sure nothing bad happens to the Sea Temple. Then I gotta help the Rift and get it back to its family. Cheer Twilight on in the Friendship Games. Stop Lucien and Sienna. Deal with Aura Ataxia and...Yeah." Ash sighed. "There's a lot, alright."
"You're a real trooper for doing all of that. But you need to take it easy." Roxie put her arm around him. "Look. Head to Alola, Undella Town or even the Resort Area. Take your mind off all that stuff and do what you love best. Like me. Rock makes me take my mind off stuff always even if it's super loud."
"Yeah. That'd be awesome." Ash agreed with a nod while staring into the air.
"How about this? Come and check out my Gym Battles tomorrow over at Virbank City. And uh...how are you at singing?"
"Pretty decent." Ash shrugged.
"Good enough." She then removed her arm off of him. "I'll see you at Virbank City Gym tomorrow then?"
"Sure thing. I'll be there, Roxie!"
"Pikachu!"
Virbank City. Virbank City Gym. Afternoon.
Over at the Virbank City Gym, Roxie had some catching up to do. Many trainers who had already defeated the 7th Gym have been waiting a total of 2 weeks just to get their final badge and reach for the league. But thanks to Roxie's absence, the Toxic Badge had been straying away from them for a while.
14 Pokemon Trainers. Each having powerful Pokemon and a team full of 6 for Roxie to overcome. Roxie's gym had the unique rule of allowing Trainers to use 6 Pokemon while she stuck with 3. However, Roxie was no pushover. After all, Gym Leaders are constantly holding back, just to give the upstart trainers a fighting chance.
Gym Leaders at their best are almost as strong as an Elite 4 member. And Roxie was no exception. Ash was here, watching Roxie battle all 14 Trainers back and forth. Right now, Roxie was going up against her 7th Trainer. She had beaten three of them beforehand and lost to three more, giving them the Toxic Badge.
And as is tradition, here in Roxie's gym, she had fans of her music who would come over to cheer her on and listen to the music she had to offer. Truly an enjoyable gym.
"Scolipede, Steamroller right through with some nice brute force" She commanded her Scolipede.
"Scol-Scol!" Scolipede had curled her body to match a ball, much like her second evolution Whirlipede. The Bug-Poison-Type then raced at her opponent which was a Donphan.
"Donphan, use Rollout!"
"Do-Do-Do-Donphan!" Donphan did some rolling of its own, rushing towards Scolipede. Both Pokemon crashed into each their spinning moves. Afterwards, they had separated from their spinning clash. But not before Scolipede left something in particular.
Her ability, Poison Point. Donphan had been poisoned because of it, staggering for a moment as its face had a poison streak. "D-Don!"
"Ah! Donphan!"
"Hook line and sinker! Now, Venoshock!" Scolipede fired a stream of purple liquid from the side of her body afterwards. And since Donphan was now poisoned, the power of this attack was doubled.
"Don!" Donphan had been hit by Venoshock and it hit like a truck with this doubled power. Donphan stood for a moment with opened eyes and a mouth. But not before falling on its back after such a powerful attack. It had fainted.
"Donphan's unable to battle! Scolipede wins! Which means win the winner is Gym Leader Roxie!" The referee of this Gym announced. And once Roxie won, all of her fans went wild, cheering for her victory. Usually, this would be the part where Roxie sings a victory song. But she wasn't feeling it right now. Whether from battling so many trainers and having to battle some more for the day or how she has a song already in mind later on tomorrow.
She had to move on to the next opponent. The 8th challenger and then a few more for the day. Plus, later in the afternoon, more trainers to catch up with.
"Awesome! I'm psyched after watching that! I wanna try having a quick battle with her!" Ash got all giddy.
"Don't you think you should take a break from battling, Mr Ash?" Sapphire said. "I mean, after what just happened and all that."
"I know." He chuckled. "Couldn't help it. I know I should be taking things easy like Roxie told me. But Pokemon battles just pump me up, ya know."
"Can't you just stay home for a few days or weeks? That's what I do sometimes." Sunrise suggested. "That way, you'll be so relaxed, you won't even notice a bunch of days went by."
"Probably why you're pretty slow with things all the time." Sapphire snickered with Sunrise growling at her after her usual teasing.
"Try something less energetic. That Ata-Atax..." Diamond Tiara was trying to find the word for Delayed Aura Ataxia. "Oh! The Ataxia thing's a big threat, isn't it? You could pass out at any time if you use too much aura."
"Wait. Ash always uses Aura when battling." Sweetie Belle looked at Diamond Tiara. "A bit of it sometimes. Does this mean he has to stop battling for a while?"
"That'd be lame." Scootaloo, Sunrise and a few others groaned.
"Nah. You all don't have to worry about what I do." Ash slumped on the seat. "But ya know...it can be pretty exhausting. Doing so much for a lot of your friends."
"Are we gonna go through that one day, Mr Ash?" Dew Drop asked.
"Yeah. There's always a lot to do. Even if you're ready for it or not." He nodded. "But, I haven't let that stop me before in the past. And it shouldn't stop you guys when you get older. Okay?"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Yes sir!" All of them cried out after receiving a quick lesson from Ash based on his personal experiences. They then all continued watching the battle until the last ones came and went.
1 hour later.
After the last battle, Roxie had made up for most of her missed Gym attendance battles. But there were still a few in the late afternoon for her to catch up with. Right now, the 14 Trainers had been defeated already.
Before she could prepare for that, she went to speak with Ash for a bit. As for the foals, they were over at PokeStar Studios, having fun with whatever random movie they could make.
"Say, Roxie. I think I could sing something with you and everyone else," said Ash, standing outside the gym.
"Great! Love to hear it. What do you got in mind?"
"Well, Apple Bloom suggested it. How about a song about journeys? Anyone's journey."
"That sounds good to me. Those kinds of songs have a lot of Oomph in them. Just what I like. How about I write those lyrics and we can jam out in the Karaoke club tomorrow. Or the Gym. That works too. You just sit tight until Thursday, okay? I bet we'll blow their socks off with whatever song they have."
"Can't wait!"
"Pika-Pika!"
Virbank City Gym. Afternoon.
The gym was the choice for this song to be played. Gathered here as always were Roxie's fans. But this time, some of Ash's friends were here to listen to this after catching wind of it. Plus, Applejack and Rarity's little sisters were said to be part of this incoming song.
"Pretty big crowd for a gym. You don't see that do you?" Rainbow Dash said. "Wish I had a big crowd like this in all my Gym Battles."
"Wouldn't it be for the Gym Leader actually?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, but we'll equal things out with my own crowd. I mean, Pokemon Contests are like Gym Battles in a way and they've got a crowd always."
"Fair point." Rarity couldn't disagree with that. "I'm more interested in seeing my little sister sing!"
"Apple Bloom's gonna look great up there." Applejack nodded, expecting her little sister as well.
"I'm not playing." Suddenly, Apple Bloom appeared beside Applejack instantly, startling her.
"Ah! W-What do you mean by that?" Applejack stuttered before pulling back.
"Sorry. My instrument ain't gonna work here. Plus, I ain't doing the singing for this." The little unicorn shrugged. "But Scootaloo's in it. So are Sapphire and Sunrise."
"Then why does Roxie teach you about music in the first place exactly?" Rarity asked.
"She says that she can teach us other stuff that isn't just Rock. I mean, I didn't think she knew more than rock with how much she plays it and says it too."
"Hah...Bummer..." Applejack sighed. "Oh well. I can still get something good out of this. No problem."
"Hey, look it's starting." Fluttershy alerted her friends as they all faced forward. Roxie appeared, ready to speak into the microphone. But she wouldn't be doing the main singing for this."
"Sup," Roxie spoke. "Here's a new kind of song for this. Last time it was about the Twin Dragons. This time, it's about a journey. This song was written by me, but not without some help from a guy who beat me in a Gym Battle. I know a lot of you know him when first appeared here years ago. It's called Start of a Journey."
After the introduction was over, the band playing in this had shown themselves. It consisted of Roxie's usual band involving Roughneck Nicky and Guitarist Billy Jo. But assisting in this was Scootaloo, Sunrise Sprint and Sapphire Flash for some backup singing with Roxie.
And holding the microphone was Ash. Granted this would take a lot of energy, but nothing that Ash wasn't used to. Energized or tired, he would do whatever he finds fun either way. The music started playing with Roxie, Billy Jo and Scootaloo playing their guitars. Roxie's was the loudest but Billy Jo's and Scootaloo's were good backup noise. The drums were also being played instantly as Ash started singing.
Time to get up and out the door It's time to go, there's a world to explore Taking the first step I feel the thrill in my heart I've always loved this part
My hopes will keep on burning bright No wind or water could put out this light Facing the unknown can be intimidating But there is no hesitating.
Quiet voices are calling out as I gaze out toward the warm dawn So let's put our heart in it Let's go, move it on!
Ash then pumped his fist into the air with lights flaring across the area. Roxie picked up the flow and speed of her guitar along with the other guitarists. This was where the song picked up as it was clear that this was about the two worlds crossing over and how Ash met his new friends in that instance.
So come on now, let's go! 1, 2, 3, 4! What would I be holding back for? My friends are all I need, do you wanna tag along?
He then took off his jacket, getting super excited while singing. It was only natural as everyone started cheering, clearly loving this song and its momentum. Ash was singing his soul out right now. Sweetie Belle, Sapphire and Roxie started singing along with him too as his backup singers. Their harmonic voices worked well in this.
Come into my world, hey, and take my hand We'll take a journey to a new land Endless adventure is always where I belong!
Sometimes I'll be struck with fear and fright. Still I will get up and I'll join the fight! I'll never run from anyone, I'll charge in the battle 'til I have won!
So come on let's go! 1, 2, 3, 4! What would I be holding back for? I have always dreamed of this so now that we're a team, together let's go!
He didn't slow down for a second. For someone who was told to take a break, he sure knows how to get back into the heat of things instantly. Ash kept singing with the others rocking as cheers radiated from Vibrank Gym. Pikachu, Twilight, Goh and everyone loved this. Twilight even screeched when Ash took her jacket off while Rainbow Dash felt proud of Scootaloo. And even though Daylight wasn't here, he would've cheered his little brother on.
Ash is a busy trainer. But a trainer who enjoys things to the fullest and tackles what he can at any given time and chance. No matter how bloated, time-consuming, gut-wrenching, difficult or even comical the scenario and even may be, he'll always be active. After all, the road to becoming a Pokemon Master was far from over as the journey continues.
A regular day at Pallet Town. Ash took the advice of his friends and chose to take things easy. And the only way he knew how was spending time with his friends and family. Pretty normal things for him to do daily. But this time, without the interference of anything Rift related, Ghetsis, the Empress or anything troublesome.
"Ash. Where are you heading this time? Ponyville or Canterlot? Or is it somewhere here?" Delia asked as Ash was already prepared to head out.
"I'm heading for the Human World to help Twilight out." He explained. "I wanna help her catch a Pokemon before the Friendship Games happen."
"I thought that mirror portal to Human World had been destroyed by Ghetsis? Oh. But you'll be taking Manehattan's gateway to Castelia then Eindoak and straight to that world, right?"
"Nah. Emerald fixed the portal for us. So it's A-OK." He gave a thumbs-up of certainty. So did Pikachu. "I'll be back soon once I help her. And don't worry. I won't get into anything wild."
"I hope not. After your friends suggested you take it easy and all. I know you're used to things that can be high-octane and everything but there's no shame in slowing down, Ash. Besides, you just had a karaoke rock concert not too long ago."
"Yeah. And it was a blast, wasn't it buddy?"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Hm...Aha!" Delia snapped her fingers with an idea brimming in her mind. "How about I come along with you? I'm curious about that other world myself. I mean, a world where many familiar faces are human variants of friends you already know? That's irresistible."
"Oh, sure. You can come along. Same with you Mimey."
"Mime-Mime!"
"Let me just get myself ready then~!" She whistled before rushing off to prepare herself. No dressing. Her casual clothes were enough for this.
Delia shares Ash's adventurous spirit. She was a Pokemon Trainer in the past after all. Ash made sure to grab extra Poke Balls, just in case. It would be Twilight's first catch after all.
After some preparation, they made their way towards Canterlot quickly. And this time, Delia made some food for Ash to eat in the other world instead of Pinkie Pie. And speaking of Pinkie Pie, walked up to them as she ended up making the food anyway.
"Ah! Can't leave without these." She showed them the food she made. "I know you're already heading there and...Mrs Ketchum?"
"Hi-Hi. You don't have to worry about food, Pinkie Pie. Planned ahead." To show this, she held out Ash's bag, shaking it as Pinkie Pie put her ear next to it. She could hear all the familiar sounds of certain foods rumbling about. Some of which she enjoyed.
"Aww...Oh, well. More for me then." Pinkie grinned before opening the box of food, ready to devour what she had made along with Mew and Spinda.
"Right. Let's head over and meet that other Twilight now. Shall we, Ash?" Delia said.
"Wait." Pinkie halted them while on the verge of eating a cupcake. "You're heading to the Human World too, Mrs Ketchum? Ooh! I almost forgot I wanted to go there too one day!"
"Now's a good chance, Pinkie. Plus, with Mew, Twilight can learn a lot more about Pokemon. So it's all win-win, right?" Ash turned to Pikachu.
"Pika-Pika." The Mouse Pokemon agreed.
"And it'll be a first! Think I'll get a chance to see myself there?" Pinkie Pie asked. "It's not gonna be like the Mirror Pool again cause we're more than the same than just clones. I think that made sense?"
"Made sense to me." Delia chuckled along with Mr Mime. "Come on now. Let's not keep the other Twilight waiting."
The Human World. Twilight's home. Day.
Twilight was home today, waiting for Ash to show up. But as she waited, she was drawing an image of a Pokemon in her notebook. And this was something that she did on a whim.
The Pokemon in question that she was drawing had a familiar appearance to Zorua. But there was something different about it. Different from the regular Zorua. Twilight looked a bit zoned out when drawing this odd Zorua, trying to recall what it looked like. But she barely got a good view of it.
"I heard about Zorua before but...that didn't look like what the Pokedex described it to be. Wish I could've gotten some information before the snow came in."
Just as she spoke, the door had been knocked. Twilight was alerted, closing her book and heading to answer. Not a moment late or early. Just on time. Ash and Pikachu were here as always. Joined by Delia Ketchum, Mr Mime, Pinkie Pie and her Mew and Spinda who rested in her playful mane. And being in the Human World transformed Pinkie Pie into her human variant. She opened the door to see them.
"Ash! Pikachu!" Twilight said with glee in her voice before noticing the surprise guests. She recognized Delia after seeing her through the Xtransceiver. But not Pinkie. "And...W-Who are they?"
"This is my mom." Ash began the introduction. "I talked about her, remember? Then there are my friends Mimey, Pinkie Pie, Spinda and Mew."
"Nice to finally meet you up close, Mrs Ketchum."
"Wow! I know I've already seen another Twilight but seeing a third one like this is still so wonderful!" Pinkie Pie squeed. "We have matching hands now! Look!"
"Uhh..." Twilight pulled back after Pinkie put her arms out, wiggling her fingers in front of Twilight. "Hi. I'm guessing you're from Equestria, right?"
"Sure am!" She gave out a sun-glistening grin with her hands on her waist, standing proud. That quickly, Pinkie Pie had gotten used to standing like a human. That instance of being Mew for a while did some wonders for her. "Here to help you with all your Pokemon Research stuff."
"I came here just to visit this world. I can leave everything else to you kids. Although..." Delia thought for a moment. "Not sure I have the currency for this place to start shopping."
"Just do what I did mom. Street performance stuff worked for me," said Ash, referring to when his body was swapped with Ghetsis.
"Hm...Performance you say?" Delia pondered as her eye flashed. She then turned to Mr Mime with glowing eyes. Mr Mime was the embodiment of performance, which gave Delia an idea.
"M-Mime?" Mr Mime had a sweatdrop appear, wondering why Delia was looking at him like that.
"I can do that." Delia chuckled, scaring the Barrier Pokemon. Mr Mime knew what was coming next and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
"So. Are you ready to catch your first Pokemon?" Ash asked.
"I sure am!" An excited Twilight nodded, unable to contain her excitement. But that's when she had a question for Ash as she opened her notebook. "Oh and...there's one Pokemon I want to catch. I saw it four days ago."
"Yeah?" Ash and Pinkie Pie said.
"This." She then showed the drawing of what seemed to be Zorua. The drawing was not complete as Twilight barely got a glimpse of this small Pokemon. "This is Zorua, right?"
"Zorua?" They both leaned in. They squinted their eyes, wondering if they were seeing this right. Twilight managed to get the stature of Zoroak correctly. It was somewhat recognizable but there was something different about it. Mainly the tail."
"Looks like it." Ash nodded. "Pretty close drawing to what Zorua looks like.
"I was told Zorua had a colour scheme of black and red. But this one was different." She tapped on the book. "That's why I'm having such a hard time recalling how it looks."
"Different, you say?" Delia uttered. "What do you mean by that?"
"Like I said, it was hard to see through the snow at night. But I could see parts of it. At first, I thought it looked like a Vulpix or a Growlithe. But closer, it had a different tail. The tip of it was all red and swaying. I think the same was for its hair on the top. But the ears and the way it stood were much like Zorua. That's all I could get from it."
"That doesn't sound like Zorua...Unless..." Ash's mind started shuffling through all the possibilities. And there was one good possibility that he could easily make out. "Wait! Is it a Regional Form?!"
"Um...I don't think so?" Twilight shrugged. "Again. Not much to say when a bunch of snow's blocking your view. But if it was, you'd know right?"
"There's still a bunch of Pokemon Ash doesn't know about yet." Pinkie nudged Ash. "And a whole lot more regions he hasn't visited. Like Holon. The Pokemon World is so gigantic!" She then spread her arms out."
"There's a good chance this could be a Zorua from another region we've never seen before. That'll be a great first Pokemon to have. Okay, let's get ourselves a Zorua."
"Pikachu."
"And if you're curious. You can always take a look at this guy right here." Pinkie then went into her mane, holding the New Species Pokemon. She was already big enough to hold Mew. Now she was even bigger to him in other Pokemon forms.
"Mew-Mew!"
"W-What is that?!" Curiosity struck Twilight as she held her Pokedex out for this one.
"Mew. The New Species Pokemon. Mew is said to possess the genetic composition of all Pokémon. It is capable of making itself invisible at will, so it entirely avoids notice even if it approaches people. When viewed through a microscope, this Pokémon’s short, fine, delicate hair can be seen. This Mythical Pokémon is said to be extinct, but sightings of it are still being reported to this day. Due to its DNA, it can use all kinds of techniques."
Shock struck her next. Twilight listened to the Pokedex closely before realizing what she was facing right now. In front of her was the ancestor of all Pokemon. From the Pikachu that Ash had, the Spinda within Pinkie's hair and the Mr Mime that was currently shaking in front of Delia.
"Ancestor!" Twilight then grabbed Mew, lifting him into the air. "What a lucky day! The DNA of every Pokemon is in this one Pokemon?! That's amazing! I could clear out days, weeks and months of research just with this one Pokemon!" Mew, was it?!"
"Mew!" Mew whimpered a bit before making himself invisible. Twilight startled him from the sudden grab and constant bellowing. He then teleported out of Twilight's hands before heading back into Pinkie's mane.
"S-Sorry." Twilight put her hands together, feeling embarrassed for doing that. "I got a bit excited there."
"Don't worry about it. Just a natural reaction to Pokemon. Our Twilight did the same to another Pokemon once." Laughed Pinkie as she comforted Mew to make her feel better. "It's okay, Mew. Twilight was just psyched to know about you."
"Mew?"
"Ahem." Twilight cleared her throat. "Well, anyway. I want to catch that Zorua. The last place I saw it was even past the forest that we usually go to. Just on the outskirts. Hope it's not too snowy for us to search for one."
"Good thing we're already prepared for snow! Check it!" In unison, Ash and Pinkie pulled out jackets. Ash already had his Sinnoh Jacket while Pinkie Pie was given one despite her originally being a pony. Almost as if she prepared for this moment. They placed their jackets on, ready to head out. Twilight put on warmer clothes and a scarf too.
As for Delia, she and Mr Mime were off to the streets to show off why Mr Mime lives up to his name. Both groups were ready to go. Spike couldn't handle the cold so he chose to stay. Perhaps a little bit of cold-blooded dragon blood resides in this dog, much like his dragon counterpart. But Pinkie allowed one of her Slurpuff to keep him company.
The outskirts of the forest. Afternoon.
On the outskirts of the forest where some Pokemon resided, nothing but grass and some small hills could be seen. Fewer trees existed on the outskirts as this area also had a fairly flat surface. Minus the hills. But more than that, due to the existence of Ice Pokemon, and the approaching Christmas, snow was abundant here.
"It was right here. This should be its natural habitat from how it was coloured white." Twilight spoke as she and the others were approaching the snowy outskirts. "My guess is that it's probably an Ice-Type Pokemon. Once we get close, I can have my Pokedex take all the information down."
"How many Poke Balls are we talking here to catch it?" Pinkie asked. "Zorua's pretty hard to catch. 'Cause, it's so tricky with all those neat and creepy illusions." Pinkie flailed her arms about to replicate the bizarre oddities of illusions.
"20. Thanks to Ash and Professor Oak. This should be enough to give me enough tries. I really want that Zorua. Not only is it cute, but the fact that even you don't know about it Ash gets me all excited. I followed everything you told me, Ash."
"Awesome. Just make sure you put all that muscle strength into your arms. Keep your eye on the Pokemon at all times and you'll be throwing like the wind."
"Pika-Pika."
"Pretty chilly...Brrr!" Pinkie shuddered as Mew transformed himself into a Chimcar, heating up his body to warm Pinkie. "Hoooh. Thanks, Mew."
"Chimchar."
"Do you see Zorua anywhere? Or someone that looks like Zorua?" Ash asked the observant Twilight. Twilight was searching as hard as she could but as the group advanced further into the outskirts, the more they noticed the amount of snow in the area.
"No. I'm afraid our view will be drowned out by the snow before we can find Zorua." Twilight sighed. "There has to be a better way for this."
"Oh, there is." Stopping in her tracks was Pinkie Pie, already coming up with a solution and a way to potentially find Zorua. A way that Pinkie Pie knows best. "We draw 'em out, duh."
"Draw them out? Oh, like that frequency radio I used to bring out Pokemon!" Twilight snapped her fingers. "That could work!"
"Pssh. We're not gonna use that stuff, silly." Pinkie scoffed before holding her comically large bag out. "The only sound we need is the sound of food. S-Scent. The scent of food." She corrected herself. "Lucky for you, I know exactly what a Zoura likes."
"You do?" Twilight looked down to see Pinkie Pie scrolling through the many food options in her bag.
"Pinke Pie's got a cabinet of files about everyone's favourite food. From me, Pikachu and all my friends back at Equestria. It's a lot but she's got a tough memory to remember them all." Ash explained.
"And I figured out that Regional Pokemon have the same tastes as their original regional counterparts. Boy that almost sounded like a tongue twister." She chuckled before getting out some Poke Puffs. "All Zorua like Spicy Poke Puffs. Something about how it makes them more devious with illusions."
"Is that so...?" Twilight was following this.
"Oh yeah. And if the Unovan ones like it, then whatever region this one comes from will love it too." She then added the spicy flakes onto the Poke Puffs instead of a sauce. Mew wanted a piece as he started drooling. "Here you go!" Pinkie hooked up by tossing one Poke Puff into the air.
"Chimchar!" Mew quickly jumped into the air before transforming into a Spoink. After biting on the Pokemon food, he started bouncing around with excitement as Spoink naturally does. "Spoink! Spoink-Spoink!"
"Wow. She really knows her stuff about Pokemon, doesn't she? And she's still somewhat new, right?" Twilight said to Ash.
"Well, Pinkie mostly knows all about every Pokemon's favourite food and what cheers them up. Not really everything else. But I'm learning from her too like she's learning from me. I wanna know what food every Pokemon knows. I already know what my Pokemon like. Right, buddy?"
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Okie Dokie!" Pinkie clapped her hands together. "Princess Flurry Heart taught me this. We put all of our faith in the Idols of Taste lying within the stars for a wonderful time. For our mouths and stomachs. Now for the finishing touches." Pinkie then took out her Poke Ball, sending out one of her Slurpuff.
"Slurpuff!"
"Sweet Scent away, boy!"
"Slur!" Slurpuff raised his arms, exuding a wonderful and enticing scent onto the Poke Puffs. With that, the aroma could waft into the air, right in the direction of the snow.
Now they just had to wait. And unlike Flurry Heart, whose food attracts multiple Pokemon, Pinkie makes it so that only one species of Pokemon approaches.
In the meanwhile, Twilight was feeling chilly herself. This was the result of Ice-Type Pokemon, much like the scenario up in Pegalysium with the heavy snow that was caused by one Froslass alone.
She needed some warmth instantly. Mew would grant that. Despite him being a tad bit afraid of Twilight after what happened earlier, Mew would go out of his way to help. He transformed into Centiskorch, sitting near Twilight while pumping his body temperate to a reasonable amount. Enough to keep her warm.
"Thanks, Mew." Twilight thanks the New Species Pokemon.
"Mew-Mew."
And so they waited. But not for long. They only waited for just 12 minutes, until, the scent of this food had gone past the cold air and snow. Footsteps could be heard as Pikachu stood up, becoming alert.
"Pikachu."
Everyone looked ahead as the silhouette of a Pokemon could be seen within the snow. But after the silhouette moved forward, its true appearance could be seen. A Pokemon with light grey with red and white accents. Its ears were primarily grey with split cuts and a slight red tint at the tips.
Its eyes had golden yellow irises and pink eyelids, and its limbs are tipped in black. The tuft of fur on its head, the ruff around its neck, and its tail were all white at their bases, with long wisps of fur that fade to red at the tips.
But despite its appearance, the head-shape, stature and eyes were without a doubt Zorua.
"There it is...!" Twilight gawked as she and Ash took out their Pokedexes. The Pokedex then read out the information that it could gather from this alternate Zorua.
"Zorua. The Spiteful Fox Pokemon. Hisui Form. Exiled from other lands by humans because of their illusions, and unable to survive in the Hisui Region conflicts with other Pokémon, the souls of deceased Zorua linger on in a new form, reborn by their malice towards humans and Pokémon alike. If Hisuian Zorua spot a lone person or Pokémon, the Zorua may appear before them in a guise mimicking the target’s appearance. These ghostly mimicries are created using spiteful power emitted from the long fur on Hisuian Zorua’s head, around its neck, and on its tail. Hisuian Zorua draw strength from the terror of those who witness their illusions."
"Hisui?" Ash uttered. "I've never heard of that region."
"Pika-Pika."
"H-Hey there." Twilight waved at the Spiteful Fox Pokemon, trying t see if she could get her chance to catch it.
"Zorua?" Zorua looked on, noticing Twilight and the others. And especially the food. Twilight then held the box of Poke Puffs, moving them over towards Zorua to try and attract it.
The scent got closer to Zorua as Twilight herself stayed still, trying not to make any sudden movements. Zorua then approached the box after being attracted to its scent.
Zorua got closer but showed signs of timidness. Especially when around Twilight and the others. The shaking of her legs were signs of that. Even with everyone being still. Zorua was afraid but also wanted the food in front of her.
"Zorua!" So, to try and gain the food while also not interacting with Twilight and the others, Zorua started casting illusions from her body. And did so via purple wisps that emanated from her body. They erupted with a horrifying howling sound as a mysterious black smoke appeared.
"W-What is this?!" Twilight gasped as she moved back. The purple wisps surrounded everyone with malice embedded within them.
"It must be Zorua's illusions!" Ash observed as he was ready for whatever illusion would come his way. But these illusions would be out of spite. He and the others closed their eyes as the wisps had then shrouded them all, forming into a purple dome.
"Zo!" Zorua then quickly ran for the box of Poke Puffs while casting the illusions. However, the magic within Twilight that she was unaware of acted on its own again. It seemed to respond to imminent danger as the visage of another Twilight flashed behind her.
Twilight managed to break free from the illusion without knowing how she did so. And after that, she opened her eyes to see Zorua's mouth on the box of Poke Puffs, trying to take it away. However, the box was too heavy for Zorua as she was unable to do so.
"Z-Zorua!" Zorua cried out before noticing that Twilight was looking at her. She gasped before rushing off in fear, shocked that her illusion didn't work.
"Oh! Wait!" Twilight cried out before grabbing the box of Poke Puffs. She knew that Zorua wanted it and was unable to drag it herself. So, Twilight went after Hisuian Zorua to try and give her the food she wanted.
And that meant heading through the harsh snow. Right as her appearance faded away from the snow, Ash had managed to bypass the illusions due to his own personal experience. But Pinkie Pie was screaming, seeing something horrible around her.
"Pinkie!" Ash held Pinkie, shaking her. "It's okay! It's just Zorua's illusions remember?!"
"Aaaaah!" She roared, flailing her arms around frantically, accidentally hitting Ash in the face. As soon as she felt herself hitting a friend, Pinkie snapped out of it as Ash held his head. "Oops! Sorry, Ash!"
"It's okay." He replied before adjusting his hat. Then, Ash and Pinkie noticed something. Twilight was not present here anymore. They just missed her when she went after Zorua. "Twilight!"
"Where'd she go?!" Pinkie gasped. "You don't think the illusions scared off, do you?!"
"I don't know. But I can see her footprints right there." He pointed over at the footprints of boots left behind by Twilight. And they led into the further outskirts. "That's where Zorua also came from. And the Poke Puffs are gone too."
"She went after it? Why?"
"Only one way to find out. Come on." Ash then went ahead with Pikachu jumping on his shoulder. Pinkie Pie then followed suit as Mew reverted to his normal form, hiding in Pinkie's mane.
A new Zorua. One that comes from a place known as Hisui. Someplace unknown to Ash even. And this was the Pokemon Twilight wished to know about but was taking a big risk being close to it. Truly, the number of Pokemon are abundant with lots more yet to be discovered as the journey continues.
The Human World. Outskirts of the forest. Afternoon.
Amidst the snowy layout of these outskirts, Twilight was currently searching for Hisuian Zorua. A Pokemon that Ash wasn't even aware of, let alone a region by the name of Hisui.
Twilight went after Zorua, aiming to give her the box of Poke Puffs that she couldn't manage to grab due to the weight difference. Which meant going into the thick snow. All for one Pokemon. It was the cuteness that drew her in but the wonderful mystery surrounding this Spiteful Fox Pokemon that dragged her further in.
"Zorua!" She cried out in this snowy landscape. Full of flat land with minor hills. She shuddered, feeling the chill. Twilight then put the lid on the box, protecting the food. Twilight soon realized that she had already strayed away from familiar territory, unable to spot Ash, Pikachu, Pinkie, Mew or Spinda anywhere.
"Great. Had to go deeper in." She sighed, lowering her head. "But it's all flat land with some hills. So it shouldn't be too hard to navigate my way through this."
Twilight was set on giving Zorua the food and finding her friends. She had a good hunch that with this flat land, she could find them. But the snow could be an issue.
"Zorua." Just then, the cry of Zorua could be heard. Her voice echoed through the snow. Twilight immediately ran in the direction of that echoing cry. She picked it up from the west, journeying there.
Twilight squinted her eyes from all the snow falling. Her boots made satisfying noises each time she ran as snowflakes descended. However, Twilight noticed that the snowflakes did not make contact with her. She didn't even feel them touch her hair or hands. As if they had phased through her.
Afterwards, the further she went, the less snow there was. She also noticed that the chill had decreased too, making it easier for her to move without any struggles.
Everything was getting clearer as if something was willing the weather to do so. Twilight found this odd but believed a Pokemon was behind it.
Twilight came across some of the few trees within this flatland as the sky in this area was a bit darker, giving it a dark blue ambience. And up ahead, sitting near a rock was the Hisuian Zorua, not facing Twilight.
"!" Twilight made a silent gasp before hiding behind the tree as to not show herself. It was clear that Hisuian Zorua was hard to approach. Much like most shy and timid Pokemon.
"Zo," Zorua uttered before having her stomach growl. Twilight was made aware of this. Zorua stood up, looking at her own stomach and how it was growling.
She needed food right now. However, the trees here had no fruits of any sort to consume. Not because of the snow and weather, but because of the area in general. This area that Zorua resided in was not fit for it at all. Even most Pokemon would not live here aside from a few Pokemon who eat other resources.
Zorua looked in the distance, knowing that civilization existed with food of all kinds. She also knew that there were other areas where many Pokemon consume various foods. All of which she could devour at any time.
But the Spiteful Fox Pokemon forced herself to be alone., straying away from that. It was clear that she was hesitating, staying secluded in this seemingly barren flatland.
Twilight looked at the box as she knew that Zorua wouldn't get far here without any food. The Spiteful Fox Pokemon then decided to try and sleep the hunger away. But Twilight was smart enough to know that wouldn't work. So to fix this, she opened the box of Spicy Poke Puffs made by Pinkie Pie, allowing the scent to pass through.
"Zoru?" Zorua's nose picked up on the familiar scene. Her nose was on high alert. All of her senses were. And after noticing this scent, her hunger grew. Twilight then placed the box on the ground with her head and arm poking out.
"Hello." She sheepishly greeted the Spiteful Fox, slightly intimidated by her after that illusion trick she pulled. Twilight still had no idea how she broke free of it instantly. She wasn't the only one intimidated. So was Zorua.
The Normal-Ghost-Type quivered after seeing Twilight, ready to use another illusion and make her getaway with the food beside her. But, there wasn't any strength in her to do so because of one issue. She was starving. Zorua's stomach growled as her eyes closed. She couldn't take it anymore. Consumption of food was needed for her.
And the only food in front of her was the Spicy Poke Puffs. Beloved by the Unovan Zorua and possibly by the Hisuian one. Zorua wanted it but was too focused on staring at Twilight. She started
"It's okay. You can have some." Twilight took a piece of the Poke Puffs, holding it up with Zorua's eyes tracking it. Twilight was less timid around Zorua. Mainly because Ash has allowed her to grow around certain Pokemon.
In honesty, Pokemon like Charizard, Dragonite, Lucario, Noivern and Sceptile that Ash had were far more intimidating than Zorua. And Twilight has been around them all. Although, they didn't have the power to cast illusions.
Twilight then tossed the Poke Puff into the air, trying to see if Zorua would catch it. "Zo!" And indeed, with hungry instincts, the Spiteful Fox Pokemon leapt into the air with her mouth open. With impressive precision, she had chomped on the Poke Puff, swallowing and landing afterwards.
"Z-Zoru!" Zorua finally received something to eat. And after taking a moment to savour this taste, her eyes opened. It felt like she hadn't eaten in years. She pranced on the spot happily before looking at the box. It was clear that she enjoyed the taste and the spiciness of it.
"You like it?" Twilight asked the Normal-Ghost-Type. Zorua nodded in response. Honesty can be summoned via the taste of food. It's mysterious but the essence of food is just that wonderful. "How about some more then?"
Twilight saw this as a great chance. If there was any chance or time to spend with Zorua and hopefully catch her, it was now. Zorua's stomach was still growling as Twilight moved the box closer to the Spiteful Fox Pokemon.
Once the box was close enough, Zorua walked up to it, wanting every bite possible. With no more hesitation, Zorua started devouring all of the Spicy Poke Puffs, already making a mess as bits were flying everywhere in various colours.
"Whew..." Twilight sighed before sitting next to the tree. "That went better than I thought. It's a good thing those Poke Puffs are irresistible."
"They sure are. Thank you."
"No prob-" Then, with a flux of universal realization, Twilight's sense of hearing went off. Her eyes expanded as her glasses shattered. A poker face became her new emotion as she then turned to face the Spiteful Fox Pokemon. Zorua looked back at her as Twilight was agape. "YOU CAN TALK?!"
"Mmm!" Zorua squeaked before rushing off. Twilight's shout startled her.
"Oh wait!" Twilight stood up, calling for the Spiteful Fox Pokemon. "Zorua!"
Zorua then hid behind the rock that she was originally spotted by. Her head poked out as she already had some illusions brewing. Eating from the box had re-energized her, giving Zorua the strength to cause illusions.
"Uh, n-no need for illusions!" Twilight nervously said, waving her hands to try and plead with the Spiteful Fox Pokemon. "I'm sorry for shouting. I was just startled by you speaking that's all. I didn't expect you to talk like me."
But Zorua didn't respond. Her timidness was getting the better of her. And just when she was close to Twilight without any harm being done. To try and draw her in, Twilight tried swaying her by holding out the box of remaining Poke Puffs. "I promise I won't yell again."
"Promise?" She repeated after Twilight.
"Yeah. Promise." Twilight aimed to stick true to her word. Anyone would be shocked by a speaking Pokemon. Although, this was the cause of Telepathy. Twilight had yet to meet Team Rocket's Meowth who can speak full sentences.
Zorua made her way back to Twilight with gentle steps. She wasn't sure if she could fully trust Twilight. To be cautious, she emanated purple wisps from her body, ready to set off an illusion at any time.
The Normal-Ghost-Type then continued to eat from the box as Twilight moved her arm away. Zorua continued eating peacefully without any surprise interruptions. Twilight stuck true to her word, not shouting. But she would choose to speak to Zorua, having several questions.
"So. Zorua. How come you're able to speak?" Twilight asked.
"Telepathy." With just one response, Twilight understood why this was the case with a nod following afterwards. "But...I don't like talking like this. Not at all the time."
"Oh. Well, I think it's neat. I would've never thought a Pokemon could use telepathy of all things." Twilight put her knees together. "Nice to meet you. My name's Twilight Sparkle. I saw you a few days ago when I came by here. But I couldn't get a closer look at you with all the snow here."
"It's not real," said Zorua. "The snow. It's all my illusion."
"All-" Twilight paused before looking at the area around her. She then put the pieces together, realizing that the snow didn't actually affect her clothes. Neither did she feel it with her hands out when they dropped. "This is all your doing? That's some spectacular illusion capabilities Zorua." She praised the Spiteful Fox Pokemon.
Zorua then finished most of the Poke Puffs in the box before turning around. "It's not that special." She dismissed her talent for illusions on the spot even after that praise. She hadn't faced Twilight at all when talking to her, still showing some signs of hesitation.
"Oh, but it is. You should be proud, I mean...I was fooled." Twilight chuckled. "But I mean, all Zorua are naturally good at that, aren't they?"
Zorua then sat down, wiping the food off her mouth. Or even licking it to only swallow the bits later. "I don't wanna be proud of it."
"You don't?" Twilight blinked after that shocking response. "W-Why not?" But Zorua didn't answer to that either. She just turned her head before letting out a small whimper. Twilight then noticed this shift in tonal emotion as she noticed tears coming from the side of Zorua's face. "Zorua, you're crying." She pointed out before getting closer to her. "What's wrong?"
Zorua then tried making an illusion to block her tears. But Twilight could easily see through it. The Spiteful Fox Pokemon then got up, walking away. "Thank you for the food."
"Wait." Twilight then walked beside her, wanting to speak and hopefully solve something with the Normal-Ghost-Type Pokemon. "If you want to take the box with you, then here." She then held the box out to Zorua. "I know it's heavy but if you keep it with you in one place and take only the Poke Puffs instead of the box as a whole. You have a place to stay in this flatland, right?"
Just then, Zorua froze before forming more tears, much to the dismay of Twilight. She didn't expect more tears to appear on the Spiteful Fox Pokemon. Once again, the illusions could not block the tears. "You're pretending."
"Pretending? Uh...Pretending what?" Twilight asked, unsure of what Zorua was about. But just then, being the quick thinker she was, Twilight thought back to the dex entry that she managed to get from Zorua. "Wait a second..."
But before she could say something else, Zorua bolted off, running past between Twilight's leg with tears trailing out. The Spiteful Fox Pokemon caused her illusion to form a thick mist of ice.
"Wait! Zorua!" But, knowing why Zorua was like this, Twilight persisted, going after Zorua. And she brought the box along, of course.
Meanwhile, Ash and Pinkie Pie were still searching for Twilight after she went for Zorua. They followed her footprints through the snow to track her. But, it seems Zorua's illusions were far more widespread. Usually, Zoroark is the one with widespread illusions. Twilight's footsteps had disappeared with no more being imprinted into the snow.
"No luck. How's Mew coming along?" said Ash to Pinkie Pie. Mew was currently Audino, trying her best to track the voice of Twilight.
"Just to the west. But it's taking a while. Maybe the ear's jammed." Pinkie held Mew's ears as they caused a tickle onto the New Species Pokemon. She then laughed afterwards.
"A-Audino!"
"Ticklish there, huh? How's this?!" Pinkie then started playing with Mew for a bit, tickling his body as an Audino. Mew found joy in it as he couldn't stop laughing.
Ash laughed too along with Pikachu. It was a small moment of joy in a scenario that appeared serious. But as he laughed, Mew's ears then picked up on something new. Like a record player, he instantly stopped cackling before gasping.
"Audi!" Mew heard something nearby that he couldn't ignore. He pointed in the sky that was up north. "Di. Audino."
"Oooh! Did you her, Mew?!" Pinkie asked, biting her lip for the incoming answer. But Mew shook his head before transforming a Butterfree.
"Butterfree!" After doing so, he had flapped his wings, creating a strong wind pressure from it. The pressure was sent directly towards the sky only. Clearly, there was something there that Mew had detected.
His wing beat had blown away the mist in the sky. This mist was real instead of being caused by Zorua's illusion. And after blowing it away, something within the skies had been perceived by Mew and the others' eyes. Something unexpectedly high up.
A crack in the sky. More specifically a crack that had a blue hole emanating out. Similar to the gateways and the Ultra Wormholes but sort of a hybrid of them both.
"A gateway?!" Pinkie cried out.
"No. That's not a gateway." Ash replied before looking closer with squinched eyes. He tried to make out what he was looking at until he figured it out. This looked familiar to him. "It's a crack in time!"
"A crack in time?" Pinkie rotated her head to Ash and then later at the crack.
"I kinda know how time portals look." Ash scratched his hair with an innocent grin. "They look different from gateways and Ultra Wormholes."
"Oh, neat stuff. But how did that happen? And how long do you think it's been here?" The Party Planner wondered as Mew transformed into a Pikachu, landing on Pinkie's shoulder, imitating Ash's Pikachu.
"Pika." Both Pikachu's said.
"Judging from how it looks...maybe it's from Dialga," Ash observed the colour of the portal. It definitely had the same spiralling effect and particles that Dialga has. There are only two known Pokemon that can interact with time. Dialga and the Celebi species. "Not sure why it's here, but it can't be too safe."
"What do we do then? Can we close it? Is that even possible?"
"We can't close it. Not much we can do with time portals. Let's come back to it another time and find Twilight quick." Ash prioritized his friend over a crack in time. While this seemed serious, they could come back to it. Mew transformed into Audino to track Twilight down as they all carried on.
As for Twilight, she caught up with Zorua easily. And that was because there wasn't much out here in the outskirts of the forest. In fact, Twilight hadn't seen any other Pokemon the entire time she's been here. Only Zorua lives here, making her easy to find.
Zorua had made herself a pile of snow to rest by. There wasn't much she could rest on in this area. The rocks were too hard, the hills were too steep and while the snow was a good substitute that she used, it was chilly for her. She laid her head on the pile of snow to try and sleep through the afternoon.
"Zorua!" Twilight cried after finally finding her.
"Go away." She buried her face in the snow, trying to steer her gaze away from Twilight. "Leave me alone."
"I just want to talk for a bit. I didn't get to finish what I was saying earlier. About your illusions."
"I don't wanna talk about it." Zorua then added more snow to hide the rest of her body. But, she soon realized how dangerous that was. She may be a Ghost-Type, but she wasn't immune to life-threatening scenarios like some Ghost Pokemon. Zorua then burst her head out of the snow, gasping for air. "Gah!"
"Zorua. Your illusions." Twilight placed the box down before walking up to the Spiteful Fox Pokemon, kneeling to get to her level. "You're not proud of them because of how talented you are with them, are you?"
"Mmmrrgh..." She grumbled in response.
"Something happened to you somewhere, didn't it? Could it be that used to live in the Unova Region before?" And with that question, Zorua couldn't help but say something to give an answer. Something to put her at ease.
"I used to. But I wanted to see more. I left my home because the world was big, so I went to other places to see how much I could use my illusions. I wanted to show everyone how amazing my illusions were. It would've been amazing to wow them all."
"But they weren't impressed, were they? They were terrified." Twilight already knew what came next. And judging by Zorua's gentle head nod, she hit the mark correctly.
"They didn't like my illusions. It scared them all. But I didn't mean to scare them. Honest. I just wanted to show them all what I could do. They chased me away because of that. Really far away someplace else. I ended up in that Hisui place to live there. But...But..."
"It was too cold for you." Twilight finished her sentence. "You weren't used to that temperature, were you?"
"No. None of my friends couldn't get used to it. We wanted to go back but we were afraid that we'd be chased by those Pokemon and humans again. It was too scary." The Spiteful Fox Pokemon shook her head, trying to forget about what she had gone through. "So I didn't go back. I stayed there. And the next thing I know I looked like this. All of my friends did."
"That's why you're spiteful. Towards us and other Pokemon, right?" She asked. "Your illusions. You rarely used them for self-defence, did you?"
"Only for fun. But they didn't find it fun. I just wanted them to see my illusions and have fun with it." Zorua then wrapped her tail around herself as tears were falling onto it. "But now everything feels so scary. I don't know where I am. And I wanna go home." Soon, those tears multiplied as Zorua's whimpers transformed into cries.
She didn't want to linger about the past anymore. Thinking about it brought distraught to the Spiteful Fox Pokemon. After all, it was filled with nothing but hatred, fear and the loss of life. Not just her life but the life of her friends who were also Zorua.
But then, to comfort her, Twilight placed her hand on the Normal-Ghost-Type's head, caressing it. Zorua then looked up to see Twilight giving her a comforting pat. It's what she does to Spike normally.
"I know how you feel, Zorua," Twilight uttered. "I was afraid too. In fact, I still am a bit. I'm pretty awkward around my classmates at Crystal Prep a lot. They see me as standoffish more than anything. But I want to connect with them if I could have the chance. I didn't think I would be able to connect with anyone."
"Really?"
"Really. But then I met Ash and Pikachu. I've had friends before but they were the first ones I've had in a while. And I'll tell you, it's a great feeling. At first, they were weird to me. They had a lot of energy going through them at all times. But that's their charm after all. That's when I realized I could make more friends and not be alone. And I did. A pretty good number of them so far."
"How many?"
"Well, there's Ash's Pokemon. The ones that I've met. The Wishwashi in the forest, the Joltik and Carbink in the cave and I guess maybe Pinkie Pie and Delia if I spend some more time with them. And maybe you too with someone else out there you can find."
"But what if they don't like me? What if I scare them away like before. A-A-And they chase me and-" Her fears were coming back to her. Her memories of that unpleasant past were unable to stray away for even an hour.
"It won't happen. I mean, I wasn't scared by your illusions, was I? Ash has seen his fair share of illusions too. And while I can't say much for every Pokemon or human out there, I know there's someone for you that'll accept you."
"You mean it?" Zorua asked as Twilight wiped her tears away via the usage of her scarf. Twilight didn't say anything. All she did was nod. And with that, some hope had been rekindled in this Spiteful Fox Pokemon. Not a lot, but enough to make her smile. "Okay. I can trust you. Tw-Twi- Um..."
"Twilight." She reminded Zorua of her name.
"Twilight." Finally, Zorua said her name. And to show her gratitude, the Spiteful Fox Pokemon nuzzled Twilight by climbing onto her shoulder and doing so.
"Twilight!" And speaking of calling out her name, finally finding Twilight were Ash and Pinkie Pie. Thanks to the great hearing of Mew in the form of an Audino. Mew is truly a jack of all trades, minus some limitations.
"Hey, guys!" She waved at them. Zorua quickly hid behind Twilight, feeling intimidated still "Sorry for worrying you."
"Looks like you're A-OK. Did you get Zorua?" Pinkie asked.
"I think I'll pass. After hearing and learning about Zorua." Twilight stood up as Zorua peeked her head from the side. "But, I've talked with her. I was also hit with some surprise telepathy.
"Pikachu." Pikachu then went up to the Normal-Ghost-Type with his hand out as a greeting. Zorua was shy in front of Pikachu, but she took Twilight's advice.
Zorua held her paw out as Pikachu gently grabbed it. A friendly aura was always radiating from Pikachu after all. Zorua felt safer around the people and Pokemon here. Far different from what she had been through.
"Hello." She said to Ash and the others. "Sorry for the illusions. I understand if you don't like me and-"
"Ah, no need to worry." Ash then interrupted, kneeling to her level. "Besides, you remind me of one Zorua I met. With the whole talking thing."
"I do?" Zorua tilted her head.
"Yeah. A good friend of mine. Plus, super good at illusions. Even if they're about me and my friends."
"Pika-Pika."
"You know what's not an illusion? This." Pinkie held the box of POke Puffs that hadn't been finished. Good thing the snow's not real or else that spiciness would've been all gack." She made a gag by pointing in her open mouth, giggling afterwards with Mew.
Zorua was surprised to see that despite being around more humans and Pokemon and giving them illusions to terrify them earlier, they didn't hate her. They have already seen their fair share of illusions and much more horrifying forces out there. Zorua was still cautious but could stick around with them with little worry.
"Maybe I could try the Pokemon at that cave? They were nice." Twilight thought for a moment until Zorua nudged her leg for attention. "Hm? Yes, Zorua? What is it?"
"You said that there's someone for me. So...Am I your friend?"
"You are now." Twilight picked up the Spiteful Fox Pokemon. Zorua closed her eyes, but soon realized she was not in any danger. Due to Twilight's experiences of picking up Spike, picking Zorua up was lightwork. Figuratively and literally. "And you'll find more. Somewhere in the world."
"I know. But I'm not ready to go out there yet. Still scared." She whimpered as she had the tendencies of a child. But that made sense. Zorua is a child-like Pokemon. Tricky or timid. "Can I come with you instead?"
"You want to come with me? Really?" Twilight's eyes widened as Pinkie Pie was ready to capture this moment with her Xtransceiver's camera function.
"I like you. You remind me of Ma. Plus it's scary being alone here."
"You don't have to be alone anymore, Zorua." Twilight nuzzled her before taking out a Poke Ball. She then held the catching device in front of the Spiteful Fox Pokemon. "Here. Touch this. It'll keep us together forever. Pokemon and TRainer."
"Okay!" She nodded before poking her nose on it. One poke and the red light pulled her in. Twilight then held the Poke Ball in her hand, seeing it shake. Now for the result.
1...2...3...Gotcha!
Hisuian Zorua was caught.
After catching her, Twilight realised Zorua from her Poke Ball, deciding to let her roam free as much as she want. Zorua emerged with a constant smile instead of a frown as always. It was a sign that she was around someone with who she felt comfortable.
"So. How would you like a warm place with all the food you can eat?" Twilight asked.
"I'd like that. That place sounds nice." Zorua gave a chipper nod before hopping onto Twilight's shoulder, much like how Ash's Pikachu does.
"Awesome stuff, Twilight." Ash gave a thumbs up before hearing his stomach growl. "Speaking of food, how about we eat some now?"
"Pikachu?"
"Same here." Pinkie patted her stomach. "My pony tummy's wanting a first-time experience with a human stomach."
"Mew-Mew."
Twilight's home. Afternoon.
They had a bite to eat. Right at Twilight's home as they devoured the food that both Pinkie Pie and Delia made. This time, Zorua joined them. And this was bliss for her. Zorua had never eaten food like this before. In years really. This was all worth it as she laid on her belly. Spike went up to the Spiteful Fox Pokemon, curious about his potential new friend.
"Hello there~" As for Delia, she had returned, entering the room with Mr Mime. Delia had bags of items at her disposal with Mr Mime holding even more. "We're back!"
"M-Mime-Mime..." He was drained, clearly.
"Welcome back, mom. Gee, that's a lot of stuff." Ash observed the abundance of bags. "Just how much money did you make?"
"And what did you do to get so much?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"All the credit here goes to Mimey. No one performs better on the street than a mime. Isn't that right, Mimey?" She chuckled.
"Mr Mime..." Mr Mime chuckled nervously before dropping the bags. He laid on his back, wanting some rest. Everyone else laughed afterwards as Zorua looked at them. She then joined in on the laughing, finding some amusement from it.
Ash and the others stayed behind at Twilight's home for a moment as Zorua got to know everyone here. She ended up forming new relationships with the beings that she feared the most. She was still afraid of humans and Pokemon, but these ones were different in her eyes.
She had found a new home and a new bond with the Twilight Sparkle of this world. As for Ash, he had more to discover. The existence of Hisui and that time portal in the sky. But for now, fun was to be made as the journey continues.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. Nightfall.
"Scorbunny. Chikorita. I heard you loud and clear." Currently, Fluttershy was speaking to the two First-Stage Starter Pokemon. "We're going through with it. We'll have you all evolve."
"Scorbun!"
"Chiko!" They were all for it. Growing into their second stages was favourable in their eyes. Evolving into their second stages would do wonders for them. Faster, stronger and more durable than ever.
"I'll be at the Pokemon School this morning. Krookodile can help you out and Audi will stay behind this time. They can help you both evolve. Isn't that right, Audi?"
"Audino." Audino gave a swift thumbs-up to her teammates.
"I'm tired so..." Fluttershy yawned as she fluttered over to her bed. "We'll have you evolve tomorrow. Raboot and Bayleef here we...come..." She fell asleep in midair, feeling truly exhausted. Audino caught her before she could hit the ground.
The Hearing Pokemon then placed Fluttershy on her bed, covering her trainer in sheets. Fluttershy caught some Zzzs as it was time for the rest of them to clock out. But, Scorbunny was so excited to see his evolved form that he might even have trouble sleeping tonight.
He could imagine himself moving faster than he already does. Jumping higher and hitting harder too. Just better at doing things he was already good at in general. Chikorita felt the same way too. But hers was different.
She's already seen Ash's Bayleef and the size difference was incredible. She was hoping to get bigger. Chikorita believed that being bigger meant that she would be more imposing in front of opponents. But in truth, Bayleef is still adorable. But can be fierce either way.
They all went to sleep, waiting for tomorrow to come.
Morning.
10 hours later, the morning was here. Fluttershy was already prepared to head to the Pokemon School. But not before leaving everything in the good hands and claws of Audino and Krookodile.
"Okay. I'll be off now." She said. "You take care all of you. Pokemon Battling's the most common way to evolve. But if you have other ways of doing it then go ahead and try. I can't wait to see you all become Raboot and Bayleef."
"Scor!"
"Chikori!"
"Take care of them, you two!" Fluttershy took the skies, waving at her Pokemon. "Bye!" They all waved back at her. Not just her Pokemon but the Pokemon within the Pokemon House. At least the ones that had limbs, Voltorb and a few others were exempt.
Now it was just Chikorita, Audino, Krookodile and Scorbunny, being left to their own devices. At least, Chikorita and Scorbunny were. Audino and Krookodile were tasked with not only taking care of them but helping them evolve and reach their next stages as soon as possible.
Scorbunny stood on the belly of the resting Snorlax, ready to make a declaration. He wanted to involve instantly. Whatever he could do and however he could do it. His best thought was challenging the strongest Pokemon he could find. "Scor! Scorbunny."
"Di...Audino!" Audino snapped her fingers as she had that answer. The Fighting Fields. Where she crushed on a Gallade for a while. Potentially, she still does. But aside from that, Audino knew that many powerful Pokemon resided over at those fields and they were certainly capable of making Scorbunny evolve.
"Krook!" Krookodile objected to that. Mainly because he wasn't fond of the Gallade residing in those fields due to his crush on Krookodile. "Dile. Krooko." Instead, he recommended that he would be good enough. Krookodile thought himself stronger than Gallade, even though he lost to him before.
"Scor. Scorbunny!" Scorbunny chose the first one. Although, he did prefer getting out there and battling, much like Ash. But this worked out too.
Scorbunny hopped off Snorlax's stomach, landing in front of the Intimidation Pokemon. Scorbunny tried pulling off a fearsome look to try and intimidate Krookodile, acting tough.
But he wasn't fearsome at all. As noted by Angel Bunny's tiny laughter in the distance. Scorbunny turned around, seeing his fellow rabbit laugh. But he would show Angel otherwise. He stomped his foot for a bit, facing off against the Ground-Dark-Type.
Scorbunny hopped off to gain some distance as Audino looked at them both, seeing that they were ready. "Au? Audino." She could allow the battle to begin immediately acting as a referee. "Audino!"
"Scorbunny!" Scorbunny started strong by going first. With High Jump Kick. The Rabbit Pokemon's legs lit up before he leapt into the air. This attack would work well on a Dark-Type like Krookodile.
"Krook!" But Krookodile wouldn't just allow that to happen. In response, the Intimidation Pokemon used Shadow Claw as a way to counter. The claw of Krookodile and the foot of Scorbunny met, creating a small brief clash with sparks flying around.
But afterwards, they separated with Scorbunny hopping back. "Bunny!" After moving away, Scorbunny used Ember, spitting out sparks of flames from his mouth like bullets.
"Krookodile." However, this was not very effective against Krookodile, who simply stood there, taking every hit. He was barely phased by it. Krookodile chuckled, laughing at Scorbunny's futile attack. He then showed off, flexing his muscles to Audino.
Audino just laughed nervously as she wasn't impressed at all. Ground-Types naturally resist fire so it wasn't anything to be proud of. Krookodile then lowered his head after Audino wasn't impressed. "Krook..." But that gave Scorbunny the chance to attack.
"Scorbun!" The Rabbit Pokemon used Quick Attack, moving at blinding speeds and tackling Krookodile in the head.
"D-Dile!" Krookodile was staggered from that initial hit. A consequence for letting his guard down.
"Scorbunny!" Scorbunny then followed up with an upwards High Jump Kick to the chin, finally dealing super-effective damage to the Intimidation Pokemon.
"K-Krooko...Dile!" Krookodile was staggered even more. And more than that, he fell on his back from this little Pokemon. Something that he hoped would never happen. At least, he was hoping a Pokemon his size or bigger would be responsible for it.
The other Pokemon enjoyed seeing a good Pokemon Battle. And this one was certainly entertaining so far. Scorbunny was waiting for the evolution to kick in. Nothing so far. He hadn't evolved mid-battle. He was expecting himself to evolve after the battle. So with high hopes, he went in with Flame Charge, hoping to increase his speed.
"K-Krooko...Dile!" But while sitting up, Krookodie smashed his fist on the ground, using Earth Power. Golden lights rippled and quaked through the ground while moving.
And as they moved, they struck Scorbunny while he was running with an aura of Fire. The Rabbit Pokemon was met with an erupting golden shockwave that consumed him. "Scor!" Scorbunny was hurled through the air from that with everyone's eyes tracking him.
It was a one-hit KO. Scorbunny could not withstand the force of Krookodile's Earth Power. "Scorbunny..."
"Audi! Audino-No!" Audino called this battle off, declaring Krookodile the winner as the Pokemon let out cries of cheer and applause.
"Krook." Krookodile sighed with a sweatdrop appearing. Even though he won, he was afraid that Scorbunny could've defeated him if he let his guard down some more. Krookodile, instead of showing off, helped Scorbunny up from the ground, congratulating him for a fairly entertaining battle. "Krookodile."
"S-Scor." Scorbunny was a bit upset that he didn't evolve. But he had fun battling either way. Chikorita got in the mood for battling as well as she jumped up and down with excitement.
"Chiko! Chiko!"
"Audino." But Audino insisted that they should rest before making other hasty and energetic movements. Scorbunny and Krookodile needed the healing. Mostly Scorbunny.
"Bunny. Scor-Scor." Scorbunny wished to evolve soon. Very soon. He wasn't sure if battling with Krookodile would be the key to that goal. The rest of Ponyville still existed, along with the Pokemon House. Many Pokemon and Trainers to choose from. Either could help him.
He insisted on trying the Pokemon House or Ponyville. Especially the Fighting-Type room. Audino nodded as that was a sound decision. They would take a small trip to the Fighting-Type room for potential evolutions.
The Fighting-Type room.
The Fighting-Type room, much like every other Type Room within the Pokemon House, catered to the Fighting-Type Pokemon and their needs. And it looked exactly like a dojo. From the heavy bags, mats focus and kick pads and a lot more for specific Pokemon.
And as for the Pokemon within the room, they were all in the same boat as Scorbunny and Chikorita. They were pre-evolved. Machop, Pancham, Crabrawler, Meditite were among them. In fact, the Fighting-Types were one of the least common types in the Pokemon House.
But, even though they were all pre-evolved, there was one Pokemon within their group that wasn't. Their teacher was a Throh. Throh didn't have an evolution either way.
"Throh?" He turned his attention to the visitors.
"Scor! Scorbunny!" Scorbunny and Chikorita ran over to him before coming to a screeching halt. They started asking him to help them evolve. "Scorbun! Bunny!"
"Chi! Chiko!"
"Throh. Throh." Throh heard their requests after nodding. He then asked if they had tried the Fighting Fields, which was coincidentally what Scorbunny was thinking of earlier.
"Audino!" Audino gushed, hoping they could go there, but Krookodile stepped in once more.
"Krooko!" Krookodile then asked the Judo Pokemon if he had a method of making them evolve quick enough.
"Throh." Throh had but one piece of advice that was easy to follow. His personal advice. It was to have others help them. Which was exactly what Scorbunny was already doing. Krookodile had helped him try to evolve.
"Scor." Scorbunny and Chikorita found that answer redundant as they sighed. But, it was easy to follow and was straightforward. They then decided to tackle every Pokemon they could, asking for a battle. "Scorbun!"
"Throh-Throh." But Throh declined, saying that he was busy with the younger Fighting-Types. He would battle them later when he had the chance. But it was still a possibility.
Scorbunny and Chikorita then ran out of the Fighting-Type room to ask other Pokemon if they could battle. The closest to this room was the Fairy-Type room which only had three Pokemon. Cleffa, Spritzee and Marril. Fairy-Type Pokemon weren't that abundant here in the Pokemon House. Making them the least common types by far.
"Chiko?" Chikorita asked for a battle from them. So did Scorbunny.
"Cle. Cleffa." But Cleffa and the others declined. They weren't really fond of Pokemon Battling at all. So this room was a bust as well. But the duo then rushed over to the next room for potential battles.
But each room they went to was a failure. Most Pokemon were either too busy, didn't bother or were asleep. Scorbunny and Chikorita weren't too fond of this. This seemed like a cruel trick fate was playing on them.
"Dino. Audino." But Audinotold them that despite this being a heavy Pokemon area, not everyone is down for battle. In fact, the Pokemon here in the Pokemon House are rarely seen battling. The only times it's seen are with the Fighting-Type Pokemon, threats or even if a Trainer was coming by for a pick. The Pokemon here in the Pokemon House are close to pacifists due to the peaceful lives they've been living.
But all was not lost. Ponyville was still up for grabs. The Pokemon there, while they don't battle a lot, they've been through their fair share of battles without a doubt. Plus, they had Pokemon Trainers by their side, making them stronger due to the bond they shared.
"Scorbunny!" It was settled. The trainers at Ponyville were next. Nothing is stronger than a bond between a Pokemon and its Trainer after all.
Ponyville Streets.
Most of the ponies here in Ponyville go to the Pokemon School to learn about Pokemon. Which meant that the town was sometimes silent until they got back.
The only ones here were Spike, Mayor Mare, Cherilee, Cold Colt, Jade Skies, Mr and Mrs Cake, the Cake Twins and sometimes Derpy. Not a lot. But thankfully, there are enough Pokemon in this town that either stay here while their trainers are at school or Wild Pokemon like the all-seeing Noctowl who acts at night.
Not many options to choose from here in Ponyville. Hours were needed until everypony would get back. But each Trainer had strong bonds with their Pokemon so it was fine. Currently, Mayor Mare and Cheerilee were conversing before spotting the trio.
"Hello there, you three." Cherilee greeted Scorbunny, Chikorita and Audino. Krookodile stayed behind, acting as the Pokemon House's guardian as always. "Fluttershy didn't bring you along, did she?"
"Audino." Audino shook her head before giving hand signs to Cherilee, trying to communicate with her. She was able to do so as Cherilee has studded something similar. Hoof signs for ponies who can't communicate. Audino explained what she was doing with Scorbunny and Chikorita.
"Evolution, eh?" She replied. "Oh, I see. That can be done in any way, really. I know a way myself. Hopefully, enough to garner the attention of the Pokemon School..." She said under her breath with that last sentence.
"Jealous Cheerilee?" Mayor Mare replied.
"Jealous?" Cherilee pulled back before trying to play it cool. "No, no, no. I'm not jealous Not in the slightest. But...I do have to reschedule so much for my students since they go to the Ponyville Schoolhouse and the Pokemon School on different days. It's not easy when you don't want to tire them out with double the school."
"They're only free on Monday and Tuesday, so there are little breaks for the little ones than usual. We'll just have a talk with the school to see if we can change their timetables. And you three?" The Mayor then turned to the trio of Pokemon.
"Scorbunny and Raboot here are trying to evolve. And I can grant them that request. It seems that battling isn't turning out. Besides, there's more than one way to evolve, as I say."
"Mhm." Mayor Mare nodded. "You were the first pony to spot a different way of evolving last year. I suppose you had one major piece of knowledge about Pokemon to give out. So what way can you show to these two?"
"I doubt it'll work the same way as before, but I made something over at the Ponyville Schoolhouse. A sort of obstacle course to help Pokemon evolve quicker. Although um...It's not panning out as much as I want it to." She laughed nervously. "Scootaloo's Ponyta has yet to evolve after all, along with a few others."
"Is it efficient?"
"It's..." She scrunched her face before shifting her eyes. She then lowered her head, admitting to the truth. "Not at all. Only 4 Pokemon have managed to evolve thanks to it. And those were months apart."
"Scorbun." Scorbunny sighed as he enjoyed himself a challenge. And an obstacle course to try and evolve sounded like a sure-fire bet. But since it wasn't efficient, that made him less excited.
As they stood there, Audino's ears sensed something approaching this way. Her ears picked up on the sound of hoofsteps. Rapid moving hoofsteps of someone running. "Audino?"
"Stoutland?" Stoutland's nose already sensed the arrival of someone heading towards Ponyville. Old reliable dog nose after all. Both Stoutland Audino looked in the direction of the west, wondering who was showing up.
And with gallant and graceful speeds plus a beautiful jump over the acre of trees near the entrance to Ponyville, one of the Swords of Justice had made an appearance.
And it was Virizion for this.
They gawked as Scorbunny's eyes lit up. Scorbunny was already attracted to beautiful Pokemon. An example was Rarity's Milotic. And as soon as Virizion appeared in midair with her graceful jump, he had yet another crush in his heart. "S-Scorbun!"
"Virizion?" said Cheerilee and Mayor Mare.
"Good morning," Virizion said before landing perfectly on her hooves. "A bit quiet here than usual, isn't it?"
"S-Some of our citizens are at the Pokemon School. What are you doing here exactly?" Mayor Mare asked.
"Oh. I'm here for something wonderful that I heard the other day. Something I've been missing out." She stood up tall. "I heard from Keldeo that this SugarCube Corner place has some wonderful food. I couldn't ignore it, so I'm here for your delicacies."
"Fair enough. Head in then, Sword of Justice." Mayor Mare aimed her hoof at SugarCube Corner. Virizion could already picture the kind of food she could be trying now. Her fantasies were running wild as she even stuck her tongue out.
"Bunny!" But before she could head there, Scorbunny hopped in the way. Acting cool, he decided to do the honours of guiding Virizion towards SugarCube Corner. Virizion chuckled before walking past the Rabbit Pokemon. Scorbunny was swooned by this until Chikorita slapped him in the face with her leaf. They needed their evolutions stat. "Scor?!"
"Chiko!"
Entering SugarCube Corner, Virizion and the others were met with a surprising sight. Mr and Mrs Cake plus the Cake Twins were here along with Jade, obviously. But someone had joined them.
Within the room, Cold Colt was there, doing something frantic and from his heart's desire. Music was playing from a radio that he had created with his magic. And with that music, he was jamming out with no one else in the kitchen.
Cold was clearly enjoying himself, favouring this music as it made him move like crazy. He was holding and playing the guitar that he had created, jumping around in the kitchen. Of course, Cold Colt was horrible at playing the guitar with zero experience, so he made the sounds of the guitar being strummed silent as he sang along to the song.
"Filling up with such emotion! It's so exciting to be putting our dreams into motion! Bra-" But then, he soon paused after noticing Virizion, Mayor Mare, Cherilee Jubilee and the other Pokemon staring at him from the entrance of the bakery. The music was cut off as Cold dropped the guitar.
Virizion tried holding her laugh in along with Mayor Mare, Cheerilee and Scorbunny. "S-Sorry for the intrusion," Virizion said while quietly chuckling. Cold's face turned red as he made the radio and guitar disappear. He was embarrassed after they had seen him. Even though they were trying to hide their laughter, he could hear them.
"Nice moves." Suddenly, another individual had seen him. Jade. She appeared behind her fellow Rift Pony, startling him.
"Jade! How long have you been watching?!"
"Long enough." She replied in her usual dry tone. But she quickly gave a teasing smile that she managed to muster before growing once more.
"Ah geez..." Cold grumbled, using his magic to create a paper bag as he hid his head in it. "Knew I should've stayed in the castle...But Nyx would've seen me."
"Oh, don't worry." Virizion went up to him. "I found it charming. Anyway. I'm here for the food that is said to be so delicious. Where do you keep it?"
"Nothing's been made yet but there's some food in the fridge if you want." Jade nudged her head to the fridge. Virizion went to help herself, however, Scorbunny rushed over to the fridge to open it for the Grassland Pokemon.
"Scor! Scorbunny!" Scorbunny opened the fridge door by kicking the side of it, showing off to Virizion. Once the fridge had been opened, Virizion was treated to the sight of various foods she could try.
"Thank you." She then licked her lips after witnessing the pastries. So much to choose from just from the fridge alone.
"Ri. Chikori." Chikorita then used her vines to grab Scorbunny by his ear, dragging him. "Chiko!"
"S-Scorbun?!" Scorbunny then cried out, flailing around to try and free himself from Chikorita's hold's hold.
"Chiko!" Chikorita then told Scorbunny that they needed to evolve instead of wasting time, making googly eyes to the first pretty Pokemon that caught his attention.
"Scorbunnt." Scorbunny pouted before looking to the side.
"You want to evolve, do you?" Virizion translated. "Here's an idea. I once saw a few Pokemon evolve just by simply eating."
"Eating? That's another way of evolving?" said Cherilee.
"Every Pokemon can evolve in different ways and unique methods. Not just by battling or using special stones and items to do so. The power of the Evolution Process is vast with many possibilities. No matter what you try, there's a chance your evolution will come. Unless you have one of those um..what are they called?" Virizion put her hoof on her chin. "Everstones."
"Bun." Scorbunny and Chikorita looked at each other before seeing the food in front of them. If they could evolve by eating, then that would leave both their stomachs and needs satisfied. They decided to give it a try, taking, Virizion's recommendation.
Cold used his magic to place the food from the fridge on the table for consumption. They were cold but still edible. However, Scorbunny could change that. He used Ember, heating up the food to match a nice and suitable temperature for him, Chikorita and Virizion. Afterwards, they could eat.
The three Pokemon started eating the food given to them. Scorbunny ate the fastest, Chikorita ate an average speed and Virizion took her time with it. Cold Colt then sheepishly walked out of SugarCube Corner, still embarrassed from before. But Mayor Mare promised not to tell a soul about this.
As they ate, their stomachs were being filled. But one of them was gaining significant difference. Scorbunny. Since he was eating so fast, he was filling up faster than the others. And he did it just to evolve. He thought about his future. How cool he would look as a Raboot and especially when he becomes Cinderace. He thought of it all while eating.
And just like what Virizion said, that was another way of evolving. By thinking of his future and snacking down on some tasty treats, Scorbunny's body started glowing. Everyone paused, witnessing this light. A spiral of flames surrounded the glowing body of the Rabbit Pokemon, covering him. His body started growing with alterations and additions being given to him. And bursting out of the spiral of flames was Raboot at last.
"Raboot!"
"Ooh! There you go!" Cherilee exclaimed as she, Audino and Mayor Mare applauded his success. "Well done!"
"Ri! Chikori!" Chikorita jumped up and down, glad for her friend. Now she was waiting for herself to evolve as she started thinking about becoming a Bayleef while snacking away. She even tried Raboot's method of eating faster to try and make it happen.
However, eating too fast made her sick as her stomach started growling. Chikorita paused before hopping off the table. Switching from eating at an average speed to eating at a fast speed was overwhelming. Her method of evolution was a bust, unfortunately.
"Boot." Raboot hopped off the table as well, patting Chikorita on the back.
The Pokemon House. Afternoon.
"It was worth coming here for the food. And I'm surprised I've never been here before. A place for Pokemon to live their lives. Fluttershy thought ahead, didn't she?" said Virizion as she, Raboot, Audino and Chikorita had arrived at the Pokemon House. Krookodile immediately spotted the view of a new Pokemon. Two of them. One was the evolved Raboot and the other was the Sword of Justice Virizion.
"Boot. Raboot." Raboot was here to show off and tell Krookodile how he managed to evolve, hoping his friend would be proud of him.
"Krook!" But Krookodile had something else in mind. After seeing Virizion, just like Raboot, he swooned as he ran past Raboot without acknowledging his evolved form.
"Ra?!"
"Krookodile!" Krookodile grabbed the nearest flower he could find for Virizion, trying to get to her. But it was soon revealed it was a Petilil he was holding. "Dile?"
"P-Petilil!" The Bulb Pokemon cried out before being put back down, bouncing away. A few minutes until Fluttershy would return along with everypony else at the Pokemon School.
And given that this was Winter, the sun had set sooner than before with the moon being raised at a quicker rate. It was already sunset with the sun radiating a gallant and soothing orange glow on the horizon. Scorbunny and Chikorita took a moment to sit back and relax, looking at the sunset.
So did Virizion and some of the Pokemon here at the Pokemon House. "Raboot." Raboot felt proud of himself for evolving. He wanted to evolve in a cooler way like a battle or a daring adventure. But perhaps Cinderace would fill that void. As for Chikorita, she was a tad bit upset that her evolution did not kick through.
She wanted to be in sync with Scorbunny so that they evolved at the same time. Plus, it would've been exciting to show Fluttershy their double evolution when she returned. But alas, that never occurred. "Chiko."
"Don't be so upset, little girl," Virizion said. "There are various opportunities still waiting for you. Perhaps, you'll evolve when the time is right."
"Chikorita?" Chikorita asked if that was what could happen. That her evolution would only occur under certain situations instead of being randomized like Raboot.
"It will come." She nodded before patting Chikorita on the head.
"Di? Audino." Audino's ears then heard the sound of many hoofsteps and wingbeats in the distance. Everypony was returning from the Pokemon School. "Audi. Audino."
"Well. Looks like it'll be lively once more. I should be going. But I'll be back." Virizion stood up. "If you would, could you tell Pinkie Pie to make me something when I return in let's say 4 days?"
"Audino." Audino would keep that promise.
"Thank you. Can't wait." Virizion could already imagine the delicacies she could taste. It would be beyond fruits. "Until next time." And like always, Virizion ran off with bountiful speeds.
"Krooko!" Krookodile held his arm out, trying to reach Virizion. But then, he thought about how Audino could be furious and jealous. But really, she wasn't in the slightest.
The streets of Ponyville were lively once more with everypony returning home after learning more about Pokemon at the Pokemon School. And showing up was Fluttershy who was greeted with the sight of something joyful. Standing at the entrance was Raboot, deciding to show off his new appearance.
"Raboot!" Fluttershy zoomed through, landing right in front of her newly evolved partner. "You did it! Look at you, I'm so proud!"
"Ra-Raboot." With this new evolution came a new personality. Raboot had always tried to look cool when he was a Scorbunny. Now he certainly did as a Raboot as he crossed his arms.
"And Chikorita? Is she a Bayleef?" Fluttershy asked.
"Boot." But with a head shake, it was confirmation that she wasn't. "Ra. Raboot." Raboot then explained that Virizion came over, telling Chikorita that she would evolve when the time was right. AKA, during a specific scenario.
"I see." She nodded. "Well, I can always still help her evolve. And you too. You're brand new and everything."
"Raboot-Ra."
"Come on. I have so much to tell you about today's lesson." Fluttershy said before heading towards her cottage and Pokemon House. Raboot ran by her side, speedier than ever in this newly evolved form.
There are different ways of evolving. Some are easy, some are difficult and some are hard to explain. But every Pokemon has a way they can approach it. Whether it be through battle, eating or even emotions themselves, one way or another, they'll break their limits and reach new heights.
Unless they have an Everstone, then that's a problem.
Or the Pokemon World Coronation Series as an alternate title. A tournament to determine the top Pokemon Trainer. Ash aims to battle Champion Leon, the reigning Monarch and the World's Strongest Pokemon Trainer. Trainers from all over the world enter and those within the same rank class battle against each other.
The results determine each trainer's ranking among all who've entered. A while back, Ash and Farfetch'd had a battle a Gallade and his Trainer Rinto. But Farfetch'd lost to said Pokemon in the end. But that was just the start of his journey to becoming stronger.
Next, they had visited the Kalos Region, to train with Wikstrom of the Kalos Elite 4. While there, Farfetch'd and Ash formed a strong bond through, surprisingly, Farfetch'd's leek. Now ranking 273 in the Great Class, Ash still has quite a long road ahead of him before he faces Leon. And the daunting challenges he and his Pokemon must contend with will continue. On this very day.
"Farfetch'd!" Currently, Ash's Farfetch'd was training with Goh's Scizor for better swordsmanship. He swung his leek from above, only for Scizor to block it afterwards. They separated before rushing in against each other.
"Scizor!" Both Pokemon went back and forth with constant clashes.
"Good work, Farfetch'd!" Ash cheered his partner on. "Now keep up the attack!"
"Pikachu!"
"Alright, Scizor! Use X-Scissor!"
"Sci...Zor!" Scizor, instead of using X-Scissor up close, released it as a form of energy in an X-Shape.
"Now, Farfetch'd! Detect!"
"Far!" It's not like Farfetch'd to play defensively. But after learning Detect, Farfetch'd could become both an attacker and a defender. Best of both worlds. His eyes flashed blue as he swayed to the side, avoiding the X-Scissor.
"Use Night Slash!"
"Far...Fetch'd!" Farfetch'd then went on the offensive, swinging his leek and sending concentrated darkness towards Scizor.
"Scizor!" Scizor put up his arms to block the darkness. He had been promptly pushed back by it but managed to reduce the damage given to him. But, Night Slash's strength did show its power as Scizor got on his knee.
Farfetch'd was a bit fatigued after this fairly intense training as he breathed in and out to catch his breath. "Far. Fetch'd."
"Good stuff!" Pinkie clapped her hooves in applause. "Great stuff!"
"Now do me next!" Rainbow Dash flew over, holding her Poke Ball out. "Come on, Ash. Farfetch'd."
"Sorry. But Farfetch'd and Scizor need some rest first. Fluttershy?"
"On it. Audi. Use Heal Pulse." Fluttershy said to her partner.
"Raboot!" Raboot, who had evolved not too long ago, jumped in between Ash and Rainbow Dash. He wanted a taste of some Pokemon Battling and a way to see how much he's improved now that he's a Raboot. "Raboot! Boot!"
"Cinder." But Goh's Cinderace told him to slow down and wait for his chance. But Raboot was too hasty to start, tapping his foot on the ground repeatedly.
"Say, Ash. Maybe you still need a break but um..." Twilight flew over to him. "The Holon Region. I figured we should go when you've dealt with that Sea Temple problem. Maybe 2 months after Hearth's Warming?"
"Holon?" Ash thought for a moment. Going to Holon after Christmas/Hearth's Warming was a good call. Ash needed a break still. And there is no better break than the holidays. "Hm-Hm. Not a bad idea, Twi."
"Pikachu."
"Great. I'll mark it down for January 10th then." Twilight used her magic to remember this date. The 10th of January is when they will be greeted to the Holon Region.
"Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd was back to full strength thanks to Audino. He slammed his leek on the ground to show his resurgence in strength.
"Nice-nice," said Ash. "Great that you're up to speed. Okay. It's time to eat. I hear Rarity made something delicious herself back home."
"Ooh! I wanna see this!" Pinkie bounced as Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Goh followed Ash outside of Cerise Park just to head back to Equestria.
But, minutes later, as they were walking through the streets of Vermillion City, Ash's Rotomphone started ringing. That ringing meant only one thing. A Championships Battle was near. "A battle challenge has been issued." The phone announced. He then took out his Rotomphone to see who it was this time.
Nearby, Rinto was the trainer that was close to him. "Oh. It's Rinto!" He gawked as all eyes were on the phone.
"Rinto? The guy with the Gallade? Is he here in Equestria?" Twilight asked. They all then looked around to see if Rinto was near. Audino fine-tuned her ears for better hearing.
"Audino." Rinto had been found. Just nearby. Very near. He was just a few feet away from them as Audino pointed towards the east. Showing up was Rinto and his Gallade, sure enough.
"Huh?" Rinto's attention had been caught by the group as he looked ahead. "It's you. And your sidekicks too."
"Sidekicks?!" Rainbow Dash bellowed, growling at Rinto as she was about to go on a tangent in his face. But Twilight and Pinkie Pie promptly stopped her before that could happen.
"Uh-huh. Nice to see you, Rinto." Ash greeted him.
"Pikachu."
"Gallade." But Gallade's attention was on someone else. Someone he had beaten before. He looked to the side to spot Galarian Farfetch'd eyeing him down with a narrowed glare.
"Oh. You're entered in the World Championships, right?" Goh spoke to Rinto.
"But I didn't get a message to battle back then," Ash recalled how there wasn't a notification for Rinto back then when he and Farfetch'd had finished battling Dozer and his Gurdurr.
"That's because I'd just entered," explained Rinto. "I was still in the Normal Class."
"Awesome. Now you're in the Great Class!" Ash exclaimed.
"Yes. You too, it seems. How has Farfetch'd been since then?" The Trainer of Gallade asked.
"Really good. A little while back, we went to the Kalos Region and we trained with Wikstrom!" Ash pumped his fist out.
"Pika!"
"Wow. You went to the Castle of Chivalry?" Rinto was impressed by that. It seemed that any Pokemon Trainer that had some affiliation to blade-related things knew about this castle.
"You know it! Shining Armor included!" Goh exclaimed. "We worked hard and received knight medals too!"
"We went through some pretty tough training there as well." Rinto reminisced his time at the castle. "It sure brings back memories."
"Gallade."
"Hey. Let's battle. Farfetch'd and I have sharpened our skills, so we won't be easy to beat." Ash requested. Farfetch'd gave a glare, anticipating the request to be accepted. He wanted his rematch immediately.
"Sounds like a great idea. I can see such great potential in both of you." He agreed to it.
"Thanks. Get ready for more!" Ash grinned, looking forward to a second battle with Rinto. Pokemon Battles always excite him but battling against someone who's beaten him before just increases that.
"Pikachu!"
And this battle would take place at a nearby park. It was certainly wide enough and spacious for a Pokemon Battle to take place. Plus, it also had a battlefield for Pokemon Battles. Not all of Ash's friends were here to see it but they would certainly tell the tale. And as always, appearing to the scene to commentate was the Rotomdrone as it descended from above.
"You have been approved for an official Pokemon World Championships Great Class Battle! Competing...It's Rinto vs Ash!"
"Ace this like you always do, Ash! Counting on ya!" Rainbow Dash raised her hoof. "Win it!"
"Hurry so we can try what Rarity made!" Pinkie bellowed.
"I got it. Pikachu. You cheer us on, alright?"
"Pikachu!"
"For today's battle, each of you is allowed to use one Pokemon. Will both challengers please bring out your Pokemon?" The Rotomdrone asked. "3...2...1...GO!"
"Gallade. Let's do it." Gallade was Rinto's obvious choice. He was his ace after all. Looked a bit like him too oddly enough.
"Remember! We're aiming to be Leak Masters!" Ash chose Farfetch'd for round 2 against Gallade. Both Farfetch'd and Gallade hopped forward, landing in the middle of the battlefield.
"How come it's only been one or two Pokemon for this Championship stuff? When are we gonna get to four or even six?" Rainbow Dash pouted. "Even Leon vs Lance was just one-on-one."
"Maybe we'll get those dream matches someday." Twilight could only shrug as a response to Rainbow Dash's words.
"Battle begin!"
"I look forward to seeing what's changed since our last battle, Ash."
"Gallade." Gallade readied himself, getting in the usual Gallade species stance.
"I'm right with you! Fury Cutter! Let's go!" Ash went first in this battle, giving the order to Farfetch'd.
"Far!" Farfetch'd lunged forward as his leek was coated with a verdant green light. He then started swinging his leek towards the Blade Pokemon.
"Block it, Gallade."
"Ga!" Gallade went on the defensive, using his powerful blades as protection against Farfetch'd's Large Leek. The Leek had been smashed onto Gallade's arms as he nullified the damage. Farfetch'd swung again with an overhead, only for that to be blocked as well.
"Use Night Slash!" Rinto sai while having his eyes closed.
"Ga...Llade!" Gallade's arms illuminated light blue and became surrounded in similarly coloured streaks of energy as he swung his arms. By swinging, energy was thrown out of them.
"Use Detect!"
"Far!" Farfetch'd went on the defensive too for a split-second. And in that split-second with his eyes flashing blue, the Wild Duck Pokemon managed to evade the incoming energy slashes with ease. However, noticeably, as he was dodging, Gallade slid closer to him.
"Psycho Cut!"
"Gallade!" Gallade's light blue coloured blades then turned purple as he swiftly slashed Farfetch'd, sending him flying back with a wave of Psychic energy being shot out. It was super-effective.
"Feeeeetch'd!" He cried out whilst being shot back. After a good distance and a few seconds of being flung, the Psychic wave blew up with Farfetch'd smack-dab in the middle of it.
"Ooh!" Twilight and the others felt that as they cringed while sitting on the bench. The smoke cleared as Farfetch'd was still standing even after that super-effective hit.
However, amidst the explosion, his leek had been burnt a bit with smoky parts around it. "Far?!" Farfetch'd gasped, seeing that his leek had been damaged. That was not a good sign but he kept his steely resolve. "Fetch'd!"
"Even though Ash and Farfetch'd have grown stronger, Rinto's just one step ahead of them, isn't he?" Fluttershy bit her hoof as she was getting a bit worried.
"Talk about fast retaliation," said Twilight. "And he only started in the World Championship's during their first encounter?"
"So. You used Detect," said Rinto. "But since this is a battle of strength, all I need is to strike that leek once and Farfetch'd goes down with it. You're not trained at all." He tapped on his head, showing that he was thinking ahead of Ash.
Twilight grizzled her teeth, not taking too kindly to Rinto's words towards Ash. "So then what do you think they are if they're not trained?! What are they lacking?!"
"Twilight please calm down." Fluttershy gulped.
"Hey, I'm no Gym Leader." Rinto put his hand in his pocket, closing his eyes. "If you want answers, find them yourself. It's our turn. Now Gallade! Close Combat!"
"Use Night Slash! Meet it head-on!"
"Gallade!" Time for Gallade to be the offensive one in this battle. Both lunged with Gallade's blades and Farfetch'd's Leek meeting. But after their first contact, Gallade gained the advantage, spinning around and striking the side of Farfecth'ds neck.
"F-Far!" After being hit, Gallade then delivered a frenzy of Close Combat hit repeatedly, pummeling Farfetch'd while he was still in the air.
"Galla-Galla-Galla!" Gallade roared before going for the final blow with a kick.
"Detect!"
"Fetch'd!" Farfetch'ds eyes glowed as he evaded the incoming kick with a midair jump. Right on time.
"Use Feint." But Rinto had an answer to that evasion.
"Gallade!" Gallade moved quick enough to keep up with a move as swift as Detect. He swung his blade towards the Wild Duck Pokemon, only for Farfetch'd to use his leek to block it. Unfortunately, that was where distraught came.
As soon as he blocked it, Gallade's blade cut the top of the leek, the strongest part of it, in half. The top part went into the air as everyone gasped at this shocking sight.
"No way!" Rainbow Dash cried out.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy put her hooves over her mouth, including her wings. Everyone paused as the cut leek had fallen to the ground.
"Feint...That means Detect is pointless..." Twilight shuddered.
"Not it's leek..." Ash gawked.
"Alright then. Whaddya got?" Rinto asked.
"No leek. This is gonna be tough..." Ash said to himself before thinking. But then, as always, his crazy ideas sprung into action as he saw the cut-off leek lying there. "Wait a sec..."
"Hm?" Rinto squinted.
"Oh, perfect timing. Ash's ludicrous ideas are about to come into play again," said Twilight with a hopeful smile.
"Pika."
"Hehe!" That's when a cunning grin formed on Ash's face. "Farfetch'd! You can still work with your leek!"
"Farfetch'd?"
"Remember our training with Wikstrom?" Ash held his hat, holding it out as he put it in front of him. He used his hat as a shield, giving Farfetch'd pointers. "Like Aegislash!"
"Um...Okay, what's he doing here?" Rainbow Dash wondered. "Is the hat meant to mean something?"
"No clue." Goh shook his head.
"Like Aegislash..." Twilight thought for a moment. "Oh! I think I get it!"
"Interesting. Aegislash, I see. Hey Gallade. Let's watch this strategy." Rinto was curious, allowing Ash to play out his new strategy.
"Gallade."
"Remember? The Sword and Shield!" Ash then held his other arm out, swinging it around like a sword.
"Farfetch'd..." That's when Farfetch'd understood Ash. He was even brought back to when he battled against Aegislash. Not only could Wikstrom's Aegislash defend itself with King Shield, but it could also fight back with Sacred Sword. A perfect mix of offence and defence, making it truly a powerful Pokemon.
Farfetch'd knew what needed to be done. Even with a broken top, he went would still use it as he walked over to it. The Wild Duck Pokemon then picked the broken part of the leek up from the ground, facing Gallade as he was using it as a shield while the lower part was the sword. "Farfetch'd!"
"That's the ticket!" Ash snapped his finger.
"Can it even battle like that?" Goh wondered.
"Ash makes the impossible possible. So let's see," said Twilight.
"Hmph. There's no way you can beat Gallade like that. Pretending to be a knight." But Rinto wasn't impressed at all. "Gallade! Use Psycho Cut!"
"Gallade!" A quick Psycho Cut was thrown from Gallade's blade without a windup.
"Block it, quick!"
"Fetch'd!" Farfetch'd ran ahead, using the shield leek to defend himself. The Psycho Cut hit the shield with a purple explosion following afterwards. But the leek indeed acted like a shield as Farfetch'd jumped high into the air. "Far...!"
"Night Slash, let's go!"
"Let's use Night Slash too, Gallade!"
"Gallade!" Gallade and Farfetch simultaneously used Night Slash. But Gallade did in a more frantic manner. He started swinging his blades around so fast with Night Slash that it looked like a whirlwind was surrounding him. Farfetch'd slammed his leek down, unable to break through as he jumped back. Gallade then moved in for another slash, only for Farfetch'd to successfully block it.
"Fetch'd!"
"Look at that. Still relying on sheer strength." Rinto shrugged with his hand behind his neck. Gallade then swung rapidly once more. This time, sending Night Slash as a projectile. Each projectile went towards the Wild Duck Pokemon but Farfetch'd managed to dodge every incoming one.
"Amazing! Even with the leek cut in half!" Fluttershy gawked.
"Good going, Farfetch'd!" Ash balled his fist as Farfetch'd move in for a decisive strike. He slammed his leek overhead but Gallade was still quick enough to block it. Not only did he block it, but he caught the leek with his blades, holding it in place. As well as Farfetch'd.
"Look at that. He can't move now." Rinto smirked.
"But neither can Gallade, can he?" Ash retorted.
"Not even close. Gallade is in the perfect position to attack. Psycho Cut!"
"Ga...Llade!" Gallade's blades turned purple as he put so much force with his push that he caused Farfetch'd to roll about.
"Faaaar!" Farfetch'd cried out as he crashed into the Ash from the distance he received.
"Ough!" Ash cried out as he sat down from the initial crash.
"Ash!" Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy cried out as Pikachu ran to Ash's side.
"Pika!"
"What's with this?!" Rainbow Dash bellowed. "Farfetch'd's still out of Gallade's reach! He's hardly received any damage at all!"
"Wonder what Wikstrom would say? If he could see you battling now." taunted Rinto to Ash.
"Farfetch'd are you alright?" Ash asked.
"Far..." Farfetch'd looked over at his broken leek on the floor for a moment. "Farfetch'd..."
"I'll admit. I'm disappointed, Ash. I misjudged your potential. You're still far too untrained to beat any kind of opponent." Rinto dismissed Ash's skills. "Like my Gallade."
"This guy's getting on my last nerves here...!" Twilight twitched as she was the one needing to be held back by Rainbow Dash, Pinkie and Fluttershy now.
"Will you continue the battle?" The Rotomdrone flew over, wondering why Ash wasn't given a command right now. Ash then looked at Farfetch'd who was still gazing at his leek. "Hmmm..." The drone waited patiently.
"We're in! It isn't over yet!" Ash stood up. "We've got a lot of fight left!
"Really? Aren't we being defiant?" Rinto chuckled.
"I know Farfetch'd tries his best every single time. This isn't how Farfetch'd usually is! I know more than anyone he can do better! Let's get stronger and stronger together, buddy!"
"Far?"
"You and I, we're both inadequate sure. But that's why we're gonna get stronger! I believe in you, Farfetch'd!"
"Far...Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd gripped his leek after Ash's words.
"You good to go, Farfetch'd?"
"Farfetch'd!" Indeed he was. He stood up tall, holding both parts of his leek as a sword and shield once more.
"Verified that Farfetch'd wishes to continue battling!" announced the Rotomdrone.
"Here we come! Rinto! Gallade!" Ash pointed at them.
"You leave me no choice then. Gallade! Night Slash!"
"Lade!" Gallade rushed in as always.
"Detect!"
"Far!" With a flash of his eyes, Farfetch'd managed to evade the swift wings from Gallade's Night Slash, jumping from side to side.
"Fury Cutter!"
"Farfetch! Far!" Farfetch'd's leek glowed green as he started using Fury Cutter as projectiles as well, switching it up a bit as it forced Gallade to block them. However, Farfetchd's swinging speed had increased, especially with Fury Cutter. With all these rapid swings, one of them broke through, hitting Gallade's chest.
"Gal!" Gallade gasped as a strong pressure came from the initial hit, blowing Rinto's hair.
"!" Rinto was surprised by that as he realized he needed to get serious for this, or else it was game. "Close Combat!"
"Gallade!" Gallade jumped back before rushing back in. He and Farfetch'd started clashing with consecutive and lightning-fast swinging from their respective weapons. However, Farfetch'd seemed to be moving faster each time as he landed another hit on Gallade's stomach. And then another on his leg, forcing the Blade Pokemon back. Gallade was showing signs of struggle at last.
"Look at that speed! Awesome!" Rainbow Dash squeed.
"Pika!"
"You're a dangerous character, Ash. Finish this with Close Combat!"
"Gallade!" Gallade was ready to seal the deal as Farfetch'd breathed in and out from this rigorous battle. But as Gallade advanced, he noticed something happening to Farfetch'd. Everyone did.
The Wild Duck Pokemon's body started glowing, radiating swirling and pulsating lights. He panted as the lights enveloped his exhausted body. Everyone paused to look at this. Even Gallade. That's when they knew what was coming next.
Evolution.
The visage of Farfetch'd stood up instead of being hunched over via exhaustion. He closed his eyes, allowing this moment of energy to flow through him. And with a spark, his leek, both of them, flashed blue, transforming into something greater than what he had before. The light faded away as Farfetch'd had reached his final stage. Something that not even the original Sirfetch'd was capable of.
Sirfetch'd.
"Sir! Sirfetch'd!"
"No way! This Farfetch'd can evolve?!" Ash was shocked as he never expected this. He and the others took their Pokedexes out for this.
"Sirfetch'd. The Wild Duck Pokemon. Only Farfetch’d that have survived many battles can attain this evolution. When this Pokémon’s leek withers, it will retire from combat. After deflecting attacks with its hard leaf shield, it strikes back with its sharp leek stalk. The leek stalk is both weapon and food. They are calm and collected, and they make a point of always battling fairly. They are so noble in battle that they are often chosen as a motif for paintings."
"So. It seems that he evolved in response to your feelings," said Rinto. "Now that is a knight. Surpassing himself to protect his lord. He has my respect. But...Night Slash!"
"Lade!" Gallade threw the Night Slashes ahead.
"We'll use Night Slash too!"
"Sir!" Sirfetch'd's leek had been surrounded in light blue streaks of energy and it slashes the opponent with it. But while also throwing it, he leapt in for a close-quarters attack. So did Gallade as both their blades met. Gallade was starting to be pushed back as the ground below him was cracking.
"Still feeling the damage from before...Then Gallade! Lower your guard!"
"Gallade!" Surprisingly, Gallade, a very concentrated Pokemon, dropped his guard in front of everyone. But that allowed his ability to kick in.
Justified.
Only activates when hit by a Dark-Type move. And Night Slash was just that. It brought back memories of Spitfire and Daylight Blazer doing the same with Gallade and Araquanid's bite. Gallade's blades started giving off an orange glow as his attack had been boosted.
Not only that, but the blades extended, reaching new heights. He was stronger than ever thanks to Justified and had greater reach too.
"Let your sense of justice flow! Close Combat!"
"Here he comes!" Ash cried out.
"Sirfetch'd!" Sirfetch'd kept his guard up, instantly using his shield to block Gallade's swing. He was now on par with Gallade's impressive speed at last. Evolution truly does wonders. Galladep rushed on the shield, trying to break through it as Sirfetch'd held his ground.
"Sirfetch'd!" Ash called for him as Sirfetch'd turned his head. "Let's get stronger and stronger! Leon's waiting for us!
"Sir." Sirfetch'd then closed his eyes, thinking of how he could bring Ash to the top. As well as himself. Becoming the World's Strongest Blademaster there is, surpassing all Pokemon that use blades. Even the Swords of Justice. "Sirfetch'd!" He roared.
"Night Slash!" Both Ash and Rinto said.
The two Fighting-Types prepared for the final blow, pulling their weapons back for better power and speed. With a mighty swing, they clashed their weapons onto each other. But with just 1 second, Sirfetch'd managed to break through, hitting Gallade and launching him. "Sir!"
"G-Ga!" Gallade cried out before landing face-first. That final hit from the might Sirfetch'd did the trick. He had finally fainted. "Gallade..."
"Gallade is unable to battle! Sirfetch'd wins! As such, the winner is Contestant Ash!"
"Alright!" Ash roared. "We did it!"
"Pikachu!"
"Ash! Way to go! Yay!" Fluttershy flapped her wings frantically. as the others cheered.
"Based on the results of this battle, the Pokemon World Championships rankings will be updated." As always the drone left, flying off. Ash quickly checked to see his ranking now.
He was now Rank 184.
"184th! Great job, Ketchum!" Rainbow Dash nudged Ash on the head, causing him to laugh.
"You've shown me your resolve, Ash." Rinto walked over, carrying Gallade on his back. "We clashed with everything we had and we couldn't win. Looks like we have ways to go. We're still inadequate. Thank you very much."
"Here's hoping we'll both keep getting better," Ash said as he and Rinto shook hands.
"Yeah!"
Ponyville. Carousel Boutique. Afternoon.
"How inspiring!" Rarity said as everyone was eating the food she made at last. Thyme Olive Loaf was the name of it. "Evolving into Sirfetch'd! That's just one part of my many beloved stories! Excellent job on winning that battle!"
"Thanks!" Ash said with his mouth full of the food.
"The true strength that Wikstrom mentioned. You really showed it off there, Ash." Twilight spoke.
"Now. How about more of that loaf? This time, for celebration." Rarity went to make another one, only to almost knock over a glass of juice. "Oh!"
"Sir!" But acting as a knight, Sirfetch'd moved in, saving both Ash and Rarity from the juice with his shield. It ended up falling on his shield and body instead. "Sir."
"Oh, what a gentleman. How chivalrous." Rarity giggled.
"Now that's chivalry!" Twilight pointed her hoof while sitting up.
"It is?" Ash still had no idea what true chivalry was. But, little does he know, he's been chivalrous for years now. But perhaps heroic is the word he's familiar with.
The ardent bond between Ash and Sirfetch'd led to this evolution. The Pokemon World Championships is still ongoing. Ash's fierce battle to the top is just getting started as the journey continues.
"Right there." Ash had currently brought Professor Oak along with him to discuss the random time crack in the sky that was just sitting there. He was hoping that he would have something to say about this. "It's still here too. No idea if anything's passed through it."
"Hm. Are you sure it's from Dialga, Ash, my boy?" Oak asked.
"Yeah. I recognize that look." He confirmed. "What do you think we should do about it? I don't know if we can close it."
"We can't close it. But!" Oak snapped his fingers. "What we can do is prevent anything else from passing through. Time is a fickle thing, Ash. It can't be messed with too much, or else everything will either be knocked off course or split in something new and unpredictable."
"Yeah, I gotcha. Time stuff kinda confuses me a bit. But how are we gonna keep something from going through it then? Is there a Pokemon that can do that?"
"Not exactly. Not that I know of. But I can make something. I didn't just travel around sightseeing and observing Pokemon, you know. I was and still am an avid inventor in my own right. With the power of science!"
"Really?!" Ash's eyes shot up with stars as he was a big fan of science thanks to Clemont's inventions. "Science is so amazing!"
"Just give me four days and I'll have something up and ready. Oh, but you should be getting to something in a few days as well, right?"
"Oh yeah. The Friendship Games in this world are coming up. I'm gonna cheer Twilight on to victory. Pikachu and all of my Pokemon."
"Pikachu!"
"You do that. As for me...I think I'll stay behind in Canterlot for a while." Professor Oak put his hand on his chin, closing his eyes and letting his imagination run wild. "That Pokemon School is interesting but the history of this place intrigues me even more."
"Oh yeah. I never learned the whole history of Canterlot before." Ash looked up. "I gotta ask Celestia." Ash and Professor Oak left to head back to their world. Not before stopping by Canterlot, the way they were able to enter this world, of course via a mirror portal.
Crystal Prep Academy. Day.
Meanwhile, at Crystal Prep Academy, lessons were ongoing right now with students scattered everywhere. Only a few minutes until break time. And walking through the hallways was Twilight. But she wasn't alone. Inside of her bag was Zorua. And Spike as well.
"Why do I have to stay in here?" Zorua asked with her voice going through the bag via telepathy
"Because I'm not sure if Pokemon are allowed in the academy." Twilight explained. I know Spike is but I can't play it too safe. And Pokemon aren't exactly adjusted to yet."
"At least I get to eat all the food in here."
"Huh?" Twilight froze for a moment before turning around. "Zorua's that's my lunch-"
"Twilight Sparkle." Just then, interrupting Twilight at the most awkward time where she was talking to her backpack of all things was the principal of Crystal Prep Academy.
Principal Abacus Finch.
"Mmm!" She stood up tall, facing the principal as Zorua stayed quiet with Spike's head popping out of the bag. "Principal Finch! Y-Yes?"
"Can I talk to you for a moment?" She made her fingers perform a gesture as Twilight followed her into her. Zorua then started to secretly eat Twilight's food silently, keeping it all to herself. "It's about the Pokemon. You started taking interest and learning about them the moment we all became aware of their existence."
"Right. I did."
"And how is that going at the moment? Because some of our students are having issues, even with that Poke Ball that you gave them. Pokemon run rampant near where they live. Some are having issues staying awake in class and studying because of them. I would assume you've found a way to handle it like you said you would."
"I do. Honestly. There are a few ways but it's mostly the Poke Balls. I don't have enough for everyone. Or a whole town. Or more. But I've learned a lot about them thanks to my friend, Ash."
"Ash? Again, you've been bringing up that name as of lately? Should I know who Ash is?" Abacus asked.
"No. You see, Ash is..." Twilight paused for a moment, trying to explain this to the principal. She was afraid that she wouldn't believe her but then again, they all have been exposed to the Strange and Wonderful creatures known as Pokemon. "He's an experienced Pokemon Trainer. He's the one who came up with the idea of giving out Poke Balls and helping me learn about them."
"Hm. Well, if you have someone who is adept in all of this, then that's a good sign. But even still, I have good faith in you to figure this out. You've never failed me before."
"I won't with this. But uh...quick question." Twilight was going for a risky question. "When everyone eventually manages to overcome this Pokemon issue, do you think they'll be allowed in here?"
"Pokemon? In this academy?" She adjusted her glasses as Twilight scrunched her mouth, nodding slowly. Cinch thought for the moment about the concept of Pokemon being here. She rotated, giving it some thought. "If these magical creatures are going to be a part of our daily lives from now on...I'll give it some thought. In the meanwhile, I look forward to seeing what else you've found out about them. Hopefully witnessing an abundance of these Poke Balls."
"Well, I have some with me. Ash gave them to me." Twilight then dug into the side pocket within her bag to show the natural Pokemon Starter Equipment. In her hand, she held out 5 Poke Balls. "Here. I used one already so there's only 5 in my possession right now."
"So you have your own." Abacus took one of the Poke Balls off of Twilight's palm, observing this mysterious item. She was impressed at how this small spherical object had the power to contain these powerful creatures.
"I don't have enough yet. But when I do, it'll feel like everything's back to normal."
"Probably. Ask your friend Ash if there is a way to supply multiple of these Poke Balls." She then gave it back to Twilight.
"Oh. There's also something that I've been sensing over at the school far ahead. Canterlot High. Do you want me to look into it, maybe?" She asked.
"Canterlot High? Is it more Pokemon involved?"
"I don't think so. But months ago, I saw so many weird occurrences happen there. Sudden cloudy skies and odd lights flaring about. I've actually been focused on that before knowing about Pokemon. It might be related to Pokemon in some way maybe."
"I see. I understand what you mean by that. I've also been witnessing odd occurrences over at that school. Mainly through the clouds."
"You too?" Twilight leaned in. "I thought I was the only one."
"What is happening over at your school Celestia...?" Cinch said to herself, turning to the side before facing Twilight once more. "Anyway. Do what you want with that. However, don't draw attention to yourself. Canterlot High and my school's students aren't exactly fond of each other. If you wish to know what is happening at that school, make yourself discreet. But it's the Pokemon I want you to pay the most attention to. Understood?"
"I understand." Twilight nodded in response."
"I'll leave everything to you as always." The principal of the academy then left, returning to her office.
"I will," Twilight said. And the moment she left, Twilight took a second to sigh. "Hah. How am I gonna get so many Poke Balls? It's not like Ash is rich to afford a bunch. Plus catching them isn't super easy too..."
Twilight then went over to her private room to continue learning about Pokemon. While also calling Ash for extra assistance. But also popping her head out of the bag was Zorua after hearing the conversation between Twilight and Abacus.
"She's scary." Zorua shuddered.
"Who? Principal Cinch?" Twilight turned to the Spiteful Fox Pokemon as Zorua nodded in response. "Oh, no, no. She can be intimidating but she means well."
"Really?"
"Really. I know so. I've been a student here for years and I've gotten to know her, so don't worry. Come on, let's head to my room stat."
Canterlot High. Day.
Tomorrow had arrived and Sunset Shimmer was currently rushing to Canterlot High. She was in a hurry as if something important had come up.
Waiting at Canterlot High, the outside of it, were her friends. Rainbow Dash and Applejack. And just now appearing were Rarity and Fluttershy as they were also running.
"I got your text Rainbow Dash!" Sunset exclaimed before coming to a screeching halt. "Did something come through the portal? Is Equestrian magic on the loose? Is it Ghetsis? Did Twilight come back with a problem that only we can solve?!"
"Has a giant cake monster covered all the cakes in the world in cake?!" Appearing out of nowhere with two cupcakes in her hand was Pinkie Pie, shouting out loud. She then stuffed her mouth with the cupcakes.
"Umm...Not exactly," said Rainbow Dash as she stood up, holding her guitar.
"Uh...I don't understand." Sunset shrugged.
"Well, Sunset." Applejack would spill everything. "I was just telling Rainbow Dash here that a broken guitar string doesn't really qualify as an emergency." She flicked the broken string on Rainbow Dash's guitar.
"It totally does!" But Rainbow Dash disagreed on that notion, pulling the guitar back.
"Really Rainbow Dash?" Rarity leaned in, already wearing equipment for sowing. "I was in the middle of sowing a very complex appliqué on my latest frock."
"And I was just about to tuck everyone in for the night at the shelter. Now we'll have to start stories all over again." Fluttershy also had something to say as she was holding Angel Bunny. Most of them were occupied before the text.
"Why would you send all of us an emergency text for a guitar string?" Sunset asked.
"Well, I was going to pony up and show our fans some awesome guitar licks," She aimed her arm over at the Cutie Mark Crusaders who were sitting on the steps. "But I kinda need all six strings to do it. Got any extra?" They all groaned in response to her plea. Sunset did have an extra for her within her bag.
"Here. But everyone finished practising for the day. I'm pretty sure all the music rooms are locked."
"No problem. The acoustics in the hallway are perfect for power chords." Rainbow Dash played a chord after adding the spare string." C'mon! Let's go!"
Everyone walked off to enter the school, but Applejack stopped right near the door as Sunset was the only one who didn't move along. "You comin', Sunset?" She asked.
"I'll catch up in a bit." She replied before sitting on the steps. She was about to write a letter to her friends on the other side. She can visit them from time to time, but sometimes with what happens here can occupy her. Especially considering the distance between this world and Ponyville.
This was being written to Twilight, Ash, Sonata and Aria respectively. And as she started writing this letter, a bus had shown up near the school. But only one person was getting off.
That person was Twilight. Currently, she was wearing a hoodie after Principal Cinch's advice of being discreet and her bag as Zorua was inside. Zorua was still nervous around others and afraid, so Twilight kept her safe inside of her bag.
With her, Twilight took out a device that she made for this. She aimed the device directly at the giant horse statue outside the school. This device was made to detect the odd anomalies that occur around this area. AKA magic.
This device was similar to the one Equestria Twilight had. But while that was one made to track down Infinity Energy from Legendary and Mythical Pokemon and sometimes, Ultra Beasts, this one was made to track down magic. But, it could also detect Infinity Energy since Pokemon have magic stored within them. However, no Pokemon so far has caused quite a stir like what has happened around this school. But Twilight wasn't aware that it was magic each time Sunset and her friends ponied up with a song.
Twilight then got closer to the statue as the device started going off. She recognized that it mainly came from the statue. And by aiming it at the statue, the device picked up gigantic surges of magic. This was the result of the statue having a magic portal leading to a world full of magic.
Twilight then walked around the statue, finding the sweet spot. The spot where the true portal resides was at the back of the statue. The radar kept rising as Twilight knew where to stand. After looking at the portal, she then placed her hand on the statue for curiosity.
Lo and behold, upon contact, a blue glowing pulse exuded out. It responded to Twilight's hand, believing that someone was trying to pass through. And upon touching it, Sunset, who was writing this letter, looked over at the statue to spot the hooded figure nearby, touching the portal and setting off constant blue pulses each time.
"Hey!" She shouted, grabbing Twilight's attention. Twilight gasped, turning around to face Sunset. "What are you doing?!" Sunset then stood up. In response, Twilight started running to get out of here as soon as she could. "Wait! Stop!" Sunset then started chasing her.
Twilight crossed the street and just in time for a car to get in Sunset's way. Sunset came to a screeching halt near the street as the car skidded by. Thanks to that delay and swing around a lamppost, Twilight arrived in time for the next bus. That swing on the lamp post gave her some good speed as she jumped inside of the bus.
Sunset was too late to catch up to her. The bus had already left with Twilight being carried away with it. "Who was that?" Sunset wondered. And within the bus, Twilight let out a sigh of relief. She was almost caught in the act.
Returning back, Twilight removed the top of her hoodie, heading straight for her private room. Door after door. That's how much it took for her to return there and note what she had discovered.
And now that she had something of worth, Twilight could learn about what mysteries occur around that school that constantly seem to make her device go wild. She sat on her table, working on her device, dismantling it. Zorua was resting in the corner with one eye open, watching her trainer work.
Twilight was dismantling this energy tracker for a reason. She would transfer what she had gained and place it into something new. An item in the shape of a locket. She took the chip from the device, working her way through the locket so that it could hold what she had gathered.
After working on it and placing the final component inside, the locket had now become electronic. Twilight had made a simpler radar compared to the bigger one she had before. Fittingly, it had her emblem in the middle, glowing purple. The whole thing was purple with some blue here and there.
"Twilight. What are you doing?" Zorua jumped on the table, curious about Twilight's work.
"Just an easier way to see what goes on around Canterlot High." Twilight held the locket up. "Looks like it's magic. Just like how Ash said he comes here via a magic portal that's at Canterlot High. I didn't think it was true, but it looks like it."
"Are you going through it then?"
"No, no. I'm not going through it. I have no idea what's on the other side. Plus, there's already one other portal in our world that's made me cautious." She referred to the gateway leading to Eindoak in Unova. "With this, I can see what's causing all of that magic to happen. The portal didn't give off the same crazy signatures I was expecting it to. So it's something else."
"That stuff sounds boring. I'm hungry."
"You already ate, Zorua. All of my food that is..." Twilight uttered.
"Sorry. They just taste so good." Zorua whimpered, sitting on the table and pouting.
"Don't worry." But Twilight could forgive her, rubbing her hair. Zorua enjoyed that as it made her tail wiggle. "But you and every Pokemon give off magic as well, Zorua."
"We do?"
"Mhm." Twilight held her pendant out at Zorua. "For you, magic is a constant thing that keeps going. But it looks like you don't need to rely on it despite how much there is. It's always there no matter what. Makes me wonder how much this'll spike up if a Pokemon battle occurs."
"I didn't know I had magic." Zorua looked up, putting her paw on her mouth. "Can I do spells then like a wizard?"
"Uh, I think Pokemon moves are your answer to that." She chuckled. "We'll see just how much magic this thing can find and hold."
"Hold? Where?" Zorua walked around the pendant.
"I made it so that it can hold magic too. And to think, I didn't believe in magic back then." Twilight slumped on her seat. "And now I'm friends and living in a world with magical creatures with a magic portal of a horse to boot. I can't say this year's been boring, that's for sure. Come on, Zorua. Since you liked my hamburgers so much, I'll give you some I've kept safe."
"Hooray!" Zorua jumped for joy as Twilight would feel not only her but Spike. Obviously, Spike wasn't getting hamburgers, those were not safe for him. As for Twilight, she had an easier way to find magic in the form of a basic accessory. How nifty.
Canterlot High. Library.
Over at the library, Sunset was telling her friends what she had just witnessed earlier today. It was impossible to not talk about that statue interaction.
"She was definitely doing something to the statue – or was going to," said Sunset as she paced back and forth.
"Do you think she came through the portal from Equestria?" Fluttershy asked as she patted Angel Bunny on the head while he hid in the bag.
"No, I'm pretty sure I woulda noticed that. I think she was from over here." But Sunset unconfirmed it.
"Well, that's a relief." Applejack replied, slouching on a chair with her feet on the table and arms behind her head. "The last thing we need is another magical so-and-so bent on world domination comin' over from Equestria." Applejack winked at Sunset, obviously referring to her. Sunset took no offence in that as she smiled back at AJ.
"Agreed. I have no interest in another fight against the powers of evil magic." Rarity scoffed. "The wear and tear on my wardrobe is just too much to keep up with. I narrowly escaped some hungry Rockruff or whatever it was called since it was so attached to my boots. At least Pokemon have good fashion sense."
"Still, a mysterious figure snooping around the portal? Don't you wanna know what she was up to?" Sunset asked.
"I don't even wanna guess." Fluttershy shuddered.
"Well, you don't have to. Because I've totally figured out who it was!" Appearing from the side and holding a book was Rainbow Dash.
"Ooh, ooh! A nighttime statue cleaner?" But Pinkie intervened, having other books in mind. "A magical portal maintenance maintainer? A gardener?!
"Seeing as how they got off a bus from the city and got back on a bus headed to the city, I'll bet they go to..." Rainbow Dash was waiting for them to all get the right answer.
"Crystal Prep." All but Sunset Shimmer said with disappointed sounds. Principal Cinch was right. Canterlot students and Crystal Prep students are not fond of each other at all.
"Yep. With the Friendship Games starting tomorrow, they'd totally try to prank us by defacing the Wondercolts statue," said Rainbow.
"Why would anyone take a bus all the way from the city for that?" A curious Sunset asked.
"Because the Crystal Prep Shadowbolts are our biggest rivals?" Applejack replied.
"Because that's just what the students at Crystal Prep would do?" Rarity followed.
Because even though they beat us in everything – soccer, tennis, golf – they still have to gloat!" Rainbow Dash finished it off by showing a page from the book, viewing the Shadowbolts and their many trophies. Plus defeated Canterlot Students on the side as she flipped each page to show a different result.
The final page she showed Sunset was an image of the Canterlot High Statue being violated via a clown costume. From the red horn, colourful afro, funky shoes and more.
"Seems kinda silly to me." But Sunset didn't think too much of it.
"Silly?!" All of them said together.
"So I guess you think the Friendship Games are silly, too." Rainbow Dash gave an unamused face.
"Well, it's not like we'll be fighting the powers of evil magic," replied Sunset.
"No. We'll be fighting against a school full of meanies. Not everything has to be magical to be important." Fluttershy went up to her, holding Angel Bunny and placing one hand on Sunset's shoulder.
"You're right. I'm sorry. I know it's a big deal."
"That's putting it mildly, darling." Rarity scoffed. "They're still revamping the playing field in preparation.
I just don't understand why there's this big rivalry. Aren't the "Friendship Games" supposed to be about our two schools getting along?" Sunset questioned.
"Well, it's kinda hard to get along with someone who beats you at everything." Only for Applejack to give the most straightforward answer she could give, holding the book.
"Not anymore! This time, things are gonna be different." In came Rainbow Dash, rubbing her hands together.
"What do you mean?" Sunset had one last question.
"Oh, you'll find out." But all Rainbow Dash could do was give off a smirk, knowing what she was about to get up to later on.
The Friendship Games were only tomorrow so everyone had to be at their best. And at the same time, Twilight had an object for magic detection and restoration, similar to the Magic Siphoning Jar with less destructive capability.
At least for now. Twilight being in the Friendship games means that Ash and Pikachu will be there to cheer her on as well as the rest of his Pokemon.
On the outside of the school, Rainbow Dash's idea of making things different came in the form of a song. But song's are good for boosting morale. Sometimes too good.
As for Ash, he had shown up, having multiple Poke Balls at his disposal after Twilight gave the request. He had a lot to carry, so he brought along a cart full of these capturing devices, passing through the portal.
"Whew. It's gonna be a long way there, now that I think about it. But if everyone's gonna get used to Pokemon and be safe around them, they'll need these more than ever." said Ash.
"Pikachu."
"We've got all kinds of Poke Balls inside of this thing. Some way better than others. And I saved one Master Ball after winning that Tag Battle Competition.." He then held up a Master Ball. The same one from the 10 Master Balls he won with Fluttershy during the Canterlot Tag Battle Contest. The ultimate Poke Ball.
But Ash looked at it, he heard music playing nearby. Music from Rainbow Dash. Both inside and outside of the school as Pikachu's ears perked up. He also saw a glow of magic occur, knowing what this was.
"Pika?"
"Looks like they're having a blast in there. Come on. Better hurry to Twilight!" Ash exclaimed before running with the cart as Pikachu rode on it.
"Pikachu!"
Crystal Prep Academy. Afternoon.
After a fairly long trek, Ash and Pikachu made it. They couldn't take the bus since the cart was too big and busy. So it was on foot. But thanks to their years of journeying across various regions on foot, they've gotten used to this, having greater stamina than normal.
"Finally." Ash sighed, standing before the door. "Okay. First time here."
"Pika-Pika."
"Wow..." He took a moment to observe the academy in all of its grandeur. "It's just as big as Canterlot High. Maybe even bigger. Guess Twilight's always in something big isn't she?"
"Pika."
"Okay. Not sure how many students there but these will be enough to-" Ash went to knock on the door, only for someone else to open it. Principal Abacus Cinch was the one who did so.
She had appeared before Ash as he and Pikachu stepped back for some space. Cinch then looked down, spotting the Alola Champion and his Electric-Type partner. She picked the perfect time to arrive as she saw the array of Poke Balls in the cart. Not just the red ones but other ones. Quick Balls, Premier Balls, Dusk Balls, Repeat Balls and more.
"My." Cinch was impressed by the stunning amount of Poke Balls inside of the cart. "What an abundance. You. Are you by any chance here because of Twilight Sparkle?"
"Yep. That's me. Nice to meet you. My name's Ash. And this is my partner Pikachu." He introduced himself as Pikachu hoped on his shoulder.
"Pikachu."
"Seems you are real. Some of the students believed Twilight made you up," said Cinch. "An imaginary friend is what they believed.
"Really?"
"But never mind that. You came at a perfect time. Just one day after I gave Twilight the request. It seems you're just as swift and precise as her."
"Guess so. Here are all the Poke Balls I could gather. Pretty great, huh? I don't know how many students there are, but this'll be enough, right?"
"Quite. But...why are some of them different? Is it just a design choice?" Abacus asked.
"Oh. Some Poke Balls work differently than others." Ash would then pick up a Heavy Ball and a Quick Ball. "Ya see, a Heavy Ball works better on a Pokemon that's heavy. Like a pound or something. And the Quick Ball works betterr if it's used before a battle. Not so great the second time. Pretty awesome, huh?"
"Amazing." Abacus then picked up a Net Ball, looking at it. "I didn't think there would be so many specifics to these Poke Balls. They all have their own uses. That is...awesome."
"Yeah, it is. I showed Twilight some and she loved it. Oh, yeah. I gotta get these in for her. Where's Twilight, by the way?"
"I'm about to speak with Twilight soon. Wait inside and keep the cart in there until I'm ready to give them out to my students. Unless you'll do the honour? You are seemingly our guest here." Abacus put her arms behind her back.
"Sure. I'll show everyone what Poke Balls can do."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Good." Abacus then turned to the door, re-entering the academy. "And before you ask, you can bring that Pikachu of yours along. So as long as no trouble is spread."
After Rainbow Dash's enthusiastic song that got everyone psyched and confident for the Equestria Games, she met her friends backstage. Everyone was riled up thanks to her encouraging song.
"Rainbow Dash, that was amazing! Even I feel like we can win!" Fluttershy giggled.
"I feel like my school pride is at an all-time high!" Rarity squeed, getting all giddy.
"Is anybody else wonderin' how Dash ponied up without playin' her guitar?" Applejack brought up how Rainbow Dash's magic had been showcased during the pep song.
"I know, right? It's probably because I'm so awesome!" Rainbow Dash hyped herself up as always, showing similarities to her Equestria counterpart.
"Maybe." Sunset pondered for a moment. "I mean, you are awesome, but there's gotta be more to it than that, right? It just seems so random." An unsure Sunset Shimmer was still cautious about the sudden pop-up of magic constantly. It's not this frequent.
"Well, it would be nice if you girls could get a handle on it." Appearing from behind, much like how Equestria counterpart seems to show up from the shadows was Vice Principal Luna. "We'd like to keep magic as far away from the Friendship Games as possible. Including your Pokemon especially. We don't want to be accused of cheating.
"We don't need magic or Pokemon to defeat those hoity-toity Crystal Preppers." Rarity scoffed, giggling as everyone agreed.
"Yep. Although..." Rainbow Dash actually thought what it would be like if her Staraptor participated. But Luna gave a quick glare that prompted her to forget about it. "Yeah! No Pokemon or magic! Hahaha!" A nervous Rainbow Dash laughed.
"Still, the Friendship Games are serious business. We don't want any surprises. Especially the kind that could cause us to forfeit. Sunset Shimmer, you came here from a world of magic. Perhaps you can get to the bottom of our magical development." Luna requested.
"I'll do my best." She put her hand on her chest, swearing to it.
"Okay. Anybody have any guesses what the events are gonna be?" Rainbow Dash asked everything, waiting for an answer.
Pie eating? Cake eating?" Pinkie rambled before gasping, coming up with an imaginary event that she would excel in. "Pie-cake eating?!
"They won't even let us see what they're doin' to the field. You think they'd at least tell competitors what they're competing in." Applejack shrugged.
"It could be anything." Fluttershy shuddered.
"Anything?!" Rarity was agape with shock. How will I ever pick the right outfit?!
"I really wanna help, but I think I better go focus on figuring out why Rainbow Dash ponied up. See ya later!" Sunset would do her own thing in the meanwhile, running off.
"Seems like she's got everything under control. Nothing to worry about." But Despite what Pinkie Pie said, Sunset was worried a bit. And why wouldn't she? Anything related to rampant magic from Equestria reaching here would always have her on her feet.
Crystal Prep Academy. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, at Crystal Prep, Ash stood around the academy, having the cart of Poke Balls by his side. Pikachu laid in the cart of Poke Balls, moving his arms around while relaxing. Ash was told to stay here until Principal Abacus Cinch was ready for him.
But since he was standing out in the open, he attracted some attention. Mainly the attention of this world's Cadence. Dean Cadence to be exact. She came around the corner before noting Ash, Pikachu and the cart of Poke Balls.
Ash soon noticed her as well, recognizing the similar hairstyle and colour palette that Princess Cadence had. "Cadence?" He uttered before squinting his eyes. "Oh, wait. You're this Cadence?"
"Um. Do I know you?" Cadence asked.
"Oh. Sorry. Guess that sounded pretty weird. My name's Ash. And this right here is Pikachu." Ash turned to Pikachu, rubbing his belly as he made the Mouse Pokemon giggle.
"Pika-Pika-ka!"
"Oh, you're Ash." Cadence gawked, walking over. "Twilight talks about you a bit to me. A pleasure to meet you at last. And this little cutie right here." Cadence also started rubbing Pikachu's stomach.
"Pika! Pikachu!"
"What are you doing standing around here in the academy? And what's with these Poke Balls? Some of them look so different."
"Yeah. I came here since Twilight asked me to bring some for everyone in this academy. Well, the principal said to do it first. Abacus Cinch. And then Twilight passed it on to me. Good thing I stocked up on a ton of them."
"A ton is right. This could cover at least 75% of our students." Cadence picked up a Love and Heal Ball. "Ooh, these ones are nice."
"Like 'em? You can take some if you want. They're for everyone after all. I'm gonna be giving them out once Abacus is ready for me. Plus, I gotta cheer Twilight on at the Friendship Games too."
"Oh, so you're the reason why." Cadence nodded.
"Hm? Me?" But Ash wasn't sure what Cadence meant by that.
"You see, before, Twilight would've never chosen to go to the Friendship Games at all. I was afraid that she would end up missing out on other things. Not being around others as well. I do what I can sometimes to get her into the spirit. But so far, just 2 weeks ago, I've noticed that she's become more open. I mean...she's still a bit distant from others but I've noticed some change. And I have you to thank for that. Thank you for being her friend. You too, Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
"No problem, Cadence." Ash gave off his signature grin.
"And you don't have to wait. I'll fill in for Principal Cinch's order. Head into..." Cadence thought for a moment. "The Auditorium with that cart. I'll have everyone head there as soon as I can."
"Alright. Thanks a bunch, Cadence. Come on, Pikachu. Let's go." Ash got a move on as Pikachu hopped onto this shoulder. He started running while pulling the cart, having high energy always. Cadence watched as he went out of view.
Except, 5 seconds later, Ash came back, walking slowly while chuckling nervously too. "Uh...Where's the Auditorium?"
"I'll show you." Instead, Cadence would show Ash the direction to the auditorium. She also toured Ash across the academy, allowing him to see what it entailed.
And as they went along, eyes were locked onto Ash. He was finally in the more populated area of this academy. Many of them had locked their eyes onto the cart he was pulling but also Pikachu. This was the first time a Pokemon was inside of their school. They all started discussing, stopping what they were doing just to see the cart and the Mouse Pokemon.
"Pika?"
"Excuse that. Everyone here isn't too used to Pokemon, after all," said Cadence.
"Yeah, I know. But these Poke Balls are gonna help a lot."
"I hope so. Many of our students haven't been able to focus on work because of certain Pokemon around their neighbourhood, city, etc. The same goes for me."
"What kind of trouble have you been dealing with?" Ash asked.
"I haven't been having the amount of trouble. The best I get is a loud racket or unnecessary light that seems to shine everywhere. But I'd say I have it easy. Everyone else, not so much. Twilight told you about what everyone is going through, right?"
"Yeah. And I learned a bit more from my other friends too. It's pretty wild."
"Pikachu."
"Wild is right. There's this Pokemon that tends to put others to sleep earlier than usual. That's a major problem in its own right. There are rumours of many valuables from everyone being stolen by smaller Pokemon. Food shortage suddenly spiked out of nowhere from this...dark blue bear? It's a mess really. But, I have a good feeling about this."
"Good feeling about what?"
"Pika?"
"Now that you're here. Twilight talks a lot about you and how much of a help you are. I can put my faith in you if she does. Right?"
"Sure thing!" Ash snapped his finger before shifting into a thumbs-up. "Pikachu and I won't let you down! Plus, we're gonna cheer Twilight on at the Friendship Games too!" He pumped his fist into the air.
"Pikachu!"
"Hold on. I didn't know she was taking part in it? Looks like you helped out more than usual." Cadence stopped suddenly.
"Huh? Why's that?"
"Twilight didn't have any interest in the Friendship Games prior to this. In fact, Principal Cinch was aiming to talk to her about maybe joining it. Did you help her get into it?"
"Nope. She just sorta told me and Pikachu to come and root for her. We're just gonna do just that." Ash chuckled along with Pikachu.
"Pika-Pika."
"Hm." All Cadence could do was no in response. But she knew that Ash's enthusiasm is what prompted Twilight to try new things. Things that are daring to say the least. And with the Friendship Games being this year, Twilight chose to tackle this and see what would happen.
"Dean Cadence. What is that thing?" A student came over.
"It's adorable!" Naturally, there were many students who were attracted to Pikachu's cuteness. Instantly, Pikachu had been surrounded by those easily swooned by cuteness.
"Pi? Pika..." The Electric-Type sighed, knowing that this was inevitable in every new area in this world he would go to. Equestria included. All he could do was accept defeat and hope no one touches his red sacs. Cuteness is both a blessing and a curse for most Pokemon.
"Just endure it, okay, buddy?" Ash said to Pikachu.
"Pikachu." Pikachu would try as some students were taking out their phones, snapping pictures of the Mouse Pokemon to save later.
"Forget that." One of the students, Indigo Zap, who was a part of the Shadowcolts went up to the cart. "Check out these Poke Balls. I didn't know they made them in different styles?"
"A whole bunch. And they all work in their own way too." Ash nodded, twirling around a Hyper Ball.
"Uh, who are you actually?" Indigo asked, looking at Ash.
"Oh, I'm-"
"Ash!" Saying his name out loud for him was one of Ash's good friends. That friend was Twilight Sparkle after coming into view. Pikachu's defeated frown then turned into a jolly open-mouthed smile.
"Pika!"
"Oh! Hey Twilight!"
"Ash? He's real?" A few of the students said. They didn't believe that Twilight was serious about a person that was experienced in Pokemon. Lo and behold, that person was standing in their academy.
"I-" Twilight was about to run over before seeing the horde of students nearby, looking over at her. She was still distant from others despite her gaining new friends. However, she's growing. She cleared her throat before slowly approaching Ash, not trying to draw attention to herself.
While walking, some nearby students who were heading off to class treaded within her vicinity. Twilight's timidness around others led to instances where she would bump into others.
"Excuse me." She said to those she bumped into or almost did. "Sorry. Pardon me." Eventually, after getting past that traffic, she stood before Ash and Cadence. "Um, is it okay if we talk in my room and not...here?" She requested.
"Oh. Sure-sure. But first I gotta get these to the Auditorium." Ash nudged his head at the cart.
"I didn't think you were telling the truth about this Ash guy, Twilight." Indigo Zap said. "But it looks like he's as real as the eye can see."
"Well..you know..." Twilight laughed nervously. "I stay true to my word with every truth."
"I think we should be moving now." Cadence intervened for Twilight's sake. "Let's head to your workroom, alright Twilight? Ash, just leave the cart near the Auditorium up ahead. We'll meet up with Twilight in a bit."
"Got it." Ash saluted before dragging the cart along. Pikachu was grateful to be free from this mass attention. For now at least.
Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest Sour Sweet, Sugarcoat and a few others looked at Ash afterwards. They weren't sure if he was radiating the Pokemon expert energy that Twilight mentioned before. He looked unimpressive to them.
"Are we sure he's the expert here?" Lemon Zest whispered. "He looks like he could go here like the rest of us. I mean, I'm an expert myself, ya know."
"Meh. I don't know." Indigo Zap shrugged. "We'll see it when it happens."
Twilight's private workroom.
Twilight had entered her room, taking a deep breath before smiling again. She then looked at the locket that she had personally made. She went to pick it up as soon as she could, holding it close.
"Okay, okay! Last night's field test confirmed it, Spike. Zorua. With this device, I can track and contain the bizarre energy coming from Canterlot High." She sat down while looking at the locket.
"I still don't get why we needed to do that." Zorua rubbed her ear with her paw. Spike growled after Twilight had brought up Canterlot High.
"Principal's request is obsolete, Zorua. And I know you didn't like me going over there Spike, but I just couldn't wait. And soon, I'll have all the time I need. All of Crystal Prep is gonna be there for the Friendship Games. I just hope all that 'rivalry' nonsense doesn't get in the way of my research. If I can collect enough data on these EM frequencies, I should be able to extrapolate the waveforms to determine their origin. That would practically guarantee my entrance into the Everton Independent Study Program!"
She got so excited that she ended up falling over off her chair. Thankfully, it wasn't a hard landing as a piece of paper landed on her face. "Oooh..."
"Mmm..." But Zorua was bored about that. None of that interested her as she was aiming to go to sleep for the afternoon on the spot.
"Sorry for the delay." Just then, entering the room was Cadence. And joining her was Ash after he had placed the cart in the auditorium. Zorua squeaked, seeing Cadence as she hid behind the table. "Twilight, you know the rules against pets." She said after seeing Spike.
"Well, Spike isn't a pet, Dean Cadance. He's the focus of my research project. Human-canine cohabitation: effects and implications." Twilight held Spike up. "Like Ash and Pikachu."
"Hm. Well, apparently they're allowed since Principal Cinch isn't highly allergic to these Pokemon like she is to dogs. At least...not the ones we've seen yet."
"Oh! By the way! I wanted you to meet one of my new friends. I ended up catching a Pokemon of my own not too long ago." Twilight got all excited.
"You did? Where is it?" Cadence searched the room.
"Zorua. You can come out." She turned to the side of the table as Zorua's wispy tail was poking out. "Don't worry. Cadence is fine to be around."
"Really?" Poking her head out of the table was Hisuian Zorua as she looked over at Cadence. Zorua was timid, meeting new faces so soon in such a brand new world. Twilight picked Zorua up, holding her up. Zorua stayed close to Twilight in case something went wrong, holding her face.
"Ow. Zorua." Twilight winced a bit.
"D-Did it just talk?" Cadence pointed out Zoru being able t speak like her, Ash and everyone else in this world and beyond. She pointed with her arms shaking and her mouth open.
"She did. Well, it's actually Telepathy. She's not really moving her mouth at all." Twilight explained instantly.
"R-Right. Um, I'll think about that later. But right now, Principal Cinch wants everyone at the Auditorium for the Poke Ball demonstration. "I'd suggest you put on a clean shirt. Just in case."
"I was hoping she wanted to speak to me about going to Everton maybe. That would've been exciting!" She squeed. "Oh, but your demonstration could be fun too, Ash."
"I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Are you sure that's what you really want?" asked Cadence.
"Why wouldn't it be? A program that allows me to focus all my attention on my own advanced math and science projects? What a dream come true!"
"But there aren't any classrooms with other students. You'll be doing everything on your own." Cadence continued to ask her further questions.
"Own?" Zorua turned to Twilight, whimpering as she didn't want to be alone away from Twilight. And right when they were starting to get attached. "You're leaving me?"
"Oh, Zorua, no!" Twilight patted Zorua on her head. "I won't be leaving you at all. But honestly, I'm not sure even Everton is ready for Pokemon yet. It's all so new."
"Sorry if I gave you a scare there, Zorua." Cadence walked up to the Spiteful Fox Pokemon. "It's just that...Twilight. You've started making new friends already with Ash and Pikachu here. I'm surprised that you're still aiming to head there."
"Well, Ash, Pikachu and I are from separate worlds. But, we're still friends, aren't we?"
"We sure are," Ash replied. "Even if we're near or far."
"Pikachu."
"I guess it would be a shame leaving when I'm just learning about Pokemon. I might not have a chance to continue learning about them at Everton if I'm so busy. But, I like taking risks, don't I?"
"I just don't want you to miss out on anything," Cadence said, putting her hand on Twilight's shoulder. "At least, spend the most time with your friends before you head to Everton. Whenever that comes by."
"I understand."
"Meet you in the Auditorium in a few minutes?" Cadence then nudged her before leaving the room. "Nice meeting you, Zorua."
"What's she so worried about? Everton is exactly what I need right now." Twilight said to Spike as the little puppy wasn't sure how to answer that. "It's not like I have anything left to learn at Crystal Prep. Oh, Ash. Almost forgot. Do you have something to say too?"
"Not much. I'm just here to show everyone how all the Poke Balls. But I'm also gonna be cheering you on at the Friendship Games today. Make sure you ace it, okay?"
"Pikachu."
"I will." Twilight nodded in response as Ash was off to give a demonstration in front of multiple students. "Oh, and Ash." But Twilight stopped him for a quick word. "Even when I go to Everton, will we still see each other again."
"Trust me, Twilight. I always see my friends again, no matter where they are or how long it's been. Even if you wanna stay here or go somewhere else." Ash was right about that. He's always reunited with a majority of his friends over the years. And there are still more out there.
"Alright. Thank you." Twilight gave her last word before Ash left. Soon, Twilight would have to head to the office for a quick chat. But she chose to leave Zorua in here with Spike. Just in case. "I'll be right back, Zorua. Just try not to cause any trouble while I'm gone, okay?"
"I won't. I'll just sleep for a bit." Zorua went right back to sleep. Spike would watch over her so Twilight wouldn't have to worry about anything.
Auditorium.
Over at the Auditorium, many of the students were told to show up here to see a demonstration on how to use a Poke Ball. And the one to teach them would be Ash. His experience as a young baseball player back in the day helped him to have excellent throwing skills.
Everyone sat properly as this would be Ash's first time giving a demonstration in such a large school. Not even the Pokemon School in Alola or the Pokemon Summer School in Sinnoh had this many students. But Ash had zero fear around them. No sign of stage fright.
"Hey. My name's Ash. And you already know my partner Pikachu." He introduced himself as always as Pikachu hopped on his shoulder.
"Pikachu!" Upon letting out his signature cry, many of the students who were attracted to cute things started gawking and gushing over the Mouse Pokemon. At least he wasn't surrounded on all sides this time. "Pika..."
"I know some of you know how to use Poke Balls. But not all of you. No need to worry. I'm gonna show you how to use one to catch Pokemon and even how some of them work differently."
Entering the room was Twilight as Abacus Cinch was standing with the rest of the teachers, witnessing her best student show up. Not only that, but her brother Shining Armor was present here too. If Cadence was here, so was he. Even in a different world.
"This right here's the standard Poke Ball. You always gotta have this one on you. No matter what. It works well on any Pokemon. It's not the best, but it gets the job done when you need it to. If you wanna catch a Pokemon, you gotta make sure you throw it extra hard. But not too hard, okay? If it connects with a Pokemon after it's thrown, it'll automatically send them in."
"Pika-Pika."
"Like this. Okay, Pikachu, stand back for a moment."
"Pikachu." Pikachu then moved back, gaining some distance for Ash's demonstration to go on.
"Okay!" Ash then grinned, tightening his gloves before gripping the Poke Ball tightly. "Poke Ball, go!" He then threw the ball as it spun around rapidly in the air while also moving forward. Pikachu put his arm up as he stopped the Poke Ball's velocity, causing it to drop.
"Pika."
"Pikachu's already got his own Poke Ball, so this one doesn't work. You can't use Poke Balls on Pokemon that already have them." Ash picked up the Poke Ball. "And if you wanna send your Pokemon out, you do the same thing you did to catch them. Throw it. And if you wanna send them back, just hold it out."
"Your friend there is a good teacher, despite his...interesting appearance," said Cinch as Twilight stood next to her. "This could change a lot for us. This Pokemon issue could come to an end at last."
"He is. He's been a teacher to me too when I was introduced to Pokemon." Twilight replied. "I owe him a lot."
"A lot indeed. I wouldn't be too shocked if he was the reason you're joining the Friendship Games."
"You knew about that too?" Twilight looked at Cinch.
"Of course. From the way you were acting before. I'm fairly good at reading body language from my personal experience. I'll also have to thank him for that."
"Well, I wasn't that interested in it at first." Twilight scratched her hair sheepishly. "I was thinking about skipping it like always, learning in my room. Even though there's not much to learn for me here so far."
"And what made you change your mind?" Shining Armor asked.
Twilight closed her eyes before smiling, thinking of the events leading to this decision. She was reminded of how Ash took her on a ride with Dragonite through the forest and skies. It was an exhilarating moment for her. And she also recalled the other fun moments.
Her meeting Joltik and the Carbink in the cave, trying out Pokemon Contest moves to see how they worked. Having a fun ride on another Pokemon. This time, it ended up being a School Form Wishiwashi and Ash's Pokemon in general. "Quite a bit. But it was super-effective." She giggled.
"Good. But I wouldn't get too comfortable." Abacus said. "This will be your first time at the Friendship Games. You are my top student and I know you're capable, but Canterlot High seem to be going through something of a renaissance. Test scores are up, grades, even athletics are on the rise. You see, they are developing somewhat of a reputation. This can not happen." She then narrowed her eyes while Ash gave his demonstration.
"What's so threatening about that, Principal Cinch? I mean, it doesn't matter if we win or lose, right?"
"The important thing is we are expected to win because Crystal Prep has a reputation. And it is that reputation... my reputation that is responsible for everything we have here. For everything you've done here. And you've done quite a lot, haven't you?"
"I don't know. I guess." A sheepish Twilight twirled her hair.
"Oh, don't be modest. You're the best student this school has ever seen." She patted Twilight on the shoulder. "Soon potentially headed to Everton. And with my influence, I can make that a reality. But, with a minuscule reputation, that reality could shatter in the long run, ending the Everton dream. And that would be terrible, wouldn't it?"
"I wouldn't want that." Twilight looked to the floor with a head shake. "I'll try my best. And I think with Ash cheering me on, I can go...well...as he says, past 100%."
"Does he say that now?" Abacus raised an eyebrow.
"You gotta go past 100%!" Judging from the demonstration he was giving, Cinch had seen that he indeed says that. "Plus, it helps build a bond with your Pokemon. They may be dangerous and do some crazy stuff, but just like me and buddy here and so many others, you can make a bond with them too."
"Make friends with Pokemon?" A student said as chatter filled the Auditorium.
"Yep. A Pokemon's a friend you can have. Big or small. Slow or fast." Ash patted Pikachu on the head, making the Mouse Pokemon smile with pleasure. "So, when you wanna catch one, try and make friends with whatever Pokemon you can. Be careful though. Some are pretty tricky."
"I've caught one." Indigo Zap raised her arm, showing the Poke Ball she had. "I caught some um...small bluebird. Whatever it is."
"Oh, Tailow. Great stuff. Take good care of Tailow and you'll have a fun friend to fly around with it. Especially when it evolves."
"Really now?" Indigo then looked at the Poke Ball, aiming to take Ash's advice since he knew what he was saying being experienced and everything.
"Yeah. Plus, I don't know about the Friendship Games, but if you ever get into some kind of competition with your Pokemon involved, be sure to do what you can. I know this was about Poke Balls in the beginning, but Poke Balls are connected to that too. If you wanna be in a Pokemon Battle, share your energy with your Pokemon to push you further. And hey, you can do that for the Friendship Games today."
"Oh. Go on." Lemon Zest and a few students leaned in, curious as to where Ash was going with this.
"You wanna do your best at the Friendship Games, right?" He grinned, raising his fist to his chest. "Then put in everything you have. Whether it's winning or losing, you're gonna show everyone what you're capable of, right?"
"Yeah, we totally are!" Another student bellowed as Ash was psyching them up for the Friendship Games. He had a gift for pumping others up. Soon, everyone was getting psyched.
"We're gonna win! Like we always do!"
"Keep that energy and show it. And when you end up catching your first Pokemon, make sure you do the same with them. When you and your Pokemon work together, you can do anything!"
"Pikachu!"
Now all those taking part in the Friendship Games were excited and feeling the rush of potential victory. Ash had just given them all a pep talk. And it was all related to a Poke Ball of all things. Abacus looked at her school, seeing how they had more energy than they've ever had in the Friendship Games. She was amazed by what Ash had done. Seeing this gave Abacus hope that the Friendship Games would be won by her school again. But with flying colours and little fail.
"Hm." She then looked at the Poke Ball in her hand. "From what he's explained, with Pokemon, we can reach greater heights, can we?"
"Sounds like it." Cadence and Shining Armor both said.
"Look at that. Now I'm in the mood to catch something." The principal then raised the Poke Ball before placing it back in her pocket. "And I believe we have a potential new role in our academy."
"A new role?" Twilight turned to her principal.
"Indeed. How does a Pokemon Teacher sound?"
The demonstration had ended as everyone was psyched for the Friendship Games more than ever thanks to Ash. As for the Poke Ball,s they were being handed out. Ash asked them all to pick whatever they wanted. It didn't matter.
Everyone picked the Poke Ball that they thought was the coolest, prettiest or just better for catching certain Pokemon they were aware of already.
"Remember. Only use the Quick Ball if you want a quick catch. Works better that way." Ash said to a student that held a few Quick Balls in her hand.
"Pikachu."
"Hey, Ash." Just then, Lemon Zest and Indigo Zap came up to him. "Awesome speech there. You're pretty awesome. Do you wanna come over and hang out with us later after this is all done?"
"Hm? Uhh..." Ash thought for a moment. Did he have something to do afterwards? Not really. "Yeah. I can come over. Not too busy, ya know."
"Great stuff!" Lemon nudged him with impressive strength as Ash heard the blaring music from her headphones when she was near. "See you at the games!"
Afterwards, the cart was almost empty. Practically every student had taken as many Poke Balls as they wanted. Now only 15 remained inside. Ash was ready to pack things up and head to the Friendship Games to cheer his friends on. But before that, Abacus Cinch went up to him.
"That's was a fine demonstration. Ash Ketchum." Cinch applauded. "Couldn't have done it better myself. No really. It was a great call to have an expert such as yourself assist us. And a greater call for Twilight to bring you here."
"Aw, it was nothing. Anything to help." Ash gave a small giggle.
"You were a tremendous help. And you still could. How would you like a proposition?" Cinch put her hands together. "Our academy could use someone who can help us get adjusted to the magical creatures that now live in our world. Which is why I've decided to form a new role here for that purpose. Ash Ketchum. Would you be a Pokemon Teacher at our school?"
"Me?" Ash pulled back for a moment.
"Pika?"
"There's no other clear choice. Not only do you have so much knowledge about these creatures, but you give off an energy that can inspire and electrify our students to break past their limitations. And as you say, past 100%. Certainly more energy than what our current teachers can give out.
"Pikachu. PIka-Pi?" Pikachu spoke before looking at his trainer.
"Thanks. But I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet, ya know." He shrugged.
"It'd be really great if you were, Ash." Twilight leaned in. "Honest."
"Now, now, Twilight." Cinch stopped her. "Ash is still young. Like you, isn't he? I can understand if he's not ready. But, I take it you will consider it someday? Maybe soon?"
"Yeah, I'll consider it. I mean, I could even help out when I'm not in the school, ya know? Wouldn't be the first time I've done it anyway."
"Pika."
"Splendid. Outside help doesn't hurt either way."
"Oh, but I know some of my friends who are awesome teachers too! But they're working at a Pokemon School already so I guess that'll just be tiring, huh?" Ash was thinking about Hollow and the others.
"Anyway. We should be going. Can't be late for the games." Cinch then walked off as everyone was off to the bus. The Friendship Games were about to start soon.
Multiple buses were lined up to fill each student. Ash was invited by Principal Cinch to come along. Twilight was lagging, however. She didn't stay close to a lot of people. But she did stay close to Ash, feeling safe.
Meanwhile, Zorua was inside her bag along with Spike. And as always, she was eating away at her packed food, unable to resist. In each of the buses, everyone was shouting about how they were going to win this thanks to Ash's pep talk. But since they win all the time, that was already boosted ten-fold.
Twilight went to sit, but no one would share a seat with her. Only the back was her option. But she would have Ash and Pikachu by her side to keep her company.
"So, who are you guys going up against in this Friendship Games?" Ash asked after sitting down. "And what's gonna happen there?"
"CHS." Sour Sweet replied with a cheery grin. "The happiest school you'll ever see around town." But then she later made a gag gesture.
"I don't know why it's only that school we go up against. Pretty dull," said Sugarcoat. "It's not even that entertaining."
"CHS? Or Canterlot High?" Ash said. "Woah. I didn't know that. Guess it's gonna be a good competition then, huh?"
"Pikachu."
"I wouldn't say that. We always win. Always!" Indigo exclaimed. "I don't think we've had a good challenge in forever. And thanks to your pep talk, we'll keep that streak up, no problem!"
"You said it." Lemon Zest nodded.
"Don't get too confident. You gotta stay on your feet at all times. You never know when a surprise loss is coming your way. Everyone at Canterlot High will be working hard too." Ash gave some final advice.
"Yeah, yeah." Indigo shrugged. "We'll be fine. Don't worry about it, Ash."
"Some of your friends are there, right?" Twilight turned to Ash. "If they lose then what?"
"Not sure. Guess we'll have to see when we get there."
"Pikachu."
On another bus, Cinch looked at the Poke Ball she had gotten hold of. Two of them. One was the standard Poke Ball and the other was a Great Ball. After what Ash had said, she felt encouraged to catch some Pokemon as well. But she wondered what Pokemon.
There were so many to choose from. One thing was for certain, Cinch would not go after any canine Pokemon due to her dog allergy. "Maybe later down the road." She put the Poke Balls away. Cinch chose to catch a Pokemon when the time was right.
Canterlot High. Afternoon.
The competition would take place at Canterlot High as all the buses had shown up. Everyone got off as Principal Celestia was there to greet them all. And talking to her was Cinch.
"Vice Principal Luna can help your students get settled if you'd like me to show you around, Principal Cinch. There have been quite a few changes since your last visit," said Celestia.
"Oh, yes, Principal Celestia. I'm sure that would be fascinating." Cinch replied in a sarcastic tone. Meanwhile, after getting off the bus, Cadence and Luna hugged each other as a reunion.
"Oh, it's always such a pleasure to see you, Dean Cadance." Luna broke the hug off. "Even if it means another defeat."
"Thank you, Vice Principal Luna, but I hear it's not going to be so easy this time." Cadence replied before walking off with Luna. Ash jumped off the bus with high energy as always as he stretched his muscles.
"Whew!" He cried out. "Pulling that cart was a lot of work! Who knew a bunch of Poke Balls in one spot could be so heavy? It doesn't look heavy at all."
"Pika."
"Comin' through!" Rushing with little time to slow down was Indigo Zap as she dashed past Ash. Ash spun around, almost being knocked off balance from that.
"Whoa!" He held onto his hat as Pikachu felt dizzy watching Ash spin like that. "Whoo..."
"No time to dance around! Let's go!" Lemon Zest also rushed out, jumping past Ash while playing fake air guitar. "Yeah!"
Everyone lined up as Luna would take things from here. But Ash was a free soul since he wasn't limited to any school. He went ahead inside of Canterlot High. As for Twilight, she was the last to stand in line. However, her locket started acting up.
And it was only doing so because of the statue and the magic it gave off. And this time, it was increasing more than usual. This time, it wasn't the statue giving off a lot of it. Twilight was curious and had to investigate further. And the only way to do so was inside.
The Friendship Games were about to start as the students from Crystal Prep Academy had shown up. Ash, who had just given a Poke Ball demonstration at Crystal Prep, was here to cheer for mainly Twilight but everyone else too. But speaking of Twilight, the locket device she had made found more magic around this school. And this time, the statue wasn't the cause of it.
It could be found indoors. Twilight went towards the inside of the school while having the locket as a radar. Along the way, she passed by some faces that were not familiar to her, but her face was familiar to them.
"Hi, Twilight." Sweetie Drops greeted, only for Twilight to pass her by through the stairs and enter the school. But it didn't stop there. As soon as she went inside, many of them recognized her face, greeting the student from another school.
"Hey, what's happenin'?" And another came through with more greetings towards her. Twilight was not expecting this at all. She thought she could just find the magic source and head off. And the greetings kept coming.
"Really nice to see you."
"Twilight, how ya doin'?"
"Twilight, yo!"
"Hi. Hello. Uh, good." She felt a bit creeped out right now, but she knew that this was most likely the cause of her Equestria counterpart. The one that Ash told her about last month. But it was still so odd for them to blurt out her name. And while she wasn't looking, she ended up bumping into Flash Sentry.
They both fell with Flash's guitar case, spinning on the floor. Twilight's glasses also came off as her vision wasn't the best without them. "Twilight?" Flash said before he and Twilight stood up. "I almost didn't recognize you. When did you start wearin' glasses?"
"Um, like, since forever." Twilight shrugged, looking for glasses. But Flash picked them up for her.
"Oh, so how long are you here for?" He gave her glasses back.
"Just for the Friendship Games."
Right. Of course. We'll totally win with you here." After placing the glasses back on her, Twilight's locket started flashing. She could see that more magic was present nearby. She needed to get to it.
"Uh, I gotta go." In a rush, she made her way towards the direction of the light. Flash missed his chance to speak with her, even if it wasn't the one he knew.
"Uh, okay. Bye? Aw." He lowered his head in disappointment, only for Derpy to come along and give him a comforting pat on the shoulder.
Meanwhile, Rarity was busy giving her friends the perfect clothing for the Friendship Games. She didn't need to do this, her friends thought, but Rarity would go for it anyway. So far, Rarity had placed them in a plethora of gear, but none of them have stuck with her.
The Pokemon were not exempt from this. And it was just the one Pokemon. Sunset Shimmer's Braixen, even though she wasn't participating. But, she could act as a cheerleader. So Rarity ended up giving her said clothing.
"Uh, Rarity, these outfits are great, but why would you put so much time and effort into clothes we might not even wear?" Applejack asked as Rarity zipped off. "You're gonna exhaust yourself before the games even start."
"Oh, pff. Kch. Fff. Ts! Don't be silly, darling! Putting effort into clothes is what I live for, and spending time on my friends fills me with energy!" Rarity enthused as the magic within started radiating.
Everyone watched as her body glowed brightly. A pony ear appeared as her mane also elongated. Much like Rainbow Dash, she could utilize this without having to do anything extra like before. Everyone had reactions that had them amazed as the room had been lit up. She even ascended.
"And magic, too, I guess," said Sunset as Braixen nodded her head in agreement.
"Braixen." Braixen was feeling Rarity's enthusiasm much like everyone else in the room. So much so that she twirled her stick around, generating fire from this dazzling light.
And after Rarity gave off that light plus Braixen's fire twirl, Twilight followed the source of the magic straight to that dressing room. The locket was spiking up after Rarity used magic in that instance. Twilight then decided to try something new. She had opened the locket as it had acted similarly to the Magic Siphoning Jar.
It started pulling the magic straight through the door where Rarity was standing next to. But this had also absorbed the magic from Braixen a bit as well. The magic was ripped from her body and also from Braixen's stick. It didn't seem to affect her as it did for Rarity.
After having her magic taken away, Rarity felt drained as she descended to the floor, holding her head. "Actually, Applejack, now that you mention it, I suppose I could use a tiny break." She said out of breath as the pony ear disappeared, bringing her normal ear back. Rarity almost fainted on the floor until Applejack caught her.
"I told you." Applejack said.
Meanwhile, on the outside, Ash and Pikachu had encountered Twilight after walking through the hallways. Twilight closed her locket before placing it back in her pocket. "Twilight. Are you going ahead like me?" He said, walking up to her. I thought you would be in the line."
"Pikachu."
"Sorry, Ash. Strayed away from my group." She chuckled nervously. "But um...I'm getting the creeps here. Everyone's saying my name like they know me. I know it's because of my other self but it's so weird."
"Yeah, that does sound pretty weird, huh." He patted her on the back. "Just don't think about it too much and focus on those games. Might even buff out when Equestria's Twilight shows up. Or wait...is that just gonna make things complicated?"
"I'm pretty sure no one will be confused by two of us. Hopefully." Twilight nudged Ash. Their conversation had been heard through the door to the dressing room, prompting Fluttershy to open it, recognizing the two voices. That wasn't the only recognition here. Principal Celestia, who was with Principal Cinch, had also spotted the familiar faces ahead.
"Twilight! Ash! Pikachu!" Fluttershy exclaimed as she and the others poked their head through the door. Meeting with their friends. Well, two of them were their actual friends. One was a counterpart.
"Heya." Ash waved at them. "Good to see you guys again."
"Pikachu!"
"Good to see you too, Ash. But, Twilight, shoulda told us you were comin'," said Applejack.
"Um, actually I'm-" Twilight wanted to explain herself and break the confusion. Plus, it would make the whole 'knowing her' shtick fade away instantly.
"From our world?" But Pinkie Pie was the one to instantly answer her, throwing Twilight off course. It wouldn't be the first time that Pinkie Pie has predicted what a Twilight was going to say.
"H-How did you know?" Twilight stuttered.
"Just a hunch." But Pinkie shrugged it off without thinking about it too much.
"Is that what it is? I was going to say. Those glasses look too severe for you, darling." Rarity shook her head.
"And you're wearing..." Rainbow Dash and the others observed her uniform for a moment. "Crystal Prep uniforms!"
"Twilight Sparkle." Finally appearing on the scene was Principal Cinch with Celestia. "Shouldn't you be in line with your students right about now?"
"Principal Cinch. Um, sorry about that." Twilight apologized before facing her principal.
"Apologies if my prized student has caused any trouble, Celestia. But I don't see anything out of the ordinary here, so I can safely put that to rest." Cinch said.
"Your Student?" Celestia then paused for a moment, thinking that this Twilight was the one she's seen before.
"Come along, Twilight. Ash, you are a free soul at this rate." Twilight then went along with Cinch, returning to the line. Ash was indeed a free soul in all of this, not bound to any school.
"Oh. I didn't know Twilight had a twin sister." Celestia didn't have any context about the scenario at the moment. But that was about to change.
"She doesn't!" Pinkie slid in to give context. "That Twilight is obviously the Twilight from this world since it couldn't possibly be the Twilight from the pony world since the Twilight from the pony world doesn't go to Crystal Prep or wear glasses."
"Nevermind." Celestia would've preferred for it to be in the dark. At this rate, she's gotten used to all the bizarre things that happen around her school. It's become the norm so far.
"Uh, Ash." Rainbow Dash went over to Ash. "Please don't tell you've been to Crystal Prep, have you?"
"Sure have." He proudly admitted to it. "I got done giving them all a Poke Ball demonstration back there. And I'm gonna help cheer them on in the Friendship Games today. I mean, I got them psyched and everything too."
"You're cheering them on?" Rarity uttered with a displeased tone.
"And you psyched them up?" Rainbow Dash pulled back. "I just psyched everyone up for this year's Friendship Games so we can beat them!"
"I gonna cheer for you guys too ya know. You're my friends." Ash shrugged.
"Pikachu."
Seriously?" Rainbow Dash groaned as the rivalry between the two schools was still potent, filling the atmosphere. Most of them weren't too fond or happy about Ash encouraging the school that had humiliated them over and over again.
They don't usually feel disappointed with their friends. But their school rivalry ended up causing that disappointment, unfortunately. The only ones not by this were Sunset and Braixen since they were new to the school as well.
"But why cheer for them?" Rarity said under breath with disappointment.
"I mean...it's okay if you want to cheer for them." So did Fluttershy, but quieter with some kindness sprinkled in.
"Uh...Is that a bad thing?" But Ash was out of the loop with both him and Pikachu scratching their hair.
"Nevermind it, Ash. It's just a rivalry thing." Sunset went up to him. "I'm new to it too as well."
"Oh!" Rainbow Dash gasped. "If they're all pumped, then we gotta do something to pump ourselves up some more! But I already did that song and everything...! Ash! You gotta give us a pep talk too!" Rainbow Dash ran over, holding Ash.
"Right now?" Ash questioned whilst being shaken by Rainbow Dash. "I thought you already gave everyone a pep talk or...pep song I guess."
"Yeah, but we can't have Crystal Prep be more prepared than us. They beat us every year, ya know. This could be the one time where that could all change." Rainbow Dash raised a finger. "So come on. Just one?"
"You've given them a pep talk of your own, Rainbow Dash." Ash held her shoulder. "You've got everyone ready to try and win this, don't you?"
"I guess so..." Rainbow Dash nodded.
"I get losing a bunch to them can be harsh. Believe me. But don't get too beat-down even if I'm cheering for Crystal Prep too. I've got a friend I wanna see do well. And I wanna see you guys and everyone at the Friendship Games do their best too. You're my friends too. You've readied yourself to finally win this, so use that same energy you gave to everyone else to show them what you can do. Huh, would ya look at that? I did give a pep talk in the end, didn't I?"
"Pika-Pikachu." Pikachu laughed with Ash.
"I hear ya, Ash." Rainbow Dash slapped her face to get into the spirit of things. "Keep that same energy. Keep that same energy." She repeated the same words to try and maintain herself. And it worked like a charm.
"Great. Pikachu and I'll be rooting for you all. We're gonna grab something to eat in the meanwhile!" Ash and Pikachu departed finally, giving the other school a boost in confidence. "Good luck! We'll have a battle after the games, Rainbow Dash!"
"Pikachu!" Their voices faded into the background.
"Still, I can't believe our world's Twilight goes to Crystal Prep!" Rarity said with disbelief.
"You're saying that Twilight's gonna play against us? She'd never do that!" Rainbow Dash denied that possibility.
"Our Twilight wouldn't." Fluttershy referred to the Equestria Counterpart.
"Our Twilight is a princess in Equestria and an expert in friendship magic!" Sunset exclaimed. "And if she was here, we'd have already figured out why magic is randomly popping up during pep rallies and costume changes." She was clearly a bit agitated right now. She looked at her friends after her frustration showed itself. She took a deep breath afterwards. "Sorry. I'm just frustrated that I haven't heard back from her."
"She's a princess in Equestria. Probably got problems of her own to deal with." Applejack aforesaid.
"We certainly can't expect her to drop everything and pop through the portal whenever." Rarity delivered her words. "Especially if it's to deal with something as minor as a few random pony-ups."
"But they aren't minor! Magic came into this world when I stole Twilight's crown. It's taken a lot for me to earn everyone's trust. If we have to forfeit the games because I can't think of a way to keep it under control..." Sunset crossed her arms, starting to doubt herself. She leaned herself on a locker to try and calm herself down.
"Oh, Sunset, I'm sure you'll be able to figure things out," Fluttershy reassured.
"You're the one who helped us understand what was goin' on with the sirens. Remember?" And Applejack added to this reassurance. Despite this school rivalry, they put their friends' feelings before anything else.
"I guess. But Twilight was the one who really figured out what we needed to defeat them." However, Sunset was straying away from a brighter outlook, despite the solace that her friends tried to give her.
But don't you remember, darling? What we needed to defeat them was you." But Rarity knew how to get her back into high sports. With just the right words. And it was super-effective as a smile graced Sunset's face.
"All right." She accepted it at last.
"Come on, guys!" Rainbow Dash walked ahead, leading her group of friends. "Let's see if we can find any info about the events and come up with a strategy. Gotta stick to Ash's words and keep that same energy we all got from my song. You comin', Sunset?"
"I'll... catch up with you guys in a bit." But once again, Sunset Shimmer would stay behind to collect herself.
Meanwhile on the outside, Twilight was about to reunite with her group with Cinch leading the way. However, Twilight still felt like apologising and bringing up one key factor as to why she strayed away from her group.
"I'm sorry, Principal Cinch." Another apology was given out from Twilight to her principal. She then took out the locket she had made. "I was just following these strange readings. Actually, they led me to those girls and—
"Twilight." But Cinch stopped her before she could ramble on. "What you do in your free time is of little interest to me, but while you're here, I and all of Crystal Prep, in fact, require your complete focus. I can trust you to achieve that. Your focus is impressive after all."
"I won't lose focus. Not at all." And Twilight made a statement with that, promising to her principal. Cinch had good faith in Twilight. Her top student after all. Twilight was free to venture wherever she wanted as long as it involved the magic that Cinch was curious about.
And she did just that. Twilight's attention was thrown back at the statue which held a portal to another world. Twilight was curious as to how much magic she could get from this. Perhaps an abundance if she really tried. She placed her bag down as Zorua and Spike poked their heads out. "Stay right here you two."
At the same time, Sunset Shimmer had exited the school, gazing at her book. No reply from the other side yet. "Still no reply." She said whilst also gazing at the statue.
Twilight's locket went off, focusing on the statue. She advanced towards the front of the statue while Sunset went to the back. The two of them had yet to realize each other.
"Maybe I could pay her a quick visit before the games start." Sunset was planning to pass through just to meet her friend for help. But as soon as she touched the statue, the insignia of her Cutie Mark pulsated before grabbing her hand, forcing Sunset Shimmer to be stuck as energy was flowing out. "Hey, let go!" She tried pushing herself off, but that only made her other arm stuck as well. Now she was trapped.
And the reason for this was that Twilight's locket device was interacting with the statue at the same time, stripping the magical properties away from it. Just like what Ghetsis had done during the body swap.
"Xien?!" Braixen instantly noticed what the cause of this was as she looked to the side, spotting Twilight and her locket. "Braixen!"
Twilight quickly closed her locket, absorbing the magic taken from the portal as both she and Sunset fell on their backs. Braixen ran to Sunset's side while Zorua poked her head out of Twilight's bag.
"Twilight!" Zorua cried out, wanting to get to Twilight's side. But she soon saw multiple people nearby as she was too timid to move. The only movement she made was hiding back in the bag so that no one would see her.
"Braixen!" Braixen helped Sunset up from the ground, asking if she was okay. "Brai?"
"I-I'm fine, Braixen." Sunset groaned before facing the portal. She wondered why it had acted so viciously all of a sudden. But she soon noticed how Twilight also got up, witnessing sparks of magic from the locket. "What did you do?!"
"Twilight, you have to check in with the others." But arriving at the scene to grab Twilight was Cadence. The games were about to begin after all.
Twilight couldn't waste any time as she ran off, grabbing her bag in the process. Sunset wanted to chase after her for answers, but she wondered what became of the portal after that interaction. Curious, Sunset Shimmer touched the portal once more.
But nothing happened. No pulses, no showing of Cutie Marks or any form of magic. Nothing. She gasped before continuously touching the portal to try and get something from it. "Where's the portal? Where's the portal?!"
In the gymnasium.
In the gymnasium, the synergy and atmosphere were poor. Canterlot High and Crystal Prep students do not like each other in the slightest. Even with a banner saying Welcome Crystal Prep and a plethora of decorations, nothing was cheery about any of this.
Sour Sweet and Sugarcoat were looking right at Flash Sentry, Sweetie Drops and Lyra. The trio made a smile to be as friendly as they could be as Sour Sweet smiled back. But, due to her name, this quickly switched to her crushing a cup of juice, slamming it on the floor and stepping on it. That was Sour Sweet's way of saying that her school was going to crush Canterlot High.
"What do ya mean the portal's gone?" Meanwhile, Applejack and the others were making their way to the gymnasium in outfits as she asked Sunset a question.
"I mean it's gone. It's closed. It's not there anymore!" Sunset exclaimed before entering the gymnasium. "Braixen and I saw what happened. The other Twilight did something. I-I don't know what but it messed with the portal the same way Ghetsis did during that whole body swap fiasco."
And speaking of Twilight, she was currently on the other side of the gymnasium, ready to enter. But there was one issue. Zorua's fear of others. Twilight hadn't entered yet as the door was half-open. But Sunset and the others spotted her.
"What in tarnation is she up to?" Applejack wondered.
"Leave this to me." Sunset would personally go up to her, wanting answers about that previous interaction.
"I can't go in...!" Zorua uttered, whimpering as she hid her whole body in the bag.
"Zorua. I can't advance further if you don't make an effort. Plus I also can't leave you alone, remember?"
"Can't I just stay somewhere else?" She asked, staying close to Spike. "With you there? Just us?"
"I can't do that. I have to be at the Friendship Games." Twilight sighed before coming to the most simple conclusion. "Ah! I still have your Poke Ball. You can stay in there."
"Mmmrrrgh..." Zorua grumbled.
"Please don't tell me you're not a fan of the Poke Ball either?" Twilight groaned as Zorua nodded in confirmation. Her predicament was the same as Pikachu and his Poke Ball. Both did not want to stay inside them. That was one major thing they shared in common. "Okay...How about-"
"Twilight, what have you been up to?" Sunset cut her off, startling Twilight. Twilight squeaked as Zorua closed the bag herself without Twilight having to do it.
"Me? Oh, I was just, uh—" Twilight couldn't finish her sentence.
"Who wants to know?!" Entering the scene was Indigo Zap who already had some aggression to bring to the table, pointing at Sunset Shimmer.
"Um, we do." And this wasn't helped with Rainbow Dash getting Indigo's face. Soon both Rainbow and Indigo got in each other's faces, butting heads.
Alright, everyone. Let's not get too competitive before the games even start." Applejack split them up before things could get heated. Unfortunately, due to the atmosphere, the split-up did not matter as Sugarcoat had something to say as well.
"The games aren't really competitive since we've never lost." Honest as always, Sugarcoat was.
"That's not a very nice thing to say," Fluttershy said under her breath.
"Sorry, dearie, but these games aren't about being nice." Another contender by the name of Sunny Flare taunted.
"Pssh. It's no big deal anyway." Rainbow Dash shrugged it off. "At least I...or we've got something you don't." To show off, Rainbow Dash held out her Poke Ball. Within it, Staraptor was resting. "How's that?"
"Oh. Hate to break it to you but..." But as a perfect counter, Indigo Zap showed off her POke Ball too. "A few of us have our own catches. "Not so special, are ya?"
"Grr...!" Rainbow Dash growled as this was the one thing she was hoping to beat Crystal Prep at.
"And we're gonna do more than just win this one. We're gonna dominate." Indigo juggled her Poke Ball. "Ash gave us one huge pep talk. And it was awesome. I'd say this Friendship Game is gonna last a few minutes."
"Fine then!" Rainbow Dash stepped back before holding her Poke Ball out. "Bet you don't know how to Pokemon Battle."
"So what? Pokemon aren't even allowed in the Friendship Games." Indigo scoffed, crossing her arms afterwards. "At least not yet..."
"Guess we beat you there, didn't we?" Rainbow was prideful in this one sole achievement. "I didn't even need Ash to learn that since he passed that knowledge to Sunset Shimmer."
"You're only better at her at one thing and worse at everything else." But Sugarcoat rained on her parade, shutting Rainbow Dash's confidence down.
"Yeah, well don't get cocky that Ash popped ya'll up," said Applejack. "We've our own pep talker right here." She then patted Rainbow Dash on the back.
"Why? Jealous your friend's not on your side but ours?" Sunny Flare snickered.
Twilight backed away, not wanting to get caught up in the overflowing animosity in this area. Zorua was shuddering inside of the bag, hearing the arguments. As Twilight backed up, she bumped into Pinkie Pie who was casually standing around.
"Ah!" She gasped before facing the pink-coloured human. "Pinkie? No wait...you're the Pinkie of this world."
"You betcha!" Pinkie nodded before holding her hand out. She was kind enough to give a handshake despite the rivalry between both schools. It was mostly due to how this Twilight reminded her of Equestria's Twilight. Twilight accepted the handshake.
"Nice to meet you." Twilight greeted as Pinkie Pie rapidly shook her hand. Twilight's glasses fell off as her hair had been let down from Pinkie's hyperactive handshake.
"This is like our first meeting! With us, not our other selves! Get what I mean?"
"R-Right. I do." Twilight stammered, putting her glasses back on and tying her hair back in its usual ponytail style. "Sorry if I caused any confusion."
"No prob! What's that?" Then, Pinkie was curious about the locket in Twilight's possession.
It's sort of a spectrometer. I built it to track EM frequencies, but it can also contain anomalies." But despite what Twilight said, Pinkie was out of the zone, unable to understand or reply. "It measures things." Twilight simplified it.
"Like the party?"
"Yeah, though it doesn't look like much of a party to me." Twilight proved this due to the negative friction exuding within this gymnasium. Some were even asleep, bored of this overall.
"I know. Something is definitely missing. Come on! A friend of Ash is a friend of mine!" Pinkie then grabbed Twilight's arm. Dragging her along for the fun.
"Hello, everyone! I'd like to take this opportunity to greet all of our visitors from Crystal Prep Academy and welcome them to CHS." Celestia greeted them all, but there was little enthusiasm here.
And that enthusiasm came from Pinkie Pie. Speaking of Pinkie, she had convinced Twilight to bring over two massive boxes that were larger than any gift box should be. And heavier too as they were both pushing them. "What in the world is in these?" Twilight grunted.
"Party cannons, of course!" shouted Pinkie.
"And lastly, I would like to recognize the twelve students that CHS has elected to compete. I don't think we could have chosen a better group to represent the excellence, sportsmanship, and friendship the games stand for." Celestia then looked at the 12 contenders. The Main 6 were a part of that group, but they didn't look too happy right about now.
As for Pinkie, only she knew how to bring life to this lifeless party. She swapped the mediocre food with some sweet and excellent food that only she could make. She then turned off the lights, causing the disco ball above to activate. And as for the final touch, she appeared next to Vinyl, giving her a CD to play.
Vinyl gladly accepted it as she placed the CD into the player of her booth. Music started playing, one that could get everyone into the mood. And it certainly did as some feet were slowly tapping and swaying, heads were bobbing and a better commotion filled the atmosphere.
Soon, both Canterlot High and Crystal Prep got into the mood of things. They even started talking to each other. But Pinkie had something left. The cannons. She flipped the boxes off, revealing two of them.
"Um, are you sure this is a good idea?" Twilight asked, unsure about the usage of cannons indoors.
"Absolutely!" Pinkie blasted both cannons, shooting out high amounts of confetti that flooded the area. Now it truly felt like a party with confetti flying everywhere, mixing well with the music.
Twilight was amazed at how easily Pinkie managed to liven the place and reduce the animosity between both schools. Even if frequent. Coupled with Ash's advice on having both schools try their best, win or lose, it helped greatly to loosen tension and build something new.
Some of them even felt the spirit to bring out their Pokemon as well. Not all of them had Pokemon. A majority of them only had at least one. Around 16 Pokemon were now within the gymnasium.
After such an easy way to make things better, Pinkie Pie's magic started radiating as well. Her body glowed pink as she gained ears, longer hair and the ability to float. "Ooh, floaty!"
But just like with Rarity, the locket started reacting. And it did it automatically as always. It instantly aimed itself in Pinkie's direction, almost pulling Twilight away. Twilight gasped as the locket opened by itself. It started absorbing magic from Pinkie Pie and the Pokemon as Twilight tried closing it.
Pinkie felt drained after that. She descended, losing her glow in the process. "Aw! Oh... I am party pooped." She said before leaning against the wall, drained.
And unlike Braixen, whose magic was taken from her staff, the Pokemon had their magic taken from their bodies. They didn't feel as drained as Pinkie Pie due to the amazing Infinity Energy, but they still felt something off about them.
The magic within the locket formed into a small orb with crackles. Twilight looked at the orb, never seeing this happen to the locket before, even though it was new. The locket then sent a white wisp that flew in-between the gap of the seats. Equestrian Magic had been let loose.
And speaking of Equestria, Twilight looked through the gap where the wisp went. A flash of light occurred as the magic had opened up a portal to Equestria. Twilight was agape as she saw a dark green forest through the portal. And in the forest was a Trevenant.
"Tre?" Trevenant turned to face Twilight with glowing red eyes. Twilight gasped as the Elder Tree Pokemon walked over to try and grab Twilight. "Trevenant!"
"!" Twilight pulled back before closing the locket. Right on time as the portal had been shut off as well. Trevenant did not pass through thankfully.
Twilight was now taken aback. This device she made was stronger than she expected. But what surprised her was what it had done. The device was not made to create portals. Not at all. Twilight looked around to see that no one had witnessed his magical occurrence that almost led to trouble.
But as everyone partied, along came Abacus Cinch to put an end to it, tapping the microphone. Strong feedback came through, harming everyone's ears. The lights were also turned back off, killing the mood entirely along with the disco ball and music.
"I'd like to thank Principal Celestia for her unconventional welcome," said Cinch. "It's been four years since the last Friendship Games, but it feels as though nothing has changed. Canterlot High continues to pick its competitors in a popularity contest and Crystal Prep continues to field its top twelve students. It is a comfort to know that even after so many years of losses, your school remains committed to its ideals, however misguided they may be. I wish you all the best of luck, regardless of the inevitable outcome."
And just like that, the atmosphere and mood had been turned sour thanks to Cinch's slightly condescending speech. Celestia and Luna were not amused after she brought up Canterlot High's constant losses over the years.
"Aw..." Pinkie pouted after her plan had been foiled.
"I'm sorry, Pinkie. I thought your party additions were really swell." Applejack said.
"They definitely broke the ice." Fluttershy chimed in.
Yes. If only that Principal Cinch hadn't frozen it again." Rarity scoffed at the principal.
"Yeah, she's awful." Pinkie groaned.
"Wow, Pinkie. What happened to you?" Sunset was the only one who noticed how drained she looked from her baggy eyes and ruffled hair.
"I don't know. Everyone started having fun after Twilight and I fired the party cannons and I ponied up."
"Of course you did." Once more this phenomenon had occurred without musical instruments.
"But then the magic just drained right out of me."
"Wait, what do you mean "drained out of you?" Sunset corrected her.
"Not just you. Take a look." Rainbow Dash grabbed their attention, pointing over at the Pokemon who had been affected. They felt a bit woozy, not having their energetic selves radiate.
And that was a shame. Considering they were first-stage Pokemon, relatively small and weak, this magic drain was effective on them.
"Xien. Braixen." Braixen nudged Sunset as she showed her the result of this drain. Braixen raised her wand, trying to use Psybeam. However, nothing happened. No Psychic energy emerged from her wand. Even when she tried using Fire Spin, thrusting her wand forward, there was no outcome.
"Braixen, your wand. What happened?" Sunset asked.
"Braix. Braixen." Braixen then explained how it had been drained, much like the Pokemon here. Not everyone understood her. Only Fluttershy.
"Oh! Your wand was drained like Pinkie Pie and the Pokemon?" She translated.
"Braixen."
"So it's the Pokemon as well." Sunset kneeled as she held Braixen's stick. "And you have a good idea on how this is happening, right Braixen?"
"Brai." Indeed she did. She was the first and only one to see Twilight draining the magic from the portal.
"Now what? What happens if a Pokemon loses its magic? Is something bad gonna happen to them?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Oh, it's fine. Pokemon can actually regenerate their energy, no problem. Magic or not. That's why their main source of energy is called Infinity Energy." Sunset explained. "Braixen will be back to her absolute best in no time."
"Braixen!"
Finally, after minutes of waiting, the Friendship games could begin. The whole school was giving a message through the P.A. Luna's voice came through it, alerting those who were or weren't taking part in this. "Good morning, students. I'm sure you're all thrilled to start the first day of the Friendship Games. Our competitors will face off in every aspect of the CHS curriculum, culminating in the elimination equation finale."
Welcome to the first event, the Academic Decathlon!" Cadence would be monitoring and announcing things from here on. The competitors were all in their separate groups. "You'll be scored on chemistry, home-ec and everything in between. But remember, only the six students from each team with the most points will move on to event number 2. Good luck!"
The first event had begun. A test of intellect. Not too extreme in the physical sense but still extreme in the mental sense. Surprisingly, all of them were skilled in chemistry, knowing a thing or two about them. Almost all, Derpy's work tends to blow up in her face. They all successfully made their own liquid solutions, placing them in flasks. Due to Derpy's flask blowing up, Crystal Prep succeeded in the first event.
Next was home-ec, a topic that Pinkie Pie could excel at without issue. But equal in her skill was this world's counterpart of Suri Polimare. Everyone else had made their specialized cakes, but they paled in comparison to Pinkie and Suri's.
Celestia, Luna and Cadence would try out the cake made by Suri and her partner. Secretly, this was Celestia's favourite event that she always looked forward to. So much so that she did not care if Canterlot High win or lose, as long as she gets to eat cake.
The trio tried out the Shadowbolts cake, enjoying it thoroughly. But that was soon outdone by Pinkie Pie who cut her tall cake in half. She had made artwork of a certain famous woman from long ago. The trio were amazed by the sight of this cake as they dropped their pens away from their clipboard. It was clear who won this won.
Cinch was not happy about this loss.
Next up was some D&T. AKA Design and Technology. The main goal was to make some birdhouses. Everyone made appealing birdhouses for the eyes that were honestly very basic. But the Shadowbolts ended up having the superior one with way more design and length added to it. Not too impressive, but much better than what everyone else had to offer.
Then following that was a spelling bee. And unfortunately, a majority of them lacked the skill to flawlessly succeed in this. The words they were given were something they don't usually say or see. They were alienated by these words. But two of them could flawlessly do this.
Those two were Fluttershy and Twilight.
And the next one was between Twilight and Sunset. Sunset wasn't too happy with what Twilight had done so far, draining the magic from her friends and everything. Math was their event to tackle. Too complicated for many eyes.
Especially Ash. He and Pikachu tried keeping up with all of the numbers on the chalkboard and how fast they were both writing. He felt dazed by this. Counterpart or not, Twilight was also a genius capable of matching Sunset's intellect. Which made him wonder about the Sunset Shimmer he saw that exists in this world.
"Incorrect!" Cinch suddenly exclaimed as she was monitoring this event, pointing at Sunset. Sunset lowered her head in disappointment and defeat. The first event of mental skill had come to a close. Everyone was being judged with Luna giving out the announcements.
"That means the winner of the Friendship Games' first event is Twilight Sparkle and Crystal Prep!" She announced. Twilight was happy about that, so was Crystal Prep. However, the final first event was so dull that a majority of the applause were slow as well.
"That was awesome!" Rainbow Dash ran up to Sunset, hugging her. Her friends were proud of her intellect.
"Truly amazing!" Rarity praised her.
"But we didn't win!" Sunset wasn't sure why they were so ecstatic about this.
"That was as close to winnin' as Canterlot's ever been," said Applejack. Indeed, thanks to Sunset being as smart as Twilight, they came very close. However, this was also Twilight's first time participating in the Friendship Games, so that spoke volumes.
"After a careful tally of the points, we'd like to present the students moving on to the Friendship Games' second event," Cadence announced. This was the one everyone was looking forward to since it was the most exciting.
Cinch knew of the second event as she was least interested in it. So, she decided to do something quickly while that event occurs as she walked up to Celestia. "Excuse me for a moment. You undergo the second event. I'll be a bit occupied at the moment."
"Hm? Well, okay then. We can wait." Celestia nodded. "Do whatever you need to do. But you might miss out on an upset." Celestia winked as Cinch gave an unimpressed gaze. Which was essentially the standard emotion she's always seen with.
"I highly doubt that." Cinch went up to one last person. Ash. She had something to tell Ash. "Ash. It seems that I myself am in need of some spare teaching. How about we take the time to do something else. Like, say...catch a Pokemon?"
"Right now? But the second event is about to start." Ash replied.
"Pika."
"Not for a few minutes. We might miss out on the first 10 minutes of it but the entire thing. I trust you can make this quick and efficient."
"Hmm...Okay. I can do that." Ash stood up. "I know a place that's pretty close with some Pokemon here and there. It's the forest around this area."
"That will do nicely."
"Ash! Did you see that?!" Rushing up to Ash, Pikachu and Cinch were Twilight as this was the most excited she's been when doing math. This was because her friends were there to watch her.
"Yep. Awesome stuff! I didn't get what was going on though." He and Pikachu laughed.
"Pikachu."
"Thanks. I-" Twilight's words were cut off when her locket started acting up. More magic was being felt somewhere else. "I'm sorry. Excuse me for a moment." She soon left to see what the origin of this one was.
Out in the forest.
The forest. The same forest where Ash and Twilight first met via an attack by a Seviper. This was where Ash and Cinch had appeared as Cinch aimed to catch a Pokemon in the meanwhile. She was only doing this since the second event was not that interesting to her.
"So. See anything that catches your eye?" Ash asked.
"I'll find one that interests me. Hopefully, nothing Canis related." Cinch took out her Poke Ball. She had chosen a Quick Ball for an efficient and instant catch. "Perhaps two." She also had a second Poke Ball with her. A Great Ball.
Cinch observed the area to see which Pokemon interested her. Due to the shift into winter, the atmosphere was cold. Which meant that different Pokemon would show up. But it wasn't too cold. Cinch had then spotted the first Pokemon she would like to try and catch.
A Honchkrow, sitting on a tree.
"That one." She pointed over at the Big Boss Pokemon.
"Honchkrow? Nice pick!" Ash enthused.
"Pikachu!"
"What was that you said back at the academy? Our own style, right?"
"Yep. Something like that. Throw it however you want it. Just really put some effort and muscle behind it!" Ash spun his arm around.
"That I can do." Cinch held out the Quick Ball, aiming it at the Dark-Flying-Type. She made sure to make this catch secretive and efficient. With some time to gaze at Honchkrow, she threw the Quick Ball.
It spun around at an upwards diagonal angle moving at impressive speeds, faster than what Honchkrow could react to. "Honch?" Honchkrow had just turned around but it was too late. The ball had struck the Big Boss Pokemon, pulling it in. The Quick Ball dropped to the ground after bouncing on the tree. Now for the sake.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Honchkrow was caught.
"Alright!" Ash and Pikachu cheered with a quick jump. "Nice catch, Cinch!" He patted Cinch on the back, almost making her fall over. Abacus Cinch was a bit fragile as her glasses were also almost knocked off as well.
"Thank you," Cinch said, standing upright and adjusting her glasses. She then went over, picking up the Quick Ball and her newly caught Pokemon within it. "That wasn't so difficult. But then again, this Poke Ball is made for a one-time-usage, isn't it?"
"Yep. So, feeling lucky for a second one?"
"One more wouldn't hurt." Cinch would take one last Pokemon with the Great Ball she had. That would mean heading deeper into the forest. One more and it was back to the Friendship Games.
Canterlot High.
Twilight went outside to see where the magic was coming from. But nothing so far. She then hid behind a pillar after spotting Sunset and her friends. She didn't want to attract any attention. However, as Sunset and the others walked off, Fluttershy could be seen on her lonesome. She sat down, pacing her bag out as both her Twilight shared one thing in common.
They both carried animals in their bags. Specifically, Fluttershy had a cat in her bag that she nuzzled after opening it. However, Twilight was a step further with a Pokemon in her bag. Seeing Fluttershy do this made Twilight compelled to go over. But not before hiding in a bush. She made sounds in the bush before poking her head out.
"Do you wanna give her a treat?" Fluttershy asked after spotting Twilight.
"Treat?!" Popping out of Twilight's bag by herself was Zorua as she was attracted to anything involving food. But after seeing Fluttershy, she hid her head. "Mmm!" Spike wasn't shy at all as his head poked out too.
"Did that Pokemon just talk?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah. That's just Zorua's Telepathy." Twilight put aside her curiosity of magic for this one small moment. She also sat down with Fluttershy, putting her bag down. "Guess I'm not the only one to smuggle her pet into school. Not sure about Pokemon though."
"I have a Pokemon. All the way home. She's a bit too big to fit in my bag." Fluttershy giggled, referring to Audino. More animals emerged from her bag along with a few Pokemon. Mainly the smaller ones as they could all fit in. Fluttershy specifically altered her bag to make it bigger for both Pokemon and animals. "So, your dog's name is Spike, right? Does he talk?"
"Um, not that I know of."
"Congratulations on winning, by the way." Fluttershy rubbed Spike's stomach. "Though, it didn't seem like anyone on your team was very excited about it."
"No one at my school gets excited about anything they didn't do themselves." Twilight held her arm with a frown.
"That sounds awful." Fluttershy looked around before picking up a Skitty. One of the Pokemon in her bag. She then brought the Kitten Pokemon over. "Here. Hold this."
"Skitty!" Skitty cried out as she was then grabbed by Twilight. "Holding a Pokemon or bunny makes me feel better. Sometimes hugging Audino works for me too.
Well, that's ridiculous. But..." Twilight at first dismissed it, but after some time, she was enamoured by the cuteness and comfort of Skitty. "Ooh. It actually kind of works. I'm on the other team and you just lost. Why are you being so nice to me?"
"You looked like you needed it." And due to Fluttershy showing her endless kindness, the magic from within starting exuding out of her as well. She ascended with a golden glow and pop-up of pony ears. Her already long hair got longer in the process. But, she got a bonus. Much like her Equestria counterpart, she had wings that glowed on her back.
"Whoa!" Twilight gasped. And as soon as she did so, on its own volition, the locket activated, instantly reacting to the magic that was being created by Fluttershy. It then started absorbing Fluttershy's magic and the magic from some of the Pokemon here. However, it could only absorb magic from Pokemon and the people that were in front of her. Zorua was exempt since she was behind Twilight.
Except, this time, it was different. Instead of pulling the magic in, the locket started generating portals that appeared around the area frantically, each leading to a different location in Equestria. And within those portals, Pokemon started appearing.
And the first few to do so were a small group of Cranidos and Beautifly. "Cranidos!" And after showing up, Spike started barking at the sudden appearance of these Pokemon.
"Beau?"
"Cra!" Cranidos roared back at Spike as it was aiming to headbutt him. Spike immediately sensed the danger before backing away. Cranidos promptly chased after the dog, using its impressive speed. The other Crandios scattered as they had the instinct to headbutt something.
"Spike!" Twilight cried out, seeing her pet being chased. Spike ended up running past the golden aura of magic that radiated from Fluttershy. Little did he know, it affected him greatly as he froze on the spot. That gave Cranidos enough time to catch up. "Spike!"
Thankfully, Fluttershy caught him safely. But Cranidos was still approaching. "Crani..!" Fluttershy held onto Spike, bracing for impact. If they were to be hit by Cranidos, it would be bad news.
"Beautifly!" But thankfully, Beautifly was there to help, using Gust to push the Head Butt Pokemon away. "Beauti...fly!"
"C-Crani!" Cranidos was sent flying as Fluttershy and Spike had been successfully saved. Seeing the danger, Twilight quickly closed the locket, ending the portal resurgence. Fluttershy drained, holding Spike out for Twilight to grab.
"Spike, are you okay?" Twilight asked.
"Um, I think so." The result of him touching the aura made him speak like his Equestria Counterpart. Twilight froze as she was surprised by that. Her mind was already in a frenzy from the portals and Cranidos, but this surprised her too. The Pokemon, she could understand talking. Not her dog.
"Aaaaah!" Freaking out, Twilight ran off to try and think this through.
"Twilight, wait!" Spike chased after her after being dropped. As for Fluttershy, she sat down after having the magic drained from her body. She looked at her surroundings to see the Cranidos running around.
"Beautifly."
"Thanks, Beautifly..." She shuddered before waving goodbye at Twilight and Spike. But there was the issue of the Cranidos to be dealt with as they started smashing their heads on Canterlot High property. And Fluttershy was drained and weak at the moment. She could only leave it up to Beautifly and a few Pokemon. Until they were recovered from the drain as well. "Oh my."
The second event of the Friendship Games was only minutes away. And during that time, Ash was helping Abacus Cinch catch some Pokemon. So far, only a Honchkrow had been caught via a Quick Ball.
Right now, they had come across a pit of Seviper. One of the few Pokemon that populate this forest. This pit was fairly large, however, most of the Seviper barely need to use it. They tend to hunt a lot or sometimes get caught up fighting their natural enemy Zangoose.
"Check out all those Seviper," said Ash, observing the scene as some Seviper were off to hunt. "It's gonna be tough to catch one with just a Great Ball."
"I'm aware it's not as efficient as the Quick Ball. Then how do you suppose I catch it?" Cinch asked.
"Well, you can still try with the Great Ball. But battling's also a good option. It helps weaken the Pokemon so it's easier to catch them. You just caught yourself a Honchkrow. Now's a good chance."
"Pikachu."
"Hmm..." Cinch thought about it for a moment, gazing at the Great Ball. Pokemon Battling was the one thing she didn't expect to come across. "Battling seems unnecessary. Are you telling me that is another method of catching a Pokemon?"
"Uh...Yeah?" Ash shrugged. "I mean it works a lot of time."
"I would rather try my luck than battle. It sounds more akin to padding than anything." Cinch chose to just throw the Poke Ball. "Besides, I did learn a few things from your demonstration. And my capture of Honchkrow proved that I can use this when the Pokemon least expect it."
"Sounds good to me. Go for it." Ash wanted to see Cinch's take on Pokemon catching since she exempted herself from battles. "Hope we can hurry back and catch the next even though."
"We will," said Cinch before aiming the Great Ball at a sole Seviper. She would have to put her luck on the Great Ball since the Quick Ball had already been used up. Cinch waited for Seviper to be unaware. But that was an issue since this Pokemon is a lethal predator, always on the lookout.
But, even the most precise predators always let their guard down, even for a second. And Cinch found that moment, throwing the Great Ball. The ball curved through the air, spiralling greatly.
"Sevi!" But, one Seviper managed to intercept, knocking the ball away with Poison Tail. The Great Ball had bounced on the ground as its usage had been wasted thanks to this interruption. After that, the rest of the Seviper were made aware of Ash, Pikachu and Cinch's presence. "Seviper!" They all faced them.
"Uh oh!" Ash gasped as Cinch backed away slowly. "Guess they're alert about each other too, huh?"
"Pika."
"This was a mistake..." said Cinch under her breath. "Perhaps I should've not-"
"No need to worry, Cinch. We'll finish this and head back soon! Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder as all of the Seviper slithered rapidly towards Ash and the others, seeing them as prey and fresh food. "Chuuu!" But their attack had been promptly stopped as Pikachu generated an aura of electricity around his body. He then fired 100,000 volts as Cinch watched in awe.
This was unlike something she's never seen before. A small mouse that can generate lightning from his body and unleash it as an attack. The bolt had struck one Seviper before causing a chain reaction, hitting all of them simultaneously.
And by hitting them all, each of the Seviper had either fainted or were on the verge of fainting. The Seviper quickly realized Pikachu's strength and how one good hit could knock them all out. Not wanting to deal with that outcome, they instantly slithered away out of fear.
"Guess that's that." Ash held his hat. "Guess we can try something else?"
"The electricity from his body. Was that a quick sign of a Pokemon Battle?" Cinch asked.
"Oh yeah, it totally was. That was Pikachu's Thunderbolt. One of his moves." Ash replied via a nod.
"They have names?" Cinch adjusted her glasses. "I wasn't even aware they could emit lightning from their bodies. And here I thought a Pokemon Battle was similar to two chickens fighting."
"You've never seen a Pokemon use moves before? Well, looks like I've got a lot to teach, huh? Hahaha!" Ash and Pikachu laughed.
"Pika-ka-ka."
"Does that mean you will accept my offer and fill in the role of our academy's Pokemon Teacher?" Cinch leaned in with her arms behind her back. "It could also be a great usage of self-defence for some of my students if they come across any trouble during their way to school.
"Uh, well, I haven't decided on that teacher thing yet." Ash's laugh then turned into a nervous one. "But I can still teach 'em how to battle."
"Hm. You'll come around eventually." Cinch stood up tall. "After all, a good friend of yours works at my school. Soon to go to Everton with her expertise and arsenal of skills. You wouldn't want to miss out on teaching her as well, would you?"
"Twilight? Well, yeah. There's still so much I wanna teach her. Plus, I don't know where this Everton place is. Could be pretty far." Ash grumbled, scratching the back of his hair to show this.
"Oh, far is an understatement." Cinch circled Ash. "Don't let this chance escape for you friend. Once at Everton, everything will be independent. Similar to a boarding school but grander than that. You may never see her again."
"Pika?" Pikachu didn't like the sound of that as his ears dropped.
"I hear ya." Ash nodded. "I'm not gonna let it go to waste. Not for a friend."
"That's what I like to hear." Cinch smiled. "And perhaps, what you teach Twilight before she potentially leaves will bounce off the rest of my students. Now, let's head back. My chance for a second Pokemon has faded anyway."
They were now heading back. This catch lesson was only slightly successful. Cinch didn't get herself a second Pokemon, but she obtained one nonetheless. She also had something new to learn, along with her students via Pokemon Battles and what they had to offer.
Canterlot High. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, over at Canterlot High, the issue of the Cranidos was being dealt with by Beautifly. Fluttershy felt drained after what happened earlier. During the time it took for Ash and Cinch to head out into the forest, it has only been 10 minutes since this has happened. And poor Beautifly couldn't handle multiple Crandios due to her being a Bug-Flying-Type.
However, since Pokemon can recover thanks to their Infinity Energy, the Pokemon that were originally inside of Fluttershy's bag gave their assistance, defeating the Cranidos. But barely. That Rock-Typing was an issue. The Crandios were all either fainted or dizzy from all the head-smashing they've done. Canterlot High had been damaged because of their rampant running.
"I'm sorry." Fluttershy apologized to the Cranidos on the ground, petting them. "But we had to stop Canterlot High from falling apart. And it all happened so fast too."
"Cranidos..." The Cranidos accepted Fluttershy's apology after being petted on the head. Arriving at the scene were Ash, Pikachu and Abacus Cinch after returning from their catch session.
"Whoa!" Ash gasped, realizing how rubble was scattered everywhere from the destroyed parts of Canterlot High. Thankfully, the damage wasn't too severe, but noticeable enough as walls had been knocked off with cracks forming. "What happened here?!"
"Pika?!"
"Just a small issue," said Fluttershy. "The Cranidos started running around, smashing their head on things. The Pokemon in my bag and Beautifly were able to stop them barely. But everything's fine now."
"Far from fine." Cinch stepped forward. "The damage caused here by these Pokemon is noticeable. Especially to Principal Celestia's eyes. It's a miracle no one else has been notified of this."
"Um...well, it all happened so fast and I didn't have time to do much," Fluttershy replied, intimidated by Cinch's appearance for obvious reasons.
"Well, someone is going to have to clean up all of this mess." Cinch moved her arm around, showcasing the abundance of rubble. "This look won't do at all, wouldn't you agree?" She narrowed her eyes.
"Clean up? You mean me?!" Fluttershy pulled back. "But...I didn't do this! And I have to be at the next event soon."
"Everyone else is occupied with the second event closing in. And you are so far the only one out here. It seems that you might have to-"
"It's fine, Cinch." Ash cut in. He put his hand out, helping Fluttershy off the ground. "I'll do it, Fluttershy. And I'll help these Cranidos get somewhere safe. You go on ahead to the next event. I'll catch up later."
"Really? You'll do that for me?" Fluttershy smiled as Cinch shook her head, hoping to give Canterlot High a disadvantage. Not that she was that intimidated by them. "Oh, thank you so much, Ash!" To show her gratitude, Fluttershy held both of Ash's hands, shaking them.
"No problem. Pikachu. You go ahead and help cheer Fluttershy on."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu saluted before hopping off of Ash's shoulder and onto Fluttershy. After doing so, he nuzzled his face onto her, making Fluttershy feel better.
"Great to have you, Pikachu. I'll see you there, Ash! Bye!" Free from cleaning up this mess, Fluttershy bolted off with Pikachu by her side.
"How thoughtful of you," Cinch said. "But in all honesty, you arrived late and are not affiliated with any school, so it shouldn't be you cleaning this mess up."
"Can't help but help my friends." Ash helped the Cranidos up. "Plus, it'd be a shame if Fluttershy missed out on the rest of the Friendship Games."
"I suppose so." Cinch had no choice but to accept that Ash's kindness and generosity were unyielding. "I will see you at the event soon. And I should give my thanks to you for assisting me in my first Pokemon catch."
"Ah, it was nothing." Ash chuckled. "Happy to help!"
Indoors.
Meanwhile, Twilight was running through the hallways of the school with Spike right behind her. She was still freaked out by all that had happened. Mainly Sike suddenly talking out of nowhere.
"Twilight, come on! Wait for me!" Spike cried out as Twilight put her hands on her ears. She soon reached a dead-end, being corned by her pet dog. "Why did you run away like that?"
Um, oh, I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the glowing girl or the hole in space. Or my talking dog!" Twilight exclaimed.
"But Zorua can talk too, can't she?"
"Yeah, but that's telepathy! Your mouth is moving!" Twilight pointed at Spike.
"Good point," Spike replied before rubbing his ear with his paw.
"Are you okay?" She asked before kneeling to his level. "How do you feel? What happened? Where did you go?
"Hey, one question at a time! This is pretty new to me, too."
"Sorry." Twilight squeed.
"All I know is I was being chased by those Pokemon through the glowy thing and then I was somewhere else. Next thing I knew, I was back in that nice girl's arms and I could talk! I don't really understand why I couldn't before. I mean, it's so easy."
"So we can talk together now, can't we?" Popping her head out of the bag was Zorua. She was glad to have someone else new to talk to. She was afraid that all she was going to hear from Spike was constant barking.
"Twilight." But spotting Twilight from a distance was the just-returned Principal Cinch. Twilight froze as Zorua hid her head back in Twilight's bag. Spike was already out of the bag so there was no time to hide him there. But there were lockers beside Twilight.
"Quick...! Hide in here...!" She uttered quietly, opening the locker as Spike jumped in.
"Who are you talking to?" Cinch asked.
"Um, myself." She sheepishly said, trying to play it all off without worry. "It's a nervous habit. Were you looking for me?"
"Indeed I was. Quite a coincidence that the CHS students moving on to the next event are the same nice girls who were so interested in you, don't you think?" Cinch put an emphasis on 'nice', insulating that she saw something through the girls potentially.
"I'm not sure."
"Perhaps you should get to know them after all." Cinch suggested. It was a surprising suggestion considering how she viewed Canterlot High. The rivalry still existed.
"R-Really? I thought the whole rivalry thing would get in the way of that?"
"Let's just say I'm covering my bases. Who knows? Perhaps they will reveal to you the secret to Canterlot High's newfound success."
"I dunno. Spying feels kind of... wrong." Twilight muttered.
"Well, it's your decision, Twilight. It's not as if your application hangs in the balance. On second thought, yes, it does." Cinch then brought her application to Everton in the mix, bribing Twilight with it. And considering Twilight's dream to go there one day, this could potentially collapse it. Cinch then left the scene as Twilight was thinking this through now.
"Man, she's awful," said Spike.
"Told you." Zorua chimed in with her head popping out. "She's so scary. What are you gonna do, Twilight?"
"What are you gonna do?"
"I don't know, you two. I don't know." Feeling overwhelmed, Twilight leaned against the locker, sitting down to think and collect her thoughts.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy reunited with all 5 of her friends, explaining what had just happened. From the sudden Cranidos and portal appearance to the draining of magic from Fluttershy's body.
"All I did was hand Twilight a Skitty. Then I ponied up." She explained through the best of her memories to her friends.
"I just don't get it," said Sunset, further confused by all of this. "Rarity's magic came out when she made us outfits. Pinkie's when she fixed the party and now Fluttershy."
"And then Twilight's pendant thingy just pulled the magic right out of me." Fluttershy followed Sunset's sentence. "I couldn't even stand up with the Pokemon beside me too."
"Like me and the Pokemon at the party!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Or me and Braixen right before we met Twilight!" Rarity also recalled a similar scenario happening to her.
So she's stealing magic?" asked Sunset.
"I don't know. She doesn't seem like the magic-stealin' type." Applejack shrugged, still believing in the good-heartedness of Twilight by basing her off her Equestria counterpart.
"Yeah, but she had something to do with closing the portal." An undecisive Sunset scratched her hair. "If her pendant can pull in magic, maybe it stole the portal, too. Just like how Ghetsis did back then. And the pony or person or princess who could help me figure this out is on the other side. The only way the portal was fixed before was because of Emerald Aura. Maybe I can try getting a request from her for once?"
"That's too bad because Twilight knows everything about magic and portals and magical portals and portable magics!" Pinkie rambled.
"For now, let's just focus on beating the Shadowbolts." Despite all of this, Rainbow Dash's attention was in a straight-line, only directed towards the Friendship Games. "And as long as this event puts me in a playing field, I don't think we've got anything to worry about."
"Oh, it puts you on a playin' field, alright." Applejack had then seen something out the door that was surprising to the eyes. The field of this year's Friendship Games. Everyone else looked outside as a thunderous gasp came from Pinkie Pie.
The field in question was vast and had a lot to offer. A plethora of dirt mounds and ramps that were unnecessarily high. Only someone with excellent jumping skills could hope to leap over these. Or maybe wings. There were other obstacles in the way that was standard and expected but some were taken to the extreme. But it made sense. This was to test everyone's skills. The second event is usually the hardest.
"Am I the only one who thinks this is overkill?" Sunset gulped after seeing the sheer size of this.
Applejack went up to the comically large dirt mound, kicking on it. By the looks of it, motorcycles would be involved. "I don't suppose you made motocross outfits." She asked Rarity.
"Oh, don't be ridiculous. Of course, I did!" She certainly did, overpreparing for everything as she pulled out Motorcross outfits tailored for her friends alone.
Meanwhile, Principal Cinch was speaking with her students, giving them orders on how to tackle each event. She was hoping to skip out on this part since it interested her least. But the Seviper scenario plummeted that. But on the bright side, it did give her time to tutor her students in teamwork.
"You will race in pairs. Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat will handle the motocross." She instructed.
"Yes!" Indigo pumped her fist, grateful that she could have this chance.
"Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare have requested the short track." She continued with the next duo as Lemon and Sunny high-fived each other.
"Since archery is a standard requirement at our school, any of you should be able to do it. Twilight and Sour Sweet will start us off."
"Well, that's just marvellous!" Sour Sweet uttered sweetly before turning sour in a second. "If you wanna lose before we even start."
"Given that Twilight won the last event single-handedly, I have every confidence that she will be able to pull her weight here. Won't you?" Cinch asked as Twilight nodded nervously, but with some confidence in her own skills sprinkled in.
With everyone seated, flags being waved for both schools and even their own scoreboard and banner, this final event could begin. This world's counterpart of Photo Finish started taking pictures of the scene, getting every good shot that she could.
Taking part in archery for Canterlot High's side were Applejack and Fluttershy. Covering speed-skating were Rarity and Pinkie Pie. And for motocross, Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer.
"Welcome, everyone to the Friendship Games Tricross Relay!" Cadence announced as the crowd cheered, having snacks to boot. Just in case this goes longer than it should be expected to. "In this event, our qualifying competitors will face off in archery, speed-skating, and finally, motocross. So if the competitors are ready..." Cadence held an airhorn up, blaring it to begin things off.
Going first were Applejack, Fluttershy, Twilight and Sour Sweet for archery. Cadence would continue to speak over this since she was the announcer. "Each competitor must hit a bullseye before their teammates can start the next leg of the relay."
The four of them rushed over to grab the bows and arrowed laying. But not before jumping over some haystacks as obstacles. Sour Sweet did it hastily while Fluttershy was careful, lagging a bit behind. After grabbing the arrows and bow, Sour went past the next obstacles. And with style too. She grabbed onto a rope, swinging over the mud pool below and landing on a platform with a roll.
Right after said roll, she aimed and fired her bow at the targets without any buildup. She certainly had a fast reaction time to do that so swiftly. Not only was her reaction time great, so was her precision. Despite the targets moving, she managed to hit them without taking the time to have her eyes track them. Not even a pause. Two arrows had struck random parts for scores while the third one hit the bullseye without fail.
Cheers flooded the area as Twilight and Applejack were both surprised. Twilight hadn't really seen her fellow students in this event of the Friendship Games until now. So this came as a shock to her with how precise and swift Sour Sweet was. But she had to dismiss that disbelief as she and Applejack were up next.
Except, only Twilight went ahead since Fluttershy was not done yet. She was trying to fire the arrow at the target, but so far, had failed. She was going for another shot as Twilight ran ahead. She jumped over the haystack, only to trip the end of her leg on it and fall flat on her face afterwards.
Sour Sweet growled, frustrated that Twilight could mess up in the first few seconds. She then turned around to see Fluttershy taking another go at this shot. But she ended up missing once more. Another shot was due. As for Twilight, she swung on the rope, heading for the platform, but even that was a struggle as well.
She was not that athletic at all and it showed. Her first leg touched the platform but the other one couldn't quite reach. Twilight was now dangling with the mud pool right below her. Sour Sweet pulled on her eyes as her sour side was showing more than her sweet side in this instance. Twilight was delaying things at this point.
As for Fluttershy, after taking a deep breath, closing her eyes and putting her all into this next arrow shot, she finally landed a hit. And a splendid one too. She got a bullseye. The crowd cheered with Sour Sweet becoming agape. Fluttershy was proud of herself. And after that successful shot, she gave the signal for Applejack to go next.
She effortlessly jumped over the hay, grabbed the bow and arrows and the process and swung over the mud pool to the platform with ease. Applejack, much like Sour Sweet, fired the bow swiftly. However, hers took some time. And it paid off. She hit the target on the first go, but not quite the bullseye.
And at the same time, Twilight had just managed to finally get herself up, ready to aim the bow and arrow at the target. Twilight fired the arrow, missing her mark, sadly. This just only further frustrated Sour Sweet as she growled once more. Applejack then took a deep breath, going for another shot. She wanted to make this next shot count.
With the arrow being fired, she certainly did make it count. Applejack managed to hit the bullseye, putting Canterlot ahead of Crystal Prep now. And after the bullseye plus some cheering, that prompted the speed-skaters to go on next.
Rarity and Pinkie went ahead, skating along the track as Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare would have to wait for their team to finish before they could go.
"And Canterlot is off to an early lead!" Cadence announced as Principal Cinch was so far, not amused. And it didn't help that Twilight was nervous about all of this. Her legs were shaking, causing her to miss every shot that she took with the bow and arrows. At this rate, she would run out of arrows before she could even land a hit on the target.
"Well, that's just fantastic!" Sour Sweet exclaimed sourly at Twilight. Twilight shuddered after that initial roar.
"I'm sure glad I don't go to Crystal Prep," said Fluttershy after Sour Sweet's bellow.
"You said it." And Applejack greed.
"Wheeeee!" Meanwhile, Pinkie was having a ton of fun skating. Aside from it being a sport in the Friendship Games, she tends to do it quite often. She and Rarity passed the first lap, granting Canterlot High their first point.
"If CPA can't hit another bullseye soon, they'll be out of this race," said Cadence.
Twilight was at her limit right now. Not only was she nervous, but tears also started forming. She didn't want to let anyone down or make herself look silly in front of everyone. She was down to her final arrow.
"You're really bad at this!" From a great distance, Sugarcoat yelled at Twilight, giving her the facts straight on.
"Ugh! I can't take anymore!" yelled Applejack after seeing Twilight's failures. But she also couldn't stand to see her do poorly to the point where her teammates weren't supporting her. "Ya have to stop aimin' at the target." She went up to Twilight.
Oh, that makes perfect sense! Don't aim at the target! Thanks so much!" Sour Sweet said sarcastically.
"Ya have to stop aimin' at where the target is an' aim at where the target's gonna be." Applejack chose to instruct Twilight despite this being a competition.
Yeah!" Another sarcastic tone came from Sour Sweet before she changed her pattern from sweet to sour. "Definitely take advice from the person you're competing against!"
Applejack did not respond to Sour Sweet's outburst. She only focused on helping Twilight. "Do you wanna hit the bullseye or not?" She asked as Twilight nodded in response. "Then trust me. Take a deep breath." Twilight took said-deep breath, following what Applejack was telling her. "And let the arrow go... riiiiight...." She waited to give Twilight the signal for when it would count. "Now!"
With Applejack giving the signal, Twilight fired the arrow. The arrow moved along, travelling through the air at a straightforward. Everyone was anticipating if she could actually hit her mark. Even Cinch stood up with her eyes open. And she did. The arrow finally hit something. The bullseye. Very lucky indeed as cheers were made.
Finally, Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare could skate. Zorua's head was sticking out from the bag which was far off in the distance. But Zorua praised and cheered for Twilight, even if she was too shy to come out of the bag. "Yeah! That's my girl!" Spike exclaimed before being picked up by Twilight.
Grateful for the help, Twilight turned to Applejack. Applejack was expecting a high-five but instead, she received a hug of thanks. That was far better. "See? I was tellin' ya the truth." She said. And due to her telling the truth, the magic within her started showing up. Long hair, pony ears, it all checked out.
Unfortunately, the device around Twilight's neck reacted to this magic. She tied holding it back this time as the locket opened automatically. It was too late as the device started absorbing Applejack's magic.
"Eh..." Applejack started groaning, trying to hold her ground. "What... are... you... doing?!"
"I don't know!" She replied before finally closing the locket. Applejack felt drained as Twilight lost her footing. She fell off the podium she was on, crashing on her back. And after falling, so did the locket as it fell out of her hand.
With the locket being knocked off, it bounced on the ground. That bounce and the recently absorbed magic, caused the device to set off a magical purple pulse. And that pulse, much like the scenario with Fluttershy, caused portals to Equestria to appear.
But these portals were unseen by everyone. Not that they were invisible or anything, but because one of them was in the far distance just near the entrance of Canterlot High and the other was minuscule, appearing on the ground as it was hard to notice. However, it was gradually growing in size.
But the true reason was that everyone was focused on the games. The speed-skaters were still moving around with laps and Crystal Prep had caught up quickly. "Canterlot only has two laps to go! But it looks like Crystal Prep is making up for lost time!" said Cadence.
However, as they skated, one of the skaters, Sugar Coat in question, passed by the locket, knocking it aside as it spun around while still open. Twilight would have to try and close it while passing the skate track. She would also have to be careful not to be hit by the skaters. Except, it was this one obstacle that caused the locket to do more with the time gap.
The locket shot out a white wisp, summoning another portal. But this time, this portal was closer in the vicinity of the Friendship Games. Appearing out of this portal, right in front of Twilight was an Abomsanow, ripped right out of its home.
"Aboma...Aboma..!" Abomasnow was clearly not happy about this. "ABOMASNOW!" Confused and agitated, the Frost Tree Pokemon roared, unleashing its ability Snow Warning. The weather itself had been altered by this ability with the clouds forming, the atmosphere and ambience shifting.
And snow, plus some hail started falling. Not only that, but some chill had met everyone as they all shuddered. They weren't expecting it to get chilly.
"SNOW!" Abomasnow roared once more as everyone finally noticed the Pokemon's appearance. Twilight ran off as Abomasnow chased after her.
"Oh my gosh, what is that?!" One student cried out before commotion began. They soon realized that Twilight was in danger as well as everyone else with Abomasnow here.
"It's the Abominable Snowman!" Lyra pointed out. And she technically wasn't wrong. Abomasnow is the Pokemon world's Abominable Snowman. The first part of its name gave it away.
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow then used Ice Punch, smashing its fist onto the ground. And by doing so, the Frost Tree Pokemon instantly froze the track and area itself. And that ruined the flow of the skaters as not only was their event stopped but their movements as well with their skates being caught in the ice.
"Oh!" Pinkie Pie gasped.
"What's happening?!" Celestia stood up, witnessing the flash-freeze, the weather change and the arrival of Abomasnow. Panic started usurping from how things were going.
"Abomasnow?!" Sunset Shimmer looked over to see the Grass-Ice-Type. Abomasnow then started attacking everything it saw, using Ice Beam from its mouth. The beam of ice had frozen other parts of the area, including the seats where everyone sat. So much for escaping if their feet were frozen. Plus, it gave an unnecessary chill to them all. Even Pikachu had been frozen due to this flash-freeze. To late for him to make a move.
"Pika?!"
"C-C-C-Cold!" Flash Sentry and a few others shivered after being caught by the ice. They were already cold once Snow Warning had come through. Even those on Motorcross had been interrupted. However, due to the speed they gained, they could break through the ice. But not for long.
"Care to explain what this is?" Cinch asked Celestia and Luna.
"I-I-I don't know!" The two sisters shrugged.
"This is bad...Where are my Poke Balls?!" Sunset knew that only her Fire-Types could put out these flames. However, as she searched the area, she remembered that she left them in her bag. Or even her jacket possibly. "Oh."
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow roared before unleashing an Ice Beam to try and freeze Twilight. The Ice Beam missed her, but it had a new target in its line of sight Sunset Shimmer. And despite this chaos occurring the other contestants from Crystal Prep passed by with the motorcycles, not wanting to be caught up in this scene.
Sunset had just now noticed the beam of ice coming here, unable to evade it in time but was successfully saved by Rainbow Dash who had grabbed her by the arm. She then placed Sunset on the bike. Instead of going along like the other two, Rainbow Dash came back for her friend. "Dash, you saved me!" Sunset said.
"I wasn't about to let my friend become an ice sculpture." And due to this sense of loyalty, her magic had shown up as well, radiating a blue light from her body. And as a bonus, she gained wings, ascending into the air.
"Rainbow Dash! Go and get my bag! Or my jacket! Doesn't matter! Any of my Pokemon can melt the ice away! Quick!" Sunset exclaimed.
"You got it!" Rainbow Dash saluted before using her wings to dash off. However, Abomasnow quickly took notice of her. Before it went to grab Twilight, Abomasnow focused on Rainbow Dash. Since it was confused about where it was, it couldn't help but attack everything that moves.
While in the air, Rainbow Dash was being pelted by snow. Even with magic, she could still feel the chill. And it was not pleasant. Not one bit. The hail kept beating on her, breaking her focus. "I can't focus with this stupid hail!"
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow struck while the iron was hot. With Rainbow Dash thrown off by the hail, Abomasnow unleashed Ice Beam from its hand. And this beam was aimed straight at her wings.
Rainbow Dash's magical wings had been hit by Ice Beam. And much like the wing of a bird, pegasus of anything that flies with wings, contact with ice meant the disruption of aerial mobility. Hence why Ice-Types are super-effective against Flying-Types. And Rainbow Dash was no exception.
Her magical wings had been frozen. W-What the?!" And after they were frozen, she was forced out of the sky, falling without a way to recover thanks to her frozen wings. "Whoa!"
"Rainbow Dash!"
"Aboma...! Abomasnow then looked up at the falling Rainbow Dash, ready to hit her with Ice Punch.
"Wait-wait-wait-wait!" Rainbow Dash cried out, pleading her soul out to Abomasnow. This is where Sunset could repay her. Not only could she win this event by crossing the last few obstacles, but she could save her friend too.
Sunset used the full force of her motorcycle to tackle Abomasnow. And with great timing. She knocked Abomasnow aside while also catching Rainbow Dash. "A-Abomasnow!" Abomasnow cried out, falling on its back after the motorcycle tackle. She also ended up saving Twilight for a brief moment. But Abomasnow would get back up soon. A motorcycle is not enough to take this behemoth of a Pokemon down.
"Nice save! But I can't fly right now!" Rainbow Dash thanked Sunset, showing the frozen wings to her. "What now?!"
"We can try tiring it out!" Sunset suggested. That was seemingly the best option right about now since the ice made it difficult for Rainbow Dash to fly.
"A-Aboma...!" Abomasnow got up, growling with its eyes locking onto Sunset Shimmer with rage. Abomasnow also saw Indigo Zap appearing rapidly. It instantly used Razor Leaf, sending sharp leaves from its hands.
"Aah!" Indigo screeched as the leaves had sliced parts of her clothes and even the wheels of her motorcycle. Indigo Zap was promptly knocked off of the motorcycle, crashing on the cold ground. "Oh..." She groaned.
"Snow!" Abomasnow then chased after Sunset Shimmer. It could move surprisingly fast for its size. But then again, most Pokemon ten to surprise despite their builds. "Aboma!" Abomasnow fired another Ice Beam, trying to hit the motorcycle.
Sunset drifted to the side, causing the beam to miss once more. Rainbow Dash picked up some ice rubble, deciding to irritate and hold back Abomasnow a bit as she turned around. "Take this! And some of this!" She started rapidly throwing the ice shards at Abomasnow.
Even though her wings were frozen, she gained one other trait from her Equestria counterpart. Her amazing speed. Rainbow Dash threw the shards so fast she left afterimages of her arms. "A-Aboma! Aboma!" And that was enough to irritate and hold back Abomasnow. But not harm it.
However, Sunset ended up winning this by jumping over the final obstacle despite the mess that was ongoing. Everyone, despite being frozen, couldn't help but cheer. They also cheered for the evasion of Abomasnow too.
"Canterlot wins! Even though that is still here!" Cadence pointed to Abomasnow. However, Abomasnow took some time to catch its breath. It could not get up the ramp at all. Its body was too big, plus, these weren't the icy or snowy mountains that it was used to.
"A-Aboma..Abomasnow...!"
"Great! Now how do we get rid of it?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Through there!" Sunset spotted the portal that led to an arctic area. It was still there as the locket hadn't been closed yet. The ice had caught it after all. Sunset then drove her motorcycle, going straight towards the portal, grabbing Abomasnow's attention.
"Aboma?!" Abomasnow then chased after them, sliding down the ramp as it could pick up speed from that. Abomasnow worked better on foot via flat land. Even if there were some bumps.
"Now!" Sunset found the moment to bait Abomasnow. The Frost Tree Pokemon could impressively keep up with a motorcycle after all. She drifted around the portal, making sure not to enter it. And after drifting, she evaded Abomasnow's lunge at the right moment.
"Aboma?" Abomasnow noticed that it had missed its mark. But not only did it miss, but it ended up falling through the portal after Sunset baited it out. "Abomasnow!"
"Yes! Awesome!" Rainbow Dash raised her arms as everyone cheered from that impressive show of skill. Abomasnow was back home. But to be safe, the locket needed to be closed.
Twilight crawled over to the locket, smashing her fist on the ice that surrounded it. She managed to break enough ice to free the locket. Once it was free, she closed it, ending the portals that appeared around the scene. "Hah..." Twilight took a moment to breathe. She also realized how much damage had been caused thanks to it.
Even though Abomasnow was gone and Snow Warning had ended, the area was still cold and many of the students were frozen with their legs stuck in some hard ice. There would be a lot of cleaning up to do.
"Attention, students, please proceed to the gym. After we get you all free." announced Cadence. To free them, they would have to shatter the ice. Easier said than done as they gathered the tools to do so.
AKA just a simple hammer from the D&T workshop along with other tools. The ice had been shattered via Cadence and Luna using the tools to do so. The students felt relieved as their feet trembled. Being in the cold for that long would do that to them.
"Is everybody all right?" Applejack asked.
"Better than all right! We won!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.
"Yeah, we won, but somebody could've been seriously hurt" Sunset replied, focusing on a more serious matter. "That Abomasnow came straight through that portal and threw everything off course. Plus, The magic is going haywire and I have no idea how to fix it!"
"Um, excuse me, I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Coming up to Sunset's group was Twilight. "I just wanted to learn about the strange magical energy coming from your school. I didn't know any of this would happen." She apologized.
"That's okay. Neither do we." Rainbow Dash shrugged, accepting Twilight's apology. However, there was a glaring issue. Rainbow Dash still had her pony ears and wings. Meaning she still had magic. And once she got close to Twilight, the locket acted on its own once more.
"Oh, no! Oh, no no no! Not again!" Twilight tried holding it back, but it seemed to get stronger each time it absorbed new magic. Rainbow Dash groaned as her friends watched her magic fly out of her.
Sunset ran to Rainbow Dash's side once she got on her knees. "'m sorry! It just started absorbing energy on its own! But I'm not sure how!" Twilight apologized once more.
"What do you mean you don't know how?!" Sunset exclaimed as she was getting agitated at this point, pointing at Twilight and wanting answers. She then tried grabbing the locket, only for it to shoot up a white wisp into the sky.
Once more, another portal had been opened in the air. Jus twhen they closed the previous one. This one showed the night sky in Equestria. Thankfully, no Pokemon had flown through it.
Principal Cinch came outside, spotting the giant portal in the sky, her student and the competitors of Canterlot High. She hid behind a wall to see and hear what was going on.
"It also causes these corresponding rifts to appear! I don't know how that works either." Twilight explained, unsure of how to solve all of this.
"Is there anything you do know?! Like how to get our magic back?! Or how to fix the portal to Equestria?! Sunset bombarded her with questions.
"I-I don't know how to fix the portal."
"You're supposed to be so smart, but did you ever think that you shouldn't be messing around with things you don't understand?!" Sunset's temper got the better of her in this situation. She then forced the locket shut, finally closing it as the portal faded away as well.
"But I wanna understand!" Twilight replied as she sounded like she was on the verge of tearing up.
"But you don't! And worst of all, you put the lives of my friends in danger!"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." And with her voice breaking, she did end up breaking into tears. All she could do now was run off with Spike following after her.
Sunset took deep breaths before calming down once Rainbow Dash touched her shoulder. It was at that moment that Sunset ealized that she had pushed it too far with that final outburst.
And Cinch smiled after seeing that. An oppurtunity was to be made for this. But before she could do anything, Celestia cleared her throat as she, Luna and Cadence appeared behind Cinch.
"You can't possibly call that a fair race." said Cinch.
"Principal Cinch, we all saw what happened. You can't think CHS had some kind of advantage." Celestia tried reasoning with her.
"Can't I? Even without the appearance of that...whatever that ice creature was... your students have wings!"
"Well, the race certainly had some... extenuating circumstances. Perhaps we should end the games now and declare a tie." Celestia suggested.
"A tie?" Cinch pulled back afterwards. "Was this your strategy all along? To force us into accepting you as equals? I think not. The games will continue and Crystal Prep will prevail despite your antics and whatever performance-enhancing regimen your students are on."
She then took her leave as the only ones remaining on the field were Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Sunset's group. Sunset had a few words to say to Celestia before she goes. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop all this from happening."
"It's not your fault, Sunset." Celestia was already aware that Sunset had nothing to do with this.
"Isn't it? I should know how to control the magic I brought here. But I don't. I let everyone down. And now Principal Cinch thinks we're cheating." And yet, Sunset could still guilt herself.
"It doesn't matter what Principal Cinch thinks."
"But it does. The students here at CHS don't just wanna win. They wanna beat Crystal Prep. It isn't gonna count if the other side doesn't really think they lost. Crystal Prep is never gonna believe we won fair and square if there's magic around. And that magic is only around because of me." Dissapointment struck Sunset as she continued to guilt herself for this magical interference due to the events that happened last year.
The day would soon end, but no one would forget the sudden Abomasnow attack that had happened. The magic within the locket was still active and could be unleashed at any time. Something that was out of Twilight's control as the journey continues.
"Pika-Pi!" Pikachu was previously with Fluttershy at the Friendship Games. He, unfortunately, could not help stop the sudden Abomasnow attack since he was stuck within the ice much like everyone else. Iron Tail could not be used due to this interruption. But thanks to Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash, that issue had solved instantly.
Pikachu had reunited with Ash, hopping onto his shoulder as Fluttershy had returned him. Ash had just got done cleaning the rubble on the outside, unaware of what happened on the field.
"Hey, buddy. Good to see you. What was all that snow about back there?" He asked.
"Pika."
"You missed it, Ash. A lot happened," said Fluttershy. "Another Pokemon showed up causing trouble. But it's over now thanks to Sunset and Rainbow."
"Man. A ton happened huh? And I didn't get to see it." Ash sighed as he was too busy cleaning up rubble. A shame really.
"Maybe next time." Fluttershy chuckled before walking off. "See you at the last event, you two!"
"Okay!"
"Pikachu!" They waved goodbye. But once they both waved, Pikachu decided to notify Ash about something important. Something involving Twilight. And it wasn't about the portal. He tugged on Ash's shirt while also using his nose to track Twilight.
"What's up, buddy?" Ash asked as Pikachu hopped off his shoulder. The Mouse Pokemon would lead the way with Ash following him. Being that Twilight was her friend, Pikachu had to be there for her especially after all that has happened.
Ash looked outside the window to see Sunset Shimmer's Pokemon using their flames to melt away the ice from the field. He got a good look at the view itself and how much ice there was. Even the combination of Sunset Shimmer's Fire-Types would take some time to melt the ice left behind by Abomasnow.
Everyone was else was heading outside for the final event. Pikachu could sense that Twilight was with them on the outside instead of the inside. He then hopped on Ash's shoulder, pointing ahead. "Pika-Pika."
"Hm?" Ash looked ahead to where Pikachu was pointing at. And in that direction, she saw Twilight, straying away from the group while holding her locket. "Twilight?" Ash said before Twilight disappeared out of view once the crowd number grew." You're trying to tell me something about Twilight, huh buddy. What happened while I was gone?"
"Pika-Pika."
Now for the final event of the Friendship Games to commence. Announcing as always was Dean Cadence, but Vice Principal Luna would chime in for a bit. The crowd was cheering loudly despite everything that had happened prior to this. Excitement does overtake danger sometimes.
"Since the score's tied, the final event will determine the winner of the Friendship Games," said Cadence.
"Somewhere on campus, a pennant from each school has been hidden. The first team to find their school's flag and bring it back wins." Luna held two flags representing both schools.
"And as soon as our teams are ready, we'll begin." Cadence chimed in.
"I don't feel like playing these games anymore." Fluttershy sighed.
"But we have to play. This is the last event!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"It's a little hard to focus with all the magic stealing and portal opening." scoffed Rarity.
"And I feel awful about what I said to Twilight." Sunset rubbed the back of her hair before having Braixen come up to her. She rubbed Braixen on the head to try and make herself feel better, but it wasn't quite panning out. Her Fletchinder landed on her shoulder while Litleo rubbed against her leg to comfort her.
"Braixen."
"Especially since she obviously didn't mean to do all the stuff she did. She's actually really nice." Fluttershy said, also patting Braixen. There was an awkward silence that filled the air for a few moments.
"Let's just get through this last event and prove we're not a bunch of cheaters. Then you can go over and apologize." But Applejack figured that ending the games and wrapping things up would do better than just sulking around.
It wasn't just them either. Principal Cinch was aiming to end this, but not without a little extra. She and the rest of her students gathered, facing Twilight who was standing on her lonesome.
"I know I'm asking you to beat a team that isn't playing fair, but Canterlot High must be made to understand that even with magic at their disposal, beating Crystal Prep is simply not an option," spoke Abacus Cinch.
"What if they grow wings again?" Sugarcoat asked. "Or some Pokemon just pops out of nowhere?"
"A fair question. Though I believe we can now fight fire with fire. I've seen what your device can do, Twilight. Containing magical energy is fine, but have you considered releasing it?" Cinch asked Twilight, focusing on the locket.
"But I don't even understand how it works." Twilight shook her head.
"But you'd like to. And since our opponents have already used it to stay competitive, I see no reason why we shouldn't do the same. Unless, of course, you have no interest in Everton. Though, honestly, I think there's more knowledge packed in that little device than any independent study program could offer."
After all that Cinch said, she started convincing Twilight. Convincing her to unleash all of the magic gathered from the portal, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and some Pokemon. The magic within the locket from Sunset's friends was already potent enough. But with the power of Pokemon Magic, it might be far greater than anyone can expect.
Harnessing this much magical power would not only win Crystal Prep the Friendship Games and dominate it completely, but it could do so much more for Twilight and possibly Cinch the most. Her fellow students and principal started convincing her. And due to Twilight's vulnerable spirit, this was easier said than done. Intimidation has gotten to her before and it was certainly getting to her now.
A chance like this won't come again at all. Not for Twilight. Crystal Prep had only one aim. To see Canterlot High fall to bits by winning with any means necessary. Even if it involves magic or Pokemon.
Backed into a corner, Twilight submitted. She figured that if the magic was just used this one time in the Friendship Games at the last event, she wouldn't have to use it ever again. And then, she would get this problem off her back for good.
"If both teams are ready..." Both Luna and Cadence spoke, building up the tension as Twilight was ready to open the locket and unleash the magic. Sunset eyed down Twilight and the locket, seeing her hand on it. Zorua and Spike popped their heads out of the bags as Zorua sensed an ominous shift in the atmosphere with the wind blowing. And with Twilight beginning to open the locket, Sunset ran over as quick as she could to stop it. "The last event of the Friendship Games begins...Now!"
But it was too late. She had opened the locket unleashed it all. And it was unleashed with heavy force packed behind it. A violent surge of purple magic started building up before exploding with a thunderous outburst. It blew off Twilight's hair tie, making her hair resemble her Equestria counterpart. Everyone else was knocked on their feet as the magic explosion had then inverted, flying back into the orb that it originated from.
Everyone watched as Twilight started ascending into the air. The device had been dropped but the orb stayed, being held in front of Twilight's hand as she had no control of this. At least, not yet. Twilight looked around to see the confusion and fear on everyone's faces, unsure of how to stop this at all.
The orb expanded before consuming her. "Help...Ahh!" She cried out for help, holding her arm out to try and break free with tears flying out. A bloodcurdling scream followed with smoke as well as she was now one with the orb.
The magic of not just Equestria but Pokemon Magic AKA Infinity Energy had filled her. She had transcended as the orb flashed black for a moment before combusting. Her transformation resulted in her eyes glowing white along with a makeover of new clothes, an alternate hairstyle and practically a complete revamp of her appearance.
"Twilight?!" Zorua and Spike gasped.
"PIka?!"
"Hahaha!" Her entire tone had changed once being imbued with this magic. Now, Twilight was a combination of Equestrian and Pokemon magic merged into one, similar to the Equestrian forms of certain Pokemon like Axew. At this rate, she had chosen the name of Midnight Sparkle for herself. "You were right!" She faced Sunset Shimmer. "I didn't understand magic before, but I do now!"
With the aura of magic on her forehead, a horn had appeared. She had tapped into the might of Fire-Types with flames sparking out along with Psychic-Type energy. Midnight held her arm out, firing a light blue beam that had obliterated the Canterlot High horse statue.
First Ghetsis damaged the mirror portal from the other side and now Midnight Sparkle had obliterated the statue portal from this side. Mainly the horse. The rest was still intact. And after blasting the horse statue, space had been interacted with afterwards. Midnight had opened a portal to Equestria. And it was smack-dab in Ponyville.
"Equestria!" Sunset gawked. The result of Midnight's actions opened this portal formed magical cracks that moved across the ground. Flames started sparking out of the cracks along with purple lights.
Midnight then turned to Sunset and her friends, right another beam to open a portal below them. The group safely ran off before that could happen, but the portal had been opened either way. And this time, it led to the skies. The students all started screaming, running in fear as this far surpassed the terror that was Abomasnow.
And Midnight kept going, unleashing portals through Equestria constantly without little time to take a break. Many familiar locations were appearing along with the view of ponies. Some ponies and Pokemon even noticed the arrival of portals from a far distance. They were still recognizable.
Cinch was also getting out here as soon as she could, not wanting in part of this. Sunny Flare noticed Cinch walking back slowly. "Hey! Where are you going?!"
"Anywhere to avoid that... monster! And I suggest you do the same!" She raised a good point. No one wanted to be caught up in this mess for the sake of their own lives.
"Twilight, you can't do this!" Sunset cried out.
Why not?! There's a whole other world..no...multiple worlds right there and everywhere else possible, and it's just filled with magic! I can have the power of magic and Pokemon to explore thoroughly!" She then fired another beam, opening yet another portal as this one almost hit Celestia, Luna and Cadence.
"But you're destroying this world to get it!"
"So what? There's more magic there, and I want to understand it all!" Her voice echoed before tapping into some Infinity Energy from both Normal and Fire to boost herself. She then decided to go for one massive portal, firing it down below. Everyone scattered as the radius of this blast was tremendous. Once it hit the ground with flames surrounding it, the shockwave blew some of the students back while also opening the biggest portal yet, leading to another aerial location.
This aerial location was Pegalysium. She was truly unlocking every possible location in Equestria with the newfound magic she had obtained. Sunset Shimmer was also knocked off her feet from this. But her little fall ended up landing her next to the cause of all of this. The locket.
Meanwhile, the ground was breaking apart with cracks and shatters as the portal was only expanding further. One student was about to fall through the portal to Pegalysium from a high height, but Applejack managed to grab her. The student was now dangling between both worlds at this point. "Don't let go!" Applejack cried out.
The competitors of Crystal Prep observed the chaotic scene around them. So many students, from Canterlot High and their own, were in grave danger. The only ones putting effort to save others were Sunset's friends. Seeing as their fellow students were in danger, Indigo Zap, Sunny Flare, Lemon Zest, Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet decided to help out as well.
"Twilight!" Just then, as Midnightwas blasting portals through space, she heard the familiar voice of Ash. Right below her, Ash and Pikachu were there. And alongside them too was Zorua, latching onto Ash's shoulder.
"Ash?" Midnightnoticed the view of her closest friends. The ones that she has spent time with and gotten to know them. She paused for a moment, but the magic had gotten to her greatly. It was too overwhelming to resist. "Like my new look? I look pretty in this, don't I?" Her tone shifted. "With this, we can go wherever we want and see what kind of magic we can find!"
"Not like this!" Ash exclaimed.
"Are you sure?! Aren't you the one who wanted to go on as many adventures as you wanted to? This is your dream come true apart from that Pokemon Master thing!" She spread her arms out. "Plus, we can continue working together like before. Learning about Pokemon non-stop."
"Pika!"
"Twilight, you're scaring me!" Zorua whimpered. This was one of the few times that she would show herself to the public out in the open. However, most of the public couldn't see her since they were running for their lives. So Zorua was still an obscurity to many.
"Ah, you're a Ghost you'll get used to it!" Midnight scoffed before unleashing another beam to open a portal. This one was aimed right at Braixen, who was helping others at the moment.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu leapt of Ash's shoulder, facing the incoming beam of magic. He unleashed 100,000 volts that clashed with the beam of magic, quickly cancelling it out. But before Thunderbolt could disappear, Midnight Sparkle ended up absorbing the electricity for herself.
Meanwhile, as Rarity was trying to save two people from falling through to Pegalysium, she ended up slipping due to the shattered ground. But as she fell, Indigo Zap and Lemon Zest grabbed her. The other two had held onto Rarity as to not fall to the Sea Cloud. Indigo and Lemon ended up saving all three of them.
That's when the locket started humming, glowing a bit. Sunset turned to face the rest of her friends, noticing something. When Fluttershy was helped up, her body started glowing. And the same went for Rarity after she was saved by Crystal Prep's students. And then for Applejack, Pinkie Pie before ending with Rainbow Dash. The magic inside of them was being exuded once more.
Sunset realized what this meant. And after coming to this realization, she faced Twilight in the air once more. "This isn't the way! I know you feel powerful right now, like you can have everything you want! I've been where you are, I've made the same mistake you're making! I put on a crown and, just like you, I was overwhelmed by the magic it contained! I thought it could get me everything I wanted!"
"Oh, you're wrong. Unlike you, I can have everything I want!" Midnight cackled before crossing her arms, showing a potent disposition with blue lightning of Infinity Energy sparking behind her. After absorbing Thunderbolt, she tapped into its strength.
Lightning bolts rained down with Twilight raising her arms as it also ended up opening portals at lightning-speeds, showing more and more locations to Equestria. One lightning bolt almost struck Sunset, but Ash pulled her out of the way as soon as she could.
"See? I've practically become my own Pokemon in a sense! Coupled with magic! I'm a perfect hybrid right now, capable of gaining whatever I want, whenever I want!"
"No, you can't. Even with all that magic and power, you'll still be alone! True magic comes from honesty!" Just then, she raised the locket as it reacted to the magic of her friends as Applejack's magic rose. "Loyalty!" Next was Rainbow Dash. "Laughter!" Then Pinkie Pie. "Generosity!" Followed by Rarity. "Kindness!" And finished with Fluttershy.
5 rays of light were shot into the locket for Sunset Shimmer to absorb. But also extra light from her Braixen too, absorbing what she had to offer as well. Now it was 6. All 6 of them were absorbed as Sunset ascended into the air. "I understand you, Twilight, and I want to show you the most important magic of all..."
She then closed the locket, throwing it onto the ground before five colourful lights and a burst of Infinity Energy Fire enveloped her. She had emerged as a new entity, much like Midnight Sparkle. But this could be called something else. The polar opposite to Midnight Sparkle.
Daydream Shimmer.
"The Magic of Friendship!" Daydream then put her arms out, shooting out light rays that had sealed off the
"Tch! Whatever!" Twilight scoffed before having multiple Infinity Energy auras surround her. That was one advantage she had. And a great shift from the original timeline. She wanted Sunset out of the way as she rained down more lightning bolts, coupled with Rocks that were gathered from the Rock-Type via the Cranidos that appeared in the afternoon.
"!" Sunset looked up to see the incoming bolts and giant boulders that were threatening to crush everyone. Acting quickly, she blew away the rocks with her magic while holding the lightning bolts in place before they could smite someone.
But as she held the lightning bolts, Twilight then held her hand out, using Psychic from the Psybeam of Braixen she stole. A Psychic wave came out from both her hand and horn, smiting Daydream Shimmer.
"Sunset!" Rainbow Dash and the others cried out after seeing their friend take a hit. Twilight then swiped her arm, creating a flash of light that had confounded everyone who had seen it. Daydream closed her eyes as the light then became physical, knocking her away.
"The Magic of Friendship doesn't mean anything when I have the power of Pokemon by my side!" Twilight cackled as Daydream held her head. That almost knocked the wind out of her.
"Sunset! Are you okay?!" Ash asked.
"Pikachu?!"
"Braixen?!"
"I'm fine. T-That was a bit surprising though..." Sunset said after being taken aback by that flash.
"Besides!" Twilight exclaimed with her voice booming through the air. "I already have friends of my own! Isn't that right, Ash?" She then descended, holding her hand out to Ash. "You're the one I'm the most grateful for. I don't know where I would be without you."
"You are my friend. But I can't stand to see my friends hurt each other." Ash said as Twilight pulled back. "Especially when they're like this."
"What happened to being a Pokemon Master? The World's StrongestTrainer?! Don't you want all the power you can have at your fingertips?!"
"That's not what being a Pokemon Master is." He replied. "It's something more than just being the strongest ever."
You don't need these friends at all!" Midnight then fired a ray of light towards Sunset to try and take her out of the equation.
Daydream held her hand out to put up a quick barrier, protecting herself from harm. Daydream then pushed the ray away before finally, getting her footing. Midnight then tapped into the Infinity Energy of Normal, sending something akin to Hyper Beam as all she needed to do was point at Sunset Shimmer.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu jumped into the air, hardening his tail and using it as a deflector. He smashed his tail onto the Hyper Beam, trying to reflect. "P-Pika...!"
"I got you, Pikachu!" But Daydream would assist him thankfully. She put her hand on his back, sharing some of her magic to help boost Pikachu.
"Pika!" Pikachu managed to reflect it, sending it flying to the sky. Midnight looked up as her Hyper Beam equivalent had blown up, separating the dark clouds that filled the area.
"Tch!" Midnight was starting to get agitated as she wanted to end this so that she could explore all magical possibilities as soon as possible. She then made her way towards Daydream Shimmer. However, standing in the way were Rainbow Dash and the rest of Sunset's friends. "Move!" But that didn't matter as she just used telekinesis to force them all away, separating them from each other as they fell to the ground.
Daydream and Midnight then locked hands before having a small magical clash. It was clear that thanks to the power of multiple Pokemon, Midnight had the advantage. Daydream did have her friends to help her get through this, but it was powerful due to all of the magic Midnight had obtained.
"You're not strong-willed enough to keep this power for yourself!" Midnight bellowed. "You should keep it and use it to its fullest potential! Otherwise, it's just a waste!"
"I didn't keep the magic I had before forever! And I didn't think about going back to it for a second!" Daydream replied.
"That's why you're weak! Like so!" Midnight smirked as she overpowered Daydream's arms. By using Electric, she caused an instant lightning bolt to come raining down on Daydream. Daydream was struck with 50,000 volts worth of electricity, crying out afterwards.
"Ugh!" Daydream cried out as she lost her grip. With her body being shocked, Midnight attacked, using the magic that had been gathered from the Abomasnow that attacked the Friendship Games an hour ago. She had used the power of Ice, gradually freezing Daydream's body to put her in an ice prison. Daydream grounded, closing her eyes as she used the heat of Braixen to melt away the ice.
Daydream shivered as Midnight then forced her away with a ray of light while she was still affected by the cold. The ray carried Daydream all the way to a massive pile of rubble made from the lightning bolts that came crashing down earlier. The ray then made an outburst of light blue colours.
Once Daydream Shimmer was temporarily out of the way, Midnight had used another part of Abomasnow's power, summoning massive vines from the ground. The vines emerged at violent speeds, wrapping around the others with a vicious disposition. Now no one could escape.
"Sorry about this, Twilight. Pikachu, Quick Attack!"
"Pika-Pika!" Moving at lightning speeds, Pikachu swiftly tackled Midnight, but not too hard. That was still her friend. But it certainly grabbed Midnight's attention.
"Ow!" She cried out before facing Ash and Pikachu. "Some friend you are!" Agitated, she used teleportation to appear in front of Ash. "I thought I could trust you, Ash!" She then grabbed Ash by the shift, flying into the air with him.
"W-Whoa!"
"Pika-Pi!"
"Ash!" Everyone gasped. Midnight now had Ash within her grasp with the dark clouds forming once more. Ash was now within her grasp. Daydream had just recovered from the rubble with Braixen running to her side. Braixen used Fire Spin to burn away the vines as Pikachu used Iron Tail to cut them.
"It's not too late, Ash! How about I give you my power and we can do everything together? Or, if you want to ride solo and go your own path, that's not a bad idea either!" Midnight said with maniacal eyes.
"I wouldn't go solo. Never for a second." Ash growled. "But I wouldn't want to do everything with you like this."
"Why not?!" Midnight exclaimed before eruptions of fire burst out of the ground. The flames spread, threatening to burn everything down. "I thought we were friends!"
"We are friends. No matter what. You remind me of another Twilight I know. Empress Twilight. And I don't wanna see you turn out like her."
"Like I will!"
"You're getting pretty close. Besides, I can't become a Pokemon Master with all of this happening!"
"Then how?!" She shook Ash. "You're one of the few friends I have! I wanna see you succeed! I can make you become a Pokemon Master with all this magic! Why abandon that chance?!"
"Because I can't become a Pokemon Master without all of my friends. There's a bunch you can't do by yourself. And if you do, you'd just end up being alone. But you'll never be alone with friends by your side and you can do so much that you can never do before. And I want to see my friends help me there. Without you, Twilight, I can't become a Pokemon Master."
"I..!" Twilight twitched as her strong friendship with Ash was starting to show itself as her eyes were slowly reverting to normal.
"Twilight!" Spike and Zorua barked from below with Midnight looking down. But all this overwhelming power was getting to her, fighting against the bond she had with her friends.
"Spike...Zorua."
"Pika-Pi!"
"Sorry, Twilight! But I gotta get my real friend back!" Ash then placed her hands on her shoulders, deciding on the one thing that could counteract this corrupting magic.
Aura.
Ash exuded Aura from his body, coating Midnight in it. This was her first time feeling Aura. And it responded to the corrupted magic like two stars burning up against each other. "Grr...!" Midnight growled as the corrupted side of her was resisting.
"Your turn, Sunset!" Ash cried out, giving Daydream the call to take this chance.
"Got it!" Daydream then put her arms together, forming the best magical ray she could. She then aimed the golden ray, sending it towards Midnight Sparkle.
"!" Midnight then turned her head, firing a magic ray from her eyes to try and stop this. Her beam met with Daydream's as they entered a beam struggle. Midnight then tapped in the skies, summoning a gigantic thunderbolt that threatened to smite everyone here.
"Pika...!" But Pikachu wouldn't allow that. He was aiming to absorb it. But he needed some height. Braixen was there to help out. Braixen used Fire Spin, creating a tunnel of flames for Pikachu to travel through. Pikachu moved at lightning speeds with Quick Attack, passing through the spiralling flames as he gained a higher height. But it wasn't enough due to how high Midnight was.
"Pikachu!" But Zorua had something to help him with. She had used one of the few moves she had. Extrasensory. By tapping into Psychic, she pushed Pikachu further with her mental prowess.
After reaching high into the air, Pikachu took the lightning bolt for himself, saving everyone. And not only did he take it, but he also absorbed its power for himself, much like he's done before in the past.
"PIka...Chuu...!" Pikachu then unleashed a Thunderbolt that packed 150000 volts inside of it as he combined with Ash's Aura and Daydream's ray.
"N-Noooooooo!" She cried out in defeat as a combination of Aura, Magic and Electricity had consumed her in a bright light. Everything faded to white for Midnight's eyes.
But she wasn't harmed. Not at all. Even Thunderbolt did not ham her despite how much power it had. That was because it become one with Ash and Daydream's Aura and Magic. Midnight opened her eyes as she was inside of this bright like. Sort of a white void.
And within the white void were Ash, Pikachu and Daydream, all floating there. Well, really, Daydream was helping carry Ash since he could fly. And Pikachu stayed on Ash's shoulder as always.
"You three..." Midnight uttered with a slight shudder. Tears also formed in her eyes.
"Take our hand, Twilight," said Daydream. Let us show you there's another way. Just like someone once did for me."
"Pika." Pikachu ran on Ash and Daydream's arm, also holding his own arm out, despite how small it may be. "Pikachu."
She saw the arms of her two friends. But now, she had a new friend to make. Midnight then grabbed all three of their hands. And once she did so, a combination of blue and yellow swarmed around her, burning away the corrupted magic from her.
Everyone looked up to see a radiant pillar of light diminishing. And out of this light, the four of them had emerged as everything returned to normal. Twilight and Sunset were back to their original selves. Ash felt a bit dazed, almost having Delayed Aura Ataxia hit him, but he managed.
"I am so sorry... I didn't mean for any of this to happen..." Twilight whimpered.
"No need to worry," said Ash. "A ton of magic can be a lot for anyone to hold. You're not alone in that."
"Pikachu."
"It's okay. Going by my own experiences, they'll forgive you." Sunset was right about that.
"Twilight!" Happy to see her trainer back to normal, Zorua leapt through the air along with Spike. Twilight held her arms out to hug both of them.
"You look a bit out of it, Ash. Are you okay?" Sunset Shimmer asked.
"Yeah. Just Ataxia again." Ash nodded. "But man, that was awesome! You like transformed! Both of you! Wish I got a cool transformation too one day."
"Thanks for sticking by with me, Ash." Twilight went up to him, holding Zorua and Spike. "I forgot that we were both friends and I almost forced you to do something you didn't want to. And Sunset. I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused all of you friends. And your school."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it too much." Ash patted her on the back. "No matter how long time goes on, you'll never forget the great friends that were by your side. Plus, you've made new friends too. Isn't that right, Sunset?"
"Good words, Ash." Sunset nodded in agreement. To show her gratitude, Twilight ended up hugging both Ash and Sunset with her final tears showing. Her hug was surprisingly powerful as they both had their eyes expand. "Ough! Y-You're welcome...!" Sunset groaned.
After all that was said and done, Cinch went up to Celestia to discuss everything that had happened. "Principal Celestia, on behalf of Crystal Prep, I demand that you forfeit the Friendship Games! Clearly, CHS has had an unfair advantage for quite some time! And it's certainly obvious that your students have been using magic for their own benefit!" She angrily said.
"I'd like to think that saving the world benefits us all." Celestia shrugged, looking at the bright side of this.
"At least they didn't manipulate Twilight into releasing all the stolen magic and turning into a power-crazed magical creature that tried to rip the world apart just to win a game." Sugarcoat was straightforward as always.
"Wow!" Pinkie gasped, appearing behind Sugarcoat. "That's a lot to take in when you say it all at once."
"That's ridiculous!" Cinch scoffed.
"Wait, what happened?" Ash scratched his hair, trying to process all he's heard.
"Actually, we're all to blame." In came Sour Sweet, speaking sweetly. "Mostly it was her." But she then turned sour, pointing her thumb at Cinch.
"Obviously my students have been infected with your magic, but I plan on taking all of this up with the school board!"
"Oh, that's not too bad. After all, we live in a Pokemon World now, don't we?" Celestia smirked. "I'm sure the school board will think this is just ordinary, isn't it?"
"Ordinary? Not to this extent. Not when I have a potential candidate for a Pokemon Teacher by my side to live up to these claims. Isn't that right, Ash Ketchum?" Cinch then turned to Ash as everyone looked at him.
"Hm?" Ash looked around. "Don't know about that. I mean, I'm just some kid from Kanto! A whole new world!" He laughed. "But I guess no one's heard about my world, right?"
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Ugh." Cinch facepalmed before dragging her face on her eyes. "My reputation might as well be erased from existence."
"Hey don't sweat it." Ash went up to Cinch. "Even if they believe it or not, it's not gonna be the end of the world."
"Pika-Pika."
"Is the concept of anger devoid from you, Ash?" Luna asked as everyone wondered why Ash wasn't as mad at Cinch as everyone else. Or at least upset with her.
"I know a friend just like her. A few of them. One's even over at Eindoak which isn't too far. Besides, don't take it too hard, yeah? I can always help keep your reputation up in a better way."
"By becoming a teacher at my school?!" Cinch gasped.
"Uh, Nah. I don't think I'm fit to be a full-time teacher. But I can still help, either way. Plus, we've got some more Pokemon to catch, don't we?"
"It's worth a try anyway." Cinch sighed afterwards, losing the chance to have Ash work at her school for extra reputation via an experienced Pokemon Trainer.
"Well, I know these Friendship Games haven't been what any of us expected, but given what we've all just been through, I think it's fair to declare us all winners," Celestia said as everyone cheered. It was over and it finished with a bang.
It all came to an end as Twilight was sitting on the stairs of Canterlot High, holding Spike. Zorua was inside her bag, still nervous to show herself to everyone else.
"I guess that was one way to finish up your time at Crystal Prep" Cadence came up to Twilight, sitting next to her. Pretty sure Cinch will be fast-tracking your application after all of that."
"I've been thinking about it and... I'm not so sure now is the time for me to apply to Everton." Twilight shook her head.
"Really?"
"I may know about a lot of things, but friendship isn't really one of them. And I'm definitely not gonna learn more about it by being alone all the time. Besides, I've got some amazing and fun friends to help me with that." She then looked at Ash, Sunset and the others.
"So, you're staying at Crystal Prep?"
"Well, it seems the Ash, Pikachu students here at CHS know an awful lot about the subject. I don't suppose..." Twilight lingered on her sentence, giving a slight suggestion via eye contact.
"You could transfer to this school instead." Cadence finished her sentence.
"Really?!" Twilight sounded happy about that.
You'd certainly be missed at Crystal Prep. But I think that's a great idea! I'll be sure to speak to Principal Celestia about it right away."
"So, Ash." Rainbow Dash spoke to Ash. "How come you didn't tell us you had magic?"
"That wasn't magic. That was Aura. Didn't Sunset tell you about it?" He replied.
"Uh...I didn't know too much about Aura except for how you fainted with it. Is it magic or not, I've been wondering about that." Sunset questioned.
"It's something alright. The life force of my world. Everyone's got it. Even you guys. Mine's just super big!" He spread his arms out. "But your magic's just as big too, ya know. But uh...I wish I could fly with Aura..." He then lowered his head, wishing for the power of flight.
"Pika-Pika."
"Speaking of magic, I think I may have figured out how magic works in this world." Sunset stepped forward. "We pony up when we're showing the truest part of ourselves. I was so busy waiting for someone else to give me the answers that I gave up looking for them myself. I'm sure there will be more magical problems that pop up in this world, but like Applejack said, Princess Twilight has her own problems to worry about in Equestria. We can't expect her to always be around to help us."
"But maybe I can be?" Joining their conversation was Twilight who had Celestia by her side.
"It seems we have a new Wondercolt here at Canterlot High!" Celestia announced, already accepting Twilight.
"I'm not sure how much help I could be. But I'd like to try. If you would all give me a chance."
"I'm sure I can count on you girls to help her feel at home. And uh..." Celestia leaned over, nudging Ash. "We could always fill one more slot with a lucky student, right?"
"Pass." Ash passed on this suggestion, much like how he passed on CInch's teacher suggestion.
"Eh, worth a shot." Celestia shrugged.
"Don't worry, Principal Celestia. We sure can." Sunset said as Pinkie pulled everyone in for a group hug.
"I gotta get going right now." Ash then separated, walking off. "It's been a fun day here. Pretty long too."
"Where are you going, Ash?" Twilight asked.
"I've got a lot of stuff let to do. Hang out with Indigo and Lemon, Find a Sea Temple and a whole bunch of other stuff next year." Sorry if I'm too busy to try and hang out with you guys. But I can always come over and help you with Pokemon like always Twilight."
"I'd love that!" Twilight squeed. "And what was that place you said we can go to? Eindoak?"
"Ein-what?" Rainbow Dash replied.
"Yeah. Just between Castelia and Nimbasa. See you guys next week there!" Ash then said his last words before and Pikachu left, heading off on to another adventure as always.
The next day.
A day later, the Twilight from Equestria had shown up. A bit too late. One day late as she breathed in and out. Espeon was with her as always.
"Sorry I didn't get here sooner!" Twilight exclaimed. "There was this Desire that was on the loose! It thought that everything happening is a complicated game - and this was due to a substance star problem between two scientists. That's when everything became silly and it a predicted solar flare - but it's not what was expected. Instead what- it's a long story! And weird too! It was the strangest thing I've ever seen so far!"
But as soon as she showed up, she saw her human counter having a picnic with Sunset Shimmer. There was a long pause as they both glared at each other. This wasn't Twilight's first time seeing her human self. Or any version of herself really.
"But you know..." Twilight then backed up into the portal which was still functioning. The horse was just the decoration after all. "I-II come back later."
"Look at the size of that thing!" A resident of Vanhoover said as currently, something shocking was taking place at the local hospital here. Mainly, something related to a Desire.
A giant array of purple lights were flying everywhere, threatening to hit Pokemon in the air. Mainly Flying-Types or those that can levitate. Everypony within the hospital ran out for their safety while those on the outside kept a good distance, not wanting to be caught up in this mess.
The Desire had made tendrils that extended out of the hospital, threatening to grab whoever was within its light of sight. Unfortunately, with how many residents were in Vanhoover, it was almost everyone.
A few tendrils ended up grabbing many ponies by their hooves And once it got ahold of them, it opened all the doors of the hospital, aiming to bring them inside. "Wait, wait, wait!" One pony cried out, kicking at the tendril to no avail. They looked like they would be captives of this odd Desire with barely anyone left to stop it considering how many it had grabbed.
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" But, Ash and Pikachu were here, cutting the tendrils in half with an always reliable and strong Iron Tail. The ponies had been freed from these tendrils' grip as the Desire let out a horrifying screech.
"Ash!" Some of the residents said, seeing the arrival of Ash Ketchum.
"I got here as soon as I heard what was going on. What kind of Desire this?" Ash said before looking at the hospital. If a Desire was lurking around the hospital of all places, it must be something new or related to the hospital.
"Thanks for showing up here, Ash. Pikachu." A Canterot Guard walked up to Ash as a few of them had shown up to try and deal with this issue. "Got a bit too close there."
"No problem. What's happening in there? And are there others still inside?"
"Pika?"
"At least a few hundred. We couldn't get everypony out of the hospital in time, sadly. But everyone's alive and okay in there. The whole thing's a hostage situation with that Desire." The guard explained. "We're not sure who's Desire it is."
"I hear ya." Ash nodded before digging into his pockets. Taking out one of his Poke Balls, he sent out Lucario for this. "Lucario. Out you come."
"Lucario."
"Let's try and get through that field of Desire with your Aura. On my-" Ash spoke, but was soon cut off once he noticed something up ahead. The Desire suddenly opened the door for Ash, but it didn't pull out a tendril.
"Careful! It might pull you in!" The guard exclaimed as everyone stayed back.
"No, wait." Ash stopped them for a moment as he and Lucario could feel something up ahead. Their Auras were telling them that the Desire was inviting them inside. Mainly Ash. It wanted to see him. Ash was cautious, but he knew he had to tackle the problem head-on. "We're going in. Come on you two."
Ash, Pikachu and Lucario accepted the Desire's invitation. They weren't intimidated by the giant tendrils or vicious Desire forcefield that was covering it.
"Uh, we'll be here when you need us!" A guard shouted.
"Thanks!" Ash shouted back from a distance. "Just keep everyone clear of the building! We'll take care of this!"
"Pikachu!"
Inside.
Once inside, the door had been closed by the Desire as to not let Ash out. But when it closed the door, it still did not attack Ash. One minute it was hostile to everyone else, but now, it seems gentle while still carrying an eerie and menacing disposition, especially with the ominous sound the Desire makes constantly.
"Hello? Can anyone hear me?"
"I can hear you. Ash Ketchum. Is that you?" The voice of the Desire spoke. It sounded like a young colt with a reverb added to the voice.
"Yeah, it's me. And I'm here with my buddies Pikachu and Lucario. What's going on?" Ash started walking through the hallways of the hospital. Whatever it is, it's no reason to involve-"
His sentence was promptly paused after he had come across a fairly imposing sight around the corner. The few hundred ponies within the hospital could be found as they were indeed safe. But they were more than safe. They were all standing in a row, perfectly aligned. All of their eyes glowing purple as their attention had been turned to Ash, Pikachu and Lucario.
"Everyone in the hospital....?!" Ash finished his sentence with a gasp.
"Pikachu?!"
"I was waiting for you, Ash." The voice spoke again. But everypony here said it in unison with their unique tones and pitches. The Desire was speaking through all of them as one connected soul. "I'm glad you're here."
"You were waiting for me? Why?" Ash said to one of the ponies as he was still talking to the same Desire.
"Because good things happen to everypony when you're around. Bad things happen when you're not. Can you please come to me?" All at once, the ponies all pointed their hoof at a sole door at the end of this hallway. The Desire was telling him to move through the hospital.
"Pika-Pi? Pikachu?" Pikachu asked if this was safe. It could possibly lead to a trap that was sprung for Ash if this Desire was waiting for him.
"No need to worry, buddy." But Ash would tackle it either way. He followed the hoof-direction of everypony, going towards the door. He reached the end of this hallway, opening the door as it led to another room.
Within this room, other ponies who were all connected by the Desire also aimed their hooves in a different direction. To the next hallway and the next door. "Over there. This way, Ash."
Ash continued on his way, walking through the next hallway to the next door. This would be the last door for him to pass through as the Desire and colt were inside there. "If you need help, I'm here. There's something you want me for, right?"
He said as he opened the final door. But as he did so, he saw no danger here. Rather, he saw young colt within the Desire, sitting on a chair. And next to that chair was a bed with a pony next to it. "It's not me that needs help, Ash.
"Huh?" Ash pulled back after seeing the scene.
"It's my mom. Nothing's working." The colt whimpered. "I used the Desire to do what I could."
"You used the Desire? How?" He was surprised by that. So far, no one has been able to use the power of the Desire consciously. The Desires always acted on their own volition without anything or anyone to control them. But this little pony did and could.
"Mhm. I tried everything to help heal her. But nothing's working, Ash. The only thing I haven't tried is you." The colt stood up, pointing his wing feather at Ash.
"M-Me?" Ash pulled back.
"My mom's going away in a few minutes. They said it was some rare disease from someplace called Mage Hold or something like that. And I don't know what to do." He shuddered before looking at his mother on the bed. "But you can do something, right? You can do anything! You can break mind controls, battle giant dragons, save universes and all that stuff! I've heard about it."
"Pika..."
"My mom needs you, Ash. This is what you do. You save ponies, people and Pokemon. You can do anything...Right?"
"I'm sorry..." Ash paused for a moment before putting his hand on the Desire and colt's head. "I can try asking Twilight or-"
"No-no-no! I've already tried asking everyone I could and there's nothing for this stupid-stupid disease! I've heard what you can do!" The little colt backed away as the Desire was glowing viciously. "Please save her!"
"I can't do that."
"You can't or you won't!" His voice had been raised as the tendrils appeared around Ash, threatening him.
"If I could save her, I would. But I can't do everything." Ash closed his eyes before shaking his head.
"You help everyone all the time! Why can't you help my mom?!" The Desire carried him into the air as the hospital was trembling from his anger. The Desire was fully consuming and getting the better of him. But Ash stood there unphased while Lucario was ready to defend his trainer.
"I get your anger," said Ash. "I lost others close to me too." He then started reminiscing about Sir Aaron's Lucario and how he couldn't save him or even Latios when he sacrificed himself.
Entei also sacrificed himself to defeat the Unown and restore everything to normal and was destroyed as he was created by the Unown. Even Pokemon that were before his time and perished in the past as well as one human.
The father of Latios and Latias who died protecting his city of Alto Mare the same way his son did many years before. Alder's Volcarona, Mallow's mother, the trainer of Ninetales and a few others.
He knew how each of them felt. Mallow, Alder and Ninetales missed those that they loved. Even Victini, who had a king that cared for it many years at the Kingdom of Vale. So many have perished and passed on.
"It hurts a lot. For my friends and everyone." Ash walked forward despite the tendrils following him. "I wish I could do everything, but I've got my limits. But you don't have to go through this alone." He then kneeled, getting on the colt's level."
The colt couldn't attack Ash at all. The tendrils faded away along with the furious aura of the Desire. He knew that Ash was right, but it was hard for him to accept it due to his age. Ash then went to hold the colt as he descended.
"No far." He sniffled before wiping his tears. "Why not me? Why my mom? I don't want her to go, Ash."
"I don't have answers to that either. But I can tell you that you're not alone." He then comforted the little pony with a hug. And without the usage of Aura or defeating some sort of enemy, Ash had managed to soothe and put an end to this Desire.
And with the end of the Desire, the connection of the hundred ponies within the hospital had been broken. They all gasped as their heads felt a bit off. They weren't aware their minds had been tapped into. The glow also faded away from the hospital once the Desire left to be in peace.
And speaking of peace, the mother of the little colt was having her final moments, but she had a few words to say before she left. "Son? Ash Ketchum?"
"Mom?!" The colt looked over at his mother.
"Ah...That's a nice sight to see for a while." She smiled. "Lofty Sky. Please straighten your hair."
"S-Sorry." Lofty Sky straightened his hair while still crying.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this disease first, Lofty. I had it for years now. I didn't want to scare you about this. But you're like your father. You catch on quickly, don't you?"
"Dad tried too but couldn't get anything," said Lofty. "I wish I was better at magic. But maybe we can-"
"No, no, no." She waved her hoof. "Nothing from Magehold can be undone. I'm fine with leaving now. Your father and I have raised you into an amazing young colt. A shame I won't be there to see you forever."
"But I came to see you every week! I wanted you to know how big I've grown! I even brought your favourite game Chess to-"
"Oh, those chess games were fun. But you've already grown up enough in my eyes. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you about my condition constantly. That would've just bogged the game and ruined my conversation, wouldn't it?" She chuckled slightly.
"I guess so." Lofty even laughed for a small bit.
"I can feel something coming now..." She groaned. "But let me get a few howls in. You have a great idol- no, friend by your side." She referred to Ash. "Ash. Why don't you play chess with my boy? And give him a good game."
"You can count on me." Ash would live up to that promise like he always does.
"Oh. And maybe, if by some chance I return to see you again, Lofty, that would be wonderful. But I'll always be watching from wherever I may be. So don't worry about acting tough. You're already tough enough in my eyes."
"Thanks, mom."
"Just don't make the same mistakes, I did, okay kiddo? Latch that onto your father too." She gave her a soon a final hoof bump before her eyes started closing. "And if I were you, I'd watch out...for the... Dread League..."
And those were her last words before she passed on. Lofty tried acting strong, but it was impossible for tears to flow. He was free to cry as he cried in Ash's shirt, getting his shirt wet.
10 days later.
10 days have passed since then. And Ash lived up to his promise. He was currently playing chess with the Lofty Skies in his home as his father was watching. He would keep him company always. And he would also come back to this house constantly, making a new friend as the mother had said.
"Oh, man..." Ash lowered his head as he was not good at chess at all. "This is tough!"
"Pikachu..." Pikachu sighed.
"Checkmate!" Lofty exclaimed, giggling as father patted him on the back. "I win again."
"Not yet! How about another round? I think I'm getting the hang of it." Ash leaned forward, wanting another challenge as he was getting into this game. "I hope so."
"You're on, Ash!"
As for the mother, she was long gone by now. However, there was a place she ended up in. A place nopony could think of. One that existed in the Pokemon World but could give anyone a view of both worlds. A place where Arceus can also be found. But that was a story for another time. Either way, she was indeed watching from somewhere as the journey continues.
Universe 11. The Solar Empire. Canterlot. Daybreaker's throne room. Day.
Daybreaker's throne room. Vastly different from every other throne room for multiple Equestria's. Personally catered to Daybreaker's design and how she likes it.
Narrow braziers enclosing each of the sixteen obsidian columns light up every part of the throne hall and engulf everything in a flickering golden radiance, complimented by the shine of the Sun. The countless gems on the domed ceiling dance in the flickering light while carved images and statuettes look down upon the grey marble floor of this glorious hall.
A carmine rug runs from the throne to the doors and is matched by smaller ones on either side of the hall while pennant banners with golden plumes cover parts of the walls. Between each banner hangs a torch, almost all of them have been lit and in turn illuminate the mosaics of Daybreaker below them.
High, stained glass windows with symmetric designs are shrouded by curtains coloured the same carmine as the banners. The curtains have been adorned with fine patterns and embellished borders with the symbol of the Sun.
And nothing but the Sun.
A lavish throne of gold sits amidst two large Daybreaker statues and was adjoined by five similar, but smaller seats for those aiding the blazing royal highness in all affairs.
Those waiting to be heard by their royal highness could do so on the many extravagant and comfortable marble benches, all of which are facing the throne in a half-circle. Those of higher standing can instead take seats in the ceremonial balustrades overlooking the throne.
And here within the throne room were two dangerous individuals were in the same room as another dangerous individual. Daybreaker obviously lived here, but joining her were Ghetsis and Empress Twilight. And both of them were not happy.
They were currently staying here at Daybreaker's world due to Daybreaker bringing them here herself. They were here due to major losses. Empress Twilight lost last month while Ghetsis lost nearly 2 weeks ago.
Empress Twilight was currently in a healing machine after being hit by some hard Pokemon attacks. First the eyepatch she gained during the invasion and now this. Daybreaker's world had other methods of healing than just magic. Ghetsis wasn't as harmed even though he had been hit by Pokemon attacks himself.
Twilight got the worst of it by far, especially being hit with 100,000 volts of electricity at full force among with other Pokemon moves. Daybreaker currently moved back and forth while Ghetsis and Empress Twilight sat there, sulking.
"Well, you all seem glum as always." Daybreaker teased. "Still so sour about your losses, aren't you?"
"Don't provoke me, Daybreaker..." Empress Twilight said while speaking through the machine. Her voice sounded a bit weak.
"Bah, you and I both know you're in no condition right now to threaten me." Daybreaker went up to the machine. "I could push this thing over and that would be the end of your story."
"Tch." The Empress scoffed as she knew it was true.
"But no, no. That would be too harsh." Daybreaker then turned around, using her magic to summon her throne. She then lazily sat on her throne before smirking. "Anyway, I brought you here to live up to my promises. Mostly to you, Ghetsis. I only brought you here Twilight since you're so harmed. But I can promise you something?"
"Like what?" Empress Twilight asked.
"First, tell me. What do you two want? Be honest with me, if you will." Daybreaker questioned. Ghetsis and Empress Twilight then looked at each other before thinking of the same thing.
And as soon as they were ready to speak, Daybreaker cut them off by saying what they were already going to say. She read them like a book. "You want more power." She said. "I've heard it all before. And maybe some revenge sprinkled in there.
"Of course we do!" Ghetsis and Empress Twilight exclaimed.
"But it's no use. Even after all I've learned and done, how could I have still lost?" Ghetsis growled feeling frustrated by his current losses. "Was my self-journey pointless?"
"And my plans have been sabotaged just like that." The Empress grunted. "I should have everything under the control of my hoof if it wasn't for those stupid Pokemon...!"
"That's your main problem." Daybreaker. "Not the Pokemon. But how you two are right now."
"What?" They both said.
"You two have lost it. Maybe not your minds but everything else." Daybreaker hopped off her throne. "If what you're doing keeps up, you'll end up becoming shadows of your former selves. No longer being the great figures you were once. Ghetsis. I heard some things about you from Colress. Years ago and even during the earlier parts of last year, you were an amazing ruler and a force to reckoned with. Had your own castle too, didn't you? Team Plasma looked up to you and followed your ideals and truths through and through for years.
"...." Ghetsis looked to the side.
"Not so much as of now. You've become the exact opposite of what Colress saw you as." Daybreaker circled around Ghetsis, making him think. "You still carry that vicious disposition, yes. But you've forgotten what made you so great in the first place. And you especially forgot that you can't do everything on your own. You're not indestructible."
"Curses..." All Ghetsis could say. He knew that Daybreaker was right. He's far beyond what he used to be now back then. Not for better but mostly for worse.
"And as for you, Twilight. You're still young." Daybreaker shrugged. "You have a lot to learn. We may be from separate universes, but I am still Princess Celestia and your teacher. And I never taught you to be so greedy, didn't I? Even the Celestia of your universe can vouch for that."
I-I'm not-" She stuttered after Daybreaker's words.
"You have a lot more to learn, even as a full-grown alicorn. Plus, I know you. You had once gotten over your constant fear of frustration and worry ever since you grew up. I would've thought that issue died out a long time. What happened?"
"It's not my fault..." The Empress closed her eyes, growling as she tried making excuses.
"But you don't have to worry about that, Twilight. I can still be your teacher even from a different world. And I can teach you and Ghetsis both what it truly means to gain power."
Daybreaker then spread her wings out as the sun shined through the windows, beaming down on her while also slightly touching Ghetsis and Empress Twilight. "You've lost and forgotten what made you two so great. But I can help you. Help you get back to your roots. And we can start by properly working as a team. No solo acts here. Team Plasma has already agreed to that as they'll be residing in this universe for the time being."
"And how are you so sure this'll work?" Ghetsis asked.
"I used to be just like you two. Mainly you, Ghetsis. I thought I didn't need anypony once I cast aside my visage of Celestia and became Daybreaker. But, after a...less than pleasant encounter, I realized that there is a multitude of things no one can do alone, no matter how powerful they may be. I regretted it at first but came to accept it. When working together, you can create phenomenons that are unmatched. Even surpassing that of the Magic of Friendship. Believe me, I know."
Ghetsis and Empress Twilight then paused as they heard all they needed to hear. Daybreaker raised too many good points to rebuttal or counteract. Ghetsis had already accepted himself and Team Plasma to work alongside her after his body swap failure, but now he had a larger reason to do so. And the Empress, while still so dependent on herself, had no choice but to accept this new form of teamwork that she's never had with Daybreaker even with her alliance.
"Fine. We'll do it." said the Empress.
"Excellent." Daybreaker nodded. "Now, let's get down to business. There's a lot we have to do. How about we have our first team outing together?"
"Such as...?" Ghetsis asked.
"If you weren't aware, Celestia has sent Reshiram and Zekrom as her lapdogs to help free many universes from your control, Twilight. And they're doing an excellent job at it too. But lest we forget, I own parts of that as well. And we can't have these two Dragons ruin this any further. Our main goal for this is to seal off the remaining universes."
"Seal off?" Empress Twilight repeated. "Is that possible?"
"I saw Ghetsis do something similar when he interfered with the gateways. However, we'll make this one on a grander scale. I've dealt with planewalking before and I know that whatever seals them can be broken by another great force. Ash knows a thing or two about, doesn't he, Ghetsis?"
"Tch." Ghetsis scoffed, knowing that Ash broke one of his magic seals on the gateways with his Aura. And most definitely he will do the same with every other missing gateway.
"Each universe dabbles in Planewalking with certain ponies who can use the power of the Rift to move from place to place. That way, Reshiram and Zekrom can head to whichever universe they wish to end up in if they find the right pony. Or in some cases dragon. And with...what's her name again? Right, Pyrestar by their side, she can keep up this liberating streak. I also need to feed Necrozoma some light while I'm at it. Can't forget that."
"So how do you suggest we do it?" Ghetsis asked.
"Your scientist Colress and I had a discussion about that. Seems he's going above and beyond just simple spheres for travel. He and I had a talk, deciding to put our heads together to build something that works in tangent with magic, Rift Energy and even Aura. I call it the Supernova. But, you two are needed for said creation. Here's how it'll work so listen closely..."
Universe 46. Manehattan. Day.
Another universe ruled by Empress Twilight. And another universe that was finding itself at odds with Reshiram and Zekrom. The combined power of these Twin Dragons was stellar. So much so that the Empress' forces have not managed to even make these gigantic dragons fall.
And this current scenario was another sign of that. After arriving here with Pyrestar's forces as well, the Empress' forces were trying to defeat or at least hold back the Twin Dragons.
As for Pyrestar, she was helping those who were currently in hiding. There were those who strayed away from the Empress' rule but were severely outnumbered and unable to fight back. But with Reshiram and Zekrom, that chance was possible now.
"Pass-through here." Queen Pyrestar said to the ponies, showing them a way out. That way out was via a gateway. Due to the current chaos happening outside with Reshiram and Zekrom vs the Empress' forces, it was not safe to be here at the moment.
The gateway led to Pyrestar's universe, where they would be held safely until this universe was free. Many ponies that were in hiding or not had passed through the gateway made by Queen Pyrestar.
"Thank you so much um..." A pegasus looked at Pyrestar, trying to figure out who this was. Her face seemed vastly familiar to her. "Princess Celestia? Luna?"
"You're right about both of those. Quick." Pyrestar nodded as she was indeed the fusion of Celestia and Luna. So she was technically both. Saying either Celestia or Luna would not be wrong.
As everyone passed through, Pyrestar would have her part in dealing with all of the Empress' forces. And it involved the usage of gateways but with clever thinking. Her troops led the citizens through the portal as Pyrestar looked up, witnessing Reshiram and Zekrom take out another fleet of ships effortlessly.
"Good. Now, all we need to do is do the same for everywhere else." Pyrestar said before flying into the air. She went straight to Zekrom who had crushed many robots and other mechanical creations with either his tail or his bare claws until they were nothing but scraps of metal falling from above. "Zekrom! Now's a good time to do it."
"I was waiting for you to say that." said the Deep Black Pokemon before tossing aside a giant robot. He and Pyrestar had a plan that would give them another advantage.
"Reshiram. Protect the buildings from harm."
"Understood." The Vast White Pokemon nodded before ascending higher into the air It would be his duty to protect the buildings from whatever was coming next. And as he did so, he obliterated some of the Empress' creations by just the pressure of his flight.
The Fire-Dragon-Type then hovered above the buildings and all of Manehattan, using the largest Extrasensory so far and his body to cast a protective shield around all the buildings here. Once everything, apart from the Empress' forces had been shielded by Reshiram's protection, Pyrestar could go to work.
And that involved the usage of planewalking. Her eyes flashed blue with the colours of the Rift as she was tapping into the power of the Rift to open not one gateway, not two, but three. This would require a lot of focus as opening three gateways require a plethora of magic, even for a fused alicorn such as Pyrestar.
But that was where her troops came into play. Since they all had Alicorn Amulets due to her world currently being unicorn-populated, they transferred their magic over to Queen Pyrestar, giving her recommended strength to hang in there and utilize three gateways. Pyrestar took a deep breath before taking all of the magic in. Her body glowed a radiant and stunning cosmic light before her horn cast the spell.
From the front and both sides, she summoned three gateways, each leading to other universes where the Empress' control still remained. The gateways were surrounding her, Reshiram and Zekrom as Pyrestar grunted. "N-Now, you two!"
Reshiram extended the power of Extrasensory, causing it to move through all three gateways. He was certainly powerful enough to do so. The buildings from different universes on three sides were being protected by Reshiram's psychic hold. The Vast White Pokemon only protected the buildings on the other side with innocents within them.
Now it was time for Zekrom to act. He spread his arms out, placing both of them through each gateway and connecting to both worlds. And the cherry on top was him putting his gigantic tail at the third gateway behind him. After doing so, the Deep Black Pokemon used Fusion Bolt.
Zekrom's tail glowed light blue with electricity. Zekrom's body then became surrounded by a sphere of violet electricity, causing him to spread over 80,000,000 volts of electricity through each universe. And his main targets were the Empress' forces and their mechanical creations.
The bolts instantly connected with all electrical sources within each universe including the one Zekrom was currently in. Normally, an electric output of this magnitude that surpassed the might of a thunderstorm would cause catastrophic damage on a world-ending scale. But thanks to Reshiram's protection, this potential disaster had been negated. Innocents were protected, including even the Empress' troops surprisingly. It was all of their resources that were being touched by this. And since they all relied on technology with magic infuse in it, anything electrical was a big threat.
Zekrom's electric attack was so grand that it caused both an EMP and blackout for each universe, temporarily rendering every weapon that the Empress' forces had useless. Everything they had was overloaded with electrical combustion or shut down.
And once that was done, Pyrestar's troops had passed through the gateway to confront the Empress' troops on the other side. They had a major advantage, mainly with the Alicorn Amulets around them while the Empress' troops were lacking advantages now.
"Ugh...!" Pyrestar groaned as she almost fell to the ground, using so much magic to hold up three gateways. The gateways had closed with her troops passing through to the other worlds before they closed. Thankfully, Reshiram had caught her, saving her from going splat on the ground. "There. That should do the trick. But goodness...that is draining..."
"You did well, Queen Pyrestar. We've now dealt with most known universes that are under the Empress' control. I predict that we will need only 2 more weeks until all worlds are freed."
"That's nice..." She sighed. "We'll send the captured forces to confinement in different dungeons around our allied world. Honestly, we're grateful to have you and Zekrom assist us in all of this, Reshiram."
"My world was in peril by a dangerous force as well. It's my way and duty to help those who seek the truth. I lost a good trainer by the name of Hilbert that I bonded with by Ghetsis. The same went for Zekrom and a trainer named Hilda. If this were to continue, Ghetsis would dismantle the balance of every world, throwing it into chaos. We will help you and the others to prevent any more of this from happening."
"I'm sorry for the loss of your trainers. Both of you." She apologized on their behalf as Zekrom descended. "Wish there was a way to fix that. My own world at least has some reprieve with the restoration of pegasi and earth ponies."
"It's all in the past now. Best to leave it and move on. We as the Dragons of Truth and Ideals have to." Zekrom said. "Now, let's prepare for the next world."
They were ready to leave and prepare to help another universe later. But, Pyrestar needed some recovery after summoning three gateways. Today's mission was a success. The Empress' forces have been toppled in another world once more. This time three of them at the same time. Impressive. But that was to be expected from a Legendary Pokemon.
Universe 3. Pyrestar's World. Canterlot. Day.
Another day had arrived in Pyrestar's world. Many of the ponies here were less glum than ever as they knew that the seal Grogar made would eventually break. Soon, earth ponies and pegasi would return and many ponies would reunite with their family and friends. The only reason why the unicorns have lived for this long was because of the Alicorn Amulets given to them by Queen Pyrestar.
Pyrestar was currently ready to speak with Celestia and the other members of the Universal Alliance. Essentially herself but in different variations. Yet they all looked uncanny minus Pyrestar who was a fusion of Celestia and Luna. She was the only one with an alternate appearance from her parallel selves.
"Just a bit more." Pyrestar looked outside the window of her castle to see the view of verdant grass. Something that has not been seen in her world for centuries. But now, that was returning after this long drought. "A bit more and everything will be back to normal. Isn't that right, Philomena?"
Philomena, Celestia's pet phoenix agreed. She was still around and that made sense. She was a phoenix after all. Time is practically pointless against this eternal bird that resurrects at times. She's stuck by Pyrestar, who was part Celestia, for these many years.
"Perhaps when they all return, I can throw them all a surprise party." She started talking to herself. "I mean, Pinkie Pie was sealed with them too so I can fill that role maybe. Hopefully. Do you think I can make a good one?" She then asked Philomena.
The phoenix simply shrugged, unsure of how to answer that. Pyrestar then sighed, sitting on her throne afterwards. "I'm thinking too much, aren't I? It's been so many years since I've seen them all. I know everypony else will be happy to see them all back. But it might be shocking for them to see me like this. I wonder when I'm going to defuse already..."
Pyrestar sat there, taking some time to catch her breath. But soon, she would have to head to other universes, teaming up with other-selves while also speaking to them But when she was about to do so, very soon, one of the guards came rushing into the throne room.
"Your majesty!" He cried out. "This is urgent!"
"Hm?!" Pyrestar sat up. "What happened?! What is it?!"
"It's the Sun and sky! Look!" The guard then instantly pointed out at the sky to show the queen exactly what was occurring. Pyrestar looked outside the window to see what was happening. It was a stellar sight that everypony could see.
The skies had been clouded by a blue and purple mist of cosmic aura. But more importantly, the sun was starting to tremble. A sight that is never seen. Many would think it was impossible for a star such as the Sun to start shaking. But it was happening right in front of their eyes. Of course, they looked away for a few moments as to not blind themselves.
The sun's trembling correlated to the cosmic aura in the sky. Pyrestar took a good look, realizing what this was. This was the sign of Rift energy at display from what she could see. The Sun was being clouded by these cosmic lights as Rift particles started flowing out.
Pyrestar quickly went outside to get a closer look, soaring into the skies. She readied herself for the worst to come. Pyrestar promised that no longer would she allow her world and subjects to suffer after the Grogar Incident. And with powerful new allies, she was confident even more.
Pyrestar was also prepared to manipulate the sun, just in case something went wrong. All residents remaining in Equestria looked to the skies, wondering why they were more cosmic than usual with various colours being shown. They also wondered why the Sun was trembling.
However, after a few seconds, the trembling stopped. Everything had simmered down with total silence drowning the air and atmosphere. But Pyrestar was still cautious. That rumbling and shift of skies were unlike anything she had seen before, meaning that something was amiss.
And she was right. Because moments after everything calmed down, she noticed that the Rift lights multiplied. Soon, the usual azure skies were coated and replaced with the colours of the rift. Blue and purple. They did look pretty but it was still too ominous and odd to trust. "What is happening?" Pyrestar wondered.
Unsure of what this all meant, she decided to try and contact the Universal Alliance to see what this was all about. Perhaps one of them knew what was the issue. However, the moment she went to use her magic to open a gateway, that's when the surprising happened.
Nothing happened actually.
Her Rift magic did not kick in. The semblance of Rift magic she had left had been blocked out. And she didn't need to try using the spell constantly to do so. Pyrestar was smart enough to know that it was being blocked. Se could still feel the Rift magic inside of her body, but something was preventing her from doing so.
And that something pointed to the skies themselves. "My Rift Magic...is it being blocked by these skies?!"
The cause of this phenomenon could only be trailed towards more than one individual. Pyrestar used the Rift magic to sense who else was using it. She closed her eyes, searching for possible candidates until she found more than.
Millions. No. Billions.
In a separate universe far beyond her reach, a massive machine of unknown proportions and magnitude. Daybreaker's ultimate weapon made by the collective minds of Colress and Daybreaker's best inventors.
The Supernova.
And right now, Ghetsis and Empress Twilight were assisting in making this happen. Over at Universe 11, to make the Supernova work, Rift Magic had to be transferred through. Only two. But these two had enough to make up for multiple of them.
They had their hand and hoof on the machine, giving it the necessary power. Colress was the one allowing the machine to focus on a specific area. In this case, the sky. Team Plasma grunts were filling the machine with Infinity Energy to boot. Many grunts had utilized as many Pokemon as they could.
"Are you sure this will work?" Empress Twilight asked Daybreaker. She wasn't fond of giving up her own magic for someone else, minus the Magical Unite since that worked in her favour. But this could as well.
"Oh, it is." Daybreaker winked before facing a direction where there was seemingly nobody there. "Isn't that right? Pyrestar?"
"!" Pyrestar gasped. Daybreaker had seen and felt her. Pyrestar did not expect Daybreaker to interact with her from this great distance. However, very soon, Pyrestar's focus on Universe 11 had blinked out of existence without her doing so.
These Rift Skies were blocking out her magic once more, forcing her to lose control. From what Pyrestar had experienced, this did not spell anything pleasant. But with the time she had to see what was ongoing in Universe 11, Queen Pyrestar knew that there was a machine responsible for this.
But, the main problem was trying to get in touch with Celestia and the other members of the Universal Alliance. But that would be difficult considering that her communication with her was being blocked. Pyrestar only had one choice fr this.
"If I can get rid of those Rift skies, I can eliminate the blockage." The only clear answer to this. Nothing else was sprouting into her mind. Pyrestar had a new goal. Eliminate the Rift Skies.
If she could.
Universe 11.
The Supernova powered down as Ghetsis and Empress Twilight moved their arm and hoof away, shuddering for a bit. This power share came at a painful cost.
Rift energy seeped from their bodies like a wound as sweat dripped down their forehead. They felt a dull pain, but it was surely numbed by the adrenaline pumping through their veins. They had never felt like this before even when gaining Rift Magic in them.
"I warned you two not to overdo it." Daybreaker shrugged. "The Supernova was made to be the perfect answer to the Rift after all."
"W-Whatever!" Ghetsis growled. "Let's take advantage of this situation and-"
"We're not going to do anything." Daybreaker cut him off as Ghetsis and Empress Twilight turned in shock.
"What?!" They both said.
"What do you we're not going to do anything?!" Empress Twilight approached Daybreaker. "What was the point of this giant weapon of yours then, eh?! Our share with it as well!"
"We're not going to do anything...yet." She finished her sentence. "I told you not to rush things, Twilight. What comes next takes time. Precious time. I made the Supernova just for that."
"Hmph." Empress Twilight scoffed, walking off.
"Just you wait. What we'll do next won't be too long. One thing's for sure, it'll be done before that intimidating Universe 1 can interfere and potentially stop us." Daybreaker smirked before having her eyes glow.
She had a master plan laid out. One that was only possible with time. Daybreaker certainly had the patience to make it happen. Not only that, but she vowed to assist Ghetsis and Empress Twilight in their difficult endeavours, bringing them back to their prime and absolute best.
The terrifying Daybreaker. A pony that Flurry Heart herself once said was far more dangerous than the Empress. And the weight behind that was prominent without a doubt as the journey continues.
Equestria. Ponyville. SugarCube Corner. Late afternoon.
Silent and stealthy, Pinkie Pie was moving through SugarCube Corner with the mute hoofsteps and movements of an Accelgor, hiding in the shadows. Even though she blended poorly with the shadows due to the abundance of pink that oozes in and out of her.
She was even singing her own theme song via some humming. With her, she was carrying a bag of various sweets and only sweets. But then again, Pinkie can be affiliated with sweets mostly. Nothing else comes to mind. She was carrying all that weight effortlessly without having to rely on her Pokemon.
That was just natural Earth Pony strength.
"Pinkie." Interrupting her theme song was Jade Skies, startling the earth pony and making her jump. "Where are you going?"
"Ah! Jade!" Pinkie rushed over, putting her hoof over Jade's mouth. Jade gained no reaction from this due to her static and expressionless face. "Gotta be quiet for this...For Bea's sake..." She said quietly.
"Bea? That one Gym Leader that comes by here sometimes?" Jade said.
"That's the one. Doing her a big favour. She loves all the stuff here in SugarCube Corner. But, since secretly a huge fan of a bunch of sweets, and this has recently been found out by her fans. And they know about SugarCube Corner. All that attention has made enjoying sweets a little difficult. So I'm gonna smuggle her some without any of her fans noticing. Ya know what I mean?"
"Sure." She replied with her deadpan voice.
"Great! I can count on you for Lookout too. You're never tired and don't have to sleep after all. You've got eyes that never need to close for even an hour!"
"I'll be your eyes and ears, Pinkie," said Jade. "And Cold too."
"I know you will. I can count on you without a doubt!"
"Wait. How are gonna get to her?" Jade asked. "The gateway problem still exists."
"Bea's in Stow-on-side, so the closest I can get to is the Kanto gateway. Gonna cost me a bunch to get there. Those plane fees in the Pokemon World can be pretty harsh." Pinkie giggled. "But I've got Mew's transformations. Those are way more fun! But the airplane food is pretty tasty though..." She then drooled, thinking of the food she could eat on the plane.
"Mew-Mew."
"Wish I could help. I'm a Rift Pony but..." Jade spread her wings out, looking at them. "I don't know how to use my magic. Or even know how good it is."
"Ah, don't worry. Magic or not, you're still great to me, Jade." Pinkie replied, hugging the jade-coloured pegasus. And after that compliment, a smile formed on Jade's face, even if temporary for a few seconds. "I'll be back!"
Pinkie then bounced along, waving goodbye to Jade. The sound of the food inside the bag could be heard bouncing as well. Jade gave a salute, promising to take things from here.
Galar Region. Stow-on-side. Nightfall.
Pinkie arrived here on the back of a Lugia via Mew's transformation. Mew hovered the dark blue night sky before descending. Once he was low at the ground, Mew had transformed into his normal self. Allowing Pinkie to then bounce off.
The location Bea told Pinkie to meet her in was her Gym here in Stow-on-side. Sure enough, there it was, matching Bea's colour palette perfectly. But as soon as she arrived, a Black Belt martial artist was leaving the gym, clocking out for the day.
"Hey, hey!" PInkie greeted the Black Belt Pokemon Trainer. "Is Bea here right now?"
"Bea?" said the Black Belt Trainer. "Oh. No-no. She's out in the Wild Area right now, training, my little pony."
"Out in the Wild Area? Aw..." Pinkie pouted. "I mean, that's not too far."
"Are you here to train under Bea or take part in the Gym Challenge?" He asked.
"Nope. It's for something sweeter than that. But I'm sure those two sound sweet too. It's something Bea will love and I promised to bring it here for her." Pinkie nodded with a proud and wide grin.
"Hm?" The Black Belt Trainer smelled something sweet in the air before looking at the bag. "What's that addicting scent in that bag there?"
"Oh, this? Sorry. Bea told me to keep it con-fi-den-tial." She said in broken-up words. "Okay, Mew. It's off to the Wild Area. Let's try flying as an Altaria this time. Those wings are so fluffy!"
"Mew?" The Black Belt said before noticing Mew popping out of Pinkie Pie's mane. "Mew?!"
"Mew-Mew!" Granting her wish, Mew transformed himself into the Humming Pokemon Altaria. "Altaria!" Pinkie then hopped onto the back of her partner, wanting to feel the cosy softness of Altaria's wings. Once she got on, she immediately hugged the soft, cotton and cloud-like wings, feeling at ease.
Mew then flew off, heading for the Wild Area as the Black Belt stood there, still shocked to see the Mythical Pokemon Mew. He then rubbed his eyes, calling it a day as he was ready to rest for a long time.
Wild Area. Nightfall.
This time, Pinkie had shown up in the Wild Area during the night. Here at night, different Pokemon show up. That was common for Pokemon in general, depending on what time it is. Mostly nocturnal Pokemon or Pokemon that work better or evolve during the night could be found here.
The weather also determined it. It was foggy tonight, meaning Psychic, Ghost and Fairy-Types were most likely to show up here with a Misty Terrain.
Pinkie searched for Bea, wondering which part of the Wild Area she could be in. After all, the Wild Area is absolutely massive and gigantic in every way.
Pinkie was also making sure to be cautious. She knew how excited Pokemon can get when they smell something good. And considering she had a plethora of sweets with an addicting scent radiating off of them, there was a guarantee that any of the Pokemon here would come rushing over just to devour everything inside.
"Stay sharp, Mew. Spinda. You never when someone could be waiting to get the jump on us." Just like before in the late afternoon, Pinkie Pie was sneaking within the shadows. But that still did not work thanks to her pinkness.
"Mew-Mew." To keep them away from the food, Mew transformed himself into Garbodor, a Pokemon with a foul stench of garbage. The perfect way to mask the sweetness of Pinkie Pie's food. "Garbodor."
"Great thinking, Mew." Pinkie nudged Mew, making him giggle. They continued through the Wild Area, moving through the thick fog, searching for Bea. She could be anywhere in this vast mass of land.
But, as the Black Belt said, Bea was out training, so most likely, the most active being in the Wild Area was the one to look out for. Pinkie figured that Bea was probably doing punching or kicking exercises considering her role as a Fighting-Type Gym Leader. She could picture it now.
All Pokemon stayed away from Pinkie Pie once Mew passed by as Garbodor. This idea from Mew worked like a charm. No Pokemon wanted to get close to Pinkie, making the food safe and sound.
As they moved over the Rolling Hills, Spinda heard the sound of rocks breaking, popping her head out of Pinkie Pie's mane. The Spot Panda Pokemon then aimed her paw, just up north. "Spinda."
"There?" Pinkie questioned before bouncing in Spinda's paw direction. Mew quickly transformed back into his normal form, flying alongside Pinkie.
Spinda's hunch and ears were right. By hearing the sound of rock breaking, the trio ended up at the end of the Rolling Hills, just near the next area which was the Dappled Grove.
And the moment Pinkie walked past a nearby rock, the rock had shattered right beside her, startling the earth pony, Spot Panda Pokemon and New Species Pokemon respectively. "Gaaaah!" Pinkie Pie screeched, falling on her back.
It looked like a sudden threat at first, but once the array of rocks fell to the ground, rolling down the Rolling Hills, it was revealed to be a friendly face.
Bea was the one who broke the rocks with her bare feet. She quickly placed her legs down before noticing Pinkie Pie trembling on the ground as a small pebble bounced on her head. Alongside Bea were Machamp, Pangoro and Grapploct.
"Pinkie Pie?" Bea said.
"H-H-H-Hello..." Pinkie shuddered before almost fainting.
"What are you doing here?" Bea helped her up by grabbing Pinkie's hoof.
"I came to give you the goods, duh." Pinkie recovered, showing Bea the bag of sweets by turning around. "All in mint condition. Minus mint, I know you don't like that."
"Oh. Thank you. I haven't had anything to eat ever since I started training this morning and before."
"Nothing? This morning? Before?! H-How long have you been out here?!" Pinkie Pie gasped.
"I've been training for 48 hours and I plan to do the same tomorrow morning." She answered. "But it's all part of my natural training regime. To become stronger and defeat Champion Leon. So that I don't lose ever again."
"But without something to snack on while you're at it?" Pinkie held the bag of food out. "I mean, come on, no harm in some goood food breaks, right? Like that one time with Chuck, we all ate like kings and queens after you finished your World Championship battle with Ash."
"I know. But with how things are right now in the Pokemon World Championships and with stronger Trainers showing up constantly, I have to work harder. Even if it means missing out on some sweets."
"Hoh!" Pinkie couldn't believe her ears. "Missing out on sweets?!"
"I'll eat later. Then I'll get back into things." Bea turned around. "Pangoro. Machamp. I want you both to have a small spar with me. You can sit back and watch, Pinkie Pie." Bea moved back as her current objective was to physically battle with Machamp and Pangoro without using Pokemon. Only her body and physical skills. A risky move, but someone like Brawly sometimes does it with his Pokemon.
"Hm?" But as Pinkie sat down, ready to watch this scenario unfold, she noticed something with Bea that she should've seen earlier. Bea had scratches and small bruises all over her face, legs and arms. Most likely from training, but some seemed to have been the cause of injures as if she had been hit by something. "Hey, Bea. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Come on, you two!" Bea got into a stance.
"Machamp..."
"Pangoro..."
They both hesitated. They saw Bea's current conditions, hesitant about hitting their trainer. They are powerful Pokemon after all. Machamp especially. Bea taking hits from these strong-armed Pokemon, while she considers it training, her Pokemon, not so much.
"Don't hesitate, please," said Bea, encouraging them. At the same time, both heavy-armed Fighting-Type Pokemon swung their fists towards their Trainer. Bea was ready to try her best to defend against them, even with her current condition.
Bea managed to duck under Machamp's first swing while blocking Pangoro's with her knee. And as soon as she used her knee, her body shuddered a bit. This was only adding to the amount of damage she had taken during these past hours.
She then used both her arms to block a synchronized blow from Machamp and Pangoro. However, that was when she staggered as her body couldn't take anymore. Even a mild shockwave from the blow could be seen emerging. She immediately got on her knee as Machamp halted the next punch, seeing her trainer down on the ground.
"Machamp?!"
"Oh my gosh! Bea!" Pinkie stood up, running to her side. "Are you alright?!"
"I-I'm fine." Bea took a deep breath. "A-Again...This time with better speed."
"Uh, maybe not again!" Pinkie stood between Bea and her Pokemon, waving her hooves. "How about we eat first before we do anything crazy, okay?"
"Hmph. Alright." Bea sat up before wincing a bit. Her knee twitched as she held her arm. Getting hit by a Pokemon smarts. But getting hit by a Fighting-Type Pokemon is prone to Grade-A Pain due to how precise and heavy their attacks can be.
Pinkie had a relieved sigh. If this kept up, then Bea would crumble like an old frozen pancake. Pinkie now felt like going for some pancakes. She, with the help of Bea's Pokemon, laid out a table full of food. Mainly Bea's personal favourites along with others.
An array of pastries and sweets could be seen on every part of the table, making it heavenly to Bea's eyes. There were even some for her Pokemon. Pinkie went out of her way to think about them too. Even her Pokemon too since they have major appetites such as herself.
But, in a twist, Pinkie put Bea's currently injuries before the food. While the food was on the table, Pinkie saw Bea's condition as the top priority. But Bea put the bandages on herself without needing Pinkie Pie to do so. And after wrapping herself in bandages, the Fighting-Type specialist began her feast.
However, Bea wasn't energetic or static about eating sweets as she usually was. Pinkie figured that the injures around her arms were holding her back from moving her arm as frantically. Pinkie knows that Bea devours sweets without delay, much like her and Ash.
"You know, you could rest up for tomorrow before you start training again." Pinkie suggested, thinking only about Bea's injuries. "You'd be all healed up and full, wouldn't you? Plus, you can try coming back to SugarCube Corner once in a while."
"That sounds nice," Bea said while barely touching her food. "But I might not be at SugarCube Corner as much anymore. I know I asked you to bring me some sweets to me here over at Galar, but maybe do it sparingly. In a month or so."
"A month?!" Pinkie bellowed before almost choking on multiple cupcakes. Machamp quickly grabbed her from behind, saving Pinkie's life with the Heimlich manoeuvre. "Guuuaaaah...T-Thanks."
"Machamp."
"That's a whole month without sweets?!" Pinkie couldn't bear to think of a scenario like that. She can only go one week without tasting them. A month sounded like torture. "That's no fun." She pouted. "What gives?"
"It's straightforward. I just want to become stronger. And maybe I want to find something beyond strength. All I know is that with how things are, I shouldn't lose sight of the challenges around me."
"I mean...yeah." Pinkie shrugged before appearing behind Bea, putting her hoof around her neck. "But there's no shame with letting loose once and while ya know?"
"Mm." Bea nodded before shifting her eyes to the side. After observing her emotions which can rarely change, Pinkie noticed something was off. She realized there was a reason why Bea chose this route. She's always aimed to be stronger but always found time to come to SugarCube Corner and relax.
"Unless...Something happened, right?" Pinkie questioned as she finally got Bea to say what was truly on her mind.
"Something did happen. I lost. A harsh battle." Bea lowered her head before placing the food back on the table.
"Oh, pssh. That's no biggie, you've tied before with Ash, right? You can take a loss, I know you can."
"I can take a loss. But not like the one I went through." Bea shook her head in response. "I've lost to even Champion Leon but I knew I could always improve to try and be better than the best. But, I came across one trainer not too long ago. I've never experienced something like that before."
"Who was it?"
"I didn't get his name. All I know is that he's from a world parallel to ours. Other than that, the loss I received with that battle is what made me realize what I was lacking. And it kept going. Ever since that loss, I haven't been able to get my footing back at all. That battle was more than I could stomach. I can't describe it."
Bea then thought back to that one Pokemon Battle that threw her off her game. This battle happened with a crowd watching her. Usually, everyone knows that Bea puts on an amazing performance with her impressive skills but this one battle was not an example of that. Bea was thinking about how her performance looked like to everyone there. Losing that one trainer weighed her down.
"Oh, Bea. I didn't know it was that serious." Pinkie's ears dropped, apologizing to Bea. "But you're gonna forget everything else that's super important. I don't know about this guy or how strong he was, but no way that's gonna take everything else away, right?"
"My training focus hasn't gone away, Pinkie Pie. But it's lacking more than I expect it to." Bea crossed her arms before looking at her injuries. "How can I claim I can beat Leo .or anyone at this rate?"
"Hey." Pinkie then spoke, holding out Bea's favourite cupcake to her. "There's gonna be some Pokemon Battles that frustrate you and you can't do much about it. My friend Rainbow Dash knows about that. But she kept up her strength. And I know you can do it too."
"You think so?" Bea took the cupcake.
"Mhm. That's what I learned from all my friends. Just like how some days are dark and lonely, Pokemon Battles can be the same. I just learned that a few months ago." Pinkie then put her hoof on Bea's face, making her smile. "I- no wait, Machamp, all your Pokemon, me and my Pokemon will be here for you. You know, I love seeing my friends smile. So don't literally beat yourself up too badly, okay?
"Those are some words." Bea then smiled without Pinkie Pie having to make a smile. "I've never met someone as happy as you, Pinkie."
"Oh, pssh. I'm nothing compared to some of my other friends. I don't mean to brag but, I think I'm up there with the greats." Pinkie Pie winked.
"What am I doing?" Bea stood up before slapping her face. "I haven't let a loss get to me before. I shouldn't let this one leech off of me for this long. I should train to the best of my abilities but..." She then looked over at her Pokemon.
"Machamp." Machamp and her Pokemon nodded. Back there, Machamp and Pangoro were hesitant about hitting Bea since she had already suffered so much damage from overworking herself.
"I can't forget everything I've learned and experienced. I wish I was invincible, but I'm not. Thank you, Pinkie Pie." Bea turned to Pinkie.
"No problem!" Pinkie saluted. "Now, let's eat for real this time!"
Back in the mood, Pinkie and Bea started eating the food but with extra energy put into it. The injuries around the arms didn't matter to her anymore. They were practically non-existent now.
"I hope this isn't a bother but...would you mind having a short Pokemon battle with me?" Bea requested.
"Against you?!" Pinkie almost choked on her food, but this time, she saved herself by swallowing it all. "Ah, you spooked me there."
"Sorry. Am I too overwhelming to you?" Bea asked.
"Well uh..." Pinkie looked at Bea, noticing how intimidating her appearance was with that steely-eyed stare. But it was brought down by Bea's innocent smile. "You're intimidating, yeah. But I've battled Ash before so it's cool. Sure, let's battle for a bit!"
"Mew-Mew!"
SugarCube Corner. Day.
Pinkie had returned from the Galar Region. And right now, she looked like a mess. She appeared before Jade, Mr and Mrs Cake with a rugged mane and a face full of sweets before licking them off.
"Oh my goodness! Pinkie Pie, what happened?! Are you alright?" Mrs Cake gasped.
"Just peachy! Just finished having a Pokemon Battle with Bea last night. It didn't last that long." She chuckled. "She wiped the floor with me!"
"Judging your mane, it must've taken 10 seconds, right?" Jade observed.
"Ooh, great eyes, Jade!" Pinkie nodded as Jade was accurate. This Pokemon Battle that happened in the Rolling Fields did not last long. "Anyway, I need to shower. How does-"
But right before she could finish her sentence, a knock could be heard. Pinkie stopped what she was doing, going over to open the door. "Yello?"
"Sorry if this is too early. Can I come in?" Showing up at SugarCube Corner was Bea herself. She showed up sooner than Pinkie Pie expected. They had seen each other just yesterday.
"Bea! You came!" Elevated with joy, Pinkie Pie had hugged Bea, nuzzling her face. "I'm so glad."
"So am I. But I came back to bring you this, not eat." Bea then held something important in her hand. Something that involves the matters of titanic growth and increased power. A Dynamax Band.
"Ooh. A Dynamax band...?" Pinkie gawked before looking at the band.
"It's the only way I could show my gratitude to you, Pinkie Pie. Sweets wouldn't be good enough since you live in a sweet paradise. So, I chose this as my gift. Find some use for it, if you can."
"Oh, I sure will!" Pinkie took the band, instantly placing it on her hoof. It was built for a pony so it was a perfect fit on Pinkie's hooves. Plus, the colours clashed well with her pinkness. "Nice."
"I'll be going now. But how about we meet each other next week, Pinkie?" Bea held Pinkie Pie with both her hands as if she was a baby.
"Uh-huh!" Excited, Pinkie nodded with her tongue out, making sure to jot that date down. Whichever next week it may be. Afterwards, Bea left to continue her daily and traditional regime. But with some fun sprinkled in there.
Pinkie Pie and Bea's relationship is fairly new since they've known each other for a bit. But much like Jade and practically everyone here in Ponyville, that relationship is just going to skyrocket over time as the journey continues.
Pokemon for short. The awe-inspiring creatures of infinite numbers and endless possibilities. Populating the planet in every corner, bringing life to it in their unique ways. For every species of Pokemon out there.
Some Pokemon are small, some are larger, ridiculously large at times, some can be a perfect balance of both. They can be energetic, silent, timid, bold, sassy, modest or anything else. That only adds to their variety.
Whether it's on the land, the sea or the skies, this is their home. Rather, two homes. Two separate worlds both teeming with Pokemon life. Many forms of life already bond well with these Strange and Wonderful Creatures.
From the humans who have been with them since the beginning to the ponies of another world. Followed by an assortment of other species such as dragons, yaks, changelings and many more.
These are known as the Pokemon Trainers. Bonded by their Pokemon, many if not all of them are capable of creating their own phenomenons, miracles and feats that can only be done via their bond.
Which brings us to Ash Ketchum, who hails from Pallet Town. Alongside his partner, Pikachu, are aiming to perfect the art of the Pokemon Battle while also shooting towards the fabled yet impossibly legendary goal of Pokemon Master. These two are on an endless adventure with no signs of slowing down.
And by their aside, assisting and having a great time with them are their friends. Ranging from princesses, farmers, gym leaders, professors and many more. Such as Twilight Sparkle and her friends, who also have their set goals in life.
But one goal they all have in common is finding the Legendary Pokemon that eludes them to this day. The only Pokemon that can keep both worlds intact before the Rift can leave.
Jirachi.
This journey continues with so much left to explore and experience. Whether wondrous or terrifying, a multitude of possibilities and events are just another adventure away.
Much like a story such as this one.
28 years ago. Kanto Region. Pallet Town. Day.
"Dad! Dad!" A young Ash Ketchum was running up to his father. This was a time when Ash's father was still around the household before setting off on a massive journey.
"Hey, kiddo." said the father. "So, have you figured out what you want to be?"
"Mhm! Mhm!" Ash nodded his head aggressively before coming to a screeching halt. "I'm gonna become something greater than a Pokemon Champion! I'm gonna be a Pokemon Master!"
"Oh? A Pokemon Master? That's a new title. Aiming to be the strongest trainer to ever exist are we?"
"No, no!" He shook his head. "It's something more than that! Way-way-way bigger!" He then spread his arms out before jumping up and down."
"You've got my attention even more. And what's bigger than that?" He asked.
"Uh...Um..." Just then, the rambunctious scamp of a 5-year-old pondered for a moment. He scratched his hair before reaching an obstacle in his mind. "I don't know."
"You don't know even though you made it? You've got me confused right now." He chuckled, scratching his hair.
"Whatever it ends up being...I'm gonna do it anyway!" Ash exclaimed. "And I'm gonna show them all. Everyone in school made fun of me when I said I'd become a Pokemon Master. But I am gonna be one, no matter what! You told me not to give up on my dreams, right?"
"I did. I haven't given up on my dreams and neither should you." He gave a thumbs up. "So, go for it. Aim to be a Pokemon Master. But I'm curious. What are you gonna do after that?"
"Well...Um..." Ash was stumped again after this question. But he at least knew how to answer it. "I guess I' m done. Right? I finish, don't I?"
"You could finish." The father shrugged. "But, even if you reach your goal, that doesn't mean your journey is over."
"It's not?" Ash sat next to his father, looking up at him.
"Nope. It doesn't have to be the end unless you choose it to be. When you become a Pokemon Master, you can always shoot for the next goal within your sights. Looking far beyond, searching for a new dream and adventures."
"Wow..." Ash gawked as he was all ears.
"You can be the very best like no one ever was. Unbeatable and unstoppable in every way. Perhaps you can have every single Pokemon out there. But...I guess I'm talking about myself here. I can never see an end to my adventure, even right after I met your mother. It's the thrill that keeps you going. Wanting to know more and see what your eyes have never even seen before. The world is massive, Ash. There's so much to discover, no matter how enormous it may be."
"No matter how enormous?" Ash repeated.
"I've still got a lot of places left to venture, Ash. Me and your grandfather. I want to see more since everything can be so short-lived sometimes. Pursing my ideals and the exciting challenges that come with it. It gets the blood pumping as much as a Pokemon Battle. Probably even more."
"More than Pokemon Battles?" Ash gasped. "I thought they were the coolest thing ever!"
"They can be if you want them to. You can have short-bursts of happiness, Ash. But having long-lasting satisfaction tops them all. It's all about dreams and ambitions that seem otherworldly and out of our reach. It's the value that comes with it. There's so much to do. But you don't have to just do it for yourself."
"I don't?" Ash bit his thumb.
"Sometimes, you can do great things for the good of others. For the people around you. But, I guess that-"
"I wanna do that!" Ash stood up, cutting his father off. "I wanna do that for everyone!"
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah-yeah! I mean..." Ash then closed his eyes before digging deep. "Even if I don't become Pokemon Master I still have you, mom, grandpa and everyone. All my friends."
"You'd put aside your dream for your friends?"
"Yeah. But I want them to help me there too. We'll be awesome together! We'd be like superheroes!" Ash started running out, holding his arms out like a superhero. He ended up falling on his back afterwards.
"Heh." The father chuckled. "Well, you can be a superhero too if you want. Just remember this, Ash. Live out your own adventures. Succeeding or failing. But, you're my son. I don't have to tell you that, do I?"
"No way, sir!" Ash saluted before sitting up. He then stood tall with his fists on his waist, bringing a wide grin. "Just watch! I'll go on the best adventure possible and I'm gonna be the very best! A Pokemon Master!"
Current day. Kanto Region. Pallet Town. Nightfall.
In his room, Ash thought back to the words given to him by his father. If there was one person Ash could thank more than ever, it was his father. He taught him many valuable things that shaped Ash into who he was.
Ash laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling and thinking of moment his father. How he would always encourage Ash to keep pursuing his dreams whenever people made fun of said dreams.
And indeed, Ash has decided about what will come next once he becomes a Pokemon Master. This came to mind during his last days in certain regions. The lesson his father gave him had been passed on each time.
His last days in Johto and seeing Ho-oh pass by led him to go to Hoenn. And even words from Olivia in his last days in the Alola Region with how gigantic the world is rekindled the inspiring words his father said to him all those years back.
And due to the existence of untouched regions, the other world and countless other universes with their own outcomes, scenarios and events, Ash had enough reasons to keep going. He truly aimed to go on the best adventure possible.
"Yeah. Thanks, dad. Ho-oh. Olivia." Ash said to himself in the dark. He already had a strong spirit, but there was always something to strengthen this spirit. It certainly is unbreakable.
Come morning, Ash's endless adventure will go on. Even past the grandiose title of a Pokemon Master. A mysterious goal that has yet to be reached by its own creator.
Equestria. Canterlot. Day.
Over at Canterlot, Ash had shown up to see Celestia and Luna. But he wasn't here to hang out as usual. Ash decided to get down to business with events involving a certain sea temple.
The guards opened the door, allowing Ash to pass through. At the same time, the students were over at the Pokemon School, studying as always.
"Ash. What brings you here?" Celestia asked.
"Hey, Celestia." Ash greeted her as Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder. Celestia held her hooves out, hugging the Mouse Pokemon. "I'm here to get things started. For the Sea Temple."
"I was hoping you'd say that. With your experience with the Sea Temple, we'll have a greater advantage and possibly arrive there before the Empress and Daybreaker's forces do."
"Yeah. But we're gonna have to get there without teleporting or flying. The Sea Temple's always moving with the currents. So what we need is a ship!"
"A ship, hm? Simple enough. I can commission a ship to be made." She nodded.
"Pardon me. W-We've never had ships before?" Luna looked at her big sister.
"We do, but we've rarely had usage for ships at all. The ship we have hasn't been used in so long. But this will be a first for everything and the best possible way for us to head to the Sea Temple. We'll have the first ship ready by let's say..." Celestia bit her lip for a moment. "Tomorrow. Hopefully, they aren't there before us."
"Awesome. I bet it'd be a super awesome ship too!" Ash got excited. "How big is it gonna be?"
"Oh, it'll be big." Celestia nudged her head. "Nothing wrong with being grandiose sometimes after all. Wait for tomorrow, Ash and the ship will be ready. And while you're at it, have you cleared out the other corrupted gateways?"
"I've only done 4 four so far." Ash held out four fingers. "Trottingham, the Crystal Empire, Vanhoover and Appleloosa's gateways are all free to access right now. Been harming my body some more with Ataxia but it's cool."
"I worry about you sometimes, Ash," said Luna. "What if eventually, the Delayed Aura Ataxia is too much to take in for you? Then what?"
"Not sure. But I won't let anything happen until I solve it. Anyway, I'll be back soon. Bye!" Ash gave a saluting farewell as Pikachu hopped on his shoulder.
"Pikachu."
After exiting the throne room, Ash had something else he knew had to do. But there were a few of them to keep up with as he looked at his fingers. It was a bit tough knowing where to start. He could head to the human world and help Twilight there plus the parallel Sunset Shimmer that he found, visit the Changeling Hive or head for the next gateway to try and fix it.
After thinking about it for a while, Ash concluded on what he should do first in line. Fixing another gateway was the top priority for him. However, finding the rest of them would prove to be an issue. "Hmm...wish we could get to them sooner."
"Pika-Pika."
"Oh wait! The Changeling Hive has a gateway nearby leading somewhere now that I think about it. We'll finish two things at the same time."
"Pika."
"Wait." Ash then stopped for a moment, heading back into the throne room. Something came to his mind as he had a question he wanted to ask Celestia and Luna. Something related to the mother of Lofty Skies' last words. "Hey, Celestia! Luna!"
"Yes?" The two sisters said as Luna was currently holding Musharna, preventing her from devouring Celestia's dreams without her consent.
"I've been meaning to ask you something. Do you guys know about a Dread League?"
Out in the fields. Emerald Aura's mansion.
Peacefully sitting around, Emerald Aura was minding her own business with her eyes closed. She had used her magic to make the room have a nice and soothing ambience. It helped that she lived in a beautiful area with many Pokemon residing around it.
She felt at peace right now. Nothing could interrupt her and ruin this for her. Except for what actually could. Without warning and a sudden arrival, the Rift had made an appearance, causing its usual booming sound and startling Emerald.
"Gaaah!" She screeched, falling off her couch before bonking her head onto the floor. "Ow! Ough...!" She held her head, groaning. "What was that all about?"
"Emerald Aura."
"Oh!" She stood up, hearing the familiar voice boom through her home. She looked outside to see the Rift showing. "T-The Rift?! What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to change a few things about you."
"Me? Uh...W-What needs changing?" She shrugged nervously while also chuckling.
"I should've realized this long ago. But you're making things less...exciting." The Rift then shrunk, phasing through her room before circling the Rift Pony. "There are many things I looked forward to, seeing how they would play out as time went on. Such as the destruction of the portal to the parallel world, the mystery of where other gateways might be and many more that just fill me with such curiosity and joy."
"And what does this have to do with me?"
"What do you think? You've been fixing it all. Your Rift Magic has been cutting it all short. So, I'll be weakening you so that nothing like that happens ever again. Without me knowing, you could possibly lead them to Jirachi before the exciting parts even happen."
"Whoa! Wait, what?!" Emerald jumped back. "You can't do that! I'm just living my life here! Plus, Cold's my friend so I help him out when he needs my help."
"That's why you can help him next time with limits. Riveting, right? Doesn't that fill you with the excitement of all the tense things that could happen?"
"Yeah, right!" Emerald growled as her horn started glowing. "I won't let you take it away from me. Besides, I love all this power!"
"As if you can stop me." The Rift scoffed before focusing all of its attention on Emerald. However, Emerald was truly going to defend herself at all costs.
A pulsation of cosmic power flowed through the house, making it and the skies tremble. But this pulse from the Rift was quickly counteracted by a cosmic shield of magic from Emerald Aura. She also protected her body from the inside, just in case.
The sound of two cosmic forces colliding against each other caused an unusual sound that resembled the noise of a bass boosted speaker mixed with the furious roar of the sun. Truly otherworldly and enigmatic. Cosmic particles ranging from every possible colour in existence started flowing outside of the building, grabbing the attention of the nearby Pokemon.
Emerald was giving out her best resistance, better than what the Rift was even expecting. The Rift expected to have just instantly weakened Emerald Aura much like it did for Cold Colt and Obsidian. But instead, Emerald, unlike those two, was pushing back against it.
Emerald then exuded more effort into herself, pushing back the pulse of cosmic to the Rift as she had surprisingly saved herself momentarily. The Rift was impressed. But of course, it could just do it again. And so it did. The Rift had another go, this time, surrounding Emerald Aura with an array of cosmic lights.
Emerald looked around to see that she was surrounded. She still had her protective magic around her to make sure nothing would happen to her. The lights all simultaneously went off, causing a befuddling flash that could blind anyone instantly. Emerald closed her eyes to avoid this blinding effect.
The light eclipsed the mansion she lived in with cosmic power. The Pokemon nearby ran for the hills as the light expanded. The only reason why it hasn't faded yet was due to Emerald still resisting. She kept her magic stable, resisting the Rift's force.
But due to this clash of cosmic forces, Emerald Aura's mansion had vaporized from this clash. The light had wiped it away from existence, leaving only the vibrant field that it was made above. However, the light was expanding, threatening to vaporize everything else.
It wiped out parts of the land below, making a massive gaping hole while continuing on its way. This light threatened the Pokemon that lives around here as well. Emerald saw that the Pokemon were on the verge of being wiped out if this light were to continue moving.
She had to stop this immediately, so she purposefully lowered her magic to halt the potential vaporization of the fields. Just barely, she stopped the light before it could harm someone. A Rattata's tail had been caught by the light, being erased completely.
"R-Rattata?!" Rattata gasped as it now had half a tail.
"Ugh..." Emerald groaned as her limitations were showing. Her horn was slightly burnt after using so much magic to stop a powerful vaporizing force. She was strong, but the Rift was stronger. Naturally.
"That was surprisingly fun, Emerald. I didn't realize how entertaining something like this could be."
"W-Whatever." Emerald scoffed, almost falling over with weak knees. She didn't have the strength left to protect herself from the inside and outside. "I won't let you take it from me."
"I won't take it from you. Just diminish it. But after going through that fun little clash, I'll do a slight diminish. Like so." Once Emerald was defences with little magic remaining. "There. That wasn't so hard now, was it? Now, this is where everything gets interesting."
"Even if you've taken away some of it, I won't let whatever comes next happen. When Cold's this happy."
"Emerald Aura. You and I both know that you can't do that anymore with you how you are now. At best, you can maybe stop the sun from imploding. If that somehow happens."
"There's still Cold's magic. You've seen it yourself. If anything, he might be better at Rift Magic than me, Lucien, Sienna and whoever else. Maybe even you." She pointed her hoof at the Rift.
"I highly doubt that. At worst, the most I'm intimidated by is Jade Skies. Besides, I doubt any of them are ready for what's to come with how young and new they are. Especially with the Unown."
"Unown?" Emerald stood up.
"The Unown have a bit of a grudge against me and anything relating to me. They see anything Rift related as a cosmic interference. And they're not wrong. They will do what they can to make sure that I, you or anything with even a semblance of my magic is wiped out."
"Then that means..." Emerald kicked into realization. The dangers that would come from this were too stellar to ignore. And considering that the Unown are insanely powerful when together could spell trouble for not just Equestria, but this world in general.
"When together, the Unown have the power capable to threaten anyone. But it's better to see than speak. I'll be off now, waiting for that mess to take place. Good luck." The Rift had left, vanishing into millions of small blue and purple cosmic particles, leaving Emerald Aura in a stunned state.
Emerald looked over at the seemingly endless pit now made from the flash of light. Anyone that could fall through there might be lost forever. Unwilling to let any dangers come from this, Emerald used her magic to try and repair the damage caused here and hopefully bring back her home.
However, the Rift had taken away important parts from Emerald's magic. Parts that made her seemingly capable of doing whatever she wanted without any repercussions. She could not restore her home. But she could just barely repair the land with what she could muster. Emerald managed to replace the giant hole by multiplying the amount of land that already existed here, filling it.
But just then, as she was doing so, Emerald felt something unusual. Something that should not be possible with a Rift Pony considering their origin and what they were made of.
Emerald felt tired.
"That's not possible." She breathed in and out. "I can't get tired...No way." Not only did the Rift cut off parts of her magic, but it had made her extra vulnerable.
No longer did she have the endless stamina she possessed before. Now, she could feel exhausted, faint on the spot or even go to sleep from burning herself out.
"This sucks so much!" She cried out in frustration. She was at least happy that she could repair the land. However, for the first time in forever, she felt drained performing such a huge task while also still feeling the effects of her clash with the Rift. "I have to warn them all about the Unown. Just have to concentrate..."
Emerald closed her eyes, aiming to teleport to Ponyville. However, he concentration was off due to sudden exhaustion, something that she would have to get used to. In a flash of magic, she had performed teleportation. But to her, it was unknown if it was successful yet.
Pegalysium. Galesummit Afternoon.
Meanwhile, in Pegalysium, there exists another city that was massive like everything so far in Pegalysium. A place that was known as the Galesummit.
The city of Galesummit resided at the base of a modest mountain only slightly hidden by the clouds. Its beauty was matched by the backdrop of modest hills which have helped shape the city into what it is today.
The skyline was riddled with various towers that were close to Skyscrapers more than anything and even from afar they manage to display their beauty. Unlike most locations in Pegalysium, this city was interested in something else. The power of science.
And currently, hiding in this city from the Sky Monarch was the runaway Grand Judge of the Indigo Alliance. Second Wind. She had found herself here. She was currently wanted due to her crimes and anywhere else for her was a danger zone.
All except for Galesummit. A place where Second Wind felt safe. But more importantly, Second Wind was approaching a specific building up ahead. One that looked like the many noble homes in the main capital of Pegalysium
When approaching this nobility home, just next to it was the garden. A lush garden of grass that was neighbored by fragrant hedges. A lone, pudgy boulder sits near the back, and on top of it grows a climbing, flowering plant. The flower beds were clearly in need of a little care, but they're hanging in there; they're a pit stop for these odd glowing bees that illuminated night-sky lights. The hedges reached 1.2m/4ft high, but that was about as tall as they could reach.
Overall, a beautiful place that clashes well with this house. As for the house itself, eleven strong, round towers were low, but set firm and strong for a great defensive line and are connected by strengthened, heavy walls made of greenstone.
Small windows are scattered here and there around the walls in seemingly perfect symmetry, along with symmetric crenelations for archers and artillery.
It looked more like a castle than anything. Second Wind stood in front of the door, waiting for a response. She didn't even have to knock. A strange magical light appeared below her as it examined the pegasus. It did this for 2 seconds before turning green. Afterwards, the door had opened, welcoming Second Wind indoors.
Second Wind held her breath as she seemed nervous about something. And it wasn't the appearance of the room. It was too standard to be intimidating anyway. Upon arriving, waiting for her was a pegasus who was the reason why she was so nervous.
The pegasus didn't personally come out to see Second Wind. Instead, up against the walls of this room, a wide mirror could be seen. The face of this pegasus came into view as she rubbed her eyes.
"Second Wind." She spoke. "I heard about what happened in Pegalysium from the Daily Cloud."
"M-My apologies, Mrs Winter Gust. It all happened so fast. I and nopony else at the Indigo Alliance expected those other pony tribes and creatures to prove such a threat to us."
"I know. I even heard about how they could break Dynasite. You, I and everypony know that Dynasite is indestructible. The thought of it even being damaged or shattering is absurd. And yet these strangers could do so with...whatever that blue stuff was?"
"I know right?! That's why it was so surprising! The courtroom we had back at the capital has been compromised. I may have to use the courtroom here and discuss with the remaining Indigo Alliance." Second Wind said.
"I don't know about that..." Winter Gust whistled. "Not sure if I can permission for that."
"I don't need permission! I'm the Grand Judge!" She roared at Winter.
"Yes. But I'm not in the alliance, remember? You have no power over me." She smirked as Second Wind twitched. "Plus, if anything, my position of power is equal to yours, isn't it?"
"I still think a Grand Judge exceeds a Consul..." She spoke under her breath. "Either way, I'll need it for the time being until I can get everything back to how it used to be. And I still have access to that Rift Magic. They should've at least put that information in that newspaper of yours."
"Hmm..." Winter lifted the Daily Cloud, an old one from last month, searching for something about Rift Magic. She ended up fighting news about it that covered the events of Jade's capture. "Oh, right. That. Don't worry about that liability." She tossed the newspaper away.
"Liability?" Second Wind pulled back. "This is possibly the best form of magic we can ever have. The power to do anything! How is that a liability?"
"It has potential, but it's clear that's not going to happen for a long time with how recent events are. Besides, we have something greater."
"What could be greater than Rift Magic?"
"Well...Something very hostile against it. And has the potential to surpass and destroy it too." Winter then used her magic to bring over a dome of reinforced Dynasite that was protected by magic.
This made the Dynasite stronger than it already was. But within the magic-protected Dynasite is what mattered the most. Winter placed the dome down, showing Second Wind what was within it.
Unown.
The Symbol Pokemon that had a singular goal of destroying anything related to the Rift was currently trapped within this domed cage. Not just one, but five more, making a total of 6. They moved around the cage, trying to break free, but it was no use. There were too few of them to do something outstanding like they usually do.
"W-What are those things?" Second Wind wasn't sure what she was looking at.
"I have no idea." Winter Gust shook her head. "But what I do know is that these little symbols hold a disgusting level of power within them. I came across them not too long ago. It seems they arrived at Pegalysium after feeling the heavy usage of Rift Magic."
"They're attracted to Rift Magic?"
"Very. And they have the power to eliminate it. At least...when they work together. I've found out that if these symbols form a massive group, they are capable of amazing things. Just two of them together was fairly terrifying. Keeping them contained was not easy. Not it was not." She shook her head. "I was lucky to get six."
"And these symbols are meant to be superior to Rift Magic? How so?"
"Well, for starters, we don't have to worry about fainting when using too much of our power." Winter winked, bringing up the fact that many of the Indigo Alliance members fainted due to the usage of Rift Magic. Their bodies could not handle the awesome power it came with. "These little cuties can be a power source without our bodies being affected. They share the same odd and incredible power Rift Magic holds. A perfect replacement."
"And six of them are enough, right?"
"Just enough. We could gather more possibly. With these by our side, capturing one won't be an issue. But if we want more of these symbols, then attracting them to Rift Magic is the key. Otherwise, they won't even bother. You still have some Rift Magic with you, don't you?"
"I managed to gather some leftovers from a few members. But it's not much. All I need to do is attract them all with the same magic?"
"All you need to do, Grand Judge. Look alive." Winter Gust chuckled before tapping the dome. "We might be looking at the greatest force to ever exist."
The Changeling Hive. Afternoon.
"Papa!" Excited to see the person who she believed to be her father, but he wasn't at all, was Anthophilia. She sensed Ash showing up earlier via his Aura. She flew far just to see him before giving a surprise tackle to Ash.
"Oof!" Ash cried out as he was tackled by the baby changeling. He fell on his back. Anthophilia hugged his face out of happiness. "H-Hey! I'm back!"
"Ash. Thank goodness..."Chrysalis sighed before walking up to Ash with Ribombee by her side. "It's been a bit. She was starting to get so upset because hadn't shown up for days."
"Sorry about that. Got a bit occupied with a lot of things." He sat up as Anthophilia sat on Ash's shoulder, waving to Pikachu.
"Pikachu."
"Glad to have you here. While you were gone, Thorax has taken your role. Helping others improve as Pokemon Battlers." She said.
"Awesome stuff. So, you're all strong trainers now, huh?"
"Strong isn't what I would use." Chrysalis shrugged before looking over at Ribombee. "But I don't mean to brag...as the Queen of the Changelings, I can safely say that I'm the absolute best battler out of all of them. Thorax only comes second. A bit too close if you ask me."
"The best, huh? If that's the case, how does a Pokemon Battle soon, sound?" Ash nudged Chrysalis, wanting to test her strength with a Pokemon Battle.
"Hm-hm." Chrysalis thought about it for a moment before nudging back at him. That was her way of accepting his request.
"Sweet. Oh, by the way. I've got a question, Chrysalis. I couldn't get an answer from Celestia and Luna about it."
"And what's that?"
"Do you know about a Dread League?"
"Dread League?" After the question had come her way, Chrysalis' mind started acting once more. This time, choosing to select her memories. Ash was hoping to get at least something about this mysterious Dread League that had resulted in the disease of Lofty Skies' mother. "Hm. Actually...while I may not know much about it, my mother, Mellifera does."
"Really?!" Ash exclaimed as he finally had something.
"Really. But I know a bit about them. Apparently, when I was fairly small, my mother knew about a place that resided in the far frozen north, even past the Crystal Empire. There existed a place called Magehold."
"Magehold. That's the place she mentioned." Ash recalled the mother mentioning the disease originating from a place called Magehold.
"It's the capital of where they reside. My mother has been there before, learning some magic from that place. I was never allowed to go there, but I heard that place was home to necromancers and vampires. But that is as far as my knowledge of the place goes. Sorry."
"It's cool. You've given me something to work with. So they're at the frozen north somewhere, here? They must have a super-secluded place if not many know about it."
"Hang on!" Chrysalis exclaimed. "Don't tell you can't possibly be thinking of going there? That place is known for being a calling for nothing but doom and possibility the inevitable end of one's life!"
"I totally am." Ash grinned. "I've gotta find a cure from there. It's one way I think of so that no one else gets that same disease Lofty Skies' mom had. But I can ask your mom if she knows one."
"My mother will most definitely not bother with you. I'd say she despises you more than she despises me. And I'm certainly not going to her in this form."
"Your mom hasn't seen you like this yet?"
"No." Chrysalis sighed, lowering her eyes to the ground. "Neither has she seen every other changeling here and what we have now. If she did...well, I can think of a few possibilities of how she'll react."
"Ribombee."
"Maybe I could try showing her but...I don't think can risk it." The Changeling Queen shook her head with Ribombee giving her some pollen to cheer her up. Chrysalis was still distraught about her and her mother's relationship. She wishes it could be better than how it is now. "Thank you, Ribombee."
"You and your mom can sort it out one day. I know it."
"Hopefully. She's more stubborn than Pharynx, honesty." Chrysalis pouted before eating the pollen.
"I'll ask her myself sometime else. Right now, I gotta get ready for tomorrow I'm going out on a journey to the Sea Tempe Samiya. I'll be pretty occupied by then."
"No!" Anthophilia cried out, tugging on Ash's face as she didn't want him to leave for a long time again.
"Ow-ow!" Ash grunted after his face had been tugged.
"Anthophilia, no." Chrysalis pulled the baby away with her magic. Ash is very busy doing what we can for everyone. He can't stay here at all times."
"Mmmph..." Anthophilia whimpered as she was on the verge of crying. However, that was promptly stopped by Ribombee giving her some pollen to eat. The Pollen Puff seemed to be the ultimate method of happiness, only rivalled by Blissey's egg.
"Ribom."
"Anyway. Let's not waste time and have this battle of ours, shall we?" Chrysalis said as Ash's excitement was boosted.
"Alright!" He cheered.
"Pikachu!"
Both Ash and Chrysalis stood from separate sides. Many of the changelings stopped what they were doing just to see their queen battle. Taking the role of the referee was Thorax in this scenario.
"Are you two ready?" Thorax asked as they both nodded in unison. "Okay then. Just send out your Pokemon and we can start."
"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash chose his tried and true partner, Pikachu.
"Pikachu!"
"Ribombee is all I have. So it's obvious. You go on ahead and show them what you can do." Chrysalis said to the Bee Fly Pokemon.
"Ribombee!"
"This'll get me warmed up for my journey to Samiya in three days. Let's do this!" Ash spun his arm around.
"Battle Start!"
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack to start!" Ash put his arm out swiftly, making the first move.
"Pika!" And so did Pikachu. He leapt off the ground before covering his body in a flaring white light. "Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu then ran at lightning speeds, moving faster than the eye can usually see.
"Ribombee! Hidden Power Ground!"
"Ribom!" Ribombee had put her arms together, summoning the power of the earth itself. Her body let off an orange light as she sent a ray towards the Mouse Pokemon.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped over the ray of Hidden Power before boosting through the air with Quick Attack. He landed the first hit, tackling Ribombee at great speeds in the head.
"R-Ribombee!" Ribombee had been staggered as Pikachu moved back.
"Ribombee, quick! Use Moonblast!"
"Bomb!" Ribombee quickly recovered before drawing on the power of the moon. She formed that power into a pink sphere. But Ribombee went above and beyond. Instead of one, she summoned multiple Moonblast spheres by splitting the main one.
Soon, she had multiple small Moonblast spheres by her side. "Pika?!" Pikachu was taken aback by the sudden multiplication of Moonblasts.
"Bombee!" With just the push of her arms, Ribombee had sent all these Moonblasts forward like a bombardment. She lived up to her name because of this.
"Counter them with Iron Tail!"
"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu hardened his tail, using the hardness of Iron Tail to counteract these incoming moon-powered spheres. With swift swings, he was able to knock away some of the spheres, but there were too many of them to count and keep up with. Thus, some of them had hit the Mouse Pokemon before he could deflect the rest. A pink explosion happened afterwards. "P-Pika!"
"Excellent hit, my partner! Now, follow up with Hidden Power!"
"RIbombee!" As Pikachu was being hurled through the air, Ribombee followed u with Hidden Power Ground, throwing the ray of orange light towards the Electric-Type for super-effective damage.
"Dodge with Quick Attack!"
"Pika!" Pikachu's eyes flashed white as he managed to dash through the air, narrowly evading Hidden Power Ground. However, with a sudden smirk from Chrysalis, Ribombee followed up her attack.
"Ribom!" Ribombee then turned the ray of Hidden Power, manipulating it to move freely. As Pikachu seemingly avoided the attack for good, a surprise attack had occurred. The ray hit him in the back without him expecting it to.
"Pika!"
"Ah! Pikachu!" Ash gasped after seeing this surprise attack. Pikachu tumbled on the ground before heading in Ribombee's direction. Chrysalis wouldn't take a break as she kept the offensive up.
"Now, Psychic!"
"Bomb!" Ribombee's eyes then flashed blue as she aimed her arms at the tumbling Pikachu. She sent an invisible wave of Psychic energy his way afterwards.
"Spin with Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu...!" Using the signature Counter Shield technique, Pikachu sid on the ground before sparking his body with 100,00 volts. The Mouse Pokemon then started spinning around, using Thunderbolt as a frantic wall.
Psychic was promptly cancelled out by Pikachu's spinning Thunderbolt as it was unable to breakthrough. Not only that, since Pikachu was close to Ribombee, one of the frantic bolts from the Counter Shield had zapped her.
"Ri!" Ribombee cried out before being knocked back.
"You're good, Chrysalis!" Ash grinned. "I didn't see any of that coming."
"It's only natural. Most of what you see is what I was capable of doing before Pokemon. Hohohoho!" Chrysalis laughed pompously. "Now, let's finish this as soon as we can! Heal yourself with Pollen Puff!"
"Ribombee!" Ribombee formed another one of her delicious pollen, ready to eat it as she ascended to the skies to get some distance.
"Here goes! Electroweb! Slam it!" Ash punched the ground.
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu roared before summoning an orb on his tail. He then slammed his tail down on the ground, summoning Electroweb.
"Jump and use Iron Tail!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu then used the web on the ground as a way to gain some buoyancy. And with how he manipulated it, it was no different from a trampoline. The Electric-Type bounced off the net of lightning, leaping into the air while gardening his tail.
"Ribombee, Hidden Power! Now!"
"Ri! Bom! Bee!" Ribombee put her all into this next attack, and she did so by making the ray spiral into different directions. It was a way to close Pikachu in.
"Ride it!"
"Pikachu!" In a twist, Pikachu flipped through the air, using his tail as not only a shield against Hidden Power but also a way to reach Ribombee. The Mouse Pokemon used the speed he gathered to slide on Ribombee's ray with Iron Tail as the base.
"What in the?!" Chrysalis gasped.
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu then smashed his tail onto her head at full force. Ribombee was not only staggered but she was sent rocketing to the ground afterwards. The Bee Fly Pokemon hit the ground hard with some dust emerging from the impact.
Pikachu landed safer than her with his tail smoking a bit. The dust settled as the fragility of Ribombee showed itself. She had fainted.
"Ribombee..."
"Ouch." Thorax cringed as he could feel Ribombee's pain after that hit. "Ribombee is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! Which means the winner is Ash!"
"Nice! We won!" Ash cheered along with Pikachu and a few other changelings.
"What a shame." Chrysalis sighed before going over to Ribombee. "A job well done, either way, Ribombee."
"Ribom."
"Thank you for the short battle, Ash," said Chrysalis, picking Ribombee up. "If you were officially king of this hive I would only be the second strongest Trainer here."
"Hehe. Ya think so?" Ash chuckled. "You're pretty good too, ya know. Makes me wonder how great you'll be with more Pokemon."
"More sounds pleasant to me. If only I Had the time." She shrugged. "Either way, I believe you should be preparing yourself for your journey, correct?"
"Yeah, but I wanna hang out here a bit more. Let me see what all of you can do." Ash looked at the changelings, curious about how well they battle considering that Thorax was teaching them.
Ash would stay here for a bit and then fix a gateway before finishing the day off. That would only leave him with fewer days before the departure to Samiya. It will be a long one considering the unpredictability of the Sea Temple.
One day later. The Human World. Twilight's home. Day.
"You're leaving for a while?" Twilight spoke to Ash. He had come over to tell Twilight about his departure soon.
"Yeah. I won't be able to teach you all about Pokemon for a bit. But no need to worry. I'll be back soon and we'll try seeing more evolution like you said you wanted to."
"Okay. It's gonna be a bit tough without you here to help."
"Ah, it's fine." He put his hand on her shoulder. "Sunset's good with Pokemon too. She'll teach you what you need to know. No problem."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Going faraway sounds too scary." Zorua shook her head while on Twilight's shoulder. "Is it safe?"
"For him, yeah." Spike nodded as he was still able to talk. The magic inside of him never left.
"We can still stay in touch with our Xtransceivers. Plus, since Samiya moves with the current around the world, it could be in Unova maybe. The gateway to Eindoak is still there if you wanna show up."
"Right. That's all reassuring." Twilight laughed before having a relieved sigh. "Good luck on your adventure. Wish I could see this Sea Temple for myself."
"Maybe one day, I can take you there." He gave the recommendation with the snap of his finger. Pikachu did the same with a lighter snap.
"Pika-Pika.
"Speaking of taking, could you maybe come with me somewhere one day? I don't usually go out with others. If ever since I was a kid."
"Sure. Where are you thinking?"
"I hear cinemas are a good place to start. There's a movie I really want to see. From my favourite series! I've only ever watched it on my own when the cinema's less packed. Or when it comes to DVD." She twirled her hair. "But if I can see it on the big screen with someone else. Like you. It comes on this coming January."
"A movie sounds good to me. I'll be there." Ash agreed to it before hearing his Xtransceiver ring. "Oh, that's our cue. Pikachu and I are gonna head off now. See ya soon, Twilight. Spike. Zorua. Come on buddy!" Ash and Pikachu then ran off, heading straight for the parallel world.
"Goodbye! Take care you two!" Twilight waved goodbye.
"Bring me something good to eat when you get back!" Spike cried out.
Equestria. Canterlot. Lapras Lake.
The place to be at right now was Lapras Lake since it had a massive body of water that led to another land in the distance. It also a had gateway as a bonus. And waiting there was Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor and the Pokemon that can guide them to the Sea Temple, Manaphy.
Also waiting there to give their departure were the Ponyville residents and a few Crystal Empire residents. Ash had shown up, witnessing the ship that hasn't been used for years.
This was the Canterlot Royal Ship. Massive in size and worthy of royalty as it was just slightly bigger than the Royal Unova. But it had more shine and dazzle to it as the main flag was the Equestria flag. Most of it was gold that covered this cruiser as the sun beautifully beamed off of it.
Coming along were Shining Armor and his guards, Manaphy Princess Luna and a surprise guest. Adagio. She was also an expert with the sea as Celestia requested she come along.
"What a beauty..." Applejack took her hat off to admire this ship.
"They kept this in hiding?" Rarity uttered. "What a tease."
"Alright. You all seem ready. Everything you will need for your journey is inside the Grand Equestria. Ash, I can count on your knowledge about Samiya for this." said Celestia.
"You're not coming, Celestia?" Ash asked.
"I still have my duties as ruler. But, you can always call for me with your Xtransceiver and I will give you as much assistance as I can. Shining Armor and his guards will be by your side as well."
"Wish us luck, sister," said Luna. "Give us a week or less and we shall return in one piece."
"Maybe find some treasure there too, eh?" Flash Sentry nudged Ash.
"Wish we could come along! After you told us the story about the Sea Temple we wanted to visit it too!" Scootaloo exclaimed as the CMC went up to Ash.
"At least bring back something for us!" shouted Sweetie Belle.
"I'll see what I can get." Ash chuckled before patting them each on the head.
"Take care, Manaphy. You don't want to upset Flurry Heart now, do you?" Cadence looked at the Seafaring Pokemon.
"Mana! Mana!"
"Be careful out there, Ash. The sea is dangerous, but the Empress' forces are just as threatening." Twilight warned Ash. "We don't want to see you getting hurt or worse."
"It'd be a shame if something horrible happened along the way," said Fluttershy.
"No need to worry. I live for this kind of stuff." He gave a beaming grin. "I'll come back with the Sea Temple safe. In the meantime, I know you guys are gonna do just fine."
"You bet we are!" Rainbow Dash nodded while in the air. "If you ever need help though, you know who to call."
"Sure do. Well, best get going now, huh guys?" Ash turned to Shining Armor and the others. They all boarded the ship as it was ready to go. Everyone gave their final goodbyes with Sonata and Aria waving to their big sister from afar. A trusted captain was commandeering this ship while Manaphy would be the true guide.
They were ready to go on this journey to the Sea Temple and stop the power that it had within from being taken. The ship then started sailing as Ash and Pikachu looked on at the sunset, eager to start this new adventure that reminded them of a previous one.
Truly, they will always be on an endless adventure. One that will never come to a close. Perhaps one day it will, but one thing is for sure, it's not anytime soon as the journey continues.
Equestria. Out in the sea near Lapras Lake. Afternoon.
An adventure had just begun. To the Sea Temple, Samiya. A ship owned by Canterlot known as the Grand Equestria was aiming to take the passengers there as Manaphy would be the ultimate guide.
On the ship were Ash, Pikachu, Shining Armor, Flash Sentry and a few other Crystal Empire guards, Princess Luna and some Canterlot guards along with Adagio Dazzle. They were all heading for the same place where the Empress and Daybreaker's forces were headed to.
The gateway up ahead led to a place in the Pokemon World, but it was unknown which part of the Pokemon Word it led to thanks to Ghetsis' actions. But with Manaphy being able to track the Sea Temple and Ash having the power to remove the darkness from the gateways, it was safe sailing. The one pony not happy about this was Adagio as Celestia requested that she would come along.
"Why so glum?" Flash Sentry asked Adagio who was currently looking over at the distance.
"Because my teacher requested me to come along on this," Adagio replied. "Says it'll help me discover new things or something like that."
"Well, I mean, we are going someplace new that's almost out of our reach."
"Would rather be back in Canterlot right now. But I have to put up with this until we find that temple before those goons do. So the whole trip through, I'd prefer it if no one here decided to get close. I'd like to be alone if you must know."
"Then what about Kricketot over there?" Flash Sentry pointed his hoof at the Cricket Pokemon who was residing in Adagio's unusually large and playful mane.
"Kricketot!" Kricketot waved at the pegasus.
"Kricketot's my best friend! He stays!" Adagio growled at Flash, intimidating him as her deep-red and sharp siren fangs showed.
"O-Okay...I get it-I get it. Your privacy." Flash nervously said before backing up, not wanting to feel Adagio's wrath. Kricketot then waved goodbye to Flash Sentry before hiding back in Adagio's mane.
Meanwhile, Manaphy was outside of the ship as she could move better on the water than on any form of land. That way, guiding them to the Sea Temple would be easier.
"Mana! Mana!" She cried out each time she dove in and out of the sea. The captain of this ship only had eyes on Manaphy the whole time. The Seafaring Pokemon was the closest to the gateway. She promptly stopped, knowing that passing through it was not safe due to Ghetsis' influence.
"There's the gateway we need to pass through," Luna spoke to Ash. "The location of it here in Lapras Lake is fairly new and we won't know which part of the Pokemon World it will lead to. Will your body handle another one, Ash?"
"Only one way to find out." Ash looked at his hands as the ship slowly approached the gateway with Manaphy hopping onboard. Ash went up to the bow of the ship, facing the gateway.
Pikachu hopped off his shoulder, giving his partner some free space and time to focus. Luna was ready to dispel the darkness if it latched onto Ash. Ash then put his arms out, allowing the Aura within him to flow. His body radiated its usual vibrant azure blue colour with particles also flowing out.
Ash's hands came into contact with the gateway, laminating the cosmic portal. Aura had interacted with cosmic energy once more, but not before Ghetsis' Dark Aura flowed out, leeching onto Ash's hands. Ash had one eye closed as he could immediately feel the horrible sting of this Aura.
Luna quickly rushed to Ash's side to save him from this darkness. She used the same spell her sister used to save Ash during this first interaction. However, hers was on the darker side. Ash managed to resist the Dark Aura this time after having a rough experience with it and coupled with Luna's magic, they were able to dispel the darkness, preventing another Delayed Aura Ataxia from occurring.
And as a reward, the gateway was now safe to pass through.
"Man, that smarts!" Ash held his hands, shaking them. "Thanks, Luna."
"No worries. Now, where do you suppose this place leads to?" Luna asked. Flash Sentry would find out personally. He hovered over the bow of the ship, heading straight for the now-free gateway.
The pegasus guard poked his head through to see which location they could possibly be in right now. He squinted his eyes, observing the area thoroughly. "Um, nothing but the vast sea here." He pulled his head back before looking through once more. But I do see an island or two up ahead. Do you recognize any of this, Ash?"
"Hold on." Ash then went over to see this for himself. Throughout his many adventures, he's been at so many locations it was hard to keep track of all of them. And even to this day, he's finding new ones, only fueling his endless adventure. Looking through the gateway, Ash noticed the vast sea as well as the islands. But he had no recollection of them. "Nope. I haven't seen this either. This all brand new to me."
"Manaphy!" Manaphy hopped through the gateway, being the first to fully enter it. The Grand Equestria then followed afterwards with a slightly slower speed than the Seafaring Pokemon.
So far, this journey started off slow with nothing too major ongoing. However, the lurking threat of Empress Twilight and Daybreaker's forces still existed, searching for the same thing. But it was unclear as to where they could possibly be at the moment.
Sinnoh. Out at sea.
In truth, they were practically on the same trail as them. Riding on the seas of the Sinnoh Region, the combined forces of Empress Twilight and Daybreaker's troops were on a ship identical to the Grand Equestria. But instead of the flag of Equestria, it was just the flag of the sun, representing Daybreaker.
On the ship was Tempest Shadow from the Empress' side plus her own special group, Spitfire's group who were taking flying ships since that was their speciality. Plus, they would be able to see anything from above, threat or not.
But next to them was Team Plasma, using the Plasma Frigate which works well on sea. It wasn't just built for the skies after all. On the ship were many grunts, the Shadow Triad and Colress.
Unfortunately for them, they did not have a Manaphy. A Pokemon like Manaphy was fairly hard to get and even control. This was a blind sail without a Manaphy guide. However, that could change entirely as Daybreaker was shown on his monitor.
"Manaphy, you say?" The Triad member said, sitting next to Colress.
"From the knowledge I gained from the Sea Tempe, only Manaphy is capable of finding the Sea Temple. All of them." Daybreaker explained.
"It's why we're heading to Sinnoh Region in the first place. The most common place to find a Manaphy" said Colress. "Having Manaphy take us there will be difficult. A Pokemon like that will not listen to us, that much we know."
"I figured as much. It's always the cute and cuddly ones that are resistant aren't they?" Daybreaker replied. "But you don't have to worry. With a little help from Nightmare Rarity's magic, any Manaphy you end up finding will be instantly vexed and tempted to listen to you. Right now, Tempest is holding it. If I were you, I'd strike at night."
"Why night?" Colress asked.
"Nightmare Rarity's magic works better during the night. If it's used during the day the temptation startup will be weaker and fade over time. But at night, it will carry on until a whole month."
"Fair play. But there won't be any need for that." Colress smirked as Daybreaker raised an eyebrow. "All Manaphy are born from eggs. If we can find one, we can raise and hatch it so that the Manaphy inside will see us as family. Listen to ur every request as well."
"Okay. But what if you end up finding an already hatched Manaphy roaming around?" Daybreaker gave a surprising yet effective response to the genius Colress.
"Fair point." Colress cleared his throat, trying to play it cool. "We'll keep that magic in mind if we come across a roaming one. But aside from that, what about Celestia? Your less fiery self. When will she and her forces depart?"
"They already have. Just today." Daybreaker revealed. "They've just taken a ship to find the Sea Temple before we do. And since they already have a Manaphy on their side, it's safe to say they're one, no, ten steps ahead of us. Right on the seas of Unova. You can choose to find a Manaphy or follow theirs. The choice is yours."
"How did you know they were departing already?" A Triad Member sat up, curious as to how Daybreaker could know but not Team Plasma or even the Empress' group. "And their location as well."
"Don't worry about that. I have things I need to do myself right about now. Good luck with the Sea Temple. Toodles~" Daybreaker whistled before having her face disappear from the monitor.
"So. Do we find an egg or a roaming one?" A Triad Member asked.
"Finding a roaming one will take time." Colress adjusted his glasses. "So will finding an egg. Manaphy are not easy to find. Our best option is to follow their Manaphy to the Sea Temple. But, I'd suggest we split up. One of us will take the Sunstorm to their Manaphy while the I and a few others will take the Plasma Frigate to find another Manaphy. We can tackle the best two options that way."
"All 3 of us work together when we're in the same area. We'll take the Sunstorm." The Shadow Triad stood up, choosing to go with Tempest Shadow's group.
"Good. Let's spread the news and hurry, before they find it and prevent us from ever reaching it.
Unova. Out in the sea.
The gateway had led to the Unova Region. The Grand Equestria was now sailing on the Unova seas, which were gigantic, but not as big as Hoenn or Alola's seas which were gallant. Manaphy led the way, heading north with the ship following.
Up ahead, the two islands could be seen, both unknown to Ash. Speaking of Ash, he and a few others were inside of the ship's main room, having something to eat. The guards stood outside with their Golurk out.
"Ugh..." One of the guards was already seasick as he was staying indoors. Not many of them if not all have been on ships before apart from Ash and Pikachu.
"Pika." Pikachu patted him on the back to make him feel better.
"Adagio Dazzle prefers to be only with Kricketot at the moment," said Luna. £But she's chosen one of the more luxurious rooms to stay in. It's my first time hearing about these rooms myself."
"Everything about this feels luxurious." Ash laid his head on the comfortable seat pillows. "Feels like bliss, doesn't it?"
"It does." Luna smiled with a nod before thinking to herself. Outside, she seemed normal, but inside, she was feeling a completely different emotion. One that involved Ash. "Gahaha! This is tremendous luck!" Her inner smaller self squeed with joy. "This is just like that romantic story about a ship! B-But the ending was less than fortunate. Either way, spending time with Ash like this...Is this what they call a date?!"
She then started having fantasies in her head that were only possible in her dream ironically. She pictured an Ash that was slightly different from the real Ash, having very detailed eyes that glistened like sparkling water. She was about to dream something farfetched until...
"So, Luna. How's your Equestria League quest coming along?" Ash asked, quickly bringing Luna back to reality.
"Oh!" Luna gasped with her wings flapping. She then cleared her throat afterwards. "Um, y-yes. I've just about finished the last gym not too long ago. I should be entering the league once a maximum of 60 ponies manage to finish their 8th Gym Battle."
"Woah! 60!" Ash bellowed with awe.
"Indeed. But those 60 Trainers will go through an elimination process. The true Equestria League will only have 16 competitors in a bracket. So some will have to be cut short."
"Oh."
"A shame. All of them have their dreams of winning the Equestria League too. Some relatively young. If any of them were to lose and it somehow ends up being under my hoof, I don't feel like I would forgive myself." Luna sighed, taking out a Poke Ball before spinning. "What say you, Ash?"
"I get ya. I didn't see anyone go through the same thing at the Alola League. It was 100 Trainers in a battle royale and all of us had to battle for a while."
"And?"
"And...well...we just did the league afterwards. But no one was too beat up by it since they could watch the league for fun. Not sure about this one though."
"Well, I can cross that bridge when it comes." Luna shrugged. "But it all feels a bit overwhelming too. I wonder what it will be like when I become champion? What does a champion exactly do, Ash?"
"Uh..." Ash thought for a moment. "I don't really know. I mean, I'm a champion but not as super important as Cynthia, Steven, Leon or the others really. They know what it's like. Oh!" Ash then recalled something. "You could try setting up an Elite 4 of your own!"
"Our own Elite 4?" said Luna, slouching on the seat.
"Yeah! Have the four toughest trainers in Equestria or even your whole world come together to make an Elite 4. It could be right before the Equestria League, maybe."
"Not a bad idea." Luna pondered, agreeing to that notion and how much it made sense. "My sister could fill that role, no doubt. And if I don't become champion, I could take on the role of an Elite 4 member. Who else?"
"Rainbow Dash and Spike." Ash snapped his finger. "They're both going for the league too and they're no joke. "Those are our four. Not bad, right?"
"Not bad at all, Ash Ketchum. But if my sister wishes to not be in this Elite 4 of ours, perhaps you could fill that role yourself. Hm-hm?" She winked while nudging him.
"Sorry. But I gotta keep journeying, ya know." He chuckled as Luna shrugged.
"Oh, well. There are always other worthy candidates. Such as Rarity. Or perhaps Spitfire and Daylight Blazer. Then again, either of them could win the league and become the Equestria Champion. I cannot let them leave me in the dust. Not at all."
"That's why we're gonna work together." Ash put his fist out.
"Hm?" Too caught up in the moment, Luna's fantasy had emerged as she looked over at Ash. The moment she saw him, the detailed handsome face had reappeared. She imagined Ash saying something far different than what he meant in a deep voice.
"Let's stay together, Luna." He said with a deep tone. Instead of his fist out, it was a gentle hand that was used for dancing.
"Yes." She became flustered, living in her dreamland at the moment as she put her hoof out, aiming to place it on the hand.
"Great. So we'll battle regularly then?" But soon, Ash's regular toned voice came through, snapping her back to reality.
"H-Huh?" Luna blinked for a moment. "O-Oh. T-That would be nice yes." She nodded while nervously laughing.
The ship continued on its way north. and from the direction, the ship and Manaphy were heading at, they would either stop by the islands or pass by it. Most likely the first since they couldn't let the opposing forces find Samiya before them.
But as they got closer, time was passing, slowly transitioning to nightfall. And once the sun was almost set and the moon on the verge of rising, Manaphy noticed something ahead. Something odd. And it was coming from down below. To investigate, she stayed underwater for a while.
When going underwater, the Seafaring Pokemon tried to observe and find what she felt. But what stuck out to her the most was how most of the Water-Type Pokemon swam to the side and south instead of the north. She noticed how they were actively avoiding going north.
Manaphy then looked ahead as she saw something beautiful yet intimidating at the same time. This view was similar to another sea area in Unova known as the Arcane Sea.
"Mana?!" Manaphy gasped, witnessing a bundle of various Rift lights in the shape of cubes up ahead, all gathered in a specialized position. They all acted as a wall. A massive blockade that would naturally block anyone who would come across it.
The light they gave off was better revealed when nightfall was near. They clashed with the solar light of the sun and the lunar glow of the moon. Manaphy could also see something moving nearby this massive blockade. From what she could see, it looked to be a Scrafty, but something was off about it. It came into view as Manaphy could make it out some more.
This Scrafty for instance did not have its usual humanoid shape. Instead, it had five legs in total. Similar to a crab. A fairly huge crab. The odd Scrafty then turned its head, spotting the Seafaring Pokemon with a glow in its eyes. The head was still similar to a regular Scrafty.
After the glow, multiple of these oddly-shaped Scrafty appeared out of the dark waters with their eyes glowing in unison as well. This was their way of intimidation from what Manaphy could observe. The odd Scrafyt then started rapidly walking towards Manaphy on the seafloor.
"Mana?!" Manaphy could see this as a threat as she quickly jumped out of the water and onto the ship. This was not a good sign at all as she had to warn the rest. "Mana! Mana!"
"Yeah, yeah? What is it?" Shining Armor, Flash Sentry and the guards went up to the Seafaring Pokemon, asking her a question. Unfortunately, none of them could speak Pokemon.
"Phy! Mana! Mana-Mana!" She spoke, but it was no use. They couldn't understand her. However, wherever there is Princess Luna, there is Darkrai.
Emerging from the shadows of the ship, the Pitch Black Pokemon had arrived, clouding a shadow over his friends. He could understand Manaphy, no problem. "I'll translate. Say it all again, Manaphy." Darkrai said.
"Phy! Mana! Mana-Mana!" Manaphy repeated everything she had just said as Darkrai nodded in understanding.
"I see." He then turned to the guards. "Turns out we have a massive blockade up ahead. In various forms. These oddly-shaped Scrafty and a wall of Rift down below. We should be able to avoid the wall but the Scrafty are a mystery." Darkrai translated. "What did these Scrafty look like, Manaphy?"
"Scrafty!" They wouldn't have to get an answer from Manaphy. The Scrafty had already shown themselves.
And they did so by crawling and stabbing their sharp pincers onto the ship. A plethora of them either hung on the side of the bow of the ship. Much like crabs or rather a swarm of spiders.
Speaking of which, seeing them up close made the group and especially Manaphy realize how close they looked to spiders and crabs. They looked to the side and bow, seeing their comically large sizes. "Ew!" A guard exclaimed with disgust on his face. "What kind of Scrafty are those?!"
"Judging from their alternate appearance...These are most likely Equestrian Scrafty." Darkrai said.
"Equestrian? Did that Rift Magic end up getting to the Pokemon World as well?" Flash Sentry asked.
"It's always been there. Ash and the others said they went to a place known as the Arcane Sea. An ocean full of Rift Magic that flows everywhere. It also exists in Unova. The same goes for Twilight's Togekiss who was an egg that was touched by the Rift Magic in Unova as well."
"Is Unova just full of Rift Magic compared to other regions?" A guard wondered.
"Nevermind that! We have to focus on these Scrafty! Are they here to attack?" Shining Armor turned to the Scrafty. Surprisingly, they had not attacked yet. Instead, they stood with their creepy eyes. It made almost everyone uncomfortable. Darkrai was unphased as his creepiness far surpassed theirs.
"Well...Can they stop staring at us like that?" Flash Sentry grimaced, trying to look away. But something was vexing about the way the Scrafty all looked them. It was as if their glowing eyes were impossible to look away from.
There was an awkward pause with both sides for a moment. Nothing too major was happening. Nothing at all really. The guards all awkwardly stood there, expecting something exciting to happen.
However, after almost a few seconds, each of the Equestrian Scrafty had made a move. And this move was done by their legs. With incredible strength, the Scrafty had ripped out the gold parts from the Grand Equestria with ease.
And it was an impressive amount. Not just small bits that were the size of apples but rather, chunks the size of a school table. It stuck to their claws as well as they started jumping off the ship with the destroyed gold.
"Hey!" Shining Armor exclaimed as the rest of the Scrafty on the sides were doing the same. They ripped off the gold from the ship, damaging it in the process.
"Scrafty-Scrafty!" They cackled, teasing the group as the ship had already suffered some noticeable damage under a few seconds.
But it didn't stop there, some more Scrafty showed up, jumping onto the ship. But these ones decided to enter after their eyes had locked onto the objects indoors.
"Don't let the rest of them get away!" Shining Armor ordered. The guards immediately took action to try and stop these gold-stealing Scrafty.
"Golurk!" The Golurk went over to grab the Scrafty with their slightly superior sizes. Slightly being the keyword here. These large Equestrian variants were almost as big as the Automaton Pokemon, only adding to their intimidation factor.
"Scrafty!" But as soon as the Golurk advanced, some of the Scrafty had all used Water-Type attacks. Mainly Water Gun, Water Pulse, Brine and Bubble Beam. All super-effective against the Golurk as they were pushed back with some staggers.
"G-Golurk!"
"Aegislash, use Fury Cutter!" Shining Armor ordered.
"Aegi...!" Aegislash flew past his trainer, covering his bladed body with Bug-Type energy. "Slash!" The Royal Sword Pokemon then swung at two Scrafty that weren't looking.
"Scra!" But one Scrafty was. Getting in the way, this Scrafty had used Crabhammer, counter-blocking Aegislash's Fury Cutter.
"Aegis?!"
"Mana! Mana!" Manaphy chose to go after the Scrafty that had gone in the water. She wasn't about to let them get away with this. Not at all. She quickly jumped off the ship, pursuing the escaping Scrafty, even if it meant going near the Rift wall. Darkrai would do the same, floating above the water whilst throwing a Dark Void along the way.
A few Dark Voids had struck the Equestrian Scrafty, putting them to sleep as they had dropped the gold before they could make a clean getaway.
Meanwhile, Ash and Luna noticed the Equestrian Scrafty through the windows while also hearing some commotion on the upper deck. Their attention was drawn to the Scrafty crawling onto the windows.
"What the?! Scrafty?!" Ash stood up, gasping at these new variants of Scrafty. He then took out his Pokedex to see what it could tell him about these variants.
"Data not found." The Pokedex said, making a giant X over Scrafty.
"No data...So it's an Equestrian form!" Ash put the pieces together since there was no collected data of this Scrafty. At least, not yet.
"Pika?!"
"Scrafty!" With brute force and their mighty legs, the Scrafty had broken the window of the ship, shattering it easily as it allowed them to enter side. Four of them in total.
Once inside, the four of them observed the area, spotting the objects that only mattered. They then split, rapidly moving across the area. But one of them had used String Shot, sending a thick strong towards Luna's crown and necklace. Basically, her entire Regalia.
And it happened so fast as well. In the blink of an eye, Luna's regalia had been snatched with precision. And without any damage done to it. Now she was a bare pony like many.
"Ah! You scoundrels!" Luna gasped before covering herself with her wings. But there was nothing to cover at all.
"Scrafty! Scra!" The Scrafty that had regalia cackled before rushing to the outside. For a quick getaway.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"
"Pika-Pika!" Moving at lightning speeds, Pikachu had rushed over towards Scrafty. The Mouse Pokemon had swiftly knocked the regalia off of Scrafty's possession as they spun on the floor.
"Scra?! Scrafty!" In response, Scrafty had used Brick Break, slapping Pikachu to the side after he knocked its stolen goods.
"P-Pika!" Pikachu cried out before sliding on the floor, recovering successfully. "Pikachu...!" He growled.
"Ty! Scrafty!" Scrafty then jumped out of the window, escaping after failing to steal the regalia. However, there was still the issue of the other Scrafty that were currently swarming the ship. Soon, the Grand Equestria was being covered by these Equestrian Scrafty.
"They're everywhere!" Ash looked at the other windows, seeing the overabundance of Scrafty. However, just then a whistle could be heard from the north. A whistling sound that made the Scrafty pause for a moment. They all listened to the sound of the whistle before promptly stopping their little theft escapade.
The Scrafty all started leaving the ship altogether with no extra group showing up. Altogether they hopped off after responding to the whistle. Darkrai managed to put a lot of them to sleep with Dark Void, however, there were still so many of them that managed to escape. He then placed the Scrafty back in the water where they came from.
Everyone watched as the Scrafty departed. After heading back into the water, they all quickly zoomed towards the north. And from the direction they were going, it seemed to be one of the islands.
"Was that just a momentary attack?" Luna uttered before using her magic to place her regalia back on. "Why did they all suddenly leave?"
"It sounded like they were responding to some whistling..." Ash could make out the sound from afar. "Whatever it was, it might've called them back. But what were they doing?"
"Thievery that's what!" Just then, bursting through the doors of the other room was Adagio Dazzle. She startled Ash and Luna as they turned around.
Adagio's eyes glowed red as her mane was almost a mess from how agitated she was. But the most notable thing was how her necklace and gem were gone.
"They took my mother's gem...!" She rumbled with her eyes pulsating a red light. Similar to a heartbeat. "They're going to pay for that!"
"Princess Luna!" Flash Sentry showed up in a hurry. His armour was seen missing too. "The Scrafty! They've taken a majority of the gold from the ship. The ship was made out of gold so it's caused severe damage! Important parts are missing as well! W-What should we do?"
"Flash Sentry. What happened to your armour? Why just the helmet?" Luna asked.
"Oh. T-They took my armour..." Flash grumbled.
"I see. Well anyway, We pursue them of course." Luna stood up, clearing her throat. "I'm not sure why they came here to steal we had but-"
"But we're going to crush them!" Adagio interrupted Luna with a bellowing shout. "Enough talk! After them!"
A surprise attack from a group of Equestrian Scrafty. But not a physical attack on the crew, rather, a heist. The Scrafty had stolen a majority of the ship's parts which was mostly gold. But it wasn't just that. They had gone for other things that looked shiny, such as Adagio's necklace and Flash Sentry's armour
Clearly, they were only in it for the goods. Glistening goods. This adventure towards Samiya wasn't going to be so easy. Obstacles were bound to appear. And this was just one of them. Including the incoming threat of Tempest Shadow and the others. A quick chase towards the Scrafty was about to be made as the journey continues.
Unova. Out in the sea. The Grand Equestria ship. Nightfall.
During the journey towards the Sea Temple, a sudden attack of Equestrian Scrafty had happened upon the ship known as the Grand Equestria.
They swarmed the ship, but they did not attack anyone. Instead, the Scrafty came for the gold that the ship was made out of and other shiny objects. Such as parts of Flash Sentry's armour and some of the armour that belonged to the Canterlot and Crystal Empire guards, a few things from the leisure room and most importantly, Adagio's necklace.
Adagio was especially furious about this since that necklace had a gem that was given to her by her mother years ago. It was unknown what horrible things she might end up doing to the Scrafty once she gets her hooves on them.
The ship could still function even with missing parts, but if something wasn't done soon to repair them, the Grand Equestria could be drifting forever. They had reached the island where the Scrafty had retreated to. When getting close to the island, they noticed how it glistened, especially when nightfall approached.
The moon had just arrived, giving the island some extra shine and a better view from a far distance. Except there was one issue. The Rift blockade that was in the way. It may be underwater, but its force was ever-present. Luckily, there was a solution to that.
"I'll head underwater and try to get you guys past it," Ash said as he would use his Aura to negate this. Aura is one of the few things that can interact with Rift Magic after all. He stood on the edge of the ship, ready to jump in.
"Ash, wait! Without any equipment for underwater?" Luna halted him. "You'll be wet afterwards."
"It'll be fine." He looked back at her. "Just gonna make this as quick as I can. But uh...I am gonna need that underwater breathing spell, hehe."
"Hurry it up already and get rid of it. I need my necklace back now." Adagio said with a scornful face. Instead of Luna, she cast the underwater breathing spell on Ash. It would last 20 minutes for him. Just enough time.
"Okay." Ash stretched his muscles before jumping off the ship and into the water. By making a splash, he was now in Rift-infested waters.
"Just to be safe..." Luna took out one of her Poke Balls with her magic, sending Frillish out. She didn't want any harm done to Ash, so some underwater assistance was due.
"Frillish."
"Frillish. Go with Ash underwater and keep him safe." Luna ordered.
"Lish." The Floating Pokemon would do just that. He followed after Ash, descending to the Rift-infested waters, acting as Ash's bodyguard. Once inside, Ash had noticed the arrival of Frillish.
"Hey, Frillish. Watch my back, okay?" Ash waved at him before advancing towards the Rift blockade. When approaching it, he could hear the sounds of the Rift howling from it. Even underwater, anything RIft related was still the most notable and bizarre thing here.
Ash wasn't sure if interacting with this would result in the outcome as interacting with the gateways. Only when Ghetsis' magic is involved. So far, from his experiences, Ghetsis' magic coupled with Rift energy results in either the befuddling of gateways or even Ataxia.
Ash took that risk, however. The blockade, as far as he knew, wasn't affected by Ghetsis' magic. But just to be safe, Ash had something to try and help him through this. "Staff! Enlarge!" Ash called out the staff of Sir Aaron, holding his arm out. The staff had enlarged, appearing in front of Ash as he gripped it.
After showing up, Sir Aaron's staff reacted to the Rift force in front of it, but Ash kept it steady. Ash was hoping to be better protected with the staff. He came into contact with the blockade to immediately feel a sting on his arm. But Ash didn't budge. He just grimaced at the sting and kept going.
His Aura worked well underwater, blending beautifully with the deep blue. It swerved through the small gaps of the blockade. The staff started trembling before responding to Ash's Aura. It personally put a protective shield of Aura around his body once Ash came into contact with the blockade.
Ash couldn't feel an intense pressure beating down on him because of this. The staff was so far, the only way to defend himself from situations such as this. After realizing this, Ash put his all, exuding more Aura into it. Soon, his body radiated this potent lifeforce as the blockade started trembling.
However, that's when the blockade started fighting back against the Aura. Ash shuddered as the Rift Energy was starting to push him back. Now, he could feel the strain. "Man this smarts...!" He groaned, trying to keep his Aura steady.
"Frillish?!" Frillish floated over.
"I'm fine, Frillish," Ash said, reassuring the Water-Ghost-Type. "Just need to push a bit more!" Ash was willing to push himself and take the risk. He wouldn't allow the blockade to get the better of him. His arm was trembling, but he gave one final push.
And that final push of Aura did something. It didn't get rid of the entire blockade, but it did leave a massive crack that eventually shattered, eliminating parts of the RIft completely. There was now a gigantic gap in this stellar-wide Rift blockade. It wasn't the whole wall, but it was wide enough for the Grand Equestria to pass through.
"Ugh...!" Ash groaned as he held his arm. He started feeling a horrible force within him as using his Aura in that last spurt did a lot to him. The Staff of Sir Aaron was drifting as Frillish went over to hold Ash.
"Frillish!"
"Did it..." Ash sighed as his arm felt weak. He then noticed that the staff was drifting off once he let go of it. However, as soon as he noticed it, one of the Equestrian Scraty had shown up, using String Shot to grab it. "Oh!"
"Scrafty!" There was something shiny about Sir Aaron's staff. Mainly the gemstone that was on it. The Equestrian Scrafty couldn't resist after all as the staff had been pulled away.
"Fril!" But not while Frillish was here. The Floating Pokemon took action, approaching the Equestrian Scrafty.
"Scrafty!" Seeing the incoming threat, the Equestrian Scrafty had used Dark Pulse against the Water-Ghost-Type, sending a horrible aura imbued with dark thoughts.
"Lish!" Frillish promptly evaded it by swaying to the side. The Floating Pokemon promptly replied with Shadow Ball, hurling a blob of shadows from his hands.
"Scra!" Scrafty was struck by the blob but took minimal damage that almost looked like it didn't matter to it. Even as an Equestrian variant, it kept its Dark typing.
"Lish! Frillish!" Frillish then decided to use Dazzling Gleam, a move that Scrafty would not take kindly to. He emitted a powerful flash in the form of rainbows, sending it towards the Equestrian variant.
"Scrafty!" Scrafty had been blinded by this light with the grip of the staff being weakened because of this. That allowed Frillish to get one last hit in. Hydro Pump. He unleashed a high volume blast of water from his mouth to force the Equestrian Scrafty away. "Scra!"
Scrafty was blown back by this high pressure, being forced away from the staff. Scrafty hurled through the sea before bumping into some rocks. Ash quickly swam over to grab the staff before it could drift further away. The Equestrian Scrafty, after witnessing Frillish's impressive power, made a tactical retreat, swimming back to the island it came from.
After making their way and preventing the staff from being stolen, Ash and Frillish could return to the surface. Frillish would help with that. He grabbed Ash, carrying him out of the water.
"Nice save, Frillish." He complimented him.
"Frill-Frill."
"Did you do it?" Luna went up to them once they returned to the surface and upper deck of the Grand Equestria.
"Yeah. It's not much, but it should be enough for us to pass through. I made a huge hole there." said Ash after being set down. He made the floor of the upper deck wet due to his drenched body. But Flash Sentry had a solution to that. Flash had his Pidgeot use Heat Wave mildly, cooling Ash off with the flap of his wings.
"Good. I'll go by sea." Adagio then walked past the others, aiming to swim to the island herself.
"By yourself, Adagio? By the time we get there, who knows what will happen?" Luna turned to her.
"I'm not alone, I have Kricketot. And I'm not gonna waste time while those chumps have my necklace. If anything happens to it...!" Her eyes seethed with anger as she jumped into the water. There was no stopping her at this point.
"Can't let her get ahead of us, can we?" said Ash. "Let's hurry and get to that island."
Everyone prepared themselves for the island to get what was stolen back. This time, it would be Adagio who would lead the way as she swam through the sea at impressive speeds, even more than Manaphy who was just behind her.
The Glistening Island. Nightfall.
They had reached the island as the boat had promptly stopped. Once they arrived, they could see just how shiny it was. It worked well under the moon, giving the lights some major emphasis to their shine. So shiny that it was blinding to the eyes. Luckily, there was an easy answer to that.
The useful Go-Goggles that can protect anyone from the battering sandstorms, hails and even sharp lights. Truly a versatile eyewear to keep around. But there were few Go-Goggles to wear for everyone onboard. Thankfully, not all of them were going out to the island.
Ash, Luna, Shining Armor, Flash Sentry and four guards would head out to retrieve the stolen objects. Adagio and Manaphy had reached the island before the rest. But they soon found out about the bright lights.
"You look pretty nice in those goggles, Darkrai." Shining Armor nudged the Pitch Black Pokemon. Darkrai had his arms crossed, looking both cool and somewhat silly in those goggles.
"Rushing headfirst is an admirable trait. But not always the best solution, Adagio Dazzle." Luna said, holding out the Go-Goggles.
"Mrrrgh...!" Adagio growled as she ended up coming right back to everyone, taking the Go-Goggles along with Manaphy. She was bold to get her necklace back, but she didn't think about everything else. "Don't say a word."
"Our lips are sealed." Luna grinned. "So, what exactly makes this island glow so much? Is it Rift related again?"
"I don't think so, Princess Luna. Look." Shining Armor was the first to notice the cause of these lights. Everyone could see the shine of many valuable materials such as rubies, gold and sapphires. Among many other things.
They were either piled up into massive landfills, hung from trees, dug into the dirt or hidden in piles of leaves. Either way, there was something shiny here, explaining the abundance of illumination.
"Whoa...Have the Scrafty been gathering all this stuff?" Ash gawked as he and the others started moving through the island.
"Pika..."
"I would think that pirates used to come and leave their treasure here." Flash picked up a crystal chalice. "But then again, pirates are very good at hiding their treasure, aren't they?"
"What do you think they want them for?" A guard asked.
"I've read and learned about the regular Unovan Scrafty before." Luna turned to the guards. While mostly known for having the temperament of an aggressive ruffian, Scrafty are Pokemon that take very good care of their family, friends, and territory. They will, as far as I know, never tread on another's territory, backstab or even steal."
"And these ones do." Shining Armor replied.
"Mhm." And as another response, Luna gave a nod. "Well, not sure about the backstab or territory treading part. But they certainly do steal. Regional Forms apparently have alternative motives and actions than their cousin forms. Such as how Alolan Grimer removes filth and toxins while Kantonian Grimer spreads it."
"I didn't know that." Flash scratched his mane. "So these Scrafty are greedy then?"
"Probably. But they must have a good reason for it." Luna shrugged.
"Who cares what their reason is." Adagio scoffed. "For taking my necklace, they're going to pay dearly for that."
"B-But we're not gonna be too aggressive about it, are we?" Flash chuckled nervously. "I mean, we could do it without any casualties, that works too."
"I'm afraid that will be difficult considering the importance of that necklace, Flash Sentry." Luna slowed down to walk next to Flash. "You see, that necklace is not just an accessory for glamour. It's mainly the gem inside that's important."
"Huh?" Flash leaned in to hear Luna clearly. Luna watched, hoping that Adagio wasn't listening. But she was.
"The gem inside was given to her by her mother, Vivace. As a parting gift due to an incident that happened years ago that Adagio would rather not tell us. That necklace and gem have stayed with Adagio for years now. Far past when you were even born. It even relates the gems my sister has on her regalia."
"And I can't have anyone take it from me." Adagio turned to Luna and Flash. "That gem is the last thing I have of my mother. If I end up losing it forever or having something horrible happen to it, I would never forgive myself. And I don't think my sisters would I either."
"Oh. I uh...Didn't know." Flash felt embarrassed a bad, unaware of how important the necklace and gem were. "Sorry."
"Whatever." Adagio turned away. "You can forget about it when we find it. And we'll never talk about it again."
"Wait." Ash suddenly stopped everyone as he and Pikachu heard something up ahead before anyone else. They all promptly stopped from Ash's command.
He gave the right call to stop. But he didn't stop from the sound of a potential Equestrian Scrafty. Instead, he heard the sound of what sounded like a volcano bubbling with its usual rumbling.
But that was odd. If there was a volcano, they would've noticed it from afar. Volcanoes are impossible to miss after all. But there is the existence of volcanoes that are lower and not their usual skyscraper sizes.
Ash went in to investigate closer as everyone else followed him. The sound that Ash and Pikachu heard wasn't too far. It was right near a cliff. Rather, below the cliff. The group reached this cliff on the island as they came across a furious sight.
There was a volcano yes. But not the usual kind. For starters, this volcano had blue and purple magma. An odd colour combo for magma in general. But it was the fact that it had the colours of blue and purple while also radiating particles. This wasn't just a volcano.
This was a Rift Volcano.
"Cool!" Ash, Shining Armor, Flash Sentry and the guards all said, gawking at this phenomenon.
"Pikachu!"
"A volcano formed by the Rift...?" Luna said with an agape mouth. "Is there no limit to what this cosmic force can do?"
"Who cares about any of that?" Adagio quickly interrupted everyone, turning their attention away from the Rift Volcano. "Let's just keep going until we-"
Adagio wouldn't have to bring up the topic of the Equestria Scrafty. Because with the turn of the head, a few of them could be seen over yonder, just near another cliff. And one of them had Adagio's necklace, wearing it around its neck.
"Aha! There you are!" The siren exclaimed before spreading her wings. She didn't want to waste time staring the Equestrian Scrafty down. She just wanted her necklace back as she flew over the cliff, pursuing the regional variant.
"Scrafty?!" The Scrafty could see the unbridled anger in Adagio's eyes. It felt like if they looked at her funny, they would be turned to ash on the spot. Speaking of Ash, he and the others followed Adagio's lead this time.
The Equestrian Scrafty quickly ran off, not engaging in battle against Adagio despite the number difference. They even slightly outnumbered Ash and everyone else here.
They gave chase to the Equestrian variants as Darkrai moved through the shadows. He moved faster than everyone else due to his advantage in the shadows. The night only boosted that advantage due to the abundance of darkness and little light around.
The Scrafty all jumped through a large tunnel cave that led to the other side of the island. But as everyone pursued the Scrafty, Ash noticed something from the side in the far distance. The second island and how some Pokemon could be seen residing there. Ash looked closely as all of the Pokemon were just stationary. But that did not matter at the moment as they all moved through the tunnel.
On the Grand Equestria.
Meanwhile, on the Grand Equestria, the rest of the guards, plus the workers on the ship were waiting for Princess Luna and her group to return so that they continue their sail towards the Sea Temple.
The remaining guards, which were fairly plentiful, stood on Watch for any potential surprise Equestrian Scrafty's that show up. But so far, none have arrived at the ship ever since the whistle sound came through.
But one guard did notice something. He took the skies, using his binoculars to try and see what was up ahead. These binoculars came with an option to see further than usual as the guard used that option.
And once he did, he saw another ship that was roughly the same size as the Grand Equestria coming this way. But not just that, but ships in the sky as well.
This was the Sunstorm, belonging to Daybreaker. And within the ships were Spitfire's group. They had found the Grand Equestria and those pursuing the Sea Temple. And they were getting close, mainly the aerial ships considering they moved faster.
"We have a problem!" The guard cried out, alerting the others. They all came to his side as he passed on the binoculars to his fellow guardstallions.
They all took turns using the specialized binoculars, witnessing the view of the Sunstorm and the aerial ships coming this way. And coming in hot. They collectively gulped, knowing how high octane this could get.
"Right now when we've stopped?!" A guard groaned.
"It's okay! We have an answer to that!" Another then moved back as all eyes were on him. "Well, I mean....the clear answer is to engage them but we can try another approach to deceive them."
"And what's that?"
"The blockade. Ash only got rid of a gap. Not the entire thing. And only Manaphy was the one to notice it. So what we can do is lure them towards the rest of the Rift Blockade and watch the unpredictable nature of the Rift work its charm."
"Oooh..." All of the guards started chatting, agreeing with the approach of this plan. While it would not conceal them from the approaching enemy, it would lead to catching them off guard.
"One of us has to go warn Princess Luna while the rest of us diverge the ship through the gap of the blockade while being near it for them to collide with it all."
"But can we do it in time?" A guard asked as another flew off to warn Princess Luna of the sudden approach.
"Not with this speed, but we could do it with the amazing strength of our Golurk."
The Glistening Island.
The group chased the Scrafty down for a few minutes. They were just as quick, if not quicker than their Unovan variants thanks to their legs. Eventually, their chase came to an end as the gang stopped near a crag area.
When they stopped, they were met with the vie of practically every single Scrafty from the island in this one spot along with the most amount of items in this sparkling island. The golden parts of the Grand Equestria could also be seen amidst the pile.
"Sweet Celestia..." Flash's jaw dropped after seeing the overwhelming size. "It's like an army of them."
"Do we have to go through all of that?!" An intimidated guard asked Princess Luna.
"If it comes down to it...So far I'm not fond of how the scene looks so far." Luna replied, gulping for a bit. "We've dealt with large groups before."
"Pika...!" Pikachu was ready as well for the worst to come. Adagio was currently thumping her hoof, staring down the Scrafty that had her necklace. She could tackle it at any moment.
But no conflict happened. Instead, the Scrafty all parted, giving way for another Scrafty to pass through. But there was something off about this Scrafty. Even more so than the Equestrian Variants as everyone would soon come to notice. They looked in awe and shock as what seemed to be the leader of the Scrafty had shown itself. It was an abnormal sight that they never thought they would see.
This Scrafty was a mixture of both Unovan and Equestrian. One half of it was Unova, the other half was Equestria but it was abysmal. It looked uneven and unbalanced, similar to how chocolate sometimes melts to this side. This Scrafty looked to be in pain as it stood there with sadness in its eyes, despite Equestrian Scrafty's cheeky smile.
"Oh my goodness!" Luna exclaimed as the guards were frozen in fear.
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Adagio felt like hurling as she turned around. She ran to a nearby bush, just in case.
"What the...Both of them?" Ash uttered at the sight of this Scrafty.
"Pikachu?!"
"Scrafty. Scra-Scrafty." The mixture Scrafty spoke to Ash and the others with a combination of both its standard and regional form.
"What's it saying, Darkrai?" Ash asked for a translation.
"He said that he's glad that we've shown up Darkrai translated."
"Glad? How so?" Luna turned to her partner.
"Ty. Scrafty."
"Because we're the only ones to ever make it this far without running away." Darkrai continued the translation further on. Adagio didn't quite hurl but she was on the verge of doing so. She used a spell to temporarily block out her view in the meanwhile. "And it seems that whistling came from the Scrafty over there."
"Just...Ugh..." Adagio groaned, still shuddering from the sight. "Just tell them to hand over my necklace. And everything else I guess."
"Scrafty-Scraf."
"He says that now that we're all here, they're requesting our help. All of us." Darkrai pointed at himself and then later at the entire group. They were all ready to listen closely, but not Adagio. She just wanted her mother's heirloom back.
"Help, huh? What do they need help with?" asked Ash.
"If it's about the body then understandable," Luna whispered to Darkrai and Ash.
"Scrafty-Scrafty."
"You're right about the body. But it's not just for him. It's for all the Scrafty." Darkrai said before floating over to the mixture Scrafty to speak with him further. "They all want to return to normal. It seems that they don't wish to be like this."
"Scrafty." All of the Scrafty said in unison. Indeed, despite their smiles, they did not wish to be in these forms. These penny-pinching forms. Usually, most if not all Pokemon enjoy their alternate forms. But not these Pokemon.
"I get it." Ash snapped his finger. "Did the Rift blockade force everyone else that almost came here back because it messed with them?"
"Scrafty." He nodded in confirmation. Thanks to Ash, this group was the first and only to ever arrive here without being unable to pass through the blockade without something happening. "Scraf-Scraf."
"He also says that it was the volcano that did this to them." Darkrai turned to Ash and the others, revealing to them of how the Scrafty became like this.
It was obvious that Rift magic was responsible for this. Much like the few Equestrian Pokemon that exist or have existed. But they would've thought the blockade in the water was the cause. Not the volcano.
"They came to this island from the one separate to it. Right there." Darkrai pointed his claw at the neighbour island, explaining the story he had heard. "For an extra place to live in case something went wrong. But, when they showed up here, the Rift Volcano was already active. The result was a furious outburst of Rift Magma that flooded the entire island in seconds."
"Oh my..." Luna made a silent gasp.
"But, strangely, the magma didn't affect the land. Instead, it only targeted the Scrafty. Once it showered and flooded them, they were all turned to their Equestrian Variants. And with this, they gained the undesirable greed to obtain anything valuable. Shiny things to be exact. But this Scrafty over here managed to resist it, resulting in this."
"Scrafty." The main Scrafty sighed, continuing to explain things further.
"They haven't been able to return to their original island nearby since their greed has been blocking them from doing so. Only the main Scrafty can keep them from going too far and bring them back with the whistle he makes."
"But you guys could go out of the island. We saw it." Shining Armor stepped forward. "Why not go back to the island, it's not too far from what we've seen."
"Ty..." He lowered his head.
"They can't. Because the Rift Volcano orders them not to." After Darkrai dropped that revelation, even Adagio's attention was slightly grabbed. "It's alive. Speaking to them. It even has authority over this main Scrafty."
"A volcano that's alive...?" A guard sighed, removing his helmet. "Why do we even bother being surprised at this point?"
"This Rift Volcano told them to gather as many valuable objects as they could and sacrifice them to it. Only then would the volcano revert them to their Unovan forms. But...that has not happened yet, has it?" Darkrai turned to the Scrafty.
"Getting tricked by a volcano...Isn't that something? A guard asked.
"I told you, we shouldn't bother." The other guard shook his head, accepting everything as unusual now.
"Clearly, the volcano's only playing them. They haven't returned to their original forms yet and have been kept away from their family and friends for a year now. It even seems that this volcano has a high-level of mind control."
"Then that settles it!" Ash didn't have to hear anything else. Everything he's heard already made his mind clear. "Scrafty. Don't you worry..."
"Scrafty?" They looked at Ash.
"We'll get you back to that island and to the rest of your family and friends. And we'll stop that Rift Volcano and make you look like your Unovan selves again."
"Pikachu."
"Mana-Mana."
"Adagio, if you wish to-" Luna spoke to Adagio, expecting her to avoid this.
"It's fine." Adagio paused Luna, however. "I'm still peeved about my necklace. But I can't ignore anything that has to do with Family." She was in, offering to assist the Scrafty. "But I am gonna need my necklace back before it gets tossed in that lava. Now."
"And I can fight back against the mind control with my Aura. Everyone just come close for a moment." Ash encouraged the group to come closer to him so that he can break the control.
"Princess Luna!" Showing up just now after flying high in the skies was one of the guards. Luna and a few others looked up to see the guard. "We have trouble! An enemy ship is approaching! I believe they're aware of our ship!"
"Wait there!" The Princess of the Night shouted before lowering her voice. "Let's hurry and at least break the mind control first."
"Right. Here goes." Ash was ready to do what he could. But as soon as he went to try and affect the Scrafty, the volcano reacted.
A mighty outburst could be heard across the island, making the ground shake. The Rift Volcano was aware of Ash's Aura and how much of a threat it posed. Aura was too strong to ignore. So, the volcano took action, increasing the power of its mind control on the Scrafty.
"Ty...Scrafty!" One Scrafty attacked Ash suddenly, using Brick Break on his chest when he wasn't expecting it.
"Gouh!" Ash cried out before being knocked back. Scrafty in this form still keeps tremendous strength. And it showed as Ash rolled on the ground.
"Ash!" They all cried out as Pikachu stood in front of the Scrafty with his red sacs flaring. Soon, everyone saw how the Scrafty had turned against them.
But not of their own will. The will of the Rift Volcano. Their eyes were all glowing blue and purple as they stood before Ash's group with intimidating malice. The main Scrafty tried whistling to get to them, but it was no use.
The volcano's mind control had been strengthened to a point where not even the boss could command them all. That was one of Scrafty's worst nightmares.
"This creates a problem...!" Luna growled, knowing that there were two problems now. The enemy ship that was approaching and this.
None of this was expected. But something was to be expected when going on an adventure in the Pokemon Word. Getting to the Sea Temple was not easy. Not in the slightest. There were bound to be challenges in the way. And this was one of them.
The team are now faced with the incoming forces of Daybreaker and Empress Twilight combined while facing off against an alive Rift Volcano and Scrafty that were under its control as the journey continues.
A sentient volcano. One influenced by the cosmic power of the Rift. On this island, this volcano had affected the Scrafty that once came here to find a new home, but were turned into their Equestrian variants against their will, unable to return to the neighbour island nearby.
Their only hope for help was Ash's group consisting of Ash himself, Pikachu, Princess Luna, Adagio Dazzle Shining Armor, Flash Sentry and a few Canterlot and Crystal Emire guards. To free them from this island and these unwanted forms so that they can return to the rest of their family and friends.
However, the scenario was not favourable to anyone right now. The volcano, knowing of how dangerous Ash was because of Aura, further used mind control on the Equestrian Scrafty to fend him and the rest off. Even the head Scrafty, who was a mixture of a Unovan and Equestrian Scrafty merged together after some resistance, could no longer control them with his whistling.
And what's worse, Daybreaker and Empress Twilight's forces were approaching, also searching for the Sea Temple. They were approaching the Grand Equestria ship ever so.
"Ugh..." Ash held his stomach after receiving a powerful surprise gut punch from one of the Equestrian Scrafty. The guards helped him up afterwards as the rumbling of the volcano could be heard.
"Pikapi!"
"I'm fine, Pikachu." Ash groaned. "But man, they've still got the original Scrafty's awesome strength. Okay. Now we just have to finish this before we do anything else."
"Stopping the volcano is the only way we can break their control and put an end to this," Darkrai said as everyone backed up away from the mind-controlled Scrafty.
"How do we stop a volcano exactly?" A guard asked.
"It's a Rift Volcano. Everything about it is Rift-related. Meaning that Ash's Aura is the clear answer." said Shining Armor. "But using it against a volcano sounds risky. Even for you, Ash."
"I know. I'm gonna have to get up close and personal with that volcano." Ash tightened his gloves. "Never touched lava before other than a Magcargo. So this'll be something."
"Scrafty! Scrafty-Scra!" The head Scrafty tried reasoning with his family and friends, in hopes of getting to them. He stood in front of them all, doing his best to whistle them out of this control.
But it was no use. The volcano had shut him off. In response to Scrafty's plea, an Equestrian Scrafty had used Dark Pulse, hitting the mixture Scrafty head-on and sending flying. "Scra!"
"Listen, all of you." Luna grabbed their attention. "I will go and deal with our incoming enemies. The rest of you, make a path for Ash to reach the volcano."
Luna gave them their orders. The only way Ash was going to get past all of these Equestrian Scrafty and to the volcano was with the assistance of his friends. For that to happen, Darkrai had used Dark Void, shooting an orb of darkness into the air. Afterwards, the orb shot out smaller orbs that started rapidly flying out across the area.
Dark Void was the way to go as many of the orbs struck their targets, putting the Equestrian Scrafty into slumbers instantly. That allowed Ash and Pikachu to start moving while some of the Scrafty were dropping to the flies like grounds.
"Scrafty!" But there were still some Scrafty that had not been hit by the Dark Void. A few of them got in Ash's way, using various Water and Dark-Type moves to try and stop him.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu quickly stopped any of these attacks from harming his best friend with his signature Thunderbolt. He leapt into the air, cancelling the attacks with 100,000 volts. But not only did he cancel them out, but he also made the bolt continue, shocking the Scrafty in front of him.
"Scra!" The Scrafty felt the 100,000 volts pass through them. Before, Ash and everyone figured out that Equestrian variants do not change their typings even when transformed. However, when Thunderbolt hit the Scrafty, it looked as if super-effective damage had been done on them.
Ash and Pikachu then ran past the fallen Scrafty, advancing towards the volcano. The Scrafty split up into two groups dealing with Shining Armor and the others while another goes for Ash and Pikachu.
On the Grand Equestria.
Meanwhile, the Grand Equestria was starting to move. The plan was to lure the incoming enemies towards the Rift Blockade that was underwater. And the way to do that was to put the Grand Equestria near the blockade.
This was a challenge since the ship was closing in and the aerial ships move faster than it. however, the Golurk belonging to the royal guards were utilizing their amazing strength to move this ship faster. But, they could not ignore the ships that were above.
A few Golurk had taken to the skies, deciding to face the incoming airships while their brethren move the Grand Equestria as hard as they could. "Golurk!"
"Hm?" One of the pilots witnessed the Golurk in the distance. A good handful of them filling the skies. "They already know we're here. Those Golurk things are in the sky." He passed the message onto the other pilots in the sky along with the rest inside of the Sunstorm. "Should we engage?"
"Do so. But do it with a surprise." Spitfire, the one in charge of them, gave the order for them to engage. With that, the pilots in the air were prepared to do so.
However, they weren't using the weapons these ships had to offer. Instead, a hatch opened from the side of the ships. And out of them, Poke Balls could be seen flying out. The guards and the Golurk gasped, surprised to see Poke Balls suddenly flying through the air.
And out of the Poke Balls, Pokemon had emerged. Mainly Skarmory, Golbat and Mandibuzz. No one was expecting them to have Pokemon of their own.
"They have Pokemon?!" A guard gasped. "Since when?!"
"Does it matter?!" Another guard dismissed that question before focusing on the approaching enemies. "Just stop them before anything escalates too much!"
"Golurk!" The Golurk flew forward, approaching the incoming Flying-Types. At the same time, Luna, via the usage of teleportation, had shown up to the Grand Equestria for assistance.
The plan to lure them into the blockade was still underway. They had yet to see the Rift Blockade that was underwater and were unaware of why the rest of the Golurk were moving the ship.
"How are things?!" Luna asked the moment she arrived, looking in the distance.
"Nothing too extreme yet, your majesty. But, they seem to have Pokemon of their own as well. We don't think they're aware of the blockade underwater."
"Let's keep it that way. Give us all the time we need until Ash can stop the volcano and save the Scrafty." Luna ordered before taking out more Poke Balls with her magic. Some extra assistance was required as Darkrai popped out of the shadows.
Luna had sent out Gliscor, Frillish, Musharna and Aurorus to do what they can. "All of you! Keep them busy!" The Princess of the Night pointed her hoof up at the sky.
All of her Pokemon took action. Those that could fly or levitate such as Darkrai, Gliscor, Frillish and Musharna, went over to be beside the Golurk. Aurorus, while unable to fly, was a perfect Pokemon against Flying-Type Pokemon.
Very soon, there was a feud happening within the skies. The Golurk were using various punch-based Pokemon moves as the opposing Flying-Types preferred to stay back and keep it ranged.
As for the Grand Equestria, thanks to the great strength of the Golurk, it was getting close to that blockade. All they needed to was rely on their allies to keep their enemies occupied for a bit,
Meanwhile, inside of the ship, Tempest Shadow and the others went to the upper deck, witnessing the scuffle in the night sky. They weren't bothered by how things were going so far. If anything, they were confident in how things would turn out for them.
"They're up to something..." Tempest narrowed her eyes, noticing the Golurk moving the Grand Equestria. "Why would they need those things to move the ship? Unless..."
"Hold on a sec." Spitfire would take things from here. Mainly seeing why they were moving the ship in the first place. And she would do so with the glasses she had on.
The glasses weren't just for show. They were magical. By just simply adjusting them, an orangish glow flowed and exuded out of the mystical accessory. The glasses could not only zoom in at great distances, far surpassing binoculars, but they even worked similarly to Luxray's X-Ray eyes, but with heat-seeking and other things instead.
Spitfire saw them pushing the ship near the neighbour island, but seemingly not all the way. However, she then wondered if it had something to do with the underwater. That's when she sensed something potent. The glasses were picking up Rift Magic. Not just from the Glittering Island, but underwater.
She saw the Rift blockade and its multitude of cube assortments, residing in the seas of Unova. Spitfire had found the reason for the Golurk and their actions. She then gave the glasses for Tempest to see. And soon, Tempest Shadow witnessed the blockade, plus the gap as well.
"Oh, that's smart," Tempest said, impressed with their plan. "But I guess they didn't account for if the result would be good or bad for us if we touch the blockade."
"Can't risk it." Spitfire shook her head. "It could be 50/50 for not just our ships but everyone involved. Unless we pass through that gap."
"You handle things from here." Tempest stepped forward. "I'll just create a small divergence to throw them off their game for a bit. And make sure it's them that hit the blockade. And maybe this will be of some use."
Tempest had then revealed the Nightmare Rarity magic given to her by Daybreaker. She made the magic appear from her horn as she was temporarily using it. One usage of this magic and that was it. She wouldn't be able to tap into it due to its exclusivity.
"You know you don't order me around." Spitfire pointed her hoof at herself. "I'm a commander like you."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Tempest just shrugged before using her magic to levitate into the air. Spitfire scoffed before getting to work. Spitfire quickly communicated with her group via an earpiece. "All of you. Switch the ships to their sea variant. We're taking a new approach."
From that command, the pilots on the ships suddenly had them transform. Not only were they fit for the skies, but even the sea. They took on slightly longer shapes while losing their jet pats as they went inside of the ships. Afterwards, they descended to the sea, becoming capable of moving through the deep blue.
"Gol?" A Golurk tried grabbing one of the ships, only for it to drop and enter the water. As for Tempest, she evaded the aerial battle completely, not getting caught up in it. She preferred to do things on the surface. And she would do so once she landed on the surface of the ship.
"Hm?" Luna quickly turned around after the sound of hooves touching the upper deck were made. There, she saw the commander of a special group arriving at the scene. "And who are you?" Luna questioned as a Focus Blast went off in the distance, lighting up the ship and everyone below for a few seconds before fading.
"Princess Luna. Last time I saw you, I turned you to stone." Tempest said with a menacing smirk that put Luna on guard. "In my world, of course. But you were set free afterwards. Then it was right to the moon years later."
"If you're trying to intimidate me, that won't work." Luna scoffed. Aurorus quickly got in front of Luna for protection. She was the only Pokemon of hers currently on the surface. Everyone else was a bit occupied.
However, unlike the others, Tempest did not have a Pokemon with her at the moment. Instead, she would just her natural skills. Which was arguably just as intimidating. Tempest knew that Manaphy was not on board, so there was no reason to be gentle. If he was, then that would've held her back. They need Manaphy after all.
Drawing Luna's attention was not Tempest at the moment. It was quickly switched to the approaching Flying-Types and how the Golurk from the sides were being attacked by something below the water.
"Gol!" The Golurk pushing the ship had been given a sneak attack from below the water, halting the pushing process. Not only that, but the Golurk crashed onto the ship after this surprise attack, making it tremble.
"Oh!" Luna gasped, almost losing her balance along with Aurorus and a few others. The force that had attacked them were the same ships that had transformed. No one expected them to move in the water as well. Only the skies.
"Manaphy isn't here, looks like."Then it's probably either one of those islands, right?"
"You won't get to Manaphy when we're here! Aurorus, Aurora Beam!" Luna ordered while also using her magic. In unison, two beams came flying out. One that had the colours of the aura and the other colours of the night sky.
But instead of using magic to either form a counter beam or a shield, Tempest relied only on her physical skills. AKA, her athleticism. And she was profound in it. With just a jump alone, she managed to evade the dual beams easily.
Luna and Aurorus gasped, witnessing her stellar leap. She wasn't an earth pony with powerful hooves, so this jump was more impressive to them. "She can jump..." Luna gawked.
"Skarmory!" A Skarmory cried out, flying by as Tempest perfectly landed on the back of the Armor Bird Pokemon, temporarily using it for the meantime.
"Use Flash Cannon," Tempest ordered.
"Skar...Mor!" Out of its mouth, a beam of silver energy raced out of the Steel-Flying-Type towards Aurorus.
"Ro!" Aurorus had been hit instantly, staggering and taking super-effective damage as she almost fell on her back. The Flash Cannon even grazed Luna's mane, clipping three strands of it off as the Princess of the Night moved to the side.
"Aurorus!" Luna gasped. But she didn't have to worry. Despite the super-effective hit on the Rock-Ice-Type, Aurorus was still standing strong. She was a fairly bulky Pokemon after all.
"Was hoping that would keep you both out of commission for a bit," said Tempest as she knew this wouldn't be so easy. Then again, Tempest is confident in her skills of being a great distraction. But against someone as composed as Luna, that can prove to be an issue.
"Hah!" Spitfire, from far away, taunted Tempest SHadow without her knowing. "Small divergence she said. I'll show her how to make a proper divergence."
The Glittering Island.
Ash was heading for the Rift Volcano as Equestrian Scrafty from across the island were chasing him down, making sure that he would not reach it. He came across the massive tunnel cave that he and the others had passed through previously when first visiting this island.
"Scrafty!" One of the Scrafty emerged from below using Dig, attempting to headbutt Ash.
"Pika!" But Pikachu quickly slapped the Equestrian Scrafty away with a swift Iron Tail to the head, clearing the way for Ash. The duo then rushed to the tunnel cave they came through, moving as fast they could.
But the Scrafty, thanks to their increased natural speed in this new form, were right behind them. A few Scrafty had used Water-Type moves, shooting them through the tunnel cave that immediately started flooding it.
"Pika?!" Pikachu gasped as he and Ash turned around. Moving through this tunnel was already fairly tough since it was steep and went upwards, but dealing with a flood was no good either.
It didn't help that Scrafty had fired Water-Type attacks from both directions. From above the tunnel and underneath the downwards slope that it ended at, essentially blocking Ash.
"Not good!" Ash growled as he was thinking of a way to counteract this.
"Sacred Sword!"
"Slash!" But with the shout of Shining Armor's voice and the cry of Aegislash, the tunnel had been cut in half perfectly by the Royal Sword Pokemon.
And just in time too. Right as the water was getting close, the tunnels higher part had been sliced and dropped with the water falling with it as well. Now there was only one side filled with water, keeping Ash safe. Shining Armor could be seen riding on Aegislash. Aegislash was bigger than him and could float, so it was an easy option.
"You're okay, Ash! Pikachu! Head to that volcano, quick!" Shining Armor exclaimed.
"Thanks, Shining! Aegislash!" Ash and Pikachu thanked them before rushing through the tunnel. They just had to jump from the edge of it to reach the higher parts of the island. And Ash and Pikachu could definitely make the jump.
"Scrafty!" The opposing Scrafty were still in the way, aiming to attack Ash before he could make the jump.
"King's Shield!"
"Aegis!" But, once again, protecting them both was Aegislash. He put out his shield, forming a barrier that had instantly blocked all of the incoming Pokemon attacks, giving Ash the time to leap.
And he certainly did leap. Just as well as Tempest. He leapt a great distance, landing on the higher part of the land. And he didn't slow down once he made his landing. Not even for a second. The Rift Volcano was near as he immediately started running ahead with the Scrafty turning around.
But Shining Armor and Aegislash would have their attention in the meanwhile.
He was close to the Rift Volcan considering it wasn't too far. And the volcano knew about this. It could sense Ash approaching and how Shining Armor and the guards were perfectly dealing with the controlled Equestrian Scrafty. Thanks to Darkrai using Dark Void earlier, it put them all at a major advantage against the Scrafty.
So, to try and make sure Ash does not get close and succeed, the volcano decided to erupt, sending out actual lava instead of Rift Lava. A gigantic stream of Magma rose into the air, threatening to drown and melt Ash and Pikachu as it rained down.
"Pidgeot! Twister!"
"Pidgeot!" But also coming to their rescue were Flash Sentry and Pidgeot. Pidgeot flapped his wings, creating a draconic tornado that had caught the streams of magma. Pidgeot then redirected them in a different direction afterwards.
But there was still more magma. Luckily, some of the guards had Golurk, who resisted all things fire-related. The Golurk got together, using their Ground-Typings to counteract the magma. They barely flinched after being bombarded by it.
Ash was backed by his friends all the way through. No matter what. He continued on his way with all the support he needed. Although, Adagio had yet to be seen. But she had something to try and help Ash with.
Adagio arrived at the scene, witnessing all of the Scrafty being occupied with Shining Armor, Flash Sentry and the rest of the guards with their Pokemon. But there were still so many Scrafty around the island that it was overwhelming.
"There's no way they can stop all of them with these numbers," said Adagio, observing the scene as Pidegot was only narrowingly evading attacks from the air. Even Aegislash could only use King Shield for so long. "What can I do?"
She thought long and hard. She mostly wanted her necklace back. But, as she thought, one memory came to mind. A memory that sparked within Adagio's mind. Words that Celestia had said a while back that Adagio promised to abide by.
"The Want-it-Need-it spell is so powerful that it must only be used at necessary instances. Using it recklessly could result in unbridled anarchy. Use it when you need to truly rely on it."
That time was now.
And Adagio knew of the perfect object to cast the spell on. "Hopefully this counts as the right time, Princess Celestia." She said to herself before gazing at a tree. She immediately fired the spell towards the tree.
Instantly, all the possible affection and desire in the world had been focused onto the tree. But Adagio knew that she only needed the Scrafty to notice it. Once the tree was affected, she took the skies, flying towards Shining Armor and the others.
"Hey!" Adagio cried out to them, grabbing their attention. She quickly zapped a Scrafty out of the way with her magic before reaching Shining Armor. "All of you. Keep moving right now. I cast the Want-it-Need-it spell just now."
"Wait...that spell?!" Shining Armor gasped.
"Yes! Now don't look at the tree behind me. Let's lure them in. And close your eyes too." Adagio suggested. The user cannot be affected by the spell thankfully.
"Close your eyes and follow me!" Shining Armor relayed this message to the guards. They followed his order, closing their eyes as they were unaware of the spell at the moment.
As for the Scrafty, they followed after them. The ponies had their eyes closed along with their Pokemon. All except for Golurk. They were safe. Not only could Golurk not close their eyes at all, but since moves like Attract do not work on them, the Automaton Pokemon were free to move without special conditions.
The same could not be said about the Scrafty. Because the moment they turned around, their eyes were captured by the view of this simple tree. Struck and smitten at first glance with heart's appearing in their eyes.
"Scraf-Scrafty..." They started gushing over the tree.
"Ty-Scrafty...."
"Scrafty-Scra-Scrafty!"
Immediately, they all swarmed towards the tree, showing massive desires for it. That had gotten them off of Ash and everyone else for the time being.
Adagio guided them all away from the vicinity of the tree. Once they were far enough, they could open their eyes freely. However, Adagio could not reverse the spell. Only Luna had the power to do so. And she was occupied at the moment.
Finally, Ash had arrived at the same area the Rift Volcano could be found. He slid down the cliff with Pikachu staying on the cliff, gently as he could as the ferocious sounds of the Rift Volcano could be heard up close.
"Okay...Getting close and touching lava." Ash took a deep breath. "This is gonna be something. You stay back there, Pikachu! Just in case!"
"Pika-Pika!"
Ash then approached the Rift Volcano, seeing blue magma spurt out of it and land on the ground. The colours gave the area a beautiful blue and purple glow, matching well with the night sky.
But as soon as he got close to it, the volcano spoke to Ash, catching him by surprise. "Don't you come any closer, boy."
"Huh...You can talk?" Ash gawked before shaking his head. Now that he knew that the Rift Volcano could talk, he speak clearly with it and get some answers maybe. "Why are you doing this? To the Scrafty?"
"Do you truly need a reason as to why I do this?"
"Huh?"
"I'm a Rift Creation. I have no rhyme or reason for the things I do. I just do. I know about you, Ash Ketchum. Just by reading into your Aura."
"You do, huh? So is that how you bribed the Scrafty to think they could be safe here?" Ash growled.
"Correct. But you should also know that every Rift Creation you've met so far is the same. We all only exist to cause scenarios. Good or bad. There are no morals involved. Neither are there motivations for any Creation of the Rift. Entertainment is all that matters."
"Yeah, right!" Ash snapped back at the volcano. "Maybe not before...but I've got friend's who are Rift Ponies that have motivation in them. Cold has a lot and he can't even choose which one...Jade's already found her motivation and it's staying here and being friends with all of us. Maybe not you, but they have."
"Say what you will. But I'm just another obstacle in the way for you to overcome, isn't that right? Except I'll make it so that none can overcome me. Not even you."
"We'll see about that." Ash stayed strong, tightening his gloves as his Aura was showing.
"You're a brave one, Ash Ketchum. You've faced some daring things in your life. But have you ever dealt with cosmic magma?!" The volcano erupted, sending a giant wave of cosmic magma towards Ash to melt him once more.
"Oh!" Ash gasped, quickly summoning Sir Aaron's staff and letting the Aura around him flow. Right on time as the magma had consumed him like everyday magma would. Ash's body was coated, but that didn't stop the Rift Volcano from grabbing him.
"PIKAPI!" Pikachu cried out, witnessing Ash being consumed by the magma. Shining Armor and the others had just arrived at the scene to see this horrifying scenario.
"ASH!" They all shouted in shock. Even Adagio couldn't but scream as well. Once the magma was pulled back, Ash was nowhere to be seen. Not his hat, jacket or even the staff of Sir Aaron.
From what they had witnessed, Ash had been melted. However, Shining Armor, being the perceptive fellow that he was, noticed something. Since there was not a physical body after the magma and nothing resulted in a skeleton, that only meant one thing.
"There's no skeleton! Ash is still around!" Shining Armor exclaimed as that restored some hoe in Pikachu's heart.
"B-But where? I don't see him anywhere..." Flash Sentry stuttered, unaware of where Ash could be. But there was only one possible conclusion.
An area that was unknown. This was where Ash had awoken after being swallowed up by the Rift Volcano's cosmic magma. Thanks to his Aura and Sir Aaron's staff, he had been shielded from harm.
"Huh?!" Once he awoke, he got to see this unknown area for himself. However, with just a few seconds of head movements and spectating, it may be unknown, but its appearance matched a common thing in every universe.
Space.
"I'm in...space?" Ash uttered, gazing at the cosmos. He then realized that he was currently breathing despite being in space. Plus, he was floating with control. He even felt something below his feet. He looked down to see that he was standing as a galaxy that acted as a platform.
Ash could move on this galaxy as he was surprisingly bigger than it. That's what also threw him off. He was bigger than the stars around him, bigger than the planets and even bigger than the galaxy he stood on. He felt like a giant. There were other galaxies acting as platforms scattered everywhere.
But, instead of taking the time to explore this cosmic area, Ash remembered how he ended up here. He recalled the cosmic magma swallowing him previously. Pikachu was out there. But still with Ash was his other Poke Balls, meaning the rest of his Pokemon were present in this space.
"Yeah. I got swallowed up by it. But how come I'm in a place like this?"
"You shouldn't have survived." Just then, the Rift Volcano started speaking to Ash with its voice echoing throughout the cosmos.
"I'm way more stubborn than you think I am," Ash smirked. "What is this place anyway? Actual space?"
"Not at all. Right now, you are inside of me. This the inside of a Rift Creation as you can see."
"An inside of a Rift Creation?!" Ash gasped.
"The Rift Ponies and Humans you know are the same. Inside of every Rift Creation, there is their own mini-universe, burning within them. Similar to the Pokemon. But no one else has been in this area before. The fact that you are the first is worrying. You're a troublesome one, Ash Ketchum."
"Yeah, I get that a lot. Anyway, thanks for the neat fact about Rift Creations. But I'm still gonna stop you and free the Scrafty." He adjusted his hat.
"Then you'll just end up perishing within these cosmos." Responding to Ash's declaration, the Rift Volcano had made the stars and planets move, shooting them towards Ash.
"Lucario! Dragonite! Gengar! I choose you!" Acting quick on his feet, Ash had sent out his Lucario, Gengar and Dragonite for assistance. Once they emerged, the Aura Pokemon, Shadow Pokemon and Dragon Pokemon obliterated these planets and stars with Aura Sphere, Shadow Ball and Hyper Beam.
"Let's get ourselves out of here. Maybe I use my Aura from inside." Ash figured that using Aura within what was essentially the volcano's internal area, he could break free. A star came his way. A fairly massive one while also moving ridiculously fast.
Ash gasped before moving away from it. Soon, all of them started moving fast as a rain of stars started approaching in numbers equivalent to the number of stars in the night sky.
"Come on!" Ash exclaimed to his Pokemon. Standing around wasn't the safest option right now. He and his Pokemon dashed off as the rain of stars chased after them.
"Lu!" But not without some retaliation. Turning around, Lucario lobbed an array of Aura Spheres at some of the stars, blowing them up. And this time, their explosions were bigger, causing something akin to a supernova. Multiple of them.
Constant star explosions were going off each time Lucario, Gengar and Dragonite took one out. The planets either crumbled or were obliterated by the combustion of stars.
"Here goes!" Ash put his arm out, summoning Sir Aaron's staff as it had enlarged. He gripped the staff before letting his Aura flow out of him. And much like a flame to a wound, it burned the volcano from the inside.
The Aura expanded, growing due to the influence of Sir Aaron's staff. The Rift Volcano could feel the Aura breaking its internal area down gradually. Every star that rained down were promptly halted due to what the Rift Volcano was feeling. Ash's Aura burned.
"I-I can't lose to you!" The Rift Volcano rumbled, feeling the burn of Aura.
And the staff only emphasized it. The damage done to it was so unbearable the space itself was starting to crack. Not wanting Ash to break free, the Rift Volcano was doing everything in its power to stop him. However, most of its power could be done on the outside, not the inside. There was only so much it could do internally.
But there was one thing it could do. With all of its internal power, the Rift Volcano decided to form some of the stars together to push back against Ash's Aura with a little bit of Rift added in there. What followed was a collision of two forces. Nothing out of the ordinary. This wasn't the first time Aura and the Rift have met with each other.
And it certainly won't be the last.
Ash came to a screeching halt. But not with his will. He was trying to move forward, only for something to keep him at bay. But Ash was resilient. That much is known. He allowed his Aura to move him forward. But with assistance.
"Gengar!" Gengar used Psychic to give Ash that extra push. Lucario and Dragonite chimed in, pushing Ash on his back with all of their force in every muscle they had. If Ash could keep the Aura going strong for a while, then he could break himself free soon.
However, all this amalgamation of forces was becoming unstable the Rift Volcano and even Ash as well. So much so that at the very centre of this mini-universe, something had been revealed. A bubble in space had popped, revealing something that shined brighter than all the stars in the area.
Everything stopped as Ash and his Pokemon had witnessed this new sight. A heart that constantly swivelled with various lights exuding out of it. Inside of the heart was an orb. All attention was drawn towards it immediately. And Ash could only wonder.
"What is that?"
"Stay away from that!" The voice of the volcano roared, making the universe shake. Clearly, this heart was of great importance. Ash could feel the radiance illuminating from it as there was a connection being made.
Ash could feel the enigmatic phenomenon glistening from this heart. It felt like it was speaking to him. He instantly realized what it was. Something that every Rift Creation had. "This is your heart."
The Glittering Island. Nightfall.
Due to everything pausing within the Rift Volcano, outside, the magma stopped flowing as well. To the point where it was motionless. Frozen. Seeing magma just sit there without any sound or motion was bizarre.
Especially to the eyes of Pikachu, Shining Armor, Adagio Dazzle, Flash Sentry, the other four guards and their Pokemon. Right after they witnessed the Rift Volcano consume Ash, now they had seen this.
"It stopped. Can magma do that?" Flash Sentry asked.
"No." Adagio gave a straightforward answer with an honest head shake. This is not possible in any way, shape or form. Unless it involves the Rift then anything is possible.
"What should we do?" A guard asked Shining Armor. "Should we-"
"Pika!" But Pikachu didn't want to stand around while Ash and his teammates were in danger. He immediately approached the frozen volcano, aiming to do something.
"Pikachu, wait!" Shining Armor held his hoof out. But there was no convincing Pikachu. Not when it came to his best friends. And Shining Armor knew this Manaphy looked, wondering what she could do to help. But nothing she could do would work.
"Chu...Pika!" To test things out, Pikachu used Iron Tail, slamming it onto the motionless magma. He was hoping to crack it, but it was to no avail. However, Pikachu refused to give up. He kept slamming his tail onto the magma before using Thunderbolt.
"Hey. Hey!" Adagio went up to Pikachu, stopping his efforts. "None of that is working, okay? Your friend is gonna be free like that."
"Pikachu..." Pikachu's ears dropped as Manaphy went to comfort him.
"Mana. Mana-Mana."
"But he should be in there somewhere. The magma stopping must mean he's done something crazy again. Otherwise, this volcano would've attacked us by now." Adagio observed.
"Alright. Gather the parts of the ship that were stolen while the volcano's like this." Shining Armor ordered. "And we'll assist Princess Luna and the others back at the Grand Equestria. Let's put our faith in Ash to get out of there."
"Manaphy!" Manaphy thought of one way to gather some help. It was hard to say but it was all she could think of. The Scrafty that had managed to resist the Rift Volcano and became a mixture of Unovan and Equestria. She bounced into the air, going for the nearest body of water, but obviously, away from the ships.
The Grand Equestria.
It wasn't looking too easy here either. Luna was currently struggling against Tempest Shadow, who was currently jumping from Pokemon to Pokemon, using them to her advantage. All the while, the Grand Equestria was a prime target for the Rift Blockade.
"Gliscor!" Gliscor, being an expert in the skies, was even finding some trouble here and there. The mobility of these ships was comparable to his. Musharna was floating around, trying to see what dreams she could eat. She didn't have many attacking moves but thanks to Darkrai's Dark Void, Dream Eater could work its magic.
"Darkrai! Dark Void!" Luna commanded as all of her Pokemon were still active. Darkrai threw his Dark Void over at Tempest Shadow who was currently on the back of a Mandibuzz.
"Brave Bird."
"Mandi!" Mandibuzz cawed, zooming through the skies with an orange aura covering her. She evaded the Dark Void by flying underneath it, crashing into Darkrai. Along the way, Tempest had also fired magic from her horn towards Luna. Luna herself had been hit as well. Both Luna and Darkrai were knocked off their balance from the combined prowess of Mandibuzz and Tempest
"Ugh!" Luna groaned. "Aurorus, Aurora Beam!"
"Aurorus!" But she still had Aurorus who was down here with her. The Rock-Ice-Type unleashed an aurora-coloured beam right for the Bone Vulture Pokemon.
"Ma!" Mandibuzz was struck, taking super-effective damage as Tempest jumped off Mandibuzz at the last second. Mandibuzz had fallen after being struck by Aurora Beam. But Tempest jumped onto the next Pokemon which was another Skarmory.
"Now, Darkrai! Thunderbolt!" Darkrai placed his arms together, shooting out Thunderbolt. This time, Tempest put a shield around Skarmory, protecting it from the bolt 100,000 volts.
"This is fun but too much time is being wasted," said Tempest as Skarmory had used Air Cutter towards Darkrai. Promptly avoided them before approaching the Armor Bird Pokemon.
"Skar?!" Skarmory gasped before being met with a Dark Pulse to the face. Tempest hopped off of Skarmory at the last second once more, evading another hit. She even jumped on Darkrai's head afterwards as Skarmory had fainted.
"Gotcha!" Darkrai cried out before manipulating the shadows. He turned around, sending claws from out of the shadows to try and grab Tempest.
But one of the airships came in, ramming into Darkrai and breaking his concentration. While most of them have switched to the underwater, some of them stayed in the air.
"Darkrai!" Luna gasped as Tempest landed right in front of the Princess of the Night. Luna quickly moved back, lighting her horn up with magic. But right from behind, another Skarmory was incoming, using Iron Head at full-speed.
"Auro? Aurorus!" Aurorus stood behind Luna, acting as her shield. She had used Outrage to try and block this attack from even touching Princess Luna. She and Skarmory butted heads once the collision occurred.
As for Luna and Tempest, their horns also clashed as well. Magical auras started sparking out of them. Both had blue magical auras, but Tempest's was slightly lighter than ours.
"I wonder! Has my alternate self of this universe been discovered yet?" Tempest questioned while trying to push Luna back.
"Not that I know of! And if I do come across her, hopefully, she'll be less of a hooffull than you!" Luna retorted.
"So not yet, eh? Good. When the time comes for your universe to be conquered, I'll be her personal trainer. A dynamic duo of the same pony. A shame that out of all the possibilities so far, you don't get that special chance?"
"What do you mean by that exactly?" Luna growled as she was starting to push back on Tempest.
"In every universe that we've travelled to so far, there is none with Princess Luna having a promising future. Only Nightmare Moon at best. Sounds to me like you're doomed to be under the shadow of your big sister and only capable of reaching greater heights as the pony you despise being. How fun is that?" Tempest chuckled, mocking Luna for her shortcomings.
"Why you...!" Luna's anger was being exuded. And with this anger, Lunar Ire was slowly starting t emerge as Luna's eyes were glowing. However, despite this taunting, Luna was a strong-willed pony. Much more than she was before. "No!" She shouted, rejecting Lunar Ire from appearing once more.
She even used a bit of her Royal Canterlot Voice, pushing Tempest away and ending the horn struggle. Tempest shook her head, feeling a bit confounded.
Luna's body sparked dark blue as a sign of Lunar Ire, but it was promptly taken away as Aurorus pushed Skaromory away, winning in the head clash and knocking the Steel-Flying-Type out.
"Say what you want. Even I and my variants of myself live under my big sister's shadow, I can still make myself known! Without Nightmare Moon. Clearly, you haven't seen enough of my universe to know just what I've forged my own path to where I and my sister can truly shine. Along with my Pokemon. That's my universe"
Tempest was slightly intimidated by this. She couldn't quite get to Luna's head. Due to the current time and how she's developed ever since last year, Luna's resolve was as strong as Cobalion.
"Talk about scary..." Tempest uttered under her breath. "But it's not a big deal. I've played my part. Our advantage came from the sea instead of the skies."
"What?" Luna had an eyebrow-raising moment before seeing Tempest nudge her head to the side. Indeed, Tempest was just there to buy time and maybe affect Manaphy with the small amount of Nightmare Rarity magic she had currently. But that part wasn't coming to fruition.
Except for the first one. Underwater, the ships have been interacting with the Grand Equestria this entire time. Frillish was knocked out of the water by what seemed to be an electric shock.
"Frill!"
"Frillish!" Luna gasped, catching Frillish in her hooves. The Floating Pokemon was twitching with static around his body. It looked like an Electric-Type was responsible for this. However, so far, all the opposing Pokemon have been Flying-Types.
But in reality, the ships underwater were the cause of it, emitting an electrical surge via one of the many weapons they had. But that wasn't the only weapon they had. Right now, the Grand Equestria was being pulled towards the Rift Blockade.
Not by the Golurk, but by the ships and their magnetic weapons. The force of these magnets pulled the ship towards the blockade, even just as efficiently as the combined might of Golurk.
And du to the previous actions of the Golurk, it was the Grand Equestria that was closer to the blockade more than the Sunstorm were. The magnetism emanating from these ships seemed to also move faster than the Golurk.
And this did not spell good news for all of those onboard. Luna soon realized this. She was the only one who did since everyone else was occupied. But showing up to the scene, just now, were Shining Armor and the other guards. However, they didn't expect the ship to be slightly further away from the island.
"The blockade!" Luna gasped after realizing that the Grand Equestria was close to the blockade. "All of you, push the ship back!"
"How are you gonna do that when they're so occupied?" Tempest asked as the Golurk and guards were still dealing with more Flying-Type Pokemon at the moment. She was on the back of a Honckhrow, chuckling as she knew that Luna's group was in a rough spot right about now. Without a force to counteract the magnetic field, this was an issue.
"Princess Luna!" Shining Armor cried out, riding on Aegislash as the other guards were on their Golurk. Even if they used their Golurk to push the ships, Tempest and the others would get in the way, distracting and putting them off focus. "Is everything okay?!"
"Everything is..." Luna looked up as Tempest was being carried away by a Honchkrow. Luna didn't let Tempest throw her off guard. "Not at its best. We're even with our enemies, but the ship is headed for the blockade. We need to make a counteractive force that will steer us away from it."
"We can just have the Golurk do-" Flash Sentry was about to suggest.
"No. Not with all these foes around us. There won't be any time or focus to make it work." Luna closed her eyes, thinking as hard as she could. The power of Lunar Ire was seeping out, tempting Luna to use her.
"I'll give you enough time." Darkrai descended as he had just malfunctioned the ship in the sky that had previously rammed into him.
"Darkrai?" Luna turned to the Pitch Black Pokemon.
"Push the ships either way. I will do my best to keep them at bay. You can also try using a shield around us and away from our foes. Better to try than to do nothing, Luna. You and Equestria have taught me that." He turned to Luna while being in front of her. While it was impossible for Darkrai to smile, if he had a mouth, he would by now.
"And both of us can do something." Shining Armor referred to himself and Flash Sentry. "I only have Aegislash while Flash Sentry has a Pidgeot. They can't push but they can defend."
"Sure can." Flash and Pidgeot nodded. Aurorus, Musharna and Gliscor did the same as well.
"Pidgeo!"
"R-RIght! Thank you, Darkrai! All of you." Luna nodded with a proud smile. That steered Lunar Ire away. She then used some of her Royal Canterlot Voice to speak to everyone. "Now! Start diverging the ship at once!"
With her command, all of the Golurk ceased their battle against their opposing Pokemon, focusing on the ship. They used their flight ability as they put their hands out. All at once, the Golurk touched the Grand Equestria from one side only.
However, this meant that their opponents could attack them freely without having to worry about any retaliation. The Flying-Types and ships advanced on the Grand Equestria.
But there was defence behind it. For Luna's magical shield to protect the Gourk, she needed the enemies to be as far away from the Grand Equestria as possible. Luckily, the rest of her Pokemon, Shining Armor's and Flash Sentry's would make that possible.
"Aegislash, use Sacred Sword!"
"Pidgeot, Heat Wave!"
"Darkrai, Dark Void! Musharna, follow up with Dream Eater! Gliscor, you're the best with the skies so do what you do best. Aurorus, do what you can with Stone Edge and Aurora Beam from afar!"
"Aegislash!" Aegislash and everyone took action, approaching the ships in the sky. Those that could float or fly took the skies while Aurorus would provide support from afar. But there was one other help coming this way.
"You as well, Xatu. Florges." Luna took out two Poke Balls, sending Xatu and Florges out for assistance.
"Xatu!"
"Florges!"
"Xatu. Florges. I need you both to assist your friends and keep those foes away from the ship as much as you can. Florges, I can rely on you to heal everyone. Make sure no one faints."
"Xa-Xatu!" Xatu and Flogres advanced with Florges being the one to heal everyone in case things were getting too ugly. Luna's Pokemon would be busy but they always give it their all to make their trainer happy.
"Where is Adagio Dazzle? Did she not come back with you?" Luna asked a guard.
"Adagio Dazzle is staying behind at the island for a bit. Ash Ketchum has been swallowed by the Rift Volcano, your majesty."
"W-WHAT?!" Luna gasped as her heart dropped after that revelation.
"But we suspect he's fine due to the motionless magma and the Aura exuding out of it!" The guard quickly reinstalled hope in her heart. "Adagio Dazzle is trying her best to figure out a way to free him. As for the Scrafty, the Want-it-Need-it spell has been used by Adagio Dazzle to distract them."
"Then only I can reverse the spell with my magic. We can't stay here for too long..." Luna bit her hoof. "But we need to help the Scrafty as well. So much to try...but we have to do what we can."
"If you're so stumped, use me..." Lunar Ire spoke once more before almost appearing as a floating head as always. "Stop hesitating and fully accept what you're capable of. Why not have a second usage of this power?"
"If I use you then..."
"Then nothing. This situation is already risky in its own right. So go ahead. Take it."
"...Fine. But only a bit of your magic and not for too long." Luna, in the heat of this moment, decided to use the magic of Sorrowful Rage. Lunar Ire grinned before fully entering Luna.
Due to Lunar IR giving Luna a bit of her magic, Luna had a mixed appearance of both her normal self and Sorrowful Rage self. She had blue going eyes temporarily for now while also having a red stripe in her mane, similar to what the Empress showcased during the invasion when she had less magic than she usually had. All thanks to that Magic Siphoning Jar.
Luna in this state could do a lot at the moment. And she was going to use it to the best of her abilities. She turned her attention to the underwater, knowing that she had to help the Golurk in any way she could.
Luna wasn't sure what she could do as Lunar Ire, especially she's not even in that full form yet compared to when she was in the Dream Realm. But Lunar Ire whispered to her, giving Luna advice
"I was able to reverse whatever I could in the Dream Realm. I wonder if the same can be said for reality?" Luna then jumped underwater, deciding to test out her magic. She then used the Underwater breathing spell to breathe underwater for 20 minutes tops.
Tempest Shadow saw Luna and her new appearance head underwater while the feud continued in the skies. Tempest took the chance to get to Manaphy and at least use the Nightmare Rarity spell.
"That transformation could be a problem..." Tempest uttered. "But we'll leave that for now."
Underwater, Luna came face-to-face with the ships that were pulling the Grand Equestria. There were plenty. More than Luna was expecting. Seeing that Luna was here, some of the ships decided to attack her, letting out electrical discharges underwater. Luna would now have to deal with all of these ships on her lonesome.
Within the Rift Volcano's Mini-Universe.
Ash stood there, approaching the Rift Volcano's heart. He had no idea it looked like this. He was still surprised at how there was a mini-universe in every Rift Creation.
"Y-Y-You stay far away from my heart, Ash Ketchum!" The volcano erupted, summoning some planets to fire them at Ash and his Pokemon. "I won't let you destroy it! Please!"
Fear could be heard from the volcano. Destroying the heart meant the end of its life, of course. Plus, the volcano was already damaged from the Aura burning it. Seeing this made Ash realize what Cold, Colt, Jade Skies Emerald Aura and even Obsidian's hearts looked like.
This meant that the Rift Volcano was more full life than Ash expected. It threw him off guard. But he stood there, gazing it at, not performing any action despite how vulnerable the heart was. The planets had been thrown at Ash while he wasn't looking. Lucario, Gengar and Dragonite were ready to destroy them at any moment.
"I'm not gonna destroy it." Just then, Ash stopped the Rift Volcano as the planets it was about to throw had frozen in place. His Pokemon did the same.
"What?"
"I can't do that. You said Rift Creations don't have a reason for the things they do, right? Even if you're just here to do something and that's that, you still have a life. So I won't destroy your heart?"
"But why? You have the chance to finish things here and erase my existence completely. Yet you choose not to..." The volcano stayed silent for a bit before remembering who it was talking to. "Ah. Why am I surprised about this? Curse you and your kindness, Ash Ketchum."
"Hehehe." Ash gave a cheeky grin and chuckle with his arms crossed. "Thanks. But I'm still gonna break free and turn all the Scrafty back. Even if I'm not gonna destroy your heart."
"And then what? You expect me to stop?"
"I don't know what you're gonna do next. Really, I don't know how to punish a volcano after everything's done." He scratched his hair. "But since this is your home and everything, you can keep being as free as you want. Living here. But if you mess anyone else, I'll come after you, no matter what."
The volcano, once again, was mute. It didn't expect a threat from Ash yet it was more a generous threat. One that would only come to pass if the volcano's actions became more widespread or if Ash just happened to be nearby and catch wind of it. And then, the volcano asked him a question. "Tell me. What was it that you said to me back out there? When I told you we creations had no motivation."
"I said I know some Rift Creations that do. Cold Colt and Jade. Even Emerald's got something more than what she's already got. Sure, they were made by the Rift, but they're being their own ponies right now."
"And do you suppose the same can be said for me."
"I don't know. You're on your own here on this island. I don't get everything about the Rift after all. It hurts my head a lot, ya know. What you do is up to you."
"Fair play. So if I am to just release the Scrafty, I am free to do whatever I want, right?"
"I mean...I don't know if a volcano can move. Can you?"
"I am stuck at where I was made. I doubt the Rift will listen to my demand to in all honesty. But, perhaps I can do something with this island. All of the valuable shiny objects could be transformed into something new." The volcano then realized that Ash's words had gotten to it. Ash had given the volcano a reason to be what it wanted to be, despite its appearance and build. "Very well. I shall free the Scrafty."
"Really?" Ash gasped.
"They were boring me anyway. It's been almost a full year since they've shown up after all. Besides, I will take your word for it." The space around Ash and his Pokemon started rippling. The heart had been hidden back by a cosmic veil.
Ash decided to keep using his Aura to exit here. It still stung the volcano but it would be brief, thankfully. He and his Pokemon could feel themselves returning to reality.
Reality.
Ash and his Pokemon had returned. Right in front of Pikachu's very eyes. "Pikapi! Pikachu!" Pikachu was ecstatic, lunging to hug his best friend.
"I'm okay, buddy!" Ash laughed while hugging his partner. Adagio couldn't help but smile faintly at this. There was something endearing about seeing a sight like this. It reminded her of her siblings. Dragonite got in there, pulling everyone in with a hug. Even Adagio.
"Hey! Hey!" Adagio roared and hissed at Dragonite but doing that to a dragon was pointless. She became a victim of the hug too. "Ugh..."
Once that was said and done, the Rift Volcano gained motion once more. However, the lava didn't hurt anyone when it touched Dragonite and Lucario's legs. There was no harm done.
"Thanks, Vol," Ash said to the volcano.
"Vol?" The volcano said with a surprised tone. It didn't expect a nickname. "You're a weird one. I'll undo the changes now." Right after that, the volcano made its magma spread along, going for the Scrafty to revert them eventually.
"Wait!" Adagio exclaimed. "The Want-it-Need-it spell! It hasn't been reversed yet!" The volcano then stoped the magma flow afterwards. "Luna's the only one who can do it. But she's occupied right now."
"Then we'd better hurry. Let's change everyone back, reverse the spell and leave to the Sea Temple."
"Aren't we going to battle them and defeat them?" Adagio asked him. "It's best to get rid of this nuisance right now."
"Yeah. But we can't waste any time at this rate. We have to go. Now." Ash was set on leaving. Adagio shrugged as she felt like she couldn't fight back against this.
It would be a strategic retreat in the long run. But one that would be worth it. They could not risk damaging the ship any longer. And with the Rift Blockade, it was impossible to know the results if the Grand Equestria connected with it.
But meanwhile, Manaphy had sensed the flow of magma once more. This meant that the Rift Volcano was active once more. Manaphy had hope that Ash was free so she aimed to head back there. The Scrafty plan was scrapped.
"Mana!" But as Manaphy went along her way, appearing in front of her with a massive shadow cast over in the form of two individuals was Tempest Shadow and Honchkrow. "Mana?"
Manaphy gasped, witnessing the unicorn and the Big Boss Pokemon's sudden appearance. She was startled, almost falling on her back. And this was where Tempest could strike while Manaphy was still flustered.
"Mean Look."
"Honch!" With just the flash of its eyes as its body became surrounded by a dark purple aura. A red light then surged out before covering Manaphy on the spot.
One look and Manaphy was stuck, petrified for a small moment. But just the right amount of time for Tempest to use Nightmare Rarity's magic. Out of her horn, a mist of nightmare magic and even a bit of Rarity's original magic came flying out, wrapping around Manaphy like a hug.
"P-Phy!" The Seafaring Pokemon was agape as the magical aura was already infecting her insides. And since it was during the night, the effects would be greater for a long time. Manaphy then went silent for a while with slightly grey eyes forming. The magic was already doing what it does best.
"Good," Tempest smirked as Manaphy lowered her head. "Now then. You're not going to come along with us...But you are going to do one specific thing along the journey. Listen closely and head back to your crew, okay?"
"Mana..." Manaphy had just received Nightmare Rarity's magic due to Tempest Shadow. Once receiving it, she was given a command by Tempest. One that would be carried out without Manaphy being able to resist.
The Seafaring Pokemon stood there, gazing into the horizon as she was zoned out. Nothing was snapping her out of this. Except for the group that was approaching.
"Manaphy!" Ash's voice echoed out.
"Mana?" Finally being brought back to reality thanks to that cry, Manaphy turned to see Ash, Pikachu and Adagio showing up to the scene.
"Great that everyone's okay so far." He said, coming to a screeching halt. "Sorry if I made you worry about that volcano thing back there."
"Pikachu."
"Mana...Phy." Manaphy blinked for a moment before remembering how Ash had been swallowed by the Rift Volcano earlier this nightfall. "Mana! Mana-Mana!" Happy to see that he was okay, Manaphy leapt into the air, receiving a hug from Ash.
"Alright. Now, all we need to do is finish things up here. Luna's the only one here who can reverse the spell, right?" Ash turned to Adagio as Manaphy sat on his head.
"Only. I haven't figured out how to reverse the spell myself. Luna might be occupied and-" Just as Adagio spoke, a light blue with some red lights mixed in shot up into the air, originating from the sea. Ash and the others gasped, witnessing this light emerge.
This belonged to Lunar Ire.
"Pika?!
"Mana?!"
"W-What in the...?!" Adagio pulled back with awe in her eyes. But judging from the colour of the ray, Ash knew that Luna was behind it.
"She's got everything under control." He said with a confident smirk, knowing just how well Luna can do under certain circumstances.
The Grand Equestria Ship.
Luna was currently half Lunar Ire, only borrowing the magic of Sorrowful Rage magic for one moment. She didn't use all of it. Just a fraction. Luna knew how risky it could be. The magic was safe to use in the Dream Realm due to it being outside of reality. But in reality, that could cause some unnecessary problems.
She was currently underwater, going against those that were using magnetic pulls to bring the Grand Equestria towards the Rift Blockade. As part Lunar Ire, accepting a bit of the Sorrowful Rage magic, Luna was about to see just how well this magic fares in reality.
Electrical discharges came from the underwater airships. And coupled with water, they would deal a lot of damage. But nothing that Luna couldn't deal with it. By using Lunar Ire's strength, she reversed the electricity, sending it right back at the ships that fired them.
"Ow-ow-ow!" The ponies inside of the ships cried out, feeling the volts pass through them. Luna knew that she couldn't let anyone perish, even if they were an enemy. Otherwise, Lunar Ire would fully take over, no matter what. So out of the good of her heart, she flew onwards, deciding to save those being shocked.
But the moment she tried slicing the ship apart via a magic beam, only to find out that these ships were more durable than expected. Not as durable as Pegalysium's Dynasite but fairly resilient. However, Luna still sliced through either way.
"Aaaah!" A pilot screeched after Luna appeared.
"I will not harm you," Luna reassured before smirking. The Lunar Ire in her was showing some more. "But, I can't say the same for Adagio when we keep you as prisoners."
"H-Huh?" The pilot said before having her body wrapped around a magical rope. Soon, Luna went to the rest of the pilots who had their ships malfunction from this re-directed electrocution.
After slicing the ships, she would then toss them out of the water for their own safety. But not before putting them all to sleep, rendering them unable to continue. And she did it with such precision too. However, some of the ships wouldn't let themselves be defeated so easily.
Some of them attacked Luna with the weapons they had to offer. Similar to the Empress' forces, Daybreaker's forces also had access to magic as their weapons. Luna was struck by a surprise magical ray to the side of her wing. She flinched for a second before being suddenly bombarded by all these magical rays.
Meanwhile, above and on the Grand Equestria, all of Luna's Pokemon were doing their best to keep the Golurk safe. The Golurk were pushing the Grand Equestria far from the Rift Blockade. Aurorus froze the wings of Flying-Types that got close with her Aurora Beam.
And once their wings were frozen, Darkrai would come in with Dark Void, putting them to sleep which would transition into Musharna coming in with Dream Eater to seal the deal. "Musha!" And she got a lot of dreams with each one she devoured thanks to Darkrai.
"King's Shield!" Shining Armor command as Aegislash protected his allies from any attacks with King's Shield. Ships continued unloading weapons onto the King's Shield, trying to break through it. And Aegislash was feeling the pressure as he couldn't use the move forever. Luckily, after blocking all attacks that came this way, Gliscor and Flash Sentry's Pidgeot would pass Aegislash.
"Pidgeot, use Twister!"
"Pidgeot!" Pidgeot used Twister, creating a draconic tornado whilst Gliscor used Sone Edge. The Twister would catch some ships and Pokemon, spiralling them around. The stones from Stone Edge would then strike the Pokemon and ships with precise aim, the ships had been dented with the stones while the Flying-Types, apart from Skarmory, certainly felt super-effective damage.
And it wasn't just Aegislash protecting everyone. Florges was their best support. Once a flock of Skarmory had powered through the Twister and Stone Edge combination, they had each used Flash Cannon and Air Slash, striking Gliscor, Pidgeot and even breaking through Aegislash's King's Shield due to it being overused.
"Florges!" Florges would deal with that issue immediately. To make all of her teammates more resilient, he had used Flower Shield. She raised her arms, summoning an array of flowers around all of her allies. The flowers then made a hexagonal shape while also resembling a shield.
Soon, everyone's defences had been increased with a mysterious power. Gliscor, Pidgeot and Aegislash immediately recovered, getting back into the action.
"Pidgeot, use Aerial Ace!"
"Aegislash, Night Slash!"
"Pidgeot!" Flying at great speeds, Pidgeot attached two opposing Flying-Types with a swift tackle. However, a Mandibuzz also did the same, using Aerial Ace to tackle the Bird Pokemon. "Pidgeo!"
"Mandi!" Mandibuzz had then used Steel Wing, whacking Pidgeot away. Pidgeot hurled through the air, only for Darkrai to catch him. The Pitch Black Pokemon then used Thunderbolt with one arm out, shocking the Bone Vulture Pokemon. "M-Mandi!"
While all of this occurred, the Golurk had moved the ship far enough to keep it away from the blockade. Thanks to them being defended plus the assistance of the one steering the ship, they were just out of the blockade's range.
"Hmmm...!" Spitfire, with her magical glasses, saw that the Grand Equestria was no longer in range of the blockade. "For such smaller numbers, they're pretty good at keeping us all far away as they can." She then looked to the skies. "But it's that Darkrai that's the biggest threat here. Now might be a good time to get as aggressive as we can."
Spitfire was aiming to do more than just force them at the blockade. Defeating them all here was on her mind. And she had the weapons to do so. Not just from her group and their ships but the Sunstorm itself. She knew that it had a weapon that could be accessed and used to its fullest potential.
"I say we bomb them." She came up with a plan. "Turning them and everything to stone with our bombs isn't a bad approach. I'll show them just how much work my Aviation branch builds up to."
"You can stop all of your planning now." Showing up to the scene was Tempest on the back of a Honchkrow. She had weaselled her way through the entire sky feud with ease.
"What?" Spitfire turned to her.
"That Manaphy's now full of Nightmare Rarity's magic as we speak. She'll continue leading her friends to the Sea Temple, but also us. So, best not to waste time with this battle that looks like it won't have a winner, don't you think?"
"Hmph. And I just had something fun in mind. Okay, sure." Spitfire shrugged. She then communicated with her group via her earpiece. "Alright, all of you. Let's call it a night and end this battle. Manaphy's affected."
With the message passed on, the troops and opposing Pokemon had stopped all of a sudden. They had no reason to continue. Besides, it seems as if this ocean battle would go on for a while with both sides seeming to be equal. The ships redirected themselves while also returning the Pokemon with the same Poke Balls used before. Unfortunately, not all Pokemon since some of the ships had been defeated by Luna, so they would just have to go onboard the Sunstorm instead.
Flash Sentry and everyone watched as their enemies had ceased partaking in this battle. The Golurk were about to jump into the action after pushing the ship away, but they were too late to do so. "D-Did we win?" Flash asked.
"Not sure." Shining Armor shook his head. "But it looks like it's all over. Let's not give chase to them. We need to keep on moving with repairs and to the Sea Temple."
This battle was declared a stalemate for the meanwhile. The Golurk and other Pokemon descended to the upper deck, finally having some time to take a break. Although, Golurk don't need breaks at all due to them being Automatons.
As for the Sunstorm and opposing ships, unexpectedly, the Sunstorm started giving off a solar magical glow that coated all of the other ships. This glow resembled Daybreaker along with flames sparking out. Shining Armor and the others weren't sure of what this meant. It could be another attack.
Except it wasn't. It ended up being teleportation. The entire ship and the others plus the Pokemon that were nearby had been transported out of thin air via teleportation spell of grandiose nature. Tempest certainly wasn't responsible for this due to the magical aura not belonging to her.
The enemies were gone. For now. But the crew knew that they would return. Luna looked to the horizon, dispelling Lunar Ire's fraction of magical power. Luna was nervous about that massive teleportation. If anything, that meant that they would return in a flash.
"Now there are only a few things we have left to do," Luna spoke before facing the island. Only three things were left. Repairing parts of the Grand Equestria, reversing the Want-it-Need-it spell, and the third one had already been solved by Ash.
However, there was an extra one. The enemies that had been defeated thanks to Luna. They would have to be kept in confinement with the ship. Thankfully, the Grand Equestria had cells, just in case pirates would invade. The guards rounded up and restrained all the defeated forces from the Empress and Daybreaker's side.
10 minutes later.
Luna reversed the Want-it-Need-it spell easily with a flash. All Scrafty had snapped out of it as they were all previously fighting over this tree, hugging onto it. The tree itself was on the verge of collapsing too.
Once that was said and done, the Rift Volcano worked its magic, causing the cosmic magma to touch all of the Scrafty here. With just a touch, the Equestrian Forms had been eliminated. Even the mixture of Unovan and Equestrian Scrafty was free to be whole once again.
"Scraf! Scrafty!" The Scrafty rejoiced after returning to their original forms. It felt like pure bliss. Now they no longer had the urge to steal anything shiny or valuable. And speaking of which, the gold parts from the Grand Equestria were gathered by the guards, taken back to the Grand Equestria for repairs.
"Glad that's over with..." Adagio said before putting her necklace on. Manaphy had walked over, unaware of the control that Tempest had put on her. The effects of Nightmare Rarity were lurking the same way Lunar Ire was lurking within Luna. Except that Luna was at least aware of this magic.
"I give my apologies if you can accept it." The Rift Volcano spoke. "I had no purpose. Frankly, I'm not sure what purpose I can strive for. Your friends Cold Colt and Jade Skies already have their own, after all."
"You think about what you wanna do," Ash replied. "Skies the limit with your magic after all."
"Pikachu."
"How is that you did not melt at all?" Luna asked. "Magma is magma after all."
"Hehe. Guess I had a pretty good instinct using Aura, huh?" Ash chuckled as a response along with Pikachu.
"Pika-Pika-Pika!"
"Ty. Scrafty." The Scrafty thanked Ash and the others for helping them. They also could just barely accept the apology of the Rift Volcano. Thankfully, Scrafty can be kind-hearted so some leniency radiated from them.
"Now that we know the Empress and Daybreaker's forces are going for the Sea Temple as well, slowing down is not an option anymore," said Luna.
"Yeah but...can we at least get some sleep?" Flash questioned with a nervous grin. "It's practically almost midnight at this point. And Manaphy looks a bit tired."
"I'll agree with him on that." Adagio nodded. "I need my beauty sleep too if you must know."
"Alright, fine. Sleep is necessary and I do need to govern the Dream World. Hurry and repair the ship so that we can sail safely." Choosing to depart from the island as soon as possible Luna led the way.
As for the Scrafty, despite the apology the Rift Volcano gave them, they chose to stay at the neighbour island they originally came from, reuniting with their friends and family. And for the objects, while everyone went ahead, Adagio decided to smuggle some valuable gemstones for her own glamorous needs. As long as nobody's watching, everything was alright in her eyes.
However, as Manaphy felt sleepy, ready to clock out for the night, Nightmare Rarity's lurking magic was gradually waiting for the right time. The time when the opposing force would have their chance to reach the Sea Temple.
The Grand Equestria.
"Mana..." Manaphy yawned as Ash placed her on a bed.
"Get some rest, Manaphy. We'll stop by the nearest town or city and you can get rolling tomorrow."
"Pika-Pika."
"A shame that we might be sailing blind without Manaphy for the night. We may bump into another force similar to the Rift Blockade." Luna pondered. "What to do..."
"If it helps, your majesty." Shining Armor went up to her. "The Golurk can't get tired. They can be on the lookout for another potential blockade." A good idea from Shining Armor. One that Luna gladly agreed to.
"And what about the prisoners?" Adagio asked. "I say we just dump them to that Officer Jenny person when we get to whatever town or city's nearby."
"Maybe. But there could be a gateway connecting back to Equestria. We'll keep that in mind if I wish to interact with my sister again." Luna would keep it in mind. "In the meanwhile, questioning them is a good alternative as well. Everyone else, get some sleep.
"Pikachu." Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, ready to sleep. But not before he and Ash ran up to the upper deck. They looked on the outside, witnessing a bridge behind the Grand Equestria. The Rift Volcano had formed a bridge with its cosmic lava, connecting it to the neighbouring island.
They had also seen the Scrafty residing back in their home island, reunited with their family and friends. Ash and Pikachu gave their goodbyes via wave from afar. The Scrafty could definitely see it.
"Which town or city is nearby exactly?" Luna asked Shining Armor.
"Since the Sea Temple is never in one region, we were grateful to receive maps of various regions." Shining Armor said as a guard had brought over a map of the Unova Region. Shining Armor then used his magic to open the map. "The closest place for us to be in is Lentimas Town, looks like. We can stop there and prepare for tomorrow's journey."
"Noted. Darkrai and I will be in the Dream Realm. Keep an eye out in case they return." Luna ordered as they all saluted in response. She already went ahead, using her magic to leave this plane of reality with Darkrai following afterwards.
"We're going to be meeting them a lot the whole way through, aren't we?" Flash Sentry spoke to Shining Armor. "I thought we were one step ahead since we had Manaphy. How did they know where we were? They wouldn't even know about how the gateways in the Pokemon World are corrupted and blocked off, would they?"
"It's odd that they would show up tonight on the same day we departed. Almost as if they predicted our departure." Shining Armor's brain was starting to accelerate. "Either somepony's been hiding in Canterlot, those spycams from that Colress person, or something else."
"Should we warn Princess Celestia about this?" A guard asked.
"Maybe there might be someone hiding in Canterlot that caused this. We should tell her soon."
Sceptical about how their enemies managed to find them at this exact sea and know their exact departure date was ominous. The guards were already on high alert, but the same would have to be passed onto the guards back at Canterlot. If there was somepony responsible for this information.
The next day. Canterlot.
The older Flurry Heart from another world came by to the castle today to play with Premium Polish. For both Pokemon Cards and Contest moves. At the same time, Celestia had received information about what had happened last night out in the seas of Unova.
And it was done via Ash's Xtransceiver. Shining Armor had borrowed it, speaking to Celestia through it. "So, they found you right after. Not even a whole day once you entered Unova's seas?" Celestia said.
"Right at the same spot. We're not sure if it was the shine from the island, more of Colress' spycams or if someone in Canterlot told them."
"If the third one is the case, then either somepony from Empress Twilight's world might be hiding here. Or perhaps somepony from Daybreaker's world." Celestia theorized.
"Aunt Daybreaker doesn't have spies." Flurry Heart spoke after hearing Celestia's theory. "She doesn't do that."
"Hm? Flurry Heart?" Celestia turned to the younger alicorn. "What do you mean by that?"
"Great Aunt Daybreaker's not like that. I've been around her universe before." She explained. "She wouldn't do that. It might be Aunt Twilight. She has something like that."
"I see. But why would you think she wouldn't do that exactly?" Celestia asked as Luna's face came into the view of the Xtransceiver.
"That is a good point. If anything, she seems likely to do so since she's on an alliance with Ghetsis and Empress Twilight." Luna spoke. "N-No offence, sister."
"None-taken," Celestia replied.
"I just know." Flurry Heart pouted. "She's not from my universe but she's my great aunt either way. She even treats me like a niece and all that. And I know Great Aunt Daybreaker would never do that."
"Well, it's your experience, Flurry. So you have weight to what you say. Plus, you do seem to have some care for your Great Aunt from what we're hearing."
"I do." She scratched her mane. "It's because I feel bad for Great Aunt Daybreaker. Especially why she's like this."
"Why's that?" Celestia and the others within the Xtransceiver asked.
"Well, you see..." Flurry Heart was ready to reveal what she knew. Something vital. Something about Daybreaker's past and how she came to be. This would be something passed on to even this world's Celestia as they all wanted to hear this. Even Premium Polish chose to stick by and listen as she recalled how Daybreaker essentially saved her life during her abduction.
"It all happened 35 years ago. Just right after Chrysalis and the Changelings attacked Canterlot during the Royal Wedding of my parents. Great Aunt Daybreaker believed that everything was at peace again. It's just like this universe and how everything went. Minus the Pokemon. But after that, so much went wrong that Great Aunt couldn't control."
Universe 11. 35 years ago. Equestria. Canterlot.
The Equestria of this universe was no different from the one in the main universe. Thriving and wonderful in every way. At this time, Shining Armor and Cadence were together, Celestia had her little sister Luna back after her redemption and more.
But as time went on, certain events built up to less than favourable situations. The cataclysmic battle between Tirek and Princess Twilight Sparkle almost left Equestria a wasteland if Twilight and her friends hadn't prevailed. But there was more to it.
A foe by the name of the Storm King came along, causing massive pandemonium to Canterlot and almost Equestria with the power he had gained, only to be stopped
However, even with all of the threats stopped, a new kind of weight was given to the Princess Celestia of this universe. A weight that she was not prepared for in the slightest and hoped to avoid. With how much trouble came to Equestria, the citizens of this nation quickly realized how their world was changing.
And this one story in another world, one event with unfavourable situations lead to a terrifying transformation that erased a once benevolent ruler. A story that Flurry Heart knows best.
Universe 11. Currently 10 years ago. Equestria. Canterlot. Day.
This was a story told from what the older Flurry Heart had heard. One of a terrifying transformation that was caused by unlikely circumstances.
It was a month after the Storm King attacked Canterlot and almost took over Equestria. This was when everything started changing for Great Aunt Daybreaker." She narrated the story from Universe 1 in a current yet somehow further time compared to Universe 11.
In a universe much similar to Universe One, Celestia ruled as the benevolent ruler of Equestria. Minus the existence of Pokemon due to the timeline before the Rift caught wind of all of this.
Celestia knew that hard decisions had to be made. Decisions that she hoped to avoid with better solutions. However, that would never arrive.
And in this universe, Chrysalis never reached her purity form and joined the rest of the Changelings in their new hive. Due to the defeat she suffered, the former Changeling Queen Chrysalis' revenge was brewing in the middle of this. She has proven to be a recurring threat to Equestria constantly at this point.
Celestia was having a daily stroll at the moment, thinking of having negotiations with Chrysalis, if she could. If Thorax could be understood, then Celestia believed the same could be done for Chrysalis. However stubborn she may be. However, while strolling, Celestia heard conversations concerning recent events.
This is not her first time hearing these specific conversations. It's actually fairly common for her. But it does disappoint Celestia that they are all so negative and focused on the Changelings as the two ponies discussed.
"I just don't understand why the Princess doesn't take any major actions against them. It always happens at least 4 or 5 months apart. Long but..."
"I'm sure the princess has something. After all, we're all here now. Still in one piece. Equestria is looking danger-prone nowadays, I'll admit."
"My friends were replaced with changelings not too long ago. It only took until 3 weeks for them to be found. What if the same happens or has happened to other ponies."
"You have a point. It's all so worrying. But let's have faith in Princess Celestia. She's never failed us and all of Equestria. Not for a moment."
"I know. But I just wish something was done about this changeling issue." That was all Celestia had to hear. She went back to her throne room, taking in the words that the two ponies had spouted.
She appeared with the nifty power of teleportation, sitting on her throne. Celestia sighed, taking a deep breath before looking to the ceiling. She recalled the words the two ponies sid. But not just those words. Others from the past. It's true. Celestia, despite how beloved she was, has received criticism in the past.
And Celestia knew why. The Princess of the Sun knew that Equestria has been put in many risky and world-ending scenarios. And in all of them, she is essentially unable to do much. Failing to stop Chrysalis at the Royal Wedding, being captured by the Everfree Forest and later down the road the changelings. Being turned to stone during the Storm King attack and potentially some more that may come down the line.
Celestia wasn't too beat up by it. She knew the new generation was there to seat things right. AKA Twilight and her friends with all they've done. But, Princess Celestia couldn't help but feel as if she was failing to properly protect her little ponies on her lonesome.
"Sister. A word?" Luna's head poked through the throne room before entering it.
"Sure. What is it, Luna?" Celestia asked, wondering what her sister had to say. Luna walked up to her big sister, clearing her throat as the words that were about to come out of her mouth wouldn't be anything favourable.
"Ahem. Well, you see...our subjects are feeling precarious right now. And that's due to previous events." She then sat next to Celestia. "I mean, just last month, we had all just barely gone through the Storm King's potential victory and rule over Equestria. Everypony's starting to worry of something greater over the horizon."
"Greater? As in?"
"They're afraid that something worse than the Storm King could come along and topple everything around us. And what if they're right? What if something worse is coming along in the near future."
"Nothing too extreme or horrible, even if it appears, will get by us," Celestia replied with a hoof to her sister's back. "We've come a long way together as sisters. And so has all of Equestria through all of the good and bad. But I am cautious about what could be next."
"I suppose. I mean, your former student Twilight has been an outstanding bolster for every world-ending scenario we've seen, hm?" Luna chuckled.
"Oh, she has. I don't mean to brag but..." Celestia grinned, looking to the side. "She did learn from a great teacher after all."
"I wish I could've had a student of my own." Luna's thoughts began pondering a student of her own. That was something to fantasize and also dream about in the Dream Realm. "I have a few things I could teach them."
"I'm sure you could teach them something I couldn't. Besides, it's never too late to try it. You're still fairly young. And speaking of Twilight, I remember when we used to go on daring adventures together. I miss those times."
"Too busy really. But having that fantastical journey would be the life!" Luna exclaimed, almost releasing her Royal Canterlot Voice before toning it down. Celestia chuckled afterwards. "But there is the issue of the Changelings that never reformed. They've caused problems for us as of recently."
"I know." Celestia sighed. "It's hard to feel safe now with them roaming about. For a whole year as well. So far, every encounter with them have been constant close-calls. I fear that eventually, those close-calls will run out. But with Thorax and the others by our side, I have good faith that we'll be safe."
Out in the badlands. A massive colony.
But there was one big change in that universe. The Changelings formed more than just a hive. They formed an entire colony. And Chrysalis still ruled with many other Changelings while Thorax ruled another hive where every Changeling was reformed."
In the badlands, currently residing in this seemingly lifeless area was the Queen Chrysalis of this universe. The former queen now that Thorax is King. Chrysalis has been out here on being an adventurer more than a queen, refusing to head back to the newly formed hive. A stark contrast from her Universe 1 variant.
But this Chrysalis had something greater than a simple hive. A massive colony that far surpassed it. The feel of it was similar to the first one and how it existed in a similar area before it was blown to bits by overwhelming love.
Chrysalis currently had a newspaper from Equestria at her disposal. It contained information about the events that transpired 5 days ago. The Storm King event. Along with other things from the past.
"Storm King defeated, Princess Twilight forms a School of Friendship..." She uttered the words in the newspaper. "Various races come together to learn about...Bah!" She tossed the newspaper aside, obliterating a hole through Twilight's face with her magic. "I feel sick just looking at it."
Chrysalis had her own plans. A revenge plan to be exact. Revenge against all of Equestria on a grand scale. But right now, she is just one changeling. One individual who does have a lot of magic but not enough to take revenge on an entire nation that is gradually uniting with others.
But, Chrysalis knew this. That is why she had gained help for her eventual revenge. The main major difference between this universe and Universe one was that while Thorax and most of the Changelings became anew in their reformed purity states, some changelings stuck by Chrysalis' side.
Not as much as the hive that Thorax rules but a fairly large number of them that was enough to cause a problem. They emerged from the shadows, coming to Chrysalis' side.
"We've waited far too long for an opportunity like this. From those pesky ponies to that traitorous Thorax and all those who followed him. I think it's it's time that we truly gave Equestria our full-fledged attention. And our revenge can become reality with this." Chrysalis then revealed what she believed to be the object that would grant her victory. An object that has already proved to be too powerful to keep around.
The Alicorn Amulet.
"The Chrysalis of that universe not only found the Alicorn Amulet, but she discovered a new kind of magic that she used for herself. It came from a place named Magehold. It was a place shrouded in secrecy but only Chrysalis knew about it. She had some magic from that place, which gave her the power of horrible things. But she even passed it on to her subjects and that's when everything went wrong."
Chrysalis' horn emanated a familiar green light but with some extra purple and black embedded in it. She could not access this kind of magic before. But thanks to the location of Magehold that she had visited, she could wield.
"Many thanks, Rosa. We'll use this magic wisely as you requested." She leered before facing her subjects. "It's time. We'll erase all those from Equestria off the map, starting with their beloved cities."
6 days later. Las Pegasus. Afternoon.
And so began a terrifying and saddening event that caused Equestria to go to war against the Changeling Lands. It all started in the city of Las Pegasus. A raid had occurred unexpectedly on the city. One involving the changelings taking to the skies and using their newly gained magic from above.
Unexplainable magic that nopony had ever witnessed before. But even without knowing what it was or where it came from, it was devastating. A mysterious green mist that was not of Changeling origin. This mist acted as a corroding force, devouring everything in its sight.
Buildings were being obliterated by this mist as ponies were running or flying for their lives. However, this mist covered the air, replacing it. No matter how hard most of them fled. Only a few of them managed to escape due to being near the city's outskirts.
A terrific number of ponies were being caught by this green mist. They perished within it Soon, Las Pegasus had been covered by this green mist from all sides. The smoking visage of pony skulls were also a part of it each time it flew by. After it overtook Pegalysium, the mist combusted, resulting in an archaic paroxysm. This explosion struck the casino city, obliterating it.
All those that were in Las Pegasus were now bereft of life. All that was left once the green mist faded away was ravaged buildings that were no longer sparking and showing their magnificent beauty. As for the ponies, the last of the mist had carried them away, leaving only clothes behind.
Those that managed to escape witnessed this horror with their own eyes. The terrible blight that came to Las Pegasus. They then saw the changelings in the sky, hiding before they could find them and use that magic against them once more. However, the changelings left, feeling exhausted from using such magical power.
But it didn't stop there.
There were other Changeling groups, going after other locations. Mostly small towns were raided by the changelings and the odd magic they now carried with them. Las Pegasus was the first big city to be attacked as of now. Those within the towns perished quicker than the ponies in Las Pegasus due to them being smaller.
Less space to run. The changelings did this several times. All in just one day and a few hours. The changelings were aggressive in their frontal assault against Equestria. And Chrysalis truly meant for utter destruction against the ponies. She wasn't going to rule with ponies around. Instead, it looked like she was going to rule in a changeling only empire.
Canterlot.
"W-What...?" Celestia instantly gained news of this. So did the rest of Equestria. Those that managed to escape the raid at Las Pegasus told what had happened to the guards. She and Luna stood there frozen in fear.
"Yes. The entirety of Las Pegasus had been attacked by the changelings of Chrysalis. Mostly everypony there were caught up in this green mist. Those swept by it suffered along with the buildings." The guard explained with his head hung low, finding it hard to deliver such news to Celestia and Luna. "Several other small and big towns had been raided too. Destroyed by this magic."
Celestia was taken aback. Never before has something like this ever happened. Equestria has had its fair share of conflicts. But not on this scale. The changelings were very determined in their actions and confidence. But the same couldn't be said for Equestria.
"Sister?" Luna looked to Celestia. "W-What should we do?"
Celestia took a moment to think. She closed her eyes, taking everything that she had just heard in. The loss of several towns and a big well-known city had just occurred. With many lives lost in those raids. And Celestia knew ponies there that she was fairly fond of. Now, they were most likely gone.
She then thought back to what Luna had said. About how the citizens were worried about what could come next. What could come after the Storm King that could be worse? It seemed that worry came sooner than expected in the form of this sudden attack.
"We..." She took a deep breath. "We won't allow it to happen ever again. I was afraid of something like this happening. Equestria hasn't seen a large war in centuries now. But Chrysalis has already crossed a preeminent line." Celestia then opened her eyes, concluding on what needed to be done. "If she wants war, we'll give it to her."
It was a declaration of war now. Chrysalis in this universe had already given out her fair share of attacks against Equestria. And each time, the scenarios kept escalating on how far she would go. Now they had reached an all-time high. One that cost the lives of innocent ponies.
It would take some time, however. Due to Equestria's century-long absence from war. But they had the essentials to get back on those rails. A burden had now been placed on Celestia. One that could change Equestria forever depending on how everything turns out.
The next day, Celestia delivered a speech to her subjects about what was to come. Something that all of Equestria feared but could not ignore.
"Chrysalis and her changelings have become too treacherous at this point." She spoke to everypony that had gathered here in Canterlot. "Too many attacks from them have been done since last year and now it's led up to this. I'm sending this message not just to everypony here, but to my ponies overseas as well. For the first time in centuries, we are at war."
Saying that made all of them gasp and start a commotion. Anyone would speak after an announcement such as that. It was to be expected. But Celestia had more to say.
"And it frustrates me honestly..." Celestia almost growled, keeping her anger in check. "Peaceful ways have essentially been absent and tossed aside by those we try and understand. All of it has been in vain. I've lost some good friends in Las Pegasus and the various towns. Some that I've come to know as dear friends I can always be around."
But even when trying to keep her anger in check, it was difficult when it came to friends that she cared for. In a few split seconds, Celestia's mane started exuding small sparks of flames. Even her eyes as well But she kept herself composed either way.
"She's going to pay...!" Celestia then spoke to herself instead of her subjects. Luna had even come over to the balcony to hear what her sister had to say. "Queen Chrysalis will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."
The speech was given out to everypony across Equestria. A difficult decision that only Celestia could make had been done. From Ponyville, Appleloosa, Manehattan, Cloudsdale and many more. They were all given information about an upcoming war that was unavoidable at this point.
"Good!" But in the meanwhile, on that same day, Chrysalis was revelling in this. Her changelings had returned, feeling exhausted from using such powerful magic. Chrysalis caught wind of Celestia deciding to go to war against her. "That got their attention. I can already feel something tense in the air. Feels like something untamed, really. Prepare yourselves, all of you. This is where their equilibrium tilts to our favour."
Ponyville. Twilight's Castle. Afternoon.
"This is really happening? You don't think we're going to be caught up in too, do you?" Fluttershy said to her friends. Currently, all of Twilight's friends were gathered around the table, discussing what Celestia had declared.
"I'm afraid something like this is unavoidable, Fluttershy." Rarity shrugged. "Unless we were to somehow find the perfect hiding spot."
"But this is could like super bad." Pinkie leaned forward. "Everything that happened to Las Pegasus and other towns could happen to us too maybe. If both sides start fighting. Wish we could all talk it out and chow down together on some cupcakes." She slumped on her seat.
"You heard Princess Celestia. We've tried being peaceful with them." Twilight shook her head. "It's only happened with Thorax and the other changelings. And...I'm 100% sure we'll be involved."
"What makes you say that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I've seen something like this before. When Spike and I were chasing Starlight through time, we ended up in a timeline where King Sombra and the Crystal Empire waged war on Equestria. It might be new to our timeline, but not to that one. And trust me, Ponyville was caught up in it as well."
"Ya did tell us that..." Applejack sighed before taking her hat off. "Ya think this might be a repeat of that?"
"I don't know." Twilight had no answer for that. When it comes to a situation like this, answers are hard to give after all. "I guess all we can d right now is just hope for the best."
In the meanwhile, Celestia was preparing for this incoming war. She had all of her guards and troops receive some momentary training since they needed to be at their absolute best for this.
Canterlot was a bit quieter than usual. Not much noise was filling the atmosphere. The only noise that existed and overpowered everything else were the words of a Field Marshal. Filling that role was the sudden
Ponies have always been a peaceful race. But that and the Magic of Friendship was seemingly not an option anymore. Not against a threat such as this. But some ponies wanted to interview Celestia about all of this and her current decision.
"Princess Celestia. Are you sure about this?" A pony asked. "Some ponies are glad that you're taking major action about this but others are..."
"Afraid, aren't they?" Celestia finished the sentence for the interviewer. "I am too. And for a good reason. But with everything that's happened prior to this, it can't be ignored. As ruler of Equestria, I must do what I can."
"Equestria's never seen war in centuries and many ponies are afraid. Are we ready for this?" Another interviewer asked.
"Maybe another chance at speaking to them can work out like it did with Thorax other changelings?" So did another.
"What about Princess Twilight and the others? And it sounds like some ponies aren't too confident or ready to take part in something so important as this."
"That's pointless now." Celestia sighed. "The Magic of Friendship has always been something we can trust. But this isn't one of those instances. We can't give off a defeatist nature right now.
"Well, some ponies from certain cities are saying that we should give up. I mean...I'm not arguing against that." She laughed nervously.
"What?" Celestia turned to an interviewer as those words got her attention. The interview stopped laughing before scrunching her face, pulling back.
"A few important faces said so. They're just not ready for a war. They said that it might be wise to put limitations on all of this for the better. Like this." The pony used her magic to send out a newspaper for Celestia to read.
Celestia looked at the paper, seeing what it had to offer. Already, news of Equestria potentially considering defeat against the Changelings for the safety of everypony else had been posted and could spread soon. Celestia took a moment to take all of this in as this sight only upset her.
"Tell them this." Celestia gave the newspaper back. "And to everypony writing hard. I never give up. And even if they want to stray away from this, it won't happen. It's best to tell them what truly coming."
"I mean...I'm not saying it's a bad idea or anything-" The interviewer and a few others chuckled nervously as a narrowed face formed on Celestia. She then stood up tall, looking down on them.
"You'll write the truth and nothing but the truth." Celestia declared that as her final word. "I know you're afraid, but you can't avoid it. I wish we could."
The interview had ended. Celestia would continue working hard to make sure that this war tips in the favour of Equestria. The times were changing for Equestria. But just like the sun, Celestia kept that beaming bright spirit in her.
She believed that once this was all over, Equestria would go back to its peaceful ways, devoid of any war or major conflict. But she also knew that with these changing times, she had to adapt. And so would everypony else. Celestia wanted to keep her little ponies safe. Doing everything that she could.
Celestia caught news of when the changelings would attack next, going after more towns and another big and noticeable city potentially. This time, she was ready to intercept them.
Once both sides caught wind of each other, thus began a long conflict. With changelings showing up in certain areas, Celestia's troops would be there as well.
"A lot of fighting happened after that. Equestria and the Changelings were against each other the whole way through. They kept fighting and it meant so many places were being hurt by all of it too. That's when great auntie started making decisions that not everypony was okay with.
The outbreak of full-blown war signalled a complete failure of past leadership. New decisions, hard decisions, had to be made in order to win this war in Celestia's eyes.
But the decisions she made were opposed in the eyes of many ponies. A majority of them knew peace after all. And the decisions Celestia made, despite how natural they may be, were surprising and new to them all.
Days went by as Celestia's army grew, becoming more and more accustomed to the current scenario. And with these passing days, they managed to fare better against the changeling. But with these passing days came further ruination.
Each time ponies and changelings met, casualties were starting to appear. Just as of recent, many ponies fled to Manehattan for safety. However, the changelings pursued them. And intercepting those changelings were Celestia's troops.
The conflict that occurred in Manehattan was extensive. While everypony within the city was safe, damages had been done. The ponies watched as their beloved city had almost been completely destroyed. And this was also due to the magic from Magehold that the changelings obtained. It gave them unexpected advantages. The magic they held only brought destruction.
Celestia herself was feeling stressed. She had just received a report that while they managed to push back a raiding changeling group, another town had taken heavy damage from the conflict. Many ponies living in certain locations could barely make it out of their homes because of all of this.
Many ponies had to be sent elsewhere while this war was ongoing. But everywhere else was still being targeted by Chrysalis and her changelings, no matter what, making it difficult for safe locations to exist. Celestia had also made a decision that was questionable to many.
One of which involved certain magical artefacts. Celestia, realizing that the changelings had somehow gained ahold of unknown magic of unknown origin, had to match their level.
"This should do." Celestia opened a treasury of various magical items that have existed over Equestria for years. And a majority of them have yet to be used. Due to Equestria's peaceful times before these current events, these items were essentially useless. Until now.
Once opened, the magical artefacts were passed down and instructed to the troops that would utilize them. But it didn't stop there. Celestia knew of many talented ponies that she could put her faith in.
"She wants us to what?!" Over at Ponyville, a message had been sent to Rarity and her friends. "Oh, I'd love to be a uniform designer!" It was a message from Celestia regarding the current situation. Celestia had requested help from Twilight and her friends.
"You're not scared?" Fluttershy asked.
"As long as I'm not getting out there and being hit by whatever magic is being used in this warfare, I am perfectly fine." Rarity replied. Indeed, making uniforms was a better bet than fighting out there. "Besides, it's Celestia's orders."
"Yeah." Rainbow Dash flew over. "I've got full-on loyalty to her. No way I'm gonna let her down right now. Or ever. Everypony in the Wonderbolts knows that as well."
"And if it means keeping everypony's stomach full, I'm in. Plus my role's still the same." Pinkie showed the message given to her. The only one exempt so far was Fluttershy while everyone else had something.
"W-Well. You all do your best." Fluttershy stammered. "I'm sure this whole thing will blow over in just a few weeks or less, so good luck to everypony."
"Hold on." Starlight halted Fluttershy before revealing another message that was behind hers. "Here's yours. Sorry, it was behind mine."
"Oh...T-Thanks." Fluttershy's ears dropped as she took the message. Truth to what Twilight had said, it was unavoidable, no matter what. Even in small instances.
"It'll be fine, Fluttershy. If all else fails, we know what we can count on." Twilight reassured Fluttershy. This may look like a repeat of that one timeline I saw, but I know that things will be different.
Rarity was tasked with making uniforms for everypony. Pinkie Pie's role had never changed. Not from the beginning. Twilight was given a bigger role. She was still the Princess of Friendship either way. Applejack had received a request that involved her farm.
That wasn't all. Celestia had upped her game, giving requests to places that she rarely goes to. But during the outbreak of war, she now has various reasons to go there. Ship designers in shipyards for underwater purposes. She had even instructed the Wonderbolts to build aircraft.
This was also a major breakthrough for Equestria's technology. They've always had the resources for it, but now they can fully utilize them to create outstanding things.
But the same went for Chrysalis and her changelings. While they didn't have any technology, the magic that they had obtained was developing gradually. New traits could be found within them. Each passing day and week, they were improving, keeping up with Equestria or even possibly passing them.
A week later, many of Twilight's friends had taken on new occupations while still keeping their old ones. Due to this expanded enrollment for those who were brave and determined to protect their home. Skilled had come forth which made Celestia happy.
She was still somewhat calm, knowing that she had some amazing subjects to count on. But that pent-up stress was lurking, waiting to show itself in case Chrysalis does something unexpected.
More days passed with both sides preparing and growing. And that lurking stress was bringing to show itself. Both sides went against each other frequently as damages had been done. Damages that greatly impacted Celestia.
As everything went on, something started happening to great auntie. Whatever magic the changelings had, it made things difficult for her. Great aunt tried saving as many ponies as she could, but that was tough too. She then made a choice that wasn't too great.
"This isn't going anywhere!" Celestia slammed her hoof on the table, feeling more stressed than she's ever been. "How am I supposed to keep everyone safe at this rate?"
"Sister, calm down!" Luna ran in front of her, trying to comfort Celestia. "It's okay."
"No, it's not!" But Celestia roared back at her, causing Luna to step away. "Each passing week or even less than a day, the changelings are...!" She then took a deep breath, trying to collect herself. Celestia then sat down with her horn rapidly flashing, responding to what she was feeling. "I have no choice now...This plan needs to be altered."
"What do you mean by that?"
"A new comprehensive plan needs to be made. We'll fully mobilize the entire society in defence of Equestria. It may lead to considerable hardships for our ponies."
"Y-You don't mean..." Luna was starting to pick up on where Celestia was going with this. And from the sounds of it, they were not pleasing to the ears at all.
"Young, old, colt or, mare, it doesn't matter. All are in this for Equestria's safety. Either on the front or at home." She looked to Luna.
"Wait! That is far too drastic! It doesn't need to be so demanding!" Luna argued.
"It's unfortunate but necessary, Luna. I've tried my absolute best to be peaceful over these past years but time and time again, it's proven to be pointless. We're implementing this new plan. But I won't be pushing it as far as you think. They'll still be safe while assisting in this. Just in their own way."
"I-I understand." Luna calmed down. But she was still uncertain about her older sister's current choices. But Luna understood why this was the case. She had never seen Celestia in a state like this in years. The only thing related to this was when she banished Luna to the moon. "I'm sorry I misjudged you. I know you're-"
"It's okay, Luna. Everypony has their moments. I just have to get through mine." A smile came back to Celestia's face just for her little sister. "After this is over, how does a break at our old home sound? The one our parents built."
"Oh, I remember that!" Luna gasped. "It's still around?!"
"Still is. Even after centuries, it's still as wonderful as it was when it was first made. Including everypony living there. We'll have a great time there once we have that chance."
But then, tragedy struck. A month had passed and the old home that Celestia and Luna were born and raised in had been attacked, including everypony living there. Celestia caught wind of this, hearing about how her home was almost destroyed. The changelings were pushed back but at the cost of noticeable destruction.
Celestia had arrived at her old home located near the west, seeing it in its current state. A sight she would never want to see. But now this sight became a horrible reality.
What was once a peaceful town that led to places such as Manehattan and Appleloosa was torn to pieces by the conflict. Grass filled the labyrinth of cracks and sand-covered whatever was left. The crisp and clean looking town now looked more like a ghost town as trees and gardens had been withered away, diminishing their unkempt boundaries when they once filled the area.
Most doors still stood in their frames as if nothing had changed. A few were ajar for one reason or another, perhaps left open in a hurry. Clothing, home appliances and other belongings were left lost and broken outside some of the homes. They were of no use to anyone anymore.
The town, once bustling with life and brimming with light at this hour had become nothing more than a painful memory. The wind in the trees and the creaking of wood were the new dominant sounds in a once lively community rich in sounds of joy and simple pleasures.
The train station had collapsed and the tracks were covered in shrubs and fallen branches. Nopony was waiting for the next train anymore, no longer eagerly going to the next destination or waiting for those coming home. Mostly because they would never return here.
Street after street of abandoned homes made for a terrifying thought. Each house was once a home, a home belonging to a family and now there was only emptiness. But there was something oddly poetic about nature reclaiming what was once theirs, to begin with.
This was a personal attack on Celestia. The home that her parents made millions of years ago was no more. That break she promised Luna had been wiped out now. For the most part, Celestia has done her best to keep her cool. But as feared, Chrysalis and her changelings managed to break that apart.
But this went beyond stress. Celestia's mane started exuding out flames more often. With this attack on her home, the Princess of the Sun would no longer be holding back.
She had taken drastic measures at last. A new law had been made. Due to this state of war, Celestia had changed them. She saw the new laws as a hindrance. Celestia had even dismissed the long-lasting establishment of harmony because of this. She no longer saw it as a viable option.
Not surprisingly many opposed these decisions, but many more ponies flocked to those who promised tough measures. Those who flocked to this were glad that Celestia was finally doing what they wanted her to do for so long. But those who opposed it were afraid of what was becoming of their once benevolent ruler.
One of which involved Luna.
"In order to defend Equestria, laws must be changed." She said, looking outside the window with her mane constantly releasing small flames every minute.
Entering the room was Luna. She had to speak with Celestia, but being around her older sister felt more intimidating than it should be. Luna has never been intimidated by Celestia at all. But this was something new for her.
"Sister," Luna spoke. "You have become...colder." Her words were being held back as she was afraid to speak her mind. But Luna powered through it either way. Celestia looked back at her sister with cold eyes. "I am worried about you. You are not who you used to be. Your genuine smile and optimism are gone."
"Please leave, luna." Celestia sighed before turning to face the window.
"Listen. I know how hard it is to rule, especially now, but some of the measures you have enacted hurt our ponies, not protect them like you wished to." She approached closer. "Please sister, stop for a while and about this."
"I told you to leave. I am perfectly fine. Do not bother me again." Celestia demanded as she clenched her teeth. Fangs were even starting to show as of recently.
"But-"
"I said LEAVE!" Her mane ignited with a burst of flames as her Royal Canterlot Voice boomed, shattering the windows. Her eyes even turned black for a moment, but the flames faded as Luna was almost blown back by this shout.
Luna did not respond as she simply left the room under her sister's demand. As for now, there was no convincing Celestia. She had her mind set on defeating Chrysalis for good.
Months went by with seemingly endless fighting. Many ponies not fighting were also working hard, making essential resources for Celestia's army. Some were working harder than expected. Even Rarity, despite how excited she was to make uniforms for the princess, felt overwhelmed. She had her limits. So did Pinkie Pie and the others.
And in those passing months, Chrysalis had unleashed her greatest raid yet. One that involved herself this time. Using the more mysterious magic from Magehold and the power of the Alicorn Amulet to the best of their abilities, a massive raid had occurred at Baltimare.
The combination of this new magic and a powerful machine that the Changelings had made was used against Celestia's forces that were at Baltimare. And facing off against Chrysalis herself didn't make it easier for them. At all.
Baltimare had been raided by the overwhelming force that came to it. Changeling forces launched a full-scale attack that resulted in desperate fighting. This was a major one that even involved Celestia being there. It was pandemonium here as everypony had been scattered.
And with this scatter, Celestia and Chrysalis had come face to face once Celestia caught wind of Chrysalis's presence here in Baltimare.
"Chrysalis!" Celestia exclaimed, descending onto a hill tower where Chrysalis stood. At the same time, the machine was tearing through the town with the unknown magic assisting it.
"Morning, Celestia." Chrysalis greeted with a smug grin. "Glad we could meet at such a wonderful time."
"This has gone on far enough! You and your changelings won't advance any further. I don't know what magic you obtained and how or where you obtained it, but this will be your last battle."
"Oh, this magic?" Chrysalis said as she and Celestia started pacing around each other. "A close ally of the changelings, well mostly me, taught this to me. The Magic of Necromancy."
"Necromancy?!" Celestia gasped. She had heard of this type of magic before but had never seen it in action or anything else. And now, Chrysalis had such dangerous magic at her hold.
"That's right. Coupled with this Alicorn Amulet, you could say that I'm above the pecking order. The apex of magic. And the best part is that soon, all those lost in this war will be mine. Necromancy involves relations to the afterlife. With my ever-growing population of changelings and the power to form new allies in the form of skeleton ponies, I will be unstoppable! Never outnumbered or overwhelmed! I can't say the same for you, Celestia."
"Why you...!" Celestia had heard enough. The two had simultaneously exuded their magic in the form of large light rays. Chrysalis went ahead as she and Chrysalis' horns had touched, similar to their first encounter back at the Royal Wedding.
The tower below them had trembled, almost breaking apart with the wind being blown in various directions. Chrysalis had then pushed Celestia away with more magic exertion. Celestia being pushed back meant that she flew backwards with Chrysalis chasing after her.
Another magical attack had been used by Chrysalis with Celestia casting a shield. This pulse of magic hit the shield each time with Celestia being on her best guard. They went all over the place as in the sky, it looked like a golden and green wisp were zipping around. Chrysalis started playing pinball each time she hit the shield.
Very soon, Celestia decided to go on the offensive. She approached Chrysalis with her shield, unleashing a blast of magic while eliminating the shield. Chrysalis had been struck as they both passed each other.
"What terrifying magic...!" Celestia said with a shocked expression. She and Chrysalis turned around while Chrysalis barely bothered, despite being hit.
"Isn't it?!" Chrysalis cackled before causing the magic around her body to burst out, resulting in a more explosive pulse. Celestia shielded herself once more as the buildings nearby had been obliterated by this magic.
Once she shielded herself, Chrsyaslis had suddenly passed through the barrier with her hooves, connecting with Celestia. Celestia gasped, shocked that Chrysalis managed to get through. Celestia's shield shattered as Chrysalis had sent her flying with a ray of magic.
Celestia cried out before being blown through many of the buildings in Baltimare. They all came crashing down one by one. Giant rocks fell from all the destroyed towers that Celestia had been blasted through. She stopped at the last tower, sticking to it with her hooves spread.
"Ugh..." Celestia groaned while against the tower Her regalia was slightly cracked, seemingly on the verge of breaking apart.
"You'll lose to me just like you did before!" The Changeling Queen ascended, covering herself in an aura of magic before charging right at the Princess of the Sun. "The problem with you Celestia is that you're too afraid to use all of your magic, aren't you?!"
After taunting her, Chrysalis tackled Celestia with this Aura of magic, blasting her out of a building with a massive hole being made in the walls. Celestia was sent a great distance through the skies, even breaking through the clouds. The Wonderbolts and all of Celestia's troops watched as their ruler was sent after with Chrysalis following after her.
They were also still having trouble with the machine that the Changelings were commanding. Rainbow Dash was among one of the ones struggling against this. Nopony knew how to deal with such a weapon.
As for in the skies, Celestia eventually started falling. But she soon recovered by flapping her wings. Celestia had never felt so overwhelmed before. Chrysalis was far above her at this point.
Luna was soon informed about her sister's current conflict happening at Baltimare. Being a part of this whole war, Luna could not let her sister go through these hardships alone. Even after the shout she received, Princess Luna would be at Princess Celestia's side no matter what.
Celestia was ready to retaliate. And she did with the largest beam she could conjure up at the moment. Celestia released a giant golden beam that tore through the clouds, racing towards Chrysalis. Chrysalis was even intimidated by thi sas she knw that one good hit from that would mean serious damage that she does not want.
So, she retaliated, combining the power of the Alicorn Amulet and Necromancy Magic to make her own beam. A dark green one that met with Celestia's. They both clashed for a moment with Celestia struggling to push through. But with Chrysalis' superior magic, she easily won this. Her green beam consumed Celestia's golden beam, racing towards the Ruler of Equestria.
"!" Celestia's eyes expanded before she was engulfed by it. She unleashed an audible scream that could be heard from afar, even down at the streets of Baltimare for both sides to hear. They saw a green combustion in the skies, polluting the clouds and changing the skies to its green colouring.
Out of the explosion fell Princess Celestia. Her wings wouldn't respond to her as that one attack seemingly sealed the deal. Green smoke trailed out of her as the alicorn crashed into the ground, making a sizable crater too.
Waves of throbbing, nauseating pain pulsed within their abdomen occurred. A result of the Necromancy Magic. Every part of their being ached for an answer to this feeling of misery and any answer that could bring relief was one worth considering.
Celestia laid there on the ground with her eyes barely open. Her regalia had broken, falling to the side. She was starting to lose consciousness. She could see how the changelings and their machine were dominating, seeming unstoppable as Baltimare was seeing its final moments.
Soft moans and grunts escaped her mouth. Tired and frustrated she wanted it all to be over and done with. Her hearing was starting to diminish too.
On any other day, she probably would've gone to bed and rested to make sure she'd heal well and fast, but not today. Chrysalis descended, feeling healthier than Celestia as she stood over the downed alicorn.
"Your niece and her husband were a bigger threat than you were. You disappoint me, Celestia." Chrysalis spoke with her horn glowing. "Seems you're just as weak as when we first met. Oh, well. You don't have to worry. When I take your place, any threat against me will be finished before thy know it. Goodbye, Princess Celestia. But perhaps, I could use you as a skeleton."
Chrysalis was ready to end Celestia. She used the power of Necromancy, aiming it at Celestia and preparing to finish her off. Celestia tried getting up, but it was no use. She closed her eyes, hoping for the best. That was when Luna appeared.
Via teleportation, she appeared in front of her big sister right as the beam had been unleashed. Luna protected her sister in her dire moment. At the cost of her own safety. Celestia witnessed Luna struck by the beam at full force. The ground below had trembled as both Celestia and Luna were blown back by it, tumbling on the ground.
Chrysalis blinked, just now noticing Luna's arrival. "What?" Chrysalis said.
Within and out of the rubble, Celestia used her magic to levitate herself. She then descended, forcing her hooves to stay still even when they were trembling. "L-Luna! Luna!" Celestia cried out, holding her sister in her hooves.
"Sister..." Luna groaned with a weak voice. "I'm getting colder, uncomfortably cold. My body is shivering uncontrollably, I wish I could make it stop...A warm bed would be amazing right now, or anything warm. It's so cold..."
"Hold on! I can try this!" Celestia tried a warming spell, but she was too weak at the moment to make it work. But, that didn't matter either way. Luna was more than cold right now.
"Just listen to me sister." Luna raised her hoof with the last of her strength, touching Celestia's weeping face. "D-Don't...forget your way ever for me. It's because of you that Equestria is so wonderful...Always remember what you stood by for..." Luna couldn't let out any more long sentences with everything around her fading. "I'll miss you."
"Luna! Don't go!" Celestia shook her little sister with tears overflowing. "Don't leave me!" But Luna could not hear or see Celestia anymore. She has passed on. Celestia wept with a final hug given to her little sister, holding her close to her hooves.
Even Celestia's troops took a moment to witness this passing, seeing a wonderful pony leave them. But the changelings did not care at all. They just continued wreaking havoc.
That's when something snapped in Celestia. She recalled how Chrysalis taunted her for being weak, having limits, afraid to use the full force of her magic. Chrysalis simply stood there with a smug look on her face.
"On the bright side, I can always bring her back...to me of course." Chrysalis chuckled at Celestia's misery. There was not a care in her heart for this.
And that was where Celestia's limits had been broken. Her pupil blazed with a burst of light. Her mane was rising as she cried into the sky out of pain and misery. That was when a blazing aura the colour of the sun emerged, erupting with pure power behind it. It was so powerful that even Chrysalis couldn't help but back away from it. Celestia had entered a state of rage, where all the magic that she had hidden in her was being released.
Luna had been dropped out of her hooves as Celestia started ascending. The mountains were moving while the rivers shivered. An outburst of solar lights flowed out as Celestia cried, changing the colours of the skies. She thundered at the top of her lungs, shaking Baltimare and the ground itself. The clouds also had a roar with fury, connecting with Celestia's sadness.
Then, with her pupil shattering and her eyes turning black with a new pupil emerging, a dome-shaped solar aura with devasting flames emerged, overtaking the skies and the ground. This cry was coupled with the Royal Canterlot Voice, making it heard across all of Equestria.
Even Chrysalis was shocked by this. She stood there, shocked and terrified by what she was seeing. The dome grew, burning the ground below and even the buildings. It soon convulsed, sending off a rupture that transformed the dome into a pillar.
And out of the pillar rose the newly transformed Princess Celestia. Taking on a new form with smouldering blazing hair and tail, pitch-black eyes and sun-coloured pupil.
Daybreaker had ascended.
Everypony, even the changelings stood back to watch this horrifying ascension that was shaking not just Baltimare but Equestria overall. The pillar of solar aura then ruptured, causing flaming lightning bolts to shoot out and strike the area. The skies were now dark red as all of these fire bolts came flying out everywhere.
The landscape was being assaulted by these raining fire bolts. Daybreaker roared as the fire bolts had even struck the machine. The changelings inside of the machine had been vaporized along with the weapon. Everyone started running and flying out of fear as these bolts did not have clear targets. They would attack everyone.
Baltimare and nearby landscapes had been set ablaze with these flames. Daybreaker then looked ahead, spotting Chrysalis. The one who was responsible for all of this. She was so full of rage that she wasn't aware of the destruction she was causing.
Chrysalis started panicking as she could feel the unbridled magic exuding out of Daybreaker.
"You took everything from me...Now I am going to make you pay!" Daybreaker unleashed a supercolossal paroxysm of solar power that expanded to a stellar dome. Baltimare had been turned to dust as Chrysalis knew it was not safe to be here.
The flames could incinerate her at that rate. So, Chrysalis chose to retrat. In a split second, right as the flames were about to reach her, she used the teleportation spell to leave.
The Wonderbolts and Canterlot managed to escape due to being near the outskirts. But the changelings were caught up in this explosion, consumed by it.
The explosion had ended but not without leaving its effects. Baltimare was no more. Now just an elephantine crater that was once a wonderful location. All changeling forces in this area had been wiped out, defeated. Baltimare did fall, but it was Daybreaker's side that won. Even at a great cost.
The flames burned on with the pillar fizzling out. Descending with restored magic and even greater strength was Daybreaker. Despite all of that rage, she not only kept herself composed, but kept Luna's body safe from harm.
Daybreaker touched the ground as the flames didn't even affect her. She picked up the body of her little sister, trying to use her flames to warm her, just like how Luna requested. But she was long gone. The warmth didn't matter anymore.
Rainbow Dash and everypony else went up to Daybreaker, nervous at the moment. They made sure to avoid the flaming ground and clouds even. "P-Princess Celestia...? A-Are you okay?"
"No." Daybreaker responded with an honest answer. "Not at all. I have been too complacent. Too weak to protect my ponies. And my little sister, Luna. But now I see the error of my ways. I will stop at nothing until the enemies of Harmony are nothing but ash and dust. Chrysalis was right about one thing. My own limitations. But now, I shall become what I was destined to be! They will know the power of the sun!"
A supernova-like shout came from her as she stood up tall while still holding Luna. She was no longer Princess Celestia. Not any more.
Canterlot. 1 week later.
Today marked a day in Equestria History. Beset on all sides by real and perceived enemies to her country, Princess Celestia, now calling herself Daybreaker, declared Equestria a Solar Empire.
Prior to that, just last week, she had given Luna the funeral she deserved while also appearing before all of Equestria as this new pony. None mounted for the Princes of the Night more than her big sister.
And with this loss, Empress Daybreaker refocused her efforts at winning the war at any cost and keeping her ponies safe from outside harm, from anyone. Pony, Changeling, Griffon or any other being seeking to destroy harmony.
She stood before her subjects for one last speech.
"It is our darkest hour. The enemies of Equestria, the scourge of ponykind, these beast-like insectoids have invaded our homeland, burned down our cities and robbed the lives of thousands upon thousands of innocents. Many that were close to me. They will not stop until every last foal has perished from this world." She made her message clear to everypony in Equestria and even beyond.
"But I am not done yet. Through every means necessary, I will push these abominable monsters back to their horrid hive. No longer will we lose our soil to the enemy! No longer will our foals be slaughtered! No longer shall the Glory of the Sun shine down upon these insectoid scum!" She had her mane flare with a blazing roar.
"I will never give up. Never yield or stop until all of us can put an end to this. Everypony on there. We will move forward! Forward! Forward unto Dawn!"
Celestia had made her claim. A new dawn had come after this speech. And a majority of Equestria, understanding Daybreaker's cause agreed and cheered for her. Daybreaker made new choices that involved victory alone. Nothing cowardice.
As the war against the changelings continued, Daybreaker was starting to gain the advantage with the new disposition she brought to her forces. And this even involved taking the risk of destruction.
However, not all agreed with Daybreaker's new approach. Mainly Twilight Sparkle. She no longer saw her teacher, Princess Celestia, anymore. It wasn't just her. The Crystal Empire, while they assisted in this war, were nervous. Mainly Cadence who was worried about her auntie.
Twilight recalled hearing about something like this when Starlight stayed at Canterlot for a while. But it was unexpected for it to happen like this. Twilight knew of the dangers that this kind of magic could bring. After all, Princess Luna was once affected by it. She tried searching for a way to work around this magic.
But she had been found out. Daybreaker accepted her new self. He true self as she saw it as. She saw those who would deny her now approach as traitors. That even included her faithful student. Arriving to apprehend Twilight were Canterlot Guards.
But Daybreaker had faith in Twilight. Twilight had been brought before Daybreaker in her throne room in chains. Twilight Sparkle stood in front of the throne, staring into the floor instead of up at the radiant being seated on the Solar Throne before her. She was utterly silent, and from her half-hidden expression, she was ready to remain so for hours if needed.
"My faithful student..." Daybreaker began only to be cut off.
"Don't say that!" Twilight snapped in anger. "You...you're not her! You're not Princess Celestia!"
"I am more than she ever was, Twilight," Daybreaker replied, descending from her throne. "Tell me this, could Celestia keep you safe from the Changelings? Could she stop Tirek? Or Sombra? Tell me how many ponies have suffered because of Celestia's...because of my weakness. She was a pathetic ruler through and through. An absolute pushover! All she did was fail, only for your and your friends to pick up her slack!"
"Shut up!" Twilight screamed, tears running down her face as she tore at the chains, trying to get free. "Even after all of that, Princess Celestia was still loved. It didn't matter if she failed or not. It was her kindness that kept us all going!"
"And that kindness too my little sister away from me. Now listen carefully, Twilight Sparkle." Daybreaker leaned with glowing eyes. "You are going to learn. And you cannot help but learn after all, can you? And right now, your eagerness to learn will have to trump your pride. You will listen and you will learn. And become a better pony. This will be your last lesson."
"I'll never go back on my word." But Twilight stayed adamant.
"You're saying that now." Daybreaker turned around. "A new order is rising in Equestria, Twilight. Whether you like it or not, countless ponies out there cheer my name and adore me. You've seen it, haven't you? They want me. This version of me! They fear what I might be but they adore what I promise and they will fight for that promise. We've taught then well, haven't we?" She asked with a smirk.
"You're telling them lies!" Twilight snapped back at her, trying once again to free herself. "This isn't harmony at all! What happens to the Magic of Friendship?!"
"The Magic of Friendship doesn't work anymore, Twilight!" Daybreaker roared. "Tell me, when your friend Pinkie Pie fell into sadness, did you not defy her wishes to be left alone because you knew what was the best of her? How many times have you humbled Rainbow Dash when she forgets her place? There are those you haven't even managed to get through without subterfuge. Tirek, Sombra and the Storm King. possibly other creatures. All done for the greater good."
"I tried, okay?! To get through them! Help them grow! Not do...this!"
"Oh really? But what does that make you currently? You've seen how ponies cheer my name and how they fall in line under me, praising the strength and the security I give them. What of them, Twilight? Will you be at odds with them as well? What about everypony in the ruins of Manehattan or those in Ponyville? Or even the long-gone Baltimare? Will you strike down pony after pony whose only crime was believing in me? Are you willing to let your ideals overtake you?"
"I..." Twilight didn't have a response to that yet as she stayed silent.
"Is that not what you would condemn me for doing? Even if you break me, maybe even seal me in the sun, what then? When you ascend the throne can you even bear the burden that will come with it? Having thousands whisper silently when no one else can hear of how you brought the worst equivalent to Tartarus itself upon those who believed in the princess that finally became an Empress. It would be the right thing, of course. You'd force it to. But you will be hated. More than anyone else. And it wouldn't be done because of your love for your friends, but because you sought to twist the word for your liking."
"I...I..." Despite how much she faltered, Twilight was starting to become speechless, breaking down.
"Twilight," Daybreaker said, her voice turning from imperious to beckoning. "You don't have to do that. You can choose. Anypony that tries to harm Equestria and ruin what you hold dear must suffer the consequences. But if not, you could just start another variant of a war born from your admirable yet arrogant confidence. And how would that make you different from me? Or rather, what you think I am?"
"What are you...saying?"
"You can join me, Twilight. You can join and help temper my worst excesses and transform what you've learned into a new age. An age where you, me and everypony will help shape. Where Equestria will still have peace and prosperity instead of being torn asunder by constant war. Twilight...if you truly believe in what I once taught you, then help me to once again save Equestria from calamity."
Just then, while Twilight stood there frozen, Daybreaker's magic wisped out, surrounding the young alicorn with a blazing light. "Equestria is being reborn. And so will you...now rise and serve me, Sunrise Sparkle."
After everything said, Twilight leaned to Daybreaker's side. Sunrise Sparkle had a nice ring to it. She had also ascended, just like Daybreaker. And after that, that was all the older Flurry Heart could give out.
"And...that's all I know. Everything changed after that. Great Aunt Daybreaker learned about the Rift, other universes and all that."
Universe 1. Equestria. Canterlot. Current day.
"So please don't see Great Aunt Daybreaker like that, okay?" Flurry Heart closed her eyes. "She'd never do that."
"I hear you, Flurry Heart." Celestia went up to hear. "We're just being cautious. But hearing what you said...We won't."
"Oh. T-Thanks." Flurry Heart sighed. She had a soft spot for her Great Auntie from another universe. Even if she knew what she was doing was wrong.
"It seems as if we're reaching another town or city soon," said Luna. "We will speak with you later, sister."
"Alright. Good luck on your journey." Celestia bid her farewell. Flurry Heart then went along to continue playing with Premium Polish. And at the same time, Celestia took in everything she had heard, pondering for a moment.
The Grand Equestria continued on its way with Manaphy being the guide towards the Sea Temple. As for the Grand Equestria, repairs were needed after last night's attack. Even with the parts returned, the ship still needed some proper repairs.
Luckily, stopping by Virbank City was the way to go. It was always shown to be a port city with many hangars, docks and waterways. The Grand Equestria had stopped by her for repairs. And in the meanwhile, it would also be a way for everyone to take their mind of the intense night they had defending the ship, saving some Scrafty etc.
"The first sail with this ship in Equestria's history and it has already suffered some damage," said Luna, looking up at the Grand Equestria. "It's not the worst outcome at least."
"The Golurk and everyone did a great job protecting it even still," Ash replied. "If it wasn't for them, we'd all be swimming at sea and being messed with the blockade thanks to that attack."
"I say we find them and make them pay." Adagio hissed, already having revenge on her mind. "Big-time!" Her eyes then flashed red after emphasizing her last word.
"Uh, before we do that, let's find the Sea Temple first?" Flash stammered. "And repairing the ship before any of that too."
"We can't slow down, either." Shining Armor went to the pegasus. "Now that we know they're on an equal pace as us, getting there without any interrupts is out of the question."
"Everypony lounge around here until the ship is repaired," Luna ordered before facing Ash. "And um...Ahem. Ash. You've been here before, haven't you?"
"Yep. A lot. Man some good times come from this town." A nostalgic Ash thought back to all the times he's shown up to Virbank City. Each memory of it was just pleasant overall.
"In that case. You wouldn't mind if we took a stroll around the city, would you?" Luna tried navigating her words, trying her very best not to show her burning affection for Ash by bringing up mundane things.
"Oh, sure." But exciting or mundane, Ash will partake in it."We'll have a great time while the ship's being repaired. Come on, I'll show you all of Virbank." Ash would give Luna a tour of what Driftveil had to offer.
Luna then turned around, gazing at the guards before having a victory grin on her face. She then hovered over the ground before pumping her hooves and letting out a quiet "Yes!"
The guards just shrugged, unaware as to why Princess Luna would say a silent yes while also pumping her hoof. Confused, they just pumped their hooves too to try and play along. Adagio already had something on her mind.
PokeStar Studios. Virbank City was home to this entertaining location. And during her first time there with her sisters, Adagio truly enjoyed herself, unable to resist going back. And now was a good time as any to try it out while the ship was being repaired.
"Excellent. I can shoot another one today in the meanwhile. But I'll need a cast..." Adagio pondered before turning around to face the guards. The siren then pointed her hoof at them all with vigour. "All of you! Come with me. We, mostly me, are going to make movie history."
"Huh?" Flash Sentry and all the guards spoke, unaware of what Adagio had planned for them all. Their poor souls were now bound to something they could not escape until Adagio was satisfied.
While walking through the streets of Virbank, Ash decided to also show Luna PokeStar Studios. She had never seen it for herself and what it had to offer. So far, a few ponies have visited this fun location.
However, while they went off to have fun, extra assistance was coming their way. Right after they had reported to Princess Celestia about the attack last night, the Princess of the Sun decided to send help. And recalling Ash's story about the Sea Temple, she knew exactly who to send.
The Human World. Canterlot. Day.
"So it's back to the Sea Temple, is it?" Jackie. Jackie was the one who would give out assistance as he had his experience with the Sea Temple. He was speaking through a phone that connected to the Ranger Union, receiving this information.
"That's right, Jackie. Sorry if it's sudden and getting in the way of your current mission."
"No, it's fine. Makes me feel nostalgic anyway. I'll just finish off the problem happening over here in this world and be on my way." Jackie then hung up as he was currently on a tree.
Jackie came here after receiving reports of trouble ongoing in this parallel world. Mainly due to when one of the few gateways to it had been found. Jackie then jumped off the tree, continuing on his mission.
Meanwhile, just around Canterlot, Rarity was currently with Applejack and Fluttershy as each of them were preparing for Christmas. Both worlds in separate universes were perfectly in sync for the approaching holidays. The same day and the same time as well.
"Do you think it'll be safe to have the Pokemon around for Christmas?" Rarity asked. "I mean, personally speaking, I can already sense a mess coming along."
"I'm sure it'll be a good idea," Fluttershy replied. "The few ones I have back home are so well behaved. Especially that Audino. They'd be great at Christmas. Not sure about everyone else though..."
"Sunset's Pokemon might make it. But that Snorlax Pinkie Pie caught might eat everything...Probably faster than what she did last Christmas." Applejack sighed, recalling an unfavourable scenario on that one Christmas day.
As they were discussing, Jackie came along, reaching a lower ground as he had some questions to ask the locals of this town. And they were the first he spotted as he noticed how they resembled their Equestria counterparts. Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack were startled, but soon calmed down for a bit once they saw Jackie's arrival.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy's heart skipped a beat.
"Sorry for the shock." Jackie stood up tall. "You remind me of certain ponies so I thought being all stylish would be nice to show off."
"It was stylish I guess. And uh...who are you?" Applejack asked with squinted eyes.
"Jack Walker." Jackie looked down at them with his signature cocky yet capable smirk. "Call me Jackie please."
And instantly, at the first glance, while Fluttershy and Applejack would greet him back casually, there was something different with Rarity's approach. She saw Jackie's fairly clean-cut face and how unusually pulchritudinous he looked. But that was to be expected. Jackie keeps himself clean at all times.
Always having a slick blonde hairstyle with him, followed by a dazzling grin with his teeth. Just the type of things that attracted Rarity as she was instantly smitten.
"W-Well, hello Jackie~." Rarity swooned, trying to keep her composure. She put her arms behind her back afterwards before stealthily making eyes at Jackie. "What can we do for you, darling?"
"Well, I was hoping you all have seen a runaway Pokemon by here. See I'm a Pokemon Ranger and I'm currently on a small mission. A few of the Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys have had their Pokemon go rouge and flee all of a sudden. I was tracking some of them down and it led me to here. Now I've lost their trail."
"Sorry. But we haven't seen any." Fluttershy shook her head in response.
"Nothing from me." So did Applejack. "But I did hear some pretty weird footsteps nearby. Sounded like a bunch of squeaking. Is that something?"
"Pokemon have pretty distinct footsteps. Some squeaky, some heavy and some don't exist. Thanks for the tip." Jacke gave a thumbs up. "Now I know I came to the right place."
"Well, you certainly found yourself in the right place today." Rarity smiled, trying to be smooth with her words. "Is this your first time? And you said we reminded you of certain ponies, right?"
"Oh, yeah. My first time in this world. Bit freaky but I'll get used to it. Plus, I remember your names. You're the counterparts to Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack, correct?" He asked as they each nodded in confirmation. "Knew it."
"Are you a friend of Ash as well?" questioned Fluttershy.
"That just makes it better." An intrigued Rarity went close to him. "How about after your little Pokemon chase, you stay here and we can tour you around this freaky world."
"Love to but I have another mission to get to after this one. Ash and everyone need my help for the Sea Temple." Jackie shut it down, making Rarity upset, but still optimistic. "Maybe another time when I'm not busy."
"Oh, that's fine." Rarity shrugged while watching Jackie walk away to find the missing Pokemon. Rarity could only smile before nudging Applejack.
"Hm? What?" But Applejack was unaware of Rarity's hints, making the fashionista pout.
"A real catch, isn't he? Ash certainly has some handsome friends." Rarity giggled as Applejack finally got what she meant. All Applejack could do was shake her head and sigh.
"Yeah. Sure, Rarity."
Equestria. Pie Family Rock Farm. Day.
At the Pie Family Rock Farm, there was currently a guest over there. But not a guest who was aware of the current location they were in. That guest was Emerald Aura, who had just passed out two days ago after a fairly intense conflict against the Rift.
For the first time ever, Emerald Aura felt tired as the Rift had removed the infinite stamina that resides in all Rift Creations, resulting in her feeling fatigued. But, this was not Emerald's first time fainting. A similar situation like this happened back at Sweet Apple Acres.
This was now the second Earth Pony family she was in without her knowing. Only this time, she woke up earlier than expected. Emerald groaned, opening her eyes to see two ponies and two Pokemon staring at her.
Three of them had stern faces while one had a shy face. These were Limestone Pie with her partner Tyranitar, who currently had a Larvitar being held. And the other was Marble Pie.
"Aaah!" Emerald gasped, backing up on the bed before having her head smashed into a nearby rock that acted as a pillow for the bed. "Ow...!" She cried out.
"Good, you're awake." Limestone said with her usual aggressive tone.
"Huh? What?" Emerald breathed in and out, taking in the scene around her. She then realized that she had gone through her second awakening inside of a farm. "Oh...not again..." She sighed. But she then remembered how this had happened.
The clash between the Rift led to this. And trying to warn Cold Colt as well. But that went poorly as shown by her current predicament. "Did you two bring me in?"
"Mhm." Marble nodded in confirmation whilst hiding behind Tyranitar.
"You just showed up out of nowhere. And near Houlder's Bouler too." Limestone nudged her head at the window, showing Emeral the infamous boulder that Limestone holds so dear to her. "You were lucky that you were passed out when you appeared next to it."
"Uh, T-Thanks..." Emerald pulled back after being given a narrowed stare from Limestone. "I appreciate the hospitality, but I should get going right now."
"Was waiting for you to say that. Tyranitar and Larvitar here need that bed after all."
"Huh? No way a Tyranitar can sleep on this!" Emerald aimed her hoof at the bed. Larvitar then hopped off of Tyrantirar's grasp, landing on the bed. Due to Larvitar being able to casually cause earthquakes by just walking, once she jumped on the bed, she made Emerald bounce.
"Larvitar!"
"Woah!" Emerald cried out before having her head hit the ceiling. She then fell back down, landing flat on the floor instead of the bed. "Ow..." Cosmic magic slightly sparked from her horn.
"Hm?" Limestone then looked ahead, noticing the cosmic sparks emanating from her horn. The magic seemed familiar to her, reminding her of a certain pony. "Hang on...You're a Rift Pony?"
"Yeah..." Emerald groaned, raising her head while still laying on the floor. "What of it?"
"So you know Cold Colt, right?"
"Yeah, a good friend of mine. Why?"
"Well, why didn't you say so?" Limestone walked over, helping Emerald off the floor. "Any friend of Cold is a friend of mine. He's a good kid after all."
"Really?" Emerald blinked for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "I mean...I guess that makes sense. You're close to the Apple Family, aren't you?"
"Sure are. Cold and them come here often with Pinkie Pie. Aside from Pinkie, that kid knows how to make some fun with that magic of his. Being able to do almost anything has its perks."
"That's good. Wish I could say the same about me." Emerald sighed, looking up at her horn. "My magic's been weakened thanks to the Rift. I'm not sure how much I can do now."
"Not that bad, right?"
"Uh..."To test it out, Emerald would use her magic to think of anything she could. With cosmic lights flaring out and Limestone backing up, the group watched this cosmic force play out.
And what happened was that Emerald could conjure up a nice sofa, table, bookshelf, furnace for the winter, some delicious food, hot coffee, warm scarves around the necks of Limestone and the others with the perfect sizes and everything fit for winter relaxation.
"Hah..." Emerald sighed, surprised that it took that much energy for her to do this. Limestone, Marble, Tyranitar and Larvitar looked at their scarves, finding their comfiness pleasurable. "Worked like a charm."
"This is nice and all but...Can you turn it back?" Limestone requested, preferring how the room looked before. "But you can keep the scarves."
"Right." Emerald used her magic once more but soon came to realize a shocking revelation. Everything she had summoned stayed. Nothing had left. "W-What the?"
"Hey. I said get rid of it." Limestone was expecting the creations to vanish right about now.
"I'm trying but...!" Emerald's horn flashed as she had another attempt, but with no success. "It's not working."
"Not working?!" Limestone roared.
"I swear I didn't plan this!" Emerald put her hooves out, knowing that Limestone can get fairly aggressive over small things. She then had another go, but nothing happened. "It's my magic! It's all screwy now! If I wanted to get rid of all of this I would but I can't right now."
Limestone then took a deep breath, keeping her composure and retaining her anger. "It's fine. There's more than one way to get rid of this stuff."
The obvious and best way. Utter destruction. And no Pokemon resembled this better than Tyranitar. Right through the window, startling a nearby Vullaby with how loud the window crash was, Tyranitar, Larvitar and even Limestone threw the objects out with full force.
But it wasn't over yet. "Dark Pulse!" She ordered them both. The Mother and Daughter combined their powers together, sending out a double Dark Pulse that eventually merged to create a bigger Dark Pulse. All of the objects outside had been eradicated by the combined Dark Pulses as Emerald watched in intimidated astonishment.
"There. Problem solved." Limestone dusted her hooves.
"Talk about excessive..." Emerald said to herself before realizing how stumped she was. "But this isn't good. How am I gonna get around now? Does my teleport even work anymore? What if I end up someplace else?" Panic was starting to overtake her. "No. I can just walk there...But it'll take so long..."
"What are you complaining about? Just use your magic to make something that'll take you there." Limestone shrugged. "You can at least do that too, right?"
"Oh." Emerald made a poker face. "R-Right. I can do that." With full concentration, Emerald was ready to see if her magic extended towards transportation. The best she could create was a scooter. A rocket-powered scooter for extra speed.
Marble and the others gawked at it as Emerald was glad she could at least make something capable and useful. The Rift didn't weaken her too drastically. "Alright!" She hopped onto the scooter. "I'll be off now. Thanks for keeping me around for a bit. I'll say hello to Cold for you."
"You do that. Thanks for the scarf by the way." Limestone and the others showed off their scarves. But in an instant, Limestone's smile transformed back into a frown with lowered eyes. "Just don't teleport near my boulder again next time."
"Uh...I-I'll try and be careful next time." A nervous Emerald Aura said before moving with her scooter. She jumped through the broken window for style points. After that, she was off to Ponyville. And it would be a long way there.
Virbank City. PokeStar Studios.
"Okay, listen up and listen closely," Adagio spoke to the guards in the Dressing Room. "This movie, featuring me..." She stopped to pose for some glamour points. "Needs all the help it can get for it to be perfect. And we don't have all the time in the world because of the whole Sea Temple thing. So, let's make it quick and precise. All of you are going to help make this film for me."
"Do we have to?" A guard sighed.
"I don't know it sounds kinda fun." Flash Sentry and a few other guards agreed to try this out. They rarely get to have fun most of the time.
"Good. Now we practised this a few months back." Adagio hopped onto a chair with her hooves crossed. "I told you we'd be here eventually. You all know your roles, so get to it."
"Yes ma'am!" The Canterlot Guards saluted as since Adagio had them all under her control plus the perk of being Celestia's student, made it so that they listened to her every word. Minus Flash Sentry since he was a Crystal Empire guard. He watched as all the Canterlot Guards scattered, bringing objects to Adagio at rapid speeds.
Adagio had her non-existent nails that she once had as a human adjusted with a nail filer. AKA her hoof. Her mane had been freshened up as a box of clothes fit for ponies was brought over. Adagio then opened her mouth as a mouth freshener was sprayed at her.
"Uh...W-What about me? What do I do?" Flash asked, feeling left out.
"You're the odd-one-out." Adagio referred to how Flash Sentry looked strikingly different from every other guard by a margin. "If I'm going to make a great movie, I suppose I should have someone else to accompany me. With how much you stand out, you're perfect um..." Adagio paused, trying to remember Flash's name. "Crash, right?"
"It's Flash."
"Yeah, sure, that. I'll make you the moping sidekick. How does that sound?"
"That sounds horrible!" Flash exclaimed.
"Fine. Cocky sidekick then. Those get great comedic moments. As for me, I will play the role of the graceful, opportunistic, generous queen with divine blood."
"W-What kind of movie are you even planning on making?" Flash stammered, confused by this character theme.
"It's creativity. Don't question, okay?" Adagio chuckled with a pompous laugh, already fitting the role of a queen perfectly.
"How'd I get roped into this...?" Flash sighed, knowing there was no escaping from this scenario. The other guards were in the same boat as him.
The Grand Equestria. Day.
And speaking of the Grand Equestria, some of the troops from the attack last night were still inside the ship's prison cells. While it was being repaired, Shining Armor and some Crystal Empire guards were there to interrogate the troops. But so far, none of them spoke the truth or anything valuable.
"It's impossible, captain." A guard spoke to Shining Armor. "No matter what we say, they won't reveal anything useful to us."
"There's not a crack in our heads." A troop tapped smirked, tapping her head with her hoof. "Try all you want, but we're as loyal to Empress Daybreaker as we can possibly be." The other imprisoned troops agreed with them as none of them could expose anything.
Except for Empress Twilight's troops. They had already revealed their fair share of things as they were seemingly weak-willed compared to Daybreaker's troops.
"Hmm...What to do, what to do?" Shining Armor pondered for a moment. That was when he recalled something about Aegislash. "Hang on a minute...Who here has a Pokedex with them?"
"Uh...I have one, captain." A guard revealed the Pokedex to Shining Armor. The Captain of the Royal Guard then used her magic to take the Pokedex, aiming at the Royal Sword Pokemon.
"Alright. Pokedex. Tell me some fun facts about Aegislash." He requested.
"Aegislash. The Royal Sword Pokemon. Generations of kings were attended by these Pokémon, which used their potent spectral power to manipulate and control people and Pokémon. It once used its powers to force people and Pokémon to build a kingdom to its liking."
"All that I needed to hear." The unicorn smirked before facing the prisoners. But they still look unaffected, not worried about this potential manipulation. "Okay, Aegislash. Go for it."
"Aegis. Aeigslash." The Royal Sword Pokemon stood before the ponies. By using his Ghostly abilities, he emanated an enigmatic aura that surrounded the opposing ponies. The goal was to manipulate them to tell the truth.
They didn't look worried at first, believing in their strong resilience against manipulation. Unfortunately, their world only accounted for manipulation via magic. Not manipulation via Ghosts. Thus, Aegislash was able to get through to them.
"Uh oh." They said before soon realizing how the Royal Sword Pokemon had them right where he wanted them.
"Let's try this again. First question. How is it that you managed to know about our departure to the Sea Temple on this very day?" Shining Armor questioned.
"I-It... It...!" The troop and the others tried resisting, but it was no use. Aegislash had them blocked off from fully resisting it. They couldn't help but reveal what they could. "It's because of our brilliant ruler's Grand Eye Spell!"
"Grand Eye Spell?"
"It's what Empress Twilight had used during the invasion. That giant eye in the sky. But Empress Daybreaker's extends not just to one universe, but multiple and on a smaller scale!"
"So that's how she did it. Hers is vaster across more worlds yet smaller? That's pretty scary actually." Shining Armor shuddered, looking around as he was wondering if Daybreaker was watching right now. "So is she watching us now?!"
"Only when she wants to."
"That still doesn't make me feel safe. Next question. What's over at Samiya? Why does she need power from the Sea Temple and what is it for?"
"For Necrozma. The Sea Temple is said to have tremendous amounts of light within it. Necrozma needs light. More than anything. The crystals there are said to give off astronomical amounts. C-Can I be free now?!" She cried out, trying to break free from Aegislash's' control.
"That's it? Thought there'd be more to it." Shining Armor shrugged. "How much light does Necrozma need."
"A-Apparently...Oh, this hurts..." She groaned for a bit. "Apparently, this Necrozma requires more light than other Necrozma. The universe it originally came from lacked all the light in the world. Something else beat Necrozma to it. Because of that, Necrozma's light intake is so great that not even the light of a whole planet could satisfy it. So it's looking for more."
"So those crystals have that much light in them do they? Enough for this entire world? Somehow I'm not surprised." At this point, Shining Armor had come to expect ludicrous feats and possibilities when it comes to the Pokemon World. Even the items were absurd. "Those are the questions I have for now. You can stop now, Aegislash."
"Aegis." Aegislash ended his control on them. But the aftermath made their heads spin as well as befuddling them. Some of the prisoners even went to sleep after that trip.
"Alright. Send everything we've heard to Princess Celestia." He said to his group as the guards saluted. And get something to eat too. We might leave by the afternoon. That moon's starting to come up fairly quickly because of winter."
"Yes sir!"
9 hours later.
9 hours had passed. The ship had been repaired and was ready to go. But Ash and the others were still over at Virbank's popular attraction. They would return soon. In fact, just now, Ash and Luna were just leaving PokeStar Studios.
"I quite enjoyed that, Ash. We even obtained some memorable pictures in the meanwhile." Luna spoke as she and Ash took pictures together in a photo booth. Most of them were silly faces. One of which involved Darkrai getting a sneaky photobomb without him knowing.
"Sure was. Do you wanna show that movie to Celestia when we get back?" He asked. The movie they made involved all of their Pokemon, resulting in a massive cast.
"Pikachu?"
"Of course! Oh, where did Manaphy go exactly? I've rarely seen her as recently besides last night leading to today."
"Manaphy decided to stay on the ship. She felt a bit weird after last night." He replied. "Kinda worried. Do you think she's ill?"
"Not sure. Hopefully, it had nothing to do with the island or even the seas themselves."
What of Manaphy exactly? She was certainly at the location of the Grand Equestria. Just not within it. Instead, Manaphy was outside the ship, just in the seas near the port. Due to the appearance of the moon, the Seafaring Pokemon felt off. She felt compelled to come outside and stare at the moon.
"Phy...Mana..." She uttered. That was when Nightmare Rarity's magic started responding to her and the moon itself. The effect does work best during the night. But it wasn't just that.
With the wisp of the Nightmare magic flying out of her, something was materializing out of thin air. The visage and silhouette of a pony were forming. A fairly tall one. This was the pony of the night herself. A Fashionista now turned to another side, unleashing the full capabilities of her magic.
Nightmare Rarity.
She had shown up to the scene due to this wisp. The magic installed within Manaphy, at night, allowed Nightmare Rarity to appear at any location as long as her magic was active.
"Thank you for summoning me, little one." Nightmare Rarity said. "Ooh, you're so cute too. But I would've preferred you to do it earlier. I was just about to freshen myself up, darling."
"Manaphy..."
"We'll need you to get to the Sea Temple without them. Daybreaker won't mind if I make a little shortcut." Indeed, what Nightmare Rarity was about to do was not under Daybreaker's request. But she didn't care at all. "You will come with us to the Sea Temple and guide us instead of them. But those friends of yours are persistent. I'm positive that distractions won't matter much to them. Especially that Darkrai. But hey...let's give it a shot."
Nightmare Rarity knew of the best possible distraction. She looked at the city of Virbank while hovering over the water, choosing the citizens there. Out of her horn, a nightmare wisp came zooming out. It instantly went for the first individual it would target.
A worker bringing cargo to Vibrank was the first to be hit at the back of his head unbeknownst to him. "Ow!" He cried out, holding the back of his head.
"You okay?" His fellow worker asked.
"Fine. Something sharp stung though." He groaned. But right after that wisp hit him, it multiplied, seeping out of the back of his head. The wisps then scattered, moving across the floor rapidly.
The worker then placed the cargo down, no longer feeling that sharp sting. Instead, he was feeling something else. Right before the eyes of his fellow workers, his body colour was transforming. Transforming into the colour of the night sky.
"Oh! What the?!" They gasped before seeing their fellow worker gain a night-sky body. But as the wisps multiplied, they started hitting the other workers plus their Pokemon.
They all felt something different each time the wisps passed them by. They didn't even need to touch their heads. All they needed to do was graze their feet for the effect to take place. Soon, all of them were feeling changes.
"W-What's happening?" The first worker said as they were all perplexed, unaware of what was happening to them.
"Hm?" Luna stopped for a moment as she felt a familiar presence. So did Ash, wondering what Luna's senses had picked up on. "This magic..." A familiar feeling that Luna once had but cast aside long ago. And now it belongs to a familiar pony. "It's Nightmare Rarity!"
Unova Region. Near the port of Virbank City. Out in the sea. Late Afternoon.
Appearing in Virbank City under the winter moon during a late afternoon was Nightmare Rarity. Here for Manaphy and quicker way to the Sea Temple, the nightmare variant of the Fashionista knew it wouldn't be so easy. Even distracting Ash and the others would not guarantee absolute success. But it was worth a shot anyway.
With the magic she spread, humans and Pokemon had been affected by an unknown form of magic that they had yet to know about. Their bodies became the same colour as Nightmare Rarity, including having stars within them. However, despite this change in their appearances, so far, nothing looked off.
"That should do. Poor Luna won't even know what kind of pointless issue she'll be chasing." Nightmare Rarity chuckled before approaching the Seafaring Pokemon. She knew something that no one else did. Not even Luna, who was once in the same hooves as Nightmare Rarity.
"Now, how should I do this?" She pondered. "You don't seem to be resisting my control. Or are you just toying with me?"
"Manaphy..." Manaphy uttered with a zoned-out expression. Nightmare Rarity shrugged, unsure of how to respond to that.
"Hm. So much for being a Mythical Pokemon. I expected more. Anyway. It's time for us to go." With the usage of her horn, Nightmare Rarity had summoned a gateway below the water. While she showed up here without a gateway via the magic that was inside of Manaphy, she couldn't return the same way.
"Manaphy..." Manaphy uttered as she was starting to resist this control. Nightmare Rarity's magic was unexpectedly potent. Potent enough to put the Seafaring Pokemon in a nigh-unbreakable trance. But being a Mythical Pokemon and having a strong bond with Flurry Heart, Manaphy could just barely resist.
"Hm?" Nightmare Rarity could feel this as Manaphy had used Psychic around her body to pull herself upwards. Manaphy was still in a controlled state due to the night but her heart was a great counter. "You're a resilient one." Nightmare Rarity spoke, trying to descend into the gateway. "But how resilient are you, that's the question?"
Nightmare Rarity then entered a struggle with Manaphy. She used her magic for a telekinetic hold as well, covering herself in a magical aura. She then tried pushing herself downwards while Manaphy pushed upwards. Manaphy was aiming to use Heart Swap on Nightmare Rarity as her antennae were moving towards the corrupted fashionista.
"Oh!" Realizing how big of a problem that could cause, Nightmare Rarity let go of Manaphy, just barely avoiding her antennae and Heart Swap. Nightmare Rarity wanted no one to know about her attempt to capture Manaphy. She preferred to be secretive. As for Manaphy, the control on her was starting to diminish with how much she resisted it.
"Such resistance. Well, there are other options. If I can't have you, I'll just take half of you via dreams. Like so." Aiming to put an end to this, Nightmare Rarity had used her magic once more. And this time it was on Manaphy.
Manaphy stood there, feeling an unusual strain moving through her. Before she knew it, something was being ripped out of her. Her dream half. The part of Maaphy that dreams had been ripped directly out of Manaphy's body while having a transparent appearance. "M-Mana...!" Manaphy cried out after having her dream-self ripped out.
"This'll work better." Nightmare Rarity then held the dream variant of Rarity. "You don't have to worry anymore." She then descended to the gateway. "I ended up choosing a safer option in the long run. Anyway, goodbye~!"
"Mana..." A dazed Manaphy uttered before shaking her head, finally snapping out of the mind control once Nightmare Rarity had left through to another world. "Mana?!" Manaphy looked around, seeing if she could spot Nightmare Rarity. But the gateway had already been closed, plus the departure of Nightmare Rarity had been made.
Manaphy was confused, She had just barely managed to fight back this alarming control. And at the moment, she sensed nothing else wrong with her. The Seafaring Pokemon believed that she had managed to push Nightmare Rarity away without being captured.
But in reality, Nightmare Rarity, in a cosmic sense, did capture her.
Unova Region. Virbank City. Late Afternoon.
Back at the city, Luna, sensing Nightmare Rarity's magic since she was connected to this kind of magic for obvious reasons, rushed to the scene. And with Ash and Pikachu by her side, they had witnessed this nightly sight.
"By my sister..." Luna gawked, witnessing how everyone here had the night within them. "They're all infected by it...I've never seen it happen in this way?
"I-Is that bad?" Ash asked.
"When I was Nightmare Moon, just 2 years ago, I could affect various things with a wisp of magic. Such as creating illusions, forming random issues and so on. But I've never seen this. You there!"
"Hm?" A Trainer responded to Luna's call.
"Are you alright?! Do you feel anything?! Any injuries or potential illnesses?!" The Princess of the Moon bombarded the Pokemon Trainer with questions of worry from a genuine heart.
"Uh...N-No. I mean I look weird but..." The Trainer looked at her arms and flipped her nightly hair. "I actually look pretty fabulous like this!" She spun around, truly gazing at her astral-like appearance. "Maybe this will boost us in the Pokemon Contest over at Hoenn, right, Whimsicott?"
"Whimsi!" Whimsicott agreed as the cotton it had around it was also covered with a night sky appearance. As Whimsicott flew around, leaving puffs of cotton, even the cotton had the night sky within it, giving a beautiful blending view.
The same went for everyone else. Ash, Pikachu and Luna looked at the city, witnessing how everyone was just casually getting along with their day while also wondering why they had a night sky look. No one seemed to be in any real danger. Not even a bit.
The only alarming thing was that they all felt a sting right before their bodies transformed into this colour. Some Pokemon and children enjoyed this new look, running around in it and pretending to blend in with the sky. Although, they didn't need to pretend due to how they looked right now.
"They all look fine to me." Ash scratched his hair.
"No, this can't be right..." Luna pondered. "Whatever this form of magic it may be...I sense a horrible outcome that is slowly approaching us. And something that is unaware of all of them. Nightmare Rarity being here could be in conjunction with Daybreaker and Empress Twilight, seeing as they are in an alliance."
Appearing out of the shadows in his usual creepy manner was Darkrai after moving across the shadows of Virbank to see if something was amiss. But even Darkrai, the Master of Nightmares could not find a fault so far. "Nothing unusual yet, Luna. It's strange. None of this magic has done much except change appearances."
"We can't be safe." Luna took a deep breath. "Just what is she planning with this...?"
PokeStar Studios.
"What is this?!" Adagio roared while holding a massive mirror, looking at herself. The wisp had grazed her and everyone within PokeStarStudios, giving them all the appearance of the night sky.
"Um...Miss Adagio." A guard spoke, removing his helmet with a nervous gulp. "If you want, we can just postpone this movie and come back at another time when we've finished with the Sea Temple journey."
"Yeah I mean...we've also been here for hours now." Flash Sentry spoke. "And I'm not sure this looks safe. Come to think of it, isn't this Night-"
"Are you crazy?!" Adagio soon interrupted with another bellow. But this one was of joy. "This is perfect! I was hoping for a space-like story! And how accurate is this? Now we look like cosmic beings! Perfect!"
"Uh...It is?" The guards all said.
"Most of you aren't in the film so you can stay away from the camera, okay?" Adagio shooed some of the guards. "But as for those who are, this'll make everyone who watches it amazed. Points for authenticity."
"But should we be alarmed by this? This looks like Nightmare Moon's magic. Or maybe Nightmare Rarity now that I think about it?"
"Hmm...As much as I love this you might be right." Adagio grumbled, sitting down. "How many hours have we been here for exactly?"
"About 9 or 8 hours." The guard looked at the clock. "The ship might be repaired at this point. We could leave now but we wouldn't be able to finish the film at all."
"Fine. We'll postpone it." She then stood up with an exclamation. "We won't publish it. I'll take what you said about finishing it after the Sea Temple into consideration. For now, just save it and keep it somewhere safe on the ship. I don't want to lose my progress."
"Yes ma'am!"
Unova. Out in the far seas. The Sunstorm.
Opening a gateway to her universe and all the way back to the Pokemon World was a tiring process for Nightmare Rarity as she was not a fan of long process activities.
But after getting through that process, she appeared before the Empress' forces and Daybreaker's forces via the Sunstorm, holding the other part of Manaphy.
"Ta-da~!" She made a fanfare with her magic, showing off the dream-half of Manaphy. "Not exactly the Manaphy, but enough to suffice for your journey."
"What is that...?" Tempest Shadow wondered.
"Ah. You see, I can interact with dreams. But I and to an extent, my two Tantubuses can rip out the Dream variant of whatever target I chose. Right now, this Manaphy has the same mindset as the original but flows with various dreams. And within one of those dreams has to be the path to the Sea Temple."
"H-How does that work?" Spitfire shrugged.
"Yes. How does it work?" Appearing as a magical projection within the Sunstorm was Daybreaker. She was curious as to what Nightmare Rarity had planned. "I was expecting you to do something more simple when you arrived there."
"Oh, Daybreaker!" Nightmare Rarity was alarmed by the appearance of Empress Daybreaker. "Ahem. Just my own way of doing things. You don't mind, do you?"
"Hm...I suppose not." Daybreaker shrugged. "So, how does this Dream variant work exactly?"
"Ah, right. Here is an example." Nightmare Rarity used her magic on the Transparent Manaphy, forming a visage that emerged out of its body. WIthin that visage, it showed a dream of Manaphy playing with Flurry Heart, having a good time at the Crystal Empire. The others gawked with impression afterwards. "Whatever they dream, I can show it."
"Okay..." Daybreaker slowly nodded.
"That involves altering their dreams. Meaning I can force them to dream a specific scenario. Like so." And for the next example, she showed a dream of Manaphy guiding the Grand Equestria towards the Sea Temple. Now everyone was hooked.
"That's amazing...!" Daybreaker gawked as Spitfire removed her magical glasses for amazement. "You could do this the entire time?!"
"Oh certainly. I'm capable of so much more. And I can thank Lunar Ire for giving me that boost." The fashionista chuckled.
"But how are we sure this one is going to work?" Tempest questioned. "I mean...it's not the true Manaphy and this is just a dream after all."
"Tempest has a point," Daybreaker said. "Manaphy all have homing instincts that guide them to the Sea Temple, even though it has a cloaking device. I would assume that a dream can only go so far without being actually there. Especially considering that you've ripped it out of Manaphy's body."
"Oh, right. That would complicate things, wouldn't it? Not to worry. This Manaphy and the real Manaphy are connected. I wouldn't be as foolish as to get rid of all of her dreaming capabilities." She then held the Dream variant Seafaring Pokemon out.
A new visage appeared. And this time, it was of Virbank City. There, Manaphy was still befuddled, confused as to what was going exactly. They could all see Manaphy via this Dream variant.
"Think of it as Crystal Ball. Now, we can follow Manaphy thoroughly. Works far better than your Grand Eye Spell, doesn't it Daybreaker?" Nightmare Rarity chuckled, teasing Daybreaker. "No cost of magic at all."
"Hmph. Mine's better still." Daybreaker just shrugged it off. "But I expect you to return the Dream Variant to the real Manaphy once the temple is found. After all, since you ripped it out of her, she can't dream anymore can she?"
"Never again. Without this, Manaphy will have no dreams to experience." The fashionista circled the Dream variant. "But why would I return it exactly? Wouldn't it be best to keep it around?"
"That Manaphy is close to my niece Flurry Heart." Daybreaker's eyes narrowed with flames spurting out, powerful enough to reach this universe as Nightmare Rarity trembled. "If the Dream part of her isn't returned-"
"I know, I know. I'll return it." She interrupted Daybreaker, knowing that she would feel her wrath if this was not done. Daybreaker does care for who she sees close to her. "Would've been fun to keep it anyway. Besides, Luna and the others will be so occupied with something so false, we'll have a greater land than them."
"And that is...?" Daybreaker was waiting for the answer.
"I created a false sense of danger." Nightmare Rarity opened a gateway behind her, having a devious laugh along the way. Afterwards, she left this world.
"Well, send this to Team Plasma. They can put an end to their Manaphy hunt now. Let's move and get a head start, all of you." Tempest commanded as they were ready to keep sailing onwards to the Sea Temple.
Virbank City. Late afternoon.
Soon, everyone had been struck by these wisps that multiplied each time they hit their target. The whole city was infested with Nightmare appearances. And so far, Luna had no clue as to what this meant.
They had then shown up at the Grand Equestria to see if Manaphy and the others were in any trouble. But once they arrived, Manaphy just stood there, confused.
"Mana?"
"Manapahy? You're alright?" Luna uttered.
"Mana. Mana-Mana." Manaphy hopped over to her. This just further confused Luna as she was clueless in all of this. But she was A-OK. Manaphy was not harmed.
"She's alright." Luna held Manaphy in her hooves. "That's odd...Everything is fine."
"Are you okay, Luna?" Darkrai appeared out of the shadows. "You look more perplexed than usual."
"I'm fine...Just trying to wrap my head around all of this. Am I missing something? I sensed Nightmare Rarity's magic, didn't I? Is this an illusion? Maybe it is?! Is it?!" This was all getting to Luna. Her fears were getting the better of her in this scenario. Even though everything seemed, fine, the memories she had of this kind of magic plus Nightmare Rarity could only spark worry.
"Luna?!" Darkrai's tone was raised after seeing his trainer in such a state.
"I should know this!" Luna closed her eyes. "But I don't!"
Ash could see that Luna was beginning to feel some form of stress. To calm her down, Ash kneeled to get on her level. He then calmed Luna's nerves once the Princess of the Night looked at him. "No need to worry, Luna. You've got this. Whatever this stuff is, I know you'll find out somehow. You're the nighttime master after all. No one knows it better than you. Well, plus Darkrai."
"Pikachu."
"Right. Thank you. Ash. Pikachu." Luna took a deep breath before standing up tall. "I can do this. I just need to take everything that's happened in. All of their bodies are covered in the same ethereal mane as Nightmare Moon and Nightmare Rarity. Which means..." She then thought long and hard. "...that it can be dispelled from them."
"Dispelled? How?" Ash asked.
"For me, it was the Elements of Harmony that dispelled this magic from my body. And from what I also found out, this magic also applies not just to anypony in the night, but the day as well. Daybreaker seems to have the magic in her that transformed her from Celestia to Daybreaker."
"Does it have a name?" Darkrai questioned.
"In reality, it's just magic. You see, Nightmare Moon was the result of our magic being untamed and fully released. The same went for Daybreaker in her world. We alicorns keep our magic in check for a reason. We are free to use it to the fullest. but if that magic is tampered with via emotions then not only does it force the full power of our magic out, it alters it. That is how Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker come to be."
"Wait a sec...Nightmare Rarity's not an alicorn..." Ash scratched his hair, remembering the description for Nightmare Rarity.
"No. She's not." Luna shook her head in response. "But as a unicorn, the tribe that has the second-highest amount of magic only surpassed by alicorns, their emotions can correlate with their magic. It's also why the Elements of Harmony exist in the first place. All of our magic ties with our emotions. It's identical to a move like Return, Outrage or Frustration."
"Pika..." An amazed Pikachu and Manaphy were agape after learning this fact.
"But, we don't have the Elements of Harmony with us right now. But I have another method I could try." Luna then banked on the one thing she constantly promised not to continuously come back to over and over again. Lunar Ire.
"A wise choice." Lunar Ire spoke through Luna's head. "I'm so glad that you're starting to see just how much I can offer you."
"Zip it..." Luna scoffed before borrowing a fraction of Lunar Ire's magic. This time, the magic went to just her horn and eyes. Luna's eyes flashed blue while the tip of her horn became red.
Luna was choosing to use more of Lunar Ire's capabilities. Luna, with her glowing eyes, observed the nightmare-influenced area around her, seeing if there was some sort of illusion nearby. Luna had found a new neat trick with Lunar Ire, being able to have advanced eyesight similar to Luxray.
However, as she scanned the city, Luna then came to a shocking realization that made her glowing eyes fade away. The alicorn was thrown back as she found out why there was no issue at all.
"There's no danger..." Luna uttered under her breath. "There never was..."
"No danger?" Both Ash and Darkrai said in unison.
"It's all fake!" Luna spread her hooves out. "All a ruse! There's no illusion with this either. Nightmare Rarity did this on purpose. This was her way of giving a distraction. One that doesn't involve any danger at all. Because she knew that we would most definitely catch on without a second to spare."
"So then if there was no danger with her distraction, what was she distracting us from?" Darkrai wondered.
"The best and clearest answer in this is Manaphy. She's the only way to reach the Sea Temple. But Manaphy is unharmed and unaffected by the looks of it." Luna turned to Manaphy. "There is no other reason for her to come here. Manaphy. Tell me. Did something happen to you earlier?"
"Mana...?" Manaphy dug deep, seeing if she could recall anything. All she could remember was barely pushing Nightmare Rarity away and that was it. "Mana-Mana."
"She says that Nightmare Rarity did show up here unexpectedly. But she managed to push her away." Darkrai translated. "That's all Manaphy can recall. Seems as if Nightmare Rarity did try and come for her after all."
"That's all I needed to hear, Manaphy. I can't play it too safe either. She has the power to invade dreams as well. No doubt that she'll take that route as well. When you all fall asleep, Darkrai and I will enter the Dream World as always. There, we'll wait for Nightmare Rarity."
"You got it." Ash and Pikachu gave a thumbs up to that. "We'll be out before you know it."
"Pikachu!"
"Now to do one other thing..." Luna wasn't quite finished yet. The appearance of everyone needed to be reversed. Luckily, as Lunar Ire, that could be done.
By the power of Sorrowful Rage Magic, just a fraction of it, Luna was able to interact with every single individual in Virbank, far beyond what she could do before.
No one could exactly feel Luna's magic. But they could see it. A mixture of light blue and red magic had coated their night sky bodies. The magic acted as a sort of fan that would blow away any dust that it came by. And just like a fan, it dispersed the night sky appearances whenever it moved.
Everyone watched as their original colours returned to them with the night sky being eradicated. Some were surprisingly upset by this, actually preferring the appearance. But there wasn't much they could do about them anyway. The nightmare appearances were all taken out by this city-encompassing spell. And as a bonus, thanks to the power of Lunar Ire, it barely cost Luna that much magic.
Luna took a deep breath, surprised that she wasn't exhausted. But every time she used Lunar Ire, even for a bit, her head stung. But not a large degree thankfully. "There...Honestly, it wasn't too difficult. Since there was no encroaching danger in the first place."
"Do you think she'll pull the same trick again? Something that we'll overthink?" The Pitch Black Pokemon asked.
"We'll see. But I'll be ready for her. The ship could be repaired by now." Luna carried Manaphy towards the ship. "Hurry. We can't allow them to even get one major step ahead of us."
The Grand Equestria. Nightfall.
Repaired and ready to sail on, everyone got back on the Grand Equestria. Adagio was fairly bummed out about the postponing of her movie plus the disappearance of the nightmare body added to that.
Aside from that, nightfall had arrived and the Grand Equestria was moving once more. Manaphy, even after having her Dream variant ripped out, still felt fine, able to guide her friends towards the Sea Temple.
But Manaphy would still need to rest. But just exactly what Luna needed. Mostly everyone was ready to sleep. "Rest for now, Manaphy. The ship will continue onwards either way." Luna said.
"Manaphy..." Manaphy would take it. She had a regular sleep pattern due to living with Flurry Heart. 18 hours was her limit for a day. Her yawn was a good sign of her ready to clock out.
"If any of you see something off, alert Darkrai and I." She spoke to them. But some had already fallen asleep. Mostly the guards, who were fairly fatigued after helping Adagio with her movie.
After her speech, she had already gone into the Dream World with Darkrai, specifically for those that were already asleep. But her eyes were all on Manaphy as she was the key to everything in this.
Ash and Pikachu were still awake, but they would try their best to fall asleep. While the Grand Equestria was seemingly sailing blind without Manaphy to guide them, it would stay safe out there.
The Dream Realm.
But the moment they entered the Dream Realm, Luna and Darkrai turned their attention to just Manaphy's Dream first. And once they turned her dream, they saw a startling sight.
Manaphy had no dream. Due to her Dream Variant being stolen, Manaphy could not dream of anything at all. And this wasn't just a lack of vivid dreams. Luna could sense the influence of Nightmare Rarity's magic.
"Her dreams! They're gone!" Luna gasped. "What did she do...?"
"I can see everyone else's but not hers," Darkrai observed. "Did she snatch it from under our noses?"
"She did..." Luna said with a quieter tone. "That only correlated with her distraction. This is what she was truly going for when she distracted us."
Darkrai tried seeing if he could find anything, by ripping through the Dream Realm with his bare claws. However, he couldn't find anything, just the dreams of others that weren't Manaphy. "No use. Must've been one of Nightmare Rarity's Tantabuses."
"If only we were quicker...Now what?!" Luna shuddered in agitation, unsure of what to do now. She has always done her best to prevent dreams from being stolen and has succeeded. But now, a dream has finally been stolen for the first time in Luna's life.
Something that she had tried so hard to prevent. And now, there was no other option available that could help her solve this seemingly. Except for one. Lunar Ire decided to show herself once more, this time, appearing in the Dream Realm as a full body instead of ahead.
"Hit a roadblock once more, Luna. But don't fret. That roadblock can vanish with me."
"You...You can somehow fix this? I know you're powerful but how exactly?" Luna asked.
"Trust me. I told you I can do oh-so-amazing things that you could never dream of. If you want to save your friend and her dreams, if you want to get past anything that seems impossible, then you can always rely on me. After all, today and even yesterday, you've been using my power more frequently. That makes me fairly happy, Luna."
"You are the only option I have now. Very well. But I still won't use all of you." Luna accepted the power of Lunar Ire once more.
"Oh. You'll come around one day, Luna. One day." Lunar Ire chuckled before entering Luna once more. Half of Luna's body had then become part Lunar Ire as the magic needed for this type of scenario had been bumped up.
Darkrai backed away, allowing Luna to work her magic. Luna, assisted by Lunar Ire, affected the Dream Realm. But only the nothingness, leaving everyone's dream out of it. Her only goal was Manaphy. Lunar Ire had already proved that her magic was far greater in the Dream Realm so far.
And it would show once more.
With amazing magical prowess, a crack had formed in the Dream Realm by Luna's control. After it had formed, Darkrai flew over to it, using his large claws to rip it open. By riping the crack in the Dream Realm, Darkrai had found a surprising sight.
A shocking find. Within the Dream World, due to Luna using the magic of Lunar Ire in an attempt to help Manaphy who had just lost her dream, they had come across a fresh new sight. One that they've never seen before in the Dream Realm. And they've seen a lot. That's for sure.
An astronomical zone that had a cosmic appearance but with a purple tint could be found. And within this zone was a seemingly infinite amount of strange orbs that were all connected via a white line. It resembled a massive web from the looks of it.
And with each of these orbs connected to these lines, blue lights passed through, similar to how electricity passes through a wire. This was certainly new to Luna and Darkrai as this had never existed before.
"W-What is this...? Has this always been in the Dream Realm?" Luna uttered.
"Never. This is courtesy of my magic." Lunar Ire briefly exited out of Luna to explain it. This was her creation. "What you see before you is the Hyperdream. I just named it. It is a zone of an infinite number of dreams that have existed in the past, present and future, no matter how far it may be.
"So it's just like sister's Boundless Cutie Mark..."
"Precisely. Dreams that have continually diverged and converged and even shared dreams. Thus, everything and anything that could be imagined existed. Every dream that has ever happened and will ultimately reside here."
"You made all of this...How?" Luna was still finding it hard to believe that all this time she had this within her. At least, her other-self.
"Do you really need questions of how I am capable of doing this? I was sure that my power would be clear now." Lunar Ire chuckled before suddenly flinching. She had unexpectedly felt pain, descending. "Ugh!"
"What happened?!" Luna gasped, running to Lunar Ire's side.
"Seems as though I stroked my ego a too much...Creating the Hyperdream resulted in the majority of my magic. Something this large is even grandiose for a being such as myself."
"I can see that. Will you recover? Will it affect me as well?"
"No. You'll be fine. Besides, my magic will recover anyway. As for the Hyperdream, this way, you can find Manaphy. Even with her dreams gone, with this zone I made, you can find her previous dreams. She's as young as a baby so it won't be too difficult."
"Understood. And...I should actually thank you, Lunar Ire." Luna helped Lunar Ire up. "I've been taking you for granted this entire time. I suppose my fear of Nightmare Moon and becoming somepony like her again never left me and-"
"Save it." Lunar Ire interrupted. "I could do without the sappy speech. After all, I only help when I'm needed. Find Manaphy and avoid anything from Nightmare Rarity if you can."
Those were her parting words. Lunar Ire then faded, returning into Luna for hibernation once more. Only to appear and lend her magic when needed. But, it would take some time. Casting a spell to make something such as this was taxing on even her.
"Alright. Manaphy's dreams..." Luna and Darkrai approached the dream of Manaphy. Thankfully, it was the first thing Lunar Ire had shown off. Currently, Manaphy wasn't dreaming anything, but her previous dreams existed here.
But while approaching it, Luna recognized the dreams of Rarity. More specifically, more than just one Rarity. She could see the Rarity that existed in her world and how she was currently dreaming. But to her surprise, this zone wasn't limited to both her world and the Pokemon World.
This Hyperdream connected to other worlds. She saw other Rarity's dreaming at the same time. But many of them looked different. Either different hairstyles or different clothes. And there was more. Other variations of various ponies and humans that Luna knew about, all scattered in this web of dreams.
She looked to see if Nightmare Rarity could be found anywhere. Unfortunately, she couldn't find anything due to this abundance. At least not yet. It wouldn't be easy looking through an infinite amount of dreams.
"Let's see..." Luna looked at Manaphy's dreams. "Can we just restore it by interacting with it?" She wondered as Lunar Ire hadn't exactly given out a detailed rule about this newly-formed zone. "This one." She went for it either way. Luna had her magic interact with a dream that Manaphy had a week ago.
The Princess of the Night didn't know what to expect after this interaction, but she would see it all the way through if it meant helping Manaphy get her dreams back.
On the Sunstorm.
And meanwhile, with the Sunstorm, the Dream Variant Manaphy, while guiding the way, had its entire transparent body pulsate like a heartbeat. This was in response to Luna's magic.
Interacting with the previous dreams had linked back to the Dream Variant Manaphy, tampering with Nightmare Rarity's magic. With this interruption, the Dream Manaphy's transparency was increasing. But not in a good way. Instead, it looked t be fading away slowly. Even so, it kept guiding the way to the Sea Temple, only with pulsations coming out.
But, responding to her magic being tampered with was Nightmare Rarity. Without warning, she appeared in the Sunstorm's upper deck, looking in the distance of Manaphy.
"Impossible!" Nightmare Rarity was agape once feeling her magic and Luna's magic in one. "All of her dreams are right here and yet they're being meddled with?"
"Did something happen?" Tempest Shadow asked, not bothered by Nightmare Rarity's sudden appearance.
"Something is happening..." She growled. "I don't know how but somehow Luna has managed to interact with my Dream Variant even with the separated dreams. It should be impossible for her to even find a dream from Manaphy."
"Seems like you underestimated them, didn't you?" Spitfire, chuckled, taunting Nightmare Rarity. And after she seemed so confident in her plan too.
"Hmph. This isn't over. I'll prevent my Dream Variant's disappearance." Taking matters into her own hooves, Nightmare Rarity approached the Dream Seafaring Pokemon. She was currently the only one here capable of entering dreams and this variant certainly counted.
The Nightmarefied Fashionista made her body into a cloud of the night before flowing herself towards the Dream Seafaring Pokemon. And by doing so, for this instance, it would mean also entering the Dream Realm.
The Dream Realm. Hyperdream.
Luna, after interacting with the dream, was managing to slowly bring back Manaphy's capability to dream. But naturally, it was not that easy. This zone was made by huge chunks of magic and having another huge chunk of magic used against it was taxing. But Luna was doing her best.
"If I can just almost...!" She strained as the bubble was wobbling in response to her magic. With the pulsation of the Dream Manaphy, another bubble was starting to form with another line This meant that Luna was creating a new stream of dreams for Manaphy to have as the current one promptly stopped.
"?" But while this was ongoing, Darkrai sensed the presence of another in the Dream Realm. Someone was starting to show themselves. "Luna! Nightmare Rarity is coming!"
"What?! Right now?!" She responded with shock. This was the worst time for her to make an appearance considering that Luna was already expending a majority of her magic just to make one bubble.
And speaking of the bubble, Nightmare Rarity, after entering the Dream Manaphy, she emerged out of one of Manaphy's past dreams, moving straight through the bubble.
She had found herself in the Hyperdream. Not the area she was expecting herself to show up in. The Corrupted Fashionista, after showing up, first took notice of this brand new zone that had never existed in the Dream Realm until now.
This overarching and interconnected web flow of dreams where all time could be found was right before her eyes in all of its gallant glory. All connected via bubbles and lines.
"What in Equestria is this?!" Naturally, Nightmare Rarity was taken aback by this. Even she hasn't witnessed this before. No one has until just recently. "Luna. You had something to do with this, didn't you?"
"In a cosmic sense yes...!" Luna strained, still trying to pull the bubble out as Darkrai became her shield as always. "Thought you could distract us with a false sense of danger?"
"And it's clear that it worked." Nightmare Rarity smirked. "It's the best kind of distraction. The fear of something potentially going wrong is the greatest form of danger to ever exist. It always works. But aside from that, would you mind telling me what exactly is this?"
"That's for me and Darkrai to know and for you to never find out about."
"That so?" The Corrupted Fashionista scored before observing the area once more. "Because from what I can tell, this just looks to be a glorified and enhanced variation of the Dream Realm. And if I'm correct with that, I can interact with it as well, can't I?"
"No!" Luna, quickly realizing this potential disaster, removed her control of the bubble to focus on just Nightmare Rarity. Darkrai got on the move as well, flying towards the nightmare unicorn with Dark Pulse being unleashed.
Nightmare Rarity, after seeing their reaction, knew what needed to be done. To prevent her Dream Variant Manaphy from fading away, she chose to disrupt the Hyperdream. A field of magic emanated out of her, threatening to encapsulate the first batch of dreams she could gather.
Dark Pulse connected with the field along with a ray from Luna. However, a standard and typical clash weren't all that occurred. Instead, there was a different reaction within the Hyperdream. Because of this clash, the interaction with this zone was erratic.
Random dream bubbles had wobbled about, forcefully counteracting Nightmare Rarity's magical field and even Luna's Magic plus Darkrai's Dark Pulse with a heartbeat-like pulse. The bubbles wobbled about, similar to a bedsheet being held from both directions and shaken up and down.
Not only did they wobble, but some of them also stretched with a line guiding them. One of the bubbles approached Night Rarity from behind as just one bubble was 50x larger than a full-grown adult. And certainly vastly larger than Nightmare Rarity.
"!" Nightmare Rarity turned around to see the approaching dream bubble. It was too late to avoid it. The bubble had caught her, along with Luna and Darkrai who had previously approached Nightmare Rarity. All three of them had been pulled into a random dream in this infinite collection of dreams.
As for the bubble, once it had returned to its original position by wobbling about once more with the line being what pulled it back.
A random dream.
Brought to a random dream by a Hyperdream bubble due to their clash, Luna and Darkrai found themselves in some sort of playroom. Exclusively, one that would belong to a child.
Filled with colourful toys of all assortments, an exaggerated space that was enough to fill an entire house inside and one massive window that led to the outside. And the outside wasn't without appearance either. There was a field of autumn and spring leaves plus trees of different colours that are not that common.
Luna and Darkrai got a good feel of this area from the inside and outside. They soon realized that they had been pulled into someone's dream at random.
"Just our luck...Pulled into one of these bubbles," said Luna. "At least Nightmare Rarity wasn't safe from it. We can find her in this dream before anything else happens."
"We should be careful. Lunar Ire did say that every dream that has existed, currently and will exist reside here. I'd imagine that interfering with some of these older and far future dreams would result in untold outcomes." Darkrai warned.
"You're right!" Luna gasped. Indeed, while all of this was amazing in scope and thought since a timeline of dreams resided here, it was hard to tell what would happen if something went wrong here. What would become of time itself? And it could be worn with Nightmare Rarity now present here. "Let's hurry!"
In a rush, Luna and Darkrai got a move on. They chose to exit the giant playroom, heading out to the fields to hopefully find Nightmare Rarity. Luna ascended into the air with Darkrai for a higher height and better view of the area.
Once high in the golden skies, they could see whose dream this was. It belonged to a random human boy who was currently running around with witches, jumping on logs that were thrown by a Rillaboom. It was best not to question it since this was a dream.
But that didn't matter. What mattered was Nightmare Rarity. Luckily, since they were all pulled into the same dream, she wasn't too far at all. At this height, Luna and Darkrai spotted a familiar figure within the acre of funnel trees.
"There!" Luna cried out before descending with Darkrai to the acre. "Nightmare Rarity!"
Nightmare Rarity could also see them as well, spotting their approaching presence. "I didn't intend to be here, Luna!" She exclaimed. "Seems as if this glorified Dream Realm of yours is unstable, hm?!"
"I'm still learning new things about it myself!" Luna's horn started glowing, ready to fire at any time.
"Well, I don't need to learn one thing I already know!" The corrupted unicorn snickered before summoning two of her signature Tantabuses. One belonged to Nightmare Rarity and the other once belonged to the Princess Luna of another universe.
The goal of Nightmare Rarity was to focus on stopping Manaphy's dreams from returning, resulting in the disappearance of the Dream Variant. But with Luna and Darkrai in the way, that could be a problem.
So the Tantabuses were her allies in this. But it wasn't just them. She had other forces. Forces that she could call at any time. And with a sparkle of her horn, appearing out of thin air via a crack in the sky were animals that came zooming out.
Similar to the scenario in Virbank City, these animals had the coating of the night sky. However, instead of just having the coating and carrying on with their day as if nothing happened, these animals were minions of Nightmare Rarity, under her control and will.
They consisted of rabbits, cats, wolves, bats, and ponies that wore specific armour known as Nightmare Soldiers. And many of these ponies were familiar. Mainly from Canterlot, where Luna grew up at.
"Go, my Nightmare Forces!" She commanded as they all targeted Luna and Darkrai. The bat covered the air along with some pegasi while the rabbits, cats and wolves took the ground.
"Hm?" And of course, this wouldn't go unnoticed by the boy within the dream. He, the witches and Rillaboom looked in the distance to see a current scenario occurring that was out of the boy's control. "Woah...What's that?"
"Rilla?"
While looking at the scenario, meanwhile, at said scenario, Luna and Darkrai were already focused on getting rid of these Nightmare Forces. They were more upfront distractions as compared to the one in Virbank City. And Nightmare Rarity took the time to leave towards Manaphy's ream while Luna and Darkrai are distracted.
"I'll leave you to it~!" She cackled sadistically while teasing the duo.
"Get back here!" Luna roared as a swarm of Nightmare bats had watched onto her from all sides. However, there was one problem. Not for Luna and Darkrai, but rather for Nightmare Rarity.
"Hm...that's odd. How is that possible?" She wondered as her ability to leave this dream wasn't exactly poking through. Usually, she would be out by now, having the ability to enter and exit any dream.
But this wasn't the case for the Hyperdream.
Nightmare Rarity, soon finding out that she could not leave this dream like she normally can with her magic, decided to rely on another option. The two Tantabuses. She commanded them both to tear open this dream as that might be a way to escape.
The Tantabuses ceased their attack on Luna and Darkrai to listen to their owner's will. They immediately tried their usual dream-ripping tactic. One Tantabus could not do it, but the combined might of two did something. They were just barely managing to rip open a hole through the sky.
"There. It should not have taken two Tantabuses honestly." Nightmare Rarity then ascended towards the hole. Luna strained as the bats were dragging her down with their massive claws. Just low enough for the wolves, cats and rabbits to do something.
"I won't let you harm anyone's dreams ever again...!" Luna uttered with anger swelling within her. But not with the influence of Lunar Ire since she was still recovering. Luna blew away the bats and wolves with an expansive burst of magic.
After doing so, she flew ahead at her top speed, going after Nightmare Rarity, passing by the Nightmare Forces. Even her flight speed created a pressure that pushed the Nightmare Forces away. "Luna! Wait!" Darkrai cried out after shocking some of the swarming Nightmare Forces with Thunderbolt.
But, Luna had already tackled Nightmare Rarity, pushing her through the hole. She didn't have time to hear Darkrai's cry as she was too focused on stopping Nightmare Rarity as soon as she could. Darkrai was left in this dream, facing off against the Nightmare Forces.
The Tantabuses were ready to go through and assist Nightmare Rarity. The Pitch Black Pokemon had manipulated the shadows, causing them to throw Nightmare Forces away. He sent a Thunderbolt directly towards the Tantabuses before they could pass through.
One Tantabus managed to enter the hole before Thunderbolt could reach it, but the other had been struck by 100,000 volts of electricity. While Darkrai couldn't stop them both at the time, he at least halted one as the crack had closed up.
Another dream.
Instead of appearing in Hyperdream, pushing Nightmare Rarity only ended up moving them towards another dream. Hyperdream did not work like the Dream Realm despite the qualities it may share.
Luna and Nightmare Rarity crashed into a lake, making a fairly big splash. Below the sea were Water-Type Pokemon. Rather one Water-Type. A lone Whiscash. This was the dream of a Whiscash only.
"Whis. Whiscash?" Whiscash then turned around, noticing Luna and Nightmare Rarity entering the water. Nightmare Rarity had then pushed Luna off of her before hurling through the sea.
"All of this. This was Lunar Ire's doing wasn't it?!" Nightmare Rarity exclaimed before firing a magic beam towards the hurling Luna. Luna quickly responded with a shield that deflected the beam. The beam ended up obliterating a part of the sea wall, startling Whiscash. "You yourself could never hope to do this. I know your limitations, Luna. Banking on a greater force of magic to help you as always?"
"Shut up!" Luna's buttons were being pressed as she unloaded a frenzy of magic rays. They correlated with her anger, having high destructive magic within them.
"Speaking of which, why aren't you using it now?!" Nightmare Rarity made a torrent of water that had caught the rays of magic, redirecting them towards Luna in the form of a water spiral. The Princess of the Night had been struck by her own attack after the redirection.
She hit the walls of the sea as Whiscash had no idea why this was happening. It believed it was having a bad dream at the moment as it was swimming for its life. Luna, planted on the wall after the initial hit, was met with an incoming sphere of magic from Nightmare Rarity.
"!" Surprised, Luna had leapt off the sea wall in the nick of time, right as the sphere had blown right through the wall. And it kept going, leaving a massive hole that stretched far.
The Tantabus came from behind, trying to get the better of Luna. But the Princess of the Night only diverted it, using a water torrent as well to carry the Tantabus away. Nightmare Rarity then approached Luna with another attack. Both ponies ended up locking horns afterwards.
"You were amazing as Lunar Ire when we first encountered each other. Showing great promise with what new magic you had to offer. I even took some inspiration from that after seeing it." Nightmare Rarity gave some slight praise to her opponent. "So why not use it now, hm?!" She pushed her horn, trying to knock Luna back.
"I would if I could but she's recovering her magic at the moment...!" Luna groaned, restricting the pushback as both of their horns started glowing.
"Perhaps she wouldn't need to if you accepted her."
"What?"
"Look at me, Luna. I'm only this powerful because I've come to accept what I'm truly capable of. Apart from having my original body as Rarity affected, everything else that I had but could never utilize, I have full access to! Being a fashionista at Carousel Boutique, only focusing on making dresses, various designs and what-not were holding me back."
"So you tossed away your life's work for something such as this?!"
"Oh, please. I still know style even as this. I mean, have you seen my minions? Absolutely fabulous, they are!"
"The Rarity I know wouldn't care for heaps of power. Rather her friends are what she would care for the most!" Their clashing was so potent that the sea was starting to tremble with water pillars rising. "You, much like everypony in that alliance of yours, have lost that way!"
"Hoh? So does the same apply to Daybreaker then?" Just then, Nightmare Rarity hit Luna with a heavy question.
"Huh?"
"I know that you heard about it. Her story on how she came to be. Tell me...Did she lose her way or was she always destined to-"
"Don't you dare!" Luna's magic increased as the Tantabus was approaching her. "I lament and mourn for what happened to that world's Celestia! She lost her own Luna and went down a disheartening path, all because of everything that had happened around her. She needed time to grieve more than anything."
"Hoh! So you pity her?" Nightmare Rarity scoffed.
"I feel sorry for her, that's what I mean!" Luna growled.
"Well, obviously you would. She's your sister after all!" Nightmare Rarity then broke up the clash, blasting Luna away. "And since I am Rarity with the same unforetold magic, would you feel sorry for me as well? One of your friends?"
"Of course I will!" Luna bellowed back in response. "My family and friends are what I would put above anything else! I've learned that after the corruption that became of me centuries ago!"
"Hmph. Exactly why I defeated you in my universe. That's just one of your many weaknesses, Luna!" With an enhanced voice similar to the Royal Canterlot Voice, Nightmare Rarity broke apart the entire sea with Luna being struck by this invisible shockwave.
"Ugh!" Luna cried out in pain as her regalia almost fell off. She clung onto it before flying through the massive hole made afterwards. The Whiscash within this dream was trying its best to escape. But this dream interruption made it fairly difficult.
The Tantabus, now recovered, was ordered to try and open another hole through Hypertime, hoping to find Manaphy's dreams. It would be difficult and nigh-impossible since it required two Tantabuses to even open one. Luna, even after bumping into massive rubbles from the sea wall, made a swift recovery.
"Without Lunar Ire, your compassion makes you weak and vulnerable." Nightmare Rarity taunted.
"I don't need Lunar Ire...!" Luna stood up as Lunar Ire's magic was starting to recover. Red and blue sparks formed around the alicorn as she was unknowingly using Lunar Ire's magic, even after saying she doesn't need it. "I can defeat you without her!"
Unconsciously, and most likely from Lunar Ire's influence, Luna exploded with a burst of Sorrowful Rage Magic. This uncontrolled magic not only blew away the Tantabus, but it had also made a hole in Hyperdream, just as Nightmare Rarity wanted.
It wasn't just that. This explosion of magic formed more holes, correlating with Luna's emotions. Mainly her rage more than her sorrow.
"It seems as if you do. Otherwise, happy little accidents such as this could happen." Nightmare Rarity taunted before flying through one of the holes.
"Come back here!" Luna immediately gave chase to her. She was going for another tackle, only for Nightmare Rarity to be prepared, forming a swirling shield around herself. Luna was caught up in this swirling shield with her tackle failing. Afterwards, Nightmare Rarity made the shield expand, knocking back the Princess of the Night. And this one stung.
Nightmare Rarity packed some power into his shield repulsion. So much power that it split the sea in half, revealing the surface as water passed through some of the Hyperdream holes.
"While I'm at it, I think I'll learn about this strange realm for myself! Thank you for alerting me to it, Luna~!" Nightmare Rarity taunted her with a cocky and pompous laugh before leaving through the hole in Hyperdream with the Tantabus following her.
Luna did not respond. Instead, she was sent through one of the Hyperdream holes as a result of the shield expansion. Luna fell through another dream, separate from where Nightmare Rarity had gone through.
Another dream.
Hurling through the Hyperdream hole led Luna to a new area that was standard and basic. Standard blue skies, grass and ground could be found here as the alicorn made a crash landing. Thankfully, she's used to hard crash landings by now. At least, moderate ones.
The magic of Lunar Ire had promptly left once her rage was over. Indeed, Lunar Ire was a major key part of practically everything right now. She was capable of opening holes in Hypedream with this magic.
"Ugh..." Luna groaned as the holes in Hyperdream were closing as a result of Lunar Ire's magic ending. This meant other holes. Even the one Nightmare Rarity passed through.
"How could I be so reckless?" Luna stood up, her head aching from using Lunar Ire's magic uncontrollably. This meant more recovery for Lunar Ire as well. Luna at this point was feeling fairly exhausted with all of this action. She felt like sleeping very soon too. "I can't let her get to me. Otherwise, everything I've learned and gone through will be wasted."
She regained herself, making sure that her cool was kept. Except now she had to try and find Nightmare Rarity after losing her. Which wouldn't be easy considering the infinite number of dreams present. However, as she was getting ready to set off, footsteps could be heard.
A bit curious, Luna turned around to see who these footsteps belonged to. Lo and behold, the footsteps belonged to someone close to her. Someone who she wished to spend all the time in the world with and loved at a special level.
It was Ash. Or rather, a younger Ash.
Young Ash Ketchum had shown up, holding a soccer ball in his hand. The boy stood there after seeing Luna, perplexed and amazed by her appearance. Luna also stood there, shocked to see a young Ash Ketchum present here.
The Hyperdream. The overarching and interconnected web of various dreams that have existed, currently existing and will exist. Made by the powerful Lunar Ire but with the expense of heavy magic cost.
Currently, Nightmare Rarity had moved on to another random dream after having a short scuffle with Luna. As for Luna, she found herself in the dream of a young Ash Ketchum from years ago. And from what she could tell, this was 5-year-old Ash Ketchum.
This dream took place in a beautiful verdant forest with a town, most likely Pallet Town in the distance. Pokemon resided in this forest. But only Pokemon that Ash at this age had seen before. Essentially only Rapidash, Rattata, Caterpie and a few other common Kanto Pokemon. His range on the Pokemon World was diminished in this. But since this was Ash's dream, that meant there was something larger lurking somewhere.
"Woah..." Ash gawked at the alicorn with star-struck eyes. "What kind of Pokemon are you...?" That confirmed it. This was the dream of an Ash at a younger time. At this point, the crossing of two worlds had never happened, meaning Ash's knowledge about Equestria and everything else was non-existent.
"Uh..." Luna was frozen for a bit before shaking her head, snapping back to reality. Luna then thought to herself for a moment. "I didn't account for this...Meeting a younger version of those I know...Oh, but it's so worth it! Ash is sooooo cute as a child! No, wait, Luna! You're not sure what would happen if something were to occur in this older dream. Why couldn't Lunar Ire just tell me the consequences before making this place."
"You look so cool!" Ash exclaimed before running over, dropping his soccer ball. "Your hair's like the night! Awesome! And you've got um...a crown?!" He was too excited to contain himself. But that was only natural for a child. And even more natural for Ash Ketchum as a while. Luna stayed still to try and not do anything drastic. "I wonder what your name is...?"
"Think Luna...What is the most obvious solution in this..." She thought before coming up with the perfect answer. "L-Luna. Luna-Luna." She acted like a Pokemon, speaking her name like every Pokemon does. "WHAT AM I DOING?! I SOUND RIDICULOUS!"
"Luna, huh...? Oh yeah, I see it. That mark on you." He nodded, noticing her Cutie Mark. "Oh boy. I can't wait to go out on my Pokemon Journey and catch a Luna one day. That'd be so amazing! Can you show me some Pokemon moves?"
"Luna..." Luna was nervous, but so far, nothing extreme had happened. To amuse and entertain Ash, she would mimic a Pokemon move. Or rather, just use her magic since Ash at this age knows nothing of Equestrian Magic.
Luna used her magic, firing a beam in the colour of her aura. The beam had struck a tree, leaving a hole through it to show its power. It even continued, shooting into the sky and breaking through some clouds. And Ash was impressed.
"Wow! Awesome!" He jumped for joy. "I wonder what move that was?!"
"L-Luna..." She chuckled nervously while still sticking to the Pokemon motif. But she found some enjoyment out of this. Mainly from being complemented by Ash, even if it was a younger version of him in the past.
"Oh, can you fly?" He then noticed the wings as well. "Are you a Flying-Type?!"
"Luna. Luna-Lu." Luna went with it, agreeing with the notion that she was a Flying-Type. This only fueled Ash's excitement. The 5-year-old then ran over to the soccer ball picking it up before rushing back to Luna.
"It'd be cool to fly through the air with you. But do you wanna play soccer with me?" He requested, showing his genuine interest in soccer to Luna.
"Lu-Luna." Luna would usually accept a request such as that. But she had a priority to stick by that resulted in larger stakes. "As adorable and embarrassing as this is, I have to pursue Nightmare Rarity still."
Another dream.
Meanwhile, something else was occurring in another dream. Nightmare Rarity was in the dream of a griffon, currently hovering near Griffonstone.
However, Nightmare Rarity was still searching for Manaphy's past dreams. And in a space such as Hyperdream where it's not so easy to find the dream that is desired, this became a challenge for both the Nightmare Rarity and even Luna.
Nightmare Rarity stood atop a mountain of gold coins, looking into the sky. She had an idea to try and manipulate Hypertime to her will. And it involved her Tantabus. Both of them.
"Only two of my Tantabuses can open holes involved in this strange zone." She said to herself. "But the magic of Lunar Ire can do that mostly. I can have some of that magic for myself when the timing is right. But to open the hole, I'll try something new."
To open the hole, Nightmare Rarity attempted to communicate with the other Tantabus that was on the other side. She commanded the Tantabus next to her to try and open a hole in Hyperdream while looking for a timing link between the other Tantabus.
And once the Tantabus interacted with the sky, Nightmare Rarity's theory came into fruition. The Tantabus from another dream heard the call of its owner, responding to her command. Both Tantabuses started interacting with Hyperdream in unison.
And by doing so, they began taring holes in it. And speaking of the other Tantabus, Darkari was still in the dream of the little boy, dealing with Nightmare Rarity's Nightmare Forces. He noticed how the Tantabus had managed to rip open a hole through Hyperdream, making the situation direr than it already was.
Once both of them ripped holes in Hyperdream, Nightmare Rarity could strike. She flew towards the open hole. But not to the intention of heading towards another dream. At least not yet. Nightmare Rarity was aiming to harness this mysterious newly discovered power for herself.
"This goes far beyond the Dream Realm. What an amazing creation you've formed, Luna. Unfortunately, it shall be mine for the taking. There is nothing dream-related that can escape from me!"
Standing in-between the zone and two dreams was a maniacal Nightmare Rarity. She made sure to stay in between them as to not enter another dream. Nightmare Rarity was a quick thinker. Much of Rarity still remained within her. If anything, this corruption had significantly boosted her intellect.
With the hole in Hyperdream being met with her magic, Nightmare Rrty struck at the zone's most vulnerable. The dream of the griffon was trembling as all of the gold mountains and piles were collapsing, falling into an abyss that was forming.
"Ah! My gold!" The griffon cried out, witnessing her gold formed into this sudden abyss. And it didn't stop there. By connecting to the dream with the little boy, the fields were met with an earthquake.
The boy, witches and Rillaboom felt the earthquake as they lost their balance. Darkrai on this side couldn't feel it since he was floating. But the Nightmare Forces, Rarity's allies minus the bats, could. "What now?" Darkrai wondered.
Nightmare Rarity began drawing the magic from the Hyperdream, using the same trick that Empress Twilight and even Ghetsis use. Only this was exclusive to Nightmare Rarity due to her affiliation with dreams.
However, the Hyperdream was so vast and grandiose in scope and size, more than anything that Nightmare Rarity had come across. Thus, she could try as much as she wanted, she could not absorb all of it. Not even a good majority of it as she could feel the impending threat of explosion.
"Oh!" She gasped as her heart skipped a beat. "That was close...I almost combusted into dream mist there. Whatever this magic is...taking too much of it is far too dangerous."
She took some time to catch her breath, feeling overwhelmed by her almost meeting her end in that instance. However, even if she couldn't get all of it, Nightmare Rarity still managed to grab some of the magic from Hyperdream. And the appearing smirk on her face was confirmation of that.
Some of what Lunar Ire had made now resided within Nightmare Rarity. And she could already feel the power of Hyperdream coursing through her, even if it may be minimal. "This much will suffice. Whatever this magic is...it's wonderful! The things I'm going to do with this..."
To test some of this bizarre magic out, Nightmare Rarity decided to try and rip a hole through the Hyperdream without the dual assistance of the Tantabuses. And with this new power, she could. However, even with a fraction of this magic, it was still hard to control for Nightmare Rarity.
Thus, her aim to open one hole ended up resulting in multiple holes through multiple dreams being opened. Nightmare Rarity could feel the strain of using this much magic. But, she could just barely keep it under check.
Young Ash's dream.
And once their dreams were affected by this was the dream of a Young Ash Ketchum. Another had emerged, alarming Ash and Luna as they looked to the sky. But it wasn't just the opening of holes. Nightmare Rarity's magic was leaking out of these holes due to her magic influence.
"W-What's that?" Ash stammered as Luna pulled Ash close to her, protecting him.
"Nightmare Rarity..." She thought to herself, still keeping the Pokemon act up. "Please don't tell me she has figured out the Hyperdream before me? I have to hurry. As soon as I can."
Just as she thought those words, the Nightmare mist that was oozing out affected Ash's dream on a deeper level. The Pokemon residing in this forest area had been wrapped by the Nightmare mist. And as a result, they had been twisted to Nightmare Rarity's will.
"!" Luna gasped seeing the affected Pokemon as a result of the oozing mist. The Rapidash and the others twitched before having their eyes exude out a night-sky aura. "Because of course this would happen..." She groaned in her mind.
"Rapidash" Rapidash neighed as it and the other Pokemon here turned their attention towards Luna and Ash. While opening holes and trying to find Manaphy, Nightmare Rarity hadn't forgotten about Luna and how much of a threat she can prove to be.
As such, those that she had controlled would attack Luna and potentially Darkrai as well. Rapidash galloped towards Luna, shooting a Fire Blast from its mouth.
"L-Luna?!" Luna screeched before swaying her head to the side, avoiding the Fire Blast. The blast of fire had obliterated a tree, turning it into nothing but ash.
"Hey! What's going on?!" Ash wondered, seeing the Pokemon suddenly attacking them. Rapidash came close to Luna, attempting to tackle her. Thinking quickly, Luna used her magic to grab Ash, placing him on her back for safety. The alicorn took the skies, evading the incoming bash of her fellow equine. But there was more.
The Caterpie had each used String Shot, wrapping overly sized strings that could only exist via a dream, right around Luna's hooves as she was in the air. "Caterpie!"
Luna suddenly trembled in the air, feeling the struggle of these combined String Shots against her flight. They were far stronger in a dream than compared to reality. At least for these Caterpie, she knew that Rarity's 12 Leavanny and all Leavanny general have absurdly amazing String Shot capabilities.
It didn't stop there. After having her hooves wrapped, the Rattata all leapt in the air, using Super Fang, Crunch and Quick Attack to attack Luna. Luna just noticed them, thinking of what to do at the moment.
But during that spur of the moment, Ash had a solution. After all, this was his dream. And under his dream influence, Ash dreamt of a giant bouncy castle appearing. And appear it did. Right in front of the Rattata. And while it was a bouncy castle, being soft, it had some toughness behind it, ripping apart the strings that connected to Luna's hooves. The Rattata had also bounced off the bouncy castle before tumbling on the ground.
Luna looked back to see the wide grin of a cheeky Ash Ketchum. "Don't worry, Luna. I'll keep you safe."
"Luna?"
"I don't know what's going on, but it looks kinda fun." He laughed with his innocent grin, unaware of the circumstances. But why would he? He was a kid after all. Luna couldn't help but smile back at Ash. Even as a child, there was an aura of safety that exuded around him.
"Okay! Let's go, Luna! Full speed ahead!" Ash pointed at the hole in the sky. He had the right idea. Stopping Nightmare Rarity was priority number one. And if there was any chance of moving through a hole through Hyperdream it was now. Ash held on tight as Luna soared towards the hole.
She had also cast a protective magic coating around her and Ash, protecting them from Nightmare Rarity's mist as they had entered a new dream.
Another dream.
Luna and Ash had found themselves in a new dream. One that took place in a familiar and. Equestria. Still looked the same, even in a dream. Mostly due to someone's own dream. Specifically, this was Canterlot.
"Woaaaaahhh..." Naturally, Ash at this age had never seen Equestria before. Seeing this colourful and vibrant land was wonderful to his eyes
This was any child's dream. To see a fantastical land. However, Ash already lived in a fantastic land such as the Pokemon World but at this age, he had yet to see the wonders of it due to him not yet starting his Pokemon Journey. If anything, this was an early start.
He saw the massive castle of Canterlot near as well as the ponies inhabiting Canterlot. His first glance at the skies were met with Flying-Type Pokemon surprisingly, soaring through the air with pegasi. "What Pokemon are those?!" Ash looked at the Flying-Types and pegasi. "Are they all like you, Luna?"
"L-Luna-Lu." Luna wasn't sure if she could reveal the truth to Ash. Hyperdream and its involvement with Time was still a mystery. For all she knows, it could be similar to Time Travel and how messing with time could lead to a chain of altered events.
And as soon as she realized this, Luna then noticed that during Ash's encouragement and his wonderful smile, she had brought him along without fully meaning to. The Princess of the Night face-hoofed as she could've already messed with time at this point. "Luna, you buffoon! Ah, it's too late anyway...Perhaps I can ask my sister for assistance."
Since she was in Canterlot, there was bound to be a Celestia present here. At this point, she was bringing Ash along without even bothering to take him back to his dream. It also had some danger lurking around it too.
Luna quickly flew through the doors, swiftly greeting the Canterlot Guards who were resting on clouds that were on ground level. The guards quickly looked over, just missing Princess Luna from her absurd flight speed.
Inside, Luna saw a massive row of bookshelves randomly floating about. She navigated her way through this traffic of bookshelves. But not only were there were books in and out of these bookshelves, but Luna also noticed that some of these were Pokemon-related books.
"Yes! I must be in a current dream!" Luna was feeling optimistic now as Ash grabbed one of the books that passed by him. He opened it to find facts that would take him years to know about.
One of those facts involved the Bond Phenomenon.
"Bond Phenomenon?" Ash spoke the words on the book as he noticed a familiar face. Himself. "Cool...He looks like me!" Ash pointed at the picture of what was actually an older Ash standing next to Greninja.
"Luna?!" Luna paused after hearing Ash's words. She then halted her flight before also taking a look at the book. She also saw Ash and Greninja in the image, but more than that, there was the dual image of Celestia and Gardevoir plus Rainbow Dash and Braviary. "Images of the Bond Phenomenon here? But we have yet to make a book such as this...Did we?"
Luna was starting to contemplate things. This was indeed the world she knew, but it might not be a current dream. But then again, it is a dream so anything could happen. However, as Luna observed her surroundings, she noticed something else flying beside the bookshelves.
Hayburgers. The favourite food of Twilight Sparkle. Luna continued along her way, passing the Hayburgers while Ash kept reading the book. She was now approaching the throne room, ready to see her big sister. But instead, she was greeted with something else. Another alicorn. Still Celestia's height, but not her.
Once she opened the door, what she saw wasn't Celestia, but somepony that would raise red flags for her. It was an older Twilight Sparkle. Similar to Celestia's height and currently eating a hayburger.
"Mm?" She heard the door open as her mouth was full of ketchup, noticing Luna.
"!" Luna gasped as the first thing that came to her mind was Empress Twilight Sparkle. "Empress Twilight?! This is her Dream?!"
"Oooh. That Pokemon looks like you!" Ash soon noticed Luna as well.
"Ash? Luna?" Seemingly Empress Twilight had spoken.
"Wow And it can talk" Perplexed by sudden understandable speech, Ash gawked as his mind was being blown even further.
"Luna!" Luna was cautious, already having her magic active as she was ready for the worst. But that quickly ended the moment she saw someone else in the room.
Appearing next to the taller alicorn was an Espeon, floating aimlessly. This Espeon was recognizable to Luna. This was Eve. The Pokemon of the Twilight she knew that wasn't an Empress. "Espeon? Esp?"
"L-Lu..." Luna froze, still keeping the Pokemon speech pattern as she was putting the pieces together. Hyperdream was said to hold past present and future dreams. And since Twilight was an alicorn, Luna soon realized that one day, she would look like this. "Twilight?"
"Oh, I get it. This is Hyperdream, isn't it?" Twilight chuckled before floating towards Luna. "Sorry if I startled you, Princess Luna. It's been a while."
"So cool!" Ash hopped off Luna, running up to Twilight. "I got a lot of stuff to look forward to! I wish mom could see this with me!"
"Aw, little Ash!" Twilight squeed before picking Ash up, hugging him. "100x cuter as a kid!" She then spun around as Ash laughed.
"You know my name? Oooh, are you a Psychic-Type with super senses?!" Ash asked with his mind still in wonder.
"Lu-Oh, I can't keep doing this!" Luna ended the Pokemon speech pattern, alerting Ash. Now he could hear Luna's proper words. "Apologies, Ash. For lying to you. I'm not a Pokemon. Neither is she."
"You...aren't?" The 5-year-old uttered, looking back at Luna and then back to Twilight. But even after this revelation, he didn't care. Twilight and Luna were still amazing to him. "You're still awesome to me. I like your hair and it moves like that. Can I get my hair to look like that?"
"So...Are you the Twilight Sparkle of another universe or..."? Luna questioned.
"I'm your Twilight, Luna. This is me in the future." She properly introduced herself, standing gracefully. "The Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle. Just slightly below Queen Celestia."
"Queen Celestia?"
"Oops." Twilight put her hoof in her mouth. "You don't know about that yet, do you? The future is wild, I'll tell you this much. But I'm more surprised that you brought a younger Ash here. It's a good thing we're in a dream, otherwise, he would've seen himself and go wild, that's for sure."
"Ash is still here?"
"Still is. And boy, you should see how he looks today. I'd say we both shared a good interest in him." Twilight closed her eyes, nodding about something wonderful that Luna doesn't know about yet."
"Espeon! Esp!" Espeon started playing around with the younger Ash.
"I don't know what's going on about time and Eque-Equestri...Something. But I love it!" Ash raised his arms with joy.
"So you know about the Hyperdream in the future, do you?" Luna asked.
"I do. And it looks like you're having trouble, aren't you?"
"I am." Luna nodded. "Nightmare Rarity might be figuring out how to harness the magic of the Hyperdream. But, I assume that since this is the future, you know of what comes next, correct?"
"Sorry, I don't." Shockingly, with her head shaking, Twilight had no idea what would happen next.
"You don't?! But you've heard of it, haven't you?! Unless...I've already messed with time?!"
"That's not it, Luna. Time is safe here. So you don't have to worry about anything confusing. Well...for the most part. The only side-effect is that only I can remember this dream. Cause you know...future. Plus, you never actually told me that much about what happened so there's that."
"Oh...Thank goodness...I wasn't sure I was ready for something complex. My head was already threatening to ache through all of this. Wait, I never told you?"
"Not at all. It had to do with how busy you were. I mean, the Hyperdream practically became the second part of your job in the Dream Realm. Makes me wish I could've seen it some more."
"That could change!" Luna gasped. "Perhaps in my current time, your younger self could interact with it more frequently. Would that create something new?"
"Oh, I'd like that very much. The Hyperdream has me so interested after all!" Twilight pranced on the spot, squeaking with joy as her knowledgable self still existed.
"I'll be sure to remember that. But in the meanwhile, could I have your assistance in this?"
"I can help. The Hyperdream could be in danger with Nightmare Rarity, no doubt. Can't have my dreams turning into nightmares."
"Or worse...she could end up changing everything about the Hyperdream. And I have yet to know all about it. And if she beats me to it, there's no telling what she could do.
"Then we should hurry. Luckily, in the future, I'm extra versatile." Twilight winked.
"I can believe that. You look like the spitting image of my sister. So...might I ask a bit about my sister in your time? Where is she?"
"I think that'll help." Twilight nudged her head over towards the stain-glass windows. Usually, these windows always tell of legends. And there were new legends. One of which seemed to be of an older Flurry Heart, similar to the one from another universe.
And there were two more than caught her interest. One window had the image of Celestia and Cobalion while another of Ash and the Mane 6. The windows told a story. One that Luna was eager to know about. But right now, Nightmare Rarity was the focus.
"If I can just find her..." Luna grumbled. "Lunar Ire...I know you're in there. Hopefully, your magic has recovered enough. Just give the magic to find Nightmare Rarity. Please."
She waited for a response from Lunar Ire. But while Lunar Ire did not say anything, there was a response. The sparks of Lunar Ire showed as the remaining magic she had left in her were emanating.
With the power of Sorrowful Rage Magic, she manipulated Hyperdream, searching for Nightmare Rarity's presence. And it wasn't that hard. Aside from Darkrai, Nightmare Rarity's presence stuck out the most, especially considering that she had a bit of the Hyperdream in her.
"There she is!" Luna exclaimed before ripping open a hole through the dream. However, this time, instead of it leading into another dream, it led to the zone of Hyperdream where all of the dreams could be found.
"We're going someplace new?" Ash, eager as always, hopped onto the back of Luna.
"Eve, let's hurry." Twilight looked at her partner.
"Espeon!" Espeon leapt, landing on Twilight's back. The duo of alicorns then flew beside each other, heading for the Hyperdream zone. Seeing Twilight fly beside Luna reminded her of Celestia. It was a strange feeling but a comfortable one nonetheless.
Hyperdream.
They had arrived at the Hyperdream zone. Ash's mind was ready to be blown once more. Unfortunately, as a child, he will not remember this. But that could all change in the current timeline.
Aside from that, within the zone was also Nightmare Rarity as she had just arrived once getting the hang of this mysterious magic of Sorrowful Rage origin.
"Nightmare Rarity!" Twilight and Luna cried out.
"You made it back?!" Nightmare Rarity gasped before noticing some extra guests. One that reminded her of Empress Twilight. "Empress Twilight?!"
"Sorry. Princess Twilight." The Princess of Friendship smirked in response.
"So much for backup." The Corrupted Fashionsita scoffed as she was currently facing the dreams of Manaphy. They were made to be front and centre after all. "But no matter. I've beaten you all to the punch so far. The magic of this strange zone wasn't easy to absorb. It felt like my body was about to pop from how overwhelming it was. But this much is enough."
"Neither you nor I know about what this is all capable of, Nightmare Rarity!" Luna exclaimed. "Whatever happens next could be detrimental to all of us. Everyone across every world. Even yours."
"So what? Do you expect me to just stop? Not a chance, Luna. Not when I've just attained this. Although I will admit, it is risky and volatile." Nightmare Rarity's horn started sparking some of the Hyperdream magic. "Anything I do is just full of risk. Never before have I come across a high-risk-high-reward power such as this. Without any care, the results could be saddening."
"All the more reason for you not to use it. If even I barely know anything about it, what makes you think you can know what it entails? I mean just look at the vast number of dreams! It far surpasses the Dream Realm." Luna exclaimed.
"Oh, but that's exactly why we exist, Luna. To learn new powerful things that our minds struggle to learn. Whatever is there, we, mainly unicorns, yearn to learn about it. Wouldn't you agree? I know you do, Twilight." Nightmare Rarity then turned to Princess Twilight.
"I do. But I know my limitations. I know those who've taken risks with magic they can't understand. And even when learning about them, it put their lives in danger." Twilight agreed but with more to it than just agreeing with Nightmare Rarity.
"Hmph. Disappointing." Nothing but disappointment filled Nightmare Rarity's face. "I expected more from you, Twilight. Especially in that state. But no matter! This'll be quick! I'll be out of your mane once I keep Manaphy's dreams for myself!"
"That's not very nice!" Suddenly, interrupting the conversation was Ash. He dreamt that he could fly, jumping off of Luna's back and floating in Hyperdream. "Taking dreams isn't a nice thing to do!"
"Hoh?" Nightmare Rarity squinted. "A younger Ash Ketchum? Really? Are mocking me by having a child give me a lecture? You're too young to understand something like this, darling."
"I totally get it!" He shouted back. "I've got dreams of my own. I wanna become a Pokemon Master! The very best like no one ever was!" He closed his eyes, deciding to dream of this Pokemon Master he spoke of. This would be the first time someone had dreamt within the space of Hyperdream instead of their dream.
However, Ash's dream was so grand in scope and size that even Nightmare Rarity was alarmed by this. The bubbles that all had younger and older variations of Ash were all corresponding to the dream of the young kid from Kanto. Luna and Twilight soon noticed this connection.
"So that's what happens when someone dreams here...?" Twilight gawked.
"All of his dreams are responding to him. And they're massive!" Luna gasped, witnessing the increasing size of the bubbles.
"Perhaps if I get rid of Ash Ketchum as he is now, that will fix a lot of problems. Though I do enjoy teasing my enemies..." Nightmare Rarity pondered for a moment before making up her mind. "Ah, whatever. I can make an exception!"
She aimed to take out Ash, firing a beam of Nightmare magic mixed in with some of the Hyperdream towards him while he was vulnerable. Luna acted quickly, protecting Ash from harm as always. And this time, she would use Lunar Ire.
"Lunar Ire, I need your strength once more!" She cried out as part of Lunar Ire flashed out of her with the little magic she had in her. The magic of Sorrowful Rage collided with the magic of Hyperdream via beams.
Twilight quickly pulled Ash away from any harm as the bubbles stopped glowing. However, the bubbles started rippling. Not because of the current clash, but because of Ash's dream.
Speaking of the clash, Luna moved in, making her beam come closer towards Nightmare Rarity while diminishing her beam. Once more, the two night experts clashed horns with their beams being reverted to light rays.
"This time, I'm ending it!" Luna suddenly put her hooves on Nightmare Rarity while their beams were stuck together. Nightmare Rarity was taken aback by this as Luna would also go for the high-risk-high-reward of the Hyperdream.
But she trusted in the magic of Lunar Ire, using more of it. And for this, made a random bubbe appear above herself and Nightmare Rarity. It was about to come down on them both as Luna didn't plan for this. Everything was too unstable for her.
"Tantabus!" Nightmare Rarity cried out to her Tantabus. "Deal with everything else here!" That was her last request before she and Luna were caught by the dream bubble, pulled into a random dream.
As for the Tantabus, it turned its attention towards Ash, Twilight and Espeon. The three of them would be occupied by it. But thankfully, even though Ash was small, he had an older Twilight and seasoned Espeon by his side.
"Stay close to us, Ash!" Twilight got in front of him, staring down the Tantabus. "You've helped and saved my life a lot before in the past. Now it's my turn to do the same to you."
"Espeon!"
Nightmare Rarity now possesses parts of the Hyperdream. But with Luna relying more on Lunar Ire and the assistance of two individuals from different timelines, the difficulty of reaching Manaphy's past dreams just spiked. All of this still was connected to the Sea Temple.
No one said it would be a simple adventure there. It never is As the journey continues.
In this dream, there was nothing. Only a black void of nothingness with no sound and no flow of anything. It was truly nothing at its best. However, there was something there. Only one thing.
An egg.
Just floating out there in the endless nothingness. However, that egg started to emanate a golden light. And ut of that golden light, everything was beginning to change. Life was sprouting as the egg. And with this life, other lights showed themselves.
Various lights of different colours burst out of the egg as they all resembled the colours of Pokemon-Types. From Electric, Normal, Dragon, Fire, Fairy, Flying and more. Afterwards, the egg was finally fully hatching with the final light being a golden light.
The golden light burst out of the egg, shattering it as the shells transformed into light as well. That wasn't the only transformation that took place. The golden light started forming into a shape. A shape of a creature. The shape appeared to be a four-legged entity that was nothing but a pale yellow blob with red eyes. But seconds later, that blob started morphing into something else.
Still remaining on four legs, the head shape and size of it increased. The shape became clearer, appearing more like a centaur or even a qilin. The red eyes became fully realized, gaining extra intensity. Then, a silhouette filed this creature due to all the darkness. But soon, the darkness would be replaced with light.
And that came from a ring that surrounded the body of this creature. The creature looked at its surroundings, seeing that there was nothing but itself. There was a moment of silence in the already silent void.
Until there was light. And giving this light to the black void while also making the silhouette clearer, the creature behind this had been revealed. The Creator Deity of the Pokemon World and the Alpha Pokemon.
Arceus.
Arceus, with just the slight usage of his power, had given colour to this blank space. But there was more to his slight power. Out of his body, a thousand arms had emerged.
Rather, a thousand Unown that were essentially his arms. They moved around the place, using just mere fractions of Arceus' power to create more of the cosmos while Arceus also spread out his light. They formed reality with ease. Stars began appearing, all varying and unique colours. Interstellar clouds also emerged too. with different colours too, full of plasma and other cosmic sources.
But, despite all of this splendour that even the most beautiful being ever would be jealous of, it was all lacking something. Time and space. That was when an odd circle appeared around Arceus.
This circle had a triangle in the middle. And around the triangle on all three sides, were smaller circles, accompanied by even smaller circles in the shape of what looked to be atoms. There was certainly an array of circles everywhere in this larger circle.
The three smaller circles all let off three specific lights. Blue, pink and purple. Emerging out of them were orbs that correlated with the colours they dazzled with. The three coloured orbs orbited around Arceus for a moment before splitting off into different directions.
Once they left, on the top of Arceus' head, a golden sphere started forming. The cosmos trembled from his omnipotent might. It felt like everything was going to collapse. But this was not a power that destroys. This was a power that creates. Arceus unleashed this sphere of golden light as it expanded to be even larger than the universe itself, eclipsing it all entirely.
And once the light faded as soon as it appeared, new life was brought into existence. Appearing everywhere were galaxies as well. Rapidly from various directions, galaxies formed around these newly birthed cosmos. In a wonderful and mind-blowing spectacle that was impossible to be perceived by almost anyone. Except for Arceus himself. Stars began appearing, all varying and unique colours. So did galaxies with their own stars within them as well.
Arceus, after making the universe, began walking, observing what he had done. But it wasn't over yet. As there was something missing. Time and space. That was where the orbs came in.
At the same time, arriving here was the appearance of Luna and Nightmare Rarity.
They entered this dream with Luna winning the beam struggle, knocking Nightmare Rarity away. Luna took some time to catch her breath as she was naturally exhausted from all this moving around. But once she caught her breath with Nightmare Rarity hurling through the void, she took in the scene around them and now there was nothing but light.
"W-What dream is this...?" Luna wondered. But before she could take everything in, recovering instantly, but still also feeling slightly out of breath was Nightmare Rarity.
"Curse you, Luna...!" The agitation of Nightmare Rarity was finally starting to show. The simple mission of erasing Manaphy's dream wasn't going as smoothly as she hoped. Even with the absorption of parts of the Hyperdream, this was still a struggle for her.
Luna stayed cautious, seeing Nightmare Rarity's magic erupt into a giant pillar of magic that broke through the interstellar clouds. She levitated upwards, using magic to levitate her.
"I'm already wasting enough time as it is! I could be having my pedicure! I'm practically already late for tonight's late-night talk show and have to postpone it an entire month...! Frankly...I should've just taken Manaphy herself instead of her Dream Variant. But, Equestria forbid that Daybreaker gets all pressed and whiny about family! It's not even her world's family! Why do you care so much?!"
At this point, Nightmare Rarity was going on a rant instead of getting to the action. There was certainly more of the original Rarity still in there. But as Luna watched the prolonged rant, she felt something larger than life coming this way. Squinting her eyes, Luna looked through the interstellar clouds of the cosmos. This was space after all. An entire universe. Meaning that the size was absurd and hard to comprehend.
But by using a bit of Lunar Ire's magic, she could look further. And what she saw was a familiar face, but a grander size. Arceus had approached this area, towering over even the various galaxies in the cosmos. And he did so while Nightmare Rarity was still ranting.
"I mean, get over it! Not your universe, not your problem!" Nightmare Rarity ranted as Luna's mouth was agape. Arceus raised his head, making the universe rumble as he was so gigantic here, covered by the interstellar clouds, that only a bit of his head could be seen. And with his head came his red eye. The Alpha Pokemon's eyes were locked onto Nightmare Rarity and to an extent Luna. Just as Nightmare Rarity would about to continue ranting, that's when she soon felt the presence of someone greater than her.
Someone above all.
"A-Arceus..." Luna uttered with a slightly weak voice as Nightmare Rarity was frozen in fear. She hadn't even turned around yet she knew that something intimidating was nearby.
"..." The corrupted fashionista gulped. Right after that, she took a deep breath, preparing herself for the worst. And with a slow turnaround, Nightmare Rarity had met the most powerful Pokemon in existed for the first time. "H-Hello..."
Hyperdream.
Meanwhile out in the Hyperdream, the Tantabus was threatening a 5-year-old Ash Ketchum and an older Twilight Sparkle in the future who was now Celestia-sized. She still had her trusty Espeon by her side. Twilight vowed to protect young Ash Ketchum, even if this young Ash didn't truly know who Twilight was. But Twilight did and after all the times he's saved her, she decided to pay him back.
"Eve, use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Esp...!" Espeon dashed through the zone of Hyperdream with Eve's body being covered by a rainbow sphere. As for Twilight, standard magic was her go-to. However, at this point, her magic was greater than ever. So much so that once usage of it managed to slice a part of the Tantabus off. "Eon!"
Espeon's sphere released a bombardment of rainbow rays that rapidly pelted the Tantabus, pushing it back with extreme force. And since this was a dream, Espeon made it bigger for extra weight.
The Tantabus was pushed back, only to retaliate by sending an extended part of itself. This extended part latched onto Espeon and Twilight immediately, splitting into various parts. The Tantabuses tendrils had then expanded, wrapping around the duo rapidly.
"E-Espeon!"
"Absol! Ninetales!" Twilight called for the rest of her Pokemon as she was zapping away at the tendrils. But they just kept coming. Emerging within the Hyperdream and from their Poke Balls were Absol and Ninetales.
"Absol!" And once they showed up, Absol had used Superpower while Ninetales used Extrasensory. Absol smashed the tendrils to bits with raw power alone, forcing the Tantabus away.
The Tantabus screeched transforming into a horrifying 40-armed creature that flailed its destructive tendrils around, sharp enough to cut even within a dream.
"Minccy! Togekiss!" Twilight then called for the rest of her Pokemon. Appearing in the dream were two more. Her first Pokemon ever and the current Pokemon she had in the present timeline.
"Cinccino!" Cinccino emerged with Trie Attack already prepared. As for Togekiss, she went with Aura Sphere. In unison, two spheres of different colours were unleashed, flying side by side. The Tantabus and its tendrils had been stopped by these spheres as Tri Attack's effects took place.
Usually, only one status effect can work with Tri Attack, but Cinccino dreamt for all three of them to occur. The Tantabus had been paralyzed, burnt and even had parts of its tendrils frozen.
"Wow..." And naturally, the young Ash Ketchum from a past dream couldn't help but marvel at this. This was a treat for his young eyes. And at this instance, he saw Twilight as the coolest individual ever.
The Tantabus shattered the ice away from its tendrils before suddenly casting a surprise attack. Without anyone reacting fast enough or even knowing, a few tendrils had been masked, hiding around some of the dream bubbles. They showed themselves instantly, whacking all of Twilight's Pokemon with it.
"Toge!" Togekiss and the others cried out after being slapped repeatedly. The tendrils also came towards Twilight aggressively. The Princess of Friendship held Ash close to her, slicing up as many tendrils as she could but they were getting faster each time.
"Queen Serperior!" She called for one final Pokemon. Emerging from the Hyperdream and revealing to be a Pokemon of Twilight Sparkle was Queen Serperior. The same Serperior from PokePark.
"Serperior!" The Regal Pokemon had used Leaf Storm after her initial appearance. She whipped up a storm of leaves by simply putting her tail out. She saved her teammates, pushing the tendrils away and even the Tantabus with the amount of force registered by Leaf Storm.
"All of you! All together now!" Twilight stood aligned with her Pokemon after they were saved by Serperior. All 6 of them had lined up, ready to listen to Twilight's next and biggest command. "Giga Impact! Psychic! Thunder! Sky Attack! Flare Blitz! Leaf Storm, go!"
A 6 Pokemon assault on the Tantabus. And leading the way would be Absol, Togekiss and Ninetales. The three of them had their bodies laminated with different auras. Like rockets, they took off approaching the Tantabus and leaving beautiful streams.
And backing them up were Espeon, Cinccino and Serperior from afar. They released an invisible blast of Psychic energy, a gigantic bolt of lightning and a fierce whirlwind of leaves.
And all at once, these 6 attacks struck the Tantabus at full force. Enough force to slightly rumble the Hyperdream. Colours of different varieties shined out after this attack. And the assault ended with the attacks going straight through the Tantabus, leaving a massive gaping hole in it.
"Yes!" Ash jumped for joy. "You did it! You guys are awesome!" After his cheering, Twilight and all of her Pokemon turned to the excited 5-year-old, smiling afterwards.
The Tantabus had been weakened slightly. The coordination between Twilight and her Pokemon was immaculate. Seeing how troubling this was for it, it called for assistance. And the only assistance it could call for was from the other Tantabus.
However, the Tantabus on the other side was occupied, meaning that this Tantabus had to have another option. And the only one it chose was the dream bubbles. It aimed to corrupt them next.
"We can't defeat a Tantabus, only weaken it," Twilight said. "We'll need extra help if we want to give Luna enough time. Ash."
"Yeah?" Ash looked at her.
"Dream. Dream whatever you can. Your biggest dream is to become a Pokemon Master, right?"
"Uh-huh!" He nodded rapidly. "That's what I'm gonna be!" Taking Twilight's advice, Ash dreamt big. He didn't need to be told to dream big. Ash is always dreaming big. He closed his eyes as the dream bubbles were wobbling once more. Specifically, the ones that had Ash within them.
All the while, the Tantabus created a tiny tendril that snuck out of it. However, it could only affect one dream since it needed the combined might of the other Tantabus to even enter a new dream.
But before the tendril could do so, a multitude of Ash's dreams had been affected due to the 5-year-old. And emerging out of six dream bubbles were 6 variations of Ash. One of which had knocked the tendril away.
Arriving at the scene was Ash during his Kanto to Johto years joined by Hoenn Ash, Sinnoh Ash, Unova Ash, Kalos Ash and Alola Ash. All 6 of them had been summoned as they were currently dreaming as well. But they weren't alone. As always, Pikachu was always there. In this case, 6 ages of Pikachu.
"Oh! I was right! Whatever we dream our specific dream bubbles can be affected by it too! The Hyperdream is so amazing!" Twilight got giddy, alerting the attention of the other Ash's.
"Hm?" Sinnoh Ash paused for a moment, looking at his surroundings before noticing his older and younger selves. They all did the same. Even the young Ash at the age of 5. After an awkward pause, they all pointed at each other, noticing the similarities.
"OH! YOU'RE ME!" They equally shouted.
"PIKACHU?!" So did the 6 Pikachu.
"Man, this dream escalated pretty fast!" Alola Ash gawked. "And I get to see myself in the past! So cool!"
"How come you're bigger than me?! You even sound kinda different too..." Kanto Ash pointed at the other Ash's and their height differences compared to him. But he was nowhere near shorter than 5-year-old-Ash.
"Yeah, but check him out." Unova Ash aimed at 5-year-old Ash.
"What's going on?" Kalos Ash wondered before observing the Hyperdream. He and the others then noticed Twilight and all of her Pokemon present here.
Fittingly, each Ash Ketchum recognized one Pokemon from each generation. From Kanto to Unova. Some obviously haven't arrived at certain regions in their point of times so to Kanto Ash, the only one that was familiar to him was Espeon since he had seen one in Johto.
Only Kalos and Alola could recognize all of them including Unova Ash to a certain extent, limited to just Cinccino and Serperior. Hoenn Ash, while only noticing Absol, felt like he had seen something related to Togekiss before.
"Who's that Pokemon?" 4 of the Ash's said, aiming to take out their Pokedexes. Altogether, their Pokedexes had gathered information about each of the Pokemon.
"Uh, this is awkward..." Twilight squeed. But before she could explain anything to the 6 Ash's, the Tantabus had recovered, howling ferociously at its prey. "Sorry if all of this seems sudden! But long story short! That thing over there can threaten the dreams of everyone we know"
"That's all you needed to say." Kalos Ash replied as they all faced the Tantabus. "I don't know what's going on, but that thing's the main problem, right?"
"I was hoping to have a battle with all of you since you're me. But this works too!" Kanto Ash exclaimed as the Tantabus approached them with the appearance of a massive scissor.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Each of the Ash's bellowed, commanding their Pikachu to use Thunderbolt at the same time.
"Pika...!" The 6 Pikachu leapt from the shoulders of their partners. It would be a Thunderbolt for the ages but it would only ever take place in a dream. Their bodies sparked with lightning, accumulating 100,000 volts maximum. "CHUUUU!"
But with all 6 of them attacking together, they added up to 700,000 volts maximum. And enough power to grow to a stupendous size. The Tantabus tried cutting the Thunderbolt in half, only for the Thunderbolt to overpower it.
Now the Tantabus was beyond slightly weakened. It was weakened enough for it to shudder and stagger. It had already taken damage from Darkrai and Luna earlier, followed up by Twilight and her Pokemon and the overwhelming bolts of electricity from the 6 Pikachu's only amplified that.
"Wow...I'm gonna be like them someday?" The young Ash pointed at his older selves, idolizing them the same way he did for Twilight.
"One day you will. And you'll be amazing. Trust me. I know." And with a nod, Twilight basically confirmed what was already to be expected in the future for this kid from Kanto.
"It isn't over yet." But just then, Sinnoh Ash spoke as the other Ash's knew the Tantabus was still active. The Tantabus knew it had to gain help from its other-self which was occupied with Darkrai.
Arceus' Dream.
There he stood, staring down Nightmare Rarity and Princess Luna. The Alpha Pokemon Arceus. Nightmare Rarity had only heard about Arceus, but she never expected to meet him. She was frozen with fear at the moment, unsure of what to do.
Nightmare Rarity was intimidated by Arceus to the point where her will to continue was waiting. "H-He's way more fearsome than they made him out to be!"
Fully staggered by Arceus' glare, Nightmare Rarity soon realized that this was not a favourable situation. She looked at Arceus and then right back at Luna. Seeing the scenario before her, Nightmare Rarity concluded on one decision.
Retreating.
"I'd prefer not to be caught up in here!!" She used magic from the Hyperdream. Her body was fizzling out of the area.
"Come back here!" Luna sighed, knowing that she would have to use Lunar Ire's magic once more. "Perhaps I can still pursue her."
"You." Just then, Arceus spoke as his mind was gathering events that had happened in the far future. In this dream, this was the beginning of time. But even this far back, Arceus could gather the memories of the future. "You are Luna."
"Y-You remember me?!" Luna gasped.
"Even in a dream, I can remember everything. There is no memory that escapes me. What brings you here?"
"My deepest apologies, Arceus. But I and my friends ran into some trouble along the way when journeying to the Sea Temple. I apologize for disturbing your dream."
[b]"Don't. An apology isn't needed. I am just dreaming of creating the universe right now. I will always have the same dream of how I made it possible. But you should pursue that other pony from before. I sense that she might not return to confront you.
"What? Y-You can tell what's happening within the Hyperdream?" Luna stuttered.
"I can perceive any kind of dream. No matter how large in scope and size it may be. She will be retreating from confronting you for now. The magic that she had taken from this Hyperdream is too much, even for a pony of her magical potential. And I can sense the same in you."
"You are right. I have so much potential in me and yet I can barely bring it out without hesitation or harming myself..." Luna lowered her head, feeling a tad bit disappointed in herself. "Sometimes I wish I was like the other Luna's from other worlds. Then I wouldn't be burdened with something like this."
"Maybe. Maybe that would be for the best to be rid of a burden such as that." Arceus looked to the height of the universe as the three orbs were starting to pulsate. Soon, Dialga, Palkia and Giratina would emerge out of them. And Time and Space would flow naturally. "Or perhaps you break past it. I don't need to say anything else about what you have to do. You already have friends that can encourage you to do so."
Luna did not respond at first. Instead, she only thought of the words said to her before. And these words came from Ash In fact, they came from the same day at a late afternoon as he passed these words of advice along to her.
"No need to worry, Luna. You've got this. Whatever this stuff is, I know you'll find out somehow. You're the nighttime master after all. No one knows it better than you. Well, plus Darkrai."
And even words from back at the Glittering Island scenario that was said by Darkrai. He passed on his own advice to his trainer.
"Better to try than to do nothing, Luna. You and Equestria have taught me that."
And once she recalled those words plus taking Arceus' advice, Luna had made up her mind. She held her head high before taking a deep breath. "All of this is still so much. Even after I had returned from my banishment to the moon. But I'm more than ready to make everything as simple as I can make it. Just like how my friends can."
"If that is your choice, then go and seize that goal."
"I shall. Thank you, Arceus!" Luna thanked the Alpha Pokemon as she had witnessed a pulsation of three separate energies go off. Dialga, Palkia and Giratina had awakened.
"They're awake. Would you like to see how I envisioned it? The Creation of Time, Space and Antimatter?"
"I would but I have some friends to help. Maybe another time."
Hyperdream.
Nightmare Rarity decided to retreat, fearing that she could end up failing in this zone if things go too awry. And her point was only backed up even further once she entered the Hyperdream.
She had seen 6 different Ash Ketchum and Pikachu in the same area. As if Arceus wasn't intimidating enough. All 12 of them plus Twilight and her Pokemon have been overwhelming the Tantabus, keeping it at bay this entire time.
Nightmare Rarity opened a hole through Hyperdream to try and retrieve the second Tantabus that was stuck battling Darkrai. And once that hole was opened, out came the second Tantabus.
But not before being blasted out by Darkrai's Dark Pulse. The opposing Tantabus had struggled against Darkrai, even with the assistance of Nightmare Forces. The Pitch Black Pokemon flew out of the Hyperdream hole, appearing in the zone.
And finally, joining the zone as the last member was Luna after returning from Arceus' dream. Now the Hyperdream was more crowded. And on the first time being here too.
"Oh, A Darkrai!" Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos and Alola Ash pointed out, noticing the Pitch Black Pokemon's presence here. Luna was just as shocked as Darkrai to see the other Ash's. But they quickly dismissed that, focusing on the threat here.
"You're surrounded, Nightmare Rarity!" Luna exclaimed. "We both are unaware of the Hyperdream's capabilities. And frankly, I'm ready to test those capabilities for the better."
"And I don't mean to rain on your parade, but if you return here, Princess Luna can always just fetch me again," said Twilight. "We could go through this same song and dance over and over again but maybe with more of ourselves."
"Tch!" Nightmare Rarity hated to admit it. But they had a point. This could happen a second time if she returned to the Hyperdream. If 6 Ash's and Pikachu could assist, then there was no telling how many other variations could intervene. She was beaten. Not by batting but by a harsh reality.
Despite this, she kept a pompous smirk as the two Tantabuses re-entered her body. "I hate that you're right. But if you believe I'll make the same mistake again, you'd be wrong." She then turned to Luna. "You can keep your guide to the Sea Temple, Luna. Doesn't change the fact that you have a steep competition coming your way."
"Wait, the Sea Temple? " All other Ash's except for Kanto Ash said, recalling the Sea Temple.
"But apart from this Hyperdream, there's more I'm searching for. But this will have to do in the meanwhile. It seems both of us will have something to learn about this new breed of magic." And instead of taunting Luna, Nightmare Rarity decided to leave but she left in style.
An by style, she made an outburst of nightmare mist that forced everyone to close their eyes. Luckily, it didn't do anything. It was just for show. After that, silence filled the air.
"Finally...It's..." Exhausted to finish her last sentence, Princess Luna felt like sleeping. After all of that, she needed it. Especially when using Lunar Ire's magic. The Princess of the Night closed her eyes as Darkrai caught her.
"You did good, Luna," Darkrai said, patting her on the back. Once within his grasp, Luna felt comfortable with a smile on her face. "Now get some rest."
"Woah...Now what?" Kanto Ash spoke, scratching his hair. "Oh! Can we have our battle now?!"
"All of you should be getting back to your dreams now," Twilight replied. "Your younger self just summoned you for help against the Tantabus."
"Oh, so that was you? Great job." Hoenn Ash went to his younger self.
"T-Thanks!" Excited, 5-year-old Ash had a blushed face, feeling like a hero.
"But...You can have your battle if you want. I mean, you're all dreaming so make it happen. But maybe do it inside of a dream instead of out here." Twilight suggested. "We don't want any damage done to this."
"Hold on. You gotta tell us what all this stuff is?" Unova Ash intervened. "What's a Hyperdream anyway?"
"Yeah, and I'm still pretty confused." Alola Ash crossed his arms, grumbling. "Even for a dream."
"You all figure that out yourselves. It's about time we left." Darkrai uttered, flying the entrance hole that led to the Dream Realm. "Guess that answers it. We may see each other again."
"Wait!" Kanto and Hoenn Ash exclaimed. "We wanna know more about you! Don't go!"
But it was too late. They had left the Hyperdream once entering into the Dream Realm. Twilight used her magic, holding Kanot and Hoenn Ash from rushing ahead.
"Were you this hyperactive back then?" Twilight sighed, looking at the other Ash's.
"Yeah! Hahaha!" The rest of them laughed, relishing in their old selves. They were still the same person after all, no matter what.
Manaphy's past dreams had been protected. Nightmare Rarity failed to eliminate them all. Now the Hyperdream was aware to them and even those that have been in it. For now, this tale of the Hyperdream closes. But it was just one massive tale connected to the Sea Temple as the journey continues.
Returning to the Sunstorm with a sense of defeat was Nightmare Rarity. She failed to remove the rest of Manaphy's dreams for the Dream Variant. As a result, the Dream Variant could only guide Daybreaker and Empress Twilight's forces for so long.
All that she got in that struggle was some magic from a brand-new powerful force of magic that existed past the Dream Realm, made by Lunar Ire's magic. Known as the Hyperdream. The magic was too overwhelming for her to absorb, so Nightmare Rarity had only received a fraction of it.
"Oh well. Better luck next time." Spitfire chuckled, laughing at Nightmare Rarity's failure. Even some of the ponies onboard started laughing at the corrupted Fashionista. Especially when she played herself up with such promise.
"Silence!" Nightmare Rarity roared. But even being yelled at by a powerful unicorn comparable to an alicorn wasn't enough to make them stop laughing. "Ooh...this must be how Empress Twilight felt with that whole Jackie scenario..."
"It's not a complete loss." But the one pony who wasn't laughing at her was Daybreaker, being projected through a magic visage as always. "You managed to grab the magic from that strange dream zone that you were in and you have potentially discovered some weaknesses in it."
"Only a fraction, Daybreaker!" Nightmare Rarity exclaimed in response. "Any more and I would've combusted on the spot and become nothing but nightmare remains. Even within a dream. I only have so much to work with now. But I can still learn from it. Hopefully, as soon as I can. But this loss cannot stand. Curse that Luna and her allies...!"
"The loss you've taken was not major, Rarity." Daybreaker shook her head as the laughs continued. "It was only minor at best with slight inconveniences and mishaps."
"Oh, please!" Nightmare Rarity scoffed. "I would've expected you to bring up losses of different scopes and scales since you lost your sister-"
Silence.
Everypony stopped laughing as the room became mute. Nightmare Rarity also stopped her sentence right after mentioning the word 'sister'. She soon scrunched her face before noticing the mistake she had made. Everypony was silent with only the sound of the waves and night sky passing through, they all then looked at the projection of Daybreaker.
Naturally, bringing up the loss of her younger sister Luna during that tragic event sparked something within Daybreaker. Something difficult to keep within. Daybreaker's eyes flared along with her mane.
"D-Daybreaker, I-I-I-I didn't mean to-" Nightmare Rarity's words were stammering with her heart beating rapidly. With Daybreaker's flaming mane intensifying in heat, her magic was so powerful that it ended up reaching from one universe to another.
Right in front of Nightmare Luna, an eruption of flames had emerged, almost engulfing her. The flames were hotter than a volcano, burning away at the floor of this deck and startling all the ponies onboard. The flames even erupted so high that they burst through the rest of the ship, reaching the night sky and piercing some clouds along the way.
Luckily for Nightmare Rarity, Daybreaker's flames subsided, along with her potential. No cocky smile or smirk graced Daybreaker's face. All she could say was a few words to Nightmare Rarity.
"Return your universe. Now."
"Y-Yes! Right away!" Nightmare Rarity nodded aggressively before opening a gateway behind her. She didn't waste any time, fearing that Daybreaker could still attack at any second. So, to save herself from harm, she instantly leapt into the gateway, closing it afterwards.
"The rest of you. Team Plasma will be with you soon. It's time for you to head in at full speed and find the Sea Temple immediately." Daybreaker's tone had shifted into a more serious one. "Use whatever remains of the current Manaphy to guide you. Colress has backups anyway. Once there, you will alert me immediately. Or, throw the crystals through a gateway to my universe once found. As for me, I'll make an appearance at Unova for my Grand Eye Spell at its fullest, Understood?"
"Yes, your majesty!" Spitfire bowed as everyone had no urge to laugh anymore. They would all continue their journey towards the Sea Temple with what they had as Daybreaker's visage disappeared.
The Grand Equestria. Nightfall.
Over at the Grand Equestria, many were still asleep. And right now, Luna, after working hard during the night, was finally getting some good night sleep. Darkrai would keep watch of the Dream Realm while she was asleep.
Meanwhile, Shining Armor was speaking to Princess Celestia by using Ash's Xtransceiver. It was bout information regarding the Sea Temple.
"So we have a better chance for a Total Lunar Eclipse to show us the temple?" Shining Armor asked.
"Ash's story about that adventure mentioned how the Sea Temple better reveals itself when the Lunar Eclipse appears. That's how he and his friends found it before with the help of Manaphy's homing instincts," said Celestia. "Unfortunately, that won't happen at all for this month so it's up to the instincts of Manaphy still."
"Wish we had the moon..." Shining Armor grumbled.
"And remember, you'll have to use the mini-boat placed within the back of the Grand Equestria if you want to enter the Sea Temple. It is underwater after all. The Underwater Breathing Spell might not suffice for long due to its 20-minute time limit. Ooh, that's a bit of a tongue twister."
"Alright. We'll let you know when we eventually arrive there. Or are relatively close to it." He nodded before turning off the Xtransceiver.
Ash was currently asleep, so Shining Armor had to carefully place it back next to him. Magic was the way for that as the Xtransceiver had been placed near Ash's leg.
"Captain. We'll be coming up on a city soon by the name of Humilau City. Afterwards, we could end up leaving the seas of Unova and end up at..." The guard looked at the map closer. "Either Sinnoh or Kalos. Either way, the seas of this world are massive."
"Well then let's just hope that we're the right region for Manaphy's homing instincts. I'm itching to get back home and prepare for Hearth's Warming. The Flurry Heart from the other universe hasn't experienced a fun Hearth's Warming in a long time, so we'll make it fun for her again."
Everypony went back to their posts as Manaphy was starting to feel tired. The visible yawn was a sign of that. She was immediately brought back to the ship to rest. The Grand Equestria would be stopping by Humilau thankfully for some rest. But as the ship went along its way, Adagio, who was previously asleep, woke up.
The siren got off from the bed, deciding to take a good view of the ocean. And with great timing too. Ever since they had left Vibrank City and made a quick stop at Lentimas Town, they were getting closer and closer to the sea and further from land. After passing Humilau, there would be a majority of seas for the eye to see.
Adagio had shown up to the upper deck via teleportation. She wanted to look at these because of how they reminded her of her home. And seeing the sea resemble her home also reminded Adagio of her mother, Vivace. Due to a long lifespan of a siren, she hasn't seen her mother in a considerable amount of time. But Adagio had a slimmer of hope. After all, the same thing that happened to her mother and the rest of her species also happened to her sisters.
Adagio believed that her mother was somewhere out there. Perhaps not in this world, but the human world since that was where her sisters were sent before. Or there could be a chance a gateway in the human world had formed, leading to the Pokemon.
By looking out at the sea, Adagio was trying to see if she could hear the sound of her mother. She recalled how sirens would find each other by singing specific songs. Adagio did the same, hoping that her mother could hear it somewhere. She started singing out a tune that came from her past.
And with her siren vocal cords plus magic, the sound of this tune was amplified, echoing through the atmosphere and even overshadowing the wind. Even though this song was made to call out for another siren, it also acted as a relaxing tune. Nearby Water-Type Pokemon were the most exposed to this.
Their ears were blessed with Adagio's song as many of them felt at peace. Some even chose to fall asleep from this sound as her singing went well with the sound of the flowing waves. Adagio didn't know this. Even Kricketot, who always resided in her gigantic hair was being put at peace with this.
Hearing this as well were the guards, looking over at Adagio singing. Shining Armor, Flash Sentry, the guards and even the Golurk took a peek as they felt tired. It was impossible for Golurk to become tired but it seemed that Adagio's singing said otherwise.
Adagio ended her song, hoping to hear a response song from somewhere. However, there was no response. She knew it wouldn't be instant but she was hoping for a quick one. But she did hear something.
The applauding sounds of the guards and the Golurk. "!" Adagio shot up, turning around to see them applauding her amazing singing.
"Good stuff!" A guard spoke.
"How long were you watching for?!" Adagio gasped, backing up on the rails of the upper deck and almost falling off.
"Just now," said Shining Armor as the applauds kept coming.
"Great singing. That was my first time seeing a siren sing anyway, I wasn't there for that Talent Show." Flash Sentey chuckled as Adagio cleared her throat. "Think we can hear another?"
"You want to hear more from me?" She froze for a second.
"Golurk! Gol!" The Golurk cried out in their deep voices, opting to hear some more of Adagio's singing. She had amassed a crowd. Adagio still wasn't used to having those that genuinely adored her. The first sign of this was her Kricketot. The second was the little foals who made a movie with her months back and now this.
"Mmhm." She took a deep breath. "Well, if you want to hear another one, I'll need 50 bits and some gemstones if you please?"
"Huh?!" They all gasped before instantly searching for bits. They took Adagio's' words literally as some shrugged, unable to pay up.
"I'm kidding, kidding." Adagio chuckled after getting all of them into a stir. "But I do appreciate a good crowd. Not often I can have an encore." Seeing this and recalling previous moments in time, Adagio could get used to genuine admiration instead of controlled one. Takes less effort. "I'll sing...when I think of something."
"Awww..." The guards groaned as Adagio had teased them, not having a current song idea in mind. But while the guards chatted, Adagio gained a frown, looking over at the distance of the sea with no response of another siren. She wondered where her mother and everyone else could be right now.
Humilau City. Day.
A resort city where buildings float in the waves and look like islands. Just at the northeastern part of Unova and towards the seas of the rest of the Pokemon World.
Arriving at Humilau City at last. Humilau felt more like a town than a city with a population of only 32. They would stop here before setting off once more. This place was considered the final stop of Unova to many.
"Alright, Manaphy. Time to eat." Shining Armor came out of the ship, holding some food for the Seafaring Pokemon. Manaphy bounced over, ready to chow down on her personal favourite food that was brought along in this journey.
"Mana!"
It wasn't just her. The rest of Ash's Pokemon were ready to eat along with Kricketot. Flash Sentry's Pidgeot was feeling peckish as well. "Pikachu!" They all started eating the Pokemon Food minus Golurk and Aegislash. It was a mystery how some Ghosts are capable of consuming food but others aren't.
Ash looked at the map of Unova, seeing that they were practically near the end of it considering where they started from. This also brought back memories with Ash when his final weeks in Unova were closing in.
"Man. Feels like forever since I've been here. Guess everywhere feels like forever when you think about it." He looked to the sky and the sea. "I bet when I get to Holon with everyone else, it'll feel pretty nostalgic."
Ash's mind was already filling up with the possibilities of the Holon Region. He had heard the region was home to a special type of Pokemon species known as Delta Pokemon. He was eager to see that.
Nostalgia and excitement were brimming in his mind. The Sea Temple added to that. Ash closed his eyes, taking a moment to take everything in. However, as Ash sat there, daydreaming, someone from within the homes in Humilau had exited.
A certain someone that resides in a different part in Unova. This, someone, noticed Ash in the distance, deciding to be a bit stealthy about her approach. She crept up behind Ash Ketchum with outstretched arms. Pikachu was the first to notice this as he turned her head.
Pikachu noticed it as Carlita from Eindoak Town.
"Pika?"
"Ssshh..." Carlita put her finger on her mouth, telling Pikachu to be quiet. She wanted this to be a surprise. Pikachu promised, zipping his mouth shut. Carlita kept this up, wanting to surprise Ash as a devious grin appeared on her face.
But that never happened thanks to the interference of Gengar.
"GENGAR!" Appearing from the front of Carlita's shadow, the Shadow Pokemon emerged, making its face enlarge as Carlita was the one who ended up being startled.
"Waaah!" She screeched falling on her back as Gengar giggled. That caught the attention of Ash as he turned around.
"Hm?" The surprise had failed on Carlita's side and succeeded on Gengar's. Right after turning around, Ash saw the familiar face of Carlita of Eindoak Town. "Oh! Carlita!"
"H-Hey, Ash." She greeted, rubbing the back of her head before sitting up. "Long time no see."
"Sure has been a long time. How have ya been?" He asked, walking up to her. "I didn't get a chance to greet you guys when I showed up back at Eindoak a few weeks back."
"Oh, it's been great. I mean nothing much has changed back at Eindoak but it's all good and swell. Mom, dad and Damon are doing fine. Victini's out there exploring everything else like you promised it to. Like the sea. I'm here visiting some friends of mine. What about you?"
"Boy, there's a lot to say. I've seen and done a lot these past few years since we last met. Kinda hard to list them all. But right now, me and my friends are heading over to find the Sea Temple, Samiya."
"Sea Tempe...Samiya?" Carlita's eyes squinted. "You know about that place?"
"You do too?" Ash was just as surprised, leaning as their conversation had grabbed the attention of the Canterlot and Crystal Empire guards.
"I do. Mostly because of what I was told about the People of the Water. You see, the People of the Vale and the People of the Water knew about each other, having connections in the past."
"Awesome!" Ash gawked with star-lit eyes. "So that means you know all about Samiya and everyone that's descended from it, right?!"
"Well, I'm a descendant of the People of the Vale thanks to the three tribes that existed long ago. So I know my stuff." She winked. "But you're seriously going to try and find that place You'd need a Manaphy for something like that."
"We do. Right over there." Ash then answered by pointing his thumb over at the Seafaring Pokemon. Carlita was shocked to see the Seafaring Pokemon casually here.
"You do?!" She bellowed. "Guess you're close then. Here I thought you were sailing blind."
"Hang on." Adagio appeared from behind a rock. "If you're related to that, then you should know at least something about where it could be? Anything?"
"Anything? Hm..." Carlita pondered for a moment. "Well when I was practising with Hydreigon, we ended up seeing something when going for a swim. Just near here, I saw a Chinchou pass through something. Its body let out some pink light afterwards and that was all we saw of the Chinchuo before heading back up to the surface."
"Pink light...The cloaking device!" Ash gasped, remembering the appearance of the cloaking device. "That's it! We're close now!"
"Really?!" Shining Armor and the guards uttered in unison.
"That's why you couldn't see Chincou afterwards because of the cloaking device. That means we're in the right region now. Where'd you see it? Here in Humilau?" Ash asked.
"No. It was when I came over to Humilau. I took a boat here from Eindoak and came from that direction." Carlita pointed to the northwest of the sea, just past a nearby island.
"So that's where we need to be." Ash and everyone looked to the northwest as Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder.
"Pika..."
"Shame we're busy though..." Ash shrugged. "I was hoping we could have a battle. Battling Hydreigon again would be so exciting, ya know.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Pssh. Yeah, right." Carlita nudged Ash. "You think I wouldn't miss out on this?! I've heard about the Sea Temple and have been wanting to see it for ages now. If I'm gonna get another chance, this is it."
"Uh, no," Adagio said, rejecting Carlita's words. "This isn't something you can just tagalong to, okay? We're on an important mission so we don't need any dead weight slowing us down."
"And who are you to call me deadweight?" Carlita pouted with crossed arms while gazing over at Adagio Dazzle.
"Adagio Dazzle. Wonderful Siren Singer, Movie Maker Master in the making and the student of Princess Celestia. As always, Adagio couldn't help but flaunt herself with only one of those titles being fake but potentially possible. She made herself look highly important and to an extent, she was.
"Meh." But Carlita wasn't impressed. She only said one word and nothing else. No clever retort. But that was enough to agitate Adagio.
"Hmph! Not that impressive, hm?! And you're better how?"
"I don't need titles to know how good I am." Carlita gave a cheeky grin with her arms behind her back, winking at Adagio. "I've got a lot to offer that doesn't make me 'dead weight'."
"So why don't you go ahead and list them then? Unless you're bluffing." Giving an equal yet slightly more devious grin was Adagio as she and Carlita were already changing up the tension.
They then butted heads with sparks of heated tendencies flying about. Adagio rejected Carlita's choice to come on board while Carlita and her spunky nature say otherwise.
"Uhh...I'll let you handle this Ash. Get the mini-boat ready all of you." Shining Armor ordered. "We'll be underwater for a while maybe so let's get there before our enemies do."
The guards were ready to set the sub boat out and head underwater. Humilau being the end of Unova was perfect for finding the Sea Temple considering anything past this was just the vast sea leading to any possible region. But while that was being set, Carlita would spend a little more time with Ash.
Manaphy had just finished her food and was ready to set out once more. She had the full strength to do so. Plus, overnight, her dreams had returned to her. Thanks to Luna and Darkrai.
Speaking of Luna and Darkrai, they were inside of the ship instead of outside. Luna still felt drained after everything that had happened so she was taking things easy for now.
"Hey, now. It's okay." Ash separated them. "If Carlita wants to come along, there's no harm. She's extra strong, her and Hydreigon. Trust me, I know."
"Are you kidding me?" An eyebrow was raised on Adagio. "Do you always let someone come along on your journeys, just cause?"
"Well, yeah." He chuckled. "It's usually when Pikachu and I are helping out someone. Sometimes it's the other way around. It's what friends do, ya know."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Yeah. Friends." Carlita let out a quiet chuckle before standing behind Ash with her head peeking out.
"Yeah, well don't blame me when that friend messes things up." That was all Adagio had to say before trotting off.
"What's up with her?" Carlita scoffed as Ash could only chuckle nervously after that little exchange. However, as everyone was getting ready to set off with the submarine being unleashed, this whole time, they were being watched.
Hidden within the massive array of clouds was an eye. An eye that could not only see everything from a grand scale but also hear. This eye belonged to Daybreaker.
She did mention how she would show up in Unova and use her Grand Eye Spell as a means to get to the Sea Temple quicker. And what a time she chose. Due to Daybreaker having no need for sleep, she had been waiting here for hours now. And all that waiting paid off as she now knew what else to follow. Not the Grand Equestria anymore, but the Sea Temple.
With that revelation, she could pass this down to her forces, Commander Tempest Shadow's group and Team Plasma. They were now closer to the Sea Temple than before.
As for Ash and the others they had gotten ready to enter the mini-boat. It wasn't exactly huge as the best it could manage was 12 passengers at best. Unfortunately, none of the Golurk could enter due to their massive size. But they would do a good job protecting the Grand Equestria.
"Who is she?" Luna asked as Carlita ended up coming along. Luna couldn't ignore the sudden guest appearance of Carlita once she showed up.
"A friend of mine. Carlita." Ash introduced her. "She'll be a big help for us."
"And I've been itching to check out the Sea Temple for a bit." Carlita entered the mini-boat first before anyone else, making herself comfortable as Luna didn't respond. She just went with it, unlike Adagio.
The 12 passengers would be Ash, Pikachu, Shining Armor, Aegislash, Adagio, Kricketot, Luna, Darkrai, Carlita, Flash Sentry and two Canterlot Guards. They were the maximum and the best that could head to the Sea Temple. However, despite there being only 12 seats, Darkrai made some space by hiding in the shadows while Kricketot would just stay in Adagio's mane.
And Pikachu would stay close to Ash either way. Because of this, extra guards could enter, adding some extra firepower to it. The mini-boat would be commanded by the only pony here who knew how to use it. Shining Armor. Or rather, his magic would help him.
The mini-boat was dropped off near the island just close to Humilau City as the Grand Equestria was currently motionless, staying there for the meanwhile. Finally, they were fully underwater and ready to find the Sea Temple.
Manaphy was the only one not on board since she could just stay outside and use the water to her advantage. Manaphy led the way as she could sense the Sea Temple being close. Carlita's words were right.
"I don't think you realize how excited I am!" A giddy Carlita said. "But since we're all here, I wanna know about you little ponies. I've only heard about your world and how you come from there and that's about it."
"Oh, there's a lot to know." Flash removed his helmet. "It'd be difficult to know where to start, honestly."
"How about you tell me about the battles in your world? How good are you all at Pokemon Battles?" Carlita shimmied over to Flash.
"Uh...I mean...We're good at best." Flas shrugged along with the guards. "I mean, I think me and my Pidgeot are personally skilled."
"I'm a bit of a swordmaster if you must know." At the helm and using his magic to guide the boat was Shining Armor, chiming his words in. "My Aegislash and I were trained by the Swords of Justice."
"The Swords of Justice?!" A roar exited out of Carlita as she stood up, bumping her head on the top of the boat. The Swords of Justice were a big deal in Unova after all. "Ow."
"That's right. Mainly Cobalion but the others helped out too sometimes. He trained Aegislash and I to be great at swordplay and it shows. We took on Wikstrom of the Elite 4 and become Knights of Chivalry. Ash too."
"Sure did. Everyone at Equestria's still sorta new to Pokemon battling, but they're getting there. I can already tell that they'll be extra strong when they get the hang of everything else. Especially when the Equestria League comes along."
"Which I intend to win." A confident Luna replied. "The one to become Equestria's first-ever champion shall be me. And I intend to keep that title for a long time."
"That's kinda unfair for living so long..." A guard silently said.
"Yeah, Luna's super strong. Not just her Pokemon but on her own too," said Ash. "I think she's uhh...the 3rd best trainer in Equestria, right?"
"I intend to be number one. Spitfire and Daylight Blazer will be difficult to get past."
"Now you've got my interest. You're not only strong cute too!" Carlita gushed before patting Luna on the head.
"Cute?! I am n-" Luna was about to have an outburst until she mellowed down, instantly being infatuated by this head pat as it was comfortable to her. "Hah...Nice...Wait a minute!" She snapped back to her senses, pushing Carlita's hands away. Carlita laughed afterwards, catching Luna in a vulnerable state.
"Mana! Mana-Mana!" Just then Manaphy cried out to everyone. She had found what they all came here for. Everyone's conversation ended with their heads facing ahead.
Finally, after a few obstacles from both reality and the Dream Realm, their trek was beginning to come to an end. Just ahead, they had seen what they came for up ahead.
"There it is!" And Ash and Pikachu recognized this familiar look immediately. Just like how they saw it many years ago in the Hoenn Region, protected behind a cloaking device that could still function even after centuries.
Samiya. The Sea Temple.
After a journey through parts of Unova, Samiya had been found. But not without other visitors approaching. However, instead of the approaching forces only being enemies, there was one other force on the move. Pokemon Ranger Jackie. With the Sea Temple found, it was now unknown what would happen next to protect it as the journey continues.
Samiya. The Sea Temple. Finally, the group had arrived at their designated destination. The mini-boat they were on had passed through the cloaking device, giving them a better view of the place.
It still had its massive and complex size once it was seen. Ash and Pikachu felt nostalgic while Luna and everyone else were in for a brand new wonder. The mini boat needed a place to stop in the Sea Temple. Luckily, when entering the Sea Temple, there was a surface to walk on via some marble. The mini boat stopped in front of the entrance of the temple as Ash was the first to exit.
After exiting, he got to gander at the Sea Temple a second time after many years. He thought he would never see it again but here he was. "Awesome...Still as massive as ever..."
"Pikachu."
"This is Samiya...?" Luna gawked, witnessing the front of the temple. There were billions of golden lights flaring across the temple along with massive columns on every row that had stairs that led to it. And this temple had a plethora of floors with a spiralling staircase that led to the very top.
"It was worth the journey." Shining Armor took his helmet as everyone agreed with a nod. "How could anyone miss this?"
"Just as hidden as Pegalysium," said Luna as Darkrai emerged from the shadows. Carlita hopped out of the mini boat, just as excited as Ash.
"And we can breathe here?" Carlita gasped, noticing how they didn't need any helmets to breathe in this area. Those that had once lived in the Sea Temple were still human at the end of the day.
While Ash and Pikachu felt great seeing this place again, they noticed that despite how it had the same appearances, new things could be seen.
Just right next to the tallest part of the temple, seven skinny, square towers dominate the seas of this massive castle and are connected by tall, narrow walls made of basalt. Stylish windows are scattered here and there around the walls in fairly symmetrical patterns, along with symmetric holes for archers and artillery.
"Oh! Cadence and Flurry Heart, both Flurrys, wanted me to show them the Sea Temple when we ended up getting there." Shining Armor shot up. "Quick, Ash! Pass me your Xtransceiver!"
"Got it." Responding to Shining Armor's request, Ash went for his trusty Xtransceiver. Versatile for communication and even an extra camera function. But the moment he went to pass it on, in the blink of an eye, something else had interacted with it. And it wasn't a hoof.
A glowing blue rope had suddenly appeared from above, rapidly wrapping around the Xtransceiver. And just as fast as it had wrapped it, it had also pulled the Xtransceiver away at the same pace.
It took everyone 5 seconds to realize that the Xtransceiver was gone. "Huh?!" Ash and Shining Armor gasped, seeing the disappearance of the device. While everyone was surprised, Ash and Pikachu were the most surprised. Realistically speaking, the only individual to be in the Sea Temple aside from them would have to be Manaphy, the Prince of the Sea.
But that wasn't the case. As they all looked ahead, they saw where the rope had returned to. Someone was holding it. But that was impossible. For that to happen, another human would've had to find the Sea Temple before them. It wasn't Team Plasma. It certainly wasn't the Empress and Daybreaker's forces. It wasn't even Phantom the Pirate.
It was someone new. A child.
"Ooh, what is this?!" The blue-haired girl spoke, dangling the Xtransceiver with the rope before fully holding it. Appearing next to this tribal-dressed young girl was a Mareanie, landing on top of her head. "Look at this thing Marie." She showed the device to the Brutal Star Pokemon.
"Mareanie?"
"Hey, kid!" Shining Armor yelled from far away. "Can you give that back?!"
"Come and get it then~!" She giggled before playfully waving the Xtransceiver around. Afterwards, she ran off with Mareanie, not planning on giving it up so easily.
She had essentially given them a challenge. A challenge to come and retrieve the Xtransceiver from her. Normally, this wouldn't be too big of a deal to everyone. However, not only was it a problem for Ash, but considering the reason for everyone being on this journey, the Xtransceiver was there to help them communicate with Princess Celestia and many others.
Thus, they gave chase to the young girl and her Mareanie. "Child! Come back here!" Luna bellowed before flying for better speed. This was certainly one way of exploring the Sea Temple as the young girl was surprisingly fast, leaping and dashing from place to place in a few seconds. Even Darkrai, who was swift when within the shadows, was just barely keeping up with her.
"Over here!" She taunted them before sliding down a slope of water with Mareanie. There was definitely some new additions to the Sea Temple that Ash and Pikachu noticed.
But that wasn't all Ash noticed. He was still wondering how a child could be in the Sea Temple. Unless, by some strange coincidence, this child had accidentally found her way to Samiya when venturing out without knowing.
"Did she get here before us or..." Ash said to himself. He was thinking of another possibility. However, as they pursued the blue-haired girl, everyone, except for Ash, knew nothing of the traps in this complex temple.
And the first trap showed itself in the air. Made from the same material as the blue rope the young girl had used, a glowing blue object in the shape of a giant bowl had opened from an open hole. The bowl had flown in Luna's direction, catching her before she knew it.
"Oh!" Luna gasped before the bowl suddenly gained a second half, becoming a full circle. "W-What is this?!" Luna cried out as the circle trap had then carried Luna away into the distance due to the speed it was moving at.
"Luna?!" Darkrai cried out.
"That's right! This place has traps, you guys!" Ash warned. "But I never saw these traps before..." The moment he gave this warning, the same blue ropes appeared, this time from below. Right where Darkrai was moving with the shadows, these blue lights had wrapped around his arms and body.
The lights even counteracted his shadows, pulling the Pitch Black Pokemon to the floor. Not just that, the floor tiles had slit open, sending Darkrai through them to a lower level as the tiles had reformed as if nothing happened.
"Oough!" Adagio, Flash and Shining crashed into what seemed to be an invisible wall. A blue light faintly pulsated once they made contact. Afterwards, just like Luna, they were trapped within a box of glowing blue material. The box then started moving on all 6 faces like a puzzle with the three ponies plus Kricketot, trembling inside.
"Ow-ow!" Adagio whined, bumping her head into this box as it moved. Aegislash was the only one safe as he simply phased through the box. The Royal Sword Pokemon then chased the rapid-moving box, aiming to free his trainer and the others.
"Aegis!"
And it didn't stop there. The guards were focused on saving the princess as they galloped and flew in the direction of where the circle had taken her. But they as well were struck by the temple's many traps. The trap they triggered ended up being the same box that Adagio and the others were in. Except these came in rows, catching each of the guards the moment they passed through.
Now it was just Ash, Pikachu, Manaphy Carlita and Aegislash who were safe for now. But Aegislash had strayed away from Ash, Pikachu and Carlita, focusing on getting Shining Armor.
"Manaphy!" Manaphy just ended up jumping wherever she wanted. There was an odd air about this place that made her curious. She swam off without a trap getting to her.
"Guess it's just us now!" Carlita said while dashing behind Ash. "Should've known that this place had traps from the get-go!"
"It's fine, Carlita!" Ash replied. "I never saw these traps before when I came here the first time. So why now?"
"Pika..."
The three of them caught up to the blue-haired child before coming across what seemed to be minecarts. These minecarts were on rails and tracks, holding the blue material that glowed along with some other common materials. Ash, Pikachu and Carlita noticed that the only path here were the rails and tracks.
But they took the risk.
Besides, the young girl was currently sliding on these rails with a perfect balance. "Too slow!" She stuck her tongue out while waving the Xtransceiver.
"That brat!" Carlita growled. Ash and she took the rails while Pikachu stayed on Ash's head for safety. The moment they got on the rails, they were suddenly forced forward by an odd acceleration. "Woah!"
"Oh geez!" Ash gasped before noticing how the rails forced them to move forward instead of staying motionless. And from the speed they were going at, they might end up crashing into the minecarts. But with a quick reaction, they both leapt over the first minecart.
After doing so, the trio noticed how they were around a tunnel of water. The water was on the outside, allowing for air in here of course. Even this hadn't been seen by Ash before. After jumping over some minecarts while at a forced speed, they were gaining pace with the girl.
"Hm?" She turned around to see the three of them getting closer. "Yikes!"
"You won't get away from us!" Ash grinned along with Pikachu.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"This is getting scary. Marie, use Sludge Bomb!"
"Mareanie!" Under her command, Mareanie turned around, opened its mouth. Flowing out were rapid spheres of sludge that would act as obstacles in this chase.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu promptly leapt off Ash's hat before swinging his hardened tail. He smacked the spheres, sending them flying elsewhere. Ash then caught Pikachu while he was still in midair.
"This is too shaky for me!" Carlita held onto her hat as she felt like she was going to be sick the more she would move on these rails. That's when she took a Poke Ball out. "Come out! Hydreigon!"
"Hydreigon!" Appearing from the Poke Ball was her Shiny Hydreigon. Carlita then jumped after gaining enough acceleration, she landed smack-dab on the back of the Brutal Pokemon.
"After her!" Carlita pointed.
"Drei!" Hydreigon was on it, speeding through the air to reach the little girl.
"!" The young girl looked intimidated for a second before using that same rope again. The rope extended before wrapping around a higher rail. Mareanie held on tight for dear life as the rope had pulled the girl and the Brutal Star Pokemon to a higher height.
"Hold on, let me-" Ash was ready to send out Dragonite to help him get higher. But that was too late. The track he was on led to a different path. It had a downwards slope as Ash felt a sudden acceleration before he and Pikachu were whisked downwards to another level. "Woooaaaha!"
"Pikaaaaa!"
"Ash! Pikachu!"
Meanwhile.
As for those trapped in objects, they were currently being carried away by a stream of water that flowed in any direction. Adagio had an unamused face as Aegislash was struggling to keep up due to all the water obstacles.
"Just our luck..." Adagio groaned. "Why did we even come to this temple in the first place?"
"Well um...we originally came here so that the crystals would be protected. But I guess that's as far as it goes." Flash Sentry chuckled as Adagio stayed unamused.
"On the bright side, at least we have something to tell when we get back home. Usually, it's Twily and everypony else that go on wild adventures like this."
"...Twily?" Adagio paused for a moment before her eyes shifted towards Shining Armor in this cramped space.
"Yeah. Twilight."
"You nickname your sister?"
"Well...yeah. I mean, not every sibling does that but it's my special nickname for her. Do you have one for your sisters, maybe?"
"No."
"Slash!" Aegislash was cutting through the waves with his blade, trying to reach Shining Armor and the others as fast as he could. But the water currents were just too great. Eventually, the circle that Luna was inside ended up bumping into the box as they had somewhat reunited.
"Is everypony alright?!" Luna asked as her voice echoed out of the circle.
"I feel sick..." Adagio grumbled.
"Whatever this material is, its durability is impressive. My magic can just barely get through." She was right. The circle's durability was stellar as even alicorn magic was having some difficulty. Luckily, it was still enough as the circle was starting to crack. "Lunar Ire if you're hearing me, I'll need just a bit of your magic."
She called for the assistance of Lunar Ire for a split second. Using the power sparingly as always, Lunar Ire's magic was just enough to fully crack the circle with a light blue and red pulse, freeing Princess Luna.
"Aegislash!" Seeing Luna free herself encouraged Aegislash to try harder. The Royal Sword Pokemon, instead of cutting through the waves, used King's Shield. He then powered through the raging currents, protecting himself from them. They were still strong, but the protection of King's Shield helped him.
After getting close enough, Aegislash had used Sacred Sword, extending the length of his bladed body just a bit as he then slashed the box. With the help of Luna zapping magic towards the box, they were able to free Adagio and the others.
However, since they were within a space full of water, they dropped instantly. Shining Armor and Flash Sentry held their breath while Adagio could just casually swim underwater without breathing. Siren perks.
"Gaah!" The two stallions gasped for air.
"Everypony else might be a part of a trap laid out within the temple." Luna flew over to them before calling for Frillish.
"Frillish." Once Frillish emerged from his Poke Ball, he immediately carried Flash Sentry on his back, giving him a ride. Shining Armor would just stay on Aegislash for flight.
"Get to searching immediately. And make sure to avoid any traps," said Luna before flying off. The search for everyone else plus the young girl had begun. Certainly not the first thing they were expecting when showing up to the Sea Temple.
Lower part of the temple.
"Aaaaah!"
"Pikaaaaa!" Ash and Pikachu were moving downwards at a rapid pace due to the acceleration. They could hardly slow down as the rails and tracks were about to end. But not without something in the way.
Right in front of them, a Quagsire could be seen just casually standing there, minding its business. "Quag?" Quagsire then turned around, witnessing the approaching Trainer and Pokemon. But, Quagsire ended up moving to the side gently, causing the rail ride to continue. "Quagsire."
"No good!" We can't slow down at all!" Ash said while almost losing his balance. He had to think and fast. Ash looked at these surroundings for anything but since he was moving so fast, everything was a blur now. But the one thing he could still see was the minecarts.
They had the previous materials within them including the same rope that the young girl had used. Ash saw this as his only chance. He waited for the right moment as he and Pikachu were approaching the minecart. With his hand held out, Ash kept his focus.
And with that focus, he managed to not only snatch the rope but also jump over the minecart. Now was his chance to use the rope. He looked up, seeing a nearby higher rail. "Right there!"
Ash then spun the rope around while standing up. By standing up, his balance was almost fully broken, but he managed to keep himself steady. With the spin of the rope, Ash then released it towards the rail. The rope left a trail of aquamarine colours before wrapping around the higher rails.
"Pika!" Pikachu held on tight as just like with the little girl, the rope automatically pulled them both upwards, proving that it had some mystical properties to it. "Pikaaaaaachuuu!"
Success. They reached a higher part of the level. But it wasn't over yet. Once reaching the higher parts and landing on the top rail, Ash set his sights on the upper level. There, she saw the young girl swinging about with her rope. "There she is!"
If there was any time to use Dragonite, it was now. By throwing his Poke Ball, out came the Dragon Pokemon Dragonite, finally appearing in the Sea Temple. "Dragonite!"
"After that girl, Dragonite!" Ash claimed before hopping onto her back. Dragonite looked to where her trainer pointed, spotting the blue-haired girl. The Dragon-Flying-Type would grant that wish no problem.
With impressive speeds that are capable of flying around the world in just 16 hours, Dragonite shot through the skies, leaving a shockwave that blew away some of the water. She was approaching the water tunnel with Ash and Pikachu holding their breath.
They entered the water tunnel with a massive splash. Dragonite surprisingly didn't need to hold her breath that much. She could still do so, but the traits from Dratini and Dragonair resided. After all, Dragonite battle with Kingdra sometimes, allowing them to adapt to the sea.
Once entering the water tunnel, Ash, Pikachu and Dragonite got to view multiple Water-Type Pokemon swimming around. Before, the Sea Temple wasn't full of Water-Type Pokemon. Instead, the Pokemon were outside. Much has changed since Ash and Pikachu had last been here.
But the view of the Water Tunnel did not last as Dragonite burst out of it like a rocket, leaving a massive hole afterwards. Dragonite reached the higher level, surpassing the other stairs. She had reached the girl in no time.
"Uh-oh!" The girl gasped, realizing how close Ash and his Pokemon were now. Seeing the close moment, she hopped off the rail before going towards a flat water surface that flowed in one direction.
"Not so fast!" Ash shouted before jumping off of Dragonite to go in the water. Dragonite pursued afterwards. Ash took an impressive leap as the young girl was amazed by it. Before she knew it, Ash had used the rope she had used before, throwing it.
The rope had automatically wrapped itself around the Xtransceiver, just like before. A bit of karma and irony in one instance as Ash flew through the air for a moment. After finally gaining the Xtransceiver, Ash landed on the flat water surface with Pikachu almost falling off.
"Got it!" Ash chuckled, holding the Xtransceiver up. "I got the Xtransceiver back!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Aww..." The blue-haired girl pouted as she had been defeated. "Oh well! You win the game!" She then applauded afterwards.
"Marea!"
"Thanks. That was pretty fun actually." Ash enjoyed himself despite this being done through theft. However, the adrenaline and excitement overshadowed that. Dragonite stopped, floating beside the slowly as the chase had ended.
"Let's do it again!" She said in an enthusiastic tone. "Again, again!"
"Ah, sorry. Maybe later um...W-Who are you?" Ash wondered, asking for her name. It was only right after they had a thrilling chase.
"Enola is my name. And this my partner Marie."
"Mareanie."
"Enola..." Just then, Ash took a moment to take this name in. He answered with something else instead of his name as usual. Something had peaked his name. "Like...Magnolia, right?"
"Yes?" Enola nodded as her name did mean Magnolia.
"My name is Ash." Ash pointed at himself. "This is my partner Pikachu."
"Pikachu."
"Ash..." Just like Ash, Enola was also taking the name in and asking a similar question. "Meaning Clear thinking and intelligent history?!"
"Yeah-Yeah!" Ash nodded as he and Enola gasped. "You know about it too! Name origins from way back then!"
"Uh-huh! I know about it all! Nice to meet you, Ash." Enola held her hand out as a handshake had been formed. "Welcome to Samiya as visitors!"
"Thanks, but this is actually our second time being here."
"Oooh..."
"And wait did you say... visitors? You mean you didn't find yourself here?" Ash curiosity from before formed into a question. Before, he thought that Enola had just found herself here randomly."
"No! I live here! Samiya is my home!"
"Home..." 5 seconds of silence and brain processing before finally realizing what this meant. "Huh?! Y-You're one of the People of the Water!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Mhm." She nodded innocently.
"Woah..." A perplexed Ash held his head before shifting his eyes around. "We didn't see them before when we first came here. We only heard them singing. So wait if you're here...does that mean there are more people here?!"
"That's right! Come along with me!" Enola then grabbed Ash's hand as the water surface carried them forward. Dragonite got on the surface too, catching a water ride.
Ash did not expect this. The People of the Water had never been seen by him before. Only their singing could be heard. But now that was about to change as the water surface led to a tunnel.
And after they passed through the tunnel Ash, Pikachu and Dragonite's eyes were graced with a wonderful sight. A sight that was never here before.
An entire civilization with the People of the Water had been found. Populating the temple were these once long-forgotten people that now existed, walking and breathing like normal. As if nothing happened prior to this. Just like Enola, they all wore tribal clothing that most likely existed in their heyday. More Pokemon could be found within the temple which was certainly something new.
They had various traditions and resources that were unique to them. Mainly that strange glowing blue material that appeared to be some sort of emerald. The temple had a healthy economy, which was mainly supported by Pokemon breeding, blacksmithing, medicine, woodcrafting and tailoring. But their biggest strengths seemed to be elaborate crafting and advanced medicine of mystical properties.
"Awesome...So this is what Samiya is really like." Ash gawked.
"Pikachu..."
"Dragonite..."
"Hm?" One of the people looked over at the water surface, noticing the arrival of Enola. But it wasn't just that. He noticed Ash, Pikachu and Dragonite. Normally, Pikachu and Dragonite would stick out the most for not being Water-Types. However, it was someone else who stuck out. "Look! Over there!" He pointed at Ash.
All nearby people looked to where he pointed, spotting the Kid from Kanto. They all squinted or walked over to get a closer look as the water surface had a slope. Ash, Pikachu, Enola and Dragonite went down the slope before touching the floor.
Once he was down on something still, Ash stood before the People of the Water. They all got a good look at him before realizing who this was.
"The king...It's the king!" One of them shouted as they all recognized Ash's face. Immediately, many stopped what they were doing, rushing over to Ash Ketchum out of excitement.
"Huh?" Woah-Woah-Woah!" Ash grimaced after witnessing the fearsome sight of an entire horde coming his way. Soon, he was surrounded on all sides by the People of the Water.
"I can't believe he's back! It's been years!" They started chatting.
"Oh, let me see! You're in the way!"
"We have much to tell you, your esteemed one!"
"King? Oh! Now I see it!" Enola gasped after looking at Ash. Indeed, still to this day, Ash was the King of the Sea as showers of praise came his way. Ash has always said that he didn't want to be a king, rather a Pokemon Master. But this was one instance where that was impossible to avoid.
"Mana! Mana-Mana!" It wasn't just that, there was still someone else who was the Prince of the Sea. Jumping over the horde of people was Manaphy. Not Flurry Heart's Manaphy but the Manaphy that was once with May.
"Oh! Manaphy!" Ash held his arms out for Manaphy. He hugged her afterwards, spinning around. "Good to see you again!"
"Mana!" Manaphy was glad to see him as well. He looked around, seeing if he could spot May. "Mana? Mana?"
"Sorry. But May's not with me now." Ash apologized to the Prince of the Sea. "But I can't believe the People of the Water are actually here. I only heard all of you guys before, singing."
"We are so ecstatic to have you back, your majesty!" A lady exclaimed. "We knew you would return one day! Welcome back!"
"Great to be back." Ash chuckled. "Oh, man...Didn't see this coming."
"Pikachu..."
Outside of the Sea Temple. The Grand Equestria. Day.
Meanwhile, outside, the rest of the guards were keeping watch, just in case. So far, nothing out of the ordinary. The Grand Equestria had been stopped near an island while Ash and the others handle everything from here.
But approaching the Grand Equestria were two forces. The first one was Jackie, who had recently used his Capture Styler on a Sharpedo, zooming through the water.
"Hm? Hey!" A guard cried out. "There's Jackie!"
The Pokemon Ranger made it on a good time. But he didn't have a smile on his face as always. Instead, Jackie had a different expression. And that mainly had to do with what was right behind him. Everyone took a closer look as Jackie's thumb was pointed backwards.
The Sunstorm was here too. But it was going in a different direction. Instead of going for the Grand Equestria, it went elsewhere. And even that wasn't a good sign. Jackie did a turnaround with Sharpedo as he went for the Sunstorm, knowing what they were up to.
The guards watched, witnessing this change of directions, before knowing of the incoming threat. They expected it to be direct, but since it wasn't that only sparked up some worries. "That can't be good..."
A shocking revelation had been made. The People of the Water were physically here instead of just being voices. And once discovered, Ash was the major focus as he was still the King of the Sea with Manaphy being the Prince of the Sea.
Being showered with praise meant that Ash was due for some overwhelming attention. And it started showing. The moment everyone recognized him as the king, the concept of taking a break and free space was nonexistent for the meantime. The People of the Water offered to show their king around the temple and what it had to offer.
"This way your excellence!" A lady said, guiding Ash to what seemed to be the centre of the Sea Temple. And at the centre, a throne room could be found.
Huge braziers encompassing each of the eight onyx columns light up most of the throne hall and blanket everything in a warm glow. The tapestries depicting the kingdom hanging from the bowed ceiling dance in the flickering light while statues look down upon the stone floor of this luxurious hall.
A sublime throne of azure crystals sat beneath two overlooking statues of both Ash and Manaphy, the king and the prince. The throne was covered in baroque marks and fixed on each of the front legs is a sparkling rose. The modest pillows are a light carmine and these too have been adorned with emblazoned fringes.
"Woah! T-This is for me?" He gawked at the throne, running up to it. It was certainly built for him. Size and everything.
"We made it and waited for you to sit on it when you would eventually return your majesty." A man went up to him. "It's fit for you in every way."
"Well, it's awesome but I don't think I-" Ash couldn't complete his sentence as some people had already placed him on the throne. This was because they wished to give him some regalia. Ash was taken by surprise before decorations suddenly surrounded him. Ash had then received a robe out of nowhere along with treasures and goods for gratitude.
He also received a staff that was instantly placed with his hand. Ash sat there with a poker face before receiving a fancy necklace made out of multiple gemstones, some fairly shiny shoulder pads, bracelets and more.
"For you! Your High Honourable! Take our gifts of gratitude to their fullest. For bringing life back to our temple and people after so long.
Ash was swarmed with gifts as it all happened one second after he had been placed on the throne. Pikachu and Dragonite could just watch as their best friend was being overwhelmed.
"Thanks but this is all happening so fast." Ash chuckled. "I've still got a lot to say and some more to do."
"But this is a celebratory moment, your majesty. You have returned to us and all we can do is thank you. And it is a custom here at Samiya."
"Just Ash is fine." Ash sat up from his throne. "And about that...how did you guys come back? The last time Pikachu and I were here, we could only hear your voices. Even then, it was just singing."
"Oh, that...You see, the reason why we've returned was because of you." A man pointed at Ash. "It was you that brought us back."
"Me? How'd I do that?" Ash wasn't sure how he could just suddenly bring back an entire civilization in physical form. A head or rather a hat scratch was all he could do.
"It was when you became the king of the sea." A slightly older adult walked forward. "The moment you saved our temple and claimed the Sea Crown to become king is when the restoration began. You see, no one has been the King of the Sea for centuries now. Without a proper king to emerge, the magic was stagnant for a long time. Until you came along."
"Seriously? No king for that long? What happened?"
"No one was worthy to hold the Sea Crown." Enola, the young girl that Ash had met earlier via a chase went up to him while still having Mareanie sit on her head. "Plus it was in too much danger all the time."
"But you are the one who was worthy enough to hold it. After so long, the magic could flow and bring us back. Truly a worthy king."
"Oh, man. So that's how it is?" Ash's expanded eyes were signs of being bombarded with this information and everything else that has happened prior. "So if stop being king...what does that mean?"
"We return to the light within the temple. But, we believe it won't be like before. We, the People of the Water will continue to exist out here for years to come."
"Glad you freed us so soon. I thought I'd be in there forever..." Enola pouted. Hearing that made Ash realize that the People of the Water, despite their appearances, are incredibly old. Including the children. Each of them were older than Ash and probably around the same age as Princess Luna and Adagio Dazzle. And thinking of that made Ash remember about his friends.
"Oh! Luna! Everyone! Sorry, but can you find my friends for me? Most of them got caught up in traps when we were chasing Elona." Ash pleaded. "I think they should've found their way out of the traps by now...but this place is super big for them."
"Anything for you, our king!" The People of the Water instantly listened to Ash's request no matter what. He had the highest authority here above anyone else. Even Manaphy who was the Prince of the Sea.
"Uh, Ash is fine." Ash insisted that they called him by just his name instead of an honorific. But, their loyalty was too grand for that to possibly happen. They all scattered to find Luna and the others while Enola took the opportunity to speak with the king alone. Ash took a deep breath as he finally had some breathing space.
"Hey, hey. Your majesty." Enola grabbed Ash's attention once more. "Or...Ash." Out of everyone so far, she ended up calling him by his first name. "How does another chase sound?"
"You really love chases, don't you?" Ash sat back on the throne, looking at her.
"Well, I haven't had any real fun for centuries." Enola swivelled with her hands behind her back. "I've been stuck being still for soooo long. Moving around again is the best thing that's ever happened to me. That's why I love playing chase so much."
"I get ya. Having all the freedom out there is awesome and really gets your spirit going." He leaned forward with Pikachu running around with Manaphy. "Good thing I became the King of the Sea before Phantom could get all of the crystals. It's great to see that the People of the Water are back."
"Mhm. But I want more freedom than this." Enola sat down with Dragonite circling the air, lounging about without a care in the world. She then started playing with Pikachu, Manaphy and now Mareanie. "What's past the Sea Temple, Ash?"
"Past the Sea Temple? Well, the rest of the Pokemon World." He then sat up, removing his robe before spreading his arms out to emphasize the scope of the Pokemon World. "I can't even start since everywhere's so wonderful. Every region's so massive and I even just learned of a new region a while back."
"Oooh..." Naturally, Enola was intrigued by this.
"Exploring the whole world and seeing it is what I call freedom. You can go wherever you want. Come to think of it, the Sea Temple moves with the currents so you kinda do move around the world, huh?" A chuckle left him.
"Only a bit. We haven't gone to the surface ever since you become king on that day. We were all still light."
"Well then...Guess you've got a chance to see the surface across the world now that you're free. Maybe we can do without the Lunar Eclipse?"
"Without the Lunar Eclipse?!" The blue-haired girl gasped. "Is that possible?!"
"Sure. But uh...not sure if it can move up to the surface unless that eclipse shows up. You could also try using a boat or something to get up there."
"Anything for you, our king!" One of the People of the Water rushed over, hearing Ash's words. "For you, we shall bring the temple to the surface even without the eclipse!"
"Huh? Seriously?"
"Of course! We only ever decide to raise and show it during the Lunar Eclipse. But years have gone by ever since then. If you wish for it, then we can make it possible. Perhaps, showing it in the day would be a change of pace."
"Well..." Ash thought about it. "I was just kinda thinking about plus some boats really."
"Pika-Pika."
"Ah, but not to worry, your majesty. For you see, ever since our release, we've dedicated the new ages of our continuing lives to improve on what we have made. We have been constructing something that will allow us to enter the surface without the need of the Lunar Eclipse."
"You have? How come I haven't heard of it?" Enola grumbled with crossed arms.
"Busy work, young one. Very soon, in about a few weeks or less, we can move on the surface without issue. We here at Samiya are aiming to improve everything that we have done already and create new inventions."
"I love me some inventions!" Ash's eyes sparkled as this was similar to how Clemont made scientific inventions that always marvelled Ash.
"Right now, what we've made can allow the temple to float, but not for long. Give it some time and soon we will be flying with freedom, travelling beyond just the sea."
"Oh! Oh! Can you show us something, your majesty?!" Some children even younger than Enola ran up to Ash. "Or tell us something, please!"
"Yes-yes! Something!"
"Something, huh? Well, come close. I've got a lot to tell you. But I also gotta warn everyone of what's coming." Ash's tone rapidly changed. "Just like before when me and my friends first came here, someone's after the crystals and maybe even the Sea Crown too."
"Again?!" Someone shouted as commotion filled the temple with fears rising. Trouble was already coming their way and it hasn't even been a full century.
If the crystals are taken again, the temple will surely drown. Just one missing crystal was enough to make it all come crashing down due to the raw power they exhibit. Ash knows. He's experienced it.
"But you'll protect us like before, right, your majesty?!" A child asked with puppy-dog eyes.
"I will." Giving pure reassurance, Ash patted the child on the head while giving a hopeful smile. "There's no way I'm gonna let anything happen to this place now that you're all back. You guys know how to defend yourself, right?"
"We're already on it, your majesty!" Suddenly, showing up to Ash were the temple's guards. Every temple has a guard and Ash could finally see who they were.
The set of armour they had possessed a squared helm with half a faceguard shaped like the eyes of an angel. Attached to its side are two huge wings which curve forwards. The shoulders are round, very long and large in size. They were decorated with tsunamis on each side, curved towards the sides.
The upper arms are protected by pointed, half-covering rerebraces which sit loosely under the shoulder plates and the same went for the lower arms. Fittingly, everything was blue, aquamarine, azure and sometimes sky blue. These were certainly guards ready to protect.
"Awesome!" Ash stood up. "With how you guys look, you're ready for anything. They could've caught up with us by now. They're pretty fast. I don't know too much about temple defending, but do you guys think you can use what you can to protect Samiya?"
"Ever since our revival, we've dedicated ourselves to build defences that go beyond our cloaking device, your excellence!" A guard saluted. "Even us, the guards, are relatively new and made for the modern era. Would you like to see what we've made?"
"Oh yeah!"
"What about the story?" A child tugged on Ash's trousers as they wanted to hear what their king had to say.
"Oh, right. I'll do that along the way." Ash could do both. Tell a story a see the defences that Samiya had made ever since that fateful day.
Out in the sea. The Sunstorm. Afternoon.
And speaking of that trouble that Ash brought up, the Sunstorm, despite being close to the Grand Equestria, did not pursue or attack it. At least not yet. Instead, the Sunstorm stayed on the other side of the island behind a massive array of rocks. They were already planning on heading underwater at the moment, but following them, this entire time was Pokemon Ranger Jackie, riding on a Sharpedo.
"Thanks for the ride, Sharpedo." But his ride came to an end once Sharpedo stopped near the ship. Jackie had then hung on the side of the ship as the Brutal Pokemon swam away.
"Sharpedo!"
Now that Jackie was on the ship, all he was thinking of doing was sneaking to the Sea Temple with them. With special cups that allowed him to stick to the side of the ship and a trusty object that was given to him ever since the Ranger Union and Equestria had decided to team up.
A Shift Stone.
Jackie held out a small Shift Stone crystal, ready to use it. He thought of the appearance that he wished to have and so it came to fruition. His choice of disguise ended up being one of the guards inside of the ship. After becoming the disguise pony with the same equipment, he quickly used one of his tools for a quick entry.
The pony he currently was had wings via being a pegasus. He used the wings to grab a heat pen. It was fairly tricky to hold something with wings but Jackie managed. He then used the pen, creating a wide enough circle by moving around for a better width. The pen cut through the ship like butter, making a visible hole.
"Hot-hot...!" Moving through the hole after it had been cut gave off some warmth that was searing. Jackie quickly moved through the hole, entering the ship. But not without doing one more thing before being fully on the move.
By using the amazing power of the Shift Stone, he retained his pony form but also made the hooves transform into hands. A bit of a disturbing sight that thankfully, no one was there to see. This allowed him to cover up his entrance. By using his wing to grab another useful object in the form of a hot glue gun, he then used his hands to carefully glue together the cut-off part of the ship.
"Good as new," Jackie said after placing the broken circle on. He then made the Shift Stone return the hooves. "Many thanks, Princess Celestia. Or I guess I should thank Trixie for this."
Now that he was in without making a scene or garnering attention, Jackie had the next objective on his mind. Get to the Sea Temple with the enemy. Jackie knew how to act casual as he strolled his way towards the most crowded room. And with great timing as always on his side.
There, Spitfire and Tempest Shadow were already prepared to head underwater. And they would do so with the ships that could not only act as airships but even mini-ships for the sea. Truly versatile vehicles.
"You know what to do when we get there. Let's make it quick and efficient," said Tempest. "The rest of you will handle everypony on the opposing ship."
"Empress Daybreaker has approved of sinking that ship so don't worry about going all out or anything." Spitfire walked forward. "As for the temple, don't bother stopping for anything. Those crystals matter more than anything. Anything else would just be an inconvenience. I mean you would know about that...wouldn't you, Jackie?"
"!" Surprised and taken aback for the very first time in his life, Jackie stepped back with his eyes expanding. He didn't expect his disguise to be seen through so easily considering that he had the Shift Stone with him. "How the..."
"These magical glasses have a lot of perks to them." She adjusted her glasses. "Even seeing through illusions. No problem."
"I could get me one of those..." Jackie uttered as he was soon surrounded. His cover has never been blown this fast. Usually, it takes about a month or a few weeks for it to happen. Jackie released the power of the Shift Stone, showing his true form. "Alright. You got me. Was hoping I could play along for a few hours."
"We don't need him, do we?" Spitfire looked to Tempest. "Not like he can be of any help."
"Not at all. But..." Tempest paused for a moment. "Empress Twilight does request that he's captured. Why? I don't know at all. She won't say."
"I know why if you're curious," Jackie smirked, knowing the reason for it. He was glad that he had fully gotten under Empress Twilight's skin but the thought of escaping was on his mind right now instead. "But I don't think I tell you all of it. Just tell the Empress that we're taking things steady!"
Then, with his incredible athletics, Jackie leapt off the floor immediately. But not before using the head of a random guard as an extra boost. Immediately after he started moving, they had pursued the Pokemon Ranger.
Jackie reached an upper deck just by gaining a slight boost in jumping. Once there, he alerted the attention of other troops who were setting off to reach the Sea Temple. There, the ships that could transform could be found as well as the Pokemon that would be shot out of them via Poke Balls.
"Jackpot!" Jackie found an opportunity as his Capture Styler had been aimed at a Honchkrow, Skarmory and Mandibuzz. "Capture on!" A light shot out at great speeds from his styler, wrapping around the three species of Pokemon.
2 Honchkrow, 4 Skarmory and 1 Mandibuzz had been affected. Now, they were on Jackie's side instantly. Once being affected by the Capture Styler, a Honchkrow had used Gust within the ship, firing it in the direction of the troops.
Taken aback by this, the troops, opposing Pokemon and even their ships had been affected by this gust of wind that had grabbed them. They cried out before being spun around with parts of the Sunstorm being slightly damaged.
"Apologies!" Jackie hopped onto the back of a Mandibuzz. "I'll be taking your Mandibuzz for a moment! Don't worry, it's temporary on captured Pokemon but permanent on Wild Pokemon. They'll be back before you know it!"
Jackie and his new army of Flying-Type Pokemon then fled the scene. Mandibuzz had used Air Slash, blowing a hole through the walls of the ship which led to the outside.
The Skaromory allowed for Jackie to gain some extra distance via Metal Sound. A horrible screeching sound replicated by scraping metal came from their cries in the direction of the opposing Pokemon since the move only affected Pokemon and no one else.
Tempest caught up, hopping onto the back of another Honchkrow. As for Spitfire, she ordered the others to head for the Sea Temple while the rest go for Jackie.
Tempest, using Honchkrow as a ride, zoomed through the skies with Aerial Ace for extra speed. By just using Aerial Ace, she had caught up instantly. Not only that, but Aerial Ace had struck a few of the Skarmory, knocking them aside.
"Keep flying, Honchkrow," said Tempest before lunging off of the Big Boss Pokemon. Having equally as good athleticism as Jackie, Tempest Shadow approached the Pokemon Ranger from leaping at a great distance. Jackie swivelled to see the approaching unicorn.
He put his hands out, preventing Tempest from hitting him. Afterwards, Jackie grabbed a hold of Tempest's hooves, however, Tempest had her magic active, placing a telekinetic hold on the Pokemon Ranger. They both had grasps on each other with Jackie's being more physical and Tempest having a mental one. However, Tempest displayed some physical strength as well.
"Yeesh! You're strong, my little pony. You take vitamins?" Jackie winced as he and Tempest were locked in a struggle.
"My father was an earth pony if you must know. I inherited some of his strength as you can see!" Tempest then added extra force to her magic which started affecting Honchkrow as well.
"Mandi!" Mandibuzz had used Air Slash, attacking Honchrkow and the others while the airships were pursuing Jackie. The rest went underwater. Jackie saw the ships go underwater before he could even hitch a ride on one.
Eventually, the struggle between him and Tempest ended with Honchrkow flying to the side. Tempest then leapt backwards, landing right back on Mandibuzz.
Very soon, a brawl in the air had taken place between opposing Pokemon and the airships. And this view was not to be ignored. Those on the Grand Equestria had seen this from above, witnessing Jackie's current scuffle. Jackie turned around to see the Grand Equestria nearby before ducking from an incoming Air Cutter.
He then leapt off of Honchkrow with a daring leap. Everyone gasped at his high jump but Jackie knew what he was doing as he took a good aim at the water. His styler was aimed at a passing Wailmer. Just what he needed. "Capture on!"
The light travelled ahead with blinding speeds while Jackie was currently free-falling. After wrapping around the Ball Whale Pokemon, Wailmer leapt out of the sea, using its lightness to float. "Wailmer!"
Perfect landing. With Walimer floating, Jackie landed safely on the back of this soft and bouncy Water-Type. Afterwards, Wailmer returned to the sea, making a fairly huge splash. Tempest watched as Jackie made his getaway while the air conflict was still ongoing.
The Grand Equestria already knew that the Sunstorm was here so there was no secret to it. However, there was one other ship that was an issue that was on its way. The Plasma Frigate. Jackie quickly stopped by the Grand Equestria to speak with the guards.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! I tried gathering information from them but it backfired!" Jackie exclaimed as Wailmer hovered in the air for a few seconds due to its lightweight body. "If I were you, I'd warn everyone else that they're heading underwater. The Sea Temple could be close now if they're heading there."
"Apologies, Jackie!" A guard replied. "But a group has already gone underneath to the Sea Temple after discovering it. We are unable to go and are staying guard here."
"The Sea Temple's here?!" Jackie gasped. And as soon as he gasped, the second opposing force had arrived. Covering the clouds and casting a large shadow was the main ship of Team Plasma.
The Plasma Frigate.
Jackie and everypony on the Grand Equestria looked up to see the now arriving Team Plasma. This created new problems. However, those on the Grand Equestria accepted it and were practically prepared for the worst to come.
"Talk about timing." Jackie clenched his teeth, preparing for the worst. However, Team Plasma was not engaging with those on the Grand Equestria. Instead, the Plasma Frigate, while descending, chose to enter underwater.
It was clear that only the temple was of their interest. And they knew that the Sunstorm would keep things occupied while they deal with events underwater.
Samiya.
Meanwhile, back at the Sea Temple, Luna and everyone else were roaming the temple, completely lost. Finding their way through this complex location was a hassle and something that would be difficult to get adjusted to. However, they ended up meeting back with one of their allies.
Carlita could be seen approaching whilst on her Hydreigon. She had recently lost Enola after pursuing her. Carlita was lost as well, unsure of where she was.
"Did you find her?" Luna asked.
"No. Lost her. She's a slippery one. And I don't know where Ash went either." said Carlita "At least most of us are back together."
"I can't seem to find Darkrai either. And this temple's many traps...there might be more we've yet to trigger. I'm worried. We might not complete our mission in time with this." Luna bit her hoof. Everyone was contemplating what they should do now.
The best option they could tackle was finding everyone else that had been separated. But the temple was so grand that could take hours or even a day. However, there would be no need for that.
Just earlier, a search team had been sent without Ash's command. Adagio and everyone looked ahead to see a surprising sight. The People of the Water were approaching at the moment, using the many travelling options within the temple. Some travelled with the water, some travelled on minecarts and some on small vehicles that were hard to explain.
"Who are they?!" Adagio stayed alert with her magic active. So did Luna as both their horns were glowing.
"They're...the People of the Water!" Carlita exclaimed, putting the pieces together instantly. Adagio and Luna then lowered their magic afterwards.
The People of the Water then came to a screeching halt, meeting with Luna and everyone else. Mainly the guards went up to them, acting as royal messengers for Ash.
"Are you by chance allies with King Ash?" A guard asked.
"King Ash?" Everyone said in unison.
"Oh, that's right. Ash is King here, isn't he?" Luna recalled Ash's story as Carlita couldn't help but be shocked by this revelation.
"His excellence has requested that you be brought to him due to the separation. We apologize for the inconvenience."
"It's not an issue." Seeing as this was a place of royalty, Luna acted like how she does in Canterlot, bowing her head. "We were all taken by surprise from the traps that are within here. Some of our guards and my friend have been captured by them."
"Oh." The guards looked at each other. "That might prove troublesome. We're about to put all the defences we can for our temple before the attack that our king had spoken of. If we do not free them by that time then..."
"Then what?" Shining Armor questioned. From how the guards were mentioning it, the result sounded unpleasant to the ears and mind.
"W-We shall free them before the worst can happen. Come along. His majesty awaits for you in his marvellous throne room."
"Since when was Ash such a big deal...?" Carlita whispered to Luna as they were all being guided by the People of the Water. Luna then started telling Carlita about how Ash once saved the Sea Temple and became the King of the Sea.
But while she was saying that, one of the people looked at Adagio with squinted eyes. And more tarted looking at her afterwards. Adagio could notice the stares she was getting.
"She looks familiar, doesn't she...?" One of the people whispered.
"Just like her too...A bit bizarre especially with that size difference."
"Got something you want to tell me?" Adagio glared at them, intimidating the people.
"Ah! Apologies!" But they quickly ceased their gossip and conversation, continuing on their way. For them to reach Ash, they would have to go through many obstacles that the temple had to offer.
But these obstacles were fun. Not dangerous even though the minecart and rails had some danger behind them. Either it was always like this or built differently once Ash became king.
However, though they might find entertainment with them, others were here for something else other than that. Mainly Team Plasma, the Solar Empire and the Twilight Imperium.
Far off in the distance, just out the cloaking device, they had spotted the Sea Temple. Spitfire's glasses were able to easily see through it due to its magical properties. At the helm of the Plasma Frigate was Colress. Finally, Team Plasma had caught up to the competition.
They were all close to approaching the Sea Temple for one thing. The Crystals. For one crystal has enough power and light that rivals the planet. A power like that made sense as to why so many pursued the Sea Temple for centuries. And this story was just like one of those many times. An attack was coming while defences were being birthed as the journey continues.
"Observe your majesty!" At the moment, Ash was being given a tour of all the defences that the People of the Water had crafted after their initial revival. And they had a lot to offer.
Ash had been shown an entire armoury exclusive to Samiya. Everything here was made by the glowing blue armour that could be found with the ropes and some of the traps within the temple. They ranged from staffs, spears, shields, bows and much more that were hard to describe at a first glance.
"Looks great. Some of this stuff's pretty confusing though." Ash observed. "But I guess confusing stuff's where the strong parts are, huh? Haha!"
"Right. These are all new, however. We, the People of the Water barely go through any conflict." A lady wagged her finger. "But after you saved up from that pirate, everything changed as you can see. It was the wish of many of our people that we aimed to be stronger, but never give up our passive ways either."
"I gotcha, I gotcha." Ash understood what she meant by that with an approving nod.
"Your majesty! Look at this!" Just then, one of the guards held out some armour for Ash. Just like with what happened at the throne, Ash was rapidly bombarded with new getups in a few seconds. Including his Pokemon.
Suited up in a mixture of ancient and somewhat modern equipment, Ash, Pikachu and Dragonite looked ready for action, even if their faces didn't show it. But they quickly admired the new look. "Oooh."
"Pika."
"Dra."
"But man...!" Ash suddenly felt the weight of this armour as his body trembled. "This stuff's pretty heavy!" Ash growled, maintaining a strong face and gutsy body to stay on his feet or else he would fall.
"P-Pika!" And the same went for Pikachu, who despite weighing the same as a bowling ball, could feel the aggressive weight of this armour punishing him.
"Apologies, our king!" The people gasped before removing the armour off of him and Pikachu. Both were relieved as their bodies hadn't been shattered thanks to this freedom. However, Dragonite was fine since she was a durable Pokemon. This weight meant nothing to a Dragon-Type Pokemon.
"Yep. That's some tough armour!" Ash chuckled afterwards with Pikachu. "That'll keep you protected for a long time, no doubt about it."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Many thanks, your majesty!" The armorsmith of this section of the temple bowed his head in thanks with tears flooding out. Receiving a compliment from a king was the best thing an armorsmith could ever ask for. "You're too kind!"
"As you can see, your majesty, we've already advanced far enough to finally defend ourselves. And with the assistance of the Pokemon, our protection is increased." said a guard.
"King! King!" The children chanted, running up to their ruler. "Tell us more stories! Tell us! Tell us?!"
"Already? Sure, sure. There's still something I can share."
"You do that, your greatness. We should also show you something that can be of great use. One of the many ways we move around." A lady said before guiding Ash, showing him the newest additions to the temple. Ash was all for it. Even though there was an impending threat approaching here, the People of the Water were already determined to prepare themselves for this threat
The encouragement that they gained from Ash's previous actions were major points to their confidence. As for what they wanted to show Ash, they had brought him to an odd object that was apparently a means of transportation.
This object was presented as big, glowing, azure marble orbs with a small diamond-shaped structure around them. Ash stood before it, wondering what exactly was it. He's seen his fair share of bizarre objects, but this was something else. It was difficult to comprehend. "Uhh...What is it?"
"This is a Warp Point, your excellence. A teleporter that we had built for the temple in case someone feels a bit too lazy." The lady explained before nudging her head at other people who may or may not be lazy.
"Huh...." Curious, Ash wanted to see this for himself. So with a move of his arm, his hand made contact with the orb. One-touch and an aquamarine light illuminated out before consuming Ash. "Oh!"
"Pika?!" Pikachu and Dragonite were collectively agape as the disappearance of their trainer had been seen. But thankfully, they knew he was just somewhere else within the temple. Ecstatic, the children ended up doing the same, touching the Warp Point to follow their ruler who they looked up to. Enola included.
Ash had ended up on another side of the temple, just like that. Swift teleportation as the children and even Pikachu had shown up after touching it.
"Awesome!" Ash cheered with excitement. "Man, the Sea Temple's cooler than ever! I'm loving this! Wonder what else they've made?"
"Right here, Ash!" Enola exclaimed, running past him. The blue-haired girl wanted to show Ash the rest of the temple while also indulging in a chase which she enjoys so much. Ash was compelled to follow with Pikachu and Dragonite trailing beside and behind him.
Meanwhile, the people at Samiya, knowing of the incoming threat thanks to Ash's words were hard at work. The cloaking device they had invented all those years ago, while impressive, wouldn't be efficient all the time. But, they had something else for the entirety of the temple.
And with excellent timing as well. Right as the acknowledged threat was nearby. The People of the Water had used their most recent device for protection. It was above a cloaking device. But this device needed the power of Pokemon as assistance.
Mainly the power of Slowbro, Psyduck, Golduck, Marill and Azumarill. This quintuplet of Water-Type Pokemon had used their Psychic and Fairy abilities, adding them to this new device.
And the greatest assistance they could have. The crystals added to the light power. Their immense power was being used, but only a fraction of it for safety.
This protection was a forcefield. A circular one to boot. Powered by the light of the People of the Water and the crystals, the mental might of Slowbro, Psyduck, Golduck and the mystical magic of Marill and Azumarill, this forcefield had many layers of protection that made it a cut above the average forcefield.
And those that had witnessed it were Team Plasma, The Solar Empire and the Twilight Imperium as the Plasma Frigate and a few of the transforming ships came across it.
The moment the first ship came across it, the forcefield repulsed it, causing the transforming ship and the pony inside to hurl through the sea.
"A forcefield?" said Colress after observing the repulsion. "I thought they said that only a cloaking device resided around the Sea Tempe and nothing more."
Unbeknownst to them, the People of the Water were not only back to form, but had increased their defences gallantly. The forcefield was a major obstacle, ruling out the infamous cloaking device. However, this was nothing that Team Plasma couldn't deal with.
While the Solar Empire and Twilight Imperium were thinking of how to get through, Colress already had the solution. The power of the Legendary Pokemon added to the Plasma Frigate's cannon. In this case, Colress would be using the power of Articuno and Regice.
With the dual combination of highly potent Ice Infinity Energy being drawn from their bodies by force, the cannon was already charging up. It had been aimed directly at the cannon as Articuno and Regice trembled with how much their power was being used as of recently.
Out of the cannon, a gigantic light blue beam came flying out. As it flew, parts of the sea were starting to freeze. Articuno and Regice's ice was so potent that even the resistance to Ice was irrelevant. Nearby Water-Type Pokemon who were just casually swimming around felt their bodies shiver, promptly slowing down their momentum.
As for the forcefield, it had been struck by the scientific Ice Beam. However, with the collective power of many Pokemon and the People of the Waters light, the forcefield did not break even with the force of two Legendary Pokemon. But it did tremble.
Seeing that Colress had attacked the forcefield, the others had done the same. The smaller ships had attacked the forcefield with their weapons, trying to break through it. The Plasma Frigate's cannon was reaching with extra power being drawn from the two Ice-Types.
Another Ice Beam was shot out, hitting the forcefield a second time. Another tremble was the only result. However, it was a sign that it could potentially be broken through.
Samiya. The Sea Temple.
Meanwhile, within the temple, Enola and the young ones were showing Ash more of what the temple had to offer through a little tour that had some extra interaction than just walking around.
Right now, Ash had come across platforms that he could jump across. They also had sloped positions where for upwards or downwards approach. Ash jumped onto one of the slopes, he also saw that there were massive fans ahead of them. Ash then jumped up as the wind pressure of the fans started sending him upwards.
"Yeahahaha!" Ash cheered as he spun around in the air with Pikachu. After being sent through the air, Ash and Pikachu had landed on another level of the temple. Once making their landing, they started jumping from sparse platform to platform.
The children could barely keep up with them. All except for Enola, who had proven that during their first chase. The children wouldn't be left out thankfully as Dragonite offered to carry them.
After moving from each platform, they came across a tunnel. And within that tunnel, many Spheal were rolling about as Ash, Pikachu and Enola came to a screeching halt. "Woah!"
"Spheal! Spheal!" The Spheal cried out whilst rolling through the tunnel in either a straight line, sideways or all-around due to the curvature of this tunnel. They admired the Spheal before continuing on their way.
Hanging on the walls with shifty eyes were a group of Shellder, following their movements. Ash, Pikachu and Enola hopped over some glowing crystals that illuminated the tunnel. The crystals reacted whenever they were passed by, gently combusting before sending out azure sparkles.
Ash, so excited to keep venturing, accidentally came across what seemed to be a spring. His leg made contact with it as he was shot through the air. "Woah-Woah-Woah!" He bellowed as Pikachu ended up making the same mistake.
"Pika-Pika!"
At first, something like this seemed dangerous. However, there was no need to fear. The force of this spring didn't matter as the landing spot would be safe. When free-falling, Ash and Pikachu had landed on the back of a Wailord. With the soft body of a Wailord, it was a safe landing.
"Wailord."
After landing on this gargantuan Pokemon who towers above many, Ash and Pikachu were then being carried through a water tunnel this time by Wailord's movements.
Passing through the Water Tunnel and being on the back of Wailord, a higher viewpoint was given to the Kid from Kanto and his Electrifying Partner. More people could be seen through these transparent waves. The People of the Water waved to their king once he passed by. Celebratory cheers filled the temple.
This kind of praise was still something that Ash would have to get used to. He was hoping that the same could be said for when he beats Leon or even ends up becoming a Pokemon Master one day.
Enola, Dragonite and the children landed on the back of Wailord. Mantine and Mantyke with some Remoraid next to them had appeared, diving in and out beside the Wailord.
Ash had also noticed that the People of the Water were currently building new statues of familiar faces that also helped in the past. One of which being May. And soon, Jackie, Brock and everyone else would get statues.
"Ash! Ash!" Finally, after moving all over the temple and bumping into some traps, Ash had reunited with his friends. Over yonder, Luna, Carlita, Adagio, Shining Armor and Flash Sentry could be seen approaching with Shining Armor using Aegislash as a floating ride.
"Oh, you guys are okay!" Ash stood up. "Glad you could make it!"
"Pikachu!"
"Your majesty! The people you requested!" The guard saluted Ash whilst yelling from a lower level due to Wailord's height.
"Thanks!" Ash looked down, giving an appreciative thumbs-up.
"There you are!" But interrupting this sweet reunion was Adagio. And for a good reason. She locked onto Enola who hid behind Ash with a cheeky grin, knowing about the trouble she had caused. "You brat! Making us go through that trouble for no reason!"
"It was fun wasn't it?" Enola giggled, sticking her tongue out at Adagio while using Ash as a shield. Adagio just twitched as she looked away, not doing anything else afterwards.
Darkrai had recently been freed. He was lost for a good few minutes until being eventually found. The Pitch Black Pokemon held his head, feeling a bit dazed. The abundance of light wasn't helping that either.
"Impressive that you managed to break yourself out of the traps. As expected from a Mythical Pokemon." said a guard as Darkrai was the one who freed himself without needing help.
"Mmmrrrgh..." He could only grumble in response.
"Mana! Mana!" Manaphy had caught up too after wandering the temple. It was easy to get lost here, even with a Pokemon that has homing instincts for the temple. But as Manaphy showed up, she eventually ended up bumping into her brethren.
The Prince of the Sea Manaphy. They had both butted heads while simultaneously jumping. Afterwards, they got a good look at each other. Both Manaphy have never seen another one of their kind before. One hasn't seen another Manaphy for years while the other was still young by one year so it wasn't as extensive.
And of course, they loved this new interaction. "Manaphy!" Upon meeting each other, the two Seafaring Pokemon gave their variant of a high-five despite not having any fingers. Both Manaphy were looking for someone to play with. And what better playmate than the same species.
"So uh...what gives?" Carlita asked. "I thought the People of the Water weren't...you know...physically here. Just light."
"Yeah. Even the story you gave involved them being light and voices." Shining Armor chimed in. "How come they're all here and walking around?"
"Yeah, about that. Turns out I brought them back without knowing." Ash chuckled. "When I placed the crystal back and gained the Sea Crown, months later, they all stopped being forms of light and ended up returning to form. The only reason it happened then was because they didn't have a king for a while."
"And for that, we are in your debt and absolute loyalty, your awesomeness." A guard and many others bowed in respect to Ash.
"Should I start treating you like royalty then, hm?" Luna nudged Ash. "King Ash?"
"Ash is totally fine. Princess Luna." For once, Ash called Luna by her royalty name instead of just 'Luna' as he nudged her back playfully."
"Just gonna borrow this." Shining Armor took the Xtransceiver from Ash, setting out to do what he aimed to do before Enola snatched it. Show Cadence and both Flurry Heart the view of the Sea Temple as they so wished to see. He turned on the Xtranceiver, activating its camera function afterwards while calling Flurry Heart's Trainer number.
"Anyway. Now that we're here, what now?" Adagio asked. "We came here to protect this place but...Everything seems safe from the looks of it."
"The People of the Water are getting ready to protect themselves. Boy, I'll tell ya, they've got some defences." Ash nodded with crossed arms as Pikachu and Enola did the same.
"Pika-Pika."
"But more importantly, we should make sure the crystals are safe." Ash then looked to the very depths of the temple. "That's what they're coming here for. If they get even one, then everyone in the temple could drown with everything flooded."
"The crystals have been safeguarded now with extra protection since the pirate attack, your majesty." A guard went up to Ash. "Only the best care has been given to it."
"Ooh!" Ash gawked, wanting to see this ultimate defence of the crystals. "I gotta see this!"
Depths of Samiya. The Treasure Room.
There, the area of the crystals could be found. Including the power of the Sea Crown. They were still there. Just like how Ash left them years ago. At the same time, with the Xtransceiver on, baby Flurry Heart, older Flurry Heart and Cadence were greeted with the sight of the Sea Temple.
"Wow! I wanna come over there now!" Flurry Heart moaned. "I didn't think they'd be back!"
"Neither did I," said Shining Armor.
"Well, it's great that you got there safely without trouble it seems," Cadence spoke through the Xtransceiver.
"Uh...I wouldn't say without trouble."
As Shining Armor showed the Sea Temple to his family, the Treasure Room was being protected by the combination of moves such as Safeguard, Protect, Light Screen and Reflect. Instead of them fading away like normal Pokemon moves, these moves stayed adamant, showing no signs of fading.
"As you can see, we have converted the power of moves such as Protect and made them permanent." The guard showcased.
"You made them permanent?!" Ash gasped along with the others. "H-How-'d you do that?!"
"Pika?!"
"The Crystals hold enough power to do so. We used a bit of their power to make these moves reside without fading at all, granting the Treasure Room absolute protection. We have even done the same for the forcefield outside of the temple."
"Doesn't it drain the crystals though?" Carlita asked.
"Not at all. The Crystals are bound by the power of the endless sea. They never run out of energy, no matter what. But we are always careful to use just a bit of it. Too much is just asking for trouble."
"Sounds like we didn't need to be here at all," Flash uttered, shaking his head. "Do you think we should leave everything up to them?"
"Not a chance, soldier." But Shining Armor said otherwise, turning his head away from the Xtransceiver. "We know of the threat that's coming this way. Nothing's guaranteed after all."
Just as they spoke, a rumble could be felt across the temple, causing everyone to stagger and almost lose balance. Baskets of fruits had been dropped along with other things. The constant attacks of Team Plasma and the others were beginning to show and reach here. "What was that?!" Carlita wondered.
"They're desperately trying to break through our Forcefield it seems." The guard answered. "Realistically, it would take months for them to break right through. But we should fend them off while we have the chance."
"And we'll help," Ash uttered. "I didn't even think about being a king, but I'll do my best. All of us will."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Oh, so you won't be back so soon?" Cadence said through the device. "Just be careful with whatever's there."
"We'll be fine." The unicorn reassured. "Just hold on tight."
"Do your best, dad! Aegislash! Oh, and you too Flash!" Flurry Heart waved as Shining Armor had turned off the Xtransceiver, returning it to Ash.
"I can do more than just tag-along for the journey. I'll show her that I'm capable enough to help stop any threat there is." Carlita chimed in, nudging her head towards Adagio as the siren scoffed. "Plus, this might be the only time ver the People of the Water have fought side by side with the People of the Vale."
"Hold on!" The guards bellowed after Carlita's sentence. "You're from Vale?!"
"Well...I'm a descendant." She shrugged in response. "I come from Eindoak Town. The Kingdom of the Vale isn't super around as always like it was before. But the sword's there still."
"This is excellent. We haven't interacted with the People of the Vale for centuries now. Your majesty, you've brought an amazing cast with you."
"Hehe...Thanks. Alright. Let's see what else we can do. Come on you guys!" Ash, eager to help, ran off to give his assistance. He was heading straight for the entrance of the temple, where the bulk of the forcefield and cloaking device could be found.
As they bolted off, some of the people looked at Adagio, getting a good look at the siren. Adagio noticed the sudden gazes once more before turning around.
"Can I help you? What's with all these stares recently?" She said with an agitated tone.
"S-Sorry!" The guards stammered. "It's just that...you look a lot like her."
"Vivace, of course. Apologies if we were slightly jaded by your appearance." There it was. Once one of the guards mentioned the name Vivace, the mother of the Dazzlings, Adagio froze. This was a sudden opportunity that showed itself. Something that Adagio was waiting for all this time.
"...What?" That was all Adagio could say. She had a lot more questions to ask after this revelation.
Outside the Sea Temple. On the surface. The Grand Equestria. Afternoon.
After being found out, the Grand Equestria and the Sunstorm, once again, were in conflict. They had their usual aerial battle but this time, they could go all out for one reason. There was no Rift Blockade to hold them back. Thus, the Golurk could all participate and use their full strength against their opponents.
Plus, some of the Pokemon from the opposing side were still under the influence of the Capture Styler. While temporary, lasted a while for enough scuffles.
The skies were being littered with Pokemon moves and magic, flaring them with multiple colours. And within this chaos was Jackie, who was currently looking for a way to enter the Sea Temple.
"Anything to get under there?" Jackie asked as Golurk had flown past him, using Dynamic Punch on an incoming Honchkrow.
"Apologies! We had only one mini-boat to carry the group down to the sea. I'm afraid we have nothing left." The guard explained.
"Then, I'll get down there another way." Jackie's mind rapidly acted. He had another solution. The Shift Stone. He took the small crystal out, deciding that this would be a way for him to get to the Sea Temple. "If I remember correctly, whatever I turn into, I could get their properties. So a Water-Type is the way to go."
"I'll be taking that!" Incoming with a sudden warning was Tempest Shadow. She was riding on the back of a Mandibuz as she had blown through some of the Golurk with her magic.
"I'll leave everything to you guys for now!" Jackie saluted before jumping off of the Grand Equestria. He then held the crystal tightly before thinking of the first Water-Type that came to mind. He wanted to be bot strong and fast and he thought of no better Water-Type Pokemon than Empoleon.
After becoming Empoleon, Jackie dove into the sea with the power to breathe underwater. Truly, the Shift Stones were cut above the rest, certainly on par with a changeling's shapeshifting abilities, the move Transform and so on.
"Golurk, use Flash Cannon!" A few of the guards would protect Jackie, allowing for their Golurk to fire concentrated silver beams at the approaching Tempest Shadow.
Even Tempest couldn't do much against this array of massive beams. However, that was where Spitfire came into play. Her troops, with magic surrounding their shields, used their ships to get in the way. Spitfire appeared in the skies, not riding a ship at all. Rather, standing on one.
"Go ahead," Spitfire said to Tempest Shadow, encouraging her to go along instead of waste time here. "Make sure you use that Underwater Breathing Spell."
"I know, I know." Tempest groaned before leaping off of Mandibuzz. With the ships here to back her up along with other Flying-Type Pokemon, Tempest was free to avoid the Golurk. She quickly cast the spell on herself, crashing into the sea and making a heavy splash.
Once underwater, Tempest had already caught up with Jackie. Jackie did get relatively far very quickly, but the usage of magic around Tempest's body allowed her to move quicker.
"Pokemon Ranger!" Tempest called out his name.
"Oh!" Jackie gasped after seeing Tempest. "You're persistent! Reminds me of...me!"
"Let's see if you can use moves while appearing as that!" Tempest then roared in the sea before using her magic against Jackie. Unfortunately, Jackie could not use Pokemon moves with the power of the Shift Stone.
But even then, he still gained Empoleon's typing and impressive defence. The Pokemon Ranger put up his newly gained fins, using their steely exterior to block the rays of magic. Now there was also an underwater battle taking place.
And further underwater, the weapons were being unloaded onto the Sea Temple. Colress was pouring more power into the cannon, trying to break through the defence. But even the power of Articuno and Regice wasn't enough.
"This defence is absurd..." He growled, feeling frustrated. "I'll give the People of the Water that. They've crafted a well-made forcefield. All we need is more power. Just that simple."
Needing assistance, Colress got in touch with Ghetsis and Daybreaker from another universe. The forcefield had pushed him to that point. "Sorry for the interruption. But we have a problem."
"Forcefield?" Daybreaker already knew what the issue was. Colress nodded in response.
"It's unbelievably sturdy. I'm not sure adding more Pokemon to the power of the cannon will do us any good. It must be those crystals that are giving it such wonderful defence."
"Hm-hm." Daybreaker nodded. "Well, unfortunately...Ghetsis isn't here at the moment. But I may have a solution to your forcefield issue."
"And that would be?"
"Every forcefield to ever exist has light properties. If you ask me..." Daybreaker then raised an Ultra Ball with her magic, revealing the one that Necrozma was within. "I think it's feeding time." Wouldn't you agree, Necrozma?"
The only quick solution that could be thought of. Colress was a bit intimidated by that since Necrozma is a rogue Pokemon. Merciless without any remorse in its hearts and will do anything for light. If it were to enter here, there is a chance that the light within the Plasma Frigate would die out.
"Wait!" Colress exclaimed. "Necrozma is far too risky! That thing could suck up the light from the frigate! Electricity is light as well! It is far too dangerous to try and have it show up here at all."
"Trust me." Daybreaker leaned in. "I understand your fear. But just for this one instance, trust Necrozma. I know first-hoof how destructive Necrozma can be when searching for light. But I've tamed it. It will only last for a few seconds and it will return to my universe."
"Are you sure?" Colress was still sceptical.
"Do you want to get through that blasted forcefield, or not?" Daybreaker then slumped on her throne, twirling with her blazing hair while roasting a marshmallow at the same time.
"...Fine." Colress, after taking a deep breath, agreed to have Necrozma here. But it was still haunting. The only Pokemon close to Necrozma's ruthlessness was Mewtwo.
Colress, using a Travel Sphere, allowed for a gateway to open right in front of him and right at Universe 11. He promptly stepped back as the power that was being drained from Regice and Articuno had ended.
Once the gateway had appeared, hovering there with its cosmic enigma, Daybreaker acted. She threw the Ultra Ball right through the gateway. The moment it was thrown, the devastating and ruthless Pokemon inside had been sent out. The one who devours all light.
"Where have you seen her?!" Currently, Adagio had heard the name of her mother Vivace from one of the guards. It made sense as to why they gave her strange stares. She leapt off the floor, grabbing a hold of one of the guards with burning questions. "How do you know her?! Answer me now!"
"A-Aaaah!" The guard was intimidated and frightened by Adagio's gaze. "B-Because she lives here, of course! Don't hurt me!"
"Mother lives here?" Adagio's tone was lowered a tad bit. She didn't expect her mother to live at Samiya considering how this place was centuries old and the People of the Water had just returned to form.
"Miss Vivace is newer than all of us!" Enola, the spunky blue-haired girl spoke to Adagio. "But still older though."
"Where is she now?" Adagio asked.
"V-Vivace went out on a small journey. She said that she would return in a few weeks once she was finished." The guard stammered, wanting Adagio off of him.
"So that means she'll be back here..." Adagio said to herself, realizing this massive opportunity. Not only was her mother present in this world, but she lived in a place that Adagio now knew of and had the perfect Pokemon to guide her here. This was a major turning point for her.
And it would only take a few weeks.
"Tell me more. Now."
Near the Sea Temple. The Plasma Frigate. Underwater.
Necrozma had arrived. The being that devours all light. Sent here by Daybreaker, It only appeared here to just absorb the light from the forcefield that surrounded the Sea Temple. However, fears sprung due to the existence of the Prism Pokemon. Mainly from Colress, who was backed away from it.
"A-Alright. Just absorb the forcefield and go. That's all you're here to do." Colress demanded with visible sweatdrops on him. Necrozma looked over at Colress with a voracious and menacing aura.
"I wouldn't talk to Necrozma like that, Colress," Daybreaker spoke with her face on the monitor. But she quickly poked her head out of the gateway to speak to him. "Otherwise, it'll be compelled to devour all that you have."
Colress stayed silent. Daybreaker gave the best advice she could give him. It was best that he stayed silent and let Necrozma handle things from here. Otherwise, the Plasma Frigate would sink along with everyone else on board.
Necrozma made its way outside. But it did so by moving so fast that its body had phased through solid material. The Prism Pokemon was outside and could breathe underwater, surprisingly. Once there, everyone ceased their attacks, allowing the Psychic-Type to do what it needed to do. They all knew how ruthless Necrozma could be so it was beast to let it handle everything from here.
However, before going for the forcefield, Necrozma turned its attention to a nearby school of Lanturn. Perfect light consumption. The Prism Pokemon locked onto the school before blitzing through the water, approaching them at great speeds and with an outstretched arm.
"Lanturn?!" Naturally, the Lanturn were startled and intimidated by this. The first Lanturn ended up being grabbed by Necrozma's giant claw. A few of them had been swiftly grabbed by its second claw. After being grabbed, Necrozma had fed off the light energy they gave off.
Electric-Types give off the best light compared to other Pokemon-Types, only second to Fire. The other Lanturn cried out in fear before swimming away.
Colress stood there, ready to point out how Necrozma wasn't going for the forcefield first. But Daybreaker had something to say about that. "Let the poor boy feast, Colress." She said. "He needs it."
And Necrozma feasted. The Psychic-Type feasted so hard that the Lanturn had been drained dry of their natural light. Necrozma then tossed them aside before focusing on the next form of light. Every Pokemon made sure to stay away from the Prism Pokemon.
Necrozma approached the forcefield at the same speed it did for the Lanturn. And once there, its devastating and merciless claws had come into contact with the forcefield that was comprised of various light energies. One of which contained power from the crystals.
A perfect feeding ground for Necrozma.
But also appearing to the scene and at the entrance of where they came from, Ash, Luna, Shining Armor, Flash Sentry and a few other guards had shown up to investigate the rumbling. And when they got there, they saw Necrozma in the crystalline flesh.
"Woah!" Shining Armor came to a screeching halt along with everyone else. No one was expecting to see the Prism Pokemon just out there. Granted, the forcefield was massive and Necrozma was still far away. But its appearance could be made out. "What is that?!"
"It's...Necrozma!" Ash recognized it along with Pikachu. After shouting out its name, Shining Armor then recalled how Flurry Heart mentioned Necrozma once. This was the Pokemon she mentioned.
"Pikachu!"
"A black crystalline material..." Luna uttered, recalling the words from Tip-off. The royal advisor from Pegalysium, who could have random visions. Everything he mentioned on that day fit Necrozma personally.
"Still couldn't make it out. But I did see something. Some sort of prism. Something that appears to be constructed out of black crystalline material."
"That's the Pokemon that will end the universe...?" Luna then said to herself, realizing that the biggest threat they could ever face might just be in front of them.
"Say what now?!" Flash Sentry heard this comment from the Princess of the Night. What she said sounded like a big deal. And even without knowing who Necrozma was, it is a big deal.
Looking ahead, they also spotted the transformable ships and the Plasma Frigate, making it clear that their enemies have caught up. But aside from that, their attention was turned to what Necrozma was currently doing.
The Prism Pokemon was gathering the various light energy from the forcefield. It started entering the Psychic-Type like a black hole, causing the forcefield to flicker.
"It's here to absorb the light! Quick! We need to get it away or else the forcefield's done for!" Ash exclaimed as everyone knew what they had to do.
"Wait! How do we hit it through a forcefield?!" Shining Armor asked. It was a good question. Hitting something through a forcefield seemed almost impossible in a sense. If they were to attack the forcefield, that could weaken and cause it to end quicker than expected.
"Frillush!" Luna's Frillish offered to exist as he flew past his trainer and everyone else. He was the only one that could not only battle well underwater, but he could phase through the forcefield thanks to his intangibility and him being super-effective against Ghost-Types.
"Frillish, wait!" Luna cried out, noticing Frillish's daring action.
The Floating Pokemon charged up a Shadow Ball while floating, having the perfect counter to Necrozma. Phasing through the forcefield and firing the blob of shadows at the right time proved well for Frillish.
Necrozma was so focused and addicted to the light that was within the forcefield that it didn't see Shadow Ball coming, thus, the Prism Pokemon had been hit by the blob. Super-effective damage had been dealt as Necrozma was pushed away from the forcefield.
And due to this surprise attack, the terrifying Necrozma had been thrown off balance and confounded by Frillish. So much so that it had crashed into one of the transforming ships and even the Plasma Frigate. However, due to Necrozma's ability Prism Armor, Shadow Ball, while powerful, was slightly nullified.
"Typical!" Slamming his hands on the table was Colress after witnessing Necrozma being knocked back by Frillish. "Ash Ketchum and them would end up getting in the way the moment we're making considerable progress! And the forcefield hasn't been lifted yet."
"Have no fear, Colress. All Necrozma needs is a bit of time and the forcefield will be erased completely, becoming one with Necrozma. Luckily, my forces can provide that distraction."
They certainly could. These ships were versatile for the water in another way. Not just for their mobility, but the fact that different Pokemon resided within the Poke Balls, concerning the sea.
Out of the ships, Poke Balls had been shot out. And this time, the Pokemon exiting out of them were Water-Type Pokemon consisting of Cloyster, Huntail, Sharpedo and even a single Gyarados.
Immediately after they appeared, the Water-Types had turned their focus towards Frillish, the biggest problem here. The Floating Pokemon looked to see his fellow Water-Types targeting him. He picked the worst time to appear outside of the forcefield. And Necrozma had just recovered to boot.
"Frillish! Return inside! Quickly!" Luna called out, knowing that Frillish was a sitting Ducklett against this army of opposing Water-Types.
Even with the warning, there was no chance of Frillish avoiding an incoming Aqua Jet from the Sharpedo unless he was fast enough. Unfortunately, that speed moment didn't happen as one of the Sharpedo had used Aqua Jet, crashing into the Floating Pokemon.
"F-Frill!" Frillish cried out after being hit. But it wasn't over. After staggering from the Aqua Jet, the Water-Ghost-Type was assaulted by a barrage of Water-Type attacks constantly.
Afterwards, Necrozma was ready to dish out some revenge. Via its signature move, Prismatic Laser. Necrozma's prisms glowed white from every direction, with a red glow surrounding the prism. Afterwards, the Prism Pokemon fired multicoloured lasers from its body at the Water-Ghost-Type.
"Gengar! Go and help Frillish!" Ash sent out Gengar for extra Ghostly assistance.
"Gengar!"
"You as well, Aegislash! Hurry!" Shining Armor exclaimed. Aegislash made his way to the scene as both he and Gengar were off to help their fellow Ghost-Type, phasing through the forcefield with their intangibility.
Frillish looked in awe as these devastating lasers were coming his way. And to make matters worse, all of them were packed with the power that Necrozma had already absorbed, making their strength far greater.
"Quick, Return!" Luna took out Frillish's Poke Ball to try and return him, but the power of the forcefield was blocking out the Poke Ball. Of all the times for the forcefield to be potent, this was the worst time.
"Aegislash!" But there was no need to fear on Frillish's side. Aegislash had used King's Shield, blocking one of the lasers that came towards Frillish.
The lasers were so rampant that they even struck some of the Pokemon on Necrozma's side. But Necrozma didn't care at all as more lasers kept flying out.
"Gengar!" Gengar used Night Shade to try and counter these lasers. The Shadow Pokemon managed to stop a few of them successfully with Dark's advantage over Psychic, but these lasers were so powerful and so abundant that it was hard to keep track of all of them.
As for the lasers, due to them threatening the forcefield, some of them were powerful enough to break through, leaving small holes as they went into the temple. Aegislash saw this, quickly using KIng's Shield in various directions now. One of the lasers almost went in the direction of Shining Armor, only for the Royal Sword Pokemon to block it in time.
"Aegis!" Aegislash now had to focus on multiple lasers from various directions instead of one fixed point.
"Gyarados!" Gyarados hadn't been hit by anything yet as it took the chance to attack. The Atrocious Pokemon had used Bite with bearing red fangs, ready to gnaw on the trio of Ghosts.
"Slash!" Aegislash was too focused on stopping the lasers to really fight back against the incoming Gyarados. But Frillish and Gengar had his back.
Gengar used Shadow Ball along with Frillish, combining their attacks as one. After doing so, they had thrown the blobs right into Gyarados' mouth and through its throat. Gyarados, shocked by this, had received ghostly explosions inside of it. The Atrocious Pokemon was confounded by that and Gengar only ended up finishing the job with a swift Ice Punch.
Gyarados was knocked away while having its body frozen by the Ice Punch. Speaking of Ice, some of the Cloyster had approached, collectively using Ice and Water-Type attacks.
Gengar and Frillish, being the tricky Ghosts that they were, used their intangibility to their advantage, causing the attacks to phase right through them. But it wasn't over yet. Sharpedo were the biggest threat here, approaching the dual Ghosts with their superior speed.
Gengar zipped around the place, avoiding an incoming Sharpedo. Sharpedo was still too quick, even for Gengar. The Shadow Pokemon was hit with a Crunch, taking super-effective damage in the process.
But Frillish came to the rescue, using Dazzling Gleam to blast the Brutal Pokemon away while also blinding the others with a flashing light of rainbows. Aegislash, on the other hand, couldn't block forever with King's Shield. And it didn't help that the lasers were continuing to flow.
"A-Aegis!" Thus, Aegislash had been hit by the Prismatic Lasers as they had overcome King's Shield. Aegislash was struck by these mighty lasers that had the power of various Pokemon moves and the light from the crystals.
And with that light, the damage output was stellar. So stellar that Aegislash was overwhelmed and on the brink of fainting. Necrozma then increased the power of the lasers to a ridiculous degree.
So much so that they had once again, hit the Pokemon on Necrozma's side. Even the transforming ships and the Plasma Frigate. Necrozma wasn't truly playing for any side. It just wanted light and that was that. Apart from being loyal to Daybreaker, Necrozma had no ally in this.
The ponies within the transforming ships couldn't help but retreat due to the attack of the lasers that were everywhere. The seas had been lit up because of Necrozma's actions.
"Daybreaker!" Colress cried out as the Plasma Frigate trembled. "Keep your Necrozma in check! It's going to destroy everything at this rate!"
"Hm. You have a point. But, he should wrap things up boy now..." However, Daybreaker stayed adamant, putting her trust in Necrozma.
"Those lights are getting too aggressive now!" Shining Armor pointed out. "Aegislash! Come back!"
"You too Gengar! Quick!"
"Gengar!" Gengar, Aegislash and Frillish were heading back for the Sea Temple to avoid the rest of the flying lasers and how abundant they were. However, Necrozma wasn't about to let its prey escape. Especially the one who had attacked it earlier. Frillish.
Necrozma swiftly ended its light assault before chasing after the trio of Ghosts. Necrozma was by far the fastest out of anyone here. Even more so than the Sharpedo. While not naturally fast, due to the power of the crystals, Necrozma was faster than ever.
And it was the power of the crystals that made Necrozma greater in every category. Gengar and Aegislash had phased through and managed to re-enter the temple. However, the same couldn't be said for Frillish, who had been grabbed before the intangibility could take place.
"F-Frillish!"
"Frillish, no!" Luna cried out as Gengar and Aegislash turned around. Seeing their fellow Ghost-Type in trouble once more, they had to redirect themselves. They would use their moves while phasing through at the right time for safety measures.
But this time, Necrozma was ready. It wouldn't be taken by surprise from another sneak attack through the forcefield. Once they phased through, readying themselves with Fury Cutter and Shadow Ball, Necrozma had used its other claw for Brutal Swing.
With a mighty swing of its dark-coated claws, Necrozma had smashed into the blob of shadows that Gengar had made before the attack could even be unleashed. The result was a combustion of shadows that happened in front of and next to Aegislash. They had taken damage from this reversal and it was a shame that Ghosts are strong against Ghosts.
It had even bypassed their intangibility, causing them to fly back into the Sea Temple. The dual Ghosts hurled through the air, only for Ash and Shining Armor to catch them before they could make a hard impact.
But now, it was too late to help Frillish as while holding the Floating Pokemon, Necrozma had used Prismatic Laser at the same time. "L-Lish!"
Thus, Frillish had been hit by a bombardment of lasers with nothing to save him. Frillish staggered every second due to this beyond light speed attacks. Not only that, but the lasers even attacked the forcefield, damaging it. The forcefield already had some light drained out of it thanks to Necrozma. And because of this, it had been weakened.
From far away, it looked like a prism of lights was constantly moving in the same spot due to Necrozma's grip on the Water-Ghost-Type. "F-Frill! Frillish!" Some of the lasers had strayed away, striking the forcefield and leaving more small holes in the process.
"Frillish..." As for Frillish, he had fainted due to the might of the Prismatic Laser. He was now floating unconsciously through the sea. And he was vulnerable for Necrozma to absorb him.
"Frillish!" Luna flew over to the forcefield, trying to break it apart. She desperately needed to save her friend from being absorbed by that ruthless Pokemon. "Curse this forcefield!" Luna cried out, zapping the forcefield aggressively.
She then looked at the holes that were made via Necrozma's lasers. Luna turned her attention to them, aiming to use those instead. However, she was too late.
Necrozma had already grabbed Frillish's unconscious body. It began drawing light energy from the Floating Pokemon. All that he had to offer. "Let go of him! Let go!" Luna banged on the forcefield, trying to rip the small holes open if she could.
While absorbing the light of Frillish, Necrozma had then gripped Frillish tightly for efficiency. As if the grip wasn't strong enough. With that grip, Frillish went silent with whited out eyes afterwards. And after seeing that grip, Luna had enough. There are instances where Sorrowful Rage Magic could awaken. But it mostly awakens when a loved one is attacked and harmed.
And this was one of those scenarios.
After seeing Frillish injured and drained of his energy, the Sorrowful Rage Magic took place. But not on Luna's will this time. Lunar Ire felt Luna's sadness and anger boiling up at the same time, allowing her to be unleashed.
The deep blue and red magical aura emerged, swivelling around the Princess of the Night as her eyes were glowing. Afterwards, the magic had consumed her whole, transforming her into a full-body Lunar Ire instead of portions or half of this alicorn.
Once the transformation happened, a pulse of magic occurred that struck both the forcefield and everyone nearby. Ash and the others were thrown off balance from Luna's sudden transformation.
The pulse, while it did not break the forcefield, it certainly affected the individuals outside of it. Necrozma had just recently tossed Frillish aside after absorbing all of his light energy. The Prism Pokemon was taken aback by this furious impulse.
The full force of Lunar Ire has been held back for months now. Finally, it could be unleashed. It started with Celestia being harmed and it looked to end with Frillish being harmed.
"Luna!" Darkrai cried out for her. But she was so enveloped with anger that she couldn't hear Darkrai's call. Necrozma then noticed the appearance of Lunar Ire. The light that could be sensed from her was addicting to Necrozma.
"What on earth is that?!" Colress gasped as Lunar Ire was starting to move through the powerful forcefield by ripping the hole apart.
"So that's Lunar Ire..." Daybreaker uttered, witnessing the transformation take place. In a sense, this transformation reminded Daybreaker of a certain scenario that she wishes not to remember.
Lunar Ire made herself move fast enough to phase through the forcefield. But just barely. After phasing through, she appeared in the sea, using the Underwater Breathing Spell for air.
Lunar Ire, in all of her rage, then started attacking the opposing Pokemon who assisted in harming her Frillish. And she did so with a rampant beam of magic that came flying out of her horn. The opposing Water-Type Pokemon were blown back by Lunar Ire's beam, taking unexpectedly large amounts of damage.
They had already suffered damage from Necrozma, but this just added to it. Some had fainted from this assault of the magic. The transforming ships had fled the area long ago to avoid the Prismatic Lasers. They were lucky to avoid these rays of magic.
After that outburst, Lunar Ire flew over to the fainted Frillish. She held her hooves out, allowing for the Floating Pokemon to fall in her direction. Lunar Ire looked at her downed partner, seeing that he was unconscious and had taken damage beyond anything that he has received ever. Even in a Pokemon Battle. But Lunar Ire was at least glad that Frillish hadn't suffered a far worse fate. However, due to how badly damaged he was, he was close to suffering that tragic fate if Necrozma hadn't stopped.
Now, she had one individual to target all of her rage towards. Necrozma. "You...!" She growled at the Prism Pokemon. There was now a staredown between the enraged alicorn and the ruthless Psychic-Type.
Necrozma wanted some of the light from Lunar Ire while Lunar Ire wanted absolute revenge on Necrozma for what it had done to Frillish.
"Well. I can't say I'm not surprised by how all of this is turning out," said Daybreaker while observing the scene. "That forcefield has taken damage, however. And Necrozma has gotten a good share of light so far. And it only took a few casualties on your ship."
"At least this cannon should have enough power to fully destroy that forcefield," Colress replied. "We won't need the rest of Necrozma's absorption."
"But Lunar Ire interests me..." Daybreaker was focused on the transformed alicorn, waiting to see how things would play out.
"No good. That magic's probably consumed her too far at this point." Darkrai spoke. "I can't reach her like this. Necrozma and her might tear each other apart at this rate."
"Luna's at major risk then. Necrozma's gonna wanna absorb all of the light that she has." Ash replied, knowing how aggressive Necrozma's light absorption can get. There was also the threat of the Plasma Frigate, which didn't help. "We still gotta help stop Necrozma. Even with Luna like that."
"I'll head over and ask the People of the Water for assistance!" Shining Armor offered while holding his damaged Aegislash. Aegislash had taken an unusual punishment from the Prismatic Lasers. But the crystals were to thank for that. "Rest for now, Aegislash."
"You too, Gengar." Ash brought Gengar back as the two Ghosts were weakened. Right as they had been returned, Lunar Ire and Necrozma started battling each other.
And already, their battle within the sea had shaken everything nearby. The Plasma Frigate and even the forcefield around the Sea Temple, creating a tremor strong enough to bypass it and rumble the temple. It was clear those two would be occupied in the meanwhile.
The forcefield itself, while proving to be the ultimate defence, could be countered by an equal force. And Lunar Ire plus Necrozma were signs of that. Ash and the others couldn't head out of the forcefield due to them being unable to phase through it and the fact that Luna couldn't cast the Under Water Breathing Spell on them due to how occupied she was.
"Gotta do something..." Ash said, thinking of how he could help. All he could do right now was head to the People of the Water and ask for their assistance. Thus, he and everyone else went back to the populated areas. And as fast as they could before anything horrible could happen during the battle with Lunar Ire and Necrozma.
Meanwhile.
With Carlita, after revealing herself to be a descendant of the People of the Vale, who had connections to the People of the Water, she was starting to learn new things that she had never known before. Only limited to what her parents could give out.
But before she could learn more, along came Ash and everyone, here to warn them of the ongoing event outside and how it could reach here eventually. "Ash. Everyone," said Carlita. "What's happening out there?"
"There's a big problem right now!" Ash came to a screeching halt. "I don't think we have time to explain it all. But Luna needs our help. And the forcefield looks like it could give out."
"Impossible!" One of the guards exclaimed. "The forcefield is protected by the power of us, the Pokemon and the power of the crystals. Nothing can weaken or break through it."
"Necrozma says otherwise." Flash shook his head.
"Necrozma?" The People of the Water weren't sure of who Necrozma was. This was their first time hearing about this Legendary Pokemon.
"It's a Pokemon capable of absorbing light. It's taken some of the light from the forcefield, no problem." Ash gave a quick explanation.
"But that means it has light from the crystal as well..." One of the guards uttered in a trembling voice as the People of the Water were showing signs of worry, fear and potentially panic soon.
"That's fairly foreboding." A lady said. "If it's taken power from the crystals then there's no telling what that Necrozma would be able to do."
"It could be worse when it enters the temple!" A man gasped, only further instilling fear. However, there were those ready to defend the temple due to the equipment that they had and the assistance of Pokemon.
"This is the best time to defend the temple with what we have," An old man stepped forward. "If push comes to shove, then we can resort to something else. And if everything collapses after it's all over, we may have to move the temple elsewhere without the current of the sea."
"Shouldn't you lower that forcefield then? Some of the crystal's light could still be there for Necrozma to absorb." Shining Armor suggested.
"It is there regardless. It's the main crux of the shield. But since this Necrozma absorbs light like you say it does...then removing the forcefield to prevent any more of the crystal's power from being taken is the best option." The old man agreed to the suggestion. "It will leave us vulnerable, but we're ready for them. We didn't gain this equipment for nothing."
Afterwards, the choice to lower the forcefield had been made. However, it wasn't as simple as just commanding it to leave. Previously, the forcefield had been summoned via the power of the People of the Water, a few Pokemon and the crystals. It would require the same action but in reverse. Something that was challenging for the people. But they were willing to tackle it.
Meanwhile, Lunar Ire and Necrozma were both being aggressive in their own right. The Plasma Frigate moved back to avoid the destruction being formed from this conflict.
Lunar Ire had been hurled through the sea from Necrozma's Brutal Swing. She was staggered by the swing of Necrozma's heavy claws. Necrozma then unleashed Prismatic Lasers from its body to overwhelm Lunar Ire.
Lunar Ire had swiftly put up a shield to try and defend against these earth-shattering lasers. But the second they came in contact with the shield, Lunar Ire was already being pushed back. The forcefield also suffered damage from the rampant lasers including the sea.
Countless Water-Type Pokemon had fled the area as to not get caught up in the chaos. Lunar Ire had expanded her shield, promptly moving the Prismatic Lasers away before ascending. She had then gone on the offensive next, releasing her equivalent to the Prismatic Lasers, but less abundant as it was just a single beam.
However, this beam was something that Necrozma was looking forward to. The Prism Pokemon had wanted Lunar Ire's magic after sensing it. Thus, it had held its arms out, allowing the beam to hit it. Or rather, it seemed to hit the Psychic-Type.
Instead, much like a black hole or a vacuum, Necroza's body automatically absorbed the magic of Sorrowful Rage Magic once it arrived. Daybreaker could only smile, knowing that Necrozma was about to get its fill.
After absorbing the beam, Necrozma retaliated with Dragon Pulse. An instant one too. Powered up by various light energies, the Dragon Pulse ripped open parts of the sea, creating air in the process. Lunar Ire had suffered a hit from this unusually fast Dragon Pulse.
"Ugh!" She cried out as her crown fell off from this impact. It was now drifting through the sea once it came off. Lunar Ire herself had taken a heavy impact from the attack. This was her first time feeling any sort of pain like this. Not for Luna but definitely this new alicorn.
"We might be leaving soon it looks like," Daybreaker said while looking through the monitor. "I apologize for any problems that Necrozma has caused and will cause after this. "He's just so hungry for light."
"Why did we give you Necrozma in the first place?" Colress groaned.
"Have no fear. All we need is just the light from those crystals. Afterwards, we can leave without needing to be involved in too much conflict." Daybreaker wanted to avoid any further battles after the lights had been stolen. As long as Necrozma gets its fill, that was that.
Lunar Ire had been fully unleashed as a result of multiple usages of fractions of its power and seeing a loved one harmed to a large degree, the enraged alicorn of a new persona was facing off against the terrifying Necrozma. In a race to prevent the crystals from having their power sapped away and saving the People of the Water once more as the journey continues.
The peaceful Sea Temple was being threatened once more. This time by the force of an empire instead of pirates. Princess Luna had unconsciously unleashed Lunar Ire and a majority of Sorrowful Rage Magic. Now all of that anger was being targeted towards Necrozma.
The People of the Water were ready to lower the forcefield to prevent Necrozma from absorbing the rest of the light that exuded out of it. But to do that would require equal amounts of effort and the power of the crystal. Similar to how they formed the forcefield in the first place.
"Altogether." A man said as many of the People of the Water and the Pokemon that had formed the forcefield stood together in a circle. They were specifically in the Treasure Room where the powerful crystals resided. "This is the only way we're going to reverse the forcefield."
"Have you done it before?" Shining Armor questioned.
"Never." A lady wagged her finger. "After all, that was the first time we've ever put up a forcefield around the temple. Taking it away won't be easier than summoning it."
As she said that, rumbling could be felt across the temple once more. This time it came from both Lunar Ire and Necrozma instead of Team Plasma. "We'd better hurry then. We may be drained from before we shall do our best."
"Darkrai. You've gotta get out there and help Luna." Ash then turned to the Pitch Black Pokemon. "Before anything goes wrong while this is happening."
"I can't phase through the forcefield, unfortunately...I wish I could but I can't. I might be too late to even save Luna before that magic gets to her...Or worse." Darkrai gripped his claws. For once, Darkrai felt powerless in helping his friend. Usually, no matter the odds, Darkrai was always able to chime in and give assistance. Sometimes, he ends up solving the issue before it gets out of hand via Dark Void.
But this time, Darkrai couldn't do much. Lunar Ire being summoned meant that Luna was most likely losing her sense of reason with her current rage. And that frustrated Darkrai that he couldn't be there for his friend's time of need.
"No need to worry." But one of his many friends was here to comfort him with a pat on the back. "You're her partner and friend. We'll get the forcefield down in time and we aren't gonna lose Luna. Count on it."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Thank you, Ash. Pikachu. I now know how Luna feels most of the time in these scenarios." Darkrai regained his cool thanks to the words of his friends. For that instance, he was in Luna's hooves. "And if we do lose Luna, I can try and reach her by entering her dreams."
"That's the spirit. Alright. Let's get ready for when that forcefield lowers." Ash was prepared for the worst to come, adjusting his hat and gloves while the People of the Water and the Pokemon focus their strength onto the crystals.
Lights of various kinds were being drawn into the crystals. And in response, the crystals started sharing their power. But they had to be careful to use only a bit of the power it contained.
"There is another way to guarantee our safety probably." A lady said while the power of the crystal was being shared with the Pokemon and the People of the Water.
"What way is that?" Shining Armor asked.
"Carlita." She turned to Carlita. "The People of the Water and the People of the Vale's connections don't just stop at them acknowledging each other. There is more to it."
"There is?" Carlita's interest was piqued.
"Mhm. Come with us. There's something you should know." The lady and a few others did the honours of bringing Carlita along to someplace special. This had to do with how the temple could be further protected according to her words.
Ash and the others chose to head back to the entrance before the forcefield can emerge. If they hurry, they can outpace the traps laid out on the temple so that their opponents could trigger them when they show up. That was at least one of their goals.
On the other side of things, Adagio had just recently learned of her mother Vivace's whereabouts and how she was essentially a citizen of the Sea Temple. After so many years, Adagio knew that she was alive and well. But due to the rumbling within the temple, Adagio, who wanted to know more, had been interrupted.
"What is going on out there?!" Adagio groaned.
"It's gone on too long enough to ignore." The guards said before marching rapidly. They have had their conversations go on long enough. It was time to act.
Enola and the children were the only ones exempt from this due to their age. A caretaker of the temple came over as many other civilians who were less battle-heavy were already being instructed to head somewhere safe. "Come along, children. Lt everyone and the king handle this."
"But we're not light anymore! We won't get to see the king in action!" Enola groaned as Adagio watched the children walk away.
"Better to be safe than be caught in the madness, young one." The caretaker said as Enola pouted. She wanted a piece of the action or to at least see it.
"But I'm strong..." She crossed her arms after leaving with everyone else.
Outside the temple.
Meanwhile, outside, the ferocious conflict between Lunar Ire and Necrozma was underway with both sides being aggressive. One out of anger and the other out of endless hunger.
Constantly, tremors moved throughout the sea, threatening the sea temple, the Pokemon living within this part of the sea and even the ships nearby.
Lights flared through the ocean, even reaching the outside. And noticing these lights was Pokemon Ranger Jackie, who was currently taking on the appearance of an Empoleon due to the Shift Stone. While simultaneously trying to avoid Tempest Shadow. He had managed to hide from the unicorn temporarily before noticing the flashing lights in the far distance.
And Tempest, while searching for Jackie, noticed them as well. "What is going on over there?" She wondered as massive rubble flew all over the place.
Necrozma had recently been pushed back but the Prism Pokemon looked slightly unaffected by what was thrown in his direction. He was getting ready to use Prismatic Lasers with his body already emanating the lights of prisms.
"Take your best shot." Lunar Ire spoke, fearless in front of these destructive rays. Necrozma unleashed all of the lasers in various directions, this time with an extra abundance of them due to the magic he had absorbed earlier.
Lunar Ire flew forward, weaselling past all of the lasers with her increased speed. Not only was her magical power increased as Lunar Ire but so was her physical strength. And this was showcased when she bashed her horn into Necrozma after deceiving his Prismatic Lasers.
Necrozma had been sent upwards after the initial hit, hurling through the sea and crashing through a sea rock afterwards, leaving a massive hole in the shape of his body. But the Prism Pokemon recovered later with Luna pursuing him.
Luna flew through the hole, ready to continue her assault, only to be met by a swift Dragon Pulse that flew straight through the hole. Taken by surprise, Luna had been hit by the dragon-shaped shockwave, also hurling through the sea. She grunted before tumbling on rocks, breaking them with each one she bounded on.
The Dragon Pulse was stronger than she expected as she was still rolling through the sea. Eventually, she landed right at a nearby sea bed with her tumbling coming to an end. But not the overwhelming attack being put on her. As she laid there on her back, Necrozma appeared above her, diving downwards for a Giga Impact.
"!" Lunar Ire gasped before witnessing the Prism Pokemon charge towards her with a gigantic invisible aura that soon took form with black and purple lights. Quickly, Lunar Ire could only put up a shield in response. And with good timing. Necrozma crashed into Lunar Ire's shield with Giga Impact, creating an impact so disastrous that it ravaged the sea bed, causing a stupendous crater to form while the sea itself quivered.
All other ships, Water-Type Pokemon and the Sea Temple shuddered due to the disturbance within the sea. Necrozma could see that the shield Lunar Ire had made was almost cracked. But instead of fully destroying it, Necrozma chose to absorb the light from it.
With his gigantic claws on them, the Psychic-Type began absorbing the light energy from Lunar Ire, feeding off of it. "Get off!" In response, Lunar Ire blasted through her barrier with a magical ray, hitting the Prism Pokemon away before he could absorb everything.
Necrozma still managed to achieve some of the light. Lunar Ire then swooped off the seabed after finally regaining her balance and having some time to breathe from Necrozma's assault.
But Necrozma doesn't take breaks nor does he need time to catch his breath. And unfortunately for Lunar Ire, Necrozma doesn't exactly abide by the 4 rule limit most Pokemon do, similar to Mewtwo. Going past Prismatic Laser, Dragon Pulse, Brutal Swing and Giga Impact, Necrozma had then used another one of his signature moves.
Photon Geyser.
Similar to Prismatic Laser, Necrozma only needed to unleash this attack from his body, but in the form of gigantic pillars instead of lasers. These pillars of light shot out while hitting the seabed, destroying more of it.
Lunar Ire was taken aback by these rampaging pillars, but she quickly found the best way to counter them. Reversing them. She used her magic to reverse the flow and properties of the pillars. She had turned them into darkness. After creating these dark pillars, Lunar Ire then sent them back to Necrozma.
The Prism Pokemon had been assaulted by his own attack but in the form of darkness instead of light. Necrozma didn't take too kindly to that. That's when Lunar Ire found a weakness in Necrozma.
"So your weakness is Darkness is it? That makes sense. You're still a Psychic-Type at the end of the day. There's no light in darkness anyway. Nothing for you to feed on."
Necrozma hated to admit it, but she was right. At least for now. Necrozma at his current state was vulnerable to darkness. Whether it be from the Pokemon Type Dark or even natural darkness from both worlds, the Prism Pokemon could not stand it.
After exposing his weakness, Lunar Ire went on the offensive next. Necrozma had been met with rays of magic that were transformed into claws. The claws of Lunar Ire's magic had gripped the Prism Pokemon, holding him in place. Luna had then reversed the properties of claws, turning them into darkness.
She then force-fed Necrozma all of the darkness while gripping the Prism Pokemon. This was her best approach and it was working splendidly. Necrozam cried out after taking the darkness that it despised so much. Lunar Ire then manipulated the claws to slam Necrozma on the seabed while still attacking him with darkness.
She did this repeatedly with no chance of her grip ending at all. All the while, Daybreaker, the owner of Necrozma watched. She didn't have any worry on her face.
"If this continues then there'll be no forcefield for us to go through!" Colress growled as he was planning on intervening.
"Don't." Daybreaker eventually stopped him. She not only had absolute confidence in Necrozma but she knew what was coming next. "Just keep watching."
Necrozma was being smacked around like a ragdoll from these claws of darkness. So far, he wasn't retaliating as Lunar Ire took it a step further. She had then transformed her claws into a gallant ball of darkness that had captured Necrozma, imprisoning him inside.
She then caused all of the darkness from the ball to seep into the Prism Pokemon. Necrozma kept receiving nothing but darkness. No light at all. Lunar Ire's complete rage was being poured into this. Her absolute anger towards Necrozma was showing as she continued to punish the Psychic-Type.
However, that's when the unexpected occurred. Once there was enough darkness in Necrozma's body, the Prism Pokemon then expelled all of his light energy in a flash. After doing so, he had then used Stored Power, utilizing all of the darkness that had been force-fed to him and expelling it. Bursting out of his body was a gigantic pulse of darkness that had overwhelmed the ball, shattering it.
"What?!" Not only did it break the ball, but the pulse had struck Lunar Ire as well, splitting parts of the sea and knocking the enraged alicorn back. Lunar Ire crashed into large rubble after being confounded. The ball had faded away into nothing with Necrozma emerging. "H-How...?!"
"She's right. How?" Colress was flabbergasted. "Necrozma only relies on light. How did-"
"I made sure that Necrozma was ready for its one weakness," said Daybreaker. "Whether it be Dark-Types or Darkness in general, Necrozma is vulnerable to that. It's why he was so frustrated after being robbed of all the light in his universe. So, the only way to counter it was to make a vessel."
"A vessel?"
"Precisely. All Necrozma needs to do is empty out all of the light energy he had absorbed and allow his body to become a vessel for darkness. It's only momentarily but it works like a charm. Especially when used with Stored Power. Nothing is going to stop him from gathering all the light that he desires. And I aim to make sure that his goal is realized."
"It's not possible...!" Lunar Ire growled in frustration as her body was twitching with slight flashes. Within those split-second flashes, the real Princess Luna could be seen.
Deep down, despite the full rage of Lunar Ire being unleashed, there were still limitations. And it was a sign that Luna's sadness and anger were fading away. "Now now Luna..." Lunar Ire said. "Not until we exact revenge on this mon-"
But as Lunar Ire spoke to Luna deep within, Necrozma interrupted her speech with Gravity. By manipulating the gravity around the sea, Necrozma had forced Lunar Ire down with the force of 30x gravity. Lunar Ire gasped with her body being overwhelmed.
She had then been forced into the crater that had been formed earlier. After doing so, Necrozma then went for Stone Edge, summoning a multitude of stones that were just as large as his body. And certainly larger than Lunar Ire. They were shot towards the direction of the enraged alicorn with the intent to crush.
Lunar Ire was currently struggling with the Gravity push. This reminded her of Empress Twilight's Gravity spell. Lunar Ire was trying to figure out how to counter it since she still has problems with it today. Before she could think of something, the gigantic stones had landed right on her, blocking out the crater in the process.
Buried underneath the crater with the limitations of the Underwater Breathing Spell being present and the force of Gravity still active. A truly horrifying situation for Lunar Ire and Princess Luna who was still in there.
Seeing that made Daybreaker a bit iffy. It reminded her of her little sister. But she was trying her best to forget about a moment like that. However, Daybreaker knew that Luna in this current state wouldn't go down so easily.
Necrozma looked at the blockade of rocks and the crater before turning away. His attention was focused back onto the forcefield. He needed more light after expelling the previous one. And with no one to stop him, the Prism Pokemon was free to feed.
And immediately, it was as if the light had never left Necrozma. And due to this feeding of light, this also interfered with the current process happening within the Sea Temple.
Samiya. The Sea Temple.
"Ah!" The people and Pokemon gasped before falling to their knees or sitting down depending on the Pokemon build. Due to this interference, Necrozma had broken their focus with a corrupted spark.
"A-Azumarill..." Azumarill and the other Water-Types felt doozy as the crystals were pulsating. That was not a good sign to anyone.
"The crystals!" A guard went up to them. "Something's wrong!"
"It must be that Necrozma creature..." A lady groaned before sitting up. "It's feeding off the light from the crystals. We can't make the forcefield at this rate..."
"What should we do? Should we warn his majesty?" A younger man asked as the difficulty had been raised. It was already difficult to have the forcefield emerge due to the duration. Now with Necrozma, it might be impossible as panic was starting to usurp. All they could do was request Ash's help.
A secret room.
Meanwhile, Carlita had been brought to a secret room within the temple. A narrow pair of granite doors in a sombre hallway marked the entrance to this room. Beyond the pair of granite doors lies a scanty, grimy room.
After entering, Carlita could see that there wasn't that much inside of this room. It was packed with strange crystal boxes full of shattered gemstones and other oddities. But that wasn't important.
What was important was the object ahead. Carlita paused for a moment as there was another crystal located within this secret room. Exempt from the other crystals in the treasure room. "What's this one doing here away from the others?" She asked the people.
"That is because this specific crystal..." The lady removed the crystal from the wall. "Was made for the People of the Vale."
"Really?" She gawked as the crystal was brought to her.
"The connections between your people and us went far enough to be involved with the crystals. While the crystals over at the treasure room hold the light that we possess, this crystal holds the only power that could be found in Vale."
"Only power?" Carlita scratched her hair before clicking on what she meant. "You mean the Dragon Force?!"
"Precisely. The powerful and invisible energy that surges throughout our world. During an event, the People of the Vale entrusted this semblance of the Dragon Force to us for one reason. If there ever comes a time when we are in need, someone from Vale would come to our aid. Seeing as how this is one of those times, it's only fitting that you'd show up."
"Wait..." Carlita was handed the crystal. "Aside from how you managed to get the Dragon Force inside of it, has anyone else used it?"
"Never. Unfortunately, not only were the no scenarios where we were truly in danger, but our connections to Vale strayed away over the years, making it harder for us to interact. Since then, no one from Vale has ever found us again, thus this crystal lost any meaning until someone would find us. That time is now."
"Okay, okay. I get it now." Carlita nodded. "But how am I supposed to use it? I mean...my brother Damon used it but only with the power of Victini. And Victini kinda isn't here right now."
"Victini's power isn't needed at all. You are a Dragon-Type Trainer, aren't you?"
"Yeah?"
"Then you have your own form of magic. Use that to connect with the crystal and the Dragon Force can be manipulated by it."
You don't say..." Carlita was shocked. Indeed, Dragon-Type Trainers can emit a golden light that lets them understand Dragon-Type Pokemon and much more. However, interacting with the Dragon Force was a new one. Mostly for Carlita. She had the same power that Dragon-Type Trainers all had. "Okay, I'll try what I can."
Meanwhile, Necrozma had done it. He had absorbed all of the light around the forcefield for himself. There was no longer a forcefield up and running, making the temple vulnerable and naked to attacks. All the while Lunar Ire was struggling to fight back against the Gravity and the abundance of gigantic rocks.
But it was too late for her to stop Necrozma. All of the light from the forcefield belong to him. His body pulsated. And yet, the Prism Pokemon wanted more, unsatisfied.
"There. Took a few turns but that forcefield is out." Daybreaker spoke. "We're about done here. You're free to do what you can, Colress."
Necrozma had then phased through the Plasma Frigate by moving so fast to do so. After reappearing in the Plasma Frigate, Daybreaker already had the Ultra Ball ready to be used.
"Return, Necrozma." She ordered as the Prism Pokemon had been recalled, ending his current hunger rampage. Daybreaker was done here. After all, she only sent Necrozma out to get rid of the forcefield. "Alright. We'll be right back, Colress. For those crystals."
The gateway to Universe 11 had been closed afterwards with Colress having a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Necrozma hadn't stolen the light from the ship. But the battle between it and Lunar Ire almost destroyed it.
"Alright...Now we can move..." Colress sighed.
Speaking of Lunar Ire, she was free of the effects of Gravity due to Necrozma leaving the scene and universe entirely. She burst out of the rocks with a pulse of magic. She took deep breaths as her anger had only been amplified after that instance. Due to this rise in anger, Luna was straying away ever so slightly.
"You...!" Lunar IRe growled, knowing that Necrozma had left. She wanted to exact her full revenge, refusing to accept Necrozma disappearing. "Come back here you monster!"
She demanded the Necrozma returned. But even with the battle ending, Lunar Ire remained, ascending through the sea. While Necrozma was gone, there was another obstacle in her way. Team Plasma, the Solar Empire and the Twilight Imperium. She currently stood before them as the ships were finally advancing.
"You're all in my way! But you can get me to Necrozma...!" Lunar Ire grumbled with her eyes glowing. At this point, it would be difficult to revert.
"That's an impressive form you have there, Princess Luna," Colress spoke through a speaker within the ship. "But since you had so much trouble with Necrozma..." Colress smirked, ready to use the cannon against her with the power of more Legendary Pokemon. "I wonder how you'll-"
However, Lunar IRe didn't have time to hear his words through the megaphone. Instead, she used her magic to slice off parts of the Plasma Frigate. The bow had been cut apart as Lunar Ire flew at ludicrous speeds.
She knew she couldn't reach Necrozma naturally. Except for what Team Plasma had. The only working Travel Spheres. The enraged alicorn had then landed on the upper deck of the frigate.
"She's completely lost it, huh?" Colress grunted as the frigate trembled. Due to them being underwater, it was impossible for Team Plasma to come out and deal with Lunar Ire. And there was still some time with the Underwater Breathing Spell, despite how limited it may be.
Unless they entered the Sea Temple. Colress had an answer to that. Boosting the ship at its maximum speed. With little hesitation, Colress initiated the full throttle of the Plasma Frigate, using all of the power it had. And of course, it was Legendary powered.
Lunar Ire trembled for a moment, feeling an odd rumble. That rumble was the cause of the frigate revving up. And in a flash, the Plasma Frigate had moved at stellar speeds with the boosters from behind showing. Lunar Ire was thrown off by this as she was being carried by the Plasma Frigate now. She even slammed into the walls due to the current speed.
And due to there being no forcefield, the Plasma Frigate and many other ships could enter the temple freely. And they certainly did. The enemies were now within the Sea Temple at last. Despite the insane speed, Colress also had the power to slow it down. Relatively quickly as well. So quick that the ship was practically moving in slow motion.
Except for Lunar Ire. Once the ship became slower, the moment decreased, tossing the enraged alicorn off. Lunar Ire was no longer hurling through the water. Now she was just hurling through the air.
Due to the speed that she was flung at, Lunar Ire crashed into a few columns and pillars but took no considerable damage to them. She was also stronger in terms of durability in this form.
Lunar Ire then fell into a nearby pool after her crashes and tumble. At this point, her crown was drifting in the sea. Along with Frillish who was still unconscious. Lunar Ire was too blind to see this, however.
But Luna wouldn't be blind.
Aside from that, Team Plasma, the Solar Empire and the Twilight Imperium had full access to the Sea Temple. And with this entrance, they had already got to work. Team Plasma grunts were emerging from the Plasma Frigate, finally being able to do something with the temple having breathable air.
Colress decided to do something more physical himself. Instead of just standing back at the ship, he decided to get in on the action as well, exiting the Frigate.
It was inevitable at this point. And unavoidable. A conflict between the Sea Temple and these opposing forces would break out. Ash and the others who were approaching the entrance would be met with a rude awakening. Due to how speedy the battle between Necrozma and Lunar Ire was, they weren't fast enough.
"They're already here! Look!" Flash Sentry, who was currently flying to move faster, noticed the Plasma Frigate in the air, right in the distance. Darkrai took the air, spotting it as well.
"Luna...!" He said to himself, worried that something horrible could've happened to Luna. However, as he called out her name, bursting out of the pool nearby was Lunar Ire. Ash almost fell into the pool from this sudden eruption.
"Woah!" He cried out, only for Shining Armor to pull him back with his magic. Ash then sat on the floor with his hat twisting the other way.
Arriving with a furious disposition a little reason left was Lunar Ire. She descended to the marble floor, using her magic to remove the water from her, essentially drying herself.
"Princess Luna!" Shining Armor and the others guards exclaimed, only to receive a glare from Lunar Ire. "Uh...G-Glad to see you're okay."
"Luna. Are you alright?" Darkrai went in front of Lunar Ire, hoping that Luna within wasn't too far gone. Lunar Ire stood there for a moment, huffing and puffing. Not out of exhaustion but of absolute anger. She didn't do anything in response to Darkrai's question. She just stood there.
Within Luna's mind.
But in truth, Luna and Lunar Ire were currently standing before each other with Luna wishing to talk with her Sorrowful Rage self. Right after that confounding impact with the Plasma Frigate, Luna had managed to gain some control and time to speak.
"Lunar Ire!" She shouted her name. "Listen to me!"
"There's no need for me to listen, Luna!" Lunar Ire replied with a bellow. In this mind of Luna, Lunar Ire was essentially a giant. Larger than life compared to Luna. Her larger self in every way. "I was greatly held back the first time with what happened to Celestia. But not anymore with Frillish. Truthfully, I should've been fully unleashed when Celestia was greatly harmed by Ghetsis."
"I know that! But please! The control that I have compared to what you have is slipping. This path for revenge is already moving in is awry!"
"And here I thought you were starting to accept me. Seeing that I could do so much for you. How we could be one so that nopony would be harmed ever again."
"I am accepting you. But not like this! Frillish is out there still harmed. Your revenge for Necrozma is getting in the way for that! Necrozma is long gone by now anyway!"
"Not yet. Those Travel Spheres will take me to that monster. And when I get there, I'll obliterate Necrozma and all those that aided him. In fact, obliterating Team Plasma and the others can be an excellent start. Afterwar, whatever universe Necrozma resides in will be turned to dust."
"Are you hearing yourself...?" Luna gawked with shock in her heart. "This is going on far enough! I won't let you cause mass destruction from this!"
"Don't you ever feel revenge?! If anything, you've forgotten that ever since Nightmare Moon vanished from you. I'm disappointed, Luna. At this rate, you won't be able to fully use the magic that I have for your own usage. You'll be forever held back."
"No." Luna shook her head, rejecting Lunar Ire's words. "Because from here-on, I'll make the Sorrowful Rage Magic my own. Into something that can be used for a different reason. And I'm afraid that the only way to make it happen is by stopping you?"
"You're going to go against me? Your true self?"
"If I have to. And you are not my true self. Not yet at least." Luna's natural magic started showing as she and Lunar Ire would always seem to disagree on everything.
Lunar Ire also showcased her magic as they were against each other as always. Lunar Ire only saw revenge while Luna saw something else that can be birthed and made anew. They were now in conflict, much like the conflict that was bound to happen with Samiya.
The Sea Temple was under attack. Due to Necrozma absorbing the light from the forcefield, everything was now vulnerable to Team Plasma, the Solar Empire and the Twilight Imperium.
Team Plasma were the most prominent ones here since there was already a major conflict happening above the ocean. However, many traps were waiting for them as planned by the People of the Water.
Ash and the others were the closest to them, including Lunar Ire, who was currently motionless. This was due to Luna and Lunar Ire interacting with each other from within.
"She's not responding!" Darkrai exclaimed, noticing how Lunar Ire had a permanent face of anger and a single stance.
"D-Did something happen to her?" Flash stammered. He and the others were fearing the worst. Darkrai grabbed the motionless Lunar Ire since she wouldn't move on her own.
And with this vulnerability, Team Plasma, who were now approaching, could take advantage of this scenario. If anything were to happen to Lunar Ire in this state, the results would be horrifying.
"Whatever's up with Luna, we'll figure it out together. But we can't do it without some space." Ash uttered. He then took out his Poke Balls, sending out the rest of his Pokemon. Dragonite was already out, but now she had extra allies in the form of Lucario, Sirfecth'd and Dracovish. Gengar still needed to rest. "Can you guys give us some time while we head to the treasure room?"
"Lu!" Lucario nodded along with the rest of his Pokemon.
"We're entrusting Princess Luna to you, Ash," said Shining Armor. "Let us handle Team Plasma. And maybe set off some traps here and there."
"Thanks Shining. All of you." Ash thanked them before he, Pikachu and Darkrai made a run for it. Since they were in an area with air, the Golurk could finally assist. Granted, there was still water around the Sea Temple, but they were mostly lucky to not be out in the sea.
However, before any conflict could happen, Shining Armor and the others chose to have the traps go off first before they do anything. A sort of surprise attack and taking advantage of their opponents when they're either weakened or confounded. Something that the Swords of Justice had taught him.
Luna's Mind.
The reason for Lunar Ire's motionless was a mental battle happening between her and Princess Luna. Luna was both figuratively and literally going up against a pony that was bigger than her in every way.
"My power is far greater than yours! In every way and every shape!" Lunar Ire bellowed at Princess Luna with her gigantic vice echoing through this mind that had a dark blue appearance to it.
"I can't lose to you...Especially now that you're acting like an absolute monster." Luna was fearless in front of this gigantic enraged alicorn, however.
"Hmph! I'll squash you like a bug!" Lunar Ire then swung her hoof at Luna, giving the first attack. Luna, in response, simply leapt off the hoof swing as the surface of this mind had trembled with what seemed to be water appearing. Everything below was water. "I idea that you can change Sorrowful Rage Magic is utterly ridiculous. Without the true potential of it, you're nothing but a puny ant waiting to be stomped on! Only having the assistance of Pokemon by your side!"
Lunar Ire continued to berate and diminish Luna while furiously attacking the Princess of the Night. Luna flew through the air, evading all the current hoof swings so far.
Luna Ire then opened her mouth, unleashing magic from there instead of her horn. That took Luna by surprise for sure. Seeing the ray of magic fly out of this giant's mouth. She was smart and quick enough to put up a shield.
"You're certainly powerful... But I won't let you push me around!" Luna then dispelled the ray by expanding her magical forcefield. The alicorn then descended to the liquid floor afterwards. "It doesn't matter what you say! I'm bent on changing it for the better!"
"Nonsense! I'll reawaken the hatred within you! And perhaps even bring out Horizon Storm from Twilight Sparkle!" Lunar Ire then leapt into the air, planning to stomp on Luna.
Luna slid away from it Lunar Ire only ended up stomping on nothing. After the miss, Luna got her first hit in. With a ray of magic hitting the giant alicorn in the side of her face. Lunar Ire grunted after receiving the first hit. She then started aggressively stomping her hooves and swinging them, trying to hit Luna.
But Luna's smaller size allowed her to swiftly elude them. Lunar Ire clearly had the slight disadvantage for being so gigantic. The enraged alicorn then let out a bellowing roar to try and push Luna away, but it was a failure.
Luna then ran underneath Lunar Ire to perform her next action. And that involved Lunar Ire's tails. "I have you now!" She cried out before grabbing the tail of the enraged alicorn. Lunar Ire gasped, noticing that her tail had been grabbed.
With all her might, Lunar used what physical strength she had to lift Lunar Ire off the ground. "W-What?!" Lunar Ire was even taken aback by this. She didn't expect Luna to be able to do this.
Lunar Ire was then pulled through the air before being slammed onto the ground with an earth-shattering impact. A massive splash had been made with Lunar Ire laying there for a second.
But Luna wasn't done. After slamming the giant onto the ground, she appeared above Lunar Ire just as quickly as she threw her. The Princess of the Night then came flying down for a follow-up.
"You pesky little...!" Lunar Ire grumbled, holding her hoof out to try and grab Luna. By using her vat magic, transformed her hoof into a claw afterwards. Luna swiftly ascended through the gaps of the claw, eluding Lunar Ire once more.
Luna proved to be too tricky to catch. She then punished the enraged alicorn with a second helping of a magical beam, right into the chest area while Lunar Ire was still on her back. She certainly felt that one as she had staggered afterwards.
Luna then descended once more, believing that she had Lunar Ire right where she wanted her. "Now listen to me. I would like for us to put an end to this immediately." She approached the giant. "There are other important things at stake here and this deep infighting won't help us solve-"
However, the moment she got close, Lunar Ire played with deception. She snuck a bit of Sorrowful Rage Magic that slithered within the water. After slithering, it had managed to catch Luna by wrapping around her hooves. After doing so, Luna froze in place, falling right into Lunar Ire's trap.
"Unh...!" She grunted before almost falling to the ground. Luna closed her eyes as the Sorrowful Rage Magic started infecting her mind. It infected her by mainly going for deep thoughts that Luna keeps at bay. The Sorrowful Rage Magic exposed those thoughts, using them against the Princess of the Night as voices were starting to echo throughout this mind world. "W-What is this...?!"
She heard voices of ponies speaking about her. Mainly about when she became Nightmare Moon on that fateful day, including days before Nightmare Moon's first appearance. Days of her childhood and beyond and how before the current time, Luna had a different reputation.
"Again. She avoids us all during the night..."
"Can you believe she'd turn out like that...?"
"She always did seem to deride everything, especially the day..."
"It's always her, isn't it..."
"Perhaps being at the moon was the best decision..."
"Heh." Lunar Ire let out a slight chuckle before sitting up, looking down at Luna. "Now do you see? You'll never be able to change or deny what I exist for. You're just a piece of my revenge, sadness and hatred boiled after all. Everything that has happened to you in the past and even the future will connect to this. No matter what!"
"That's not true...!" Luna grunted, trying to get the voices out of her head. But they kept coming due to the Sorrowful Rage Magic.
"What terrifying magic she has..."
"She could go awry with all of that magic, honestly..."
"To think she might be next in line..."
"That's a terrifying thought..."
"No...!" Luna stomped her hooves onto the floor, making splashes. She stomped her hooves louder to try and drown out the voices. "Whatever you're drowning into me won't work!"
However, despite the potency of Sorrowful Rage Magic, Luna knew this song and dance already. She knew not to allow herself to be lost in her mind. Lessons from Olympia taught her that much. If she were to continue straining against this magic, it would overtake her.
So, Luna simply took a deep breath, closing her eyes and allowing herself to be relaxed. But not only did she relax, she allowed the voices to flow through but different ones. This was still her mind at the end of the day. And her thoughts reigned supreme.
Instead of the voices of those who feared Luna, strayed away from her or even disliked her slightly was quickly overcome by the voices of those near and dear to her.
She chose to hear the voices of Celestia, Ash, Twilight, Darkrai, Fluttershy and many more. Where she had those who strayed away from her, she also had those who accepted and came closer to her. Not even fur multiple minutes could Sorrowful Rage Magic overtake the Princess of the Night. She refused to let something similar to Nightmare Moon happen ever again.
Thus, she dispelled the magic from her body, causing the water to flow beautifully while also pushing Lunar Ire back, stunning the enraged alicorn.
"How did you break free that quickly?!"
"You said you were me. Then by now, you should know that I have far surpassed what was holding me back for so long. You were the same pony that even said you weren't like Nightmare Moon, weren't you? If anything, you're acting fairly similar to Nightmare Moon right about now, I concur."
"Don't you dare compare me to her!" That pushed a button. In an outburst, Lunar Ire formed multiple claws that had emerged from the ground, ready to grip Luna. But Luna was now fearless, finally gaining her balance and momentum in this.
Mostly because she wanted to end this as soon as she could while also doing what she set out to do. Luna simply hopped onto the claws, using them as a platform as she leapt towards Lunar Ire. "Perhaps not in appearance but from how things are as of now, you're beginning to mirror her!"
"Silence!" Lunar Ire didn't take too kindly to that comparison, using her magic to form a massive sphere around the Princess of the Night. However, Luna had sliced it in half, making the sphere separate and fade away.
"If I want to truly reach you I have to enter the core!" Luna locked onto Lunar Ire's face, having an idea on where to end this. Lunar Ire then opened her mouth, preparing another magical ray from it. But Luna was going straight in. With some protection of course via magic coating.
Luna had taken the beam head-on. But after she took it, she had then dispersed it, negating the magic. Afterwards, the Princess of the Night then duplicated herself multiple times. Soon, the area was flooded with countless Princess Luna's from all sides.
Lunar Ire gasped, witnessing Luna's from every direction everywhere she looked. They all glared at the enraged alicorn with two expressions. A grin and a frown. They all then dove, working together to restrain Lunar Ire.
Altogether, every single Luna had unleashed spheres of magic from each direction, overwhelming Lunar Ire with these plentiful spheres. All of which was enough to stagger and almost knock the enraged alicorn off her balance.
But it wasn't over yet. Here came the restraint. All of the clones had then used their magic to the fullest, causing magical chains to emerge. Lunar Ire's hooves were immediately caught as the enraged alicorn could barely fall in a consistent direction due to this misbalance.
Now was Luna's chance. While Lunar Ire was staggered, she took the time to connect with her. And she did this by colliding their horns together. Upon contact with the horns, a white light emerged afterwards. This light had eclipsed them both due to its astronomical size. Lunar Ire was powerless to stop it from happening.
Once this light had spread out, it allowed Luna to go even deeper. Deeper than her mind. Her entire mind ended up being layered by this white light as the gigantic Lunar Ire could no longer be seen.
Instead, Lunar Ire's actual size, equal to Luna's, was now present. Luna had managed to enter Lunar Ire's heart which was truly her core. "You stay back!" Lunar Ire hissed. But Luna approached either way. "You would dare compare me to Nightmare Moon?!"
"I would. You're slowly becoming the very thing you tossed aside at this rate."
"No, I am not!" Lunar Ire rumbled, trying to intimidate Luna with a heightened voice, but it was no use. "You don't understand! Without me...the worst could continue to happen! Celestia, Frillish and who knows who might be next?! It could be Ash, Darkrai, Twilight and many of our loved ones! All those who wish to harm everyone we love should perish. So that the future can be safer!"
"I understand."
"No, you don't!" Lunar Ire rejected. "You would rather limit me in the long run? Even after using my magic sparingly in situations! You...!" Just then, her emotions were starting to show. Tears were forming. "You will just end up being-"
But before she could finish her sentence, Luna surprised her other self with a sudden hug. That certainly got Lunar Ire to stay quiet for a moment. After seeing her tears, Luna couldn't help but comfort Lunar Ire.
"Believe me. I know. I understand that you want to keep everypony safe. But if you continue down this path then you might end up becoming just another Nightmare Moon."
"That's not true!" Lunar Ire still denied it with a headshake.
"You are a part of me, after all. A part of me that seeks revenge. But you don't have to. Neither do I plan on getting rid of you. Your magic is wonderful in every way and it's helped out greatly. But I can't stand to see somepony else go down a dark path like this. Especially not you. That's why I want to be there for you. But I should've understood you in the beginning. I'm sorry for rejecting you so much earlier on."
Lunar Ire stayed silent after that as she wasn't sure how to respond. All she could do was continue hearing Luna talk and let every word sink into her.
"We can share our sorrow and rage together. And make it something wonderful. We can leave Nightmare Moon far behind in the dust, protect everypony in the best way possible. Even if the worst comes our way, we shall tackle it honestly and through."
"H-How will you know that will work?" Lunar Ire sniffled.
"Both of us will know." Luna moved her hug back before looking at her other-self. "You're the missing part of me. Just like you said months ago."
"I'm sorry..." Lunar Ire lowered her head before going for another hug, wanting extra comfort from the only pony who could understand her. "I-I-I don't know what came of me, I just wanted to-"
"It's okay." Luna patted her on the back afterwards. Once that was said and done, the unification of two different magical auras had occurred. One from Luna and the other from Lunar Ire.
Like a beautiful angel wrapping its wing around something, the two auras formed into wings, covering the dual alicorns. The Sorrowful Magic in its entirety was transforming into something new.
The two auras then formed a silver colour afterwards as the mind of Luna gained more colour to it. Then, dispersing the auras, out of it came only Princess Luna. But things were different. Lunar Ire was now fully one with her. No longer a missing link.
Luna descended to the liquid floor as her magical aura was sparkling dark blue and red with lightning sparks constantly flickering. Sorrowful Rage Magic had fully been tamed and Luna had further control of it.
"Amazing..." Luna felt the rush of the magic within her body, unlike anything she's ever felt before. "I hope we can work together splendidly, Lunar."
"I hope so too." Lunar Ire was still there, able to communicate with Luna at all times. No longer needing to be a floating head-wisp to do so.
"Now then. Let's get Frillish back and finish things up here in the Sea Temple."
Samiya. The Sea Temple.
Team Plasma walked through the temple as they noticed how unusually silent it was. They were expecting some extra noise but all they could hear were their footsteps and the water.
Plus, an engine. Colress didn't just come out to walk, he had decided to use a vehicle. Colress was on an upside-down dome-shaped vehicle that he was currently riding. The only one without needing to touch the floor.
"Hmmm..." Colress observed the area and the awkward silence filling it. "It's awfully quiet. Then again, this temple has been exempt from physical life, hasn't it?"
"I don't hear the voices of Ash Ketchum and the others at all." A grunt said. "This temple looks fairly large for them to hide in though."
"They want to play hide and seek? Sure. All of you spread out into groups. And whoever finds the crystals first, report it immediately." Colress ordered as many of the Team Plasma grunts had split into groups to cover more ground.
But as soon as they split up, that allowed certain traps in the Sea Temple to go off. For one group, they were suddenly pulled in by the same glowing ropes that emerged from the floor. The floor tiles opened up, dragging the grunts down through it.
This alerted the attention of the other grunts. They had just seen the others sink to the floor via glowing blue ropes. But as soon as they backed up, another trap had been struck. The same glowing bowl that had previously caught Luna was triggered.
Except, while Luna has great reaction speed for being an alicorn, the grunts did not. Luna was still caught by the trap anyway, but the grunts had a more delayed reaction to it. The glowing bowl had caught them before forming into a full sphere, carrying them away.
Colress immediately stopped his vehicle to try and not trigger another trap. He had just seen more grunts trigger another via the glowing cubes that had captured Shining Armor, Flash Sentry and Adagio once.
But while Colress and some other grunts were static, staying still to not activate anything, other grunts were too late, being caught up in various traps that had the intention of sending them places throughout the temple. After all the traps had been triggered, Colress and the others stood there bewildered.
"Such unique traps..." Colress uttered as he was more amazed by the way these traps looked instead of how parts of Team Plasma had been whittled down. Their numbers were now fewer. "Perhaps I can borrow some of those ideas."
"Luca!" But while everyone else was bewildered, an Aura Sphere had travelled through the air, free of any traps as it had then struck Colress' vehicle. The scientist was staggered as an Aura explosion had occurred, knocking him and the vehicle back.
The one responsible for this was Lucario. Currently, it was him, most of Ash's Pokemon, Shining Armor and the rest of the guards while Ash and Darkrai were off somewhere else. They waited for Team Plasma to trigger the traps and it paid off. Half of Team Plasma's forces had been pulled away by the traps, leaving a fair number for Lucario and the others to tackle.
"Nice sneak attack, Lucario!" Shining Armor praised him as he and the others were revealed.
"Lucario."
"You!" Colress shouted before adjusting his vehicle. He then noticed the odd one out. Ash. He wasn't here. "Hm? How come Ash Ketchum isn't with you?"
"He's busy if you must know," said Flash Sentry. "But you won't reach him or even get far into this temple with us in the way."
"Pidgeot!" And his Pidgeot agreed. Colress simply scoffed. But he knew that with all of the complex traps lying around, moving around the temple freely was practically non-existent. So things would have to be done carefully
But right now, a showdown between the royal guards and the Team Plasma was about to occur. For the second time in the row.
But it wasn't just Team Plasma arriving. Jackie finally showed up at the Sea Temple. He no longer needed the Empoleon disguise as he loosened the power of the Shift Stone. He could breathe freely without any worry now, thankfully.
"Phew..." He sighed. "Thank you, Empoleon. But boy, isn't this nostalgic? How long has it been since I've been here, Sea Temple?" He took a moment to take in the familiar air of the Sea Temple.
Afterwards, he kept his mind back on the mission, but not before turning around. Jackie had to make sure that Tempest Shadow wasn't following him. Unfortunately, she was. She could be seen approaching the temple, still having the Underwater Breathing Spell active. But it only had 3 minutes left on it.
"Oh!" Jackie scrunched his face before rushing off, hoping to leave Tempest in the dust. It was only a matter of time until the rest of the attacking forces reached here but some were still dealing with the Grand Equestria on the surface.
The traps weren't the only defences that were ready to be used. There was another. One that involved the Dragon Force. A special crystal made for the People of the Vale due to their relationship with the People of the Water. And only Carlita could utilize it.
But one extra defence, possibly their greatest defence, was emerging. Princess Luna. Darkrai was still holding onto Lunar Ire. Not anymore at least. He and Ash noticed how the visage of Lunar Ire faded and brought about the familiar appearance of Princess Luna. That brought joy to them as Luna awoke.
"Luna!" Ash and Darkrai exclaimed.
"Pika!"
"Oh, my stars..." Luna groaned before finally waking up. She looked to see Ash, Darkrai and Pikachu staring at her. "Success...And it only took me 7 minutes at best."
"Glad to have you back, Luna." Darkrai placed her down. "I was worried when I saw Lunar Ire there."
"You don't have to worry anymore, Darkrai. Lunar Ire and I are finally one at last." Luna touched her chest with her hoof as Lunar Ire could certainly feel it. "Now. Let's focus on what's important. Have Team Plasma made it?"
"Yeah. Shining, Lucario and the others are gonna do their best to hold them off. Plus making some traps come up too." Ash explained. "We should join them, shouldn't we?"
"No. From what we've heard so far, the crystals are far important. You understand them more than we do, Ash. Darkrai and I will handle the droves of opponents while you and Pikachu keep the crystals safe."
"Are you sure?" Ash asked.
"No need to worry." Luna winked, using Dawn's catchphrase. Due to her using it for the first time, that showed that Luna's confidence and resolve were at an absolute maximum. The peak and zenith. And Ash could tell. He could already put his faith in Luna. And this just further skyrocketed it.
"Gotcha! Come on, buddy!" Ash and Pikachu zoomed off towards the treasure room.
"Pikachu!"
"It should be the late afternoon by now. The moon should be up soon," said Luna. "You're at your best at that time Darkrai."
"Always."
"And the same goes for everyone else." Luna then used her magic to hold out the current Poke Balls she had. Out of all of them came Aurorus, Xatu, Musharna, Excadrill, Gliscor, Florges and Manectric.
"Aurorus!" Aurorus and the others cried out.
"I'm counting on you all." She encouraged her partners. "But there's one more missing. Frillish. I'll be right back!" She then spread her wings out, not forgetting about the one who needed the most help.
Darkrai and the others would take things from here while Luna heads for Frillish before anything horrible can happen to the Floating Pokemon. Luna's team knew what they needed to do. Protect the Sea Temple and drive off the opposing forces. Simple to understand but difficult to pull off.
With Luna and Lunar Ire having a full bond and the opposing forces arriving at the Sea Temple, the struggle for the crystals which contained awesome and stellar power was finally beginning as the journey continues.
The Seas of Unova. Underwater. Near the Sea Temple. Late afternoon.
Near the Sea Temple, Frillish was still floating across the water unconscious. The Floating Pokemon had yet to awaken at all and it seemed like he would just drift there aimlessly against the rubble of rocks caused by the previous battle between Lunar Ire and Necrozma.
But that wasn't the case. Coming to his rescue was Princess Luna. She was making her way outside of the Sea Temple, hoping it wasn't too late. Frillish was drifting further away along with Luna's crown which had previously been knocked off via the battle with Necrozma.
"Wait for me, Frillish!" Luna cried out while soaring through the air. Being on a higher level meant that she could see so much from here. And she certainly did. At the moment, Shining Armor, the guards and a few of Ash's Pokemon were currently going against Team Plasma.
They moved across the Sea Temple with constant Pokemon moves being thrown around. Luna wished to assist, but she would have to do it later. Frillish was her top priority. The Princess of the Moon made sure to stay out of view as to not blow her cover.
It wasn't just Ash's Pokemon along with the guards, Luna's Pokemon were approaching the scene for assistance as well. And it started with Darkrai using Thunderbolt on the floor. Sparks flowed throughout the floors of the temple, racing towards Team Plasma's Pokemon.
Thankfully, most of the guards owned Golurk so they were fine and free from damage. Pidgeot made sure to stay in the air while Lucario jumped away. Aegislash simply hovered as Sirfecth'd used his shield to protect Dracovish and everyone else. But, Team Plasma's Pokemon were exposed to it, receiving 100,000 volts.
Luna continued flying, turning her head away from the scene while her friends take care of everything from here. There were no obstacles in her way, however, she noticed that Colress was exempt from this battle. Mainly because he was using his vehicle to avoid everything and advance. Luna wanted to see what he was up to, but again, Frillish was the main priority.
After exiting the temple, Luna had used the Underwater Breathing Spell on herself, giving her 20 minutes maximum to breathe underwater. But she won't need those minutes at all.
Luna then lit up the ocean with her magic, casting a vibrant light to try and find her spectral partner. Due to the previous battle between her and Necrozma, rocks were the most common objects floating around. Nothing but rubble as a majority of the Water-Type Pokemon had fled due to the chaos.
She sliced apart the abundance of rubble due to how much there was of it. The seas were also vastly silent with many of the Water-Types fleeing. The only other sound nearby was the ongoing conflict. Both at the Sea Temple or via the Grand Equestria and the Sunstorm.
And after zooming through the seas and cutting apart any rock that stood in her way, Luna came across her fallen friend, drifting aimlessly still with nothing to catch him. "Frillish!" She cried out, increasing her speed to reach him.
The Princess of the Night held her hooves out, allowing for Frillish to land on them. And he did. Gently, Frillish had landed in the soft grace of Luna's hooves. Even when being in these familiar hooves, Frillish did not wake up. Luna smiled at him afterwards before holding out a Poke Ball with her magic.
"You fought bravely today. Rest well, my friend." She had finally returned Frillish into his ball, allowing the Floating Pokemon to experience the cosiness of the Poke Ball.
Now with Frillish safe and currently resting, Luna had much to do with Lunar Ire by her side. But, her next target wasn't the Sea Temple. Instead, it was the surface. Considering that Team Plasma was here, that meant that the Sunstorm had appeared as well.
But as Luna was ready to enter the surface, Tempest Shadow meanwhile, had entered the Sea Temple just now. However, upon entering, she wasn't instantly going to pursue Jackie. There was no need for that since her only goal was to reach the temple, and she did successfully.
Once inside, Tempest then lit up her horn. But not to engage in the current battle. "Those crystals are nothing but light energy. Should be easy to find then."
She would use magic to track down any form of light energy. None of the crystals in the Treasure Room were being used at the moment but their light could still be felt. However, there was one crystal in a secret room that being used and was radiating both light draconic energy.
The crystal that held the Dragon Force. That caught Tempest's attention instantly. It was impossible to ignore how potent it was.
Meanwhile, the Princess of the Night instantly ascended, heading to the surface as quickly as she could, leaving behind massive bubbles from how much pressure she was making.
And it was swift. Swifter than even Luna was used to. She emerged from the sea, forming a spiral of water that surrounded her. The way the moonlight sparkles around the droplets of water was wonderful. And her appearance was noted and recognized by everypony.
"Princess Luna!" The Canterlot and Crystal Empire guards cried out with joy after seeing their princess show up. So far, things looked even on the surface. The terrifying force of both empires was only equalized by the sheer strength of the Golurk.
But that was all about to change.
Luna gave her opponents a smile that they would never forget. One that seemed innocent at first but held the full force of utter defeat. By using her heightened and controlled magic as a result of Lunar Ire, Luna had manipulated the sea itself to her will.
With her aura covering the water, a tidal wave had risen with her control. At the same time, the ships and opposing Pokemon had targeted Princess Luna once they caught wind of her.
Luna decided to quickly put an end to this conflict on the surface. She made a large flash of light that instantly blinded the opposing Flying-Types that came her way and even those on the ship. She then made them all crash into this tidal wave. But not only did they crash into it but they were also being spun around by it.
Luna then made the tidal wave flow towards the Sunstorm with the Pokemon and ships still within them. Spitfire, who was currently on top of a Skarmory and exempt from the wave, witnessed this destructive form of water attack the ship as quickly as it arrived.
Those within the Sunstorm had been met with this tidal wave as many of the Pokemon had been forced inside of it while the ships had crashed. The pilots inside cried out before quickly scurrying their way outside of the ships.
The Sunstorm had also been carried away by the tidal wave, moving further away from the opposing ship, the Grand Equestria. Luna had made that much of a difference. Her allies cheered for her amazing display as Spitfire merely narrowed her eyes while lowering her magical glasses. She then put her glasses on to read the magic coming from Luna.
"Oh!" Spitfire gasped once sensing the immense magic spike that wasn't there before. "It's been a while since we've seen another alicorn magic be heightened. This we don't need..."
Seeing that Luna had become a greater threat than anticipated, Spitfire was ready to finish this mission as soon as she and everypony else could But not with this in their way. Spitfire quickly hopped off Skarmory, heading back to the ship.
As for the Sunstorm, despite being attacked by that massive tidal wave, it was still active and healthy. The durability on it was stellar. However, most of the opponents had been taken out by Luna, giving her side the greatest advantage they could have. The Golurk advanced onto the Sunstorm, taking the chance of this advantage.
"Time to retreat for now. But we'll make a turnaround afterwards." Spitfire landed on the bow of the ship, giving the order to those who haven't been attacked by the tidal wave. The Sunstorm, while durable, could not stand up to this kind of magic on its own. Especially from an alicorn.
The best option now was to retreat. That was the order given to them as the Sunstorm was about to do just that. The same way it left before. Via teleportation. The same golden light from before covered the entire ship from every corner.
And just like regular teleportation, they were gone in a flash. However, Luna wasn't so blind about their next approach. She turned to the Grand Equestria to give out information.
"They're clearly not leaving entirely. They still need those crystals after all." To track them down, Luna used her magic on the sea once more. This time, forming a path. A path for the Grand Equestria follow as she started tracking down any form of magic nearby.
Her magic sensing flowed across the sea until she found one source. Spitfire's magical sunglasses. They were magical objects at the end of the day, thus they were vulnerable to Luna's senses. "There."
After sensing them, the path turned blue, leading in the direction of the Sunstorm. Princess Luna then pointed her hoof forward, ordering them to follow that pathway. The guards saluted as they were about to do just that. The Grand Equestria followed this pathway that led to the Sunstorm.
Luna made sure to link it with her magical senses so that it would always follow the Sunstorm. Even she didn't know she could do that. Just a neat little addition for fully bonding with Lunar Ire.
Afterwards, Luna made her way underwater to help out the rest of her friends.
Samiya. The Sea Temple.
As for Carlita, she had the crystal that possessed the Dragon Force. Only she could use it and that time was now. All Carlita had to do was use the natural light of a Dragon Trainer to make it work. Previously, she had used it but failed. Her arms felt shaky after using it.
"It's so aggressive..." She uttered while shuddering a bit. "Second times' the charm maybe." She took a deep breath while letting her light flow. Immediately, the light reacted to the crystal, sensing the blood of the People of the Vale. A familiar descendant.
The golden light was promptly replaced by a green light. Carlita could feel her hands tremble. once more And that only made sense. If used wisely, the Dragon Force can create a harmonious power but if used wrongly, the Dragon Force can become a destructive and violent energy that threatens to destroy the planet and all that live on it.
So there was certainly pressure.
Carlita wasn't used to something like that. But being the trainer of a ferocious Pokemon such as Hydreigon allowed her to have a chance. That was no small feat as Hydreigon is highly difficult to tame. However, the Dragon Force was on a different level as Carlita dropped the crystals, feeling her hands burn.
"Ow!" She cried out, squatting and putting her hands in her clothes to try and cool them off. "It's so hot!"
"Are you alright?!" A man asked after seeing Carlita receive this hand burn.
"I didn't think it would sting like that..." She breathed in and out. "I don't know if I can do this."
"You have to. The Dragon Force is one of if not the greatest defence we have here in the Sea Temple. Without it, we remain vulnerable to many."
"I know, I know but..." Carlita looked at her burnt hands. She had never been burned so badly before. In fact, she's never been burned at all. "I wish my parents and brother were to help out at least."
"I don't think they will." Just then, tracking down the force of light coming from the secret room was Tempest Shadow. Due to the usage of the crystal, she was able to track it. The first crystal had been found.
"!" The People of the Water gasped after seeing the arrival of Tempest Shadow. She was unfamiliar to them and it was hard to tell if she was a friend or foe.
"W-Who are you?" Carlita stood up while still having her hands in her sweater. She wasn't sure how to properly react to Tempest's appearance.
Tempest didn't say anything. Instead, she had done what Daybreaker had ordered everyone to do if they found the crystals. At least one of them. Immediately send them to Necrozma. And to that, a gateway was required. Tempest could not make a gateway unless she had a Travel Sphere.
Which she did. Taking it out, Tempest had thought of the area that she wanted to connect to. Universe 11. Responding to her thoughts, the Travel Sphere summoned the gateway, right at the near end of this secret room. Everyone startled with their hearts skipping a beat once the sound of the gateway boomed into existence.
Carlita already knew about the existence of the gateways so she prepared herself for the worst. She removed one of her hands to grab her Poke Ball, readying for whatever was coming through.
Coming into view within the gateway was Daybreaker. Her fearsome yet beautiful face with her blazing mane was seen by the People of the Water and Carlita. Tempest then used her magic to lift up the crystal, ready to allow Necrozma to absorb it all.
"!" But reacting to this was Carlita, who had taken her other hand out, grabbing the crystal. "I knew there was something off about you!"
"Hm?" Daybreaker uttered after witnessing the abrupt action.
"Let go, why don't you?" Tempest scoffed as she made the crystal hover higher in the air. But Carlita held on tight, despite having burnt hands. She was being lifted off the floor from this due to her heavy grip. But she wasn't alone.
The People of the water held onto Carlita, helping her stay static and protecting the crystal. Carlita dropped her Poke Ball, having her other hand latch onto the crystal. Tempest actually needed to put some effort in. Multiple people helping out would do that to anyone.
"This is just sad." Daybreaker shook her head before exiting the gateway. She didn't want any time to be wasted at all. Thus, the Solar Empress appeared in the Pokemon World, lighting up this relatively dark room. "I'll take that."
With simplicity, Daybreaker easily pushed the People of the Water back, separating them from Carlita. But Carlita still held on, surprising Daybreaker. Carlita was dropped from the air while pulling the crystal closer to her.
"That's enough. You're no match for alicorn magic!" Tempest exclaimed while using her magic to try and pull Carlita away. Now she was being pulled from both sides.
Tempest had a point. Carlita might have the guts to keep the crystal for a bit but eventually, the superior power would overpower her. Knowing this, Carlita put her trust in an equally superior power. Hydreigon.
"H-Hydreigon, help!" She kicked the Poke Ball in Daybreaker's direction, calling for Hydreigon. Kicking it counted as throwing it as the ball had unleashed the Brutal Pokemon.
"HYDREIGON!" After emerging, Hydreigon let out a bellowing roar that caused a wind pressure within the secret room. Daybreaker, Tempest and everyone else had been blown back by Hydreigon's roar. Daybreaker was only slightly pushed back. Not that much.
Carlita took deep breaths while still holding onto the crystal. Thankfully, since the Dragon Force wasn't being used, Carlita felt no burns at all as Hydreigon stared down Daybreaker.
"There's always something in the way, isn't there...?" Daybreaker sighed. "That's fine. It's fine. It's to be expected anyway. Sometimes it can be fun when there's a challenge. Getting the light from that crystal will be more rewarding.
"Keep dreaming. You won't be getting anything from this crystal." Carlita argued before standing up.
"Maybe not that one." Daybreaker shrugged. "But the other crystals are up for grabs, aren't they?"
"I don't think so. Hydreigon, force her back in with Hyper Voice!"
"Hydrei...!" Hydreigon huffed and puffed, ready to use a heightened voice to blow everything away from a massive radius. However, Daybreaker stood there unphased.
That was because Necrozma was there to aid her.
Flying out of the gateway was the Prism Pokemon, arriving just in time to prevent Hydreigon's attack from landing on Daybreaker. "GON!" The Psychic-Type put up his arms, blocking Hydreigon's soundwave with sheer endurance alone.
Not only did he block it but he also ended up reflecting the soundwave back at Hydreigon. The Brutal Pokemon was struck by his own attack as the walls around this secret room trembled. Due to how old and abandoned it was, eventually, it could all come crashing down.
"H-Hydrei!"
"A Pokemon Battle it is!" Carlita uttered, pointing at Necrozma. "Hydreigon, use DragonBreath!"
"Drei!" Hydreigon quickly recovered, unleashing a breath of draconic energy towards the Prism Pokemon. Daybreaker promptly accepted Carlita's challenge.
"Very well then. Dragon Pulse, Necrozma!"
Necrozma retaliated with a similar move. Countering the breath was a shockwave from his hands. The two Dragon-Type moves met upon contact with the walls shuddering once more. The People of the Water could see that this battle between two powerful Pokemon was just bound to ring the whole place down.
And so did Carlita after witnessing one of the pillars crumble due to the explosion of both moves clashing against each other. "It's not safe here right now. We should leave now, Hydreigon!"
"Hydrei!"
"Not before I get that crystal. And what happened to the Pokemon, battle hm?" Daybreaker raised an eyebrow. "Necrozma, Giga Impact!"
Necrozma crossed his arms while coating himself in an invisible aura. Afterwards, he had charged headfirst towards the Dark-Dragon-Type while tearing the ground apart.
"Hydreigon, counter with Flamethrower, quick!"
"Hy-" But it was too late. Necrozma with his amazing speeds had crashed into Hydreigon. And with this powerful impact, Hydreigon was not only sent flying across the room and out of it as well by crashing through the door but everything was crashing down as well.
The People of the Water made a run for it once they saw how everything was crumbling around them. The door didn't need to be open since Hydreigon's flying body had already obliterated it.
As for Hydreigon, he tumbled on the floor after being knocked silly. But that wasn't enough to make him faint. Not a Pokemon as durable as him.
Carlita quickly ran over to Hydreigon's side, only for Necrozma to grab her with his massive claws. Little recharge time was needed for the Prism Pokemon due to the power he had gained earlier.
"L-Let go!" Carlita cried out, kicking and flailing with the walls and ceiling coming down. Unfortunately, flailing and kicking wouldn't do much against Necrozma's powerful grip. Not only did he have Carlita in his grasp, but he also had the crystal too. Just what he needed.
Necrozma began feeding off of the crystal's light, already feeling the Dragon Force. Carlita could see that her struggles were in vain when it came to Necrozma's hold. She also saw the light energy being sapped away by Necrozma. All of that destructive power that has enough force to destroy the planet was being taken.
Carlita couldn't let that happen. Having something as special as this which connects to her people be lifeless wasn't something that she would allow. So, knowing how painful it was for her, Carlita had then decided to use the power of the crystal herself.
Using the Dragon's Light, Carlita's aura was forming. She promptly fought back against Necrozma as the crystal reacted more to Carlita than it did to Necrozma.
Necrozma sensed Carlita's interruption. This displeased him. He wanted the light all for himself due to his massive greed and hunger. Having someone else take the light bothered him.
"This stings...!" Carlita cried out after feeling the immense heat of the Dragon Force. It didn't help that Necrozma was interacting with it too.
There was a duality clash now. Carlita was using the power for protection while Necrozma was for greed. The good and bad parts of the Dragon Force started clashing against each other but due to Necrozma's superior grasp on it, the Dragon Force shifted to the scales of evil.
Carlita closed her eyes, allowing her light to grow even further as Hydreigon finally got up. Her clothes were starting to heat up too but she kept her stubborn nature intact.
But it was hopeless, the Dragon Force, even though it responded to Carlita the most, it was inevitably Necrozma who had the superior control. Thus, the natural green energy of the Dragon Force shifted into the destructive and corrupted purple energy.
The same energy that once flowed through Unova and threatened to destroy the planet had been unleashed. It immediately tore through the floorboards and the already crumbling walls of the room. Carlita was through. Her light had faded as she couldn't keep it up.
Hydreigon quickly flew to Carlita to try and save her, but the Dragon Force got in the way. The Brutal Pokemon was knocked back by the gigantic flow of corrupted energy. Any closer and the results would be catastrophic. "Hydreigon!"
"H-Hydreigon! Don't worry about me!" Carlita cried out. "Just get help!"
"This is more serious than I thought..." Daybreaker's eyes widened as she was not aware of the Dragon Force. She believed that this was just standard light energy. But it was much more than that. She stepped back, seeing that the Dragon Force had almost damaged her. Tempest had also backed away from this destructive power.
Hydreigon wanted to help his trainer desperately. But that blasted Dragon Force said otherwise. Heeding the words of Carlita, Hydreigon went to find help, flying off.
"You stubborn girl. You still won't let go even during this?!" Daybreaker was confused as to why Carlita wouldn't drop the crystal at all.
"I won't let you have it all!" Carlita roared back. But it didn't matter. To both of them. The violent power of the Dragon Force had knocked even Necrozma back. The Prism Pokemon cried out whilst dropping Carlita. "Never!"
Carlita, despite her gutsy nature, could not hold onto it for long. Thus, her grip on it ended. The heat of the crystal overwhelmed her greatly as the secret room was being consumed by the Dragon Force with the floor tearing in half.
"Did you get your fill, Necrozma?" Daybreaker asked as Necrozma nodded. Despite being pushed back, he received a great deal of energy and practically all of it from the crystal. "In that case...we'll take a different route next. Tempest."
"Yes?" Tempest stood up.
"Open a gateway elsewhere. This time in the room where all the crystals can be found. We'll be back soon." Daybreaker ordered before being almost consumed by the Dragon Force. She and Necrozma had jumped back into the gateway.
But before it could close, Daybreaker poked her head through the gateway. She saw that Carlita was passed out on the floor, unable to do anything against the raging energy of the Dragon Force. Feeling some sort of pity for the girl, Daybreaker decided to do something.
She used her mighty magic to grab Carlita off the floor before she could fall into the abyss that had just formed from the Dragon Force. Or worse, being destroyed by the Dragon Force. Without Carlita knowing and only Tempest, Daybreaker saved her life.
Wherever in the temple she could see, Daybreaker carried the girl far away from the secret room. "And get this girl as far away from this energy as possible." She ordered Tempest.
"Oh uh..." Tempest was surprised by this next order. "Yes! Will do!"
But now, a greater threat than Team Plasma, the Solar Empire, Twilight Imperium and even Necrozma was forming. The threat of the Dragon Force.
Due to it being unleashed with a corrupted force, it began tearing through the Sea Temple with no remorse. And while everyone else may be unaware of its presence, eventually, with how visible and voracious it is, they will all soon notice the impending destruction coming this way as the journey continues.
The Dragon Force. The all-powerful energy that surges throughout the Pokemon World alongside other energies such as Aura and Infinity Energy. Normally, the Dragon Force is a power that can create an environment where humans and Pokemon alike can live in harmony. If used wrongly, the Dragon Force becomes cataclysmic and merciless that threatens to destroy the planet and all that live on it.
And this was one of those scenarios where the Dragon Force had been corrupted. Due to Necrozma absorbing energy from the crystal that held the Dragon Force, the corrupted variant was now threatening to destroy the Sea Temple.
Carlita had been placed somewhere safe as of now by Tempest Shadow of all ponies. Mostly due to Daybreaker's order after taking pity on Carlita. But even so, the Dragon Force could not be prevented and Daybreaker was bound to return for the rest of the crystals.
"Hydrei!" Carlita's Hydreigon was told to get some help due to the rampaging Dragon Force that was starting to tear the Sea Temple ever so slowly. The closest person he could warn at this moment was Ash, who was currently in the Treasure Room.
Hydreigon entered the Treasure Room in a hurry, crying out to Ash and everyone else in a frenzy. It is incredibly rare for a Hydreigon to be worried or even afraid due to how powerful and vicious they are.
"Hydreigon? What's wrong?!" Ash turned to the Brutal Pokemon.
"Drei! Hydrei!" Hydreigon blabbered, hoping that Ash or anyone here could understand him. But he had no need to worry. Ash could understand his mannerisms due to personal experiences.
"What happened with Carlita?!" He caught on instantly as Hydreigon lowered all three of his heads. Just as he did so, the temple trembled. But this time, it was because of the Dragon Force.
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon then told Ash to follow him. The Dark-Dragon-Type zoomed off as quickly as he could. Ash could only follow him since this was concerning a friend.
"I'll be right back!" He said to the People of the Water before following Hydreigon. Another rumble passed through, almost knocking Ash and Pikachu off balance as they heard something crumble.
As for the People of the Water, many of them were currently unaware except for the few of them who had seen the Dragon Force emerge. They travelled across the temple with the Warp Points, moving to populated areas.
And the area they ended up in was essentially the safest place in the temple. The same place where the children and most of the People of the Water who were not guards were residing at. Enola included.
All the children were grouped together, not having much to do at the moment due to the current conflict. But very soon everyone would be on the move as Enola noticed the few civilians approaching.
"You're all safe." One of the caretakers of the children said after spotting their arrival. "We were afraid that you had been caught up in the conflict."
"At this rate, we might. All of us will." A man replied. "The Dragon Force is currently on the loose."
"The Dragon Force?!" As if panic wasn't already present, now it had been raised to potentially an all-time high as discussion and gossip of the rampaging Dragon Force was ongoing. And as soon as it was brought up, the temple shook, confirming to everyone that the Dragon Force was indeed rampaging. "H-How did this happen?!"
"That Pokemon by the name of Necrozma is responsible for this! It had somehow corrupted the Dragon Force. Now it shall tear apart the temple with its fury."
"What do we do?" A worried girl uttered with a shaky voice as everyone constantly spoke with a multitude of fears echoing throughout the temple while the rumbling kept occurring each time.
"It's already loose so what is there to do?"
"What does this mean, miss?" Enola tugged on the long skirt of the caretaker as she and the children, while worried, didn't fully understand the severity of the Dragon Force.
"It means um..." She scrunched her face, trying to sugarcoat it for the children as to not worry them too much. "Well, the temple is in danger again as it always has been."
"But this is on a larger scale." A lady replied. "Is there anyone that knows what we can do?"
"Not many if not all. Only King Ash and Prince Manaphy are the highest powers here but...I'm not even sure they know of how to stop the Dragon Force..."
"We don't have any other higher power than just those two. Why is that?" She raised a good question. Apart from Ash and Manapahy, there were no other important figures to be found anywhere.
"We've been light for so many centuries...The only other ranks that remained were the guards but that's as far it goes...We clearly weren't meant to be away for so many centuries. Our temple still needed us for further years and it's only been 17 years or more since we've returned."
"I did not think we were this far behind in time." A man rubbed the back of his head, feeling bewildered as well as everyone else.
"It does not matter if we're low on honorifics and ranks and such." But one older man quickly dismissed that worry. "It's not all hopeless. There is another way to protect ourselves."
"How?"
"The Dragon Force won't just eat away at the temple but the sea itself. Our best option is to flee to somewhere else without having the sea currents take us. It's about time we used our new invention."
"We're leaving somewhere else so soon?" Enola said.
"This part of the sea is too dangerous to be around. If we don't act fast, the Dragon Force will rip us all apart. I'm afraid there is not much we can do against the Dragon Force. Not us anyway. Only a descendant of the People of the Vale can. Carlita is our hope to fix this."
"Carlita!" A lady hit her face. remembering where Carlita was. "She's still at the secret room! The Dragon Force might've taken her! We left in a hurry since everything was falling down!"
"That raises some problems. It might be too late to stop the Dragon Force so leaving here is our only-"
"It's not too late!" Enola exclaimed. "King Ash never gave up hope when he saved our temple so I won't either!"
"Alright. We hear you, young one." The caretaker patted Enola on the head. "We won't lose hope. We can hurry to her before the Dragon Force can do the worst If it hasn't already."
"In the meanwhile, we'll have to start taking the temple somewhere else. Let's hope that something can at least be done to stop the flow of the Dragon Force."
Some of the people would head back for Carlita while everyone else was in agreement of moving the temple away from this sea. The Dragon Force does impinge the entire planet after all.
And it was certainly affecting the seas at the moment. The debased Dragon Force flowed out of the temple and right towards the sea, damaging and ripping it apart.
Automatic tsunamis were being formed in this have. And the closest location was Humilau City, making the population of 32 people in danger of perishing from these unusually mighty tsunamis. That involved the Grand Equestria and the Sunstorm as well.
Luna had just arrived underwater after helping out on the surface. However, while heading off to help the rest of her friends, she had witnessed the blustering and ruthless Dragon Force moving through the sea.
"What in my sister's name is that?!"
Meanwhile, Jackie was currently moving across the temple, making sure to keep his footing despite every rumble that was ongoing. Jackie ran up a spiralling staircase, and with this height, he was free to perceive the Dragon Force. His first time seeing it as well.
"What the?!" He could only yell at the sight of this energy. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking at but it was easy to understand that it was deadly. As seen by how it tore apart multiple pillars in one line. "Geez. What did I miss?" He said to himself.
Jackie only had one destination. The Treasure Room. And that only made sense since that was where the most power was. The best place to be at was the richest.
However, he had to be quick as the Dragon Force had expanded, reaching the stairs. A good chunk of it had been ripped apart and consumed by the Dragon Force, reduced into nothing.
While a majority of the people knew about the rampaging Dragon Force, most of the guards did not as they were too busy helping to try and stop the current attack on their temple. However, they were less physical than expected. They mainly stood afar instead of getting up close and personal.
The guards and the People of the Water, in general, were not violent at all Even after making all these weapons, their instinct to go to battle is on the same level as a Chansey. In short, not that high. But they could still provide support.
In the meanwhile, Ash, Pikachu and Hydreigon were off searching for Carlita. But they wouldn't have to search for long as they came across her. Carlita had been placed near one of the many stairs of the temple, laying there unconscious.
"Carlita!" Ash cried out before helping her up from the floor. Thankfully, the Dragon Force hadn't consumed her. And that was all thanks to Tempest Shadow and to an extent Daybreaker. "Hey! Carlita!"
"Pikachu!"
"Hydreigon!"
After having her name called out, she was gaining consciousness at last. She Hydreigon, Ash and Pikachu staring at her, befuddled after what took place prior. "You three..."
"What happened?" Ash asked.
"It's the Dragon Force.." Carlita held her head before standing up.
"The Dragon Force?" Ash remembered about the Dragon Force. Right as he spoke about it, he and the others saw an erupting burst of purple energy obliterate a nearby wall as the ferocity of the Dragon Force was only growing each passing second. "It's here?!"
"Pikachu?!"
"N-Necrozma tried absorbing it and it ended up being a struggle between us. That's how all of this happened." Carlita stammered. "I couldn't use that well to try and protect everyone and stop Necrozma. I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
"Hey, don't worry about it. We can fix this." Ash smiled to keep up reassurance. "For now let's-"
"Pika-Pikachu!" But interrupting Ash's words was Pikachu as he had spotted someone important. Pikachu hopped on Ash's shoulder, pointing to the west. By turning their attention, they had spotted the moving figure of Tempest Shadow.
Tempest was on the move, searching for the Treasure Room still while also making sure to avoid any form of the Dragon Force. The unicorn, hopping from one platform to another, noticed Ash and the others gazing at her. "Tempest!"
Tempest didn't reply. She just had a cocky smirk before lunging to the next platform. Despite the crystals from the Treasure Room not giving off any high amounts of light due to zero usage, Tempest could still track down their presence. Active or not.
Another tremor came through as the nearby walls were split open, revealing other rooms that had been damaged by the Dragon Force. It was back to the Treasure Room for a second time. This time, hoping to beat Tempest there.
But, of course, also looking for the Treasure Room was Colress and his posse of Magneton that he flew next to. Still riding his hovering vehicle, the scientist of Team Plasma had approached Ash and the others.
"Hello again, Ash," said Colress. "Would you be so kind as to lead me to the Treasure Room? You're familiar with this place, aren't you?"
"Pika! Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu roared at Colress.
"Now's not the best time. Can't you see that the Dragon Force is tearing everything apart? All of us, everyone's gonna be caught up in this." Ash only focused on how the Dragon Force threatened everyone's lives. Good or evil.
"I see that. This Dragon Force. I heard about it from folklore stories. Never thought it was real. But, even if it destroys this temple, as long as we get the crystals and escape, that's a mission complete in our book. And as a bonus, hopefully, I can get a piece of that Dragon Force."
"You can't!" Carlita rejected. "The Dragon Force is only for us the descendants of the People of the Vale! You can't use it and there's no chance of you even getting it."
"Hah! If you ever give a scientist the benefit of the doubt, there's a good chance they'll prove you wrong!" Colress chuckled as the Magneton started swarming Ash and the others.
"Mag! Magneton!" After swarming them, on all sides they had used Flash Cannon to attack.
"Pikachu, spin with Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu could counteract that. He leapt off of Ash's shoulder before getting on his back. He then unleashed Thunderbolt while spinning, creating a frantic frenzy of 100,000 volts that flew everywhere. The chaotic bolts had blocked the Flash Cannon assault entirely while also shocking the Magneton as well.
"Mag!"
"Hydreigon, Flamethrower!"
"Hydrei...Gon!" Hydreigon then went next. Once the Magneton were staggered by the Thunderbolts, Hydreigon then dealt greater and super-effective damage by using Flamethrower. He had also mimicked Pikachu's spinning but an average variation of it.
By the combined might of Thunderbolt and Flamethrower, the Magneton had been knocked away and taken out just like that. But that didn't surprise Colress that much as he already had another one of his Pokemon emerge. He shot out two Poke Balls from his vehicle as it had sent out his Magnezone and Metagross.
"Magnezone!" Upon appearing, the Magnet Area Pokemon had used Hyper Beam, unleashing it towards Hydreigon. Hydreigon had been hit whilst the surrounding area was an explosion that almost knocked Ash, Carlita and Pikachu away.
"Iron Tail, go!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu moved through the smoke that was made from Hyper Beam, striking Magnezone with an overhead Iron Tail.
"Z-Zone!"
"Hydreigon! Retaliate with Flamethrower!"
"Dreigon!" Hydreigon got his revenge, unleashing Flamethrower. But Metagross was still an issue.
"Metagross, Hammer Arm!"
"Metagross!" Metagross, moving at surprisingly swift speeds, had interrupted Hydreigon's Flamethrower with a swift Hammer Arm to the chest.
"H-Hy!" Hydreigon staggered from that. However, that wasn't enough to stop the Brutal Pokemon as he had used Flamethrower either way. Metagross had been burnt by a potent blast of fire, taking super-effective damage as well.
"M-Meta!
"Thunderbolt!" Both Ash and Colress said. At the same time, Pikachu and Magnezone had both used Thunderbolt, sending out 100,000 volts. The bolts of electricity met, creating an equal reaction before imploding on each other.
"I could be at the Treasure Room right about now!" Colress then made his vehicle shoot out a Kling Klang and a Rotom-Wash Form for extra assistance. As for Colress himself, he was heading for the Treasure Room, hovering off.
"Ash!" Carlita put her hand on Ash's shoulder. "You go on ahead after him. Hydreigon and I will take care of things from here."
"A-Are you sure? That's a huge number difference, Carlita!"
"Pika!"
"Numbers don't mean anything to the power of a Dragon-Type. Besides, you're the one who put a lot of faith in me to come along, weren't you?" She gave a thumbs-up as Hydreigon tried doing the same. But he didn't have thumbs so all he could was have his headarms stick their tongues out.
"Hydrei."
"Gotcha. Do your best Carlita."
"You got it! Hydreigon, Hyper Voice!"
"Hy...DREI!" Hydreigon bellowed, creating a potent soundwave that affected his opposing Pokemon. Colress' Pokemon staggered from this mighty shout as it allowed Ash and Pikachu to move ahead. They had passed the Steel-Types and the only Water-Type scot-free.
"Now, Flamethrower!"
"Hydreigon!" After staggering them and allowing Ash and Pikachu to run ahead, Hydreigon had then sprayed the opposing Pokemon with scorching flames. They would all have to deal with him and Carlita.
As for Ash and Pikachu, despite Colress using his vehicle to travel faster, the two of them were fairly quick in their own right, especially Pikachu. They kept pace as Pikachu had used Quick Attack, moving at blinding speeds to catch up with Colress.
"Pika!" Pikachu had tackled Colress' vehicle with Quick Attack, making shake a bit.
"Huh?! Colress gasped, swivelling to see the duo. "That fast?!"
"Colress!" Ash jumped onto a crumbling platform, using that to boost himself upwards before it could fall apart. With his impressive athleticism that he's shown time and time again, Ash had jumped high enough to just barely cling onto the back of Colress' vehicle.
Colress was genuinely surprised. He knew Ash was persistent but not to this extent. Even jumping this high to reach his vehicle was shocking. Colress stepped on Ash's fingers to try and force him off. All the while, the Dragon Force was overtaking the temple. Ash didn't budge even with his fingers being damaged.
The Treasure Room by now was close as Pikachu kept avoiding crumbling rubble and platforms to keep up with the vehicle. He used Quick Attack with every chance he could get.
"There's such a thing as being too stubborn!" Colress growled, holding out one final Poke Ball, sending out his Beheyeem as his final Pokemon.
"Beheeyem!"
"Psychic!"
"Beheeee!" Beheeyem easily removed Ash off of the vehicle by raising him.
"W-Woah!" Ash cried out.
"Heeyem!" Afterwards, Beheyeem had launched Ash far into the distance by causing Psychic to have a knockback. The Psychic hold had ended as Ash was now hurling throughout the air, further away from Colress and the Treasure Room.
"Pikapi!"
"Excellent work! Now, let's keep moving!" Colress uttered before accelerating his vehicle with Beheeyem keeping up. As for Pikachu, he went after Ash to see if he was okay.
"I hope you've still got some fight left in you...!" But Ash had an answer to this. Despite most of his Pokemon being out, there was one who was exempt. "Gengar! I choose you!" He threw the Poke Ball, unleashing the Shadow Pokemon.
"Gengar!"
"G-Gengar! Psychic!"
"Gen!" Just like what Beheeyem did to Ash but in reverse. Gengar turned to its Trainer with a mighty gaze of blue covering his eyes. Afterwards, the Ghost-Poison-Type had put a telekinetic hold around Ash Ketchum, grabbing him before he could go any further.
Gengar then brought Ash to him, not only saving his life but allowing Ash to have a floating ride in the process. Gengar was big enough to support Ash, allowing him to sit on Gengar's back. "Than's buddy. Now, after those two right there!" Ash pointed to Colress and Beheeyem.
"Gengar!" Gengar did just that. And as an amazing bonus, Gengar was not only fast enough to keep up with the vehicle but also even outpace it. He zoomed ahead, moving at breakneck speeds while easily catching up to Colress.
"!" Colress was shocked to see that Ash made such a swift recovery. "Again?! What is with you?!"
"Let's do this! Gengar, Shadow Ball!"
"Gen-Gen!" Gengar then formed one Shadow Ball with his hand before passing the vehicle in a flash. After passing it, he formed a second Shadow Ball. Once in front of the vehicle, Gengar had thrown the two blobs of shadows, striking Beheyeem with them both.
"B-Behee!"
"Night Shade!"
"Gar!" Gengar followed up with Night Shade afterwards, sending black and red bolts from his eyes that struck the Psychic-Type for more super-effective damage.
"H-Heeyem!"
"How annoying!" Beheeyem, Psychic!"
"Be!" Beheyeem recovered after that assault of super-effective hits, retaliating. Gengar was just as vulnerable due to being a Poison-Type.
"Use Psychic as well!"
"Gengar!" Both Gengar and Beheyeem used Psychic at the same time. The result was both of them holding each other with telekinetic holds. They reached a stalemate with both sides unable to move.
"No good, huh? Then use-" Ash's words when Colress pulled a sneak attack. He had bashed the vehicle at Ash while he wasn't looking.
Ash had been struck by this hunk of metal, falling off of Gengar. And with the area they were around, there was barely any ground. Only water. "Oh!"
"Gen!" Gengar gasped which made him lose his Psychic hold. That allowed for Beheeyem to fully pull off Psychic due to these underhanded attacks Gengar had been blown back, crashing into a wall afterwards. "Gar!"
As for Ash, he fell into a nearby water area, making a large splash. He was now even further away. Just what Colress wanted as he and Beheeyem continued on their way. "That should keep him occupied. I know he won't give up, that much is guaranteed."
"Beheeyem!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu had finally caught up. But he was too late to join in on the action and help. However, he did see Ash fall into the water after that tackle from Colress' vehicle. "Pikapi! Pikachu!" He cried out for Ash as Gengar was slumped in the corner.
Within the water, Ash was still confounded after the tackle. He fell into fairly shallow water while instinctively holding his breath. Ash then recovered before bumping into some rubble.
This wasn't enough to slow him down. He was still pumped up to head back out there and reach the Treasure Room as soon as he could. However, something got in his way.
The Dragon Force.
It had found its way on this part of the water, erupting in front of Ash. Ash made a silent gasp before also noticing the Dragon Force appear behind him. It was safe to say that it was no longer gradually moving. Now it was rapidly moving and if something wasn't done, it could keep spreading.
The Dragon Force had also appeared beside Ash, essentially on every angle at this point. Ash wasn't sure of what to do in this scenario so far. All of his Pokemon were elsewhere. However, he hadn't given up hope. Thinking of what to do, the Dragon Force when through another violent eruption. This time, one that had blasted Ash away.
Ash closed his eyes as the shockwave from the Dragon Force had blown him back, further growing the distance between him and the treasure room. Ash put his arm out as the view of the deep blue sea had been layered by the corrupted energy of the Dragon Force.
Ash swam up as fast he could go catch some air. He managed to do so, only to be blown back by the Dragon Force once more as the seas trembled. Ash went back underwater, this time, getting closer to the outside of the Sea Temple.
Meanwhile, the People of the Water were ready to move the temple. And with great timing as the sea was starting to be engulfed on all sides. Their invention allowed them to move this behemoth of a building as it had begun.
This also required the power of the crystals as well. While one group stays in the Treasure Room, another group works on the invention. And with a lever being pulled and with the power of the crystals, the process had begun. The temple was being covered in a golden light.
This light was bright enough to even overshadow the purple energy from the Dragon Force. Even if for a moment. Even with the temple crumbling, they could at least move it away from the Dragon Force with what they had.
Just like that, with the amazing power of the crystals, the temple was starting to move. Like a rocketship taking off, it was slow at first with the ocean trembling. Even the people at Humilau City felt this. So far, everyone involved with this situation was within the temple.
All except for the ponies on the Grand Equestria and Sunstorm plus Ash, who had just been blasted away by the devastating Dragon Force. A water veil covered the Water Temple for protection as the view of something massive was coming on the horizon.
Since it was the late afternoon, the moon complimented the temple, especially when it emerged. Sparkles surrounded the water veil as the ponies on both ships and the air plus the Pokemon had witnessed the rise of the Sea Temple.
They all stopped what they were doing to look at the arrival of the temple and how it carried the sea with it. The Water Veil then dispersed, causing beautiful droplets that sparkled to fall. Not only was it moving upwards, but the light around the temple would also grant amazing speeds. Almost akin to lightspeed travel.
However, this would all be disrupted by the arrival of Tempest Shadow. She had sensed the usage of multiple crystals, leading her to this room. "Aha! Now, this is more like it!"
"!" The People of the Water were startled. Their focus could be blown off course with Tempest's arrival. With Tempest here, she wasted no time and had used the Travel Sphere.
It was time for Necrozma to make his second appearance. And to make it closer, Tempest had summoned the gateway right next to the gateways. The booming sound had thrown some of the people off balance while knocking them back. Due to this disruption, the power of the crystals was starting to diminish with focus slipping.
Hearing the loud boom caused Colress to follow that noise. Judging by how he heard a gateway, that was good news to his ears as he accelerated the vehicle.
With the gateway appearing, so did the visage of Daybreaker with that same terrifying grin. The People of the Water started panicking as one of the worst-case scenarios was coming to life. Necrozma's face also showed up as he was already out of his Poke Ball.
Daybreaker witnessed the number of crystals as she nodded in approval. Necrozma also liked what he was seeing. It all seemed ripe for the picking.
"See? Only took a few obstacles," said Tempest to Daybreaker.
"At least you did it. You're free to take it all now, Necrozma."
"It's that Necrozma creature!" A lady pointed at the Prism Pokemon. "From before! Just like how his majesty described!"
"Have no fear." The slightly older man said. "They will not take our precious light. No one will and ever has."
"Well let me be the first. From another world too." Daybreaker winked as Necrozma passed through the gateway. However, this time, they were ready for the Prism Pokemon. They knew to retaliate against Necrozma as some Water-Types stood in his way.
"It's not safe here. Let's drive this Pokemon back to that world and leave at great speeds." The old man.
"Great speeds?" Daybreaker and Tempest said collectively. That was when the People of the Water tightened their focus even further. And by doing so, they used more power from the crystals to help them in this endeavour, allowing the light to radiate some more.
But that was just a feeding ground for Necrozma. Even with all of the Water-Types in his way, Necrozma had used Prismatic Laser to deal with them. Out of his body, an abundance of lasers shot out in every direction rapidly.
The opposing Water-Type Pokemon tried fighting back against it, only to be met with failure as the lasers tore through their Water-Type attacks. The lasers even attacked the Treasure Room as the People of the Water started screaming.
Their lives were in danger of these lasers, thus, their focus had been cut. Due to this cut focus, the power of the crystals went awry. The process of leaving this part of the area was already initiated but the completion was disrupted.
Thus, the lightspeed travel that they spoke did happen, but not correctly. Everyone heard the sound of something speeding up, ready to take off. That was the sound of the temple.
"What is all of this?" Tempest wondered as the room was getting brighter all of a sudden.
"It's all unstable now!" A lady gasped. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
"Meh." Daybreaker shrugged as she stepped out of the gateway. "Doesn't matter. As long as Necrozma gets his fill."
Truly, this interruption had led to a series of unfortunate events. And one more was due. The light had fully enveloped it so much that all that could be seen was light. And with the same speed as light, the temple had travelled, disappearing from the area.
It was gone. Complete lightspeed travel.
But it was now on the loose with no direction whatsoever. Those on the Grand Equestria and Sunstorm couldn't help but wonder. They had no idea what had just happened.
But next to this disaster was Ash, who had not been taken along. He was currently still in the sea while the temple was out there somewhere. Lost and with no sense of direction as the journey continues.
Lilycove City was as lively as ever during the late afternoon even. Many went about their day or were even ready to end the day off in this bustling city. However, all was not what it seemed.
Not that the city was odd but what was coming towards the city that was odd. Something gigantic and larger than it as well. And that would be the Sea Temple, Samiya.
Moving at light speed due to its travelling capabilities, this gigantic temple was moving out of control without a clear sense of direction. Once it showed up in a golden flash, the temple started falling.
The people in Lilycove started gasping after seeing the falling temple. Many of them backed away, running as it was near the land. Luckily, the temple only dropped at the sea but it was right near the port too, nearly hitting nearby boats.
It made a colossal splash, causing the nearby boats to fly and a tidal wave to appear. The tidal wave stormed onto Lilycove City, threatening locations such as the Pokemon Fan Club, Cove Lily Motel, Lilycove Museum and more. Thankfully, the tidal wave didn't get too far, but it certainly splash onto a few houses in the process.
After the initial splash, the temple found a balance within this part of the sea. However, even with this balance, there was still an issue. The corrupted Dragon Force. Even after using lightspeed travel, albeit uncontrolled, the Dragon Force remained either way in the temple.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Dragon Force was still out there in the seas of Unova near Humilau City, eating up the ocean with its destructive fury.
Within the temple, the fighting had promptly stopped once the Sea Temple crashed into the sea. However, they all recovered afterwards. The People of the Water felt confounded and on the verge of fainting from all the overwhelming action that had occurred.
"Hm. Was that supposed to do something?" Daybreaker said to the People of the Water. Necrozma and her were unaffected by the sudden light speed travel despite how overwhelming it may be. No one from the People of the Water responded to Daybreaker's words. "Oh well. Necrozma."
Necrozma then approached the crystals, ready to absorb all of their light. And after using the destructive Prismatic Laser to obliterate parts of the room around everyone, many Pokemon had fainted from the Prismatic Laser. The Prism Pokemon was free to absorb the light.
And that is what he did. He spread his arms out, causing his body to act like a black hole. The almighty light from the crystals were flowing into Necrozma's crystalline body as he was essentially eating a buffet.
When feeding on it, Necrozma felt an unusual sensation. One that he has never felt before. The light radiating from these crystals was so wonderful that Necrozma felt a rush of enjoyment and all-time greed upon absorbing it. At this point, the Prism Pokemon was mad for these crystals as he wanted to absorb nothing else but them.
With the crystals losing some of their power, what happens many years ago was about to happen once more. A flood. Immediately, water started emerging across the temple, threatening to flood and drown everyone within the temple. Without the rest of their power, the temple was essentially prone to complete and utter destruction.
"Don't you worry." Daybreaker spoke to them once more. "We'll just take the light and be out of your ha-"
However, while the People of the Water seemed helpless right now, in came Princess Luna, sending a ray of magic that flew through one of the many holes made by Necrzoma's Prismatic Lasers.
Necrozma was hit, staggered by that attack. He didn't see it coming at all as he was knocked away from the crystals, rolling on the floor. Daybreaker, Tempest and Colress' attention was soon turned to the arrival of the other alicorn.
"Is everyone okay?!" Luna asked after showing up indoors. She took a moment to observe the scene around her, seeing the utter destruction. And this destruction would only continue with the Dragon Force.
"The Dragon Force..." A lady said, sitting up. "It's still ongoing, ripping everything apart."
"Is that what that thing was?" Luna replied. Since she arrived here, the one who got the biggest reaction from her appearance was Daybreaker.
Seeing Luna here reminded the Empress of her world's Luna. A Luna who was long gone in a tragic way. Daybreaker paused for a moment as it had truly been a long time since she's seen Luna right in front of her. Princess Luna then soon turned to Daybreaker immediately.
"Daybreaker," Luna spoke with a serious tone as Daybreaker snapped out of it. She then remembered that this was not her world's Luna. It was another.
"A little too late, Luna," Daybreaker smirked. "Necrozma's already gotten his first fill. "Still needs more. Don't you, Necrozma?"
"Not while I'm here." Luna got in front of the pedestal of crystals. "Ash and everyone else are working hard to make sure that you do not succeed at all costs."
"Hah. And what are you going to do when all of the crystals lose their light? Necrozma's off to a great start. Who knows how much he's taken?"
"She raises a good point..." One of the people spoke, alerting Luna. "The crystals and their light. If taken, there is little chance for them to be restored..."
"Little!" Luna exclaimed. "That means there is a chance! We just have to keep that chance. As for me, I shall do my best to keep Necrozma away from the light."
"How are you going to do that with us here?" Tempest stepped forward while Colress hovered with his vehicle. Indeed, Luna had major threats getting in her way. Ranging from Necrozma, Tempest Shadow and Colress. And to an extent, Daybreaker as well.
"Do your worst. I'm far greater than I was before." Luna scoffed as she exuded a magical aura of dark blue and red that was fairly intimidating. Daybreaker then recognized this as Lunar Ire's magical aura. She could see that Luna had received full control of Sorrowful Rage Magic, altering it.
However, despite this staredown, something got in the way. The Dragon Force. It had ripped right into the Treasure Room, right in the middle of the two groups. And from the looks of it, even when moving away from the seas that were corrupted by the Dragon Force, it was still spreading.
Luna jumped back as the People of the Water all backed away in the corner. The Dragon Force ripped apart the Treasure Room, splitting it in half. Luna put a magical shield around the People of the Water, keeping them safe.
Despite the destruction, Necrozma still wanted more of the light. He approached the crystals with his arms out. Luna quickly intercepted by flying forward. Necrozma didn't want anything to interrupt his meal, so upon getting closer, the Prism Pokemon had used Brick Break, hitting Luna up-close.
"Ugh!" Luna cried out as she was whacked away by Necrozma's gigantic claws. Luna recovered by sliding on the ground, however, she did not advance as the Dragon Force emerged.
The Princess of the Night had then instinctively avoided an incoming magic ray from Tempest by swaying her head. On all sides, she was prone to danger. But, after Tempest unleashed her magic ray, the Dragon Force erupted behind her as well.
"Hope I don't make a suggestion but..." Tempest spoke, backing away from the Dragon Force. "Can we do this another time? This Dragon Force thing looks like a big deal."
"You raise a good point." Daybreaker nodded. "Don't want to risk our chances being destroyed in this thing. We'll just grab all of them and go. Necrozma."
Necrozma was clearly being told to return to the other world as that was the best way to avoid the Dragon Force and the incoming flood. But the greed for the crystals was immense. So much so that despite the utter destruction, he was still focused on the crystals.
"Necrozma!" Daybreaker cried out, trying to reach him. But Necrozma only focused on the crystals. He kept drawing light from it as a ferocious tsunami burst through the walls.
Tempest had almost been taken by this tsunami while Daybreaker evaporated the water with her flames. But another tsunami was creeping up along with a constant Dragon Force rampaging through the temple. "Necrozma, Return!" She held out the Ultra Ball to try and recall the Prism Pokemon.
However, Necrozma had suddenly slapped the Ultra Ball out of Daybreaker's magical hold, rejecting to go back. Not until he had all of the delicious light from the crystals. Daybreaker was shocked by Necrozma's refusal but not surprised by his greed.
"Is your greed really that immense?" Daybreaker gawked before being almost caught by the Dragon Force. She then hopped back into the gateway for safety. "Fine. Absorb it all and then return to me."
"Everypony! Out now!" Luna decided to put the people first. She grabbed them all with her with magic, carrying them outside of the Treasure Room as Colress immediately retreated by flying out of the temple room.
Daybreaker had closed the gateway to her universe which was poor timing on Tempest's part as she was aiming to leave via gateway as well.
"Hey! You forgot about-" She roared before falling through a destroyed floor. The Dragon Force had obliterated the floor beneath her, causing the unicorn to start falling.
The Treasure Room at this point was lost. Being attacked by both a ferocious tidal wave and the Dragon Force. The crystals included. The pedestal that originally held the crystals had been split in half by the Dragon Force. However, the crystals were undamaged as they only fell out, carried away by the tidal wave.
But Necrozma remained either way. He saw the crystals escaping with the rapid flow of the tidal wave as he chased them down instantly. He managed to grab 2 crystals but the rest had gained a great distance. Even still, this would not stop Necrozma's pursuit.
Like a giant sword, the Dragon Force had split more rooms in half before attacking more than just structures. As Colress hovered away, his vehicle had been grazed by the Dragon Force, destroying parts of it. The Dragon Force was now going for everything else.
And within its line of fire, this time was the Plasma Frigate. The corrupted Dragon Force made its way there rapidly, striking the frigate. Many of the remaining grunts inside of it made a run for it once they saw the Dragon Force approaching. However, upon touching the Plasma Frigate, the Dragon Force, in some irony that Necrozma never did, had shut off the power from the frigate via disruption.
Many of Colress' inventions had been powered down and overloaded by the Dragon Force's Aura. Including the Travel Spheres inside. The Dragon Force and the Rift Energy exuding out of the Travel Spheres created an odd collision. These two potent energies reacted violently as the material that held the Rift Energy couldn't handle this reaction.
Thus, the Travel Spheres combusted. But that wasn't the only disruption. The Legendary Pokemon that were being imprisoned with the Frigate were involved. Their Ultra Balls fell to the floor as the Dragon Force raged on, finally splitting the Frigate.
Meanwhile, Pikachu looked over at the ledge, waiting for Ash to return. "Pikapi..." He cried out his name. But there was nothing. Ash wasn't coming up. Mostly because he was in a different region alone and deep underwater.
"Gengar..." Gengar started worrying himself as well. It wasn't common for a Ghost to worry but when they do, circumstances become dire. They waited, holding out hope for Ash to show up.
However, due to their focus on the body of water over the ledge, this led them to be vulnerable to whatever came their way. Including a tidal wave plus massive rubble that was a part of it. The rubble flew out of the wave, threatening to hit them both.
"Lu!" But they had been saved. By two groups. Lucario, who had blasted the rubble into smaller pieces and Luna, who had manipulated the tidal wave with her magic, moving it away while also having the People of the Water beside her.
"Pika?!" Pikachu gasped before realizing how close he was to being harmed without him knowing. Gengar included. Luna had also reunited with Darkrai and the rest of her Pokemon after a while thankfully.
"Pikachu! Gengar! Are you two alright?! Where is Ash?!" Luna gave a barrage of questions as the People of the Water stayed close to her.
"Pikapi..." Pikachu pointed over the ledge, aiming at the body of water. But instantly, that body of water had been split apart by the Dragon Force, startling everyone.
"The King hasn't been seen as of recently?!" A lady gasped along with many others. With how things were, they couldn't handle bad news after bad news back to back.
"Let's not panic again." But Luna stopped them from gaining more worry. "Even if he's not present around us, he has to be somewhere. Lucario. Can you please search for Ash's Aura?"
"Lucario." Lucario could do just that. He put his paw on his chest before allowing his Aura to flow. Due to how expansive the temple was, Lucario could sense millions of Auras.
Many good while some evil. He searched in even the destroyed areas that the Dragon Force had ravaged, even sensing the crystals. However, as he kept searching, Lucario was shocked to find that Ash was nowhere near the temple. His Aura could search even a large building such as this but even still, Ash's Aura was missing.
Then, Lucario went further, seeing if he could find anything. He growled, struggling to have his Aura move ahead. He wasn't used to going this far with it.
"Let me help you." But Luna was here to help. She had used her magic, touching Lucario's back. With the power of Lunar Ire, Luna not only linked with Lucario's Aura sense but also heightened it, giving it an extra oomph. This allowed Lucario to search beyond Lilycove City.
Rapidly moving across the seas of Lilycove City. Lucario felt the Aura from the seas of Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova. Nothing in Hoenn. Nothing in Sinnoh. But something Unova.
Ash's Aura could be found there. However, it was then discovered that Ash was underwater in the seas of Unova. He never came along with the lightspeed travel. He was out there, trapped with the Dragon Force.
"Lu!" Lucario gasped after sensing Ash's Aura signature. It was starting to fade away. Luna sensed it too as she and Lucario were shocked. The Aura was responding to Ash's life signature as it had then gone out. The Dragon Force had covered the Aura signature.
"Ash..." She uttered silently as tears were starting to form.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu was waiting for an answer, hoping that Ash was okay. But judging from how Luna's eyes met with the floor, it wasn't looking good. "Pikachu..."
Disrupting this silent moment was a tremor, followed by the Dragon Force. The Dragon Force roared with the equal ferocity of a Dragon as the entire temple was finally caught by this raging force.
Not only that but it now threatened Lilycove City as the tidal waves, earthquakes and the Dragon Force were about to give this city an unpleasant time. All the while, Necrozma was still hungering for more.
Shining Armor's Aegislash tried using King's Shield to block the Dragon Force but it was no use. Thus, everyone was forced to move somewhere else to avoid this corrupted energy.
Tempest had managed to withstand that sudden collapse beneath her. However, the Travel Sphere had been damaged, lowering her chances of returning home. But not entirely. She groaned, tossing the now destroyed Travel Sphere aside as she had a backup.
She teleported to the location of the Plasma Frigate, hoping to snag a quick Travel Sphere. However, it was soon discovered that the Plasma Frigate had suffered some damages from the Dragon Force. Plus, getting close to the frigate was a terrible idea in general since the Dragon Force leaves a continuous never-ending streak.
"Great. Just great." Tempest growled as she was unable to enter the Plasma Frigate due to the almighty and unstoppable obstacle that was the Dragon Force.
Just like Spitfire, she had an earpiece to communicate with her allies. And she did so in this same scenario as well, reaching from Hoenn to Unova. "Hello? Can you hear me?"
"Oh, you're still around. Seeing that temple travel so fast all of a sudden made me think something destructive had happened." Spitfire replied.
"Yeah, well, something destructive is happening. In every shape and form here. I need a pickup right now. My Travel Sphere's busted. The Plasma Frigate's blocked by this Dragon Force thing. It's not looking too good here."
"Sounds like it. Where are you?"
"Someplace in uh...I don't know honestly. Just see if you can find me okay? Just look for the destructive purple energy moving around you should be good."
"That'll be tricky in its own right. There's this weird light following us and the Grand Equestria's being a massive bother right about now. But we'll see if we can make it there." Spitfire then hung up on Tempest as the unicorn as on her own for now.
Meanwhile, the tsunamis had reached Lilycove City as the Dragon Force had grown so violent that even the weather was being affected. Thunder started rumbling with the skies being coloured purple from the Dragon Force's influence.
A colossal tsunami emerged, casting a deadly shadow over the city. At the moment, the coordinators in the Contest Halls had stopped their competition once they witnessed the tidal wave approaching. Those within the Pokemon Fan Club stopped enthusing about their favourite Pokemon for this and more.
From the size of this tsunami, it could do more than just crash on Lilycove City. Lightning also started striking from above due to the weather corruption as many panicked screams filled the city. It seemed that the tsunami would inevitably flood and damage the beautiful Lilycove City as it came crashing down. However, someone was there to stop it.
And that someone was Gardevoir. Specifically, Passion's Mother who still lives around here. This was her home after all. The Embrace Pokemon appeared via teleportation. Right in the nick of time too.
She put both her arms out, using Psychic to telekinetically hold the gigantic tsunami with all of her might. Gardevoir's amazing Psychic powers were capable of doing that. Any Gardevoir could. However, the Dragon Force said otherwise. Bits f it lurked within the tsunami, forcing Gardevoir to put in extra strength.
"G-Gardevoir...!" She growled, not using her telepathy to speak at the moment as there was no reason to do so. Gardevoir just barely managed to re-direct the tsunami elsewhere, using a majority of her strength.
After redirecting it elsewhere in the far distance, the Embrace Pokemon then panted, feeling overwhelmed. The Dragon Force was overwhelming for any Pokemon really. She then got on her knees before looking over at the Sea Temple and the transformed weather.
Gardevoir could only wonder what was going on.
"Flamethrower!" Meanwhile, Carlita and her Hydreigon had successfully defeated all of Colress' Pokemon. Truly, numbers did not mean a thing against the mighty Dragon-Type. The last Pokemon had fainted which was Rotom-Wash, aka the hardest one to take out. But they did it. "Great work, Hydreigon."
"Hydrei!"
"But..." Carlita then looked at the ongoing carnage within the temple. She still felt guilty for making the Dragon Force become corrupted. She was unable to stop Necrozma even when Ash told her otherwise. "This is still my fault in a way. The People of the Vale haven't used the Dragon Force for so long. Even my brother couldn't properly control it."
"Hydreigon?"
"But that's about to change." She then put on a dedicated expression. "I can fix this. That crystal was made for my people so I can revert everything that's happening. I just need to find that secret room. Come on, Hydreigon!"
"Dreigon!" Hydreigon roared as Carlita hopped onto his back. Luckily, Dragon-Types have great senses including a great sense of smell. It was no Slurpuff but it was effective. Hydreigon had already mesmerized every area that Carlita had been at, recognizing the scent.
He then let his nose guide the way, taking to the air while also avoiding any disasters nearby. Dragon Force included. All the while, Carlita couldn't help but hope that Ash was okay.
Speaking of which, the revelation that Ash was out there in the seas of Unova, deep underwater brought distraught to Luna and the others. Especially Pikachu and all of Ash's Pokemon. The seas of Unova at this point were now corrupted so much that even being there was a disaster waiting to happen. Especially considering the Grand Equestria was there as well.
"Why did you leave him?!" Luna roared at the People of the Water.
"W-We didn't know! Honestly!" A man backed away after Luna bellowed. "The transportation was disrupted by Necrozma! It wasn't meant to be like this! We would never leave his majesty behind!"
"S-Sorry. Sorry." Luna then calmed down, knowing that it was just the heat of the moment. "But I shouldn't lose hope at all for Ash. I never have before." She then went to pick Pikachu up. "And neither have you, Pikachu."
"P-Pikachu." Pikachu whimpered while nodding.
"There is a way to save him..." The slightly older man spoke, stepping forward. "The way we, the People of the Water know how to."
"You do?!" Luna turned to him. "Tell me, quickly! We have to save everypony within the Grand Equestria too! They are still out there!"
"You see...King Ash is still the King of the Sea. Meaning he holds the Sea Crown within his body. The Touchstone between us and the Water Pokemon. All that is needed to do is to have him awaken that power once more."
"Pika!" Pikachu gasped with joy meeting his face.
"Well, quickly then! You know how to do it, right?!"
"That requires the power of the crystals. And the assistance of Prince Manaphy. It might not go the same way it did all those years back when he first saved the temple..."
"It'll have to do. Anything to save Ash and everyone," said Luna. "Manaphy shouldn't be far. He should be with Flurry Heart's Manaphy right now. And the crystals?"
"Necrozma might have absorbed their light, but they still hold amazing power to be used. If we can use at least one of the crystals, it can form that touchstone once more. Even from a completely different region."
"Then we know what to do. Shining Armor. Darkrai. Pikachu. Everyone. Spread out and find Necrozma before something else horrible happens to the crystals." Luna started giving out orders. "Manaphy will be easy to find."
"Yes, your highness!" Shining Armor and the guards saluted.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded along with the rest of the Pokemon.
"And judging from our location, we seem to be in Lilycove City." Luna recognized this city from the background as this was the first area in the Pokemon World she and her sister arrived at when being toured by Ash. "I can get help at this rate."
As for Adagio, she was fairly lost amongst the chaos and confusion. Very few grunts were being seen. Mainly because even the grunts didn't want much to do with this Dragon Force. Plus, their main means of transportation had been damaged as well. The grunts had fled, jumping into the sea for a quick getaway.
By hovering in the air, she had spotted Luna and the others currently on the move. Luna also took the skies as Adagio followed in her general direction. "Princess Luna! What's going on here?!"
"Adagio! I'll have to catch you up on a few things. Right now, I need you to do something for me!
The disaster had reached Hoenn and Lilycove City. But soon, it would threaten the rest of the Pokemon World. However, there were those doing what they could to stop this.
Carlita aimed to reverse the Dragon Force into its natural energy, Luna and the others were set on saving Ash, everypony in on the Grand Equestria and stopping Necrozma too. The fate of every region and this whole world was riding on this as the journey continues.
The Dragon Force continues to attack the land. The Sea Temple had just recently shown up via lightspeed travel, landing at Lilycove's seas. The vicious tsunami that had been made via the Dragon Force had been redirected thanks to Gardevoir. The mother of Passion. However, it was just barely redirected.
Gardevoir stayed outside in case something like that happened again. But she was also curious about the Sea Temple. And so was everyone within Lilycove City.
However, despite the purple weather as a result of the Dragon Force and the fact that everything was coming down, there were those aiming to stop the Dragon Force and Necrozma from absorbing all of the light from the crystals. The crystals were needed to save Ash and allow him to unlock the power of the King once more. Even if he was in an entirely different region at the moment.
"Pika!" Pikachu had used Iron Tail, destroying a large obstacle out of the way as he, the rest of Ash's Pokemon, Shining Armor and the guards were looking for the crystals before Necrozma could absorb all of them. They were also helped by the People of the Water.
The Treasure Room was pointless to be in at the moment due to how the tidal wave and Dragon Force had ruined it plus the inclusion of Necrozma's Prismatic Lasers.
Lucario was leading the way since he could sense the Auras of anyone. And it was fairly easy to sense Necrozma's Aura considering how much light he had absorbed.
They made sure to avoid any hazards that would come their way as their quest to find the crystals led them to the spiralling staircase, which was already breaking apart from the Dragon Force.
Meanwhile, Manaphy was also being searched for. Mainly Prince Manaphy as he could help reignite the King of the Sea. However, after being aware of what was going on, the Manaphy were out searching for their friends instead of playing like they were before. And searching for them were the People of the Water.
Thanks to Lucario, they had found Necrozma. And the Prism Pokemon was currently standing at one of the higher parts of the temple where a raging tsunami resided. There, the crystals could be seen as Necrozma had already sapped the light from two of them. Only a few remained for him to consume.
"There it is!" Shining Armor cried out as everyone finally approached the Prism Pokemon. They entered the room he was in, just making it out of the crumbling spiralling staircase. As for Necrozma, his attention was locked onto Shining Armor and the others once they arrived at this room.
This agitated the Psychic-Type. Constantly, his chance to absorb light has been interrupted by those trying to stop him. Needless to say, the Prism Pokemon despised this and saw anyone who would dare rob him of his chance for endless light as his enemy.
Apart from Daybreaker who seems the be the only one aiming to feed Necrozma.
"Pika...!" Pikachu's red sacs flared out electricity once everyone stood before the Prism Pokemon. A thunderous roar boomed throughout the skies as a result of the Dragon Force changing the weather.
"But still no sign of the crystals," Flash said.
"We can sort that issue out later. As long as Necrozma doesn't get anywhere near the rest of them." Shining Armor replied. "Just keep him away from the other crystals and the People of the Water in general."
Necrozma tossed aside the crystals as their light energy had been expended. Thus, Necrozma was stronger than ever, gaining more absurd amounts of light. As if he needed any more at this point. And with this new light, Necrozma wanted to see how much he had benefited from this absorption.
And it immediately showed once he approached the group. With great speeds as always, the Prism Pokemon appeared in front of Shining Armor, Pikachu and Lucario, ready to him them each with Shadow Claw.
"Pi?!"
"Sirfetch'd!"
"Aegislash!" Thankfully, Aegislash and Sirfecth'd were there to be everyone's shields. The two Pokemon put up their shields, getting in front of the others. Necrozma's giant claws swung onto their shields with a staggering sound coming from the impact. However, despite blocking it, Necrozma overpowered their shields at that moment, knocking the two Pokemon away. "A-Aegis!"
"Sir!"
"Pika?!" Pikachu turned around before facing Necrozma. The Mouse Pokemon snarled, using Iron Tail against the Prism Pokemon whilst Lucario had used Force Palm.
Darkrai assisted, trying to use Dark Void to get a quick sleep on the Psychic-Type. Dark Void was always a reliable option followed up with Musharna's Dream Eater.
However, even with three Pokemon attacking him, Necrozma could handle it. He had used Swords Dance on both of his claws, increasing his attack while also using this strength to grab Pikachu's tail and Lucario's palms. Darkrai moved in, aiming to push the Dark Void into Necrozma.
But the end result was Necrozma swinging both Pikachu and Lucario like ragdolls. He had also used them as weapons, hitting Darkrai with Lucario. Darkrai had been hit by his ally as Necrozma had flung both of them. "L-Luca!" Lucario and Darkrai cried out whilst flying in the distance.
Necrozma them prepared to blast Pikachu with Dragon Pulse, holding the Mouse Pokemon close to his face while Pikachu was dizzy from the spinning. "P-Pika..."
"Pidgeot, use Heat Wave!" Flash Sentry ordered.
"Pidgeot!" Saving Pikachu from being blasted, Pidgeot flapped his wings, sending a wave of flames towards the Prism Pokemon. Necrozma was hit. He had cried out as his grip on Pikachu ended. That gave Pikachu the chance to do something, using Iron Tail once more and delivering a swift slap to the face with pure iron.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu then landed before running back. Necrozma felt confounded by Iron Tail's connection. A hit from that distance and weight would befuddle anyone.
"Florges!" Aiming to help everyone take a hit, Florges had used Flower Shield, increasing everyone's defences in the process. She was the best option for support in this instance plus Musharna to an extent.
"Golurk! Hold Necrozma down!"More than that, the Golurk that belonged to the guards approached Necrozma as well. Their aim was to hold the Prism Pokemon down with restraints. And these Ground-Ghost-Types had the muscle to do so. Plus, it would help Darkrai use Dark Void without any issue.
But as if Necrozma would let that happen. He recovered from his stagger, he had used Brutal Swing, knocking away the incoming Golurk with surprisingly superior strength and overall better speed. "G-Gol!" The Golurk winced after taking super-effective damage.
However, the numbers were still vast as Luna's other Pokemon were helping. In came Xatu and Gliscor, governing the skies along with Pidgeot assisting them.
"Xatu!" Xatu started it off with Air Slash while being assisted by Pidgeot who had used Twister. Gliscor flew in the middle of these two attacks, using X-Scissor. He flew next to a twister of draconic energy and blades of air that could slice even the sky.
And yet this wasn't an issue for Necrozma. In response, Necrozma had personally charged into these attacks. But he did it with Giga Impact, charging headfirst. Necrozma, surrounded by a destructive invisible energy had completely powered through Twister and Air Slash, reducing them into nothing from his raw power.
After breaking through them, he then crashed into Gliscor, overpowering his X-Scissor and knocking the Fang Scorp Pokemon away with this devastating Normal-Type move. "G-Gli!"
However, this left Necrozma vulnerable due to the recharge time of Giga Impact. But for a Pokemon as powerful as Necrozma, little time was needed for him. Even still, this gave other Pokemon a chance.
"Pikachu-Pi!" Pikachu had used Electroweb, forming a massive web of electricity that he had flung. The web had landed on the Prism Pokemon as it was perfectly fit for his size. Once it caught him, it had momentarily trapped him while decreasing his ludicrous speed.
"Now! Go Golurk!" That gave the other Golurk the chance to hold him down. They moved in with their jet boosters, holding their massive hands out. Since they were Ground-Types, they could bypass Electroweb without worrying about any damage. The Golurk had grabbed Necrozma's arms and legs, pinning him to the floor.
"Now's your chance, Darkrai!"
"I know!" In came Darkrai, throwing Dark Void directly at the Prism Pokemon, hoping to end this immediately. Necrozma didn't want his feast to end. So to continue this, he had not only absorbed the light from Electroweb but he had also used Autotomize.
By using this Steel-Type move, the Prism Pokemon was lighter and faster than ever. So fast that he had phased through the Golurk by vibrating his body rapidly. But then again, even without Autotomize, he could already do that. "Lurk?!"
Necrozma had then swayed his body, avoiding the incoming Dark Void but just barely. Dark Void was still fairly swift and without caution, it would be a sure-fire hit. After avoiding it, Necrozma had used the Photon Geyser, throwing a giant pillar from his claws.
The pillar hit the floor, summoning massive photon rays that started tearing everything apart. As if the Dragon Force wasn't already doing that. Some of the Pokemon backed away from the Photon Geyser while others were hit.
"Sacred Sword, Aegislash!"
"Aegislash!" But Aegislash had a response to that. He had sliced the pillars in half with his bladed body before advancing on Necrozma.
"Sir! Sirfetch'd!" Then along came Sirfetch'd, using Detect to avoid the pillars. Afterwards, he had used Fury Cutter, leaping off some rubble for a better height.
Necrozma responded kindly with Swords Dance. He and Sirfetch'd met with claws going up against a mighty leek. However, they would not enter a back and forth clash. Instead, Dracovish would use Water Gun, Darkrai went for Dark Pulse, Aurorus would use Aurora Beam while Gengar used Shadow Ball. But Gengar wanted to be up close with this.
Assisting with that was Florges, who had used Petal Dance. Everything so far was being thrown at the Prism Pokemon just to keep him at bay. And even for the mighty Necrozma, being attacked by so many Pokemon was a struggle in the long run.
"Far!" Seeing that Necrozma was far too distracted with all of them, Farfetch'd found the moment to strike. He swung his leek upwards, striking Necrozma with a super-effective hit. The Prism Pokemon staggered from that as that allowed other attacks to come in.
Necrozma had been struck by Petal Blizzard as sharp leaves pelted and assaulted him with the destructive fury of a harsh blizzard, the wrath of darkness and the flow of water. And more than that, the three attacks merged with the blizzard, creating a mixture of Dark, Water Ice and Grass. The Psychic-Type was being carried away by this elemental blizzard.
"Gen...!" Gengar then zoomed through the air, avoiding the ongoing geysers while holding two Shadow Balls in his hand. With the power of teamwork, Gengar smashed the Shadow Balls onto Necrozma while also phasing through the Aurora Petal Blizzard.
Another super-effective hit as the blizzard had dispersed as well. And yet, it wasn't over. Dragonite huffed and puffed, preparing for a mighty Hyper Beam. And it was worth it. With Necrozma still stunned after that assault of attacks, the Dragon Pokemon had used Hyper Beam. "Dra...Gonite!"
The beam tore through the Photon Geysers, expanding and consuming the Prism Pokemon. Necrozma cried out as the result was the Hyper Beam combusting after its initial hit. A paroxysm emerged with a mighty outburst that blew apart parts of this room.
The team took a moment to catch their breath after that struggle with Necrozma. The smoke was clearing as Necrozma had fallen out of this room from how potent that Hyper Beam was. And yet, despite all of that, the Prism Pokemon did not let up.
But he did crash into some nearby water. He may be strong but he was not invincible. Necrozma, after crashing into the water, growled with sheer agitation and frustration.
In this instance, Necrozma had been taken out for a bit. Even with all of that absorbed light, amazing coordination from Pokemon that have strong bonds with not only their trainers but other Pokemon can be a lot to handle.
Hurling through the water, the Prism Pokemon was ready to get back up there. But whilst thinking that, along came the Dragon Force, erupting and flowing nearby it. Necrozma feared that he would take even greater damage.
The Dragon Force caught the Prism Pokemon the moment he was aware of it, engulfing him. Necrozma, for once, was too slow for that. Necrozma fears were coming true as the overwhelming might of the Dragon Force was damaging to even the ruthless Necrozma. Practically nothing was safe from its wrath.
However, while being damaged by the flames, that's when Necrozma felt something different. This overwhelming malice from the Dragon Force, while dangerous, had something unique about it. Despite it having the power to destroy everything, Necrozma could still feel the previous energy from the Dragon Force. The one that helps the land.
The Prism Pokemon then found out that the Dragon Force has some light energy within it. And it felt unbelievable. This feeling was sublime as Necrozma decided to save himself by absorbing the Dragon Force. It was on par with the crystals from what he could feel. Possibly even greater.
After discovering that he could absorb this destructive power for himself, the Prism Pokemon took this opportunity. And what an opportunity it was as his body was pulsating more than ever. Not only that, but due to Necrozma's absorption and influence, the Dragon Force itself was transforming.
"It isn't over yet," Darkrai said whilst hovering over towards the water. "If I can just put him to sleep then-"
Abruptly, cutting the Pitch Black Pokemon was the emergence of the Dragon Force with a new height. However, this wasn't a typical eruption. This time, Necrozma was behind it as he ascended out of the water, splitting it in half.
The water dispersed as Necrozma had only absorbed the light energy from the Dragon Force but the Dragon Force responded to him in kind. The corrupted purple energy of it had transformed before everyone's eyes. And it became some sort of creature.
Having the purple appearance of the Dragon Force while also baring a face with multiple fangs and even having a head slightly similar to Necrozma's. This manifestation also contained two claws resembling that of Necrozma's as well. This energy creature let out a deeper roar than Necrozma but it was still slightly similar to the Prism Pokemon.
"Enough for one day..." Flash Sentry groaned after seeing this creature. As for Necrozma, he was off to continue finding the crystals. He left this manifested creature to handle everything else.
"This must be his form of a distraction. And it's a very good one too." Shining Armor said.
"Then you handle it." Darkrai pointed at Shining Armor and the guards. "Some of us will go after Necrozma."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu was the first to run off with all of Ash's Pokemon following afterwards. Darkrai, Xatu and Musharna joined, going with Pikachu's group.
"Sure. Leave us to deal with this..." Shining Armor said as the energy roared at them. They had one other issue to deal with before this whole thing could be solved.
Meanwhile, at the lower part of the temple, the People of the Water had gathered together. Along with that, the two Manaphy flocked to the commotion after witnessing everything come crumbling down.
Adagio was currently swimming within the ferocious tidal waves as she was fine to do so. Her siren physiology not only allowed her to live underwater but also manage ferocious seas. It works well with how the sirens are fearsome creatures in general.
While swimming through the raging seas and also making sure to avoid the Dragon Force every step or rather stroke of the way, she found one of the crystals, drifting away. Her eyes had locked onto it as she rapidly swam towards the drifting crystals.
"Mana? Mana?" Prince Manaphy was confused as to what was going on. The same went for Flurry Heart's Manaphy.
"Mana-Mana." She said that she wasn't aware either. Their fun playtime had just been interrupted unexpectedly and now there was this energy ripping apart the temple while a flood was ongoing, threatening not just everyone in the temple but even those at Lilycove City.
"We're all here. We just need a crystal. And that way, his majesty can return." A man said as the pillars were obliterated, causing a loud crashing sound nearby. "Hopefully soon..."
"Just the one crystal is needed and we can save him. However, saving the temple and stopping the Dragon Force is a different story." A lady shook her head. "The Treasure Room is long gone because of this destruction and there is nothing left to place them on. I'm afraid there won't be any temple left after this."
"S-So...where are we gonna go then?" Enola tugged on the dress of the lady. "We can't eave the Sea Temple, can we?"
"If it comes down to it, then we, the People of the Water, will have to leave our temple." An old man grumbled with a lowered head. The rest of the People of the Water weren't fond of this decision. This was their home. And despite all that it has gone through, they have never left it behind. But this could be the day that finally happens.
"What's going on here?" While the People of the Water discussed this possibility, the temple gained one extra visitor as their heads faced the sky.
Levitating here was the mother of Passion. Gardevoir. She came to investigate the scene herself due to how all of this threatened Lilycove City and nearby routes. This whole place was her home after all as she had descended.
"A Gardevoir?" One of the people said.
"You all. Did you do this?" She asked the People of the Water as a staircase nearby had collapsed.
"N-No. We didn't! Honestly!" The old man waved his hands. "This was just the result of a power balance being disrupted. We mean no harm."
"What power balance?"
"This!" Popping out of the sea was Adagio Dazzle. And with her, one of the crystals. She got back on the floor still in one piece as a ray of hope had been formed from her actions. "But we can bring that back, right?"
"Ah! A Crystal!" The People of the Water exclaimed with joy as all their attention of Gardevoir had been focused onto the crystal.
"Excellent work, my little pony." A caretaker of the children went up to her. "This is just what we need. King Ash will be saved and reclaim the power of the king once more and-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Adagio interrupted before giving her the crystal. "Just do it already before we all get destroyed, okay?"
"Right. Everyone. Come together." The caretaker ordered as all of the People of the Water gathered in one spot. The crystal had been placed in the middle of them as they all made a circle. Prince Manaphy joined them, standing in the middle with the crystal as well.
Gardevoir still wanted answers to all of this. Adagio went up to the Embrace Pokemon to keep her from interrupting what was about to occur. "It's best you watch before doing anything."
"They said, King Ash...Do they mean Ash Ketchum?"
"That's who they mean." Adagio nodded, confirming to Gardevoir that these people were on friendly terms. Ash was friends with her daughter Passion. But she was still confused and wanted answers as to why this destruction was happening.
Once together, the People of the Water closed their eyes while joining hands. After doing so, Manaphy could do what he does best. Sing. Singing was a prime power in the Temple of the Sea for certain instances. And this was one of them. By joining hands, they had poured their hopes and wishes into the crystal.
Manaphy started singing the song of the sea as the People of the Water were forming the touchstone between them and the Water Pokemon. Manaphy's eloquent singing expanded with the crystal glowing.
Kricketot couldn't help but sing. So could Adagio. But they resisted, not wanting to disrupt this. The song of the sea was ongoing as its sound echoed throughout the water, solely meant to connect with the Water Pokemon. Near and far.
And it certainly was. The Water Pokemon in Lilycove City and near could hear this beautiful song. Even Trainers that owned Water-Type Pokemon. But this wasn't the goal. The goal was to reach the seas of Unova as well.
Even Necrozma heard this song. But he could only dismiss it. Shining Armor and everyone else heard it too as its beautiful sound drowned out the ferocious roar of the Dragon Force. But it went ahead. Using the full power of the crystals, the song was moving at a larger range.
Unova. Underwater. Nightfall.
Deep underwater the seas of Unova, Ash was still hanging in there. Mostly due to how the Dragon Force affected the seas. By splitting parts of it apart, Ash found areas where he could catch his breath. He poked his head through the split parts, gasping.
"Darn it..." Ash uttered. "I can't get anywhere at this rate...If I could just reach the Grand Equestria..." The Grand Equestria, while not close, was around the area.
Ash was also aiming to try and reach Humilau City. Anything. The split parts of the Dragon Force, while helpful for some air, wouldn't last due to the destructive nature of this energy. "Hey!" Ash yelled, hoping someone could hear him. "Anyone?! Golurk?!"
But there was no response. And as if to insult him, the Dragon Force circled around, heading for Ash. Ash backed away as the Dragon Force almost struck his face. But that wasn't the end of it. A seaquake had occurred.
The sea itself trembled, causing Ash to hurl further away and deeper into the ocean. Ash held his hand out, witnessing the Dragon Force block his view. He was surrounded. But he refused to give up even in a scenario such as this. It didn't exist in his dictionary.
Soon, Ash began feeling the heat of the Dragon Force as well. The raging energy covered the sea from even the surface. It had also closed in on Ash, damaging him gradually.
Ash was starting to lose consciousness from the Dragon Force's energy. But he still held his breath, not choosing to let go. Darkness resided below at the deepest parts of these seas. All form of help was essentially gone at this point since the Water-Types had fled from the Dragon Force.
After that, his eyes had closed as he couldn't focus on holding his breath. Ash then fell into the corrupted energy of the Dragon Force afterwards. Just like everything else, it had consumed him.
That is until a resurgence was made.
Reaching from across the seas of Hoenn, Sinnoh and other regions beyond the edge of Unova's seas. The power of the crystals flowed throughout the seas along with the song. The touchstone between the People of the Water and the Water Pokemon had been revived after many years.
And with this touchstone, the one worthy to hold this power and the crown shall be known as King of the Sea. And the king remained. Within the Dragon Force, a golden flash had occurred. A majestic light burst forth before flying out of the corrupted energy.
This light began moving at lightspeeds, similar to the travel device that existed with the Sea Temple. And once out, this ray of light shot into the night sky, becoming free of the depths. Afterwards, the light had followed the sound of the song, hearing its beautiful melody and the direction it came from.
Hoenn. Lilycove City. Nightfall.
"Well? Did it work?" Adagio asked as she was expecting something grand to happen. But there was nothing.
"We've done it." A lady replied. "It should have worked...hopefully. His majesty should be making his way here."
Breaking through the walls of the temple was Dragonite after being knocked away by Necrozma. Everyone gasped as the Dragon Pokemon tumbled along with Lucario who had also been knocked away.
Necrozma had shown up here. And he had found an area with another crystal. The People of the Water backed away as the Prism Pokemon looked down on them all.
Enola saw the crystal, picking it up from the floor and holding it close to her. She knew it was dangerous but she wouldn't allow Necrozma to take its power.
"What is that?!" Gardevoir gasped.
"The one responsible for all of this," Adagio replied. "If you want to blame someone blame him."
"D-Dragonite...!" Dragonite stood up, flapping her wings as she had flown towards Necrozma. Lucario assisted, hopping on her back. Dragonite and Lucario had combined forces as the Dragon Pokemon used Dragon Claw while the Aura Pokemon utilized Aura Sphere.
"Lu!" Lucario hopped off Dragonite's back, throwing an extra-large Aura Sphere. Helping boost the velocity of Aura Sphere, Dragonite had struck it with Dragon Claw.
Aura Sphere reached an extra speed, crashing into Necrozma. While not delivering super-effective damage, the velocity and impact of Aura Sphere certainly staggered him. That allowed Dragonite to slash the Prism Pokemon with Dragon Claw.
Necrozma retaliated, using Prismatic Lasers. Out of his body, even stronger rays of light shot out from all directions. Dragonite and Lucario, being the closest, were struck by these lasers. Necrozma forced them off of him, giving the Prism Pokemon some extra space.
After blasting the two of them away, Necrozma set his sights on the crystal. He wasted no time, zooming towards Enola and the People of the Water.
"!" Enola already made the conscious decision to run. The People of the Water, while passive, would protect one of their kind. And they did so, getting in front of Necrozma as a wall, holding their arms out.
But it was a wall for Necrozma to destroy. Necrozma prepared Dragon Pulse, ready to blow the People of the Water sky-high for that crystal.
However, while they couldn't fight back due to their passive nature, there were those who could fight for them and protect them. One of those being Gardevoir.
Once Dragon Pulse came out, getting the way as the biggest wall was Gardevoir. Her immunity to Dragon allowed her to take the attack and feel absolutely nothing from it. She had successfully protected them as the smoke cleared revealing her face to Necrozma.
"I still have no idea what is going on exactly. But what I do know is that you are somehow responsible for this." She said to her fellow Psychic-Type. Necrozma could only hiss at her.
The Prism Pokemon had no time for his as he had used Prismatic Lasers once more, shooting them everywhere as everyone ducked for cover, but Gardevoir had a response to this.
The Embrace Pokemon had used Dazzling Gleam, mimicking Necrozma's Prismatic Lasers. Countering these light lasers were rays of rainbows that also flew in multiple directions. They clashed against each other, just metres away from harming the innocents.
Necrozma could not move afterwards after using this move, leaving him vulnerable. Gardevoir took advantage of this, using Dazzling Gleam once more.
The rainbow rays pelted Necrozma repeatedly, pushing the Prism Pokemon away and into a wall. Thanks to this distraction, Enola had gotten far with the crystal, keeping it away from Necrozma.
"Pika? Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu, after jumping through the hole, recognized the familiar Gardevoir up ahead. At least, her scent. He recognized her as Passion's mother. Every other Pokemon flew through after following the trail of destruction that Necrozma had made.
"Hm? Pikachu?" Gardevoir turned to the Mouse Pokemon.
"Pikachu!"
"It's good to know that you're doing well. And Ash?"
"P-Pika...Pikapi..." Pikachu lowered his ears after that response. He was still waiting for Ash to return along with the rest of Ash's friends.
"Oh, right. I-I'm sorry." Gardevoir kneeled, patting Pikachu on the head. "But I hear that these people have the power to bring him back."
"We do. And he should be here..." The caretaker said. "Hopefully he heard our song."
"Mana-Mana..."
"What about Necrozma?" Darkrai asked, looking at the rubble that Necrozma was buried under. The rubble had been broken apart with Necrozma rising out of it.
This was a very resilient Pokemon. Perhaps too resilient. Everyone stayed on guard and cautious, waiting for Necrozma's next action. Necrozma was furious. But also happy.
Happy that he had gotten an amazing fill of light energy from the crystals and a new form of energy that was just stellar. But also furious since the opposing Pokemon were enough to get in this way and take that chance away. Necrozma wanted nothing more than to destroy them all.
That is until a gateway opened. Right behind Necrozma as all attention was drawn to it. Emerging out of the gateway, or at least poking her head through it was Daybreaker. She did say she would return.
"C-Celestia...?" Gardevoir said, noticing Daybreaker's appearance and how it matched Celestia's with some fiery appearances.
"Alright, Necrozma. I think that might do for now." Daybreaker spoke. "Did you get a nice fill of those crystals?" In response, Necrozma let out a cry instead of nodding its head. Then again, it was difficult for him to do so considering how he was built. "Good. I can tell. You look healthier than you were when I first met you. I think we're about done here."
Daybreaker called this whole thing to a close as she heard the rumbling of the energy creature. She didn't want to stick around and find out. "I seem to have lost my Ultra Ball amidst the chaos so we'll have to get you a new one."
"Pikachu!" But Pikachu wouldn't allow Daybreaker to escape as he had used Quick Attack.
"Back off!" In response, Daybreaker had breathed out fire. The fire struck the floor before transforming into a gigantic firewall. Pikachu came to a screeching halt, stopping the motion of Quick Attack. His nose had almost connected with the flames.
The view of Necrozma could barely be seen as these aggressive flames even overpowered the chill of the night and the water itself. Necrozma had no Poke Ball to return to. So it was straight through the gateway instead. Necrozma was fairly satisfied with what he had gained.
Granted, he wanted more. Especially from every last crystal. But he had already received an amazing fill and gained high amounts of light power that flow throughout the planet. The gateway closed with the wall of fire fizzling out.
In the end, despite everything that had happened, Daybreaker had won.
She had set out to do what she planned to do in this endeavour. Allow Necrozma to absorb some of the highest amounts of light energy that could be found in the Sea Temple. And it went beyond that even. The Dragon Force was taken as well.
However, it wasn't over yet. The Dragon Force manifestation that resembled Necrozma was still running amok, rampaging throughout the temple as Lilycove was still in danger.
Shining Armor and his group found it difficult to combat against a force that could destroy anything but they were doing their best. The Dragon Force then gained another Necrozma face that appeared elsewhere. Despite Necrozma leaving, his influence remained.
Enola had the crystal still, hoping that no one would find her with it. The threat of Team Plasma was still around as well and Colress, while not as greedy as Necrozma, wanted some of the power as well.
Everyone watched as the Dragon Force's massive claws were ready to slam down on the temple from a wide radius. It had grown large enough to overshadow Lilycove City and parts of the sea. Pikachu covered himself in an aura of electricity as every other Pokemon readied to combat this destructive force.
Then suddenly, a ray of light shot through the atmosphere at amazing speeds, passing by everyone in a flash. And in that split-second, this ray of light had pierced through the Dragon Force. Not only did it pierce through but a blue flash of light had expanded, filling the sky. For a moment, it looked like it was the day.
The Dragon Force let out a piercing howl as a hole had been left in it. Everyone looked around to see who had shot that ray of light. But none of them did. No one had used an attack yet. But once they looked up, they saw where the beam went. Right above the Dragon Force was a familiar face.
"Pika..." Pikachu's eyes were starstruck as he recognized this scent and this face as well. His best friend had returned to him with an amazing display. "Pikapi!"
"Your majesty!" The People of the Water bellowed with joy filling their hearts and faces. Enola from afar also had the same expression as she knew that Ash would show up. There was always hope for idols.
Ash didn't come alone, however. Due to the song of the sea and him being the King of the Sea, many Water-Type Pokemon followed his lead. They all swam towards Lilycove City in massive schools, larger than what they are used to.
The residents of Lilycove watched as many Water-Types came this way under Ash's rule. The moon illuminated them all including Ash's light. Among these Pokemon was Kyogre. The creator of the seas.
It had helped Ash before during the previous event with the Sea Temple and it will surely help him again.
"H-How'd he get that Aura?!" Adagio gasped.
"Whoever so holds this crown, shall be named King of the Sea." said the old man. "Behold the Sea Crown. The touchstone between us and the Water Pokemon. And our king."
"Thanks for the save guys!" Ash gave a thumbs-up, thanking the people and Manaphy. "Boy, that was close!" He chuckled before hearing the Dragon Force roar. "But anyway, it's a good time to put an end to this." He faced the Dragon Force with more Water-Types coming this way.
With Ash returning as the king, the Dragon Force still rampaging, Team Plasma still lurking and the Sunstorm approaching to come for Tempest Shadow, the penultimate confrontation was closing in as the journey continues.
Hoenn. Lilycove City. The Sea Temple, Samiya. Nightfall.
The Dragon Force had been manifested into a face creature with two claws that was a part of this corrupted energy. All thanks to Necrozma. While this monster was within the temple, parts of it were still spreading out and heading for Lilycove City.
Ash had just returned with a massive army of Water-Type Pokemon including the Legendary Pokemon Kyogre who was assisting Ash once more. Ash was capable of doing this due to his status as King of the Sea. As seen by the majestic golden aura fit for a king.
Ash had also previously flown through the Dragon Force with his aura of light. And it was so potent that the monster had been promptly held back for a bit. Shining Armor and the others approached Ash, witnessing his golden Aura and how it had an infinite trail that started from the sea.
"Okay, let's..." Ash paused for a moment before looking at the manifested Dragon Force. "Uh...What is that thing actually?"
"Something happened with Necrozma that led to that," Darkrai explained, floating up to Ash. "It was after Necrozma seemingly absorbed the light energy from the Dragon Force. Not only that, but he also got away with some of their crystals, sapping their power away.
"Cool..." Ash was actually amazed by that despite how dangerous it was. "But we're gonna stop it anyway. And save Lilycove City from falling apart. Where's Luna?"
"Luna went to get help from Canterlot," said Darkrai. "Since she's been at Lilycove City before, it as easy for her to teleport from one place to another. I'm not sure when the help is going to arrive."
"All the help we need would be great. Besides, everyone over at the Grand Equestria's heading back right about now." The King of the Sea responded.
"Wait? Really?!" Shining Armor gasped.
"Sure are. I told the Wailord to carry them here. They move pretty fast in the air, ya know. But mostly underwater," Ash chuckled before hearing the sound of the Dragon Force tearing open the docks of Lilycove. A serious face had been put back on him as his attention was now focused on the city. "Lilycove City..."
"Your majesty. I'm afraid we were powerless to fully stop the Dragon Force." An old man said. "There also exists the Dragon Force back in the seas of Unova. Our deepest apologies."
"No need to worry." Ash flew over to them. "It isn't over until we find a way. And I know you guys will find a way through it. You made this awesome light speed travelling stuff, a whole bunch of crazy traps and helped me come back. from the Dragon Force. You're experts at this stuff."
"But only Carlita can put an end to the Dragon Force and the one crystal that contained it had been attacked by Necrozma earlier." A caretaker said. "The crystal that we kept for the People of the Vale. All of that protection has been thrown out of the window because of that Pokemon."
"Hmm..." Ash crossed his arms, thinking deeply while also wanting to reach Lilycove as fast as he could. "Aha! I got it!" An idea had sprung as he snapped his fingers. "Quick. How'd that crystal come to be in the first place?"
"It was simple. The People of the Vale had transferred the Dragon Force into the crystal when it had nothing within it. Due to the crystal having no power, the People shared their collective power into the crystal, giving it energy like the rest."
"And Necrozma absorbed some of them, right?"
"It did."
"Then that means some of the crystals are totally empty. So we can fill them back up with that same energy from before." Ash was on to something as the People of the Water started nodding, considering that idea.
"But previously, it took multiple people to give that power to the crystal. Carlita is only one person." The caretaker shook her head. "It won't be enough, sadly."
"She is. But just like you guys, the People of the Vale never went away. They've got descendants alright. Eindoak Town is where all of them are at and the Dragon Force exists even there." He explained whilst ascending into the air.
"But to do all of that with the time we have?" Flash Sentry replied. "There's not enough time for any of that, Ash. "I mean...we could try waiting for Princess Luna to maybe arrive with help?"
"There is one other way." The old man spoke. He then looked at the rampaging Dragon Force as everyone else did the same. "A separate way that we had never used for the crystals. But we and the People of the Vale considered it if another crystal was to be made. We gather energy from the physical Dragon Force itself."
"Itself? You don't mean we have to get up close and personal with it, do you?!" Adagio stepped back. "Look at that thing! Getting close is just a disaster waiting to happen!"
"That is what I mean. It was something we planned to do one day but with the natural Dragon Force. The corrupted variant is something we did not prepare for."
"We'll try it anyway. I'm gonna go help save everyone at Lilycove City. Pikachu! Guys! Help me out with that." Ash said.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu and the others were right behind their friend. The Mouse Pokemon hopped onto Dragonite's back along with Sirfetch'd.
"Sir! Sirfetch'd!" Sirfetch'd raised his leek into the air, taking the opportunity to look majestic while on the back of Dragonite. This was a picture-perfect image of a radiant knight riding a ferocious Dragon. Albeit minus the human-size.
Gengar tried carrying Dracovish, only to find out that Dracovish is heavier than it looks. "G-Gen!" He groaned, struggling to carry the Fossil Pokemon. But he would manage. As for Lucario, he hung onto Dragonite's tail as a ride.
Everyone had a new goal. The biggest one was to draw the Dragon Force into the crystals. Mainly a crystal that has already been used up. Thankfully, Necrozma's feeding spree led to some of the crystals losing their light, making them empty vessels.
All they had to do was find them. But that would be challenging considering the Dragon Force is not only rampant everywhere but it would also mean having to get close with this destructive energy as well.
Within the Plasma Frigate.
Meanwhile, within the Plasma Frigate, Jackie had entered it. After avoiding so many collapsing obstacles, he found somewhere to be. Despite the frigate taking damage and being split in half via the Dragon Force, it was still intact, showing impressive durability.
"Okay. I'm back on this ship again. And it looks like nothing's changed since the last time I've been here." said Jackie to the Ranger Union via a phone.
"Well, now that you're there, do you what you can. This is the only mission where we don't have the full scope of what's going? W-What is going on, actually?"
"From what I can tell, this weird purple thing's rampaging through the temple. Not only that but it's neutral and goes for everyone. Then some travelling happened and now we're in Lilycove City from the looks of it. Team Plasma grunts aren't around that much as of now. Probably taken by one of those traps and fled from the damage here. As for the crystals well..."
"Sounds like quite the event. But you have it under control, don't you?"
"I'd love to say I do but for once-" Jackie chuckled until his chuckle had ended. His attention was drawn somewhere else. His usual joking manner was quickly shifted once he saw the damage being done to Lilycove City. "Hang on! I'll call you back!"
Being a Pokemon Ranger meant that protecting life as well. And this was a scenario where Jackie's status mattered. He wasn't sure how he was going to deal with a destructive force of ancient energy that had enough power to rip open the land itself but he was going to try anyway as he rushed off.
But, he was stopped. By two individuals mainly. One of which aimed to capture Jackie and was waiting for the Sunstorm to show up as soon as it could for a pickup.
Tempest Shadow.
"Ugh. Now?" Jackie groaned, pinching the arch of his nose. "Listen, my little pony. Now's probably not the best time."
"And what makes you say that?" Tempest asked as the roar of the Dragon Force answered her question. "Right."
"How about we settle this afterwards. You seem like you're in a hurry to get home at this point, right?" Jackie slowly walked forward while Tempest did the same.
"Not quite. Necrozma might be doing things solo but I've still got a spare mission on the side. Bringing you in to the Empress. And you look fairly vulnerable right about now?"
"Same to you. Unless we do something about whatever that purple stuff is, both of us are as vulnerable as a Wimpod." He replied as they started pacing around each other like wrestlers.
Jackie and Tempest were somewhat similar. They had similar tendencies, mannerisms and actions as well. Both waited for the right moment to make their move. Whether it was to escape or chase down. Jackie was focused on helping everyone else while Tempest was aiming to capture Jackie for Empress Twilight.
Jackie's eyes shifted to the side as he looked around for something. Due to the Dragon Force, many objects had been obliterated. However, he noticed something peculiar. Nearby, a window showing Colress' lab could be seen.
And within the lab, the Poke Balls holding the Ultra Balls were right there. They were lying on the floor after the Dragon Force knocked everything off balance. Jackie could use some Pokemon help and this could be that chance. Although he wasn't aware which Pokemon were inside.
Instantly, Jackie made the first move, running towards the door. Tempest took action next, using her magic. But that's exactly what Jackie wanted. Once Tempest used her magic, Jackie used it as a means to enter the lab.
By eluding the beam, Tempest's magic had blasted the lab door apart, making a clear entrance of Jackie. The Pokemon Ranger then looked back with a cocky grin and a thumbs-up, thanking Tempest for helping open the door. "Appreciate it!" He said before rushing in.
But so did Tempest. Once inside, Jackie grabbed some of the Ultra Balls off the floor as fast as he could. Since they were scattered due to the imbalance, it was easy to grab some of them nearby. Now was the chance to get some help.
"Alright! Who's this?!?" Jackie exclaimed, sliding on the floor and chucking the Ultra Ball. Tempest gasped, seeing this ball that usually held a powerful Pokemon be thrown. So she responded in kind and a bit of a panic, using her magic to grab one of the Ultra Balls.
With both of them being thrown, the two Ultra Balls bounced off each other upon impact. And with that collision, the Pokemon inside of them had been revealed.
Emerging from Jackie's side was Regirock. And for Tempest, it was a Diancie.
"ÜN ÜN ÜN! REGIROCK!" The Rock Peak Pokemon spoke with its usual yet unnatural cry that was hard to comprehend.
"D-Diancie?" Diancie was just confused but also surprised that it was out of its Ultra Ball for so long. Much like the others, Team Plasma had plans for Diancie that have yet to be done. Each of these Pokemon had been pulled from their respective universes.
"Regirock, I'll need your help for a bit and then I'll set you free. Same to you, Diancie. Capture...on!" Jackie held out his Capture Styler, utilizing it as the golden light reached the Rock Peak Pokemon.
"Wish I had that...but this'll do!" Tempest had her response to the Capture Styler. The traditional mind control. She had a spell on Diancie while it was vulnerable. Due to Diancie being confused, lost and vulnerable, that led to a simple mind control.
"Handle everything from here." Jackie snapped his fingers before also picking up as many Poke Balls as he could. "I'll be outside if you don't mind!" He then left as fast as he could, leaving Regirock to handle the rest.
Tempest tried advancing, only for Regirock to get in her way. Regirock was certainly a wall to overcome in an almost literal sense. But, she had the power of Diancie to help her through that.
Secret Room of the temple.
Meanwhile, Carlita had found the room she was in before. It had been horribly ravaged by the Dragon Force with practically nothing left but rubble. But there was something else there Just what she needed.
By moving the rubble aside with the help of her Hydreigon, Carlita had found the crystal that had originally held the power of the Dragon Force. Now it was empty. "This is the one." She said, holding it. "Okay. Let's get some help before we do anything else. This kind of power is still so much."
"Hydrei!"
Outside.
Meanwhile, the Dragon Force had just ripped part of a building apart plus a chunk of the land. The People of Lilycove City were in grave danger, having nowhere to go due to the split land. Plus, the Dragon Force had gone beyond Lilycove. Route 214 and 215 were threatened as well.
A furious explosion of the Dragon Force had occurred, causing an earthquake and potent shockwave that launched many things upwards. Including the people and the Pokemon. Buildings started crumbling as they also threatened to fall on others due to them being blown upwards.
However, Ash, his Pokemon and the Water-Type Pokemon under his command were there to help. "Alright! Mantine! Wailmer! Catch those people and Pokemon!" He commanded.
"Mantine!" Under the command of the King of the Sea, Mantine and Wailmer leapt out the sea, using their floating capabilities to their advantage. They had landed on the backs of these Water-Types with safety and little impact.
"Gotcha!" Ash did the same, zooming through the air and grabbing a Skitty, Swablu and a Chimecho. But there had to be somewhere safe to put them all in.
"Lapras! Sealeo! Cloyster! Freeze that part of the sea!"
"Lapras!" Lapras and the other Ice-Types utilized Ice-Type moves, aiming it at the sea that was right near the end of Lilycove. The Dragon Force had not reached that spot yet.
A massive ice creation had been made. Covering the sea from every corner, thick layers of ice from these Ice-Type moves acted as a gigantic blockade from this army of Water-Ice Pokemon.
Speaking of the Dragon Force, when it got in the way, Ash personally dealt with that. He held the Skitty, Swablu and Chimeco close to him, using the golden light around his body to fly straight through the Dragon Force. It worked before when he showed up and it worked again.
The Dragon Force had been damaged. It was confirmed that the light of the King of the Sea was capable of harming this corrupted lifeforce. But Ash's goal wasn't to destroy it. It was to reverse the flow of the Dragon Force to what it was before. A force that heals the planet.
By flying through the Dragon Force, the corrupted energy had split, diminishing in size, allowing for Ash and the rest of the Pokemon to pass through.
Ash and the other Pokemon placed the residents of Lilycove over at this blockade of ice for the meantime. While it was chilly, it was miles better than what was happening to their city.
However, the Dragon Force was now aware of Ash and how much of a threat he possessed. The creature inside it emerged once more, locking onto Ash, still having the face of Necrozma. The creature had shot out fireballs full of Dragon Force energy at Ash while he was flying.
"Huh?!" Ash gasped before noticing these massive spheres of flames coming his way. He quickly zoomed over them, eluding the fireballs. However, as he evaded them, the fireballs struck a nearby mountain, causing an explosion and a large hole in the mountain. "Woah!" He was amazed by that explosion and how it could've been him that was hit.
"Pika?!"
"So, it's a battle you want, huh?" Ash grinned. "I'm game!" He accepted the challenge of the Dragon Force. Many of the Water-Type Pokemon that could float came to his aid while some rested on the backs of massive Wailord. "Alright, you guys! Hydro Pump! Water Gun! Water Pulse, go!"
He commanded many of the Pokemon to use their Water-Type moves in sync. And they certainly did. Those that knew those three moves had used them, sending blasts of Water at full force. This combination struck the Dragon Force creature, dealing damage to it. The Dragon Force ascended along with the creature, covering the skies as purple lightning bolts came crashing down due to the altered weather.
"Kyogre! Use Origin Pulse!" Ash flew beside the Legendary Pokemon Kyogre, taking to the skies. Kyogre jumped into the air as multiple blue orbs appear all around it. Afterwards, it had then fired a beam of blue energy from each orb at the Dragon Force.
The power of Kyogre had struck the creature, causing supreme damage to it. And to add to that damage, Ash accelerated through the air, flying through the Dragon Force.
Ash then turned his attention to the other Routes. While the Dragon Force hadn't reached them, the earthquake from before certainly did. Many of them were in danger at the moment."Lanturn! Gyarados! Kyogre! Come with me!" He ordered those three Pokemon.
Ash then flew over to Route 214 with an army of Lanturn, Lumineon, Finneon, Gyarados and single Kyogre at his aid. Once showing up, the darkness in this area was immense, making it hard to see. This was due to the weather of the Dragon Force. and how it affected the night. "Lanturn! Lumineon Finneon! Light up the area!"
"Lanturn!" The Lanturn, Luminen and Finneon used their light, creating an immense burst that lit up the area. Ash's golden aura did the same as well. They could see better in the dark now, allowing Ash to grab the Pokemon in danger.
Kyogre and the Gyarados had their Water-Type attacks to put out any flames that had ignited from this destruction. Plus, Kyogre's ability Drizzle helped with that greatly.
Ash grabbed the Pokemon in danger, carrying them out of collapsing areas that were once their homes. However, the Dragon Force was still tracking Ash down.
Within the clouds, purple lightning bolts were getting ready to come crashing down. Ash's attention turned to the clouds and their unnatural rumbling. But he had a response for that.
"Lanturn! Absorb those lightning bolts with Volt Absorb!"
"Turn!" The Lanturn would handle this. Once the lightning bolts targeted Ash, the many Light Pokemon became his shield, absorbing the lightning with their Volt Absorb. Even though it had Dragon Force energy in it, the ability Volt Absorb could help nullify it to an extent.
Some other Pokemon were in danger with a collapsing hill threatening to fall on them. It was only now that Ash had just realized this and it could be too late. But not for someone else.
Swooping in to save these Pokemon was Jackie. He came in at the right time, grabbing the group of Normal and Grass-Types off the ground while the hill collapsed.
"Jackie!" Ash exclaimed with joy.
"Hey, Ash! You can still do that golden thing?" Jackie replied.
"Sure can! Feels pretty great too!"
"That's good! I'll handle everything in this route while you handle that one, okay?"
"You got it!" Ash saluted, leaving the rest to Jackie.
With Jackie handling everything at Route 214, Ash zoomed towards Route 215 next. More Water-Type Pokemon that were more comfortable on land showed up beside the King of the Sea. The Dragon Force stepped its game up as the creature showed up in front of Ash with its massive claws. Or rather, multiple massive claws.
"Samurott, use Swords Dance! Swampert, Whiscash, use Muddy Water!"
"Samu!" Samurrot removed its swords, rushing towards the claws that threatened to attack Ash. The Formidable Pokemon slashed the claws, entering a struggle with it while Swampert and Whiscash had used Muddy Water to drown out some of the claws.
One of the claws transformed into something sharper, like a lance. This lance had a powerful thrust that broke through the atmosphere. "Kingler! Clawitzer! Grab it!"
"Kingler!" However, an army of Kingler and Clawitzer used their massive claws, grabbing the giant Dragon Force Lance in unison. They had even crushed it with their potent grips.
The Dragon Force then formed into a tornado after being countered once more. However, due to the abundance of Water-Type Pokemon and how many of them there were in the world, there was a Pokemon for every situation.
"Swanna! Counter with Hurricane and Brave Bird!"
"Swanna" A flock of Swanna had used two Flying-Type moves. And due to being beautiful Pokemon, they liked to show off as well. Gigantic hurricanes were thrown, merging to create an even larger one. The other Swanna that had Brave Bird had spiralled with their aura, creating a spiralling Brave Bird.
They flew beside the Hurricane, crashing into the Dragon Force Tornado at full force. This countered the Dragon Force while also damaging it as well.
"Greninja! Use Water Shuriken and Aerial Ace!"
"Grenin!" Following up with Swanna's attack was a group of Greninja. They had formed shurikens out of water while also moving at blitzing speeds. Those that use Aerial Ace knocked the Dragon Force away. The shurikens had also been thrown, slicing the energy in half from their velocity and sharpness.
Ash successfully saved the Pokemon over at Route 215 as well before tasking their safety with a flock of Pelipper. "Pelipper! Get them over there for safety!"
"Pelipper!" The Pelipper were on it, carrying the smaller Pokemon with their mouths, heading for the blockade of ice.
"Now to deal with those clouds..." Ash looked at the weather and how the Dragon Force was throwing it off. "Kyogre! Get up there and use Sheer Cold!"
Leaping higher into the air, the Sea Basin Pokemon was approaching the Dragon Force Clouds. However, the Dragon Force's claws lunged towards Kyogre, threatening to grab the Legendary Pokemon of the sea.
"I don't think so! Sharpedo! Golisopod! Samurott! Cut it in half!"
"Goliso" Golisopod and the other Water-Types with sharp capabilities had sliced the claws in half, preventing them from reaching Kyogre.
Kyogre would work its magic. Its body glows light blue and releases a wave of light blue energy, freezing everything around it with absolute zero temperature.
The Dragon Force within the clouds had been frozen, causing them to dissipate. The purple lightning within the clouds had been fended off thanks to Kyogre's Sheer Cold.
At this point, the Dragon Force was being attacked from all angles. This army of Water-Type Pokemon was enough to counteract the Dragon Force even for a bit.
But extra help had just arrived. Luna had returned after heading to Canterlot for a moment. And she returned with some help. In the form of her big sister Celestia, Passion and a few more Golurk that belonged to the guards.
"Oh! Luna! You're back!" Ash noticed the arrival of Luna. "And you brought help too!"
"Ash?" Celestia and Luna both said, noticing how Ash was glowing and flying now.
"Why are you glowing?"
"King of the Sea right here." Ash grinned, pointing his thumb at himself. "Looks like I'm one of you guys now, aren't I?"
"Indeed you are. King Ash." Celestia nudged Ash with a chuckle.
"Garde." Gardevoir also laughed before hearing the sound of the Dragon Force. "Voir?"
"Apologies if this is all the help I could gather. I wasn't sure how to counteract the Dragon Force so I enlisted the assistance of my sister and Canterlot.
"Any help is good. But we can get rid of the Dragon Force now that there's a way. You guys can help keep the Dragon Force busy while Carlita and the others solve the rest. You could also help your mom out, Passion."
"Gardevoir?" Passion gasped after hearing that. Since this was her home, it would make sense that her mother was here. Passion was happy to be back here but now wasn't the time for a reunion.
"All we have to do is fend it off, correct?" Celestia said before revealing the keystone for Mega Evolution. "Then we shall do just that and give all the time in the world. Passion" She then activated the power of the Mega Stone as her body started glowing.
"Garde...Voir!" Passion felt it all through her as Celestia's body went inside of Passion's. It was time for Celestial-Gardevoir to emerge in this time of disaster.
Luna had something similar. She was helped by Sorrowful Rage Magic and Lunar Ire. Her magical aura was now dark blue and red once it had been unleashed.
Within the sky, the King of the Sea with a radiant golden Aura, the fused ruler of Equestria and the master of the Sorrowful Rage Magic could be seen.
"Golurk!" The Golurk could do what they could as well, helping their fellow Golurk out as well. Afterwards, with Ash flying ahead, they all followed his lead.
The Sea Temple.
Carlita dodged the destruction of the Dragon Force while on the back of her Hydreigon. She had to find someone to help with the crystal. Thankfully, the People of the Water, Shining Armor, Darkrai and everyone else could be seen.
Hydreigon flew over in their direction as fast as he could. Darkrai had used Dark Pulse on the Dragon Force, combining it with Hyper Beams from Golurk.
"There she is!" Flash Sentry noticed Carlita's arrival. "Perfect timing!"
"Sorry if I worried any of you!" Carlita replied before hopping off Hydreigon's back, holding the crystal. "But I want to make things right. I could stop Necrozma from absorbing the energy of the Dragon Force. And I wanna fix it. So, please. Can anyone help me figure this out?"
"We were just agreeing on having the crystals absorb the power of the Dragon Force." The caretaker said. "It's the only way to stop this for good."
"That's why I'm here!" Carlita held out the crystal. "But I'm worried if I mess up again. I might make it worse. So I need someone to help me."
"Getting the crystal to the Dragon Force is risky as well," Darkrai spoke. "It's bound to cause massive harm to any of us. Throwing it isn't a good idea either. There has to be an easier way to do it."
"We'll give her protection." Shining Armor suggested. "That's the best thing I can think of. The most protection we can give Carlita so she doesn't get hurt. Even if it means we'll be harmed too."
"I'll give you the best protection there is." Adagio approached Carlita, deciding to use the Magic Coating Spell. Carlita was given a coating of golden magic as she now had a temporary shield. "My magic should be strong enough. But I'm not sure how it responds to the Dragon Force."
"It'll have to do. Thanks, Adagio. And...sorry fr bickering with you back there." Carlita apologized to the siren.
"Apology accepted." Adagio shrugged. "Now hurry and stop that thing already."
"Right." With a deep breath, Carlita faced the raging Dragon Force. She would have to be the one to get close to it. It wouldn't be pretty but this disaster had to end. "Here goes!"
Carlita ran up to the Dragon Force with the crystal out first. Once there, she stopped in front of the corrupted energy with the crystal upfront. At the same time, she relied on her Dragon Trainer light for extra assistance.
Immediately, the Dragon Force reacted violently. The crystal trembled as Carlita's body shuddered as well. The floor below started cracking as a paroxysm of energy flew in different directions. The magic coating protected Carlita's hands from feeling the heat of the crystal. However, the Dragon Force was so powerful that the coating couldn't last long.
"Ugh...!" Carlita groaned as the Dragon Force was starting to be absorbed within the crystal. But as a result, Carlita felt the pressure within her as well. From across the entire temple and every outside, the Dragon Force felt the power of the crystal and how it was coming to her. Even from the seas of Unova.
Everyone outside promptly stopped as they could see the Dragon Force flowing elsewhere. However, despite how this was working, Carlita was suffering. Adagio's magical coating wasn't enough as her she could feel the heat in her hands. "H-Hot..!" She whimpered, closing her eyes and trying to hold it.
But seeing how Carlita was struggling, everyone decided to help. Gardevoir went up to Carlita, putting her hands on her back to give her extra power and protection. But soon, even the Psychic-Fairy-Type could feel this overwhelming pressure from the Dragon Force.
Soon, everyone started helping. Her Hydreigon obviously would. The Golurk all worked together, getting a line along with the guards that owned them. But even with the combination of Golurk, a powerful Pokemon, the Dragon Force was still too much. The guards were trembling but they were used to tackling immense problems and threats at this point.
Shining Armor, Aegislash, Flash Sentry and Pidgeot assisted too. Plus all of Luna's Pokemon with Darkrai being at the end of the line. They did what they could to protect Carlita and have the Dragon Force be fully absorbed. But the pressure was overwhelming. Everyone, even the Golurk, who were resistant to heat, could feel this pressure come along.
Rumbles echoed throughout the city as the Sea Temple was starting to sink. As if the flooding wasn't enough. "I-It's not enough!" Carlita groaned as everyone was doing what they could.
"Just don't let go!" Gardevoir encouraged. Even though her hands were heating up, she and everyone else wouldn't let go. Not until the entire Dragon Force was in. "B-But! This is incredibly overwhelming..."
All of them looked like they wouldn't be enough to stop it. That is until Gardevoir felt a touch on her back. She gasped for a second, wondering what this touch was. There was something familiar about it and comforting. The Embrace Pokemon swivelled her head to see the fusion of her daughter and the Princess of the Sun.
Celestial-Gardevoir.
"Passion?" Gardevoir gawked while also noticing the Cutie Mark on the dress. "Celestia?"
Celestial-Gardevoir didn't respond. Instead, she added her power, helping out in this endeavour. It wasn't just her. Assisting as well was Princess Luna. After descending into the temple, with the power of Sorrowful Rage Magic, put extra protection above what Adagio made. Help had been increased ten-fold as some of the other Golurk arrived to do the same. Soon, it was a horde of Pokemon, ponies assisting Carlita.
And yet, despite all of this, the heat was too much. Everyone felt like they would burst into flames at this point. Enola and her Mareanie arrived, witnessing the event before them. Everyone trying to desperately keep the Dragon Force within the crystal but suffering as a result.
Then, Enola looked at the crystal that she had. It still had power inside of it. One of the few crystals that Necrozma did not absorb. "Let me help!" She said to the People of the Water. This crystal still has light!"
"Could it work?" The caretaker asked.
"It could be strong enough. There is only one way to find out." The old man and many others agreed. And they had to be fast since everyone else couldn't maintain this for long. "Do it."
"Okay!" Enola nodded in response. She wouldn't get close, however. Instead, she allowed the crystal to float. By praying to it for a bit, the crystal floated out of her hands and towards Carlita and the others. Enola and everyone else could do nothing but watch and pray for their success.
The power of the crystal was added. Amazing power flowed through, assisting Carita and the others by giving them extra strength. However, despite all of this, the Dragon Force was too much. It was even enough.
Though the crystal could fend it off for a bit, the mighty Dragon Force put up too much of a fight. But of course, with the Dragon Force being distracted by Carlita, there was another helper. Ash.
He placed his hand on Carlita's shoulder, giving his strength along with the rest of his Pokemon. But this was different. Due to the golden aura he had, Carlita felt something cold and cosy. So did everyone.
The coolness of the sea permeated through their bodies, countering the aggressive heat of the Dragon Force. It felt comfortable for everyone. Carlita felt relaxed by this.
Once they were all cooled off, everyone gave off one final hurrah as the Dragon Force exploded with malice. The explosion led to every last bit of it being pulled in. And once it was in, every last drop, a massive recoil had occurred, blowing everyone back. The floor, walls, pillars, everything. Everything and everyone was knocked away once the crystal contained the last of the Dragon Force
They all either tumbled, crashed into something or did both. An aggressive start and an aggressive end. But thankfully, this confirmed one thing.
It was over.
"Hahaha...! Hahaha! I did it!" Carlita chucked, lying on her back and raising the crystal. "We did it!"
Indeed. They had sealed the Dragon Force back into the crystal. It was rough but it was a success. Everything had calmed down. The destruction was finally over as the journey continues.
It was finally over. The Dragon Force had been stopped. Sealed back into the crystal that emerged from, the destruction had ended at last. Carlita was mainly responsible for making this happen but with the assistance of allies and friends, she couldn't have done it alone.
"Whew..." Ash sighed, still having the golden aura around him. "Glad that's over with."
"Pikachu..." Pikachu laid on his back from exhaustion and so did a few others.
"Is it really over?" Adagio gasped, looking at the trail of destruction that had been caused by this entire event. The clouds were parting after the Dragon Force had vanished.
After seeing it all end, the People of the Water cheered triumphantly, relieved that this disaster had closed off at last. They thought that this would be their last time on the planet, but not at all. Thanks to the efforts of those who came here, they were saved.
The residents of Lilycove City were more confused than most. One moment they were casually living their normal lives and the next moment a gigantic purple energy starts ripping apart their home city, a large temple appears that speed of light and Kyogre showed up.
Needless to say, it was a lot to take it. But, they were glad that the insanity was over. Celestial-Gardevoir, while late, helped at the right time to seal up the Dragon Force. After that, they had separated, returning as Celestia and Passion.
"Goodness...You just have to tell me the whole story behind this event after this, Luna." Celestia said to her little sister.
"I will. And believe me, there is a lot to know." Luna then nodded in response.
"Gardevoir!" Passion then flew past Celestia before approaching her mother Gardevoir, glad to see her again. It had been months since Passion and her mother had reunited.
"Passion! Look at you" Gardevoir gawked at her daughter. "All grown up and as healthy looking like your mother. I can tell that Princess Celestia has taken good care of you."
"Voir! Gardevoir!"
"Ash!" Enola shouted, running over to Ash with Mareanie on her head. "You were amazing! And look amazing too! I knew you'd show up!"
"Thanks. But everyone here was pretty amazing." Ash hovered towards her. "We all did our best to keep everything safe. Even though a bunch of stuff got destroyed from it."
"Pika-Pika."
"Oh! Does that include me?" Enola pointed at herself. "I-I helped bring the crystal here and keep it away from Necrozma."
"You too. Great job, Enola."
"Yes!" Enola pumped her arms, feeling successful. Receiving a compliment from the king was one of the best things she could ever hope for as she jumped around, holding Mareanie too.
"Once again, you've helped us in our time of need, your majesty." The People of the Water approached Ash. "We truly cannot do anything to repay you. We are forever grateful, your excellence."
"I should be thanking you." Ash went over to them. "Well, I already did but one more time. You saved me back there in Unova from the Dragon Force. And it was you guys that solved most of the problems, didn't you? I think that's a good enough debt for me."
"But after all of this...How can we recover? And what will we do afterwards?" An old man asked.
"Our foundation and civilization are limited after years of being nothing but light." A baker replied. "Only you and Prince Manaphy are the main ranks that we have here at the temple. Once more, we ask for your assistance to help us with this final issue."
"Uh...I don't really know a whole a lot about royalty stuff." Ash chuckled nervously, scratching his face. He then turned to the best candidates for this solution. Celestia and Luna. "But they do. Celestia and Luna can get you back on track."
"We can?" The two princesses said, hearing Ash's words.
"Yeah. I mean, you're the royal guys here, aren't you?" Ash flew over to them. His golden aura hadn't faded yet so he was free to fly around as much as he could. "The People of the Water are feeling pretty lost right now. They don't have of that monarchy stuff like you guys, the Crystal Empire and stuff. I think that makes sense."
"We heard what you said, Ash. And that does seem to be the case." Luna nodded. "I do understand why though. It would be hard to recover after those many years and even beyond that."
"But we can most certainly help." Celestia walked up to the People of the Water. "It's a good thing you brought me here, Luna."
"Really?! Oh, thank you so much!" A thankful man went up to Celestia, grabbing her hoof and shaking it aggressively with unnaturally potent physical strength. "We needed this certainly!"
"Y-Y-You're welcome!" Celestia stuttered after being shaken up and down. Everything looked completed at this point. However, there was one lurking issue. Rather, two.
Team Plasma and the Solar Empire. Despite them being trapped within the temples complex traps, due to the Dragon Force's destruction, many of them had managed to escape.
Plus, there was one member of the Twilight Imperium. Tempest Shadow. She was currently inside of the Plasma Frigate, commanding a mind-controlled Diancie to stop Regirock who had been previously captured by Jackie. Only temporary.
And the result was that Tempest barely managed to defeat Regirock. "R-REGIROCK." The Rock Peak Pokemon uttered before falling on its back, fainting. Diancie had just used its signature move Diamond Storm to defeat Regirock.
"D-Diancie..." However, Diancie had fainted as well from exhaustion. The mind control on Diancie had also ended as Tempest was done here.
"Well...he distracted me like he said he would." Tempest sighed before looking outside. "And it looks like that purple thing's gone now. But no ship yet...What's taking Spitfire and the others so long?"
"Trying to get home soon?" Entering the Plasma Frigate and avoiding any chances of drawing attention was Colress and a few other Team Plasma grunts.
"Where have you all been?!" Tempest exclaimed.
"All of that destruction was getting too overwhelming. So, we hid at Lilycove City for a bit. Mostly them. I got busy." said Colress.
"Busy, huh? Meanwhile, I've been here stuck in this temple after that whole travelling thing. What was so busy that you couldn't get me home, hm?"
"Isn't it obvious? The Dragon Force. I tried my hand at getting some of that power. It was just splendid. Unfortunately, it ended in failure. That kind of power is just too much to handle. For now, at least. Which is why I plan to work hard to find a workaround. Besides, it also benefits our alliance, doesn't it? Mainly for Necrozma."
"You raise a good point there. But we still need to get out of here now. Can you do that?"
"Lucky for you, I carry my own Travel Sphere with me," Colress revealed a Travel Sphere in his hand. "We're about done here. Daybreaker got what she wanted by the looks of it."
"Fine." Tempest sighed before using her earpiece to communicate with Spitfire. "Alright. You can head back yourself. I've found a way to get back already."
Colress then opened up the gateway for Tempest while also doing the same for himself and Team Plasma. The Plasma Frigate was damaged, thus, there was no usage for it. Team Plasma gathered up what they could within the Plasma Frigate to take back with them. That included the fainted Diancie and Regirock. Everyone then passed through the gateway, leaving this world entirely.
After a few minutes, the Grand Equestria had returned after being carried here by the Wailord. They were too late to the party, unable to join in on the action. But at least they were safe. The People of the Water were still so happy. They wanted to celebrate but the Dragon Force had destroyed most of the good and everything else. Major repairs were needed.
"Despite this...We could not stop Daybreaker from achieving her goal..." Luna lowered her head. "While some of the crystals were saved, others were absorbed."
"It's alright, Luna. As long as the rest are safe. While it's not a full-on victory, the People of the Water are still in one piece along with the remaining crystals still having their light." Celestia reassured. "I believe we can call this mission accomplished. Well done all of you. Luna. Ash. Everyone And Adagio. Did you learn something?"
"I guess I did." Adagio shrugged. "It wasn't much anyway. Kept mostly everything to myself. But..." She then let out a smile surprisingly. "This was kind of a fun adventure, I'll admit. My heart was racing so fast through it. Plus, I got to learn about my mother. So, I can say I achieved something great."
"That's wonder- Mother?!" Celestia gasped.
"Still. This is a lot of cleaning up to do. "Jackie came over while riding on a Wailmer. He then hopped off the Water-Type afterwards. "Especially for poor Lilycove City. Those contests are gonna have to be delayed."
"Oh yeah. Where are you guys gonna go now?" Ash asked.
"Our temple can still move with the sea currents. However, from all this damage and everything that has happened, we are not so secretive anymore. And restoring power to the previous crystals will take some time." The old man said. "But there is a way to give the crystals their power back. Even if it has a prolonged duration."
"You sure know your stuff, old man." Ash went up to the old man who has given out the most valuable information. "How about...you be my Royal Advisor?"
"M-Me?!" He gasped as his heart almost skipped a beat. "To your majesty?!"
"Mhm. You guys need a king. And even though I don't know a whole bunch about being or king or wanna be it that much, I'll be here for you guys. Not physically sometimes. Haha."
"A great idea, Ash." Celestia approved. "You'll need someone to give you advice for certain. And also someone to watch over the temple while you're gone."
"T-T-Thank you so much, your majesty!" The old man bowed repeatedly with tears flowing out of his eyes. Ash then laughed afterwards at his amazing happiness.
"What's your name?" He asked him.
"M-My name is Alo, your excellence." He gave out his name, revealing it to Ash.
"Alo. Stands for 'one who is a spiritual guide'." There went Ash, knowing about name origins. This also made him realize that potentially, every single person in the Sea Temple had names similar to his family bloodline. "Well, Alo. I'm counting on you, alright? Celestia and Luna will be here to help you sort everything out for ranks and stuff."
"It'll be a bit hard to do so with the currents carrying the temple." Celestia twirled her mane.
"That won't be an issue then. We can use the power of the remaining crystals to keep the temple steady." Alo replied. "Or, we could keep the temple on the surface for a while. It all depends."
"For relief and without having to rely on the Under Water Breathing Spell, the surface would be a good choice," Luna suggested.
"I'll have the Ranger Union pitch in some help too," Jackie said. "Oh. I almost forgot! Aren't Team Plasma here?!"
"Oh yeah!" Ash gasped as he and Jackie immediately went to find the Plasma Frigate, hoping that Team Plasma hadn't caused any more problems even when this Dragon Force debacle had come to an end.
However, when they showed up, they not only saw that the Plasma Frigate was damaged but empty. No one was there at the moment. It was deserted. "Looks like they left already. Darn. Same with Tempest."
"We'll get 'em next time," Ash responded. "I think it's about time we head back, right, buddy?"
"Pika-Pika."
"I'll be heading back to Eindoak now...But uh...Could you guys give me a ride there?" Carlita chuckled as she was far from home at this point.
Everything had wrapped up at last. The People of the Water gave their goodbyes to Ash and everyone while the residents of Lilycove City couldn't help but gawk at the Sea Temple. This was the most that the People of the Water had been exposed to civilization in centuries.
"Ash! Your majesty!" Enola shouted from the distance, calling for Ash. Ash then rotated in response. "When I grow up, I'll e just like you! I'll go out there and see the world!"
"You can start now!" Ash waved in response. "We'll be back and check up on you guys here and there!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"I'll do the same!" Carlita shouted. "If you ever need help with anything Vale related, I'll be there! W-With some help, of course! Still pretty nervous!"
"Speaking of that! If you see my mom, tell me!" Adagio flew over Ash. "When she comes back soon, I'll be there!"
"We will make sure, Adagio Dazzle!" The guards saluted. Everyone gave their farewells for the night. They all needed rest. There was one other farewell.
"Passion!" Gardevoir shouted from far away, near the Routes of Lilycove City. "Continue growing stronger for me, okay?! And since Celestia has taken good care of you, do the same for her!"
"Gardevoir!" Passion could promise that.
The Golden Aura of Ash had vanished afterwards as he was now walking on two feet. But he always had the potential to regain it with the power of the People.
This mission was over.
Universe 11. Equestria. Canterlot. The Solar Empire. Nightfall.
"Well, I believe we can call that a mission success," Daybreaker said on her throne with Necrozma by her side. Everyone had just returned from that mission. Including Spitfire's group.
"It was?" Spitfire tilted her head.
"Sure. Of course, there were obstacles and missed opportunities, yes." She got off her throne, facing her troops. "However, not only did we end up giving light from the crystals to Necrozma. Most of them. But we also ended up giving him the Dragon Force. Something I never heard about for once. Well done, all of you."
"Thank you, your majesty. But we wish we could've done more and retrieved all of them." Spitfire saluted.
"It's in the past. Now we have to focus on the future. At least Necrozma now has a good chunk of light in his body that will last. Our next mission will be coming up soon. So prepare yourself for that, why don't you?"
"Yes, your radiance!" They all saluted before marching off. Necrozma just simply stood there, feeling greater than ever. Daybreaker was already plotting the next mission. And she was hoping to do it without having to follow a group to do so.
Equestria. Lapras Lake. 2 days later.
Due to the Grand Equestria not being able to teleport like the Sunstorm, it took the long way back home. Ash and everyone were tired so they rested on the ship for 2 days.
But once those 2 days passed, they had returned to where they had begun. And everyone welcomed them back with massive cheers once informed by Princess Celestia.
It was a long journey. They all had their stories to tell from what they had experienced along the way. Especially Adagio, who had wonderful news for her sisters. Aside from that, this journey to the Sea Temple could come to a close. And a new one would be birthed another time.
The holidays would have to fill everything in. Christmas and Hearth's Warming came before all of that as the journey continues.
After a heart-racing and intense mission during the journey to the Sea Temple, Ash, Luna, Shining Armor, Adagio and the others returned at last. And with many stories to tell. Ash couldn't help but talk about the People of the Water and how they had returned. Plus, the new friends he had made.
"Aw, what?!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "You were the King of the Sea!? Aw...why didn't we get to see it?"
"Sorry. I could've flown all the way to Ponyville to show you guys but I was too busy helping out." Ash chuckled.
"Tell us more. About when you were flying!" Scootaloo pleaded. "Or maybe that whole Necrozma thing."
"I've heard of Necrozma. Never seen it before." Twilight chimed in. "It was that dangerous from how you described it? Absorbing all that light?"
"Yeah. But that's just that Necrozma. The Necrozma I know's different and all that. Hope it's doing well out there." Ash looked in the air, thinking of the Necrozma he met back in Alola.
"Well, take your mind off that Necrozma thing for a while, why don't you?" Rarity said to him. "It's almost time for both Hearth's Warming and Christmas. Rainbow Dash's Castform is already in the mood in his Hail Form.
"Castform!"
"Yeah, you're right. I gotta get started with mom." Ash sat up. "I hear my cousins and auntie are gonna come over soon for this year's Christmas."
"Cousins? Oh, I've never met your cousins yet, Ash." Fluttershy said.
"Neither has Pikachu. It'll be the first time for everything. Aunt Hillary and Cousin Trey and Troy are gonna love the stuff I'm gonna say." He chuckled. "You can come and meet them when they show up. They'll be here for a few days too."
"Speaking of which, my mom and dad are gonna be here too." Twilight chimed in. "What about all of you?"
"Some family members from far and wide for me." Applejack raised her hoof. "Cold's involved too, obviously."
"My family isn't gonna be here. But it'll be me, my Pokemon and Jade over at my family Rock Farm." So did Pinkie Pie.
"I believe we get the gist of it all. Although...your father is the one out of the picture the most, isn't he, Ash?" Rarity pouted, shifting her squinted eyes at Ash. "All of our family members will be there after all."
"Yeah. Plus grandpa too." Ash replied. "Dad's still out there on his journey. But he sure does celebrate Christmas just like me, mom and everyone else. He's pretty excited about it every time."
"Pika?"
"Well, I should be getting ready for gifts and setup." Twilight stood up. "Tell us the rest of your journey and the Sea Temple. Especially the Sea Temple!" She wanted to know about the temple more than anyone else. Ash would gladly grant that request as the story he was telling was not yet finished.
The Dazzling's Home.
"Mom's out there?!" Aria and Sonata roared after Adagio had revealed something amazing. "Where?!"
"I don't know, okay?!" Adagio pulled back after receiving the dual shout. "All I know is that mom now lives at the Sea Temple with the People of the Water. She found her way there one day and is on a journey somewhere out there in the Pokemon World."
"This is great! Mom's okay!" Sonata, relieved with absolute joy, started shaking Aria up and down. "She's okay! Oh! We gotta go find her then?! Our own Pokemon Journey to find mom!"
"For once, you and I are thinking big as well," Adagio replied. "That's what I'm planning. The People of the Water said that she would be back in a few weeks. And during those few weeks, they're going to repair the Sea Temple after everything that's happened there. Princess Celestia and Luna will be helping out and the temple's going to stay at Lilycove City for a while. So...we have all the time we need until that temple gets repaired."
"How long will that take?" Aria asked.
"Weeks. Perfect timing. That Dragon Force did bring one good benefit at least."
"There's so much we can tell, mom now." Sonata looked at Aria. "We can tell her all about um..."
"We should keep it limited." Adagio interrupted. "As limited as we can when we reunited with her."
"Huh?" Aria raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Mom's not gonna like what we've been doing right now. Especially with where we are. So we can't tell her anything major. We should just tell her about how we ended up in the Human World too, met some Pokemon and that's that."
"But that's no fun? I mean, I know what you mean but..." Sonata pouted. She and Aria understood Adagio reason as to why their mother Vivace should not know everything. Otherwise, sparks could fly from what could be a happy family reunion.
"We should also pass through to the Human World first and then enter through the Pokemon World. That way, we'll show up in our human forms." She suggested, not wanting to show herself as a pony to her mother.
But Aria and Sonata were still not sure about this.
Canterlot. Day.
Over at Canterlot, Luna was taking the time to relax as much as she could. No time for training with her Pokemon or going to her next gym to prepare for the Equestria League. After the Sea Temple journey, this was needed. Celestia came into the room, checking up on her little sister.
"Okay, Luna. We'll head to the Sea Temple tomorrow to help. How does that sound?"
"Fine by me." Luna yawned, making herself cosy on her bed.
"Afterwards, and then after Hearth's Warming, I'll handle most of everything else for a bit while you relax. I know you need it. Even with you fully grasping Lunar Ire and Sorrowful Rage Magic."
"That reminds me." Luna sat up. "I should help Twilight Sparkle with that magic as well. She also tapped into that magic uncontrollably like me. One day after I did. Lunar Ire told me that her name was...Horizon Storm, I believe?"
"Not a bad idea. After all, you're the first pony ever to control that magic. May who've been hit by it couldn't help but lose themselves in all of that magic. Perhaps you could also teach everypony else who may have at a later date."
"I shall do so." Luna saluted with a cheesy grin. "It's high time I was the teacher for once."
"Also...I wonder if Pyrestar is doing well? I haven't heard from her in weeks. Reshiram and Zekrom are still out there assisting other universes."
"That is worrying that she and her Universe have not been in touch with us yet. Perhaps we should ask the Universal Alliance for questions on if they've seen?"
"Most definitely." Celestia agreed as it was concerning how there was nothing from Pyrestar to this day. Universe 46, the Universe Pyrestar originates from was practically silent. Little did they know, Daybreaker was the answer to this.
Universe 6. Equestria. Canterlot. Day.
Speaking of Universes, over at Universe 6, the Universe where the climax of the invasion took place, all was well and calm now. The Empress' rule on this universe had been greatly diminished. Thus, the Celestia of this world returned as the ruler of Equestria.
This universe was essentially free of the Empress' rule. But many would still have to recover among other things. Aside from that, the Celestia of this world was making some changes.
"If Empress Twilight ends up regaining just as much power as she did before the invasion, that would be troublesome. Fortifying the dungeons could work. We'll make it alicorn proof!" Celestia exclaimed.
"Then...How does the deeper area of the dungeons sound?" A guard asked. "They are usually the hardest to escape from and the hardest to navigate through."
"Hm. That's a good point. And wait...We have a deeper dungeon?" Celestia blinked two times. "I wasn't even aware of that."
"The Empress deepened the dungeons during her reign. Only immense threats were said to be put there. Aside from your sister Luna, who was sent to the moon instead."
"It's a good thing I became a maid to her, didn't I?" Celestia chuckled while having a nervous expression on her face, wiping some sweat away. She was glad she didn't get the dungeon option."
"Speaking of which...your majesty. About the deepest part of the dungeons. The Empress made sure that nopony but her would enter it. Something is in there that only she can access."
Celestia's attention had been piqued. An area that nopony, not even the guards were allowed to enter was at the deepest part of this dungeon. She had to see it. "Show me."
The guard led Princess Celestia to the dungeon as it was just those two. Once arriving at the dungeon, they saw the usual dungeon that's always been here. Some of those ponies from the invasion had been locked up while others were elsewhere with different punishments. They were being guarded 24/7.
But there was something beyond that. Further ahead was a single path. Its twisted trail leads past collapsed rooms and ravaged rubble and soon they entered a shady area. An area untouched by many. The guard stayed back as he felt nervous even approaching it.
Celestia would go at it alone. She let out a golden glow from her horn, creating light in the darkness. The Ruler of Equestria then walked towards the single twisted path. Her light guided the way as this went way deeper than she was expecting. Far past the natural Canterlot Dungeons and potentially even the Canterlot Mines.
Once getting to a far enough distance, it was just her in this darkness with only her light. The deeper she went, the more obscure it became. Anypony would feel lost down here without something to support them.
But after trotting through the deepest parts of this uncharted area, a large granite door could be seen up ahead. Large hoof dents are all over it, somehow untouched by time and the elements.
There was something uneasy about it. Just a lone door sitting out there, untouched by practically everything. Except possibly Empress Twilight. Celestia took a deep breath, knowing that she had to discover this. Who knows what Empress Twilight was trying to hide.
But as she got closer to the door, she could hear something past it. The sound of a pebble being bounced off the wall. And even the door. Celestia paused after hearing this. She had to stay alert. The pebble sounds continued coming. Bouncing off the walls and door, not putting a dent in any of them.
The Princess of the Sun prepared for the worst as she used her magic to blast a massive hole through the door. The sound of the pebble quickly stopped as it was drowned out by rubble falling. Once the hole had been blasted, Celestia stepped back with her horn glowing brighter.
"Is somepony there?!" Surprisingly, a voice echoed through the room ahead as it passed through Celestia's ears. Once the smoke from the destruction faded away, Celestia was met with a shocking sight.
Twilight.
Fully grown to Celestia's height too. She sat there with a strange black metal object covering her horn as her body was in scratches. There, she sat alone with no sparkles in her mane, despite her being a fully grown alicorn.
"Twilight?!" Celestia couldn't help but gawk at this sight. This caught her off guard. She was expecting a rare and unknown magical item of untold power or a creature that no one knew of. Not this.
"Somepony finally came for me. I knew it!" Twilight then gained a smile on her otherwise dismal face which seemed to be in a constant state of despair. She then stood up with weak hooves as they wobbled. Celestia was still taking this in.
Twilight then spread her wings, flying towards the hole. But despite how big it was, it wasn't exactly alicorn-sized. Thus, Twilight ended up bumping her horn and the metal part around her horn on the door. "Ow!" She cried out, falling on her back. "Mmmm..." She whimpered, holding her horn. as tears started flowing.
"Wait a minute...Which Universe Twilight are you?" She asked, wondering when another universe Twilight Sparkle had ended up here and how long she's been here.
"What?" Twilight replied with a confounded face. "W-What do you mean?"
"You're from another universe, aren't you? I wasn't aware that another Twilight from another universe was down here. The Empress kept you here and away from everypony else? Why?"
"Princess Celestia. It's me." Twilight pointed her hoof at herself. "Twilight. This is my universe."
And that further blew Celestia's expectations out of the water. First finding another Twilight and hearing about this. From what this Twilight said, she also originated from this universe as well. Her home. "Your- Wait, do you mean-"
"Sorry if it sounds off." Twilight wiped a tear away with a smile forming. "I've missed you so much, Princess Celestia. After being down here for so long. But yes, I am this world's Twilight. And the same goes for the Empress."
"But that's impossible!" Celestia pulled back, still trying to figure out what this meant. And only one answer could be plausible. "Unless...The portal the Human World." She then looked at Twilight.
Twilight looked back at her, nodding in response as she didn't even need to say anything to give an answer. Celestia could tell what this meant. "Oh, dear." The Princess of the Sun turned around once her mind processed everything. "So the Empress is..."
"She's the Twilight from the world Sunset lives in. Or used to live in." Twilight stood up. "My human self is the one taking charge of everything. As for me, I've been replaced. For 20 years or more it seems."
"Oh, Twilight! I didn't know!" Celestia used her magic to remove the rest of the granite door. She then ran up to her fellow alicorn as she gave her a well-needed hug. "I didn't even think about it! I mean if I did and knew I would try-"
"It's okay. I'm just glad to see a friendly face again." She laughed.
"But how did this happen exactly? That human variation of yourself? How and why did she do this?"
"Well...It all happened when Starlight Glimmer and I went through time. On that same day, Sunset Shimmer was trying to reach me with her letters. But I was too late to get them on time. When I did get them after stopping Starlight from messing with time, I went over to the human world. But I was too late. The Twilight of that world had unleashed a huge amount of magic that she gathered up from some pendant. All the magic inside of it became a part of her and that's how she discovered Equestria as well."
"And how she came through here." Celestia finished the TWilight sentence.
"I came too late at that time. That Twilight had already opened up portals across Equestria left and right. Sunset and everyone tried to stop her but they couldn't. And I couldn't do anything either. When we both met, she already knew what she wanted to do to me. A lot happened and it all led to this."
"You can tell me the rest later, Twilight. Right now, let's get you cleaned up. You need to see the sun again as well."
"Okay. I'd like that." Twilight nodded with a brief smile. Celestia led Twilight out of this part of the dungeon via teleportation as Twilight was finally free after all these years.
Upon showing up, the guard had seen both Celestia and Twilight. The tall visage of the purple alicorn startled the guard as it instantly reminded him of Empress Twilight. And that was a valid reason to be started. "Gaaah!"
"No-no-no-!" Celestia shook her head, calming the guard down. "It is not what it seems! You're safe!"
"Not from her!" The guard bellowed, breathing in and out rapidly as Twilight backed away slowly.
"Well, it's not her but...Oh, this will take some time to explain..." Celestia groaned, knowing that showing Twilight to Equestria, especially with this appearance, would alarm many.
Time passed and Ash had finally returned to Pallet Town. He had told his friends everything about the journey he and Pikachu had. They learned some great information. But now, Ash was ready to rest.
He already resting up, totally asleep with barely anything able to wake him. Not even Pikachu's electricity. The only force that can wake Ash up most of the time is Delia. He was drifting away.
But surprisingly, not in the Dream Realm. Instead in the mind of his Aura. At least momentarily. "Hm? How'd I end up here?" Ash wondered, surprised that she showed up back here. He was expecting to be dreaming right about now.
"Sorry for bringing you here without a warning." Replying to him was a familiar face. Rather, multiple familiar faces. The parent of the Rift, who was currently taking the form of Professor Sycamore.
"Oh, hey. Rift Parent." Ash gave it a nickname since he wasn't sure what to call it. "Been a bit. Uh...is there something important?"
"Not really. I just wanted to pop in and check up on you. It gets boring being on my lonesome after all." It replied with a chuckle. "I should also congratulate you about saving the Sea Temple. Certainly grander than last time."
"Yeah. And rougher. Surprised my Delayed Aura Ataxia didn't kick in right there. I think I'm getting the hang of it. I'm gonna do what I can to solve it. And get your kids back too from the Rift. And uhh...also head to Magehold to figure other stuff out. And-"
"You do a lot, Ash. How is it that you can take on every task while still have time to admire everything around you?" It asked before taking the form of Cilan.
"I've got all my friends to thank for that. I remember when I was starting out my Pokemon Journey for the first time. I just wanted to go-go-go and be the very best. But I sped up too much. If it wasn't for Misty, Brock, May and everyone else, I would've missed out on a bunch. But even then, there's still a whole lot I haven't seen yet out there. You know about what's out there, right?"
"I do. But I won't spoil it for you. Well, anyway, it's good that you're going great as always. Perhaps I shouldn't start thinking of the worst."
"Nah, it's fine. You gotta be cautious sometimes, ya know." Ash wagged his finger. "I mean, BigTime Ben's always careful. Maybe that's why he has so much awesome stuff...oooh..." He pondered for a moment.
"Oh. About that. It's not exactly caution and care that makes BigTime Ben so...well...BigTime." The Rift Parent had shrugged before appearing as Latias.
"What do you mean by that? There's something else?" He scratched his hair.
"Perhaps I should've told you this when we first met. Now might be the best time." It was clear that the Rift Parent had something to reveal. Something of great value. "Do you recall what I mentioned in our first meeting? How my power does not compare to the Rift. Therefore, I cannot interact with everything like it can."
"Yeah. You didn't get the same full result like your kids. I remember." Ash nodded.
"Well, yes. But even still, I can do a few things. Such as interacting with you as I am doing now. But, I was able to do one thing. One sole thing that I made sure would benefit many." The Rift Parent then appeared as Sunset Shimmer.
"Huh?"
"I created a human. Based on the grandfather of my children and the one thing that a majority of my power could construct. BigTime Ben."
"Oh...WHAT?!" Ash, after pausing for a moment, let out an outburst of shock. He did not expect that. "S-So...! BigTime Ben's a Rift Human!"
"Correct. Their grandfather mainly. Spitting image and everything. Down to the voice. It certainly took a lot out of me to make just one human and every other necessity."
"No way..." Ash's eyes shifted around, trying to process this. "B-But wait...! BigTime Ben is from Johto! He's got a home there and he had parents who passed away! Right...?"
"Apologies. But everything, including his past, was all an illusion that had altered reality. For the most part. It was essentially a Pokemon Variant of his real past. He was amazing back in our world and I made sure to bring that wonderful part of him into this world. The illusions warped reality itself, making you all and even those viewing this journey see something else. Perhaps that was taken too far."
"Woah...That totally puts a lot of stuff together...I think? Wait does it?"
"You could say that. I mean, it only stood to reason why he would be a Rift Human. How do you think he was able to show up weeks after your world had crossed over, Have the necessary objects such as Poke Balls and usual Trainer equipment, set up Gyms so quickly and already fill in positions for Gym Leaders as well. No one can work that fast. Except for a Rift Human. BigTime Ben is below that of Lucien and Sienna, though. In which, he cannot do much like they can."
"I get it, I get it." Ash nodded, crossing his arms as his mind caught up with everything. He could now understand what this all meant. "Man...So Big.Co's Rift-related too. A lot of stuff from him is. Does that mean Gothitelle too?"
"To an extent, yes. Ben back in our world came from a slightly older time. And in those times, they had this doll." The Rift Parent, now appearing as Ember, manifested an object in this Aura mind.
The object was revealed to be a doll made in an older time with older clothes. This doll was wearing a dress with a gothic style that was slightly resembled Gothitelle's.
"He had his doll when he was young. It was essentially a stress toy to him when he was afraid and he has stuck by it throughout his younger years. Something that would comfort him. As he grew up, he never abandoned it. While he doesn't carry it with him, it sits nicely at his home. And Gothitelle is the representation of that."
"Ooh..." Ash was given the doll, looking at it. "Okay. I get it all now. Does BigTime Ben know? And Gothitelle?"
"Ben is somewhat aware, yes. But not Gothitelle. She is only partly a Rift Creation. One part is the representation of that doll and the other is from the Pokemon World. Ah, that felt like a huge load to get off my back."
"Sure was. I guess I've got another friend who's a Rift Human, huh? Boy, that's still a lot to take in. So, what about him? When all of this ends, is BigTime Ben gonna leave with you?"
"Ben's future is unknown for the moment. If he wishes to stay or not then that is his decision. But for now, just like my children, look out for them. And if he needs help, well, he can trust you."
"Yeah. I won't forget that, Rift Parent."
"Well, have a nice dream. And a great Christmas too." The Rift Parent started fading away. "If there's anything important you want to tell me, I will always be here."
"Yeah. Hang on...what do you actually look like as your human self! Both mom and dad!" Ash wanted to know now that he was a firm grasp on the family bloodline for these Rift Humans and to an extent the Rift Ponies.
"Oh, something like-" But it was too late. Ash was already entering a dream state. His mind had subconsciously gone to it before it could stop and look at this appearance.
He was drifting away in his dream. But he would get the chance to know what they looked like when they meet again. Ash had something to remember. He wouldn't see BigTime Ben differently at all. But he would surely know about his origins.
Two shocking revelations had been made in different universes. The true Twilight Sparkle, replaced by the Empress and the truth behind BigTime Ben's origin. There are other secrets lying out there in both worlds. Every world. And they have yet to be discovered as the journey continues.
"Ash!" Delia's name bellowed throughout the house and right into Ash's home. "Your Aunt Hillary and cousins Trey and Troy will be here soon! I hope you've cleaned your room to make a good impression?!"
"Do I have to?" Ash left his room, coming downstairs. "I mean, my room's pretty good as it is right now."
"I know. But Aunt Hillary will think otherwise. You know how she gets after all..." Delia shrugged. "And about your cousins. I know Troy would absolutely love to see the other world and all of your accomplished feats as well. He's just as excitable as you. Especially when you wrote down logs for some of your adventures. He can't help but read all of them constantly."
"What about cousin Trey?"
"Trey is still himself as always. Albeit on the stoic side here and there. I bet for a fact that he's the most eager to see his cousin do cool things. He always was a fan of that. They'll be here for a while until the new year. I know you're excited. Just wish your father could be here for once."
"Ah, he's fine. Do they know about Equestria and all that? If not, then I've got something to show them."
"I sure do. It'll be great for you to see them as well for the first time, Pikachu."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Though it's strange honestly..." Delia pondered. "They've aged but they still look relatively young. Much like everyone else we know. Must be a generational thing. I mean, I still look as gorgeous as ever for my age!"
"Do you really think it could be, Ho-oh's doing again?" Ash turned to Pikachu.
"Pikachu?" But the Mouse Pokemon just shrugged, unsure of that. Though it was a curious thing to wonder about. Everyone Ash has met, while they have aged, retain fairly young appearances.
"Anyway, Mimey and I will be setting up decorations in the meanwhile. Your friend Pinkie Pie will help with the Christmas food. Plus, both of us will trade foods from each world. Riveting, isn't it?"
"Making me hungry..." Ash was thinking about eating as he and Pikachu rubbed their stomachs.
"Pika-Pikachu."
"And when your cousins get here, make sure that nothing too crazy happens. I know how much your adventures escalate, Ash." Delia wagged her finger. "One minute you're strolling through the plains and the next thing an outburst of Pokemon Moves start flying. So I'm told."
"Nah, Nah. Nothing major's gonna happen this time, mom. The Sea Temple thing's all done for. But I am kinda thinking of heading there to help rebuild the place. Might take some time and-"
"Hmmm...?" Delia paused for a moment, making a poker face with a squint. "You're not thinking of overdoing things again at this time of the year, Ash? It hasn't even been a full week. No son of mine is going to skip out on a wonderful Christmas."
"N-N-No way..." He laughed nervously as one of the few things in this world that terrify him is his mother. Delia closed in on Ash with the same judgemental state. "I promise. It won't get out of hand like it always does. It'll be for a moment too. Celestia, Luna and everyone are gonna help. Hehehe..."
"Pikachu..."
Just then, a knock on the door could be heard, promptly saving Ash from his mother's potential wrath. Delia couldn't help but head over and answer it. "Ah. That must be them. Pretty early." Once she reached the door as a sigh of relief came to Ash and Pikachu, Delia opened the door, revealing the cousins and aunt of Ash Ketchum.
"Hillary!"
"Delia!"
The two of them were ecstatic to see each other again as they embraced with a hug. Clearly, these two were close in the family category. Mainly due to how they were related.
"How's my sister doing?" Hillary asked as she and Delia were indeed related. There were striking resemblances minus the glasses.
"Wonderful as ever!" Delia laughed along with Hillary. "And how are my lovely nephews?"
"Hi, Aunt Delia!" Troy waved with equal amounts of energy while Trey simply raised his arm out of his pocket for a quick wave instead of a prolonged one. "We're great!"
"And cold too..." Trey shuddered, already feeling the chill. "Do we have our coats?"
"It's not too cold yet, Trey." Hillary wagged her finger. "But it's best that you get them and-" However, she quickly stopped to focus on something far more important. Ash. "Oh! Is that young Ash Ketchum I see over there?" She gawked before walking over.
"Hey, Aunt Hillary."
"Pika-Pika."
"Oooh! Look at you! Mature yet still so young! The striking image of your elusive father! I'm sure you've already heard that, haven't you?!" Hillary giggled as she grabbed Ash's face, pulling his cheeks and stretching them.
"Thanks, auntie...ow!" Ash grimaced after having his face stretched. "And yeah, last Christmas from mom's friends..."
"How are things recently? You've only ever told us about your escapades in Kanto all those years ago. And it wasn't much. Fairly limited. I, mainly your cousins, would love to know everything. From Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and your adventures in Unova and beyond. Isn't that right, you two?"
"Right!" Troy replied with enthusiasm.
"Sure." But Trey's reply was more laid-back and less bombastic. However, he let out a smile afterwards. "It'll be fun I bet. Right, Ash?"
"You bet. I'll even show you some stuff too."
"You have a lot of catching up to do, you three. Ash, you've been so busy on all of your Pokemon Journeys it's been years since you've even spent time with your cousins. Now's a good time since you're not in one region all the time." Delia snapped her fingers. "As for us..."
"Our catching up will be short but juicy. I have a lot to tell you, Delia. Too much!" Hillary exclaimed afterwards. "The things I've seen and had to deal with could be considered otherworldly."
"Oh really....?" Delia gawked as she and Hillary walked off, already being stuck within a lengthy talk that many mothers get into. Usually, it's at the shops but a house is a good substitute.
"Really. But what about that husband of yours, first? Has he responded yet or is he as rare as any Legendary Pokemon out there?"
"Alright. It's just you guys, me and Pikachu now. For a few days. Maybe a week, I think," Ash crossed his arms. "Let's get started. It's been a while so we've got a lot to catch up on. Plus, how does the other world sound?"
"You mean the world with the ponies...?" Troy gawked.
"Not just that. There's way more! Come on!" Ash immediately rushed off in a hurry as Troy couldn't help but follow him.
"Wait? Seriously? We're going now?" Trey said before following after his brother and cousin. He walked for a moment before running as well. But there was no need to run. The gateway to the other world was incredibly close. Practically only two metres.
Equestria. Sweet Apple Acres. Day.
"Alright, Sceptile. Made ya this with the help of Rarity and Leavanny." Applejack held out a Sceptile-sized sweater for the Forest Pokemon. And for a good reason. Sceptile was a Grass-Type. Plus, with Mega Evolution, a Dragon-Type, he was extra vulnerable to the cold.
"Sceptile!" And this was the best early Christmas gift that he could ask for. Sceptile could wander around in the cold thanks to this sweater. He put it on as it was a perfect fit. As to be expected.
"Now ya won't have to worry about staying in all winter, huh?" Applejack nudged the Forest Pokemon. And just as she did so, the first drop of snow had appeared. The weather was now fitting the current month and incoming holiday. "Nice timing. Ooh...But I didn't get any for Apple Bloom's Pokemon..."
Applejack put on an embarrassed face. Apart from Sceptile, a majority of Apple Bloom's Pokemon were vulnerable to the cold. She dedicated most of her Trainer career to catching Grass-Types and it didn't help that Emolga was a Flying-Type.
Speaking of Apple Bloom, she had all of her Grass-Types inside of her room, looking at every last one of them. She had caught an impressive amount. Still not every Grass-Type out there. "Hmmm...This is great and all but...I don't know." She jumped on her bed, laying on her back. "Being a Monotype Trainer's not as great as I thought it would be."
"Emol?"
"Maybe I could try something else..." She pondered. Indeed, at first, Apple Bloom was enamoured by the thought of being a Monotype Trainer. And while the actions done to catch these various Grass-Types was entertaining, it left a void in her. She had come this far in her goal but was searching for another. "Hmm...Gym Leader? I could maybe take over Roseluck's Gym one day...Nah. Maybe not."
"Somepony in there struggling?" Granny Smith entered the room, sensing something wrong. "Ya ain't supposed to have existential crises at this age, Apple Bloom. That's my job."
"Granny. I just don't know what I'm gonna do next. I was thinking about being a Gym Leader but that went out. What do you think?"
"You're asking little ol' me? I still don't get this Pokemon stuff even today. Ain't that right, Drampa?" She looked at her Drampa.
"Drampa."
"Right, right. Should've figured." Apple Bloom chuckled. "I'll just ask my friends what I can do."
"Well, I can give ya this. Do what you want, sugarcube. You know more about this whole thing than me." Granny Smith went up the filly, giving her a comforting part on the head.
"Thanks, Granny. Maybe I can ask Mayor Mare first. She seems like she knows something about Pokemon Occupations."
"Good luck. That Stoutland and her get out a lot. Might even be wandering out there right about now..."
Bidoof Beach.
"Go fetch, boy!" Indeed, Mayor Mare and Stoutland were out there. Usually, Mayor Mare stays behind at Ponyville. But ever since she got Stoutland, when he was a Lillipup in the beginning, she's been taking part in more activities outdoors.
"Stoutland!" Stoutland chased after a stick that Mayor Mare had thrown. The Big-Hearted Pokemon dashed as fast he could as the throw distance was fairly impressive considering that Mayor Mare didn't have any magic or pegasi wings to do so.
That was just natural Earth Pony strength. Stoutland jumped over many Bidoofs to try and reach the stick. Leaping high into the air, he was able to catch it midair. The Normal-Type then landed over at the nearest acre of trees with no trouble. Afterwards, he ran right back with the stick in his mouth, dropping it in front of Mayor Mare.
"Good boy!" Proud of her partner, Mayor Mare patted Stoutland. Stoutland panted happily as his tail and ears wagged. Afterwards, she pushed a box of Pokemon Food towards Stoutlan. "You get a treat for that!"
"Stout!" Stoutland politely took one piece of Pokemon Food instead of multiple. He wanted to savour it all.
"Now then. Let's try something bigger. We can't slow down for the Pokemon Dog Contest at any cost. Princess Celestia and her Arcanine are tricky and massive contenders. So..." She then revealed multiple sticks. "Try catching all these. Your speed is greater than ever, I know that much. But how much greater?"
"Stoutland."
"Alright then. Fetch!" Mayor Mare curled her hooves, holding the sticks while another was being held by her teeth. She then launched them all in different directions, wanting to see how swift Stoutland can be.
After tossing them, Stoutland dashed once more. He would have to somehow grab each stick from the air from the various directions without a single one touching the ground. He didn't want to disappoint as the Big-Hearted Pokemon kicked it up into High Gear.
And no Pokemon moves would be used. Just pure agility at its peak. Stoutland got off to a strong start, lunging off of the ground and into the air. With this height, he managed to catch two sticks in his mouth, but he had to find a way to catch the others before they hit the ground.
To do that, Stoutland used the palm trees of Bidoof Beach. He landed on one, using his weight to his advantage. The tree bent a bit as Stoutland flung off of it. He gained some more air time as he went in the direction of the others sticks next.
The Bidoof could only watch in awe as their fellow Normal-Type was doing something utterly amazing. It inspired them to do amazing things as well. Stoutland grabbed four sticks only three remained.
After grabbing the four sticks, Stoutland then descended, dashing towards the final three sticks before they could hit the ground. At this rate, the speed he had picked up would be enough to catch them.
"Hound!" Until someone else did. Appearing throughout the acre of trees was Houndoom, swooping in and grabbing the sticks with its mouth. Stoutland paused before coming to a screeching halt. He did not expect that as Houndoom slid on the ground.
"A Houndoom?" said Mayor Mare.
"Houndoom!" And appearing out of the acre of trees and into the beach was the owner of Houndoom. Hollow. He ran over here before spotting how his Pokemon had three sticks. "Did you have to run off the moment you saw sticks in the air?"
"Hound. Houndoom." Houndoom panted as he couldn't resist. A majority of dog Pokemon are tempted by the power of fetch and cannot help but instinctively chase after any stick or frisbee that is thrown.
"Stoutland." Stoutland's ears dropped as he couldn't finish the task. "Stout..."
"Oh, Hollow. Fancy seeing you here. Seems as if your Houndoom swooped in with that jump and grabbed the sticks before my Stoutland could."
"Sorry about that..." Hollow put his hands together with a bow, giving a traditional Johto apology. "Houndoom just gets excited when stuff like that happens."
"No, no, no. It's fine." The mayor shook her head. "We were just practising for the next Pokemon Dog Contest. Princess Celestia and Arcanine are our biggest competitors and we want to make sure we can surpass them in every category. If not keep up with them. How about you? You were in the last one."
"Yeah but I rarely go to those contests." Hollow shrugged. "Only when I've got nothing else to do. But Houndoom seems to love it whenever we go there. But I might go less than ever when my kid comes along. I wanna be there for him, ya know."
"Houndoom." Houndoom accidentally ended up burning away the sticks while panting with his tongue out.
"And when we do, we do great. Princess Celestia and Arcanine aren't the only ones you should watch out for," said Hollow, going up to the Dark Pokemon and patting him on the head.
"I know that much. So does Stoutland. But...the next one is next year at Sinnoh. How about we practice together? Just to prepare for what's to come."
"A Pokemon Battle? Sounds good to me. What do you say, Houndoom?"
"Doom!" Houndoom howled, agreeing to this battle. So did Stoutland as all of the Bidoof looked at each other, unaware of what was about to happen.
Mayor Mare and Hollow stood far from each other with their Pokemon in front of them. They made sure to have plenty of space. The spectators of this battle would be the many Bidoof that populate this area along with a few other Pokemon.
"Let's make it quick, shall we? I also have decorations to get to soon." Mayor Mare asked.
"Sure, sure. As quick as it can be."
"Allow me to go first. Stoutlan, use Thunder Fang!"
"Stout...!" Stoutland made the first move with sparks of electricity forming around his teeth. The Normal-Type then approached, causing the sand to rise from his dash.
"Houndoom, Crunch!"
"Doom!" Houndoom also used his fangs, which were sharper. He approached his fellow Dog Pokemon, lunging through the air. Stoutland made the first bite, only for Houndoom to dash past him with an evasion.
"Stoutland?!"
"Hound!" Houndoom then bit on Stoutland's back, dealing the first hit. After biting on Stoutland's back with a darkness explosion, Houndoom gripped Stoutland for a moment before tossing him away. "Doom!"
"L-Land!"
"Right back at you! Reversal!"
"Stoutland!" But among Stoutland's many moves, a fairly recent one he had obtained was used. He slid on the ground, covering his body in a red aura. The Big-Hearted Pokemon blitzed forward, hitting Houndoom back with a mighty tackle, taking the damage he had received and using it against the Dark Pokemon.
"Hound!" Houndoom cried out before being knocked back with super-effective damage. He tumbled on the ground before recovering afterwards.
"Same to you too! Counter!"
"Dom!" Houndoom did the same to Stoutland! He gained a deeper red aura, moving at lightning speeds as well. He smashed his horns onto Stoutland's head, giving super-effective damage as well. Stoutland was knocked sideways by this overhead attack.
"Now! Use Overheat!"
"Houn...!" Houndoom's eyes flared with a red burst. Flames appeared out of his mouth, burning as hot as magma. Afterwards, the Dark Pokemon cocked his head back before throwing it forward, opening his mouth and releasing a cataclysmic wave of fire that instantly turned some of the sand into glass.
There was a Palossand on this beach and it felt threatened just by seeing that wave of fire and how intense those flames were. It could be turned into glass by accident.
"Oh my...!" Mayor Mare was surprised by the ferocity of this attack. "I'll respond in kind! Giga Impact!"
"Stoutland!" Stoutland responded with an equally powerful move. Giga Impact. Running forward while creating an invisible aura around himself that expanded to a colossal size, Stoutland had crashed into Houndoom's Overheat. The result was an outburst of attacks as both Giga Impact and Overheat cancelled each other out.
The Bidoof closed their eyes after this massive explosion appeared. A shame they couldn't close their ears too. Out of the smoke, Stoutland slid back as the two seemed equal in moves and strength. However, Stoutland was now vulnerable due to Giga Impact's recharge.
"Now's our chance! Houndoom, Overheat one more time!"
"Doom!" Overheat was used again. But against a vulnerable Stoutland who could do nothing to counteract this. The wave that turned some of the sand into glass once more as Stoutland could only take this attack. And he did. The attack struck the Big-Hearted Pokemon, creating a dome-shaped explosion of flames.
"Time's up! Reversal!"
"Stout!" Stoutland's recharge ended the moment Houndoom used another move and it connected. Jumping out of the explosion was a tattered Stoutland with a glowing body, ready to crash into his fellow canine.
"Here they come! Get ready to Counter!"
"Doom!" Houndoom snarled, preparing for Reversal as he stood there. Stoutland gave him a hard bash, causing the Dark Pokemon to stagger. However, then countered with a headbutt via Counter.
"Land!" Stoutland also staggered too.
"Once more! Reversal!"
"Use Counter back to back!"
"Stoutland!" And thus began an exchange of super-effective blows. The second Stoutland struck back with a reversal of attacks, Houndom did the same. They went all over the place with canine bodies flying through the beach. Every single time, they dealt supreme damage to each other.
Stoutland's Reversal was growing stronger due to how much damage he was taking. And the same went for Houndoom's Counter as it grew stronger the harder he was hit by the increasing Reversal.
Eventually, they tired each other out after hitting back with super-effective hits. Both Pokemon started breathing in and out repeatedly.
"Oh. Hold on." Mayor Mare interrupted. "This was just supposed to be training. We might be going a little too far with this. I suppose that's just the result of being carried away in a Pokemon Battle."
"Yeah. My bad." Hollow shrugged. "I was getting too into it. Okay, Houndoom. That's enough for now."
"Doom." Houndoom sighed as he was slightly relieved about that. So was Stoutland.
"Another time. And perhaps with less aggression than before." Mayor Mare brought over the box of Pokemon food for both Stoutland and Houndoom to eat. "Well, I suppose I shall be seeing you around later. Once Hearths Warming and Christmas come to a close."
"Mhm. But I don't come around Ponyville as much. Then again, I've got a kid coming so I'll be back at Johto for a while. And it'll be worth it. Can't wait for my kid."
"Neither can I. Ooh. Perhaps I should get the little one a gift once he's born, eh?" Mayor Mare suggested. "And one for you this Hearth's Warming."
"Hm." Hollow nodded before sparking an idea up. "Actually...how about Jewel and I come over and spend the holidays with you for a while? How does that sound?"
"Perfectly fine!" Mayor Mare could get behind that as Stoutland and Houndoom went wild on the food. The Bidoof felt a bit perplexed after seeing all of that while Palossand could only feel relieved.
Universe 6. Equestria. Canterlot. Day
Meanwhile, over at Universe 6's Equestria, after being freed from the deepest part of the dungeon which she was in for so many years, the true Twilight Sparkle had been cleaned up. Replaced by Empress Twilight and having her identity stolen, it would be hard to come back to everything considering the number of years stolen.
"There. You look stunning now, Twilight." Celestia said to Twilight as she was sparkling once more. The metal object on her horn had been removed as it was originally restraining her magic. Twilight looked more like herself.
"Thank you, Princess Celestia." She thanked Celestia. "And thank you for clearing everything up with everypony. I didn't know if I could go out there looking like this..."
"Again. I'm terribly sorry for what happened to you. But those wrongs have been righted if you must know. Thanks to the help of some interesting characters from another universe, we defeated the Empress and freed this universe. And your friends are better than ever. Younger too."
"Younger?"
"It's a long story. But anyway...would you mind showing me what happened to the human world? Since that's where the Empress originated from."
"It's best not to." Twilight shook her head. "That world has also been conquered by her. If we go there, we're asking for trouble instantly."
"That place as well?!" Celestia gasped. "What about Sunset Shimmer?! Is she okay?!"
"No..." Twilight shook her head before closing her eyes. Tears started forming. "When the Empress received all of that magic, Sunset ended up being crushed in their clash."
"Oh...Sunset." That brought distraught to the atmosphere, hearing about Sunset Shimmer's fate once the Empress gained magical power in her world. "I never got to apologize to her and-"
"It's alright. I should've worded it better. Sunset's still alive. But she's injured. And all the magic that she had is gone. The same goes for the human world entirely. It's all under the Empress' control."
"Not for long. We'll get to it eventually. Right now, we have other things to do. One of which should be starting right about now."
"Now?" Twilight repeated, unsure as to what Celestia meant. Her answer came once the doors to the throne room had opened. And through those doors were Twilights' friends. Young again thanks to Discord's magic and free from the dungeon as well.
"TWILIGHT!" They all cried out once seeing their true friend. Celestia had informed them all about everything. She just had to. This cleared up some major confusion as all of her friends, including Spike, who was currently still a giant dragon, came up to her.
Well, Spike mainly stayed outside, peeking through the window due to his massive size. Twilight was stunned, surprised and happy to see her friends once more. "Girls...Spike...Oh, it's so great to be back! You all look so young still."
"Good to be back, Twilight! And don't worry about our looks!" Rainbow Dash uttered. "It's just Discord stuff."
"We're just happy to see you again. We had to show up once Princess Celestia gave us the letter," said Fluttershy.
"Honestly, we should've known that the other Twilight wasn't from here. The Twilight we know would never go that far." Rarity shook her head.
"Not one bit." And so did Pinkie Pie as she currently had a box of Twilight's favourite things. She needed them due to how long it's been.
"Feeling better, Twilight?" Applejack asked.
"I am now. I've heard that a lot of good things happened while I was down there. I never gave up hope that somepony would find me. And that all of this would be undone. I was right to put my trust in all of you. My friends." She looked at every last one of them.
"Don't thank us. Thank Universe 1 for that." Celestia replied. "And Ash, the Pokemon and...I-It truly is one big story all things considered. But for now. We want to wish you a happy welcome back Twilight. And for Hearth's Warming as well."
"Everypony in Ponyville will be waiting for you, darling." Rarity nudged. "Let's not keep them waiting. We will be having the biggest Hearth's Warming party ever before the rule."
"Thanks. But I'd like to see my family first." Twilight requested as it shall be granted to her. For now, she was going to take her mind off of the Empress and anything related to it. She focused on all of her friends as they came together for one big hug.
The holidays were put before anything else. The time for all those worries to be drowned out by absolute joy across the world. More worlds really, as the journey continues.
Ash was currently showing his cousins Trey and Troy around Equestria. They would be staying for a few days due to the Christmas Holiday. For now, they were a part of this growing adventure that Ash and Pikachu are always one with.
In the meanwhile, their mother Hillary would spend time with her sister Delia back in Pallet Town, discussing the past, present and everything else.
"So. Do you guys like what you see so far? Ponyville's big on its own. Wait till you see Canterlot, Manehattan and a bunch more." said Ash.
"This place is so...colourful..." Trey winced as all of this pastel ambience was overwhelming with some saturation here and there.
"Very colourful..." Troy nodded in response to his big brother. "And it's pretty chilly too. Way more than home." He and Trey suddenly shivered.
"Yeah. This world's still pretty new with Pokemon. Almost two years soon. Back then, it was tough for Equestria to handle all of the Pokemon and what they do to everything. But after a while, everything got adjusted pretty easily. Though, the weather's still tough to get used to."
"Good to know. Most of your friends are here?" Trey asked.
"I've got a lot of friends on both sides. Sure, there's less here but they're growing. Isn't that right, Pikachu?"
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Are you guys hungry? My friend Pinkie Pie can make you something. She makes food as good as mom does, I'll tell y that." Ash raised his finger, already thinking about Pinkie's food. He and Pikachu started drooling from the thought of it. "Yeah...Good food..."
"Pika..."
"We can do more than just look around. We came all the way here from home so we'd better do something. Ash. I hear you're a Pokemon Champion, right?" Trey asked. "It's not just the Orange Islands League you won."
"Sure am. You ever heard of the Alola League. I'm the very first champion of it too. Too bad it's not as global since it's so new, ya know."
"I knew it!" Just then, Trey burst out with high enthusiasm and energy, startling Ash. He pumped his fist, feeling excited all of a sudden. "I knew it! Yes!"
"Uh, what's up?" Ash asked.
"My friends didn't believe me at all..."Trey regained his composure, clearing his throat and crossing his arms to act cool. "Everything about you and what you've done, they said it was fake. But it looks like it's all real. I-it is real...right?"
"Well-"
"Ash!" Interrupting the conversation was the approaching Apple Bloom. She didn't have Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle with her. Mostly because she had a question to ask Ash. "Hey, Ash!"
"Hey there!" Ash kneeled to face the filly. Apple Bloom ran into his arms as the Alola Champion picked the earth pony up, lifting her into the air.
"Yikes, they're small..." Troy and Trey were amazed by how the ponies scaled to humans. Apple Bloom was taller than Pikachu, especially when standing in a bipedal position, but it still doesn't compare to a human. Even the younger ones.
"Yeah. You could fit her in a shoebox, maybe." Trey whispered.
"What's up, Apple Bloom?" Ash asked.
"I just wanted your help. I wanna do something new besides catching Grass-Types only. Granny told me to do whatever I feel but I still don't know. Do you?"
"Ah...I gotcha. Well, have you thought about being a Gym Leader?"
"Thought about it. But Nah." Apple Bloom shook her head. "Maybe some other time."
"Hmm...What else is on your mind? Think about all the jobs you've seen everyone have. Like at the Pokemon School, back at the Pokemon World or anything, really."
"Jackie's pretty cool. I could be a Pokemon Ranger, maybe!" Apple Bloom gawked, thinking about everyone close to Ash. Each of them have various occupations. Even the Gym Leaders are more than just Gym Leaders. Examples like Roxie and Fantina are clear. "Maybe I could play for Roxie's band or..."
"See? Plenty of options just floating around. You choose carefully. You can ask all of the teachers for advice too once the Pokemon School reopens next year. And Brock too."
"Brock..." Apple Bloom lingered on that name for a while until her mind struck a goldmine. "I know!" She had something. Something that she could pursue. "I could become a Pokemon Breeder! It'd be like my Monotppe goal but..bigger! And with more Pokemon!"
"100% sure about that?"
"Eeyup!" She said with a proud and confident grin before noticing the two people behind Ash. "Oh, who are they?"
"These are my cousins. Trey and Troy." Ash introduced. "Just like your family, they're staying around for a while. Thought I'd show them Equestri before anything else."
"Well, howdy there, Trey and Troy!" Apple Bloom climbed onto Ash's shoulder, holding her hoof out try and shake with them. Trey was a bit taken back while Troy gladly shook with the filly. Due to the size difference, he ended up accidentally raising Apple Bloom from Ash's shoulder while shaking. "Woah!"
"Oops! My bad!" Trey gasped before letting go of Apple Bloom. The filly felt dazed afterwards.
"Um, Ash. The question. Is it true or not?" Trey brought the topic of Ash's status back into play.
"Hm? Oh yeah. It is. But I thought you knew about the Orange Islands? Didn't it show on TV?" Ash asked.
"Well, yeah but..." Trey then sheepishly turned his hat forward before turning it backwards again. "How about we get that food you mentioned already?" He switched the topic instantly.
"Sure. Oh, I should've also brought up Sweet Apple Acres. I could go for some pie too." Ash was now thinking of two food options. The pie at Sweet Apple Acres or the various pastries at SugarCube Corner.
"Now you've got me hungry too..." The same curse that infected Ash and Pikachu reached Apple Bloom. Even though she comes from Sweet Apple Acres. "Oh! But Pinkie Pie's not gonna let us touch the food until Hearth's Warming."
"Ah, you're right!" Ash exclaimed. "Apple pie it is."
"You know, we're not really hungry." But Trey rejected it. "How about something more fun. You brought us here for that, didn't you? Maybe tell us about what else you've done?"
"You're pretty focused on what I've done, huh?" Ash looked back at his cousin.
"I can tell ya something!" Apple Bloom interjected, having a plethora of things to tell Ash. "Ash is Equestria's hero! So is Pikachu! How's that sound?"
"You? For real?!" With more impressions being loaded, Troy couldn't help but see his cousin in a bigger light continuously. He showed the most expression while Trey tried keeping his reactions in check. At the same time, they would walk around Ponyville while Apple Bloom spills everything.
"Ash and Pikachu have saved us a bunch of times! From Tirek, Spiritomb, Malamar, Ghetsis and a whole bunch! I can name all of 'em! Just like those two!"
"No way you're that popular! Since when did you become a hero?!" Troy pointed at his cousin, finding it hard to believe that the Ash they knew from a while back could create such a reputation here.
"A lot of stuff happened in just a few months. Trust me." Ash could only reply with a chuckle. He then noticed Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in the air, deciding to grab their attention. "Hey! Rainbow! Fluttershy!"
"So I'm thinking we-" Rainbow Dash's conversation with Fluttershy was interrupted once Ash called for them both. They spotted their friends below, quickly flying towards them. "Sup, Ash! What's going on?"
"Remember how I mentioned my cousins would be visiting. Here they are. Trey and Troy. Not to be confused with my friend Troy."
"Oh hey..." Just then, once Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy got close, Trey and Troy took a moment to realize how familiar these appearances were. Troy especially. "Don't they look like those toys?"
"Totally? Shot for shot." Troy nodded in response.
"Toys? Oh yeah. That whole marketing thing in Unova." Quickly, Rainbow Dash recalled the company in Unova that had made merchandise out of the Mane 6 due to their popularity. "Anyway. Nice to meet you guys. Just in time to hang out with us."
"Rainbow Dash, right?" Trey walked up. "I heard something about the Equestria League in this world. It's the newest league out of all of them. Is Ash in it?"
"Nah. Ash is passing on that. He's got something bigger in mind. Meanwhile, I'm gonna be Equestria's first-ever Pokemon Champion. Believe it, alright?"
"The second time you've brought up champion stuff today." Troy nudged his older brother. "Do you wanna say something, huh? Bro? Or are you too shy to spill it?"
"Huh?! What are you trying to say?!" In response, Trey gave his little brother a noogie, grinding his knuckles firmly after that initial taunt.
"Ow-ow-ow! I give, I give!" Troy cried out, holding Troy's arms as he tried pulling him off. The two of them started having a struggle, moving around as Trey had the superior grip.
"If you're shy to say something, I can help you out with it," Fluttershy suggested.
"I'm not shy! Besides I'm just curious!" Trey exclaimed in response, startling Fluttershy as Troy managed to break free from his brother's grasp.
"Hah..." Troy breathed in and out. "A-Anyway...M-My friends are pretty big on you." He then pointed at Fluttershy.
"Really? I'm popular?" Fluttershy looked at herself.
"As a toy. You're in this Christmas for a huge sale. And other stuff. We went shopping for stuff the other day and there was a whole aisle with dolls based around you ad everything. It was total chaos since a lot of kids wanted it. Pretty terrifying too." Trey thought back to how chaotic the shops were when it came to certain toys. But that was only natural every Christmas.
"Come with us, you two." Rainbow Dash insisted that Trey and Troy follow them. It was high time they met the rest of Ash's friends. Everypony in Ponyville was Ash's friend due to all the experience. This would take a while.
They went to eat at Sweet Apple Acre as Ash and Pikachu wished to. The pie did not disappoint. Plus, Applejack's cousins were here as well, making it a cousin-filled area.
But while everyone was enjoying themselves, Trey sat up. "Thanks for the pie. It tastes great but...I wanna try doing something quickly. I'll be right back."
"Aw, but we were just getting to know each other," said Applejack. "Whaddya need?"
"Just a moment!" Trey put out his finger before rushing off. He seemed to be in a hurry. Ash was expecting to just introduce his cousins to all of his friends and have a good time. And while that was certainly happening, Trey was moving with a different kind of energy.
"What's up with Trey?" Ash asked Troy. "I've never seen him act like this before. Not even when we were kids."
"I can see it." Rainbow Dash uttered, drinking some cider in the process. "I know those movements all too well. Believe me. I'm an expert at it." She let out a confident grin.
"You sure are." Only for Applejack to reply with an unimpressed expression, knowing exactly what Rainbow Dash's mannerisms are in certain situations.
"He's hiding something, alright. I act all cool to do the same thing too. I mean...I am cool so I don't need to try all that much. Hehe." Rainbow Dash stroked her ego for a few seconds there.
"Hiding something, huh? Troy, do you know what it is?" Ash questioned.
"Oh." Troy paused midway through the pie he was eating. He then gulped it down with an audible sound. "Yeah, I do. It's kinda why he's been bringing up stuff about you being the Champion and other things. But he barely tells me a lot. He just sits there all like..." Troy then mimicked his older brother's stoic face, putting his hands inside of his pockets while slouching for a bit.
Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and a few others couldn't help but giggle at Troy's impression. He got a good laugh out of all of them. "Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu and the other Pokemon found amusement out of it as well.
"But yeah. Even though he won't tell me, I know what it is. Brotherly instincts, ya know." Troy tapped his head. "We know what our siblings are always thinking about and trying to hide. You know what I mean, right guys?"
"Eeyup." Big Mac and a few of the other Apple Family members agreed to Troy's words.
"So spill it already. What is it?" Rainbow Dash nudged.
"Trey's just happy that you're doing great, Ash. Ever since he learned about you winning the Alola League not too long ago. Well...it was a few years back, he got super excited. The most I've seen him. I think it's because of everything that happened before the Alola League?"
"What happened before that?" Fluttershy asked.
"Uhh..." Troy tried being honest and careful with his words. He went for it either way. "Same reason why he was hoping you being the champion was true. Everyone at school used to make fun of him a lot. Just because you lost, Ash."
"Me?" Ash aimed at himself.
"Yeah. All those leagues. They get broadcasted on TV after all. Trey and I watch every single one of them whenever we see you on the screen. And we get psyched. I even carried this good luck charm that I got when I was young." Trey held out a charm that was in the shape of a Vicitini V. The ultimate symbol of good luck. "The Lucky V."
"Oooh..." Fluttershy was starstruck by it. "Can I still buy that somewhere?"
"They're mostly found in Unova and Kalos nowadays."
"Noted!" Fluttershy then flapped her wings in excitement as Trey continued the story.
"But every league, it got worse back at school for Trey whenever you were in a league."
Trey would always root for you, hoping that you'd win a league so he can show everyone at school and brag about it. But for a long time, that didn't happen.
"So much for that!" A boy exclaimed at Trey who was currently sitting at his table, embarrassed. "Told you he wouldn't make through the Johto League." Everyone then laughed at Trey as he hyped Ash up to a high degree, making him seem like an unstoppable force.
"He was just taken aback, okay?!" Trey stood up, yelling back. "It was a Pokemon he's never seen before from a completely different region! Besides, he won the Orange Islands League so that has to count for something!"
"I'll give you that. Beating the Champion Drake was impressive. So is reaching the Top 8. That's far, I guess."
"It is! Losing a second league isn't that big of a deal since he just won his last one. Just you watch! My cousin Ash is super good at getting used to things."
"Type matchups don't seem like one of them." A girl cackled as they continued laughing at Trey. He then put his hoodie over his head, trying to hide in embarrassment.
However, this mockery only continued into the Hoenn League. Years later, during Ash's journey throughout the Hoenn Region, he entered the Hoenn League, battling his way through it. He came across another challenging opponent who was on equal levels with him. Tyson and his fairly stylish Meowth were the largest obstacles.
Just like before, Trey was confident in his cousin's performance. He was older now as all of his friends, even those who mocked him about Ash were at higher grades now. Mainly Highschool.
"Come on, Ash..." He sat there, watching the battle take place and hoping for Ash's victory. On the TV screen, a fierce battle between Pikachu and Meowth was happening. This Meowth was an incredibly powerful Pokemon to deal with, matching Pikachu's strength and speed.
However, they were both fragile. Once they had damaged each other with a dual Iron Tail, the cat and mouse were on the verge of fainting. This was a tense moment. Mostly for Ash and Tyson but also for Trey. Trey's heart was beating as he was hoping that Meowth would fall before Pikachu does.
But unfortunately, Pikachu was the one to fall first. It was a well-fought battle on both sides. Ash and Tyson respected each other after their intense bout. Just like before, Ash took it well and vowed to improve.
Unfortunately, the opposite went for Trey. He did not take it well. Troy was also upset that Ash lost but not to a huge degree as his big brother.
"Aw, Top 8 again," said Troy. "That Meowth sure was strong, huh, Trey?" He turned to his little brother he did not respond at first. "Trey? Hey Trey?"
"I heard you." He replied with a sombre tone, slumping on the seat before turning the TV off. "Can't believe it..."
"Stuff like this happens." Trey shrugged. "Ash did his best. So did all of his Pokemon. He came close though. You never know. The next one could be it."
"They're gonna make so much fun at me back at school..." He groaned.
"You don't have to listen to them, Trey."
"Your brother's right." Into the room came Aunt Hillary. "All this Pokemon League watching, betting and expectations is messing with you. You seem so happy until something like that comes along."
"I know, I know. It's just that..." Trey stood up. "I've been rooting for Ash ever since he promised how he'd be the very best when he was a kid. It was something his dad said back then. I think it had something to do with dreams and maps and...I don't know. But I got it anyway."
"You can still root for him without looking so dry. Where's the proud smile of my baby boy?" Hillary grabbed his face, forcing a smile on Trey."
"Mom..." He grumbled as Troy couldn't help but laugh. However, even with words from his family, it didn't get better any further.
Then there was the Sinnoh League. It looked way better since Ash got into the Top 4. You should've seen Trey back then. I still remember how he reacted when got the Top 4. But then...this guy named Tobias was up next.
Years later, in the Sinnoh League, Ash had advanced through to the Top 4. After battling familiar rivals such as Nando, Conway, Barry and Paul, his greatest challenge came before him. Tobias.
The biggest problem was that Darkrai of his. Trey was ecstatic, seeing that there was hope for Ash to win this. But once Tobias' Darkrai came out, that hope dwindled. It had already defeated half of Ash's Pokemon as only Pikachu, Sceptile and Swellow remained. Only three.
Darkrai took out the other three effortlessly. Thankfully, Sceptile managed to take down the Pitch Black Pokemon. But that was only one Pokemon from Tobias' team down. The second one was a Latios.
"That's not fair!" Trey stood up from his seat. "That can't be fair!"
"Uh...Trey..." Troy tried calming him down.
Sceptile could not defeat Latios. Neither could Swellow. They were both taken out by the Eon Pokemon. Ash had only one Pokemon remaining. His tried and true, Pikachu. Pikachu put up an excellent battle against Latios and managed to defeat it. But it ended in a double faint. Thus, Tobias one.
And out of all of them, this was where Trey lost all hope for Ash afterwards. The Sinnoh League and Ash's fourth loss was where Trey's enthusiasm for rooting for Ash had died out.
"Well, look on the bright side. This is the first time he's made it to the Top 4." Troy tried lighting up the mood. "Maybe a few more leagues and he's got it!"
"Whatever." Trey felt unmoved by all of this. He then got off the seat, walking to his room. He could only think to himself afterwards. "Pokemon Master. Yeah, right..."
And for 2 more regions, it went on. It didn't fare any better in the Unova League and while Ash did considerably well in the Kalos League, reaching the Top 2, that wasn't enough to spark anything in Trey.
For those passing months throughout Ash's journey in Unova and then Kalos, Trey ended up his praise for Ash. This mostly occurred within his school as he no longer brought it up. He carried on.
"Hey, Trey. Did you see the Kalos League yesterday?" A boy went up to him.
"Heard about it, but didn't watch it."
"You didn't watch it? But your cousins was on there." A girl replied, shocked that Trey did not bring it up at all. "Plus, Top 2's not that bad at all, if you ask me."
"It's not that impressive. Honestly. He had to use some special Greninja to make it that far. The Greninja by itself wasn't even enough." Another boy scoffed, dismissing Ash's skills.
In response, Trey slammed his hands on the table, outraged at those words. Even though he didn't watch the leagues anymore, he would still defend his cousin. "My cousin's got more skill than any of you in this room combined! Special form or not! So why don't you just-"
"Trey." Entering the room was the teacher as Trey's outburst ended. All of the students stayed silent, feeling slightly intimidated by Trey. Trey then sat down, not wanting to get into trouble. He couldn't help himself.
"I guess because you inspired him just like your dad to you, Ash, he looked up to you. Just like I do with him. I tried being as cool as Trey. But now that I'm older, I'm cool in my own way. But when you won the Alola League, that's when everything changed right then and there."
"Oh! Trey! Trey!" Troy had burst into Trey's room, having exciting news to share. Trey was startled, almost falling out of his bed once his brother entered.
"Gah! W-What?!" Trey asked while looking over.
"Aunt Delia just called mom. Yesterday, Ash won a league!"
"He did?!" Trey jumped off the bed as he had to listen to it. "Which one?! Did he rematch any?! Johto?! Sinnoh?! Kalos?! Which?!"
"Um...I didn't know this one existed. It's the Alola League, apparently."
"Alola...League?"
"Yeah. It's the newest league. And Ash is the first champion. He won his second league, right after the Orange Islands. How cool is that! The wait is over, right? He finally won another one!"
"It actually happened...It happened again!" Thrilled with his arms in the air, Trey felt filled with hope once more. He lost it before but now he's retrieved it.
And clearly, he was off to tell everyone at school about this accomplishment, just to brag about it as always. Even at an older age, he never strayed away from that action. However, when he went to the school the other day, no one believed.
"As if! This is the same cousin who's lost like what? 6 times in a row?"
"So you don't believe me?!"
"Alola doesn't even have a League, Trey. You can't be the champion of something that isn't there."
"It does have a league! My aunt told my mom who-"
"That's your only proof? Sounds like something we'd hear back at fourth grade. All we needed to hear." They all then started laughing at Trey once more. No one believed him.
Due to Ash's past losses, they deemed it impossible and played it off as a joke. And Trey was helpless, unable to prove anything so far. It didn't help that the Alola League was recent and has never had a league in the past.
"Fine then!" Trey bellowed, making a new resolver for himself. "I'll take part in the Pokemon League...all of them!"
"You?!" Everyone's eyes widened after Trey's announcement.
"That's right! I'll show you all! I'll start from where he started. First I'll kick it in Kanto, then I'll head to Johto, next up will be Hoenn and beyond. And I'm a pretty quick adapter if you must know." Trey tapped his head. "I'll learn from Ash's past mistakes and become the ultimate champion!"
Present day.
"Good for the guy. Just like following in your family's footsteps," said Applejack.
"It was great that you won the league, Ash." Troy turned to Ash. "Trey was all kinds of motivated. But...he didn't win the other leagues."
"He didn't?" Ash replied.
"No. He was doing pretty good in Kanto but after that, it just went downhill. Everything was Top 16 for him all the way."
"Only Top 16?!" Rainbow Dash and a few others gasped.
"I was rooting for him. So was Aunt Hillary. But Trey felt like giving up on the league. He stopped right at Unova just three years ago. I don't know if-" Troy turned to the window as the sounds of a Fire-Type move being used could be heard. "What was that?"
"Audino." Audino heard it visibly.
"Sounds like a Charizard out there. What's going on?" Fluttershy translated. Ash stood up to go and see his cousin. He had to after everything Troy told him.
Just near Sweet Apple Acres, Trey was currently with his Charizard, using Flamethrower in the distance. He didn't go out to get something. Instead, he was just there to practice. Ash witnessed how his cousin was mimicking similar movements that he used to do back then. It was clear that Trey was trying to be like his cousin and also improve.
"Charizard!" Charizard's mouth exuded smoke after using Flamethrower.
"It needs a farther reach," said Trey. "Let's try again."
"Hey, Trey." Ash alerted him whilst approaching.
"A-Ash!" He stammered once turning around. "Uh...I...I was just hanging out with Charizard. Thought I'd do it for a bit. Plus, Charizard's good for winter since he can heat me up."
"Zard?"
"Sure. I know why." But Ash could see through him, putting his hand on Trey's shoulders.
"You do?"
"Mhm. You're training for the next league, aren't you? Troy told us everything. Like how you watched all of my League matches back then. From start to finish."
"I did...And man, they blew." Trey pouted. "I was starting to lose hope in you, Ash. You're the one who told me not to give up on my dreams when we were younger. And with all of that losing at those other leagues, I thought those words didn't mean much at all."
"But I never gave up on them, did I? Look where I am now." Ash put his hand on himself. "Sure, I lost those leagues. But I grew from them, ya know."
"Yeah, yeah...But no one even thinks the Alola League is real...Plus they don't consider it at all since it's still new." The cousin put his hands in pockets, looking to the side. "It's totally not fair. And I thought I could win the rest of them but...guess not."
"It's not easy." Ash nodded in response as he and Trey sat down. "All the time, I'm doing what I can to be the very best. I can't guarantee that it'll pan out with all my efforts. But that doesn't stop me and it never will. I know you never gave up hope on me, Trey."
"You knew?"
"Yeah. And Troy told me too." Ash laughed. "And if you didn't give up on me, then I won't either. We're cousins. We support each other as family." He then placed his hand on Trey's shoulder. "You lost the leagues. Just like me."
"But it was lower than yours...Top 16 only..." Trey sighed.
"Ah, who cares about that? You can't be perfect on your first go. Plus, you gotta find your own battling style and make it work. A whole bunch of Trainers are out there. Some are extra strong like I've never seen before. Especially at the Pokemon World Championships, which I'm in.
"Wait...You're competing in that?"
"Sure am. I've been doing great too. I'm aiming to beat Leon and become number one. Even if those numbers don't mean much to me, Top 16, 8 or whatever, it's not gonna stop me from trying to get better. And you can get better too. Along with Charizard."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Yeah. I guess I was kinda setting myself up for disaster there, huh?" Trey chuckled before taking in everything Ash said. "I just wish I could show everyone back at school and-"
"Don't worry about them. Besides, very soon, everyone in the world is gonna know who I am." Ash then stood up, adjusting his hat. "I'll beat Leon, become the World's Strongest Trainer and Champion and it'll take me one step closer to becoming a Pokemon Master!" He pointed to the sky. "You can count on that!"
"Pikachu!"
"Oooh..." Trey's eyes shot up with starstruck. Seeing this reminded him why he had so much hope for Ash. This endless drive that he had inspired his cousin. "Yeah! I know you'll beat Leon! 100%!"
"Well, I can't guarantee it'll be 100%..." Ash laughed. "Leons' crazy strong. Plus I gotta get through a lot more tough opponents if I wanna reach him."
"And you will!" Trey stood up. "I'll be rooting for you along the way! Become number one, okay?!"
"I'll shoot for it." He then held his fist out as both cousins gave each other a fist bump. "Now come on. Let's finish up that food. And maybe later, we can take you to the Pokemon House to catch some Pokemon."
"What's a Pokemon House?" Trey followed Ash as he had a lot to see and experience here in Equestria.
The expectations that family members put on each other are to be expected. While they may never be met, sometimes, they branch into something greater and eventually converge to not only come back to those expectations but surpass them. Trey was still learning that. But even still, his hope for Ash, while it may dwindle, will never fully die out as the journey continues.
A dual holiday. For both worlds. On one side, Christmas. On the other Hearth's Warming. Both worlds have decided to share a holiday with each other. Why not? They're fairly similar with slight differences here and there.
Families from across the land had come over to celebrate. Ranging from Ash's cousins and aunt to all of Applejack's cousins out there. It was the usual and many presents were bound to open soon.
However, aside from that, something was on Twilight's mind today. Her family was here, of course, but at the moment, she was thinking of something else.
"Hmm...I'm just waiting time at this point. Should I just say it?" Twilight said to herself. "I get everything else done as soon as I can, but this? What's with that?!"
"Hello there." Cadence poked her head through the door. "Is someone still finding trouble with love?"
"Yeah." Twilight crossed her hooves, pouting afterwards. "It's not as easy as it looks."
"Nopony said it was. You're still young, Twilight. You'll get used to it." Cadence patted her on the back. "Besides, you can always ask for help. Whether it's from your friends and sometimes, even by the slightest chance, books." Cadence used her magic to bring over a book.
But the moment she brought it over, the book cover was revealed to be Discord's face. And popping out of the cover was Discord himself. "Great timing, Cadence."
"Aaah!" Twilight and Cadence screeched, holding each other as Discord appeared, full-body and everything. "Discord?!"
"Thought I would miss out on this? I missed out on last year's holiday and I certainly won't miss out on this one as well. To think, another year will pass with these Strange and Wonderful Creatures living with us."
"Y-Yeah. It is a bit crazy to think about it." Twilight sighed. "So...what do you want? You didn't come here to just lounge around, did you?"
"Right, right. I couldn't help but notice how slow and painful progress based around Equestria's golden boy, Ash Ketchum." Discord created a model statue of Ash, holding it in his lion paw. "It's been almost two whole years. When are you going to say those magic words already? Or is it truly going to be the Magic of Friendship that keeps you away."
"It's complicated!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Is it though?" Discord doubted.
"Discord does have a point, Twilight. But take your time. You can't rush things like this," Cadence turned to Discord. "Love is a wonderful and careful thing to manage."
"Sure, sure. Whatever you say. But...I believe there may be a shortcut."
"Pssh. There's no shortcut to love." Cadence scoffed, dismissing what Discord had to say.
"Obviously not. But rather, a shortcut to get things on the right track."
"Like what?" Twilight asked.
"During my little travels, the Pokemon World seems to have a special item that can make all your dreams come true, Twilight." Discord was grabbing Twilight's attention as he held his paw out. And appearing in his paw was a Mistletoe. "This."
"Ooooh...uhh...W-What is it?" Twilight wasn't quite sure what she was looking at. Neither did Cadence.
"It's a surprise tool that will help you later. The only chance you'll get for Ash. This is the Mistletoe as they call it. A tiny evergreen plant that has fairly distinctive forked branches and amazing symmetry. Hmm...perhaps too much symmetry." Discord wasn't liking how perfect the mistletoe looked. So, he broke the symmetry with a snap, adding some chaos into it. "Much better."
"Is it magical? I didn't know the Pokemon World had something like this."
"No magic needed. It's special without anything magical at all. And what it does is that whoever so stands upon this plant, shall receive an instant butterfly brush."
"Butterfly...Huh?!" Twilight stood up. "This little thing?! That's what it's for?! Seriously?!"
"Seriously. Something to do with fertility and life or whatever." Discord shrugged. "All you should know is that it's a valuable object for Christmas. And if there was ever a chance before the next 12 months pass by, now's that chance." Discord extended his paw, causing it and the mistletoe to appear in front of Twilight.
"Hold on, hold on." Cadence paused them for a moment. "Discord. This is all nice and everything, but are you sure this is a good idea? I've got a bad feeling about this. Plus, Twilight can-"
"I'll take it!" But Twilight's mind had been made up. The object was far too tempting.
"Ah! Twilight!"
"Relax, Cadence. I'll keep it and only use it when I need to, okay? Besides, I've got other things to do before Hearth's Warming comes around in two days."
"Splendid!" Discord multiplied his arms, causing audible crowd applause to echo through the room. "Use it wisely! My work here is done anyway."
"Nothing for you this Hearth's Warming? I thought you said you didn't want to miss out on it," said Twilight.
"That was it. I contributed, didn't I?"
"You could do more. Like say...get your friends some gifts?"
"Well...Not really?" Discord thought about it for a moment. The mistletoe wasn't exactly a Hearth's Warming Gift. Rather just an object that would be used in one scenario only.
"Now's a good chance for you to try." Twilight flew towards him. "I mean, I know this Mistletoe thing isn't a Hearth's Warming gift but it's still something. You must know what everyone wants, don't you?"
"Hm, hm, hm." Discord nodded in response to Twilight. "Wouldn't hurt at all. Fluttershy would appreciate me even more now that I think about it. I'll be a bit occupied!" Just then, Discord had vanished, returning to his dimension.
"I still don't know about this...I sense a huge wave of chaos coming this way since it's Discord." Cadence grumbled.
"I know how you feel. But that's just Discord's charm, really. It wouldn't be him without chaos. Don't worry. Me and my friends know how to handle chaos at this point. I mean, that whole invasion was nothing but chaos. So we-"
"Sol! Absol!" Interrupting them for a moment was Abso, who was currently running away from Sylveon. He had a fear of Sylveon and it was still showing to this day.
"Sylveon!" Sylveon playfully cried out as Absol broke down the doors to try and escape the Intertwining Pokemon. Twilight and Cadence watched as the doors came crashing down afterwards.
"Uh...Anyway...In other words! Kaleidoscope, all the way from Pegalysium, told me what she and everypony up at Pegalysium celebrate this month." Twilight said as she and Kaleidoscope, being History Buddies, share various information with each other.
"Oh? I'm curious. What is it?"
"It's called the Day of the First Born." To further show Cadence, she brought over a bok that Kaleidoscope had given to her. Comprehensive knowledge and information about Pegalysium. "On this day, everypony comes together to celebrate and enjoy the day the first Pegasus of Destiny came to be. There have already been numerous Pegasus of Destiny in the past, the most recent being Shooting Star, but this one pegasus, Lucky Star, was the most important out of all of them."
"Oooh..." Cadence scooched over to see for herself. In the meanwhile, the sound of Absol and Sylven breaking down doors was ongoing.
"I wonder what they're doing right now? Up there in Pegalysium..." While showing the book to Cadence, Twilight couldn't help but wonder about events up at Pegalysium.
Pegalysium. Sky Monarch. Day.
Up at Pegalysium, their special holiday was already being celebrated. And of course, there was a statue based around Lucky Star. Many consider Lucky Star to be the greatest pegasus that had ever lived. Even surpassing the various Pegasus of Destiny that have come and gone.
Built centuries ago, this statue on the main crossroads was placed here to celebrate the unity of the pegasi and how it helped them through rough times and thrive in better times. Just one of the actions the Pegasus of Destiny does.
Its position within this community is meant to represent the collective mind of the ponies and their goals in life for themselves and this community.
And looking up at the statue, both in a literal and metaphorical sense was Shooting Star. He admired Lucky Star as he was also aiming to be just like him. He was still getting adjusted to becoming a Pegasus of Destiny, so taking inspiration from the greatest one was his go-to.
"Still looks great every year." Shooting Star said, staring outside his window.
"Son~!" Queen Luminary called for her son as the young prince immediately dashed off once the call had been made. Of course, being a royal family, they had to be together on this special day.
Over at the main dining room of the palace, King Paramount and Queen Luminary were already there. But there was one guest present here. Brassquill. He was mostly here since he became a surrogate father for Paramount when he lost his parents at a young age.
The old pony, while over the top at times, was considered family to King Paramount. Thus, landing him a spot here in the castle. And one more guest was soon to come.
"There you are, my little shooting star in the night sky." Luminary giggled, holding her son's face.
"Mom..." Shooting Star grumbled in response.
"Everything's almost ready. There is just one more guest we're expecting. Your cousin Cloudflare. Just recently, she's had such a difficult time at college. It was greater than she was expecting. So this break on the Day of the First Born will be great for her."
"Cloudflare? No way. She's way too smart to struggle in a place like that."
"Don't underestimate college son," said Paramount. "It can seek out your weak points and take advantage of them. Before you know it, you'll be struck and overwhelmed by what it can unleash. Complete humiliation and defeat follow afterwards."
"Uh..."
"What your father means is that college can be overwhelming for everypony." Luminary simplified it. "Also, make sure you recognize her. She's just started wearing glasses I hear. Special ones too. They say they change eye colours. I will end up missing these beautiful green eyes."
Luminary then brought out a picture, showing the image of Cloudflare in all of her glory without any glasses.
"Nah." Glasses aren't for me. And right on time, the pony that they were waiting for had arrived. Surprisingly, no glasses on. She matched the picture shot for shot. "Hey, Uncle Paramount. Aunt Luminary. Mr Brassquill."
"Cloudflare!" Luminary flew over. "No glasses?"
"No. They're too inconvenient. Plus none of them look good on me. And I want to look familiar during this day." Cloudflare chuckled.
"Hey cuz." Shooting Star used the slang for cousin, going up to Cloudflare. "Been a while. How come you didn't come over that one time you said you would?"
"Got busy. But I'm here now. It's been 6 years now since we've last met each other. Doofus." She winked at him.
"Good to see you too. Dweeb." And Shooting Star did the same as they had nicknames for each other. Nicknames that existed in the past when they were younger and were used on a more volatile level via insults. "Grandpa's not coming along too?"
"He's having the holidays somewhere else. Maybe next year." Cloudflare replied.
"Anyways. Let's get started!" Luminary flapped her wings as the family could finally begin this festive holiday of theirs. While theirs wasn't as winter-based as Christmas or Hearth's Warming, its fair share of decorations were extravagant as well.
Presents also existed on this holiday. However, here in Pegalysium, the time for opening them was much earlier than what Christmas or Hearth's Warming had. But, everypony wanted to do other things before heading for the presents.
Mainly some catching up. Cloudflare shared stories of what she had done during those 6 years while Brassquill always had something to say. Shooting Star was holding a small note with puns and jokes on it.
"Ooh, this is a nice one!" Shooting Star exclaimed. "These puns are top grade right here."
"Are they? Prove it?" Cloudflare asked.
"Oh, I will. Just be warned. Hold your horses because you’re about to be in for a wild ride. Just don’t blame me if your throat feels a little hoarse from all the laughing. Gahahahahaha!" Shooting Star laughed after reading the pun out.
He was the only one who found it funny at all as his laughing was met with slight hiccups here and there. He then slammed his hoof on the table to show how much enjoyment he got out of it. And that was all that mattered. "Isn't that just one of the best bits of festive humour?"
"I can see it being so." Luminary replied. "This is also one of the best bits. Having the family together. Most of the family anyway. How about a toast, dear?"
"Toast, eh? Hm..." Paramount looked at a glass, lifting it with his wings. "Not sure would I toast to, honestly. I haven't done much in 2 months."
"That's because you're already perfect, dad." Shooting Star praised his father.
"Hah! Him?" Brassquill scoffed, chuckling afterwards before wheezing. "That Wandering Cloud out there did more than him these past 2 months. Bahaha!"
"Well, after the Indigo Alliance had been sorted out, not much has happened, honestly. And so far, it's for the better. Eventually, I'll do something else. And the same goes for you, Star. Being the Pegasus of Destiny, you have to take action one day."
"Yeah, but like...I kinda don't know what the Pegasus of Destiny does." Shooting Star shrugged. "I've been looking at Lucky Star's statue and tried to be like him but...nothing so far."
"It's simple. The Pegasus of Destiny not only helps others but has the power to command the three great forces of Pegalysium. You were born with that ability and only you can do it since you are this generation's Pegasus of Destiny."
"Can we shorten it to POD or something? Saying Pegasus of Destiny every time is gonna make me bite my tongue." Cloudflare sighed.
"Some of the little ones nickname the Pegasus of Destiny as Pegasus Fantasy. It doesn't correlate that well but it's a cute nickname regardless." Luminary shrugged after giving that suggestion.
"Ah, let's forget about that stuff for now and focus on this!" Shooting Star then went under the table, pulling an object out. A board game, slamming it onto the table. "The Pegalysium Boardgame. How's that sound?"
"Ooh! How fun!" Luminary clapped her hooves together along with her wings.
"Aren't you a little too old for that game? We played it when we were kids." Cloudflare asked.
"You're never too old for board games." Shooting Star argued before laying out the board game on the table. It automatically sorted itself out via magical influence. "This'll kill a lot of time before we open everything else. Who wants to play?"
"Hm...Sure." Paramount decided to give it a try. This was a time to have fun. Luminary was already in on it while Cloudflare was thinking about it. Brassquill was old as he felt like he had nothing better to do at this age. So, he chose to join in. Eventually, the power of nostalgia overtook Cloudflare as she joined as well.
"I'll be the king if you don't mind." Brassquill went for the king piece. But he wasn't the only one. Right as his wings went for them, so Cloudflare.
"I never got to choose the king piece because Shooting wouldn't let me." Cloudflare shifted her eyes at Shooting Star for a moment as two wings were around the piece. "So I'll make up for all those lost years."
"Bah too late for that!" Brassquill tried pulling it away as he and Cloudflare entered a struggle for the piece. "I'm the king!"
"Well, I can't miss out on this chance! I'll be the king!" Cloudflare growled, trying to succeed in this struggle. "This is ridiculous!"
"I'm actually the king so I'll be taking that." But Paramount ended it once his wing came in, swiping the king piece. "A living figurehead of it."
"W-Well yeah....that's fair." Cloudflare lost her chance at having the king piece once more, even after all these years.
"The other pieces are good too." Shooting Star held the other pieces of the board game. "Or I could make king pieces for everypony. I'm pretty skilled at doing so."
"Hm...You can be the tinfoil hat, Brassquill." Paramount then slid the tin foil hat piece over towards Brassquill.
"Haha. Very funny, your majesty. Think I'm so cuckoo, eh?" The old pony tapped his head while chuckling afterwards.
"You were cuckoo when we first met you and you're still cuckoo today. You once thought that radioactive psychic crocodiles would come over and invade us all." Cloudflare replied.
"Psychic shrimps, for your information, smarty pants." He then smiled, slumping on the chair with confidence as Cloudflare shook his head.
"Star, my boy. You can get the horseshoe..." Brassquill slid the hoof towards Shooting Star. "Smart cookie here can have the Eastern Joke." He then gave Cloudflare a piece that had the appearance of a drink.
"Eastern Joke...? What are you trying to say?!" Cloudflare took it as Brassquill calling her a joke.
"Calm down. It's just a drink over at the eastern part of Pegalysium...Though it's not that good." Afterwards, he gave a cocky grin with a quiet laugh while Cloudflare sat there with an unimpressed face.
Afterwards, they all started laughing as it was just casual family banter happening, despite the words they say. Brassquill not being fully related to any of them made this holiday far more interesting due to the energy he brought. Along with everyone else.
They continued to have fun throughout the day as their holiday continued. All across Pegalysium, celebrations of this festive holiday overtook everything. Much like the land below.
Equestria. Ponyville. Afternoon.
Speaking of which, over at Ponyville, with the afternoon closing in, one day was left before the fated day on both worlds. Gifts were already being brought over with more ponies appearing.
Amidst this all, Meowth couldn't help but stare at Amethyst Star's Skitty, who was frolicking in the snow. He hadn't gotten over his affection towards him.
"Again?" Jessie went up to Meowth. "I thought I told you to give up on her?"
"Yeah...But she's a real magnet." Meowth nodded while not even facing Jessie. Jessie could only roll her eyes.
"Well, stop trying. The energetic and playful types are impossible to be around. Speaking from experience." Jessie pompously laughed. "It wouldn't last a whole week with you and her."
"You don't know nothing!" Meowth snapped back, latching onto Jessie's shirt and looking her dead in the eyes. "I'm feeling some top-class synergy here!"
"Yeah if she can even notice you...Where's James by the way?" Jessie had just now noticed that James was not present.
"Hm?" However, instead of responding to Jessie's question, Meowth's attention was drawn somewhere else. That was when he saw the object that could make his dreams come true. For the most part.
The mistletoe.
Twilight had just emerged, having the mistletoe out to show her friends this bizarre object. Nopony knew what this thing was. So far only Twilight knew. But Meowth knew as well. "Bingo!"
"That's what it's for?" Meanwhile, Starlight spoke about the mistletoe. "Seems uh...pretty unnecessary."
"You think so?" Twilight replied, glaring at the plant. "Meh. I'll take any chance I can get. A-A-And it's not because I'm nervous, okay?"
"I don't know...you still sound pretty y nervous about going through with it too." Rainbow Dash doubted the alicorn. "I mean, it can't be too hard, can it?"
"It's harder than it sounds!" Twilight bellowed.
"Not harder than it looks. Mwah-mwah." Rainbow Dash mimicked kissing sounds while puckering her lips.
"Okay. I'd like to see you try it on him." Twilight held out the mistletoe.
"Ew! No way!" Rainbow Dash pulled back. "I mean...I still close my eyes sometimes when my parents kiss, ya know. But that was long ago."
"Ah, I'm overthinking it too much right now. Maybe seeing that Luvdisc the other day was a sign f things to come." A fairly exhausted Twilight blew her mane.
"You know uh..." Spike rubbed his hands together, slowly walking up to Twilight. "If you're not gonna use it in the long run, I'll take it off your hooves. Just to be sure."
"Nah. I'm saving it. Just you all watch. I've got a good feeling about this thing." Just as Twilight twirled the mistletoe around, in the blink of an eye, it was gone. Something had pulled it away right before everyone's eyes. "Huh?!"
And that something was Meowth. Seeing that the mistletoe was within his vicinity and up for grabs, he had taken this chance, using one of Team Rocket's various inventions. He was wearing a backpack that had multiple arms plus a jetpack function with it. Among other things.
Upon stealing it, Meowth was airborne, pulling the mistletoe towards him. "Thanks for this! I'm gonna use this wisely!"
"Meowth!" Twilight roared at the Scratch Cat Pokemon. "I need that mistletoe!"
"Not as much as I do. What do you need it for anyway? The twerp?"
"Who else?"
"Tough. My perfect angel's way above your twerp if you can believe it." Meowth giggled, thinking of Skitty in the instance.
"We're not seriously gonna fight over that thing, are we?" Rainbow Dash didn't bother flying towards Meowth. She didn't find any of this interesting or important. But Twilight did, reaching the same level as Meowth.
"Meowth. This could be the one time where I'm close to being brave enough to confess to Ash. M-Maybe not confess but close to that. Please. Don't take this moment away from me!" Twilight pleaded the Scratch Cat Pokemon.
"Sounds like a 'You Problem', princess. Take advice from yours truly. Being upfront's the way to go. You're too slow. You ain't gonna get anywhere with how you are."
"Oh yeah? Hah!" Twilight then moved in while Meowth was rambling, using her magic to hold the mistletoe. Meowth gasped afterwards as he made his arms grab onto Twilight's face, holding her back. "Give it back!"
"No way!" Meowth replied, denying retrieval of the mistletoe. Rainbow Dash and Starlight simply watched this scuffle occur, not doing anything.
Discord came into the ray, popping his head out the tree to witness Twilight and Meowth fighting over the mistletoe. He didn't plan for this but it was interesting either way. "Hm, hm. I like what I see. But there needs to be more oomph, otherwise, it's just a plain old plant at the end of the day."
"Gah, this is stupid! How about this?" Twilight then backed away. "How about you use it first and I'll use it second. Sound good?"
"Hmm...Yeah sure." Just like that, the issue had been solved simply. It was just a minor argument after all between two individuals who just had crushes at the end of the day.
"Oh, that's no fun!" Discord uttered, surprised at that resolution. He wanted some chaos and that did not come to fruition. Then again, it's hard to cause chaos with such a simple object in the first place before he could think of a way to amp things up, someone called his name.
"Discord!" Fluttershy was the one who did, looking up at him. "Sorry if I'm interrupting. I was just wondering if you had any plans for tomorrow? Any gifts?"
"Gifts?" Discord replied before gasping, remembering what he was planning to do earlier. "Ohohoho. My mistake. I was a bit busy on starting chaos that I almost let it slip by me."
"Now's now the best time for chaos, Discord." Fluttershy shook her head. "Maybe another time. But during this time, everypony's looking for something gentle and calm." Fluttershy moved her hoof, showing Discord the current scenario.
All was calm. The conflict between Twilight and Meowth had already been solved. Both of them realized how silly it would be to battle over such an object. This was also a time where many could be seen due to friends and family gathering around. They were happy and that was all that mattered.
Discord did want some chaos but the calming aura of Hearth's Warming was able to negate that. For this holiday and this time, he would hold back from using any chaos and just focus on making his friends happy with gifts.
There would be no chaos this holiday.
"Alright, alright. If it makes you and everypony happy." Discord accepted it. "But, I'll be busy with those gifts. Apologies if it's hours late."
"No need to worry, Discord. Early or late, getting there is all that matters."
"Audino!"
The Human World. Twilight's home. Afternoon.
Christmas also existed in the human world instead of Hearth's Warming. Everyone was going through the same routine as the other worlds. Right now, a knock on the door happened around Twilight's home, causing her to answer it.
When she did so, she saw that Ash and Pikachu had shown up. They had just brought over some presents that they had to carry here. Going from one world to another for Christmas presents was a task.
"Ash! Pikachu!" Twilight exclaimed with joy on her face. "Great that you're here!"
"Great to be here."Ash entered. "Got here just one day before it could happen."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder, greeting Hisuian Zorua and Spike. "Pika-PIka."
"Sorry that I can't hang out with you today or tomorrow. I've gotta get back to my world and Equestria too." Ash placed the Christmas presents beside the tree. "But this should perfectly."
"It's fine. You have a lot of friends back there. How does next year sound?" Twilight asked.
"Sounds good to me. I also had to stop by Sunset, Fluttershy, Flash's and everyone else's home. Man, I wish I had a sleigh like Santa." He laughed, prompting Twilight to laugh as well.
"Thanks for coming here anyway, Ash. And really...thanks for everything." Twilight went up to him. "I'm glad you and Pikachu were here for me at all times. Even during...a pretty destructive one."
"No problem. We'll always be there for our friends. No matter how far each world is. Right, buddy?"
"Pika!" Pikachu flexed his muscles in response as Zorua tried doing the same, only to fail due to not having the same stance as the Mouse Pokemon. The same went for Spike.
Twilight looked at Ash for a moment before deciding to take action. Pikachu, while still flexing his cute cuddles, noticed what Twilight was doing. So did Zorua and Spike soon. Ash wasn't looking as he was thinking about what to eat at the moment. And with his mind on food, he was distracted, he received a kiss from Twilight.
Right on the cheek as Pikachu was startled, almost breaking his muscles from Twilight's surprise action. "Pi!" Right after that, Ash had just noticed it as Twilight pulled back. He then looked at her, noticing how her face turned red.
"Thanks." Ash could only thank her with a grin on his face afterwards. He didn't mind it at all despite how many would overreact to it and take it to the extreme. Much like how Pikachu, Spike and Zorua stood there with scrunched faces and widened eyes.
"Y-You're welcome." And Twilight could only stammer and giggle after taking some such a daring action. But somewhere ut there, her Equestrian self felt a shock through her heart.
Afterwards, Ash and Pikachu left the house to go elsewhere. There were still a few other friends in the Human World to visit out there. Such as some students from Crystal Prep who Ash had managed to bond with during a short amount of time.
After that, it was back home and prepare for tomorrow morning, But along his trip there, he saw a familiar face walking by. Living near this area he was in was Principal Abacus Cinch. She had just noticed the Trainer and his Partner coming by while shovelling some snow.
"Hm? Ash Ketchum. Pikachu." She said. "Surprised to see you here at this time.
"Hey, Cinch. Are you doing okay?" Ash asked.
"Pikachu?"
"Fine. Nothing else. I can at least breathe at this short moment. Especially with everything that had happened during the Friendship Games. Honestly...My academy's reputation had been damaged greatly by it."
"Greatly? Was it that bad?
"Very. It may not sound like it, but I assure you, reputations for schools are nothing to scoff at. They're intimidating and fierce to challenge from all directions. This is why I had to make sure my academy was above the rest. But honestly, it gets frustrating at times...Having to make sure it all goes well."
"Well, why not kick back and relax? It's Christmas after all."
"Hm? No one's ever asked me to do anything outside of school..." Cinch thought for a moment. "In 20 years no less."
"No way! That long?!" Ash and Pikachu gasped.
"Pikachu?!"
"Of course not. I have little time to do much else. And frankly, despite how much effort I put into everything with the time I have, it's never enough to spare some other time. Sometimes, I believe it may be my intimidation that no one does ask of me."
"It can't be that, can it?"
"Surely it is. The parents of the students might not admit it, but I know they are not fond of me. I can see right through them even without glasses. " Cinch sighed. "And honestly, I do not blame this. I wasn't always like this, Ash Ketchum. I was not so bullheaded and strict. There was a time in my life where I knew what it was like to have fun. Do you know how long it has been since I have had fun, Ash Ketchum?!" She placed her hands on Ash's shoulder, surprising him.
"Uh...2-20 years?"
"Pikachu...?"
"Exactly! 20 years! I had such a limited time to do what else I could freely. Whether it was acting a fool in front of my friends or going places but not for the sake of keeping everything in check as it is today. But unfortunately, that kind of aura cannot exist when you are the principal." She then turned around, starting to ramble. "It's impossible!"
"Cinch..."
"Because when comes down to everything, its complete reputation that matters before anything else. No sense of thrill or anything else. And if even anything goes off course at the worst possible time...any time really, it's on me and that reputation dwindles. Soon, you'll become nothing but an obscure school that just exists in the background. Much like a steam train, those actions will crash onto me and me alone. Making mistakes is not an option and having to keep track of so many students is just absurd at times! So it's all about perfection! And these harsh expectations have many saying that I turned into something else!"
Clearly, she was passionate and heated about this as she took deep breaths after that rant. Ash could see this and only ask her something. "Are you gonna be okay, Cinch?"
"My apologies." Cinch sighed. "Never before have I been so irate. You must think of me the same way everyone else does now, don't you?"
"No way." Ash shook his head. "I don't blame you at all. But if there's ever a time to let it all fly away, now's that time. I'll hang out with you. How does that sound?"
"Y-You would do that for me? Honestly?" Cinch stammered, surprised that Ash would request this.
"Sure will. You up for it?"
"Pika-Pika?"
"Hm. I mean...It's not like time is inconsistent. Very well. I would love to." Cinch accepted it, deciding to have fun after 20 years of no fun.
"Awesome! Let's go!" Ash pumped his fist in the air, ready to show Cinch how fun it was to do other things that branch away from what she was used to.
"Pikachu!"
The next day.
But aside from that, Ash had done everything he needed to do. Now, it was time for him to enjoy the full force of Christmas. He got downstairs, seeing mom, Aunt Hillary and Cousins Trey and Troy.
They all got together to enjoy themselves. And the same went for Equestria and everyone else on the other side. All enjoyed themselves during these calming moments. From Celestia and Luna with their parents Sunlight and Eventide, to even visitors such as Hollow towards Mayor Mare's house.
And at the moment, over at Twilight's Castle, Twilight was ready to use the mistletoe right about now. However, she noticed that it was missing so far. She searched for it until she had found what had happened to it.
"Aaaaaah!" Twilight screeched as Deino had found the mistletoe, chewing on it. "Deino, why?!"
"Dei-Dei." Deino swallowed it before walking off as if nothing had happened. Twilight had saved it for a day, only for it to be obliterated by the merciless yet non-existent fangs of Deino.
Oh well. There was always next year. But, Meowth wasn't going to like this as well. Twilight just tossed that idea out of the window as she then went back to focusing on Hearth's Warming and opening gifts with everyone.
"Maybe next year, I'll get my chance." She shrugged afterwards. And in her mind, it was for the best. There are always other chances even without the mistletoe. Her human self proved that yesterday.
The day after Christmas and Hearth's Warming had come. Everyone had a blast yesterday for sure. Now it was time to simmer down during the aftermath.
The Dazzlings, mostly stayed indoors to avoid any chills. Mainly Adagio, who was cold-blooded due to being a full-fledged siren while her sisters were just ponies now. Except for today. While they enjoyed Hearth's Warming with Adagio putting some effort in, something else had to be done in their eyes. And this decision was made by Adagio.
"You two. Come here for a bit." She called for her sisters as they sat around a table. "I know this whole Hearths Warming Christmas thing is long gone, plus those presents too..."
"They were some good presents, that's for sure." Sonata nodded in response. "Best we've gotten even though it's our second one this year."
"Well...yes...I'll admit it. Those presents were nice." Adagio shrugged as she did quite enjoy the concept of giving presents n this festive holiday. "But aside from that, we need to get one present. All three of us."
"All three of us for one present? What's the catch here?" Aria asked. "And who's it for?"
"There's no catch. And who else? With mom living at the Sea Temple now, we can see her again. But that also means we need to get her something when we reunite."
"Oh, that's not a bad idea." Immediately, Sonata was on board. And so was Aria. This was a harmless decision as they could all agree upon this.
"Of course. However, the gift we should give her...needs to be nostalgic!" Adagio sat up. "One f the best feelings out there. I should know. And I know the place to go to. A place that's just as nostalgic."
"Wait a sec..." Hearing that made the second older sister process it. Adagio was mentioning one place that was all too familiar to them. "We're heading back home?!"
"That's right. Even if the sirens don't populate that area anymore, the objects there still exist either way. So we're heading there to get mother a gift from that island before she gets back. And we'll have enough time for it because we will be sculpting a gift instead of just grabbing it."
"Sculpting? Sounds fun!" Sonata cheered. "Plus, I've always wanted to head home again. Do you think it's the same as it was before?"
"Who knows? Either way, we're heading back there. But we should be careful too. Thanks to Pokemon, no doubt that area's been changed to suit their habitats."
"Sounds dangerous." Aria frowned before putting on a smile. "Let's do it." She and her sisters were all-in on this. The three of them were heading back home with some small friends by their side via Pocket Monsters.
Sweet Apple Acres.
Meanwhile, over at Sweet Apple Acres, Cold Colt was currently helping Apple Bloom with her new task. Apple Bloom wished to try out the job of being a Pokemon Breeder after remembering Brock's occupation and how he was a Pokemon Breeder Teacher over at the Pokemon School.
"You won't need to go to Brock's class for any of that." Cold shook his head. "I can teach you. I'm well versed in Pokemon after all."
"More than Brock?"
"Well..." But after thinking about it, his knowledge was fairly limited. "No, not really. Dang it."
"That's okay. I still think you're great at knowing a lot about Pokemon." Apple Bloom complimented him, sparking up hope and confidence in the Rift Pony instantly.
"Hehe...thanks..." He truly enjoyed that. But in his moment of happiness, he sensed a familiar presence via Rift Connection. Cold's eyes widened after sensing this. It wasn't Jade at all. She still had no idea how to use Rift Magic at all.
Emerald Aura was who he was sensing. Cold Colt was happy about that. Granted, he would've liked it if Emerald showed up during Hearths Warming, but seeing her arrive either was great nonetheless. And she showed up via the scooter that she had made via the limited Rift Magic she now possessed, thanks to the Rift deeming her as a threat to enjoyment.
"Emerald!" Cold cried out as he saw her approaching over the hills. "Hey, Emerald!" He flailed his hooves around. Emerald almost fell off her scooter as she looked exhausted, something that was unexpected considering how Rift Ponies can never feel exhaustion.
"F-Finally..." Eventually, after a long trek here, Emerald Aura had arrived at Ponyville, breathing in and out. "Made it."
"Emerald? What's up?" Cold Colt went to his fellow Rift Pony. "You looked...tired?"
"That ain't normal, is it?" Apple Bloom asked only for Cold to respond with a head shake. This was not normal indeed. "You doing okay?"
"N-No...Listen!" Emerald got off the scoter, grabbing Cold by the face. "Right now, we could be in trouble, kid."
"W-We could?" The young colt stammered in response.
"The Rift put some heavy limitations on me. And I mean heavy. I couldn't feel exhaustion like you. But now I can. And boy do I hate it...I had to travel so far just to get here!" She roared out of frustration. "But aside from that, you're in danger, Cold. Since the Rift did this to me, if you improve and get better with your magic to do what I could do before, he might limit you as well."
"Me?!" Cold pulled back. "No way!"
"Yes way! And I can't let the same thing happen to you. You have the most potential out of me, Obsidian, Lucille, Sienna and anyone else that could show up. And the Rift knows that. And it's waiting for you to get a bit too great. Greater than it expected."
"W-What should I do?!" Cold started panicking immediately. "This is bad! I just started getting the hang of everything else! Emerald, you gotta help me!"
"I'm limited here if you didn't remember? The Rift did this to me so that I can't help out as much as used to. I'm just an average unicorn now. It's gonna be up to you and your friends to sort that out. I'll be out of the picture."
"O-Oh...Okay." Cold gulped as he now had a new reason to worry. Just after he had finished having a fun Hearths Warming. But, at least Emerald was right about one thing. His friends. They could help him through this without a doubt.
"But uh...In the meanwhile...could I stay over here?" Emerald requested with a sheepish smile and audible squee. "My home kinda got erased sooooo..."
"Sure you can!" Apple Bloom was up for it. "Any friend of Cold is a friend of mine. Plus, can't leave somepony who's got nowhere to go. I'll ask Applejack and Granny."
"Oh...Thanks, kid." Relief came to Emerald as she had a new place to stay. While not as fancy as the massive mansion she created, it would suffice. Plus, it had a homely feel to it.
East of Equestria. An unnamed island of unknown origin.
Over at the east, the original home of the siren species could be found. Located at an island that many do not visit due to how it once belonged to the sirens, a feared species, it remained in solitude, distant from other islands with only a massive body of water surrounding it and some mountains in the distance.
The Dazzlings approached the peak of these mountains before witnessing the place they grew up at. And where they saw all the other sirens disappear, including their mother.
There, they could see it once more. However, despite it being in the same location, over time, it has certainly changed to the due geography of Equestria and the existence of Pokemon and their influence.
"There it is. Looks like we were right about it looking different today," said Adagio as Aria pulled Sonata up to the peak.
"Feels a bit unfamiliar now for some reason...Not sure what it is but I don't like it." Aria grumbled.
"Nothing we can do about that. Let's just grab the materials and start sculpting. I'd say we have at least 2 or 3 weeks until mom returns to the Sea Temple. If we hurry, we could maybe place the statue at the Sea Temple for her to see it."
"Wait uh...What are we actually gonna make it out of?" Sonata asked.
"The same material our gems were made out of." Adagio held out her necklace which had the red gemstone within it. This gemstone at first looked like a crystal. And it could be considered one. However, it was separate from ordinary crystals. Sort of a rare type of it. "Let's just hope there's enough. Come on."
Adagio grabbed her sisters with magic before leaping off the mountain. She took flight while carrying her sisters. Adagio was the only one who still had her gills, allowing her to swim in the sea. Aria and Sonata did not since they were now full-fledged ponies.
However, as they approached the island, they could feel the harsh chill of the snow. It was still winter after all. But this chill was unusual to them. It was made worse since, while her sisters were not full-on sirens anymore, Adagio was and was cold-blooded. This did not fare well for her as she shuddered.
When approaching the island, she could see that these strange navy blue crystals were popping out across the area. These were not the same crystals like the one on her necklace. Rather, something else. Adagio had never seen them before. Neither have Sonata and Aria.
This chill quickly ended once they landed on the island. Strangely, it was sightly warm there. But, there was still something amiss. However, it was not the island that they were focused on. It was what was beneath the island. This part of the sea.
"What's up with these crystals? Have they always been here?" Sonata asked.
"No clue. They're not the ones our necklaces had." Aria shook her head. "They feel kinda different too." They observed it a bit longer, noticing how it was constantly glowing.
An with each glow, Aria and Sonata could swear that they saw a face also appearing. It was faint and hard to see due to how it also came and went in a split-second. But it looked to be some sort of cephalopod creature. At least, from what they could tell. As they stared at it, they felt compelled to continue looking at them as well. As if the crystals were impossible to resist at all.
"Ignore them for now, you two. Alright. You all stay up here while I head underwater." Adagio ordered since she was the only one who could swim and breathe underwater. She used her magic to also remove Kricketot from her massive mane. "You as well, Kricketot. You can't stay there for too long."
"Krick."
"Well, you won't be alone. Even though we can't come, these two can." Aria said as she and Sonata had their answer. By taking out their Poke Balls, they had sent out Brionne and Vaporeon. Two Pokemon that could swim beside Adagio with no issues.
"Brionne!"
"Vaporeon!"
"Sure. You two. Stay close to me, alright?" She spoke to the two Water-Types. They promised to do so as Brionne saluted to Adagio.
"It's still pretty cold out here..." Sonata shivered. "Just don't be too long underwater. Or else, we're gonna totally freeze our flanks off."
"I won't. I just have to remember where the Melody Crystals could be found the most. The sea can change over time too so they most likely won't be there either." Adagio pondered. "But I can find them thanks to their melodies."
Just as Adagio spoke, a new sound emerged. One that wasn't music, however. Neither did it come from any of the Pokemon or even the sea.
It came from the small withered trees of the island. Adagio stayed alert as she felt as if this could be something approaching them. She didn't want any harm done to her sisters and friends. And from what she could hear, it sounded like ice being hit against each other while also hoofsteps approaching.
"What is that sound...?" Aria shuddered with Brionne getting in front of her. Sonata stayed close to her as well. A figure appeared with the shadows obscuring the full appearance. But ice-like wings could be seen. They had then been spread out, seemingly a form of intimidation. Adagio lit up her horn, preparing for the worst.
"Hey th-" It was revealed to be a pony as the light of the crystal showed his face. And it didn't look threatening at all. But this pony stood out due to his wings.
The moment she spoke, he was cut off by an instant beam from Adagio. "Oh!" The pegasus gasped, ducking his head as the beam had pierced through a large boulder.
"Adagio, wait!" Sonata halted her sister from taking another shot. Adagio promptly stopped as the pegasus breathed in and out, seeing his life flash before his eyes. He fell on his back, taking a moment to take in what just happened. That blast from Adagio was no joke.
Sonata went up to the pegasus, helping him off the ground. "Sorry about that. Sisterly defences, ya know." She giggled before helping him up.
"I-It's fine." He sighed, adjusting his scarf. "Sorry if I startled you there. These wings look pretty sharp in the dark sometimes."
"Hm. Looks like I need to work on my aim better if I want an early takeout," Adagio uttered. "Who are you? And how come you're here of all places?"
"Oh. I'm Arctic Ace." He introduced himself. "I'm just here to investigate these crystals right here." Arctic Ace then turned to these strange crystals that constantly flashed faces. "Located here in these unknown waters."
"This is our home, actually. Used to be. I mean..it kinda still is." Sonata shrugged. "Home of the Sirens, we used to call it!"
"Sirens? You three? I mean, I see it in her but..." Arctic pointed his hoof at Adagio since she had some siren qualities via the fangs, gills and wings as well.
"Don't worry about that right now." Aria dismissed it. "But I've got a question...What's up with your wings? How come they're all ice?"
"Oh these? Uh, unfortunate circumstances led to this happening." He spread out his wings as icicles had dropped from them. It was as if he had an entire cavern of ice on his body. "Can't get rid of it all and I'm stuck with these. But hey, at least they make me look cool. Eh?" He gave a pun.
Adagio and Aria didn't find any amusement in the joke. Except for Sonata as she wheezed at it. "Pfft! Hahaha! Good!" Sonata cackled at the pun.
"There's always something or someone that wastes time, isn't there?" Adagio said to herself before turning around. Can you at least tell us what you know about these crystals? I don't want anything funny happening while I'm underwater."
"Oh, right. I'd be careful around these crystals." That's when his tone changed to something more serious. "They were made by a Pokemon. Not one you want to get close with." He was giving off a warning as Adagio looked back to hear this. "Do you see the face that shows up for a second?"
They all focused on the crystals, squinting their eyes to see. But again, it was too fast for them to keep up with at all. Thus, they could not make out the face. "Nope. Still got nothing," said Sonata.
"Yeah. It was tough for me to make it out too since it's so fast and faint. But after a bunch of hours blinking and staring, I found out that this Pokemon was Malamar."
"Malamar? Ugh. I get bad vibes just by hearing that name." Aria shuddered as she and her sisters were reminded of Livadi's Malamar. Unpleasant times. "But what's the big deal about it anyway?"
"Uh, well...do you know about that one time in Canterlot? A Malamar once attacked Canterlot, trying to rule all of Equestria. It apparently gained high power by using magic from the Elements of Harmony, boosting its already great intelligence." Arctic Ace explained. "Thankfully, he was defeated and his body was turned to stone. But after that, it was unknown where he went. Most say his body drifted out to sea or was taken away by some Flying-Type."
"I heard about something like that before..." Adagio pondered. "Celestia told me some stories after I finished my magic lessons. There was something about a Malamar attacking Canterlot and being turned to stone. So if it's that same Malamar, these crystals mean that he's close, right?"
"Eeehhh..." Arctic couldn't give a clear answer to that. "I don't know. But if he made these, then there's a scary chance he broke out of his stone prison. Not sure how honestly. But these are effective. Some of my Pokemon ended up being drawn to them. They have some mind control properties in them. Just like what Malamar usually does."
"Oh!" Sonata backed away from the crystals after hearing about their mind-controlling capabilities. She and the others were at risk of being controlled by the crystals.
"Touching them too isn't a good idea. They're kinda just stuck here because of this. Trying anything could just lead to total mind control. But I haven't seen Malamar anywhere near the island. Most likely, he's somewhere else."
"Well, thanks for the information. We'll make sure to stay away from the crystals," said Adagio before focusing her attention on the sea. "I'll be right back." Afterwards, she, Brionne and Vaporeon jumped into the water to find these Melody Crystals.
"So no touching them, huh?" Sonata turned her focus back to the crystals and spoke with Arctic Ace. "Can't we just, ya know...pick them."
"Sorry. One of my Pokemon got a bit touchy with it and just one touch was enough to make Malamar's words flow right through them. These crystals are 100% part of Malamar's plan. But they also interest me. I'm a bit of an adventurer and I love discovering new things. And maybe collecting them. Not that though. And are you adventurers too?"
"Nope. But I'd love to be a full-time one. This is like our second adventure ever! Well, mostly for me and Aria. Adagio's been on like a bunch. Lucky."
"That makes us both rookies at it. It's a lot of fun, isn't it? Getting out there. Works well with my Pokemon too. Gets their muscles up in the long run."
"Sure is. But my home's pretty cosy. I kinda prefer that." Sonata shrugged until her mind recalled something. During the small party at Canterlot, Sonata wanted to devour some food that caught her attention. However, she had been informed that a pony by the name of Arctic Ace had consumed it all.
And right now, she was standing in front of that same pony. The matching name. Sonata's eyes then narrowed, seeing anyone who devours food that she desperately wanted as an enemy. "Wait a minute...you're the one who chomped down all the food back at the party, aren't you?"
"Huh?!"
"Yeah, yeah! I wanted to eat that Stuffed Chickpea so bad. And just like that. It was gone."
"O-Oh. That moment." Arctic nervously backed up. "Uh...sorry? I just couldn't help myself. The moment I got the first bite it was so addicting. So I grabbed as many as I could. I got carried away there. It was just so good."
"It was good...Too bad I couldn't eat it." Sonata pouted, sitting down and crossing her hooves. "I was gonna dip it in horseradish sauce..."
"Oh, that does make it better. But I personally like ketchup on it."
"Oooh, that's good too." Sonata's ears rose as she then swivelled to face Arctic. "And with salad dressing too?"
"Buttermilk dressing is the way to go." He finished her sentence, giving an approving nod as a smile graced Sonata's face suddenly.
"You're speaking my language! Do you like it with Cole Slaw too?!"
"Yeah!"
"And hot sauce?!"
"Uh-huh! Well...that makes my eye water sometimes so I skip out on it a lot." Arctic Ace chuckled along with Sonata. Just like that, the two of them shared their similar interests, bonding quickly. "I could go for some right now though..." He had a dumbfounded face with his tongue out.
"Same..." So did Sonata as they were thinking of the same food.
"Ugh. Get a room, you two." Aria could only groan at this, wanting it to be over be she could hear any more.
Underwater.
Meanwhile, Adagio, Vaporeon and Brionne swam through the sea as Adagio had the best way to find the Melody Crystals. Listening to their wonderful melodies.
The crystals could give off a unique melody that echoed throughout the sea and only the sea. Unless someone was to wield it and bring it to the surface. Adagio paused for a moment in the sea as she held her necklace out. The Melody Crystal inside of it started glowing as Adagio sang near it.
By singing at it, the other Melody Crystals across the sea would respond. Their tunes echoed, reaching Adagio's direction. Adagio looked for which direction the sound came from. She found out that there were two directions so any path was a good enough option.
"This way." She said to Brionne and Vaporeon, guiding them as the Melody Crystal's kept singing. When advancing further, Adagio came across familiar waters.
She had ventured into this vicinity before. Already, many memories were meeting her. And once she came across a massive crater, it reminded the siren of the past and the many actions her fellow sirens got into.
Adagio approached the crater, noticing how a tail dent was on it. This tail dent was made by another siren as Adagio recalled how it all happened. She smiled before uttering words. "Hm. She wasn't kidding when she said she was the muscle of the group."
Adagio moved on, passing the crater and entering another part of the ocean while following the sound of the Melody Crystals. Aon the way, she saw more and more sights that were familiar. Massive holes that led to different pathways. The sirens would use these to travel from area to area quicker. It was their best form of travel.
Many Conversations were previously had throughout these seas and most of them were banter that then evolved into arguments. And how singing lessons were constantly held here. Utter chaos happened between the sirens a majority of the time thanks to their personalities but they all made up in the end.
Adagio's mother Vivace, while strict, was kind to Adagio in every way and treated them all fairly. She was essentially the leader of all the sirens and Adagio's idol. And Adagio was happy to know that she would soon reunite with her mother in a few weeks
When suddenly, advancing into darker parts of the water, Adagio felt an ominous feeling that caused her, Vaporen and Brionne to pause for a moment. The siren stayed alert, unsure of what that feeling was. An eerie silence had taken over and was only interrupted by the flow of the ocean. Adagio had come across a wall of darker water stood in her way.
And right as she came across it, giving out a jumpscare was a statue that had startled her and the Pokemon. That was something she didn't expect. And that jumpscare came from the statue of Malamar. It had been here the entire time.
"Malamar...?" Adagio gawked as the statue kept drifting. However, as she saw the statue of the defeated Malamar hurl away.
Just then, the wall of dark water had started rippling. It had dispersed and after going so, revealed more of those crystals. They were underwater as well instead of just on the surface. Not only that, but some Melody Crystals were there as well.
Having the same red appearance as the gem that Adagio had in her possession, these crystals took the form of rock chunks, piled up together. The Melody Crystals were paired up with these crystals that were potentially made by Malamar. But Adagio was confused by that. Malamar was still stone. How could he have made these crystals?
But once Adagio came across them, they flashed more than ever before. Her necklace also started reacting to this, glowing repeatedly. This was the result of the Melody Crystals singing to Adagi's gem. That's when, out of the shadows of the sea, tendrils flew out suddenly wrapping around Adagio and the Pokemon.
"H-Hey?! What is this?!"
"Vaporeon!"
"B-Brionne!"
After grabbing her, the crystals and Adagio's necklace emanated a crimson light that was blinding to the eyes. That's when Malamar's statue began to crack. The light eclipsed a majority of this area of the sea with a red glow and tint being seen on the surface. The Dazzlings and Arctic Ace wondered what that could be.
Once the statue had cracked, Adagio witnessed the emergence of the Overturning Pokemon as the result of the Melody Crystals, her mother's necklace and even those navy blue crystals reacting to each other.
The light faded away as glowing gold eyes could be seen flashing. Once they flashed, a devious laugh echoed in Adagio's general direction. This meant only one thing.
Malamar was free.
Adagio could only gasp at this revelation. Judging by how it looked, this did not spell good news for her currently as the tendrils were still restraining her and the others.
"Finally!" And had the ability to speak once more. "After so many months and almost two years, I am free! Thank you, my little pony."
East of Equestria. Under the seas of the unknown island. Afternoon.
Malamar was free from his stone prison. The very first Pokemon to ever attack Equestria just to gain control over the entire nation had been freed as a result of Melody Crystals and these navy blue crystals that were seemingly made by him.
Tendrils had previously emerged from the dark waters, grabbing Adagio, Brionne and Vaporeon, restraining them. The light from the Melody Crystals, Adagio's necklace and the other crystals had caused Malamar to break free at last.
"My muscles ache. Ohhh." Malamar groaned, stretching his muscles via his tentacles. Being trapped in stone would do that to anyone's muscles. Aside from those that don't have any.
"That's not possible!" Adagio exclaimed. "You should be nothing but stone now! How did you break free?!"
"I was turned to stone yes. Those Elements of Harmony were my downfall without a doubt." Malamar started swimming around Adagio before explaining everything to her. "I believed I would be forever stone. But that was only mostly true. At the last second before everything around me became stone, I had used Psychic to try and do something. Alas, Psychic was only capable of protecting one part of me. A single tentacle was slightly exploded."
"So what? One tentacle managed to keep you somewhat active all this time?"
"Yes. My Psychic powers are nothing to scoff at. But, even that was not enough. There had to be a catalyst for my freedom. And that catalyst would only arrive by chance."
18 Months ago.
The blast from the Elements of Harmony were powerful enough to send me flying out of Canterlot. Thus, I ended up crashing into the sea. And soon, the heaviness of my stone prison lead me to the depths of the ocean.
Indeed, this entire time, Malamar was the equivalent of a pebble being carried by the sea's current with no sense of direction. Much like the Sea Temple, Samiya.
Along the way, many Pokemon had come across his petrified body. Mainly Water-Types. A Tentacruel had come across Malamar, wrapping its tentacles around its fellow tentacle creature.
"Tenta?" The Jellyfish Pokemon observed. It gripped the statue for a few moments before deciding that it was of no use. So, Tentacruel simply tossed the statue away, causing it to drift away once more.
Thus a series of Pokemon interacting with Malamar's statue occurred continuously. And the further it went, the deeper the statue descended.
"Cors! Corsola! Corsola!" Some Corsola were jumping around before leaping and bouncing off of the statue, forcing it downwards. The Malamar statue took no damage from these contacts. After being used as a stepping stool by the Corsola, Malamar fell to the deeper areas.
Only to be raised by a school of Wailmer that were swimming by. The lightness and balloon-like properties of the Wailmer caused Malamar's petrified body to bound, flying in another direction. Afterwards, a school of Finneon swam by, swarming the statue and lighting it up with their colours before swimming off.
It flew by a group of sleeping Cloyster, making little sound. It was too quiet for the Cloyster to be woken up. The statue then brushed on the rugged body of a Relicanth school. Relicanth's bulky rocky body was capable of matching Malamar's petrified body, but still, nothing to affect it entirely.
This went on for days, weeks and would soon transition into months. Malamar drifted without any end in sight. But even while petrified, the Overturning Pokemon could still see and hear.
That is, until approximately 7 months later, something happened. Something that was known across Equestria and was a fairly huge threat that almost destroyed this nation and possibly everything else had occurred.
The Storm Behemoth.
I ended up gaining that chance to free myself when it happened. A 500ft creature made out of electricity had appeared in Equestria. And with all of this electrical power, the destruction it had caused was widespread. Widespread enough to reach me. Just the chance that I needed.
During the Storm Behemonth Event, naturally, it was in conflict with many others. Gathering energy and absorbing it into its body to continuously grow larger with more power.
And during one of its many power gains, it went through a surge. Every time the Storm Behemoth took a step, it would send an electrical pulse that spread across the land, hitting trees, buildings and everything nearby. It also had the power to shut off any electronics. Thankfully, at the time, Equestria's electronics were still limited even with the World of Pokemon.
However, that did not stop the destruction. This destruction applied to many. An example was Togekiss and how the home she had was also ravaged by the Storm Behemoth, plus the many Pokemon that had their homes destroyed who had come to live at the Frenzy Forest. And the same went for the seas that Malamar was currently drifting in.
When another pulse came through, the electricity had affected the ocean. The reaction was so volatile that it managed to make the sea tremble. Usually, that never happens with electricity and water. But with a creature as powerful as the Storm Behemoth, born from Rift Influence and some guy's TV setup, it was possible.
Seaquakes occurred, starting the Pokemon living within the sea and those near it via land. The volts from the Storm Behemoth also passed through the ocean, threatening to harm those who got close with horrible electrocution.
The result of this great tremor also caused a whirlpool to emerge. Many Pokemon immediately strayed away from this devastating whirlpool of great magnitude as to not get caught up in it. The Storm Behemoth could even create natural disasters of great scales in just a few seconds.
While the Pokemon managed to escape from the whirlpool, Malamar couldn't. His body was immobile. However, not only was he being pulled towards this furious vortex of H20, the 80,000,000 volts of electricity from the pulsation had struck him as well.
Added onto the spiral of the whirlpool, this combination of deadly attacks was still not enough to undo the effects of the Elements of Harmony. But they were able to deal some damage to it.
Specifically, the tentacle that was slightly exposed. Due to how that area of stone had already been damaged, it had taken further damage, causing only one of Malamar's tentacles to break free. Now it just looked like a statue with one loose-end poking out.
But, truthfully, that was all Malamar needed. His Psychic powers flow through not just his eyes and patterns on his body but also his tentacles. Practically everywhere. And with one tentacle being freed, Malamar could just barely move it around. Nothing else but that one limb.
It was all he could work with. And with this chance, he took the opportunity to make it count.
I was partially free. The damage given was not enough to fully release me from my stone prison. But it allowed me to improve and adapt to what I had. I could at least use the rest of my stupendous powers with just one tentacle. While limited, my species are among one of the strongest Psychic-Type Pokemon out there after all. However, while I was free, the whirlpool was still a threat to me.
Malamar was still heading for the whirlpool either way. Once it caught him, it spun the Overturning Pokemon with a furious spiral. If Malamar could scream, he would right about now. The whirlpool then moved upwards as a result of the Storm Behemoth creating more pulses.
After the few other pulses, the whirlpool had then shot Malamar into the air. Once there, Malamar could see the cause of this. He saw the Storm Behemoth in the far distance. Far or not, this 500ft monster was large enough to be seen from great distances either way. He knew that the Storm Behemoth was the cause of this destruction. And he was happy about it.
Afterwards, Malamar fell back into the ocean after having some airtime for a few seconds. He was hoping that the Storm Behemoth could continue damaging the environment to free Malamar fully.
But of course, on this same night, Ash and his friends had defeated the Storm Behemoth, ending its rampage. Thus, Malamar could not rely on the electrical monster for his freedom.
The behemoth had suddenly vanished one day. Presumably via defeat. That seemed to be my one chance of breaking free. However, I did not count everything out. With my free tentacle, I could perform actions still, albeit limited. I swam across the sea, using my tentacle to stroke and guide me. No longer was I moving aimlessly with no direction. Eventually, I ended up here near this sole island. Located in uncharted waters and yet it had such a vicious aura and feel to it. Truly wonderful.
Weeks and months later, Malamar had arrived at the sea where the sirens used to live. During his journey there, he used his Psychic powers onto his tentacles to fend off any nearby Pokemon that would approach his petrified body. He even used them to stray himself away from any tsunamis, more whirlpools or even worse phenomenons out there.
Once arriving at this part of the sea, Malamar could hear a melody. This was from the Melody Crystals and how their sound flows much better underwater. He was drawn to it. Something about it that he couldn't resist. Almost as if the crystals shared something in common with him.
When I arrived there, these crystals were what grabbed my attention. I could feel that they had similar hypnotization abilities to mine. I could not understand what they were, but they had power. Amazing power to use.
Malamar used his loose tentacle to interact with a chunk of Melody Crystals. He was hoping to try and use them to free himself. However, not even they were enough for the Elements of Harmony. Feeling this, Malamar tried something else. With what he could with his current limits, he began transferring Psychic energy into the crystals.
Because of this action, he had made a new variant. The navy blue crystals that were seen on the surface. With the mixture of the magic from the Melody Crystals and his Psychic powers, gradually, over time, he was able to make this variant.
Granted, having only one tentacle to make these crystals caused Malamar to spend most of his time in this one area of the sea. Months, even a full year had passed with more days and weeks coming and going.
But they all paid off. Malamar's hard work with just one tentacle and parts of his Psychic power allowed him to construct these navy blue crystals, embedding them with the power of mind control. They emerged from the island surface as they would not suffice in the sea due to their shape.
Bursting out of the ground, they appeared as towering sharp pillars. With all those months and weeks to work on these crystals, Malamar had created a way to mind control others without needing to be there himself. However, these uncharted waters were inhabited by any life.
Not even Pokemon lived here. He could only rely on the temptation of the crystals and the sound of the Melody Crystals as he continued to drift and improve on his mind-controlling creations, waiting for the time when he would be free once more.
I waited for so long. One pony ended up arriving here. A pony with ice wings. I had hoped to control him but it seemed the crystals were not strong enough. The powers I embedded within them could be resisted. All those months were not enough as my crystals were not at full power. Neither were my chances of freeing myself from that blasted stone prison. And now that time has come.
Present day.
"How grateful I am to you...really. Your crystal seems to be far greater than the rest. That is what led to my freedom. I thank you for that." Malamar finished his story on how he got here. "The magical reaction was far greater than I expected, honesty."
"Heh..." Adagio suddenly smirked before having something to say. "So you had to bet it all on complete chance to get this far, huh? SO much for being a genius if luck's what you're looking for."
"How dare you!" Malamar was offended by that. So offended, he slapped Adagio with his tentacle, causing her to gasp. "I may have relied on luck but that does not negate my brilliance. Very soon the world, both worlds, will know of how great I am. And I will have the power of the crystals grant me that wish."
"Good luck with that. Since you couldn't get them to do their job properly, you won't be able to control anything. Barely anyone else lives in this area anyway." Adagio taunted, even after receiving a potent slap.
"You must be forgetting one detail. I was only limited due to my stone prison. Now that I am free, I can use the full force of my Psychic aptitude!" bellowed the Overturning Pokemon as he started cackling. Just then, his eyes glowed purple as he managed to affect the Melody Crystals, ripping them from the seabed they were stuck on.
"?!" Adagio could feel something unusual happening as she wriggled around the tendrils, trying to break free. She even tried using her magic to blow them away.
"I have various plans in store if you must know! If I was ever freed, I would use these crystals on a global scale! The power I embedded within them will shoot into the sky, polluting the heavens above. Soon, the entire world will witness his hypnotic flare once looking up at the sky. Just a glance and their minds will be mine to control. Total domination in seconds!"
The Malamar were always about utter control. It is what these species specialize in most. Whether big or small, Malamar knows how to control.
The crystals on the surface reacted to Malamar's Psychic abilities as their slightly transparent lights became more opaque, flashing greater colours. And this became aware with Sonata, Aria and Arctic on the surface.
Aria was the first to notice while Sonata and Arctic were too busy talking about how they shared the same interests. The crystals, after interacting with Malamar's powers, soon interacted with the environment. Mainly the sky.
"What the...?" Aria gawked as rays of light from the crystals had shot into the sky. Once they did so, the clouds began changing colour instantly. Sonata and Arctic looked up to witness the colour shift as well, unaware of what was happening. However, Aria and Sonata soon felt this familiar presence.
They recognized this magic.
Back underwater, Adagio denied the chance of Malamar having any control. So, using her emotions as a crutch and channelling her anger, Adagio created a furious pulse of magic that was also backed up by her mother's necklace. She blew away the tendrils surrounding her, freeing herself.
Adagio then flew towards Malamar while he was still using his Psychic abilities. While distracted, Adagio had crashed into the Overturning Pokemon, interrupting him. However, the Psychic hold was not broken. Malamar's focus was just that great as he was slammed into a sea cave with Adagio pinning him there.
"As if I'd let you! Those crystals were made by us sirens! Their power isn't yours to control!" She roared as she needed the crystals for her mother's sculpture. Malamar could take all of them for this world domination plan.
"Ah, so you know about them as well, do you? Then, in that case, that other crystal that you hold can be of great use!" Malamar bellowed, focusing his Psychic power onto Adagio's necklace.
But Adagio prepared herself. She had counteracted this by using her magic to interfere. And this action caused an opposite reaction. Adagio's magic clashed against Malamar's Psychic as it was also affecting the crystals.
On the surface, the clouds had gained a dark purplish colour to them. But with Adagio's magic, there was an interference. Thunder started rumbling as golden lightning bolts could be seen crashing down. The water was shaking as well. However, the mind-controlling effects of the crystals were still occurring.
While the effects only occupied the clouds of this island and sea and had yet to spread out. But that didn't mean they were not effective. Aria, Sonata and Arctic's eyes were already gazing at the clouds.
Malamar was right about one thing. Looking at the clouds for just a moment and his influence would flow. The hypnotic power of Malamar's Psychic abilities compelled the three of them as they found it difficult to look away from the clouds. But, thanks to Adagio's booming lightning bolts, they could snap out of it for a moment.
"Ugh!" Aria groaned, gasping as she had shaken her head. "What's going on?!"
"I think it's from Adagio!" Sonata then looked at the sea, noticing flashes of lights from two different energy sources going off. "Is she doing okay down there?"
They wondered about what was happening underwater. At the same time, despite Adaigo's efforts, with the power of the crystals added to Malamar's Psychic power, the clouds were only expanding, growing. Soon, it could pass the island and head somewhere else. An example would be the mountain peaks that were close by.
And there were Pokemon living there. The Pokemon living in the mountains noticed the clouds and how they expanded. The sound of thunder is what grabbed their attention the most. Once some of them turned in that direction, their eyes couldn't help but stare.
The crystals helped greatly as the clouds had already overshadowed the mountain peaks, expanding even further. Try as Adagio might, she was no match for the crystals and their abundance. It didn't help that Malamar's hypnotic abilities were utterly amazing.
Over at Canterlot, Celestia noticed this cloud in the far distance. While it wasn't exactly reaching Canterlot any time soon, its view was not to be ignored. The fact that it could be seen even from a gigantic distance was absurd. And Celestia standing on the balcony helped with this.
"What is that?" Celestia wondered after staring into the distance. She wasn't sure what she was looking at but it didn't spell anything friendly.
Celestia's eyes were unaffected by the hypnotic powers of the clouds. This was thanks to her already experiencing the power of a mighty Psychic-Type in the form of Celestial-Gardevoir. And also how her mental resistance had been increased due to Olympia's help.
But the same could not be said for everypony else. They saw these clouds approaching as it compelled them just like the rest. Many stopped what they were doing to only gaze at it.
Near Canterlot, the Pokemon over at Deerling Forest and the Pikachu population over at the Pikachu Highlands stared blankly with simple and unchanging expressions of wonder. Anywhere in the land where there might be Pokemon or even ponies living, the clouds could be seen.
Back underwater, Malamar had pushed Adagio away with a Psychic pulse, causing her to hurl underwater. Vaporeon and Brionne could not free themselves from the tendrils yet to assist, unfortunately.
"However! I have not forgotten about you. You abnormal hybrid." said Malamar. "I will not let anyone else stop my plans for complete control."
"Believe me. I had the same idea as you. Didn't pan out at all." Adagio used her magic to slice up the tendrils, freeing Brionne and Vaporeon at last. "If I were you, I'd give up on that and save you the embarrassment of losing."
"Give up? Inconceivable!" Malamar shouted before using Dark Pulse. Malamar had formed a beam of black and purple rings in front of his chest, unleashing these circles at the trio.
"Vaporeon!" Vaporeon had used Water Pulse while Brionne used Hyper Voice. A sphere of water met with one of the circles while a soundwave with a beautiful melody. Their combined prowess fended off Dark Pulse.
But Malamar had more than just Pokemon moves at his disposal. Those tendrils that looked a lot like his tentacles could still be used as they flew out of the murky parts of the ocean.
Immediately, they had smacked Brionne and Vaporeon away before more went towards Adagio. Adagio repelled these tendrils by making a magical field grow. Right after getting rid of them, along came Malamar, Night Slash.
Adagio's eyes widened as she just barely managed to evade Malamar's tentacle swing. A bit of her hair had been grazed with a strand falling off. Afterwards, Malamar had used Hyper Beam at a close range, ready to blow Adagio sky-high. And the same went for Brionne and Vaporeon.
Seeing this threatening attack, the siren-pony-hybrid shielded herself and the two Pokemon. With great timing too. Hyper Beam had been used, engulfing the shield in its destructive fury. While the shield managed to protect them, the beam had pushed them out of the sea as it continued flying upwards.
Shooting out of the sea was Adagio's shield and Hyper Beam. Aria, Sonata and Ace watched this emergence. Adagio had lowered the shield once Hyper Beam faded away. Adagio safely brought the Pokemon down via magical levitation afterwards.
"What happened?!" Aria ran up to her big sister. "What was all of that?!"
"It's Malamar," Adagio replied before looking back at the sea. Emerging out of it was Malamar via Psychic levitation. His eyes flared with his signature devious smirk forming. However, once he emerged, instead of attacking, Malamar simply observed his surroundings.
He saw how his crystals while doing their job, were not enough. Their abundance, in his eyes, were limited. Malamar wanted more. He then shifted his attention towards the Dazzlings and Ace, giving a sinister stare. Sonata squeaked a bit from the initial stare, hiding behind Ace and staying close while also holding out a Poke Ball.
"Kricketot!" Kricketot buzzed at Malamar, getting ready to defend his best friend and all of his friends. Malamar was only slightly intimidated by the Bug-Type considering he was incredibly weak to this type.
"You are correct about one thing Adagio Dazzle," said Malamar, surprising the siren.
"Correct about what?"
"Not how my control plan will fail. It won't. Unless I stay here. I am finally free and I refuse to let myself be captured once more. Not until I am at my absolute best with all I can have will I further my chances."
"There you go. Speaking about chances again." Adagio smirked, taunting Malamar while bringing up a previous discussion.
"You wretched-" Malamar was about to rant before stopping there. "It's fine. But the last time we will speak about chances is now. I won't take a chance here and let my downfall happen. But I will remember this. And you should remember me as well!" Malamar then used Superpower, slamming his tentacle on the ground before creating a gigantic shockwave with a smoke cloud.
Adagio protected everyone from the shockwave, preventing it from harming anyone. But that was Malamar's getaway option. And it worked well. He had escaped, nowhere to be found.
"Got away," Adagio uttered once lowering the shield. "Slimy little squid..."
"Those words were kinda foreboding actually..." Aria replied. "Does this mean we have another problem to deal with?"
"Afraid so. And it might be my fault." Adagio lowered her head. "If I had known mom's crystal would react like that then he wouldn't have been freed and-"
"Hey. It's okay." Sonata went over to her. "You didn't know that Malamar was down there at all. Don't blame yourself, Adagio. Okay? What's more important is that we get that sculpture."
"Right, right. Thanks, Sonata." She thanked her little sister. "Luckily, Malamar didn't take every Melody Crystal. There might be enough to sculpt."
"Yeah but...Should we deal with that first?" Arctic Ace aimed his hoof at the sky and how the clouds were still affected. "And how do we get rid of it."
"They have some of the Melody Crystal's power. So music is the way to go. Hold on." Adagio stood firm as she was the perfect counter to this. Her singing voice was amazing. Aria and Sonata as well even though they weren't full-on sirens anymore.
Arctic Ace and the Pokemon could only watch as the Dazzlings were ready to sing this effect away. Mainly Adagio since she still had magic within her. With the power of her mother's necklace, the tune she and her sisters started singing was formed
Formed into a golden light. The same light that only appears around Adagio in certain instances. They made the song short. But that short song was beautiful enough to fight back against the hypnotic light. It was mostly Adagio's magic that assisted but any kind of singing would do.
"Kricketot!" Kricketot and Brionne got involved. Mainly because both of them love singing and couldn't resist a good song. This helped greatly. Their combined vocal strengths helped in fending off against the clouds.
Soon, the magic within the clouds had been expelled. Arctic Ace watched in wonder as they returned to their natural colours with a beautiful fade-out. He was amazed by how wonderful they could sing. The clouds from close and afar were expelled from this quintuplet of singers. Just like the control was gone.
"That's that," Adagio said. "Siren magic will always beat out siren magic as well."
"What about that one time at the Battle of the Ba-" Sonata was about to argue against that, only for Adagio to shove her hoof into Sonata's mouth.
"Now then. Let's get to sculpting. We'll use what we can to make it as big as we could possibly make it." Adagio was ready to get back into the ocean.
"Hey. Can I help?" Ace suddenly said. "Sculpting sounds like it would be fun. Even though we just got done seeing an evil Malamar come and go."
"Absolutely-"
"Yeah! Sure!" Sonata interrupted Adagio this time. "It'd be a great help!"
"This is a family matter thing!" Adagio nudged Sonata. "I'm sure your sculpting skills might be good and all, and thanks for warning us about Malamar and everything, but we're doing this as a family."
"Aw. But-" Sonata tried pleading with Adagio.
"It's fine. I understand." Ace was fine with it either way. "I should be going now anyway. I've got more places to explore. It was fun getting to see you three. And your great singing too. Plus I'm hungry right now after that chat."
"It was fun. Do you think we'll see you again?" Sonata asked.
"Eehh..." He could only shrug. "I don't know about that. Unless...you have an Xtransceiver?"
"Oh! I do!" Sonata quickly dug into her saddlebag, pulling out the popular item in Equestria. The Xtransceiver. With this, they could pass Trainer numbers.
"Why not?" Aria shrugged, deciding to do the same as she took out her Xtransceiver. All except for Adagio. Not because she didn't want to. But because she didn't have one, finding zero need for it. At least for now. Just like that, they had passed Trainer numbers with each other.
"There. Guess we'll see each other more often with this. Good luck with your sculpture. I'm off to venture in the Pokemon World next." Ace said, spreading his wings out.
"Ooh! When you get there, see if they have anything new to taste?! And tell me all about it!" Sonata exclaimed.
"I sure will!" He shouted back before flying off, continuing his journey.
Ponyville. Afternoon.
With no further interruptions, Adagio could gain the Melody Crystals. A good enough chunk to sculpt with. After receiving it, she and her sisters brought it back home. Now they could begin sculpting the perfect gift for their mother.
But before they could do so, appearing inside via teleportation was Princess Celestia. She started the Dazzlings and their Pokemon with her sudden appearance.
"Adagio! I felt your magic before! Is something wrong?!" She cried out.
"Nothing's wrong, Princess Celestia. My sisters and I were just getting rid of a problem for a moment. Sorry if we gave you a scare." Adagio explained.
"Oh...Thank goodness...I thought something horrible was about to occur." Celestia had a sigh of relief, glad that her student was A-OK.
"By the way, Malamar's back." Sonata then dropped a surprising sentence that accelerated Celestia's heart instantly. Standing there surprised, Celestia could only reply with one word.
"What?"
Malamar was indeed back. And now loose. The result of waiting months and almost two years just to break free. And it worked out. However, he was still made aware either way. And with Sonata's instant word-drop, the Overturning Pokemon, while mischievous, had a lot to watch out for. Aside from that, some sculpting was about to be done as the journey continues.
"Just a few more days until the new year," Twilight said, looking at a calendar. Indeed, only 4 days remained until the new year arrives. 2 years of Pokemon. "2 years. Feels like so much time has gone by. And yet little time too." She sat on her back as her Pokemon gathered around."Good thing we have records of what's happened so far. Eve."
"Espeon." The Sun Pokemon had then brought over a memory book that essentially keeps records of every adventure that had happened within the Pokemon World so far. Mainly concerning Twilight and her friend group along with stories from everyone else near and far.
Twilight had opened the book, deciding to take a trip down memory lane for a while. Everything from the current day was logged within this book. And Twilight felt that it was fitting to start with her Pokemon and how she met some of them.
"Right here." Twilight pointed her hoof at a page. "When I was first met you, Minccy. You were still a cute MInccino. Now you're an adorable Cinccino."
"Cinccino!"
"Oh, let me see." Appearing out of nowhere without warning were Nyx, Starlight. and Cold Colt. Twilight and some of her Pokemon got a scare out of it.
"Gah!" She gasped. "You three...You scared me."
"Sorry, mom. But we wanted to take a look now after what you said. I'd love to know what happened prior to my arrival and essentially everything else." Nyx replied.
"Same here." Starlight raised her hoof. "It'd be great if I was caught up to speed. Because it's pretty obvious that a lot happened before we met."
"Sure. You can hear too. By the way...where are Cocoa and Rosestar lately? Still at their universe?" Twilight asked.
"Still yes." Nyx nodded. "After the defeat of the Empress during the invasion, they went back to assist their universe which had recently been attacked. They're just busy in the meanwhile."
"Oh! I showed up pretty early, didn't I?!" Cold exclaimed. "Start from when I showed up. That was fun, wasn't it?"
"Fun is a stretch. Back then you were a pretty big threat that we were a bit worried about." Twilight chuckled at Cold's words.
"I'm still a threat in some way, ya know..." Cold puffed his cheeks, seeing himself as a threat. And he technically was, being a talented Rift Pony everything.
"We met you right at Oreburgh City. When all those Weavile showed up, freezing everything over." said Twilight, reading the memories.
A year ago. Sinnoh Region. Oreburgh City. Day.
We had just met with one of Ash's friends. Brock. And also Roark, the Oreburgh City Gym Leader. Both Rock-Type specialists. Brock was and still is one heck of a character. I was surprised by how instantly he fell for Rarity.
"WOW! WHAT A BEAUTY!" Brock zoomed over to Rarity, kneeling to her. "My dear. Though we may be of different worlds and different species, I can feel our bond is close. Closer than anything in both our universes."
"Uhh.." Rarity was unsure of what to say. Brock was usually attracted to females. It seems ponies are no expectation if they are beautiful. But it was certainly beyond his human limit. For once.
And to put a stop to it, out of his Pokeball came his Pokemon Croagunk, who let out a Poison Jab that struck Brock's back, making him fall on the ground to stop his shenanigans. Someone always has to be there to do it. Human or Pokemon.
"Ah good to see you're still the same Brock." Ash hadn't missed Brock's charisma and personality one bit. And he certainly won't even in the present with Brock being a Pokemon Breeder.
Come on. Get to the part where I show up. I made a cool entrance when I showed up. Heh. Get it?
Alright, alright. I'll get there. I was hoping to build it up a bit more. When you showed up, we didn't take you too seriously, Cold. I mean, you were and are still a foal.
One day, I'll grow up and look dashing, don't you think? Wait, can I grow up since I'm a Rift Creation?
That's something you'll have to figure out eventually. Anyway, when we met you, we thought you had parents. Rarity especially brought it up before us.
"You ruined my fun." A voice came from atop the Oreburgh City Gym roof. A colt of ice blue skin and a dark blue mane along with navy blue eyes was seen. His cutie mark was a mixture of both an icicle and a rift, with the icicle piercing through the rift. Still having the same appearance to this day. Cutie Mark and everything."So much for that."
"Who are you?" Rainbow Dash asked him, ascending a bit off the ground.
"None of your business granny." He said to her, calling her old compared to his age.
"G-Granny?!" Rainbow Dash twitched her eyes and grit her teeth.
"That's him! That's the pony I saw with the other guy." Roark pointed at the colt. "Cold Colt!"
"So that young troublemaker is Cold Colt? How could such a small little pony cause so much damage?" Rarity responded.
"Cause I'm awesome like that." Cold Colt said looking up with snarky pride.
I wish I did something better than just mind-controlling the Weavile when I first showed up. It would've made my entrance that much cooler with whatever I did.
"You call this awesome? This is ridiculous! This whole city's been frozen over!" Rainbow Dash bellowed at the little unicorn, showing him the damage he had done. While minuscule was still present.
"Where are your parents? I'd like to have a word with them about your silly and irrational behaviour." Rarity exclaimed, yelling at Cold the same way a teacher would yell at a student that had gotten themselves in trouble.
And during the earlier days, Cold was certainly the equivalent to that. He was a troublemaker through and through, carrying out the demands of the Rift just to create action and entertainment. And while his superiors far exceeded him at that, especially in magical aptitude, Cold wished to not fall behind.
"What parents? Ah, whatever. I wanna have some more fun!" The young unicorn's horn started glowing as it shot out the blue aura only this time. The aura engulfed the Weavile's turning them back to their previous state. Fluttershy backed away as the Weavile's were now aggressive once more.
This was when we all got involved in some real action. We didn't know how dangerous Pokemon could be and what they were capable of in the beginning after all. The ice from those Weavile were harsh too. And they were just as swift as a cheetah if not more. Unlike anything, we've felt.
This was shown by how Rarity needed to use her magic for a shield against the ice. However, it was so chilling that even with a shield, Rarity couldn't help but shiver along with her friends who were behind her. This snow hurricane bombarded her shield.
In the meanwhile, Rainbow Dash pursued Cold Colt who was currently moving around with teleportation, laughing with each time he evaded her. Normally, this would frustrate Rainbow Dash. And it was certainly agitating her. But she was a quicker thinker, already hatching up an idea.
And it involved the snow. She descended to the ground, only hovering above it from a few feet as she spun around near the snow. The multi-coloured-maned-mare was moving so fast on the snow that a snow hurricane had formed.
The hurricane reached Cold Colt, pulling him in. Rainbow Dash flew up as he saw him spinning around inside the snow hurricane. This made him sick, naturally.
If we didn't have Ash, Roark and Brock to help us, we could've been frozen in Oreburgh forever, maybe. The ice could've spread out to other regions but I'm not so sure about that one.
I could've totally won that if the snow didn't distract me. Rainbow Dash just caught me off guard that's all.
How did it feel? Surviving such a horrifying chill that was unlike what you were used to. Because I understand that Pokemon elements are similar to natural elements but amplified.
Oh, it was something. Some of us could've caught a cold or worse if that carried on. Oh yeah. On that same day, we saw Lucien for the first time. To think that we didn't know about Rift creations yet. We thought that all the Rift could do was just put universes together and see what happens.
The hurricane that Rainbow Dash had made was still going on. It eventually died down, stopping completely as the Rift Pony dropped out of it. The result was a face plant into the snow. Rainbow Dash emerged victorious, hovering above the planted pony.
"Well, that settles that. You couldn't measure up to me kid." Rainbow Dash taunted the little unicorn.
"Just you wait! The Weavile are gonna come here and freeze you along with your buddies!" He said whilst being stuck in the snow. His voice was a bit muffled but he could be understood. He flailed his back hooves around, trying to break free. Even then, Cold's magical capabilities were still limited.
"What? You mean those Weavile?" Rainbow Dash nudged her head over at the Weavile before facing Cold's planted body. "Oh, right you can't see you're stuck." Afterwards, the group had appeared with the Weavile on their side. Fluttershy's calming proved to be strong enough to fizz out the possession.
"Good job Rainbow!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed with an applaud. Now, all we gotta do is return him to his parents back home."
"What home?" Another voice was heard somewhere else. It was the man that Roark described. Lucien. At this moment in time, his appearance was obscured by the weather and shadows but he was certainly there on that very day. His hands illuminated blue as he picked up Cold Colt from the frosty and fluffy ground via telekinesis. "We're leaving, boy. There are other locations that we can have fun at."
Present day.
"If anything, that was the start of a long chain of events. Lucien and also Sienna weren't as present as they were today. But boy, they sure caused some problems. Even still, not as much as Obsidian. He made something that nopony in Equestria will ever forget." Twilight finished that part of the memory.
"Hold on, let me guess!" Cold interrupted. "The Storm Behemoth, right?"
"That's right. The Storm Behemoth. The reason why Equestria and even the Pokemon World had a total blackout. It's a good thing Passion had plasma or else we would've been done for."
"Tell me all about that one," Starlight asked. "I only got to briefly see the Storm Behemoth when Second Wind summoned it. I want to know what happened when it first showed up."
"I'll do it but..." Twilight smiled, shifting her eyes from side to side. "I think I'll do it chronologically before I get there. Like Rainbow Dash's first Gym Battle." Twilight opened the page to when Rainbow Dash began her career as a Pokemon Trainer, battling against the first gym.
A year ago. Whitetail Wood. Day.
Ever since the Pokemon League was announced for Equestria, Gym Leaders were needed. If we had known BigTime Ben was a Rift Creation as well, we would've understood more about how he managed to form it all so quickly. Since not many ponies were skilled in battle, BigTime Ben hired already existing Gym Leaders to fill in empty spots. One of them was Gardenia.
About that. Does Ben know he's a Rift Human?
Ash told us that he's aware of something about him but BigTime Ben sees himself as a full-on human. Anyway, for her first battle, Rainbow Dash did great. Won it on the first try and everything. I'd say it's the fact that the pegasi were a tribe of warriors. That spirit still lives in them. But Gardenia wasn't easy at all.
In this battle, Rainbow Dash's Rufflet had defeated Gardenia's Steenee. This was way before Rufflet evolved into a Braviary. It was a tough yet swift battle but Rufflet emerged victoriously. Impressive considering how experienced Gardenia was.
"Steenee is unable to battle! Rufflet wins!" The referee said.
"We won... YEAH!" Rainbow Dash boomed with excitement along with Rufflet as they both started flying around.
"Ruff!" Afterwards, they ended up giving each other a hug, chuckling.
"Good job Steenee. You were wonderful." Gardenia returned the defeated Grass-Type to her Poke Ball. A smile met her face as she was thoroughly impressed with Rainbow Dash's skills as a trainer considering how new she was to all of this. "I gotta say...What's your name?"
"Rainbow Dash." The pegasus said as she hadn't before given her name out to Gardenia when showing up here.
"Well, Rainbow Dash. You're pretty good for a beginner. That biting tactic was pretty clever. But let's see how you handle this one. An old friend!" She launched her last Poke Ball. Essentially her ace, Roserade.
"Roserade!" Once emerging, Rainbow Dash just had to see what this Pokemon was about. Her Pokedex, which was also new, gave her that information.
"Roserade. The Bouquet Pokemon. With its beautiful blossoms, enticing aroma and graceful movements, Roserade are quite enchanting- but watch out! Its arms conceal thorny whips, and the thorns carry poison.
About that...how come the Pokedex sounds like that Tempest Shadow from Universe 6?
Umm....Oh. Let's move on.
"We'll do the honours of starting off this time. Roserade, Sweet Scent!" From out of her arms, Roserade unleashed a sweet and soothing scent that reached not only Rufflet but even Pikachu. Pikachu was the only Pokemon amongst the crowd as the beautiful scent wafted in this direction.
"Pikachu..." He mumbled with ecstasy.
"What the hoof is this? Oh well," Rainbow Dash shrugged. Back then, she didn't know many Pokemon moves. Especially status moves. "Wing Attack! Head on!" Rufflet didn't move after the command. It was too caught up on the sweet scent. It did actually decide to close in, but not for an attack. Just to get closer to the scent. "Uh, Rufflet?"
"Wide open. Now Roserade! Poison Sting!" Roserade then attacked the defenceless Rufflet, by using some of its thorns to strike. The thorns, covered in poison, struck the Eaglet Pokemon square in his belly. That strike was enough to put the Normal-Flying-Type down on the floor.
"Oh no! Rufflet!" Rufflet had fainted after that devastating impact. With his guard being down, he couldn't power through it. He had fainted.
"Rufflet is unable to battle! Roserade wins!"
"Aw..and they did so well in the first round." Pinkie Pie sighed with her ears down.
"If it weren't for the sweet scent thing they could've taken it." Applejack replied with a shrug.
"Thanks, Rufflet." Rainbow Dash retrieved Rufflet back into his Pokeball.
Wasn't that the battle where Rufflet's Bond Phenomenon flashed for a second? Just like how Ash said? And how come Gardenia's Roserade used Poison Sting? I thought it knew Poison Jab.
No, that would be the second Gym Battle against Misty. Plus, Gardenia, and other Gym Leaders, sometimes cycle between Pokemon moves to make it fair to Trainers. Gym Leaders are always holding back since they're so strong. But even when holding back, they're a force to be reckoned with. And we all saw just how much of a force when it came down to just Whirlipede and Roserade. Both Pokemon essentially resisted each other and that was our first taste of how Pokemon Types can affect a lot.
"This is gonna be tricky and could go either way.." Ash said, knowing how this battle could go either way due to Whilripede and Roserade's advantages and disadvantages against each other.
"What makes you say that Ash?" Fluttershy asked him.
"Both of them cancel each other out. Whirlipede's a Bug and Poison-Type. Great against Grass Types. But Roserade is a Grass and Poison-Type. And the Poison type is great against Bugs. If one of the two lands a strong Bug or Poison move then either one's gonna win."
"But Whirlipede still has the advantage of being two types strong against Grass. From what I've learned." Twilight replied to him.
"This will be tricky." Gardenia nodded, knowing the difficulty as well. That was one of the few roadblocks of identical types or types that mesh well with each other. "But no matter! Sweet Scent once more!" Roserade went for another Sweet Scent.
"Not this time... Rollout!" Whirlipede instantly rushed in, rolling about as it charged into Roserade, hitting her dead on.
"Oh, quick!" Gardenia exclaimed, impressed with Whirlipede's speed. "In that case! Poison Sting!"
"Use Poison Sting as well!" Both Pokemon had clashed with their own Poison Stings, pushing each other back. It was thorns vs tendrils with the clash.
"Roserade! Poison Sting once more!"
"Rose! Roserade!" Roserade slid on the floor with her eyes and bouquet glowing. The Bouquet Pokemon rushed back in with another sting.
"Roll away!"
"Pede!" Whirlipede evaded the thrust of Roserade's bouquet hands via an instant drift on the floor as he rolled away. He even evaded the thorns that flew out.
"Follow Whirlipede and don't stop until you get a hit in!" Roserade pursued Whirlipede who kept rolling on around the gym.
"Oh, this is making my head dizzy!" Pinkie Pie said, holding her head, struggling to keep up with this speed. Everyone else except for Ash and Pikachu were struggling with it as well.
"Now! Rollout!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.
"Whirl-Whirl!" Whirlipede adjusted its angle as it then zoomed towards Roserade.
"Perfect! Use your thorns to grab Whirlipede!" All of a sudden, Whirlipede was grabbed by Roserade's hidden thorns, stopping it in its tracks.
"Oh no!" Rainbow Dash gasped, seeing that Whirlipede was now vulnerable without any momentum anymore. She was hoping to use that to her advantage.
"Gotcha! Now slam Whirlipede around!"
"Rade!" Roserade swung its thorns and Whirlipede around, hitting the Curlipede Pokemon across the ground and walls. Whirlipede was taking consecutive damage from all this swinging.
"W-Whirli!" Whirlipede cried out as even his hard shell could only protect him for so long. Back then, Whirlipede was a bit fragile. Nowadays, he's almost an unstoppable wall.
"Gotta do something! Whirlipede! Roll with the thorns!" Whirlipede understood as it rolled its circular body around in one spot. All this spinning was twisting the thorns.
"Trying to jumble up my thorns huh? Too bad! Let go of Whirlipede!" Roserade let go of Whirlipede as Dash saw an opportunity.
"Go! Rollout! Head on!" Whirlipede had used rollout but this time it was much faster. Due to it already spinning in the thorns, it had built up speed thanks to his ability Speed Boost.
"Ros-" Gardenia command was unable to be finished as Whirlipede smashed into Roserade at high velocity, knocking it back.
"R-Rose!" Roserade's boy staggered from this impact for a moment. Even though it was not very effective, the velocity and build up made sure that even a resistant Pokemon such as Roserade would feel it as her mouth was wide-open from it.
"Finish it with Poison Sting!" Dash commanded. Whirlipede moved in closer with it preparing a poison sting.
"Quickly! Dodge and use Sweet Scent!"
"Don't let up! Focus on Roserade!" Whirlipede moved in closer as Roserade dodged the poison sting, preparing a sweet scent. However, Whirlipede turned around, drifting as it struck a poison sting on Roserade's arms. The poison sting made contact as Roserade could feel the sting.
"Go!" Whirlipede then slammed itself onto Roserade as they both hit the ground. And with that powerful follow up, Roserade had fainted.
"Roserade is unable to battle! Whirlipede is the winner! And that means the victor is Rainbow Dash from Cloudsdale!"
"We won our first gym battle! YEAH!" Naturally, Rainbow Dash was hyperactive about this. And she should be. Winning a Gym Battle for the first time always feels like a great accomplishment. "Whirlipede we rocked!" She then flew over to the Curlipede Pokemon, gracing him with a hug.
"Whirli.." Whirlipede was still dazed from all of that, but he was A-OK. He shared Rainbow Dash's happiness as did all of their friends as well.
The moment Rainbow Dash won her first Gym Battle, I could tell a lot of great things were to come. It was her first win that inspired everypony to join the Pokemon League in the first place. It sure did kick off something entertaining and fun, didn't it?
"The memories of all of my friends having great moments are just the best." Twilight giggled, flipping the page. "Just like with what happened with Princess Celestia and Passion. Everything that happened before wasn't great but what happened after. Sorry if I skipped ahead."
"Oh, I remember this." Cold uttered. "That's when Passion's Psychic abilities went wild, wasn't it?"
"It was. The world was almost destroyed because of this. Both of them. Passion didn't know how to handle all of that power. She was still just a Kirlia with more power than a fully grown Gardevoir. It was scary for everyone but absolutely terrifying for Passion."
"To think someone that small could've destroyed both worlds..." Nyx gawked. "I would find that impossible if we weren't living with Pokemon."
"Luckily, Princess Celestia was there to help Passion. No one could connect better with her than Celestia at all."
An event that almost destroyed both worlds. The uncontrollable power of Passion and how she could not manage it. It looked like everything would end until Celestia came.
A series of events led up to this point. And this very point resulted in Passion's mind. Celestia ended up reaching Passions mind to communicate with her.
They awoke to this empty void, seeing that they were completely unharmed. No injures of critical natures were made. Even with Passion's overwhelming rampant power.
"Well. We're still in one piece, aren't we?" Celestia spoke, trotting within the void and approaching the Emotion Pokemon.
"Kirlia."
"Oh, Passion. I'm sorry that I was unable to solve this much sooner than I should've. If I did, then none of this would've happened." Celestia felt guilty in this instance. She believed that since was the Ruler of Equestria, she would have a solution to this already. "But...I guess that's to be expected since your world is beyond my knowledge. "
In response, Passion hugged Celestia face's for comfort, telling her not to worry anymore. Who cares about any of that when she's here unharmed with her trainer. That was Passion's view. Even during crucial moments.
"Kir." Just then, with another cry, something happened. Something that surprised Celestia. From what Passion uttered, it sounded like she was speaking the same language as Celestia.
"Passion...Did you just speak?" Celestia felt as if she could understand Passion's words on a deeper level. This was not Telepathy at all. If it was, she would've known by now.
This was the result of their harmonic connection. Connecting on such a level that it was possible for her to Pokemon speech. At least, the speech of a Kirlia and possibly the entire Gardevoir line. But since Passion was still a young Kirlia, it was faint. But Celestia could hear them either way. "It's alright."
"Lia!" Passion cheerfully cried out, hopping off of Celestia's face and jumping around in this white void.
"After this, let's have a nice long break, okay?" A gentle smile came from Celestia. That smile was what Passion adored the most. It made her hug Celestia's hof in response. She needed this. They both did.
"Kirlia."
A moment to breathe had been made by them. A long break was due for them. And they would take advantage of it as their synergy was another great example of a loving trainer and loving Pokemon.
Because of this, they created another phenomenon that exists in the Pokemon World. It came from their bond and love combined.
The unification they possessed exuded happiness, going past just transforming their bonds into power. It was also the purest form of magic.
Pure magic if you will. The space they were in had been purified with this dazzling magic, spreading a mix of Celestia's magic and Passion's magic across the endless void. It glistened gloriously with a majestic radiance that could only be complemented by a divine sound.
That was the first time that the magic of Equestria could stand up to the power of the Rift. It used to be completely powerless against cosmic energy from the beginning. But not anymore because of what Celestia and Passion had done.
On the outside world, they made their beautiful return. A pillar of light erupted from the same spot Passion vanished from, causing a reappearance. The pillar of light had brought them back to the outside world, but that wasn't all. The light expanded into a colossal and grandiose light shockwave that could be felt across both worlds.
All the damage that Passion had done to both worlds was being undone by this magic. The effects of the cosmic energy had been wiped out, reversed and freed from Passion's body.
Before everyone knew it, it was as if nothing ever happened to both worlds. Canterlot had been repaired along with Ponyville and all of Equestria once they sorted it out. Their magic was unlike anything I've ever seen. I still wonder if we'll ever get the chance to see something like that ever again.
"Gets me every time..." Twilight started tearing up after reminiscing that memory. "Such wonderful partners!" She then bawled with tears flying out of like a geyser.
"Togekiss." Togekiss brought over a handkerchief. Twilight then took the handkerchief, wiping her tears away.
"Thanks, Togekiss..." Twilight sniffled. "Oh. Just holding this ook and remembering everything is getting me emotional. I don't know if I can take anymore."
"Come on. How about a few more? Or one?" Starlight suggested.
"One more would work, mother," said Nyx. "Chose something grand, if you can.2
"Esp! Espeon!" Espeon and the rest of Twilight's Pokemon encouraged her to do so.
"Alright, alright. If I had to finish it off...it would be this moment. The moment that happened last Hearths Warming and Christmas." Twilight opened the book to the previous Hearths Warming and Christmas holiday.
Kanto Region. Pallet Town. Nightfall.
It was when we all had a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. The first one me and my friends and even the whole world could see. And it was beautiful to the core for everyone.
The Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. A glorious short ceremony that all can admire. The tree was unbelievably massive, being seen across the entire planet in every region.
Equestria as well. Ben had brought over a second tree for all of Equestria to see. That would be their first Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony for them to witness. And it was placed at Canterlot. No better place to put it. All across Equestria, this tree could be seen. No matter what species or monster, they saw it. And what a sight it was, especially in the night sky.
There was a moment of anticipation. Mostly for the ponies. This would be their first-ever lighting ceremony experience. The wait was over as the event could begin. A countdown going from 3, 2, 1 began. And once that came along, the lights flared to life.
Bursting with energy, a precious and enchanting array of lights had dazzled with an array of colours. The way they showed up was similar to that of the sun coming over the horizon as the Christmas star on top shined brighter than anything else here.
The golden star sparkled almost as much as the actual stars in the cosmos, shimmering the lands and illuminating the skies. No matter what part of the world they were in, these lights were impossible to miss with all their luminescence.
We all gazed at it and it gave us a sense of cessation and harmony. Just looking at that tree and feeling the year pass reminded us all that despite the hardships we had gone through, despite how little we knew about Pokemon, everything turned out for the better. Because our friends were with us all the way. From this world and another. And we built some amazing friendships for that.
Present Day.
"I'm so happy that all of this could happen." Twilight was getting emotional again. However, it wasn't over-the-top. It was more gentle around this time as tears flowed down her face. This book could certainly get her emotion.
"Twilight. How about you read us more of this book another time? You're getting pretty emotional over it." Starlight suggested. "Plus we learned some wonderful things in the past from it already.
"You're right." Twilight then closed the book with Togekiss wiping her tears. "But making and seeing this book reminds me of so many wonderful things. It's only going to get bigger the more that we face along the way."
"And this time, we're in it to make it even better." Cold Colt went up to Twilight.
"It'll be a joy to create even more new memories with you, mom," said Nyx with Starlight nodding in approval.
"Thanks, you three." Twilight laughed before hopping off of her bed. "Come on. How about we head to the Pokemon House in the meanwhile?"
They made their way towards the Pokemon House after going through that memory book. It was truly going to get only bigger as time went on. Memories would be made along the way that would continue to leave an impact. Whether happy, sad, incomprehensible or downright epic, all will remember it. And it will be kept in a nice book from start to finish as the journey continues.
Visting as always were Ash and Pikachu. This time they were joined by Sunset Shimmer and Professor Oak. They were, of course, here to help Twilight further with Pokemon Knowledge. But Twilight by herself was able to catch on so quickly that she had covered a lot in the span of a few weeks.
"A job well done." Professor Oak applauded Twilight. She has just recently taken a test on all that she's learnt so far. And it had been aced it without difficulty. "I'd say that's the best anyone has ever done with Pokemon Knowledge in such a short amount of time."
"That's Twilight for ya! Good job!" Ash and Pikachu cheered.
"Pikachu!"
"Thank you, everyone. Glad I aced it." Twilight replied, feeling a bit embarrassed from all this praise. But it was made better since her friends were there to cheer her on. Usually, something similar to this would happen at Crystal Prep when she was still a student there. However, this one had a different mood compared to Crystal Prep. "I worked hard to learn everything I could about Pokemon. And of course, I've got two great friends who helped me get there." She referred to Ash and Pikachu, winking at them.
"You certainly did. I'd say in about one more month, you'll be as knowledgeable as I was during my teenage years. Give or take less."
"Thank you, Professor Oak. And if it's not a hassle to ask..." Twilight twiddled with her fingers, having a question she at first hesitated to ask but went through with it anyway via guts and courage. "Would it be okay if I worked at your lab?"
"Hm? My lab?" Oak pointed at himself with his eyes widening from the question.
"I still have a lot to learn. But I want to take it a step further. Ash was the one who told me that there are even others more knowledgeable about Pokemon than him. And you're one of them. It'd be so amazing if I could learn from a Pokemon Professor. Just thinking about it has me all excited right now!"
"Hm-hm." Oak nodded with his eyes closed and slight mumbles. "I see. Next to Tracey, I would have another assistant by my side. Wouldn't hurt at all. After all, your Equestrian counterpart is a Pokemon Professor."
"She is?!" Twilight gasped.
"Oh yes. Equestria's first Professor. And to add to that, an assistant to Professor Cerise. Though she spends more time in Equestria than over at Vermillion City."
"Then is that a yes?! Can I help you out at your lab?!"
"Of course. You can be my second assistant, Twilight Sparkle. It'd be wonderful to have someone as skilled as you at my lab." Oak accepted Twilight, making her his new assistant.
"Thank you so much, Professor Oak!" Out of excitement and a spur of happiness, Twilight grabbed Oak's hands, shaking them vigorously. Professor Oak was almost taken aback by this. "I won't let you down!"
"I-I know you won't!" Oak stammered while having his hand shaken. "Whew...Such strength. How about today, you come over for some practice?" Oak suggested, putting his hands behind his back. Twilight's eyes shot open from that.
"I'd love to! D you hear that Spike? Zorua?"
"Sure did." Spike nodded in response as Zorua hid behind Spike due to Oak being essentially a stranger.
"And I'd love to get to know this Zorua some more." Oak looked over at the Hisuian Zorua, only scaring her further. She squeaked afterwards.
"Sorry. Zorua's still shy around others," said Twilight.
"You did a great job helping Twilight out, Ash. Pikachu." Sunset nudged him. "Already going places. Kinda."
"Mhm. We sure did. Thanks, Sunset. Oh, that reminds me..." Ash's mind started revving, digging into the multitude of memories that he had. "I gotta go see Sunset also!"
"Um...I'm right here." Sunset Shimmer chuckled.
"No, I mean the other Sunset Shimmer." Ash pointed to the north. "You see, I bumped into your human self in this world when I was in Ghetsis' body. I promised her I'd teach her about Pokemon."
"Wait! You did?!" Sunset Shimmer grabbed Ash by the shoulders with a thundering bellow. "I didn't even think about that...Where?!"
"Uh, just around that one city. I don't know the name though." Ash chuckled after being gripped. "But now's a good time to help her out. D-Do you wanna see her?"
"No-no-no." Sunset pulled away. "I was just curious that's all. I'm not sure if I'm fully ready to meet myself, you know."
"Really? What about Twilight?" Ash nudged his head over at Twilight. "You know two different ones."
"I know but...It's just a bit weird right now." Sunset pouted. She wasn't sure how to put her words properly. Seeing counterparts and alternate variations of others wasn't too odd to her. But something about seeing herself threw Sunset Shimmer off balance. She wasn't ready for that yet.
"Alright. Well, Pikachu and I are gonna head out now. Good luck with your practice, Twilight."
"Sure. You do the same too, Ash. Show me everything, professor" She exclaimed with enthusiasm. Something that Oak admired.
"Right. But a quick question. Would you prefer to go through Equestria's portal and appear as a pony or show up as your usual human self via Eindoak Town's gateway? It will take some time with Eindoak Town. But the transport won't be an issue at all." Oak asked.
"Well..., I'm still a bit nervous about passing through a gateway. Especially after everything that happened before. But for this, I'll do it. I'll take Eindoak Town, please. Not sure I could end up getting any work done with limbs that I don't know how to use."
"Splendid. Follow me." Oak walked off Twilight had placed both Spike and Zorua in her bag, grabbing the necessary essentials for this Pokemon Professor tour. As for Ash and Pikachu, they would be in the city, ready to teach someone else once more.
While Ash doesn't want to be a full-on teacher, he is certainly excellent at mentoring others. Perhaps that was one of the many qualities of a Pokemon Master.
Unova Region.Castelia City. Day.
Twilight got to see the Pokemon World for herself. And she was amazed by how wonderful it looked, completely different to what she was used to. The huge, sprawling metropolis with skyscrapers that almost pierced the clouds were graced upon her eyes.
But what amazed her the most were how people and Pokemon were so connected with each other. In her world, people were mostly afraid of Pokemon with very few owning some. Even then, she wasn't sure the percentage of people who lived with Pokemon.
But here, that was not the case. Pokemon live in harmony with them, walking and lounging around whether freely or with partners. Twilight could only marvel at this. She had already seen Eindoak Town but it did not compare to this view.
"Wow...I should've passed through instantly! All of this is so amazing!"
"It only gets better the more you look. Every region across the world has stunning views such as this. Some smaller than others but bursting with life either way. And this is just the largest geographical city in Unova and one of the largest in the Pokemon World."
"This region is my home..." Zorua's head popped out of the bag, gazing at Castelia. "I was born in this region. It sure looks different than I last saw it."
"We can head off to catch a ship to Kanto now. Or if you'd like, view this metropolis for yourself for a while. This is your first time in this world so it should stand to reason that you should experience what it has to offer."
"Thank you, Professor Oak. But maybe another time. I'd like to adventure it on my own time when I'm not busy."
"I see. Besides, I would've suggested the famous Casteliacone. Unfortunately, they're not at their best in this weather. Even then, since they're so popular, they've probably run out by now until next Tuesday."
Oak and Twilight continued on their way, heading for the Ocean Piers. Twilight could still sightsee Castelia. Soon, she would get to explore this massive city and potentially the rest of the Pokemon World. For now, it was off to Kanto which was indeed another part of the Pokemon World.
The Human World. The City. Afternoon.
Resembling Manehattan in appearance, Ash and Pikachu had arrived here. The skyline was spreading with modest skyscrapers and while modern now, their history still shined through. The quality of life is high in Kilbrook and it has attracted a lot of attention.
"Okay...So Sunset's apparently in one of those apartments over there." Ash said, gazing over at the apartment that graced this city. He wasn't sure how he was going to reach her, nor knowing which floor she was on. "Hm...What to do?"
"You don't have to worry about that, pal." Just then, thinking of a way, appearing right behind him was the girl of the hour. This world's Sunset Shimmer as she patted Ash's back.
"Oh! Awesome! That makes things easier. Good to see you again, Sunset. This is me. The real Ash Ketchum." He showed himself to Sunset Shimmer, appearing as who he truly was.
"This is you?" Sunset observed his full appearance. A stark difference from what she previously saw him as. "Hm...You don't look all that impressive honestly. And what's with that yellow thing on your shoulder?"
"This is my partner Pikachu." Ash introduced the Mouse Pokemon. "And I've got all my real Pokemon with me this time. So it'll be smooth sailing from here on."
"Pikachu!"
"Well, you're a bit late for that. I already know how to catch myself a Pokemon." Sunset smirked.
"Wait, you do?!" A surprised Ash and Pikachu collectively gawked.
"Right. And from what I hear you're the reason. Check this out." She then dug into her jacket pocket, taking out her phone. Sunset Shimmer quickly shuffled through her phone's screen before finding a video. This video contained some familiar faces to Ash and Pikachu.
Students from Crystal Prep.
The video played as it showed the familiar face of Indigo Zap and Lemon Zest. This took place during their break from school due to their casual clothes. And within the video, they were currently in a park, standing before a Nuzleaf and a Loudred with Poke Balls in their hands.
Sunset Shimmer had recorded this scene as the two of them managed to capture Nuzleaf and Loudred. They had done this via the Pokemon they already owned when they were given their first Poke Balls. And now, they could easily catch Pokemon with assistance, showing their growth already.
"Oooh! Great work you two!" Ash cheered.
"Pika!"
"So I already know how to do that catching thing. Plus, I hear you're the reason for this." Sunset paused the video. "You're kinda popular, ya know."
"Huh? Me?"
"Yeah. Look." Another video was shown. Yet another familiar face was shown as this video was viewed on a website. It seemed to be intensely popular with a heaping number of likes and comments.
That familiar face was Abacus Cinch. In this video, ever since Ash had taught Crystal Prep about Poke Balls and despite Ash not becoming a teacher there or even a student at Canterlot High, fame had spread about him. Cinch made a demonstration to many people, showing them how the Poke Ball could be used.
"As you can see, the Poke Ball can work in various ways. The most effective method is battling a Pokemon and catching it with this standard Pokemon. However, other methods work well. If you do not own a Pokemon and wish to use these, the best option is to utilize Quick Balls which succeed better when thrown immediately against a Pokemon. The one to thank for this all was Ash Ketchum and his expertise. Now, we have a limited number of these but I am hoping to get into contact with Ash Ketchum to bring over more Poke Balls. And unfortunately, that would require some contact with Canterlot High."
"You're kind of a big deal now. Since you're the one with the most knowledge about Pokemon here. Since that old lady said you were an expert, everyone's looking to you." said Sunset Shimmer as her words were proved once some of the people here noticed Ash.
"Look at that. Isn't that him there?" A man pointed at Ash. Soon, others gazed at him, noticing his appearance from his signature thunderbolt birthmark, hat and clothes.
"It is. Hey! Thank you!" A woman cried out, waving to Ash. Clearly, they were happy about gaining Poke Ball knowledge. They needed it due to the abundance of Pokemon.
"No problem!" Ash waved back as many others surrounded him, taking pictures. This was only happening due to how much Cinch popularized him. This wasn't uncommon since Ash is massively popular in Equestria. However, it was less extravagant here in the Human World. "Guess I should've had Professor Oak come into the city too. He knows more than me."
"Pika-Pika..."
"Anyway. Forget this boring stuff. Come on." Sunset then walked off, encouraging Ash to come along. Ash and Pikachu then followed her to wherever she was heading to.
Kanto Region. Pallet Town. Professor Oak's Research Lab. Afternoon.
They had arrived. It took some time most definitely. Luckily, Eindoak was near Castelia City so taking a ship to Kanto was inevitable.
Twilight also got to see Ash's hometown for the first time. Located in southwestern Kanto, she saw how peaceful it was. Few buildings filled the town. Very few. But that was the beauty of Pallet Town. Its small appearance the fact that lively characters could be found here made it so special.
"Here we are," Oak said as he and Twilight were now within his lab. "Ash's Pokemon are also housed here if you must know. You're already familiar with them, aren't you?"
"I sure am, professor."
"Well then, why don't you go meet them first?" Oak guided her towards the back of his lab. Right where Ash's Pokemon could be found lounging about. Once he opened the door, Twilight was met with more Pokemon of Ash that she was used to seeing.
Her eyes were widening and a smile was forming. However, in the midst of that, a flaming explosion went off, startling her instantly. "Ah!"
"Infernape!" It was Infernape who was currently having a Bout with Charizard. Flames erupted everywhere as the Fire-Fighting-Type had moved back from a Flamethrower.
"Zard!" Charizard chased Infernape down, spreading flames from his mouth repeatedly. Infernape then leapt over the flare of flames, going for a Mach Punch. After evading the flames, Infernape slogged Charizard's face with a swift Mach Punch, staggering him. But after that initial hit, Charizard had used Dragon Tail, slapping his fellow Flame Pokemon away.
"What's happening?!" Twilight gasped.
"The usual scuffle between Pokemon. Having this many means that some are bound to battle each other. Whether it be arguments or to improve one another."
"S-So...which one is this?"
"Considering Bulbasaur hasn't stepped in, I'd say they're just helping each other get stronger. No need to fear, Twilight. It's all-natural."
"Hah...Okay. A bit terrifying to be honest." She laughed whilst witnessing the flames fly.
"Osha? Oshawott!" Oshawott was the first to notice Twilight's familiar appearance as his eyes formed into hearts. Excited to see Twilight again, the Sea Otter Pokemon used Aqua Jet, boosting his way towards her.
Along the way, he accidentally tackled both Infernape and Charizard, knocking them over. The power of love gives anyone enhanced strength after all. Twilight soon noticed the increasing stream of water as Oshawott's arms were out, ready to embrace Twilight.
"Bulba!" But, Bulbasaur managed to catch him before he could end up accidentally tackling Twilight. The vines had held him back as Oshawott's Aqua Jet had ended.
"Char..." Charizard grumbled as he and Infernape sat up, holding her heads. They were a bit confounded from that sudden Aqua Jet. After sitting up, they noticed Twilight. "Zard?"
"Snivy!" Snivy and the others soon noticed her, greeting the Twilight from another world.
"Hey!" Twilight ran out, waving back. "It's good to see you-" But just as she ran over with a wave, she was quickly interrupted by the many Tauros that existed here.
"Tauros!" The herd of Tauros came galloping in, crashing into Twilight. Instantly, Twilight was sent flying because of this impact along with Zorua and Spike who were inside of her bag.
"Gaaaaah!" Now she knew how Ash felt whenever he shows up here. There will always be the herd of Tauros that will come crashing in when least expected.
"Ah, you haven't met the many Tauros yet," said Oak as Twilight was falling from above. But Oak wasn't worried as Twilight had been caught by Noctowl.
"Noctowl!"
"Oh..." Twilight sighed as Noctowl descended. A nice quick save from the Normal-Flying-Type. "Thank you."
"Noct."
"Snivy, Sni!" Snivy ran over, stopping next to Twilight.
"Hi, Snivy." Twilight held her hands out, holding Snivy up. "Great to see you again."
"Sni!"
"Osha! Oshawott!" Oshawott wanted to be held instead as he jumped up. Only for Snivy to take out one of her vines, catching Oshawott midair. "Sha!"
"So now, Twilight." Oak approached as Twilight was soon surrounded by Pokemon. Zorua stayed hidden in the bag while Spike enthusiastically jumped out to meet with the rest of them. "One of the things to know and learn is how to handle all of these Pokemon. The roster's only going to get bigger in the future the more Ash adventures I suspect."
"Right. I can do that." She observed all of Ash's Pokemon. "Hopefully. There are quite a lot of them. More than I'm used to, honestly."
"Don't you worry at all. With assistance from Tracey, you'll end up getting used to whatever comes your way. This is only the first practice. I'd like for you to come in next week. How does that sound?"
"Sure. I'd love to!"
"Excellent. I have more to show you before we finish."
The Human World. The City. Afternoon.
"Say...we're way past your apartment right now," Ash said as Sunset Shimmer was leading him and Pikachu to an underground area.
"Yeah. You don't have to worry about that. Since I and a few others caught wind of this Pokemon stuff and Poke Balls, we improvised with it." She replied as they went down some stairs. This part of the city had graffiti sprayed everywhere while all of these stairs led to a door.
Once there, Sunset opened the door, showing Ash and Pikachu was beyond it. It had opened as more people were inside along with the booming sound of music. A very booming sound. Enough to make Pikachu's ears rattle.
"P-Pika!"
Within this room, many of these people had Poke Balls, indicating that they have already caught some Pokemon. Aside from that, they were dancing to this booming music, not even hearing the door open.
"Oh hey!" But someone did see them come in. "Sunset! And uh...Who's that?"
"This is the guy who made me aware of this Pokemon stuff." She moved to the side, showing Ash to everyone. "The one who knows the most about these things. This is Ash."
"That's him?!" A wheeze and a laugh echoed out followed up with a point. "I thought he'd be more intimidating than that! Look at him!"
"Hm?" Ash looked at his getup, observing himself for a moment. "Looks fine to me."
"Trust me. This is the guy. Looks can be deceiving sometimes." Sunset shrugged.
"So, what's this place? A secret base?" Ash wondered.
"Something like that. This is a club for some of us to come to." Sunset explained "Ever since I got out of juvie, I've been away from this place for a while now. Just returned a few weeks back and it feels good. Plus, it's even better with these Pokemon. We can battle with them."
"So you've already figured out Pokemon Battling, huh? Nice." Ash approved of this, seeing how fast they had learned. He might've not needed to come along since they all got the hang of things so quickly.
"Hey, Sunset. Can you come here for a moment?" A girl called for Sunset Shimmer as a few of them were huddled up. Sunset went over after the call. Once there, she joined this group huddle. Meanwhile, Ash stayed back since it wasn't his business to be in a group huddle without being asked.
"What's up?" Sunset asked.
"Christmas has come and gone. You know what that means? Some of the leftover stuff is up for grabs. Right before they can throw everything out."
"Oh..." Sunset nodded as this topic involved crime. Mainly theft. "Almost forgot. it's been a while after all. This time, can you not let me get busted again like before?"
"Sure. Got you a new mask too." A boy held out a mask. "Not sure why we need it when our hair is so radical?"
"You don't have to worry about that. I've got a Pokemon that can make things easier for us." The girl chuckled. "We'll hit one of the bigger spots soon. We can count on you since you're so skilled, Sunset."
"Don't you think we should do it without that Ash guy around?" Another boy asked.
"I get what you mean. He looks like the kind of guy to spill everything if he finds out. We'll leave him in the dust before we get to our gig. Or you can just tell him to leave, Sunset."
"I don't know. He promised to help me out with this Pokemon stuff. Plus, since he's the expert, don't you think he knows something we could use?"
"Good point...Let's do that." The girl nodded as they broke up their huddle. "Hey. Ash!"
"Yeah?" Ash looked over.
"You know your stuff. Got something to teach us? Maybe about our Pokemon?" The girl held out a Quick Ball with a grin forming on her face.
"Sure, sure. I can teach you everything you know. Plus the Pokedex too."
"Pikachu!"
"Appreciate it, Ash. Teach away." Sunset bowed as she and the others were ready to take advantage of Ash. Since Ash was always keen to help, he stepped right into their ploy.
A ploy that involved crime. Ash was now within the vicinity of a shifty crowd while Twilight was over at the Pokemon, practising to be an assistant to a Pokemon Professor. All before the New Year can begin as the journey continues.
The Human World. The city. Underground. Afternoon.
Ash, in his quest of helping out this world's counterpart of Sunset Shimmer, found himself within a bad group that Sunset was involved in. But Ash wasn't aware of this at all as he was just there to give as much assistance as he could.
Little did he know that he would be used for an upcoming theft that would be orchestrated by these people. His expertise of Pokemon would be used for something more devious.
"Okay. Let me see your Pokemon." He asked them. Sunset Shimmer and the others held out the only Poke Balls they had at the moment. However, Sunset Shimmer was holding back her Pokemon, not releasing it. But everyone else did.
An Exeggutor, Graveler, Lunatone, Golduck and Dustox had been revealed as some of the Pokemon these people had with them. Sunset stepped back, not sending hers out at all.
"Nice picks," Ash observed their Pokemon. From the three-headed Exeggutor to the crescent-shaped Lunatone. However, he soon noticed that Sunset hadn't shown hers. "What about you, Sunset? You told me you caught one already?"
"It's best that mine doesn't come out..." Sunset had a nervous expression. "It's a bit of an aggressive one."
"Sunset apparently caught herself some big lion Pokemon a while back. Not the smartest move on her part. That thing is vicious. Tried to either burn or rip something down. Sometimes boy." A punk girl shrugged.
"Big lion...? Oh you mean, Pyroar!" Ash figured out the Pokemon. "Yeah, that's tough. Big Pokemon like Pyroar are tougher to get used to."
"That's an understatement." Someone else had laughed at Ash's reply. "You ended up picking that Pokemon 'cause it looked the fiercest and it backfired hard."
"It does, okay?! And I don't think I can let that thing out." Sunset shook her head. "Unless maybe tonight..."
"Let me help." Ash stepped forward. "I'll help you with Pyroar."
"You will?"
"Yeah. I'm helping you all out after all." He and Pikachu grinned, showing their beaming smiles. "I wanna do what I can."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Alright...If you say so." A hesitant Sunset Shimmer held out her Quick Ball. She was rightfully nervous about this. The destruction that could follow might be catastrophic, especially in an area such as this. But she felt like she could trust Ash. So, she sent out Pyroar.
"PYROAR!" A Female Pyroar emerged, letting out a bellowing roar that startled many of the people in this room. Far surpassing that of a natural lion's roar. It even overpowered the booming sound of the radio as well.
"Yeesh! Now that's a roar!" Ash was amazed by this mighty roar as it was comparable to the enchanting roar of an Arcanine.
"Py...!" Pyroar snarled with smoke erupting from between her fangs. After that roar and snarled, she looked at her surroundings with rapid-moving eyes. Then, she noticed Sunset Shimmer. The one that caught her. And from the look of her eyes, the Royal Pokemon did not seem happy. "Pyroar!"
Very unhappy. So much so that when Sunset Shimmer backed away, Pyroar had used Flamethrower, blasting out a wave of fire from her mouth. Gasps and screams echoed throughout the room as Sunset Shimmer moved aside instantly. The flames struck the walls of the room, blasting through them with impressive and horrific power. That was the raw power of 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Afterwards, Pyroar turned around with another mighty roar, preparing to use Fire Fang this time. And it seemed that she only had eyes for Sunset. The Royal Pokemon then charged forward, tackling the other Pokemon and knocking them aside.
"G-Golduck!"
"Wait! Wait!" Sunset cried out as Pyroar ran at her with blistering speeds, lunging into the air for a bite. Sunset could most definitely not outpace a Pokemon like Pyroar. Normal lions are fast enough. A Pokemon lion was just a walking speedy nightmare.
It looked like she would be gnawed on by flames as deadly as the sun, only for Ash to pull her out the way. "Look out!" He cried, pulling Sunset away at the best possible time. Pyroar's fangs had connected with the radio, biting deep into them. One touch and the entire thing blew up, causing an explosion to occur.
Everyone backed away as far as they could from the ferocious Pyroar. Especially Sunset. Pyroar's eyes flared within the smoke along with her flames spurting out of her mouth. She snarled, locking onto just Sunset Shimmer and nothing else.
"See?! You just had to pick this Pokemon out of all things, huh?!" A punk boy bellowed.
"Sorry, okay?! I don't see you doing anything to stop it!" Sunset roared back. "Just stop that thing! It's furious with me!"
"Hold on." Ash soon stopped them as he stepped forward. He decided to try and calm Pyroar down instead of resorting to a Pokemon Battle. Pikachu would stand back and watch.
"What are you doing?! Don't get closer to it!" Sunset yelled at Ash but there was no point in doing that when Ash sets his sights on helping others. They all thought Ash was insane for casually approaching a Fire Lion.
But Ash knew what he was doing. Pyroar soon noticed Ash approaching, growling at him. Even though she had destructive tendencies towards Sunset, she could switch if anyone else was seen as a threat to her.
Ash put his arms near her face. In response, Pyroar had instinctively bit onto Ash's arm with Fire Fang. Everyone else either gasped, closed their eyes, winced, or did all three at the same time. But even after that bite, Ash did not move his hand away. Instead, he placed it onto Pyroar's head.
"Py?"
"There, there," said Ash, patting the Royal Pokemon. That initial pat was enough to soothe the Normal-Fire-Type as it felt good to her. "You're upset, aren't you?"
"Pyroar..." Pyroar purred, enjoying this pat. After that, she did not see Ash as a threat anymore before nuzzling her head onto him. "Py." While no one could understand her, she apologized for the bite.
"It's alright. No one's gonna hurt you here. But someone did if you're this mad, aren't you?" Ash asked.
"Roar. Pyroar." Pyroar nodded before flaring her eyes at Sunset Shimmer. Her mood switched up again once spotting Sunset who had a similar hair pattern to hers.
"Quit looking at me like that!" Sunset bellowed before backing away some more.
"Sunset. She's upset with you? How come?" Ash turned to her.
"Hey, catching it wasn't easy, okay?" She crossed her arms. "If I wanted to have that Pokemon, I had to take risks. Sure it made it mad, but that thing was gonna tear me apart anyway! "
"Pyroar!" Pyroar thundered after Sunset said all of that, startling her once more. She wanted to lunge in and attack Sunset, only for Ash to keep her at bay.
"What good is that lion if it's gonna be so aggressive...?" Sunset gulped, showing high signs of fear as Pyroar could rip her apart at any moment now.
"Whatever it was, Pyroar's not gonna warm up to you like this. If you treat Pyroar with love then all that aggression's gonna come crashing down." Ash stood up. "I don't know what happened between you and Pyroar, but if you wanna be partners, you both gotta bond."
"Bond with that?" She pointed with a shuddering finger.
"Yeah. That way, you and Pyroar are set. Catching her was just the start. Pyroar. Can you do that even if you're mad at Sunset?"
"Roar? Pyroar." Pyroar liked Ash, so she would try. However, not so much Sunset who she still had some disdain for.
"Do you want an apology or something?" Sunset scoffed before sneakily holding out her Poke Ball, getting ready to recall Pyroar as soon as she could. The other Pokemon were also ready to attack Pyroar if something else went wrong.
"You both could try apologizing. That sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?" Ash snapped his fingers "At least I think so? I don't know what happened after all. Haha."
"Pika-Pika." Pikachu laughed with him as well.
"Fine. If it'll make you stop trying to burn me then...I'm sorry for what happened okay?" Sunset put her hands in her jacket pocket, apologizing with a pouted face and eyes shifting to the side away from Pyroar before looking back at her.
"Pyroar..." Pyroar stayed silent for a moment before noticing the destruction she made. In her anger, she ended up harming Ash who was kind to her. While Pyroar would apologize on Ash's behalf, it wouldn't be for Sunset Shimmer. Though she was kind enough to apologize for the destruction that she caused to the wall and radio. "Pyroar." Afterwards, she shifted her head away, giving a half-hearted apology.
"Oh!" Sunset gasped, noticing Pyroar's expression with that head shift as she did the same. "Whatever!"
"Guess we gotta work on that too, huh?" Ash had a laugh once more. "But you guys seem pretty good with your Pokemon, don't you?"
"I like the way this moon thing looks so I chose it." They started listing off the reason as to why they chose these specific Pokemon. It wasn't just to use them for crime but also preferences were involved.
"This duck reminds me of a toy I used to have."
"Look at the bulk on this one. How could I not choose it?" A punk boy kneeled, pointing at Graveler. "But what can you even teach us about them?"
"Well, you guys know how to battle...but do you know what works against what and moves?" Ash asked before putting his hand on his chin. "Come to think of it...how'd you figure out their moves?"
"Moves? Oh, those things they throw and do sometimes. We just tell them to do something and they do it, that's all." A punk girl shrugged. "Improvisation, ya know."
"Then Pikachu and I have a lot to teach you guys. You're gonna be upstart battlers in no time!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
Ash would do the honours of teaching them what he knew. They already had the basics down. How to catch Pokemon and even partake in a Pokemon Battle. But not knowing the 18 Types and which moves are each of those types along with what all of them do would be confusing.
All the while, Pyroar and Sunset had a less-favourable relationship with each other. Sunset was afraid of Pyroar while Pyroar was hostile towards Sunset. But despite what Ash would do next, it was all for an upcoming theft that would be done by these people. Including this world's Sunset Shimmer.
Kanto Region. Pallet Town. Professor Oak's Research Lab. Afternoon.
In the meanwhile, the human world's Twilight was still practising to be Professor Oak's new assistant. She had met up with Ash's Pokemon, already being familiar with the one's she met before and getting to know the rest.
"One thing to know is what everyone prefers and could do without. Tracey had the pleasure of knowing how some of Ash's Pokemon from Johto had their likes and dislikes too. And he learned everything else from the rest when becoming my assistant." said Oak. "You'll have to do the same for all of them."
"I got it." Twilight nodded as she had two large boxes of Pokemon Food with her. They were heavy as she was struggling to keep them up. She wasn't sure who liked what so it was going to be blind. Luckily there was enough food inside of all of these boxes to choose from.
After setting the boxes down, she opened them with the plethora of Pokemon Food being revealed. However, if she wanted to prove herself, Twilight chose not to just lay them all out and see who goes for what. She was going to personally test each Pokemon Food and see which clicks with certain Pokemon.
Two bowls had been placed on the ground as two different foods were poured into them. One with a pinkish colour and the other reddish colour. "Alright. Let's see who prefers...this!" Twilight held out the pink bowl, waiting to see which Pokemon would react.
"Bay!" Bayleef was the first to react as she jumped in the air, running towards Twilight. Next were Totodile, Staraptor and Leavanny. They all approached Twilight, appearing before the bowl of pink Pokemon Food. It was clear that this was their favourite.
"Okay. And how about this?" Twilight raised the bowl with the red colours.
"Charizard!" Charizard reacted first to it, flying over. Joining him were Sceptile, Hawlucha, Gliscor, Bulbasaur and Heracross. She had found the ones who preferred these two different colours. Afterwards, they started eating from the bowls together.
"Splendid. Simple yet effective. Most would just toss the Pokemon Food out for a scatter. But using the most basic method is the perfect way to go." Oak nodded in approval of Twilight's effective approach. Twilight blushed after that compliment.
"Thank you, Professor Oak! Okay, what's next?" Twilight then turned to the box as there were still more of Ash's Pokemon who hadn't flocked over. They had their preferences which were not pink or red.
Zorua's stomach growled as she wanted a bite as well. She seemed to be attracted towards the pink food from where her eyes were facing. However, Zorua's timid nature caused her to freeze in the bag instead of joining the others.
"Hm?" Twilight heard Zorua's stomach rumble plus her whimpering while staring at the food. "Zorua. You can eat from it too. Go ahead."
"Can I do it later? Without all of them around?" Zorua whimpered, hiding further within Twilight's bag.
"Okay. How about I have you eat in private?" She suggested as Hisuian Zorua nodded her head aggressively. She would much prefer that and Twilight would grant that wish.
Oak had more bowls to give out plus an extra-large one that was more tailored for the herd of Tauros. She used those other bowls while also giving a private one to Zorua, just for her. Once placing other Pokemon Food in different bowls, waiting to see who likes what, she went elsewhere in this field, just for Zorua.
The peaceful river stream of this area looked perfect. It was silent and free of any noise. It was also surprising to Twilight how this was still a part of his lab. Then again, if Ash was going to catch more Pokemon, it stands to reason for this place to be so expansive.
Either way, Zorua could eat peacefully while Twilight would continue her practice until it was over.
The Human World. The city. Underground. Afternoon.
Back at the underground room, Ash had shown everyone how far they can go with Pokemon knowledge. He had used his trusty Pokedex, scanning each of the Pokemon and their moves. It beat just explaining what each of them were when the Pokedex could so easily do it.
It also revealed the Types of the few Pokemon and what they worked well against. This was valuable information in the eyes of them all. "So remember. Water beats Rock and Rock beats Bug." Ash said. "Lunatone's extra good against Dustox but Exeggutor, not so much."
"Okay, okay." A punk girl nodded in understanding. "That's not too hard to remember."
"Yeah. But remember this. Doesn't matter what type it is. It's all skill that makes a Pokemon stronger. You can beat any type with skill, no matter how big of a disadvantage you have."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"We'll remember that. But this is great. I was right to choose this Exeggutor with all of these Psychic abilities. That'll mess everything up for sure."
"I didn't doubt the bulk on Graveler one bit. If that's the case, then this'll be easier than we thought..."
"Yeah. I can do a lot with Dustox. Bugs are already hard to deal with but Pokemon Bugs could be a different story." They all observed their Pokemon. However, it was not for the right intentions, unbeknownst to Ash.
All the while, Sunset was standing in the corner with Pyroar being beside Ash. She watched as everyone was already getting to know more about their Pokemon. Their advantages and disadvantages. But not her. And it made her feel jealous and left out from everything, which Sunset disliked greatly.
Ash offered to handle that however as he encouraged Pyroar to come over. Sunset's heart skipped a beat once Pyroar was seen approaching. But, Ash made sure that nothing hostile would occur. "Did you have to bring her this close...?" Sunset groaned with her back strafing across the wall.
"Yeah. Don't wanna let you guys be left out. I guess you've already heard about the other Types, huh?"
"I did. And they're way stronger than I thought. Then again, I saw a Dragon and some blade thing by your side that one time. Even though they weren't yours."
"Actually, I've got something similar to GHetsis' Pokemon. Dragonite and Sirfetch'd. So you're not wrong there."
"Dra-Whatever...Can she just stop looking at me like that?" Sunset shifted her eyes at a snarling Pyroar. Ash and Sunset then heard Pyroar's stomach growl as she needed food. Most likely, ever since Sunset caught her and showed hostility, the Regal Pokemon has not eaten yet.
"Hungry, huh? I gotcha with that." Ash held out his bag, taking out a plastic container of Pokemon Food. But, instead of just handing it out himself, he gave it to Sunset. "Here. This is one way to get close. Try feeding Pyroar?"
"A-Are you sure?" Sunset stuttered once holding the container. She looked over at Pyroar who still had those ferocious eyes that could pierce through metal. Or rather burn through it. But even with that gaze, once her stomach growled, Pyroar's emotion changed as she looked down.
"Just go with it, Sunset. This Pokemon's ridiculously strong. Tonight's theft is gonna be a cakewalk. Gaining her trust is the only way I'm gonna have that kind of power on our side."
Sunset then opened the container, revealing the Pokemon Food. The wonderful scent travelled through the atmosphere, reaching Pyroar's nose as she shot up. Sunset then slowly kneeled.
With a slow kneel, he held her hand out to Pyroar. Sunset closed her eyes, also keeping the Poke Ball in one hand, just in case something goes awry. But after a few seconds of silence, Pyroar did not attack. Instead, she accepted the food.
Biting the food out of the box while Sunset froze there. She did not use the Poke Ball after seeing Pyroar's actions. Her rapid beating heart slowed down afterwards. Pyroar was currently enjoying herself with this food. She needed it desperately after those weeks of having nothing to eat.
"Oh, hey. She's actually pretty cute up close like this." Sunset took the time to see Pyroar in a different light. When she's not trying to maim and scorch Sunset, she's extremely peaceful. Sunset saw how hungry she was, feeling some sort of remorse for her.
Pyroar feasted away as Sunset placed the box back down onto the floor, allowing for Pyroar to eat as much as she wants. "Hey um...sorry for what happened back there. I was still new to that stuff and I went kinda big for my choice."
This time, a full-fledged apology came from Sunset. One that Pyroar could accept. Thus, the Regal Pokemon did the same, giving a true apology. "Pyroar."
"Awesome stuff, you guys." Ash gave a thumbs up, congratulating their success.
"Pika!"
Meanwhile, the others, now learning more about Pokemon, decided to speak about their plan for tonight. They quickly whistled over in Sunset's direction, calling her in for another group huddle. Sunset left the box there while going for the group.
"Well. You made a great call, Sunset. Having that Ash guy here was the best thing yet. Now that we know what these moves can do, this theft can be a lot easier than expected."
"I know. Plus, I've got that Pyroar on my side now." Sunset chuckled. "Now that I've got something that powerful on my side, even if it isn't a smooth theft, who's gonna stand up to a Fire Lion?"
"You raise a good point. We've only got 10 minutes until we head there. And these new moves kinda revamp our plan now. What are we gonna do about Ash, though?"
"He means well." Sunset shrugged. "But I don't want him getting involved in this. I've been in juvie too much now and my apartment's not looking too good. Neither is the stay here. If there was a chance to make it all better, now's that chance. Let's do this." Sunset's eyes filled with a fiery determination. She was 100% set on making this theft happen. With or without destructive power.
But before that, she had to speak to Ash for a moment, walking over to him. Ash was currently petting Pyroar's mane, making her purr once more. "Yo, Sunset."
"Hey, Ash. Thanks for the help today. I think you can head back now."
"Sure. I've taught you guys some good stuff. I'll help you next time, maybe?" Ash held his hand out for a shake.
"Alright," Sunset responded, giving him a shake. "If you wanna get in contact with me, I'll give you my number."
"OH uh...I don't have that kind of phone back in my world. I don't think it'll work here either." He chuckled as Sunset Shimmer pulled out a phone that Ash was not familiar with. Though, it did look a bit like the Rotomphone in a way.
"Whatever. See you around then."
"Alright. Gonna stop by some places along the way. That food shop looked pretty good, didn't it buddy?"
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed as he and Ash rushed out to grab a bite.
"He's energetic, isn't he? Not too great for stealth." A punk boy giggled.
"Alright. Let's focus on what's important." Sunset then turned to the others. The time was now. "It's showtime."
It was nightfall. Then again, this was the result of winter bringing out the moon sooner. Ash and Pikachu were currently around town while Sunset and her group were ready to cause some theft. They would do this in the bigger parts of the city but only focused on a few instead of many.
"We'll put these on when we need to. For now, let's stay as ourselves and keep it stealthy. Remember to tie up your hair for ease too." Sunset and a few others had long hair and very visible colours. Tying them and putting the mask over them would help for better stealth. However, there was an issue.
"And...He's still around town, maybe." Sunset referred to Ash. "I saw how he was back when was in that Ghetsis guy's body. He's no joke. He knows his stuff. And if he has a Dragon with him, then we'll be done for. Unless I end up using this." She then held out Pyroar's Pokemon as the Royal Pokemon was resting in there.
"Relax. Not gonna cause a commotion. After he taught us some new stuff, I know what I can do with this Exeggutor." A punk boy said, stepping forward. "Dustox. Use that Sleep Powder thing.
"Exeg...!" Exeggutor got to work. The Coconut Pokemon used its Psychic powers, sprinkling out powder from its leaves. It manipulated the powder via telekinetic control.
The powder had then been sent over towards the mall. It was still open but with fewer people due to the current time. Plus, the previous Christmas Shopping had drained it of many products. This was exactly why Sunset and her group struck at the days after Christmas. When there is nothing left to buy, few people come by.
The door had opened once someone else had exited, allowing for the power to pass through and enter it. Once inside, the boy guided Exeggutor with his finger, showing him where and who to target. The targets were the security guards, of course.
Once being guided on who to target, Exeggutor, even from this distance, made the small powder sprinkles fly in their direction. The guards felt something. It felt like something had both touched their faces and hair while also going through their nose.
Afterwards, the feeling they received was exhaustion. They had yawned afterwards, having the urge to fall asleep. But it didn't stop there. "Do the same for everyone."
"Xeggutor." Exeggutor then manipulated some more, causing them to fly across the entire mall. And by flying, they had struck shoppers left and right. Exeggutor's view was limited so it was doing it blindly. However, due to how many sprinkles there were, they would hit someone eventually.
And they did. Many of the shoppers felt tired once the sprinkles struck them. Tired enough to head home. "I think that's enough shopping for today..." A lady yawned before walking off. So did a few others. They made their purchases, got whatever they could and decided to leave.
The safest way to get rid of a crowded space had been found for Sunset's group. With this, they could move around the shopping mall and grab what they could even at this time. And the guards would soon clock out, falling asleep on the spot.
People started leaving the mall with tired eyes, stretching arms and constant yawns. The group waited for almost everyone to be out of here until it was just the exhausted guards.
However, ever since Abacus Cinch introduced the Poke Ball to everyone, many had scattered to grab them from Crystal Prep. That included authorities such as the Police who were immediately tasked with catching Pokemon due to how they were causing trouble.
The same went for the security guards. With them feeling tired and sitting on the floor with their backs against the wall, they had one other lookout on their side. A Pokemon that Sunset and the others would personally meet.
After everyone had left, Sunset and the group advanced, approaching the mall. The doors opened automatically for them as they entered without anyone spotting them. The security guards were slumped over with shut eyes.
"I say we go for the upper floors. That's where all the good stuff is." Sunset said as they all went for the upper floor. They approached the upper floors, going for the stores that had no one there.
Some stores still were still open and had employees there. However, they had also been hit by the Sleep Powder from Exggecute. The other threats were the surveillance cameras.
Not a problem for Lunatone and Dustox. The Meteorite Pokemon was ordered to use Confusion on the cameras while Dustox would use Gust. And they did this out of the view of the cameras. They had either been blown away by Gust or gone haywire due to Confusion.
However, as they went on a frenzy, stealing what they could, they came across the Pokemon owned by the Security Guards. Fairly new too.
Usually, the most common Pokemon that would be on the lookout would naturally be Hoothoot, Noctowl or even sometimes a Growlithe. Pokemon that were usually good with lookout and are great picks for security. Plus, they can be stealthy themselves.
Instead, considering that it was utter chaos here in the Human World, the Pokemon that the security guards received were Aipom. The least stealthy Pokemon there could be.
Once they went to steal what they could, two of the young criminals spotted Aipom. The Long Tail Pokemon stared blankly at them, becoming completely still. And then, out of the shadows, other Aipom had appeared. There was quite a handful of them. Most likely, they were the most rampant Pokemon around.
"Aipom..."
"You didn't tell me there would be some Pokemon..." They started whispering to each other.
"I didn't think there would be. They weren't here when I was wandering around..."
"Aipom? Ai."
"Ssshh...!" The girl pleaded with them to shush as to not draw any attention. However, with a cheeky grin, the Aipom were going to do so anyway. They were too cheeky and playful after all.
"Aipom!" The Aipom all started crying out, swinging and jumping from within this Record Shop. Their constant cries echoed within the shop, reaching the ears of the asleep employee.
"Huh?"
And with that, they alerted the other Aipom to do the same. Speaking of the other Aipom, they had spotted the group of young criminals as well. However, they didn't do much other than shout and zoom around.
"What's going on?!" One of the security guards who was not asleep came running over, hearing the commotion immediately. He was joined by two more as they were the only security guards awake.
"Great! Not even a few minutes!" Sunset Shimmer groaned as the others began tying their hair. It was time to put on their masks and tie their hair for identity concealment.
"Pom!" But one of the Aipom snatched the masks of the others whilst jumping like a lunatic.
"Hey!"
"Now I've got a reason for you to help instead of playing catch. Go!" A guard had thrown out a Pokemon that was fit for guard duty. Herdier. The rest of the guards just had Aipom on their side.
"Herdier!"
"Herdier! Use that um..whatever that charging you do is!" The guard ordered as he was referring to Take Down.
"Herdier!" Herdier ran in, going for Lunatone first. The Loyal Dog Pokemon had bashed into Lunatone, knocking the Meteorite Pokemon aside while also taking recoil damage.
"Lunatone!"
"Golduck get rid of that thing! Use Waterfall!"
"Golduck!" Golduck's eyes glowed light blue as a column of water emerged from thin air. Golduck then swam up the column in a fast, spiralling motion. This also tampered with the electronics here.
"Get some payback, Lunatone! Rock Slide!"
"Luna!" As for Lunatne, a Light-blue aura illuminated from its body as orange sparks of electricity shoot off from underneath its body. A white circle then appears above the Meteorite Pokemon's body as it grew in size. The circle formed into multiple white ovals of aura that then turn into grey stones with a light-blue outline. The stones were then fired.
"Aipom!" Despite that buildup, the Aipom, due to their superior numbers, had counteracted. With all of the incoming stones and the giant Waterfall, they had combined their powers to fight back.
They had used a barrage of Swift, sending multiple Swift stars that had pelted the rocks, shattering them. As for the Waterfall, a few of the Aipom had just evaded it by getting to a higher ground. The same couldn't be said for Herdier, who had been hit.
Sunset was putting everything she had gathered within her bag, ready to leave since the plan was a bust. However, Pyroar was still an option. The trainer of the Dustox was also running off along with the trainer of the Exeggutor.
"Aipom!" But the Aipom stood in their way, along with other guards. This was a bust. Easily. So much stealth when the opposite of stealth Aipom were around.
However, Sunset figured that now would be a good time for Pyroar to be unleashed. The destructive power of this Pokemon was ready to be used as the journey continues.
The Human World. The city. Within a shopping mall. Late afternoon.
A failed theft had occurred. Originally, this world's Sunset Shimmer and her group were off to cause some theft with Pokemon on their side. However, it all went south when the Aipom had blown their cover with their playful and energetic personalities.
This alerted them to some of the security guards who were not struck by Exeggutor's Sleep Powder. Thus, there was pandemonium stirring within the mall. Some of the group decided to try and leave with what they've stolen, only for them to be interrupted by the unusual number of Aipom here.
They were hoping to quietly hit the bigger parts of the city and steal what they could without much attention. But that clearly backfired. However, this showed that there was no better security force than a rowdy Aipom.
"Here goes." While everyone else had their Pokemon out to try and guarantee their escape, Sunset was ready to use Pyroar for the first time and her full destructive capabilities. "Pyroar, go!"
"Pyroar!" Pyroar emerged from the Poke Ball, appearing before the security guards.
"Aah!" One of the guards hid behind another, terrified of Pyroar once she showed up. "Lion!" It was clear that he had a fear of lions. Then again, many would. This was not a favourable situation for him especially since it was a Pokemon Lion. Far deadlier than the one they have. "L-lion!"
The same went for the other guards. While their fear was not as radical as the other guy, the natural fear of a lion still existed within them as they backed away. Minus the Herdier who was fearless in front of Pyroar.
A few of the Employees who were still asleep made a run for it the moment they saw a lion indoors. No one wanted any trouble at all from this event.
"Hoh...? What's the matter?" Sunset smirked, seeing the fear pop up in their eyes and expressions. "Scared of a little lion?"
"Sunset. It's a lion. Everyone's afraid of lions." But one of her fellow hoodlums replied to her.
"Pyroar?" Pyroar noticed her surroundings, seeing the few people runoff and the Aipom jumping about. She was fairly confused as to what was happening.
"Whatever! Pyroar! Scare them off with that Flamethrower of yours!" Sunset pointed. She preferred not to get physical. Only scaring them away would do instead of causing harm. Pyroar was still lost on this, unsure of what everyone was doing, but since Sunset was her trainer and she had warmed up to her a bit, she went along with it.
"Pyroar!" Erupting out of her mouth were flames hotter than the surface of the sun. They blasted Pyroar in the form of a wave as she sprayed it. However, without the intent of harming anyone.
The flames stood before the security guards, Herdier and the few Aipom, causing them to move back. As the employees left the scene, the doors to the mall were being shut just to keep these criminals inside.
"They've locked it! Now what?!" A punk girl cried out to everyone once seeing the doors lock. Every door here was automatic, being connected to an electronic. As if this mission wasn't going awry already, now they were locked in.
"I'm not getting near that lion! You do it!" The terrified guard pushed another one forward.
"You big baby! Not with all that fire around, I'm not!" Another yelled. But just as they bellowed at each other, the Aipom started working together.
"Aipom!"
Swinging from the ceiling with their tails, the Aipom had collectively used Swift, swinging star rays from their tails. They had attacked the flames, putting parts of them out. Not all of them yet. Following that, the Aipom had then interacted with the opposing Pokemon. Two of them went for Graveler, swinging in its general direction.
"Graveler! Stop them with Rock Blast!"
"Gravel!" Graveler attacked the two Aipom, shooting out giant rocks from its hands. However, the swiftness of the Aipom showed as they flipped over the incoming rocks by using the ceiling to their advantage. Afterwards, they had both used Sand Attack, shooting out sand from their tails and onto Graveler.
"Aip!"
"G-Gravel!" Naturally, getting hit with sand in the eyes was a bad feeling. And it certainly was for Graveler. It held its eyes as multiple grains of sand were now in it. The Rock Pokemon started running around, trying to get the sand out whilst curling into a ball.
"Hey! Calm down! Its trainer exclaimed as the Aipom giggled. "You cheeky little...!"
"You know...despite how chaotic they may be...they're not too bad, are they?" The security guards said once observing the Aipom.
"They sure know what they were doing. Guess I don't regret catching them."
"Don't make me do this..." Sunset was faced with the other Aipom, wanting to leave. But the AIpom were too cheeky to finish things here. If anything, they saw this as fun rather than a serious situation.
Sunset knew that now they were locked out, opening the doors was no good for escape. However, Pyroar and the other Pokemon were could fix that. Pyroar's flames could destroy walls as previously seen in the underground room.
"Flamethrower on that wall!"
"Roar!" Pyroar turned around, blasting her Flamethrower towards one of the walls. A clean-hit as the 10,000-degree blast had blown a hole through the upper floor, revealing the outside.
"Herdier!" Herdier took action, rushing towards Pyroar while the guards could only stay back due to the flames. They also did some damage control in the meanwhile, making sure nothing escalates for the worst. Though that was fairly difficult considering which Pokemon were in here. "Dier!"
"Herdier had tackled Pyroar with Take Down, staggering her for a bit while taking recoil damage.
"Py!" In response, Pyroar had used Iron Tail, hardening her tail before slapping Herdier away.
"That's a bit too high!" One of the hoodlums said, noticing the height distance after SunsetL made the hole. We need to get lower.
"That's exactly what we'll do! Come on, Pyroar!" Sunset took the chance to make a run for it now. Pyroar ran away with them as they already had some items at their disposal. Granted, they didn't get everything they wanted, but they still had other things.
"Oh!" The security guards gasped while using fire extinguishers to put out the flames. "Aipom! We know we were a bit wary of you in the beginning, but now we trust you all! Can you stop them?"
"Aipom!" The Aipom could do that most definitely. Plus, they wanted to keep playing. The group of Long Tail Pokemon then pursued the thieves.
Meanwhile, prior to when Pyroar had used Flamethrower, the explosion and burst of flames had been heard by everyone outside. Ash and Pikachu, who were currently experiencing this city and its food, had just filled their stomachs.
When they finally decided to head home, that's when they saw the commotion and smoke in the distance. "What the?" Ash uttered once seeing the smoke. He and Pikachu quickly ran over to see what the cause of this was.
Once something had been destroyed within the mall, the police had been called. Thankfully, they existed within the big city so they would arrive soon. "Pikachu?!" Pikachu smelled the scent of flames from his nose. Pyroar's Flamethrower still had some effects left behind.
Back inside of the mall, Sunset Shimmer and the others were trying to escape as they were currently being pursued by the Aipom.
"You just had to recommend Pokemon to us for this, huh?!" A girl yelled at Sunset. "If we all get caught, this is all your fault, Sunset!"
"Hey! I didn't think it would end up like this okay?! Can you blame me for not expecting a horde of monkeys to throw off our game?!" Sunset shouted back at her. "Besides, you'll get to be in juvie with me as well by the end of this if we do get caught!"
"That'll be the worst kind of punishment!"
As they argued, the many Aipom knew to block off any chance of the others escaping. While the doors may all be shut, that didn't mean much when Pokemon moves could break them down.
But the Aipom would do more than just that. They used their playful nature to their full potential. One of the Aipom leapt off of the walls, going for Dustox. "Aipom!"
"Dust?!" Dustox gasped as it had been tackled by Aipom. But it was not a hostile tackle. Instead, one Aipom had Dustox within its grasp after knocking it out of the air, the Long Tail Pokemon then started tickling Dustox with its tail. "D-D-Dustox!"
"Ai-Ai!"
"Hey! Get your weird tail away from-" The owner of Dustox cried out, only to be attacked by three other Aipom who did the same thing to her. And immediately, the AIpom had weakened her via this bombardment. "Quit it! Hahaha! Stop!"
"Golduck, blow them away!"
"Golduck!" Golduck had used Water Pulse, hitting both the Aipom and the girl covered by them. She had been drenched in water while the Aipom had been sent flying.
"S-So C-Cold..." She shuddered before walking away with wet hair and clothes. It didn't help that it was still winter at this time.
As for Sunset Shimmer, he kept pace with Pyroar, thinking of what to do after all of this. With her mask stolen by one of the Aipom, her identity had been blown immediately. There was a good chance that they could report to her and the face match would immediately lead to her.
Or rather, the Sunset Shimmer that Ash knew the most.
"Pyroar! Blow those doors down, now!" Sunset commanded Pyroar.
"Pyroar!" Pyroar had used Flamethrower, sending a scorching wave of flames towards the main mall entrance. But the Aipom got in the way.
FIve of them landed in front of the door while one of them had used Protect. Right in the nick of time as Flamethrower had been stopped dead in its tracks by the usage of just one Protect.
"Are you kidding me!?" Sunset groaned as this was her first time seeing Protect. She had a lot to see and learn about Pokemon.
"There you are!" The security guards caught up, running this way. "Good job, Aipom! Wait there!"
"Do something already!" Sunset pointed at the door, yelling at Pyroar. "I don't wanna go out like this!" She complained, wanting to escape immediately. "What happened to all that awesome power you had earlier, huh?!"
"Pyroar?"
"We're getting nowhere!" A hoodlum girl groaned. "What was that move that I learned? Oh, right! Lunatone! Blow this place sky high with Explosion! That'll clear the way for us!"
"Lunatone!" Lunatone was wielding possibly the most dangerous move in this area. Far beyond Pyroar's Flamethrower and more. This was another way of escaping the wall with higher destructive power than Pyroar. However, the girl and the others had no idea how grand Explosion would be.
Lunatone's body started gyrating with the sound of something building up exuding from its body. Afterwards, a red and gold glow formed as the Meteorite Pokemon was ready to blow.
"Pom? Aipom!" But the Aipom knew how dangerous Explosion can be. Immediately, they scattered, not wanting to be caught up in the explosion. Pyroar knew the same. But it was too late for everyone else to know.
Just like that, Lunatne had caused a furious combustion and release of its Infinity Energy, forming a massive sphere-shaped explosion that rapidly expanded.
The Aipom used their tails to grab the security guards by the back of their shirts, using their impressive tail strength to pull them away from the incoming explosion. Sunset Shimmer and the others also backed away and dashed off as fast as they could. The trainer of Lunatone underestimated the power of Explosion and how dangerous it could be.
Dealing greater damage than Flamethrower, the explosion had blown away many of the walls, causing the mall to shake. Everyone outside witnessed this as the doors had all been blown off. Parts of the structure also came toppling down. Mainly parts of the upper floor.
Sunset took cover around the nearest pillar as she closed her eyes. Before she knew it, the destruction rampaged with loud crashes and bangs. The sound of glass shattering and such.
Ash, Pikachu and everyone outside as the explosion ended with rubble tumbling. Everything had come to a pause as Herdier fainted. Luckily, despite how devastating the attack was, it still had its limits. Mainly from Lunatone who wasn't aiming to crush everyone in it.
"Excuse me!" Ash said, running past everyone who was watching the mall. He had to see what was happening. Back inside the mall, while no one was severely hurt with the Aipom successfully pulling the guards away, damages had still been done.
Despite this destruction, the Pokemon themselves decided to fight back against everything that came toppling down. The hoodlums were saved by the Pokemon they originally used for their own gain. Exeggutor had used Psybeam to move away any falling rubble that fell near its trainer.
The Aipom had also protected Dustox by pulling it away. Even with the conflict, they put others before them. And the same went for Pyroar. Sunset was on the floor after the pillar she was near came tumbling down. Pyroar was there to help.
The Royal Pokemon had used herself as a shield for Sunset Shimmer. However, Sunset was still harmed, feeling dazed from everything that had happened. While on the floor, her eyes were half-open as she saw Pyroar standing there with her back harmed from the giant rock on her back. "You...saved me...?"
"Pyroar." Pyroar nodded before tossing the rock away from her. She staggered, still feeling the damage either way. Afterwards, once Pyroar almost fell on her knees, Sunset saw someone else coming into view.
Ash and Pikachu. They made their way through the rubble and destruction before appearing onto the scene, witnessing the absolute carnage. "Sunset! Pyroar!" He cried out their names. Sunset's consciousness then started fading with her eyes closing afterwards.
"P-Pyroar..." Pyroar growled, trying to ignore the pain. Ash then held her up before she could fall to the floor. "Py."
"Pika-Pika?"
"What happened here?" Ash wondered before helping Sunset up from the floor. He could see that she was still okay despite falling unconscious. He then saw the others that he previously met in the underground room, surprised to see all of them here. Ash thought that they were all shopping and this ended up happening. But he was blind to the truth at the moment. The rest of them were still conscious aside from Sunset. Ash quickly ran outside with Sunset Shimmer on his back while Pyroar followed.
As for everyone else, they used the many blown apart walls to escape, making sure to leave without anyone else seeing them. Going through the entrance was a bad call as they retrieved their Pokemon. They made their escape without the security guards pursuing them.
This event at the shopping mall had come to an end.
Ash quickly went for the apartment. That was where Sunset Shimmer lived as he was hoping to get her home. Ash didn't know which apartment floor she lived in, but asking about someone named Sunset Shimmer would be the right call.
Firetrucks had arrived to put out the ongoing flames while damage control was also being made. Everyone else was told to stay away while they also saw Ash leaving the mall with Sunset Shimmer and a lion. They all kept their distance from Pyroar, afraid of her. But Pyroar didn't do anything except walk beside Ash and Pikachu.
"Aipom. Aipom." All of the Aipom hopped out of the mall via the broken windows from the shockwaves that occurred. They then stayed outside whilst the fire was being put out.
Sunset Shimmer's apartment. Nightfall.
Approximately 3 hours had passed ever since the event. Cleanup was still being done at the mall with the hoodlums all away from the vicinity at this point. Many had their identities masked because of the masks they wore. Except for Sunset, who had her mask stolen by an Aipom.
Speaking of Sunset Shimmer, her apartment room was pitiful. Ragged clothes with a few exceptions were laid around the place. This small room didn't help either as the clothes were easily close to each other without any proper form.
One window and one bed. It fit well in this small space along with the sole TV and computer around here. Sunset's aim to rob the mall played into this untidy room.
Sunset was starting to wake up as Pyroar's face was the first thing she saw. Groans left her mouth as Pyroar started licking her face, showing further kindness ever since she saved Sunset from the rubble. She also noticed Ash and Pikachu sitting in the corner.
"Ash...Pikachu...Pyroar?" She said their names, laughing a bit once Pyroar licked her. She sat up afterwards, still feeling a bit confounded.
"Hey Good evening." Ash greeted. "Good to see you up."
"Pikachu."
"What happened?" Sunset asked with her eyes constantly blinking.
"I don't know what happened either. Something happened over at this city's shopping mall. The walls were all destroyed and there was fire and smoke everywhere. When Pikachu and I went in there, we saw you on the floor and Pyroar was hurt. Your friends were there too but they were okay." Ash explained all that he had witnessed. "And that's about it. We left with me carrying you here. But it looks like Pyroar protected you, didn't she?"
"Pyroar." Pyroar nodded, nuzzling Sunset's arms to make her feel better. She also warmed up her body since it was still chilly during the winter.
"You did save me back there," Sunset said to the Royal Pokemon before scrunching her face and looking down. "I'm sorry again. Even more so than I meant it last time. I shouldn't have done that to you when we first met."
"Py. Pyroar." Pyroar forgave her, showing her compassion. A Female Pyroar was a mother at heart and had those motherly tendencies within her.
"By the way...When you were in there, what caused all of that stuff to happen?" Ash asked, wondering if Sunset knew about how the event kickstarted and led to a destructive mess.
Upon being questioned about that, Sunset's heart skipped a beat. She was hoping to avoid this while also realizing how her mask had been stolen by the Aipom, making her identity visible unlike the rest of her allies.
She could not expose the truth to Ash at all. Especially considering how he had helped her, bringing Sunset back to her room after all the chaos that occurred.
"I don't know." Sunset shook her head, lying to Ash. "It all happened so fast."
"Py?" Pyroar knew the truth behind it. Or at least for the most part. She only emerged from her Poke Ball when Sunset Shimmer needed her.
"Well...Get some more rest, okay?" Ash stood up. "It's almost New Year soon, ya know. Looking forward to next year and what it's gonna bring?"
"Oh yeah. I guess so." Sunset nodded in response, glad that she could fly out of the mall conversation. "Thanks for everything, Ash. Pikachu."
"No problem. See ya around."
"Pika-Pika!"
After that, Ash and Pikachu had left the room and the apartment as a whole, leaving Sunset to ponder there. She was in a rough spot now, taking a deep sigh.
"Great..." She groaned, putting her knees together and pulling her bed sheet closer. "How could it all go so wrong? I could get something worse than juvie at this rate..."
"Pyroar?"
"Maybe I'll stay in here forever and...no that won't work." Sunset knew that the news could reveal her. Even though the cameras were destroyed, the security guards now knew her face and name due to that one instance when talking about everyone's fear of lions. "Hey, Pyroar."
"Py?"
"If you trust me now...will you go anywhere with me? No matter what?" She asked the Royal Pokemon. The main thing burning in Sunset's mind was the concept of leaving the city and heading elsewhere. That was the option she was shooting for at that moment.
"Pyroar." Pyroar would go with her. While their relationship was fairly new, it could grow either way now that Sunset could see that she had someone by her side to trust aside from Ash and Pikachu. Whatever happens next was Sunset's choice.
Along the way of heading back home, Ash and Pikachu had stopped by to see Twilight for a moment. By now, her practice of being Professor Oak's assistant would've ended hours ago.
And it did.
"I'm set, Ash!" Twilight jumped up and down with joy, holding Ash's hands and shaking him too. "I'm starting in just a week from now!"
"Awesome stuff! Looking forward to seeing you around Pallet Town some more at this rate!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Can't wait for that next year. Speaking of which, Happy New Year tomorrow. Hope I get to do more with you in the next year. Maybe next we can visit the Pokemon World some more, huh? Our own little adventure. Think you can show me everything?"
"We'll do our best." Ash and Pikachu proudly put their fists on their chests. "Hope you'll keep up to speed with us too when the days go by."
"Pika-Pika."
"I'm sure I can." Twilight playfully nudged. "I'll make sure not to slow you down and even keep pace with you. Just you wait and see, okay?"
"Sounds good to me." Ash held his hand out as Twilight shook it. "Looking forward to a new year, Ms Twilight Sparkle."
"Same to you, Mr Ash Ketchum." They both laughed, playfully speaking to each other. Ash and Pikachu were now done here, heading for real this time.
"What about you, Zorua?" Twilight asked Zorua, kneeling to her. "Are you ready to handle that?"
"If it's around you, Spike, Pikachu and Ash then I'll feel safe," Zorua replied. "But the world's too big and scary to explore."
"That's why we'll be there, of course." She grabbed the Normal-Ghost-Type, hugging her. "I promised to make you happy through and through after all that's happened to you in the past. I want to keep you safe. Just like how you'd do the same for me."
"Thank you, Twilight!" Appreciating Twilight's kindness, Zorua nuzzled with her before yawning, ready to clock out for tonight. So was everyone else.
However, some might not be able to sleep. Especially with what happened at the shopping mall. Repairs were being made there with massive cleanup and damage control, the criminals were currently hiding while Sunset Shimmer was already thinking about distancing herself away from the city. For her, that was the best option at the moment and something that she would stick by as the journey continues.
New Year's Eve was approaching. Everyone knew the usual by now and they were ready for it. Nothing else to it. It was straightforward for both worlds. However, it would be fairly important in the eyes of everypony in Equestria since it would be another year with Pokemon.
Many didn't think they would make it this far considering how destructive the Pokemon seemed to be at first with all of the earth-shattering things they were capable of and the events that followed. Even events that were not Poke-mon based. An invasion from another universe, a ghost that absorbs spirits, a 500ft electric monster, uncontrollable Psychic energy almost ripping both worlds and much more.
And that is exactly why many were hoping for a more peaceful series of events in the new year. Or rather, fewer series of events. Going through another global-scale threat was something they felt exhausted from. The Tyranitar already made that difficult enough.
Over at Ash's home, Rainbow Dash was currently hanging out with him, playing some video games in the process. Their Pokemon cheering them on in the process.
"So, Ash! What are you gonna do for the rest of today before New Year's Eve?!" Rainbow Dash asked while aggressively moving her hooves and wings on the controller.
"Nothing, really. I'm good for today!" He replied whilst having the same momentum as Rainbow Dash.
"Nothing? But you're always doing something!"
"Yeah. But I think I'm gonna take it easy this time. Sometimes doing nothing and relaxing is pretty good, ya know?"
"Fair enough." Rainbow Dash shrugged as she and Ash managed to complete the level of the game they were on, succeeding together. "Yeah!"
"Nailed it!" Ash and she cheered along with her Pokemon. "Ah, that got pretty rough at the end. Knew I could count on you to help me out."
"Always." Rainbow Dash held her hoof out as Ash shook it. "So, anyway. You're just gonna relax here then?"
"That's right. Besides, Twilight and mom are gonna yell at me again if I do something crazy that puts y life in danger. Hahaha!" Ash chuckled as Delia peeked into the room with a suspicious gaze, making Ash, Rainbow Dash and their Pokemon shudder.
"See you around then. We're heading to the Holon Region soon, right?" Rainbow Dash hovered, holding out her Poke Balls to return each of her Pokemon.
"Sure are. Can't wait for that..." Ash was already thinking of the Holon Region and what he could discover there. The possibilities are always endless with the Pokemon World.
After that, Rainbow Dash had left, returning to Equestria. As for Ash, he was going to do what he intended to do in the first place. And it started with Ash jumping on his bed and laying on his back. Pikachu did the same but on Ash's stomach.
"Aaah...Another year's passing with this, huh?" said Ash, looking at the ceiling. It kinda feels like it's been 3 years instead of two, huh? Weird."
"Pikachu..."
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway. As long as our friends are all here." Ash then raised his arm, transforming his hand into a fist. "And when we get to Jirachi, we'll keep everyone's promises intact, won't we buddy?"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
Equestria. Canterlot. Day.
Also ready for the New Year was the Royal Family. A new year meant new things to come for Equestria that Celestia was prepared to deal with. Especially with how everything was expanding. Forming a new alliance with not just multiple universes with parallel outcomes but even the Changelings and Queen Chrysalis. Plus the Dragon Lands with Dragon Lord Ember and beyond.
Celestia was surprised that she hadn't done the same for any kingdoms in the Pokemon World. Then again, the only kingdom she knew that was still around was the Kingdom of Rota in the Pokemon World.
Aside from that, entering the throne room was Derpy Hooves, accompanied by a Canterlot guard. She had a parcel in her mouth, approaching Celestia.
"Hm?" Celestia leaned forward. "Hello there, Derpy. Is that for me?"
"Morning princess. Package for Premium Polish right here." Derpy greeted, holding out the package. Celestia used her magic to bring it over, before noticing how not only was it for Premium Polish but there was another name below it.
"From Skyblue Shine?!" Celestia read out as this was a motherly gift.
"Yep. I was just with Wooper the other day when a gateway popped out of nowhere with Skyblue Shine showing up. She told me to give this to Premium since it was a late Hearth's Warming Gift. I think she forgot when it was." Derpy answered, explaining how it led to this.
"I see. Thank you, Derpy." Celestia thanked her before observing the package closely. While Derpy left with a salute, Celestia saw that it was relatively small. And the only gift that Skyblue Shine could give. But it was a gift nonetheless. "This'll be great for her."
Celestia knew that Premium Polish would love this. She hadn't heard from her mother in a few months after the kidnapping event occurred. She felt an empty void within her. Even though she enjoyed Hearth's Warming this year, without a family member, something was off about it.
And via teleportation, Celestia appeared before Premium Polish's guest room which had been transformed to look just like her personal room. "Princess Celestia?"
"Morning. I'm just here to give you this." Celestia showed the package to the little unicorn, ready for that uplifting response. Premium rolled off of her back and onto her stomach, crawling over to the package on her bed.
Up close, that was when she saw that it was for her. A smile met her face as having a gift would make any child happy. But more than that, she then noticed how it was from her mother. "Wait? This is from mom?!"
"Mhm. It seems to be a late Hearth's Warming Gift. But it would be best to open it either way. Straight from another universe."
"Oh! Okay!" She nodded before grabbing ahold of the present. Even if it wasn't the holidays, she still felt excited to open it either way.
Once it had been opened, the contexts and appearance of the gift had been revealed. It was simple and nothing extravagant. The size gave it away in a sense. But even so, to Premium Polish, it was extravagant.
It was an artwork of Skyblue Shine and Premium Polish standing together, drawn by Skyblue herself. Her artistic skills were impressive once Celestia saw it. But not only did she draw them both, but she also drew their Pokemon as well. And there was one extra individual there.
An unidentified pony. A stallion that Premium Polish had never seen before. But it was easy for Premium to make out that this was meant to be a conceptual father figure if she had one. Premium wanted a father in her life, of course, so seeing this brought an even bigger smile to her face.
"I love it!" She held the drawing close to her with a tear forming. "Thanks, mom."
Celestia didn't need to do anything else. Premium was happy and that was all that mattered. She then left the room, leaving Premium Polish to admire the drawing even longer and place it somewhere fitting.
As Celestia left the room, returning to her throne, she would attempt something similar to what Ash was doing right now. Relax. Then again, she was the ruler of Equestria so that required some incoming hurdles to overcome.
But before she could relax, there was something else that she had to solve. Pyrestar. Even after speaking with the Universal Alliance, none of them knew why Pyrestar and her universe weren't seen that often. She even thought back to their conversation.
"I haven't seen Pyrestar as of recently no." An alternate Celestia shook her head. "Neither have Reshiram or Zekrom. She's usually the one who helps them with multiple gateways."
"It has been two weeks now. Do you think something happened there?" An alternate Luna asked.
"Not sure. It's impossible for us to know since we can't reach that universe anymore, unfortunately. It's as if something is blocking us."
"Could it have been Ghetsis? The last time I checked, he managed to block off many of our gateways in my world. Only Ash could negate this with his Aura." Universe One's Celestia replied. "But even so, there isn't an existing gateway to lead to her world if that's the case."
"Hm..." Celestia pondered. "That is troublesome. I hope you're doing well out there, Pyrestar." But that was when Celestia recalled something. "Oh! The gateway in Twilight's Castle!"
Universe 3. Canterlot. Day.
Speaking of which, the blockage still existed in Pyrestar's world, unfortunately. Try as she might, Pyrestar could not break through with her magic. Despite her being the fusion of two alicorns. Celestia and Luna.
However, despite this blockage from the other universes, this did not affect the morale of this universe. It had already been through enough with Grogar sealing away all the pegasi and earth ponies and hope was already at an all-time low. It didn't help that Ghetsis and Team Plasma used to rule this universe as well.
But, on the day that Ash and Pikachu helped save this universe and when it was revealed that the natural nature of this world was returning, slowly breaking the seal, hope had been restored. And that hope remained. Pyrestar knew that she was powerless to do anything, but she did not give up hope at all. Seeing how there were those who could help her, she stayed positive.
And because of this, she was able to enjoy Hearth's Warming with everypony else. And it was wonderful considering it had been centuries since any of them have had a meaningful and jolly Hearth's Warming.
Even then, Pyrestar still hoped for a way out of here. And her hope mattered. Because immediately, in the far distance, a golden light shot into the sky. Her eyes gawked after witnessing this light, but she knew it wasn't hostile. Pyrestar recognized this.
"Celestia?"
7 minutes before the golden light. Universe One. Equestria. Twilight's Castle. Day.
Within Twilight's Castle, there was a room that had a gateway leading to Pyrestar's world plus a base that the Mane 6 owned. It existed to not only help bring life back to Pyrestar's world but also a quick way of spying on any ongoing activities within the world. It was also used during Ghetsis' reign.
This was the one gateway that connected to Universe 3. Much like many of the gateways in Equestria that connect to the Pokemon World, this one was corrupted by Ghetsis as well. But that would not be the case for long. Celestia had given the rundown to Twilight while also fetching Ash.
Despite him wanting to relax, Ash was eager to assist his friends either way. Rest was thrown out of the window in the meanwhile if it meant helping another.
"Sorry if I interrupted your relaxation, Ash," Celestia said to him. "I was thinking of doing the same until recalling this."
"No need to worry. A friend is in need after all. We've got a chance to reach her this way."
"But you also won't get your chance to rest today when interacting with the gateway. It still harms you whenever you touch it," said Twilight to him. "That'll mean potentially hours or days without waking up."
"Yeah. Still risky even when I sometimes manage to resist it." Ash closed his eyes, nodding in agreement. "But I think I can find a way to prevent that." He then held his hand out, calling for Sir Aaron's Aura Staff. Popping out of thin air and enlarging was Sir Aaron's staff as Ash gripped it. "This staff's the only thing that can make Aura work in different ways that I can't do without it. I can add Aura to it...but I wonder if I can take it away."
"Take it away?" Celestia and Twilight repeated.
"Yeah. Maybe for just a moment. Or else I'll be entering the Aurascape again without me wanting to."
"About that. I thought of something myself." Twilight spoke, bringing a book her with her magic. "Have you noticed something? From all the passing out and what Olympia taught us?"
"Such as...?" Celestia asked, waiting for Twilight to answer.
"The Aurascape. The Mindscape and even the Cerebral Training. Not all of them are connected, but I figured we can do that. What if we can all connect with each other's minds at all times?"
"Seriously?!" Ash boomed after hearing that. He and Pikachu's eyes sparkled as that sounded amazing to them.
"And there's a spell for that." Twilight opened the book, placing it down.
"Hold on, Twilight. Are referring to the Mind Link Spell? Are you sure?" Celestia stepped forward.
"Wait. Is it bad to use that?" Ash then faced Celestia.
"Pikachu?"
"More like it hasn't been used for a long time. Apart from Luna's ability to connect dreams with each other, it is the only spell that connects everyone's minds together. It essentially works as advanced telepathy. Works with those conscious and even unconscious as well. I myself have never used it once."
"And I think now might be a good time to do so. And it should be done with us? Princess Celestia. You, I and also Princess Luna know about the Mindscape because of what Ms Olympia taught us. And Ash, you just found out about your Aurascape a few months back. In both those worlds, we can essentially find help one way or another. So what if we could do all of that in one place? An entire world inside of a mind."
"I see what you mean...That could work." Celestia pondered. "But it's hard to say if it can be done. This spell rarely sees any usage. Zero from me. I believe only my parents have ever used it. Plus, putting our minds together to make one large world of different realms does sound dangerous."
"Y-You're right." Twilight stuttered with her head lowered. "I could've gotten carried away there."
"We'll come back to that another time, Twilight." But Celestia quickly comforted and reassured her. "If it's to help us better in these cosmic-related endeavours, we will give it a shot when we're ready."
"Yeah. But right now..." Ash looked at the staff then back at Celestia and Twilight. "I need your guys to protect me. If I'm gonna make it through this without passing out or getting hurt badly, I need your magic to shield me."
"Understood." Both ponies said Ash stood before the gateway. Celestia and Twilight would use their magic to protect him while the staff would do the same.
With his eyes closed, Ash's body was coated with the azure colour of Aura. And with the assistance of two alicorns, a golden and purple magical aura added to it, giving him triple-layer protection.
And with one hand holding the staff, Ash used his other to touch the gateway. Ghetsis' Dark Aura had a violent reaction to Ash's Aura as always, shaking the room itself. Ash stayed still, not allowing the corrupted aura to push him away.
Celestia and Twilight groaned and strained as they could feel the Dark Aura leeching onto them the moment it wrapped around Ash. The staff trembled, however, Ash's theory proved to be correct. The power of the staff and the way it amplified Aura made the protection greater than ever.
Soon, Ash could breathe better and even feel himself maintaining balance. Sir Aaron's Staff was truly the key to resisting this. And with this revelation and extra power, Ash's amplified Aura managed to break the corruption around the gateway, freeing it of Ghetsis' magic. It could now be accessed once more.
"Oh!" Ash gasped with his body having a slight jitter before calming down. "What a rush! This staff worked like a charm!"
"Ow..." Both Celestia and Twilight's horns twitched after that brief struggle.
"At least the gateway is available. Thank you so much for this, Ash," said Celestia. "Now rest away as you wanted to."
"Gotta see if Pyrestar is okay first before I do any of that." But Ash, once again, thought of only his friends. And these actions are what led to the present day in another universe via a golden light.
Universe 3.
Once witnessing the golden light, Pyrestar had to head there, recognizing it as Celestia's magic. She is one-half Celestia after all. She spread her wings, taking flight from the balcony of her castle.
Many other ponies noticed this golden light as it was akin to a flare. Typically used to signal anyone that sees it. And it certainly worked as Pyrestar was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Seeing that light brought her hopes up even higher.
And she was right to do so.
Once she showed up, waiting for her there were her friends. Ash, Pikachu, Twilight, Espeon and Celestia. All standing there as the magical glow from Celestia's horn had faded away. Pyrestar was overjoyed to see them.
"You...You all came! I knew you would!" Pyrestar exclaimed.
"We certainly did. Apologies that it took us a few weeks to notice, Pyrestar." Celestia replied, bowing her head. "What happened? Did something block you?"
"Yes. Something did block my world. Unexpectedly, the clouds and sky started transforming with the sun trembling and all of a sudden, a powerful Rift blockage had occurred. Powerful enough to remove my ability to open gateways and even affect the Rift blockage as well. Now the skies are nothing but Rift energy. I tried many things but was unable to get past it."
"Rift Skies?" Ash and Twilight looked up, witnessing the cosmic aura flowing everywhere from above.
"So then it couldn't have been Ghetsis..." Celestia shook her head, knowing that Ghetsis could only be responsible for the gateways. Not the skies. "Curious...Well, we're just glad that you are doing well. We were all so worried about you."
"My worries faded away when I knew you would come for me. I lost hope for my world before, but you all rekindled it when we met. I shouldn't else hope ever again and always find a way. You've all taught me that." said Pyrestair with a gentle smile.
"Aww geez." Twilight felt embarrassed by that compliment as well as Ash and Pikachu.
"Pika-Pikachu."
They had solved this one issue. Pyrestar's world was now free to travel once more. At least with this gateway. Anything else would not suffice. But now, they had more to look out for with these Rift Skies. In the meantime, they were just happy that this had been solved.
And it wasn't difficult to boot.
Universe One. Canterlot. Afternoon.
The day continued. Everything was natural here. Nothing major was ongoing. The only major thing that would eventually happen would be fireworks for the New Year. But other than that, it was a peaceful time.
But, Celestia decided to celebrate another year of Pokemon and how the worlds were together. She was there to make a speech about it over at Canterlot.
"As you know, it will soon be another full year with these Strange and Wonderful Creatures known as Pocket Monsters. Or Pokemon for short." She spoke with a bit of her Royal Canterlot Voice. "Sometimes it feels like it's been 3 years instead of 2 honestly. Aside from that, I want to say that everypony has done an amazing job at making it this far. Not just ponykind. But for the dragons, yaks, griffons and even our new allies the changelings. It was certainly terrifying and intimidating what we have all gone through and seen. I doubt any one of us will ever forget these moments. Whether it be from the Storm Behemoth, Team Plasma, the Empress or whatever cosmic force is lurking out there. But of course, we could've never accomplished major achievements and gone through all of this without our wonderful friends."
"Gardevoir." Passion and Arcanine came over once Celestia said that.
"Arcanine!"
It's not just the Pokemon. But the humans from the Pokemon World as well. Thanks to them, we were able to understand and befriend Pokemon. Overcoming fairly devastating odds that would've been practically impossible even with our numbers. But, even with the help of the humans and Pokemon, the amazing bond we share with them also brought us here. And even though the lingering threat of the Rift leaving and erasing any memory of this dazzling union still exists, we'll make sure that never happens again. All of us. So, with an enthused heart. I won't say another year to all of this. Instead, here's to eternity with this union!"
And with that everyone applauded Celestia's speech. It was wonderful and it put them all in high spirits. That was all Celestia wanted. To see her subjects happy and enthralled.
"Beautiful. I wish I could make speeches as excellent as her..." Mayor Mare teared up at this speech with Ms Harshwinny giving her a napkin to cry on.
Afterwards, Celestia walked off with Passion giving a thumbs-up despite having only three fingers that barely looked and functioned like fingers. Luna also praised her sister for giving a good speech. Darkrai too, but he was hidden in the shadows away from the sun.
And hearing this speech was well were the Twin Dragons Reshiram and Zekrom. They nodded in approval of Celestia's conviction. The way she can lay out the truth and shoot for her ideals as well. Reshiram and Zekrom saw great promise in her and were proud to have her on their side. They also saw the same in Luna with what she had been through as well.
That was all Celestia would do for today. It was off to her throne room now for some downtime.
Kanto Region. Pallet Town. Nightfall.
Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu enjoyed the silence and how calming it was. They felt like falling asleep from this comfortable feeling. Entering the room was Delia, seeing her son and his electrifying partner be in absolute nirvana with the way they were laying.
"Look at you two. Laying like royalty. Then again, you are the King of the Sea now apparently." said Delia. "My boy. A king. How wonderful! I bet this means I'll have premium choices being your mother, won't I?"
"I guess so." Ash shrugged while on his back, laughing.
"Well, I shouldn't interrupt you two since you're so peaceful. The most I've seen you in years when you were just a baby. All of this Delayed Aura Ataxia and multiple universe shenanigans can be overwhelming, can they? I'm not even a part of it all and yet I feel overwhelmed just thinking about them. It makes me so happy to see you at ease."
"Mhm."
"Pika."
"Now that we're entering a new year soon...I swear it's been more than 2 by now..." Delia had the same thought as Celestia and a few others who felt as if time had passed differently. "What will you be doing?"
But Ash didn't respond. Instead, he closed his eyes, smiling at his mother. He could give an answer without saying a word. And Delia could understand it. She nodded in understanding, knowing what her son would say. "That's just like you." Then, she gave him a kiss on the forehead before walking outside. "Goodnight, you two. See you tomorrow morning."
Ash and Pikachu then allowed themselves to drift away even further, letting the silence and calm aura of the air comfort them. True peace. Something that they can get used to.
Time had passed and midnight was approaching. The New Years fireworks would go off. Ash and Pikachu, despite having their eyes closed, stayed up to listen to them.
And with the countdown being heard outside, they could still be part of the usual fireworks launch. Just like that, the fireworks were unleashed, shooting up into the night sky as a New Year was here. Lights flared through the windows, colouring the land due to the various fireworks that were set off. The same went for Equestria. Giving an already colourful area some more colour.
"I'm all cool now...But next time, I'm gonna go wild." Ash spoke whilst looking at his best buddy. "I'm really excited for our next adventure, buddy. Are you?"
"Pikachu."
With a new year here, time went on. But time would be given multiple memorable moments depending on what everyone does and how outcomes would turn out. They would etch out history with their actions as it has always been since the beginning of time. And of course, with the assistance of dearest friends and family as the journey continues.
Currently, at the Pokemon House, Ash had received a letter, given to him by Goh. By the letter wasn't mailed via Goh but someone else.
"A letter for me?" Ash said, looking at the letter with all of his Pokemon staring at it.
"Mhm. It's a letter from Unova." Goh replied.
"From Unova?" Just Ash said that, Sirfetch'd had used his large leek to swiftly slash the top of the letter in the blink of an eye. Everyone gasped after the slice as Ash looked over at Sirfetch'd. But that slice ended up opening the letter for Ash. Truly, a knightly action. Everyone then gawked at Sirfetch'd's swift action and how precise it was. "Awesome! Thanks, Sirfetch'd!"
Sirfetch'd looked back with a sparkle in his eyes as Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy applauded his cutting skills with wing claps. Pinkie just clapped with hooves. Ash then looked at the letter, seeing who it was from.
"Wow! It's from Iris, buddy!" Ash exclaimed as Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder.
"Pika?"
"Iris" Twilight said before recalling how Ash brought up that name during stories of his past. "Oh, right, her!"
"Yep. She's a friend from when I travelled to Unova. She's on a journey to become a Dragon Master. Just like you, Spike." Ash explained as Pikachu sniffed the letter, recognizing it as Iris' scent. "It says that she wants to battle with me. She recently entered the World Coronation Series and is already in the Great Class!"
"Ooh, let me see!" Flying over to look at the letter was Rainbow Dash.
"You could learn from her too just like you do with Drayden, Spike," Ash suggested. "Dragon Trainers know Dragon Trainers after all. How does that sound?"
"Count me in!" Spike was all ready for it. "If she travelled with you during Unova, then that means she's extra strong."
"We gotta go then!" Pinkie pulled Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy close to her. "A one on one with an old travelling pal sounds like too much fun!"
"Mew!"
So it was. They would all journey towards the Unova Region to meet an old friend of Ash from his many adventures. Thankfully, a gateway to Unova was free to pass through without any danger thanks to Ash. Manehattan's to Castelia. But the area they were meant to be in was far past Castelia. An area that Spike had visited before when he went on his solo Pokemon Journey.
Opelucid City. Afternoon.
After a battle invitation from Iris, they all flew to Opelucid City via plane to meet with Iris. It's been a while since Goh and Spike had been in Unova, so both decided to do something in the meanwhile. Goh was aiming to catch some more Unova Pokemon while Spike wanted to do some slight practising with his Pokemon in the meanwhile.
While Spike was excited to see a fellow Dragon Trainer also aiming to become a Dragon Master, he wanted to impress Iris in case they had a battle too. He also didn't want to get sloppy either.
"Go! Poke Ball!" Goh threw a Poke Ball right at a Pansear on a tree, catching the Fire-Type as the first of many. Then he ended up catching himself a Panpour as well. But not Pansage, unfortunately. Their data had been added to the Pokedex. "Next time, I want Pansage. How's your training going right now, Spike?"
"Pretty good," Spike replied. "All my Pokemon are in good shape. We didn't get sloppy at all. Isn't that right, Axew? Deino?"
"Axew-Axe!"
"Dei-Dei!"
"How strong do you think Iris could be, Goh? She's been a Dragon Master more than me so..."
"Very. No doubt about it. I mean, Dragon-Types are just naturally strong, aren't they?" Goh shrugged in response. "There's also that guy who taught your Goodra when he was a Goomy. Avaun, I think?"
"Good point. If I face her, maybe I could learn some tricks from her. I've come up with something myself. For Deino over here." Spike slid over to Deino. "Her biting strength's gotten better now. I've been teaching her to bite attacks."
"Bite attacks? Like all of them?"
"All of them." Spike raised a claw with a gleaming grin, showing his glistening fangs. "But uh...W-We're still working on that. Right now we can just bite small stuff like Water Pulse or Seed Bomb."
"Grookey? Groo." Just then Grookey noticed something peculiar in the trees. An odd shape was on top of it as the shadows of the sun darkened parts of it. Goh and Spike's attention were drawn towards it.
"Aha!" To Goh, that looked like another Pokemon to catch. "Alright then, Poke Ball! Let's go!" With another swing, the Poke Ball was thrown upwards, hitting the odd shape in the tree.
"Gwaah!" The shape then cried out as human arms and legs were revealed, spreading out. It was a person, not a Pokemon. Afterwards, the person fell out of the tree, crashing into the ground in a sitting position. "Aaaah..." She groaned.
"Oops!" Goh gasped, realizing it was a human.
"Nice curveball." But Spike couldn't help but admire the curveball that Goh did there.
"Ow...Who's there?" The young girl turned around, showing her face. It was revealed to the lady of the hour that was the motivation for everyone showing up to this city.
Iris.
"Sorry. Please forgive me. I thought for sure you were a Pokemon." Goh apologized with his hand behind his back, owning to his honest mistake.
"Well...I guess no one would expect a human to be up there." Iris looked at the tree before sitting up. Once she sat up, she noticed Spike, Equestrian Axew and Deino. One gaze and the Dragon-Type Specialist was starstruck with her love of Dragons oozing out. "Oh my gosh!"
Moving at a burst of speed, she appeared in front of Spike and his Pokemon. Overjoyed and interested to the core, Iris grabbed ahold of Spike's face, squeezing his cheeks. "Look at you! I've never seen this Dragon before!"
"G-Guhh...!" Spike grimaced as he looked to be in the most pain he's ever been in his entire life. Iris stretched his face, believing him to be from the Pokemon World.
"And look at this!" She then switched to Axew later, also grabbing his face. "I've never seen this Axew before! Is it a Regional Form?!"
"X-Xew..." Axew was also in high amounts of pain from Iris grabbing him. But seconds later, he realized that it was starting to feel good in a way. "Axew...?"
"Y-Yeah. It's an Equestrian Axew." Spike groaned, holding his face. "And I'm not a Pokemon. Just a normal Dragon from where I'm from."
"Oh! So they have regional forms there as well? Amazing!" Iris picked Axew up from the ground, spinning him around. Axew reminded Iris of her Axew, who usually hangs out in her giant hair which was only rivalled by Adagio's hair. But there was no other Axew to be found in it. "What type is it?! Don't tell me...Dragon-Psychic!"
"Well, it doesn't have a type. Plus he can transform too." Spike shrugged.
"Transform?" Iris' interest had been boosted. She was about to learn a lot more about Spike's special Axew.
"Come to think of it..." Goh took out his Pokedex, aiming it at Axew. "I never did use the Pokedex on Axew. Does it say anything different?" He analyzed Axew as he was in for a shock.
Equestrian Pokemon certainly don't change their types. Examples such as the Electric Gengar and the Torterra as big as a planet. Including the Equestrian Scrafty. However, they seemed to have taken super-effective damage when Pikachu had last used Thunderbolt on them. But then, the Pokedex revealed something new.
"Axew. The Tusk Pokemon. Equestrian Form. Dragon-Psychic-Type. Only one record of an Equestria Axew currently exists as it has been affected by the fusion of Pokemon and Equestrian Magic. The diamond-like patterns on their bodies radiate hypnotizing and ultraviolet lights. They use their tusks to crush the berries they eat. Repeated regrowth makes their tusks strong and sharp. Due to the Fusion Magic, it can transform from one stage to the other."
"Huh...? HUH?!" Goh and Spike both bellowed after reading that. It wasn't the detailed description that caught them off guard. It was the Type description. "B-But...Isn't it a pure Dragon-Type?! When did this happen?!"
"It should be! Axew, did you know about this?!" Spike turned to Axew. The Tusk Pokemon just shrugged as he himself didn't know at all.
Without any of them knowing, his Typing had changed. There was no date and nothing to show it happening. No flashing lights or outbursts at all. It just had happened. And Axew looked unbothered.
"Guess I was right about the type!" Iris chuckled. "Now, show your transformation, please! What can you transform into?!"
"Xew-Ew." Axew would do the honours. He immediately tapped into the energy laying within him, allowing his body to shift into his greater form. A golden sphere of light exuded out of him with Iris staring right at it.
The light expanded as Axew's size was changing. Iris could feel something heavy within her hands. She could no longer casually hold Axew as his evolved form had arrived. "Haxorus!"
Iris was left speechless with a massive blush showing up on her face. She moved back to awe at this alternate form of Haxorus in all of his arcane glory. The sun even beamed on the Axe Jaw Pokemon, causing the tip of his jaw to shine with a visible sparkle.
"Into...a...Haxorus...?" Iris spaced out her words. She felt like fainting from this but she maintained her balance, zipping around Haxorus and checking him out from all sides. Haxorus couldn't help but flex, admiring the admiration. "I've been missing out!"
"Haxo. Haxorus."
"Uh...W-We'll come back to that later." Goh put his Pokedex away.
"Yeah. I've got a special Haxorus. Which...I didn't know changed types all of a sudden." said Spike as Haxorus picked him up, placing the baby dragon on his shoulder. "Plus there's Deino, who's got a one of a kind bite. Well, she will soon. I'm training her to be a master at biting."
"Dei-Dei."
"Really now?" Iris kneeled to face the Irate Pokemon. She put her hand out, patting her on the head.
"Deino." Deino enjoyed that most definitely.
"I've just taught her recently how to bite attacks. Only a few of them. Soon, she'll crush them like butter with no problem at all."
"I wanna see that. Those could end up being some mighty jaws." Iris chuckled before recalling something, relating to why she was on the tree. "Ooooh! I overslept!" She cried out, revealing that she was asleep on the tree instead of sitting on it.
Immediately, she bolted off, rushing for the trees and the nearest vine. Much like a Sceptile, Primeape, Chimchar and any other vine-swinging Pokemon, she started swinging from the vines, heading for the centre of the city. "Thanks for waking me up!" She thanked Goh as her voice faded in the background along with her appearance.
"She's an odd one..." Goh stood there dazed. "Definitely a good friend of Ash."
"Yeah..." And Spike agreed.
Opelucid Gym.
There was the gym. Ash, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and their Pokemon stood before it, witnessing its draconic appearance.
"We haven't seen the Opelucid Gym in forever." Ash admired the gym's appearance with the others.
"How come our gyms don't look like that?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Do you think we can ask BigTime Ben to remodel them some more instead of looking like just domes and stuff?"
"The Grass-Type Gym back home is pretty stylish though. It's covered in leaves after all." Twilight replied. "Although, Zecora would like a change of pace. She said she wanted her gym in the Everfree Forest instead. She much prefers that."
"What's up with that forest now? Is it still regenerating? Been a while." Pinkie questioned.
"Zecora said she's waiting for it to fully regenerate before she heads back." Fluttershy gave the rundown. "She's made herself comfortable at the Pokemon House, creating new remedies to heal everyone there. But she can't wait to head back to Everfree."
"Hm?" Just as they had their conversation, showing up near the gym was an Axew. Seeing this Axew made Ash and Pikachu alert as they believed it to be Iris' Axew. "Axew? Maybe it's Iris' Axew!" The duo started moving their heads left and right, trying to spot Iris.
"Oho. Welcome, Young Ash. Students." And also appearing here, but not surprising at all was Drayden. Mayor of the City, President of the Opelucid Academy, Iris' mentor and one of the many teachers at the Pokemon School as he had picked up Axew.
"Mr Drayden!" Twilight and the others said, calling him with the format saying. "Oh, wait. Is Mayor Drayden or Mayor more accurate since we're in your city?"
"Please. Call me Drayden." Drayden chose to have his name be referred to in a simple manner. No honorifics or formalities for him. "You can refer to me as Mr. over at the Pokemon School when we return next week."
"Is that Iris' Axw, Drayden?" Ash asked.
"Pikachu?"
"No. This little one happens to be my partner. Iris should be waiting for you all inside."
"Axew."
"Hey, uh..." Rainbow Dash dashed over to Drayden. "When are we gonna learn at your class one day, Drayden? I've been interested in that just like with Volkner."
"Or is it specially-tailored after classes like Ms Olympia and Ms Valerie?" Fluttershy also threw a question in there.
"My role in the Pokemon School is only for those aiming to be Dragon Masters. Your friend Spike, while he doesn't go there, takes advice from me. I'm waiting for when students aiming to be Dragon Masters advance through their grades and reach me. Could it be any of you?"
"Oh, no, no." Twilight chuckled as she and her friends shook her head. "We're fine with having every type on our side. I mean, there's the Pokemon House with a lot of options but not many of them are Dragon-Types."
"Fluttershy and I are occupied with Valerie. We've got Fairy Magic in us. Even in our eyes. Mostly me." Pinkie spread her eyes, showing them to Drayden but he couldn't see anything.
"Guys!" Just then, showing up to the scene were Goh and Spike. "Hey!"
"Hey, did you guys find Iris?" Ash turned to them.
"Yeah. But we've got something bigger than that. Check this out." Goh had to show everyone what his Pokedex had discovered. A shocking revelation that came out of nowhere without any warning. Goh selected the most recent dex entry, showing it to all of them.
"Dragon...Psychic?! Since when?!" They all said.
"That's what we couldn't figure out. Not even Axew knows how." Spike replied. "Maybe it was an overnight thing?"
"You can find answers to that at any time. Right now, Iris is waiting for you." Drayden said, putting them all back into the focus of why they came here in the first place.
"Ah, right, right!" Ash replied as he and the others approached the doors of the gym ready to meet Iris for this upcoming battle. Just as they approached, Ash's Rotomphone started ringing, alerting him.
"Official battle requested." said the Rotomphone. Iris was ready to battle and Ash couldn't wait any longer.
Indoors.
They had all reached the indoors of the Opelucid Gym. The hallways and everything within this gym was dark with no light showing at all.
"Iris!" Ash called out her name, trying to see if she would respond.
"Pika!" But there was no response. Just total darkness. Ash came to a screeching halt as everyone caught up to him. The only sounds filling this gym were the sounds of foot and hoofsteps.
And soon, a new sound came through in the form of the Sky Squirrel Pokemon and fellow member of the Electric Rodent Family, Emolga. "Emol! Emo-molga!" The Electric-Flying-Type cried out whilst soaring through the air, sparking electricity out of her sacs.
"Ah, Emolga!" Ash recognized this specific Emolga as Iris'. As Emolga soared around the gym, generating electricity, the lights finally came on. But one by one to be stylish about it.
And appearing from the top of the gym's platform with the giant Haxorus statue was the girl of the hour. Iris. Sporting a brand-spanking-new outfit from what she's usually used to wearing.
"I've been waiting for you, Ash." She said from the tall platform, appearing before everyone.
"Hey, Iris. What's with the new getup?" Ash was curious about the fancy new look that was extravagant for Iris.
"Pretty nice, huh?" She giggled, showing off her new getup in all of its flowing glory. She gave a dazzling grin afterwards with a twinkle emerging.
"Iris is presently ranked the strongest trainer in Unova. In other words, she holds the title of reigning champion." Just like that, Drayden had revealed Iris' position and the reason for her outfit.
"HUH?!" They all cried out once learning about this. Iris, deciding to show off, front flipped off of the platform and landed on the floor.
"Wait, so that was you?!" Goh pointed at her.
"Oh, hey. It's you five." Iris looked at Goh, Spike, Grookey, Axew and Deino. "Great that I get to see that amazing transforming Axew again!"
"Iris! It's been too long!" Ash came over as Pikachu hopped off his shoulder, going for the Unova Champion.
"Pikachu!" He was ecstatic to see an old friend after many years, running on Iris' shoulders as they both giggled. Afterwards, the two of them nuzzled faces.
"Wow, you haven't changed one bit, Pikachu!"
"Emol!" Wanting to meet her fellow Electric Rodent after many years of being away was Emolga. Pikachu followed her once she flew by, jumping off of Iris' shoulder.
And much like every Electric-Type in the rodent family, they perform a signature greeting via Electricity. For Pikachu, it's usually with his tail when face-to-face with fellow Pikachu. But for Emolga, they just had to rub their cheek sacs together and generate electricity to greet each other. "Pika! Pika!"
"Well, what do you think?" Iris ran around, letting everything get the full scope of her outfit which she clearly had a lot of love for if she was putting such an emphasis on it. "I'm Champion! Are you surprised!"
"Yeah! That's so cool!" Ash was. No doubt about that. Seeing his friends succeed was always wonderful. But seeing them succeed to a point where they become Champion was extra wonderful.
"Thanks! Mission: Surprise was a complete success!" Iris jumped up and down with joy, glad that she could surprise Ash successfully.
"I don't know much about you but good job becoming champion! Pinkie Pie appeared behind Iris unexpectedly, showing support even though they had just met.
"Thanks, my little pony!" Iris laughed along with Pinkie Pie. "You're Ash's pony friends, aren't you? I know and recognize you from all the merchandise and what's being going on over at the other side too. It's so great to finally meet you! And you're all so cute!"
"I prefer cool. You can call all of them cute." Rainbow Dash replied, seeing herself in another light that was not Cuteness. Even though she had both coolness and cuteness but chooses to keep the other one at bay.
"So this is Iris for real?" said Spike.
"Following her journeys with Ash, Iris fought Dragon-Type Trainers, Gym Leaders and met many Dragon-Types, learning all the time," Drayden explained. "By trusting in her Pokemon, she climbed to the position of Champion."
"I never even considered being Champion as a goal. But I'm a long way from Dragon Master. So to keep pushing myself, I entered the Pokemon World Championships. Great choice, don't you think?" In reality, Iris never planned on being a Champion in the first place. But her hard work is what gave her this rank. And yet, she was not a Dragon Master yet.
"Battling the Unova Champion! No complaints about that! I'm all fired up!" Ash bellowed with hyperactive joy, eager to battle a champion
"As expected. I thought this would happen." Iris closed her eyes, putting on a cocky smile while looking to the side. "Battling always gets you overexcited. Just what I'd expect from a little kid."
"Well aren't you kind of a kid too?!" Ash dashed over as the usual catchphrase that Iris had remained to this day. Some things never changed. They then butted heads with each other with growls surfacing.
"I'm no kid! I'm the Champion!" Iris retorted as she and Ash started bickering like actual kids. But that was natural for their friendship.
"They both seem like kids right now..." Twilight whispered to Rainbow Dash as they both giggled.
"Have you both forgotten you have a battle to fight?" Drayden broke up their squabbling, reminding them of the main reason why they're seeing each other again.
"I'm so sorry! Alright! Ash! It's time for you to get reacquainted with my Dragon Squad!"
"Right!" Ash smiled, holding out a Poke Ball, throwing it. "Dragon-Type against Dragon-Type!" Out of it came Ash's Dragonite. Upon emerging, the first instinct was to hug. And that's what she did.
"Dragonite!" Dragonite flew in, grabbing ahold of Iris and giving her the trademark hug.
"Such a cutie! It's so amazing that you caught a Dragonite!" Iris exclaimed, returning the favour to Dragonite. Usually, Dragonite hugs someone and that's the end of that. But this was the first time anyone hugged her back. "You're just so soft!"
"Since this is a battle against Dragon-Types, we'll just stay here." Twilight and the others backed up, knowing how destructive a Dragon-Type battle can get.
"You'll be safe," said Drayden. "Opelucid Gym was built to withstand the awesome power of Dragon-Type Pokemon. So rest easy all of you."
"Guess that means I gotta ask you to cheer us on Pikachu." Ash looked to his partner.
"Pika..." Pikachu's ears flopped to the side with a puffed-up face. He was hoping to have a shot at battling Iris again. Just then, Iris felt something.
She wasn't sure what it was but whilst hugging with Dragonite, the Champion of Unova felt something within as she and Dragonite saw eye-to-eye.
"What do you think is going on?" Rainbow Dash wondered, noticing the stare that they were both giving.
"Much like Spike over here, Iris understands Dragon-Type emotions. It's natural for Dragon-Type Trainers to have this ability to the core." Drayden explained as the two of them kept staring at each other. Although, Dragonite was a bit confused.
"This one is really sweet, isn't it?" She deduced Dragonite just like that.
"She sure is. And she's super strong," replied Ash.
"Dra!"
"She nailed it!" An impressed Goh uttered.
"Do your best. We both will." Iris encouraged Dragonite, showing kindness back to the Dragon Pokemon. Dragonite nodded back, promising that she would.
"Hey uh..." Twilight flew over, nudging Ash to grab his attention. She then used her wing feathers to mimic a finger, pointing to the air. Ash looked up to see the Drone Rotom hovering above them. "It's been waiting all this time."
"You have been approved for an official Pokemon World Coronation Series Great Class Battle." said the Drone Rotom. "Our two competitors, Ash vs Iris."
"I'm gonna beat you and boost my ranking a ton!" Iris declared, pointing at Ash.
"I'm real close to getting to the Ultra Class! I'll win this!" Ash replied with a pumped-up fist, ready to go at it with his old friend. Twilight and the others took a seat to spectate this upcoming battle.
"For today's battle, each trainer will be using 2 Pokemon. Will both challengers please bring out your Pokemon? Thank you." The Drone Rotom then conjured a projection of Ash vs Iris, doing a countdown. "3...2...1...Go!"
"Dragonite, I choose you!" Ash went with the Pokemon that was already out. His trusty Dragonite.
"Dra!" Dragonite flew ahead of him.
"Go...Dragonite!" Iris did the same, also sending out her Dragonite to match Ash's.
"Dragonite!" Dragonite emerged as both of them touched the floor. Then, they took a moment to look at each other and the glaring difference between Ash's Dragonite and Iris' Dragonite showed. One was kindhearted and jolly while the other was fierce and serious. As seen by his steely stare. "Dra...!"
"Drago?" Ash's Dragonite whimpered once Iris' Dragonite gave this fearsome glare at her. There was something nerve-wracking about this as she turned to face Ash.
"It's okay, Dragonite. Don't be worried. It may look scary, but you've got this!" Ash encouraged his Dragonite. Iris's Dragonite intensified his stare, showing how dead-serious he was about this.
"Talk about one scary glare..." Pinkie Pie shuddered with a cooky smile on her face.
"You know, I've really been looking forward to this battle for a long time," said Iris to Ash.
"Yeah. I have too!"
"I thought if I could pit us against you and your Pokemon, then my Pokemon and I could get stronger and understand each other even more!"
"Then let's give it everything we've got, Iris!"
"Okay! Let's go, Ash!
They were ready to go as they shared the same battling spirit. Ash and Iris were close in terms of having a hunger for battle. Iris was certainly one of Ash's earlier friends to be so invoked in it aside from Brock and Clemont. This will definitely be a battle that only two battle-hungry trainers can pull off. This battle against friends was about to commence for the ranking in the Pokemon World Championships as the journey continues.
A reunion and incoming battle between two friends was in motion. Ash had just reunited with Iris, who has been revealed to be the Champion of Unova. Certainly a shocker after not seeing her for years and one massive leap in status. However, despite becoming the strongest trainer in all of Unova, Iris was not yet a Dragon Master.
Entering the Pokemon World Championships made her believe that she can reach that goal if it was done. Which all led to this Great Class match with Ash.
Watching this battle would be the Gym Leader and Mayor of Opelucid City, Drayden along with Pikachu, Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Goh and their Pokemon. Right now, it was Ash's kindhearted Dragonite versus Iris' serious Dragonite.
"Battle begin!" The Drone Rotom gave the call for the battle to finally begin.
"Here we go! Use Dragon Rush!" Iris went first, pointing ahead and giving the command to her Dragonite.
"Dragon...!" Dragonite trembled a bit before ascending into the air. His body became surrounded by a blue, dragon-shaped energy that covered his body.
"Dragonite, Hyper Beam!" Ash bellowed with his command coming through next.
"Dragonite!" Ash's Dragonite, at first intimidated by this, ended up getting it together to retaliate with an attack that was just as mighty as Dragon Rush. Ash's Dragonite summoned an orb but was too late to fire it as Iris's Dragonite crashed into her at full force. "D-Dra!"
Iris's Dragonite carried Ash's Dragonite through the air at blistering speeds, leaving behind a trail of blue draconic energy whilst ascending. He then released a burst of energy from Dragon Rush, blowing her away with super-effective damage.
"Ah!" Ash gasped after seeing that Dragonite was falling in his direction. Ash's Dragonite crashed into him, causing them both to fall over. An explosion of dust occurred from the crash as Iris stood there with a confident smile.
"Oh my gosh! Ash, Dragonite, are you okay?!" Twilight asked as she and the others gasped.
"Pikapi?!"
The dust was clearing as Dragonite was laying on top of Ash, feeling winded from Dragon Rush. But even when being hit by a Dragon, Ash was A-OK.
"Dragonite. You okay?" He asked as Dragonite was still able to continue despite being hit that hard. Ash showed everyone that they were OK with a peace sign.
"Rrr...!" Dragonite then sat up, twitching a bit before glaring at her fellow Dragonite who was floating in the air.
"That attack was amazingly fast," Goh observed. "Even faster than every Dragon Rush we've seen so far."
"Pika..."
"The fact is, before Iris caught her Dragonite, it was exceptionally angry." Drayden started expanding to them all. "It had contained a controlled battle style only after they began to get more in sync."
"Alright! Dragon Claw!" Ash roared.
"Raaa!" Ash's Dragonite's body gyrated as she crossed her arms. Then, manifested green draconic claws emerged around her arms as she bolted towards her fellow Dragon-Flying-Type.
"Just what I expected! Use Thunder Punch!" Iris retaliated, punching the air for the command.
"Dra!" Iris's Dragonite zoomed as well as the two of them closed the gap instantly with their impressive flying speeds. Bolts of electricity formed around his arms as the two Dragons clashed. The clash of these physical moves caused a white spark with green and yellow particles within it, shaking the atmosphere. They pushed each other back, being equal in that category.
"Use Hurricane!"
"Gonite!" Ash's Dragonite puffed her chest before ascending, flapping her wings ferociously and sending a mass whirlwind towards Iris's Dragonite.
"Rrr!" Iris's Dragonite growled, putting on a blocking stance as the tenacious array of wind attacks battered him repeatedly. And Ash's Dragonite was making sure not to let him catch his breath as her wingbeats were increasing in speed.
"That's the way, Dragonite! Pour it on!"
"Drago!" Ash's Dragonite increased the ferocity, putting pressure on the other Dragonite.
"This isn't enough to keep us at bay! Use Ice Beam!"
"Dra!" While within the Hurricane, still putting up a blocking stance, Iris's Dragonite summoned a blue aura underneath his mouth. The moment he found an opening, the Dragon Pokemon unleashed a beam of ice. It was moving within the Hurricane, racing for Ash's Dragonite.
"Give 'em one more Hurricane!"
"DRA!" Dragonite decided to counteract Ice Beam with another Hurricane. With a second Hurricane being layered over the first one, it managed to counter Ice Beam. She made a mighty yell to give this more power.
But due to this fission, the two attacks went haywire. The double Hurricane ended up redirecting Ice Beam into the air, almost hitting the Drone Rotom. "Woah!" The Drone gasped.
And as it continued on its way, the attack then blasted a hole in the Gym's ceiling, breaking through it as there was now a massive hole above. Despite how this Gym was made to withstand the power of Dragon-Type Pokemon, it had been damaged either way.
"Uh..." Ash gazed at the open hole, not expecting that to happen at all.
"Yikes..." Twilight and everyone else did the same. They were lucky that none of the attacks had flown their way otherwise they would've been in the same state as the ceiling.
"What have we done?!" Iris yelled, gulping and looking over at Drayden. She feared what his response would be considering that this was his Gym.
"Mrrrgh..." Drayden grumbled, looking at the open hole and then at Iris. "Don't worry about it. Just continue battling."He was fine with it. It was just natural when it came to Pokemon Battling.
"Whew..." Iris let out a relieved sigh before getting back into the heat of things. "Dragonite! Dragon Rush!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite went for another Dragon Rush, charging in with that same aura.
"Use Dragon Claw! Meet it head-on!"
"Dra...!" Ash's Dragonite groaned as for once, she looked overwhelmed. But she carried on anyway, showing her amazing resolve. She made the energy claws of Dragon Claw appear, but once again, Iris's Dragonite's Dragon Rush was exceptionally swift. The move had crashed into her, causing an explosion.
"Dragonite!" Ash cried out.
"That Dragon Rush is too fast!" Rainbow Dash gasped. "I've never seen Dragonite so overwhelmed before. Usually, she's the one overwhelming everyone else."
Indeed, Ash's Dragonite was always known to be a Pokemon that gives everyone massive trouble due to how freakishly powerful she was. Not only that, but she has never lost before. So to see being this pushed back was stunning to Ash's friends.
Ash's Dragonite took super-effective damage once more. Almost falling to the floor as she was on all fours. She then raised her head, looking over at Ash. Dragonite didn't want to disappoint Ash. Especially not for the first time. "Drrr...."
"Rrrr...!" Just then, Iris's Dragonite descended, landing right in front of her. He then looked down at his fellow Dragonite, giving an intimidating stare. Ash's Dragonite backed up before standing up.
"Return for a little rest." Ash decided to bring back Dragonite, seeing how overwhelmed she was getting. Going this further could result in her defeat. The Dragon Pokemon returned to her Poke Ball.
"Pika..." Both Pikachu and Fluttershy had sighs of relief.
"That was too close..." Twilight used her wings to wipe the sweat off her forehead.
"You see? This is a Champion Battle." Iris said.
"I haven't lost it yet! But this is pumping me up!" Ash held out another Poke Ball. "Alright! Dracovish! Let's go!" Throwing the Poke Ball into the air, Ash sent out another Dragon-Type. His Dracovish.
"Dra! Draco!" But the moment Dracovish emerged, it had instantly grabbed Ash's head with its mighty jaws, gnawing on it. And it did this in the matter of seconds.
"Ah come on! We're right in the middle of a battle, Dracovish!" Ash exclaimed, trying to break free from Dracovish's hold but that was pointless.
"D-Dragonite...?" Dragonite was surprised by what he was seeing. How Dracovish only thought of chewing on something before anything else.
"Huh? Is that Dragon-Type for real?" Iris wondered, looking at Dravocish a bit longer to see that it was indeed a Dragon-Type. Naturally, she was starstruck by it, blushing and gawking at the Water-Dragon-Type. "Adorable! So cute!"
"Ah, so this is the new Dragon-Type Pokemon that was originally found in Galar. This is the first time I'm seeing it. I never expected Ash to be the one to have it." Drayden spoke.
"That's a Dracovish? Wow, that's so nice!" Iris' voice became louder from how much she was admiring the Fossil Pokemon. She then looked at its fangs, thinking of an idea that shifted back to when she met Spike not too long ago today. "Hey...How about we try something daring, Dragonite?"
"Dracovish! Show them what you're made of!" Ash pointed as Dracovish was ready for battle.
"Draco!" The Fossil Pokemon tossed Ash aside, letting go of him as he put on a serious face.
"Alright! Throw something at me, Ash, why don't you?"
"Oh, we will!" Ash accepted Iris's request. "Water Gun, go!"
"Vish!" Dracovish went first, unleashing a blast of water from his mouth.
"Now, bite it, Dragonite!"
"D-Dra...?" Dragonite was confused by that command. But he trusted Iris enough to try it out. The Dragon Pokemon opened his mouth, preparing to use the same technique that Spike and Deino were trying hard to master one day.
"Oh hey! That's just like what Deino does!" Spike pointed out. Iris had taken Spike's idea and tried out for herself. Dragonite had little teeth, however. The species only has about four fangs at best. Not exactly the most ferocious-looking Dragon-Types with their slightly playful appearance. But their power very much made for that.
"Drago!" Dragonite took Water Gun head-on, biting onto it with his fangs. He stood there for a moment, holding the attack in his mouth grip as Dracovish was still unloading the attack. "D-Dragonite...!" Dragonite was being slightly pushed back as he was squeezing the attack.
"Get a good look, Deino! Soon we'll be biting through attacks like Hyper Beam!" Spike held Deino out, showing her what she could accomplish later on.
"Gonite!" Dragonite then crushed Water Gun until it combusted into a liquid explosion. Ash was surprised by how Iris had used Spike and Deino's tactical and pulled it off successfully. But that was to be expected from a Champion and a Dragon-Type. Dragonite then shook his head, removing the water off of him as he had managed to negate the damage.
"Awesome!" Ash gawked.
"A strategy that counters Pokemon attacks and negates their damage without using any Infinity Energy. A clever idea you've come up with, Spike." Drayden praised Spike.
"Gee...Thanks..." Spike giggled with a blush on his face.
"That'll come in handy in future battles! How do you like that, Ash?" Iris winked snapping her fingers at Ash.
"Heh. Makes me wanna break my limits and see what I can surpass." Ash grinned.
"Not before I surpass you and everyone else! Okay, Dragonite! Use Dragon Rush!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite then went for his speedy Dragon Rush once more, forming the energy shape of the Dragon and charging forward.
But this time, Ash was ready. And he was going to have Dracovish use its mouth, showing Iris just how deadly this Pokemon was and why it was considered an Apex Predator back in its time.
"Fishious Rend!"
"Dra...!" Dracovish was not faster than Dragonite. But since its mouth was always open, anything could fly into it even if it stood completely still. And that was the approach. Its signature move had been used as Dracovish allowed Dragonite to crash into it. "Co...Vish!"
An once he did, the horrifying grip of Dracovish had been revealed. The second Dragonite made contact, Dracovish had instantly stopped Dragon Rush by grabbing Dragonite with his mouth. The energy from Dragon Rush had even faded.
"What?!" Iris was shocked. Not only was this her first time seeing Dracovish in action, but she also saw how potent its grip was. She never expected it to be strong enough to just stop an attack such as Dragon Rush with little effort. Plus, she had to deal with a move she's never heard of before.
"Alright! Yeah!" Ash cheered.
"What's this?!" Even Drayden was seeing this move for the first time, witnessing the jaw strength of Dracovish for himself as Ash's friends cheered for him.
"Pika!"
"Isn't it powerful?!" Twilight exclaimed. "Back in its day, it was the Apex Predator and practically unstoppable! But...that's kinda why it went extinct in the first place due to overhunting."
"Use Thunder Punch!" Iris said to try and break Dragonite free. However, she underestimated just how powerful this grip is. Once something gets grabbed by Dracovish's mouth, it is nigh-impossible to break free unless Dracovish decides to let its prey go. Dracovish wiggled Dragonite around in its grip as Dragonite did nothing.
"He can't hear Iris's command! How deep is Dracovishs mouth?!" Fluttershy deduced why Dragonite could not respond with Thunder Punch. Not only was Dracovish's grip terrifying, but even the inside of its mouth rendered many opponents unresponsive.
"Use Ice Fang!"
"Dra!" Dracovish then decided to end this by hitting Dragonite with a super-effective move. While still holding Dragonite, it had summoned ice from its fangs. The ice then spread out, covering Dragonite's body and placing the Dragon Pokemon in a prison of ice that was fitting in his shape.
"No way!" Iris screeched. "It can't be true!"
"Good going, Dracovish! Spit it out!"
"Drrraaa!" Dracovish finally released Dragonite, throwing him out of its grip. Once thrown, Dragonite crashed into the floor, the ice prison broke. And with an attack that devastatingly powerful, Dragonite had fainted.
"D-Dragonite..."
"Dragonite is unable to battle! Dracovish wins!" The Drone Rotom announced.
"Dragonite, return." Iris returned him to his Poke Bal, before looking at it, speaking to Dragonite from the outside towards the inside. "Aw. We lost our rhythm completely. We've gotta get our hearts in sync and become one with each other!" She then held out her final Poke Ball, throwing it. "Go! No more cake gloves!"
"Haxorus!" Bursting out of the Poke Ball was her ace Pokemon and an old friend who was now fully evolved. Haxorus. Previously an Axew when journeying with Ash and Pikachu through the Unova Region.
"Oh! Iris! Is that Haxorus Pikachu and I knew as an Axew?!" Ash gasped.
"That's right! And now it's my strongest partner!"
"Pika!" Pikachu waved at Haxorus, greeting his old friend. Axew did the same, trying to get the attention of his fellow species.
"You've grown big and strong, Haxorus," said Ash. "Great to see you again."
"Haxo." Haxorus nodded while Iris giggled.
"Now Haxorus! Dragon Pulse!"
"Xo! Haxorus!" Haxorus unleashed a dragon-shaped purple blast of energy that zigzagged rapidly at a vertical angle.
"Use Water Gun!"
"Draco!" Meeting Haxorus' Dragon Pulse was Dracovish's Water Gun that was released and shot in a straight line. However, Dragon Pulse instantly overpowered Water Gun before it could get some good distance. Thus, Dragon Pulse struck Dracovish's face, causing its jaws to be hurt due to the impact. "V-Vish!"
"Ouch!" Rainbow Dash and the others felt that as Dracovish's jaws had been slightly bruised with red bruises being visible.
"Use Psycho Cut!"
"Xorus!" Haxorus then swung his head, releasing Psychic blades from his jaws at rapid speeds while Dracovish was staggered. The Fossil Pokemon was then bombarded by these tearing Psychic blades. They then combusted in a purple explosion.
Ash put his arm over his head as this explosion shook the gym. And out of the purple explosion, falling to the floor was a fainted Dracovish.
"Dracovish..."
"Dracovish is unable to battle. Haxorus wins!"
"Just like that?" Even Ash was surprised by that swift take-out. "Man...He's extra strong now than before. Alright, Dracovish. Return." He then retrieved Dracovish into the Poke Ball. "Thanks, Dracovish. You did a great job."
"Dragonite gave us a hint of what we have to do," said Iris as she pointed at her mouth. "The mouth. Be careful of it. We can't get close to Dracovish so we kept our distance. And that was that."
"Good thinking, Iris. But the final round is still coming up." Ash praised, holding out Dragonite's Poke Ball next, throwing it. "Dragonite, let's go!"
"Dragonite!" Returning to the scene was Dragonite, who was still damaged from the previous battle with her fellow Dragonite.
"I don't know if I like how this looks." Pinkie Pike uttered. "Haxorus hasn't taken any damage but Dragonite has. A lot. This looks like a tough spot."
"Pika-Pika..."
"It's not time to panic yet for your friend, my little ponies," Drayden replied, knowing that even tough spots such as this can be overcome. Even against a Champion. But then again, Ash was also a Champion.
"Alright! Use Dragon Dance!"
"Dra! Dragonite!" Dragonite ascended into the air, twirling for a bit before boosting her attack and speed.
"Now! Shift into Dragon Claw!"
"Rrraaaa!" Dragonite then zoomed downwards with Dragon Claw active, faster than ever thanks to Dragon Dance.
"Quick Haxorus! Outrage!"
"Haaaaaax!" Haxorus roared as his eyes glowed red. Just as Dragonite approached him, Haxorus had caught Dragon Claw with his bare hands, blocking it. After catching Dragonite's claws, Dragonite swung his axe hed with red streaks forming. The streaks had then struck Dragonite repeatedly, dealing super-effective damage.
"Ah! Dragonite!" Ash shouted.
Dragonite was then dropped to the floor, tumbling. As a result of using Outrage, Haxorus became confused. The red glow in his eyes faded once Outrage ended.
"Haxorus is wide open, Ash! Go for it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, encouraging Ash to take the chance to attack Haxorus while he was confused.
However, as Dragonite was getting back up, Haxorus ended up solving this issue instantly. He roared for a few moments, trying to get himself together. And with a quick-thinking, the Axe Jaw Pokemon had smashed his head onto the floor. Before Dragonite could exploit this opportunity, Haxorus took the opportunity away with the head smash.
And with that action, he snapped out of his confusion. "Haxorus!"
"His confusion is gone just like that?" Ash said.
"Hm-hm." Iris chuckled. "Haxorus is something, right? After the attack, you saw him hit his head on the ground. He did that so he could shake off his confusion. Pretty smart, huh? And to keep him from being hit while he was confused.
"Huh. Good to know." Ash would remember that. In case any of his Pokemon ended up being confused, he would use that tactic to get them back in the game.
Dragonite and Haxorus then stared each other down with silence filling the atmosphere for a few seconds. However, Dragonite was feeling nervous. Something that has never felt when she was just a Dragonair.
The Dragon Pokemon didn't want to show this expression to Ash so she continued facing Haxorus and nowhere else. Never before has Dragonite let Ash down and she didn't want to let him down ever. Not here or anywhere else. But since she was facing Haxorus, Iris could see Dragonite's expression.
"Haxo!" Haxorus roared as Dragonite was ready to roar back in response.
"Dragonite! We can still win this!" Ash pumped Dragonite up. "You can still battle!"
"DRAGO!" She certainly could, letting out a battle cry.
"Oh yeah! Your fighting spirit is something else Dragonite!"
"Dragonite!" But as she let out a cry of determination, Iris raised her hand all of a sudden, wanting to speak with Dragonite.
"Dragonite." She said as Ash and Dragonite paused. Just then, Iris closed her eyes as a golden light radiated from her palm. This was the ability that every Dragon Trainer including Spike possessed. She was communicating with Dragonite on a spiritual level.
"What's going on?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"Is that what she did earlier when she and Dragonite looked at each other?" Goh recalled the first meeting of Ash's Dragonite and Iris.
"Dragonite. Relax more than that." She said as she and Dragonite found themselves in a golden space. For a brief moment, they were separated from the outside world, residing in this draconic area with no one else being able to hear them.
"Rrrr?"
"Dragonite. You really care for Ash, don't you? That's why you try so hard."
"Dragonite." She nodded in response.
"You're such a sweet Pokemon. See, when my Haxorus was an Axew, he was timid. But he also tried really hard. And then, when he was learning different kinds of moves, he realized how fun battling is. And when he's having fun, I'm having fun too. So why don't you have fun battling? If you do, Ash will have more fun as well. I know you don't want to disappoint him, but trust me, Ash will never be disappointed in you, no matter what.
"Go..." Dragonite took a moment to take it in. This was a great experience for her. After winning so many battles and practically being unbeatable, Dragonite felt like she could lose at last. But thanks to Iris, she learned that winning every battle and showing just how unstoppable she was wasn't what truly mattered. The thrill of the Pokemon Battle is what mattered the most.
To show appreciation, Dragonite hugged Iris, thanking her. Afterwards, they returned to reality with the golden glow fading away.
"Rrr! Dragonite!" Dragonite then put on a fierce face, roaring as she was back to full spirit.
"Alright! Now that's the spirit!" said Iris.
"Dragonite. Did Iris say something to you?" Ash wondered what Iris and Dragonite just talked about, but Iris just winks, keeping it a secret.
"That's our secret."
"Dr." Dragonite looked back at Ash with a smile.
"You can still go on?" Ash smirked as the Dragon Pokemon faced Haxorus with more resolve than ever. With Dragonite's battle spirit reinvigorated, the match continued.
"Make it big! Use Breaking Swipe!"
"Dragon Claw!"
"Xorus!" Haxorus's tail glows purple while Dragonite formed Dragon Claw. With a swing of his tail and the forward thrust of her claws, Dragon Claw and Breaking Swipe hit each other. They were equal as the two Dragons moved back.
"Use Psycho Cut!"
"Hax!" Another swing of his head through his axe jaw made some more tearing Psychic Blades fly out.
"Now! Hurricane on yourself!" And just like that, Ash's ludicrous strategies that he sometimes comes up with on the spot had been shown.
"On itself?!" An Iris was taken aback by this. She wasn't sure what Ash's approach in all of this was.
"Oooh! An Ash strategy! It's been a while since we've seen one!" Fluttershy and everyone were excited about this, clapping their hooves together.
"Dra!" Dragonite ascended into the air, using Hurricane on herself. A gigantic tornado surrounded her body but it went beyond that. It the Hurricane acting as her shield, the energy of Psycho Cut had been redirected to the floor.
"Yes! Our Hurricane Barrier is a-go!" Ash pumped his fist into the air.
"Oooh! Ooh!" Pinkie's eyes followed Dragonite's movements but she felt dizzy just by looking at this.
"It's gotten more fun for you, hasn't it?! Now make it even more fun!" Iris cheered Dragonite on. "This is how fun Pokemon Battling can be Dragonite! By having more passion!"
"More passion, huh? Check this out!" Ash replied, getting ready to pull off something major as always. "Use more Hurricane!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite was upping the anty with a second Hurricane. Her wind barrier had gained another wind barrier as her speed was increasing with all of this turning. The floor was even being damaged with rubble rising.
"Use Dragon Pulse!"
"Xorus!" Haxorus pulled his head back, getting ready for a Dragon Pulse that was intended to break through the Hurricane shield. He unleashed the attack as it blazed through the atmosphere.
"Let's make it a part of the Hurricane!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite kept spinning there, allowing Dragon Pulse to approach. And with the power of two Hurricane's, it worked. The Hurricane barrier wrapped the Dragon-Type attack around itself, forming a gigantic white sphere with purple sparks around it. The power and increased before expanding upwards to reach through the hole in the ceiling and into the sky above, where Dragonite's weather-affecting abilities start forming thick clouds. Even the trees outside started rustling and trembling from this awesome power.
"Woah!" Rainbow Dash gawked after the weather had been changed. It seems as if that it wasn't just pegasi and Flying-Types that could change the weather as well as Pokemon with Weather-Changing moves. With enough power, any Pokemon can change the weather. And it was no struggle for a Dragon Pokemon. Especially Dragonite. The weather changing power spanned far beyond just Opelucid City.
"I've heard people say that Dragonite can affect the weather. But I didn't think to such a large extent." Even Drayden was impressed.
"Heh." Ash grinned as his out-of-this-world strategies worked once more. And this strategy was only increasing. Increasing to the point where Dragon Pulse had been absorbed by Hurricane, becoming Dragonite's property. "Now that Dragon Pulse is ours!"
"She stole the move?!" Twilight bellowed. "Like that?!"
"Hoh! Look at that!" Goh pointed to the sky.
"Huh? Now what?" Iris wondered as she also looked to the sky with everyone.
The energy from Dragon Pulse began to coalesce together as Drayden was the first to realize that Dragonite has just taken that energy to use a new move. Purple particles from Dragon Pulse swirled to the core of the Hurricane.
"It appears to have taken all that energy and made its own!" Drayden observed. "Is that...a new move?!"
"But then that means..." Iris paused for a moment before realizing what this move could be. "No way!"
"DRA!" Indeed, Dragonite did learn a new move. And Ash was ready to use it.
"Now! Use Draco Meteor!" Ash brought his arm down.
"DRAGONITE!" Dragonitehad waved her arms downwards, causing purple meteors to rain down on her fellow Dragon-Type. And there were a lot of them. Too many of them. The comparable number would be most likely a thousand at best.
"Outrage!"
"Hax...Orus!" Haxorus tried counterattacking with Outrage but it was too late. The onslaught of meteors had already started bombarding him. Nothing was going to stop them at this rate. And nothing could as the thousands kept falling.
Eventually, the Meteor Shower had ended with dust forming. Everyone paused to wait and see what would happen next. All those overwhelming meteors were too much for Haxorus. He was revealed to be on the floor, fainted.
"Haxorus..."
"Haxorus is unable to battle! Dragonite wins! Which means the victor is...Ash!"
"Yes! We did it, Dragonite!" Ash raised his fist into the air. The moment their victory came, Dragonite zoomed over, hugging Ash and almost sending him flying. "Oof!"
"Dragonite!"
"Pika-Pika!" Ash ran over.
"Ash that battle was incredible!" shouted Pinkie Pie at the top of her lungs.
"So awesome! Wish I got it all on tape...!" Rainbow Dash's uttered with a fountain of tears flowing out.
"Thanks, guys."
"As a result of today's battle, the change in the World Coronation Series rankings will be affected immediately." The Drone Rotom announced before flying off.
"Thank you, Haxorus." Iris went to her partner who was sitting down, tattered. "We may not be there yet, but let's keep working."
"Haxo!"
"Emo-Emolga!"
"Incredible battling between Dragon-Types. It was truly a spectacular sight to see," said Drayden.
"Drayden." Iris sat up. "Sorry. I guess I lost."
Ash's ranking had been boosted after this battle. Going all the way to Rank 99. Now he was in the Hyper Class. "Woah! I'm Rank 99! That means I'm in the Ultra Class!"
"Pi-Pikachu!"
"Closer to Leon! How exciting!" Fluttershy cheered with Ash along with everyone else.
"Congratulations, Ash." After the battle, Iris went over for a handshake. Ash responded in kind. "Just you wait. We'll be in the Ultra Class too."
"You bet. So let's battle again."
"I want that too. Best Wishes!"
"Pika!"
"Now. How about that Axew of yours, Spike?"
After winning a tough battle with his friend Iris, Ash has finally made it into the Ultra Class. Tougher rivals and tougher battles await. And after all of this, Spike has something new to learn and aspire to with his Dragon-Type Pokemon as the journey continues.
Kanto Region. Pallet Town. Professor Oak's Laboratory. Day.
A day after reuniting with Ash's hold friend Iris at Opelucid City and having a Championship battle where Ash came out victorious, reaching Rank 99 and entering the Ultra Class, they had arrived at Oak's lab for one reason. It all related to what they discovered about Axew just yesterday.
"Here's where the change started." Professor Oak showed them an X-Ray of Axew's body. Axew's Equestrian Form had changed over time, turning him into a Dragon-Psychic-Type with no one noticing. "There's one massive Rift energy right over at Axew's heart that sends out smaller ones, allowing them to flow through their blood."
"Is that how Axew changed types so quickly?" Spike asked.
"That's probably a part of the reason. The more simple answer is that the Rift Energy inside of Axew's body has been reworking his Infinity Energy gradually over time. While he may have remained as a Dragon-Type for months, the restructure of his Infinity Energy brought him a new type."
"Oh yeah...Come to think of it..."Ash pondered for a moment, thinking back to the Equestrian Scrafty back at the Glittering Island. "The Scrafty back there seemed to be weak to Electric-Type attacks. They must've probably been Water-Types from how they looked."
"And they were most likely still Dark-Fighting-Types when their transformation happened," said Oak. "We can safely say this only exists for Equestrian Forms. There could be other Equestrian Variants out there that have had their Types changed over time without them knowing. How fascinating is that?"
"Well...Guess that's a surprise, huh, Axew?" Spike nudged Axew. "Being a second type can be handy. Now Fighting-Types aren't gonna do much to you. But I guess Dark-Types and Ghost-Types are gonna be problems, aren't they?"
"Axew."
"Thank you very much, Professor Oak." Spike thanked him. "Good thing I didn't worry too much."
"Not a problem. And if you by chance find some more Equestrian Pokemon, I'd love to know all about them. Your Axew is already just as interesting so stop by any time, please."
Equestria. Ponyville. Day.
7 minutes later, Ash, Pikachu, Spike and Axew had gone over to Ponyville. Now they knew why Axew had suddenly changed types. Realistically, it was the most obvious answer out of any other possibility.
"Welcome back!" Fluttershy waved over at them. "How did it go?"
"Good. Turns out it's just Rift Energy doing its thing. All that energy kept building up in Axew's body and gave him a new type. That's all." Ash explained.
"Oh. That's good. I wonder if that's the same for Chikorita over here?" Fluttershy held out Chikorita. Another Pokemon affected by the Rift. But instead of gaining an Equestrian Form, she gained the power to change fate via her leaf.
"Chiko?"
"No idea." Ash shrugged before pondering for a moment. "Makes you wonder who's been hit by the Rift before. Maybe some Pokemon we know already have and we haven't seen what's happened to them."
"The Pokemon are lucky though. I kinda want Rift Magic, ya know." Spike grinned. "The things I could do..." He thought about all the possibilities with Rift Magic. What was truly going on in his mind was the thought of eating the rarest gems that he could find and nothing more.
"The day's still young. o there's a lot more to do. Might be a while before I can have another Pokemon World Championships Match. So...How about we visit some friends?"
"Changelings?" Fluttershy recommended.
"Changelings!" And Ash and Spike agreed along with their Pokemon.
"Pikachu!"
"Axew!"
"Oh! That reminds me!" Once the topic of the changelings were recommended, one other situation on Ash's mind had come back to him. "I asked Chrysalis about someplace called Magehold."
"Magehold?" Spike repeated.
"It's kind of a long story. I'll tell you along the way. Let's just hope Chrysalis knows something more when we get there. Maybe she's finally asked her mom about it?"
Out in a marshland. Day.
Speaking of Chrysalis, as a stroke of perfect timing, she was about to gather more information about Magehold and the group that reside there. The Dread League. Chrysalis knew little about them. Only her mother Mellifera knew more than her. That was the changeling to ask.
However, there was one thing that Chrysalis feared. Appearing to her mother in this form. A form that was essentially Chrysalis accepting the truest form of love. She wasn't sure how Mellifera would react to this, but she was hoping her mother could at least know beauty when she sees it.
Chrysalis stood before a cave of mushrooms, knowing that her mother would choose a location such as this. The old location where a majority of the changelings of the past had originated from was no longer habitable.
She didn't come alone. Ribombee was by her side as always. However, the Bee Fly Pokemon stayed outside, fearing Mellifera's presence a bit.
Chrysalis had entered the cave to meet with her mother. Upon entering, her mother's signature locusts could be seen buzzing around, feeding off of the mushrooms. However, the mushrooms grew back each time.
Sitting there in the darkest part of this cave was Mellifera, having her usual scowl of hatred within her eyes. Chrysalis stood before her mother in her new form with her heart beating. She was fearful of the reaction before striking a pose that could only be followed up with "Ta-dah!"
"...You look ridiculous." Mellifera's response was the most expected one. She was not a fan of this, insulting Chrysalis's new appearance.
"Oh, of course, you'd say something like that!" Chrysalis groaned.
"What were you expecting?! You come back looking like...this?!"
"Why can't you be happy for me for one?! This is what I look like when I fully grasp love in its purest form! Something that we've been trying to control for so long!"
"If I were to control it, I wouldn't appear in such a hideous form. So droll..."
"Hmph. Whatever. I think I look good either way." Chrysalis puffed her cheeks, sitting down and crossing her hooves, facing away from her mother. Mellifera did the same. Minus the puffed-up face.
"Why did you even come here? To show me that hideous form?"
"Ugh...No. I came here for something else. It's the only thing that will make you listen to reason at least." Chrysalis faced her mother once more. "It's about the Dread League."
"The Dread League...?!" Mellifera gasped. Chrysalis was right. This would make her listen as she faced her daughter with open eyes.
"That's right. From Magehold in the far frozen north. I never learned all about them. Only seeing you speak to some of them when I was small. You may hate me in this form now, but you will at least tell me what you know about them, won't you mother?"
"Hmph. I will. And perhaps you will change your mind once you learn of the amazing magic that the Dread League has to offer." Mellifera smirked, wanting her daughter to pursue something on the darker side. Hopefully. "What you should know is that the Dread League are just as old as the changeling race. For centuries, residing in that far frozen north were necromancers and vampires."
"Necromancers? Vampires?!"
"Oh yes. A hidden and rare breed of magic that you've yet to see for yourself. Or rather, you've seen glimpses of it from me at times. The ancient and long-lived Dread League are one of the most peculiar nations in all of history, with a system run by two societies of necromancers and vampires. The necromancers who can raise ancient bones and skeletons as zombies to create a powerful tide of mindless horror. And the vampires...well, I don't need to say much about them, do I? They're vampires. I myself learned some magic from there."
"This kind of magic exists?! And you've learned from them?!"
"Certainly. We the changelings have had connections with the Dread League for centuries. Our connections only stopped at a certain time. Strangely, it was when you went off to start your own hive. After that, they essentially became invisible to us. I kept their magic but the rest of what they had was gone. Mostly ordered by the leader of the Dread League. But they still exist in the far frozen north, hidden in secrecy."
"But they're still there, aren't they? In the far frozen north? That's near the Crystal Empire now that I think about it?"
"They are. But I can guarantee it's much further away from any civilization. Since you've asked me about this, perhaps you've come to the realization of where you can obtain higher power." Mellifera approached Chrysalis, circling her. "That is an excellent choice, daughter. The teachings of the Dread League open a gateway to magical arts that can be considered unnatural."
"I-I didn't come here for that. I was just asking for my friend, Ash."
"Tch. Friend." Mellifera scoffed. "Either way, even if asking me about it, taking the pathway to that kind of magic is a necessity, Chrysalis."
"That kind of magic is horrifying! I would never use that!"
"It is horrifying. But it can be accepted. Just as I did with it. In fact, this talk about the Dread League has made me want to try and revisit it. How about we go together? As a family, hm?" Mellifera held her hoof out, offering Chrysalis the chance to travel with her towards the Dread League.
Chrysalis stared at her mother's hoof for a moment. Chrysalis was uncertain about all of this, but this was the only way to know about the Dread League and find its location. Her mother knew where it truly was and only her. No one else.
However, aside from that, Chrysalis saw a chance to at least bond with her mother try and maybe fix a crooked relationship. So, she accepted it, touching her mother's hoof. "Fine. I'll go with you. But don't get the wrong idea."
"Don't you worry. You'll come to learn new things eventually." Mellifera smirked, still believing that she could turn her daughter to another path.
It would be her, Ribombee and her mother venturing past the Crystal Empire to an uncharted area.
The Changeling Hive. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, arriving at the Changeling Hive were Ash, Fluttershy, Spike and their Pokemon, here to see their friends. Thorax was the first to greet them along with Anthophilia who still saw Ash as her father even though he was not.
Once meeting with each other, they caught up on things, just hanging out as friends. Although, Ash was wondering where Chrysalis was at the moment.
"You know, one day we could come over to Ponyville," said Thorax. "Or even better, maybe the Pokemon World and see what it has. We haven't done that yet. Queen Chrysalis has even been thinking about it recently."
"By the way. Where is Chrysalis?" Ash asked while Anthophilia was pulling at both Pikachu and Axew's faces.
"Oh. Well...She said she was going to meet up with her mother. The former Queen Mellifera. Something to do about a Dread League from what I heard?"
"Oh! From Magehold!" Ash stood up. "That's great! Hope she's doing okay around her mom, though."
"What's with that anyway?" Thorax asked. "Is there something important about this Magehold place? And what's a Dread League?"
"I don't know myself. But that's why Chrysalis said she'd head out and find out for herself. Her mom knows the most about this stuff anyway."
"Oh. Well, we're all hoping she's okay. Mellifera still terrifies us...Plus, this Dread League sounds intimidating. A-Are they intimidating?"
"No clue." Ash shrugged. "But no need to worry. Even if she's heading out there, she's got Ribombee by her side to help her. And we can always call her with the Xtransceiver."
"You're right. Worrying about nothing here." Thorax chuckled. "I think. I hope so."
North. Out in the arctic.
The frozen north was already an easy place to access. It was near the Crystal Empire after all. This was where Chrysalis and Mellifera had ended up at. But they would have to travel further.
"There. This is one step closer to reaching Magehold." Mellifera said as they were standing before a gigantic mist of ice that was only revealed via Mellifera's magic. "What lies beyond here is as large as an entire island. The only way to reach Magehold is to pass through it. But I should warn you about what lurks in there."
"I'm not afraid," Chrysalis replied. "I've seen and been through far worse than what could be within there."
"Perhaps." Mellifera shrugged as she, Chrysalis and Ribombee approached the mist, passing through it. Once they went through, they were in uncharted territory. At least, for Chrysalis. This was not new for Mellifera as she knew what to expect here.
When passing through, it felt like going through the gateways only there was a terrifying chill behind it. However, they resisted the chill as they had entered this island that was hidden behind the mist. And residing in this arctic island was a mini-forest.
The forest was tremendous, murky, and seemingly dead while still appearing rich. Its canopy was marked by ash, beech, and linden, and sparkling light dancing between the frozen branches allowed for a mosaic of bushes to take advantage of the moist and fertile bottom layer below.
Massive ice shards dominated the area as well as icicles located in ditches. The trees, while having frozen branches, were also affected by the chill, losing their leaves.
The skies themselves gave off a dark blue appearance while also having a green tint with green sparks hiding within the grey clouds. All of this was unnerving to the eyes, but more than that, Chrysalis and Ribombee had seen frozen statues.
Statues of living creatures. Mainly animals as no Pokemon has found this place yet. Not even the Ice-Types. At least from how it seems. Not only that but the frozen statues of animals showed their age. They seemed to have been frozen for many years now.
That explained the minimal absolute silence here with only the sound of the cold wind howling through the atmosphere and occasional rumbling of thunder. Even the lake was frozen.
"This is the Hyperborean Island. An unforgiving chill that dwarfs any tundra or arctic." Mellifera explained. "And there's a reason for that."
"Let me guess. The Dread League?"
"Not at all. For you see, you're standing in the home of the Wendigos."
"The Wendigos?!" A shocker to Chrysalis. The Wendigos were also known by the changelings as well. Not just the ponies. How could they not be? They affect Equestria as a whole and beyond. But she never expected to stand where they originated from.
"That is correct. One of their homes anyway. There could be more out there. But this one is notorious. At least for us changelings and the Dread League. Residing here is the perfect way to stay hidden from many, I must say."
"Ribombee..." Ribombee stayed close to Chrysalis, scared. Chrysalis wrapped her wing around Ribombee, using a heat spell to warm her.
"So. I would advise you to not grab their attention. And make sure not to fall over, why don't you?" Mellifera said before nudging her head to the side. She used her magic to cut apart some more mist. Once she did so, more of the island had been revealed.
Not only were they on an island, but this island was incredibly high in the skies, touching the clouds. Even though there were other clouds above. Chrysalis gasped, seeing how high up they were. It only made sense since the Wendigos are mostly seen above.
"Mmm..." Chrysalis gulped. "We'll be fine. The Wendigos only respond to conflict, don't they? Ribombee and I would never be at odds with each other."
"Of course, you two wouldn't. But something tells me you'll bring them to us either way." Mellifera scoffed.
"At least you're aware of our relationship..." Chrysalis grumbled. "Why can't you then understand me, mother? It's probably not the best idea to be in a place such as this with how things are for us."
"You went against everything we stood for, Chrysalis. Even before that, when you were young, you ran off one day. Your full potential was something that I and many other changelings back there were anticipating. And you left before any of that could come to fruition."
"I had to leave. I didn't want to be there anymore." Chrysalis stopped walking suddenly. "It felt like all of my dreams were melting there if I'm being honest..."
"Huh?! If you were to be raised at your full potential, all of your dreams would come true!" Mellifera bellowed, turning around. "You yourself even chose to follow in my hoofsteps, making your own hive and feeding off love just as I and many others did."
"I know that!"
"So then why did you run off on that day, hm?!"
"I just didn't feel free, okay?!" Chrysalis bellowed back at her mother with a louder tone. "I felt so trapped there. Waiting for days and days which soon become months. Staying in that room was driving me mad and all I could see were ants gathering at my hooves more than anything else."
"You could've reached greatness if you had understood why you were kept in that room for so long. Such potential can only be made with care and control. And the moment you ran away, that potential vanished forever. And the hive I commanded had to suffer."
"Well, I'm sorry I couldn't be everything you hoped. I chose to live my life my own way. You were only turning me into...whatever I could've been."
"Bom! Ribombee!" Seeing the tension rise, Ribombee went to calm them both down with some of her pollen from pollen puff.
However, due to this conflict, the island reacted similarly to the Wendigos. From out of the misty shadows, a violent cloud of mist had emerged in the form of a claw. It moved rapidly, grabbing Chrysalis.
"Huh?!" Chrysalis gasped as she picked up from the ground by the mist claw as Ribombee dropped her pollen afterwards.
"Ribombee?!"
"This island reacts similarly to the Wendigos. Any conflict and it will take action. I knew this would happen anyway." Mellifera shrugged.
"Grr! You helped in it! And how come you aren't being-" Chrysalis growled as more claws appeared, wrapping around Chrysalis's mouth. "Mm-mm!"
"I've been here before. My experiences with this island have made me practically impervious to this. You, on the other hoof, not so much. This new form of yours with an altered variation of love has made you vulnerable to the Wendigos and their power."
"It's not an altered variation!" Chrysalis roared with her horn glowing. "It's True Love!" She then blasted the mist away with a mighty pulse of magic. The claws had been dissipated as Chrysalis had freed herself. Mellifera was not impressed as Chrysalis's impressive magic didn't seem all that to her. "Something you wouldn't get," said Chrysalis as she descended.
"Hmph." Mellifera did not respond that much, turning around and continuing on her way.
"Let's just at least not bicker along the way. Otherwise, this whole forest will take me out."
"Bombee." To make Chrysalis feel better, Ribombee brought over another pollen from Pollen Puff.
"Thank you, Ribombee." She took the pollen feasting on it. Ribombee went over to Mellifera, wanting to give her some pollen as well.
"Ribom?"
"Tch. I'd rather starve." Mellifera replied as Ribombee pouted after that. She denied the delicious pollen as Chrysalis comforted Ribombee afterwards.
They continued along their way through this massive frozen island with Chrysalis and Ribombee being cautious of the threats here. Any moment and something could snatch them up.
They saw more frozen animals while venturing here. Frozen rocks covered virtually every surface they could see, which made traversing this landscape tricky and dangerous.
The conditions in this world were horrifying and undeniably pleasant as the cloud continued sparking green lights. Just then, once they reached a higher point within this island, that's when they saw the destination they needed to be at. Magehold.
"Do you see that over there?" Mellifera pointed her hoof forward into the far distance. "That is Magehold. The nation for the Dread League."
Bordered between a dark forest to the North, a swampland to the South, a marsh to the East and a crystal forest to the West, the nation of Magehold was fierce. There resided an entire civilization hidden from many, surviving in this harsh frozen wasteland. However, it was all connected to one gigantic palace. There were no other buildings located here.
The nation's landscape showed more dangers when getting further; gloomy forests, withered flower fields and steep, sinister mountains are just a sliver of the melancholia Magehold had to offer. And there stood the palace.
Bigger than even the island. However, they were still far from reaching Magehold despite seeing it in the distance. There was still a trek towards it as a green mist blocked off its appearance.
"Hello there." Just then, a voice echoed through the area. Chrysalis looked around, wondering who made that voice. Appearing from out of thin air with a flash of black and red magic was a pony. Particles spread out as that pony descended in front of Chrysalis, Mellifera and Ribombee.
"Greetings. My name is Fractured Note." He bowed, getting to introductions instantly. "And what brings you here to Magehold?"
"Ribombee?"
"No need to be cautious, you two. If you wish to be. Because what you're seeing before you is a vampire. Although, I understand if you would be cautious." Mellifera revealed.
Encountering a vampire and arriving at this forest, this quest to find out about Magehold's location could be considered nearly over. However, even Chrysalis knew that something was coming over the horizon that she would not expect at al. An unnerving feeling as the journey continues.
Equestria. Far beyond the Frozen North. Hyperborean Island. Afternoon.
Chrysalis, Ribombee and Mellifera had taken a quick venture to find the location known as Magehold. Mellifera knew of its location, guiding Chrysalis and Ribombee here to the Hyperborean Island. A place where the Wendigos reside.
Beyond there laid the nation of Magehold. It was still a fairly long trek there. However, amidst this journey, they had been met by one of the first vampires that had appeared before them.
A vampire pony by the name of Fractured Note.
"Hm?" Fractured Noe observed the trio before him. He didn't recognize what Ribombee was but Mellifera was easy to notice and to an extent Chrysalis. "Changelings?"
"Indeed. You recognize me, don't you? The former Changeling Queen, Mellifera. hen again it's been centuries and you seem new."
"Oh, I am. But I know about you, Mellifera. You're quite notorious here in Magehold when you came around here long ago. I didn't think I'd see you ever. A pleasure to have you back. And who's that one?" Fractured asked.
"This is my daughter. Chrysalis." She introduced Chrysalis. "A constant disappointment."
"Ah!" Chrysalis gasped after Mellifera's comment. "Hmph." But she didn't try and give a rebuttal.
"What brings you here to the Hyperborean Island and near Magehold?"
"I figured that since it has been so many years since I have last been here, revisiting it wouldn't hurt. Besides, there might be something I could learn still. Including my daughter over here."
"Oh! Come here to learn the magical arts from the Dread League? Nice choice." Fractured approved even though that was not the reason for Chrysalis arriving here.
"That's not why! My only objective was to know where Magehold was! For a close friend of mine. After that, I'd report back and let him know. I'm not here to learn anything else."
"Hmph. Missed opportunity if you asked me." Mellifera scoffed. "You're practically wasting your chances of racing greatness."
"For your information, I've already found something beyond that. The love I have for everyone near to me is far past anything I could learn here."
"Oh my. Family squabbles?" said Fractured with a little chuckle. "Well, you two won't have to worry about anything. Chrysalis. Or should I say Queen Chrysalis? You are free to experience our nation without having to worry about much."
"I don't?"
"No-no. A simple visit and tour will do. That's all that matters. And I'm sure that our ruler, Rosa Maledicata will be fine with it. She is fond of bringing everyone together."
"Rosa Maledicta? What happened to the previous ruler?" Mellifera asked, unaware of this new individual.
"Mm. Perished." Fractured shrugged. "It is what it is, anyway. Come along. I can save you the trouble of making through the horrifying obstacles that this forest offers. Unless you've already seen most of them, haven't you?"
"Just the mist. What else would we have had to go through?" Chrysalis questioned. Fractured would gladly show them what they could avoid to save them the trouble.
Sentient trees with moving branches, a horrifyingly massive hole that had an array of sharp spikes, ice thunderbolts with clouds that could also cause a flash-freeze and many other intimidating forces within this island.
"Oh my..." Chrysalis gawked at the various hazards that would've probably given her a lot of trouble.
"It gets worse when you try and leave the island. But we won't put you through any of that all. Especially not for our old friends the changelings." Fractured bowed his head. "Your species is still welcome here at Magehold."
"Excellent. Take us there then, vampire."
"Well...I suppose it wouldn't hurt. I'd know more about it tell Ash." Chrysalis went it as well.
"Will do. But, the Wendigos are not as easy to avoid. We won't be able to reach our desired location...if there's any conflict between you two." Fractured smirked with his eyes glowing red.
Just as that happened, thunder boomed into the sky, startling Chrysalis. The thunder had ice within it, freezing anything that it crashed down. The Wendigos could also be seen within the clouds with their faces poking out. Indeed, they were the biggest obstacle standing between them and Magehold.
"Hah. Even to this day, those Wendigos do not bother me." Mellifera chuckled. "It also helps that I see many as my enemy, doesn't it?"
But then, as Mellifera radiated her cockiness, the sound of the Weindigos howling echoed through the island. An in an instant, the mist had returned, forming into those claws once more. This time, multiple of them with an even greater chill.
"Those again?!" Chrysalis was made alert of them as they were coming this way as her horn was glowing. Mellifera wasn't bothered by them at all. But she soon would be as the chilling mist had grabbed both Chrysalis and Mellifera, ignoring Ribombee and Fractured Note.
"W-What?!" Mellifera gasped after being carried by the mist. Chrysalis already her magic to blow some of it away but there was more than before. "Impossible!"
"Not impossible." Fractured Note shook his head. "Eventually, the Wendigos will get you no matter what. And it seems you and your daughter are the catalysts for this."
"I told you!" Chrysalis exclaimed at Mellifera. "We just had to argue, didn't we?!"
"Ribom! Ribombee!" Ribombee attempted to help free them.
"I wouldn't do that." But Fractured stopped her. "The only way to stop those Wendigos is with the victims. No way you can do that."
"Bee...!" Ribombee growled as she was going to try either way. The Bee Fly Pokemon took flight, chasing after the mist. Fractured Note decided to stay around and see how this would turn around.
Chrysalis and Mellifera managed o push back some of the mist with Chrysalis using her magic and Mellifera relying on her locusts. However, the locusts had been consumed by the mist, freezing instantly upon their clutches. The mist then grew more violent, whacking both Chrysalis and Mellifera.
"Ah!" They both cried out after being whacked by it. However, due to her old age, Mellifera got the worst of this for having a fragile body. Chrysalis managed to recover herself midair, but not Mellifera.
Mellifera tried using her wings which were also showing signs of their age. She couldn't get enough time to recover. But that didn't matter as the mist returned, grabbing her once more and pulling the old changeling away.
"Mother! Chrysalis gasped. She quickly pursued Mellifera with Ribombee following afterwards. Fractured Note simply trotted, wanting to see more of this before he brings them to Magehold. If they make it out that is.
The mist had dragged Mellifera across the ground, bringer her to the darker parts of the island. At the same time, it was freezing her body as well, making sure she would be placed within an ice prison. Mellifera tried summoning her locusts, only to witness them freeze instantly.
The darker parts of the island were full of nothing but harsh ice ditches that only made the chill worse. Mellifera could feel her wings freezing as the former Changeling Queen knew how far she had fallen. Before, she could've broken out easily at her prime. But that was not the case anymore.
"Curses...!" She thought to herself, seeing how deep she was going. Her view was even changing as all she could see was an icy mist with the face of the Wendigos peeking through. "This can't be...! Not like this...!" Mellifera hated that this could be her end.
And seeing that she never reached that pinnacle of greatness she so desired, having her old hive wither in life, she pinned the blame on one changeling. Her daughter Chrysalis. "This is all her fault...".
All of it was directed to Chrysalis as Mellifera believed her actions from the past would lead to her end. She would've preferred to go out majestically. Not in this way. All she could see was the mist now and nothing else.
But following after her were Chrysalis and Ribombee who were aiming to free her. "Ribombee! Use Moonblast!"
"Ri...Bomb!" Ribombee put her arms together, drawing upon the power of the moon. She formed that power into a pink sphere. Multiple of them. The Bee Fly Pokemon then hurled them at the mist.
The spheres of Moonblast crashed into the cold mist, damaging it and leaving gaping holes as well. Chrysalis also used her magic to slice up the mist. Parts of it scattered due to their team effort.
But Mellifera was still deep down, being pulled into the holes of the island. Chrysalis growled, taking a moment to stop her movements. She began charging her magic for maximum effectiveness. As for Ribombee, she then used Psychic to control the mist. She managed to move it with some telekinesis, however, the mist fought back, causing Ribombee's mental prowess to be tested. The Bug-Fairy-Type strained as her mind was fighting against the mist.
Fractured Note showed up to see Chrysalis and Ribombeein action. He was impressed by what he was seeing. As Ribombee was fighting back against the mist, keeping it from going any further, Chrysalis was concentrating all of her love into her horn. She was emanating a blue, pink and green light simultaneously.
And with Ribombee on the verge of losing focus, Chrysalis unleashed her magic with those three colours. And they were highly effective. A beam considering those colours came flying out, crashing into the mist. The properties of the Wendigo mist had been overpowered by the love of Chrysalis, blowing it away with a multi-coloured explosion following afterwards. Ribombee took a deep breath as she was free from the struggle.
"Well, I'll be..." Fractured was impressed that the mist had been overpowered. Afterwards, Chrysalis descended, heading straight for her mother.
Mellifera would've almost lost consciousness if a few more seconds went by. Her squinted eyes witnessed the approaching visage of her daughter, who came to her rescue.
"Mother! Are you alright?!" She cried out, holding her mother in her hooves.
"Ugh...!" Mellifera groaned with her eyes being fully opened. "Chrysalis...I-I'm fine. Just a bit chilly, that's all."
"Let me warm you up then." Chrysalis then used a spell to warm Mellifera's chilled body. "The Wendigos and their mist aren't too troublesome. It seems that my love can fend them off. That is what we need to go against them."
"I see..." Mellifera responded, not saying much. Seeing how her daughter saved her made her realize that the blame she put on her for potentially ending her life was countered by how she had saved her life.
"Wow. Impressive." Fractured spoke. "Not many can deal with the Wendigos and their mist. "Queen, Mellifera. You have an amazing daughter here. Such potential."
"A shame I couldn't yet bring it out when I had the change." Mellifera scoffed before standing up. She acknowledged Chrysalis saving her life and yet, she still went on about the same topics.
"This again...?" Chrysalis groaned afterwards. "When will it end?"
"What a fun group." Fractured chuckled. "Well, let's not have you be caught by more of the Wendigo and everything else the island has to offer. It's about you entered Magehold and met with our queen."
Magehold.
Finally. Due to Fractured Note guiding them, they had arrived at Magehold, leaving the Hyperborean Island. There were no other buildings aside from the palace. It was the main and only building located here in Magehold. But it was massive enough to hold an entire town or even a city.
As for the palace, just as enigmatic as the skies it was surrounded by, it had a jet black appearance with highlights of green and purple here and there. Being almost as tall as Canterlot Castle, this building had sharp areas everywhere. On the spires, the very top of the palace, the various towers and even some of the banners.
Four solid, square towers were high low and set firm for a great defensive line and were connected by lower, heavy walls made of black marble. Dull windows were scattered generously around the walls in seemingly perfect symmetry, along with holes of various sizes for archers and artillery.
All of this was placed right below and beside sharp rocks that were dangerous to tread upon including sharp hills that cluttered the landscape.
Chrysalis and Mellifera had also seen those that inhabit this area. And they certainly weren't all ponies. Indeed, ponies could still be found here, however, they were all wearing hoods with symbols all over them. Their faces were even shrouded in darkness. Whether it from the hood or the ambience of Magehold. Some of them didn't wear hoods, most likely the vampire ponies.
Aside from that, there were also skeleton ponies. Having the skeletal appearance of a pony but walking across the land instead of staying still. Chrysalis and Ribombee still couldn't believe what they were seeing. Ribombee stayed close to Chrysalis, scared of all of this.
"The queen should be in the Garden of Thorns by now," said Fractured Note, leading them to the garden where the queen could be found.
"If you're scared, turn back now if you wish to." Mellifera taunted Chrysalis. "This is one of the many reasons why I never brought you here. You were so easily scared as a child."
"I'm not a child anymore, mother! Besides, I've witnessed far more terrifying things. You have yet to know who Ghetsis is, honestly."
"Ghetsis?"
"Exactly. You wouldn't want to run into him at all. You can rest easy knowing there's something I dislike more than you." Chrysalis taunted back, giving a cocky smile in the process. Mellifera grumbled after that response.
"We're here. Queen Rosa!" Fractured Note came to a halt as the garden wasn't as far as Chrysalis and Ribombee thought it was. One there, they saw a disordered field of black-grass was accompanied by rare shrubs with poison oozing out of them. A crooked tree stood at the centre as its leaves rose high into the sky. The flowers here were unidentified by Chrysalis but she could feel the horrifying Aura coming from them.
And standing there, touching the flowers was the queen.
She turned to face them, not wearing the usual regalia any royalty would wear as she was revealed to be a unicorn. But not one who resembled a vampire. Just an average unicorn. But she certainly had an intimidating presence to her.
"Behold. The Lich Queen, Rosa Maledicta. Our exalted ruler."
"Hm. She's younger than the previous one." Mellifera observed the unicorn, seeing how unimpressive she looked.
"Queen Rosa may look young but the magic she wields ages her at a slower rate than many. I mean, she's no vampire but..." Fractured chuckled.
"Hello. I've heard about you. You're Mellifera, aren't you? Sorry if I don't appear that formal right now. I was just out here admiring this garden."
"Greetings to you too. It feels wonderful being back here. If you know about me then you must know about the connections I made with the Dread League centuries ago, correct?"
"Learned every one of them. When I became Queen, I studied the Dread League and Magehold's history as a whole. Including all about the changelings. I was wondering why Magehold stopped having connections with them?"
"Blame her." Mellifera shifted the blame onto Chrysalis once more. Chrysalis could only give an unamused face with a slight pout afterwards. "In any case, I came here to revisit Magehold and see if I can still have my connections with it. Is that possible with you as the ruler?"
"Oh certainly. I never once considered abandoning it. After all, we were aware of the changelings and their existing hive that was less secretive than the previous one. And we even heard there's another out there, apparently."
"That would be my hive." Chrysalis stepped forward. "I'm currently the present Changeling Queen. Chrysalis. And this is my partner, Ribombee."
"Ribombee!"
"Chrysalis? Here I thought you looked more like your mother? Why the appearance change?" Rosa went up to Chrysalis, observing her purity form. "Not as vicious as I heard you were either way."
"A lot has happened." She replied. "I and many changelings have taken a new form."
"A putrid one if you ask me..." Mellifera commented, looking away from Chrysalis.
"I do not want any trouble, Queen Rosa. I just came here to know about Magehold's location. Hopefully, this isn't meddlesome for me to have it and pass it on to a friend."
"Oh no. It's quite alright." Rosa backed away "Besides. I do love visitors. Not many come by to Magehold. At least without any knowledge of it. Sometimes, they can accidentally wander in here by accident. But I'll accept them either way."
"You will?"
"Of course. Everypony is welcome in Magehold. At least, does that have already left this world." She looked at the skeleton ponies. "Our civilization is 50% vampires and 50% those who have passed away. A nice balance, don't you think?"
"Uh...S-Sure..." Chrysalis slowly nodded.
"You're free to leave if you wish to, Queen Chrysalis. Or perhaps venture around for a while before you do so. I'm not too busy at the moment. But your mother here, I can tell she would like to be here some more."
"Wait." Chrysalis halted Rosa, looking at Fractured. "I was told by you that leaving the island was harder than entering it, correct?"
"That's correct." Fractured Note nodded. "It becomes a greater challenge with each departure."
"So then I can't leave until my mother comes with me."
"Huh?!" Mellifera gasped, pulling back after what Chrysalis had just said. That caught her off guard.
"It's too dangerous. You were already attacked by the mist of the Wendigos and if we kept walking, we would've potentially become involved with the rest of the hazards. Unless you're safe, I won't leave. Ribombee won' either."
"Ribombee!"
"Y-You don't have to worry about that!" Mellifera stuttered. "This vampire can simply just return us since it was so easy for him to bring us here. Can't you?" She then turned to Fractured.
"Sure. I can do that. But it is still a dangerous trek either way when leaving the Hyperborean Island."
"There!" Mellifera cleared her throat. "And since you will turn down the amazing magical arts in Magehold, you can leave right now if you so please."
"I guess so." Chrysalis sighed. "Let's go Ribombee. Everyone back home is probably worried about us."
"Bombee."
"You'll be out of here without any injuries at all." Fractured Note said, opting to guide Chrysalis and Ribombee out of Magehold and the Hyperborean Island as well.
Their visit was short-lived. But this was all that Chrysalis wanted to do. Know where Magehold was. And now she knows so passing this information to Ash was due. However, Chrysalis then remembered the extra reason as to why Ash wanted to know about Magehold.
While he didn't tell Chrysalis to do this, Ash wanted this knowledge to see if he could prevent anyone else from gaining the same disease that Lofty Skies' mother gained. She even recalled his sentence.
"I've gotta find a cure from there. It's one way I think of so that no one else gets that same disease Lofty Skies' mom had. But I can ask your mom if she knows one."
"Hold on!" Chrysalis shouted, stopping in her tracks. "I do have another reason, well, my personal reason now for being here. Do you have a library?"
"We certainly do. Oh, so you are curious about learning some of our arts, aren't you?" said Rosa.
"It's not that...It's for learning about diseases. Apologies if that sounds off..."
"Oh, you mean our curses? You see, our magic is more along the lines of Curse Magic since you're curious. Diseases are correct too in a sense." Rosa corrected.
"Right. That."
"Fractured will show you where to go. Your mother and I will be busy."
Fractured then guided Chrysalis and Ribombee to the library. That was where Chrysalis could learn about Curses. A form of magic she was not aware of it. In the meanwhile, Rosa Maledicta and Mellifera made their way towards the indoors of the palace and mainly the throne room.
Throne Hall.
And as for the throne hall, it complimented the theme of Magehold completely. Tremendous green-lit braziers at the bottoms of each of the eight marble columns light up most of the throne hall and their light wraps the hall in a warm yet uncomfortable radiance. The black marble stone of the askew ceiling dance in the flickering light while marble icons and statuettes look down upon the maple floor of this luxurious hall.
Massive sharp bones could also be found laying near the pillar as they were even moving. Mellifera and Rosa sat down around a roundtable to have their discussion.
"It's been centuries. I assume there are other curses that I can learn. And also how we can continue working with each other." Mellifera started the conversation.
"I've been thinking of that myself as well. The current changelings don't exactly have that same drive from what I can see. But you still do, Queen Mellifera. Changelings and the Dread League have always gone well with each other, haven't they?"
"That daughter of mine...Even when I was disappointed in her, she showed much promise when starting her own hive. And then she later goes ahead and alters. Talking about true love. Nonsense. If I could, I would bring many changelings into this world and start a new and larger hive."
"You figure that out. But I've already figured something out myself. For my nation." Rosa did a pompous laugh before leaning in. "My status as the Lich Queen has one purpose. Do you remember what it was before I came along?"
"Obviously I do. The lich has the power to control those that have long since passed. Hence the skeleton ponies. I remember how back then, the previous ruler, Lich King Undermane controlled a great ordeal of them. The abundance was just as large as my hive."
"That's right. But I plan to go above and beyond." Rosa sat up. "My goal is to make sure that everyone is a part of Magehold. Of the Dread League. Beyond Equestria. You, of course, will be exempt along with the changelings. They're needed after all."
"Above and beyond King Undermane? Hah!" Mellifera scoffed before drinking some poisonous cider. "I highly doubt that. You seem young still. And King Undermane was a king like no other. A shame he's no longer ruling."
"Oh but I can..." Rosa's eyes then flared. "For you see...there's a Pokemon that can make that goal of mine become a reality."
"Huh?" Mellifera placed the drink down, looking over at Rosa with open eyes. "Even you're into this Pokemon Craze? I feel older than I usually feel. How will a Pokemon help you at all?"
"My vampires blend in well with everypony else. They look normal after all so they can freely roam the world without attracting any attention. And they brought over some wonderful information. During something known as a Pokemon Festival, Fractured visited the Pokemon World and learned of a Pokemon that takes life."
"A Pokemon that takes life...?" Even Mellifera was surprised by this. She didn't expect to hear about such a force. On the surface, she saw Pokemon as just cute creatures with some intimidating factors.
"Yveltal. The Destruction Pokemon." Rosa revealed it to be the Dark-Flying-Type and a member of the Aura Trio, Yveltal the Destruction Pokemon. "A Pokemon that is said to absorb the life force of living creatures. A Pokemon with that much power is what I need."
"You're joking, right?"
"I thought it was ludicrous as well. But these Strange and Wonderful creatures are something special. With Yveltal on my side, I will be able to cause a massive wave of destruction that will take the life of many ponies...no...every species in the world. Soon, once their lives come to an end, they will be mine to revive and control and I will have a potentially endless league of skeleton ponies, dragons, yaks and even Pokemon on my side. If I take a stretch, I might even say humans."
"My. You're far more terrifying than King Undermane was." said a surprised Mellifera. Rosa was proof that looks can be deceiving. Such a plan was on a global scale. "But do you know where you can even find this Yveltal?"
"My vampires are already working hard to see what they can gather. Certain Pokemon seem to be more elusive than the majority. But perhaps..you can help me, Mellifera. Help me find, Yveltal?"
"Me? Find this Yveltal creature?" Mellifera pointed her hoof at herself.
"It would be of great help. Granted, I don't expect it to be flawless, but anything to find that Pokemon and use its destructive power."
"Hmph. Sounds like a hassle if I'm being honest." Mellifera went back to drinking the poison cider. "But I suppose I could chime in and give whatever assistance I can gather. And when you find Yveltal, when do you plan to use it?"
"However long it may take, I will be sure to use its power to the fullest potential. I will start something known as the Black Crusade. If it turns out successful, then I won't need to go to war against the entire world. A more peaceful and silent approach that leads to me total conquest will do."
"Well, that will be an issue. My daughter will be against that. She's already made friends with ponies and one human named Ash Ketchum."
"Oh, I know about Ash Ketchum." Rosa walked away from the roundtable, heading for her throw. She then sat on it, summoning her regalia as it materialized around her body as the bones started making noises. "Equestria's Golden Boy and Legendary Hero. Along with that mouse named Pikachu. Rest assured, even they won't stop the Black Crusade that is coming. But about your daughter...What will you do about her when it all approaches? I hope that she and the changelings would be at our side once more."
"About that..." Mellifera paused for a moment as Rosa raised a good point.
"Think about it for a moment, Mellifera. Because for all we know, there is a high chance that it could all come crashing down for her. Will your daughter be with us just as you will be?"
Grimoire Library.
Chrysalis was sent to the library, having the honour of gaining the book she needed. A book about curses. Aside from that, many of the skeletons felt uncomfortable around Chrysalis due to the magical presence she emanated. Mainly love. But the vampires were fine with it.
"So this is Curse Magic." Chrysalis started reading. "All magic comes from one source. And from that source they all developed into many different kinds of Magic, however during that period of development and expansion, there was a deviation. A different route that Magic could take and thus created Curses. With its power rooted in the negative emotions set forth by every species."
"We've had our fair share of those. And they help greatly." Fractured said.
"Also, like Magic, Curses come in a wide variety, including various diseases of unknown nature. This is it!" Chrysalis exclaimed. "This is the book I need! If it isn't too much of an issue, I would like to bring this book with me for a moment. I will return it as soon as I can."
"Unfortunately, they cannot leave the library." Fracture shook his head. "They must stay, Queen Chrysalis."
"Oh. Alright. I understand."
"But from how it sounds, you seem to want to know how to negate the diseases, don't you?"
"My friend Ash does. Is there possibly a way for that to be done? Anything to deal with them?"
"Not sure." Fractured could only shrug. "Us vampires and skeletons have never been in any sort of peril with diseases so we wouldn't know of any spells that could cure them. They could exist. Magic is boundless after all. But you may not find it here."
"Right. It was worth a shot." Chrysalis sighed. "But that means there is a way. And I know that Ash will never give up on it as well. And if he won't then we won't either. Right, Ribombee?"
"Ribombee!"
"Well, it was nice having you here, Queen Chrysalis. Quite different from what I was expecting, honestly. Come back at any time to Magehold. You are welcome here. Especially as a changeling."
Hyperborean Island. Near the entrance. Afternoon.
Fractured led Chrysalis and Ribombee through the Hyperborean Island with no trouble. Mellifera was still at Magehold but she would be fine. Fractured then bid farewell as they had passed through the mist.
Thus they were out of the Hyperborean Island and within the Frozen North. Chrysalis and Ribombee felt relieved in a sense. Even though she was not afraid of what just occurred, apart from Ribombee, she still felt a sense of dread just being in there. To make everyone know she was alright, Chrysalis had used her Xtransceiver to call for Ash. It ranged for a bit before being answered.
"Hey, Chrysalis. How goes the search?" Ash asked.
"It went well, Ash. I now know where Magehold is but...I don't feel like returning there anytime. Aside from that, I have knowledge about diseases. They come from something known as Curse Magic."
"Curse Magic?"
"Pikachu?"
"Right. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything about a cure for them. But even the ponies at the Dread League weren't aware of one either. So, there is a chance that one exists. Wherever it may be or how it could be done."
"That's good to hear. Sorry if I made you go through some trouble, Chrysalis."
"It's fine. As intimidating as it was, I had some enjoyment. Even if my mother was a bit of a killjoy. I'll be returning soon. But I think I'll stop by for some food in the meanwhile."
"Ooh, get me something, please, your majesty!" Thorax's face came into view.
"I'd like some gems please!" So did Spike as a few others wanted some food as well. Thankfully, Chrysalis would get some for everyone.
The knowledge about Curse Magic. The pursuit of the Legendary Pokemon of Destruction Yveltal and something known as the Black Crusade. All of that had happened in one day and a few hours. A threat that affected the world on a global scale was coming.
From vampires and skeletons of all things. Led by a Lich Queen. While many were unaware, soon, Magehold and the Dread League will decide when to show themselves to the world as the journey continues.
Over at the Fighting Fields were many Fighting-Type Pokemon reside, an issue had sprouted. Amidst their usual training to improve themselves, many of the Fighting-Type Pokemon came across an issue.
Due to another day of working hard and with some of them continuing to work hard, some of them felt ill. It wasn't anything too uncommon. Illnesses were common for Pokemon.
"Sawk..." A Sawk groaned, holding his head as he sat down. Many Fighting-Types stopped their training instantly after coming down with this illness. Not all of them. Some were exempt.
"Pancham?" Such as a Pancham, looking at his fellow Fighting-Types and how they all felt dreary. Even Gallade, the most popular Pokemon in the Fighting Fields, couldn't help but get on one knee, breathing in and out.
It was mainly the smaller Fighting Pokemon that were exempt from this issue. The bigger Fighting Pokemon took the brunt f this. But just then, this illness started aggravating the Fighting-Types to the point where they couldn't help but hit something to try and fend off the pain. As if there already weren't enough boulders within this landscape for them to break.
It was clear that this was an illness that would mostly aggravate them instead of putting their lives in jeopardy. However, this brought a bad omen to the Fighting Fields.
Canterlot. The Pokemon School. Day.
Over at the Pokemon School, Apple Bloom had knocked onto the doors of the Pokemon Breeding Room. Ever since she set her sights on her newest goal, being a Pokemon Breeder, went over to the one person who was an expert on this. Brock. Brock opened the doors to see Apple Bloom outside. Plus Applejack who had escorted her here.
"Hey, what's up? Do you two need something?" Brock asked.
"Hey, Brock. My sister's just here to learn something new," said Applejack. "You're all about Pokemon Breeding, right? Apple Bloom here wants to be one too."
"Eeyup! I wanna have a go at being a Pokemon Breeder! Can you teach me, Brock?"
"Oh. Well, come on in then. I haven't had many students come over here to my class. Mostly because I'm somewhere else most of the time. So what made you want to be a Pokemon Breeder suddenly?"
"I wanted to try something new. Didn't know where else I'd go by catching just Grass-Types only. Then Ash reminded me of you and I wanted to try this. So do ya think I can be a Pokemon Breeder?"
"You can. And I'd be glad to teach you." Brock nodded as the sounds of Pokemon could be heard inside of this room. They came from Baby Pokemon. Ranging from Pichu, Teddiursa, Cleffa, Igglybuff and a few others.
"Oh howdy there, little guys!" Applejack said, holding her hooves out to these smaller Pokemon. Apple Bloom did the same as they grabbed a hold of all the Baby Pokemon.
"Good to see you're already working well with some of the Baby Pokemon here," said Brock. "That's one good step to being a Pokemon Breeder."
"Wait, the lesson starts now?" Apple Bloom gasped while being surrounded by a group of Pichu.
"Not quite yet. There's a lot more of them in here. This whole place is like a nursery to them. Only I'm the only caretaker here." Brock chuckled. "It's not as big as the Pokemon House though. But I'm not sure how Fluttershy manages to take care of so many Pokemon at the Pokemon House. Even with Audino by her side."
"Got that right. I could barely handle all those Applin at the start. Good thing you caught them, Apple Bloom." Applejack said to her little sister.
"Where do we start? How about Deerling Forest?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Deerling Forest is always a good starting place for everyone. But right now, there's something else I want to deal with. Over at the Fighting Fields, many of the Fighting-Type Pokemon have come under an illness."
"All of them?" Applejack and Apple Bloom each said.
"All of them. I'm planning on heading over there as soon as I can to treat them al. You can't be a Pokemon Breeder without knowing some healing about Pokemon."
"How come they all got sick? What happened?" wondered Applejack.
"It's something that's not too uncommon with Fighting-Type Pokemon. All their hard work can distract them from many things. Total focus is their key. Unfortunately, that doesn't bode well with injures and illnesses. Whatever may have happened, I want to treat them."
"Wait so...No Pokemon Breeding lessons today?" The filly asked.
"This counts. Helping the Pokemon is also a good place to start. Even if it's not about Pokemon Breeding. Just follow me you and you'll do great." Brock gave a thumbs-up of reassurance as the lesson for Apple Bloom was about to begin.
The Fighting Fields. Afternoon.
Brock, Applejack, Apple Bloom and Sceptile made their way towards the Fighting Fields to go and heal some Pokemon. It would take more than just potions to tend to them.
Luckily, that's why Brock was here. A true expert on taking care of Pokemon. Only beat out by the many Nurse Joy that exist within the Pokemon World as a collective family.
However, whilst heading there, they saw a Pokemon run in this direction. A Pancham. The same Pancham. And from the looks of it, he was running as fast as he could, breathing rapidly. "Pancham! Pancham!"
"A Pancham?" Brock said as the Playful Pokemon cried out at them. Pancham recognized Applejack since she and her friends had been at the Fighting Fields before.
"Cham! Pancham!" He came to a screeching halt, flailing his arms in front of the group.
"What's up, little guy?" Applejack asked.
"Pancham! Pan!" Pancham tried communicating with them to the best of his abilities, hoping that they could understand him. He attempted some charades, making faces of various FIghting-Type Pokemon, but pulling them off poorly.
"Tile. Sceptile." Thankfully, Sceptile could understand him and communicate better with Applejack to pass this message off without issue.
But before he could do that, a mild earthquake occurred, throwing them off balance suddenly. A flock of Tranquill flew off once feeling this tremor pass through. "What was that?!" Apple Bloom screeched as she hopped into Sceptile's arms.
"An earthquake!" Brock replied. "It came from the fields!"
"Cham! Pancham!" Pancham then pointed in the direction of the Fighting Fields, showing them what was up ahead. And up ahead, they saw one of the concrete pillars that belonged to a Conkeldurr fly into the air. They had to check out what was going on as the problem seemed to originate from the Fighting Fields.
Once they arrived, they saw the absolute chaos occurring within the fields. Far beyond what they were expecting as the reason for Pancham's panic made sense. All of the Fighting-Type Pokemon, at least the bigger ones were battling each other. But something was different about it.
The way they battled was unlike their usual ways. Their stances were less refined and their hits were more violent than sharp, honest and polished. The Conkeldurr that had lost his pillars was sent flying by a devasting blow from a Poliwrath. Afterwards, a Hitmonlee came flying in, kicking Poliwrath to the side.
"Uh...What's wrong?" Applejack wondered, seeing nothing wrong here. "They're just doing what they do best. Fight."
"Yeah. Isn't that what happens at the Fighting Fields?" Apple Bloom chimed in.
"You're right. FIghting-Type Pokemon love fighting each other but..." Just as Brock replied, a Crabominable was sent in their direction, threatening to crash into them. "Look out!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile had pulled them all out of the way with his vines, saving them from being struck by this 396.8 lbs Pokemon. Crabominable tumbled on the ground afterwards, crashing into some rubble.
"Breloom!" The one responsible for that was a Breloom. After kicking Crabominable away, the Mushroom Pokemon looked in the direction of Brock's group, noticing them. "Bre!" Breloom glared at them with a winced eye and with visible veins popping out of its face.
"I don't like that glare..." Applejack uttered with her voice being drowned out by the sounds of Fighting-Type Pokemon aggressively attacking each other.
"Loom!" Then, Breloom attacked, using Mach Punch, moving at blinding speeds as it had the intent of hitting either Brock, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Sceptile or even Pancham depending on where it lands.
"Sceptile!" But standing in its way was Sceptile with Leaf Blade. He had blocked Machamp with his bladed leaves, causing a shockwave to emerge with some sparks flying. "Scep...Tile!" Sceptile had then pushed Breloom away by pushing his bladed arms forward, sending the Mushroom Pokemon far back.
"Bre!" Breloom had also taken damage from that, tumbling on the ground afterwards.
"What was that all about?!" Apple Bloom shouted whilst hiding behind Applejack for safety.
"Just as I thought," Brock said to himself before noticing how a few more Pokemon had their eyes on him and the others. "Quick! Find a place to hide!"
"Pancham!" Pancham knew of a place. He pointed to the south, guiding Brock and the others that way before the other Fighting-Types could pursue them. But they were occupied with other Fighting-Type Pokemon to do so.
The best place to hide, according to Pancham, was a crater that also led to a ditch. Most likely made by any of the Fighting-Type Pokemon as they were strong enough to do so. They jumped down the crater, just narrowingly evading the sight of a Heracross.
They then went to the ditch that had a pathway that was rather extensive, most likely made by a Pokemon that knew Dig. There, they would be safe for the time being as Pancham chose a good spot to be in.
"That was a close one. Nice save there, Sceptile." Applejack said as they continued through the ditch. "But what was up with them all of a sudden?"
"The way their battling isn't their usual style," Brock replied. "Fighting-Type Pokemon don't ever battle like that. It must have something to do with the illness."
"But they don't look ill. But their faces were kinda veiny..." Apple Bloom shook her head as they all stopped walking. Just as they stopped, they noticed more Fighting-Type Pokemon down here.
But it was instead the smaller Pokemon, similar to Pancham. They were all hiding down here in this ditch, terrified of the events happening up there. Even though they all have spun, they would rather not deal with violent Fighting-Type Pokemon who battle aggressively.
Even a group of Primeape, a Pokemon that arguably has greater anger than them, was down here. It said something when a Pokemon species known for being angry are hiding from angry Pokemon.
"You're all down here because you're scared, aren't you?" Brock said to the Pokemon as they all nodded. "That makes sense. Something like that can't be safe around."
"So what's wrong with them? How come they're acting like this?" Applejack asked.
"It's an illness that exists and affects just Fighting-Type Pokemon. You see, Fighting-Type Pokemon are passionate about battling. So passionate that it's mostly all that's on their mind and nothing else. It's their greatest strength no doubt. But it can also become their greatest weakness. Since they're so focused on it, illnesses tend to bypass them and creep up when they least expect it. It's something that happens to Fighting-Types all the time. But they're harmless to them a majority of the time."
"So what about this illness?" Apple Bloom questioned, climbing onto Sceptile's shoulder.
"This illness strikes FIghting-Types when they overwork, giving them a sharp pain that makes it feel like their bodies have pushed their limits. And to a Fighting-Type, the only way to stave it off is to battle. But as a result, the pain is irritating to the point where their refined styles are altered into something more savage and unrelenting."
"That's horrible!" Apple Bloom gasped.
"It is. And what's worse, it goes against everything a Fighting-Type Pokemon stands for. Pushing themselves to their absolute best. But usually, it never happens in one big area. There aren't many Fighting-Type only areas in the world and this is the biggest one that I know about. Pokemon Trainers don't face this issue. Not even Fighting-Type Gym Leaders. So I wasn't expecting multiple of them."
"How do we stop it then? There a cure?" Applejack stepped forward.
"Yes. And it requires some berries to make that magic happen. A Chople Berry and a Kee Berry. We can mix them up to make a drink that eliminates the pain. And as a Pokemon Breeder plus some Pokemon Doctor experience, I've been trained to make all sorts of juices that help different Pokemon."
"That's it? Thought it'd be harder." Applejack pondered. "Oh well. If it's simple, that works for us. Don't you worry, ya'll. We'll have your seniors acting like their old selves again." She then looked at the smaller Fighting-Type Pokemon and the Primeape.
"There's a bit more to it but it won't take long. I'll explain the rest when making it. But it won't be easy giving it to the Fighting-Type Pokemon. Their numbers and how aggressive they are will make it difficult to even reach them." Brock pondered.
"Leave that to me." Applejack offered to do something about the abundance of Fighting-Types. "My family knows a thing or two dealing with large numbers. It'll be like herding a bunch of angry cows. That can..break our bones."
"I can trust you with that. Just be careful. I'll make the juice. Apple Bloom. You can help out too. This'll be your next step as a Pokemon Breeder. And I guess a part-time doctor too."
"Aye, sir!"
"Oh. And since you're gonna head out there, you'll need some backup." Brock reached into his back, taking out some of his Poke Balls. "Come on out!" He then threw them as a few of his Pokemon had emerged.
"Forretress!"
"Crobat!"
"Sudowoodo!"
"Ludicolo!"
"You four. I need you to help Applejack deal with all of the Fighting-Type Pokemon up there." Brock ordered, pointing upwards. "Apple Bloom and I will be making some juice for them in the meanwhile."
"Sudo!" Sudowoodo saluted as the others would do just that, following Applejack's lead. Brock and Apple Bloom were then ready to make the juice as Applejack, Sceptile and Brock's Pokemon made their way towards the surface.
And following them would be Pancham, who felt gutsy enough to help. He was certainly braver than the rest of the Pokemon down here.
Arriving at the surface was Applejack's group. But they weren't there to combat the Fighting-Type per se. Keeping them in one spot was the approach. But if it came down to it, then a battle would have to take place. And the way to draw them in was by issuing a challenge.
Not a challenge to battle. Rather, showing them something that was potentially a larger than life force that any Fighting-Type would want to challenge. And thankfully, Sceptile was the answer to that.
"They can't resist battling against the toughest. So how about we make 'em come after us when they see you." Applejack then adjusted her hat as the Mega Stone hairpin sparkled in the sunlight. She was ready t use it, immediately tapping on the hairpin. "Mega Evolve!"
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile cried out as the energies from Mega Evolution flowed out of his and Applejack's keystone. They wrapped around him, transforming his body into his advanced form. Bursting out of the energies was Mega Sceptile. "Sceptile!"
"Pancham...!" Pancham gawked at the transformation but Sudowoodo and the others didn't. Brock owned a Mega Steelix after all so they were used to this.
"Hey!" Applejack then shouted, standing in front of Sceptile. She had then grabbed the attention of most of the Fighting-Type Pokemon. "If you're looking for a challenge, look no further than this guy right here!"
"Tile!" To showcase his power, Sceptile roared, exuding the draconic energy from his body to convince the Fighting-Types that he was the biggest challenge. His roar echoed through the area as that was enough to do the trick.
"Hit...Hitmonchan!" They were provoked by Sceptile, wanting to attack him. The Fighting-Types immediately pursued the Forest Pokemon to further exude their frustration.
And this further worked with Applejack's plan. Since they wanted to challenge Sceptile, they started shoving and attacking each other to try and get to the Forest Pokemon first.
"Worked like a charm! They'll be too weak to get us! Ya'll go ahead and make some traps for them! Come on!" Applejack exclaimed as she hopped onto Sceptile's back. Sceptile then made a run for it, acting as the catalyst for the Fighting-Type Pokemon to focus on one thing.
As for Brock's Pokemon. they would set the traps for the Fighting-Types to run into.
Meanwhile, just near the crater, Brock and Apple Bloom were making the juice to cure this illness. Brock always carried berries as a Pokemon Breeder and with his experience as a Pokemon Doctor. The two berries were being mashed together to make a curing combo.
Apple Bloom contributed by smashing the berries onto the pot. But it wouldn't be just the berries that were needed. There was some more.
"Now for the other steps. What we need is something charming that can soothe their anger. Like Fairy-Type magic or a Roseli Berry. That berry is hard to find but Fairy-Type magic, not so much."
"I got that covered!" Apple Bloom had the solution as she took out a Poke Ball. She had many Grass-Types and one of them could add to the solution as she threw the Poke Ball. "Come out, Skiploom!"
"Skiploom!"
"Use Fairy Wind!"
"Skip-Skip!" The Cottonweed Pokemon sprinkled some Fairy magic into the pot from its bloom. Just what they needed.
"Good job, Apple Bloom. Skiploom. Next, we need some plants. Anything will do and it won't be anything special. But that's gonna require us going out into-"
"I got it!" But Apple Bloom also had an answer to that via another Pokemon. Instead of going outside to grab some leaves from trees or weeds from the ground, a Pokemon would give some. A few of them. Out of the next Poke Ball came a Sunkern, Oddish and Cherrim. And to an extent Skiploom since it was already out.
"Sunkern!"
"Oddish!"
"Cherrim!"
"Uh...Thanks." Brock said, surprised that Apple Bloom had another solution that instantly. Afterwards, the Pokemon gave up some of the plants that were a part of their bodies. But thankfully, they could regrow under the sun. "How many Grass-Types do you have, Apple Bloom?"
"A lot. I caught a lot of them." She said with an innocent grin. "But it ain't all of them."
"You've got enough to be a Grass-Type Gym Leader, ya know?" Brock chuckled. "But you don't want to be that, do you?" And in response to Brock, Apple Bloom shook her head.
Once they added everything, the juice was ready. Brock had some bottles. Not many. Just three. But those three would have to do as he scooped the juice into the bottles, filling them up.
"Done and done!" Brock announced, raising the juice into the air as even the other Pokemon applauded this success. "Now, here comes the real challenge. Getting them all to drink it. Let's hope your sister's doing-"
Interrupted and almost throwing everyone off balance, Brock and the others felt something. It wasn't' an earthquake like before but it certainly shook the area. And the Pokemon responsible for this was a Heracross that was digging through the ditch aggressively.
"Another earthquake?!" Apple Bloom gulped, latching onto Brock's leg.
"No. Someone's using Dig from what I can tell. Looks like it's not safe to be down here. Everyone out!" Brock ordered for them all to leave the ditch. But he would lead them.
"What about the pot, Brock?!"
"Leave that to Chansey!" Brock then sent out one of his Pokemon to handle this. His unusually strong Chansey.
"Chansey!" Before she became a Chansey, she was a Happiny. A Happiny that had more strength than the average Happiny, able to lift heavy objects and Pokemon without an issue plus also being a rival to Togepi. So she was perfect for this. "Chan!"
Chansey lifted the pot with just one arm, showing her cosmic-like strength as she followed everyone to immediately leave the ditch. As for Heracross, it was rapidly moving across the ditch, shaking the area constantly.
With breakneck speeds, the Single Horn Pokemon had shown up to this area, bursting through the walls of the ditch. Immediately, it had spotted Brock's group. Something new for it to hit to try and exude the pain it was feeling. "Cross! Heracross!"
"It's already here, Brock!"
"Get behind me! This is our chance." Brock said as he stopped running. Everyone else ran past Brock, standing behind him for safety. Heracross them stomped its foot with its horn twitching violently. Apple Bloom and the rest of the Pokemon got close to each other, reasonably afraid of a Pokemon as powerful as Heracross.
"Heracross...!" Heracross roared before flying towards Brock via Aerial Ace, moving at confounding speeds.
"Now! Chansey, use Secret Power!"
"Chan...Sey!" Once Heracross got close enough, Chansey waved her arms and it releases a pink wave from her body all around her. Since she was underground, the effects of Secret Power caused flinching to occur.
The wave struck Heracross, causing the Bug-Fighting-Type to flinch. Once the flinch came through, Brock could move in and use the juice on Heracross.
"H-Hera!" Heracross staggered from the flinch, opening its mouth with a bellow. Just what Brock wanted.
"Now's my chance!" Once its mouth was open, Brock had thrust the bottle forward, causing some of the juice to fly out. Into Heracross's mouth, it went, moving through its throat.
Heracross's organs took a moment to process this and similar to a leaf being carried by the wind, the pain within Heracross had subsided once the juice kicked in. "C-Cross?" Although, Heracross felt woozy afterwards. On the bright side, his anger had fled, removing the sharp pain as the Single Horn Pokemon was a bit befuddled.
"There." Brock approached Heracross. "You should be feeling a lot better now, right, Heracross?"
"Heracross..." It nodded in response.
"That quick? That juice is amazing!" Apple Bloom and the others gawked.
"There's still a few more we'll have to give the juice to. If we head up to the surface, Chansey's Secret Power combined with the grass will put a sleep effect. But that's still so many Pokemon to deal with it."
"My sister's got it handled though. She can do it. I know she can!"
"I don't doubt it one bit. But extra help is always nice. Heracross. Can you help us, maybe?"
"Heracross!"
Meanwhile, Applejack's plan was going on well. All of the Fighting-Types wanted a piece of Sceptile since he issued a challenge with all of them. And to try and reach Sceptile, all of the Fighting-Types were battling each other. The goal was to wear them down.
"Throh!" A Throh had thrown a Hitmontop away with its mighty hands before running towards Sceptile, only to be interrupted by a throw from someone else. A Gurdurr had thrown its steel beams at Thro's head, causing it to stagger. "Throh!"
"Gurdurr!" Gurdurr then jumped into the air without having its steel beams at its disposal right now. But both Throh and Gurdurr were taken out by Hitomchan's Vacuum Wave.
At the same time, Brock's Pokemon were forming traps for the opposing Pokemon to run into. Sceptile made sure to get extra close to these traps for the bait.
"Passimian!" Three Passimian had approached Sceptile, ready to attack him simultaneously while also shoving each other. But once they got close, Sceptile used his vines to swing somewhere else, causing the Passimian to crash into the trap. And they had found themselves inside a dirt trap made by Sudowoodo, Forretress and Ludicolo's Rock and Water-Type moves.
Crobat drew the attention of other Fighting-Types in Sceptile's directions by Screech to break their focus for a moment. Mostly every trap was just a trap made out of hard dirt. And it worked effectively.
The FIghting-Types were too aggravated and mad to truly see them coming, making this plan work out as Applejack witnessed the Pokemon crash into the traps. Pancham applauded the good work as he soon noticed how his idol Pangoro was within the traps as well.
"Looks good. We've still got a lot more," said Applejack. But just as she was ready to lure the rest of them in with Sceptile, the Grass-Dragon-Type sensed someone approaching from the side.
"Tile!" Sceptile's eyes glared as he had used Leaf Blade. And on time too. Because the Pokemon that came to attack them was the most popular Pokemon in the Fighting Fields. Gallade.
"Gallade!"
"Gallade?!" Applejack gasped. "Great..." This was the one Pokemon she was hoping wouldn't be affected. But unfortunately, he was and he wanted a piece of Sceptile.
And after his blade clashed with Sceptile's, Gallade managed to push him back as well, winning the clash. Sceptile slid on the ground afterwards. "Lade!"
"Battling Gallade ain't what I had in mind right now! But now that's here..."
"Gallade-Lade!" Gallade rushed in, using Night Slash to attack.
"Got no choice! Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"
"Sceptile!" There was no other choice. Gallade was a tough one to stop. That went for some of the other Pokemon. Even the ones in the traps. Despite how hard it may be, the Fighting-Types had the strength to potentially break out over time.
Sceptile and Gallade clashed their blades once more, going back and forth with sparks flying about. Even with Mega Evolution, Gallade was superior when it came to pure strength. And at the same time, Sawk and a few others were starting to break free of their traps.
"Pangoro!" Pangoro's first burst out of the trap with his muscles pulsating. Pancham took a notice to notice his inspiration almost breaking free along with a few others. Sawk flexed his muscles with Bulk Up, shattering parts of the trap as Gallade knocked Sceptile way.
"S-Scep!"
"Gallade!" Gallade had then used Aerial Ace, moving rapidly and striking Sceptile's face right after he had been pushed away. Pancham tried doing something. So to contribute, he had used Tackle.
"Hey!" But Applejack quickly pulled him away. Right when Gallade reacted to his movements and had almost struck him with Aerial Ace.
"C-Cham!"
"Don't get too reckless there, pal! Sceptile, Frenzy Plant!"
"Scep...Tile!" Up close, it was clear that Sceptile was the winner of that. But a farther distance might be a different story. Sceptile placed his hands on the ground as gigantic plants erupted from below, moving about in a frenzy.
"Poli!" Poliwrath was the first to break free, only for Forretress, Ludicolo and Sudowoodo to restrain it once more. They were aiming to keep the Pokemon in the traps by using the same moves they used to make them.
"G-Gall!" Gallade put his arms up, blocking the plants. He tried slicing them in half but he only got so far with plants this abundant. Thus, Gallade had been knocked back. But Gallade instantly recovered, still yearning for more.
However, more Fighting-Types were showing up, catching up with Applejack and the others as Sudowoodo and the others could definitely not hold them all since they were occupied with keeping the already restrained ones in check.
"More of 'em!" Applejack gawked at this intimidating size. She then noticed how some of them were approaching from behind instead of up ahead. A Crabralwer came flying in, ready to attack Applejack without anyone watching as its eyes glistened.
"Cham? Pancham!" Pancham noticed this, hopping out of Applejack's grasps and using Arm Thrust. "Pan!"
"Cra...Brawl!" But that did not matter as Pancham was knocked out of the sky by a swift and heavy Crabhammer from the Boxing Pokemon.
"P-Pancham!" He cried out as Applejack caught him again.
"Dangnabbit...!" Applejack growled, seeing how the Fighting-Type were closing the gap this quickly. Sceptile had used Dragon Pulse, trying to keep Gallade away. Gallade sliced the attack in half, going for a Psycho Cut. Sceptile quickly changed to Thunder Punch, clashing once more with Gallade.
Applejack also had the goal of keeping Pancham out of harm's way. Crobat saved them both from Crabrawler, using Sonic Boom to blow it away.
"Sis! Hey sis!" Just then, arriving to help was Apple Bloom and the others. Plus there was extra help in the form of Heracross.
Speaking of Heracross, the Single Horn Pokemon had also saved Applejack and Pancham from a sneak-attacking Breloom, whacking it aside.
"Oh! You've kept all of them restrained?!" Brock marvelled.
"Not for long! They could break free any second! And this Gallade ain't helping at all!"
"Gallade!" Gallade butted heads with Sceptile as they seemed evenly matched from the looks of it. This was the top Pokemon in the Fighting Fields after all. "Gal...!"
"Scep...!"
"Let's at least deal with the restrained ones. Secret Power!"
"Chansey!" Once more, Chansey waved her arms to release a pink wave from her body. And this time, it interacted with the grass. And the effects turned out to be Sleep. It wasn't enough to stop them all but it could catch those that weren't moving.
And it did so successfully. Except for Gallade, who had jumped back, avoiding Secret Power. As for the Pokemon, they had been put to sleep. But the main obstacle were the rest of the Fighting-Types and Gallade.
"Gallade!" Gallade went to attack Sceptile once more. This time, there was someone to combat him as well. Heracross. Heracross came flying in from the side, using its horn against Gallade. "Lade?!" Gallade had just spotted it, using his blade to block the horn.
"Thanks, Heracross!" But that allowed for Applejack to have a Sceptile attack. Gallade would have trouble with two Pokemon. Especially with one of them being a Mega Evolved Pokemon. "Leaf Blade!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile rushed in, joining Heracross as Gallade used its other arm to block the blade. Even with two Pokemon, Gallade could still hold his own. He was starting to push back.
"Keep him there you two!" Brock held out another bottle, waiting for Gallade to open his mouth. "Just need that mouth to get open as soon as we can. Secret Power's also risky here with how erratic Gallade's moving I could end up hitting Sceptile and Heracross as well."
"I got something for that." Applejack stepped forward. "Pancham, Can you use that leaf in your mouth?"
"Cham?"
"Tickle him." She ordered. The best thing to do in this situation. If there was anything that could get Gallade or any Pokemon to break their focus it was ticking.
"Pan-Pan!" Pancham saluted as it could be done. The one time the leaf could come of great use instead of being something to show off with. Pancham approached Gallade while he was still in a clash with Sceptile and Heracross. "Pancham!"
"Gal?" Gallade noticed Pancham approaching as the Playful Pokemon jumped onto Sceptile's back. He then ran on Sceptile's arms before taking out the leaf.
Once up in Gallade's face, Pancham had used his leaf, ticking Gallade's face. And, of course, tickling proved to be an always-effective method on anything and anyone. Except for Steel-Types. Once the leaf started moving, Gallade's facial expression shifted.
"G-G-Gallade...!" Gallade tried focusing but even that was impossible before this simple action. With his focus being diminished, Sceptile and Heracross grabbed his arms to keep him still.
"Great job, Pancham! Here goes!" Brock could finally use the rest of the juice. He approached the laughing Gallade who would not break free from this distracting, pouring the juice into his backing mouth.
"Chansey!" Chansey brought the pot over towards the sleeping Pokemon. She ended up splashing some of it into their open mouths. It was a good thing that sleeping means that most of the time, the mouth will be open. And this was the case for this as well.
"G-Gallade..." The juice went through Gallade's mouth as he froze for a second. Afterwards, his pain subsided. Gallade no longer felt it as his eyes widened, Sceptile and Heracross then let him go. "Gallade?"
"Yes!" Brock pumped his fist as the rest of the Pokemon had been cured thanks to Chansey's splashing. But they were asleep to notice this.
Once recovered, Gallade turned to face the rest of the incoming Fighting-Type Pokemon that were still frustrated. Thankfully, he had allies to help put a stop to them.
"Grab 'em Sceptile! Use Frenzy Plant!"
"Tile!" Sceptile summoned the rots of Frenzy Plants once more, using them to restrain this time. Once they grabbed some of the Pokemon, that allowed for Gallade and Heracross to move in. Chansey carried the pot in their direction as they made this a team effort.
15 minutes later.
And it was a successful team effort. Thanks to Sceptile's ridiculous abundance of plants, Chansey's divine strength plus Secret Power and the aid of a few other Fighting-Type Pokemon, they managed to cure them all without wasting any juice. This would've been harder if Chansey never had her unusual strength in the first place.
"And the last one..." Brock gave the last juice to a Hariyama, curing it. "There. All done. That's every Pokemon here cured of it."
"Phew..." Applejack sighed, sitting down. "Glad that didn't take too long."
"Is everyone feeling better?" Brock asked as all of the Pokemon cried out in response to his question. Now they were thanks to Brock and his group. "That's good. Sorry that you had to go through that. That illness ruins your drive to work hard, doesn't it? But the next time this happens, just know that I'll be there. And so will she."
"Me?" Apple Bloom noticed how Brock was looking at her.
"Mhm. You helped make the juice after all. While you're still a rookie Pokemon Breeder, one in training, you've already succeeded in knowing how to help certain Pokemon. Well done."
"Yes! I did it! First try!" Apple Bloom jumped for joy, grabbing Gallade and shaking him out of excitement.
"G-Gallade!"
"I think I've got myself an apprentice now. Make sure you attend my classes from now on if you want to improve. But you don't have to do it daily. Your own free time works better." Brock suggested.
"Okay! I will!"
"Pancham! Pan!" Pancham ran over, thanking them for helping save the Fighting Fields from potential destruction. Or even worse. It could've continued towards the rest of Equestria.
"No problem, little guy." Applejack understood him that time. "Next time we see you, just oh...don't get too ahead of yourself, alright?"
"Pancham!"
"The day's still young. How about one more lesson, Apple Bloom before I head somewhere else? Sound good?"
"Eeyup!"
In the midst of Apple Bloom's training to become a Pokemon Breeder, the group had been caught up in a small problem at the Fighting Fields. But thanks to Brock's expertise and the assistance of some Pokemon, this problem had been dealt with. Certainly not the first thing Apple Bloom was expecting for her lesson on being a Pokemon Breeder. But after this, she was looking forward to the rest with Brock as her mentor as the journey continues.
"Heya!" Ash's head popped into the view through an open door along with Pikachu, arriving at Oak's lab. Mostly because a friend of theirs was currently here, visiting from another world.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash! Pikachu!" That was the Twilight of the human world along with Spike and her Hisuian Zorua. She held out her hands as Pikachu jumped into her grasp. Twilight was more than just visiting here. She was being Professor Oak's assistant. Or at least, starting out.
"How goes the assistant stuff, Twi?"
"Great so far! I'm only two days in and I'm already making some great progress." Twilight giggled.
"Twilight here has been great help. It was already helpful with Tracey around. With two assistants, all that extra hassle just fade away." Oak said. "You always have great friends who are this skilled, Ash."
"Thankfully, I can come by on Sundays without having to worry about Canterlot High getting in the way. Though, it's still a long trek from here, even with the boat from Unova to Kanto."
"Speaking of which, I should maybe chime in with that world as well. Get them used to everything Pokemon." Oak replied, thinking for a moment. "And another thing. Ash. Pikachu. I hear you'll be visiting the Holon Region fairly soon. Is that right?"
"Yeah. We're planning on going this January. We're psyched to visit it and so is everyone else. I hear it's small so it might not take too long to explore all of it."
"Pika-Pika!"
"I've heard about Holon and all of its Delta Pokemon but have never gotten the chance to see them. If it's not an issue, would you please gather some Pokedex information about the Delta Pokemon residing there?"
"You bet! There's all the space in the world for my Pokedex. I can't wait to see what kind of Pokemon we'll see there."
"Pikachu!"
"Wish I could go," said Twilight. "Then I'd get a chance to adventure through a region with you blind. But...maybe some other time."
"And we'll be waiting for that time, Twilight." He replied with Pikachu giving a statue followed with a twinkle in his eye. "Gotta do something first before that. Equestria's Twilight, Celestia and me are gonna merge minds."
"I beg your pardon?" Both Oak and Twilight said.
"Yeah. It's kind of a strange one." Ash chuckled, unsure of how to explain it. "I'll let you know how it goes when we get back! Come on, Pikachu!"
"Pikachu!"
Ash and Pikachu left on a confusing note. Oak and Twilight were just going to have to wait for an hear from Ash's experience to know what it was truly about. But today was the day the attempt to merge the Aurascape, Mindscape and Cerebral Training together for simplicity. Originally Twilight's idea, which seemed like an odd approach at first but Celestia encouraged it, seeing that it could be of some use.
Equestria. Twilight's Castle. Afternoon.
And the three of them had gathered at the castle to pull it off. Rather four. Luna also had some of the Cerebral Training thanks to gaining some experience from Olympia.
"This will be the first time in a long time that this spell's been used," said Twilight, looking at the book that contained the necessary spell. "As far as I can tell, there's no undoing it, is there?"
"Oh no. It can be undone. Just like every spell." Celestia corrected her. "But only if you want it to be undone. If it all goes awry then that might be the best time to undo it."
"We should also be thankful that they won't harm our minds either. While something may go wrong within, our minds will still be safe and even from the outside we will be safe either way." Luna replied.
"Right. I just want to make things easier for us. Let's all focus together now." Twilight put her hooves out as Ash, Celestia and Luna formed a circle around Twilight.
Twilight would kick off the spell for it to link up with everyone else's. Watching this were Pikachu, Spike, Starlight and Cold Colt, ready to see how this magic worked.
The spell had been initiated as a stream of lights flew out of Twilight's horn, touching Ash, Celestia and Luna's minds. Once it touched them, their eyes opened, radiating a white glow. Pikachu and the others stepped back as four distinct colours illuminated from their bodies.
Azure blue, Light purple, Solar gold and Nightsky blue. Representing their colours perfectly. The colours were exceedingly bright, even shining so much that they could be seen from outside the castle. Someone could mistake this for a disco party from a first look. The culmination then formed a dome of Magic and Aura to emerge around them.
However, while few were aware of this action taking place, there was one other individual that took interest in this. An individual that was of the same energy as Cold Colt.
Staring from high above the clouds in the far distance was Lucien. By creating some binoculars that could look great distances, he witnessed their plan. Lucien was eager to do something to spice things up and he found his catch.
"Bingo. Merging different concepts of minds, eh? Hm-hm." Lucien nodded, tossing the binoculars away. "What can I do about that? I could just stay here and let it play out but..."
"I'll do it for you then!" Out of nowhere, taking Lucien by surprise was Sienna. She pointed past Lucien's face, zapping a bolt of cosmic energy. This was done out of pettiness.
"H-Hey!" Lucien stammered as the bolt had struck the dome of energies, affecting it. Right on time as Twilight had completely the spell. But now, it had a slither of Rift Energy affecting it as the one had faded gently. "Sienna!"
"Not so great when your plan also gets swiped, is it?" Sienna taunted him, paying him back for how he hijacked her plan a while back. "I'd say we're even!"
"Grr...!" Lucien growled, unable to give a clever retort. "Whatever! I bet you don't know what this is all about, anyway."
"You're right. I don't Won't stop me from messing with. And it looks like it's already in full swing for you to do anything. But I'd love to see how all of this turns out." Sienna chuckled as Lucien crossed his arms, pouting out of spite. Sienna then left the area, vanishing elsewhere.
Lucien was curious about what this meant since Sienna had interrupted with this scenario. As much as he hated to admit it, this had piqued his curiosity.
Once the light faded, Ash, Twilight Celestia and Luna were seen sitting down. But they weren't doing it to relax. Instead, they were currently within their minds. The spell worked like a charm.
"Nice! They did it!" Starlight cheered along with the others.
"Pikachu!" But as they cheered, waiting for their friends to wake up once they sort everything out inside whatever realm they had made, Pikachu was the first to notice something off. He looked at his arm, noticing how it was giving off the same four colours that Ash, Twilight, Celestia and Luna had. "Pika?"
"Hm?" Starlight noticed too. Soon everyone noticed how they were laminated with these four auras. "What's up with this?"
"Uh...Is this supposed to happen?" Cold asked.
"Gardevoir."
"Hold on." Starlight brought the book over with her magic, seeing if this was meant to happen to those not a part of the spell either. But, from what Starlight had gathered from this page and the next pages concerning this spell, nothing about it mentioned everyone gaining light around them. "No. There's nothing about it at all."
"So is it bad?!" Spike jumped to conclusions, screeching.
"Hold on! Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Starlight promptly stopped him. "After all, this spell hasn't been used in a long time. And Ash is the first human to be a part of it. This could have something to do with Ash's Aura. I highly doubt it's anything dangerous. I mean, look. We're still here and fine, aren't we?"
"So is everyone else." Cold replied, looking outside the window. Everyone then followed to gaze at what he was seeing. It wasn't just him and his friends within the castle.
Everypony in Ponyville had these lights flare from them. Including the Pokemon. They all looked confused as well. Some dismissed and ignored it as just as a natural wild occurrence due to their coexistence with the Pokemon World. Others were on the verge of panicking with how sudden it was.
"Everyone?" Starlight gawked. "I didn't think the spell would be this powerful."
"Pika..."
"So if that's happening out there to all of us, what's happening in there with them?" Spike wondered as they turned to face Ash and the others.
An unidentified new world.
Success. Ash and the others saw that they were in a completely new area that was the result of three different forces coming together. An ethereal area with the four colours that represented each of them was the entire landscape. From the top to the bottom. Sparkles could also be found glistening within them. It had a peaceful feeling to it. Ash could feel the Aura permeating through this area while Twilight, Celestia and Luna could feel magic as well.
"It worked!" Twilight laughed, jumping for joy."It worked! I don't know why I worry so much!"
"Well done, Twilight. That's why you were my top student." Celestia complimente her. She and the others took a moment to observe the area around them to see what else was new. Ash was the first to notice.
"Hey." He called for them, drawing their attention to something up ahead. Soon, they all saw what he saw. Right in front of them with a massive radius were 18 doors.
18 massive doors of 18 different colours that were spread out. And each of them had very familiar symbols on them. Mainly the ones belonging to the 18 Pokemon-Types.
"Check it out..." Ash pointed at the 18 doors. "These doors weren't here before. Plus they've all got the types on them. There's Electric, Dragon, Ghost, Flying and more. What do you think it means?"
"Well, we did say that it could create a new type of realm. And this is it." Twilight stepped forward. "These doors could lead to...well anything. Probably, different Pokemon reside there. Maybe. I don't know."
Just as they observed the doors, Celestia sensed something else within here. Her Boundless Cutie Mark reacted to a fourth force that did not belong to anyone here. She sensed Rift Energy. "Hold on. I can feel Rift Energy here."
"Really?" Luna turned to face her big sister. She was the only one aware of it but much like Ash, Twilight and Celestia, they could not see any Rift Energy here. But, they could at least witness some influence from it. And that came from the materialization of multiple figures into this ethereal space.
They faced the figures that were appearing via the four colours they represented. Many of them looked familiar, resembling friends that they know. Pikachu was the first to appear in this space.
"Pika?" Naturally, the Mouse Pokemon gasped for a moment, stunned by his sudden appearance. Soon, everyone else started showing up. Applejack, Espeon, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Goh, and more.
"You're all here?!" Ash gasped, seeing them all pop up simultaneously. A commotion started within this realm, mainly about how they all appeared here. And for once, it wasn't without warning. It went further.
"This shouldn't be happening. Rift Magic must certainly be behind this." Celestia observed.
"How did we get here?!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Weird...What is this place?" Sunset Shimmer along with her Braixen had also shown up to the area as it had even affected the other world.
"Just when I was in the middle of something." Brawly, who was also here, sighed. Almost everyone that Ash, Twilight, Celestia and Luna knew were here. Almost was the keyword. There were still some not present but a good majority were here.
Delia, Goh, Chloe, Ponyville residents, certain Gym Leaders, Pokemon, some Canterlot residents and more. Even Trainers of different occupations such as a single Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny plus Brock, a former Gym Leader who was now a Pokemon Breeder had shown up. Ash wasn't the only Champion here. Cynthia had been dragged into this as well.
"Ash. What's going on?" Delia asked.
"Uh...I don't know, mom." Ash shrugged, unable to give a clear answer. "We didn't think you'd all show up here."
"How did you all arrive here? The spell should've only sent us four here since this realm is our space." Luna questioned.
"Well, I think it has something to do with the four colours that were shining around us." Starlight answered. "We saw them appear around us but we weren't sure what it meant. And then all of a sudden, we all started sitting down with our eyes closed and now we're here."
"Similar to us." Celestia looked to Luna. "They most definitely did not do this with consciousness. I wouldn't even say sub-consciously. "Rift Magic is at play here. But it certainly can't be you, Cold Colt."
"Nope." Cold shook his head in response. "If I had to take a guess...It was probably either Lucien or Sienna."
"Those two again?" Rainbow Dash groaned.d "How come we haven't dealt with them yet? And uh...what even is this place? What's with those doors?"
"They all have Pokemon-Typings on them." Roxie noticed along with everyone else. "That looks pretty neat, doesn't it?"
"This right here. We made this." Ash pointed at himself. "We put our minds together with the Mind Link Spell and came out with this whole place. We're gonna use it to communicate with each other better. And put an end to Delayed Aura Ataxia too."
"Oh. Still working hard to stop it." Cynthia replied. "Good. But I didn't expect it to go this far. Then again, all of this just seems natural at this point, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. And about that...Just like with what Sir Aaron saw..." Ash faced the doors. "That weird force that exists somewhere in the Aura could also be in this realm. And it could be in any one of these doors."
"Oh, you're right." Twilight did recall that mysterious force and how it was related to Delayed Aura Ataxia and seemingly the only way to stop it.
"What are we all waiting for?!" Pinkie Pie bellowed, aiming her hoof at the many doors. "There are all these doors that lead to who-knows-where!"
"Pssh! I ain't going in there!" Aria objected. "Who knows what's lying behind those doors?"
"I kinda have something to do so. Not sure if I can stay around here right now. Mind if I leave?" Brawly asked.
"Sure. Go on ahead." Ash replied as he didn't have any control over them. "Since this has my Aura, maybe I can make you leave." Ash closed his eyes, using his Aura to try and send Brawly out. However, unlike before with the Aurascape, it did not work.
Ash was surprised by this as he certainly had the ability to do so. And this realm was certainly also the Aurascape combined with two other things. Brawly scratched his hair as he already knew what this meant. "I can't get out, can I?"
"I don't get it. It worked before." Ash looked at his hands.
"Wait! Don't tell me we're stuck here?!" Adagio bellowed.
"No. We can't jump to that just yet." Celestia halted Adagio before anyone could start panicking. But this is alarming. It could be from the Rift Magic most likely. We know how this spell works after all."
"Being in here wouldn't seem favourable but...none of us are hurt right now. So we're safe it looks like." An observable Twilight said. "Getting out here looks like it won't be so swift and easy though."
"Bummer." Rainbow Dash sighed before smiling. "But ya know...Pinkie Pie's got a point. What's behind those doors? Since we're all here, we should check it out, shouldn't we?"
"I'm with you on that," Ash replied in agreement. Everyone else by this point weren't too surprised that they were stuck here. If anything, this just seemed like a normal occurrence ever since their worlds had met with each other.
But they were all hoping to get out of here soon. They weren't being harmed right now. Plus this area did look enchanting to their eyes and those doors did intrigue some of them.
"You've got me a bit psyched about this." Roxie went up to the Electric-Type door. "Let's see what's behind here!" Eager to see what secrets lie in this new realm, she went to open the door. However, it didn't open. "Hm?" She tried again, pushing and pulling on it to see what would work. "What gives? I can't get through! What's the point of these if we can't even enter?"
"Let me see." Rainbow Dash went up to the Psychic-Type door, trying the same. But she ended up bashing her boy on the door instead but to no avail. "It's shut tight! Let me in!"
"Maybe there's a key somewhere?" Sweetie Belle looked around but there certainly wasn't a key anywhere at all as Rainbow Dash and Roxie were unable to get the two doors open.
"Hm..." Twilight thought about it for a second before sparking an idea. "Aha! Maybe they'll open in a specific way. What if it matters based on what type of Pokemon we have?"
"Type of Pokemon?" Spike repeated.
"Right. Roxie. You're a Poison-Type specialist, right? Try the Poison-Type door." The Princess of Friendship suggested. Roxanne gave it a go. In theory, this should work. She was a Poison-Type Gym Leader after all.
And Twilight's theory did work. The second Roxie touched the Poison-Type door, it started moving. Everyone's eyes shot up with awe afterwards. "Awesome!" Roxie cried out.
"So it is Type-sensitive! Knew it!" Twilight flapped her wings with joy. Now there was an easy way to pass through these doors, but one other question needed to be answered.
"Oh. So it's not a problem for us Gym Leaders then." Brawly chuckled. "Nice. Guess I'm grabbing that Fighting-Type door then."
"Wait, what about the rest of us? What do we take?" Rainbow Dash brought up the biggest question considering a majority of everyone here doesn't stick to one type. They have Pokemon of different types.
"Well, that's easy for me." Spike raised his arm. "I'm all Dragon."
"Uhh for everyone else...Maybe it works for all of us?" Twilight theorized once more. "Rainbow Dash. You don't have a Psychic-Type. But I do. So maybe, some of us can open multiple doors based on how many Pokemon we have."
"Huh..." Ash and the others thought about it for a second. It made sense to them. The ones who have caught the most Pokemon were Ash, Goh, Rarity, Brock and a few others. "How about this then?"
Ash went for the doors along with Rarity. He took the Electric-Type door while Rarity took the Bug-Type door. Sure enough, it reacted accordingly but that was expected. Pikachu was Ash's partner while Rarity had 12 Leavanny and a Pheromosa.
So it was time for them to test the other doors. Ash then put his hand on the Water-Type door as it also moved, confirming that it was Type-sensitive with everyone depending on which Pokemon they received.
"That settles it," said Ash. "But it looks like we all might have to take separate doors. We've all got different Pokemon, don't we?"
"That means being in separate groups." Cynthia went up to Ash. "We'll have to be careful since we won't know what lies beyond those doors."
"Then how about..." Celestia thought for a moment, observing everyone. "All those who share Pokemon of similar types and are the most frequent type, group together. That way, it will be easy."
And it certainly was. Everyone knew their types and the most frequent Type that they had as they got together in specific groups. Some Gym Leaders were identical depending on the region. Brawly grouped with Bea since they were both Fighting-Type specialists.
Brock, despite not being a Gym Leader anymore, does have more Rock-Types than he has with any other type. So he stuck by Roxanne along with Maud and Limestone.
"We meet again, Maud. How's Bastiodon now?" Brock held his hand out to Maud.
"Better," Maud said in her dry tone. "Thanks for helping out that one time."
Twilight, Celestia, Cadence and Luna stuck by each other due to them sharing a common typing. Fairy. And to an extent Psychic with just three of them.
Rainbow Dash had more Flying-Types on her team so she stuck by Ash who always has a Flying-Type in every region he's been in so far.
"So this is what you look like as a Human?" Fluttershy partner with Sunset Shimmer who was currently in her human form after being pulled from the Human World.
"Right...Even today it still feels weird..." Sunset laughed nervously.
"Stay close to me, ya hear?" Applejack said to Apple Bloom. For the foals, they were slightly exempt as Rarity and Applejack wanted to take care of their little sisters. But it also worked since they also shared Pokemon of similar types.
Cynthia stuck with Ash along with Goh as well, having Pokemon of multiple types instead of just one. If anything, many flocked to Ash due to the number of Pokemon he's caught over the years. Soon, everyone had their groups set. They were ready to tackle whatever was behind those doors.
All 18 doors were theirs to choose from. It could be an exciting adventure and exploration waiting for them past these doors. And also a quest to find the mysterious force that was linked to Delayed Aura Ataxia.
"Alright," Ash said, facing the doors. "Let's do this, everyone."
A realm that was made by the combined minds of Ash, Twilight, Celestia and Luna respectively. Appearing with an ethereal area and 18 doors that had the symbol of all 18 Pokemon Types that stood there.
And appearing in this mind realm were Ash, Twilight, Celestia, Luna and almost everyone they knew. Ranging from Gym Leaders, Ponyville and Canterlot Residents and more.
Due to the doors being type sensitive, responding to anyone who has a Pokemon of a certain type, many of them split into 18 groups and would choose different doors.
And amidst all of this, a strange force was on the move. Not the Rift Energy that had meddled with this realm but something else. As everyone selected specific doors, an enigmatic force watched them. Ash did mention how there was this force that was seemingly linked to Delayed Aura Ataxia. Little did he and everyone know that this force was watching them.
This strange Aura entity had then decided to follow them. And it did so by flying into every door simultaneously, going undetected. It was unclear as to if this force was being hostile or not.
At the moment, Sunset Shimmer, who was in her human form at the moment, passed through the Fire gate with Fluttershy and Scootaloo. And once they opened it, the Rift Energy that affected via Sienna's interference this realm crackled in front of their eyes for a moment.
Immediately, they had come across what seemed to be an amusement park. Not the first thing to come to mind when entering a Fire-related location. But of course, there was still fire. Mainly how almost everything either had fire around them or were made out of fire as a construct.
The buildings were fire constructs, the rides all either had obstacles of fire or even magma flowing out of them. And coupled with this were volcanoes that were casually acting as mountains for this area. Anything that would build up complete an utter fear, the roller coaster also had fire wheels.
There was a boat-based ride where the ship was sailing on a sea of fire. Miraculously, it did not burn up. Almost as if it was made to withstand the flames. There was also a carousel that had plastic Rapidash on them.
To say that this place had heat was an understatement. The only thing not related to fire were the skies as they were still blue.
"Yeesh...!" Sunset uttered, squinting her eyes at this blazing sight. "This is some heat!"
"Saw this coming a bit. This is a Fire-Type Pokemon's paradise." Scootaloo said before sending out her Ponyta and Cyndaquill for them to soak up this heat. Sunset Shimmer's Braixen was already taking it all in along with Fluttershy's Raboot.
"But I didn't expect it to be a theme park. What's up with that?" Sunset Shimmer said. "I thought it would be some kind of crag area or something like that."
"It looks fun, doesn't it? Although dangerous." Fluttershy replied before spotting Fire-Type Pokemon within this area. Of course, it was to be expected for them to live here. However, she soon noticed something else that was not a Pokemon roaming around. From the corner of her eye, a strange fiery force zoomed past one of the volcanoes in the blink of an eye. "Hm?"
"This means we can have fun, right?!" Scootaloo ran ahead along with her Pokemon, wanting to explore this amusement park. That was only natural. She was a child so this was the perfect place for her to be. Plus, her Pokemon share her child-like tendencies.
"Huh? Wait, hold on!" Sunset gasped, holding her hand out to Scootaloo before promptly chasing her. "Can't you see all the fire here?!"
"It'll be fine! We can't be hurt in this place since it's a bunch of minds, right?!" Scootaloo giggled before getting on one of the rides. The first one she chose was the rollercoaster. Certainly a massive first choice.
The rollercoaster was modelled after a Charizard, having its body elongated to fit the rollercoaster theme. She and her Pokemon hope onto it, getting the front seats.
Sunset was still cautious about this considering how there were still visible threats in a world of fire. But then again, Scootaloo could have a point about them not being hurt. But Sunset was going to take any chances. She got onto the rollercoaster seats along with Braixen.
"So eager. Taking things slow here isn't going to happen, is it?" said Sunset Shimmer. "But what do we even do here? Besides, explore."
"Duh. We have fun. I don't know why this amusement park's here but I'm gonna have a blast with it too. You should do the same, Sunset."
"Hm...Sure. Not sure what everyone else is doing right now, but I'll have some fun. Let's get this rolling!" Just as she raised her arms, getting in the mood of things, the enigmatic force with the body of fire suddenly appeared behind the rollercoaster. No one else saw it except for Fluttershy.
"Huh? Hey!" Fluttershy cried out once noticing it. The enigmatic force had then lightly tapped the back of the rollercoaster which was the tail of a Charizard. Just a single touch and the rollercoaster started moving without any of the usual commands.
"Wooooooaaaah!" They started screaming once the rollercoaster moved. And it instantly reached a high velocity without any proper buildup. It went upwards to the upper part of the coaster as Fluttershy watched the enigmatic force of fire wisp away.
"This is some ride!" Scootaloo cried out with her face muscles being wobbled from the adrenaline and speed that the ride was giving off. Sunset Shimmer's long hair flowed in the wind as Braixen was the most terrified. It was revealed that she had a fear of heights. Especially at a rapid speed.
"B-B-B-B-Braixen!" The Fox Pokemon screeched with tears flowing out as she held onto Sunset Shimmer for dear life. The coaster was only increasing in speed, not even reaching its top velocity yet.
All of the Pokemon watched the coaster move as Fluttershy decided to go after them, hoping that they would be okay. As for the ride itself, apart from the high-velocity coaster, the obstacles that it entailed were just as intimidating. In between one of the tracks, a pillar of fire could be seen, violently flowing as it stood between the next track.
"!" Sunset's already startled and amazed face expanded into one of pure shock and terror. The Fire-Types would be fine if they came into contact with this pillar but the same couldn't be said for Sunset Shimmer and Scootaloo.
They couldn't do anything to stop this from happening. The coaster was moving too fast and any sudden movements could result in them flying off with a horrible result. All they could do was close their eyes.
"Oh no!" Fluttershy certainty wasn't fast enough either as she closed her eyes, hoping that they would make it.
"Boot!" But Raboot felt like he could do something at least. The Rabbit Pokemon jumped onto Audino's head, using her as a platform for extra height. After leaping through the air, he had then jumped on Fluttershy's back for another boost in height.
After getting that second height boost, he had used High Jump Kick next, zooming through the air and towards the rails of the coaster at considerable speeds that were just enough to get him close before the jump to the next rails could happen.
"Ra...Boot!" By the skin of his teeth, Raboot had kicked the bottom of the rails that the coaster was on, using the force of High Jump Kick to make it bounce slightly. That was all Raboot could do as he started falling.
"Raboot!" Fluttershy cried out, grabbing Raboot before he could hit the ground. That was a valiant effort on his part as he was hoping that his interference at least did something.
And it did. That momentary bounce allowed for the coaster to zoom over the pillar of fire once it left the rails. Only by a smidge. The bottom of the coaster had been burnt but it still managed to get through without anyone being hurt, touching the next rails.
"Hoh!" Sunset's heart was beating as for a moment there, she felt as if that was the end. But Scootaloo was absolutely loving this.
"Woohoo!" Scootaloo cheered with a thrill as Braixen was passed out from the shock. Ponyta was fine with it considering he was a Pokemon all about speed. Cyndaquill just stayed curled up in a ball to make himself feel safe.
The ride continued as next was the signature loop that most coaster rides have. But this one was close to one of the volcanoes in the area. The enigmatic force appeared once more, touching the volcano. Immediately, it started rumbling, ready to erupt with magma flowing out.
The nearest volcano erupted, shooting out magma into the sky azure sky. And from the looks of it, it was threatening to fall onto the tracks. And it did. The lava and even the droplets touched the rails, melting them. But only the ones behind the coaster.
Speaking of the coaster, eventually, with little time, the lava had touched it. Mainly the back of the coaster, melting the tail and a few other seats behind it.
"Seriously?!" Sunset Shimmer turned around, noticing the lava as more of it kept coming. "What's with this ride?!"
"This is awesome, isn't it?!" Scootaloo cheered as she was loving it more than Sunset Shimmer Fluttershy was hoping that this ride could just end soon.
Thankfully, that looked to be the case as the ride, despite being wild, was fairly short. But the lava kept coming, melting more. They moved around the loops, managing to be free from the lava in that instance.
The enigmatic force faded away afterwards as the magma didn't fully catch the entire coaster. Eventually, the ride came to an end, moving in a twist before ending up at the same location it started at.
"Haah...Hah..." Sunset Shimmer breathed in and out, hyperventilating as she had never experienced such a rush before. Braixen was still passed out from all of that as Scootaloo giggled.
"Are you all alright?!" Fluttershy flew over, holding Raboot.
"We're still alive..." Sunset trembled, giving a shaky thumbs-up.
"Wasn't that amazing! That was just as fun as Pokemon Festival ride!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "Totally worth it!"
"Not totally worth it!" Sunset begged to differ, startling Scootaloo. "We could've been burnt or melted! This new realm might not make us safe even if it's in our minds!"
"Oh. I-I'm sorry." Scootaloo pouted after the shout. "I was just excited about the amusement park and..."
"Sorry, sorry." But it was Sunset who gave the bigger apology. "I was getting heated there...Heh." She then let out a slight chuckle, realizing she made a fitting pun. "This is all so new after all."
"You have a point, Sunset." Fluttershy chimed in. "I think there's something planning on harming us. Right behind the coaster, I saw something push it to make it go fast in an instant. It's not just us and the Pokemon in here."
"So something did this on purpose? Where?" Sunset Shimmer stood up, carrying Braixen on her back, getting off the coaster along with everyone else. And with great timing without them knocking. The entire coaster had caught on fire instantly. Sunset and the others backed away once the flames sprouted. "!"
"I think everywhere!" Fluttershy stood close to Sunset, shuddering. Sunset Shimmer held out a Poke Ball, ready to tackle whatever was coming their way as the rollercoaster ended melting into nothing.
That's when she and Scootaloo also saw this enigmatic force moving. Their eyes tracked it as it had an unidentifiable appearance. Something they just couldn't make out. But it did have the force of fire around it. "What's that?!" Scootaloo asked as the enigmatic force kept moving. Then, it disappeared seconds later, entering one of the rides in the distance.
"That's what I saw earlier," said Fluttershy. "I don't know what it is other than just fire."
"Why's it here? Is someone doing this?" Scootaloo asked.
"Could be magic," Sunset replied, waiting for the force to do something. And it did something. But nothing hostile like before. It appeared outside of the ride it had passed through, floating there as it was facing Fluttershy and the others.
It was hard to tell if it had a face. But if it did, then it was definitely staring them down. But the intent was unknown. It would be assumingly volatile considering that it made one of the volcanoes erupt, damaged the coaster and almost destroyed the tracks as well.
This staredown lasted for a few seconds. 30 to be exact. Almost a full minute. It just went from intimidating to awkward with total silence. Even the Pokemon and the constant flames and volcanoes couldn't drown out this silence.
"This is awkward..." Sunset scratched her hair. "Why isn't it doing anything?"
"It's not too violent from the looks of it." An equally confused Fluttershy shrugged. "But there's still something off about it."
"I don't know what's up with that thing but..." Scootaloo squinted her eyes, getting behind her Ponyta. "If it's up to something then me and my Pokemon can maybe handle it. I mean, they're fire so they gotta resist it, right? We can maybe pull off something awesome on it! Then we'll be heroes just like Ash and Pikachu! Isn't that right, you two?"
"Ponyta!"
"Cyndaquill!"
"Hey now. I like your passion but don't get too ahead of yourself." Sunset slowed her down. "And talking more gracefully instead of aggressive is the hero way."
"Really?" Scootaloo responded.
"Really. I mean...I don't wanna brag or anything..." Sunset chuckle, adjusting her jacket with a glimmer in her eyes. "I'm sort of a hero back in the human world. Even though I'm mostly known around Canterlot High and stuff."
"Oh, right. You never told us about what you've done in the Human World, Sunset." Fluttershy said as their focus on the force had quickly diminished due to this conversation about heroes and otherworlds.
"Guess not. I should catch you up to speed someday about all of that. Plus, this is mostly advice from Rarity in the other world, but a hero should always speak elegantly." She raised a finger, quoting Rarity. "And I think so too." It'll make you come off as more striking that way, Scootaloo."
"Huh? Nah. That's kinda lame. Heroes gotta be cool and all that, ya know." Scootaloo revealed her preference for the best kind of hero. Mainly by how they act. And since her biggest inspiration was Ash, it was a massive contrast to everyone else and how they would be as heroes.
"Lame." "Lame.""Lame." That voice rung through Sunset's ears like a horrifying premonition that sent shivers down anyone's spine.
"L-Lame?!" Sunset pulled back, surprised by that comment. She may not look like it but she does take interest in Presentation. Whether by her own traits or the influence of her friends. "Wait a second! It's not lame!" She leaned in on Scootaloo with a cross face.
"Guhh!" Scootaloo froze on the spot with a grimace, pulling back. "S-Sorry?" She squeed, intimidated by Sunset Shimmer's fiery passion.
"I think you both make great heroes," Fluttershy spoke, as she liked both kinds of heroes. Whether they're the energetic and cool ones or the elegant and sharp ones.
"Audino."
"I-In any case. Let's just see what's up with that thing." Sunset cleared her throat, facing the enigmatic entity.
"I know what to do. I say we battle it!" Scootaloo chose to battle against the entity. "We'll make it just Fire on Fire on this! Cyndaquill, use Flame Wheel! Ponyta, Flame Charge!"
"Cynda...Quill!" Cyndaquill curled into a ball, summoning a wheel of fire around his body before rolling ahead. Ponyta did the same, stomping his hooves on the ground before gaining an aura of fire. He then galloped, running alongside Cyndaquil.
"Boot!" Raboot wanted a piece of the action as he had also used Flame Charge, running alongside his fellow Fire-Types.
"Oh! Wait, Raboot!" Fluttershy cried out. The trio approached the enigmatic force, creating a trail of fire that could be seen from afar.
And as they approached it, the entity had suddenly changed shape. Scootaloo, Sunset and Fluttershy squinted to see what form it was taking. From the looks of it, it was forming the shape of a human. More specifically, a human wearing an outfit as the shape of a hat and a cape could be seen.
But more than that, in the blink of an eye, something appeared right in front. Someone. A giant force of Aura emerged out of thin air, blocking the three Fire-Types. The Aura had then blown Ponyta, Cyndaquill and Raboot back, shaking the area.
"P-Pony!"
"Ponyta!" Scootaloo cried out, attempting to catch Ponyta. But Ponyta was too heavy as he crashed into Scootaloo. Sunset Shimmer managed to catch both of them, saving them from taking further harm.
"Are you okay?!" Fluttershy asked with a worried tone. Raboot grunted before looking ahead. Then, the Aura began to part, showing a figure within it.
It was a Lucario.
Rather, a Lucario that had an ethereal appearance. Its entire body from top to bottom was flowing with ethereal-like energy, akin to a wisp.
"Lucario?" Fluttershy uttered as they all gawked as this Ethereal Lucario. It felt like they had just witnessed a spectre. The Lucario then stared at them for a moment before descending. It didn't make a sound when it touched the ground. Just then, the Pokemon within this amusement park had suddenly vanished, leaving behind blue sparkles.
"Raboot...!" Raboot then growled at the strange Lucario, hopping out of Fluttershy's grasp as he felt provoked by that push.
The human-shaped entity of fire then went up to Lucario, placing its hand on the Aura Pokemon. Just then, as there was abrupt silence within this area, Sunset asked a question to the Ethereal Lucario.
"What kind of Lucario are you? And who is that?"
"Rrr..." But Lucario didn't respond properly. It merely put its arms out, exuding Aura. Afterwards, its Aura started spreading, gripping onto the amusement park and replacing the crimson flames with an ethereal azure blue aura. The human-shaped entity even changed colours.
As this odd phenomenon was occurring, Fluttershy ended up noticing something. Once the entity's colours changed and its visage was trembling from Lucario's actions, Fluttershy recognized the cape and the hat.
"Wait a minute..." She uttered quietly before booming her voice. "Is that an Aura Guardian?!"
"An Aura Guardian?!" Scootaloo gasped as the only one unaware of Aura Guardians was Sunset Shimmer. After shouting the name 'Aura Guardian', the volcanoes erupted. But no magma flew out of them. Instead, a blinding light of Aura came their way. They covered their eyes, unable to do much against this bright light.
But thankfully, this did not last that long as the light faded away. Fluttershy's group could safely open their eyes. And once they did, the amusement park was in a less favourable state. Mainly because the Ethereal Lucario had damaged it from its sheer Aura exertion. Any further destruction and it would most certainly become a crag area for Fire-Types.
"What's it even trying to do?!" shouted Sunset.
"I think it might be trying to tell us something!" Fluttershy replied as the Ethereal Lucario started approaching them with ethereal footsteps. Constant Aura pulses were flowing out with each step it took.
"Tell us what?!" Scootaloo turned to her fellow pegasus as Fluttershy was the only one who could seemingly understand Lucario. This helped since she had some Fairy magic in her to hear Pokemon, courtesy of her bond with Audino.
"Lucario's angry. Very angry! So is that Aura Guardian! Something's driving its anger!"
"Lu...CARIO!" Lucario finally spoke, letting out a cry that echoed as if it was in the cosmos. A flare of Aura emerged afterwards.
"Whatever's making it angry, can we do something about it?! It looks like it could hit us at any moment!" Scootaloo asked.
"I'm already ah-" Sunset was ready to send out one of her Pokemon, only for Fluttershy to stop her.
"No! We shouldn't battle!"
"We shouldn't?!" They both screeched. "They felt that if they didn't defend themselves, it could end poorly. Usually, Pokemon Battles are the best self-defence. But according to Fluttershy, that wasn't the case right now.
"We should just try and escape right now! Just trust me!"
"Escape? But-" Sunset uttered, cut off once more by Fluttershy. The pegasus grabbed her hands with her hooves, pleading with her.
"Just trust me, okay? As your friend."
"A-Alright." Sunset could trust Fluttershy as she seemed truly earnest about this. And from the tone of her voice, this was a scenario where for once, Pokemon Battling would not be the ultimate solution. She immediately ran for the door that led to the outside, hoping to make a quick getaway instantly.
The Lucario just stood there once it saw Sunset run for the door. It didn't try to stop her. Mostly because once Sunset reached it, the door had vanished before her eyes, going out in a blaze of flames. FItting.
"Huh?! No-no-no!" Sunset came to a screeching halt, witnessing the door fade away. "Another entryway I have to see vanish! Where'd it go this time?!"
Right after the door vanished, seemingly eradicating a chance of leaving this area, Lucario continued moving. And this time, it picked up the pace. It was now in a running motion.
"Run! Now!" Fluttershy exclaimed as they all had the same thought. Although, Raboot and Ponyta felt like having a battle. But they trusted Fluttershy in her choice.
They all began fleeing from the Ethereal Lucario with the Aura Guardian of Fire turning into a wisp and following them afterwards. A chase ensued between them with Lucario suddenly hovering off the ground. The group would have to use the amusement park and beyond as a way to potentially escape.
Along with that, a trail of fire flew beside Lucario, aiding it. The group had run up one of the rides that had a downwards and upwards slope. Thankfully, they had enough momentum to get past them. Mostly Audino, Cyndaquill and Sunset who was carrying Braixen. Fluttershy just flew over it while Scootaloo hopped onto Ponyta's back. Raboot, being a rabbit-based Pokemon was self-explanatory.
"LU!" The Ethereal Lucario had then summoned an Aura Sphere that seemed to have fire around it. The Ethereal Lucario then threw them as they flew with a streak of fire. Once the group moved past the slope, the sphere had combusted, releasing an explosion of both Aura and Fire.
The ground had been destroyed as a result as the group hopped into one of the vehicles of the ride. This vehicle was shaped like a Graveler with its mouth open. There were seats in there as they hopped inside of the seat mouths. And thanks to an explosion of the flaming Aura Sphere, the shockwave allowed the vehicles to move.
The vehicles and their wheels moved with quick acceleration thanks to what the Ethereal Lucario had done. It had moved through the ride, going through another loop akin to that of the rollercoaster.
They then moved through a tunnel that had Arbok faces on the side, breathing out fire. It was hard to tell if this was the doing of the realm or how the amusement park actually played out. Either way, they ducked from the flames of each Arbok head as the tunnel had been lit up.
As for the Ethereal Lucario, once it entered the tunnel, it had effortlessly moved past the flames. The travel of fire simply absorbed some of the fire around the Arbok heads to increase its size.
The Ethereal Lucario then started throwing consecutive Aura Spheres violently with a barrage of explosions following afterwards. The vehicles jumped from Lucario's shockwave as Braixen was finally waking up.
"Braixen...?" Once she woke up, she saw everyone in these Graveler vehicles. The Fox Pokemon then turned around to see the Ethereal Lucario right before her eyes. "Braix?!"
The ride then had a two-way track as Sunset and Fluttershy's vehicles ended up splitting up once they came across that split track. That prompted the Ethereal Lucario and the trail of fire to split up and follow one.
The Ethereal Lucario zoomed through the air, moving so fast it left afterimages of itself. Its Aura permeated through the tracks, causing them to rattle along with the vehicles riding them. "Woah!" Scootaloo held on tight to Ponyta. Suddenly, The Ethereal Lucario caught up thanks to the rattling appearing beside Scootaloo and Sunset. "Yikes!"
"LUCA!" It prepared another Aura Sphere as all of its afterimages entered it afterwards.
"I still have to do something at least! Braixen, Fire Spin!"
"Xien!" Braixen wasn't sure what was going on, but she knew what to do if her trainer ever felt threatened. She held her stick out, generating a sphere of fire. That sphere then released a spiral of flames that went towards Lucario.
However, the Aura Sphere instantly obliterated the Fire Spin as if it was nothing. Braixen gasped as the Aura Sphere struck the Graveler vehicle, damaging it with a hole in the side. Scootaloo and Sunset Shimmer cried out, almost falling off of the vehicle.
The vehicle went off track, leaving the ride. It had then started rolling its wheels on the floor with less velocity than before. The Ethereal Lucario pursued them either way. Obstacles of fire suddenly emerged that were in front of Sunset and her group.
Sunset Shimmer then tried doing something else. And that was steering the Graveler vehicle if she could. She nudged her body to the side with all of the efforts that she could muster, pulling off a powerful lean to try and control the vehicle. Scootaloo saw this as she tried the same. So did their Pokemon as their combined strength could maybe move it.
And it did. They ended up moving past one of the pillars of fire but the rest of them were still a threat. They tilted their bodies once more, avoiding the pillars of fire as if they were a part of the ride. Which they weren't. As for Fluttershy, she flew out of the vehicle once the fire caught up with her.
Audino and Raboot jumped out of it as the fire had consumed the Graveler vehicle. Fluttershy then saw a spot for them to hide as she quickly went to alert Sunset Shimmer and the others while the trail of fire was chasing her down.
Sunset's group ended up avoiding most of the pillars, only for the Ethereal Lucario's Aura Sphere to absorb them and gain an extra layer of aura in the form of fire. More constant flaming explosions went off as the Graveler vehicle had suffered too much damage from the shockwaves.
Eventually, the next Aura Sphere ended up knocking them out of the vehicle as they were sent flying. Scootaloo closed her eyes as Sunset Shimmer held onto her, holding the little pegasus close.
"Audino!" Audino held her arms out once she saw them flying. She appeared in front of them, stopping in place. Audino thankfully cushioned their impact with her durable body. They crashed into the Hearing Pokemon, but thankfully, Audino resisted it, catching them all. "D-Dino!"
"Right here!" Fluttershy then cried out, showing the area for them to hide in. Some sort of smokescreen that was a part of another ride. Fluttershy went towards it as it concealed her. Sunset and the others promptly followed after her. The Ethereal Lucario and the trail of fire kept up with them still.
"Braixen!" Braixen quickly used her Psychic abilities, causing an illusion in front of them. That illusion was showing them a fake-out and twisting their point of view.
"Lu?" The Ethereal Lucario then felt itself crash into a wall that seemingly wasn't there. But it was. Braixen's illusion worked well as she had entered the smokescreen with Lucario and the trail of fire being caught in an illusion for the meanwhile.
Once they entered the smokescreen, it was revealed to be next to a volcano. Thankfully not an active one. They could have some time to breathe thankfully. They came to a screeching halt, breathing in and out.
"T-That was close..." Sunset uttered with pants. "Talk about aggression."
"Y-Yeah..." Scootaloo agreed with her. "Now what do we do? I don't think they're gonna leave us alone. And how do we get out of here since the door's gone?"
"The Lucario is angry about something. I don't quite know what it is but I can feel its rage." Fluttershy explained. "Now that we've slowed down, I think I can try and reason with it."
"Reason with it?" Scootaloo repeated whilst hearing the growls of Lucario. It was using the power of Aura to sense them. Hiding somewhere didn't matter with the power of Aura as the little pegasus gulped. "A-Are you sure."
"I should at least try." Fluttershy nodded, deciding to step out and try and speak with Lucario to hopefully put an end to this conflict. The Ethereal Lucario had already found them with the trail of fire behind it.
"Lu...!" It growled aggressively, shaking the area as its fearsome stare intensified once it saw Fluttershy step out of the smokescreen.
"Wait! Wait!" Fluttershy cried out, asking for the Ethereal Lucario to stop. "Lucario! Let me speak with you for a moment!"
"Rrr?" Lucario did stop for a bit.
"I can tell you're upset but I don't know what's making you upset. Something happened to you, didn't it? Did it involve you and your Trainer? The Aura Guardian."
"Rrr!" Lucario made an audible gasp after that as Fluttershy was on the right track with her perception.
"This place...Ash said that something relating to Delayed Aura Ataxia existed within the Aurascape. And this is part of the Aurascape, isn't it? Could it be that...the Auria Guardian over there was another Aura User who had been affected by it?"
"LUCA...!" Lucario growled, clenching its teeth as its Aura grew exponentially. A fearsome glow emerged as Lucario's Aura gained fire as well. Even the trail of fire, separate from Lucario, had intensified, showing signs of rage.
"A-Audino!" Audino gasped, fearing that Fluttershy could be harmed. But Fluttershy, who had one eye closed, held her hoof out to ask Audino to wait.
Lucario's burning spirit was growing with everlasting rage. The rage of it was just as intense as the volcanoes. Probably even more than the sun as rumbling could be heard.
"Lucario. We didn't want to interfere if we did but...there's hope."
"Rrr?" Lucario's burning spirit calmed down for a bit but it was still aggressively intense, lighting up the area with a blue and red glow.
"My friend Ash is doing what he can to try and stop Delayed Aura Ataxia. He knows how dangerous it is and is willing to find a cure for it. When he does, no one else with Aura will have to suffer."
"Rrr...!" Lucario looked to the side with a snarl.
"I know you think he might end up like the others." Fluttershy translated. "But please, have faith." Just then, after those words, an Aura of fire also appeared around Fluttershy's body.
"Oh?" Sunset and Scootaloo said, noticing the Aura emerge out of the pegasus. But this fire was different. While Lucario's was burning and blazing with aggressive rage, Fluttershy's had a gentle blaze that had a soothing feel to it. Similar to a fireplace during the winter.
Fluttershy then flew to Lucario to show her kindness some more. Lucario did not attack at all as the pegasus appeared in front of it. "Trust me, Lucario. And since he's working hard, Ash is inspiring others to do the same. A friend of ours named Cynthia is also helping. So are more. They know about Ataxia and they want to solve it. I may not know how to, but I know they will. And then, you can be at ease along with your Aura Guardian."
"L-Lu...!" Lucario's eyes closed with its fire growing. But this aggressive fire was quickly overpowered by Fluttershy's fire. The Aura Pokemon then looked at the trail of fire which took the form of the Aura Guardian. Just then, tears formed in Lucario's eyes.
Both were from the past since Aura Guardians, a gigantic majority of them, had suddenly vanished. And the Lucario species felt this pain. All of them. The Aura Guardians were close to them in every way. So, having their loved ones perish with a force that they were unable to stop was heart-wrenching, even though they had the power of Aura on their side.
"C-Cario!" Lucario went to hug the visage of its friend with tears flowing out. The manifested fire had then calmed down before feeling itself become as warm as Fluttershy's aura of fire.
Fluttershy had just shown another form of fire. While the aggressive and violent fire exists, the one that is calming and careful was nothing to be ignored. Some say that it is the perfect duality, similar to blue fire.
This was Fluttershy's fiery kindness that permeated through the area. And because of this, a new door had materialized out of fire. And this one had a new symbol on it. It had the symbol of Fairy instead of fire.
"Check that out." Sunset pointed out. "It's Fairy this time?"
"Braix?"
"Lucario." Fluttershy grabbed Lucario's palm. "Wait for him, okay? Wait for Ash."
"L-Lucario..." Lucario nodded as it just wanted to spend some more time with its Aura Guardian. Fluttershy left it alone for a moment of peace before descending.
She had solved the issue without instigating any conflict. Fluttershy then soon noticed the door of Fairy. "Oh? When did that show up?"
"Fluttershy!" Sunset and the others ran up to her. Amazed by what she had done, Sunset Shimmer, with her human hands, picked up Fluttershy from the ground as if she was a toy. "That was amazing! I didn't see that coming!"
"Yeah-yeah!" Scootaloo nodded vigorously.
"Thank you." Fluttershy smiled. "Not everything can be solved with a Pokemon Battle. Sometimes, it takes more or even less than that. I couldn't stand by and watch Lucario feel like this. I'm sure that we'll solve this Ataxia problem. 100%."
"Well...what about the door then? How come it's Fairy this time?" Scootaloo wondered.
"No idea." Fluttershy shook her head. "But we have somewhere else to go. Let's see if we can find anyone else and tell them what's going on."
They then made their way towards the Fairy Door. Fluttershy technically had a Fairy-Type. Mainly when Audino Mega Evolves. However, this wouldn't be like the doors on the outside as Sunset Shimmer was the first to touch. She didn't own a Fairy-Type and yet, she could move it. She could also feel Fluttershy's Aura as well.
Fluttershy's Aura was certainly the cause of this door appearing. And that allowed them t pass through even without a Fairy-Type. They would leave the fire area and allow Lucario to have a moment of peace.
And yet, Sunset Shimmer couldn't help but wonder one thing that still confused her.
Everyone was still within the realm of minds, sitting down with their eyes closed. Almost all of them. Not everyone was in that realm. But a majority of the ponies, humans and Pokemon that Ash knew and was friends with.
Some residents of Ponyville were exempt. And three certain characters were also free from this. Team Rocket. After coming back from their job over at Canterlot where they now work for not only Zecora but Glittercook, they felt like taking a long rest, unaware of the current situation so far.
"Aah...We had mountains of treasures when we went to Pegalysium that one time. How'd it all go down the drain so fast?" Jessie groaned.
"You couldn't help getting more fabulous for your contests with every piece of vanity you could find. Not that I blame you." James replied.
"These bits are at least consistent..." Jessie held out the bits she received from work. "Wish Zecora could do the same from time to time. I could maybe buy a house here with a few more."
"About that...ain't it a bit quiet here?" Meowth was the first to notice the silence. With a majority of the Ponyville residents currently in a state of mind, very few were still active. They then saw how a majority of them were sitting down with their eyes closed. "Hey. What gives?"
"Some sort of town traditional meditation?" James wondered.
"It's kinda creepy, don't you think?" Jessie shuddered at this uncomfortable sight. She then noticed how Derpy was flying around, being one of the few ponies who wasn't sent into this state of mind. "Hey! Muffins!" Jessie cried out for her.
"That's me. Hello!" Derpy waved at them.
"What's going on here? Why's everyone sitting around like that? Is something happening?" Jessie asked.
"Sorry. No idea." Derpy shrugged with her tongue out. "Everypony started glowing all of a sudden and sat down looking like that. I didn't get the same though. Same with Granny Smith and Big Macintosh."
"Really?" Team Rocket then slid over to one of the ponies sitting down. They observed the pony, Carrot Top to be exact, seeing how static she was. Jessie then decided to poke her to see if something would happen.
A poke on the cheek happened. But there was no response. One more and no response yet again. Team Rocket then went towards other ponies and Pokemon, trying to see if they could get a response out of them via nudges and pokes. But no one responded at all as Derpy and her Wooper just watched their movements.
"They're all completely out of commission," said James.
"Less creepy than a Ghost Town too..." Meowth gawked.
"Hang on a minute." Jessie then had something brewing in her mind. A chance that they could take and it was staring them in their faces. Just then, a sparkle occurred in her eyes as the most obvious thing to do was incoming. She then looked at Derpy before grabbing Meowth and James, pulling them elsewhere.
Derpy and Wooper just went on with their day.
"Don't you two realize what this means? If there was ever a chance for us to nab as much Pokemon as we can, now's that chance." Jessie said.
"Oooh." James got what she was saying. "The best opportunity comes to us from total silence."
"And if no one's there to hear it, did we really steal 'em?" Meowth grinned.
"There are still those who can hear it. That Derpy one's not knocked out. But on the plus side, there's no Audino that'll be an issue for us." Jessie giggled. "And if the stars are aligned properly, that means Pikachu's waiting for us here~"
"Taking their Pokemon while they're all unresponsive. Only a criminal would do that," said James before the three of them put on a devious grin. They cheered together, ready to take full advantage of this silence to steal as many Pokemon as they can. Especially Ash's Pikachu.
"The sound of silence is the best kind of sound!" They exclaimed in unison.
"Wobbuffet!"
And to them, even if Derpy spotted them, they felt as if she wouldn't be that big of a threat. And whatever occurs next on the outside will not be experienced by all those on the inside.
The 18 Realms.
Previously, Fluttershy, Sunset Shimmer and Scootaloo, who had passed through the Fire-Type door, had gained success from it. Fluttershy showed her burning kindness to an Ethereal Lucario, solving an issue without a Pokemon Battle, led to them going through another door that appeared in the area.
The Fairy-Type door. They assumed that this new led to the Fairy-Type area. However, once they passed through, they found out that it brought them back to the area where the 18 doors could be found.
"We're back here?" Fluttershy said. "I thought we'd end up elsewhere."
"But that means we can choose another door, right? But...Is it still Type Sensitive after what we did?" Sunset Shimmer wondered. "I've still got only Fire-Type Pokemon with me and all that."
"I've got some more types. I think I'm good." Scootaloo raised her hoof.
"Hm." But Fluttershy wasn't ready to hit a roadblock right now. She was the one who had summoned the Fairy door without even thinking about it. So she figured that she could at least do something.
Fluttershy then turned her focus towards the Grass-Type door, aiming at trying something new. She went towards it, pushing it open. But she didn't pass through yet. "Quick. In here. Maybe you can pass through if I keep it open."
"Oh. Okay!" Sunset replied as she, Scootaloo and their Pokemon approached the Grass-Type door. Lo and behold, Fluttershy's influence allowed them to enter through it without anything blocking them. "It works!"
"Knew it! Yay!" Fluttershy cheered. "This'll be some good information to pass onto everypony else. Let's hurry." Afterwards, they each entered the area with the Grass-Type door closing.
Past the Ghost-Type door.
Meanwhile, those that had gone through the Ghost-Type section were Trixie Lulamoon, Fantina, Hollow, Flurry Heart, three Canterlot Guards and Flash Sentry. They each owned Ghost-Types while one was a specialist on them.
The area they found themselves in was some sort of mansion. Already, they had a suspicious feeling about it. A mansion and Ghosts go hand-in-hand with each other, so they were expecting one thing.
"Everypony back in Canterlot is going to be heavily confused and worried when they see our current state. Especially with Princess Celestia and Luna back Princess Twilight's Castle." A Canterlot Guard said. "It could cause absolute chaos and total pandemonium!"
"It'll be worse with the royal family. Luckily, we know you're alright, Princess Flurry Heart." Flash Sentry looked to Flurry Heart. "Along with your parents. But your baby self uh..."
"Ah, it's fine. Sunburst will know what to do." Flurry Heart giggled. "And I guess Manaphy too."
"Oh. There is something outside." Trixie spoke, looking outside of the windows of this gigantic mansion. And it didn't look any better outside. It was practically a Ghost Town with other surroundings buildings that seemed to have total silence in them.
Dry grass, dying bushes and withering flowers could be seen laying everywhere in this suburban town. Remnants of packages and magazines still lay at some of the doorsteps, unopened and long forgotten. The creaking of wood and grinding of metal on metal were the only sounds in this town now.
Destroyed packages, remnants of forgotten letters and unpaid bills littered the floor of a post office. The silence was deafening as a large mill just outside of town still stood, seemingly on its last legs.
And as they witnessed the outside, a figure watching from the upper floor of the mansion, just through the creaks of the stares. It was some sort of wisp that formed blue eyes that gazed.
"Uuugh...!" Flurry Heart shuddered. "Can we hurry? Everything about this place gives me the creeps."
"It's probably mostly creepy with no light. Hold on, Princess." Flash went to turn on the lights, flying over to the walls near the door. But the moment he went to touch it, the light automatically turned out, starling him. "Huh?"
"Oooh. Was that magic touch?" Flurry Heart asked, thinking that Flash had done that by just touching the light.
"Uh...N-No." Flash shook his head, stuttering. "It just kinda turned on by itself."
"Oh no. No-no-no! It's exactly what I think it is!" Trixie violently shifted her head from left to right, having a grimace form on her face. "I was hoping to ignore this one day. But it looks like that day has come."
"What day? What are we talking about?" Flurry Heart felt Trixie's panicking as she could feel the pressure with a single sweatdrop emerging.
"Looks like we're in a Ghost Mansion and Ghost Town all together...Meaning that the door we passed through is 100% haunted by a spectre of some sort..." Trixie's face suddenly went dark as the lights started flicking causing the mood to be set as Flurry Heart was the most terrified. The guards simply shifted their eyes while Fantina and Hollow looked unphased.
"G-G-G-Ghost?!" Flurry Heart stammered with her hooves weak and shaking from this revelation. She was about to screech at the top of her lungs.
"But, princess! You have Giratina! Why are you afraid?" Flash Sentry asked. "Plus we have those outings with Starlight Glimmer's Hatterene and those can be...pretty terrifying."
"And I didn't expect some of you to be afraid of Ghosts since you each own one, droite?" Fantina spoke, looking at the slightly worried faces of the Canterlot Guards.
"I didn't know Giratina was a Ghost at first! Plus, I've only ever heard of Ghost Stories here and there ever since auntie took over, so I've never experienced one before..." Flurry Heart replied with a shaky voice and alert eyes. "And I didn't think I'd ever be in one...!"
"We-We' are highly trained guards!" One of the guards cleared his throat. "It's impossible for us to be intimidated by a Ghost..."
"But Giratina is kinda menacing though..." Another guard whispered, clearing his throat.
"You all won't have to worry at all." Fantina wagged her finger. "Not as long as I am here. If there's any Ghost Pokemon around, I know how to handle them without too much force. You all do as well since you own Ghost Pokemon as well."
"Yeah...Hahahaha..." Flash chuckled nervously. "I mean, we're too old for this stuff, aren't we?"
"Never too old to be vexed and perplexed by a Ghost." Appearing between both Flash and Flurry Heart was Trixie's face as thunder had struck, changing the lighting once more while fitting with Trixie's eerie tone. Just then, right as the noise of thunder came through, the door that led to the outside vanished with a ghostly aura.
"Gyaaaaaaah!" Flurry Heart screeched, grabbing onto Flash, squeezing him. Flash's eyes almost popped out of his eyes after that devastatingly strong hug. But that was just the natural strength of an alicorn. Especially one who was the original baby alicorn years ago.
"Gueh!" Flash cried out, almost passing out from that.
"We'd best hurry then. Maybe we can find something in this mansion." Hollow said as they all made their way through the mansion.
Flurry Heart made sure to stay extra close to everyone since this would be her first real experience with something so creepy after living almost alone in her original universe.
There was a lot to see downstairs before they could go upstairs. However, Fantina chose to go upstairs before anyone else. The group ended up in the kitchen first, poking their head through.
The goal was to just explore this area but also hopefully escape from this area since the Rift Energy was blocking them from leaving. And as a potential bonus, finding the cause of Delayed Aura Ataxia, maybe.
A kitchen was always a good place to be in as some of them were in the mood for some food. But the moment they entered the kitchen, not only did thunder strike again but it also lit up a painting on the wall that Flurry Heart and the others saw. The painting of a human with surprisingly expansive eyes. Due to how sudden and gigantic the painting was, they almost thought it was a living human who was standing in front of them.
"Gaah!" Flurry Heart screeched, falling on her back.
"No need to get so scared, princess." Flurry Heart helped her up. "It's just a painting. Then again, this is a first-time experience."
"R-Right..." Flurry Heart stuttered. "Whoever this is, maybe she owns the place? In her mind? Wait we're not in her mind."
"Or maybe she's long gone." Trixie appeared in between Flurry Heart and Flash Sentry once more with those same disturbing eyes while the lightning strike went off. "Perished with no finality in her life so now she lurks within the abode that she used to have, seeking that finality that was robbed of her in her final moments.
"Mmmm!" Flurry Heart's face started sweating up a tsunami as she shuddered, almost falling over. Flash Sentry kept her balanced.
"Trixie Lulamoon! Would you stop scaring the princess!"
"I recognize her." Hollow looked at the painting. "This is someone I saw back in Hoenn years ago."
"It is?" Flash turned to him.
"Mhm. So this means that this must be part of Ash's mind since he ventured through Hoenn as well. But this place is pretty confusing, to be honest..." Hollow pondered for a moment. "It's hard to say whether these doors have anything to do with Ash's memories at all. Or maybe it's a Ghost-Type trick. This mansion definitely doesn't look like that lady's house at all..."
"I think it's the second one. Look!" A Canterlot Guard exclaimed as the portrait was suddenly changing. Everyone looked to where he aimed as a second individual appeared next to the lady in the painting. It was an Aura Guardian.
"Who's that?!" Flurry Heart asked.
"It's An Aura Guardian!" Hollow exclaimed as the painting suddenly pulsated, releasing a Ghostly Aura. And from the Ghostly Aura, the face of a Lucario could be seen. Similar to the Ethereal Lucario that was through the Fire-Type door, it also had the same flowing body as it.
Everyone backed as howls came from the painting. They were shocked by the ghostly pulses but more shocked by the Ethereal Lucario as they had never seen anything like it before.
"Lucario!" The Ethereal Lucario roared as the objects within the kitchen were being levitated via ghostly manipulation. Much like the one from the Fire-Type door, this Lucario was essentially akin to a vengeful spirit, missing its Aura Guardian that had perished from Delayed Aura Ataxia.
The Ghost Aura appeared behind Lucario as a giant face of a human that used to be around but has long since passed. The objects in the kitchen were then thrown at everyone.
"Oh!" Hollow gasped as he had moved his head back, just barely avoiding an incoming pot moving at great speeds. Everyone left the kitchen as many objects that could greatly harm them such as the utensils were flying around.
Meanwhile, hearing all of this noise downstairs was Fantina. Prior to this, Fantina had found the same picture of the lady in a bedroom. Plus, it had the Aura Guardian on it and a Lucario as well. It seemed to be a family portrait from what Fantina could gather.
Just as she observed the picture and the room, her attention had been grabbed by the ruckus downstairs. "Oh mon! What was that?!" She wondered.
But she was not left out of the picture. Just as the ruckus was acknowledged by her, that same ghostly aura appeared in the room that she was in. Appearing as a dark purple wisp with some smoke, it had wrapped around the bed and chandelier of this room as Fantina backed away.
The aura then expanded, aiming to attack Fantina. The Ghost-Type-Specialist promptly left the room as the entity roared. She got out the rm right as the force had ripped parts of the wall off despite appearing as smoke and a wisp. Fantina then took out one of her Poke Balls to defend herself.
"Mismagius! Venez aider!" She threw the Poke Ball, sending out her Mismagius.
"Mismagius!"
"Thunderbolt!"
"Mis...Magius!" The Ghost-Type's body emanated an aura of electricity before shooting 100,000 volts from her body. The Thunderbolt looked like it would hit, only for the entity to distort its body, causing it to miss. "Mis
After evading the Thunderbolt, the strange Ghost Entity had then attempted to grab Mismagius afterwards. Mismagius had just flown away afterwards, avoiding it. Right that, Fantina heard the howls of someone coming from the entity.
It sounded like the cry of a woman from what she could tell. Afterwards, the floor beneath Fantina was starting to crack as she moved away from it. The floorboards had been split open instantly from this. "Shadow Ball!"
"Magius!" The Magical Pokemon fended off the spectre with a blob of shadows, finally hitting it with the second attempt. The spectre felt that one as it was pushed back a bit. Another cry came from it after the initial hit.
"That voice again..." Fantina uttered.
Back downstairs, after leaving the kitchen, most of them had sent out their Pokemon once they saw the Ethereal Lucario approaching them as well as the other spectre that emerged from the kitchen. This spectre had the howling of a man as opposed to what Fantina was facing.
"We'll counter spirits with spirits! Go, Spiritomb!" Hollow had sent out his Spiritomb.
"Mismagiu, do something!" Trixie backed away as the ghostly aura was coming her way. She threw her Poke Ball as her Mismagius arrived.
"Mismagisus!"
"Pidgeot, go!" But while the Canterlot Guards seen out their Golurk, Flash relied on his ace Pidgeot. Furry Heart chose not to send out a Pokemon for two reasons. Her absolute fear of this and how Giratina would mostly ikey break everything around them, resulting in potential injuries that no one would want.
"Spiritomb! Dark Pulse!"
"Mismagius, stop it with Power Gem!"
"Spiritomb!" Spiritomb and Mismagic both went first, unleashing a barrage of light rays that sparkled as if they were made of gemstones and a pulse imbued with Dark thoughts.
But all of those had been crushed by the Ethereal Lucario that simply used its Aura to block them. It approached the group by simply walking, exuding its already intimidating presence.
"Dynamic Punch!" The guards ordered their Golurk.
"Pidgeot, use Heat Wave!"
All attacks that worked well against Lucario. However, Lucario kept waking, allowing its Aura to do everything else. The Aura had reflected the Heat Wave, sending it towards the Golurk. Two of the Golurk had been blown back along with Spiritomb and Mismagius while one Golurk managed to get in close.
"Go...LURK!" The one Golurk swung its arm down, hoping to fully hit Lucario. Only for the Aura to block it, knocking the Automaton Pokemon aside with just its exertion. "Gol!"
"That Aura is ridiculous!" Hollow exclaimed. "Just what kind of Lucario is it?"
"Rrrrr...!" Lucario snarled at them, promptly stopping its movements for a moment. That's when the spectre made its move. Moving at a quicker pace than Lucario, the strange spectre had instantly flown in Mismagisus's direction.
"Mis?!"
"Mismagius!" Protecting her partner, Trixie pushed Mismagius out of the way. But at the cost of having herself be hit. The spectre had connected, but it didn't knock Trixie back. Instead, it had entered Trixie as if it was being pulled in. "Ugh!"
"Mismag!"
"Trixie!" Flurry Heart and the others cried.
"Dark Pulse, Spiritomb!"
"Tomb!" Spiritomb managed to blast the spectre in half with Dark Pulse, making sure that all of it did not enter her fully. And it worked. The spectre had pulled back, feeling the brunt of Dark Pulse.
But right after it was blown back, it separated into smaller wisps. These smaller wisps then flew around the hallway, targeting everyone else instead of just Trixie.
"Look out!" Hollow warned everyone as the wisps started zooming. One of them almost snuck up on Hollow, only for Spiritomb to blast it away with Dark Pulse.
The Golurk tried knocking the wisps away, only able to handle so many. And with so many of them flying around, it was only a matter of time before some of them entered the three Golurk. Pidgeot flew around, using his amazing speed and agility to his advantage along with Flash Sentry. They managed to avoid it along with Flurry Heart who stayed close.
"Twister, Pidgeot!"
"Pidge! Pidgeot!" Pidgeot then flapped his wings, unleashing a twister of draconic energy. This twister was large enough to catch all of the wisps that were still flying about. They had been caught in the twister, fading away afterwards as the spectre backed away.
"Nice work, Pidgeot!"
"Pidgeot!"
"Trixie! Are you alright?! Are all of you alright?!" Hollow asked after seeing them receive wisps in their bodies. They stayed silent for a moment before Trixie raised her head. At first, it seemed as if they were unaffected at best.
However, once her head was raised, Trixie's eyes opened as they were revealed to have the same azure glow as the spectre. Only this time, it had a darker colour coupled with a nightmarish grin that contorted Trixie's face just a bit. The Golurk also raised their heads with their eyes gaining that colour as well. But there was no grin for them.
"GH!" Hollow grimaced after seeing Trixie's face, pulling back.
"Gyaaah!" Flurry Heart along with Flash Sentry screeched as anyone would after seeing that face. From how they were now glaring at them was not a good sign.
"Mismag?"
"D-D-D-Do you think they're possessed?!" Flurry Heart stuttered as Flash nodded in response.
"Whoever's in there...we didn't want any trouble," Hollow spoke to the spirit that was still lurking around Lucario. However, after asking, the Lucario just growled in response.
Afterwards, the sceptre wrapped itself around Ethereal Lucario. The Ethereal appearance of Lucario had been given the ghost aura as well as the Aura Pokemon was also growing. Soon, it became an amalgamation of two forces as it appeared as a spectral Lucario that was mostly a head and arms with a giant flowing wispy trail for the rest of its body.
"Oh my..." Flurry Heart gawked at the sight of this newly transformed Lucario.
"This...This looks like a vengeful spirit..." Hollow uttered. "It's furious about something. And I guess possessing the others is one way to increase its chance of getting us."
"Why us?!" Flash Sentry asked.
"Vengeful spirits will go after practically anyone. And we're certainly not safe even in this mind right now!" Hollow exclaimed as the giant claw of the Spectral Lucario came flying down. He ran off, picking Spiritomb off the ground as Flurry Heart and the others dashed away before they could be hit.
Trixie and the controlled Golurk had promptly followed them. The Golurk had used their jet boosters to gain better speed that would allow them to keep up and potentially outpace their targets.
"How come the Golurk are possessed?!" Flash had another question.
"Golurk's an automaton! Even it's not safe from Ghosts despite being a Gh-" Just as Hollow explained, a giant claw emerged from the walls, passing through it and almost grabbing him.
The group then went upstairs, hopefully finding a way to lose their pursuers. But more importantly, freeing them and finding a way out of here. As they went upstairs, they came across Fantina who was currently undergoing the same issue as them. A spectre of a similar origin but a different voice was right behind her. And since Fantina was heading downstairs while everyone else was heading upstairs.
"Another one?!" Flurry Heart screeched as the second spectral force was about to grab both Fantina and her Mismagius.
"Make a collision, all of you! Rapidement!" Fantina suggested. They did just that. Once they came across each other, the two of them had juked out their pursuers, causing them to crash into each other.
Fantina did it with grace, elegantly jumping over Trixie and the others while Hollow and his group took a simplistic approach, ducking underneath the second spectre.
The collision caused them to fall over, tumbling down the stairs as Fantina and her Mismagius ran back up the stairs instead of going downwards. They were now all upstairs. But it didn't take long for their pursuers to recover.
In fact, the Spectral Lucario received before anyone else, howling with both the sound of a man and a Lucario. It had then chased them down, ravaging the stairs with its swift movements.
"Oooh..." Trixie and the Golurk, despite being under the Ghost's control, could still feel the pain they had taken. Some of Trixie was still in there as she whimpered, holding her head.
The chase continued. Fantina and those that weren't controlled entered some of the many rooms that already had open doors. Trixie got ahead of the Spectral Lucario, heading for one of the rooms that they had entered. Only for the door to be shut, causing her to crash into it. "Oof!"
"Sorry, Trixie!" Flurry Heart apologized from the other room. Just then, before the pursuers could enter the room, out of the next door, Fantina's group had exited out of another door from another room that quickly. But now there was confusion as they all didn't stick to the same doors.
Flash and FLurry Heart ran to another nearby room. Pidgeot and both Mismagius did the same while Fantina, Hollow and the currently-being-held Spiritomb went for another. The two spectres, Golurk and Trixie promptly split up to try and cover some ground.
However, this only led to chaos as there was a constant back and forth of room swapping. One of the many disadvantages to having such a massive mansion.
Once everyone was inside one room, the doors had closed. Only to then later open with Flurry Heart flying away from one of the Golurk. The door that Flurry Heart went through was still open as Hollow had also passed through it. Not only that, but he ended up passing Golurk who hadn't yet realized this whiff.
Golurk then turned around, running back to the room that it saw Hollow enter next only to crash into another Golurk that was coming through the same door, causing them to stagger for a bit. They then went back into rooms.
Next, Fantina could be seen escaping from the spectres, running into another room. Seconds later, she was running out of that exact same room, however, by some bizarre turn of events for a bit, she was the one chasing the spectres down. Albeit momentarily.
Then it was just a rapid mess with everyone swapping places without them knowing or realizing it seconds later with the sounds of doors being opened filling the room.
Trixie then went up to one of the doors, seeing that Flash had entered it, shutting it tight. She tried opening it by pushing her hooves onto the door but not to no avail. Then suddenly, lost in the confusion, Flurry Heart did the same, assisting the spectre-controlled Trixie in trying to open the shut door.
"Hm?" Flurry Heart had just noticed this and so did the mind-controlled Trixie. "Gah!" She screeched before running off. She grabbed Trixie's attention afterwards.
The Spectral Lucario had enough as it had charged up an Aura Sphere, standing in the middle of the upper hallway. The Aura Sphere had a ghostly Aura around it as it was slammed onto the floor. A dome-shaped explosion occurred, causing everyone to stop moving.
"Oh my Arceus!" Fantina gasped before seeing the explosion coming their way. "Mismagius, Protect!"
"Mismagius!" The Magical Pokemon quickly put up a protective shield around everyone else. Trixie's Mismagius did the same, also having Protect. The explosion ravaged through the house, blowing the ceiling off. The rooms had also been blown back by this.
Mismagius had also made sure to put a shield around Trixie and the Golurk despite them being under the control of the spectres. Once the explosion subsided, the roof had been blown off, revealing the night sky.
The Protect screen had been lowered as Mismagius flew over towards Trixie. "Mismag!" She cried out her name. Trixie still felt dazed before noticing Mismagius approaching. The spectre-controlled Trixie then raised her hooves at Mismagius, trying to scare her. But that wasn't happening. "Mag?"
"That was a close one..." Flash sighed. "If we get hurt in here, who knows what'll happen on the outside? What do we do now?"
Just as he wondered that, both spectres started howling once more with three voices coming out. After blowing the roof off with that giant Aura Sphere, the two spectres started merging all of a sudden. Hollow and the group watched as they formed to make one bigger spectre.
The spectre suddenly had three faces popping out of it with six arms. A bellow in the night sky, a beat of a heart echoed from this spectre. Eight harrowing eyes stared at them with an immobilizing force while also bellowing thunders from its combined mouth as if it were a battle cry. The sound of a Lucario, a man and a woman echoed out.
"That voice again!" Fantina pointed at the merged creature. "This house must've belonged to whoever's voice is within that ghost. Including the Lucario I saw in the picture."
"I didn't see a Lucario. We saw an Aura Guardian in the one in the kitchen." Hollow replied.
"I saw the Aura Guardian too...Cela signifie! Two different pictures!" Fantina gasped. "This is their home!"
"And they're mad at us still?! What does this have to do with Delayed Aura Ataxia also?!" Flash asked.
"The Lucario and Aura Guardian are self-explanatory. But I think the time for letting them rest easy has passed. They're out to destroy us now." Hollow replied. "And if we don't do something, we could end up ghosts in this realm forever."
"There's enough space thanks to that explosion so..." Flurry Heart then stepped forward, gulping as she held out an Ultra Ball. It was time for Giratina to appear. "Go! Giratina!"
Out of the Poke Ball emerged the Renegade Pokemon Giratina with a greater tone. With enough space, Giratina could float about without an issue. Fantina and Hollow collectively gasped as they never expected her to have a Giratina just casually on hoof.
The three heads roared at Giratina, only for the Ghost-Dragon to roar back at them. Flurry Heart then climbed onto Giratina's face, putting on a serious face instead of one where she was afraid. Just as she got on Giratina, moving to the top of his head, Flurry Heart looked at her surroundings and the destruction caused.
She then saw the room where Fantina previously was before the chase ensued. The picture was within her sights due to the height she had on Giratina's head. The moonlight beamed onto it. She could now see all three of them in this picture.
"So that's what it is..." She said to herself before facing the three-headed spectre. "First, I'm going to knock the ghost out yu all. Scary Face!"
Giratina looked at Trixie, the guards and the Golurk, giving off a face that was a million times more terrifying than what Trixie had done earlier. And it was so terrifying due to all of the horrible things Giratina was inserting into their minds, it scared the spectres out of them.
"WAAAAH!" Trixie screeched as she had seen something truly heinous. And in a sense, Flurry Heart paid her back for those times she scared her. Which were recent. "Hah...Hah..." Trixie started hyperventilating as Mismagius went to hug her.
"Mismag!"
"Delayed Aura Ataxia is the reason for this, isn't it?" Flurry Heart spoke to the spectre. "It ended up making things hard for you. And I guess you lost someone close to you because of it. The Aura Guardian. I'm sorry about that. I miss my parents from my universe too. I don't know where they are."
The spectre paused for a moment, listening to what Flurry Heart had to say. Indeed, Flurry Heart could relate to the spectre in a way. Her parents from her universe were still stone and their location was unknown sadly The Aura Guardian here looked to have a family with seemingly his wife and the Lucario that was by his side.
However, the spectre's rage was so immense that it was beyond reasoning with. All of that anger and sadness had formed into all three of them exacting vengeance on what was known as the Universe's Malison. Another name for Delayed Aura Ataxia. But it was mainly Lucario who was the most distraught.
"But...I won't allow you to take your anger out on us." Flurry Heart then changed her tone. "I've got a family that I want to head back to soon. And another one I want to find and free."
"She's right," Hollow replied, holding his head. "I've got a kid incoming and I can't be stuck here. That would hurt Jewel. I need to be there for my kid."
"Well said, Hollow." Fantina placed his hand on Hollow's shoulder. "But I feel for this spectre...How tragique."
The spectre then gave a thundering roar, rushing at Giratina with its eight massive claws. This would be Furry Heart's first major battle with Giratina and she wasn't ready to lose here of all places.
"Giratina! Use Iron Head!"
The Renegade Pokemon's head hardened as it charged forward, butting heads with the spectre's three heads. However, before the spectre could grab Giratina, the might of Iron Head had staggered it, knocking it back.
"Shadow Ball!" Hollow, Fantina and Trixie joined in with all three of their Pokemon using Shadow Ball.
"Spiritomb!" Spiritomb summoned its Shadow Ball in the middle as Trixie's Mismagius and Fantina's Mismagius ended up representing the traits of their trainers. Fantina loved contests and Trixie lowed putting on a show. So, fittingly, the two Mismagius had placed their Shadow Balls beside Spirtomb's making a V-Symbol. Afterwards, they had been unleashed, hitting the three-headed spectre square in all three of its heads.
"Pidgeot, Brave Bird!"
"Golurk, use Shadow Punch!"
"Pidgeot!" Pidgeot eliminated himself in a blazing aura of fire, zooming towards the spectre while the three Golurk had held their hands out. Their hands then sent out shadowy hands, each perfect for the three heads and the body. As Pidgeot crashed into the spectre, the six fists had smashed into the spectre.
"If you're a Ghost similar to Pokemon Ghosts then let's see if you can ignore this!" Flurry Heart's eyes flashed with a purple glow. "Hyper Beam!"
Giratina opened its mouth, summoning a gigantic sphere of Infinity Energy. Out of that sphere came a raging beam that tore through the house walls.
The three-headed spectre saw this coming, using Aura Sphere with all six of its claws, sending them towards the beam. But it was to no avail. Giratina's Hyper Beam was too much as it tore through the attacks. Indeed, these Ghosts were not immune to Normal-Type moves as opposed to Pokemon Ghosts. It didn't help that Lucario was still a Fighting-Type through and through.
A much bigger explosion than what Lucario had done earlier was made. But one that no one needed to move away from at all as Flurry Heart watched it all erupt with a mighty blaze.
The spectre couldn't handle that at all. Giratina proved to be the superior Ghost along with the assistance of other Ghosts. Plus Pidgeot. The three heads had vanished as the spectre reverted to a Lucario.
The two remaining heads flowed into the night sky wind, being carried by its cold embrace. After that ended, the Ethereal Lucario sat on the floor with its head down. But then, it started crying, as noticed by Flurry Heart.
Despite all of this, Flurry Heart still felt for Lucario, knowing what it had lost. The young alicorn hopped off of Giratina to meet with the Ethereal Lucario.
Just then, the Ethereal Lucario was met with a hug. Something that it didn't expect. But only Flurry Heart, sharing the loving heart of her mother could grant this.
"I'm sorry, Lucario." She said to the teary-eyed Pokemon. "Really. But it's time for you to move on. And leave the rest to us."
"Rrr?"
"Your friends are waiting for you on the other side, aren't they?" She pulled back, giving the Aura Pokemon a smile to comfort it. Lucario then wiped its ethereal tears before agreeing on that. This was years ago. Way before even Hollow or Fantina were born.
Lucario missed them for that long. And the age of this house showed just how long it truly was. Lucario struggled to accept it but thanks to Flurry Heart, it knew that it had to continue.
"Go to them, Lucario. And as for me, I'll go to the ones I love as well. Let's both reunite with them, okay?"
A new door had appeared at the end of this nearly destroyed hallway. A door that led to the Dragon-Type area. This was thanks to what Flurry Heart had done. This would lead to the realms outside.
Lucario then sat there for a moment before having its body suddenly fade away, being carried into the nighty sky with the two wisps. Everyone looked up to see a visage appearing. The visage of two humans holding their arms out. The lady and the Aura Guardian. And Lucario held its arms out, ready to grab those loving hands.
Flurry Heart and the others could leave now as they went for the door. She returned Giratina promptly as Trixie still felt perplexed. "What a scare..."
"I thought you were the one meant to be doing the scaring, Trixie." Flurry Heart giggled, nudging the unicorn. "You sure scared me back there."
"Okay, okay. Fair play, princess."
"That was émouvante, Princess Flurry Heart." Fantina complimented. "You truly are your mother's daughter."
"Mm. And that was a fine resolve you showed there." So did Hollow.
"Good job, princess!" Flash Sentry saluted.
"Aw geez..." Flurry Heart could only blush with embarrassment from these compliments. "You guys!"
2 doors with 2 realms have been dealt with, receiving some form of closure. Now only 16 doors remained with 16 types that most likely had the force of Aura in them for everyone as the journey continues.
Past the Fighting-Type door, Brawly and Bea found themselves in this area. They were joined by the little pegasus Rumble who was able to pass through the door due to having a Riolu. The area they had arrived in was different from the previous two areas. It wasn't some amusement park with volcanoes and fire and it wasn't a haunted mansion.
Instead, they came across an area that still existed in the modern-day and a place that Ash and his friends had definitely been to in the past.
The Lucario Kingdom. A location in Sinnoh where Lucario reside. Brawly and Bea were are of this place's existence as well as they approached the town.
"This is the place where the Lucario and Riolu have been revered as guardians for generations and are said to use their Aura powers to protect the kingdom," said Bea whilst walking with Brawly. "Never got to visit it before. Didn't think it would be in a mind though."
"A Kingdom full of Lucario and Riolu? Awesome." Rumble uttered with an open jaw.
"Hm? Look." Brawly suddenly stopped walking, pointing up ahead. Before they could continue any further, that's when they spotted the Pokemon that resided in this kingdom. The Lucario plus the Riolu.
It made sense for this many Lucario to be here especially since this was the through Fighting-Type door. However, while the area existed in the present day as well, this had an old feeling to it. In fact, the buildings were much older than what the Lucario Kingdom had in the current day.
But they also had the ethereal body that could only be found here. And unlike the previous two, these Lucario were plentiful, all in one spot. They had not yet noticed Bea or Brawly as they were grouped together, standing over what seemed to be some sort of graveyard.
And there laid gravestones with names of them. Below these names, there was one consistent title. Aura Guardian. This was a graveyard for the Aura Guardians that have passed. However, these graves couldn't be seen in the present day, strangely enough.
"Those weren't there before when I visited Sinnoh." Brawly spoke after seeing the scene."That's strange..."
"It could all be an illusion," Bea replied. "We are in a mind after all."
"It looks sad. Is this what happened to everyone that got hit with that Ataxia thing?" Rumble asked Brawly and Bea. Knowing that he was a child, they would at first feel reluctant to admit it. But, Rumble knew about things like this already, so they nodded in approval.
"We should let them be alone," Bea suggested as Brawly agreed. "We can maybe ask them later on how to-" Interrupting her sentence, right behind them and just now being noticed was an Ethereal Lucario that was staring at them. "!"
They instantly moved back with Bea already taking a stance. Rumble promptly hid behind Brawly. Bea was the most eager to enter conflict if necessary. However, Lucario just stood there for a moment, not instigating conflict as opposed to the previous ones.
"Hold on, Bea. It's alright." Brawly stopped her. "We're not in danger right now."
"Oh." Bea stood normally, leaving her stance. "My apologies. That just gave me a startle."
"What does it want?" Rumble asked. "And how long has it been standing there?"
"Rrr." The Ethereal Lucario had sent a pulse of Aura to communicate with them. Since all three of them had Aura, they could understand this pulse. Rumble's was a bit on the iffy side since his Aura was minuscule.
"You've been waiting for us?" Bea translated. "Or rather, you were waiting for someone to find this realm."
"Lu." Lucario nodded in response before sending another pulse. Rumble leaned in, trying to see if he could understand some more. But he would have to rely on Brawly and Bea.
"What did it say this time?" Rumble questioned. "And...did it know we were coming? Or is it someone else?"
"It said that this realm was made by the collective Auras of all Lucario that have existed with their Aura Guardians in the past. The result of Delayed Aura Ataxia is what brought them together. Because of this disease, many of the Lucario involved with it have been trapped here for centuries now. Far past the age of the Aura Guardians." Bea explained.
"For that long?!" Rumble exclaimed, turning around to face the rest of the Lucarios in the distance. "So, they're all ghosts then?"
"Cario."
"Lucario says that because of this, many Lucario haven't found peace yet, still trying to find a way to correct a wrong that they felt guilty of. They felt as though they had failed their Aura Guardians." Bea further explained. "Some have become vengeful forces driven by sadness and anger."
"Lu..." Lucario lowered its head afterwards.
"So they're all behind every other Type Door." Brawlysighed for a moment. "That's gonna be a shocker for everyone when they run into them. Say, Lucario. How come a graveyard's here? In the present day, I never came across one."
"Lu. Lucario."
"Oh. So everything we see here are just things made up from the minds of each Lucario. And they're just placed in random places. Okay, I get it now."
"Well, now that you've shared it with us, it makes it sound like there is a way to help you all." Bea stepped forward. "If you all are not vengeful spirits like the others that you mention, then why are you still here?"
"Yeah. I know that Lucario can live for a long time but..." Brawly pondered. "Is there some sort of unfinished business you have here?"
"Lucario..." Lucario then aimed its paw into the air, pointing to the azure skies. Almost touching the clouds was a gigantic mountain. And on that mountain, another door to the 18 realms could be found. After showing them that door and the mountain, Lucario sent another pulse to them.
"What?!" Brawly and Bea both gasped.
"What?! What happened?!" Rumble needed to know.
"There's a bigger Lucario out there. It's the one driving some of these spirits to be vengeful and trapping them all here as well. That's why it's hard for them to leave." Brawly explained. "Looks like it's their roadblock. But how come one Lucario would do that to the others?"
"A bigger Lucario? How big?"
Just as Rumble said that, his answer had arrived. Booming through the clouds and separating them was the figure of indeed, a bigger Lucario. Keeping the same Ethereal Appearance but one that was sharper than rest. The clouds parted as it almost sounded as if thunder was rumbling.
The giant Lucario appeared before them, standing at a height much grander than the Storm Behemoth, which was originally 500ft but eventually grew in size the more energy it absorbed. This Lucario stood at a height of 1200ft.
"Oh! That's so scary but awesome too!" Rumble was amazed and terrified by this gigantic Lucario that stood larger than anything they had seen before.
"Lu! Lucario!"
"You're saying it knows someone set some of the Lucario free?!" Brawly turned to Lucario. Indeed, one of the Lucario had already left. The Lucario that was behind the Ghost-Type door. While the Fire-Type one found some resolution and decided to grieve for the loss of its Aura Guardian, the Lucario being the Ghost Door moved on from this realm.
And after feeling the departure of another Lucario, the Gigantic Lucario in the sky roared with a horrifying sound, causing everyone to close their ears.
"It must've been from one of the other doors!" Bea exclaimed as the gigantic Lucario had then faded away with the clouds masking the skies. "Did something happen?!"
"Lucario!"
"So a Lucario's already departed from this realm." Brawly translated. "And it's furious about it. Well, at least we know there's a way out of it."
"And yet it wants them to stay?" Bea followed up.
"Ca. Lucario." Lucario then ran ahead, encouraging Brawly and the others to follow it. They were heading for the kingdom to meet with the other Lucario. Soon, the rest of the Ethereal Lucario had noticed the arrival of Brawly, Bea and Rumble. The Lucario decided that there was no time to waste now that some help had arrived in the form of these three.
Once they entered the kingdom, it was just Lucario and no other humans. After all, this wasn't the real Lucario Kingdom. Just an area within a mind.
Fire-Type door.
Within the Fire-Type section, the Lucario was still spending some time with its Aura Guardian that was long gone. It had accepted the sad truth and was finding peace with itself.
And because of this, Lucario was ready to move on. No longer would it have to stay in this strange zone of Aura that blocked it from leaving. Resolve was seemingly the only way to escape from here.
Similar to the Lucario that was through the Ghost-Type door, Lucario's ethereal body was starting to flow upwards. It was a sign that it was time for it to join its Aura Guardian at long last. However, that's when it appeared.
Booming in the sky, the gigantic Lucario could be seen, this time, appearing as a face. "Lu?!" Lucario gasped, seeing the giant Lucario face with deep red eyes.
It wanted no one to leave. Thus, when appearing as a face, it stared down the average-sized Lucario with its crimson stare. Before Lucario's body could properly leave due to this resolution, the Ethereal Body around it had intensified in vibrancy. It also felt something rush through it.
"C-Cario...!" Lucario growled, getting on its knees. Just like that, the resolve it had gained was rejected. This giant Lucario practically rejected Lucario's closure.
The giant Lucario then cried out once more, flashing the sky before fading away. Meanwhile, the Ethereal Lucario was perplexed by what had just happened. Due to how its departure had been cut off, this was not a good sign of what was to come through the other doors.
The Fighting-Type Door.
Meanwhile, Brawly, Bea and Rumble had met with the rest of the Ethereal. After meeting with them, they gained a further understanding of the situation as a whole. If anything, this was the best place to be. Lucario were Fighting-Types first and foremost so it would stand to reason that this realm, despite being Fighting-Type focused, was the least hostile.
"So that's why your bodies are like that...Ataxia did it you too..." Brawly uttered once they explained things to them. "And that's why you're kinda like spirits."
"Wait. Does this mean that Ash's Lucario could gain this issue as well? Ash has suffered Delayed Aura Ataxia quite a bit from what I was told." Bea asked Brawly.
"Maybe if something bad happens. But I didn't think Aura could get this out of hand. Aura's pretty deep, isn't it?"
"In any case, now that we have this information, we can inform everyone else," Bea said.
"Lu. Lucario." But the Lucario shook their head in response to Bea's suggestion. That was surprising considering everything that had been revealed to them and how they were waiting this long for help.
"What? Why not?" Bea asked, confused by their response. "I thought you wanted to be saved."
"I think it might have something to do with that Giga Lucario, Bea." Brawly pointed to the sky. "From how they're putting it, it sounds like that Giga Lucario's got eyes on every realm. Plus, since it sensed one Lucario leaving, no way it'll lose its focus and let the rest leave."
"Giga Lucario?"
"Just came up with it." Brawly grinned. "Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
"I suppose so. Then how do we get around this?" She then turned to the Lucario. Everyone else started thinking of a solution. They wouldn't want to alert the Lucario upstairs.
That's when both Brawly and Bea had the only answer they could think of. A way to hopefully resist the Giga Lucario and fittingly, it would be from the same force that brought them all here.
"Of course! Training!" They both said, looking at each other with blank stares.
"Nice. Same idea. What training were you thinking about, Bea? Because we can help the Lucario with that. Taking things easy and having nature do everything else. Then again, I don't know if the nature here is real."
"Nature? How so?" Bea crossed her arms, curious about Brawly's approach. "Are you some sort of secret Grass-Type or Water-Type specialist?"
"Nah. You see...I learned to become one with nature when I was training to be a strong Fighting-Type Gym Leader. At first, everyone thought it was kinda weird for a Fighting guy like me to do all of that. But it paid off. The synergy I had with nature was amazing. And it made me love it even more. Plus, I kinda do have one Pokemon that's not a Fighting-Type. Sableye."
"Huh. That's interesting." Bea stood there, pondering about it with her finger on her chin. "I never thought about that. But that does sound like it would help greatly with training. Having a synergy with nature."
"Oh yeah. It's amazing. Low risk and high reward too. I do it with my Pokemon too. What about you, Bea? What makes you focus?"
"Absolute combat." Her answer was swift and to the point. "I'm always training my combat skills with my Pokemon. It's not just them that should improve. I want to reach a point where even I can be at a greater level than I currently am. And maybe even go past it."
"Oh, I gotcha. I sometimes do that with my Pokemon. But it can get pretty excessive and I get hurt sometimes." Brawly chuckled. "I didn't know there were others who did the same."
"You should continue it," Bea suggested. "As a Fighting-Type Trainer, your body must be in peak condition as well. As is mine which is gradually growing."
"I don't know about that..." Brawly shrugged. "I mean, surfing's one way I train my body. The only way, actually. Plus, I don't think I could do it all the time. The way you do it I mean. But I think I'm pretty good with how I am now."
"In that case..." Bea's eyes glimmered for a moment as she suddenly threw a heavy kick in Brawly's direction. Brawly, by the skin of his teeth and literally clenching his teeth, managed to just slightly avoid it by swaying his head to the side, gasping as his hair flowed from the force of the kick. "Hm. Well, you're not slow." Bea pulled her leg back.
"Geez..." Brawly took a deep breath as his heart was beating rapidly. "So sudden?"
"Always be on guard, Brawly," Bea smirked. "You wouldn't want to be befuddled unexpectedly, would you?"
"Guess not." He laughed for a bit, feeling slightly intimidated by Bea.
"But...I suppose being laid-back isn't a bad idea either. Right?" She then winked at him, taking his advice.
"And being always on guard has some benefits." So did Brawly as the two Fighting-Type specialists learned from each other in just a few seconds. "Right. How about we take all of that and teach to all the Lucario?" He held his hand out to her. Bea shook it in kindness. "You guys must be rusty after being here for so long. And maybe...we can beat that Giga Lucario and get you all out of here."
"Beat that giant?!" Rumble gasped.
"Equestria's used to giant things by now, so it's not a big deal, right, Rumble? Heh. Big." Brawly soon realized how he made an accidental pun. "Plus, you and Riolu can learn from us."
"Yeah but I don't do anything about it..." Rumble uttered quietly.
"Lucario." The Lucario agreed to partake in Brawly and Bea's practice. If it meant helping them break free. Now that they knew about this Giga Lucario, it stood to reason that their potential ticket out of this place was linked to it.
Brawly had sent out his Hariyama, Sawk and Machamp while Bea sent out her Machamp, Hawlucha and Grapploct. Rumble only had Riolu on hoof. Once they emerged, the Fighting-Types noticed each other.
And as is tradition, they clashed for a bit. "Machamp!" The Machamp had entered a slight grappling contest to show their strengths off immediately. Hawlucha instantly jumped at Sawk, only for Sawk to catch it.
After their acknowledgement, they started practising. The Lucario all took their advice, trying out their methods. Brawly showed them how to be laid back and calm, allowing for nature to help them along the way whilst Bea helped them improve their skills by letting them follow her movements.
They did for 10 minutes straight as the Giga Lucario was still lurking, keeping its guard up. Rumble was a bit slow to keep up with them but he was trying his best either way.
And while they practised, the Lucario were also having fun. Something they had never experienced in years ever since the departure of their Aura Guardians and their imprisonment in this realm. It was truly a wonderful feeling.
"We still have to warn the others, Brawly. They must know." Bea recommended. "That door could lead to anywhere else. Even if the Giga Lucario is cautious, we can't ignore what has to be done. I suggest we inform everyone else."
"Yeah. I hear ya." Brawly nodded, finally agreeing to Bea's choice. "We'll be right back, Lucario."
They made their way towards the mountain where the door could be found. Despite it being all the way up there, their Pokemon could get the job done. Mainly their Machamp who could run and leap great distances. They were grabbed by their Machamp's four arms before returning the rest of their Pokemon.
"Machamp!" Afterwards, the two Machamp started jetting for the mountain, running at great speeds. But instantly, the Giga Lucario was made aware of this. Its ace flashed in the sky, seeing the rapid movements of the Machamp. Or rather, feeling them with its Aura.
Once it appeared, it snarled with its eyes following the Machamp. Furious, the Giga Lucario opened its mouth, charging up what seemed to be a mouth-based Aura attack.
"It sees us! Quick Machamp!" Brawly exclaimed as the Machamp picked up the pace. The Giga Lucario had then released a beam of Aura from its mouth, aiming to hit them.
"Machamp! Bullet Punch!" Bea commanded.
"Machamp!" Machamp held two of its arms out, facing the Aura Beam. With both its fists lighting up, Machamp smashed them onto the beam, creating a mighty collision. Bea closed her eyes with Machamp holding on tight. Machamp managed to knock the beam elsewhere, causing it to hit another mountain. A devastating explosion happened from that collision.
The Machamp then jumped into the air, leaping towards the mountain. Their arm was to latch onto it and climb as fast as they could. The Giga Lucario then went after them, flowing through the skies. It then flew side-by-side with the group, roaring while also shooting Aura from its eyes.
"Machamp! Dynamic Punch!" Brawly ordered his Machamp.
"Machamp!" The Superpower Power Pokemon held one of its fists out, knocking the beam away. But more were coming their way. A barrage of eye beams started bombarding them, hitting the mountain as well. With constant explosions going on, the Machamp used two arms to shield themselves and their friends while the other two arms were used to knock the beams away.
But it certainly disrupted their climbing, almost causing them to fall off due to how vicious these attacks were. The Giga Lucario then charged forward with the intent of crashing into the group at full force. The atmosphere trembled just from its movements alone.
"Machamp!" The Machamp held out two of their arms together, grabbing Lucario's face to prevent the full-on collision. The mountain trembled, almost shattering just from the contact. But, to the two Machamp's surprise, this Lucario was heavier than they expected. Their climbing had been promptly stopped because of this, delaying their goal.
"I gotta do something...Riolu! Final Gambit!" Rumble decided to help. And the best way was with a move that was very risky but powerful nonetheless.
"Rio!" Riolu jumped out of Machamp's grasp, leaping into the air. It covered itself in a sphere of energy before releasing it at the Giga Lucario. And the power of this move was nothing to scoff at. Risking everything into this attack was worth it as the force of the sphere was strong enough to knock the Giga Lucario back, causing it to roar in pain.
"Nice, kid!" Brawly complimented Rumble and Riolu. Afterwards, the Machamp continued. They did so by jumping on the Giga Lucario's head, rushing for the door with an extra height. And they were close, reaching the peak already. The Giga Lucario let out an earth-shattering roar, furious about this as it was ready to use another Aura Beam.
But this time, the other Lucario helped. They all consecutively used Aura Sphere, shooting it into the air, hitting their fellow Lucario square in the face. The Giga Lucario was interrupted by the combined Aura Sphere as it pushed the giant back.
"Thank you!" Bea then thanked the Lucario for their assistance. After that, the Machamp landed on the peak. They immediately opened the door, not wasting any time. Thanks to the diversion from the Lucario, they could enter with time to spare. They then closed it afterwards, leaving this realm.
The Giga Lucario, fuming that they had left this area, turned its attention to the other Lucario that helped them. The Lucario backed away, getting ready for the worst to happen.
The 18 Realms.
Once they arrived, they saw the doors to the other realms could be found past the Fighting-Type door. They were right back at the start and now they had their options.
"Back here, huh? Now what?" Brawly asked.
"We can't go through the rest of the doors since we only have Fighting-Types." Rumble said. "Well, you've got a Sabeleye, Brawly so you're fine."
"Yes. But we have Dual Types, do we do not? Bea had an idea brewing in her head as her attention turned to the Flying-Type door next. "Perhaps if we keep it open, you can still pass through Rumble. And we can enter with some of our Pokemon that are not just pure Fighting-Types."
"I gotcha." Brawly nodded. "I've got a Heracross, so I'll take the Bug door."
"Then I will take the Flying Door with my Hawlucha. Hurry. There's no time to waste. The Lucario could still be following us."
A shocking revelation. A Giga Lucario that was the cause of the many Lucario being trapped here. This information had to get to their friends instantly. However, the Giga Lucario was now aware of their actions, ready to do what it can to stop them. But why would it want to stop them from doing this? That much remained to be a mystery at the moment as the journey continues.
Right through the Ice-Type door, not many had entered it. In fact, no one did. Not many own Ice-Type Pokemon and the ones that do own Ice-Types were currently in other realms.
The landscape was fitting for this realm. A completely arctic area. So far, it was the only location that fit the door it was hidden behind. Practically desolate with only a flurry of snow beating down on it.
However, the Giga Lucario, the cause of many of the Lucario being trapped here, had appeared in this Ice-Type realm. After witnessing Brawly, Bea and Rumble manage to escape through another door, and feeling one of the Lucario departing after finding resolve, the Giga Lucario decided to do what it could to stop any more releases.
So it called for assistance. And it went to the Lucario residing here in the artic. These Lucario, compared to the others, were similar to the ones seen in the Fighting-Type realm. Peaceful. But not for the right reasons. Many of them were trapped in prisons of ice that had Aura surrounding them.
Even they couldn't break free from it at all. As for their Aura Guardians, much like many of them, they were long gone. And their clothes could be seen trapped within the ice, indicating that their demise happened in the arctic one day.
The Giga Lucario decided to free them from their imprisonment for temporary assistance. It used its potent Aura to shatter the ice and remove the Aura around it. The Lucario within the ice cages were free and immediately, the Giga Lucario had its control over them.
The goal was to stop anyone else from potentially leaving this realm at all costs. The Rift Energy was already making that difficult but coupled with this and it would be a massive roadblock.
Reality. Equestria. Ponyville. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, in reality, while a majority of everyone in Equestria was still in a state of mind, Team Rocket were taking the chance to steal as many Pokemon as they could before anyone could wake up.
However, despite everything that had happened within the 18 realms so far, it had only been 9 minutes at best. Time certainly worked differently in that realm. However, even in those 9 minutes, Team Rocket with their surprisingly impressive intellect had managed to build something.
A machine that would hold every Pokemon within it. And it had the appearance of a Tangrowth. A perfect Pokemon to base the machine on considering how it had a massive hatch in the middle that was enough to store a multitude of Pokemon.
Team Rocket ended up grabbing the first of many Pokemon, tossing them into the hatch. The massive Tangrowth arms did all the grabbing with their impressive reach. And to Team Rocket, with many not around, they felt like they could get away with this without an issue. There wasn't much to worry about.
They had then entered Twilight's Castle, seeing which Pokemon they could grab next. And that's when they saw something surprising. The Pokemon they have been pursuing for years and have constantly failed to fully retrieve.
Ash's Pikachu.
He was sitting there along with everyone else, within this state of mind and completely unresponsive. "Check it out!" Meowth exclaimed.
"Straight tail and everything. Plus the twerp's next to him." James nodded. "Out like everyone else."
"This is our chance!" Jessie pumped her fist. "Fate's smiling down on us right now! Let's not be rude and decline its offer!"
Seeing Pikachu defenceless, they went to grab the Mouse Pokemon, finally feeling like they were getting somewhere. Jessie grabbed Pikachu, raising him in the air while cackling. Team Rocket's hopes were at an all-time high now that they had Pikachu. It felt like no other Pokemon would matter to them. But they still wanted them.
"Wait for us, boss! Your lifelong dream is coming true!" They cheered together before leaving the castle. Once out, they tossed Pikachu in the hatch with joy with their eyes. A goal they had been pursuing was seemingly coming to an end at last.
And luckily for them, one of the gateways still functioning was the gateway to Pallet Town in the Kanto Region. Granted, the issue of Delia being aware of the machine was an issue but Team Rocket was already thinking of a counter-measure.
Except there was one counter-measure they didn't account for. It was for a certain pony who they weren't too intimidated by. And that was Derpy Hooves.
Derpy was made aware of the machine as she flew over towards it, curious about its existence. She then saw Team Rocket hop inside of the machine, wondering what they were doing and finding some interest in something that seemed fairly playful from a first glance.
And yet, everything that happens outside will be slower compared to what was happening within the 18 Realms.
The Grass-Type Realm.
Previously, Fluttershy, Sunset Shimmer who was still in her human form and Scootaloo had made their way here after clearing the Fire-Type section.
The Grass area had a familiar appearance to it. Mainly because it resembled Deerling Forest and the nearby Pikachu Highlands, two existing and fairly popular places in Equestria. One that they were familiar with as opposed to the theme park that could be found in the Fire-Type realm of all places. So far, they hadn't found any of their friends here, considering many of them do own Grass-Types.
"Huh?" Just as they were venturing the area, Sunset Shimmer felt some rumbling from below. Soon, she, Braixen and the others felt the same. "What's happening? Is it coming from the forest?"
"I don't think so." Fluttershy shook her head. It wasn't an earthquake from what she could make out. It was something else entirely.
And it was the result of the Giga Lucario's anger. It knew about the interference and especially the first group to do so. Fluttershy's group. With its potent manipulation over this realm of multiple types, it had summoned a door underneath them.
The door to the Ice-Type area. And it wasted no time in doing so. Right as it appeared, the first victims were Scootaloo, Raboot and Audino respectively. The moment the open-door had been summoned, they blinked for a moment, realizing what was below them.
"Oh. Aaaaah!" Scootaloo screeched as she and the Pokemon started falling through. But, reacting quickly were Sunset Shimmer, Braixen and Fluttershy as they grabbed onto their friends.
Sunset grabbed Scootaloo's hoof while Braixen and Fluttershy both held onto Audino and Raboot's long ears. The door itself had a powerful pull behind it, acting similarly to a vacuum. "Hang on!" Sunset Shimmer cried out. "Urgh, this pull is ridiculous!"
"A-Audino...!" Audino strained as her ars being pulled on was obviously painful. The same went for Raboot's ears as well. Braixen used one hand to grab her stick, aiming to use Psychic abilities to lift them up.
However, flowing out of the door was an array of vicious hail, sent by the Giga Lucario. The hail started rapidly bombarding Fluttershy and the others, hitting their eyes and breaking their focus too. A horrible chill was also sent through the door.
As if that wasn't enough, The paws of the Ethereal Lucario could be seen underneath, grabbing onto their legs. The ones that the Giga Lucario had freed showed themselves, adding to the hail problem.
"Ugh!" Fluttershy groaned as her grip on her friends was weakening along with Sunset Shimmer. Unable to combat the hail and the pull of the Lucario, they had failed to hold on as Scootaloo, Audino and Raboot fell, screaming. "No!" Wanting to do what she could, Fluttershy wasted no time and jumped into the hole with them.
"Ah! Fluttershy!" Sunset Shimmer was surprised by that. She did not expect that at all. Soon, Fluttershy joined them, heading elsewhere as a courtesy by Giga Lucario. A whirlwind of hail was the last thing to blow out of the door as it pushed Sunset Shimmer and Braixen back, causing them to fall over.
"B-Braix!"
But it didn't end there. As the door to the Ice-Type realm faded away, another door had been opened up behind them. Right as they fell, the door was opened, causing them to fall in. This door led to the Poison-Type realm respectively.
"Braixen!" Sunset Shimmer screeched, grabbing onto Braixen's hand as they fell. Braixen then hugged Sunset Shimmer, scared of all that was happening around them as they eventually reached a new room. The realm to the Poison-Type realm had faded away afterwards.
But this didn't go unnoticed. In the far distance, Applejack, Apple Bloom and Sceptile heard all the noise that had happened. They tried seeing what caused it but their distance was too far to reach there.
"What was that?" Applejack wondered, unaware of what just happened and what else could happen depending on how things go in these 18 Realms.
Ice-Type Realm.
"Guh!" Fluttershy and the others ended up finding themselves in the Ice-Type Realm. They fell flat on the snowy ground, making accidental snow angels in the process.
"Ow..." Scootaloo groaned, raising her head from the ground. She also started shaking with her face feeling an immense chill. In fact, her, Fluttershy and Audino felt the chill. Raboot was free of this issue considering how he was a Fire-Type. But it was still powerful. "C-C-C-Cold...!"
"T-Those looked like Lucario that pulled you down..." Fluttershy shuddered, wrapping her wings around herself. "And that d-d-d-door came out of nowhere to pull you in."
"W-Where are we now, F-F-Fluttershy?"
"L-Looks like the Ice-Type area! A-And it's certainly cold!" She closed her eyes as Audino also shivered, getting on the ground. Thankfully, there was a solution to this.
"Raboot." Raboot lit his ears up, causing some heat to rise. And to be extra helpful, he personally went into Scootaloo's saddlebag, grabbing two of her Poke Balls. Raboot, by himself, had sent out Ponyta and Cyndaquill.
"Ponyta!"
"Cyndaquill!"
Seeing their friends shivering, the Fire-Types did what they did best. Cyndaquill's back flames erupted while Ponyta's mane flared beautifully. They got close to Fluttershy, Audino and Scootaloo, keeping them warm.
"Ah..." Fluttershy felt great relief from that as her heart melted. "Good work, Raboot."
"Ra-Raboot."
"Lu!" But, there wasn't any more time to rest. The Lucario that the Giga Lucario had freed from the icy prisons were still present. Their footsteps slammed into the snow, making marks in the process.
"Boot!" Raboot's attention was drawn by this as he instantly turned to face them. Fluttershy and the others were next, noticing five Ethereal Lucario standing before them. Their ethereal colouring had a darker colouring to them as snowflakes orbited their bodies.
"Just when we got done with one Lucario..." Scootaloo sighed. "We didn't even get the chance to meet with Apple Bloom over at the Grass area at all."
"I think that's the least of our worries." Fluttershy gulped as she noticed how the snow was rising with the force of a snowstorm due to the power of the Aura. But more than that, she and soon Scootaloo noticed something in the sky. The Giga Lucario.
Its face flashed with a roar that was so violent, anyone could mistake it for thunder. They were not expecting a large Lucario in the sky but there was still so much they didn't know. After the roar, the 5 Lucario had sent snowstorms towards Fluttershy's group.
"Ponyta!" Ponyta and his fellow Fire-Types acted quickly, countering the snowstorm with Fire Spin, Flame Charge and Ember as soon as they could.
"Wait! Maybe we can talk it out just like be-" Fluttershy flew ahead, wanting to settle this without battling, similar to last time. However, the Giga Lucario was going to make sure that wouldn't happen ever again as one of the Ethereal Lucario sent an Aura Sphere in her direction. "!"
"Audino!" Audino quickly used Protect, getting in front of her trainer and shielding her from the Aura Sphere.
"Okay! Maybe not!" Fluttershy gulped.
"Finally!" Scootaloo cheered, seeming excited about this. "I've been itching for a battle! If I can beat a Lucario, then I'll be stronger than ever!"
"Just don't go too overboard, Scootaloo. These are all Lucario that are still sad."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Alright, team! Let's go!" Scootaloo pointed her hoof forward, ready to take on these Lucario. "Cyndaquill! Flame Wheel! Ponyta, use Flame Charge!"
"Cynda...Quill!" Cyndaquill curled into the ball as he started spinning on the spot. He summoned an aura of fire afterwards as it started melting the snow below. The same went for Ponyta who charged forward, forming a flaming aura as well. Both approached the Ethereal Lucario.
"Lu!" The Lucario then threw Aura Spheres at the two Fire-Types to knock them away. Cyndaquill drifted to the side, avoiding the sphere whilst Ponyta used his powerful legs to leap over the spheres. With those stylish evasions, Cyndaquill crashed into one of the Lucarios from the side while Ponyta came crashing down like a meteor, hitting four of them.
The 5 Lucario were blown back by this combination of Fire-Type attacks. And it seemed that they kept their Steel-Typings as it was super-effective. Ponyta's speed increased thanks to Flame Charge, making him faster than ever.
"Cario!" The Lucario roared as two of them approached the duo of Fire-Types with Force Palm. They held both their paws out to do so.
"Raboot, High Jump Kick!"
"Raboot!" Raboot came to their rescue, leaping off the ground with swiftness, putting his foot out. The foot then collided with the two paws, creating a collision. Raboot wasn't strong enough to hold both of them back as his leg was being pushed by the might of the Dual Force Palm.
"Swift, Cyndaquill!"
"Cynda...Quill!" Returning the favour to Raboot, Cyndaquill opened his mouth, shooting out star-shaped rays. These rays pelted the Lucario in their legs and stomachs, breaking their focus on Raboot.
"Boot!" That allowed Raboot to win the clash as he blew both of them back, making a shockwave that made the snow fly everywhere.
"Quick Attack!"
"Ra!" After performing that super-effective High Jump Kick, Raboot performed a stylish landing before zooming towards the two Lucario with another hit.
"Cario!" But a third one showed up, using Bone Rush while strafing on the ground. It had two bones that it connected to make a bigger bone. Raboot gasped as the Ethereal Lucario appeared right in front of him, moving faster than even Quick Attack. "Lu!" Lucario then swung its bone at Raboot, hitting him square in the chest.
"R-Raboot!" Raboot took super-effective damage as well, being sent flying through the air from that hit, hurling around. Fluttershy quickly ascended, grabbing him.
"Lu!" The Ethereal Lucario then went for Ponyta and Cyndaquill next. It had ripped the bone in half, making it two once more as it then threw them. The two bones struck Ponyta and Cyndaquill on the head, knocking them over.
"C-Cynda!"
"Pony...Ta!"
"Heal Pulse!"
"Audino!" Audino then raised her arms, causing a green pulse of healing energy to flow through the area. his energy caressed Raboot, Ponyta and Cyndaquill, healing them from the damage they had taken.
"Now, Ponyta! Fire Spin! And Cyndaquill, use Flame Wheel!"
"Audi! Hyper Beam! Raboot, use Flame Charge to make yourself faster!"
"Audi...!" Audino put her hands together, preparing for an extra-strong Hyper Beam to blow the Lucario away. Meanwhile, both Cyndaquill and Raboot approached the Fighting-Steel types with auras of fire while Ponyta breathed it.
The Lucario then came together, using the power of Aura and the snow to make a mighty snow tornado. Their Aura could control the elements from what Fluttershy and the others had seen, especially back at the Fire Realm. Aura was exuding out of the Snow Tornado, making it slightly resistant to Fire as the tornado had been launched.
"No!" Hyper Beam had been released by Audino. It was so strong that it even pushed Audino back a bit as the beam raced forward, separating the snow.
It ended up reaching the Snow Tornado faster than the others, holding it back for a bit. But it would soon be pushed back as Raboot and Cyndaquill charged into it with Flame Wheel and Flame Charge. Ponyta added to that with Fire Spin.
Their combined might was enough to push the tornado back as the Lucario were each struggling to hold it back, surprised by how strong these smaller Pokemon were. Aside from Audino who had yet t even use Mega Evolution.
However, there was one more Lucario. The 5th one. It had used an Aura cloaking to fly through the Snow Tornado. It then appeared above everyone, using Metal Sound. "LUCAAAAA!" An ear-piercing sound came from its mouth, causing the Pokemon to lose their focus. Ponyta, Cyndaquill, Audino and Raboot were thrown off guard once the soundwave was thrown in their direction.
That allowed the opposing Lucario to push back, increasing the size of the tornado as they ended up winning the clash thanks to extra help. Raboot and Cyndaquill gasped as they had been pulled in by the tornado.
"Raboot, no!" Fluttershy cried out.
The three Fire-Types were being carried away as the tornado was approaching Ponyta and Audino next. Audino needed to recharge but Ponyta didn't so he was free to do something.
"Uh...Uh...!" Scootaloo tried thinking of a solution as the tornado was getting closer with Aura sparks flying out. "What would Ash do?!" She used one of her idols as an inspiration. That's when Scootaloo showed parts of that inspiration by coming up with an idea.
The Counter Shield.
"Duh! That's obvious! Ponyta! Spin with Fire Spin! Let's use the Counter Shield!"
"Ta! Pony...!" Ponyta did just that. He laid on his back before shooting a spiral of flames from his mouth. But more than that, he had spun around on the ground, allowing the already spinning flames to spiral once more. And once they did, they formed a tornado of fire. It wasn't as big as the Snow Tornado but it had to suffice.
The two tornadoes clashed, causing the atmosphere to spiral as the snow started rising and melting just from these two elements. The Snow Tornado was starting to win as Ponyta's Counter Shield just wasn't strong enough. And in the meanwhile, Cyndaquill and Raboot were being battered by the tornado.
"Audino!" Audino had recovered from her Hyper Beam usage, however, the other Lucario that had used Metal Sound was still there. And to make matters worse, thanks to the Metal Sound from before and all the noise in general, an avalanche had begun. It happened a few seconds ago and was approaching at a violent pace.
"Luca...!" The 5th Lucario held out its arm, charging up an Aura Sphere.
"Audi, Protect!"
"Dino!" Audino readied up a Protect, preparing for Aura Sphere. But, it wasn't thrown at the Hearing Pokemon. Instead, Lucario added it to the Snow Tornado. It gained an extra Aura, turning the white parts of the Snow Tornado into a dark azure blue.
After that added Aura, the Snow Tornado had combusted. An explosion of snow that was so powerful it even pushed defeated Ponyta's Fire Tornado. Ponyta was blown back, crashing into Audino's Protect shield and shattering it. "A-Audi!" Audino staggered as Ponyta collided with her. But she didn't fall over due to her endurance.
Unfortunately, Raboot and Cyndaquill had fainted from that outburst plus the previous damage they had taken. They crashed onto the soft ground, landing near their trainers.
"Raboot, no!" Fluttershy picked the Rabbit Pokemon up.
"Not my Cyndaquill!" Scooataloo rushed to the Fire Mouse Pokemon's side. The Lucario then stood before the group while the avalanche was approaching, picking up speed in the process. "You jerks! This isn't over yet! I've still got-" But before Scootaloo could take out her next Pokemon, that's when the avalanche finally arrived.
It had cast a massive shadow over the group, ready to engulf them. Audino was the first to do something. She grabbed Fluttershy and the others, using her larger body to defend them.
The Lucario watched as the avalanche had landed on them. So did the Giga Lucario as its face flashed in the sky, witnessing this occur. But it wanted to make sure that they would stay out of this. Thus, the Giga Lucario glared at the ground, causing a massive crater to form while the avalanche was still going.
Fluttershy and everyone fell within the deep crater with the giant avalanche following after them. Afterwards, the avalanche came to an end as some Aura was mixed in there, causing the snow to combust afterwards, making more craters and holes within the landscape.
It was safe to say that they had lost this battle.
Poison-Type Realm.
As for Sunset Shimmer, she and Braixen awoke in the Poison Realm. And as opposed to the Ice Realm, this was far worse. This area resembled something fairly limited. More limited than the mansion from the Ghost Realm. It was a sole island that was not familiar to Sunset or Braixen. Upon arriving here and opening their eyes, Sunset Shimmer and Braixen were met with a mephitic scent.
"U-Ugh!" Sunset groaned before coughing. "What is this...?" She then looked around to see a toxic landscape. Filled with purple smoke and hazardous virulent water that had poison flowing through it. "P-Poison..."
"Braixen!" Braixen gasped, holding her wand out. She then used her Psychic abilities to cast a protective Psychic shield around her and Sunset Shimmer. Psychic was good against Poison so this was the best approach. However, this shied would not last forever.
"Thanks, Braixen..." Sunset got on one knee, taking some time to breathe. "I don't know what just happened, but I hope Fluttershy and the others are safe. How'd that door just suddenly open?"
Their answer was given without them knowing as the Giga Lucario's face flashed in the sky once more. Sunset and Braixen looked up to see its face emerge. "What the?!"
"Braix?!"
Roaring through the poisonous skies, the Giga Lucario then looked down on them both, glaring at them. Just like that, it had immediately attacked the barrier of Psychic energy that Braixen had made, attempting to break it. Sunset and Braixen gasped, seeing shards of it crack.
"Hey!" Sunset cried out. "What are you doing?!"
But the Giga Lucario didn't respond. In fact, it didn't do much other than roar and use its highly advanced Aura capabilities that have never been seen before. Braixne quickly put up another one, only for Giga Lucario to glare once more.
"Xen!" Braixen was starting to get aggravated by this.
"I don't know what's going on but if you're gonna get in our way then s be it! Braixen! Psybeam!"
"Brai...Xen!" Braixen jumped into the air, doing some twirls for style points. While twirling she made a Psychic trail appear out of her wand as it spiralled around her. Afterwards, she unleashed the beam, sending it at the Giga Lucario.
But it was quickly countered once the Giga Lucario fired an Aura Beam from its mouth. In a second, Braixen's Psybeam had been overpowered. The Fox Pokemon was flabbergasted by this display of raw power. At the same time, she witnessed the beam come her way. As well as towards Sunset Shimmer.
"Braixen!" She shouted out her partner's name as they both saw only a bright light that eclipsed a majority of this realm in its colour.
Braixen quickly put her wand out, doing what she could to protect herself and mostly Sunset. The result was the land being eclipsed with a massive Aura explosion following afterwards. Sunset ducked for cover once the explosion came through, screaming in fear of what was coming her way.
Ice Realm.
Within the ice realm, deep inside one of the holes, Fluttershy and the others could be found. If anything, all that destruction saved their lives.
But, despite all of that, they were buried underneath the rocks and the darkness of the crater. Ponyta, Raboot and Cyndaquill were out cold as Ponyta had just fainted. They tried keeping their friends warm but they didn't have the stamina left to do so. To add to that, the Giga Lucario manipulated the elements with its Aura, turning the temperature to absolute zero. The rest of the Lucario would be fine due to being Steel-Types, but the same couldn't be said to the others. Especially Fluttershy, Audino and Scootaloo.
After that destruction, the Giga Lucario deemed the threat of Fluttershy and her group dealt with. This, the temporary assistance it gave to the 5 Ethereal Lucario had ended. They returned to their senses, holding their heads.
"Lu..." They groaned, feeling perplexed. And just then, the Ethereal Lucario realized what they had done. They had harmed innocents as they collectively gasped. Not only were they back to their senses, but their icy prisons were starting to reform. "Cario!" Before that could happen, the Ethereal Lucario wanted to fix things. Due to their good heart, they couldn't let anyone perish even if it was their fault.
Meanwhile, Audino had taken major damage with her back damaged. She had successfully protected her friends with her body at the cost of her own health. "A-Audino..."
"Audi..." Fluttershy looked up, seeing the Hearing Pokemon greatly hurt. She then shivered, feeling the horrible chill run through them. Fluttershy curled up as Audino's body was starting to freeze over. So was Scootaloo's body as she had passed out from the overwhelming destruction. She was still a child after all.
Fluttershy looked at her hoof, aiming to use Mega Evolution. However, the chill soon started freezing her, starting from both her hooves.
"I-It's so cold..." She shuddered. "Ch-Chikorita...If you can hear me, please help..." She then called for her last Pokemon. Chikorita. She knew it was dangerous for her to be out there considering how cold it was. But any help was needed.
Emerging out of her Poke Ball was Chikorita.
"Chikorit! Chiko?" Chikorita then saw the scenario before her eyes. Her friends were starting to freeze under this absolute zero temperature. It started from their hooves to their upper bodies and onwards. It was almost as bad as a flash-freeze. "Chi!"
"Chikorita..." Fluttershy held her hoof out to the Leaf Pokemon. "Help."
"Chi! Chiko...!" Chikorita nodded as she had one way of helping. Her fate-changing leaf. The Leaf Pokemon was already feeling the absolute zero and how horrid it was. Her legs were already starting to be affected. But she didn't let that stop her.
Due to the power of the leaf, the Rift Energy laying within it was being used. And that alerted the Giga Lucario. Aura, being one of the few things that could interact with Rift energy led to the Giga Lucario being alerted. Its face flashed in the sky once more before descending.
As a massive chunk of Chikorita's leaf came off, appearing to the area and bursting through the mountain was the face of the paw of Giga Lucario. It broke the walls apart, startling Chikorita. By the mighty yet fearsome Aura, the paw had slapped Chikorita and even the chunk of leaf away.
"C-Chiko!"
"Chikorita...!" Fluttershy wailed as the Leaf Pokemon crashed into a wall with her fate-changing leaf falling for the first time due to Aura interference. The chunk had even been obliterated as the face of Lucario passed through the massive hole.
The Giga Lucario saw Chikorita as another threat. Especially with how she had Rift Magic within her. Chikorita stood up, shaking her head and showing her cute yet admirable toughness. "Chikori...!" She then growled at the Aura Pokemon, seeing it as her enemy.
"Chikorita, don't...!"
"Chiko!" Despite Fluttershy's warning, Chikorita went into battle. She charged headfirst, approaching the Giga Lucario. The Giga Lucario saw this as a challenge as it swiped its paw towards Chikorita. "Chi!" The Leaf Pokemon leapt of the paw swing, evading it while parts of the underground had been blown off.
While she began her battle, her body was freezing over at the same time. The Grass-Type had then used Magic Leaf, shooting curious leaves that bombarded Lucario's face.
They slightly phased the Giga Lucario, only for an Aura Beam to fly out of its eyes. Chikorita gasped, quickly running away from them. She managed to evade one, only for the second to scrape her leg. "Rita!" She whimpered as her leg had been injured, she then fell on the ground, tumbling.
"Chikorita!" Fluttershy cried out.
"C-Chiko..." And yet, Chikorita persisted, getting up from the ground despite her injured leg. She could see that she was starting to freeze all over now due to how fragile she was. However, this Leaf Pokemon was full of surprise. Mostly because of how one of her moves, Aromatherapy, could fix this.
She closed her eyes, releases a multicoloured fragrance from the half-torn leaf on her head. Just like that, she had removed the icy chill within her body. However, that didn't stop it forever as the chill would return.
"Chikorita!" Chikorita stood up tall before running back at the Giga Lucario, no longer frozen but still having an injured leg. An Aura Beam came her way, only for her to avoid it this time with another leap. Chikorita then used Body Slam, slamming the full weight of her body onto the Giga Lucario.
It wasn't much but it still did damage. Fluttershy was amazed by how Chikorita was performing. Those small moments with Rainbow Dash when they swapped Pokemon for a while had greatly paid off. She was now more than just a healer. She was a full-time battler. And even when she battled at the Canterlot Tag Battle Competition showed how much potential she had.
"Chikorita...You're amazing..."
Unfortunately, her impressive skills could only take her so far as the Aura of the Giga Lucario had manipulated the atmosphere. Concentrated airwaves came flying at Chikorita, hitting her stomach. "C-Chiko!" She crashed into the ceiling of the wall from that sudden attack.
Afterwards, the mouth of Giga Lucario opened up, threatening to blast Chikorita. And it would be up-close. Chikorita didn't have a move to counteract what was coming next. Except for her fate-changing leaf. There was already a massive chunk of it gone due to what happened earlier.
Another part of the leaf came off, touching Chikorita's nose right as the beam came out. Fate had been changed as Chikorita was on the floor with the beam missing completely. However, now Chikorita was starting to lose more of her leaves as there was no sun to heal her.
She started running back, shooting out Magical Leaf to keep her distance. The Giga Lucario pursued her, manipulating the elements once more as a giant earth pillar rose up from below. Before that, another one of Chikorita's leaves came off, touching her head this time as the pillar was delayed, allowing for the Leaf Pokemon to jump over it.
However, Giga Lucario managed to hit her whilst in the air, phasing its paw through the walls and causing them to come out from the other side. They had slapped Chikorita, knocking her into a wall. "R-Rita!" She whimpered with her back being damaged as well. The Grass-Type them slid off the walls, tumbling.
Fluttershy was starting to tear up, not wanting to see Chikorita in this state anymore. While she admired her bravery, seeing her partner take this much of a beating was unbearable. And telling Chikorita to stop would be pointless.
"Chiko..." Chikorita stood up as both her back and legs were injured. And yet, she stood fearless in front of the Giga Lucario, aiming to come out of this successfully. "Chikorita..."
"Chikorita, please stop!" Fluttershy cried out before using her wings. She then used her wing to grab a rock with all of her might, trying to ignore the chill around her body as she was almost completely frozen.
Lucario then sent a barrage of Aura waves that started bombarding Chikorita. The Leaf Pokemon took all of them, still standing. But it was truly relentless as Fluttershy then threw a rock at the Giga Lucario. "Stop it!"
The rock poked Lucario, grabbing its attention for a bit. Fluttershy's wing was now fully frozen as she could no longer move at all. She shuddered with everything inside of her being gradually turning to absolute zero. The Giga Lucario could see that it had failed to fully get rid of them. Thus, it was ready to blast them with an Aura Beam.
"Chiko!" Chikorita then ran past the Giga Lucario, looking badly beat up yet still having the strength to move. She knew that if Fluttershy and everyone were to be hit by this, it would be horrifying and distraught. Something that Chikoria could not allow. Her leaf was smaller now as all the big chunks were gone, making Chikorita unable to change fate. That was when she recalled the words of Virizion months back. About a moment similar to this.
"Every Pokemon can evolve in different ways and unique methods. Not just by battling or using special stones and items to do so. The power of the Evolution Process is vast with many possibilities. No matter what you try, there's a chance your evolution will come."
"Chi!" Chikorita grit her teeth as her eyes flashed green, thinking of what else Virizion said to her back then.
"Don't be so upset, little girl. There are various opportunities still waiting for you. Perhaps, you'll evolve when the time is right. "It will come."
And with her body glowing with a trail of leaves flying behind her, Chikorita unleashed all of her dormant Infinity Energy, letting her heart move forward for the love of Fluttershy and her friends.
Just then, as her body was fully covered in a green light, making her a silhouette almost, she moved in a spurt of speed, greater than she's ever moved before. She became a green streak that appeared in front of the beam. The Aura Beam came into collision with the green light, but it had been blocked, causing sparks to fly.
Fluttershy's eyes were half-closed as she had seen this green light suddenly grow. The silhouette of Chikorita was changing. Changing into something bigger. Not only that, but Rift Energy was also sparking out of the light, fighting back against the Aura Beam.
Not only did it fight back against it and even push it back, but the burst of Infinity Energy and Rift Energy emerged, hitting Lucario with it and its own beam. The Giga Lucario had taken massive damage from that as it had been blown out of the underground from this overwhelming push. And out of the light emerged the second evolution of Chikorita.
Bayleef.
"BAY!" She cried out with majesty in her voice, blowing some of the leftover snow away. Fluttershy's eyes opened back up as she witnessed her partner evolve at last.
"B-Bayleef...!
"Bay! Bay-Bay!" Bayleef then turned to Fluttershy and the others, ready to save them. She still had Aromatherapy thankfully, using the fragrance from it to cover Fluttershy and the others. Just like that, the ice around their bodies had been erased thanks to the beautiful power of Grass Infinity Energy. "Bay."
"Hoh..." Fluttershy took a deep breath as the immense chill she felt was gone. But she could still feel some of it. Thankfully, as a Bayleef, a spicy aroma emanates from around her, neck, acting as a stimulant to restore health.
She used that stimulant well, causing the aroma to flow over Fluttershy and the others. The pain they felt was gone. Scootaloo gasped as she woke up. It felt as if her heart had been restarted in a way. She hyperventilated along with Raboot, Ponyta, Audino and Scorbunny.
"Hah...! What just happened?!" The little pegasus screeched. "Wait, Bayleef?!"
"Bayleef! You're amazing!" Proud of her partner, Fluttershy went to hug her. But it was Bayleef doing the hugging as she pounced on Fluttershy, pinning her to the ground.
"Bay! Bay-Bay!" Excited to see Fluttershy alright, she licked Fluttershy, making her laugh.
"Okay! Knock it off, Bayleef!" Fluttershy chuckled. But despite how happy this was, they couldn't stop for anything. They had to get back to the surface. Thankfully, that massive hole that Bayleef made was there to be used. They could climb out of there and hopefully find a way out of this realm.
Once they reached the top, waiting for them were the five Lucario. But not out of hostility. The five Lucario were being placed back into their icy prisons as they were unable to move. But, their heads could move as they saw the resurgence of Fluttershy's group.
"Lu!"
"Bay." Bayleef climbed out of the hole, helping Audino up. Now, she was big and strong enough to carry Audino on her back. In fact, Bayleef was now bigger than Audino and the biggest out of Fluttershy's Pokemon Team. At least for now. Raboot's final evolution was still a possibility.
"Oh! The Lucario!" Scootaloo pointed out as she and her Pokemon were on high alert. That went for Bayleef too.
"No, wait!" But Fluttershy stopped them, deciding to approach the Lucario once more. "I think they're fine now."
"They are?" Scootaloo and the Pokemon titled their heads.
"Mm. The way their Auras looked were different around their bodies. Now they're their natural colours again. Something was wrong with them. Isn't that right, Lucario?"
"Cario."
"...Mm. She knows what she's doing." Scootaloo shrugged, accepting Fluttershy's impressive ways with reading Pokemon from a few seconds of glaring.
"Oh, your bodies. They're freezing over as well..." Fluttershy observed. "Bayleef, use Aromatherapy."
"Bay." Bayleef was on it. With the fragrance moving out of her leaves, wrapping around the Aura Pokemon, the horrible ice had been negated, permanently freeing the Lucario from their icy prison. No other Pokemon had been here before to do so. It's always been Lucario. So this was much needed.
"Lu! Lucario!" The Lucario then bowed to Fluttershy and Bayleef, giving their eternal gratitude.
"You're welcome. And just you all sit tight. We'll get you out of here eventually. Right now, we need to find Sunset Shimmer and Braixen. We got separated from that door suddenly appearing."
"Oh! Speaking of doors, I see one right there!" Scootaloo pointed at the Ice-Type door that was within a nearby cave. The jackpot for them. They could leave and enter another realm now. Hopefully, they would find the one where Sunset Shimmer went to.
"Right! Stay safe, Lucario!" Fluttershy and everyone bid their farewell to the Aura Pokemon, heading for the door. The 5 Lucario then waved, putting their faith and trust in them.
As for the Giga Lucario, it was taken aback by how powerful Baylef's evolution was. That kind of power was shocking. The Giga Lucari had just recovered, seeing that the threats were only rising from this point onwards. In its eyes, something had to be done. It was time to amp things up.
The evolution of Chikorita into Bayleef. Sunset and Braixen being within the Poison-Type Realm and the further frustration of this mysterious Giga Lucario. Only 13 doors remain as the journey continues.
Within the 18 Realms compared to Reality, time worked differently. Everything that is happening in those realms trumps time in the real world greatly. Only 4 minutes have passed at the moment yet in the 18 realms, it felt at least 20 or more minutes had gone by.
In those 4 minutes, Team Rocket had successfully grabbed many of the Pokemon, placing them inside of the giant Tangrowth-based machine that they made. Especially Ash's Pikachu, who was also within the 18 Realms, unresponsive. After grabbing a few more Pokemon for the afternoon, they were ready to leave and return to Giovanni with great news.
But that was when the pony that they weren't too worried about had shown. Derpy Hooves. She saw the large Tangrowth Machine, wondering what it was before spotting Team Rocket.
"Hey. What are you doing?" Derpy asked, curious.
"Hm? Oh!" Jessie turned around, shooting up in shock. "You!"
"Oooh. What's this big machine?" She flew over, admiring the giant machine and its appearance. "It's like a big Tangrwoth. Where'd you get this?"
"Don't you worry about that, toots." Meowth slid over, shaking his head. "It ain't nothing too special, ya know."
"Hm...Looks kinda tacky though..." Derpy observed, squinting her eyes and pouting her face.
"Tacky?!" Jessie growled, shouting after that response from Derpy. She didn't take too kindly to it at all. "What do you know about machines?!"
"Not much. Ooh! You can ask the Doctor to help you make it look better. I bet this baby could look extra stylish to anyone who sees it." Derpy then tapped her hoof on the machine. And when she did, she found a fault in it. An area that was not as fortified as the others. One tap and the machine started rumbling. "Hm?"
"GEEEH!" Team Rocket screeched after seeing this rumbling.
"Oops. My bad." Derpy apologized as the faulty part had come off, dropping to the ground. And once it came off, Derpy saw through the open hole, seeing what was inside. Many familiar Pokemon that she knew could be found there. "Oh hey. This is almost everypony's Pokemon."
"HM!" Jessie crawled up the machine like a spider, getting in front of Derpy and blocking the open hole. "Nothing to see here, okay?! It's just a...big prize machine! Looks we need to get it reworked! Right, Meowth...?!" She then growled at Meowth with seething eyes moving to the side.
"Hang on..." Derpy started doubting them. "Are you guys stealing again?"
"Jig is up. No fooling even her." Meowth shrugged.
"Hmph! Then in that case..." Jessie jumped off the machine, standing next to James. Even though they weren't wearing disguises, they still felt compelled to recite their many mottos to Derpy after being caught so quickly.
"Uh...What are you doing?" Derpy asked as Jessie and James pulled off a pose. "That's a funny pose."
"What a question, twerpish indeed!" Jessie started the motto.
"We'll answer these questions when we feel the need!" James followed up.
"Bringing the blinding white light of evil into the future!"
"Thrusting the hammer of justice down onto the black darkness of the universe!"
"Carving our names in the Rock of Eternity!"
"The fiery destroyer, Jessie!" A background of fire appeared around Jessie, erupting with the force of a volcano and the Sun.
"And with thunderous emotion, I am James!" The same went for James but with mighty thunderstorms booming around him. Soon, their backgrounds changed into the cosmos with a giant R beginning to form.
"Wisest of the wise, Meowth!" Meowth then jumped into the frame with a backflip.
"And now gather, under the name of Team Rocket!" And they all pulled off a final pose with the R of Team Rocket appearing, shining with a mighty gleam.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Oooh!" Derpy quite enjoyed that as she applauded. "Do it again!"
"Prepare for-" Jessie was about to start the motto again before snapping out of it. "Hey! Only one take and we pulled it off perfectly! Plus, we've got some Pokemon to send back to the boss! Especially that special Pikachu we've been chasing for oh-so-long."
"That's not very nice." Derpy frowned. "Isn't everyone here your friend?"
"Eh. It was fun while it lasted." Meowth shrugged. "We'll remember them anyway. Plus a huge load's gonna be taken off our backs once we get Pikachu to the boss."
"Then...I'll stop you." Derpy declared, pointing her hoof at them.
"Pfft! Hah! You?!" Jessie wheezed, almost having a heart attack before laughing. "As if! You're not enough to handle the might of Team Rocket!"
"I think I can." But Derpy was confident in herself, having a grin form on her face.
"She has a point, you know..." James slid over, whispering in Jessie's ear. "Remember, some of them are trained by the twerp..."
"OH. You've got a point. She could be a problem...and she already messed with our machine. Then in that case..." Team Rocket then separated, looking at the sky. "Bring on the Prize Master!" The three of them called out.
"Pellip-Pepp-Pepper!" Along came Pelliper, making a cry before dropping the Rocket Prize Master. It then landed firmly on the ground with Team Rocket already rushing to it.
"Feast your eyes," Jessie smirked. "Our secret Rocket Prize Master!" She and James announced to Derpy, who wasn't sure what she was looking at.
"Yipee!" Meowth then lunged at the machine before turning upside down, inserting his coin charm into the machine. Jessie then started cranking the machine.
"Who's that Pokemon?" James then grabbed the first Poke Ball with the Team Rocket insignia on it. Jessie then grabbed the second one that came out. In unison, they had thrown their Poke Balls, sending out the creatures lying within. For Jessie, it was Claydol while James received KlinKlang.
"The Clay Doll Pokemon, Claydol!" Jessie announced.
"The Gear Pokemon, KlinKlang!"
"Get ready for a disappointing battle, twerpette!" Jessie chuckled with a glimmer in her eye. "We'll make this quick!"
"Then it's Wooper for me. Okay, Wooper! Let's go!" Derpy exclaimed, but nothing happened. Wooper didn't show himself at all. "Hm? Wooper? Where'd you go?" Derpy looked around. She didn't have to search for long as she looked into the machine.
Wooper had found himself inside the Tangrowth Machine via the hole that Derpy had made earlier. Curious as his trainer, Wooper was wandering about, walking over the unconscious Pokemon. "Wooper. Wooper."
"Oh. There you are, buddy." Derpy poked her head inside, giggling. "Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't you put water in there?"
"Hm?" Team Rocket then said before also looking inside of the hole, climbing up the machine. They also saw Wooper aimlessly moving in the machine. It didn't look too alarming to them at first until they saw water starting to drop out of Wooper's mouth. "Gaaah!"
"Claydol, stop that Wooper, now!" Jessie screeched as Claydol teleported to her location.
"Claydol!" The Clay Doll Pokemon had then used Psychic, telekinetically grabbing Wooper and lifting him off the pile of Pokemon bodies.
"Woo?" Wooper noticed this grab before wondering what the big deal was. Team Rocket had a grand sigh of relief as Wooper had been pulled out of the hole with no damage done to the machine.
"Hah... That was a close one." Jessie sighed. "Having your Wooper enter our machine to sabotage it while we were out here, were you?! Deviously clever, my little pony."
"I guess that did that." Derpy giggled. "Let's have a battle now. Wooper and I won't let you take everyone away."
"Wooper!"
"Bring it on! Claydol, use Ancient Power!"
"KlinKlang, Power Gem!"
In unison, two Rock-Type moves were sent in Wooper's direction. Giant fossilized rocks alongside sparkling gemstones that moved at great speeds.
"Wooper, Muddy Water!"
"Woo...Per!" The Water Fish Pokemon released a spiralling water infused with mud from his body that appeared in multiple streams as well. The water had met with the rocks as Wooper's type advantage over Rock had shown. And with great power.
The spiralling streams had ended up obliterating the rocks as Wooper's strength was greater than what Team Rocket was initially expecting. It was so great that not only did it break the rocks, but the water had struck the opposing Pokemon. Dealing super-effective damage on Claydol and not very effective damage on Klinklang.
"C-Clay!" Claydol was knocked back whilst Klinklang stayed in place, still feeling some damage either way.
"Why you...!" Jessie growled. "Grab him with Psychic!"
"Dol!" Claydol's many eyes glowed as its head started spinning. Just like before, it had lifted the Water Fish Pokemon off the ground, keeping him in the air.
"Now, Klinklang! Flash Cannon!"
"Klang!" While Wooper was stuck in place, Klinklang took the opportunity to use Flash Cannon, releasing a beam of light energy. Wooper took the attack directly with a silver explosion occurring. Thankfully, Wooper was resistant to Steel-Type moves. But it still stung due to how fragile he was.
"W-Woo...!" Wooper felt a bit dazed from that.
"Excellent! Now give him a good throw around that'll make him sick!"
"Clay!" Claydol kept using Psychic, ready to toss Wooper around like a ragdoll. It started by spinning his body around on the spot just to mess with him. But despite this, Derpy didn't look too worried. She didn't enjoy seeing Wooper put in a scenario like this but she kept her cool either way.
"Wooper! Yawn!"
"Woo..." Whilst being spun, Wooper opened his mouth as he released a blue bubble at the Ground-Psychic-Type. Right before Claydol could start launching and swinging him, the bubble then popped right in front of the Clay Doll Pokemon's face. When it popped, Claydol's body glowed yellow-green as it had instantly fallen asleep. Its Psychic hold had ended, dropping Wooper.
"Aah!" Jessie screeched, running to Claydol's side. "Wake up! This is our big moment here and we can't lose like this!"
"I got this! Another Flash Cannon, why won't you?!"
"KIinklang!" Whilst Jessie was shaking Claydol, another Flash Cannon came in Wooper's way.
"Let's try something else! How about um..." Derpy was thinking of a different move to try for variety aside from Muddy Water. But while she was thinking, Wooper acted on his own. The moment he took a step, he tripped on a rock, falling over.
That trip caused the Flash Cannon to just miss him as it ended up hitting the machine instead. By an accident, Wooper had succeeded in sending the damage elsewhere.
"Aaaah!" James yelled after seeing the machine take a hit.
"Where are you even aiming at?!" Jessie growled, aggressively shaking James.
"Good work, Wooper! Okay, now use Aqua Tail!"
"Woo...!" Wooper leapt off of the ground, covering his tail in water. The Water-Ground-Type had then struck Klinklang with impressive physical strength. "Per!" Klinklang was sent flying into Jessie and James who weren't paying attention in that instance. They looked to the side, seeing the incoming Gear Pokemon as for the first time, they managed to avoid being hit by their own Pokemon.
But as a result, Klinklang ended up crashing into Claydol. Both of them were sent flying from the attack. Just like that, Wooper had defeated them both with surprisingly little time. Albeit with some fumbles.
"Yay!" Derpy picked up Wooper, hugging him. "You did great, Wooper!"
"Woo!"
"Is this a dream...?" Jessie stood there perplexed, still holding James.
"Is this true reality...?" So did James. They didn't expect to lose like this. And it was worse since they didn't even blast off. Something they were always experiencing to happen. The fact that it didn't, almost disappointed them in a sense. That was their trademark.
"It ain't over yet!" Meowth quickly rushed over to the Tangrowth machine along with Jessie and James. They had their last resort at their disposal. The machine itself. It wasn't just made to grab Pokemon.
There was a control hub at the top of the machine, right between the eyes of the Tangrowth. Team Rocket quickly took control of it with Meowth at the helm.
"Hm?" Derpy and Wooper looked up.
"Woo?"
"You're smarter than you look, twerpette!" Jessie both praised and taunted Derpy. "But your luck's run out! Here's where size matters!"
"For once you agree on that," James replied to her as the Tangrowth machine's eyes glowed red. This massive hunk of meta would face off against a pony and her 0.4 m Pokemon. An unfair matchup from a first glance. Although, not many would see this since all of them were still within the 18 Realms.
18 Realms. The Poison Realm.
Speaking of which, everything that had happened outside, while seemingly longer, was slower compared to the rapid time within the 18 Realms.
And in one of those realms, the Poison one, destruction had been left behind. On this large island, the Giga Lucario had previously attacked Sunset Shimmer, who was still in her human form and Braixen after sending them here.
A large crater had been left behind after the Giga Lucario's attack. And yet, despite all of that, they were safe. But barely. Braixen had used her Psychic abilities to protect mainly Sunset Shimmer. She couldn't fully protect herself. The Psychic shied had been lowered once the destruction and smoke subsided.
Braixen was badly hurt, even getting poisoned as her fingers were touching the poisonous water. Sunset Shimmer had one eye open, seeing her partner injured. She was more surprised by that rather than how she survived. "B-Braixen..."
"Hey!" But thankfully, they weren't the only ones there. Of course, since everyone chose a door that had different Pokemon Types they owned, one of them was here.
And that was Roxie. She had arrived at the scene, already being protected by a strange pink mist. It didn't originate from Braixen at all. Once Roxie came over, she helped Sunset off the ground. "Hey. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine..." Sunset groaned after being helped up. "Thanks uh...Roxie, right?"
"That's me. I saw that explosion earlier and came to check on it. What happened? And what was that big Lucario in the sky all about?"
"Right. A lot happened and...Braixen!" Sunset quickly ran over to Braixen, seeing how she was still on the ground. But as she went over to the Fox Pokemon, the poison was reaching her once more. Sunset slowed down, coughing once the poisonous gas flew by. "N-Not again..."
However, that same mystical pink mist surrounding Roxie had appeared around her, fending off the poison. Sunset took a deep breath, looking to the sky as her heart was racing after that. But she quickly dismissed that, picking Braixen up from the ground. "Oh, Braixen...Thanks for saving me...But who's doing this?"
"That would be her," Roxie answered Sunset's question, pointing her thumb to the individual just next to her. Sunset Shimmer turned around to see a Shiny Gardevoir here. For once, it wasn't just another Ethereal Lucario.
"Gardevoir~" The Shiny Gardevoir waved.
"A Gardevoir? Can you help my Braixen, please?! She's badly poisoned here!"
"Voir." Gardevoir could do just that. She placed her hand over Braixen's fainted body. By using her Psychic abilities, Gardevoir was able to dispel the poison from Braixen's body. Braixen was still unconscious but she would recover.
"Oh...Thank you."
"This Gardevoir helped me out too," said Roxie. "I mean...I didn't really need the help. I always come with a gas mask in my bag in case of a Poison area."
"You do?"
"Sure do. But...my bag's not with me so...eh." Roxie shrugged. "Guess I did need the help. But this Gardevoir's been here the whole time on her own."
"By herself? Wait? What about the Lucario? Aren't there any here?" Sunset looked around.
"Voir." The Embrace Pokemon shook her head. She was truly just alone here. Fairly odd considering everywhere else had at least one or more Lucario laying around.
"Oh...Well...I'd better find Fluttershy and everyone else. We got separated after those doors came out of nowhere. It looked like they went to the Ice Realm. I just wish I could contact her and everyone else. But I don't have my Xtransceiver with me. Or one at all."
"But I do." Just then, Roxie revealed her Xtransceiver. The essential object in the Unova Region. "Check it! And as a bonus, since I'm a teacher at the Pokemon School, I've got a lot of Trainer numbers on here for my students. How nifty is that?"
"Very nifty!" Sunset's eyes shot up. "Thank you so much, Roxie!"
"I saw you head into the Fire Realm with Fluttershy and Scootaloo. So..." Roxie then turned on her Xtransceiver, seeing if she could contact them, even from a realm within a collection of minds. Thankfully, it was possible. After all, this was more than just a mindscape now. "Yes!"
"Hello? Roxie?" Fluttershy could be seen.
"Fluttershy!" Bursting into the scene, getting in front of Roxie was Sunset. "Oh, thank Celestia, you're both okay! What happened?! Where are you?!"
"Oh. We got into some trouble in the Ice Realm. But we're fine. We were just going to see if you and Braixen were in the Grass Realm again but it looks like you're somewhere else. And Roxie's with you?"
"And this Gardevoir that's been living here this whole time in the Poison Realm." Roxie showed Fluttershy the Shiny Gardevoir. Gardevoir bowed in response afterwards. "Still not sure what that's about."
"I'd rather not be in the Poison realm right now..." Sunset sighed. "How about we head back to you?"
"Sounds good. We'll see if we can find Applejack and the others in here too. See you soon." Fluttershy then hung up, glad that they were okay. So was Sunset.
"Okay...Where's the door to this place?" Sunset Shimmer asked. "We have to leave somehow."
"Yeah, I've been trying to figure that out too. This place isn't all that fun, anyway. Kinda boring for a Poison place. Maybe somewhere else could be fun."
"Well, we did come back from an amusement park in a Fire-Type place of all places. So you've got a point there. But if there's no door, then maybe we can just make one appear."
"Uh...How?"
"The one at the Fire Realm disappeared at first but we were able to bring it back by helping the Lucario there. Well, Fluttershy did most of the helping. She had a fiery aura around her that made one show up. A Fairy Door."
"Garde?" Gardevoir was alerted by that revelation.
"I get what you're saying! Fluttershy's the one who can make those doors pop open, isn't she?" Roxie snapped. "Guess it's another call then, huh?"
"I didn't mean it like that but...sure. If that works." Sunset went with it. It was a good idea on Roxie's part. Roxie called Fluttershy back, ready to give the request. But, Sunset was curious about Gardevoir and why she was here. "By the way, Gardevoir...How come you ended up here with all the Lucario? From how it sounds, you might've been trapped here."
"Gardevoir." Gardevoir cleared her throat before deciding to speak. "Mm-mm. Much better." She threw Sunset off guard with her sudden speech. Roxie hadn't even noticed yet as she was speaking with Fluttershy. "Ah, my state in this realm. You can point to the Lucario in the sky. That would be his fault. Not mine."
"That giant Lucario? I know it's dangerous but...how'd it get you in here?"
"The power of Aura, of course. The same way many of the other Lucario ended up here, trapped. High mastery of Aura allowed that Lucario to create a realm for all of the Lucario and myself to be in. But those doors were never there before. Curious."
"Oh. That's Rift Magic at play." Sunset chuckled. "But you've been trapped here for a long time, so I guess you wouldn't know about it."
"But I would like to learn about it." Gardevoir smiled while closing her eyes. "And from how you word things, there are more of you, correct?"
"There are. A lot of us got pulled in here when Ash, Twilight, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were trying to connect some of their own mind realms together and led to us accidentally showing up here. So, we got curious and decided to check out each door for ourselves. And here we are."
"Oh, so that's how."
"We're also trying to find a way to stop Delayed Aura Ataxia too and-"
"What did you say?" Gardevoir interrupted her as her expression suddenly changed into a menacing one, startling Sunset Shimmer.
"U-Uh..." Sunset lingered on her words for a beat, intimidated by Gardevoir's glare.
"My apologies." Gardevoir chuckled. "You just startled me there by mention that. Hahaha!"
"You're the one who startled me..." Sunset Shimmer sighed. "A-As I was saying, were' gonna try and see if we can find the source of it. And also find a way out of this place. That's kinda the main goal more than stopping Ataxia."
"I see. And how do you plan on stopping it?"
"No idea. Ash is the only one who can do it. I mean, he's got the biggest Aura in existence right now. He's still figuring it out but I know he'll find a way. He always does. And hey, he could free you from this place too since you're trapped here."
"Hm. Good to know. I look forward to seeing how his progress with Aura goes. And you have me curious now. The biggest Aura in existence, eh?"
"Yep. That's because he has the same Aura pattern as the Legendary Aura Guardian, Sir Aaron."
"Sir Aaron...?!"
"Looks like you know him too. That's why his Aura is so big. I think it might be the biggest in any generation so far from how grand it is. But I don't know. I'm still new to Pokemon stuff."
"Okay. Thanks for the advice, Fluttershy." Roxie had finished speaking with Fluttershy as she hung up. "She'll be here, Sunset. In the meantime, Let's do some jamming."
"Great. And uh...jamming?" Sunset said.
"Yeah. Jam. I always like to play my guitar when I'm bored. You can try it too if you want. I could teach you some stuff." Roxie held her guitar out to Sunset.
"Oh, gee. Thanks." Sunset grabbed the guitar." And yeah, I know something."
"You two will be fine it seems. Even in this whole new realm." Gardevoir spoke as Roxie was just now hearing her use language that she could understand.
"HUH! You can talk for real?!" Roxie pulled back after this reveal. "That's a shocker..."
"Before you leave to somewhere else, why not wear these." Gardevoir then held out two necklaces that were fittingly in a purple colour of poison. "To remember me. I'm not too sure if you will ever return here considering your predicament. These necklaces will be good reminders, however."
"Oh. Thank you, Gardevoir." Sunset gladly took the necklace. It was the least she could do since Gardevoir saved Braixen's life. The same went for Roxie but she took it due to how she was a Poison specialist.
"Nice!" Roxie grinned. "This'll look great on me!"
"Well. I'm no longer needed. I look forward to what you will all do next." Gardevoir bowed her head, closing her eyes before walking away, off to do whatever it is she does on a lone island such as this with no other Pokemon but herself. Not even any Ethereal Lucario to keep her company.
"Shame she's all alone here..." Sunset uttered. "I'm surprised, she's managed to stay calm for so long."
"Eh. Gardevoir are like that." Roxie shrugged. "They're pretty nonchalant all the time. Anyway, let's go."
And so they waited. Fluttershy and her group would soon reunite with their friends. In the meanwhile, the Gardevoir had gone to the lower parts of the island where there was a poisonous cave. But her shield protected her either way.
And once she entered the cave, the Embrace Pokemon stopped for a moment. There was complete silence around her as she looked ahead in the cave. That's when a glimmer of Aura could be seen. But that Aura came from some unconscious Lucario that was having its Aura flow out without any consciousness.
Afterwards, a smile came on Gardevoir's face.
Fluttershy and the others had arrived. The one way they found a way to open the door was by having someone else with a Poison-Type open the door. That person was Roseluck. She was found in the Grass-Type area with Applejack, Apple Bloom and Sceptile. But more than that, her ace, Roserade was Grass-Poison-Type.
Thus, they opened the door.
"There," said Roseluck. "So are you just gonna go back and forth with the Grass-Type area? Cause it sounds like you guys keep showing up there the most so far."
"We know." Fluttershy giggled. "We'll be back there again anyway. There could still be something we can find in that realm."
"Hey, Fluttershy! Applejack!" Sunset cried out towards them as Scootaloo could also be seen. They wasted no time, heading for the door to leave this poisonous area as soon as they could. "Did you find anything at the Grass Realm by the way?"
"Nothing there." Applejack shook her head. "Not yet. We've still got those Pikachu Highlands to go." The door was closed as their conversation continued elsewhere. Now it was just Gardevoir and Lucario. She wasn't alone at all it seemed.
She then turned away from the unconscious Lucario as the Aura started flowing in her direction. Just then, Gardevoir was absorbing the Aura, breathing it all in as it felt wonderful to her. But then, a frown formed on her face as she looked down.
"This Aura won't do. But now..." She then regained her smile. "Learning of someone who has an Aura equal to Sir Aaron's? Possibly bigger? Excellent. Seems like all my work won't be for nothing."
Then, the Giga Lucario appeared beside her. Only as a smaller head this time instead of a massive one. It was still fairly big as the Giga Lucario did not attack Gardevoir.
"You've failed to get rid of them once more." She said to the Giga Lucario. "Surely you aren't the same Lucario that caused me so much trouble. Keep on trying. Soon, I'll step into the fray with a greater income of Aura."
Grass Realm.
They had all shown up at the Grass Realm this time, having a bigger group. As for this realm, nothing eventful was happening so far within it.
According to Applejack, Apple Bloom and Roseluck, there was nothing at the Deerling Forest. But maybe something at the Pikachu Highlands could be found. And since there were more of them, they started searching. They even split up to see what they could find.
But upon searching the highlands, the necklaces around Roxie and Sunset's necks were vibrating gently. Just then, they felt something itchy around their necks.
"Ugh." Sunset winced as she started scratching her collar bone. "Something itches..." But she dismissed it along with Roxie. To them, it seemed like a minor annoyance at best.
However, from the back of the necklaces, a poisonous sparkle embedded with Gardevoir's magic had flown out. They dropped to the ground, seeping inside of it without making a sound. The more Sunset and Roxie moved, the more they dropped everywhere. Whatever was up with those necklaces, they certainly weren't normal accessories.
In the meanwhile, the Giga Lucario was on the move again. This time, it was heading for another realm. And as for the Gardevoir, she was about to do the same. Her main target was Ash. Hearing how he had a massive Aura was an instant catch for her.
Gardevoir smirked as she used her Psychic powers to open a door to the 18 Realms out of thin air. It turned out she wasn't as stranded as she made herself to be. No. This Psychic-Fairy-Type had something else in mind.
The grass was being infected over time. The poisonous sparkles were working their magic each time they fell. Not only that, but the bodies of Sunset Shimmer and Roxie were twitching. They felt greater itches arrive as it was hard to concentrate.
"Grrr...!" Sunset growled, getting on her knees as she stopped near a tree. "What's with this?" She then sat by the tree as her veins were starting to show, starting from her arms. But they had a darker colouring thanks to the poison. Once she sat by the tree, it had been poisoned as well. Sunset whimpered as she wasn't sure what she was feeling.
"Hey! You doing okay over there?!" Applejack noticed Sunset Shimmer's current status from afar as she hopped on Sceptile's back. The Forest Pokemon used his vines to swing to the scene. "Sunset! What's wrong?!" Applejack ran to her.
But the moment she got close, one of the poisonous sparkles had been set off. Because of how they were constantly flowing out of the necklace, they were essentially like mines. And once she set it off, Applejack received its effects. She then fell to the ground all of a sudden, feeling drained. "Ugh..."
"Applejack!" Sunset gasped before standing up. When she stood, the tree behind her had been fully poisoned to the point where it had toppled. "!" Sunset turned to see the tree falling her way.
"Tile!" Sceptile quickly used his vines to pull them both away, swiftly saving them from harm. However, Sceptile's vines had been infected due to making contact with the two of them as they already had poison afflictions. The poison destroyed his vines while also reaching his hands. "S-Scep..." Sceptile was especially vulnerable to this, suffering from being a Grass-Type.
"T-This is..." Sunset coughed, getting on one knee. "Poison...!"
The poisonous sparkles had been continuously set off. Soon, they exuded a poisonous smoke that erupted from the ground. They reacted to each other once the first few had been afflicted. And with less subtlety than when they were planted, the poisons smoke made an audible sound and a visible sight.
The smoke started spreading, affecting other poisonous sparkles to make it grow. Sunset and the others instantly backed away once they saw this appear. The grass had been poisoned, melting and corroding away from the dangerous poison as it was rapidly affecting the Deerling Forest. Thankfully, there were no real Deerling since this was still within a mind. But there was still the rest of their friends.
Sunset laid on her back as the poison was eating her up. She started feeling like she was unable to move. Applejack felt the same as she breathed in and out. Sceptile's legs felt wobbly along with his vision. They nearly doubled over in pain as they tightly grasped their stomach. Ferocious cramps completely crippled them and they didn't seem to stop.
Half their bodies felt numb, starting to give out. The sharp, burning sensation was all they could focus on. Their eyes darted all over, desperately searching for a way to relieve their body from this miserable feeling.
Terrified they kept their eyes clamped shut. The world seemed to spin around them and a sharp, throbbing pain took hold of them. A sickening pain shot through their stomach, arms and hooves as they wrapped tightly around it. It was all they could do to not collapse and wither in misery on the ground which was already infected. It was exhausting and the pain took its toll on them.
They tried as best they could to block out the pain, to find some form of meditative trance in order to cope with the agonizing sensations. They felt thirsty and tired, unsure of what to do.
The skies were turning purple as Fluttershy and the others saw this from the other side. The trees were being consumed, either wilting or being erased completely as it was approaching Fluttershy, Apple Bloom Roseluck and their Pokemon.
"I don't think so!" Just them as if nothing happened, Roxie was healthy once more. The poison was off of her and the necklace had been removed. Not only that but she had an Amoongus by her side along with her Toxicroack and Scolipede. "Amoonguss, get in there and suck the poison out with Giga Drain!"
"Amoon!" The Mushroom Pokemon rushed forward, heading to Sunset, Sceptile and Applejack's side as fast as it could. It was immune to the poison due to its mushroom nature. In fact, it revelled in the poison. As did Roserade. Roserade stood in front of Roseluck, ready to protect her.
Amoonguss used the power of Giga Drain, sending long vines out of its body. The vines wrapped around the three of them as the poison within them was being drained. Free food for Amoonguss.
"Audi! Use Protect!"
"Audino!" Audino put up a protective barrier to shield her friends from the poison. At least for as long as she can.
"You do that! Roserade! Get in there and use Petal Blizzard to blow it all away!"
"Rose!" Roserade got into the action, heading for the poisonous smoke as she was fine being within it. The Bouquet Pokemon then leapt into the air, spinning her arms out as she created a blizzard of petals. "Rose-Rose-Rose!"
"Hey! You three!" Roxie came over, patting Sunset Shimmer on the face. Their veins were no longer showing as Amoonguss had fully drained it all. "Are you doing okay now?!"
"N-Now I am..." Sunset groaned. "Neck's still itchy. What just happened?"
"That Gardevoir tricked us. Those necklaces were poisonous." Roxie explained, helping Sunset Shimmer up. "It's a good thing I'm the Poison expert here. My Amoonguss and some of my Pokemon can suck the poison out no problem. It's free food for them."
"Much obliged, Roxie." Applejack stretched her muscles. "That's much better. Faster than normal healing too."
"Sceptile!"
"Rade!" As for Roserade, with her rapid spinning, she was pushing the poisonous smoke away. The blizzard of petals had also blown away some f the sparkles that have yet to be activated, overpowering them.
Thanks to the power of two Grass and Poison Types that were the same Dual Type, the issue of the poison had been solved. But with some substantial damage leftover. Roserade then stuck a stylish landing as the poison had been fended off. Scolipede and Toxicroack then gladly absorbed the rest for themselves. Soon, the Grass Realm was free of the poison as Amoonguss gladly ate the necklaces.
"Amoon~"
"Whew.." Roxie sighed as Fluttershy and the others ran over. "That was a close one."
"I can't believe that Gardevoir would do that. Why?" Sunset wondered. Gardevoir seemed so nice and gentle. Much like every other Gardevoir out there.
"No clue. But it looked like she wanted us out of the picture." Roxie replied.
"What's this about a Gardevoir?" Applejack asked, out of the loop. "And what necklaces?"
"Poisonous necklaces." Roxie tapped her neck. And it also looks like we don't have just a super big Lucario to watch out for. They all then looked at the now clear skies, worried about what else could come their way in this realm or even another realm that they could end up in.
A Gardevoir with her own plans coupled with the team up with this Giga Lucario of an unknown origin and unknown purpose. All realms were in danger by this duo of Pokemon. A few knew but not everyone else. At least not yet as the journey continues.
The Psychic Realm. Here, Twilight, Celestia, Luna, Starlight and even Delia and Pinkie Pie had found themselves in this realm as they all had Psychic-Types.
And within this realm, the entire area was Canterlot. From the massive castle, the Canterlot Gardens and even the sight of Ponyville from afar. This was most likely from either Twilight, Celestia, or Luna's mind. Or perhaps all three of them combined.
So far, they couldn't find anything of use so far. Nothing to take them out of this realm. Celestia had to lower the sun while Luna had to raise the moon. Little did they know, time worked differently here in the 18 Realms. But the place was huge, giving them various other options.
"Nothing here either," Luna spoke, checking the treasure room. "There's always something at least of great value in here."
"We still have rooms to spare," Celestia spoke from the other side of the hallway. "Though...it feels empty without any of the guards here. I expected our mind to be far more lively than this. Especially since it is a culmination."
"It was pretty lively when I showed up in my Mindscape the first time. I saw my friends." Twilight replied.
"We still haven't checked this one out yet." Starlight faced the room where Celestia and Luna's childhood toys were placed. An area that was rarely ever touched due to how their royal duties got in their way. But there were massive amounts of toys within this one room. Enough to satisfy an entire town of children.
"Ah, this room." Celestia and the others approached it. "It would be fitting if the one area we've barely ever touched would be the solution."
"This is the one with all the toys, right? Sweet." Pinkie spoke with a grin, eager to try some of those toys out.
"Do you think it might truly be in here?" Delia asked.
"Only way to found out." Twilight ahead, using her magic to open the door. She was expecting a barrage of toys to fly out due to how many there were. She and the others already had shields ready, just in case. Instead, what they found was something else. Something no one was expecting as the sounds of crowds cheering echoed out of it.
A Game Show room.
"Huh?!" They all said cried out with equal confusion as there were some sort of gravitational pull that instantly sucked them all in. The door had been shut tight afterwards. "Oh!" They each screamed after being pulled in by this gravitational pull.
Waiting for them were six seats in total. And on those seats, with barely any time to comprehend what was going on, Twilight, Delia, Celestia, Luna, Pinkie and Starlight had been placed on them. They blinked for a second as heavy straps emerged from the seats, wrapping around their hooves and arms.
As for their Pokemon, Espeon, Passion and Mew had been placed within the crowd seats. Speaking of crowd seats, they were made up of hundreds of Psychic-Type Pokemon. Not any Ethereal Lucario this time. In fact, there was not a single one to be found.
"W-What's going on?" Twilight stuttered. "I can't move! What is this?!"
"Oh my! It looks to be a game show!" Delia observed with her voice almost being drowned out by the crowd of cheering Pokemon. "How fun!"
"Very fun!" Pinkie grinned brightly in agreement.
"Not so fun when we are restrained!" Luna growled, trying to break free. Then, footsteps could be heard, approaching the centre of the game show stage. Twilight and everyone's attention were turned to the direction of these footsteps.
They belonged to the same Pokemon found within the Poison Realm and the one who had plans of her own. The same species as Passion. The Shiny Gardevoir as she showed up on the stage.
"A Gardevoir?" They each said.
"One of a different colour." Gardevoir bowed to them. "Welcome to the Game Show. I see you've found yourself here of all places."
"More like we were forced in here." Starlight pouted. "And are you someone we know?"
"I'm a new Gardevoir to you all." She shrugged. "The locations are your memories but everyone else, not so much. Although, it is nice seeing a fellow Gardevoir here." She turned to face Passion.
"G-Gardevoir." Passion waved at her.
"And I can sense great things from that Gardevoir over there. Especially you." Gardevoir then floated around Celestia's seat, sensing the ludicrous amount of magic that was radiating from her. "The magic potential in you is unreal. And I suppose I can say the same to some of you."
"I mean nice to meet you but...why are we strapped down?" Twilight asked. "Do we have to? I mean, don't get me wrong. I love quizzes but we're a bit busy."
"That's just how it is for those seats. Apologies." The straps on the seats had vanished as a button appeared next to them as well. This clearly a part of the quiz. "Now then, shall we begin the showdown? The Cerebral Quiz!" She raised her arm as a giant screen showing the Game Show name appeared with playful music added with trumpets. "We have many questions to go off of. When they're done, you will win a prize."
"Oooh! How fun!" Celestia, Delia and Pinkie each said.
"A voice from above will be giving us the questions. And if you lose and you'll win nothing. But you'll earn something unbearable that could be considered gratifying in a way. And seeing as how you're all in a realm out of your reality and focused around your mind, the questions that will come your way will be tailored to your personal life as well. Now then, shall we begin?"
"Well...I've been itching to try a Pokemon Quiz one day so...now's a good time as any," Twilight said. " Didn't think it'd be here of all places."
"I do love a good brain test!" Delia giggled.
"But..." Gardevoir then went towards them as another seat appeared. She sat down on it as well, joining in on the game. "I will be partaking in this. I want some fun too, you know."
"Question One." The voice could be heard around the room. The first question showed up on the screen. On the screen, it showed manestyle with a familiar colour palette. A white mane that had purple streaks in them. Plus there was a blacked-out silhouette at the top. "Who could this be?"
"Hah!" Twilight slammed her hoof on the button. "That's my mom! Twilight Velvet! Easy." She had a confident smile on her face, knowing exactly what her mother looks like. But just like that, she heard a buzzing sound that gave the indication of incorrect. "Huh?! How?!"
"Mm." Gardevoir smiled as even Celestia was confused by this wrong answer. The Embrace Pokemon had then pressed the button, deciding to give the answer. "That would be Twilight Sparkle."
Just then, the image became fully realized. The figure of a pony appeared as it had a pink coat with multiple stars as its Cutie Mark. Certainly more than what Twilight Velvet's Cutie Mark had. Just three. Another buzzer came through as it was a correct answer for Gardevoir.
"That's a simple misunderstanding. This is how you appeared when the Desire based around retro and nostalgia attacked. You had a similar appearance to your mother with the only striking difference being your coats and a slight increase in Cutie Marks." Gardevoir explained.
After getting the answer wrong, Twilight had then been pelted in the face with a pie. That was her first punishment. Twilight groaned as the pie dripped down her face. "Ugh..."
"First point for me." Gardevoir giggled. "Don't worry. The punishments ramp up each time."
"Good to know..." Twilight sighed.
"Question two!" The next question appeared as it showed the appearance of a cake. Celestia's favourite food. Celestia was already getting hungry just by looking at it. Her eyes opened with her tongue sticking out.
"That cake..." Celestia gawked. "I remember that cake...Ultimate Cookies and Cream Vanilla Overload Cake...Hoh...I haven't had it in centuries."
"What a name," Delia replied.
"My mother was the only one who knew how to make it. It took so much time, making it a cake that could only be rivalled by time itself...I miss it so much..." Celestia lowered her head. Meanwhile, Luna also licked her lips just looking at it. As did Pinkie Pie who felt like passing out from its view
"On the night before Celestia's birthday, the entire cake had been devoured, leaving Celestia distraught when the fateful day came. Who was the one who devoured it?" Celestia pressed the button afterwards, having the answer.
"I know. On that birthday, my parents got me Philomena. It was meant to be a surprise for tomorrow morning but she managed to sneak out of her cage and went for the fridge. It was a shame...I never had another one ever again. But at least I got Philomena after that."
Wrong again. The buzzer made sure she was aware of that as Celestia gasped. Luna then scrunched her face, slumping on the seat. Celestia wasn't sure how this was possible. "Impossible! I was there!"
After getting it wrong, Celestia's punishment was cake. Not a bad punishment at first, but Celestia glared at the cake, noticing the flavour. "...Carrot Cake..." She uttered as it was flung at her. "NO-" Celestia screamed with fear as her face had been struck by her least favourite type of cake.
"Awww..." Celestia groaned and moaned.
"Hm-hm." Gardevoir chuckled as she pressed the button. "It was Luna. In the dead of night, she went over to the kitchen, eating the cake for herself. It was only a coincidence that Philomena ended up in the same area. Afterwards, Luna used a camouflage spell to disguise herself with the night, going undetected when Queen Sunlight arrived in the room."
"That was you?!" Celestia turned to her little sister as the buzzer rang for the correct answer. Once she turned her head, the cake flew off as her face was a mess with carrots poking out.
"I'm sorry!" Luna screeched, pulling her hair. "It was just so...So good! I would've stopped at just a lick, I swear!"
"If it makes you feel better, Princess Celestia, I'll make you a new one." Just then, Pinkie quickly diffused the scenario by giving an amazing suggestion.
"Really? Oh. That would be nice." Celestia was at peace. And so was Luna as she essentially dodged a supernova. She took a moment to catch her breath from that.
"Only 8 questions remain. A tad embarrassing that you've been losing. But it's fine. The last two were just misconceptions and mistakes, that was all." Gardevoir chuckled as she radiated a passive-aggressive aura.
"Next question." The next question came into view as it was something in the shape of a ball. "Who's that Pokemon?"
"It has a circular body..." Twilight observed as she and the others looked closely, making sure not to slip up. "How many Pokemon do we know have that kind of shape?"
"Not many, surprisingly." Delia shook her head. "But it could be some that are common from the looks of it."
"I own no Pokemon that has this shape, but I have seen some," Luna explained. "Are you all having the same idea as I am?"
"Sure are!" Pinkie raised her hoof. "But we could totally mess it up! Because...ya know."
"Right. It's either Voltorb or Electrode." Celestia replied as they all nodded in unison. "So we have the same answer then. But take a closer look at it." She instructed as they once again observed the image with a sharper view. "Compared to the other images we've seen, this one is on a smaller scale. Even more so than Twilight. So...that means this one is..."
"I'll take it!" Pinkie Pie pressed the button. "It's Voltorb!" But the buzzer gave the incorrect sound as Pinkie Pie was wrong. "Huh?! Darn..."
"Aha!" Delia tapped the button next, deciding to answer. "It's Electrode then!" But the buzzer also made it give the incorrect sound as Delia was also wrong. "No?! T-Then who is it?!"
"I know!" Luna did the same, having another answer in mind. "Could it be...Spheal!" But Luna was also wrong as heard by the buzz. "Not even Spheal?"
"It's Rowlet then!" Starlight went next as well, pressing the button and giving her an answer. They were truly tackling every Pokemon that resembled a ball or any spherical shape. But even that was wrong.
"Hm-hm-hm." Gardevoir chuckled. "This is my favourite." She then pressed the button, revealing the true answer to them all as the image's full image came into fruition. "It's Jigglypuff seen from above." And with the buzzer going off, it was the correct answer.
"HUH?!" Flabberghasted, they never saw that coming. An answer that none of them would've ever predicted. Or were probably too late to give it out. They then fell over, landing flat on their faces or on their sides as the answer truly blew them away.
And since most of them got it wrong, they were pelted with punishments as well. Or rather, drenched in it. From above, a bucket of juice was dropped onto them. Extra cold too. They all shivered once the juice met with them. Their hairs and coats became wet along with Delia's clothes. "GHHH..." They shuddered together.
"Hohohohoho!" Gardevoir laughed at their failure, finding absolute enjoyment out of this. Celestia and the others too. Even if it was humiliating.
But they were very bitter about the Jigglypuff question. Nothing will ever make them forget this moment and how they were robbed from a point.
"Next question."
"Garde." Passion spoke whilst watching this game take place. She was obviously rooting for Celestia. But as the game continued, Passion's reactive senses were acting up as always. Passion's smile formed into a frown and soon into an open mouth.
She could feel something. Something was calling to her. And it was coming from the other Gardevoir. She looked at the Shiny Gardevoir. And the Shiny Gardevoir looked back at her. She spoke to Passion via telepathy, making sure that only they could communicate.
"I sensed all that you had, Passion." said Gardevoir. "You're a special Gardevoir. I can tell. A point-one-percenter as they say."
"How did you know?" Passion replied telepathically.
"You should know. All Gardevoir can tell potential. But then again, you're a Gardevoir that had her full potential unlocked at only the young age of a Kirlia. Aside from that, can you feel it?"
"Feel what?"
"The Aura. All of the Aura permeating throughout not just this realm but the other 17 as well. The feeling it gives off is wonderful, is it not?"
"I guess so...It's good but, I don't get what the big deal is."
"Let's just say it has something to do with my freedom."
Grass-Type Realm.
Meanwhile, over at the Grass Realm, Applejack, Fluttershy and the others were speaking with their friends through the Xtransceiver, revealing the secret Gardevoir and the Giga Lucario that were present.
"So there's a Gardevoir plotting right now? And a giant Lucario head too." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Mhm." Fluttershy nodded. "That's what we mean. Sunset and Roxie told us the moment they found out about these poisonous necklaces. It nearly took us all out. I'm afraid we're not entirely safe in this realm."
"Well, the Gardevoir's new. Not the Lucario. We're kinda seeing what you guys mentioned." Rainbow Dash then showed them a view from her Xtransceiver. Indeed, the Giga Lucaro was here with its face flaring in the skies. "Isn't that so cool?!" Rainbow Dash was impressed even though it was a threat to her.
"We need to warn everyone, right now," said Sunset. "From how things are going, we could end up being trapped here. Or worse. Does everyone at least know about the rest of the Lucario? The ones with Ethereal bodies around them?"
"Mm." Rainbow shrugged. "I'm just knowing about this. We've been flying up in this realm for a while now. But I'll call Rarity, no problem."
"Then I'll call Starlight right now." Applejack went for her Xtransceiver, ready to call. "We've already got something we can head to here in the Grass Realm. Once we find out what it is, we'll find that Gardevoir too."
"And uh...Can we also avoid that?" Scootaloo gulped, pointing her hoof in the sky as the Giga Lucario's visage could be seen, flashing constantly. It was everywhere. Not just in one place.
If it wanted to stop everyone, it would need to be everywhere at once. And it certainly was, ready to do what it could under Gardevoir's orders.
Psychic Realm.
Back at the Psychic Realm, the questions kept coming as Gardevoir was the only one succeeding in these questions. Twilight and the others couldn't get one thing right, much to their chagrin.
"Next question. During the journey at Eindoak Town, which Pokemon did Ash team up with to help stop the Dragon Force and keep the Sword of the Vale in place?"
"It was Reshiram!" Delia shouted but her answer was wrong. Gardevoir then spoke normally, pressing the button.
"The correct answer is both Reshiram and Zekrom." She said. "By a strange universal disruption, Ash managed to gain the assistance of both Reshiram and Zekrom in the same town with the same line of events but with a different Pokemon. This strange anomaly remains a mystery to this day, however, Palkia has readjusted it so that one event remained while the other was an alteration. So, the actual correct answer is Zekrom."
Gardevoir got that correct as it took a few words to get there. Delia's punishment was a barrage of spicy Cheri Berries that rapidly flew into her mouth. Once they entered, Delia's face turned as she breathed out fire. "Hot! Hot! HOT!"
As for everyone else, most of them had gotten questions wrong so far. They had either received spicy food in their mouths, juice all over them or other kinds of food. But it was about to get worse.
"I don't believe it...She's crushing us at this..." Starlight's jaw dropped.
"I know...How does she know more than us? I mean, to be fair, the Jigglypuff question was just ridiculous but still...That's odd, isn't it?" Twilight felt like banging her face on the wall from how many questions she got wrong.
"Very. This quiz also seems to have questions that would seem easy at first but have deeper cuts to them." Luna replied. "This is embarrassing."
"It is..."Celestia sighed. "But fun too. Wish this flavour of cake wasn't on me though. I would've preferred chocolate.
"Yeah!" Pinkie licked the food off of her face. "Tasty too!"
"Next question. What is Passion's full name?"
"HUH?!" Everyone gasped after that. No one was expecting a question such as this. Mostly due to the fact that Pokemon are never seen with last names. They always have their species names and sometimes nicknames given to them by trainers. Learning that Passion had a last name was shocking to them.
"Passion has a last name?!" Celestia shouted. "How were we supposed to know that?!"
"No Pokemon has ever revealed to have a last name before." Starlight shook her head. "This doesn't feel fair..."
"Tricky...But I'll go for it anyway!" Twilight took the risk, pressing the button to take a crack at it. She already had something in mind. "Is her full name Gardevoir...Gardevoir?!"
Silence for a moment. Truly a bold answer. But one that would make sense in a way. Unfortunately, it didn't make sense here as the buzzer echoed an incorrect tone. Twilight's eye twitched as Gardevoir had touched the button next.
"Passion's last name is Wailord. Gardevoir Wailord."
"Wailord?!" They all said.
"Her father is a Wailord." Gardevoir shrugged. "Crazy how some Pokemon families work, isn't it?" She then let out a pompous laugh as Twilight's punishment had arrived.
And it was something she feared. The ladybug species. Combined with Ledyba. They appeared from a box, swarming towards Twilight immediately. "Ah...AH!" Twilight let out a prolonged gasped before screeching in fear. She closed her eyes, attempting to hop out. However, the restraints from the seats instantly reacted to her movements, forcing her to sit.
"Ledy! Ledyba!"
"Wait! No! NO! KYAAA!" She cried for help as they surrounded her, climbing on her body as well.
"Espeon!" Espeon sat up from her seat after seeing her trainer in potential danger.
"Uh...I believe that's taking it too far," said Celestia. "Twilight's fear of ladybugs and I suppose now Ledyba is fairly large."
"I did say the punishments would get worse each time." Gardevoir snickered as Twilight kept squirming around these bugs, feeling greatly uncomfortable.
"Well, I can't stand to see Twilight ha-" Celestia stood up, ready to help Twilight even in the middle of a game show. But just like with Twilight, the restraints around the seats activated, grabbing Celestia. "Hey!"
"You can't move until the game is over, my little ponies." Gardevoir shook her head. "Understand that this is all in good fun. Part of the show."
And the Psychic-Types agreed as they all cheered, enjoying every second of this. Passion, not so much. Seeing Celestia like that did sit right with her. "G-Garde."
"You need not worry, Passion." Gardevoir spoke to her via telepathy once more. "But aside from that, I need a favour from you. You're clearly a special Gardevoir. More than me. I need you to help me find Aura."
"Aura? Why?"
"I've been stuck here for years, obviously. I need a way to escape and the only way for my escape is by absorbing the energy that exists within these 18 Realms. Delayed Aura Ataxia exists here as well. If I want to escape, I need a gigantic amount of Aura or at least something close to it. Unless, you would want some too, just in case?"
"Me? Oh, no I don't have that kind of Aura."
"Oh, but you do, Passion. You have a larger Aura than any other Gardevoir I've known. While it's no Lucario, it's still impressive either way. The perks of being a special Pokemon, hm?"
"Well...if you want to escape, I can help. I wouldn't you or anyone else to be trapped here."
"You're a sweet girl, Passion. I'll finally be out of here, thank Arceus. Your friends will help me too. I can tell. They seem to be the kind to do so."
"They are. Celestia and everyone are so wonderful." Passion giggled.
"The answer is-" Just as Starlight was ready to pitch in her answer, her Xtransceiver started ringing. "Hm?" She then took it out, seeing who was calling. "Oh. It's from Applejack." Starlight answered afterwards. "Hi, Applejack."
"Starlight. You doing okay there? We've got a problem." Applejack asked.
"What problem?" Starlight replied, only for Gardevoir to look at Starlight with narrowed eyes. She was hoping that none of the others would get in contact with each other. The last thing she was expecting was a pony holding an object such as that. And doing it perfectly without any issue.
Passion then noticed what her fellow Gardevoir was up to. She saw how her hand was moving, slowly going for the Xtransceiver to cut Applejack off. And it would be done via a small Psychic bolt. Espeon noticed it as well. But her notice came via the gem on her forehead that had the power to predict.
"Espeon!" Acting quickly, Espeon had fired a beam of Psychic energy that had intercepted Gardevoir's beam, causing a Psychic explosion that was on a small scale but still startled the others.
"Oh!" Starlight pulled back as she was the closest to this tiny outburst. "That was close..."
"Was that Gardevoir?!" Applejack shouted through the Xtransceiver.
"No? I don't know. Why?"
"Starlight! That Gardevoir's-"
"Espeon!" Espeon then jumped off the crowd seats, landing onto the stage and facing the Embrace Pokemon, seeing her as an immediate threat. "Eon! Espeon!"
"What Eve said."
"Espeon...!" The Sun Pokemon growled as Passion joined her.
"Voir. Gardevoir." Passion pointed at her fellow Gardevoir, ranting at her as no one else could tell what she was talking about so far.
"I didn't lie to you at all, Passion. I truly need the energy to leave this place. But...I should've known you would end up seeing past me. The intelligence of Psychic-Types after all."
"What is happening exactly?" Luna asked. "Is the game still going?"
"Starlight! If you're hearing this! That Gardevoir's massive trouble!" Applejack exclaimed through the Xtrasceiver as Gardevoir got off her seat.
"You?" Starlight turned to the Shiny Gardevoir. That's when doubts came through. This once fun game show of quizzes was coming to an end after this revelation. And from how Gardevoir was smiling, the reveal was as clear as day.
"Alright. Who are you really?" Twilight asked.
"I'm still a Gardevoir. And despite what all of you may think, I didn't lie. Well, you don't know yet. Only Passion does." Gardevoir explained.
"Passion? What's going on?" Celestia asked her partner.
"Gardevoir." Gardevoir then used her abilities to make a Psychic pulse, passing it through everyone's minds. In an instant, she had sent them everything they needed to know.
"Oooh..." Slow nods were made by Celestia. "So that's it. Then this game show is some sort of ploy then?"
"A bit. But I just generally wanted to try it out. But the game show isn't my main concern." Just then, all of the Psychic-Type Pokemon, including the Ledyba surrounding Twilight had suddenly vanished. They were never real to begin with it seemed. "It's getting out of here."
"Do you truly want to leave here?" Luna asked, judgemental about Gardevoir's words.
"Obviously I do!" Gardevoir suddenly exclaimed. She felt offended by that. "Do you honestly think I'm happy being here? I do want to leave. More than anything. It's a shame that my amazing Psychic abilities are not even enough to leave this wretched realm. And it all has to do with that wretched Ataxia. Sometimes I regret making it. Sometimes."
"Wait..." There it was. An even bigger revelation that no one saw coming. The true creator behind Delayed Aura Ataxia was apparently standing right before them. Twilight raised her hoof slowly at the Embrace Pokemon. "Y-You made it?"
"I did. I'm the creator of Delayed Aura Ataxia. Or as some humans like to call it; the Universe's Malison. Cute." She smirked in front of them.
"You made something so destructive?! Why and...how!?" Luna questioned.
"How else? By using the same source that Ataxia came from. Aura. I may look like your standard Gardevoir...for the most part, but I am as old as practically every other region in the world. My time predates all of you, dating back to the rapid disappearance of the Mew population. Much like every Pokemon that descended from Mew, I was the same. But I knew I was destined for greatness the moment I found out that I could absorb Aura. This amazing life force that permeates throughout our universe could do more than just manifest into an attack. For example...it could slow down my ageing."
"So that's how you're still around even after all those years," said Starlight. "And is that why Ash still looks young...? Or is it still Ho-oh?"
"Bang on. It's an amazing thing, isn't it? Once I figured that out, I knew I could live on even further, never having to worry about passing on too soon or too late. But I discovered this only exists within Lucario and Aura Guardians. And occasionally some Pokemon that happen to know Aura Sphere. I ventured the land, gaining as much Aura as I could to continue my lifespan to a point where it could be eternal."
"You couldn't have gone to Ho-oh for that?" Pinkie Pie asked, scratching her mane.
"As if. Ho-oh only gives its eternal life to those who are worthy. I was not. So I made myself worthy of Aura. Of course, there were fools who stood in my way to stop me. Mainly the Aura Guardians. Many saw my method of Aura stealing as archaic. Then again, it's the only method, making it disastrous in their eyes. And they have a point. But as if that stopped me. Hahaha! So, I became the natural enemy of the Aura Guardians. And they were troublesome. Very troublesome. The Aura Guardians were too powerful for their own good. It made me jealous, honestly."
She then made the seats all merge into one bigger seat. Gardevoir then ascended onto the seat, sitting on it with a nonchalant attitude as if she didn't have potential enemies right in front of her.
"The Aura Guardians had equal Aura to mine despite not absorbing any. How frustrating. So, to solve this little issue of mine. I created Delayed Aura Ataxia. A disorder that would infect only users of Aura or high amounts of Aura, harming and overloading the limits of their body to the point where the only thing they can do is pass out. And when they do pass out, it's free Aura for me to take. I can't even keep track of all the Aura Guardian's I've defeated with this idea."
"That's horrible!" Twilight roared as her horn started glowing out of anger along with her wings flapping. Espeon snarled at her while Mew just made a cross face. Mew is a Pokemon that rarely gets angry and he's never good at showing his anger.
"Ah, but I'll give you an upside to this story for a few minutes. There was one Lucario that gave me so much trouble. During the biggest battle of my life, there was a young Aura Guardian who approached me. He was new to it all, making him easy pickings. But apparently, his bond with his Lucario said otherwise. Plus, I was already damaged from the previous battles I had on that day. And that Lucario...Curse that Lucario!"
She clenched her fist with her eyes glowing dark purple. Clearly, something about that fated day aggravated her. Something she couldn't forget despite how old she was.
"I was on the verge of defeat. But as if I would let some upstart Aura Guardian and his Lucario get in my way. So, I conjured a realm where all Lucario could be trapped inside of. Becoming power sources for me to absorb when I enter and utilize when I exit. But...In act of noble sacrifice, that Lucario managed to cause a volatile reaction with my Aura. The realm had been made, but I was trapped. I could absorb all the Aura I wanted but I could never use it on the outside. That Lucario perished as many of the ones I had absorbed Auras from ended up in this realm as well, becoming ethereal. And since then, I have been trying my hardest to break free of this realm and use what I have gathered after so long, showing the world what I am truly capable of."
"...Wow." That was all Starlight could say.
"And now that I hear there is a boy with the same Aura pattern as Sir Aaron...possibly even greater? This might be my breakthrough. Just the right amount of Aura I need to free myself."
"You mean...Ash!" Delia gasped. "My baby boy! No way!"
"Yes way." Gardevoir leaned forward. "I need to leave here as soon as I can. I dread spending another century within this realm. DO you have any idea what it's like being here for so long?"
"I do." Luna stepped forward as she could actually relate. Gardevoir's attention was turned to her. "I was trapped on the moon for an abundance of time myself. I can understand your anger. And frankly, I don't think you should have to suffer being here for so long."
"There! You get it." Gardevoir laughed. "Glad I can relate to someone here."
"However, what you have told is hard to stomach and hard to forgive. While I emphasize with your suffering in this realm, I'm not sure I can forgive what you had done to all of those Lucario from the past."
"What? Do you think you're just going to give me the consequences once I'm free? Please. This place is already a consequence enough. All I want is absolute immortality. To live forever. The Pokemon World certainly won't even find its closure. Not with the powerful cosmic forces that keep it stable. And the things I can accomplish with all that time."
"We'll help you leave this place," Celestia said. "But we won't allow you to absorb Ash's Aura."
"I was afraid you were going to say that. This is a goldmine of Aura. I've been dreaming of absorbing the Aura of Sir Aaron one day. Sadly, he's long gone. But not that Ketchum boy. It seems that he's the one that Ho-oh deems worthy enough. I need that Aura!"
Gardevir's eyes flared as she made an efficacious pressure appear within the room. Everyone could feel it as there was something so overwhelming about it. But they weren't afraid.
Just then, the head of the Giga Lucario had finally appeared here. The ceiling of the Game Show room had burst open, revealing the Lucario that apparently gave Gardevoir so much trouble in the past. Now it was definitely everywhere.
"You remember how I said that I also occasionally stole Aura from Pokemon that happen to know Aura Sphere?" Gardevoir chuckled. "Well, those Pokemon are also here. Under my control as opposed to this big Lucario controlling her fellow Lucario. I'd like to see how all your friends will do when face to face with them in these realms. I imagine you'll do well. But for how long?"
"Gardevoir!" Passion roared as it made her sick that a fellow Gardevoir would do this. But she couldn't focus on that right now. What she and everyone had to focus on was the incoming threat from all realms, targeting her friends.
"Last question for the game. How long do you think it will take fr you to defeat all of the Pokemon in 18 Realms before I can get my hands on that Aura?" Gardevoir asked.
"Give us at least 15 minutes!" Twilight bellowed. "Because even if you get there, there's no way you can just casually take it from Ash. By the time we're done with them, we'll be there to help Ash."
"Yeesh. Talk about confidence. Alright then. Have fun! I've got an Aura to steal!" And with a tiny finger wave, Gardevoir left the scene, leaving the other Pokemon to handle the rest.
"Why that no good...!" Delia was exceptionally furious about this. "She thinks she can just do that to my son? She's got another thing coming!"
Just then, the Pokemon she stole Auras from showed themselves. They burst through the walls, materializing from Gardevoir's Psychic energy. And they weren't just showing up here. They were showing up everywhere practically one or more Pokemon of a few types can learn or have Aura Sphere at their disposal.
An unprecedented issue had occurred. The true origin of Delayed Aura Ataxia and the one behind it. The dangerous Gardevoir only set on living for eternity and using that eternal life to her advantage. None can know what she could do especially in this day and age as the journey continues.
The Normal Realm. The most number of trainers could be found within this realm. Mayor Mare, Amethyst Star, Vinyl, Octavia, Berry Punch and practically almost every resident in Ponyville were here. Each of them owned a Normal-Type which was fitting due to how common they were.
The location they were in was a mixture of Pallet Town and Ponyville. As if they both weren't comfortable and cosy enough, now that they had merged, it made it look like the ultimate town. Anyone would be satisfied living here.
Everypony explored the area with many of them entering homes that they already owned. But with some extra stuff added in there due to the addition of human houses. Speaking of extra, due to this being a combined town, both Professor Oak's lab and Twilight's lab. They were now conjoined to make a singular lab while the castle remained the same.
So did Town Hall as Mayor Mare plus her Stoutland were in it. Amethyst Heart too as they were admiring the new view. They had to wonder who's mind thought about this. They were both thinking that it could be either Ash, Twilight, Celestia or Luna's mind. But judging from its appearance, it was most likely either Ash or Twilight so Celestia and Luna were ruled out.
"Hm. If this were to happen in reality, I would call it..." Mayor Mare was already coming up with the name, thinking of something perfect. "Pony Town? Palletville? No-no-no. Those are just redundant." But she couldn't find a perfect name for it. At least not yet. "Then again, Granny Smith might not like the name change."
"It does look nice, actually." Amethyst Star agreed as Octavia entered the Town Hall. "Maybe this is a show of the far future, don't you think. Hope it doesn't get too overcrowded though. Especially for the rooms."
"Oh, you should see mine," Octavia spoke. "It's amazing! I'm not sure who thought about it but that room looks to be my dream room. I might have to work harder with my songs if I want to purchase all of that."
"Speaking of rooms, where do you sleep, Mayor?" Amethyst asked.
"Good question. This is just a Town Hall after all. And this seems to be the only room here." Octavia agreed.
"Right. That does seem odd, doesn't it? I did have a nearby home but everyone was soon swapped with the Town Hall. There was a nice family that came by and there weren't enough houses yet, so I gave them mine and decided to live here instead."
"Makes sense." Amethyst and her Skitty nodded in unison. Family comes first. Even if...it's not your family."
"Mhm. Though, if I were to have a family, the worst-case scenario is retiring from my work to take care of them. Not sure I could do that." Octavia shook her head.
"Who said you have to?" Amethyst nudged her. "You can do both at the same time, no problem. Sure, it'll take steal some time, but eh. Didn't stop my parents from doing what they love."
"You have a point. Though it is strange how few ponies have families here in Ponyville. Canterlot has us outclassed." Octavia then pondered, thinking of every Ponyville resident and their families. "Some are even slightly older than us as well. It would be odd if I had one before."
"Come to think of it, mayor. You're older than most of us. And you don't have a family or anything yet."
"Ah!" Mayor Mare froze on the spot after receiving that comment from Amethyst Star. "W-Well...you see...about that..." She stammered, finding it hard to send out the proper words. "It's complicated!"
"Sure." But Octavia and Amethyst doubted that heavily as their eyes averted elsewhere. Amethyst and Octavia heard some rumbling in the skies as a flash of azure lights went off. But so far, Mayor Mare hadn't sensed it at all.
"Ahem!" Mayor Mare then cleared her throat, trying to stray away from this current topic. "I-In any case, let's keep searching for a way out of here. There has to be something."
"Uh...Mayor..." Amethyst nudged Mayor Mare as she and the others had their attentions gathered elsewhere. There was a different focal point. The main focal point was both the Giga Lucario flashing in the sky every few seconds and the Pokemon that were being controlled by the Shiny Gardevoir who were ready to attack everyone that had entered this realm.
Led by a Kommo-o that jumped into the fray, a group of Clawitzer, Hitmonchan, Lopunny and a Blastoise had been seen. And joining them were two Ethereal Lucario that were under the Giga Lucario's orders.
"Where'd they come from?!" shouted Berry Punch, opening the window to her home within a mind.
"Kommo-o!" As soon as they arrived, the Pokemon wasted no time. The Pokemon approached the ponies immediately with the intent to mostly keep them away from Ash. Mostly because Gardevoir was seeking Ash's Aura and she wanted no chance for his friends to get in her way.
They approached every building that they could, alarming the ponies. Immediately, the Clawitzer had each fired water from their massive howitzers, blasting the buildings with high amounts of water pressure.
The water went through the walls of the buildings easily as Cherilee stood there, frozen in shock. The blast of water had passed her, making parts of her mane wet in the process as she took some time to process it. After that, she started screaming.
The Lopunny used their destructive kicks to break into some of the buildings. Alongside her were a majority of the students from the Ponyville Schoolhouse that she taught. They also started screaming as they were fittingly inside of the Ponyville Schoolhouse.
They attempted to leave the area, only for a Hitmonchan to appear right in front of them in the blink of an eye. Two Hitmonchan to be exact.
"What's going on?! Is this a part of this mind place?!" Silver Spoon screeched as many weren't sure what was happening. One minute they're being attacked by different Pokemon while a gigantic Lucario face that was full of nothing but Aura hoves in the azure sky, flashing in the same way as a thunderstorm.
Already, it was pandemonium here in this combined town. Even though this all took place in a mental realm, there was still a sense of danger. And after all, they were still unaware of how this place worked.
"Wait, is this all real?" The little pegasus Featherweight asked, unsure if any of this was dangerous considering how their real bodies were still outside. That's when his question got most of them to think the same thing.
"Hey yeah." Another child by the name of Twist replied. "Is it?"
Cherilee then looked at her mane, seeing how bits of it had been lost. Considering that the attack managed to do that, Cherilee already had her answer. And this was further confirmed the moment Hitomnchan punched the air, making a slight shockwave.
"It's very real children! Look out!" Cherilee pushed the foals aside, ducking for cover as the air shockwave broke through the seats of the Ponyville Schoolhouse. Both Clawitzer and Hitmonchan then approached the students and the teacher. "Now's a good time as any to help!"
Cheerilee quickly took out her Poke Ball, throwing it. Out of the Poke Ball emerged the Ballon Pokemon Wigglytuff. Upon descending, she had taken the incoming hit that Clawitzer and Hitmonchan delivered. A Mach Punch and a Crabhammer.
"Wigglytuff!" She cried out as her balloon-like body had then bounced Hitmonchan and Clawitzer away, showing her great defence.
"Whew..." Cherilee sighed as Hitmonchan instantly recovered. Her attention was quickly drawn back to the Punching Pokemon before standing upright. "Hold on! Let's try and settle this peacefully!"
"Hitmon?"
"There...a moment of peace." Cherilee smiled before hearing a nearby explosion from another Pokemon. "Almost. I don't know why but...how come you're suddenly attacking us? And have you always been here?"
"Hitmonchan." Hitmonchan then stood upright, speaking to Wigglytuff and Cherilee. Surprisingly, Hitmonchan did not instantly resort to action after recovering. It took the time to listen to her.
"What's it saying, Ms Cherilee?" Silver Spoon asked.
"Fluttershy gave me tips on how to speak Pokemon. Or at least translate through mannerisms." The teacher then began observing Hitmonchan's mannerisms to try and understand it. This was a useful skill to have considering how Pokemon are common now and the majority if not all of them act similarly to humans and ponies.
"It seems as if someone sent them for us." Cherilee squinted. "To test us?"
"Oh, so they're not gonna hurt us? Sweet." Twist grinned.
"No-no. They'll still hurt us, Twist." Cherilee replied. "But at least we know we can be harmed in this place. Even if it's in a mind. And we're just targets now it seems."
"Wiggly!" Wigglytuff yelled Hitmonchan, berating it for trying to harm her Trainer and the students. Unfortunately, that scolding did little to stop Hitmonchan. Especially Clawitzer, who was rushing in with Aqua Jet. "Tuff?"
"Claw!" Catching Wigglytuff off guard, Clawitzer had smashed into Wigglytuff, knocking her away. But there was still some rebound as the Ballon Pokemon flew towards Cherilee and the others. The teacher and her students ducked as Wigglytuff bounced on the floor, not causing any cracks due to how bouncy she was.
"Hitmon!" Hitmonchan then approached the students and teachers, moving at blitzing speeds. The Punching Pokemon looked like it was about to smash its fists into each of them. Cherilee kept the children close to her as they all closed their eyes.
"Glameow, help!" Hiding out her Poke Ball was Silver Spoon as she called for the assistance of her partner Glameow. Glameow responded, emerging out of the Poke Ball.
"Glameow!" And once she appeared, she had used Slash to block Hitmonchan's incoming Mach Punch, saving everyone from harm. "Meow!" Glameow had then used Play Rough, jumping onto Hitmonchan's arm before dragging the Fighting-Type into a cloud of pink Fairy Magic.
"Quick! Go-go-go!" Cherilee made the conscious decision to leave the schoolhouse before it potentially comes crashing down on them. Glameow managed to temporarily hold Hitmonchan back as she and Wigglytuff followed the others.
Clawitzer immediately gave chase, using Aqua Jet to do so. The group left the Ponyville Schoolhouse as Clawitzer burst through the windows.
"Wigglytuff, use Sing!"
"Tuff!" Wigglytuff then turned around, facing the incoming Clawitzer. "Wiiigglytuuuf...Wiggly..." She then started singing a calming melody, sending it in the direction of Clawitzer.
"Cla-" Immediately, once it touched the Howitzer Pokemon, the momentum and speed of Aqua Jet had died down as it then fell to the ground. Thanks to Wigglytuff's attack, Clawitzer was dozing off. They were at least free of that one issue. But there were still more.
"Hey!" Berry Punch and her Skowvent jumped out of the window of their home, narrowly evading a devastating kick from a Lopunny. They fell on their backs as Skwovet nearly dropped all of its berries.
"Lo!" Lopunny jumped out of the windows, delivering a dropkick from above.
"Skwovet, quick! Spit Up!" Berry Punch screeched, panicking as she frantically shook her hoof.
"Skwo...vet!" Skwovet utilized all of the berries that it had stuffed within its cheeks as weapons. Rapid-fire berries came flying out, all having different flavours as they bombarded Lopunny mid-air.
"L-Lopun!" Lopunny cried out as it was knocked out of the air, falling to the ground from all those incoming berries. Some spicy berries got in its eyes, making the Rabbit Pokemon grimace.
"Come on! While it's down and out!" Berry said to Skwovet as they both ran for it. However, instantly getting in their way was a Blastoise. Certainly one of the bigger and heavier Pokemon here as it also had access to Aura Sphere.
"Blastoise!" Upon arriving in front of Berry Punch and Skwovet, Blastoise aimed its cannons at them both. Its cannon were charging up Aura Sphere. Times two. Berry Punch and Skwovet then quickly ran to the side, straying away from Blastoise.
However, Blastoise simply turned around, already having a sharp eye on both of them. The two Aura Spheres had then been fired, however, they didn't hit the Trainer and her Pokemon. Instead, they had blown up behind them once they hit the ground.
That much was enough to certainly knock them away. Berry Punch and Skwovet went flying as they held onto each other, closing their eyes while screaming. "Gyaaah!"
"Sk-Skowvet!"
"Fur!" Thankfully, they landed on something fluffy. Or someone fluffy. That someone was Furfrou. Rightfully belonging to Octavia Melody. Furfrou caught them both successfully.
"Oh...Thank you..." Berry said, relieved. But it wasn't over yet. And that was shown by Furfrou jumping out of the way once Blastoise fired a Water Pulse from its cannon. "Wah!" Berry yelped after the initial jump which threw her relieved heart off guard.
And pursuing after them was the Lopunny that had been hit with berries previously. It was visibly aggravated about that as it started jumping from building to building to gain better speed. As for Blastoise, it got into its shell, using Rapid Spin. By spinning around within its shell, using this attack, Blastoise was moving much faster than it would on foot.
Blastoise also started shooting water from its cannons while spinning as it flew everywhere, hitting buildings and damaging them in the process.
"Lopunny!" Lopunny then leapt off another building, ready to use Aura Sphere. The Rabbit Pokemon stuck its foot out, summoning a sphere of Aura as it was kicked towards its targets.
"Furfrou! Retaliate with Uproar!" Octavia ordered.
"Fur!" Furfrou quickly turned around, holding its breath in before unleashing a mighty soundwave that was enough to keep anyone awake and prevent sleep. The soundwave clashed with the Aura Sphere for a bit. Both attacks cancelled each other out as Furfrou kept running afterwards.
"Blastoise!" Blastoise then barged through the buildings in its spinning shell. And each time it used Rapid Spin, its speed increased. It eventually reached the air with all of its speed, zooming past Lopunny. Blastoise looked like it was going to crash right into the group from the way it was angled.
"Ex...PLOUD!" But, stopping the Shellfish Pokemon was a mighty roar from Vinyl's Exploud. The greater sound wave travelled through the atmosphere, blowing both Blastoise and Lopunny away.
Speaking of Vinyl, she waved in their direction after she and Exploud saved them. That soundwave managed to give them all enough space thanks to how potent Exploud's voices were.
Octavia's group soon met up with Cherilee's group who were currently running from many Hitmonchans and Lopunny. One could punch hard and the other could kick hard. Definitely a dangerous combination.
"Here! In here!" Calling from them afar was Mayor Wave who was right next to Vinyl. She was at Town Hall still, pointing her hoof to the indoors, indicating that they should hide.
But they had to lose the opposing Pokemon before doing so. That's where Vinyl sent out another one of her Pokemon. Noivern.
"Noivern!" The Sound Wave Pokemon had emerged. And without Vinyl needing to say anything, just a simple hoof point, Noivern knew what to do. "Vern! Noi...!"
Noivern had used Hurricane, spinning on the spot to summon a fierce whirlwind. Dust had also been summoned because of this as the hurricane was starting to tower over most of the buildings. And as a bonus, the Hitmonchan were weak to this attack so it would do wonders.
"Vern!" Noivern then unleashed the Hurricane as a massive dust cloud was beside it. And to increase its ferocity, the Sound Wave Pokemon used Boomburst on it. The Hitmonchan, Lopunny and other Pokemon promptly stopped their movements once they came across this obstacle. The giant dust cloud is what got to them first, blocking their vision.
And the Hurricane added to that, pulling some of the opposing Pokemon in with its violent turbulence. The Hitmonchan suffered the most from this as they took super-effective damage left and right from this attack. The other Pokemon not so much but it stung either way.
"Nice! Way to go, DJ-P0N3! Noivern." Silver Spoon and the others cheered at Vinyl and Noivern.
"Noi-Noi."
And yet, despite that impressive combo, there was one massive obstacle that they all didn't forget about but hadn't encountered yet. The strongest out of these Pokemon.
Kommo-o.
The Hitmonchan had fainted from the Hurricane and dust, unable to battle as the Lopunny and Clawitzer would soon end up the same. However, something moved at surprisingly quick speeds, cutting the hurricane in half. Kommo-o did, by using Dragon Claw.
The Hurricane then had an outburst after being cut in half, sending everyone within it flying in different directions. But not Kommo-o. Everyone gasped, witnessing the raw power of this Dragon-Type Pokemon at display.
"Ko!" Kommo-o roared before landing on the ground. It made the ground tremble just from doing that. Furfrou and everyone else were almost thrown off balance, but they kept moving. Vinyl's glasses almost came off too.
"Wigglytuff, Disarming Voice!"
"Wiggly!" Wiggly tuff then opened her mouth, unleashing a pink sound wave that was excellent on both Fighting and Dragon-Type Pokemon, which, Kommo-o was.
Vinyl ordered for both her Pokemon to use Boomburst to add to that sound power. Noivern and Exploud both unleashed a mighty sound wave that flew alongside Dismaring Voice.
"KOMMO!" But Kommo-o quickly retaliated with its own sound. It also had Boomburst but not only that, Clanging Scales, just to boost that sound power. The Scaly Pokemon combined these sounds together before making a stronger soundwave.
Strong enough to break through the opposing soundwaves and head towards the group. Everyone gasped as the Boomburst and Clanging Scales combo was the one to throw them off their balance. Furfrou fell over, dropping Berry Punch and Skwovet whilst Noivern was knocked out of the sky.
"Ow..." Berry and the others groaned as their momentum had ended. Each of them were on the ground as Kommo-o was approaching rapidly. The Scaly Pokemon had Aura Sphere prepared and ready for usage, holding it in its claws as it leapt into the air.
"Stoutland, Giga Impact!" Mayor Mare commanded.
"Stout...Land!" Stoutland quickly came to everyone's rescue, leaping off the ground with a high spurt as an invisible aura emerged around him, forming into a white trail afterwards. Stoutland has crashed right into Kommo-o, interrupting its Aura Sphere.
"K-Ko!" Kommo-o gasped as it was sent flying once the energy of Giga Impact blew up right in front of it. Thanks to Stoutland, the fierce Kommo-o had been launched to a far distance, allowing for everyone to get some more breathing space and a place to hide.
Stoutland descended after the initial crash. Kommo-o could be seen hurling through the air before landing nearby the outskirts of this fusion town. "Stout!"
"Hurry! Before they wake up!" Mayor Mare exclaimed as all of them got up, running off to the Town Hall as fast as they could. Once inside, they used the same room that everyone used when the invasion took place. Even within a mind this location still existed.
The hatch to the room had been opened as there was a moment of silence at last. None of the opposing Pokemon had shown up here yet. as everypony had entered it. Mayor Mare was the last to enter as she closed the hatch door.
Reality. Equestria. Ponyville. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, on the outside, Derpy was also facing a similar scenario in the real world while mostly everyone was in a state of mind. Team Rocket had previously piloted their Tangrowth machine that stole everyone's Pokemon, using it to attack Derpy and her Wooper.
"Oops!" Derpy ascended into the air, just avoiding the arms of the mechanical Tangrowth. "Can't we talk about this? I don't do too good against giant robots."
"Talk is cheap!" Jessie exclaimed. "We'll teach you to fumble our plans!" The machine had then extended its arms into the air, chasing after Derpy and Wooper. Derpy held Wooper close, zooming away from the arms. She passed through many clouds with the arms breaking right through them.
Derpy figured that she could go higher. And that was a stunning idea as the arms of the machine had a limit to how far they could go. They stopped right in front of Derpy as she sat on a cloud.
"That was a close one." Derpy giggled.
"Ain't no way we're losing to her." Meowth shook his head, refusing to accept this.
"You have to admit, it's her clumsiness that makes her so hard to handle." James nodded, impressed by Derpy's talent to an extent. "Not bad, if you ask me."
"Well, no one asked anyway!" Jessie growled. "This isn't over yet!" Furious, she then smashed her fist onto a button t try and amp things up.
The machine started vibrating with engines revving up. The eyes of it started glowing red as extra arms were starting to grow from the side. Derpy and Wooper watched as this machine multiple in mechanical limbs. However, it didn't go all the way.
There was an error. The hole that Derpy made on the side was still there and it was affecting the machine's performance and some of its functions. There was also the damage done in the front when an attack had missed Wooper. Wires were exposed thanks to this. That's when Derpy saw a chance.
"Oh yeah. I did that." Derpy nodded. "Okay, Wooper. Let's try to do something about that hole and damage right there."
"Woo!" Wooper would do just that. He had jumped out of Derpy's hooves, free-falling towards the Tangrowth machine as even Derpy didn't expect that.
"Wait! I didn't say jump! Oh, Wooper."
"Woo...!"
"Is he crazy?! Whatever!" Jessie then made all of the arms go after Wooper in the air. They ended up grabbing Wooper, restraining the Water Fish Pokemon. "Hah! Trying to play hero like that didn't get you anywhere! Now come here, why don't you?"
"Wooper?" The arms of the Tangrowth then pulled Wooper in, right towards the hatch which was starting to open. But even that struggled due to the damage.
"Okay! Water Gun!"
"Woo...PER!" Wooper then opened his mouth, unleashing Water Gun onto the hatch. The exposed wires had been hit with this blast of water as the volatile reaction between electricity and water had begun. The Tangrowth machine started jittering once the wires were going crazy with volts after the water had splashed over them.
"Guuuuh!" Team Rocket yelped, feeling themselves shake too. The machine's grip on Wooper had failed, allowing the Water-Ground-Type to break free. But he did more than break free, he ran on the arms, heading for the open hole on the side.
"Good job, Wooper! Now Water Gun! All in!"
"Wooper!" Wooper, after reaching the side, unloaded a blast of water once more to further malfunction the machine. And once it flew through the hole while also having some droplets touch the wires, the machine started breaking down.
"Come on! Come on!" Jessie started pressing buttons, trying to get this thing to work.
"No good! We're short-circuited to the highest degree!" James gasped as he and Meowth held onto each other. Electrical explosions were starting to happen within the machine once the damage was increasing.
"Ugh..."Jessie sighed, knowing that they had hit a dead-end with this. The hatch was blown right open as Wooper quickly ran away from the machine.
But there was one problem. The machine was going to blow up, sure. But the Pokemon were still inside of it. And there were so many of them that it would take a while to get all of them out.
"Oops. I didn't think about that. My bad." Derpy just realized this. "Uh, quick! Grab as many as you can, Wooper! Maybe we can-"
"Champ!" But zooming right past Derpy was a swift figure. That figure belonged to a Machamp. Not just any Machamp. Big Macintosh's Machamp. He instantly used his four arms at great speeds, getting the job done quicker that way.
He managed to grab multiple Pokemon all at the same time including their Poke Balls with his superior size and multiple arms. Machamp did this in a matter of seconds while also ignoring the explosions with his durable body.
"Oooh!" Derpy started applauding Machamp's swift handiwork. It was only natural. Helping pick apples on a farm and even being a naturally fast and strong Pokemon had its benefits. This was one of them.
Machamp had then used two of his arms to rip parts of the machine apart to give some more space. Afterwards, he managed to get every last one of them out of the hatch. Once that was said and done, the machine could finish its combustion as Team Rocket had accepted defeat. The Tangrowth machine had blown up right around them.
"We were this close...This close to finally having Pikachu!" Jessie moaned with multiple anger veins showing up around her. "Who's the smart-aleck that underestimated Derpy?!"
"That would be you, Jess." James shrugged. "But look on the bright side. At least we know that the entirety of Ponyville is capable of toppling us, making them one big family, don't you think?"
"Plus us. Zecora's students, after all." Meowth also said, unbothered by this. "But in the meantime, it's been a while so...all together now!"
"We're blasting off agaaaaaaaiiiinnn!"
"Woooobuffeeeett!"
"I wish I had a catchphrase for if I failed," Derpy said, unaware that she did have one. Just then, showing up to the scene was Big Mac. He would be here since his Machamp was here. "Oh. Thanks for the help, Big Mac. I didn't know you were also awake. I thought you were unconscious like everyone else."
"Mm." Big Mac nudged his head forward.
"Well, glad that problem's been solved. It's only 8 minutes and everyone's still down and out." Indeed, the time difference between reality and the 18 Realms showed itself. Everything that happened in the realm compared to here was much faster. "Do you wanna go and check out Twilight's lab for a bit?"
"Hmmm...." Big Mac thought about it for a moment. There wasn't much to do right now as everyone was unconscious. But they weren't in any peril, especially with how they were sitting so casually. "Eeyup." He agreed to it, deciding to do something else with this time that they still had.
The 18 Realms. Normal Realm.
Back in the Normal Realm, the opposing Pokemon, some of them, had recovered. Especially Kommo-o. They were now searching for the Ponyville residents. The residents were all underneath the secret room, making sure to not make too much noise at all.
"Alright. New idea. Let's leave this area and head for somewhere else to meet with the others." Mayor Mare suggested.
"But the door's missing all of a sudden." Amethyst Star replied. "It just up and vanished. Plus, we haven't found any other way out of here. What do we do?"
"We could just...wait for someone in reality to knock us in our noggin to wake us up. But I doubt that would do the trick considering the type of mind we're in. Octavia said as Vinyl nodded in agreement.
"I wanna go home already..." Featherweight moaned. "I mean I am home but...Ya know..."
"We're not going out there with those Pokemon roaming around." Berry Punch shook her head. "If there's no exit to this place and they're still here, plus that giant Lucario head, we're spread thin here. And what is up with that giant Lucario head anyway?"
They were all starting to worry. They might've ended up in the worst possible scenario from how things were going. What started as a fun exploration evolved into this sudden attack.
"Let's not think about how it could all go awry." Mayor Mare stood up, staring at all of them while adjusting her glasses. She didn't want any of them to lose hope. "Of all the times to start worrying and lose hope, this is not one of them. We've been through worse with the Storm Behemoth and a full-on invasion."
"I mean...yeah." Amethyst Star.
"Yeah is right." Mayor Mare pointed her hoof at the unicorn. "Besides...we're Normal-Type Trainers. abnormal. We're the trainers of the most common yet odd Pokemon type that can learn more moves than the other 17 to a larger extent. That means we are all abnormal. Back then, we would've gone into a chaotic panic frenzy if we weren't. But now that we are, anything ludicrous and over-the-top is just standard fare to us. Sure, this is different from what we're used to since we're inside a collective mind of all things. But as if that is going to stop us. Is it?"
"No. That Spiritomb attack was far more dangerous..." Octavia shook her head.
"Exactly. And what about when the Darkest Day happened? If you ask me, we've had our fair share of titanic forces recently. It could be considered well...normal. Giants are normal for us. So let's just get this over with as if it was an average day in Ponyville. Because let's face it, it might as well be right now."
"I'm pumped! Sure!" Silver Spon exclaimed as everyone shushed her since she made a ton of noise. "Oops." But they were all in agreement either way.
"We'll find a way out of here. And we can still get in touch with everyone else. Vinyl. Get to using that Xtransceiver of yours. I'll also need your Pokemon, Ms Cherilee and Octavia to serenade them with some songs. Perhaps put them all to sleep. Children, do what you do best. Be the best diversion that you can be. The rest of you will do the same."
Mayor Mare gave out all of the orders to everyone. They all had jobs to do to beat these Pokemon that almost outnumber them and most definitely overpower them with sheer power alone.
They all brought out their Pokemon which were all mostly Normal-Type Pokemon. Some of them owned more than one Pokemon after all so some variety was there. But the most common Pokemon they all owned were Pidgey, Aipom, Furret, Vigoroth, Pidove and Zigzagoon.
But none of them matched the overwhelming number of Rattata that the children had. It was a disgusting amount of them that could overpopulate an entire town. Once they all came out, they left the secret room to get to work.
Kommo-o, Blastoise and a few Clawitzers plus a Hitmonchan were searching the area still. Blastoise swore it had heard something over at Town Hall. It used its cannons to blast a hole through it, seeing if anyone would be alerted. But no one emerged.
"Blast?"
At least not yet. With a two-second delay, something creaked from the floorboards. Blastoise looked around to see where that creak came from. But that focus quickly changed once there was instant noise outside. All of the Rattara that d the children owned plus a few Furret and Sentret had arrived.
"Rat! Rattata!"
"Furret!"
"Sentret!"
"Ko!" Kommo-o roared at the multiple Pokemon that had shown up. The owners of most of these Pokemon, the children, all taunted Kommo-o and the others with the usual childish things. Sticking out their tongues, pulling their eyes, making faces and the standard fare.
That was enough to get their attention as the Clawitzer had used Aqua Jet to fly in their general direction. That was their cue to lead them elsewhere. Kommo-o then noticed how there was another group of Rattata behind it as well. It swivelled around to spot them as the many Mouse Pokemon made a run for it.
Some of the Pokemon from before had managed to recover. Mainly the Lopunny and two Hitmonchan. Once they recovered, they noticed the abundance of Pokemon that had shown up. Naturally, they gave chase to them. Just as planned.
The Normal-Type Pokemon used the environment to their advantage, running through buildings and jumping on or over them, forcing their pursuers to keep up the pace. Normal-Types were not heavy battlers. But they certainly knew how to wear their opponents down with their massive numbers. Blastoise soon chased after them as it was only Kommo-o that hadn't moved.
"It's just you, me and Stoutland now." Mayor Mare confronted Kommo-o deciding to be the one to challenge it while everyone else was occupied.
"Kommo-o...!" The Scaly Pokemon wasted no time attacking, rushing towards Stoutland with Dragon Claw.
"Stoutland! Ice Fang!"
"Stout!" Stoutland's fangs generated an icy blue aura as he opened his mouth for the Dragon-Fighting-Type. He bit into Kommo-o's claws, gaining an instant grip on the Scaly Pokemon. And it was super-effective on Kommo-o as even with the Fighting-Type, it was still weak to ice.
"Ko?!" Kommo-o cried out.
"Land!" Stoutland then tossed Kommo-o aside whilst also freezing its claw. Kommo smashed its claw on the ground, breaking the ice. Aggravated, Kommo-o had then used Aura Sphere, putting its claws together to form the attack.
"Here it comes! Stoutland, meet it with Reversal!"
"Stoutland!" Stoutland stood there, allowing for the attack to hit him, just so he can deal back some greater damage. Kommo-o fired the sphere as it struck Stoutland directly, dealing super-effective damage. "Land!" But, Stoutland has taken his fair share of super-effective hits. The Big-Hearted Pokemon jumped out of the explosion with a glowing body.
"Mmo?!" Kommo-o gasped as Stoutland slashed at it with a great damage output thanks to Reversal. The Scaly Pokemon was knocked back by this as Stoutland already proved itself to be a worthy opponent.
And after realizing this, Kommo-o lowered its head, standing there for a bit. Stoutland stayed cautious, expecting a sneak attack soon. However, once Kommo-o felt the damage and saw how well Stoutland battled, a smile came on its face.
"Hm?" Mayor Mare noticed this once Kommo-o raised its head. For some reason, out of the blue, Kommo-o was getting excited. As if it wanted to continue this. At first, this seemed odd, but Mayor Mare had one idea that could be plausible.
"Kommo!" Kommo then moved at blinding speeds, appearing in front of Stoutland, holding an Aura Sphere in its claws. The Scaly Pokemon slammed it into Stoutland's face, knocking the Big-Hearted POkemon sideways and away at the same time.
"L-Land!"
"Stoutland, Giga Impact!"
"Stout!" Stoutland growled, sliding on the ground, making a large dust cloud. Afterwards, Stoutland charged at Kommo-o at full force. Kommo-o welcomed the Normal-Type with its smile growing.
As for everyone else, the children did what they do best. Be absolute nuisances that are nigh-impossible to catch thanks to their young age. This made it difficult for the opposing Pokemon to catch up.
But as they pursued the children and their Pokemon, music could be heard nearby. That's when the children eventually slowed down, coming to a halt. They stopped nearby Twilight's Castle while chuckling mischievously. The Hitmonchan, Lopunny and Clawitzer caught up once their moments ended.
But they ended for a reason. Soothing music was being played. A nice and warming dubstep that wasn't energetic but calm could be heard along with the sombre sound of a violin complimenting it. The opposing Pokemon slowed down themselves, but not willingly. Something was making them feel tired as a singing voice backed up by some back vocals came through.
The ones responsible for this were Vinyl and Octavia with their instruments. Since this was based on their home, the instruments they usually use were there as well, being utilized right now. And assisting them were Cherilee, Wigglytuff, Noivern and Exploud at a low volume.
And thanks to this union, the opposing Pokemon felt sleepy. They would battle without needing to be physical at all as the Pokemon started yawning, sitting down to this calming melody. However, some of them tried to stay awake. One of them was a Hitmonchan that was constantly hitting itself in the face.
"Hit! Hit! Hit! Hitmon!" And it was succeeding at it.
"I don't think so! SKitty, Attract!" Amethyst Star exclaimed.
"Skitty! Ski...!" Skitty lunged at Hitmonchan, swivelling for a bit as an array of hearts appeared around her body. Afterwards, she had winked, sending the heart towards Hitmonchan.
"Chan?" Hitmoncahn looked over as Attract had landed. The potential resistance to the song was prominent but that didn't mean anything anymore now that Attract had landed. Hitmonchan was infatuated, unable to hit himself.
"Skitty."
That was one major problem down. The opposing Pokemon, a majority of them, were asleep or just infatuated. But to make sure Hitmonchan didn't snap out of it, Silver Spoon's Glameow went up to the Punching Pokemon, smacking it upside the head with Slash. "Glameow."
"Was that necessary, Glameow?" Silver Spoon asked as they all chuckled.
"Glam."
"KO!" The roar of Kommo-o could be heard as the battle between it and Stoutland was ramping up. Everypony went over to see if they could help Mayor Mare.
But she was holding her own. Kommo-o had smashed Stoutland in the face with an Aura Sphere. It then followed up with a second Aura Sphere, hitting Stoutland midair.
"It isn't over yet! Stoutland! Work Up!"
"Stout! Stout!" Stoutland then roared, building up his strength as an orange aura engulfed him. Kommo-o then breathed in and out, smiling some more. Instead of being aggravated, it was enjoying itself. That's when Mayor Mare knew what it was about.
"I can tell...you haven't had a fun battle in a while, haven't you?" She asked as the Scaly Pokemon froze for a moment. That's when its smile turned into a smirk with closed eyes. "I knew it. Fighting-Types love to battle, don't they? You don't have actual hostile intentions towards us, do you?"
"Ko. Kommo-o." Kommo-o was simply following orders from a Pokemon that had stolen its Aura. Gardevoir.
"Well, I'm glad I could give you an enjoyable battle. Let's finish this and soon we'll head home! Stoutland! Giga Impact! At full power, if you please!"
"Stout...!" Stoutland began building up power, getting ready for an extra-large Giga Impact. Kommo-o put its claws together, growing an extra-large Aura Sphere. Both Pokemon unleashed their attacks with Stoutland charging in headfirst.
Giga Impact clashed with Aura Sphere, creating a mighty fissure and shockwave that knocked everyone off balance. There was a mild struggle with both forces pushing against each other, but Stoutland emerged victorious, bursting through the Aura Sphere. Afterwards, he had crashed into Stoutland at full force, dealing the finishing blow. Kommo-o's eyes turned white as it was knocked off its feet with that final attack.
The Scaly Pokemon was sent flying through multiple buildings by this attack as Stoutland dropped to the ground. Eventually, Kommo-o stopped flying, crashing to the ground. The battle had been decided.
"Hah..." Mayor Mare took a deep breath as the battle had been decided. "Not getting too old for this."
"Stoutland!" Stoutland let out a roar of victory as he ran over to Mayor Mare, pouncing on her. He then gave her joyous licks, making her laugh.
"Hahaha! Stoutland! Please!" Everyone else cheered with victory screams. They managed to succeed valiantly. Their teamwork certainly helped them in this endeavour. And the overwhelming numbers too.
After winning, the Giga Lucario suddenly roared as a door had appeared near Town Hall. Just like before, solving a problem seemed to summon a door at random. They were relieved to see one after finding barely anything in this combined town.
However, before they could head there, they noticed how the opposing Pokemon were all glowing, exuding Aura from their bodies. The Aura then started rising to the air as the face of Giga Lucario faded away. Also fading away was Kommo-o along with the Pokemon they had defeated. But they faded with Aura particles.
"Ko." Kommo-o stood up, smiling at the ponies and their Pokemon. "Kommo."
"You just wanted a fun battle all this time, didn't you?"
"Kommo-o." Kommo-o nodded but there was more to it. Cherilee read its mouth patterns, seeing if she could translate it. And she did.
"They're finally able to return to the real world, apparently," said Cherilee, translating. "It sounds like they were trapped here."
"Oh. Is that so? Well...I'm glad that you all can return now." Mayor Mare smiled. "Not sure what this is all about the more you put it that way, but...good luck out there. And if you can, come by to Ponyville at any time, alright?"
"Kommo-o." Kommo-o promised to do just that as it and the Pokemon had all faded away, leaving the 18 Realms at last. That was the end of that. And not wasting any time so that the door doesn't potentially vanish again, they all made their way towards it, ready to leave this realm.
But of course, the Gardevoir behind all of this was still loose out there in these realms, searching for the biggest Aura she can find. Ash's Aura.
But aside from that, the Normal-Type Trainers knew how powerful they are and can be. Owners of a common type yet wielders of various moves more than the other 18. Normal is ordinary, yet sometimes, simple is best as the journey continues.
Currently, many Pokemon summoned by Gardevoir were loose within the 18 Realms. Speaking of Gardevoir, her target was Ash and his Aura, desiring it for the chance to break free from this realm. Many were made aware of Gardevoir and the Giga Lucario, but not everyone.
Over at the Water Realm, Sweetie Belle, Aria Blaze, Sonata Dusk, BonBon and a few Canterlot residents such as Fleur-de-lis were present. And their location was one they had never been before but were familiar with. Samiya. The Sea Temple. The same location that the Dazzlings' mother currently lives in within reality.
Except it was completely empty. Similar to how it was before Ash saved it years ago. They were within the Sea Temple, exploring it to see what they could find. they already felt lost.
"Did you hear that?" Aria said, hearing the distant roar of the Giga Lucario.
"Nope." Sonata shook her head. "Say, how long are we gonna be here for?"
"She's right. I'm already getting hungry." Sweetie Belle's stomach growled, craving some food. There wasn't even any seafood for her to try here at all.
Everyone else felt lost within the temple. Its gargantuan size didn't help at all. And finally, showing up to this realm after being summoned and ordered by Gardevoir were the opposing Pokemon, here to test them.
Fittingly, they were Water-Types that could only learn Aura Sphere. Wartortle, Blastoise, Clauncher and Clawitzer specifically. Upon arriving, the horde of Water-Type Pokemon had scattered.
Since they were summoned within the temple, it didn't take long for the group to bump into one of them. Aria and Sonata had come across a Wartortle.
"Hm? Oh, a Wartortle." Aria said, standing before the Wartortle.
"Cute." Sonata gushed at it but she and her big sister were unaware of what was coming their way. The same went for everypony else.
Fleur De Lis had stopped in front of a line of Clauncher that were staring her down. She pouted while also shifting her eyes left and right before facing them. "Can I help you all?" She asked.
"Clau!" Just then, they all aimed their massive claws over at the tall unicorn, making her eyes widen. They took aim, preparing to fire at her. And to add to that, up above the higher parts of the temple, a Clawitzer was locking onto Fleur, ready to snipe her from afar.
Another one of Canterlot's residents, Minuette stood before two Blastoise, having a visible expression of shock and slight fear in her eyes. The Blastoise were the opposite, staring her down with purposeful grimace that could only be rivalled by a scowl.
"Uh...H-Hope we're not trespassing or anything?" Minuette said as the Blastoise both aimed their cannons at her. She promptly stayed quiet afterwards.
Everyone else were promptly stopped by the Water-Types that all took aim at them from different directions accordingly. They could mostly only stay quiet and not make too many sudden movements. But they also didn't want to be harmed. The Wartortle that Aria and Sonata came across put its hands together, forming an Aura Sphere. Coming out of the shadows were a few more Wartortle, also holding together some Aura Spheres.
"Hey! What's going on here?!" Sonata uttered before soon noticing how more Water-Types were present, all taking aim at the ponies.
"We're in their firing range. If they're itching for a battle, then they're going to get one," Aria said as she was the only one unbothered. She promptly held out her Poke Ball, rolling it on the floor. Coming out of it was Brionne.
"Brionne!"
"Brionne! Use Hyper Voice!"
"Briiiooonnneee!" Promptly throwing the opposing Wartortle off their focus with Aura Sphere, Brionne lets loose a horribly echoing shout that engulfed each of them. The Wartortle then grimaced at this sound, covering their ears and wincing.
Hyper Voice also formed a soundwave, hitting each of the Wartortle as they were blown back by this soundwave while also being subjected to the noise that Brionne had formed.
"Oh please!" Fleur then started shouting, putting her hoof over her head while closing her eyes. She gave the expression of being in distress. But it looked like she wasn't doing it seriously. "Somepony save me~!" The Clauncher had all taken fire on Fleur De Lis, shooting out spurts of water. But all of that was for nothing as Fleur just casually put up a magic shield, putting on a cocky smile. She then stuck her tongue out at the Clauncher as it was all an act.
Fleur giggled before also using her magic to send out a Luxury Ball. And emerging out of the Luxury Ball was a Pokemon fit for her beauty. Milotic.
"Milotic!"
"Milotic, get rid of them with Avalanche, please," Fleur commanded, also showing no signs of fear. And why would she be afraid when she has a Pokemon by her side to protect her.
"Milo...Tic!" Miloticl et out a melodic cry before summoning some up above. The Clauncher each looked up to see a massive ice avalanche that came crashing down. They screeched before making a run for it. Or rather a hop. The same went for Clawitzer who was the closest to being hit by it due to its current height.
The avalanche of ice had also frozen pars of the temple with its absolute chill. The Clauncher couldn't escape the incoming avalanche as Fleur-de-lis watched with an apathetic face. She then walked away with her Milotic as the avalanche kept going.
Due to the noise of the Avalanche and Brionne's Hyper Voice, the noises echoed throughout the temple, alerting the Blastoise and other Pokemon. That gave everypony else the chance to leave while they were distracted. Sweetie Belle had run past a Blastoise that was near her while Minuette just used teleportation magic to flash away.
Minuette had a sigh of relief, only for it to be interrupted once she saw that another Blastoise was right next to her. She teleported to the worst possible location. The shadow of Blastoise cast over the little unicorn with a scowl.
"On the bright side, it's just one." Minuette shrugged before using her magic to throw a Poke Ball at Blastoise face. "Think fast!"
"Blast!" Blastoise flinched for a bit as the Poke Ball had sent out Minuette's partner Pokemon. A Simipour.
"Simipour!"
"Simipour, use Iron Tail on Blastoise, now!"
"Simi!" Making a playful whistle first, Simipour lit up its tail with hard iron, doing a stylish leap with a small twirl in the air. Simipour certainly enjoyed being flash at all times. And it had the strength to do it as well, slapping Blastoise in the face, knocking it sideways.
"B-Blastoise!" Blastoise uttered before narrowing its eyes at Simipour. Right after the face smack, Blastoise had grabbed the Geyser Pokemon's tail before it could move away. "Blast!"
"Si?" Simipour gasped as Blastoise spun it around in the air like a lasso. "S-Simipour!"
"Oh! You drop him right now!" Minuette exclaimed before using her magic to interject. And she used it cleverly. She had made a magical wisp that went right near Blastoise nose, using it to tickle the Shellfish Pokemon. A simple yet effective strategy.
"B-Blast...Blastoise!" Blastoise froze as one of its eyes twitched. It then started laughing as Minuette did not stop at its nose. She started tickling the entirety of Blastoise, making the laughs increase even more. Simipour had been freed with Blastoise's weakened grip.
"Now, Water Pledge!"
"Pour!"Simipour slid on the marble floor before placing both his hands onto it. He summoned three tall pillars of water that erupted below in unison. Blastoise had been struck consecutively with those three pillars.
But that wouldn't be enough to take a Pokemon like Blastoise out, much to Minuette's chagrin. But the other Blastoise were problems for everyone else. Especially the Clawitzer that were all standing afar to hit from a far distance.
Sweetie Belle was being chased down by some Blastoise that had their arms out, ready to snatch her up. Sweetie Belle wanted none of that, so, while running, she used her magic to send out her Pokemon. While it would be fitting to send out her Piplup, she believed the better option would be her Plusle and Minun. "Plusle! Minun! Help!"
"Plusle!"
"Minun!"
"Discharge!" Under Sweetie Belle's command, the duo of Electric-Types put their hands together, generating unified electricity. Once the Blastoise approached, reaching a closer distance, Plusle and Minun unleashed a maximum of 100,000 volts. Originally 50,000 but added up when they combined.
The flare of electricity struck the Blastoise, pouring that mighty amount of volts into their bodies. The room was lit up with a golden glow from all of them. Super-effective and super helpful in slowing the Blastoise down.
"Nice!" Sweetie Belle complimented her partners before deciding to attack one more time. "Okay! One more time! This time with-" But that was quickly interrupted when a blast of scalding hot water almost struck her. Sweetie yelped, hopping into the air like a cat as the move that had been used was Scald. Courtesy of Clawitzer from afar.
"Min? Minun!" Minun noticed Clawitzer, quickly sending a burst of electricity its way. The Water-Type had been sniped from afar, feeling those volts pour into it as it fell off the platform it was on.
Eventually, everyone else reunited, getting closer to each other. There were more Pokemon than they were expecting as they soon appeared around every direction. North, south, east and west. But they weren't by any means cornered or put under pressure. Each of them well-experienced Pokemon Trainers. They had the Pokemon School, Canterlot Tournament and Canterlot Tag Battle to thank for that.
"Still no exit. But these Pokemon must've come from somewhere, right? I didn't see them pop out of the sea." said Sonata as she had her Vaporeon beside her.
"Wherever it is, we'll find it," Aria replied. "I don't think I can stay another second in this place."
"Oh, but why not?" Fleur asked. "Isn't it absolutely gorgeous to look at?"
"I mean...yeah." Aria shrugged. "It looks good and I can see why my mom chose to live here. But if we don't get out of here and back to reality, we might never see our mom again. And it feels like it's already been hours roaming this place."
"I don't know. Feels like we've been in here for only 15 minutes or less." MInuette commented.
"I know right." And Sonata agreed with her fellow heavy-talker. "Weird. Oooh, maybe it's a mind-exclusive thing!"
They were all having a conversation while there were opposing Pokemon here after them. However, the opposing Pokemon simply looked at each other, unsure if they should attack right now. The girls were all too focused on their conversation to pay actual attention.
"I might miss my contests at this rate!" Sweetie Belle and her Pokemon gasped, thinking of that horrifying reality. "That can't happen!"
"About that. Have you thought about adding sticks to your ball capsules?" Fleur asked Sweetie Belle. "They can make your Pokemon gain special effects when they emerge."
"Oh, those? I only have one and that's my sister's Cutie Mark. See, I use the Rarity Ball, TM. But I don't have anything else."
"You can always use mine, Sweetie Belle." BonBon leaned in to join the chat. "I'll give you the electric one for your Plusle and Minun. How does that sound?"
"Works for me!" Sweetie Belle agreed to it, raising her hoof. But just as they were having a casual conversation, ignoring the opposing Pokemon, the Giga Lucario watched them. It had enough of the chit-chat as it descended to make sure everypony else would see them. It was too high up previously to be seen and it didn't help that the Sea Temple was bigger than it. The roar of the Giga Lucario shook the temple, breaking up the conversation.
"OMG! What is THAT?!" Sonata was the first to notice the Giga Lucario hovering above them. This time, the upper part of its body could be seen instead of just its head. Its massive paws had also emerged, gripping onto the top parts of the temple and crushing them.
Sweetie Belle, Plusle and Minun shuddered at this size of this Aura Giant. Fleur-de-lis stayed close to them along with her Milotic. Even the Pokemon that were working alongside Giga Lucario couldn't help but stare and slowly back away once this titan showed up.
Giga Lucario snarled. Its anger was only building up from this point as it had failed to live up to Gardevoir's expectations. Its main goal was to keep them all at bay after all. And while it has managed to achieve that to some extent, a Lucario had escaped from this realm, greatly disappointing Gardevoir which then led to Giga Lucario's disappointment with that as well. But it could be considered a disappointing failure more than anything.
Either way, the Giga Lucario didn't want to fail for Gardevoir anymore. The titanic being of Aura decided to get into the action once more.
"The size of that Lucario..." Minuette gawked with an open jaw. "What is up with it?"
"It's disgustingly big!" BonBon exclaimed as rubble fell from above after Lucario's mild destruction. But despite it being mild it felt ginormous. Everything that the Giga Lucario did was gigantic.
Once it descended enough, the Giga Lucario opened its mouth, preparing for an Aura Beam. It started as a sphere, building up energy as the ponies didn't need to think twice before knowing what this meant. No one had a move to protect against what was coming. No Protect or Detect. But there was the option of simply getting out of the way.
With little buildup, the Giga Lucario had unleashed the malevolent Aura Beam from its mouth, shattering the glass around the temple just from the release as everypony scattered. The beam struck the ground, causing a gale of Aura to combust.
However, this became a case of friendly fire immediately. It was also the opposing Pokemon that were threatened by this. The Blastoise had used their massive shells to shield themselves while also grabbing the Clauncher and Clawitzer for safety, acting as their shields.
Once the explosion intensified, the Blastoise were sent flying, holding their fellow Water-Types. Everypony else felt the shockwave, almost falling over. But their Pokemon helped keep them up.
The explosion ended as there was a massive crater left behind. Anyone that would've been hit by that attack would've been blown to kingdom come potentially. They all stared at the crater and the massive blue smoke that rose from it. That could've been them.
"Oh..." BonBon fainted from the sheer sight of it, overwhelmed by this.
"Can we skip that one...?" Sonata asked, not wanting to face the giant Lucario wand its devastating mouth beam that could make a house-sized crater.
"I don't think we can," Aria growled. "There's no other way out of this place. The exit's gone."
"So what do we do then?" A petrified Sweetie Belle asked. She then noticed how the Blastoise were all hurt after protecting their allies. They laid on the floor with their shells even taking some damage. "Hey..."
"Everypony stand back. We can make this quick." Fleur suddenly stepped forward with Milotic slithering ahead. She was the least fearless out of everypony here. "Much like you, I'm not planning on having a prolonged battle. Ending this as soon as we can is now."
"How? Look at that thing!" Minuette boomed at Fleur, aiming her hoof at the Giga Lucario.
"To take down a titan, you must need a force of equal intensity. Luckily, I have just that." To flex on everyone else, Fleur used her magic to pull something out of her mane.
A Z Ring.
She had a Z Ring casually with her as it placed on her hoof, fitting perfectly. Afterwards, there was a second object in her mane. The Waterium Z. One of the many Z Crystals of Alola.
"A Z Crystal!" They exclaimed.
"I decided to take a trip to Alola myself for a nice hot relaxation. And during my downtime, I managed to earn this beauty. Dazzling and powerful. This should be enough for this Lucario, don't you think?" Fleur commented.
"Yeah well, you'd better do it fast! Cause it's gonna fire again!" Sonata and Minuette both said as Lucario was already preparing a second Aura Beam from its mouth.
Everypony yelped as they started moving again. The Blastoise, once more, shielded the other Pokemon from the approaching destruction that was bound to happen. Fleur hopped onto the back of her Milotic as the Tender Pokemon swiftly swam away, right on time as Lucario's Aura Beam was unleashed once more.
Another crater combined with another gale explosion emerged, this time, destroying some of the stairs and even cleaning the temple into sliced up parts. This beam could do more than just blow up.
"That thing of yours better be strong enough!" Aria exclaimed.
"For something this large it can do something! But to guarantee an absolute defeat, I need one of you to use Rain Dance! Please tell me one of you has a Pokemon that can do so!"
"Oh!" BonBon's eyes opened as she was no longer unconscious. "My Azumarill does!"
"Then hurry! My Milotic's Z-Move coupled with Rain Dance is sure to do a lot. Can the rest of you buy some time for until then?"
"We'll do just that. If it gets us out of this hot water." Sonata then snorted after making that pun. "Get it?"
"Yeah, we get it." Aria nodded as she couldn't help also laugh a tad bit at that joke. Everypony went to buy some small time for Fleur and BonBon. BonBon took out her Poke Ball, throwing it to release her Azumarill.
The goal was to keep Giga Lucario distracted so that Milotic's Z-Move can land without fail. And with the power of the rain, this attack will deal even greater damage than it already does.
"Plusle! Minun! Discharge!"
"Brionne, use Moonblast!"
"Vaporeon, Aurora Beam!"
"Brionne!" Brionne and her allies started things off with the power of the moon, two combined volts of discharging electricity and a rainbow-coloured beam. This did this from behind, hitting the back of Giga Lucario's head.
The Giga Lucario felt those four attacks connect as its attention was drawn to the four Pokemon and their three trainers. The distraction had been set off. The Giga Lucario then approached them, not using a beam this time. It was going to get up close and personal as its mouth was open.
"Azumarill, Rain Dance!"
"Azu! Marill! Azu! Azumarill!" Azumarill began dancing, manipulating the weather by doing so. Even if this was a mindscape, the laws of Pokemon moves and mostly Infinity Energy still existed. Aura was to thank for that, even though they were all being attacked by a being made out of Aura.
"Thank you, Sweetie Drops." Fleur thanked the earth pony before placing the Z Crystal within the Z-Ring. The time for a Z-Move was now. And upon placing it inside, the ring started glowing as Fleur got into a bipedal stance to pull off the pose.
"Milo...!" MIlotic was pumping herself up for this. Fleur started making the pose of water flowing gracefully along the sea with a vibrant and graceful splash that was smoother than anything.
"Witness this." She said as a golden aura erupted behind her. "You won't see Z-Move pulled off as wonderful as this one! Are you ready, Milotic?!"
"Lotic!" Milotic bellowed as the energy from the crystal had entered her. She was surrounded by Z-Power as the Z symbol appeared in front of her. And with this exposure of power, the Giga Lucario had suddenly stopped moving.
This feeling. This brand new energy made the Giga Lucario's actions come to a screeching halt as it was just about to bite into the others. This was because it felt something familiar yet new. Aura. The Aura from the Z-Crystal and incoming Z-Move.
The Electric Realm.
Meanwhile, at the Electric Realm, this was felt too. Mainly from Gardevoir. She had arrived at the Electric Realm to find Ash mainly. The location of this realm was one big lightning bolt that was safe to walk on and had such a stellar size that a city could be built here. Other lightning bolts acted as either mountains or hills as there were constant thunderstorms. It was hard to tell who's mind was responsible for this. Ash, Twilight, Celestia or Luna.
Ash, Cynthia, Goh and Chloe were present here as Gardevoir was lurking, waiting to catch Ash off guard instead of just approaching him. But as she was waiting for that opportunity, that's when she felt it.
The Aura of the Z Move.
"What was that?!" She gasped, feeling this enigmatic disturbance. It was so great that it forcefully interrupted with the Aura that she had gathered. "This type of Aura has never existed in the 18 Realms before...What was that?" Indeed. This was all new to her. The Shiny Gardevoir had never felt the power of Alola before.
"Pi? Pikachu!" Pikachu sensed Gardevoir once her focus was thrown off by the mere exertion of Fleur-de-lis' activation of the Z-Crystal.
"You're saying she's here?!" Ash translated as they were already made aware of the Shiny Gardevoir behind all of this. The useful Xtransceiver was to thank for this message being passed down. At least to those who owned Xtransceivers.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu pointed past some of the thunderbolts, spotting the Embrace Pokemon in the distance. The lights of the lightning bolts made it hard to see but her silhouette and figure were noticeable.
"Huh?!" Gardevoir saw that her cover was blown. So much for being stealthy. And this was all interrupted by disruption from a completely different realm. Fittingly, it came from the realm that was weak to Electric.
"Oh! That's her!" Goh cried out as Cynthia and Chloe ended up noticing her as well.
"Curses..." Gardevoir clenched her hands, growling at her exposure and how it came to be via outside interference that she could only assume had something to do with Giga Lucario. "What is Lucario doing..."
The Water Realm.
Speaking of which, the Giga Lucario turned around to see Fleur-de-lis and Milotic utilizing the Z-Move. It had to look after feeling the unknown and fearsome Aura.
"It sees us!" BonBon gasped as their plan might be kaput at this rate. Giga Lucario could evade it.
"With that target that big, it should be impossible for us to miss but..." Fleur uttered, feeling a bit nervous that this might not be pulled off as well. "We'll take that risk either way.
"Milo!"
"Milotic! HYDRO VORTEX!"
"Milo...LOTIC!" Milotic had then controlled the water from the Sea Temple itself, causing it to fly in her direction. It all gathered up to form a gigantic body of water that Milotic started swimming in, becoming covered in a light blue torrent of water in the process. The Tender Pokemon then swam in a circle, creating a vortex of water that grew large enough to encompass a chunk of the temple.
The vortex raced towards the Giga Lucario, who was still stunned by this overflow of Aura. It had never felt anything like it before. The Power of Alola stunned it, making this incoming Z-Move a free hit.
The vortex pulled in the Giga Lucario, completely engulfing it with its astronomical size. The vicious vortex pummeled the Giga Lucario, swivelling it within its aquamarine fury. The Giga Lucario was thrown off guard for once.
The vortex eventually had an outburst, making the Giga Lucario feel all of it. From its head, body, and arms. This was the most damage it has taken. Even when going up against the opposing Fighting-Types in the Fighting Realm. Droplets of water fell from above, adding to Azuramill's Rain Dance.
And the result was stunning. The Giga Lucario started falling. The rest of its body was starting to show itself. Its lower body, tail and everything else had been revealed. No longer was it just a floating head made out of Ethereal Aura.
However, that Hydro Vortex was so powerful that Lucario did not recover instantly. Instead, it had dropped into the massive sea that was below the Sea Temple. That attack knocked the wind out of it. It caused a gigantic splash that was nearly on par with a tsunami.
Everyone backed away from the massive tidal wave as the last thing sticking out was Lucario's massive paw. It was most definitely sinking with how it currently was. However, its allies, who it almost hit with those previous Aura Beams, rushed over to Lucario.
Altogether, they had grabbed its paw, attempting to keep Lucario up instead of letting it sink. Due to the temporary defeat of the Giga Lucario, a door had appeared nearby. Once more, they seem to appear when something successful is performed. Mainly in the defeat of the opposing force.
"That did the trick," said Aria, facing the nearby door. "If that's all it took to get somewhere, I would've battled one of you and won."
"Pssh.I don't know about that..." Minuette doubted as they all started making their way towards the door. But, Sweetie Belle couldn't help but look at the Pokemon and how they were trying to help Lucario up. She chose not to go through the door just yet.
"Hey, wait!" She stopped them all. "Should we help them?"
"...Huh?!" Aria and the others each said with visible confusion gracing their faces and tones.
"That Lucario's gonna drown, see?" Sweetie Belle pointed out. "We can't let that happen to it!"
"Uh...kid..." Aria cleared her throat, walking over to Sweetie Belle. "That Lucario almost obliterated us into millions of horse pieces with that mouth blast thing. Pretty sure it's the last thing we want to help."
"Plus, they can get it out. I mean, they've got Blastoise, right?" Minuette nudged her head in the direction of the Pokemon. But even with Blastoise, it wasn't enough as they started slipping. "Oh."
"I know but...We can't just let it drown, can we? Not with how hard they're trying." Sweetie Belle then pulled puppy-dog eyes on Aria, making her grimace and pul back. "Please? Let's just try and get it out before it gets worse."
"I actually agree with her," Fleur commented. "Even though Milotic and I gracefully defeated it, allowing it to just drown doesn't seem right."
"Same here." BonBon and Minuette both raised their hooves. Aria turned around to see that Sonata and a few others did the same. Even the Pokemon were in agreement. Aria then looked at Brionne who also wanted to help Lucario up.
"Ugh..." Aria was clearly overruled with more willing to help. And deep down, Aria had that helpful nature in her too. "Fine. We'll help it."
They all agreed to help. The Blastoise, Clawitzer, Wartortle and Clauncher could not hold on for long. Even the strong grip of Clawitzer wasn't enough. And that's where the help came in. It started with Fleur and Minuette both using their magic to hold the Pokemon at the back, pulling them via telekinesis.
It then followed up with Sweetie Belle and her Pokemon grabbing Lucario's massive paw. Joining them were Aria, Brionne, Sonata and Vaporeon. Soon they all chimed in, using their combined strength to help pull Lucario up. The Blastoise, Wartortle, Clauncher and Clawitzer were confused by this at first, but if it meant helping Lucario, then they just went it regardless.
"Not strong enough...!" Sweetie Belle growled as they were making little progress. She then used her magic to take out the rest of her Poke Balls, sending out more of her Pokemon.
Meowstic, Teddiursa and Piplup had emerged to give out some extra muscle. Sonata did the same, sending out her Lopunny while Aria unleashed her Ledian and Croagunk. They all added their strength to the mix, grabbing the others or Lucario's paw.
"Meow!" Meowstic used her potent Psychic abilities to try and pull everyone back. She certainly had the strongest pull here. And with this addition of help, they started succeeding. The Giga Lucario was being pulled out of the water its ears and nose poking out.
But it put a huge strain on their bodies due to how heavy this titanic Aura Pokemon was. The Giga Lucario had its eyes partially opening as it had witnessed the union of enemies coming together just to save it from drowning.
With a final spurt of their strength and the immense Psychic power of Meowstic, they managed to save Lucario from drowning, pulling it out. Everyone fell on their back aside from Meowstic as they didn't take into account how Lucario could crash on them.
"Oh, wait-wait-wait-wait-wait!" Sonata and the others screeched as Lucario was falling in their direction with its massive body. Luckily, Meowstic pulled them all out of the way as the Aura Pokemon crashed onto the marble floor. "Whew..."
"Almost ended up worse than that Lucario..." Aria breathed in and out. "But at least we got it out."
"Blastoise." After the save, Blastoise and the other Pokemon went up to Aria's group. But they didn't approach in their usual aggressive and fast manner. Instead, they approached casually. They stopped in front of the group before bowing their heads, showing signs of gratitude.
They were grateful that they helped save Lucario. Even after their previous battle, they came together to save someone from their doom.
"You're welcome!" Sonata giggled.
"Mhm. I couldn't let it drown. None of us could." said Sweetie Belle. "You're all not so bad, are you? Then again, it was still scary that you attacked us."
"Blast." Blastoise nodded as just like Kommo- and the other Pokemon that were defeated in the Normal Realm, their bodies were fading away with Aura particles. It was time for them to return to reality.
"What the?! What's going on?!" Sweetie Belle gasped. "What's happening to you all?!"
"It looks like they're fading away," Fleur observed, going over to touch one of the Clauncher, only for her hoof to phase through. "They're leaving."
"IS that...a bad thing?" The little unicorn asked. Fleur could only shrug, unaware of their actual fate. But the Pokemon left, having smiles on their faces. It showed that they were happy. And that was enough. Afterwards, they had all faded away, leaving only the Giga Lucario behind.
The Giga Lucario looked at those that had saved it, not making any movements. It just stared at them with an unchanging expression while also witnessing the other Pokemon fade away.
"Let's go now," Aria said. "I'm sure that Lucario can handle itself." Aria and everyone chose to leave the area now. Lucario could definitely handle itself alone. Even when winded. After that, they left the realm, with Lucario being alone.
But with that alone time, Lucario took some time to reflect. It closed its eyes, aggravated on how it had failed. But it was also somewhat pleased. It thought back to this moment and what had happened at the Normal Realm. The satisfying battle that Kommo-o received and the rescue of its own life from drowning. The Giga Lucario knew one thing though.
Gardevoir was not going to be happy.
Electric Realm.
Speaking of which, Gardevoir finally came face-to-face with Ash's group, hovering there as there was no point in hiding anymore. She was made aware of in most of the realms. Especially this one.
"I heard everything from Twilight and the others," Ash spoke. "You're after my AUra, aren't you?"
"Yes. Yes, I am. But I'm mostly after it to break free of this realm. Your friends have already agreed to help out of here, thankfully. But they seem to deny me taking your Aura for myself."
"It only makes sense." Cynthia commented. "You're some sort of Aura Vampire. We were told that you absorb it all for a prolonged lifespan. Essentially reaching for the goal of immortality."
"That's right. So they did tell you everything. My goal is immortality in this never-ending universe. And with all the Aura I've absorbed, none can come close to the ridiculous amount of Aura that I sense in you, Ash Ketchum. I need it. I can get out of here and continue my venture in reality. You wouldn't let me perish here, would you?"
"It sounds like she just wants to leave when you think about it..." Chloe uttered, looking at the other side of things. Ash also thought about Gardevoir's comment and how it did have two sides.
Much like Celestia, Twilight, Luna, Pinkie Pie and Starlight, he didn't want Gardevoir to be trapped in here forever without any chance of seeing reality again. Not at all. But he wasn't for having his Aura taken away. Especially with what happened to those who had their Aura stolen too.
"Sorry. But I can't do that." Ash made up his mind instantly. "I wanna see you out of here but I can't give up my Aura. Not until I've stopped Delayed Aura Ataxia. Something that you, made, right?"
"Stop it? You can't stop my creation." Gardevoir chuckled. "With the power of Ataxia, I can summon Pokemon that I've stolen Auras from in the past with ease, control the 18 Types casually and even manipulate other forces that you may or may not be aware of. As if you could stop it. You may have the same Aura Pattern as Sir Aaron, but you're certainly not as skilled as he was. I missed out on my chance to steal his Aura since I was sent here too soon. But with you here, that can change. And I also sense some from you. Cynthia."
"Hmph." Cynthia scoffed as she indeed did have Aura. Having a Lucario meant that her Aura was exceptionally high and prominent.
"Asking is out of the question." Gardevoir then hovered off the ground a bit, clenching her hands as 18 colours surrounded her body. The colours of the 18 Types. She could most definitely manifest them despite being so limited in what she could utilize due to being a Gardevoir.
Within the 18 Realms, multiple doors had just opened. The Normal, Water and Psychic Door were wide open. Brawly, Rumble and Bea were the first to emerge as they were headed for the Dark Door next. But they had just come across Aria's group who had just returned from the Water Realm. And finally, Twilight's group emerged from the Psychic door after dealing with so many opposing Pokemon inside there.
It wasn't just that. Mayor Mare's group was also on the move, heading for another door until they met with the others. Those that had already passed one realm and were ready to head for the rest had reunited.
"Oh! You're all here!" Brawly said. "Glad everyone's okay. We just came back from the Ghost Realm and there was nothing there. Just a messed up mansion."
"So, we all haven't covered every door here," Celestia spoke before facing Aria's group. "And you all have just returned from the Water Door, haven't you?"
"You should've seen what we went through back there, princess." Sonata stepped forward. "Well first a bunch of Water-Type Pokemon came towards us to attack and the next we know, there's a super-sized Lucario that was also trying to get rid of us."
"Oh, the Giga Lucario!" Brawly exclaimed. "Gave it a name that fits. You came across that too, huh."
"So did we," Octavia replied. "But it didn't attack us at all. We had to deal with a Kommo-o and a few other Pokemon back at the Normal Door. Has anyone found a way to leave this realm by the way?"
"Mmm." Bea shook her head. "But we did learn something of importance from the Ethereal Lucario residing over at the Fighting Realm. Not only were we told about how the Giga Lucario resides here, but they mentioned how the one way to break free from this realm was to defeat the one responsible for it."
"We had a long talk with them. And there's this Gardevoir apparently that's the cause of all of this. If we do something about her then we're free to get out of this place pronto." Brawly explained.
"Gardevoir? So...is it through the Psychic door?" Sonata and the others faced the Psychic-Type door.
"We have already come back from that realm. She's elsewhere now. Most definitely the Electric Realm as that is where Ash is. She wants Aura. And no one has bigger Aura than Ash." Luna explained. "If not, then maybe Fairy."
"Wherever she may be, she won't succeed. We should probably gather everypony else for assistance." Celestia suggested. "Some are still through those doors and haven't yet come out."
"Let me handle that." Brawly stretched his hands. "There's one other tip the Lucario left us. Since this place is filled with Aura, anyone can feel through these doors. Check this out." Brawly approached the Grass-Type door to show a neat trick he had learned.
By placing his hand on the door, he could feel the Aura exuding out of it. Since all 18 Types have both Infinity Energy and Aura, it was fairly easy. Brawly felt something within the Grass Door. Multiple different Aura signatures were going off in there. "Oh! There's something happening in there! Might be the same for every other door."
"Then let's try each of them instead of just one," Twilight said. "We can maybe help everypony else out if they're coming across any issues."
And so, they had a new goal. There was a potential way of leaving this realm. And that was against the Gardevoir that had created. And also assist anyone that was facing any problems within each door. And there certainly was something happening within the Electric Door. Something fierce. But there was another of great importance through the Grass Door.
Grass Door.
Applejack, Fluttershy, Sunset Shimmer, Apple Bloom, Roxie, Roseluck and Scootaloo could be found in this realm, still searching for something of great importance.
They moved from the Deerling Forest to the Pikachu Highlands, continuing their search. They had just managed to solve a poison problem minutes ago and were hoping for no other problems to sprout up.
They were currently within the palace of the Pikachu Royalty, searching for anything within each room. For a Pikachu Palace, it was unnecessarily large.
"No good..." Sunset sighed. "We're not getting anywhere...Has anything happened outside at least?"
"No. It's all-natural there." Roseluck replied. "Maybe we should just head back and call it quits?"
"No way. There's gotta be something here." Applejack rummaged through the rooms with her little sister, searching high and low. Objects were being thrown all about from their rummaging.
"Hey. Where'd Fluttershy go?" Scootaloo noticed how almost everyone was here except for Fluttershy.
"I think she went downstairs," Roxie responded.
"Girls!" Speaking of Fluttershy, she called all of them from downstairs with great alert in her tone. It sounded important. "Come here!" They all quickly ran to her location downstairs.
Fluttershy stood there, waiting for her friends to show up. And when they did, they soon saw what she had seen. Something of stunning magnitude yet simple to know. Upon arriving downstairs, their eyes were tracking something else instead of Fluttershy. Their jaws dropped one at a time in perfect harmony.
What they saw was an already open door. Not one that led to the 18 Realms, but one that already existed within this realm. And through this massive open door was a tree. Not just any tree. But the combination of two important trees. One that exists in the Pokemon World and the other in Equestria.
The Tree of Beginning and the Tree of Harmony.
They had merged to make an even larger tree. One that had more than 6 Elements of Harmony on it. There were now a total of 15 new elements that were never there before. And they all seemed to share a common theme, revolving around Aura.
The size on it was also stupendous. But yet it was odd how they never noticed it in the first place and how it managed to fit in this palace with its superior size. But then again, this was all a part of one combined mined so almost anything was possible.
"The Tree of Harmony?!" Applejack gasped. "And ain't that the Tree of Beginning from Kanto?!"
"It is. They're all-in-one from the looks of it. How wonderful is that?" said Fluttershy.
"What are those elements? I don't recognize them." Scootaloo asked.
"Not sure." Fluttershy flew over to the tree, gazing at the 15 new Elements. "But they all have the same look to them. It looks like Aura to me with different colours. This could be our way out of here."
"Ooh. Do we use 'em?" Apple Bloom squeed, liking the potential idea of using these elements.
"Well...Maybe they work even in this mind." Fluttershy took her element. The Element of Kindness. "Here's yours, Applejack." She then gave the Element of Honesty to Applejack.
"This better work." Applejack placed the element around her neck. But the others were curious about the rest of the elements. They approached the tree, witnessing its grandiose size at a closer angle. Sunset Shimmer grabbed the Red Aura Element, observing it closely.
"Hmm..." She then looked over at two more, seeing that they were blue and green. "Hey. Do you think that these are based on Pokemon Types?"
"They are?" Applejack and Fluttershy turned to her.
"They have the colours to match. Red, Blue, Green, Yellow and more." Sunset showed them as they sparkled with the golden sun beaming next to them. "This could mean something. Hopefully."
"Might be right about that. For now, let's see if we can use these." Fluttershy and Applejack were aiming to utilize the magic with the intent of potentially manipulating this area for any form of exit.
And just as they were about to do so, high above the palace and arriving at the area of the combined trees was the Giga Lucario. However, it moved at a gentler pace than how it usually does. Which is with pure aggression and unbridled speed.
It had also made little sound at all. Nothing had been damaged by its sheer size. Not even the trees made any sound when it had passed them. The Giga Lucario then made itself intangible, phasing through the walls of the palace. It had also shrunken in size to better mask itself.
After doing so, it had entered the Element of Kindness and the Element of Honesty. While doing it all undetected.
Lo and behold, they were able to use the magic of harmony within this realm. Both their elements illuminated their signature lights, merging together. But it wasn't done by their power. It was done by the Giga Lucario.
"It's working!" Scootaloo and Apple Bloom exclaimed with smiles on their faces. This looked promising. Afterwards, two colours were shot out of the elements, hitting seemingly nothing. The reason for this was because they were opening a hole within the realms, ripping into reality.
The influence of Aura was making this possible as it interacted with magic, amplifying its already amazing potential to a higher degree. A crack was beginning to form from the firing of these two elements as the feeling permeated throughout the 18 Realms.
Giga Lucario, instead of attacking, chose to help them.
Electric Realm.
Meanwhile, over at the Electric Realm, Gardevoir was about to start an instant conflict with Ash, Cynthia, Goh and Chloe, just to get her hands on Ash's gigantic Aura.
She had previously felt an odd Aura permeate through the 18 Realms. That was the result of Fleur-de-lis and her Milotic using the power of the Waterium Z. A Z-Move that relies on Aura from Alola. Gardevoir had never felt an Aura like that before and immediately shifted the blame towards the Giga Lucario.
She has yet to feel the incoming Aura from the Giga Lucario and the two elements. Instead, she was too focused on getting Ash's Aura.
"Ash. You must be careful." Cynthia warned Ash, already holding a Poke Ball out. "Since she's after your Aura, exerting yourself could expose it all to her."
"Are you sure?" Ash replied to her. "I gotta do something, ya know."
"If you want to battle, then go ahead. But just be careful that she doesn't an ounce from you, alright?" Cynthia suggested before throwing her Poke Ball. "Go, Roserade!"
"Roserade!"
"Come out! Cinderace!" Goh chose to send out his Cinderace as it stood alongside Cynthia's Roserade.
"I'm gonna try anyway! Pikachu! Let's go!"
"Pikachu!"
"Roserade, use Sludge Bomb!"
"Cinderace, Pyro Ball!"
"Cinder!" Cinderace stomped on the giant lightning bolt, finding out that were was indeed some rubble. Albeit one that was lightning-covered. It had then kicked the lightning pebble a few times, turning it into a ball of fire with two kinds of sparks emitting out of it. The Striker Pokemon had then shot the ball in Gardevoir's direction.
Roserade shot over bombs of sludge that came out of her rose hands. Standing there was Gardevoir who didn't seem bothered by this. And with a confident smile on her face, instead of using a move to counter, she brought something new to the table.
"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"
"Ka! Pika...!" Pikachu joined in. Even though it was dangerous to exert himself in front of Gardevoir, Ash wanted to help either way. The Mouse Pokemon leapt off of his shoulder, sparking his body with electricity. Shooting out of it were 100,000 volts that flew alongside the ball of fire and the bombs of sludge.
Gardevoir placed her hand forward as Aura was flowing out of it. The Aura had then transformed the Thunderbolt below everyone by seeping into it. The lightning bolt went from being a giant platform of electricity to the natural ground that is seen in reality.
And emerging from below was an earth wall. This wall of earth had acted as Gardevoir's shield, blocking the Electric, Poison and Fire-Type move and essentially nullifying them.
"Surprised?" Gardevoir hovered over the earth wall, looking down at Ash, Cynthia and Goh's surprised faces. "Aura is connected to all 18 Types. Meaning that every single one of them is mine to control!"
She then waved her hands, causing the earth wall to shatter as giant rocks were thrown in their direction as a form of ranged retaliation on Gardevoir's part.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"
"Roserade, stop it with Shadow Ball!"
"Double Kick, Cinderace!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu, Cinderace and Roserade quickly stopped the incoming rocks with a hardened tail of iron, spheres of shadows that were also thrown in Gardevoir's direction and two consecutive kicks.
Gardevoir had hovered over the Shadow Balls before using her Aura to manipulate another type. This time, it was Fire. She formed a trail of fire behind her as it came zooming in. The fire blazed through the ground and even burnt some of the lightning bolt pillars.
"Aah!" Chloe shouted as she lowered her head at this violent and swift trail of fire After ducking, the flame ended up crashing into a nearby large lightning pillar. However, Gardevoir had quickly redirected the trail, causing it to approach from behind.
"Electroweb!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu came to Chloe's rescue, making a web of electricity from his tail that had caught the trail of fire. It had then encased the fire, keeping it from going any further. The flame then combusted, destroying the web with it as Chloe closed her eyes.
However, there were smaller trails that managed to sneak out of the giant smoke, racing towards Roserade. Roserade received a sneak attack from these stealthy flames, taking super-effective damage. "R-Rose!"
"Roserade!" Cynthia gasped as the Bouquet Pokemon's back had been burned. But she was okay.
"Let's get up close and personal! Quick Attack!"
"Blaze Kick!"
"Pika-Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu and Cinderace ran up to Gardevoir to get physical with her. A common thing with Gardevoir is that it does well against special attacks but not so much against physical attacks. But this Gardevoir was different from the others to adapt to her weaknesses.
Pikachu appeared at blinding speeds with a white trail around him. He managed to land a swift hit, hitting Gardevoir from the side and making her stagger. "Pika!"
"Cinder!" Cinderace followed up by also coming from the side, delivering a blazing foot dive on Gardevoir, causing spurts of flames to shoot out. Gardevoir staggered once more, being pushed back by this unified attack on her.
And due to Pikachu landing an attack, the Aura was showing. Just what Gardevoir wanted. While she took damage, she managed to have some of the Aura come her way. It always happens when Ash battles anyway, even if barely anyone else can see it.
In retaliation, the Embrace Pokemon had used the Aura of both Water and Ground. From both her hands, a twister of water and rising earth pillars came their way.
"P-Pika!" Pikachu and Cinderace had been struck with their weaknesses. The pillars erupted swiftly underneath the Electric-Type, knocking him away while the twister of water carried Cinderace away.
"A-Ace!"
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out for his partner as did Goh. "Ash was ready to amp things up, but he knew that he couldn't. Gardevoir could absorb his Aura some more. "Can't do that...!" He growled.
"Not going all out as you usually do, eh? You may be thick-headed but you're not stupid." Gardevoir both mocked and complimented Ash. The Embrace Pokemon then turned to Cynthia. "And don't think I've forgotten about you, Cynthia. You have a Lucario as well. Your Aura is also mine to absorb."
"Ash. Are you doing alright?" Cynthia asked him.
"Yeah. Almost exposed a lot right there." He replied.
"By all means, go ahead. If you want to defeat me, you'll have to use everything that you have. Even if you're keeping it all at bay." Gardevoir chuckled. "And to think, I haven't used my actual m-"
Then, the Embrace Pokemon was cut off. She felt it again. An outburst of Aura that could reach all the way over here. Her cocky expression shifted into one of shock. She promptly ceased her attack to feel this occurrence.
"Again...What was that?" Gardevoir wondered. At this point, she couldn't just ignore it a second time. Gardevoir used her Aura to sense where it was coming from.
"What's she doing?" Goh asked.
"Something seems to have her distracted. If there was any time to attack, it's now. Roserade, Sludge Bomb!"
"Rose...Rade!" They were going to strike while Gardevoir's attention was drawn elsewhere. Roserade unleashed Sludge Bomb while the Embrace Pokemon was not looking.
Gardevoir had then found the source of the current occurrence. The Grass Realm. "Ah. So something's happening over there. I'll make sure that-" Interrupted once more, she had been hit by Sludge Bomb, taking super-effective damage. "Gah!"
She fell over from Roserade's Sludge Bomb, even becoming poisoned from it. A consequence for letting her guard down as she tumbled on the ground. Gardevoir then glanced at Roserade and the others with an agitated face. She quickly recovered, returning to her usual hovering stance.
"I can't ignore what's happening over there. I thought the Grass-Type Realm was dealt with when those poison necklaces went off." She thought to herself.
"Stay back for a bit, Ash." Cynthia stepped forward. "Take action when needed. Roserade, get up close!"
"You too, Cinderace!" Cinderace and Roserade approached Gardevoir, ready to get up close and personal with her, exposing her few weaknesses.
"I have to do something about this and that...I have to. Otherwise, I will be trapped here forever. And I can't take another century here!"
Grass Realm.
The beams of Honesty and Kindness had successfully ripped open a hole in this mind ream. But it was thanks to Lucario in secret. They had just found a method of potentially leaving this realm or moving through it without having to worry about finding a door.
"It worked! That's what we like to see!" Roxie exclaimed as she and the others cheered for this achievement. This was major progress at work. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom jumped around with joy, hugging each other at this great sign.
"I didn't think it would but great! Are we still sure this is all still inside of four minds?" Sunset said. But as they were all celebrating, from a great distance, right at the Grass Realm, Gardevoir interrupted.
And she did so by reacting with Lucario. Residing within the Elements of Harmony, Lucario could feel Gardevoir's manipulation from afar. It started grimacing within the elements, feeling its Aura being controlled unwillingly. As a result, the elements were also shaking.
"Huh?" Fluttershy and Applejack felt their elements trembling unexpectedly. There was an internal struggle happening inside of it. Before they knew it, something burst out of their elements with a roar of Aura. And the burst was so powerful, it pushed them both back, causing them to fall to the floor.
"Sis! Fluttershy!" Apple Bloom cried out, running to their side. But before she could get close, emerging out of the elements was the Giga Lucario. But it wasn't its usual gigantic size. It was comparable to two bedrooms at least. Still fairly large. It crashed near the tree, harming its back in the process. "W-What?!"
"Lucario!" Sunset and the others exclaimed.
"L-LU..." Lucario finally said something as it growled, getting on its knees. Fluttershy and Applejack were alright, thankfully. Right after the burst of Aura, Gardevoir's influence flowed within this realm even further. In the form of pink and purple wisps, it went for the combined tree.
Once the tree had been influenced, there was one directive goal with it. Deal with Lucario. And it would do just that. Shooting out of the tree were massive vines that had magic laced around them. The vines came roaring out, wrapping around Lucario's arms and neck.
"RRRR!" The Giga Lucario growled as the gigantic vines violently raised it into the air.
"What's going on?!" Scootaloo exclaimed. Lucario wriggled, entering a struggle against the giant vines from the tree. But the vines didn't forget Applejack and the others. It quickly went in their direction, grabbing them as well. "Hey!"
"Oh!" Sunset gasped, trying to pull her leg away. But the overwhelming strength of the vines said otherwise. They easily overpowered her and everyone else. The only one able to quickly escape was Sceptile, who used his vines to swing away.
"Scep!" Sceptile landed on the stairs before witnessing how this array of giant vines had all of his friends tangled up and restrained. "Sceptile?!"
"The tree helped us out and now it's trying to get rid of us?!" A confused Roseluck roared. "What gives?!"
"I don't know but...!" Roxie tried pushing the vines away, only to end in failure. "These vines are crazy strong! But nothing a little poison cant deal with! Garbodor! If you can hear me! We need help!"
Roxie called for her Pokemon within their Poke Balls. However, the vines had promptly wrapped around everyone with extra layers and made sure to get their entire body. The pocket of Poke Balls that Roxie and Sunset Shimmer had were wrapped around by the vines along with the saddlebags of Fluttershy, Scootaloo, Applejack, Roseluck and Apple Bloom.
Access to most of their Pokemon had been denied. However, Fluttershy and Applejack mostly keep their Pokemon outside anyway. Apart from Applejack's Golett who was now stuck.
Just then, appearing from out of the tree as a face was Gardevoir. While having a battle in the Electric Realm, she could still communicate and interact with this realm. As seen by how she made the elements shake, forcing Lucario out and affecting the combined tree.
"G-Gardevoir!" Roxie and Sunset Shimmer both said.
"I'm impressed you're still around." She spoke with an echo-like voice with her Astral Projection. "All of you. I was certain that the destruction of the Grass Realm would kick you out of the Ataxia realm entirely. But it doesn't look to be that way."
"Huh? You weren't trying to get rid of us in that way?" Sunset was surprised by Gardevoir's words. She would've thought that Gardevoir had crueller intentions from them. But it was revealed to be that she just wanted them all gone. Apart from Ash that is.
"Obviously not. You're all, for the most part, harmless. It's Ash that I want. Everyone of you ended up here by accident, correct? And despite all of this, some of your friends would like me to be free from this place as well after being trapped for so long. It's only fair that I repay them the same way. But so far, none have managed to leave."
"Did you have to poison us to do so?!" Roxie shouted at her.
"I got a bit fussy and heated once you mentioned the potential defeat of Ataxia. As if I would let this realm and Ataxia end. Even after creating it, I need its uses. And for your friends to have the intention of destroying it disappoints me. But you disappoint me even more, Lucario."
"LU..." Lucario looked at the astral projection of Gardevoir's face.
"After trapping you here with me, I would've thought all those centuries together would've made you the most loyal ally I could ask for. Turns out, I was wrong. You still have your other side that originated from your Aura Guardian long ago. It's holding you back."
"W-What does that mean?" Fluttershy wondered.
"Don't you worry about that, my little pony. This is business between me and Lucario over here. You all are free to try and leave this realm by using that open hole in reality. But unfortunately, Ash, and a few other trainers now that I think about it, will stay. Their Aura is coming with me."
"We ain't leaving unless everypony comes along!" Applejack shouted, biting into the tree to try and break free.
"Come to think of it..." The Astral Projection of Gardevoir's face flew over. "I can sense Aura within you as well, earth pony. It's not as massive as Ash's but...It's impressively vast. Especially considering how your world is still new to Pokemon and yet you are hiding a latent amount of Aura within you. Ash, Celestia and you are showing great promise."
"You stay away from my big sister you...you...!" Apple Bloom was trying to find the best insult that she could. Unfortunately, it's hard to do so considering that Gardevoir was not based on an animal. But, Apple Bloom could relate her to one thing that was not related to her actual typing. "Big plant!"
"Hm." Gardevoir was not impressed by that insult. She then flew over to Lucario, facing the Aura Pokemon. "Lucario. Sweet girl. I still need your Aura. But maybe next time, you won't go against me. You caused my imprisonment so I'd say you deserve to stay in longer than I should. As for you, Applejack. You're staying with me."
"No, I ain't! Sceptile! Leaf Blade!"
"Scep...!" Sceptile then leapt off the stairs, summoning bladed leaves that extended. Gardevoir turned to face the Forest Pokemon, having an unimpressed expression. And this was because Sceptile's attack had phased through. "Tile?"
"Hahaha!" Gardevoir chuckled as Sceptile crashed into the tree. "I'm just an Astral Projection! Completely intangible. But my influence is physical as you can all see. Now then. you all are free to leave but not so carelessly. You could still stay behind and try something. But we'll see in a bit. "Just like that Gardevoir exited this realm with her projection fading away.
"What now? Our Poke Balls are stuck..." Scootaloo pouted.
"I can't get Roserade out either," said Roseluck. The vines continued to flow around them as Sceptile was the only one unrestrained. But the vines started circling around him, ready to strike at any moment. Even the Fire-Types could not burn these thick roots.
"Lucario." Fluttershy turned to the Aura Pokemon. "What Gardevoir just said..."
"LUCA..."
"I don't think Lucario can help right now, Flutters," Roxie commented. "We have to figure out a way out of this place. Plus, that open hole's the only way out of here and Gardevoir won't let us go unless she finishes whatever she's doing."
"CA."
"Hm?" Fluttershy turned to the FIghting-Steel-Type, hearing her comment. Lucario then looked at Fluttershy with an upset look. Fluttershy then knew what to do. "I don't know what's going on, honestly. But I can tell you want to help, Lucario."
"RRR?"
"So we'll help you. You want to stop Gardevoir too and everyone else is trying to do the same. Plus leaving here as well." The pegasus then gave a comforting smile to the Aura Pokemon. "We'll get you out of here. And every Lucario in every realm too."
"First we gotta break free. Sceptile." Applejack looked at her partner. "Counter those vines with some bigger vines, why don't you? Frenzy Plant!"
"Tile!" Sceptile them made a move. So did the vines as they raced towards him. He was easily the fastest Pokemon currently in this group as he jumped into the air, evading the vines. He made them crash into each other, shattering them in the process.
Afterwards, the Forest Pokemon had landed on one of the vines, promptly smashing his fist onto it. And by doing so, he had summoned a frantic array of vines from Frenzy Plant that started scattering. Vines against vines.
The vines started combating each other as Sceptile started running on them. The Forest Pokemon could see that the best way to deal with these vines was to have them smash into each other. It was the best approach as he evaded the next vines, causing them to crash and crumble.
The duelling vines were locked in a fierce battle with some of them wrapping around each other, breaking the other apart. However, more emerged from the combined Tree of Beginnings and Harmony.
"Scep! Sceptile!" Sceptile jumped and ran off on each vine, evading them as much as he could. But even Sceptile knew he couldn't keep this up for long as the walls and ceiling were being destroyed.
"LU...LU....!" Lucario wanted to help. Even when tied up, that didn't stop her from doing something. One of the greatest things about Aura was how it could still be used even when restrained. Lucario closed her eyes, allowing the Aura to exude from her body.
"Huh?" Fluttershy turned to Lucario. The method that she was using looked familiar. Something that Ash had done as Fluttershy recalled the battle against Bea. "Oh! That's just like what Riolu did!"
"LUCARIO!" Lucario then roared, allowing the Aura to cover Sceptile. Sceptile soon gained some of Lucario's strength to give him that extra boost. And it was one riveting boost. Sceptile felt better than ever as he used Leaf Blade, heading for one of the vines.
"Scep...TILE!" This time, Sceptile could damage them. He managed to slice the giant vines in half with his boosted Leaf lade, having the strength to break through their durability.
"Awesome!" Scootaloo and Roxie cheered.
"Sceptile!" Seeing that he had the extra strength, Sceptile went towards his friends to free them. The vines promptly chased after him. One of the vines grabbed Sceptile's leg, causing him to stop in place. "Tile?!" The giant vine then started pulling Sceptile away as more of them were appearing to grab the Forest Pokemon. "Sceptile!"
Sceptile began swinging his vines around, cutting apart the vines left and right. He even used Dragon Pulse which had also been boosted. He quickly shot it towards his friends. The boosted Dragon Pulse had struck the vines, damaging them, but not quite freeing his friends.
However, it did mean that they could have a better chance of escaping due to the weakened vines. Ponyta started heating his body up as Roxie, Apple Bloom and Applejack both started chewing the vines. Certainly an interesting method from all of them.
"LUCA!" Lucario managed to break free before anyone else, shattering the vines. And once she did so, the Giga Lucario then grabbed ahold of the vines before they could continue attacking Sceptile and even the ones surrounding those on her side.
With brute force, Lucario had ripped the vines off, freeing them. Once they were freed, Giga Lucario ended up holding them in her arms, keeping them close to her. "Oh my!" Fluttershy uttered after the grab.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile lunged in her direction, landing right on Giga Lucario's shoulder. Finally, Giga Lucario's full-body had materialized. Legs and everything. Giga Lucario then turned to see how the tree was being influenced by Gardevoir, going against the name harmony in it.
So, to combat this, Lucario used her Aura. Emanating more of it from her body, Lucario allowed it all to flow into the tree. But even when not present in this realm, even without an Astral Project, Gardevoir's influence remained. Her influence instantly fought back against Lucario's Aura, acting in a volatile way. Lucario wasn't about to let herself lose this at all.
She could see that the palace was also crumbling from this struggle. So, in response, Lucario had jumped into the air, using her massive body to break right through the palace as everyone held on for dear life. Giga Lucario also increased her size to how it was before.
And once she did so, she surpassed the height of the palace, breaking out of it as her head and upper body were all that were seen from afar. Normally, no one else would see it since everyone who had entered this realm were currently being held by Giga Lucario.
However, the trainers who came to help did.
Brawly, Bea, and Rumble who were now joined by Princess Luna and Sweetie Belle for extra assistance had seen Giga Lucario from afar, witnessing the titanic Aura Pokemon break out of the palace while standing at Deerling Forest. They stood back in shock as Lucario seemed bigger than before Due to her breaking the palace, the Tree of Beginning and Harmony had also been revealed.
"What the...?!" Brawly could only say those words as Lucario let out a triumphant roar in the sky. But there was no victory. Not yet.
Lucario quickly placed everyone down now that they were free from the danger of being crushed by the falling palace. But they were certainly still in danger from the vines, even though most of them were free to go.
Lucario then looked at the combined tree and how she would be at odds with it for a while. But she was used to the centuries being here so this didn't mean much at all.
"Lucario!" Fluttershy cried out the Aura Pokemon. In response, Lucario turned around, looking down at the smaller individuals. She then nudged her head, giving a sign to them. Fluttershy could tell what she meant by that as a choice had been made by the Aura Pokemon. "You're going to stay behind and fight it?!"
"LU!" She nodded in confirmation, facing the tree as giant vines came her way. Lucario then grabbed the vines as they almost pushed her over. There was now a struggle between a Titan Pokemon and a Titan Tre that shook the skies themselves.
"You heard the giant, Fluttershy! We've got a hole right there that can take us home! Let's go!" Roxie said as she and the others were already prepared to pass through the hole before anything else can happen.
Brawly's group noticed the others and how they were jetting it like there was no tomorrow. They quickly followed after them while also making sure to avoid the giant Lucario that was wrestling with astronomically large vines.
Lucario was now against Gardevoir, aiming to help those that she previously attacked. Gardevoir's quest to break free was still in motion but her plan to steal some Aura had multiplied once discovering Applejack has high Aura as well. The feud within the 18 Realms was nearing its end with intensity as the journey continues.
Currently, there was a battle between a Giant Lucario and a giant tree that was a mixture of both the Tree of Beginning and the Tree of Harmony right inside of a broken palace residing in the Pikachu Highlands.
Certainly an odd combination. But then again, this all took place in a Mind Realm. Fluttershy, Applejack, Sunset Shimmer, Roseluck, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were all heading for the destroyed palace to pass through the open hole. Hopefully, it would be their way of leaving this realm so that everyone else could follow suit.
Also in this realm, approaching the group were Brawly, Bea, Luna, Sweetie Belle and Rumble. They had just witnessed the emergence of this Giga Lucario and merged tree.
Lucario was wrestling with the thick vines as her footsteps shook the ground, causing the trees to shake. Massive rubble from the trembling and rupturing ground had emerged as Fluttershy's group made sure to try and stay away from it.
But that was difficult considering how massive these two were. They had just managed to avoid a large rock that had almost crushed them. Followed by other large rocks that flew everywhere. Lucario had been hit in the face by the vines, staggering a bit as she received multiple whippings.
"Hang in there, Lucario!" Fluttershy shouted at her from below. "Is the hole still open?!"
"Don't know! But if it is, we'll use the Elements again to open 'em!" Applejack replied as trees came flying in her direction due to them being blown out of the soil. She gasped, only for Sceptile to save her via a vine pull. "Thanks, partner!"
"Sceptile!"
The palace was mostly gone by now. Lucario and the Tree's wrestling had damaged it to a large degree that any part of the environment was due for absolute devastation. But this was a bonus. Thanks to the destruction, the hole in the realm could be found much easier.
And it certainly was. Up ahead, the hole could be seen. However, it started to close up from the looks of it. The group hurried as fast as they could to reach the hole before it closes on itself.
But there was one other obstacle that stood in their way. That obstacle came from the tree. Instead of using its vines, it used one of the 15 new elements on its branches. The Ground Element. By using that element, the tree had summoned a massive door that led to the Ground Realm, right in front of them.
"Woah-Woah-Woah!" Sunset screeched as she came to a screeching halt. But from the speed, she was going at and the constant rumbling, that halt meant nothing as she fell towards the open door. Especially with how close it was.
"Sunset!" Fluttershy cried out as she, without a second thought, chased after her friend. She did this before back when they were falling to both the Ice and Poison Realm and she did it again even here. But that didn't matter as the door already had a powerful pull, forcing Fluttershy in it. The pegasus quickly grabbed Sunset Shimmer's hooves before she could fully pass through the door.
Before they knew it, the group had been pulled into the door. The strong pull forced them inside as they were too slow to try and stop it. All except for Sceptile. He tried using his vines to latch onto something. The trees were flying so there was no point in that. The Forest Pokemon tried going for the bigger tree that was currently wrestling with Lucario.
But it was too far. But not too far from Brawly. "Gotcha!" He exclaimed, gripping Sceptile's vines with all of his muscle. His feet were planted firmly into the ground as the potent pull of the Ground Door was even reaching from a further distance. Being a Fighting-Type specialist meant that his body was in shape for something like this. "Hrrgh...!" But it was still difficult either way."
"Brawly!" Applejack exclaimed after spotting Brawly. She was currently held on the hoof by Roxie, who was holding onto both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo for dear life. All of them were struggling against the pull.
"Machamp! Pangoro! Grapploct! I need your assistance!" Bea was ahead of the curve. Instead of just instantly going to grab Brawly, she brought extra muscle to the mix.
Keyword; extra muscle. Machamp, Pangoro and Grapploct had emerged from their Poke Balls, having all the extra muscle in various ways.
The three Fighting-Types grabbed onto them with Bea and Rumble doing the same. However, even with this combined might, the pull of the door was still overwhelmingly potent. Luna came over, ready to use her magic to pull them all back. However, a few of the vines from the giant tree had slipped out, racing towards her. The Princess of the Night blew away the vines with her magic before they could harm her.
"What ferocity!" Luna gasped. But as she managed to get rid of those vines, some other vines snuck up from behind her and the others. Luna was focused on the vines near the others to pay attention to the one next to it. It had struck the ground with a heavy magnitude as the pull of the Ground Door intensified. The increased magnitude followed by a shockwave with an increased pull from the door had pushed the alicorn and the others forward.
"Woah!" Brawly cried out as he and almost everyone fell through the Ground Door. Almost everyone. Luna managed to recover herself along with Bea and Brawly. Their Pokemon as well. Unfortunately, everyone else fell through with the door getting ready to close.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile didn't give up, showing how grand his persistence was. While falling through the door, entering a new realm, Sceptile extended his vines, throwing them to the door. He was hoping someone would catch it.
And someone did. Bea's Machamp. She had caught the vine that Sceptiple had thrown as there was something to lead with. Sceptile sighed with relief as that situation got a bit too close. However, the danger wasn't over yet as the realm they were in posed its own danger
The Ground Realm had no one in it. It was just a barren landscape with shattered mountains and constant flowing that battered everyone. And right below was one of the most terrifying things to come across in a barren area. Quicksand.
"Is everyone okay?!" Roxie asked while hanging on for dear life.
"My hooves hurt...!" Scootaloo groaned.
"Mine too!" So did Apple Bloom.
"That got a bit too close..." Applejack sighed before looking over at the long vine that Sceptile had made. "Sceptile pull me up."
Scep." Sceptile was about to do just that. Meanwhile, Machamp at the other realm was doing the same, trying to pull all of them up with Sceptile's vine along with assistance from everyone else. However, the pull of the door was still aggressive and the constant battling with the Giga Lucario and the merged tree wasn't helping due to all the rumbling and tumbling exuding out of their conflict.
"Fluttershy, just fly up there and help!" Sunset suggested.
"Can't. You could drop since you're in the front, Sunset."
"Yeah...You're right about that." Sunset nodded as they were all seemingly stuck in a stalemate at this point. Except, that wouldn't last for long as the quicksand below started moving.
"Dino! Audino!" Audino alerted them after not only spotting the quicksand but hearing it too. All their attention was drawn to the material of both sand and water.
"Heh. It's just quicksand." Sunset Shimmer scoffed as Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle Apple Bloom and Fluttershy screamed in fear. "That stuff can't actually drown you, you know that?"
"It can't?" The four of them said.
"Nope. Only happens in movies. Quicksand's way too dense to drown any of us. Just a mucky nuisance so there's no need to wo-"
But just as Sunset Shimmer explained the scientific fact about quicksand, those words were quickly thrown away as the quicksand suddenly flew towards them, grabbing onto Sunset Shimmer's leg instantly. It had the ferocity of a wild beast within it, rapidly spreading towards her.
"EXcept this one!" Sunset screeched. "It's very-" She was cut off once more as the quicksand engulfed the rest of her body surprisingly quickly. Even her face as her words were no longer heard.
"SUNSET!" They all shouted after seeing the quicksand consume her. Sunset had muffled screams coming from the quicksand as only Audino could hear her.
"Bayleef! Help!" Fluttershy screamed for one of her Pokemon. The Pokemon that had the special ability to change fate. Out came her Bayleef.
"Bay!" Upon emerging, Bayleef already sensed the threat of one of her friends. Her leaf on her head acted accordingly. And this time, a huge chunk didn't come off. Instead, a small piece had been torn off of her head. It had then touched the quicksand that Sunset Shimmer was wrapped around in.
Just a touch and those fate-changing abilities, courtesy of Rift influence, had quickly altered fate. The quicksand had been reversed, freeing Sunset Shimmer as she gasped for air. However, the quicksand soon noticed this as it went for Bayleef next.
Bayleef was about to use her vines to grab onto her friends for airtime, only to be interrupted by an aggressive flowing quicksand that had grabbed her. "B-Bay!"
"Bayleef, no!" Fluttershy screeched as the Leaf Pokemon was being carried by it. The quicksand had also split up for a split-second. By doing so, it had managed to break the vine that Sceptile had in half, breaking the connection between him and Machamp.
"S-Scep!" Sceptiple gasped before having his tail and arms grabbed by the quicksand. Soon, the seemingly sentient quicksand had grabbed everyone else by splitting itself up. Soon, it was holding all of them in the air.
They were all being restrained by the quicksand as it started pulling them all down. A massive hole in the quicksand had been opened, revealing one more than just the ground. Everyone looked down to see a horrifying sight. There were clothes of Aura Guardians underneath. Including some bones as well. Very soon, they would possibly be a part of this deep underground with remnants.
"If there's anyone I know that can help, it's you!" Roxie dug into her pocket, pulling out one of her Poke Balls before the quicksand could restrain her arm. "Scolipede!"
"Scolipede!" Scolipede emerged as it was free-falling instantly with only the quicksand-covered ground and the open hole for it to land on.
"Use Earthquake!"
"Scoli...!" Scolipede locked onto the ground as it was going straight for the quicksand, preparing for a counterattack on this sentient piece of sand and water. The quicksand also targeted the Bug-Poison-Type, aiming to sink it as well.
Scolipede, thanks to its heavy weight, landed fairly quickly. And after doing so, he allowed the energy of Earthquake to flow. It had connected with the quicksand, causing a golden light to erupt through it.
With a heavy magnitude and force, the quicksand had been dispersed with the ground itself shattering afterwards. The sentient quicksand had suffered damage as the earthquake had temporarily scared it away. Everyone was freed from its violent grasp as they were dropped to the ground.
Sceptile quickly used his vines to catch them, safely bringing them all to the ground while Fluttershy simply flew, holding the CMC in her hooves.
"That was too close..." Brawly sighed, getting on one knee. "What just happened?"
"We're safe for now," Sunset commented. "Hopefully. I didn't think that quicksand could be so aggressive out of nowhere."
They all took some time to catch their breath. The door to the Grass Realm was far from them. It even seemed higher than how it was previously.
"Are you okay there, Roxie?" Brawly looked at Roxie who had looked to have sprained her arm amid all that struggling.
"Yeah. Just a bit twitched up right here." Roxie groaned as Brawly held her arm, trying to readjust it a bit to soothe the pain."I didn't think quicksand could be that rough."
"We're okay right now. Let's just be careful about that quicksand, okay?" Brawly said.
"Pssh. Scolipede's the one who scared it off. We'll e fine. Ow!" Roxie then groaned after feeling another twitch in her arm. Audino quickly ran over to everyone, aiming to use Heal Pulse. They had all been harmed after the struggle.
"How is that we were pulled into all of this mess?" Bea sighed, as the energy of Heal Pulse permeated through her body, healing her wounds.
The CMC looked over to see the remnants of Aura Guardians and what was presumably their phones being absorbed into the earth. Just the sight of this and everything that had happened prior was enough to spark something in the three fillies. Something that was unpleasant to them.
They started breathing in and out in unison consecutively as tears were forming. It didn't help that they had been harmed during this escapade. All of this was enough to make them start crying. All of this was getting out of hand for them.
"Hm?" Fluttershy and Audino heard some sniffling as their attention was turned to the three fillies. "Oh! What's wrong, girls?"
"Nothing...!" Scootaloo grit her teeth, trying to hide the tears and play it strong. But she was failing at it. "It's just that..."
"We wanna go home..." Sweetie Belle whimpered. "I mean we are home but...ya know..."
"I'm scared, Applejack." Apple Bloom was more honest as she curled up, wanting all of this to be over. Her big sister quickly came to her side to comfort her.
"Hey, it's okay, sugarcube. This is all rough on us too." Applejack hugged her little sister. "But we'll get out of this, okay? We've gotten out of worse."
"It's all so scary though..." Apple Bloom shuddered.
"I don't think you have to worry about this, girls," Sunset said, looking at the bones and clothes. "After all, this might not all be real. At least, not after all of this is over since this is all Rift influenced. We're in an entire mind, remember? It's not all real."
"You mean it?" Scootaloo sniffled.
"I can't guarantee it. But I know there's no way we're all falling here of all places." Sunset shook her head.
"She's right, kiddo." Brawly patted the little pegasus on the head. "It isn't time for us all to start panicking yet. Or ever really."
"All we need to do now is head back out there." Bea looked to the door leading to the Grass Realm. "Thankfully, it seems that this door won't vanish like the others. But I'm confused as to why the Giga Lucario was battling against a tree all of a sudden."
"Don't worry about that too much." Roseluck stood up. "Let's hurry before that quicksand returns."
"Princess Luna was with us. She's still over there." Rumble aimed his hoof at the door. "Do you think she's alright?"
"She-" Sunset, once more in these realms, had been cut off. Mainly by the quicksand creature. It could be seen approaching the group for another round, getting over its fear of Earthquake.
As it approached, it suddenly expanded in size. Its head started resembling that of a Lucario. Most likely a Lucario that belonged to one of these Aura Guardians. Its eyes and mouth could be spotted as it approached with a raging sandstorm. The bones underneath were shattering from its movements.
"Enough for one day..." Sunset groaned. "All these giants...!"
"How many is Gardevoir going to send our way?" Brawly sighed, holding his head as he himself wanted all of this to end as soon as it could.
"Let's try not to fight and-" Fluttershy suggested the peaceful approach like always.
"Sorry. But we won't be taking that approach." Bea thought otherwise. "Our lives have been put in danger multiple times now. Taking any chances is out of the question. What we need to do is defeat the opposing forces that Gardevoir has sent to us. If she won't solve things peacefully, then neither will we."
"I'm afraid Bea's right, Fluttershy." Applejack replied. "Ain't no getting past Gardevoir's reasonings. She might want you gone but she wants me to stay with all my Aura. Same goes for Bea, Brawly and Rumble over here. For now, we play it physical against here."
"I understand." Fluttershy was quick to accept this decision. She then faced the quicksand, also going with the option of battling it. It would be hard to reason with something like this anyway. "Can we end it as soon as we can, please?"
"Already on it." Applejack's eyes flared along with the Keystone in her apple hat pin. The time for Mega Evolution was now. Fluttershy thought the same time. Bea looked at the Dynamax band as she knew there was no chance for Gigantamax in this realm. There were no power spots after all.
The CMC wiped their tears, gaining their brave spirits once more after the encouraging talk from their friends, peers and family. They all collectively held out their Poke Balls, sending out their Pokemon. Piplup was good against anything ground related so Sweetie Belle chose her along with her ace Meowstic.
Scootaloo had a bit of a disadvantage since most of her Pokemon were weak to Ground-Types. And anything Ground related. All except for her Gible and Horsea who were both sent out. And Apple Bloom had a bit of an edge thanks to Emolga being part flying and how she caught so many Grass-Types.
Applejack and Fluttershy readied their keystones, activating them instantly. "Mega Evolve!" They both said as Audino and Sceptile were met with flowing lights of Infinity and Mega Energy respectively. Emerging from the energy were Mega Sceptile and Mega Audino.
"Sceptile!"
"Audino!"
"Machamp! Use Bullet Punch!" Both Brawly and Bea said to their Machamp's.
"Machamp!" The two Machamp approached the giant quicksand with steel surrounding their four fists. They were the first to attack as the quicksand creature had claws ready to grab and sink them.
The Machamp had both struck the creature with a swift yet hard hits in the form of 12 fists. The creature had been staggered after the dual blow, but quickly retaliated by using the bones beneath the earth. Bones erupted from below, grabbing the two Machamp by their four arms with a tight grip. "C-Champ!"
"Sceptile! Cut those in half with Leaf Blade!"
"Grapploct! Go and shatter those bones with Liquidation!"
"Horsea, use Bubble Beam!"
"Piplup, you use Bubble Beam too!"
"Grap!" Grapploct leapt off the ground, rushing towards the bones. Piplup Horsea backed Grapploct up with a bombardment of bubbles. Grapploct repeatedly swung its appendages onto the bones, shattering them. The bubbles did the same with constant damage being brought upon the bones while also hitting the creature, making parts of it wet. The two Machamp had been freed, only for the bones to whack them and Grapploct aside. "Grap!"
But then there was Sceptile. Sceptile came flying in, cutting the bones in half while also cutting through the quicksand monster with a stylish slash from his blade. The creature had certainly felt that one due to it staggering as multiple bones dropped to the ground.
And thanks to the wetness that Horsea and Piplup made, the creature had lost some of its body too, taking even greater damage than before. Provoked even further, a whirlwind of sand, a few tremors and bones came their way. They had already forced Sceptile back, going after everyone else.
"Audi! Hyper Beam!"
"Pangoro, meet it with Night Slash!"
"Riolu, Vacuum Wave!"
"Scolipede! Hit them with Earthquake!"
"Audi...!" Audino and her allies would keep it far ranged. The Hearing Pokemon put her hands together as Sceptile flew past her after being blown back by the assault of bones, sand and tremors. Pangoro started throwing white waves of darkness while Riolu unleashed a vacuum from his paw.
They had both clashed with the bones, shattering them upon contact. As for Scolipede, it had retaliated against the tremor with another tremor, stomping its legs aggressively on the ground as a fissure had come from the tremor collision.
"No!" Audino could finally get Hyper Beam off, unleashing a giant orange beam that even pushed her back from how much force had been exhibited from it. The beam tore through the rest of the bones as if they were nothing, heading for the creature. Unable to currently counter the beam, the Normal-Type attack had struck the creature, causing a paroxysm to burst out with explosive fury.
The bones all shattered as the creature almost fell over, clearly feeling overwhelmed by this amount of power. It was so great that this level of force even reached from this realm to the Electric Realm, where Gardevoir was.
Electric Realm.
Gardevoir had just gotten out of a struggle with Cynthia's Roserade and Goh's Cinderace, floating backwards. She then felt the disruption immediately. But prior to that, she also felt the force of Mega Evolution pass through.
"Again?!" Gardevoir uttered, turning her head. "This much energy is unexpected...What have I been missing out on all these years?"
"She's doing it again." Chloe noticed. "Something's grabbing her attention every time."
"That must be everyone else," said Cynthia with a smile on her face. "Whatever they're doing is excellent and keeping her distracted."
"I don't think so!" Gardevoir heard Cynthia's words, turning to her. "They can go as crazy as they want, it won't matter all that much in the long run. Because one way or another, I'm breaking out of here and gaining the Aura for myself!" With a thundering declaration, she rushed over to the group, ready to continue their battle.
Ground Realm.
Within the Ground Realm, the team had looked onward to see the quicksand creature staggering. It had taken such high damage that its Lucario appearance had disappeared. Now it was just random eyes and a mouth. But afterwards, instead of rising up, it had sunk into the ground.
"What's it doing now?" Sweetie Belle asked as the area went back to being desolate and flat once more. Everyone stayed cautious, anticipating what could happen next.
But no one could anticipate the possibility at all.
After a few seconds of silence, they could feel yet another rupture. They thought that it was just another earthquake or tremor happening. But it was something beyond that.
Just then, the ground was beginning to tilt to the side. Most of them lost their balance from this surprise as they ever fell on their backs or got on their knees. Before they knew it, the entire realm was starting to tilt as done by the creature's abilities.
"It's planning to turn everything upside down!" Bea gasped. "At this rate, it could drop us into the endless sky!"
"That ain't happening! Sceptile, use your vines!"
"Roserade, you do the same with your thorns!" Roseluck quickly sent out her Roserade for assistance.
"You too, Bayleef!"
"Sceptile!" The three Grass-Types used their vines and thorns to grab everyone, holding them close. Then there came the challenge of gripping onto something.
And right below them, or technically above them considering the angle shift, as the realm was tilting with the ground replacing the sky, the sandstorm began forming into something while violently spinning.
The face of the creature could be seen within the sandstorm as it was approaching them, ready to devour the group from a terrifying angle. And if they drop then it was a guaranteed drop.
"We need something to grab now!" Roseluck cried out. "Everything here is flat! We need to make something to hold onto!" There had to be something for them to do. Otherwise, they would they consumed or dropped into the endless sky with no chance of safety.
Brawly and Bea looked at each other, knowing what had to be done. If there were no mounds in this barren wasteland, then they would make the mounds. However, it was Roxie who was ahead of them.
"Showtime, Scolipede! Rock Slide!"
"Scoli...Pede!" Scolipede summoned rocks above its head that were large enough to make mounds. However, keeping them on the ground would be difficult considering how everything was turning.
"Machamp! Stick them in!" Bea and Brawly both said.
"Machamp!" The Machamp worked together, using their arms to grab the large rocks, planting them into the ground. With brute force, they had made mounds while also causing cracks in the ground.
"Now, Roserade! Grab the mounds with Power Whip!"
"R-Roserade!" Roserade had used Power Whip, swinging a gigantic whip of grass to the mounds. She then used the other half of Power Whip to grab everyone else.
And that did the trick. Right after the ground had been turned completely upside-down, everyone was able to stay in one area, not dropping to the ground. They were safe for now as the creature was still approaching.
"Here it comes!" Roxie exclaimed.
"Eat this! Gible! Dragonbreath! Horsea, Bubble Beam! Feed that thing!" Scootaloo aimed her hoof downwards at the creature.
"Gi...BLE!" Gible and Horsea did just that. Sending a draconic breath and a barrage of bubbles its way. It was made even better since the quicksand creature had its mouth open. The attacks went down its throat, instantly throwing the creature off its flow. It cried out before moving to the side to recover for a bit. Parts of it had been destroyed thanks to the water of Bubble Beam.
The creature then entered the ground above in the same way a sandworm does. A just like a sandworm, it was moving through the ground in a c-pattern. It came back around to attack the trainers and their Pokemon once more.
"Protect, Audi!"
"Audino!" Audino rejected that, using Protect to form a giant green barrier around her friends. The creature had crashed right into the shield, making zero progress while also being pushed back from the initial impact.
"Hold it with Frenzy Plant, now!"
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile then stabbed his tail into the ground, causing giant roots to erupt out at great speeds. They instantly wrapped themselves around the quicksand creature, preventing it from making another attempt to escape.
"It's right where ya'll want it! Get it now!" Applejack said to her friends.
"With pleasure! Liquidation, Grapploct!"
"Bayleef, use Magical Leaf! Audi! Hyper Beam!"
"Meowstic, use Psyshock! Bubble Beam, Piplup!"
"Earthquake, Scolipede!"
"Riolu, Final Gambit!"
"Grapploct!" Grapploct summoned water around its appendages, quickly aiming them at the quicksand creature as it and its allies all unloaded some of their strongest moves onto this Ground Monster.
The creature, unable to fight back due to the restraints from Frenzy Plant, had been bombarded. Leaves, bubbles, thick masses of psychic energy, a giant sphere with blue fire inside of it, spurts of water, an earth-shattering golden light and a massive beam of energy are what had consumed it.
All of those combined attacks did the trick. The creature could only take so much. It had been defeated as a cry of defeat made that very clear. After that combination attack, the creature dissipated with all of the sand flowing into the air. The dust was settling after the destruction had come and gone.
And due to this defeat, the Aura permeating within this realm had left, leaving elsewhere. They had defeated another imposing force that would've potentially made them a part of the ground if possible. Right on time, Audino and Sceptile's Mega Evolution's had ended.
"Whew..." Applejack sighed. "That's another one down..."
Right as it had finished, much like before with the previous realms after a stunning victory, another door had appeared. And this one ended up being in the sky. Floating there and having a larger appearance than the previous doors, this one had the symbol of the Flying-Type.
"Lookie there!" Apple Bloom pointed out the new door floating in the sky. "There's another door! Looks like it's Flying."
"That means we're all one step closer to finishing every realm, right?" Roxie said. "That's what I like to see."
"Rainbow Dash is through there, isn't she?" Fluttershy asked. "Do you think she knows what's going on?"
"Beats me. But we'd better head over there and get to Princess Luna too." Applejack replied as there was one other option. Considering their position, they would have to enter the door at this angle. "Uhh...Ya'll ain't thinking what I' thinking, right?"
"I already am," Bea replied with narrowed eyes. The door is wide enough anyway. Let's go." Without a second thought, Bea had removed the whip of ROserade off her, freefalling towards the door. Everyone gasped at her action, but Brawly went along with it too.
"Only way!" Brawly exclaimed, turning around and delivering a thumbs up. "Woohoo!" And he found some enjoyment in this free fall as he and Bea managed to successfully pass through.
"Well, I can fly, so it's okay with me." Indeed, Fluttershy had the advantage of flight. She flew towards the sky which was still upside down while also using her Poke Ball to retrieve Bayleef. "It's best that you all have Roserade gently bring you down with her whip."
"They can have that! I'm jumping! Geronimooooo!" Roxie chose the more radical option, jumping out of Roserade's whips and going for the door with her hands up, jamming her head.
"Ooh! Us too!" The CMC wanted a piece of the action. Their fears had been wiped away after they had won the battle, bringing their spirits back up.
"No, you ain't!" But Applejack stopped them. She wouldn't let children do the same action either. Far too risky anyway for their age and poor Scootaloo could not fly.
"Aww..." They each groaned as Roserade would be their guide towards the door, gently moving downwards while still having Power Whip active.
Another realm conquered with another defeat on Gardevoir's side. Only 6 Types remain in 6 doors. And with everyone currently moving through all doors to help each other out, these realms could be cleared faster than how everyone started. But the threat of Gardevoir and to an extent the giant Tree of Beginning and Harmony was still ever-present plus the Aura of a few specific trainers as the journey continues.
Just now entering the Flying Realm was Brawly's group. After a surprising feud with a quicksand monster that soon became a sandstorm monster in the Ground Realm, they had entered this realm which had its door in the sky, causing some of them to freefall.
And the area itself was as to be expected of a Flying-Type realm. Completely sky-based to the core. Blue skies and fluffy clouds galore. But it was also a fusion, much like the Normal Realm and the Grass Realm. Those two realms had fusions of locations and landmarks such as Pallet Town plus Ponyville and the Tree of Beginning plus the Tree of Harmony, which the Giga Lucario was currently still wrestling in the Grass Realm.
This Realm, however, was a merger of four different locations. Cloudsdale, Pegalysium, Las Pegasus and Sootopolis City. All merged to make one big megacity. Four areas that are naturally found higher above most things.
Brawly, Roxie and Bea had stuck a landing on one of the roofs. Along came Fluttershy, who gently fluttered over, landing on a cloud. And next came their Pokemon, the CMC, Roseluck, Sunset Shimmer and Rumble as they were being gently led down by Roserade via Power Whip and its length.
"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy called out for her fellow pegasus friend. "Rainbow Dash! Are you here?!"
"This is like a megacity here. She's probably gotten pretty far right about now," said Brawly. "Only means it'll be harder to find her..."
"She should know about Gardevoir after we told her everything. Hold on, let me check." Fluttershy then went for Xtransceiver, immediately searching for Rainbow Dash's Trainer Number. She clicked on it, waiting for Rainbow Dash to answer as it started ringing.
It rang for 6 seconds until an answer came through. Rainbow Dash could be seen currently flying at great speeds. And alongside her were Soarin and a few other pegasi. And they looked to be in a hurry.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash. We made it through the Flying Door and now we're in the Flying Realm. Are you still here?" She asked.
"Duck?" Fluttershy then turned around along with everyone else to see what was exactly behind them. When they did, Rainbow Dash and the others could be seen, but there was something else. A gargantuan form of wind that started slicing the air apart. "Oh my!"
"What is that?!" Brawly gasped as this strange form of wind was rapidly approach as Rainbow Dash and her group ended up stopping in front of Fluttershy's group.
"We've been dealing with that thing for a while! First, some Pokemon showed up and attacked us and now that!" Soarin pointed his hoof at the wind.
"Must be another obstacle that requires defeat, no doubt," said Bea so casually, unintimidated by something that looked like it could slice them all up into pieces.
"I guess so. We've been battling it for a while now, but I'm getting tired already." Rainbow Dash wiped the sweat off of her head. "We need to end this. Braviary! Clap your wings with Superpower!"
"Braviary!" Braviary's wings were lit up a blazing orange energy as he stood in front of everyone else. The bizarre form of wind approached as the Valiant Pokemon clapped his wings together, using the force of Superpower to create a shockwave.
The shockwave travelled through the atmosphere, parting some of the clouds from its overwhelming might. It had also managed to push back the form of wind as well too. However, despite Superpower dispersing- parts of this wind, it was still there, albeit not approaching anymore.
"Still?!" Rainbow Dash growled. "There's not enough force behind it. Maybe if we go Rainbow-Braviary and-"
"We'll give you that extra force." Brawly stepped, walking over to Rainbow Dash. "You all look like you've been ducking, dodging and battling a lot. Let us help."
"We needed the help. Thanks." Soarin nodded in gratitude. "My Corviknight's the only one that can get close to that thing and barely feel a thing. But he doesn't have enough strength to rid of it."
"Enough chatter." Bea interrupted as the enigmatic form of wind approached once more with great malice behind it. The goal was to blow it away with a superior force. AKA a superior force of wind. Thankfully, since both Brawly and Bea had a Machamp, they could exhibit an added force.
"Braviary! Superpower!"
"Machamp! Clap your hands!" The two Fighting-Type specialists exclaimed.
"Braviary!" Braviary and the two Machamp performed the same motion. Clapping. But while Braviary needed a Pokemon move to exhibit this force, the Machamp could do it casually. They had made a three-way thunderclap that formed a massive shockwave in the process.
It approached, blowing parts of the enigmatic wind back and destroying parts of it. It proved to be highly effective, this method. And it was the one that made the most sense. It was blown away so badly that it even started flickering, showing signs of fading away.
Rainbow Dash and her group have already been battling it for a while so it was obviously weakened. That allowed for the shockwave to damage it so much that it was practically on the verge of fading away. And this imminent defeat plus exertion of energy reached Gardevoir who was still in the Electric Realm.
Electric Realm.
"Ugh!" Gardevoir grunted because of two things. One, being hit by a super-effective Iron Tail and Sludge Bomb from both Pikachu and Roserade and also feeling the imminent defeat of another one of the many elemental forces that she had made. "Again...!"
"So far so good. She hasn't taken all the Aura I've been letting out." said Ash. "I think I can do this!"
"I shouldn't have doubted you with how careful you should be, Ash," Cynthia said with a smile.
"I can't keep going like this..." Gardevoir uttered, thinking of something on the spot. She knew she couldn't keep battling Ash's group forever. Not while a lot of things were happening in different realms that could be detrimental to her victory and result in a loss.
To switch up her target, Gardevoir had put her hand out, manipulating four different types. She made a cascade of rocks that emerged from the ground, surrounding Ash and the others in an earth barricade. They looked around to see this barricade forming as the ground below was also transforming. It had transformed into water with a quick element change from Gardevoir.
"What's she doing?!" Goh gasped as the water started rising as well as the earth walls closing in on them. They could either be crushed or drowned. And it didn't help that three more elements came their way. Giant rocks falling from above and ice shards.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Chu...!" Pikachu jumped up towards the rocks and shards with a hardened tail, only to be blown back by a whirlwind of air that pushed him downwards. "Pika!" Pikachu cried out as Ash caught him.
"This won't hold us forever! Return for now, Roserade!" Cynthia quickly recalled her Roserade as the earth walls had suddenly multiplied around them. More of them appeared, closing in with the extra layers only adding the pressure. The water was rising fast as well
"Now's my chance...!" Gardevoir took the chance to leave elsewhere. She made a temporary retreat, focusing on another group instead. She could now see that everyone could bring her focus down depending on what other surprises they would have in store.
She left this realm via teleportation, however as Ash and Cynthia had sent out Dragonite and Garchomph to deal with this predicament. At first, they tried flying out of the blockade, only to be denied by the fierce body of wind. So, they went with the next best option. Breaking the blockade. Dragonite and Garchomp started attacking the earth blockades with Dragon Claw, breaking them one by one. But as there were more of them being summoned at every corner, it could take a while.
Flying Realm.
Over at the Flying Realm, the enigmatic wind was still staggered and recovering from that combined blow. Things were looking good on this side.
"Nice! That did the trick" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "This time it won't pull any funny business when it's under pressure. I just know it!"
"We'll have this finished sooner than we thought then." Sunset Shimmer said. "I just hope Princess Luna's doing okay back to the Grass Realm."
"Once more! Superpower!" Rainbow Dash gave the call for another Superpower clap. Braviary ascended higher into the sky. The Valiant Pokemon flapped his wings, creating another thunderclap. And this was certainly the one to do it as the bizarre wind had been hit on all sides.
And with that final blow, the force of wind had been defeated. While Fluttershy's group might've been late to go against it, they were certainly on time to help assist in its defeat. The force faded away with the only thing left behind being whispers in the wind.
"Finally..." Soarin sighed along with the other pegasi. "Felt like that one went on forever."
"I know. But we did it, didn't we?" Rainbow Dash nudged him. "Barely even had to go Rainbow-Braviary or use Mega Evolution. Felt more like filler than anything. So. Who wants to check out more of this place while we're at it?"
"Love to but...we kind of have a rogue Gardevoir to deal with. And I guess a tree too." Sunset scratched her hair. "Wow..." She then started taking in everything that had happened so far ever since they got here. "Is that what you all go through with Pokemon on the daily?"
"Pretty much." They all said in unison. A bizarre and intense venture such as this was not too far off from what they've experienced in the past. Of course, there have been larger moments before that far exceed this but everything that has happened in the past and led up to this was impossible to ignore. They've certainly come a long way.
But as they were getting ready to leave, searching for the next door pop-up, the clouds were suddenly starting to gather. Nothing too uncommon. In fact, it was all-natural. But there was something off. For starts, purple lightning was flashing within them as this drew the attention of the Hearing Pokemon, Audino.
"Audino?" She said, noticing the flashing lights of the clouds as they were then starting to swirl. After swirling, purple lightning had shot out of it with Audino quickly pushing Fluttershy out of the way. "Audino!"
"Oh my!" Fluttershy gasped after being pushed by Audino. The Hearing Pokemon then held her partner as the purple lightning almost scraped her ear. The lightning then hit the concrete ground, alerting everyone else to its direction.
"What now?!" Roseluck groaned, knowing that another problem was coming their way. She was used to it by now, but she just wanted to home, that was all. With the clouds themselves trembling and shooting purple lightning out constantly, someone was emerging out of it. With glowing purple eyes and an agitated growl, the clouds had burst with energy, revealing Gardevoir.
"Gardevoir!" They all screamed as the Embrace Pokemon looked down on them with aggravation in her eyes.
"You all have been running around, throwing me off my focus and turning everything I made upside-down itself."
"Well, funny you should mention upside-down..." Sweetie Belle raised her hoof, ready to bring up how the ground turned upside down in the Ground Realm previously.
"Zip it." But Gardevoir cut her off. "I tried giving most of you the chance to leave since you would do the same for me even. But I may have made a mistake on that. Seems I'll have to take my debt away from all of you. All I want is Aura. Especially one of Ash's stature. But clearly, once I leave this realm at last you all can experience the same amount of years I've had to live here doing barely anything but just moving from realm to realm."
"More like you'll continue staying here," Bea replied. You've appeared before us all in larger numbers. I'm sure that even you can't handle this many of us."
"We're getting out of here and leaving you behind for good!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"Hoh. That's right. You all haven't seen what I can do except for Ash's group. Let me show you something." To demonstrate, Gardevoir utilized the 18 Types instead of using Pokemon Moves that she already has.
"Wait! M-Maybe we can still talk this through?" Fluttershy suggested.
"Hmm..." Gardevoir narrowed her eyes, pausing her moments for a bit.
"We were just caught up in all of this by accident. We didn't mean to intrude. But we're also willing to help those in need. Like those Lucario who wanted to pass on."
"The Lucario stay." Gardevoir clenched her fist. "And son, every Lucario, in reality, will be a part of Delayed Aura Ataxia, feeding me with Aura to extend my lifespan. You all may not mean any harm, but I'm sorry. I can't take any chances right now."
"Audi! Audino!" Audino started yelling at Gardevoir in the Pokemon Language, which Gardevoir could still fully understand even when talking like this. Soon, the other Pokemon started doing the same.
"Braviary!" Braviary ascended, flapping his wings aggressively at Gardevoir.
"Ma! Machamp!" The two Machamp pointed vigorously at the Embrace Pokemon.
"What are they saying?" Brawly asked.
"It's best that you don't know..." Fluttershy shook her head.
"Fluttershy. This happened before back at the Ground Realm. Why do you insist on taking an approach that's highly unlikely?" Bea asked, unsure of Fluttershy's decision to reason with Gardevoir considering what she had done and was all about.
"Well...I guess it's because her situation reminds me of a friend of mine. Discord." Fluttershy turned to the Fighting-Type specialist. "Being trapped here for so long with barely anything to do and being out of reality can feel so empty and crushing."
"Hm?" Gardevoir then turned to Fluttershy after she made that comment, completely ignoring the shouts that were being thrown at her by their Pokemon. Audino also took the time to listen to this as her hearing was directed there instead.
"Wait...That's the reason?" Bea was surprised by that reply. It wasn't anything she was expecting at all. A few of them weren't either.
"Oh, Fluttershy..." Rainbow Dash sighed. She knew Fluttershy was like this and so did Applejack and Sunset Shimmer. Her kindness certainly shows when it does.
"Sorry. Maybe now's not the best time for that." Fluttershy said sheepishly while backing away. She then retracted her suggestion, seeing that it probably wasn't the best idea.
"Hah..." Gardevoir only put her hand on her face before looking to the other side. "Just ignore her Gardevoir..."
"If that's what ya think, Fluttershy, then sure." Applejack suddenly agreed with Fluttershy, giving a smile. "But that's gonna be hard cause...ya know." She nudged her head over at the Embrace Pokemon.
"We're with you anyway." Rainbow Dash made her wing feathers form a thumbs-up sign as Sunset Shimmer did the usual thumbs-up with her human hands.
"Mm." Brawly shrugged as he and Roxie decided to root for Fluttershy in that category as well. Brawly's carefree nature helped with that and Roxie, despite how extreme can appear, shares the same kinds of feelings.
"My...You ponies sure are something." Bea sighed, shrugging and accepting this choice.
"Gardevoir!" Fluttershy called for the Embrace Pokemon. "Please listen! I-"
"Save it." But Gardevoir didn't let her finish as she emanated a Psychic and Fairy Aura respectively. "I've made up my mind, my little pony. The Aura is coming with me. And nothing is going to stop me from getting it."
"B-But..." Fluttershy stuttered, not expecting such a rapid and instant answer. Gardevoir didn't even give her a slither of a chance.
"Please. Your suggestions at this point are just fluff and filler to me." Gardevoir put one hand out while another on her face. As for Fluttershy, it looked like she had admitted defeat after Gardevoir's decision, no longer persisting.
"Welp. We tried." Brawly shrugged, tightening his gloves. "It's a battle then."
"Oh? But are you all fit to battle me right now?" Gardevoir then looked at them with a smirk. "As a Psychic-Type, I can tell...you're exhausted aren't you?"
"Mmmrgh..." Applejack grumbled as she knew that Gardevoir was right. Her friends had already faced some titanic situations. Figuratively and literally. And even with Audino's Heal Pulse, they could only give out so much.
"I can also imagine that you Fighting-Type specialists worked the hardest. You must be more worn out than anyone else. So it would be a shame if I had finished some of you off with just a wave of my hand. Wouldn't it?" And to show this, Gardevoir had waved her hand once, finally using a Pokemon move. She used Psychic, sending an invisible blast of Psychic energy that appeared around both Machamp's and Rumble's Riolu in a flash.
"Champ? MA!" The Machamp and Riolu felt a super-effective blow occur on them, sending them flying into their trainers. Brawly, Rumble and Bea gasped as their partners crashed right into them, causing all four of them to fall over. And with that blow, the two Machamp had fainted. "Machamp..."
"Riolu..."
"It's battle time then!" Rainbow Dash growled her eyes glaring ferociously at Gardevoir. "Braviary, use Steel Wing!"
"Corviknight, you use Steel Wing as well!"
"Roserade! Please use Poison Jab!"
"Bravi!" Braviary and Corviknight both hardened their wings. Corviknight already had hard wings in the first place as Braviary just slapped them on via light energy. Roserade quickly hopped onto Corviknight's back, readying some poison. The two Flying-Types then advanced, taking to the skies and approaching the Embrace Pokemon.
But Gardevoir did not approach back. Instead, she preferred to keep everything far back for the most part. With another wave of her hand, Gardevoir had used the Electric-Type, manipulating it through the clouds.
Just then, a giant lightning bolt came crashing down from one cloud as another appeared. Braviary was the only one who sensed it as he quickly shoved Corviknight and Roserade to the side, just barely evading the lightning bolt as it crashed into one of the buildings, leaving a massive hole afterwards.
Gardevoir scoffed before still using Electric but also going for Flying as well. And with Flying, she had caused a massive headwind to occur, sending the flow towards the three of them. "V-Viary!"
"C-Corviknight!" Braviary and Corviknight were unable to advance due to the strong headwind that was forcing them back. Gardevoir remained safe at this distance, barely needing to move a muscle at all.
"Rade!" But Roserade ignored those obstacles, leaping off of Corviknight's back and heading towards the Embrace Pokemon for a super-effective blow.
Only to be stopped the moment Gardevoir used Psychic on the Grass-Poison-Type, holding her in midair. Gardevoir then glared at the Bouquet Pokemon with a less than pleasant look.
"I've already had trouble with another Roserade. I don't need to deal with you either!" Gardevoir then used the full effect of Psychic, dealing super-effective damage onto the Bouquet Pokemon and launching her away.
"R-R-Roserade!" Roserade cried out, crashing into Corviknight and being injured from the crash. She even made Corviknight stagger from the impact as the Bouquet Pokemon started falling, but the direction wouldn't allow her to land in the city.
"Roserade, no!" Roseluck screeched as she was about to jump off the city just for her partner. Applejack and Rainbow Dash quickly held her back before she could do something so risky.
"B-Braviary!" Braviary cawed, trying to power through the headwind to save Roserade. But Sceptile was already on it, using his vines and extending them to reach Roserade. They were long enough to grab his fellow Grass-Type as they wrapped around her gently.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile then leered Roserade in back to a safer area. Roserade had unfortunately fainted from that attack with her face looking peaceful upon fainting. "Tile.
"Ah! Roserade!" Roseluck went to hold her fainted partner. Roserade then opened her eyes slowly, looking up at her partner.
"Roserade."
"Please rest for now." Roseluck then returned Roserade to her Poke Ball, allowing her to rest after all she's been through within the 18 Realms.
"Brave Bird!" Rainbow Dash and Soarin both exclaimed.
"Via...Braviary!" Braviary and Corviknight managed to power their way through the headwind, using Brave Bird to do so. After breaking through the headwind, they both crashed into Gardevoir with blazing auras, causing the Embrace Pokemon to gasp and stagger. But as a result, they had both received recoil damage.
"Why you...!" Gardevoir roared, returning the favour to the both of them by unleashing a large wave of fire from her mouth instead of her hands. The fire had emerged right after the Brave Bird impact, engulfing the two Flying-Types. Corviknight got the worst of it due to him being Flying-Steel as they were both carried away.
"Steel Wing!"
"Corviknight!" Corviknight and Braviary quickly went back in for another attack. They approached Gardevoir in unison, swinging their hardened steel wings onto the Psychic-Fairy-Type. Gardevoir received a double super-effective blow from their coordinated attack. She grimaced before being sent flying through the air.
"Nice hit!" Rainbow Dash and Soarin cheered, giving each other a high-hoof.
"This isn't over yet!" Gardevoir recovered in the air with her eyes glowing red. She had manipulated the elements once more just with an eye glow as more lightning bolts came crashing down at greater ferocity.
"Bra!" Braviary and Corviknight started flying around, avoiding as many lightning bolts as they could as to not get zapped and knocked out of the sky.
"Let's help out! Frenzy Plant, Sceptile!" Applejack joined the fray.
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile slammed his hands on the ground, causing extremely large and long vines to start rising as they frantically rushed towards the Embrace Pokemon who was hovering there, witnessing the barrage of roots.
"Braixen! Run up on those vines and use Fire Spin!" Sunset Shimmer pointed ahead.
"You too, Gible! Get in there with Bulldoze!" Scootaloo said to her Gible. "And Horsea, help out from afar with Bubble Beam!"
"Go for it with Aerial Ace, Piplup!" And Sweetie Belle did the same to her Piplup.
"Braix!" Braixen and the others quickly hopped onto the vines that Sceptile made, running on them. Apple Bloom quickly took out one of her Poke Balls, sending out her Emolga for assistance.
"Come out! Heracross!" Brawly had more Pokemon in store. His Heracross. Out came the Single Horn Pokemon, instantly spreading its wings out.
"Get up there, Scolipede! Use Sludge Bomb while you're at it!" And Roxie still had her Scolipede who was already running on the vines.
"Grapploct!" Restrain her with Octolock!" And finally, there was Bea's Octolock who was the last to run up the vines. Gardevoir would have to face all of them, which she was already getting tired of.
"Ugh..." The Embrace Pokemon groaned before using Fairy Magic to heal herself as if all of that damage never happened. Afterwards, she covered her hands in Psychic Energy, preparing for the worst.
Approaching first was Gible who had glowing hands that would utilize Bulldoze. Gardevoir barely tried with Gible at all, swiping the air to send a flicker of Fairy Magic that then blew up in his face. "Gible!"
Gible cried out before being knocked out of the air, fainting from that one attack. Braviary quickly caught him, saving him from falling to his demise as Gible had failed.
After defeating Gible, Gardevoir flew to the side, avoiding the barrage of poisonous sludge and beams of bubbles that came her way from Scolipede and Horsea. And she did even more than that. She used Psychic to grab the sludge and bubbles, manipulating them herself.
"Hera...!" In came Heracross with Megahorn, going for an overhead attack. Gardevoir quickly redirected the bubbles and sludge towards the Bug-Fighting-Type, hitting it with them both as Heracross had been bombarded with them. "C-Cross!"
"Loct!" But that focus on Heracrss allowed for Grapploct to jump in and get Octolock off, wrapping its many appendages around Gardevoir. "Grapploct!"
"Urgh...!" Gardevoir groaned as she was about to feel the overwhelming grip of Grapploct. Coupled with that, now that she was restrained, that allowed other Pokemon to come in and deal some free damage. Such as Corviknight with Steel Wing plus a swift aerial ace from Piplup.
"Pip...LUP!" Piplup smacked Gardevoir in the face with confounding speed as Corviknight followed up with a heavy wing slap from Steel Wing, leaving Gardevoir bewildered. But she quickly recovered with her body heating up. The Embrace Pokemon had used the Aura of Fire to increase her body heat to a point where Grapploct couldn't even hold onto for too long.
"G-Grapp!" But Grapploct persisted as the vines from Frenzy Plant were still moving around fiercely, hitting Gardevoir's head and legs.
"ENOUGH!" Gardevoir had an echoing shout as she both blew Grapploct back with a large Psychic pulse, causing super-effective damage to the Tantrum Pokemon and pushing others back as well while also manipulating the weather too.
Everyone started freefalling after the pushback, only for the vines of Frenzy Plant to catch them safely. Along came Braixen, running ahead of everyone else and unloading a spiral of fire onto Gardevoir while she wasn't looking. "Braixen!"
"!" Gardevoir gasped, closing her eyes as the spiral of fire engulfed her. The flames battered on her body, dealing damage over time. Gardevoir then snarled before making water fall from the clouds. And not just droplets, but fountains worth of water as they poured heavily.
Braixen looked up to see the water from above heading her way. She gasped, quickly putting up a Psychic Shield for protection. "Xien!"
"Rainbow Dash! Now might be a good time to use Rainbow-Braviary, don't you think?!" Soarin said to her.
"Bit tired from everything that's happened before! I can't use Rainbow-Braviary freely!" Rainbow Dash shook her head. "If I do now, I could pass out for sure."
"I'll help with that! Audino! Use Heal Pulse on Rainbow Dash!"
"Audino!" Under Fluttershy's order. Audino ran over to Rainbow Dash, ready to bring her energy back up so she could at least use Rainbow-Braviary for a while.
"I think not." But Gardevoir would not allow that. She swiped her hand, causing poison to appear out of thin air. A poison wave came flowing out, landing on the vines of Frenzy Plant. The poison instantly melted them away, making the free platform that the non-airborne Pokemon could stand on quickly fizzle out thanks to the Poison.
Every instantly started running back to the city before the vines could melt away completely. Corviknight was fine, however. Being both immune to Poison and having aerial advantage too. He came crashing in with Steel Wing, only to be stopped by Gardevoir's Psychic. "Corvi?!"
"Hmph." Gardevoir scoffed before noticing that there was one more. Heracross. Heracross came flying in from the side with Stone Edge, sending multiple rocks in Gardevoir's direction.
"Heracross!"
Gardevoir had been struck in the face by one of the stones while being pummeled by them. And to make matters worse for her, Rainbow Dash and Braviary had entered Rainbow-Braviary as seen by a pillar of rainbows. "W-What is that?!" She said, looking with one eye open as the rocks kept coming.
Bursting out of the rainbows was Rainbow-Braviary, soaring through the skies with a trail of Rainbows behind him. Braviary was faster than ever as he caused a Sonic Rainboom in a spurt of speed. Bewildered by this transformation of Braviary, Gardevoir hadn't thought of something to do next.
Caught off guard, Gardevoir had been hit by a high-velocity Brave Bird that knocked her sideways. A trail of rainbows could be seen above as Gardevoir's hold on Corviknight was broken. She was launched from that hit, flying through many clouds.
Straining, Gardevoir managed to make one of the clouds solid, crashing into it to stop her launch. But she ended up harming herself after that. Despite her amazing power and utility over all 18 Types, she was certainly struggling with this teamwork.
"That did the trick." Rainbow Dash nodded before holding her head due to the recoil of Brave Bird and how she and Braviary felt the same thing once in Rainbow-Braviary. "Do you think she's down and out?"
"No..." Bea said as she looked ahead. "Somehow, she's still standing after all of that."
"What?!" They all gasped as they found it hard to believe that Gardevoir could withstand all of those attacks and especially that last attack which was at top velocity.
Indeed, she withstood it. However, that didn't mean it didn't do a number on her. The Embrace Pokemon had tatters all over her body from that beating she had taken. But, she quickly negated all of this by using the healing properties of Fairy Magic and also Grass.
"Hah..." Gardevoir breathed in and out before sitting up. "I'm fine. I can't lose here. Not until I've broken free and gained enough Aura to last me an eternity."
"Audino!" Audino could her Gardevoir as she gasped. Everyone then looked ahead to see the stature of the Psychic-Fairy-Type approaching over the horizon. She looked perfectly fine. Healthy to the core.
"That can't be!" Brawly yelled.
"When you have so much Aura at your disposal, anything is possible!" Gardevoir spoke with a booming voice. "Hit me all you want, I can do this all day. My Aura amount is what makes me close to immortality. As it stands, you all can't defeat me."
"As if!" Rainbow Dash growled before holding out another Poke Ball. "Everyone's got a weakness! And we're so gonna expose it on you!"
"Not ever. I'm tired of playing around." Deciding to end this immediately, Gardevoir had used her Psychic energy from afar, focusing it on Rainbow Dash's hoof.
"Ough!" Rainbow Dash gasped as her hoof felt heavier from the pressure of Psychic power. She fell to the ground with the Poke Ball rolling away. "Grrhh!"
But it wasn't just her. Gardevoir expanded her Psychic power, putting the pressure on everyone. They all suddenly dropped from the pressure with one of them getting on their knees, all four, or were barely able to stand up at all. Braviary, Corviknight and Heracross were being forced down as well while still in midair.
And to show just how serious she was getting, the buildings within this merged city were starting to be ripped from the ground below. Windows shattered, other buildings started falling apart and toppling from this force of energy being exhibited. Everyone looked around them to see Gardevoir's true strength being shown on display.
Before they knew it an abundance of buildings had been raised into the air, hovering over them all. From how it looked, Gardevoir would do either two things. Slam them or drop them. Either way, it would result in them being crushed.
"Sweet Celestia..." Roseluck's jaw dropped.
"That's ridiculous...!" Applejack shook her head, trying to move. But she couldn't. The children were the most afraid as their fears were returning to them.
"Giving me so much trouble...I could be feeding on so much Aura right about now!" Gardevoir roared as her frustration was showing. "The Aura pattern that is similar to the long-gone Sir Aaron. If any a few of you didn't have Aura within your bodies, I would crush the majority of you. Keyword, majority. I won't need some of you. This is where you'll stay for all eternity!" Gardevoir then raised his hand, ready to drop the buildings on some of them.
They would be trapped underneath the buildings for eternity. Somehow, a far worse outcome than what else they had in mind. However, something got in the way. Or someone. Verbally instead of physically.
"Wait, don't!" The voice of Fluttershy came through. Gardevoir quickly gasped before looking at Fluttershy who was also being held down by the Psychic pressure. Gardevoir looked at the pegasus for a moment before something sparked within her for a split second. Fluttershy then looked up at Gardevoir with helpless eyes.
The Embrace Pokemon then grunted, closing and twitching her eyes for a bit before tossing the buildings elsewhere. She did not bury them underneath it after all. Instead, she went for a different approach. With another wave of her hand, Gardevoir had used the Aura of Grass, causing a sleeping armour that wafted around most of them.
Unable to move away from the aroma because of the Psychic pressure, they started feeling drowsy, ready to go to sleep with barely any resistance. Aside from Brawly, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Bea who were trying to resist it.
"I...Oh..." Scootaloo yawned, falling asleep instantly along with the others. Next was Roseluck who dozed off with Grapploct following suit.
Gardevoir then appeared in front of them with teleportation with her shadow casting over them. Unable to resist, Brawly and the others had fallen asleep from this sleeping aroma. The only one left awake was Fluttershy. But that was from Gardevoir's command.
"P-Please don't do this..." Fluttershy groaned as her hooves felt like they were going to give up. In response, Gardevoir had kneeled to face Fluttershy, looking her in the eyes.
"You..." She said before pausing for a moment. She then held Fluttershy on the face for a moment. "You're a kind one. You're free to go. Sorry about what happens next, however. This is what I have chosen."
"What?" Fluttershy gasped as Gardevoir had then used her Aura once more to summon a door underneath Fluttershy. This door led to the same area where the hole in the 18 Realms had been made. The potential way to leave the 18 Realms. Gardevoir allowed Fluttershy to leave. However, even she didn't know if that hole led back to reality. But she would try anyway. "No! Wait!"
Gardevoir cut her off, dropping the pegasus through the door. She did the same to Audino as well as she and Fluttershy were now entering back into the Grass Realm where the hole could be found. Afterwards, Gardevoir had closed the door, saving two individuals and keeping the rest.
"Goodness..." She sighed, feeling a bit annoyed y what she had just done. "Forget about it for now, Gardeovir. Now then...You lot."
Gardevoir then turned to Brawly and the others, ready to do what she needed to do. Brawly, Bea, Rumble and Applejack had Aura so it was free feeding for her. But besides that, knowing that they were massive threats, something else had to be done.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 652 End.
Constant buzzing and strength in mass numbers, Bug
At the Grass Realm, the Giga Lucario was still wrestling against the merged Tree of Beginning and Harmony. Lucario had fallen over, rupturing the ground as the destruction of this battle had shown. Trees were either obliterated or scattered across the area. Massive rubble resided next to them.
And in this realm was Princess Luna, who was currently stuck in this realm. She moved away from the falling Lucario before the destruction could come her way.
"What is happening...?" She said, staring at the destruction before her. "There should be a way out of this realm...and I fear that tree is the answer to it." She then looked at the giant tree, suspecting that it would help with leading her somewhere. Luna also knew that if she got involved, that would mean having to battle against this giant tree as well.
But before she could do that, the Princess of the Night noticed the arrival of another door. Her attention was turned towards it as falling out of the door was Fluttershy, who had previously been sent here by Gardevoir.
"Fluttershy! Audino!" She flew over to them once they dropped to the ground. She made sure to avoid any incoming rubble as the roots of the trees had grabbed Lucario off of the ground, pulling her up. "Are you two alright?!"
"Princess Luna..." Fluttershy groaned as Luna helped them both up.
"A-Audino..."
"Where is everypony else?" Luna looked around, seeing that none of the others were with Fluttershy and Audino like they were before.
"It's Gardevoir." Fluttershy held her head. "She still has them at the Flying Realm. She's going to take the Auras of some of them."
"She is most certainly not!" Luna shook her head before looking at the door that brought Fluttershy here. She knew that if it was closed and vanished like the others, then that would seize her chance of getting anywhere else. "Perhaps Lunar Ire can do something!"
Luna decided to use the magic of Lunar Ire to potentially do something about the door. The door was about to vanish, only for Luna's eyes to glow red. A dark blue and red magical beam came from her horn, quickly wrapping itself around the door. Luna managed to hold it in place before it vanish and close.
She could indeed interact with these doors after seeing how Sorrowful Rage Magic could act within this realm. And she was keeping it steady while Lucario was being continuously held back by the combined Tree of Beginning and Harmony, struggling to break free.
"I-I can't hold it...!" Luna strained as the door inevitably ended up vanishing out of thin air, causing Luna's grip on it to end. It was a failed attempt. But it showed that her magic could do something here. "No good. I was too late. But at least I know what I can do now. Let us hurry to the next realm and-"
"Wait! What about Lucario?!" Fluttershy aimed her hoof at the Giga Lucario and her struggle with the tree. Luna also looked back at the Giga Lucario as the giant Aura Pokemon ended up exuding Aura from her body, pushing the vines of the tree back.
The rubble had also been blown away as the earth trembled. Luna pulled Fluttershy and Audino away from the shockwaves and incoming rubble from this Aura exertion as a massive chasm was formed after the destruction.
And due to the rubble being scattered, that was when the hole that lead to somewhere else, possibly either the centre of the 18 Realms or Reality instead.
"Oh!" Luna noticed the hole. "Over there! If there was any other time for us to leave, it would be now! Come along!"
"But we have to help Lucario first!" Fluttershy still insisted on helping Lucario against the tree as the Aura Pokemon had then received continuous blows from the heavy and thick roots. She took the pummeling head-on, staggering and almost falling over once more.
"Fluttershy! Everypony else needs our help!" But Luna insisted on helping everyone else in the 18 Realms. "The sooner we all leave, the better!"
"I'm not leaving without Lucario!" Fluttershy chose to stay until Lucario was safe and done with this tree struggle. Her face made it even clear as Lucario grabbed ahold of the roos before they could continue pummeling her. Luna looked at Fluttershy, then at Lucario and then back at Fluttershy.
"Hah..." Luna sighed. "Absolute kindness..." She then had a smile form on her face. "Very well. We'll help."
"Thank you, Princess Luna!" Grateful, Fluttershy flew over to hug Luna, catching her off guard. And as she flew over, she had just managed to avoid some incoming rubble as well.
"Alright, alright." Luna giggled. "So all we have to do is defeat that tree, correct?" She asked as Fluttershy nodded her head in confirmation. "Simple and straightforward. Excellent."
The two of them faced the tree as Lucario was met with a thicket of trees that bombarded her. The only reason Lucario has managed to withstand this long was thanks to her Steel-Typing. Otherwise, she would've been down and out long ago.
Lucario got on one knee, breathing in and out as she was feeling overwhelmed. And yet, thanks to the golden sun, the tree was always energized and ready to dish out some more attacks. It had then sent hundreds of sharp vines towards Lucario, ready to strike her down.
But just then, before they could even touch Lucario, the vines froze there for a moment. And once they froze, they had suddenly been split in half with a burst of magic. As the split vines fell to the ground, Lucario looked over to see that it was Luna who was responsible for that split.
"LU?"
"It's okay, Lucario!" Fluttershy flew over to the Aura Pokemon. "We're here!"
The tree then violently flailed its vines around, now targeting Luna after her initial attack. But Princess Luna wouldn't do this alone. With her magic, she held out some of her Poke Balls, sending her Pokemon out for assistance.
Gliscor, Aurorus, Florges and Xatu had been sent out. Unfortunately, Darkrai, her ace, was still in reality back at Canterlot. But even without Darkrai, all of them were still capable without needing to rely on the Pitch Black Pokemon. Lucario smiled, knowing that there were those that had her back even after all of these years.
It was now all of them against this tree.
Bug Realm.
At the Bug Realm, exclusively for Bug-Type Pokemon, the location was fitting as it was a gigantic hive. In fact, it matched more of a colony than a hive.
Despite this being a colony, there were no Bug Pokemon around. But there were Trainers and their own Bug Pokemon that had found themselves here. More specifically, Rarity and Adagio only. Just those two and nothing more. They were by far the smallest group but with the most Pokemon due to Rarity's 12 Leavanny.
And it wasn't just them. Other Pokemon that were not of the Bug category were here. Sent here by Gardevoir were the Pokemon that knew Aura Sphere. A Blaziken, Kommo-o and even a Togekiss.
Just now, they had entered an inevitable scuffle with them. Or really, Rarity did. She was the one engaging with the Pokemon as her Pheromosa had slid back.
"Pheromosa! Are you alright!?" Rarity gasped as Pheromosa had just recently been in a kicking struggle with Blaziken. She jumped to another room in the colony with her legs feeling the flames of Blaziken's Blaze Kick.
"Phero...!"
"Togekiss!" In came Togekiss with Air Slash, flapping its wings and shooting cutting waves of wind at the Lissome Pokemon. Pheromosa ran back, just barely managing to avoid them.
"Adagio! How come you aren't doing anything?!" Rarity roared at Adagio was casually sitting in one of the hives within the colony, yawning.
"Not my problem." She simply shrugged. "They seem to only gravitate towards you and not me."
"It'll soon be your problem if you don't help out at all!"
"Maybe you shouldn't have put on such an intoxicating aroma today, hm? Hohohoho!" Adagio chuckled before receiving a quick dose of karma. Right as she was laughing pompously, something ended up snatching her with an aura of water at high speed. "Wagh!"
"Clawitzer!" It was a Clawitzer. It swooped in, grabbing Adagio's massive mane while also carrying her.
"Hah!" Rarity wheezed, laughing at Adagio's capture, looking at the trail of water flowing in the air. But soon, she received a surprise once Blaziken and Togekiss both came flying in with Aerial Ace. "Oh!" She gasped, turning around to see them both incoming at high speeds. "Return, Pheromosa!"
She recalled Pheromosa, saving her from being taken out in one hit. She had saved her partner, but in return, she ended up putting herself in danger. Rarity quickly put up a shield of magic to protect herself as Blaziken and Togekiss both slammed into the shields.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken then started beating on the shield repeatedly, attempting to break it. Togekiss unleashed a barrage of rainbows via Dazzling Gleam as the pressure was being put on Rarity.
"Toge!
"Put..me...down!" Adagio yelled, exuding magic from her body. The magic had pushed Clawitzer away, ruining its Aqua Jet flow completely. The siren-pony hybrid then quickly recovered herself by flapping her wings as Blaziken managed to shatter Rarity's shield.
"Ken!"
"Oh my!" Rarity gasped after seeing her shied break apart. Now she was truly in danger of being hit as the rainbows of Dazzling Gleam were sent towards her. And with little time to make a shield, Rarity was sure to be hit.
But, despite their recent quarrel, Adagio decided to help either way. She groaned, quickly protecting Rarity with a magical coating and shield, nullifying the rainbows that came towards her. Rarity had one eye open, seeing how she was fully protected by Adagio.
After protecting her, Adagio blew both Blaziken and Togekiss away with her magic, giving Rarity some space. The siren-pony hybrid then descended, landing next to the unicorn. "Alright, fine. I guess it's my problem now too."
"Was it not in the beginning?" Rarity smirked. "But thank you for saving me either way."
"Let's just hurry up and find a way to leave this place. This colony is unnecessarily huge." Indeed, they were practically lost. The moment they entered this colony, it was set in stone that they would have a hard time navigating the area.
And with just the two of them, it was a miracle that they hadn't lost each other yet, calling for their names. They wanted to put an end to these attacking Pokemon already since they were more of a sudden nuisance than a threat. Rarity held out one of her Poke Balls, throwing it out. "Go! Ampharos!"
"Ampha...ROS!" Upon emerging, Ampharos showcased his power by emanating a violent array of electricity from his body that flew everywhere.
"And to add to that. A quick Mega Evolution will-" Just as Rarity was about to activate Ampharos' Mega Evolution, Adagio, but first, it was Kricketot, sensed some newcomers to the area.
"Wait!" Adagio turned around with Kricketot poking his head out of the playful mane.
"I'm about to make things dramatic, what is it?" Rarity turned to Adagio, halting her Mega Evolution initiation. Adagio then looked ahead as a visible smile of happiness formed on her face.
"Sisters!" She cried out as indeed, her sisters were here. Along with the company of Fleur-de-lis and Minuette. They had entered this realm, but in reality, they had been here for a while. It was just that the massive colony made it hard for them to find each other. "You made it here?!"
"Yeah...And it took a lot of sweat and tears..." Aria breathed in and out as her mane was a mess. "All those attacking Pokemon are just insane..."
"Eeyup..." Sonata fell flat on her face, almost on the verge of fainting. Whatever they went through back there must've had a greater tax on them than the Water Realm.
"It wasn't as hard as the Water Realm." Fleur helped them up. "Stop being so dramatic. At least put some emphasis on it."
"Mmm..." Rarity pouted as her dramatic showcase for Mega Evolution had been broken. Disheartened by this she simply tapped on the keystone to begin the process. "Mega Evolve." She said with a bored tone. The lights flared from the keystone, rushing to the Light Pokemon.
"Ampharos!" The usual process for Mega Evolution occurred with the various light energies and especially Infinity Energy began showing. Bursting out of it was Mega Ampharos.
And speaking of the Pokemon that Sonata and Aria had to deal with, some of them were still around, pursuing them. They could be seen moving through the many Combee-shaped hives, feeling a bit lost themselves. But their Pokemon senses allowed them to traverse the area much better than the ponies.
"Oh come on..." Aria groaned once she saw the incoming Pokemon.
"No need to worry about them. All we need is this." Rarity then faced the Pokemon, already having a sure-fire to end this from how she put it. "Ampharos! Thunder!"
"Ampha...!" Ampharos began charging up, building up high amounts of voltage. He wanted to make sure this single Thunder was enough to deal with an entire group. And with the lightning flaring out of his body from the buildup, this alerted many of the opposing Pokemon.
"Maybe he needs a closer range, don't you think?" Fleur suggested as they would assist Ampharos in hitting every opposing Pokemon here. "Come along!" She and Minuette advanced, allowing their pursuers to keep chasing them. Aria and Sonata felt exhausted to move as Fleur used her magic to carry both of them.
The Pokemon followed suit as Ampharos kept charging up. Rarity looked around for a safe spot to hide. Ampharos' electricity could still hit allies due to how frantic it can get.
"There has to be someplace to hide...!" Rarity navigated her head as Ampharos' electricity could potentially hit the other hives from every direction, making the choices of hiding harder to come by.
"Just put up a magic shield." Adagio shrugged. "Easy enough."
"Not easy when you have so much power in one attack!" Rarity shook her head. "Why don't you put up a magic shield then, Adagio? Save us both."
"Hah. I don't need to." Adagio flipped her mane. "I'll be fine."
"Just like how you were when Clawitzer showed up to snatch you." Rarity quickly replied, making Adagio twitch and grimace.
"Are you doubting my magical capabilities?" Adagio rushed in as she and Rarity butted heads once more. It seemed typical for this to happen between them.
"Are you doubting Ampharos' electricity?"
"AMPHA!" After building up enough energy, Ampharos unleash the full force of Thunder, releasing 400,000 volts of electricity from his body in every possible direction.
"No, Ampharos, WA-" Rarity put her hooves out but it was too late. She ended up being shocked along with Adagio and Kricketot. "Ggggh!"
"Gaaah!"
"K-Krick!"
But of course, the opposing Pokemon were hit as well. All of them received the full force of Ampharos' lightning. And a majority of them received super-effective damage. The many Clauncher, the Togekiss and even a few Wartortle and Blastoise here and there were hit hard.
The electricity lit up the entire colony, making its already yellow appearance more vibrant to the eyes. Fleur-de-lis, Minuette, Aria and Sonata were punished as well as no one was spared. The opposing Pokemon had fainted along with Kricketot.
"Ampharos." Ampharos took a deep sigh as all the Pokemon dropped like flies. He then turned to face Rarity, giving a grin and knowing that she would be proud of him. And she was. While also looking burnt. "Ampharos?"
"Cuh..." Rarity coughed out smoke as her mane was now radical thanks to the electricity. "Excellent output as always, darling..."
"Ampha..." Ampharos laughed nervously after shocking everyone so hard. The defeated Pokemon had then disappeared into Aura particles, much like the previous ones.
Rarity's group watched as they faded away. This sight wasn't new to them at all but they still weren't sure what it all meant exactly. Ampharos' Mega Evolution had ended right after that, but despite this victory, the Light Pokemon did not let his guard down.
And he did well to not do so. Ampharos immediately sensed someone new entering this realm. And it wasn't anyone he recognized. The LIght Pokemon shifted his head and attention instantly into the air. "Pharos!"
"What is it, Ampharos?" Rarity asked as she had sent out Milotic to clean everyone up with Hydro Pump. Their manes and coats were all wet as Sonata started shaking the wetness off of her like a dog.
"Ew...!" Aria grimaced, pulling back as some of the water got on her. Minuette used her magic to manipulate her manestyle while it was still wet, coming up with different looks. She couldn't seem to find the right one, but Fleur-de-lis could, using her magic on Minuette to find the perfect manestyle that satisfied her.
But as they were all taking a breather and getting cleaned up, that was when the unexpected guest arrived. In a flash of Psychic and Fairy light plus sitting on one of the higher hives. It was Gardevoir.
"Are you done?" She said, grabbing their attention.
"Oh!" Rarity gasped, quickly turning to the Shiny Gardevoir. "You...You're that Gardevoir everypony mentioned!"
"Ampharos!"
"Hiiii~" She whistled at the with her signature cocky smile. However, despite it being cocky, there was something off about it. Gardevoir wasn't feeling as chipper as she was earlier. But she did feel energized with Aura flowing out of her, most likely from the ones she had absorbed previously.
"I heard most everything. You and your Aura stealing shenanigans," said Rarity. "All of the Lucario and Aura Guardians that you've stolen for in the past and the creation of Delayed Aura Ataxia. How could you make something like that?"
"Streamlined and simplicity, darling." Gardevoir mocked Rarity's way of speaking. "And speaking of Aura, I just got done absorbing some new Aura in the Flying Realm. What were their names?" She then gave a pondering face. "Ah yes. Applejack, Brawly, Bea and Rumble. And I suppose those other three pegasi with their Z-Moves as well."
"What?!" Rarity gasped after hearing those names. She even knew about Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Soarin since they also own Z-Moves. But she was also thinking that it might be Scootaloo instead of Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash. Either way, their Auras were absorbed. "Why you...!"
"You have no idea how refreshing it is." Gardevoir shook her head. "I've been here absorbing Auras from Lucario that I've already absorbed from. Absorbing fresh Aura from the modern-day, especially new ones from another world is just absolutely satisfying."
"Kricketot..." Kricketot appeared out of Adagio's mane, growling at the Embrace Pokemon and her recent actions.
"You would even steal from a child?!" Fleur-de-lis stepped forward.
"No one gets missed out. And I can also sense some from you as well." Gardevoir made a sinister stare, glaring at Fleur-de-lis and knowing about her Waterium Z. She then stood up, standing tall on the hive. "And especially you, Rarity. You have double the Aura for me to steal. Mega Evolution for two of your Pokemon, correct."
"Tch!" Rarity scoffed as Ampharos stood in front of her partner.
"I thought Gardevoir was supposed to be a super sweet Pokemon that everyone can hug and love?" Aria whispered.
"Ehh...Wasn't the case for that Togepi that showed up in Ponyville. Looks can be pretty deceiving sometimes. But it's still a good-looking Pokemon either way." Minuette whispered back.
"But it's strange..." Gardevoir then looked at her hand, unleashing a massive flow of Aura that trembled the realm and everypony within it. Most of this Aura came from Applejack, who had a stunning amount of Aura within her that Gardevoir could now tap into.
Despite this wonderful Aura and how she was glad to have it, Gardevoir couldn't help but think about Fluttershy for a moment. It wasn't what she was expecting to think of at all.
"Why can't I stop thinking about that...Oh well. As long as I can keep my mind on what's important and eventually break free of this realm, I'll be fine. First, I have to deal with you all since you'll be getting in my way as well. Don't worry though. Due to...a recent interaction, you'll be let go."
"And what makes you think we won't come after you when all of this is said and done?" Adagio asked.
"You won't find me at all, that's for sure!" Gardevoir then put her arm out, using the power of Aura and the 18-Types. So far, nothing had happened. Nothing came out of her arms. No beams, spheres, rays or anything.
Eventually, something did happen. Two things happened. From behind Gardevoir and emerging from the many hives were these unidentified bugs that only had the appearance of black dots. They made a constant and irritating sound while also appearing as millions.
Millions of these strange bugs appeared around every corner with their constant buzzing as they rapidly made their way towards the group in absurd and untold millions.
"Sweet Celestia..." Rarity uttered.
"She won't save you." Gardevoir replied as the hives that the group stood in and every other hive started shuffling, moving under Gardevoir's control and allowing for the enigmatic bugs to navigate differently. But more than that, the hive they stood on had separated, taking them each somewhere else.
"Woah!" Sonata screeched as she was carried off elsewhere, away from her sisters in this gargantuan hive.
"I've learned my lesson. You're all much stronger when together. Separate and I can pick you all off like flies. Heh. I made a joke." Gardevoir snorted after her joke, laughing viciously.
"Ampharos! Milotic!" Rarity held her hoof out as she was being pulled away from her partners.
"Stay close to me, Kricketot!" Adagio exclaimed as Kricketot gripped onto Adagio's mane tightly, holding on for dear life. And not only would they have to hold on, but they would also have to be reminded of these enigmatic bugs.
At first, they didn't seem harmless, but once contact had been made with them, the reality of how effective they could be had been. By themselves, they didn't seem that strong. But that all changed when they swarmed around each group in mass numbers.
Their strength was instantly multiplied and added when working together as they could do significant actions. But the one true thing they were good at was being irritating and distracting. What would usually be mild annoyances became full-time annoyances and visible physical contact that went beyond just an itch.
As for Gardevoir, she would start moving from hive to hive to deal with each of them. Rarity and the other unicorns plus Adagio used their magic to shield themselves from the bugs while Ampharos and Milotic would spray and shock them.
There were so many areas and so many hives in this colony and their constant moving teased at a seemingly endless ride throughout the area with no end. The bugs repeatedly buzzed around the shield, trying to break it by tackling them.
Rarity still didn't think too much of them. At the surface, they truly felt like bugs that would never leave until something was done. But she was soon proven wrong once the bugs suddenly used their combined strength to grab Rarity's shield while she was still on it.
"Oh!" Rarity exclaimed after seeing their combined strength. "Oh wait. They're bugs." She then realized this was typical as bugs are stronger in numbers. After realizing this, the bugs then started slamming Rarity and her shield against the hive walls, appearing as a black trail. "Ugh!"
Rarity, even while protected, could feel the staggering shockwave each time her shield hit the walls. And fittingly, Adagio had the same idea as her and received the same treatment. Fleur and Minuette's shields were being gradually shattered over time as well.
Unfortunately, those who couldn't cast shields were in for a rough time. Mainly Aria and Sonata. They had been carried by the bugs, restrained and unable to do much. But the bugs didn't slam them against the wall. Instead, they simply pinned them against the wall, preventing them from moving.
"Ow-ow-ow!" Sonata cried out while pinned, trying to squirm her hooves but to no avail. "I-It stings!" Indeed, something was sitting her, causing the pain to kick in.
Gardevoir then appeared in front of Sonata while the barrage of bugs continued swarming and crawling on her, making her uncomfortable. Gardevoir then observed Sonata, using her senses to see if she had Aura. But there was no worthwhile Aura in Sonata.
"Hm...No." Gardevoir shook her head. "Your Aura is too low!"
"Huh?!" Sonata took that to heart as Gardevoir left this hives, heading to another. Sonata pouted as she was hoping she had a high Aura that could be noticed. But that wasn't the case as the bugs continued to swarm and restrain her. "Aww..."
She then appeared at the hive where Aria was. Aria had some extra muscle to her compared to her little sister. She could move her hooves a bit more. shoving bugs out of the way. But they would always return as Aria then got on the floor, unable to fully free herself. Gardevoir then appeared, looking down at Aria and her current struggle.
"Hm...You certainly have the muscle."
"Obviously I do!" Aria groaned. "Out of my sisters, I'm the most physically strongest out of them!"
"But you're not strong in Aura." The Embrace Pokemon then turned around, heading to another hive as Aria was left to struggle. Now came the unicorns.
The bugs weren't making too much progress by smashing their shields. So, they did something greater. Altogether, they generated a buzzing sound that was done at a high frequency. This frequency travelled throughout the hives due to how many bugs there were, prompting the other bugs to do the same.
And with this frequency, everypony's shields had shattered. The buzzing was too strong due to its absurd magnitude. Rarity, Adagio, Minuette and Fleur gasped as they were now vulnerable. Before Rarity could grab another one of her Poke Balls, the bugs had restrained her by wrapping around her horn and hooves.
Rarity screeched as Gardevoir had appeared. "This is disgusting! What kind of bugs are these?!"
"They're not of any species." Gardevoir said. "They're entirely unique to me. Something only I can create. Manifestations of other bugs merged into one. Aside from that...I've been missing out on Mega Evolution energy. Even it is connected to Aura in a way. And you have twice the Mega Evolution in you."
"Try all you want, I won't let you have it!"
"Your Pokemon are already far from you in this massive hive. It's just you and me." Gardevoir leaned forward.
"You underestimate the persistence of my Ampharos." Rarity smirked as she knew she could count on Ampharos even in a situation such as this. And with the sound of a booming lightning bolt, Gardevoir's attention was thrown elsewhere. Flashes of golden lights could be seen slipping through the gaps of each hive with sparks flying out too.
Not only that but Gardevoir could see that some of her bugs were flying off, not attacking the others but instead going in one direction only with a variety of diverging paths.
"What the...?" Gardevoir squinted her eyes as Rarity started chuckling.
"You said that these bugs are other bugs merged into one, correct? That means, somewhere in there, they're vulnerable and attracted to one thing. Light. Either by pain or attraction. Or both."
"!!" Gardevoir also realized this. And since Ampharos was the Light Pokemon, capable f generating light so bright it can be seen from space, this meant that her bugs would gravitate elsewhere.
And with the addition of Ampharos' electricity, the intensity of the lights increased as some of them were leaving Rarity's body, giving her some freedom gradually.
"Bug-Types are stronger together. There's no doubt about it." Rarity shook her head. "But no amount of mass numbers are greater than light and it always shows. Aside from maybe a mirror."
"Sneaky little...!" Gardevoir turned to Rarity with a growl as the unicorn used her magic to blow some of the bugs away, finally having freedom. Gardevoir slid back as the magic pulse affected her as well.
"Luckily for me, I have a few bugs who far surpass yours in strength. Even with just a single one! Leavanny! Pheromosa!" She then used her magic to throw out all of her Bug Pokemon. Her 12 Leavanny and single Pheromosa.
"Leavanny!" All 12 of them cried.
"Pheromosa!"
"W-What is that thing?!" Gardevoir pointed at Pheromosa as this was her first time seeing a Pokemon like that. "And why is it so tall?!"
"Oho? What's this I hear?" Rarity made a cheeky Pokerface while also leaning in, putting her hoof near her ear. "You don't know what an Ultra Beast is? How juicy!"
"What in the name of Almighty Sinnoh is an Ultra Beast!?" She questioned with further confusion.
"Don't you worry about that for now. For you see, Gardevoir..." Rarity walked up as Pheromosa carried her, placing the unicorn on her shoulder. Rarity then sat in the same way Gardevoir did when she showed up at the hive. "My Pokemon and I are essentially the perfect counter to you. Not only do we have the light for your bugs but you yourself don't do well against bugs, do you?"
"Grr...!" Gardevoir was getting agitated as visible veins were showing.
"Granted, you're lucky that your Fairy-Typing allows you to be neutral against them. But aside from that, Bugs work better at close range. And your species isn't exactly the most physically defensive type are they?"
"Y-You're a smart one, Rarity." Gardevoir let out a crooked smile, annoyed that Rarity was this good.
"I know, darling. But I'm disappointed. As a Psychic-Type, I would've thought you would be smarter than me. Oh well. Let's make this quick Leavanny! Restrain her with String Shot! Pheromosa, use Triple Kick"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa tossed Rarity into the air before moving at lightning speeds. Speeds that even Gardevoir could not see coming. The Embrace Pokemon then gasped as she was met with three consecutive kicks.
One kick to the face which made her head swish to the side with open eyes, another kick to the stomach and a stylish backflip kick for style points. All three of those consecutive kicks sent her into the air.
"W-What is this comically insane speed...?" She thought to herself, feeling winded from those three powerful hits. But it was about to get worse for her. Pheromosa's ability Beast Boost increased her already ludicrous speed.
"Again!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa then did it again, faster than the string could reach Gardevoir, giving her another consecutive kick of three that only further befuddled the Embrace Pokemon, stunning her.
As she was stunned in the air, the Leavanny all sent their strings in unison. Gardevoir quickly snapped back to her senses, still feeling befuddled. She quickly used Psychic to move the strings away.
"Bug Buzz, Pheromosa!"
"Phero!" Pheromosa then ran in, using the same tactic that the bugs used to shatter the shields. When close to Pheromosa, she had vibrated her antennae to generate a damaging sound wave that reached Gardevoir faster than she was expecting.
"Ugh!" Gardevoir trembled, covering her ears as the strings from String Shot ended up catching her. "!" They instantly wrapped around the Psychic-Fairy-Type with multiple layers.
"Can't handle Pheromosas speed, can you?" Rarity said, sitting casually. "You have a lot to learn about the modern world, darling. Now! One of you, get in there with X-Scissor! Pheromosa, assist them with Triple Kick!"
"Leavanny!" One of Rarity's Leavanny ended up approaching Gardevoir with X Scissor while Pheromosa ran past the Nurturing Pokemon, moving at ludicrous speeds.
Gardevoir could see that she could not keep up with Pheromosa's speed at all. This was all new to her. Especially since this was her first time encountering an Ultra Beast. Panicking, Gardevoir had decided to use everything she could to come out on top.
With her eyes glowing, Gardevoir tapped in the most recent Aura she had taken. And especially Applejack's Aura. Her eyes then flashed, giving off a blinding light as a collection of Auras burst out of her body, breaking the strings apart and granting her freedom. Pheromosa came to a screeching halt, being able to react in time. She quickly stopped Leavanny from advancing any further to keep the Nurturing Pokemon safe.
"Phero?"
"Lea?"
"Hm?" Rarity sat up. Gardevoir had pushed herself. Using Applejack's Aura along with a few others caused a volatile reaction. One that started breaking the colony apart. The bugs within the hive were already distracted and being taken out by Ampharos' lightning, but this was only boosted once the trembling of Auras began.
Everypony looked around, witnessing the natural blue colours of Aura flow across the colony. But it was doing more than just shaking it. Something was appearing in the middle. A crack. Gardevoir started pushing the limits of her Aura to the max, especially when experiencing Applejack's Aura.
"So this is Applejack's Aura..." She said to herself while still having her eyes glow. "This is...AMAZING!" She bellowed with joy as this wasn't even Ash's Aura yet, who was lightyears bigger than Applejack's.
"I knew Applejack had something but...not to this extent..." Rarity backed away as she and the there noticed the crack. There was a crack in the 18 Realms appearing from Gardevoir's Aura release.
However, it was so great that even Gardevoir was having a hard time controlling it. "T-This is a lot!" The Embrace Pokemon growled as the crack in the 18 Realms showed some of the other realms, allowing everyone to see the crack.
Gardevoir then took a deep breath, allowing herself to take it all in before it could destroy. Gardevoir then smiled as there was now a massive gaping hole in the realms with Gardevoir now having more power than she already did. But this also exposed her to everyone else in the other realms.
Gardevoir then lowered her head, giving another crooked smile that was slightly unhinged from the previous one. And noticeably, her body was starting to become ethereal. Just like the Ethereal Lucario that reside here.
A large crack in the 18 Realms had been made. By using Applejack's Aura for the first time, Gardevoir's potential had skyrocketed. She only used it for the first time due to desperation and overwhelming pressure from Rarity's Pokemon. Mainly her Pheromosa. Gardevoir had never seen an Ultra Beast and Pheromosa's stunning speed and attack, leaving her bewildered beyond belief.
"Hoh..." Gardevoir took a deep breath before facing Rarity and her Pokemon. "I'll have to thank your friend Applejack for this. Soon, I'll have Ash's Aura. And it'll do more than just create a massive hole in the realm. It'll bring me my freedom after so long!"
"So Ash's Aura is your ultimate goal, is it? As if that will ever happen." Rarity doubted Gardevoir.
"Be in denial all you want. I've already levelled up from just using Applejack's Aura. An impressive increase, don't you agree? Now I believe your Ultra Beast won't be that much of a threat." She smirked before thinking to herself. "The truth is that I still don't know how to deal with such a Pokemon. But with this Aura gain and some energy from that Fleur pony that can change..."
Gardevoir then decided to go for Fleur-de-lis, instantly flying out of this hive to find her. She didn't want to risk things with Pheromosa. Not with how she was. She needed an edge.
"Oh, she won't escape from us!" Rarity hopped onto Pheromosa's back as all 12 Leavanny had used String Shot to latch onto Pheromosa's back. "After her!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa saluted before taking off at hypersonic speeds, dragging the Leavanny with her as they were all holding on for dear life. Already, she had caught up with Gardevoir with little time and little effort, showing the stark speed difference that Pheromosa had against Gardevoir.
Gardevoir looked beside her to see the Lissome Pokemon outpacing her. But Pheromosa was purposefully slowing herself down a bit to run side-by-side with Gardevoir.
They started moving through the untold millions of hives at rapid speeds with Gardevoir doing what she could to lose the Ultra Beast. This hive was the best place to start with as they moved from one hive to the other in this gargantuan colony the size of a city.
"I need to lose her somehow...But in the meanwhile..." Gardevoir hadn't found a solution to this problem yet. But while she thinks it through, she decided to handle everything else in the other realms. With her newly absorb Aura and the snap of her fingers, Gardevoir had done something outside of the Bug Realm.
And instead, something else in the other realms.
Rock Realm.
Such realms included the Rock Realm. Exclusively for Rock-Types. And fittingly, Rock-Type specialists were within this realm that was just an expansive mountainside crag area with a comically large cave that had beautiful glowing crystals.
Shining speckles, large crystal outcroppings, gems and jewels everywhere. All kinds of rocks could be found. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds and pearls galore. There were also bright yellow sandy dunes with palm trees plus arches of reddish brownstone, and lots of cacti to behold. It looked like a paradise at a first glance.
The trainers here were Brock, Roxanne, Maud and Limestone. Two Rock-Type Gym Leaders and two Pie Family Sisters. A perfect combination.
"Did you hear that?" Brock spoke as they were all within the cave, admiring the gorgeous view. He had heard the sound of something cracking as the sound reached the cave, causing an audible echo.
"That was my stomach. I could go for some rock pies right about now." Maud spoke in her dry tone, walking over to the many rocks that litter the landscape, feeling peckish.
"Barely any progress is being made right now," said Roxanne. "Perhaps we can eventually leave this realm if something were to happen outside." She then theorized about a potential way of them all leaving the 18 Realms. "It is all within four collective minds and our minds involved as well."
"Yeah. What she said." Limestone replied. "I don't even wanna be here right now...How'd I get roped into this in the first place?"
"It happens, Limestone" Brock chuckled. "Any big adventure that Ash enters is bound to involve a handful of others one way or the other. Trust me. I should know."
"This is a first-time experience for me as well." Roxie raised a finger. "Well...I suppose second-time. I did help out in the invasion back then."
"Well, you two are gonna have to get used to it when Ash is involved with something. But, they can be fun. Just like this and the Pokemon School. Me being a Pokemon Breeder in training and everything."
"If you're in training, how come you're a teacher at the school in the first place?" Roxanne asked. "If anything, you should be a student with an advanced Pokemon Breeder there."
"Hahaha...Well, I'm still learning but I know my stuff." Brock chuckled. "But when I do end up getting there, there are some promises I can make up for. You see, I've got some friends who like certain Pokemon. And with Pokemon Breeding, I can make that happen for them."
"Hm? Hold on!" Limestone ran in front of Brock. "In that case, do me a solid. There's a Pokemon I need, so listen close."
"Uh..." Brock stopped in place once Limestone got close and jumped into the air to meet face-to-face with him. "What Pokemon do you want?"
"Not for me. My sister, Marble Pie. She's been wanting a Pokemon for a while now, but she's so picky it's practically pointless trying to speak with her."
"Well, which Pokemon does she gravitate towards to then?" Roxanne leaned over.
"I don't know. I think she likes Dragonite?" Limestone shrugged. "O Pikachu? She definitely won't take a Rock-Type that's for sure."
"Sounds to me she's more of a fan of Ash's Pokemon." Brock removed Limestone off of her, holding her like a baby due to the size difference. Limestone had a constant scold on her face with her hooves down, flailing to the side due to the aerial buoyancy. "But I can't 100% guarantee that. Dragonite are hard to come by you know. Let alone their pre-evolutions."
"Make it happen!" Limestone flailed her hooves ferociously, trying to grab Brock but the range did not work out for her. "So I can get that load off my back!"
"I'll get on it, don't you worry. But, I've got a lot of promises to keep before that." Brock then placed Limestone down. "One of them is with Maud." Brock then looked over at Maud who had grabbed a rock. She then started eating the rocks, filling her stomach up with an unusual yet somehow natural for her food choice.
"You see, she's looking for every Rock-Type there is. Lucky for me, most Rock-Types are easy to find. Even the fossils are more common nowadays." Brock grinned. "Not much I have to worry about."
"Ahem.." Roxanne slid over, nudging Brock. "There is the issue of some of the rarer Rock Pokemon such as Diancie. How do plan to deal with those?"
"Uh...About that..." Brock chuckled, putting his hand behind his head. "That's not gonna be as easy to get around. Come to think of it, getting every Rock-Type won't be 100% guaranteed. But I haven't told Maud yet so-"
Just then, a sudden chill flowed throughout the area, causing their conversation to come to a screeching halt. All three of their hearts had dropped instantly as Maud was standing behind them with a dark lighting surrounding her body, hiding most of it in shadows while her eye colour was the only bright thing there, illuminating with the light of the red rubies.
"D-Do you feel that...?" Brock shuddered.
"Y-Yes...It feels like someone's giving us the evil eye..." Roxanne nodded nervously.
"It's Maud..." Even LImestone was afraid as she scrunched her face, not turning her head to face her sister. Visible sweatdrops could be seen flying from their faces. "You just had to say that, didn't you...? Don't turn around...! You'll only make her more upset...!"
"S-So it is Maud...?!" Brock's teeth showed as his heart was racing. Just then, some rumbling could be heard as the rocks beneath Maud Pie were starting to rise.
"Our best bet is to pretend we didn't notice her...That works sometimes...Sometimes..." Limestone gulped.
"Why make a promise that you couldn't guarantee, Brock...?" Roxanne asked in a disappointed and scared tone.
"I-I didn't think she'd get this mad...How about we just focus on-" Just then Brock was cut off once more. But not by Maud. It was something else. With the light of the rocks glowing, they ended up revealing something that was originally hidden via the shadows.
It was a crack in the 18 Realms. Their attention was all drawn towards it as Maud's anger subsided from it as well. They all squinted, witnessing the crack and the howling coming from it.
"What the...?" Brock gawked at the crack, trying to see what was beyond it. He then approached for a closer look. And with a closer look, he could see that the other doors could be seen, making it a hopeful sign that they could leave this realm. But still no sign of them leaving the realm entirely.
But just as a smile met with his face, Maud saw something approach from the crack. She gasped before lunging over at Brock. Brock soon noticed what came through. It was a gigantic vine from the merged Tree of Beginning and Harmony.
"Brock!" Maud shouted with a slightly higher tone as she pushed Brock out of the way of the attacking vine. Right on time as the vine struck the ground, causing a large crack to form, shaking the cave and shattering some of the more fragile rocks with just the impact and shockwave alone.
The tree was interacting with this realm under Gardevoir's control. But it was more than just that. It could be seen entering other doors via the crack, spreading instantly. Not only that but two of the 15 Elements could be found on this tree. Mainly the Fighting and Ground elements.
"Fighting and Ground? What is going on?!" Roxanne noticed the symbols as they had an Aura appearance to them but were still recognizable.
Just then, the singular vine arose, casting a menacing shadow over the group. It was clear that it was here to attack. Gardevoir's way of dealing with multiple realms at the same time.
The vine also emanated the two Auras of Fighting and Ground respectively, gaining extra girth to it. Brock and Maud stood, only to be met with another attack from the vine as it wasted no more time attacking them all. This time, Brock was the one who saved Maud, grabbing her and running out of the way.
After avoiding it, the tip of the vine suddenly opened, revealing some sort of mouth as an Infinity Energy beam of Fighting and Ground was thrown in their direction. Brock held Maud close before falling on his back, just narrowly evading the beam as it struck the walls behind them, blowing a massive hole and obliterating the rest of the rocks here.
"Whatever's happening, it's blocking our way of getting back in there!" Brock stood up, holding out one of his Poke Balls. Instinctively, Roxanne, Limestone and Maud did the same. "Go, Steelix!" Out came Brock's Steelix. For Roxanne, it was Probopass, Limestone had her Tyranitar and Maud sent out her Bastiodon.
"Steelix!"
"Probopass!"
"Bastiodon."
"Ty...Ranitar!" Tyranitar roared the loudest out of all of them once she emerged.
"Steelix! Use Stone Edge!"
"Probopass, please use Power Gem!"
"Steel!" Steelix slammed its tail on the ground, causing large blue crystals to erupt while Probopass unleashed a ray of light that sparkled as if it were made of gemstones. Those two attacks had struck the vine with the crystals stabbing through and the rays bombarding the vine.
There was a visible hole in the vine thanks to their combined attacks, especially from Stone Edge. However, the vine not only managed to close its hole, but it had also stabbed into the ground, causing other vines to start erupting in the same way that Stone Edge does.
The rapid-moving vines had struck Steelix and Probopass from below, staggering and knocking them back in the process. To add to it, there was the Infinity Energy Aura of Fighting laced with it, making the hit even harder.
"Tyranitar! Crush it with Earthquake!"
"Bastiodon. Ancient Power." Maud had a casual way of saying it compared to her sister's more aggressive way of giving commands. And the difference in strength with their Pokemon also showed as well. Tyranitar was all about heavy and hard damage with a giant glow of Ground energy emerging once she had stomped her foot on the ground. Bastiodon took it easy, throwing the rocks at a slower pace.
The Earthquake struck the vine below, causing it to tremble once the glow consumed it. Afterwards, the rocks from Ancient Power had slammed onto the vine, pinning it to the ground. And as a bonus, Bastiodon's Attack and Defense had been raised.
However, despite all of that, the vine shrugged it off, quickly retaliating by slapping all four Pokemon with a heavy swing that raised the rocks. All four Pokemon had been carried away by the swing as the vine then smashed them against the wall at full force, causing the walls to crack open.
"Guys!" Brock gasped as he and the others turned to face their partners. The massive hole dropped rubble on them, but they were barely affected by it. Tyranitar quickly pushed the vine off of her before getting back up. The vine then ascended, ready to slam down on the opposing Pokemon while having Fighting Energy radiating from it.
"Grab it, Tyranitar!"
"TY!" Tyranitar growled, bracing herself as the vine came crashing down at full force. She then used her brute strength to grab the vine, holding it after it slammed down. The impact caused the ground below to crack as Tyranitar held the vine in place, feeling the immense strength as she grimaced from the Fighting Energy that also connected with her.
"Let's try breaking it apart!" Roxanne suggested. "Use Thunderbolt, Probopass!"
"Steelix, use Gyro Ball!"
"Probo...!" Out of Probopass' body came a bolt of 100,000 volts that instantly struck the giant thick vine while Tyranitar was still holding on. Next came Steelix.
"Steelix!" Some of Steelix's spikes illuminated light blue and spin around at blinding speeds with a light-blue ring surrounding Steelix. The Iron Snake Pokemon had then crashed into the vine at full force, using its sharp body and immense power to charge right through.
And the method worked. Steelix had broken through the vine, splitting it in half. Tyranitar could finally catch a break, tossing the other half of the vine aside.
"Ranitar! Tyranitar then stomped on the other half of the vine to make sure it stayed down.
"Nice!" Limestone cackled. "That wasn't so tough."
"Right. For something so overwhelmingly large, I would've thought it would be harder to defeat." Roxanne twirled her hair in response.
"Look again." But Maud could see that it wasn't over yet. They did manage to defeat that one vine, breaking it apart and preventing it from regenerating. But, emerging out of the crack was another vine. And a third one alongside it as it came racing out.
"More?!" Brock gasped as the vines went for the trainers this time. And due to their immense size, evading it would be difficult. But reacting fast enough was harder as the vines moved fast enough to grab Limestone and Roxanne immediately.
"Oh!" Roxanne gasped as she and Limestone had been snatched by the two vines. She started screaming as more vines seemed to emerge out of the cracks, only multiplying in quantity.
"Roxanne! Limestone!" Brock yelled as the vines came towards him and Maud next. Tyranitar ran over to try and save her trainer, only to be blocked and knocked away by the new vines. Limestone tried chewing away at the vines, only to find out that they were harder than expected.
Brock and Maud quickly ran to the side, avoiding the incoming vines. But the vines could do more than just fly and rush in. Once they hit the ground, other vines started erupting from below in equal length and ferocity.
"Steelix, Dig!" Brock ordered while running from the vines with Maud.
"Bastiodon, return for now." Maud chose to return Bastiodon instead of keeping it in.
"Steelix!" The spiked rocks on Steelix spun quickly with a revving sound being emanated as it burrows underground, evading the incoming vines. However, the vines soon chased after Steelix underground, pursuing the Iron Snake Pokemon without any rest.
Brock hopped over an incoming vine that swung his way as he landed next to Tyranitar. Tyranitar herself had one method that she tried using to free her trainer. Hyper Beam. The attack was already being built up with an orange sphere.
"Tyranitar, don't!" Brock promptly stopped her. "You could hit Limestone and Roxanne too!"
"Ty..." Tyranitar ended Hyper Beam, now knowing the danger that could come with it.
Seconds later, Steelix emerged, but with the vines hitting it out of the ground. The Steel-Ground-Type screeched before falling on its side. But it was still able to stand thanks to its amazing endurance.
"Get us own from here already!" Limestone roared as she still tried biting away at the vines with sharp fangs.
"The best thing to do now is to burn it apart," Maud said with a cold stare and a second Poke Ball at her disposal. "All of it."
"Uh! We're still on it! You don't plan to burn us apart do you?!" Roxanne gulped from Maud's declaration as all the other vines ascended into the air, facing Brock and the others as it wasn't going to let them escape from here.
"I'll try not to," said Maud before throwing the Poke Ball. And emerging out of it was the Fire-Rock-Type Magcargo. A Shiny Magcargo no less.
"Magcargo!"
"Oh no." Roxanne, knowing how overwhelmingly absurd Magcargo's heat can be, said with a mortified look. This was an instance where it would either be her, Limestone or the vines that become turned into ash. Or all three at the same time.
"Lava Plume." Maud pointed, giving the command.
"Mag!" Magcargo, from out of its shell and entire body, released an inferno of scarlet flames with unbridled heat. Roxanne closed her eyes, bracing for the worst as the scarlet flames had gravitated towards the vines.
Much like a parasite, the flames of Magcargo rapidly rushed throughout the vines, melting them with ease. And thankfully, the flames had a limit to what they would burn. Roxanne feared they would hit her, but in reality, they had stopped the moment the vines wrapping around her and Limestone had been incinerated.
"Hm?" Limestone was currently biting the air before noticing how she was free. She and Roxanne both fell with Brock catching them in them.
"Gotcha!" Brock exclaimed with a successful catch. The other vines targeted Magcargo after seeing it as a threat, racing towards the Lava Pokemon. But they were met with instant incineration as just by being close to Magcargo made them all burn. Magcargo didn't even need to be touched.
"Good job." But despite that, Maud could touch Magcargo. Mainly because the Lava Pokemon, much like a Rapidash or any other Pokemon with dangerous body parts, could control its heat. Magcargo was as warm as bathwater with this controlled heat.
"Mag."
"Is that it?" Limestone wondered if that was the end of the attacking vines. It looked to be as all of them had melted away from Magcargo's body heat. However, despite the vines melting, Brock and the others could see that more were approaching them. "Oh come on!"
"There's an endless source coming from them!" Roxanne pointed ahead. "It's also connecting to the other doors!"
The extra vines had shown up to the realm. But now with an improvement. A third type. Water. The Aura permeating within these vines had caused a synergy to occur. Brock and the others watched as the vines started entangling with each other with water spurting out of them.
They were fusing to make one mighty force that was the ultimate weakness of Rock-Type Pokemon. It made an enigmatic mishmash of three elements. A form of water that was frantically moving with an orange glow in the middle. No one could quite figure out what they were looking at.
"If we can reach there..." Roxanne sighed, knowing that this might not even be the biggest roadblock they would have to deal with. And their poor Rock-Type Pokemon would be forced to handle their greatest weaknesses in an unexplainable mishmash.
Grass Realm.
At the core of where the main issue was stemming from, the Tree of Beginning and Harmony was spreading in the other realms without its own control. No other door could be found nearby. That was just Gardevoir's power at work.
Luna's Pokemon were doing what they could to take down this gigantic merged tree along with the Giga Lucario, Fluttershy, Audin and also Raboot.
They have been going at it for a few minutes, and to them, it felt like little time has passed, showing just how differently time works here.
"No good!" Luna exclaimed, blasting a hole through the tree, only for it to regenerate that hole. "It practically has endless regeneration!"
Indeed. All of the opposing Pokemon unleashed their strongest moves onto this tree. Aurorus used Outrage, both Gliscor and Xatu used Air Slash, Florges used Petal Dance while Excadrill tried Drill Run. And yet, while they did some damage, it didn't matter at all as the tree regenerated without issue.
After regenerating, much like with what was happening over at the Rock Realm and presumably everywhere else, the tree had used the other elements to retaliate.
Out of its roots, vines and leaves, a flash of Fire and Water and Ghost Infinity Energy. came flying out. Florges quickly put up Flower Shield to raise everyone's defences. But their special defence were unaffected as Florges had just now realized this.
All of them had been blown away, each taking super-effective damage in the process. Luna covered Fluttershy, Audino and Raboot with a magical shield, protecting them from harm.
The Pokemon were all sent tumbling or hurling through the air and ground. Luna lowered her shield to see all of her partners down but not yet out. They were too durable for that to happen. She quickly flew over to them, hoping that they weren't too hurt.
"A-Aurorus...!" Aurorus growled as Luna helped her sit up.
"We've tried freezing, burning and cutting it, but nothing will work for us." Luna shook her head. "There has to be something else we can do. At least a way to stop its regeneration."
"Stop its regeneration...Um...!" Fluttershy started thinking, digging deep. She then looked at the tree, noticing how there were only just 15 Types. Not the usual 18 that everyone was used to. The Types missing were Dark, Steel and Fairy.
They had no Aura Symbols anywhere alongside the other 15, making them the missing links. That's when Fluttershy thought of something. A potential weakness. But there was one other weakness she gathered. The tree's regeneration was similar to Bayleef.
Bayleef's leaves when she uses her fate-changing abilities, especially when she was a Chikorita minutes ago, comes off. And they only return when under the Sun, regeneration.
"Oh!" Fluttershy gasped, having a breakthrough. "It's the Sun!" She aimed her hoof at the yellow star. "The Sun's what's healing it!"
"The Sun?" Luna looked in her pointing direction.
"Yes! And there are three types missing from it! Dark, Steel and Fairy! Maybe it's vulnerable to the types that would usually be resisted by those three! Like Fighting, Fire and Poison and even the ones it's missing!"
"We have already been throwing its weaknesses at it to no avail! My Excadrill's Steel-Type attacks haven't defeated it and neither has your Raboot!"
"But maybe we can change it by changing the weather!" Fluttershy suggested as the weather could be the key to victory and using specific attacks to reach that victory.
"All we need to do is change the weather you say...?" Luna narrowed her eyes, getting where Fluttershy was coming from. It seemed like a sure-fire idea. But, Luna decided to go above and beyond. "I have a better idea."
"Hm?" Fluttershy tilted her head.
Luna, proving why she was the Princess of the Night, had focused her magic on the sky. There was one thing she was certainly skilled at. And it was raising the moon. But she was never tasked with raising or lowering the sun, so the sun would have to stay there.
Aside from that, Luna managed to find a moon in this realm as it most certainly existed. But she didn't just manipulate it from this realm, she pulled it from somewhere else. Up in the sky with everyone's attention being thrown there, a crack was forming. Not from Gardevoir, but from Princess Luna.
Out of that crack, a connection to the Ghost-Type Realm had been made. And through that crack, the moon could be seen as it was always up in the realm as opposed to the Sun being constantly up in this realm for eternal photosynthesis and such.
"Oooh..." Fluttershy and everyone gawked once the moon arrived. Luna could do this with the help of Lunar Ire's magic which was now rightfully hers. With all her might, she brought the moon into the realm, expanding the crack hole in the sky as the night sky of the Ghost Realm started filling up this realm as well.
"Ugh...!" But this much manipulation within the realms was taxing on Luna's body even with Lunar Ire's magic. But she managed, shattering the rest of the clear blue skies and replacing them with the night sky. Soon, the Sun had been hidden away by the dark clouds as if someone slapped a massive poster over it. "Needs more darkness!"
Luna went the extra mile once more, using her magic to try and find the Dark Realm. And since she owned a Darkrai, she could access it, creating another crack. The tree could finally see what Luna was attempting as it quickly sent its vines over to try and stop her.
"CARIO!" But the Giga Lucario promptly grabbed its vines, preventing the tree from interrupting Luna. The skies were now dark with only the moon being visible to this realm. The Sun was blocked out.
"There..." Luna sighed before smirking, knowing what this now meant and how massive of an advantage they had just gained. "Now then...we are free to do as much damage as we can."
Rock Realm.
This interference was felt here. The blocking out of the Sun was already a massive red flag for the merged tree. And it certainly applied to the rest of it since they dre their regenerative strength from the same source.
"What's going on with it?" Limestone noticed the merger of Water, Fighting and Ground was starting to fluctuate. One of the vines had emerged out of its, flailing weakly as opposed to how aggressive it was before.
"It seems to be moving slower than before," Roxanne replied before facing the crack. "Perhaps, it could have something to do with what's happening over there?"
"I say we pass through and leave that thing behind." Maud said as she returned Magcargo, knowing that its weakness to Water wasn't worth exploring in this instance. "I've already grabbed some rocks from here earlier to bring along with me."
"It still won't let us through no doubt." Roxanne shook her head. "What we should do now is get rid of that thing before it grows in strength. Who knows what other form it could take to combat us all?"
"If you want it out in one go, then Steelix and I can do just that. It's a good thing you got over your fear of water long ago, Steelix." Brock stepped forward.
"Steelix."
"W-What are you doing now?" Limestone stuttered, facing Brock. "You have something?"
"We do. Looks like it's at its most vulnerable. So we'll strike at our absolute best. Watch and learn from the strong, rugged rock man!" Brock then decided to go all out. And he started by suddenly removing his top, throwing it aside.
And once he threw it aside, Brock was revealed to be fairly stout and muscular with visible abs and robust shoulders that were stunningly surprising. They shined thanks to the glowing gemstones in this cave.
"Oh my! Did you have to take it off?!" Roxanne screeched, covering her face while Limestone was silent, only having an open-mouth and whited-out eyes. With some motherly instincts kicking in, Tyranitar covered Limestone's eyes.
"Nice." But Maud simply put on a smile when seeing this.
"Hm-hm!" Brock chuckled a bit as a small necklace with a Mega Stone could be found around his neck. His ultimate secret weapon. He then took the necklace off, holding it out with pure power. "Here we go! Mega Evolution!" The Keystone started radiating a golden light.
And a blue light shined from Steelix's head, revealing where the Steelixite was. "STEEL!" Steelix roared as the lights shot into the air at lightning speeds, clashing against each other. They then came thundering down with the might of a hammer, engulfing Steelix with unbridled ferocity. And emerging out of it was Mega Steelix.
"STEELIX!"
"Now, Steelix! Bind!"
"LIX!" Steelix, who was much larger than before, wrapped its long body around the force of Fighting, Ground and Water with a tight bind. Upon binding it, Steelix did feel the water flow through it as instant damage was being done along with the emanating energy pulses of Fighting and Ground. But thanks to Mega Evolution, it could withstand it.
"Now's your chance, everyone!" Brock turned to them.
"It may have Ground in it, but it's still Water too. And that water should've softened the ground part so...Probopass! Thunderbolt!"
"Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!"
"Bastiodon. Come back and use Flash Cannon." Maud brought Bastiodon back into the fray. Upon returning, Bastiodon already got started, opening its mouth and unleashing a silver beam of light energy. Alongside that beam was a larger beam in the form of Hyper Beam and a bolt of 100,000 volts.
All three attacks struck the enigmatic force as Steelix was fine being a part of it. It was immune to one and resisted too after all. The result was an outburst of three elements around each other, destroying parts of this mishmash force. And emerging out of it was Steelix, slithering away.
The force had been weakened greatly from the gradual damage of binding and the trifecta of attacks that flew its way. Due to the interference from the Grass Realm, there was no regeneration for it and its focus was thrown off.
"Now! Let's finish this! Stone Edge, Steelix!"
"STEELIX!" Steelix stabbed its tail into the ground, causing even larger crystals than before to emerge. Altogether, those crystals pierced the force from bottom to top with immense power behind them each. And with that final blow, that was all she wrote. The mishmash of three types fell, becoming nothing but a flat liquid mess that eventually evaporated from the leftover flames of Magcargo that were still prominent.
"That's that." Brock declared the defeat of it as the crack in the realm had expanded even further. "Good work, Steelix. All of you."
"Ahem...Yes...But..." Roxanne brought Brock's shirt and jacket over. "Could you please put your shirt on?"
"Ah. Sorry. Force of habit for me to do that with Mega Steelix." Brock chuckled, retrieving his top and placing it back on. They had cleared the Rock Realm and their reward was the further wider entrance through the hole. "Let's go. Might not be our full way out of here but it's a start."
"I hope so." Limestone replied as they all approached the hole. They received just the hole and not a door much like everyone else who had cleared certain realms.
And with this defeat, three Types had also been dealt with. The tree was now weakening due to outside interference from both sides. This did not go unnoticed as Gardevoir could sense another defeat and the emergence of yet another Mega Evolution.
With Luna using her magic to turn the azure and clear-blue skies of the Grass Realm into nightfall, preventing the merged Tree of Beginning and Harmony from regenerating via the sun, the advantage was on Luna, the Giga Lucario and Fluttershy's side this time.
Due to this vulnerability, their attacks could finally last as the tree was being weakened, no longer the dominating and overpowering force it was before.
"There! No regeneration! Your theory worked, Fluttershy!" Luna exclaimed. "Now we can truly put an end to this. I say we finish things in the-"
"LUCA!" But Lucario was one step ahead of Luna, already going for the finishing blow. The Giga Lucario had used Aura Sphere, holding it in one paw and rushing in. The Aura Pokemon then smashed the Aura Sphere right at the centre of the tree at full force, creating a large impact.
Luna and Fluttershy watched as a massive hole had been made on three with sparks of Aura flying out. But it didn't stop there. Lucario wanted to take her anger out some more as she started beating on the tree repeatedly with Close Combat.
"Well...That's one way..." Luna scrunched her face as tree bark started flying out from each of Lucario's strikes.
"It does hurt to see a tree get harmed like this...but if it helps Lucario' take a load off her back. She needs it." Fluttershy chuckled nervously as a sharp tree bark almost hit her face, just passing by her and stabbing into the ground. Fluttershy had a mortified smile on her face as she was sweating bullets.
"RRR!" Lucario then delivered the final blow with a strong uppercut, finally knocking the tree off the ground with the roots showing. The tree collapsed, crashing into the ground. Everyone backed away as it made a heavy impact from its fall. Lucario then looked down on the tree, giving a deep sigh.
After the fall of the tree, the 15 Elements started glowing suddenly. They then ascended into the air, being multi-coloured spheres that then whirled around in the air. Luna and Fluttershy weren't sure what this meant at all. Good or bad.
That's when the crack that was originally here opened up wider. Once more, something happened within this realm that correlated with the defeat of a powerful force or something else. But it went further.
More cracks were opening up. 13 cracks to be exact. There was already two of them that led to the Ghost and Dark Realm thanks to Luna's action. It was then revealed that these cracks in the realm led to the other 18 Realm, becoming substitutes for the doors.
Lucario then sat down, feeling exhausted as the spheres then all vanished out of thin air, no longer existing in this realm. Not only that, but the elements on the tree had faded away too.
"What's going on?" Fluttershy wondered.
"Not a clue. But this could be the breakthrough we were all searching for. Those lead to other realms it seems." Luna aimed her hoof at the cracks, noticing how she could see through them. She could make ut the visage of the Fire Realm and the amusement park that was within it. "We are most certainly free to enter them, Fluttershy."
"Oh. OH!" Fluttershy then gasped before facing the crack that had the Flying Realm in it. "Rainbow Dash and everypony else in the Fire Realm! I need to see if they're okay!" She wasted no time, taking to the skies with a might leap.
"Fluttershy!" Luna raised her hoof, ready to go after her. She quickly stopped, facing her Pokemon and returning them all to their Poke Balls. "Return, all of you." After returning them all, Luna then pursued Fluttershy, using her magic to carry them.
Giga Lucario looked onward, still sitting down. There wasn't much else she could do right now after defeating the tree. At least, that's what she thought. But, Lucario, now seeing that there was hope and a chance for all of this to be over. This century-long torture, she would continue helping those that she tried to harm. The Aura Pokemon stood up tall, facing the multiple cracks in the realm.
If there was any time to put an end to Gardevoir's actions and finally be free from the Ataxia, now was the time.
Flying Realm.
"Ugh..." Rainbow Dash groaned as she was slowly opening her eyes to see the face of Fluttershy, Luna, Audino and Raboot staring at her. "You guys..."
"Thank goodness, you're awake!" Fluttershy said with a relieved smile. "Are you okay?"
"I feel...I feel..." Rainbow Dash was certainly affected by Gardevoir thanks to the power of Mega Evolution, Z-Power and to an extent the Bond Phenomenon that was within her. Each of those three forces had Aura in them somewhere, making Rainbow Dash a target.
Her body felt weaker than before as she struggled to sit up. Audino helped her up, giving Rainbow Dash strength. It was the same for Brawly, Bea, Rumble and especially Applejack. They also awoke with Luna's assistance, feeling weaker than before. Brawly and Bea's usually well-trained muscles felt lower than their peak performance.
"It must've been Gardevoir..." Brawly groaned. "She did end up giving herself our Aura after all."
"My muscles feel weak," said Bea. "I didn't think it would affect my muscles at all."
"She took something from me too." Scootaloo groaned as everyone else was waking up once the sleep aroma subsided. Her possession of the Firium Z, much like Rainbow Dash, made her vulnerable to Gardevoir as a victim.
"My ears burn..." Rumble's head wobbled from side to side. "A-Are we gonna recover from this."
"You will," Luna reassured. "Much like Ash, your Aura will recover. That goes for everyone else in the world. Both worlds, really. For now, we have others to help."
"Do we have to do it now?" Sweetie Belle yawned. "Maybe five more minutes of sleep?"
"If we don't, then only a few of us will have the chance of leaving this realm." Luna grabbed Sweetie Belle who was still feeling tired from the sleep aroma.
"About that..." Roseluck scratched her mane. "Fluttershy. I heard something from Gardevoir earlier. I was dozing out there for a bit but I could hear something even that aroma got me."
"You did?" Fluttershy looked at Roseluck.
"Gardevoir let you go. And Audino too, now that I remember." Once Roseuck revealed this information, everyone's head and attention turned to the pegasus. Fluttershy scrunched her face afterwards. "She even said some nice things about you. And...that's all I could gather before I was completely out."
"Is that so?" Luna nodded before kicking into realization. "Aha! Fluttershy! You can help fix this!"
"I can?"
"If Gardevoir let you and Audino go, then you must be the major exception to it all. Did something happen prior to Gardevoir choosing to let you go?" Luna asked.
"Something did happen. Fluttershy was kind to her and all that." Brawly responded. "I'm guessing that's what did the trick to let her and Audino go."
"Then you must be the one to stop Gardevoir." Luna stared Fluttershy deep into the eyes. "Perhaps by convincing her."
"I could try but...Gardevoir made up her mind already." Fluttershy shook her head, denying the suggestion. "She's going to go through with it, no matter what. And I don't think talking her out of it is going to work."
"I see..." Luna sighed. "What a shame...Then the far more physical approach is what we need. We can try those cracks in the sky since they've just appeared. Can the rest of you stand?"
"Kind of." Brawly stood up, but he got on his knee afterwards. "Not really." But here to help him and the others that have had their energy sapped out was Audino with Heal Pulse.
"Audino."
"Which realm haven't we done yet?" Bea asked.
"Everypony should've been in at least all of them...But the one I opened up myself was the Dark Realm. Did anypony enter the Dark Realm?" Luna replied with another ask.
"Not many. The only pony I saw enter it was Diamond Tiara." Sweetie Belle answered.
"By herself?!" Luna and the others gasped. This sounded like a big deal. Diamond Tiara was on her lonesome with just her Purrloin. Her only Pokemon.
Dark Realm.
"Woohoo!" But despite everyone's fears and worries, in truth, Diamond Tiara was enjoying herself despite having the smallest group with just Purrloin by her side. The location of the Dark Realm was by far the largest one.
It was space. From the Sun, other stars, planets, galaxies and strange nebula forces that flowed throughout the cosmos. And floating there was Diamond Tiara, who could surprisingly breathe here as well.
Purrloin was doing the same, enjoying herself. The two of them had yet to notice the crack that Luna had made connecting to this realm a while ago. They were too immersed in this.
Speaking of Luna, she had poked her head through the crack in the Dark Realm after learning about where Diamond Tiara and Purrloin were. She soon discovered that this realm had the location of the cosmos.
"Diamond Tiara! Purrloin!" Luna shouted their names. But once she did, she lowered her head, knowing that no one in space could hear any shouts. That was entirely pointless.
If this was the actual space.
"Princess Luna?!" Hearing her shout, Diamond Tiara had responded, alerting the Princess of the Night. "Is that you?!"
"Diamond Tiara! Thank goodness! Where are you, my little pony?!" She fully entered the Dark Realm, treading into the cosmos. Luna used the magic of Lunar Ire to enhance her vision. By doing so, she could see great distances in even space itself.
And within her vision were Diamond Tiara and Purrloin, also wondering where the Princess of the Night was. After finding their location, Luna made her way there.
Diamond Tiara held Purrloin before landing on a passing asteroid. By following the sight and lighting up the cosmos with her magic for a better view, Luna ended up finding Diamond Tiara and Purrloin sitting on the asteroid.
"There you two are." She said, appearing in front of them with a relieved sigh. "Are you doing alright?"
"Doing great. Is something wrong?"
"Oh. I would've thought being in a place resembling space would've been dangerous. But so far, nothing has happened to as compared to everything else happening in the other realms. Why is that?"
"I don't know. But it's fun to roam around this place." Diamond Tiara shrugged. "I feel like a queen here! And I guess everypony else over there." The little death pony aimed her hoof past some moving stars. Right past those moving stars, another door could be seen.
The door to the Steel-Type Realm. It was sitting there with nothing intruding it. Through that door, Shining Armor could most definitely be found along with Aegislash. Similar to Diamond Tiara and Purrloin, it was just them.
"Steel? Shining Armor is through there...is he the only one in that realm?" Luna asked.
"I checked earlier cause I wanted t see where that door went to. And it's just him and Aegislash. Plus a really big castle too." She answered the alicorn.
"Ah. I see. It's good that all four of you are still well. But this means we need to end this soon. There should be only 2 types left to cover. Fairy and Electric if I'm right. Unless Ash's group had finished there as well."
"Wait, does this mean I'll have to stop floating around?" Diamond Tiara pouted. "But I like this place..."
"Perhaps when all of this is said and done, Ash and I can bring you here. How does that sound?"
"Fair enough." She would take it. Along with Purrloin. But there was something grabbing her curiosity. "But uh...what did you all go through? Cause you're making it sound like it's better than this. And I don't know how you can get any better than space!
"Well...where do I begin?" Luna was looking for a good place to start. There were a few. But the first thing that came to mind was Gardevoir. However, before she could give one to Diamond Tiara, the inevitable happened.
All of the stars in the cosmos stopped moving as the asteroid underneath had shattered, starting Diamond Tiara. "Oh!" She screeched before rapidly floating in Luna's direction. "What was that?!"
"By my father's mane!" Luna bellowed at the top of her lungs, almost using her Royal Canterlot Voice. She had seen something that soon Diamond Tiara would have the not-so-wonderful pleasure of seeing.
A Black Hole.
Bug Realm. 2 minutes prior to the Black Hole appearance.
In the BUg Realm, throughout the massive colony, Gardevoir had just felt the defeat of the Tree of Beginning and Harmony from the Grass Realm. Once more, another overpowering force that she had influenced was now down and out.
"Again..." She said as she was currently eluding Rarity and her Pokemon. She had done it successfully, using the massive size of the colony and the untold millions of hives that reside here. But the threat of Pheromosa's speed was still relevant.
Gardevoir could see that she was playing with formidable opponents. Trainers that had formed bonds with their Pokemon to the point where even powerful forces weren't enough to truly stop them. Gardevoir smiled afterwards. "I suppose I should acknowledge their strength. They are a challenge. Then it's time for me to stop holding back. This is where we close everything off."
The Embrace Pokemon had decided. The time to put an end to this confrontation was nigh. And soon, her freedom from Ataxia and return to reality.
Gardevoir knew that there was still some of Applejack's extravagant Aura that she had yet to use. Not only that, but Ash's Aura, which was far higher, was still up for grabs.
Gardevoir found something. Applejack's Aura was higher than she expected as she could utilize more of it. And upon utilizing it, the Embrace Pokemon felt another adrenaline rush that would make anyone lose it from how overwhelming this was. But not her. Afterwards, the Psychic-Fairy-Type had then used her enhanced Psychic capabilities. With the separation of her arms, Gardevoir had split apart a majority of the hives within the colony.
Adagio, Aria, Sonata, Fleur and Minuette who were all still in other hives felt another shift in them. But this felt more than just a shift. This was total separation as they started screaming from this Psychic manipulation. The same went for Rarity and her Pokemon. The Leavanny all used their strings to hold on tight while Pheromosa held Rarity close to her.
Gardevoir was doing more than just moving the colony, causing it to rip out of the ground, but she was also moving everything in the other realms. The amusement park for the Fire Realm, the GameShow room and Canterlot in the Psychic Realm, the merged city of Pallet Town and Ponyville and more.
And with this further expansion of strength, Gardevoir had summoned a Black Hole. Multiple. The first one appeared in the Bug Realm, right at the centre of it all. Immediately, it started its overwhelming gravitational pull, bringing the hives towards it.
"Is that a black hole?!" Minuette screeched as she and the others finally found each other amidst the ever-growing chaos.
"W-When did that happen!?" Fleur gasped, backing away as the hive she stood on was being pulled towards the devastating singularity where nothing, nothing light can escape from.
And soon, more black holes appeared in the other realms as well.
Dark Realm.
And that led to this. With the emergence of a black hole in the cosmos, there was only one conclusion to all of this. Everything in space would be devoured. And the black hole wasn't just pulling everything in, it was expanding via Gardevoir's control.
Nearby stars had already been sucked in by its pull as its expanding size was covering the beautiful cosmos with absolute darkness while also making an enigmatic and hard-to-describe sound.
"We need to go. Now!" Luna quickly grabbed onto Diamond Tiara and Purrloin, already wanting to leave before they get sucked in. However, the speed of this Black Hole was unnecessarily fast. With Gardevoir still at the helm, planets and galaxies were being consumed in mere seconds from its growing size.
And with its size increase, its width also grew, while also controlling gravity. Especially the gravity around Luna, Diamond Tiara and Purrloin. Luna felt slower as the gravitational pull of the black hole was controlling the area she was flying on.
"Why aren't we going faster all of a sudden?!" Diamond Tiara screeched.
"The pull of the black is restraining gravity!" Luna turned around to face the black hole, flapping her wings as furiously as she could. She even used Lunar Ire's magic around her wings to give her an extra boost. And while she could move faster, it wasn't quick enough to outpace the growing black hole.
With the pull, the realm on the other side was being affected too. The Black Hole threatened to consume the cracks, essentially potentially sealing them off forever. Luna looked around to see how even everything on the side had been consumed so swiftly. And that was when she saw the Black Hole encroaching on the crack.
"No!" Luna yelled as she fired a blast of magic towards the darkness that was about to consume the entrance to the Grass Realm. However, that proved to be useless as the darkness had consumed her beam. At that moment, Luna's heart sank at about the same speed as the Black Hole.
Giga Lucario's head could be seen as she tried helping. But even she was helpless against the Black Hole as it overshadowed her and the cracks. The crack to the Grass Realm had been consumed by the Black Hole. And with this consumption, the gravitational pull increased.
"Purr!" Purrloin cried out as she was pulled away from Luna's grip from the superior force. Acting rapidly, Diamond Tiara grabbed onto her partner's tail to save her. "Loin!"
"P-Purrloin!" She spoke with clenched teeth.
"Hold on, you two!" Luna cried out before turning her head, using her magic to blast a large beam on the other side. This beam would propel her forward, but it didn't matter as there was no exit currently. "I'll have to make a new entrance! Somewhere!"
Luna was hoping to make a brand new entrance but with the abundance of the black hole, that could be difficult as space itself was being contorted by the pull. It closed in on Luna, outpacing her at last. Diamond Tiara could not hold onto Purrloin for much longer as tears were beginning to form.
Luna closed her eyes, covering her, Diamond Tiara and Purrloin in a shield of magic as the black hole had outdone them. Even with Lunar Ire's magic, Luna wasn't sure what to do in this instance as the sounds of the black hole came to them.
But then, as it would seem that they would be pulled in, something happened in a flash. A dark flash. The darkness from the Black Hole had been pushed back. Not with a gentle push but a hard one. Something akin to a baseball bat hitting a baseball at full force. It even made a booming sound with a large shockwave behind it. The darkness had also been swallowed up by something else that was moving at great speeds.
Luna noticed that she, Diamond Tiara and Purrloin were fine. In fact, the gravitational pull that threatened them was non-existent. At least for the meanwhile. And appearing above them, making Luna gain a hopeful smile was her ace and partner.
Darkrai.
"Darkrai!" Luna exclaimed with joy, instantly hugging the Pitch-Black Pokemon. "I can't believe you're here! H-How did you even find your way to this realm?!"
"I saw that you were unconscious for 14 minutes over at Twilight's Castle," said Darkrai.
"14 minutes?!" Luna gasped along with Diamond Tiara. "It certainly hasn't felt like 14 minutes at all...Time must work differently here. But how did you get here in the first place?"
"Dreams and nightmares take part in the mind. Even when unconscious, I can still interact with others as if they were asleep. It wasn't difficult for me to show up here at all."
"You're amazing, Darkrai!" Diamond Tiara's eyes lit up with stars. "But...how did you deal with the black hole?"
"And aren't you susceptible to gravity as well?" Luna asked.
"A Black Hole is darkness. Anything involved with darkness, I can manage. As for gravity, my experience with Empress Twilight has forced me to improve on that vital weakness. You should know that as well, Luna."
"Hehehe...R-Right." Luna chuckled nervously. "But now that you're here, I should catch you up to speed. For now, get rid of that Black Hole. The door that leads to Shining Armor should be somewhere. But start with that spot that reveals a crack." She aimed her hoof at the area where the crack originally was.
"I'm on it." Darkrai got to work. He held the three of them, carrying them while also heading for the black hole. Darkrai, being the master of darkness, revelled in this. This was essentially his playing ground.
He hed his claw ou, interacting with the black hole's darkness and gripping it. As if it were a bedsheet. Even Luna couldn't help but gawk at what she was seeing. With her own eyes, she saw Darkrai rip some of the darkness off of the black hole, revealing the crack that was hidden. And through that crack was Giga Lucario, still looking through.
"LUCA?"
"Lucario! DOn't come through yet! Let Darkrai handle it!" Luna shouted. "In the meantime, go and help everypony else, please!"
"RRR!" Lucario was on it. She was already thinking it either way.
Darkrai continued his job, using his bare claws to rip into the darkness. Not even the gravitational pull was stopping Darkrai from getting his violent claws on them. But Darkrai wanted to make quicker progress.
And the best way to do so went beyond just grabbing and ripping. Darkrai dug his claws into the blackness of the Black Hole, making sure not to let go as he started dragging his claws through the darkness, leaving visible claw marks along the way. He was tearing it apart as if he was a cat being given free rein over the living room. Purrloin was tempted to do the same but would most likely end up being snatched by the darkness.
With brute force and a dash of impressive speed, Darkrai had torn the darkness apart, giving some of it to himself. Not only that but the door to the Steel Type Realm had been unleashed. However, this was only one black hole currently on the loose.
"There's more," Darkrai said. "This isn't the only Black Hole I felt when approaching here. Everywhere else is experiencing it too."
"Then we must hurry! Before they're all swallowed by the darkness. We'll start with the Steel Realm! Onwards, Darkrai!"
Darkrai opened the door to the Steel Realm, quickly leaving this realm behind. He would have to be fast and deal with every Black Hole in the other realms as soon as he could. A total of 17 to deal with. Previously 18 but not anymore.
Diamond Tiara and Purrloin bid farewell to the cosmic area of the Dark Realm and all of the beautiful lights that inhabited the cosmos. But, they knew they would be back someday.
Electric Realm.
At the Electric Realm, Ash and Cynthia managed to get rid of every earth wall that had constantly blocked them off thanks to the help of Dragonite and Garchomp. And upon finally freeing themselves, they could focus on their next task. Unfortunately, this group had yet to be aware of the approaching devastating force that was not Gardevoir.
But Gardevoir would show up either way. Wanting Ash's Aura, she reappeared, better than ever via teleportation, hovering in the air and standing above Ash, Cynthia, Goh and Chloe.
"Gardevoir!" Ash cried out.
"Pikachu!"
"That kept you all occupied for a good amount of time." said the Embrace Pokemon with her arms crossed. "During that time, I took the pleasure of absorbing the Auras of some of your friends. Especially the Aura of Applejack. It's amazing, isn't it?"
"You took Applejack's Aura?!" Cynthia gasped.
"And it's amazing!" Gardevoir smirked, flexing the newly obtained Aura with a powerful pulse that let out an azure blue light. Ash could certainly recognize this as Applejack's Aura. But then, Gardevoir's smirk morphed into a frown. "Even so...I've learned my lesson not to underestimate you. You're certainly formidable Pokemon Trainers."
"We sure are." Ash grinned, adjusting his hat.
"Which is why I can't let you leave. I now know that even in reality, you'll find a way to make things hard for me." Gardevoir then released her arms, clenching her fists before descending to the ground. "Come. While your friends deal with black holes, I will personally defeat you all here, trap you and take all of your Aura for myself."
"Bring it on!" Ash was up for Gardevoir's challenge along with Cynthia and Goh. Chloe was a bit nervous about this but soon decided to try what she could to guarantee their escape.
Darkrai was now here to add some help. However, many black holes were currently eating away at the other realms, swallowing them in darkness gradually. Seemingly the final confrontation with Gardevoir was nigh as the journey continues.
The Steel Realm. By far the brightest location due to how much steel there was. Everything shimmered and shined from the iron, titanium, silver, gold, silver, cobalt, platinum and more metals that reside here.
And all these metals made up the landscape. Titanium mountains and platinum castle with golden castle walls. The location didn't look like anyplace anyone had been to before.
Especially to Shining Armor, who was currently within the castle with his Aegislash. He sat down on a throne made out of platinum, wondering what to do. Much like everyone else, thanks to Rift interference, Shining Armor had been dragged into this mess.
He's been exploring and sitting at this castle for quite some time, not going through anything eventual at all. A way out hadn't even been found yet. Shining Armor started whistling to try and kill some time while Aegislash was just polishing his bladed body.
"Bit uh...bit quiet, don't you think?" He finally spoke, asking his partner Aegislash.
"Aegis."
"Mm. This is a nice castle though..." Shining then navigated his head throughout the platinum throne room. "Very nice." He nodded a few times. This awkward silence was unbelievably painful to him as he was trying everything he could think of to kill this silence. "You know...I'm technically a prince if you think about it."
"Aegislash?"
"Yeah. Well...I mean...Cadence is a still princess. I mean we're married and rule an empire so I think she's more than just a princess by now but hey...rules are rules." He shrugged. "But if I was a king, I'd uh...Hmm..." Shining then thought to himself, but couldn't come up with anything. "I don't what I'd do."
"Slash." Aegislash was just going along with this story while continuing his polish.
"I mean, I guess I'd have a brand-spanking-new armour based off my favourite childhood hero." He grinned, liking that idea. "Oh and a crown too. Made out of Mega Stones...Yeah..."
Once again, silence met the room. Afterwards, Shining Armor started adjusting himself on the throne, trying to find a comfortable position. Though that was fairly difficult considering the chair was made out of metals. "And about Flurry Heart...The Flurry Heart from Universe 6, I mean. We should get to finding her real parents soon."
"Aegis."
"And the Flurry Heart that Cadence and I have could learn a lot from her older parallel self. That's a sentence." Shining Armor then scratched his mane, still trying to find a good position. "Ugh...This throne sucks...Maybe I should just head for Cadence and Flurry Heart now. Nothing too special here anyway."
Right as he finished that sentence, something major finally happened. A shift in gravitational pressure and a horrible sound had echoed through the skies of the Steel Realm. "Aegis?!"
"What was that?!" Shining Armor and Aegislash quickly rushed to the outside. There, that's when they saw the emergence of a Black Hole. One of the many black holes made by Gardevoir, currently spotted in the other realms. It appeared as a simple hole before starting to slowly expand. "A Black Hole?! How?!
"Slash?!"
The black hole grew ferociously, ready to pull in what it could. The mountains were already starting to tremble. Even the walls of the castle were being pulled in with cracks beginning to show. Aegislash was unaffected by the trembling due to being a levitating ghost but Shining Armor was.
Naturally, the most basic and expected reaction was to start panicking. And even for the Captain of the Royal Guard, a Black Hole is absolutely terrifying to anyone. A force that can and will absorb anything to the point where not even light could escape. Shining Armor held his breath in, ready to let out the most panicked scream he could make and run even though he knew it was hopeless.
However, that's when the unexpected happened. Light fought back against the darkness. More specifically, the light that shined from the steel. It emitted a flash so vibrant that even the darkness from the Black Hole had been pushed back. Albeit briefly.
Shining Armor opened one eye to witness this stellar showcase of counteraction. Certainly, a counter that, in his mind, should not be possible.
"Huh...That's funny. That's not how science works. Then again, what do I know about science? That's Twily's thing." He shrugged as the Black Hole was still moving but the light radiating from the metals were fighting back.
They could be seen being absorbed by the black hole as even light itself could not escape its pull. However, there was so much light in this realm that even the Black Hole was struggling. The darkness was even being pierced by these vibrant lights.
"Aegislash, let's go! While the light does that, we need a way out of here or else we'll be stuck in that Black Hole forever!" A way out was suggested. Shining Armor and Aegislash started moving. But the castle was all they ould venture. Although, it was fairly large.
Despite the size of it, Shining Armor and Aegislash have not come across anything worth taking notice of. The exit to the Steel Realm vanished before they knew it and there was no other door aside from the many doors that reside in the castle.
The Black Hole was absorbing all of the shining light that the steel gave off, gradually approaching as one of the titanium mountains had been ripped off, entering the Black Hole.
They went back into the indoors of the castle, continuing their seemingly pointless search for something important. The only important thing here was the Black Hole, unsurprisingly. But Shining Armor and Aegislash were dedicated to searching deeper than before.
They searched and searched while the light from the shining metals kept delaying the Black Hole's inevitable consumption of this entire realm. "Come on! There has to be something!" He said, opening the doors to other rooms that were all metal decorated.
Aegislash phased through the walls, but nothing of value was discovered, unfortunately. By the time they finish searching this castle for anything of worth, the Black Hole would still be moving.
Speaking of the Black Hole, reacting to the lights of the metal and how they were delaying and even fighting back, the Black Hole of Gardevoir adapted. Out of the darkness, black rays were shot out, attacking the shining structures.
The castle shook the impact of darkness with Shining Armor falling over. Constant rays were battering the castle, fighting back against the light that was giving the Black Hole some trouble. Shining Armor could feel his armour being pulled away by the approaching gravitational pull. Soon, his entire body would be pulled in if this were to continue.
But amidst the sudden destruction, Shining Armor had spotted something that could be of great help. As the castle trembled, the armour that could be found here fell. Shining looked at the armour for a bit before sparking an idea. "Aha!"
He brought the armour over with this magic. The armour also radiated off a radiant light that could potentially hold Black Hole. Not only that, but it was far heavier than what Shining Armor had on. And the pressure that his magic felt was a sign of that. Shining Armor removed his current armour, tossing it aside. Immediately, it had been snatched up by the pull of the Black Hole
Shining Armor watched as his armour was now lost to the darkness. But he had something new to replace it. "Eh. It'll probably be back in reality." He shrugged before placing the heavy armour of platinum on. And it suited him well. It complemented his white coat perfectly while giving an extra oomph to his name. Shining Armor.
"This'll do the trick!" He said with confidence. But he was also visibly shaking on the spot. Mostly because the armour was incredibly heavy and the Black Hole could still swallow him. "Needs some extra brightness to shine its way. Aegislash!"
"Aegis!" Aegislash already knew what to do. With his bladed body, he could give off a directional light towards the darkness of the Black Hole. But as he approached his partner, one of the rays broke through the castle, heading straight for Shining Armor. "Aegislash!"
"Oh!" Shining gasped before closing his eyes and attempting to use his magic to protect himself. But he wouldn't need his magic for this. As seen by when the ray connected. To his surprise, the ray did not pull him into the darkness of the Black Hole. Instead, the light of the armour had reflected it but Shining Armor did receive pushback from it. At least it wasn't a pullback.
"Slash?" Aegislash stood there, stunned at how Shining Armor's new armour reacted to the darkness.
"Hm?" Shining Armor looked at himself. Still in one piece as he had witnessed what this armour could do. Then, a proud grin formed on his face before chuckling. "Hahaha! I am invincible! Invi-" Just as he spoke, another ray came crashing in, hitting him from the side and knocking the unicorn over. "GAH!"
"Aegislash!"
"F-Fine..." Shining Armor's eyes spun as he sat up. Sitting up was even difficult due to how heavy the armour was for him. But he managed. "But this armour is amazing. With this, who cares what a Black Hole can do. Alright, Aegislash! Shoot some light in its direction!"
"Aegislash!" Aegislash, using his bladed body, the Royal Sword Pokemon added some extra shine, guiding the light of the bright armour towards the darkness. The overwhelming light of the armour combined with Aegislash's own light which was made possible from all that polishing pierced the darkness.
Shining Armor and Aegislash could even see a visible hole made by the piercing. The metal in this realm was far stronger than any of them were expecting as the Black Hole had been pushed back.
"A-Are we sure this is metal?" Shining Armor stammered.
"Aegis."
"Either way. It's working! Shine some more, Aegislash! Use Sacred Sword on it too!"
"Slash!" Aegislash coated his bladed body with the shining aura of Sacred Sword. He added his light to Shining Armour's platinum armour, sending it towards the darkness. Once more, the Black Hole had been pierced.
Aegislash and Shining moved to the side, allowing for the light to move along the darkness instead of just one position. Before, it was proven that light could not escape a Black Hole. But right before their eyes, it could most definitely do something to it. However, Shining Armor, despite how impressive this looked to him, made sure to remember this all took place within a mind.
The Black Hole kept adapting, however. Shooting out rapid rays of darkness to counteract Shining Armor and Aegislash's union of light.
"Oh! Aegislash, use King's Shield!"
"Aegis!" Aegislash got in Shining Armor's way, ready to defend him. But before the ray could reach the Royal Sword Pokemon, Aegislash felt a horrible premonition inf a split second. In that split second, he quickly pushed Shining Armor and himself out of the way, not blocking the rays of darkness. "Aegislash!"
"Ah! Hey!" Shining Armor cried out as the Black Hole rays struck the floor, pulling some metal in. "Aegislash?"
"Aegis! Aegis-Aegislash!" Aegislash hovered over his partner, rapidly explaining why he didn't block the rays. He used his cloth-like arms to communicate properly with Shining Armor. And the unicorn understood.
"Oh, I get it. Your steel won't be enough to hold it back..." Shining Armor nodded in understanding. While he was wearing armour fit for counteracting the Black Hole, Aegislash was more vulnerable than him. Thinking quickly, Shining Armor came up with something that could help.
He looked at the castle surroundings and how parts of it were being blown away by the rays or pulled off by the Black Hole. An idea involving this destruction came into fruition.
"Got it! Aegislash! Slash up parts of the castle and use them as a backup shield!" He commanded.
"Aegis!" Aegislash was on it. Using Sacred Sword, he easily sliced up parts of the castle walls in perfect pieces tailored to him. A makeshift shield of this incredibly durable metal would suffice greatly in this scenario. Once the materials had been gathered as Aegislash placed them onto his main shield.
Right on time as another ray was coming his way. After placing them on temporarily, Aegislash turned around, using his newly made shield combined with King's Shield to block the ray of darkness. And it worked. King's Shield combined with this metal had blocked the ray successfully.
"Nice!" Shining Armor agreed. "Okay, let's keep moving! There might be something we can still find in this place and-" Just as they were ready to jet off and find an entrance elsewhere, it came to them.
Mainly from above and from an outside force. They looked up to see a door being materialized out of thin air. On it, the Dark-Type symbol could be found. Shining Armor and Aegislash promptly stopped what they were doing. But Aegislash held his shield out at all times to block any incoming rays.
Appearing out of the door were Princess Luna, Darkrai, Diamond Tiara and Purrloin. Darkrai held them all, exiting the Dark Realm and entering the Steel Realm after dealing with a Black Hole of their own.
"Princess Luna!" Shining Armor exclaimed as Aegislash had deflected another incoming ray.
"Shining-" Luna paused, squinting her eyes as the brightness of the Steel Real caught her off guard. "Goodness, what is this intensity?"
"Hm? Are those rays coming out of the Black Hole?" Darkrai noticed how the Black Hole had a different behaviour, now shooting out rays. Some rays came his way, only for Darkrai to grab the Black Hole rays, crushing them." What happened here?"
"Ah, not much. We found this nice castle but there wasn't much. Then this Black Hole appeared out of nowhere! And then, this castle did have something useful for us. Like this armour! It gives off an amazing light that can fight back against the Black Hole."
"Impossible!" Luna exclaimed. "Light cannot escape from a Black Hole! Nor can it go against it!" She then squinted from the brightness again. "Ugh...But this light is unbelievably overwhelming."
"I thought so too. But this whole realm's strong enough to do so. The Black Hole's not even pulling everything in instantly because of it. I don't think this is natural light at all. Whatever it is, it's certainly effective."
"Hm..." Darkrai thought for a moment. "In that case, everyone needs it. The Black Holes have been summoned by Gardevoir in the other realms. Everyone is in danger of being pulled in. Unless we gave them these metals for protection."
"Oh. You raise a good point, Darkrai." The Princess of the Night nodded her head in understanding. "How do we gather all of it?"
"Leave that to us. Aegislash."
"Aegis!" Using Sacred Sword, Aegislash started cutting apart more of the castle, gathering as much metal as he can. With a chop here and there along with impressive speed, Aegislash was able to gather multiple pieces of metal fit for almost everyone. His swordsmanship was certainly top-notch.
However, just like before, the Black Hole started adapting. Seeing as the light was giving it trouble, it sent something new to deal with this issue. Emerging out of the black hole, the rays had then morphed, twisting with a flexible nature as they wrapped around parts of the castle. By wrapping around them, lights started flaring out of the darkness, only for the Black Hole to crush the light, trapping it inside.
"Hey! What's it doing?!" Diamond Tiara was the first to notice, pointing out the change in behaviour. Everyone looked onward as black tendrils with gravitational pulls came flying towards the group, ready to pull them in and crush the light that exuded from Shining Armor's new armour.
"Look out!" Darkrai got in front of them, using Dark Pulse to counter the incoming tendrils. A beam imbued with dark thoughts had clashed with tendrils head-on. However, the tendrils then split into smaller but still fairly large tendrils, heading for the others. "!" Darkrai gasped before noticing this separation.
"Purr!" Purrloin and Diamond Tiara were the first to pull in by the gravitational pull as a tendril was about to grab them. Only for Luna to grab her with her magic, pulling the earth pony and her Pokemon out of the way.
"Aegislash" Aegislash used King's Shield to block the tendrils, making sure the metal stayed on firmly. But the metal parts had been consumed by the tendrils with their light being crushed. "Aegis!"
"Oh no, Aegislash!" Shining Armor quickly pulled Aegislash away with his magic. The metal parts were now within the Black Hole, lost in the darkness. "It's grown past it! How?!"
"The Black Hole is adapting!" Darkrai exclaimed. "It must be Gardevoir knowing about the failures and changing how it behaves."
The tendrils then hovered above the castle as the speed of the Black Hole was finally increasing. Seeing this speed increasing, Luna and the other started dashing away from the approaching force as metal parts were being gathered, just in case they could still work.
The tendrils then raced through the castle, absorbing and destroying everything in its sight. Darkrai manipulated the shadows, trying to hold back the tendrils as much as he could.
They broke through the walls and floor, destroying the structures that supported them. Luna flew over a destroyed floor with Shining Armor taking a ride on Aegislash. Darkrai held onto Diamond Tiara and Purrloin closely.
However, one tendril snuck up on them. It emerged from the corners, blending in with the other tendrils before revealing itself once the rest were gone. And upon revealing itself, it grabbed onto Shining Armor's tail. Shining Armor gasped, feeling something around him. Right as he felt that, the tendril had then pulled him away.
"Shining Armor!" Luna and the others gasped.
"Aegislash!"
"Oaaaaah!" Shining Armor screamed as he was now within the full pull of the Black Hole. And no one was fast enough to catch him. Not even Darkrai as he tried using his shadows to grab Shining Armor, only for them to miss. Aegislash went ahead but was almost caught by another tendril.
Due to this, Shining Armor had been sucked into the Black Hole, becoming a part of the darkness as his screams came to an abrupt halt instead of just fading away into the background. Luna and the others stood there in shock, but they couldn't keep standing as they had to get a move on. Or else, they would be pulled in as well.
Electric Realm.
"Hm-hm." Meanwhile, Gardevoir had smirked, knowing of what had just happened from another realm. But she was also smirking for another reason. Right above the Electric Realm, another Black Hole was showing up right before Ash, Cynthia, Goh and Chloe's eyes.
"A B-B-Black Hole?!" Chloe stammered with absolute fear in her eyes.
"If I were an average Gardevoir, this would take most of my energy to do. But I'm not." Gardevoir said. "Oh, don't worry. Despite what you may think, being pulled in the Black Hole will only mean you're trapped in it forever. Your life will carry on. But it won't have any end. You should know something about that, right, Ash Ketchum?"
"Guess so..." Ash agreed with a serious tone.
"If I were you, I'd pay more attention to the Black Hole than to me!" Gardevoir flew towards Pikachu, Dragonite, Garchomp, Cinderace and Eevee, ready to continue their battle while the Black Hole was growing.
Steel Realm.
Within the Black Hole, just like with what Gardevoir had said, no life would end there. And the same went for Shining Armor, who currently awoke to absolute darkness. And that's exactly what was to be expected.
Absolute darkness and nothing else to see. Even if the Black Hole had an entryway, the outside could not be seen. Only the horrifying sounds of the Black Hole echoed out.
"Ugh..." Shining groaned, hearing nothing but the sounds of the Black Hole as his vision was limited. Only seeing black. It was jarring and fairly painful to see one colour that was never shifting in tone, saturation or anything. "I got swallowed up...Just great..."
Shining Armor then sighed, knowing that this was without a doubt the lowest point in his life. Far surpassing the start of the Canterlot Wedding and eve Ghetsis' attack on the Crystal Empire during the Empress' invasion. Being in a Black Hole far surpasses all of them in every way. The worst place and situation to be in.
"I can't see anything else...What's that sound like? Is this what it's like inside of a Black Hole?" At this point, he started speaking to himself, unsure of what to do. He wasn't even sure he was floating since he couldn't see anything. "Ah, it doesn't matter...I failed. This blows..."
Disappointed in his own struggle to escape from this, Shining Armor closed his eyes. Even though it was pointless to do so. He then started thinking about everything that has happened up to this point. There was nothing else to do but think anyway. His parents Night Light and Twilight Velvet came to mind first, bringing him into this world. And then, following with that was his little sister Twilight Sparkle.
Shining Armor formed a smile after thinking about them. But the smile only got bigger when thinking about Cadence and how they met. That was a major breakthrough in his life. And it got better along the way when introduced to Aegislash. Once a Honedge that was only in it for possession, now a loyal partner who aims to be the best swordsman out there.
And following that was his child. Two of them. One that exists in his universe and the other that comes from another. But he loved them equally. Both Flurry Hearts and their Pokemon. Shining Armor then thought about the empire and all the new ponies he had met there who became more than just subjects. Including the humans from the Pokemon World. While limited, formed strong bonds with him.
Shining Armor felt that he had made great progress along the way in his life. From getting the role he wanted, finding a nice family and friends along the way. However, despite all of this, Shining Armor knew that there was something missing.
And it all came back to two things. Flurry Heart and Aegislash. Shining Armor feared that the promise he made to her of bringing her original parents from Universe 6 back would never come to be. Especially with how there was more than one Black Hole loose.
Not only that, but he promised to be the one to carry Aegislash to that rank of a master swordsman. And that could never be with where he currently was. He then thought back to the words of Wikstrom of the Elite 4, during the end of the Trial of Chivalry.
"A knight fights for either the sovereign or for the weak who do not possess the strength to fight for themselves. It is when you fight to protect those you hold dear, that your strength increases many times. This is true for everyone out there in each world. Each universe. Farfetch'd. Ash. Goh. Scyther. Shining Armor. And Doublade."
With that reminder, Shining Armor opened his eyes, knowing that he couldn't allow this to be the end. Not until he's made up his promises. "If Ash won't stop until he's finished everything he's promised to do, then neither will I...!" Shining Armor found the strength to continue. "I have to get out of here...I won't let even a Black Hole stop me!"
Shining Armor then started thinking of what he could possibly do. Then, the unicorn noticed how he's been stuck in one position this whole time. The space of the Black Hole also felt as if it was beyond 3-Dimensional. Shining Armor then turned his body around as at the corner of his eye, he noticed a glimmer.
Glimmers from the metal parts that had been taken from the castle. They were still here, radiating light. Shining Armor turned to face them as he also saw new parts approaching. From this angle, he might've found the entrance. Then again, the entrance didn't matter due to the pull of the Black Hole.
"The metals!" Shining Armor floated over to them, grabbing the parts. "Even if the Black Hole's grown to resist them, these metals are something else. Their light could hold them back. Maybe...Maybe I can do something to make them all shine bright enough. I could slow the Black Hole down for the others or...call for help."
A new objective was made. Shining Armor gathered the parts of metals including the ones that flew in. Since multiple were being dragged within the Black Hole, Shining Armor had an endless supply. Plus some of them came from mountains, making Shining Armor's ideas accelerate.
Once he gathered some of the metals, he started clanging them together. And since they all constantly radiated a shining light that cud never die out even within the endless darkness of a Black Hole, their collision caused a spark of light that forced Shining Armor to close his eyes.
And with this mighty light, much like before, it affected the Black Hole. From the inside and the outside. The Black Hole howled as it then slowed down as seen on the outside. Darkrai and the others noticed this decrease in speed.
"It got slower again," Darkrai observed. "I thought it had adapted to surpass that."
"Strange..." Luan uttered as she had tears in her eyes, obviously distraught about Shining Armor.
"Aegislash!" But Aegislash believed it to be his partner. "Slash!
"What?!" Luna gasped. "Shining Armor! He's still alive?!"
"Mm. I should've told you. While Black Holes absorb everything, inside of them, nothing is destroyed. They all roam in endless cosmic darkness for all eternity. That goes for Shining Armor. He's still in there, floating in that darkness forever. But is it him?" They took a closer look.
And once they looked, a glimmer occurred in the middle. A tiny sparkle. The smallest sparkle they could ever see as it was faintly visible in the Black Hole. Luna used Lunar Ire's magic to have a closer look at the sparkle.
"Hrrgh!" Shining Armor was grunting within the Black Hole, colliding every metal he could find to make an increasing light. The more metals he gathered and put together, the brighter the sparkle. And it was certainly getting bigger with each collision. Luna gasped, seeing the growing sparkle.
"You're right! Something is happening within there! It must be Shining Armor!" Luna exclaimed. "But can he escape from it?"
"I can try something. I'm the only one who can touch Black Holes safely," said Darkrai. "But I'm not sure about what I'm about to do next."
"Please, Darkrai. You have to try. We didn't come this far in our journeys by just giving up, did we?" She shook her head.
"Not at all. Leave it to me!" Darkrai roared as he allowed potent darkness to radiate from his body. The Pitch Black Pokemon then approached the Black Hole, ready to get up close and persona with it. At the same time, with more objects being pulled in, Shining Armor kept increasing the light.
He breathed in and out with all of his muscles being pushed. But he persisted, pouring all of his sweat and tears into this to make the glow larger. He even used his magic to bring over more items to smash them together.
On the outside, Darkrai got close with the Black Hole, feeling its overwhelming pull. His training to resist gravity ever since his encounter with the Empress has prepared him for this. But it was still powerful. When close, Darkrai dug his claws into the centre of the Black Hole, ready to rip it with all of his might.
"Hmmrrgh...!" Darkrai growled as much like Shining Armor, it was taking all of his might to do so. It was hard to tell if Darkrai had muscles but if he did, they would be straining right now. In response to Darkrai, the tendrils came out, rushing to grab him.
But Darkrai retaliated by summoning claws of shadows around him, causing them to meet with the tendrils. They were getting swallowed, however, Darkrai kept summoning more to buy him some time.
"Come on..." Shining Armor panted. "Needs more shine! Brighter!" He roared, using his magic to increase the brightness. He even covered himself in magic as well. Shining Armor gave it a 100% of all that he had, exhausting himself rapidly. But he was going to make sure it was not all for nought.
He then gathered up the biggest piece he could hold, smashing it against another big piece that his magic could barely hold, creating the brightest light yet. And with this, the sparkle reached a point where it was not too minuscule as it radiated outside. It even damaged the Black Hole, overlaying it for a moment.
Darkrai witnessed this sparkle emitting out of the centre. Seeing this, he couldn't let himself be outdone either. Holding the tendrils back as one tendril wrapped around his neck, the Pitch Black had released all of the Infinity Energy inside of him as it could be seen leaking out.
And with that full effort push, he managed to rip open the inside of the Black Hole. A feat that very few would see. And once he ripped it apart, he saw Shining Armor, constant lights and some more darkness. "Shining Armor!"
"Darkrai!"
"Grab my claw!" Darkrai held his claw out, using the shadows to move inside. Shining Armor quickly leapt off of the metal parts, rushing to Darkrai's side. The claws grabbed Shining Armor's hand, pulling him forward. Luna chimed in, using her magic from afar to hold both of them. With this combination, they fought back against the gravitational pull of the Black Hole.
And thanks to the damage done to it, Shining Armor managed to fully escape from it. Afterwards, Darkrai used Dark Pulse, shooting himself backwards while holding onto Shining Armor. The Black Hole became slower once more as Shining Armor was saved.
Darkrai levitated towards the castle grounds, dropping Shining Armor off. Both of them were exhausted. Shining Armor more-so. Aegislash flew over to this partner, wishing he could hug him. But no arms sadly. However, he was happy and relieved either way.
"Hoh...I escaped a Black Hole..." Shining Armor said with a smile on his face. "Hahaha! I escaped a Black Hole! Wait till everyone hears bout this!"
"You can brag about your achievement after we leave!" Luna helped Shining Armor up. "Right now, our only exit the Dark-Type door we came through! Come along! Grab all the metal you can immediately!"
No time for rest. The Black Hole was still there. However, they remembered to bring the metals with them. Luna carried the most due to her amazing magic, having a town's worth of them in her hold. Darkrai grabbed the others, carrying them to the Dark-Type door. The Steel Ream may be gradually destroyed with the pace that the Black Hole was moving at. But no one was waiting to find out as the door to the Dark-Type Realm had been opened.
Electric Realm.
Meanwhile, at the Electric Realm, the conflict continued with a gradually approaching Black Hole. "Come out once more, Roserade!" Cynthia sent out her Roserade to help against Gardevoir. Pikachu had been pushed back by Gardevoir's Psychic along with Cinderace. Eevee had mimicked Pikachu's Thunderbolt with Copycat, shocking the Embrace Pokemon.
Gardevoir had been paralyzed. Not from Eevee but previously from Pikachu. She was then blown back by an incoming Sludge BOmb from Cynthia's Roserade, crashing through some electric pillars.
The Embrace Pokemon quickly used Fairy and Grass Magic to heal herself before recovering. But after her recovery, she felt the escape of another group. The Psychic-Fairy-Type couldn't help but smile. Usually, she would be frustrated. And she still was. However, something about how everyone had overcome difficult tasks inspired Gardevoir.
"What a fascinating group they are." She said, standing up. "I'm finding it hard to believe that trainers such as them exist. You have wonderful friends, Fluttershy." Gardevoir then looked at her arm before drawing out some more Aura. Even with this excitement growing, she was still shooting for victory. "But victory shall be mine."
A counter had been found against the Black Holes. The invincible and shining Steel-Type via various metals that came with it. Three types remain now. And Shining Armor had an unbelievable and otherworldly story to tell as the journey continues.
A cascade of earth walls had risen from the Electric Realm in a cylinder position. This was made possible by Gardevoir. Following the rise of the earth walls were gusts of winds that blew fiercely in multiple directions.
"C-Cinder...!" Cinderace was feeling weak, sliding back and getting on one knee.
"Cinderace, return!" Goh quickly returned Cinderace to its Poke Ball to let it rest. Goh quickly substituted for another Pokemon to deal with Gardevoir. And the best option in his eyes was his Scizor. "Go, Scizor!"
"Scizor!"
"Garchomp, move in with Swords Dance! Roserade, Sludge Bomb!" Cynthia ordered.
"Dragonite, come back for now!" Ash returned Dragonite for a momentary rest as Garchomp approached Gardevoir, flying past the others. Garchomp ended up being held back by a powerful headwind on Gardevoir's part. Gardevoir then used Dazzling Gleam, sending a bombardment of rainbows towards Garchomp.
"Rose!" However, before Roserade could use Sludge Bomb, she had sent out her hidden thorns, grabbing Garchomph with a wraparound and then later pulling her away from the rays of Dazzling Gleam.
"I've had enough of that Roserade!" Gardevoir's eyes locked onto Roserade as she had then focused all of her attention on the Bouquet Pokemon.
"Rade!" Roserade then jumped over Garchomp, unleashing Sludge Bomb from above. Gardevoir's eyes glowed as she manipulated the sludge with a Psychic vision. She then crushed into nothing before summoning a mass Psychic wave around Roserade. "Rose?!" Roserade could feel herself freeze in place as Gardevoir had even added Ice, sending a chill throughout the air.
Roserade was then blown back by the Psychic push along with an icy chill, dealing double the super-effective damage. The Bouquet Pokemon then tumbled on the ground as that was all she could take for a moment.
"Return, Roserade." Cynthia returned Roserade after seeing her faint. Gardevoir then formed two spheres of Fire and Water, putting them together with Electric in the middle. She then launched them before making another one, throwing it as well.
"Scizor, use Metal Claw!"
"Pikachu, Electroweb!"
"Scizor!" Scizor approached one of the spheres, cutting them apart with its claws. Pikachu restrained the other with a web of electricity, holding it as it was then later crushed and let out an outburst of energy.
"Garchomp, Poison Jab!"
"Gar!" Garchomp then ran ahead of Pikachu and Scizor, approaching Gardevoir at a quicker pace with poisonous claws. Gardevoir gasped, trying to use more headwind, only for Garchomp to keep ahead, delivering a super-effective Garchmop to Gardevoir. "Chomp!"
Gardevoir was sent back by the blow, wincing before holding her arm out while flying back. She had then summoned a whirlwind of ice that went straight for Garchomp.
"Quick Attack!"
"Eevee, Copycat!"
"Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu and Eevee came to Garchomps rescue, knocking her aside with Quick Attack as the Mach Pokemon had been saved with Pikachu and Eevee taking the ice whirlwind instead. "P-Pika!"
"E-Eevee!"
"Garchomp!" But returning the favour for a bit was Garchomp, catching Pikachu in the air. "Gar!"
"Pika!"
"Vee?"
But there was one other threat incoming. The Black Hole that was present here. Unexpectedly, it had expanded as Gardevoir stood behind it, unaffected by its gravitational pull. "Now. What will you do about this?" She asked.
"She's right. We haven't thought about what to do against that!" Goh exclaimed.
"I don't know!" Chloe shrugged, shaking her head.
"That's a most troublesome thing..." Cynthia narrowed her eyes with a visible sweatdrop showing. But then, a smile formed as she looked at Ash. "But it's nothing new to you, is it, Ash?"
"Nah. This isn't the first time I've dealt with a Black Hole. And I guess before, it was never gonna be the last."
"You've dealt with a Black Hole before?!" Goh and Chloe both screeched. They had just heard something ludicrous that would seem impossible to almost anyone.
"Yeah. But I had help. My link with Azelf and the Lake Trio is what helped me destroy that one Black Hole from destroying Sinnoh. But Azelf's not here right now." Ash explained another moment in his past adventures momentarily.
"You had me worried there." Gardevoir chuckled. "If you did have Azelf with you, then it would be a different story. But that doesn't look to be the case now, does it?"
"Azelf, Uxie and Mespirit may not be here, but we've got a Psychic-Type just as great as them. Passion!" Ash pointed at Gardevoir. "The best Gardevoir I've seen and know!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"I hate that you're right..." Gardevoir didn't argue back. In terms of Psychic potential, Passion did have her beat in that category. "Doesn't matter! I'll have your Aura before she can even reach here! If she and the others can withstand the other Black Holes..."
"Other Black Holes?! You don't mean...!" Cynthia stepped forward.
"Hm. Can Passion form various of them across all other realms?" Gardevoir asked before gaining no response. "I didn't think so. They'll all be trapped within endless darkness and the Ataxia realm as well, with no one to stop me in reality."
Across the 18 Realms, everyone was currently escaping from the Black Holes once they saw them approach. Everyone was trying to find a way out of here as soon as they could so that they wouldn't be pulled in. None of them could do anything to counteract it anyway.
And over at the Bug Realm. Rarity, Adagio, Aria, Sonata, Fleur and Minuette were currently moving from hive to hive in the gigantic colony to try and escape from it. They were all holding onto Pheromosa who was the fastest here. Rarity had returned all of her Leavanny as Pheromosa zoomed around, unable to find an exit.
Each trainer went to different realms to help everyone else eventually meet up again. But some of those realms were either empty and on the verge of being destroyed, or were full of trainers that were still in danger of being destroyed.
But right at the Bug Realm, Shining Armor, Aegislash, Luna, Darkrai Diamond Tiara and Purrloin had shown up with the perfect counter to the Black Hole.
"Princess Luna!" Rarity cried out as Pheromosa came to a screeching halt.
"Quick! All of you! Put these on!" Luna held out the special metals that radiated radiant lights. They also reshaped them to match everyone's body type. Courtesy of Aegislash.
"Oooh." Rarity, Adagio and Fleur liked the look of this strangely bright metal, putting them on immediately. They all wore them as mostly armour and nothing more. And they did this while the hives they stood on were being pulled in. But once the armour had been put on, the gravitational pull that they felt.
As for the doors, Luna kept them open with her magic. Lunar Ire being able to interact in various ways with the 18 Realms came in handy. And to an extent Darkrai who had just recently shown up. "Through here!" Luna said whilst standing next to the open door. They all passed through, promptly leaving the Bug Realm.
And once they arrived on the outside, they found that a few others were already wearing the shining metal armours as Luna and her group had stopped by the other realms.
"Almost everyone is here," Luna commented as a few were missing. "My sisters and a few others are all that are missing. This armour that you all hold should keep you away from the Black Holes and increase your chances of escaping."
"But we're already out of the realms," said Rainbow Dash. "Won't they stop there?"
"Not at all." Luna shook her head. "Gardevoir intends to pull everything in. Including the outside of the 18 Realms. We're not safe even here. But we can avoid this potential eternal imprisonment if we gather everyone and stop Gardevoir. Which realm is she in?"
"She's after Ash. So it would make sense that she would be in the Electric Realm." Mayor Mare replied. "That's where we'll definitely find her."
"Then some of us should make our way there as soon as we can. And also visit...that realm!" Luna aimed her hoof at the Dragon Realm. "Spike should through that realm. Take the armour to him and his Pokemon immediately. I will go for my sister and her group."
"I'll head for Ash." Brock volunteered to enter the Electric Realm. "I guess we all will." The ferocious howls of the Black Holes could be heard, rumbling the realms. They were collectively growing and could potentially meet in one spot, making a far more ferocious force than just multiple black holes.
"Hurry! Before the Black Holes get larger!" Luna cried out.
Everyone spread out. Most went for the Electric Realm as Luna helped open the door for them. She multitasked as well, using her magic to open the Dragon door. Everyone had passed through the two doors with some off to help Ash and the others off to find Spike. Luna would mainly focus on her sister, Twilight, Cadence, Delia, Starlight and Pinkie Pie who were through the Fairy Door. Shining Armor and Flurry Heart also went for the Fairy Door, joining Luna.
Dragon Realm.
The Dragon Realm. Out of all of the realms, this was the most beautiful. Even more than the Water and Grass Realm A lush paradise with a majestic waterfall that was larger than most islands. The area itself was massive to hold such a waterfall. A plethora of caves could be found, each radiating different colours.
A luscious patch of grass is accompanied by a sundry of flower bushes and shrubs. A single ornamental piece stood near the right edge, seemingly made by a child, and all the more endearing because of it.
Trees that covered parts of the paradise in a beautiful pattern with the golden ray of the Sun beaming through it. A rainbow could even be seen in the distance. A cliff with a two-toned tree that sparkled beautifully with light green and teal green.
Standing at the centre was a massive statue of a Dragon head. Arriving at this paradise were Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Scootaloo and Applejack, here to grab Spike.
"Woah..." Rainbow Dash gawked as she and others took a moment to take in the sight of this paradise. "This is the Dragon Realm? Not what I was expecting..."
"Spike got the best out of all of us..." said Applejack. "Where is he by the way?"
"Probably in either one of those caves or near that giant Dragon head." Rarity pointed her hoof forward. "Doesn't it look like a Charizard head to you?"
"Pssh. Charizard's not a Dragon. Well, it is but...ya know...only with the egg group and all but..." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Nevermind! Let's just find Spike and get out of here before the Black Hole shows up."
"Uh...Or they'll show up!" Scootaloo's voice became shaky along with the movements of her hooves. She had seen something truly intimidating. But what could be far more intimidating than a Black Hole? Well, the main difference was the approaching threat could do more than just trap them forever.
Over the horizon as a comically large horde of almost a thousand Kommo-o could be seen approaching rapidly. They leapt over the glorious mountains and the large cliff, heading straight for Rainbow Dash's group. This was an overwhelming amount of them.
"What is that number?!" Rarity gasped as Scootaloo stayed very close to Rainbow Dash for absolute safety. The Kommo-o were approaching with ferocity, making the ground tremble while also moving at aggressive speeds.
The group were reasonably cautious about this. They held their Poke Balls out, getting ready to fight back if that was the case. However, they had never dealt with such an overwhelming number before.
However, bursting into view with a ginormous size in response to the approaching Kommo-o was not a Black Hole, but the Giga Lucario who was off to help others. And she certainly appeared to help here.
Appearing as a mere faint image in the background and soon a being that passed through the clouds, Giga Lucario next to the land where Rainbow Dash and her friends resided, even matching the astronomical size of this island.
"Oh! Lucario!" Rainbow Dash gasped after seeing this titan of an Aura Pokemon emerge.
"LU!" Lucario put his arms out, preparing to stop all of the Kommo-o. She was certainly large enough to do so. An Aura Sphere was even being prepared. And if it meant blowing the place sky-high with the attack then she was willing to do so. At least it would be done before the Black Hole could grab everything.
Now that the Giga Lucario was here, Rainbow Dash and the others felt a bit more confident. Lucario was essentially enough to handle a horde due to her size as they were about to engage the many Kommo-o.
"Wait!" But a shout promptly stopped everything. It stopped Lucario, Rainbow Dash's group and it even stopped the Kommo-o dead in their tracks. This voice sounded familiar.
Appearing on the back of a Salamence with his figure shining with the sun, casting some shadows that masked him and Salamencewas Spike. Alongside Axew who was also on Salamence's back.
"Spike!" They shouted as Salamence descended. Lucario promptly lowered her arms afterwards. Upon arriving at the scene, hopping off Salamence's back, Spike appeared to them all with a necklace of gemstones. The same gemstones found in the caves that illuminated different colours.
"Heya." Spike greeted, showing off his necklace by adjusting it. "Glad you all could make it. Sorry about the Kommo-o. They were pretty cautious and defensive at that time. They still are. Say you're sorry, all of you." Spike turned to the many Kommo-o.
"Kommo-o." They all said in unison, apologizing.
"And you tamed them all too? How?" Applejack asked.
"Turns out, Kommo-o love baby dragons. And I'm one so...it was safe sailing there. I got to explore this paradise and boy is it amazing! Can you believe a place like this even exists?! And we can visit it any time?! Kinda makes me wonder if there's someplace like this in the real world."
"That's great and all, Spike. But we need you to put this on and come with us." Rainbow Dash held out the special metal to Spike. "Stat."
"Huh? Why? What's going on?" Spike grabbed the armour that was made exclusively for him. "Did everyone find a way out of here?"
"It's more than that, Spike. There's a Black Hole issue we are all facing. We called you about the Gardevoir incident, didn't we?"
"Oh yeah. Gardevoir. I got kinda lost when that stuff came up. This place was just so beautiful and-" Spike chuckled, rubbing the back of his head before having a realization. The word Black Hole came back to him. "Wait, what?! There's a Black Hole around here?!"
"Not yet here." Rarity shook her head. "But soon, one will show u here. I'm generally surprised it hasn't been touched yet. But we can maybe avoid that before it could happen. The best approach is to defeat Gardevoir and we all might be free of these realms."
"So, all we have to do is defeat Gardevoir then, huh? Oh. That's good to know." He chuckled nervously, still intimidated by the Black Hole that could soon approach. "But this whole place is gonna go too...Bummer." His head lowered in disappointment.
"They're all at the Electric Realm," said Rainbow Dash before correcting herself. "Well, almost all of 'em. Princess Luna's gone to the Fairy Realm right now. But most of them are there. We take out Gardevoir with large numbers and we're home free."
"Hm-hm-hm." Spike and Axew nodded in unison. "Well, that's perfect. All of these Kommo-o hold a huge grudge against Gardevoir. They wanna be free and at peace after being stuck here for so long. So...how about we take all these Kommo-o to Gardevoir?"
"All of them, you say?" Rarity liked that idea. "This amount is stellar. Far more than what Gardevoir could even be expecting when you put it like that. An excellent idea Spikey-wikey."
"I know." He nudged Axew with a cheeky grin. "She'll never see it coming. Hey guys!" He then turned to all of the Kommo-o, shouting. "Who wants to take out Gardevoir and get out of here once and for all?!"
"KO!" They were all in agreement. No second thoughts whatsoever.
"They're in," Spike said as they now had a mountain's worth of help coming along the way. "Say uh...what's with the super big Lucario though? I didn't get that through the call."
"She's helpful. Don't worry about it too much. Right now, let's go. Gardevoir's going down!" Rainbow Dash approached the door, dashing through it without any time to spare. Rarity and Applejack followed suit along with their Pokemon. Then Scootaloo and soon the overwhelming amount of Kommo-o that were all being led by Spike.
All of the Kommo-o entered through the door. It would take a while but they would get there. Lucario turned into a large wisp, disappearing and heading for the Electric Realm. It wouldn't just be Ponyville, Canterlot, the Crystal Empire and a bit of Pallet Town and Vermillion City against Gardevoir. It would be many vengeful Kommo-o with a heavy grudge.
Electric Realm.
Meanwhile, back at the Electric Realm, as this one Black Hole was ever-growing, slowly starting to pull in parts of the landscape. Another crack in the realms could be seen forming. Something was trying to break through and enter here, letting out a terrifying howl that no one else here paid attention to.
Entering this realm were the rest of the trainers. They across a landscape that had been damaged greatly by the battle against Gardevoir. Lightning bolt pillars had crumbled with rubble littered all over the place. It was as worse as the Grass-Type if not more. The destructive force made by this battle even left some craters here and there. Mainly from Gardevoir.
"What a mess..." Brock observed. "How long have they been going against Gardevoir?"
"Audino!" Audino heard the battle in the far distance. The battle seemed to have had started near here and as it progressed, it started going all over the place.
"Audino hears them over there!" Fluttershy pointed her hoof ahead to where Audino heard the current battle. It seemed to take a place around another crater, just up a wide hill. Everyone promptly went in that direction.
"Pi...!" Pikachu slid back after receiving an attack from Gardevoir. The same went for Garchomp and Scizor.
"Pikachu! Take a break for a while!" Ash allowed Pikachu to stand back before holding out another Poke Ball. Ash then sent out his next partner promptly. "Gengar! I choose you!"
"Gengar!"
"Scizor, Swords Dance!"
"Garchomp, you use Swords Dance as well!"
"Gar!" Garchomp's attack increased once more, taking off with a speed faster than a jet plane. She had also approached Gardevoir far quicker than before. Gardevoir put her arms out, creating a massive steel wall in front of her. Only for Garchomp to charge right through it.
"What?!" Gardevoir was taken aback as Garchomp slashed her chest with stellar power, throwing the Embrace Pokemon off guard. Scizor came charging in, adding to the attack as well with another Swords Dance hitting Gardevoir.
Gardevoir staggered greatly from this. But not before flicking her arms upwards, causing a giant burst of fire to rise up from below. The fire engulfed both of them but did minuscule damage to Garchomp who simply just put her arms up within the fire.
However, it did a lot to Scizor, causing massive damage to it. The flames subsided as Scizor had fainted after flying out of the flames. Scizor then fell to the ground whilst Garchomp descended with not a scratch on her.
"Return, Scizor!" Goh promptly returned his Scizor after its defeat.
"Ash! Chloe! Bring her down!" Cynthia suggested.
"Got it! Gengar! Psychic!"
"Eevee, Copycat!"
"Gen...GAR!" Gengar's eyes flashed purple as it immediately got a hold of Gardevoir with just a simple gaze. A purple aura outlined Gardevoir. Two of them. Eevee's Copycat helped as they were both trying to bring Gardevoir to the ground.
"I don't think so!" But Gardevoir responded by using Psychic on herself, causing her to stay in the air as there was a physical Psychic struggle between the two of them.
"G-Gengar...!"
"V-Vee!"
"I haven't used you all that much but..." Goh threw another Poke Ball, sending out his next Pokemon. "Darmanitan!"
"Darmanitan!"
"Darmanitan! Overheat from above!"
"Dar!" Darmanitan, using its ape-like reflexes, Darmanitan climbed up the electric hill, leaping into the air with an impressive jump. It had then appeared above, unleashing a scorching flame from its mouth at Gardevoir. Unable to counter due to being occupied with Gengar and Eevee's hold, Gardevoir had been engulfed, receiving the same treatment Scizor had except at a different angle.
She had then been forced into the ground thanks to Darmanitan's assistance. That allowed Cynthia and her Garchomp to seize this opportunity. "Now! Earthquake!"
"Garchomp!" Garchomp stabbed her claws into the ground, making white shockwaves flow and erupt. With Gardevoir no longer floating, the shockwaves of the Earthquake had hit her, causing even further damage as the Embrace Pokemon grimaced, trying to resist it.
The result was her being thrown into the air from the shockwaves and the ground being split in half. Gardevoir was starting to feel the pressure now.
"Shadow Ball!"
"Gen...!" Gengar then moved in, zooming through the air and appearing in front of Gardevoir. The Psychic-Fairy-Type opened her eyes and mouth wide in shock before having a Shadow Ball slammed into her. "GAR!"
"G-Gaaah!" Gardevoir cried out as that Shadow Ball sent her far, knocking the Embrace Pokemon through a lightning bolt pillar, shocking her in the process. Gengar then landed with a fairly stylish pose, standing in front of a fearsome Garchomp and Darmanitan plus a cute Eevee. Certainly, a lineup that proved to be effective against this Aura Vampire Gardevoir.
"Yes!" Ash pumped his fists from that highly effective attack.
Gardevoir crashed into a lightning bolt mountain, being shocked once more. There, she laid on it for a moment, receiving paralysis as well. And arriving over the horizon, witnessing the destruction were the others.
"Look over there!" Brock pointed ahead as he and everyone soon noticed Gardevoir laying in the lightning rubble. That wasn't all they noticed. Gardevoir was not only getting back up but just like before, she had used Fairy and Grass energy t heal herself, taking away all the damage done to her in a few seconds, smirking at her recovery.
"She healed herself that quickly?!" Brawly gasped.
"So that's how she managed to come back after our assault..." said Be, recalling how Gardevoir seemed perfectly fine after she and her group performed an excellent team attack on Gardevoir.
"Hahahaha!" Gardevoir laughed before ascending into the air swiftly with rejuvenated energy. At this rate, she could go on forever. And another thing that could go on forever were the Black Holes.
Speaking of which, forming from the cracks were revealed to be the other Black Holes from the other Realms They had made their way here, shattering the sky and absorbing the plates and shards of the skies as well. Everyone looked around to see the increase in Black Holes as this realm already had one to deal with. Now the others had found their way here and were adding to encroaching destruction.
The mountain below everyone was starting to crumble from the increased gravitational pull. They all moved away from the mountain before they could all down with it. This also meant that they caught the attention of Gardevoir. And soon, Ash and his group would take notice.
"Huh? Brock! Everyone!" Ash shouted before then turning to face the increase in Black Holes. "Woah...That's a lot!"
"Pika!"
"My Black Holes weren't just limited to one realm," said Gardevoir while also turning to face the others. "It was only a matter of time until they converged and met in one spot. And it didn't take too long at all. Now, what will you all do? It's impressive that you managed to escape one of them..."
Just as Gardevir spoke, large tendrils appeared out of the Black Hole, similarly to what Shining Armor's group had to deal with. But with even more than before as they surrounded Gardevoir on all sides. "But how about this number?"
The lightning bolt landscape had its lightning mountains pulled in by the Black Holes along with the clouds that possessed lightning bolts. However, Gardevoir noticed how everyone was wearing armours of platinum. Special platinum that shined greatly. She didn't think too much of it Just saw them as protection.
The Black Hole tendrils along with some rays were then set loose, beginning to rampage across the realm as the Black Holes were all starting to meet up with each other, merging ever-so-slowly.
"If those Black Holes combine, they could absorb all of us in a few seconds! Ash! Do you have either Mega Evolution or Gigantamax for your Gengar?!" Cynthia bellowed.
"No, why?!" Ash replied.
"Gengar can resist Black Holes entirely when in those two states. But it seems we don't have access to both of them at the moment. We'll have to make do with what we can."
"Gengar..." Gengar's ears dropped, feeling let-down from that comment But Ash gave a pat on the back for comfort.
"Against this?" Gardevoir showcased the mass array of tendrils. I have enough of these to outnumber all of you. Your size means nothing now!" She cackled with hundreds of Black Hole tendrils and rays flying out. Everyone started moving out of the way once these rays and tendrils came flying out, destroying the landscape. Some had to pull others out of the way, mainly the children and keep them from harm. Rubble was being pulled in while other things were being sliced up and absorbed into the darkness afterwards.
"Pikachu!" Ash grabbed Pikachu away from an incoming tendril that almost grabbed him. The tendril stabbed into the ground, causing a crater and absorbing the rubble made from that crater.
"Come back for now, Darminatan!" Goh quickly recalled Darmanitan while this assault of gravitational darkness continued. Soon, the skies were all blocked out by the darkness as the Black Holes were starting to complete their merging.
"As for you!" Gardevoir quickly went towards Ash, teleporting in front of him. "Your Aura is mine!" She held her hand out, summoning grass vines from below to try and restrain Ash.
"Chu...Pika!" But Pikachu stopped that, using Iron Tail to slice the vines and hit Gardevoir's hand.
"Ow!" Gardevir cried out as the hit on her hand was super-effective, causing her to fly back. Annoyed by that, she then raised her arm, bringing some of the tendrils to her. She imbued them with Ground-Type energy, sending them towards Pikachu.
"Pika...!" Pikachu was ready to counteract with Thunderbolt, but even Ash knew that was too risky.
"Pikachu, wait!" Ash went to grab him again. But before any of that could happen, something had hit the tendrils out of the way. Something else that could manage to interact with the Black Holes. Travelling rapidly were a few Aura Spheres, knocking them aside. "Huh?"
"What now?!" Gardevoir was starting to get annoyed by the interruptions. But hr annoyance soon turned to shock as she and everyone else looked to see the origin of the few Aura Spheres.
Appearing over the horizon as always was the second to last group, just ahead of Celestia's group who were within the Fairy Realm. And that group started off by showing one Kommo-o. Then it showed Spike on the back of his Salamence. But soon it escalated. It escalated immediately.
Ten more showed up. Then thirty more. Then fifty. Then soon, rapidly increasing to a hundred. The numbers kept piling on as Spike and the many Kommo-o had arrived with a terrifying number, more than what Gardevoir was expecting, had arrived.
"Woah..." Ash froze there on the spot before having his eyes light up. "Awesome!"
"I know right?" Spike nodded in response to Ash. "Wish it all happened in real life. Then it'd be so much cooler."
"All the Kommo-o...Ho did you get on their side so quickly?!" Gardevoir roared.
"Baby dragons are too lovable, ya know." Spike grinned with confidence as one of his fangs sparkled. "Alright, all of you! I know you're not good against Fairies but you can pull off something when it comes to her, right? Go!"
"Kommo-o!" Altogether, the Kommo-o approached, running or lunging through the air, planning a combined and overwhelming assault on Gardevoir. Gardevoir showed visible signs of panicking on her face.
She quickly duplicated herself to increase her chances. She then ordered the tendrils and rays to go for the Kommo-o. In response, they had all used Aura Sphere to simply blow it away.
"!" Realization kicked in for Cynthia. "Aura can fend it off!" Cynthia turned to Ash. "That is our best option against those Black Holes!"
"Oh! Nice!" Ash replied as a new approach was taken. Both he and Cynthia had the same idea. Together, they had sent out their Lucario in unison. "Lucario! I choose you!"
"Lucario!" Both of them roared.
As for the Kommo-o, their numbers were still far greater than anyone. The clones of Gardevoir had immediately been grabbed by them. While the clones and the real deal managed to push some away with Fairy magic, there were so many of them that it was hard to keep up.
A few of them had grabbed onto Gardevoir's legs, dragging her down to Ground Level. "G-Get off!" She bellowed as she blew them back with a Psychic pulse, only to be attacked by another one. Constant attacks were being thrown in her direction without hesitation.
Gardevoir couldn't even put up a fair number of barriers to protect herself. The Kommo-o started bashing her barriers rapidly, breaking them at rapid paces with their overwhelming strength.
"Aura Sphere!" Ash and Cynthia both said.
"Eevee! Copycat!"
"Lu...!" The two Lucario had cupped their paws, forming the signature Aura Sphere. They aimed them carefully at not just the Black Hole rays and the tendrils, but the Black Holes themselves. "Ca!" They then threw the spheres in unison towards the enveloping darkness across the skies.
They flew alongside each other, clashing for a bit. Eevee copied their attack, shooting it from her mouth instead. Now three of them flew together with the third lagging behind.
They had then struck one of the Black Holes, leaving a visible hole inside of them. They had even slowed the merging for a moment with the holes as parts of the Black Hole had been destroyed.
Meanwhile, the clones were easily dealt with due to the overwhelming numbers. Gardevoir was flying back, trying to avoid as many of the Kommo-o as possible. She threw all that she had at them. From an array of overwhelming bugs, only for one of the Kommo-o to destroy them with Fire Punch and another with Flamethrower.
Gardevoir then made a poisonous wave that covered the land, threatening to drown and poison the Kommo-o. She believed they had no response for that. And they didn't. But someone else did.
"Audi! Use Safeguard!"
"Audino...!" Already Mega Evolved, Audino had cast Safeguard around the Kommo-o and everyone else, giving them a beautiful green veil. They were now shielded from all status moves as the Kommo-o casually ran through the poison.
"!" Gardevir's panic levels were rising as she then brought down a rain of Fire Balls, trying everything she knew. Right as she sent them raining from above, some of the other Kommo-o appeared behind her, grabbing onto the Embrace Pokemon once more.
"Kommo-o!"
"I said get off!" Aggravated once more, Gardevoir covered her body in electricity, shocking and paralysing the opposing Kommo-o as they fell off. Only to be then hit by an incoming Aura Sphere from another Kommo-o. Gardevoir hurled through the air, almost hitting another lightning bolt pillar. She stopped herself in time, but that didn't matter as many more Kommo-o had caught up to her.
The Embrace Pokemon looked on in horror as a horde of Kommo-o were right in front of her, all holding Aura Spheres in their claws. Their shadows covered Gardevoir while also giving off a blue glow. Gardevoir put up the best barrier she could, holding on for dear life.
The Kommo-o had then collectively thrown all of their Aura Spheres at Gardevoir. Her shield managed to hold them all back for a bit. Sadly, not for long. Gardevoir saw it was cracking already. Unable to think of something else, her barrier had been broken as all the Aura Spheres that even blocked out some of the Black Holes rained down on her.
Gardevoir didn't say a word or make any noise as her eyes were being whited ut. But, amidst the constant pummeling of the Aura Spheres, she allowed some of the Black Hole rays to reach her by a split second hand wave. The Aura Spheres all combusted at once, releasing a glorious yet terrifying outburst of Aura.
The Kommo-o then all descended after pulling off their Aura Spheres' successfully. Blue smoke emerged from all the destruction as the area was now permeating with even more Aura than before.
Even a powerful Gardevoir had been overwhelmed by the sheer might of many Dragons. However, it wasn't over. Not at all. Once the smoke cleared, Gardevoir had been revealed to had used the Black Hole rays to shield herself from taking every last bit of damage.
She emerged out of it, getting on one knee as she still felt overwhelmed. Despite all of that, much like before, any well-done team attack was erased via healing by Fairy and Grass Magic. Once more, she was back to full strength with a sinister cackle.
"You almost had me there..." Gardevoir laughed, standing up and holding one of her arms. "But not quite enough! Thanks to all those Aura Spheres...I've absorbed some of the Aura you threw at me! Including some from the smoke!"
"Are you kidding me?" Goh gasped. "She can still go on? That's some unfair endurance..."
"It's not her endurance." Bea walked up. "It's her healing properties that are stopping this from ending. She does it so fast it's unbelievable. If we can somehow stop them at the right time..."
So you've figured out my healing abilities. Good. But you're all too slow. Even that Ultra Beast. Plus...those Black Holes aren't going anywhere. And there's one more Black Hole coming this way. I won't stop! Not until I am free and have Ash's Aura! Try all you want, but I won't stop!"
"We won't stop either." Ash turned his hat around, standing with all of his friends before Gardevoir and the multiple Black Holes plus the tendrils that accompanied Gardevoir. "We're getting out of this together. All of us. Even you, Gardevoir."
"Pikachu!"
"I'm touched." Gardevoir smirked at Ash's gesture before bowing her head. "I have to respect you al. You are truly amazing Pokemon Trainers that have made it this far. But...this game of ours is coming to an end. After this, I have a lot to do in reality."
The last confrontation of Gardevoir was nigh. With overwhelming numbers on one side and a terrifying force n the other, the 18 Realms were breaking apart and could be obliterated from what could come next. As the journey continues.
Arriving at this realm were Luna, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart. Here for Celestia's group, they found themselves in the enigmatic and mystical realm of Fairy.
However, compared to the Dragon Realm which was a lush paradise with a sparkling waterfall and a beautiful tree, the Fairy Realm, despite being connected to the most beautiful typing was fairly dry. Out of all of the realms, even the Normal and Ground Realm, this one seemed too basic.
"This is it?" Luna said. "It's not as wondrous as I was expecting."
"I thought it would be shiny like in the Steel Realm." Shining Armor replied. "Shouldn't be too hard to find Cadence and the others then."
"Nothing special except..." But Luna took a moment to take in the scenery, sensing a mystical pink mist flowing through the air. "It still has the semblance of Fairy Aura. So at least there's that. Let's hurry and go to everyone else's aid later on."
They began traversing the land. When beginning their venture through it, they started to feel something ancient about this place. Unlike anything they had ever felt before.
Most likely, it was a result of the 18 Realms relating to Ash, Twilight, Celestia and Luna's collective minds. But, it didn't feel like any of them. Something also stuck out to them. When they looked at the sky, they noticed how there was something in the distance, clouded by the veil of the clouds.
"Is that..." Luna looked ahead. "Another planet?" Indeed, something resembling a planet was high out there in space, having a reddish colour to it.
"Really?" Flurry Heart squinted, noticing it as well. "Oh yeah. Is that always there in the Pokemon Word or...?"
"Not any place I've seen so far. And if it was, it looks to be as close to the Earth as the moon. If that's the case, then I would have noticed it before at any angle."
"There's also something ancient about this place," Darkrai observed.
"Mmm. Feels older than me." Luna agreed as she wasn't feeling so ancient now with the existence of this land. As they got closer, they soon noticed how the Fairy mist was decreasing in intensity. Before, it matched a thick fog. Not anymore when they pressed on.
Once they passed through it and got a clearer view of everything, similar to the Kommo-o, they saw a stunning sight of multiple mass numbers. In this case, the mass numbers belonged to a Pokemon that was certainly not a Fairy-Type. But a Psychic-Type.
Mew.
Lots and lots of Mew. Luna and the others stopped to see an entire nation's worth of Mew just floating about, crying out their names constantly. And the staggering amount of them far surpassed the Kommo-o. These were not Fairy-Types although they still somewhat count due to being the ancestor of all Pokemon today.
"Those are not Fairy-Types." Shining Armor shook his head whilst pointing his hoof at the Mew. "Did we go through the right door? Is this the Psychic door?"
"No. This is most definitely Fairy." Luna shook her head as they were in the right location. "Mew can just learn Aura Sphere, so this must explain their presence here."
"Maybe they know where everypony else is!" Flurry Heart pranced over to the Mew al giddy-like. But Darkrai noticed something faulty about these Mew. Despite them moving about with happiness, seeming like casual Mew behaviour, something about their presence here was still odd.
And this was shown when Flurry Heart went to touch one of them to grab their attention. "Hey there. I-" Upon moving her hoof towards the New Species Pokemon, Flurry Heart's hoof suddenly went through with the Mew rippling. "Huh?"
"Just as I thought," Darkrai commented as Flurry Heart tried again, flailing her hooves over Mew, only to have them keep phasing through. "They're illusions. Most likely from the Fairy Mist."
"Illusions?" Flurry Heart stopped her flailing, pouting. "What a killjoy...So much for asking questions."
"But these Mew are still one of the few Pokemon that can know Aura Sphere. And Gardevoir would summon them here to deal with all of us, wouldn't she?" Even Luna was having a hard time figuring this out. The illusions didn't make sense to her. She expected them to be real and frankly even obstacles.
Just then, eventually, one of the Black Holes showed up, making a booming and horrible echo right above the plant as its darkness instantly overshadowed everything else.
And despite seeming as illusions, the Mew had all reacted to this emergence, making it hard to believe if they were illusions or not. The Black Hole, after appearing and startling everyone, had instantly pulled in the nearby planet. They watched as the planet had been sucked in.
It then started growing as the Mew were all panicking, flying away in fear in a frantic frenzy. But there was nowhere to go considering how expansive and all-consuming a Black Hole is.
"Now?!" Luna exclaimed. "What took it so long in the first place?!"
"You know, I'm not so scared of a Black Hole anymore after what happened earlier." Shining Armor shrugged, no longer fearing the destructive Black Holes. Darkrai was ready to grab ahold of it and tear the Black Hole apart if it came down to it.
However, also reacting to the Black Hole and showing themselves in the air were the ponies and Pokemon they were looking for. Luna and the others looked up to see Celestia, Twilight, Passion, Cadence and Mew, the real deal this time, facing the Black Hole. And on the ground level were Delia, Starlight and Hatterene.
"Sister!" Luna cried out to her big sister, using some of the Royal Canterlot Voice.
"Luna?!" Celestia responded immediately, turning to face her little sister. "Oh, there you are! You showed up at a crucial time! This Black Hole just appeared unexpectedly!"
"I know." Luna flew over. "The same is happening everywhere else."
"What?!" Celestia's mane frizzed up, as did Twilight and Cadence's.
"This is all Gardevoir's doing. All the Black Holes she had summoned are spreading rapidly. Soon, they could all meet, breaking apart these 18 Realms and forming into one larger Black Hole.
"That's reassuring." Cadence sighed.
"It can be stopped." Celestia turned to the Black Hole. "Despite their immense power, Black Holes don't last forever. All that radiation will cause it to lose energy, shrinking and disappearing afterwards. But that might not happen for a while. They still last for a long time."
As they looked at the ever-growing Black Hole, passing all of them were the trillions upon trillions of Mew that could be found here. One minute they were all starting to panic and the next minute, they were now in the air, closer to the Black Hole than they should be.
"Mew! Mew-Mew!" A Shiny Mew had pointed up at the Black Hole, speaking to its fellow Mew, giving commands. They were all seemingly ready to prevent this Black Hole from trapping them.
"Mew!" Pinkie Pie's Mew felt compelled to do the same until Pinkie held him back.
"I don't think they mean you too, Mew," said Pinkie.
"What are those Mew up to? They've already lost numbers so how can they stop that with less of them?" Twilight wondered.
"What do you mean by lost numbers?" Luna asked, curious about what Twilight meant by that.
"Right. When we showed up to this Realm, we saw the countless numbers of Mew spread across this land and possibly even beyond." Celestia explained. "We found out that they were illusions afterwards. And then, one of them started evolving."
"Evolving?! You mean Mew has another form?!" Flurry Heart gasped.
"Not like that." The Princess of the Sun shook her head as conclusions were being jumped too rapidly. "I mean evolving into an already existing Pokemon. It evolved into a Pichu. It started with one Mew evolving into a Pichu and then later, the rest of them began evolving into other Pokemon."
"So does this mean all of this..." Shining Armor paused on his sentence.
"Just like how it's described that a majority of Pokemon came from Mew. When we saw all of it happen, there was only one answer. The illusions, the disappearance of that planet and the evolution of other Pokemon. This all takes place in the past!" Twilight exclaimed, revealing the full answer to them. "The very far past! Maybe even the beginning of the world right after Arceus made it!"
"Oooh..." Luna, Darkrai, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart each nodded. "Oh!"
"So then what about the Black Hole?! That looks pretty real to me and it's getting closer!" Flurry Heart yelled, aggressively pointing at the approaching Black Hole.
But then, the trillions of Mew had then held their arms out, focusing all their attention on this approaching darkness. Out of their bodies, Psychic energy began forming, appearing as pink waves. Those flows of Psychic Infinity Energy had then met up with each other, merging and adding their strengths as one.
The merged flows then met with the Black Hole, promptly stopping it in place. Celestia and the others watched as the unified power of all these Mew was that extravagant to not only hold the Black Hole in place but doing it so swiftly. After stopping it, the Shiny Mew went ahead of the other Mew as its body was starting to gradually change over time.
The Shiny Mew seemed to be able to let out more energy than the others as this increase managed to blow apart the Black Hole. Everyone closed their ears from the virulent sound the Black Hole made once it combusted, becoming nothing but dark particles that started dropping from above. The Black Hole had been stopped thanks to their combined efforts.
"Mew! Mew-Mew-Mew!" All of the Mew cheered at their resounding victories, feeling triumphant for stopping such a violent force.
"They actually did it..." Twilight blinked for a moment. "Note to self. Never underestimate what a lot of Mew can do."
"So we can safely say this is all from the past as well? That Black Hole might've never been real in this realm, to begin with now that I think about it. So where is the real one that Gardevoir sent?" said Luna.
Right after the victory of destroying the Black Hole, all of the Mew started changing suddenly. Celestia's group watched as the many New Species Pokemon were taking a new shape. This defeat of the Black Hole possibly led to this alteration. They were then evolving into other Pokemon.
Some of which became predecessors for other Pokemon. One Mew had turned into a Carracosta while the other became an Archen. The ancestors of all turtle and bird Pokemon. "Carracosta!"
"Archen!"
"Mew?" The Shiny Mew looked around as it noticed how its body was changing as well. Left and right, so many Pokemon that were far more common in the modern-day started approaching. And a majority of them seemed to be the smaller Pokemon. Babies to be exact.
And the same went for the Shiny Mew. It had transformed into another Shiny Pokemon, keeping in theme with its uniqueness. But when watching this change, Celestia and the others now how the glowing visage of the Shiny Mew's transformation had then been revealed to be a familiar shape.
A Ralts. A Shiny Ralts.
"Ralts?" The Feeling Pokemon who was once a Mew had descended gently, using levitation to do so. After looking at the Ralts, mostly everyone didn't think too much of it. Except for Celestia and Passion.
"That Ralts...Is that the Gardevoir that we know now?" Celestia commented, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Oh! It is a Shiny now that you mention it..." Luna nodded slowly. "And this is the Fairy Realm..." Just like her big sister, Luna could catch up to things quickly. "Of course! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?!"
"I'm thinking the same thing you two are thinking of!" Twilight chimed in. "At least I hope so."
"That this is all Gardevoir's memories!" The three alicorns said in unison. They were certainly thinking the same thing.
"Ralts." After emerging as a new Pokemon species, Ralts wandered off aimlessly, not having a current goal in mind. But seeing her reminded Celestia and the others of how and why Gardevoir was seeking to absorb all the Aura she can to live forever.
Everything she had said before even related to the many Mew that were now evolving into other Mew. They called back to her words back at the Psychic Realm.
"I may look like your standard Gardevoir...for the most part, but I am as old as practically every other region in the world. My time predates all of you, dating back to the rapid disappearance of the Mew population. Much like every Pokemon that descended from Mew, I was the same. But I knew I was destined for greatness the moment I found out that I could absorb Aura. This amazing life force that permeates throughout our universe could do more than just manifest into an attack. For example...it could slow down my ageing."
"That makes sense." Celestia nodded. "But is she the one showing us this?"
"And if so, for what purpose?" Luna replied.
"Mew..." Pinkie's Mew then looked at the array of evolutions currently ongoing. Suddenly, he started whimpering, descending into Pinkie Pie's mane with a saddened look in his eyes. "Mew..."
"Huh? Hey, Mew. What's wrong?" Pinkie Pie noticed Mew's sadness, grabbing him from her mane. She looked the saddened New Species Pokemon in the eyes.
"Mew-Mew..." Mew mumbled as a tear was beginning to show up.
"Oh...I get it." Pinkie was able to tell instantly. "You were there before, weren't you? You were the many Mew that used to live everywhere in this world. You miss all of your friends who've all gone elsewhere when they evolved, right?"
"Mew." Mew nodded, confirming it. He felt a great sense of nostalgia that made him upset instead of happy. So many friends that he had before in the past were barely recognizable to him as he and a few other Mew became the last of their kind, never evolving into something else. "Mew..."
"It's okay, Mew. There, there. Don't cry." Pinkie then comforted him with a hug. "You're with us now. And we'll make sure you'll always have new friends that'll come your way."
"M-Mew!" Mew's frown then turned into a smile, knowing that Pinkie Pie was right. They then nuzzled with Mew turning one half of his face into a Furfrou to make the nuzzling softer. "Mew!"
"That tickles!" Pinkie Pie laughed at Mew's nuzzle with Furfrou's fur. "Do it some more!"
"Hm." Twilight smiled at it before getting serious. "Well, we've seen how that came to be. I think we should start finding a way out of here. Maybe we can-"
But cutting Twilight off was a sudden dimensional disruption in the realm. Nothing trembled like it usually does. Instead, everything was starting to move insanely fast with a sideways motion. Everyone was taken aback as it felt like something was speeding up without warning.
The illusions of the other Pokemon were fading away right before their eyes. But the only one that didn't fade away was Ralts as she was walking while everything was moving sideways. She was unaffected by this motion at all. The scenery was also changing. Going from an ancient landscape from centuries ago, transitioning with visible speed lines to a new location.
Celestia kept everyone stable with her magic, making sure that no one was flying off into the distance or crashing into any nearby mountains, hills or anything rock-related. The transition had ended as the new location was revealed to be a town.
"W-What just happened...?" Someone finally spoke. That someone was Starlight as her mane was a mess. Everyone's hair was a mess from the rough and instant shift into this new area. "A-A-Are we back in reality or something?"
"No. This is still the past. Look." Celestia stayed the calmest in this scenario, looking over at the illusion of Ralts and the town. This town was also old, sporting a sort of megalith appearance with most of them being made out of gigantic rocks.
It also appeared a monumental complex built on the top of a rocky mountaintop with sources of water surrounding it. And of course, illusions of people were there. People that lived with Pokemon.
These people wore tunics, togas and stola respectively, showing their age. The Pokemon remained the same, however. As for Ralts, she could be seen speaking to the people there. More than that, she seemed to be showing them something.
"Ralts!" Ralts had performed a magic trick with her Fairy magic. Albeit limited, it was still impressive to their eyes as the people applauded.
"You did a great job as always, Ralts." A man said, patting the Feeling Pokemon on the head.
"Ralts! Ralts!"
"Yes." A woman nodded. "We are grateful to have such a wonderful magical creature as yourself here." Back then, they still called them Magical Creatures instead of the name they would come to be known as forever. Pocket Monsters. Or Pokemon for short.
"You came a long way, travelling by yourself to reach this town. How did you do it?" Another man asked.
"Ralts...?" Ralts scratched her head. "Ralts. Ral-Ralts." Ralts started explaining how she managed to come from a faraway land to here. Unfortunately, back then, understanding Pokemon was still a difficult task and only strong Psychic-Types could use telepathy to do so. Ralts wasn't one of them. At least not yet.
"We are clueless about what you are saying, Ralts." The man laughed as all the nearby people laughed as well. Ralts then started laughing with them as well.
"Oh, this is nice." Delia gushed. "How sweet."
"This is more of Gardeovir's past. That shift in the realm must've meant that time has sped up." Celestia turned to the others. "Perhaps it only happened when that important moment in her life occurred, soon leading up to this."
"So, will it happen again when something else important comes up?" Cadence asked.
"We'll have to wait and see. In the meanwhile, Twilight. You had a way for us to find a way out, correct?"
"Mhm. Pinkie Pie. You touched the door to the Fairy Realm earlier. Try having Slurpuff sniff it out and see if it's near." Twilight said.
"You got it!" Pinkie saluted before sending out one of her Slurpuff into the fray.
"Slurpuff!"
"Slurpuff. Get a good whiff of this." Pinkie Pie slid over, holding her hoof out to the Meringue Pokemon. "See if you can find something that resembles this scent."
"Slur." Slurpuff closed her eyes, instantly giving the hoof a single sniff. That was all she needed with her powerful nose. "Slurpuff!"
All the while, happy moments with Ralts continued. There was another shift in the realm with the speed lines showing up. But they were moving slower this time as noticed by everyone. They kept their focus on Ralts as they could see that over time, she formed a strong bond with the people of this town. Happily dancing about by showing them a waltz, eating what they had to offer and befriending new Pokemon along the way.
But then, the speed lines started accelerating, moving things along far quicker. Then they stopped before showing another point in Ralts' life. And it was one no one was expecting. It was currently early morning in the town with the Sun almost up.
And there, Ralts had a face of distraught. She stood before what seemed to be a cemetery. Rock mounds were made with names of people on them. And judging from her face, these people had passed, much to Ralts' dismay.
"R-Ralts..." She shuddered at this sight with visible tears. Other Pokemon were just as upset as her including some of the people within the town, paying their respects to those that were now gone.
"Ralts." A man came over, kneeling to her. "Sorry but there was nothing to be done about it. But we will remember them forever. All of us. We-"
"Ralts!" However, Ralts did not accept it. She pushed the man's hand away, teleporting away from the area.
"Ah! Ralts!" The man exclaimed as Ralts started running away, teary-eyed. Some Pokemon tried going after her to speak with Ralts, however, she kept using Teleport to make her escape from anyone else, crying. Upon her fleeing the scene, the speed line showed up once more, shifting the realm to show Celestia and everyone something else from Ralts' time.
The location changed once more, revealing a grove of some sort. There, Ralts was no longer crying. She was happy again. Mostly because she was with someone else. More people living within this grove in a slightly smaller town. More like a village than a town.
And just like with the people before, Ralts grew attached to them instantly, showing them some tricks she could do while being welcomed here.
"We were right. It does change after something important in her life." Twilight commented.
"Ralts." Ralts brought over a basket that she carried on her head, trying to balance it without using her Psychic abilities. The lady wearing a dress of grass saw that Ralts could not do it at all, almost dropping it. "R-Ralts!"
"Careful there, Ralts." She grabbed the basket, giving it to a child also wearing articles of clothing made out of grass. "You can work on perfecting that skill of yours in your free time. It's not easy for many."
"R-Ralts." Ralts blushed chuckling before wrapping her arms around the leg of the lady. The lady then patted Ralts, much like what happened back in the town. Ralts thoroughly enjoyed headpats.
Further attachment grew to them, especially with what Ralts had left. She also had visible tatters on her body, showing her journey from one place to another. However, as the shift began again, showing precious moments in Ralts' life, another tragic moment occurred.
This time, two people close to Ralts were gone. This village meant that there were a limited number of them. And even so, Ralts mounted for their loss, seeing more people that she loved so much fall. And it went even further. Ralts also saw some Pokemon that she came to love also perish, living shorter.
"R-Ralts..." Unable to handle the second loss of close loved ones that she grew attached to, Ralts broke down, getting on her knees and crying.
"It happened again to her..." Cadence observed.
Ralts could definitely not handle something like this happening a second time. If a third time came by, it would go beyond just destroying her. The Feeling Pokemon's Psychic energy was also starting to radiate greatly in response to her emotions.
"Ralts." Another lady went up to her. "You told us before about this when you showed up here. About the town you travelled from so far from here. I know this is difficult but this happens. There are some things you cannot avoid at all."
"R-Ralts?" Ralts stammered as her heart dropped even more than it already had.
"As long as you do not let it get the best of you and linger forever, then you can live a prosperous life, knowing about the difficulties that come with it and becoming stronger." She explained to her. But Ralts was too distraught to understand.
She constantly shook her head before using Teleport once more to leave the scene. Much like before, she left the area out of pure sadness, unable to handle the losses.
"Star! Staraptor!" A Staraptor had chased her down, trying to talk to the Feeling Pokemon. But Ralts wasn't having any of it.
"Ralts!" With her power being tied to her emotions, Ralts unleashed a powerful Psychic wave that blew Staraptor away and the ground below her. It was so great that it even managed to reach the village, blowing away some of the clouds and even damaging the trees.
The people and Pokemon in the village had been affected, being blown back by Ralts' Psychic wave. Ralts promptly stopped to turn around after hearing a loud crash that emerged amid her release. She then saw that the village had been damaged instantly. Not even a few minutes and some of the roofs were blown off of it.
She had damaged the place that she loved, including the people and Pokemon there. Seeing this, Ralts ran away even further, not choosing to head back and check on them at all. And afterwards, another shift. But this time, they were faster than before, going by each important moment in a breeze.
Celestia and the others saw more of Ralts' past go by. But this time, Ralts stayed distant from others. She chose not to get attached to anyone, knowing of the potential inevitable fate that was coming their way. She had seen so many civilizations emerge during her sole travels including new landmarks.
And during this journey, Ralts knew one encroaching force that she could never ignore. Her own fate. "R-Ralts..." Ralts feared that she could end up like everyone else that she loved so much. To her, that was the most terrifying thing that could ever happen. The Emotion Pokemon trembled at this thought, not wanting to suffer the same fate.
But Ralts didn't know how to prevent it. When running through the harsh rain, she already thought of the horrible ways she could go, unable to get them out of her mind.
She slowed down, unable to do anything but just continue on with things. Ralts barely smiled after that. It was hard to tell if she ever did. She stopped by a tree near a river, sitting underneath it to try and take her mind off of things. But she couldn't. Ralts was the equivalent of either a child or a baby. Something in between.
But as she sat there, lamenting everything, something could be heard nearby. Ralts felt something. She looked to the side to see a blue spark of energy erupting from the distance, making the trees rumble. "Ralts?"
Then, ascending into the air was a Salamence. "Sala!" Salamence roared as it was currently battling against an opposing Pokemon And jumping into the air, hitting Salamence with what seemed to be Extreme Speed was a Lucario. "S-Salamence!"
"Ralts...?" Ralts gazed at the battle above as she could then feel something new. Radiating from Lucario's body was a type of energy that she had never come across before. The Aura permeated during this fierce battle against Lucario and Salamence that was threatening the landscape.
"Lu!" Lucario had then used Aura Sphere, sending it towards Salamence. It was a direct hit as the Dragon Pokemon was knocked out of the sky from that powerful Aura Sphere.
"S-Saaaa!" Salamence cried out before crashing near Ralts' location. Ralts promptly backed away once Salamence crashed into the ground. Lucario stuck a landing, walking towards the downed Dragon Pokemon. The crackling of Aura Sphere could be felt around Salamence's body. Not only that, but Lucario was exuding its Aura when approaching, trying to intimidate Salamence.
And it was safe to say that Salamence was intimidated. It was a smart tactic on Lucario's end. Using this Aura emanation to appear as the greater force. It helped that Salamence had been defeated too. Ralts promptly hid behind a tree to avoid them both. But a third individual entered the fray.
A trainer for Lucario. But it wasn't an Aura Guardian at all. Just a person that had a Lucario. Or in this case, back in the day, they were known as Creature Masters.
"Well done, Lucario. That should stop Salamence's rampage." The trainer said before kneeling to face the Dragon Pokemon with a smile. "But Salamence...how about you join us instead? We can be stronger together. All of us."
"S-Sala...?"
"Ralts..." Ralts stayed quiet, observing the scene. And as she did, she felt the Aura coming from Lucario as some of it was flowing this way and in other directions too. Ralts felt tempted by the Aura. Something about its appearance was inviting. Calming. Despite it being used with a powerful attack such as Aura Sphere.
Compelled, Ralts held her arm out towards the flowing Aura that kept exuding out of Lucario. She then came into contact with it. More importantly, she ended up absorbing it. By accident too as it took her back. And upon absorbing the Aura of this Lucario, something happened within Ralts.
She felt better than ever. As if she was rejuvenated. Unexplainable adrenaline rushed through her body, making her far more energized than before. The Feeling Pokemon had no idea what was going on, but she could tell this bizarre feeling was wonderful.
She then quickly ran off so that no one would see her. Right as Lucario felt something off. But Ralts had used teleportation right after deciding to run, seeing that it was the better escape option. "Lu?"
"What is it Lucario?"
"Luca." Lucario then turned its head, unaware of what had happened behind its back. That's when another transition happened. Everyone was excepting another moment in Ralts' life that would in the future.
However, the transition then started reversing on itself, going in the opposite direction. "It's going the other way now?! Why?!" Starlight exclaimed as the transition brought them all back to the beginning.
Back to the land that they were in before. The land with all the Mew. The illusions of the Mew started popping back up as no other Pokemon could be found but just them. They were far back before the Black Hole appeared.
"No, no, no! We're back here?!" Cadence gasped. "I thought it would go further!"
"Perhaps that moment in Gardevoir's life was a major stopping point." Celestia theorized. "That is far as her memories go."
"What a shame..." Delia shook her head, instantly showing her heavy compassion for Ralts. "That poor little Ralts."
"Gardevoir..." Passion did the same. But there were other reasons than just being of the same species. Passion had been in a slightly similar situation but in reverse more than anything.
"It's a shame but...We have to keep moving." Celestia decided to press on. "It'll at least make Gardevoir somewhat happy when we leave here along with her. Slurpuff. Have you detected where the door is?"
"Slur...Slurpuff!" Slurpuff, after taking 2 seconds to sniff out the air had found the place. She aimed her stubby arms up north. To her, she did sense a nearby door. "Puff. Slur-Slurpuff."
"She says it's not that far actually. It's pretty close but kinda hidden." Pinkie managed to translate it.
"Hidden? Hold on for a moment." Luna stepped in front of everyone, using Lunar Ire's magic. With some interaction with the realm via Lunar Ire's seemingly endless magical capabilities, Luna managed t essentially wipe off parts of the realm And by doing so, she had revealed the door.
But this door was extra large. Far larger than every other door. So large that it took up a majority of the realm, almost being as large as the Black Hole that previously appeared. "That's the door?!" Luna backed away as they all became star-struck in its comically large size. "Why is it so much bigger than the rest?!"
"And why is it out in the open with only some masking to shield it?" Celestia wondered. "This all feels too easy. Unless...This is the one realm that Gardevoir would never meddle with it."
"She wouldn't?" Twilight, Starlight, Flurry Heart and Pinkie Pie each said.
"The Psychic Realm represented Canterlot to us. A place that is close to our hearts." The Ruler of Equestria started explaining once again. "The Fairy Realm is another realm that is related to Gardevoir's typing. But it's far more important than the Psychic one since this has memories of her past. She would meddle with the Psychic Realm, but never with this one. It's too valuable to her."
"How do you know all of this, Princess Celestia?" Starlight asked, amazed. Flurry Heart was curious too.
"Well, it all has to do with Passion over here." Celestia looked at her partner. "Passion has the Mindscape. Something similar to this. It's full of everything that Passion holds dear to her. It's no surprise I would make it out so easily, right?"
"Gardevoir."
"Huh...So that means no Black Hole then." Shining Armor shook his head. "So we're mostly safe in this realm compared to everywhere else."
"Unfortunately, this is where leave it." Celestia approached the door, ready to leave and enter the Electric Ream. "Let's hurry. Ash and everyone else are waiting for all of this to end."
They all followed suit. The Fairy Realm, keeping with the gentle nature of Fairies was one of the few realms with little danger. The danger did not exist because of Gardevoir's will. And speaking of Gardevoir, they now had extra information about Gardevoir's past, realizing her goal for immortality. They all passed through the door, getting ready to head to the Electric Ream to put an end to all of this.
The Black Holes were finally breaking through, going past just the other realms and meeting in one spot. Through each door, black rays were shooting out violently. The colourful ethereal appearance of the area was also being enveloped in total darkness. Albeit slowly.
Emerging out of the comically large Fairy Door was Celestia's group. Once they had arrived, they came across the expanding Black Holes and how the rays were shooting out of the doors.
"Oh no! Are we too late?!" Flurry Heart gasped before ducking her head from one of the incoming rays that beamed out of the many doors. They all stood together from all these directional rays that were flying all over the place.
"It's never too late," Celestia said. Cracks formed in the area with the darkness of the Black Hole leaking out. The shattered parts had been sucked in afterwards. "Quickly!" Celestia and the group then went for the Electric-Type door as fast as they could while rays were bursting out constantly.
They made sure to avoid all of the incoming Black Hole rays, ducking or flying over them. More holes appeared around the doors, damaging them repeatedly.
"Sister! Everyone! Wear these!" Luna still had some of the special metal that could counteract the Black Hole. "They can help you against the Black Hole!"
"These things?! How?!" Twilight asked before being given some of the metal that was fit for her stature. Including Starlight Glimmer. Though she wasn't aware of how these metals could fight back against a mighty and seemingly unstoppable force such as a Black Hole.
Just as they were all getting theirs, one of the rays managed to catch Flurry Heart, making contact with her hoof. "!" The young alicorn gasped as she was stopped in her tracks. "It's got me!" She cried out as more rays started grabbing her due to her being stuck.
"Flurry!" Shining Armor, Cadence and the others turned around, seeing her being caught and already receiving a great pullback from the gravity. However, as Darkrai was about to go and free her, surprisingly, something else did.
Or someone. Emanating a pulse of Antimatter from the Ultra Ball was none other than the Renegade Pokemon Giratina. That pulse of Antimatter flashed out in response to Flurry Heart's life being threatened. And to everyone's surprise, it had done more than just pushing the Black Hole away. It had erased it. Consuming the Black Hole rays in a flare of Antimatter, Giratina had sent it all over the place.
Everyone watched as all of the rays that flew out of the doors were being denied just by Giratina exuding out some Antimatter, all because Flurry Heart was in danger.
"Thanks, Tina!" Flurry Heart held the Ultra Ball out, thanking the Ghost-Dragon-Type.
"Did any of you know Giratina could do that?" Starlight asked.
"It's Antimatter. What can you do?" Twilight shrugged as there was no arguing about Giratina's laws. Considering it was a Pokemon related to Arceus, it was best to just go with it.
Thanks to Giratina's Antimatter dealing with the rays, they could pass through without an issue, approaching the Electric-Type door. What they were about to get themselves into through that door and into that realm far surpassed what was happening out here.
Electric Realm.
Gardevoir was against a mass number of Pokemon Trainers and Pokemon. But her form of assistance came in the form of the many Black Holes that originally came from the other realms, having horrifying rays and tendrils by her side. Most Trainers and Pokemon had the goal of avoiding them as possible while some of them only had the intention of stopping Gardevoir once and for all.
"Gar!" Cynthia's Garchomp currently used Swords Dance, meeting face to face with Gardevoir with a clash. Gardevoir had made a steel pillar to clash with Garchomp.
"Braviary, Brave Bird!" Rainbow Dash's voice could be heard as Gardevoir quickly pushed Garchomp away. She controlled the skies, causing an array of lightning bolts to come raining down. "We won't fall for the same trick twice! Steel Wing!"
"Viary!" While in Brave Bird, Braviary had also used Steel Wing, covering his wings in steel. He then allowed the lightning bolts to come crashing down as the metal from Steel Wing had conducted it, allowing Braviary to borrow its power.
"!" Gardevoir gasped at this sudden move combination, quickly thinking on her feet as always. She made a massive Ground Blockade around her body. It covered her from head to toe on all sides, making her look like a megalith.
"Braviary!" Braviary crashed into the blockade at full force with Brave Bird. Brave Bird failed as Braviary received recoil damage. However, he then followed up with Steel Wing, hitting the blockade once more. The electricity did nothing but the steel managed to chip some of it away.
Out of the blockade, Fairy rays could be seen radiating through the gaps. The rays then intensified in brightness, flashing in front of Braviary and blinding him for a moment. Gardevoir then grabbed Braviary by summoning a mass array of bugs from within the gaps, instantly wrapping around Braviary. "B-Bravi!" Braviary cried out before behind held by this violent swarm.
"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"
"Scep...Tile!" In came Sceptile, saving Braviary by both knocking the bugs aside with ease and also slicing through Gardevoir's earth blockage, startling her.
"Now, Leavanny! String Shot!"
"Leavan!" All 12 of Rarity's Leavanny had sent Strings in Gardevoir's direction to try and restrain her. Gardevoir wouldn't allow the same thing to happen to her again. So, she protected herself with a Psychic aura while also causing a pillar of fire to erupt around her. She instantly incinerated the strings once they got close.
She then flew out of the pillar of fire, manipulating some of it before sending it towards the Leavanny. The 12 Leavanny had been struck and bombarded by the flames, taking colossal super-effective damage it. "V-Vanny!" They each cried out. 6 of Rarity's Leavanny had fainted while almost being carried away by the incoming Black Hole tendrils.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa came to their rescue, grabbing some of the Leavanny with her amazing speed, keeping them away from the tendrils. Gardevoir's eyes locked onto Pheromosa, manipulating the tendrils to chase after Pheromosa as she was having enough of this ludicrous speed.
"Salamence, use Hyper Beam! Haxorus, Giga Impact!" Spike commanded both of his Pokemon. Salamence opened his mouth whilst Haxorus, who had previously shifted from Axew into this form in a flash had leapt over his fellow Dragon-Type with an invisible aura around him. At the same time, Hyper Beam had been unleashed, flying alongside the trail of Giga Impact.
Gardevoir's response was to put herself in a Ghostly veil, making herself intangible for a brief moment. And it paid off as Haxorus phased right through her along with Hyper Beam. "X-Xorus?!" The Axe Jaw Pokemon gasped as Gardevoir then used Psychic to grab Haxorus while he was still midair. She then forced Haxorus into the path of Hyper Beam, causing him to take the attack instead. "Haxo!"
"Liquidation, Grapploct!" shouted Bea.
"Hariyama, Stone Edge!" So did Brawly.
"Hariyama!" Hariyama thrust its massive hands forward, sending crystallized stones. That prompted Grapploct to jump on them. The Tantrum Pokemon jumped from stone to stone, covering its appendages in water as well.
Gardevoir's response was to simply shift the gravity on them. And she did. With just a push of her arm, she quickly used her Psychic abilities to alter gravity, sending a reverse flow that caused the stones and Grapploct to fly in the other direction. "G-Grap?!"
"Hari!" Hariyama ended up being hit by its own stones with Grapploct also crashing into it. Brawly and Bea gasped as the two Pokemon then crashed into Brawly, causing him to fall over.
"Brawly!" Bea ran over to Brawly immediately.
"I-I'm fine..." Brawly groaned, giving a thumbs-up. Bea quickly grabbed his arm to help him up, only to receive the surprise of a Black Hole tendril that caught her. Bea was immediately pulled away from Brawly, flying through the air. "Bea?!"
Bea grunted as she knew all wasn't lost. Everyone had the special metal given to them by Princess Luna, Shining Armor, Darkrai and Aegislash after all. She quickly took pieces of it that was she was wearing, clanging them together to make a flashing light of great proportions. The light then blew away the tendril for a bit, freeing Bea as she was now free-falling.
"Kommo-o!" Saving her midair was one of the many Kommo-o that came to aid them. The Dragon-Fighting-Type had jumped a great distance, grabbing Bea. "Ko!"
"My thanks, Kommo-o!"
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Luxray, Discharge!" Rainbow Dash also had her Luxray out. Just to give that extra edge of winning this confrontation. It wasn't just her and Ash throwing Electricity in Gardevoir's way. The CMC did the same with their Electric-Types plus Rarity's Ampharos.
"Pachirisu, Spark!" First came Scootaloo.
"Plusle! Minun! You use Discharge also!" Then came Sweetie Belle with two Electric-Types.
"Emolga, Electro Ball!" And then Apple Bloom with Rarity going last.
"Ampharos, use Thunder!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu and his fellow Electric-Types gathered up, utilizing the full extent of their electricity that they currently had. They even started causing a reaction to the electric landscape in the Electric Realm.
100,000 volts, two flares, a ball and a burst of electricity were let out with Pachirisu simply going up ahead, getting up close and personal. Gardevoir was ready to give her response to this unified Electric attack, only to be stopped promptly by a smaller force.
"Castform, Shockwave!" Rainbow Dash had one extra Electric-Type attack from the side.
"Cast...Form!" Castform came charging in, shooting out a smaller bolt that hit Gardevoir while she wasn't looking. The Embrace Pokemon had been caught off guard, promptly turning her attention to the Weather Pokemon. Castofmr let out a cheeky smile as the other Electric-Type attacks had connected.
"Oh!" She gasped before feeling all of those might volts rush through her body. All of those combined attacks were certainly enough to paralyze her immediately as the Psychic-Fairy-Type started jittering ferociously.
But amidst her shock, Gardevoir ended up absorbing some of the Aura within it. Since Ash gave a command along with Rainbow Dash, there was some potent Aura for her to take. Cynthia was the only one to notice this and how Gardevoir managed to do so even when being harmed. She was clearly adapting to harder scenarios by the minute.
"Garbodor! While she's wide open! Gunk Shot!" Roxie shouted while on Garbodor's back.
"Gar...BO!" Garbodor then shot out a massive blob of gunk that travelled past everyone else. Gardevoir wasn't having any of that, but being paralyzed by all of these attacks made her too slow to properly react. Thus, she had been hit by the gunk, taking super-effective damage in the process.
"Steeix, Gyro Ball! Croagunk, Poison Jab!" Brock said to both of his Pokemon. His ace Steelix and his always reliable Croagunk.
"Croa!" Croagunk jumped onto Steelix who started spinning its body around, approaching Gardevoir on the hill. Black Hole tendrils and rays came their way, only for Croagunk to deny them via swift swing of his Poison Jab, coupled with the light from the special metal. "Croagunk!"
"Steelix!" Steelix had then bashed Gardevoir when getting close, using the full force of Gyro Ball effectively and dealing super-effective damage once more. An already paralyzed Gardevoir was then staggered, allowing for Croagunk to land the next hit.
"Why you...!" Gardevoir roared with one eye staring at Croagunk. With that one eye, she managed to grab the Poison-Fighting-Type with a Psychic hold for just a moment. That spelt bad news for Croagunk most definitely.
"Swords Dance!"
"Garchomp!" In came Garchomp, quickly stopping Gardevoir's next action by flying faster than a jet plan as always. The Mach Pokemon lived up to her name, approaching at Mach speeds and swinging at the Embrace Pokemon, taking her attention and grip off of Croagunk. "Gar!"
"Croa!" That allowed Croagunk to finally land his hit. And he did. Right in the middle of the Psychic-Fairy-Type, Croagunk landed Poison Jab, causing Gardevoir's eyes to widen as she was rocketed down to the ground like a slingshot firing a stone at full finger strength.
She hit the ground, feeling an extra shock from the electric landscape. Everything calmed down for a bit. At least the Gardevoir part. There were still others not partaking in the battle and mostly trying to avoid the Black Holes.
"Quick! Before she heals herself again!" Bea shouted, remembering Gardevoir's healing capabilities with both Fairy and Grass magic.
"Understood! Swords Dance, once more Garchomp!"
"Gar! Garchomp...!" Garchomp's attack increased once more as she flew even faster than before, approaching the downed Embrace Pokemon. However, even with Garchomp's speed, Gardevoir still had time. The duration was shorter than they were expecting.
She managed to manipulate the electricity from below, altering them to form into massive icicles that erupted from below. All Gardevoir had to do was tap the ground and she could do something. Garchomp gasped upon seeing these icicles.
"Misgamius!" Fantina's Mismagius ended up coming to her rescue, grabbing the Mach Pokemon away from the massive icicles in time.
Gardevoir laughed before healing herself with the same Fairy and Grass Magic. However, even she knew that was reaching her limit. She was already using so much Aura and magic to try and recover from every devastating team attack that came her way.
"I can't keep this up for long..." Gardevoir grunted, getting on one knee. "There are far too many of them to keep up my healing..."
"We couldn't stop her from healing," said Cynthia. "But she seems to be slowing down some more. She's finally starting to reach her limit. If we can keep this up, victory will be ours."
"This victory will be mine!" Gardevoir exclaimed with a reply but slamming her hand onto the ground. This time, she switched things up. Her contact with the ground did not change its elemental properties again. Not this time. Instead, it went above something other than just elements.
She brought the force of the Black Hole underneath. Right below everyone, a rapid-moving darkness had approached, covering the land while still keeping it in the air. But the difference with the ground was that there was a larger restraint with it. More those tendrils came out along with strange black wires along with ribbons, chains and other things that could wrap and restrain.
Everyone gasped as they were taken aback by this switch up, having their hooves, legs, paws, appendages and any other limb that they might possess be caught by this massive array of Psionic manipulation.
Some of them managed to evade them just in time. But a majority couldn't. Their flashing and special metal armour managed to keep them on the ground without being dragged it, however, they all barely move.
"Are you all okay?!" Ash exclaimed, hoping no one had been dragged in. Thankfully, they were still up. But their bodies were entering a struggle with the Black Hole with only the special metal being able to keep them up without being dragged into the eternal darkness.
As for Gardevoir, she started ascending. Very soon, she had summoned a tree of Black Hole darkness that she stood upon. Surrounding this tree was a slew of all 18 Types, pulsating and radiating out of the tree with their respective colours.
She stood atop it with visible tatters, showing that her healing abilities were coming to an end. However, with fewer trainers being free to attack plus Gardevoir slowly starting to better handle team attacks, she had confidence that she could win without needing to heal once more.
"This is getting out of hand! I guess it's time to Mega-" Brock was ready to kick in Mega Evolution as soon as he could.
"No!" Cynthia stopped Brock. "Do that and Gardevoir's chances of gaining more power skyrocket! We can't risk it! That involves Z-Moves! Even when she's being attacked, it still gives her the chance. I saw it earlier."
"So you noticed?" Gardevoir spoke. "Thanks to Applejack's Aura, everything's increased. Including my reflexes. It almost feels like I can see a bit into the future with it. I can absorb the Aura from your attacks as well and anything else.
"It's fine!" Ash bellowed. "We can beat you without Mega Evolution or Z-Moves!"
"Then come!" Gardevoir cackled with ferocious lightning bolts surrounding her as there was also the sound of thunder added onto the howling of the Black Hole.
But as she laughed, she felt something else coming her way. Being faster than before, Gardevoir had put up a Psychic shield, defending herself from an incoming Dark Void.
That came from Darkrai. And with Darkrai was Princess Celestia and everyone else, finally arriving at the scene and not too late. They were on time to see the multiplication of Black Holes from above and below, restraining everybody vigorously while also spotting the Black Hole Tree made by Gardevoir.
"You!" Gardevoir growled at them, making a hard turn in their direction.
"This is as far as you go, Gardevoir!" Celestia spoke whilst flying next to Passion. The moment she said that, black threads appeared from the Black Holes in the sky, getting ready to ferociously wrap around the newcomers.
"Aegis!" Aegislash swung his bladed body as hard as he could, cutting the threads in half.
"Ash! Are you alright?! Did she touch you?!" Delia ran over to her son, holding his face. "IF she did, she's going to pay dearly!"
"I-I'm fine, mom. Still in one piece and untouched too." Ash stammered. "I'm glad you're okay too. All of you."
"Have you figured out a way to stop her yet?!" Celestia asked, appearing next to Ash and the others.
"The only way to stop her is making sure to she doesn't heal. But she does it so fast it's troublesome." Cynthia replied. "However, she's starting to wain. One more overwhelming attack on her and her healing capabilities will drop drastically."
"Yet you can't do it without your precious Mega Evolution or anything that just screams high Aura, can you?" Gardevoir replied. "A smart decision. That'll only get me back up to speed. And these Black Holes aren't slowing down for anything."
"Not without Aura Sphere." Cynthia shook her head. "It's one of the few things aside from that metal Princess Luna brought to us that can push back the Black Hole. Twilight. You have a Togekiss. Please use it."
"R-Right." Twilight quickly went into her saddlebag, but another idea sprung up in her mind. She would still use Togekiss, but there was a better alternative. "Or maybe we can do more than just push it back! Giratina's Antimatter can destroy them!"
"It can?!" Ash and a few others said in unison.
"Oh yeah!" Flurry Heart just remembered this as well. And considering there was a disgusting amount of Black Holes, the perfect counter to this would be a Pokemon that can summon a disgusting amount of Antimatter. By using her magic to launch the Ultra Ball, out into the fray came the Renegade Pokemon.
Giratina.
"Giratina?!" Gardevoir gasped as even she wasn't expecting Giratina to appear. The Renegade Pokemon's appearance immediately meant that Antimatter was ready to fill the air. And some particles were already appearing, spreading across the tendrils and restraints that held everyone else down. Meanwhile, Twilight had sent out her Togekiss for that extra Aura Sphere assistance.
"This is getting out of hand fast..." Gardevoir grimaced. Giratina just added to that pressure. Visible signs of panic had shown on her face. She then looked at her surroundings to quickly improvise. The only thing that was there were the lightning bolt mountains. Running low on options, Gardevoir had her pick. "Fine! I'll do something different for once!"
"Huh?" Ash sounded confused from that before seeing Gardevoir's hand move. From below with a startling sound, the lightning bolt pillars had been ripped out of the ground from Gardevoir's Psychic, telekinetically grabbing them. The lightning bolts then flew rapidly, almost hitting the others.
Ash and a few others ducked from the incoming lightning bolts. But Gardevoir wasn't using them to attack. Instead, she was bringing them over to her. Soon, the massive lightning mountains surrounding Gardevoir, only adding to her giant Black Hole tree and much more.
But she did more than just add it, she started absorbing the electricity from the lightning mountains for herself. Her eyes and mouth were already releasing spurts of electricity. "Oh! This is better than I thought!" Gardevoir exclaimed. "Electricity is a wonderful substitute! It's not Aura but it certainly helps!"
"Electricity..." Ash gasped before gaining an idea from Gardevoir's idea. The best way to defeat Gardevoir is with one more overwhelming attack without using too much Aura. And that would come from electricity. "That's it! We'll use that, Pikachu! All of that electricity!"
"Pikachu!"
"Come and get it then!" Gardevoir accepted their challenge.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack! Lucario, Force Palm!"
"PIka!" Pikachu went first ahead of everyone else, moving at blinding speeds and leaving afterimages behind whilst having a white trail around him. Lucario followed his teammate promptly. Some tendrils were already sneaking up on Ash, prompting him to go with his partner.
"Ah, I see your approach! Everyone! Help Pikachu get all that electricity!" Celestia ordered as they all started moving along as well. "Passion, use Thunderbolt!"
"Garde...Voir!" Passion put her hands together, summoning 100,000 volts that were quickly used on a Black Hole Ray. The ray had been pushed back along with another one by Celestia which had almost snuck up on Passion.
"Eve! Dazzling Gleam! Togekiss, Aura Sphere!"
"Espeon!" Espeon hopped over a vine of Black Holes before giving herself a sphere of rainbows. She had also landed on Togekiss back, being swooped up. Both of them released their attacks in the form of rainbow rays.
The rainbow rays battered the darkness of the Black Hole rays, entering a brief struggle that was back and forth, only for Togekiss to put an end to it with Aura Sphere, making Dazzling Gleam the victor.
"Garchomp, Dragon Claw!" Cynthia said whilst on Garchomp's back. "Lucario, Meteor Mash!"
"Gar!" Garchomp roared, slashing apart the restraints that tried to hold her and Cynthia down with consecutive Dragon Claws. And thanks to Swords Dance, they were extra strong.
"Lu!" Cynthia's Lucario passed Garchomp for a brief moment, hitting the rays away with the force of a meteor around them. However, an overwhelming amount of Fire whirlwinds appeared out of thin air by a flash of Gardevoir's eyes right after the restraints were dealt with. Lucario had then been held and slammed down to the ground by these restraints. "C-Ca!"
"Lucario!" Cynthia gasped before suddenly feeling a turn. That was from Garchomp who managed to make a hard zoom to the right with a quick evasion from an Ice ray.
The rays then quickly turned into ic chains, wrapping around Garchomp and Cynthia, stopping them in place. A horrible chill was already passing through Garchomp that made her very vulnerable.
"Cynthia! Garchomp!" Ash turned around.
"Go, Ash!" Cynthia groaned. "Don't worry about us!"
"Darkrai! Dark Pulse!" Luna exclaimed whilst flying alongside her partner. She and Darkrai seemed surrounded on all sides, only to get rid of their threats promptly with a flash of magic and a pulse imbued with dark thoughts.
The two of them were instantly attacked by more of them, getting no time to rest. Luna's hoves and Darkrai's claws were grabbed by them promptly when pushing back at the previous ones, leaving them vulnerable for a split second.
"Giratina! Iron Head!" Flurry Heart commanded on Giratina's head. The Renegade Pokemon promptly smashed its head onto a Black Hole, crushing it into pieces with brute force alone. The Renegade Pokemon had then freed Luna and Darkrai by charging through the Black Holes with Iron Head.
And by the minute, Gardevoir's energy was rising thanks to the lighting mountains. She was even starting to heal herself whilst everyone had these obstacles to challenge.
"Let's see if she's still fast!" Rarity said whilst on Pheromosa's back. "Pheromosa, Triple Kick if you please!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa ran past everyone else with her superior speed, even surpassing Garchomp. With pure speed and pure power, she broke through some of the obstacles while also approaching Gardevoir.
A steel wall emerged from below, almost catching Pheromosa. The Lissome Pokemon barely managed to move away from it, only to have a wall of fire be summoned behind her. "Look out!" Rarity cried out as she would possibly be the first to be caught in the flames from behind.
"Aerial Ace!"
"Braviary!" In came Braviary, using Aerial Ace to save both Rarity and Pheromosa with Rainbow Dash on his back.
"Oh! Many thanks, Rainbow Dash!" said Rarity with a great sigh. She was almost charred if there was another second. However, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and their Pokemon were then stopped in place by a reverse gravitational force that kept them from advancing.
It slowed them down promptly, allowing for some restraints to come out of their way and grab them. Their Pokemon managed to escape for a moment, only to be whacked aside afterwards. But the trainers were still stuck.
"Dash! Rarity!" Ash gasped looked up to see his friends being restrained.
"Nevermind us, Ash! You and Pikachu keep going!" Rarity exclaimed before having her mouth blocked off from speaking.
"Lu!" Lucario snarled, putting his hands together to form a larger Aura Sphere than usual. Pikachu then added to that power by shooting it with Thunderbolt. "Cario!" Lucario then tossed the Thunder Aura Sphere, obliterating parts of the Black Hole Tree with it.
So did Giratina, using brute force mostly to do so, ramming its body through the tree and its attacks. Giratina was also a Pokemon that was immune to Black Holes from how it was casually moving through them. It was also spreading Antimatter along the way.
"Dragon Pulse!" All at once, Spike and Applejack had commanded Salamence and Sceptile. Out of their mouths, draconic shockwaves shaped like a dragon had barged through some of the darkness, clearing a path some more for Ash, Pikachu and Lucario.
"Now, Haxorus! Close Combat!"
"Haxo!" Haxorus then grabbed some of the tendrils with his bare hands before ripping them apart, using his tail to knock some of them that would sneak up from behind. However, more just kept coming, eventually surrounding Haxorus and pinning him down.
"Haxor-" Spike was cut off once Salamence ducked from an incoming ice ray, only to be then caught off guard by a massive swarm of rocks that started battering him. Spike closed his eyes, holding on tight as Salamence was sent flying through the air whilst being pushed by the constant assault of rocks.
"Thunderbolt!" Ash, Celestia and Luna both said.
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu, Passion and Darkrai each released a trifecta of electricity, merging to make 300,000 votes maximum, blowing away at a large wave of water that was sent their way.
"Almost there!" Ash said. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack! Lucario, Aura Sphere and Double Team!"
"Eve! You use Quick Attack also! Togekiss, use Aura Sphere too!"
In unison, Pikachu and Espeon had blitzed across the tree with lightning speeds while Lucario and Togekiss fended off the Black Hole from touching their friends with collective spheres of Aura.
"Gardevoir...!" Passion appeared in front of her fellow Gardevoir via some natural teleportation, attempting to grab the Shiny Gardevoir.
"I think not!" Gardevoir quickly stopped her as they both interlocked hands. They entered a brief struggle with their Psychic auras starting to show. "Foolish girl! You left yourself vulnerable to me!" Gardevoir chuckled as she was starting to draw some of Passion's Aura for herself.
"Garde?!"
"You're still young to know any better so I don't blame you!" Gardevoir then kicked her fellow Gardevoir aside, sending Passion flying through the air.
"Passion, Plasma Bolt!" Celestia shouted from below.
"Garde...!" Passion quickly recovered, merging Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt, using her amazing power to make Plasma. Even the opposing Gardevoir was taken aback by this.
"Plasma?!" She gasped.
"Voir!" Passion then unleashed Plasma Bolt onto Gardevoir, catching her off guard for a second. But she was certainly quicker than before, making a steel wall. The steel had then conducted some of the electricity from the Plasma Bolt, allowing for Gardevoir to promptly borrow it. She lowered the steel wall before appearing with a fierce grin, holding the Plasma in her hand. "Gardevoir?!"
"Thank you!" Gardevoir thanked Passion before throwing Plasma Bolt at her. But that was swiftly denied by an incoming Giratina who had taken the hit for Passion. "Accursed Dragon-Types...!" Gardevoir growled.
"Let her have it, Giratina! Shadow Force!"
Giratina had then vanished out of thin air for a moment with Flurry Heart involved. Gardevoir gasped, keeping her eyes and ears alert. She then used the Aura to try and sense Giratina's presence, moving around in every direction. When Giratina was ready to pop out, Gardevoir sensed her.
"Found you!" She said as Giratina appeared back into thin air, ready to tackle Gardevoir. Gardevoir covered herself in Fairy Magic, however, becoming a Fairy Shield for a moment. Giratina crashed into her, only taking the magic instead of successfully landing Shadow Force.
"Sylveon, Moonblast!" Cadence shouted.
"Sylveon!" Sylveon quickly hopped over Giratina who was a bit staggered. The Intertwining Pokemon greeted Gardevoir by gifting her the power of the moon in the form of a ball. Gardevoir quickly put her arms up to block the Moonblast. The pink smoke cleared as Garedvoir wiped it away while also using Psychic to toss Giratina and Sylveon aside. That went for Cadence and Flurry Heart. "S-Syl!"
They went downwards, passing Ash and the others along the way. "Guys!" Ash cried out.
"Don't waste time looking back, Ash! Run!" Cadence cried out with her voice fading in the background. Ash kept running under Cadence's wishes.
And thankfully, they were close this time. Ash, Twilight and their Pokemon stopped at the summit of the horrifying and amalgamated landscape, staring at Gardevoir up ahead.
"She's right there but there's still so much we have to go through!" Twilight groaned.
"We'll open a path for you guys!" Brock had shown up along with Mayor Mare and Aria who had also been climbing up here this entire time.
"We're counting on you to feed Pikachu all of that electricity at once!" Mayor Mare exclaimed, running with Brock and Aria.
"Leave this to us!" Aria ran past Ash, putting an end to the conversation.
"Steelix, Stone Edge!"
"Stoutland, Giga Impact!"
"Brionne, Hydro Pump!"
"Steelix!" Steelix, Stoutland and Brionne set off to clear that path for Ash and Twilight. It started with a cluster of crystal rocks being summoned by Steelix with a tail slam as Stoutland moved ahead with a trail of water from Brionne backing him up.
"Stout!" Stoutland bashed through the dark vines while the crystals from Stone Edge pierced through them. Brionne's Hydro Pump drowned them out.
All three of them were promptly met with quick retaliation from below. Massive roots burst from below with a swarm of bugs as well. Their bodies were being bombarded by these bugs immediately, throwing them off focus while also being held down by the roots.
Arriving up to this level were Sunset Shimmer and Starlight, quickly coming to their friends' aid after all the previous obstacles had been dealt with.
"Hatterene, Psycho Cut!"
"Braixen, Fire Spin!"
"Hatt!" Saving them from their restraints was Hatterene and Braixen with Fire Spin and Psycho Cut, cutting the roots and burning the swarm away.
But they soon received the same treatment, feeling a gravitational pressure emerge, gaining a heavy weight that formed them both down.
"Sunset! Starlight!" Twilight gasped, seeing her friends being pressured on the ground, struggling to stay up.
"It's fine, Twilight!" Starlight strained.
"P-Please, keep going!" Sunset stammered whilst holding onto Braixen. Ash and Twilight continued on their way with one final obstacle standing before them. Or rather above them.
That came in the form of a massive Black Hole claw that overshadowed everything else. They looked up to see it hovering over them. They kept running but they could not take their eyes off of them.
Luckily, a ray of golden magic imbued with Fairy Magic had forced it back for a moment. They looked to the side to see that it was Celestial-Gardevoir. She had used Mega Evolution and the Bond Phenomenon either way, not caring about the risk.
And assisting her was Cynthia's Garchomp who had broken free from her restraints, using Swords Dance to slice one half of the claw apart.
"You used it, Princess Celestia?!" Twilight gasped.
"Whatever it takes to help my friends! Who cares if she absorbed some of it?!" Celestial-Gardvoir replied before seeing the claw come her way. She grabbed parts of the claw, entering a struggle with it. Garchomp also grabbed it, only for her, Cynthia and Celestial-Gardevoir to be taken by surprise from a second one. "You all! Keep moving forward!" Celestial-Gardevoir was then raised into the air.
"You cannot lose here! We're entrusting the fate of tomorrow to you all!" Cynthia shouted while being carried around by the claws.
Thanks to the distraction made by Cynthia and Celestial-Gardevoir, Ash and Twilight finally reached their destination. There, they stood before Gardevoir.
Gardevoir scoffed before standing up tall, facing the two of them and their partners. She could only applaud, congratulating them on how far they've made it. "You all are truly something, aren't you?"
"Pika...!" Pikachu's red sacs were flaring at Gardevoir.
"Then again...I expect no less from the Trainer and Pokemon that Ho-oh chose." Her smile then turned into a frown. One of jealousy and disdain. "It's not fair...!" Out of jealousy, Gardevoir's emotions being tied to her power showed once more with Psychic tremors. "Why did Ho-oh choose you two! And not me! My quest for immortality has led up to this because of that accursed Rainbow Pokemon!"
"It's not Ho-oh's fault, you weren't chosen," Twilight argued back as Gardevoir turned to her. "I saw what happened back at the Fairy Realm. The memories we saw. You were just afraid of ending up like those you loved. But you never accepted having the same fate many others do."
"And what would you know?!" Gardevoir roared. "You're an alicorn Arguably, your lifespan is prolonged to a disgusting degree as well! I hate mortality. I absolutely fear it! I don't plan on going through something like that! Something as horrible as that kind of fate!"
"That's just part of life!" Ash shouted. "It's tough but you can't let it get the best of you. It's gonna stick with you forever if you do."
Just then, the words that Ash spoke reminded Gardevoir of a moment back in her past. The same moment that Twilight saw when within the Fairy Realm. The words that the lady said to Gardevoir when she was a Ralts after witnessing the loss of loved ones once more.
"As long as you do not let it get the best of you and linger forever, then you can live a prosperous life, knowing about the difficulties that come with it and becoming stronger."
"I don't want to hear that from you...YOU IMMORTAL BRAT!" Gardevoir rejected Ash's words immediately, raising her voice. Ash and Twilight were not intimidated at all. "I'm going to bury you in the eternal darkness of the Black Hole and have your endless Aura for myself!" Finally having enough, Gardevoir approached Ash and Twilight.
"Here she comes! Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"
"Eve, you use Quick Attack too!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu and Espeon both approached the Embrace Pokemon. The two of them then butted heads with Gardevoir, creating a brief shockwave. They managed to push each other back a bit, staggering together.
"Iron Tail and Aura Sphere!"
"Shadow Ball and Sky Attack!"
"Pika!" Pikachu slid on the ground before running back at Gardevoir with a hardened tail. Assisting him was Togekiss who coated herself in a radiant golden aura. Backing them up from behind were Lucario and Espeon, charging up an Aura Sphere and Shadow Ball.
Gardevoir made a blockade of glowing rocks to try and defend herself, throwing them at the group. Pikachu smashed the rocks apart with his tail whilst Togekiss, who was the most vulnerable to rocks, started manoeuvring her way through the array of rocks.
"Togekiss!" Togekiss made a Hail Arceus attempt, barging through the rest of the rocks to risk some damage as she smashed into Gardevoir. Pikachu followed suit, jumping from rock to rock and hitting Gardevoir in the head with Iron Tail.
"Chu...Pika!"
"G-G...!" Gardevoir stuttered as she almost said her species name from how hard the hit was. She then grabbed both of them with Psychic, bringing them close to her. She gave the two Pokemon a menacing grin, showing how over the edge she was being pushed at.
"Rrr!"
"Espeon!" But quickly saving them were Lucario and Espeon with Aura Sphere and Shadow Ball. Gardevoir gasped as she was struck by the sphere and blob, dropping Pikachu and Togekiss whilst being hurled away. The Embrace Pokemon then crashed into the walls of the tree.
"Dazzling Gleam, both of you!"
"Lucario, Force Palm! Iron Tail, again!"
"Rrr!" Lucario and Pikachu approached Gardevoir while multiple rays of rainbows flew alongside them. Courtesy of Espeon and Togekiss. The rays had hit Gardevoir while she was still on the wall.
Following up were Pikachu and Lucario, jumping into the air. Both struck Gardevoir from the side right after she had been battered by Dazzling Gleam. With further signs of desperation, Gardevoir had then made roots pop up, grabbing Pikachu and Lucario. The two of them had been slammed against each other and then soon tossed into the air.
"Pi-Pika!"
"L-Lu!"
"You two!" She turned her attention to Espeon and Togekiss, appearing in front of them via teleportation. Espeon with her ability to predict her opponent's movements at times tackled Togekiss out of the way, saving them both for Gardevoir's summoning of roots that came diving down.
"Head for the lightning bolts, buddy! Lucario throw him!"
"Lu!" Lucario nodded before grabbing Pikachu whilst still in the air. Pikachu braced himself as the Aura Pokemon started spinning him around whilst free-falling. "Lu..ca!"
"Pika!"
"No, you don't!" Gardevoir quickly flew over to Pikachu, doing what she could to stop him.
"Makeshift Volt Tackle!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu combined two moves into one. He first zapped himself with Thunderbolt while also using the speed of Quick Attack around his body. "PIka-Pika-Pika!"
"What the-" Unaware of Ash's bizarre strategies, Gardevoir was taken back as Pikachu crashed right into her with a temporary Volt Tackle. And one that did not cause recoil.
And staying on focus, Pikachu had crash-landed with Gardevoir near the lightning mountains. Right as they crashed, Pikachu immediately started running to the lightning bolts. But recovering just as quickly as he was Gardevoir who had grabbed his tail. "Pika?!"
"Gotcha!"
"Double Team and Force Palm!"
"Sky Attack and Quick Attack!" But coming to Pikachu's rescue were Lucario who had multiplied himself, Togekiss and Espeon. The Embrace Pokemon gasped before having all of them crash right into her, forcing her away from Pikachu.
"Pika!" Pikachu, now free, went for the bolts as the trio of Pokemon were dragging Gardevoir across the ground, making sure she didn't get a second to break free. Pikachu placed his hands on the mountains, allowing the feeding to begin.
Pikachu closed his eyes as the electricity started flowing into him. All of them were holding so many volts that far surpassed his 100,000 volts of Thunderbolt. Pikachu's body and fur even started trembling from how much he was gathering from it. His eyes opened, flaring out lightning while also making the sound of thunder.
"Get off!" Gardevoir still managed to break free by making a pulse of magic around her body, blowing the trio of Pokemon away and giving herself some free space. The Embrace Pokemon was feeling exhausted, however. This entire scuffle was draining her quickly. "I can't and won't l-"
This time, she was the one who had been cut off. And that came from the sound of thunder. Turning to the other side, that came from only one source. Pikachu. That quickly, he had drawn in all the electricity he needed. Gardevoir was aghast at not only how fast Pikachu absorbed them but how fearsome he looked.
With an overwhelming aura of electricity, Pikachu's eyes started glowing within it as his body was now a mere silhouette at this point. He had reached his peak so far. "Pikachu...!"
"Awesome...!" Ash couldn't help but gawk at this sight.
"I didn't think he'd turn out like that!" Twilight blinked a few times.
"Pi...Ka...Chu...!" Pikachu's voice also had an echo behind it. He started moving forward as his mere footsteps were burning up the landscape. The lightning had reached an unbridled heat due to naturally being hotter than the surface of the sun.
But Pikachu also made mild tremors too whilst moving with this massive aura of electricity. Gardevoir was genuinely terrified of this as she stood up.
"This isn't the end...I can't let it be the end!" Gardevoir breathed in and out, holding out a Black Hole in her hand.
"Use Thunderbolt!"
"Pi....!" Pikachu took a running position before taking off like a rocket, leaving a massive burst of electricity from his takeoff as it almost pushed Ash and the others back. "KA!"
"I won't-" But she had then been interrupted again by a newcomer. Someone who also had a grudge against her. A giant flow of Aura came flying out of the atmosphere, wrapping around Gardevoir. "What?! I can't move!"
"LUCARIO!" Giga Lucario was responsible for this, using her Aura to hold Gardevoir in place from doing anything else. All the while, Pikachu approached, pumping into the air and curling up. But even when restrained, Gardevoir could still use her Black Hole, getting ready to unleash it.
"Pikachu!" Ash shouted.
"Stop her!" Twilight also shouted as soon as everyone did the same.
"DO IT!" Everyone from below and across the area roared, encouraging Pikachu to give it his al. And he did.
"PIKA...CHUUU!" With all of the lightning he had gathered, Pikachu unleashed his greatest Thunderbolt to date. Only rivalled by his signature Z-Move. Emerging out with a flash of multiple colours, the Thunderbolt came jetting downwards, blowing away parts of the Black Hole with its overwhelming light.
Gardevoir put her hand out, aiming to absorb it all with her Black Hole. But that was not the case. The electricity was so aggressive and unrelenting that once it struck the Black Hole, erasing it entirely. It was at that moment that Gardevoir knew that it was all over as she could say only one word to this.
"Oh."
Afterwards, she received a smite from Pikachu with all the electricity punishing her. From near and far, the sight of a titanic and jaw-dropping thunderbolt could be seen. It expanded to a degree so grand that it ended up even piercing the skies of the Black Hole, separating them. The electricity overloaded the Black Hole with unprecedented light, destroying all 17 of them entirely.
The clear blue skies of the realm had been shown as the sun broke through, showing its beautiful lights to all around them as the Thunderbolt came to an end with Gardevoir's eyes whiting out, signalling her defeat.
Pikachu then descended to the ground, sticking a stylish superhero-like landing. "Pika...Pi..." He breathed in and out with his body smoking. All of that gathered electricity in his body had ended.
It was all over.
The Black Hole Tree and everything Black Hole related came to an end, fading away. Ash, Pikachu and Espeon started freefalling, only to be saved by Twilight's magic and Togekiss.
Gardevoir also started falling with no one there to catch her he was unconscious all the way through. But someone did catch her. Delia. Deia held her hands out, quickly catching the Embrace Pokemon and preventing a horrifying end.
"Poor thing..." Even after she tried to absorb her son's Aura, Delia still felt sympathy for Gardevoir. After it all ended, the Electric Realm was also fading out. But it wasn't going away so to say. It was something else. Due to this fade, the 18 Realms had been shown, still in one piece.
Then, everyone's bodies started getting out blue Aura particles. This meant only one thing. They were now leaving as most of them recognized this.
"Guess it's time for us to leave here," Ash said, looking at his hands.
"Pikachu..."
"Gardevoir!" Fluttershy came running over to Gardevoir who was still being held by Delia. Gardevoir twitched as she looked up to see Delia and Fluttershy staring at her. "Audi. Use Heal Pulse."
"Audino." Audino nodded before placing her hands over Gardevoir.
"Curse it all..."Gardevoir groaned as she was being healed but not at the same pace as her Fairy and Grass magic. "I can't believe this...T-This isn't over...My quest for immortality has yet to end."
"You don't have to do this, Gardevoir." Fluttershy held Gardevoir's hand. "You're heading back to reality now. You'll be free. You can live a happy life again out there."
"Fluttershy is right." Celestia descended. "While we cannot condone what you have done, we cannot allow you to go through something like that again. Not from what we saw in your past. We now have access to this realm at any time. You can choose to live your life freely or we can do this same song and dance again when we return."
"Kh..." Gardevoir scoffed. "I choose the Aura. No matter what...I will have immortality. And no one will stop me from reaching that goal." Those were Gardevoir's last words before finally returning to reality, fading away.
"Oh Gardevoir..." Fluttershy sighed before Delia patted her on the head.
"It's fine. I still have high hopes for her," said Delia.
"Huh? Hey, look!" Adagio noticed something ahead. Right above the rest of the doors. Everyone stoon turned to face it. There was a 19th door floating there. "There's another one!"
"Another door?!" Twilight gasped along with many others. "Was that always there?!"
"Not sure...what type is that by the way?" Luna squinted, using her magic to enhance her vision. She then saw what was on the door as it wasn't anything she recognized. "Three question marks? What?"
"That's no type I'm familiar with..." Cynthia shook her head. Everyone then looked at each other before deciding on one thing. "Maybe another time."
Everyone just wanted to go home at this point. They were curious about what could be behind that one final door with an unknown type, but they were too tired to find out.
"This was a fun experience," Brawly commented. "Guess this means that even the Lucario get to pass on. Even that Giga Lucario. Like the name I gave it?"
"Hm. It's decent." Bea shrugged.
"Same to all of you." Spike turned to the many Kommo-o. "Hope we can meet again somewhere in the Pokemon World."
"Kommo-o!"
"What an amazing story to tell!" Fantina applauded. "Bravo to all of us! How about we do something related to this back at the Pokemon School when you all show up?"
"I was thinking the same thing." Roxanne walked over.
"I say we write a song about it!" Roxie appeared in front of both of them. "It would be awesome!"
"I'm heading back to the human world now. But I'd love to see that." Sunset Shimmer chimed in with an approving nod.
"Yeah." Ash smiled before looking up at the sky with the sun shining on everyone. "That would be awesome." His last words in this realm before everyone faded back into reality.
But the last thing they saw was Lucario turning to face the visage of her original trainer. It was time for her to go as well. Back to him on the other side beyond the earth. They then saw the other Ethereal Lucario fly into the azure skies with the Aura visage of their trainers appearing. The defeat of Gardevoir is what led to this. "LUCARIO!" Lucario jumped into the air, waving good to them all.
"Goodbye, Lucario!" Ash and everyone waved back. They were glad to see Lucario, all of them find peace as well, reuniting with their Aura Guardians.
It has been exactly 2 days after the event that took place in the 18 Realms. Gardevoir had been defeated and was currently somewhere out there in the Pokemon World, the Lucario had all moved on to the other side peacefully and despite everything that had happened there, it all took place in the span of just 19 minutes. As for now, they were all taking it easy.
But more than that, they showed up at the Sea Temple. It was still being repaired after the event that occurred not too long ago. The temple was still at Lilycove City with practically the residents knowing about it.
Ash came back here to check up on things while also bringing his friends along to see Samiya for themselves. "Here it is. Samiya. Pretty neat, isn't it?"
"Very neat!" Twilight said as the others nodded in agreement.
"Lucky you." Rarity nudged Ash. "You get to be the king of this entire temple. And yet you won't be there all the time like an actual king would."
"I don't feel like sitting around one place all day." Ash scratched. It was natural for him to be like this. Despite being a king, his free nature still existed, making him one of if not the most active and free-roaming kings ever.
"Your majesty! Welcome back!" Greeting Ash on his return were the people of the Water, waving at their king. Ash waved back at them, seeing them approach. It wasn't just them, but after this revelation of how Ash was the official King of the Sea Temple and the Sea itself, there were non-temple members that approached.
Mainly tourists who came to see the Sea Temple. Before he knew it, Ash was suddenly surrounded as his friends had been blocked off by a crowd of people. It was just him and Pikachu now as even the People of the Water had been blocked off.
"Huh?!" Ash was slightly confounded before receiving a flash to his face. A flash from a camera. "Ow!"
"Pi!"
"Is it really him?! The king?!" The people started chatting as they were drawn to Ash due to his current ranking as a King. The moment the Sea Temple became known, the main thing put first before anything else was royalty. And Ash was currently the king with Manaphy being the prince.
"He's a short king rather than the usual tall one, isn't he?"
"Isn't he the one who participated in the Kalos League?"
"How long have you been king for?!"
"This should've been expected." Rarity whispered. "At this point, the recognition will be on the level of the princesses."
"I think it already is," Twilight whispered back. "But at least it's not a massive number of them. I hope not at least. The Sea Temple's still new to everyone here so it might not be a big deal when you think about it."
"Uh..." Ash was still being bombarded with questions from left to right. But he was used to this kind of attention thanks to Equestria.
"Alright, alright! Please step away from his majesty!" But quickly breaking this gathering up was a familiar voice to Ash. The people moved back as they still followed the word of royalty and anything involved with it.
The person to break it up was Ash's new Royal Advisor. Alo. Now wearing an outfit that made him look like a Royal Advisor fittingly.
"Oh! Alo!" Ash exclaimed. "Sweet outfit!"
"Pikachu!"
"Isn't it? It's been somewhat of my dream to have a position such as this. But the ranking and hierarchy in the temple was fairly limited for that to happen. Thanks to you, I have now gained that role."
"You look ready to advise to me. And uh...what's going on? Is everyone visiting the Sea Temple now?" Ash asked.
"Yes. Our repairs mean that were are still out in the open, unable to descend to the sea. The people of Lilycove City have come by often. I can say that we are making great progress with them."
"Lilycove is neat." Ash crossed his arms along with Pikachu.
"Apart from repairs, we have made new traps just in case another scenario like before comes up again. Although, they are still fairly new and have a lot of work to be done with."
"Traps? Where?" Pinkie Pie said, wandering to see where these traps were. She ended up triggering one of them by stepping on a tile. The tile had been pressed down as Pinkie Pie was then met with an incoming opaque box. The box dropped onto the earth pony, trapping her inside of it. "Oh!"
"Like that," Alo replied. "But not worry! We will adjust them so that they are only activated by those deemed a threat. That requires some of the power from the crystals."
"By the way. Here's more of my friends." Ash introduced Twilight and the others to Alo and the People of the Water. They all waved at them with their hooves, claws, paws and hands.
"Welcome to the Sea Temple." Alo bowed at them all as a greeting. "It's an honour for you all to be friends with his majesty."
"You can just call me Ash." Ash still preferred his name instead of his current position. But even so, he knew the People of the Water would say otherwise. "But looks like everything's okay here. How long until you're all ready to head out again?"
"Not too long, your excellence. I say one more week or so."
"We're not leaving yet," said Twilight. "We came here to see the place for ourselves. You can head back if you want, Ash. We'll be occupied. Mostly me."
"Got it, got it." Ash nodded in understanding. "I got some stuff I wanna do first anyway. And eat..." The King of the Sea then let out a beaming grin, thinking of all the delicious food that he would have the chance of trying. In the meanwhile, his friends would see more of Samiya themselves.
"Ta-dah!" Delia laid out some food for Ash and Pikachu. "Spicy noodles with a side of Slowpoke tail! Plus some jelly-filled doughnuts!"
"Sweet!"
"Pikaaaa~!" Both of their mouths were drooling as they quickly put their hands together, putting on a less energetic face before they go insane on the food.
"Thanks for the food."
"Pikachu..."
"Okay! Let's go!" Ash and Pikachu quickly went back into their energetic state with their hands up. But before they could begin their food ravaging, Delia had stopped them.
"Ah-ah." She wagged her finger as Ash and Pikachu froze on the spot. "Before you do so, did you clean your room?"
"Mmm!" Ash then grimaced, making a poker face instantly. "N-No..."
"Hm. It's been 3 days and it's already looking as toxic as a Muk. You usually don't keep it so messy with clothes and unkempt bed sheets everywhere, Ash."
"Sorry. I was kinda busy and all that. Plus there was the stuff with Gardevoir that we were in and-"
"Even so, you should've cleaned it prior to that." Delia leaned in with an intimidating gaze, giving Ash a fright. "You're not eating this special until it's clean. Understood?"
"Yeah..." Ash pointed, lowering his head.
"Pikachu." Pikachu patted his partner on the back before locking his eyes onto the food. This meant that most of it would belong to him as he was about to dive in.
"That goes for you too, Pikachu. Your Thunderbolts on Ash only add to that mess." But Delia also targeted the Mouse Pokemon, throwing his groove off.
"P-Pi!" Pikachu also froze as he soon pouted with Ash. "Pikachu..."
Delia then walked off, expecting Ash and Pikachu to clean their room soon. Ash and Pikachu would do just that since it meant that they would get the chance to eat this enticing food. But before Ash could sit up, something spoke to him.
"Ignore her...devour the food. It's your right."
"Huh?" Hearing this voice, Ash looked around to see who said it. But the only ones here were him, Pikachu, his mom and Mr Mime. Ah just shrugged, getting up to go clean his room either way.
But as he got up, a shadow had suddenly appeared from behind him, going for the food. Delia was the only one to notice this as she then screeched, pointing at Ash. "Oh my goodness!"
"What happened, mom?!" Ash quickly turned around as the shadow had then disappeared afterwards. Ash did not see it. Neither did Pikachu or Mr Mime.
"Y-You..." Delia trembled. "Had some kind of shadow come out of you!"
"I did? Where?" Ash navigated his head around the area.
"It clearly wasn't my imagination!" Delia bolted over to Ash at breakneck speeds, grabbing him by the face. Ash grunted as Delia started pulling his face to see if he was alright. "Who's doing this?! Is it Ghetsis?! I swear if it's him I'll smack him silly and-"
"Mom, no need to worry," Ash said while in pain from having his mother mess with his face. "I'll check it out over at Equestria if something's going on."
"You do that! Forget the room and the food for now! No son of mine is going to be infected with whatever that thing was!" Delia shook her head as her panic status was starting to calm down.
"I have a name?!" Feeling insulted of being called a thing, the shadow from before had suddenly appeared once more. This time for everyone else to see. They watched as it started taking shape. A large streak of darkness then started semi-wrapping around Ash. And right next to his head, another head had shown up. The head of a stallion. Delia did not recognize this pony but Ash and Pikachu sure did.
It was King Sombra.
"My name is King Sombra! And you will respect me as such!" Sombra got up in Delia's face, growling at her.
"Sombra?!" Ash gasped.
"Pika?!"
"Who do you think you are?!" Delia shouted back, butting heads with Sombra and growling at him as well. They then entered a back and forth head struggle. "Infiltrating my son like that?!"
"That was you?! How'd you get here?!" Ash questioned as he and Pikachu were on high alert. "And why are you here?!"
"Oh please!" Sombra then pulled back away from Sombra. "It's not like I wanted to end up here!"
"You didn't?" Ash tilted his head.
"No!" Sombra let out one final shout before taking a deep breath. "Months and practically a year after my defeat, I started biding my time for my next return if it was possible. I decided if I'm to return, I should start somewhere strong. And the one thing that came to mind was possessing a king."
"A king?" Ash and Delia both said.
"That's right. I have the innate ability to possess any powerful king and become a part of them. And that way, I will eventually have control of their bodies, becoming them and reigning over whatever kingdom or empire there may be. It is an effective backup plan that I never had the chance to pull off for a long time. Until now."
"Oh yeah...I'm a king." Ash pointed at himself. "That makes sense."
"What I didn't plan for was your body!" Sombra went back to shouting. "My goal was King Paramount of Pegalysium and yet somehow, I ended up in your simple-minded body instead!"
"Don't you call my son simple-minded!" Delia then grabbed a rolling pin, bonking Sombra on the head with it.
"Ow! How dare you strike a king?!"
"Well, since you didn't want to go for me, how are you gonna get out?"
"That is the issue. I can't..." Sombra groaned. "I told you that it was the first time I had the chance to use this ability. It turns out, the drawback is heavy as I can no longer leave you. So essentially...I'm trapped. I was confused as to why it directed itself to you but I soon found out that you were the King of the Sea. Practically a majority of the planet. I'm still confused on why it was you of all kings."
"Hehe. Guess you got lucky, huh?" Ash grinned, laughing for a brief moment. "No need to worry. I'm not planning on keeping you around either. I say we head over to Canterlot and figure it out. Sound like a safe bet"?
"Yes. You're actually using your brain. Perhaps there is a way for me to free myself. And when I break free, I won't need you and my conquest for domination will continue."
"And I'll just stop you with all of my friends."
"Pikachu!"
"Hmph. We'll see." Sombra merely smirked at Ash, wanting desperately to leave from his body as soon as he could. His main goal was King Paramount after all. Delia kept a good eye on Sombra as they made their way towards Canterlot in Equestria.
Equestria. Canterlot Castle. Afternoon.
"King Sombra?!" Naturally, upon arriving there and showing himself, Celestia and Luna gasped at the sight of King Sombra being right next to Ash as a floating head with a trail of shadows.
"Pleasure meeting you two again." Sombra cackled. "Looks like you can never truly get rid of me, can you? Not even your best student and company."
"Yeah...this is a problem." Ash pointed his thumb at Sombra. "Apparently, Sombra had some kind of ability that lets him go for any king. He was shooting for King Paramount at Pegalysium, but went to me instead."
"And it's dreadful. So I expect you princesses to have a solution to this conundrum so that I can find a far more worthy king. Hurry it up."
"How dare you?!" Luna got in front of Celestia. "You would dare possess Ash?!"
"I told you it was King Paramount that was my objective!" King Sombra growled back at Luna. "I do not want this at all!" Soon, he and Luna started barking at each other.
"So, is there a way to undo this or something?" Ash asked.
"Unfortunately..." Celestia took a deep sigh. "There is no current spell that we know that can do this. I've heard about this ability before, but there was never a reverse of it. It was just what it was."
"Huh?! S-So you're saying...?" Ash stuttered on his words, leaning forward.
"As it stands, this is undoable. You and King Sombra might as well be attached to the hip right now until something can be found at least."
"I-I-I'm stuck with...him...?" Sombra twitched, slowly turning to Ash. Ash did the same with a similar shocked expression. Sombra then lowered his head in disappointment. "Years of planning leading up to this..."
"But we will try and find something." Celestia halted them. "No matter how long it may take us. And once that's dealt with, we'll find a way to keep you from moving again, Sombra."
"Tch." Sombra simply scoffed at them. "Whatever. As long as I'm free...But more days with this?"
"Hmm..." Ash started thinking about it before shrugging. "Guess we're partners now, huh?"
"We are not partners." Sombra thought otherwise.
"You have all the control, Ash." Celestia walked up to him. "So it's up to you to keep Sombra in check and make sure nothing goes wrong. He might still be able to do something."
"You got it, Celestia. I'll keep a good eye on him. Pikachu included."
"Pikachu!"
Ponyville. Afternoon.
Returning from their visit to the Sea Temple were Twilight and her friends. And upon returning, they came back to an intimidating sight. A sight that only they would be shocked by and not others due to limited knowledge about the Crystal Empire.
"W-Why is King Sombra there?!" Twilight ferociously pointed her hoof at Sombra's floating head. Sombra gave a cocky smirk, knowing that he most definitely still intimidated Twilight after the fearful vision he showed her.
"Oh look at you. You became a princess too, eh?" Sombra chuckled. "So much for the antiquity of alicorns. Might as well be a bargain-sale for them."
"Yeah, sorry if this is super surprising. Celestia and Luna are gonna try and find a way to fix this but it might take a while. Right now, we're stuck together like this. But hey, it's nothing new. Remember the story I told you all about Volcanion?"
"The difference between Volcanion and Sombra is that Volcanion sounded more like a grumpy old man!" Rarity shouted. "This is not the same!"
"Yeah, but they've both got trust issues when you think about it." Rainbow Dash said. "Even if it's the other way around. We've got major trust issues right now."
"Just be grateful my actions are greatly limited now." Sombra scoffed. "The best I can do is speak to him, float around and maybe a headbutt here or there."
"If you were there the entire time, how come it took you this long to show yourself, hm?!" Twilight ascended near Sombra's face, questioning him.
"It took some time for my spirit to return to form. For the most part, I could only hear and see what he was doing. Now I appear as this since my spirit has taken its proper form."
"No need to worry. He's under my watch." Ash reassured. "You can count on me to make sure nothing happens." Just then, Ash's stomach started growling, craving some food. "Ugh...first I gotta eat."
"Pop-in then!" Pinkie Pie encouraged Ash to come to SugarCube Corner.
"No thanks. There's some extra good food waiting for me back home. But I'm only gonna get it if I clean my room. So there's that I gotta do first for mom."
"Ignore her. I'll at least acknowledge you as King and say that you have all the authority to eat that meal in front of you. Let her clean it in the meanwhile."
"Mm-mm." But Ash shook his head, sticking to his word. "King or not, I gotta stand by what mom told me to do."
"Ugh...What a pathetic King." Sombra groaned, shaking his head with great disappointment.
"I don't know about this, Ash." Goh scratched his hair. "It's gonna be pretty weird going on an adventure with him tagging along, don't you think?"
"I get what you mean but..." Ash's stomach growled once more. This time, four stomachs were growling. One from Pikachu, one from Pinkie Pie and the other, surprisingly, from Sombra. "You're hungry too?"
"I have to live somehow, obviously."
"Guess it's back home then." Ash bolted off, heading back home. "Don't you worry, guys! It'll be okay!"
"Pika-Pika...!"
"...I've got a bad feeling about this." Applejack commented, fearing the horrifying events that could come of this bizarre union of good and evil.
Ash and Pikachu arrived back home. They stood before their room, seeing how everything was scattered. All of this would have to be rearranged as Ash tightened his gloves.
"Doesn't need to be spotless, Ash." Delia opened the door. "It just needs to be clean enough to the point where I can't trip and fall over."
"You got it, mom."
"And...I expect you to do it as well." Delia then pointed at Sombra.
"Me?!"
"Yes, you." She nodded. "Now that you're here and essentially stuck, you will follow house rules as well. Here, I'm the definitive ruler and it's even in my world. So in a sense, you can call me Queen Delia, if you wish." Delia then winked.
"Never!" Sombra refused instantly.
"Fine. You're still cleaning, however. Get to it." Delia then left the room as Sombra felt very defeated in this instance.
"Alright!" Ash grinned. "Let's make it a full power cleaning!"
"Pikachu!"
He and Pikachu got to work. They bolted across the room, getting their hands ready. Ash started grabbing everything that had been thrown aside previously, rearranging them as quickly as he could.
Sombra watched, seeing how Ash and Pikachu moved, working together to make this room decently clean. But, even when watching their movements, Sombra felt some irritation. Mainly with how everything was stacked. While Ash and Pikachu were good at cleaning up, keeping everything consistent and properly in place was now their speciality.
Ash had placed some books on the shelves while some were near his computer desks, lying sideways. Sombra then saw how Ash only managed to cover 1/3 of the bedsheets, covering them mattress just partially as some fluff was sticking out. He even saw how Ash and Pikachu completely left the dust alone.
"Enough of this!" Sombra shouted, halting Ash and Pikachu. "This is abysmal! You call this cleaning?!"
"Uh...Yeah?"
"Pika?"
"Move aside. I will show you how it's done." Sombra extended his shadow, deciding to handle things himself. While he was still ahead, he could do something. Perhaps not that much with a horn that could not function at the moment. Sombra used the strength of his shadows to grab all of the unkempt objects he could find. He gathered all the comic books that Ash had, placing them on the shelves neatly with not a single one missed.
He then used the shadows to clean up the dust from everything. Ash and Pikachu covered their eyes and noses as the dust flew everywhere. Sombra quickly opened the window to make it all fly out. He then made sure the bedsheets were on all four sides with not a single one slipping over. The mattress had been concealed as the fluff was taken out.
Delia took a little peek to see Sombra rapidly cleaning the room from top to bottom at great speeds. She was impressed by what she was seeing.
"Oooh!" Ash and Pikachu opened their eyes, gawking at the scene. In a short amount of time, the room had been cleaned far better than what they did. "Sweet!"
"Pikachu!"
"That's how it's done. To think you would try and keep it decently clean. A king needs to make sure it is immaculate instead of above-average."
"If you say so, Sombra. Thanks for the help, anyway."
"It was no-" Just then, Sombra realized what he had just done. He took a gander at the room to see how he was responsible for this spotless appearance. Delia entered the room, applauding Sombra for a job well done. "You...You tricked me!" He got in Ash's face.
"Eh?!" Ash pulled back.
"You forcefully made yourself clean at an average level to make me show you how it was done! That must be it! You crafty little..."
"Whatever you say." Ash put his hands behind his back along with Pikachu, beaming with their innocent smiles. "You did a great job either way."
"Pika-Pika."
"Well, as promised, your special meal is waiting." Delia snapped her fingers. "Hurry before it gets cold!"
"Awesome!" Excited to eat, Ash and Pikachu ran out of their room, eager to eat. Delia then casually followed them as Sombra had a pouty face the entire way through, still upset that he ended up cleaning. His status as a king had dropped, according to him.
When downstairs, they were graced with the meal from earlier. Still piping hot and available to consume. They had their tongues out, sitting down as their fingers were rapidly moving, ready to start chomping away.
Even Sombra couldn't help but be impressed by what he was looking at. This food looked serviceable in his eyes as he gave an approving nod.
"Dig in~!" Delia whistled.
"Don't mind we if we do-"
"Hold it!" But, once more, stopping Ash and Pikachu from enjoying this meal was Sombra. "You're not thinking of diving into like an absolute lunatic, are you? A king must eat properly. Put a napkin on at least before you end up dirtying yourselves with oil."
"Ah, don't sweat it. It's fine with me." Ash went along with it anyway. He started eating the food as he usually does. So did Pikachu. The way they only know how to. Sombra shook his head before his eyes peered over at the meal. He wasn't sure if he could eat it.
Considering how he was technically an intruder and not that accepted by Delia Ketchum at all. Ash was only accepting him to keep an eye on him. King Sombra eyes shifted back and forth as he wasn't sure what the reaction to him grabbing the food would be.
"What are you darting your eyes about for?" Delia spoke to Sombra. "Dig in means you too. I don't know much about you, Sombra, but you did a job well done in that room. So start eating before these two finish it all."
"I will, thank you very much." He said with a pompous tone. Immediately, the way he ate was different from how Ash and Pikachu ate. While Ash and Pikachu just ate in a frantic manner, Sombra preferred to be proper and sophisticated about it.
He even used his shadows to grab some utensils. Once ding so, he began his meal as well. And the moment his mouth met with the food made by Delia in the Pokemon World, his eyes opened with absolute wonder.
"This is amazing!" He shouted as he instantly tossed the knife aside. He only used the fork, slurping at the food and using his bare mouth to chomp on the Slowpoke Tail.
"No one can resist my cooking." Delia winked.
"Human-made food is splendid!" Sombra said. "I could get used to this!"
"Isn't it?!" Ash replied with his mouth full.
"Listen, boy!" Sombra spoke, also having his mouth full, taking some time to swallow. "I demand you take me to the Crystal Empire tomorrow, understood? My rightful place as King should be there and I expect you to sit there for as long as I need you to until a solution to this can be found! Mmm! So good!"
"No way!" Ash shook his head, tossing some food in his mouth. "I already gave my friends a fright! Don't wanna scare more of 'em, ya know!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Well, when you visit there someday, I might have to chain you somewhere if that's the case! Mmm! I demand water!"
They then kept having some banter about how one will stop the other. This continued until they finished their meal. Afterwards, they were exhausted. It would feel weird going to sleep with the spirit of a tyrannical king lurking about, but it wouldn't be the strangest thing Ash has gone through, that's for sure.
Equestria. Ponyville. Day.
Back at Ponyville, Ash had arrived once more. He still had Sombra next to him who hadn't hidden himself. He chose to keep himself out in the open to get a full view of things.
Twilight and the others were still very cautious. It didn't feel right to be cautious around Ash at all. But that had to be the case considering Sombra was with him.
"Did you sleep well, Ash?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah. Turns out, whatever I feel, Sombra feels it too. Kinda." Ash explained.
"That was just a single instance of me being exhausted from the consumption of that food. Food coma exists if you must know. Next time, I will be wide awake."
"You'd better not try anything while he's asleep then," Twilight warned.
"Not like I can. If his life is put in danger then so is mine. I am sitting duck at this point with not much to do anyway."
"Hm?" Just then, Ash's Rotomphone was ringing. That meant only one thing. A Pokemon World Championship match was along the way. "Oh. A Great Class battle. Nice."
Looking around, Ash spotted the trainer approaching that also had a Rotomphone, reacting to Ash's. The slightly older female trainer came before Ash as they had both accepted this request.
Sombra was intrigued to see Ash battle. He would get to see how things truly play out now that his full spirit was out in the open, having a full view of everything else.
Since this battle would take place in Ponyville, there was thankfully enough safe space for this to happen so that no one would be harmed. And since it was made public, some of the residents of Ponyville stopped what they were doing to spectate.
"The battle will be between Contestant Ash and Contestant Isballee! It shall be set to only one Pokemon on both sides!" The Drone Rotom commented, acting as the spectator and referee as always. "Both sides sent out your Pokemon! 3...2...1...Go!"
"Pikachu! I choose you!"
"Please come out, Dartrix!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, jumping into the fray. And emerging out of a Premier Ball was a Dartrix.
"Dartrix!"
"You'd best show me something impressive. Make sure you crush your enemy, boy." Sombra commented.
"Relax. It's not about crushing. Pokemon Battles are all about fun." Ash adjusted his hat whilst replying to King Sombra. Sombra thought otherwise. "But this is your first time seeing a full-on Pokemon Battle so watch and learn."
"Battle Start!"
"Okay, Pikachu! Quick Attack!"
"Pika!" Pikachu went fist, taking off from the ground at lightning speeds as always.
"Dartrix, dear! Use Ominous Wind to fend him off!"
"Dar...!" The Blade Quill Pokemon revealed its wings, promptly flapping them and sending a gust of repulsive wind. It immediately went to Pikachu, holding him back.
"P-Pika?!" Pikachu couldn't move further with Quick Attack. He was then blown back by the wind immediately, hurling through the air. "Pika!"
"Now, use Seed Bomb!"
"Trix!" Dartrix then shot out seeds from its mouth, sending them upwards. Those seeds could explore at any moment as long as they would make contact.
"Electroweb!"
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu's eyes flashed before sending a web downwards. The web then flew downwards, holding the bombs in place. They made contact as they blew up inside of the web.
"Oooh." Sombra nodded in approval.
"Now Iron Tail!"
"Chu...!" Pikachu came diving down with a hardened tail, ready to deliver an overhead smash.
"Leaf Blae, my lovely Dartrix!"
"Dartrix!" Dartrix quickly approached Pikachu with Leaf Blade around its feathers. The blade and iron had then clashed mid-air, creating a mild shockwave from it. The two of them then had a slight struggle, trying to push each other back. "Dar....!"
"Pika...Chu-Pi!" Pikachu ended up winning the struggle, knocking Dartrix down to the ground with sheer power. The Grass-Flying-Type had then crashed onto the ground.
"D-Dar!"
"Not my Dartrix!" Isabelle gasped as Dartrix was still up and able. "Quick, Dartrix! Seed Bomb once more!"
"Dar! Dartrix!" Dartrix then took the sies, choosing to fire Seed Bomb from below, dropping them as if it was a plane.
"Hit then back with Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Pikachu retaliated, swinging Iron Tail towards the bombs. He struck them hard enough to send them flying and trigger at the right moment. Dartrix gasped as Pikachu managed to hit all of them back at it. The Blade Quill Pokemon put up its feathers to block the attacks. It took damage, albeit minimal thanks to its typing.
"Now! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu then descended, sparking his body with electricity. Right as the smoke was clearing, the Mouse Pokemon unleashed 100,000 volts of electricity upwards, shocking the Grass-Flying-Type before the next move could be made.
"D-Dar!" Dartrix cried out, receiving all of those volts before dropping immediately. At least this time, it was not a hard drop. It was a light one. But even with it being light, the battle had been decided. With little struggle, Ash and Pikachu emerged victorious as Dartrix had fainted. "Dartrix..."
"Dartrix is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! Thus, the victor is Contestant Ash!"
"Alright!" Ash cheered with his arm in the air.
"Pikachu!"
"Hm-hm. I'll admit. I was wrong. That was impressive." Sombra gave another approving nod as Ash's friends cheered at his victory. Isabelle walked over, holding her partner up and approaching Ash.
"I knew I should've had my morning coffee before going for a battle. But you and your Pikachu did well, young man." She held her hand out. "Thank you for the battle."
"Dartrix."
"No problem." Ash shook Isabelle's hand. "Get some of that coffee while you're at it."
"Pika-Pika."
"Due to the outcome of this battle, the Pokemon World Coronation Series rankings shall be updated." Leaving the scene was the Drone Rotom, ready to update the rankings as always. Isabelle and Dartrix gave their goodbyes to Ash and Pikachu before leaving to whatever region they came from.
"So. How was that?" Ash asked Sombra."Pretty awesome, right?"
"Hm." Sombra shrugged. "Show me more and I'll be the judge of that."
"Are you gonna be like this every day?" Rainbow Dash flew over.
"Were you expecting anything less?" Sombra scoffed as Rainbow Dash gave an audible growl without having her mouth open. Ash laughed, knowing that this would be a turning point in things.
With Sombra on his side, it was hard to tell if he would be a temporary ally or still an enemy that will do whatever he can while having his full spirit body. Time will tell as the journey continues. .
"...What?" A dumbfounded Princess Cadence and Shining Armor said with faces of confusion. Currently, they were reading a letter from Celestia. It was about Sombra. Not only had he returned as a spirit, but he was also currently a part of Ash. This threw them off guard.
"How did this happen?!" Cadence leaned forward. "How did we let it happen?!"
"Princess Celestia did mention how Ash Ketchum is keeping a good eye on him." said a guard. "So..."
"Hmm...This is a bit troublesome though." Shining Armor grumbled. "I don't know about this. But if she says that Ash is handling it then I'm not too afraid."
"Y-You've got a point. It's not time to panic yet. I'm just more worried for Ash at this point. We'll just keep this letter in mind just in case something comes up." Cadence quickly brought over a sleeve, placing the letter inside of it. "Anyway. There's something equally as important coming up so let's forget about that for now and leave it to Ash. Today is-"
"The PopChariot Show!" Bursting through the door with a booming sound was the older Flurry Heart from Universe 6, startling her parents. "I'm ready!"
"Oh, Flurry Heart." Cadence sighed. "Scared us there. Are you ready for the PopChariot Show today?"
"Yeah, I just said I was." Flurry Heart nodded before appearing in a new fashion. Her mane was altered, having a poofy appearance that almost matched an afro. The young alicorn wore a dress with bright colours as she looked like she was going to the disco. Even the glasses matched. "I even look the part."
"I'm surprised you know about the fashion style from 52 years considering how your world was like." Cadence walked over.
"I was pretty sheltered but that didn't stop me from reading a bunch." She grinned as she even made her teeth extra-white, causing them to shine across the crystal interior. "I'm so excited about this! We'll have the best chariot at that show when we get there!"
"About that. Shining. Is the chariot ready?" Cadence turned to Shining Armor.
"It should be. It'll look extra fancy. More than any chariot. But I hear it'll be a tough competition since Princess Celestia's been itching to join in as well. Maybe."
"What about you, mom and dad? Are you gonna dress up for the show?"
"We have to get in the spirit, obviously. Sylveon~" Cadence whistled for her partner.
"Sylveon!" Rushing through the doors was Sylveon, using her large ribbons to hold a casual dress that wasn't anything too special but fit the fashion years ago plus some oval glasses. She quickly tossed them to Cadence as the Princess of Love stood completely still, allowing the clothes to fully fit on her.
"I'm just as ready as you." Cadence nodded, adjusting her glasses. "But, you need someone to lead that chariot to the main show over at Manehattan. How do you want it? Traditionally or how it was done back then?"
"Back then! Back then, please! But I was also kinda thinking of driving it myself. I'm old enough to do so, aren't I?"
"Yes. You are." Cadence chuckled. "But you don't know how so that's out of the question."
"Aw... " Flurry Heart pouted.
"But if it helps, the guards can dress up to look with the right fashion as well. They might not be too enthusiastic about it though." Cadence shook her head. "Considering they've all been sealed away for about thousands of years after all."
"Well, Flash wasn't sealed up for a long time. How about him?"
"That...works too." Cadence could agree on that. "Plus, you and Flash Sentry are good friends as well. It's a perfect union if I do say so myself."
"Sweet! I'll go get him fit for the occasion!" Bolting off in a flash, she went to approach Flash Sentry immediately.
"Are you sure you don't want to wear anything?" Cadence turned to Shining Armor. "You'd look great with slicked-back hair and all."
"Nah..." Shining Armor had his preference. And this certainly wasn't it. Though, he could appreciate the funky and somewhat streamlined style about this and certainly the style of the chariots that were about to be shown at the PopChariot Show.
Ponyville.
"What are you guys wearing?" Ash, who had just shown up, witnessed some of his friends wearing the fashion of those 52 years ago. He chuckled a bit as currently alongside him was not just Pikachu but now the spirit of King Sombra.
"You all look ridiculous. What is all of this?" Sombra squinted his eyes.
"You wouldn't know since you were sealed for thousands of years, Daddy-O." Keeping in line with the style, the slang used back then had also been used, currently said by Pinkie Pie. "This is for the PopChariot Show. Where everypony gather up to show off their best chariots."
"You all have chariots?" Ash scratched his hair. "I didn't know."
"Pssh. Of course we don't silly. We get temporary chariots when we sign up for the contest and then we go crazy and make it look as great as we want it to be!" Pinkie Pie appeared next to Ash.
"We're in it to win it. I mean me mostly." Rainbow Dash zoomed in. "Get a look at this!" She then showed her chariot which was, of course, rainbow-themed with a dash of stylish pegasus wings on the side. It even had a sleek appearance with Castform and Mienfoo sitting in the back. "Eh? Eh? What do you guys think? I even got the getup too."
Indeed she did. Wearing a bomber jacket that went well with her pilot goggles that held the Mega Stone for Altaria. Even some glasses to add to it that were completely black as she posed next to it.
"What is that abomination?!" Sombra had his opinion on it. And it was one of utter confusion and disgust as Rainbow Dash glared at him. "It is so tacky and unkempt? Chariots should not look like that!"
"Tacky?!" Rainbow Dash growled, dashing over to Sombra and getting up in his face. "Pssh! What do you know?!"
"A lot, actually." The former King of the Crystal Empire smirked. "The chariot in my time had a far more adorned and monarchial appearance to it. One that didn't have an unhealthy amount of colours with eye-piercing saturation. So I would say my knowledge on stylish chariots is fairly immaculate, thank you very much."
"It's not eye pier-" Rainbow Dash looked over at her chariot, seeing how some of the colours while having a pastel look to them, did have a bit of saturation that could harm the eyes. "Ugh...Whatever! It's all about the flair! My chariot's gonna win because of that."
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo bellowed at Sombra along with Castform.
"Cast! Castform!"
"I think not, Rainbow Dash." But interjecting her was another one of her friends. Rarity. She showed up with four of her Leavanny carrying the chariot this way. They then revealed it as it was a chariot with a traditional look but with a spice of Rarity. She ended up designing it after her Pokemon.
It had the stripes of Ampharos and fitting the pattern of the black stripes was the green of her 12 Leavanny. And on the side, as a counter to Rainbow Dash's wings, Pheromosa's Antennae plus Milotic's fins could be found.
"Hm. That is a step up. At least it's less tacky than that one." Sombra criticized.
"Ah! Rude!" Rarity scoffed. "I don't want to hear any criticism from you anyway! Ash, have you found a way to get rid of him yet?"
"Ehehehe...No..." Ash shrugged, making a nervous laugh as well. "If it helps, your chariots look good too, ya know. Any one of 'em looks like they could win."
"I know right? But...Might need some tweaking." Rainbow Dash went underneath the chariot. "But I don't know how to work these things out so..."
"But I can." Sombra floated ahead. "My knowledge on chariot also extends to practical experience. If you think about it, guaranteeing your victory means absolute tinkering of other chariots."
"Huh? You mean you're gonna try and sabotage the rest?! No way!" Rainbow Dash shielded her chariot, placing her hooves all over it. "Besides, I ain't' trusting you with my chariot! Or anypony's!"
"Hoh? Would be intimidated if something like this happened?!" Just then, Sombra's eyes turned into his signature green colouring with the purple aura flaring out. He glared at Rainbow Dash as he could still use some of his magic to an extent. Sombra was about to show Rainbow Dash some until Ash pulled away, dragging Sombra away from Rainbow Dash's line of sight. "Hm?!"
"Alright, that's enough, Sombra," said Ash. "Keeping an eye on you means I gotta make sure you don't do anything to my friends either."
"Pikachu..."
"Hmph. I was just going to show her the potential fear that she was worried about. If I'm being honest, I can truly tinker with those chariots for your benefit. During my rule, I had only the most efficient chariot there was. Of course, it was mainly pulled by others but with a hint of magic, it could even teleport."
"...Seriously?" Rainbow Dash sounded impressed by that as her curiosity had been grabbed. "A teleporting chariot?"
"Oh yes. It had both power, speed and simple teleportation. Unfortunately, no thanks to those two sisters, the moment they sealed me up, my chariot was been lost in the harsh snow, never reemerging. Curse them both...!" Sombra growled, showing utter disdain to Celestia and Luna.
"Well, you still can't fool me, even if you've got a pretty convincing offer. Plus you talk too much." Rainbow Dash laid n her chariot, crossing her hooves.
"Get to your meaningless contest already. Perhaps I can lay out some harsh criticism to whatever abominations the rest of them bring along."
"Well, I've got one!" Pinkie Pie raised her hoof. "I stayed up all night working on this with Jade always being awake and it's my masterpiece! Call this an abomination then!" Pinkie Pie whistled as Mew, who had currently transformed into a Machamp, brought the chariot over.
Ash, Sombra, Pikachu, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and their Pokemon looked up to see a comically large chariot approaching, casting a massive shadow over them. Actually, it didn't look like a chariot that much. It mostly resembled a massive that just so happens to have the leash of a chariot. It was all pink, Everything was pink. It was a simple design yet extravagant at the same time.
"How's this?!" Pinkie Pie flailed her hooves around the chariot as Mew had dropped it, returning to his normal form. "Now this is one nopony's gonna resist, right?!"
"...I take it back. The rest of your chariots are at least tolerable." Sombra decided that Pinkie Pie was the worst by a margin.
"What are we waiting for?!" Pinkie Pie hopped into the tank-chariot hybrid, ready to go. Rarity and Rainbow Dash did the same as they chose to head to Manehattan in the chariots. And pulling them would be their trusty partners. Braviary, Altaria and Pheromosa. Two of them were fast enough to get the job done.
"You might find this fun, Sombra." Ash said to Sombra. "I'm already getting excited."
"Ugh. Sounds like an absolute bore. You should all feel lucky that I am just a spirit. If I were free, I guarantee you that-"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Rainbow Dash cut him off. "You're stuck with us now. Mostly Ash. Now hop in, and let's get rolling!"
"Okay!" Ash cheered, jumping into Rainbow Dash's chariot was Sombra chose to re-enter Ash, not showing his spirit form to anyone else. Once inside, Rainbow Dash and everyone were ready to go.
It wasn't just them. A few other residents from Ponyville chose to head to Manehattan with their custom chariots, showing them off along the way. They even started racing each other to Manehattan with Pheromosa already being ahead of the competition.
Showing up with a chariot of their own was the Apple Family. They kept it minimalistic in size but abundant in apples. Next to Rarity's their had a more simple design. "Get a good look at this, ya'll!" Applejack whistled with Apple Bloom's head coming into view. Pulling the chariot was Big Mac's Machamp. "Haha!"
"Are those real apples?" Ash leaned in, pointed at some apples that were on the side. They were all in baskets, ripe and fresh to eat.
"Sure are. Want one?" Granny Smith suggested, holding an apple up. Ash and Pikachu nodded in agreement as the old earth pony tossed it in their direction. They both caught the apples, getting ready to have a small snack.
"You guys are all on land but we're flying high right here!" Rainbow Dash laughed, looking down on everyone.
"But you're not the one ahead, are you?" Rarity whistled with Pheromosa blitzing past Rainbow Dash's chariot. They all had left Ponyville with their chariots. Along the way, they got to sightsee some Pokemon while also seeing other ponies from near and far locations within their own chariots, making their way towards Manehattan.
Some chariots acted as short takeaway stores. They involved food with their chariots, trying to make some currency while touring towards the big city. Some chariots slowed down to grab some food, filling their stomachs.
"Pelipper!" A flock of Pelipper came swooping in for the food, snatching some of them in an instant to feed themselves. They were caught off guard by this greatly as even the Apple family's chariot was targeted due to the real apples they had on the side.
On the other side, there was Flurry Heart's chariot, currently being pulled by Flash Sentry and another guard. Just like she said, Flurry had gotten Flash to dress for the occasion. His hair was already slicked back but with some grease on it. He even wore a snazzy black jacket. His appearance matched more of his human world's counterpart due to this slight appearance change.
"Full speed ahead you two!" Flurry Heart cheered, trying to give them a boost in speed as Cadence was just laying back on the chariot.
"Did I really have to dress like this, your majesty?" Flash asked.
"Flurry Heart was the one who suggested it. Not me." Cadence shook her head. "Besides, she also thought you'd look dashing in it and she was right."
"Mom!" Flurry Heart nudged her mother with her face turning red.
"Oops!" Cadence put her hooves over her mouth. "Did I say that out loud?"
"What?" Flash then turned to them, taking some time to process it.
"Nevermind that! Have a look at that though!" Flurry Heart quickly changed the subject, aiming her hoof at something else in the distance. They could see a Wailord jumping out of the sea with its extravagant size. That was always a sight to behold no matter what.
While also spotting the Wailord jumping out of the sea, they came across other chariots that greeted them along the way. Some were in a hurry to get there. Within the chariot of the royal family, there was a vanity visor that Flurry Heart had just discovered. "Ooh!"
"Snorlax!" A Snorlax could also be seen moving along. But it was mostly asleep, lying on a board that had wheels on it. Flurry Heart giggled, watching the Normal-Type move along without knowing about its current predicament.
Once many of the chariots got far, most of them gathered around the same spot. Pinkie Pie's chariot, which looked more like a turret started acting like her partner cannon, shooting constant confetti left and right. "Woohoohoo!" She cheered while shooting it.
"Cruising with our friends is pretty neat like this!" Ash grinned as Rainbow Dash had given him and Pikachu some smooth glasses. The same that she was wearing. They adjusted the glasses with a cheesy grin, allowing the sun to beam and shine off of them. "Hey, guys!" He then waved at the Royal Family.
"Hiya! Sweet ride!" Flurry Heart waved back before going over a hill with her voice fading into the background. The Snorlax from before had also shown up before passing by again.
"Pikachu?"
"Mienfoo..." Mienfoo started dozing off, waiting for the ride to end. While dozing, she was already dreaming about breaking some metal one by one. The equivalent of counting Mareep to her.
"There's the big city!" Ash pointed ahead, spotting Manehattan in the distance as many chariots had already gathered around. During this trip, Sombra decided to appear one more time as a shadow but with some stealth added in. He saw all the other chariots and all the hard work put into them.
He was about to put his tinkering skills to the test. The shadow of Sombra had then moved parts of his shadow-like body, reaching for the other chariots nearby. But as he was about to do that, he spotted Cadence and the chariot they were on. He quickly stopped what he was doing to see this.
He also noticed how the chariot they were currently using was his long lost chariot, completely revamp. Keeping in them with the Crystal Empire, it had a crystalline appearance but with the union of Cadence and Shining Armor's colours. The shield of Aegislash could be seen on the side and back as well. It was far past his original design.
"W-What have they done to my chariot?!" He cried out, alerting Ash and Pikachu.
"Oh, Sombra. That's your chariot?" Ash spoke. "Nice."
"Not nice, boy!" Sombra moved to Ash. "It looks nothing like what it used to back in the day!"
"R-Really? Looks pretty fancy to me. Hehe."
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu and Ash laughed as Sombra had visible veins showing up on his head. He didn't even have a clever retort this time. Sombra just gave up and went back into hiding in Ash as the chariots continued on their way towards the PopChariot Show.
Manehattan. Afternoon.
They had shown up in Manehattan. All of the contestants. It wasn't the biggest competition in the world with a fairly small crowd but not too small. This competition was a niche to many, making it unique in its own right.
"Have a look at that one!" There were already judges present as any chariot could come through, show off their style and leave immediately. There had already been chariots that had shown up here earlier as the new ones had arrived. They were currently looking at Pinkie Pie's chariot. "Is that a weapon?!"
"If you mean weapons-grade fun then sure!" Pinkie Pie patted her hoof on the chariot as it even made the metal sound that a turret would normally make. Absolute echoes. "This baby's got a lot of fun surprises in store! Like this! Spinda, now!"
"Spinda!" Within the chariot, Spinda had pulled a lever, causing something to shoot out of the chariot. Out of it came cakes that immediately landed perfectly in front of the judges' table without making a mess.
"Hm. Neat." The judges were impressed as they would also have something to eat as well, earning Pinkie Pie's chariot some recognition.
"Not the only one with food!" Appearing alongside Pinkie Pie's chariot was the Apple Family's chariot, throwing apples over at the judges' table while showing off their chariot design. "How's this, ya'll?" Applejack asked.
"I coloured in the apples!" Apple Bloom raised her hoof. "And Sceptile too."
"Sceptile."
"Did this turn to a food contest all of a sudden?" A judge whispered.
"Pssh. If so I don't mind. I woke up early today anyway." Another whispered. "But aside from that, simple but simple is best I suppose. Even if that height is intimidating. Oh, but what say that one from above?" They then turned their attention to Rainbow Dash's chariot that was flying high with the strength of Braviary and Altaria pulling it.
"Only Princess Celestia's got a chariot that always flies!" Rainbow Dash cackled. "Not any more!"
"That's some saturation.." A judge said, squinting her eyes. "But sleek design either way!"
"Ha! See?" Rainbow Dash turned to Ash when she was really speaking to Sombra. Sombra's head could be slightly poking out as he hadn't fully revealed himself to everyone. "Say, where's Rarity by the way?"
"She already came through with her design." A judge spoke, petting his Meowth. "We rated it high with how fancy and traditional she kept it. It helped that it worked well with Manehattan's setting. And speaking of fancy and traditional!" Their attention was soon drawn towards the chariot of the Crystal Empire.
"Look at that!" One of the judges sat up, almost devouring the cake in front of them. "That crystalline's nothing I've ever seen before!"
"Nopony rarely gets to see the crystalline chariot. So this is a rare opportunity, don't you think?" Cadence commented before leaning in on Flash Sentry and the other guard. "You two can take a break now."
"Nice." Flash sighed, removing the reins off of him. "Oh, my neck...Not used to pulling a chariot."
"I think you'll get used to it." Flurry Heart walked up. "Mane looks even nice up close with all that grease."
"Hm. Thanks. But...it makes my mane itch so I don't know if I like it. Plus this jacket's too gith." Flash groaned, clearly in a somewhat uncomfortable situation as Flurry Heart giggled.
"By the way...Wasn't Princess Celestia said to show up to this?" Cadence said.
"She's just gonna be using the same chariot she always has, right? I mean, it's pretty neat even without any new looks. Rainbow Dash shrugged." The moment she said so, everything had been currently put to a halt with silence filling the area. That silence soon erupted into noise as everypony's attention was drawn to something far larger than what Pinkie Pie had.
Once they swivelled around, their jaws dropped with their mouth expanding. The ground trembled as a gargantuan shadow had been cast over them. And the shadow belonged to a massive chariot. A chariot with the symbol of the Sun in the front and side.
And pulling the chariot was the Legendary Pokemon of Truth, Reshiram. That was certainly a stunning surprise. Another surprise was that this chariot was not the one that everypony expected Celestia to use. They already knew what her chariot was like and it was certainly not this size. Showing up to the scene was Princess Celestia herself, overshadowing everybody with her gleaming colours of white and gold. Scintillating wheels that looked to be made out of gold and with the magnificent visage of Reshiram in the front, shooting a beam of fire into the air with a mighty roar.
"Hello." Celestia waved. "I hope I'm not too late." She sat there with a smirk on her face. Everyone was stunned by Celestia's entry. And she knew it, making her all the more proud that she brought it along.
Even Sombra had to show himself for this. He nodded in approval. That was a chariot that was worthy of his respect without a doubt. And as there was some silence for a bit, it was quickly broken up by the passing Snorlax on the board, still asleep, but it managed to sniff out some of the cake and apples on the table.
"Ooh." Celestia's attention was also drawn to the cake. "She was about to hop out until Snorlax subconsciously hopped off the board, opening its mouth and snagging the cake. The judges sat there in shock as Snorlax flew over them while also perfectly landing back on the board, continuing on its wake.
"Snorlax!"
"Uh...W-Well...I think we can grant a winner since these are the last entries." A judge stuttered. "Rewards please!" The other judges then brought over three trophies and some ribbons for the chariots. "For the best chariot, that goes to...Rarity!"
Applauds ran through as Rarity won the best chariot design, taking the trophy. She squeed with excitement as Pheromosa hugged her partner. "We did it Pheromosa!"
"Mosa! Mosa!" The Lissome Pokemon spun around with Rarity.
"Nonsense. For once, I was on Celestia's side..." Sombra groaned before going back into hiding.
"For second place, it goes to Princess Celestia's chariot. And for most spontaneous, these two ribbons will go to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie." A trophy was given to Celestia and two ribbons to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie's chariots.
"Second place again?!" Adagio could also be seen within the chariot, popping her head out. This is the second time she's gotten second place in a contest. At least the third considering the Dazzlings were runner ups in the Battle of the Bands.
"Cheer up, Adagio. That just means we know what to do next time." Celestia chuckled. "Plus, you deserve this trophy too. It was you that encouraged me to join and even came up with the new chariot design."
"R-Really?" Adagio was given the trophy.
"Really. It's a one of a kind chariot for a one of a kind pony hybrid."
"W-Well...I-It was nothing!" Adagio crossed her hooves, feeling less bitter after receiving Celestia's praise. She let out a small chuckle even as did Reshiram.
Third place went to the Apple Family's chariot while the royal family received a ribbon just for the chariot's glow alone and how it complimented the sun. Didn't win but we'll take it. Same time next month or so?" Flurry Heat commented.
"Well, if it means I don't have to wear this again then sure," Flash replied. "B-But if it's your order, princess, then I'll continue to wear it!"
"It's fine. I think you look great without the getup." Flurry Heart complimented Flash Sentry before having her face turn red once more. This small competition came to an end, but there was always next month. Everyone's designs were certainly over the top but unique nonetheless.
Sombra heard them all chatter the afternoon away, residing with Ash. All of this was just dreary to him. But unfortunately for him, there was a lot more like this to expect all the time as the journey continues.
"Aaah...!" Ash was currently ready to brush his teeth with Pikachu encouraging him. He had his toothbrush ready, laced with toothpaste. Immediately, he got to brushing as fast as he could. "Nnnn!" Ash grunted with effort, beginning to brush his teeth at full force.
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu shook his body around, mimicking Ash's brushing speed.
"Just like yesterday. You brush your teeth in that manner every day?" Sombra, who was currently out as his usual spirit form, grimaced at Ash's frantic brushing skills. "Absolute lunatic, I swear."
"Gotta do your best to have great hygiene, don't ya think?" Ash replied with his teeth out, full of toothpaste while brushing it all around. After brushing for a bit, Ash then rinsed his mouth, finishing his brushing routine before having sparkling teeth that shined so blissfully. "Aaah! That's more like it!"
"Pikachu!"
"At least brush with dignity like a king..." Sombra grumbled.
"Who needs dignity when you've got spirit! You're gonna brush your teeth too, right Sombra?"
"I have no worry about hygiene. The only thing I feel is pain and hunger. That is all. But I could feel more, I can guarantee that my teeth would shine brighter than the Sun itself. Without question."
"Man, you're all about being all big and stuff, huh? Just like Rarity and Adagio when I think about it."
"Do not compare me to those two." Sombra scoffed. "I am far beyond anypony. Even those after my time. I am and always will be in my prime."
"Like now?"
"Kh!" Sombra flinched from that as Ash had quickly shut down his entire sentence with one sentence only. "Curse you boy..."
"Ah, don't sweat it. Being with you wasn't as bad as I was thinking it would be." Ash went to put his clothes on. "You're not so scary, ya know. Haha!"
"Feel lucky, brat. With my powers greatly diminished and me being reversed into this spirit form, apart from a few physical interactions, my skill in berating others and mocking them never faded. If I could do more or the things I would do...Being alongside you temporarily until a solution can be found is downright unfavourable."
"Gotta get used to it, Sombra. You never know. You could find a lot of fun things with the adventures we go along on. And if there's no solution, then you're along for the ride. On my journey to become a Pokemon Master!"
"What exactly is a Pokemon Master?" Sombra asked, fairly curious. "It does pique my interest. Especially with these powerful creatures that now populate our world. Are you aiming towards a goal that involves total domination? IF so, then you might not be as pathetic as I thought..."
"A Pokemon Master's something I don't know yet."
"Your goal is a title that you don't know about? I take back what I said." Sombra shook his head. "Why not just ask a Pokemon Master then so you end up saving yourself the trouble."
"About that...there are no Pokemon Masters out there. Not a single one. It's something no one's ever reached or ever really thought about. That's why I'm gonna be the first one." He then placed his gloves on, tightening them. "The first and greatest master of them all." Ash then put on his jacket as it blew with the air. "I'll go beyond becoming a Pokemon Champion and reach the very top of it all!" And finally, he put his hat on, adjusting it perfectly.
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped onto his partner's shoulder.
"Hm-hm. Your conviction is strong. I will give you that. And aiming to be the very best of a rank that has never been made before but stands above everything else...That's rather admirable." Sombra had to at least compliment Ash about that. "Not bad, boy. Those are some kingly qualities, I'll admit that. But you're still fairly underwhelming at best."
"You keep saying that. Besides. One way to get closer to becoming a Pokemon Champion is beating Leon."
"Leon?"
"Yeah. He's the world's strongest Pokemon Trainer. Number one!" Ash spread his arms out. "Only way to take that title and become the world's strongest is by taking part in the Pokemon World Coronation Series. That's what you saw me do the other time with Isabelle. Once I jump up the ranks, I'll face Leon for that title of World's Strongest Trainer. And it'll take me one step closer to being a Pokemon Master."
"Very well. You have my full interest. Your goals are notable. Almost somewhat similar to mine, if I'm being honest. So, all you have to do is overcome this championship and face the greatest trainer of them all."
"Pretty much. It's not gonna be easy. There are some heavy hitters around that I gotta watch out for. But all my friends are gonna be cheering for me all the way through. You'll do the same, right?"
"Hah! As if!" Sombra chuckled. "You are far too rambunctious to reach the very top of it all. I would rather cheer for that Leon individual but he is already at the top, isn't he?"
"You'll see."
Equestria. Ponyville. SugarCube Corner. Day.
"Thank you for the food today, Pinkie Pie." Visiting the place as always was another great friend of Pinkie Pie. One of Galars Gym Leaders, Bea. She was currently holding a basket of sweets made by Pinkie. "It'll be in good faith as always."
"No problem. Oh and thanks for the Dynamax Band that one time." She raised her right hoof, showing the band. "I mean, I haven't gotten to using it yet, but I know it'll be nifty. Helps a bunch since we've got those glowing Dynamax things here in Galar now."
"Use it wisely when you need to. For me, I mainly use this power during my championship battles. But I imagine there's not much use for it here in Equestria, right?"
"Nope!" Pinkie hopped onto a nearby couch. "Nopony's used Dynamax or Gigantamax here in Equestria yet. Most of it comes from Wild Pokemon that bump into something funny. I mean, I'm the only pony here with the Dynamax Band, ya know."
"Then there might be little opportunity for you to use them. What about the Equestria League?" Bea asked. "Is Dynamax allowed there?"
"Oh, it would be if anypony could do it. We've got Z-Moves and Mega Evolution in it so Dynamax is a plus!" Pinkie Pie grinned. "Don't know who's gonna use it though! Ooh, maybe the last Gym Leader."
"Hm." Bea made a slight chuckle. She then turned her head to the window, noticing the arrival of Ash and Pikachu. And alongside them, Bea had seen Sombra. "What is that shadow head next to the Trainer of Lucario."
"Oh. You mean Ash?" Pinkie Pie got up from the couch. "That's King Sombra. One scary pony...!" She then flailed her hooves, making a face to present Sombra's intimidating nature. "He used to be the King of the Crystal Empire and now he's stuck to Ash. You know, I've got a good feeling about those two. They could super good friends when you think about it."
"That doesn't look to be the case so far." Bea shook her head as she also noticed Ash and Sombra arguing whilst walking through the streets of Ponyville.
"You absolute clown!" Sombra yelled as Ash swayed his head to the side. "You do realize that we are practically linked? If you perish, I perish! I will not have my plans and essentially my legacy end because you are so courageous!"
"Your legacy's not even that fun at all." Ash pouted, holding his ear after Sombra's shouting. "Besides, you don't have to worry. We're not gonna perish. No matter what."
"In a world full of these creatures of mass destruction, I highly doubt it. Just don't try anything like that. That Delayed Aura Ataxia you brought up could be what ends it all."
"Yeah. But I'm working on that. A Gardevoir ended up making Delayed Aura Ataxia and we beat her. But I guess that didn't stop it entirely. Once we figure it out, it'll be extra smooth sailing from there on!"
"Pikachu!"
"Losing everything because of you will be utterly embarrassing...Those princesses have better hurry with a solution already...!" Sombra growled.
"Hey, Ash! Pikachu!" Pinkie alerted them, making them look over. They noticed her along with Bea. "Oh and Sombra too, I guess."
"Hey, Pinkie! Bea!"
"Pikachu!"
"The Pink One," said Sombra.
"Eating gd and up for a battle?" Ash went up to them.
"Sorry. We can battle another time, Trainer of Lucario."
"My name is Ash.." Ash sighed as Bea still referred to him as a title. Not the title he was hoping fr and the one he has yet to reach.
"This is Sombra? How did this happen?" Bea wondered, facing the spirit of King Sombra. She then narrowed her eyes for a moment. "This feels a bit uneasy as well..."
"I know right?" Pinkie climbed onto Bea's shoulder, whispering in her ear. "Not every day you get a tyrannical ruler as your partner."
"We are not partners," Sombra replied, able to hear the whispering without any issue. He then started talking to himself. "Let there be a Pokemon that can solve my issue..."
"No need!" Just then, Twilight's voice could be heard. She had approached the group with Cold Colt by her side. They turned their attention to her as the Princess of friendship and the Rift Pony came to a screeching halt. "We might have an answer to your problem!"
"You do?" Ash and Sombra both said. "Oh!"
"That's right. I don't know why we didn't think this before. Cold Colt." Twilight nudged her student as the little unicorn waved.
"Oh. It's you." Sombra recognized Cold Colt as he had temporarily put him under his control. "I remember you. You were a temporary slave of mine. And from what I recall, the one who helped with my freedom before, correct?"
"W-Well...that was mostly Obsidian and Emerald, not me." Cold nervously said, backing up once Sombra got closer.
"But you are a pony of a similar magical property. You can free me!"
"A-About that..." Cold's nervousness was already rising. "I-I'm not as great as I used to be with it. I mean, I am. I'm even greater but...my magic's still unpredictable. I still haven't reached a crazy level where I can do body separation. I don't know what I could do with a zap."
"But it's a possibility," Twilight uttered. "If Princess Celestia and Princess Luna can't find a situation in time, then the last resort will be Rift Magic. When Cold masters it all."
"And how long will that take?" Sombra questioned with narrowed eyes.
"Hopefully not too long. Cold's a quick learner. Soon, you'll be out of Ash and back in sealing in no time."
"As if I'll be sealed up again. My soul and my spirit will always carry on, no questions asked, little princess.." Sombra scoffed as Twilight did the same.
"Pi. Pika?" Just then, Pikachu had picked up some familiar scents. Two of them. He then tapped Ash on the shoulder, quickly alerting him. "Pikapi! Pikachu!"
"What's up buddy?" Ash asked as Pikachu pointed to the south of Ponyville. Soon, Ash, Sombra, Twilight, Bea and Cold Colt's attention were all turned there. And there, they saw the two individuals that Pikachu had sniffed out, arriving. They were familiar to everyone's eyes except for Sombra. But one of them was mainly familiar in Ash and Pikachu's eyes.
It was Red and Gold.
"Red! Gold!" Ash cried out.
"Pi! Pika!"
"Oh, Red's back!" Twilight gasped. "But who's that next to him?" Gold was the only one she and her friends hadn't met yet.
"Heya!" Gold appeared beside Red from behind, waving at them. As always, Red stayed mute but kept a smile on. "Glad we could see you again, Ash!"
"Great to see you two again!" Ash ran up to them. "So you came back to this world, huh?"
"Sure did. I mean, we've kinda already done everything back in our world when we thought about it. Might as well continue exploring this place, ya get what I mean?" Gold shrugged.
"I do, I do. Say? Where's Blue and Silver?" Ash noticed how their rivals were not with them.
"They're doing the same thing. Had the same idea as us. But they're going solo instead." Gold explained quickly before noticing Sombra next to Ash, floating there like a caused spectre. "Woah uh...What's up with that floating head?"
"Hm? Oh, this is Sombra. It's kind of a long story, so don't worry too much about it yet." He chuckled.
"I need not explain myself either. I will go back in hiding for the time being." Sombra then hid back in Ash as Gold had so many questions after witnessing that.
"Uh...okay then. We heard about this town Ponyville and how great it was. So we stopped by to check it out. Good thing a gateway was close to it and all that. Can't wait to get started!"
"...?" Just then, the silent Red's attention was drawn elsewhere. His eyes locked onto someone. And that someone was a shocked Bea.
Bea stood there with a perplexed face. Pinkie Pie noticed this shocked expression as Bea froze there. The Fighting-Type Specialist had never been this shocked before. "Hey, Bea. What's wrong?" Pinkie asked Red gave an intensive stare while looking at her. Ash and the others soon noticed this.
"That's him..." Bea spoke, pointing at Red. "That's the Trainer I lost to!"
"Hm? Huh?" Pinkie was confused for a bit until recalling something that Bea said a while back.
"I can take a loss. But not like the one I went through. I've lost to even Champion Leon but I knew I could always improve to try and be better than the best. But, I came across one trainer not too long ago. I've never experienced something like that before."
"Oh! That was Red?!" Pinkie gasped as her eyes and tongue promptly left her body for a moment.
"Oh uh...You two know each other?" Gold looked back and forth, seeing Red's intensive stare. The atmosphere was changing from this interaction. Bea then closed her mouth with a single sweatdrop showing. She then tightened her fist, gulping with nervousness entering her system.
Then, she started approaching Red. At least, getting close to Trainer Red enough. Once she did, she stood before the otherworld visitor. "Red." She cried out his name with vigour. "Please. Battle me again."
"..." Red stayed silent for a moment, not fully responding to Bea's answer. He doesn't talk to respond. He mostly lets battling do it for him or slight head movements and facial expressions. But he didn't do either of those. Instead, Red walked off, not engaging with Bea.
"W-Wait!" Bea stuttered, running after him. She then got in front of the mute trainer. "I demand a rematch against you at once! You might think I'm the same as I was before...then again you're so silent it's hard to tell...but I can assure you, I'm stronger than before! I wish to show you!"
"..."
"Uh, hold on..." Gold slid into the scene. "I can speak for you."
"You can understand Red?" Twilight said.
"Kinda. Being around him makes you get his silent stuff easier." Gold shrugged. "You see, Red's not neglecting you. He's just wanting to check the place out before he starts battling."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah. He may be battle-hungry, but he's not that hungry." Gold wagged his finger playfully. "I can say the same for me. Isn't that right, Ash?"
"You said it!"
"Pikachu!"
"Well...A-Alright then. My apologies for shouting at you like that." Bea bowed. "I should've waited. Honestly."
"..." Red paused before smiling at her, accepting her apology. Just then, at the corner of his eye, he noticed a pony nearby that his attention was drawn to. Vinyl Scratch was the pony. Red then approached, noticing how she was carrying records with her. Records that played music with names that interested Ash.
"Hm?" Bea's head was raised as Red approached the DJ unicorn. Soon, the two of them came face to face. It was at this moment that Twilight and Pinkie noticed that Vinyl couldn't talk either. Well, it wasn't that she couldn't talk, she just chose not to.
"How's this gonna go?" She and Pinkie said the same thing.
"..." Red and Vinyl then looked at each other. Red then pointed at the records, showing interest in them. He then nudged his head as Vinyl did the same. They then kept staring at each other with absolute silence. There wasn't even any audible sound with their movements.
The two then smiled at each other as Vinyl nodded her head, holding out a record to Red. She then nudged her head over at her home, implying that Red could come by and listen to some tunes. Red gave a thumbs-up afterwards before turning around and returning to the others.
"You understood each other?!" Twilight, Pinkie, Cold Colt and Bea simultaneously said with booming shouts. They were surprised by how well Red and Vinyl communicated. Then again, in a strange way, it made perfect sense.
"..." Red then put his hands in his pocket before holding out a Poke Ball. He then stood before Bea with it.
"Looks like, Red's changed his mind." Gold translated for her. "He's up for that battle right now. Guess he's already got something to do later on like listening to that music."
"Oh. T-Then, thank you!" Bea bowed again. "I promise you, Red. I won't be the same as I was before! Count on it!"
"Hey!" Bursting out of Town Hall was Mayor Mare, shouting in their direction. "If you two are about to battle, please do so in a location that doesn't involve the potential destruction of this town! I remember from last time, Red!"
"...!" Red flinched from a bit, putting the rest of his hands in his pocket after Mayor Mare's shout. They would have to enact their battle elsewhere. And thankfully, there were some options.
Saddle Lake. Day.
Saddle Lake was the place to be. Gathering there were Red and Bea. And this time there was a slightly larger crowd. The rest of the Mane 6 had gathered to see this. Mainly due to Red's return along with a few other friends that were Ponyville residents. They were expecting him to battle Ash again but that was not the case.
"No battling Ash this time?" Scootaloo said. "And where's Blue?"
"Busy." Gold translated. "For now, think of me as Blue. I'll be doing some of the commentating and all that, huh? Just like when they both showed up at this place.
"Hm...No thanks. Blue was cocky and you seem too nice." Scootaloo said as she preferred the banter that she and Blue had back then.
"Gah!" Gold took a hit from that as that response caught him off guard.
"Okay. How many Pokemon do you want for this?" Twilight asked, acting as a referee in this instance.
"Please make it 6." Bea requested as Red did not object to her decision. A battle was a battle either way. Plus, he didn't respond at all with anything.
"A full 6-on-6 Battle it is. The battle will be over when all 6 Pokemon on either side are unable to continue. Good luck you two and don't hold back. Just uh...make sure not to destroy us in the process." Twilight floated back.
"Come on, Bea! You can do this!" Pinkie was mostly rooting for Bea than Red. Ash would observe this battle closely to see what he could learn as would Sombra to an extent. Both Trainers were ready to send out their Pokemon.
"Here goes..." Bea took a deep breath before throwing the Poke Ball out. "Go! Hawlucha!" Her first Pokemon was Hawlucha.
"Hawlucha!"
"..." Red didn't say anything as always. He just held his Poke Ball out and allowed the first of his many Pokemon to emerge. In this instance, it was Lapras.
"Lapras!"
"Red's only gonna talk to give commands like before right?" Sweetie Belle asked. "That's still pretty weird but cool how he does it."
"Not this time." But Gold had a different answer, shaking his head. "You see, Red's been working on something. He learned how some trainers could give commands to their Pokemon without even saying a word most of the time. So, he decided to learn that stuff and picked it up easily."
"Huh?! You're saying he can battle without saying a word at all?!" Rainbow Dash gasped. "That's just like Vinyl and sometimes Zecora! How'd he learn it so fast?"
"He's Red."
"Battle Start!"
"We shall be the first ones to make a move! Hawlucha! Karate Chop!" Bea chopped her hand downwards.
"Hawlu...!" Hawlucha advanced on the Transport Pokemon with a glowing hand, ready to deal the first super-effective hit of the day. The Fighting-FlyingType then leapt into the air for some extra height and speed.
"..." Indeed, Red didn't say anything to make a command. He simply pointed ahead for the command and Lapras understood.
"Lapras!" Lapras had used Ice Shard, summoning a massive shard of ice in front of her with a flash-freeze. Right before Hawlucha could land the attack. She then sent in Hawlucha's direction.
"Break it!"
"Lucha!" Hawlucha simply used the strength of Karate Chop to break through the shard of ice. A clean hit as small shards started dropping beautifully. That was another idea for Sweetie Belle and her Pokemon Contests. If she had a Pokemon that knew Ice Shard. "Hawlu!" Hawlucha then continued with Karate Chop, striking Lapras in the head.
"L-La!" A super-effective blow.
"Now, launch yourself back with High Jump Kick!"
"Hawlucha!" Right after dealing the overhead Karate Chop, Hawlucha's legs then hit up, slamming them onto Lapras. It then used that foot strength to launch off of the Transport Pokemon while also dealing damage that had slightly pushed Lapras back. "Lucha!"
"Pras!"
"Excellent!" Bea cheered.
"..."
"Lapras!" Lapras had then used Waterfall. She did so by first singing into the sky. Afterwards, her eyes glowed light blue as a column of water rises from the nearby water in Saddle Lake. And this Waterfall was unnaturally massive. Everyone looked over to see it approaching as it cast a large shadow over a majority of Saddle Lake.
"H-Hawlu...?!" Hawlucha gasped at this ridiculous Waterfall size.
"THat size doesn't intimidate us! Karate Chop! Slice it in half!"
"Lu! Hawlucha...!" Hawlucha leapt from the ground, approaching the incoming Waterfall. Its hand illuminated once more as the objective was to now slice the water. With pure strength, the Wrestling Pokemon had managed to slice through Waterfall with Karate Chop.
"Oooh!" The group had awed at that impressive display of strength. That was almost on the same level as Sawk's cleaving technique. But the moment that Hawlucha cleaved the Waterfall it half, making the water disperse and hit the ground, that was when Lapras jumped into the air. Something that it is rarely ever seen doing.
"Hawlu?!
"La...Pras!" She had her mouth wide open as she had caught Hawlucha's hand while it was still in the chopping position. The Transport Pokemon's weight came into play as she couldn't stay in the air for long. But now that she had Hawlucha in her hold, she brought the Wrestling Pokemon down with her.
"L-Lucha!" Hawlucha cried out as it had been slammed on the ground by Lapras.
"Hawlucha!" Bea gasped.
"Pras!" Not only did Lapras slam the Fighting-Flying-Type, but she had also used Ice Beam while holding onto it. The ice emanated within its mouth, instantly freezing Hawlucha's arm.
"L-Lu...!" Hawlucha was still weak to Ice-Type moves even with its Fighting-Typing. It shuddered once the ice came through, freezing its arm and soon its entire body.
"Hawlucha, break free with Wing Attack!"
"H-Hawlu...!"
"Lapras!" But before Hawlucha could do so, Larpras did it for it. With brute force. Lapras unleashed the full force of Ice Beam, causing the rest of the attack to fly out as it had consumed Hawlucha instantly. The Wrestling Pokemon was forced out of Lapras' hold and carried away by the beam. The rest of its body started freezing.
"Hawlucha! Slam your fist into the ground!"
"H-Hawlu...Cha!" Hawlucha managed to slam its fist into the ground while being carried by the beam. The moment it did so, it promptly stopped the movements of Ice Beam by sticking to one position. But an icy explosion happened afterwards, damaging Hawlucha still. At least it didn't continue.
Out of the icy blue smoke, Hawluch could be seen still in the same position. But it was not in a great state. Parts of its body had already been frozen over and its strength was already waiting. "H-Hawlu..."
"Hawlucha! For now, please return!" Bea chose to recall her Hawlucha for the time being. She took a deep breath as she cul already tell that was a close one. "Not the best start that I was hoping for..."
"It's okay. She's still in this." Pinkie said with a confident face.
"It's tough though...Before, Red at least said something when battling with his Pokemon. Now he doesn't say anything so Bea has no idea what to expect." said Spike.
"It'll be fine," Fluttershy reassured. "If we can win against Zecora and Vinyl who don't use commands all that much or at all, then I know that Bea can handle it even better than all of us."
"This battle is just getting started! Come! Hitmontop!" Next came Hitmontop, emerging out of the Poke Ball.
"Hitmontop!"
"..." But then, Red ended up returning his Pokemon as well as Lapras was brought back into her Poke Ball. But Bea was ready for the next Pokemon.
"It's either Blastoise or Venasaur this time..." Bea held her breath. Red threw out the next Pokemon as it was neither of those two Instead, it was a different Pokemon than what Red had before.
Arcanine
"Arcanine!"
"Arcanine?!" Bea gasped. "He didn't have that before...! Be careful, Hitmontop!"
"Hitmon!"
"..."
"Canine!" Arcanine made the first move via Extreme Speed. The Legendary Pokemon left the ground at blitzing speeds, approaching the Fighting-Type.
"Hitmontop, Dodge and use Gyro Ball!"
"Montop!" Hitmontop spun on the spot for a moment before leaping into the air. By a hair, it had managed to narrowly evade Extreme Speed by jumping over Arcanine. However, this was quickly reversed as Arcanine made a swift detour, skidding on the ground and dashing into the air. With the speed of Extreme Speed, he had excellent airtime on his side.
"Canine!" The Fire-Type crashed into Hitmontop in the air, becoming an afterimage afterwards.
"H-Hit!"
"Hitmontop?! Bea cried out.
"Canine!" Once passing HItmontop with a swift hit via Extreme Speed, Arcanine had then used Flamethrower, turning his head and releasing the scorching flames.
"Spin, quick!"
"T-Top!" Even in the air, Hitmontop could still spin. And it had still utilized Gyro Ball, rotating its body. By doing so, Hitmontop had created a temporary defence against Flamethrower. Once the flames approached it, the Handstand Pokemon had put them in an orbit, causing the flames to disperse. "Hitmontop!"
"Now, Triple Kick!"
"Top!" After dispersing the flames, Hitmontop then got on its head, unleashing a trio of kicks once Arcanine fell close. The Legendary Pokemon had been hit three times in the stomach while in the air.
"Ar...ca...nine!" Fittingly, it cried out three times as the third hit had launched him away. It was safe to say it was a heavy one as Arcanine tumbled on the ground. But he ended up recovering afterwards. Right as he had recovered, with a hand motion from Red, Arcanine had then used Dig, burrowing into the ground as fast as he could.
"It's Dig!" Bea recognized this move. "Be careful, Hitmontop! Use Gyro Ball to make a hole as well!"
"Hitmontop!" Hitmontop did just that. To match Aracnine's current action, it used the speed and strength of Gryo Ball, spinning rapidly on the spot as the ground was being influenced. It had made its own hole just from its spinning speed alone. And the next thing to do was pursue Arcanine.
"Now, pursue Arcanine and use Rapid Spin!"
"Hit!" Hitmontop jumped in, ready to engage with Arcanine while underground. However, the instance the Handstand Pokemon entered the underground, Arcanine was already near the surface, bashing his head onto Hitomontop's head and forcing him out of the hole.
"Arcanine!"
"H-Hitmon!" Hitmontop cried out after being forced out. It was seen hurling in the air. Afterwards, upon emerging from the surface, Arcanine had unleashed Flamethrower. And this time, there was no time to counteract as the force of this Flamethrower was enough to slightly push Arcanine back. Hitmontop took the blast of fire as an explosion of scarlet colours could be seen above. The trees rustled as nearby Flying-Type Pokemon flew off after being startled.
Falling out of the black smoke from Flamethrower was Hitmontop as it was even trailing out of it. The Handstand Pokemon fell without any control, crashing to the ground. It had fainted.
"Hitmontop..."
"Hitmontop is unable to battle! Arcanine wins!" Twilight announced as some applauds and cheers went through with how fun that first round turned out. But it was far from over.
"Return Hitmontop." Bea retrieved her partner. "You fought well, partner."
"The first to second Pokemon going down always gives me a bad feeling." Rainbow Dash shuddered. "But at least Arcanine got hit in the long run."
"Yeah, but it ain't worn out at all. Look." Applejack pointed out how Arcanine still seemed to have high energy. He even stood tall to prove it. "Charizard's not out yet too."
"Not enough to grab Red's attention yet." Gold shook his head. "Bea has to do something for Red to show his stuff. Believe me. I know."
"I'm getting excited just thinking about how this will end!" A giddy Ash said. "Man, this is awesome!" He raised his arms in the excitement of this battle.
"Pikachu!"
"It's your turn!" In came Bea's next Pokemon with another throw. "Pangoro!"
"Pan...GORO!" Pangoro appeared with sheer ferocity, roaring at Arcanine and even causing the wind to blow in its direction, making its majestic fur flow. But it could not intimidate the Legendary Pokemon.
"Red!" Bea exclaimed as Red stood there with a stern look, also unintimidated by Pangoro's roar and unphased by the wind at all. "This battle is far from over!"
"..."
The rematch against Red and Bea was something no one knew was coming. Neither was their first battle even heard of either. Only one of them will emerge victorious as the journey continues.
Chapter 662 End.
Red vs Bea! The Supremely Terrifying Strength of Red
A rematch no one knew was coming or even heard of the prior battle before this. Bea vs Red, who had just come from his world alongside Gold. Their battle was underway with a few of Ponyville's residents gathering up to watch this.
Previously, Bea's Hitmontop had been defeated by Arcanine. But at least some hits had been done to the Legendary Pokemon, albeit small. And there was Red's Lapras that had taken damage from a still able Hawlucha so it wasn't completely against Bea's side yet. Now, it was her Pangoro against Red's Arcanine.
"Pangoro! Use Bullet Punch!"
"Pan...Go!" Pangoro made the first move, lunging at the Legendary Pokemon with glowing fists.
"..." Red, silent as ever, gave a command without saying a word. But Arcanine knew what to do. The Fire-Type countered Pangoro's Bullet Punch with Extreme Speed. Both had moves that were always bound to hit first. Arcanine's head clashed with Pangoro's fist, causing a slight shockwave to emerge. They pushed each other back, equalizing.
"Now, Night Slash!"
"Goro!" Sliding back, Pangoro then started swinging its fists violently. From those swinging fists came white waves that were embedded with darkness.
"Canine!" Arcanine had used Dig once more, jumping back into the hole that he had made earlier instead of burrowing a new one. He had promptly evaded the waves of Night Slash.
"Not this time!" Bea exclaimed. "Pangoro, strike through the hole with Bullet Punch!"
"Pangoro!" Pangoro turned to the hole that was previously made by Hitmontop, using that to its advantage. With the speed of Bullet Punch, Pangoro smashed the burrowed hole with full force, creating a shockwave that had passed through.
With the shockwave moving through the ground as if it were a tunnel, Bea's plan came to fruition as Arcanine had met the shockwaves while moving underground. "C-Canine!" The Legendary Pokemon received a blow to the face from them as the ground below erupted.
"Nice hit!" Scootaloo and a few others exclaimed as the hit was indeed nice. While not very effective on Arcanine, it certainly left the Legendary Pokemon winded for a bit. Arcanine tumbled before getting back on its feet.
"This is good progress but..." Bea spoke to herself, gazing at Red. Red kept a straight yet stern face as always, unphased by practically anything. "Red. He carries this terrifying aura around him...Why does it feel like a terrible premonition is coming my way?"
"What's wrong with Bea?" Sweetie Belle noticed Bea's facial expressions and how she suddenly looked at the ground. "Did something happen?"
"She's just thinking, darling. Pokemon Battles do that to anyone after all. Especially if they are full 6-on-6 battles." Rarity explained.
"It's just like before. He carries the same feeling as Ash and Champion Leon at the same time. What a fearsome thought...But I won't let it get to me like last time! Victory will be mine! Pangoro, Work Up!"
"Goro! Pan...!" Pangoro stomped its foot on the ground before charging up. It started building up some strength, increasing its already stellar attack and special attack. "Pangoro!"
"..." Red kept alert for this one. Pangoro increasing its strength is nothing to scoff at.
"Pangoro! Force Arcanine out and bring Lapras back in, Circle Throw!"
"Pangoro!" The approach was to use this increased attack on a Pokemon that would be weak to Fighting. Lapras. Plus, Lapras had already taken damage thanks to Hawlucha so this was a great approach. And the one move that could do so was Circle Throw. "Pan...!" Pangoro's hands were out in the open, moving in the grabbing motion, only for Arcanine to dodge it.
"Just what I thought...!" Bea's eyes glowed. "Grab it from below!"
"Pan!" Pangoro may have missed the first grab, but it certainly didn't miss the second one. Right after Arcanine evaded the first grab, Pangoro swivelled, grabbing the tail of Arcanine midair.
"Arca?!"
"Pango!
"Canine!" In response, Arcanine had used Flamethrower once more, breathing the scorching flames onto the Daunting Pokemon. Pangoro cried out, however, its grip did not loosen from Arcanine.
"Go!" Bea encouraged Pangoro to give it its all.
"Pangoro!" And it did. Powering through the Flamethrower, Pangoro managed to pull off the full Circle Throw. And with that successful action, the Daunting Pokemon launched Arcanine, immediately forcing it back into its Poke Ball. And the Pokemon swapped out was Lapras.
"Lapras?"
"Excellent. Bullet Punch!"
"Goro! Pan...!" Pangoro then dashed off the ground, shaking the flames off of it. Lapras was caught off guard by this sudden switch out as the Fighting-Dark-Type appeared in front of it. Before Lapras knew it, a swift yet heavy blow to its face had arrived, dealing a super-effective hit in the process.
"L-La!" Lapras was sent flying like a slingshot. She even flew past Red, who didn't even flinch despite Lapras' hyperfast launch speed. Pangoro's fists were even smoking. Lapras crashed into a tree from the impact as the tree almost fell over, having cracks emerge. Barks could be seen dropping.
"Ouch! I felt that one!" Pinkie Pie shuddered.
"That had to have done it!" Rainbow Dash and the others leaned in as leaves had dropped onto the fallen body of the Transport Pokemon. After an attack that heavy, everyone was expecting Lapras to be down for the count.
Lo and behold, she wasn't. They all gasped as Lapras sat up. Twilight went over to see Lapras' condition, only to be startled by the Transport Pokemon being conscious. "Lapras!"
"No way!" The CMC and a few other foals screamed
"Yes way!" Gold replied with a scream as well. "When it comes to Red's Pokemon, no one can take hits more than his Lapras. You'd have to be lucky to even make it feel drained."
"Guess that means Ash's Lucario was already enough even when faced her as a Riolu," Spike said, recalling Ash's battle with Red and how Riolu managed to match Lapras back then.
"That's expected, right? Lapras is just a durable Pokemon in general." Starlight replied. "But Beat can get past that ludicrous endurance, can't she?"
"Lapras..." Just as everyone was marvelled by Lapras' durability, the Water-Ice-Type had then closed her eyes. She fell asleep as a bright green aura surrounded her body.
"Hey. What move is that?" Apple Bloom asked Ash.
"That's Rest," Ash answered. "That's not a good sign. With that move, Lapras might end up at full strength with all of her energy coming back."
"Seriously?" Scootaloo gawked. "All that hard work for nothing...bummer..."
"But it's not all bad. That means Lapras is 100% vulnerable when asleep. Just gotta pull the right stuff off while she's dozing off." Ash brought optimism, knowing that it wasn't the end even if Lapras used Rest. And Bea knew this as Lapras was asleep, recovering her energy.
"I will use this opportunity to build my strength. Pangoro! Work Up!"
"Pangoro!" While Lapras was sleeping, recovering her strength, Pangoro was building its own strength. An orange light erupted from its body as its attack and special attack were boosted once more.
"Once more!" Bea gave the command for another Work Up."
"Pan-Pangoro!" Pangoro did it again, building up strength while Lapras was recovering. Fittingly, once Pangoro had built up its third batch of boosted strength, that was also the same time that Lapras woke up, back to full strength.
"Lapras!"
"You may be at full strength now but Pangoro's might is nothing to scoff at. If we even find you lacking in one area, a definitive strike will settle this." Bea said with a glint in her eye. Pangoro also had that glint. And in response, Red just smirked at Bea.
"La...Pras!" Lapras then used Waterfall, making her eyes glow as she summoned that massive tidal wave of water once more. As always, it cast a large shadow over Saddle Lake and could even be seen from afar.
"Hm!" Bea was ready for the Waterfall, getting into a stance as Pangoro did the same, looking at this titanic body of water that blocked out the sun. "Pangoro! Work Up once more!"
"Again?!" Fluttershy gasped. "Even against Waterfall?!"
"Pango...!" Pangoro was willing to risk taking the damage of Waterfall to gain one more boost in attack. Just enough to make it hit at what could be its current peak. It braced for impact, having the orange glow around its body.
The water crashed onto Pangoro, illuminating it with an orange colour emanating through. Yet another idea for Sweetie Belle to use in her Pokemon Contests. Every battle is an inspiration. Bea was feeling somewhat nervous about this. Despite the bravery she showed against the Waterfall, the attack was still powerful and it was hard to say if Pangoro could fully withstand it.
But once the Waterfall ended up with a massive splash, causing droplets of water to fly everywhere, adding extra water to the lake of Saddle Lake, Pangoro could be seen standing there, still up. It had endured Waterfall. "Pan!"
"Well, done, Pangoro!"Bea smiled at her Pokemon, proud that it had withstood it. But as soon as she smiled, it quickly turned into an open mouth of shock as Red had recalled Lapras. "Another recall?!"
"..." Red then took out another Poke Ball. A familiar one. Out of it, Arcanine had returned to the scene.
"Arcanine!"
"Arcanine again?" Bea uttered, scrunching her face.
"Oh, Red isn't making this easy. Just two of his Pokemon have been seen and one of them is practically back at full strength." Rarity shook her head.
"Yeah..." Pinkie Pie pouted. "But there has to be something Bea can do, right?"
"I know how you guys feel right now." Gold nodded with his arms crossed. "My first and only battle with Re was the most stressful thing I've ever had to deal with."
"He wouldn't send out an already damaged Pokemon against Pangoro's increased strength..." Bea said to herself. "Otherwise, another Pokemon would've been his next option. Mainly Charizard more than anyone else. What is Re planning?"
"..." Red waited for Bea to make her move. His Pokemon did nothing as there were no indicators for an upcoming attack. This only added to the intimidation factor and made Bea's heart beat fast.
"He's just standing there..." Bea gulped as a single sweatdrop from her dropped onto the ground. This was all so uneasy for Bea. She knew that there was some massive risk at play here. And with no movement from Red, this didn't make help her scenario. "Do I risk it and use Pangoro's increased strength? Maybe. Circle Throw could force Lapras in but...That might be what Red is expecting...Even Bullet Punch seems like another prediction he could make...What do I approach with...?"
"She has lost this battle," Sombra commented, deciding that Bea had already lost before the battle could even reach its climax. "Look at her. Contemplating at a time like this while her opponent is completely stoic and unmoved. It's no surprise that she seemingly lost their first encounter. Pathetic."
"Hey! Bea's not out of it yet!" Pinkie exclaimed at Sombra's spirit head. "She's just nervous! Everyone gets pretty shaken up during a Pokemon Battle! I bet you'd do the same!"
"Absolutely not. A King such as myself never feels a sense of danger or despair at all. Even if I was in a Pokemon Battle...as if I would let a fierce foe stop me in my tracks."
"Just you watch! Bea can get through this!" Pinkie puffed her cheeks. "Come on, Bea! You can do it!"
"But I wonder...What do her fears look like?" Sombra was curious about Bea's fear. The battle had promptly paused due to Bea's thinking. And within that time frame, Sombra, who at first looked around to see if anyone was watching, had sent a small shadow laced with fear within it. The tiny shadow moved across the ground, using the shadows of the sun to mask its appearance.
It had then entered Bea while her eyes were closed and thinking of her next approach. The moment it infected her, Bea gasped, as she was starting to see her worst fear realized. Her eyes had that same signature green and purple glow that Sombra had always carried as the visage of Red changed for her.
Red still had his usual clothing but to Bea, she now saw a giant. She was small as Red towered over here, almost touching the clouds from his titanic size. There was also this menacing aura around him that was hard to describe as Bea within the fear state had dropped on her back, petrified. She then saw the darkened silhouettes of Red's Pokemon defeating her Pokemon.
Charizard had knocked her Machamp away, Lapras had frozen her Grapploct, Arcanine had incinerated Pangoro and her Hawlucha and another one of her Pokemon, Falinks had been pummeled by Pikachu.
The fear vision got worse. Soon, everything was starting to break around Bea as she had witnessed the appearance of the Pokemon World Championship stage with millions upon millions of people as the crowd. Bea's fear was getting worse until she managed to slap her face, getting her senses back. "No!"
"Hm?!" Sombra gasped as his fear influence had been destroyed. Bea resisted it as he was taken aback. "Impossible...no one has ever broken out of those so fast and easy before..."
"As if I would let those get to me," Bea said. "I've come too far to feel nervous. Red!" She tightened her single glove. "Prepare yourself!"
"..." Red liked the energy that Bea was giving off.
"Yeah! That's the spirit, Bea!" Pinkie Pie, out of nowhere, was suddenly holding cheerleader pompoms, bombastically cheering for her sweet-toothed friend.
"I will risk it either way! Night Slash!"
"Pan...Go!" Pangoro, with heavy boosted strength, rushed at Arcanine with darkness trailing out of its hands. Arcanine snarled at Pangoro, bracing for impact. "Pangoro!" Pangoro then smashed its fist onto Arcanine's face at full force, landing Night Slash successfully.
"Arca...!" Arcanine staggered as that hit certainly dealt a might blow. One that trembled the atmosphere a bit. However, right after the hit, Arcanine's fourth move had been revealed. Red smiled as did Arcanine. The Legendary Pokemon quickly retaliated with its head glowing.
The move being used Reversal. Right after Night Slash ended, Arcanine lunged forward, smashing his head onto Pangoro's stomach, using all the strength from that previous attack back onto the Daunting Pokemon. "G-Goro!"
Pangoro gawked and gasped before being launched away, having its body hurl and pass Bea. Bea turned around, witnessing Pangoro take flight. The Daunting Pokemon had then crashed into a tree, similar to what happened to Lapras earlier.
Twilight teleported over to see Pangoro's current condition and judge this next round of the battle between Red and Bea. That Reversal from Arcanine plus utilizing all the damage it had taken earlier into pure power had done the job. Pangoro had fainted.
"Pangoro..."
"Pangoro is unable to battle! Arcanine wins!" Twilight announced as Bea had recalled Pangoro.
"Another one?" Pinkie Pie pouted, almost dropping her pompoms. "None of Red's Pokemon have gone out yet. This is getting pretty scary..."
"Hmph. So the breaking of my fear illusion was just her spirit. Her defeat is still imminent." Sombra commented in his mind. Then, Red returned his Arcanine as well, deciding to substitute out.
"Man, now I'm glad I didn't finish my battle with Red that one time. I wouldn't have been at my best back then. I can't wait to face him again someday so we can finish it." Ash commented.
"Pikachu."
"Thank you, Pangoro..." Bea spoke to the Poke Ball and Pangoro inside of it. She then swapped it out for another. "Now. Whatever Pokemon you bring out next Red...I promise I will defeat it! And there is one Pokemon I can trust for this! Go! Machamp!"
"Machamp!" Emerging out of her Poke Ball was Bea's Ace Pokemon, Machamp. Truly her strongest Pokemon yet.
"..." Red brought out his next Pokemon after his Poke Ball throw. Showing up to the scene for some action was Red's Blastoise.
"Blastoise!" Both of these Pokemon were around the same height as they stared each other down. They were ready to get up close and personal.
"When it comes to absolute strength, my Machamp is unrivalled! Let me show you why! Machamp, get in close and grab Blastoise!"
"Machamp!" Machamp rushed in, ready to use her four arms to grab the Shellfish Pokemon. The approach here was just brute force. Something Machamp was excellent at. But of course, the Machamp species know every form of martial arts, meaning that they can combine brute force and skill at the same time.
"Blastoise!" Blastoise was also approaching, ready to grab as well. But not only that, but he was also shooting water from his cannons while heading in. Hydro Pump was being utilized in this instance.
"Champ!" Machamp used its upper arms to block the high volume blasts of water, meaning she would have to resort to the lower arms. And judging from Red's smirk, that's exactly what he wanted.
"He's trying to limit Machamp's arm options!" Rarity noticed immediately with a gasp. Soon, the two Pokemon clashed with Machamp's arms interlocking with Blastoise's arms. It became an Arm Struggle between the two of them as a shockwave emerged.
"M-Machamp!"
"B-Blastoise!" They started going back and forth, trying to push each other back. They also smashed their heads against each other, causing another shockwave to appear. All the while, Machamp was using her upper arms to block the water, but she was also taking gradual damage.
"Strength!"
"Champ...Ma!" Machamp managed to build up strength while interlocking with Blastoise. Her body pulsated with her muscles gained more veins and became far more toned. The moment her strength increased, she easily overpowered Blastoise with her upper arms grabbing the blast of water from Hydro Pump and crushing them instead of blocking them.
"Toise?!"
"Machamp!" Machamp then threw Blastoise into the air with her overwhelming strength, causing the Shellfish Pokemon to become airborne. But even when airborne, Blastoise still had options. He had immediately hidden his entire body within his shell while also using Flash Cannon at the same time.
Multiple silver beams came flying out in all directions from Blastoise spinning his body. Despite their directional rampage, they were mainly focused on Machamp and nothing more. Machamp stood there, blocking with all four of her arms as the Silver Beams rained down on her.
"Cross Chop!"
"Machamp!" Machamp then released two of her arms as she had then formed an X around them, Right afterwards, Machamp had used the strength of Cross Chop to hit one of the Silver Beams. By hitting it, Machamp had redirected it back at Blastoise.
Blastoise had been hit by one of his beams while still spinning. However, his hard shell gave him protection from it. But he still somewhat felt it as he started descending as Hydro Pump had been fired out next.
"Hm! Machamp! Bullet Punch!"
"Ma!" Machamp approached the free-falling Blastoise, aiming to get through that defence of his. "Machamp-Machamp-Machamp-Machamp!" Machamp then started throwing a flurry of punches over at the streams of water, blowing them away. After fending them off, she then got close to Blastoise, throwing all of those punches at Blastoise while he was still in the shell.
It was Machamp's absolute strength vs Blastoise's absolute defence. And the constant blow of punches from Machamp's increased and already overwhelming strength, Blastoise was starting to feel the shockwaves pass through his body. They were so abundant that he couldn't stay in his shell forever. "B-Blast!"
"MA!" Machamp found Blastoise vulnerable, striking at the right time. And she did. A heavy blow to the centre of the shell and Blastoise was slingshotted away with the heaviest punch so far.
Blastoise fell to the ground, landing on his shell instead of flat on his face. Rushing over to the scene was Twilight to see Blatoise's condition. And Bea's ace did not fail her at all as Twilight had seen Blastoise in a fainted state.
"Blastoise is unable to battle! Machamp wins!"
"Finally! She beat one of them!" Pinkie Pie and a few others cheered for Bea finally taking down one of Red's Pokemon after what felt like almost an eternal struggle. Red lowered his hat, returning Blastoise. However, that was but one Pokemon on Red's side defeated. There were still 5 more to go through. However, Bea was aiming to get through them all.
"Hehe...My heart..." Applejack laughed while taking a deep sigh. "These Pokemon Battles get too exciting and scary a bunch."
"I feel ya, AJ." Both Ash and Rainbow Dash said, nodding in unison.
"..." Red had already brought his next Pokemon, bouncing the Poke Ball in his hand for a bit. Once he threw it, out came his Pikachu.
"Pikachu!"
"Pikachu, eh...? Return for a while, Machamp!" Bea recalled her Machamp, already having the perfect substitute in her eyes. "I know the Pokemon to use against you. Grapploct!"
"Grapploct!"
"Let's not waste any time! Grapploct, use Liquidation!"
"Grapp!" Grapploct advanced, having water appears round its appendages.
"Pika!" But so did Pikachu. And it had Iron Tail in store. He had approached the Tantrum Pokemon as Bea was aiming to use the same approach to Pikachu as she did with Ash's Pikachu. She was just hoping that it could play out the same with Red's.
"Loct!" Grapploct swung its appendages, causing water to flow out. Pikachu responded by slicing the water apart with his tail and then later meeting with Grapploct's appendages. They had entered a momentary struggle. Their strength was equal as they broke up their clash.
"You're not getting away!" Bea's eyes glinted as Pikachu was aiming to move back after the clash had ended. "Octolock!"
"Grapploct!" Grapploct swung one of its appendages, instantly reaching for Pikachu's tail. With precise speed, the Tantrum Pokemon had wrapped its single appendage around Pikachu's tail.
"Pika?!" Pikachu gasped as Grapploct had then used the rest of its appendages to grab Pikachu. Each of them wrapped around Pikachu's body as the Fighting-Type had then brought Pikachu close to it, keeping him locked in one place. "P-Pi...Pika!"
Pikachu tried breaking free by using Thunderbolt, however, much like Ash's Pikachu, the grip of Octolock prevented Pikachu from unleashing his energy. Pikachu then tried Iron Tail, but the tail was of course still restrained.
"...!" Red was even taken aback by this. None of Pikachu's attacks were able to break through Grapploct's Octolock.
"Haven't noticed this strategy yet, have you?" Bea smirked as she finally caught Red off guard. "Liquidation!"
"Grapp...Loct!" Grapploct moved two of its appendages, covering them both over water as it had sent them down on the Mouse Pokemon. Pikachu was powerless to stop this as an explosion of water happened around its body and even Grapploct. But Grapploct was fine from this.
Pikachu could then be seen flying out of Grapploct's hold after Liquidation. However, he wasn't down and out. "Pika...Chuuu!" Midair, Pikachu had used Thunderbolt, sending 100,000 volts in Grapploct's direction.
"Detect!"
"Loct!" Grapplocts eyes flash as in a split-second, it had left an abundance of afterimages. Those afterimages had been hit by Thunderbolt as the real Grapploct managed to slide away from the attack, successfully evading it.
"Now, Close Combat!"
"Grapploct!" Grapploct, using its powerful appendages, jumped into the air, ready to get up close and personal with Pikachu. Pikachu growled, quickly resorting to Iron Tail. They had entered a clash once more. This time with a constant back and forth instead of a one-time collision. They did this while having some air time.
Grapploct's swings proved to be faster than Pikachu and this was also helped by its many appendages. It had overwhelmed Pikachu, succeeding in the close-quarters portion as the appendages started battering Pikachu, powering through Iron Tail.
"P-Pika-Pika!"
"Now, Octolock once more!" Grapploct then gripped onto Pikachu once more while descending. And due to this restraint, Pikachu couldn't do anything to help him recover in the ground. Instead, Grapploct came crashing down with Pikachu in its hold, causing a heavy impact upon collision.
Everyone closed their eyes from the dust forming. Grapploct had dropped Pikachu, jumping out of the dust as there was a mild crater seen. Twilight walked over, coughing a bit from the dust as she used her magic to blow away the rest of it. When approaching, there laid Pikachu. Bea had done it once more. She had fainted another one of Red's Pokemon.
"Pikachu..."
"Pikachu is unable to battle! Grapploct wins!"
"That's two! Now they're about even!" Pinkie Pie bounced. "I wasn't worried for a moment!"
"Do you think Pikachu is just not great against Grapploct?" Fluttershy wondered as this was the second time a Pikachu had lost to Grapploct, unable to fight back against Octolock.
"Audino." Audino didn't know as she shrugged at her partner's answer.
"Pika-Pika." Ash's Pikachu laughed nervously.
"..." Red smiled before returning Pikachu to his Poke Ball, accepting that defeat. Bea had proven herself to be an admirable foe. While she struggled in the beginning, she quickly caught up. If anything, Sombra was to thank for that, allowing her to break through her fears for a stronger resolve.
However, that's when his smile morphed into a frown. And upon seeing it, Gold knew what was coming. "Brace yourselves, everyone," said Gold. "Red's getting into it a lot now. This is where things get dicey."
"..." Red acknowledged Bea as a worthy foe. And because of this, the next Poke Ball he had thrown out brought out his strongest Pokemon of all. This early on, but then again, Bea had used Machamp. Emerging out of it was Red's Charizard.
"Charizard!"
"Charizard already?!" Scootaloo gasped.
"..." Upon sending Charizard out, Red took it a step further. He then flicked the top of his hat all of a sudden. But it wasn't just to adjust it. Right on his hat, everyone had previously noticed something in it. A black orb with a blue wisp around it. Ash recognized what this was from the beginning.
Once the hat had been flicked, the orb started glowing along with the wisp. A familiar golden light shot out of it as blue flames of unbelievable potency started emerging around Charizard.
"Oh! That's Mega Evolution!" Twilight backed away, gasping as everyone else soon knew what it was. Red had Mega Evolution in store as the area was being lit with a blue tint. A vortex of fire surrounded the Flame Pokemon that could be seen from afar. Red stood there as the vortex even surrounded him. Twilight held Espeon back from the expanding flames.
The Mega Evolution symbol appeared as the flames then burst out. Emerging out of the azure flames was one of the two Mega variations of Mega Charizard.
Mega Charizard X.
"CHARIZARD!"
"There it is! Mega Charizard X!" Ash exclaimed.
"What the..." Rainbow Dash and everyone else gawked as they knew they had to bring their Pokedexes out for this. Neither have ever seen Charizard's Mega Evolution. Both included.
"Charizard. The Flame Pokemon. Mega Evolved Form. The overwhelming power that fills its entire body causes it to turn black and create intense blue flames. Its bond with its Trainer is the source of its power. It boasts speed and manoeuvrability greater than that of a jet fighter. Anything caught within its flames will be burned down until they are nothing but Ash."
"Mega...Charizard...X?" Bea froze on her words, overwhelmed by this.
"So it does become a Dragon-Type when it evolves!" Spike gasped. "I know what I'm catching next time! Twilight, when are you getting a Charmander at your lab?!"
"Uh..." Twilight didn't hear Spike as she was stunned by Mega Charizard.
"Let's have no fear. Our Water attacks won't be as effective as before. But still...Grapploct! Liquidation!"
"Grapp...!"
"Char!" But right before Grapploct could make its move, Charizard took off at blitzing speeds, causing a wind pressure that was equal to a tornado. In just a few seconds, he had appeared in front of Grapploct. He had Dragon Clw available, swinging it ferociously "Zard!"
"L-Loct!" Grapploct had been hit before it could even use Liquidation. Its eyes whited out as it had then been flung back. One single hit was all it took from Charizard. And his ability Tough Claws as a Mega Evolved Pokemon only helped with that.
Just like that, Bea had witnessed Grapploct go down in one hit. It had fainted without even being able to put up a fight against Charizard.
"Wow..." Twilight was even stunned by this, looking at the fainted Grapploct. "G-Grapploct is unable to battle! Charizard wins!"
"One hit? Bummer..." The foals uttered.
"Lucky me. I didn't have to face off against Mega Charizard when I went up against Red. That would've been a different story." Gold chimed in.
"T-Thank you, Grapploct... Return." Bea lowered her head, returning Grapploct to his Poke Ball. She then had another one. A fresh one. "This is a Pokemon with clearly superior strength. But how will you deal with mass numbers?! Assist me, Falinks!"
"Falinks!" Emerging into the scene were Falinks. New Pokemon that many of the ponies had never seen before. And they came in groups.
"Aww!" Fluttershy gushed at these Pokemon. "Look at them! Like a little army!"
"Falinks?" Ash had also never seen Falinks before, taking out his Pokedex.
"Falinks. The Formation Pokemon. Five of them are troopers, and one is the brass. The brass’s orders are absolute. The six of them work together as one Pokémon. Teamwork is also their battle strategy, and they constantly change their formation as they fight."
"There is strength in numbers! Allow us to show you! Falinks! No Retreat!"
"Fa...LINKS!" Each of the Falinks let out a mighty battle cry as they got into a specific formation. With that battle cry and declaration of potential victory, everything had been raised. Their attack, defence, speed, etc. All of it had gone up. But at the cost of them being stuck in, unable to switch ut.
"Now! Close Combat!"
"Falinks! Falinks!" Just then, all of the Falinks approached, using their numbers to their advantage. The main Falinks went ahead while the others simply split up, choosing to attack from different directions.
"Charizard!" Charizard roared as he had Dragon Claw up and ready. He swung his claws, clashing with the main Falinks. His superior strength knocked the leader away as the others approached. He had then begun fending them off, constantly swinging his claws at all of the Falinks as they kept coming each time they had been slashed away. When knocked back, they got back into their orderly fashion before diverging once more.
"Fal!" One Falinks managed to hit Charizard in the face, only to be grabbed and slammed into the ground. "F-Falinks!"
"ZARD!" Charizard held the Falkins on the ground before then using Flamethrower, unleashing a gigantic blast of blue fire from his body
"Rock Tomb!"
"Falinks!" The main Falinks and a second one had then summoned a rock above them by concentrating their Infinity Energy onto one spot. Afterwards, they had headbutted the rock, sending it in Charizard's direction. Charizard was hit by the rock, taking super-effective damage and sliding back. His grip on the other Falinks had loosened.
"Excellent! Now, do not let him breathe for a second! Throat Chop!"
"Links!" The 6 Falinks quickly got back into their positions before collectively running in a straight line. A trail of darkness then emerged out of them as they were going straight for the throat of Charizard. Charizard welcomed them. "Falinks!"
"Charizard!" Charizard roared at the Falinks before suddenly flapping his wings. Just by the flap of his wings, he had managed to hold the 6 of them back with a mighty gust of wind. And this wasn't Charizard using a Pokemon move at all.
The Falinks had been pushed back by the wind, unable to approach Charizard in that instance as they rolled on the floor. "Falinks!"
"Not yet!"
"Rock Tomb! Altogether!"
"Falinks...!" This time, all 6 of them would use Rock Tomb. With their unified Infinity Energy, they had made a massive rock by combining other rocks together. "Links!" They then launched the massive rock at Charizard, only for it to be met with a ferocious headbutt from the Flame Pokemon.
"Zard!" Charizard smashed his head onto the rock, shattering it into pieces. Not a single Pokemon move was used once more. Not even Headbutt. After breaking it, Charizard then responded with his strongest move by far.
Blast Burn.
Mega Charizard X's body had been laminated in light blue flames. He then delivered a blow to the ground, sending a wave of Infinity Energy into the earth which then moves underneath the opponent. The energy then burst upwards in a giant explosion of red-orange flames.
"Defensive position, Falinks!"
"Falinks!" The Falinks stood together, putting their brass shields up and bracing for impact. The fire consumed them, easily overwhelming the area while making a thundering sound. A crater had formed from the attack as Twilight ran back with Espeon.
"Ah! Falinks!" Bea gasped as some of the ponies had been blown back by this, falling off their log seats as some of them held onto each other. A massive eruption of blue and red fire expanded, going past all the trees in the process.
Red. Truly a terrifying opponent to go up against. Bea may have had her resolve, but even still, the might of Red was something to behold. The battle was ramping up, not over yet as the journey continues.
The rematch between Red and Bea continued. Previously, Bea had managed to catch up with Red. Defeating two of his Pokemon, Blastoise and Pikachu with her Machamp and Grapploct. The chances of her gaining a victory on Red were visible.
But that all changed when Red's Charizard attacked. Especially when entering into Mega Charizard X. Grapploct was down for the count in just one hit and the next victim seemed to be Falinks.
"Falinks!" Bea gasped as they had been hit with Blast Burn seconds ago. They had put up their brass shields to try and protect themselves as the smoke cleared. Upon clearing, the Formation Pokemon could be seen with severe burns. And that was to be expected considering the power of that attack.
But, even with the help of No Retreat and their defensive position, Falinks had fainted. All 6 of them had dropped to the ground, burnt with smoke coming out of them. Twilight walked over after gaining some distance from the destructive blue fire of Blast Burn. There, she saw the fainted Falinks.
"Falinks..."
"Falinks is...or I guess are?" Twilight wasn't sure how to refer to them. They were six Pokemon but they came as one unit. "N-Nevermind! Unable to battle! Charizard wins!"
"...R-Return, Falinks," Bea grumbled, recalling Falinks. The No Retreat tactic failed against Mega Charizard, unfortunately. Not what Bea was hoping for. "Thank you for your assistance."
"No way he just ignored his weakness by just headbutting the rock..." Rainbow Dash gawked. "I know Mega Evolution makes a Pokemon stronger but yikes!"
"Mega Charizard X...What a frightening foe..." Bea said to herself. Then, a smile came to her face. "Hm. I've already lost this battle, haven't I? Not even towards the climax yet. Red. You truly are something."
"..."
"It's a stark contrast to what happened during our first encounter." Bea started thinking back to when she and Red had their first battle. In her memories, it happened out in the wild as a gateway connecting to the other Pokemon World could be found. There, Red was nearby and he had Blue tagging along as always.
On that day, Red's Pokemon had defeated Bea's Pokemon. Or rather, one Pokemon against many. Bea recalled how it was mainly Charizard that took them out while the rest have just whittled down her Pokemon with gradual damage.
In that memory, she ran over to Machamp, holding her off the ground after receiving a powerful blow from Charizard. And that was when Mega Evolution hadn't been revealed. And after the defeat, while Red said nothing, Blue decided to pass on Red's words for Bea.
"You're a good trainer. But you're leaning on that line of well...prudent."
"Prudent?! I'm not..."
"Hey, I'm just the translator here. He just said that you're getting closer to it, not on it. But Red's basically saying you're taking too much pride in your strength. Being modest wouldn't hurt. But if when you by that, come and face Red any time. I know he'll be waiting without a doubt."
"I think I know what Blue meant by that back then," said Bea as her memory ended. "My pride almost got the better of me. Even when facing Leon, I never acknowledged it at all. I should've known that someone much like Leon would exist out there."
"..." Red smiled from that, also recalling that encounter they had. He then gave an approving nod to Bea. If only he said something.
"At least say something to make this all the more meaningful..." Rarity sighed, wanting Red to speak just once.
"However. I still have to take some pride in my strength and never forget how far it brought me! And how much farther it will take me!" Bea held out her next Poke Ball, throwing it. "Go! Hawlucha!"
"Hawlucha!" The Wrestling Pokemon returned to the scene. Still damaged but all the more ready for some extra action. Red opted to keep Charizard in for this. And possibly the whole way through.
"Hawlucha! Sky Attack!"
"Haw...Lu!" Immediately, Hawlucha was showing off its stronger moves. With Sky Attack being revealed as its third move. Hawlucha's body became surrounded by a gradually intensifying light blue aura. Once the aura flared up, Hawlucha flew towards the Fire-Dragon-Type at top speed. "Hawlucha!"
"Charizard!" Charizard was ready to meet it up close within the air. They both approached each other at full speed as Charizard readied a Dragon Claw. "Char!"
It started with Charizard swinging his claws, only for Hawlucha's smooth agility to kick in. It had swiftly lunged over Charizard's Dragon Claw while still using Sky Attack. Sky Attack seemed to increase its speed slight. "Lucha!" After evading the swing, Hawlucha crashed into Charizard from above. "Hawlu!"
"C-Char...!" Charizard certainly felt that one. Anyone would feel the power of Sky Attack no doubt. However, there were Pokemon that could power through it and Charizard was one of them. While he had staggered, he quickly recovered, zooming forward and grabbing Hawlucha afterwards. "Charizard!"
"Hawlu?!"
"Zard!" Charizard then descended, slamming Hawlucha into the ground. That was definite payback for what Grapploct did to Pikachu. And the impact seemed harder than what Grapploct had then.
"Lucha!"
"Charizard!" Charizard then started slamming Hawlucha on the ground senselessly. Left and right for a couple of times, damaging the Wrestling Pokemon gradually. "
"H-Hawlucha!"
"High Jump Kick, Hawlucha!"
"Lucha!" Hawlucha managed to free itself by delivering a strong kick to Charizard's face. That kick allowed Hawlucha to break free once Charizard's grip had weakened. However, the Flame Pokemon did not flinch or even move.
"Karate Chop!"
"Hawlucha!" Hawlucha, after recovering, moved in with Karate Chop. A straight chop had been sent to Charizard's head. But once again. Not a single flinch or even a stagger. "Hawlu?!"
"Zard!" Charizard's mouth then started flaring as Flamethrower was incoming.
"Dodge!" And Bea foresaw it before it could be unleashed. Acting quickly was Hawlucha, performing a stylish backflip from Charizard. And in the nick of time as Charizard had unleashed a destructive stream of blue fire.
"Hawlucha!" Hawlucha's dodging skills proved efficient in this. It had jumped from side to side, evading the blue flames in the process.
"Head in with Flying Press!"
"Hawlu-lu!" Hawlucha ducked underneath the flames of Flamethrower, before then taking to the skies. It then becomes outlined in white or orange energy, preparing to dive right in. "Haw...!"
"Char!" But matching Hawlucha in speed and catching it off guard was Charizard, flying in and grabbing Hawlucha's face, instantly interrupting and cutting off its Flying Press once he had ended Flamethrower.
"Hawlu?!"
"Zard!" Charizard had then used a super-effective move at last. Aerial Ace. Charizard had then summoned Flying Infinity Energy around his claw, making it glow as he used the force of Aerial Ace to throw Hawlucha across Saddle Lake. "Charizard!"
"H-Hawluchaaaaa!" Hawlucha screamed before being thrown a great distance. It had passed Bea, Twilight and even the rest of the trees as Charizard truly put all of his might into that throw.
"Oh!" Bea gasped as everyone turned to face Hawlucha's direction. Once the Wrestling Pokemon went past the trees, it had entered the shadows, becoming hard to see. But everyone could hear it. And they heard an impact that sounded much like a collision. One of the trees had trembled with its leaves being rustled. That was a good indicator that Hawlucha had crashed into it.
Twilight quickly flew over, ascending into the air to judge Hawlucha's current condition. Some of the leaves from the trees flew past her as the tree almost fell over. Once she got close enough, she saw a slumped over Hawlucha.
"Hawlucha..."
"Hawlucha is unable to battle! Charizard wins!" Twilight announced before seeing Hawlucha's head spin. "Oh my goodness. Are you going to be okay?"
"Lucha..."
"Return, Hawlucha." Bea walked over, returning Hawlucha to its ball. She took a deep breath, knowing that she had only two Pokemon left that were able to battle. Pangoro and Machamp. Red was still sitting pretty with 4 Pokemon still up. Bea quickly substituted the next Pokemon out, kicking the Poke Ball. "Go! Pangoro!"
"Pangoro!" Returning to the fray was her Pangoro.
"Our main objective is defeating that Mega Charizard!" Bea exclaimed, pointing at the Flame Pokemon. "Pangoro! Use Night Slash!"
"Pan!" Wasting no time, Pangoro went straight for Charizard. The Flame Pokemon stood there casually, waiting for Pangoro to approach. Dark trails streaked out of Pangoro's fist as it had delivered a strong right to Charizard's face. The attack was a direct hit, shaking the trees and ground. Some of the group closed their eyes upon this contact.
However, Charizard just stared at Pangoro with a stern look. Pangoro gasped, shocked at how well Charizard took that direct hit. Right after being stunned, an Aerial Ace from Charizard came in the blink of an eye before Bea could react. The attack had struck Pangoro's chest, making the Daunting Pokemon gasp
"G-Goro!"
"Zard!" Charizard then transferred the power of Aerial Ace into his tail, slapping Pangoro with it. The Fighting-Dark-Type had then spun around whilst being knocked back. Pangoro fell to the floor from that confounding attack. It had even been winded.
"The best thing we can do is force Charizard out for a while," Bea uttered as Pangoro got back up. "Circle Throw!"
"Goro!" Pangoro ran in, ready to grab and throw Charizard out, preparing a force-swap. But Charizard had no intention of leaving. Once Pangoro approached, the Fire-Dragon-Type took the skies before the Daunting Pokemon could even reach.
"Charizard!" After ascending, along came a Flamethrower from Charizard, shooting out those intense blue flames once more onto Pangoro.
"Counter with Night Slash!"
"Goro-Goro-Goro!" Pangoro altered the flow of Night Slash, quickly leaving Circle Throw behind. The Daunting Pokemon then started swinging its fists, sending dark crescent waves. The waves came into contact with the flames, creating a momentary struggle. The attacks cancelled each other out, resulting in an outburst that then later formed into a cloud of blue smoke.
And flying through the smoke at blitzing speeds was Charizard as he had used it to mask his movements for a bit. And upon appearing at great speeds, he had used Aerial Ace, delivering a swift and high-velocity blow to Pangoro's jaw.
Receiving a similar treatment as Hawlucha, only this time in the form of spinning and a less great distance, Pangoro had been winded, befuddled and confounded at the same time, twirling for a bit before falling to the ground.
"P-Pangoro..." Just like that, Pangoro had also fainted.
"Pangoro is unable to battle! Charizard wins!"
"Oh no! Just one Pokemon left?!" Pinkie Pie started nervously biting the pompoms.
"That's a shame.." Applejack lowered her hat, shaking her head as she was also hoping for Bea's victory.
"I'll give her this...She didn't go down as easily as I expected her to do so." Sombra commented. "But this looks to be the finale. That Red character is a fierce one. If only he was a king. Then I wouldn't be stuck with you..."
"Hehehe..." Ash merely laughed at Sombra's words, knowing that Sombra was still seething due to being stuck with Ash instead of a different king.
"Then it comes down to this," Bea said before returning Pangoro. She smiled instead of frowning, knowing that something like this was bound to happen. This was because Bea had accepted how things were already. She knew when someone was stronger than her. But that wouldn't stop her from trying. "Let this be the end. I'll at least go out with a permanent memory for you, Red!" She held the Poke Ball out.
"..." Red smirked as the wind blew in his direction, making his jacket and hair flow. Charizard snarled, exuding blue flames and blue smoke from his mouth, getting ready for the next and final Pokemon. Machamp.
"Come out! Machamp!"
"Machamp!" Finally, Machamp had returned. Bea looked at her surroundings, observing Saddle Lake for a moment. She then took a look at her Dynamax band before concluding on something.
"Dynamaxing here is far too dangerous. But, Machamp is all I need. I'll finish this battle and leave with something for myself to remember."
"Champ..."
"Machamp! Strength!"
"Champ! Machamp!" Machamp started building up her Strength instead. Flexing her muscles, Machamp's attack had increased. Afterwards, she had approached Charizard with all four arms out.
"Zard!" Charizard responded kindly by using Flamethrower, unleashing those potent blue flames that required everyone to either cover their ears or back away due to its booming sound and aggressive heat. However, Machamp had powered through it. Using brute force, she had managed to power through the destructive blue flames.
And after doing so, she shoulder tackled Charizard in the face while his mouth was still open. That certainly got Charizard as he had staggered from that. "Champ!"
"Z-Zard!"
"Ma...Champ!" Machamp continued using Strength, delivering a mighty uppercut to the Flame Pokemon right after the staggering shoulder tackle. Charizard was propelled into the air from Machamp's hit, actually showing signs of visible damage. Bea's Machamp was certainly a Pokemon that would always manage to make an impact no matter what.
"C-Charizard!" Charizard recovered in the air before diving downwards. Aerial Ace was his approach with the power going through his claws.
"Bullet Punch!"
"Machamp!" To counter Charizard's Aerial Ace, Machamp had used Bullet Punch. One of her arms met with Charizard's claw, resulting in a direct up-close clash. However, this was where Machamp excelled. Having three extra arms helped greatly as the other two arms had been thrown at Charizard from the side. The Flame Pokemon received those double blows before then being pushed back by Machamp's fourth arm. "Champ!"
"C-Charizard!" Charizard slid on the ground before unleashing another Flamethrower.
"Cross Chop!"
"Machamp!" Machamp stomped her feet on the ground before forming an X-Aura around her arms. She then used that energy to strike the azure inferno, splitting it in half.
"Strength!"
"Machamp!" Machamp then jumped off the ground after splitting Flamethrower, flexing her muscles once more while approaching the Fire-Dragon-Type.
"Char!" Charizard roared, switching to Dragon Claw and swinging both his claws at the Superpower Pokemon. However, Machamp did not enter another fist clash with Charizard. Instead, Macham had grabbed onto Charizard's claws the moment he swung them. "Zard?!"
"Machamp!" Once grabbing his claws, Machamp had then put Charizard in a grappling position, getting behind him and performing a Full Nelson grapple. In that instance, Charizard had been restrained. "Ma!"
"No way!" Gold gasped.
"Is Machamp actually going to beat Charizard?!" So did Spike as the group were surprised at how well Machamp was doing against Mega Charizard X. Especially Red's. So far, Machamp has gotten off the most attacks on Charizard, dealing visible damage to him.
"...!" Red knew that this could be trouble. So to act quickly, he pointed to the skies. And Charizard knew what to do.
"Charizard!" Charizard then took flight, managing to use his wings despite Machamp's grapple. He made a shockwave upon ascending as he and Machamp were now high above Saddle Lake in a few seconds.
"Champ!" But Machamp would not let go. She kept her grip no matter what, even tightening it. But upon ascending, Charizard had then used Blast Burn while in the air. Pulsating from his body was a blue light. That light then transformed into a vortex of fire that had quickly covered not just Charizard but Machamp. "Ma?"
Right then and there, the vortex of fire intensified, gaining the usual ferocity of Blast Burn as it had burst around them both. Charizard was fine when the flames intensified, but Machamp felt the pain no doubt. "M-Machamp!"
"Charizard!" Charizard then started rotating in the air, allowing the vortex of flames to spin even more as the intensify of the flames had then lit up the area. Saddle Lake had a vibrant blue tint as everyone watched the spiralling flames and how they roared.
"Gh...!" Bea closed her eyes from the aggressive tint. "Machamp!" She shouted for her partner before seeing the flames descend. Everyone backed away as Twilight cast a protective shield around her and Espeon. The azure flames crashed into the ground, causing a dome-shaped explosion of blue fire as it then transformed into a blue fire pillar that shot into the sky.
The explosion subsided with a crater larger than the rest forming. The smoke cleared as the barrier Twilight made had been lowered. She looked over at the blue smoke and the crater made from it. Within it, a brighter blue colour could be seen glowing inside. The visage of Charizard was also visible. Once it had been cleared away with Twilight's magic, Machamp could be seen on the ground, deep in the crater and fainted.
"Machamp..."
"Machamp is unable to battle! Charizard wins! Which means that the winner of this Pokemon Battle is Red!" Twilight announced as the battle had come to an end.
And after all that, many of them could only applaud at that amazing battle. Granted, it was a tad bit one-sided but enjoyable nonetheless. Even Pinkie Pie and a few others who were rooting for Bea chose to applaud this.
And Bea had accepted this loss, walking over to her ace. Charizard's Mega Evolution had also ended as he reverted to his normal form. "Machamp. Well done. You fought well there. But it seems that we have ways to go still."
"Champ."
"Bea! You were great!" Pinkie Pie appeared behind Bea in a flash, hanging on her shoulder. "Shame you didn't win but you went crazy at the last round!"
"Thank you, Pinkie Pie." Bea thanked her, grabbing the earth pony and hugging her. "And all of you for supporting me."
"Whew...that got intense at the last moment." Gold chuckled, getting off of the log seat. "Great battle as always, Red. Never ost your touch for a second."
"..." Red lowered his hat before returning Charizard. The silent trainer then went up to Bea, standing before her. Bea faced Red, raising her head due to the height difference. But Red wasn't that tall. He was only slightly taller than Ash and Bea at best. Afterwards, he held his hand out, wanting to shake Bea's hands.
"Oh. T-Thank you, Red." Bea stuttered before granting that handshake. "I'm glad to have had this rematch with you. Even though I lost, I swear I won't lose upon our next encounter. Whenever it may be."
"..." Red could only give a thumbs-up to that. He would be waiting for Bea.
"I'm also happy to have taken that advice from you back then. I'll admit, I was scared at first. But if it wasn't for Blue translating it for you, I'm not sure what I would've done."
"..."
"Look at that." Gold managed to know what Red had said without even letting a word out. "Looks like you've taught Red something."
"I have?" Bea looked over at the Johto representative.
"Look at you, Red. Learning new stuff every day." Gold chuckled, patting Red on the shoulder. "Wish I did the same but...that battle on Mt Silver happened so fast for that kind of stuff to happen."
"One Pokemon Trainer to another then. Thank you again, Red." Bea bowed to him, showing her absolute respect to the mute trainer. Red didn't do bowing but he took the respect either way.
"..." Just then, Red turned to Ash, giving a smile. With just that look on his face, Ash knew what Red meant.
"Yeah. I hear ya, Red." Ash nodded in understanding as all of his friends locked their heads onto him with confused faces. Even Sombra did the same.
"You can?" They each said.
"Let's have our full battle one day when it comes along. But I wanna be way stronger than I am now. And I wanna finish my battle with you too, Gold. We didn't get that far, ya know."
"True, true." Gold agreed. "Well, we're gonna sign off now. The rest of this world is ours to explore. We might bump into each other again. And-"
"..." But Red promptly stopped Gold. Before they would leave, Red wanted to do one last thing. And that involved the mute conversation he had with Vinyl Scratch earlier when returning to Ponyville.
Ponyville. Vinyl and Octavia's home. Afternoon.
There, music was playing as a courtesy of the record that Red chose. Vinyl started playing it, adding her own flair to it. And Red enjoyed it. He stood there with his hands in his pockets, bopping his head to the beat of the music along with Vinyl. He made the right choice of music.
"He may not look like it, but he's an outgoing guy." Gold spoke, standing outside of the house. "Even if he likes going solo most of the time."
"So, you're going to keep venturing Equestria, are you?" Rarity said to Gold. "You have a long way ahead of you. Be careful out there."
"Ah, we'll be fine. We've seen our fair share of dangers. Oh. But one last thing. You might wanna watch out for others. We've got some friends back in our world that found out about these gateways. There might be even more."
"More gateways, huh? That means more extra-strong Pokemon Trainers. How exciting!!" Ash cheered.
"Mhm. By the way...what about my counterpart? You said you knew someone named Ethan who was like me. Can I meet him?" Gold asked, curious about his counterpart that Ash had met once.
"Ah...T-That's gonna be tough. Sorry. I don't know where he is." Ash laughed along with Pikachu. Ethan's counterpart's current location was unknown.
"Figures..." God shrugged. "Oh well. Treat me to some of that food before we head off." Now, Gold was feeling peckish. And the best place to be was SugarCube Corner. Bea had previously been there, but she had returned to her region, taking the goods that Pinkie Pie had given her.
The visit of Red and Gold last a while until they were ready to depart. This certainly wouldn't be their last visit here as they were now willing to see more of this world and everything else that it has to offer. They had a lot of catching up to do.
Not just them, but other Pokemon Trainers that were similar to them. From familiar regions no less as the journey continues.
The town of Feathercoast. Located in the most humble parts of Pegalysium which was a nation still unknown to many below in Equestria and beyond. But teeming with life and mystery.
"Hello~! Welcome back as always, Garnet! To another riveting day here at the Feathercoast Nursery!" Standing at a nursery and speaking to Garnet was a Feathercoast resident by the name of Sunpuff. Or Mrs Sunpuff for formality.
"Mm..." Garnet grumbled.
"Still so sour, are we? Come on! Where's that chipper smile you sometimes carry?" Sunpuff dashed over, holding Garnet's face, forcing a smile.
"Hard to put it on with what's waiting for me inside that nursery, Mrs Sunpuff."
"What? The children? Still struggling with them, are you?" Sunpuff playfully nudged Garnet.
"Yes..." Garnet sighed before whimpering a bit. "I'm used to taking care of kids but those ones...they're something else! I swear, they're out to get me, Mrs Sunpuff!"
"Ah, they're children. Rambunctious and chaotic is a part of their nature. If they weren't they'd be robots when you think about it."
"I'd much prefer robots...Yesterday was a nightmare, Mrs Sunpuff...Just their actions alone were enough to keep me up at night from what I had to go through. And I wasn't even at the nursey!" Garnet showed her eyes as there were visible bags.
"Ah. That calls for some Alert Pills~" She whistled before swivelling for a split-second, revealing a bottle of glowing pills to Garnet. "Open up."
"Aaaah..." Garnet opened her mouth with an unenthusiastic sound as Sunpuff had thrown the pills into her mouth. Garnet swallowed the pill as the magic within had triggered.
Just like that, her bags had disappeared and her drowsiness had been wiped out immediately. Those pills certainly made her alert. "There. All energized now?"
"Still pretty gloomy..." Garnet sighed. "Plus uh...I don't get paid enough Quillbits lately. At least, not enough to do much...When are you gonna raise my pay?"
"Garnet. Sweetie. I pay you a hooffull of Quillbits all the time when you do well at work. How is it that you keep losing so many in such a short amount of time?" Sunpuff's cheery expression changed into one of curiosity.
"Ehehehe..." Garnet started laughing nervously. "F-Forget I asked."
"Ah, it's fine anyway." Her cheery expression returned. "I'll double it if you go above and beyond at work. But from what you've said so far, it sounds like you don't want to work here that much. Am I right?"
"No, it's not that. I love being a nursery teacher and caretaker all at once but...These kids are way different from the ones I deal with. But I'm gonna get through to them. Especially that one kid. Updraft!"
"Oh, Updraft is an absolute sweetie." Sunpuff chucked. "He's just a scamp. But if he gives you too much trouble that goes too far, let me and the other staff members know. Okay? Okay."
"I tell you all the time but you never listen...Nevermind...Here goes." Garnet ended the discussion as she took a deep breath, facing the door to the Feathercoast Nursery. She then opened the door as the chaos within was about to grace her. Much to her chagrin.
And the moment those doors were opened, it was already absolute madness from within. A plethora of toys could be seen scattered everywhere with many of the plush-based ones already being ripped open. The foals were painting on the chalkboards with paintbrushes, throwing toys at each other, some of which were hard plastic. Over at the makeshift baking section, flour was being spilt. One filly was inside of a cart while another started pulling it along. A few other foals joined in, almost hitting their fellow classmates.
"Mine!" There were even foals fighting over toys, pulling them back and forth and ripping them apart. Those poor plushes didn't stand a chance against the sheer power of arguing children.
"Eugh..." Even Sunpuff, cheery as she was, could only grimace at this scene. "Lucky for you, you only have eight children as your students to worry about. Best get to finding them. I'll handle the rest." Sunpuff pranced along, ready to break up the chaos. Garnet would have to do the same while also finding her student.
"Just eight. Right..." Garnet sighed, walking ahead as she had just narrowly avoided an incoming toy train that almost hit her head. "Gather up, please!" But she didn't need to start searching. All she needed to do was shout and call for the children.
And they showed up after that shout surprisingly. The other children ignored her but seven of them did not. They had approached Garnet. There was just one more missing. Garnet and the seven children walked away from the main room, deciding to head to another to avoid the absolute carnage right here. Sunpuff and a few other staff members were left with this.
Ah...Okay." Garnet sighed as she and her students had entered another room that was less mangled than the previous one. It was still a mess, however. "Away from that and-" She then looked at her students, noticing their current states. Most of them had paint on them. "At least clean yourself first before we get started, please?"
"But we look extra colourful like you said we should be!" A filly exclaimed as they giggled.
"I didn't mean it like that! I meant your spirits-" Garnet facehoofed. Forget it. I guess they were colourful to begin with. Just get yourselves cleaned, okay?"
"No!" Some of them shook their head.
"Don't do this to me right now..." Garnet shook her head. "Nube. You'll at least go and clean yourself, won't you?" She looked at a little colt.
"Mhm." Nube nodded before most putting his paint-coloured hoof in his mouth.
"Don't do that!" Garnet gasped preventing him from interacting with the paint to his mouth. A total of 4 of her students went off to clean themselves as they could still listen to Garnet despite how rowdy and playful they appeared. "Ah...Raffle. Won't you?" She looked at a filly.
"Hmm..." The filly by the name of Raffle pouted, holding her hoof out to Garnet. She looked like she wanted something. And Garnet knew exactly what.
"Please Raffle...I just got my pay from yesterday...!" Garnet groaned.
"Mm-mm." Raffle hummed, flailing her hoof. Clearly, she wasn't going to go through with the order until she obtained the item of her desire.
"Ugh, fine!" Garnet went into her saddlebag, taking out the currency of Pegalysium. Quillbits. Similar to bits but with hard quills on the side. She then dropped it into Raffle's hooves. The little pegasus gasped as she held the currency close to her.
After receiving it, Raffle then placed the Quillbits inside of her bag. In that bag, there were more of that currency as she had certainly been collecting them.
"I'd better make it all back today..." A disgruntled Garnet spoke before seeing her students head off to clean themselves. That was when she noticed one other child missing. But she wasn't surprised at all. "Of course...Updraft is missing."
As soon as she said that, Updraft could be seen through the window, messing around in the playroom with the rest of the toys. He wasn't even with the other foals. It was just him on his lonesome. "Oh well. At least he can cause trouble without anypony around." Garnet said down, already wanting this to be over. "It's just the start of today, Garnet. Get through it all and you'll be alright."
4 hours later.
4 hours had passed. The foals had finished their time in the nursery. And with all that time, Garnet emerged out of the nursery school, having a smile on her face. She made it through. Although, it was a good indicator that it was rough as her mane was already a mess.
"Made it through. And I got 20 Quillbits. Haha!" Garnet raised the bag of currency into the air, chuckling and revelling in her success. "Ah...It's still not enough. Not sure if I'm doing the best right now. I'll need a bit more or else that rent will crush me to bits."
"Precisely. Replying to Garnet was none other than the mayor of Feathercoast and the striking doppelganger to King Sombra. Mayor Umbra Streak. "I can see that you've done a splendid job at the nursery, Garnet."
"You know it, mayor!" Garnet winked. "Since I did so well, I got some extra pay too! Soon, I'll be sitting pretty and pay my rent."
"Hm. In that case...you won't head to Big Sky immediately, will you?" Umbra's eyes then flared as she had the same intensive stare that Sombra had. Garnet froze before gulping aggressively.
"Hehehe....N-No?" She squeed, trying to act innocent.
"I know why your Quillbit amount keeps dropping Every one that you obtain, it's off to Big Sky's popular shopping area and hours upon hours wasted purchasing some of the most expensive objects there are." Umbra shook her head. "I found out a while back. It almost makes your house payment delays forgivable. Almost."
"S-Sorry, Mayor Umbra! I just get so caught up at that place! Besides, it's only been happening for a few months now so it's not that big of a deal."
"It most certainly is that big of a deal!" Umbra bellowed as Garnet yelped, moving back. "And it could keep increasing if you do not sort it out. You're a good pony, Garnet. You do so much for our town. I would hate to see you out of here."
"R-Right. I won't go to Big Sky that much. But I'm sort of struggling a bit, mayor. I mean, working at that nursery's draining me and those kids aren't making it easier for me. Plus, even though this is sweet and all..." Garnet held her bag out. "It's not nearly enough to get me anywhere."
"I understand you want to make it big. But you won't get anywhere with that little care of Quillbits. Not at all." Umbra shook her head as Garnet raised her hoof, opening her mouth to say something. "And I am not giving you any either."
"Aww..."
"Take good care of it. Otherwise, it could lead you through a year of the same thing on repeat. Only 5 months to go for that to happen." Umbra then walked off, leaving Garnet to think.
"Hm. She's right. I could keep doing this forever. But working at that nursery feels like forever. Can't head to Big Sky either. It's super tempting and there's this pretty dress that I want..." The caretaker started thinking. She sat down, using 100% of her brain to come up with something.
A Sky Fox came along, jumping onto Garnet's head in the process. That's when she thought of something. Or somepony. Garnet recalled how she was friends with Prince Shooting Star after a not-so-pleasant kidnapping experience. Or rather, before that.
"That's it!"
Meanwhile, over at the town hall, Umbra had come across Sunpuff, having a short chat with her for a moment. And it was about Garnet, fittingly.
"I worry about her. Garnet." Umbra said. "I'm not sure what happened in those past months, to be honest. Meeting a Pokemon for the first time must've accelerated it."
"Oh, she's still young." Sunpuff shrugged. "So she's poor with managing Quillbits. Never been a problem before. That means it can be solved."
"But why is she so obsessed with them, I wonder...?"
"It could have something to do with her parents," Sunpuff said, grabbing a cloud from the Cloud Fountain, playing around with it for a bit. "They struck gold that one time at Zephyr Mountains. By accident too. Next thing you know, they became massive tycoons in a flash."
"I do. They even planned to make a city at the Zephyr Mountains, didn't they? A shame didn't come into fruition."
"Oh, a true shame. But that's because they weren't ready for all that success." Sunpuff gave off a dramatic sigh, laying on some clouds as if she had fainted. "It was just overwhelming to them both. They're still living large over at Big Sky but...not exactly the Qullionares they once were. And that's for the best!"
"It is?"
"Why yes! You should see them now. Being free from all that was a massive load taken off their backs. Ah, what a happy ending. Alas, some of those occurring events rubbed onto Garnet. Where her parents never expected success of that level, she did and wanted to reach it. Become that Quillionare that her parents once were."
"So that's why..." Umbra nodded in understanding. "Such a large ambition. But I suppose only a pony such as her would reach that high. I just hope that everything doesn't swing poorly in her favour..."
The next day. Pegalysium Captial.
Over at the capital where the nobility and royal family live, Garnet was paying a quick visit there to a certain pony of high status. And speaking of that certain pony, he was currently holding a list.
Shooting Star was the pony she was looking for. Prince of Pegalysium and the current Pegasus of Destiny. Shooting gazed at the list as it was all about Pokemon. He also held a Pokedex in his other hoof. He finally had one of his own as experience with Ash's Pokedex had prepared him for this.
"Hm. I could go and see this Pokemon. That could be fine." He said, looking at the Pokedex and list.
"Hey, Prince." Appearing from behind, giving him a shock and causing him to fly for a bit was Garnet, speaking casually.
"Gah!" Shooting Star gasped, holding onto a tree. He then turned around to see Garnet there, having an innocent yet scheming smile on her face. "Oh...Garnet...Second time you've spooked me like that."
"Sorry. Force of habit. But it's always great to see you, prince."
"R-Right. Did you need something?" Shooting Star slid off the tree.
"Hm...nothing much! I mean, I only showed up because we're friends, right? If it's not a bother, young prince, I'd like to hang out. That's all."
"Oh. Okay, that's simple enough. But wait...aren't you a caretaker at that nursery? Shouldn't you be there right now?" He asked as Garnet then scrunched her face.
"Ah, day off." Garnet chuckled. "And it's worthwhile too. Working at that nursery can be total chaos. I'm sure you've heard about it, right? It's a bit infamous."
"Oh, for sure. Mom and dad keep records of every area in Pegalysium. Not as much as that museum but that thing's getting redone now it looks like. I know about that nursery. It sounds like a hooffull for sure. But if you can get through it, then you're a real pro at your job."
"Pro is an understatement. Ever since those new kids came along, my expert caretaking skills have dropped to the bottom faster than an air diver. I miss the last kids I took care...they've gone up now..."
"Ah, you shouldn't let it get to you, Garnet." Shooting used one of his feathers as a finger, wagging it along with a head shake. "If you could handle the previous kids, then you can find a way to handle the new ones, right?"
"I mean I know that. But these kids aren't making it easy for me." She groaned. "Maybe I'm not doing something right this time around...Either way, it's messing with me. Can't talk to them nicely that much. I have to bribe one of them of my precious Quillbits..."
"Well..." Shooting Star then pondered for a moment before coming up with an idea. "How about this? I saw this from my dad. Maybe don't speak down to them even if they're kids."
"No?" Garnet tilted her head.
"Nope. My dad's kind but he's also sure to make sure that everyone's being treated the same in Pegalyisum. Especially when it comes to foals. If you be like that around them, then all that respect is gonna come flowing to you. At least, that's what my dad does. Hope that helps!" He grinned.
"Uh...Y-Yeah. I'll keep that in mind." Garnet nodded as she had something to take in when it comes to being a caretaker. "But anyway, about that hanging out part. Is it alright with you, young prince?"
"Oh yeah! It is! I-I don't get many friends to hang out with me that often so this is fun for me."
"Excellent! I was thinking that we could visit Big Sky. The biggest entertainment and shopping area of Pegalysium!" Garnet's eyes shot open with the visage of Quillbits appearing in her eyes. A mountain of expensive items were envisioned as well behind her.
"I was thinking we could go and sightsee some Pokemon." Shooting Star cut her hoof, causing the items and Quillbits to shatter as he showed her the Pokedex and list. "Check it out. I have my own Pokedex to boot."
"O-Oh...sightsee Pokemon?"
"Mhm! I've been doing it for a while. A few weeks now. Going around and exploring the area, looking for Pokemon and getting them on my Pokedex. It's been so much fun! It's extra exciting when it's all fresh. My Pokedex even tells me new facts about Pokemon I didn't know from when I had Ash's Pokedex. How about it? Is that okay, because if not then we can just-"
"N-No. It's fine." Garnet shook her head. "You're the prince so it's up to you. S-Sightseeing it is."
"Cool. It'll be the first one I do without needing guards around me. At least, I'm hoping the guards don't notice me." Shooting Star walked over, whispering a bit to Garnet while looking around. "I was thinking maybe the Floating Ait would be a good place to find some Pokemon."
"The Floating Ait? I guess that's not a bad place to start. But there's a lot of water there. We'll need-"
"I already got it covered. I can get one of the Cloud Boats we have. Have you ever rode on one of those?" Shooting Star nudged.
"Mmm!" Garnet shook her head aggressively. "I've always been pretty afraid of them. Doesn't help that they're usually used in large cloud waters!" She then shuddered. "It could sink at any time and-"
"Ah, that won't happen. Ours is high quality. Plus, it's just the Floating Ait. It won't be too intense."
"Y-Yeah...R-Right." Garnet chuckled nervously.
"Without further ado, let's go!" Exciting to get this Pokemon sightseeing venture for the Pokedex ready, Shooting Star raised his hoof into the air. Garnet wasn't too excited about this as she was hoping to go to Big Sky. But it is what it is.
The Floating Ait. East of Pegalysium. Afternoon.
They were taking a ride on a Cloud Boat, already sailing the cloudy waters of this area. Somepony was already driving the boat for them as Shooting Star already had his Pokedex out, searching far and wide for any Pokemon he could spot before it was too late to see them.
This island was floating, much like the others. A stream of cloud water fell from each direction, only to then land on the massive Sea Cloud below. The peaks of this island touched gracefully with those enigmatic singing flowers that could change depending on the mood and scenario. And right now, they were singing a peaceful song that perfectly fits the slow ride of the Cloud Boat.
"Why do you need the list?" Garnet asked. "You already have that Pokedex with you."
"Oh. I've already seen some Pokemon on Ash's Pokedex so I put them on this list in case I come across them again. Don't want any repeats. Ah, I've already seen Wingull..." He moved his Pokedex away from Wingull, trying to focus on something else. "See anything new, Garnet?"
"Nothing yet." Garnet side, laying her head on the side of the ship. Her real intention was to have a major shopping spree that Big Sky. But it all led to this. A slow moment that she was hoping to avoid. However, she then looked at Prince Shooting Star, seeing how much fun he was already having. Especially when with someone else that wasn't there to just protect him and limit him.
But then, as her eyes were wandering across the lake, that's when she spotted a new Pokemon. The evolved form of Wingull, Pelipper. It had something in its bill. Something of great value to Garnet.
Quillbits. A heap of it too. They were all within its massive bill
"Ah! Ah! There!" She pointed her hoof aggressively at Pelipper.
"Hm?" Shooting Star quickly aimed it at the Water-Flying-Type as a massive grin formed on Garnet's face. "Pelipper. The Water Bird Pokemon. Pelipper is a flying transporter that carries small Pokémon and eggs inside its massive bill. This Pokémon builds its nest on steep cliffs facing the sea. Pelipper searches for food while in flight by skimming the wave tops. This Pokémon dips its large bill in the sea to scoop up food, then swallows everything in one big gulp. It can devour more than 30 at one go!"
"Hm. Impressive." Shooting Star nodded. "I can only put 20 food in my mouth."
"We need to get that Pelipper! Or at least the Quilbits inside of it!" Garnet exclaimed, wanting the Quillbits. This was essentially the best-case scenario for her. "Free money!" She whistled in her head.
"That could be a challenge but..." Shooting Star went into the interior of the boat. He then found bait lying there. "We have some food for it. Bait."
"That'll do!" Garnet quickly dashed over, grabbing a handful of the bait. She wasted no time as Shooting Star blinked from Garnet's high-speed movements. "Hey, you there!"
"Pelipper?" The Water Bird Pokemon looked over, responding to Garnet's words.
"Heya...You feeling hungry?" She whistled, shaking the bait around as Pelipper's eyes locked onto it. Pelipper is an easily persuasive Pokemon when it comes to food. Then again, a lot of Pokemon are. They just can't resist bait even if it is from a completely different world.
"Hmm..." The sailor pony steering the boat noticed how a nearby whirlpool could be found. However, it would be easy to avoid it as a mild shrug came to him. But then, the sailor's expression soon changed once he had seen something far more dangerous than a whirlpool.
In the distance, approaching at unbelievable speeds was a fin. That fin made a trail of water that was split in two different directions. The sailor's hat flew up as his eyes widened. He got out his binoculars to see what could possibly be approaching so fast. "What in the Alta-Pegasi is that?"
Having a closer look, it was Sharpedo.
Approaching here at its usual blitzing speeds, the Brutal Pokemon had some prey in its sights. Everyone within the ship but also the Pelipper that was nearby. "Y-Young prince!" The sailor gasped, shouting Shooting Star's name while also having the immediate instinct to move this boat away from Sharpedo as fast as he could.
"Sharpedo!"
"What is that?!" Shooting Star quickly went to the sailor's side once his name was called. There, he also spotted the Water-Dark-Type's rapid approach. That called for another Pokedex usage.
"Sharpedo. The Brutal Pokemon. Nicknamed 'The Bully of the Sea', Sharpedo is widely feared. Its cruel fangs grow back immediately if they snap off. Just one of these Pokémon can thoroughly tear apart a supertanker. Its fangs rip through sheet iron. It swims at 75 mph by jetting seawater through its body. Any ship entering the waters Sharpedo calls home will be attacked—no exceptions."
"Oh!" Shooting Star gasped, realizing that this part of the water was Sharpedo's territory. And due to this, immediate action was taken by Sharpedo's choice.
"Peli-Pe-Pepper!" Pelipper hummed as it was approaching the bait with an open mouth. The Quillbits could be seen in all their glory as Garnet nodded her head approvingly, waiting for the right moment to grab all that currency. But at the same time, when Pelipper got incredibly close, lunging at the Water Bird Pokemon was the Brutal Pokemon.
"Sharpedo!" Sharpedo roared as it had flown past Garnet. Garnet gasped as Pelipper backed away immediately. And adding to this sudden increase of speed in a few seconds was the sailor, making the Cloud Boat rapidly change directions. Garnet lost her balance from this directional change, falling on her back while Sharpedo dove into the water.
"Best not to be around that one!" The sailor exclaimed.
"Peli? Pelipper!" Pelipper still wanted the bait. The moment the boat started moving along the water clouds, the Water-Flying-Type pursued it. Free food was free food and being offered it wouldn't stop this Pokemon from getting its meal.
The same went for Sharpedo. It was an unrelenting Pokemon. After diving in, the Water-Dark-Type also started pursuing the boat immediately. That went for Pelipper too. Everyponyand that one Pelipper would be free food to it.
Soon a chase began. An escape from this area and Sharpedo while the pursuit of food was involved. And as always, the magical flowers started singing at a faster and more aggressive tempo to fit the current situation. Garnet got up, looking over to see Pelipper approaching. It still had the Quillbits in its mouth, thankfully. That made Garnet happy. But her smile faded away once she saw Sharpedo approaching at high speeds. "What is that absurd speed?!"
"75 mph. See?" Shooting Star casually showed Sharpedo's dex entry to her. "That's almost as fast as-"
"Sharpedo!" Easily catching up to them and cutting Shooting Star off was a jumping Sharpedo. It appeared in the air, already having a Pokemon move in store. And that move was Dark Pulse.
"Look out!" Shooting Star quickly got in front of Garnet, using his magic as protection. The azure pattern on his wings started glowing as a large magic circle appeared above him. Garnet looked up to see it as the pulse of darkness had struck it. But it didn't go through.
"Peli!" Immediately after the Dark Pulse, Sharpedo had been blasted with an incoming Water Pulse from Pelipper. Pelipper wasn't too happy with Sharpeo trying to get rid of its free food right then and there.
"S-Shar!"
"Ooh! Nice hit!" Garnet applauded that.
"Pelipper!" Pelipper saluted to Garnet, appreciating the compliment. But moving as fast as always, Sharpedo's recovery was swift. It jumped back out of the water, using Aqua Jet to crash right into Pelipper, moving with a liquid aura. "P-Pelipper!"
"Sharpedo!" Sharpedo then knocked Pelipper aside, making it gasp. The Water Bird Pokemon had been knocked out of the sky from that attack, falling in the direction of the boat.
"Oh! I got you!" Shooting Star ascended, holding his hooves out to grab Pelipper. A successful catch, however, Pelipper was heavy, throwing Shooting Star off balance as he almost crashed onto the boat. "Woah!"
"Is it okay?!" Garnet asked as Shooting Star descended, placing the Water Bird Pokemon on the floorboard.
"It'll be fine, for sure." Shooting Star nodded as the hard-hit on Pelipper's chest caused it to cough up some of the Quillbits in its mouth. It wasn't over, sadly. Sharpedo was still in hot pursuit. After hitting Pelipper, the Brutal Pokemon then used Aqua Jet once more, crashing into the boat and leaving a visible mark on it. The boat trembled from the impact as Sharpedo continued to do this.
"It could bring the whole ship down if it keeps doing this! What do we do, young prince?!"
"I'm not one for hurting others but..." Shooting Star thought for a moment as Sharpedo's next Aqua Jet managed to break right through the boat, causing a gaping hole to be left behind. He then burst out of the floorboards of the boat, appearing before the two ponies and the other Water-Type.
"Sharpedo!" Once there, Sharpedo had used Ancient Power, summoning rocks around its body.
"Yikes!" Shooting Star yelped as Garnet hid behind him. The young prince had then used his magic to protect himself, Garnet and now Pelipper once more. The rocks came crashing down, pelting the magic circle constantly. It was also revealed that Sharpedo could float without needing to rely on the water so much. That just made it worse for them.
"Oh come on! It can float too?!" Garnet groaned as Shaperdo hovered there, sending constant rocks to the circle. The boat was also having some water spurt through it after Sharpedo crashed right through with Aqua Jet. The sailor pony was still managing the boat, however.
Shooting Star's magic circle was on the verge of breaking as he was looking around to try and figure something out. "What to do? What to do?" He spoke rapidly.
"Peli...!" For the time being, Pelipper was on their side. Once the water broke, the rocks came through. But getting in their way was Pelipper. The Water Bird Pokemon used Water Pulse to blast one of the fossilised rocks, destroying them as they became pebbles afterwards. But some still came through, hitting the Water-Flying-Type. "P-Peli!"
"Pelipper!" Shooting Star gasped after witnessing that super-effective hit. Once the rocks finally connected, Sharpedo descended a bit as the boat was starting to gradually sink, despite the sailor still moving it. The floorboards were already being filled with water.
"Why you...!" Garnet growled, picking up the Quillbits. But she wasn't planning to turn tail and take off with them. Instead, she started throwing them at Sharpedo. "Get back!"
"Shar?" Sharpedo stood there as the bits were being rapidly pelted onto it. The currency barely did a thing as Sharpedo did not budge from it. If anything, this was just agitating the Brutal Pokemon. The Quillbits, after failing, all fell through the hole that Sharpedo made, becoming a part of the water. It was safe to say that they were lost right now. But that was the least of Garnet's worries as she backed away. "Sharpedo...!"
"Ehehe..." She laughed nervously after her failed pelting attempt.
"Hey." But Shooting Star stood in front of Garnet and the down Pelipper, making sure they were safe. "I don't want to hurt you, Sharpedo. But threatening my friend isn't something I'm gonna allow."
Shooting Star was still fairly intimidated. It was a shark after all. Anyone would be intimidated by it, especially one that moves that fast and can do more than just bite. Garnet saw how Shooting Star's hooves were shaking and sweat could be seen. He was truly nervous but brave enough to stand in front of this fearsome Pokemon.
"Sharpedo!" Sharpedo could care less. In response, it had used Dark Pulse, releasing the embedded cruel thoughts in the form of a beam. Shooting Star closed his eyes as he allowed his magic to do the rest. The blue tips on his feathers started glowing, but that wasn't all. His mane also flew up as out of his wings, an array of 100 magical sparkles came flying out.
Those sparkles multiplied, reaching 200 and soon 300 immediately as they stared battering the pulse. Dark Pulse didn't last that long as it had been obliterated by these blue magical sparkles. "Shar?!" Sharpedo gasped as the sparkle then bombarded it repeatedly. It felt like a hundred tiny meteors were constantly raining down on it. "S-Sharpedo!" Sharpedo cried ut as the last couple of hundred sparkles had then knocked the Brutal Pokemon far back.
Far enough to leave the boat and anywhere near its vicinity. The sparkles carried Sharpedo into the distance, still lingering as they illuminated the area, giving it a glorious blue tint. The flowers sang a triumphant sound as Sharpedo was sent to another side of the lake, still landing in the water after all of that.
"Hoh..." Shooting Star took a deep breath, sitting down as he was perplexed by that. That was a new kind of feeling. "Oh boy..."
"Young prince! You did it!" Garnet cheered, laughing with great relief in her heart "Oh, that was close! And amazing too! I didn't know you could do that!"
"Y-Yeah...I mainly use it for light shows but they can do more than just that. Not a big fan of using them that way though...But at least it got the job done."
"Peli. Pelipper." Pelipper sat up, approving of Shooting Star's approach and victory. It was grateful to them.
"Um...I would hate to ruin this triumphant moment but... the boat is still sinking. It's best that we leave it be." The sailor walked in, seeing that there was no hope for this boat due to the massive hole made inside of it by Sharpedo. The only thing to do was leave it be.
They stood on land this time, away from the Clou Boat. As for the boat itself, it started sinking immediately. They watched as it descended into the waters of the Ait. Thankfully, an Ait is still a small area so the water wasn't too deep. But either way, it was gone.
"That's an expensive boat gone...Oh well." Shooting Star shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal. We've got loads more back at the palace."
"Mmm." The sailor nodded in response.
"But, boy, that was fun!" Shooting Star then laughed. "Dangerous...but fun! Thank you so much for this, Garnet. It was my first time coming out here on a small Pokemon search with a friend. I only got two dex entries but still."
"Oh. Y-You're w-welcome." Garnet stuttered. "Glad I could be of help and everything..."
"Pelipper." Pelipper nudged Garnet's head as it still wanted some food. Even after all of that, the Water Bird Pokemon was still peckish for the bait.
"I only managed to get two." Garnet held out two pieces of bait. "Sorry about that."
"Peli!" But that was fine for Pelipper. It would eat the bait in small numbers either way. It immediately feasted off of Garnet's hoof, making her laugh. "Pelipper!" Pelipper was satisfied. After getting its fill, the Water Bird Pokemon took the skies, deciding to leave. Its wings were still active even after that previous attack. "Peli-Pelipper!" And as thanks, it gave another salute to the ponies. They saluted back.
"Thanks for the help, Pelipper!" Shooting Star said before changing his salute to a wave. "See you around the Ait another time, okay?!"
"Pelipper!"
Garnet smiled, feeling somewhat at peace with Pelipper happy. Then, she thought about the Quillbits and how they were gone. She sacrificed them when throwing them against Sharpedo, which proved to be ineffective. However, she didn't feel as disheartened by it as she thought. She then looked at Shooting Star, holding her breath. "Y-Young prince."
"Yes?" Shooting Star turned to Garnet.
"I want to apologize." This was about her intentions. Being the prince meant that he would have access to a mountain of Quillbits naturally. And that was Garnet's main goal at first. But after what had just happened and how happy Shooting Star had been made, Garnet had a different reaction.
"You don't have to apologize for anything. All of that was just an accident that happened." Shooting chuckled, unaware of what Garnet was apologizing for. "And we're all in one piece, aren't we?"
"M-Mhm." Garnet nodded before turning around. "You know... never mind. It's nothing." She dismissed her apology afterwards.
"We still have some time to kill. How about we try Big Sky now? Like you wanted to."
"No, no. It's fine." Surprisingly, Garnet turned it down. "I think today's good enough with our hanging out. But maybe next time. And someplace else."
"Oh. Okay! Next time, it's your choice! I can't wait to head back and tell mom and dad what happened. Oh but they're not gonna like it are they...?"
"Best keep it a secret then~" Garnet playfully nudged him as they both chuckled afterwards. That was a certified blast for them. Garnet's quest for higher currency wasn't over yet, but it has certainly slowed down a bit as the journey continues.
"Show me this temple that you rule. So that I can at least get a good gist of your kingly status." Speaking to Ash as always was the shadowy tagalong spirit of King Sombra.
"Wow. So he's really stuck to you, Ash." Derpy said, facing Ash and Sombra. "Doesn't that creep you out?"
"Nah. I've seen scarier." Ash shook his head. "This isn't so bad. You can get used to it even, surprisingly."
"Only because I'm so limited at the moment." Sombra scoffed. "If I were in King Paramount, this would've been far easier. Though I will admit...you're not as insufferable as I was expecting you to be."
"Uh, thanks?" Ash took that a compliment even though some insult was sprinkled in there.
"Oh, by the way! Weren't you supposed to go to the Holon Region by now? I think that's what it's called." Derpy brought up the topic of Holon.
"Yeah but some stuff happened that kinda delayed it a bit. Ya know, the whole Ataxia thing plus back then, it wasn't even a few weeks since the Sea Temple stuff happened before we got pulled into those 18 Realms. Man, a lot's happened." Ash crossed his arms, taking some time to realize just how much he has done and gone through in just a few weeks and a month.
"Pikachu..."
"Ah, well. You said you wanted to see the temple, right, Sombra? You got it." Ash said to the shadow of Sombra. "You're not gonna try anything there when we get there, are you?"
"Hmph. As if. I would take control of it, but being the ruler of a civilization that can barely pick themselves up after so many centuries and have just returned to their physical bodies after so long is a waste of time."
"They can totally pick themselves up!" Ash exclaimed. "When they put their minds together, they can do some awesome stuff! Plus, they saved my life back there. That makes them awesome in my book."
"I suppose you have a point. I would be somewhat thankful for anyone that can save my life." Sombra turned away. "But their thanks will be greatly limited."
"Huh? Limited? Come on. Wouldn't you show them some respect if they saved your life too, Sombra?" Ash turned to face him. "That's something that everyone can be grateful for, ya know."
"Grateful for a while. But at the end of the day, I acknowledge no one but myself."
"What about Red?" Ash scratched his hair. "You said you wished you ended up in someone like Red other than me when that battle with him and Bea was going on."
"He was a worthy candidate. Unfortunately, he is not a king and despite that disposition he carries with him, I can sense that he is practically similar to you. That is already a wretched feeling to be stuck in a carbon copy."
"Well, it wouldn't change a thing. Hahaha!" Ash could only chuckle at Sombra's words, finding amusement in them. "You like keeping a lot to yourself, huh? There's no shame in having allies and those there for you, Sombra."
"I have no need for allies. End of story. Now show me the temple." Sombra ended the conversation, hiding back in Ash for the meanwhile.
"Nice attitude..." Ash said with a pout, lowering his hat. "Okay, buddy. Let's pay Samiya one more visit."
"Hold on!" Just then, rushing to Ash's location was Sonata. She showed up in a blazing streak, stopping right in front of Ash. "You're going to the Sea Temple today! Did I hear that right?"
"Sure did. Is something wrong?" Ash faced Sonata.
"Well...we made a statue for our mom when she gets back. She lives in the Sea Tempe now, from what we found out. But we didn't place it there just yet. Had to do some fine-tuning and touching up on it. And it's looking dandy right now!" Sonata winked.
Oooh! I gotta see this!" Interested in this sculpture, Ash and Pikachu's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah..." He then realized something else. "You're gonna see your mom in her human form instead of her siren form, huh? Which one did you do?"
"Siren form. It's how e remember her the most. I mean, we didn't even know she lived at the Sea Temple now or found her way there. But..." Sonata then started thinking of what her mother could look like in human form. "She'd look a bit different with how she is now, huh?"
"How different are we talking here?" Ash leaned in.
"I got it!" Sonata chose the best way to represent her mother's potential human form as she has never seen it yet. She quickly went over to her home to grab a few essential items. A quill for drawing, coloured pens for colouring and paper for the artwork to be shown in.
And that was her approach. Art. Seemed like the best option after all. Sonata started drawing a conceptual artwork of her mother's human form. She knew what she looked like as a siren, even after all these years, so it was clear that taking the siren appearance and adding those features to her human form was the best way to go about it. Her mother, Vivace, resembled Adagio in terms of the manestyle. It's where Adagio even found inspiration for it. After finishing the concept drawing, She then showed it to Ash, Pikachu and Derpy.
"Since she's still in her human form, she'd look...just like this!"
"She's got stripes of my mane, Adagio's full hair and hair colouring of Aria. It's like a triple fusion of us. Oh, and she's got Adagio's coat too. Looks just like her, huh?"
"Hmm..." Derpy squinted her eyes. "I can see the similarity somewhere!"
"Yep. I recognize that hair." Ash nodded, spotting Adagio's familiar hairstyle on Vivace. "The only other girl I know with hair that big is Iris."
"Pika-Pika."
"Gonna put this on the fridge." Sonata admired her artwork for a moment. "But anyway! We need you to help us carry the statue over to the Sea Temple, please?"
"Sure thing. We'll have it there safe and sound. Say, Derpy. Do you wanna come along?" Ash questioned.
"Yes please!" Derpy was all for it as she clapped her hooves together. Popping out of her mane was Wooper as his interest was also piqued. They were most definitely going.
"Okay then! Let's go!" With a goal of bringing a sculpture made out of Melody Crystals and showing a tyrant king the Sea Temple, a new yet seemingly brief journey was about to begin.
Hoenn Region. Lilycove City. Afternoon.
Samiya was still here, undergoing its repairs. The People of the Water and Lilycove City's residents continued to communicate some more. They were close to each other after all.
Carrying the statue here was Ash who did most of the heavy lifting. He was carrying the statue of Vivace which was fittingly heavy due to how detailed and large it was. But Ash had help. His Dragonite was also carrying the statue.
"Sorry that you had to carry it, Ash. Dragonite." Aria spoke to them. "Adagio certainly wasn't gonna even try and do it."
"No problem," Ash said while also holding some heavy accessories that Adagio felt compelled to make, just to add the majesticness of this statue. "This weight's pretty intimidating, but nothing we can't handle."
"Dragonite!"
"It was worth coming here, Ash. This place is nice." Derpy flew around, observing the Sea Temple and gawking at its wonderful colours and gleaming aesthetic. "And you don't' wanna stay here?"
"Yeah, that sounds like crazy talk, when you think about it. Who wouldn't want to stay in a place like this?!" And Sonata agreed on that notion, shouting as her voice echoed throughout the area.
"It's cool and all, but endless adventure in the big world is where I belong. Out there in the open world and stuff." Ash put it as it was. Anyone else would enjoy this luxury but Ash preferred to keep it to the expansive world. Both worlds even plus a parallel one, making two. "By the way...you three have Shift Stones." Ash then noticed how the Dazzlings had Shift Stones at their disposal. They were glowing right through their saddlebags.
"Adagio suggested we keep them." Aria showed the body changing stone embued with Rift Magic.
"We need it desperately. Mother isn't going to like us in these forms. She'd be applauded with us, even if we were her daughters." said Adagio. "These stones will bring us back to our original siren forms. Sadly, we will still be stuck as ponies to this day. And technically humans I suppose."
"Mom's still gonna love us even in this new look. I mean, look at us!" Sonata got in front of Adagio, holding Derpy as well. "I know you're not the biggest fan of ponies, but you gotta admit, they and we in these forms are super cute, aren't they?!"
"I think so too." Derpy agreed with a nod as Aria mushed her face, making Derpy's speech slightly muffled.
"..." Adagio stood there for a moment, observing her sister and Derpy "Okay, you have a point, they have a cuteness factor to them. And I do look adorable like this don't I?" Showing vanity, Adagio looked at the walls of the temple and how some parts had mirror-like properties, showing her reflection. She then pouted her lips to show off her cuteness. "But that's beside the point! We're keeping it traditional."
"Or we could totally surprise her like this." Aria had a more playful option in mind. Usually, it was Sonata but Aria has some traits from her sisters after all. Both of them as she held the Shift Stone out. "We could show up as ponies or..." She then harnessed the power of the Shift Stone, changing her appearance into something else.
She made herself appear as a divine being that wore royal and ancient garments that flowed beautifully with an ethereal appearance stars flowing out and everything as Aria fittingly chose her human form to make it work. She towered over the others as the Shift Stone's transformation possibilities were seemingly endless. "Something like this?"
"Woah! Awesome!" Ash, Pikachu, Dragonite, Derpy, Wooper and Sonata liked what they were seeing. Adagio's jaw dropped from this glorious sight of divinity.
"You're not the only one who can think big like this, Adagio. "Aria smirked. "I can go above and beyond too. You can thank Brionne's hard work for that."
"Hmph! I can 1-UP you without an issue!" Adagio took out her Shift Stone before also utilizing its power. She also went with the same theme. A giant divine being that stood gracefully over many. However, Adagio had herself gain far more majestic clothes that illuminated the temple. Adagio even gave herself a staff and a crown to boost her own visage, giving a smug grin to her little sister.
The People of the Waer eventually noticed this as they were starstruck. They immediately stopped what they were doing to see this. And how could they not?
And Adagio went above and beyond. She gave herself an echoing voice that made her truly feel as if she was a bonafide goddess in the flesh. "How's this? Top that, sis."
"Mmrrgh...!" Aria grumbled as she couldn't think of anything right now. Adagio had her beat, but that wasn't to say that Aria's ideas couldn't grow over time.
"Oooh! Let me try!" Sonata wanted a crack at it. But her approach was less extravagant than the rest. She used the stone to transform herself into a massive taco. Nothing more. Sonata kept it simple. She was a simple pony and siren after all.
"Seriously?" Adagio said as she and Aria had disappointed faces, expecting their youngest sister to think of something out of this world. "That was the best thing you could think of?"
"Eh. At least I'm the right size for you two to eat me. But uh...does the stone mimic taste or something?" Sonata was curious. So were Adagio and Aria. To test it out due to curiosity, Aria went over to touch the sauce on the transformed taco, seeing if the sauce was real or not. But the moment her finger came in contact with it, a reaction from Sonata came through. "Ow! That's my eye!"
"How was I supposed to know that?" Aria pulled back.
Elsewhere, while the sisters were rambling on, someone else was rambling. But it was more of a rant than anything. And that person was ranting at the guards of the Sea Temple.
"I had to end my venture a few weeks earlier after I found out about your new location!" The voice of a female bellowed at the guards. "All the way here next to this city?!"
"S-Sorry!" A guard stuttered. "It's just that a lot happened that led to this. The Sea Temple would have moved naturally with the currents as always. But the temple was under attack previously and the mechanism along with the crystals that allowed us to travel at a quicker pace was disrupted, leading us to arrive here."
"Ugh..." She put her hand over her face, frustrated by that. "Whatever. But this will mean I might have to start over and-" But as she kept rambling, she heard some voices nearby in the other section of the temple. It was the voices of the Dazzlings still arguing. Mainly Sonata and Aria. "What's all that noise?" She then went to investigate. And with all of this babbling, the lady started listening closely, picking up on the tones and attitudes of these voices.
"Bleh!" Sonata exclaimed before using the Shift Stone to return to normal. Her sisters did the same. "Maybe becoming a tac isn't the greatest option in the world. Not sure how I could see in that."
"We're all in agreement that I looked the best, didn't I?" Adagio replied pompously. "I think I'll carry that same appearance when I head to the Human World again sometime. "Those humans are probably still confused about what a Pokemon is. If I show up like that, I can make them worship me..." She rubbed her hooves, scheming.
"I like that one." Sombra approved Adagio greatly.
"What's all this then?" Just then, the lady from the other room had arrived at the scene. Ash turned around in response to those words. And the moment he did so, he gasped with shock at who he had seen. Back sooner than expected, it was none other than the same lady as the sculpture.
The mother of the Dazzlings Vivace.
"Oh!" Ash gasped.
"Pikachu?!"
"Hang on...aren't you..." Vivace pointed at Ash for a bit, recognizing him as the King of the Sea. The statue next to the throne helped that. "The king?!"
"And you're...Vivace!" Ash pointed back at her. The moment he said his name, that prompted the Dazzlings to put an end to their rambling. They also heard a familiar voice that was lost to them for so long. In perfect unison, the sisters turned around. And at the same time, so did Vivace with her head.
That was when they saw each other. Mother and daughters locked eyes. Naturally, upon witnessing each other, they were frozen in place. Even in their pony forms, Vivace could recognize her daughters' appearances. Ash and Derpy backed away to let this moment sink in for them.
"Mom?" The trio said with slightly weak voices and a hint of a whimper as tears were starting to form. Adagio's mascara was already being affected as their hearts were beating at a different rate.
"Adagio. Aria. Sonata. I-Is it really you three?" Vivace started approaching her daughters with her hands reaching. The three of them gained a joyous smile that slowly graced their faces. But Adagio then gasped, realizing she was in her pony form. Along with her sisters.
"Wait! We're still in these forms! We'll just change quickly and-" Adagio was ready to use the power of the Shift Stone to alter her appearance. But before that could even happen, Vivace had already hugged them, picking all three of them up from the ground. This was a much-needed hug.
"I've missed you three so much!" Vivace shouted with tears flying out. "My darlings!"
"Mom!" They shouted, hugging her back. The current appearances didn't mean anything to Vivace at all. Adagio soon realized this before forming a smile. Vivace then spun whilst still hugging them. She proved to be a strong hugger too with a mighty grip.
"Oh!" She then looked each in their eyes. "I'm so glad you three are still okay! I feared I'd never see another one of my species for long."
"We're glad too, mom! Especially when we heard you were now living here!" Sonata wiped some tears out of her eyes with Aria helping to do the same.
"I totally knew that you'd be okay." Aria grinned, trying to hide her tears. But it was no use. Something like this was impossible to not tear up. "Totally."
"Hm. It's good to see you still c-" Vivace then paused her words, quickly placing her daughters down before crossing her arms. "Hold on! Sonata! What have I told you about eating too much?! I can see that some of it have gone to your face a bit!"
"Ah!" Sonata gasped, hiding behind Dragonite while holding her face.
"Aria! That had better not be a piercing I see there!" Vivace's eyes then locked onto Aria, startling her.
"N-No!" Aria used her mane to hide a piercing around her ear.
"And Adagio. Pony or not. Always keep your front limbs close! Stand prim and proper!"
"S-Sorry!" Adagio closed her eyes, standing upright and putting her front hooves together. She then scrunched her face, closing her eyes and trying to be majestic as always. But in front of her mother who raised her voice, it was hard to keep that same momentum.
"Hm." Vivace then let out a slight chuckle before then letting out a full laugh. "Hahahaha!" As she laughed, her daughters gazed with Adagio opening her eyes and Sonata peeking from around Dragonite. "I'm glad you're still the same as you ever were! I know we're not there now but...welcome home, you three!"
"Dragonite!" Happy at this reunion. Dragonite grabbed Vivace and the Dazzlings, hugging them altogether. They were taken aback by this. Especially Vivace.
"D-Dragonite! Every time!" Aria growled.
"Dra!"
Moments later, the family had some catching up to do. Vivace would explain how this came to be and her current existence here in the Sea Temple. But Adagio knew this information already upon first arriving here. The Dazzlings would explain themselves as well.
"So you two lost your singing talents, did you?" Vivace said before drinking some tea. "But you've been working hard to retrieve them."
"Yeah. Took some time. We don't have the same magic as before but we still sound pretty good." Sonata shrugged. "Adagio's the only one who didn't get the worst of it."
"I'm just always ahead of the game, aren't I?" Adagio smirked.
"She had some Rift Humans change her species a bit." Only for Aria to shut her down, making Adagio flinch. "So, mom. What have you been doing ever since?"
"Besides settling down at the temple, not much. I had previously left the human world years ago to find myself washed up here in a civilization that had just been recovered. I made this place my new home and chose to live here. But I also wanted to see more of this world to familiarize myself. I was lucky to keep some of my magic so I could move even underwater."
"Did you see the gateways? They're sorta recent but they're everywhere." Sonata leaned in.
"I saw them. But I suspect that they are bad news due to their recency. So I don't interact with them."
"No, mom! They lead home! Back to our world!" Adagio sat up, exclaiming. Vivace spat out some of her tea from this revelation.
"They are!"
"Mhm!" Sonata, the younger sister nodded. "There's an easier way to get back now. It's always been there thanks to that Rift. And other stuff that happened too I guess."
"You can come home with us now. I mean...our home's not what it used to be anymore but still!" Aria ran up to Vivace. "We can be together again. I mean we already are but you get what I mean."
"Oh. This is wonderful news. Truly." Vivace let out a sigh of relief until her smile turned to a frown. "But. I'm afraid we can't fully close this chapter in our life yet."
"Huh?" A confused utter came from Adagio. "Huh?! W-What are you talking about?! We found you after so long! We even made this sculpture of Melody Crystals for you when we learned you were still around!" She aimed her hoof at the sculpture. "It should all be over, right?"
"I'm beyond happy that you three are okay and we're back together now." Vivace held Adagio's sulking face. "This is the happiest I've been in..well...centuries. I'm complete with all of you here. But, I know that the others are still out there. The rest of our species."
"Everyone else..." Adagio gawked. "B-But..."
"I now know that those gateways lead to our home. But I won't return until I find a way to bring everyone else back. They're still out there. Possibly in their human forms as we speak. If I can find all of them, we can all be together again."
"We've got that covered too." Ash suddenly spoke as all attention was drawn to him. "There's a portal over at Canterlot that leads to the Human World. So you can get there pretty easily."
"Pikachu!"
"Oh! Even better!" Vivace stood up. "As to be expected from the king. Even if he's younger than I expected."
"You...now I see it. You're sirens." Sombra showed himself to Vivace, floating towards them. "Ah, I've heard of you."
"And I've heard about you too. King Sombra." Shockingly, Vivace was aware of Sombra's existence. "Look at you now. Not as imposing as the stories made you out to be."
"Tch! Only because I'm stuck to this twerp right here! You sirens should know the terror that I had when I once ruled the Crystal Empire. If I was free right now, I would impose my rule to a higher degree. Possibly having you sirens under my control."
"Hmph. You wish." Vivace scoffed. "It's someone like you that made harbour my hate for ponies and extend it. But..." Vivace sighed. "That's not the case anymore."
"You don't hate ponies anymore, mom?" Aria leaned in, shocked by her mother's words. The same went for the other two.
"No." Vivace sat down. "I suppose being sent elsewhere and eventually finding myself in the Sea Temple changed all of that. And besides, years have passed since then. I've made friends of my own here in Samiya. I was so apprehensive at first, but seeing how they accepted me was...truly glorious."
"Friends? But...I thought sirens don't do friends." Adagio shook her head as the beliefs her mother had made suddenly changed.
"I thought so too. How foolish I was..." Vivace chuckle. "I learned something from this temple. Perhaps it was because of what we sirens used to do back then. I met some amazing people here as well and some amazing Pokemon too. There is nothing wrong with having friends. But always keep your family close to you even if you leave eventually. And in this case, I was gone for a long time, wasn't I?"
"W-We have friends." Aria raised her hoof. "Quite a few. Come out." She and Sonata then sent their Pokemon out. Brionne, Croagunk, Ledian, Vaporeon and Lopunny had arrived at the scene. Kricketot also hopped out of Adagio's massive mane. And the moment he hopped out, he latched himself to Vivace's mane. It was practically the same. Just slightly bigger.
"Kricketot!"
"Oh, who's this little fellow"? Vivace looked up at Kricketot, petting the Cricket Pokemon.
"Kricke!"
"I'm glad that you two lived on even with my absence. You were still so young back then, Having you three be without any guidance terrified me. But I knew you would make it. You have each other after all."
"Ehehe...W-Well...we didn't always get along." Adagio laughed with a nervous tone. That much was true They had their arguments. Especially one argument that split them up and another that had split only two of them up.
"You're my daughters. I should expect nothing less. But..." Vivace then stood up. "I have to find the others. They can still be out there. Canterlot, was it? I swear I know someone from there..." Vivace was then thinking of a certain pony who used to live in Canterlot.
"Let us help you find them all. We've been to the Human World as well." Adagio suggested. "We can definitely help you on your search."
"You shouldn't. You three are still young and have a lot ahead of you. I wouldn't want you to waste your time in what could be an endless journey." Vivace shook her head, only for Adagio to shake it back.
"We don't care! Believe us, mother, we've been through some rough scenarios. Searching for the rest of our kind is nothing new to us. And besides...w-we wanna spend some more time with you. We've seen each other at last and you're planning on leaving us again. We don't want that."
"Hm." Vivace touched her chin, pondering about it for a moment. "Spending time...yes. That would be excellent. Are you positive that you want to come with me?"
"Positive!" The three of them exclaimed.
"And no matter what you say, we'll come after you, no matter what!" Adagio's stubbornness was showing. Her determination skyrocketed. So did Aria and Sonata. When it came to family, their spirits are accelerated to a high degree. Vivace knew this. She then smirked, accepting defeat.
"Very well. We'll make it a family effort." An agreement for extra help was made. That Dazzlings were relieved by this. "But, I suggest we stay here for a while. Maybe a few days before we get a move on. I have so much to tell you."
"So do we! Have I told you about our band?" Adagio prancedo n the spot. "It's a big deal if you must know. The Dazzlings."
"Hoh? Is that so? Go on then." A curious Vivace was ready to sit there for hours, listening to her daughter's stories.
"Can I listen?!" Appearing behind Vivace without any warning was Derpy. She was eager for some stories to pass the time. Those interested her the most. And the temple, of course. She already had a look around anyway.
"Sure, my little pony." And Vivace agreed to it. Her hatred for ponies was much like her departure from her world. Gone in an instant for so long.
Ash, Pikachu and Dragonite watched as the Dazzlings chatted to their mother, going on and on about their adventures so far. For the most part, it wasn't too pleasant. "Nice, isn't it? Family's something special, huh?"
"Hmph." Sombra didn't give much of a response to that. "Everything is so mushy now that I'm stuck with you."
"Come on, Sombra. You'd be the same if you had family around you, right? Or someone you cared for?"
"I already told you that there isn't anyone I care or acknowledge. How slow can you be?" Sombra then hid back into Ash, ending the conversation again. It was difficult speaking to Sombra without it ending in scenarios such as that. But Ash was already getting used to it.
While within Ash, Sombra closed his eyes, thinking for a moment. He thought back to Ash's words and there had to be someone he cared for. Sombra chose to ignore it. But in the midst of his mind, he thought one pony, in particular. A unicorn with a purple coat and a light blue mane. But he quickly discarded it, going back to sleep for the time being and thinking of something to get out of here.
Reunited with their mother, at last, the Dazzlings felt at peace. But it wasn't over yet. Other sirens were presumably out there in the Human World somewhere. Or maybe even the Pokemon World. A quest to bring all of them back together was on the horizon as the journey continues.
Asleep and silent was the Ketchum family. Ash, Delia, Pikachu and Mr Mime were sleeping peacefully. One of the few times this family isn't energetic and all over the place.
The only one not asleep was Sombra. But then again, he wasn't a part of the family. The shadow of King Sombra was currently thinking of the best way to leave Ash for good. There hasn't been a clear solution or answer to this body attachment and the only possible way to do so was flawed. Cold Colt's Rift Magic was the one with a major flaw. He had his limits and separating two individuals was one of them.
"There has to be something...I will not spend another second with this brat." He said to himself, using his shadowy body to move across the room. His actions and movement range were limited. Ash was at the helm mainly. The most Sombra could do was move a few inches and slightly pull Ash. But that was about it.
He growled, trying to reach even further with his shadow, but it was of no use. "Curses. This would be easier if I had more shadows to work it. That brat is too pure-hearted for anything I can draw on. That new princess better have the solution at once..." Sombra sighed, mentioning Twilight before deciding to rest until morning makes its way to reality.
Equestria. Out in the mountains. Nightfall.
All was calm even in the mountains. Nightfall was the perfect example of peace no matter the world. And speaking of Twilight, she and her Pokemon were currently out here in the mountains this late at night.
Most notably, they were pursuing something. Twilight and Togekiss flew through the air whilst Absol, Cinccino, Espeon and Ninetales went on foot. Naturally. And the objective that they were pursuing was a dark purple wisp. More specifically, a Desire.
Rushing through the mountains, they had found themselves a Desire that had yet to enter its intended target. Twilight and her Pokemon were determined to stop it before that could happen.
"Absol!" Absol appeared in front of the Desire with a growl. The Disaster Pokemon had then used Night Slash, causing his horn to glow as he also swung it at the Desire Wisp. The wisp promptly ascended above Absol to dodge the slash. However, the Dark-Type was one step ahead. He quickly switched the variation of Night Slash, sending cutting waves of darkness by swinging his horn. The waves had then struck the Desire Wisp, throwing it off guard.
The wisp fumbled for a bit from that attack before regaining its momentum. Immediately, it dashed off in a spurt of speed, continuing to escape and reach its target.
"It's going through that river! MInccy, Thunder!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Ccino! Cinccino..!" Cinccino leapt into the air, gathering the power of lighting within her. Right as the wisp neared the lake, the Scarf Pokemon unleashed a mighty number of volts immediately, striking the water. Once the wisp touched the river, it was met with the horrifying combination of water and electricity. That was always a dangerous combo as the Desire Wisp was shocked in place.
"Excellent! Now, Eve! Quick Attack!"
"Espeon!" Once the wisp was paralyzed, Espeon could move in with lightning-fast movements. With the speed she gained, she crashed right into the Desire Wisp at full force.
The Desire Wisp went hurtling with a great knockback. And in response, it let out a horrifying and unknowing screech that could not be described. Truly otherworldly. The Desire Wisp had paused for a moment after the knockback.
"Okay. We've made it this far." Twilight grinned. "Princess Celestia entrusted us to take down this Desire and we're going to see it through. As her best student and her friend." Twilight then thought back to earlier today. A discussion between her and Celestia had taken place.
20 hours ago. Canterlot Castle. Day.
"Twilight. I've realized that all of the Desires out there are plentiful for even Gardevoir and I to handle." Celestia spoke to her. "And so far, from what I can tell, these Desires exist in almost everyone. Perhaps even our closest friends depending on how far they've gotten since you had one as well. Passion and I can't keep all of it up by ourselves. We need assistance. That's where you come in."
"Me? B-But I don't have the ability to get rid of Desires like you do." She stammered.
"You do now. I realized that it wasn't just Passion who could interact with them. While she can do it with mental capabilities, I believe some of your Pokemon can. Togekiss having access to Aura Sphere and Aura being another way to interact with the Desires is already a good sign. And there is your Espeon. Eve. If I'm correct, her Psychic abilities could allow her to perform the same action that Passion can. At least to an extent."
"So it's not some exclusive ability then. Just a matter of power?" Huh." Twilight thought about it for a moment. It did make sense to her.
"But if that can't be solved. Then there's the second-best option. Defeating the Desire before it can reach its next target. Most Desires have already entered others. But there are some still searching far and wide. I'm entrusting you and my guards to intercept those."
"Oh! I can do that!" Twilight nodded aggressively. "If I come across one, I'll make sure to stop it before anything goes south immediately! But...how am I going to sense it? Only Passion can."
"I will let you know when Passion senses some. Until then. Good luck."
Currently.
That all led up to today. Twilight and her Pokemon found a Desire that had yet to reach its target and unleash all the potent Rift abilities that could affect reality itself.
"Now's our chance! Togekiss, Aura Sphere! Ninetales, make sure it doesn't go anywhere with Extrasensory! And Eve, help Ninetales hold it down with Psychic!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales and Espeon's eyes both illuminated dazzling colours. And from their eyes, a telekinetic hold had been formed around the Desire, holding it in place. Two psychokinetic holds were more than enough.
"Toge...Kiss!" And in came Togekiss, summoning Aura Sphere from her mouth. She charged it up to make sure that it had the right amount of force onto it. Once it was fully charged, she unleashed the sphere of highly concentrated Aura. Moving at high speeds, the mighty sphere had struck the Desire.
The Aura interacted with the Rift Energy, causing an erratic reaction. That reaction then ended up obliterating the Desire Wisp, causing it to implode on itself with tiny purple sparkles flowing out. It had been successfully stopped from reaching its target.
"Yes!" Twilight cheered along with her Pokemon. "Success! I knew we could get it off the first time!" She twirled around as Ninetales pounced on her out of excitement. "Oof!"
"Ninetales!" The Fox Pokemon cried out, licking Twilight's face and making her giggle.
"N-Ninetales! Knock it off!"
"Espeon!" Espeon went up to Absol, raising her paw. Absol smiled back at her, raising his paw as well as they touched, performing the equivalent of a high five. Cinccino held Togekiss' wings as they danced around.
And as they were cheering, watching from the clouds above as always was the ever-lurking presence of one of the Rift Humans. In this case, it was Sienna. The creator of the Desires. She watched as Twilight and her Pokemon had defeated one of her creations quickly without the real tension and possession occurring.
"Mrrgh..." She grumbled, showing to be displeased with this. "Another Desire taken out so easily. That one didn't even reach anyone. This isn't any fun." She balled her hand into a fist, placing it on her cheek, sighing afterwards. Her enjoyment was starting to be sapped away. And appearing at the right moment when Sienna has having a sulking moment was Lucien.
"Your idea's not panning out, is it?" He had a smug grin on his face.
"That goes for you too. You're the one who helped make some adjustments to it after all." Sienna scoffed at her brother, turning away from him. "Besides...the Desires aren't what they used to be."
"More like they're not reaching their full potential." Lucien shrugged. "But you can work on that anytime. Me. I'm just watching things play out right now."
"Hmph. That just proves you're lagging behind. You've got nothing to show." Sienna chuckled, taunting him. "At least I'm thinking ahead of things. I've already got something brewing up in here."
"I've got stuff! It just takes time to come to me!" Lucien growled, crossing his arms and leaning his head on another cloud. "I don't wanna just go around shooting stuff and making random things happen, like; POW!" Lucien then pointed his fingers, shooting Rift wisps into clouds. They didn't do anything random at all as he was constantly shooting them around. But they did light up the clouds.
"Sol?" And this got Absol's attention. The Disaster Pokemon raised his head to see the flashing lights within the clouds. Those weren't thunderstorms brewing. He recognized those colours as Rift-based. "Absol...!" Absol took action immediately. He stomped on the ground, building up energy for Giga Impact. A golden aura started erupting from his body as the ground was shaking.
"Hm? Abol? What are you-" Cut off the moment she noticed this build-up, Absol had taken off with a booming sound, leaving a shockwave behind that knocked Cinccino and Espeon over. "Woah!" Twilight closed her eyes as her mane blew in her face. "Absol?!"
"Absol!" Absol roared as he was heading straight for the clouds that Lucien and Sienna were on, aiming to expose them at last.
"Hm? Do you hear something?" Sienna heard the sound of a shockwave and a scream as well. Both at the same time while also picking up on another sound that resembled a rocket taking off.
"Hear wh-" And just like Twilight, Lucien had also been cut off as Absol had already reached the clouds. The moment he arrived, he caused a massive explosion of Infinity Energy. It caught Lucien and Sienna both off guard and due to this surprise attack, both of them had been knocked out swiftly.
Twilight and the rest of her Pokemon gawked with open mouths as the clouds had been separated and parted from Absol's Giga Impact. They were less surprised with how brash Absol acted. That's how he was. Once the explosion settled down and faded, jumping out of the smoke was Absol. But soon, Twilight and her friends would see Lucien and Sienna, falling whilst unconscious.
"Oh!" Twilight gasped, quickly flying towards them. Togekiss promptly followed her. Twilight Sparkle had used her magic, performing telekinesis onto Sienna and saving her from a horrifying crash landing. Togekiss had swooped in, carrying Lucien on her back. Both had been saved, thankfully. "That was close..Uh...nice find, Absol?"
"Absol." Absol sat down, acting casually as if he didn't almost doom the two of them and part the clouds at the same time. Twilight and Togekiss, with care, placed the two Rift Humans on the ground whilst descending. Ninetales and Espeon went up to Lucien and Sienna, sniffing them.
"Whew...This night took a rapid turn." Twilight sighed. "But it's also a major moment. We have them both here. Lucien and Sienna have caused problems for us, much like Obsidian and Emerald Aura did back then. Finding them was never easy but it looks like tonight's that moment."
"Esp. Espeon." Espeon nudged Twilight's hoof. She then aimed her paw over at the south, right where Canterlot Castle could be seen in the far distance, shrouded by the night sky fog.
"You're right, Eve. Off to Canterlot, it is."
Canterlot. Nightfall.
"Mmm..." Currently, Celestia was sleeping peacefully. She and her Pokemon were sleeping in their exclusive beds. Fittingly, Arcanine's bed resembled a dog house. The trio were having splendid dreams at the moment. But appearing now of all times was Twilight via teleportation magic. She appeared outside of Celestia's room, just next to her door.
Afterwards, she gave a good knocking to it. "Princess Celestia?"
"Hm...Cobalion, you're such a charmer...I already have the perfect name for our child..." She didn't hear the first knock at all, speaking in her dreams. Another knock came through with Twilight saying her name once more, but slightly louder. "Huh?" Celestia woke up from that. "Oh..." She wasn't too fond of waking up right now, considering she was having such a wonderful dream.
Nevertheless, she went up to the door, opening it with her magic. There stood Twilight Sparkle and her Pokemon, along with Lucien and Sienna who were still out cold. "Twilight? It's late...What is it?" Celestia grumbled with her mane over her face, shaggy and rugged.
"Sorry. But I just had to show you this. Look." She showed the Ruler of Equestria some of the most wanted individuals currently. The Rift Humans.
"Oh." Celestia blinked for a moment, still trying to get her energy back after being woken up. "Oh!" Realization then kicked in for her. Now she was fully awake. "T-That easily?! You caught them both?!"
"Well, it was mainly Absol. He must've sensed them up in the clouds. His Giga Impact knocked them both out in one go. I knew Absol was strong, but not that strong."
"Well done, Absol. Someone's getting a medal for that." Celestia smiled at the Disaster Pokemon as Passion and Arcanine awoke after Celestia's bellow.
"Sol."
"I wasn't sure to give them to the guards since...ya know...they have Rift Magic. At any moment, they could wake up and turn everything upside-down on us. I was hoping you could do something."
"Hm..." Celestia pondered. It was true. Unlike Obsidian, whose magic was restrained by the Rift, Lucien and Sienna's restraints were non-existent. They still had a massive amount of Rift Energy within them. "Our magic restraints will be pointless on them. There's nothing here that can hold them back..."
"Gardevoir?" Passion rubbed her eyes, arriving next to Celestia. "Voir?"
"Ah!" Something came up in Celestia's mind. "My magic and Aura can interact with Rift Magic. I suppose we could make a substitute prison with those combined. I have access to that magic and your Togekiss' Aura Sphere could do the trick."
"Would it work? And how would we do it?"
"We have to try. Come along before they wake up." A plan had been hatched. One that was up in the air. Hard to say if it could succeed. A new type of prison could be made. Hopefully, one that could contain them considering how potent their Rift Magic was.
And watching from above was the Rift. It had witnessed how easily Absol had taken out Lucien and Sienna with Giga Impact. Even it was impressed by Absol's unbridled strength.
"That's a surprise to be sure. But Lucien and Sienna have yet to go the distance. I can see great things coming from them." The Rift wasn't ready to give up on the two of them at all. Lucien and Sienna certainly had ideas that had kept the Rift entertained.
From meddling the 18 Realms, swapping Ash and Ghetsis' bodies along with a few Desires here and there. The Rift was feeling pleased but it wanted to see more. More of what they could do. So, for the first time, the Rift decided to not only move around, appearing a massive hole that was floating across the skies and land but it was starting to take shape.
However, the moment it decided to take shape, it stopped promptly. The Rift sensed someone nearby. It was nothing of great caution to it considering how much omnipotence it had over seemingly everything. "I can see you there. Discord."
"Yes?" Appearing from the darkness out of thin air was the Spirit of Chaos, Discord. "Why did you stop? I'm curious to see what you were going to look like."
"Why are you here? And of all times, it had to be this moment."
"Well, I didn't care too much about you in the beginning. Even when they brought me back just to deal with your shenanigans. Which are above average by the way. But the moment I saw you moving, deciding to bring some Divine Intervention, how could I ignore it?"
"That's right. It's been a considerable amount of time ever since all of this took place. I've mainly seen my creations go along, causing certain events to occur or influencing them. From the Dynamax Crisis to those 18 Realms previously. Now, I feel as if I should have a swing at things."
"And what can you do? You're the one being entertained, aren't you?" Discord made multiple pointing arrows appear around the Rift. "I'd imagine that not being the entertainer means that there's nothing interesting brewing in there."
"You have a point. I've barely done much ever since my arrival here. I should pick up the pace. Perhaps I could start with you, Spirit of Chaos."
"Oh, no. I'm perfectly fine. You can change what's ever-changing." Discord shook his head, putting his arms behind his back and making a halo appear.
"I'd prefer to have things play out normally. Such as that predicament with King Sombra and a few things brewing in the other worlds at the moment. Even you, Discord. You are far too erratic and unpredictable for even me."
"Oh, you flatter me." Discord chuckled for a bit.
"I won't bother with you. Instead, there's already someone else out there that could do it. Another member of that alliance Empress Twilight made."
"And who would that be?" Discord made some tea to pass the time.
"Cosmos."
"!!" That got Discord's attention as he spat out of the tea, causing it to fly out in reverse and drench him in the liquid instead. He then blinked for a second before stammering in his words. "I-I-I-I-B-Beg your pardon? No, no. You're most certainly trying to get a scare out of me, aren't you? Cosmos is long gone."
"Not the Cosmos from another universe. She's still out there. And there is a high guarantee that she will eventually make her move in the alliance. You will be the first major target of her, no doubt."
"Pssh. Balderdash. Even so, I feel perfectly safe. The Pokemon will protect me. Mainly my friends' Pokemon more than anything so hah!"
"That much faith in those Strange and Wonderful Creatures, eh? Positive that even they can stop Cosmos? That is some optimism. Very well. I'm certainly eager for when that day comes. Even you know that another attack on this world is due aside from the invasion. I will be watching with open eyes and especially paying attention to you two Draconequui when it all plays out. But, I should be going now. I'm expecting Lucien and Sienna's reactions shortly."
The Rift left, leaving the Spirit of Chaos in a frozen state. Discord had his face scrunched as he was sweating so much that it made the area rain immediately. This was the most intimidated Discord had ever felt. Fearful of the potential horror that could come his way, Discord also left the area, deciding to head somewhere else.
Kanto. Pallet Town. Ketchum Household. Nightfall.
And that place was the Ketchum Household. Discord appeared there as soon as he could, going for the one individual that he could call a good friend. Ash.
"Ash!" He opened the door, causing Ash to wake up with a gasp. "Ash, my boy. I don't want to alarm you, but we have an encroaching issue on our hands here!"
"Hm...What? What happened?" Ash groaned. "Is something wrong?"
"Very wrong and-"
"Hey!" Interrupting this short conversation was Delia. She burst the door open, startling everyone inside. Even King Sombra as Pikachu had woken up. "It's late! 3:50 in the morning! What are you doing here, Discord?!"
"Apologies, Mrs Ketchum!" Discord laughed nervously before making a second head appear out of the back of his neck. That second head then went over to Ash, whispering at him. "We'll talk about it tomorrow. Meet me at the Pokemon House, if you please."
And just like that, he left as quickly as he arrived. Ash was still a bit perplexed by that. It all happened so fast. He looked at Delia, then at Pikachu. Pikachu just went back to bed, ignoring everything that had just happened. "W-What just happened...?"
"Nevermind, dear. Go to sleep." Delia closed the scenario by also closing the door. Ash and Sombra looked at each other, not saying a word. It was best to just let tomorrow come by and everything would make sense afterwards.
"So, Discord. What did you want to talk to me about?" Ash said, yawning. Previously, Discord had shown up to his room at night with pressing news. But a quick interruption from Delia postponed it.
"Oh. Did something happen?" Fluttershy asked, curious about this.
"Right, right. This may sound like an alarming issue. No, it most definitely is!" Discord rubbed his paw and claw together, sparking fire as he was showing nervous expressions. "I was hoping this wouldn't come back to bite me. But it is from. From another world!"
"Is it the Empress or Ghetsis?!" Ash gasped.
"Pikachu?!"
"Worse!" Discord saw that threat that he was mentioning as far greater than what Ghetsis or Empress Twilight could offer. At least, in his eyes. He then approached Ash, Fluttershy and their Pokemon, twiddling his limbs. "It's Cosmo."
"Cosmo? Who's Cosmo?" Ash and Fluttershy asked.
"Another Draconequus. And a previous admirer of sweetheart of mine. Keyword: 'Previous." Discord gulped, shuddering from just mentioning her name. "I'm afraid she might show herself here one day."
"Another Draconequus? I thought you were the only one," said Ash. "And this Cosmo. Is she a big deal?"
"Very!" Discord extended his paw, grabbing Ash's shirt and dragging him close. "Whereas I am a benevolent Spirit of Chaos..." Discord couldn't help but toot his own horn for a bit. "She's without a doubt far more on the chaotic side than I am, I'll tell you that. I got rid of her in this world, but there is another. I didn't quite take that into consideration."
"Another Draconequus just like you is a big deal." Fluttershy gasped. "C-Can she do the same things you can?"
"Oh yes." And there it was. With this revelation, a massive issue had come up. Yet another threat that they could not escape from. And what's worse is that it was another Spirit of Chaos, which just made things far harder than they had to be. Discord was starting to panic. This was the most fear he had shown in a long time. Possibly forever.
To try and ease his fears, he made himself a comfortable couch that he laid on, forming a massive Pikachu plush to hold. "I'm not sure if I can handle another scenario with her around! For all I know, she could already be here. Maybe next to you?!" Discord pointed at a Tailow in the trees.
"Tailow?" Tailow was obviously confused. Not being aware of any Spirit of Chaos or knowing that Discord was one. Truly, many Pokemon are lucky to be so carefree and oblivious. The exact opposite of what Discord was feeling.
"She really scares you doesn't she...?" Fluttershy gawked. "What happened with you and her back then?"
"No need to worry, Discord." Ash went up to him. "I don't know a whole bunch about Cosmos, I'll help ya out either way."
"Pikachu!"
"I hope so! Because frankly, I want nothing to do with her again! Elements of Harmony her up, I beg of you! It works well on me, after all!" Discord held the Pikachu plush closely as Ash, Fluttershy and their Pokemon had never seen him like this before.
"Do you want to go to PokeStar Studios to ease you down?" Fluttershy asked. Discord nodded in response. He would love that very much. "Okay. Off to PokeStar, we go. Ash, are you coming?"
"Oh yeah! PokeStar Studios is always a blast!" Ash pumped his fist in the air. "Let's go!"
"Pikachu!"
Canterlot Castle. Day.
Elsewhere, two new prisoners were currently at Canterlot Castle. And surprisingly, it was Lucien and Sienna. Caught off guard by Absol's Giga Impact last night, they were out cold. Once found by Twilight and her Pokemon, they were brought to Canterlot. However, nothing that they had could restrain them considering they had access to Rift Magic.
Except for one solution that Celestia had come up with. Her magic and some Aura. And right now, the process of these two forces were coming together. Lucien and Sienna were placed together as Celestia's magic was connecting with Togekiss' Aura Sphere.
Togekiss had put a lot of energy into her Aura Sphere, making sure that it was expanding enough to fit both Lucien and Sienna within it. Essentially, an Aura Prison was being made. But Celestia went a step further.
She was actually Celestial-Gardevoir at the moment, fearing that her regular self wouldn't be enough to make this possible. So the fusion between her and Passion became the answer. But even then, this required a ton of output as Celestial-Gardevoir grimaced with one eye closed.
"Celestial-Gardevoir! Are you okay?!" Twilight gasped.
"I still haven't mastered this form yet...!" She groaned. "Soon, I could defuse and pass out. But not before I can make this prison possible...!"
Celestial-Gardevoir poured more of her strength into it. Her magic was changing the shape of the Aura from its usual sphere-like appearance to a square. The room was trembling as the guards had wide eyes, looking from side to side.
The lights of magic and Aura could also be seen emanating through the windows, alerting everypony outside. Premium Polish took a peek through the doors along with Luna.
Eventually, Celestial-Gardevoir and Togekiss were able to make this new kind of prison. The Aura Prison had been formed. Togekiss slowly moved herself back to keep the Aura stationery. Celestial-Gardevoir could also finally stop. Right on time as she already felt the strain coming through her body. Once she let go, the fusion had ended, along with the Mega Evolution.
Celestia and Passion both fell on their backs once the fusion ended. "Ugh!" The Ruler of Equestria grunted before breathing in and out to ease the pain. "We need to get used to having a longer time frame for that."
"But it worked!" Twilight exclaimed. "Do you think it'll keep them in forever?"
"Maybe not forever. But it will certainly take up huge amounts of time." Celestia stood up, helping Passion off the floor. "And as a bonus, we can manipulate Aura together."
"Ooh..." Fittingly, Lucien and Sienna were starting to wake up. All of that ruckus is what prompted their awakening as Lucien groaned. "Hm?" The Rift Humans blinked for a bit, noticing how the area was all blue to them, along with a hint of gold in the mix.
"Hey hold on..." Sienna stood up before bumping her head on the Aura above. "Ow!" She winced, holding her head. After that little impact, now she was truly awake. And upon being awake, soon, she and Lucien could take in their surroundings fully. "What is this?!"
"How'd this happen?!" Lucien exclaimed. "And what kind of prison is this?!"
"You're in a newly made prison. Just formed today. It's an Aura Prison. Made up from the combined magic of Passion and I in Celestial-Gardevoir and the power of Togekiss' Aura Sphere."
"What?! That's actually pretty neat..." Lucien shouted before being impressed by this unification of energies. He then put his hand onto the prison, trying to push through. But it was no use his hand had been shocked. "Ow-ow!"
"Your Rift Magic should be restrained by this. That way, you can't do much at all." Celestia shook her head. "This is the perfect restrain we could come up with."
"Pssh. We'll break free eventually." Sienna wasn't bothered by this at all. She just casually laid on the prison. Lucien did the same, sitting down. "You can't keep us in here forever."
"Maybe not. But while we're here, I have some questions for you." Twilight went up to them. "You all had previous lives, right? You were humans back in another world, having the same name."
"How do you know that?!" That got their attention as both Lucien and Sienna pressed their hands onto the prison, gazing at Twilight. They startled her with their reaction and getting a bit close.
"Ash found out while unconscious. We learned a lot. How you two used to be scientists and your grandfather was BigTime Ben too."
"Wait...what?" Celestia had just found out about this BigTime Ben revelation. Luna had also shown u, just to speak the same word as her big sister.
"We've got nothing to say to you." Lucien moved back, turning his head away from Twilight. "We'll just be here for a while."
"Pssh. What he said. But I'd rather not be in the same prison as this guy right over here." Sienna said as the two of them were still bickering.
"I'll take the same." Lucien raised his finger. "A separate prison's for me. If I knew something like this would happen soon, I would've asked for my own. Or made my own. I should've done that first actually."
"Knowing you, you'd probably try and make it all bombastic and hard to look at. Typical." Sienna smirked. "Mine would've been simple and effective. Beautiful and difficult to escape from."
"Pssh! There you go again with that cuteness stuff. it doesn't have to be on everything, ya know!"
"You're the one who started it! And you still haven't apologized to my sweet little Whimsicott!" Sienna growled at Lucien, looking up at him. Lucien kept that smug look on his face, pretending to not look bothered.
"As if you're ever gonna get that. You didn't even apologize to my Charizard the first time."
"Um...I-I think it's best that we should come to them another time," Celestia suggested as the two siblings kept bickering on and on. "When siblings argue, it can go on for a long time. I should know. Head home, for now, Twilight."
"R-Right. I'll head back now. Thanks for the help, Princess Celestia! Passion!" The young alicorn gave a farewell hug before she and her Pokemon left the premises. The Canterlot Guards went up to the sphere, rolling it along to send it elsewhere. Even when being rolled within the sphere, the two of them kept arguing.
Virbank City. PokeStar Studios. Day.
To take Discord's mind off of Cosmos, PokeStar Studios was the place to be. Home to great movies and fun ways to make movies for everyone. Plus, it was one of Discord's favourite hobbies and places to come.
"Here. A list of movies I've compiled for us to direct. I worked hard on them. Discord then revealed a list to his friends as the list had expanded in length. It was long enough to cover the Dressing Room and overlay on Ash, Fluttershy and their Pokemon.
"That's a lot to choose from, huh," said Ash, holding the list. "Ooh, but this one looks neat!" Ash then saw one that caught his attention.
"Forget all of this!" Sombra exclaimed, showing himself to Discord. "You're the Spirit of Chaos, are you not?"
"Yes?" Discord replied, appearing in his personal favourite director clothes. "Who might you be, my shadowy tagalong friend?"
"King Sombra. And I demand you use your Chaos Magic to free me from this boy's body. It seems I won't have to wait that long at all for my freedom. And my chance to reach King Paramount will be-"
"Mmm. No." Discord denied Sombra's suggestion, instantly turning around. Indeed, he could free him. He chose not to. It wasn't of any major interest to him.
"What?!" Sombra gasped. "Outrageous...Can I not have at least one thing go my way?"
"You can't be too demanding," Fluttershy replied. "Even if you're a king. It's all about-" But Sombra scowled at her, causing Fluttershy to stay silent and hide behind Audino. "N-Nevermind!"
"You're his friend, aren't you, boy?" Sombra then turned to Ash. "Give him the request, and we may both be at peace from this unlikely union."
"Yeah, I hear ya. But I was kinda thinking of keeping you around." Even Ash was for it, scratching his hair and laughing. Sombra froze for a moment as his eye twitched.
"What?! What made you come to that decision?!"
"Well, you're gonna try something crazy when you break free. Just like what you said a few seconds ago. I can't let you do that. Plus, I can maybe work with this, ya know." Ash's gave his reasons. Sombra then shook his head, feeling disappointed that a major chance of his freedom had been crushed just like that.
"Unbelievable..."
"This movie sounds like a good one, Discord.
"The Chromatic Beasts. Say, what's Chroma?" Ash asked.
"It's purity or intensity of colours. It can be a bit hurtful to the eyes with all its saturation." Fluttershy explained before bringing some clothes over.
"Let's see. What I can transform to make the perfect beast?" Discord wondered, looking at the selection of Pokemon. He even thought about Ash's Pokemon. But the moment he observed the area, that's when Discord's right eye started pulsating. His vision was starting to change.
In front of him and around him, he could see the visage of Cosmo slowly appearing. Cosmo's appearance could be seen behind Ash, holding onto his shoulder and cackling. She could also be seen around Fluttershy, wrapping her tail around her.
Discord gasped before pointing at Ash and Fluttershy. With an instinct of shock, he started trembling with fear. Ash and Fluttershy soon noticed this. "Huh? Discord, what's wrong?" ASh asked.
"Pika?"
"Can't see or feel it?! She's right behind you!" Discord shouted.
"Hm?" Ash turned around but there was no one there. He didn't even feel anything on his shoulder. Usually, it would be Pikachu but Pikachu was on the floor this time. Fluttershy also looked around to find no one there.
"Are you talking about Cosmo? Because I don't see her." Fluttershy shook her head.
"Oh. She must be messing with me. Playing her usual mind tricks on me! That's it!" Discord laughed, trying to play it off all cool as if he wasn't worried. But his friends could tell when he was worried. "Nice try, Cosmo! But you can't fool me like before~"
"Audino..." Audino and the others were greatly confused.
"Something's wrong here." Ash looked at Fluttershy. "What do you think it is, Fluttershy?"
"I think I know what it is, Ash. Cosmo was someone important in Discord's life. They used to be lovers from what he said." She started explaining as Discord was using his magic to both fortify the area away from Cosmos and prepare everything for the movie. He was moving in a panicking frenzy. Not his usual frenzy at all. "Something must've happened back then that made her stick to his memories."
"Isn't it obvious?" A smirking King Sombra emerged with something to say. "I've seen this behaviour before. A horrible case of traumatization. The upheaval he's feeling can affect the present as well."
"Huh...So it's because Cosmos got brought up so soon that he started remembering her." Ash put the pieces together. Indeed, Discord hadn't thought about Cosmo in a long time. It was only until the Rift mentioned her that she came back to his memories, much to his dismay.
Cosmo was not in this universe. Discord's eyes were playing tricks on her. Even when sorting everything out, he couldn't help but see Cosmo every step of the way. Or at least slight apparitions and silhouettes. He ended up accidentally breaking one of the props upon moving his tail around frantically and shooting a bolt at what he thought was Cosmo.
"Woah!" Ash ducked as one of the bolts almost hit him. Discord's visions were getting worse by the second as he started exuding out of his magic from all sides, trying to ignore the fake visages of Cosmo. At least, he thought they were real and she was truly here.
Ash grabbed Fluttershy off the ground, keeping her away from any magic that came in her direction. Items were being transformed randomly by Discord's Chaos Magic. Some were even being sent elsewhere. The walls had been turned into various condiments once the magic struck them. It was a miracle that no one had been hit yet.
"We need to calm him down, Ash! I think this is too much for Discord! His magic is releasing without his control!" Fluttershy cried out.
"I got it!" Ash quickly turned his hat around. He chose to approach Discord despite the massive hazards of Chaos Energy leaking out of him.
"Are you insane?!" Sombra roared at Ash. "If you are to be hit by that magic then you could end up-" Right as he rambled, one of the props had been turned into confetti immediately. "Similar to that object there!"
"My friend needs my help! I can't ignore him when he's like this!" Ash replied, dashing up to Discord. Sombra shook his head, not understanding Ash or any of his friends in the slightest. "Discord!"
"Hm?!" Discord twitched after hearing his name being called out. To him, it sounded more like Cosmo's voice than Ash. Even his sense of hearing was being obscured. "I didn't mean it! I'm sorry! Leave me alone!" Discord yelled, turning around as he believed that he was seeing Cosmo approaching him. He closed his eyes, putting his arms out, expecting the worst.
"Discord!" But it never came, instead, Ash grabbed his paw along with Fluttershy holding his claw. Discord saw them as a two-headed Cosmo that was holding onto him. But after a moment of silence, Discord's vision returned to normal. He no longer saw Cosmo. Instead, he saw his friends.
"Oh..." Discord groaned, knowing of what he had just done. Be then moved away, sitting down and holding his limbs. "I do apologize for my actions, you all. I just don't know what came over me. I could've sworn she was there I-"
"Discord, it's okay," said Fluttershy. "You were just having horrible memories coming back to you. It made you see things. But Cosmo's not here right now. We're here and you're safe."
"Pikachu!"
"I promised I'd help you if she ever showed up, right? Even if she's not here, we're gonna be here for you, no matter what." Ash brought back his words from earlier today. "Pus, you're not gonna let anyone get the better of you, are you?"
"Not at all..." Discord uttered before looking down. "Not at all. I'm Discord! The Spirit of Chaos! I can't be afraid of someone who's not even from this universe!" He then got back into high spirits before gulping, changing his tone once more "Then again...She's probably the same in another world, isn't she?"
"Maybe. We haven't seen her yet. But when she gets here and starts causing trouble, leave it to us to sort things out." Ash readjusted his hat to its front-facing position as Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"We won't fail you, Discord." Fluttershy raised her hoof as Discord's friends had all given him a hopeful outlook on things. He was still terrified of Cosmo, but with friends who were capable of defending practically anything and anyone, that fear had been diminished.
"Oh, thank you so much. You all are something special, aren't you?" Discord wrapped his arms around all of them "Now then. We have a movie to make. Here's what I think we can do." He then pulled out the list, choosing the movie of his preference.
They continued their day, taking Cosmo out of their mind. At least, Discord did. Ash and Fluttershy made sure to engrave her name in their heads so that they are ready for the day she possibly shows up. Aside from that, they would be there for Discord far more. If there was anything on his mind, they would be there. After all, they and their Pokemon were the closest to Discord.
Within the Alola Region, a gateway to Equestria could be found. Nothing too special. However, what was special was the Pokemon nearby. Appearing across the land was one of the Guardian Deities of Alola. Tapu Fini. The Guardian of Poni Island.
It carried a thick fog around it along with droplets of water from above. Sometimes it was faint. Sometimes it was visible. But in this instance, with no one to interact with at the moment, Tapu Fini's fog was essentially invisible.
"Hey, dad...Was that Tapu Fini?" A boy pointed upwards, swearing that he could've seen Tapu Fini passing by at blinding speeds, becoming a blur afterwards.
"If you did, then it was probably moving too fast for me to spot it. But lucky you, finding it."
"Wow...Wait? What does Tapu Fini do? Besides making fogs. I know that."
"Well, that fog is Tapu Fini's speciality. Even if it's all that it has going for it, it has many varieties." The father sat down with his son to explain things to him a bit more. "But there is one trick that Tapu Fini can cause with the fog. And that's show loved ones."
"Loved ones?"
"That's right. Tapu Fini's fog can bring back those that have passed away for a while into the land of the living. Right here. Any deceased person or Pokemon can be reunited with others. It might even last forever."
"Wow, that's amazing!"
"Terrifying is the keyword for it. The reunion is sweet, but if you're not cautious, you could be trapped in an endless fog with little direction. But Tapu Fini is kind enough to let it end soon."
"So, when does it make that fog? I've never seen it before." The boy scratched his hair.
"Tapu FIni is said to do it for those who deserve it. Who knows...maybe now it's wandering for that exact individual to meet with their loved ones from beyond."
Speaking of Tapu Fini, The Land Spirit Pokemon had then felt something within it. Its attention was drawn to the gateway leading to Equestria. Nothing was calling it from beyond, perse. But Tapu Fini chose to approach it. With its mystical instincts at work, the Land Spirit Pokemon had passed through the gateway, entering another world.
Equestria. Ponyville. Day.
Over at Ponyville, Apple Bloom was currently riding on the back of her Skiploom, moving across the streets. "Skiploom! Skiploom! Ski-" But Skiploom suddenly came to a halt the moment she and Apple Bloom saw a horde of ponies coming their way. They closed their eyes as the ponies were all in a hurry somewhere.
"Hm?" Apple Bloom, after surviving a stampede of rushing ponies had turned her attention to where they were heading at. And it seemed to be a small store of some sort.
The little earth pony went over to this store that seemed to focus on pears. Skiploom carried her there to the front, using her high skipping abilities to her advantage. Once there, the old pony in the front lathered some flapjacks with what looked to be pear jam. Apple Bloom liked what she was seeing as she took the flapjack once it was offered to her by the old pony.
"Thank you! You must be new. I'm Apple Bloom." The little pony introduced herself.
"I'm Grand Pear."
"You mean welcome back to Ponyville." A pony had said to Apple Bloom. "Grand Pear was originally from here before he opened his famous pear jam store in Vanhoover."
"Really? Why'd ya move back?" She asked.
"I uh..." Grand Pear smacked his lips, squinting his eyes. "Well, I needed a change of pace."
"Huh." Apple Bloom could take that answer. Seemed simple and straightforward enough. She then gave one of the pancakes to Skiploom as they both took a bite. "This is delicious! I can't believe I've gone my whole life without ever havin' this."
"Skiploom!"
"Glad you both like it."
"How much?" Apple Bloom then looked at a jar of pear jam as she just had to buy it after how well it went on the pancakes. She got ready to pay up, holding out a bag of small bits.
"Nah." It was all free as revealed by Grand Pear. They found the best time to show up at this part of town. Free food that tasted good.
"Wow! Thanks, Mr Grand Pear, sir! It was real nice meetin' you!" Glad that she got herself some free food, she placed the jar of pear jam in her bag, hopping onto Skiploom's back. "Come on, Skiploom!"
"Skiploom!"
Sweet Apple Acres.
"Sceptile..." Currently, at Sweet Apple Acres, Sceptile was gazing at a plate of pancakes on the table. His mouth was wide open. His hands were being rubbed together. It was safe to say that this food was his forte. A personal favourite.
"Not until everyone's ready, Sceptile." But he was quickly stopped by Applejack. Sceptile winced before backing away from the table, waiting for the right time to have them. Returning home with the jam were Apple Bloom and Skiploom.
"We're back!"
"Skip-Skip!"
"Glad you're back, sugarcube. Just in time for breakfast for dinner." Applejack held the plate of pancakes up as Sceptile was using his vines, causing them to slowly creep up on the pancakes.
"I got the perfect topper for flapjacks at the market today."
"Pear jam?! What were you thinkin'?!" Applejack tossed the pancakes into the air, gasping as Sceptile's vines had missed them completely. Sceptile cried out as the pancakes flew into the air as he knew he could still save them. The Forest Pokemon brought out another set of vines that had grabbed the breakfast delicacies.
"Tile!" And with perfect precision, Sceptile pulled his leaves back, causing the pancakes to fall into his mouth while the plate broke upon hitting the floor. Sceptile got his fill either way. "Sceptile..."
Meanwhile, Applejack had taken the jar off of Apple Bloom's hold. She then looked outside of the kitchen room, seeing the shadow of Granny Smith lurking beyond and approaching.
"Quick! Hide it!" She tossed the jar towards Big Mac as he caught it in his mouth. The stallion then smashed his hoof onto the floorboards, causing one of them to jump up. The dirt below had been revealed.
"Machamp!" Machamp then started burrowing the dirt as Applejack and Big Mac joined. Their cooperative speed and strength allowed a hole to be instantly made from all of this.
"Huh?" Naturally, Apple Bloom was greatly confused by this. Along with Skiploom and Sceptile. Machamp too but he was only doing what his trainer was doing.
"Skiploom?"
"Sceptile?"
"What's the big deal? It's just pear jam."
"The big deal is that there is a long-standing feud between the Apples and the Pears!"
"Eeyup!"
"W-Why?" Apple Bloom questioned. It sounded like a big deal for something as basic as pear jam.
"Why?!" Applejack exclaimed, ready to go on a tangent. But that was when paused for a moment. Along with Big Mac. "...Well, uh, a-actually, I-I'm-I'm not really sure. You have any idea, Big Mac?"
"Uhhh... nope." Neither did he. Surprisingly, despite how bombastic they reacted to Apple Bloom bringing pear jam here and them saying that she shouldn't have in the first place, neither of them knew the true reason for it."
"Then I guess we should ask Granny?"
"Ask me what?" Right on time, showing up to the scene was Granny Smith, scaring the older brother and older sister, but not Granny Smith. Upon her arrival, they had used their hooves to push the dirt they had burrowed through, covering the pear jar as fast as they could.
"Champ!" Machamp then placed the broken floorboard onto the dirt, trying to fix it. But it had already been destroyed and Machamp's hands wouldn't even do the trick. Some hammer and nails could be a different story, however.
"Uh, what goes better with apple fritter flapjacks – caramel syrup or praline!" Applejack squeed, trying to play it cool while showing her grandma a bottle of caramel syrup and praline.
"Pfft! Praline." Granny Smith knocked the bottle of caramel syrup off of her granddaughter's hooves. She then entered the room, giving the area a sniff. It came from the pancakes as there were still some left to go on the table. "Oh-ho-ho, that smells great, Applejack. I'ma go wash up for supper. Be right back." Much to their relief, Granny Smith had left the house, allowing the two siblings to sigh peacefully.
"Listen, sugarcube. Anytime Big Mac and I ever asked Granny about the feud or the Pears, she'd get so upset she couldn't talk. Best not bring it up." AJ explained.
"O-Okay, but that Grand Pear was really nice to me, even though I'm an Apple. I wonder what happened."
"Me, too. But if we can't ask Granny, I don't know who-" An idea sprung up for Applejack. There was someone for that task. "We can ask Goldie Delicious! If anypony knows about the feud, it's the family historian!"
"I'm in! What do you say, Big Mac? Siblin' trip first thing tomorrow?"
"Eeyup!"
Elsewhere in Ponyville.
They had arrived at the location of this historian. Although, the premises didn't much a place for history. It looked more like an old house that anyone could own if they wanted to retire and settle down. Apple Bloom gave a knock on the door, only to be met by random sounds from within.
The doors started creaking as they were on the verge of blasting open. The siblings backed away from the doors as they were blown back by the force of an untold abundance of books. The books came flying out, forming a frantic sea of them while also piling on each other. And right on top, a group of bundled Skitty and ordinary cats could be seen rolling down.
"Skitty! Skitty!" The Skitty and the regular cats meowed before scattering across the area. But there was one final figure that appeared from the pile of books. The pony that they came here for. Goldie Delicious.
"Now, that's how you make an entrance! Or is it an exit?" She spoke, laughing. "Well, anyway, it's so wonderful to see you three. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Goldie asked as another Skitty could be seen popping out of her mane.
"Skitty!"
"Well, Goldie, we were hopin' you could tell us about the, uh..." Applejack slid in, getting close to the old pony and putting some emphasis on the final sentence. "...feud with the Apples and the Pears."
"Oh." Her cheery voice deepened to a surprised and serious one. "Oh, dear. Well, does Granny Smith know you're here?"
"No, ma'am. But I ran into Grand Pear yesterday, and he was real nice. Maybe the feud was a misunderstandin' or somethin', and we can fix it?" The filly questioned.
"Oh, well, I don't know about that, little one. But if it's a story you're after, I suppose you have a right to know. Now, let's see, I got a stack of books here someplace... Oh!" She spotted the book as a Purugly was sitting on it. It seemed that she had a massive preference and love for cats including cat-based Pokemon.
"Ugly...Pur..." Purugly dozed on the book that Goldie wanted. Right from underneath the Tiger Cat Pokemon, causing her to drop a bit. "Pur?!"
"Apple Family History, Volume 137!" She opened the book, searching for the right page. "Hmm, hmm... Here we are. 'Feud with the Bears'. She read it wrong before realizing this. 'I mean, Pears'. My eyes ain't what they used to be. A long time ago, Sweet Apple Acres wasn't the only farm in Ponyville. In fact, there was another one just right next door."
Years ago. Sweet Apple Acres.
Long ago, before all of this crossing over with different worlds debacle had come into fruition and before there was any knowledge about cosmic entities or anything wilder, there was a young Granny Smith selling apples. A less frantic time.
"Come and get your apples! Nothin' sweeter than bitin' into a crisp apple on a beautiful fall day!" She cried out, showing her apples to everypony. There were even Apple Pies to look forward to and such.
"Unless, of course...you could bite into a juicy pear." But right next to this Apple stand was a pear stand. And commandeering that stand was a pony selling pears. This was a younger Grand Pear.
"Pfft!" Granny Smith scoffed. "Please. Pears are just what happens when you ain't no good at farmin' apples." She said with visible disdain, polishing her apple.
"Pears are nature's candy. Apples are sour. Like the expression on your face right now." He gave an impish chuckle at Granny Smith. The two of them started arguing back and forth. And this constant arguing led to their customers backing away, not buying anything from either of them. But they weren't aware of this until their squabble ended for a while.
And so it went. Granny and Grand Pear were always at each other on who was the best farmer or who took better care of their trees. If Granny read to her trees at night..." The voice of Goldie narrating the story said.
"...And then, the little tree reached his branches up to the moon, and the moon said, 'Good night.'" The young Granny Smith read a story during nightfall. It would seem strange to read to trees, but she wasn't the only one who interacted with them in this way back then. She looked over at Grand Pear who was staring at Granny Smith. Granny gave a cocky smirk at her fellow earth pony as even during the night, they were still at odds.
Why, then Grand Pear had special blankets made for his trees so they wouldn't get cold. From Goldie's narration, Grand Pear would do the same to his trees. Oversized blankets were his response as they covered the trees with their tremendous size.
"Good night, trees." He gave his trees a slight kiss before looking back at Granny Smith. "I've got you covered. Mm-hmm."
But their squabbling didn't stop it there. It went above store arguments and nighttime feuds. Family members had been dragged into the madness. When the Apple Family would kick the trees to make the apples fall, they would look over at the other farm, seeing the Pear Family pick apples from the trees via ladders, giving that same disdainful expression they always carry. And the Pear Family would do the same.
In fact, all the Apples and the Pears were rivals to the core! The only Apple and Pear whoever got along were Bright McIntosh and Pear Butter.
Two foals, around the same age as a baby, could be seen on opposite sides. Due to their age, it would make sense for them not to be on the same wavelength as their family members. Pear Butter was moving along before hearing a voice call from her via the other side, right at the Apple Family Farm. A fence was between the two farms.
"Pssst!" Bright Mac's voice came through, alerting her. "I'm not supposed to talk to you." He whispered.
"I'm not supposed to talk to you either." So did Pear Butter.
"My mom says if you hold a buttercup under your chin, it'll make your chin glow. But it doesn't work on me. See?" He showed her as their discussion leaned more on the typical child talk. Not on the level of bickering that their opposite family members go through.
Pear Butter, curious, went up to the buttercup flower, putting it near her chin. It worked for her as it started glowing. "Does it work on me?"
For a few seconds, Bright Mac's eyes were dilating upon seeing this glow on Pear Butter. Due to his young age, the most obvious reaction came from him as his heart was beating fast. "It sure does, Buttercup." He had been lovestruck. Impressionable love at such a young age was nothing new. Fairly common.
"Buttercup. I like that name." said the little filly. Both of them shook hooves as they had immediately formed a new bond between two unlikely sides while their family members were not even close to bonding.
Current day.
"Wait an apple-pickin' minute!" Applejack interrupted the story. "Bright Mac and Buttercup? Those are our parents' names!
"Of course, Buttercup was just a nickname your father gave your mother. Pear Butter...well, that was her given name." Goldie explained.
"Are you sayin' our mother was a... Pear?!" She gasped, prompting her siblings to gasp as well. Sceptile and the other Pokemon didn't gasp, however. All of this was new information to them.
"So we're half-Pear?!" Big Mac finally spoke.
"I can't believe it! How did we not know? Did you know?!" Perplexed by this revelation, Applejack held Sceptile, shaking him vigorously. "Wait, you couldn't know..."
"S-Sceptile..."
"Well, uh, nopony called your mother Pear Butter." Purugly then brought over a chalkboard that was incredibly dusty. Goldie then cleaned the dust, revealing two different jars. "And her cutie mark was a preserve jar, but pear butter don't look too much different from apple butter, so no clues there.
"Is there...anythin' else you can tell us about them?" AJ asked.
"I know they loved each other very much. They had that magical, star-kissed, other-side-of-a-rainbow kind of love." Goldie hugged some of her cats and a few Skitty. "You couldn't be around them too long and, and not feel a little bit lighter than air yourself."
"Anything else?" said Apple Bloom.
"Hmm... I'd need Volume 138 for that." She started searching for another book once more. By looking up, there was a Liepard sleeping at the top. She truly had all kinds of felines with her at this humble abode.
"Liepard...!" Liepard snarled, not wanting to get off of the pile of books as it found this spot comfortable. That would leave Goldie with some struggles to get the book she needed.
"I'm sure I could wrangle it... in a, in a couple of days."
That's all right, Goldie." Applejack sighed. "It was... nice just to hear-"
"Ooh-hoo-hoo!" Cut off, Goldie jumped back down. "I just remembered somethin'! Your dad and his buddy Burnt Oak would get in all kinds of trouble together as colts."
"Burnt Oak? The firewood salespony? I haven't seen him in ages." A swift memory came through Applejack's head.
"He and your dad were thick as thieves back in the day. Y'all should talk to him." Goldie suggested as the three siblings and their Pokemon left the area full of books and felines.
And during all of that, arriving here as fast as it had left Alola was Tapu Fini. The Land Spirit Pokemon heard the story, concealing itself in the trees. After seeing the story end, Tapu Fini then followed the Apple Family without making a sound at all.
They ended up back at the marketplace of Ponyville. There, the one they were searching for, Burnt Oak could be found. He soon saw the Apple Family approach.
"Well, well, if it isn't the Apples. What can I do for ya? I know you're not here for firewood. You got more trees than anypony in Ponyville."
"You're right. We're not here for that." The mare shook her head.
"Come to ask about your dad?"
"Uh...Eeyup," said Big Mac with his usual signature catchphrase.
"I wondered if you might. Hoped you would. It's nice to talk about him." Burnt Oak laughed." We had a lot of laughs. In fact, this one time..."
Burnt Oak was ready to give out a story. Another one for the Apple Family. And there to watch and listen to it all was Tapu Fini, concealing itself within the trees and shadows. No one in Ponyville had spotted this Guardian Deity recently.
"Fini..."
Years ago.
We were racin' to see who could till the fastest, and Bright Mac was leavin' me in the dust. He would've won, too, if he wasn't so... distracted.
Back then, the two of them were having a till race with Bright Mac being superior in speed despite his size. To add to that, he was still fairly young yet he looked like a grown-up at the same time. But even though he was ahead of Burnt Oak, his attention was quickly drawn somewhere else. Just next door, Pear Butter, or Buttercup as he nicknamed her, could be seen nearby.
Because of this slight distraction, he was thrown off course. So off course that he ended up crashing right into a water silo that was on the other side. This was due to him going straight through the fence that was in between both farms, thus the silo belonged to the Pear Family.
The water from the silo spread out rapidly, covering Pear Butter for a while as the area had been flooded and drenched in water.
"Pear Butter, what did you do?!" Grand Pear showed up, witnessing the liquid destruction that had been done.
"I-I'm not sure." Pear stammered, not giving a clear answer. Even though she witnessed the destruction, albeit seconds later before it had drenched her. Bright and Burnt hid within a bush to conceal themselves. Their heads had poked out from it. Bright Mac could see that Par Butter would quickly stop it, so he chose to come upfront about it, being honest with it.
"She didn't do it, sir." He said, showing himself as Burnt Oak gulped, hiding his head back in the bush.
"Excuse me?" Grand ear's head quickly shifted to Bright Mac's position.
"The water silo. It was my fault." Instead of leaving the blame to her, Bright Mac revealed the truth. He then looked at Pear Butter, causing her to giggle. With his hat on his chest, showing his honesty, Grand Pear wasn't a fan of this interaction between the two.
"You owe me a new silo, boy! [to Pear Butter] And you, come with me." Grand Pear shouted, bringing his daughter along. "No daughter of mine is gonna make goo-goo eyes at an Apple!"
Despite what he said, Pear looked back at Bright with a smile. Bright Mac, much like earlier before, couldn't help but make a melting face just by looking at her. A young Burnt Oak was greatly confused, shaking his hoof in his friend's face, trying to snap him out of it. But that was pointless.
Current day.
"Grand Pear never would've known it was your father's fault." Burnt Oak spoke. "But there was no way he'd let your mother take the blame for somethin' he did."
"So Dad was super honest! Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, huh, Applejack?" Apple Bloom nudged her big sister.
"Your dad worked the Apple farm all day and then headed over to the Pears on his breaks to fix the water silo. I didn't see him for weeks! Not that he minded. Gave him a chance to get to know your mom."
"Did you know our mom, too?" The filly asked.
"Buttercup was a real peach of a Pear. But if you want to know more about her, you should ask Mrs Cake." That was as far as Burnt Oak's knowledge went. Luckily, the knowledge of this family had been passed on throughout Ponyville.
"Mrs Cake?" Both Applejack and Apple Bloom said.
"She and your mom were inseparable when they were fillies. Know where to go next?"
"Uh, would it be okay if we stopped by again sometime to hear more stories?" Big Mac was curious about the stories. He found them to be great reelers and time killers. Time consumers can be fun a lot of the time.
"I'd like that very much." Of course, the friend of their father agreed to it.
"Fini." Tapu Fini had just finished hearing another story of this past experience. With its intrigue peaked even more, Tapu Fini followed the Apple Family again in secrecy. It seemed to be judging them greatly.
SugarCube Corner.
"Slur...puff..." Currently, a Slurpuff was asleep. One of Pinkie Pie's. The rest of the Slurpuff's whereabouts were unknown but they were most definitely with their Trainer.
"Hm. Food coma. Take right after your Trainer." Mrs Cake giggled, patting Slurpuff on the belly. The Meringue Pokemon giggled whilst in its sleep. At the same time, the Apple Family had just arrived. "Well, cinnamon sugar on toast! All three Apple siblings!"
"Hi, Mrs Cake. And uh, Slurpuff." Applejack greeted them both despite Slurpuff being asleep. "We heard you and our ma used to be real good friends, and we were hopin' you could tell us a bit about her."
"Oh, I would love to. I never knew the right time to bring it up. But I'm so glad you came!" She laughed before noticing Machamp creep up on the fridge. "Machamp!"
"Ma!" The Superpower Pokemon froze, being caught in the act.
"You have an unhealthy food obsession here, don't you?" Mrs Cake shook her head. "Can't blame you though. Hehe. Now, about your mother. Uh, for starters, did you all know that it was your mom who convinced me to pursue baking?"
"But isn't your name Mrs. Cake?" Apple Bloom asked as she was for sure that Cake was her true name and it fit with her Cutie Mark and everything. Meanwhile, Tapu Fini looked through one of the windows, still managing to conceal itself in the shadows.
"Champ?" Machamp, who was near the fridge, noticed something in the corner of his eyes. He turned around, only to find nothing. Tapu Fini hid itself before Machamp could fully see. "Machamp?"
"Not always. Back when I was Chiffon Swirl, heh, I had no idea what I was supposed to do." Mrs Cake's true name had been revealed. "But one day, your mom brought me some candied pears, eggs, flour, sugar, and vanilla, and told me to just be creative! Next thing I knew, I was whipping up pear upside-down cake, and I got my cutie mark! It was like she knew what I was supposed to do long before I did."
"Tile?" Sceptile looked over at Applejack's Cutie Mark, wondering if that's how it truly worked for his Pokemon Trainer and everyone else.
"Yeah, Sceptile. That's sometimes how it works." Applejack nodded before looking at her little sister. "And Just like you, sugarcube! Or rather, you're just like her!"
"That was the first of many cakes for me, and Buttercup was with me through it all." Now it was Mrs Cake's turn to share a moment of the past that involved the parents of the Apple Siblings.
Years ago.
Back then, Pear Butter or Buttercup would be of great help, assisting the young Mrs Cake aka Chiffon Swirl at the time with everything at an older SugarCube Corner.
Cakes of multiple varieties were made because of this splendid teamwork. Some that may have never been possible without Pear Butter's assistance.
She'd be my taste-tester, help with the decorating, and prep new ingredients. Over the years, I perfected my recipes. Your mom did so much for me. One day, I wanted to surprise her with a cake.
Mrs Cake had a cake with a pear on top, all meant for Buttercup. But the moment she went to the location that her friend could be found in, she quickly hid after spotting something surprising.
Just ahead, Bright Mac could be seen with her. Time had passed and their bond had grown significantly for them to start hanging out at this point. Even having a picnic as they laughed together. Bright Mac got some flowers, only to find out he was slightly allergic to them.
"Achoo!" That caused a sneeze for him. The flowers were blown back by the sight force of wind, causing them to land on Pear Butter. But they fit perfectly either way as she laughed still.
Afterwards, they both leaned in for a kiss. Upon witnessing this, Mrs Cake felt like she probably shouldn't be watching right about now. With her face turning red, she slowly backed away, only to step on a twig. That twig crack halted the imminent kiss, causing them both to be alert. But there was nothing to fear as Mrs Cake showed herself.
"Oh. It's just you." Pear gasped before sighing.
"Sorry. I just brought you a little something to say thank you. But I see you're busy. Hah." She walked up to them as the duo had their faces turn red next.
"Promise you won't say anything?" Pear pleaded to her friend. She could keep that promise, no problem. However, a bad case of timing had approached as a slightly older Granny Smith had shown up, picking apples. She then looked over to see the trio together and one of them was a Pear family member.
"What in tarnation are you doin', Bright Mac?!" She roared, stomping over. "We do not fraternize with Pears! Ptooey!" She spat on the ground to show her disdain. She then bit on Bright Mac's ears, dragging him away from the area. And as always, a running theme was that Bright Mac and Pear Butter would still have some time to look at each other, giving a wink.
"You and Bright Mac?" Mrs Cake chimed in. "Whew, I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Your families hate each other."
"I can't help it. We just sorta... happened."
Then Pear Butter told me the sweetest love story I have ever heard.
As more time passed, the two ponies from opposing families spend even more time together, regardless of how many times they had been pulled away. Sitting atop the hill with another picnic and looking over at the sunset, Bright Mac had something to give.
"Happy one hundred and thirty-one thousand, four hundred and fifty-six hour anniversary, darlin'." He said, placing a buttercup flower on her head.
"What?" She laughed for a bit. "That's way longer than we've been together."
"I know, but it's the anniversary of the first time I called you 'Buttercup'. It's okay if you didn't get me anythin'"
"Actually... I did." Her gift was larger than a single flower. She revealed a guitar to Bright Mac.
"A guitar?" He grabbed the guitar. "For me? But..." He strummed it for a moment, not getting a good toe in the beginning. "I don't know how to play.
"Quiet you." But instead, the gift was something spiritual instead of physical as Pear took the guitar back. She would be the one to play it, singing a song to Bright Mac.
"We're far apart in every way But you're the best part of my day And sure as I breathe the air I know we are the perfect pair
On a prickly path that goes on for miles But it's worth it just to see you smile
And I cannot be pulled apart From the hold you have on my heart And even if the world tells us it's wrong You're in my head like a catchy song."
This was a song about their relationship. The one thing to never ignore about this union was how they were both from families that were opposing each other. And because of this unlikely union, their bonding was something special.
Even if their families would pull them away from each other constantly. At the end of the day, it was nigh-impossible to separate them forever. Especially when they can't stop thinking about each other.
Whether it be during days when both families were selling their respective fruits, they would interact with each other in secrecy without even saying a word. Actions spoke louder than words in their instances. Sometimes, they would even sneak off together without their families watching.
"Wow. It's just... wow." Bright Mach said with a chuckle.
"Do you like it? Be honest now."
"It's the best gift you could've given me!" Honesty was natural to him so this came from the heart. Pear Butter continued the song afterwards, bringing up more about their relationship and the days that have come and gone with it.
"The seasons change and leaves may fall But I'll be with you through them all And rain or shine, you'll always be mine
On a prickly path that goes on for miles You're the only one who makes it all worthwhile
And you should not blame me, too If I can't help fallin' in love with you..."
Rainy days and snowy days meant nothing to them when they were together. It was safe to say that years have passed and their relationship was still going strong either way.
"Hey, no fair. I was gonna tell you the same thing." He said, leaning up to her.
"You're just mad I beat you to it." She smirked, pushing him aside. Bright Mac then placed his hat on her head.
"I'm tellin' ya, I was gonna pull you up, cover your eyes, lead you over here..." He then started leading her somewhere over the hill. "...and say, 'Surprise!'" He had then revealed a rock that had a carving on t. A carving of a heart and two symbols. A pear jar and an apple. "And then you'd say..." He then started imitating Pear Butter with a voice change. "Oh, Bright Mac, I love it! And then I'd say I love you. Too bad it didn't work out though."
"Eeyup. Too bad." It was soon revealed who invented the Eeyup catchphrase for Big Mac to don. Pear Butter was responsible for that. She and Bright Mac then hugged each other while standing in front of the rock.
All of this was pure. Their love was pure and inseparable. But there was one little issue that came up that could potentially break it apart. And it came in the form of a few days, where Grand Pear entered Pear Butter's room for a shocking revelation to her.
"The Pears are moving!"
Current day.
And in the current day, the Apple siblings had gasped. Fittingly back then, when that news came to Pear Butter, she had an equal gasp as well. Runs in the family.
"I mean, I figured the Pears moved, but I didn't know all that stuff happened before with Granny and Grand Pear." AJ was aghast.
"It must've been really hard on our parents." Apple Bloom held Skiploom close to her.
"S-Sceptile...!" Both Sceptile and Machamp started tearing up, just for Applejack and Big Mac to wipe their tears. "Tile! Sceptile!"
"S-Slur..." Even while asleep, Slurpuff teared up. Almost as if it could hear the story while asleep. Though, it had light crying instead of a deep one that Sceptile and Machamp were going through.
Tapu Fini had heard enough. After listening to a good chunk of the story, the Land Spirit Pokemon made up its mind. It backed away from SugarCube Corner before ascending into the air.
"Fini...!" High enough in the air, Tapu Fini had cast its signature fog. The fog that it always carried with it had intensified, becoming visible. Once visible, it started wrapping itself around the entirety of Ponyville. The skies were being blocked off by its appearance, replaced with the thickness of it.
Everypony was made aware of this. How couldn't they? The skies changed so drastically. Little did they know that this wasn't a typical weather shift. This was the result of Pokemon magic in store.
"Sceptile?!" Sceptile gasped, noticing the fog. He, the Apple Family and Mrs Cake looked outside to see that Ponyville was now fog central, covered from all directions by Tapu Fini's fog.
Once the fog had been fully wrapped around the town, Tapu Fini continued its wandering. It had one thing in mind. The Apple Family as it was the group the Land Spirit Pokemon had focused on the most.
But now, Applejack, Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom along with their Pokemon were in for a surprise. That went for everypony else in Ponyville as they would soon gain knowledge of Tapu Fini's fog and what it entailed as the journey continues.
Previously, the Apple Siblings began learning about their parents' past and the connection between the Apple Family and the Pear Family. Their father was an Apple and their mother was a Pear. Bright Mac and Pear Butter.
Listening to this story was the Guardian Deity of Poni Island. Tapu Fini. It had decided to respond in kind to the story in a way that no one currently knows or expected. That was Tapu Fini's mystical fog. It had been cast upon Ponyville, covering the entire town.
Practically everypony only saw it was a typical weather shift. But a Fog doesn't usually show up this fast. "When did this fog show up?" said Apple Bloom, standing outside of SugarCube Corner.
"Pretty thick too..." Applejack squinted, gazing at the thick fog. "Gonna be tough to get home this way. Unless Slurpuff over there can help out?"
"Oh, I'm sure he will. Just let him rest for a moment." Mrs Cake said, facing the sleeping Meringue Pokemon. "Nothing's too difficult or ever difficult with one of Pinkie's Slurpuff."
"Well, we ain't ready to leave just yet. There somethin' else? Like how the Pear Family were gonna leave Ponyville soon?" Applejack and her siblings wanted to hear more. And Mrs Cake had one piece of history to share with them still.
"Well, it's not much but listen to this." Mrs Cake closed the door as nopony was thinking too much of the fog. At least, not at the moment. "Now, where was I? Oh, right! You said how it could've been hard on your parents. It was. Oh, it was." Mrs Cake shook her head before continuing the story.
Years ago.
"We're moving?! To Vanhoover?! But that's so far!" Pear Butter screeched while facing her father, Grand Pear.
"It's what's best. There's acres of untouched land and a warehouse to make our jams. We'll get to expand our business and get away from those gosh-darned Apples." That was the reason for Grand Pear's decision. A decision that many in the Pear Family could agree on. But not for her daughter. The only pony who doesn't share the same disdain for the Apple Family.
A sad realization kicked in for Pear Butter. This departure could also mean a permanent departure from Bright Mac too. This was a day she was dreading but hoped that it would never come to be. And the distance from Ponyville to Vanhoover did not help with that.
Pear Butter was devastated. But seeing no way out of it, she did what she had to do. Mrs Cake narrated.
Naturally, this news had to be broken to Bright Mac. The Pear Family certainly weren't going to give their goodbyes at all. Not for a second. Perhaps a mocking one might come up for them. Only Pear Butter would give that sincere farewell and saddening truth to him.
Out in the same area where the rock that had their name initials carved out, they hugged each other for a moment. "So that's it?" Bright Mac spoke as it had all been revealed to him. He was shocked that this is how it would all end. So abruptly too.
"What do you want me to do, Bright Mac? We're movin'. I love you, but..." She started tearing up. "I have to stay with my family." Pear Butter then ran off, leaving Bright Mac for what seemed like the last time ever.
Then Bright Mac did the most romantic thing I've ever seen anypony do. Unfortunately, this was the last of Mrs Cake's narration. At this final narration, during this moment in time, Bright Mac looked at the stone, placing his hoof on it. Upon doing so, he took a good stare before making up his mind on the spot. It hadn't even been a minute or an hour.
Current Day.
"What?! What?!" All three of them spoke in unison, wanting to know what happened next as Mrs Cake closed the curtains on the window to get comfortable in the fog. "What?! What did he do?! Tell us! Tell us!"
"We're gonna need one more pony to tell that story." Mrs Cake's knowledge ended there. But once again, somepony else had that extra piece of knowledge to share. "Best hurry or you could end up lost in the fog." Mrs Cake then approached Slurpuff. "Slurpuff. Wakey-wakey~"
"S-Slurpuff?" The Meringue Pokemon groaned, opened his eyes slowly.
"I know you were having such a wonderful sleep after all that food, but could you help the Apple Family for a bit. All that fog is so obscene. Use that sniffer of yours and help them through it." She poked Slurpuff's nose, making the Fairy-Type giggle.
"Slur-Slur!" Surpuff would do just that. He got up instantly, trying to give a salute. However, his limbs were too short for that to happen. Aside from that, recognizing the scent of everyone in Ponyville, Slurpuff could get the job done. "Slurpuff!"
"Mayor Mare's the pony you're looking for." "said Mrs Cake as the Apple Family plus Slurpuff had left SugarCube Corner. "See you around!"
With the door closed, Mrs Cake wanted to get comfy. There was something about foggy weather that sparked that feeling up in someone. It was the equivalent of rain and snow. Getting all comfortable within a sweet spot while the outside was less than pleasant to look at.
She even made herself something to eat in the meanwhile. But after a few minutes passed and some hot baking had been made, Mrs Cake, sitting comfortably on the couch, paused for a moment. Something surprising had been seen at the backside of the window.
Mrs Cake could not believe her eyes The door to SugarCube Corner had been opened by these moving figures within the fog. Two of them. They had entered the room as the cupcakes she made had been dropped. Mrs Cake could only shout at this.
"I-I-I-I-I-It can't be! You two?!"
But this wasn't just limited to SugarCube Corner. Across Ponyville, within this massive fog, everypony else had been greeted with surprising sights. Aside from the fact that the fog had made traversing Ponyville difficult, obscuring many of the usual directions, there were other ponies that had shown up here.
Their faces were aghast, witnessing these ponies. Their Pokemon were confused by their reactions as they just seemed like average everyday ponies. But from what they were spouting, that was not the case.
"Great-Great Grandpa?!" Derpy was among one of the ponies who were shocked. Standing before her was a pony that was related to her from what she said.
And that was the case for everypony. Relatives that they all had were showing up. Granted, it wasn't every single pony in Ponyville, but it was still quite a few as deceased relatives, young and old were summoned here under Tapu Fini's fog. This threw them for a loop and caught them off guard as more kept showing up within the town.
But over at Town Hall, the Apple Family, thanks to the scent guidance of Slurpuff, had arrived, wanting to know more about their parents and what Bright Mac had done. They were unaware of the event happening outside.
"Mayor Mare, you knew our parents?" said Apple Bloom.
"Not as well as Mrs Cake, but I did play a part in their love story. The night before the Pear family moved, Bright Mac asked me to meet him at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres. You might want to hear this as well, Stoutland." Mayor Mare said as Stoutland sat down to listen to this story.
Years ago.
At the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, Bright Mac had brought Pear Butter day as it was currently evening. And waiting there was a young Mayor Mare who had pink hair in the past.
She was currently standing in a wedding arch. And joining her were Mrs Cake and Burnt Oak. The only two other ponies that had shown up for this as Pear Butter gasped at this sight. It was clear as day what this all meant as buckets of apples and pears were lined up perfectly with each other.
"I don't want to be apart from you." Bright Mac spoke. "Ever. I'm not sure what we'll do, but I'm sure of us. So sure that I'd marry you today." He then held his hoof out to her.
"I would, too!" Pear Butter teared up as she connected her hoof with his immediately without hesitation. Bright Mac then nodded his head in Mayor Mare's direction.
"I think that's my cue." Young Mayor Mare said.
I had the honour of officiating your parents' secret wedding, and it was perfect. Bright Mac knew Buttercup wouldn't want a big splash. Narrated the voice of current day Mayor Mare.
Reminds me of somepony else I know. Apple Bloom interjected in the story, mentioning Big Mac.
Eeyup. A Big Mac agreed as Mayor Mare continued the narration of the past and more importantly, this secret wedding.
So they had a special way to seal their vows. And that way was by digging a hole in the ground, kicking up some dirt. After doing so, they had placed two seeds inside of them. An apple seed and a pear seed.
"I now pronounce you-" Mayor Mare was about to say those magic words, sealing everything in stone, this secret wedding had been interrupted.
"What's goin' on?!" Showing up to the scene was Granny Smith, roaring. "What's with all these here candles?!"
"Pear Butter! Where are ya?" So did Grand Pear, speaking grimly. "You're supposed to be packing!" He soon noticed the scene, narrowing his eyes. "What are you two doing?" The two parent ponies then approached as Bright Mac and Pear Butter stayed close to each other.
"Ma, Grand Pear, Buttercup and I are in love!" Bright Mac came out and said it.
"What?!" They both screeched as the truth had been revealed to them.
"And we'll be married as soon as Mayor Mare says..." Pear Butter shifted her head to the mayor.
"Oh!" Mayor Mare gasped before spending her speech pattern to seal the deal. "I now pronounce you husband and wife!" Once those words were fully finished, it was now official. They were fully married.
"Doesn't that feel nice?" Pear Butter was at peace. Those words were truly satisfying to the ears as she and Bright Mac kissed for their official and town-sealed union.
"What are you talking about, married?!" But interjecting and pushing them aside, standing in between the now-married couple was Granny Smith. "You two can't be married!"
"Finally, something we can agree on," said Grand Pear. "Pear Butter, enough of this nonsense. We're movin'! And you gotta stick with your family!" He then walked off, expecting Pear Butter to do the same. But she backed away instead.
"But... the Apples are my family now, too." She spoke her mind. And soon, Bright Mac went up to Pear Butter while Mayor Mare, Mrs Cake and Burnt Oak backed up.
"You can't be serious. Are you choosin' to be an Apple over being a Pear?!"
"Are you makin' me choose?" She began tearing up in front of her father. Grand Pear flinched for a bit, but his decision was final.
"Yes. I am." And her choice was to be with Bright Mac. Even if it wasn't the choice that Grand Pear was looking for.
"Then yeah. I guess I am."
"Fine!" He shouted before storming off. Pear Butter sobbed as that was still her father. And she left her. The only pony from the opposing side there that had remained was surprisingly Granny Smith.
"S-Sceptile!" Getting teary-eyed at this story again was Sceptile as he put his arms over his eyes. Slurpuff and Machamp started drawing some tears too along with Apple Bloom's Skiploom.
"I can't believe Grand Pear just up and left Ma like that! No wonder Granny never told us about any of this." Applejack uttered with lowered eyes.
"These things are never easy. And it's hard to know when it is a good time." Mayor Mare shook her head, comforting Stoutland who was also started sobbing at this. "There, there, Stoutland."
"S-Stoutland..."
"It seems to me that now's as good a time as any." Applejack and her family stood up as they had made up their mind on what to do next.
"To talk to both our grandparents." Apple Bloom stated as that was their new and final goal for the knowledge of their parent's past. Slurpuff got his nose ready for the thick fog. The final stop was the marketplace of Ponyville.
At the marketplace, everything was being closed up. Grand Pear gathered everything he had to put them away for the day. But right as he did so, the Apple Family had shown up.
"Excuse me? Grand Pear?" The little filly grabbed his attention.
"I'm Applejack, and this here's Big McIntosh. But you already know who we are, don't ya?" Applejack introduced, hoping that he would remember the names of the couple he was against in the past.
"Sure do." And he did. But he said with a low tone and dropped ears. Almost as if he regretted meeting these two ponies t any given time. Practically forever.
"Did you really move to Ponyville just for a change of pace?" Apple Bloom asked.
"No." His tone lowered even further as he shifted his head to the side for a moment.
"Then you came here because you're sorry and that you wanted to get to know us, too?" Apple Bloom hopped off of Skiploom, approaching the old pony. Hearing his answer made the little filly start sobbing.
"I'm... so sorry. I-I-I was just so angry, and... well, I-I never..." And much like everypony else that have been flooded with the past, Grand Pear formed tears as well, stammering with his words.
"It's in the past, Grand Pear. Oh! Can I call you Grand Pear-Pear?" But Apple Bloom quickly ceased it by going to hug him. They essentially dropped all potential forms of conflict for this one touching moment.
"Sure can." He chuckled before receiving a hug from the rest of the Apple Family. That was one grandparent down. One more to go.
Sweet Apple Acres.
And the final grandparent was Granny Smith. They had shown up, meeting with the old mare with only one thing on their mind. Absolute closure. Closure on everything relating to this.
"Now where'd you all get to? I ain't seen hide or hair of ya's all day." She asked while feeding the chickens.
"We've been all over. Learnin' about our parents," said Aj.
"Guh...!" The almost never-flinching Granny Smith had flinched. Very visible with her eyes shifting from side to side. "Y-You have?"
"And our grandfather." Applejack went up to her. Shockingly, they had also brought Grand Pear along to truly bring closure to everything. One of which was the feud between the Apples and Pears.
"So... you're back, huh?" Granny Smith leaned in, not too thrilled to see Grand Pear.
"Sure am." He mumbled in response. Never should've left." He lowered his head in shame and disappointment.
"Findin' you and learnin' all about Mom and Dad, I feel like I found a piece of me I didn't even know was missin'." Apple Bloom aimed her hoof at herself.
"Hearin' their story makes me feel closer to them somehow." Applejack could agree on Apple Bloom's sentiment, expanding on it. There was now one last member who had to tear up through all of this. And that was Granny Smith.
I'm sorry. I should've told you all about 'em sooner."
"And I should've been here. Ah, I can't believe I let a silly feud keep me from my family."
"Nothing's keepin' ya from us now." AJ shrugged as Sceptile used his vines to bring over a tissue for Grand Pear's sobbing eyes. "Let's not miss anythin' else."
"Applejack's right." Granny Smith eventually wide those old tears off. "Welcome back, prickly old pear. Heh."
"Thanks, you old crabapple." Finally, it had all been closed off. This feud between two opposing families came to an unsung and secret end. At least to them for the meanwhile.
That was when Slurpuff picked up a new and mysterious scene. "Slur? Slurpuff?" Slurpuff and the other Pokemon swivelled to see a shocking sight. Two pony figures were approaching the scene. Applejack and the others did the same as their shock was far greater than their Pokemon.
"C-Can it be...?" Applejack's held her hat with an open jaw. Their hearts were beating fast. But those two figures moving through the fog wasn't all that shocked them. Right from above, the Pokemon responsible for all of this could be found.
"Fini!Fini!" Tapu Fini cried ut from above as the family raised their heads. They could see the Land Spirit Pokemon as Apple Bloom quickly took out her Pokedex.
"Tapu Fini. The Land Spirit Pokemon. This guardian deity of Poni Island manipulates water. Because it lives deep within a thick fog, it came to be both feared and revered. The dense fog it creates brings the downfall and destruction of its confused enemies. Ocean currents are the source of its energy. Although it’s called a guardian deity, terrible calamities sometimes befall those who recklessly approach Tapu Fini. Its fog has the power to bring those from the past back for a moment."
"From that past? Then does that mean...?!" Apple Bloom dropped her Pokedex as the two ponies within the fog had been revealed to be the ponies that their whole venture was about.
Bright Mac and Pear Butter.
"Hey, Ma. Grand Pear." Bright Mac greeted with a wave. Immediately after seeing them, Granny Smith rushed over to give a swift hug to her son. For her age, she could move surprisingly quick. Mainly because of who was in front of her as Bright Mac had been met with a hug. And it was physical too, confirming that it was the real deal.
"You did this?" Applejack looked up at the Guardian Deity of Poni Island. "But why?"
"Fini..."
"Pear Butter!" Grand Pear quickly moved past Applejack, rushing to her daughter. "Is it really you, sweetie?!"
"It is me. I don't quite get what's going on myself, pa." She chuckled. "But I love it. That Pokemon there's to thank." She aimed her hoof at Tapu Fini. "Told us how it was eavesdropping and everything.
"Fini."
"Glad that ya'll could wrap it all up nicely." Pear Butter said before having her father hug her. "I know you're all beat up about running away that day. But it's okay, pa."
"Seeing this silly little feud end is something sweet, ain't it?" Bright Mac had hugged his mother. "And seeing ya'll grow up so well with those Pokemon beside you makes it sweeter than an ambrosia apple.
"We miss ya so much, mom! Dad!" Apple Bloom bellowed, ready to burst out into tears. It was no use trying to hold them all back. This was possibly the one time they would get to see them for the final time ever.
"Miss ya too. But we're always watching. Before we head off, how about we show your grandparents one last thing. Ya'll remember where it is, right?" Bright Mac looked at Applejack.
"Left what?" Both Granny Smith and Grand Pear said.
"Sure do. Come along" Applejack had something amazing to show them. This thing they mentioned could be found in one place only. And it would be someplace where their parents met. And perfectly, their parents would come and see it as well.
But as they were making their way towards that area, they then had witnessed what Tapu Fini had truly done. It didn't just use the fog to bring back Bright Mac and Pear Butter. It had brought back other relatives of different ponies. Some of them went beyond just relatives.
"My pet goldfish...I'm sorry!" One pony cried while holding a bowl with a goldfish within it. They had also witnessed different pets that could be seen. Most likely, age just got to them more than anything.
"See? I kept my word, just as you said." Over at Octavia's home, a relative of hers was watching her play. "And you doubted me, didn't you?"
"Not anymore, dear." The old pony hugged Octavia. They also saw how Derpy was speaking with a pony who appeared to be her grandpa. This went on for a few other ponies. They started making up for lost time while the fog was still here.
Whether it was partaking in their favourite hobbies, playing with their pets and their favourite sports or indulging in their favourite thing to eat, it was an unexpected reunion that no one saw coming. But they knew one thing. If something like this was happening, then a Pokemon was definitely behind it.
"Hey! Isn't that-" One old pony noticed Bright Mac and Pear Butter walking along. The two ponies waved back at the old pony, causing her to faint out of shock. Other old ponies started noticing them as well. They never thought they would be seen ever again.
Then again, the old ponies of Ponyville were also met with their parents who were long gone due to the large age difference, so it wasn't all too surprising to them.
"Nice warm welcome again, ain't it?" Pear Butter said to Bright Mac once they had been recognized.
"It sure is, Buttercup." And he agreed.
Eventually, they had reached the spot. The spot where they had performed their marriage. And waiting there for them were Mayor Mare, Mrs Cake and Burnt Oak. Tapu Fini had cleared the way for them to make it easy for travelling.
"I thought you were pulling my leg. It really is them!" Burnt Oak said to Mrs Cake with a shocked expression upon seeing Bright Mac and Pear Butter.
"I was surprised as you are right now!" Mrs Cake pointed at him.
"Hey, old friend." Burnt Oak chuckled at Bright Mac. Mayor Mare couldn't help but bawl, using Stoutland's far as a way to rid her tears.
And right at the centre, on the same spot where they had married, a tree had sprouted. The seeds had worked their magic, causing an Apple and Pear tree to be born. A perfect union in its purest form.
"It's beautiful..." Granny Smith uttered as she and Grand Pear gawked at this glorious sight. The sun even beamed through the fog to spotlight this very view.
"It sure is. Nothing's impossible when you see that." Bright Mac nodded.
"If anything's gonna make it through, it's apples and pears." Pear Butter agreed. "And we know that all of you are gonna make sure that keeps going."
"Y-You know it, mom!" Applejack sniffled, giving a strong nod.
"Fini..."
"Time for us to head off." Bright Mac understood Tapu Fini. That cry meant that this would be the end of the fog and the memories that emerged from within it.
"Y-You're leaving now? Please, Tapu Fini!" Apple Bloom looked up at the Land Spirit Pokemon. "Just a bit longer?!"
"It's okay, Apple Bloom." Pear Butter picked up her daughter. "We're always gonna be watching from up there. On that special place."
"The Ambro...Ambros-" Bright Mac was struggling to find the word for it as he then remembered the full name. "Ambrosial Plane! That's the one!"
"The same place that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's parents hang out at?" Applejack gasped.
"Eeyup," said Pear Butter, confirming it. And from that confirmation, that basically meant that every creature in Equestria and beyond that have passed now reside in that one plane. And Sunlight and Eventide were the only ones who could come and go from it.
The fog was starting to fade away. So were the ponies of the past. Many were already saying goodbye to their last ones. This moment with the fog allowed them all to tie up loose ends and resolve problems that they never had the chance to. Regrets that they had were solved because of this.
"Just so you know, you could've won that till race back then." Burnt Oak said to Bright Mac.
"I know. Oh. Wish we got a picture before we left..." Bright Mac said, thinking about a picture at this time.
"I got it!" Mayor Mare gasped as she came prepared. She already had a bag beside her that she brought her. And out of the bag came a camera. "Thanks to recent times, I'm always prepared. Okay, everypony! Gather up!"
The entire group then started gathering up in one spot. And that spot would be in front of the giant Apple and Pear Tree. No better place to be. The Apple and Pear Family plus their friends had all rushed to the spot, adjusting themselves. Machamp stood in the back since he was the tallest out of everyone. Mayor Mare placed the camera down as Tapu Fini allowed the fog to keep the two ponies here for a little while longer. Just for this picture.
Mayor Mare had then set the camera up as it was ready to take a picture at any moment. She wanted to be a part of it was as well. The mayor and Stoutland quickly rushed the group, finding a perfect spot to stand. Just enough for the picture to capture them all.
"Everypony say Apples and Pears~" Pear Butter whistled.
"Apples and Pears!" They said in union with bright grins. And right on time, the photo had been taken. A perfect frame, on a perfect spot with a perfect pair right.
After all that was said and done with the picture coming out, Bright Mac and Pear Butter were fading away. They gave their final farewells to their family. A last wave and a last kiss. Tapu Fini's work was done here.
The Guardian Deity of Poni Island could leave, returning to its region on its island. But its heartwarming deed will never be forgotten. They all bid farewell to the Land Spirit Pokemon as the fog disappeared. A new memory had been made for them. They weren't sure if they would see Tapu Fini ever again. But if they do or never do, they'll have a Pokemon, they will have a Pokemon to always be grateful for. Grateful for one final time with their parents.
Equestria. Out in the far mountains. Pokemon Hunter J's secret hideout. Afternoon.
Currently still on the move and staying in secrecy was J. She kept using that same cave deep within the mountains as her new hideout. It was obscure enough to be hidden away from many. Over time, she had improved her hideout, gradually getting rid of the cave-like theme to it.
She even still had the new henchmen that she received from the Pokemon Black Market after making a wealthy trade. At this point, J was getting back at full speed. Currently, at this moment, J was taking a look at the news on her phone. And what she found shocked her.
"What's this?!" J gasped as her men went up to her after being alerted.
"What happened, boss?!" One of them asked.
"This is new and interesting..." J looked at what seemed to be an article. And on that article, a certain equine Pokemon could be found on it. Rapidash. J looked at the article, seeing the information it gathered. Usually, this wouldn't be a big deal, however, there was something about this Rapidash that was special to the eyes.
And once she saw what made this Rapidash special, reading it in her mind, she grinned. Having a new goal. "And here I thought Rapidash had lost its value as time went on. Seems like this one is the be-all-end-all of Rapidash. Boys. We're heading for that Rapidash."
"Seems pretty intense. The height on it seems out of this world too."
"All the more reason we need to have it. Get ready." J put her phone away, heading for her equipment. There was a new Pokemon to hunt after all.
"We should be focusing on Equestria mostly. Especially with Ash Ketchum..." But, speaking to her from her mind was the loose Desire of Princess Twilight Sparkle. It was still a part of J, staying there. One part of it was J's Desire to defeat Ash and another, a tiny bit of it, was Twilight's love for Ash.
"We'll deal with that later," J spoke to the Desire, placing her gauntlet on along with her special eye. She also placed the Protean Gauntlet on her hand, ready to continue using her brand-spanking-new gear for hunting Pokemon. "There's something far more important within our sights here."
Kanto Region. Pallet Town. Professor Oak's Lab. Day.
"Now, Twilight. You've been my new apprentice here at my lab for a while. I assume you've learned a lot, haven't you? Especially about the Pokemon around you." Oak spoke to the Human counterpart of Twilight Sparkle. This was another day of Twilight being his newest apprentice.
"I sue have, Professor Oak!" Twilight nodded in agreement while Spike and Hisuian Zorua were playing outside. "And I've got a few Pokemon to start with." She stood next to a table, having some Pokemon that Ash owned by her side. The first was Ash's Snorlax. "Not much to say about Snorlax at all. It's a straightforward Pokemon that only eats, sleeps and repeats. It can even do it while battling." She said, holding out a berry.
"Snorlax..." Snorlax's senses went off. Once it had smelled some food, the Sleeping Pokemon had rolled over, casting a massive shadow on Twilight.
"Hm?" She looked over to see the Normal-Type rolling in her direction. "Oh! Wait!" She cried out but it was too late to do anything. Snorlax landed right on her, forcing Twilight to the floor. And the same time, it managed to get a bite out of the berry either way.
"Lax..."
"You have a fair point with that, Twilight." Oak stood there with his hand on his back despite how Twilight had been crushed. Twilight's hand poked from the side, giving a thumbs-up as she groaned underneath Snorlax
Eventually, she was freed, cleaning herself and focusing on the next of Ash's Pokemon. This time, it was Muk. The details for Muk would be longer than Snorlax's, no doubt.
"Here's Muk. Despite its bad smell that can cause anyone to faint and its fluid being able to kill any plant it touches in a few seconds, it's pretty cute. Isn't it?" She giggled, facing the Sludge Pokemon. "Vile and all."
"Muk! Muk!" Muk greatly enjoyed that compliment. So much so that it had launched itself at Twilight, preparing for a hug.
"Gah!" Twilight screeched as Muk's hug involved its sludge consuming her. Thankfully, since Muk saw Twilight as a friend, the toxic fluid around its body was not lethal. "M-Muk! Don't hug me too much!"
"Well done, Twilight." Oak approved once more as Twilight was struggling to get Muk off of her. "We should have you visit Alola soon for the regional variant."
Twilight's time with Muk ended as her glasses had been readjusted. Her hair was a bit of a mess as she had sighed. The next of Ash's Pokemon was Glalie. The Face Pokemon.
"And uh...here's Glalie." Twilight chuckled, still feeling overwhelmed by Muk. "I just learned something about this Ice-Type recently. Apparently, Glalie and the other Pokemon related to it such as Snorunt and Froslass have sweet spots. If you touch it, you'll immediately trigger its instinct to cause a flash-freeze. For example..."
Twilight tapped the back of Glalie, hoping that it would fire some ice in another direction that was not her. She could do without being attacked by another Pokemon a third time. And she did.
"Glalie!" Glalie let out an excited giggle before shooting a beam of ice from its mouth. But not only did it hit someone else, Professor Oak, but the ice was also so great that it ended up affecting Twilight too. So she had been attacked either way as both Oak and Twilight were frozen.
"G-G-Ghh....J-Just like that..." She shuddered.
"Well done as always, T-T-Twilight!" Oak complimented before falling over in his icy prison. Eventually, once they were freed from their ice prison as a courtesy of Ash's Charizard, Ash himself along with Pikachu had shown up at the lab.
"Hey. How's it going?"
"Pikachu?"
"Hey, Ash...Pikachu..." Twilight sighed. "Just caught us at a less than worse time."
"Looks like it. But it's about to get better. Check this out!" Ash had then held a box in front of Twilight. A cardboard box at a first glance. But once Ash shook it, it was revealed that a plethora of objects was inside it.
"Hoh!" Twilight gasped before approaching the box. This seemed vital to her. Very vital. "Y-You actually got them from me?!"
"Yeah. Straight from Unova, Hoenn and Kalos. I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I just grabbed everything I could. Cost me a lot though." Ash chuckled. "If the right thing you didn't want isn't in there, sorry."
"It's okay. You got a lot for me and that's all that mattered. Thank you so much, Ash!" Twilight took the box off of Ash's hands, excited to open it. She wasted no time at all. Within it, various Pokemon Essentials were within it. Twilight requested these and Ash delivered.
"You've made yourself comfortable with our world perfectly, Twilight," said Oak. "I think you're ready to set off out there to the large Pokemon World. But that's not your style, is it?"
"Well...it's got me interested." Twilight shrugged. "Not sure what I would do aside from gathering as many Pokedex data that I can find. Battling's also not something I'm leaning towards."
"I see, I see. Well, you work on that. By the way, Ash. I wanted to talk to you about that Time Leak out in the forest." Oak turned to Ash.
"Yeah? Did something happen with it?" Ash was all ears. If something was up with that leak, he and Pikachu would go and investigate.
"Seems like it. Al the cameras stored in that forest managed to catch something. A Pokemon came out of the Time Leak and is now in our time. Time Travel without it even knowing." Oak explained, facing his monitor. On the monitor, an image could be displayed. And that was an image was a Rapidash. But something was off about this Rapidash. Ash and Twilight took a closer look at Rapidash appearance. It had the same look but it seemed bigger. And its eyes were glowing red.
"Say...That Rapidash's pretty massive, isn't it?" Ash observed, noticing something different about this Rapidash compared to the rest that he's seen.
"That's not its usual size?" Twilight turned to him. Ash shook his head as that was most definitely not Rapidash's usual size. A Rapidash's height is 5 foot 7. This Rapidash looked to surpass that.
"This large Rapidash is an oddity, no doubt. What's more, is those red glowing eyes it has on it. They aren't temporary at all. Have a look." Professor Oak then showed them a video containing the same images. The video started rolling as it was focused on the Time Leak.
And jumping out of it was the Rapidash. With a mighty jump of its powerful hooves, the Rapidash from another time had arrived in the Human World. And upon landing, it could be seen with those crimson eyes that illuminated. And with the video rolling, it stayed there instead of vanishing.
The Rapidash looked around for a moment, witnessing the area around it. It clearly wasn't aware of it being sent to another point in time. Right as it stood there for a bit, the Fire Horse Pokemon could be seen galloping away with the cameras no longer having it in view.
"Man...Was that a Totem Pokemon, maybe?!" Ash exclaimed, believing it to be a Totem Pokemon. They were certainly Pokemon that were slightly bigger than the rest of their species. It certainly wasn't a Dynamax Pokemon, because those are on another level.
"Not quite. Even Totem Pokemon don't appear that big." Oak shook his head. "This is something different. One more thing to note. From what was reported, this Rapidash could use a move that no other Rapidash could use. Dragon Pulse."
"A Rapidash with Dragon Pulse?! Awesome!" Ash and Pikachu marvelled at that thought with their eyes sparkling. A Dragon Pulse Rapidash was one of the coolest things they could imagine.
"As if it couldn't get any better, hm?" Oak chuckled. "But that Rapidash wasn't the only Pokemon that came through. "Oak then switched to another video on the monitor that took place on a different day.
It focused on the Time Leak as always. And once more, much like the Rapidash, another Pokemon could be seen passing through it. But this footage was harder to make out as the area at that time was pouring snow due to it being December. Thus, the figure that had passed through not only moved at swift speeds but it had also been obscured by the snow.
However, from what they could tell, it had a four-legged figure on it. It was fairly small too before disappearing from the camera footage. "That was a bit hard to spot. Who was that Pokemon?"
"Could be any." Oak shrugged as for now, it was left up to interpretation. "But, we know more about that giant Rapidash. Mostly because it's been making news now. Recently, people have said that they saw a Rapidash of unusual proportions galloping around the Kalos Region. Not only that, but it's far more violent than they expected."
"How violent?" Ash and Twilight asked.
"Usually, Rapidash are kind and peaceful Pokemon. But this Rapidash is far more aggressive than the rest of its species. Reports say that it'll attack if it spots just one person. That's a terrifying thought."
"Oh! Maybe it's the red eyes?!" Twilight gasped, thinking of the red eyes that Rapidash had. "That could have something to do with it since no other Rapidash has that."
"Well...there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Oak smiled, raising his finger.
"Yeah. We go and check it out!" Ash was already ahead of Oak. This was something he wanted to explore as well. And hopefully, solve this Rapidash issue that had suddenly emerged. "Are you up for it, Twilight?"
"Hm. Twilight still isn't ready. Remember, Ash?" said Oak. "Plus, going from Kanto to Kalos is a massive leap. Especially since Unova's-"
"It's fine, Professor Oak. I'll go." But surprisingly, Twilight who had interrupted decided to go along with it. Oak blinked for a moment from that response.
"Are you sure? Just a moment-"
"I know. But, it's not like I'm going to stay away from the rest of the Pokemon World forever. Besides, I've got two amazing friends here who helped open my world." She looked at Ash and Pikachu. "I feel safe around them too. So I definitely want to try and get out there. It'll be fun too."
"That's the spirit, Twilight." Ash liked what he was hearing. Twilight was on board for this. Zorua and Spike quickly ran back inside of the lab, hopping into Twilight's bag.
"Please don't let it be someplace with a lot of people and Pokemon..." Zorua whimpered, preferring a less populated area due to being afraid of almost everyone.
"Have no fear, Zorua. The recent sighting of this large Rapidash is Mt. Molteau." Oak reassured Zorua that she wouldn't have to worry about heavily populated areas.
"Mt Molteau? Hey, that's where Moltres sometimes rests." Ash remembered Mt Molteau. It was the same spot he and his Pokemon, mainly Talonflame when it was a Fletchinder, battled against Moltres. That's a place that Rapidash would totally go to, now that I think about it. Let's go!"
"Pikachu!"
Kalos Region. Mt Molteau.
Located in between Dendemille Town and Anistar City was Mt Molteau. A mountainside with an active volcano and one of the resting places that Moltres dons.
They had taken a plane here with Ash paying the fee for it. Twilight got to see a bit of Kalos from above and what this grand region had to offer. But, that would come later. There was a Rapidash that they were going to search and learn more about. It certainly wasn't a Totem Pokemon or Dynamax Pokemon. But the size, odd glowing and the ability to learn a move that no other Rapidash could access eyes are something to marvel at.
"One day, you have got to show me Anistar City! It looked so amazing!" Twilight gushed as they had arrived at the start of the mountain already.
"Sure will. Okay." Ash tightened his gloves, taking a deep breath. "It's a pretty big place. But that Rapidash is bigger than other Pokemon. "Super big. Plus those flames are bright. That's something we can work with."
"And those glowing red eyes." Twilight held a picture of Rapidash out that was given to her by Professor Oak. "What do you think that other Pokemon that came out of the Time Leak was?"
"Hmmm..." He pondered along with his partner, having the same facial expression. "Could be any small Pokemon, honestly. Maybe someday, we'll figure that out together."
"You're right. And it's always fun doing it together. Especially with you. Oh!" Twilight gasped before placing her bag down. "I think we can use some of the new items that I got to better find that Rapidash. She then started digging in her bag while Zorua and Spike had hopped out to give Twilight arm space.
Twilight ended up pulling two items out. A Fluffy Tail and some Sweet Scent bottles. Each were focused on attracting Pokemon near or far. "Do you think this might work, Ash? I mean, it is kinda dangerous since that Rapidash is pretty aggressive. But who could resist this?" She then shook the Fluffy Tail as it made a squeaky noise when shook.
Ash and the others giggled at the sound that it made. The sound was also extremely loud, echoing throughout the mountain. It made sense as to why this item was made to attract Wild Pokemon. Twilight kept shaking it as it was amusing to them all.
But as they were all having a good time walking across the mountain, something nearby Pikachu was the first to feel this. His nose tingled along with his ears poking about. "Pika?" With his head aimed upwards to the azure skies, the Mouse Pokemon had an ominous feeling. "Pikachu..."
"Oh! Look at this!" Twilight gasped as she spotted a marvellous sight in front of her. Ash and the rest would soon notice this. Right on the ground, hoofsteps could be found. But they weren't just average hoofsteps. "Flaming Hoofsteps!" These hoofsteps were on fire. Only one Pokemon was capable of that.
There was a trail of hoofstep that could be seen ahead, giving Ash and Twilight a good idea on how to find Rapidash. Following that trail of flaming hoofsteps. And they did just that, making sure to keep in line with the pathway that Rapidash had supposedly gone on.
The hoofsteps seemed to lead upwards on the hill of Mt Molteau. Sort of in a spiralling motion as well. Seemingly, this could lead to a spot closer to the volcano. It wouldn't be too farfetched to believe that Rapidash would be near the volcano. Or perhaps even within it.
And the further they went, the hotter the flames around the flaming hoofsteps burned. Their heat was so aggressive that it was even warming the area. Other Pokemon would usually be here. Mainly Butterfree and Crustle with the only other species being the single Moltres that sometimes come over here. But, they were nowhere to be found. This mountain was seemingly exempt from life.
Near the active volcano.
The volcano that makes Mt Molteau. Around and within it, the flames burned with a merciless heat and cruel disposition. Lava could be seen flowing all around this volcano. Very few can reside in it. Thankfully, that was where Fire-Type Pokemon excelled.
And one of which was the Pokemon of the hour. Taking one step and leaving a hoofprint of fire was the Rapidash from another timeline. Standing larger than any other Rapidash out there with red glowing eyes, the Fire Horse Pokemon put on a cautious stance. That was because it could feel someone approaching here.
"Rapidash...!"
And it was right to stay alert. Because that someone was one of the most dangerous people out there, joining by henchmen. Pokemon Hunter J.
"There you are. Rapidash." J spoke, standing before the Fire Horse Pokemon. "You look to be 8 feet tall at best now that we have a closer look at you."
"Dash...!" Rapidash growled at J and her men with its mane bursting with aggravation.
"Those red eyes of yours...I've read a bit into Sinnoh's history once to know which Pokemon I could grab. And I remember one book mentioning Pokemon with red glowing eyes that were larger than their usual species. You seem to be one of them. I didn't think they would still be around. But look at what we have here."
"RAPIDASH!" The Fire Horse Pokemon roared, causing a shockwave so powerful from its roaring that it had knocked some of J's men back. The volcano also rumbled as well. J's men backed up once they saw lava bursting out. It was as if Rapidash was also commanding the lava to spurt out at times.
"I shouldn't waste time chatting then!" J held out a Poke Ball, throwing it. "Salamence!"
"Salamence!"
"Boss!" Just then, J got a call on her earpiece. "We have a problem. We think that Ash Ketchum might be here..."
"Him again?! Such rotten timing...The rest of you go and handle that brat!" J commended. "I'll take of Rapidash! Salamence, use Dragon Pulse!"
"Sala...!" The Dragon Pokemon went first as J's men ran off to deal with Ash. And as soon as they started moving, Rapidash, in response, had also used Dragon Pulse. A move that the Rapidash species cannot learn as two dragon-shaped shockwaves had burst forward, clashing.
Upon them clashing, the volcano trembled with a powerful pressure coming through. J's men had been knocked over by this collision with parts of the volcano being destroyed. Rocks fell over because of their impact.
"So you do have Dragon Pulse!" J smirked as the dust between the Dragon Pulse clash had ended. "The rumours of you being a special Rapidash were right! This'll make the catch all the more worth it! Salamence, use Earthquake!"
"Mence!" Salamence roared before descending on the ground with a heavy descent. It had summoned the Infinity Energy of Ground, causing the ground to tremble with cracks forming. And out of those cracks, golden shockwaves were flying out.
"Rapidash!" But Rapidash had a response to that as well. The Fire Horse Pokemon used its powerful legs to jump into the air. Due to this airtime it had gained, it had promptly evaded the incoming shockwaves of Earthquake. After doing so, Rapidash had moved in with Iron Tail. Its flaming tail had transformed into iron, extending for a bit as a swift tail swing had been delivered.
"S-Sal!" Salamence had been slapped in the face by this Iron Tail, staggering for a bit. Rapidash delivered a second tail swing that had pushed Salamence back. "M-Mence!"
"Rapi...!" Rapidash was ready to continue its attack by charging up a Dragon Pulse. However, it quickly ceased its charge-up the moment it sensed something coming its way. That was J's Protean Gauntlet. By using the Water option, J had sprayed a stream of water towards Rapidash.
The Fire-Type just barely managed to evade it by galloping back. The water stream hit the walls with J moving her arm to continue the movement of it. This forced Rapidash to start galloping away from this stream to avoid any super-effective damage and the safety of its flames.
"And you have amazing swift instincts too!" J smirked while moving her gauntlet to chase down Rapidash. "I'm starting to think I shouldn't sell you! Maybe I can keep you as my own! I need a Pokemon of your power on my team! Salamence, Hyper Beam!"
"Sala!" Salamence ascended as the goal was to overwhelm Rapidash and limit its chances of escaping. It was already focused on the stream of water. Now it would have to deal with Salamence who was still a threat. The Dragon Pokemon pulled its head back before unleashing a raging beam of energy.
The beam had struck the ground near Rapidash, birthing an explosion. This ferocious explosion knocked Rapidash's galloping off-balance, allowing for J to strike.
"There!" J found an opening, aiming her gauntlet with precision. The Fire Horse Pokemon had been struck by the stream of water. It had carried Rapidash away, slamming the Fire-Type against the walls of the volcano. It certainly felt that.
J then switched the function of the Protean Gauntlet, going for the Rock-Type option. Out of the gauntlet, mini-rocks started flying out. But those rocks soon expanded, becoming larger than what they were originally. These large rocks had crashed onto Rapidash, mainly its hooves. The rocks had been dented within the wall, making sure to stick Rapidash there.
"R-Rapidash...!" But despite the weaknesses that it had, Rapidash did not go down so easily. It had used Iron Tail, swinging its elongated tail and smashing them onto the rocks. Just like that, it had managed to free one of its hoves. Rapidash had also used its unique Dragon Pulse, blowing away the rocks in front of it.
J gasped as just like that, Rapidash had freed itself without much issue. Even when being hit by Rock and Water, it could still move regardless. Its eyes flared with greater intensity as it now had full aggravation and hostility towards J.
"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?"
Meanwhile, the rumbling of the battle between J and Rapidash eventually echoed throughout the rest of the mountains. It was only a matter of time until Ash and Twilight felt it.
"W-What was that?!" Twilight gasped.
"That must be Rapidash!" Ash replied, looking at the volcano in the far distance. "It could be in a Pokemon Battle right now, maybe!"
"Pika? Pikapi! Pika!" Pikachu noticed something else. Pointing ahead, he spotted an incoming group in the distance. Ash and Twilight soon turned there to see this approaching group. J's men.
"Who are they?" Twilight wondered.
"If they're here...then Pokemon Hunter J's here too!" Ash put the pieces together. It also correlated with the rumbling within the volcano. "Twilight! Stay close to me!" Ash grabbed Twilight by the shoulders.
"Pokemon Hunters are bad news, Twilight. They hunt for Pokemon and sell them on the Black Market. If they find out about your Zorua, they could take her away."
"Oh!" Now Twilight understood the severity of this situation. Zorua quickly hid inside Twilight's bag immediately. Now there was one other approach. Hiding. There were quite a handful of J's men, so taking a different approach was needed.
"This way!" Ash brought Twilight along, already finding someplace to hide. Thankfully, trees were nearby Mt. Molteau. An acre of them too along with some bushes. They would use those for cover as J's men approached. Twilight zipped the bag that Zorua hid in, making sure that they aren't aware of her in any capacity.
J's men started searching for Ash and Pikachu. Mainly those two as they were major threats. But they didn't acknowledge Twilight's existence at all. It was just Ash and Pikachu. They had their Pokemon out to survey the area. Mainly Metang, Skarmory and Golbat.
"Pika...!" Pikachu's red sacs flared as he was waiting to strike all of them at any time.
"Ash...What do we do?" Twilight asked, shaking.
"J's obviously here for that Rapidash. It was all over the news so she had to know too. She's probably already at Rapidash with all that rumbling going on. We're shooting for that location." He pointed at the volcano in the distance.
"You're going straight there? Right at the volcano? I know you're used to dangerous things but, this is a bit much, don't you think? You're worrying me, Ash."
"Yeah. I worry a lot of friends, don't I?" Ash grinned. "But no need to worry. I can't stand around without helping someone. And I wanna keep everyone safe too." He placed his hand on Twilight's shoulders once more. "Old or new friends out there. Like you, Spike and Zorua. So wait right here. I'm gonna get to Rapidash. Stay out of sight or head to Dendimille Town It's the closest."
"Not this time." Twilight then held Ash's hands. "I want to help you, Ash. I was scared before. Hiding from Ghetsis and that whole portal incident..But thanks to you, I feel brave enough to do something else. Maybe not battling but something more. So won't you believe me in me to help you in this?"
"Yeah. I believe in you." Just like that, Ash could see Twilight's determination. "You're showing the signs of a great Pokemon Trainer right there."
"Hehe. Thanks." Twilight blushed from that compliment, gaining rosy cheeks.
"W-We're not battling, are?" Zorua stammered, poking her head out of the bag by unzipping it herself.
"Not at all, Zorua. We'll have our own approach. Ash and Pikachu can handle the battling." She looked back at her partner. "You'll be safe and out of sight still."
"Okay!" Ash stood up, ready to head out there to take action. "We know what we're each doing. Rapidash. Wait for us."
"Pikachu!"
All of this focus on one special Rapidash. A unique and larger Rapidash. Once again, Ash and J had crossed paths in a similar location concerning Pokemon that was special to the rest. But even with these opposing odds, the Rapidash they were focused on had high aggression that said otherwise to anyone. Only one outcome can be made out of this as the journey continues.
A Rapidash of a unique quality had been found. Larger than an average Rapidash in every way, possessing moves that the Rapidash species can never learn and having crimson red eyes.
Currently found in Mt Molteau, one of the resting spots for the Legendary Moltres, Pokemon Hunter J and her men have come to capture this special Rapidash. However, unlike usual instances where J would capture and sell a Pokemon, this Rapidash was powerful and special enough for J to change her mind. She wanted it on her team.
And here to investigate plus learn about this unique Rapidash were Ash and Pikachu. Only for them to stumble upon J and her men aiming for Hunter J as well.
Ash was currently heading for J before she could get the unique Rapidash while Twilight would do something else to help. All the while, being cautious with J's men around.
"Okay. Let's see what we can work with here." Twilight would use her bag and the many objects that Ash had brought her this morning. She wasn't that focused on Pokemon Battling. It didn't help that Zorua was far too shy and timid to battle. Rather, Twilight chose a more practical approach.
Spike and Zorua assisted in gathering items out of the bag for Twilight. They had to find at least something that would work. And thankfully, there was a lot to chose from.
"We have..a Yellow Flute, a Zoom Lens, a Heat Rock, a few sprays and some berries in this plastic box." Twilight assessed some of the items she had gathered. A majority of these were mainly tailored towards Pokemon. "Plus some more berries on the trees over there."
"I don't think those are gonna do anything." Spike shook his head. "Let's try finding something else."
"No, we can work with this. And build something with all of them too." Twilight said otherwise. This might be ludicrous, but I'm used to this by now." With a bright grin, her mind had already come up with a plan. Her expertise in inventions would come into play.
As for Ash, he moved within the acre of trees, making sure to keep hidden while heading for the volcano. Constant tremors could be felt. Most likely from Salamence's Earthquake or another attack from Rapidash.
Many Metang and Skarmory were moving across the area, mainly in the air, searching for Ash and Pikachu. But so far, they weren't able to find them as of yet.
"Nothing yet." One of the grunts said. "Are you sure he's here?"
"He has to be. I've got another way of dragging him out. Metang, use Flash Cannon!" One grunt had an idea of dragging Ash out. And that was by throwing Pokemon moves everywhere.
"Flash Cannon!" The others did the same. Their Metang and Skarmory started unleashing Flash Cannon, aiming at the landscape of Mt Molteau. Pure silver energy was being used, causing immediate destruction to anything within its sight. The cliffs, walls and even nearby trees were taken down with the Skarmory and Metang firing in every direction.
But even with this raining destruction, Ash and Pikachu were still out of sight. They used the edge and the shadows of the mountain to their advantage. However, even they knew that this destruction would mean that they would be revealed soon.
"This way, Pikachu." Ash pointed ahead with Pikachu holding tightly onto his shoulder. "Wish we could use Dragonite to fly there, but we can't risk being seen."
"Pikachu."
"Just gotta get there before J captures Rapidash." Ash started speedwalking through the acres as other trees nearby were being obliterated by the beams of light. They were still a bit far from the volcano at this rate. Moving at this pace was certainly slowing things down a tad.
Speaking of the volcano, J and her Salamence were still against this unique Rapidash. And as their battle continued, the volcano was starting to act up some more. All of this conflict was starting to trigger it.
That was an extra difficult that would soon pile onto J. It was made even harder considering that J wanted to capture Rapidash and add it to its team instead of selling it. Which meant that her gauntlet wouldn't be utilized in this instance for the first time. But her gauntlet could.
"Salamence hit those rocks in Rapidash's direction!" She ordered whilst on Salamence's back.
"Sala!" Salamence swung its tail, hitting the large rocks made from this ongoing. J chimed in by using her gauntlet to shoot out rocks as well that were small at first but expanded later.
"Rapi...Dash!" But, with utter ease, Rapidash used its back hooves to easily shatter the rocks, overpowering its weaknesses once more. The kicking strength of its hooves crumbled the rocks to become nothing but pebbles. J was taken aback by this. But this was a larger reason to have this Rapidash on her team.
"Incredible...How about two for one then?!" J then used a double function of the gauntlet. Using both Water and Flying. Out of it, a stream of water was sent along with a powerful headwind.
"Dash!" Rapidash neighed before having its movements suddenly slow down with this strong wind pressure arriving around it. It promptly held Rapidash back, causing some of the rubble to be blown in its direction. "Rapidash?!" Rapidash gasped as it had been pelted by pebbles. Not only that, but the water stream added to this assault.
Rapidash had been hit by all of them consecutively, leaving the Fire Horse Pokemon staggered and winded. That allowed J to seize this vulnerable opportunity. "Now! Hyper Beam!"
"Sala...!"
"Ra!" However, showing how overwhelmingly powerful it was, Rapidash recovered from that assault as if it was nothing. Its eyes had flashed before opening its mouth. Right as Salamence had unleashed Hyper Beam, Rapidash had used Fire Blast.
"What?!" J gasped, flabbergasted at this quick recovery. At this point, Rapidash was breaking all expectations each passing second. Fire Blast and Hyper Beam had met, resulting in an immediate outburst of epic proportions. Releasing a paroxysm of Fire and Normal Infinity Energy that soon formed a circular shape for its explosion, the area around the volcano had been slightly altered with both Rapidash and Salamence being pushed away.
This massive explosion was large enough to be seen from afar. By Ash, the grunts and Twilight. Some of them stopped what they were doing to witness this outburst. But Ash and Pikachu continued.
The explosion subsided with even more rubble being seen. And once the dust settled, only one stood before it all. And that was the unique Rapidash. It stood gracefully amongst the destruction that had been made, finally showing signs of damage with tatters and scratches around its body.
But all of that didn't matter was the ones who were down were J and Salamence. They groaned as J was on top of her Salamence with her clothes dirty. However, despite them being downed, J wasn't ready to call it quits.
"Ugh..." She held her head with Salamence barely being able to stand. She then returned Salamence to its Poke Ball before getting on one knee. "Curse you, Rapidash!" She bellowed. "You're something else, aren't you? But you're already worn out from that struggle. One more Pokemon can do the trick."
J was already prepared for her next Pokemon. However, as soon as Rapidash saw this, the Fire Horse Pokemon decided to put an end to this. It couldn't handle another fierce battle. So, with just a gaze into J's eyes, it had used Hypnosis. A light blue glow came from its eyes, meeting with J's eyes.
"Gh!" J gasped, freezing in place as got on her second knee. "H-Hypnosis...?!" J couldn't reach her Poke Ball at all. She was already feeling drowsy. She then looked at her Protean Gauntlet, thinking of a function to free her from this trance. But it was too late.
With full control, Rapidash had put J in a sleep state. The Pokemon Hunter had dropped to the ground, asleep. Now it was truly over as the volcano was roaring. Rapidash then decided to leave the area immediately. All while currently damaged.
Back below, Ash and Pikachu rushed to the scene once witnessing this explosion. However, a few of J's men also approached it once they spotted it as well. Ash saw rubble falling from above, rolling down the hills. Fairly large rubble too as a result of the explosion.
Ash and Pikachu stepped aside once some of the rubble came tumbling down. The rubble had then broken the trees, causing them to topple immediately. The large rubble would keep rolling until it came to a halt. And due to these broken trees, one of J's men managed to spot Ash and Pikachu.
"There you are!" He cried out. The few of them then gathered once spotting the Alola Champion and the Mouse Pokemon.
"Guess we're never gonna get past anything even when quiet, huh, buddy?" Ash said with a grin forming on his face. "But I've got a few of you here. You're just the right amount for Pikachu and me to beat you!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder, facing the few grunts and their Pokemon. But he wouldn't be alone. Ash held out a Poke Ball, sending one of his Pokemon in.
"Sirfetch'd, I choose you!"
"Sirfetch'd!"
"Metang, use Zen Headbutt!"
"Skarmory, Air Slash!"
"Metang!" The Metang advanced, diving towards their targets with mental energy being projected right in front of them. As for the few Skarmory, they sent blades of air that sliced the skies.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Sirfetch'd, use Night Slash!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu built up some energy within his body, gathering 100,000 votes perfectly. Sirfetch'd joined him by first putting his shield in front of him. The shield had blocked the blades of air promptly as both Pikachu and Sirfecth'd unleashed their attacks in unison. "Chuuu!"
"Sir!"
A bolt of lightning and dark waves went sent, flying beside each other. The darkness of Night Slash overpowered the mental energy that the Metang had, bombarding them with super-effective hits while Thunderbolt had consumed Air Slash before striking all of the Skarmory in the sky. Each had taken super-effective blows with some of them even fainting as J's henchmen had gasped.
"Now, send them flying with Brutal Swing!"
"Sir...!" Sirfecth'd then rushed in with a glowing leek. J's henchmen closed their eyes as they thought that Sirfetch'd would hit them. But instead, it was something else. Once the opposing Pokemon started falling after fainting, Sirfetch'd swung his mighty leek, hitting them each. With excellent precision, he launched them into the grunts.
The grunts had been hit by their Pokemon and it was made worse considering that Metang and Skarmory were Steel-Type, thus, increasing the impact Once hit, they had been knocked back, crashing into the rest of their Pokemon as well.
A successful defeat as they opposing Pokemon and their trainers had been sent elsewhere thanks to Sirfetch'd's mighty leek giving them a good launch.
"That's that. Thanks, Sirfect'd. Return, for now." Ash promptly returned Sirfetch'd as he and Pikachu continued on their way, hoping for no more interruptions. "I hope Twilight, Spike and Zorua are doing okay down there."
Back at the lower part of the mountain, the other grunts had found their way here. A few of them were still searching for Ash, only to find no one, as usual. And yet, they still weren't thinking about Twilight. Mainly because a majority, if not all of them, were not aware of her at all.
And that worked in Twilight's favour.
As they were searching, Twilight's new invention had been finished. With the union of the items she grabbed from her bag, she managed to form a precarious invention that only she could ever make with the power of science.
It was built similarly to a telescope stand with the Zoom Lens being used as a way to view everything from near and far. And right underneath it, some holes had been made along with tubes added. These tubes were made possible by the Yellow Flute that Twilight also had.
And to top it all off, this invention was being powered by the Heat Rock. The heat of it was giving the invention some power to function. At least for the time being. Twilight took the helm of this strange machine as she held onto a handle that she had also made.
"I see them..." Twilight looked through the Zoom Lens, spotting the grunts from afar while sticking her tongue out.
"Is this gonna work? It looks...weird." Zorua wasn't too sure about this at all. She had never seen anything like it.
"Trust me. Twilight knows how to make weird work." But Spike reassured the Spiteful Fox Pokemon. He should know. Being her pet dog allowed him to see all of Twilight's inventions at work.
"Thanks, Spike. Aha!" Twilight found her first targets. She spun on the handle as the machine had then fired something out of it. And that something was the berries that she also had. Particularly, the more effective berries such as Cheri, Tamato and Persim Berries. Some of the spiciest berries out there.
They came flying out, targeting the grunts immediately. "Hm?" The first grunt had noticed this berry coming his way, only to be too slow to do anything as a Tamato Berry struck his eyes. "H-H-HO-HOT!" And due to the spiciness plus the power of the Heat Rock, this started burning his eyes and face. He ran around screaming, trying to negate the pain. But there was no nearby lake or river for that.
Soon, everyone else received the same treatment, along with their Pokemon. It was raining spicy berries as Twilight's handle spinning increased with high velocity. She was getting into this.
Each of the henchmen and their Pokemon were bombarded with unexpected heat. It didn't help that an active volcano was here. And as for the Pokemon, the heat affected them greatly thanks to their Steel-Typing and the fact that they could most definitely feel the spiciness of the berries. They were not supposed to be this hot.
All of them had scattered as the shadows of the berries started casting over them. There was a surprising amount. But then again, Twilight's bag was big enough to carry a lot and the berries were small enough to fit in.
"I see you!" Twilight continued her onslaught, spinning her invention some more while also moving it. She made sure not to miss her mark at all. "Spike, Zorua, more berries!"
"Got it!" Spike and Zorua then ran to the trees, gathering more spicy berries for Twilight to use. They filled the invention with these berries, causing more of them to fly out. And since this was a hot area, the berries were hot too.
"Where is this coming from?!" One of the grunts cried out as he was on the ground, being mercilessly attacked by spicy berries. He and many of the other grunts had red eyes and could barely see.
"Ugh! W-Wait! Right there!" One grunt managed to spot the direction of the berries and where they were coming from. But it was a bit hard to see. However, not all of them had been hit yet or even gotten a worse treatment since the berries hit them on other parts.
"Whoever's doing this must think they're some genius! Metang, Psychic!"
"Metang!" Some of the Metang had used Psychic, levitating in the air and performing a telekinetic hold onto the rest of the incoming berries. The bombardment of spicy berries had been promptly stopped.
"Huh?" Even Twilight wondered what had just happened. She used her Zoom Lens for a closer look, seeing that the Metang had caught the berries with a Psychic-Type move. "That's not good. Time for the next option then." She then went to the other side of the invention, using the flute next.
Not just the flute, but the Fluffy Tail too. The tail was hooked onto the flute for one purpose. She decided to play a tune on the flute, causing it to echo a specific melody. A melody that only Twilight could play. And with this melody that had some ringing within it thanks to the Fluffy Tail, it a soothing feel to it.
Soothing enough to make the Metang and Skarmory tired. They started yawning at this calming melody that fit well with the sunny skies. Something that was so calm that anyone could study to. Only the Pokemon were affected as they started descending from the air, closing their eyes.
"Hey! What are you doing?! Wake up!" A grunt cried out as the others did the same. But their Pokemon were already deeply asleep at this point.
"Ooh...That's so sweet..." Zorua uttered, feeling tired as well. But Spike had placed a spicy berry in her mouth, causing her to wake up from the heat. "I-I'm up!"
"That's a melody my mom used to lay me when I was young," said Twilight. "It helped to put me to sleep all the time. Works like a charm even today."
"There she is!" However, some of the grunts had managed to find her once they followed the trail of spicy destruction made by Twilight's invention. Twilight gasped as Zorua quickly hid back in Twilight's bag, keeping herself hidden. Twilight rotated her invention to face the rest of them.
There was one other option left besides the berries. The sprays. Once the grunts approached, aiming to cease Twilight's actions with that wacky invention, Twilight changed the function, spinning the handle once more. Within it, the sprays that she had were also used as ammunition. Coupled with the heat rock, they were hot as well.
The grunts that had approached with their Pokemon had been blasted by this spray, getting it in their ears. This was the equivalent of getting pepper-sprayed. Arguably worse than that.
She cranked it up, causing the spray to intensify, pushing the grunts and their Pokemon back. They soon received the same hot treatment as their fellow grunts, screaming with their faces heating up. "That stings! Gah!"
Right after she had sprayed them, Twilight then switched back to the berries, shooting them at rapid speeds. The grunts were still overwhelmed by the spray as the berries only added to it, constantly bombarding and even pushing them back due to the closer range and insane speeds that they were coming out at. Many of them fell over, however, Twilight's berry supply was starting to run low at this rate.
"Enough of this! Skarmory, Aerial Ace!"
"Skarmory!" A few of the Skarmory swooped in, leaving a white trail of energy as they flew. Twilight aimed her Zoom Lens at them, spotting the approaching Armor Bird Pokemon. Unfortunately, Twilight wasn't fast enough to deal with this considering that the Skarmory were moving at swift speeds.
"!" She gasped, quickly moving away from her invention. The Skarmory had each dove into the wacky invention, crashing into it and causing it to fall over. One of them even hit the ground which caused Twilight to also fall over. "Ugh!"
Just like that, her invention had been taken out. It was efficient while it lasted, but its run came to an end with ever-increasing numbers. Once it had been destroyed, J's men had approached Twilight, causing her to back away while on the ground. An expression of terror could be seen on her.
"You little...Got us all overwhelmed back there." One grunt wiped his jacket off of the berry splatter. "I don't know how you did it, but you won't do it again."
"Not with that weird machine she can now that it's gone." Another grinned, ready to dish out some payback for Twilight as many of them had a devious grin on their faces. Their Pokemon also approached Twilight with hovering, not too happy about the berry rain from before.
Twilight looked around for something or else these Pokemon and their grunts would have their vengeful way with her. Unfortunately, her bag wasn't close enough to run and grab. However, she had those that would defend her. Specifically, Spike, who showed great aggression towards them.
Spike started barking at them, trying to intimidate the grunts and Pokemon. Unfortunately, his barking was far too cute to be intimidated by. No one was phased. "What kind of Pokemon is that?" They even thought he resembled a Pokemon. "Think we should catch it?"
Spike then lunged forward, aiming to bite one of the Metang. However, the Steel-Psychic-Type had used Psychic, grabbing the puppy midair. Spike blinked as he was then launched away by a Psychic push. "Spike!" Twilight cried out as Spike had landed around the bushes near the acre of trees.
Zorua was appalled by what she had seen. Her friends were being attacked. One of which had been launched away, almost severely hurt. And very soon, Twilight would be next, possibly receiving the worst of it. Zorua looked onwards, seeing the grunts and Pokemon with their menacing glares and ferocious smirks and grins.
The Spiteful Fox Pokemon was shaking. Completely fear-stricken due to her timidness. Her legs were trying to move but they couldn't at the same time. "Twilight..." She said whilst looking through the holes within the bag. Even though she was terrified, being reminded of her past, she thought mostly about Twilight's safety.
"Leave her alone!" Jumping out of the bag was Hisuian Zorua. She accumulated enough force in it to tear the bag, causing other items to fall out of it. The grunts and Pokemon ceased once another voice came through. Their eyes were averted to a Pokemon that they had both seen and had never seen before. A different kind of Zorua.
Zorua landed in front of Twilight, having two emotions run through. The emotion of fear from these opposing threats and the emotion of courage and loyalty to her trainer. However, now that she had revealed herself, the grunts were now focused on catching her as well.
"Look at that Zorua! It must be a regional one!"
"Now that's a catch!"
"Zorua, get back inside!" Twilight screeched.
"No...I won't!" The Spiteful Fox Pokemon refused to go back into the bag. It was pointless at this point anyway. But more than that, once she shouted, Zorua had absentmindedly used one of her moves in response to her emotions.
Emerging from her body with a cruel howl and a horrifying visage a devastatingly violent dark purple aura. The atmosphere changed as the grunts were frozen in place along with the Metang and Skarmory. Horrified by what they were seeing, Zorua suddenly unleashed an overwhelming barrage of shadows with spine-chilling resentment.
They came in the form of claws, mouths, spikes and other horrifying things as they had engulfed all of the grunts and their Pokemon. They started screaming as they felt horrors rush through them. Twilight sat there in awe as Spike's head popped out of the bushes.
Once they had been consumed by these shadows, the grunts and Pokemon suddenly fell. But not without having something around them. Their bodies were shaking as if they had been met with an intensive chill. Needless to say, they ha fainted.
"Oooh..." Zorua's eyes spun as she felt a bit woozy from all of that. But Twilight quickly picked her up as Spike ran over. "Oh boy..."
"Spike, you're okay!" Twilight was at peace with this revelation. "But Zorua...What was that?"
"I...don't know." She groaned. "But I'm tired and hungry now. Can we go home now?"
"Not yet. We might've taken them out, but Ash needs our help still." Twilight shook her head. "But we just can't leave them here freely...We have to do something."
"Maybe there's something over that nearby town. Dendimille, I think?" Spike suggested.
"You're right, Spike! We can call the police and-" Just then, she was quickly cut off by the rubbing within the mountains. "Ash!" Twilight immediately thought about Ash. She held both Spike and Zorua, rushing to the scene.
The police had been forgotten as Twilight was worried about Ash, wanting to see if he was okay. She left her bag in a rush. But then again, the state of it was less than favourable.
Back at the volcano, J had just woken up after the Hypnosis. She grumbled, sitting up and pushing some of the rubble away from her. Rapidash was already long gone from here.
The Pokemon Hunter groaned in frustration. "Curse that Rapidash...It couldn't have gotten far. It still keeps that hoofsteps of fire. It's also weakened, giving me a chance to have an easier capture. That brat better not get to Rapidash before I do!"
Appearing right on time with J's roar was a burst of lava from the volcano. Once she saw this, J quickly ran out before she could get up in the volcano. It was safe to say that the volcano would soon let out an all-encompassing explosion of lava soon.
She left the scene as soon as she could, only to bump into the one person she hates more than anything. She came to a screeching halt with a facial expression of scorn and hatred. "You...!"
"J!" Ash and Pikachu were here.
"Pika!"
"Are you stalking me or something?" J scoffed. "The chances of you showing up here and almost every other time is getting absurd at this point."
The lava from the volcano was getting worse. It wasn't slowing down for anyone. Ash and J looked at the rising lava and the rumbling was now repeating every second instead of minutes at this point. The battle had made everything worse for the volcano.
"Out of the way!" J wasn't ready to risk everything here by facing off against Ash. Instead, she had shoved Ash aside, rushing off. She couldn't use Salamence at the moment due to it fainting from the previous battle. Ash had the same idea as J. Leaving the area before the lava melts him and Pikachu. Ash and Pikachu went in a separate direction from J. They were aiming to find Twilight, Spike and Zorua to warn them while J was still set on finding Rapidash, just away from the lava.
Speaking of Rapidash, its current whereabouts were easy to trace for J. She followed its flaming hoofsteps. The ones that had been recently made instead of the ones that were already here.
"You're within my sights soon, Rapidash!" J exclaimed. With the thunderous burst of lava rising, beginning to flow once it touched the ground. Now some of the lava was on the move.
Meanwhile, Twilight was also following the hoofsteps, knowing that Ash did the same, focusing on the older ones. She had yet to see the newer ones. A tremor came through, causing her to fall over while still holding onto her friends. Twilight hurt her knee from this fall. "Ow!"
She stopped for a moment once she harmed her knee. She quickly ran to a nearby tree to try and relax the pain. Spike and Zorua jumped out of her grasp as they felt as if they were slowing Twilight down. "Twilight! Are you okay?!" They both asked.
"Wish I brought the bag along now..." Twilight took a deep breath., holding her knee. "Might've had a bandaid or something for this."
"I'm sorry! It was my fault! I broke the bag and-and-and-" Zorua stammered, placing the blame on her.
"It's okay, Zorua. You protected me and that's all that mattered." Twilight patted the Normal-Ghost-Type on the head. "Don't cry, please."
"Okay..."
"I have to do something." Twilight sighed, using her brain to try and come up with something else. She was great at thinking on the spot. She wouldn't let injures get to her either.
But in the midst of brainstorming, hoofsteps could be heard clopping in this direction. Appearing around this acre of trees was someone else. Right when Twilight took a breath and was injured. Zorua whimpered, hiding behind Spike while Spike just growled at whoever was approaching.
Twilight looked over, witnessing two crimson glints in the shadows of the sun. And with that glint, flames could also be seen. Who else would have this but the Rapidash that they were all focused on?
Rapidash had approached, spotting Twilight's group. Naturally, considering its disposition and prior events today, upon seeing the group, immediate hostility was made. And considering how his intimidation from before was ineffective, Spike still tried to scare Rapidash off.
"R-Rapidash..." Twilight gasped. Twilight could finally see the full size of Rapidash at this closer angle. Standing at 11'2 with its maximum height at a better view, this Rapidash was massive.
"Rapidash...!" Rapidash unleashed an intimidating neigh that was greater than Spike's growl. Even when Spike started barking, it was of no use.
Rapidash looked at Spike, emanating flames from its mouth. At any moment, a burst of flames in the form of a Fire Blast could be formed. However, Rapidash wasn't the only one here. Following those flaming hoofsteps was the Pokemon Hunter.
"There you are!" J cried out, startling Rapidash. All attention was drawn to her as she already had her Protean Gauntlet out, cleaving the trees with the Steel-Type option. J was a bit out of breath from all that running, but she wanted to make sure all of this hard work was worth it.
J soon discovered Twilight, Spike and that special Zorua. J lowered her gauntlet for a bit, having an agape mouth, awestruck at this. This has been a surprising day for her. The Desire within her had also noticed Twilight's appearance. However, it could tell that it wasn't the Twilight Sparkle from Equestria.
"That Zorua..." J gasped. "That's a Hisuian Zorua. Surprising that you would be the one to own a Pokemon as rare as this. Especially one that is extinct."
"W-Who are you?" Twilight stood up, still having an injured knee. "Are you that Pokemon Hunter that Ash mentioned...?"
"Right I am. But in this case, I'm not here to sell that Rapidash. I need something that powerful on my team. I didn't think they would exist either along with the Hisuian Zorua. But somehow, they're here. Alpha Pokemon! Especially an Alpha Rapidash."
"Alpha...Pokemon?" That was Twilight's first revelation of a new kind of Pokemon as she repeated J's words.
"That's right. A certain Pokemon that is different from the rest of their kind. Larger and stronger than them in every way, reigning as the best of their species. They existed in the past but were no longer found as time went on. But it looks like I'm not the only one that came back to reality. Since this Alpha Rapiash exists...that means more Alpha Pokemon could be out there."
"The time leak..." Twilight said to herself before running in front of Rapidash. Rapidash, at first saw this as an attack. However, Twilight didn't do anything to it instead of just standing in front of the Fire Horse Pokemon. "I won't let you capture it!"
"You? Look at you. You're just as injured at that Rapidash there." J approached Twilight. Little girls like you should know when to step aside when they're clearly outmatched."
"I don't care if I am." Twilight shook her head. "I can't let someone like you catch Rapidash and use it for your own gain."
"Tch." J simply scoffed before tossing a Poke Ball into the air. Out of that Poke Ball came Drapion.
"Drapion!" The Ogre Scorp Pokemon roared. Zorua stood alongside Twilight, trying to be brave in front of this overwhelming adversity.
"Do you want to do this?" J raised her gauntlet, emanating fire from it. "You and that Zorua of yours are far more outmatched than you can imagine."
"We're going to try!" Twilight exclaimed. "Zorua! Use that move you did before!" She finally commanded her Pokemon in battle.
"O-Okay!" Zorua found the courage to do so. Those same shadows burst out of her, ready to be launched at full force to hopefully put Drapion and J in that same state as the grunts.
"Hmph. Dark Pulse!"
"Dra...Pion!" Drapion quickly countered with the only thing that could affect Hisuian Zorua. The shadows from Zorua were cut off once Dark Pulse came through at a quicker pace.
The pulse of darkness struck the Spiteful Fox Pokemon, dealing super-effective damage. Zorua squeaked as she flopped to the side. One hit and the Normal-Ghost-Type was already in equal pain as Twilight and Rapidash. "Zorua!" Twilight ran over, catching her partner.
"I-It hurts..." Zorua squealed, whimpering as she was already on the verge of fainting. She was lucky to hang in there. Twilight wished she had her bag of potions right now. Rapidash looked onwards to see Twilight hold onto Zorua. Rapidash then noticed J making her next move.
"Drap...!" Drapion rushed in while Twilight wasn't looking. Poison coated its long claws as a back strike was incoming. However, getting in the way of this back strike was Rapidash. It had smashed its head onto Drapion, knocking the Ogre Scorp Pokemon back a bit. "Pion?!"
"Dash!"
"Tch! Do you seriously want to continue even when so damaged?! Fine then! I'll weaken you some more! Drapion use Bulldoze!"
"Drapion!" Drapion quickly retaliated against Rapidash, returning the favour with an orange glow surrounding its claws. The Poison-Dark-Type swung the claws, slapping Rapidash once, dealing super-effective damage. Rapidash had been weakened some more. This one hit managed to make it stagger, almost falling over.
"That should do the trick!" J held out an Ultra Ball, ready to finally end this and have Alpha Rapidash for herself."You're mine!" She roared before throwing it.
"No!" Twilight cried out, unable to stop it t her distance. But one individual could. And that was Spike. Spike jumped in front of the Ultra Ball, opening his mouth wide. He imagined the Ultra Ball as a dog toy. As if he was playing fetch. And with that imagination, he had caught the Ultra Ball in his mouth, preventing the capture.
"Huh?!" J gasped.
"I got it!" Spike spoke while his mouth was full. With his fangs, he had then spat the Ultra Ball out, giving a cocky grin to J. He knew that he had aggravated her and he was relishing in it.
"Rapi...DASH!" And this one instance of protection allowed Rapidash to retaliate. Thanks to Spike, it could pull off a move. Specifically, Fire Blast. Rapidash opened its mouth, unleashing a powerful 大-shaped blast of orange fire. The bushes and trees around the area were being burned down by this overwhelming force.
"!" J quickly used the Water option, unleashing an equally large blast of water. The water and fire cancelled each other out, forming a massive cloud of steam to form. "Drapion, Dark Pulse!"
"Drap!" Drapion used Dark Pulse while the steam clouded their appearances. The pulse of darkness emerged from the smoke, hitting Rapidash directly. The Fire Horse Pokemon flinched, gritting its teeth and trying to hang in there.
Twilight knew she had to do something considering how weak Rapidash currently was. And it was hard to say if Ash could make it in time. That's when she saw two options. Some berries on the trees of the Ultra Ball from before. Twilight took a deep breath before placing Zorua on her back. "Hold on tight to me, Zorua."
"Okay..."
Twilight started with the berries. She immediately picked them up from the trees nearby. At least, the ones that had been burnt down by Rapidash's Fire Blast. Speaking of Rapidash, it was still hanging in there despite the odds. It was truly proving why it was an Alpha Pokemon as Twilight obtained some Oran and Nanab Berries.
"Rapidash!" Twilight cried out as the Fire Horse Pokemon had been knocked back by Bulldoze once more. Rapidash swivelled, witnessing Twilight throw the berries its way. "Eat up!"
"Dash..." Rapidash took there frozen for a bit. But it knew that the berries could replenish its energy. Knowing this, Rapidash gladly opened its mouth. One bite and a swallow and the berries worked their magic.
"You!" J turned to Twilight. "How could I forget!?"
"Not so weak as I seem, huh?" Twilight smirked. "I can still be of help!"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash had gained some strength back thanks to the berries. It wasn't much but it was something. After receiving them, Rapiash charged in, going straight for an up-close Dragon Pulse.
"It isn't over yet! Cross Poison!"
"Pion!" Drapion met with Rapidash with poisonous energy formed into an X. Rapidash galloped, releasing Dragon Pulse at the same time for a closer range. At the same time, Drapion had used Cross Poison to clash with Dragon Pulse. Both cancelled each other out, resulting in a strength tie. But right afterwards, J had used the Water function from the Gauntlet once more.
Pellets of water bombarded the Fire Horse Pokemon after the clash. J made sure that they came in great numbers. Drapion also chimed in with Dark Pulse, hitting Rapidash while the water pellets did their job. The berries were the only reason why Rapidash wasn't down and out. But it had been weakened once more.
"I hope this works..." Twilight then picked up the Ultra Ball from the ground. She cleaned it first before noticing J approaching. J wanted no more interruptions.
"Get her, Drapion!"
"Drapion!" Drapion had then crawled over at Twilight, lunging through the air. As Twilight held the Ultra Ball, she was met with Drapion's claws. Just like that, she had been grabbed on the neck by Drapion's claws along with Spike who was not to be ignored after interrupting J's capture. "Dra!"
"Gh!" Twilight yelped before being picked up from the ground. Zorua was too damaged to do much at this point. That Dark Pulse stung as she tried moving.
"T-Twilight..."
"R-Rapidash!" Rapidash fell over from all the water pellets, crashing into one of the trees. The Fire-Type's hooves were starting to fail it at this point as J wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Hah...You almost had me there." J chuckled. "You're not too bad, little girl. But you're still no match for a Pokemon Hunter."
She taunted as Twilight grabbed Drapion's tail, trying to break free. But her strength meant nothing to Drapion's amazing grip strength, sadly. Spike bit on Drapion's tail but his little puppy fangs were powerless.
"You were almost as troublesome as Ash. And I can't have you becoming a bigger threat in the future. Drapion, finish her, now!"
"Drapion...!" Drapion's tail was moving towards Twilight, having poison-laced around it. Twilight shuddered, kicking her legs onto Drapion's face with no effect. There was no point to this struggling now as J got ready to capture Rapidash while it was this weakened. She didn't forget Zorua either.
"Quick Attack!"
"Pika!" But zooming in at lightning-speeds, crashing into J which eventually resulted in her falling over was Pikachu. And if Pikachu was here, so was Ash.
And indeed he was. He was drawn to the destruction that came from this part of the mountain. He saw flames and steam erupt among other things, bringing him here.
"Dra?" Drapion looked over.
"Ash!" Twilight, Spike and Zorua screamed with hope in their voices.
"Electroweb!"
"Pika-Pika-Pika-Chu-Pi!" Right after knocking J aside, Pikachu then followed up with Electroweb for Drapion. The Mouse Pokemon formed an orb which soon became a web in an instant. The web gravitated itself towards the Ogre Scorp Pokemon, catching a majority of its body.
"D-Drapion!" Drapion roared as its grip on Twilight and Spike had been loosened, causing them to be free. Electroweb promptly held the Poison-Dark-Type down.
"DEverytime!" J smashed her fist into the ground, frustrated with how consistent Ash was with meddling in her actions. "What is with you?!"
"Are you all okay?!" He asked, rushing over to his friends.
"We're injured but fine for the most part! Zorua needs treatment, though!"
"None of you will be fine after I'm done with you!" J aimed her gauntlet at Rapidash first. She had one function in mind. The Poison function. Once it had been aimed, she forced a stream of poison that flowed at the Alpa Rapidash while it was still getting up.
"Oh!" Twilight saw the chance to stop this. The only chance she'll ever get. By aiming her Ultra Ball with all her might, Twilight threw it in Rapidash's direction.
"Rapi...?" Rapidash groaned before noticing the Ultra Ball coming its way. A swift bonk on the head and the Ultra Ball had shrunk Rapidash with a beam of light. Right on time as the ball had fallen with the poison missing and hitting the tree instead. Now for the asking to begin.
1...
2...
3...
Gotcha! Rapidash was caught.
"I-I...I did it!" Twilight jumped for joy as she made a successful catch. J was at first shocked by this but soon realized this was still a chance for her to keep Rapidash. The Poke Ball hadn't been grabbed after all.
"I still have a-"
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuuu!" Pikachu wasn't going to allow that. He immediately sent something faster than J could ever at. An attack of lightning. One of the faster forces out there. The bolt gave the ground a smite, resulting in an electrical explosion that forced J back. She received a shock even from this.
"Ugh!" She groaned, skidding on the ground instead of falling over. Twilight ran to the Ultra Ball while it was still there and free. And thanks to Pikachu's interference, she successfully picked it up before J could. "C-Curses..."
J punched the ground, taking everything in. Drapion was still restrained from the web as Rapidash now belonged to Twilight. What's more, was that Ash and Pikachu were still healthy compared to everyone else. Plus, Ash had other Pokemon in store.
J knew when she was beaten. She stood up, deciding it was not worth continuing this feud. Especially with the volcano still active and trembling. "Darn it...It's fine. There are maybe other Alpha Pokemon out there for me to grab! But I won't forget this!" J quickly returned Drapion before using the combination of fire and water to create a steam cloud.
Twilight closed her eyes with Ash holding her, just in case something went wrong with Pikachu on high alert. But, once the steam cloud faded, it was revealed that J was gone. She made her retreat after losing this hunt.
"She's gone," said Ash. "We made it out of that one, didn't we?"
"I guess so...Hoh...I'm so tired..." Twilight exhaled while still having an injured knee. She almost fell over with Ash holding her steady. "Let's call it a day, please?"
"Sure."
Minutes later, Officer Jenny and the other officers had been called, bringing J's men in as they were still shocked by Zorua's attack. J had left the scene already, possibly back in Equestria.
"Thanks for helping us find some of J's men, you all," Jenny spoke to them. "We'll take it from here."
"Glad that's over with." Twilight sighed as she had some bandages wrapped around her knee. Zorua had been fully healed with potions as well. "That was terrifying...I was afraid we weren't going to make it."
"But we did. Especially with how hard you, Spike and Zorua worked, Twilight. Great work." He patted her on the back. "Rapidash is in good hands now."
I can't believe I own one too..." She gazed at the Ultra Ball. "An Alpha Rapidash...Amazing. Wait till Professor Oak sees this."
"You call that amazing? You should've seen what Twilight made." Spike claimed up Twilight's shoulder. "She made some invention out of all the stuff from her bag that shot out berries. Spicy ones too. It looked like that right there. But now it's a mess."
"Oooh!" Ash gawked with amazement even if it was now partially destroyed. "You did all of that?! Science is so amazing!"
"Pikachu!"
"It was nothing. Not my best work anyway." Twilight just shrugged at this compliment.
The group could head home and call it a day. It was a wild one too that got out of hand quickly. But with the safe capture of an Alpha Rapidash and the knowledge of other Rapidash existing, it was safe to say that due to otherworldly interference, the world of Pokemon and beyond was about to get even bigger as the journey continues.
"Ooooh!" Currently, Professor Oak was gawking at Twilight's newest Pokemon. A Rapidash. An Alpha Rapidash to be exact which added to the excitement.
It was not easy catching this Pokemon despite it only taking one Poke Ball throw and the involvement of Pokemon Hunter J and her men. If anything, this was a safety catch to protect Rapidash from the hunters. "So this is an Alpha Pokemon. The size on this Rapidash is amazing! It dwarfs all other Rapidash as if they were Ponyta! Nice catch, Twilight."
"Thank you, Professor Oak. But after that experience, I've been thinking about something. Mainly about Pokemon Hunter J and the Alpha Pokemon."
"And what's that, Twilight?" Oak asked his apprentice while admiring the sheer scale of Alpha Rapidash. Rapidash just stood there, unimpressed. It seemed that after being caught, she was calmer and less aggressive than before.
"Well, last night and before that even, I thought about how Hunter J knew about Alpha Pokemon returning. Since Rapidash came from that Time Leak, it's not too out there to imagine more Alpha Pokemon showing up to the present day. And with how strong they are, J might already be focused on not just selling them, but maybe catching them to add to her team."
"Hm-hm. You raise a good point there, Twilight." Oak agreed, placing his hands behind his back. "I know a bit about Alpha Pokemon myself. In which that there's an Alpha Pokemon of every species."
"Every species?!" Ash gasped.
"Pikachu?!"
"Right, right. There are some exceptions but for the most part, a lot of the Pokemon that you've met have Alpha variations. No telling how many of them have passed or will pass through that Time Leak. All the more reason to keep a good eye n it, don't you think?"
"That got me thinking, Professor Oak. I didn't know what I wanted to do at first but...I think Id like to catch as many Alpha Pokemon that I can." Twilight revealed her newest goal. "Battling's not for me. Neither are Pokemon Contests even though they're cute. I'd like to catch as many Alpha Pokemon as I can. Before J can."
"Oooh...So that's your goal and motivation, hm? Very nice, Twilight." Oak nodded in approval. "It's fitting as well. Back then, Ash aimed to catch all Pokemon in the past. Every last one."
"He did?" She turned to Ash.
"Yep. I thought I could catch 'em all but some stuff happened and I changed my mind. Now I'm shooting higher than catching every Pokemon that'll get me closer to becoming a Pokemon Master."
"Catching every Alpha Pokemon sounds just as difficult as catching every Pokemon. Alpha Pokemon are seemingly stronger than their average species in every way and show a higher level of aggression. Are you sure you'll be safe, Twilight?" Professor Oak asked.
"It's risky but...I've been taking my fair share of risks lately. I have this guy to thank, right?" Twilight playfully nudged Ash as they both laughed. "I'll start small and try and catch as many as I can. At least until this Time Leak problem can be solved."
"I felt a strong sense of magic connect..." Just then, right after the nudge, the now spirit of King Sombra who had been reduced to a tagalong shadow to Ash Ketchum had revealed himself to Twilight and Oak at last.
"Ah!" Twilight gasped, jumping back as she held Zorua close to her. Spike already started growling at the shadow, having a bad feeling about him. "W-W-What is that?!"
"Ah, right, right. You guys didn't know about this." Ash was casual about this. Oak, while surprised, was intrigued by this bizarre union. "Yeah...I kinda got this guy named Sombra attached to me right now. It's kinda permanent until someone can find a way to fix it."
"I sensed the magic from you, girl. I had no incentive of showing myself yesterday. Even with that Pokemon Hunter you encountered. But your magic has my attention. There's something deliciously malicious about it..." Sombra chuckled, flowing in Twilight's direction, intimidating her. "No wonder you are the counterpart to your Equestria-self."
"H-How did you know I had magic in me? And are you talking about that time I turned into a magical being?" She shuddered.
"Precisely. If I could have that magic for myself and-"
"Fascinating!" Interrupting Sombra with absolute intrigue was Professor Oak. He ran up to Sombra, grabbing him by the face. "Ash, why didn't you show me this earlier?! A spirit of a pony is just within you!"
"Gh! U-Unhand me you fossil!" Sombra groaned as Oak kept observing him by pulling on his face and touching his horn. Sombra was currently powerless to do anything. "Grrrggh...! This is the worst! I am a king...!"
"You're full of surprises, aren't you, Ash?" Oak chuckled as Sombra sighed at this humiliation.
"That's kinda creepy..." Twilight scratched her face, giving off a nervous chuckle as opposed to Oak's cheerful one. "W-Well, anyway. I'll do my best in catching all those Alpha Pokemon. And you'll help with it, right Rapidash?" She then turned to Fire Horse Pokemon.
But Rapidash did not respond. Instead, she just turned away, ignoring Twilight. The Fire Horse Pokemon then yawned before delivering a slight neigh afterwards. "Rapidash..."
"Um, Rapidash?" Twilight went up to her. "Is that a yes or a no?"
Yet again, Rapidash gave no response. She continued to turn away from Twilight, focusing on something else. Such as the outside where the rest of Ash's Pokemon could be found. "H-How come she's ignoring me...?"
"Ah. That happens sometimes, Twilight." Oka finally let go of Sombra. The previous ruler of the Crystal Empire looked defeated as his jaw was twitching. All he could say was 'Ow' as he hid back in Ash. "Some Pokemon can be disobedient to their trainers. Fairly common."
"Disobedient? I-I didn't do anything though." Twilight shook her head, worried that she might've messed up, resulting in Rapidash ignoring her. "Did I?"
"The stronger Pokemon are the ones that show more disobedience than others. And there's no doubt that Alpha Pokemon are the same." Oak laughed, appearing behind Rapidash. "You just have to spend some more time with Rapidash and gain her trust. That way, you two will be inseparable!" Oak patted Rapidash on the flank.
"Dash!" That got Rapidash to show some energy. A vein appeared on her forehead as the Fire-Type had then used her potent back hooves to kick Professor Oak.
"OOF!" Oak was caught off guard as the kick had launched him across his lab. Twilight gasped while Ash seemed unphased by this. It was a common occurrence for Oak to be harmed by Pokemon, no matter what. And he would always come out fine as he had hit the wall.
"P-Professor Oak! Are you okay?!" Twilight put her hands on her mouth, shocked by what she had seen. Oak sat in the corner with his clothes tattered.
"Oh, it's fine, Twilight. I'm fine. Hehehe."
"Well, good luck with Rapidash and catching those Alpha Pokemon, Twilight. I'll come and check up on you from time to time with that stuff." Ash and Pikachu were ready to depart.
"Pikachu."
"About that. I was hoping that you'd come with me to find all those Alpha Pokemon. I'm...still pretty scared to explore the rest of the Pokemon World. But if it's with you then I feel safe." She smiled, rubbing her hand. "So, Alpha Pokemon searching every time together?"
"Sure." Ash put his hand out for a high-five. Twilight replied as their hands had connected for a powerful high-five. Ash would now join Twilight in her Alpha Pokmon adventures soon.
Equestria. Canterlot. Day.
The Dazzlings along with their reunited mother had approached Canterlot. This would be Vivace's first time back in her world for so long. And her being in her siren form once more. They had arrived as Vivace was still trying to get used to her siren form now that she was back.
"Ugh..." She groaned, stretching her fins and tail. "How long has it been since I've moved in this form. These bones feel unfamiliar to me now." Vivace also almost fell over, struggling to keep her balance while floating.
"If it's hard on you, you can always use the Shift Stone, mom." Aria showed her mother the Shift Stone. Just in case she wanted to appear in her Human form despite them soon heading to the Human World.
"Oh! What would you look like as a human, mom?" Sonata was curious. Vivace herself wondered the same thing. She looked at the Shift Stone, curious about her human appearance.
"Hm. Let me see." She used her tailfin to grab the Shift Stone. After holding it, Vivace harnessed its power, thinking of her possible pony form. The stone reacted to her imagination before covering her in Rift energy. The Dazzlings squinted from this blinding light as Vivace's height was starting to alter.
A smaller shape was formed, appearing as the silhouette of a pony. However, Vivace's pony height was taller than her daughters as a unicorn horn could be seen popping out from the top. The light faded as Vivace appeared as a pony. She was around Princess Celestia's height, keeping her usual colour palette.
"Oh. So this is it?" Vivace looked at herself. "I'm impressed."
"And you're so tall..." Adagio gawked before putting on a smirk. "I mean you're an old lady so-"
"Who are you calling old, brat!" Vivace then grabbed Adagio's face, pulling it. She wasn't too fond of being called old. Even though, she was centuries old either way.
"G-G-Gah! S-Sorry! I yield!" Adagio cried out as Vivace had impressive hoof strength despite just now becoming a pony. Just as this mother and daughter interaction was going on, Celestia had shown to the scene. The first thing that caught her attention was the pony who had a similar appearance to the Dazzlings.
She looked like Adagio, Aria and Sonata combined into one but with a height that matched Celestia. Celestia then paused, putting the pieces together immediately. "You..." She spoke.
"Hm?" Vivace, still holding onto Adagio's face, swivelled her head to see the pony behind her. Upon seeing Celestia, she was reminded of a certain pony who had a familiar appearance. Mainly Sunlight. The former Queen of Equestria and the first genuine friend that Vivace ever made when they first met. And the only time they ever met was the first time. "Sunlight?! No...you look like her but..."
"And you're Vivace, aren't you?" Celestia walked up to her as Vivace finally let go of Adagio.
"My ears burn..." Adagio groaned.
"I'm not my mother, Sunlight. I'm Celestia. The pony that my mother mentioned she would name me if she ever had a child when she first met you."
"Celestia..." That name came back to Vivace. She remembered hearing that name during her conversation with a younger Sunlight. And all about their children as well.
"Wait, Vivace! Will we ever see each other again?"
"Who's to say? Perhaps in the future, our children might meet."
"Children?"
"I plan to have offsprings of my own one day. I assume you aim to carry out your bloodline, don't you?"
"Guilty. When I find that colt for me, I'll have a child of my own. And you're right. They might meet. But...would they be at odds at each due to what they each stand for?"
"So it finally happened," Vivace smirked. "You've met each other at last. It's nice to see you, Celestia. You do look a lot like your mother, don't you?"
"I do. Thank you, Vivace." Celestia chuckled. "I never thought I would ever see you but here we are. Good to see that you're doing well and my student and her sisters have reunited with you."
"Student?" Vivace turned as Celestia nudged her head in Adagio's direction.
"T-That's me..." Adagio raised her hoof.
"A genuine prodigy, she is. "Welcome back to our world, by the way. I was somewhat aware that you'd be else-" However, Celestia was promptly cut off once a pillar of golden light had appeared close to them. Their attention had been drawn to this pillar as it almost caught them off guard.
But emerging out of this light was the pony they mentioned earlier. The mother to Princess Celestia. Sunlight. She immediately burst out of the pillar to run over.
"Vivace! Is it really you?!" Sunlight cried out, coming to a screeching halt. Vivace now truly recognized Sunlight. She was taller than her and Celestia, surprisingly. Far more than what she was expecting. At least as a pony, Vivace as a siren was a different story. "Is it truly you?! Oh, it's been so long! I haven't seen you in-in-in centuries!"
"It's me. I recognize that voice and energy anywhere," said Vivace, smiling at the alicorn. "How have you been, old friend?" At last, now that they had seen each other once more after centuries, Vivace could proudly call her a friend.
"I've been better. Relaxing at the Ambrosial Plane is where anypony can find me, honestly. I rarely pop in to visit Equestria from time to time. "And you look better yourself, don't you?"
"Oh, I have. But these past years have been somewhat slow for me." Vivace shrugged, letting out a slight groan. She then looked over at Celestia, noticing a familiar gem on her crown. "I see you kept the crystal I gave to you all those years and made it a part of that crown. Lovely."
"Isn't it? We have so much catching up to do, Vivace. So much to say and perhaps so much to do, wouldn't you agree?" The alicorn said, going to spend some time with her friend.
"As much as I would love to do so, I'm afraid my daughters and I are focusing on something far more important. We will be visiting the Human World today. To find the rest of the sirens that had been scattered across the Human World. They're still out there and we intend to find them all."
"Every last one of them." Sonat chimed in. "We'll travel across the land, searching far and wide for every siren we can find. Or ya know, they might be in the Pokemon World too accidentally. That's probably a thing."
"What a shame..." Sunlight felt disappointed in that. But it was for an important reason. "Perhaps, when you finish with that, we can hang out afterwards. Is that a fair deal?"
"Fair enough to me." Vivace could live with that.
"Well, if you're going on such a journey, you will need some equipment. Every world, no matter where it may be is massive, isn't it?" Celestia spoke. "You'll also need human necessities. Luckily, living with the Pokemon World has helped us find those necessities. So we can get you started."
"We'll be fine. I have my fair share of experiences at the Human World." But Vivace declined it. "Although, there could be something that we may need...But what?"
"These, of course." Celestia turned around, showing a box of Poke Balls that had been brought over by the guards. Poke Balls of different varieties could be found. "Pokemon exist in that world, don't they? You'll need the right object to help you through it. The Poke Ball."
"Hm. We will gladly take them." Vivace accepted to bring the Poke Balls with her. At least, as many as they can carry. Once they had everything set, having some bags to hold their items, they approached the room where the portal to the Human World could be found.
Vivace also took some time to witness the interior of Canterlot Castle. Its splendour matched that of Samiya, the Sea Temple greatly. Eventually, she stood before the mirror portal, knowing that she would return to the world she was once banished to.
"I'm not too fond of that world...But if it means finding the others, then who cares?" said Vivace. "I return to this world at last only to head to another immediately."
"Safe travels." Sunlight gave her best luck to them all. "Come back in one piece."
"Speak to Sunset Shimmer when you can. She could give you some help possibly." Celestia sugged, nudging her student.
"I'll think about it." But Adagio wasn't too fond of Sunset Shimmer, so that possibility was in the air at the moment Without any time to waste, they then passed through the portal.
Vivace going first, Adagio second, Aria third and Sonata fourth. Sonata waved farewell once passing through. The last thing seen was her hoof. It was now just the sirens along with their Pokemon, ready to set out and find more of their species out there in the vast world.
The Human World. Twilight's home. Afternoon.
Speaking of the human world, over there at Twilight's home, the Alpha Rapidash could be seen standing outside. Right behind Twilight's home and for anyone nearby to see. They would have the chance to witness a fire horse. Certainly up there with the strangest things they've seen Pokemon appear to be.
"Okay, Rapidash. Eat up." Twilight had some food for Rapidash. Mainly berries and random Pokemon Food as she wasn't sure what food Rapidash preferred. She was also hoping to bond with Rapidash so that she could be more obedient.
"Rapidash..." Rapidash simply yawned, sitting down and deciding to take a rest under the orange glow of the afternoon sun.
"Come on..." Twilight moaned. "You won't even listen to me for food?" She was saddened that Rapidash was fully ignoring her or almost refusing to acknowledge her existence. All that trouble back at Mt Molteau seemed to amount to nothing from how things were playing out.
"Please?" Zorua went up to Rapidash, poking her hoof. "I-If it's okay with you, will you please eat the food? Twilight went through a lot of trouble to make it."
"Aw, Zorua." Twilight gushed as she placed the bowl of berries and Pokemon food on the ground. "Look at how brave you are right now."
"I was scared before but I saw Rapidash protect us when that Drapion almost hit us." said the Spiteful Fox Pokemon. "So I feel safe."
"Well, you're certainly growing, aren't you?" Twilight kneeled to face the Normal-Ghost-Type. A well-deserved head pat came through for Zorua as she enjoyed it greatly. "I'm proud of you. Alright, we'll be searching for more Alpha Pokemon from this point on. It'll take a lot of hard work and...probably a lot running and dodging. But I have some strong friends to help me with that."
"Oh. Am I strong?"
"After what you did back there...yes. Yes, you are." She giggled at Zorua's question. "Rapidash. I know you're extra strong, so, please. If you can, when the time comes, could you lend me your strength?"
"Rapidash..." It wasn't clear if Rapidash agreed to do such a thing. She just decided to doze off more than anything. That left Twilight with an unfulfilled answer, much to her chagrin. With how things were, it wouldn't be easy for Twilight and Rapidash to bond at all.
"R-Right. Well, eat up you two." She stood up, leaving the two of them to devour the Pokemon Food. Zorua got started, already having the first bite as she wasted no time chewing away. As Twilight opened her door, she couldn't help but look at the Fire Horse Pokemon with a saddened expression.
Twilight hoped that Rapidash would be her new friend. But that didn't seem to be the case. If anything, Rapidash didn't look like she wanted to be here and saw Twilight as a mild nuisance. Twilight didn't have much to say as she entered her home, closing the door. As for Rapidash, she decided to have some of the food. Her stomach growled as she hadn't eaten today after all.
But, having this food wasn't out of admiration for Twilight. Just Rapidash being peckish that was all. Inside Twilight's home, she sat on her couch, taking a deep sigh to let things sink in.
"Hah...I'm gonna need some more help than just Ash. Maybe Sunset and everyone back at Canterlot High can help?" She wondered. "Mmm...That would mess with school times, wouldn't it? What to do...What to do..." Twilight yawned afterwards, having the same idea as Rapidash. Clocking out for the day and having some time to rest.
Spike ran up to Twilight, landing on her stomach. Twilight smiled as her eyes were starting to close. Her energy was already failing her. It was inevitable for her to call it a day and sleep. Not on her bed but the couch. That was only natural for sudden burnouts. Seeing his owner sleep, Spike then did the same, getting comfortable.
Nightfall had arrived eventually in this world. But as peace filled the area and beyond, right over at the forest where the Time Leak could be found, something else was occurring with abstract interference.
The only Time Leak in this world was starting to expand. It let out a distorted sound that could only be described as otherworldly and unable to describe. The Time Leak started gaining more space. Its size was growing.
Not just that, but it had then split up. Particles from the time leak started moving across the skies, scattering in frantic directions with no set destinations. And as they spread out, two Pokemon cries came from them. But there was no one around to hear these cries.
And just like that, those particles eventually landed, forming leaks that were hidden instead of out there. There was something beyond that main and first Time Leak that was causing this. And whatever it was, those cries could lead to that answer as the journey continues.
"Look at this. An all-new roadmap for the Equestria League." Twilight was currently showing Rainbow Dash a layout for the Equestria League. Mainly for the Gym Leaders, who were the roadblocks towards the league. "The Gym Leaders for the most part are the same."
"Yeah. There's Roseluck." Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at Roseluck's face. "And it looks like someone finally replaced Misty for the second Gym Leader. I didn't think it would be BonBon though. Then there's Sunset Shimmer, Zecora, Soarin, Ms Harshwinny, yeah-yeah, I know that."
"The last one looks like a surprise. It's just a shadow." Twilight observed the final Gym Leader slot. It was a shadowy figure with no name below. A complete mystery. "But the seventh one is still undecided looks like. That's the one you'll be shooting for soon, Rainbow Dash."
"You know it! This one's got a theme too. It's...Uh..." Rainbow Dash froze for a second as her face showed absolute confusion. She took a closer look at the 8th Gym Leader and theming around it. "Facial Hair? W-What's up with that?"
"My guess is that it has to do with Pokemon that have facial hair on them. Bit of a funny concept, don't you think?" Twilight giggled. "And it looks like it's right over...here?!" Soon, Twilight bellowed before noticing where the 8th Gym was located. It was at Ponyville. The closest gym to Ponyville was the Grass-Type Gym, which had previously swapped places. Starting in Whitetail Wood and soon moving to Saddle Lake.
"Oh, so the final Gym's in Ponyville, eh? And the leader's Mayor Mare, huh." Rainbow Dash noticed. "Yeah, she's strong so I totally get it."
"It looks like it sometimes switches from Mayor Mare to Hollow. I mean..." Twilight thought about Hollow and his Pokemon for a moment. "He does own a lot of Pokemon, doesn't he?"
"What do you say we go and check her gym out? If I had to guess, it would be Town Hall that's the gym, right?" Rainbow Dash was eager to see Mayor Mare and her potential new Pokemon considering she had been revealed to be an Equestria League Gym Leader.
"Not yet. There's just one thing I want to confirm. It's about PokePark." But Twilight wasn't ready to do that as of now. "I'm curious if they're similar to BigTime Ben? Since we know he's related to the Rift, is PokePark as well? Are all the Pokemon there from another time and-" She then looked at Rainbow Dash, knowing that hours would be spent trying to figure all of it out. "B-But we can come back to that another time."
They would head to Town Hall as it would be shorter than figuring out this question.
Town Hall.
"Mayor Mare? Hello?" Entering Town Hall were Twilight and Rainbow Dash, here to see if Mayor Mare was up for a Gym Battle. Twilight's voice echoed throughout the hall with some delays. Thankfully, Mayor Mare was here. She could be seen sitting on the floor, facing a box. Stoutland was in the corner, yawning and having a great rest.
"Oh! Princess Twilight!" Mayor Mare was alert. "And Rainbow Dash? Ooh, this is a bit sudden!"
"Sudden? Did we come at a bad time?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Oh, no-no-no." She soon faced them, standing upright. "I was just going over the Poke Balls I have in this box. They're brand new. Just came in today. Along with the updated Equestria League roadmap."
"I already read it out. See?" Twilight held the roadmap paper out with her magic, showing it to the Mayor of Ponyville. "You're up next and Rainbow Dash here was hoping you could battle her soon."
"Now might be a good place to start! You're extra close to us so we don't have to move around all that much!" Dash got in front of Twilight, excited to get this Gym Battle rolling. "I don't know what's up with that Facial Hair thing, but it's gonna be challenging right?"
"Yes. We could battle now. Except...there is an issue." Begrudgingly, Mayor sighed as there was a catch to all of this. "You see. Stoutland is still my only Pokemon. I have no other Pokemon to fill in. Even though the last few gyms are 2 on 2, I am stuck on one."
"Oh. So no battle then?" Rainbow Dash was visibly disappointed.
"I took this role just yesterday. But I don't own a second Pokemon to finish things. I can already tell that a storm of trainers could be approaching Ponyville just to battle me after learning about the 7th Gym." Just as Mayor Mare said that, the sounds of rapid hoofsteps and wingbeats could be heard. Mainly the hoofsteps.
The ground started rumbling as the alicorn, earth pony and pegasus took a peep through the windows. Lo and behold, there were many trainers approaching. All of them had most definitely passed their 6th Gym Battles, which was arguably the hardest considering how powerful Ms Harshwinny appeared to be.
"Right on time. And I'm just slightly unprepared!" Mayor Mare screeched. "I need to catch the right Pokemon so that the stage can be set for everypony. Otherwise, Hollow will have to do most of the hard work."
"W-Well, which Pokemon do you need? I mean, it's Facial Hair themed for some reason," said Twilight.
"Only Pokemon that have facial hair. The first one and only one I have is Stoutland. These are the Pokemon I need." Mayor Mare quickly ran over to the table, showing Twilight and Rainbow Dash a sheet of paper consisting of the recommended Pokemon. "Alakazam, Samurott, Probopass, Whiscash and Galarian Koffing. Just them."
"Those are some pretty strong Pokemon. And kinda rare in a way." Rainbow Dash observed.
"I know. But they fit the descriptions perfectly. If I can get at least two more of them, I can allow the Gym Battles to fully commence."
"Twilight. You've got a Samurott over at PokePark. Can Mayor Mare have that one?"
"Well..." The Princess of Friendship bit her lip, currently in a quandary. "That Samurott is technically my Pokemon ever since BigTime Ben entrusted me with PokePark. I'm not sure Gym Leaders are meant to have Pokemon that aren't theirs. Right?"
"It must be my own Pokemon." Mayor Mare established. There were rules to this and unfortunately, they couldn't be bent from the looks of things. "Training them is an issue as well. If I get them immediately on the first day, there won't be a clear bond with them at all. Will I be able to battle in sync with them with little synergy? Oh! I should've caught some Pokemon earlier!"
Mayor Mare was showing visible signs of vexation. It was rare for her to show them considering how cool, calm and collected she was. And it didn't help that the Pokemon Trainers had appeared in front of Town Hall with a knock on the door coming through.
The mayor scrunched her face with Twilight kindly opening the door for her. Once it had opened, all those Pokemon Trainers from across Equestria had shown up, ready to complete their next Gym Battle. That way, they could reach the final one soon.
"We're here for the next gym. We heard it finally came." A pegasus grinned as they all already had their Poke Balls out along with their partner Pokemon beside them.
"Uh...you're right about that." Twilight winked while Mayor Mare slowly rotated, facing the challengers. "But you're gonna have to wait just a bit longer."
"Wait? How come?" A unicorn peered his head over, asking Twilight.
"Just some minor upshots and issues." Twilight explained. "Plus, you're all a bit early right now, don't you think?"
"We came all the way here and have been waiting for a while for the next Gym to finally open up. We can't just skip to the last one anyway."
"Yeah. I had to rematch Ms Harshwinny 12 times to make it this far. All that struggling is gonna pay off." One pony who had battled Harshwinnys gym for quite a few times spoke.
"12 times? Yikes..." Twilight had never heard of so many attempts for one Pokemon Batte.
"Patience, everypony." Mayor Mare approached. "I will get to you all. However, I'm afraid you will all have to wait in sparse times. I already have Rainbow Dash up first, so I can cover a few of you today and the rest next time. I am still the Mayor of Ponyville, after all." Mayor Mare gave a good solution to this. Despite her worries, she could still maintain an issue and calm it down.
"Aww...." Naturally, some of them groaned as they would have to wait some more to have their chance of earning that 7th Gym Badge. But, they had to go with it. Rainbow Dash was lucky to be here first before everypony else. The doors were closed on them as Mayor Mare would get back to all of them soon.
"Okay..." With that out of the way, the mayor could breathe before building up panic levels. "I need those Pokemon. Now." She demanded with severity in her tone.
"Why not just try the Pokemon House? Maybe they've got something for you?"
"Unfortunately, these Pokemon are far too rare. I checked and not a single one was in sight. I know you sometimes have starters at your lab, Princess Twilight. But that Oshawott would take too long to evolve and with no time at all. And Galarian Koffing is a completely different story! Hoh..." She calmed herself down with Stoutland coming to her side. "I don't usually get sloppy...If not for a long time."
"It's alright, Mayor Mare." Twilight walked over. "We can sort this all out. If you ask me, I think it's best to have Hollow fill in while we get the rest of the Pokemon. Frenzy Forest might be the answer to all of this."
"Hmm...But Hollow is expecting a baby soon. It wouldn't feel right to have him go through this. Especially with how long it might take us..." Mayor Mare was on the fence with this. This was truly a scenario that needed careful decisions and planning. "But...we're wasting enough time as it is...Let's do that shall we." It would be left in the hands of Hollow for now.
And in the meanwhile, Mayor Mare would set out to catch at least one of the required Pokemon. But, they would leave via the exit of the Town Hall instead of the entrance. A quick call was made to Hollow as they set off for Frenzy Forest.
Frenzy Forest. Afternoon.
Frenzy Forest. Home to many Pokemon. Almost equal in size to the Pokemon House. Mayor Mare had to not only find one of them but also bond with them in what would seem to be little time.
The best approach right now were the many areas in the forest that were based on all 18 Types. Twilight had a list of areas that they had to visit. The Psychic, Water, Rock and Poison Area. Although, the Poison Area would be essentially obsolete since Galarian Weezing can mostly be found in Galar. But if Mayor Mare could catch either one from the three areas, it would do wonders.
"I know an Alakazam that lives here. I interacted with it when I was researching more about Pokemon. I'm sure he'll help you out." said Twilight. Indeed, an Alakazam that she knew existed here. The same Alakazam that allows her to eat her least favourite food, quesadillas with the mysterious spoons and enjoy them.
And speaking of which, that same Alakazam could be seen sitting near a lake, meditating peacefully, levitating his two spoons. The Psychic Area wasn't too full of Psychic Pokemon, so finding a specific one was fairly easy. "There he is. That's facial hair number one."
"Excellent." Mayor Mare lowered her voice as to not break Alakazam's meditative focus. "You are already acquainted with him. This could work out for us after all."
"Of course. Besides, even if you can't form a powerful bond with Alakazam in the beginning, a Pokemon can still listen to you even when you first catch it." Twilight nodded.
"Mm. But...I feel as if I won't be pushing the Trainers to the best of their abilities at that rate. With Stoutland, I can do so, but with any one of these Pokemon, not so much." Mayor Mare still saw the downside to this. Truthfully, she wanted to challenge the Pokemon Trainers at their best.
And while it is a common fact that Gym Leaders are constantly holding back against challengers, they still put in a ton of effort against their opponents.
"Bah, don't sweat it." But Rainbow Dash wasn't bothered by it at all. "All out or not, I'm still gonna get that Gym Badge. Plus, I know Stoutland's gonna give me and my Pokemon some trouble anyway. Isn't that right, Castform?"
"Castform."
"Gothitelle." Just then, the voice of a Gothitelle could be heard. Right behind them, a shadow had been cast. The trio and their Pokemon swivelled to see the infamous Gardevoir with a menacing crooked face standing before them "Telle."
"GAH!" They were taken aback by Gothitelle's face, screaming with shock and fear. That immediately broke Alakazam's meditation in a heartbeat.
"Kazam?"
"Gothitelle." The menacing Gothitelle hovered away casually. As if she didn't just spook them each with their hearts racing and making audible sounds.
"Hoh..." Twilight and Eve fell on their backs. "That was way scarier than it was..."
"E-Espeon..."
"Alakazam." Noticing Twilight, Alakazam hovered over to greet the Princess of Friendship promptly. Twilight and Espeon looked up while still on their backs, witnessing the face of Alakazam appear in their vision. "Ala?"
"Oh...Alakazam. Sorry if we broke your meditation." She and Espeon sat up. Alakazam didn't mind. They were given a spook by Gothitelle after all. "But we have a favour to ask of you."
"Alakazam?"
"You see, Mayor Mare here's a Gym Leader back at Ponyville. Her Gym is all about Facial Hair Pokemon. Heh." Twilight couldn't help but giggle at that again. There was something so amusing about this Gym theme. "But she only has one Pokemon that fits that category. Stoutland over there. We were hoping that you could help out Mayor Mare with that. Since...ya know...you have Facial Hair?"
"La...Alakazam..." Alakazam thought about it for a moment.
"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Rainbow Dash asked her alicorn friend.
"Positive."
"Kazam," Alakazam concluded. With a head nod, he decided to assist them and solve their issue. He was surprisingly calm about it. Perhaps it had something to do with his intelligence.
"You'll do it? Oh, thank you so much, Alakazam!" Twilight exclaimed, clapping her hooves. "See, Mayor Mare? There's no need to worry!"
"You make it seem so easy..." A relieved Mayor Mare chuckled before taking out a Poke Ball from her saddlebag. "Alright then. Thank you for giving me this chance, Alakazam." She then threw Poke Ball.
"Alakazam." The Psi Pokemon nodded before having the Poke Ball connect with him. The light shrunk him down as the Poke Ball then dropped, beginning to roll as always.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Alakazam was caught.
That was the first Pokemon with facial hair that had been caught. Mayor Mare felt that major stress diminish. It wasn't difficult at all to catch herself an Alakazam. The benefits of friendship. "Excellent." She went to pick the Poke Ball up.
"Well, I think that's." Rainbow Dash shrugged, believing this to be a good place to close things off. "I mean, it's only gonna be a 2 on 2, right? Having one more Pokemon was the way to end things, right?"
"Not quite, Rainbow Dash." Mayor Mare said otherwise. "While I did catch myself an Alakazam, using just him and Stoutland would be exhausting to both of them. With every Pokemon Trainer that comes to challenge me, my Pokemon will need breaks to rest. That is more Pokemon are necessary so that the minimum of them don't tire."
"Hm...Yeah, you're right." Rainbow Dash was eager to have her Gym Battle with Mayor Mare but she understood the limitations.
"At least two more will do so for my team. Galarian Weezing can be for another time."
"Right. Next up, Whiscash. The Water area's where we need to be." Twilight showed the list as Whiscash was up next. "And Probopass could be easier than Samurott. Finding a Samurott out in the wild is not easy."
Up next was Whiscash. Another common Pokemon to find and not exceeding rare such as Samurott or even Galarian Weezing. At the same time, back at Ponyville, Hollow was currently filling in for Mayor Mare while she searches for a few more Pokemon. He would have to handle multiple Pokemon Trainers in succession.
Over at the water, spotting Pokemon could prove to be tricky. Not that there weren't many Pokemon here. The Water area was brimming with Pokemon due to them being one of the most abundant types out there. However, because there are so many of them, it can be hard to find a specific one.
"Those numbers look intimidating, but no need to worry," Twilight reassured. "We just need to lure Whiscash out."
"How are we gonna do that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Hmm...Asking them might not do the trick." Twilight was put in a quandary, thinking of the best possible solution to find Whiscash in this sea of Pokemon. It was far too overcrowded to try and head in.
"I got it!" Rainbow Dash thought of something. "What if I have Luxray use Discharge on the lake and see which Water-Type comes out fine? Whiscash is Water-Ground, right?"
"Uh...A bit too aggressive..." But that idea wouldn't fly. While it made sense in its own right, harming the Pokemon, every single one of them, suddenly wouldn't do or be approved. But, an idea eventually sprung up for her. Her Pokedex. "Aha!" She pulled out her Pokedex, relying on its capabilities.
"What's that gonna do?" Rainbow Dash wasn't sure how the Pokedex would be of any use in this instance.
"Our Pokedexes can do more than just can Pokemon. They can scan for nearby Pokemon. Watch." She turned it on, allowing the Pokdex's functions to play out. She moved it across the area as it read out different dex entries each time a Water-Type had been seen by it.
"Luvdisc. The Rendezvous Pokemon. Luvdisc live in shallow seas in the tropics. This heart-shaped Pokémon earned its name by swimming after loving couples it spotted in the ocean’s waves. Luvdisc’s heart-shaped body is a symbol of love and romance. It is said that any couple meeting this Pokémon is promised a loving relationship that never ends."
"No not-" But Twilight quickly paused once she heard something from the dex entry. "Really? I'll keep that in mind." A cheeky grin formed as she continued to move the Pokedex.
"Corsola. The Coral Pokemon. Corsola’s branches glitter very beautifully in seven colours when they catch sunlight. If any branch breaks off, this Pokémon grows it back in just one night. Clusters of Corsola congregate in warm seas where they serve as ideal hiding places for smaller Pokémon. When the water temperature falls, this Pokémon migrates to the southern seas. They prefer unpolluted southern seas. Their coral branches lose their colour and deteriorate in dirty water."
She moved it again as the Pokedex continued scanning nearby Water-Types. Twilight also flew into the air to try and get a better view as well. The Pokedex even scanned Pokemon that were fully submerged in the lake instead of halfway in it.
"Chinchou. The Angler Pokemon. Chinchou lets loose positive and negative electrical charges from its two antennas to make its prey faint. This Pokémon flashes its electric lights to exchange signals with others. This Pokémon’s cells create so much electrical power, it even makes itself tingle slightly."
"No..." Twilight searched again. The Pokedex might end up going through every Water-Type here before it could reach Whiscash. That is until the Pokemon of the hour had been picked up. Deep below.
"Whiscash. The Whiskers Pokemon. Whiscash is extremely territorial. Just one of these Pokémon will claim a large pond as its exclusive territory. If a foe approaches it, it thrashes about and triggers a massive earthquake. Its vision is not that good. It senses vibrations in the water with its whiskers to determine the location of its prey. It will eat anything—if it is alive, Whiscash will eat it."
"Jackpot! We found it!" Twilight cried out, waving at her friends. She then pointed her hoof at the lake as Whiscash was deep underwater. "Just underwater! Deep down!"
"This Lake doesn't appear too deep. This could be our chance," said Mayor Mare. Twilight had already cast the underwater breathing spell on her friends, allowing them to breathe underwater for 20 minutes tops. They knew what they had to do. Head underwater and catch Whiscash.
Mayor Mare and Stoutland were the first to enter, leaping into the lake of Frenzy Forest. Rainbow Dash followed, deciding to be stylish about it. She jumped in reverse, putting her hooves behind her head to seem cool while also closing her eyes, putting on a smirk. Twilight and Espeon went last by just walking into the lake.
Once they were underneath, more Water-Types had been seen. Immediately, a school of Goldeen swam past them at high velocity. They closed their eyes once the Goldeen passed by. After having that slight brush, Whiscash could be seen up ahead.
"There it is!" Rainbow Dash was the first to spot the Whiskers Pokemon.
"Cash?" Naturally, being a territorial Pokemon, Whiscash was alerted to any nearby noise. And once Rainbow Dash bellowed, the Water-Ground-Type had turned its attention to them.
"We won't need any talking for this Pokemon. I know what to do." Mayor Mare swam ahead of the others. She had read Whiscash's Pokedex entry to know one thing. Territorial Pokemon are hard to chat with. And judging from how Whiscash looked at them, it was safe to say that a Pokemon Battle was imminent.
"Whiscash!" Whiscash sawm over. Its mouth opened up, unleashing Ice Beam as it chilled parts of the water.
"Here it comes! Stoutland, use Crunch!"
"Stout...Land!" Stoutland opened his mouth, causing a Dark Aura to fill his fangs. The Big-Hearted Pokemon had then bit Ice Beam suddenly The grip of his mouth managed to crush the beam until it dispersed into Ice particles.
"A battle it is! Stoutland, hed in and use Crunch once more!"
"Stoutland!" Stoutland would have to battle outside of his natural element. Within the lake, he started paddling his dog feet. However, this proved to be troublesome as Stoutland could not move that fast underwater. He couldn't get far at all. "S-Stout.."
"Oh...I should've expected this." Mayor Mare facehoofed, realizing how large of a disadvantage she and Stoutland were at.
"Cash!" Seeing them vulnerable, Whiscash had then used Water Pulse, unleashing a pulsing blast of water. The blast blended well with the lake as Stoutland had received a direct hit, hurling through the water.
"S-Stoutland!"
"Stoutland!" Mayor Mare gasped as Whiscash was about to unleash a second Water Pulse without taking a break. Despite how goofy some may see it as Whiscash can be aggressive when they need to be.
"Hang on, Mayor Mare!" Rainbow Dash suddenly got in front of the mayor. "We'll help wear it down for you. Castform, let's go!"
"Castform!" Castform and Rainbow Dash chose to assist Mayor Mare in catching this one Pokemon. Once Castform flew out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, his cells reacted to the water, causing him to change into his Rainy Form.
"You're double weak to this! Energy Ball!"
"Cast...Form!" Immediately after appearing, Castform had used Energy Ball, unleashing a green sphere of nature energy. Energy Ball had intercepted Water Pulse as they had cancelled each other out.
"Again!"
"Form!" Castform unleashed another Energy Ball consecutively. The ball had passed through the water and the particles made from the previous clash before crashing into the Whiskers Pokemon. Being Water and Ground meant that this attack stung Whiscash to a high degree.
"Cash!"
"I would've preferred a solo battle, but thank you for the help either way! Stoutland, Giga Impact!"
"Stoutland!" After finally recovering, Stoutland could dish out a heavy blow to Whiscash. The Big-Hearted Pokemon couldn't move all that much underwater. But with a certain Pokemon move, that could change. And Giga Impact was that move. Surrounding himself in a sparking white energy, Stoutland took off like a rocket, moving through the lake with a white trail.
"Cash?" Whiscash shook its head before noticing Stoutland approaching. The Water-Groud-Type was met with a head collision from Stoutland with the energy of Giga Impact going off. The lake itself shook from this explosive outburst, causing nearby Water-Types to back away. Stoutland hurled through the water after the impact, needing time to recharge. However, this attack plus the Energy Ball from before had greatly weakened Whiscash.
"Now's my chance! Go, Poke Ball!" Mayor Mare saw the riveting change as she launched the Poke Ball at full force through the water. Except this was Dive Ball. A normal Poke Ball wouldn't move that fast in the water but a Dive Ball was made specifically for the water.
Hurling at great speeds, it had bonked Whiscash on the head, minimising it to fit within the Dive Ball. And now, it was time for it to shake.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Whiscash was caught.
That was the second one caught today. Mayor Mare was on a roll so far. That meant that she would only need one more. Probopass. That Pokemon was less challenging to get than Samurott and Galarian Weezing. "Success! Hah...And here I was worried over having little. Thank you for assisting, Rainbow Dash."
"Stoutland."
"Esp? Espeon?!" But suddenly, Espeon alerted everyone, aiming her paw past one of the sea walls. Her gem had sensed something incoming. Once she had their attention, they were all met with an intimidating sight.
Appearing from the corner of the sea walls within the lake was another Whiscash. And a third. And a fourth. Soon a fifth and sixth and seventh had shown up. A school of Whiscash had shown themself, unexpectedly. Not just from the front but from the back as well.
They had been surrounded and judging by how one of their species had been captured with Mayor Mare currently holding the Dive Ball, it was safe to say that they were not too pleased at the moment. All of them were territorial. In fact, they basically shared one big territory in a small area.
"Oh." Twilight and the others soon found themselves in some trouble that they weren't expecting. If anything, the Pokedex was giving them a foreshadow of things to come.
But, as it is with these Pokemon Adventures. Mayor Mare's small quest to catch certain Pokemon for her Gym wasn't over yet. And Rainbow Dash was waiting for that chance to battle her. But first, there was this slight roadblock that they had found themselves in to deal with as the journey continues.
In the quest of finding four recommended Pokemon with facial hair to fill in for the 7th Gym which was fittingly, Facial Hair themed, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Mayor Mare found themselves surrounded by various Whiscash while underwater.
Mayor Mare successfully caught herself an Alakazam and Whiscash. However, that Whiscash capture is what led to this. Currently using the underwater breathing spell, they were face to face with the many Whiscash that called this part of the lake their territory.
"Whiscash."
"It's never easy, is it? There always has to be something that stands in our way," said Mayor Mare as she, Twilight and Rainbow Dash stood back to back. Or rather, floated back to back due to them being underwater.
"The Whiscash aren't going to let us go at this rate," Twilight replied. "They've already seen us as enemy number one at this point."
"Well, if they wanna go, we're game." Rainbow Dash was more than ready to battle the Whiscash if it came down to it.
"Whiscash. Whiscash. Whiscash." But then, instead of attacking, the Whiscash suddenly started slapping their tail fins onto the sea walls unexpectedly. But they were doing it in unison. The sounds of their tail fins hitting the walls formed something akin to a chant as rocks were being knocked off. This greatly confused the ponies and their partners. If anything, this put them on a higher guard than they already were.
"W-What are they doing...?" Rainbow Dash asked. Even she couldn't help but feel the intensity of it.
"Is it some kind of intimidation dance?" Twilight theorized. "Because if it is, it's pretty effective." The slapping continued with more rocks coming off. The Whiscash kept chanting as soon the lake was starting to rumble.
A strange disturbance was felt through the lake. A seaquake was being formed just by the Whicash slapping their tailfins along. Nearby Water-Types made sure to stay away from this tremor. However, the three ponies and their partners were getting caught up in this.
"Oh!" Twilight son realized what they were doing. "They're making earthquakes underwater that easily?!" She quickly put a shield around her friends, protecting them from whatever might come their way. However, this went beyond just shaking the sea.
They were changing the flow of the sea. A powerful reverse flow had been made with their slapping, causing all of the water to move elsewhere, forming a reverse current. That involved Twilight and her friends as the shield was being carried by these artificial currents.
"Woah!" They cried out, moving with the currents. It seemed that the Whiscash could manipulate the properties of the sea in unison. And this was further shown as the shield was brought towards one of the Whiscash with their mouths open.
"Whiscash...!" With a wide-open mouth, the Whiscash, as said by the Pokedex, was ready to eat them. It would eat anything without hesitation.
"That's one way to serve food!" Twilight yelped before using her magic to propel the shield elsewhere. With her mighty alicorn magic, she was able to fight back against the currents even when multiple of the same Pokemon were making it possible.
Right on time as the shield had passed the Whiscash. It had missed its food, biting nothing but the water. However, it didn't end there. Soon, the rest of the Whiscash had pursued Twilight and her friends while the shield was still up. They all swam towards them, immediately attacking the magic shield to try and break it.
The shield bounced from the attacks that were thrown at it. But it did not break. However, it did cause the ponies and Pokemon inside to feel some major turbulence and blowback from all of this.
"Get us out of here, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as the shield had hit a nearby large sea rock before being attacked by Water-Type and Ground-Type attacks. Mostly Water Pulse, Water Gun and Mud Bomb. "I think I'm gonna be sick..."
"T-Trying!" Twilight yelped as the shield was going all over the place with the Whiscash playing around with it by whacking it with their tails. This could be considered playing with their food.
"Esp! Espeon!" Espeon decided to chime in. She had used Dazzling Gleam, causing a sphere of rainbows to exude from her body But instead of releasing it in the form of rainbow rays, Espeon had utilized the brightness of Dazzling Gleam. By forming the sphere, the brightness that it made was showing itself.
Twilight knew about this as she quickly covered the eyes of her friends via her wings and hooves. The brightness reached the Whiscash as they were all immediately met with it. Just like that, all of them had been blinded by Espeon's light, throwing them off course and off-balance.
"Good job, Eve! Now's our chance!" Twilight could now direct the sphere properly without any interruptions. She made it zoom across the sea, moving away from the Whiscash and also their territory. And the best way to go was up. She immediately made the magic sphere ascend. They already caught one Whiscash successfully. Dealing with the rest was not necessary.
The sphere leapt out of the lake, reaching the surface. Once out, Twilight released the magic sphere. She, Rainbow Dash and Castform could fly free once more. And with Twilight's magic, she held Mayor Mare, Stoutland and Espeon, keeping them afloat via telekinesis.
Afterwards, they had descended without a scratch on them. And they made sure to land away from the lake to avoid any nearby Whiscash that could pop up. Water-Types do have the innate ability to sometimes float on land after all.
"Phew..." Twilight sighed, lying on her back. "Glad that was short-lived..."
"Apologies..." Mayor Mare sat up, adjusting her glasses. "If I had only caught these Pokemon before, we wouldn't be going through this trouble. Then again...I only received this information as of recently."
"It's okay, mayor. You didn't see it coming. Let's just hurry and get one more Pokemon and call it a day." Twilight reassured that none of this was Mayor Mare's fault. After all, they made it this far. No point in stopping now as there was just one Pokemon left.
But as they were about to leave, the Whiscash could be seen popping their heads out of the water. By the looks on their faces, they held a massive grudge as Twilight and the others spotted the emergence of the various Whiskers Pokemon.
"Cash."
"Tch! Now that we're on land, we're gonna have an easier time! "Rainbow Dash growled at the Whiscash along with Castform. Rainbow Dash had a Poke Ball out, ready to engage with the Castform.
"Is something the matter?" But this was quickly broken up once someone had spoken upon witnessing this scene. It was a Pokemon of great importance in a way. To many Pokemon at least.
That Pokemon was Virizion. One of the Swords of Justice. Upon seeing her, the Whiscash had ceased any attack they were about to pull off. Rainbow Dash also put her Poke Ball away. "O-Oh. Virizion," said Rainbow Dash with a slight stutter.
"Sorry. Did I interrupt your Pokemon Battle?"
"Well...We're glad you showed up." Twilight chuckled as she saw how static the Whiscash were since Virizion showed up. They know an important Pokemon when they see one. "Things could've gotten out of hoof."
"W-Whiscash."
"Now you wanna stop?" Rainbow Dash grumbled as Virizion could easily see what was about to occur if she never showed up.
"You wouldn't want to battle here, would you all?" Virizion asked. "Frenzy Forest is a peaceful place. Having conflict come to it doesn't seem right."
"Cash.."
"They started it though..." Rainbow Dash grumbled, crossing her hooves.
"So. Do you need something?" Virizion asked. "You must have come to the forest for a reason?"
"We already have what we need. Well, a few." Mayor Mare shrugged. "All I'm aiming for is one more facial hair Pokemon. A Probopass. It's for a Gym Leader theme with facial Hairinvolved."
"Pffft...!" Even Virizion couldn't help but chuckle at that. At the end of the day, it was the most comical Gym without a doubt considering its theming. "Well...if you're searching for Probopass, you won't find one here."
"Seriously? T-Then, where can we find one?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"They sometimes wander around the Crystal Empire near the frozen north. You will have the best of luck there. In the meantime, upon your next visit, I don't want to see any conflict between you two." Virizion then looked at Twilight's group and the Whiscash. "But you know, there are other Pokemon here with facial hair that you can choose. Such as Swalot or Jellicent."
"Just the recommended Pokemon are fine with us. It's my duty as a Gym Leader to uphold that. Plus, there has to be a reason why it would be these Pokemon. BigTime Ben suggested them after all."
"Very well. Good luck in your venture either way."
"Say...Where do you even go, Virizion?" Rainbow Dash was curious about Virizion's activities. They seem to be rarely known aside from wandering the land.
"I just go wherever. Helping those in need. Similarly to my fellow Swords of Justice. There is nothing more to it than that." That was the best answer she could give. Mainly because it was 100% true without anything else being added.
Rainbow Dash could live with that explanation. If anything, Ash and Pikachu had a similar thing to Virizion. Going wherever they can and helping whoever is in need. Afterwards, the group had left for the Crystal Empire, but the Whiscash had their eyes on them. Even if Virizion ordered any potential future conflict between them to end. Now, there was just one Pokemon left.
Probopass.
While heading for the Crystal Empire, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but wonder how her battle with Mayor Mare will go. She is the 7th Gym Leader meaning that not only is she extra strong, but she is the final obstacle before the 8th and final Gym Leader. Whoever it may be.
Mayor Mare was a great Pokemon Trainer despite using only one Pokemon ever. Stoutland. But that one Stoutland has proven to be a force to be reckoned with. Constantly taking on Honchkrow and his many Murkrow by himself a majority of the time. It was hard to imagine how much stronger she would be with more Pokemon. But these ones could definitely take some time to properly bond with more than anything. Either way, Rainbow Dash was both nervous and excited for what was to come.
The Crystal Empire. Afternoon.
They had arrived at the Crystal Empire. But they also stopped for a quick break before they can head out there and find Probopass. Something to eat and something to buy to keep them warm from the frozen north. They had bought some scarves before stopping by at a restaurant to eat.
"Mmm.." Rainbow Dash nodded in approval at the food she was eating. "That's the stuff. Say...when we get that final Pokemon, are we gonna have our Gym Battle right away, mayor?"
"Eager to have things go underway, eh? Sure." Mayor Mare agreed. "You and Twilight helped me plus you did show up there before anypony else. So...sure. Even if I have little time with the Pokemon I've caught. Not sure that Whiscash is too fond of me at the moment."
"Are you sure you want to do it right away?" An unsure Twilight asked. "Maybe giving it some time will do. You'd have a better performance that way. "I think it's best that you go at your own pace, mayor."
"Hmm...It wouldn't be any fun if one of them wasn't listening to her." The pegasus thought about it for a moment. "Ah, sure. I can wait a bit."
"Well, well, well." Just then, appearing near their table was a familiar voice once again. It wasn't Virizion this time. She didn't just decide to follow them. Instead, it was a voice that was mainly prominent in just the Crystal Empire. Ms Harshwinny. "I thought I would never see you again, Mayor Mare. Or should I call you Uppity?"
"Harshwinny." Mayor Mare replied, facing Harshwhinny with a serious tone. Twilight and Rainbow Dash could already feel the atmosphere tighten from this sudden interaction. "I'm not surprised you'd be the one pony to remember that name."
"Uppity? Your name is...Uppity?" Twilight turned to Mayor Mare. "Your real name?! Is it your real name?!"
"If it is, you don't look or act uppity to me." But Rainbow Dash couldn't see or sense the uppity nature coming from Mayor Mare.
"She certainly was back then. When we went to the same school as each other." Harswhinny began reminiscing about her younger years. Back then, Mayor Mare was in the same school as her. "You were always so pretentious and overbearing in all of our classes. Acting all high-and-mighty around everypony with what you do."
"And the best part is..." Mayor Mare leaned in with a smug look on her face. "You knew that I was that good to be so presumptuous, hm?"
"Sadly yes...You were too good at what you did, so nopony would try and knock you down or even could. That is until you met me." But Harshwhinny gave a cocky smirk as well. "I was your equal, wasn't I?"
"Yes. Yes, you were." Mayor Mare's smirk formed into a frown. "I thought I was living in another world when you came along. But you were just that good. Matching everything I did."
"Yes. Yes, I was." And Mayor Mare knew it. There were tensions rising between them both. Tensions that were giving Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Espeon, Castform and even Stoutland nerves.
"Bahahaha!" But they soon started breaking out into laughter. In unison, as they laughed, put their hooves around each other's necks, hugging afterwards. "Ah, it's good to see you again after all these years, Harshwhinny."
"The same to you, Uppity. You somehow look slightly younger than me. I'm jealous for once."
"I suppose that's the one thing you could never match me in." She chuckled at Harshwinny's comments. They were indeed good friends, and seemingly rivals in the past. "Well, I'm here to find myself a Probopass. To complete my list of Pokemon for the Gym. I have many trainers waiting for me."
"Hm-hm. Probopass, you say? I can guide you in the right direction for that."
"Oh, really?!" Twilight leaned in. "Because Virizion already mentioned how there would be one near here and the Frozen North. Is it the same area?"
"There is one here, but you're wasting your time going to the Frozen North. The only thing that you will catch is a horrible cold more than anything." Harswhinny replied. "Right where the Sableye lurk, you can find one. Or would you rather I lend you one of mine?"
"Pass. Taking one of yours would create an od synergy, wouldn't it?" Despite being friends, they still showed some playful teasing with each other. True friendship right there. "The nearest one with the Sableye will do. But...before that, while we're here...there's a favour I could ask of you." Mayor Mare got off the seat.
"You? Asking me for favours? I thought you were too skilled to need help?"
"And here I thought you'd never get used to helping others." But Mayor Mare replied with an equal sentence, showing their rivalry some more. "How about this? It's been years since our rivalry somewhat ended. What say we settle things here? With a Pokemon Battle. Not only that, but you would be helping me bond with the newest Pokemon that I've caught."
"A Pokemon Battle to settle our rivalry, you say? Hm..." Harshwinny thought about it before smiling. "Sounds like a fair decision. Steeling things with you might bring some peace to the mind, honestly."
"Excellent. Your Gym. You and me. There is only one Pokemon I could struggle with. So we'll make it a one-on-one." Mayor Mare mentioned Whiscash as she and Harshwinny shook hooves. Their rivalry would continue and seemingly end here with a Pokemon Battle.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash would have the pleasure of witnessing this battle take place. Against two Gym Leaders and old friends. However, this would be a test for Mayor Mare and her newly caught Whiscash. She would need this test to better bond with the Whiskers Pokemon and its rough disposition.
Harshwinny's Gym.
Twilight, Rainbow Dash and their Pokemon sat on the seats of the Gym while Mayor Mare and Mrs Harshwinny stood afar from each other on this field. There was no referee for this battle, neither did Twilight act as one.
"From how you put it, this may not be where our rivalry ends, Uppity," said Harshwinny. "If you are only asking this battle to happen to train one Pokemon, then you won't be giving it your all, would you?"
"You know I was far too cocky back then to give it my all." Mayor Mare held out the Dive Ball before throwing it. "Go! Whiscash!"
"Whiscash!"
"Whiscash, eh? Then in that case...Sudowoodo!" Harshwinny chose an odd choice. Sudowoodo was her pick.
"Sudowoodo!"
"Sudowoodo? Are you trying to lose? You know that I'm the type you should never hold back on." Mayor Mare shook her head, not understanding this Pokemon Choice.
"With all that time in Ponyville and Ash mentoring many of your citizens, I would've thought by now you would've known that Typings aren't everything."
"Fair enough. Now, Whiscash...are you going to make things simple for us?" The mayor asked the Whiskers Pokemon.
"Whiscash..." Whiscash swivelled to face Mayor Mare, giving a blank stare. Stoutland was ready to act in case Whiscash would attack his trainer. There was a moment of silence between them.
"If you do, I can treat you to all the food in the world. Mainly my town. I am the mayor, after all..." She winked at the Water-Ground-Type.
"Whiscash?!" Whiscash liked the sound of that. It was a fairly gluttonous Pokemon. And having free food at all times sounded like a safe bet. The Whiskers Pokemon turned to face Sudowoodo, ready for a battle. "Cash!"
"That easily?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"We're ready! Whiscash, Water Pulse!" Mayor Mare shouted, pointing her hoof.
"Whis...Cash!" Whiscash went first, unleashing a pulsing blast of water without wasting any time. Sudowoodo stood there, ready for the impact and whatever could come next.
"Allow us to borrow it for a moment! Mimic!"
"Sudo...!" Sudowoodo braced himself. His eyes flared as he immediately copied Water Pulse just by staring at it. His body flared with a golden light as the attack had struck him, dealing super-effective damage. But, now he had a new move to use against Whiscash.
"Return to sender! Water Pulse!"
"Sudo!" Sudowoodo easily recovered from the Water Pulse, leaping through the blue smoke before appearing in front of Whiscash.
"Cash?!"
"Sudo...!" Sudowoodo had summoned Water Pulse not his arms, promptly throwing it at the Water-Ground-Type from above. Whiscash was now the one who took the hit, moving back a bit.
"That still isn't enough for this Pokemon! Whiscash, use Earth Power!"
"Cash! Whiscash!" Whiscash used its natural strength to attack this time. Via slamming its tail onto the floor, causing golden shockwaves to zigzag in Sudowoodo's direction.
"Give it your own Earth Power!"
"Woodo!" But Sudowoodo had Earth Power as well. He slammed his arms onto the floor, also causing golden shockwaves t to emerge. Both these attacks shook the Gym, almost making everyone lose their balance. The windows vibrated, almost shattering as the two attacks had clashed. All that was left was a crack in the floor and an outburst of energy afterwards.
"If you think I have SUdowoodo out without anything to fight back against his weaknesses...think again! Wood Hammer, immediately!"
"Sudo!" Sudowoodo then advanced after the Earth Power clash had ended, having his arms glow. Wood Hammer was something that would severely harm Whiscash, no doubt.
"Meet it with Aqua Tail!"
"Cash!" Immediately, Whiscash had countered Sudowood's Woodhammer via Aqua Tail. A veil of water surrounded its tail as it had met with the Imitation Pokemon's arms. They started going back and forth with it being tail vs arms. It looked like two swords clashing as Sudowoodo managed to avoid one of the Aqua Tails by jumping over it. "Whiscash?!"
"Sudowoodo!" Sudowoodo then delivered a heavy floor-shattering overhead Wood Hammer to Whiscash. The blow was so heavy that not only did Whiscash stagger, ending Aqua Tail, but the floor gained a crater after Whiscash had been forced down. A colossal smoke cloud came from this with Mayor Mare having to step back. Harshwinny stood there unphased, knowing what would come next.
It wouldn't be another move from Whiscash. Mainly because Whiscash was down and out after that devastating Wood Hammer. It had fainted as Sudowoodo jumped back, taking a bow. "Sudo."
"W-Whiscash..."
"Ouch..." Rainbow Dash cringed, feeling Whiscash's pain. "Then again, should've seen that coming with Wood Hammer available."
"Castform."
"Whiscash." Mayor Mare went up to the Whiskers Pokemon. "I apologize for the short-lived battle but...you did try your best." She then held Whiscash up, congratulating it in its endeavour. Albeit brief. "You have some potential. I just wasn't able to bring it out since we just met."
"Cash...Whiscash..." Whiscash then gave a smile to Mayor Mare suddenly, showing that there was something sparking between them. It was this one loss against Harshwinny's Sudowoodo that a new bond had been sprouted.
"I can't accept that." Harshwinny sighed. "Uppity. Next time, would you give me that true Pokemon Battle I so desire? Then we can truly end our rivalry, wouldn't you agree?"
"You don't have to tell me twice, Harshwinny. I promise you that once I've sorted everything out with my new Pokemon, we will be unstoppable. Mainly to you." She smirked. "But thank you for this battle, anyway. It was fun catching up with you again. And I can see you still have the 'Ms' in your name. Haven't found anypony yet?"
"Hoh? If I recall, you're still lonely, aren't you?" Harshwinny replied as their bickering returned in a heartbeat. But it was all in good fun. They laughed at each other afterwards.
"I'll find somepony. I hope the same goes for you. In the meanwhile..." The mayor stood up, adjusting her glasses before facing Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash. We have a Gym Battle to attend to soon. How does 2 days sound?"
"2 days? Hah! I'm up for it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, fapping her wings with excitement. "But are you sure you're ready for me and my team in just 2 days, mayor?"
"You'd be surprised what I can pull off in a short amount of time. It's why I'm the mayor, after all."
"And it's why she was so good in class," Harshwinny added to Mayor Mare's compliments. The mayor appreciated it from her friend plus rival at the same time. "Now then, let's get you that Probopass before you head off, why don't we?"
A date for their battle was set. Rainbow Dash would soon have the chance to go up against Mayor Mare and potentially achieve the 7th Gym Badge. And with new Pokemon, one that was already kind enough to work with Harshwinny, another that was soon to come via Harshwinny's help and a stubborn but slightly understanding Whiscash, Mayor Mare's new had been born.
The 7th Gym Battle with Mayor Mare being revealed as the newest Gym Leader was inevitable. Rainbow Dash was ready. It would be a 2-on2 battle so just 2 Pokemon only. But she knew which Pokemon to bring. After she and Twilight assisted Mayor Mare in catching a few Pokemon to prepare for the Gym, Rainbow Dash made sure to know which Pokemon she would go up against. This was the gym that would earn her the 7th Gym Badge and take her towards the final Gym. There, the road to the Equestria League would be unlocked.
But Mayor Mare was in the same boat. She was waiting patiently in Town Hall, knowing Rainbow Dash's Pokemon very well after all she's seen of them. In her hooves, she three Poke Balls containing Alakazam, Whiscash and Probopass. Pokemon with facial hair.
And while sitting there, petting Stoutland on the head, Rainbow Dash opened the door to Town Hall, appearing before Mayor Mare. And joining Rainbow Dash were her friends who were here to watch this Gym Battle ensue.
"Ah, good. You arrived on time." Mayor Mare stood up. "Hollow battled everyone else yesterday, making you the first trainer to battle me officially."
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Rainbow Dash grinned. "I've been waiting for this. I watched your battle with Ms Harshwinny back at the Crystal Empire and know all about Alakazam, Whiscash, Probopass and especially your Stoutland. I'm ready for this."
"She sure is!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "But you'll do great too, mayor."
"I hope you are. The time with Alakazam, Whiscash and Probopas may have been brief, but some progress had been made. Not too long either. Isn't that right, boy?"
"Stout. Stoutland."
"The battle isn't going to seriously happen here, is it?" Twilight asked. "That would mean Town Hall might take some damage now that I think about it."
"Ah, have no fear. A field made to withstand Pokemon Battles had already been built. Observe!" Mayor Mare stomped her hoof once. Upon stomping it, the floor was starting to transform. Everyone gazed downwards to see the floor split, revealing another floor below.
That floor had the signature Pokemon symbol that was found in Gyms, Pokemon League Stadiums, fields and any place where Pokemon Battles take place. One had been built beneath Town Hall as it had risen. Now, the stage was set perfectly.
"Impressive, isn't it?" The mayor nodded while everyone gawked. "This Town Hall is old so some new additions are always. Now then, let's not waste any more time, shall we?"
"Oh, right, right!" Rainbow Dash quickly zoomed towards the fields, taking her respective side. She stood on the right side of the field. Mayor Mare casually trotted to the left side while Ash and everyone would use the seats that naturally came with Town Hall. No special stands were needed for this.
It wouldn't just be them. Since Town Hall was within a civilization, some ponies would look through the window or enter the building, wanting to see this Gym Battle for themselves. The referee pony also arrived, ready to oversee the battle from start to finish. Once everyone was seated, made themselves comfortable, everything could go underway without any interruptions.
"The Ponyville Gym Battle between Rainbow Dash and Gym Leader Mayor Mare will now begin! This will be a 2-on-2 match! And the battle will be over when all two of either Trainer's Pokemon are unable to continue. Only the challenger will be allowed to make substitutions during the match. Now, bring out your first Pokemon."
"Observe." Mayor Mare held out her first Poke Ball, throwing it into the air. "Probopass, come out!"
"Probopass!"
"Probopass. It's a good thing I've got you as my first pick! Go, Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash's first pick was her Mienfoo as she launched the Poke Ball by slapping it with her wings. Out of it came the Martial Arts Pokemon.
"Mienfoo!"
"Battle Start!"
"Watch me ace this! I won't be holding back! Mienfoo, Force Palm, go!"
"Mien...Foo!" Mienfoo went first, leaping off the floor as everyone's eyes were glued to the action. She thrust her palm in front of her, causing an orange streak of light to appear around it.
"Now, Probopass! Retaliate with Gyro Ball!"
"Probo-Probo!" Probopass responded to Mienfoo's Gyro Ball via some body spinning. Thanks to its slow speed, Gyro Ball's strength was vastly increased as a white light emanated from Probopass. Mienfoo's palm had been thrown into Gyro Ball with the two forces meeting with each other. An orange and silver light flashed from their collision with none of them overpowering the other. Mienfoo soon jumped back as it was a tie clash.
"Okay then! Move around with Acrobatics! Let's show them that they can't keep up!"
"Mienfoo!" After jumping back, Mienfoo immediately started moving once more with little time to slow down. She was a Pokemon that was always on a rapid move after all. Mienfoo used the surroundings and the vast space of Town Hall to move around, jumping and running on the walls in seconds. She became a yellow and pink blur from her speed as Probopass was unable to keep up.
"Not surprised. Most if not all of your Pokemon are fast." Mayor Mare didn't seem bothered by Mienfoo's absurd speed. Rainbow Dash let out a proud grin, knowing that she had a truly swift team. "But unfortunately, your speed will be your downfall once someone negates it. Like so! Probopass, use Gravity!"
"Probo!" Probopass' eyes lit up once Mienfoo moved in for a dive-kick with Acrobatics. Right as she got close, Probopass had already manipulated space itself. The space around Town Hall specifically. With just that alteration, Mienfoo suddenly felt heavier as her Acrobatics were thrown off balance and negated, causing her to crash into the Compass Pokemon.
"M-Mien!"
"Now, Gyro Ball!"
"Pass!" With Mienfoo crashing into Probopass, this allowed the Rock-Steel-Type to gyrate and spiral with the Martial Arts Pokemon on it. And with this action, Mienfoo was being spun as well, receiving something akin to a merry go round but on a far more aggressive level.
"Oh, no! Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash gasped. Mienfoo was already feeling sick and dizzy from this spinning. And so was everyone else watching. Their eyes kept following Probopass' spinning. There weren't many options to break free from this scenario with retaliation. But there was one form of freedom that was tailored to Probopass' actions. Once it had stopped spinning, Mienfoo had been launched off of Probopass, flying a great distance.
"Now, Stone Edge!"
"Pro!" After spinning Mienfoo and launching her far, Probopass followed up with glowing crystals forming around its body, similar to a planet orbit. Afterwards, it had launched the stones towards Mienfoo while she was still flying. Plus, Gravity was holding her down even still.
"Force Palm!"
"Foo!" But even when being hurled and having Gravity pressurize her, Mienfoo had struck the incoming stones repeatedly, breaking them apart until they became pebbles.
"Does this decrease of speed within this gravity field not worry you, Rainbow Dash?"
"Not one bit. I've seen the move Gravity used quite a bunch. So it's not a big deal for me and Mienfoo. We're gonna work around it anyway." Rainbow Dash crosse her hooves along with Mienfoo.
"Mienfoo."
"Hm. Fair enough." Mayor Mare shrugged, accepting that argument. "But can the same be said for your Flying-Types?"
"Gh!" Rainbow Dash and Mienfoo both twitched as Mayor Mare had revealed one flaw with them. Gravity didn't matter much to a Pokemon like Mienfoo. But for her other Pokemon that could fly, this could prove to be a problem. "It doesn't matter! Because once I beat Probopass, that Gravity Field is out of here!"
"Foo!"
"Then give me your best shot, why don't you?."
"Fine! We'll end this in one move!" Rainbow Dash had then revealed the Z-Ring, holding her hoof out. Afterwards, she had placed the Fightium Z onto the ring. Upon placing it, the ring pulsated an aura that flew out. It was time for the full force of this Z-Move to be utilized as Rainbow Dash started posing.
"She's going to use a Z-Move right now?!" Scootaloo gasped. "This early?!"
"The best choice in my eyes." Twilight agreed with Rainbow Dash using it this early. "Probopass is far too vulnerable to Fighting-Type moves. So a Z-Move such as this is the way to go. Unless..."
"Get ready! There's no way Probopass is fast enough to avoid what's coming!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo nodded as her body began flowing with the aura of Z Power once Rainbow Dash pulled off the successful poses. But Mayor Mare didn't seem worried even if Probopass was incredibly vulnerable to Fighting-Type moves and was too slow to avoid what was coming its way.
"Mienfoo. ALL OUT PUMMELLING!"
"Mien...Foo!" Mienfoo then threw a ridiculously fast flurry of orange glowing punches and kicks that covered a majority of the field. Everyone watched as Probopass simply stood there, ready for the attack.
"P-Probo!" Probopass had then been bombarded with these constant blows that pummelled it with an unrelenting force. The sound of Probopass' hard body could be heard echoing from each hit. The final blow came in the form of a gigantic paw that had engulfed Probpass. Afterwards, the Fighting-Type Infinity Energy combusted, resulting in a dome-shaped explosion.
The Z Aura then faded away as Mienfoo and Rainbow Dash narrowed their eyes, waiting to see if Probopass was down and out. Lo and behold, once the smoke started clearing, that was not the case. The silhouette of the Compass Pokemon could be seen floating there. Not only was it floating, but it was still up and able to continue. It did not faint.
"No way!" Rainbow Dash and Mienfo gasped.
"Hmph. Unfortunately, Sturdy says otherwise." Mayor Mare adjusted her glasses as they shined with the sun beaming through. "Perhaps you might know about that ability, hm?"
"Sturdy! Darn it!" Rainbow Dash growled, knowing that Sturdy can sometimes be a climatic-killer in a lot of instances.
"Ah. Then I suppose you also know this move. Pain Split!"
"Pass!" Probopass had then made one of its eyes glow. Out of its glowing eyes, a tiny yet hyper-fast ray of light came flying out. It had connected with Mienfoo's eyes immediately.
"Mien?" Upon meeting with Mienfoo's eyes, a barrage of invisible blows had been delivered to her. "M-Mienfoo?!" Mienfoo cried out once all these invisible blows came to her. Just like that, she had been knocked back as shockwaves came out of her body, causing her to fall down.
"What the?! What was that?!" Rainbow Dash had no idea what that move was. But judging from the name, everypony else who had never heard of this move could most likely tell.
"That's Pain Split!" Ash cried out. "It's an attack that makes the targets pain the same as its opponent. All that damage that Probopass took from All-Out Pummeling and withstood from Sturdy is now on Mienfoo. They're about equal in energy right about now.
"Wish they taught us that move in the Pokemon School. But only Princess Luna has a teacher that specializes in Normal-Type moves, correct?" Rarity asked. "Norman, was it?"
"Mienfoo! Are you okay?!"
"M-Mienfoo..." Mienfoo stood up slowly as she had tatters all over her body. She got on one knee with one eye closed before opening the other eye and barely standing upright. "Mien."
"Nifty move, wouldn't you agree? Now, all we need is one clean hit and that Mienfoo of yours is out of the picture. Or will it be a switch, Rainbow Dash?" Mayor Mare pointed at the Wonderbolt, making her nervous. Rainbow Dash grit her teeth, knowing that in just a few minutes, she had been put in a rough spot. These upper-level Gym Leaders are certainly no joke. And they never will be.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo wasn't planning on leaving. Even if Rainbow Dash would choose to return her. She gt into a charging stance, raising her arms and letting out a powerful battle cry.
"Mienfoo? Do you seriously want to stay in?" Rainbow Dash gawked. The Martial Arts Pokemon turned her head, giving an approving nod to the pegasus. "Hm. Okay. I gotcha. The truth is...we also a clean hit as well and that Probopass is done for. So let's do this!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo took her signature stance that the entirety of her species has. Both Pokemon were incredibly weak right about now. One mighty blow and either one could go down. They looked at each other a bit before Mayor Mare gave the next command.
"Stone Edge! Keep them at bay and take them out, Probopass!"
"Probopass!" Probopass descended onto the floor, smashing it as it had summoned an array of glowing crystals that burst from below, destroying parts of the field.
"Run across the walls with Acrobatics!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo would once again use Town Hall as a way to work to her advantage. However, the effects of Gravity were still prominent, especially when within the air. The speed of Acrobatics had been bogged down because of this Gravity field.
"Pass!" But just then, Probopass had used the other variation of Stone Edge. The ones that flew out as they orbited Probopass' body before shooting at the Martial Arts Pokemon.
"Foo?!" Mienfoo gasped as the stones started hitting the walls of Town Hall, leaving dents and holes. Mienfoo started running from them once they approached. She jumped from wall to wall with each stone that got close to her. Some stones even flew out the windows. The ponies from the outside had ducked and squealed after almost being hit by these stones once they had reached the outside.
"Knock them away with Fury Swipes!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo revealed her hidden claws which started glowing. The Fighting-Type faced the stones, leaping off of the walls before using her amazing swiping speed to her advantage here. She started cleaving the stones as fast as they came, using all of her efforts despite how vulnerable she was currently was.
She managed to get rid of all of them until Probopass had sent some more her way, planning to overwhelm the Martial Arts Pokemon at all costs.
"Grr! Use the energy from Force Palm and shoot it out!"
"Mien...!" After getting rid of the first barrage of stones, Mienfoo aimed to take the rest of them out with just one hit. She had used Force Palm, forming an orange glow around her paw. But with that glow, she had utilized the Infinity Energy from it, thrusting her trembling arm forwards as an orange beam had been shot out. "Foo!"
The orange beam had met with the second barrage of stones, clashing with them. Upon colliding, the energy had taken out the stones successfully, resulting in an orange explosion.
"Now's our chance...!" Rainbow Dash said to herself. "Reversal!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo then jumped off the wall, passing through the smoke and appearing in front of Probopass, ready to deliver the final blow to the Compass Pokemon with an up-close and personal strike. But, unexpectedly, the final crystal from Stone Edge had been revealed.
It had burst out of the floor, hitting Mienfoo in the chin, right as she threw the punch. It was right in front of Probopass' nose by one inch. But that crystal had put an end to things, knocking Mienfoo aside. Everyone was agape in the mouth from that sneak attack. No one expected a final stone to show itself. Mienfoo dropped to the floor as it had been decided. She had fainted.
"M-Mienfoo..."
"Mienfoo is unable to battle! Probopass wins!"
"Oh..." That was all Rainbow Dash could say. She accepted the defeat of Mienfoo but was flabbergasted by the secret Stone Edge. So was everyone else.
"Always check your surroundings," said Mayor Mare as that was a slight taunt considering Mienfoo had been using her surroundings this entire time. Everyone applauded as they were enjoying this battle. It was a shame that it was just a 2-on-2, meaning that the battle would be shorter. But even so, that first round proved to be a lengthy one.
"Mienfoo. You did great. Get some rest." Rainbow Dash recalled her partner. "You got the first one, but that Probopass of yours is one tap away from victory." She then brought out her second Poke Ball as it glimmered with the sun beaming down on it.
"So you say..." Mayor Mare still wasn't bothered.
"I never knew Mayor Mare could be so...so..." Sweetie Belle stammered on her words, trying to find the right thing to say. "So cool."
"Didn't you see her when she battled all those Honchkrow and Murkrow for the first time?" Scootaloo nudged Sweetie Belle.
"It's almost terrifying to imagine what she would be like if our world never met with Pokemon..." Fluttershy chuckled nervously.
"Uh...You'd be disappointed." Cold Colt shook his head as he knew the truth of what Mayor Mare would be like in the original timeline without Pokemon.
"Alright! Here comes the sec-"
"Cast!" But Castform had cut Rainbow Dash off, wanting to go next. "Castform! Cast-Cast!"
"Aw. Sorry, buddy. But I was thinking of bringing someone else out for round 2. Maybe in the next Gym Battle or another battle we might have sooner or later." She apologized to the Weather Pokemon.
"Cast..."
"Let's go! Whirlipede!"
"Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash's first-ever Pokemon had been sent into the fray. And arguably her fastest depending on how long a battle goes on for.
"Let's end this in one shot! Whirlipede, use Rollout!"
"Whirlipede!" Whirlipede revved up his body, creating some dust along the way. After picking up some speed, Whirlipede took off, rolling towards Probopass to deliver that finishing blow Mienfoo couldn't give.
"Stone Edge!"
"Probopass!" But Probopass would be there to stop him. More of those glowing crystals had been summoned from underneath, rapidly erupting and tearing the floor apart.
"Pede!" But, Whirlipede could work around this. Mainly by drifting. The Curlipede Pokemon took a hard drift and a hard turn, avoiding the crystals with incredible precision. But more were popping up, just to block Whirlipede at all costs.
"That's the stuff! Now! Go!"
"Whirlipede!" Whirlipede then used one of the stones as a ramp, rolling off of it. Probopass and Mayor Mare's eyes were raised to see the Bug-Poison-Type attacking from above. "Pede!" With a spurt of speed in the air, Whirlipede had crashed into Probopass by accelerating his body. Even Gravity couldn't keep him down as it was a direct hit.
"P-Pro!" And that one hit was all that was needed. Probopass was knocked down as Whirlipede slid past it afterwards, coming to a screeching halt. The Compass Pokemon hit the floor, making a loud clanging sound from its body weight. It had fainted. "Probopass..."
"Probopass is unable to battle! Whirlipede wins!"
That much was to be expected. Sturdy was an amazing ability but it did have its flaws depending on the scenario. With Probopass down, it came down to only one Pokemon as Mayor Mare recalled the Compass Pokemon. "Thank you, Probopass. You were amazing for your first run at this."
"It's so short but it's so much fun too!" Pinkie Pie cheered along with many others from the inside and outside. "This is truly short and sweet.
"I know what the next Pokemon is...She can't resist using her very best one," said Rainbow Dash as her eyes were focused on Stoutland. Mayor Mare's first and undoubtedly strongest Pokemon.
"I'm counting on you, Stoutland." Mayor Mare faced the BigHearted Pokemon. "You will always make me proud. Now go! And show them what you can do!"
"Stoutland!" Stoutland ran ahead, standing in front of Mayor Mare and making a powerful howl. "Stout!" With this howl, other canine Pokemon nearby couldn't help but howl as well. Including Pokemon already owned by Trainers. Even Applejack's pet dog Winona howled in response.
"I've been waiting for Stoutland." grinned Rainbow Dash. "That dog's always been crazy strong ever since. I've wanted to see just how good it was and now's my chance."
"Don't waste your chance then." Mayor Mare shook her head. "Show me what you can do. But be careful. I have a secret waiting just for you and Whirlipede."
"We'll beat you before that secret can come along! Whirlipede! Rollout, let's go!"
"Whirlipede!" Whirlipede's speed had been increased thanks to his ability Speed Boost. Because of this, his take-off was faster than before as he approached the Big-Hearted Pokemon at full throttle.
"Stoutland, show him your speed and sweep that Bug!"
"Stoutland!" Just then, unexpectedly, Stoutland had dashed from the spot he stood on, appearing n the other side with impressive speed. Speeds that no one knew Stoutland was capable of.
"Whirl?!" Whirlipede was taken aback by this as well as he quickly drifted to face the Normal-Type. However, Stoutland had then dashed once more, moving from place to place with after images being left behind. Whirlipede kept rolling to try and keep up.
"Wait! Stoutland has always been this fast?!" Rainbow Dash was aghast.
"Always has been! Crunch!"
"Stoutland!" Stoutland, after zipping throughout the area, appeared before Whirlipede with a yellow aura shaped like a set of teeth.
"Whirl!" Whirlipede rushed at Stoutland, clashing with the aura teeth directly. The teeth managed to grab ahold of Whirlipede once he was close. Stoutland now had the Curlipede Pokemon within his grip. "W-Whirl?!"
"Give him a good slamming!"
"Stoutland!" Stoutland then started slamming Whirlipede onto the floor while still holding onto him. The first hit was hard enough to shake the field and the second hit involved a turnaround slam. Stoutland then kept slamming the Curlipede Pokemon around like a ragdoll.
"W-Whirlipede!"
"Whirlipede! Spin as fast as you can to break free with Steamroller!"
"Pede!" Whirlipede wouldn't allow this to continue. He spun on the spot while the energy of Crunch was still holding onto this. With Steamroller's power, Whirlipede built up some acceleration that started to damage the aura teeth. Stoutland soon noticed this as Whirlipede's acceleration was strong enough to burn away the aura teeth of Crunch, breaking him free. "Whirl!"
"S-Stout!"
"Thanks to that slamming, you've helped increase Whirlipede's speed some more with Speed Boost! Now, hit him hard with Venoshock!"
"Pede! Whirl...!" After breaking free from the teeth, Whirlipede used his tiny limbs that shot out streams of poison from both fronts. The poison immediately sprayed Stoutlan, stinging the Normal-Type and pushing him away.
"Reversal!"
"Stout!" Stoutland's eyes flared after being sprayed by the poison. Immediately, he had rushed back in with his amazing speed, appearing before Whirlipede with a glowing head.
"Dodge it quick!"
"Pede!" Whirlipde managed to zoom to the side, evading Stoutland's Reversal headbutt by a smidge. Stoutland was still able to keep up.
"Go with Rollout!"
"Whirlipede!" After rolling to the side, Whirlipede had then drifted to rush back in. Rollout's attack strength had been increased as well after being used once.
"Meet him with Reversal!"
"Land!" Stoutland roared, allowing Whirlipede to come his way. The BigHearted Pokemon smashed his head onto Whirlipede's body. They clashed with Whirlipede trying to push through. However, the strength of Reversal proved to be superior as Stoutland's head bash managed to overpower Whirlipede's spinning, pushing the Curlipede Pokemon away.
"Whirl!"
"It isn't over yet! Steamroller!"
"Whirlipede!" Even after being blown away, Reversal was not very effective. Whirlipede managed to land on the walls, rolling on them. Similar to his teammate Mienfoo, he had used his surroundings. He started rolling on the walls, sticking to them for a moment while using Steamroller.
"Again with the walls?!" Mayor Mare exclaimed. "Have it your way! Chase him down, Stoutland! Imagine the walls are massive frisbees!"
"Stout..." Stoutland started doing so. He loved playing with the frisbee and seeing something else as a frisbee would do the trick to motivate him. With his jaw-dropping speed, the Normal-Type immediately ran towards the walls, pursuing the Bug-Poison-Type. "Stoutland!"
Stoutland used his claws to stick onto the walls, digging deep into them. After sticking onto them, Stoutland used his claws as a way to manoeuver around the walls. Everyone's eyes were working hard to try and keep up with the action.
"Don't let him catch you! Take him by surprise and land a good clean hit!"
"Whirl!" Whirlipede searched for that blindspot on Stoutland. For now, he would have to keep rolling and wait for the right moment.
"I think not! Giga Impact!"
"Stout...!" Stoutland then stopped for a moment, building up energy. The energy of Giga Impact showed itself, covering Stoutland with Infinity Energy. The BigHearted Pokemonthen lunged forward, leaving a massive trail while also catching up to Whirlipede immediately. "Stoutland!"
"Now!"
"Whirlipede!" Whirlipede had then jumped off the walls at the right moment once Stoutland approached. By leaving the walls, Stoutland ended up crashing into them, missing his target. The impact damaged the walls of the Town Hall, shattering the windows as well.
"Ah!" Mayor Maer gasped as Stoutland had descended from that failed attack. And now he was truly vulnerable as some time to recharge after using Giga Impact was needed.
"Now's our chance! Rollout!"
"Whirl!" Whirlipede saw his chance. He went in while Stoutland was recharging. Upon approaching with greater speed than before, he had crashed a powered-up Rollout with extra high velocity into Stoutland's canine body. A direct hit and a hard one too. One hard enough to make Whirlipede bounce back while also launching Stoutland.
However, despite that hard hit, Stoutland was still up and able. He rolled on the floor before jumping back up, returning to Mayor Mare's side. Whirlipede did the same, rolling back to Rainbow Dash. "Stout! Stoutland!"
"Yikes...Not enough?" Rainbow Dash growled, surprised that Stoutland had a great mix of both speed and durability.
"Hm-hm." Mayor Mare shook her head. "You've certainly made my blood pump, Rainbow Dash. I haven't felt this much excitement when I was in my younger years. I suppose becoming a Gym Leader and partaking in Pokemon Battles is what managed to rekindle that spark."
"Land."
"No problem. But it isn't over yet until I win. I don't want to get your hopes up too much, Mayor. Isn't that right, Whirlipede."
"Whirl."
"I know. But I could say the same to you. You've already proven worthy for me to show you this." Just then, Mayor Mare dug her hoof into her mane, pulling something out of it. Everyone looked onward to see that a Z-Ring had been revealed. She had one the entire time.
"WHA- You've got a Z-Ring?!" Rainbow Dash gasped as her heart dropped for a moment. Seeing a Z-Ring was a massive red flag and a potential game-ender right here. "Since when?!"
"You young ones aren't the only ones that go on adventures." The mayor smirked before placing the ring on her hoof. Afterwards, she had held out the Z-Crystal as well. And this turned out to be the Normalium Z. "Now then..." She placed the crystal onto the ring, allowing the aura and Z-Power to appear.
"Stout!"
"Get ready, Whirlipede! Use Iron Defense!"
"Whirlipede!" Whirlipede was ready to brace himself for the incoming Z-Move. He had to as his body sparkled with increased defence.
"This is..." Mayor Mare started pulling off the correct poses for the Z-Move correctly. "Our absolute full-force Z-Move!" The energy from the Z-Crysta then went to Stoutland, filling him with Z Power.
"Stoutland!"
"Stoutland! Breakneck Blitz!"
"Stout...!" After striking a series of successful poses with his trainer, Stoutland's body then becomes surrounded by an orange aura. Afterwards, Stoutland took off at breakneck speeds with the aura, approaching Whirlipede.
"We'll match their speed with ours! Rollout, go!"
"Whirlipede!" Whirlipede was ready to clash with Breakneck Blitz. Even though it was being powered up by Giga Impact which was already a hard-hitting attack. With the increased speed of Speed Boost and the increased strength of a repeated Rollout, Whirlipede approached.
Both Pokemon had met, butting heads once more. And this time, it was a true struggle. Whirlipede was using all of his gathered strength and sped to try and push back against Stoutland's force output. It became a back and forth struggle with both Pokemon trying to succeed. Dust clouds were forming from their struggle with sparks flying from Whirlipede's spinning.
Rainbow Dash and Mayor Mare held their breaths, knowing that either side could come out on top. But it was impressive that Whirlipede was able to match with a Z-Move in this manner. Eventually, one of them would have to peak at some point.
W-Whirlipede!" Whirlipede cried out as his spinning was starting to heat his body just from how fast he was moving. And because of this, not only did he heat himself up, he also sent some of that heat towards Stoutland. Stoutland felt the heat from this intensive struggle. Stoutland was starting to push back with the Z-Move not ending yet. "Pede!" Whirlipede's ability Speed Boost being used once more allowed him to use some more velocity to his advantage. Afterwards, both attacks blew up in front of each other.
Silence filled Town Hall as much of the crowd blinked after that aggressive clash. Both Pokemon had come out of the smoke, feeling winded afterwards. Their heads also ached from the damage they had taken and their bodies were sweating because of the heat. Despite it all, none had seemed to faint just yet. "W-Whirli...!"
"S-Stoutland...!"
"They're both still up!" Twilight gasped. Everyone thought that this would go on for a bit longer. But once both Pokemon stopped moving, they started to fall over. This meant that an inevitable faint was incoming as everyone leaned forward or stood up.
However, only one fell. Whirlipde managed to keep himself balanced with his circular body, making sure not to fall. The one who fell was Stoutland. "S-Stoutland..."
"Stoutland is unable to battle! Whirlipede wins! Thus the victor is Rainbow Dash!"
"Yes! Victory!" Rainbow Dash raised her hooves with blazing excitement before flying over to Whirlipde. She then hugged the Curlipede Pokemon as resounding cheers echoed throughout and outside Town Hall. "Whirlipede, you're so awesome!"
"Whirl..."
"That got too close...Kinda scared for what the last Gym Battle's gonna be like..." Applejack sighed, laying on Sceptile's body.
"I'm more worried about the Equestria League than anything else." Rarity chimed in.
"Stoutland. Thank you so much." Mayor Mare helped her partner up. "I couldn't ask for a better partner than you. You're such a good boy."
"Stout." Stoutland then licked Mayor Mare's face, making her laugh. Rainbow Dash reigned victorious as that meant the 7th Gym Badge was now hers. "Thank you for the amazing battle, Rainbow Dash. Now, you've earned yourself this." She went over to a table, picking up the badge that Rainbow Dash would receive. "The Stache Badge. It's yours. Proof of your victory at the Ponyville Gym."
"Awesome..." Rainbow Dash took the badge. "The Stache Badge is mine! Yes! Just one more to go!"
"And the Equestria League will be yours to enter. Just a tip, the final Gym is located in Canterlot." Mayor Mare explained. "That is where you'll find the last Gym Leader."
"Canterlot, huh? Got it." Rainbow Dash nodded before flying to her friends. Everypony else left the building as they enjoyed themselves from watching that battle. "Wonder who it might be? Ah, who cares? I'll win that too!"
With the 7th Gym Badge achieved, only one Gym remains. Only Canterlot is the final destination of it all. Fitting honestly. The final Gym Leader was still unknown to many, but Rainbow Dash would face them no matter who they are as the journey continues.
A question was lingering with Twilight. After the revelation f BigTime Ben being somewhat of another Rift Creation, Twilight had to wonder if PokePark was one as well, considering that Ben's past never existed before. But thanks to Rift alteration, reality in the Pokemon World had been warped to change it, making his past seem real. She appeared before Queen Serperior alongside Fluttershy who was there to translate.
"So...Queen Serperior. I was wondering..." Twilight wasn't sure how to put this as she rubbed her hoof. But she had to be upfront about her question. "Are you all real?"
"Serperior?"
"Thats' a funny question, Twilight," Fluttershy replied.
"I know. It's weird. But since BigTime Ben is a Rift Creation, does the same go for you and every Pokemon here in PokePark, Queen Serperior."
"Serperior." She shook her head. It was obvious that they had no clue about them being Rift Creations or even if they knew they were at all. Twilight didn't need Fluttershy as a translator to receive this answer.
"Guess that makes sense..." Twilight chuckled, feeling let down. It was hard to tell if they were now that there wasn't a clear answer. "Thanks anyway, Queen Serperior."
"Guess this means we can explore the rest of PokePark without worrying about too much. As long as everyone is okay." Fluttershy reassured. "I want to know more about what happens here. Oh, maybe they have a special day here?"
"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. Right now, I've got some new trainers to help get started. Oh and...Spike wants a Charmander. Since he found out about Charizard's Mega Evolution. And I'm also itching to visit Professor Oak's lab for...reasons."
"Is it because of the other Twilight?" Fluttershy leaned in, speaking rapidly and startling Twilight.
"It is not because of the other Twilight!" Twilight slid back.
"It's fine, Twilight. Audi and I know already. I'm sure that Ash and the other Twilight are good friends." Fluttershy smiled before pondering. "I think. I haven't seen much of her, honestly. Oh, now might be a good chance for me to see her now that I think about it."
"R-Right...I need Cadence's help again through all of this..." Twilight sighed, feeling somewhat perplexed as she, Fluttershy and their Pokemon had left PokePark, returning to Ponyville.
But upon returning to Ponyville, they were met with a surprise. Standing before the gateway that led to Canterlot were Ash and the rest of his friends.
"Oh, hey. You're just in time. We got something from Professor Oak. Someone important is coming through right now." Ash said to them. "He didn't tell me who though."
"Pikachu."
"Is it one of your friends, Ash? Who am I kidding? You have a lot of friends." said Goh.
"A new visitor to Ponyville? That's always nice." Fluttershy replied, standing next to Pinkie Pie. "I wonder who it could be? Maybe another Gym Leader you know about?"
"I was thinking the same thing." Pinkie chimed in. "Which Region?"
They would get their answers very soon as a figure was appearing. A familiar silhouette. It reminded them of someone that used to be alongside Red. From how they were facing it, something or someone was going to pass through. If it was someone they already knew, they wouldn't be so fixated on it. But that wasn't the case right now.
"Hang on...Is that Blue?!" Twilight and Applejack both exclaimed.
"No...it's..." Ash took a closer look, recognizing who it was. While the person resembled Blue, it was someone Ash knew more than Blue. A wide smile met with his and Pikachu's face as it was one of Ash's oldest friends ever. His first ever rival from the same town as him.
Gary Oak.
"I was wondering if Grandpa was telling the truth. Looks like he was." Gary Oak spoke after appearing before the ponies in Ponyville. "Turns out it really is you, Ashy Boy."
"Ah! Gary!" Ash gasped.
"Haha! I just said that for old times' sake." He chuckled at Ash. "It's been a long time, Ash. Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
"Yep. Sure has been a while. But what are you doing here? You were doing Pokemon Research in the Sinnoh Region, right?"
"Those days are over. Now I'm on a long journey researching Pokemon all over the world. Certainly a step-up, don't you think? And in the middle of it, I came up with a goal that brought me to Kanto and soon to this world. Right here in Equestria."
"He really does look like Blue, doesn't he?" Starlight uttered as everypony could see the striking resemblance between Gary and Blue.
"Weird...But those are counterparts for you." Twilight accepted the bizarre nature of it. She was used to this by now after seeing counterparts of herself and her friends constantly.
"But first thing's first...Aren't you gonna introduce your friends to us?" Gary then turned to Twilight and everyone else.
"Oh, yeah. Naming them all's gonna take a few seconds. But there's Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Goh, Spike, Starlight and a whole bunch of their Pokemon. Goh here's a research fellow of mine. Twilight's a Pokemon Professor over here at Ponyville. Rarity's a...model, I think?"
"Fashionista, Ash." Rarity raised her hoof. "But thank you for the compliment."
"Right. Then there's Applejack who's a farmer, Rainbow Dash who's a Wonderbolt and a Trainer shooting for the Equestria League, Spike who's a Dragon Trainer and doing the same and Starlight who's a student and helping out of Twilight. Whew... That's a lot to keep track of, huh?"
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Guys this is Gary. We grew up together and we've been rivals forever." Ash started reminiscing about all his experiences with Gary. From them departing on their own Pokemon Journeys on the same day to their fated battle at the Pokemon League.
"You've been busy making all of these friends, haven't you? Especially in a completely different world. Nice to meet you all. Gary Oak here." Gary pointed at himself.
"Oak? Are you Professor Oak's...s-son?" Twilight theorized.
"Nope. Grandson." He revealed his actual relation to Professor Oak, wagging his finger at the son response. "I started to get interested when I heard Ash had all-new buddies. And I wondered what you'd all be like. You all look like you've seen a ghost by the way you're looking at me."
"Well, we're not 'like' anything. We're just us." Goh replied.
"I'm not talking about your personalities. The only thing about you all that interests me are your skills as Pokemon Trainers." Gary chuckled. "If someone's gonna be Ash's buddy, I want 'em to be a great Pokemon Trainer at my level or above."
"Huh...W-Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" said Rainbow Dash. "Are you saying we're not strong enough?"
"I just wanna make sure you all deserve to be Ash's buddies. Understand?" Gary gave off a smug smirk, shrugging. It took a while, but after a few seconds, everyone soon knew what Gary meant.
"Oh! You are saying we're not strong enough!" Rarity pointed her hoof at Gary vigorously.
"Maybe." Gary turned his head, whistling afterwards.
"Well, we are strong!" Rainbow Dash got close to him as Gary simply put on that smile of his, acting unphased from this shouting and berating. "You should know about all the stuff that happened here in Equestria!"
"Can't say I do~" Gary sang. "Gonna have to do some Grade-A convincing for that. I'm a hard person to please sometimes, ya know."
"Gah! What's with this guy?!" Goh also pointed at Gary as he didn't give off a great first impression to many of them.
"If you don't believe we're strong then take a look at this!" Twilight, Rarity, Spike, Rainbow Dash and Applejack gathered around to show off their strength to Gary.
And once they stood on one spot, each of them had shown their Mega Stones. The keystones had been revealed to Gary, allowing him to feast his eyes on them. He also saw how Rarity owned two Mega Stones. One for Ampharos and the other for Lopunny. Speaking of Mega Stones, they had sent out their Pokemon that could Mega Evolve. Immediately after sending them out, the group had activated Mega Evolution.
Sparks of Infinity Energy flew out of their keystones before covering the Pokemon. Rarity only used one since using two Mega Evolutions at the same time can be draining. And with the lights going off, the Mega Pokemon had been revealed.
"See?" Twilight and her friends showed off their Mega Evolved Pokemon as they also posed next to them, feeling confident in their strength. "Fluttershy's got one too. And Pinkie's got a special Z-Move you'll never expect. How's that for strength?"
"You could've just told me. Bragging about it is just callow, don't you think?" Gary shrugged as the group then twitched. Just like that, Gary had aggravated them some more. All that buildup for Gary to act casual and unbothered by it all.
"S-Seriously?!" Spike's jaw dropped.
"Unbelievable..." Rarity crossed her arms as did Lopunny.
"Well that was a bust...return." Twilight sighed before recalling Absol. The rest of her friends did the same.
"But at least I know you're not pushover trainers. You seem pretty strong from what you've shown and told me about the other two. But what about you? Goh. Starlight." Gary then turned to Goh and Starlight. "Do you have something to prove?"
"Uhh...I'd prefer to just stay out of this." Starlight backed away, not having much to say to Gary at all. In her mind, it was probably for the best.
"I-I don't need anything to prove!" Goh scoffed as he took part in it instead of backing away. "What's with this weird test anyway?"
"Woah, Woah, Woah." Ash stood between them, trying to calm things down while laughing a bit. "He always acted like this with me. Hey, by the way. What's the goal you were talking about?"
"A Legendary Pokemon. Grandpa told me about how you went to Mt Molteau in the Kalos Region. And I'm searching for that same Pokemon that goes to rest there on rare occasions. A Moltres."
"A Moltres?!" Goh and the others said.
"I analyzed temperature, humidity, wind direction everywhere it shows up. And I determined it's likely to appear somewhere near here. At least in Equestria."
"Moltres is in Equestria?!" Ash and everyone gasped.
"Right, right. So I'm checking it out."
"Awesome! You thought about all of that just to track Moltres down?! That is so cool!" Ash's eyes flared up with absolute amazement at what Gary had accomplished to track a Legendary Pokemon down.
"I-I could've done that easily." Trying to seem impressive, Goh crossed his arms.
"Oh, right. One last thing about Moltres. The moment you brought it up back at the lab, your Infernape wanted to head over and battle Moltres. It left on a whim."
"Infernape is gone?" said Ash with his energy calming down.
"That's another reason why I showed up here and gramps wanted you to know about a surprise via that phone thing you've got. That Infernape of yours has some spirit wanting to go up against a Moltres on its own."
"Yeah. He sure does. But that means Infernape is somewhere in Equestria right now. And if you're here searching for Moltres whose also here...that can only mean one thing." Ash grinned with a glint in his eye.
"Glad you're on the same page, Ash. But I'm not too surprised by that. Since Inferape's going for Moltres, we'll go to where he is right now. No time to waste." Gary already got a move on with Ash walking alongside him. They had a designated location as Gary turned to face the rest of Ash's friends. "Aren't you all coming along?"
"O-Of course we are! If Ash can handle then I know we all can." Goh scrunched his face. While everyone felt somewhat respected by Gary, Goh was the only one left out as he had noticed.
"Just stay on your hooves and toes, okay?" Gary chuckled as everyone followed afterwards. Mainly to see another Legendary Pokemon.
"So, Gary. What kind of adventures have you been getting up to?" Ash asked, curious about Gary's current ventures compared to his. He was hoping that Gary could share that with him and all of his friends.
"Too complicated to explain. And what about you? I hear you're famous in this world."
"Me? Uh... let's see um..." Ash was struggling to find a place to start. His adventures were plentiful. It would probably take ages to list everything he has done. "Anyway, I've had lots! But I bet you're interested in what Twilight and everyone have done."
"I am a bit. Why don't you tell me all about what you little ponies have done?" Gary asked. This time, he was being sincere instead of taunting them.
"Oh, we can do that. Uh, Pinkie Pie, will you do the honours. You're the expert at starting stories." Twilight requested that Pinkie Pie started things off and everypony would handle everything else.
"Sure can! How about we tell you about the time we saw you! But it wasn't actually you! It was another you from another world!" Pinkie Pie rambled on, referring to Blue when he showed up with Red. They began sharing stories while making their way towards Moltres and Infernape. All the while, Goh was the only one left out so far. Mainly from his own volition.
Their designated location was at a ravine located in the western portion of Equestria. And along the way, they went through quite a bit to make it there.
Climbing up hills that would put their legs through the hard effort minus those that could fly. And Goh was feeling that pressure on his legs. More than anyone. Compared to the rest of his friends, he was the least physically fit. Everyone was fit for this due to what they had gone through in their past adventures. Even before the two worlds crossed over.
But Goh, not so much. He's certainly been with them through harsh events, but not by much. Even Spike, who was considered a baby in Dragon biology was outpacing him. Cliffs and mountains were being scaled along their journey to this one ravine.
"I went over to Mt Molteau first before anything to see if Moltres would show up. But everything I analyzed didn't lead to that mountain. So if Moltres ended up here, that must mean it found a new resting spot. Right over...there!" Gary pointed ahead as he and the group had arrived at the ravine.
But beyond this ravine was a volcanic area. It clashed with the beautiful ravine from what everyone had seen. That area would definitely be a new resting spot for Moltres.
"Is it always volcanic areas that it goes to rest at?" Goh asked.
"Take a look for yourself." Gary showed his Pokedex data of Moltres to Goh and everyone else.
"Moltres. The Flame Pokemon. Moltres is a legendary bird Pokémon that has the ability to control fire. If this Pokémon is injured, it is said to dip its body in the molten magma of a volcano to burn and heal itself. Its appearance is said to indicate the coming of spring. This legendary Pokémon scatters embers with every flap of its wings. It is a thrilling sight to behold."
"Spring? Spring's pretty close, now that I think about it." Starlight said. "Can Moltres make it happen instantly?"
"Pokemon made Summer and Winter last longer so I think a Legendary Pokemon can definitely do it," Twilight replied to the unicorn's question.
"Exactly. Take a gander at what Moltres has already done." Gary pointed his thumb and nudged his head over at an array of flowers that blessed the ravine. "The flowers bloom here before surrounding areas. And I've used that to deduce the time and place of Moltres' appearance. But there's one last clue I need to add. Your Infernape, Ash."
"Huh? My Infernape?"
"As I've gone to and from the Oak Lab, I've observed Infernape a lot of times. He's always making an effort to prove himself and get stronger. Since it's probably coming for the Legendary Fire-Type Moltres to get stronger, it should be seen here. Do you see it by any chance?"
"Infernape!" Right on time, the cry of Infernape could be heard nearby. It certainly didn't come from the volcanic area, but here in the ravine.
"Oh! I hear him!" Ash and everyone's ears were drawn to the sound of the Flame Pokemon.
"It's calling Moltres...Up there!" Gary then bombastically pointed to the higher parts of the ravine. And right there, hanging on a tree was the Pokemon that had left Oak's Lab to challenge stronger Pokemon.
Infernape.
"Infernape! Infernape!" He kept calling for Moltres.
"Ah, Infernape!" Ash cried out for his Pokemon. Infernape's call eventually ended once he heard the familiar sound of Ash, turning his head. "We were worried, buddy!"
"Fernape!" Excited to see Ash as always, Infernape jumped off of the tree, leaping from the other side of the ravine, just to pounce on Ash and give him a mighty hug. "Infernape!"
"Guh!" Ash uttered whilst being pinned. "Y-You sure seem healthier than before! So you wanna battle Molltres?"
"Infernape?"
"This Pokemon. Moltres." Ash showed the Pokedex image of Moltres to the Flame Pokemon. Upon looking at it, it was certainly the Pokemon that Infernape wanted to challenge.
"Infernape!"
"Audi? Audino." Audino's ears started picking up on a nearby sound. A large one too. The sound of wings flapping. "Dino!"
"Audi hears something! Large wingbeats." Fluttershy alerted. "And it looks like it's getting closer."
"Then we're right on time," Gary smirked. "Infernape's challenge has been accepted. Here comes Moltres."
Indeed. The Fire-Flying-Type had arrived. Soaring above the clouds was one of the Legendary Birds. It had departed the clouds just from its wingbeats alone. It didn't come here to rest. It came here to battle due to Infernape's call. Afterwards, the Flame Pokemon roared, appearing before everyone. From human, pony, dragon to Pokemon.
"Moltres!" They all cried out. Most of them took out their Pokedexes to immediately scan this Pokemon and get the data down.
"Infernape!" Infernape roared at his fellow Flame Pokemon, alerting its attention to him.
"Yeah, I really know how you feel, Infernape. Hey, Moltres! Why don't we have a battle?!" Ash requested.
"If you're going up against Moltres, then I want in!" Rainbow Dash offered to battle against the Legendary Bird. "It's a Legendary Pokemon so it won't mind some tag-teaming, right?"
"You can do that. But Infernape's not gonna make it easy for you to get to Moltres, Dashie." Ash chuckled before everyone was graced with Moltres' cry. A cry strong enough to create wind pressures. It was ready to battle as Rainbow Dash had sent out Luxray.
"Luxray!"
"Now's your chance." Goh turned to the others. "I know you're strong, but how strong are you in front of Legendary Pokemon? Your friend Rainbow Dash looks confident right about now."
"We all are. But I guess I'm going to have to show you myself." Twilight replied as she and Spike chose to help Ash and Rainbow Dash out. But the others would stay out of it, only aiming to watch this battle.
"Let's go! Infernape, Flamethrower now!"
"Luxray, use Discharge!"
"Eve, Shadow Ball!"
"Axew! Transform into Haxorus and use Dragon Claw!"
"Infernape!" Infernape had beaten his chest before jumping into the air. At the same time, Axew had transformed into Haxorus for this battle, giving Gary the chance to see this special Haxorus in action. Infernape had unleashed a scarlet stream of flames, Luxray had unleashed a flare of electricity from his body whilst Espeon shot out blobs of shadows.
Moltres had taken Flamethrower head-on before dashing forward, evading the rampant flares of electricity from Discharge with only some of them grazing its wings. Moltres had also used Fire Spin, shooting out a spiral of flames that had pierced through Shadow Ball. The flames had also blown Haxorus back the moment he got close.
"That looks like Fire Spin!" Gary cried out as the flames hit the ground, encircling everyone else in a spiral of fire, blocking their surroundings.
"Infernape, Dig!"
"Eve! Blow away the fire with Psychic!"
"Fernape!" The best way to get around Fire Spin and avoid it was by digging. Infernape dug a hole in the ground in an instant by jumping through it. Espeon had used Psychic around herself, creating an invisible blast of Psychic energy that had targeted the surrounding flames.
"Dragon Claw, one more time, Haxorus!"
"Haxorus!" Haxorus casually ran through the flames due to him resisting it. He and Infernape had then approached Moltres with glowing green claws. "Xorus!" Haxorus swung his claws, only for Moltres to evade it by swooping around the Axe Jaw Pokemon.
"Mach Punch!"
"Infernape!" But that allowed Infernape to emerge with Mach Punch, hitting Moltres in the side once Dragon Claw had been evaded. The Fire-Flying-Type had been pushed back before shaking its head. Afterwards, Moltres had used Air Slash, sending them towards all four opponents.
This Air Slash was bigger than anything anyone else had seen so far. They were just as large as a bed at best while tearing the skies and atmosphere.
"Now, Flare Blitz!"
"Dazzling Gleam!"
"Iron Tail!" Both Spike and Rainbow Dash said to Haxorus and Luxray.
"Infernape!" Infernape and his teammate did what they could to counter Air Slash. Infernape engulfed himself in an aura of fire that soon turned blue as Espeon did the same with a sphere of rainbows. Haxorus and Luxray both crushed the blades of Air Slash with Iron Tail while Infernape and Espeon unleashed their respective auras, blowing away the blades.
"Nice, nice, nice." Gary liked what he was seeing. "Now that I think about it, what am I doing just standing here?" He was getting excited watching this battle take place. He wanted a piece of the action. "Let's go! Blastoise!"
"Blastoise!"
"Move aside and let me steal all the action! Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!"
"Blast!" Blastoise got on all fours as it blasted powerful jets of water out from the cannons in its shell, passing Infernape, Espeon, Haxorus and Luxray. The blast of water had then struck Moltres the instant it got close. Moltres had been pushed back, taking super-effective damage.
In response, it had used Fire Spin once more. The same spiral of flames had surrounded Blastoise, only they had been intensified for the Water-Type.
"Now use Rapid Spin!"
"Toise!" Blastoise quickly got in its shell, spinning at insane speed immediately. Upon spinning, the Water-Type started rapidly moving from side to side before picking up enough speed to jump into the air while still within its shell. Blastoise had escaped from Fire Spin, landing on a nearby rock.
"Skull Bash! Use the momentum of your distance against its attack! Go!"
"Blastoise!" Blastoise went in with a silver aura covering its body. The Shellfish Pokemon had reached high velocity, only for Moltres to fly to the side, evading it.
"Alright then! Use Water Pulse!"
"Blastoise!" Blastoise could still act in the air. While falling, it had fired a pulsating blast of water from its shell that had smacked Moltres directly in the face. A second Water Pulse came out, hitting Moltres in the stomach.
"How's that?" Gary smirked.
"Alright, fine. I can see why you're so obsessed with knowing how strong others are." Twilight replied with a shrug. "But then again, we knew this much since you and Ash are rivals."
"Thanks. Guess I was wrong about you all too. You're pretty strong. And you tell great stories too. Hm?" Gary attention then turned to Moltres after noticing its next movement.
"What's it doing now?!" Rainbow Dash shouted as Moltres got higher into the air. Moltres would use a move that only Ash and Gary would know about but everyone would see for the first time.
And that was Burn Up.
The flames on Moltres's wings, crest, and tail grew larger and illuminated bright yellow and orange. Moltres then flaps its wings, releasing a massive wave of fire from them at the opponent. It lit up the entire ravine with a crimson light that was stunning to behold in every angle. It resembled the insignia of Fire Blast while also appearing as a mini-sun.
"That's Burn Up!" Gary gasped.
"Burn Up?!" Twilight and the others turned to him, shouting in unison.
After using the move, Moltres loses its Fire-typing and the flames on its body burn shorter and duller.
"Blastoise! Meet it head-on with Hydro Pump!"
"Toise!" Blastoise utilized its strongest move once more. It had managed to score a hit with Hydro Pump, smashing it onto the Legendary Bird, but Burn Up still went off. The massive wave of fire had been unleashed right after Hydro Pump had hit as Blastoise gazed at the incoming flame. "B-Blastoise!"
"W-What just happened?! What's Burn Up?!" Pinkie Pie asked.
"It's a move where a Pokemon uses all of the fire up in its body. Afterwards, it stops being a Fire-Type. Now it's just Pure Flying."
"Releasing all of that fire in its body can do that?! That can happen?! I thought something like Soak and Electrify could change types..." Rainbow Dash was flabbergasted by this revelation as was everyone else.
"The ecology of Pokemon is limitless and varied..." Gary shook his head. There was heavy truth to his words. Even to this day, Pokemon continue to show an infinite realm of possibilities with what they are capable of.
Moltres then used Hurricane, creating a violent storm of wind in everyone's direction. Their hairs all blew with this fierce wind as the water was even being pushed away.
"Haxorus, Giga Impact!"
"Eve, Get on Haxorus' back and use Shadow Ball!"
"Espeon!" Espeon hopped onto Haxorus' back, opening her mouth to summon Shadow Ball. At the same time, Haxorus charged upwards with a mighty leap, leaving a large aura as he and Espeon approached Moltres. However, the force of Moltres' Hurrican was so strong that it had prevented Haxorus from going any further, knocking him and Espeon back to the ground. "E-Esp!"
"Eve!" Twilight gasped as Espeon fell first with Haxorus landing on her. She quickly ran to her partner's side as Moltres had used Hurricane once more.
"Go on defence and use Rapid Spin!"
"Toise!" Blastoise got into its shell, using it as the ultimate defence while also deciding to try and approach Moltres. But much like Haxorus, even Blastoise's hard shell was powerless against the overwhelming wind of Moltres' Hurricane. It had blown Blastoise so far back that it made a heavy impact on the cliff walls. Afterwards, Blastoise came out of its shell once landing upside down. With its head poking out, the Shellfish Pokemon had fainted. "Blastoise..."
"Excellent battling, Blastoise. Go and take a rest," Gary recalled Blastoise to its Poke Ball after its defeat.
"It isn't over yet! Ash! Spike! Get Infernape and Haxorus to throw Eve and Luxray!" Twilight commanded as Moltres was still approaching, raring for some more action.
"You got it! Infernape!"
"Infernape!" Infernape and Haxorus got together as they both picked up Espeon and Luxray with their superior sizes. Afterwards, the two of them launched the Sun and Gleam Eyes Pokemon at the approaching Moltres at full force, putting everything into their muscles.
"It's Pure Flying now, right?! Then in that case...Discharge!"
"Eve, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Espeon!" Now that Moltres lost its Fire-Typing and was Pure Flying, this meant that its resistance to Fairy had been deleted and yet it was still weak to Electric at the end of the day. Eve had used the brightness of Dazzling Gleam to blind Moltres while also sending out Rainbow rays.
"Luxray!" Luxray released his flare of electricity that flew alongside Espeon's rainbow rays. The rays and the flare had struck and pummelled the Flame Pokemon repeatedly, shocking and pelting it respectively as visible and considerable damage had been done.
However, even after being hit by such heavy attacks, Moltres recovered. And upon recovering, it had used Ancient Power, tossing massive rocks towards Luxray and Espeon.
"Mach Punch!"
"Close Combat!"
Coming to their rescue were Infernape and Haxorus. Infernape and Haxorus took a leap, using their respective Fighting-Tye moves to obliterate the rocks before they could hit their friends.
"Throw one of those rocks back at Moltres, Haxorus!" Spike yelled.
"Hax!" Haxorus had grabbed one of the fossilised rocks, throwing it back at Moltres. "Xorus!" Moltres flinched, feeling confounded from that rock to the face. On the bright side, since it wasn't a Fire-Type anymore, the rock didn't hurt as much as it would. But it was still super-effective either way.
However, some of the rocks had bypassed them, going straight for the others. And they had yet to notice this. Except for Ash and Gary who both took great notice of this as they acted accordingly. Gary held out another Poke Ball, having his second Pokemni in store. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Electivire! Come out and use Thunder!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder, saving the others immediately with a burst of electricity from his body. Electivire had entered the fray doing the same from its ears.
"Electivire!"
The union of electricity had taken out the rocks, causing them to crumble into pebbles. Not only that but Thunderbolt and Discharge had passed through, striking Moltres and dealing twice the super-effective damage to it. Moltres certainly felt that one from both Pikachu and Electivire.
And with that surprise attack, Moltres fell from above. But it didn't hit the ground or the nearby water. Instead, it managed to recover at the last second before falling into the water of the ravine. It shook its head afterwards, feeling a bit winded from the attacks it had taken.
But instead of continuing the battle, Moltres simply flew away. But before flying away, it left them with a parting gift. One of its feathers had been dropped from its wings. They watched as the feather appeared to have fire around it, keeping in line with Moltres' physiology.
"Guess that's the end of that. But at least it gave us this." Gary grabbed the wing once it was dropped. "A Moltres Feather. This is exactly what I was after!"
"Moltres gave that to you? Did it know what you wanted?" Fluttershy flew over.
"Legendary Pokemon are odd like that. But man, you battled well against Moltres. Thought we might've actually defeated it there. How wild would that have been?"
"Did you get any footage of Moltres, Goh?" Starlight asked Goh.
"GAH!" Goh gasped before looking at his Rotomphone. "I forgot to press record for the Moltress Battle! Curses!"
"That's not like you, Goh. Are you alright?" Applejack asked, worried about Goh right about now.
"Haha! Panic is your biggest enemy." Gary chuckled.
"Keep it to yourself." Goh blushed, crossing his arms afterwards. Gary then got out a jar to place the Moltres feather in, containing it in its peak condition.
Everyone else had their Pokemon healed up by Fluttershy and Audino after the battle they had with Moltres. They put up a great fight to the point where Moltres had to leave. Most likely at the volcanic area to rest up as that was the last direction they saw it fly at.
"Alright!" Gary raised the into the air. "Now that I've got this! Corviknight, come!"
"Corviknight!" Appearing to the scene was a Corviknight. But this Corviknight seemed to have a bag on it, carrying it around. Upon arriving, Gary had placed the jar within the bag of Corviknight instead of bringing it along.
"It's up to you, Corviknight. To take it back. My work here's done."
"Cor!" Corviknight knew what to do. The Raven Pokemon took off, leaving the area as fast as it had shown up. And the same could be said for everyone. Now that they were done here, it was time to head home.
Kanto Region. Pallet Town. Professor Oak's Lab. Late Afternoon.
Not before they stopped by Oak's Lab to return Infernape. Infernape had reunited with his friends after going missing all of a sudden. They were worried but relieved that he had returned.
"Well done bringing Infernape back. And helping my grandson get some research done. All of you." Oak spoke to Twilight and the others. "If I didn't already have a second assistant and not enough space, I would ask you all to be my assistants. But never mind that."
"You already have me, Professor Oak. I-I mean my other me, that is." Twilight giggled.
"Man...That battle with Moltres rocked, didn't it?" Ash sighed.
"Sure did..." Spike and Rainbow Dash agreed wholeheartedly. "What about you Gary?" They swivelled, only to find that Gary was speaking to someone else on his Rotomphone.
"Did the Moltres feather get to you?" Gary spoke to the person on the phone.
"Yes. I was just checking it out." The voice on the phone replied.
"Ah. That reminds me. This might catch your fancy." Oak snapped his fingers. "Gary is working to be a member of Project Mew. You've heard of it, right?"
"Oh, I have." Goh nodded. "But uh...I kinda turned it down. So that's what this was about. The Moltres feather was a part of it.
"Turning it down, huh?" Gary smirked. "Here I thought the one searching for Mew would be interested in it. Even when one of your friends has a Mew right there."
"Huh?! You knew?!" Pinkie Pie pulled back, shocked that Gary knew about her Mew even though Mew hadn't been seen all day.
"Hm-hm. It's for the best. There's no way wouldn't let inexperienced trainers in. It's all about that top-notch experience, ya hear what I'm saying, Goh?"
"Mrrgh...!" Goh growled, showing visible signs of irritation. Starlight promptly calmed him down to avoid any further conflict. Also to prevent Hatterene from reacting to these emotions.
"Anyway, I gotta gramps." Gary was ready to depart. "Or maybe I should call you Professor Oak for formalities and all that."
"Take care, grandson. And drop by when you're around."
"Sure. Bye Ash. You've got some funny and interesting friends here. But this isn't the last time we'll see each other." Gary held his hand out. "Thanks to this world crossing stuff, we're gonna be crossing paths more than we think."
"Oh, you know it." Ash and Gary partook in a handshake. "There's a whole bunch you gotta see. When you're ready, come by Equestria some more, okay?"
"He's smug but he is fun to talk to, isn't he?" Rarity said as the others could agree. Not so much Goh at the moment.
"Hey, Pinkie. When I've reached a certain point in my journey, you'll let me research Mew, who has all kinds of Pokemon DNA in it, right?" Gary requested. "Seems like the best place to end things."
"Sure! And stop by SugarCube Corner for some food while you're at it."
"Nice. Even if the path turns out to be a dead-end, I'm gonna keep on keeping on. Smell ya later, everyone." Gary gave his signature farewell before finally departing.
"Gary's something, ain't he? He's cocky but a blast to get to know." Ash chuckled, feeling a nostalgic aura flow through his heart.
"Hmm...I wanna join. I'll join Project Mew." Goh spoke as he decided to join Project Mew on account of Gary's words. Just to try and 1-UP him. Gary now had a new rival in his sights and it turned out to be a rival of his friend. "I thought about it and I wanna go for it."
"Wonder why..." Starlight quietly said. "But if you're up for it, then I'll cheer you on through it. I know Ash and everyone else will too. Even if it's because of your reaction Gary..."
"Thanks, Starlight- Hey! What's that supposed to mean, huh?" Goh kneeled, nudging Starlight as the unicorn puffed her cheeks, staying silent.
"Haha! That's just like Gary! He could've just said so, but he loves pushing others to get into stuff, doesn't he?" Ash knew Gary well. After mentioning his name a few times, Gary sneezed in the distance.
A nice and nostalgic visit from an old rival. But it certainly wouldn't be the last. Gary was on his own path, much like how everyone else were as well. But eventually, all paths will come together in this vibrant and ever-expanding world of Pokemon as the journey continues.
Universe 11. Equestria. The Solar Empire. Canterlot Palace. Day.
Standing at the balcony with a less than pleasant face was Ghetsis. He looked over at Canterlot, not doing much which was unusual for him. Usually, Ghetsis is always doing something to try and gain an advantage. But not this time.
And appearing at the balcony with him was Empress Twilight Sparkle. She donned a similar facial expression to the Team Plasma Leader, looking over at Canterlot as well.
"Another day goes by with our progress being small." She said. "What a shocker..."
"I wonder why that is? Usually, I would blame it all on that brat and his friends but it's clear something else could be at fault..."
"Oh, are you going to blame it on me again?" Empress Twilight scoffed.
"When did I do that? But if I had to blame you on something, it's your childish ineptitude more than anything." Ghetsis placed his singular arm in his pocket.
"Hmph!" Empress Twilight showed indignation, turning away from Ghetsis. "Childish, you say? Ironic coming from someone who keeps losing to a child more than anything."
"As if I want to hear that from someone who loses to a lesser variation of herself." Ghetsis gave an equal retort as the two of them started scowling at each other. They did not have the best relationship right about now. Then again, they weren't even close to being friendly with each other.
Their respective auras emanated as they gave each other piercing glares that would intimidate almost anyone. At any point, these two could tear each other apart with no one to stop them. All except for one.
"Are you two arguing again?" Entering the scene was Daybreaker. She interrupted them before anything rash could happen within the balcony. "Goodness me. This is getting tiresome, don't you think?"
"Hmph." They both sneered, turning away from each other. They would keep digging at each other if it weren't for Daybreaker somehow keeping them from going overboard.
"Nice response. You two. You won't make any progress at this rate. This is not how we work together." Daybreaker shook her head while approaching them. "You're both adults here, aren't you?"
"Don't get the wrong idea, Daybreaker. I'm still as calm and refined as I ever was." Empress Twilight played it cool, trying to ignore everything else to appear as the superior figure among everyone else. Daybreaker doubted that greatly. "I can't say the same for Ghetsis over there. Wandering without his own castle. Ever since he lost a few."
"At least those were minor residences to an extent not legally owned by me." Ghetsis smirked. "I'm not the one who lost two palaces consecutively." That certainly got under Empress Twilight's skin as she twitched. She knew what Ghetsis was saying to be 100% true.
"Oh, woe is you two..." Daybreaker couldn't stand to listen to another argument. "How am I to help you all regain your prime selves if all you do is bicker? Hmm..." She thought for a moment before coming up with something. "Ah. I know. The best way to build our teamwork is with an outing, don't you think? A mission we can all partake in together."
"As if I'd team up with him/her." Both of them said. They immediately rejected that idea.
"And miss out on a chance to grow? No-no-no. The way I see it, there's not much of a choice for you all to do. Your plans are a rut at the moment and all you have left is what I have to offer. At least your minions on both sides are great at cooperating."
"Whatever. Won't change much..." Twilight blew on her hair. "All I need is something to get back on my hooves right about now. I've already lost Zekrom and my best servant. What more could I lose?"
"Seems we know who is lagging behind. I still have ownage of Shadow Mewtwo among other Pokemon." Ghetsis took the opportunity to taunt her.
"And yet you still haven't used Shadow Mewtwo. Hard to control, isn't it?" Empress Twilight mocked him as they could enter another argument at this rate.
"My, oh my. You two...I'm surprised your regrets aren't the ones on your mind the most." Daybreaker shrugged before sitting down on a chair that she brought over with her magic. "After everything, I would've expected you to regret past failures instead of ranting about them."
"I regret some of them!" Empress Twilight roared at Daybreaker with a raised Royal Canterlot Voice. But Daybreaker seemed unbothered.
"Oh, Twilight...You're forgetting one crucial thing. You as well, Ghetsis. Life's not an endless challenging race for power. It may seem that way to you, but that can lead to unnecessary and nigh-unavoidable issues that will come back to bite you one day. Believe me." Daybreaker crossed her hooves. "Your past failures have proven that already, haven't they?"
"..." The two of them stayed silent as they didn't have anything to reply with. Daybreaker had them completely silent at this point.
"Still. That's who you two are. Power chasers. But..." Daybreaker then sat up straight on her throne. "There are some changes you just have to embrace. I know of one that took me a while to embrace..." Daybreaker closed her eyes, thinking of her little sister Luna who was no longer in this world after unfortunate events. "Staying true to yourselves and moving on is the way to go. Especially at your own pace. With that...your odds will twist to your favour. Now then...how about that outing?"
Ghetsis and Empress Twilight had no choice but to accept. There wasn't much they were ding at the moment so they might as well take Daybreaker's advice. Being way older than both of them has its benefits.
"Excellent. This one is for Necrozma." Daybreaker held out Necrozma's Ultra Ball. "Absorbing energy from the crystals at the Sea Temple did wonders for him. The darkness within is still purging some of the light. But thanks to those crystals, Necrozma's light intake has gotten better than before."
"So then what's next? What could Necrozma possibly absorb to fill itself?" Empress Twilight asked. "And how come we're mostly focused on this one Pokemon of all things?"
"It's clear you're underestimating Necrozma," said Ghetsis. "Necrozma, at its absolute peak, can generate so much light energy that not only does it hold vast possibilities, but its light rivals that of the creator of the Pokemon World. Arceus. Not giving it the necessary light energy would be a waste."
"Colress filled me in on something. Straight at your world, Ghetsis. There exists an Isthmus in the Johto Region. A source of light in the form of a specialized crystal is waiting for us. Then again, the Pokemon World is thriving with light isn't it? Let's make our way there, shall we?"
They would set off for Johto in the Pokemon World. It would be three forces working together to gather light for one Pokemon. This single Pokemon was harbouring astronomical potential so it was worth the effort.
Johto Region. A large Isthmus. Afternoon.
They had taken the Plasma Frigate while accessing the gateways. At least a substitute. The current Plasma Frigate had been abandoned after the events at the Sea Temple. Daybreaker brought along her usual troops while Empress Twilight brought along her very best. The best so far that she still had. Mainly Tempest Shadow's group.
"Located around the Isthmus, legends say that a Vespiquen holds a special kind of honey. Dazzling Honey as they call it. A honey that is not only sweet enough to heal and cure, but it also radiates a vibrant light." Colress explained things to them. "Not only can we use this honey to heal ourselves when things seem dire, but the light source is good for Necrozma."
"That's what I like to hear. I want Necrozma to have all of the light from it. But since it is a special Vespiquen that owns it, expect to go through a hive, all of you." Daybreaker spoke to her allies.
"The danger levels of that area are noticeably high. Most likely why so many have failed to get the Dazzling Honey from Vespiquen. We're practically already on the verge of no return with what the legends say." Colress shrugged.
"It'll be fine." Tempest yawned. "It wouldn't be the first time we've stepped into heavy enemy territory before. Plus, what's stopping Necrozma from absorbing all of their light energy as well to make them stronger?"
"I can trust all of you to take this mission with care. But it's mainly you two I'm worried about." Daybreaker referred to Ghetsis and Empress Twilight, knowing that they were bound to be at odds with each other.
"Lord Ghetsis will be just fine." A Team Plasma Grunt spoke. "Nothing can throw him off course."
"The same goes for the Empress, obviously." A troop from Empress Twilight's side chimed in, complimenting her as the grunts and the troops did the same. But Ghetsis and Empress Twilight said nothing in response. They just stayed silent.
The Plasma Frigate had arrived at its destination. Right below, a radiant light beamed through the many pathways that existed within the Isthmus. This was the result of a large colony that radiated a dazzling glow. They were definitely there. The Frigate descended as everyone onboard were ready to do what they could to grab this Dazzling Honey.
And they would also have to watch out for whatever could be lurking within the colony. If Vespiquen resides there, then no doubt Combee do as well. Once the Frigate landed, everyone had exited, approaching the colony. The last to leave were Ghetsis and Empress Twilight who were holding back words that would result in the other throwing a barrage of insults. Daybreaker already had Necrozma out of his Ultra Ball, ready to devour the light that resides within the colony.
"Bee? Combee!" And being alert by this was a Combee. Specifically, a Combee that was glowing. Upon seeing Team Plasma, The Solar Empire and the Twilight Imperium approaching, the glowing Combee went over to alert the others. "Combeeee!" It cried out, letting its buzz echo throughout the colony.
Soon another Combee received the news, passing it to the next. And another after that coupled by a continuous group. This went on until every Combee in the colony had been alerted. And soon, Vespiquen was as well.
The trio of groups had entered the colony, setting foot in it with their Pokemon being sent out. Immediately, all of them had scattered, taking different paths in this large colony.
Ghetsis and Empress Twilight stuck together unintentionally, entering one of the hives. Daybreaker followed Necrozma who was already in a rush to find all the light could.
Ghetsis and Empress Twilight ended up being the first to find some Combee up ahead. Just nearby. They immediately halted as there was a handful of them that could be seen. They decided to play it quietly as to not try and alarm the many Combee. Then again, the Combee were already aware of their presence.
"You stay put." Ghetsis held out a Poke Ball, sending out his Hydreigon. "I'll take care of all those Combee without any major attention."
"With that giant monster?" Empress Twilight scoffed while nudging her head in Hydreigon's direction. "I doubt it. Allow me to show you what stealth truly looks like." She walked ahead, ready to deal with the Combee herself. But Ghetsis wouldn't allow her to 1-UP her at all.
And thus began a show-off.
It started with Empress Twilight sneaking up on an unaware Combee, having her horn glow. She made sure that the glow was faint while also making the sound of her magic aura mute. And by doing so, she had hit the Combee in the back, knocking it out immediately.
"C-Com...!" Combee fell as it alerted a nearby one that had witnessed its fellow Bug-Flying-Type fall all of a sudden. It didn't see exactly what took it out.
"Combee?" The Combee wondered before being hit scorched by Hydreigon's Flamethrower. It had promptly fainted afterwards with a swift takeout. Another Combee had shown up. This time right near Empress Twilight. The Tiny Bee Pokemon gasped upon seeing the Empress, ready to cry out and alert nearby Combee.
"Co-" But it was quickly taken out by a stone edge from Hydreigon. Empress Twilight gasped as she thought she would've been caught at that moment. Only for Ghetsis to save her. Ghetsis gave a smug look to her as he put up two fingers. That symbolized how many Combee he had defeated and he also rubbed it in Empress Twilight's face.
Empress Twilight simply sneered at him before shooting a beam of magic towards him. At first, Ghetsis thought he was the target. But once the beam passed by, clipping a piece of his hair, it was revealed to have hit a Combee from behind that was rapidly approaching. The Combee had been taken out on the spot. Now it was the Empress who gave the smug grin to Ghetsis.
And this only prompted them both to show off some more. Empress Twilight started moving from hive to hive, catching some Combee by surprise. Ghetsis did the same, taking out groups of Combee with Hydreigon and some of his Dark Magic instead of just one.
Some of the Combee approached the duo, ready to attack. Only to be knocked out when both of them tried hitting the same targets. A row of 7 Combee had been fainted by Dragon Pulse a magic beam that had been spread out. Ghetsis and Empress Twilight glared at each other as one of them wanted to take out the 7 Combee to boost their fabricated score.
They continued with their little game with both the Empress and Hydreigon sneaking up on two Combee from behind. Fairly big ones too. Hydreigon had used Ice Fang with one of his headarms, gripping the Combeee with it. The Combee had been placed in an ice prison, dropped to the ground afterwards.
Empress Twilight had used her bone spell to wrap around the other Combee, restraining it entirely. The Combee certainly couldn't break free from the bones due to how hard they were.
Hydreigon and Ghetsis crept up on a sleeping Combee that was just about to wake up. That Combee was only met what an immediate Iron Tail that had knocked it out, putting it back to sleep in a sense. Empress Twilight took it a step further. She walked backwards to try and gain some style points, shooting her magic out of her horn from a different angle. The magic curved to the other side when it was fired, flying over the Empress and knocking out another Tiny Bee Pokemon.
Empress Twilight puffed her chest up to show just how graceful she was without even needing to face her opponent to use her magic. Ghetsis was not amused. While the Empress kept it stylish, Ghetsis kept it aggressive. He had Hydreigon unleash a Tri Attack on three singing Combee.
The Combee were singing despite the alerts going off, being struck by three different elements. Fire, Ice and Electric. One Combee had been frozen, another paralyzed and one more burned and fainted.
Empress Twilight duplicated herself with a clone spell, causing her duplicates to spread out and take out Combee at a faster rate. Each of the clones used different spells. A Sleep Spell had been used on an unsuspecting Combee. A massive shield of magic had been formed in front of one of the Combee once it was flying towards the clone at high speeds. The Combee crashed into the shield, fainting afterwards from the impact.
One clone was about to use a cloud spell on a Combee, only for Hydreigon to interrupt with Flamethrower. The Flamethrower had not only taken out Combee, stealing the clone's hit, but it had also destroyed the Empress Twilight clone in the process from its path of destruction. The other clones had been taken out of by Hydreigon's Flamethrower as the Empress was not happy about that as even the Combee in front of her had been defeated.
"I had that one." Empress Twilight growled.
"You're too slow it seems." Ghetsis smirked. "I also had to show you that getting it done with a straightforward approach is the best choice. Not that stylish nonsense you try and pull off. No one likes a showoff."
"Well, I'm a pretty good looking showoff that can have all the respect for showing off as my status as an Empress. Unlike you." Empress Twilight used a spell to smoothen her mane. They stood before a sea of fainted Combee. They continued on their way, sneering at each other constantly.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group were essentially doing the same thing as Ghetsis and Empress Twilight but without showing off. Necrozma had found himself some Dazzling Honey, grabbing it as soon as he could. But there to try and stop him were the Combee.
"Combee!" The Combee had used Gust, attacking Necrozma with a gust of wind is whipped up by their wings. However, they did not phase Necrozma at all. They barely phased the Prism Pokemon. In response, Necrozma had used Power Gem, holding its claws out to shoot out a ray of light that sparkles as if it were made of gemstones. The Combee had been struck and shot out of the air from these attacks. "Bee!"
After falling to these attacks, Necrozma had not only absorbed light from the Dazzling Honey, but he had also chosen to absorb light from the fainted Combee. They were radiating a similar light to the Dazzling Honey after all.
"Good, Necrozma. Get your fill." Daybreaker spoke as she and Necrozma continued on their way. The Dazzling Honey was being gathered up easily with the Combee struggling.
Tempest Shadow had made a large dome of magic to keep the approaching Combee away from them. Within that dome, all of the Dazzling Honey was being gathered. Team Plasma and their Pokemon would deal with the Combee as it was pandemonium within the colony.
And the ruler of the colony, Vespiquen was aware of this. Speaking of which, some Team Plasma Grunts had found their way to the throne room of Vespiquen after following the brightest source of light. And there, they had found the Vespqiuen that ruled the colony.
And this Vespiquen also radiated the same light as the Dazzling Honey and the Combee. They squinted their eyes once they appeared before the Beehive Pokemon.
"Vespi...!" Vespiquen growled, furious that intruders had arrived and began taking the Dazzling Honey while also harming her subjects.
"That Vespiquen is brighter than the rest. It's perfect for Necrozma then." The grunts were ready to faint this Vespiquen for Necrozma to absorb. "Golbat, use Air Slash!"
"Salandit, Incinerate"
"Arbok, Sludge Bomb!"
"Golbat!" And the other two Pokemon promptly attacked Vespiquen, shooting out cutting blades of winds, a stream of fire and a poisonous sludge.
"Bee!" But defending their queen were the many loyal Combee. They flew to Vespiquen's side, taking the hits for her as they couldn't allow their queen to take any damage. After taking the hits and fainting afterwards, Vespiquen had used pheromones that exuded from its body.
These pheromones were scattered instantly, appearing with a burst of energy. These grubs were also made for one specific purpose. To house the colony of cells in her body which releases various pheromones to make those grubs do its bidding.
And that's exactly what occurred as these tiny but plentiful grubs could be seen appearing from every direction from Vespiquen unleashing them. They immediately crawled onto the Team Plasma Grunts and their Pokemon, swarming them with superior numbers over everything.
"Disgusting!" One grunt gawked before being overtaken by the grunts.
"Vespiquen!" After summoning the grubs, Vespiquen had Confuse Ray. The Beehive Pokemon's eyes flashed as she had exposed them to a sinister ray that met with their eyes. The grunts and their Pokemon were taken by this ray as it had instantly triggered confusion. While mostly for Pokemon, it could sometimes work on humans. After taking care of the grunts, Vespiquen made her grubs and the rest of her Combee move out to put a stop to the intruders.
The troops of both empires had placed the defeated Combee in massive bags just to carry them so that Necrozma could have his fill. The bags were being filled up rapidly as they were soon met with the surprise appearance of Vespiquen's grubs. They ate their way through the walls of the colony to traverse quicker and deliver sneak attacks.
And they were successful. A massive swarm of grubs had burst out of the colony walls, jumping onto the troops and swarming them. "What the?!" One of them cried out before being forced to the ground.
The rest of the troops had been caught off guard before being covered in these grubs. Despite how small they were, thanks to Vespiquen's power and their overwhelming numbers, they were able to topple larger forces while also having the strength to restrain them. Even opposing Pokemon were caught defenceless from these grubs.
This went for the rest of the colony. With the Combee struggling to deal with the intruders, the grubs came to their rescue, catching the grunts and troops in a heartbeat. Soon, the odds were titled with Vespiquen's side taking the advantage. Due to the grubs catching them off guard, Pokemon that would usually fight back could not once they were taken by surprise and too stunned to do much.
After grabbing a handful of them, the Combee and grubs then carried the intruders, bringing them to the queen. Noticing this shift in odds was Tempest Shadow. She looked through one of the holes of the colony to see the grubs and Combee carrying her allies She knew that was not a good sign if so many of them were being carried away after her side were winning. She quickly followed them afterwards.
As for Ghetsis and Empress Twilight, while continuing their way through the colony, they could hear some rapid movements across the colony. They thought it was just their side at first. But once they stopped, they could tell these sounds were different and somewhat lighter.
"Hm? What is this?" Empress Twilight wondered, navigating her head through the colony with her voice echoing. Hydreigon, being a dragon, had heightened senses that many Pokemon do not have apart from Audino, Slurpuff and a few others. And with these heightened senses, Hydreigon could tell where these sounds were coming from.
From the top and sides of the colony walls, the grubs could be seen bursting out with rapid movements and unified force. Hydreigon and Ghetsis had turned around, using Flamethrower and a bolt of dark magic to rid these grubs at once.
"Ah!" Empress Twilight wasn't made aware of this as she had been grabbed by the grubs. Much like the others, she had been caught off guard. And immediately, after being grabbed by them, she had been pinned to the walls with the grubs swarming her body. "Gah!"
"Oh?" Ghetsis turned to the Empress who was against the wall. He seemed completely unbothered by this. But Empress Twilight felt differently. She started squealing, trying to flail her hooves but they were restrained to do so. "Hm. That's a splendid view."
"Aaaah! Ghetsis! Get these off of me! Bugs are one of the three most disgusting things in the world!" She screeched.
"Aside from you what are the other most disgusting things?" Ghetsis smirked as Empress Twilight's face turned red. Instead of helping, Ghetsis taunted her. And then would soon leave. "You're an almighty Empress. A few insects shouldn't be what put a stop to your journey."
"Ghetsis!" Tied to her emotions, the Empress' magic power was rising. And due to Ghetsis leaving her while the bugs swarmed her, the raging magic within her was building up. And with her eyes flashing, she formed a massive eruption of magic that blew the grubs away and some of the nearby colonies.
The grubs had been obliterated as Ghetsis didn't react to the destruction. Empress Twilight, after blowing parts of the colony and the grubs away, descended with her eyes constantly flashing. Right now, she had someone she hated on her mind. And for once, it wasn't Celestia or even Jackie. "Ghetsis!"
"Yes?" Ghetsis swivelled, facing the raging Empress.
"I've had enough of you!" That grub instance is what pushed Empress Twilight to despise Ghetsis. Not saving her was the breaking point as the alicorn had approached Ghetsis.
"What?! Hydreigon, Hyper Beam!" Ghetsis was taken aback by this as his Hydreigon got in front of him.
"Dreigon!" Hydreigon roared, preparing to use Hyper Beam to blow Empress Twilight away. Empress Twilight had something similar in the form of her own massive beam. Both had unleashed their attacks as the two beams would soon collide.
Only for something to stop them. A pillar of fire had erupted in the middle, burning through this part of the colony and the hive in general. The fire had had not only blocked the two massive beams, but it had also negated the destructive capability of them. No destruction had been made as the beams were simply incinerated into nothing.
And the one responsible for this was Daybreaker.
She had appeared, startling Ghetsis and Empress Twilight. She didn't have a pleasant look on her face as the flames majestically spread out upon her arrival. "I knew something like this would happen..." She sighed. "I'm not sure why you two would take the same path in the first place."
"D-Daybreaker!" Empress Twilight stammered.
"This infighting is pointless, you two. You are better than this, aren't you?" She started scolding them both. "Infighting within ally groups leads to nothing potential failure. Something that you all are trying so hard to avoid, aren't you?"
"Tch. Working with another was never my speciality. Especially with someone as so callous as her." Ghetsis scoffed.
"Which is why you will continue to fail," Daybreaker replied, making Ghetsis twitch. And Ghetsis knew this to be true but refused to admit it. "We came here to do one thing. Retrieve light for Necrozma and no more than that. But with your petty squabbling, that might not come to pass. I don't expect you two to make up so quickly, but I expect you to know your limits, understood."
"Hmph." They both essentially agreed to Daybreaker's advice. They just wouldn't say anything related to the word Yes in any capacity.
Just then, Daybreaker and Empress Twilight received a telepathic message via a Telepathy Spell. It came from Tempest Shadow as Daybreaker answered. "What is it, Tempest?" Twilight asked.
"The brightest source of light in this entire colony so far has been found. Please, hurry. It isn't either to obtain with what is protecting it."
"Good. We will be on our way." Daybreaker nodded in response before ending the telepathic communication. They had a new location to head to. The greatest source of light as Tempest Shadow had put it. Daybreaker and Necrozma made their way there, tracking Tempest's magic. Ghetsis and Empress Twilight did the same, having great bad blood than ever. But they could no longer attack each other with Daybreaker present here.
They had arrived at the area where Tempest could be found. Tempest could see her ruler and the others approaching. She stood before the edge of a hive that led to a much wider area.
And that area was the throne room of Vespiquen. Upon appearing, Ghetsis, Daybreaker and Empress Twilight were met with not just the sight of the glowing Vespiquen, but the various Team Plasma grunts and troops from both empires being restrained by the grubs on the walls. The Combee swarmed the area with Vespiquen sitting in the middle, having permanent prisoners in the form of these intruders.
"Oh my." Daybreaker simply said. Empress Twilight was grossed out by the view due to all the grubs here. "You were correct about the greatest light source. Next to the Dazzling Honey, that Vespiquen shines brighter than them all. Fitting for a queen."
"Vesp! Vespiquen!" Vespiquen took notice of Daybreaker and the others, crying out towards them. There were a few intruders that had yet to be dealt with.
"I suggest we group them all in one spot and have Necrozma's absorb them completely," Ghetsis suggested.
"Not a bad suggestion, Ghetsis. But I doubt that Vespiquen would let that happen. Unless we can pressure her to do so." Daybreaker stepped forward, using her magic to create a pathway of magic. The pathway of magic came in the form of a bridge that surpassed the edge of the hives. It was above the massive space of this throne room as Daybreaker trotted on it, approaching the Beehive Pokemon.
The Combee had instantly swarmed together, using their hexagonal bodies to form a massive wall of Combee, preventing Daybreaker or anyone from getting through. And to assist her subjects, Vespiquen had summoned a massive array of grubs that could be seen rising above the wall of Combee.
"Necrozma. Prismatic Lasers." Daybreaker ordered as Necrozma flew past her, causing her blazing mane to flow from the absolute absurd speed.
Necrozma then put its arms together before unleashing a barrage of prism lights from his body to blow away the obstacles. The unified Combee had all used Gust in response. Gust was a fairly weak move normally. But when used by multiple Pokemon, especially in perfect unison, it can become something greater.
And it did. The various Gusts had combined to form an attack that was equal to Hurricane. The gigantic hurricane had appeared, clashing with the lasers. They had blocked the lasers, using their mighty wind pressures to knock them away.
"Hydreigon! Burn through them with Flamethrower!" Ghetsis ordered.
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon ascended, holding his breath in as all three of his heads had unleashed streams of fire. The scarlet flames met with the hurricane, trying to break through. But the unified strength of this Gust proved to be troublesome still, even holding back the flames.
"Vespiquen!" Vespiquen bellowed as the grubs could be seen swarming from all directions. Tempest, Daybreaker and the Empress had placed protective shields around themselves from these grubs. Once the swarm of grubs appeared, they started eating through the shields, surprisingly.
And the first to have their shields eaten through was Tempest as she was taken aback by this. "How?!" She gasped as Empress Twilight's shield seemed to also be next.
They had carried Empress Twilight's shield into the air while also eating through it. As for Daybreaker, she merely set her shield on fire, burning the grubs into a crisp. Ghetsis noticed the ascension of the Empress and how even greater grubs were starting to emerge by Vespiquen's order. And the Combee, after using Gust already, had used Gust once more, adding to the hurricane to make an even bigger Hurricane.
"Tch! Bisharp!" Ghetsis threw one of his Pokemon out. His Bisharp.
"Bisharp!"
"Cut through those grubs with Night Slash!"
"Bisharp!" Bisharp leapt off the ground, approaching the grubs that were holding Empress Twilight's shield. The Empress already had some grubs enter her shield as she started blasting at them. More were showing up from other sides even when the Empress blew them away with her magic.
"Get back!" She roared, zapping as many as she could with her magic. But there was just too many. However, Bisharp, with great precision, had sliced the shield of Empress Twilight in half. But it did so in a straight path, cutting through the grubs and soon the middle. The Empress moved to the side after Bisharp cut her shield, causing it to fade away. But the grubs had been taken care of.
"Sharp."
"Did you...Did you actually help me?" Empress Twilight looked at Ghetsis, confounded.
"If I didn't then I would have to hear more of Daybreaker's incessant scolding." Ghetsis replied as he didn't do it out of a good heart. He never does anything out of a good heart as Hydreigon had used Tri Attack on some incoming grubs.
Empress Twilight could accept that as she merely shrugged. Bisharp started cutting through any grubs that came its way with Hydreigon blasting them with what it could.
As for Daybreaker, she approached the massive hurricane with no fear. And upon approaching it, she had opened her mouth, breathing fire. The fire coming out of Daybreaker's mouth had become on with the hurricane, creating a Flame Tornado. But after doing so, Daybreaker then moved her hoof around, suddenly causing the Flame Tornado to move.
"Bee?" The Combee saw this as with a thrust of her hoof, Daybeaker commanded the Flame Tornado to plough through the wall of Combee. "Combee!" They cried out as their formation had been disrupted.
"Every form of fire is under my control. If you hadn't noticed." Daybreaker chuckled, making her hooves command the tornado, causing it to blow away the rest of Combee and grubs. Vespiquen was horrified by this as Daybreaker was getting closer, now using her tail to manipulate the tornado while casually walking up to the Beehive Pokemon. She even made sparks of fire fly out of the tornado, causing them to hit the grubs that held the grunts and troops.
The flames had incinerated the grubs, freeing the grunts and troops from their hold. But they were dropped from a high place, only for Daybreaker to manipulate the flames once more. This time, she made them transform into platforms to keep them all steady.
Vespiquen watched as everything was coming down around her. Panic ensued as her options were looking low. Daybreaker's flames among other things could easily defeat her grubs. Vespiquen was spread thin at this moment.
"Have no fear, Vespiquen." Daybreaker spread her wings, approaching the Bug-Flying-Type as a majority of her Combee were being overwhelmed by the sudden change in odds. "We'll make this quick and leave your colony. But you won't be keeping any more of that Dazzling Honey with you. Isn't that right, Necrozma."
Without a sound, Necrozma had appeared behind Vespiquen, casting a terrifying shadow over her. Vespiquen gasped but it was too late to do anything. Necrozma had grabbed the Beehive Pokemon with his big prism claws. "V-Vesp!"
Now that he had her, Necrozma began absorbing all of the light coming from her body. Vespiquen was powerless to stop it. All of the Dazzling Honey Light from her body was being sucked away, filling Necrozma's prism body.
Necrozma roared as his absorption capabilities were increasing in this instance. He started absorbing nearby light as well. Mainly from the Combee that had fallen, bringing their light towards him. It was a great fill. Vespiquen and her Combee no longer had any light within their bodies. It had been taken.
Necrozma was satisfied for now as its aura was showing. This mission was a success and there was still some more Dazzling Honey to go around. Necrozma had then dropped Vespiquen as she felt weak. "V-Vespiquen..."
"That's that. Don't worry. Your Infinity Energy means that you will recover eventually. Including your light energy. But you won't shine greater than before." Daybreaker smirked. "You're now useless to us."
"Vesp...!" Vespiquen growled, showing utter scorn at Daybreaker.
"We'll be leaving now. You're all too weak to do much right about now." Daybreaker closed this mission off as it had been accomplished. All of the Combee had been defeated, fainting on the ground while Vespiquen was powerless to do anything else.
Ghetsis recalled his Pokemon as Empress Twilight grimaced, flicking a grub off of her mane. The three groups promptly began to leave the hive. Not before grabbing the bags of Dazzling Honey that they had gathered.
Vespiquen would remember this. A visible anger vein could be seen on her. She gripped the ground tightly as she now had a drive to exact revenge one day. "Vespiquen...!"
But aside from that, this mission was done and done as they all returned to the Plasma Frigate. The bags of Dazzling Honey were opened as Necrozma started absorbing all the light from within it, further feeding its needs.
"Well, that went well. Besides some of you being captured, that is." Daybreaker spoke to them. "See the progress we can make when working so coherently well? And Ghetsis. Twilight. You two could...do better. But you did well at that last instance in the throne room. I expect to see more from you with actions such as that from now on. If you two work together, you could be unstoppable."
"Me? Work with him/her? Pah." They were still carrying that same aura even when the mission had ended. Daybreaker could only sigh, knowing that this could take forever to solve.
"Whatever. Either way, with this one successful, it's time to put our sights on our next mission that will come up soon. How about we do something about Reshiram and Zekrom?"
A new mission was set in place that would happen one day with planning to fill up time. And in the meanwhile, the horrid union between Ghetsis and Empress Twilight was something left to be, not-so desired as the journey continues.
Today was a sacred day to many. Not exactly the most important day to all but it had some weight. In both worlds. Valentines Day plus Hearts and Hooves Day.
"How does...next week sound for Holon? We've been pretty held back by it." Ash said to Fluttershy. "Something else might pop up next week now that I think about it."
"It's unpredictable, isn't it?" Fluttershy raised her hoof. "But just like you said, it's so much fun. But mostly dangerous a lot of the time."
"Mhm. Ah, but I can bet something like that is gonna happen at Holon. Wonder what those Delta Pokemon are like?" He crossed his arms, imaging the possibilities of Delta Pokemon. He only knew that they are Pokemon with alternate typings. Such as a Charizard that was a Dark-Type.
"Oh, by the way. Todays Hearts and Hooves day now that I remember. Or Valentines Day over in your world. Do you have anyone special, Ash?"
"Hm? Oh yeah. I forgot. I never thought too big about that day now that I think about it..." He scratched his hair.
"I hear you. Me neither. It's just like Nightmare Night with me. But I always see how interested everypony is when it comes to that day." Fluttershy shrugged before tossing some food in Bayleef's mouth. "Oh, I know. How about we try it together? I'll be your special somepony today."
"Hm? Sure." Ash sat up. "Always ready to try new things. So uh...what do we do?"
"Pikachu?"
"I don't know." Fluttershy chuckled. "I'm just as lost as you." Soon they all started laughing. Both of them were essentially absent from this special day. And for clear reasons. "Oh! I know one thing!" Fluttershy raised her hoof. "Expect some candy!
"Candy? Hehehe!" Ash liked the sound of that. His interest in Valentine's Day had been boosted from this revelation. He and Pikachu were already thinking about candy. And because of this, they took a quick turn to SugarCube Corner before leaving for this world.
"That's right. Everypony usually goes to SugarCube Corner to grab some candy. It's rare that you ever see them make the candy. But they're probably doing it everywhere else. I could try making chocolate. Can you, Ash?"
"I'm not that great at making sweet stuff. I tried making poffins one time and it didn't go so well..." Ash laughed, recalling his poor poffin-making skills. "But, everyone might like that chocolate when you think about it. Especially when it's made differently. That's what Pinkie Pie told me."
"You're right...Oh!" Another idea sparked onto Fluttershy's head. "I can't leave Discord out of it. Maybe he would like some. I'll make some for him too! It'll be his first Hearts and Hooves Day. I think. Maybe he's already done it."
"You do that. I'm gonna check out the Human World now, Fluttershy. Say, are you coming to it soon?" He asked before sitting up.
"Not quite yet." She shook her head. "But I'm still interested in it. Are you going to head there to help Twilight some more with Pokemon?"
"More than that. I gotta tell you about Alpha Pokemon. I'll be right back, okay?" Ash and Pikachu were ready to depart to the Human World.
Aside from the low interest in the day, one pony who was never super interested in this kind of day was now heavily interested because of one reason. That pony was Twilight Sparkle.
"Okay...I have it right here." Twilight had a note in her possession, holding it with magic. "Objective. Hoof it over and get a massive unnecessary stress off my back. Should be easy."
"You make it sound easy, Twilight. But you never make it easy." Starlight slid in, whispering in Twilight's ear. "How about you put the note down and tell him?"
"The note stays." Twilight pulled back. "Besides, it'll be easier this time since there won't be Bayleef or Meloetta to stop me at all. Today will e the day that I-"
"But there's Princess Luna." Starlight quickly shut Twilight down, causing her to freeze. "And there's also Queen Chrysalis now that I think about it. So it always comes down to two, doesn't it?"
"Ahem. N-No need to worry. Princess Luna's most likely training with her Pokemon or going for the final Gym Leader. And Queen Chrysalis is too busy back at the Changeling Hive. I'm confident right now and I'll be an early bird too. I'm going to-" But then, Twilight froze for a moment before noticing something off.
Starlight's Hatterene. Hatterene could be seen breathing in and out repeatedly in a strange manner. Her eyes were twitching vigorously while murmuring.
"Um...S-Starlight. What's wrong with Hatterene?" A worried Twilight questioned.
"Oh, right. Hatterene. Uh about that..." The unicorn chuckled nervously. "So, apparently, the Hatterene species and their response to strong emotions, aren't exactly fond of days like this. Hearts and Hooves plus Valentine's Day. Since this is one of those days where love, a powerful emotion shows itself, Hatterene gets very pent up. I figured this out a while back. Last year even."
"H-Hatterene...!" The Silent Pokemon growled as her tentacle claw was vibrating, feeling the urge to grab something.
"So, if it's not an issue, maybe expressing all of your love in this area isn't the best idea." Starlight held Hatterene. "I'm gonna have to try and keep Hatterene stable or else she could lose it. You go ahead and talk to Ash, please."
"Right, right." Twilight understood. She and Espeon left the premises as to try and not push Hatterene. This was certainly a volatile day for Hatterene. Thankfully, it only lasts for one day, however, there are other holidays that can bring it out. But none do so more than the day of love.
"Now Hatterene..." Starlight comforted her partner, giving her what she could and treating her like royalty. "It's just for a day. Just pretend that the aura of love isn't in the air and it will zoom by."
"T-Tterene!"
Canterlot. Day.
But as Hatterene was the Pokemon that despised strong emotions, the rival species, Gardevoir, adored strong emotions. Specifically Passion. Despite adoring it, the Gardevoir species don't do much as opposed to Hatterene, their rival species who will take drastic measures just because of a few heart flutters here and there.
At the moment, Passion wandered around for Celestia, wondering where she could be, calling out the name of her Pokemon Trainer. "Gardevoir! Gardevoir?! Voir?" Eventually, she found her. And Celestia had currently met up with one of the Swords of Justice. The one she admired. Cobalion.
"I'm so glad you actually showed up on this day, Cobalion. I hope nothing important was interrupted." She spoke to the Fighting-Steel-Type.
"Nothing." Cobalion shook his head. "Lately, things have been peaceful with the Swords and I taking less action. But we are always cautious every passing second. Right now, there is something striking around this area."
"Really?! Where?!" Celestia gasped, wondering where this potential danger could be. "What's striking?!"
"Why, that would be you."
"Oh. Ohohohoho..." Celestia's face turned red as she giggled nervously, flattered and embarrassed by Cobalion's compliment. Premium Polish was watching this exchange as she made sure to keep her eyes locked on. "Since when did you become such a charmer? What shall we do today? Maybe head to Alola to try that game again? Or that restaurant in Manehattan from before. This time without me running away in a frenzy." She chuckled.
"I'd like something peaceful. A stroll would be nice."
"A stroll does sound nice. I know the perfect place to go." Celestia started guiding Cobalion. "A location where my parents would take me as a foal."
"Gardevoir?" Passion flew over to Celestia, asking if she could come along.
"Oh, sorry, Passion. But I was hoping that it would be just us two." Celestia shrugged as Passion lowered her head in disappointment, only for Celestia to comfort her seconds later. "No need to worry. I'll be right back."
"Gardevoir."
"By the way...have you seen Luna recently? I saw very little of her yesterday...She seemed to be in a hurry." Celestia wondered about the presence of her little sister. It wasn't time to panic as of now but it was certainly odd how little of her had been seen.
Ponyville.
Ash and Pikachu were in the mood for some sweets after Fluttershy brought them up. Pinkie Pie and the Cake Family were already ahead of the game. They knew that the intake of sweets skyrocket. Great for business.
"Here you two go. Eat up!" Pinkie Pie slid some cupcakes in Ash and Pikachu's direction. They rubbed their hands together, excited to dig in and save some for tomorrow. But since they were heavy eaters, these cupcakes won't see tomorrow's light.
"Thanks, Pinkie. This is gonna be a good one, buddy. I've just got a good feeling about this." The Alola Champion and the Mouse Pokemon put their arms together, being grateful for the sweet-toothed treat in front of them. Entering SugarCube Corner was Twilight.
She took a gentle hoofstep, still having the note with her. To her, this was a big break and the day she can put an end to an unnecessary issue that should've been solved long ago. She took a deep breath, ready to show it to Ash. But before she could do so and before Ash and Pikachu could devour the cupcakes, a flash of magic happened right within the building.
And emerging from this flash of magic was Princess Luna. Twilight gasped as Luna appeared at the worst possible time for the young alicorn. Luna smirked as she knew her timing was abysmal in this instance. "Hope I'm not interruptingg~"
"Hm? Luna?" Ash turned to the Princess of the Night.
"Ash. Save those cupcakes for later." Luna used her magic to slide the tray of cupcakes away, having something else in mind. She used her magic to bring out something larger than the cupcakes. A massive Heart-Shaped Cake had been revealed, placed in front of Ash for him to admire. The heart was two-toned, having signature colours of Ash and Luna. Azure Blue for Ash and Dark Blue Luna. "Try this first."
"Oho!" Ash's eyes sparkled upon witnessing this behemoth of pastry before his eyes. "Awesome! Thanks, Luna!" Ash gladly helped himself, grabbing the nearest fork and spoon to start chewing away.
"Ah..." Twilight was speechless as Luna turned to face her fellow alicorn, giving a cheeky grin. Mew went to eat some of the cupcakes along with Pinkie Pie once they were pushed aside. "Mmmrgh..." Twilight growled as Luna proved to be one step ahead of her when it came to food.
"I told you, Twilight Sparkle." Luna slid over to Twilight. "My mother already instructed me that food is the way to their heart. And it seems you forgot t take up cooking lessons to match my pace."
"Gah!" Twilight exclaimed. "It isn't over yet. I still have this." She showed the note to Luna. "This speaks larger volumes than some cake."
"Hey! Don't diss cake..." Pinkie Pie managed to hear Twilight and her sentence about cake. She narrowed her eyes, pointing her hoof at her friend.
"R-Right. Watch this." Twilight pranced over, ready to show the note to Ash and get things over with at last. Luna took a moment to realize how impactful this could be. Twilight had a point about this note speaking larger volumes. It wouldn't be subtle at all. "Ash."
"Mmm?" Ash turned to face Twilight with a full mouth of cake. Twilight held her breath, feeling nervous to show the letter. The moment she got Ash's attention and held the note out, she suddenly froze in place.
"Ah." Luna smiled, knowing that Twilight had gotten cold hooves. She showed so much bravado and confidence earlier. But the moment she was about to partake in the action, her body prevented her from advancing.
"Uh...You see...This note is something special and-" Twilight was padding out her words, trying to stall for time despite wanting this to be over with. Ash was just confused as he continued to eat the cake. He also decided to have the cupcakes at the same time, multitasking as his hand was a sweet mess.
"It's never easy when face to face with that special someone, hm?" Luna peered her head over to Twilight, whispering at her. Twilight scrunched her face with one eye twitching. Twilight grizzled her teeth as Espeon was just eating the cake, waiting for this to be over.
"Just look for yourself!" Twilight exclaimed, allowing Ash to grab the note. Ash took it for himself, opening it as Twilight's heart rate was skyrocketing at rapid speeds. This could be it.
Unfortunately, because his hands were a mess, the words that truly mattered had been layered and covered by the colours of cake and cupcakes. "Oh. Whoops."
"!!" Twilight was aghast. This was most definitely some form of cruel fate. But some part of her felt relieved in a way that the words were blocked off. But she was still disappointed. "Oh..."
"Sorry about that. How about we get it off? Pinkie Pie can Spin-"
"No, that's fine!" Twilight cut Ash off, grabbing the note with her magic and ripping it into shreds. "Forget about that, okay? Haha!" She laughed as her imaginary self was currently slamming her head against the wall right about now. Ash shrugged before continuing to eat.
"Mmm..." Twilight whimpered, disappointed that it went south immediately.
"Hm." Luna felt bad for Twilight in that instance, patting her on the head. "Have no worry, Twilight Sparkle. This topic is difficult to tackle after all. Even for myself. But on the brighter side of things, at least I have made some more progress." She went back to her competitive nature.
"It isn't over yet..." twilight partook in Luna's competitive nature. "I just have to say it and things will be done. I'll do it...tonight!"
"Tonight, you say?" Luna nodded. "Precisely my time. I will be watching closely to see if you can go through with it."
"What about you? You haven't said a word about it either."
"Gh!" Luna pulled back as Twilight had her there. "Ahem. I-I'm just biding my time if you must know. I am certainly not nervous and hesitant such as you."
"Right..." Twilight was heavily doubtful of that. Right as their conversation ended, so did Ash's feast. Just like that, in so little time and with the combined efforts of Pikachu, Espeon, Pinkie Pie, Spinda and Mew, the cake and cupcakes had been fully devoured.
"Ah, that was good..." Ash was satisfied by what he had eaten. He and the others let out a relaxed sigh. "Okay. Time to head to Twilight. Uh, I mean the Human Twilight. I guess I gotta come up with an easier name for her...Sci-wi could work. She's great at science at all."
"Hm?" Twilight and Luna both turned to Ash. "Sci-Twi?" After speaking her name, it was Twilight who was the first to realize something. The other Twilight in her eyes made her jealous before. Twilight didn't think much about it before realizing that Valentines Day most definitely exists in the Human World. Luna shrugged, unphased by this.
"Thanks for the cake and cupcakes, guys," said Ash before he and Pikachu departed.
"Ah, Ash. Allow me to escort you there." Luna took another advantage when it was available rushing to Ash. "We can go together."
"Oh, really? Thanks, Luna. Teleporting's the way to go, huh?"
"No-no-no. That is the easier option, but I feel like taking things slowly, in all honesty. On this occasion, the Trains tend to undergo a special change. It has a wonderful bliss to it." Luna smiled, referring to how the train rides sometimes dabble in Hearth's Warming.
"That sounds like it could-"
"I'll go too," Twilight interjected, aiming to go on this train ride with Ash. Luna let out a slight growl as Ash's eyes were shifting in different directions. So did Pinkie Pie as she already knew the different tensions that were sprouting.
"That is fine, Twilight Sparkle." Luna stopped her. "You have important matters to attend to here in Ponyville as the Princess of Friendship, do you not?"
"Nope. I'm a free pony right now. Nothing much to worry about." She smirked as Luna pouted. "Plus, I'd like to pay that world a visit again to see the rest of my friends."
"I highly doubt that's the reason." Them, lightning bolts shot out from their eyes as they were clashing back and forth at this rate. Pinkie PIe bit her hoof, worried about what this might do. That was when Ash took action.
"Hold on." He said, halting them both. Despite how carefree he may be, Ash is not oblivious to how his friends sometimes act. Never will he stray away from that part of them. "I don't know what's going on but...You guys are worrying me. This isn't like you, ya know. Maybe it's this whole Valentines Day or Hearths and Hooves Day, but you're not usually like this."
"..." The two alicorns lowered their ears, knowing that when it came to having feelings for Ash, their competitive natures would show constantly. And they could get worse if not paid attention to.
"If something's bugging you, you two can tell me, Pikachu or anyone about it." He grinned, closing his eyes. "Just say the word and we're all ears."
"Pikachu..."
"Curses...That much is true..." Luna said under her breath. She and Twilight looked at each other before agreeing on one thing in unison. Something that could work to their benefit while still being subtle.
"Ash." They both said, holding their breaths and letting out what they needed to say but without being too upfront. "Will you be my special somepony?" They finally came upfront and said it.
"Oh, that. Hmm...Sure. Sounds fun!" Ash was up for it. He was still a stranger to this kind of tradition. Even in his own world. And to Twilight and Luna, that was the safest option they could've gone for as they both sighed. Ash saw this as a fun one-time experience. Catching his affection was still in the air. Pinkie also felt some form of relief, glad that things didn't spiral out of control. "But I still don't know how this stuff works. You two seem pretty experienced with it."
"Not quite...but we are willing to show you," Luna said as she and Twilight would essentially be teaming up. And yet, they still had some of their competitive spirits leaking out.
"And at the end of this one-day event, there's always a surprise. Isn't there, Princess Luna?" Twilight nudged Luna. She got the message immediately.
"Precisely. Some may call it a peck or so. Hopefully, it won't be too alarming when done to you Ash and-"
"Oh, that!" Ash understood the wording behind that. "No need to worry. I know what it's like. Just last Christmas, Sci-Twi gave me one right here." He tapped on his cheek, rustling his cheekbones a bit.
"SHE WHAT?!" Both Twilight and Luna exclaimed, letting their Royal Canterlot Voices shoot out as it had caused Ash's hat to fly off. Their ears did not mishear it. The Twilight Sparkle from another world had beaten them to it already. Little did they know that others have beaten them to the punch long ago.
"Uh yeah. Anyway, let's check out that special train ride!" Ash was eager to see what the train would be like on this special day. Twilight and Luna had frozen faces with whited out pupils. That revelation threw them off guard. Twilight already knew she had some jealousy for her other self but now the same could be said for Luna. Extra competition from yet another world as they slowly trotted, following Ash while having their mouths open.
Meanwhile, Hatterene was struggling to keep herself steady. She looked outside the window, gazing at Ash, Twilight and Luna. She could feel a lot of love coming from them and it bothered her. H-Hatterene...!"
"Alright, Hatterene, here's your food." Starlight arrived with Pokemon Food. The moment she entered the room, she could see Hatterene vibrating at greater speeds. The love that Twilight and Luna had for Ash was too astronomical for her to ignore. "Uh...Hatterene...Whatever you're thinking, don't do it. Just eat your food and-"
"Hatter!" Hatterene hissed before using Psycho Cut. She had then sliced the Pokemon Food in half, rejecting to consume it as Starlight jumped back, screeching. After cutting the food in half, Hatterene had used her claw to a punch hole through the window.
"Hatterene, no! Return!" Starlight knew this would get out of hand quickly as she went for Hatterene's Poke Ball. However, Hatterene had used her Psychic mind to telekinetically grab Starlight and the Poke Ball. Starlight gulped as the Poke Ball was thrown aside. Starlight was sent to another room as the Silent Pokemon had then jumped out of the window. "Hatterene! Don't!" Starlight cried out before having her voice fade in the background.
Hatterene was too aggravated at this point. The moment she entered the outside, she could already feel the love radiating from everypony here. And it was driving her mad. She looked around to see different couples interacting with each other. Hatterene felt like doing something about them, but she wanted to get Twilight and Luna who had the most love coming from them.
"Hatterene!" Hatterene wailed as she had used her mystical powers to grab every couple that were interacting so far, lifting them into the air. The couples had their eyes widen before noticing how they were being raised into the air.
Hatterene could not contain her aggravation so she kept them all afloat for the time being. But she also felt like smashing them all down at the same time. And with how her veins were showing, that looked like it would be the case until a certain somepony had shown up.
"That's as far as you go." Slamming her hoof on the ground, grabbing Hatterene's attention, was the Princess of Love. Princess Mi Amore Cadenze. Or Cadence for short.
"Hatt?!" Hatterene growled, glaring at the alicorn.
"I sensed something amiss and it led me to you...You're a threat to Hearts and Hooves day." The Princess of Love narrowed her eyes. "Which makes you my natural enemy."
"Hatterene." Hatterene soon dropped everyone from her telekinetic hold, causing them all to shudder after landing. They all then had eyes on Hatterene and Cadence.
An unlikely showdown was about to occur. A Defender of Love and a Destroyer of Love. Starlight took a deep breath as she quickly teleported to the outside of Ponyville. Upon arriving there, she could see this inevitable showdown about to occur. The two respective pink auras were flowing from Cadence and Hatterene. Cadence was light pink while Hatterene was dark pink.
Starlight had no idea what calamity was about to happen.
On the train to Canterlot, there was a special Hearts and Hooves room for those who were getting into the spirit of the holiday. And that benefit came with some high-class luxury that could only appear on this one day or if royalty was onboard. A private room was made for different couples.
Twilight and Luna were still silent after the revelation from earlier. They had their faces scrunched the whole time. Some food had been brought over, Hearts and Hooves themed. Ash and Pikachu would enjoy this, but Espeon would sit out of this as she was full.
"How is it that your counterpart beat us to it?" Luna shifted her eyes at Twilight.
"I'm lost on that myself..." Twilight shook her head. "And so soon too..."
"Who knew this day had so much food to go around. I've been missing out." Ash laughed, hovering his hands over the food Twilight and Luna then saw this as a chance to try something to get their mind off of the recent revelation.
"Here, Ash! Allow me to rest your hands!" Luna quickly used her magic to grab a piece of cake, hovering it in front of Ash's face.
"Oh, thanks, Luna. But I can-"
"Feed you instead! I've been practising! Sort of...Not really." Twilight did the same as her piece of cake had knocked Luna's cake out of the way. Luna then knocked Twilight's aside as well as they both started bashing the pieces of cake against each other. Ash watched as the food went from side to side.
"Aha!" Ash had a better idea. He took the pieces of cake, grabbing them out of their telekinetic hold. "Here you two go." Just then, he had placed it in front of them both.
"!" They both froze under this approach as their mouths were wide open. This was the first romantic thing he had done without him noticing.
"Oh, Ash. It's meant to be the other way around." Luna giggled.
"It is?" He scratched his hair, looking at the cake. He shrugged before seeing Twilight take a bite out of the cake before Luna could.
"If you won't take the chance, then I will." She said to Luna before chewing on the cake. Luna turned her head, giving an indignation expression. She then looked at the other piece of cake before deciding to also take a bite.
"Delicious..."
"Looks like we're almost there." Ash looked outside the window. "I'll make this quick and head back to do whatever else happens on this day."
"Anything else?" Twilight nudged.
"Well...uh...Chrysalis wanted to see me and I gotta help clean up back home." He began listing what else needed to be done today. "Oh and I gotta make plans for Holon too."
"Right...Chrysalis..." Luna sighed, knowing that Chrysalis was another major love obstacle. Potentially the biggest considering what she now stands for. But unlike Twilight and Luna, Chrysalis doesn't share that same competitive nature as them both.
"Um, Ash. Tonight, there's something important that I have to tell you." Twilight cleared her throat. She then twiddled her hooves together, asking a daring question. "So, you could um...could you show up behind my castle later tonight?"
"Important, huh? Alright. I'll be there." Music to Twilight's ears. She was ecstatic deep within while Luna was sweating bullets, worried about the potential outcome.
Afterwards, the train came to an end as it was time for Ash to leave for the Human World once more. Once Ash got off the train, they looked at each other for a bit. Twilight and Luna felt some sort of guilt in them at this point. Despite what Ash said to them earlier, their competitive natures couldn't help but keep showing themselves. Even fighting for him, Ash took the time to give them both the pieces of cake they had originally offered.
Ash paused, turning around to face them both. Before he could leave to the mirror, he felt the need to be there for him as he approached the two alicorns.
"Hey. Don't worry about it. You're both special to me so don't ever let that change, okay?" Ash said to them. "It's because of how you two are that makes me and Pikachu happy. And I know that Eve feels the same way."
"Espeon." Espeon rubbed her head on Twilight's hoof, purring.
"Whatever you wanna say to me, go ahead. I'll be all ears for you both."
"Ash..." Twilight smiled, feeling at ease. Despite everything that has happened, Ash, to a certain degree, understood them well. This was another reason to have such affection for him.
But after Twilight put on a smile along with Luna, a sudden outburst could be felt. It had startled them all as a gigantic pink smoke could be seen in the distance. Most likely an explosion. And falling out of that explosion was Princess Cadence. She came crashing down at full force, landing right near Ash and the others.
"Cadence?!" The three of them had gasped.
"Ugh...H-Her hatred is too strong..." Cadence groaned before rising her hoof, trembling. Twilight quickly ran to her side, holding the hoof of her old foalsitter. "It's Hatterene...She's overflowing with Hatred for Love. She's reached critical levels of absolute hatred."
"Hatterene?"
"HATTERENE!" Speaking of which, Hatterene could be seen in the distance, emerging out of the pink mushroom cloud. She had ascended. Her hatred was rising, overflowing. The endless array of love was powering her anger. Her anger was so great that it was changing the weather.
Thunderstorms started emerging. But they were pink thunderstorms as the clouds all became pink along with the skies. Everyone across the world was greeted with this global force. Ash and the others were stunned by this sudden change in events.
And once Hatterene's tense hatred started reaching critical mass, she started sending the thunderbolts in specific directions. Mainly to those who were showing extreme love on this special day. Ponies who were writing love letters were met with a bad surprise.
Their letters had been wiped out of existence the moment the thunderbolts came rashing down. Their messages were cut off instantly. Among one of these ponies was Pinkie Pie. She gasped after seeing her letter wiped off the face of the planet. Hatterene was now a raging goddess. A goddess that despised love.
Over at the Pokemon House, deciding to involve Discord on this special day was Fluttershy. She worked hard to make a delicious piece of chocolate for him. She chose not to enter SugarCube Corner. "Discord!" She called for Discord. The moment she did so, the thunderbolt approached the cake.
"Bay? Bay!" Bayleef reacted just as quickly as the thunderbolt did. Her leaves rustled, causing one of them to fly off. The leaf had landed on Fluttershy's hooves as fate had been changed.
The thunderbolt had been altered, hitting the ground instead. Fluttershy jumped afterwards, dropping the chocolate. Raboot had safely caught it, keeping it balanced with his feet.
"Yes?" Discord responded to Fluttershy's call, ripping reality in half to pass through it, entering Ponyville. The moment he had arrived, his eyes were mostly locked onto the skies and the visage of Hatterene above. "Oh my. What's this?"
"I...don't know..."
"HATTERENE!" Hatterene roared as she violently shook her head, smiting everything love-related that she could. Ponies started fleeing from these Fairy thunderbolts, especially the couples. However, the thunderbolts started separating the couples, keeping them away from each other.
It was utter pandemonium and chaos. Something that Discord could get behind. He wasn't sure what caused this but he was loving every second of it.
One of the couples targeted were Cobalion and Celestia. Celestia looked in awe and shock at this pink-coloured calamity ongoing. Of all the days where she could spend quality time with Cobalion, this had to be the one where something severe could go.
"Stay close to me, Celestia." Cobalion said, using his hoof to bring Celestia close. Celestia blushed at this, squealing as she had already forgotten about the giant pink storm happening above.
"H-How did this happen?!" Luna gasped.
"It's Hatterene's reaction to strong motions! She absolutely hates them to the core! And this is one of those days where love, the strongest emotion is the most active!" Twilight explained. "She could destroy everything at this point!"
"Not yet..." Cadence sat up. "T-There is a way to stop her...The same way she feeds off of love and transforms it into hatred, I must do the same."
"How?" Ash asked.
"Being the Princess of Love...I have access to a spell that only I can utilize. Everyone. I need you to share your love with me." Cadence then adjusted her crown before closing her eyes. "That goes for everypony around Equestria."
Ash and everyone knew what needed to be done. If it would stop Hatterene from destroying everything in sight. They didn't ask questions. They just started sharing their love. They held their arms, hooves and paws out as Cadence started reacting to their love, feeding off it.
Cadence's magic prowess was growing as she used the Telepathy spell to communicate with everyone across Equestria and beyond. She needed more love. "Everpony. Share your love with me. So that we can stop this pink calamity. Raise whatever limbs you have to the sky."
They all listened to her. They knew how volatile this all seemed so they didn't hesitate. If it meant stopping the pink thunderstorms, they happily raised their limbs to the skies. Chrysalis and her changelings were among the many species that heard and witnessed this. The moment she shared her love, Cadence already felt a massive increase in love.
"Hoh! This must be Chrysalis!" Cadence gasped as her capabilities were growing. Not only that, but her body was growing. More specifically, it was glowing before it started growing. It radiated a vibrant pink aura as Cadence was taking some sort of avatar form.
Ash and everyone nearby watched as Cadence grew and grew until she surpassed the nearby buildings. Her size was only increasing. Near and far across Equestria, they had all witnessed a colossal pink avatar emerge. The Love Avatar of Princess Cadence had been born, towering over even the mountains. "HATT?!" Hatterene growled as she turned to the pink avatar.
"How did we get here?" Twilight wondered. Appearing as fast as she could was Starlight Glimmer. The owner of Hatterene. She showed up as fast s she could, appearing before her friends. "Starlight?"
"T-Twilight...I'm sorry! I tried! Her hatred was just too strong! B-But...I think I found a solution!" Starlight held out a Pokemon-themed book. "I pulled this from your library...It holds a weakness for Hatterene."
"What is it?!" Twilight questioned.
"The first is the most obvious. It's Gardevoir. But the second...is Luvdisc." The unicorn showed the page to them. One of the two Pokemon that can put an end to Hatterene's rampage. They knew about a Gardevoir. Passion. But Luvdisc threw them off guard.
"Luvdis? GAH! I should've gone to Luvdisc with Ash!" Twilight screeched before putting her hoof in her mouth. "D-Did I say that out loud?"
"We've got Passion to help. I wonder if she's reacting to this?" Ash wondered.
"Pikachu..."
"For now...it seems that Cadence is our main hope. But as a backup...we may need Passion or a random Luvdisc," said Luna.
"HATTERENE!" Hatterene lashed out at the Love Avatar of Cadence. She matched her size with a massive pink thunderbolt full of nothing but hatred. The Love Avatar of Cadence had used her magic to counter the thunderbolt as they both disintegrated. Hatterene then transformed the thunderbolts into massive claws to try and swipe at the Love Avatar of Cadence. Only for the Avatar to repel it with the power of love.
"HATTERENE...YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME." The Love Avatar of Cadence spoke with a radiant echoing voice. "NOT BECAUSE OF MY CURRENT STATE... BUT BECAUSE I KNOW OF ONE WEAKNESS YOU HAVE."
"TTERENE?!"
"YOUR WEAKNESS IS THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE SOMEONE YOU CARE FOR. STARLIGHT GLIMMER."
"HATT!" There it was. Hatterene's weakness had been exposed. She did love someone at the end of the day. Her trainer. How could she destroy love when she already experienced it before.
"GOTCHA!" Love Avatar of Cadence then struck. She thrust her hoof forward, piercing it through the gigantic aura that Hatterene had made. The aura had been pierced as a massive pink wave of Pure Love was sent in Hatterene's direction.
Hatterene gasped as she was showered by this overwhelming force. "HATTERENE!" Hatterene let out a bloodcurdling scream as she was fully enveloped with the love, causing her to go insane. Due to this, the hatred that she had collected had been blown away, causing a massive pink outburst of explosive magical love energy. The pink clouds and skies were erased as Hatterene's defeat had been dealt.
Cheers resounded throughout Equestria. This sudden calamity was gone and not a soul had been harmed. A total relief as the Love Avatar of Cadence stood with majesty.
"Way to go, mom!" Flurry Heart applauded as she and Shining Armor had seen the event play out.
Hatterene started falling, only for the massive avatar to grab Hatterene via a gigantic hof. The Love Avatar of Cadence then placed her down, right next to Starlight.
"Hatterene!" Starlight ran over to her partner. "Are you okay?!"
"H-Hatterene..." The Silent Pokemon groaned as Love Avatar of Cadence started fading away. Its time was up and the job had been done.
"Oh, Hatterene. I should've prepared for this. Sorry that you had to go through something like that." Starlight apologized, hugging the Psychic-Fairy-Type. Hatterene froze, realizing that she had always been partaking in love. She almost tried to destroy something that gave her a home and family.
"Hatterene..." And for that, Hatterene started tearing up, hugging Starlight.
"Ah..." Cadence felt all of the gathered love leave her body. "My work here is done. Well, off I go."
"After all of that, you're leaving?! You never told me you could do that!" Twilight exclaimed. "Since when was that a thing?!"
"It only works that well during Hearts and Hooves Day. Nothing more. Bye~" Cadence whistled, leaving Twilight completely speechless. No one was going to forget what they had just witnessed.
This special day could continue with no further pink calamities. Cobalion and Cadence continued with their quality time afterwards. Fluttershy blinked for a bit, still lost on everything that had happened. But she quickly put it aside to gift Discord a box of chocolate she had made.
"Here, Discord. This will be your first Hearts and Hooves. Eat up." She said.
"Hm. Judging from what I had seen up there, I can say that this has been the best one so far." Discord was satisfied as he took a bite of the chocolate. He got to see two massive concepts of love go against each other. He had no complaints.
Ponyville. Behind Twilight's Castle. Nightfall.
Just as he promised, after finishing a few things up, there was one final thing Ash had to finish. He had met Twilight at the back of her castle. Luna started watching from the shadows, wanting to see how this would all turn out.
"I'm here, Twilight. What's up?" Ash stood before the young alicorn.
"Glad you showed up. I knew you would anyway. Um...So..." Twilight then faced Ash, scrunching her face and aiming her eyes at the ground. She then shifted her eyes as Espeon was staying far back, encouraging her Trainer. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while. I should've said it when it first came to me."
"Yeah?"
"You see...Ash..." The Princess of Friendship knew this had to end at last. But even with this radiating confidence, she still felt nervous. "I..." She grit her teeth as even Luna was worried for Twilight right now. The full moon beamed on them both as the wind howled.
Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder, waiting for the answer as he backed away allowing them to have smoe time together. Twilight gulped, fighting against her hesitation.
"I really, really, really, really, really, really...." She kept repeating the same words. She was unable to say the full sentence, lingering on time once more. Twilight looked like she was going to explode with her head twitching and wings making crooked poses. However, with a tiny blast of Psychic energy from Espeon, Twilight said it all. "I really like you, Ash!" Albeit, the less extravagant way of saying it. Love was not the word used in this. "I really do...There. I said it."
"Huh." Ash nodded before smiling. "I like you too, Twilight. Thanks."
"Hah...I know that's not what you mean." Twilight whimpered, falling flat on her face. She knew for a fact that Ash could not differentiate between two different variations of love. And if he could, he was not good at spotting it.
"I do." But that was when Ash took her by surprise. He did know what she meant.
"Y-You do? You actually do?!" She raised her head.
"Mhm. I may not look like it, but I know my stuff. You did good, Twilight. It's always good to say what you truly wanna say and get it over with. " He helped her up. "That takes all the spirit in someone. And that's what's awesome about you."
"T-Thank you..." She giggled before fainting out of absolute exhaustion. She was happy at last which resulted in her fainting.
"Espeon." Espeon would take things from here. She used Psychic to carry Twilight away. They were done here. Luna couldn't help but feel proud of Twilight. But this also meant that she had a bigger drive to come out as the victor next time.
"You've been pretty silent, Sombra. But I guess this isn't your kind of day." Ash spoke to Sombra who was still within him as a shadow spirit. The shadow of Sombra showed himself, scoffing.
"At least you're aware of my preferences..." He said.
"But if you had someone on this day, who would it be?"
"No one. Absolutely no one." Sombra denied any possibility.
"Aw, come on. Even I know there's someone. Everyone's always had someone special in their life. Even if they're gone now there was always something there."
"You are smarter than you look, boy. I will give you this...there was someone but there is no point in bringing her up right now. Now leave me be." Sombra went back to thing within Ash, ending the conversation.
And in general, this entire special day would end as well. Only returning next year or even showing itself on Christmas/Hearth's Warming. Ash could head home and call it a day. Little did he know, that the affection his friends show him spans beyond just friendship. But perhaps, it's that carefree nature around everything that not only makes him impervious from any obstacles of love and why he can draw affection to others.
The Human World. Canterlot Town. Sunset Shimmer's home. Day.
It was a sunny day here in the Human World. And an exciting one for Sunset Shimmer. Due to her current movements, getting ready for today, she was a happy camper.
"It's gonna be my day today!" Sunset Shimmer exclaimed. "Can you feel it, you four?" She turned to her Pokemon. Litleo, Braixen, Fletchinder and Volcarona. They shared her enthusiasm greatly, cheering for her. "Glad you all feel the same! Return, for now!" She then recalled them all.
Sunset Shimmer got herself ready, straightening her hair, placing the necessary Pokemon essentials within her bag and was prepared to spend some time at Canterlot High. With a bright grin on her face and the sun perfectly beaming through her home, she had opened the door, ready to let the day fly. "Let's do this!" And the moment she opened the door, three police officers could be seen.
"Sunset Shimmer?"
"Yes?" She said with happiness in her voice and expression.
"You're under arrest." And just like that, everything had dropped drastically as Sunset Shimmer's hands had been restrained via handcuffs. Two seconds later and Sunset soon realized what had just happened. In those two seconds, she blinked rapidly, the clouds covered the sun and her happy-go-lucky spirit of the day had been crushed, smashed and torn apart before she knew it.
"Eh?"
Canterlot High. Day.
Over at Canterlot High, lessons had already begun and school was underway. However, while mostly everyone was here, one individual was missing. Sunset Shimmer. Her friends watched as other students roamed the school, but none were Sunset Shimmer at all.
"She's not here yet. Safe to say she's off sick?" Twilight theorized.
"Running late's not uncommon." Sunset Shimmer shrugged. "Besides, no one's ever called in sick before. Mostly because it never works. Believe me, my little sister has tried it before."
"Well, I was sick once. But that was kinda my fault. Ate too much." Pinkie Pie confessed, raising her arm. As they wondered and were almost ready to move on about Sunset Shimmer's absence, Principal Celestia had approached them.
"You all." She spoke, grabbing their attention. "It was the best option to come to each of you since you're so immersed in well...oddities."
"Us? Oh, you've got a point." Rainbow Dash agreed on that. "We're the students that do the most in this school, don't we? Haha!" And just like that, she started stroking her own ego. But it was true either way.
"Right. I should inform you about one of your friends. It's Sunset Shimmer. She's been arrested."
"Arrested?!" The group shouted with their voices echoing throughout the hallway of the school. This revelation made them all aghast in different ways. Confusion, distraught and near-sadness.
"I just got a call today from the Police Station about this. They said one of my students had been arrested as of recently. Just this morning. Sunset Shimmer's already been taken to court at this point."
"How?! Why?!" Twilight and Applejack both questioned.
"Oh, you're all not aware of what happened a few weeks ago? A shopping mall in the big city had been terrorized with visible damage. Mostly done by Pokemon and their trainers. And among one of those trainers, Sunset Shimmer was found to be one of them, resulting in her arrest."
"Sunset would never do that! Right?" said Fluttershy with a worried tone.
"I had to let you all know. Due to everything I've seen so far, it's not impossible to suspect that something is wrong. Sunset Shimmer wouldn't go back to the way she was like that. Neither would she hang around with bad company. There's a possibility to help her. Court cares can have retrials. Help her and see if something is amiss."
"Uh, we don't know a thing about that!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she and her friends were not that experienced with court cases or anything related to it. But they still wanted to help Sunset Shimmer.
"I do." Twilight raised her arm. "I was thinking of maybe becoming a lawyer one day, but that changed years ago. But I'm not sure they're going to believe us since we're so young and..."
"Something like this can't stop you all, can it?" Celestia circled them. "If you can tackle She-Demons and rampaging Pokemon, you can most definitely help your friend. I want to do the same."
Thanks to Celestia's encouragement, they felt some extra confidence to help Sunset Shimmer out and try and plead for Sunset Shimmer. They would be stepping into one of the most fearsome and intimidating forces in the world. Court cases. All they had to do was back up their evidence. But that would be an issue.
"Um..H-How are we gonna get proof?" Applejack was the first to ask as they needed something for this defence.
"The footage can be found online after the news covered it. Take a look at it and see what you can find," said Celestia as they had their first proof to go off of.
A courtroom out in the city.
"Guilty." The court case for Sunset Shimmer had ended. The footage they had used was strong enough to cement this. Due to her matching the girl in the video, the odds were stacked against her.
"Ah...Ah..." Sunset Shimmer's jaw dropped as she didn't even have anyone to help out. She didn't exactly have a lawyer, neither did she think to get one in the first place. Her Poke Balls had also been taken away from her earlier this morning on the way to the courtroom to prevent any retaliation.
With all these odds, Sunset Shimmer was seemingly done for. And there was one other thing that didn't help her case. And it had to do with her counterpart that she was not aware of.
"Weeks after you had just left juvie, Sunset Shimmer and you go ahead and pull this? For the destruction of the mall and assisting in thievery, I hereby sentence you to three years in juvenile detention."
"Three years?!" She screeched.
"Much longer than your original time." The judge pointed his gavel at Sunset Shimmer.
"I told you, that's not me! I mean... it is me but-" Sunset Shimmer tried reasoning with them, but it was hard to do so when she was seen on the screen. Despite it being a different story in truth. However, the decision had been made final as she was already being taken away. "That's my counterpart! I didn't think it was possible, but I have a counterpart in this world too! That's what it is!"
But no one was believing her about the counterpart bit. No one at all. This case had already been decided, however, the other people who had also robbed the mall and were involved with its destruction were still at large.
Sunset Shimmer looked over at her Poke Balls as they would no longer be kept under her property. It was unknown what would be done to them as she feared for her partners.
Elsewhere.
Straying away from the current predicament, there was something else of great importance occurring. Mainly concerning the siren family. They were currently focused on their quest to find the rest of their species and reunite them all. With the help of their mother Vivace, they had greater supervision that extended beyond Adagio. However, the world was large and none of them were willing to go on foot to find all of them.
"Instead of walking...we'll use this." Vivace stood before a van. A camping van. The perfect vehicle to use that would help in their journey. It was big enough to fit them.
"Hm...Looks tacky." Adagio uttered. "But I guess it's the best we can do."
"Wait, mom. How are you gonna afford that?" Aria asked. "You don't have any of this world's currency do you?"
"Not at all. There's a far better option than buying for it." Vivace placed her hand on the van. "And I think you three know what it most definitely is, don't you?"
"Uh..." Sonata gawked for a bit, trying to answer her mother's question. But Aria and Adagio already figured out what it was as they made a collective gasp. Soon, Sonata figured it out seconds later. "Wait, you're gonna steal it?"
"I may no longer share a hatred for others...but that hasn't negated my drive to take chances," Vivace smirked as she was already choosing to steal this van and use it.
"Mom..." Aria lowered her eyes for a bit before shrugging. "Eh. That's so like you." Surprisingly, Aria wasn't that bothered by it at all. "We're not that experienced with this world so it doesn't matter anyway."
"That's my girl." Vivace was proud of Aria. "This world doesn't hold much meaning to us. Once we find them all, I hope that I never have to come back here. Home and the POkemon World seem like the better option honestly."
"Aren't we gonna get caught?" Sonata asked. "And won't the owner find out that it's gone?"
"Your mother's magic didn't deteriorate, girls." Vivace prepared for this. This van was among many vans surrounding the area. This was a Van Detailing Shop. As for the owner AKA the dealer, Vivace pointed to the window of the shop.
Through it, the dealer could be seen completely asleep along with others inside. No one else was awake or aware to witness their movements. Their mother was still cunning even after all of these years. That siren spirit will never fade away no matter what as Vivace had also taken the keys from the workers.
"Now then. Hop in."
She unlocked the door, grabbing the best possible van in this lot. Then again, the best one wasn't exactly extravagant to look at it. It was a van at the end of the day, but it would suffice. However, while the outside may be dull, the interior of the van said otherwise.
Its worth definitely showed when inside. Sonata instantly made herself comfortable, relaxing on the soft seats and taking up immediate leg space. Thankfully, there was enough room for them all.
"Do you know how to drive this thing, mom?" Adagio asked.
"I spent years in this world, trying to adjust myself before I ended up in the Pokemon World previously. I have some experience with it." Vivace replied, already starting the engines.
Aria took a moment to better gaze at this interior before noticing a TV screen on top. She approached it, searching for a way to turn it on. But Sonata already did as she had found the remote for it. The TV had been turned on by her, showing a drama show.
"You kids haven't yet mastered the full capabilities of what Siren Magic is capable of," Vivace said. "With my expertise of magic, I can track down other sirens that go beyond just singing. This will make our search easier."
"You can do that? You have to teach us how!" Adagio was eager and so was Aria.
"Later, later. Right now, let's get going. We'll stop by one of the cities later on." Vivace then started driving as they were finally on the move, using a stolen van as their main form of transportation. Aria sat down, watching the TV with Sonata as some channel surfing had begun.
Sonata was looking for something interesting to watch. Perhaps a show that could grab her interest on hours on end. She rapidly pressed it, scrolling through many channels before passing one of them that had Sunset Shimmer's face on it. Aria was the one to notice this as she gasped, grabbing the remote.
"Hold on! Go back!" She cried out, reversing the channel option. There, she stopped on a news channel that had someone reporting about Sunset Shimmer. Adagio and Sonata soon took a look. The image was made clearer once they saw Sunset Shimmer standing behind what seemed to be a mug shot. Aria rewound the footage to get better context.
"Just recently, a high schooler by the name of Sunset Shimmer has been found guilty at her short court case and will be spending three years in big city's local juvenile detention. Apparently, longer than her previous go."
"Sunset got arrested?" Aria gasped. "How in the-"
"Is she a friend of yours?" Vivace asked.
"Yeah, Sunny is." Sonata nodded. "She also comes from Equestria and decided to start living here. How did she get arrested? And why?"
"She used to be like us, remember? Though not so extreme." Adagio shrugged before crossing her arms. "Perhaps she just got back into that previous mood and went wild."
"That doesn't seem like her," Aria said otherwise, pausing the channel to stay on this one image of Sunset Shimmer. The image showed her with tears, already messing up her eyeliner as she truly did not want to be there. "Something's up with this."
"I agree with Aria." Sonata stood up. "I mean, we're most likely to do something bad...like with this van right here, but not her. I say we go and help her!"
"Help her?!" Adagio exclaimed. "Uh, we have something far more important than that, if you forgot? The rest of our species could be out there and we have a good chance of finding them. Slowing down just because she messed up on something isn't going to fly."
"But isn't she our friend?!" Sonata shouted back.
"Never saw her as my friend. You two are more close to her than anything. That's that." While Aria and Sonata saw Sunset as their friend, the same could not be said for Adagio, who didn't care that much for her.
"Well if that's the case..." Sonata growled, forming her hand into a balled fist. "Then we'll help her out! Mom! We're heading to that city, right? When we stop by there, let's help Sunny out."
"Hm...She is your friend. So, why not?"
"What?! Mom!" Adagio was appalled that her mother chose their side, putting someone else over their own species to assist currently. "What gives?!"
"Family is important. But you should never ignore your friends either. I learned that with my time at the Sea Temple. If your friend is in trouble and you believe her to be in the right, then why not help? We'll be dealing with that, no doubt. You should help as well, Adagio."
"Tch...This is pointless." Adagio crossed her arms as she was not happy about this decision. The odds were stacked against her as her mother made her way to the big city.
"Perhaps a more forward approach might work..." Vivace theorized. "An influence of my magic here and there, and we might make this an easy rescue, no doubt."
"Just wait for us Sunset," said Sonata and Aria as they were determined to save their friend. But Adagio was of a different opinion entirely, seeing this as just a waste of time.
The big city. Juvenile Detention Centre.
Speaking of which, Sunset Shimmer, after being found guilty was already being placed in a room with this centre. Her magic certainly wasn't going to kick in now with how things were and it certainly wouldn't help her if she did.
"But I'm innocent!" She cried out before being placed within the cell as the doors were shut. "I'm telling you, I have a counterpart!"
"I'm sure you do." One of the guards said before walking off. There was no point in arguing about it now. The area she was within was a cafeteria and there were already other people around her age range eating. She turned around to see the cafeteria, already witnessing some fairly intimidating people. People that she would have to stay with. Some had already caught the attention of her presence, approaching Sunset Shimmer. She stayed completely still, shaking as she didn't want to be involved with whatever would come next.
"Sunset Shimmer? You're back so soon?" One of the inmates spoke as she observed Sunset Shimmer. "That didn't last long, did it?"
"Uh..." Sunset Shimmer chose to stay unresponsive.
"I told you she wouldn't stay out of trouble when she got out. But it's great to have you back, Sunset." Another one of the inmates chuckled, wrapping her arm around Sunset. Sunset Shimmer trembled, already feeling grave danger. And none of her Pokemon were there to protect her. "How did you mess up this time?"
"Mmm..."
"You left abruptly though. There is some unfinished business you have here and we're not too happy about it. No-no-no." The inmate chuckled. "Plus, we're kinda jealous that you of all people got out before we did."
"Ooh..." Sunset Shimmer closed her eyes, trying to keep herself safe. She then opened one eye, looking at the food being served "I think I'm hungry...I'll go and grab something to eat."
"Hey, hold on." But as she tried walking away, the inmate held her back. "You just got back. Why not have a reunion here, eh? With your reputation here, it needs to be grand, doesn't it?"
"T-That can happen later."
"What's with you? You're not usually so nervous. Something happen in those past weeks that changed you?" They were starting to get judgemental about her as Sunset Shimmer managed to slip away, backing up before bumping into a nearby table. "Feels kinda weird."
"Too weird, if you ask me. Maybe those TV shows aren't exaggerated if that's the case. Well, what is it, Sunset?"
"Uh...Um..." Sunset Shimmer wasn't sure how to respond. Everything was happening so fast the moment she got here. "Y-You know...stuff happens and..." Other inmates started gazing at her, making her nervous as the other two approached her.
The reputation that the other Sunset Shimmer had in this centre was not the prettiest as the two inmates held some sort of passive-aggressive grudge, judging by the way they were approaching her. Sunset Shimmer could already sense some physical terror incoming as one of them gripped onto her shoulder tightly. There was one response that Sunset Shimmer managed to find. And it wouldn't be a pretty one. "Food Fight!"
She tossed the plate of food instantly, causing it to get on the first two inmates. Upon doing so, everyone else had responded to this action accordingly. They also took part in the food fight. They started grabbing their food and trays, tossing them haphazardly as immediate chaos had broken out.
This would give Sunset Shimmer a chance to head elsewhere as she ducked underneath all of the flying mush and trays. However, one of the girls who had been hit with the food that Sunset had thrown, growled. She wasn't too happy as she charged at Sunset Shimmer. "You!"
"Oh!" Sunset Shimmer gasped before witnessing the enraged inmate approaching her. The best course of action was to lose her in the crowd. And she did. The enraged inmate ended up crashing into someone else, causing further conflict to ensue. All the while, Sunset Shimmer would seem untouchable so far.
That is until she ended up bumping into someone, causing her movements to end. And that someone ended up being the cafeteria lunch lady. She crossed her arms, looking at Sunset Shimmer with disdain in her eyes, knowing that she started this.
"Uh...Hehehe." Sunset could only chuckle nervously at this. The lunch lady had then grabbed Sunset Shimmer by the ear, dragging her along. "Ow! Hey!" She cried out as she was brought out of the cafeteria. The other inmates would be left to have their food fight while some of the guards entered the cafeteria in response to the commotion.
Afterwards, the lunch lady handed Sunset Shimmer over the guards, revealing the trouble she had caused. Because of this, Sunset Shimmer would find herself in a room separate from the others. A room where instant troublemakers are placed in for a while, exempt from everyone else.
"You've got 6 hours to be in there." The guard said before causing the door to shut. This was a solitary room with minimal space. Enough to make almost anyone nervous. And Sunset Shimmer was one of them. She wasn't just nervous, she was afraid. She sat down in the corner, doing the only thing that she can at this moment.
Cry.
Sunset Shimmer was at her most defenceless. Tears coupled with whimpers came out of her with her knees huddled up to cover her face. This all happened so suddenly. Everything seemed as if it would go well in the morning, only for it to spiral into this.
A crying Sunset Shimmer thought about her friends mainly. Her friends in this world, her original home Equestria and most of all, her Pokemon. She already missed them as she wasn't sure that they knew of her arrest and current status. Sunset Shimmer was around strangers she had no idea about. She could only guess that her counterpart had a reputation here.
"I wanna go home..." She said to herself, knowing that no one would respond to her cries. All she could do was wait for this solitary moment to be over. But if anything, this moment of solitude is what she would need to have time for herself.
However, little did she know, that her friends were already focused on helping her. Friends from this world and friends from another world who were once enemies. Both had different approaches to helping their friend and one group was already making their way to this city as the journey continues.
A wrongful arrest had been made. Sunset Shimmer was currently in juvenile detention for something she had not done. But rather her human counterpart. Her time would reach three years. A harsh time sentence for her indeed.
Help was due, however. Under Principal Celestia's orders, Sunset Shimmer's friends were already trying to find proof of her innocence so that a retrial could be had. Twilight had used the school computer to search for information regarding Sunset Shimmer's arrest. And some juicy information had been found.
"Look at this." She pointed at the screen, causing her friends to stare closely at the screen. "It says here that this isn't her first time that she's gone to juvenile detention. This is her 5th time apparently."
"5th time? Since when?" Rainbow Dash wondered. "I mean, I've been here longer than her, but I've never heard about her heading there before or staying there a few times. Haven't seen her near juvie either."
"How would you know about that...?" Rarity questioned.
"Uh...I have reasons." Rainbow Dash chose to be secretive about it, scrunching her mouth.
"I've always seen here a lot too." Fluttershy chimed in. "She's always on time for school and that's just about it."
"There has to be something else..." Twilight took a closer look, clicking on the video. The video was next to the article as it showed the camera footage from the mall. The footage was fairly limited due to how some of the Pokemon that the thieves owned had interfered with the cameras. But one of the fewer footages that the remaining cameras could find were snippets of the thieves.
One of which was indeed Sunset Shimmer. So the video certainly showed the culprit along with a few others. It could only be seen at three different angles. One where Sunset Shimmer was the main focal point, another where an Aipom was next to her and the third with the other thieves. That was all they could go off on.
"Hang on...What's that?" Just then, Twilight noticed something. The footage had something peeking from the side. Everyone narrowed their eyes as they spotted some colour pattern that matched Sunset Shimmers hair. It looked to be a mane of some sort. "A mane...It doesn't look like a horse mane."
"Nope. But they kinda look like Sunset's hair but she's right there." Pinkie Pie pointed out. "Weird."
"Weird is right...unless!" Twilight's mind started accelerating as quickly as it could. "That footage was full of Pokemon. Mainly Aipom but other Pokemon too. Which Pokemon has that same colour scheme as Sunset Shimmer's hair?"
"A Pokemon with a similar colour scheme to her? Hmm..." Applejack uttered before pondering. The rest of them did the same. The colour palette of the mane on screen made it clear that there was another individual that shared a similar hair palette to Sunset Shimmer. A striking one.
Unfortunately, everyone's knowledge of Pokemon in this world was still limited. They were only learning as they went on with their life, discovering new things. None could think of a Pokemon with that mane scheme.
"Nope. Got nothing. It can't be Magmar cause that's not the right shade and that's a mane." Rainbow Dash shook her head in denial. "Not any other Fire-Type I know. Then again, we don't know many..."
"But Ash does!" Twilight sat up before being told to stay quiet via Ms Cheerilee. Cheerilee hushed Twilight as the new Canterlot High Student blushed. "Sorry...If anyone has the most knowledge about Pokemon, it's Ash. And Professor Oak mostly but Ash is closer. I know what to do."
Twilight quickly grabbed her Xtransceiver. The best object to use in this instance. Without wasting any time, she tapped on Ash's Trainer Number. It wasn't that hard since just Ash and Sunset Shimmer's Trainer Numbers were the only ones there so far. The Xtransceiver then started ringing.
And thankfully, at such an important time, Ash answered. His face along with Pikachu's face had been shown as he was currently at Pallet Town. His home.
"Hey, Twilight. What's up?"
"Pika-Pika?"
"Ash. We have a problem here. A major one." Twilight kept her voice down as to not cause too much noise in the library. "I have to tell you and Pikachu this...Sunset Shimmer's been arrested."
"What?!"
"Pikachu?!"
"Ssssshhhh!" Cheerilee heard them through the Xtransceiver as she hushed in their direction once more. Twilight apologized once more before deciding to head outside of the library to negate the noise.
"She was just arrested today. We're trying to help her out by using some proof for a retrial. But...there's one image we can't make out. We were hoping you'd be able to tell us what Pokemon has a similar hair colour pattern to Sunset's hair." Twilight requested.
"Exactly like her hair." Rarity leaned in. "Colour for colour."
"Matches her hair? Well...the only Pokemon I can think about is Pyroar." Ash revealed the Pokemon to them. A Pokemon that they have never heard about.
"Pyroar? What's a Pyroar?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"It's the evolution of Litleo. Did Sunset's Litleo evolve?"
"I don't think so. We saw Litleo just yesterday. And that video we saw on the computer was from weeks ago." Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't think Sunset Shimmer owns a Pyroar. At least, not yet."
"So then..." It was at this moment that Ash had quickly put two and two together. Sunset Shimmer did in fact have a Pyroar. However, it was not the Sunset Shimmer that originally came from Equestria. It was the Sunset Shimmer that was born and raised here. "Oh! Then it's her counterpart!"
"Counterpart?!" All 6 of them exclaimed before pausing and then nodding afterwards. It all made sense to them once Ash revealed it. But after gaining this revelation they were still shocked at there being a counterpart to Sunset Shimmer that could potentially be trouble from what they had seen from the article.
"She's been framed then!" Pinkie Pie grabbed Twilight by the shoulders, aggressively shaking her. "Sunset's innocent! But she's not at the same time!"
"Don't start confusing me..." Twilight groaned whilst being shaken.
"I gotta know what's going on there. What's up with that world's Sunset Shimmer? Did something happen?" Ash asked.
"Well, from what I can put together, they got the wrong Sunset. And now she's facing time in juvie." Twilight explained. "I can see why the police went straight for her..."
"That can't be right. The other Sunset I know is pretty nice..."
"Unfortunately, darling, that is not the case." Rarity said otherwise. "She's been in juvenile detention 5 times in a row. It's safe to say that she may not be so sweet."
Ash thought for a moment. The Sunset Shimmer he met was kind to him, albeit radiating a cocky persona from her. He never saw the other side to her once. "...I'm coming over. I need to talk to her."
"Do you know where she is?" asked Applejack.
"Yeah. She has an apartment over in that big city. Hold on Pikachu I will be right there!" Hanging up soon after, Ash and Pikachu would make their way here to the Human World as soon as they could. From everything they had gathered, it was a huge mess that had appeared in an instant.
"Well, now we know. What do we do now?" Fluttershy uttered.
"I say we head to that city and bring in the real culprit right now!" Rainbow Dash was already set on going after this world's Sunset Shimmer and bringing her to justice, just to get their friend out. "He said an apartment and that place sure has some."
"Hold on. We're not gonna break in and enter. Let's slow down there." Applejack already knew what Rainbow Dash was aiming for. Thankfully, that idea was thrown out of the window.
"We can tell Prinicipal Celestia about it right now." As for Twilight, since Prinicipal Celestia chose to help Sunset Shimmer, the best person to go to at this moment was her. And that's exactly what the six of them were about to do. Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu would come over as well.
The Big City. Afternoon.
Arriving at the big city via a van that they had stolen were the Dazzlings and their mother Vivace. Their quest to find all of the sirens and save their species were also involved with the case of Sunset Shimmer and her current arrest. Vivace would assist since Sunset Shimmer was friends with her daughters. Two of them, actually. Adagio doesn't share that same sentiment as Vivace had stopped the van near the city's local park.
"Alright. Where would it be? That police station, maybe?" Vivace wondered, gazing at the police station in the distance.
"Not sure that's where she'd go to. If anything, it looks more like a station that she'd visit before heading to that place." Aria observed. "I think it works like...she goes to that place first and then they send her off to wherever. At least, that's what I found out in my time here."
"Whatever the case, that is the perfect place to be. But approaching it is still up in the air..." Vivace pondered. "What say you three?"
"We could just...ask them to let her go?" Sonata suggested as that was the best she could come up with.
"Breaking in might work." Aria had a more aggressive choice whilst Adagio stayed out of it. She didn't care much about Sunset Shimmer to come up with something anyway. "There's no way they can handle our Pokemon."
"Hm. The more upfront approach. Maybe...but we might end up being locked up in that case..." Vivace replied.
"We're far too powerful to be locked up. I still have my magic, so do you and we're far more experienced with our Pokemon than anyone else here." Adagio chimed, shrugging in response.
"I thought you didn't want to help?" Vivace leaned to her oldest daughter.
"Hmph. I just want this done as quickly as it can be so that we can focus on what's more important."
"Well...we could always use the Shift Stones." Sonata pulled out another strong contender for helping Sunset Shimmer. The Shift Stones. Staring at them gave Vivace a clever idea.
"The safest option." Vivace grabbed one of the Shift Stones. "I believe that if we use these to disguise ourselves as regulars or anything unassuming, we can easily reach where we need to be. And most of all, if we are to lend Sunset Shimmer one of these, she can change her appearance as well. I suggest either some guards or a Pokemon will do. Maybe even some leaves that managed to fly in. May the Ambrosial Plane forbid we turn into tumbleweeds."
"Wow, mom. You're really ahead of things, aren't you?" said a stunned Aria Blaze, impressed with how her mother already had perfect choices.
"It's what I do best. I would've enjoyed barging in for a more thrilling decision and a rush of adrenaline that I haven't felt for so long. But, keeping it simple is also effective. Each of you, hold onto your Shift Stones. Use them when we arrive there." They all then exited the van as Vivace made sure to lock it.
All they needed to do now was find this Juvenile Detention Centre and appear naturally without any suspicions. The station looked like the best place to start at. They would approach it via their natural appearances but afterwards, the stones would be utilized.
While approaching it, they took some time to gaze at the city. The Dazzlings have been here before so they have already witnessed the scope of this place. Vivace as well. It didn't surprise them that much but it was still a treat to see. There were newsstands around the place talking about various Pokemon that have appeared across the world and how no one knows anything about them still.
Compared to Equestria, this world didn't have anyone to kickstart them into knowing what Pokemon are, similar to what Ash had done in the beginning. Thus, people were either lost or finding themself in unfavourable situations with these Strange and Wonderful Creatures due to all this limited knowledge.
But something else caught their attention. Mainly Adagio and Vivace's. A nearby shop was selling some clothes and jewellery. They stopped by, pressing their faces on the glass and locking onto the expensive clothing and accessories. "Oh!" They gawked.
"Mom! Adagio!" Aria cried out, breaking their focus on the clothes and jewellery. The Mother and Daughter grumbled as they moved away from the glass, continuing on their way.
Eventually, they had arrived at the station after walking for a few minutes. Upon arriving, they immediately went up to the lady at the desk with Vivace ready to ask all of the questions.
"Excuse me. But my daughters and I are here looking for this city's juvenile detention centre. Any idea of where it may be?" Vivace asked.
"Oh. Do you need to send your daughters there?" The lady at the desk questioned.
"No, but if it ever came down to it..."
"Hey!" The three of them exclaimed.
"Kidding." Vivace chuckled. But she also put on somewhat of a serious expression. If her children were to go awry, then she would know where to send them.
"Well, it's around the outskirts of the city. A fairly far walk from here. Even if you were to drive there." The lady explained, pointing to a map on the wall. "It would take 3 hours at best."
"Hm. That should be fine." That time didn't look intimidating to Vivace. Driving there for 3 hours was long but not too long. Especially for a siren.
"I do need to ask why you're heading there." But the lady wasn't ready to just let them go so soon. "Is there something important?"
"We're just there to see a friend," said Sonata, raising her arm.
"Then you'll get a 10-minute call with them at best." But in truth, they would do more than just make a call. Aria, leaning her back against the wall, had noticed a tray over on the left. And on that tray were Poke Balls. A plethora of them that could be seen. Some that had slight dents in them.
"Take a look at those Poke Balls...Wonder what happened?" Aria wondered.
"Ah, those are Poke Balls we had to restrain from others. They found a way to utilize these creatures to do whatever criminal activities they could get away with. It wasn't easy, let us tell you that. But today's Poke Balls were easy to obtain as the owner didn't do much to stop us."
"Oh..." Aria then started thinking about Sunset Shimmer's Pokemon and how they would be at the moment. If they were even aware of their Trainer's arrest. One of those Poke Balls could belong to Sunset Shimmer. Aria went over to Sonata, whispering it in her ear.
Sonata understood before passing the message onto Adagio. Adagio nodded in understanding before finishing things off by whispering into Vivace's hair. They now had a new goal. The Poke Balls within the tray. There were quite a few of them to behold and any of them could be either of Sunset's Pokemon.
One of the staff members came over, grabbing the tray of Poke Balls. They had been taken away afterwards. This accelerated some issues. Not only did they have to get Sunset Shimmer back, but they would also have to make sure her Pokemon are with her too.
"Well, we should get going then. Come on, girls." Vivace whistled before leaving the Police Station with her daughters, ready to head back to the van and maybe try getting those clothes and accessories from before.
"Mom." Aria ran in front of her mother. "We need to get those Poke Balls right now. Some of them at least. Sunset Shimmer owns some and any of them could be hers."
"Mhm! Mhm!" Sonata nodded in agreement.
"Hmm...You're right. That would mean that we would have to play it stealthily in that station. Our path to that detention centre can wait. I know this is aggravating you, Adagio."
"It sure is..."
"Use the stones in secret." Vivace held out one of the Shift Stones as did her daughters. This was the best time for them to be utilized. "We'll try and find her Pokemon before we leave to the outskirts."
Juvenile Detention Center.
Her time in this solitary room would be 6 hours. Minutes had already passed, almost reaching an hour at this rate. Sunset Shimmer was the person in question. She waited there for minutes, unable to do much but sit down or even look outside the window.
This was by far the worst experience in her life, far surpassing the invasion and how radical that one was. Sunset Shimmer wasn't even sure that her friends knew about her current predicament nor did she know about the help coming her way.
She looked outside the window, seeing nearby Flying-Type Pokemon dash through the air. She wished that any of them would come to her aid or a random Pokemon Battle would end up damaging the walls. Sunset Shimmer then relied on something else. Her hidden magic. She started humming a melody, hoping that the Equestrian Magic would be the key to leaving here.
But lo and behold, while her pony ears and tail did show themselves, the best they did was radiate light. To top it all off, Sunset would only add to her problems if she had broken out.
"I can't draw too much attention to myself...Or I'll just make it worse." Sunset Shimmer restrained herself as the light faded away. The mood wasn't right for it anyway. But the moment she put a stop to it, some knocking could be heard. But it wasn't coming from the door. Instead, it came from the walls. "Huh?" Sunset was alerted to the knocking as she scooched closer to the walls.
Her ears were put near it as it was coming from the other solitary and tight-spaced room. Someone was trying to get her attention and it was a success. "Hey. Can you hear me?" The voice of someone had passed through.
"Y-Yes?" Sunset Shimmer stuttered.
"Oh good. I knew that voice sounded familiar. Sunset, you came back so soon. You've got to see what's changed here while you were gone for a while."
"Um...I'm sorry to break it to you, but I'm not the Sunset Shimmer you know. I've been framed." She started communicating with the person close to her.
"What are you talking about?" But obviously, no one so far believed her. Especially not other inmates. "Look. I've got a surprise. Watch what comes through the walls."
Sunset Shimmer looked at the walls, waiting to see what could possibly pass through. Just then, phasing right through the next room to this one was a Ghost-Type. A Shuppet to be exact.
"Shuppet."
"A Shuppet?!" Sunset Shimmer gasped. "Oh, it would make sense for a Shuppet to be here... It's attracted to feelings of jealousy and vindictiveness."
"Is that what that is? I thought it just liked me." The mysterious voice said with a slight chuckle. "It does show up when things get heated."
"A place like this would be a feeding ground for Shuppet. This could be a big breakthrough. I could have Shuppet help me leave. Can you make Shuppet do that?" She asked the mysterious person in the next room.
"Uh...Not sure I can. This thing only comes by to float around me and do that feeding thing like you said. I don't think it cares much about my freedom."
"Shupp."
"I still can't pass up this chance..." Sunset Shimmer thought for a moment. This was her best opportunity to free herself. How would Shuppet be of use? A few things came to mind. One of which were emotions. Sunset felt no emotion of malice, jealousy, and resentment. Nothing for Shuppet to eat. It doesn't feed off of sadness at all. But, that was when Sunset Shimmer had someone to resent. Her counterpart. "That's right...If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be in here. This mixup with me and her is why any of this is happening..."
"Shupp?"
"It's all her fault..." Sunset Shimmer placed all of her resentment onto her counterpart. And why wouldn't she? Considering how things were looking and might start looking, all of that hatred would spew out. However, Sunset Shimmer was only doing this to have Shuppet feed off of it. Just one part of her plan.
"Shuppet!" Shuppet gladly took advantage of this. It had circled Sunset Shimmer, using its powers to absorb the resentment and bitterness from her, feeding the Puppet Pokemon. "Shupp! Shuppet!"
But even though this was made to feed Shuppet and get the Puppet Pokemon on her good side, she generally was showing some bitterness to her counterpart. Knowing that her counterpart had a reputation here and was the cause of Sunset Shimmer taking the blame, visible resentment could be seen.
"Yeah...It's all her fault..." said Sunset before shaking her head. She snapped back to reality, forgetting about her counterpart for a moment. "Shuppet. Can you do me a favour?"
"Shuppet." Shuppet enjoyed the bitterness absorbed that it had absorbed so it was willing to take favours.
"Right now, there's probably a lot of things for you to feed on in this place. I ended up starting a food fight and tensions are high. Not only can you head there and eat as much as you want, but I need you to find a key. Anything that will unlock this door."
"Pet. Shuppet." Shuppet nodded in understanding. A favour plus free food sounded like a safe bet. The Ghost-Type got to work, phasing through the doors. Shuppet could already feel the bitterness coming from the detention centre. Sunset Shimmer played a major part in it truly.
Ever since the food fight occurred, despite it lasting for a while, many of the inmates here were ordered to clean the place up via the guards' orders. And that caused some malice to flow. There was already malice within this entire centre but it was higher than ever as there were some inmates who were not happy with Sunset Shimmer, considering she was the one who instigated it. And thanks to the reputation of her counterpart, this was boosted, making it perfect for Shuppet.
Shuppet had a wide smile on its face as it was greatly satisfied with what it was feeling. But aside from that, Shuppet also started looking for keys. It had entered the cafeteria as it was still being cleaned up. The Puppet Pokemon made sure to make its boy transparent to avoid being spotted.
"Curse that Sunset Shimmer..." One of the inmates growled, mopping the floor. "Can't believe I'm wishing her to get out of here...Why'd she have to come back?"
"Pet..." Shuppet nodded in agreement, absorbing the malice here. Its eyes also navigated the area before spotting some keys on the security guards. Right near their pockets and hanging off their belts. Typical. Shuppet had found the jackpot. All that was needed was to snatch it without anyone noticing.
Despite choosing to play this with stealth, Shuppet was thinking of causing some slight disruption to at least throw everyone off guard. That was when the Puppet Pokemon came up with the best solution. At least, in its eyes.
That would be Will-O-Wisp. A sinister, bluish-white flame had been shot out of its mouth, touching the walls. Upon making contact, the flames had expanded with the first guard noticing something off. He turned around, spotting the emergence of these bluish-white flames.
Since these flames were full of spiritual concentration, the fire alarms did not go off. But that didn't stop everyone from witnessing the expanding flames and how they were surrounding the cafeteria. Panic ensued as they all stopped cleaning, screaming and panicking once the flames had spread.
"No one panic! Where's that fire extinguisher?!" A guard said, rushing to find the fire extinguisher. It would be located in the kitchen where the lunch lady prepares her food. The inmates couldn't help but panic.
But not only that, some of them took this chance as a way to try and escape. Any disruption in a place like this was a miracle for an inmate. And much like Shuppet, their eyes were on the keys. The Fire Extinguisher had already been grabbed by the lunch lady as she rushed out.
Upon rushing out, she started spraying it at full force with all foaming water bursting out. However, much to hers and everyone's surprise, the fire didn't go out. In fact, the fire extinguisher didn't even come close to moving. These spectral flames were immune to fire extinguishers. "Oh." And the lunch lady's voice said it all.
"Shuppet... " Shuppet soon realized how big of a mistake it had made by choosing Will-O-Wisp. But it would ignore that for the keys. Only for one of the inmates to grab the keys while everything was sent into a frenzy. This didn't help with the fact that the other inmates started causing a ruckus, causing the guards to try and focus on two things. The spectral flames and the frantic inmates.
All of this chaos caused the detention centre to go under lockdown with the doors from each room being locked. And this noise soon carried over to the room where Sunset Shimmer was.
"What is happening out there...?" Sunset Shimmer wondered, unaware of the absolute pandemonium filling the detention centre. "Oh, I hope Shuppet has those keys..." All she could do now was hope that things go well. She was counting on Shuppet.
If only she could count on more. Ash, the Main 6 plus the Dazzlings and their mother could be counted on as well. With the sirens already planning on retrieving her Pokemon and approaching here plus Ash's eventual arrival at the Human World, Sunset Shimmer's fate was hanging in the balance of these different groups as the journey continues.
Out in the big city. A Juvenile Detention Centre. Afternoon.
It was total pandemonium within the centre so far. Due to Shuppet's Will-O-Wisp, spectral flames were spreading with ferocity. All as an attempt to sneak some keys away from the guards, only for this sudden eruption of chaos to result in a frenzy so great that even Shuppet couldn't contain it. Not only were the keys taken by some inmates who took advantage of this frenzy, but many of the guards were trying to catch the other inmates. There was no use in them leaving since the whole place was in lockdown.
"Shuppet? Shuppet." Shuppet gulped, realizing the damage it had done while still hiding from everyone. In the solitary room where Sunset Shimmer and another unknown inmate were residing, they could hear the noise coming mainly from the cafeteria but soon everywhere else.
"What is happening out there?" Sunset Shimmer wondered.
"Sounds like a riot maybe. Wouldn't be the first time this has happened. And it won't be the last either." The inmate from the other room spoke.
"I hope Shuppet's doing okay out there...What am I saying? It'll be fine. It's a Ghost-Type and I doubt anyone here knows that much about Pokemon." Sunset Shimmer had a nervous chuckle.
"Oh none of us do. Except for the warden. She has one of those Pokemon creatures with her."
"She does?!" Sunset Shimmer quickly went back to worrying after it was revealed that the warden owned a Pokemon. That could cause problems.
"Mhm. Some owl thing. I don't know its name. But it's a big watcher. Especially at night. Sneaking around isn't 'as easy as it used to be anymore. I mean it never was in the first but that owl made things hard for everyone else."
"Owl...It could be either the Noctowl line or the Decidueye line..." She uttered. "Green or brown?"
"Both."
"So it's both Owl-like Pokemon...That's not good at all..." Sunset Shimmer sat down, biting her hand. "If one of them...especially the Decidueye line is fully evolved, Shuppet's in trouble..."
"Relax...Since when do you panic Sunset?"
"I told you, I'm not your Sunset Shimmer, I'm-" Sunset realized t was pointless to try and convince anyone at this point. They all believed that she was the counterpart. "Nevermind...You won't listen to me. No one will...I just have to put all of my faith in Shuppet..."
"Shuppet!" Speaking of Shuppet, it was currently moving across the building, seeking the keys. At the same time, feeding on the remaining malice that was wafting in the air. Many were scattered, causing Shuppet to search closely. The best option would be to find whoever was near the doors.
However, during its search, the Puppet Pokemon had soon noticed something. Something fierce. And the rest of the inmates did so as well. In fact, upon seeing this, they had immediately paused with the emotion of shock gracing their faces.
Standing alongside a Dartrix and a Noctowl was the warden of this place. And her appearance, aside from the typical warden attire, resembled a familiar face in Equestria. Her face matched that of Tempest Shadow.
"W-Warden Tempest!" One of the guards gulped upon seeing Tempest Shadow, holding onto one of the inmates as everything came to a standstill just from her presence alone. This was her Human Counterpart.
"Shuppet?" Shuppet looked onward, noticing how Tempest Shadow had keys on her as well. It made sense for her to have some plus, she was the closest too.
"Hm." Tempest observed the scenario around her. "First I hear that Sunset Shimmer has already come back and now all of this?"
"The fire won't go out, warden! What do we do?!" One of the guards started hyperventilating as the flames of Will-O-Wisp were unaffected by the fire extinguisher. The lunch lady shrugged, seeing that it was pointless to keep trying as she tossed the fire extinguisher aside.
"Calm down." But Tempest remained calm throughout all of this. "Noctowl. Control those flames."
"Noctowl!" She would have her Pokemon solve these issues. The Owl Pokemon was revealed to know Psychic. Its eyes flashed blue as it had used its telekinetic mind to manipulate the spectral flames. Everyone watched in awe as the intensity of the flames had not only been calmed down but were also being directed. Mainly towards the inmates.
The inmates gasped, fearing that they would be hit by the flames. Except they weren't. Noctowl had made the flames spiral around them, keeping the inmates trapped in a fiery prison with the guards and lunch lady free.
"Stay there. Dartrix, can you detect the rest?" Tempest asked the Blade Quill Pokemon.
"Trix...Dartix!" Dartrix could most definitely sense them. Dartrix after all is a Pokemon that is extremely sensitive to other presences in the area and has high-level detection which would explain Decidueye's amazing precision later down the line in evolution.
The rest of the inmates had been sensed as Dartrix flew in a specific direction out of the cafeteria, guiding Noctowl and Warden Tempest Shadow.
"Put them all in their rooms. I'll be right back." Tempest ordered the guards as they had all saluted. She then left the cafeteria to handle the rest. Shuppet knew who to follow next. The only person here that owned Pokemon, making her both the easiest to approach and the hardest to steal from.
"Shuppet."
Dartrix zoomed across the centre, spotting inmates who were currently loose while some more flames of Will-O-Wisp were still around. Noctowl would focus its Psychic hold onto the flames, controlling them. The inmates, upon seeing Warden Tempest, quickly changed their mood from energetic to absolutely terrified.
"Oh!" One of them even had his heart skip a beat as he tried pulling on the doors, banging them aggressively in a desperate attempt to escape before Warden Tempest would catch him.
"Dar!" Dartrix prevented the inmates from going anywhere by using Razor Leaf. Sharp-edged leaves were launched, striking their uniforms. The leaves had pinned each of them against the walls upon meeting with their uniforms. Just like that, Dartrix had taken out multiple birds with one stone. Although, this was a reverse considering that Dartrix was a bird.
Tempest casually walked as other guards had come over to cuff the inmates despite them already being pinned to the wall thanks to Dartrix. But there were some more to cover. Luckily, with Dartrix's detection, that wouldn't be an issue.
"If only it was night. Then your vision would've been made far better, Noctowl." Tempest said to the Normal-Flying-Type.
"Owl." Noctowl agreed At night, it was a worthy equal to Dartrix. In their own ways, they were experts at detection and finding their prey.
Shuppet's head had poked through the walls of the centre while its appearance was still transparent. Shuppet found the best time to grab Tempest's keys. Shuppet found a different approach to doing this. It wouldn't use Will-O-Wisp again considering the pandemonium it had temporarily caused. Instead, Shuppet would use a more discreet move.
Shadow Sneak.
The Puppet Pokemon extended its shadow, causing it to slither down the walls like a snake before touching the tile floors. Shuppet controlled the momentum of the shadow, focusing on Tempest's belt. With how no one had noticed it so far, it looked like this would be a successful grab. Shuppet could do this.
"Dar...TRIX!" That is until Dartrix had also used a Ghost-Type move. Specifically, Astonish. It had turned around, facing the shadow of Dartrix and letting out a startling shout that caused Shuppet to flinch.
"Shu?!"
"Hoh?" Tempest soon took notice of the Puppet Pokemon after Dartrix alerted her. "What do we have here? A new Pokemon? I certainly don't remember you being here or anyone bringing you here."
"S-Shuppet?!" Shuppet gasped as its cover had been blown. Now that the Puppet Pokemon was out in the open, it went straight for the keys, hoping to grab it in a flash.
"Hm! Noctowl! Dartrix!"
"Noct!" Noctowl and Dartrix took action once Shuppet approached. Dartrix had used Leafage while Noctowl used Air Slash. Shuppet was in immediate danger, quickly using its intangibility to phase through the floor. It had narrowly evaded the cutting blades of wind and leaves.
It had decided to leave for the moment as the mission to receive the keys was currently a bust. But it wasn't out of the question yet. Tempest narrowed her eyes, kneeling to face the tile floor. "Good job, you two. At least now, we know we have another troublemaker lurking around here. All of you, if you see that Pokemon around anywhere here, alert me at once. Either Dartrix or Noctowl will make their way here."
"Yes ma'am!"
All the inmates that attempted to escape had been restrained, sent back into their rooms with disappointment in their hearts and on their faces. As for Shuppet, it was returning to Sunset Shimmer's solitary room to break the news. Eventually, all the pandemonium within the centre had died down. All thanks to Warden Tempest Shadow and her Pokemon.
But Tempest had one last thing to do before heading back to her office. Seeing Sunset Shimmer. She walked off, heading straight for the solitary room.
Speaking of the solitary room, Shuppet moved as fast it could, returning to Sunset Shimmer. It had phased through the walls, letting out a relieved sigh as it had almost been taken out by two Pokemon right on the spot. There was no telling what else would come ext.
"Shu...Shuppet..."
"Shuppet are you okay?" Sunset Shimmer approached the Puppet Pokemon. Shuppet was just happy to be safe. Sunset could see the worry in the Ghost-Types eyes, realizing that it had gone through something fierce. It also had a saddened face since it had failed to get a single key. "Hey, it's okay." Sunset Shimmer then went to comfort the Puppet Pokemon, hugging it.
"Shu?" Shuppet looked up.
"You did your best. Sorry that you had to go through that just for my own troubles..."
"Pet. Shuppet." Shuppet admired Sunset Shimmer's kindness towards it. Shuppet mainly feed off of resentment, jealousy and malice but something like this, while they don't feed off of it, they can enjoy as it soothes their spectral spirit. Shuppet grew to like Sunset Shimmer because of this. And due to this, Shuppet felt like doing better as it had ascended.
"Pet. Shu-Shuppet!"
"You want to try again?" Sunset Shimmer tilted her head as the Puppet Pokemon nodded in response. "Okay. Y-" However, their conversation was cut short once Sunset Shimmer heard footsteps. Heavy ones too. The sound of boots stomping on the floor. "Quick! Hide!" She whispered to Shuppet.
"Shupp!" Shuppet phased through the walls, hiding momentarily. Right on time as the footsteps had ended. Just then, the door to Sunset Shimmer's solitary from started opening. She braced herself, unsure of what could happen next.
And opening door was the Warden. Tempest Shadow. She appeared before Sunset Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer had never seen her face before, not recognizing her as any counterpart. Especially not a counterpart who was allied with the Empress.
"Sunset Shimmer." Warden Tempest said. "You're back surprisingly soon. Couldn't stay out of trouble for a bit, could you?"
"..." Sunset Shimmer didn't respond as no one at this point would believe her about the counterpart thing. So she didn't even try.
"I heard you caused the destruction and theft of the city's mall weeks back. Not even that far from the aftermath of New Year's Eve. You've done a lot but this kind of destruction is new for you. These Strange and Wonderful Creatures are the reason for that, aren't they?"
"My Pokemon would never do such a thing." She finally replied. "And where are they?"
"They're at the city's police station, being kept with the Poke Balls of other troublemakers such as yourself. They will be kept there with all of the Pokemon within being free to roam."
"What?!" Sunset Shimmer stood up with her heart skipping a beat after this revelation. "You can't do that! Those are my friends!"
"Pokemon shouldn't be allowed to be at the disposal of delinquents such as yourself. That much is agreeable. If those Pokemon are lucky, they might get caught by another person out there. A better person, unlike you." Tempest smirked.
"Why you...!" And this boiled Sunset Shimmer's blood. It wasn't bad enough that she had been blamed for something she hadn't done, causing her to be placed here, but her Pokemon would be released from their Poke Balls, no longer being under the ownership of her. Malice came from her as this would be perfect for Shuppet. But Shuppet grew attached to Sunset Shimmer to do such a thing.
Sunset Shimmer now showed resentment towards Tempest Shadow and even greater resentment toward her counterpart. Tempest stood there unaffected by Sunset Shimmer's rising anger. Sunset Shimmer was on the verge of lashing out, only for her to realize that it would be pointless with Dartrix and Noctowl's presence.
She sighed in defeat, sitting down. Sunset Shimmer thought things couldn't get worse. And they did. Knowing this, tears started forming once more. Tempest didn't react much to her tears. Only a slight eye squint.
"You're not one to cry. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean the return of your Pokemon." Tempest uttered before walking off, closing and locking the door afterwards. Sunset Shimmer took this opportunity to continue crying.
Tempest heard the whimpering coming from the room. She stopped for a moment instead of leaving the scene and returning to her office. Just then, Tempest had rolled her eyes before using her keys to unlock the door. A distraught and tearful Sunset Shimmer looked up to see Tempest Shadow return.
"Get out. I'm running a juvenile detention centre, not a jail. I can't have you or anyone cry, especially in rooms such as this. Go over to the relief room and calm yourself down. Your favourite activities can be found there." Showing some form of sympathy, Tempest Shadow offered to cease Sunset's tears, guiding her to another room. Shuppet peeked its head out of the floor, wanting to follow Sunset Shimmer.
"Could I get out now, Warden?" The mysterious voice in the next room answered.
"No Colastamp..." Tempest sighed, revealing the name of the other inmate.
"Shuppet..." Shuppet stuck within the walls, not exposing itself. Or else Dartrix could Astonish it once more. The keys weren't needed at all. It was Warden Tempest who ended up freeing Sunset Shimmer from that room. But she was still in this centre, trapped as an inmate.
The Police Station.
Meanwhile, over at the police station, everything seemed natural. Except for 4 oddities. The Dazzlings and their mother Vivace. They were currently focused on one thing. The Poke Balls.
One of the Poke Balls belonged to Sunset Shimmer but it was hard to find out which. So, to successfully retrieve them without drawing too much attention, they would use the Shift Stones. They had harnessed the power of the Shift Stone, transforming themselves into police officers. Mainly the ones they saw through the window.
Once they took the disguise of these officers, it was time for them to find those Poke Balls. The lady at the desk didn't suspect a thing so the disguise was already working well. They walked past her before entering another room.
"Alright. This place does seem large. Let's all cover different areas to make it easier and quicker for ourselves. Make sure not to break your disguise at all." Vivace ordered her daughters.
They nodded in understanding before splitting up. Kricketot was currently hiding underneath the police hat to stay discreet. But he had raised it a bit to take a gander. But to get around the place, some doors required more than just a push.
Vivace and Adagio could excel in that. When coming across some of the officers, they had used their magic to their advantage. Some humming would do instead of singing with words. They had passed by some of the officers, using their magic to make a relaxing melody. The melody met with the officers' ears as they already felt a warm and relaxing emotion.
They made silly faces as Vivace and Adagio quickly performed some pick-pocketing, grabbing their keycards. The officers rubbed their eyes before dropping to the floor. They had taken a nap immediately, laying their heads on either the walls or floor as Adagio and Vivace continued on their way.
"Hm?" One of the officers saw their fellow workers taking a nap. "You're taking a nap now?! Wake up!"
Once they got those cards, they could traverse the area easily. As for Sonata and Aria, they still didn't have their magic fully back, so there wasn't a chance of them putting anyone to sleep. But Aria had a solution to this aside from magic. Her Brionne. She hid behind a corner, holding out a Poke Ball. As she threw it, out came Brionne. "Brionne!"
"Brionne. I need you to do something for me...Sing a melody. One that can put someone to sleep on the spot. Use the one you sing at night sometimes." Aria instructed.
"Brionne." Brionne saluted as she knew what to do. She took a peek around the corner before gasping upon what he had seen. It seemed that the sirens weren't the only ones with Pokemon around here.
The officers had some as well. One of them had a Herdier, causing Brionne to immediately zip back, hiding behind Aria. Aria took a peek around the corner as well to see Herdier and the officer. "Great..." She uttered before walking out of the corner. Brionne latched onto Aria's leg, trying to stay discreet.
"Oh. What Pokemon is that?" The officer stopped, gazing at the Pop Star Pokemon.
"Uh..." Aria froze before getting into character. "Oh, her? This is Brionne. She's a Water-Type. I-" Just then, Aria's mind sparked an idea. "Wait a second...I've got an idea." She hid her face, forming a devious grin afterwards. "I think she's attached to me, as you can tell."
"Aw, she's adorable." The officer kneeled as Herdier went to sniff Brionne. Brionne made sure to keep her distance, climbing up Aria's leg away from the Normal-Type. "Is she yours?"
"Well...Since she likes me, I was hoping to keep her. Or I'd just end up...you know...I could've just sent her in the room with all those Poke Balls." Aira formed the words that mattered. The location of the Poke Balls. "Uh, where is it again?"
"Oh, it's at the Evidence Room. But why would you wanna leave this adorable thing?"
"Bingo." Aria had her answer. Faster than any of her sisters. Even her mother. "Nah. I wouldn't. Isn't that right, girl?" She then looked at Brionne.
"Bri! Brionne!"
Herdier and the officer went on with their day. Aria then pumped her fist, glad that she had found the room to be in. All it took was playing it cool. Now all she had to do was tell her family. But that would mean going around the station once more.
Aria walked off, ready to find her sister or mother. However, the moment she approached the door, she realized she could not open it. Aria felt some rebound upon trying to push the door. She adjusted her hat before trying again. This time with some more Oomph to it. However, it was a failure.
That was when it was revealed that this was a door that only activates under a special card. One that Aria did not own as she soon came to find out. However, instead f panicking and worrying about things, Aria had the second-best solution to this.
"Hm. Oh well." She shrugged before pointing at the door lock. "Brionne. Drop some water on it."
"Bri." Aria was well-equipped for this scenario. Brionne climbed onto her shoulder before spraying a tiny stream of water from her mouth. But that tiny stream managed to instantly mess with the electricity inside of the door lock. It had been fried instantly, causing the function to fail. And because of this, the door had opened, granting Aria access.
"Hah. This'll be easier than I thought." A confident Aria said before entering the next room. Who needs a keycard when Aria was an easy way to go wherever.
As for Sonata, she had a similar idea to Aria. It was the most obvious idea. Currently, she was holding Vaporeon, using her water to override the door lock, forcing the doors to open. "Good job girl."
"Vaporeon!"
"This'll be too easy!" Sonata chuckled.
The sirens found all of this to be fairly easy. With the manipulation of Adagio and Vivace to the obvious choice of Water Pokemon with Aria and Sonata plus the revelation of where the Poke Balls could be, Sunset Shimmer's Pokemon could come back to her fairly soon.
However, watching from the shadows of the late afternoon sun were peering eyes. Wide eyes too. They were on top of the walls, moving around. These eyes belonged to the same Pokemon that had caught the thieves back at the mall and proved to be excellent for security in a bombastic way.
Aipom.
"Aipom..."
Sunset Shimmer's counterpart's apartment.
Meanwhile, still focused on the big city, Twilight and her friends were approaching Sunset Shimmer's apartment. hey had taken a train to the city, making the trip easier for them.
They knew that the Human World Sunset lived in an apartment which was fitting since the Sunset Shimmer they knew also lived in an apartment. However, this one was far taller. The city had its fair share of apartments and this would make finding Sunset Shimmer's harder considering they were plentiful as they were tall.
"Okay uh...W-Which one is hers?" Pinkie Pie scratched as they were all gazing at the apartments. Zorua was currently hiding inside of Twilight's bag, shutting herself away from everyone else to avoid major public notice.
"We could just wait for Ash. He knows where it is," said Fluttershy.
"I'm asking him now." But Twilight was already ahead of it, using her Xtransceiver to contact Ash once more. Ash himself was already on the move, wanting to see Sunset Shimmer and ask her something. He had answered as he was revealed to already be in this world. "Ash. Which apartment belongs to her?"
"Uh...I kinda forgot myself. I've only seen it once, honestly." Ash chuckled as he didn't have the clear answer that they needed. They all pratfalled afterwards. "Are you guys near there?"
"Principal Celestia told us to gather all the proof we need to help Sunset. And once we revealed to her that she has a counterpart just like me, she wanted us to try and prove that as well. So we chose to come here." Twilight explained. "You know this counterpart more than us it sounds like. Can you tell us anything else?"
"And is it safe to be around her?" Rarity asked.
"No need to worry. It's totally safe. But I didn't think she'd do all of that. I wanna talk to her and know what happened." Ash saw things differently. He wanted to speak to Sunset as a friend instead of someone there to expose her.
"Yeah, well, we're not wasting any time standing here." Rainbow Dash also thought differently, going for the more upfront approach. "Let's head in there already and ask which one she's in."
"Nothing too brash, okay?" Rarity and Applejack both said.
"Bah, you worry too much." Rainbow Dash shrugged, putting on a grin. But Rarity and Applejack put on faces of doubt.
"Hold on, Ash. Maybe we can do something." Twilight promised before hanging up on him. Ash moved in a hurry while Twilight and everyone else would head for the apartments as they were the closest to it.
There was also this looming sense of danger that some of them had. Mainly Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. The Sunset Shimmer counterpart from what they had heard of was bad company, making them nervous of even showing up in front of her. But they would go with it either way, for the sake of their friends' freedom.
They stopped by the front of one of the apartments as Twilight rang the doorbell. Upon ringing it, she spoke through the speaker. "Uh, hello?"
"Hello, hello?" A voice replied to her.
"We're here to see Sunset Shimmer. Is this the right apartment?"
"Oooh...Yes. You're in the right place. You'd best come in then. Head to the fourth floor and second room." The voice her location as they were welcome inside. The door had been opened for them.
The fourth floor was where they needed to be. They took the elevator instead of going with the stairs. Something about stairs looked far too rickety either way.
Arriving on the fourth floor, their eyes locked onto the second room. Fluttershy kept her distance as she was already feeling tense. She mainly hid behind Rainbow Dash to keep herself safe. "S-So...Pyroar is a full-grown lion is Litleo is anything to go off of, right?"
"Maybe? But don't you love lions or anything related to them?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Not when they're being used for something awful..." Fluttershy had her priorities straight. Cute or not, being too careless around a Pokemon that can do more harm than good is never a great approach, especially one that breathes fire.
"Let's just hurry and ask her some questions..." Twilight held her breath before knocking on the door. But with the first knock came no response. So Twilight tried again. And the second knock came with no response either. "Hm? I-Is she home?"
"Door doesn't look too shut..." Applejack noticed as she poked the door. Upon poking it, the door had been opened slightly, revealing the interior. Thankfully, there was no fire-breathing lion waiting for them inside. But there was no one inside. Just an empty room that was a mess. "No one's her. That explains it."
"She certainly keeps her rm similarly to a criminal..." Rarity grimaced at this sight. It was hard to say when this room had been kept tidy the last time.
"Maybe she's gone out?" Fluttershy wondered.
"I don't think so." But Twilight said otherwise. "Since she's wanted for what happened at the mall, she wouldn't show herself in public. Then again...how come no one else here noticed her?"
"Oh, so you're saying she ran away then?" said Rainbow Dash. "Figures." Her eyes were then averted to a neat looking vinyl that caught her attention.
"Most likely. And I think this might be proof." Twilight found a letter on Sunset's bed. She picked it up, noticing the extensive words on it. Everyone zoomed in as Zorua and Spike took a peek outside of Twilight's bag. Twilight's eyes followed the words before noticing who this was for. "This is for Ash! It's a goodbye letter!"
Sunset Shimmer had already left weeks ago. Ever since the mall incident, she made up her mind, going off on her own with Pyroar by her side. Twilight and everyone were just too late to know about all of this. Not only did this mean that the counterpart was out there, free as a bird, but their friend was locked up. A horrible trade.
Out in the big city. Sunset Shimmer's apartment. Afternoon.
During the escapade of trying to prove Sunset Shimmer's innocence with the existence of a counterpart that resides in this world, the journey of Twilight and her friends led them to this apartment in the big city.
They had discovered that not only was she not present at her apartment, but she had fled the city on account of the events taking place after the mall incident. Because of this, their friend had been blamed for something she hadn't done. The only piece of evidence they had of her existence was a letter that she had left behind.
"This is a letter for Ash." Twilight looked at a letter that was originally meant for Ash in case he had shown up here again. They all read it closely and what Sunset had left behind.
"Hey Ash. Sorry if I'm gone all of a sudden. I needed to leave to think about some stuff. We might not see each other again but thanks for being a great friend to me. Even if it was short. Pyroar and I have ways to go at the moment."
"Aw..." Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie found it heartwarming.
"Don't Aw it! She got our friend in juvie!" Rainbow Dash shook Pinkie Pie as she didn't see the sentimental side of it.
"We have no clue where she is anymore...So we can't bring her in..." Rarity sighed. "Will that letter be enough proof?"
"Hmm..." Twilight thought for a moment. "Even if we have Ash as a witness, I'm not sure many will believe us since the real one's gone." Judging from how things were looking, Sunset Shimmers chances of freedom were low. "This is all we have to go by it."
"I say we try and find that other Sunset. She couldn't have gone too far, right? Where else would she go?" Rainbow Dash suggested a major find.
"Probably out of the city by now. And it would be too much of a hassle to go after her. No-no-no." Rarity shook her head. While they were willing to help their friend, they had limits. And going on a big adventure to find one person wasn't something they were all looking for to at the moment. Certainly a contrast to their Equestria counterparts.
"But it might be easy as well..." Just then, Twilight had something hatch in her head. "She owns a Pyroar and with everyone still getting used to Pokemon, ones such as Pyroar are too dangerous to ignore."
"Ya think she'll cause trouble with Pyroar again? Cause..." Applejack leaned in.
"She has all that power at her disposal. Why wouldn't she?" Rarity shrugged. "I mean, a fire-breathing lion is too strong to ignore any use of. I know I would use it for something..."
"Rarity!" Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie gasped.
"Kidding!" Rarity chuckled before putting on a sly face. "Unless..."
"Let's just get this to Princess Celestia first and let Ash know. Not sure this letter is enough for a retrial and this apartment too but...we have to do what we can." Twilight and everyone were prepared to leave the apartment. The Xtransceiver had been used once more to call Ash.
They would eventually break the news of Sunset Shimmer's disappearance. At this point, everything had gone cold. There wasn't much to go off on and their friend was still in juvie. The real culprit could be in another city or town by this point since weeks had passed.
Twilight broke everything down to Ash while leaving the apartment. Ash himself was on the back of Dragonite, flying through the skies instead of walking or even using the train. Dragonite was the best form of transport due to her speed.
After receiving the news, Dragonite descended with Ash lowering his head for a bit. He was worried about both Sunset Shimmers. One was on the run, worried while another was locked up, afraid and alone.
"Sorry if this comes as a downer to you, Ash. I know you think she probably means well but..." Twilight twirled her hair.
"It's fine..." Then, Ash raised his head before putting up a smile. He then showed his beaming smile to his friends on the Xtransceiver. "That just gives me a bigger drive to find her."
"Find her? Hold on! Are you gonna go all around the place to find the other Sunset?!" Pinkie Pie gasped, theorizing on what Ash's approach could be. And judging by that head-nod, it was 100% true.
"Impossible!" Rarity exclaimed. "That would require hours of movement!"
"Not impossible!" Twilight replied. "Dragonite's a fast enough Pokemon that can circle the globe in just 16 hours. If Ash keeps riding on Dragonite, he and Pikachu can get anywhere."
"That's what I'm gonna do. You guys focus on helping Sunset. I'll go and find uh...Sunset." Ash and Pikachu gave a thumbs-up for reassurance. Whereas everyone saw their chances diminish, Ash didn't. He stuck to those chances and didn't give up hope. "Full speed, Dragonite!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite nodded before increasing her speed on the spot, blitzing through the air. Ash hung up as his determination didn't waver. He would do what he can to prove the innocence of one of his many friends, even if it means hours or days.
"Well, at least we know there's someone willing to go the distance." Rarity chuckled. They felt at ease since Ash was far more willing to go to great lengths. More than them. It was almost scary. The girls made their return to Canterlot High as by this point, school hours were already over.
But they got a free pass since Celestia was the one to send them on this journey. As they took the train, the sun started setting, radiating its orange glow. The sun's mid-glow represented both Sunset Shimmer's predicament and the sign of hope for her.
While taking the train, Twilight and her friends looked outside. And when they did, they witnessed the zooming visage of Dragonite moving at great speeds in the distance, parting the clouds along the way. For now, they would all take a break and be ready for tomorrow while Ash would continue towards the night and tomorrow morning.
"Brat," Sombra spoke to Ash from within. "Why waste so much effort for this one individual? Seems like a ginormous time waster for something no one can possibly resolve due to how new these humans are to everything. Still, they know little about Pokemon and their knowledge on magic might as well be non-existent."
"It's just like what I said with Discord. I can't sit by while my friends are in trouble. All of my friends know that. That's why they're helping too. It's an awesome feeling, having so many close ones back you up." He explained.
"Mmm. Suit yourself." Sombra had no response to that as he kept everything to himself, allowing Ash to act. Then again, there wasn't much he could do in his current state as Dragonite flew off into the sunset.
Police Station.
Meanwhile, over at the police station, the sirens, still using the disguise of the Shift Stone, were focusing on retrieving Sunset Shimmer's Poke Balls that still had her Pokemon. Aria was the first to find out that they were located in the Evidence Room. And traversing the station was easy since Adagio and Vivace had their magic to hum sleepy melodies and Sonata and Aria with their Water-Types to malfunction the door locks.
Everything was seemingly fine, except for the Aipom that were watching them from within the shadows of the late afternoon sun's glow. Much like the mall, Aipom seems to be the go-to Pokemon for security. Not because they are so common and having multiple them was easy, but because they are so frantic that they can alert anyone.
"Aipom..." One of the Aipom tracked Aria's movements from the shadows. It had witnessed Aria's Brionne fry the door locks once more, forcing the door open.
"Let's see...Evidence Room, Evidence Room." Aria said, holding Brionne. She then took a deep sigh. "Wish we ate along the way, I'm kinda hungry here." Her stomach growled. But it wasn't just her. Brionne too. She could go for some Pokemon Food right about now. "You too, Brionne?"
"Bri..." Brionne nodded.
"Pom." Seeing their hunger and hearing their starving stomachs, Aipom took action. The Long Tail Pokemon hopped from one part of the wall to the other in a flash, moving through the shadows.
"Hm?!" Aria had faintly seen something move above while also hearing other sounds. She and Brionne looked up to see nothing but the shadows. "Weird..." Unsure of what caused that, she wasn't about to take her chances. Aria could put aside her hunger for the meantime, continuing on her way to find the Evidence Room.
"Aipom. Aipom." One Aipom had met up with its fellow Long Tail Pokemon, informing them of the current occurrences within the station. The other Aipom had seen it too. They had noticed how Water-Type attacks had been used on the door locks along with some strange humming that had put others to sleep.
The Aipom discussed amongst themselves before deciding to do what they do best. Cause a ruckus. "Pom! Aipom-Aipom!" They all had the same idea as they also had one location. One Aipom informed them of the Evidence Room, pointing its tail in the direction it came from, referring to Aria and Brionne.
The Evidence Room was where they needed to be. But also, some of them were heading elsewhere. The cafeteria mainly as they had swung towards it, using their tails to open the doors. After being told about Aria and Brionne's hunger, not only would they try and blow their cover but also feed them.
Aipom truly are mischievous yet well-meaning Pokemon.
"What's up with the Aipom?" One of the officers noticed the rapid movements of Aipom across the station as they swung from place to place. "Did they find something?"
"Either that or they're playing as usual." Another officer replied as their curiosity had been sprung with these mischievous Normal-Types.
The Aipom, upon entering the cafeteria, started grabbing some of the food that was available and fresh. Not before obviously grabbing some trays to place them on. The people working at the kitchen were taken aback once the Aipom had shown themselves, snatching the food without permission.
Some of them even took food that other officers were eating on their lunch break. Or when they were getting ready to leave for the day. Right before their eyes, random arrays of tails came swooping in, taking their food before it could be consumed.
"Ah! Aipom! That's mine!" One officer sat up, witnessing his apple being taken away from him. He was gravely disappointed by that as one of the other Aipom had grabbed a fresh one, throwing it at the officer for compensation. "Ooh."
"Hey! At least ask before you snag them!" A lunch lady roared, shaking her fist at the Aipom. The Aipom giggled before having enough food, leaving the cafeteria. They were all heading for Aria now.
Speaking of Aria, she ended up meeting Sonata as they were both using their Water-Types to fry the same door lock. With this coordination, the door opened, causing them both to meet face to face. "Hey, Aria. Did you find something?"
"No, but I know where they are. They're in the Evidence Room." Aria revealed. "If we can just get to that room, all of her Pokemon will be safe and free from here."
"Oh, the Evidence Room? Yeah, I saw it and passed it earlier."
"You what?!" Aria bellowed before grabbing Sonata, shaking her violently. Her siren biology could be seen somewhat with sharp fangs forming around her teeth. "Why didn't you go in there?! Sonata, YOU...!"
"I-I-It didn't have a door lock for Vaporeon and me to fry!" She stuttered. "Plus, I didn't want to grab a bunch of attention y having Lopunny or Vaporeon break it!"
"Ah-" Aria then stopped shaking her little sister. She raised a fair argument that Aria could not retaliate against. "Okay, that's fair. Just...just take us there."
"Is there a problem?" A few officers had arrived upon reacting to Aria's aggravated shouting. The two sisters were started before swivelling to face the officers. "We heard shouting."
"Sorry, sorry. That was my bad." Aria raised her arm, chuckling nervously. The two sisters then gave their unassuming grins before walking off. All that was needed was for Sonata to guide Aria to the Evidence Room.
"This way." Sonata guided her, moving through the doors she had already scrambled thanks to Vaporeon's efforts. They then went up the stairs, passing other officers who had noticed how the doors were all open. They then saw how the door locks would not respond to their keycards.
Aria and Sonata had recalled Vaporeon and Brionne as the doors were already available for them. Perfect timing as the officers soon noticed how water was leaking off of the door locks. Sonata and Aria didn't have time to meet up with Adagio or Vivace at the moment. They were focused on the Evidence Room and a way to enter it without causing a ruckus.
If only they could be aware of the massive array of Aipom that were coming their way. The Aipom moved in droves, overwhelming the officers when they passed the hallway. The officers screeched, holding onto each other once the Long Tail Pokemon overpowered the hallway. Some had been knocked over with their hats falling off. "Aipom!"
"W-Why did we choose these Pokemon to be security..." A winded officer spoke, holding her head.
"They were pretty good at their job over at the mall so..." Another officer groaned before falling flat on his face. The Aipom and their cries echoed throughout the station as other officers made sure to stay out of their way. At this point, the Aipom saw this place as their personal playground.
And no one could stop them from that.
Meanwhile, Sonata and Aria had finally arrived at the floor where the Evidence Room could be found as they stood in front of the door. Sonata was telling the truth. There was no door lock to malfunction and any physical destruction would just cause unwanted trouble. The door was tied to a keyhole which was something that water could not counteract.
"So...How do we get in?" Sonata asked. "Cause if it comes down to it, I can just have Lopunny break the whole thing down. But I guess all of our Pokemon can do that."
"Hmm..." Aria wanted a safer approach to this. But their options were fairly low but they were not zero. That was when the second oldest sister had something. One of her Pokemon could solve their problem. "I got it. Come out, Croagunk." Croagunk was her choice as she had sent out the Toxic Mouth Pokemon.
"Croa."
"This stuff's still wood at the end of the day." Aria patted the door. "We're still going to damage it, but the traditional way. Croagunk spread some poison on the side.
"Croa." Croagunk croaked before approaching the door. A simple solution to this had been made. Croagunk had used Poison Jab, summoning some poison around his arms. After doing so, much like a painter, Croagunk carefully dropped the poison onto the thin edges f the door. But not before Aria gave him a boost to start from a higher place.
The poison flowed through the edges before melting away parts of the door. It had also flowed over the door latch, however since the latch was made out of steel, the poison had no effect. But the door was just slightly open, revealing a bit of the inside.
"Hm." Aria noticed how the door latch was the only thing stopping them from entering.
"Croa." But Croagunk had that solved by using Sucker Punch on the door latch, breaking it into pieces. Now the door was fully open, revealing the entirety of the Evidence Room to them.
And there was certainly some evidence. Apart from the stacks of shelves and files that revolved around different criminals that have been caught over the years, the tray of Poke Balls, which were the newest pieces of evidence and by far the most advanced, could be seen on top of one of the shelves.
"Jackpot!" Sonata exclaimed. "We're gonna have some safe Pokemon now! Up-top, Aria!" Sonata raised her hand, wanting a high-five. "Come on, don't leave me hanging."
"Sure. Let's just hurry." Aria granted her that high-five before recalling her Croagunk. "Return, Croagun." She then swapped Croagunk out for another Pokemon. Her Ledian.
"Ledian."
"Ledian. Grab that tray of Poke Balls up there."
"Ledi!" Ledian was on it. Flapping his wings. Now all Sonata and Aria had to do was relax Their work here would essentially be done. Once they find the right Pokemon, they can head to the juvenile detention centre and improve from there.
But there was one major force that could disrupt this. And it wasn't the police. Rather, it was the Aipom. They had followed Aria's scent, tracking her down while also knowing which room she was planning to enter. The sound of these various Long Tail Pokemon formed the sound of rumbling, flooding the hallway with these overpowering sounds.
As Ledian brought the tray over, Sonata gulped, turning around as she had noticed how she, her sister and Ledian were not alone. Arriving at the evidence room were the Aipom. "Uh...Aria?" Sonata pulled on Aria's shirt.
"Yeah?" Aria looked over, holding the tray as well. Soon, she spotted the various Aipom that were standing there menacingly yet with their innocent grins. On the walls and outside the room, the Aipom faced the sisters and Ledian. "Oh..."
"Aipom?" They uttered naively, having the sisters petrified. Aria and Sonata did not expect Aipom at all, neither were they certain that they were trouble or not. One of the Aipom had jumped over, holding a tray of food for Aria. It would gladly help after knowing of hr hunger. "Aipom." It held the tray out for her, offering the food.
"Wait...I-Is that for me?" A cautious Aria said, pointing at the food. The other Aipom brought some food over for Sonata and Ledian to also try.
"Aipom!"
"Oh. Gee thanks. I am pretty hungry." Aria was grateful for this. Aipom would show kindness even though they were also here to do one other thing. And this was shown by the second Aipom that hopped over, gazing at the tray.
"Pom!" The second Aipom went to grab the tray with its tail as Aria was still holding onto it.
"H-Hey!" Aria immediately entered a struggle, trying to keep the tray to herself. The second Aipom's grip strength was certainly mighty enough to surpass that of a human's grip. But Aria wasn't giving up on the tray despite the strength difference.
If that wasn't enough, other Aipom approached. They started playing around as one of the Aipom had discovered Aria's Shift Stone, grabbing it from her pocket. Upon grabbing it, this undid the transformation, revealing Aria's true appearance.
"That's mine! Ledian, Sonata, stop them!"
"Uh, kinda having some trouble myself!" Sonata was not exempt as some Aipom had swarmed her. She tried going for her Poke Balls, only for the Aipom to jump on her back and head, laughing. "I'd normally enjoy this but now's not the time!"
"Led!" Ledian went after the Aipom that had taken Aria's Shift Stone, trying to catch it. But with other Aipom jumping on his head and with so many of them moving around, it was hard to stay focused. "L-Ledian!"
"Pom!" The struggle between Aria and Aipom ended when a few of them had grabbed the Poke Balls from the tray. All of them to be exact. Aria gasped as the Aipom now had the Poke Balls.
And upon grabbing them, they threw the Poke Balls around, playing hot potato with it. The Aipom weren't taking this seriously as their massive numbers had Aria, Sonata and Ledian overpowered. Sonata's Shift Stone had also been taken away by another Aipom, revealing her true appearance.
Sonata and Aria pursued the Aipom that were throwing the Poke Balls, running around the Evidence Room. The Aipom were far too quick-witted to keep up with as the sisters ended up bumping into some of the shelves, knocking files over in the process.
"Give it here!" Aria shouted while having some Aipom latch onto her. "And get off!"
"Come on! Give it back! We can play later!" Sonata cried out before tripping over the tail of a sitting Aipom. "Woah!"
Eventually, one of the Aipom had failed to catch the incoming Poke Ball. Because of this, the Pokemon inside had been unleashed. And the first one to be unleashed was Graveler.
"Graveler?"
"Pom? Aipom!" The other AIpom saw this Pokemon entering the fray, deciding to do the same. They wanted new playmates, so they threw the Poke Balls onto the floor. Every single Pokemon inside had been sent out immediately.
And indeed, Sunset Shimmer's Pokemon were included. Apart from Braixen, Litleo, Talonflame and Volcarona, Pokemon belonging to criminals had been seen. A Weezing, Loudred, Crawdaunt, Cloyster, Ariados and Durant respectively. There were more Pokemon that had been unleashed from the Poke Balls constantly as it was soon a room full of random Pokemon with the most dominating species being Aipom. Once they had arrived, the Pokemon observed the surroundings, being unfamiliar with it.
"LOUD!" Loudred, in its confusion, had used its powerful voice around the Evidence Room. And by doing so, blowing a hole through one of the walls in the process.
"At least we found them." Sonata squeed. "So I guess the Aipom were helpful in the end, huh?"
"What's going on here?!" All of this commotion had caused some of the officers to arrive. And upon arriving, they feasted their eyes on this chaotic scene. Many evidence files had been disorganized and scattered on the floor with food everywhere along with the reveal of the freed Pokemon, the horde of Aipom playing around and the presence of Sonata and Aria. "W-What the..."
"Time to go!" Aria exclaimed before grabbing Sonata's arm. "Your four! Grab your Poke Balls!" She yelled at Sunset's Pokemon.
"Xien? Braixen!" Braixen and the others followed, picking up their respective Poke Balls. Talonflame used his talons, Litleo used his mouth while Volcarona and Braixen used Psychic-Type moves to hold them.
"Hey! Get back here!" The officers shouted before getting out a walkie talkie. "We have a problem! I don't know how to describe it!"
"Graveler!" There were other problems to deal with. Such as the released Pokemon that were now going rogue. Graveler had broken through the walls while Ariados was climbing them, already preparing a web. The web had been fired, grabbing the officers and restraining them.
"B-Backup please..." The officer groaned after being restrained with his walkie talkie being dropped. Soon, the Pokemon started roaming the area as the Aipom felt like doing the same. Then again, that's what they've been doing from the start.
As for Aria and Sonata, they were on the run with Sunset's Pokemon by their side. Aria promptly recalled Ledian while still holding onto Sonata's arm. An Aipom was still holding onto Sonata, giggling while enjoying the rush.
"It didn't go so bad, did it, sis?! At least we got the Pokemon, right?" Sonata giggled along with the Aipom.
"Let's call this a bittersweet victory! Cause now our faces are known! When we get out there and venture the world, finding the rest of our species, I'm not coming back here!" She roared, breathing in and out from all this running.
It was anarchy within the station. The reports of rogue Pokemon and intruders had been made alert to the other officers with alarms going off all over the place. Some of the rogue Pokemon managed to break out of the station, entering the outside which only created bigger problems.
And being made aware of this were Vivace and Adagio. They stopped what they were doing to hear the alarms and constant commotion. They even felt a shockwave come through. Most likely from Loudred. Ariados' webs were already being shot everywhere once it got a move on. Nearby officers were met with incoming webs, having their bodies restrained. And no one dared to go near Weezing with all the toxins exuding from its body.
"Don't tell me they screwed up...?" Adagio groaned, knowing that somehow, her little sisters were involved in this. Adagio ran off, trying to find them or either her mother. It couldn't be hard causing how everything was in disarray.
Outside, people had noticed the Pokemon and how they had scattered across the city instantly. And since many of them previously belonged to criminals, less than pleasant ideas were forming in their heads. People started screaming once the rogue Pokemon started taking action.
With the sun setting and the moon rising, it was going to be an unpleasant night for everyone. What started as a simple mission to rescue a friend and retrieve some Poke Balls, resulted in this absolute mess. And yet, they were all still far from Sunset Shimmer. All thanks to the mischievous, helpful yet impulsive Aipom as the journey continues.
The Human World. A forest near a small town. Late Afternoon.
Up in the orange sunset skies and the majestic glow of the setting sun, Ash, Pikachu and Dragonite could be seen. They've been searching for the Human counterpart to Sunset Shimmer ever since they had been caught up with the situation.
Their journey led them to this forest near a town as Dragonite had descended. They were going to take a break for the moment and this was the best place to do so.
"Thanks, Dragonite. Let's rest here for a bit," said Ash.
"Dra." Dragonite nodded before sitting down. Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder, landing on Dragonite's belly, using it as a pillow. "Dragonite."
"Pikachu..."
"Okay..." Ash sighed before taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "Since we're looking for Sunset...What's gonna happen when I find her? If she did all of that then..."
"Pika-Pika?"
"Hmm..." Ash was in a bit of a rough spot. One of his friends could be guilty most likely. And there was a high possibility that to save the Equestrian Sunset Shimmer, the Human Sunset would have to come upfront and reveal the truth. "They're both my friends but...I gotta make sure that everything's set right."
"Dra...Dragonite." Dragonite could see that Ash was starting to gain some form of doubt. And why wouldn't he? Both of his friends despite essentially being the same person paradoxically were in trouble. One more than the other. The Dragon Pokemon spotted some wood laying on the ground before flying over to grab it.
Dragonite then brought the wood over, placing it on the ground right in the middle. Afterwards, the Dragon-Flying-Type had used a tiny bit of Hyper Beam, hitting the woo. That tiny piece was enough to start a fire. A way to calm everything down.
"Thanks, Dragonite."
"Dra."
"Hmm...What to do...I guess I could ask her and-"
"How about I throw a suggestion in?" Just then, King Sombra showed himself, exiting out of Ash and appearing as his shadowy self. "From what we've gathered about all of this, you have two approaches to this. Let it be or issue a break in at that place and free her."
"I'm not gonna break-in." Ash immediately turned that suggestion down. "I wanna solve this for both of them."
"Pointless. If you come up front with her and tell her everything, seeing as your friends are oh-so loyal to you, she will have no choice but to tell the truth, resulting in her being sent to that juvenile place. A part of me would rather enjoy seeing the outcome of that. Would she remain your friend afterwards despite you being the one to bring her to justice? Curious."
"Pikachu...!" Pikachu didn't enjoy Sombra's tone. Especially when the words were meant to try and conflict with his best friend as electricity flared from his red sacs. Sombra was not intimidated at all.
As for Ash, he lingered on Sombra's words for a bit before taking a deep sigh. He had made up his mind, closing his eyes before opening them and taking a serious expression. "I know what I gotta do."
"Oh?"
"Pika?"
"I'll do it when I meet with Sunset. And then we'll see where things go from there."
"Hmph. You're more mature than you look." Sombra nodded, slightly impressed by Ash's maturity. "I will be all ears and eyes when I witness your encounter with her.
"Dra...Dragonite?" Dragonite, after taking a yawn due to the warm campfire making her feel comfortable, heard some rustling nearby. She stood up, turning her head to the rustling bushes, being on high alert. Pikachu did the same, running in front of Dragonite.
"Pikachu!"
"What is it, guys?" Ash asked, standing up. Sombra went into hiding within Ash once more, waiting for that fateful encounter and discussion with him and Sunset Shimmer that he was looking forward to.
However, it seemed that he wouldn't have to wait for long. Because despite the rustling, there was no threat nearby. Emerging out of the bushes was a Pokemon that seemed like it would be a threat. Pyroar. But not just any Pyroar. Also appearing out of the bushes was the girl of the hour.
Sunset Shimmer.
"Ash...?" Sunset Shimmer uttered while standing beside Pyroar.
"Sunset!" Ash gasped as they had found her. Or rather, she found them. "So you're here!"
"Yeah...I heard some electricity and saw something big and orange fly in the sky so I came here." She referred to both Pikachu and Dragonite before petting Pyroar on the head. "I didn't think it'd be you."
"We're just stopping by here." He chuckled. "Great to see you and Pyroar are doing good."
"So...Did you get my letter? Sorry if it sounded pretty empty. I didn't give you any other way to contact me at all." She scratched her hair, feeling a bit guilty for that. "Shouldn't have ghosted you like that."
"My friends got it but they told me everything. You don't have to worry about leaving all of a sudden." ASh then approached the counterpart to Equestrian Sunset Shimmer. Despite this friendly reunion, the serious words were bound to come by soon. "How have you been doing since you got away from your home?"
"Oh, I've been fine. I do miss my home a bit but, I already made my choice on getting out there. This town and forest are as far as Pyroar and I have gotten. We don't know where we're gonna end up at the end of this..."
"So no purpose huh..." A pondering Ash stood there, thinking for a bit. "I gotcha. But I gotta ask you something. It's super important.
"I know what's it gonna be, right?" Sunset Shimmer spoke before pulling her hoodie up, grumbling with nervousness. Ah was taken aback as Sunset might have already caught on.
"You do?"
"Yeah...When I got around public, it was like people knew me or something. That's when I realized that I got on the news. It was weird, seeing myself there since I wasn't even at the same place. You get what I mean right?"
"So you saw your counterpart for the first time then, huh?"
"I do. And I'm glad it's not me. But hiding my face is still a drag. Hope it all blows over soon." In reality, Sunset Shimmer was glad that she wasn't the one behind bars at juvie. She didn't think much of her counterpart at all.
"Sunset. She's also my friend. Just like how you are." Ash quickly changed the tone, making Sunset Shimmer cease her chuckling and laughter. Sombra was ready to hear everything play out. "Please. I wanna get her out since she's innocent. I can't let her take the blame for what happened. If everything I'm hearing about that mall thing is true."
"It is true but...No way." Sunset Shimmer turned around. "I'm not coming forward with it."
"Sunset?!"
"You heard me. There's no way I'm going back there or letting them all know at all. I'm as free as I can be right now and I won't let that go."
"Well, I'm not letting my friend go through something so harsh just because of a mistake. I can't let her go through that, no matter what." Ash shook his head as Sunset Shimmer grit her teeth, scoffing for a bit. "This can all be solved if you try and-"
"I thought you were my friend!" Sunset Shimmer roared, cutting Ash off. "Don't friends watch each other's backs and not betray them?!"
"I am your friend."
"No, you're not. If you were, you wouldn't try and make things hard on me. Making me go up to them and turn myself in." Showing some disdain, Sunset Shimmer pointed at Ash. She absolutely refused to come forward at this point. Her mind had been made up.
"I'm not turning my back on you, Sunset. I just wanna help you both."
"You call this helping? Everyone back at the underground...I couldn't fully accept them as my friends even after everything. Especially with what happened back at the mall. I didn't even fully agree with them when they wanted me to use you to work better with our Pokemon, just to try and rob that mall. But I went with it anyway. You're someone I could call a friend for real! You were there for me when I was hurt and now you go ahead and do this?!" She lashed out at Ash. But Ash was not phased at all.
"Sunset..." Ash uttered as Pikachu and Dragonite were getting worried. So was Pyroar as well.
"You..." Sunset Shimmer showed visible signs of aggravation as her temper was getting to her. Sombra liked what he was seeing as he peered around Ash. "My fault for getting my hopes up."
"Yes...Ooh, I can feel something wonderful coming from her. Let's take a look into those fears!" Sombra then took action, using his magic. Albeit limited, he could still cast fears onto others as his eyes met with Sunset's.
"Sombra, no!" Ash cried out but it was too late. Sunset Shimmer's fears had already been found by Sombra's magic. And upon being triggered, Sunset Shimmer could think of one of her fears. That being the Juvenile Detention Centre.
She gasped before seeing it in a worse light. Considering how she knew that her counterpart was serving three years, longer than what she had to go through, Sunset Shimmer could see herself with that length. Possibly even greater if revealed that she was the true culprit.
She shook her head violently as the visage of Warden Tempest Shadow and others loomed over her. She even saw the forest different, matching a tight space with thick bars. However, the location soon changed to match something beyond juvie. Jail. And perhaps beyond that, prison depending on how things go.
Overwhelmed by Sombra's fear magic, Sunset Shimmer had fainted on the spot, unable to handle magic for the first time. Ash ran over, quickly catching her before she could fall. For now, she was out of commission.
"You didn't have to do that, Sombra! I had it under control!" Ash shouted at Sombra.
"No one usually faints from my Fear magic," Sombra smirked. "Besides, judging from how she was acting, I doubt further reasoning would be effective. If anything, this is the best solution. Now you can do what needs to be done. Take her in, boy."
"Pikapi..."
"..." Ash looked at the fainted Sunset Shimmer for a moment. Sombra was right. Ash could fly back to the city and turn her in right now. It would be that easy. That is until something else was made up in Ash's mind. "I'm not gonna lose her trust."
"What?" Sombra pulled back.
"Sunset's never had that many friends before. She's got little and I guess Pyroar, Pikachu and I are her newest friends to date. I don't want her to get the wrong idea. And I also don't want this kind of moment to be our last."
"Do you not hear yourself?! I swear...your pathetic friendship will be your downfall one day! It's already getting in the way of what needs to be done!"
"You can say what you want. But I'm not gonna do it. Not to my friends." Ash's words were final. Try as he might, Sombra knew that there was no getting to him. Convincing Ash is one of the most impossible things in existence unless it involves Pokemon Battling and Food.
Pyroar whimpered as Dragonite walked over to comfort her. He placed Sunset Shimmer on the nearest tree, being gentle with her. Ash chose to let her relax before doing anything else. He needed time to think things through once more. To keep her warm before nightfall arrives, Ash took off his jacket, placing it on her. Both the jacket and campfire would keep her warm, including Pyroar's existence.
Ash then looked at the distance, spotting the town nearby. Hopefully, no one would come for Sunset Shimmer is what Ash was thinking. She was already on the news so some form of publicity would be made considering the scope of the incident.
Ash sat down with Pikachu, Dragonite and Pyroar, watching over Sunset Shimmer. However, before they could prepare themselves to call it a night, a ferocious explosion had been heard from afar. Not only that, but a pillar of fire sprung into the air.
"Huh?! That came from the city!" Ash stood up, noticing the direction of those flames. After seeing them, he knew that it wouldn't be a good sign at all. Naturally, Ash had the instinct of checking it out to see if everything was alright. However, that would mean leaving Sunset Shimmer behind. But he had faith in Pyroar. "Pyroar. I'll be right back. Take care of Sunset Shimmer, okay?"
"Pyroar!" Pyroar would do just that. After all, she was far too intimidating for many to approach. A fire breathing lion was a good indicator to stay away. Especially one that is protective of someone else.
"Pikachu! Dragonite! Let's go!" Ash adjusted his hat before hopping onto Dragonite's back. Pikachu then leapt, latching himself on Ash's shoulder as well.
"Dragonite!" Dragonite roared before spreading her wings. At the speed of the sound, she took off, leaving a shockwave on the ground, blowing the campfire away. However, Pyroar had used her flames to reignite the campfire as she watched Dragonite soar off into the sunset.
Speaking of the sunset, the moon was finally showing itself as the skies were becoming dark blue. Not just that, the clouds were also being met with a cloud of purple smoke. That smoke was made responsible by one of the rogue Pokemon currently loose in the city. Weezing.
Out in the big city. Nightfall.
Speaking of the rogue Pokemon, after being unleashed from their Poke Balls, they started causing mayhem, resulting in massive panic throughout the streets. Everyone screeched as a majority if not everyone in this city did not have Pokemon to defend themselves.
Loudred was enough to sake the buildings, shattering glass in the process. The soundwaves also startled most of the people, causing them to fall over, harming their eardrums too. Causing trouble on a more electrical scale were a group of Magneton.
They went around, absorbing all forms of electricity from different machines and electronics, not stopping for a second. Some people had their phones drained via the overwhelming magnetism along with cars that were trying to escape from this frantic scenario.
Nearby TVs were done for as their displays had been corrupted. Any news of this current situation had been cut off, preventing anyone from seeing it. They also sent out their strange radio waves that were painful to the ears. As if Loudred was not enough. Weezing's poison was also moving through the air, already proving to be a greater threat. It was just a mess at this point.
The police would normally take care of this if they weren't already dealing with the rogue Pokemon within their station. Many had been caught by Ariados' webs, unable to move. Herdier, one of the Pokemon that belonged to the officers, was tearing the webs apart along with the Aipom. The playful Aipom all moved across the station, using the webs as trampolines.
As for the sirens, they were currently trying to get far away from this scenario as they can. Sunset Shimmer's Pokemon had already been retrieved. If only it didn't result in this anarchy. Braixen, Volcarona, Litleo and Talonflame were with Sonata and Aria, jumping over the asleep officers and ducking under the various webs made by Ariados.
Eventually, Sonata and Aria had met with Adagio, almost bumping into each other before coming to a screeching halt. "You two! What happened?!" Adagio roared. "I don't know how you could screw this up...!"
"It wasn't us! It was the Aipom!" Sonata exclaimed before looking at the Aipom that was still latching onto her back. "Uh, no offence."
"Aipom."
"At least we've got the Pokemon! Let's just find mom and get to that juvie place! The police have already seen our faces anyway, even if for a bit. "Where is mom, by the way?"
"Right here." Startling her daughters was Vivace. She had shown up, still under the disguise of one of the officers. She raised her hat, looking down at her daughters. "Hm. This spiralled out of control, didn't it?"
"I'll say..." Adagio nodded. "We could've just gone on our way and none of this would've happened."
"Hey, at least we're making progress, huh?" Sonata nudged her big sister, looking at the positives. "As long as we're out of trouble, we'll be smooth sailing later on."
"Yeah. If we can get through all of that..." Aria's jaw dropped, noticing the continuous carnage in the form of Magneton droves and the array of webs made by Ariados, who currently had the station on lockdown. Not to mention, they would have to somehow get past the poisonous smoke in the sky.
"Hm..." Vivace observed the scene, thinking of a way through this. "This is a difficult situation indeed."
"How can you be so calm, mom?!" Adagio shouted as she saw this as a terrible predicament to be around.
"You can learn to keep your cool in the most aggressive of situations. I taught you that much, Adagio. Come along. Before the van gets destroyed." Vivace and her daughters would continue on their way to leaving the police station.
To get through some of the obstacles, they would have their Pokemon help out along with Sunset's Pokemon. "Braixen!" Braixen had used Fire Spin, shooting out a spiral of flames that burnt the spider webs away. Volcarona, Talonflame and Litleo did the same, making short work of the abundant webs.
"Magne!" Some of the Magneton returned to the station, here to absorb the energy and disrupt everything. They swarmed inside, appearing in front of the sirens and the Pokemon.
"You're in our way!" Aria exclaimed as she and Sonata held out Poke Balls, throwing them into the sky. Out of them came Ledian and Lopunny. "Ledian Mach Punch!"
"Lopunny! Double Kick!"
"Ledian!" Ledian and Lopunny moved ahead of everyone else with Lopunny leaping majestically into the air. Both of them knocked aside the blockade of Magneton with a blitzing four-armed blow and two consecutive kicks, dealing super-effective damage.
They kept moving with the Fire-Types blasting the Magnemite in their way. All the incoming Fire-Type attacks were not enough for them to handle. The Magnemite could barely do much against them despite them swarming in. Their opponents were too fast.
But during their escape, they had passed by some of the officers who were stuck on the webs, unable to do much but lay there. Sonata came to a screeching halt while her family continued moving. Sonata' out of the goodness of her heart, couldn't ignore these helpless officers.
"Hey, wait!" She cried out, alerting her family. "Let's get them down first!"
"Say what?!" Aria shouted, bumping into a wall after coming to a halt. "Uh...in case you've forgotten, but-"
"I know, I know! We got caught in the Evidence Room so we're practically criminals now, aren't we?" Sonata already knew that they were now made aware by the police along with them being seen at the scene of the released Pokemon. "But, we can't leave them here. Lopunny, help me out here!"
"Lo!" Lopunny ran over, using her destructive kicks to break the webs. Aria shrugged before she, Ledian and Sunset's Pokemon went to do the same. Adagio's jaw dropped as her sister's were wasting time once more. They started freeing the officers with flames and their bare hands. Although, Sonata and Aria weren't able to tear them apart, but they were at least trying.
"Ugh..." Adagio groaned. "Where was this much help years ago?"
"Come on, Adagio. Support your sisters. I have to support my family at all times." Vivace said, patting her on the back. She also had the drive to help others. It's why this scenario of trying to save Sunset Shimmer was even possible. Adagio wasn't winning this fight as Kricketot jumped out of her mane to help out as well.
Outside, the poison, after spreading into the air, was starting to get worse. Very soon, everyone could start breathing it in as they were already trying to withstand themselves against the attacking Pokemon.
"Dragonite, Hurricane!" That was when Ash, Pikachu and Dragonite had arrived.
"Draaaaaa!" Dragonite roared, letting out a grand echo that alerted everyone in the skies. They all looked up to see a Dragon, right before their eyes. They had seen different Pokemon as of recently. But a Dragon was the most surprising one to all of them. Dragonite then flapped her wings, creating a mighty gust of wind.
This gust of wind was powerful enough to blow away the poison that Weezing had generated. Right before it could get worse and started affecting others. Once arriving, Ash had observed the situation around him. It was pandemonium no doubt. Sombra somewhat enjoyed this sight.
"Isn't this lovely?" Sombra smirked. "Perhaps I was too hard on these creatures. The destruction they can cause is one to marvel at."
"And one I'm gonna stop." Ash turned his hat as everyone couldn't help but gaze at the massive Dragon in the sky. The Magneton also noticed Pikachu before flying towards Dragonite. They wanted some of that sweet Electricity. "Pikachu! Overload those Magneton with Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu leapt off of Ash's shoulder, gaining some airtime. Within that airtime, the Mouse Pokemon released 100,000 volts from his body. The electricity had met with the Magneton directly, giving them what they wanted. However, Pikachu's aggressive output had overwhelmed them.
"M-Magne!" Because of this, they had fainted from their overwhelming force, falling to the ground. That was one problem down. But there were still some more from what Ash could see. Weezing was the last outside problem to handle at the moment.
"Weezing!" It was about to unleash another toxic gas while approaching Pikachu who was freefalling. Dragonite came swooping in, catching Pikachu. The toxic gas came out, ready to pollute the three of them.
"Lucario! Come out and use your Aura! Dragonite, Dragon Claw!" Ash acted accordingly, throwing out Lucario into the fray.
"Lucario!" Upon emerging, Lucario's immunity to steel had kicked in. It didn't phase him at all as he had then utilized his Aura. The Aura Pokemon crossed his arms, allowing the Aura to flow out of his body. He then caused it to burst as the Aura had blown away the poison.
"Weezing?!"
"Gonite!" Dragonite then descended at rapid speeds, using Dragon Claw to strike Weezing from above. The Poison Gas Pokemon's eyes bulged before being sent rocketing to the ground.
Afterwards, Lucario stuck a stylish landing from high up while Dragonite hovered just above the ground. People applauded as they had been saved by these four. While there were still some other Pokemon to handle, they were still grateful to Ash and his Pokemon.
"Oh! Thank you so much!" A relieved shopkeeper spoke as cheers filled the atmosphere.
"Is everyone okay?" Ash asked.
"Mhm. Say...a-aren't you that one kid who went into the mall?" Some of them recognized Ash as he had been here before.
"Yeah. I'm just here to help out right now. How'd this all happen?"
"It started at the local police station and just went out of control afterwards. We saw a lot of those Pokemon come and go." A businessman explained, pointing in different directions. "One of them went towards the town up north.
"That's where Sunset is...!" Ash gasped before closing his eyes. "He knew that Pyroar would keep Sunset Shimmer safe but he didn't want Pyroar to go at it alone considering how many Pokemon there were. "Okay. I'll deal with the ones in the station next. Dragonite. Lucario. Let's go."
"Rrr!" Both Lucario and Dragonite nodded before going for the police station next. The people watched them head off as all eyes were on Ash at the moment.
Speaking of the police station, Adagio and her sisters managed to free some of the officers from the webs. Upon rescuing them, the officers were grateful for this.
"Oh...Many thanks..." An officer sighed, sitting down. "I don't know who you all are, but much appreciated."
"Aren't they the ones who entered the Evidence Room...?" Another officer pointed at them as Aria and Sonata scrunched their faces. "Ah, it doesn't matter right now. Those Pokemon are going to cause continuous problems if they aren't returned to their Poke Balls."
"We can solve that." Aria stepped forward. "Some of the Poke Balls are still in that room."
"Uh, let them handle that." Adagio nudged Aria. "They can grab the Poke Balls while we can do something else. Such as leaving, hm?"
"Ariados!" Catching them off guard was the Pokemon responsible for catching the officers. Ariados appeared from above, using its webs once more. This time, the sirens were the newest targets. From their backs, the web had connected before wrapping around them.
"Oh!" Caught off guard, along with Sunset Shimmer's Pokemon, right after they had been wrapped up, Ariados pulled the webs bag, forcing them to become airborne. They were now hanging around the walls due to Ariados' sneak attack.
"Dos." Ariados crawled over, observing its prey after catching them. Adagio at this point was sick of all the surprises. One news story and here she and her sisters are, caught within some webs in a police station of all places.
"How fun. But pointless too." However, Vivace proved that Ariados' webs meant nothing to her immediately. And she showed this by letting the magic flow through her body. The officers watched in amazement as the webs come off of her. Ariados was even taken aback as Vivace had freed herself so easily.
Vivace then adjusted her hair, making sure it was tidy. She then ended her disguise by negating the power of the Shift Stone, showing her true appearance. "The moon is already up. I can say that we've wasted enough time as it is. Let's wrap it up, shall we?"
Juvenile Detention Centre. Nightfall.
Much like what was said to Ash back in the city, the Pokemon went in different directions. One of those directions was the juvenile detention centre where Sunset Shimmer was located.
A Cloyster was approaching, using its ice to freeze the ground as it moved. The nearby guards had already seen the frantic activities coming from the city at a far distance, courtesy of binoculars. They had also noticed Cloyster's arrival. The alert had been made to the rest of the guards. Mainly to Warden Tempest Shadow since she owned a Pokemon. No one here was going up against that thing by themselves, that was for certain.
But aside from that, within the centre, Sunset Shimmer was currently on her lonesome. She had previously been sent to the leisure room by Warden Tempest. There, Sunset Shimmer could read a book or watch some TV. However, thanks to the Magneton having such powerful radio waves, the TV's were not functioning properly.
Sunset Shimmer sat quietly with a guard outside the door. She looked outside, gazing at the night sky and thinking about her Pokemon. She believed that her Pokemon might've already been released, no longer being under her ownership. But despite all of this, her hope had been rekindled.
This was because of one Pokemon. Shuppet. Speaking of Shuppet, it had phased through the floor, appearing before Sunset Shimmer in her moment of sadness. "Shuppet?"
"Oh...hey, Shuppet." She said to the Puppet Pokemon, petting it on the head. "At least you're still here."
"Shu. Shuppet." Shuppet flew over, getting close to Sunset Shimmer.
"Listen. I need you to do something for me. If you can, I want you to try and find some of my friends. They're all I have to depend on right now."
"Shuppet?"
"They can be found over at Canterlot High. It's a school with a horse statue and-" INterrupting her was a sudden tremor. She fell over from this tremor as the alarms went off. "What just happened?!"
"Shu?!"
Cloyster happened. It had found its way inside, alerting all. The inmates were inside their cells, feeling this tremor. They were hoping that a form of jailbreak would happen. But the guards wouldn't let that happen. If they could stop Cloyster that was. Which they couldn't.
Upon arriving, Cloyster had used Ice Beam to freeze the guards immediately. They stood no chance whatsoever as the walls and ceiling had also been frozen over. Many had been put in an icy prison while the rest ran off to try and warn Warden Tempest, only for Cloyster to catch up to them.
"It wants trouble? Fine. Its biggest mistake was intruding in my centre. Noctowl. Dartrix." Warden Tempest Shadow was already made aware. She stopped what she was doing, standing from her desk. Noctowl and Dartrix knew what was coming. And since it was nightfall, they had some advantage. Being an owl-based pokemon has its perk. Warden Tempest put on her hat, adjusting her suit afterwards.
She set off to put a stop to Cloyster before it tries anything else. The centre wasn't the only place exempt from trouble. Soon, if this ere to continue, everywhere else could be in danger from these Pokemon that used to belong to criminals. But there were those to stop them. Ash, Vivace and Tempest especially as the journey continues.
The Human World. Out in the Big City. Juvenile Detention Centre. Nightfall.
"Cloyster!"
Attacking the centre was Cloyster. Already, it had frozen many of the guards here, placing them in icy prisons. This was just one problem among many. But much like every problem, there were those who were present to stop it. Along with their Pokemon.
One of which being Warden Tempest Shadow and her two Pokemon. Noctowl and Dartrix. But making her way to the scene, she already felt the harsh chill that Cloyster had made. Not just her, but the inmates too. They were currently in their cells, minding their own business. That was until the chill of Cloyster's ice came through, waking some of them up from their sleep.
"W-Why is it so cold all of a sudden?!" An inmate shuddered as a nearby guard also fell over from this overwhelming chill. Very soon, they could be put in ice prisons if Cloyster continues. "We live near a desert south from here! It shouldn't be this cold!"
Feeling this as well was Sunset Shimmer as she shivered upon this chill. She held Shuppet close to her, trying to stay warm. Shuppet was freezing too despite being a ghost. Sunset Shimmer felt the need to find somewhere warm, so she went to ask the guard standing outside.
But the moment she opened the door, she found out that the guard was too cold to move. He had sat down in the corner, trying to stay warm but it was no use. "This chill...It has to be an Ice-Type," uttered Sunset Shimmer as an icy breath could be seen the moment she spoke, showing how cold it was.
"S-S-Shuppet..."
"Stay in here, Shuppet." To give Shuppet some warmth, Sunset Shimmer had placed the Puppet Pokemon inside of her inmate shirt. The Ghost-Type's head then popped out of the shirt, right near Sunset's shoulder and neck. "
"Shupp..." Shuppet did feel a bit warmer. But it was still unforgivably cold. Sunset Shimmer didn't have much to go with at the moment as she decided to try and find the Pokemon responsible for this.
Almost all of the guards were being put out of commission thanks to Cloyster. The ice that it had summoned also alerted the weather a bit, causing snowflakes to emerge. Tempest Shadow had eventually found Cloyster thanks to Dartrix's detection. They had come across the Bivalve Pokemon, witnessing the lunch lady being frozen.
"Cloyster!"
"There you are!" Warden Tempest Shadow cried out, facing the Water-Ice-Type. "I don't know who or what you are, but if you think you can come to my centre and cause this mess, you've picked a horrible time. I've already had to deal with one mess today, so I'm not in the best mood."
"Cloy. Cloy-Cloyster." Cloyster wasn't intimidated. All it did was laugh at the warden instead. Tempest looked outside the windows to see falling snowflakes drop from outside as the ceiling had also been frozen over. One good hit and the ceiling along with the roof could suffer some damage.
Sunset Shimmer, who was currently the only inmate walking around the centre, had spotted Warden Tempest and Cloyster nearby. She gasped before hiding behind a corner as to not alert them. But right now, Tempest wasn't thinking about her. The only thing on her mind was dealing with the Cloyster issue.
"Shuppet?" Shuppet took a peek before having Sunset Shimmer hide her.
"Sssh...Keep it down, Shuppet." Sunset hushed her, spectating this scenario without drawing any attention. Sunset didn't want to get involved in this to avoid the risk of Tempest Shadow dealing with her. Or worse, Cloyster would deal with her instead.
"Perhaps I can try and catch you. I could use some icy prisons for out of line inmates." Tempest revealed in her hands a Great Ball. She was one of the few people in this world that had gained Poke Balls after they had been made public. "But first, weakening you is what I need to do. Noctowl, Dartrix! Go!"
"Noctowl!" Noctowl and Darxtrix went on the offensive. Noctowl went for Pluck while Dartrix chose Razor Leaf. Noctowl's beak started growing and emanating a bright light while Dartrix summoned sharp leaves around its body. Noctowl flew ahead with Dartrix allowing the leaves to fly alongside its fellow owl.
"Cloy!" But Cloyster was prepared. It had used Razor Shell, utilizing the spikes that were hidden within its hard shell and allowing them to be revealed. They had been shot out of Cloyster's shell, having veils of water surrounding them as they went in different directions instead of a consistent one.
"Owl?!" Noctowl gasped as it had used Pluck on the spikes, knocking one away. But the rest of them had bombarded the Owl Pokemon, knocking it away. The spikes had also met with Razor Leaf, matching the leaves in sharpness with its spikes. They cancelled each other out due to equal strength.
The rest of the spikes hit the walls and the ceiling, shattering parts of them with their brute force alone as the top of the juvenile detention centre had been exposed.
"Cloyster!" After using Razor Shell, Cloyster was the one approaching its opponents with a high-speed Tackle.
"Noctowl! Use that attack that comes from your eyes!"
"Noctowl!" With the Human World still being new to Pokemon, certain moves and their names were unknown. The attack in question was Night Shade. Noctowl's eyes radiated black as it ejected a black beam streaked with dark red lines from its eyes at the Water-Ice-Type.
Cloyster had tackled right into the beam, stopping in place. "Cloy?!" Once coming into contact and being within the beam, rings formed around it. Those rings had crashed into Cloyster's body as the energy of Night Shade had combusted, dealing some good damage to Cloyster. "Cloy!"
"Dartrix, Go!"
"Dar!" Dartrix went next, using Double Team. Multiple Dartrix clones had appeared from above as each of them had used Round, attacking with soundwaves. The soundwaves met with Cloyster, causing it to stagger and crash against the wall.
"Excellent! Now!" Tempest saw this as a chance to catch Cloyster. She held the Great Ball, aiming it carefully at the Bivalve Pokemon. Immediately, she had thrown the Great Ball at full force as Cloyster had no time to react as the ball struck it.
However, instead of opening up and shrinking Cloyster down to fit within the catching device, the Great Ball did nothing. It had just fallen to the floor, revealing to be ineffective. "Cloy?"
"What?!" Tempest pulled back as she was thrown back by the Great Ball's failure. So was Sunset Shimmer. However, Sunset Shimmer deduced the easiest answer for this.
"Cloyster already has a trainer..." She said to herself.
"Cloy. Cloyster." Cloyster grinned, knowing that Poke Balls were ineffective against it. And because of this, it had managed to catch Tempest and her Pokemon off guard by using Ice Beam. Out of its mouth, a massive and rampant beam of ice was shot.
It was wide enough to catch Warden Tempest and her Pokemon. This was a bad sign for both Noctowl and Dartrix since they were both vulnerable to ice. Dartrix and Noctowl had quicker reaction times than Tempest. Both of them had flown in front of Tempest, protecting their trainer.
But at the cost of them being frozen. They both cried out as their bodies were being taken over by the chilling icy prison that Ice Beam can grant. Tempest watched as her partners had been placed in massive ice blocks before falling to the floor. She also fell, sitting down uncontrollably.
"Dartrix...Noctowl..." She was stunned to see her Pokemon within these icy prisons. But soon, she could end up being within one as Cloyster started ascending. The Bivalve Pokemon chuckled after freezing Tempest's Pokemon, knowing that she was its next target.
The seemingly unphased Warden Tempest was showing signs of fear. And why wouldn't she? She didn't have many defences at her disposal. Her Pokemon were frozen and Poke Balls were ineffective against a Pokemon that already had a trainer.
Sunset Shimmer's fear of being caught had been tossed out of the window and instead, much like with what happened at the Equestria Games, she had the instinct to help. Despite the circumstances, Warden Tempest was only doing her job, thus, Sunset could show no resentment to her.
Acting on her own volition, Sunset bolted off, grabbing Tempest by the arm. Tempest felt her heart skip a beat before swivelling her head to see Sunset Shimmer. "Sunset Shimmer?!"
"Cloyster!" Cloyster pulled its head back before using Ice Beam. Sunset Shimmer managed to pull Tempest out of the way in time as the beam struck the floor, causing a flash-freeze. Sunset Shimmer could feel herself almost losing her balance with her legs slipping on the ice. She was still holding onto Tempest as well, making it harder.
"Shu!" Out came Shuppet, using her body weight to catch and hold Sunset Shimmer. She did this by headbutting Sunset Shimmer's back directly, preventing her from falling.
"T-Thanks, Shuppet!" She thanked the Puppet Pokemon before skating away with Warden Tempest. Cloyster would soon follow, initiating a chase. Sunset Shimmer used the ice floor as a means of quicker transportation as Closter had used Razor Shell, shooting out water-veiled spikes from its body.
Sunset Shimmer slid to the other side of the area, making a hard turn. Tempest eventually found her footing, taking the lead. She was now the one dragging Sunset Shimmer along, moving at a quicker pace.
"Uh, you're not gonna put me back in that room again, are you?!" Sunset questioned, looking up at Tempest.
"You're exempt from that for the meantime!" Tempest turned back to her as the spikes from Razor Shell struck the floor, shattering some of the ice while also flying through the windows. "But...why didn't that Great Ball work?" She wondered, speaking to herself.
"It's because Cloyster already has a trainer!" Sunset Shimmer answered before ducking from an incoming spike. "Poke Balls don't work on Pokemon that have Pokemon Trainers. They're ineffective!"
"So that's the reason, eh?" Tempest slid to the side as Cloyster used Tackle, approaching at high speeds. The Bivalve Pokemon had just missed Sunset Shimmer, Warden Tempest Shadow and Shuppet, crashing into the walls and leaving a dent with its shape.
"I know this because I'm not the Sunset Shimmer you know! I'm her counterpart!" Sunset Shimmer, while knowing that the counterpart argument wouldn't be as effective, went for it anyway. She surprised Tempest with her Poke Ball knowledge, so she had to try.
"Counterpart?"
"I look like her, but I'm not her! I know now's not the best time but I really shouldn't be here! Since my counterparts been here a few times from what I've learned, you've gotta at least know that something's up!"
"Cloy!" Cloyster then changed attacks, using Rock Blast. Rocks had been shot out, flying through the air and casting shadows over their targets. Tempest Shadow and Sunset Shimmer soon noticed the rocks as they were as large as the windows.
"Shuppet!" That was when Shuppet took action. The Puppet Pokemon flew out of Sunset Shimmer's shirt, using Shadow Sneak. She had manipulated her shadow, moving it towards Sunset and Tempest's shadows. She struggled a bit due to her size, but Shuppet managed to pull Tempest and Sunset away from the rocks by manipulating their shadows.
The rocks hit the ground, trembling the area. Shuppet wasn't done yet. There was one thing left to do. Lose Cloyster. After pulling them away, Shuppet ascended, facing Cloyster. "Shu!"
"Shuppet!" A startled Sunset Shimmer gasped, worried that Shuppet could be in danger.
"Shup...pet!" But instead, Shuppet knew what she was doing as she had used another move she had in hiding. Flash. Her body let out a bright flashing expanse light that went in Cloyster's general direction. The hallway was lit up with light flying through the windows, making the centre a temporary light show.
"Cloyster!" Cloyster cried out as it had been blinded by this Flash. That's what they needed to get some distance as Cloyster, in the midst of its temporary blindness, was flying aimlessly. And with this lack of control, the Bivalve Pokemon fell through one of the destroyed windows, entering another room.
"Wow! Great job, Shuppet!" Sunset Shimmer congratulated Shuppet as they managed to get away from Cloyster for now.
"Shu-Shuppet!" Shuppet enjoyed the compliment, having her face blush red a bit.
"In here!" Tempest found a good place to be in for the moment. Her office. They had arrived as Tempest quickly allowed Sunset and Shuppet indoors. She then turned around, hoping that Cloyster hadn't caught up. Thankfully, it hadn't. It was still befuddled from Shuppet's Flash. Seeing that the coast was clear, she had entered her office, closing and shutting the door afterwards.
With that, there was no time for them to breathe. Sunset Shimmer took a deep breath, sitting down as she was already tired. It was nightfall and that didn't help at all. "So tired...Need sleep."
"Okay..." Tempest took a deep breath. "As long as we don't draw any attention to this room, we should be fine. But...Dartrix and Noctowl." She then thought about her partners and how they were still out there, frozen. "But what's this I hear about a counterpart? Are you serious?"
"100% serious. I didn't think anyone would believe me, but I've got your attention. I'm not your Sunset Shimmer. Don't you think it's pretty weird how I've been acting? I mean, I don't know she acted, but I had to guess it was pretty bad, right?"
"Hmm..." Tempest was judgemental. Greatly judgemental. She turned to face Sunset Shimmer, walking towards her while she was still on the floor. Sunset Shimmer felt just as intimidated by Tempest as she was with Cloyster. "How can I be so sure you're a counterpart? I've had my fair share of tricks."
"I...Don't have much to go off of." Sunset Shimmer was spread thin. Her proof was lacking greatly.
"But...your actions are certainly new. You're usually so brash and hot-headed. You and I have been at odds for months now each time you came back here. Not so much now."
"Right?! Cause I'd never do that! I mean...I am a teensy-bit hot-headed." She pinched her fingers, giggling. "But I can't imagine it's more than my counterpart."
"And you saved me back there...From being frozen by the ice." Tempest thought for a moment. She was putting this into deep thought instead of dismissing it instantly. The possibility of Sunset Shimmer having a counterpart didn't seem too impossible. "Did you tell them the judge this at the courtroom? About you having a counterpart?"
"I was a bit too late on that...Plus, there was no one to defend me. It was just me cause it all happened so fast..."
"No one." Tempest nodded before, once again, taking a deep breath. She then went over to her table, going straight for the phone. "When you got out did you have anywhere else to go? Besides wherever you ad your delinquent friends hang around at?"
"Um...I've got my apartment. But there's also Canterlot High."
"You go to Canterlot High? Since when?" Tempest raised an eyebrow before getting ready to utilize the phone, most likely choosing to call someone for Sunset Shimmer.
"My counterpart doesn't but I do. You can ask Principal Celestia. I'm sure she would've been there for me if I didn't get sent to court so instantly."
"Principal Celestia...Canterlot High." Tempest nodded before dialling the number for Canterlot High. Sunset Shimmer held her breath as this could be a major relief. But while anticipating this ray of hope, the sound of ice being sprouted could be heard. Cloyster had recovered from Flash.
Tempest made sure to hold the phone close to her while keeping the volume down. Sunset Shimmer got up, standing next to Tempest as she made light footsteps. The telephone rang before reaching the school.
"Good evening. This is Canterlot High School. This is Raven Inkwell How may I help you?" The voice of this world's counterpart to Raven Inkwell, Celestia's secretary in both worlds, spoke to Tempest Shadow.
"Good. It's not too late to call you. This is Warden Tempest Shadow from the City's Juvenile Detention Centre. I'm calling to ask about someone who might be your student from what she's said. Sunset Shimmer."
"Oh yes, Sunset Shimmer. She is a student here."
"Okay..." Tempest muttered, facing Sunset Shimmer. "So if she is a student then, how long has she been in Canterlot High."
"Oh, she's been here quite a while. Been through multiple Fall Formals for years now."
"Years you say..." Tempest's beliefs were starting to alter with her eyes visibly widening. She then pulled the phone away from her head before speaking to herself. "She was never a student anywhere in any school...And she's certainly been in here even before summer or any holiday..." Warden Tempest brought the phone back to her head before asking the question that truly mattered. "Alright then. Do you know anything about counterparts?"
"Do we? Oh, we've had our experience. Just one, however. Twilight Sparkle, our newest student, had a counterpart that showed up here once. It wasn't until just 3 months ago that our world's Twilight Sparkle started attending. So, yes, we do know about them. Is there another?"
"Yes..." Tempest then looked at Sunset once more, leaning towards the possibility of the counterpart. "Right here with me. Is Principal Celestia there?"
"Oh, that's right. Sunset Shimmer was sent to juvie. Sorry, but the Principal has gone home at this time. But she was doing what she could to help Sunset Shimmer for a retrial. Should I call you back tomorrow to have you talk to her?"
"No need. I think I can take things from here. A retrial won't be needed." Tempest smiled and so did Sunset Shimmer. This meant only one thing. Proof of her innocence had increased greatly. "Goodnight. And thank you." Afterwards, she put the telephone away before gazing at the hopeful Sunset. "Well...looks like you're an innocent counterpart, aren't you?"
"S-So I'm free? Ye-" Sunset Shimmer was about to jump up with absolute excitement before Tempest rushed over, grabbing and putting her hand over Sunset Shimmer's mouth. This was because Cloyster was nearby. Sunset's words had been muffled as Cloyster kept using Ice Beam to freeze everything it saw.
"Cloy!" Its cry could be heard outside as it had frozen the door to Tempest's room. But it did not enter. Instead, it continued moving, freezing the rest of the centre along the way. The trio stayed silent. And once Cloyster was far away enough, Tempest released her hold.
"It's gone for now. Again."
"Hoh...Yes!" Sunset Shimmer pumped her fists. "I knew it would work out somehow!"
"Shu! Shuppet!"
"I'm terribly sorry. The fact that you were brought in here because of the fault of your counterpart is dismal. And my centre is to blame as well. Please, accept my apology." Tempest apologized for this massive mishap.
"I-It's fine. It's not too farfetched to think something like this would happen. One of the downsides to having a counterpart, huh?
"If you were truly her, I would've put you through a horrible regime. Little sleep, unfavourable food choices and body-limiting exercises." Tempest then put on a devious smirk, making Sunset Shimmer gulp as she had then grabbed her shoulder. "I would've made it special for you."
"Uhh..."
"But that won't be the case anymore." She joked, having a laugh. "At least not for you. You should be out of this place as soon as possible. Away from the Cloyster. I can try and drive you away and-"
"Without helping everyone else?" Sunset interrupted, thinking about the others. "And your Pokemon too?"
"As much as I want to help them, there isn't much I can do. And I doubt you can do much either. Not without any further help." She grabbed Sunset Shimmer by the shoulders, looking her deep in the eyes. "There has to be a better approach to all of this."
"I've got a good approach." Sunset had a solution that she hoped would pan out. "We can still stop Cloyster while being here. But we need to be clever about it. Shuppet. This is where you shine."
"Shuppet!"
Out in the big city. Nightfall.
Meanwhile, things were being sorted out in the city as well. Ash had just defeated the group Magneton and Weezing before heading for the police station. Upon arriving there, Ash had witnessed the result of multiple scenarios that had happened.
Some officers were asleep because of Adagio and Vivace's singing. But he also saw how there was a massive array of webs everywhere, made by Ariados. Ash followed the trail of destruction with Dragonite and Pikachu before coming across some familiar faces.
Sunset's Pokemon, the Dazzlings and the mother Vivace along with the Ariados in question. Vivace had managed to free herself before freeing her daughters and Sunset's Pokemon. "Oh! You guys are here?!" Ash cried out.
"Your majesty!" Vivace gasped before bowing her head, showing respect to Ash. The moment she bowed her head, an incoming web from Ariados had missed completely. "Mind the scene. But a lot has happened."
"Ariados!" Ariados lunged at them, having Poison Jab within its legs, ready to stab right through them all.
"Brai...Xen!" Braixen came along, using Fire Spin. She aimed her stick carefully, going straight for Ariados' underbelly. Out of her stick, a spiral of flames came out, hitting Ariados' underbelly.
"A-Ariados!" Ariados' eyes expanded as it was a clear-cut super-effective hit. And to top things off, along came Talonflame, using Aerial Ace to strike Ariados right after Fire Spin had struck it, pushing it higher into the air. Talonflame finished things off with a swift Aerial Ace.
"Talon!"
"Dos!" And that was the finishing blow. Ariados had fainted from that combination of attacks, dropping to the floor afterwards. "Ariados..."
"There. That takes care of that issue." Vivace said. "Just a few more exist. It's wonderful that you are here, your excellence. We could use the support."
"Did something happen?" Ash asked.
"A lot happened. We were trying to get Sunset Shimmer's Pokemon back and get her out of juvie...but then everything kinda went wrong." Aria shrugged as the Aipom on her back was still there, waving at Ash.
"Aipom!"
"So you're trying to help Sunset Shimmer too, huh? Not sure if this was the best way to do it." Ash chuckled. "But I've dealt with the problems outside. Looks like you've done the same here."
"But there's still more of them." Aria walked over. "I think there's a Loudred and Graveler maybe and a Crawdaunt? Not sure where they are right now. But since we've got Sunset's Pokemon, we were thinking of heading to juvie right now. Just hoping that our van hasn't been messed up."
"There's more Pokemon. And one of them's gone after Sunset's counterpart..." Ash turned his head to the south.
"I'm sorry, did you say counterpart?" Adagio's interest had been peaked as she and her sisters leaned in.
"Yeah. It's kind of a mess. The Sunset that comes from Equestria gt blamed for what this world's Sunset does. That's kinda how all of this spiralled out of control." Ash explained it in the simplest way yet without having to speak for too long.
"That explains it..." The Dazzlings now understood why this was happening and how it all made sense as they nodded together.
"Speaking of which...I gotta get to her and see she and Pyroar are okay. You guys are gonna head for juvie right?" Ash was ready to depart and return to the forest.
"We just said so. But you don't have to worry. We'll bust her out without even needing to overboard." A confident Aria shrugged before shifting her eyes to the side. "Maybe. Probably not. This has all gone overboard anyway."
"Your majesty. I recommend bringing in the counterpart if that is the case." Vivace raised her finger. "That way, most of this can simmer down."
"I'm working on that." Ash nodded before looking ahead, lowering his hat. Vivace bringing up that suggestion matched well with the chat Ash and Sunset Shimmer had earlier. "There's just something I gotta do first."
Dragonite took flight with Lucario also climbing on with Ash. Pikachu stayed close to his best buddy as they had flown through one of the broken parts of the building. As for the sirens, next was juvie. They rushed to their van, hoping that it was still in one piece or that any of the Magneton hadn't ruined it.
A forest near a small town. Nightfall.
Speaking of Sunset Shimmer, she was still passed out, lying near a tree with Ash's jacket and a campfire keeping her warm. Normally, Pyroar would be keeping her warm, but Pyroar was occupied at the moment. And with the current noise happening around this area, they had woken Sunset Shimmer up, granting her the sight of her Pyroar going up against two of the escaped Pokemon.
Mainly Crawdaunt and Graveler.
"Pyroar...?" Sunset Shimmer groaned.
"Pyroar!" Pyroar roared as she had used Incinerate, only for it to be overpowered by Crawdaunt's Bubble Beam. The bubbles obliterated Incinerate, soon bombarding Pyroar with an array of bubbles. "P-Py!"
"Graveler!" Graveler went next, using Rollout. The Rock Pokemon rolled to the side, performing a drift before boosting ahead. Graveler had then crashed into Pyroar from the side, staggering the Royal Pokemon.
"R-Roar!" Pyroar cried out as she had visible scratches and tatter on her. She had been defending Sunset Shimmer vigorously the moment these Pokemon had arrived.
"Ah! Pyroar!" Sunset Shimmer stood up, gasping at her partner being injured.
"Py!" But Pyroar immediately roared, telling her to stay back. Sunset Shimmer froze in place as Pyroar didn't want her trainer to be harmed. She wanted to deal with these opposing Pokemon to prove that she can protect her trainer. "Pyroar!" Pyroar still had some fight left in her, using Noble Roar.
By using Noble Roar, she managed to weaken Graveler and Crawdaunt's attacks, causing them to move back a bit. Afterwards, Pyroar lunged, using another one of her moves that she had just revealed to Sunset Shimmer. Dark Pulse. A flow of darkness flew out of her mouth, hitting the ground near Crawdaunt and Graveler. Both Pokemon had been struck by this pitch-black explosion that Dark Pulse had emanated.
However, while Graveler had been pushed back, Crawdaunt was not. it resisted its own secondary typing, jumping out of the black smoke and appearing before the Royal Pokemon. "Crawdaunt!"
"Py?!"
"Craw!" Crawdaunt had then used its pincers to grab Pyroar by her neck before forcing the Fire-Normal-Type to the ground with a hard slam.
"Pyroar, no!"
"P-Py...!"
"You let go of her!" Sunset SHimmer chose to approach either way. Crawdaunt had Pyroar pinned to the ground, keeping its claws there. Its claws started glowing blue, preparing to use Bubble Beam. But amidst that, Sunset Shimmer had put her hands on Crawdaunt, trying to get it off her partner. "Get off!" She smashed his fist repeatedly on Crawdaunt's head as hard as she could, biting and pushing at it.
"P-Pyroar...!" Pyroar growled, noticing how hard Sunset Shimmer was trying. Pyroar wanted to try harder too. But it was hard to do so with this current position. Crawdaunt was getting annoyed with Sunset Shimmer's bashing and constant screaming in its face.
"I said get off right-" But she was cut off the moment Crawdaunt used one of its claws to grab Sunset SHimmer, putting an end to her pointless attacks. "Gh!"
"Craw-Craw-Craw." Crawdaunt cackled after gripping onto Sunset Shimmer. The Rogue Pokemon was now wondering what to do with her. Pyroar bellowed before trying to use Incinerate. But her mouth was being blocked off thanks to the pincers of the Water-Dark-Type. There weren't many escape options and Graveler was still able to continue, walking over.
"Graveler."
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" From the skies above, Pikachu had appeared, using Iron Tail upon appearing. He performed an overhead slam that struck Graveler, dealing super-effective damage. Graveler's eyes bulged before being slammed right into the ground.
"Craw?!"
"Lucario! Force Palm!"
"Rrrr!" Lucario was up next. He had descended, performing a landing right next to the fainted Graveler. Crawdaunt's attention was drawn to these newcomers.
"Ash!" cried Sunset Shimmer.
"Lu...Ca!" Lucario approached Crawdaunt, having his paws glow. Crawdaunt immediately tossed Sunset Shimmer aside, just to have one of its claws be free. Out of that free claw, Bubble Beam had been used as Sunset Shimmer rolled on the ground from this rude toss.
Lucario, with pure aggression, barged his way through the bubbles, allowing them to hit him. "Crawdaunt?!" Crawdaunt gasped as the Aura Pokemon then stopped right in front of it. Afterwards, Lucario released the energy of Force Palm, causing it to expand and connect with Crawdaunt. The Rogue Pokemon was eclipsed by an orange light before being slingshotted away. Its grip on Pyroar had been let go.
Crawdaunt tumbled on the ground, receiving the same treatment that it gave to Sunset Shimmer. With all that tumbling, it eventually came to an end with Crawdaunt hitting the trees.
Sunset Shimmer, feeling overwhelmed, witnessed Crawdaunt faint on the spot. That Force Palm hit just right. These two escaped Pokemon had been dealt with promptly. Rushing to her side was Pyroar, hoping to see if her trainer was doing okay. Crawdaunt's grips can be fairly violent.
"Sunset! Pyroar! You two okay?!" Ash asked.
"W-We're fine." Sunset Shimmer held her head before standing up.
"That's great. I should get those Pokemon back to the station now. Pyroar, you did good defending Sunset."
"Py. Pyroar."
"Return Lucario." Lucario had done his job. Ash recalled the Aura Pokemon to rest up. "Looks like you recovered from fainting, Sunset. Glad to see you're up. But uh...things are kind of a mess right now. Mostly at the city."
"Well...thanks for saving us from those two." Sunset sighed, holding Ash's jacket out to him. "Here's your jacket back too."
"Thanks." Ash easily slid back into his jacket It was shocking that he wasn't extremely chilly at the moment. But that was definitely the result and reward of going on such a long journey over the years. He then noticed Sunset Shimmer and Pyroar on the verge of walking away. "Sunset, wait."
"I know what you're gonna say, Ash. And I don't wanna hear it." She faced away from him. "I'm glad you came to my rescue but...I'm still ticked off at you."
"About what I said?"
"About what you're planning to do." She then faced Ash before closing her eyes. "You were there for me in the beginning and now you're practically doing the opposite of it. I can't believe you...I had a lot of faith in you, Ash!"
"And I've got faith in you too, Sunset," Ash spoke with a stern face, causing her to gasp. "You're way better than what you others let you on. You're not a bad person at all, are you?"
"You don't know that! You weren't in juvie!" Once again, her emotions were getting the better of her. "I don't even think you're my friend now after all of this!"
"I am still your friend!" Ash pounded his chest, raising his voice. Saying that he wouldn't be her friend is what got Ash going.
"Then what kind of friend would try and rat me out, huh?!" Sunset Shimmer lashed out once more, storming towards Ash and grabbing him by the shirt. "Isn't it about looking out for each other?! Why?" Flowing with emotions, Sunset Shimmer started tearing up, whimpering in the process. "What gives?!"
"Sunset! Nothing's gonna change!" His shout echoed across the forest as Sunset Shimmer stayed silent. "I wanna see my friends do well. I wanna see them happy and smile more than anything. I hate seeing them down and beat up! But...if I act that something isn't wrong, then how can I be a good friend to anyone? You're both my friends from start to finish. And it's gonna be hard on me to see you go elsewhere, okay?"
"..."
"Sunset. A true friend won't turn your back on you. I know it may look like it, but it's stop others from being hurt. Hurt in ways they don't deserve. If you go back to juvie, then it's gonna suck sure. Not everything's gonna be good from the beginning. But we've gotta work hard to make sure that it turns good. We can't always wait for a chance. We make it ourselves. I don't know what'll happen next, but I know you've got the guts to make it through. I believe in you no matter what."
"How can you be so sure...?" She spoke, stammering on her words before letting go of Ash.
"I can't confirm it. Only you can make it happen. But I can still believe in you. And I can still know that I'd never turn my back on you no matter what. I'm not gonna send you there. That's not why I came here. I only came here to let you know that we'll still have that friendship we made together. No matter how young it is."
"Y-You..." Sunset couldn't help but continue crying. Her vulnerable side continued to show as she tried hiding it. And she did so by putting her arm over her eyes. "You...You...Will you still be my friend after it?"
"I will. I'd never leave my friends behind. And you're no different." Comforting her, Ash then hugged the weeping Sunset Shimmer, allowing her to cry in his arms. At this point, with everything said to her, Sunset Shimmer could do nothing but accept it. She thought that Ash would never be her friend again. But he had proved to her otherwise.
Sunset wailed with Ash patting her in the back. Pyroar, Pikachu and Dragonite came closer to comfort her as well. "Y-You're a pretty awesome friend, Ash..."
"And you're awesome too, Sunset."
They had made peace. Ash had shown his unwavering friendship. Whether they are princesses from two worlds, Spirit of Chaos, dragons, changelings and more, Ash's steadfast heart shined through. All of this pandemonium was starting to come to a close at last.
The Human World. Out in the big city. Juvenile Detention Centre. Nightfall.
Things have slightly settled down now. Many of the rogue and escaped Pokemon had been defeated and sent to their Poke Balls. And Ash and Sunset Shimmer's Human Counterpart had made peace. Now, there was only one issue left. Cloyster.
The centre was an ice location at this point. Cloyster had a majority of it frozen. Many guards were trapped in ice prisons while the inmates were freezing, eventually being placed in ice prisons due to the increasing chill.
The only three left to stop Cloyster were Sunset Shimmer whose innocence has recently been proven, Warden Tempest Shadow and Shuppet.
"Cloyster..." The Bivalve Pokemon observed its surroundings, seeing that almost everyone had been frozen. It continued to float with no clear direction so far. Peeking from the corner were the remaining trio. It started with Shuppet from below, then Sunset in the middle and Tempest at the top.
"How are you not cold, exactly?" Tempest noticed how Sunset Shimmer was resisting the cold. Realistically, she should be in an ice prison much like the other inmates.
"I live with Fire-Type Pokemon. This is nothing." She shrugged. Sunset Shimmer, while still feeling chilly, could resist the cold thanks to her owning primarily Fire-Type Pokemon. The perks of being a Gym Leader. "Okay. Cloyster's a durable Pokemon. It can take some hits. Not even a bomb can break through its harder than diamond shell. But its endurance is normal. Tiring it out is what we need to do."
"Tire it out, you say? Simple enough. All I need to do is free Noctowl and Dartrix."
"Shuppet. That's where you come in. Do what you can to tire Cloyster out. Some of that resentment you've absorbed should be strong enough to let you outlast it. Use that same trick you did with Shadow Sneak."
"Shu-Shu." Shuppet was on it. The plan had been initiated as Shuppet phased through the walls, hiding for the meantime. And even when hiding in the walls, she had used Shadow Sneak, manipulating the shadows of Sunset Shimmer and Warden Tempest Shadow.
They had been moved across the hallway as they themselves didn't need to do much moving. All that was needed was Shuppet's actions. Shuppet brought them near Cloyster, alerting the Bivalve Pokemon as Cloyster swivelled to see the few remaining people within the centre. "Cloy? Cloyster!" Cloyster took action upon seeing them. It had used Ice Beam, aiming to freeze them in one go.
But that didn't happen as Shuppet had separated them both, causing the beam of ice to completely miss. Afterwards, Shuppet slid the two of them away from the area, entering somewhere else. This prompted Cloyster to chase them down.
Cloyster dashed through the chilling air, moving around the corner. It had then spotted the shadows of Sunset and Tempest, focusing on them while increasing its speed with Tackle. Cloyster bashed its body through the doors, entering a new room. However, Sunset Shimmer and Tempest Shadow were not seen. Only their shadows as they had moved once Cloyster entered this room.
"Cloyster!" Cloyster continued its pursuit, following mainly the shadows. Following the shadows led it to crash through another door, only to find more shadows. Cloyster frowned before carefully following the movements of the shadows as carefully as it could.
But even with precision, Cloyster was unable to find its targets It kept moving across rooms and hallways, flying upstairs, trying to pursue the shadows. But it wasn't getting anywhere. Cloyster hovered over many of the frozen victims that it had affected, zooming rapidly while the victims still had their pupils move. They could just barely see.
Shuppet was cleverly staying inside of the walls, not exposing herself at all. Not even for a second. This approach of stealth allowed Shuppet to trick Cloyster, making it chase shadows that were always further from it. Cloyster was starting to get irritated chasing the shadows down.
It had chased them through different floors for minutes on end, making zero progress. And with this constant pursuit, Cloyster was feeling some fatigue as its movements were noticeable slower. "Cloy...Cloy..."
"Worked like a charm!" Sunset Shimmer pumped her fists, looking through a window and seeing Cloyster's fatigue. "Great job stretching our shadows, Shuppet."
"Shuppet." Shuppet giggled. It was revealed that Shuppet was merely extending the shadows of Sunset and Tempest, making them seem closer than they were, giving Cloyster the illusion that it would eventually catch up. But in reality, it had been entering rooms and areas that the two of them had already passed.
"Now! Use Flash!" Sunset Shimmer pointed at the Bivalve Pokemon, striking while it was exhausted and low on energy.
"Shuppet!" Shuppet came flying out of the walls, revealing herself to Cloyster. Cloyster groaned before raising its head, noticing the Puppet Pokemon approaching. Shuppet flashed her body, generating a vibrant light that had punished Cloyster's eyes.
"C-Cloy!" Cloyster was not only fatigued but was also blinded for a while, leaving it more vulnerable than before.
"Shadow Sneak!"
"Shuppet!" Shuppet then descended into her own shadow, moving at high speeds. The Ghost-Type had then struck Cloyster's shadow while also appearing from behind, knocking the Water-Ice-Type in the back. "Shu!"
"Cloy!" Cloyster went flying from that. It had crashed into a wall before bouncing off of it. The Bivalve Pokemon then rolled, unable to see where it was going thanks to Flash.
"Pet! Shu...!" Shuppet felt successful at the moment. Prior to all of this, she had caused a fire that backfired on her greatly, failing to grab a single key. Now, she was going up against the Pokemon that had frozen almost everyone in the centre and winning. Ad with this sense of success that she was gaining, her body flashed, but via the usage of the move Flash.
Shuppet bellowed as her body gave off an electrical glow. She had lit the room up from this expanse of Infinity Energy flowing from her as sparks of lightning showed themselves.
"W-What's happening to it?!" Tempest gasped.
"Shuppet's learned a new move! And it looks like an Electric-Type one!" Sunset Shimmer noticed. "Okay, Shuppet! Go!"
"Shu...!" The Electric-Type move in question that Shuppet had learned was Shock Wave. She then unleashed the dormant electricity, releasing multiple beams of electricity from all directions. Similar to how Cloyster uses Razor Shell. And speaking of Cloyster it had been hit by the various beams of electricity, feeling those volts punish it.
"Cloyster!" And with those volts plus some damage one previously by Dartrix, Noctowl and now recently by Shuppet, that was just enough to seal the deal. The volts dissipated as it was a super-effective hit. Cloyster had fainted. "Cloyster..."
"Shuppet..."
"She did it! We did it!" Sunset Shimmer exclaimed as she and Tempest gave each other a high-five to celebrate their unified victory. They were ecstatic about this as the final problem had come to an end. Shuppet cheered too, flying around with joy.
After it was all over, Tempest rushed over to deal with Cloyster before it could deal any more trouble when it wakes up. The best way to hold a Pokemon as durable as this would be tricky, no doubt. But Shuppet was there to help. The Puppet Pokemon manipulated Cloyster's shadow with Shadow Sneak, dragging the Bivalve Pokemon.
Sunset Shimmer was just glad that it was over. Her freedom was guaranteed due to her proven innocence and the entire centre was saved from being completely ice. It was still chilly either way.
"Hoh...I'm tired." But after all of that, Sunset Shimmer felt like sleeping. She deserved it more than anyone right now.
"Rest in my room." Tempest patted her on the back She wouldn't sleep in any of the cels since she wasn't a criminal at all. Tempest guided Sunset to her room as the Fire-Type Gym Leader made a prolonged room. "You'll be out of here tomorrow morning."
The next day.
Morning had come. And everything had calmed down. The city, which had recently been attacked was undergoing some repairs, especially the police station.
And during the aftermath of this, the Human Counterpart of Sunset Shimmer, after listening to what Ash had said to her last night, decided to make her choice. She at first greatly ignored the possibility of her coming upfront with her actions. But hearing and witnessing the events caused by her made Sunset Shimmer's choice involve taking responsibility.
But since she was so nervous to do so since this would be a first for her, she had Ash help through it Bringing her here to the Juvenile Detention Centre were the sirens in their van. The van had stopped in front of the centre with Sunset Shimmer trembling.
"You'd better get out there and fess up. We wasted a lot of time just to try and free your counterpart." Adagio turned to Sunset. She was visibly annoyed Sunset Shimmer looked down, crossing her legs.
"Come now, Adagio. It was a moment of weakness." Vivace said. You did something similar, didn't you? A few times, I remember."
"Gh!" Adagio flinched, knowing that her mother was right. "I-I guess so..."
"Tch. I said I was sorry, okay?" Sunset Shimmer scoffed, muttering under her breath.
"Whatever happens next, don't let it get to you too much, okay?" Ash reassured as Vivace opened the door. Speaking of Sunset Shimmer, her counterpart was now getting ready to leave juvie and return home.
She had retrieved her clothes, looking fresh and new as ever. Sunset stepped out in the field, feeling the golden glow of the sun rays beam down on her. They were satisfying indeed. She took it all in, stretching her arms. Absolute freedom. Despite her only being in juvie for one day, it was bliss.
"Ah...Much better." She said before noticing the van. But right after noticing it, some familiar faces showed themselves. Ash and the Dazzlings had shown up here. "Huh? Ash?! You three?!"
"Hey!" Ash and Pikachu raised their arms, waving. "You're looking great right now!"
"Pikachu!"
"Guess her innocence was cleared," said Sonata to her sisters. "Looks like we're not gonna cause a jailbreak after all, huh? Bahaha!" As she chuckled, Aria soon placed her hand over Sonata's mouth as Warden Tempest Shadow was standing nearby, having her two Pokemon beside her. "Oh."
And finally, showing herself to the Warden and even her counterpart was the Human world's Sunset Shimmer. She originally hid behind Ash to conceal herself, but she had soon stepped forward, no longer hiding. Tempest Shadow's eyes expanded as she was now seeing double. She knew that the counterpart theory was real ever since the phone call but now it was definitive.
The sirens weren't too surprised to see counterparts since Empress Twilight was their first exposure to otherworld counterparts. But to the people living here, it was a big deal. And the moment she showed herself, an unexpected encounter had come.
Both Sunset Shimmers stood feet away from each other, gazing at one another. The atmosphere stayed still for their encounter. Soon, both of them garnered different reactions. Equestria Sunset Shimmer had an expression that she felt yesterday. Something that Shuppet had soaked up.
Resentment. Absolute resentment towards her Human Counterpart. And the Human Sunset Shimmer was downright shocked and speechless upon seeing her counterpart. But also felt some sort of guilt for putting her in that position.
"You..." Equestrian Sunset growled, closing her eyes before suddenly storming towards her counterpart. "You!"
"Sunset, wait!" Tempest gasped, knowing what was coming next. Equestria Sunset Shimmer then bolted in her direction, immediately gripping her counterparts torso out of anger. But before she could continue holding her much longer, Tempest managed to hold her back, preventing further physical action.
"You! This is all your fault!" She furiously pointed at her Human Counterpart. "You made me take all the blame and put me in there!"
"I..." Human Sunset Shimmer uttered, unable to finish her sentence.
"I can't believe you!" Human Sunset showed impressive strength, almost breaking from Tempest's hold. Her reach had grown as she had almost grabbed her counterpart by the shirt once more.
"Calm down!" Tempest shouted.
"This should've been expected..." Vivace observed. "I can imagine anyone in her predicament would react the same if they ever came across their counterpart."
"Yeah..." Ash could agree on that. Although, he hasn't come across his counterpart as of yet. So he thinks. For all he knows, he might've met his counterpart already.
"Look. I'm...sorry, okay?"
"You're not sorry!" Sunset Shimmer bellowed. "I bet you're only here cause you got caught, huh?!" One thing they both shared in common aside from their hot-headed personalities were their overflowing emotions.
"That's not true!" Human Sunset was getting riled up as well. "I came here to make things right, okay?! I brought myself in!"
"Wait...You?" Warden Tempest Shadow was thrown back by this. This was news to her ears. "You brought yourself in? What is with this week and these surprises?"
"I had some advice from a friend, okay..?" She grumbled, referring to Ash while shifting her eyes at him. "And I kinda mean it. Sorry for putting you in this mess. Wouldn't have been like this if I didn't run away but..." Human Sunset Shimmer placed her hands in her jacket, feeling some guilty while still showing her stubborn side and holding back some of her words. "I was scared. And I now know it's not gonna get any better if I keep running."
"Hmmrgh..." Equestrian Sunset Shimmer grumbled, rubbing her arm. She wasn't sure how to take this. Never before has she shown such disdain for someone. Funnily enough, the one individual she hated the most turned out to be herself. And the fact that Human Sunset only felt some guilt rubbed her the wrong way. But Equestrian Sunset had to accept the apology either way. She could also somewhat understand her counterpart. "I guess. I'd be scared too...Having a moment of weakness like that. You are me, after all."
"Yeah." Human Sunset shrugged. "My bad for all the trouble I caused. But I know one thing...I'd never go around wearing that lame jacket." Just then, she grinned, taking the opportunity to mock her counterpart.
"L-Lame?!" Equestrian Sunset pulled back as she was insulted by herself. Despite the heartful comment she had made, her Human Counterpart, at the end of the day, was still a delinquent. Not much kindness radiates from her as she chuckled. Equestrian Sunset didn't have a clever response at all, crossing her arms and turning her head. "W-Whatever...and I guess I accept your apology."
"Alright. I'm ready." Human Sunset then became serious once more, facing Warden Tempest. "I'll be heading back to juvie now. I know that's what I'm getting after what happened at the mall."
"Hm." Tempest touched her chin, still perplexed by this new side of her most popular inmate. Being friends with Ash does show some changes. And Tempest witnessed these changes via an upfront Sunset. "How about I offer you...an ultimatum?"
"Huh?"
"Wait. Didn't the judge say three years for juvie on the news? What's the ultimatum for this?" Aria asked. An ultimatum for a three years sentence sounded a bit impossible to her and her sisters.
"The judge has no power here. I do. And I can give you a chance, Sunset." Tempest snapped her fingers. "You'll get only 5 months this time. But. Community Service is what I'm looking at for you and some probation and parole here and there."
"S-Seriously?!" She stammered, feeling almost weak in her knees. "You mean..."
"Actions such as that can get your time reduced. But before all of this, I didn't even consider giving you that possibility. Mainly inmates here have left early due to their hard work. And with how things are now, I'm hoping you can do the same and grant your absolute freedom. Will you take it?"
"Oh...Heck yeah I will!" She bellowed with excitement, pumping her fists into the air. At the same time, Tempest skilfully tossed some hands cuffs, restraining Sunset Shimmer's hands. "Eh?"
"But, some punishment for pinning the blame on your counterpart is needed first before any of that could begin." Tempest adjusted her hat. "And I see that Poke Ball. You won't be having your Pokemon with you for a while, understood?"
"Hmmrgh...Yeah." She muttered before having her Poke Ball taken away from her. Sunset Shimmer would have her chance to reduce her sentence while also learning new things along the way. She would do it without Pyroar constantly by her side, but it would be a start.
Tempest then led Human Sunset to the centre before waving farewell at the others. "Other Sunset. Take care, alright?" Tempest said. "Perhaps soon, we can meet each other randomly."
"Right. Thank you, Warden Tempest." Equestrian Sunset and Warden Tempest had formed a new friendship after last night. It was young and could grow depending on if they would meet again. Speaking of friendship, Sunset made one more friend in the centre.
And that was Shuppet.
"Shuppet!" The Puppet Pokemon stuck around, appearing from the shadow of Sunset Shimmer and floating around her. Shuppet had grown a liking to her greatly." Shu! Shuppet!"
"Shuppet. Good to see you're still around." Sunset held the Puppet Pokemon in her palm. "It's great that you stuck around for me from beginning to end."
"Shuppet!"
"Say!" Then an idea sprung in her head. Since Shuppet was attached to her, much like how a random Aipom from the police station was attached to Sonata, Sunset had one question in mind. "Would you like to come with me?" A request for Shuppet to be one of the newest Pokemon to join her team. "We can-"
"Shu!" Cutting her off, Shuppet immediately accepted. It's why she showed up in the first place as she gave a loving face tackle to Sunset Shimmer.
"Speaking of which...here's the rest of your Pokemon back, Sunset" Ash held all of Sunset Shimmer's Poke Balls, holding each of her Pokemon. "Feels good to be back?"
"Oh. It does." Sunset promptly grabbed the Poke Balls as Shuppet landed on her shoulder to rest. "I hope I didn't worry the rest of my friends. It's still gonna be weird knowing my counterpart's uh...not so great. But I'll get used to it. Right now...I just wanna head home."
"Hop in. A quick ride will-" Vivace was ready to suggest the van for a means of quick transport.
"Nope! Ash! You take her! Use Dragonite, okay?!" But Adagio had enough delays. She wanted to find her species already.
"Uh..." The Alola Champion paused for a bit.
"What? Not thrilled to see me back?" Sunset Shimmer smirked at Adagio. Adagio's eye twitched as her relationship with Sunset was far worse than her counterpart.
"Hmph. I'm more surprised you didn't go insane from being in there. I thought you of all ponies- uh...people would do so." Adagio retorted, crossing her arms. "Just don't get yourself in anything worse than that next time?"
"Can't make any promises. The World of Pokemon is weird like that, huh?" Sunset Shimmer stuck her tongue out before laughing with Ash, Pikachu and Shuppet. Aipom started laughing to join in on the fun.
Afterwards, everyone had departed. This little event had come to an end with the sirens using the van to leave and Ash giving Sunset Shimmer a lift with Dragonite. But more events were bound to happen. Whether in this world, the parallel world, the Pokemon World or anywhere in general as the journey continues.
Kanto Region. Pallet Town. Professor Oak's Lab. Day.
Today at Oak's lab, Ash and Pikachu were quickly checking by to see how the Twilight Sparkle from the human world was doing as Professor Oak's assistant as always.
"So, Ash," Oak said to him. "The day for Holon is close now. So to prepare you, I managed to get in touch with one of the professors there. Professor Pine. She sent one of her best trainers here."
"Someone from the Holon Region is here?!" Ash gasped. Today just got more exciting for him. "Nice, nice, nice! Does this mean we're gonna get to see Holon Pokemon?!"
"Maybe." Oak wagged his finger as a knock on the door had been made. "Oh and here she is. Come in, Timia." Entering the lab was a representative from the Holon Region. However, at first, this new trainer couldn't be seen near the door, confusing Ash, Pikachu and Twilight.
"Huh?" They both wondered, aiming their heads around for Timia's location. But eventually, Timia showed herself, touching the shoulders of Ash and Twilight, causing a cold feeling to come through. "Ghhhh!"
"Hehe. Gotcha." She snickered with a cheeky sharp grin, revealing herself to the trainers. "How ya doing?"
"Good." Ash chuckled, rubbing the back of his hair while Twilight let out a relaxed sigh. "My name's Ash. And this is my partner, Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
"My name's Twilight." Twilight soon introduced herself as Spike and Zorua could be seen near her feet. But Zorua, as always was hiding while Spike was more upfront. "This is my pet Spike and my partner Zorua. Right down there."
"So you came from Holon, huh?! There's a bunch of stuff you gotta tell us!" Ash was eager to know about Holon as soon as possible. "I heard there were these super unique Pokemon called Delta Pokemon! I just found out about Alpha Pokemon a few days ago so I just gotta know what Delta Pokemon are!"
"Slow down, geez..." Timia, who talked with a slightly slower tone, was perplexed by Ash's rapid tone. "You're gonna head there soon anyway, but, might as well tell you. That's why I came here in the first place."
"Professor Pine and I had a chat prior to this," Oak spoke. "I won't spoil much for you, but all you need to know, aside from the Delta Pokemon, is that the Holon Region is the newest region in the world."
"Newest region in the world?" Both Ash and Twilight repeated.
"Mhm. Because of this, Holon features no Gym and no Pokémon League of its own. If anything, Equestria managed to have Gyms and Leagues of their own before Holon. It also has an underdeveloped state. So there are no formal cities and routes to see. Nothing but settlements. But I'm probably saying too much about it now, am I?"
"Kinda blows that my region doesn't have all that big stuff other regions do. But that's why I take part in other leagues." Timia shrugged. "I've wasted enough time. How about I show you what you want? I've got Delta Pokemon with me."
"You've got Delta Pokemon of your own?!" Ash shot up. His intrigue had skyrocketed.
"Sure, sure. But you just gotta show me that Equestria place too." Timia circled them. "Fair trade, don't ya think?"
"Sounds fair to me." Ash was all for it.
"Uh...You can go ahead. I'm still not ready to pass through that world anyway." Twilight would pass. "I've got some work here to do with Professor Oak anyway."
"Timia can also give you and your friends plane tickets to head to Holon. When you get there, remember to ring over some information about Delta Pokemon. And for Professor Cerise as well." Oak said to Ash.
"You got it, Professor Oak!"
"Pikachu!"
Equestria. Ponyville. Day.
"I'm almost bored out of my mind..." Rainbow Dash slammed her head on a table, sitting with her friends.
"Almost?" Twilight repeated.
"Yeah...I'm not super bored right now but I'm getting there. Done everything I could so far for the day. And it's still pretty early too. Maybe I'm getting burnt out..."
"No shame in getting burnt out, Rainbow Dash. Everypony hits a roadblock eventually," said Rarity. "But on the bright side, there is still a lot that our world and others have to offer."
"That's why I'm not totally bored. But I don't know what I want to do next right now. Do we go to Holon now or..." Rainbow Dash lingered on her next choice of action. Not knowing what to do next after doing so much day after day can truly burn someone out.
But as she sat there, slumped over, without even a whisper or a rustle, something that not even Audino's stupendous ears could sense, a chilling hand touched Rainbow Dash's neck, sending shivers down her spine. That was Timia once again as her fangs could be seen at the corner of Rainbow Dash's eyes.
"GAH!" Rainbow Dash gasped taking flying and causing a tiny Sonic Rainboom in the process. The rest of her friends had been started before noticing the pegasus ascend greatly. Timia cackled as she scared another individual successfully.
"Gotcha." She said, putting on a pose akin to that of the Ghost-Type Z Move when performed with the swooshing motion that a traditional house ghost would give off. "Sup, my little ponies."
"H-Hello..." Fluttershy's heart skipped a beat as she had almost fainted. Something about Timia showing up with no warning was alarming and dismal as well. "C-Can we help you?"
"Hey, guys." Ash slid into the scene, making all of their heart rates calm down. "This here's Timia. She's from the Holon Region."
"Pika-Pika."
"Oh. A representative from Holon? Nice timing." Twilight approved, making her wings give a thumbs-up pose.
"Don't scare me like that!" Rainbow Dash bellowed before descending. "And how come I couldn't hear you...?"
"Just my speciality." Just then, without warning once more, Timia reappeared behind Fluttershy and Audino both, becoming undetectable to the point where practically no one could seemingly predict her. Fluttershy jumped into Audino's arms as they both screamed. "Hehe. You should be on the lookout some more, ya know. Ya never know when my teeth could be the next one to catch you by surprise." She then showed her teeth to them, allowing the group to witness how unusually sharp it was.
"M-My...what sharp teeth you have." Rarity gulped. "Those wouldn't happen to be biological, would they?"
"You ain't a vampire, right...?!" Applejack's continuous fear of vampire-like entities was still present within her as she hid behind Sceptile.
"Don't worry about that." But Timia didn't give a clear answer as the sun made her teeth sparkle. "Anyway, I know why I'm here. And I bet you all are thinking the same thing, right?"
"Right. Coming here from Holon for us to know more about the region is an honour. Thank you, Timia." said Twilight.
"I didn't come here from Holon. It's my hometown, yeah, but I left it a while ago to go on my own journey. Professor Pine just wanted me to come here and help Plus, I'm not gonna teach you about the region. I've got some Delta Pokemon with me." Timia then held out a Poke Ball as their attention had been grabbed.
"You've got Delta Pokemon?!" The Mane 6 shouted with Timia dangling the Poke Ball in their faces.
"Wanna see it?" She asked as they all collectively nodded. Their interest in Pokemon has developed so much to the point where anything new about these Strange and Wonderful Creatures kills any boredom that they have. Especially for Rainbow Dash who was almost bored. "Here's a first look! Come out! Ekans!"
"Ekans!" Ekans was the first Pokemon to show itself. And once it had emerged, it appeared as an average Ekans. And a look of disappointment formed on Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Goh and Spike's faces.
"Yeah...Maybe it's a different shade of purple?" Pinkie Pie squinted, seeing no visible difference.
"Don't you remember? I found out from the book that Delta Pokemon may look like average Pokemon, but they have different types than the rest of their species." Twilight replied.
"Got that right. Here, let me give you guys an example. Ekans, Flamethrower."
"E...Kans!" Catching them off guard while they were leaning forward, Ekans had blasted their faces with Flamethrower. An attack that Ekans can never use. After witnessing this, Ash could only think of one thing.
"Oh! So it's like an Alpha Pokemon?" He theorized. Alpha Pokemon were in a similar boat. They could also use moves that their species couldn't.
"H-How...?" Pinkie Pie coughed out some smoke.
"That's because my Ekans is a Fire-Type." Timia revealed. "No longer a Poison-Type. How neat is that?"
"Super neat!" Ash got close to Timia, causing her to back up a bit with a grimacing face. She was mostly overwhelmed by Ash's exuberant energy that he showcased. "Man, first Alpha Pokemon and now Delta Pokemon? We're finding out about a whole new bunch of Pokemon classes, huh?"
"Alpha, Delta." Rarity waved her hoof. "All these names. What's next? Are you going to tell us that a Sigma and Omega Pokemon exist?" She then chuckled, cracking a joke before noticing Timia's single expression. Timia then stared at Rarity for a bit, causing the unicorn's brain to rapidly think. "Wait I was joking...THEY EXIST?!"
"Don't worry about that." Timia stuck her tongue out. "All you gotta know is that I've got more to show you. I'll give you the full six. All of you, get out here!" Timia would reveal her full team of Delta Pokemon. Once these 5 Pokemon emerged, they were revealed to be Mimikyu, Espeon, Umbreon, Dragonair and Cacturne.
"Espeon." Timia's Espeon cried out before meeting with Twilight's Espeon. "Esp."
"Dragonair! Dra!" Dragonair immediately took flight, spiralling in the air with joy. Mimikyu scampered next to Timia, jumping into her arms while glaring at Pikachu. Once they emerged, they took their Pokedexes out to see the typings of these familiar yet fresh Delta Pokemon. Soon, they found out the different types.
Delta Dragonair was discovered to be an Electric-Type. Mimikyu was now a Water Type as a Delta Pokemon. Cacturne ended up receiving the Fighting-Type now. Noticeably, both Umbreon and Espeon had Dual Types. Umbreon still kept its Dark Typing but also had Steel as its secondary typing. Espeon also kept its Psychic Typing but, much like Umbreon, had Steel too.
"Ooh...Both these Eeveelutions kept their main typing. But how come they're both Steel?" Pinkie Pie wondered.
"Oh yeah. That's a thing for some Pokemon. For some reason, Delta Pokemon get Steel as their second typing only. I think it has something to do with some electricity or something? I don't know. You guys can figure it out when you get there."
"Either way, that's amazing. It's like regional forms without their appearance changing that much." Fluttershy giggled.
"Oh...you don't know the half of it." Timia then whispered, speaking to herself. "You're gonna wanna do more than just look at them." Unexpectedly and without any noise, she had appeared on top of a tree, grabbing everyone's attention that singular tree. "There's a lot more to go through. Just you wait and see what my Delta Pokemon can do. It'll be a good taste before you all visit my home region."
"Oh, we'd love to see what they're capable of." Rarity nodded in approval. "How about...?"
"A Pokemon Battle?" Ash, Spike and Rainbow Dash simultaneously said, having the same idea.
"Hm. Those are always fun. But first, show me and my Pokemon a good time and we'll be ready for a battle, no doubt. I wanna know all about you ponies. Everything..." She then gave her signature grin before having her tone sound serious. Chills were sent down the spines of the ponies and even Goh. But Ash and Spike were unphased by this.
Timia then hopped out of the tree before strolling on over to them. Her Pokemon also lined up with her, moving in an orderly fashion. And by doing so, they also started radiating Infinity Energy from their bodies. Espeon and Umbreon still had their Psychic and Dark auras, but the energy of Steel was leaking out as well.
As for Mimikyu, despite now being a Water-Type via the status as a Delta Pokemon, some of those Ghost-Type and Fairy-Type qualities were still there. And with these qualities, the Delta Mimikyu had then allowed some of the Ghost and Fairy energy to flow out.
Once they flowed out, they had manipulated the skies of Ponyville all around. Everyone watched as everything had become dim thanks to the Ghost Infinity Energy of Mimikyu and a hint of Fairy Magic to make it all fully possible.
"How about I show you this?" Timia slid past Twilight and Pinkie Pie, startling them. "Hope this doesn't give you a fright, but my Pokemon just love making some stylish shows when they get introduced as Delta Pokemon." She cackled as the POkemon were doing something akin to a Pokemon Contest.
Naturally, a nearby Sweetie Belle opened the door, witnessing this new sight. This was something new to add for Pokemon Contest moves ideas. Although, some parts will be harder to pull off.
Ekans had used its flames, shooting a stream of fire into the air. The flames were made to be faint as they began blending in with some of the Psychic, Dark and Fairy auras that were seen flowing around as if they were wisps. These four elements met, forming a star-shaped symbol with the colours of red, black, purple and pink respectively.
This was a wondrous sight to behold for many of the residents and bystanders. But, much like Timia herself, a startling fright came along. And Dragonair gave that courtesy. Delta Dragonair utilized its Electric Typing well as it had caused its body to not only radiate a golden aura that followed it but also made sparks filled with Draconic energy fly out. The purplish tint of the Dragon Infinity Energy made the golden sparks of electricity glow brighter.
Afterwards, Dragonair entered the giant star of four elements with the electricity before Mimikyu added a bit of water into the mix. The water reacted to the electricity around Dragonair, resulting in the giant star combusting. Upon combusting, it took upon the shape of Dragonair's face while also mocking the sound of thunder.
Afterwards, the electricity faded with Timia suddenly appearing out of it, standing right next to Ash and the others. The dim skies had faded away, returning to their usual azure colours.
"That's just a teaser." Timia cackled, sitting on the nearby table. "How was it?"
"That was great!" Ash and the others applauded the performance. Even nearby ponies started applauding. It was too good to ignore after all.
"Heh. It sure was. And now, I kinda do feel like having a battle. Which one of you wants a test drive with one of my Pokemon. I don't got a lot of time here. Got places to be and all that." She then moved her finger, wondering which trainer would go up against her. "You." She then aimed at Applejack.
"M-Me?!" The farmer stammered. "Couldn't ya have chosen Ash, Spike or Rainbow Dash? They've got more Pokemon."
"Eh. I change my mind super quickly. Now come on cowgirl. I'll let you go up against three of my Pokemon." She disappeared and reappeared behind Applejack.
"I thought you wanted me to test one Pokemon?" She quickly turned around to face the Trainer from Holon.
"Changed my mind again." She put her hand on her mouth, cackling mischievously. Applejack couldn't find any more questions to give as her friends were eager to see a battle today. The earth pony shrugged as she accepted the challenge.
Saddle Lake.
The battle would take place at Saddle Lake. Always a good place to have a battle at. Applejack and Timia stood far from each other while the others sat on logs to watch.
"Not gonna waste any time." Timia held out her Poke Ball. "Let's make it three of my cute Pokemon against your Sceptile."
"Just Sceptile? Uh...if you say so." Applejack went along with it.
"Let's do this then. Go, Ekans!" Her first choice was Ekans. Fitting as Ekans was the first Delta Pokemon that they had seen.
"Ekans!"
"Sceptile, Get in there!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile dashed past Applejack, putting on a pose before standing upright. The leaves started blowing with the wind, falling gently from the sky. Once they touched the ground, the battle had begun immediately.
"Ekans! Use Wrap!" Timia commanded, hugging herself to mimic Wrap.
"Ekans!" The Delta Ekans rushed in, slithering at impressive speeds and blowing the leaves around it away.
"Sceptile! Thunder Punch!"
"Tile!" Sceptile held his arms out, covering them in electricity as they had then reached his hands. The Forest Pokemon had also rushed in, having just as impressive speed that his friends knew about. Sceptile threw the Thunder Punch, only for Ekans to slither out of the way. But Sceptile wasn't done. The Grass-Type immediately shifted his eyes, throwing another Thunder Punch in Ekans' way. Ekans contorted its body to evade once more, only for Sceptile to use his other hand, delivering a blow to Ekans' body at last. "Sceptile!"
"Kans!" Ekans felt a shocking hit that had knocked it away, making its body spiral a bit.
"Flamethrower!"
"Ekans!" But while being sent back, Ekans' opened mouth had sent a spiral of crimson flames in Sceptile's direction. Sceptile gasped as the flames reached in a short amount of time, connecting successfully. An explosion of fire went off, engulfing Sceptile in it as he flew out of the smoke.
"T-Tile!"
"Sceptile! Are you okay?!" Applejack gasped as the Forest Pokemon slid on the ground, recovering quickly. He was fine. But still took super-effective damage.
"Sceptile."
"Okay, Ekans! Iron Tail, right now!"
"Ekans!" Ekans, after recovering, covered its tail in iron, slithering through the leaves and moving in a zigzag position. Sceptile narrowed his eyes, preparing for the worst.
"Leaf Blade!"
"Scep!" Sceptile's bladed leaves had extended, gaining a glow as he put them out in a defensive position. His eyes followed Ekans' zigzag movements, trying to see which direction the Delta Ekans would strike from.
"Ek!" Ekans slithered underneath Sceptile, moving through his legs as it was going for a back attack. Sceptile acted accordingly, quickly swivelling. His blade met with Ekans' tail, causing a clash to occur. They went back and forth, clashing as if they were both using swords.
"Grab it, Sceptile!"
Eventually, Sceptile managed to gain the upper hand due to him having two Leaf Blades while Ekans was limited to its tail which was essentially its whole body. Gaining the advantage, Sceptile had then grabbed Ekans, holding it in place. "Scep!"
"Shouldn't have done that..." Timia smirked before Ekans gave Sceptile a surprise. Much like the performance from before, Ekans could do one thing the other Delta Pokemon could. Exude its Type. From its slimy body, ferocious flames were released due to now being a Fire-Type as they spread across Sceptile's arms.
"S-Sceptile!" Sceptile cried out as the flames kept spreading around his body. Applejack was aghast, however, Sceptile didn't show any signs of letting go.
"Sceptile, Dragon Pulse, quick!"
"Scep...Tile!" Despite being punished with flames, Sceptile powered through his own weakness before allowing the Draconic energy to flow through his body. He held onto Ekans still, taking the heat before unleashing a Dragon-shaped shockwave from his mouth. The blast of energy met with Ekans' entire body while Sceptile finally let go, allowing the Snake Pokemon t fly off.
Ekans' eyes whited out as it had them tumbled on the ground with sparks of Draconic energy flowing out of it. That attack did the trick as the Delta Ekans had fainted. "Ekans..."
"Sceptile." Sceptile gave a thumbs up in response as Timia returned Ekans, rubbing her face on the Poke Ball. She then swapped it out afterwards.
"Take a rest Ekans. And let Mimikyu do the rest!" Up next was her Mimikyu which was a Water-Type. A stronger advantage for Sceptile. And for once, Dragon Pulse would be effective instead of immune.
"Mimikyu!"
"Mimikyu! Shower that Sceptile with Dazzling Gleam!"
"Kyu!" Mimikyu sent out a storm of rainbows from its body, that came out instantly without any buildup.
"Sceptile! Frenzy Plant!"
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile retaliated against the array of rainbows with his own array. An array of plants. He slammed his hands to the ground, manipulating nature itself as massive and thick roots emerged, racing onwards and meeting with Dazzling Gleam. The roots and rainbows battled against each other with Sceptile's roots becoming victorious.
"Ooh. Dive, Mimikyu!"
"Mimi!" Mimikyu cried out before turning to the nearby lake. The Disguise Pokemon took a huge leap, evading the incoming roots as they had struck the ground instead, missing their target. Mimikyu had then dove into the lake, submerging itself.
"Hm!" Applejack's eye sparkled as she gained an idea. "Thunder Punch on that lake!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile then rushed in, having Thunder Punch ready for action. The approach was to cause a violent reaction with the water and some electricity. The usual. Sceptile with his swiftness reached there in seconds before jumping. He was going for a downwards strike.
"Now, Mimikyu!
"Mimi...Kyu!" MImikyu's voice echoed from within the lake as all of a sudden the water was starting to morph. The morphing water had sent a powerful stream upwards that was embedded with Ghost-Type energy. Sceptile gasped as the spectral stream hit him, interrupting Thunder Punch and sending him upwards. This was the result of Mimikyu also manipulating the Water Typing in its body.
"Tile!"
"How do ya like that?! My Delta Pokemon can do all sorts of things!" Timia cackled as some more water streams came out, relentlessly beating Sceptile while in the air. Sceptile was essentially receiving a painful shower at this point. While it was not very effective, the constant hits said otherwise. The final hit launched Sceptile away.
"Yeah, that's impressive alright!" Applejack grinned. "But you ain't the only one who can use the environment, ya hear?" Sceptile, Frenzy Plant!"
"Scep!" Sceptile opened his eyes before recovering himself. He then landed on a nearby tree, scaring away the Starly that were nearby it. After landing on that singular tree, Sceptile made roots fly out of it, moving in the same way Ekans did before. Zigzag positions.
But it didn't stop there. Sceptile hopped from tree to tree, using Frenzy Plant constantly. Since he was the Forest Pokemon, his species were naturally adept at utilizing the forest. And this was one instance of it as a larger array of roots could be seen approaching all directions.
"M-Mimi?!"
"Mimikyu, Hydro Pump!"
"Kyu!" Mimikyu tried using the one thing it could do to protect itself. A powerful blast of water had been used but it amounted to nothing as only one root had been destroyed. The rest were still approaching as they all crashed into Mimikyu at full force. "Mimi!"
"Sceptile." Sceptile then front flipped out of the acre of trees, sticking a fairly stylish landing as always. The barrage of roots had ended as it was a One-hit KO. Mimikyu had fainted.
"Mimikyu..."
"Nice! A One-hit KO!" Spike exclaimed as the others cheered.
"Wasn't that big of a deal. Since it was a Water-Type now, pretty easy to just use an extra-strong Grass-Type move on it." Applejack chuckled as Timia returned Mimikyu, petting the Poke Ball afterwards.
"You're extra-strong too, my little pony," said Timia. "Makes me wonder how strong the rest of your friends are."
"Sceptile. How are ya doing?"
"Scep." Sceptile was hanging in there. He could face off against Timia's final Pokemon albeit damaged. Timia's final Pokemon was ready for action as she held out the final Poke Ball, throwing it.
"Go, go, go! Dragonair!"
"Dragonair." Dragonair would be the last one. An Electric-Type in this instance. Unable to give super-effective hits but might have something else in store. But this also meant that its usual resistance to the four elements were gone except for Electric itself.
"What? None of those Dual Type Deltas?" Applejack asked.
"Nah. Didn't feel like it." Timia once again gave simple yet uneventful reasons for her decisions. She could've shown off what a Dual Type Delta Pokemon was capable of, but alas, that moment didn't come yet. "Anyway. Let's finish this, kay?"
"I hear ya! Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"
"Scep! Sceptile!" Sceptile had Leaf Blaed up and ready. Adding some extra muscle to it, the blade grew longer as the Forest Pokemon advanced.
"Too bad that Dragonair can already use some Electric moves without being Delta." Timia shrugged despite Sceptile approaching her partner. "Oh well! Extreme Speed!"
"Dra...Go!" By pulling its body back for a moment, Dragonair had then instantly moved, passing Sceptile and appearing as a blur. Sceptile gasped as the Delta Dragonair was already ahead of it in time. Dragonair then swivelled, swiftly hitting Sceptile's back.
"Tile!"
"Here's a move it could never use! Zap Cannon!"
"Nair!" Right after staggering the Forest Pokemon in the back, the Dragon Pokemon opened its mouth, throwing out a crackling orb of electricity that was point-blank. That point-blank hit to the back not only gave an electrical explosion to Sceptile, but it also paralyzed him. Zap Cannon was a move that always paralyzed after all.
"T-Tile...!"
"Sceptile, no!"
"Be lucky I didn't freeze ya! Speaking of which...Ice Beam!"
"Drago...!" Dragonair was ready to continue the assault, holding its breath in as a chilling aura started emerging.
"Sceptile, use your vines! Quick!"
"Tile!" Sceptile slid on the ground before holding his arm out. Out of his arms, hidden vines were shot ut. Those vines had then wrapped around Dragonair's body, interrupting Ice Beam.
"Oh?" Timia's eyes were slightly expanded.
"Gotcha! Give 'em a good spin!"
"Sceptile!" After wrapping its vines around the Dragon Pokemon, Sceptile took the time to spin it around as if he was using a lasso. He even did it in the air.
"D-Dra! Dragonair!"
"Now, slam Dragonair!"
"Tile!" Sceptile then slammed Dragonair onto the ground after spinning it around for a bit. He made sure it was a hard slam as a dust cloud emerged from the collision. Sceptile twitched due to paralysis.
"That's a good attack approach. But how's this?! Dragon Rush!"
"Dra!" Dragonite had used its slim body to move through the vines, appearing with a giant purplish-blue aura around it. The Dragon Pokemon then crashed into Sceptile once. Sceptile's eyes expanded after the direct hit. Dragonair then delivered a rush of ferocious attacks with just its tail, pummelling Sceptile in the process. "Drago! Dragonair!"
"S-Sceptile!"
"Hang in there, Sceptile! Use Frenzy Plant if you can!"
"S-Scep...!" Sceptile kept taking these consecutive hits, trying to find the right moment to use Frenzy Plant.
"Extreme Speed!"
"Nair! Dra!" Dragonair eventually ended Dragon Rush before switching to a faster move. It had slithered back before moving at lightning speeds at the already staggered and paralyzed Sceptile.
"Your tail! Now!"
"Tile!" But that's when Sceptile made his opening. He had used his tail, stabbing it into the ground. By doing so, he manipulated Frenzy Plant in that way. Right as Dragonair tackled him with Extreme Speed, the Dragon Pokemon was met with a surprise from nature as the thick roots from Frenzy Plant had shown themselves.
"Dra?!" Dragonair's body had been wrapped by these roots, putting an end to Extreme Speed. However, it was about to slither away from it.
"You ain't slithering your way out of this one! Dragon Pulse!"
"Scep...Scep!" Sceptile had taken a harsh beating. And thanks to this, Overgrow had been activated, giving him superior strength. Mainly for his Grass-Type moves, which helped since Frenzy Plant was holding Dragonair down.
"Oh wait!" Timia then realized that Dragonair could not escape from these massive roots, making the next hit a guaranteed one.
"TILE!" Sceptile delivered the dragon-shaped shockwave, resulting in the roots being blown away by the force of power emitted by the Forest Pokemon. A draconic outburst consumed Dragonair, the roots and the area around it, making the leaves rustle in the process Applejack's hat was almost blown away by this as other Flying-Type Pokemon flew off due to pressure.
Afterwards, the roots had crumbled with the smoke clearing. And out of the smoke, a fainted Dragonair had been seen. That attack did the trick. "Dragonair..."
All three Delta Pokemon had been defeated. And it was done by just Sceptile which was an impressive feat. Sceptile himself was drained as he sat down. "Yeehaw! Ya did it Sceptile!" Applejack ran over, hugging the Forest Pokemon.
"S-Sceptile." Sceptile panted, feeling proud of himself. Timia retrieved Dragonair to its Poke Ball, giving it a nice rub afterwards. All of those actions that she had down with her Poke Balls were a sign of thanks for doing a good job.
"That was some good battling there. I think that's your first time going up against multiple Pokemon with just one, right?" said Ash to Applejack.
"Sure is. And Sceptile was strong through it all."
"Tile."
"That was fun while it lasted. Great job giving me that battle, my little pony." Timia walked over. "Did you like what you saw with my Delta Pokemon?"
"Yup. I'm pretty satisfied. What about ya'll?" Applejack asked her friends. They got to see Delta Pokemon exude their new typings through their bodies and even a performance from earlier. There was some satisfaction and yet they wanted to see more.
"Glad I could show you. But when you get to Holon, you're in for a surprise. You're gonna see more than just Pokemon with different types..." She cackled.
"More than different types? What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked before seeing Timia near a lake. Her reappearances were frantic as always.
"You'll see. For now, I've got places to be. But it was a blast showing up here. When you get to Holon, tell Professor Pine I said Hi."
"Any chance we can meet again?" Ash questioned.
"Maybe. Who knows?" She snickered before suddenly vanishing once the sun cast a shadow on where she once sat. "Just kidding. I'm gonna stay around at Oak's lab for a bit since the old guy wants to know more too."
"So do we!" Goh stepped forward, only to miss Timia as she was elsewhere. "How does she keep doing that?"
"You can do that when you get to the region. For now, peace out." Timia gave her farewell as everyone had left. And this time, she didn't leave with a random disappearance, she could be seen walking away. Although, it was still a mystery how she was able to do that. Truly a mysterious Trainer, Timia was.
Much like the mystery of Delta Pokemon. Visting Holon felt close now as there were other Delta Pokemon out there that hold types to see. And according to Timia, some of them go beyond just having different typings. Cryptic. But such was the nature of the Pokemon World and the Trainers that discover them as the journey continues.
Today at the Pokemon School, lessons were ongoing of different varieties for different Trainer occupations. Such as the class of a famous Ghost-Type Gym Leader.
"Plusle! Minun! Discharge!" Currently, Sweetie Belle was practising with her Pokemon for future Pokemon Contests. She and her friends were at the Pokemon School. Tutoring her was a Pokemon Contest expert and one of the teachers here. Fantina. Gym Leader of Sinnoh.
Plusle and Minun, always in sync, generated a mixture of yellow and blue electricity from their bodies in the form of flares. "Good stuff you two!"
"Those Electric-Type moves have gotten better. And brighter..." Apple Bloom squinted her eyes from the extreme brightness that emitted from the two Cheering Pokemon. Last-minute preparations were being made before the eventual Pokemon Contest.
"Okay! Snack time." Afterwards, Sweetie Belle held up a box of Pokemon Food for them to feast on. Afterwards, the rest of her Pokemon had been sent out to eat. Once they emerged, they immediately circled Sweetie Belle, overwhelming her a bit, eager to eat. The only one not doing so was Meowstic, who stayed away.
"Great work today, Sweetie Belle." Fantina applauded. Fantina's class focuses on Pokemon Contests more than anything that just so happens to have a Ghost-Type theme. The only ponies not too interested in them were Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. Scootaloo enjoyed watching them and cheering her friend on but would most likely never partake in one. Apple Bloom was just there for the show.
"Thanks, Ms Fantina. I think I'm ready for the contest next week. I've got all of this to work on." She then revealed a notebook that was almost as big as her, placing it on the floor as it made a loud thud. "Right here."
"Oh?" Fantina kneeled, noticing the array of words in this notebook. "What's this for?"
"I've been watching a lot of my friends and their Pokemon Battles. And I've got some inspiration for Pokemon moves here and there. There were so many of them, I had to write them down." Sweetie Belle explained.
"Can you remember all of them? Or even pull them off, peut-être?"
"No need to worry. I stayed up all night remembering each trick that they pulled off. Even from our enemies. Like that one Gardevoir." She grinned while showing the bags underneath her eyes. "See? I do it a lot. Helps me get ahead of the curve sometimes.
"Oh, précieuse Sweetie Belle." Fantina sighed. "Your colossal love for Pokemon Contests is one to adore but your limits are not. Take it easy on yourself, s'il te plaît?"
"Okay. I'll try." She giggled. "But with all of this training, I want to do more. Is there something else you have for me, Ms Fantina?"
"Hmm..." Fantina thought for a moment, pondering what could be next. "You are moving too fast, Sweetie Belle. No shame in slowing down. There might be a lot you can pass by without a proper pace." She wagged her finger.
"I...guess so..." Sweetie Belle responded, nodding slowly.
"We could always head over and see what Ash is doing for inspiration." Scootaloo slid in with her recommendation being thrown in Sweetie Belle's direction.
"Yeah but...we've done that a lot." Sweetie Belle, while liking the idea, turned it down as it had been done before. Due to her friends and herself being huge fans of Ash, it would stand to reason that they have already seen a lot of Ash. Something fresh and exciting was on her mind.
"Ah. There is one thing that most Pokemon Coordinators look to!" That was when Fantina sprouted something. An idea at last. "Do you know about the Mythical Pokemon Phione?"
"Phione?" Her friends said in unison, leaning forward. To better demonstrate, Fantina pulled out her Rotomphone promptly. On the phone, she had searched for results that were focused on Phione and some image results came up.
"This Pokemon right here." She showed the image to them. The CMC then took out their Pokedexes immediately, aiming them at the image on the phone.
"Phione. The Sea Drifter Pokemon. A Pokémon that lives in warm seas. It inflates the flotation sac on its head to drift and search for food. It always returns to where it was born, no matter how far it may have drifted."
"Hmm...Kinda looks like Manaphy a bit doesn't it?" Apple Bloom observed, noticing the striking similarities between Phione and Manaphy. Although, Phione seemed to have slight differences and a slightly higher height advantage than Manaphy.
"The next thing to go for, my little ponies, is Phione Watching!" Now Fantina truly had their attention. "Right at Chocovine Town in the Sinnoh Region. A lot of Phione migrate to that town.
"What's Phione Watching?" asked Scootaloo.
"An old saying in Chocovine Town. 'Good luck smiles down on those who spot the Phione.' Not just for Pokemon Coordinators, but Trainers, Gym Leaders such as myself and more. Phione's blessings are plentiful."
"So we can get some of those blessings too!" Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at each other.
"Right on time too. There should be some Phione at Chocovine this time of year. Every year they swarm there. If there was ever a chance, now is the time to seize it and catch a glimpse of Phione."
"Will this help me a lot with my Pokemon Contests then?!"
"It's just a nice way of gaining some blessings that will stick with you, little Sweetie Belle. The rest is up to you. But, having Phione's blessings is never a bad idea, vous voyez."
"Then we have to go and see it!" Ecstatic, Sweetie Belle jumped, holding onto Fantina's dress and staring her in the face. Fantina was slightly overpowered and overwhelmed by this. "It's mostly Pokemon Coordinators, right?!"
"S-Si...But it was just a recommendation." Fantina chuckled, surprised at how ferociously determined Sweetie Belle was about this. But that just showed her absolute love for Pokemon Contests as a whole. "A trip to Chocovine is due then."
"Yes! Phione, here we come!" Pumping her hoof into the air, Sweetie Belle along with her friends were raring to go. It was off to Chocovine Town in the Sinnoh Region.
Sinnoh Region. Chocovine Town. Afternoon.
Chocovine Town. A bustling port town located southeast of Snowpoint City. Known as 'The town of great people coming and going'. Fittingly, this place also had a Contest Hall, only adding to the Phione migrating. And just as Fantina said, the Phione Watching event was today.
Mainly due to the Phione objects that were littered everywhere. As a result, Phione-themed merchandise, such as dolls T-shirts, and candies, were spotted around this town in seemingly every spot. There was a Phione Cellphone strap, a Phione book cover, mask, jacket and so much more.
"Wow...You said the Phione just migrate to this town...I didn't think you meant that everyone loves Phione." Scootaloo watched in awe.
"Did I not say that? Oh well. Much like that recent Arceus Museum that was made, the people here adore Phione." Fantina explained as she quickly stopped walking the moment some of her fans showed up. She stopped to be shot by the cameras, posing with the CMC nervously grinning. "You won't find a single Pokemon here that is more popular than Phione. I suppose there are places in our world where there is a fan favourite Pokemon, droite?"
"If I had a town or city of my own, my go-to popular Pokemon would be..." Sweetie Belle was about to announce a Pokemon, only for her to flatline, unable to choose one since she has so many fan favourites. "Um...Not sure, really. What's a Pokemon everypony goes crazy for?"
"It's a tie between Pikachu, Gardevoir and sometimes Darkrai." Apple Bloom chimed on. All three of them are popular enough in Equestria, right?"
"I would've chosen Lucario but you guys have gotta great picks too." Scootaloo had her personal favourite. Ash's Lucario to be exact.
"Isn't there a place like that already?" said Sweetie Belle, referring to the Lucario Kingdom that could also be found in the Sinnoh Region as discovered by the 18 Realms and their doors.
"Now, my little ponies." Fantina turned to the three fillies. "Phione Watching only happens at night. Unless you're ready for that, your family and friends may be worried about you and-"
"Done! We'll tell them!" They already had their Xtransceivers out in the open. They were willing to stay here for the rest of the day until nightfall, just to see a certain species of Pokemon. Such is the determination of a Pokemon Trainer. Fantina couldn't help but chuckle, admiring the young confidence and will exuberating from this equine youth.
"Well, then! In the meantime, here are 80,000 Poke Dollars!" Revealing that she was carrying an overwhelming stack of currency, she held out some Poke Dollars for the ponies. "If you feel like buying something Phione related, go on ahead. Don't forget to buy food and drinks too."
"We won't forget! Thank you, Ms Fantina!" They each took the currency as Fantina had her own plans. She wanted to see Phione much like everyone else, but with how some of her fans were here, she wouldn't mind showing off as always.
As for the CMC, until nightfall comes, they could have a blast here as much as they want. A worthy field trip indeed. Immediately upon their venture through this town, they had pressed their faces on a glass container that held some ravishingly appealing food. Their faces then slid on the glass before finding something that looked better.
They ended up buying the food to fill their stomachs with joy along with their Pokemon. After that, they feasted, devouring the food without any signs of slowing down. But due to this rapid eating, they each felt sick with their Pokemon being there to comfort them.
Afterwards, they went off to spend their Pokedollars on something else. A Phione Rollercoaster. They greatly enjoyed themselves on this rollercoaster, only to feel sick once more as Apple Bloom had passed out from the overwhelming speed, only to wake up minutes later.
Then, they decided to take things easy for a bit, stopping by a spot where some people were watching a Pokemon Baccer match on TV. This caught the interest of the three fillies as this was their first time witnessing a new sport.
"What's that?" Scootaloo asked.
"Yeah. What's with all the kicking and spinning? "Apple Bloom squinted. Is this a Pokemon Battle?"
"This is Pokemon Baccer." A lady wearing a comically large Phione hat replied, pointing at the TV. It's a common sport here in our world. Only the 3rd most popular with the Pokemon Leagues being the most popular of them all, Pokemon Contests being the 2nd most popular."
"And right now, it's the Cianwood Greens against the Coronet Fighters!" A man who was clearly a massive fan of the sport shouted with excitement, wearing clothing of his personal favourite team, the Coronet Fighters. "Come on, Luxio, get it in there!"
The CMC had something else to look forward to eventually, showing how limitless the Pokemon World is with its constant activities with no end in sight.
Nightfall.
Eventually, nightfall had come. And at this time, everyone in the town stopped what they were doing to focus on one spot. The docks where most of the sea could be seen. That was where they would spot the Phione. They all gathered there or even went into their homes to look outside from the windows.
But the best way to see the Phione was via a submarine. The CMC and Fantina chose to take the submarine, along with a few others. Once inside, the submarine had submerged, entering under the sea.
"Let's get a gander at these Phione. How many do you think will be there?" Scootaloo asked.
"It's a Mythical Pokemon so...maybe just 4 or 5?" Sweetie Belle answered, focusing on how rare Mythical Pokemon are considered to be. "Or maybe there's way more than we think."
"Enjoy the ride, girls," said Fantina. "You're in for a surprise. I'd like some blessings of myself, honestly." As the submarine moved, many Water-Type Pokemon could be seen. Starting with Lumineon and soon Finneon. The two species parted ways, allowing for the submarine to continue without any obstacles. Then, moving at a quicker pace was Mantine.
It zoomed forward before jumping over the submarine, entering the surface for a bit and dragging rain droplets with it before re-entering the sea. A Dewgong had brushed the submarine, making faces at the people and ponies inside. Scootaloo did the same to try and play along as the Dewgong then later left. An ancient view was given in the form of a singular Relicanth. One of the oldest Pokemon. And the girls found out about this when using their Pokedexes.
"Relicanth. The Longevity Pokemon. Relicanth is a Pokémon species that existed for a hundred million years without ever changing its form. This Pokémon’s body withstands the enormous water pressure of the ocean depths. Its body is covered in tough scales that are like craggy rocks. This ancient Pokémon feeds on microscopic organisms with its toothless mouth. Thought to have gone extinct, Relicanth was given a name that is a variation of the name of the person who discovered it."
"Relicanth." And they found this out when Relicanth had also brushed on the submarine. By brushing on it, a horrible scraping sound much worse than nails on a chalkboard had been made, causing everyone to grimace as Apple Bloom dropped to the floor. The submarine also received a dent as Relicanth swam away.
Luvdisc swam by to ease this distress. Couples that were already in love had witnessed Luvdisc, overjoyed that their relationship would last forever after seeing this love-bringing Pokemon. There was even the sight of a Pokemon Battle to bring further entertainment. A battle between Starmine and Floatzel to be exact as they were both using Swift with a massive array of stars being thrown, lighting up the sea. Yes, it was a worthwhile submarine ride to see all of this. But the main attraction was about to show itself at last.
A blue sparkle in the distance could be seen, grabbing everyone's attention. They gasped as two more sparkles had been seen moving out from the first one. Then more showed up. "Oh! Is this it?!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, prancing on the spot.
And it certainly was it. Phione had shown up. Ten of them in total. They spiralled in the direction of the submarine for everyone to catch a glimpse. Not only did they get to see Water-Type Pokemon and the interactions that came with them, but the Mythical Pokemon Phione had been found. Quite a few as well.
"Phione!" The CMC gasped as one Phione went up to the window, staring them in the eyes.
"Phi! Phione!" Phione giggled before swimming away. More of them passed by the windows as everyone's blessings and what they wished for were bound to come their way.
"Oh! There are so many things I wanna wish for!" Sweetie Belle then pulled out a surprisingly overwhelming that threw her friends back. It went above and beyond just the notebook and it was a shocker that it fits in her saddlebag. "Okay uh...I want an extra-large Pokemon Ribbon for the next contest I win. Just so that I can have the only one in existence. A special Poke Ball that no one else knows about or even has and a jacuzzi! Way better luck at the Pokemon Contests and..."
"Oh, let me try!" Scootaloo raised her hoof while Sweetie Belle started listing everything off. "I want a massive collection of Pokemon and Rainbow Dash collectables from across both worlds! It's already super easy to find ones about Ash and I've got a bunch of them! And I want a gazillion Master Balls too! And better luck at the Pokemon League!"
"All I want is that rare apple that suddenly vanished so many years ago." Apple Bloom made a silly facing, her own wish. "Just to have that juicy feeling."
"Oh but most of all..." The CMC then focused on one unified wish. Something that they wanted more than anything as they said it at the same time. "Can you keep both worlds together forever?!" The wish that they all desired. A way to keep both their world and the Pokemon World connected so that they never leave. They then leaned forward, hoping Phione would give it to them. But all Phione did was giggle before swimming away, circling the rest of the submarine.
"I-Is that a yes...?" Scootaloo wondered.
"You never know." Fantina chuckled. There wasn't a clear answer. Phione never makes things easy for anyone to know if it had given them their blessings. It just acts playful and moves on. But, as they continued watching, something else of great interest had captured their eyes.
All of the Phione looked like their standard selves, yes. But one Phione stood out as seen by Sweetie Belle first. This one Phione had something glowing around and inside its body. It even looked transparent a bit. Soon, the ones managing the submarine noticed it as did everyone else. "Hey. What's up with that Phione?" Sweetie Belle asked as the submarine decided to move in close to that one glowing Phione.
Once close, they could get a better look, the CMC and even Fantina noticed what this glow was as they had witnessed a glowing orb within Phione that was giving this light. "Rift Energy?!" Apple Bloom shouted.
Indeed, this one Phione had Rift Energy apart of its body. Once closer, they saw that this Phione appeared to be slightly bigger than its fellow Phione. Not by much. The singular Phione then turned around, meeting with the submarine and everyone on it. Afterwards, the inside of its stomach had opened up, freaking everyone out at this eldritch sight. Speaking of eldritch, indescribable tendrils flew out of Phione's stomach, grabbing onto the submarine with a powerful grip.
"Phione..."
"W-What's happening?! What's going on?!" Scootaloo screeched as the submarine was shaking. Fantina quickly grabbed the three fillies, preventing them from falling over. Everyone on the submarine was starting to freak out, unsure of why this was happening.
And immediately after, the tendrils had pulled the submarine in, allowing them to enter Phione. Once it had gone inside, Phione's stomach had closed as if nothing had happened. The Rift-powered Phione then turned around, facing its kin. The other Phione were appalled. The Rift Phione then swam away, moving to deeper waters.
Inside of Phione.
"Gah!" Scootaloo gasped, opening her eyes after that unexpected rush. Everyone else felt everything calm down as if nothing crazy had occurred. "W-W-W-What just happened? What was that all about?! And where are we?"
"We seem to be inside of Phione," Fantina observed. They all found themselves within Phione. Something no one would ever expect. What's more than this, the appearance of it was bizarre. It was a labyrinth of all things. Or rather a sanctuary. Or a quadrant? It was hard to say considering how disconnected it all was.
Either way, a Phione would never harbour this, only something influenced by Rift Energy could. But it all didn't seem dangerous so far. They observed the area as they could also see floating orbs. And within these floating orbs, words were all of them.
Specifically, blessings that others had given. Apple Bloom noticed her blessings along with Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and soon everyone else. They also saw other blessings pass by that they had never heard about.
"What does this all mean, Ms Fantina?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Hm-hm. All of that écrasante Rift Energy has used one of Phione's purposes and turned it into this. Every blessing that we give Phione is found here. Maybe old blessings from the earlier days of our worlds crossing over. Or even before that." Fantina explained in the best way possible. "Phione must have pulled us in here for a reason. Mais quoi?"
Just then, the submarine came to a halt as the people managing it noticed how there was n water here. They decided to open the hatch, discovering that the air here was breathable. Clouds of dust fill the air, it tickled their eyes and lungs with every breath and obstructs their vision from the brightness. Only for a bit. A sense of relief takes over as they realize this world might be safe to venture into further.
"It's safe to come out!" The captain commandeering the submarine said to everyone through the speaker. Once gaining this knowledge, they all followed. Their curiosity had already been grabbed anyway.
Uncharted territory as far as the eye can see once they left the submarine, but safety still came first, it is a strange new world after all inside of a Phione. A pristine landscape awaits them and was theirs to explore and mainly looked at these orbs.
They couldn't help but marvel at this sight. It was as if getting swallowed up by that Rift Phione was a blessing in its own way to come and witness this wonder. But then, one of the orbs got closer. And the curiosity of one person expanded to the point where they wanted to touch it.
"Hm. I wonder..." He raised his hand, poking at one of the orbs. Specifically, an orb that had the wish of making a scientific breakthrough. After touching it, the orb had wobbled before shooting a bright wisp at the man. The wisp passe through his forehead, making him freeze all of a sudden. Afterwards, he regained his composure before spinning without his control.
With a spin, he then appeared in a different outfit. A scientific one. It was as if touching the orb rearranged a few things. "Woah! When did this happen?!" He gasped as everyone had noticed this sudden transformation. "
"What just happened?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I think it was from those orbs. That one said a scientific breakthrough and he touched. Then that happened." Scootaloo explained. "Does this mean...?"
"Oooh..." Others were curious as they started touching the orbs. Mainly the younger ones. Upon touching them, the blessings that many had made been transferred to them all. All of these wishes varied while some had slight similarities. They were surrounded by objects or being given new appearances as these collisions morphed the area too.
It was a certified spectacle as the CMC couldn't help but do the same, running to the nearest orbs they could find. But Fantina quickly grabbed them, holding them close. "Oh! Slow down, my little ponies!"
"Aw, but we wanna touch them!" They groaned.
"I know, I know. But let's be cautious here. The first thing on my mind is...how are we going to leave here?" Fantina was the only one truly focused on leaving. And she was right to focus on it as no clear exit could be seen in this massive collection of structures.
A venture to see the Phione ended in success but also transformed into this. The result of a Rift Phione swallowing them up and showing what lies within. Blessings of those that have just now come and those that have gone. Whether it was safe or dangerous was unknown. But that was for them to find out and for Phione to know as the journey continues.
Upon the venture of undergoing Phione Watching, many people had found themselves inside of a Phione that had been affected by Rift Energy. Within, a realm made up of a labyrinth, sanctuary and quadrant could be found.
And across this realm these strange orbs could b seen floating around, each of them holding wishes from other people of the past and people of today. This Rift Phione managed to hold them all. And upon touching them, the people suddenly found themselves being granted some of these wishes.
One person had touched an orb that had the wish of having a scientific breakthrough, gaining science clothes out of thin air. Others received different things due to which orbs they had touched.
But aside from that, only four individuals have yet to touch them. Mainly Fantina and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Fantina held the fillies back from touching it, wondering where an exit could be.
"Hm. No exit here." Fantina wondered as the three ponies stayed close to her. They have been walking through this strange realm within a Mythical Pokemon for minutes, finding no exit. "But it has to exist somewhere."
"Yeah um...while we're looking for that, do you think it's okay for us to touch those bubble things now?" Scootaloo asked.
"Hmmm..." Fantina pondered, gazing at everyone else here. Many of the people were confused about all of this but they had grown to like this. There was the wish of having every bottle cap in the world as it was given to someone else who seemingly never had this wish in mind. All wishes were frantic with many of the people sometimes coming close to finding their wishes.
Someone had touched the wish of having a massive collection of Tarot Cards. Before she knew it, Tarot Cards had overwhelmed her, causing a sea of them to appear. She then held up one of the Tarot Cards, taking some interest.
"Ooh." She gawked at a card that had the image of a Swanna on it. "These aren't too bad. Whoever wished for this has great taste!"
"Let me see." Someone else walked over, grabbing one of the Tarot Cards to take a gander. He ended up getting a Delphox Card, liking the way it looked. "Oh, there's are pretty good."
Fantina kept looking, seeing how everyone was starting to get used to these wishes. Even though most of them weren't theirs, it was clear that each wish had some value that others could appreciate. And this was made clearer with the current event. Everything seemed harmless with more and more people touching the orbs.
"It's safe," said Fantina. "But. We cannot stay here forever. There has to be something to free us, otherwise, we could be here for perhaps eternity. How terrifiant.." She shuddered.
"Uh...Maybe we should ask that! Look at that orb!" Apple Bloom's tone changed from neutral to absolutely stunned as her trembling hoof had pointed to the sky. Soon, everyone, not just her friends, but all those who had been pulled in here had looked to the sky as well
And right there, they could see the instant visage of the Rift Phione that had pulled them in. Phione had appeared before them, watching over the guests. Everyone held their breath, unsure of what this all meant. The CMC and Fantina have had their fair share of giants and realms as of recently. The 18 Realms was the biggest example of that.
And currently, Phione was sitting on one orb in particular. An orb that seemed to have a wish that was far greater than anyone else's. Everyone had seen the orb as that was what made them all so shocked. Not Phione's appearance but the wish within the orb.
The wish for Jirachi.
"Oh! That's ours!" Scootaloo pointed out. And it wasn't just her, everyone else saw this wish and the importance of it. In both worlds, they knew the importance of Jirachi more than anything. Jirachi was the sole Pokemon that could keep their universes connected forever, retaining brand new friendships made by humans, ponies, dragons, changelings, Pokemon and more.
For this reason, Jirachi had become the most important Pokemon to all of them. Even more so than Arceus. Even the Phione enjoyers saw Jirachi as the one to truly bring wishes that will be guaranteed more than anything. And upon seeing this orb and witnessing how the other ones could bring about blessings from Phione, there was only one thing on their mind.
They needed that orb.
"Phione..." Phione then vanished, seemingly hiding behind the orb. After doing so, the orb started moving, unlike the others that stayed perfectly still. It started distancing itself away from everyone.
"If we touch that, we could have everything stay together!" Sweetie Belle shouted as everyone heard her and had the same idea as her. "Come on!"
In perfect unity, everyone stopped what they were doing to touch that orb. The lady with the Tarot Cards quickly pushed them all away, ignoring them as they were certainly not important right now.
A man dressed up in what seemed to be a ninja outfit followed suit along with others who have had their appearances changed. Such as businessmen, movie stars, models and more. Wishes of all different categories. All the cards, bottle caps and other objects of great value were dropped as they all pursued the orb.
Fantina as well. At first cautious, she also saw the importance of that orb. Touching it might cause an effect that many have wanted on a universal scale. Immediately, the platforms and area started shifting in response to these movements.
"Chase it down, Staraptor!" A young cyclist girl shouted out, throwing her Poke Ball into the air. Out of it came the Predator Pokemon Staraptor. A speedy Pokemon indeed.
"Staraptor!"
"Oh! She's got the right idea!" Scootaloo gasped before holding out her Poke Ball. She knew of a Pokemon that was fast. Her Ponyta. "Ponyta, come out!"
"Ponyta!" Upon emerging, he had neighed as Scootaloo took a quick jump on the back of her partner.
"Follow that orb, Ponyta!" Scootaloo commanded as other trainers had sent out their Pokemon for the sole purpose of touching the orb. At least once. Sweetie Belle had sent out her Meowstic while Apple Bloom chose her Emolga, allowing her to carry the earth pony.
Soon, everyone was after the orb, wanting to touch it so desperately and put an end to this looming threat. Ponyta galloped, running across the platforms as Staraptor was the first Pokemon to move ahead of everyone else. The Normal-Flying-Type had used Sky Attack for extra speed, hoping to catch up with the orb.
And it did. Staraptor successfully caught up with, ready to make contact. Until the orb had suddenly morphed itself, using the flow of water to do so. This caused Staraptor to promptly miss once the orb morphed its upper section into something akin to an upside-down C. "Star?!" Staraptor gasped before crashing into one of the walls with Sky Attack.
"Oh! Staraptor! Are you okay?!" The cyclist was gasped as Staraptor removed its head from the wall. The orb got away, leaving Staraptor in the dust.
"Blast it out of the air with Sludge Bomb, Dragalge!" A punk girl shouted, commanding her Dragalge.
"Dragal!" The Poison-Water-Type spat ut devasting sludges that could explode upon contact. The goal was to put the orb to a halt so that it can be easier to approach. However, once the sludges approached, the orb transformed once more, making a hole within it. The sludges had then passed through the hole as another attack had missed. "Dra?"
"Oh, seriously?!" The punk girl groaned.
"Clearly, this requires a team effort!" The captain of the submarine that originally was pulled in by the Rift Phione had spoken, stepped forward with some of his helpers. "Lanturn! Thunderbolt!"
"Chinchou, Thundershock!"
"Lanturn!" A Lanturn and a school of Chimecho had focused their efforts onto the orb with a collection of lightning. The lightning travelled rapidly, having superior speed due to being a property of light itself. However, even that wasn't enough as the orb separated itself in half, causing Thunderbolt and Thundershock to miss. It was too good at adapting as it had reformed itself afterwards.
"That didn't work either?!" The captain pulled back. "Is there no way of catching it?"
"Should we even try?" Scootaloo asked. "If they couldn't hit it, I don't know any of my Pokemon that could catch that thing."
"Yeah. Can you, Emolga?" Apple Bloom looked at her partner.
"Emol." Emolga shook her head. Even she knew when she had a little chance. If other Pokemon who could also fly and shoot lightning like her failed, she wouldn't have much better luck anyway, let alone finding a way past its morphing capabilities.
"That little thing keeps changing depending on what comes its way." Fantina was the calmest in all of this. "But it can't evade everything forever. Nothing can." Just then, the alluring and soulful dancer of Sinnoh had a glint in her eyes along with a sly grin. She was ahead of the curve. "No shame in trying the same tricks as before."
"Same tricks?" The cyclist turned to her. "Uh, it can just do what it did before. Transform its body in weird ways to mess with us."
"Précisément!" Fantina snapped her fingers. She then spoke in a lower tone, witnessing the orb zip around, waiting for the Pokemon Trainers and their partners to make their next move, just for it to evade in the long run. "It will continue to do the same actions each time. Catching it off guard with something new in the middle of it is always a good choice. May all of you do what you think is best? My Pokemon and I will contribute! Étincelle, Drifblim! Gengar!"
"Drifblim!" Fantina had revealed two of her Pokemon to have them assist. Her Drifblim and Gengar.
"Gengar!"
"Well...you're a Gym Leader, so you might know what you're doing." The cyclist shrugged, going along with it. "Alright, Staraptor! Keep chasing that orb down! Go!"
"Sludge Bomb again, Dragalge!"
"Emolga! Try Acrobatics!"
"Emol!" They all continued their same patterns with Emolga chiming in. Staraptor dashed through the air with Sky Attack's aura enveloping its body. The orb had used the same tactic to allow Staraptor to miss. But this time, Staraptor wouldn't crash into anything. It would just turn around, charging back in with greater velocity.
At the same time, the bombs from Sludge Bomb were incoming. The orb made the holes, allowing the sludge to pass through as it had also hit Staraptor in the process. "Star!"
"Emolga!" Emolga moved from wall to wall with Acrobatics while still holding onto her Trainer. Afterwards, she had tossed Apple Bloom directly at the orb to try and have her touch it.
"Here I come!" She shouted with her hooves out. She was hoping to touch the orb with anything. Even the strand of her hair. But that failed once the orb had shrunk, making itself smaller than Apple Bloom herself, causing every part of her to miss. "Oh, come on!" She groaned before seeing her partner Emolga rush in.
Emolga tried using the speed of Acrobatics right after the orb finished avoiding Apple Bloom. Even small targets are not safe from hyper-fast flyers. Except for this one as it moved in the motion of a boomerang, flying past Emolga and evading her.
"Emol?" Emolga gasped, swivelling to see the orb swish away. It had then used the boomerang motion, allowing it to evade the Thunderbolt and Thundershock from Lanturn and Chinchou. Apple Bloom had been caught by Scootaloo's Ponyta, being saved from crashing.
"Ponyta! Let's put those legs to good use. Jump and use Fire Spin!" Scootaloo bellowed.
"Ponyta!" He would do just that. He galloped first, picking up some speed in the process. At the same time, the trainers had their Pokemon perform the same actions on the orb as ordered by Fantina.
The orb kept using the same tactics in the same pattern. However, the moment Ponyta arrived, he had used Fire Spin. And by doing so, the orb had a slightly delayed reaction. With this delayed reaction, it had swiftly transformed its body to squish, just barely evading the flames.
"Oh! Did you see that?!" Scootaloo gawked as Ponyta had then landed.
"I saw it alright! Fantina was on to something!" The captain shouted. They were soon understanding Fantina's approach and what she meant by using the same patterns. "Okay, Lanturn! Again!"
"More Sludge! More!" The punk girl roared with ferocity as the Pokemon continued using the same attacks with seemingly no end. And right after just barely evading Ponyta's flames, it struggled to find its footing, just managing to use the same patterns against the same attacks. But the orb was showing its weaknesses.
Speed was key in this. The timing was everything.
"Fire Spin again!" Ponyta had used the same flames again while jumping once more as the pressure on the orb was being put on it. And once a new attack pattern had been made for it to try and adapt to, that was when it was switched up once more.
"Now, little Sweetie Belle!" Fantina shouted.
"Right! This is gonna be the last time we use Wonder Room! No more of it at the Pokemon Contests...but let's make it count, Meowstic! Wonder Room!"
"Meowstic!" Meowstic purred before expelling Psychic power from her body. She had then summoned a massive box room made out of Psychic energy that had been placed around the orb. The orb had been placed within the box, right after it had evaded the recent pattern.
"Maintenant! Gengar, Drifblim!" Fantina shouted as Sweetie Belle suddenly felt something from below grab her hoof. And that something was Gengar.
"Drif!" Drifblim had then entered the room, approaching the orb. The Ghost-Flying-Type had used Hypnosis, shooting it in the orb's direction as the orb acted accordingly. However, Drifblim had promptly ended Hypnosis, not pulling it off. It was pointless against this sort of entity anyway.
The real approach was from Gengar. Once the orb was too focused on the incoming moves and Drifblim's Hypnosis, right from below the room and phasing through it was Gengar. The orb had a delay, reacting as quickly as it could, only for Gengar to dupe it out with Hypnosis as well.
"Gen...Gar!" Gengar cackled as it had then suddenly tossed Sweetie Belle at the orb. The orb's guard was down as Sweetie Belle was the one to touch the orb.
"Gotcha!" She cried out before making a direct collision with it. A success. Everyone cheered the moment they saw Sweetie Belle touch the orb. And with this contact, it looked like it would finally happen. The day that both worlds forever stay together.
However, right after the contact, the orb had expanded, bringing out an enveloping light. Sweetie Belle froze there as her eyes met with the light. Out of it, Phione could be seen emerging as Sweetie Belle ended up being pulled inside of the orb via the Rift Phione, vanishing right before the eyes of Gengar, Drifblim and everyone.
"Sweetie Belle?!" Her friends and Fantina promptly screamed with their faces becoming aghast. From how it seemed, Sweetie Belle was now inside the orb.
Inside the orb.
However, there was no danger. Upon entering it, Sweetie Belle was met with only two things. The white empty void and the Pokemon responsible for this. Phione. She tumbled on what seemed to be a surface, rolling for a bit.
"Ow..." She groaned before sitting up. Her mane was a mess as she quickly readjusted it to this natural shape. Then, the little unicorn took notice of her surroundings before spotting the Sea Drifter Pokemon. "Wait...D-Did I do it? Did the wish come through! Is everything gonna stay forever!"
"No." Phione shook her head, suddenly using telepathy to speak to Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle was startled, but only briefly. She's used to Telepathy from Pokemon. Especially the Legendaries and Mythicals.
"W-Wait...I-It didn't work..." Upon processing this response from Phione, Sweetie Belle stammered as her heart sank. All that hard work and teamwork amounted to nothing. "But...the other ones worked when they were touched...Why didn't this one work?"
"That's because..." Phione floated over. "The Rift won't let it happen. Even if it's here."
"W-What?" She looked up, having tears in her eyes once Phione was close to her. "What do you mean?"
"Every other wish can happen here, but the RIft made it so that yours wouldn't. It stopped anything that had Jirachi involved." Phione then held Sweetie Belle's face. "I know a lot of wishes since I'm a Phione. And all the ones that have Jirachi, the Rift has done something."
"S-So you're saying that..." Sweetie Belle paused, realizing what this could mean. "It's stopping us from finding Jirachi? But it promised that it would wait and see if Ash and everyone could find Jirachi before everything ends and...T-That cheater! It lied and cheated!"
Sweetie Belle was respectively furious about this. The Rift had been taking action this whole time. SInce it knew how important Jirachi was, it had done some meddling. One of which was preventing that one orb from granting a wish. Sweetie Belle then calmed down afterwards.
"What now...? Do we just g back to being lucky to find Jirachi?" She whimpered.
"No. That's not why I pulled you in here." Phione shook her head. "It put Rift Magic in me to lure anyone in that would go Phione Watching this year. But someone saved my friends and helped me have some strength left inside of me."
"Who?"
"Arceus."
9 months ago. Out in the seas of Sinnoh. Early morning.
During that certain day, the Rift had shown up. It boomed as always, hovering over the sea. Since it was far out in the sea, not many could see it except for Water-Type Pokemon. But the Rift was here for one reason. A reason concerning Jirachi. It appeared at an area where many Phione had gathered.
The Phione were swimming gracefully with joy before noticing the Rift appearing. The sound it made upon its entry alerted them all. "Phione? Phione." They uttered, unsure of what they were looking at.
"Phione aren't exactly on the same level as Jirachi when it comes to giving out their blessings via wishes. But they pose too much of a threat that could end this soon. Especially since much like their sister species Manaphy, they have amazing homing instincts. I cannot let Ash Ketchum use this to their advantage."
"Phione?"
"Much like what I did to Hoopa, I will prevent all chances of Jirachi's discovery." That was when the RIft took action upon the Phione. The Phione watched as the skies were being altered. Black clouds that were flowing with Rift energy could be seen, covering the beautiful sun with its bleakness.
The Phione all had the same idea. Fleeing. They knew this was not a good sign as they swam as fast they could to escape from whatever was coming their way. And straight from the clouds, a multitude of Rift rays came raining down in insurmountable numbers. Numbers that were so large they could fill most of the sea.
The sea had been given a blue and purple tint from the incoming Rift rays. The goal was to shut off any chances of them finding Jirachi. Much like Manaphy, their homing instincts were immaculate. Although, Manaphy did hold a bit of an edge despite only having homing instincts on the temple.
The Phione not only had homing instincts to their home to the point where no matter how far they go, they will return there but other Pokemon in case they want to find them.
The rays struck the Phione, hitting them directly and causing them to freeze in place for a moment. The Phione then staggered, feeling nothing much. But something had definitely happened to them as more rays kept coming. Try as they might, no matter how hard they swam, the rays would come crashing down.
One Phione, in particular, refused to allow this to happen any further. This one Phione had used Protect, shielding its kin from any more rays. However, the rays were then targeted at it, rapidly beating on the shield that Phione had made. It didn't last very long as the shield broke.
"Phi? Phione!" Phione gasped before crying out once a ray hit it. Multiple rays. Multiple Rift Rays started bombarding it as more kept coming for its species. It looked like all of them would inevitably be affected by the Rift, just to have little chances of Jirachi being found.
But that was when he arrived. From the heavens, came the Alpha Pokemon. The mighty creator of the Pokemon World and the one who is known as the Hallowed God.
Arceus.
The dark clouds had been overpowered by a bright golden light that shined through. That wasn't the sun. That was Arceus' light. The Rift felt Arceus approaching as the Alpha Pokemon galloped downwards, appearing before the Phione and the Rift with a radiant light as always.
"Arceus!" The Rift sounded somewhat nervous upon Arceus's arrival. Once the Alpha Pokemon showed up, he had immediately frozen time. Time stood still from Arceus' power as everything in existence was motionless. All except for Arceus and the Rift.
After stopping time, Arceus had used his unyielding power to obliterate the rays. Arceus had removed them from existence with his light, preventing them from hitting any more Phione. Just like that, the rays had vanished as Arceus stood before the Rift. The Phione that had been hit with the most rays then dropped to the sea.
"Arceus. Why are you here?"
"I know about your approach. You know well that Jirachi is the Be All End All in this. The promise that you made with Ash. One that can change the flow of not just this universe, but the other universe. And potentially more with how current events have played out. I cannot allow you to do so. Free Will is the right of every being in existence. You cannot take that away from them."
"Hoh. But you're the one who mainly never does anything with Free Will. You're Arceus. You're not allowed to partake in mortal actions."
"That was then. Times have changed. You should know as you have such an extensive history of this world. Thus, I will not allow you to take away the natural power of the Phione. For it is their amazing instincts that they can continue onwards and thrive."
"Fair enough. But...you're far too late, Arceus. The Rift Energy is still within them. Especially that one that had decided to take all of the hits directly. Their instincts have been morphed to my will. And you and I both know that you cannot use the full extent of your power on Earth. It is far too staggering. Then again, this might be the first time I might get to see what you can truly do."
"Never. No realm aside from my own can handle the true power I possess. I am merely an avatar sent by my true form. A form that is powerful enough for the likes of you. And not even you are allowed to see what I am truly holding deep within." Arceus then gave an intensive stare to the Rift, intimidating it. "Now begone."
"Tch. You're only here because of how important the Mythicals and Legendaries are to you...I'll leave. But, that one Phione with all the energy I put in it might be a cut above the rest, even for you." The Rift had the last say before deciding to fade away. It didn't want any trouble with Arceus, so the best option was to leave right now.
Arceus then turned to the sea, looking at all of the Phione. Other Water-Types had spotted Arceus in the process, especially the single Phione who had taken all of those rays. Arceus then descended with his hooves slightly touching the sea, making a wondrous ripple.
Arceus had then lifted the singular Phione, bringing it to his face. "P-Phi..." Phione groaned as its body was twitching. Taking that many Rift Energy was not safe. No one has been hit by that much either way.
"Little one. Using any more of my power could rip apart the planet. This Rift Magic within you is the largest so far. I can weaken it, but not remove all of it. Otherwise, there will be no world for Jirachi's wish to work on." Arceus then interacted with the Rift Energy within, only using a fraction of his power. Too much would spell a horrible demise for the Earth.
"Phione..." Phione sighed as it could feel parts of its body being restored. Some of the Rift Energy had left its body, making it healthier now. No longer did it twitch with Rift sparks continuously crackling. "Phi? Phione!"
"I will not only do so, but I will offer you something that no other Phione shall have. Though it is not my right to mettle in free will, I ask of you, Phione. Will you help keep the worlds intact?"
"Phione...Phione." Phione nodded in response. It was the least it could do for Arceus after he had saved its life. Then again, there wasn't much considering it was Arceus.
"Then, I shall grant you the power to find Jirachi. The Rift assumed all of you could do so, but there are limits that only I, your creator know. Which is why you, Phione, will have that innate ability to guide anyone to Jirachi. Beyond the seas. To the stars."
"Phione..." Phione couldn't help but be starstruck.
"I will leave you now. The rest of my power that I am containing will shatter everything. But there are those who will help rid the rest of the energy within you. I am counting on you, Phione." With that, Arceus had left.
The singular Phione had a mixture of two overpowering forces. The Rift Energy of the Rift and the Majestic Light of Arceus. One had affected its body in an eldritch way and the other an archaic way. But Phione knew what it had to do. The Pokemon that was of top priority more than anything.
Jirachi.
Present day. Within the orb.
"Because of Arceus, I can help you," said Phione. "I'm the only Phione that can find Jirachi."
"Say what..." Naturally, Sweetie Belle was blown back by this. So much had been revealed to her. The Rift and its actions on the other Phione, Arceus' divine intervention and the granting of guidance to Jirachi plus the existence of a Pokemon she has never heard before. Hoopa. She then recollected her thoughts. "Uh okay...um...I think I get it now! So are you sure you can help us?"
"Yes."
"Yes! That's great! So all you have to do is just go somewhere and you'll find Jirachi, right?"
"My limits are the sea. Space is another story. But Arceus gave me this power of guidance for a reason. So, I think it goes beyond just moving places. I don't know. I haven't tried it yet."
"Either way, it's so lucky for us! So-so lucky!" Sweetie Belle jumped for joy, holding Phione's arms. However, Phione was emotionless as seen by Sweetie Belle.
"Hm? What's wrong? Aren't you excited?"
"Sorry. But all of that Rift Energy was made to get rid of so much of what made my species unique that I can't feel much. I am happy though. You seem like a nice pony. And I wouldn't want to see your world lose good friends." Phione said with that blank expression.
"It's okay, Phione. Just like what Arceus said, there's something that can help get rid of the rest of you." She then held only one of Phione's arm. "Come with me. And you can help us find Jirachi. We'll also get that energy out of you with Aura."
"I'll stay with you. I'll help you towards Jirachi. But then, I will have to leave and head home with my friends." Phione nodded.
"I gotcha. Just have some faith in us, okay?" Sweetie Belle giggled as the orb of the wish had then faded away. And so did a lot. This realm was starting to fade away as well, most likely from the interaction that Sweetie Belle and Phione had. An exit could finally be seen as well as the unicorn and Sea Drifter Pokemon.
"Ooh..." Apple Bloom and Scootaloo gawked upon seeing their friend slowly descend with Phione.
"Everyone in the submarine. It looks like we're done here." The captain said as everyone made their way back to the submarine. With the exit available, they could leave. It was fun while it lasted. They got to experience some wishes and partake in a short but sweet chase. "Hang on. Kid. Are you...bringing Phione with you?" He pointed at the little unicorn.
"You bet. Phione's just going to help us with something. Come on!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, pulling Phione onwards. The captain just dismissed it as everyone couldn't help but look at this Mythical Pokemon. They would be staring at it for a while now.
"So uh...what happened in there?" Scootaloo asked.
"Girls. I've got a lot to tell you" Sweetie Belle giggled, knowing that she had a story to tell. One that she would certainly add flair to, just to make it longer.
A special Phione, blessed by Arceus with the power to help find the Legendary Pokemon Jirachi was now tagging along for a while. Arceus gave his assistance at last. And it was one that proved to be of potentially great help. But now, the knowledge of the Rift aiming to prevent Jirachi from being discovered was prevalent. Aside from that, it was a worthy Phione Watching event this year. Everyone was heading home and they would certainly remember this day as the journey continues.
"Ta-dah! Phione here's our ticket to Jirachi!" Recently, Sweetie Belle, while going Phione Watching with her friends and Fantina which had led to surprising events, brought back a Phione that could change everything.
"Oooh." Celestia and Luna nodded in awe. Mainly at Phione's appearance. They were also intrigued by how Phione, having the blessing of Arceus, could help find Jirachi. "So, Arceus will be giving us assistance from beyond. But scarcely," said Luna.
"It is said that Arceus guides others from time to time." Celestia turned to her little sister. "I'm sure this is one of those instances."
"Yeah. Good thing we went Phione Watching. I have Ms Fantina here to thank for that." The little unicorn looked at her contest mentor Fantina. "All we need to do is have Ash use Aura and Phione's smile and emotions will come back."
"You've done well," Celestia said. "I think a reward is due for you and your friends, Sweetie Belle. And to you as well, Fantina. This is a massive growth and just what we need. "So, what first, Phione? Since you have Arceus' power within you, what is the first step to finding Jirachi."
"Phione..." Phione decided to speak normally instead of using telepathy like before. But thankfully, Passion could translate Phione's words, quickly transferring them to Celestia.
"Gardevoir."
"I beg your pardon? Build a staircase?" Celestia pulled back as the rest of them had confused expressions. "Why so?"
"Phi. Phione." Phione then gave an expression, stretching her arms to emphasize the size of the staircase. Soon, Passion received it, passing it on again. Celestia then blinked a couple of times.
"I see... staircase to Jirachi. And the way for us to find one..is by heading to Arche Valley?" Celestia translated for everyone else to hear. "I can understand what you're saying. Is that what we truly need to do?!" She leaned in.
"Phi." Phione shook her head which made Gardevoir explain in further detail.
"Oh. That was just a recommendation from Arceus in case a scenario leads to that..." Celestia chuckled. "Right, right. In any case um...Sweetie Belle. Take care of Phione over here until everything can be sorted out."
"You can count on me, Princess Celestia!" Sweetie Belle saluted, giving a proud grin. This was the most praise she's ever gotten from the Ruler of Equestria. And possibly the first.
"Ah, Sweetie Belle. Your contest in Baltimare is coming next. I'd like to see how far you've grown when it comes around." Fantina snapped her finger, alerting the little unicorn. "Everything that you've learned and taught."
"Thanks, Ms Fantina. Just give me until next week and that ribbon is gonna be smiling at my face. Come on, Phione. You're gonna be heading home with me." Sweetie Belle then held Phione's arms with her hooves, pulling the Sea Drifter Pokemon with her.
"Shouldn't we have just had Phione stay here, sister?" Luna asked. "It is no one's Pokemon at the moment."
"I know. But it'd be nice for Phione and Sweetie Belle to bond now that they've met each other." Celestia nudged, choosing to have bonds of friendship emerge as always upon this new union between the filly and the Mythical Pokemon Phione.
Equestria. Ponyville. Carousel Boutique.
But first things first, freeing the rest of the Rift Energy inside of Phione was next. Arceus had already done most of the work, using all of his power to rid some of it out of the Sea Drifter Pokemon's power before going too far and ripping everything apart.
Now, it was up to Ash to finish it off. And after being summoned here, he stood before the Water-Type while the others held their Pokedexes out, marvelling at Phione.
"So...Is it related to Manaphy or not?" Rainbow Dash asked. "The Pokedex won't show any evolution trees like it always does."
"Maybe it's like Mew and Mewtwo!" Pinkie Pie raised her hoof. "Like how they looked alike and kinda share a lot of things in common, but they don't evolve from each other! Right, Mew?"
"Mew-Mew!"
"Okay. Gonna have Sir Aaron's staff help out on this too." Ash had summoned Sir Aaron's Staff, which always increased his Aura capabilities when used. He then spun the staff around before having Lucario out to assist. "Just hold still, Phione."
"Phi."
"Ready, Lucario? Twilight, Pinkie Pie. I'm gonna need you two to back me up with this." Ash requested.
"You got it." Twilight and Pinkie Pie would do just that with the assistance of Mew and Togekiss. Both knew Aura Sphere, being able to use Aura properly. Togekiss was sent out as she and Mew touched Ash's back, lending him Aura. Ash then focused the staff onto Phione as he was searching for Rift Energy.
He closed his eyes, allowing the Aura to feel everything. And the most present force here was the Rift Energy within Phione. Once he had found it, the Aura from Ash's body flowed towards Phione, immediately interacting with the energy the same way Water reacts to Electric.
"There it is!" Ash shouted before allowing the Aura to accelerate around the Rift Energy. And with this acceleration, the Aura forced the RIft energy inside of Phione to burst. It had been shattered on the spot as the collision made Ash's arm twitch afterwards. His whole body would twitch, however, his friends were there to keep him stable. And with this unification, they had successfully rid all of the Rift Energy from Phione. No longer was it a Rift Phione, now just a regular one. But it preferred that.
"Phi...Phione! Phione's cheery attitude returned. It jumped for joy, glad that all of that energy had been rid of its body. It was a well-needed release. With its true attitude being brought back, Phione had grabbed Mew's arms, jumping up and down with.
"Mew!"
"Phew." Ash shook his arm, still feeling the effects. "Thanks, guys. Return, Lucario." He then returned Lucario before making Sir Aaron's Staff shrink afterwards.
"Good for you, Phione." Sweetie Belle slid over. She then raised her hoof, wanting the equivalent of a high-five. And Phione would grant her that wish, connecting its arm with Sweetie Belle's hoof.
"That's one problem. But there's another." Rarity spoke among her friend group, clearing her throat. "Judging from what Sweetie Belle had learned, it seems that finding Jirachi will involve some less-than-needed experiences. That crafty Rift..." She then growled. "Playing fair isn't in its spirit is it?"
"It made a promise and it...kinda...sorta broke it. Not really." Pinkie Pie puffed her cheeks. "But I'm still pretty mad about that!"
"This will make things harder than they need to be, Ash," said Twilight to Ash. "With the Rift involved, it won't let us have many chances of even reaching Jirachi."
"Yeah. I gotcha. We can't let it beat us. We'll find Jirachi before it can stop everything." Ash understood that the severity of things had been escalated once more. "But this time, it's not gonna stop our trip to Holon, I'll tell ya that. And we're not gonna let it get ahead of us, no way."
"Pikachu!"
"Yeah. But first...I've got a contest coming up!" Sweetie Belle announced. "Phione. Please watch it with me, okay?"
"Phione!" It saluted. Phione would not only be here to guide them to Jirachi, but also provide support in different ways. Meanwhile, Twilight was currently thinking of ways to try and outsmart the Rift, just for the sake of reaching Jirachi before anything could go awry.
She rushed to her castle as soon as she could, appearing before Starlight. Meanwhile, preparing for next week, Sweetie Belle went off to train with her Pokemon to refine their contest skills.
"Starlight. We need a plan. A new plan. Something big!" Twilight exclaimed, standing in a bipedal position and stretching her front hooves to give an exaggeration.
"Why? What happened?" Starlight asked as Twilight walked past her.
"Turns out the Rift has been busy while we weren't aware." Twilight then shuffled through her assortment of books, looking for something of great value to form the plan. "Anything that could help us find Jirachi has been cancelled out by the Rift with the only exception being a single Phione that has Arceus' power inside of it."
"S-Say what now?" Twilight said all of that so fast that it was processing in Starlight's mind.
"It's probably still doing so as we speak. Which is why we can't afford to let it stop us." Twilight shook her head. "Where's Nyx? She might help us with this."
"Nyx is doing what she always does. Going across different worlds and helping free them from the Empress. And uh...Cocoa and Rosestar too. I never see much of those two. Weird..."
"Cocoa and Rosestar are too busy to hang around. Their world is in peril, after all. I'm sure we can find the time to get to know them better. But for now..." Twilight then placed a giant assortment of books in front of Starlight, making the floor bounce. "Let's start planning. With how things are right now, we're not powerless against the Rift anymore. At least not as much."
"Uh, you mean Ash and Princess Celestia aren't powerless." Starlight shrugged. "Princess Celestia's magic is the only magic that can do anything to it and Aura is Aura."
"Right, right. But that's the thing." Twilight winked. "Ash, Cynthia and everyone else in the Pokemon World aren't the only ones who have Aura now. Applejack has a lot of Aura that's massive. That Gardevoir showed us just how impressive it was too. Plus, we have some as well thanks to our Pokemon. And those Z-Crystals help with that."
"Yeah, you raise a good point. Can't argue with that." Starlight nodded in response. "I guess we are better equipped than before. Back then, we couldn't phase any Rift creation but now, that doesn't look like the case."
"Which is why we can't slow down now." Twilight placed on some glasses, looking at the various books. "With Princess Celestia's magic, spells that would usually never work on the Rift can work now. Even with Gardevoir being defeated, Delayed Aura Ataxia is still a thing. She has that power."
"True...Still haven't gotten rid of it..."
"I'm sure Princess Celestia's focusing on all of her known spells or already has. As for us, we need to keep up. And I suggest, we do the same thing that we did with Lucien and Sienna."
"Same thing...Wait!" Starlight gasped. "You're gonna trap the Rift?!" After asking that question, Twilight smirked, basically confirming her approach. The same way the combination of Celestia's magic and an Aura Sphere had imprisoned Lucien and Sienna, the same idea was being tailored to the Rift itself. "That's insane! Can it be done?! I mean, Lucien and Sienna aren't as powerful as the Rift!"
"We have to try. It was Ash that taught me never to give up, no matter how overwhelming things can get. I would've given up with any Rift Creation, especially when the Rift confronted me. But it was Ash that helped me get here. Along with all of my friends. Even you."
"Aw geez..." Starlight chuckled, appreciating the compliment. "I don't much, ya know..."
"We'll need all the help we can get. Cold Colt!" Twilight bellowed, summoning her student. Dashing to the scene was the little unicorn as he wobbled for a bit.
"Here!"
"I need you to help bring Emerald Aura here. Even if she's been weakened, she can be of great help right now." Twilight requested.
"Oh, uh that's gonna be tricky. Emerald's not in the best mood for much." Cold nervously spoke. "Applejack's not happy with how she's been treating her home so..."
"I'll handle it. As my duty as the Princess of Friendship." Twilight chose to sort it out. "Starlight. Go over to the Pokemon House. Zecora's still there and she has the cauldron of Rift Magic inside. She's been studying Rift Magic well and might know a few things."
"On it." Starlight would do just that. The cauldron of Rift Magic still existed and Zecora held permanent custody of it. Zecora's study on Rift Magic was extensive, so this was something to not be passed up on.
"Now. Let's start the plan. Might take a while, but nothing's too long for us to accomplish. We're going to make the most powerful prison ever. More than even Tartarus or anything." Twilight had her magic bring over a blank sheet of paper. A fairly large one.
Some major planning out was about to be done. The plan to imprison the Rift.
Canterlot. Afternoon.
"Hm-hm." Meanwhile, Celestia also had ideas brewing in her head. Specifically, the recommendation given to her by Phione concerning the staircase. "It's not impossible...It can be done."
"You mean the staircase, right?" Luna looked with a low brow. "Please do not tell me we're going to attempt something like that. To space?"
"Precisely," Celestia replied with a sparkle in her eyes, grinning. Luna was fearing something like this.
"Even if it can be done...space?! To reach just one Pokemon?!" Luna exclaimed. "We can't even breathe in space! At least not for a long time! Being sealed in the moon freed me from suffering breathing problems."
"We can't. But Reshiram and Zekrom can." Celestia nudged her little sister playfully. "Recently, it's been found out that when going up against the Empress' ships, sometimes they reach to the cosmos above to stop them. As to be expected from Legendary Pokemon. And when I think about it, perhaps Pinkie Pie's Mew fits into that category as well. Maybe asking those two Mewtwo for help wouldn't hurt."
"Fair enough...But how are we going to build it? Let alone keep it stable. And won't it take far too long?"
"I have that covered. It pays to always think ahead when something comes up." Celestia winked. "Building the staircase will be easy, but supporting it is where things will escalate. Reshiram and Zekrom can help with that. It'll be a one-time use after all."
"Hm. Speaking of which..." Luna was then reminded of something. "The Ultra Ball that had Reshiram inside of it. Wasn't there another that Jackie and Sweetie Drops returned?"
"Oh." It had been recalled to Celestia as well. Indeed, there was one more Ultra Ball that hadn't been opened yet and was sitting there all this time. But Celestia knew the answer to that. "Turns out, it was an empty one. I went to throw it and found out that there wasn't a Pokemon inside. Seems that Team Plasma were keeping it for more Pokemon. But on the bright side..." Celestia then revealed the Ultra Ball to Luna. "I have a free Ultra Ball to use when needed. I even put my Cutie Mark on it and Passion's Poke Ball. Pretty charming, right?" She giggled.
"Yes, sister. It is charming." Luna agreed thoroughly. The Royal Family had their plans too. While Twilight and her friends would focus on trapping the Rift, Celestia and her sister were focused on trying that staircase suggestion from Phione.
A staircase to space. Truly an impressive idea that would be a great feat when pulled off. The race for Jirachi was now accelerating to new heights.
After all of that time, nightfall had come. Naturally, Ash and Pikachu were asleep, along with Delia and Mr Mime. All except for Sombra. Sombra was awake for one reason. Not that he didn't want to sleep, but he was just done with being stuck to Ash. He wanted to be free and reign once more.
But his options were thin. Discord certainly didn't want to under Ash's accord to keep an eye on Sombra, Cold's Rift Magic was still growing, Emerald had been weakened and so on. This irritated Sombra to no avail. He currently thought of all the horrible things he would do to Ash and his friends when freed. It put a smile on his face, only for it to fade away afterwards.
Seeing that his options were low, Sombra thought of another possible option. He wasn't sure it was the most effective way to go about things. He then thought about what Ash said back then during Valentine's Day/Heart's and Hooves.
"Aw, come on. Even I know there's someone. Everyone's always had someone special in their life. Even if they're gone now there was always something there."
"You are smarter than you look, boy. I will give you this...there was someone but there is no point in bringing her up right now. Now leave me be."
"There is someone who could do something. How I dreaded meeting with her again..." Sombra spoke to himself before scoffing. "It doesn't matter. Much like everyone else, they'll be beneath me. Brat, wake up. Wake up this instant!" He then alerted Ash, bashing onto his head with his own.
"Zzzzz..." However, Ash was fully asleep at this point. And once he's comfortable in his bed, nothing will wake him up. Not even Pikachu's Thunderbolt. Only Delia could wake him from his bed.
"Tch. The one time I need your assistance..." Sombra couldn't help but groan. For now, he was going to have to wait until morning. Then, he would let Ash know. And beyond that, the Crystal Empire was on his mind. The next destination for tomorrow.
The next day.
Eventually, tomorrow did come. Ash was up along with his partner Pikachu. They were each standing outside of the Ketchum Household, ready to tackle the day.
"So. What to do first..." Ash and Pikachu wondered, performing the same thinking pose.
"Here's an idea." Sombra appeared as his usual shadowy self. "For once, I can't believe I'm asking something from you of all people."
"No shame in asking." He only laughed at Sombra's words. "What is it?"
"Go to the Crystal Empire at once. "There is a pony that I must see at once. Somepony that could maybe help me with how things are right now. Anything to free me of you." He ordered.
"Really? Hm...Is it Sunburst?!" Ash pointed at Sombra.
"Who?" Sombra pulled back, unaware of Sunburst's existence. "No! Just go there and I will show you."
"Okay. Guess we're going for the Crystal Empire today, buddy. Let's see what adventures we can get ourselves into today, okay?" Ash grinned, adjusting his hat, ready for a brand new adventure.
"Pika! Pikachu!"
"Safe travels as always!" Delia whistled while opening the door. She waved goodbye to them as Ash and Pikachu had passed through the gateway to Equestria. And when passing through, Sombra could only think of the one pony he had mentioned throughout the entire trip.
Equestria. Twilight's Castle. Day.
Over at Twilight's Castle, the plan was underway. With the assistance of her Togekiss, an extra-large Aura Sphere had been made as Twilight tried using her magic to hold it in place. Starlight, Espeon, Ninetales and Hatterene were assisting as well.
Cold Colt's Rift Magic was the ace in the hole for this. His magic made the Aura Sphere stay in one position instead of fading away or combusting. With this union, they had successfully made the sphere stable.
"Okay. I already knew how that was done." Twilight sighed, feeling a bit exhausted. "But it's still not big enough to hold the Rift. Especially if it has the power to change its shape and size."
"Please don't tell me we're going to have to make one that's bigger than a mountain..." Starlight breathed in and out after using all of her magic for that one sphere. "Where are we even gonna put it...?"
"We can keep it...um...Aha! In our secret base over at Queen Pyrestar's world! That'll do the trick!" Twilight exclaimed. "Now, all we have to do is move it."
"Is it safe to touch something like this?" Starlight slowly approached the sphere, using her magic to remove a strand of her hair. Afterwards, she threw the strand at the Sphere, finding out that it merely bounced off of it. "Oh. It is?!" TO further test it out, Starlight put her hoof on the Aura Sphere, feeling it. "Aaah...That's a soft and fuzzy feeling."
"It came from Togekiss. Of course, it would feel good. Isn't that right, girl?" Twilight nuzzled the Jubilee Pokemon.
"Toge!"
"Now, let's get this thing moving." Twilight rubbed her hooves together as her magic would cover the Aura Sphere, beginning to drag it. It was far easier to drag the sphere than make it. Once it had been made, it was free to control.
"Another thing...How are we going to get the Rift to be in it? It can't be tricked, can it? It could be listening to this conversation right now. Heck ! It might've seen us making this thing!" Starlight started worrying, fearing for the worst.
"You're just like me when Starlight. I used to worry a lot. Still do..." Twilight scrunched her face, feeling guilty for worrying so many times it was absurd. "But worrying's not going to get us anywhere. We already have a lot on our plate. There's no telling when the Empress might try and invade us again or when Ghetsis and Team Plasma do...whatever they do."
"Right..." Cold Colt chimed in with some words of his own, albeit briefly.
"The only thing I'm worried about is the Rift trying to slow our progress with Jirachi down. And no matter what, there's no way I'm going to let the friendship I've made with all of my Pokemon and human friends go to waste." A determined Twilight Sparkle stopped walking, turning to face Starlight. "You understand, right?"
"Fully do. Well said, Twilight. Can't argue with that." Starlight accepted as she, Twilight and Cold Colt started laughing. Togekiss found some amusement in it while Ninetales was only laughing because everyone else was.
The clock was ticking. Albeit slow, pressure was being applied. The staircase to space where Jirachi resides, an orb to trap the Rift, a Manaphy to guide them to Jirachi and supposedly, a pony that could help King Sombra. All were racing against the clock as the journey continues.
Arriving at the Crystal Empire were Ash and Pikachu along with the seemingly permanent tagalong of Sombra's Shadow. Or at least for now is what Sombra believed. He saw one other option to free himself from Ash and return to form.
And it would be from a pony that apparently resides in the Crystal Empire. Somepony important that Sombra knew about. Once they arrived, immediately, all eyes were on Ash. Or rather Sombra, who was floating next to Ash.
"K-King Sombra!" One pony dropped her vase upon seeing the previous ruler, having a terrified expression. Another had fainted afterwards. Many were terrified. But some not so much considering Ash and Pikachu were close. That gave them some peace of mind but the fear could still be seen in their eyes.
And Sombra enjoyed that.
"Hahaha!" He cackled maniacally, relishing in their fears as they started running around in a frenzy, crashing into things in the process. "It's pleasant to know that even in this form, they can't help but fear me. Excellent." To indulge in this some more, Sombra started moving his floating head, leaving behind a trail of shadows always.
And it seemed that all of these fears made him stronger from what Ash could tell. Sombra went to greater lengths than before. Sombra looked at cowering ponies and their frantic movements. "That's right. Fear me. For soon, once my body is free from that brat you call a hero, I will personally-"
"Alright, that's enough." Ash pulled Sombra back by moving backwards, interrupting his words. "You're just scaring everyone right now. We didn't come here for that, did we?"
"Let me have my fun, boy. After days of being stuck to you and having to listen to so much unnecessary drabble from you and your friends that make me sick, this is my greatest relief yet."
"There's a lot more you can enjoy than just doing that." Ash wagged his finger with Pikachu doing the same. "It's all about finding what's fun, ya know."
"Hmph. This is my enjoyment. Nothing satisfies me more than the absolute rule that I once had and will retain, plus the fears that just ooze from every living creature out there. What else could do that?"
"Well...you looked pretty interested in Pokemon Battles." By replying to Sombra, Ash put on a grin as those words caught Sombra off guard.
"As if I'd enjoy them!" He bellowed.
"Nah, I totally saw you," Ash said otherwise. He had definitely seen how Sombra took some visible interest in Pokemon Battles, whether it was from Ash or someone else. "I don't blame you. Those Pokemon Battles get the blood pumping, don't they?"
"Tch...I suppose I do find some amusement in them." Sombra admitted it. Pokemon Battles were interesting to him. They were to anyone. "But anything beyond that is impossible."
"Not exactly. Come on, I'll show you." Ash and Pikachu were prepared to show Sombra how much enjoyment someone can have. Especially when it involves something they have never involved themselves. And by doing so, many ponies simply kept their distance each time they approached with Sombra staring them down.
Ash and Pikachu stopped by one of the Contest Halls that were found here in the Crystal Empire. They took a peek through the window, seeing that a Pokemon Contest was already underway. Flashy moves were being shown and improvised in the process for the sake of appeal. And they certainly were exactly appealing to the eyes. Eye candy to be exact. Sombra took a clear look, trying to ignore it by shifting his eyes. But each time he did so, his eyes would shift back to the flashy view. Especially when it came to the second rounds of Contests that involved battling.
Ash and Pikachu continued to show Sombra what else there was to enjoy. Especially with Pokemon. They went to buy some ice cream as the ice cream vendor there shuddered in fear upon seeing Sombra floating there. Sombra then tried using his magic to feed into the vendor's fears, only for Ash to hold out a piece of ice cream that he had both, showing it to Sombra.
Sombra raised an eyebrow as Ash had offered him ice cream. Sombra denied it immediately while Pikachu started enjoying his. However, Sombra did hear a grumble and that did not come from Ash. Hiding within Ash and choosing to stay in solitude until he was freed certainly caused problems for him. Especially in the hunger department.
"Grr...Give me the ice cream at once!" He growled with disdainful remorse, demanding that Ash would give him the ice cream. Once Ash held it in his position, Sombra took one lick. And that one lick made his eyes bulge and face pause for a moment. "This is...This is..."
"Pretty great, right?"
"Pikachu."
"Hmph. It certainly catches my attention." Not wanting to be honest and show any positive signs to Ash, he gave an underestimation to the ice cream as he continued to lick it. "But ah! Why am I even doing this?! I ordered you to come here to find one pony, didn't I?!"
"Oh yeah. Who are you talking about by the way? It's gotta be someone super important, right?"
"Pika-Pika?"
"Important enough for me to acknowledge her existence. Then again, I could never forget her, regrettably. "Sombra turned away from Ash before looking at the distance. "Her name is Radiant Hope."
"Radiant Hope?"
"If there was ever one pony in the Crystal Empire who could match my intellect, it would be her. My choices are spread thin right now and I need this one choice to count. Do you understand?" He leaned in, getting all up-close in Ash's face.
"Uh...yeah. Sounds good to me." Ash replied, giving a firm thumbs-up. "Sounds like you've got a friend that you can count on."
"Pah! She's not my friend!" Sombra then pulled back.
"Hoh? Then what is she?" Ash then gave a cheeky grin, nudging Sombra a couple of times. A visible anger vein appeared on his head with his fangs bearing. "Ah, she's way more, right? Sombra, you've been holding out on us."
"Pika-Pikachu." Pikachu did the same, giving an equally cheeky grin to Sombra.
"You two are pushing your luck right now!" Sombra roared, causing them both to laugh in the process. The previous ruler of the Crystal Empire. "How pestering..."
"Hahaha! Ah, it's okay. No shame in having someone close to you. You've told me a lot, actually. It's mostly just about how you used to rule the place. So it's okay if you can tell me all about Radiant Hope."
"How did it come to this...?" Sombra sighed, feeling powerless yet again in the face of Ash.
"Sombra?!" Shouting out his name were the current rulers of the Crystal Empire. Hearing all of the screamings and panicking outside upon Sombra's name were Princess Cadence and Shining Armor.
"Ah, look who it is." Sombra floated in their direction with Aegislash and Sylveon getting in front of their trainers. "My, how I loathe you two so much. But less than the one I am currently attached to."
"We heard about that. And it's way more hilarious up close." Cadence's serious expression then turned into a smug one, knowing how powerless Sombra was right now. "How does it feel to be the powerless one now, hm?" She called back to when Sombra returned, draining Cadence's magical power when trying to defend the empire from his approach.
"Why you!" Sombra was easily provoked by that. He was the one aiming to provoke, only for it to reverse and strike him instead. Furious, he moved his shadow forward some more, growling at Cadence. But he was promptly stopped when he realized the limit his shadow could reach. Cadence stood still, knowing that Sombra couldn't get any closer. "Curses! Brat! Move one step forward now!"
"You have no power here." Shining Armor then raised his hoof, smirking and pushing Sombra back with a simple push. "Being stuck to Ash isn't the kind of punishment I was hoping for but, eh."
"It won't be for long. Once I am freed, I will do much worse things to you than just keeping you restrained like before. So unfathomable beyond compare."
"Pssh. Not with how things are right now." Shining Armor shrugged. "I mean, mostly everypony in the Crystal Empire can handle you thanks to their Pokemon. You're not that big of a threat anymore."
"Hoh...Am I not? Then allow me to demonstrate my power is boundless. Right, this instant!" Sombra then faced some Sableye that were nearby, deciding to take advantage of them. His eyes flashed, releasing the usual green magic he wields. He made contact with the Sableye, immediately putting them under a spell.
"S-Sableye...?"
"Now then. Watch how I am not to be underestimated even in lesser appearances. Sableye, correct? Tear everything here down!"
"Eye..." The Sableye stood there for a moment before taking immediate action. Sombra grinned, believing that his control would pan out. Except it didn't. The Sableye did take action, but the best they did was lunge on some walls and start gnawing on them, getting a fill of crystals.
The Sableye weren't visible threats at all right now. More like a nuisance that was just so happening to eat from the walls. This was their best attempt at tearing things down as Sombra looked with disappointment.
"Not a word." He already knew that Cadence and Shining would say something to try and irritate him. "Even my mind control is limited. Fears are all that I can do now."
The guards went to remove the Sableye from the walls, preventing them from continuing their feast. They would still get crystals to eat, just not residential places.
"But, it isn't over yet. I still have Radiant Hope as much as it pains me to mention her. I demand you both show me the way to her right this instant."
"Radiant Hope?" Cadence and Shining both said, confused. "Who?" It seemed that they weren't aware of a pony named Radiant Hope.
"What? You're the new rulers. You should know of all of your subjects in this empire."
"Well...you got us there. I don't know anypony named Radiant Hope." Cadence shrugged, revealing that neither she nor Shining Armor knew about Radiant Hope. This was even their first time hearing her name.
"Impossible...She should've returned when the Crystal Empire had resurfaced. Unless..." Sombra then thought about it for a moment. At this moment, flashbacks were moving through his head. Flashbacks of an older time. "She did go to them...so it would stand to reason that she wouldn't be here anymore."
"Uh...Where then?" Ash asked. "And who did she go to?"
"Radiant Hope is the one who went to Celestia and Luna, informing them of my existence. Thus, that led to mine and the Empire's banishment all those years ago." Sombra revealed to them
"Seriously?!" Ash pulled back along with Cadence and Shining Armor.
"So that was her?!" Cadence bellowed. "Good on her." She then smiled, giving an approving nod, only for Sombra to scoff at her.
"Tch. By this point, she is far gone. No longer a resident of the Crystal Empire. I came back here for what?" Sombra was visibly annoyed. The trip to the Crystal Empire didn't matter at all.
"Well, what's stopping us from trying to find her?" But Ash wasn't ready to give up this search for Radiant Hope.
"Ash what are you doing?!" Cadence gasped, surprised that Ash was willing to help King Sombra. But then again, it didn't come as much as a surprise. He never needs many if not any reasons to help someone. "Hah...you're a pure-hearted guy Ash, but maybe sometimes in the wrong situations."
"Her home. That's it!" Sombra then had a spark of genius in his mind. "We are going to her home at once! I still remember it vividly. This time, I'm bringing you along!" Just then, Sombra had added some extra effort, causing Ash to move.
"Woah!" Ash had been dragged by Sombra. For once, he was unable to control his own movements for the most part. But eventually, he decided to come along to see this old home. Shining Armor and Cadence decide to follow. Mostly because of Sombra's presence and the curiosity of the pony named Radiant Hope. Sombra recalled the location of Radiant Hope's old home. And to this day, it was still standing.
They appeared before the house as it was located near the outskirts of the Crystal Empire. Despite still standing, parts of it had been torn to pieces by the flow of time. Cobwebs filled the labyrinth of cracks and heaps of snow covered whatever was left. Broken branches and leaves were added onto it as well while the tall grasses of the unkempt gardens sway in the wind.
"This is it huh...?" Ash and the others gazed at the building. "Wonder why no one's ever been here for a while?"
"Because of how important she was. Nopony would dare approach this building for even a second. I doubt even you two knew of its existence." Sombra turned to Cadence and Shining.
"He's got us there..." Shining Armor muttered under his breath. The door had then been opened via Sombra's magic. In fact, it was unlocked the entire time, possibly for decades at this point.
The inside was not as bad as the outside. But the passage of time has certainly bogged it down. Those cobwebs from before were present even inside. And seen within the house were Sableye, snacking on some crystals. "Sableye?"
"Out!" Sombra exclaimed, scaring the Sableye as they quickly rushed out of Radiant Hope's home.
"Is there something important here she left behind?" Ash asked.
"Only one thing. A diary. I knew of it as she would sometimes show it to me, writing down every crucial moment in her life. And I for certain know of a few. Especially my first banishment."
"Sombra, I hate to break it to you...Not really, but...Wouldn't she not be around anymore?" Sombra asked. "She went to Princess Celestia and Luna thousands of years ago to stop you. I'm certain that-"
"She is around. Clearly, you haven't looked into the Crystal Heart as intensively as I have." The previous ruler of the Crystal Empire flew over Ash's head before getting up close and personal with Cadence. "If you must know, the Crystal Heart has the power to dictate your future."
"It does?!" The three of them bellowed as this was new information to them.
"Precisely. Look into it and your future will be seen. And Radiant Hope's future was depicted as a princess. Most likely, she could be an alicorn by now, meaning that her existence is still present. As to be expected from one of Celestia's former students."
"And she used to be Celestia's student too...? Man, she got a lot, huh?" said an impressed Ash Ketchum.
"Wait a second." Now it was Cadence's turn to spark something within her mind. "If she was Celestia's student before...then Celestia might know about her!"
"Oh, you're right! Luckily she's got her own Xtransceiver now! But she never uses it that much." Ash scratched his head before pulling out his Xtransceiver.
"Works better than telepathy sometimes." Cadence tapped her horn. "Sometimes, telepathy just shows up at the worst time and all that." The Xtrasnceiver rang for a total of 7 seconds after Ash selected Celestia's Trainer Number.
"Hello? Ash." Celestia spoke, facing Ash. "Good to see you as always, how are you and Pikachu?"
"Great as ever. I-"
"Start talking, Celestia." Cutting Ash off was Sombra who shoved Ash out of the way, getting into the full view of the Xtransceiver. Celestia pulled her face away from the device after being slightly jump scared by Sombra's sudden appearance. "Where is Radiant Hope now?"
"Radiant Hope?!" Celestia, much like Ash, Cadence, Shining Armor and their Pokemon, was shocked. Mainly shocked to hear that name. "Oh...Radiant Hope..." Her tone then lowered. "Why do you want to know?"
"Why exactly? Obviously, she was the one who went crawling to you and your sister. Shouldn't I deserve to know?"
"You were best friends so that makes sense I suppose..."
"Best friends? Oh, that's great Sombra." Ash was pleased to hear that as a pat on the back was incoming, only for Sombra to glare at him. "Uh, guess you don't want that. Then again, I don't see a back much."
"Pikachu..."
"It's true. We were once best friends. My only friend. Until that moment. And after all these years, the projection that the Crystal Heart showed us inevitably brought our fates. Although, mine came earlier."
"Radiant Hope." Celestia closed her eyes, reminiscing about one of her older students. "You won't hear much from me, because she's lost. The moment we banished you, Sombra, was also the same day that she vanished. Minutes later.
"So we'll never know where she is then? Even after thousands of years?" Cadence felt unsatisfied with these answers. It sounded as if Radiant Hope was just a pony that would be lost forever. Possibly as rare as finding a Legendary Pokemon.
"There is always this. I found the diary." Shining Armor, who was snooping around with Aegislash, eventually found the diary of Radiant Hope. Sombra immediately took it out of Shining's magic hold, opening it without hesitation.
"There has to be something that had been left behind." Sombra started flipping through the pages of Radiant Hope's diary, hoping to find one thing that could be of great value.
"So, uh Celestia," said Ash while Sombra was flipping through the pages. "Are you sure you don't know where she is right now?"
"Not quite. I could ask my parents. They've been overseeing Equestria for centuries at the Ambrosial Plane. Perhaps they've seen here. Give me a moment." Another attempt. Sunlight and Eventide might know. Meanwhile, looking through the diary and Sombra hadn't found anything of value at the moment.
"Nothing...She left nothing." Sombra groaned before tossing the diary away. "Of course. Her departure happened after my banishment, didn't it?"
"If she's a princess by now, then you'd think we'd know where she would be." A confused Shining scratched his face. "Princesses always get castles no matter what. Even though the one here in the Crystal Empire was always present there."
"Not quite, Shining. But you're thinking right." Cadence replied.
"So that's it...I thought she was truly lost forever." Meanwhile, over at Celestia's side, her parents had shown up, revealing what they knew. While limited, there was one valuable piece of information.
"We were lucky to get a look at her face. She's been wearing that same cloak and hood for years now." Sunlight spoke through the Xtransceiver.
"Alright. Thank you, mother. Father. It looks like Radiant Hope is indeed still out there. But she's a wandering pony at this point. The last sighting of her was near the Pixie Plains."
"Pixie Plains, huh?" An opportunity was met in the eyes of Ash and his partner Pikachu. "Then that's where we'll start and work off on. It's a pretty big place too and kinda close to the Faye Mountains. Maybe Chrysalis can spot her..."
"As long as we find her immediately," Sombra interjected. "Get going to those plains before we lose her."
"I hope you're not planning anything with her when you do." Celestia narrowed her eyes at Sombra. "Even then, you-" However, Sombra had cut her off by using his magic to turn off the Xtransceiver.
"That's enough of you, Celestia. Very soon, I will be as free as I need to be. Despite how she betrayed me, Radiant Hope's magical prowess will never fail. Probably why the heart showed her as a princess."
"Ash. Pikachu. We're coming with you." Cadence and Shining Armor offered to come along with Ash, just because they had to stay alert with Sombra's plans. Sombra wasn't subtle about it either. He was seeking his freedom and wasn't shy to hide his true intentions. "As if we'd let you have the chance to try anything. Especially with this Radiant Hope character."
"How did we get here...?" Ash was just amazed at how things have escalated as of recently. There is always something new and unexpected that comes along.
"Pikachu..."
Pixie Plains. Afternoon.
The Pixie Plains.
Beautiful as ever. Lush and vibrant with life. Mainly thanks to the Fairy-Type Pokemon. The aura of Fairy-Type Magic radiated through the air, filling the atmosphere with bliss. And with time passing, pools of Fairy Magic could be seen along with a lake of it.
Ash and the others had arrived here with no sign of Radiant Hope yet. However, with how expansive the plains are, she couldn't have gone far. Ash had sent out Gengar and Dragonite to try and find Radiant Hope. They would observe from the skies. And so would Aegislash via his ability to hover.
"See if you can find anyone wearing a hood, you two," Ash said to his Pokemon. "We'll-"
"No need." But, interrupting once more was King Sombra. "This will be the best way to find her. My magic should be enough. She should recognize this."
The approach was simple. Sombra had charged up some of the magic that he could use in this form. Dark magic to be exact. And after gathering some, he transformed it into a beam, shooting it into the sky. It would act similarly to a flare to try and alert Radiant Hope. Dragonite, Gengar and Aegislash moved out of the way as the beam of darkness ascended. Sombra groaned as this was taxing on him. Having such limited power meant that his magic output took a lot out of him.
However, he managed to keep it in the air for a bit, making the darkness stick for a bit. All of the Fairy-Types gazed into the skies, witnessing this beam. They all sensed the horrible malice coming from it. Some, if not most of them were terrified while others kept their fellow Fairy-Types close.
Sombra was out of energy from firing that massive beam. It had then faded away as he breathed in and out, trying to keep himself together. "That...That should've drawn enough attention. Probably to the Changelings as well. If Radiant Hope knows better, she cannot ignore this kind of magic."
"That's one way of doing it," said Shining Armor as he then leaned over at Cadence. "Say, Cadence. What do we do if we end up finding Radiant Hope? I'm thinking a reunion with her and Princess Celestia."
"She ran away, didn't she? Maybe we should talk to her before any of that. I wonder what she's been up to if she's been keeping herself so secretive for so long." Cadence could only ponder. No alicorn has been in secrecy ever. Even Sunlight and Eventide, despite how short their time was as rulers of Equestria was, were still fairly well known.
But Radiant Hope could be a different story. Dragonite, Gengar and Aegislash would try the skies either way, even after Sombra's black beam. Cadence would promptly join them, spreading her wings out. Ash and the others went on foot as the search for a missing Princess and an old friend of Sombra had begun.
"Are you sure Radiant Hope can separate you and me?" Ash asked. "If Celestia and Luna couldn't find a way then..."
"I need my choices, boy. If anypony knew the most about my race, it would be her. Nopony learned more about it than Radiant Hope. She was also the only one to find out about it."
"I'm sorry. You're saying that Radiant Hope knows all about unicorns? Pretty sure Princess Celestia and Luna take that title too." Shining Armor chimed in.
"Tch. I'm not talking about unicorns. In fact, I am half-unicorn."
"Half Unicorn?!" Ash and Shining Armor promptly stopped. Cadence heard this too as her wings hardened for a bit, spreading out in shock. Once again, fresh news to them all. "T-Then...what's the other half?" Ash questioned as Sombra slowly turned to them, suddenly carrying a far more mysterious feeling to him.
"An Umbrum?" Recently, Ash, Shining Armor, Cadence and their Pokemon had been met with yet nother surprise today. King Sombra was not a full-on unicorn. He was revealed to be an Umbrum. AKA a Shadow Pony. "Uh...What's that?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. I am a pony of Shadows. A living conical shadow that negates all light from any given source. I found out about this information when coming across a certain red crystal. Only Radiant Hope ever found out about my true species. And I expect her to know of a way to free me from this."
"That explains the shadows, huh," said Ash.
"What crystal?" Cadence questioned, descending from above. "It couldn't have been the Crystal Heart. It's not red and you would've said its name by then."
"That information will only be kept to me." But Sombra refused to share any crucial information regarding this supposed red crystal. "But...consider this a sneak-peak at the Umbrum. You all have minuscule ideas on what they are and what horrors lurk beyond it."
"Gen? Gengar!" Gengar then alerted Ash and the others from above. Supposedly, from how he was pointing in the distance, he had seen something.
"Gengar's found something! Must be her!" Immediately, Ash took off with Pikachu following promptly. Dragonite had descended with Ash jumping on her back. Now he had Dragonite as a ride as the Dragon Pokemon's superior speed could help catch up to whatever Gengar had spotted. Shining Armor hopped onto his Aegislash, taking a ride on him while Cadence used her magic to carry Sylveon, bringing her to the skies.
Once high enough, the rest of the expansive plains were seen by Ash, Pikachu, Sylveon and Shining Armor. It certainly has gotten bigger since last time. Aside from the array of Fairy-Type Pokemon that lived peacefully here, lo and behold, there was indeed something moving. It was faint but it was there.
However, it was odd that in this expansive field, this one figure seemed to be far more discreet than it should be. That certainly raised suspicions and was the catalyst for Gengar alerting them. Sombra took a close look, gazing further at this moving figure.
Speaking of moving figures, two new ones had approached, also floating through the skies. Dragonite turned around to spot the arrival of Queen Chrysalis and Thorax. "Ash! What's going on?!" Thorax asked.
"We saw that beam of Dark Magic shoot into the skies. Is it Ghetsis again?" Chrysalis questioned, believing it to be Ghetsis. Ghetsis and Sombra d share similar colourings to their magic so it was easy to mix them up.
"Everything's fine right now," Ash replied. "That was just Sombra's magic trying to give an alert. We're looking for a pony named Radiant Hope and...It's a long story, now that I think about it."
"That pony right there?" Thorax soon noticed the figure and how swiftly it was moving. Even fast enough to briefly outpace Dragonite and Gengar.
Just then, the figure had promptly turned its head, facing its pursuers. In that instance, they could see a face, albeit briefly. And what they saw was a horn poking out from the top. A cloak had been seen as well. This was certainly leaning into the possibility of it being Radiant Hope.
"We're being looked at..." Ash noticed as Dragonite and Gengar promptly stopped.
"Why did you stop?! Pursue her!" Sombra ordered Ash.
"Hold on. Take a look." Ash pointed below, showing that the figure had also stopped. It was still gazing at them with the horn poking out. Everything paused for a moment as Ash wanted to approach this calmly. He looked at Dragonite as they nodded in unison. Dragonite had then descended gently with the figure still standing there. It could tell when someone wasn't being hostile.
Cadence and the others did the same as gently as they could. Eventually, once at ground level, Ash hopped off of Dragonite, standing only metres away from this figure. But with the sun moving, the shadows were no longer beaming on this mysterious individual. The individual observed the area for a bit as a brief staredown had been made. Only one question came through.
"You. Are you Radiant Hope?" Sombra asked, waiting for the answer.
And he got his answer. The individual stepped forward once, removing the cloak and hood and dropping it on the ground. After stepping into the light, the full appearance had been discovered. Sombra then looked there with his face having a slightly aghast expression. The pony he was searching for was here.
Radiant Hope.
"Sombra...It is you." Radiant Hope spoke to Sombra for the first time in years. She stepped forward, approaching Sombra's shadow. Due to this calming approach, there was no need for a long chase. Sometimes, discoveries such as this are short and simple. But what comes next was the vital part of it all.
The moment Radiant Hope stepped forward, Sombra's eyes flared as he had some leftover magic to use. And that magic was used to hold Radiant Hope, covering her in Sombra's dark magic as she was lifted off the ground. "You...!"
"Ugh!" Radiant Hope graned with her body twitching. Clearly, Sombra was not happy with her, especially with how she was the pony to inform Celestia and Luna about his dark presence.
"Hey! Sombra!" Ash shouted upon seeing Sombra's action.
"Pika!"
"Sombra...I can see that you're still upset with me..." Radiant Hope squirmed before using her magic to overpower Sombra's. Since she didn't have a limited form, it was easy for Radiant Hope to free herself.
"Upset is an understatement!" Sombra growled as he had already run out of magic to use, making him powerless at the moment. But he still had the strength to move forward, getting close to Radiant Hope. More than that, with just a bit of effort, he could use his Fear Maic once more. His eyes flashed for a few seconds, showing how weak he was as they met with Radiant Hope's eyes.
Soon, Radiant Hope, much like many, had been caught in a fear projection by Sombra. Only this time, Sombra decided to join the projection, wanting a personal talk with Radiant Hope.
"The Fear Spell...S-Sombra...!" Radiant Hope put her hoof on her head, feeling the spell being active. Radiant HOpe was aware of this spell as she could resist it. Just slightly. "Please, you don't understand."
"I understand completely. You were my best friend in the world and on the day I found out that my life was a lie, you abandoned me." He spoke to her in the Fear Projection as the location was a dark room. Mainly, the room where Radiant Hope used to live in before departing after Sombra's defeat. "Then, you brought the two sisters to vanquish me."
"It's not that simple, Sombra. I didn't know what you were. I didn't know what Princess Amore had done. "What the Crystal Empire had done." She brought up another princess while trying to reason with Sombra. "But I learned a lot in the time I've been gone. And...I was hoping to make things right one day. And now that we've met each other again out in these plains, I have that chance."
"Make things right? Preposterous! What can you do exactly?" Sombra leaned in, getting up close and personal in Radiant Hope's face. "Look at me! I have only made it this far due to my accidental possession of Ash Ketchum! It took a year for me to even resurface as a shadow! It may be a decade before I grow strong enough to be free."
"So you say.." Radiant Hope lowered her head as there were zero fears from this spell coming her way. If anything, this interaction with Sombra was the only personal thing to exist within the projection. "I may know of a spell that can do something."
"What?" Sombra's curiosity had been caught. Now he needed to do.
"Hold on. This is going to hurt." Radiant Hope then took a strong stance before covering her horn in an orange aura. Her signature magical colour. Her eyes then erupted an orange flash of light that illuminated her body. And in that flash of light, Radiant Hope had unleashed a striking ray in Sombra's direction, hitting his shadowy body.
"GAH!" Sombra cried out as the magical aura completely smitten him, causing him to feel unusual pain like never before. He was then surrounded by a black and purple orb of estranged energy "T-The pain!" He screamed some more with the orb turning red afterwards, still keeping the black highlights.
Ash could feel this. Since he and Sombra were connected now, he felt a shock. However, it was only brief and momentarily. This whole time, he and his friends had seen Sombra putting Radiant Hope in another fear trance, but it quickly ended once they saw magic come out of Sombra's body. Even when in that projection, Radiant Hope could still use magic on the outside.
Radiant Hope broke the Fear Projection, returning to reality. Upon doing so, she took a deep breath before dropping to the ground, exhausted from how much power that took. Ash then felt another shock. This time it was bigger.
"W-What's going...?!" Ash gasped as he and Sombra then twitched. That same orange glow returned to cover them.
"Ash!" Cadence and the others cried out before facing Radiant Hope. They recognized this glow as her magic as she had just recently used it on Sombra. "What did you?!"
"Pikapi?!"
Afterwards, the light faded away as Ash's silhouette could be seen sitting on the ground afterwards. Thankfully, it wasn't too painful and didn't cause major harm. But it almost knocked the wind out of Ash, that's for sure. Everyone took a gander, seeing Ash still in one piece as they were relieved.
But, that magic from Radiant Hope had a purpose. Once the dust settled, something had happened to Sombra. Ash, after taking a few deep breaths, turned his head to realize that Sombra wasn't floating next to him as always. Instead, this time, he was standing next to him.
Sombra was in a full pony body, standing on all fours with his usual stature. But without regalia. Soon, all of them noticed, witnessing Sombra in this physical form instead of a spiritual one.
"Well...How do you feel?" Radiant Hope asked.
"Amazing...You actually did it..." Sombra was equally stunned as much as everyone else. The one individual to seemingly grant him his wish was his old best friend. He then smirked before knowing what this all meant. To Sombra, this meant that his resurgence and imminent reign had been revived.
Overjoyed, he then started cackling maniacally, stomping his hooves on the ground as it was satisfying to him to feel the surface of the world once more. "Yes! YES! This is perfect! A perfect return!"
"Do you have any idea what you have just done...?!" Cadence growled at Radiant Hope, reasonably aggravated that she would do such a thing. However, there was something amiss.
"Not quite..." Radiant Hope shook her head as there was a catch to this. "Sombra. You're not fully free."
"What...?" His joy quickly faded away by Radiant Hope's words. Disappointment had never been this visible to him before as he swivelled with his jaw open.
"You and Ash Ketchum are still connected. You can still return to your Umbral form, but, your magic is still limited. This spell was only meant to try and give you some chance of having a physical body." She explained, crushing Sombra's hopes.
"I-Impossible...I'm not fully free...This can't be." Sombra uttered as Cadence and Shining Armor felt as if a massive issue had been avoided there. "You got my expectations up, Hope. I thought for a moment that you could grant my freedom!" He erupted at her.
"I did what I could okay? I'm grateful that I got my chance to try something. I was hoping that you'd at least see that there was some hope. Especially with how hard I've been working." Hope lowered her eyes, wanting Sombra to feel proud of her achievement, but that wasn't the case.
"Tch." Sombra only scoffed, not giving that acknowledgement. Despite having this form, for the time being, he wished to revert to his shadow form. And he did so, becoming a body of dark smoke with only his head being revealed as he floated next to Ash, facing away from his old friend.
"I am so confused right now," Thorax spoke as he and Chrysalis were certainly out of the loop for this one. They were trying to keep up with this.
"Sorry. I should've introduced myself. My name is Radiant Hope. But you can call me Hope for short." Hopefully introduced herself, bowing promptly. "You were all looking for me, weren't you?"
"Yeah. Mostly Sombra." Ash replied.
"Princess Celestia thought you were lost forever, Hope." Cadence chimed in. "What happened? And where did you go after all these years."
"Right. There should be answers to all of this, shouldn't there? Truth is, I can't give them to you." She apologized. "Neither to you as well, Ash Ketchum. I know about your fame after getting around."
"You can't? Why not?" Shining Armor asked. "You've been away from Princess Celestia for so long. You could at least tell her."
"I can tell her. But I'm afraid all of you can't pass it on." She shook her head as they looked at each other, confused. "You see...for these past years, I've been too busy. Focused on one thing. To help Sombra. Mainly with the Umbrum more than anything. It's taken me so long to make any progress. And all of that has been botched by the crossing over of these worlds."
"But you're telling us why you left for so long right now." Thorax pointed out. "Why didn't you say so in the first place? I mean, I still don't know what's going on but..."
"I haven't revealed what I truly meant by that. So I guess I should come clean. If I was going to help Sombra, I needed to get rid well...famous figures such as yourself. "Just then, her tone had changed. But not too drastically from her usual gentle manner. However, the words she spewed out shocked them. It sounded like a threat.
"Say what now?" said Ash.
"Pikachu?"
"It was my fault. The first time, I couldn't let Princess Celestia and Luna hurt Sombra again. He's my best friend." Hope closed her eyes with Sombra only slightly taking a peek, not fully facing her. "I can't let it happen again now that I've got this chance. I have to try and keep him happy with what he yearns for. Is what I would do, but with everything that's happened so far, that's no longer the case."
"I'm getting kinda lost here..." Shining Armor shrugged.
"You aren't going to like this then...I wanted to help Sombra take over the Crystal Empire again."
"You WHAT?!" Naturally, Cadence and Shining Armor were the most shocked about this. Ash was less surprised while Chrysalis and Thorax remained neutral on this.
"I was. But Sombra somehow returned fully. I suspect it was because of the Rift. I was too late to approach there and do anything, plus, the attack of Eternatus, the invasion and so much only slowed it all down."
"Are you saying that you would've done it at any time if you had the right chance?!" Upset at this revelation, Shining Armor stormed in Radiant Hope's direction.
"Yes." She was honest about it, shocking Cadence and Shining Armor even further. "Even now, I'd try. But that's because I want to support Sombra, even if it means the conquering of my home. But it's the only way I can help. I should've been there for him from the start."
"I can't believe what I'm hearing...That's the only way you can think of helping him?" Cadence shook her head, flabbergasted at Radiant Hope's choices. Radiant Hope only looked away, rubbing her hooves with a pouting face. "Cadence was greatly disappointed in her. "I don't know what Celestia would say or do afterwards if this was found out."
"I'm sorry." Then, tears formed up in her eyes as she backed away slowly. "I don't know know what else to do. Please forgive me." Afterwards, Radiant Hope had galloped away, running from the scene. Shining Armor and Cadence stood there contemplating things.
But as they stood there, Ash decided to follow her. "Ash. Where are you going?" Cadence asked.
"I'm going after her."
"It's best to just call it quits." Shining Armor shook his head. "Seems like she's made up her mind and finding her didn't lead to much. I was hoping to bring her back to Princess Celestia as a reunion but..."
"We can't support how she would help against the fall of the Crystal Empire if given the chance," said Cadence. "You understand, right?"
"Yeah, I gotcha." Ash understood completely. "But still...her heart was in the right place. Leaving her now with all of that just won't be right. I'll be right." He went after her either way, choosing to help Radiant Hope. Cadence would try and go after him, only to stop immediately.
"Oh, Ash...Your kindness can be stellar and overwhelming a lot of the time..." Cadence could only sigh, allowing Ash to go after her. They would stand there for a while with Chrysalis and Thorax being there for them.
Ash followed the trail of Radiant Hope, catching up to her already. Sombra could only look at Ash, curious about something that was on his mind. "Answer me this, Ash Ketchum. Why is it that you continue to do this?"
"Do what?"
"Here I thought you would only assist your friends and nothing more. But ever since I informed you of Radiant Hope, you were willing to try and find her for me. And right now, you are even on the verge of helping her now. Why is that? What drives you to help others?"
"Do I need a reason to help someone in need?" Ash gave a clear and short answer. The same answer he gave to Mewtwo years ago. Ash's sense of helping others was always prominent no matter what. "I don't care who it is, I can't just sit or stand by. Not ever."
"Helping for no reason? You are always far stood odd for me. But, I suppose, in a way, I have some respect for you. I do despite you still."
"Feeling's mutual." Ash grinned, taking that as a compliment despite Sombra still having a burning hatred for him. "But what about you and Hope? Even after all she said and tried to do..."
"Ah, yes. What do I think?" Sombra closed his eyes pondering for a moment. Mainly pondering about the past. "Back then, even before I knew was an Umbrum. All before my conquest, Hope was there, being an orphan and living amongst other orphans in the orphanage. I was among one of those orphans before I knew about my mother. As much as it pains me to say this...but you already heard our conversation prior to this, we were friends. Best friends. Completely inseparable."
"Pika..."
"My, we did everything together. Childhood innocence at its peak. But that all changed when I looked into the Crystal Heart with her. Her future was being a princess and mine was turning out to be the form that you know as of today."
"Yeah..." Ash nodded in response. "You ended up going with what the heart showed you. It couldn't be avoided?"
"Not at all. The heart's projections are absolute. I at first hoped to put them out of my mind. Hope was there to try and help me, even when I had a terrible illness. At least, that's what I believed. It was no illness. Every year, this feeling only worsened, until one day, the Umbrum inside of me was finally coming out. Much happened afterwards Do you remember the red crystal I mentioned?"
"The one where you found your mother. Yeah, I remember." Ash stood by a pile of rocks, sitting next to it with his partner. "I guess that's when you found out about what you were."
"More than that. Once Hope received a letter that she would be a princess soon, I knew my fate was sealed. I never told her what I saw within the Crystal Heart. I ran. Until I found the crystal. That was when I discovered that I was an Umbrum, a race of Shadow Ponies imprisoned in the ground. Right below the Crystal Empire after their attack on the Empire centuries before."
"And then?"
"I accepted my fate. But not before taking out my anger on Princess Amore, the previous ruler of the Crystal Empire before my reign. How I had such disdain for her. She had kept this truth from me for so long. I struck her down afterwards." Sombra smirked. "Accepting my destiny was almost a satisfying feeling."
"Pika?!"
"And after doing so, that was when I began my reign, and the events you would come to know transpired. But...even after Hope went to the princesses, even after these thousands of years, I am in shock that she would still try and assist me even when she betrayed me. Why is that? I don't understand." Sombra found it hard to contemplate Hope's reasoning for still trying to help him to this day.
"That's what friends do, right?" But Ash had the answer to that difficult reason. "It's not too hard to get. There's always gonna be someone for you out there. Even if it's just your one and only friend."
"That is your answer? Friendship again?" Sombra grew tired of hearing about frienship.
"What else would it be?" He chuckled. "It's either that or family. Having a friend by your side is a neat feeling. Especially one that's always gonna try and help you. I know my friends are always there. Right, buddy?"
"Ash Ketchum is right." Just then, arriving at the scene instead of continuing to run away was Radiant Hope. She revealed herself from being behind a pile of rocks.
"Hope? Did you hear all of that?" Sombra questioned.
"I did. Everything. And I have something to confess. Look at me, Sombra. Don't you see anything off with me?" Radiant Hope then stood still, hoping that Sombra would notice an oddity. Sombra took an intensive look, searching for anything bizarre.
That was when it kicked in. Something was amiss. Sombra's destiny had been sealed once he looked into the Crystal Heart. However, Hope's destiny, which was to be a princess, was missing something crucial. The alicorn physiology. "You...Where are your wings? And you have stayed the same height after all these years. What is this?"
"That's because I never went with my destiny. I saw myself as a princess, but I never became one. After what happened, I left my training at Canterlot to try and help you. To find you."
"You defied the Crystal Heart...You never became a princess because of me?" Sombra was reasonably taken aback by this. A set destiny had been denied. Something he never expected. He took a moment to take it all in before choosing to appear out into his physical form.
Ash stood back, allowing them to have their moment. Sombra wanted to get up close for this. "That's right. I'm only around because I still have some alicorn physiology inside of me. I'm essentially on the verge of becoming one."
"Hope." Sombra stopped right in front of her, deciding to take a deep breath before lowering his head to her. Something that he never does usually to anyone due to his high and mighty sense of himself. "I'm so sorry. Even minutes ago, I wanted to hurt you for turning on me. I never dreamed I'd rob you of your destiny."
"Sombra, you're a fool." A saddened Radiant Hope closed her eyes, growling for a bit. "You didn't rob me of anything. I had made my choice between my destiny and you. I chose you." She vigorously pointed her hoof at him. "Forget all this jabber about destiny. I never believed in it! You're the only thing I've ever believed in."
"I..."
"I need to be elsewhere right now." Radiant Hope turned around. "Good luck with your physical form. Ash Ketchum. Please continue to look after him."
"Hm." Ash nodded. He would do just that as he's already been doing.
"Where are you going now?! Even after reuniting you would leave now?" Sombra roared.
"I have to be somewhere else, Sombra. I want to continue helping you. But We'll meet again." Radiant Hope then left the area in general via the use of the Teleportation Spell. Now, she couldn't be tracked as she had dematerialized out of thin air, going somewhere else.
As for Sombra, he felt distraught at the moment. All he could do now was return to his shadow form and float next to Ash as always. Ash had taken all of this after letting them have their moment.
"Boy. What do you think about destiny?" Sombra asked.
"When I started my Pokemon Journey, I always thought it was my destiny to become a Pokemon Master. But that wasn't it. I had to forge my own destiny. And I'm still on that path to making it real."
"A fine answer." Sombra was satisfied with that reply. "It irritates me how much you know how to answer. Let me be for a while before I choose to emerge as my physical form. I have a lot to think about."
"Yeah. I hear ya." Ash would let Sombra rest and think for a while as he and Pikachu returned to Cadence and the others. Speaking of Cadence's group, they were mostly thinking of what to do with Radiant Hope. Mainly Cadence and Shining Armor. Not so much Chrysalis or Thorax.
When they saw Ash and Pikachu returning, they wondered if Radiant Hope was with them. But she wasn't. Ash had a few things to explain. Sombra clearly wasn't in the mood for doing so.
This wouldn't be the end, however. As Radiant Hope said, they will meet again. But Sombra had to wonder if the outcome would be better on their second meeting and what the future would hold as the journey continues.
Baltimare. Here, a Contest Hall could be found. And where there was a Contest Hall, Pokemon Coordinators were soon to follow. Sweetie Belle was one of those coordinators. She had arrived at Baltimare, ready for her next contest. And coming to watch her was one of the teachers at the Pokemon School and essentially the perfect mentor for all Pokemon Coordinators.
Fantina.
"Ah, Sweetie Belle, you made it. I was expecting you today," said Fantina, approaching Sweetie Belle and her friends. "Right on time."
"Thanks, Ms Fantina. I almost ran late since I stayed up all night." Sweetie Belle chuckled as her usual habit of practising contest moves intensively continued. "Phione was there to help keep me up. He's been big help back home."
"Staying up late again? Non, non, Sweetie Belle." Fantina wagged her finger in disapproval. "You don't want to suddenly fall flat on your face during a contest, do you?"
"Sorry. Major force of habit."
"So. Which number ribbon is this?" Fantina asked. "I heard here in Equestria that 8 Ribbons are needed to enter the Grand Festival. A bit too harsh, in my opinion. Back in our world, only five are needed."
"Wait, it's 5?" Rarity gasped. "Oh, that would have made things far easier for us. Why did it go up to 8 then?"
Says here that it was a typo." Goh looked at his Rotomphone to find out why. "One of BigTime Ben's Pokemon ended up entering 8 and it was too late to change it. So the organizers went through with it."
"Is that why?" Rainbow Dash and the others leaned in, gazing at the phone. They found some humour in that reason. "That's kinda funny. Heh."
"Who cares how long it is? As long as I get to have some fun!"
"Fun is always key. Mais! There is a condition." Fantina snapped her fingers. "If you have five ribbons, you are made eligible and you can skip the other three and enter the Grand Festival. Or you can choose to go all the way. Which will it be, Sweetie Belle?"
"If it would get you to stop exhausting yourself every night, Sweetie Belle, I would choose the 5 Ribbon limit." Rarity leaned in, suggesting the quicker option to her little sister.
"Hmm..." Sweetie Belle pondered, shuffling through the two decisions in her mind. She already reached a conclusion that she had revealed to everyone. "Eh. I'll see when I get there. But right now, I wanna get this next ribbon so badly!"
"Compris!" Fantina clapped her hands. "Then let us get going as they say!"
They made their way to the Contest Hall with Sweetie Belle getting ready to sign herself up. But also there to sign up was Jessie, who was always looking for the next contest ribbon. She had already brought along her clothes to disguise herself as Jesselle and would use the Rocket Prize Machine to find bring herself some Pokemon.
Baltimare's Contest Hall.
Inside the Contest Hall, the usual announcer Marian, who was prominent in a lot of, if not every single Pokemon Contest out there. The spotlight shined on her as she adjusted her hair quickly. "Hm?" She soon noticed how the light had shined on her, getting into position. "Good afternoon! Prepare yourselves to be charmed with an unbelievable assortment of Pokemon as we bring you exciting Contest interactions between Pokemon and Coordinator! So without further ado, it's time to witness the majesty of the Baltimare Pokemon Contest!"
Cheers roared through the hall as all of the coordinators had either prepared themselves or were preparing themselves. Sweetie Belle, right after signing up, went into the preparation room. And there, she saw a few familiar faces.
Mainly Velvetwind, who had been seen once more. Other familiar faces involved Premium Polish who still had Princess Flurry Heart from another world as her bodyguard. Flurry Heart still kept that bodyguard disguise to conceal herself.
"Good to see you all again," said Sweetie Belle with a wave. "I haven't seen you in a while, Velvetwind."
"Me neither." She waved back at the unicorn. "I'm here for my next ribbon. It took a long time to get here. What about you?"
"Well, I've only got three ribbons. Couldn't win the fourth ribbon, so this is my fifth contest right now." The unicorn chuckled as she was just two ribbons short at the moment. "I've gone up some scary and tough competition. I wonder if Gelidity's here this time?"
"No. But I sure am." Arriving at the scene and stepping forward was another resident from Ponyville here to participate. And a resident that had finally shown herself at a Pokemon Contest. Sweetie Belle turned around to see Diamond Tiara's presence arriving. "I'll replace Gelidity as the biggest coordinator. She won't have to be here."
"Diamond Tiara? You're finally at a contest!" Sweetie Belle gasped. "Sweet! Is this your first time?"
"First time?" Premium blinked for a moment. "That means she's way behind, isn't she?"
"Don't worry about that." But Diamond Tiara didn't reveal anything to them, despite the fact that she had been making far too many preparations to appear larger than life in a Pokemon Contest. "You should worry about how I'm going to win this. It won't be just me and Purrloin this time."
Diamond Tiara showed great confidence. Sweetie Belle could even see parts of the old Diamond Tiara creeping out with this confidence. But that was only natural in competitions such as this.
"I'll have the style to breeze through this. And nopony's got more style than me." She wagged her hoof along with Purrloin wagging her paw.
"Purr."
"I don't know about that..." But Premium begged to differ as she shifted her eyes. "If anything, I think I've got some great style going. Mom always said to make yourself look bigger. I'm used to it by now and nopony does it better than me." She winked.
"We'll see about that. I won't just dethrone Gelidity as the strongest coordinator, but I'll also be the best at style too. Just you watch!" Diamond Tiara aimed her hoof at Premium Polish. Premium Polish saw that was a direct challenge.
"I don't think so!" Premium wasn't about to let anyone steal her mojo and presence as the most stylish coordinator. Due to this conversation and encounter, there were tiny sparks of lightning that flew from their eyes, clashing to show how they were the most competitive here at the moment. "This contest's mine!"
"Nuh-uh!" Diamond Tiara heavily denied that.
"Yuh-huh!" Only for Premium Polish to reinstate it as a destined fact.
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yuh-huh!"
They went back and forth with this, truly acting like their age. Children. Purrloin stayed out of it, licking her paws and choosing not to engage at all. The other coordinators just gazed at these duelling fillies.
"Hope you can prove it on stage." Diamond Tiara smirked before the monitor on the wall had brought Marian's face. All attention was drawn to it.
"Our victorious Contest Coordinator will receive the prestigious Baltimare Ribbon!" Marian then held out the ribbon to them all, revealing Baltimare's exclusive ribbon that could go to anyone here.
"And after five wins, a coordinator is eligible to compete in the Grand Festival! Or, if they want to go the extra mile, shoot for the full 8 here in Equestria! And now, it is my distinct honour to our panel of judges!" Marian then showed off three judges that were present here. The first two were very noticeable. "Our head judge, Mr Contesta!"
"Thank you!" Contesta put his hands together. "I can't wait to be thrilled by the many brilliant performances I'm sure are ready to be shown to all of us today."
"Next, from the Pokemon Fanclub, Mr Sukizo!"
"I just had a Baltimare Salad coming here. Already, this city is remarkable!" Sukizo uttered, complimenting the locations as always.
"And finally, a great helper to young and upcoming Pokemon Coordinators, the Gym Leader of Hearthome City and a teacher at the Pokemon School, it's Fantina!"
"I'm hoping to see a lot of my students here today." Fantina giggled excitedly, knowing that one of her students, Sweetie Belle, would be here. "No fan favourites, toutefois."
"And I'm your announcer, Marian. The pleasure is all mine! So now, let's begin with Round One! The Performance Stage! Where all of the gifted Pokemon show off their moves! And here is our first entrance!" Marian then turned to the curtains, ready to reveal the first coordinator. "You're on!"
"Hello there!" Rushing out into the scene was Jessie. Or rather, Jesselle as her newest contest disguise. Upon rushing out, she held out the Poke Ball, throwing it upwards to reveal the Pokemon within. "Show yourself, Oricorio!"
"Oricorio!" The Oricorio of her choice in this was the Sensu Style Oricorio. Once Oricorio emerged, ghostly wisps flew out, adding some quick and easy style points. Watching this contest were Jessie's trusted friends, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet. They took the disguise of janitors. Mainly the janitor disguise they keep at the Pokemon School.
"Our Jessie has some talent for having a new Pokemon be prepared for contests. First time too." James commented. "Perhaps that's her true talent among everything else."
"True that." Meowth agreed. "Only took 7 minutes tops. Wish I could get stuff done that quickly."
"Wobbuffet."
"Watch this! Oricorio, show them why you're the Dancing Pokemon with Sky Attack and Agility!"
"Ori!" Oricorio's eyes glinted for a split second. Afterwards, it had coated itself in the usual golden aura of Sky Attack. And after doing so, Oricorio started dancing but not before using Agility while still having that aura. While dancing, moving from spot to spot, Oricorio's speed was building.
The golden trail of Sky Attack's Aura started forming a shape, correlating with Oricorio's dancing. In fact, Oricorio was starting to form something from the Aura. And while doing so, there was another one of it. Or rather, an afterimage. The speed increase of Agility allowed Oricorio to create an afterimage that also had the golden trail.
Everyone's eyes were now struggling to keep up as more afterimages of Oricorio showed themselves, moving in different directions depending on where the real Oricorio had been to previously. "Look at that! All the afterimages from Agility are leaving their own Sky Attacks!" Marian commented. "And what's that they're drawing?"
"Show them, Oricorio!"
"Corio!" The Dancing Pokemon cawed as its afterimages and itself had eventually finished their Sky Attack drawing. And soon, it was revealed to be a drawing of Jessadia's face, made out of the golden gleaming aura of Sky Attack.
"Oh, it's her face!" The face could be seen by everyone as its reflection reached the ceiling due to how overwhelmingly bright it was, causing everyone to look up and down. Oricorio then landed gracefully, taking a bow as the energy of Sky Attack had combusted, resulting in a golden explosion afterwards that dropped sparkles.
"I didn't know you could do that..." Sweetie Belle gawked at the performance that Oricorio had made. "I mean, I kinda did but..."
"Uh-huh..." Diamond Tiara and Premium Polish were slightly intimidated by this. Jesselle was a genuine threat as at the end of the day, it was still Jessie and she did have past contest experiences to make herself skilled enough. If anything, Jessie's previous disguise as Jessalina the coordinator is most likely why she was such a quick learner. Experience certainly pays, even if she was among younger characters.
"It's not every day that you get to see the artwork done via Pokemon moves." Mr Contesta give his opinion and it was strikingly positive.
"I thought only Smeargle could do that, but it seems not! Remarkable!" So did Mr Sukizo.
"I always said that Pokemon Battling can sometimes be art, and I'm thrilled that someone showed it off! Bravo!" Fantina applauded. And so did everyone else. It was safe to say that they all enjoyed Jessie's display.
"Light work." Jessie chuckled before returning Oricorio. She then walked off the stage, knowing that she had impressed many once more.
"And now, onto our next coordinators!" Marian exclaimed as the next coordinators came through, showing off what their Pokemon were capable of. Four coordinators came on, showing off their Pokemon and their new skills. And after those four, Diamond Tiara came out to perform.
"I've been waiting for this! Go, Purrloin!" Diamond Tiara sent her Purrloin in, throwing the Poke Ball. Cat scratches emerged once the Poke Ball had been opened for extra flair.
"Purrloin!"
"Make yourself stand out with this new move! Lash Out!"
"Purr..!" Purrloin sat down as her fur stood up. The Devious Pokemon had then allowed the darkness within her to manifest, forming into something. Lash out usually has tendrils that come with them and Purrloin would use those tendrils to full effect. "Purrloin!"
And that effect started with Purrloin immediately using the aura of Lash Out to darken herself, essentially creating a shadow over her body. And it worked well as her green eyes shined in the darkness. Afterwards, from behind her, the tendrils had shown up in their black and red appearance, flowing behind Purrloin and acting like tails.
If anything, Purrloin looked like an alternate Ninetales as the black and red of the tendrils managed to illuminate within the shadow spot. The green glow was a bonus. "Nice! Using all of those tendrils to mimic a group of tails! It looks a lot like the tails of a Ninetales! Only there are...I think 15 of them? How many times have I said tails now?" Marian squinted, trying to count how many tendrils were there.
Purrloin appeared as some sort of demon with the way she presented herself. Some were intimidated but amazed nonetheless. Purrloin then purred once, allowing the tendrils to intensify. "Purr!"
"You were right about it resembling that of a Ninetales! I wouldn't be surprised if another kind of Ninetales exists out there that matches that appearance!" Contesta certainly liked it.
"Adorable yet intimidating. Exactly what a Pokemon can be. But overall, remarkable!"
"Yes! How Terrifiant! It reminded me of those old childhood stories my mother would read to me. How nostalgic." Fantina enjoyed it too for some nostalgic value.
"Beat that." Diamond Tiara then grinned, gazing at the curtains where Premium Polish, who was up next, peeked through. Premium pouted before giving a narrow-eyed expression.
"That was awesome!" So far, that one was a personal favourite of Ash. "I bet they could grab something if used in a battle!"
"Pikachu!"
"Kinda gave me the creeps..." Goh chuckled nervously. "Something with lots of limbs makes me uneasy."
"Good work, my little pony. We'll have the next coordinator come in, but first, a quick minute break to talk about the new Poke Ball developed her in Equestria!" Marian winked as the contest took a brief break.
Meanwhile, Premium now felt a greater drive to outperform Diamond Tiara. Or have the judges prefer her performance. She was up next. Diamond Tiara walked past her with a bright grin as a rivalry had already sparked between them. However, the moment she went out of view, Diamond Tiara hid behind a wall before taking a deep breath.
"Yes!" And after that deep breath, she pumped her hooves, feeling proud of herself. "I didn't think I would do well on my first try...But I did it. And it's all thanks to you, Purrloin."
"Purrloin." In truth, Diamond Tiara was nervous. Rightfully so. Anyone would be nervous for big moments such as this and it paid off swimmingly. Purrloin then went up to her partner, nuzzling on her.
"Great job, Diamond Tiara." Catching Diamond Tiara off guard was Sweetie Belle who peeked around the corner. Diamond Tiara jumped from this sudden surprise as she was hoping no one would spot her acting like this.
"Gh! You scared me...Where you listening in the whole time...?" She sighed.
"Just the last part." Sweetie Belle giggled. "You sounded pretty nervous though."
"Don't worry about that." Diamond Tiara tried shrugging it off as light work. "It was nothing for Purrloin and me. I'm sure you'll do good too out there. I've seen your performances after all."
"Thanks."
"But don't get it twisted. I'm still aiming to get ahead of you. I'll rack up as many ribbons as I can. I'll beat you and everyone else. Even that scarily talented Jessadia and Geliditiy." Diamond Tiara proclaimed, essentially deciding to seal her fate as the best coordinator out there.
"Okay. If you say so. Just till you see what Meowstic can do." Sweetie Belle was just as confident in herself as Diamond Tiara, albeit with some more oomph since she's been at this a bit longer. Eventually, Premium Polish went out and did what she could, having Masquerain as her choice.
Diamond Tiara watched carefully, seeing what Masquerain could pull off. Just to observe her opponent carefully. Although, there is a chance she wouldn't use Masquerain in the battle section. If she passed. Masquerain used Bug Buzz and Aqua Jet, using the speed of Aqua Jet to juggle the green spheres of Bug Buzz that were made. The Eyeball Pokemon certainly performed well.
It was coming down to the last performances and the remaining two would be Velvetwind and Sweetie Belle. And once Velvetwind came into the scene, she sent out her Pokemon. Her first Pokemon and trusted partner who was now fully evolved.
Drifblim. Drifblim showed up, also having Ghost wisps with its Poke Ball emergence. Drifblim's appearance immediately brought dread to the area with the aura it was exuding. Marian felt a chill coarse through her body."Gh...! Chilling!"
"Drifblim! Self-Destruct!" Velvetwind commanded, giving the riskiest command to date as everyone gasped.
"Wait, what?! Won't Self-Destruct make it faint?!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "What's she doing?!"
"Unless..." Twilight thought for a moment, recalling the last time Self-Destruct had been used. And the most memorable moment of it was Spiritomb. That was when she realized what this meant. "Oh, that's why!"
"Drif...!" Drifblim's body started radiating an orange light as his body was on the verge of combustion and releasing a highly volatile explosion. The judges even seemed intimidated by this.
"Phantom Force, quick!"
"Blim!" With impressive speeds, Drifblim had manipulated reality, forming a portal of Ghost energy below. And right as he did that, his body released all of the Infinity Energy, causing a dome-shaped explosion. And that explosion managed to go well with the Ghost portal as Drifblim sunk into it. But not before turning himself intangible, allowing the explosion to phase through him.
"Oh! Drifblim used its Ghost intangibility to phase through the explosion and even made a nice formation with the orange colours of the explosion and the purple colours of the portal! Splendid!"
"Blim!" Afterwards, Driflbim popped out, still in one piece as the smoke cleared. It was a success. Risky, but a success either way. Velvetwind had certainly improved since the last time. And her parents were always there to support her.
"They had me worried there for a bit with Self-Destruct. But I suppose I should've known that the bond they share was powerful enough for them to work around it."
"Remarkable! Now that is trust!"
"The things you can pull off with Ghost-Type intangibility is endless! I am so glad that everyone could see what could be done!" Fantina loved this since she owned a Drifblim and was a Ghost-Type specialist.
"The same trick that Spiritomb used," Twilight called back to the Spiritomb attack. Spiritomb did do so something similar indeed. Velvetwind then walked off, returning as Sweetie Belle was the last one.
"Wow...I never saw her in that much action at all...But she's gotten good. Guess that was my first taste of things to come, huh?" Sweetie Belle said to herself as Diamond Tiara and Premium Polish weren't too impressed. Not yet at least "Okay...here goes." Sweetie Belle gulped as Marian called for the next coordinator. Rushing out of the curtains was Sweetie Belle was she then threw the Poke Ball into the air. Out of it came Meowstic.
"Meowstic!"
"Meowstic! Make yourself look all fancy with Psyshock!"
"Meow! Meow...!" No one was wasting time. Meowstic started by jumping into the air and putting her arms out in the front. She had then formed masses of thick light blue, blue and purple energy that was held in place. It seemed to be as squishy as jelly from how she was holding it. "Stic...!"
"Mush and change it!"
"Meow-Meow!" Meowstic then started using her arms to change the shape of the Psyshock. Despite it being energy, the masses could still be interacted with. Meowstic was essentially performing arts and crafts in front of everyone as her arms were moving rapidly to form this new shape.
And it turned out to be a cape, amulet and a crown. Meowstic had used those three masses each, forming regal wear. Fit for royalty. Meowstic had then placed the crown on her first, then the amulet and then the cape. Surprisingly, the energy from the Psyshock did not go off.
"Look at that!" Marian gained stars in her eyes. "Isn't that royal?! What do our judges think?!"
"Royal indeed. Now that's a getup fit for a princess or a queen." Contesta approved of this clothing choice within a contest.
"Now the Pokemon is as stylish as the trainer! And that glow makes it all the more remarkable!"
"What else can I say? A quick learner and an innovative trainer. No wonder her sister is a fashionista." Fantina complimented her, referring to Rarity as well. Rarity felt some joy from being mentioned. It was safe to say that Sweetie Belle's performance was enjoyed greatly.
Meowstic, acting cocky at the moment, made the masses disappear as they re-entered her power. Sweetie Belle pranced joyfully before turning Meowstic. Afterwards, she left to the waiting room and with that final performance done, the first stage was over.
"How'd Meowstic do that without being hurt or anything?!" Pinkie Pie wondered. "Last time I checked, Psychic-Types aren't immune to each other!" Pikie Pie exclaimed.
"Either that defence is otherworldly and Meowstic is good at holding back the pain or some parts of Psyshock protected her. Either way, it was impressive."
"Espeon!"
"And that brings us to the end of round one! So please be patient while the results of our judges are gathered and then announced!"
The moment of truth was incoming. Only 8 of them would advance to the next round and have that chance of gaining the Baltimare Ribbon. But with 8 still being a low number in retrospect, the pressure was on. Sweetie Belle felt relieved after doing so well but was hoping to make it to the next round.
"Phew..." She sat on the couch with Meowstic, deciding to take a slight rest. "I might get that next ribbon after so long..."
"I might get a major win there," said Premium. "After that, it'll e almost time for me to go to the Grand Festival. I'm gonna be leaving a lot of you behind."
"We'll see about that." Diamond Tiara begged to differ.
"How many ribbons do you have?" Premium leaned in. "Because at least Sweetie Belle has like...three I think? You make it sound like you're new to this."
"Pssh! So what if I'm new?" Diamond Tiara scoffed as it was hard to tell if she was this new to Pokemon Contests. Only she, and a few others at Ponyville, knew this answer. "I'm still great at what I do. Isn't that right, Purrloin?"
"Purr."
5 minutes later and the judges made up their minds. They knew who they were going to go for. 8 contests were about to be chosen and hearts were beating fast. So fast that Audino could hear them all once the crowd of people's voices had simmered down.
"Alright! Our long and anticipated wait is finally over. After careful consideration by our panel of judges, we now present to you our 8 talented coordinators who will be moving on to the second round!" Marian announced as all eyes were on the giant monitor.
8 faces showed up with question marks. The many coordinators held their breaths, standing there frozen. Afterwards, the questions marks faded away as the rest had been revealed. Sweetie Belle was first and her first opponent was revealed to be Velvetwind. Jessie was second with someone else being her opponent in the second round.
Diamond Tiara and Premium Polish were paired up. Of all the times for this to happen, especially during their newly found rivalry. And finally, two other coordinators would challenge each other. Those were the 8.
"Made it!" Sweetie Belle cheered. "And I get to see Velvetwind's move up close and personal too."
"They totally heard us." Diamond Tiara said to Premium Polish. "I don't blame them. If there was a chance for us to go against each other, it would be this. I can't wait to show you what I've got."
"I should say the same thing. Cause I'm winning this." An equally confident Premium held out her Poke Ball, anticipating for this second round to begin.
"I kinda have a bad feeling about this...but it should be fine." A nervous Sweetie Belle commented as Jessie gazed at her competitors. By this point, Jessie knew how challenging they could be.
Any one of these coordinators could take her out. Especially the ones closely related to the friend group of Ash Ketchum and Pikachu. Jessie by now knows that any friend of Ash is bound to be a threat. "I won't lose this..." Jessie said to herself, scrunching her face. "I need that next ribbon right now, and I won't let all these twerpettes stop me. Baltimare Ribbon, you'll be mine!"
The Baltimare Contest was heating up now. 8 coordinators remain and two of them had already sparked a fierce rivalry. And a return of a familiar face. With the sun high in the skies this afternoon, it wasn't time for its orange glow to form a sunset yet as the journey continues.
The Baltimare Pokemon Contest had been underway. Currently, the performance stage had come to an end with only 8 Coordinators making it through. Going against each other for the second stage were Sweetie Belle and Velvetwind. Then, Jessie against another coordinator, Premium Polish against Diamond Tiara and two other coordinators going at it.
Soon, the second stage would begin as each coordinator were deciding which Pokemon to use. They had already seen what each other's Pokemon were so there was some basis to go off on. Some even took a peek. Mainly Diamond Tiara, who was peeking at Premium Polish's side, seeing which Pokemon she would go for.
"No peeking." But the older Flurry Heart, who acted as a secret bodyguard to Premium Polish, put her hoof in front of Diamond Tiara's face. But very soon, Premium Polish did the same, appearing behind Flurry Heart just to gaze at Diamond's Pokemon. "You too?!"
"Heh. Sorry. Just gotta prepare for the most, right?" Premium Polish wasn't ashamed of it. Diamond Tiara did it first anyway. This was just childish squabbling between two children after all. "So. Watcha doing?"
"That's for me to know and for you to find out when it's our turn. Besides, I've got everything I need to know right here." Diamond Tiara proudly tapped her head, referring to her intellect. "You won't even know which Pokemon I'm gonna use."
"Aren't you the one who always has a Purrloin though?" Premium squinted her eyes as Diamond Tiara then twitched. There was some truth in that sentence. A harsh truth.
"N-Nevermind that!" She tried playing it off casually, acting like she was intimidated.
"You two are adorable aren't you?" Jesselle, AKA Jessie's contest persona, chuckled at the squabble that was made from Diamond Tiara and Premium Polish. "Then again, I would expect little kids to bicker about small things. You need to take advice from your senior over here. Who cares out about rivalries when you're so composed?"
"Oh, now that I think about it...You don't have a rival, do you, Jesselle?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
"Who needs one when you're constantly beating your opponents?" Jessie simply shrugged, getting ready to sit on the sofa with a royal pose.
"Wait..." Sweetie Belle pondered before quickly correcting her. "Didn't I beat you once?"
"Gh!" Jessie grimaced and twitched, almost breaking the sofa from the instant she sat down, overwhelmed by Sweetie Belle's reply.
"Sweet! That means I have another rival to compete with, don't I?" Sweetie Belle liked that very much. To her, there was something special and entertaining about having a rival. Someone to help push her. Then again, a majority if not all of her rivals have been friendly to her. Even the seemingly unstoppable Gelidity who was a natural-born prodigy in Pokemon Contests despite being new to the Pokemon World much like everyone else in this world. "At least we were on good terms that one time, huh?"
"Why you...!" Much like Diamond Tiara and Premium Polish, Jessie had been riled up, grizzling at Sweetie Belle. She knew this to be true and that's what agitated her. Sweetie Belle's polite and innocent grin only boosted that. "I'll leave you in the dust then!"
Jessie projected a virulent and heart-pounding projection of her anger. Sweetie Belle could see a massive figure of Jessie with crimson eyes as red as cinnabar gazing at her with a cruel aura as intense as a typhoon radiating out.
Whoever Jessie's opponent was in the battle stage, Sweetie Belle and the others could only hope that their punishment would be swift under the wrath of Jessie. Speaking of the battle stage, it was time for it to begin. And the first one between Sweetie Belle and Velvetwind was about to begin.
"Alright!" Marian shouted. "And now it's time for the Battle Stage! With a 5-minute time limit on the clock, coordinators much land their attacks as stylishly as possible, while lowering their opponents' points in the process. So sit back and enjoy the fantastic show with our first matchup! Sweetie Belle vs Velvet Wind!"
The two of them had entered the stage, standing at the opposite sides from each other. "It's time for the second stage to begin with this first battle! On my right, Sweetie Belle! And on my left, Velvetwind! Send out your Pokemon, please!"
"I'm going for you! Meowstic!" Sweetie Belle chose her ace, Meowstic. She used her magic to throw the Poke Ball as it opened up, releasing the Psychic sparkles from within.
"Meowstic!"
"Driblim, it is!" Velvetwind went for her ace as well. Drifblim.
"Drifblim!"
"Begin now!"
"We'll go first! Drifblim, use Haze and Gyro Ball!"
"Drif! Driblim!" It was Velvetwind and Drifblim who would go first. Drifblim did a cute twirl before shooting out a black haze that covered the area. After making the black haze, the Blimp Pokemon had started rotating. Drifblim rotated in the general direction of the Haze, beginning to orbit some of it around its body.
And by doing so, not only did it become a purple blur from its intense spinning, but it also had a spiral of black haze around it. As if it was a planet. It even sent out whips of black haze that flew all over the place, deviating from the planet motif a bit. And in the midst of it, Sweetie Belle lost some points.
"Look at that! It's identical to one of those ringed planets out in the cosmos!" Marian announced.
"Oh! Okay then! Meowstic! Stop it with Quick Guard!"
"Meow!" Meowstic would play it defensively first. She had put her hands together and becomes outlined in a bright red aura. After doing so, the Psychic-Type had then pointed her hands forward, forming a bright red hexagonal barrier of energy with hexagonal shapes everywhere in front of herself.
"Now Psyshock!"
"Meowstic!" After making the hexagonal barrier, she summoned multiple masses of Psychic energy. Each of those masses had then hit some of the individual hexagons, causing them to be launched. Soon, a plethora of glowing hexagons were unleashed. Each of those hexagons' were given a nice dual glow from Psyshock. Scarlet and Violet made an excellent colour combo.
Those glowing hexagons met with the haze, using the protective capabilities of Quick Guard to cancel some of them out. However, it only worked on the first batch. The second wave of Haze was another story. The remaining Haze had then overpowered the hexagons.
"Rats! Quick Guard can't be used in succession!" Rarity exclaimed upon seeing the failure of Quick Guard a second time. "Just how long can Drifblim use that spinning Haze?!"
The intensity of Driflblim's spinning helped to overpower the hexagons as the haze had also attacked the barrier of Quick Guard. Quick Guard's protection cancelled it out, but Gyro Ball was still approaching. And with Haze hitting the barrier, Quick Guard was ineffective the second time, allowing Drifblim and the rest of the Haze orbiting it to approach.
"Meow?!" Meowstic gasped as she closed her eyes once the haze covered her. She started coughing once the Haze appeared.
"Ah! Meowstic!" Sweetie Belle gasped as Drifblim had then approached. Using the power of Gyro Ball, it had crashed into the Constraint Pokemon, taking more of Sweetie Belle's points away.
"M-Meow!" Meowstic cried out. She could be seen being launched out of the haze, flying through the air. The Psychic-Type growled before recovering, landing gracefully on the floor. "Meowstic...!" She then hissed at Drifblim.
"I thought Quick Guard would protect me there..." Sweetie Belle said to herself, looking at the monitor. She had currently lost more points than Velvetwind with Velvetwind only losing a bit. "I can't keep using it or else it won't be as useful." Quick Guard, while useful since it was a protection move, would only work in sparse moments, much like the other protection moves or it would be weakened.
That's when Sweetie Belle decided to go for another approach. It wouldn't be the defensive approach that she and Meowstic had done in the first few seconds. Not even the offensive approach. "Let's take off those points with some cuteness alone!" Meowstic, dash around and use Play Rough!"
"Meow!" Meowstic went on the move. But she didn't approach Drifblim. Instead, she was going wherever, dashing and using her speed in this instance. But while doing so, she had also made the sparkling Aura of the Fairy-Type sparkle around her. Usually, Play Rough was physical and involved a massive puff of smoke in the process, but its utility had been altered.
Meowstic sparked with magical dust adding to this shine. She couldn't fire anything with this sparkling body, but that was never Play Rough's intention as Velvetwind was somewhat intending some physical contact.
"What's she doing?" Velvetwind wondered before shaking her head. "Go and use Phantom Force!"
"Drif! Drifblim!" Drifblim was prepared to meet face to face with Meowstic with its own Physical attack. And that required forming a void of purple shadows from below, descending into the void.
"I was waiting for something like Phantom Force...So that's the only move I gotta worry about. Keep moving, Meowstic!" Sweetie Belle already knew about Drifblim's Phantom Force. Out of all of the moves, that was the one that proved to be the biggest threat to Meowstic as a Psychic-Type.
"Meow!"
"Blimp!" The void from Phantom Force appeared elsewhere near Meowstic, ready to try and cut her off. And emerging out of the void was Drifblim, ready for a clear hit.
"Don't stop, Meowstic! Dodge and keep running!"
"Stic! Meowstic!" Meowstic roared before suddenly front flipping over Drifblim. Drifblim couldn't pull off its stylish contest move successfully once Meowstic evaded it.
"Huh?!" Velvetwind was taken aback as Meowstic's stylish front flip was not only surprisingly high, but the sparkles coming from her body helped with it. Meowstic then stuck a superhero landing before dashing once more.
"What a flip!" Marian gawked. "Meowstic is doing a great job at keeping her distance and looking good while doing it! Who needs conflict in this?"
"Phantom Force into Haze this time!"
"Drifblim!" Drifblim made another void, pursuing Meowstic once more. Yet again, moving through the dimensions and Drifblim caught up to Meowstic. However, despite catching up and summoning another void, Meowstic was prepared for a second one.
"Meow!" She did a ballerina spin, similarly to what a Kirlia can do, spinning gracefully around the void. Once Drifblim emerged, it had missed once more with Meowstic dancing away. The Constraint Pokemon then turned her head, sticking her tongue out a Drifblim.
"What's her plan? Tire Drifblim out?" Twilight wondered. "I don't think Ghost-Types can get tired. At least not for a long time."
"That must be a tip from either Dawn or Fantina," said Ash as he knew the reason for this. "Sometimes, you don't need to attack to remove your opponent's points. You can do a lot to earn points for cuteness or coolness. Or anything. That's always one way to win in a contest."
"Oh, I get it now!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she and her friends looked at the monitor. Indeed, each time Meowstic dashed with the sparkles of Play Rough, she took off points from Velvetwind's side. Drifblim couldn't take as much away as it was failing to catch Meowstic or 'wow' the audience. Meowstic would keep performing different stylistic and agile tricks to avoid Drifblim each second she got the chance to do so.
This went for a while. Sweetie Belle grinned as she was not only getting cuteness points off but also beating the clock was she had already taken up a fair amount of time. And poor Drifblim was struggling to keep up.
"So that's what she's doing!" But soon, Velvetwind caught wind of Sweetie Belle and Meowstic's approach. And by looking at the monitor, it was clear as day. "Sweetie Belle, that's not fair at all!" She pouted.
"Teehee!" Sweetie Belle winked before sticking her tongue out. "I learned from the best." She then shifted her eye in Fantina's direction as Velvetwind puffed her cheeks with her face also turning red.
"That's pretty smart..." She was both agitated and gave a compliment to her rival. "But I won't let it end like this! Dance with them with Gyro Ball!"
"Drif...Blim!" Drifblim suddenly got on its head, appearing upside down. Afterwards, it had used Gyro Ball, spiralling in the same manner as a spinning top. Or rather a Hitmontop as a better resemblance. Thus, Drifblim started pursuing Meowstic.
"Look at this! We've got a chase! Drifblim's now going after Meowstic while being that usual purple blur!"
"Meow?" Meowstic witnessed Drifloon gaining on her. She had the speed advantage, but the Gyro Ball helped greatly to keep up. Drifblim was finally draining Sweetie Belle's points thanks to this trick.
"Drif!" Drifblim had then mimicked Meowstic, jumping over her once it had gained enough momentum. Meowstic and Sweetie Belle after Drifblim jumped over. "Blim!" After jumping over, Meowstic was ready to make a sharp turn, only for Drifblim to be a bit ahead of the curve, hitting the Constraint Pokemon square in the face.
"Meow!" Meowstic cried out before sliding on the floor. Drifblim approached once more with Gyro Ball, still utilizing it. And most likely, it would perform something stylish for extra points. That's when Sweetie Belle saw a chance.
"Now's our chance! You can get in there, Meowstic!"
"Meow!" Meowstic roared as she used the full power of Play Rough at last. She lunged in, approaching the spinning Drifblim instead of fleeing from it. Velvetwind thought that Meowstic would keep running as this threw her off guard. Meowstic glistened, leaving a trail of sparkles as she had then grabbed Drifblim, dragging it into Play Rough. "Meowstic!"
What followed was a shining cloud of smoke that shot out glistening sparkles all over the place. Meowstic and Drifblim were roughhousing within the cloud ferociously as the shining cloud certainly took massive points away from Velvetwind.
And out of the cloud, Drifblim came flying out as Meowstic tossed it out. Drifblim was fairly lightweight due to being the Blimp Pokemon. Drifblim felt dizzy and winded from this before tumbling on the floor. Drifblim tried recovering itself from that pummeling, however, even with this strength, there was one issue. Time was up.
All that running was certainly there to buy some time and it paid out.
"And that's it! Time!" Marian shouted with the timer beeping. Meowstic quickly put an end to her movements along with Drifblim. Although, Drifblim being winded meant that it was feeling dizzy. Sweetie Belle and Velvetwind looked to the monitor to see which one of them had done better.
"The coordinator moving on to the next battle is...Sweetie Belle!" Revealed on the monitor, Sweetie Belle's points were higher than Velvetwind's. She played the safe game and struck at the right moment.
"Yes! Yeah-haha!" Ecstatic, Sweetie Belle pranced around, accidentally using her magic to lift herself due to emotional overflow. "We did it, Meowstic!"
"Meowstic." Meowstc stood pompously, believing that it was light work for her. Velvetwind went up to Drifblim to comfort it after the round was over.
"Thank you, Driblim. Return." Velvetwind said before holding out its Poke Ball, returning the Blimp Pokemon. "Sweetie Belle. Thank you for this. I finally got to battle you and it was worth it. A bit."
"You're welcome, Velvet. It was a blast too. Right, Meowstic?"
"Meow." Meowstic looked away, thinking otherwise. She only saw and thought about absolute victory. Sweetie Belle only chuckled at Meowstic's brief response that wasn't much of a response either. Now that their match was over, it was time for the next one to come in. Jessie against another coordinator.
The two coordinators returned to the waiting room as Velvetwind was ready to head home soon. As for Jessie, still having the wrath that Sweetie Belle managed to create, the next coordinator was in for an unfortunate surprise.
And it was unfortunate. Jessie had used the other Pokemon from the Rocket Prize Machine, which ended up being another form of Oricorio. This time it was Baile Style Oricorio. And much like her wrath, Baile Style Oricorio brought raging fires to the round, overwhelming the opposing Pokemon which was a Whimsicott.
"Burn it down with Revelation Dance!"
"Ori!" Oricorio's Revelation Dance ended up being FIre due to its typing. And because of this, the raging fires that were formed by its dancing moved in a strange and hypnotizing position that was hard to describe and look at. But it certainly took points off the opponent. And these ferocious yet glorious flames had wrapped themselves around Whimsicott, grabbing it as if they were claws. Oricorio's dancing also caused it to step on Whimsicott's head.
"Whim?!" Whimsicott gasped as the flames carried it into the air before combusting repeatedly. Fireworks went off in the skies as Oricoro gracefully spiralled back once the explosion occurred. It had then bowed afterwards with Whimsicott falling from the skies.
Whimsicott had fainted. Time wasn't even the deciding factor in this as Jessie's fury involved little time at all. "Whimsicott's unable to battle! Which means that Jesselle is moving onto the next round as well!"
"Hmph. Easy" Jessie smirked, closing her eyes before gazing through the curtains. Her main target now was Sweetie Belle, holding back the rest of her fury until she had the chance to go up against her. Sweetie Belle noticed this as she made a deep gulp, worrying what he might've caused.
"Man...She seemed mad." Ash observed after witnessing Jesselle's fury being added into this round.
"Pika."
"Uh-huh. Poor guy and his Whimsicott didn't stand a chance." Applejack shook her head.
But aside from that, there was something else heated brewing. And that was the current rivalry between Diamond Tiara and Premium Polish. Speaking of which, before they could head out there, they were preparing their Pokemon while also having their usual squabbling.
"We're up next. Ready to be outperformed?" Diamond Tiara uttered with a cocky attitude, returning her Purrloin into her Poke Ball.
"I don't think so. Even if I don't always win, nopony can outperform me. But I don't plan on losing here." Premium Polish replied with a similar attitude, recalling her Swanna. "Don't get too upset when that happens."
"Do you have to get involved and encourage her?" Flurry Heart whispered, personally wanting the squabble to end. But Premium Polish and Diamond Tiara's personalities bounced off of each other. But only when they were partaking in contests. Outside of that, it was a different story.
"The stage is where we'll settle things. Plus, my mommy and daddy made sure to make things pop for me." Diamond Tiara showed off her bright smile and her clothing as they had some faint sparkles. "Only the best bits used for it. What about yours?"
"..." Premium Polish went silent as Flurry Heart gasped, putting her hoof over her mouth. The little unicorn lowered her head, not responding and adding to the squabble.
"W-What?" Diamond Tiara, unaware of the deep cut she had made, looked around, wondering why Premium was down all of a sudden as Flurry Heart slid over.
"Um, Diamond Tiara..." Flurry Heart took a deep breath before whispering in the little earth pony's ear, revealing the truth behind her mother and non-existent father.
"O-Oh!" Soon, Diamond Tiara realized the grave mistake she had made. An expression of regret was made. "P-Premium, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean t- I didn't know!"
"It's fine." Premium interrupted as it was time for them to head out into the stage. But then, Premium grinned, raising her head. "Because aside from that...I've still got better-looking stuff from my mom than yours!" She then went back to the banter as Diamond Tiara twitched. She had been played a fool.
"Mmmrrrgh!" Diamond Tiara growled with visible steam exuding from her face. The only way to settle this was out on the stage. And they would do just that as they entered out into the stage. The third round of the battle stage would begin as they took their places. They already knew which of their Pokemon they would use in this instance.
"Now for our third round to begin! Please send out your Pokemon!"
"Go, Swanna!" Premium used her magic to throw the Poke Ball with feathers flying out of it.
"Swanna!"
"Purrloin's the only one for me! And the best!" Diamond Tiara's Purrloin was her go-to choice as cat scratches were seen once the Poke Ball opened up, bringing the Devious Pokemon into the mix.
"Purrloin!"
"Is it just Purrloin? Didn't she catch another Pokemon?" Starlight pondered. "Silver Spoon, you're her friend. Did she?"
"She did catch some new Pokemon." Silver Spoon confirmed. "But Diamond's just using Purrloin only right now. It might not look like it but this is her first contest."
"If that choice works, it works." No argument there according to Twilight. Purrloin hasn't failed Diamond Tiara yet after all. Although, that could change with this battle as Premium Polish had plenty of experience, especially with multiple of her Pokemon.
"5-minutes on the clock! Begin!" Marian pointed to the skies, allowing the match to be underway.
"Get ready! Swanna! Water Pulse and Ice Beam, now!"
"Swan! Swanna!" Swanna opened her mouth, shooting out an orb of water that packed a ton of power into it. Swanna made sure to keep it floating there for a while before then using Ice Beam. The beam of ice had struck the pulse, flash-freezing it immediately and forming an ice prison. But also one that had holes in it as there was water pouring out of it.
"It looks like a fountain right there!" Marian put it into a better perspective for others. "How neat!"
"Launch with Steel Wing!"
"Swan!" Swanna then launched the attack by first glistening her wings, covering them in steel. All of this took off points from Diamond Tiara as the Water Bird Pokemon gave the ice a good slap, causing it to rocket in Purrloin's direction.
"Hm-hm. That's a pretty neat looking attack. Would be a shame if someone stole it! Copycat into Double Team!"
"Purr!" Purrloin then grinned before duplicating herself with multiple clones. These clones appeared in a perfectly symmetrical line. But not just that, all of them had used Copycat. And by doing so, they had mimicked the exact same move combination that Swanna had made.
But with some quantity plus quality. One-half of the clones had copied Water Pulse while the other half had copied Ice Beam, making the same move that Swanna made. Multiple of these fountain ice orbs had been made along with the main Purrloin mimicked Steel Wing, growing fake going wings on her back and hitting the orb. "Purrloin!"
The other Purrloin used their tails to hit the orb, launching them. Each of the others had trailed out water in the process, moving at equal speeds. Most of them anyway. The middle one was moving faster due to the force of Steel Wing. And due to this, Swanna's attack had been obliterated by the others.
"Swan?!"
"It isn't over yet! Shadow Claw!"
"Purrloin!" Purrloin added the finishing touches. She leapt into the air, holding her paws out. Her sharp claws had been revealed as they extended, gaining a shadowy veil. She had then slashed the middle orb, giving it some darkness that trailed out.
"Swanna!" Swanna had been bombarded with the various fountain orbs that were mimicked from its own attack, causing an explosion of ice, water and a little shadow too. "Swan!"
"Not my Swanna!" Premium gasped. Swanna soon recovered as her resistance to Ice and Water helped tank it.
"Took your move and did it better!" Diamond Tiara laughed, taunting Premium Polish.
"You haven't seen anything yet! Ice Beam on the floor!"
"Swan!" A more environmental approach was made. Swanna used Ice Beam once more, spraying it on the floor. She sprayed it in a specific pattern, causing a flash-freeze on most of the surface.
"We all know this! Whenever there's ice involved in these contests, something amazing is about to happen!" Marian exclaimed as she had a point. If anything, Ice was always the biggest attraction in these contests due to how pure it looked a majority of the time.
"Follow up with Feather Dance!"
"Swanna!" Swanna's body became surrounded in gold as she had then waved her wings around in a dance-like motion. A golden powder could also be seen forming. Then, Swanna started skating and dancing on the ice floor while also spraying the powder.
The golden powder dropped onto the floor, giving a nice sparkle as it was a glittering lake. A shroud of white feathers had also dropped, mainly from Swanna's own feathers. They decorated the floor while also flowing in the wind. Swanna was approaching Purrloin at full force, despite Feather Dance not dealing any damage.
"Yikes!" Diamond Tiara was intimidated by this. "As if we're letting that hit us! Get ready to jump and use Lash Out!"
"Purr!" Purrloin roared, preparing for the right moment to jump. However, Swanna said otherwise. While skating, she had also performed a mighty jump before Purrloin could. "Purr?" Purrloin gazed into the onto as Swanna had not only gracefully jumped over her, but the powder from Feather Dance had also been dropped onto her. "P-Purr!" Purrloin started coughing because of this. The powder got in her nose too, threatening to make her sneeze.
"Ah! Purrloin!"
Afterwards, those same white feathers had been dropped on Purrloin, surrounding her on all sides. But they weren't too big to trap her, however, they did rack up some points.
"Swanna!" Swanna then landed on the icy floor without slipping, posing afterwards.
"Let's keep it up, Swanna! Add some Steel Wing into the mix!"
"I don't think so..." Diamond Tiara's eyes flashed. "Copycat!"
"Purr!" Purrloin quickly turned around, ready to copy Swanna. However, she ended up slipping afterwards from all the ice on the floor. "P-Purrloin?!" She fell flat on her back.
"Oh my gosh! Purrloin, are you okay?!"
"Can't do much on the floor, can you? Now's your chance, Swanna! Juggle her!"
"Swanna!" Swanna danced back in Purrloin's general direction, approaching with great speeds. However, instead of ramming Steel Wing into her, while she was on the floor, Swanna had used Steel Wing to pick Purrloin off the ground as she was using a spatula on a pancake. "Swan!"
And to add insult to injury, Swanna started juggling Purrloin, using Steel Wing and Feather Dance to do so as the Devious Pokemon was going left and right.
"That's just disrespectful," said Rainbow Dash after witnessing this mockery. But it was an amusing and beautiful mockery nonetheless. "I love it!"
"P-Purrloin!" Purrloin was unable to do anything about this at the moment as Swanna went higher and higher. Diamond Tiara growled as Swanna delivered the biggest juggle yet, launching Purrloin to the very top. "Purr?!"
"Now, Water Pulse!"
"Swan...!" Swanna opened her beak, ready for another Water Pulse that would be covered in golden power. Purrloin was also still covered in golden powder and feathers from Feather Dance falling on her.
"Heh." However, there was a catch. Thanks to Feather Dance, one of Purrloin's moves had a greater purpose. "Lash Out!"
"Purr!" Lash Out. Due to her attack being affected, the power of this move was increased. But not only that, Purrloin could act even in the air. She had made the tendrils of Lash Out appear with their usual black and red appearance.
And there was an extra benefit. The powder and feathers from Feather Dance. Using the same technique with Lash Out from before Purrloin transformed them into black, red, gold and white feathers that were flowing at its back.
"Oh!" Premium Polish was taken aback.
"Wow! It's like an angel with multiple wings!" Marian shouted at Purrloin's slightly angelic appearance. The Devious Pokemon then launched the extra-coloured tendrils over at Swanna's direction.
"Bigger, Swanna!"
"Swan!" Swanna had made Water Pulse bigger before firing it. And she did so by adding another Water Pulse to it that came out of her beak, increasing its size. And this size increase allowed Water Pulse to act as a shield against the tendrils.
They had been blocked successfully while also giving Water Pulse some more special effects. "Launch it!" Premium commanded as Swanna could finally unleash Water Pulse. Water Pulse and its new colours shot through the air, going after the free-falling Purrloin.
Purrloin received a swift hit to the face from that attack that was the equivalent of a slap. "Purr!" She winced before being consumed by the watery explosion and its many colours. Afterwards, Purrloin dropped from the sky, landing flat on her face. Some of the ice almost broke from her impact.
Swanna's Feather Dance eventually ended, reverting her body to its normal white colour. As for Purrloin, she, unfortunately, did not get up. She had fainted. "Purrloin..."
"Purrloin is down and out! Which means that Premium Polish is the winner and advances onto the next round!"
"Victory!" Premium Polish jumped as Swanna used her feathers to form the peace sign. This was her most recent victory and also Diamond Tiara's first loss.
"Aw. First loss on the first go." Silver Spoon commented. "Was really hoping she'd get past at least one of them."
"Thank you, Purrloin. You did great." A slightly saddened Diamond Tiara went up to Purrloin, helping her up. The Dark-Type then purred, nuzzling on Diamond Tiara.
"Purr..."
Diamond and Premium looked at each other as Diamond Tiara had no choice but to respect Premium Polish. She did have the most experience and was essentially her senior in this instance. "Alright. You beat me. That's a bummer. But it won't happen next time, okay?"
"If you say so." Premium Polish only winked in response, waiting for Diamond Tiara to challenge her another time if the chance comes. For now, this matchup had ended up as the last one could be underway.
Diamond Tiara wouldn't be heading home, unlike Velvetwind. Once she went backstage, Sweetie Belle congratulated her along with Flurry Heart for having a good first try, despite it ending in defeat. "You did great for your first one, Diamond Tiara."
"W-Who said it was my first?" Diamond Tiara was still trying to make it seem like she had been in contests before. But she wasn't fooling anyone. "Next time will be a breeze and I'll be at full focus, just you watch.
"You have some interesting friends, don't you?" Flurry Heart said to Sweetie Belle, giggling once Diamond Tiara went to pack up.
"Thanks, Princess Flurry Heart."
"Gh!" Flurry Heart winced as her cover was blown. Her wings stood up in shock afterwards. "Again?! How does everypony keep seeing through my disguise!"
"Because nopony looks like you." Sweetie Belle chuckled as she had a valid point. Flurry Heart's colour scheme was too unique to ignore.
The Baltimare Contest was slowly reaching its end with the ribbon still up for grabs. Three coordinators out, fewer will remain once time passes as the journey continues.
The semi-finals of the Baltimare Pokemon Contest had arrived. The last two coordinators had finished the battle stage with one of them emerging victorious. Now the semi-finals were up next. And for the first round of the semi-finals, it would be Sweetie Belle against Jessie. Or Jesselle as her disguise.
Jessie, who had previously lost to Sweetie Belle once in the past and was unable to get another chance, finally had that chance at last. This would be their second time battling in a Pokemon Contest.
"Oh..." Sweetie Belle yawned before laying her head on the couch, feeling a bit tired. However, she was soon kept once Plusle and Minun gave her a jolt. "Ghagaahaa!" She screeched once the two Electric-Types restarted her energy, bringing her back up to speed. "T-Thanks you two..."
"Plusle!"
"Minun!"
"Look at her..." Jessie sat far from Sweetie Belle, gazing at her while eating a sandwich furiously. All it took was one comment from Sweetie Belle and that mutual respect that Jessie had for her had been overpowered. "Don't be so confident, twerpette. I've been watching you carefully. Not just in contests. I've got years of experience above you to boot..."
"Let's make it a great one, Jesselle!" Breaking Jessie's monologue was Sweetie Belle once she raised her hoof, startling the Team Rocket Grunt.
"Mm!" Jessie stood up. "Y-You too, my little pony. But don't get emotional when my Pokemon embarrass you, okay?" She grinned before holding her hand out to Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle promptly put her hoof out, causing Jessie to shake it. It looked friendly at first until Jessie started monologuing in her head. "Just you wait...It'll be a great one for me."
"Right. And uh, sorry for what I said back there." Sweetie Belle scrunched her face before nervously rubbing the back of her hair. "I didn't know it would get you so riled up."
"Huh?" Jessie's monologuing ended once more as she took a moment to listen to Sweetie Belle. But Sweetie Belle kept it short instead of long.
"Sorry about that."
"R-Right...!" Jessie then trembled, accidentally gripping Sweetie Belle's hoof a bit too hard. "Curses! She's adorable! I can't stay mad at that." She fund Sweetie Belle's apology to quick alter her opinion. "Don't worry about it! It's all in the past. Hohohoho!"
"That's good to hear." Sweetie Belle felt satisfied and relieved upon hearing that. Soon, it was their turn to enter the stage once Marian called for them. Soon, they made their way towards the stage, ready to get past the semi-finals and for either to get to the finals.
Diamond Tiara, who had lost to Premium Polish previously, was sitting next to Ash and the others as all she could do was watch and learn now. "I wouldn't have made it that far anyway...I've got only two Pokemon to work with."
"Two? I thought you caught multiple?" Silver Spoon questioned.
"Yeah, but one of them learned how to pull off contests moves quickly. I'm still working on the others."
"Okay! Now for the first round of the semi-finals! To my right, it's Sweetie Belle and to my left, it's Jesselle! Both of you, send out your Pokemon!"
"This time, it'll be you, Piplup!" Sweetie Belle's choice for this round was the Penguin Pokemon Piplup. He had entered the fray with bubbles flowing out of his Poke Ball.
"Piplup!"
"One of my Oricorio can deal with you!" One of the two Oricorio had been sent out. This time, the Sensu Style Oricorio made its second debut, appearing before Piplup.
"Oricorio!"
"Darn. I was hoping she would've gone for that other Oricorio." Sweetie Belle said to herself. She referred to the Baile Style Oricorio that was weak to Fire, hence her choice to send out Piplup. But that wasn't the case right now. However, she would have to work with this either way.
"5 minutes on the clock, girls! Begin!"
"Oricorio, use Agility into Revelation Dance!"
"Corio! Ori...!" Oricorio then began building up speed. And at the same time, using its signature move Revelation Dance. And since it was a Ghost-Type, the result was a light purple spectral aura the same colour as its feathers, popping out. Oricorion performed hyperfast dance moves while enveloping herself in this spectral aura.
Much like before, this form of Oricorio left afterimages as its speed had been increased. And these afterimages would carry that same aura as well, taking points off of Sweetie Belle's side. Sweetie Belle had to act fast as Oricorio was also approaching Piplup with Revelation Dance.
"Here goes! Piplup, use Drill Peck! Make sure you let it touch that creepy aura!"
"Pip! Piplup!" Piplup's beak had been put to use. First, gaining a shining glow while also extending just a bit. And much like a drill, his beak started spinning. The Penguin Pokemon advanced, approaching the dancing Sensu Style Oricorio. "Lup!"
"Hm-hm! You know what to do, Oricorio!"
Piplup's goal was to have his beak touch the aura as he leapt into the air, only for Oricorio to say otherwise as its stylish and agile movements, especially boosted with Agility, caused it to perform a low-limbo pose, ducking underneath Piplup when he had leapt. The aura came with it as well, putting a rut in that plan. "Ori!"
"Pip?!" Piplup gasped before witnessing Oricorio perform an instant backflip into the air after its initial limbo pose. That backflip then allowed Oricorio to not just gain some air time for more style points, but it had also stepped on Piplup's back with a surprisingly hard impact. "Lup!"
"Piplup!" Sweetie Belle gasped as Piplup was forced to the floor by this attack to the back. Oricorio was also stepping on him to add insult to injury."
"Now twirl and twirl, okay?!" Jessie winked.
"Corio!" Oricorio's Revelation Dance landed successfully as what followed next was Oricorio performing a spinning dance right on top of Piplup. And by doing so, the spectral aura had rotated, forming the shape of one of those swirly ice cream cones.
"Oricorio's not just spinning Piplup and using it as a podium for its dancing, but all that spinning's made something similar t an ice cream cone! Now I'm hungry! I should've eaten during the break!" Marian commented.
"Spin us, will you? Let's return the favour, Piplup! Drill Peck!"
"Pip...Piplup!" Piplup was ready to do his own take on spinning. And as the spectral aura was beating on his body each time he rotated, Piplup used his already glowing beak, slamming it through the floor at full force. And with his beak pinned to the floor, Piplup made it spin manually. And this spinning prompted his entire body to spin.
"Ori?" And because of this, Oricorio's dancing had been interrupted. It had wobbled with its balance being thrown off guard as Piplup's spinning managed to replace the Dancing Pokemon's spinning. Oricorio was now being the one rotated as Piplup gathered some of the spectral aura, much like how he aimed to do the beginning. "C-Corio!"
Oricorio was launched into the air by Piplup's spinning. Oricorio quickly recovered due to still being a Flying-Type, landing gracefully on the floor. However, with Revelation Dance ending, Piplup used the remainder of it as once he stood up, the spectral aura of Revelation Dance was now on his beak. "Lup!"
"Look at that! Piplup's taken the aura of Revelation Dance and kept it for himself! All that spinning paid off even if it was making me dizzy!"
"Nice one, Sweetie Belle! Piplup!" Ash cheered.
"Pikachu!"
"Since Piplup has that spectral aura around his beak, that would allow him to deal some super-effective damage to that form of Oricorio," said Twilight. "If that was Sweetie Belle's approach in the first place, then wow!"
"Of course, it was! Only my little sister would pull off such a trick!" Rarity bellowed as she hugged Rainbow Dash with great vigour whilst cheering her sister on. "Go, Sweetie Belle!"
"I-I can't breathe...!" Rainbow Dash gasped before air, hitting Rarity's head to try and gain some freedom of space.
"Get a load of this! Bubble Beam!"
"Pip...Lup-Lup-Lup-Lup!" And Piplup would certainly utilize this aura. He wouldn't let it go to waste. He opened his beak, sending out an array of bubbles. And with great unity, those bubbles had gained some of the spectral aura that surrounded them. These Spectral Bubbles were also sent into the air with some of them approaching Oricorio.
"They look like floating souls, don't they? Piplup's made that spectral aura from Revelation Dance its own with all those bubbles being protected by them! Look at the way they give off a reflection!"
"As if we're letting that hit us! Dance your way through it all and use Sky Attack!"
"Corio!" Along came Oricorio. Rushing through the floor and summoning the majestic golden aura of Sky Attack, the targets were the spectral bubbles. Oricorio knew that being hit by them would result in super-effective damage.
And upon rushing in, it had not just used the aura of Sky Attack as protection, but also a means to jump on the bubbles. Which is what it did. Bouncing on the bubbles and using them as a means to travel higher, Oricorio danced gracefully whilst moving from bubble to bubble, earning it some more style points.
"No way!" Sweetie Belle was aghast as everyone admired Oricorio dancing on the bubbles. "Okay then! Piplup! Hit them with Aerial Ace!"
"Piplup!" Some improvisation was due. Piplup had also approached his bubbles, lighting his arms with a shining light. Piplup had then struck the spectral bubbles, launching them in Oricorio's direction.
"As if! Kick them back!"
"Corio!" Oricorio had then reversed it on Piplup, using the aura of Sky Attack and its powerful legs to kick the spectral bubbles back.
"Yikes! D-Do the same, Piplup!" Sweetie Belle stammered as Oricorio kept surprising her. Piplup used Aerial Ace again, slapping the bubbles right back at Oricorio, only for the Dancing Pokemon to kick them in retaliation once more. At this point, they were playing ping pong with each other.
"It's like a game of tennis now! Neither Piplup nor Oricorio wants to be hit by those spectral bubbles directly! How fun!"
"Oh, I'm getting dizzy..." Scootaloo's eyes were struggling to keep up with the speed they were hitting these bubbles along with others.
"You're outmatched, my little pony! Oricorio, add some agility onto it!"
"Corio!" While kicking the bubbles away, Oricorio had used Agility once more, increasing its speed. And thus, afterimages had been formed as it now looked like multiple Oricorio were hitting the bubbles. Thanks to the speed increase, Oricorio was also kicking them back at a faster pace, beginning to overwhelm Piplup.
"P-Piplup...!" Piplup was struggling to keep up. His arms coupled with the speed of Aerial Ace had their limits and with Oricorio gaining acceleration, it wasn't looking good on his side as one of the bubbles hit his face while he kept swinging.
"Piplup might not make it through all of that..." Sweetie Belle growled, looking over at the monitor. For the most part, they were even, but Jessie was racking up more points while Sweetie Belle's points were starting to decrease. "I gotta improvise...but what do I do?"
The little unicorn thought as hard as she could, looking for something of great use before Piplup could be overwhelmed. It didn't help but that Oricorion was also getting closer with Sky Attack. That's when she looked at Piplup's beak which was still radiating spectral energy for inspiration.
"I got it! Piplup! Thrust your beak through some of the bubbles!"
"Lup? Piplup!" Piplup didn't understand it at first but trusted in his partner. And once the majority of the bubbles came his way, he prepared them from Drill Peck. Piplup braced himself as some of the bubbles had bombarded him. But the rest, mainly six of them, ended up connecting with his beak. Piplup had thrust them forward as the beak had caught the 6 bubbles without even popping them.
Essentially, he had made a shish kebab out of the six bubbles, amazing everyone. They were amazed by what Piplup had pulled off and how he had kept the spectral bubbles intact. "Talk about precision! Not a single pop!"
"The spectral aura from Revelation Dance truly acted as an amazing shield. It cushioned the impact with Drill Peck." Twilight noticed before anyone else.
"Impossible!" Jessie pulled back before pulling on her pigtails. "What's with these kids and their otherworldly tricks!?"
"Now let 'em have it! Get in there beak-first!"
"Piplup!" Piplup then approached Oricorio, running in with the bubbles around his beak. He ran past the other bubbles that Oricorio kicked in his direction. Piplup narrowed his eyes as he would make this a direct hit.
Oricorio, who was still using Sky Attack, was expecting direct contact. And direct contact was on the horizon. However, the moment Piplup got close and Oricorio was ready to use the full utility of Sky Attack, a bit of a reverse occurred.
"Let's dance around them too! Spin!"
"Piplup!" Piplup would also dance Or at least, a small dance. He used the force of Drill Peck to rotate his body. Not only did become a blue and purple blur, but he had also eluded Oricorio's kick from Sky Attack, successfully evading the attack.
"Ori?!"
"Lup!" Piplup then bounced off of one of the bubbles, launching himself towards Oricorio after passing it. The Penguin Pokemon then used his rotating body to crash into Oricorio's back, pulling off a successful attack.
"Direct hit! Using the bubbles to pick up some velocity and dancing around that Sky Attack was superb!" Marian commented as Oricorio took a harsh tumble. The aftermath was the spectral energy dissipating into the air, along with the one around Piplup's beak.
Piplup took a bow after landing with the bubbles finally popping. And once that all came to an end, it wasn't time that decided this round. Rather, it was a total knockout. Oricorio had fainted.
"Oricorio..."
"Oricorio is down and out! That means that Sweetie Belle's advancing onto the finals!" Marian announced with cheers flooding the atmosphere.
"Whew!" Sweetie Belle sat down, feeling slightly exhausted after that performance. "We did it, Piplup..."
"Piplup!" Piplup ran over, tackling Sweetie Belle with a hug.
"Well done, Oricorio." Jessie soon returned Oricorio to its Poke Ball, congratulating it. She lowered her head before putting up a smile, gazing at Sweetie Belle afterwards. "Same to you, twerpette. You're almost a prodigy. Almost."
"Gee. Thanks, Jesselle." Sweetie Belle chucked while holding onto Piplup. "You were great too. It was fun to battle you a second time."
"Might be the last." Jessie suddenly altered the tone with that ominous response. She then left the stage, returning to the waiting room. Jessie had no reason to be here anymore since she had lost in the semi-finals. However, before her departure, Sweetie Belle wanted to do something.
"I can smell that fourth ribbon!" Rarity roared. "Very soon, her place in the Grand Festival will be cemented!"
"But she's going up against Premium Polish. They're even, aren't they?" said Fluttershy.
"At least it's not Gelidity. Getting past her would've been a nightmare if she was in this contest." Twilight replied as speaking of Premium Polish, she was up next along with another coordinator.
Back at the waiting room, Jessie had placed the two Team Rocket Poke Balls away. They were of temporary use due to being from the Rocket Prize Machine. It was mainly Giovanni who owned them, thus, no personal ownage for Jessie or even James for the matter.
Jessie had a stoic face while packing things up. She didn't react much until pausing for a moment. While getting ready to take off her glasses, she looked at the nearby mirror in this room. Jessie thought about something. Her career as a Pokemon Coordinator.
From her first appearance in the Sinnoh Region as Jessalina and to the current day appearance in Equestria as Jesselle, Jessie couldn't help but think of how it all turned out.
"Hello? Jesselle?" Entering the room was Sweetie Belle. Jessie quickly took her hands off her glasses as to not break her disguise. "There you are. I was uh...just hoping you were okay."
"Hm? Oh, you. What do you want?"
"Well, back there, you said something about this being our last encounter. Why's that?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
"Made you worry, didn't I? You don't have to. After all, I don't see much of a point of continuing." Jessie shrugged as it was revealed that she was leaning towards ending her career as a Pokemon Coordinator.
"Huh?!"
"It'll mean you won't have to face against me. I've been at this Pokemon Contest shtick for years now. And at best, I can only reach the semi-finals all the time."
"All the time?"
"Mhm. You won't catch me with a trophy. No point in continuing some more if I can't get that victory I've been looking for. I don't think Pokemon Contests were my forte, to begin with." Essentially, Jessie was starting to give up.
"But you're so good!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, watching Jessie pack up everything. "I thought I was gonna lose back there and you've got more experience than me!"
"Not good enough." Jessie zipped her bag. "If that twerp can eventually become a champion after so long...I thought I could become a Top Coordinator eventually. But, that's never happening is it?"
"You mean Ash? Well, yeah. But he never gave up, did he?"
"Turns out I'm not twerp material. That's sort of a relief." Jessie shrugged before deciding on something. She then looked around, hoping no one else was here. It was just her and Sweetie Belle. "I guess since this is the last time we'll compete with each other, you deserve to know this."
Jessie then removed the bands on her pigtails while also taking off her glasses. She then instantly did a swift swivel before revealing her true appearance. Jessie from Team Rocket. Sweetie Belle took 2 seconds to recognize her before stepping back in shock. "You're...Jessie from Team Rocket?! Oh, the twerp stuff makes sense now..."
"My disguises never fail~" Jessie chuckled. "But seriously. This is it. End of this road."
"Well..." Sweetie Belle placed her hoof on her mouth. "Even if you are Team Rocket...you can't give up on something you like, can't you?"
"Hm?" Instead of freaking out, Jessie was surprised to see that Sweetie Belle was calm and collected in all of this. The expected reaction was her screaming at the top of her lungs and alerting everyone.
"I mean, you never gave up on chasing Pikachu even after all these years did you?"
"I guess not..." Jessie pondered, seeing that Sweetie Belle raised a good point.
"So why stop now? You're super fun to battle against. I-In the contest, I mean. Plus, you're good at the performance stages too. You do so many amazing things that I tried doing too!"
"You did?"
"Totally! I made a list of all the things I've seen my friends and others do for contest move ideas!" As always, Sweetie Belle had that list with her, holding it out to Jessie. "Yours is there too cause there's so many good ones! But I don't have any Pokemon that can do it yet."
"Hm-hm-hm." That got a chuckle out of Jessie. She couldn't help but admire Sweetie Belle's enthusiasm, despite standing in the face of a foe. James and Meowth could also be seen peeking through the door. Only Jessie noticed them. Jessie then looked at Sweetie Belle, kneeling to get to her level. "You're a funny little twerpette. You remind me of... what's her name? Dawn. I can see a lot of her in you."
"Really?" Sweetie Belle beamed.
"The same goes for your other two friends. That pegasus is all too much like Ash and that earth pony's already leaning somewhere close to Brock. Huh...I've never said their names before, have I?" Jessie now realized that this was her first time calling her enemies by their names instead of just referring them to Twerp and Twerpette. "First for everything. And I guess your words kind of rub off on me."
"They do? S-So are you still gonna be in future Pokemon Contests?"
"You're right about me not giving up. The chances of me giving catching Pikachu are rarer than any Pokemon out there. And if I have that drive, then I can use it in contests, until I'm at the very top of them all. A Top Coordinator." Jessie was back in. Thanks to some words from Sweetie Belle and a cuteness factor added in, she had been convicted.
"That's great to hear."
"Hm." Jessie then smiled before looking at James and Meowth, giving a nod. James and Meowth knew what they needed to do as they suddenly pulled the Rocket Prize Machine towards them. They quickly started activating with Meowth being the catalyst. "But before all that, do me a favour?"
"Yeah?"
"Have a look over at that door." Jessie pointed ahead before rushing back to her bag. Immediately, while putting her Jesselle costume back on, Sweetie Belle turned to see Hypno in front of her.
"Hypno." Hypno swung the pendulum in its hand in front of Sweetie Belle. The arcing movement and glitter of the pendulum lulled the little unicorn, hypnotizing her. Immediately, Sweetie Belle not only felt drowsy, but she also forgot the conversation that happened minutes ago between her and Jessie.
Speaking of Jessie, Sweetie Belle was ordered to turn around by Hypno. And once she did, Jessie in her Jesselle disguise could be seen. The deed had been done as James recalled Hypno. "Jesselle? What happened?"
"Oh, nothing. You just seemed sleepy there. Might need to have those Plusle and Minun shock you again."
"Uh...Okay. But I wanted to talk to you about something you said before." She still had the intention of bringing up Jessie's comment about this being her last contest.
"Hm? Oh, that. Just a joke. Good luck on that final round! Buh-bye!" Jessie then chuckled before leaving the scene. Sweetie Belle stood there confused. She felt as if she had a conversation prior to this. Seconds ago. However, she shrugged it off, preparing for the finals.
It was time for the finals. Premium Polish defeated her opponent, making her a part of the final two. It would be her against Sweetie Belle in this instance. The Baltimare Ribbon was on the line now for these two.
"It's time for our final round for today's Pokemon Contest! On my right, it's Sweetie Belle and on my left, it's Premium Polish! Only one of them is taking the Baltimare Ribbon!"
"This is it." Sweetie Belle held out her Poke Ball. "If I get this ribbon, then I have a chance to get my fifth one. Then it's the Grand Festival for me."
"Bring out your Pokemon, you two!"
"Come on out, Teddiursa!" For Sweetie Belle, it would be Teddiursa as the Poke Ball released effects of the crescent moon once it had opened.
"Teddiursa!"
"Go! Masquerain!" And for Premium Polish, it would be Masquerain with its special effects being eyes, resembling the pattern on Masquerain's wings.
"Masquerain!"
"5 minutes on the clock, my little ponies! Begin!"
"I think I'll keep it laid-back for this one. Mist!"
"Masq! Masquerain!" Masquerain went first, flapping his wings. His wings gave off light energy before cloaking himself and in a white mist. This mist was powerful enough to conceal his appearance, however, he wasn't fully invisible.
"Now, Scary Face!"
"Querain!" Within the cloak of mist, Masquerain had used Scary Face. And this was where Masquerain shined. Masquerain always intimidates enemies with the eyelike patterns on its antennas and they were used in full effect here as a face was starting to form within the mist.
Sharp, piercing eyes that matched that of either a Tyranitar or a Garchomp could be seen within the mist as it was already getting to Teddiursa. Teddiursa growled, standing his ground as to not be fully intimidated.
"That's laid back...?" Sweetie Belle was also intimidated by the eye patterns. "We'll do it our way then. Use Night Slash! Make it consecutive!"
"Teddi!" Teddiursa raised his hands before summoning two blades of darkness. He then stabbed into the floor, making them stick for the meantime. But he didn't stop there. Teddiursa started running, creating more blades and continuously stabbing them into the floor, making a neat pattern.
"Teddiursa's placing all of those Night Slash blades down, making some sort of domino effect? What's it planning?!"
"Okay! Now jump and use Swift!"
"Ursa!" After placing down enough and a good handful, Teddiursa then stopped at the last blade. The blades of Night Slash were fairly tall. Taller than Teddiursa and slightly taller than a foal. Teddiursa then jumped at the last blade as it started bending.
Everyone gawked as Teddiursa had used the blade as a spring, bouncing off of it. He then landed on another blade, bouncing off of that one too. Soon, he started bouncing from blade to blade, gaining higher heights each time.
"It's like an obstacle course for Teddiursa right now! All those blades are giving it the height it wants! And I didn't know Night Slash could bend?!"
"Ursa!" Once high enough, Teddiursa had shifted into Swift. Multiple stars were summoned, circling his body. Teddiursa stayed in the air for a moment. He then brought the stars closer to him, causing them to illuminate his body. That earned style points without a doubt.
Teddiursa then started free-falling, having the stars orbit his body and give him a glow so that any contact with him would result in visible damage. "Masquerain's the only one here who controls the air! Start flying and cover the air with Mist!"
"Masq!" Masquerain would still utilize MisT in this instance as he approached Teddiursa. Only to then pass by him. Whilst flying, Teddiursa had formed a trail of mist. And along the way, patterns from its wings were trailing too. Not only did it give everyone a good view, but the Mist also wrapped around Teddiursa.
"Teddiursa?!" Teddiursa's free-falling came to an end as he was being spun by the mist each time Masquerain flew around him. Masquerain had then made a Mist Tornado that started from the top and finished at the bottom with a swirl. They even touched the blades of Night Slash, causing them to illuminate the mist with the surprisingly vibrant darkness.
"The black and red glow from all those Night Slash blades work well with the light blue colours of Mist! Talk about using someone else's tricks!"
All the while, Teddiursa was starting to get dizzy from all of this spinning. His eyes were rotating constantly. He wasn't taking any damage as Mist doesn't do so, but the spiralling was enough.
"Oh, it's making me dizzy!" Sweetie Belle held her head before thinking of the only way to escape from this. "Teddiursa! Let out all the light from Swift!"
"Sa! Teddiursa!" Teddirusa then closed his eyes before allowing the light energy and the surrounding stars from Swift to be unleashed. And unleashed they were. The brightness permeated the mist, shining through as everyone dazzled. Much like how Masquerain had used Mist on Teddiursa's Night Slash blades, Teddiursa returned the favour by using Swift on his Mist.
The Mist was overpowered by the light as the stars had also been thrown. Some of the stars then started surrounding the Mist Tornado, mainly due to the pull it already had. However, Masquerain had been exposed to this light, being blinded for a bit.
Premium Polish lost some points from that shining display as the Mist Tornado ended with the star-shaped rays then flying off. Teddiursa could finally land as he landed on one of the blades.
"We've seen a lot of juggling today, so let's juggle him! Thunder Punch!"
"Ursa!" Teddiursa then launched himself into the air with the bending blades, preparing Thunder Punch. It was time for Masquerain to go on a little bounce.
"Masquerian, quick! Dodge and use Silver Wind!"
"Masq..." Masquerain had just recovered from the bright light. But it was too late. Teddiursa smashed his paws onto Masquerain's head, launching him downwards. And immediately, the Eyeball Pokemon bounced off a blade without his control. He had then bounced off another blade once launched off the other. Soon, everyone watched as Masquerain went all of the place, bouncing off of the blades
"Worked like a charm!"
"Oh my gosh! Masquerain!" gasped Premium Polish as Masquerain was now the one getting dizzy whilst going all over the place.
"Oh! Does Teddiursa have Masquerain trapped in a loop?! Masquerain's finding it hard to recover at the right time with all this bouncing, even in the air!"
"We're not going out this way! Aqua Jet!"
"Mas! Masquerain!" Masquerain had one method of escaping. And that was the quick-acting Aqua Jet. He had used it right as his body was about to touch another Night Slash Blade. The Eyeball Pokemon had then let out a burst of strength before dashing through the air with an aura of water.
"Charge through those blades!"
"Masquerain!" After finally escaping from the loop, Masquerain went for the blades, dashing at a lower level. He started barging through them, causing the blades to fly out of the floor and fly all over the place while approaching Teddiursa. No more being laid-back.
"Here he comes! Grab some of the blades and use Thunder Punch on them!"
"Teddi!" Teddiursa grabbed the nearest blades that hadn't been knocked away yet. Once doing so, he transferred the electricity of Thunder Punch onto the blades. Not only did they let out their black and red glow, but they had also gained sparks of electricity.
"I say...throw them!"
"Ursa!" Teddiursa then launched the electric blades at Masquerain, aiming to overwhelm him with electricity since he was in a veil of water. This would deal ridiculous damage.
"I don't think so! Go over, Masquerain!"
"Masquerain!" Masquerain simply flew over the blades, eluding them. He had then descended, crashing into Teddiursa at last, knocking him aside.
"Ursa!"
"Okay! Silver Wind! Make it rain!"
"Masq!" Masquerain then continued to the air, focusing on a downwards attack next. But with the help of Teddiursa's blades. He had used the stream of Aqua Jet to bring some of the Night Slash blades with him before finishing Aqua Jet. The blades were then airborne, allowing for Masquerain to work his magic.
He had used Silver Wind, flapping his wings as a wind with silver crescents of energy in it were released. These crescents had then met with the blades of Night Slash, cutting them in half. And with that, it was raining light and dark. The air above was being blocked by these raining colours.
"Black and white always make a great colour combo! And this shows it! It's raining crescents and blades! Smaller blades this time?"
"Look out, Teddiursa!"
"Teddi?" Teddiursa raised his head to see the array of attacks coming his way. He then put up his paws to block as the assault of attacks rained down on him. He had been bombarded by Silver Wind and Night Slash respectively before being knocked away. Tediursa went flying from this assault. "Ursa!"
Points had been lost on both sides. It was looking fairly close with them as time was dropping too. 3 minutes which soon transitioned into 2 minutes occurred.
"Masquerain's a fast one. But he won't be fast when we get the drop on him. Teddiursa, rub your paws together with Thunder Punch!"
"Ursa!" Teddiursa sparked his paws with 50,000 volts before putting them together. He then started rubbing them as if he was trying to warm himself. And by doing so, the electricity reacted in the same way it would on a carpet. Usually, it's not easy to start electricity by rubbing, but it works better when there's already a way to start electricity. And by starting up electricity, Teddiursa started making his body spark electricity.
"Mist! Flood the whole place!"
"Querain!" Masquerain flapped his wings, using Mist to cloak everything this time. The goal was to obstruct Teddiursa's view as the icy blue mist started wrapping everything, making it hard for even the crowd to see.
"Oh, it's hard to see now! But anything could happen in and out of that!" Marian squinted.
"This time, I won't let you use Swift on this! Masquerain, use Aqua Jet!"
"Masq!" Masquerain was the only one who could see clearly as it had started the attack. However, that's what Sweetie Belle wanted. Mostly because Teddiursa hadn't stopped Thunder Punch even with the Mist appearing.
"Gotcha...Let it go, Teddiursa!"
"Teddiursa!" Teddiursa then released all that built up electricity in his body, causing all of it to release with a mighty flare. This flare of electricity went in every direction, creating holes in the mist. The crowd could thankfully see this one as Masquerain and his veil of water had been struck by the loose electricity.
And it certainly did some damage. Masquerain being weak to Electric and having a veil of Water made the electricity stronger. Thanks to this, Teddiursa had spotted Masquerain as some of the mist had faded away.
"Wait! Did it hit?!" Premium Polish squinted, wondering if Aqua Jet connected.
"Swift!"
"Ursa!" Teddiursa ended up using Swift afterwards, causing the light energy from it to show itself. He then fired the light from his body as it soon formed into the usual star-shaped rays. They battered Masquerain while also blowing away the Mist, giving it a nice shine before doing so.
The Mist finally faded as Masquerain had taken the most damage. Masquerain also tumbled on the floor, much to Premium's shock. But Masquerain was still able to continue as he quickly recovered, staying airborne. "M-Masq!"
"Teddi...!" Teddiursa growled.
"Such resilient Pokemon! No idea what happened inside there but everything outside was beautiful!"
"What do you think happened in there?" Pinkie Pie wondered. "Kinda looks like Masquerain's in a worse shape than Teddiursa."
"That's saying something since Teddiursa's far more fragile than Masquerain. But that Aqua Jet must've helped Teddiursa's Thunder Punch to its benefit. Doesn't help that Masquerain's always weak to Electric." Twilight replied. "Any of them could knock each other out but..."
"We'll finish this right now! Teddiursa!"
"We still have more to show, Masquerain!" Both filly unicorns were ready to give off their last contest splash to the audience, hoping to knock the other out.
"Use-"
"Time!" But time was up for them. 0:00 had arrived. They gasped before turning to the monitor. "And the winner of the final stage is...Sweetie Belle! A stunning Baltimare victory!"
Won by a fraction. Their bars were ridiculously close to each other. But thanks to the Thunder Punch and Swift advantage, Sweetie Belle edged out, making her the victor of this match and the overall contest.
"Oh...Oh!" Sweetie Belle fell on her back as she could only laugh with joy. "Finally! That was longer than the rest I think..."
"Yeah! She did it!" Ash and the others cheered as a resounding applaud went across the contest hall. Fantina nodded in approval after seeing her student do so well.
"Pikachu!"
"I'm so proud! I always was but even more so than ever!" Rarity cried before using Audino as a way to let her tears out.
"Audino." Audino comforted Rarity, letting her cry with joy. Teddiursa also laid on his back, feeling exhausted himself. Masquerain lowered his head, only for Premium to comfort him.
"Great job, Masquerain."
"Masq."
"You got me through another one, Teddiursa. Thanks for that."
"Teddi."
"You too, Premium. Guess it's my win again." Sweetie Belle chuckled.
"Guess it is. But it won't be your win next time. Especially when it comes to the Grand Festival. I'll be showing up better than ever with some new stuff to show off. Just you wait."
"Looking forward to it. Now...I wanna rest a bit." She yawned, feeling the urge to sleep. But not before finishing things off with the ribbon, of course.
It was finally over. This one felt longer than rest for sure. And it certainly didn't disappoint. But now, it was time for the ribbon to be handed out. Sweetie Belle stood in front of the judges as Mr Contesta brought the Baltimare Ribbon to her.
"Proof of your victory, Sweetie Belle. I understand that this is your 4th Contest Ribbon. One more and you know what means, right?" Contesta asked.
"I sure do! If I can get one more and the Grand Festival's my next stop!" She pranced with absolute joy. She could go after the other three since Equestria has 8 ribbons, but she couldn't wait for the Grand Festival.
"Well done, Sweetie Belle. You're certainly a fast grower." Fantina walked up to her. "Dare I say a prodigy?"
"I can agree on that. Remarkable talent without a doubt!" Sukizo agreed as Sweetie Belle blushed from this compliment. She was certainly getting more praise as of recently. And no doubt, her fame would increase.
"We'll be seeing you in the next contest. And soon the Grand Festival," said Contesta.
"Great! But for now...The Baltimare Ribbon is mine!" She raised it into the air before also twirling it with her magic.
"That brings today and this month's exciting Baltimare Contest to an end! In the next two months, it'll be the Cloudsdale Ribbon! So take a Flying-Type or something else for an aerial time, okay?" Marian winked. "Until then! Goodbye!"
Late Afternoon.
Sweetie Belle had fallen asleep from exhaustion. She had been carried out with Audino holding her as all of her friends left the hall. But before they could head home, Fantina had approached.
"Well, it was a great day today. But it can be even better in just two days, non?" Fantina said, standing before them. "I heard you were all going to visit the Holon Region."
"Right. We've gotta check out all those Delta Pokemon and whatever else is there." Ash replied.
"How fun! Say hello to Professor Pine to me when you get there. We are good friends." Fantina chuckled. "But take care of yourselves too. And of her. You have a glorieuse coordinator here. And a great student too."
"I know I will. And she can do so as well." Rarity looked at her little sister who was sleeping peacefully. With that short conversation over, it was back home.
Next up was the Holon Region. And the only thing left for Sweetie Belle was the final ribbon. Unless she wanted to challenge the other ones and go the full 8 Ribbons. That was her choice as the journey continues.
Ash was currently deeply asleep. Today was an important day and he just so happened to be asleep during it. The day he visits the Holon Region. Unfortunately, with him being asleep, he would be running late. Pikachu had woken up before him as always and King Sombra didn't even bother to try and wake him up.
Entering the room was Delia Ketchum, the only individual that had the capability to wake Ash up completely in instances such as this. Delia crossed her arms, standing before Ash. "Ash. Ash!" She shouted but shouting wouldn't do the trick. So, there was always the go-to option.
Delia grabbed Ash by the face, lifting him up for a moment. "Ash, wake up! You're going to be late for your Holon Region visit!"
"Mmm...Holon Region..." Ash opened his eyes for a moment, facing his mother. Delia then gave Ash a swift and light chop to the head. But that chop to the head was enough to kickstart him. "Gah!" He shouted before falling over. "Mom! Why didn't you wake me up?!"
"You said you would wake yourself up. Oh, Ash. You're so good at keeping promises. Not so much when it comes to sleep." Delia sighed. "Your friends have already passed through this world and could be at the airport right now."
"Oh, man! Pikachu! We gotta go!" Ash immediately rushed to get there. He was already running late, but that wouldn't stop him from picking up the pace.
"Pikachu!"
They immediately sorted themselves out before appearing in their usual clothing. Mainly the one that Rarity had made among a few. Ash had no time to slow down as he had blasted out of the house. "Gotta go, mom! I'll be back uh...soon!"
"Nice travels!" Delia waved farewell. "Make sure to send me a picture of those Delta Pokemon, okay?!"
"I will!" Ash roared in the distance before dissipating into the horizon. He would quickly try and stop by Professor Oak's lab before heading to the airport. But he was still in a hurry either way.
Speaking of Professor Oak's lab, the Twilight Sparkle from the Human World had shown up for another day as Oak's newest assistant. She and Oak had witnessed Ash and Pikachu approaching her at great speeds. ASh quickly skidded on the floor, coming to a screeching halt before running in Oak and Twilight's general direction.
"Professor Oak! I'm not too late, am I?!"
"Oh, Ash. Your friends passed by here a while ago. Maybe an hour by now." Oak replied. "Did you oversleep again?"
"Yeah..." Ash lowered his head in disappointment. "I'm gonna be so late. They've probably gotten there before I have right now!"
"Well, that would just leave you and Pikachu to explore together and catch up. Have no fear. You can always head to Professor Pine for help when you get there and Holon is a small region." Oak explained. "So get going on."
"Right! Come on, buddy!" With some time to spare, Ash and Pikachu ran off once more, heading to the airport.
"Again? This has happened before?" said Twilight to Professor Oak.
"More than you can imagine." Oak chuckled. "He overslept and was late to join me and the other children on our Pokemon Camp Expedition and was just as late for the day the young upstart trainers of this town would get their first Pokemon. But perhaps, his lateness is what leads to new things being born. After all, if he was never late, he would've never met Pikachu. Now that would be an odd story."
"Ooh..."
"Ah. Just then, realization kicked in for Oak. A slight mistake had been made "Now that I recall...there is no plane to Holon. It's a train. My, that was my mistake!" He let out a cheeky smile before chuckling once more.
"Oh, Professor Oak..." Twilight sighed, knowing that Ash was heading to a pointless destination at the airport. To do him a favour, Twilight quickly called Ash with her Xtransceiver to alert him. But she wasn't the only Twilight. Equestria's Twilight had also used her Xtransceiver to contact him as well.
Holon Region. Settlement Foxtrot. Afternoon.
Finally. The Holon Region. After having to do some hard catching up, Ash had caught up with his friends, taking the train to Holon. The train to Holon had arrived here as Ash and the others gazed outside of the train window to bask in the view of this small yet wondrous region. The region was largely forested with a large lake that could be seen near the surrounding land.
Marshlands were also spotted to the far south, distant from other areas. Back to the lake, it was also bordered by a massive mountain range as this whole region seemed to be near the coast with so much more to see offshore.
"Oooh!" Naturally, they gawked at this sight with massive intrigue. Already, they got to experience so much but yet it was so little. "Great that you made it, Ash. Pikachu," said Fluttershy.
"Yeah...Sorry about that. Oversleeping and everything." Ash chuckled, glad that he could experience this for the first time with his friends.
"Pikachu..." The train to Holon finally came to halt as it was time for them to gander at the place. The train opened up as Ash was the first to exit with Pikachu and Rainbow Dash following afterwards. The sunlight greeted them with open arms, casting its glorious rays across the region.
"Yeah! Hey, Holon Region!" Ash cheered as he announced to the entire region with a bellowing shout. "We're finally here!"
"What's with all the yelling?" Goh asked, hopping off the train as everyone else had left.
"Just saying 'Hiya' to the Holon Region. Always gotta give someplace new a greeting." Ash explained as Pikachu nodded in approval.
"The first place we need to be at is right there! The Holon Research Tower." Twilight aimed her hoof at a tower that stood in the centre. The Holon Research Tower as it was known. Much like other Regions, that tower was the landmark and stood out from the others.
The person they were also looking for was Professor Pine, of course. This region's Pokemon Professor. Although, not someone who was here to have upstart trainers begin their Pokemon Journey due to Holon's lack of a Pokemon League.
Aside from that, once they started exploring the region by getting a move on, they witnessed how there were a plethora of scientists around in this place. But what interested them the most were the Pokemon here. Delta Pokemon usually appear as their standard species, only with type alterations. Much like other regions, they lived extensively and lively with their Trainers.
Ash, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Goh strayed away from the group a bit as they were the most interested in viewing this region for themselves. Twilight wished to stay on the beating path and head to the Research Tower which was in the far distance up north. "You know, we can go our separate ways. No shame in that. I'm more interested in that tower far over there.
"Way ahead of you. We'll catch up with you later." Ash was ready to dash off for more exploration. Same with the others. But before they could do so, the professor that they were meant to meet with had shown herself. Through the doors of the nearby laboratory, Professor Pine had arrived.
"There you are."
"All 10 of you, right here," said Professor Pine. "My, you are plentiful, aren't you?"
"Professor Pine. Right?" Twilight asked.
"Indeed, I am. Welcome to the Holon Region." She spread her arms out, figuratively and literally welcoming them with open arms. "I heard from you about Oak. Mostly you, Ash."
"Great to be here. Where's this?" Spike asked.
"Settlement Foxtrot. It's always the first place that newcomers find themselves at Holon." Pine introduced. "So, now that you're here, I'm aware that some of you have two different goals. You've already met Timia, right?"
"Mhm. But we're all mostly here to check out the Pokemon. The Delta Pokemon, we mean." Rainbow Dash nodded, flying over Pine. "We got a great taste of what they could be back at our world. Mainly Applejack."
"Battled Timia and her Delta Pokemon." Applejack raised her hoof. "Got a little close there, right, Sceptile?"
"Sceptile."
"If I'm not rushing things, we'd love to see the Delta Pokemon right now," Fluttershy interjected.
"No problem. You're all experienced trainers here, aren't you?" Pine shrugged. "Oh, but first. I'll give you all a taste of some Delta Pokemon here at my lab. Timia did tell you about the other kind, didn't she?"
"Other kind?" The 10 of them all said in unison.
"No? Well, in that case, you're in for a surprise." She winked, guiding them all to her lab. There was something special waiting for them inside. Entering the Pokemon Lab and it was about what was expected. But, every Pokemon Lab stands out in their own way, and this one had the speciality of having certain paintings and maps on the walls.
Ash and the others observed as they saw paintings of Pokemon that resembled ones they have seen before but there was something different about them. The maps also seemed to show the entirety of Holon. Having one would be nice even though Holon was fairly small in comparison to other regions.
The main room of this lab had three Pokemon Trainers currently standing in front of three Pokemon. But these weren't just average Pokemon. Or even average Delta Pokemon.
"What if I told you..." Professor Pine stopped in front of them. "That Delta Pokemon can do more than just have different types. But different appearances."
"Seriously?!" Ash and his friends were all for it. They needed to know now.
"Seriously. Take a look." Pine then moved aside, showing the Pokemon Trainers and the Pokemon that they had received. They had gained a Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle.
But they had strikingly different appearances as Delta Pokemon. For starters, Bulbasaur was now a shade of pink with its bulb still having its usual green appearance albeit darker. Charmander seemed to have a skeleton-like appearance. White bones while still managing to retain its flame on its tail, except now it was a spectral purple. It looked like Charmander's skin had been taken off. And as for Squirtle, it was darker than the rest, keeping most of its ordinary appearance with what seemed to be a ninja mask on its face plus a cape.
"Awesome!" Ash, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy rushed over, getting close to this trio of Pokemon. Ash stood in front of Charmander, Rainbow Dash in front of Squirtle and Fluttershy in front of Bulbasaur with their eyes gleaming. Their Pokedexes also had to take all of this in to know what they were all about.
"Delta Bulbasaur. The Crystal Pokemon. A result of it being born in the Holon Region and the magnetic flux it gives off. The crystal growing from its back uses its mental energy to grow. Much like its Kantonian counterpart, the crystal somehow gives off nourishment."
"Delta Charmander. The Bone Lizard Pokemon. While the flame on its tail does not appear immediately after its birth, it burns more fiercely with age. Despite the skeletal appearance, much like its Kantonian counterpart, the flame indicates a sign of health, including its intensity."
"Delta Squirtle. The Ninja Pokemon. Though its shell causes it to stand out when hiding in the shadows, it conceals itself using the cloth on its back. It does much a better job at hiding in its shell than its Kantonian counterpart when withdrawing."
"Timia didn't want to spoil you, most likely. And I can tell she made the right decision. Yes, Delta Pokemon have more than just alternate types. They have different forms as well." Pine explained. "These three were just now getting ready to leave Holon and start their journey, weren't they?"
"You bet, Professor." A young Pokemon Trainer nodded, holding Bulbasaur.
"Hold on." Twilight took a closer look at the Pokedex entries for Charmander and Bulbasaur. "Their second typings aren't Steel? I thought that was the case for every Delta Pokemon."
"Ah, that's only for those who haven't been too exposed to the Magnetic Storm in this region. Some Pokemon have it better than others, but they're incredibly rare to come by. I doubt you'll see many Delta Pokemon in your journeys."
"Magnetic Storm? What's that all about?" Goh asked.
"Well...it's mainly the weather." Pine looked into the air as everyone else did the same. The three Pokemon Trainers had then left Professor Pine's lab, off to venture far. The weather in Holon is very strange and different from other places."
"Sweet! I wanna see this!" Rainbow Dash wanted to test out this weather as her role as a pegasus. "Come on, Fluttershy! Twilight! We can get up there!"
"It's a storm, right? I think I'm safer down here." But Fluttershy opted to stay. Twilight as well. Rainbow Dash shrugged before flying out of the lab to see the weather for herself.
"Our research here in the Holon Region is mostly tailored to finding more about the Mythical Pokemon Mew." One Professor Pine spoke Mew's name, Pinkie Pie scrunched her face. Currently, Mew was with her, as always, hiding in her mane. "Many people inhabited this region just for that."
"Uh..." Pinkie Pie raised her hoof, ready to say something.
"Leave it, Pinkie. Not right now." Twilight quickly stopped her. Pinkie Pie then reversed herself before making any more actions.
"So. I believe you're all eligible to head out and discover Holon's mysteries for yourself. I'd say start at either the Holon Grasslands or the Mirage Forest. Grab a map and you'll be set." Pine would lt them off of on their own.
"I know what we're doing." Ash went for the nearest map he could find. Realistically, he and his friends could go anywhere and they wouldn't feel as lost. Holon's small size was the reason for that. Ash opened the map with his friends gathering over to gaze at them. Each of his friends had personal interests on where they wanted to start.
"We'll meet up in that settlement right there. Settlement Oscar." Twilight poked her hoof at one of the settlements. "We don't usually split up that much unless it's by accident, so this'll be fun."
"I could catch some Holon Pokemon too while I'm at it!" A giddy Goh exclaimed.
"I could pet some..." Fluttershy looked at her hooves, already imagining the array of Delta Pokemon she could pet. Every Pokemon here was essentially a Delta. Without wasting any more time, they all set off to explore the rest of the Holon Region for themselves.
And outside, Rainbow Dash was already with the clouds, trying to see the strange electromagnetic weather at work. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Rainbow Dash poked the clouds, hoping for some response, only to get nothing. She even tried stomping on the clouds to make rain come out, but it was just ordinary rain.
Rainbow Dash would have to wait for the magnetic storm to show itself as she flew over to her friends. "Nah. I can't make it happen. Bummer. So, where are we heading?"
"Twilight and Starlight are going for that research tower. We're gonna check out some of these places." Ash showed the map to her. Soon, everyone had split up with a few of them staying in groups.
Ash, Fluttershy and Applejack would go as a group with Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie doing the same. Goh followed Spike with it just being those two. The region was their oyster. New Pokemon of familiar species yet unique variations were waiting to be discovered.
But they weren't the only ones curious about Delta Pokemon that had just visited. Moving from out of the shades of a tree was a certain trio. After learning about Fluttershy and her friends heading to the Holon Region soon, they followed soon after.
Team Rocket to be exact.
"Now that we're here, you know what that means?" Jessie spoke to her partners. "Imagine just what it'll be like if we catch a Delta Pokemon."
"The only thing equal to an Alpha is a Delta." James snapped his fingers. "Quite a catch!"
"The boss will love all those Delta Pokemon. I say we go for the ones that are hard to come by. Like me!" Meowth felt proud, believing that his species would be hard to find as Delta Pokemon.
"Doubt that." Jessie shrugged at Meowth's words. "Let's a keep low. This region's smaller than the others we've seen before, so word can get out faster. Size matters in moments like this."
"Only time you've agreed on that," James replied. Team Rocket were here for the Delta Pokemon curiosity as well. Any chance to capture rare Pokemon just for the sake of Giovanni's satisfaction, even though Pikachu would grant that satisfaction was up for grabs. No matter what, they will always take a chance.
But neither they nor Ash's friends were aware of what wonders were waiting for them in the Holon Region.
Holon Grasslands.
The Holon Grasslands. One of the starting areas in this region and an appropriately named grassy biome in Holon which was situated between Settlement Foxtrot and Settlement Oscar. Ash lowered his hat once the sun rays shined brighter in his direction. While looking at the map, he noticed how there were some recommendations of Pokemon that could be in the Grasslands. But Ash wanted to go in blind with this.
The group met their first Pokemon here in the grasslands as it was revealed to be an Unfezant. A male one. Unfezant flew out of a nearby tree, looking at the group before dashing off. "Fez! Unfezant!" Ash took out his Pokedex, seeing that this Unfezant was a Water-Type. Even with this alternate typing, it was still weak to Electric.
Another Delta Species came through. Jumping out of the bushes was a hive of Delta Combee. Each of them flew by as their typing had been altered to be Grass-Types only. "Combee!"
A few seconds in and two Delta Pokemon species had been spotted. Off to a great start. Ash couldn't wait to share this all with Professor Oak later. "Tile. Sceptile." Sceptile picked Applejack up before jumping to a tree. Applejack would get a higher view of the place.
"So...Which Pokemon's gonna look different from the rest?" Ash was eager to know where the Delta Pokemon that had alternate appearances would be. "Professor Pine did say they're pretty rare. Rarer than the others."
"Ain't she looking for Mew too? Shouldn't we've shown her Pinkie Pie's Mew?" Applejack asked.
"I wonder how she and the other scientists would react? Maybe Pinkie's saving it for a big moment," said Fluttershy. "Oh! What if we bring the Delta Pokemon food?" An idea sprung in her until she remembered one fatal flaw. "Oh. I didn't bring any with me...There goes that plan."
"We've got other ways of looking for Delta Pokemon, Fluttershy. You've got your wings, Audino's got those super good ears and Pikachu and I got our legs to do all the work." Ash and Pikachu ran on the spot, building up some energy as Fluttershy giggled.
"Well, I've got this. Sceptile, start swinging, ya hear?" Applejack turned to her partner as she would take a more dynamic approach.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile was on it. He sent out his vines, using them on the trees as a swinging session had occurred afterwards. Sceptile already built up great speeds as he was in his natural habitat right now.
"Hey, wait up!" Ash and Fluttershy promptly followed them once they took. Sceptile gave Applejack a rush as she held onto her hat in the high chance it flies off. While swinging and hopping from tree to tree, Sceptile had seen more of the same Pokemon but with one extra Pokemon. A Skitty.
Ash ran past Skitty, quickly using his Pokedex to scan it. This Skitty was a Fairy-Type. Fitting for this Pokemon, no doubt. They have yet to encounter any Dual-Type Delta Pokemon that would have Steel as their second typing or even alternate forms.
"Skitty? Skitty!" Skitty started pursuing them. Being such a playful Pokemon meant that anything that seemed fast or exciting was an immediate magnet for it. The Delta Skitty pursued the group promptly.
"Hello there!" Fluttershy slowed down to fly next to Skitty. She held her hooves out, allowing for Skitty to jump in. And Skitty certainly did. The Delta Skitty hopped into Fluttershy's hooves as Fluttershy couldn't help but give this Pokemon a hug.
"Ooh!" Ash jumped over a lake with Pikachu, having an impressive leaping strength as always. They had passed by a Kingler and a Dewgong that were living in the lake. The Pokedex scanned them, revealing Kingler to be an Ice-Type while Dewgong was a still Water-Type. Although, Dewgong was the first Dual-Type as it had Water as its first typing and Steel as its second.
As the group kept exploring the grasslands, with many Pokemon living here, it was inevitable for one of them to take notice. And one Pokemon did take notice. A fairly small one that was hidden within the bushes and trees. This small Pokemon then squinted its eyes, focusing on only Sceptile seemingly. Afterwards, the small figure was on the move, climbing up the trees.
The group also got to see some of the Delta Pokemon use moves to better demonstrate their typing. Two Combee were fighting over some honey with each of them wanting it desperately. A scuffle had begun with them both. They had both used moves they could never use before. Vine Whip.
Three vines emerged from their bodies, mainly from the side as they started whipping them against each other. Ash and his friends took a moment to see this scuffle between Pokemon. But their scuffle was meaningless as a female Unfezant had used Aerial Ace to come swooping and snatch the honey. "Combee?!"
"Unfezant!"
"Feels nice to just relax and look at all the Pokemon, isn't it, partner?" Applejack asked.
"Sceptile." Sceptile agreed. However, his cheery face soon turned into a serious one as he had stopped swinging. Sceptile promptly landed on one of the trees, staying there for a moment. "Sceptile!"
"Hm? What is it Sceptile?"
"Dino?" Audino was alert too. She heard a lot of sounds from the grasslands, mainly the Pokemon here. But there was one sound that was getting closer. Ash and Fluttershy promptly stopped as well.
"Did something happen?" He asked.
"Pika?"
"Sceptile..." Sceptile's eyes shifted in both directions as he was on high alert. So was Audino as she leaned in different directions to see where the sound was coming from. It went silent for a bit. But that silence was broken up once something jumped out of the bushes. A swift shadow of a small figure.
However, it wasn't swift enough to catch Sceptile off guard. Sceptile quickly placed Applejack aside before using Leaf Blade to block. The shadowy figure closed in, hitting Sceptile's blade as a mild collision had been made. Once the sun cast rays in a new direction, this mysterious figure had been revealed. It was one of Sceptile's species.
Specifically a Delta Treecko.
"Treecko!" And this Treecko which was currently keeping its arm on Sceptile's bladed arm had an alternate appearance from the traditional Treecko line. A new kind of Delta had been found.
It had a normal Treecko body shape however, it had the colours of what looked to be light nougat instead of green as it also wore a red headband and a belt. These add-ons were akin to karate and that would soon be found out by the others.
"Check out that Treecko!" Ash aimed his Pokedex.
"Delta Treecko. The Karate Gecko Pokemon. It takes up residence within dojos where it trains against humans and Pokémon alike. Similarly to its Hoennian counterpart, it is also cool, calm, and collected and never panics under any situation only it does differ from having a higher gutsy personality. This Pokemon tends to try and catch others by surprise to test their strength."
"Treecko!" Treecko then jumped back, gazing at its further alternate evolution.
"Sceptile..." Sceptile was amazed to see this Treecko. One of his own. Delta Treecko stood up tall, crossing its arms as the Pokedex certainly wasn't lying as always This Treecko was displaying a gutsy personality indeed, greater than its Hoennian counterpart.
"Tree! Treecko!"
"Aw, ain't it cute?" Applejack gushed at Delta Treecko. "I'm getting pretty nostalgic looking at ya. Reminds me of when you were small, Sceptile."
"Tile."
"Treecko!" Treecko then aimed its arms at Sceptile, pointing vigorously. Sceptile blinked for a second before pointing at himself.
"Scep?"
"I think it's here for your Sceptile, Applejack." Fluttershy leaned in. "That must be why it also jumped out of the tress like that. Going up against a similar species to it must have it excited."
"I'm getting excited here too," said Ash. "I wanna see that Treecko in action!"
"Ya could've just come to us and asked for a battle..." Applejack laughed while looking at the Normal-Fighting-Type.
"Tree!" Treecko was adamant, wanting to battle immediately. Sceptile scratched his head as he wasn't too bothered by this. He was laid-back and calm, but he could always partake in a battle at any time.
"Sceptile?" But it was up to Applejack to decide that as he looked at the farm pony.
"Hmm...Sure. Why not?" Applejack was all for it. Upon accepting this challenge, Treecko pointed north before running off in a rush. "Huh? Hey! Ain't we gonna battle?!"
"Tree! Treecko!"
"Sounds like it just wants to set the stage." Fluttershy translated. "Maybe it's one of those dojos that the Pokedex mentioned."
"Could've just battled here but...sure." AJ shrugged, going along with it anyway. Meeting this Delta Treecko, along with other Delta Pokemon proved that this was going to be a long trip. And they were all for it as the group followed the Delta Treecko to wherever they may go.
The Holon Region. Small yet it has so much to offer. The exploration in this region was only just beginning as Ash and his friends exciting new adventures in their ongoing story as the journey continues.
Visiting the Holon Region was Ash and all of his friends. Most had gone into small groups and split up while some stayed behind at the settlements. One of which were Twilight and Starlight. They went to the main town which was also named after the region itself. Holon.
With the help of Professor Pine, the two of them had entered the Holon Research Tower to know more about this region overall. From the Magnetic Storm to the Delta Pokemon.
"Right here. This is where most of the work is done. Even beyond my lab." Pine introduced. "It was also made to try and manipulate the unique magnetic properties of the area overall. To produce electromagnetic energy that hoped to aid scientists to track Mew."
Entering the upper floor of the tower allowed Twilight and Starlight to meet with the rest of the scientists working here. And of course, there were more Delta Pokemon with them. Twilight and Starlight had seen a Psyduck and a Xatu. Psyduck was revealed to be an Electric-Type whilst Xatu was a Dark-Type as noted by the Pokedex.
"So, why Mew? I mean, I know a lot of researchers are always searching for Mew since it has so many genes of many Pokemon," said Twilight.
"Well, we believed that Mew was the answer to everything. And we still do. But that slightly changed once we learned about Arceus." Pine then turned to them, revealing Arceus. The Pokemon with the greatest importance out of any other Pokemon out there.
"Did you see Arceus?!" Starlight asked.
"You could say that. We caught a glimpse. Some sort of light silhouette during our discoveries. We've heard about Arceus before in the Sinnoh Region and how it created the Pokemon Universe. Knowing that knowledge, it changed our perspective on Mew. But Mew's still important to us, even though our goals have changed."
"Oh, I get it now!" Twilight pieced it together. "You came here looking for Mew but found other things to keep your interest. Like those magnetic storms. But are you looking for Arceus too?"
"Looking for Arceus? Oh no." Pine chuckled. "If we're struggling to find Mew, the chances of us finding Arceus are much lower. Right now, we're trying to see how far these storms can go. What say we try and manipulate them together? Have you ever manipulated storms before?"
"I mean. I could, since I'm an alicorn, but I've never tried it before." Twilight shrugged as Starlight has definitely never manipulated the weather once in her life.
"It's not too complicated. From what we've seen so far, the storms are harmless and even children that come here don't cause any trouble. They only affect Pokemon and in positive ways." Pine showed them one of the machines that were tailored to manipulating the magnetic storms within the weather.
Twilight and Starlight were free to mess with it. Everything here was both streamlined and fun to look at, making it addicting to the eyes. No wonder a child would want to interact with them.
"Hmm..." Twilight already loved the idea of this. She hadn't really messed with many machines before. Her Pokemon Lab back at Ponyville only had a Fossil Machine and a PC. But that was it. Even in the Human World, she had limitations. Now, she could go crazy. "Let's see..."
However, Twilight made sure to be cautious. She didn't want to just start pushing and pulling whatever she saw. The machine had a screen that showed various locations in Holon. Some of which the rest of her friends were currently exploring in.
It showed her the Holon Grasslands and the Mirage Forest. Twilight locked her eyes onto the Mirage Forest mainly, getting a good glance at it. She saw how crackles of odd energy were forming there. This greatly caught Twilight's attention as the crackles looked like they were distorting space. "Those crackles...Are those the magnetic waves?"
"They certainly are. Mirage Forest is a popular spot in Holon since the magnetic storms are commonly seen there. If I were you, I'd go there first. Some of your friends are there too, aren't they?"
"Looks like the best place to be. But what if I did this?" Twilight finally interacted with the machine, pulling a lever with her magic. Thus, the machine's many utilities began showing themselves as the magnetic storms that were present in the Holon Region could be heard.
Everyone in Holon knew what they sounded like, but Twilight and Starlight would have the chance to find out, along with their friends who could have views from the distance and scenery. Twilight and Starlight witnessed how these magnetic storms had the appearance of an aurora plus rainbows coupled in there. Lightning also flared from them, albeit brief.
"All of this is free to control?" Twilight marvelled before turning off the magnetic storms. This level of control was on par with a pegasus controlling the weather. "I like what I'm seeing."
"You'll love more of what's to come. How about a request?" Pine offered Twilight and Starlight a quick request. "There are some Delta Pokemon we're personally having a hard time getting to."
"How hard?" Twilight and Starlight asked.
"Well, I'm wearing one glove for a reason, aren't I?" Pine then showed the singular red glove that she had on. Judging by this glove, her hand had been through a less-than-pleasant experience. "Do you think you can help with that?"
"Hard to get to, huh? Well, there's a chance that Ash and the others might bump into it and have a good chance but...sure. I want to see for myself." Starlight liked the sound of that. "That one mountain place seemed interesting enough. I think I saw a pyramid there?"
"Only one way to find out." Twilight was all in for it as well. "We'll come back with whatever we can, Professor Pine."
Holon Grasslands.
Meanwhile, Ash, Fluttershy and Applejack were currently following a Delta Treecko that they had encountered. This Delta Treecko wished to battle Applejack's Sceptile, as is tradition with a majority of Fighting-Types. And when following Treecko, they had caught a glimpse of the magnetic storms.
"Looks like it's happening right now," said Fluttershy once witnessing the storm. She was still holding onto the Delta Skitty that jumped into her hooves minutes ago.
"Do you think it's gonna zap a POkemon with it?" Ash wondered if a random Pokemon would end up being affected by the storm today. They seemed erratic despite them being controlled. Then again, despite having a machine to control them, storms would always be frantic without any clear guidance unless a Pokemon was behind it.
"Tree. Treecko!" Delta Treecko eventually slowed down with its guiding. That was because it spotted someone ahead and so did the group. Treecko hopped over a tree, approaching a nearby mound of rocks that were so grouped together that they almost made an entire mountain. There, someone could be seen near it. Someone with an overwhelmingly large backpack who was soon alerted by Treecko's cry.
"Hm? Oh, Treecko!" The man spotted the Karate Gecko Pokemon. Treecko then landed on the man's shoulder right next to that massive backpack he was carrying. "There you are. Where did you go this time?"
"Treecko."
"So it's not a wild one? That your Treecko right there?" Applejack asked.
"Sure is. He bumped into you, didn't he?" The man with the massive backpack replied, facing the trio. Sceptile nodded in confirmation for the backpacker. "Treecko does that a lot."
"Tree."
"Name's Heike. Are you all visiting Holon? Haven't seen you around." Heike introduced himself to the group.
"Yeah, we're visiting. Came here to check out all of the Delta Pokemon and we've already seen a lot of awesome ones," said Ash. "Just like Treecko over there."
"With all of our friends."
"Nice. Well, I'm visiting here too. My fifth time being here." Heike further revealed more of himself. "But welcome. You're in for a treat in this region now that you're here and this is only just the beginning area."
"Treecko-Treecko." Treecko then nudged his trainers' shoulder, causing him to focus on mainly Applejack and Sceptile. He did guide them to find a place to battle. But of course, he couldn't battle without his trainer.
"Hm? You found someone new to battle?" He managed to translate Treecko's words via mannerisms. Treecko nodded before giving more mannerisms, nudging his head in Sceptile and Applejack's direction.
"He means us. Treecko came from those trees and wanted a battle with my Sceptile over here." Applejack chimed in. "Sceptile's all for it. Aren't you, partner?"
"Sceptile!"
"I figured so." Heike expected this. Judging from the words he spoke earlier, this wasn't the first time this has happened. And the Pokedex entry about Delta Treecko backed this up. "You see, I'm still getting used to Treecko doing this. I'm sorta new to Delta Pokemon myself. It's why I came here. It's a good thing Treecko always comes back to me..."
"Tree!"
"Don't sweat it. We're all newbies here in the Holon Region together." Ash proudly patted himself on the chest. "But, you've got more experience than us with 5 times. This place has gotta be so addicting to come back to every time, right?"
"It is. But truthfully, I'm only coming back here not just for Delta Pokemon, but because I was chosen to be a Gym Leader." Heike leaned in, giving them some fresh new information to consume. "You know how Holon doesn't have a Pokemon League? Well, once they sort everything out here, they'll start one."
"Ooh! So you're a Gym Leader in training?" Fluttershy asked.
"Sure are. I may not look like Gym Leader Material but I've been working hard. Ever since I got Treecko, I was assigned with being the Normal-Type Gym Leader. Only Delta Pokemon with Normal-Types for me." He then gave his Treecko a small fist bump. "And any help I can get to be on the level of a Gym Leader would be great. Such as a battle."
"Then this is perfect timing. Applejack knows a thing or two about helping Gym Leaders." Fluttershy jazzed her hooves in Applejack's direction. Indeed. Applejack did help Roseluck, Ponyville's first Gym Leader in being a better Gym Leader.
"How about it, Applejack? What say we start battling?" Heike held his hand out, ready for the Pokemon Battle between both their Pokemon and as a means of helping Heike improve as a Gym Leader. "You're a Gym Leader helper, right?"
"Might not be able to help you much, but sure!" Applejack held her hoof out as Heike grabbed it. It was official. The time for battling was now.
And thankfully, this area in the grasslands was wide enough for a battle to commence. Against two Pokemon of a similar species but with variations. Sceptile and Delta Treecko. Ash and Fluttershy stood by, keeping their distance as their Pokemon plus the Delta Skitty would observe.
"I would like more than one of our Pokemon going at it but...feels kinda fitting to just have it be Treecko vs Sceptile, don't you think?" Heike said, opting for a 1-on-1 instead of any more Pokemon. "Unless you've got more than Sceptile."
"I've only got Golett after Sceptile but it's back home at Sweet Apple Acres. But Sceptile's all I need."
"Works for me. Alright, Treecko! Let's go!"
"Treecko!" Treecko front flipped off of Heike's shoulder before sticking a superhero-style landing as his method of descent. He was ready for action as always.
"Get in there, Sceptile!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile simply stepped forward but he made it a powerful step, causing some dust to fly around for a bit upon his initial step. He stood before his first-stage variant, crossing his arms afterwards. The magnetic storms from the Holon Research Tower crackled for a bit as the final spark prompted the battle to begin.
"Treecko! Start this with Quick Attack!"
"Treecko...!" Treecko pumped his arms for a bit before bolting off of the ground, outlining himself in light. As he ran at lightning speeds, he left afterimages of his movements.
"Sceptile! Block it with Leaf Blade!"
"Scep!" Sceptile took a stance before extending his bladed leaves on his arms. One of his arms had been raised as he had blocked Treecko's blistering tackle, much like their first encounter within the trees. "Tile!" They glared at each other before Treecko jumped back, evading Sceptile's other Leaf Blade that was swung at him.
Treecko then started moving with Quick Attack, using his speed to his advantage The Treecko species and the Sceptile line, in general, were speedy Pokemon and this was shown even more with Delta Treecko as he started zigzagging in different directions, circling Sceptile. Sceptile could keep up with this ludicrous speed as Treecko moved in for another attack, leaving more afterimages.
"Tree!" Treecko shouted, only for his next attack to be blocked once more. Treecko kept his distance by jumping away, but not before leaping off of Sceptile's blades.
"Check out that speed! You gotta love how fast the Sceptile line is!" Ash admired.
"Pikachu!"
"Treecko, Karate Chop!"
"Tree!" Treecko slid on the ground, quickly bringing himself back into the air with his arm being raised.
"Sceptile, Dragon Pulse!"
"Scep...!" Sceptile held his breath in, puffing his chest. After building up some draconic energy, he unleashed it from his mouth, firing it at Treecko once he got close. Treecko's eyes widened as his vision could only see the face of a dragon approaching him.
"Chop it, Treecko!"
"Treecko!" A risky attempt. But Pokemon Trainers and their partners were all about taking risks. Treecko narrowed his eyes, swinging his Karate Chop down onto the pulse. He made direct contact, however, he was unable to overpower it. Dragon Pulse combusted, blowing Treecko away. "Ko!"
"Treecko! Are you okay?!" Heike gasped as Treecko still managed to slide on the ground as recovery.
"Thunder Punch, now!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile decided to get up close and personal. Sparking his hands with electricity, he approached his smaller variant with lightning trailing.
"You use Thunder Punch too!"
"Treecko!" Treecko pulled off the same move, throwing his sparking hands at his larger variant. Both Thunder Punches had collided with Treecko trying to push through as the victor. However, despite them staying there for a moment, causing lightning to fly around, Sceptile still had the superior physical strength as his Thunder Punch overpowered Treecko's striking his chest. "Ko!"
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile put some extra oomph into this attack, making his fist stay on Treecko for a bit. After doing so, Sceptile released his muscle strength, causing the lightning to burst out with Treecko being rocketed like a slingshot.
"Treecko!" Treecko screamed before tumbling on the ground. There was no recovery this time with a slide or stylish landing. Once he fell, that Thunder Punch did the trick as Treecko had fainted. "Treecko..."
"Guess that's that..." Heike sighed, holding his head.
"Great job, partner." Applejack said, raising her hoof. Sceptile used one of his vines to touch Applejack's hoof as they essentially gave each other a high-five Treecko held his head, sitting up and feeling dazed.
"Looks like your speed isn't much against a Sceptile. At least not yet." Heike went over to his partner, kneeling to face him. He held his arm out, allowing Treecko to crawl up on it.
"Now I'm itching for a battle too" After witnessing the Pokemon Battle, Ash's boiling spirit for battling was already showing itself as always. "Did that help, Heike?"
"I can say it did a bit. But it wouldn't be the first time going up against a powerful trainer by accident." He chuckled. "Thanks for the battle, Applejack. I'm sure going up against Sceptile's inspired Treecko."
"Treecko." Treecko nodded as Sceptile was his new source of inspiration, being the further and final evolution in the Sceptile line after all.
"Sceptile."
"Ain't no problem. You didn't hold back when we battled, but ya gotta do it against trainers when ya get that role." Applejack tutored. "Gym Leaders always gotta hold back."
"They do?" This was new to Heike. He went all out in that battle even though it wasn't enough. The gap in power and skill with Sceptile and Treecko was too vast. "Hm...There aren't enough guidebooks in my backpack to let me know that."
"You'll be the first Gym Leader everyone comes to, so it's okay to go all out just a bit." But Fluttershy, who flew over to him, encouraged him to use his full strength since he was assigned as the first Gym Leader of Holon.
"Yeah. I'll be easy pickings." Heike gave a thumbs-up before realizing that he would be essentially the weakest Gym Leader compared to whoever would fill in the other roles. Knowing this, his smile was combined with flowing tears as in the blink of an eye, he was sitting near a tree, sulking. "Figures I'd be the weakest one..."
"Oh! I-I didn't mean it like that!" Fluttershy gasped with her and the others looking onwards at the sulking backpacker. Treecko patted his partner on the back to comfort him.
"Hahahaha!" Applejack simply laughed as this brought back memories of Roseluck and how she was in a similar position as Heike. "Just like Roseluck. Don't sweat it, partner. I could teach you some more tricks if ya want. Then you'd stack up to the rest."
"Really...? Thanks..." Heike felt at peace slightly with this revelation. He then stood up, opening his massive backup to gather some tissues. And once the backpack was opened, Ash and everyone were free to see the absolute behemoth that it was.
An assortment of objects would typically be found in it but not to this scale. There were seemingly hundreds of objects inside of this gargantuan backpack. Mainly for surviving the expansive world of Pokemon when adventuring and beyond. Knick knacks of all kinds and even some rare objects that wouldn't commonly be found in shops. But aside from that, Heike just wanted tissues, wiping his tears away.
"Wow...You must really get around..." Fluttershy's jaw dropped whilst gawking at the objects.
"Hm? Oh yeah. It looks impressive but I've only been travelling for a few months now. But it's still big even when it's sorta new, isn't it? I can't go anywhere without it." Heike chuckled, patting the backpack. "Anyway, do you guys know where you're heading to next?"
"We're just exploring Holon freely. We could anywhere right now," said Ash.
"Ah, same here." Heike had the same intention. "But I've got a mission on it as well. A mission to catch some Delta Pokemon for when I get to be a Gym Leader. How about we help each other out since we're moving freely? I know of a settlement that's close by."
"Sure thing." Ash agreed as Heike would be a brief travel partner. And Ash certainly has had his fair share of travel partners in the past and now the present. "Lead the way. But let's also check out everything we can!"
"Shouldn't we also watch out for those storms in the sky?" Fluttershy brought the conversation back to the skies. The weather was fine right now, but at any moment, the magnetic storms could show themselves.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. The storms are harmless. They don't even hurt Pokemon when they touch them." But Heike reassured her and the others that the magnetic storms were the last things to worry about if never at all. He then placed his massive backpack on before closing it. "So. Don't let this region's small size fool you. Cause up ahead's a desert and a marsh before we can get to the next settlement."
Indeed, despite how Holon was the smallest region they had been to, it was still a region, meaning that the size of it was nothing to ignore. This was still a long road ahead, albeit short. However, Ash and Pikachu lived for that.
"That just makes it all the more fun!" Knowing this, Ash couldn't help but grin as this exploration wouldn't be too short at all as he pumped his fist into the air. "Let's go!"
"Pikachu!"
Mirage Forest.
Mirage Forest. A location slightly near the Holon Grasslands. This dense forest encompassed the nearby main city of Holon and Settlement Foxtrot. Here, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie found themselves in this forest.
And during their venture in this forest, they were greeted with familiar Pokemon of alternate types. A Ledyba that was pure Steel. A Seel that was Normal and a flock of Swellow that were Fire-Types. Rainbow Dash got all of this information down in her Pokedex.
But in the meantime, it wasn't the Delta Pokemon that caught their attention. It was something else. As Rainbow Dash looked at her Pokedex, witnessing the new typings for these familiar Pokemon, she noticed how her friends had stopped trotting all of a sudden.
"Hm? What are we stopping for?"
"For that." Rarity revealed something that was equally as intriguing as the Delta Pokemon. Sparks of the electromagnetic storm could be found here instead of up in the skies. Their electricity crackled from the trees, rustling the leaves in the process. They even painted parts of the forest with their aurora-like appearance. "This doesn't look like the weather, does it?"
"I think we've hit the jackpot here." Pinkie uttered, flailing her hoof over at the storm. It also seemed to act as a sort of blockade, covering a majority of the forest.
Some Pokemon had passed through the blockade, having the electromagnetic energy pulse through their bodies. However, they were highly unaffected since the energy was harmless to them. Pinkie Pie gawked at this as she wanted a go at it. The excited pink pony hopped over to the waves, seeing how the Pokemon weren't harmed at all, tempting her to enter it.
"Ah! Pinkie Pie, wait!" Rainbow Dash thought otherwise along with Rarity. However, they soon found out that not only was it Pokemon and humans that couldn't be harmed by them, but also ponies. Pinkie Pie entered the waves as it gave her mane a nice shock, but didn't harm her at all. At best, it tickled her.
"Hehehe! That tickles!" She giggled, prancing around in the waves with all the electricity crackling. Rainbow Dash and Rarity watched as their friend was free to roll around and jump in this blockade.
"Huh...Guess it's safe." Rainbow Dash scratched her mane, approaching the waves.
"Perhaps. But I'd rather not risk messing my mane." Rarity preferred not to approach the storm as her mane would be frizzed and made extreme from the electricity. Rainbow Dash soon entered, causing her already spiky mane to gain some extra spike and frizz.
"Oh, I like this." She approved of it greatly. But as they messed around in it for a bit with Mew flying out of Pinkie Pie's mane, giggling excitedly, he felt something. And it certainly wasn't the crackle from the storm.
"Mew. Mew?" The New Species Pokemon had felt something peculiar. Far more peculiar than the storms in Holon. Mew stopped what he was doing to look over in the distance. He stayed focused on one area as the sounds of the electromagnetic storms were being blocked out by something else.
Pinkie Pie promptly stopped her frolicking to see how her partner had a dazed expression. Spinda, who was also inside of Pinkie Pies mane, popped out to roll on the floor, letting the storms tickle her. The same went for Rainbow Dash's Castform.
"Hey, Mew. Did you see something? Is it a new Delta Pokemon?" Pinkie Pie asked the New Species Pokemon.
"Mew..." Mew did not respond to Pinkie Pie. Whatever he was seeing had him fully entranced. And while Rarity and the others looked at the same direction, it was only Mew who had seen what was lying beyond.
Mew's eyes widened as his heart started racing. A smile graced his face. One of joy. He then floated forward for a bit at a gentle pace. This expression showed that he had seen something wonderful. And Pinkie Pie soon followed as she saw it as well.
Another Mew.
"Mew!" There was another Mew here. Just as Professor Pine said to them. The Holon Region certainly had a Mew that lurked around here in secrecy and it had been found. Upon finding this Mew, Pinkie Pie's Mew was overjoyed.
Another one of his kind was here. The closest he had ever gotten to meeting his kind again was with both Mewtwo that were roaming the world right now. The other Mew noticed Pinkie Pie's Mew as it couldn't resist staring at its fellow New Species Pokemon. This encounter had occurred with a rarity greater than Rarity's own name.
The encounter of another Mew. The tagalong travel partner of a Gym Leader in training Heike. And more ventures throughout the Holon Region. Each were only getting started as the afternoon would soon pass to meet with nightfall. Holon, despite being small, was already showing big revelations as the journey continues.
In the midst of exploring the Holon Region, Pinkie Pie's group had come across a surprise. Mainly a larger surprise for Mew himself. Mew had found another one of his kind. Another Mew. Presumably, the same Mew that had driven many scientists to show up here just to find this ever-elusive Pokemon.
"Mew..." To both Mew's this was something special. Compared to other Pokemon species, Mew rarely get to see another one of their kind due to how a majority of them eventually evolved into the Pokemon that many know today.
"Another Mew! I didn't think we'd ever see one!" An elated Rainbow Dash shouted. "That's like...one in a billion or trillion!"
"Mew!" Pinkie Pie's Mew and the Mew of Holon gave each other a high-five once they approached each other. They then held hands, jumping and flying around with joy.
"Mew! You found another one of you! Isn't that great?!" Pinkie Pie was happy for Mew once he found another one of his kind. Afterwards, the Holon Mew held PInkie's Mew's hand tightly before suddenly pulling him along.
"Mew-Mew!"
"Mew?" Pinkie Pie's Mew was being dragged away from this area with the Holon Mew chuckling. Usually, it was Pinkie Pie's Mew that drags others along so this was a sudden shift in actions. Then again, it was from the same species.
"Hey, wait!" Pinkie Pie promptly pursued them with Rainbow Dash and Rarity doing the same. Pinkie's Mew caught on to what the other Mew was up to. What every Mew does. Play. Knowing this, Pinkie Pie's Mew was all for it.
They flew around each other before deciding to transform at the same time. Pinkie Pie's Mew turned into a Vivillion whilst the Holon Mew became a Leafeon. They messed around by transforming into whichever Pokemon they liked in different seconds that were sparse from each other.
"He's usually so happy but...never to this extent." Rarity's eyes widened. "I've never seen so many transformations so frequently."
"Well yeah!" Pinkie Pie turned to Rarity, bellowing. "Mew's been all alone for so long without another one of his species. It's just like what I and the others saw at the Fairy-Type Realm. A whole bunch of the Mew in the world ended up evolving into different Pokemon and only a few of them were left. This is great for Mew to meet another one of him."
"Mew!"
"Wish Fluttershy was here so I could know what they're saying..." Rainbow Dash needed extra context for the two Mew. Clearly, they were having a discussion that only Mew could have. Afterwards, Holon Mew started looking around before dragging Pinkie Pie's Mew once more. This time, they were going deeper into the forest.
Along the way, they came across some more Delta Pokemon, but not the kind with alternate forms. At least, not yet. And while following this Holon Mew, over at the Holon Research Tower, the scientists, who had monitors all over the place had turned their attention to the Mirage Forest.
Most of the forest through the screen was covered in the magnetic storm flowing through the lower levels. However, when gazing at it, they saw two pink figures move through the area. Three of them. One of them was Pinkie Pie and the other two were Mew.
"Look! Something pink's moving!" A scientist cried out.
"Is it Mew?!" Professor Pine rushed over. She soon gazed at the monitor, hoping to see Mew. However, everyone received the same sight. Pink blurs. Despite the view that was on Mirage Forest and how everything was clear, the visages of these individuals had been blurred out. "Again...A blur..." Pine groaned, holding her face. "That has to be Mew's Psychic powers at work."
"Hold on...There's something else." Another scientist took a moment to observe the footage for a bit. He and the others soon recognized other blurs. One was pure white with purple while another was of different colours. Mainly blue but with smaller ones. These two were obviously Rainbow Dash and Rarity. "Could it be three Mew and...whatever those other two are?"
"No. Those other two are Rainbow Dash and Rarity." Pine was able to recognize them just from their colour varieties. Meeting them for the first time today allowed her to get accustomed to their looks. Plus, they had unique appearances. "And the other pink blur must be Pinkie Pie. I see a darker shade of pink with the light one. Then that must mean..."
"W-What does it?" A fellow scientist asked, waiting for Pine's answer.
"It's without a doubt Mew's Psychic power doing this. Not even the magnetic storms can interfere with this. But I didn't think there would be two Mew..."
"Professor! This is our chance to head for Mew! We can finally learn all about Mew and the Pokemon species at last!" One scientist saw the opportunity just singing as bright as the sun. And all the other scientists agreed with each other.
"I hear you. We'll send some fieldworkers out there, but, I have no doubt that Ash and the others can be of great help when it comes to finding Mew. Judging from that blur, maybe they've already gone after it." Pine put her faith in Ash's friends. Little did she know that there was already a Mew with them that was extremely close.
But she was certainly right about there being another Mew. Despite the distance, Mew's Psychic abilities could obstruct views from the Mirage Forest and the Holon Research Tower.
Back at Mirage Forest, the Holon Mew had led its fellow Mew and the others to a secluded spot where only it could access. It had used its Psychic powers to erase an illusion that seemed to be in front of an acre of trees and right beside a lake. It was then revealed that a passageway hid with them, going downwards.
"Mew-Mew!" The Holon Mew had transformed into a Spheal to do one thing. Roll down the passageway by using Spheal's rotund body and rolling skills. "Spheal!"
"Mew!" Pinkie Pie's Mew was encouraged to do the same as he had turned into another spherical Pokemon. This time it was a Voltorb. "Voltorb!"
"Good thinking!" Pinkie Pie, without any struggle or much effort, essentially did the same. But instead of turning into a Pokemon, she circled herself into a ball, rolling down the passageway. "Woohooo!"
"How the..." Rainbow ash was stunned with how Pinkie Pie manipulated her body like that. "Was she always that flexible?"
"You can do the same, can't you Rainbow Dash?" Rarity nudged. "I would expect a pony as fast as you to start dashing with a spin."
"Uh...I could do that too if I wanted to!" Truthfully, she couldn't. Despite being an athletic pony, she wasn't hyper-flexible and body limit breaking as Pinkie Pie.
"I'm certainly not rolling on the ground." Rarity held out one of her Poke Balls, sending Pheromosa out.
"Pheromosa!"
"Pheromosa, carry me." Rarity said as the Lissome Pokemon picked up her trainer. Rarity was then held like a baby as she nudged her head in the location of the passageway. Pheromosa took off, leaving a dust cloud afterwards. She chose to slide down the passageway while keeping Rarity clean.
"Cast!" Castform flew out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag as he wanted to try rolling down the passageway as well. Unfortunately, his body wasn't that circular. Only two parts were.
"Pfft. You're not round, buddy." Rainbow Dash chuckled before holding Castform, dashing through the passageway and catching up with Pheromosa."
Eventually, when moving through this passageway, they had found a secret area. Some sort of cove. A cove of crystals with multiple bioluminescent colours. Pinkie and the others marvelled as these crystals also radiated the same crackling energy from the magnetic storms.
But alongside that, on the surface of this cove, other objects could be found. Mainly toys, clothes, gadgets and other objects that Pokemon Trainers and practically anyone would use.
"Oh, what's this? A little home inside this cove?" Rarity observed once Pheromosa stopped sliding. Pinkie Pie and the others came to a screeching halt with Pinkie bouncing off of a small rock pillar.
"Mew! Mew-Mew!" Holon Mew reverted to its natural form before circling the object-littered area. Mew giggled as it had landed on a soft pillow, allowing it to absorb its small body. It waved its hands, encouraging the other Mew to do the same.
"Mew?" Mew flew over, laying on one of the pillows. It had also absorbed him, making his body feel comfortable. Mew had an estatic face afterwards. "Mew..."
"Nice place you got here." Rainbow Dash complimented before noticing a pile of comic books that were laid on the ground. This piqued her interest as she discovered these Pokemon-themed comics, opening the first she saw. "And great taste too!"
"From how it looks, Mew here has been gathering objects over time?" Rarity used her magic to hold up some clothes. She found a business suit along with garments that would've existed at least 100 years ago. "How long have you been here?"
"Mew-Mew!" The Holon-based Mew didn't answer. Instead, it just laughed happily while jumping from the other pillow and landing on Pinkie's Mew's stomach. They both laughed before the Holon Mew then ticked Pinkie's Mew, catching him off guard.
"I don't think it matters much. Look how happy they both are." Pinkie Pie admired their frolicking. But aside from that, this cave also raised some interest.
"Mosa..." Pheromosa, a Pokemon that comes from a dimension where anything shiny was attractive to her species, went over to these crystals, admiring at them. She jumped, moving back a bit once some of the crackling energy increased in sound.
"These crystals." Rarity walked over. "I don't think we need to know much about their existence. Just look at how beautiful they are."
"Yeah. Professor Pine's gonna love this if we show her." Rainbow Dash agreed. "I mean, they've been looking for Mew, so they don't know about this place."
"It's just like that place I found in Alola with the Mew and the Mewnium Z." Pinkie Pie recalled something slightly similar to this area in Alola that practically no one else but Pinkie Pie and a few Kahunas knew about.
"Hm-hm-hm." Rarity nodded before having an idea spark in her mind. "Pheromosa. Get to kicking. Wouldn't hurt to have some of these crystals over, would it?"
"Phero!" Pheromosa saluted, standing tall like a soldier. She then raised her leg, kicking the crystals. Immediately, the crystals were being broken off into smaller pieces.
"Mew? Mew!" The Holon Mew noticed this as it wanted to do the same. It quickly transformed into Pheromosa as well, the natural coloured form to be exact. It then started kicking away at the crystals. This Mew was easily impressionable no doubt.
Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie found more objects of interest. Such as notes detailing certain Pokemon and rare objects to go at it. Rarity found what seemed to be paintings of some sorts with text next to them. She squinted as hard as she could to read these words while Pinkie Pie played around with the various toys. Some were old, some were new.
"Hm. Noble Pokemon...Why would a Mew want any of this?" Rarity wondered, gazing at the painting that was almost dirty from the passage of time. It was most likely older than most of these objects.
"Mew's like an adult and a kid at the same time, right? I mean...I think it is. I don't get Pokemon age aside from babies." Rainbow Dash shrugged before indulging herself more in these comics. She couldn't take her eyes off of them for a second.
"Feels great to find another one of you, doesn't it Mew?" Pinkie Pie asked her partner. "I bet it'll want you to find others some more."
"Mew!" Mew clapped his hands. He would enjoy that greatly as a reunion with the ret of his species would do perfectly. Mewtwo and Newtwo were just a glimpse of what would happen. The Mew underneath Alola was proof that the glimpse has been made a reality and this encounter only added to it. Holon Mew reverted into its form, wanting to play with its kind some more.
It quickly went over to its pile objects, pulling out large pictures of different Pokemon and people. It held the pictures in front of its fellow New Species Pokemon. Pinkie's Mew stood in front of them, mimicking the poses of a Rillaboom and a Mr Mime instead of transforming, wanting to spice things up.
Holon Mew giggled, swimming the comically tall pictures out for different ones. Ones focused on backgrounds. It showed him a background picture of a rainforest. Mew quickly transformed into a Toucannon to fit the aesthetic. Holon Mew loved that Pinkie's Mew was on the same wavelength as it. Holon Mew swapped out more and more background pictures as Mew kept transforming. In a city, it was a Furfrou. In a castle, it was Slowking and another castle with a creepier aesthetic, Mew transformed into a Noivern.
Holon Mew continued to show off some more knick knacks that it had gathered, such as clothes that were meant to fit certain Pokemon. Pinkie's Mew put on a that that did not fit him as it caused Holon Mew to laugh hysterically. But it didn't look any smoother wearing a comically large moustache that was a disguise prop as they both laughed at each other.
They then transformed into other Pkemon that bounced off of each other. Such as how Remoraid and Mantine are always together. Hippowdown allowing Dwebble to live inside of its ports and also disloge stones from them. Meowth and Murkrow competing on who has the shiniest objects. The Electric Rodent family in general and so on.
They were just having the time of their lives. Bothof them being the same species meant that their chemistry was stellar and easy to understand. Much like how Pinkie Pie and Mew had such great chemistry.
The late afternoon sun could be seen beaming through the tiny holes within the cove. It was safe to say that nightfall was gradually approaching. Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes as the orange glow of the sun tinted the cove. "Hey. It's getting pretty late, don't you think?"
"Oh, you're right. We should sleep for a bit! Maybe here?" Pinkie Pie jumped onto one of the pillows, deciding to rest her head. Just like Mew, the pillow had absorbed her, making her pleased. "Aaaah..."
"I'd rather not." Rarity shook her head before holding some of the crystals that Pheromosa and Mew had broken off. "I also will need something to eat. Maybe the main city also called Holon has something to enjoy."
"I saw a neat-looking restaurant back there." Pinkie Pie sat up. "Mew. Let's head over and eat!"
"Mew-Mew!" Mew understood as he could go for some food as well. However, the moment he hovered away, he had been stopped dead in his tracks. "Mew?" He swivelled to see that his fellow Mew was the one that stopped him. "Mew-Mew." Mew asked if he could be let go.
"Mew...!" Holon Mew lowered its head all of sudden, shaking it. Pinkie's Mew tried moving forward, but his fellow New Species Pokemon gave a tight grip. Rainbow Dash and the others were already preparing to leave, only to see how Mew was stationary.
"Hey, Mew. What's the holdup?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"IS something wrong?"
"Mew." PInkie Pie's Mew turned his arm into that of a Goodra, making himself slimy for a second. That allowed him to slip away as he returned his arm to normal.
"Mew!" Just then, the Holon Mew shouted, startling Pinkie Pie and the others with this sudden voice increase and intensity. From the tone it gave and the response to Pinkie Pie's Mew, it sounded as if it didn't want Mew to leave.
"Why is it so angry now?!" Rarity pondered.
"Wait a second..." But Pinkie Pie caught onto it quickly, gasping before running in front of her Mew and Holon's Mew. "Wait! Mew! Just a sec!"
"Mew?!"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here...We're just heading out to eat. We've got a pretty long journey ahead of us here in the Holon Region."
"Yeah. Places to be and all that." Rainbow Dash chimed in.
"Mew!" Mew's temper proved to be short. Chaotically short as it started exuding Psychic energy from its body. Rainbow Dash and Rarity stayed alert as they feared some conflict would come their way. Pinkie Pie's Mew also tried reasoning with his fellow Psychic-Type to sway away from this conflict.
Mew refused to have Pinkie's Mew leave this area as its Psychic powers had ripped rocks from the walls of the cove. Large ones at that. The rocks had then blocked off the passage way. Rarity looked over with her head shaking. "Oh, that's just child's play for Pheromosa."
"It's trying to keep us...or Mew here forever!" Rainbow Dash caught on. "We can't be here forever! We're only visiting this region, not living here."
"I'm afraid it doesn't matter much to Mew over there." said Rarity. "Could it be all that time alone down here...?"
"I was thinking the same thing." Pinkie Pie turned to Rarity. "But, Mew. Yu don't have to just hang out with other Mew. There's a lot more! You can-"
"Mew!" But Mew wasn't having it. It had then covered Pinkie Pie in Psychic energy, lifting her into the air. Mew's temper blined it from further conversations.
"Mew?!" Pinkie Pie's Mew was agahst, seeing his Trainer being carried. He quickly used Psychic to also grab Pinkie Pie, preventing anything horrible from happening to her. Pinkie had then been placed down peacefully on the pillows as her body started trembling. "Mew...!"
Pinkie's Mew clearly wasn't happy about this. He approached his fellow species, continuing the objective of reasoning him by also raising his voice. The other Mew desired Pinkie's Mew to stay here and never leave. So much so, that something could be seen flowing out of it.
And upon further gazes along with a closer look, it was revealed that some Rift Energy could be found. Mainly, a Desire. A Desire was seen radiating out of Mew's body. "A Desire!" The trio shouted. This was Mew's Desire to keep another one of its kind here.
However, Mew seemed to be in control despite having a Desire affect it. Much like Lofty Skies. The Desire still knew what Mew wanted. And it was obsessive. Pinkie Pie's Mew backed away, intimidated slightly by this obsession. Already, Holon's Mew had grown such an attachment to him.
"It's not listening to reason!" Rarity stepped forward. "And I doubt the Desire will let it do so!"
"Mew!" Mew shouted, shaking the cove. It decided to leave Rainbow Dash and the others behind and only keep Mew as was intended.
"Mew! We don't want to battle!" Pinkie Pie chose the more peaceful approach whilst Rainbow Dash and Rarity were leaning on the more offensive one.
This trembling from the cove managed to reach the outside, shaking parts of the forest. Naturally, some of the fieldworkers that were here in the forest were not exempt from this along with the Pokemon. The fieldworkers were currently observing the magnetic storms, only to feel their legs quake from the rumbling
The electromagnetic energy from the Psychic rumbling was even being affected. Pink and purple sparkles from Mew's rising anger were radiating out. The fieldworkers too notice of this as this was new to them. "Look at this!" One of them pointed out. "This might be Mew!"
Back in the cove, the objects that Mew had gathered over time were collapsing. Some of the more fragile objects were broken from Mew's pressure. Out of anger, it had used Psyshock, shooting three thick massess of Psychic energy towards only Pinkie and the others.
"Mew!" Pinkie Pie's Mew got in the way, using a Psychic shield to block the masses of Psychic energy. Clearly, the escalation that they didn't want was now rearing its ugly head. It was hard to tell if it was the cause of the Desire or Mew itself.
"Sorry, Pinkie. But if it tries to harm you, then it's personal!" Rainbow Dash saw anyone that tried to harm her friends as an immediate threat. This Mew was no exception. "Castform, Energy Ball!"
"Cast!" Castform flew out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, shooting out a green ball that powered by nature itself. His radioactive cells did not react to anything this time. His form stayed the same.
"Mew!" Mew quickly got rid of the Energy Ball by using Corrosive Gas. Out of its mouth, a highly aciding gas had emerged, melting and wilting the Energy Ball as if it was just one big leaf. Mew then retaliated by using Ancient Power, summoning fossiled rocks from below the cove. The rocks were thrown in Castform and Rainbow Dash's direction.
"Triple Kick, Pheromosa!"
"Phero!" Pheromosa quickly put a stop to them by kicking the rocks a total of three times. While she managed to destroy three of them, the shockwaves from her powerful kicks managed to obliterate the others with a radius effect.
The opposing Mew was getting riled up from this. The usual friendly nature of Mew was not showing itself anymore. And Pinkie's Mew knew this. Before Rainbow Dash and Rarity could make another move, Mew quickly stopped them. "Mew-Mew!
"Wait. Mew's got something!" Pinkie Pie got in front of her friends, allowing Mew to handle this. Mew would continue to try and reason with Holon's Mew to prevent any further conflict. Mew was a lover not a fighter. The opposing Mew growled in front of its fellow Psychic-Type, however, the more passive Mew did not flinch.
Even when the opposing Mew exuded more of its Psychic energy to try and push Mew back, Mew stayed adamant. He's certainly seen far more terrifying forces than this. To better reach his species, Mew grabbed Holon's Mew by the hands, right as another Psychic wave had been unleashed. "Mew! Mew-Mew!"
Mew shouted at it, berating its fellow species for trying to attack his friends. That was something that could not be ignored at all, even if Mew was relatively passive. However, he still wanted to reach Holon's Mew. Holon's Mew started pushing back, thinking otherwise. "Mew!" Soon, a clash of Psychic energy had began with both trying to push against each other.
One was far more violent while another was peaceful yet still powerful. The violent energy shook more of the cove, only affecting the outside some more. The fieldworkers attempted gathering some of the Psychic energy leaking out of the storms, only not to just fail in doing so with how erratic it was, but with how there were constant tremors.
Pinkie's Mew could see that this could get out of control very soon. The cove was gradually starting to come down on itself, threatening to harm the others. Mew didn't want his friends to be caught up in this at all. "Mew-Mew!"
"You want us to leave?!" Pinkie Pie managed to translate Mew's words.
"Mew...!" Mew nodded in confirmation. He would deal with this himself. It would be Mew to Mew. Pheromosa already knew what she needed to do. She rushed over to the boulders blocking the passageway, destroying them in just one hit. All it took was one kick.
After it was destroyed, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie followed after. Pinkie turned around to see her partner staying behind, but her faith in him was stupendous. She trusted Mew to handle this. Once they were all out, Mew could handle everything else from here.
The two of then increased their hand grips, not letting for a second. Seeing how aggressive the rumbling was getting, Pinkie's Mew protected not just himself, but the opposing Mew from any harm. A Psychic shield had protected them both from any falling rubble. They then separated from each other afterwards, finally breaking up. "Mew! Mew-Mew!" Holon's Mew lashed out at Pinkie Pie's Mew, angered by how he would try and leave.
"Mew..." Pinkie Pie's Mew only had condolences and sympathy for his fellow Psychic-Type. However, he knew that the Desire was responsible for showing the ugly parts of Mew. Pinkie Pie's Mew had a new approach. Rid the Desire from the opposing Mew's body.
However, he chose not to battle against it. Instead, Mew would find his own way to rid the Desire. He already had an answer to Mew's loneliness. It was clear as day. All it would take was some emotional work. He put his game face on, ready to do what he could.
The fieldworkers that were working and researching here in the entirety of the Holon Region had seen the arrival of Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity.
"Oh. You're the ponies that arrived at Holon this afternoon." said a Fieldworker. "Are you all alright? There were heavy rumblings that went across the forest."
"We're fine. We just...came across something." Rainbow Dash scrunched her face, replying as to try and not give away Mew's location. "What are you all doing here?"
"Mew has been theorized to be here in the Mirage Forest. We knew of Mew already inhabiting and roaming practically all of the Holon Region. Professor Pine and the other scientists said that they spotted pink blurs on their screens and your colours were there a swell. Did you see Mew?"
"Did we see Mew?" Rarity gave a rhetorical answer even though she certainly did. "I'm afraid that pink blur was Pinkie Pie over here."
"That can't be right...They said that the blurs were each two Mew and Pinkie Pie. Did they see wrong...?" A fieldworker removed his hat, scratching his hair.
"Nah. I can just move super fast." Pinkie Pie giggled as she had suddenly appeared behind one of the fieldworkers without warning, scaring her. "Like this."
"GAH!" She jumped after Pinkie Pie's sudden presence. So did the others as they were fully convinced that Pinkie Pie was just that fast to become an absolute blur. This was further confirmed once she appeared next to another fieldworker.
"I mean, that's fast but..." Rainbow Dash decided to seize this moment by showing off. And she certainly did, zooming around the skies as fast as she could to become a blur. "How's that?"
"I guess we were wrong about it being Mew. What a shame..." The fieldworkers were greatly disappointed by this revelation. And because of their disappointment, Pinkie Pie felt bad for lying to them. She did want to know one crucial thing.
"Say...Why do you all wanna see Mew so badly? I mean, almost everyone wants to see Mew, right?" Pinkie Pie asked. Mew was a Pokemon of great importance to many researchers. Even certain teams had great interest, which led to the creation of Mewtwo and Newtwo.
"Why? Well, part of the reason is to know all about Pokemon, of course."
"But uh...don't you all already know about Pokemon? I mean, everypony back home doesn't know everything, that's why we've got that Pokemon School." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Sorry, my little ponies. Believe it or not, while we know so much about Pokemon, we still know little and everything is still hidden to the rest of us." The fieldworker explained as it was revealed the humans in the Pokemon World still had so much to learn. "We had just learned about the Holon Region and the existence of Delta Pokemon years ago. This region is still new after all. There are other Pokemon out there that we have never seen before or heard of. There could be some that have yet to be discovered."
"There are most likely more Pokemon than there are sands on a beach. Maybe every beach out there in the world Maybe even the stars in the cosmos." Another fieldworker explained to them. "We might never reach a limit to how long it will take for us to discover every possible Pokemon out there. That's why we look to Mew as the ancestor of all Pokemon. And more recently, Arceus since it created our universe."
"So that's why..." Rarity understood it all so clearly. It made sense, no doubt. And when hearing all of this, Rarity's mind put everything into scale. Her world and everyone living on it were minuscule. Nothing compared to the titanic size of the Pokemon World and Universe that was boundless. It made her nervous even. "Sweet Celestia...We are tiny..."
"Makes me kinda nervous, ya know..." Rainbow Dash felt the same.
"Well...what if I told you I know a Mew?" Pinkie Pie nudged one of them as they chuckled.
"Haha! No way." They denied it. No one could just have a Mew with them. All except for the individual standing with them. Pinkie Pie then gazed at them, keeping a smug look on her face that did not change. The fieldworkers stood there for a while, reading Pinkie Pie's expression. That's when they realized she wasn't bluffing. "W-Wait...Are you serious?!"
"Well-" But cut off from her words was another rumbling, most definitely the result of the two Mew. However, one Mew was being the major cause of it. Holon's Mew to be exact. Feeling this, Pinkie Pie was worried. Despite her having high faith in Mew, she couldn't help but also worry about what could happen.
"We should head back. I'm not sure it's safe here in Mirage Forest right now." The fieldworkers all left the scene to avoid any more rumbling in case it got worse.
"I need to eat too..." Rainbow Dash's stomach rumbled as she was ready to devour any form of food that she could. "But I don't think we can leave him behind, can we?"
"We're not leaving Mew behind. Not with all of that happening." Despite the showcase of hunger, Pinkie Pie didn't want to leave Mew behind. She loved food, but her friends, she loved more. "Well, I won't. You can go and eat."
"No way. If you're staying, then so are we." However, Rainbow Dash could put aside her hunger for the meantime to stand by Mew. Her loyalty was definitely showing. Rarity and Castform would do the same as Pinkie Pie was thrilled to know this.
Just then, their stomachs rumbled along with the ground. They may have high determination and loyalty, the body still needed something to consume as they each laughed.
"On second thought, I'll be right back." Rarity had a solution to this. She sent out Pheromosa once more, choosing to use her speed. Rarity had been picked up by the Lissome Pokemon as the quest to gather some food had been made. "Let's hope I remember where that settlement was. Onwards, Pheromosa!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa was off, leaving behind a dust trail. Now it was just Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie to see that Mew was alright. The hostility that Holon's Mew was fairly intimidating but only someone as passive as Pinkie Pie's Mew could counteract that, despite how it may turn out.
Within Mew's Cove.
"Mew!" Even though he chose a passive approach, Pinkie's Mew was met with his body being pushed onto the walls of the cove by Holon Mew's psychokinetic push. He cried out upon making contact with the wall as Holon's Mew approached him with the Desire continuously exuding out of her.
"Mew...!" As time passes on, Holon's Mew was showing that she was hard to get to. Even when facing another one of her species. The obsession she had over Mew staying behind was tremendous but the Desire was only strengthening it.
Seeing how most of his attempts were failing, Mew had another approach. Trying to talk her out of it wasn't working. He went for the next best thing that Celestia and Passion usually go with when dealing with a Desire. Mew had transformed into a Beheeyem for one purpose. To see within the other Mew.
"Beheeyem!" He was already a powerful Psychic-Type but mind-reading and other antics such as that wasn't his forte as opposed to other Psychic Pokemon. Once Holon's Mew approached, Pinkie's Mew could seize the moment. He had used Beheeyem flashing fingers and the colours that they radiated, causing Holon's Mew to stare right at it.
"M-Mew?!" Frozen in place. Pinkie's Mew had successfully caught her in place. Now she could act. Once Holon's Mew was caught within the entrancing lights of Beheeyem, the Pokemon of the Party Pony had approached. He had used Beheeyem's ability to interact with memories.
But instead of erasing them, he decided to look further into it. Into previous memories before this encounter. Mew's eyes as a Beheeyem radiated the same colour as Holon's Mew's eyes. Once controlled, Mew started looking into the past of his fellow Mew, seeing what could be found.
The memories showed him a familiar sight. Something that every Mew in existence will recognize. Or rather, the Pokemon that were once Mew would vividly remember. Mew certainly does as he had seen it previously when within the 18 Realms.
The Earth when it was still young and when the Mew populated the planet. However, the location was on another side of the planet, but still familiar. The sight of an area that slightly resembled the cove and the forest that was above it. There, trillions upon trillions of Mew could be found.
Mew himself was within this Mew's memories as he observed his surroundings. "Mew? Mew!" Mew felt nostalgic once more by returning here. This would be the second time he's been to the past via someone's mind. Truly a bizarre experience but he's used to it.
Mew witnessed the rest of his species frolicking around before they would eventually evolve into other Pokemon and have branching paths. There wasn't much for this species to do at the time. They didn't even have the ability to transform into many Pokemon. The only Pokemon they could mimic were the few Legendary Pokemon that were scattered across the world and even those were rare to the Mew.
"Mew..." Mew searched for something to go off of with Holon's Mew. Something that he could understand. He phased through his species since they were all shadows of the past, moving across the lush forest and the glorious flowers that tinted it with a grandiose grace that could be unmatched by many and only counteracted by very few. Or rather, new glorious sights had yet to be made in the young Pokemon World.
Every Mew interacted with each other at all times. They had each other and that was satisfying to them. All except for one Mew. Pinkie's Mew had noticed how there was one Mew lurking in the shadows. This Mew hid behind some of the trees, clinging onto the leaves and peering its head over, watching its brethren.
Its eyes glowed in the dark, watching all the other Mew play. Mew spotted this sole Mew as that was the one he had to approach. And from Mew's guessing, it was the Holon Mew that he had encountered.
Mirage Forest.
Meanwhile, Pheromosa was still on the move. It had been a few minutes since she left the spot where her friends stood, carrying Rarity. The Lissome Pokemon kept leaving a massive dust trail behind, passing many Delta Pokemon along the way.
But during her rapid movements, Rarity managed to catch something. Mainly something in the air. With the moon starting to show itself, the celestial bodies of space did so too. And with these cosmos showing themselves, Rarity noticed small blue and purple particles flowing in the wind. The colours of the Rift.
"Hm? Rift Energy...That may explain Mew. Or something else." Rarity uttered as Pheromosa had reached Settlement Foxtrot in just 6 minutes. And the restaurant was right before her eyes. Pheromosa moved at great speeds, becoming a blur to many of the residents of Foxtrot. Then again, it was getting late so many would not see her.
Pheromosa finally reached her destination, coming to a screeching halt in front of the restaurant. And as if she didn't move at terrifying speeds in the first place, Pheromosa gently placed Rarity on the ground. Rarity adjusted her mane before checking her saddlebag for Pokedollars. "Many thanks as always, Pheromosa. Return." Pheromosa was then recalled into her Poke Ball.
Afterwards, Rarity had entered the restaurant, making her presence ware to everyone inside. And by everyone, it was only a few employees as there were no customers. Perfect for Rarity to be the only one to order without worrying about time.
"Good afternoon." She greeted them. "I hope I'm not too late for closing hours."
"We're not closing yet." An employee shook her head, walking up to the counter. "You're still somewhat early, my little pony."
"Splendid. Now then." Rarity used her magic to bring over a seat, promptly sitting on it. "My friends and I haven't eaten due to...sudden events that have occupied us. So I would like to order for..." Rarity started counting all of her Pokemon combined with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie's Pokemon. "A lot. Just as many as you can give me."
"Right, right! Give us a second!" The employee then ran through the door to the kitchen as Rarity started biding her time. A small break from all the action. But she couldn't help but wonder about both the Holon Mew and the Rift Energy that she spotted.
The Desires were obviously related to Rift Energy, no doubt. However, they were mostly scattered across the world. Both worlds. Hitting random individuals and giving them a hidden Desire that had yet to be unleashed unless the right situation calls for it.
But that Rift Energy which was away from Mew raised a different story. Rarity knew that the presence of Rift Energy could be either wonderful or disastrous, depending on how things go. But as she thought this, walking from the side of the counter was another Delta Pokemon. This time, it was different in appearance.
A Delta Dwebble.
It had a greenish appearance as opposed to its Unovan Counterparts original colours and the shell on its back was now a berry bush with purple berries within it, coupled with an even larger purple berry on top.
"Dwebble."
"Ooh. Rarity whipped out her Pokedex as soon as she saw this Delta Pokemon, scanning it.
"Delta Dwebble. The Bush House Pokemon. Berry Form. It makes homes in various berry bushes until they stop producing fruit. Pokemon around its size or even larger tend to flock to this Pokemon when hungry. Although, Dwebble does not seem to mind as much."
"Oh, Berry Form? So there's another, eh? If I knew you existed prior, I would've caught you to feed my friends." She chuckled at the Bush House Pokemon.
"Gah...Walking around without too much of a point..." Suddenly, entering the restaurant as well for something to devour was Team Rocket as Jessie growled.
"Those Delta Pidgeottos were overwhelming..." James groaned as his boy was sparking electricity, indicating that the Pidgeotto in this region were Electric-Types.
"They weren't as bad as that Xatu..." Meowth felt like fainting as Rarity soon noticed the arrival of Team Rocket. She witnessed them in less than tidy states as they had been attacked by different Delta Pokemon this afternoon, leading to now.
"Team Rocket?!" Rarity gasped, almost falling off of her seat. Team Rocket had a less stellar reaction once they saw Rarity. They knew she was here anyway so there was no point in acting surprised. Not with how hungry they were.
"Oh, it's the little twerpette's sister..." Jessie referred to Sweetie Belle, who she had some respect for after the previous contest. She quickly turned her attention away from the fashionista and to Dwebble. She only saw food within her sights. And poor Dwebble was essentially walking food.
"Dwe?"
"Jackpot!" Jessie then lunged at Dwebble without hesitation, having her hands and sharp nails out as her mouth was wide open with the intent to consume life. James and Meowth saw her carnal hunger at its full force as they quickly rushed for her.
"Jess, no!" They shouted as Jessie managed to grab Dwebble, already giving off a powerful grip.
"D-Dwebble!" Dwebble was reasonably terrified as James and Meowth grabbed onto Jessie, trying to hold her back from eating Dwebble. She was too driven by hunger to notice the berry on the back and within the trees. Rarity gasped, also seeing Dwebble's life in danger.
Jessie's fangs bared as she writhed her body in the pursuit of consuming Dwebble. Rarity quickly hopped onto Jessie's head, trying to stop her as well. Soon, it was chaos as Dwebble's final moments were flashing before its eyes.
"Alright, we already have some pre-made food for-" The employee came out to witness the chaos unfurling within the store. She froze in place, spotting the sight of a crazed woman trying to devour a defenceless Dwebble with a man, a Meowth and a mare trying to hold her back.
Rarity and the others raised their eyes, spotting the employee among others that came out of the kitchen. Jessie soon snapped out of it, dropping Dwebble. Dwebble skittered away as Jessie dropped to her knees with the others letting go of her. Her hunger certainly drove her mad.
"Just give us the food..." Jessie groaned, lying flat on her back. The employees then placed the pre-made food on the table with Rarity carefully handing over some Pokedollars, trying not to make any sudden moments after the antics that had occurred for a few seconds.
Afterwards, Rarity had taken the food, ready to have Pheromosa dash her out of here as soon as possible. But before she could do so, she saw how starving Team Rocket were. Rarity sighed, knowing that her generosity could not be ignored. And she chose to accept it instead of ignoring it. She couldn't anyway. Her friends wouldn't be the only ones eating tonight.
Inside Mew's Mind.
Back in Holon Mew's Mind, Pinkie's Mew continued to observe her past. He found little yet it spoke so much. He saw how Holon's Mew was by far the timidest Mew he had ever seen. Every other Mew were outgoing. Holon's Mew would not interact with any of them for a long time, making no connections.
Thus, she went into hiding. Pinkie's Mew witnessed her make solitude elsewhere. Away from the other Mew across the world. He only wished he knew the rest of Mew's reasons. The Mew species were simple albeit very few in numbers. And during that time, the rest of the Mew began evolving. Evolving into the Pokemon of the past present and future. This was natural for the Mew species.
And by the time many of them had evolved and almost all of the Mew population was gone, Holon's Mew was too late. Too late to spend time with hr species. The moment she came out of hiding, she was greatly confused. "Mew?" She watched as the land she used to lurk and hide in was both lacking in numbers and holding few unrecognizable Pokemon.
She saw a Houndour and a Skitty frolicking in the fields and a Pidgey and Tailow duking it out in the skies. Compared to the other Mew, she never truly grew out of herself. All of them grew to the point where they continued the Pokemon line for years to come and some even matured both figuratively and literally.
But not her. Mew felt that she was too late. "Mew-Mew..." The New Species Pokemon whimpered, curling her body a bit as she began thinking of the other Mew that used to be here. All these new Pokemon that she had never seen before confused her young self. She had been startled by the sound of Thunder. That was the result of an Electric-Type Pokemon in the far distance causing that.
Pinkie Pie's Mew watched it all as he understood it clearly. He felt as if he had seen enough. Mew quickly left the memories of Holon's Mew, returning to reality. He also left the transformation of Beheeyem back to his regular self. "Mew. Mew..."
"Mew..." Holon's Mew shook her head, feeling dazed from that. She then backed away, sitting on the pillow to try and relax herself. The comfortable pillow was nearly destroyed by the Psychic pressures and rumbling. She then looked at her fellow Mew, still showing frustration that he would try and leave.
"Mew." But this time, Pinkie's Mew understood clearly. However, the threat of the Desire still existed. That was when he decided to end it. Aura Sphere would do the trick. "Mew...!" Mew put his arms out, summoning the power of Aura. Upon doing so, the Aura flowed within the cove, already causing opposing Mew's Desire to tingle. Aura to Rift Energy was like Electric to Water.
"Mew-Mew...!" The opposing Mew felt threatened by this once she saw Aura Sphere emerging. She was befuddled to properly retaliate in time. However, Pinkie's Mew would not harm her. Instead, he gently sent the Aura Sphere in her direction, causing it to consume her. Mew closed her eyes, believing that this would hurt.
Except it didn't. She opened her eyes to see how her body was now encased in Aura. The Aura felt warm and welcoming. But it wasn't to the Desire. The Desire within Mew started screeching as it burst out of her body. Mew looked at her Desire, witnessing it for the first time. And the last time. "Mew?!"
The Desire to keep Mew could not handle the Aura that was coupled with love. Because of this and the bonus of Mew just having overwhelming power as a result of his bond with Pinkie Pie and the Mewnium Z, the Desire had been destroyed, freeing Mew from it.
"M-Mew..." Holon's Mew felt dreary a bit. Pinkie's Mew went over to comfort her. He gave a far more comfortable spot than the destroyed pillow.
"Mew." Pinkie's Mew let her know that it was alright. However, the other Mew only looked with sadness, not saying much. The destroyed Desire could be seen flowing away as tiny RIft particles, passing through the passageway and the illusion that it had.
Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dah saw this, knowing that a Desire had been defeated. They quickly went back to the passageway to see this for themselves. As for both Mew, the Holon Mew was given some time. However, Pinkie Pie's Mew then hugged her, catching her off guard. "Mew?"
"Mew-Mew." Pinkie's Mew knew that his fellow New Species Pokemon was just happy to see another of her kind and also distraught of the past. But now that another one was here, Mew had some hope to give.
"Mew!" Pinkie Pie shouted, curling her body to roll down the passageway. Rainbow Dash ended up doing it too eventually. She was thrilled to see that not only was her best friend okay but also the other Mew. "Oh! You're okay! Both of you! Yu beat the Desire, didn't you?!"
"Mew!" Mew put out a peace sign, showing that he succeeded. Peace was brought to Pinkie Pie's heart.
"Mew..." Holon's Mew then hovered away, grabbing most of the destroyed objects within the cove. She tried carrying it all, but that was impossible. Not without a Psychic hold of course. However, most of these items were of no use anymore. Not that it mattered much to Mew as she still wanted to bring it with her.
"What's up now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Mew. Mew-Mew." Mew would tell Pinkie Pie everything. And he would do so by grabbing her on the face and transferring a Psychic message to her head. In a few seconds, Pinkie got everything she needed to hear.
"I gotcha..." She nodded in understanding. "Thanks, Mew. So...now what do you want to do?"
"Mew." Mew had decided on something. He wanted his fellow Mew to advance and experience more in the world rather than limiting herself. That allowed him to make a temporary decision that he had shared with Pinkie with yet another Psychic message. "Mew-Mew."
"Okay...Sure! You wanna stay by her side and show her everything else, do you? That's my boy!" Pinkie Pie patted Mew on the head. It was revealed that Mew's approach was to fulfil both motivations for his fellow Psychic-Type. Allowing her to experience new things while catching up with the rest of her species with all of that lost time. "Hey...other Mew."
"Mew...?" The saddened Mew looked over, witnessing her kind fly over. Mew held his hand out to her, asking her if she would emerge out of the cove for a longer period of time than she normally does. Mew wanted to show her what she was missing out on.
And as a bonus, she could stick by another one of her species.
"Mew-Mew." Mew smiled, letting her know it'll be okay. He also spoke to her about one last thing. About how there were more like them. They weren't the only two Mew out there. There were still some that have not yet evolved and yet they have grown.
"Mew..." She was hesitant at first, knowing this would involve going beyond her boundaries. But if it meant being with him, then she was fine with that. Holon Mew held her hand out, holding Pinkie's Mew's hand. It was official. "Mew."
"Mew-Mew!" Pinkie's Mew was happy to hear it as he hugged her. They both giggled, flying around happily. Pinkie Pie was pleased as pie, wiping tears from her eyes.
"So innocent..." She uttered.
"Uh...So...is it over?" Rainbow Dash, scratched her mane. "I mean, we could've just let her do this in the first place and all..."
"Pfft! Oh, silly Rainbow Dash." Pinkie Pie chuckled, putting her hoof around Rainbow Dash's neck. "The other Mew just needed that push. Telling her to leave wasn't gonna do it, ya know. And Mew did a great job helping with that. He takes after yours truly."
"Like Trainer like Pokemon, I guess." Rainbow Dash couldn't argue with that. Mew would lead the other Mew from now on, showing her the way. He held onto her hand, guiding her out of the passageway. They all followed as the cove was too ruined to be homely at this point.
Another friend to add on this Holon Journey. This time it was one of myth. As if there already wasn't one already. Two is better sometimes after all. It was baby steps for this Mew. Despite all of these eons that have gone by, she still felt like a child. But there was Pinkie Pie's Mew, who despite having a childlike innocence, had a great sense of maturity to him.
Such is the unique duality and infinite variety that is the world of Pokemon. Neverending in what it can offer and what else can be in store as the journey continues.
A world filled with mystery and wonder. Teeming with creatures who will always form new possibilities with their limitations being never-ending as they never cease to amaze and delight all. There are Pokemon who soar through the heavens above, swim through the all-blue oceans, roam the verdant lands, lurking within the cosmos themselves and even beyond other dimensions and populate the entire planet. Rather planets and universes to be exact. Giving, expressing and creating life. Anywhere you care to look, they will be there.
Which brings us to a young man from Pallet Town named Ash Ketchum. Alongside his partner Pikachu, he travels the world in pursuit of the ultimate goal. Aiming to become a Pokemon Master. With the help of his friends from different worlds, nations and regions such as Twilight Sparkle and her assortment of friends, this is no doubt a journey that was certainly lengthy but enjoyable nonetheless.
This timeless journey has branched off in many paths. Far too many to name. Some are small in scope while others are grand enough to be known across the world. But the concept of family and friendship still remains even in those events and they certainly will now and forever.
And this is one such journey.
Holon Region. Near the Holon Desert. Holon Grasslands. Nightfall.
Ash, Fluttershy, Applejack, their Pokemon and their newest travel partners Heike and Delta Treecko, were making their way through Holon to reach Settlement Oscar. But there were other locations they had to pass. They were almost done with the grasslands as they were right near the Holon Desert.
But for now, they were going to rest before advancing. It was getting late. Luckily, Heike's comically large backpack had sleeping bags and a tent for them to use. He opened his bag, revealing the objects as he pulled them out. "There! This'll keep us steady and comfortable for the night."
"You've got everything in that bag?! Awesome!" Ash admired Heike for his assortment of objects.
"Always come prepared." Heike set everything up. "I never regret getting this super large backpack. Never heavy either so that's a bonus."
"First day here wasn't so bad, was it?" Applejack stretched her hooves, walking into one of the tents. "Holon's pretty good so far."
"Yeah. Wonder what everyone else found everywhere else?" Ash took his gloves off with Pikachu finding a comfortable spot to rest. Audino sat down near the tent as she felt as if she would take too much space. She laid next to a tree, resting her head.
Sceptile also went up one of the trees, choosing to stay there. He found the trees sometimes comforting as he rested his head on the leaves. He would also keep a lookout along with Audino's exceptional hearing. They could call things for the night and continue their journey from there.
Treecko slept on Heike's stomach and gained some warmth once the bags covered him and his trainer. Ash, Fluttershy and Applejack found their warmth eventually too. With everything being extra comfortable for them, they could doze off peacefully with the atmosphere of the night skies sending a calm aura.
Approximately 20 minutes had passed and everyone was peacefully asleep. Nothing could disrupt this silent night in the Holon Region. Until Ash's Aura picked up on something. Rift Energy. His eyes slowly opened as he looked through the tent, spotting Rift Particles moving through the air as they were visible even from this angle. He blinked for a moment before then looking out of the tent, spotting more of them flying by.
"Hm?" He mumbled before getting up. Ash chose to investigate this. Anything Rift-related was always up for investigation and intrigue.
"Pi...?" Pikachu, who was asleep next to Ash, saw and felt his trainer wake up. His eyes opened as well, seeing Ash leave the tent. "Pika?" Pikachu then followed.
"Hey, buddy...See that?" Ash came to a halt with Pikachu jumping up to his shoulder. Pikachu soon saw what his best friend had seen. Flowing Rift Particles that were all moving in one direction. They gave off a beautiful view with their purple and blue colours, however, something was amiss.
Ash knew this. He's had too many experiences with Rift Energy for his Aura to sense something off. The energy was flowing somewhere near the desert and right within the Holon Grasslands. Seeing where it was flowing, Ash and Pikachu followed.
The only one who could hear their footsteps was Audino and the only one who had the energy to keep one eye open with this was Sceptile. Audino grumbled, hearing footsteps fade in the distance. Sceptile's singular eye had been opened to see Ash and Pikachu leaving the scene. But he understood why once seeing the Rift Particles fly across the area.
And they weren't the only ones heading for it. Along the way, just near a riverside of these grasslands, Ash and Pikachu ended up meeting with Twilight and Espeon who were also on the move. "Oh! Ash! Pikachu!" Twilight came to a screening halt.
"Hey, Twilight! Eve! Great to see you both. How's your journey treating you?" Ash asked, wondering what Twilight and Eve had seen once the group had split up across Holon.
"Oh, it's not too much." Twilight twirled her hair with her magic. "I got to touch a machine that controls the magnetic storms in the weather and see some other Delta Pokemon, that's to be expected. But right now, I'm focused on this. All of these Rift Particles in the air."
"Yeah. I didn't see them before but now we're close to them. By the way, where's Starlight?"
"Asleep. Ash. If these are here, then there are only two things to think about. What it could do?"
"I hear ya...This stuff's super unpredictable." Ash put his serious face on whilst watching them fly to the riverside. "It could've done anything to the Holon Region for these past few years."
"Good or bad. But, you don't have to worry about that, Ash Ketchum." Twilight put on a smug face of absolute confidence before having a sparkle in her eye. "I've grown to know more about the RIft and found some small, but effective countermeasures."
"Espeon." Espeon also put on that smug face, agreeing with Twilight.
"You have?"
"Pika?"
"Precisely. It started with managing to imprison Lucien and Sienna in that prison of Aura and it later went off to when we made another prison of Aura that's sitting in our base at Pyrestar's world. All meant to capture the Rift when the time comes. Thanks to Aura, there's no problem that we can't overcome. I learned that from you." Twilight winked.
"Awesome! So like...you can do anything with it?!" Ash gawked.
"I mean...I didn't mean it like that." Twilight then brought it back down, shrugging. "It's still new. Point is, if we keep using Aura and pushing it to new heights, we can almost do anything as much as the Rift can."
"Hm...New heights, huh?" That word stuck with Ash. He was always about pushing himself to new heights. But it was mainly with Pokemon Battles. Pushing them to instances such as Rift Energy, while they've been done before, never to the full extent.
That's when he went straight for the riverside with Twilight and the two Pokemon following him. Ash was ready to try and push himself with Rift Energy. Although, that could result in some more Delayed Aura Ataxia, which was never a fun experience.
"What are you planning, Ash? I know that look in your eye by now."
"I've got a great idea! Come to me, staff!" Ash then held out his arm, summoning Sir Aaron's staff as it enlarged into his grasp. The Aura was already flowing from him as he and his friends stopped by the riverside. There, they saw all of the Rift Energy flowing out and into the river.
Most definitely, this was the source of it all. So many of the particles littered this riverside, giving it a bio-luminescent glow. Beautiful, but unpredictable as always. Ash stood before the riverside, glancing at the staff afterwards. Rift Energy within the river was too risky as it could do anything. There was no telling what it had done so far. Twilight waited for Ash's idea, just to see what he had planned.
Ash's idea involved going along with whatever would come next. He aimed his staff at the riverside, with the intent to free the riverside of Rift Energy. "Here goes..." He closed his eyes. But of course, he had some help. Doing it by himself was risky for his body. Twilight had sent out Togekiss, who also had access to Aura to keep him safe.
"Togekiss." Togekiss emerged, placing her wing on Ash's back. Ash felt Togekiss' contact as he felt at ease with this addition of Aura. Twilight watched as Ash started connecting with the Rift Energy inside of the Aura, preparing a magic shield in case anything were to go wrong.
However, Ash soon felt something off about this. Or rather familiar. This riverside had something within it. And it wasn't a Pokemon. His Aura could feel the familiar sense of a sort of entryway. A gateway to be exact. Ash and Togekiss gasped as they both felt the gateway. "There's a gateway down there..."
"There is?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Let's see if I can show it." Ash scrunched his face, putting some more effort into it. He would try and reveal the gateway instead of ridding the Rift Energy now that he knew a gateway existed here. Gateways were very useful after all. The staff and usage of Aura allowed manipulation of the water itself.
And there, the water had been morphed to form an open hole. With this open hole, the gateway could be found. It was unlike the other gateways in which it was at a different angle. Even different from the gateways that existed in the skies. Wherever this led to must be dizzy to pass through. Ash could finally stop as he had already made the hole. He took a deep breath with Togekiss being there to hold him. Ash held his head as one other major difference from this gateway was the feeling it gave him.
Ash couldn't help but hear multiple voices flow through his ears, most likely from what was beyond the gateway. However, he wasn't too sure. The more he heard the voices, he could feel further Rift anomalies.
"Which part of Equestria does this lead to?" Twilight wondered, approaching the gateway. "Maybe somewhere underwater?"
"I don't think it leads to Equestria..." Ash said, shaking his head. "There's something else there..."
"No? How do you know?" She asked.
"I felt some pretty weird stuff through that gateway." Ash stood up tall with Togekiss letting go. Twilight promptly returned the Jubilee Pokemon, thanking her for good work as always. "That's a whole bunch of talking."
"Voices?" Twilight went a bit closer to the gateway, hovering over the riverside and placing her ear next to it. But, unfortunately, she couldn't hear those multiple voices coming through. "I don't hear anything. Maybe my Aura's not as big as yours..."
"Then...Time to find out what's inside!" Ash was already eager to check out what could lie beyond that gateway. He tightened his gloves, thinking of the exciting possibility as he jumped in headfirst. "Let's go!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu did the same.
"Ah! Hey! You two!" Twilight held her hoof out, trying to use her magic to hold them. But it was too late. They had already passed through. Twilight Sparkle could only groan, knowing that the two of them wouldn't stop when it came to something new and exciting. "Come on, Eve..."
"Espeon." Twilight and Espeon followed after them either way. They've come this far. Plus, while she wasn't as active as Ash and Pikachu, her intrigue about everything Rift-related was still there. Thus, she would've investigated it either way as she and Espeon jumped in after them.
Within the gateway.
Upon entering it, they weren't instantly transported somewhere. Instead, they were freefalling. They were fully within the gateway and the rest of its inside. There was no other area to a familiar world. The exit was still above them thankfully. Twilight opened her eyes, seeing as how they were still moving inside of the gateway.
"W-Wait! Where's the next location?!" Twilight wondered, seeing how they weren't anywhere in Equestria. Ash's hat almost flew off with him holding it firmly. Pikachu flailed in the air along with Espeon, feeling as if there would be no bottom. They've never been this long within a gateway before. First time for everything.
However, this ethereal area did have a bottom. Ash stuck a landing on the surface that resembled the rest of the gateway so it was hard to say if he was standing on air or something solid. Either way, he could stay mobile with control. Pikachu also landed safely as there was no hard impact at all. It all seemed safe with Espeon following afterwards.
Twilight kept it safe, gently descending with her wings flapping. She was relieved that no one had been harmed, including herself. Then again, it was hard to tell if anything ethereal could be painful to touch "Hah...That's a relief. But...what gives? Where's Equestria?"
"No clue," said Ash as he was just as lost as Twilight. "This is pretty weird though..."
"Something was definitely wrong with this gateway if this is the case," Twilight uttered. This gateway was all too different from the others. From the way it was positioned, the voices that Ash could hear and the fact that it lead to nowhere else was bizarre.
Pikachu and Espeon stood side by side, looking for anything that could indicate the purpose of this gateway. Otherwise, this would just be a vacant and meaningless gateway that served no purpose. Completely hollow and full of hot air. But, much like everything Rift-related, the unpredictable nature of it would show itself.
And it started with the appearance of the entity itself responsible for everything that has happened and the cause of this long journey. The Rift. Ash, Twilight and their Pokemon raised their heads, witnessing the Rift manifesting at the top of this gateway.
"The Rift!" They shouted.
"I'm surprised you managed to find this gateway of all places. Then again, I'm not that surprised at all. Those particles were a good enough guide."
"What is this place?" Twilight demanded to know. "And why is it so...empty?"
"Ah, this place...Call me lazy if you want, but the gateway that you passed through is a gateway of previous events far predating your world's meeting. And this area is just the full view of well...other worlds."
"Previous events?" Twilight repeated.
"Otherworlds?" So did Ash. "You mean the other Pokemon Worlds and uh...what's the name of your planet, Twilight?"
"It's-" Twilight froze for a moment, unable to answer to that properly. "Huh...I don't know."
"Then again, I wouldn't say lazy as I've done this before. It was only the first time that I ended up leaving one gateway behind, not bothering to erase it. It stuck afterwards, leading to this new habit. And my, it was worth it, giving me a good reminder of other worlds I've been to and for others to find."
"Which worlds?" Twilight asked. "And...why leave it here for us to find?"
"I suppose one of those answers...would have to be the sheer scope of things. You young ones have no idea how little you all seem compared to everything else. Allow me to show you."
The Rift would then show them this scope. Something they weren't ready for. It had used its overwhelming cosmic powers to originate another ethereal force. This time, right at the top, a silver orb was materializing. The unveiling of this orb had all four eyes on it.
And an image was forming within the orb. A symbol. The symbol of what seemed to be an 'S'. And another symbol showed. Two more to be exact as they filled the orb. Speaking of more orbs, the Rift made more of them appear all over the place rapidly, revealing so much to Ash, Twilight and their Pokemon.
Different individuals could be seen through these orbs. Many had striking appearances that differed from each other. These were unlike anything they had seen before. Soon, all of the beings within these orbs showed themselves for Ash, Twilight, Pikachu and Espeon to admire.
"W-What is this...?" They both uttered. Their eyes met with all of these different individuals. Some were big, some were small. Some were adorable, some were intimidating, depending on how they were looked at. One had wings while another had the symbol of a phoenix on their helmet. Truly a stellar sight as more were beginning to show up.
"The worlds I've been to in the past. I told you, didn't I? The scope of everything is far greater than you can imagine. Believe me. All of these universes, I've had my fair share of entertaining experiences with them, no doubt. Some have lasted longer than others. And the gateway you see before you is the result of one gateway being used constantly. I just so happened to keep it around. And now it has come to you all."
"Pika...Pikachu!" Pikachu gasped, promptly pointing at the visage of the blue entity shaped like an animal that was hard to distinguish and a pink creature identical to that of Jigglypuff.
"Pikachu...You recognize some of them?" Ash translated.
"Pika!" Pikachu did. Somewhere in his memory, he recognized two of them.
"But no one has ever made it this far. Except you four. You're proving to be troublesome, you know that? Much like those who have come before you..."
"You scared?" Twilight taunted the Rift. Prior to all of this, she would've been intimidated by the Rift. But as time went on, that was no longer the case. "But changing the subject...you've been trying to stop us from reaching Jirachi this entire time. Some honour."
"Why would I need honour? I can do whatever I want. Make any rule I want with no exceptions. You can continue to try and find Jirachi. That won't stop me from taking every chance at doing what I can."
"We'll still beat you there." Ash stamped the staff. "I made a promise that we'd end up reaching Jirachi before you change everything. And we're gonna keep it that way until it's all over. And I promised that I'd help you. Lucien. Sienna."
"Pikachu!"
"I think not. There's no point in trying to restore what can't be restored. I am fully the Rift at this point. You could say I'm a lot like Ghetsis. I'm too far gone at this point."
"That's not what I think." Ash thought otherwise. "I'm not giving up hope on you. I promised your parents when I was knocked out. I'll bring you back to them. As two."
Ash and Rift stared each other down. For a moment, glowing eyes could be seen within the Rift. One eye resembled the eye colour of Lucien and the other resembled Sienna's eye colour, showing that they were indeed the Rift in one form. Ash's Aura also emanated from him and the staff, threatening the Rift. The Rift could feel a sting as it had backed away a bit.
"That Aura of yours has gotten far stronger than it should be. Even in the original timeline." The Rift then made the orbs disappear afterwards once it felt the sting. "Then again, so much and yet so little is different in this new timeline. To think that a good chunk of them wasn't under my influence. For the most part."
"How different?" Twilight questioned.
"For starters, why do you think you all have the same eye style? I did some tweaking for that along with other things. And you, my little pony. You've grown past your parallel selves. And your human self is walking on that path as well. Frankly, everyone in your world is changing. All of this is getting me so excited. It was worth putting these worlds together."
"You might have done something amazing by putting them together and allowing us to make new friends, but you've also endangered a lot of us with what you've brought over," said Twilight. "Even if things might reset at the end, you're just going to let so many destructive forces roam about?"
"Ah, that's not my fault. It's mainly the fault of Ghetsis and a few others. What comes next, don't pin it on me. It's the power that you all have with the Pokemon themselves. Which I'm not worried about. Even with that Aura of yours, Ash Ketchum, whether it be an outburst, nothing is going to stop me from doing what I can. Aside from Arceus at best."
"Outburst..." Ash said to himself. The Rift had given him an idea with those words. "Okay! How about this then? I promised I'd get Lucien and Sienna back. And you're right here too. Can't waste my chance, ya know!" He then held the staff out, having a new approach.
"What are you-" The Rift had been cut off once Ash had utilized his Aura onto the staff. And by doing so, he managed to release an outburst of Aura that made his body tremble. But it was worth it as the pulse had managed to reach Rift in seconds.
The Rift felt a greater sting from Ash's Aura as it caught it off guard. So off guard that for the first time in what could be forever during its creation, it felt genuine pain. The Rift had been blown back with parts of it being disintegrated as well. This outburst was stronger than expected, and its strength showed once Ash got on his knees. The ethereal area of the gateway had also been dissolved slightly with the Rift letting out a cosmic scream.
"Ash!" Twilight rushed over to him, seeing him drop to his knees. "W-What was that?! Are you okay?!"
"I was hoping to try and see if I could find them in there. Guess I didn't think it would do that..." Ash didn't plan too ahead for this. His goal was to reach Lucien and SIenna by showing them as two separate individuals. But it backfired yet succeeded as the Rift howled.
"A-ASH KETCHUM...!" The Rift roared, stammering on its words for the first time. He tried retaliating, however, the Aura was permeating its ethereal body, causing it to twitch uncontrollably. It was even crumbling with cracks in reality forming. That Aura was more effective than expected. "YOU...!" The Rift then chose to leave, giving a foreboding roar at the end of it.
Ash and Twilight stood there, taking in his warning. From how he worded it, something worse was coming soon. But it wouldn't be from the Rift. It barely is nowadays. However, Ash showed no fear while Twilight had some worry emanating from her. She quickly snapped back.
"Ash...that was amazing! You managed to hurt it!" Twilight applauded his amazing effort.
"Pikachu!"
"Espeon!"
"I didn't mean to hurt it..." Ash regretted harming the Rift as his Aura was far too powerful for him to master yet. He hasn't gotten there yet. "I messed up my chance there. Guess I gotta wait for another one soon..."
"Well...This might get more out of control. Ash. We need to do something. Phione's all we have right now." Twilight pondered, sitting for a moment. "Maybe we can ask help from those other worlds? They've experienced the RIft too, right?"
"I don't know. They've probably forgotten all about it. Right now, it's just our worlds working together to do what we can. No need to worry, Twilight." Ash stood up. "You can't let a bunch of creepy words keep you panicking."
"You're still so calm even after what had just happened. You're right." She chuckled, glad that she had Ash here to give her courage. "I'm not afraid as I was before. Let's just get out of here and keep going. Holon's still fresh after all."
They would end up leaving this area and return to the Holon Region. But the memory that they made here, while brief, stuck with them.
Universe 11. The Solar Empire. Canterlot Palace. Day.
"The Rift's been harmed," Daybreaker spoke. She felt it. From her universe, far from Universe One and the Pokemon World, she felt the Rift being damaged. Daybreaker quickly left her throne room, heading elsewhere. Ghetsis and Empress Twilight followed.
"The Rift has been damaged? How's that possible?" Ghetsis questioned.
"Something like that should be invincible." Empress Twilight chimed in. And how do you know that?"
"Because of the Supernova." Daybreaker led them to the room where her ultimate weapon, the Supernova could be found. Daybreaker approached the gigantic weapon, placing her hoof on it.
"That thing? How?" Ghetsis had more questions.
"Remember? Rift Energy from both of you had been stored here. And with the Rift being damaged, no doubt anything related to it would've felt at least something. This makes me curious. What could have the capability to harm it?"
"It has to be Aura. Or at least some other cosmic force...Was it Cosmos?!" Empress Twilight gasped, thinking that Cosmos might've been involved.
"Whatever the case...It's proof that it's not invincible. Nothing is after all. Everything has a weakness. And whatever caused the Rift to feel harm...I feel somewhat at ease." Daybreaker cackled suddenly.
"At ease?" Ghetsis repeated.
"Right. I suppose I never told you this. But I share a burning resentment to the Rift. No pun intended." Daybreaker laughed before putting on a serious expression. "I told you of how I once met the Rift. All of that amazing power that it was capable of was something to marvel at, no doubt. I related it to something akin to that Discord or Cosmos. Possibly greater. And once I knew of this, my one encounter with the Rift led me to try one thing."
"And that is...?" Empress Twilight leaned in.
"I requested the revival of my little sister, Luna. It had the power to do so. Nothing was holding it back at all. And yet...it didn't. It only left, claiming that it had another world parallel to mine that it wanted to experiment with. How frustrating...!" Daybreaker's more agitated side showed.
Her already blazing mane had intensified, letting out the roar of the sun while also heating up the area. The scientists in this room felt hot from Daybreaker's rising heat. They also felt thirsty in mere seconds with their lab coats melting away in seconds.
"It will pay dearly for taking that chance of happiness away from me. That is why I built the Supernova. This weapon here will be the one to rival that of the Rift's overwhelming power. And once I have all of the power that even surpasses the Rift, I will bring Luna back to me. We'll be sisters together once more. But for that to happen, the Rift must pay." Daybreaker's hooves suddenly melted the floor below, leaving burning hoofprints.
Ghetsis and Empress Twilight learned something new. Daybreaker's vengeance against the Rift and her goal to bring back the Luna of her world. And with the knowledge of the Rift being harmed, Daybreaker saw an opportunity that couldn't be ignored.
Holon Region. Holon Grasslands. Day.
Jumping back out of the gateway were Ash, Twilight, Pikachu and Espeon. Twilight held them up with her magic as they were back to the real world. Meeting them there were Sceptile and Audino who followed Ash and Pikachu here.
"Whew...That was something." Ash chuckled.
"Right...It's a good thing I'm ready to call it a night." sighed Twilight. "I'll let Starlight know everything in the morning. You should do the same to everyone else."
"I hear ya. Where are you heading, Twilight? I gotta check out whatever place it is soon, ya know."
"Pika-Pika."
"Starlight, Eve and I are going to a place known as the Holon Pyramid. It's somewhere in the Holon Desert. Weird how we haven't seen it yet from this distance..." The Princess of Friendship squinted her eyes. "But anyway, Ash. You might be in larger danger than before with what happened back there. I'm positive the Rift's not too happy with you."
"I for one think you did well, boy." Sombra decided to show himself. Fitting as it was nightfall, appearing next to Ash. "To think that you could injure a cosmic force and show no fear. Perhaps you're not as pathetic as I thought you were."
"Uh, thanks." Ash took that as a compliment. Everything Sombra said was passive-aggressive. "But...I wish I didn't have to hurt it. I gotta reach the Rift...No. Lucien and Sienna for real. We can work something out maybe."
"Cosmic forces are beyond that." Sombra shook his head. Aside from perhaps Discord who I'm surprised you managed to befriend. But the Rift seems to be far looser than Discord is. I suggest you forget reasoning with it and seek its destruction. That entity brings nothing but trouble."
"No. I'm still gonna try." Ash persisted. "If it's gonna be stubborn, then so will I."
"And no one's more stubborn than you." Twilight nudged him, knowing that Ash's stubbornness was unmatched. Sombra rolled his eyes, hiding back in Ash for the time being. "Well, see you soon at the pyramid. I'd better get to Starlight now. Take care!"
"Espeon!" Espeon and Twilight bid farewell for now until they would meet up at the pyramid located at the Holon Desert. Ash and Pikachu then waved farewell to them as well.
Sceptile and Audino gazed mainly at the gateway that was at the riverside. It was still there and had yet to vanish. Ash also looked at it, wondering what would happen now. The Rift was most likely furious at him which could only lead to unwarranted issues.
That's when he thought back to the people and other strange beings that were seen within the gateway and the orbs that showed them. He still didn't know much of what to make of them. Ash would leave it for now, as the water from the river eventually hid the hole once more.
As for the Rift, within its realm, it could feel the Aura still. It was the equivalent of an itch that just wouldn't go away. Only this itch was on the same level as a burn. It tried using its power to erase this pain, however, it was so grand that not only was its focus thrown off, but the Aura remained for the most part.
The Rift was suddenly forming some sort of a face. The two eye colours that respectively belonged to Lucien and Sienna showed themselves once more. And now, so did a mouth. The Rift was showing more of itself under this pain. Its ethereal cosmic body couldn't help but continue rippling uncontrollably.
Ash had made serious progress with this. And this infuriated the Rift. It knew that Ash had succeeded at something so crucial and unexpected. The thought of him being able to do this was inconceivable. The Rift then created a projection of Ash, allowing it to view him for a second. It had then obliterated that projection via its own fury.
It was safe to say that the Rift showed some disdain to Ash Ketchum.
A scorching, dry desert just past the Holon Grasslands. This was the Holon Desert and it lived up to its name. Venturing through it was Ash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Heike and their Pokemon. But soon, they met up with Twilight, Espeon and Starlight who were also walking a similar path.
"So you saw other universes that aren't related to ours?" Fluttershy spoke as Ash and Twilight brought up the events they witnessed last night.
"Sure did. Man, we saw some pretty neat looking guys there," said Ash. "I wish I could see what their worlds were like. It'd probably be so cool.."
"Pika-Pika!"
"That's one heck of a story." Heike scratched his hair. "I don't know if I could do with the whole alternate world and everything. Sounds too overwhelming."
"You'll get used to it." Applejack shrugged in response. Multiple universes and an array of characters was something that was becoming more common as time went on. Mainly with both worlds.
"But I can't believe you managed to do that to the Rift, Ash. I think that's the biggest progress anyone has made with it. Isn't that a milestone?" Starlight joined in the conversation. "Oh but...it's probably going to hold a grudge against you now, huh?"
"Having a powerful cosmic force hold a grudge against you is beyond risky." Heike leaned in close to Ash. "But you look so calm about it. Most of you do. What's up with that?"
"We've gone up against our fair share of powerful forces." Twilight used her wing feathers to make a finger-shaped wag. "But, none as big as the RIft. But still. Plus, Ash wants to try helping the Rift since it's two...It's a long story. Which is why this trip is long enough to share it!"
"Right..." Heike chuckled after being overwhelmed by this information. The Xtransceiver of Ash started ringing as the rest of their friends wanted to get in touch with them. Ash saw that Spike was calling as he quickly answered.
"Hey, Spike. What's up? How's your side of the journey with you and Goh?"
"Uh...We ran into some things but...going good so far. For me at least, Goh's not having the best luck right now." Spike chuckled, showing Ash and the others Goh's current condition. He was rocking in the corner, surrounded by an armada of Poke Balls while sulking. "He hasn't caught a single Delta Pokemon. They're hard to come by."
"Why is this so hard...?" Goh's voice came through the Xtransceiver despite not facing it Dread filled his voice. His goal to catch some Delta Pokemon was a rut so far.
"But it's all good here so far! We're at someplace called Holon Lake, right now. Just checking up to see if you're all doing good since it's been a day since we split up." Spike gave a thumbs up with his claws.
"Yeah. Take care of Goh, okay? We're heading for something called the Holon Pyramid right now." Ash replied. "And uh...we were gonna meet up at Settlement Oscar, right?"
"That's the place," Twilight confirmed it. "Getting to it is taking longer than I thought. They said it was a small region but there are some long parts."
"All the more fun. See ya soon, Spike. Goh." Ash bid farewell as the Xtransceiver call had finished. The winds of the desert suddenly blew, catching them off guard with grains of sand pelting them. It felt as if the desert was telling them to get a move on.
Settlement Oscar was still somewhat far. After the desert, it would be the Holon Marsh and Lake. Although, some secret routes were up for debate. But that pyramid sparked a great interest to stop by. It was off to the pyramid to see what could be found there. Most likely either Delta Pokemon or treasure. The Holon Pyramid was located at the centre so that much was easy to understand. It was still odd that its stellar size couldn't be seen in the distance.
The weather here in the Holon Desert was surprisingly mild instead of being scorching hot. The answer could potentially lead to the magnetic storms that were once again seen fluctuating within the skies. Either from Holon's natural weather or the machines from the Holon Research Tower in the main city.
But, despite the weather being mild, the desert wasn't without something to make it stand out. Mainly, in an area such as this, certain Pokemon would be found. It started small with the appearance of Marowak, popping out of the deep sand.
Marowak in the Holon Region gained the Fighting and Steel Type. The Marowak popped their heads out of the sand before diving back in, evading the nearby presence of Gliscor, which had gained the Dark-Typing along with Steel at the end. And after that, Ash and the others were greeted with a Delta Pokemon that had a different appearance.
In the distance with Ash squinting his eyes, he could spot something approaching them. It looked like a tumbleweed. The usual object that could be found in deserts. No big deal. Until it came closer and was soon to be revealed as something else.
It was a tumbleweed still. Rather, a familiar Pokemon with the appearance of a Tumbleweed. A Delta Tangela. Its whole appearance matched a tumbleweed and was simple to understand, much like its Kantonian Counterpart.
"Tangela?" Ash took out his Pokedex.
"Delta Tangela. The Tumbleweed Pokemon. This Pokemon is a master of one disguise by blending in with normal tumbleweeds. It lures prey towards its home in the earth before grabbing and pinning them. A group of Tangela normally gather in one spot to try and avoid predators."
"Tangela!" Delta Tangela went on with its day, passing them by. Ash and Starlight swayed their bodies to the side, allowing the Ground-Type to pass without any collision.
It didn't seem like much. Just a normal sight of a Delta Tangela. At least, it seemed to be that way. That was until Audino heard something. Her amazing hearing allowed her to be the first to notice something prominent on the move.
"Audino?" The Hearing Pokemon slowly turned her head as she heard not just one Tangela rolling this way, but two more. Another two more. It soon reached numbers past the usual two, according to what Audino was hearing.
Soon, everyone would notice a massive sand cloud approaching in the distance. The various rolling that Audino heard were indeed many Delta Tangela. And those Delta Tangela were all doing what the Pokedex specified. Rolling in a group. A massive one as they had made a large dust cloud from their movements alone.
"W-What in tarnation?!" Applejack was the first to shout in utter shock.
"That's more Tangela that I've seen in the Holon Desert!" Heike backed up. The dust cloud made by the Delta Tangela then expanded before travelling across the sandy terrain. Soon, Ash and the others were shrouded by this dust cloud, forcing them to squint their eyes.
"I can't see!" Starlight cried out while also feeling her hooves slowly leaving the ground from this cloud. Not only that, but the Tangela managed to do more than just something this aggressive. One Tangela had ended up crashing into Ash. But it didn't knock him over. Instead, the Tangela stuck to Ash. Right on his elbow.
"Ow!" Ash felt something prickly on his elbow. He raised it to see Tangela. "Eh?!"
"Tangela!" And it wasn't just him. The others were given similar treatment. Due to them being thrown off guard by the sand cloud, this allowed the Tangela to collide with down.
"P-Pika?!" Pikachu received one Tangela on his ear. There was no point in shocking them since they were immune to Electric. So, Pikachu just ran around screaming.
"Eeep!" Twilight squeaked as a Tangela ended up on her horn while another was on her hoof. She screamed some more, making a terrifying grimace.
The rest of her friends received the same treatment Applejack and Sceptile had the side of the bodies prickled by the Tangela, causing them to scrunch their mouths, trying not to scream. Tears formed in their eyes afterwards. Starlight had been pinned down by one Tangelia which resulted in a stampede of them coming her way. Thankfully, most of them missed, but a few managed to roll over Starlight
Heike took some Tangela to the knee. Both his knees as his backpack had also been poked through by the rolling Tumbleweed Pokemon. "My backpack!" He bellowed, caring more about this giant backpack instead of his knees. His Delta Treecko tried removing the Tangela, only to have himself be caught by one of them. Now he was stuck next to Heike's knees.
"Audino!" Audino received the worst of it. Aside from Sceptile, she was a big target. And this was shown when a majority of the Tangela managed to latch herself onto her. But she mainly took all of them to protect Fluttershy, standing in front of her trainer and keeping her safe.
Audino had no time to use Protect due to the speed these Delta Tangela were approaching at. But even if she didn't have the time, she had the durability to take all of them. Audino closed her eyes. Ash managed to reach for one of his Poke Balls, summoning his Dragonite to the fray.
"Dragonite!" Dragonite roared cheerfully before noticing the ferocious sandstorm. "Dra?"
"D-Dragonite, Hurricane!"
"Go! Dragonite...!" Dragonite quickly flapped her wings, seeing the severity of the situation. It wasn't that it was hyper dangerous. It was both a nuisance and still painful at the same time. By flapping her wings, Dragonite caused the massive dust cloud to be blown away. Once it was gone, the Tangela felt some push back as their momentum had been disturbed, causing them to tumble elsewhere.
The Tangela stampede had ended thankfully.
"Hah...Thanks, Dragonite..." Ash thanked the Dragon Pokemon. They could now take a break. At least, after one other issue was solved, getting the Tangela off of them. "But man, these guys sure can stick." Ash looked at the Tangela on his elbow.
"Tangela."
"A-Audino..." Audino muttered as she stood there, completely immobile due to all of the Tangela that had covered her front body. It was a good thing she was a durable Pokemon otherwise this experience would be far worse than it already is.
"Oh my! Is everyone okay?!" Fluttershy asked as she was the only one untouched by the Tangela, thanks to Audino's protection. Everyone started helping each other remove the Tangela accordingly. But removing them was just as painful as having them stick to them.
The group twitched once the Tangela were removed from them one at a time. Heike's knees trembled while Twilight held onto her horn trying to comfort it and nullify the pain. Audino managed to soothe this pain by using Heal Pulse on them all. She was also soothing her own pain with the mystical green aura that surrounded everyone. Soon, they all managed to get the Tangela off of them as some had bruises from the stampede.
"Tangela!" The Tangela then went on with their day as if nothing happened. Then again, they do this naturally on a daily occurrence so it was all normal for them.
"My backpack..." Heike looked at his backpack, seeing the hole that had been made via Tangela's puncture. Disappointment and imminent sadness filled his heart.
"Sceptile." Thankfully, Sceptile had fixed this by using one of his vines as per Applejack's order. The vines had been wrapped around that part of the bag. It had been patched up thanks to Sceptile's efforts. "Tile."
"There. Better?" said Applejack.
"Much better! Thanks, you two!" Showing how grateful he was, he ended up grabbing both Applejack and Sceptile, giving them powerful hugs that caught them off guard.
"S-Scep...!"
"Y-You're welcome, partner..." Applejack grinned while also feeling strained.
"Glad that's over with." Twilight sighed. "In my mind, I knew there'd be a Tumbleweed Pokemon that would exist out there. But they were too aggressive."
"They did look kinda cute." Starlight giggled, finding some adorable factor in the Tangela although they had mildly injured them. Twilight looked over with lowered eyes, surprised that Starlight found them cute after all that has happened.
"Let's not slow down in case another one comes along," Ash replied, continuing to the centre to find the Holon Pyramid. "That Pyramid's' all ours for the exploring."
"Pikachu."
Holon Pyramid.
Finally. The Holon Pyramid. They had approached it after going through a Tangela stampede. Ash and his friends stood before 481 feet tall structure of concentrated limestone and carved stone. Its size was just as intimidating as other large structures in both worlds.
"How does no one see it...?" Starlight spoke with an open jaw. The pyramid cast a shadow over her and her friends while also touching the clouds, almost reaching the heavens. "It's massive!"
"How come you've never been here before, Heike?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'm not that experienced with the Holon Region..." The Gym Leader in training scratched his hair. Not wasting any time, they had finally approached the Holon Pyramid in all its glory.
But as they entered, standing at the very top of the pyramid within the clouds, unseen by them and not even heard by Audino was a mysterious figure. This figure had a familiar stance to a familiar Pokemon. But not of the same type. Emerald eyes shined through the clouds an even faintly in the ground as the figure which seemed to wear some sort of ancient garment had faded once the clouds continued to move and the group had fully entered the pyramid.
Inside the pyramid, it wasn't what they expected. Usually, pyramids are said to be ancient for a reason. They were made centuries ago by an ancient civilization. However, it wasn't so ancient once they found out that it was still full of life. Mainly with some Pokemon running around. And the first Pokemon spotted was an Espeon.
"Espeon?" Espeon noticed the arrival of Ash and the others before spotting Twilight's Espeon nearby. It had glanced at its fellow Psychic-Type with a short staredown before running off.
Venturing through the pyramid and following the path that Espeon had taken, the group found themselves faced with different pathways. Far too many to count. But these pathways were sparse with statues Mainly, monuments of a Pokemon that looked familiar to many.
Golden statues of this strange Pokemon were on the sides of the pathways, plastered onto the walls. Espeon could also be seen in the distance at one of the pathways, entering elsewhere. "What Pokemon is that...?" Applejack wondered.
"It looks like Lucario." Ash noticed the familiar head structure. Indeed, the heads of these statues resembled Lucario very clearly as they were built in a sitting position. There was also another statue right underneath them when glancing at the downwards pathways. A statue of another familiar Pokemon. "That looks like Blaziken too."
"All of this reminds me of Somnambula..." Twilight uttered, bringing up a name that Ash and the others hadn't heard about before. At least not yet. "But it's strange. They look brand new instead of ancient."
"It's like they were cleaned like...weeks ago." Heike placed his hand on one of the statues, seeing how squeaky clean it appeared to be. Not a single scratch or dent could be found on these statues. Usually, the passage of time would reveal flaws, but not for this.
This time, they chose to stay as a group instead of splitting up. And by sticking together, they came across something next to the statues on the walls. Twilight zoomed over, locking eyes on this new point of interest. Odd visages could be found. Twilight found out that numerous walls of hieroglyphics. Among these walls are a few that appear to have purple inscriptions on them.
"Hieroglyphics. A lot of them too," said Twilight as Starlight and she pressed their faces together when observing the hieroglyphics.
"Oooh. Can you read them, Twilight?" Fluttershy leaned in.
"I don't think so..." Twilight, unfortunately, could not. Pokemon Hieroglyphics were not her forte. However, this was where a massive shocker and surprise came to them.
"I think I can..." Ash was the one who could potentially read them as Twilight and Starlight shifted their heads towards the Alola Champion.
"You can?! How?!"
"Well...I don't know how. But I can feel some Aura from it." Ash approached one of the hieroglyphics, kneeling and placing his hand near it. Upon getting close, the hieroglyphics and their purple inscriptions son radiated a familiar colour. The colour of Aura.
"Aura, huh?" Applejack spoke, looking at her hoof. She knew that she had potent Aura as ell as revealed by Brawly and Gardevoir a while back. Seeing as Ash's Aura managed to make the hieroglyphs glow, Applejack tried the same, putting er hoof near other hieroglyphs.
Indeed, it reacted to her as well. The two powerful Aura wielders could make the Aura appear from the walls, giving everything a nice azure tint to it. "I still can't read it...
" Twilight grumbled. "It's so tiny." Deciphering them would be difficult considering the hieroglyphics were too tiny to properly observe, much to Twilight's annoyance.
And once the Aura showed itself, arriving here by running up the stairs was a Pokemon closely tied to Aura. A few of them to be exact. Lucario.
"Lucario!" They cried out as their dreads were shaking, responding to an Aura Signature. And they found that signature. Thanks to his high Aura, Ash was a magnet for the Lucario species as they had arrived before his friends.
"Oh! Lucario!" Starlight pointed out, alerting her friends. Ash moved his hand away as the Aura faded as well from the hieroglyphics. Other Lucario had tracked Ash's Aura down as their numbers increased. This pyramid housed more than just Espeon. It was indeed full of life, housing Lucario. That would explain the recency of the statues.
Ash and his friends stood before the Lucario as thankfully, they had nothing to fear. Lucario was a generally calm and respective Pokemon in all forms. And they certainly showed their respect by getting on their knees and facing not just Ash for his massive Aura but also Applejack. She had a high level of Aura within her that had yet to be unveiled.
"Uh, what's going on?" Applejack asked, scrunching her face while Ash just chuckled."
"It's your Aura, you two." Twilight explained. "Lucario respect those with high Aura, after all. It's how Ash found his Lucario when it was a Riolu. The same thing's happening here."
"You've got high Aura?" Heike looked at the earth pony. "Lucky...I know a lot who would do anything to have a lot of Aura. Mainly at Sinnoh and Kalos."
"Aw shucks...I didn't know I had that much in me before it all..." Applejack felt flattered with her face turning red. Ever since his notable Aura presence gained some traction, its potential has been better shown. Applejack did like some praise but it was likely that her Aura praise would exceed everything that she's done before.
"Rrr. Luca. Lu." The Lucario then spoke to Ash and Applejack respectively. They aimed their paws towards the passageway and stairs they came from. Essentially, they were inviting them to fully explore the pyramid. They were free to do so along with their friends as per the honour of having such high Auras.
"It looks like we're not intruding. Thank goodness." A relieved Fluttershy said. "Nice place you all have here."
"Audino."
"Guess that means we're free to go around. Let's check there," said Ash, walking ahead. The Lucario would also choose to guide them. Right now, they were on the first floor as an upwards stairway could be found. With something of this scale, they had yet to discover everything.
They soon advanced to the ground floor via the downwards stairs, going through some turns while also spotting more Pokemon along the way. More Lucario had been found just living here, roaming the pyramid. Some more Espeon could be found as it wasn't just the one. They lived alongside the Lucario in harmony.
The Lucario felt the Auras of Ash and Applejack, stopping what they were doing to take notice. The Lucario promptly bowed their heads, getting on one knee to show their respect. Espeon decided to run off, wanting to interact with her fellow Sun Pokemon.
Pikachu, Treecko, Audino and Sceptile did the same, meeting with the many Lucario and Espeon that lived in this lavish and fancy pyramid. The beauty it gave off along with the decorations overwhelmed the limestone that it was built upon. But the limestone was just was gorgeous.
"This what it's like to be King of the Sea back at that temple, Ash?" Applejack asked.
"Sorta. I just get called majesty, excellence and other big stuff a lot." laughed the Trainer from Pallet Town.
This pyramid was decorated with many of those same statues while keeping more hieroglyphics. Twilight wished to know what they meant. And to have this wish, she sparked an idea.
"Ash. Applejack Try putting your hand and hoof on the hieroglyphics again. This time for much longer. I want to see if I can read it."
"Huh? Sure, sure." Ash nodded, stepping by one of the hieroglyphics. Applejack would join him. They looked at each other before nodding in unison. A hand and hoof met with the hieroglyphics, giving that Azure glow once more. This time, they kept their hand and hoof on the hieroglyphics for some extra time.
And just as Twilight theorized, something happened. That glow had to happen for a reason. The hieroglyphics were not only enhanced, gaining a larger size to see them from any distance, but they were also being made somewhat clear.
The hieroglyphics still had their unique appearances as Twilight was trying her best to decipher them. She recognized how they had a distinct shape that was unknown yet familiar to her. "Hang on...I know this Pokemon. Which is it...?" She squinted.
"Oh! That's Unown!" Ash exclaimed, revealing the Pokemon of question. That name rang a bell in Twilight and Applejack's heads as well.
"Unown! Now I remember!" Applejack gasped. "My sis and her friends bumped into them when they went on that journey! That's it?"
"Yep. Makes sense they'd be here." Ash nodded.
"Uh, which Unown make which letters again...?" Twilight puffed her cheeks, thinking hard of the various Unown and the letter formations they gave out. "Okay...That says...Summon up a miracle, with spirit and the will to do right. Stand tall under the starlight. Who is the final opponent to stand in the way? The one to brandish the spirit of justice then bare their fangs. The one who has obtained ultimate power."
"What does it mean?" Heike asked.
"I have no idea." Twilight gave her honest response, shaking her head. "But translations like these sometimes mean a prophecy will happen."
"What about the rest?"
"Uh...Join forces and go forth. An enemy or an ally? As you waver, which will you be? In order to bring an end to this conflict. The planet weeps again Kindness is power. Fight together, Pave the way to the future." She read them out once more. And after reading them, Twilight wanted to know more.
She sat in front of the rest of the hieroglyphics, choosing to read them all out. Starlight tried helping, even if she was lacking in Unown knowledge. "I need to know what they all mean...Uh, can you all give us some time?"
"Sure. We'll meet up later." Ash, Applejack, Heike and Fluttershy went off, leaving Twilight and Starlight to learn more about these hieroglyphics. Their Pokemon soon noticed their trainers leaving before following them to wherever else this pyramid leads to.
Twilight kept reading every hieroglyph there was with Starlight following carefully. "Start from zero. Connect the bonds. Pursue the light. And head towards Infinity..."
Upon traversing the pyramid, they came across a new room. Once that boasted far less beauty than the others. And it showed once Fluttershy set hoof into first before any of her friends. She squeaked, jumping back once feeling a sense of dread.
"Mmm!" Fluttershy landed in Audino's grasp. The reason for this shock wasn't a Pokemon. Rather, it was the fact that they had found themselves in what seemed to be a tomb. "W-What is this place...?"
"Looks like a tomb to me," Heike observed. "Creepy...but fun!"
"You don't put those two together that much, partner..." Applejack uttered. Phasing through the walls were familiar Ghost-Type Pokemon. Only two of them. Gengar and Mismagius. The Pokedex of Ash was taken out to observe the Delta typing for them. Gengar was now a Fire-Type while Mismagius held the Psychic-Typing.
The tomb itself carried the feeling any tomb would. It invoked horror but here, there was also something peaceful about it. Mainly those resting in peace at the moment. The group also saw how there were paintings on the walls of each tomb, meant to represent the individual that had passed.
All of them were Lucario, painting in an ancient style. Lucario that have come and gone. And standing in front of one of the tombs, first noticed by the eyes of Applejack was a familiar-shaped Pokemon with a brand-spanking-new appearance.
"Riolu...?" It was a Riolu. Specifically, Delta Riolu. The newest Delta to be found during their venture through the Holon Region, wearing a unique garment distinct from the others that had yet to be fully revealed as it stood in the shadows of the tomb, hiding its full appearance. The Delta Riolu stood before Applejack and her friends, standing tall with a face of bemusement and abstraction.
So far, many Delta Pokemon have been ventured. Whether in typing or appearance or even their dispositions. Within a town, grassland, lake, desert and now a pyramid, more was around the corner. as the journey continues.
"Delta Riolu. The Embalming Pokemon. It practices sanitizing and preserving the bodies of the deceased, showing them one final form of respect. It can even sense the Auras of those who have passed." The Pokedex of Ash had readout. He and his friends had come across a Delta Riolu.
His full appearance had been shown once he moved out of the shadows. He wore a white Anubis-style garment on his head and lower body while his entire fur was now black instead of blue. The usual golden collar that could be found on its neck had been replaced, instead, going on his arms and waist. There was truly something ancient about this Pokemon compared to the rest that they've seen so far.
"Oh. I think we came at a bad time here..." Applejack soon noticed where Riolu was standing and what he was doing earlier. And the Pokedex practically confirmed this. Riolu was ding just that. Facing the tomb of a long-gone Lucario. Riolu had then felt the powerful Aura that was nearby.
Mainly from Ash and Applejack. But there was a third. Ash's Lucario's Aur had also been sensed. Riolu ran back into the shadows, feeling intimidated by their powerful presence. He stayed close to the tomb even when backing away.
"Sorry about that little fella." Applejack chose to approach the Embalming Pokemon. Riolu gripped the tomb before noticing he was doing so. Riolu didn't want to ruin the tomb as he quickly moved his paws away. "Hey, it's okay. I won't hurt ya." Not wanting to give the wrong impression, Applejack held her hoof out, showing that she was welcoming.
Without her knowing, her Aura was showing. Then again, Applejack couldn't see her Aura even to this day. Her vast Aura showed itself for Delta Riolu to watch. Applejack's Aura was safe to be around as any Riolu or Lucario could know this due to their amazing Aura detection. Seeing how welcoming it was, Riolu stepped forward.
"Rio..." Riolu grumbled before being startled by a passing Gengar. "Rio!"
"Gengar!" Gengar cackled, phasing through the walls after getting a good scare from the Embalming Pokemon. Riolu then tried running off, only to crash facefirst into the tomb he was close to. Everyone felt Riolu's pain as the Embalming Pokemon had fallen over.
"A-Are you okay?!" Applejack rushed over as Audino was already prepared to use Heal Pulse. That smack on the tomb was fairly hard as Delta Riolu passed out for a moment.
"Riolu..." Only for him to wake up seconds later. He blinked for a moment, noticing how Applejack, Audino and now Fluttershy were staring him down. Riolu gasped, getting back up as soon as he could. He then crossed his arms together, trying to play it off as if he was completely cool and smooth despite being startled and knocking into a tomb. "R-Riolu...!"
"Sure, little guy." But Applejack didn't buy it. She's seen familiar actions and behaviour from Riolu via past experiences. Mainly with her friends. "So, right there at that tomb...where ya praying?"
"Ri. Riolu." Riolu then changed his tone before facing the tomb of the Lucario. Riolu then sat down, putting his paws together, praying to the tomb of the two Lucario. Paying his respects dearly while also mumbling and whimpering a bit, it was clear to see that these two Lucario were relatively special to the Embalming Pokemon. Riolu then stood up, wiping some tears that had formed. He had finished his prayers. The bodies within had already been preserved and sanitized so there was no need for him to take action.
"Those two were close to you?" Applejack asked.
"Rio." Riolu nodded in confirmation, ceasing his tears.
"Riolu says those were his parents." And with Fluttershy there, a simple translation was made. Those two Lucario were no far more special than previously thought. And because of this knowledge, Applejack could sympathize with Riolu, having her parents gone as well.
Riolu, who previously tried acting cool after being knocked out, showed those tears once more. Applejack then patted him on the head to prevent him from fully letting all those tears out. Riolu then looked up at the earth pony, getting a better and closer feel of the Aura. "Rio?"
"It's alright there, little guy. I know how ya feel." She said to the Embalming Pokemon. Riolu scrunched his face, standing tall once those tears left him. After just a few minutes with Delta Lucario and Applejack could see that he was a sensitive Pokemon to the core.
Riolu then bowed his head, doing what the rest of the Lucario have done when spotting Ash and Applejack. Showing respect to such high Aura wielders. But he was also grateful to Applejack. SHowing this gratitude, the young Riolu then rushed off, continuing with its day.
"That got pretty emotional there...!" Heike was then seen doing what Riolu was about to do. Spill some tears. Although, he had more time to let it all happen. Delta Treecko grabbed a handkerchief from his backpack, allowing him to wipe his tears away. "T-Thanks Treecko..."
"That was nice, AJ. So if there's a Delta Riolu...Delta Lucario's somewhere here, right?" said Ash. "Those statues were pretty solid hints."
"You know it. Maybe some of these Lucario were Delta." Applejack replied, navigating her head and eyes through the tomb. However, all the Lucario here seemed to be normal Sinnohan Lucario.
"Only one way to find out. Let's head for the top of the pyramid." The very top of the pyramid was their next destination. The final floor and hopefully, they would have the chance to see a Delta Lucario in all its glory.
Top floor of the prymaid.
Speaking of which, finding the top floor first were Twilight, Espeon and Starlight before Ash and his group did. And to reach the top, they stood before a massive flight of stairs. Upon witnessing these stairs, Twilight was having a horrific flashback to King Sombra's stairs during his return to the Crystal Empire.
A sense of dread met her heart as she gulped. But, now that she had wings, it wasn't a problem anymore. Although, just seeing a gargantuan flight of them was still imposing. As she, Starlight and Espeon made their upstairs, they came across what could be the final room.
A throne room.
Slim braziers encompassing each of the six marmoreal columns light up most of the throne hall and paint the hall a range of yellows and oranges. The paintings of vast landscapes on the embowed ceiling dance in the flickering light while sculptures of those mysterious Lucario that were suggestively Delta Lucario look down upon the stone floor of this impressive hall. Along with the statues of what looked to be a Delta Blaziken.
A golden rug ran from the throne down the centre and looped back from both left and right while matching banners with embellished tufts dangle gently from the walls. Between each banner stand several tapers of various sizes, all but a few have been lit and in turn illuminate the paintings of these ancient Pokemon.
And at the main throne of gold sits below a grand chandelier with a Pokemon right there. A Pokemon that resembled Torchic.
Delta Torchic appeared with a red colouring instead of its usual orange colouring as a Delta Pokemon. It had a circular yellow tuft of feathers around its neck while also donning a blue and white Nemes that rested on its head. But most notably were the two green orbs on its forehead and underneath the tuft.
"Torchic! Tor!" Delta Torchic suddenly cackled as surrounding this small Pokemon were bigger Pokemon. Mainly the Lucario and Espeon which weren't as big but far bigger than Torchic. The Lucario kneeled beside Torchic, holding out golden bowls of Pokemon food.
"What's going on here...?" Starlight uttered as Twilight pulled out her Pokedex.
"Delta Torchic. The Prince Pokemon. From birth, it has the ability to give orders to other wild Pokémon and have them obey without question. Although, compared to its Hoennian Counterpart, its fear of darkness is elevated."
"A Prince, huh?" Twilight looked over, taking one step forward. And upon doing so, two Lucari had stood before her and Starlight, blocking entry to the throne room. "Oh!"
"Rrr!" They didn't have any weapons that guards would usually have. Mostly because they were weapons in their own right. Steel and everything. The other Lucario have been kind and gentle but guards will always be cautious especially when someone approaches a room as important as this.
"S-Sorry to cause trouble." Twilight chuckled. "But we're here with two pretty high Aura users. Eh?" She nudged one of the Lucario, trying to convince them. The two Lucario looked at each other with Twilight wiggling her eyebrow to try and persuade them.
"Tor?" Torchic, who was being fed grapes via an Espeon using Psychic, noticed the arrival of Twilight, Starlight and Twilight's own Espeon. Twilight continued trying to persuade the Lucario, flipping her mane in the process. And that was enough to captivate Delta Torchic. "Torchic!"
Delta Torchic was infatuated as he hopped off his golden throne just to approach Twilight. He had then ordered the Lucario and Espeon to make sure that he properly presented himself. The Lucario and Espeon did just that. The Espeon used Psychic to bring over a podium fit for Torchic while the Lucario would carry it along, supporting it so that Torchic can appear above others.
Torchic then stood with pride as the Lucario carried him over to Twilight. Meanwhile, Twilight was doing a horrible job at convincing the two Lucario. They weren't buying it for a second.
"Oh come on..." Twilight groaned. "How does Rarity do it?"
"Espeon..." Eve sighed, slightly embarrassed with her trainer's attempt to persuade Lucario. She hid her face in embarrassment as to not look at Twilight. However, Twilight wouldn't have to continue failing at trying to persuade the Aura Pokemon to pass through.
This was where Torchic came in. Once showing up at the entrance, the two Lucario Guards had stepped aside, allowing the prince to pass. Torchic stood before Twilight, ordering the Espeon to give him a glow. The many Espeon had used Psychic-Type moves to make his body shine gracefully to further exaggerate his importance. "Torchic"
"Oh! Right!" Twilight, knowing that this Torchic was of royalty, quickly bowed her head to show respect. Espeon did so immediately, knowing not to be disrespectful. "Starlight...!" Twilight whispered at Starlight as she was the only one not bowing.
"O-Oh! Right!" Starlight quickly got the memo, paying her respects as well.
"Torchic! Torchic!" Torchic spoke as Twilight and Starlight wished they had Fluttershy with them right about now. They looked at each other as Torchic started making constant movements while speaking. Despite them not being able to understand the Prince Pokemon, they could certainly see he was speaking something of high value.
"Uh...S-Sorry, your highness or, majesty. Whichever one it is." Twilight scratched her mane. "But we can't understand you. But we came here to explore the pyramid and it's been satisfying so far. It-"
"Torchic!" Just then, Torchic was sent closer to Twilight with his face clashing onto the Princess of Friendship's head. Twilight was taken off guard by this before awkwardly shifting her eyes around. She wasn't sure about being this up close with Torchic. "Tor~!"
However, despite her and Starlight not knowing what Torchic was saying, Espeon could. And once it all sank in, the Sun Pokemon's usually small and hard-to-tell pupils shrunk. "Esp-" But she was quickly cut off once she saw Twilight being held by the Lucario.
"H-Hey!" Twilight yelped before being carried off into the throne room by the Lucario. Soon, Twilight found herself seated next to the prince's throne. Starlight and Espeon were prevented from entering via the two Lucario still being there. They weren't permitted to interrupt the process.
"Twilight! Come on, let us through!" Starlight exclaimed. But the Lucario shook their heads. Twilight was then being given something new to wear. Mainly a Nemes headpiece to Torchic, but on a larger scale. They happened to have something that perfectly fit Twilight's head. Twilight blinked as she was then given golden wrist braces that were placed on her front hooves.
It was all happening so fast for her to do anything. Twilight opened her mouth, trying to say something, only to have some grasp thrown in there thanks to the Espeon. Twilight became cross-eyed a moment after her new outfit was given the finishing touches with a silver dress. The Lucario then brought over a special seat exclusively for royalty that they slid under Twilight.
Now Twilight Sparkle looked like another kind of princess. She exuberated a more royal appearance than her usual appearance. Twilight quickly looked at herself, facing the gold which gave off a perfect reflection to see herself.
"Esp! Espeon!" Twilight's Espeon, who knew what this was about, bellowed ferociously, trying to hop over. Only for one of the Lucario to grab her tail, holding her upside down. Espeon flailed her legs, hissing at the Lucario and saying some unpleasant things that only a Pokemon would understand.
However, Twilight quickly caught on without needing Espeon to give her a hint. Torchic sat proudly on his tone before gazing at Twilight with widened eyes. Twilight took everything in as she was brought over some deluxe food for her to feast on.
"Oh. I get it now." Twilight nodded in understanding. "Uh, Torchic. This is nice and all..."
"Tor! Torchic-Tor!" Torchic liked what he was hearing, believing that he had satisfied Twilight, making things set in stone. At least, that's what he thought.
"But I'm not up for that. Not yet at least." Twilight removed the Nemes. Torchic's heart then dropped with utter shock being shot through him. "Besides, you're not my type. You're cute but...eh." She squeed. "I've already got eyes for someone anyway."
"Torchic...?" Torchic's voice became weak as not even an hour, day or weeks and he had been turned down. Then again, he did rush things, but that didn't matter much to someone as young as him. Hearing that Twilight had sights on someone else, Torchic puffed his cheeks as he demanded to know. "Tor...!"
Delta Torchic then used his Psychic abilities, focusing them on Twilight. Delta Torchic had this benefit as a Psychic-Type now, after all, and it was certainly effective as he started looking into Twilight's mind. Twilight saw Torchic's eyes glow as she was mainly unphased, but her memories could still be accessed.
There, Delta Torchic saw the one that Twilight Sparkle had eyes for. It was revealed to be Ash Ketchum, no less. Upon seeing the Pokemon Trainer, Torchic had declared himself a new rival. The fire within him burned, still having remnants from Hoennian Torchic.
"Torchic!" Torchic bellowed, declaring Ash to be a love rival, even if he and Twilight didn't see it that way. Then again, Ash was elsewhere in the pyramid
"Espeon." One of the Espeon walked up to Torchic, informing the Prince Pokemon that Ash Ketchum was currently inside the pyramid. Torchic saw this as some sort of divine chance when in reality, it wasn't.
"Tor! Torchic!" Torchic then shouted, ordering some of his subjects to pursue Ash Ketchum. The Lucario nodded in understanding along with the Espeon. This message was passed on to their fellow Lucario and Espeon as they all collectively went after Ash.
Twilight watched them rush off as only her Espeon knew what they were saying and off to do. Having enough of this, Espen had used Dazzling Gleam around her body, blinding the two Lucario at the entrance. "Esp!
"L-Lu!" The Lucario closed their eyes with their grip on Espeon. This allowed Espeon to finally pass through as Starlight also saw this chance.
"Sorry!" She apologized to the Lucario once entering the throne room. The Lucario growled, promptly chasing after them both. It didn't take them that long to regain their sight.
"Esp!" Espeon jumped into Twilight's hooves as Starlight quickly ran behind Twilight. The two Lucario came to a screeching halt in front of Twilight. Twilight was currently important so anything physical done to her would result in a highly upset Torchic, which may not end well for them both.
"Wait! These are my friends!" Twilight held one hoof out while holding Espeon. The Lucario would still try and remove them from the throne room after their intrusion.
"Tor!" But after hearing that they were associated with Twilight, the Prince Pokemon promptly ordered the two Lucario to leave it be. The two Lucario understood as they bowed their heads. They then left the room, returning to their positions as Espeon and Starlight were in the clear.
"Thanks, Twilight..." Starlight sighed.
"Esp! Espeon!" Espeon then looked up at Twilight, ready to let her know the news. She had exchanged a Psychic message to Twilight also using her paws and face to describe it.
"What?!" Twilight gasped after being given this information on Ash's pursuit. "Torchic!"
"Tor?" Torchic flashed his eyes innocently, ready to hear anything from Twilight.
"You can't send them for Ash!" Except, the words Twilight gave weren't pleasant for Torchic. "I already told you, I'm not interested."
"Tor?!"
"Wait, what's up with Ash?" Starlight asked, currently out of the loop.
"Torchic...!" Torchic was aggravated about this. But, he quickly stood with pride, believing that once Ash was out of the way, it would just be him and Twilight. Twilight wasn't having any of it. She removed the rest of the new outfit, tearing the dress off and removing her golden vanbraces.
More Lucario were stationed in front of the entrance as per Torchic's order. He wouldn't allow Twilight to leave as a few Espeon had also stood there for extra protection. Twilight saw this but wasn't intimidated for a moment. She jumped out of the special seat that she was given, standing in front of Torchic.
"We're leaving. Aside from the hieroglyphics, I think we've seen enough from this pyramid right now." She stated.
"Tor! Torchic!" Torchic refused to have that happen. Not when he had just met Twilight, even though it was all rushed to a high degree. Already being agitated, Torchic already thought of another way through this, just to keep Twilight.
Meanwhile, the Delta Riolu from before had witnessed a plethora of Lucario and Espeon rushing together. He moved to the side, allowing them to pass without hitting anything or anyone along the way. Unaware that they were after Ash, at least for the moment before asking one of the Espeon. "Ri! Riolu?"
"Espeon!"
"Rio?!" Riolu gasped. Ash was one of the great friends of Applejack who he had just gotten to know. And just now, one of them was already being pursued. Delta Riolu promptly started running as well, mainly to reach Applejack and the others and share this crucial information with them.
But what of Applejack and her friends? They also had the same idea as Twilight's group earlier. Mainly to reach the top of the pyramid to see what it was like. But due to their direction, this allowed the Lucario and Espeon to find them much faster in this gigantic monument.
Audino was the first to hear a plethora of two different footsteps. Lucario footsteps and Espeon footsteps. She stood there, wondering which direction the Lucario and Espeon were coming from. And it came from the massive flight of stairs that they all stood at. Pikachu's eyes squinted once the golden rays of the sun shined through the pyramid. He then saw blue and purple figures coming this way. "Pika?"
"Audino?"
"Rr!" The Lucario and Espeon had spotted their main target. Ash stood in front of his friends with Pikachu currently resting on his shoulder as always. The goal was to capture Ash Ketchumas they certainly had the numbers do so. However, the moment they got close, that's when things changed.
Much like the Lucario on the lower levels, the one that had approached could feel it. The powerful Aura coming from Ash even if he wasn't actively using it at the moment. The Lucario came to a screeching halt as the sheer scale of Ash's Aura was unlike anything they had never seen or felt before. Their pursuit essentially came to an end from this. But it wasn't much of a pursuit as Ash just stood there.
"Uh...What's going on?" Ash wondered.
"Pika?"
While the Lucario came to a halt, the Espeon, who were all behind them, bumped into their allies once they stopped. Some were confused as to why they had just suddenly stopped out in the blue. Since they were on those massive flights of stairs, some of them ended up falling over with this immediate crash. The Lucario were fine due to their sturdiness but not so much the Espeon.
"E-Esp...!" The Espeon cried out before forming a massive pile of their bodies. They soon got back up, bellowing at the Lucario after crashing. They needed to know why there was a sudden halt. Unfortunately, Espeon couldn't sense Auras like Lucario could, so the immense pressure that Ash was giving off was lost to them.
"Lu..." Once face to face with Ash's Aura and feeling how both powerful and pure it was, the Lucario chose not to capture him. Delta Riolu had shown up, easily catching up since the group had slowed down and come to a halt.
"Rio?"
"Oh, it's you, little guy!" Applejack noticed Delta Riolu's arrival. Delta Riolu gained a smile on his face, happy that Applejack was alright along with her friends. He then did a high front flip from the stairs, going over the many Lucario and the Espeon.
He then landed in front of Applejack, pulling off that stylish front flip successfully. Ash and the others applauded his stunt due to its flawless nature. Riolu then took a bow. But the tone shifted once Riolu started spouting out the reason for him being here. "Ri! Rio!"
"What's he saying?" Ash asked.
"He's saying...they're here to capture you?" Fluttershy translated, aiming her hoof at all of the Lucario and Espeon here. However, the Lucario quickly shook their heads afterwards. "Oh wait. They're not here to capture now."
"Eon!" But the Espeon soon counteracted it by chiming in. "Espeon."
"But they are now. At least the Espeon." Fluttershy shifted her eyes, looking at the two species. "Oh my. I hope I don't get confused."
"Rrr!" The Lucario refused to capture Ash solely from his powerful Aura. Disrepsting Aura that immense was not tolerable, even under the orders of royalty. However, the Espeon didn't share that powerful Aura link as they were determined to fulfil Prince Torchic's wish.
Due to this cash of decisions, the Aura Pokemon and Sun Pokemon ended up being at odds. They even split away from each other. One side chose to be beside Ash while the others on the side of Torchic. Before Ash and his friends knew it, they were caught in a great discourse within the pyramid.
"Now what?!" Applejack exclaimed. "How come ya'll are acting like this!"
"I think we might be in the midst of a Civil War!" Heike figured out that a civil war between the Lucario and the Espeon had been born and might escalate.
"What's a civil war...?" Ash was thrown out of the loop, unaware of the civil war concept as he scratched his hair.
"That's not important now, Ash. What's more important is what's happening now!" Fluttershy focused solely on the first thing that came to mind once this civil war emerged. Solving this issue. It wouldn't be brand new to her. She had once helped the Pikachu Highlands sort their civil war out so this wasn't too out there thankfully.
However, the circumstances may be different and the driving force behind it, Prince Torchic was far past simple bickering. This civil war between Lucario and Espeon would soon commence as Prince Torchic and Twilight Sparkle were also having some discourse that had yet to be resolved.
Whilst all of this occurred, the same Pokemon that stood atop the pyramid in mystery, showing off its glowing green eyes from above and below, was most definitely watching this. Time would tell how this would go as the journey continues.
A civil war was currently ongoing within the Holon Pyramid. Originally ordered by Delta Torchic, the Psychic-Type Prince Pokemon, the Lucario and Espeon were sent to capture Ash. All because Torchic's infatuation with Twilight didn't matter considering that Twilight was far more interested in Ash. Struck by jealousy, the order to capture Ash was driven by that reason.
However, after sensing Ash's amazing Aura and how vast it was, the Lucario, out of sheer respect for a powerful Aura wielder, could not bring themselves to do. While on the other side of the spectrum, the Espeon could as they weren't bound to Aura as effectively as Lucario.
This, led to this conflict with the Lucario being on Ash's side while the Espeon stuck to Torchic's side. Naturally, a civil war between these two species could lead to some unpleasant outcomes, and there to try and solve this before it could get out of hand was Ash himself along with his friends.
"Now hold on! Let's all slow down here!" Fluttershy stood in-between the two sides. "How about we calm down and talk this through, why don't we?"
"Rrr!" The Lucario growled.
"Esp!" While the Espeon howled. Two opposite expressions yet similar in context. It was essentially turning into a dogs vs cats situation. Trying to reason with them at the moment would prove troublesome as they were close allies with different choices on the matter.
"Sombra. You're a king. You got any idea on stopping this?" Ash spoke to King Sombra from within. Sombra stayed silent for a moment with his eyes closed.
"Oh! I know!" At the same time of Sombra's pondering, Fluttershy had an idea. The same idea she had used when the Pikachu over at Pikachu Highlands had a royal dispute. "Audi! Use Heal Pulse at full strength!"
"Audino...!" Audino spread her arms out, allowing the healing energy from within her body to flow. The green energy that it was always exhibits was sent into two directions. The direction of the Lucario and the direction of the Espeon.
"Uh...How's Heal Pulse gonna help?" Heike questioned, scratching his hair in confusion. Heal Pulse seemed like the last move he would think of ever being used in this scenario since no one was harmed.
"Heal Pulse can be pushed so far that it can make anyone feel relaxed. You can sometimes use it to stop your opponent from battling." Ash explained.
"Oh...Well that's just unfair." Heike replied, stunned by the extra usage of Heal Pulse. However, despite Heal Pulse's potential, it did not stop their discourse even with this soothing aura of healing energy. For a split-second, it did prove to make them feel relaxed, however, it quickly faded due to the Espeon pushing it away with their Psychic abilities. They weren't up for having Heal Pulse surround them at the moment.
"Audino?!"
"Why didn't it work?" Applejack asked.
"I don't think they want Heal Pulse right now..." Fluttershy scrunched her face as her second approach failed. It was time to slide back into the first approach. Talking it out. "Okay. Let's just keep trying to reason with them."
"Nah. You gotta go beyond that." Ash went up to Fluttershy. He then nudged his head over at Fluttershy's mane, which contained one special item. Fluttershy then knew what Ash meant by that.
"Oh, right!" Fluttershy dug into her mane, pulling out her Mega Ring. And more importantly, the Audinite. Heal Pulse could certainly go beyond Audino's normal limitations. However, she and the others were cut off once one of the Espeon had used Shadow Ball, throwing a blob of shadows across the room. Fluttershy squeaked, flying back as a Lucario had whacked the ball away. The Shadow Ball ended up hitting the walls, causing an explosion as it was safe to say that this argument was starting to escalate.
Escalate to the point where physical action would take place. One of the Espeon tried using Psychic on Ash to grab him, only for a Lucario stand in the way, taking the Psychic instead and cancelling it out with its Aura. Lucario, provoked by this, decided to take action as well.
One Lucario had already summoned up an Aura Sphere in its palms. This was noted by Ash as he attempted to stop any more moves from being thrown. "Wait a sec!" He shouted out, right as Lucario had thrown Aura Sphere. Ash had been hit by the attack the moment he got in the way, causing him to go flying. "Ough!"
"Pikapi?!" Pikachu and the others gasped as Ash could be seen flying in the distance. The Aura Sphere certainly carried him far as Pikachu pursued his best friend.
"This ain't going too well..." Applejack sighed, lowering her hat. Things were only going to worsen as Fluttershy ducked for cover, quickly activating Audino's Mega Evolution. Heike simply stood back, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire.
Sceptile tried holding some of the Lucario back from advancing with Audino already preparing a much better Heal Pulse than before. The Mega Evolution process went off with Mega Audino entering the fray. "Audino!"
"Here goes! Audi, use Heal Pulse one more time!"
"Audi...No!" Powered up to a new level, Mega Audino puts her hands in front of her body as a light pink ball of energy appears in between them. Audino then opened her arms and the orb breaks apart into multiple light pink sparkles, releasing waves of light pink energy with light pink sparkles in it that expand outward.
This was far greater than her normal Heal Pulse in everywhere. And it showed as the Espeon were unable to get rid of this energy. The Lucario and Espeon were perfectly calm now, however, this would not stop their squabble. Only tone it down so that no one would get hurt in the process.
For the meantime, everything had been toned down between both sides. Heike was amazed that Heal Pulse could do that when pushed to its best. "A-Are we sure it's a healing move...?" He stuttered, finding it hard to believe that Heal Pulse can just prevent physical conflict. Unfortunately, not much for the other kinds of conflict.
"Okay...Let's talk about this." Fluttershy sighed, sitting in-between the two species, ready to put an end to this conflict as fast as she could. Heike pondered, having something in mind.
"I've got it!" Heike placed his massive backpack down, already looking into it. "This can help take all that conflict out of the window. I'm sure of it. I mean, who doesn't love..." He dug into the backpack before finding what he needed. "A board game!" Out of the backpack came a boardgame that Heike had on the go.
"Ooh! Smart thinking, Heike!" Fluttershy clapped her hooves.
"This'll get their attention. The Pokemon Labyrinth Game! Big enough for a lot of players." He dropped the boardgame down as all the Lucario and Espeon locked their eyes onto it. They weren't sure what they were looking at. The concept of a boardgame was lost on them.
Treecko helped open the boardgame, revealing its full look to everyone. As the name suggests, the board itself was modelled after a labyrinth. A fairly massive one as the boardgame expanded once the box was opened, as if it was a balloon.
Along with this massive labyrinth, a plethora of figures could be found. All of them were modelled after different Pokemon as there were plenty to go around. "Okay. How about everyone grab a piece? I'll explain things on the go." Heike said.
"Come on." Fluttershy convinced them. "You're all relaxed right now, aren't you? Best to get things off of your mind. Mainly um...capturing my friend."
"Rr...Rrr!" The Lucario and Espeon were convinced. Thanks to Mega Audino's Heal Pulse, they were related and calm enough to give this a go. Immediately, they all went for the pieces within the bag, choosing their personal favourites.
Fluttershy and Audino would join in no doubt. It interested them enough. Applejack shrugged as she and Sceptile indulged themselves in it. Not only was this a great way to ease conflict and get them all to bond, but it was also a great time killer to boot. Truly, Heike's backpack so far was showing that it had objects prepared for some tricky scenarios.
"Rio..." While everyone was grabbing figures left and right, whether with their paws, hands, hooves or even Psychic minds, Delta Riolu stood mostly away from it. The Dark-Type watched as everyone was involved, all except for him. Riolu scrunched his face before being noticed by Applejack.
"Hm?" The farm pony looked over at the Embalming Pokemon. Riolu then looked up at her as Applejack gave him a smile and a slight chuckle. "What are you all shy for? Come over here, little guy."
"Rio?" Delta Riolu pointed his paw at himself. He was surprised to see that Applejack would allow him to join. Applejack nodded in confirmation as the Dark-Type felt less nervous when being ordered by her. Applejack's Aura helped to convince him in this instance as well.
Riolu then smiled as Applejack held a figure out to him. "Here. How about you be the Scorbunny figure. Sound good?" She spoke, grinning at him. Riolu found another reason to be safe around Applejack. He gladly took the figure as he was now involved.
"Rio!"
"Alright!" Heike clapped his hands once as the game was about to begin. "Rules are simple. Let's just try and have fun here, okay?
Meanwhile, Ash had been carried elsewhere in the pyramid with Aura Sphere's guidance. He continued yelling before finally coming to a halt via a nearby pillar. The pillar trembled as the Alola Champion was then dropped. But not before being met with an Aura explosion that damaged the pillar. Ash fell flat on his face with pieces of the pillar coming off.
Pikachu managed to catch up to this best friend after seeing him be flung a great distance.
"Woah man..." Ash sat up as the rubble dropped onto his head. Despite all of that, he seemed unphased. "That could've gone better..."
"Are you indestricuble or something?" Sombra spoke, stunned by how durable Ash proved to be. Ash stood up, stretching before getting his balance back.
"Those Lucario and Espeon aren't gonna stop unless something happens to me." He pondered. "But Audino's Heal Pulse in Mega could calm them down. We just gotta figure out how to stop this..."
Upon his pondering, seconds later, that same mysterious figure from earlier that seemed to constantly lurk in secrecy while having a green glowing eye was right nearby Ash. Seconds ago, it was close to the conflict between Lucario and Espeon and now it was right here.
Ash and Pikachu gasped as they felt the presence of this Pokemon. Swivelling around, they saw those glowing eyes within the shadows. And in that split-second of seeing it, this strange Pokemon left the shadows before approaching Ash. Pikachu quickly jumped in front of Ash, using Iron Tail. "Pika!" Pikachu's Iron Tail was used at the right time as this figure had sent a kick in his direction.
The figure was then revealed to be identical to Blaziken. This was Delta Blaziken to be exact. Wearing the same white Nemes with blue patterns that Delta Torchic wore but this time, extra clothing could be found on it via a white half-pleated kilt with those same blue patterns. Delta Blaziken also had wings this time. And they were a radiant gold as they had that same emerald orbs inside of them along with a belt above the kilt. To top it all off, a nice headcloth was around its neck too.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped back along with this Delta Blaziken. Ash gawked as yet another new Delta had been found, plus he had seen the statue for it when he arrived here.
"Oh! Blaziken!" He took out his Pokedex.
"Delta Blaziken. The Horus Pokemon. It soars to amazing heights, storing power that it draws from the sun. Even when it cannot be seen from the ground below, it keeps a watchful eye on those it protects."
"Blaziken." Blaziken lowered his foot before ceasing any other attacks that could've possibly come next after that incoming kick. Pikachu was expecting some more of it.
"A Psychic-Flying-Type too." Ash continued to observe Blaziken from the Pokedex. "Awesome!" His eyes lit up.
"Enough with admiring it. It attacked you, didn't it?" Sombra uttered.
"Ken. Blaziken." However, Blaziken shook his head, essentially saying that he wouldn't attack Ash for a second time. Ash understood Blaziken thankfully. Blaziken then nudged his head over at the walls, showing Ash some Unown Hieroglyphics for him to read.
"Oh, those?" Ash then faced the wall of hieroglyphics, putting his hand over it. The Aura from within enhanced the size of the Unown Hieroglyphics, allowing for him to read it. Ash read them out, discovering that it was Blaziken telling him something. "Uh...That's an A at the beginning so..." He squinted, trying to make out the Unown letters.
"I thought you knew about this Pokemon. Why the struggle all of a sudden?" Sombra asked.
"It's been a while since I've seen all the Unown, ya know. Hey that kinda rhymed!" Ash laughed, finding enjoyment out of this as Sombra shook his head. Ash then concentrated on the Unown symbols, using the best of his knowledge to make out these letters. After observing them, Ash managed to read them out, albeit in a slightly slow tone. "About the Lucario and Espeon...It's all happening because of my son. Your son?"
"Ken." The Horus Pokemon nodded in confirmation. He then looked up, peering his eyes through the stairs of the pyramid. Obviously, his son was at the very top. And Torchic was the only conclusion to that. More hieroglyphics appeared as Blaziken pointed Ash in the direction they came in, allowing him to read them.
"Let's see...This isn't the first time this has happened. My son Torchic has caused squabbles in the pyramid a handful of times." He read out. "Oh. So a Torchic is behind this. Wonder why it wants to capture me then?"
"It must be for a good reason. Perhaps it knows about your kingly status." said Sombra.
"You think so?"
"Blaziken." Blaziken shook his head before pointing towards the stairs. Ash looked up as Blaziken was essentially telling him and Pikachu to go up them. Ash and Pikachu did just that, but it was more than just letting them advance to a higher floor.
Appearing on the walls with purple lights were new images. This time, they weren't Unown. Instead, Ash and Pikachu had bore witness to essentially a timeline imagery. The first image to pop up was of him and Pikachu. And next to that were Twilight, Starlight, Fluttershy, Heike, Applejack and their Pokemon, showing up in what was an image replication of the pyramid.
"Hey, that's us!" Ash stopped to take a closer look at the images.
"Pika!"
They continued up the stairs as more image-based hieroglyphics were being shown. Soon, Ash and Pikachu figured out what this all meant as the next visages were of them finding the Espeon and Lucario. All of this was down in the style that perfectly befitted the pyramid. Truly ancient. They then saw Twilight, Starlight and Espeon separately from the others as they stood next to a visage of Torchic.
"So that's Delta Torchic..." Ash gawked. "But what's happening there?" He couldn't quite make out the scenario between Twilight and Delta Torchic. He knew that somehow, in someway, Torchic was the cause of the conflict happening between the Lucario and Espeon, but it was hard to know the reason for it.
"Isn't it obvious?" Sombra chimed in. "Your alicorn friend over there must've done something to instigate his reasoning for wanting to come after you. And I can only imagine the main reason..." King Sombra already had a good idea and it made him groan. Most definitely, it was a petty reason.
"Gee. Guess Twilight riled him up, huh? Hahah!" Ash, oblivious to the reason, only revelled in it. "But maybe we can go and talk to Torchic. That could fix everything. But Twilight's already handling it right now, I bet!"
Throne room.
Twilight was indeed trying to handle this. But Prince Torchi's stubbornness was too resilient, much to Twilight's annoyance as the many Lucario and Espeon were still guarding the exit.
"Alright. This could go on forever. I don't know how many times I have to say this, Torchic..." Twilight groaned. "And you trying to capture Ash prove it's failed so far. I don't hear him coming up here."
"Tor...!" Torchic pouted before trying another approach to convince Twilight. He pulled out the signature puppy-dog eyes while also flashing his eyelids at him, trying to use his cuteness as first-stage starter Pokemon to his advantage. "Torchic!"
"..." But Twilight wasn't buying it. She just gave an expression of annoyance as Torchic jerked back. Torchic tried the next approach that was close to the puppy-dog eyes tactic. Crocodile tears.
"Tor! Torchic!" Torchic started crying crocodile tears to make Twilight feel bad. He even laid on his back, rolling on the floor to boost this. Starlight's Poke Ball was suddenly trembling as Hatteren could feel the fake yet powerful emotions coming from Torchic.
"No, Hatterene...Now's not the time." Starlight kept the Poke Ball at bay, preventing Hatterene from trying anything to make things worse. As for Twilight, she didn't buy it either.
"Nice try. But that level of sadness doesn't work on me." Twilight stated as Torchic was blown back by this. All of his best attempts have failed. Bribing her and even giving her great luxury meant nothing to Twilight. "This place is nice and all, but I've got my own castle anyway. And I'd rather be anywhere else but here, honestly."
"Chic?"
"Twilight. All of these words are great and all but...How are we going to leave with all of them in the way?" Starlight asked.
"Hm...There's only one option left." Twilight knew that Torchic wasn't going to let them go. As the Prince Pokemon, he had that rule just present at all times. Thus, Twilight had one choice that could change that. But, Torchic thought the same thing.
"Tor! Torchic!" Torchic then sat up, ordering some of the Lucario to raise his special podium. Once doing so, Torchic made a declaration against Twilight. And this time, it was simple to understand because of one thing. The hieroglyphs. "Tor...!" Torchic had used the full force of his Psychic abilities to make some Unown Hieroglyphs appear on the wall for Twilight and Starlight to read.
However, with no Aura users here, that would prove to be difficult to see them enlarged. Twilight approached them either way, ready to do her best to read it. And once she got close, thankfully, the hieroglyphs were short as she read them out.
"Let us have a battle to decide it." Twilight revealed that Torchic would have a battle against her. Seemingly the final option. "Just what was on my mind. If I win, you're letting us go."
"Hold on!" Starlight interjected, raising her hoof. "If you agree, won't you end up being stuck here?! You know how these things go!"
"You've got a point but, we have this chance right here. Torchic won't listen to reason so a Pokemon Battle is the way to go and put an end to things." Twilight chose to go along with it. "Eve. Delta Torchic's a full Psychic-Type. I'll have Absol deal with this, if you don't mind."
"Espeon." Espeon was fine with it. It would be the quickest way to do things. She stepped aside as Torchic hopped off his podium, preparing for battle. Twilight stood before the Prince Pokemon, using her magic to send out Absol's Poke Ball.
Torchic felt confident in himself. He stuck his chest out, putting on a smug grin. He believed that since he was royalty, things would work in favour for him. However, that was instantly crushed once Twilight sent out a Pokemon that he would never be prepared for.
"Go for it! Absol!" Out came the Poke Ball as the Disaster Pokemon emerged.
"Absol!" Upon emerging, Absol asserted his dominace by letting out a mighty roar. A roar that trembled the entire throne room while also causing Torchic's feathers to rustle. The Prince Pokemon had a look of distraught and despair as the Dark-Type immediately locked eyes onto him.
Usually, Torchic looks down on others due to the podium being raised high. But in this case, Absol was the one looking down on him. Torchic's confidence had suddenly been obliterated the instance Absol came into the fray. Just the menacing and horrifying disposition Absol carried was enough to terrify the young prince.
This high sense of fear was once again triggering Hatterene from within as Starlight had to keep trying to hold the Poke Ball back. As for Twilight, she knew how petrified Torchic was. And with a smirk on her face, she loved it. "So. Do you want to battle or not?"
"Tor..." Torchic was left speechless. He was also having second thoughts about this. However, his subjects, AKA the Lucario and Espeon were cheering him on. "Tor?"
"Rrr! Luca!"
"Espeon!" They encouraged Torchic to battle Absol, believing that he would win as he was the prince of the pyramid. This was where Torchic's nervous nature started showing. Now that his subjects were rooting for him, he couldn't make himself look like a coward.
"Torchic..." Reluctantly, Torchic faced Absol, deciding to battle him despite the utter fear he felt. Torchic then gulped before deciding to make the first move. "Tor...Torchic!" Torchic had gone for Peck, lighting his beak up and lunging at the Disastr Pokemon. "Toooor!" He made a battle cry to put some effort into his attack and make him seem mighty.
However, that all went down the drain once Peck connected. Absol was barely phased by it as it hit his head. The best it did was just make one eye of his twitch. Torchic did little damage as he backed away slowly.
"Absol. Night Slash."
"Ab...Sol!" Absol, on the other hand, gave a great impact. He lit his horn up, coating it in darkness. It was a bad day to be a Psychic-Type right now as Absol smacked his horn onto Torchic, dealing super-effective damage and launching the Prince Pokemon far as if he was a ball.
One shot. Torchic was done for in one shot as he tumbled on the floor. He had fainted as all of the Lucario and Espeon stood there shocked. Starlight and Espeon weren't surprised as this was the expected outcome. It was safe to say that in terms of battle experience, Absol had Torchic outclassed by a milestone. And the fact that Delta Torchic was a Psychic-Type, unfortunately for him.
"T-Torchic..."
"That's that. Thanks, Absol." Twilight returned Absol to his Poke Ball. With this victory, Twilight was a free princess now. It was all fair game as she simply walked off, not bothering to say something final to Torchic.
"Chic..." Torchic sat up, gazing at Twilight as she was now departing. However, despite Twilight's clear victory, Torchic saw it as unfair. Does, he broke off the deal, shouting and ordering the Lucario and Espeon to block the entrance yet again. "Tor!"
"Hm?" Twilight noticed how the Lucario and Espeon gathered once more, standing in her way as she was once again prevented from leaving. "Are you kidding me?!" She groaned, turning around. "Stubborn little...!"
"Well, you know how young royalty is like?" Starlight tried sweetening the mood, chuckling nervously. But Twilight was having enough of this. Her patience was being tested at this point. And that was only provoking Hatterene some more as Starlight couldn't hold her back forever.
But then, as if everything had calmed down, the Lucario near the entrance suddenly relaxed themselves with their faces all having shocked expressions. They felt something. Something massive. A powerful Aura was present here. And an Aura that grand that could make them all halt belonged to no one other than Ash.
Ash and Pikachu had shown up here after walking up the massive flight of stairs. The Lucario parted for Ash to be seen by Torchic. Twilight, Starlight and Espeon soon saw their friends afterwards as Ash lowered his head, taking a moment to breathe.
"Stairs..." Ash panted as Pikachu was safe from the stairs due to lounging on Ash's shoulder. "They're always a huge problem, aren't they?"
"Pikachu."
"Ash!" Twilight's annoyance quickly faded once she saw Ash. Torchic's annoyance had only just now arrived along with disappointment once Ash arrived. This basically confirmed that the objective to capture Ash had failed miserably.
"Hey, guys..." Ash raised his hand before stretching. He approached the throne room as the Lucario allowed him to pass. Al conflict cease with his Aura radiating. Torchic stood up, clearly frustrated at Ash considering that Twilight leaned more to him than the Prince Pokemon.
However, while Torchic was about to do something about it and only the Espeon were exempt from any Aura connection, he and the Sun Pokemon would cease with the presence of another. Walking right behind Ash and Pikachu was the higher-up of this pyramid. Far more important in hierarchy than Torchic.
Delta Blaziken.
"T-Torchic!" Torchic gasped as his father had shown up. Everything that he was about to say had been silenced as the Espeon had no choice but to do the same, backing up.
"Nice place you got here..." Ash admired the scenary as Delta Blaziken approached Delta Torchic "What did you guys do here anyway?"
"That Torchic is all kinds of stubborn." Twilight shrugged. "Maybe even more stubborn than you, Ash. He wouldn't let me leave for a second. But it looks like that's changing finally."
"Hattrene oculd've torn things apart if you didn't show up. But...what's that Pokemon? Is that Blaziken?" Starlight questioned.
"Yep. Looks like Blaziken owns the place. He told me all about Torchic and how he's caused confilcits like what's happening back downstairs before." The Alola Champion explained. "It isn't the first time it's happened. HE even said it won't be the last."
"Is that so..." Twilight grumbled.
"Did you find out what those hieroglyphs meant?" Ash asked.
"No, but I'm working on it. Wrote them all down so I'd remember to keep them all.
"Blaziken...!" Blaziken clearly wasnt' too proud of his son at the moment. He crossed his arms, showing disappointment. This was yet another civil war he had caused over minuscule reasons.
"Torchic..." Torchic shuddered, lowering his head in front of his father. The Prince Pokemon could not talk back or show his tough attitude in the face of the Horus Pokemon.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken scolded Torchic, raising his voice as it caused Torchic to close his eyes. While they couldn't understand what he was saying, Ash and his friends knew that Blaziken was berating Torchic with the force of a parent, no doubt.
"Blaziken." Despite this scolding, Blaziken knew that this was the one major flaw of Torchic. He was still young. A prince after all. He let Torchic know that Twilight was far out of his league in every category. Torchic was a growing Pokemon as Blaziken kneeled to pat his son on the head.
"Tor! Torchic!" Torchic let out some tears once more However, these were genuine tears instead of crocodile tears. Delta Blaziken held his son up, hugging to comfort him.
"I guess...he wanted to teach him a lesson?" Starlight tried making sense of this. "Either way, isn't that adorable?"
"Mmm. The crocodile tears from earlier ruined it for me." Twilight couldn't find much sympathy for Torchic after everything that had transpired. But a semblance of it was still there for her.
"I don't get it..." Ash was still out the loop as Twilight intended to keep it that way. It took Twilight, Absol, Ash's Aura presence and Delta Blaziken to put an end to Torchic's petty actions. Everything had been resolved. Until a crash echoed throughout the pyramid. "Huh?"
"What was that?!" Starlight gasped as Ash and the others quickly rushed to the direction the crash came from.
It came from the same room where the boardgame was currently being played. Conflict between Lucario and Espeon resurfaced whilstp laying this game. One Lucario held a Snorlax figure, aggressively pointing at Espeon, shouting at it. "Lu! Lucario!"
"Espeon!"
"Now, now!" Fluttershy was once again interjecting to stop the arguments. "I'm sure Espeon didn't mean to go on that space, Lucario. Let's just solve this okay?!"
Indeed, it was a game of Pokemon Labyrinth going awry. Arguments even emerged during this fun time as game rules were always bound to spark some controversy. Boardgames can not only bring others together, but they can also tear them apart given the right circumstances.
"Just when we were all having fun..." Applejack sighed, putting her hat over her face. She heard the Lucario and Espeon constantly bicker, trying to debate on what was illegal and what wasn't. Heike was the only one who could make that rule as his voice was being drowned out by the shouting.
"Rio." Delta Riolu patted Applejack on the back. Applejack looked over as now Riolu was the one comforting her. Albeit under a different scenario. "Rio-Rio."
"Thanks, little guy." Applejack felt somewhat at ease. But it wasn't enough to stop all this arguing.
"Hah...I guess it's Heal Pulse again..." Fluttershy sighed in defeat, knowing that Heal Pulse would have to be utilized once more. "Audi-"
"Blaziken." Thankfully, that wouldn't have to pass as a figure important enough to end this boardgame squabble had arrived after hearing the crash. Delta Blaziken, along with Ash and the rest of his friends.
"Lu!"
"Espeon?!" Espeon and Lucario promptly stopped what they were doing to face their ruler. The Pharoah stood before them as the Sun and Aura Pokemon bowed before his grace. The boardgame had ended as Heike could be seen sitting in the corner, destroyed.
"Figures that this would happen..." Heike muttered. "It's ust like my family reunion last year."
"Oh, Heike! Don't worry!" Fluttrshy tried cheering Heike up after his boardgame plan failed.
"Blaziken." Blaziken spoke to his subjects, letting them know that this was all over. There was no need to capture Ash anymore. It wouldn't even go well in the first place with the opposing sides. Torchic had also been brought here, nervously hiding behind his father.
Thanks to Blaziken's order, all the conflict was now, without a doubt, truly and definitively over. Nothing else left to solve at all. Although, Torchic's apology was something. As the boardgame was being put away, Torchic approached Twilight, being his head to her.
"T-Torchic..." Torchic apologized to the Princess of Friendship. It was small but honest.
"Alright." Twilight accepted it. She understood that Torchic was just young and naive at best. "You're forgiven. But, don't lose hope. There'll be someone out there for you. Maybe when you evolve then things can be different."
"Torchic...?"
"Is it over? Oh thank Celestia." Fluttershy was glad that it was all over. Audino's Mega Evolution had also ended up bring definitive closure.
"Audino..."
"I think we're just about done here. At least, I am." Twilight said. "There might be some hieroglyphics that I've missed out on that I can learn."
"I'd rather we just go..." Starlight couldn't wait to leave. But she knew that the adventuring spirit of Ash would lead to the entire pyramid being explored.
"Ah, sure. If you guys are feeling tuckered out from it, then we're off." Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Starlight felt a great stress taken away from her. "But coming back here's not a bad idea, is it? Right, Blaziken?"
"Blaziken." Blaziken would allow them back here at any time. Minus the conflict that would surface from it.
"Rio." Riolu, hearing that they would be departing from the pyramid, ran up to Applejack. He then place both his paws on his legs, nudging him. "Rio! Rio-Riolu!"
"Oh. What Pokemon is that?" Twilight and Starlight were seeing Delta Riolu for the first time as Applejack faced the Dark-Type.
"What's up, Riolu?" AJ asked.
"Ri! Rio! Riolu!" Riolu raised his arms, speaking rapidly to Applejack while also jumping up and down. Something crucial came to his mind. After spending some time with Applejack, in the tomb and during the boardgame, Riolu felt something. And the Aura certainly helped with that.
Riolu puffed his cheeks, trying to find the strength to explain things to Applejack. But he wouldn't need to. Not even Fluttershy's translation came through. Applejack understood clearly as she picked up the Embalming Pokemon. "Yeah, yeah. I hear ya."
"Rio?"
"You wanna come along, don't ya?" Applejack read him like a book. She knew that Riolu desired to come along with her, becoming Applejack's next partner. And judging by the smile on his face, Applejack guess right. "Well, I don't have a problem with it. Sceptile."
"Tile." Sceptile dug into Applejack's saddlebag, pulling out a Poke Ball. He then tossed it in the air for Riolu to interact with. The Embalming Pokemon was then thrown into the air by Applejack, allowing him to gain some airtime.
"Up you go!"
"Rio!" Riolu headbutted the Poke Ball as it had then pulled him in, shrinking him to a microscopic size. Applejack then caught the Poke Ball on her back as it started shaking.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Delta Riolu was caught!
Applejack's newest teammate had been gained as Delta Riolu emerged out of the Poke Ball, sitting on Applejack's back. The party of friends had now been increased. "Riolu!"
"Welcome to the team, Riolu!" Applejack laughed, glad to have another Pokemon on her side. And truly, for certain, this was the final closure in the Holon Pyramid. There wasn't anything else left.
With that settled, they could leave the pyramid. The group departed from the Holon Pyramid with Blaziken bidding his farewell to them all. The Lucario and Espeon were ordered to do the same. It was the least they could for all their conflict and previously trying to capture Ash while also forcing Twilight stay behind for minutes.
There was just the Holon Marsh to go through and finally Settlement Oscar would be up next. Afterwards, the group would decide what to do next as the journey continues.
The final destination before reaching Settlement Oscar. Reaching here were Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity. The others had yet to find their way at this part of Holon. Joining them on this journey was a Mew that resided within the Holon Region.
After some squabbling and some convincing from Pinkie Pie's Mew, the Mew from Holon was journeying with them with Pinkie's Mew being her guide. She was a nervous one compared to Pinkie Pie's Mew and practically every other Mew out there with their energetic and outgoing personalities.
"Mew-Mew!" Pinkie's Mew held out a cupcake for her, insisting that she would eat it. Holon's Mew gladly did so, devouring the cupcake without a second thought. She wasn't nervous in the face of that.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash peered over some bushes while her friends were having afternoon lunch. Within her sights, a Yanmega could be spotted. Using her Pokedex, she had observed that Yanmega was a Bug-Steel-Type as a Delta. Rainbow Dash was itching for a Pokemon Battle right about now and Yanmega looked like the perfect candidate.
"So what do you think Phione's gonna do? You know...finding Jirachi and everything. "Pinkie Pie spoke to Rarity, bringing up the topic of Jirachi.
"I'm sure that Phione has something. He did receive Arceus' blessing so there must be something special that she can do." Rarity replied. "I can only imagine that it will be something glorious. Arceus is an amazing Pokemon after all, so it stands to reason that his blessings would be amazing as well."
"You got that right. I just wish Mew could use everything that every Pokemon can do. Mostly the super important ones. We'd have him turn into Jirachi and fix everything by now!" Pinkie Pie laid on her back, tossing a marshmallow into her mouth afterwards. "By the way...which Jirachi are we gonna find?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"We could find the Jirachi that Ash is good friends with. How lucky would that be?"
"I doubt we'd be that lucky. Although..." Rarity thought about it for a moment. "Ash has proven to be a good luck magnet from start to well...now."
"Right where I want you!" Suddenly, raising her voice was Rainbow Dash as she had decided to fully approach the Yanmega, startling her friends. "Go, Mienfoo!" She had sent out Mienfoo to deal with Yanmega.
"Mienfoo!"
"Yanmega!"
Her friends stopped what they were doing to watch their friend partake in a Pokemon Battle. Holon's Mew, who was halfway through her cupcake, hid behind Pinkie's Mew once Yanmega had been revealed.
"This'll be a good way to get myself back up to speed with some battling. The final gym's my goal and that Equestria. No hard feelings, Yanmega."
"Yan!"
"Okay, Mienfoo! Force Palm!"
"Mien...Foo!" Mienfoo stomped her foot on the ground before approaching the Ogre Darner Pokemon with a glowing paw. As always her great speed had been used, allowing her to become a blur.
"Mega!" In response, Yanmega had used Air Slash, sending massive blades of wind that tore through even the skies. Mienfoo swayed and swerved past them while still holding Force Palm. She then jumped into the air, throwing her paw at full force. "Yan?!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo landed Force Palm, dealing super-effective damage thanks to Delta Yanmega's secondary typing. Yanmega had been launched far whole also hurling through the air.
"Now, follow up with Acrobatics!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo continued her attack, leaping off the ground with an acrobatic jump. She then leapt from bush to bush, approaching the Ogre Darner Pokemon while forming speed lines from her movements.
"Yanmega!" Yanmega had recovered just now. And upon recovering, it had used a move to throw Mienfoo off guard. Flash. Its eyes radiated an enigmatic light before unleashing a bright light that eclipsed a majority of the area. Mienfoo had her eyes met with Flash, causing her temporary blindness.
"M-Mien...!" Mienfoo's Acrobatics were ruined from this as she lost her balance. This gave Yanmega the chance to attack without failing. Air Slash was still the way to go for it.
"Yanmen!" Those same tearing wind blades were shot out at a blinded Mienfoo, who had no idea the blades were coming her way as her paws were over her eyes.
"Mienfoo! Look out!" Rainbow Dash shouted, trying to get her partner to evade. Unfortunately, it was too late. Air Slash struck her. However, while the attacks landed and caused light blue explosions, the unexpected happened. Once the smoke cleared, Mienfoo could still be seen on the same spot. She had just been slightly pushed.
In fact, she barely looked phased by what had happened. Mienfoo's blindness ended as she noticed how barely harmed she was. Naturally, she was confused. "Mien?"
"Hm. Did that Air Slash seem fairly...lacklustre when struck?" Rarity commented.
"Yeah. Usually, Mienfoo would go flying!" Pinkie Pie raised her hoof to project Mienfoo being thrown by Air Slash. "But she's unphased by it!"
"Weird...Uh...Go and use Reversal then!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo continued attacking, either way, lighting her paw up with an orange light. She would then take the damage she took from Air Slash and convert it into power. Yanmega had used Air Slash once more as that was the best move to use in this instance more than anything.
Mienfoo started hitting the slashes away with Reversal, blocking them from making any contact with her. However, some of them managed to get through, hitting the Martial Arts Pokemon. But just like before, Mienfoo barely looked phased. She kept running once one of them hit her, not even slowing down for a second. Mienfoo was stunned to see that she didn't take super-effective damage.
But it made her feel invincible and further motivated. "Mienfoo!"
"Mienfoo powered through that! Amazing! But how come?!" Rainbow Dash, while happy that Mienfoo resisted Air Slash, was wondering why this was happening at all. She thought of nothing better but the Pokedex. "Pokedex, what's up?" She asked the Pokedex, hoping for some answers about Mienfoo that she had never known before.
"Foo!" Mienfoo meanwhile, knocking Yanmega so hard it turned upside, falling on its back. Yanmega, seeing that its attacks were failing, chose to rely on one other option. A strategic retreat as it quickly fluttered away, not wanting to receive any more damage.
"Yan! Yanmega!"
"Mien..."
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash saw that the Pokedex was loading all of a sudden. It was configuring something crucial as Rainbow Dash kept her eye on the dex. Soon, the loading finished as something shocking had come to fruition.
"Mienfoo...Electric-Type?!" Rainbow Dash pulled back, shouting at the top of her lungs. "Since when?!"
"I'm sorry! What?!" Rarity exclaimed as she and Pinkie Pie came over. Their eyes didn't deceive them. Indeed, the Pokedex labelled Mienfoo as an Electric-Type. "Mienfoo is an Electric-Type? Oh, what a change."
"Mhm." nodded Pinkie Pie.
"So that's why Air Slash barely did a thing..." It all made sense to the pegasus finally."But, hold on. Why's this happening?"
"Hm...It could be..." Rarity put her hoof on her lip, drawing one conclusion. "Perhaps it's something in the Holon Region that's doing this."
"You think so?" Rainbow and Pinkie both said.
"What else could it be?" Rarity shrugged."Mienfoo was never an Electric-Type to begin with. "I'm no scientist or a Pokemon Professor, but I can catch on, can't I?"
"Hm. I'll just ask Twilight then. She'll know!" An easy conclusion to confirm things. Rainbow Dash whipped out her Xtransceiver, immediately shooting for Twilight's Trainer Number.
Mienfoo in the meantime, kept checking herself out, poking at her arms, wondering if she would get an electric shock all of a sudden. But that wasn't happening at all. "Mien..."
"Hey, Rainbow Dash. How's your side of the journey going?" Twilight asked after answering the Xtransceiver.
"Good and all that stuff. But hey um...Are your Pokemon feeling kinda different today?" Rainbow Dash questioned, hoping to find out that Twilight and the others were experiencing the same thing.
"Um...No. But Applejack caught herself a Delta Riolu from the Holon Pyramid." Twilight replied as Delta Riolu's head had popped into view He chose to stay out of his Poke Ball, much like Pikachu.
"Rio!"
"Oh, sweet! But, I've got something else to ask. Mienfoo's different from before. She's not a Fighting-Type anymore."
"What do you mean she's not a Fighting-Type?" asked Twilight. Now her interest was truly caught.
"Uh...She's an Electric-Type now. I don't know what happened but Rarity says it might have something to d with the region. Maybe you've got the answer?"
"Electric-Type Mienfoo?" The Princess of Friendship pondered. She took Rarity's theory, looking into it for a moment. Mienfoo becoming an Electric-Type wouldn't be too farfetched in this region. "Oh! We need to see Professor Pine about this!"
"What about your Pokemon then?" Pinkie Pie slid in. "Oh! What about mine?!"
"Sounds like we've got something fun to look forward to," Ash spoke. "But this is gonna make things confusing if our Pokemon are gonna have their types changed..."
"Pikachu..."
"Where are Spike and Goh? Do they know about this?" Twilight thought about the rest of her friends. This revelation and the possibility of their Pokemon suddenly changing types need to be passed on. But right on time, another Xtransceiver Trainer Number joined the call.
A second box came into view as it was from Spike's Xtransceiver. Perfect timing. Spike entered to check up with his friends instead of the topic of type alteration. "Hey. What's going on everyone?" Spike asked.
"Spike. Does something feel different about your Axew?" Twilight shifted her eyes to his box.
"Nope. Did something happen?"
"So it's all new to us. Then in that case...How about we all point our Pokedexes at our Pokemon to see if anything's different?" Twilight suggested as this would e a quick and easy way to check if it wasn't just Mienfoo. Spike wasn't sure what this was all about but he went with it anyway.
Everyone looked at the Pokemon they already had out or had just sent out. Once they stood in front of their partners, the Pokedexes were up and ready. Their Pokedexes all started loading, configuring. This was essentially visible confirmation that something was different. And indeed, once the Pokedexes finished loading, new typings had been revealed for their partners.
Pikachu was now Pure Steel-Type. Espeon had kept in line with all the other Espeon in Holon, being a Psychic-Steel-Type now. Applejack's Sceptile gained the honour of being a Psychic-Type now. Rarity did a double whammy with her Leavanny and Pheromosa. Leavanny gained the Fighting-Type while Pheromosa was now Grass. Essentially, they had both swapped types.
The surprises kept coming with Audino now being a Poison-Type while Hatterene was revealed to be a Normal-Type only now. Finally, Goh's Cinderace showed itself as a Fighting-Type, however, the only one unchanged was Axew. His typing as an Equestrian Variant kept him as a Dragon-Psychic-Type.
"It's all different?!" Ash gasped. "Awesome!"
"Not awesome!" Twilight thought otherwise. "This might complicate things in the future!" Twilight could see that this alteration of Pokemon Types created unexpected complications. Especially for those who were battle-heavy, despite the fact that Ash was intrigued by this. "That might mean relearning so much..."
"Relearning matchups? Ah...!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "I don't know if I wanna do all of that."
"Hey, Spike. How come your Axew hasn't changed?" Goh asked. "Still the same type."
"Must be all that Rift Magic."
"How about we calm down in this?" Heike raised his finger. "Just like what you said, Twilight. Professor Pine might know something. So she might know what to do with this. Just saying."
"I'm sorry who are you?" Rarity questioned, seeing and hearing Heike for the first time.
"Oh, right, right." Twilight calmed down. "Uh...I'll just...head back to the Holon Research Tower. No need to worry, as we say."
"Sure thing. But ya know...we could take this time to test things out. Even if it's permanent or not, I wanna try battling with my Pokemon and their new types here." Ash had something else in mind, looking at the fun side of things.
"That's the first thing on your mind..." Twilight squinted, slightly, but was not fully surprised by Ash's next decision in this instance.
"Nothing else on my mind. But hey, if it gets bad, we've always got Rift Magic to count on, don't we?" Ash brought up another positive solution. Rift Magic was a possible answer and with how Cold Colt's potential was rising and the cauldron of Rift Magic existing, it was safe to say that their Pokemon might not be stuck like this forever.
"Right. But just in case..." Twilight then left the scene, teleporting away from her current location to quickly meet with Professor Pine. In the meantime, Ash and the others would meet with Rainbow Dash's group in the Holon Marsh, just to test out their Pokemon and their altered typings.
Holon Research Tower. Afternoon.
"Professor Pine!" Appearing out of thin air via teleportation and screaming was Twilight Sparkle. Her appearance and voice had started Professor Pine, causing her to spill her drink.
"Gah!" Pine fell over from her seat as Twilight put her hoof on her mouth, realizing the mistake she made.
"S-Sorry." She squeed innocently.
"Oh, Twilight..." Pine stood up, removing her coat to clean off the drink stain. "It's fine. What happened? It sounds important."
"It kind of is. Well, depending on how you look at it. Um...So you see...Me and my friends' Pokemon kinda changed types. Out of nowhere and with no warning too. Eve here has the same typing as all the Espen in Holon." She held the Sun Pokemon up to Professor Pine. "Is it bad? Is it permanent? W-What does this mean?" She threw rapid-fire questions, worried about this.
"Changed types?" Pinkie scratched her hair before snapping her fingers. "Ah! I get what you mean! Don't worry, Twilight Sparkle. It's not permanent."
"It's not? Oh, thank Celestia..." Twilight felt at peace with this revelation as she sat down. Espeon also felt some sort of relief even though it didn't have a massive impact on her or any of the Pokemon.
"But it wouldn't be the first time this concern has come up. Holon's still new to all the people that have come here and left. Especially to those who live here. Pokemon changing their types isn't uncommon, but changing them after being in this region for not that long throws them off guard."
"Then, why does it happen? And how is it permanent with some Pokemon instead of me and my friends' Pokemon?"
"Well, Pokemon that are born in the Holon Region are exposed to the magnetic storms and the energy that flows through the atmosphere and air much longer. Their typings last longer and we believe they might be permanent. But that's still being looked into since the region is young. And we aren't getting any younger are we?"
"So if that's the case...then Timia's Pokemon were born here?"
"Only a few of them. Some of her Pokemon come from other regions. Timia has to sometimes visit the Holon Region just to change up their types again. I'd suspect she'll be back in two days. But for you and your friends, you're new to this region so this chance won't last. It'll only go away once you end up leaving Holon."
"Okay. Had me worried there. So, is that why you have these machines? I mean, you're also planning a Pokemon League here in Holon one day with Heike being the first Gym Leader and everything..."
"Spot-on, my little pony!" Pine winked. "If we can master those magnetic storms, everything will be smooth sailing. Speaking of which...you have some unfinished business left with these machines. Plus, do you have anything to share?"
"Oh, do I?!" Twilight then shifted emotions, becoming excited. "I have a lot to tell you, Professor Pine!" She then rushed over to the machine while preparing to lay out all that she's gotten from her small venture through some of the biomes in the Holon Region.
Holon Marsh.
Meanwhile, at the Holon Marsh, the groups had met with each other at the same spot. The Mew of Holon chose to hide from the others as she still wasn't used to exposing herself in front of many. She hid behind some bushes with Pinkie Pie's Mew floating over to be there for her.
Upon arriving there, most gave their greetings to Heike. But aside from that, testing out their Pokemon with these alternate typings was the biggest attractor here. The ones willing to test it out the most were Ash, Rainbow Dash, Spike and Goh respectively.
"Let's have a Double Battle!" And a Double Battle would be the best way to do it as Ash decided. It would be Ash and Rainbow Dash teaming up against Spike and Goh. Acting as a referee for this battle would be Rarity.
"You know, when we reach Settlement Oscar, I'm gonna take a break there for a few days," said Heike. "Sorry I couldn't journey with you guys any longer."
"Ah, don't sweat it, partner. We were planning to head home soon ourselves." Applejack replied. "But, there's always next time. You know where Ponyville is, don't ya?"
"Don't I? That and Canterlot are popular places to us humans. I still need Gym Leader pointers if I'm gonna be one. Even if I'm the first one. Isn't that right, Treecko?"
"Treecko."
"You're welcome at Ponyville any time. Especially at Sweet Apple Acres. How's about stopping by next week?" The farm pony suggested.
"Works for me. You'll see me, Treecko and my massive backpack over the horizon in no time. How can you miss this?" He showed off the backpack and its comically large size. Applejack swore that it was getting bigger the more she looked at it.
"Let's make it a fun one, darlings. Any number is fine. Now...send out your Pokemon!" Rarity ordered.
"I wanna see what's up with Gengar now!" Ash chose to send out his Gengar.
"Then I'll go with Luxray!" And Rainbow Dash went with Luxray.
"Gengar!"
"Luxray!"
Immediately after their emergence, the Pokedexes were used. Gengar had indeed been affected by the magnetic storms despite being inside his Poke Ball this entire time. Those waves could certainly dig deep. Gengar was now a Fire-Type as Luxray was shown to be a Normal-Type now.
"Go, Scizor!" Goh chose to send out his Scizor!"
"It's Salamence for me!" And Spike sent out Salamence, who he had already seen gain an alternate type, but went with him either way.
"Scizor!"
"Salamence!"
The Pokedexes scanned them promptly. Salamence still had that Water-Type on him now. But Scizor was now a Dark-Type. It still had the vulnerability of Fighting while Salamence's usual resistances to the four elements had been robbed. Electric and Grass were now his worst enemy. But Gengar could no longer exploit Salamence's weakness to Ice with Ice Punch and his Psychic certainly wouldn't touch Scizor.
"This'll make things interesting." Ash was most excited at how the battle will play out with altered typings. With resistances gone and new weaknesses formed, it could go either way. And knowing what moves will and won't work just made him all the more thrilled.
"Battle Start!"
"We'll go first! Gengar, Night Shade!"
"Gengar!" Gengar's eyes flashed as he didn't have many options against Scizor right now. A red and black ray came zooming out at the now confirmed Dark-Type Scizor.
"Luxray, Discharge!"
"Lux...Ray!" Luxray meanwhile, unleashed a flare of electricity from his body by roaring, causing it to fly everywhere.
"Salamence! Flamethrower!"
"Scizor, Air Slash!"
"Sala...Mence!" Salamence threw his head back before building up flames within him. He then exhaled a ferocious flame while Scizor assisted him by throwing white blades that tore through the air.
Gengar's black and red rays met with Scizor's blades as they seemed like they would cancel each other out. However, thanks to Luxray's Discharge, it helped Night Shade break through. Only for Flamethrower to help block out the rest. They proved equal.
"Let's get close! Ice Punch!"
"Wild Charge!"
"Gengar!" Gengar and Lucario decided to get up close and personal with their opponents. A fist of ice and an aura of electricity.
"Slash, Scizor!"
"Salamence, Dragon Tail!"
"Scizor!" Their opponents would do the same. Scizor and Salamence would meet them in close-quarters combat. Scizor's pincers lit up as it had clashed them with Gengar's hands. "Zor!"
"Sala!" Salamence roared, turning around and using his tail as a weapon with draconic energy surrounding it. He then clashed it with Luxray, who rammed right into it. Salamence then flailed his tail while Luxray kept running in.
"Rio! Rio!" Delta Riolu was enjoying himself, seeing this battle occur. It got him excited as he pulled on Applejack's mane, causing her to twitch.
"O-Ow! Okay, sugarcube! You're excited, I get it! But that's my mane you're pulling!" Applejack cried out
"Mew..." Holon's Mew, who was peeking through the bushes while Pinkie's Mew hovered next to her, nervously peeked at this battle, feeling slightly started with the loud noises going through.
And as this battle was getting started, that was when the skies were starting to gain a familiar yet enigmatic appearance. Mainly from Holon's magnetic storms. They rumbled through the skies, alerting some of the group to look up. The sound they made were similar to thunder, but not quite as loud.
And as Ash, Rainbow Dash, Goh and Spike were about to amp things up, bolts of magnetic lightning shot out from the cloudy sky. While Luxray was about to crash into Salamence's tail once more and Gengar would clash his Ice Punch with Scizor again, the four Pokemon had been hit by these bolts.
"Ah!" Ash and the other three gasped upon seeing their Pokemon struck. Thankfully, they had the prior knowledge of magnetic storms in this region being harmless, but it still caught them off guard. And once the bolts faded after their collision, something new had occurred.
Luxray's Wild Charge managed to power through Salamence's Dragon Tail, however, when he ended up hitting the Dragon Pokemon, nothing happened. Salamence was unphased. He wasn't even pushed back by the impact. But Luxray still received the recoil damage.
"L-Lux...?!" Luxray groaned.
"Wait! It didn't do a thing?!" A stunned Rainbow Dash yelled. Gengar and Scizor backed up as Salamence looked at himself, feeling slightly different from before. The electric from Wild Charge didn't tickle him which even made Spike wonder.
"Weird..." Spike uttered before taking out the Pokedex to make sure that Salamence's new typing was correct. And upon doing so, he found out that it had been changed once more. "Wait! He's Ground now?!"
"Ground?!" Goh turned to the Pokedex. "Oh, those storms changed his type when they hit...Then they changed Scizor and everyone else's types too."
Indeed, the types were now randomized once more. If anything, this made Ash even more excited than before. Rainbow Dash was starting to feel it. Heike had his Pokedex out to read out the typings. "Looks like Gengar's now a Rock-Type. Scizor's gone Fairy and Luxray's all Fire."
"That's gonna make things more unpredictable if they keep coming! Gengar, Shadow Ball!"
"If it makes things this fun then sure! We can use Ice on Salamence for real this time! Luxray, Ice Fang!"
"I don't think so! Salamence, Hyper Beam!"
"Just my luck for Gengar to become Rock." Goh knew that some of Scizor's moves would do much against a Rock-Type due to the resistances. Except, there was one. "But there's this! Metal Claw!"
"Salamence!" Salamence huffed and puffed, releasing a massive blast of hyper energy from his mouth whilst Scizor flew beside it. The clouds still rumbled with those magnetic storms as Gengar throw two blobs of shadows at Scizor. Luxray tried evading Hyper Beam, only to be blown back by the explosion it made once it hit the ground.
Scizor knocked away one of the blobs, only for the second one to connect, pushing it away. Salamence needed to recharge after Hyper Beam but he landed a good hit in on Luxray. During the recharge, those storms came once more.
They rumbled, attracting themselves to nearby Pokemon. Mainly the four that were battling. They had been hit by the bolts once more, having their typings altered. Heike made sure to keep his Pokedex out for this.
With their typing changed once again, this battle was still possible to go either way. They believed it was just the cause of Holon's weather acting up. But it was beyond that.
Over at the Holon Research Tower, Twilight Sparkle was the one behind it. After being allowed to continue with the machine, experimenting on it, she managed to gain control of the magnetic storms despite them being erratic. She was unaware of the shifts in typings she was making for her friends. Twilight was just having too good of a time to stop while Professor Pine received notes of what Twilight had gathered so far.
"Psychic!"
"Gen...Gar!" Gengar put his hand out, holding it out at Scizor. Scizor was now a Fighting-Type, which was a bad typing to be at the moment. Gengar had lifted Scizor into the air before unleashing an invisible blast of Psychic energy.
"S-Scizor!" Scizor cried out before tumbling on the ground. That powerful Psychic, coupled with the damage from Shadow Ball earlier was enough to seal the deal. Scizor had fainted.
"Scizor is unable to battle! Gengar wins!"
"Salamence, Zen Headbutt!"
"Sala...Mence!" It wasn't any better for Luxray. He had become a Poison-Type from the storms, causing Zen Headbutt to deal some heavy damage. Salamence's head had smashed onto Luxray, rocketing him like a slingshot. Much like Scizor, Luxray fell down, fainting from the impact. The recoils from Wild Charge didn't help along with the explosion of Hyper Beam.
"Luxray is unable to battle! Salamence wins!"
"This is getting exciting..." Rainbow Dash giggled, loving how unpredictable it was. Win or lose, the unpredictably helped with it greatly.
"Sucks I'm cold-blooded. Cause I'd love to feel hot-blooded right now from all of this." Spike chuckled. Thanks to Twilight's actions, the storms had hit the Pokemon once more.
"So they're drawn to the nearest Pokemon, are they?" Starlight noticed how they mainly went for the closest Pokemon. And considering everyone was sitting back, they were exempt.
"Can't wait to see what's next. Return, for now, Gengar!" Ash recalled Gengar, wanting to try someone else. "Pikachu! Get that Steel-Typing in before it changes!" Ash went for his tried and true partner, Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder, raring to go.
"You're up, Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash also went for her first-ever Pokemon.
"Whirlipede!"
Heike's Pokedex revealed Whirlipede to be a Dragon-Type now of all things. The magnetic storms might as well be just as unpredictable as Rift Energy. Those storms were brewing once more as Goh had went with Cinderace. "Go, Cinderace!"
"Cinderace!"
"Quick Attack!"
"Whirlipede, Steamroller!"
"Salamence, Flamethrower!"
"Cinderace, Pyro Ball!"
"Pika! Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu leapt off the ground, moving at lightning speeds and approaching Salamence this time as Ash switched targets. Cinderace and Salamence both prepared their own respective flames whilst Whirlipede rolled alongside Pikachu.
The magnetic storms boomed once more, this time, hitting the Pokemon while in the middle of pulling their attacks off. And with their typings changed, in came a reversal. Pikachu had become a Bug-Type whilst zigzagging to the side to avoid Flamethrower. Salamence had been altered to become a Ghost-Type respectively.
While Flamethrower missed, Pikachu phased right through Salamence thanks to this immunity. "Pika?!" He gasped before turning around. Whirlipede lost his Dragon-Typing, but still managed to power through Pyro Balls thanks to gaining the Ground-Typing. He crashed right into Cinderace who had just become a Poison-Type.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuu...!" Pikachu unleashed all those volts in his body right after he phased through his target. Salamence received a smite from Thunderbolt, taking 100,000 volts.
Salamence fell over, but was still up and kicking. This battle was only getting heated up with these unpredictable types coming through. And they were loving it. Even when the Pokemon were taking damage, something about not knowing what could come next just made them eager to continue.
"Awesome, Pikachu! Let's keep going, everyone!"
Ash, Rainbow Dash, Spike and Goh laughed, continuing to give commands to their partners, battling the way through. And with how they had the intention of using all of their Pokemon, it was safe to say that this battle would be long.
Holon's Mew smiled, finding some enjoyment out of this. And yet, she still stayed in secrecy. Holon's Mew even wondered what would be next when they would leave soon.
"Let us get a go in, ya hear?!" Applejack felt encouraged to do the same with her Pokemon. So did Rarity. It all had them interested. This battle of changing types would be a long one. And they were all for it.
Settlement Oscar. Late Afternoon.
Twilight finished her messing around at the tower with all of those storms. The battle between Ash and his friends had no proper conclusion. It practically went on forever before they decided to call it off. They finally reached Settlement Oscar as it was not too far from the Marsh at all.
"Oh...Is that so?" Twilight scratched her mane, finding out what her actions had done. Well, glad I made you all enjoy something thrilling. That machine was a blast. You have no idea how powerful I felt doing that?"
"Mmm. I wanna try that Type-Changing battle again when we come back here. This time, we should bring more of our friends and see how it goes. Sounds like a great past-time, doesn't it?" Ash said.
"Sure does!" Pinkie Pie chuckled. "I got to see all my Slurpuff change so much! Kinda lost track of time with all of that."
"You're one interesting crowd. Shame this is where we're gonna depart for now," said Heike as Settlement Oscar was his temporary stopping place for a few days. "But I can't wait for you to head back. And for me to come over to your world."
"You're welcome any time." Applejack nudged him. "You and Treecko."
"Sceptile!"
"Wish I had one of those Xtransceiver things. One of the stuff my backpack doesn't have...Gotta get me one of those. Anyway, see ya around next week. When we show up, I'll be better than ever." Heike walked off, waving whilst facing back.
"Can't wait!" Applejack waved farewell along with everyone that he's gotten close to so far. But even the others who he had just met bid their farewells either way. "See ya!"
"Scep!"
"Nice visit here. But...I'm ready to head back." Pinkie stretched her hooves before facing her Mew. She then navigated her eyes searching for Holon's Mew. The Mew of Holon kept herself in secrecy, not coming close to Settlement Oscar and instead of staying within the trees. "Mew."
"M-Mew..." She mumbled, gripping the leaves.
"You don't wanna leave this place, do you? You've got a nice home underground too." said the Party Pony. Holon's Mew nodded in confirmation of that. But she still wanted to see more of the world. "No need to worry. Just stay with us for a bit and we'll bring you back here once you're comfortable enough."
"Mew...?"
"Seriously!" Pinkie Pie winked. "You've got a fellow Mew and all of us to help you with that."
"Wait a sec...another one?! W-Where?!" Goh quickly shot his eyes to the tree that Mew was hiding in. He couldn't see her as she cloaked herself by turning into a Kecleon. Pinkie's Mew flew up to her to make her feel safe. Holon's Mew did feel safety around her fellow New Species Pokemon.
She would give it a shot. It would be a big step away from an entire region. First her underground cove home and now the Holon Region. Truly a massive leap as Pinkie's Mew helped her out. Their trip to the Holon Region ended for now.
Professor Pine and the scientists over at the tower received some gathered info from Twilight. And they would certainly gain more upon their next visit. This region was young as there was still more to explore. And the newer the better. For now, it was time to head home as the journey continues.
A young and beautiful day had come here in the Human World once the sun had risen. And its golden rays shot gracefully onto Twilight's home.
"Feeding time! Come on you two!" Currently, Twilight was ready to feed her friends. Her pet dog Spike and her partner Pokemon Hisuian Zorua.
The two of them immediately rushed over to Twilight once she held out their respective bowls with their favourite foods inside of them. Twilight placed the bowls down as they excitedly wagged their tails in front of their food. Mainly Spike, Zorua only did a few.
"Oh boy!" Spike exclaimed, immediately chowing down on the bowl of dog food without hesitation. Zorua showed the opposite, choosing to be gentle and slow with her consumption.
"You too, Rapidash." And of course, Twilight's second Pokemon couldn't be ignored. Her Alpha Rapidash. Although, Rapidash was still on less-than-stellar terms with Twilight, choosing not to engage with her that much if not at all. Twilight brought out a bigger bowl with bigger food just for her.
She scrunched her face upon showing up at the back of her home where Rapidash lay. For a Rapidash, this Rapidash was slightly lazy. At least, according to Twilight. Twilight felt nervous approaching Rapidash. Not that she was afraid of her, but because their interactions have been so lacklustre with not much love being put behind it.
"Uh...I made sure to know what your favourite food was." Twilight stood in front of the Fire Horse Pokemon, holding the bowl. "Professor Oak helped with that. So go on. Eat up."
"..." Rapidash gazed at the food and then up at Twilight. Twilight gave a sweet grin to the Fire Horse Pokemon, hoping that she would accept it and Twilight's kindness.
"Please?" Twilight pleaded with a weak tone in her voice.
Instead of accepting Twilight's plea and the charity she showed the Fire Horse Pokemon, she simply yawned, turning her head. "Rapidash..."
"Come on..." A disappointed and upset Twilight uttered. "What's it gonna take to bond with you?" The relationship between these two was slow but it barely felt as if they were getting anywhere. Unable to connect with Alpha Rapidash today, Twilight just placed the bowl down, walking back inside.
Once she left, Rapidash opened one eye before then looking at the bowl of food placed down. Rapidash then started eating from the bowl, but not within Twilight's view.
"That's another failure..." Twilight sighed, sitting on the couch whilst her Pokemon snacked away. "I don't get what I'm doing wrong..."
"Ah, I'm sure she'll come around soon," said Spike with his mouth full. "She seems to like Zorua and me too."
"Maybe it's because I'm a human then...Wish there was an easier way. Ash will know what to do maybe..." Twilight pondered before having herself shift to a neutral mood. "I shouldn't worry about it right now. I've got something else to do. Catching the rest of the Alpha Pokemon before Hunter J. I just hope I'm not too late and she hasn't gotten too many."
"Where are we going this time? Please be somewhere nice." Zorua pleaded.
"Professor Oak sent me some new information about possible Alpha Pokemon sightings. This time, there's an Alpha Snorlax out there." She held out her phone. The second Alpha Pokemon she would try to catch was a Pokemon that she was familiar with since Ash had one. Snorlax.
She thought back to the conversation between her and Professor Oak concerning the Sleeping Pokemon. Approximately yesterday.
"Reports of an unnaturally large Snorlax have been found. It'll be a familiar place to you and close-by. The Unova Region, as always. Sounds to me like you've got your first Alpha assignment."
"And it's a Pokemon I know! Is Ash going to help?"
"Ash is still in the Holon Region since yesterday. Unlikely he'll be back today but perhaps tomorrow. Or not. Either way, your friends over in your world agreed to help, didn't they? That's good enough. But don't underestimate Snorlax. Same species or not, Alpha Pokemon have different dispositions, so be careful."
"He's right. Even if it's a Snorlax, Alpha Pokemon were known for being highly aggressive in the past, weren't they? We'll have to approach this with caution. But I've got a powerful Alpha Pokemon of my own to help me through that." Twilight smiled with confidence, believing she could do this.
If Rapidash would listen to her. Coming along with her would be some of her friends. Speaking of which, with a knock on the door, Twilight opened it to find that Sunset Shimmer and PInkie Pie had shown up.
"Great. You're here. But um...where's everyone else?" Twilight searched for the rest of her friends. It was just these two.
"They're busy." Sunset shrugged as that was the best answer she could give. "But we aren't. So it's Unova, right?"
"Heard great things from that place. I can't wait!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, thrilled to visit another world. "And I get to go to a world where there are a lot more Pokemon. So that's a bonus!"
"Right. I'm kind of familiar with it. Glad it's not any other region or else I'd be lost..." She laughed nervously. "There's this Snorlax over at a place called Lostlorn Forest. That's the Alpha we can try catching."
"If you get lost, have no fear. You're looking at an experienced Pokemon Trainer right here and a Gym Leader too. Plus, you've got Alpha Rapidash to help out, don't you?"
"Yeah but...She's still not listening to me." Twilight sighed. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong...I thought she sorta liked me back at Mt Molteau with everything that happened."
"Pokemon are hard to understand, but you'll get there eventually. If I know anything, it's that you're definitely as skilled as my world's Twilight." Sunset Shimmer showed her faith in Twilight, comparing her to Equestria's Twilight.
"Gee thanks..." Twilight admired that compliment, even if progress Rapidash was painfully slow. Once that was all out of the way, they were ready to depart for Unova. Twilight returned Alpha Rapidash as having a Pokemon this powerful would be helpful, despite listening issues. Spike and Zorua hopped into Twilight's bag, making themselves comfortable as always.
And now they were off.
Unova Region. Lostlorn Forest. Afternoon.
Lostlorn Forest. A bewildering forest that was always known as a place where people got lost for no reason. The closest location to this forest was Nimbasa City. The third-largest city in the Pokemon World.
And upon reaching here, instead of finding a beautiful sight with frolicking Pokemon, the three of them discovered an unpleasant and almost haunting one.
"W-What happened here?!" Twilight gasped at this shocking sight. For starters, the trees in this forest had been ravaged. Juices from berries that once hung from the trees had been spilt as the acre of trees had also been broken or torn apart, making this charming forest seem crooked. And the worst of it were the Pokemon.
A group of Swadloon, Petilil and Tranquill all looked the same. Not in their appearances, but the way they felt. A Female Tranquill stood on one of the broken trees, trying to build a nest there. However, she rocked her head back and forth while also having lowered eyes, feeling off.
Tranquill's stomach also started growling as she was unable to build her nest properly. "Tranquill..." She looked at her stomach, clearly hungry. Or rather heavily starving. The same went for Swadloon and Petilil. Petilil laid their backs on the ground, desiring food at this very instance.
"This is worse than we thought! Did Snorlax do this?!" Sunset Shimmer went over to one of the Petilil that was starving. Without any usual berries in the trees, these Pokemon could not get their daily fill of food.
Neither could any of them build homes as seen by Tranquill's failure to find a place to build her nest. Sunset Shimmer stopped by one of the Petilil, holding the Grass-Type up. "Petilil..."
"Are they sick?" Twilight wondered.
"They're not sick!" Pinkie gasped, recognizing their current emotions and what they truly wanted. "They're starving! Move aside!" Seeing that they were hungry, Pinkie Pie's natural instincts kicked in as she rushed over to the hungry Pokemon.
Pinkie Pie couldn't stand to see Pokemon that were starving at all. What started as a seemingly exciting trip to Unova Region's Lostlorn Forest, turned into a scenario where there starving Pokemon. Luckily, Pinkie Pie's backpack had food on the ready. As to be expected.
She kneeled in front of the Pokemon pulling out some ready-made pastries that were placed inside boxes. The Pokemon groaned as they noticed Pinkie dropping the box. "Swad...?"
"Here. Eat up." Not wasting any time, Pinkie Pie held up a cupcake, placing it near one of the Swadloon.
"Swadloon..." One of the Swadloon opened its mouth, taking a single bite from the frosted treat. One bite and Swadloon's dreary appearance had soon wilted away. A smile met with its face as that cupcake certainly hit the spot. And it also started filling it up... "Swad."
Pinkie then shared the rest of the cupcakes with the other Swadloon and the Petilil, of course. She made sure not to forget about Tranquill either. "Plenty left to go for all of you."
"T-Tranquill." Tranquill fluttered over with a weak wingbeat, landing in front of the cupcakes. She quickly grabbed one of them with her beak whilst the Petilil, who could barely get up, were given the cupcakes physically by Pinkie's own hands.
Once everyone got their fill, their faces of distraught and starvation were being taken away. Pinkie Pie wasted no time explaining the problems or even looking over the surrounding area. She simply saw Pokemon that were hungry and delivered.
And she delivered with grace. The Pokemon could feel themselves being re-energized. The first Swadloon that had been fed felt wonderful as it jumped with joy. "Swad! Swadloon!" For a Pokemon that is commonly seen having a frown on its face, making one smile is always a feat in its own right.
"Petil! Petilil!" Petilil recovered faster than most. Their hunger levels while low, could be replenished quicker than most. Perhaps it was the tiny body that they had. Either way, they were happy to have food in their stomachs as they jumped for joy.
"Tranquill." Tranquill was starting to feel it too. She was happy to eat something. This would help with her nest without any focus being lost.
"There! You're all feeling better now, aren't you?" Pinkie Pie chuckled, happy to see them all so satisfied.
"Well...that ended as fast as we saw it, huh?" Sunset Shimmer stood there, a bit dazed. "But all of this destruction that's been left behind. Do you think it was Snorlax?"
"Snorlax is already a pretty big Pokemon. And a strong one too. I can only imagine what an Alpha Snorlax would be capable of so all this destruction could be from it. But if that's the case then..." Twilight Sparkle paused her words before she and Sunset Shimmer looked at each other with the same conclusion. "There's more!"
More Pokemon that were starving to be exact. The destruction of trees couldn't just be seen around this area. It extended past it. Snorlax, while lazy, would need to eat food from various spots instead of staying at one.
They had taken a gander and a small venture past this part of the forest to find out that it was indeed true. There were more Pokemon starving. All had the same feeling and were stuck with zero food. Any food from the trees had been wiped away.
"More?!" Pinkie Pie gasped before looking in her bag. She had some food left that were her personal favourites, but with the revelation of there being more starving Pokemon, those resources could be drained away. "Aw...I don't know if there'll be enough for me to give out if this forest's super big."
"Well...I've got some of my food that's for Zorua in this bag." Twilight had Pokemon Food with her as to be expected since she owned Pokemon. "I could-"
"Mm-mm!" But rejecting it was Zorua. Her head popped out of the bag as she rapidly shook it, refusing to have Twilight use the food inside.
"Zorua?" She turned to her partner who kept shaking her head. "You don't want me to give it to them?"
"Mm-mm. That's my food!"
"Zorua. That's a bit selfish, don't you think? They're hungry." Twilight said, disappointed in Zorua's choice. Zorua hid her head back in the bag, still wanting her food for herself.
"I don't trust other Pokemon..."
"But you trust Pikachu and Rapidash, don't you?" She placed the bag down. "Why n-" Twilight then looked at Zorua in the eyes, understanding her reason for rejecting food to the rest of the Pokemon. It was all a matter of her past and how she became a Hisuian Zorua. "Oh. I get it now. Zorua, I understand why."
"So you won't take it?"
"I get what you mean but...I can't ignore the other Pokemon when they need help. My time at Professor Oak's lab has shown me that. And a lot of Ash's influence too."
"Aw...Okay..." A disappointed Zorua lowered her head. She understood Twilight's decision and Twilight understood her decision. But, overall, Twilight's decision came out victorious.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie had already gotten out some of the food that she had left in her bag, giving it to the starving Pokemon. Among the same Pokemon from before were hungry along with newer ones such as Venpiede and Cottonee. The Pokemon flocked to the food the moment they got a whiff of the scent that came from them.
Sunset Shimmer wanted to make sure she knew how bad the situation was. It was already bad enough but the destruction and its scale could be larger. To figure it out, she had sent her Fletchinder out into the fray. "Fletchinder. Can you take a view of the entire forest? I need to know how bad the destruction is."
"Fletchinder!" Fletchinder was on it, ascending to the skies to get a full view of the forest. While Sunset Shimmer can't speak Pokemon, all she'll need to do is listen to the severity in Fletchinder's cries to know the scope of things.
"I'd better tell Professor Oak." Twilight had something else in mind. She took out her newly obtained Rotomphone which went well with her normal phone. They both shared a nice pink colouring as she quickly contacted Professor Oak.
Pinkie did a quick run through her bag, seeing that few pastries were remaining. On the bright side, she managed to make a lot of Pokemon happy by giving them what they were lacking so much. This covered Pokemon also living in small bodies of water such as the Basuclin mainly.
"Yes, Twilight? Did you find that Alpha Snorlax?" Professor Oak's voice came through.
"Uh, no but...I think we might've found its progress. Look." She then showed Oak the massive trail of destruction that had demolished the trees and the absence of food. Some Pokemon still hadn't received food yet as Oak got a good look at the scene. "We think it might be Alpha Snorlax. I mean, it's a hungry Pokemon but..."
"Hmm. Destroyed trees with berry juice leaking everywhere. I see some starving Pokemon in the mix as well."
"That's Pinkie Pie's doing. It's a good thing she brings food with her a lot."
"Not enough!" Pinkie exclaimed, startling Twilight. "I should've brought more if I knew it was gonna be this serious!"
"What do you think, Professor Oak. Was it Snorlax or something else?" Twilight asked.
"You're on the right note, Twilight Sparkle. They do say that in the past, the Snorlax then were different from what they are now. Even excluding an Alpha."
"How different?" Sunset Shimmer leaned in.
"Many years ago, the Snorlax species was described as a glutton that appears in villages without warning and devours the entirety of their rice granaries. Such occurrences have long been counted among the gravest of disasters."
"Huh?!" It was graver than they thought. Hearing that and seeing this made them realize that this was a result of the old Snorlax ways. The three of them were almost left speechless but at least they had total confirmation about who could've done this.
"And since Alpha Pokemon are appearing in the present day, it's most likely that Snorlax is just undergoing the actions of the past. Quite terrifying. But not as dangerous since the food resources today is larger than ever." Oak explained further. "But for a forest, not so much."
"Fletchin! Fletchinder!" Fletchinder had returned after getting a good view of Lostlorn Forest. He immediately flapped his wings aggressively with his tone giving off a good indication of how bad things were.
"It's incredibly bad, right? The destruction?" Sunset Shimmer leaned forward.
"Fletch!"
"This is bad! Really bad!" Twilight held her hair. "We might've been too late! Who knows how far it's gotten by now?!"
"And I'm running low on food right here!" Pinkie Pie shook her bag in front of Twilight and the phone.
"Snorlax can't usually get too far unless something else grabs its attention." Out of everyone in this conversation, Professor Oak remained calm. "But if it did then..."
"Hm?" Zorua's head popped out of the bag. Her nose picked up on something. Something tasty. However, it wasn't the food that Pinkie Pie brought along or the food inside of Twilight's bag. Something else was in the air. "Something smells good..."
"Well, that's just my food that-" Pinkie was ready to bring it up herself. However, she soon picked up on the scent too. As if she had similar reactive instincts to a Pokemon. "Oooh, something does smell good..." Loving this new scent that had surfaced, Pinkie Pie moved her head in the direction it was coming. North, to be exact. "Ooh! Maybe that's something new for the Pokemon!"
Seeing some hope, or rather smelling it, Pinkie Pie rushed to the direction the scent was coming from. If there is some food that she hasn't seen yet, now would be a good time to grab it and give it to the Pokemon. "Oh! Wait up!" Sunset Shimmer followed soon after, returning her Pokemon.
Twilight adjusted the phone, making sure that Professor Oak would get a good view of everything else. And the further they went, the more destruction they had witnessed. It just seemed to get worse and worse as it went on. But amidst this destruction was something delicious nearby.
And they soon found the source of it. Stopping in their tracks, they found that this delicious scent didn't come from a tree that managed to keep some of the berries intact or anything related to that. Instead, it came from someone as there was a fancy car almost identical to a limousine nearby.
It was a member of the Kalos Elite 4. Siebold.
Much like what Pinkie Pie was doing, Siebold could be seen giving food to the starving Pokemon, tending to them. He soon noticed the arrival of the three of them, standing up.
"Hm? Who are you three?" He asked.
"Oh, sorry. We just came here because we smelled something good." Pinkie said. "Mostly me and Zorua. Are you feeding the Pokemon too?"
"I certainly am. Poor things." Siebold turned to a Petilil, patting it on the head as it was currently eating food that would be found in a luxurious restaurant. Which made sense since Siebold did own one. Head chef and everything.
"Petilil."
"Neat!" Pinkie Pie didn't hesitate to approach him, appearing next to the Kalos Elite 4 Member in a flash. "So was I! But uh...I'm kinda low." She showed the bag to Siebold and how low on food she was. "Bummer."
"You're a fast one..." Siebold was a bit taken aback by Pinkie Pie's approach. "But feeding the Pokemon as well, that's nice of you. And those two?"
"Oh! I've got food to go around already." Twilight uttered. "Some in my bag right about now."
"Hm? Hang on a minute." Just as the phone was still being faced to show the forest, Professor Oak took notice of Siebold. He recognized that face anywhere. "Ah. Siebold of the Kalos Elite 4. What a nice encounter."
"Elite 4?" said Twilight and Pinkie Pie in unison, unware of the Elite 4 of any region or even the concept of them.
"Elite 4?!" Sunset's words were far more elevated. She knew about the Elite after learning about the Pokemon League. And to her, the Elite 4 were Trainers of high prestige. "Oh! Um! Sorry, sir!" Believing that she had to show high levels of respect, Sunset Shimmer bowed her head, becoming formal in an instant. "We didn't know that you were-"
"You don't have to be formal." But Siebold promptly stopped her. "I'm out of natural region anyway for anyone to know me. Even though they do."
"R-Right...Right." Sunset Shimmer cleared her throat, acting normal. "What are you doing here then? I guess it's for the same reason as us? The Alpha Snorlax?"
"Alpha Snorlax? It's a Snorlax, but I didn't know that's what you called it. Then, you're right. I showed up to this forest to feed the Pokemon that were starving here. All because of Snorlax and its destruction that it's made so far."
"How bad is it? Because we've already seen what it's done here." Twilight questioned.
"This forest is child's play. It's been at it for days, attacking other locations for food. Mainly restaurants as they hold some favourites that any Pokemon would enjoy. I've been tracking Snorlax down, trying to stop its food rampage. So far, it's led me here."
"So it's not just the forest..." Sunset Shimmer's jaw dropped. It was worse than she thought along with her friends. Restaurants were being involved.
"Siebold owns a restaurant of his own. I assume that Snorlax has attacked yours as well and that's why you're after it?" Professor Oak asked, still on the call.
"Not yet. But it's only a matter of time before it finds mine and has a field day with it. I'm here for it after I learned about its actions. And seeing these Pokemon starve with all of their food resources and intakes being robbed from them wasn't something I couldn't ignore. My butler is back at my restaurant taking care of it while I handle things elsewhere around the world."
"Ditto! Hows' about we work together then!" Pinkie held her hand out.
"You three?" Siebold raised an eyebrow. "Did you know about this Snorlax's destructive capabilities before you started on this case?"
"Well...we know it's an Alpha. And Snorlax is already a big and powerful Pokemon so an Alpha Snorlax could be something else." Twilight replied. "All this destruction speaks for itself."
"I'd recommend letting them help." Professor Oak leaned on the side of them working together. "Twilight here is my trusted assistant who I tasked with finding Alpha Snorlax. She has a goal to catch all the Alpha Pokemon that have been showing up, you know."
"Hmm...If it's a task from a Pokemon Professor then sure." Siebold, reluctant to have them be involved with this scenario that could worsen to a global scale, decided to let them help. "Your names?"
"Twilight Sparkle." They introduced themselves one by one.
"Sunset Shimmer. At your service, sir." She introduced before taking away the formalities. "Sorry. Siebold."
"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie!" And Pinkie Pie showed more exuberance than the two of them when introducing herself.
"Unique names," Siebold smirked. "Well then, we share a common goal. But it's either catching or defeating that Alpha Snorlax. Either one can work out for everyone. Tracking down here revealed that Lostlorn was its most recent location. But there's not a sign of it here anywhere else."
"Then where is it now?" Twilight asked.
"The closest location to Lostlorn Forest is Nimbasa City. Fitting since it's such a populous location with some luxurious food. Snorlax wouldn't waste time heading there."
"Ooh. Nimbasa also has a nice food resort, doesn't it? All the more reason for Snorlax to grab a bite, wouldn't you say?" Oak chuckled.
"Aren't you the least bit worried..." Twilight was shocked at how relaxed Professor Oak was especially after bringing up the severity of the old Snorlax actions.
"Hop in." Siebold then opened his limousine, allowing the three of them to enter it freely. "The Nimbasa Food Resort will be Snorlax's next mark if we don't hurry."
The trio didn't waste time. Plus, the car looked enticing enough for them to enter immediately. Once inside, they were treated with a luxurious appearance. A nice aquamarine colour tint could be found that lit up the inside. Long sofas were seen that were made for them to sit on. Pinkie Pie hopped onto the sofas, immediately sinking into them once she had the chance.
"Oh yeah..." She was clearly relaxed the moment she made contact. This felt like bliss and it only took a few seconds for it to occur. Siebold didn't mind either despite the contrast between him and Pinkie.
Usually, a butler would here to drive these, but with Siebold's butler at the restaurant, he was at the wheel this time as the trio made themselves comfortable. All the Pokemon here had been tended too, getting their fill. Now it was just the mission to reach Nimbasa Food Resort before Snorlax does. Siebold started the car, kicking it into high gear as it was off.
Alpha Snorlax was truly a terrifying force. So far, the two Alpha Pokemon that Twilight and now her friends have heard about were intimidating. Soon, Snorlax could cause worldwide famine if not stopped and with its superior size and strength over other Snorlax, that could happen if something was not done as the journey continues.
Unova Region. Nimbasa City Food Resort. Afternoon.
Nimbasa City's Food Resort. A special resort dedicated to the culinary wonders. Arriving here in the big city via a fancy limousine was the Kalos Elite 4 Member Siebold. Joining him were visitors from the Human World. Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie.
Their goal was shared. To stop Alpha Snorlax. A Snorlax that was not just larger and stronger than the average Snorlax, but had caused destruction and famine with where it had gone so far. It was thanks to Siebold and Pinkie Pie that the Pokemon were able to be fed in Lostlorn Forest.
With Snorlax's last appearance being there and Lostlorn being close to Nimbasa it was seemingly inevitable for the Sleeping Pokemon to approach here. Especially with a food resort.
"There will be an abundance of chefs in the food resort. I'll inform them immediately about Snorlax so that they can prepare for its arrival." said Siebold."As for you three, Twilight, was it?"
"Yes?" Twilight was alerted after her name was called.
"Hopefully you have enough Poke Balls to try and catch that Alpha Snorlax as you said would. Because if that fails, then total defeat is waiting for Snorlax. I won't be so forgiving after what it's done to those towns and forests." Siebold narrowed his eyes, gripping the wheel ferociously.
The seriousness in his tone gave Twilight and the others utter chills. Siebold had a good reason for feeling this way. With his career as a chef and enjoying seeing others enjoy food, seeing Pokemon and Humans lose their food resources at a colossal degree truly infuriated him.
Even if they were Pokemon, he wouldn't show restraint.
"Uh...Hopefully, that doesn't come to it." Sunset Shimmer gulped as the car finally stopped. They had thankfully beaten Snorlax to the resort. There was no sign of the Alpha Snorlax or any nearby destruction from it so far. But the biggest thing to think about was what they would do when Snorlax eventually shows up.
Upon leaving the car and stopping by this resort which was made up of various hotel-style buildings that all connected with each other, a park and of course, the main restaurant that was smack-dab in the middle. The mascot of this resort was a Leavanny holding a spoon and a fork in an x-shape. A nice bit of graphic design there.
Opening the door was one of the chefs working there. She had seen the arrival of Siebold, who was one of the world's most famous chefs out there.
"S-Siebold of the Elite 4?!" She gasped with an excited tone and expression. "Here at our resort?!"
"Afternoon. How many of you are inside right now?" Siebold jumped straight to important business once approaching the chef.
"A-As many as there can be!" She collected herself, too excited that a world-renowned chef would be here of all places. It would make for some good publicity. "Please, come on in!"
Siebold was allowed in, no arguments about it. And with Twilight, Sunset and Pinkie tagging along with him, they were allowed inside as well. Inside, they were met with a lounge room with nice sofas, bowls of fruit and a lady at a desk that had access to what seemed to be hotel keys.
"We're having our monthly cooking competition tomorrow. It's great timing that you showed up here. That way you could be one of The judges. If that's okay with you." She explained to them.
"That's nice and all, but there's something far more important at large. Do you know about the Snorlax on the loose?" He asked.
"Snorlax? Umm..." The chef pondered for a bit. "Not exactly. Is there something wrong?"
"Then the news is still recent and hasn't taken off yet." Siebold sighed. "We'll need to fix that."
"Wow! Nice place you got here!" Pinkie Pie admired the indoors, except for one missing major detail. "But uh...where's the food?" Being an enjoyer of all things delicious, Pinkie Pie wondered where all the food could be found in this resort.
"The answer is right past these doors." The chef then opened the doors, revealing to the trio and Siebold the delicious wonder that resided there. A stupendously large cooking arena with many chefs and their partner Pokemon being seen.
All different kinds of food tailored to humans and Pokemon could be found here. Most were new to the eyes of Twilight, Sunset and Pinkie as they would never see something like this in their world. Even for Sunset, Equestria was exempt as well. At least for the time being.
A chef and his Scyther were cutting pickles in a perfect and orderly fashion, being in sync with one another. "Scyther!" Once they'd been sliced to perfect shapes, they were placed in a frying pan.
There was also a chef present who was rolling some dough with her Phanpy doing the same. Phanpy used its compact size to curl into a ball, much like its further evolution Donphan, to roll on the dough. But not without some protection to keep the food sanitary of course. "Phanpy!"
"Nice job, Phanpy!" She applauded her partner.
"Mienfoo, Karate Chop." One chef was cracking eggs with his Mienfoo. While he would do it at a gentle pace, Mienfoo was a different story.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo, with its lightning-fast reflexes, started cracking eggs. And it was with equal efficiency as its trainer as it then took a bow once it was said and done. All kinds of trainers and their Pokemon who were working also seemed to be relatively young. Some were young adults or even teenagers at best. With the help of some devices, the younger ones were having an easier time making their personal favourites.
"Some of these people look pretty young, don't they?" Twilight asked.
"This place is meant to make cooking easy for everyone. Much like the popular curry over at the Galar Region." She explained.
"Getting hungry just looking at this stuff..." Pinkie Pie admired the array of food. Some of them she had never seen before in her life. Gawking at them was just fueling her hunger.
"Some of the more experienced chefs are going through our monthly Steel Chef competition right now. We could use some judging from you, Siebold. Having someone of your experience judge the food can bring out the best authenticity."
"I'll rate it once we focus on what's important. That Snorlax. It's time we publicly announced that it could be coming here and this entire resort could be one of its biggest ravages so far." Siebold walked past the chef, heading over to the nearest microphone to make everything heard.
"Hm? Pinkie!" Sunset Shimmer noticed how Pinkie Pie had strayed away, navigating her eyes on the unique varieties of food. Pinkie Pie squeaked before turning around.
"Sorry! They just all look so good! You'd think they'd be from another planet or something!" She giggled.
"Well, technically speaking, we are on another planet but it's also Earth, similar to our Earth but not truly our Earth-" Twilight rambled, explaining it to Pinkie Pie before stopping. "Y-You get what I mean..."
"This place is making me hungry though. And this whole Snorlax thing too." Sunset Shimmer put her hand on her stomach, realizing how all this talk of food was reaching her.
"Then feel free to stay here." The chef snapped her finger. "It's your first time in our resort, isn't it? If you want, you can experiment here since it's available for anyone. And if you need to rest your little heads, the hotel rooms will do."
"Thanks, but we're just going to make this short. Then again...Snorlax could take some time to get here. Maybe." Sunset Shimmer pondered, looking outside at the afternoon sun. The time it took for her and her friends to get here compared to the time now was large. Soon, it would be late afternoon. "Eh, it wouldn't hurt."
"I say we try the cooking here!" Pinkie raised her arm.
"In that case, you'll be helped by our tutor chef. I should warn you that-" But before the chef would warn them, Siebold's voice came through the microphone.
"Attention." His voice became the most overpowering thing in this room. "Sorry to stop your work but you all need to listen to this. As some of you may or may not know, there is a Snorlax currently on the loose. An Alpha Snorlax as it's called. This Snorlax so far has been attacking forests and smaller locations without any warning, devouring various foods. Mainly the foods from small restaurants and where Pokemon reside. In just a few days, it's already managed to tear through a handful of them just to satisfy its hunger, leaving destruction along the way. Very soon, larger restaurants such as mine and yours will become its next target, especially with how it finished Lostlorn Forest."
"Phanpy?" The Phanpy for before came to a screeching halt on the dough once it and everyone started listening in on this speech from Siebold. Immediately, they were all made alert of this situation. Some already knew about Snorlax, but others didn't. This would be their first time being filled in.
"You can all choose to carry on with your day. But I among others will be alert for Snorlax and handle it when it shows up. You should stay alert even when relaxed in your hotel rooms. That's all." Siebold ended his speech. He got his message clear and through without beating around the bush.
This restaurant in the meantime would be on high alert whilst the completion and cooking were ongoing. Siebold, who approached the three girls, would be omnipresent within the restaurant at every corner just for Snorlax.
"You three. Make yourselves comfortable but also alert for Snorlax." He said to them.
"We will. Plus, we're getting rooms and a chance to cook here. I didn't think this task to try and catch Alpha Snorlax would lead to this." said Twilight. "Who knows what other Alpha Pokemon could do?"
"You're new to this. Expect the worst when it comes to Pokemon." Siebold replied with a harsh response. "But, don't let it get to you as much, understood? Otherwise, your goal won't be realized."
"Right!" Twilight Sparkle nodded, seeing that Siebold was giving her some hope. "Okay, let's get cooking. This could be a lot of fun."
"You know it!" Pinkie Pie, who was the most excited for this, pulled both her friends in with her arms, raring to get this gourmet exercise on at full force.
5 minutes later.
Once they got the right equipment, AKA a white jacket and that was just about it, but Pinkie Pie went the extra mile and put a chef hat on her, they found a station to work at.
"Zorua. You'd love some new food, wouldn't you?" Twilight placed her bag on the floor, looking at Zorua. Spike had jumped out just to get a better look and sniff at the delicious delicacies that were nearby.
"Mhm...But...can you pass it to me inside of the bag?" Zorua, still hesitant to show herself in public, chose to keep the bag as her limited form of space, eating from there.
"Sure..." Twilight chuckled before grabbing Spike, making sure he wouldn't wander off and start grabbing any food that caught his fancy. Which was all of it. As said earlier by the chef who introduced them, one of the chef tutors would show up to help. And she certainly did. With an intimidating face to boot.
"After this, I think I'm gonna-" Pinkie Pie, who was whistling with glee was quickly startled once she saw the face of this tutor. "Gah!" Pinkie screeched as this fairly burly lady who had frizzled red hair and pitch-black eyes, stared her down along with Twilight and Sunset. Zorua immediately went into hiding, zipping the bag once she saw this lady appear.
"So. You're the new ones here to do some cooking are you?" She spoke to them with a rough tone in her voice.
"Y-Yes, ma'am." Pinkie Pie stammered, still feeling perplexed by that jumpscare. It didn't help that she had a Bronzor with her that also had an intimidating stare. "I'm a pretty skilled cook, ya know. Well, I guess I'm a baker more than a cook but..."
"Don't care. I'll make a great cook out of you." She suddenly held a knife at Pinkie Pie, intimidating her further but not with any ill intent. Pinkie Pie's cheery attitude was being blocked off by the sheer fear that this lady brought to the table. Figuratively and literally as she stabbed the knife onto the table. "Now! Let's begin!"
South of the resort.
South at the resort, Siebold, and other officials, were being on the lookout for Snorlax. They were also thinking of meeting Snorlax before it could reach here. However, as Siebold looked outside, it was already getting late. But he wouldn't let anything terrible happen at nightfall. Thus, he had a great answer to drive Snorlax out.
"This should do." The Kalos Elite 4 Member still had some of the food he had brought to feed the starving Pokemon. A delectable Steamed Mushroom & Rosemary Bisque that already gave off a wonderful scent. But Siebold didn't stop there. H knew that Snorlax had a massive appetite. "I need more. Snorlax would want more."
He would use more of the food that he had brought over, straight from his limousine. Some traditional Pokemon Food with luxury sprinkled on them, fire-roasted Slowpoke Tail with Shuckle Juice, a massive batch of Poke Puffs which were a Kalos delicacy and for simplicity's sake, Pizza.
Siebold placed them all down on a table, perfectly covering them to preserve their conditions. The employees had witnessed the food he had brought over, applauding how wonderful it was. "Wow! If it weren't for that Snorlax, I'd eat that!" An employee exclaimed.
"As to be expected from Siebold!" Another cheered, complimenting Siebold.
"Thank you. There's a 50% chance that you could et them depending on what happens with Snorlax's arrival. But...to prepare, I should make some more. Your resort has enough stations for another chef, does it?"
"Oh, for you, any station is free! But yes, we have enough!" A fellow chef slid over. "But...it's getting a bit late right now, isn't it?"
"It's never too late to cook." Siebold thought otherwise. "Have a-" But being cut off from his next sentence was a loud crash. That put him on high alert. Anything loud at this time with an Alpha Snorlax on the loose was a big deal. "What was that?!"
In a rush, Siebold left this room to see the source of this sound. He left the food behind too, thinking that Snorlax had already found something to eat and it wasn't what he had prepared. Siebold already put his hands in his pockets, holding one of his Poke Balls. At the right moment, he will engage in a battle and hope for others' safety.
However, once he entered the cooking arena, he soon found out that the source of that crash wasn't from Snorlax. In fact, the crash came from cracked plates while everyone else was unharmed. But they were all looking in one direction. The direction of Pinkie Pie who was currently on the floor, being ferociously yelled at by the tutor.
"Why are you like this?!" The tutor roared at her. She even stomped towards Pinkie, causing some of the area to shake a bit.
"Geeeehh!" A terrified Pinkie Pie squealed, backing up whilst on the floor. Siebold came over to find out why this was happening.
"What's all this commotion for?! What's going on?!" Siebold asked, standing in-between them both.
"W-Well first we were baking brownies by starting with the chocolate..." Sunset Shimmer stepped up to explain things.
"And she ate them!" The tutor pointed at Pinkie Pie with veins being shown around her arm.
"And then we went for some Flour Cookies." Twilight walked over, also giving out information for this small incident that alerted everyone.
"And she ate that too!" The tutor became visibly aggravated with each passing second.
"Hold on!" Pinkie held her hands out. "I mean, isn't every great cook meant to taste their food once in a while?"
"That is true..." Siebold somewhat agreed, putting his hand on his chin.
"Not just taste! You ate all of it! Now there's none to use!" She approached Pinkie Pie once more. "Especially the ingredients! All that biscuit dough is gone!"
"Pinkie, I thought you were a baker?" Sunset Shimmer asked, confused at how someone who was so dedicated to everything sweet would end up carelessly eating the ingredients.
"Uh, I'm actually a waitress at the Sweet Snacks Cafe. Guess I'm not so similar to my pony counterpart, eh?" She giggled before hearing the growling from the tutor.
Pinkie Pie scrunched her face, holding out a cupcake that she made to the tutor, trying to apologize. Only for her Bronzor to use Psychic, grabbing the cupcake and crushing it into nothing. The apology was denied.
"Now's not the time to be focused on this." Siebold put a stop to this. "We have an Alpha Snorlax that could show up here. Let's forget about this, alright? And Pinkie Pie. We don't need you finishing off the food resources before Snorlax does."
Right on schedule, another crash had been made. But this time, it didn't come from a fallen plate. Siebold's attention was drawn to it as he was hoping it wasn't another small reasoning. But what followed next was not small as the walls had been broken down.
Right near two Trainers who were cooking, the wall had received a hard impact that caused them to back and everyone to gasp in shock. Siebold, once again, had his hand ready to throw out a Poke Ball as Pinkie Pie was free from the lady's berating but perhaps not free from what was about to come next.
Through the broken wall and the dust that came from it, a silhouette could be seen. However, while this silhouette was fairly large, it wasn't as large as Siebold was expecting. He expected Alpha Snorlax. And instead, he got something further back.
A Munchlax
An Alpha Munchlax to be exact, as seen by the red glowing eyes and the superior size over all other Munchlax out there in the world. This threw even Siebold off guard. "Munchlax...!" Munchlax uttered with a deeper tone than its species.
"Hey...That's not Snorlax. That's Munchlax!" Sunset pointed out. "Did Professor Oak get it wrong?"
"I mean...it still counts doesn't it?" Pinkie Pie shrugged. "Still looks pretty dangerous when you think about it."
But not even a second more, creating an even larger breakthrough in the walls was another powerful force. And that powerful force was backed up by another silhouette covered by the newly formed dust. This time, it made more sense. Standing behind Alpha Munchlax was the Pokemon of the hour.
Alpha Snorlax.
"Snorlax!"
"There it is." Pinkie Pie nodded once Snorlax revealed itself. And now that the Sleeping Pokemon was here with its pre-evolution, Pinkie Pie broke into a thunderous scream as did a few others.
"Munchlax!" Now that they were in a food-heavy spot, Munchlax and its final evolution did what they do best. Munchlax and Snorlax were on the move. Snorlax's footsteps were enough to shake the room as nearby trainers grabbed their things and backed away from Snorlax when it approached. Snorlax already destroyed parts of tables by just moving alone, causing collateral damage in seconds.
"Two Alphas?!" Twilight gasped. "How did Munchlax go unnoticed?!"
"I mean check out that small size. Why wouldn't it?" Pinkie Pie nudged her.
"It doesn't matter. They're both here." Siebold replied before turning to the others. "Everyone out for safety!" They were already on it. All the chefs, young and old left the premises and stopped what they were doing. Their delicacies and recipes were left to sit there whilst Snorlax moved at surprising speeds for its size.
It immediately grabbed one of the plates, knocking utensils away as some forks flew towards Twilight and the others. Sunset Shimmer gasped, closing her eyes as the forks looked like they would hit in time. Only for Siebold to catch them with two of his fingers, holding the fork perfectly.
"Go! Blastoise!" Once he caught the fork, he tossed it aside before then throwing out his Blastoise out of its Poke Ball.
"Blastoise!"
"Munchlax!" Munchlax hopped onto the tables, scarfing down the food as if it was a vacuum cleaner.
"That's as far as you go! Dragon Pulse, Blastoise!"
"Blast!" Blastoise charged up its cannons, aiming them directly at Snorlax who was the biggest target. Once innocents were out of the way, Blastoise could unleash the dragon-shaped blast from them. "Toise!"
"Snor...!" Snrlax went to grab some more food, only to have Dragon Pulse crash into its face, catching it off guard. "Lax!" Snorlax cried out, almost falling over. It quickly recovered before then shifting its attention to the source of that Dragon Pulse. Blastoise and those close to it were its targets.
In response, after letting out a powerful roar that shook the room and broke some of the glassware, Snorlax skipped any warming up and just went for a powerful move. In this case, Hyper Beam. Especially in this room. Opening its mouth, the signature orange orb of Infinity Energy showed itself, building up strength.
"In here?!" Siebold gasped. "Blastoise, grab it and use Skull Bash!"
"Blast!" Blastoise approached Snorlax whilst it was charging Hyper Beam. The Shellfish Pokemon had grabbed the Sleeping Pokemon, trying to throw its Hyper Beam focus off balance and end it. However, despite Blastoise being the owner of an Elite 4 member, Alpha Snorlax was nothing to scoff at.
A Blastoise concentrated its strength into its head, smashing it onto Snorlax, instead of staggering Snorlax for a long time, it only staggered it for a bit. Snorlax showed monstrous strength as it had overpowered Blastoise in the physical category, starting to push back whilst also holding the Shellfish Pokemon.
"What strength!" Siebold exclaimed.
"They're Alpha Pokemon! They're far stronger than their usual species!" Twilight explained.
"Lax!" And this strength showed itself some more once Snorlax ended up finishing Hyper Beam even in a physical struggle. It had unleashed the beam, however, it was thrown off course by the struggle, causing it to fly everywhere else. Twilight, Sunset and Pinkie ducked for cover as Hyper Beam hit the different stations of the cooking area, destroying them while also blowing parts of the walls and ceiling off too.
Munchlax wasn't as aggressive as Snorlax, but as an Alpha, it still gained some aggression. While its evolution entered a battle with Blastoise and Siebold, the Big Eater Pokemon smelled some food in Twilight's bag, rushing for it. "Munch-Munch!"
"Snorlax!" Snorlax needed time to recharge after using Hyper Beam. And that just gave Blastoise some time to attack as it had unleashed Hydro Pump, launching Snorlax away with powerful water cannons. Snorlax went flying through the same walls that it had broken through earlier, leaving the cooking arena.
Snorlax managed to recover from the Hydro Pump in the distance, sliding on the floor as it barely looked phased by it but certainly felt something.
"So this is what Alpha Pokemon are like, are they? The size and strength of it are unnatural..." Siebold commented. "You three! Try and handle that Munchlax!" Siebold then left Twilight and the others to deal with Munchlax who was a smaller threat than Snorlax but still a big one.
At the same time, Spike noticed Munchlax approaching, barking at the Big Eater Pokemon and alerting his friends. Spike couldn't do much against Munchlax if not anything as Zorua cowered in fear.
"Oh!" Twilight grabbed her bag once Munchlax approached, holding it close to her. She and her friends got away from any of the remaining damage done from Snorlax's Hyper Beam and Munchlax in general once it had approached them.
"I gotcha!" Sunset Shimmer stepped in front of Twilight, throwing out her Poke Ball. "Go, Volcarona!"
"Volcarona!"
"Volcarona! Stop Munchlax with Fiery Dance!"
"Volca!" Volcarona formed a ring of fireballs around her body. She then flaps her wings, launching the fireballs at the opponent.
"Munch!" However, with unbridled strength that resembled Snorlax's strength, thought on a small scale, Munchlax had simply barged through the fireballs, taking them as if it barely felt anything.
"Caro?!"
"Huh?!" Sunset Shimmer pulled back as Munchlax then responded with Double-Edge. It had stomped on the floor, covering itself in a white aura before flinging its body at its opponent.
Volcarona was the target as Munchlax crashed right into the Sun Pokemon with a reckless, body-harming tackle. And it was a hard one as Volcarona was rocketed back from the impact. "V-Vol!"
"Volcarona!" Sunset Shimmer caught her partner, falling over once she did so, just from the sheer speed and force that the Sun Pokemon had been launched at.
Munchlax felt some recoil but it wasn't much. After using Double-Edge, it gained some air time before then grabbing Twilight's bag, smelling the goodness from it. Unfortunately, Zorua was still inside as Munchlax had then run off with Twilight's bag.
"My bag! Zorua!" Twilight yelled as Zorua didn't do anything except cower inside. Twilight quickly tossed aside the chef jacket before then pursuing Munchlax. "Stop!"
"Volcarona, are you okay?" Sunset Shimmer asked. Thankfully, Volcarona wasn't out of the picture. But that Double-Edge left an impact. "Return, for now." Choosing to keep her Pokemon safe in the meantime, Sunset returned the Bug-Fire-Type promptly. Afterwards, she and Pinkie followed Twilight with the goal to retrieve the bag and stop Munchlax.
"Come on, where is it?!" Twilight dug into her skirt pocket, searching for a Poke Ball to use. "Here it is!" The one that she wanted the most. The Quick Ball. Efficient when used on a Pokemon for the first time and has a high chance of catching them. The question was how they would fare against an Alpha Pokemon. Twilight didn't care about that as she just wanted Zorua safe. "Go, Quick Ball!"
The Quick Ball was then thrown with all of Twilight's might as it spiralled ahead. Thankfully, even as an Alpha Pokemon, Munchlax was not the fastest. It was slightly faster than an average Munchlax, but not by much. Thus, not only could they catch up to it, but the Quick Ball struck its back.
"Munch!" Munchlax had been shrunk by the Quick Ball into a body of light before entering it. The bag it was carrying had then dropped. This allowed Twilight to grab her bag, but the question was if the Quick Ball would capture Munchlax on the first go.
1...2...Not at all. The Quick Ball had been broken as Munchlax managed to escape. Twilight gasped with Zorua whimpering.
"Munchlax!" Once it broke free, Munchlax grew enraged. Truly uncommon for this kind of Pokemon, however the Alpha variants were a different story.
"Is it me or did it get stronger?!" Pinkie Pie gulped.
"Braixen, go!" Sunset Shimmer sent out her next Pokemon to try and restrain Munchlax. Especially now that it had seemingly grown in strength the moment it had broken out and reached an enraged state.
"Braixen!"
"Psybeam!"
"Brai...Xen!" Braixen held her stick with both hands, concentrating all of the latent Psychic energy within her before then unleashing it onto the stick and letting it all out in the form of a spiralling purple beam.
"Munch...!" Munchlax took it. And this time, it had been pushed back at last instead of just powering through it. However, it wasn't by much as Munchlax was only slightly pushed back. Munchlax ended up powering through it either way by using Bulldoze.
It stomped on the floor two times and those two stomps were enough to shake the whole room as if it was a Snorlax with parts of the ceiling being broken off. A golden shockwave came in Braixen's way while also cracking the ground.
"Dodge it, Braixen!"
"Braixen!" Braixen used her staff, firing a Psybeam on the floor to launch herself up, promptly avoiding the golden shockwaves. However, massive rubble then dropped then ceiling directly towards Twilight and her friends. Braixen, while in the air, was quickly forced down once some of the rubble hit her on the head. "B-Brai!"
"Braixen!" Sunset Shimmer cried out before ducking once the rest of them came crashing down. She and the others put their hands over their head as the tables and utensils all collapsed from this damage.
Munchlax watched as it all came crashing down. The Big Eater Pokemon then walked away as if nothing major had just happened, continuing to search for food to consume. It immediately decided to grab them all in massive piles just to eat them. It then carried the food away, eating it at the same time.
Trainers nearby saw what Munchlax was capable of as the Normal-Type focused on them, seeing that they still had food close to them. Their Pokemon would defend them, such as the Scyther from before along with a few others. The whole place was coming down thanks to the unusually terrifying strength of these Alpha Pokemon as the journey continues.
Unova Region. Nimbasa City. Nimbasa Food Resort. Late Afternoon.
Alpha Snorlax and Alpha Munchlax. Two Alpha Pokemon that had managed to wreak havoc just for the sake of consuming as much food as they can. They had arrived at the food resort, already causing some destruction without any care. In an attempt to stop them, Siebold of the Kalos Elite 4 along with Twilight, Sunset and Pinkie challenged the two Normal-Types.
Siebold was handling Snorlax elsewhere with his Blastoise. But Twilight and her friends were overwhelmed by Munchlax's insane strength as an Alpha, causing the ceiling rubble to come crashing down on them as Munchlax then left them promptly.
"Munch...!" Munchlax approached one of the trainers who was holding a plate of food. The trainer looked back and forth at his plate of food before throwing it in Munchlax's general direction. "Munch!" Munchlax opened its mouth, devouring not only the food but the plate as well.
"Oh, maybe we can calm it down that way. It's probably just incredibly famished." One trainer tried looking at the bright side, holding out a bar of chocolate to Munchlax. "It's just one big misunderstanding and-"
"Lax!" In a flash, Munchlax had not only consumed the chocolate bar in one go, but Munchlax also started ripping the tables, cabinets walls to find other food and or ingredients to scarf down. It was not being peaceful at all as the trainer pulled herself back.
"B-Braix...!" Braixen managed to protect her friends via a close-call Psybeam. She groaned as she had then pushed the rubble away with everyone in one piece. "Braixen..."
"Thanks, Braixen." Grateful for her partner saving her friends, Sunset gave Braixen a well-deserved pat. "But boy...That Munchlax is something else...I know you said Alpha Pokemon were strong but..."
"I didn't account for the smaller Pokemon either," said Twilight, opening the bag to see Zorua absolutely mortified. "They're just as dangerous."
"Twilight...I'm scared!" Zoru whimpered.
"It's okay, Zorua. You're okay." Twilight comforted her partner. "If we could barely handle that Munchlax...Then what about Snorlax?"
"Oh! Twilight! You've got an Alpha of your own, remember?!" Pinkie held Twilight's shoulders. "Your Rapidash! AlphaDash!"
"AlphaDash?"
"Yeah! Trademark." Pinkie Pie winked, giving Rapidash a nickname for being an Alpha Rapidash. "If anyone's stronger than that Munchlax, it's your Rapidash. You can deal with it that way."
"You're right but..." Twilight sighed, looking down. "Rapidash still doesn't trust me. Or even like me. Not sure if I can do much with her."
"It's worth a shot anyway. And I'm going to keep trying until that Munchlax is weak enough." Sunset Shimmer thought otherwise in the face of this culinary crisis.
"Scyther!" Scyther and the other Pokemon from other trainers had been knocked aside as if they were ragdolls as Munchlax then went for the food made by the trainers. If there was one upside to all of this, it was that Munchlax would rather focus on the food rather than the people and Pokemon. But it won't be shy to attack them if they got in its way.
Whether it was them being young trainers or not that into Pokemon Battling, it was safe to say that Alpha Munchlax was one kind of Pokemon that they were not expecting. Possibly a result of the past meeting the present but not in the best way possible.
Seeing how freakishly strong Munchlax was, everyone kept their distance or tried leaving without alerting the Big Eater Pokemon. Munchlax had then used Double-Edge on a door, breaking into the storage room where more ingredients could be found.
"You're right. I should at least try. Zorua?" TWilight looked at Zorua, hoping that she would battle her. But Zorua was too scared to do so. "Alright then..." Seeing that her partner was too scared, Twilight resorted to her second and current strongest Pokemon. "Please help us! Rapidash!"
"Rapidash!" Alpha Rapidash ended up emerging after all. And upon her arrival, she let out a mighty neigh. The neigh of an alpha. And with this alpha cry, it alerted Alpha Munchlax
Much like ordinary Pokemon, when one performs an alpha call, an equally powerful Pokemon must respond. Or in this case, Alpha Pokemon respond to each other's calls. "Munch?"
"Rapidash! Please, we need your help right now!" Twilight ran up to the Fire Horse Pokemon, pleading to her. "This could be our first battle together. I need you to help me stop Munchlax. And I guess Snorlax if it comes down to it. Can you help?"
"Dash..." Rapidash looked down at Twilight, not giving much of a response. Twilight's heart was beating as she was hoping that Rapidash would say yes. And from that moment of silence, it looked like that wouldn't be the case as Rapidash gave an unimpressed expression.
"Please, Rapidash?" But that all changed once Zorua spoke. After hearing Zorua's plea, Rapidash turned to face Munchlax, stomping her hoof.
"Rapidash!"
"Great! She's gonna help!" Pinkie Pie excitedly yelled.
"But it wasn't with my plea..." Twilight sighed. Once again, Rapidash only responded to Zorua's wishes instead of her Twilight's. But if it meant that Rapidash would take action, then, for now, it was good enough.
"Munch-Munch!"
"Rapidash...!" Rapidash started approaching Munchlax with hoofsteps. Her hoofsteps left fire behind, causing flaming hoofprints to emerge.
"Lax? Munchlax!" In response, Munchlax felt brave enough to attack this much larger Alpha Pokemon. By using Bulldoze, of course. It stomped on the floor, releasing the golden shockwaves from it.
"Look out, Rapidash!" Twilight cried out as a warning. However, instead of moving out of the way, Rapidash stood there as if she was fearless in front of a super-effective move.
And she was. Plus, Alpha Rapidash had the strength to back it up. She immediately stomped on the floor by using her hooves instead of a Pokemon Move. But that was enough to create a shockwave strong enough to cancel out Munchlax's Bulldoze. Everyone looked in awe as Bulldoze had been destroyed just like that. Even Munchlax.
Rapidash asserted her dominance by looking down at Munchlax with a raised head, allowing her flames to intensify as they blended with the orange glow of the late afternoon sun.
"Amazing!" Twilight marvelled at the Fire Horse Pokemon's strength. "Rapidash, you're amazing! Okay then! U-"
"Dash!" But Rapidash wouldn't let Twilight give her any commands, cutting her off. "Rapidash!" Rapidash finally attacked, using her signature Dragon Pulse. Thanks to the perk of being an Alpha Pokemon, she had access to this move that no other Rapidash could obtain. Rapidash's opened mouth allowed Dragon Pulse to emerge as it raced towards the Big Eater Pokemon.
"Munch!" Munchlax, being the slow Pokemon that it is, couldn't evade in time. Dragon Pulse was a clear hit, crashing into the Normal-Type. "Munch!"
"We're not out of it yet! Braixen, help Rapidash and use Fire Spin!"
"Brai...Xen!" Braixen jumped over Rapidash, giving her assistance to her fellow Fire-Type. She held her stick out, unleashing a spiral of flames that also gave her ample air-time. After being hit by a good Dragon Pulse, Braixen's Fire Spin landed, adding to that damage.
"Munch!"
"Rapidash." Rapidash had suddenly shoved Braixen out of the way whilst she was midair, causing her to fall over. The Fire Horse Pokemon made herself the star of this before anyone else before galloping at the Big Eater Pokemon.
"Xen?!"
"Hey! What gives?!" Sunset Shimmer exclaimed, catching Braixen was she was shoved aside.
"Rapidash!" Rapidash then turned to Sunset Shimmer and Braixen, giving off an aggressive neigh that intimidated them. It was very clear that Rapidash did not want any help. She wanted to be the one to shine and any assistance would be shoved to the side.
"Munch..." Munchlax felt dizzy from Fire Spin and befuddled from Dragon Pulse. Despite all of that, Alpha Munchlax's durability was truly shining. Whether it was the durability of the Munchlax species or the Alpha strength. But the damage would only increase as Rapidash had appeared in front of it. "Munchlax?"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash stopped in front of Munchlax, using the strongest move she had. Fire Blast. Right at point-blank range too. A fiery explosion happened on the spot, damaging the floor of the cooking arena and allowing a loud sound to come through.
"Lax!" Munchlax certainly felt that one. Its durability meant nothing in the face of another Alpha Pokemon. As if it were a ball, Munchlax rolled on the ground, crashing into one of the tables with flames trailing out of its body. "M-Munch..."
"Twilight! Now's your chance!" Pinkie Pie shouted. "Catch Munchlax!"
"Oh, right!" Twilight dug into her skirt pocket for the first Poke Ball she managed to touch. And right on time as Rapidash wasn't done with Munchlax, trotting over to the Big Eater Pokemon while it was done. Twilight found a Heavy Ball. Perfect for Munchlax, which was heavy even for a baby Pokemon. "Please work!"
She launched the Heavy Ball as it flew past Rapidash. Rapidash stopped for a moment once she saw the ball fly past her. Munchlax looked over as the Heavy Ball struck its head. It had shrunk it, turning its body into a body light before entering the ball. And once it dropped, the shaking had begun as Twilight held her breath.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Munchlax was caught!"
"Hoh..." Twilight felt relieved. Alpha Munchlax was no longer a problem. The trainers also felt relief from that. But it wasn't complete relief as Alpha Snorlax was still out there.
"Glad that's over with." Sunset sighed along with her Braixen. "Great work, Braixen. And great work for catching Munchlax too, Twilight."
"I caught it but...I didn't do much." Twilight felt disappointed that she didn't do most of the work. It didn't show much of her skills as a Pokemon Trainer, especially with Alpha Rapidash dealing most of the damage. Twilight then sent Rapidash back to her Poke Ball, wishing that she could've done more than just throw a ball.
"Hey, at least Munchlax's been caught right?" Pinkie held her shoulder. "All that's left is Snorlax. I'm sure Siebold's got that under control. Then we can catch that one too!"
With Munchlax sorted out, everyone in the cooking arena was safe. But the destruction made by the events would have to be cleaned up. Until Snorlax was dealt with that is. Speaking of Snorlax, the rumbling it was making continued to echo throughout the resort.
Right now, Snorlax was charging through doors and walls by running in a linear path, grabbing all the nearby food that it could. It had previously lost Siebold and Blastoise, wandering the food resort. As for Siebold and Blastoise, it wasn't that hard for them to track down Snorlax. All they had to do was follow the trail of destruction that it had made.
Siebold picked up some of the rubble, looking at the Snorlax-shaped holes made in the walls. Snorlax's dust trail had also been made as a great indicator of where it had gone. "It won't get far. Especially as a Snorlax. Plus, there's our ace in the hole..."
The ace in the hole referred to the meals that Siebold had made earlier just to draw Alpha Snorlax in. They were still there. And by far, they attracted Snorlax the most. The Sleeping Pokemon ran in the direction of the scent, wanting the luxurious delicacy that Siebold had crafted.
And after breaking through enough dors and walls and scaring off others, Snorlax found itself at its destination. There laid the meals that Siebold had made as Snorlax started drooling. "Snorlax!" Snorlax rushed over to the plates, gawking over the wonderful delicacies as the nearby chefs hid silently from Snorlax's terrifying wrath. Just the sheer size of it as an Alpha was enough to keep them at bay.
Siebold thought right. He and his Blastoise after following the trail of destruction, found Snorlax going for the food that he made. Luckily, there were so many of them and their sizes were large enough to keep Snorlax occupied for some time.
"Off guard as always." Siebold's eyes narrowed. He preferred to catch Snorlax with its guard down. much like their first encounter today. And with all that food being consumed, Snorlax was most definitely off guard. "Hydro Pump!"
"Blastoise..!" Blastoise struck while the iron was hot, unloading powerful blasts of water at a high volume. Right when Snorlax was feasting away, it was met with those two powerful cannons in the back. Snorlax was highly vulnerable as the rest of the unconsumed food had been dropped with Snorlax falling over, crashing through the table the food originally sat on.
However, despite this heavy attack, moments later, Snorlax got back up with its red glowing eyes only intensifying with its rage increasing. "Snorlax!" It unleashed a haunting roar once it got up, breaking the wall behind it as the employees here continued to hide as to not make themselves visible.
"Unbelievable..." Siebold gawked. "Even after all that, you can still stand. Hmph. Alpha Pokemon are certainly powerful, aren't they Blastoise?"
"Blastoise."
"But..." Siebold then held his arm out, removing the sleeve from his clothes. From it, a Mega Ring had been revealed. Arriving after following the destruction made by Snorlax were Twilight, Sunset and Pinkie as they could see that Siebold and Blastoise were still active. As to be expected from an Elite 4 Member.
"Siebold! I caught Munchlax!" Twilight blurted out, alerting the expert chef.
"Good. I had faith in aspiring trainers such as yourself. But you should stand back for this." Siebold then revealed some sort of headpiece that had a keystone within it. Specifically, the Blastoisnite. With perfect aim, the head pace had landed on Blastoise's head.
"Snorlax!" Snorlax approached Blastoise, ready to ram into it with Giga Impact. At the same time, Siebold had tapped onto the Mega Ring, causing the Mega Evolution process to begin.
"You're strong! But what is an Alpha to a Mega?! Blastoise! Mega Evolve!" Siebold shouted, raising his arm as the golden lights of Mega Evolution flared. Twilight and the others watched in awe. Twilight and Pinkie were seeing Mega Evolution for the first time and it took them back as blue rays came out of the Blastoisnite, meeting with the golden lights to form the Mega Evolution Symbol.
The explosion of Mega Energy had pushed Snorlax back while it was using Giga Impact, causing its attack to fail. And emerging out of the energy was Mega Blastoise.
"Blast!" Blastoise approached the Sleeping Pokemon with its hard arms glowing. Snorlax was met with Blastoise's Power-Up Punch, resulting in a swift smack to the face that stunned the Normal-Type. Blastoise's physical strength had also increased thanks to this attack.
"Snor!"
"Once more!"
"Blastoise!" Blastoise delivered a second blow to Snorlax, this time, it was an upwards attack that almost knocked Snorlax on its back.
"S-Snor!" Snorlax managed to retain its balance before going for Hammer Arm, throwing its own Fighting-Type move. An overhead smash came to Blastoise's head. However, Blastoise did not stagger at all. Snorlax went for another Hammer Arm, only for Blastoise to catch it.
"Useless! Your overwhelming strength is outclassed by the power of Mega Evolution! Skull Bash!"
"Blas...!" Blastoise tucked its head in before putting all of its built-up physical strength into that one spot. With unbridled force, it had smashed its head onto Snorlax's head. "Toise!" The impact of it broke some nearby glass including chipping Twilight's glasses as well, causing her to jump in shock.
"Snorlax...!" Snorlax cried out, staggering and almost falling ver with its disorganized movements. Snorlax then opened its mouth, unleashing Hyper Beam.
"Finish it with Hydro Pump!"
"Blastoise!" To finish this all off, Blastoise had unleashed Hydro Pump from its larger cannon with greater strength than before. And the strength truly showed once it broke through Hyper Beam, overpowering it and consuming Snorlax. Snorlax had been overwhelmed by the blast of water, being shot through the already destroyed wall.
With water dripping everywhere and this room being a mess, Snorlax had fallen over. That final blow was the deciding outcome. Alpha Snorlax had fainted. "Snorlax..."
"That's that." Siebold pulled his sleeve back on as Mega Evolution for Blastoise had come to an end. The employees could come out at last without having to worry about Snorlax attacking it. "Looks like you won't be catching Alpha Snorlax, Twilight."
"R-Right. Not that I would've deserved it..." Twilight mumbled, looking to the side. Now that Snorlax and Munchlax had been taken care of, the Alpha instincts from Snorlax had faded away. Now, it was completely asleep instead of being on the move.
1 Hour Later.
Major repairs were being done to the resort. Thankfully, not all of it had been destroyed. But all those walls, the doors and the cooking station were in terrible shape. The doors were also non-existent at this point. Snorlax would be sent somewhere else to rest as ordered by Siebold. Mainly a Pokemon Center first and then everything else would be dealt with afterwards. The contest at the resort had been postponed thanks to the destroyed cooking station.
"Thank you for your help, you three," said Siebold to the girls. "I suppose I was wrong to worry about you for a scenario as dangerous as this. You were capable enough to handle yourselves."
"Thank you, Siebold." Sunset Shimmer giggled. "It was an honour to help an Elite 4 Member too."
"I don't know about that..." Twilight scratched her hair.
"Are you still upset about Snorlax?" Siebold turned to Twilight, acknowledging her disappointment
"Not just that. I couldn't get Rapidash to listen to me. She did all the work while I just caught Munchlax. Snorlax would've been the same thing maybe. I don't know what I'm doing wrong as a Pokemon Trainer..." She saw herself as a poor Pokemon Trainer at the moment with n signs of improving. According to her.
"Twilight." But Siebold had something to share with her. "You're an upstart Pokemon Trainer, aren't you? None of this would be easy from the beginning. This may sound simple, but improving yourself is the way to go. Only when you learn to grow yourself in various ways that you can excel at, will Rapidash not only listen to you but trust you. Then, there will be no Pokemon, Alpha or not, that will be too difficult for you to handle. Whether it be in battle, or your own heart."
"My heart?"
"Like many Trainers that I've seen, I can sense a strong heart from you. Keep that strength inside of you and become greater than ever." Siebold smirked, giving a reassuring look to her. "Your friends will be there to help you if you are ever stuck."
"R-Right! Thank you, Siebold!" Twilight felt at peace with the Kalos Elite 4 Member's words. Advice from a high-level Pokemon Trainer is always a benefit for young trainers. Especially those new to the Pokemon World.
"Should we get going now?" asked Sunset Shimmer.
"I think so. Plus uh..." Pinkie Pie scrunched her face, looking over at the burly lady from before who intimidated her. However, that intimidation quickly subsided after the Munchlax and Snorlax attack happened. The lady looked over, eyeing Pinkie Pie down as it had returned soon after. "I don't think me and her are gonna enjoy each other's company for long."
"I'll have a chat with her. In the meantime, take care of yourselves. But..there is another upside to this, Twilight." Siebold had one last thing to share.
"Huh?"
"You may have not caught Alpha Snorlax, but you did catch Alpha Munchlax, didn't you? Evolve your Munchlax and an Alpha Snorlax will stand before you."
"Oh! You're right!" Twilight gasped. "Why didn't I think of that before?! That makes things easy! Thought it would've been nice to have both but...works out in the end, doesn't it?"
"I'm still hungry though..." Spike commented, popping his head out of the bag as Zorua had already eaten all of the Pokemon Food inside of her bag. Spike hadn't eaten yet. Only in the morning.
"Oh, sorry." A flustered Twilight Sparke chuckled before she and her friends departed from the food resort and Nimbasa City overall. Thankfully, they were in the Unova Region, so a gateway to their world would be over at Eindoak Town for them.
The Human World. Twilight's Home. Nightfall.
After a long trip, she had finally returned home. And upon returning, Twilight felt all that stress fade away. Food for Spike had been given out and right after that, Twilight brought Rapidash back to her usual spot. Right at the back of the house where she could rest peacefully.
But there would be a third Pokemon that would now reside in this house. One that had a large appetite. "Okay. Come on out." Twilight held out the Heavy Ball, summoning Munchlax to the scene.
"Munchlax!"
"Okay...Alpha Munchlax." Twilight sighed, kneeling to face the Big Eater Pokemon. "A-Are you gonna listen to me?" Naturally, Twilight wanted to know what Munchlax thought about her. It was an Alpha Pokemon after all. A different disposition from its normal species.
"Munch...Munchlax." Munchlax replied before opening its mouth, keeping it open for a bit. Twilight raised an eyebrow, unsure of what kind of response this was.
"I don't get it...What does that mean?"
"Munch-Munch." Munchlax then pointed at its mouth
"Oh! You want food!" She gasped, quickly standing up. "That makes sense! Phew! At least that's a start." Twilight was relieved. Even as an Alpha, Munchlax kept its natural instincts. And after being caught by Twilight and no longer a Wild Pokemon, Munchlax certainly mellowed out.
This made Twilight incredibly happy. She had a third Pokemon and one that would listen to her. That made it two that would listen and trust her but one who wouldn't. At least, not yet. "Yes!" Feeling successful, Twilight pumped her fist before hitting her elbow on the couter. "Ow!"
She whimpered before laughing afterwards, knowing that was the result of success making her body act frantically. Twilight was hoping that she could keep this up. There were other Alpha Pokemon out there. And with inspiration from her friends and now an Elite 4 Member, she would make sure to try and catch them all as the journey continues.
"Hmm..." At the moment, Rarity, instead of making something fabulous, was staring at a certain object that she had received from Pegalysium a while back, during the rescue of Jade Skies and also Premium Polish.
A strange mirror-like shell that acted as a communication device. Much like the Rotomphone or the Xtransceiver. This was the Lawful Shell given to her by the police up at Pegalysium. Rarity was just now realizing that she had never utilized it, especially when at a crucial time in Pegalysium.
"Never used it before..." Rarity picked it up with her magic, ready to try and use it for once. Albeit in a safe situation as she observed the shell. "How do I use this exactly?"
Rarity noticed a nice clamp at the centre of the shell. She promptly used her magic to interact with that clamp. That was the ticket needed to make it work as the shell started ringing. It made a lovely sound that resembled the Sea Cloud of Pegalysium.
"Hello?" She spoke through it as her voice was slightly enhanced, catching her off guard. It sounded wonderful when enhanced. "Oooh. Hello-Hello."
"Hello, you've reached the Pegalysium Police Station. Is there a problem?" An officer replied.
"Ah. Hello, there. I'm calling from all the way down in Equestria. Rarity here."
"Equestria? Oooh...You're that pony we gave the shell to, aren't we?" The officer quickly put two and two together with little struggle.
"That's right." She nodded. "Apologies that I never got the chance to use this shell during a crucial time during that whole attack with a giant pegasus and everything."
"Ah, that's alright. The King and Queen have noticed you and your friends as heroes who helped save our home and even brought an end to Indigo Alliance. Well, a majority of it, anyway. That shell's not the most important thing right now. But how are you finding it?"
"It really makes the voice elevated, doesn't it? Is this how everypony up there talk to each other from afar."
"Certainly is. There are other varieties than just the mirror-like one. The Royal Family use gold and sometimes platinum. You can keep the one we have right now."
"It's nice enough for me to keep it." Rarity admired the shell and how it showed her reflection from all angles.
"Love to hear it. A-" But as he kept talking, the call was suddenly joined in by somepony else. Somepony else was using a shell much like them at the moment to intervene.
"Uh hello?" The voice of a younger pony came through with his voice shaking a bit.
"Hello, this is the Pegalysium Police Station. What happened? You sound distressed, son?"
"Um...My name's Sweet Twister and...Me and my friends got stuck in the Gorge of Thoughts and now we can't get out."
"What were you doing in the Gorge of Thoughts, to begin with?"
"I wanted to know what we all actually thought about each other. And it went wrong with the gorge seeing that we were making lies and...yeah. It did some weird magic and now it's keeping us stuck here."
"You're the one who lied in the first place." One of the younger ponies commented with their voice passing through the shell. "So much for being an honest friend."
"You didn't help by lying either!"
"I didn't mean to! You were thinking the same thing first before all of us!" Another one of his friends shouted as they started arguing.
"Was not!"
"Was too!"
"You kids should've known that the Gorge of Thoughts can reveal your thoughts without any control." The officer shook his head. "But you didn't mean it to each other, did you?"
"It's also better to be honest about how you truly feel about your friends, darlings." Rarity commented, giving her advice to the foals. "You build friendships faster that way."
"Yeah okay..." Sweet Twister pouted. "Can you just come over and help us out?"
"Sure thing. We'll have some guards right over. We'll have you back just in time for today's traditional ceremony."
"Well, I believe that's my time to exit," said Rarity as she didn't have much to do now with the shell other than keeping it and using it when necessary.
"Hang on. The King and Queen wish to send you some rewards, but you never received them. Left too soon."
"Rewards?!" Rarity leaned in with her ears twitching. "What kind?!"
"Anything you want. Rewards are based on choice. Neat isn't it?" The guard chuckled.
"Oh, I already know what I'd want..." Rarity started pondering. "I'd look amazing in Pegalysium-exclusive dresses. No doubt about it. Can you just picture it?"
"Picture it...?" Sweet Twister and the other foals were still under the effects of the Gorge of Thoughts. Not only did it cause them to reveal their words, but also images in their head. They weren't sure what Rarity looked like so they just imagined a beautiful mare wearing a fancy dress. Being young, they were greatly impressed by this.
The other guards leaned in, hearing the foals giggle mischievously. Another pony who had used a shell to call for the police station ended up arriving at the worst time. "What's all that giggling?" Rarity asked.
"N-Nothing!" Frantically, the foals shouted before hanging up. Afterwards, the call between Rarity and the station had ended soon after.
Pegalysium. Pegalysium Capital. Day.
Speaking of Pegalysium, right after the officer ended his call, he and many others were all gathering at the capital of Pegalysium. In fact, a gigantic majority if not all of Pegalysium were showing up at this one city.
Today was an important day in Pegalysium. And over at Shooting Star's room, he was excited for that day. He looked outside the window with a beaming smile, gazing at the pegasi that were showing up.
His mane was being straightened by the palace's servants, only for it to reform into its spiky position. No matter what, that was his permanent mane-style as his mother entered the room.
"Excited?" Luminary spoke to him.
"I sure am! I've been waiting for this!" Shooting Star showcased his happiness once his servants finished with him. Although, they couldn't do much as he looked clean enough from the get-go. "Do you think I'm gonna impress the previous Pegasi of Destiny? And am I gonna hold all that Destiny Magic?
"I know you will. You've always been one to impress many. Especially in your younger years when you were small enough to be wrapped around one of my wings." Luminary walked over to him. "Now look at you. I bet in a few years, you'll be bigger than your father."
"Already bigger than you, mom." He confidently said. Luminary doubted that heavily and her current expression showed it. Once she got close to her son, they had been scaled by the butlers. Lo and behold, Shooting Star was still shorter than his mother. "Hnnnngh!" He made his body stand upright, puffing out his chest for better height, but it wasn't enough.
"Alright, you. Get ready. We'll see you at the centre" Luminary left the room, leaving her son to handle the rest.
Meanwhile, on the outside, among the many ponies that were showing up, Garnet, Kaleidoscope and Clear View from Feathercoast arrived. All of Feathercoast had shown up for this, elevating the importance. The town would be empty at this point with all of its citizens at the capital.
"This'll be our first time seeing the Gathering of the Destined. It only took a whole generation to get here." Kaleidoscope commented. "Not only do we get to see how far Prince Shooting Star's come and what's next for him, but we can even get a hint as to who the next Pegasus of Destiny is. How exciting is that?"
"Eh. It's not that exciting." Garnet wasn't as impressed as Kaleidoscope, who was the history buff. "I'm only here for my friend after all."
"The prince is your friend? Since when?" Kaleidoscope squinted her eyes.
"Since he offered us a chance to head out of Pegalysium and enter Equestria with the Royal Family. If that's not friendship, I don't know what is. Plus, I hung out with him a few weeks back." Garnet smirked. "I'd say I'm pretty popular."
"I don't know about popular...what do you think, Clear?" Kaleidoscope turned to the mute pony. "Oh. Clear, you don't have your orb with you this time?"
Clear View used her feathers to perform sign language, raising her wings. Even without her orb that could translate words for her, Clear View and Garnet could understand it. Garnet especially considering her role as a teacher for foals. "You're only here for the ghosts of the previous Pegasi of Destiny?" Garnet translated as Clear nodded. That was her personal reason.
"Well, they're not ghosts, actually." Kaleidoscope interjected. "They're spirits of the previous Pegasi of Destiny that have spanned generations who occasionally returned to the realm of the living as astral projections, just to meet and speak with others. Etc."
"Yeah. Ghosts." Garnet and Clear saw them as ghosts either way. They might as well be due to how many have come and gone from the past. But the majority of pegasi came here just for the major event and what it stood for. Garnet, Kaleidoscope and Clear View came to a halt, finding the best place for them to stand at. Next to them were other Pegalysium residents. Noticeably Mayor Umbra Streak and Mrs Sunpuff.
"Good! You made it Garnet! You wouldn't want to miss this!" The always cheery Mrs Sunpuff said to her fellow teacher. "The first viewing of this for most of us. Except for the older ones. Luckily for me, I'm not that old." She chuckled.
"Thanks. How do you think Shooting- I mean, Prince Shooting Star will do? I heard this kind of thing's like a test, isn't it?" Garnet asked.
"In some way," said Umbra, ready to explain it. "Much like the pegasi from the past who were once the Pegasus of Destiny, they will show themselves here in their astral forms to judge the current one of this generation accordingly and pass on the great form of magic that we possess in Pegalysium. Destiny Magic. All previous Pegasi of Destiny have continuously passed this magic onto the last and it has carried on ever since. Starting from the first Pegasus of Destiny, Windkiss."
"The young prince is royalty so he'll know exactly what to do later on. All the possible advice for him is probably already safe knowledge to him as an esteemed and dignified prince!" Sunpuff exclaimed.
"Um..." Garnet then thought back to her previous and small interactions with Shooting Star. He wasn't exactly the spitting image of a Prince Charming. He seemed more like a regular resident than a prince. "I don't know about that..."
Just then, whilst everypony was chatting away, the event could begin. The signing flowers had been brought here to help make the mood. They had already started giving off a peaceful yet royal melody. Right on time as the Royal Family could be seen approaching.
Here to watch was an extended member of the Royal Family. Shooting Star's cousin Cloudflare and another pony who, while not related, felt like family, Brassquill. But also watching this was a pony who chose to be distant from the others, preferring to stay in secrecy.
To stay in secrecy, this pegasus hid within the nearby forest, with eyes peering through. Golden eyes to be exact. Those golden eyes flared as the mysterious pegasus who was shrouded within the shadows of the trees and bushes was none other than the Grand Judge of the Indigo Alliance, Second Wind.
She had shown up to the scene and the capital of Pegalysium overall even after fleeing once her plans were foiled. Second Wind watched as she had a communication shell with the texture of sapphire. On it, she was currently speaking to the rest of the remaining Indigo Alliance who still remained across all of Pegalysium but stayed in hiding. This big event wouldn't be missed by them.
"Let's see what today makes of you, young Pegasus of Destiny..." Second Wind commented.
Once the flowers gave a triumphant melody coupled with some of the guards blaring trumpets, Shooting Star arrived at the very centre of the capital. Placed at the centre was an obelisk made out of Dynasite, the hardest metal here in Pegalysium and possibly everywhere else.
Shooting Star held his breath, standing before the azure Dynasite obelisk. Everyone stayed silent, waiting for the previous Pegasi of Destiny to appear. And they appeared with some flare. The Dynasite Obelisk suddenly gained miniature clouds that started encircling it slowly. The clouds kept moving, at first, having visible gaps. But their constant movements soon closed the gaps before making a full connected cloud circle that then wrapped around the obelisk.
They then unleashed lightning bolts into the sky that met with each other. The clashing lighting bolts rumbled as they managed to pierce the rest of the clouds high above, seemingly travelling so far that would reach the limit of the sky that was only restrained from space itself.
The skies turned dark with the celestial bodies of space being shown even during the daytime. They all marvelled at the celestial bodies being shown as very little light sources were left aside from the golden obelisk and the light from the lightning bolts.
After they touched the top, lightning bolts soon turned into ethereal waves that began flowing through the clouds gracefully. The waves then descended, dropping onto the Obelisk. The obelisk had then received the azure glow before then morphing the shapes of the waves.
From these shapes, heads were being shown. Pony heads. The Pegasi of Destiny were appearing. And there were a total of 8 faces showing themselves with full eyes, mouths and everything. The pegasi shown here ranged from old enough to be somepony's grandfather, young enough to be somepony's younger sibling or child or even the same age as Shooting Star.
Shooting Star stepped back a bit as these 9 Legendary Pegasi of the past opened their eyes, immediately gazing at the current Pegasus of Destiny. The melody flowers made sure to make their entrance truly orchestral.
"Woah..." He stood in awe, witnessing this summoning for the first time.
"Welcome, previous Pegasi of Destiny." Paramount bowed his head along with everypony else, greeting these important figures. "Back to the land of the living for a brief time every generation so far."
"Wonderful to see you as well," Luminary spoke before listing off the 9 Pegasi. "Son, these are...Windkiss. Star Whistle. Songjump. Cloud Flash. Prism Wave. Rocking Star. Moon Petal. Breeze and Windlight. Your predecessors."
"Awesome...But wait. How come some of them have different ages?" Shooting Star wondered, noticing the different age appearances. Mainly with Breeze and Star Whistle.
"We are free to choose our appearance when returning every generation." Songjump, a relatively old mare spoke as their voices had a powerful echo effect that rumbled throughout the skies. "Whether from our past or our end. So...you are the current Pegasus of Destiny. The 10th."
"Y-Yes ma'am! Shooting Star's my name!" He stood up tall, bracing for the words that would come his way.
"We've been watching you, Shooting Star." The floating ethereal head of Prism Wave hovered over to the young pegasus as did the others. "As we've watched the others."
"Oh. That's kinda creepy." He chuckled. "But I bet you have a lot to say, don't you?"
"I take it back..they do look like ghosts." Kaleidoscope whispered to Garnet, admitting that these long-gone pegasi were ghosts. Albeit fairly active ones. Everypony anticipated the words, the judging and a hint for the future Pegasus of Destiny.
Paramount, staying stern-faced as ever, tightening his already serious expression, showing some form of worrying. Luminary was the opposite. She was excited for her son to the fullest. Everything stayed silent for a bit as Shooting Star wondered why they were just floating around him, not saying a word.
"Uh...What's going on?" He turned every second to face these 9 Pegasi. "Is there something wrong?"
"We have nothing to say about you," Windlight commented. "At least, not much."
"Not much? Why?"
"Simply put." Songjump hovered over him. "After observing you through it all, we've concluded in unity. You are not worthy to hold the Pegasus of Destiny moniker. Let alone have the potential to be one"
"W-What...?" And just like that, his heart shattered along with many of his happy emotions. Everypony gasped as Luminary shot back. Paramount closed his eyes as he feared for something like this. Garnet, who had faith in Shooting Star, put her hoof over her mouth, not saying a word.
"You are too insouciant. Buoyant and brazen overall instead of showing anything serene." Songjump shook her head. "The magic of a Pegasus of Destiny is all about freedom of mind. Absolute amity."
"You are kind-hearted but a sense of overwhelming forgiveness lives inside of you. Not one that can be used well considering what a Pegasus of Destiny must go through. We doubt you have the strength to condemn your kidnappers."
"I..." Shooting Star tried getting a word in but he was too stunned to do so right now.
"Your age can be a factor." Ironically, Breeze, the pegasus who appeared young, spoke to him. "Lots of potential for growth, but perhaps too late. Even younger than I was at my time."
"T-Then what about you if you were the youngest?!" Shooting Star turned to her.
"She was the youngest. But reserved is what she had," said Cloud Flash.
"You could say that it was the key to the breakthrough of truly becoming the Pegasus of Destiny. Complete control of one's emotions so that the balance of the Destiny Magic is not disturbed." Rocking Star chimed in.
"I-I don't need all of that, do I? Nopony told me..."
"The Pegasi of Destiny have been able to harness the amazing Destiny Magic with these benefits. With it, it's the only way it can be used and help Pegalysium live on for years to come, bringing harmony to all. You lack the concept of giving hope or even maintaining peace." Moon Petal explained while also shutting Shooting Star down.
"Hm?" Tip-Off, the king's royal advisor, was watching the whole thing unfold before witnessing the mural changing. On the mural, Shooting Star's visage was fading away. He gasped as the young prince's image had vanished on the spot.
"That can't be right..." Luminary gawked. "What are they saying..."
"The Pegasi of Destiny are harsh indeed," Paramount commented. "I warned him about this, but still..."
"Far too unqualified to hold the Destiny Magic. The zealous aura that you hold can not keep the magic contained. It is the mastery of self-control that helps it. You do not even have a rudimentary way to hold it." Prism Wave sighed.
"I can be calm! Totally!"
"Forcing yourself to be calm will not do. The Destiny Magic will not respond or come to you for even a second. You do not display or even exude the capability to do so. Changing yourself for the magic is pointless."
"Oh..." Shooting Star chose to no longer respond with anything else. It was clear that it was pointless.
"The Destiny Magic for the first time in generations will be kept in a form stasis. But, it will be detrimental to all those on Pegalysium, no doubt. If you cannot be a Pegasus of Destiny, then I suggest sticking as the role of a king when you grow up." said Songjump.
Second Wind was even surprised by this. But she soon thought back to her first encounter with Shooting Star when he was kidnapped. She didn't see it being too farfetched.
"But...we have all said our piece. Before we give our hint, what say you, Windkiss?" Songjump and the others turned to the very first Pegasus of Destiny. Windkiss.
Windkiss stayed silent out of everypony in the group. Only watching Shooting Star with open eyes. Shooting Star's eyes were trembling as Windkiss closed here's before saying something. "Much like what Breeze had already said. There is something there. It's vast...But I'm not quite sure..." Windkiss squinted her eyes as she had also doubted Shooting Star.
"Then it's settled. The moniker must be skipped a generation and passed on to another for the magic to continue. And for that, we shall hint the next Pegasus of Destiny."Songjump announced whilst Shooting Star had his head down. "If you are to look past the heights, you may find one that is marked of many. That is all"
"W-Wait!" Shooting Star raised his head. "You said I had some of it there, right? Let me try and find that magic if it's somewhere there! I've still got years on me!"
"No. What's done is done. You are far too-"
"That's enough." Paramount cut Songjump off, preventing her from berating her son anymore. "You've said enough, pegasi. Leave my son be."
"Right. Apologies your majesty. Until the next generation. Sadly, one that has been bypassed." Songjump lowered her head as the 9 Pegasi had left, dispersing into ethereal clouds. The obelisk returned to its usual golden appearance before descending into the ground as if it were never there. The skies also got their sky blue colours back after it was all over.
Chattering filled the capital as everypony was surprised to hear all of that. They were for sure that he could reach that fulfilment. But from everything that had been said, that was not the case anymore. Their perception of Shooting Star had been greatly alerted.
He was hailed and praised for being the next Pegasus of Destiny. And while he would still get it due to being the prince, some of it if not a lot had been wiped out. The mural had all of its images disappear as it was now blank. Tip-Off rushed outside to show this to the Royal Family as soon as possible.
"No way..." Garnet uttered. It all puzzled here. During the time she had been with Shooting Star when hanging out, he showed great qualities. But according to the Legendary 9, the serene presence needed for the Destiny Magic was not there. Garnet knew that Shooting Star couldn't keep a serene persona even if he tried but she felt for him either way.
Shooting Star trembled before using the magic on his wings to suddenly teleport away the moment his mother approached him. He didn't want to be here after he had been humiliated verbally.
"I'll go to him." Paramount went to Luminary, aiming to comfort his son.
"No, I'll go to him."
"We'll both go." Paramount and Luminary agreed to go Shooting Star, aiming to make things better for him with how they currently were.
"Well, that was disappointing," said Sunpuff, shrugging it all off. Many of the ponies did the same, feeling perplexed a bit by what they had seen. They went on with their day after it was all said and done.
"I for sure thought it was gonna be him." Kaleidoscope scratched her mane. "The previous hint from the last generation matched him perfectly."
"It is what is." Mayor Umbra replied, accepting things for how they were. "Time to head back."
10 minutes later.
After the event ended, Shooting Star was nowhere to be found. He didn't teleport off to his room as Queen Luminary had found out. She immediately went to try and comfort him along with King Paramount, only to not find their son. It wasn't just them. His cousin Cloudflare also started searching.
"Cuz!" She cried out for her cousin. "Where'd he go? Maybe outside!" Cloudflare rushed outside, continuing to search for her cousin.
"Your Majesties! Look!" Tip-Off rushed over, showing the mural to the King and Queen. "There's nothing on the mural anymore! It's completely blank!"
"Blank?! Impossible!" Luminary gasped. "That's never happened before, has it?"
"That would be the first of its kind then," responded Paramount. "This is all in response to what happened today."
"Oh, this can't be happening." Luminary sighed. "They wouldn't give my boy a chance. I can't believe them." She then expressed her emotions, shifting into aggravation towards the previous Pegasi of Destiny. Even if they were important, Shooting Star was still her son. "But where would be right now? He's not in his room..."
"If he were to go anywhere else, it would be outside." Paramount theorized. "But where...?"
"We need to start searching the entire nation if possible!" Luminary held Paramount's face. "U-Use some of that Rift Magic to find him!"
"I-I understand...!" Paramount grumbled with his face being held. "Just please let go." The search for him began. Paramount had used the Rift Magic he had inside of him to try and find him. Even if it wouldn't work, thanks to his Cutie Mark, he could above and beyond and unlock more of what this kind of magic was capable of.
Feathercoast. Garnet's Home. Afternoon.
Over at Garnet's home, a knock on the door came through, causing her to fly over. Once she opened the door, she was met with a shocking sight. "Oh! Prince Shooting Star?!" He had shown up here of all places. And upon making his arrival, all eyes were on him after his embarrassing event this morning. "W-Why are you here?"
"Hey um...I didn't know where else to go and...I heard sometimes friends come to other friends for help so I came here." Shooting Star revealed, coming to his friend and seemingly only friend. Garnet scrunched her face, shifting her eyes at the town as she was also being looked at since the prince was right there.
"Oh. I get it. Umm..." Garnet wasn't sure what to do now. Especially with royalty standing before her. But Shooting Star was definitely her friend, so she had only one piece of advice. "How about you try and...go somewhere you like? I'm a teacher at the school nearby, so I always have the foals go to their favourite place to be. I-Is there anyplace, young prince?"
"I guess...I don't know." Shooting Star didn't have a personal favourite place to be. Being royalty has created that one small limitation.
"Uh, okay. That's fine. There's always the substitute!" Garnet's skills as a teacher kicked in. Although, they're usually used on foals, not ponies that were around the same age as her. "Something you love to do. And I already know that. Young prince, you love Pokemon, don't you?"
"Yeah...They're awesome. Love watching them and getting new ones on my Pokedex."
"Then it's settled!" Garnet shut the door. "Just like how we did with our first time hanging out, we'll go searching for Pokemon. Anywhere is good."
"I guess so..."
"Shooting!" Shouting out his name from afar was Cloudflare as she had just flown over. Having the first instinct to go outside, she flew above the skies, getting a better view of the area below until she found her cousin. "Cuz! There you are!"
"How'd you find me here?" Shooting Star asked.
"You don't usually stay in your room when upset. Plus, this place has some of the best food so it was a given." Cloudflare came to a screeching halt. "Are you doing okay? I saw everything that had happened..."
"I could be better. I'm just about to head off now to see some Pokemon. Garnet here says that can help..."
"It works for many." Garnet chimed in. "You must be his cousin, Cloudflare. I've heard from you. Nice to meet you." She held her hoof out to her fellow pegasi.
"Garnet huh...? He told me about you." Cloudflare shook her hoof in response. "Well, thanks for helping my cousin. Shooting. Are you sure looking at Pokemon will make you feel better? If not, then we can try something else"
"I'll go for the Pokemon." Shooting Star turned away as he made up his mind. If there was one thing that could spark up some happiness and a bright smile, it would be the Strange and Wonderful Creatures known as Pocket Monsters. Pokemon for short.
"And I know the perfect place to be! The Drifting Peaks! Young prince. It'd be best if I showed you the way." Garnet ran past him, keeping that happy aura present. Advice from Mrs Sunpuff herself and her constant stream of happiness. Cloudflare would join as she was his cousin and wanted to be there for him. It was off to the Drifting Peaks.
Meanwhile, Second Wind was also taking all of this in. She had left the scene, entering the outskirts of civilization. And once she was away from everyone, Second Wind thought of what to do next.
"Prince Shooting Star is at his most vulnerable right now. Not exactly the kind of royalty we were hoping to be vulnerable, but eh..." She shrugged. As if Jade Skies wasn't enough, Second Wind and the rest of the Indigo Alliance, were still in the pursuit of using other ponies. "I may not have Rift Magic with me anymore. Or a lot in general, but apparently, these should be greater than Rift Magic."
Moving to a bush, Second Wind had pulled out a canister that she had placed inside of it. And within this canister, the Symbol Pokemon could be found. Unown. Quite a few of them as they were better when together. A substitute or rather absolute replacement for Rift Magic as it was easily accessible and had no real limitations. Perfect in Second Wind's eyes.
"You all have the power to do anything when together, don't you? Let's put that to the test."
The obelisk that resided underground at the very centre of the capital was starting to shake. Out of it, a pillar of light erupted as it pierced through the ground, reaching the surface of the city.
This pillar of light had been noticed by King Paramount and Queen Luminary, who were currently searching for their son to comfort him after a humiliating display this morning. Paramount and Luminary rushed to the obelisk without a second thought after witnessing it.
That same ethereal aura that it gave off earlier had shown itself as well. And appearing from it was the spiritual face of the previous Pegasi of Destiny. The very first one. Windkiss.
"Windkiss? You're back? But...it's just you." said Luminary, noticing that it was only her.
"Why are you here?" Paramount asked.
"Forgive my resurgence. But I had to return after what happened this morning. Your son, Shooting Star."
"Our son?" Luminary gasped before narrowing her eyes. "Here to try and berate him again, are you?!" Immediately, her tone had changed as she still showed issues with what happened this morning. "I swear if you are, I am going to-"
"Hold on there!" Paramount held her back.
"I'm sorry. I should've said something back there." However, Windkiss showed a different response to what Luminary was expecting, causing her to calm down. "I didn't mean to leave your son in such a state. Please forgive the others and their strictness if you could."
"Oh...Well, alright then." Luminary calmed down. Thankfully, her emotions and her motherly rage didn't get the best of her. "I understand what you all meant but...is that it? Coming here for an apology doesn't mean much when Shooting isn't around right now."
"That isn't all. I came here to speak with him. Even if the others have made up their mind, I haven't." Windkiss hovered over to them both. "Just like what was said before, there's some potential in your son. It just hasn't been brought out."
"They said that he's not capable of using Destiny Magic. It needs to be flooded with nothing but a serene aura. But, it was said that he can't give off that feeling..." Luminary sighed.
"As much as it pains me to admit it, my son can't bring that out either. A shame that one single thing is capable of breaking this fulfilment to be a Pegasus of Destiny." Paramount growled, showing visible frustration.
"It is difficult and also somewhat of a miracle that the previous pegasi had managed to find that serene body and mind. However...there's a way around it."
"There is?!" Paramount and Luminary gasped.
"That's right. But only the current Pegasus of Destiny, your son, can make it happen. You see, there is a reason why I was the first. And especially the first to hold Destiny Magic."
Windkiss then used a spiritual-like majestic form a projection of herself that was made clearer to Paramount and Luminary. They would now see what Windkiss, the first Pegasus of Destiny, looked like a generation ago along with the residents who took notice of Windkiss' emergence.
"I was the one who made it. From what it could do and how it could be attained. The serene nature of Destiny Magic came from an experience in my life that birthed it. It was all by accident."
"The magic was by accident? How?" Paramount asked.
"It was a horrible event that caused it. All of my closest friends were in grave danger. At that moment, I felt so many things. Whether it'd be fear, hesitation or panic. All of it to try and find safety for my friends. "Windkiss closed her eyes, reminiscing of the past as many were listening to her speech. "So, I chose to keep myself in the most serene state possible."
"You became calm from something so dangerous? What led to that?" Now Luminary had more questions that she wanted to be answered.
"Unrestrained by the walls of thought and concerns for my friends and the terrifying threat that we faced on that day. And once it all came to me, something consumed all of those emotions into flames and all I felt was myself. I knew that I was capable enough to protect those I loved and turned all of my focus towards what was threatening them. And myself. And then it appeared. The Destiny Magic. Right in front of me and within me at the same time. Ever since then, that became the basis and the perfect way to unlock this magic and has remained that way ever since."
"I suppose that is the way to achieve serenity." Paramount couldn't argue against that. "But, what does that have to do with our son?"
"Since I'm the creator of it, I know everything that it's capable of. Your son can still hold Destiny Magic. Not by changing who he is. But by reshaping his destiny itself."
The two of them gasped in unison along with others that had heard Windkiss' words. To them, reshaping destiny was an oddity and a rarity bundled into one impossible ball.
"Shocked, aren't you?" Windkiss giggled. "That's right. He has to be the one to reshape destiny just to hold that magic. Much like how I did in the past. I have faith in each generation of destined pegasi. I'd hate to see it all go to waste because of a few flaws. Nopony's perfect after all."
"Thank you!" Lunging at Windkiss was Luminary with tears flowing through her eyes. Unfortunately, Windkiss and the projection of her were simply just astral projections, unable to be touched. Thus, Luminar phased right through her, falling over. "Ough!" She grunted, sliding on the ground as the guards rushed over to her. But she was fine, thankfully. "Ugh...if I could hug you right now, I would."
"Thank you for this, Windkiss. As to be expected from the first Pegasus of Destiny." Paramount thanked her. He was truly grateful for this as it rekindled a spark within this issue.
"You're welcome. Well, this is the only day in a generation that I can return to this realm. I'll be leaving now." Windkiss bowed her head. "Pass my message on to your son and I and the others will be watching him closely. I'm looking forward to what happens next."
This would be her last visit until another generation where the same event would come up. Essentially 25-30 years from now as a generation usually goes. She left as a dispersion of ethereal aura, leaving for good.
"He needs to know this." Paramount continued searching for Shooting Star, utilizing Rift Magic to do so until he could find a sweet spot for this comic power. "Oh, how I can only imagine the look on his face when we tell him this."
"I need to do something myself! Maybe..." Luminary thought for a moment before shooting her eyes through the window of the palace. She could see that the mural, which was now empty, was sitting there. "Aha! This time, we won't need magic to make this mural vibrant! We'll paint it physically!" Luminary pranced along, aiming to restore the mural with a fresh new image. All for Shooting Star's incoming restoration as the current and 10th Pegasus of Destiny.
Equestria. The Pokemon House. Afternoon.
"Take me up there, will you?" Over at the Pokemon House, Rarity was currently speaking to Team Rocket, who were still residing here at this location. Mainly due to Zecora still being their mentor and the Everfree Forest undergoing repairs via Rift influence.
It was annoyingly a long process as Zecora was feeling the length. While tending to some Pokemon and healing them with her own unique remedies, she wished that the Rift Energy could act like its all-powerful self and speed up.
"Take you up there?" Jessie repeated. Their ship, Rocketship was one of the best ways to head to Pegalysium unless an alicorn was involved. "Pssh. We're not your chaperone, okay?"
"Do I really get to pick what I want up there, Rarity?" Fluttershy flew over, asking about Pegalysium and how all forms of rewards are choice-related.
"That's right. When we get there, the options are up to us. It might end up being just us that show up there. Everypony else is busy but...a reward is a red." Rarity shrugged. "Plus, Team Rocket...I'd say you owe me fr what happened back in Holon. Come to think of it, what were you doing there?"
"We were curious about those Delta Pokemon but...they avoided us so well. And they were too unpredictable..." James lowered his head in disappointment.
"You weren't trying to steal them, were you?" Rarity narrowed her eyes.
"Hah! We're Zecora's students now and certified helpers in that invasion. We would never!" Jessie laughed pompously, lying within her soul despite the fact that she, James and Meowth attempted to steal all the Pokemon whilst everyone was within the 18 Realms. "Reformed as we can be right here."
"Hm...Well, okay then. We still need to head up there either way. There could be some more hidden treasure up there considering that you don't end up accidentally spending it all this time. Plus...I can choose a reward for you~" Rarity persuaded them with the concept of more hidden treasure in Pegalysium.
Team Rocket looked at each other, thinking about how they could utilize the treasure more sensibly and not blow it all in a short amount of time.
"Deal." The trio said before rushing over to the Rocketship. It would be Rarity and Fluttershy who would head to Pegalysium while the rest of their friends would be busy with their own tasks.
Those rewards were waiting for them. Two of them, at least. The ship had started up a wind pressure kicking up from the engines. They blew near Zecora's direction, causing her mane to flow. She squinted her eyes as the Rocketship took flight. Thankfully, Zecora didn't feel alone with all of the Pokemon here.
If anything, staying at the Pokemon House has given her so much more time to bond with many others as opposed to just being in her hut with some company.
But, she would personally prefer the Everfree Forest and her hut back more than anything.
Pegalysium. Drifting Peaks. Afternoon.
The Drifting Peaks. Home to an abandoned pirate ship, the monument of a pegasus known Morning Style, flowing stardust and glowing butterflies along with the nearby location of a Pokemon Grotto with a gateway that led to the Battle Pyramid.
Arriving here were Garnet, Shooting Star and Cloudflare, with the goal of cheering Shooting Star up. And that would be done with his favourite past-time. Viewing Pokemon. Shooting Star still had the expression of sadness and disappointment within.
Their main objective was the grotto. Thanks to some easy flight patterns that Garnet had guided them both with due to her previous arrival here, the grotto of Pokemon could be seen in the distance.
"Have a look at that, young prince!" Garnet aimed her hoof at the first batch of Pokemon that could be found there. One of them, the biggest so far, was Charizard. "How do you like the look of that Pokemon? That dragon over there?"
"Charizard's not a Dragon..." Shooting Star mumbled with a low tone.
"It's not?!" Garnet was taken aback by this as she stopped flying in the air for a bit, causing Shooting Star to fly past her despite his slow wingbeats.
"Hey, Garnet. Thank you for helping my cousin," said Cloudflare, flying over to Garnet. "Not many ponies help him out like this. It's only ever his family."
"Just his family?" She repeated. "What about some of his friends?"
"Ah, not quite." Cloudflare shook her head, sighing afterwards. "It was just me, Grandpa Amberbass and his mom and dad more than anypony else. Guess everypony thought that they couldn't help much with royalty or something. But you're the first to do this and you're not that important. N-No offence."
"None taken. But it's the least I can do. I mean, he allowed me to head to Equestria to see some Pokemon with his family. I also had to pay him back since our first Pokemon Watching session. Even though I tried to get some Quillbits from him and stuff." She chuckled, reminiscing some moments. "I still-"
"You what?!" Cloudflare took notice of that last sentence as she got extra close to Garnet with seething eyes, startling and intimidating the teacher. "And you'd still 'what?' I swear if you try and take advantage of my cousin...!" Caring for her cousin, she poked Garnet in the chase, giving off a warning.
"I-I didn't go through it completely!" Garnet gulped as she didn't want to feel the wrath of Cloudflare. Especially from somepony who was technically royalty. "Honest!"
"What's going on?" Shooting Star asked.
"N-Nothing!" Garnet nervously laughed, feeling as if she could be struck down by Cloudflare at any moment. Shooting Star turned away as Garnet was safe for now. "Seriously...I felt bad for trying to do that. Even if he didn't know about it"
"Hah...Fine." Kaleidoscope pulled back. Garnet lowered her head, fearing that she could've caused tension at the worst time when her friend was down. "At least you're there for him. But it's a bummer what happened back there. I didn't those pegasi were so strict."
"Hm?" Just then Shooting Star and Cloudflare's feathers started rustling. They equally felt something except for Garnet Shooting Star and Cloudflare descended to a nearby sky platform together with their feathers continuously rustling.
"Uh...What's going on?" Garnet asked, following the to the platform.
"It's a royalty thing. Our wings can sometimes pick up on things nearby. Usually, they're never pleasant at all." Cloudflare explained. "What could it be?"
"Maybe it's that Gyarados that lives around here!" Garnet gasped, fearing that Gyarados could be approaching them once more. However, it was something else. It was indeed a Pokemon, just not one they were expecting. Shooting Star and Cloudflare's feathers kept acting up as their heads navigated for any spot that this feeling was coming from.
And soon, they had witnessed something shocking. Garnet included. With their heads raised up, they saw how the skies were being distorted right in front of them. Space itself, to be exact. As if the skies themselves were being grabbed and twisted around. They looked in awe at this bizarre sight but they would soon find out the origin of this anomaly.
The Unown.
In the distance, hidden right beside two spear-shape mounds that led to the outskirts of Drifting Peaks, Second Wind was present. Tracking mainly Shooting Star down, she had used the power of the Unown to do so by harnessing their amazing power.
"Oh..." The power of the Unown gave her enhanced vision, making her eyes glow with a golden light. The feeling of it was perplexing to Second Wind, but she could handle it. "What an odd feeling...but I can get used to this. Not having to worry about myself with these Unown is amazing. Don't you worry, young prince. I can make you forget all about today. Go, Unown. Change his reality."
The Unown, ordered by Second Wind and under some influence had flown off, heading in Shooting Star's location. Second Wind couldn't do much herself. The Unown already found Shooting Star with little effort. And with them distorting space, they alerted his attention to nothing but the skies.
The Unown had spotted the young prince before deciding to stop midair. Once they discovered him, the 15 Unown that had been unleashed started merging their powers to do what they do best. Alter reality. The sky platform below the trio received a crack from this space distortion.
Out of the crack, the golden light from the Unown had erupted, consuming only Shooting Star. The gold then turned to red as Garnet fell over from the loud sound and sudden emergence that consumed her friend.
"Cousin!" Cloudflare shouted. Deep within the pillar, Shooting Star's voice could not be heard. It had all been blocked out by the power of the Unown. Cloudflare resorted to her magic without a single shred of hesitation. However, once her magic was thrown in the direction of this pillar, it had done nothing.
Not a single effect had been made. It was as if her magic was rejected and fizzled out by the power of the Unown. Cloudflare tried again, only for her magic to vanish once more. "Nothing's working!" She gasped. "Cousin! Can you hear me in there?!"
No response. Mainly due to the sound blockage. But within this pillar, Shooting Star was spouting out a flurry of words, confused about what was surrounding him. He also tried using his magic to break free, but it proved to be just as useless as Cloudflare's.
The pillar of light had a greater purpose than just engulfing him. The true power of the Unown would itself as Shooting Star's mind then went numb. His eyes stayed in one haunting and wide-eyed position permanently as his perception and view had been altered.
Everything went silent for the young prince. His ears couldn't pick up on anything else. Not even the sound of the pillar that surrounded him. His vision of the red pillar changed to become nothing but darkness. He couldn't hear himself gasp or anything else. And then, after a moment of silence, Shooting Star had been shown a barrage of images.
Memories to be exact.
While he saw darkness and heard nothing, that all changed once he saw and heard the memories of his past leading up to today. He saw his birth, his road trip with his grandfather, moments where he was happy, sad or another emotion when he first made friends, meeting Pokemon and so much more over the years. All of it was flying by him with familiar words that he had spoken or heard others speak to him.
But all of these memories, good or bad, had soon frozen. And upon their halt, they had been replaced. Materializing into existence were new memories, overlaying the current ones. Shooting Star's mind was being reworked.
His entire reality was being changed.
Every memory that he had had quickly been swapped out for memories that never existed, but thanks to the reality-changing powers of the Unown, could happen. And part of those memories was Second Wind. His new memories ended up keeping things that were already established. But the one major change was where he would be.
Afterwards, the pillar faded away as Shooting Star was still in one place. He blinked for a bit as Garnet and Cloudflare were thrilled to see that he was okay. The Unown then flew back to Second Wind as the cracks and distortion in space disappeared.
"Hoh...Thank the Alta-Pegasus." Cloudflare sighed. "You're okay."
"What was that? Where'd it come from?" Garnet asked. "Or, was that just some fancy light show on the spot? Cause it did look kinda pretty there for a bit."
"I don't think so." Cloudflare shook her head. "But I don't care. How are you doing, Shooting?"
Shooting Star's eyes then turned to them both as he didn't say much in the beginning. He then looked in the distance, prompting Cloudflare and Garnet to do the same. While Shooting Star kept a blank expression, the two mares had their faces change to astonishment.
With another massive curve being thrown their way, they saw Second Wind approaching. She didn't approach with her wings. Not at all. Her swift arrival was helped by the Unown who were now under her command. They brought her here faster than she ever could.
"Second Wind!" Garnet and Cloudflare both shouted.
"Good to see you again, Garnet." Second Wind waved as Cloudflare stood in front of Shooting Star and Garnet. "You've been doing well."
"All of that light...was that you?!" Cloudflare shrieked at Second Wind, already having her guard completely up. "I thought you would've stayed out of Pegalyisum after all that happened with you."
"Pah. As if I'd just leave it all entirely." Second Wind scoffed. "I'm terrified, not desperate."
"Whatever. Not the best idea to show yourself here, don't you think?" Cloudflare smirked. "Even with your uh..."She paused, trying to figure out what Unown were. "Um...W-What are those Pokemon?"
"Hold on!" Garnet quickly went for Shooting Star's Pokedex which was located in his saddlebag. Shooting Star was completely silent and unresponsive to even grab and use his Pokedex.
"Unown. The Symbol Pokemon. This Pokémon is shaped like ancient writing. It is a mystery as to which came first, the ancient writings or the various Unown. Research into this topic is ongoing but nothing is known. When alone, nothing happens. However, if there are two or more, an odd power is said to emerge."
"You'd love the Unown." Second Wind chuckled. "I know I certainly do. The best part is that I don't need to worry about my own health as opposed to Rift Magic. Pokemon are wonderful, aren't they?"
"In any case, I may not be a guard or anything like that, but I think I'm qualified enough to bring you in." Cloudflare ascended, reaching the same height as Second Wind and the Unown.
"Why? Because you're royalty?"
"Not just me. But..." Shockingly and unexpectedly, Cloudflare couldn't finish her sentence. She knew what she wanted to say but the words wouldn't come out. "But..." She tried again, trying to refer to her cousin. "W-What's going on?"
"Ah, Shooting Star? About him. I think me and him will be leaving now. Not really here for conflict if I'm being honest."
"Pssh. What makes you think Shooting Star's gonna come with-" Garnet scoffed, thinking that Second Wind was playing a joke. Only to be cut off once Shooting Star flew past her. Garnet's eyes followed the young prince as did Cloudflare.
And instead of floating next to his cousin, Shooting Star had stopped right next to Second Wind. So casually too. A wide-eyed Cloudflare soon had one of her eyes twitch with an eyebrow being raised. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Garnet wiped her eyes with wings to see if her vision was immaculate right about now. Their eyes didn't deceive them both.
"Shooting...What are you doing?" Cloudflare uttered.
"I'm heading back with her." Shooting Star finally spoke. And it wasn't the response that either Garnet or Cloudflare would prefer. "Back with the Indigo Alliance too."
"Say what?!" Normally, they would be tired of surprises by now. But they were only elevating and having greater impacts than the last. Shooting Star declared himself part of the Indigo Alliance with such a calm and somewhat haunting tone.
Second Wind let out a little chuckle, knowing that one of the few objectives that she aimed to accomplish had been done. Getting Shooting Star to become a member of the Indigo Alliance.
And all it took was a part of Arceus.
"What are you saying?!" Cloudflare furiously flapped towards her cousin, wanting a word with him. But the moment she got close, a powerful forcefield made by the Unown had been formed. Cloudflare crashed into the forcefield with her face pressing onto it. She then fell to the platform, hurling with red electricity crackling from her body. Garnet quickly caught her before a hard impact could be made.
"Cloudflare! Are you okay?!"
"Well, I've done my part and I'm satisfied right now~" Second Wind whistled before nudging her head over at the Unown. The Unown knew what to do next. With the usage of their amazing combined powers, without needing to take a trip via a flight through the skies of this pegasus-exclusive location, the benefit of teleportation came to them. Then again, Second Wind could've always used teleportation, but having someone else do it for her was up her alley.
They had left as Shooting Star's Pokedex had also been left behind with Garnet. Cloudflare stood up, shaking her head as she still felt some of the effects of the forcefield. The cousin of Shooting Star had to collect her thoughts. Everything happened both so fast and slow at the same time.
"W-What just happened...?" Garnet uttered. Soon, her thoughts realized that it could be that would have to explain things to King Paramount and Queen Luminary. Their son just went off with a criminal. Garnet directed all of that to her possible punishment "Gah! I brought him along here! I think I messed up big time! I'm gonna lose my job of this! What if they put me in the dungeon?! What if they say that I'm put under-"
"Calm down!" Cloudflare held her by the face. "We didn't see Second Wind coming, okay?! It was totally out of the blue! But...I can't believe he would say that. That's not like my cousin at all." Cloudflare's tone had been lowered. A visible expression of sadness was starting to morph her expression. But it quickly faded away. "Quickly. It's back to the palace with us."
"But I don't live at the capital..."
"Doesn't matter!" Cloudflare grabbed Garnet's hoof, dragging her along. It was back to the Sky Monarch and the capital to spread this new and unfortunate news. Out of nowhere, Shooting Star was now a part of the Indigo Alliance. At first, not an intimidating thing to think about, but anything involved with Indigo Alliance can result in unpleasant outcomes and a series of unfortunate events.
Meanwhile, approaching Pegalysium were Fluttershy, Rarity and Team Rocket. The Rocketship that they took had pierced through the clouds, reaching the right height for Pegalysium. Pegalysium, as always, changes locations based on the trajectory of the wind, so finding the Sky Monarch would take some time as always.
However, the moment they entered the skies of Pegalysium, far-off in the distance, the Unown that were being kept by the Indigo Alliance felt something familiar. Something that all of them sought to get rid of. Rift Energy.
A nearby sky island with a city could be seen as the Rocketship was near it. While Rarity and Fluttershy admired it, the Unown could sense an individual brimming with Rift Energy. Specifically, Fluttershy's Bayleef.
Lulolum Island. Another one of the many sky islands and civilizations in Pegalysium being carried by the wind in any direction, never staying in one consistent area. Nearby, the Rocketship commanded by Team Rocket and joined by Rarity and Fluttershy soared.
This island held a town that was on the larger side than Feathercoast, almost close to a city. Its appearance was more akin to that of a port as well. The port itself looked graceful. With its copper rooftops, maple wood walls and rows upon rows of luscious trees. The main attraction was a massive fountain of a pegasus, spouting out cloud water as to be expected.
"I wish these islands didn't have to always move due to the wind but...this is a nice view." Rarity admired Lulolum from this perspective.
"It's getting late, don't you think, Rarity? Maybe we should've come at an earlier time," said Fluttershy.
"Hm. Probably should've picked the shell up sooner. Ah, well. It doesn't matter that much, to be honest." Rarity shrugged it off. "Team Rocket. Would you kindly stop close to that island for us? At least until morning."
"Ah...You said we were just coming up here to grab those rewards and maybe some treasure." Jessie groaned. "Now you're wanting us to stop here?"
"Sorry, Jessie." Fluttershy flew over. "If only we came earlier, then it wouldn't be so late."
"Audino."
"Who says nightfall needs to stop us? Team Rocket are nocturnal.." James laughed, hyping himself and his friends up as versatile in different times. "We'll go treasure hunting on foot too."
"Just try not to cause too much trouble please." pleaded Fluttershy. "You wouldn't want to get on the bad side of the entirety of Pegalysium, would you?"
"It'll be fine." Meowth flailed his arm. "We're on pretty good terms with Equestria so this place won't be so bad now, will it? They don't even mind that we took some of their treasure."
"More like they don't know. But then again, it is of an ancient past so...mmm." Rarity shrugged, not seeing much wrong with Team Rocket's treasure hoarding activities.
James steered the ship towards Lulolum Island for the night. Currently unknown if it would be welcoming to a giant ship that looked like it could crush their entire civilization when approaching, but Team Rocket went it with either way.
Speaking of which, all their attention had been turned towards the Rocketship as it was not that hard to miss. Especially the visible and vibrant 'R' painted on the side. The force of it departed the nearby clouds as James had parked it right near this port town. But they would just stop by it and nothing more They wouldn't want to make themselves seem suspicious. At least, not Fluttershy and Rarity. Team Rocket was another story.
Either way, ponies gathered around to see the ship, stunned and amazed by its sheer size. The hatch of the ship opened up, showing the silhouettes of Fluttershy, Rarity, Bayleef, Raboot and Audino.
And upon seeing these silhouettes and their visages becoming clear, instead of wondering who they were, the pegasi in Lulolum Island recognized Fluttershy, Rarity and Audino. Not so much Raboot and Bayleef due to their evolutions.
"Oh, it's them!" One pegasus pointed out, instantly drawing all attention to the unicorn, pegasus and Hearing Pokemon. Fluttershy aimed her hoof at herself, wondering if they were talking about her. But it was clear that they were. It wouldn't be anyone else but her, Rarity and Audino.
"That would be us, Fluttershy," said Rarity. "And I think I know why..."
"Oh Is it because of what happened with the Indigo Alliance?
"That would be it. Nothing as large as that would go unnoticed. And besides, with King Paramount labelling us as heroes after all that had happened with that event, it's only natural that our faces would be known. Much like back in Equestria."
"You've got a point there," Fluttershy replied as she had nothing else to say. She, Rarity and the Pokemon only walked off the hatch, fully entering the town of Lulolum Island. Many of the residents were asleep at this point, so not all of them would see Fluttershy and the others.
But they were only here to take a break for a bit and get to the Sky Monarch with their rewards. If they can find it with all these moving islands. Flying past them was one of Pegalysium's many glowing butterflies as always. This butterfly dashed through the late afternoon, moving through the gaps of each building located here.
The butterfly lit up the low-tone spaces of the thin gaps during this sombre and dim time. It had then passed through a chimney, instantly entering somepony's home without having to worry about any smoke or fire to threaten it. This radiant butterfly after entering the house of this pony passed through the back window.
Its journey eventually led it to a place only active during late hours. A place that this beautiful butterfly had phased through. A magical forcefield had rippled with the butterfly's entrance, revealing a secondary side to the town that was just as large as it, but completely hidden.
As if it were a mirror facing the other side, this secondary side to the town also had an alternate appearance to boot. [With its copper rooftops, ceramic tile walls and foggy fields, it all had a mythical atmosphere.
And the main attraction that many on the other side would not see was an out-in-the-open Indigo Alliance building. Similarly to the one hidden in the capital. This building was free to be out in the open due to the magic protection that shielded this secondary town.
In fact, ponies also lived here, casually walking by or even exiting the building of the Indigo Alliance. This secret society was still active and alive even after the event that occurred months ago. Here, the Indigo Alliance had their own town to reside in without any worry.
Inside of the building, a similar courtroom to the one at the capital could be found but it seemed to have some changes here and there. It had far more luxury than just a giant room with a lot of seats.
The butterfly had entered this building before coming to a screeching halt, stopping in front of one of the pegasi nearby. It landed on her nose, flying off as this pegasi and three others were speaking to a certain somepony on a communication shell.
Second Wind.
"Thanks to the power of the Unown, altering the memories of Shooting Star was a success. Now, he works for us, just as intended from the start. I even made it so that he lost his status as a Prince. I can guarantee nopony even say the word prince now." She chuckled. "But, trouble is soon to follow. That's why I called you four for this."
"Are the Unown really that good?" A pegasus by the name of Roseshy spoke, holding a container of Unown. The four of them had received Unown of their own, all placed within these containers. "I haven't used them yet..."
"I assure you, they are the best thing we could ever ask for. With Shooting Star now a member, no doubt his parents and the rest of the nation will search for him. But that is where the Unown come into play. With their power, any future conflict can be resolved. Which is what I propose we do next."
"Hm. Just stop any conflict like that? Okay then." Another pegasus by the name of Waverush said, lifting the container. Once she did, the Unown ascended, hovering around the area. "Y-You have them under control, don't you?" Waverush stammered, looking up at the Symbol Pokemon, having an ominous feeling about them.
"They will follow your orders and any member of the Indigo Alliance. As for me, I'm expecting King Paramount and Queen Luminary to take action."
"What do we do then, Grand Judge?" A pegasus by the name of Chicane who was lounging around asked.
"Do whatever you do best. And deal with anypony that would stop us." Second Wind ordered, leaving the call.
"You heard her. We've got work to do." Waverush placed the shell away. She then turned to the fourth pegasus of the group who was bigger than them. "Thunder Stamp. You're on the lookout as always."
"Mmm." Thunder Stamp nodded in response.
"And let's have these Unown-" Cut off from her sentence, Waverush had then seen the Unown fly off away from this building. They had sensed something crucial to them. Rift Energy. Straight from Bayleef. "Hey! Where are you going?!"
Chicane and Thunderstamp didn't go along with Waverush but Roseshy did. Both of them managed to keep their Unown with them in the containers. Waverush and Roseshy followed the Unown out of the building, running past fellow Indigo Alliance members.
"Roseshy! You learned how to speak with those weird letter Pokemon! How come they're flying off?!" Waverush asked.
"Oh, okay!" Roseshy fluttered up to one of the Unown with the shape of an S. "Excuse me, Unown. What's wrong? You and the others seem to be in a hurry."
Unown, was a Pokemon that couldn't cry out their names much like most Legendary Pokemon. They were fairly silent. But thanks to their latent powers, telepathy through someone's mind was one way to communicate or form other Unown to spell something. In this case, the single Unown used telepathy on Roseshy.
"It said that they sensed some Rift Energy that showed up Lulolum Island. So they're going to try and get rid of it." Roseshy translated, showing a talent for speaking with Pokemon.
"Did they have to go off in a rush? What could it even be that they'd want to get rid of it?" Waverush wondered, passing through the magical forcefield that hid this town, entering the other side. "The Grand Judge has some but it can't be her..."
"Um...Maybe it's them!" Roseshy gasped, coming to a screeching halt and vigorously holding her hoof out. Waverush raised an eyebrow, looking to where Roseshy pointed. Soon, she had a similar shocked expression to her.
They had both seen Fluttershy, Rarity, Audino, Bayleef and Raboot appear, moving through Lulolum Island as the sun was starting to set. They recognized them instantly. Raboot and Bayleef were difficult to recognize thanks to their evolutions but some similarities to their first stage evolutions remained.
"Oh..." Waverush uttered before holding the Unown back, not wanting to give too much attention to themselves. Waverush was almost pulled off with the Unown as they were dedicated to attacking Bayleef at the moment.
She then descended with the Unown, holding them all together with her impressive hoof strength. Waverush and Roseshy then backed up slowly, re-entering the other hidden side of the island.
"The Grand Judge didn't anticipate them arriving, did she?" Waverush said. "They're part of that group that stopped her months ago..."
"Why did they have to show up now?" Roseshy hushed, scrunching her face.
"I don't know. But if they're here, then things can get ugly for us. Can you help keep these Unown under control?" She held out the Unown to Roseshy. "You're the only one that's got a good grasp on them."
"Uh, okay." Roseshy nodded as she went up to the Symbol Pokemon. "Unown, it's best to keep it down and secretive right now. I know you sensed it from either one of them, but now might not be the best way."
With her skills of speaking with Pokemon, the Unown had calmed down. They then circled the pegasus afterwards, sharing their gratitude for her charitable nature.
"Let's think about this for a moment." Waverush poked her head. "Thunder Stamp's probably seen them already. But...the king and queen might already know about their missing son so..."
"Maybe we should try and take them in," Roseshy suggested. "The Grand Judge would love that, wouldn't she? They're probably coming here to rest. So when their guards are down, we can capture them, make sure they stay silent without having the chance to call for any help out there. Especially with that Pokemon with the big ears. Um, maybe."
"Genius!" Waverush put her hoof around Roseshy, startling her and almost causing her eyes to pop out. "You're simple but you think ahead of us well, Roseshy!"
"T-Thanks...!" She said with a weakened voice. They quickly rushed back into the building to alert the rest of the Indigo Alliance, including Chicane and Thunder Stamp.
Chicane was currently annoying Thunder Stamp, waving around a hypnotical string of glowing feathers in his face while he was busy focusing on Lookout. Thunder Stamp showed signs of agitation and Chicane giggled, enjoying it greatly.
"Stop what you're doing!" Waverush slid into the room. "We have a problem!"
"Oh, we saw." Chicane shrugged. "Those ponies from months ago showed up again. Talk about bad timing just when the Grand Judge is getting somewhere. Guess bad luck is gonna keep coming her way."
"Not if we don't do anything about it. Roseshy already had something in mind. We all know how good we are with capturing, right? Well...mainly you, Chicane."
"I do it best." Chicane nodded, appreciating the praise.
"But you probably won't do well with...ya know. That big yellow and pink thing with the huge ears." Waverush referred to Audino. Chicane's eyes expanded with her tone and mood changing seriously.
"Huh?!" She then hopped onto a nearby table, trotting furiously at Waverush, getting up close to her face. "Are you saying I can't get it done because of some...bear" She found it hard to describe what kind of creature Audino resembled. "...cow...rabbit...angel? Whatever it is!"
"I'm just saying it could be tough! That thing can hear a lot, don't you know?! Prince Shooting Star and that thing that names Pokemon got shared with everypony else by the King. So they know a lot about some of those Pokemon that stopped the Grand Judge. And that Audino's hearing is too good to ignore."
"Tch. Whatever." Chicane scoffed, hopping back onto a couch. "Super hearing or not, that Pokemon won't stop us. We also have the Unown to help out, don't we?"
"Good point. These little letters can do a lot. Alright, we know how we'll do it. But here's how we'll deal with that Audino Pokemon." Waverush gathered her allies together, going through the plan. The objective was to capture Rarity and Fluttershy and also silence Audino in the process. All the while, the Unown were thinking about Bayleef more than anything.
Pegalysium Capital. Sky Monarch. Nightfall.
"Our son...?" Naturally, Luminary and Paramount received the news from Garnet and Kaleidoscope as Luminary dropped to the floor, almost fainting until Paramount caught her. "Captured again..."
"Second Wind. Even after everything that had happened, she would still try and meddle with my family." Frustrated by Second Wind and her actions returning, Paramount was trying his best not to shout. "But...thank you for trying to cheer my son up, Garnet. You are a good friend to him."
"Y-You're welcome, your majesty," Garnet replied. "Good to know I didn't mess up..."
"Those Unown sounded serious from the Pokedex over there." Cloudflare aimed her hoof at the Pokedex. "They did this. And I guess when they're together, nothing's stopping them from doing...whatever."
"I've already tried using Rift Magic to search for him." Paramount showed an orb of Rift Magic. "All I need is a few more pushes and I can use more of this magic and-"
"Forget about that right now!" Luminary stood back up, starting Paramount. "We'll send a nation-wide search for my son! No questions!"
"T-That works too..." Paramount nodded in agreement. But he would use the Rift Magic just in case. Guards from Pegalysium had been ordered to search for Shooting Star in every city or town there is.
More than that, the police were involved too as they already occupied certain cities so they would get a head start over the royal guards. Garnet would head home, but she couldn't help but wonder about Shooting Star and how he was doing at the moment. She hoped that the worst hadn't come yet.
Everywhere else, Shooting Star was being searched for. Whether it'd be at Big Sky, Feathercoast, Lulolum and more that were out there in this nation in the skies. Homes were also being searched for potential substitute Indigo Alliance headquarters after the previous one had been exposed.
Returning to Feathercoast, Garnet found that it was flooded with guards left and right, searching high and low. Whether it would be at the school when it was past closing hours or the Pegalysium Gallery Museum, going through the exhibits for any secret rooms, they were on high alert.
"Garnet." Kaleidoscope flew over. "Did you hear the news? Shooting Star's been taken. Again. This time it's bigger than before since he's on their side."
"Yeah. I heard. But you should call him by his status, Kaleidoscope."
"What's... his status again?" Much like Cloudflare, Kaleidoscope had begun forgetting Shooting Star's status as a prince. It seemed that it wasn't just Shooting Star who had parts of his memories altered.
"It's. Nevermind." Garnet sighed as she couldn't say it either. "I hope he's doing well. I mean, he should be since he's working with them now."
"How'd that happen anyway?" Kaleidoscope asked. "What made him go over?"
"It wasn't him. It was those Unown. The Pokedex said that they could do amazing things when it's multiple of them together. And it wasn't kidding. I don't know what those weird letter things did, but they changed him without any problems."
"Unown? Some sort of Pokemon." Kaleidoscope twirled her hair. "In any case, I've been thinking of a way to help. Why don't we just get Twilight and the others to help out like they did before?"
"Asking them to help? Are we sure we should be asking favours for them for something like this?"
"Why not? They love helping others, is what Twilight told me." Kaleidoscope explained. "Plus, Shooting Star's their friend so they wouldn't ignore this would they?"
"You've got a point. But now that I think about it..he's my friend too." Garnet being one of Shooting Star's closest friends, still felt that she had to make it up to him due to everything that had transpired from it.
"Uh, yeah. But no offence, Garnet, but I don't think you're hero material..." Kaleidoscope hushed, poking Garnet. Garnet pouted, giving a lowered-eyed look to her friend. "Just saying."
"I may not be hero material, but I have to try." Garnet looked to the ground, thinking of anything she could do. She didn't have high amounts of magic such as royalty or even access to reality-defying power such as Rift Energy or the Unown. She was average at best.
That is until she remembered something crucial. Right before Shooting Star's reality had been altered, Garnet recalled the Pokemon at the Grotto. Mainly Charizard and many others. If anything, the greatest source of help could originate from the Flame Pokemon who she had befriended and possibly the other Pokemon living there. Those Pocket Monsters can be helpful in any scenario after all.
"That's it! Kaleidoscope! We're going back to the Drifting Peaks! It's been a while since you've been there!" Garnet sprung an idea. "We're going for Charizard and whoever else is there!"
"Oh, really? Great! What about Clear? She hasn't been there in a while too."
"We're not hanging out. This is way bigger than that." Garnet spread her wings out. "Clear's probably asleep by now."
"No, she's awake." Kaleidoscope turned to Clear View who was out of her home due to the search being conducted by the guards. "She'd probably just follow us either way if she saw us."
"Whatever! It doesn't matter! Let's go!" Wanting to hurry before things are too late, Garnet dashed off with Kaleidoscope promptly following. Clear View noticed her friends flying off in a hurry as it caught her attention.
The mute pony couldn't help but be interested as was expected from her curiosity with many things. Whether they be adventures, Pokemon, ghosts, etc. She took the skies, pursuing her friends. Clear used her wings as sign language as always, asking where they going.
"Told you she'd follow anyway."
Far south of Pegalysium. Nightfall.
Over at the far east of Pegalysium, one of the many Ilse Monsters could be found. This was where a majority if not all of them resided, disguised as islands. However, deep within one Isle Monster and its crevice mouth, a familiar golden light that soon turned red had glistened out of it. Deep within the crevice, a room could be found. A room for the Indigo Alliance, built within an Isle Monster. And not without some adjusting.
"Ah, these Unown are amazing!" Second Wind chuckled with the Unown floating about. "To think I could just tame an Isle Monster and place a new hideout here. Perhaps I judged these Pokemon too harshly. Now then, Shooting Star. How do you like your robe?"
Shooting Star was dressed in an Indigo Alliance robe that was fitting to what he wished for when he was first kidnapped by them, but it never came to fruition. Now it did, but the cheery personality of Shooting star didn't radiate out to admire the garb. "It's nice."
"Hm. Underwhelming." Second Wind's eyes moved from side to side, expecting a larger response. "Oh, well. I should've known anyway. Altering your reality has even changed how you act. So calm and composed. Completely serene. Now that I think about it..."
"What do I do now?" Shooting Star asked.
"Well, now that you ask me, something's come up in my mind." She walked up to the young prince. "You remember today, didn't you? How the previous Pegasi of Destiny told you that you would never fulfil the legacy and become the 10th. Unable to hold the Destiny Magic at all."
"I remember." That was one memory that wasn't altered from Shooting Star. That humiliating display back at the Pegalysium capital for all to see. "I can't believe it. I thought I was the 10th one."
"Ah, but it isn't over yet. Because remember, you need to be serene of mind and everything to hold it, as they said." Second Wind smirked, circling Shooting Star. "And now, you are...."
"I am." Soon, Shooting Star realized this. All he needed was for Second Wind to bring it up. While he was denied the fulfilment, him being born and prophesized as the 10th hadn't faded away.
"So for once, I'd say take the advice of those previous pegasi. Let that serene nature appear and harness that Destiny Magic. It's somewhere in you. You just need to let it out." Second Wind backed away, allowing for Shooting Star to try and bring out the Destiny Magic now that everything about him was calm and collected.
Second Wind knew that she would have more resources to pull from. Unown's power and the Destiny Magic that essentially acts as one half of Pegalysium as a whole. Second Wind closed his eyes, allowing himself to become truly peace of mind. The excited part of himself was out of the picture, locked behind memories from an altered reality.
In truth, this was Second Wind's plan all along. And she was having it all go her way. Out of Shooting Star's body, a blinding silver aura with gold sparks on the fringe showed itself around him. Second Wind loved what she was seeing as the Aura resembled shooting stars. Fitting for who the wielder was.
Shooting Star opened his eyes, realizing what he was surrounded by. Thanks to the power of the Unown, he could bring out this magic that was always inside of him, but his other self never had the serenity to do.
"Is this it?" Shooting Star gawked.
"It most certainly is!" Second Wind cackled. "Destiny Magic! Oh, this is perfect! Magic that is only exclusive to one kind of Pegasus. But now, it's all tailored to us."
"What happens now?"
"Now? Hm-hm-hm." A plotting Second Wind wasn't done with her plans. "Just you wait, Shooting Star. With your magic, you change how all of Pegalysium functions. "But first, let the Unown take things from here." The Grand Judge then turned to the Unown, who were waiting for their next command. "Go."
The Unown had suddenly taken off. They already had a set destination to go to. Under Second Wind's command, the Unown had flown out of the Isle Monster, ready to cause some chaos in the name of the Indigo Alliance. Second Wind's many objectives were to take back the control that she had in secrecy even after it had been foiled and exposed.
And with the power of the Unown, that would be easy for her. The night skies were covered with black letters and enigmatic white eyes. The Symbol Pokemon could already sense multiple traces of Rift Energy. One coming from the Sky Monarch and the other coming from Lulolum Island. Two groups of Unown split up, going for the dual civilizations. Only chaos can come from this. And a kind of chaos that could spread.
Only from the Unown.
Equestria. Canterlot. Nightfall.
As always, during nightfall, the most active pony was Princess Luna. Whether she was in the dream realm or sometimes training with her Pokemon, she would be there.
With the night still being somewhat early, Luna aimed to get her Pokemon's strength up a bit before patrolling the dreams of many. And of course, prevent Musharna from eating any.
"Xatu." But in the midst of training, Xatu felt something. The Mystic Pokemon's ability to see into the past and the future were kicking in as his eyes started flashing. "Xatu."
"What is it, Xatu?!" Luna rushed over. "I know this look!"
By now, Luna knows her Pokemon well. And Xatu's eyes flashing meant that something from the future was coming, no doubt. Xatu had already been aware of the events taking place in Pegalysium. But the vision of the Mystic Pokemon allowed it to see more than that.
It surpassed Pegalysium. He could see Equestria.
Ponyville. Twilight's Castle.
"Absol!" It wasn't just Xatu. Absol felt it too. Being the Disaster Pokemon, he could sense upcoming disasters. And jumping out of the window, his horn sensed trouble from above.
"Absol!" Twilight cried out as she was setting the bed for her Pokemon. She looked out of the broken window, seeing Absol rush off. Twilight and her Pokemon soon followed their teammate without hesitation. "Where are you going?!"
Nightfall at Lulolum Island. Rarity, Fluttershy and their Pokemon were invited to stay here for the night. The goal to receive their chosen rewards from the Sky Monarch was still available, unfortunately, it was getting late and the wind currents constantly moving the nation in different directions only made it harder for the Rocketship commanded by Team Rocket to reach their destination in time.
Thankfully, since Rarity and Fluttershy were recognized, they were free to stay. However, past a magical forcefield, there was a town that was opposite to the town in Lulolum Island. A mirror variation that was still on the same island.
"Audino..." Audino slumped herself on a hotel bed, sinking into the comfortable feeling of it.
"Nice of them to let us stay here for free," said Fluttershy. "These beds are already making me feel sleepy...."
"I know, darling. It's...weird" Rarity yawned. "I wasn't this tired minutes ago."
"Oh. That's just the magic from our beds." A hotel worker opened the door. "Lying on them during nightfall makes anypony sleepy. Nifty, isn't it?"
"Magic like that? I like it." Fluttershy approved as Raboot and Bayleef were already asleep.
"Not just any magic. This is Destiny Magic at play. Made by the Pegasus of Destiny and continuously improved over time with each user. One of those benefits are beds that can make you drowsy and sleepy in just a matter of seconds."
"Oh." Both Rarity and Fluttershy said, not having much else to respond with. They just found it neat.
"Anyway. Have a good night~" The employee waved her hoof. "If you need to know where the Sky Monarch would be with the position shift, it's at the far west now." And as a bonus, she gave them the current location of the Sky Monarch, leaving afterwards.
They let the bed do the rest of the work as their bodies were in nirvana right now. Sound asleep and at peace, they felt as if they had nothing to worry about. Except, they did have something to worry about. Quite a few things. One of which was extremely close. The other side of the town which was hidden through a magical forcefield had an entire location dedicated to the Indigo Alliance.
Entering this side of the island while playing it naturally were three members of the Indigo Alliance who were usually seen as a quartet with one of them being on the lookout. Waverush, Roseshy and Chicane to be exact. They even wore their Indigo Alliance robes to stay secretive.
They stood before the hotel, looking at their surroundings as everything was peaceful at the moment. Just what they needed. Waverush took the lead with a few Unown flying alongside her partners. Using the power of the Unown, they had made themselves an opening.
The Unown warped space, as usual, opening a dimensional hole through the hotel walls, distorting. Waverush, without saying a word, hopped into the hole, entering the interior of the hotel. Roseshy, Chicane and the rest of the Unown followed suit. They were in without making a sound, thanks to the Unown.
"Smart thinking having the Unown do that space hole thing," said Waverush to Roseshy. "How did you even think of something like that?"
"My father was a brilliant scientist. Or so I heard. Guess I inherited his intelligence?"
"That's not how intelligence or genes work but sure." Chicane walked past Roseshy. "Okay...That uhh...you know..." She nudged her head, referring to Audino as to try and not alert the Hearing Pokemon about their plan. "...Should be down and out."
"Yeah. Talk about an immaculate ability." Waverush replied as she and Chicane were using vague words to mask their true intentions. Despite the height of the hotel, Audino's hearing could go in different directions.
Speaking of Audino, even while asleep, her ears were always active at full strength. The voices of Waverush and the others passed through the walls as Audino's area of effect hearing picked up on it. The Hearing Pokemon grumbled, rubbing her eye as the chatting got her to wake up a bit.
Meanwhile, the Unown were trying to hold themselves back from rushing over and attacking Bayleef. Their mission to rid anything Rift-related was something they couldn't ignore. Even with Roseshy's way of understanding them.
"Those letters are getting out of control..." Chicane noticed the trembling of the Unown. "Roseshy."
"Right." Roseshy fluttered over to the Unown, also giving vague words to conceal her intentions. "Just calm down, please. You'll make a scene if you don't hold back."
"Audino..." Audino blinked for a bit before getting off of the bed. Audino's hearing wasn't too much focused on the chatting but rather another sound. The sound of the Unown. While they don't say their names much like Legendary Pokemon, similarly to Legendary Pokemon, they have cries that still existed.
Cries that sounded abnormal. The Unown, when together, had cries that sounded like a song, similarly to little children. That was the distinguished cry of the Unown, only when unified. Audino couldn't ignore this as the song was haunting to her. And unable to restrain themselves from Bayleef, one Unown went ahead, prompting the others to do the same.
"Oh, no-no-no-no...!" Roseshy gasped once witnessing the Unown fly off. Waverush, who had impressive speed as it also backed up her name, dashed past Roseshy, grabbing the Unown faster than they could leave the area.
"Gotcha...!" She hushed. But immediately after grabbing them, the moving Unown ended up dragging her along. "Woah!" She screeched with her tone being raised, crashing onto a wall. Roseshy covered her eyes as Waverush was doing her best to hold them back.
Thankfully, the Unown were lightweight, but that didn't stop them from causing Waverush to hit some walls, causing sounds to vibrate and echo throughout the hotel.
Audino, after hearing the ominous singing and now the banging on the walls from different directions ended up leaving the room to see it for herself. Not before waking Fluttershy up first. "Mmm...What is it, Audi?"
"Audi. Audino."
"Something's happening downstairs...?" Fluttershy translated before being given a piggyback ride by Audino. She would see it for herself whilst feeling relaxed at the same time. Audino was both a fluffy and soft Pokemon. That explained her amazing durability after all.
Audino ran out of the hotel room, following the sound of the Unown and the banging. Waverush tried getting everything under control but so far, it wasn't going swimmingly.
"Little help here, Chicane...!
"Oh, I don't want to get my mane dirty." Chicane sighed, showing her vanity over her mission more.
"You're wearing a robe and a hood...!" Waverush growled before having her face smacked onto the wall.
"True." Chicane would take things from here. She didn't have Roseshy's speciality of communicating with the Unown, but she knew what to do either way. "It won't be me that fixes it anyway. Roseshy, do that singing."
"Oh, right!" Roseshy exclaimed before closing her mouth, realizing that her tone had been raised. Afterwards, while Waverush was being dragged around by the Unown, struggling to keep them steady, the Symbol Pokemon had suddenly halted. They had heard something beautiful. Roseshy's singing.
They had calmed down immediately upon hearing this singing. It worked well with the singing of the Unown as well, causing perfect harmony. And this singing had been made aware by Audino, who was already heading in the direction of all the noise.
Waverush sighed as she dropped the Unown, holding her head in the process. Chicane had then grabbed some of the Unown walking off as if nothing happened. "Easy enough. What made you think grabbing them would be the best option?"
"Mmmrgh..." Waerush growled before sitting up.
"Watch how easy it is with these things. Alright, little letter thing. How about some muting? Make it a silent night for just that one Pokemon. Audino." Chicane ordered the Unown. Ask and she shall receive. The Unown gathered together, using their reality-bending powers once more. This time, working against Audino's own speciality, the Unown had warped reality, sending a muting wave in Audino's direction as they could easily sense her presence.
Audino, while walking downstairs, suddenly felt an unusual and downright unpleasant presence. And it went right through her body. Before she knew it, she couldn't hear her own footsteps. She could feel them, but she couldn't hear them. She couldn't even hear Fluttershy's mumbling as Audino came to a screeching halt. This couldn't be ignored for a Pokemon such as her. "Audino?" Audino gasped, realizing that her ears weren't picking up on any sound anymore.
She held her ears, shaking them to see if something was off. She couldn't even hear herself touching the earlobes. Audino then turned her head, looking at Fluttershy and rambling. "Audino! Audi! Audi-Audi!"
"Mmm..." But Fluttershy didn't respond. In fact, not only could Audino not hear her own words, but she soon realized that she was completely mute. Audino put her hand over her mouth as everything about her became silent.
Fluttershy couldn't hear Audino at all as the Hearing Pokemon tried raising her voice. But it was no use. And with this absolute silence, that prompted the Indigo Alliance members to strike.
Lurking in the shadows and flying past Audino without having to worry about making too much noise with their wingbeats were Roseshy and Waverush. Audino saw a blur fly past her. Mainly from Waverush who was dragging Roseshy along.
But the moment she turned to try and spot this blur, she was met with a Hidden Power to the side. Straight from the Unown as ordered by Chicane. "Audino!" Audino cried out before falling to the floor. Fluttershy had been dropped too. That ended up waking Fluttershy up as to be expected.
"Gah! W-What happened?!" Fluttershy was fully awake before sporting her partner on the floor. "Audi!"
"A-Audino...!" Audino growled as Fluttershy had soon noticed Chicane. Or in this case, just another Indigo Alliance Member since they all wore the same robes.
"The Indigo Alliance?!" Fluttershy gasped as the Unown then surrounded her. Chicane aimed her hoof at Fluttershy, commanding the Unown to capture her. "Unown..." Fluttershy knew that there would be only one reason that Unown were here. "They're after Bayleef!"
And all that once, the Unown had used Hidden Power. However, Audino wouldn't need Super Hearing to know what to do next. She immediately got up, running in front of Fluttershy and using Protect. A green barrier had been formed, blocking the red rays of Hidden Power successfully. Thankfully, for the first time.
"Thank you, Audi!" Fluttershy sighed with relief. "Okay! Use Hyper Beam!" However, upon trying to give out a command to Audino, Fluttershy found that the Hearing Pokemon did not hear her command. "Audino?"
"Audino..." Audino couldn't hear her. Thus, any commands that Fluttershy would have were exempt from the get-go.
"Audi? W-What's wrong?" Fluttershy knew that something was amiss as her eyes started trembling.
"Sounds like your partner's hard of hearing right now. Tough." Chicane chuckled, taunting Fluttershy. "Get her."
The Unown once again used Hidden Power, releasing the red rays. Audino would try PRotect once more. However, it works best when used sparingly and using it a second time in a row was a bad idea. Audino's barrier broke apart instantly once Hidden Power connected, causing her to slide back.
"D-Dino!" Audino growled as another Hidden Power came her way.
"Audi, try blocking it!"
"Audino..." But once again, she couldn't hear. Thus, nothing. Audino had taken Hidden Power Fighting from the Unown, receiving super-effective damage.
"Audi?" Fluttershy was now truly worried as Audino didn't respond. "What happened...?" But even when exempt from hearing, Audino could still take action as her amazing endurance helped her through the Hidden Power Fighting. "Audino!"
Audino fought back, using Hyper Beam afterwards. She put her hands together before unleashing a giant orange beam of Infinity Energy that ripped through the floor of the hotel. The Unown came together, using their power to create a reflective forcefield. That forcefield had taken Hyper Beam, quickly re-directing it to the Hearing Pokemon.
"Audino!" Audino gasped before witnessing the Hyper Beam coming her. She needed time to recharge to do anything against it. And there was now time. Audino could only do one other thing. Put her body over Fluttershy, protecting her.
The explosion from Hyper Beam was abundant, blowing off parts of the walls. As if the pegasi in the hotel rooms weren't startled enough, they had witnessed destruction take place. Immediately, they started fleeing the place as the explosion of Hyper Beam left some flames that started to spread.
The smoke cleared as Audino's tough endurance kicked in once more with her arms and entire body covering Fluttershy. She held Fluttershy, making sure that she wouldn't leave her sight. Her back was smoking from the redirected Hyper Beam, however. "A-Audino..."
"What is that thing made of?" Chicane narrowed her eyes. seeing that Audino was not only impressively resilient but now she was holding onto Fluttershy, making it tougher to capture her. "Unown." She nudged her head, ordering the Unown to continue attacking. And they did. Unleashing Hidden Power Fighting onto Audino's back constantly until she would faint.
However, Audino also used Heal Pulse on her body, causing herself to recover whilst being struck constantly by Hidden Power. The green aura of Heal Pulse showed itself as Audino hung in there just by using one move.
"Audi!" Fluttershy gasped, seeing her partner taking a constant pummeling while healing herself, making it unbearable. All for Fluttershy's safety, even if her hearing and speech had been muted. "Stop!"
"Bay!" Hearing all of this commotion was Bayleef and soon Rarity and Raboot were involved. It started with the Hyper Beam explosion that alerted everypony.
"What is happening out there?!" Rarity had already left the room, seeing the many ponies running out of the hotel. She also noticed the disappearance of Fluttershy and Audino from the hotel room. "Fluttershy?! Audino! Where are you?!"
And right close to Rarity were Waverushy and Roseshy. They were also surprised by the commotion. They were hoping to keep all of this secretive. But that all went upside-down once Hyper Beam went off.
"Boot? Raboot" Raboot's ears perked up as he turned to see Waverush and Roseshy lurking in the shadows. Thanks to the peeping eyes of the Unown and the frantic running, their stealthy approach had been foiled as Raboot alerted Rarity and Bayleef to their spot.
"Indigo Alliance! That makes sense..." Rarity sighed.
"Our cover's been blown!" Roseshy gasped as Waverush stepped in front of her.
"No use hiding it now then. Unown," said Waverush as the Unown flew forward, setting their sights on Bayleef. "You know why we're here. Capture her and do whatever it is you wanted to do to that green thing"
The Unown would gladly do so. They would not only attempt to capture Rarity but also rid Bayleef due to her being Rift influenced. The Unown formed a circle, using Hidden Power as red rays came flying out.
"Raboot!" Raboot jumped over Rarity, using Flame Charge to cloak his body in a scarlet aura. The Rabbit Pokemon had then charged into Hidden Power, blocking it from touching his friends. However, it resulted in a backfire as the Hidden Power overpowered his Flame Charge, knocking Raboot back with a crimson explosion. To add insult to injury, the Hidden Power had become Ground and Rock once connecting with Raboot, harming him even more. "Ra!"
"Raboot!" Rarity caught Raboot. The unicorn then narrowed her eyes before using her magic to hold out two of her Poke Balls. Knowing the threat in front of her, she wasted no time in retaliating as the Poke Balls were thrown. "Lopunny! Pheromosa! Come out!"
"Pheromosa!"
"Lopunny!"
"Triple Kick and High Jump Kick! Now!"
"Mosa!" Both Pheromosa and Lopunny leapt into the air, simultaneously attacking the Unown with their nimble yet devastatingly powerful kicks. They managed to kick some of them out of the way, causing them to fly around as if they were ragdolls.
"Bayleef!" Bayleef chimed in, using Magical Leaf. The Unown were knocked out of the air with curious leaves lathered with a mystical pink and green aura.
The Unown then retaliated with Hidden Power as that was the only move they could use. But it was a useful move for them either way. The red rays had super-effective moves for each of them. Flying, Fighting and Fire. Lopunny and Pheromosa received the red rays along with Bayleef, taking these super-effective blows.
"Lo!" Lopunny slid on the floor as she and Pheromosa were still in there. However, Pheromosa's fragile body coupled with Hidden Power Flying made her a bit dazed. There were over 20 Leavanny as Rarity could see. Definitely outnumbered coupled with Waverush and Roseshy being here.
The Unown then flew towards just Bayleef and no one else, shooting out their red rays at the Grass-Type. "Bay?!" Bayleef gasped as she ran away from the red rays. Pheromosa quickly grabbed her friend, outrunning them faster than Bayleef ever could.
The Unown had then shifted reality, causing Pheromosa to run in reverse, bringing her and Bayleef closer to their location. "M-M-Mosa?!"
"Raboot!" Along came Raboot with High Jump Kick, leaping into the air and hopping on Pheromosa's head for an extra height advantage. Pheromosa flinched as the Unown were too busy messing with reality to notice Raboot. "Boot!" The Rabbit Pokemon kicked one Unown which ended up causing it to hit another, resulting in a domino effect. The Unown lost their focus, falling to the side. Some of them had fainted, but the rest soon got back up in no time.
"What typing are they?" Rarity wondered, thinking about taking out her Pokedex. "Bah, it doesn't matter at all! We'll beat them with numbers as well!" Aiming to match the Unown with superior numbers, Rarity held out 12 Poke Balls with her magic. Those 12 had all of her Leavanny within them as they were unleashed.
"Leavanny!"
"Oh." Waverush's eyes opened, seeing the emergence of the 12 Leavanny.
"Wave." Roseshy slid over, speaking to her ally. "I don't know if we can capture them with all of this happening now. It might get worse from the looks of it..."
"Relax. I got it. Unown! Enough with the red thing and just mess with reality already!" Waverush shouted, ordering the Unown to finish this immediately. The Unown gathered together, getting extra close as if they were a jigsaw puzzle.
"I think not! Leavanny! String Shot!"
"Leavan!" The Leavanny advanced before the Unown could. Altogether, they had shot out thick strings from their mouths. Right as the Unown gathered together, that allowed the Unown to grab them in one spot. Specifically, the 12 strings had wrapped around the 12 Unown, surpassing them in size and making them closer than they were already were.
"Right where we want you!"
"Now, Pheromosa! Lop-" But before Rarity could make a command, Waverush intervened. Spreading out her wings, she flew at Rarity, grabbing Rarity. "Oh!" Rarity gasped as she was carried into the air by Waverush. Waverush decided to get physical instead of standing around and letting the Unown do everything.
"Leavanny!" Naturally, the 12 Leavanny and the rest of Rarity's friends turned to see her getting flown into the air. That allowed the Unown to break free, erasing the String Shots with their power.
After breaking free, the Unown capitalized on this moment while their opponents' guards were down. This very spot had been altered, gaining a dimensional hole from below. The hole had a gravitational pull that focused around Leavanny, Pheromosa and Lopunny. Noticeably, Bayleef was exempt from this for obvious reasons. The Unown wanted to deal with her personally.
"Lo?!" Lopunny and the others gasped as they were being sunk through the hole. Trying to break free was useless even with Pheromosa's swiftness.
"Unhand me!" Rarity cried out, using her magic to try and push Waverush off of her. Waverush did the same with her magic, coming straight from her wings. She continued carrying Rarity through the air, preventing her from escaping.
"L-Leavanny!" The Leavannyhad all used String Shot, latching their strings onto the walls to try and break free from the hole that was sinking them. "L-Lea...!"
"Raboot!" Raboot held onto Leavanny's legs whilst Lopunny and Pheromosa added their strength. In both a risky yet genius attempt, they stamped their feet onto Leavanny's back.
"Lea?!"
"Phero!" Pheromosa told them to trust her and Lopunny. Their strength could be a great factor here. They continued to kick their partners in the back, harming them while also having the strength to push them further. Leavanny endured it for the sake of breaking out.
"Bay!" Bayleef tried running over to use her vines, only for the Unown to get in her way. "Bay?!" Bayleef was soon cornered by the Unown from all sides, unable to reach her friends.
"I'm sorry about this." Roseshy apologized to the Leaf Pokemon before flying over. She had then started humming a peaceful melody to Leavanny and the others with the intention of foiling their escape. And much like how this melody worked well on the Unown, it was worked just as efficiently on Leavanny, Lopunny, Raboot and Pheromosa.
"Lea..." The Leavanny grew tired from Roseshy's singing as their eyes started closing. Pheromosa and Lopunny ceased their kicking with Raboot being the first to fully sink through. Soon, they all fell through the hole after being put to sleep. The dimensional hole had then closed off as they were sent elsewhere.
Rarity witnessed this as Waverush kept her in the air. She soon saw Bayleef surrounded by the Unown charging up their Hidden Power. No one else was present there to help her but herself. Rarity grunted before then shoving her hooves onto Waverush. She managed to break free for a second, only for Waverush to fly after her later.
"Bay?! Bay!" Bayleef closed her eyes before resorting to one other option. She had tried the Countershield tactic. Bayleef quickly got on her back, using Magical Leaf in the process.
Right on time as the Unown had unleashed red rays from their bodies, only for these rays to be blocked by a spiral of leaves that were moving frantically. Not only did they block the rays, but the leaves had also hit the Unown out of the air. Truly, the Countershield was the most versatile move that Ash gave out to his friends.
And it was all thanks to Dawn.
Bayleef then ran off, fleeing from the Unown once they were knocked down. The Magical Leaf Countershield managed to knock some of them out. Now only 9 of them remained as they had then pursued Bayleef. Roseshy picked up the fainted Unown, tending to them.
Meanwhile, Audino was still struggling against the other Unown. Fluttershy pleaded for her to stop but Audino just couldn't hear her. But even if she couldn't hear her, Fluttershy wouldn't leave Audino's side.
"Ugh...This is just getting uncomfortable to look at." Chicane grimaced after seeing Audino's damage marks and hearing Fluttershy's pleading. "That's enough, Unown." The Unown had soon stopped their Hidden Power Assault, ending the bombardment of red rays.
Audino's constant Heal Pulse did its job well, however, against constant barrages of Hidden Power that were appearing every second, even Heal Pulse couldn't keep up. Thus, Audino closed her eyes, groaning as she had reached her limit. And yet, she wouldn't let go of Fluttershy. "A-Audino..."
"Even then it won't let go...?" Chicane gawked. "Fine then. Unown, get this over with already."
By Chicance's command, that Unown had altered reality, forcing Audino's hands to become slippery. Slippery enough for Fluttershy to slip out of her grasp. Once she was out, the Unown had used telekinetic abilities to grab the Element of Kindness whilst Audino got on her knees.
"Why are you doing this?!" Fluttershy asked as she was brought to the Unown.
"Isn't it obvious? The Grand Judge has a huge grudge against your and your friends. Capturing you is a massive bonus for us, especially in the Quillbit department. Nothing more to it. Now, let's go, shall we?" Chicane laughed as the Unown had then made another hole through the walls that led out of the hotel and right back to the other side.
Chicane flew off with the Unown and her travelling through the dimensional hole, bringing Fluttershy along. Audino was left there by herself, powerless to do much. She growled, trying her best to get up as her back was smoking. "A-Audino..." She cried out as the hole had closed.
She didn't even hear Fluttershy calling out her name or even the commotion happening within the hotel. Without her hearing, Audino felt insignificant. And that wasn't all that she failed to hear.
Outside, more Unown were appearing as a courtesy of Second Wind. There were far more Unown than the ones that infiltrated the hotel. Dozens as they covered the skies with black and white. The pegasi of Lulolum Island started panicking as the commotion within the hotel was enough to alarm them.
The Unown wouldn't harm them. Instead, they were here for only two things. Bayleef and altering reality to Second Wind's command. "B-Bay?!" Bayleef looked outside the window, seeing a swarm of Unown. Horror and shock met her heart as now the number of Unown had only increased while other Unown were pursuing her.
The Unown warped reality, changing it to fit Second Wind's image the way she intended. Bayleef continued running as she noticed statues of Second Wind appearing, just to fill her ego. Pegasi from Lulolum were even having their buildings renovated in the process to fit a mandatory appearance in Second Wind's eyes.
It wasn't just Lulolum Island either.
Pegalysium Capital. Sky Monarch.
The capital of Pegalysium was under attack by the Unown. Not only were they altering reality to change it for Second Wind, but one pony had RIft Magic in his possession. King Paramount.
Paramount witnessed the arrival of the Unown as all of the innocent pegasi were being chased down by the Unown. Members of the Indigo Alliance were currently locked up in the palace's dungeons. But soon, thanks to the Unown, their freedom would be guaranteed.
The walls of the dungeon were being torn apart by the power of the Unown, granting the prisoners their chance to escape. Large red chains were summoned by the Unown, going straight for the Pegalysium guards as a means to restrain them. And they did an amazing job doing so.
"What's happening?!" Luminary gasped as she saw all of the Unown heading in this direction. "Is our son okay?!"
"I'm sure he'll be fine! But right now, whatever these letters are, they've probably been sent by Second Wind!" Paramount spread his wings out along with Luminary. Together, they used their magic to fend off the Unown from getting any closer. Pandemonium had begun.
Some of the Unown managed to sneak by, entering the palace to get the jump on Paramount. By flying in from the side, the Unown locked eyes onto the King of Pegalysium, only for him to be aware and have his guards come to his aid.
The guards were quickly swooped away by the chains that seemed to act of their own volition within having anyone to wield it. Essentially, sentient chains that wrapped around the guards, causing their armour to become fragile.
The Unown had then unleashed the red rays as Paramount and Luminary put up a protective shield of magic. One large enough to not just block the rays, but also push away the Unown. Once the Unown were pushed away, Paramount and Luminary fled the balcony they stood on to cover more of their palace and help their subjects.
The Unown pursued them with more of those rays coming out. Luminary turned around to see the rays incoming as she feared she would be struck by them. However, it was soon revealed that they had completely passed by her. Instead, they focused on Paramount. They even ignored Luminary overall, flying past her. "Dear! They're after you!"
"Just me?" Paramount turned around, soaring through his palace as his wife had been ignored. But the chains wouldn't ignore her, that's for sure. Paramount wondered why the Unown would only go for him. He knew that Second Wind had it in for him but completely ignoring Luminary confused him greatly. Either way, he didn't care. He was just dedicated to saving his subjects and finding his son.
Equestria. Pikachu Highlands. Nightfall.
"Phero!" The Dimensional Hole made by the Unown ended up sending Pheromosa and the others right back to Equestria as they crashed onto the ground. "M-Mosa..."
"Leavan..."
"R-Raboot..."
"Mosa!" Pheromosa sat up, realizing that she and her friends were right at the Pikachu Highlands and near the Deerling Forest too. Faraway from Pegalysium at this point. The worst place to be right now considering the circumstances. "Pheromosa! "Pheromosa cried out for Rarity in the night sky after being separated from her best friend.
"R-Raboot!" Raboot did the same, only for Fluttershy. "Raboot...."
"Leavan!" Aggravated that they failed to protect their trainer, one of the Leavanny smashed their leaf hand onto the ground. It was a surprisingly hard hit for something made out of leaves.
"Pikachu?" Naturally, this noise brought the attention of the Pikachu living here in the Pikachu Highlands. A few of the Electric-Types left their homes, either awake or just woken up from the noise. "Pika? Pikachu?"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa's sadness soon turned to hope once she saw the Pikachu. This location was familiar after all. The Lissome Pokemon got back up, appearing in front of one of the Pikachu in a flash with her amazing speed. "Mo! Pheromosa!" She grabbed a Female Pikachu, rapidly bombarding her with a barrage of words.
"P-Pi!?" The Female Pikachu couldn't keep up as Pheromosa's words were just as fast as her speed. Confused and overwhelmed by the words, Pikachu had no choice but to shock her. "Pika...Chuuu!"
"P-Phe!" Pheromosa, who had already taken damage from the previous battle, felt all those volts flow through her body. Raboot and Leavanny stood there in shock as Pheromosa then fainted while having a smoked body. "Phe-Pheromo..."
"Raboot..." Raboot sighed quickly walking over to the Pikachu. He would explain things carefully without rushing things. And explain he did. "Ra. Raboot."
"Pika?" The other Pikachu leaned in, hearing Raboot's words. Hopefully, with all of these Pikachu here that were familiar with Raboot's friends, they could get somewhere and fix all of this. Raboot also knew there were others that would do the same and they were closed.
Specifically, the closest location to the Pikachu Highlands, aside from Deerling Forest, was Canterlot.
Canterlot Castle. Nightfall.
"Something terrible will happen at Pegalysium and soon come to us?" Celestia currently spoke with her little sister Luna as Xatu's premonition told of the current events.
"Yes. And I'm afraid it's already happening. Pegalysium is in danger, sister. By the Unown." said Luna.
"Unown?"
"I'm not sure what those are either, but it's only natural that they are dangerous. What should we do? Should we warn Pegalysium?"
"Absol!" Entering the doors of Canterlot Castle was Absol. And right behind him were Twilight, Espeon, Cinccino, Ninetales and Togekiss, all exhausted.
"Absol please..." Twilight sighed, lying flat on her face. "Slow down...We're so tired..."
"Twilight! Everyone! Did you get the same feeling as well?!" Luna turned to her.
"W-What feeling...?" An exhausted Twilight asked. "We were just following Absol. It sounded like something important had come up."
"Something important has come up." Celestia got off her throne, helping Twilight back up. "And if both Absol and Xatu had sensed it, then it has likely already begun. Up at Pegalysium."
"Pegalysium?!"
"And soon Equestria according to Xatu's premonition. Twilight. Do you know about Pokemon named Unown?" Celestia asked, hoping to know about Unown. Thankfully, Twilight was the pony to ask.
"Unown...Unown..." Twilight was tired, thus her mind was processing slower than usual. But she would soon remember that name. "Unown! Oh! I know about that Pokemon! I saw them back at the Holon Pyramid as Hieroglyphics. And even parts of them in the books back at my lab."
"Excellent! And what is it about them that makes them so dangerous?" Luna questioned.
"Well...All I know is that when together, they can perform amazing things. And that they are parts of Arceus and his Thousand Arms, so that would explain their amazing power. D-Did they come here?"
"No. They're at Pegalysium. And if they have that kind of power along with being parts of Arceus..." Reality kicked in for Celestia. The situation was graver than expected. This was a threat that had some of the power of Arceus. And it couldn't be ignored. "We're going to Pegalysium. Now!"
Already strong on their decision, Celestia, Twilight and Luna would head to Pegalysium after the horrible feelings that Xatu and Absol received.
"Alright then. We will make for the Sky Monarch before anywhere else. King Paramount and Queen Luminary must be the first to know about this." said Celestia as she and her fellow alicorns spread their wings out. Espeon hopped onto Twilight's back to take a piggyback ride whilst Passion and Darkrai would simply float.
"Has the disaster already started, you think?" Twilight asked. "Absol's disaster premonitions sometimes happen while the disaster is happening."
"I hope not." Luna trembled. "Let's just hurry and see what we can do before this disaster can spread out to our world." Without wasting any time, the alicorns and their partners took the skies, heading for Pegalysium. But before they could even go past 6 ft off the ground, grabbing their tails was Pheromosa.
Arriving here at great speeds was the Lissome Pokemon along with Raboot and all 12 of Rarity's Leavanny. She held Celestia and Luna's tails with her arms while biting on Twilight's tail. "M-Mosa!"
"Pheromosa?" The Alicorn sisters turned.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Twilight screeched, flailing her hooves. "That's my tail you're biting!"
"Mosa! Phero!" Pheromosa managed to get them down, reaching them in time before they could depart. Pheromosa and the rest of the Pokemon had a lot to say. Mainly concerning their Pokemon Trainers.
"What is this? What's going on?" Luna asked.
"Lea!" One of the Leavanny got in front of Pheromosa, explaining everything to Passion, Darkrai and Espeon. Another Leavanny stepped forward to do the same as Raboot and Pheromosa did so too. Passion, Darkrai and Espeon were able to gather everyone's words, hearing the far in tone.
"Garde?!" Passion gasped.
"What happened?" Celestia leaned in.
"You won't like this." Darkrai turned to them. "Rarity and Fluttershy are already at Pegalysium. Along with the rest of their Pokemon, right when the disaster is already happening."
"It's already happening?!" Twilight pulled back. "A-Are they okay?!"
"The Indigo Alliance appeared to capture Rarity and Fluttershy. Most likely revenge more than anything. And...they were helped by Unown." Darkrai translated.
"Unown. So everything's lining up perfectly with what Xatu and Absol felt," said Twilight. "W might've been too late to know about it."
"But we aren't too late to try and stop it," Celestia reassured. "You all are obviously coming with us. I can carry you all, thankfully."
"Mosa...." Pheromosa was relieved to hear that. A chance to save her friends. But it wouldn't be just them. Over the horizon, assistance came along. The electrifying assistance that Pheromosa and her friends had managed to gain.
Straight from the Pikachu Highlands, many Pikachu were approaching. Led by their rulers PikaSupreme and PikaNoble. Celestia rubbed her eyes as everything turned yellow from these Electric-Types and their arrival. They had heard the plea of Pheromosa, Raboot and the Leavanny to show up.
"Pika! Pikachu!" PikaSupreme announced his kingdom's arrival. "Pika!"
"Y-You're all here?" Celestia stuttered. "Why? Did you catch the same news as we did?"
"Pika. Pika-Pikachu." PikaNoble stepped forward, explaining it to them while gracefully bowing her head.
"They did." Darkrai acted as their translator once more. "Pheromosa and the others requested their assistance."
"Pika!" The many Mouse Pokemon raised their arms in unison.
"No surprise there," said Luna. "The Pikachu of the Pikachu Highlands are some of our closest allies. The help is appreciated and possibly needed. These Unown are too dangerous to possibly approach with little numbers."
"Part of Arceus after all. Thank you so much, PikaSupreme. PikaNoble." Celestia bowed to them showing her gratitude. Returning that gratitude, PikaSupreme put his hand out, sending a jolt of electricity at the Ruler of Equestria. "Now um...I can still carry you all. Hopefully, there won't be any issues when getting up there and back down."
"As if you will do it alone." Luna stepped forward, aiming to assist Celestia in carrying all of the Pokemon with her magic. Twilight too without a doubt. Some Pikachu had already hopped onto Celestia's back to have a far more comfortable ride. PikaSupreme chose Celestia while PikaNoble went on Luna's back.
"Pika! Pikachu!" Other Pikachu had latched onto Passion and Darkrai's back for personal rides, shortening the amount that Celestia, Twilight and Luna would have to carry with their magic.
"That works too." Celestia shrugged as she was far more comfortable with this option. "Now, let's be off to the Sky Monarch." With the combination of Luna and Twilight's Magic, they grabbed the remaining Pikachu before taking to the sides. It was off to the nation in the sky.
Pegalysium. Lulolum Island. Nightfall.
Pegalysium was under attack. Second Wind and the Indigo Alliance had unleashed the Unown onto all of Pegalysium. With their power to bend reality, they would remake it all in Second Wind's image. At the same time, the Unown were fixated on erasing those that wielded Rift Energy. Mainly Bayleef and King Paramount.
Within the Lulolum Hotel, many ponies had fled from the commotion. First from the Hyper Beam explosion and now the arrival of the Unown as they covered the skies.
Rarity was still within the hotel along with an Indigo Alliance Member by the name of Waverush staring her down. Fluttershy had already been taken, leaving Rarity, Bayleef and a fainted Audino behind.
"Sounds like the Unown are making waves now," said Waverush, looking outside at the plethora of Unown. "I won't have to worry about all this commotion with them here. Capturing you will be easier now."
"Hm. Are you sure?" Rarity smirked.
"Uh, pretty sure." Waverush shrugged. "Your Pokemon aren't here. It's just you, me and the Unown now."
"And here I thought the Indigo Alliance would keep important information about their enemies. You should know that Pheromosa and Leavanny aren't my only Pokemon." Rarity flipped her mane, stepping to the side before using her magic to take out two Poke Balls. "Like so!"
"Unown, stop her!" Waverush shouted out, attempting to prevent Rarity from gaining any backup. But Rarity wouldn't need to throw the Poke Ball to unleash her partners. All she needed to do was trigger the button in the middle. With a push of her magic, the button had been pressed, sending Ampharos and Milotic out.
"Ampharos!"
"Milotic!"
Right on time as the Unown had attacked Rarity, sending red rays her way, only for Ampharos and Milotic to promptly stop them. Ampharos had used Zap Cannon whilst Milotic had gone for Hydro Pump. Both were strong enough to stop these rays from touching their Trainer.
"Ampharos. Milotic. This pony right here and the Unown are being a bother. You remember how the Unown threatened my little sister and her friends along with the Indigo Alliance capturing Jade, don't you?"
"Ampha...!" They remembered very well. Ampharos' fur generated electricity to showcase his anger. He already had a disdain for those who would threaten his friends. All of them. Milotic was of the same category. Any friend or someone close to Rarity was too important not to care about.
"Tch. As if that's meant to scare me." Waverush wasn't scared at all with the Unown floating behind her as her response to Ampharos and Milotic's intimidation "Unown, go!"
"Ampharos, Fire Punch!"
"Milotic, Dragon Tail!"
"Ampha!" Ampharos ran ahead, covering his arms in scarlet flames. Milotic soon joined him, doing a similar technique with her tail only with draconic energy added in. The Unown scattered, using Hidden Power from both sides. Specifically, Hidden Power Ground and Hidden Power Electric.
"Pharos!" Ampharos faced the rays, using Fire Punch on them. Milotic swung her tail directly at the rays as they were both clashing against them. Milotic and Ampharos managed to push the rays away, however, it resulted in them sliding back, unable to approach the Unown. Ampharos and Milotic were soon back to back as another Hidden Power came their way right afterwards.
"Hidden Power has a specific type depending on the Pokemon that's being targeted...In that case..." Rarity bit her lip, hatching a plan. "Swap and use Zap Cannon and Hydro Pump!"
"Milo!" WIth a quick switch-up, Milotic and Ampharos swapped positions by simply rotating to the other side. And it was a good call. Both of them took the opposite attacks that were meant for them. Ampharos took Hidden Power Electric whilst Milotic was met with Hidden Power Ground.
And as to be expected, they weren't that phased by it due to their resistance. It practically tickled them as they smirked in unison. After the rays hit, a crimson explosion covered the area, concealing the two of them in a cloud of red smoke. And out of the red smoke, a crackling orb of electricity plus a High Volume blast of water came flying out.
It caught the Unown off guard greatly. Some of them had either been blasted through the hotel walls by Hydro Pump's overwhelming force or paralyzed and launched by Zap Cannon's ferocious electricity. Either way, they felt the full impact of them with their guards down.
The Unown fell under the coordination of these two Pokemon as Waverush watched them drop like flies, faster and easier than expected. "No way..." Waverush gasped as the Unown were defeated.
"Mass numbers stand no chance against our bond." Rarity flipped her mane. "Especially when you have Pokemon as glorious as mine. Isn't that right, darlings?"
"Ampha!" Ampharos and Milotic agreed as they stood back to back again. But this time, showing off. Ampharos crossed his arms, smirking with Rarity whilst Milotic just pompously closed her eyes to display her superiority. At least over the Unown.
"Tch..." Waverush couldn't retaliate with a clever remark. She looked around to see that the Unown were down and out, unable to battle. "Fine. I lost this one." She admitted defeat. "But, you still have my friends to deal with and all of the Unown outside. How are you going to handle that?"
"We'll manage. Right now, I'd advise you to start fleeing," said Rarity. "Otherwise I will end up having to catch you instead."
"Sure-sure..." Waverush then backed away, slowly creeping into the shadows. "But...you should also watch out for your other friend, shouldn't you?"
"Fluttershy! Audino!" Rarity gasped with her tone changing. She soon realized that Fluttershy and Audino were still missing, out of her sight.
"Right. The pink and yellow duo. By now, one of them's already gone elsewhere. Isn't that right...Chicane?" Waverush then brought up Chicane's name. And right on time, as if she blended in perfectly, Chicane had appeared from behind, startling Rarity.
Rarity, Ampharos and Milotic turned to see Chicance's arrival with her casually sitting on a pile of rubble. She then waved playfully at Rarity and while her face couldn't be seen thanks to the robe, it was safe to say that a smug look on her face was being exhibited.
"Took care of them without a doubt." giggled Chicane. "Audino is out for the count and that shy one's been captured successfully. It was a bit ugly to get through, to be honest."
"Fluttershy's been captured?!"
"Speaking of shy...good job getting those Unown under control, Roseshy." Much like Waverush, Chicane had brought up another one of her allies. In this case, it was Roseshy. She appeared from the upper floor of the hotel room that had a hole in it, descending gracefully. "If it wasn't for your weird speciality of communicating with Pokemon, I don't know where we would be, honestly. Great skills, Roseshy."
"I'm just good at speaking with creatures. It's not that big of a deal." Roseshy felt embarrassed by the compliment that was given to her.
"You...What are you planning to do with Fluttershy?!" Rarity roared as her mood changed from cocky to infuriated.
"We're not gonna do anything. That's up to the Grand Judge to decide." Chicane replied. "But you'll soon find out when we capture you. Of course, those Pokemon of yours are the only real roadblocks here. Audino's been dealt with so those two are left."
"About that..." Roseshy chimed in, pondering for a bit. "I did see one Pokemon running away from the Unown. I think it was the Bayleef they were trying to get rid of."
"Fluttershy's Bayleef..." gasped an already stunning Rarity, realizing that Bayleef was also in grave danger. Seeing that things were escalating for the worst, Rarity chose not to engage against her pursuers. She now started thinking of helping both Audino and Bayleef. Especially Bayleef, who was being threatened by the Unown. "
"I can't face them all here...Not with my friends in danger." Knowing of the stakes and how they had reached a high level, Rarity chose to do one thing. Flee. "Ampharos! Show them the beauty of your shine!"
"Ampharos!" Ampharos raised his arms as Waverush and Chicane were ready for the wort that Ampharos could possibly give out. So were the Unown. But it wasn't an attack. Instead, Ampharos had used the intense light energy from his body, causing a massive flash that immediately blinded the eyes of Waevrush and the others. Rarity and Milotic made sure to shut theirs immediately.
The Unown and the Indigo Alliance were met with this overwhelming light that was so powerful, it could even be seen from space. Speaking of which, the light shined through the windows of the hotel, illuminating the entirety of Luloum Island and blinding some of the other Unown.
In that instance of freedom, Rarity took the time to return her Pokemon. Afterwards, the unicorn bolted off as fast as she could while her opponents were befuddled and blinded. Ampharos' light came in handy as it had them stunned for quite a while. Just enough time for Rarity to flee this area.
She was soon off to find Bayleef and Audino. Audino had already been harmed but Bayleef could end up being more than harmed. Erased was the proper term. After rushing downstairs, hopping over the destroyed stairs from all of this conflict, Rarity had found Audino lying on the floor, out cold. "Audino!" Rarity screamed, coming to a screeching halt.
"Audino..."
"Audino! Are you alright?!" She raised the Hearing Pokemon with all of her hoof strength. "Audino!" But it was pointless. Audino was still mute, unable to hear or even make her voice vocal. She couldn't even hear herself speak. She couldn't respond to Rarity. Only see her. "It'll be fine, darling! Ampharos, carry her!"
"Ampha!" Ampharos quickly picked the Normal-Type off the floor. He had then placed her on the back, carrying the fainted Audino for the meanwhile.
That was one of their friends saved. But they had a long way to go. Especially with Bayleef being chased down and Fluttershy captured. The rest of Rarity's Pokemon and even Fluttershy's Raboot were also missing. Rarity set her sights on the closest to her now. Bayleef. "Please, Bayleef. Be safe."
"Bay!" Speaking of Bayleef, she had tumbled on the floor right after the walls and stairs of the hotel had been destroyed by the Unown. She was fleeing for her life as hard as she could right now while fighting back. She turned around, shooting out some Magical Leaves at the Unown once they came around the corner. The Unown had been knocked out by the Magical Leaf, only for more to show up, continuing to pressure Bayleef to be on the run.
The Hidden Power from them came flying out in a triangular pattern due to the position they hovered in. Bayleef gasped, quickly running into a hotel room by breaking the door down with the full force of her body. Right on time as the Hidden Power had erased the debris of the door from existence.
Bayleef hopped onto the bed, evading Hidden Power as hard as she could She had then used her vines to latch onto the hotel's chandelier, swinging on it. She already built up enough momentum to swing and it would be right out of the window. Bayleef flew out of the window, leaving the hotel entirely and reaching the outside.
That was riskier than being in the hotel as the rest of the Unown were present here. Bayleef flew through the air as she witnessed a complete transformation of Lulolum Island The Unown had given it a complete renovation in Second Wind's image.
The residents of Lulolum had also been restrained from going anywhere via a red chain made by the Unown. This Unown appeared to span the entire island, wrapping around it multiple times. The only part exempt was the mirror side of Lulolum Island which was still unknown to the residents.
"Bay....!" Bayleef gasped. Once she was out, she saw that the Unown had noticed her. Now dozens of Unown were within her sights which was the worst time to be noticed. Bayleef rolled on the ground after finally descending, curling into a ball to gain some extra momentum.
The Unown had already restrained all the residents of Lulolum and now all they had left to do was erase the Rift anomaly, Bayleef. Bayleef got back up, returning to her running position once she was out of her ball position. Right behind her, the haunting image of a hundred Unown had been seen by the residents of Lulolum.
And all of this would soon be noticed by Rarity who was looking outside the window. She saw the Unown focusing on one major target. And that target was the Leaf Pokemon.
"Bayleef!" Rarity shouted out, seeing how outnumbered Bayleef was by a colossal magnitude. There was no way she would be able to escape that many Unown, especially with how they were altering reality just to try and catch one Pokemon with a Rift-based anomaly inside of her. "Ampharos, Dragon Pulse! Milotic, Hydro Pump!"
"Ampharos!" Ampharos and Milotic stopped by the window of the hotel, unleashing Dragon Pulse and Hydro Pump at the swarm of the Unown. The stream of water and dragon-shaped shockwave had merged, creating a Water Dragon Beam that had struck some of the Unown.
And thanks to this merge, it made a large impact. "Bay?!" Bayleef turned around, witnessing some of the dozen Unown fall to a powerful attack from the hotel windows. She turned to the direction of the beam, witnessing that it had come from Ampharos and Milotic. Commanded by Rarity. A smile graced Bayleef's face after witnessing this. "Bay! Bay-Bay!"
"Hang in there, Bayleef! We'll be right there soon!" Rarity shouted. Soon, some of the Unown had noticed Rarity, flying in her direction soon after. "Oh, dear. Go, go!" She shouted, rushing off with her partners from the approaching Symbol Pokemon.
"Bay!" Bayleef wanted to help, quickly making a turn with the objective of heading back into the hotel. It would be slightly easier to lose some of the Unown in the hotel. However, while some of the Unown went after Rarity and her Pokemon, the rest of them stuck behind to deal with Unown.
The remaining Unown had then used the red chain, causing it to extend. It had already wrapped around the entire island and now it gained extra length. All specifically for Bayleef. Bayleef was now being chased down by the chains as if it wasn't bad enough already.
The chains dug into the ground, causing earth tremors to occur that would throw her off balance. "B-Bay!" Bayleef tripped from the tremors, hurling through the air for a bit before sliding flat on her back. The chains acted like worms, digging through the ground and emerging.
The Unown had also manipulated the physics of reality to their advantage. Bayleef got back up, attempting to continue dashing, only to find herself running backwards. "Bay?!" The Unown had reversed the natural flow of gravity to bring Bayleef close to them. Bayleef ran as fast as she could, trying to move ahead. That wasn't happening.
So instead, with absolute guts and bravery, Bayleef smashed her head onto the ground to try and make a hole. At the same time, she was being assisted by Ampharos and Milotic from the windows while they were still being chased down. The Unown that were already prepared to attack Bayleef were interrupted by Zap Cannon and Hydro Pump.
"Bayleef! Try running in reverse! The gravity's changed, hasn't it?!" Rarity shouted out, giving advice to Bayleef. And it was much-needed advice. Bayleef nodded in response, before doing just that. Instead of running forward, she ran backwards, going along with this change in gravity.
And it worked great. Bayleef was moving away from the Unown by running in reverse, allowing this altered gravity to do the rest of the work for her. She didn't move as fast as she could when going backwards, but she had used her vines to launch her back for extra speed.
The Unown, soon realizing the change in advantage, had used their power to do two things. The first was to create a forcefield that permanently blocked out the attacks of Ampharos and Milotic. When another Hydro Pump and Dragon Pulse came through, they had been blocked by the forcefield.
"Drat! A forcefield!" Rarity stomped her hooves as some of the other dozen Unown appeared around the corner. "Bayleef! You have to do this on your own now!"
"Bay!" Bayleef gasped after seeing a swarm of Unown cover the window that Rarity, Ampharos and Milotic were on, showing that they already had their own problems to handle, unable to continue helping Bayleef. Bayleef felt like tearing up after seeing all of her friends in rough states. Especially with one of them fainted.
But the Unown didn't stop there. They performed their final act. Once Bayleef ran back far enough, she was near the edge of the port city. And right at that moment, the Unown had returned gravity to normal. Bayleef could walk normally now, but not after almost falling off of the edge of the city and the island overall.
"B-Bay! Bay..." Bayleef looked down, noticing the long dropdown. It was only skies and clouds after that and possibly the ground far past Pegalysium. The Leaf Pokemon swivelled, seeing that she was now cornered by the Unown. Nowhere left to run at this point. Bayleef slowly backed away with her back legs dangling on the edge.
Bayleef felt under great pressure. She was so pressured that she even feared that her fate-changing leaf wouldn't do much. But, it was the exact fate-changing leaf that she bet everything on. The Leaf Pokemon closed her eyes before putting on a face of bravery. And once the Unown unleashed Hidden Power onto her, Bayleef had taken the risky route.
Jumping off the edge.
She jumped off the edge of the port city and all of Lulolum Island, evading the Hidden Power. Bayleef fell, closing her eyes as she had passed through the clouds, leaving the area. The Unown hovered over the edge, surprised that Baylfee would go for that option of all things.
Everything went silent soon. It would be difficult for them to hear Bayleef hit something due to where she jumped from. She was already long gone from here once she passed through the thick clouds. The Unown could still feel Bayleef as she was still falling. However, they flew elsewhere to try and continue chasing her down.
As for Bayleef, her leaves had kicked in. With the power to change fate, one of the buds around Bayleef's neck had come off, instantly touching Bayleef's neck. And just like that, fate had been changed.
Everything flashed white as Bayleef's position had been swapped. Fate had been changed to take her to the safest possible place right now. And the only place for that was possible via teleportation. Bayleef's body disappeared out of thin air as a white spark, sent elsewhere without her decision.
Mirror side of Lulolum. Within the Indigo Alliance Building.
After being captured by the Indigo Alliance, Fluttershy had been imprisoned. Her place of holding was a transparent box of Dynasite. Hard and see-through. This box was found in the treasure trove of the building as Fluttershy was already awake to see her current position.
Her hooves were pressed onto the glass, looking through it and witnessing the interior of the hideout. Lavish and stylish. Mainly from the expensive quillbits of royalty.
Keeping watch of her was the fourth member of the Pegasi Quartet. Thunder Stamp. Mostly silent with occasional grunts here and there, he was the perfect one to keep an eye on Fluttershy while also having three Unown by her side. As if it wasn't difficult enough for her to escape.
"I hope Audi and everyone else are okay..." Fluttershy sighed, sitting on the box. She couldn't do much in here after all. As time passed, Thunder Stamp's communication shell went off. He had soon answered it.
"Mmm?"
"Thunder!" Waverush's voice boomed through the shell. "That marshmallow looking pony managed to escape. But by now, you should see the yellow and pink one inside the box, right?"
"Mhm." He nodded, turning to Fluttershy.
"Okay, good. I think we'll call it quits for now. We'll head back and let the Grand Judge know." Waverush then hung up on the communication shell as she, Roseshy and Chicane would return.
Fairly quickly too. Thanks to the power of the Unown, a dimensional hole had been opened up, startling both Thunder Stamp and Fluttershy. And moving through the hole were Waverush, Roseshy and Chicane. They returned as soon as they hung up.
"Whew...That was easy travelling, wasn't it?" Waverush sighed, removing her hood. "But geez...she was tougher to catch than this one."
"Hmph. I think we would've eventually caught her." Chicane scoffed, removing her entire robe. "But...I am tired. It is getting late, isn't it?"
"I think it's already past midnight." said a less exhausted Roseshy. "The Unown here don't care. They can stay up for a long time, can't they? Maybe forever."
"We can clock out now with our work done. But first..." Waverush turned to Fluttershy, approaching the box. Fluttershy nervously backed up even though she was ironically safe within the box. "The Grand Judge is gonna love this. Thunder Stamp, you called her already, didn't you?"
"Mhm." He certainly as the nod he gave off was basic confirmation. Second Wind would be here, much to Fluttershy's dismay. She could only hope that her friends could find and save her before something awful could happen.
"Don't look too down." Roseshy suddenly fluttered over to Fluttershy. "The Grand Judge could be nice and give you a less harsh punishment. I mean...even though you did ruin her plans and expose her to everypony. So...m-maybe not so."
"Please! At least don't do anything to the rest of my friends!" Fluttershy pleaded. "You already have me!"
"Uh, well..." Roseshy backed away. "We can't do that. The Grand Judge would prefer it if you were all here. B-But there's a bright side to all of it!" She raised her hoof, trying to bring out the positives.
"There is?" said Fluttershy.
"That's right. If you're lucky, the Grand Judge might make you one of the Cloven." Chicane revealed, bringing an opposite mood that conflicted with Roseshy's mood. "She's got a knack for making special ponies Cloven. And even if you've gotten on her bad side, you could prove to be useful."
"Me...?"
"I mean, you don't look like it." Chicane rudely laughed at Fluttershy, taunting her. "You look so cute and timid. Probably more so than Roseshy over here."
"Hey!" Roseshy took some offence to that, puffing her cheeks. But she couldn't retaliate with anything smart or as disrespectful. It wasn't in her.
"I doubt she'd let a softie like you have that chance." Chicane flipped her mane, further disrespecting Fluttershy.
"What makes you think that, Chicane?" Right on time, giving everyone here a scare and even causing Fluttershy's eyes to widen in shock was the mare herself. Second Wind.
"G-Grand Judge!" All three of them apart from Thunder Stamp had shouted out. Waverush almost knocked a table over after being startled. They quickly stood upright as Chicane started searching for her robe as to not seem disrespectful.
"Fluttershy, was it?" Second Wind approached Fluttershy's Dynasite box. "I should've known that somepony from Equestria would try and get in my way. Much like how many others have before. Tell me, are all of your annoying friends here in Pegalysium?"
"We saw just two of them, Grand Judge. I think her name is Rarity," said Waverush. "So no. Not all of them are here."
"Not all of them...That's good news to my ears. But frankly, I wouldn't mind if they showed up to this nation either way. That way, I could have them all captured and exact my revenge."
"W-What are you going to do to me?" Fluttershy sheepishly questioned.
"Hm. I am thinking of making you a Cloven since they brought it up. Along with your Rarity friend. But aside from that, I think it's high time that we prevent others from catching wind of our crusade. Mainly those below. But I won't need the power f the Unown for that. All I need...is his magic." Second Wind then turned to reveal the newest addition to the Indigo Alliance.
Shooting Star.
He appeared before the Pegasi Quartet as even they weren't aware that he would be here. Their scrunched faces led to them stepping away as Fluttershy was stunned to see Shooting Star here. At first, she had an expression of hope, before soon realizing that he was the pony that Second Wind was referring to.
"I didn't think she was serious about actually bringing him to our side." Waverush whispered to Chicane.
"Me neither." Chicane whispered back.
"Shooting Star?" She uttered.
"Shooting Star here has managed to achieve what the previous Pegasi of Destiny doubted him of ever doing this morning. Achieving Destiny Magic. With this serenity in his body and soul, this legendary magic of Pegalysium is his and leans towards our side."
"What did you do to him?!" Fluttershy bellowed.
"You don't have to worry about that. What you do need to worry about and focus on is what will happen next. Shooting Star. Use your magic to block off Pegalysium. Make sure no pony or Pokemon can reach here. Unless we so desire."
"Block it off?! Wait! Shooting Star, don't!"
"I'm on it." Shooting Star did just that. By spreading his wings, the mystical aura from the Destiny Magic showed itself. Even from within a building, this powerful magic was enough to affect not just the island or other sky islands nearby, but the entirety of Pegalysium.
In less than a second, the mystical light from the Destiny Magic spread out like wildfire. Shining as bright as Ampharos' light, it moved past the windows, covering Lulolum in its radiance. The silver light then expanded with an orb shape about it. Every cloud in Pegalysium's vicinity had trembled, also dispersing.
The Destiny Magic surrounded every civilization, whether big or small, visible or hidden in every nook and cranny, alerting all those nearby. Even at the Cold Frontier, the little Snorut and Froslass had seen this. Even the Snorunt that had befriended Shooting Star.
This view could not be seen from below. Only the skies would be graced with this sight. Thus, it would stand to reason that Team Rocket, who were currently moving across Pegalysium, would see this as well, away from the Rocketship which was still at Lulolum Island's port.
Just like that, all of Pegalyisum had been blocked off. None can enter and none could leave. Unless Second Wind wished to as she still had the authority. And soon, she wished to have absolute authority over the entirety of Pegalysium. Even more than the Royal Family.
"It's done," said Shooting Star.
"Good boy." Second Wind chuckled before facing a distraught Fluttershy. "Ah, this is all too easy. And I am not complaining. Now, no one can save you from the outside. But if they show up, I wouldn't mind still sticking to my Cloven idea. Speaking of which...Unleash the reanimate tears."
With that command, Fluttershy would be the next victim of the Cloven horror show. Essentially, she was in danger of becoming some sort of zombified pony.
"Hey! Wait!" Fluttershy backed up. But she wasn't going anywhere. Mostly because the Reanimate Tears would be sent within then box. A small hole had opened up at the top of it as the Unown had summoned a vat of Reanimate Tears. They let out their eerie green glow and sparkle that looked enchanting at first but held nothing but horrors behind it.
"I'd say by tomorrow or a few hours, you'll be gloriously reborn into one of my Cloven. Depending on how things go. Either way, I'd suggest forgetting all about Ponyville and Equestria." Second Wind shrugged, walking away. "You'll be residing here from now on. Oh, and don't worry. I won't forget about your home either."
"My home? You leave Equestria out of this!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"I might not directly go for it. But the Unown are a different story." Second Wind looked at the Unown. "After all, they have massive sensitivity towards Rift Energy. So much so that they wish to erase those who hold it. Except for us, of course. And you know what that means, don't you?"
"Oh no..." Fluttershy soon realized how some of her friends were in grave danger. Bayleef, Spike's Axew, Twilight's Togekiss, Cold Colt and Jade Skies had some Rift Energy within them. Either it had influenced their growth or it was entirely a part of them. They were all under threat of being erased. And the closest was Bayleef.
"I don't wanna see this...I'm going home." Waverush chose to leave and head home for the night. Only Thunder Stamp would stay behind as Watch.
"Come Shooting Star. It's high time we went to visit your parents," said Second Wind as their net destination was the Pegalysium Capital and especially the Sky Monarch. The vat of Reanimate Tears were dropped into the box, filling it up already. Fluttershy made sure to ascend onto the top of the box to keep herself away from the tears for as long as she could. Now, the Element of Kindness could only just keep on hoping for her friends to show up.
At the Sky Monarch, the Unown were wreaking havoc upon the capital. Many of the residents of this noble area had been caught by the red chain made by the Unown.
The biggest target here was King Paramount, who had Rift Energy within him, making a threat in the eyes of the Unown. Many of King Paramount's troops defend him from the Unown but some had already been caught by the red chain that held the residents. The Unwon scavenged the palace, searching high and low for King Paramount while also having the troops get in their way.
And speaking of King Paramount, with Queen Luminary by his side, they had concealed themselves with an invisibility spell. Possibly the best spell to have right now.
"Why are they only after you, dear?" Luminary asked. "Why not me?"
"Obviously, Second Wind sent them. But...there has to be something more to it, otherwise, you would've been pursued by them as well. Perhaps, it's something that I have."
"Something that you have?" Luminary repeated before gasping. "You don't think they're after the secret of Pegalysium, do you?"
"No. That wouldn't require me at all. It might be the Rift Magic that I have." Paramount caught on quickly. There would be only one thing that was different about him. Something that was never there in the beginning. He was on the nose about why the Unown were pursuing him. If anything, the Unown could've just simply ignored him, much like they did with Luminary. Second Wind, while behind all of this, was not the one who was focused on Rift Energy. Not when she had the power of the Unown.
"Oh. That would make sense..." Luminar nodded slowly. "What then? If they're after that kind of magic in you..."
"Isn't it obvious? These strange letter Pokemon have some innate ability to bend reality to their will. So in response, I will do the same. This Rift Magic will be put to good use."
"But you still don't know everything about it! And we still haven't found Shooting Star yet. I'm getting too worried right now." Luminary's panic levels were starting to show themselves. And for a good reason. Her son had been humiliated, captured and now her kingdom, or rather the entire nation was under attack by the Unown.
"It'll be fine." But Paramount was there to comfort her, placing his hoof around the queen. Then, next to utilizing the Rift Magic, Paramount sprung an idea to possibly put an end to this Unown Assault. "Despite how powerful they may be, I believe there might be something we can use against them."
Drifting Peaks. Nightfall.
Meanwhile, over at the Drifting Peaks, Garnet, Kaleidoscope and Clear View were present there as they have been before during their first time here. Mostly Garnet who has visited this area three times now.
They had witnessed the flow of Destiny Magic through the air as it had expanded across all of Pegalysium. No one would ignore that, only the ones who were asleep were unable to witness it.
"Should we be worried about that?" A clearly nervous Kaleidoscope asked, visibly aiming her hoof at the skies.
"Let's not worry about that for now. First, we need their help." Garnet spoke as she and her friends stopped before the grotto. And residing there as always were the Pokemon that lived here.
Charizard, Mantyke, Pidgeot, Nidoran, a Bulbasaur and a Heracross, Bonsly and some Carbink. They were all still here, immediately recognizing Garnet, Kaleidoscope and Clear View.
"Bulba? Bulbasaur!" Happy to see them again, Bulbasaur jumped over Heracross before landing right on Garnet, knocking her over.
"Gah!" Garnet screamed as Bulbasaur had performed a powerful hug for its size, pinning Garnet to the ground as some of the Manytke and Nidoran had gathered around them. "O-Okay! Knock it off, Bulbasaur! I know it's been a while!"
"Oh, they're extra friendly, aren't they!?" Kaleidoscope had been picked up by Heracross. "W-We only visited this place once!"
Clear View wasn't as overwhelmed by the hugs. She enjoyed them very greatly even if they were powerful, mainly coming from Charizard and some Pidgeot. They enjoyed this hugging session for a few seconds, giggling throughout it. Eventually, it had been broken off, giving Garnet and Kaleidoscope some time to breathe.
"Okay..." Garnet sighed. "It's good to see you all again. But, unfortunately, we can't have a full-on happy reunion right now. As much as that would be nice."
"Bulba?" Bulbasaur and the others were disappointed in Garnet's response.
"I know. But, we can still spend time with each other. Right now, we need your help. For the first time even. One of my friends, Shooting Star's been taken." Garnet started explaining, lowering her head and thinking about everything that had happened to Shooting Star today. "First he was humiliated and now he's been turned to the wrong side. It's all so horrible and for it to happen one day."
"Hera?" Heracross and the others looked at each other, listening closely to Garnet's explanation
"And as his friend, I want to help. Even if I'm maybe, most definitely, getting myself into some heavy and bad territory. But at least I won't be doing it alone." She then turned to Kaleidoscope and Clear View. "My friends are here to help me with that. And I was hoping you'd do the same. Since you're also our friends. So, will you?"
"Charizard..." The Pokemon of the grotto took a moment to think about it. They weren't quick to decide as Garnet was hoping they would help. Right as the Pokemon were pondering, appearing above the grotto was a glimmer of light.
Looking up, the group had seen this glimmer twinkle before then imploding. At first, it looked like a shooting star had suddenly shown up out of nowhere. Instead, it was something crucial. That was not a shooting star, but a flash of teleportation.
Bayleef had been seen flying out of the light with her eyes closed. Her fate-changing leaf searched for the safest possible place nearby at the moment and thus, the grotto was found as so far, it was safe. "Bay!" Bayleef cried out before being quickly saved by Charizard who had caught her. "Bay?"
"Char!"
"Who's that Pokemon?!" Garnet gasped.
"It's Bayleef! Twilight told me about that one!" Kaleidoscope replied. "But...how did she get here through that light?"
"Bay...Bay...." Bayleef panted as she was currently exhausted. Mainly from all the running, she's been doing. She quickly hopped out of Charizard's arms once the Flame Pokemon descended, frantically yelling and jumping about. "Bay! Bay-Bay!"
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur used its vines to hold Bayleef still from all of her frantic runnings across the place. Bayleef was too distressed to slow down.
"Bay? Bay!" Bayleef, soon realizing that she was surrounded by not just Pokemon, but familiar faces in the form of Garnet and Kaleidoscope prompted her to start asking them for help. "Bay!"
"She seems distressed." Garnet noticed. "What do you think happened?"
"It might have something to do with that light that went across the area. And I'm guessing she got here by her leaf." Kaleidoscope explained.
"I'm sorry, did you say her leaf?" Confused by what her history-loving friend had said, Garnet rotated her head with a perplexed expression.
"Right. That flash of light confirmed that this is Fluttershy's Bayleef. Her speciality is that she has the power to change the fate of those she cares for her. And I'm guessing it must've triggered during something dangerous which brought her here." Kaleidoscope explained. Garnet blinked for a bit whilst Clear View nodded in understanding. "And if she's here without Fluttershy, that means something awful must've happened!"
"Bay!" Bayleef cried out, replying to Kaleidoscope. Afterwards, she lowered her head, thinking about Fluttershy, Audino and her friends. Right now, the Unown was causing havoc with many in danger. Charizard and the others had heard enough.
Thanks to Bayleef, they knew that everywhere across Pegalysium was a red-zone for danger. And soon, that could involve the grotto that they lived in. They made up their mind. Charizard walked up to Garnet, suddenly picking her, Kaleidoscope and Clear View up.
"Huh?" uttered Garnet as Bayleef was picked up by Heracross. "Oh. D-Does this mean you'll help us?"
"Charizard." They certainly were. Judging by the nod of their head and the look in their eyes, they would indeed help out. They were all coming along. Whether taking a ride on the back of the Pidgeot and Heracross or having the ability to float, much like the Carbink. Mantyke was a different story. It would use the sea clouds as it means of transportation.
"Bay...Bayleef." Bayleef teared up a bit from this support. Charizard and everyone took flight as they were off to the far more populated areas of Pegalysium. Immediately after ascending into the skies, they could already just vaguely see flashes of red lights happening in the distance, glinting from different islands.
Garnet and everyone spotted these red glints as Bayleef knew all too well what they were. And it terrified her. "That one looks like it's coming from Feathercoast!" Garnet recognized Feathercoast's sky island in the far distance. "Quick, Charizard! Everyone! That way!"
It was off to Feathercoast first. Hopefully, they weren't too late. And Bayleef was hoping that it wasn't too late to find Fluttershy and the others before the worst could happen.
Within the temples.
The many temples scattered across Pegalysium of ancient times still remained during this Unown attack. And within these temples, searching for treasure as always, were Team Rocket.
They made the best decision to go after the temples. So far, they are the only locations where a plethora of treasures could be found with high levels of riches aside from Big Sky.
"I can't believe they would all just abandon this place and leave this valuable treasure here. Sucks to be them!" Jessie giggled, showering herself in all of the treasure.
"This time, please don't spend it all, Jess." James leaned in as while they were all happy to find some treasure once more, they feared that they could end up losing it again due to risky choices. Mainly from Jessie's side. "We couldn't buy anything to eat after just one day of using it. Plus, I think a Munchlax ate some."
"Relax. I'll be sensible this time." Jessie said with honesty, and yet, there was a foreboding sense of total loss that came from her sentence that shuddered James and Meowth. "In any case, let's hurry back to the ship with all of this before those islands decide to start moving."
Team Rocket then left the temple, rushing off to return to their Rocketship. Luckily for them, the path that they took to reach this temple was connected to Lulolum Island, so any thoughts about running into edges that led to the open space of the skies were thrown out of the window.
However, Team Rocket were soon met with a shocking sight in the distance when going down the path they came from. They came to a screeching halt once witnessing the lights coming from Lulolum Island, where their Rocketship was docked at.
The lights of the Unown went off as the red chains complemented these terrifying colours. They even dropped their treasure upon this crimson sight. Naturally, they felt as if they should be worried about this. Everything they run into has a high chance of involving them being attacked and blasted off given the circumstances. And it just so happens that not only was this light coming from Lulolum but everywhere else.
"Just our luck..." Jessie lowered her head. "Why can't we have or keep nice things for one day!"
"It's not over yet!" James slid over as he and Meowth focused on the positives. "We can still evade this. We just have to play it smart!"
"Then we'll be smooth sailing in spirits and on those clouds!" Meowth chimed in.
"I hope you're right. Let's get all of this onboard before whatever that is finds us!" Team Rocket went full throttle, heading back to Lulolum just to place their treasure within the Rocketship. And hopefully, they wouldn't be attacked by the Unown, until they end up discovering that the Unown were behind all of this
Mirror side of Lulolum Island.
The only place that would be permanently exempt from the Unown would be the other hidden side of Lulolum Island and the town that mirrored it. Home to the Indigo Alliance.
Within the main building, Fluttershy was still a captive there. But she would no longer be one. Instead, she could become something far worse. A Cloven. A pony drenched in Reanimate Tears that would essentially make her identical to a zombie and that terrified Fluttershy.
A vat of Reanimate Tears had been poured inside of the Dynasite box that she was trapped in, filling it up gradually. Everyone within the building were starting to leave. They had all passed by Fluttershy, not paying too much attention to her despite how she was staying in the air to at least avoid being touched by the tears. But eventually, they would reach her height.
Keeping on guard of Fluttershy of the night would be Thunder Stamp. He quietly sat there as many ponies of the Indigo Alliance left the building to clock out for the night. "When we wake up tomorrow morning, all of Pegalysium will be a perfect paradise for us." One pegasus said.
They were all ecstatic about the outcome of all of this. Very soon, the utopia that the entire Indigo Alliance desired would become a reality thanks to the power of the Unown. And all they had to was just go to sleep and let the Symbol Pokemon do everything for them.
"I know right? I didn't think some letters would end up granting us that wish though. How strange." Another pegasus said among the group as they all chuckled after leaving the building.
Once they all left, Thunder Stamp got off from the table he sat on, opening the doors and windows to take a peek. Fluttershy watched as this burly pegasus shifted his eyes onto the street of Lulolum's other side. Fluttershy could see that the box was filling up quicker than usual the more that was added.
Even the aura that the Reanimate Tears gave off was getting to her. Fluttershy felt numb. A feeling of lightheadedness and nausea took over and she felt like she would pass out in a few moments. Her head was swelling as her vision was being blurred out. Fluttershy was also finding it hard to breathe among all of this. An overwhelming feeling of dread took over and for a moment, she thought the uncomfortable feeling would only get worse and worse. She felt thirsty as well, holding herself to try and reduce it, but it was useless.
Just then, Thunder Stamp moved away from the window before entering another from, leaving Fluttershy here. Fluttershy was hyperventilating, banging on the Dynasite box, even though she knew it was pointless. However, as she hovered there, having less space to go with the box being filled up, Thunder Stamp returned to the room.
And he was wearing something new. A light red suit could be found all over him along with a mask. He then approached his fellow pegasus as Fluttershy backed away, whimpering and fearing what this could mean. But then, all of a sudden, the vat had stopped.
The Reanimate Tears had ceased flowing once Fluttershy opened one eye. And the cause of this was Thunder Stamp. By using the power of the Unown, he had put a stop to the flowing of the Reanimate Tears. To top it all off, he ordered the Unown to get rid of those tears by taking them out of the box via a simple hoof raise since his consistency of speaking was non-existent.
The suit made sense as the Reanimate Tears had been dropped onto the outside. The suit protected him from the tears, making him immune from it. Afterwards, he had been dried off thanks to the Unown using Hidden Power Fire to do so . "You..." Fluttershy uttered, descending once the box was completely empty. "You helped me?"
"Mmm." He nodded, taking off the mask while grunting. A shocking revelation that there was indeed someone that would help her, it just wasn't any of her friends. Rather a member of the Indigo Alliance.
"Oh. Thank you." Fluttershy was relieved by this. A sense of shining hope erupted within her heart. It was never gone but it was brighter than ever now. "Um, could you let me out of the box now, please?"
"..." Thunder Stamp shook his head before pointing to the windows and doors. Despite his absence of words, Fluttershy could understand him. She dealt with all kinds of creatures whether they be animals or Pokemon, so various speech patterns were easy for her.
"Oh, not right now? Okay." Fluttershy translated. "But wait, how come you're helping me, aren't you with the Indigo Alliance?"
Thunder Stamp, in response, took off the entire suit before revealing something special around his neck accessory. Or rather inside of it. Slipping underneath it was a badge. A tiny one but a badge nonetheless of two wings and a shield in the front.
"You're undercover!" Fluttershy gasped after seeing his badge. "Oh, that makes sense!"
Thunder Stamp then observed his surroundings once more before then tapping on the box of Dynasite. He then ordered the Unown to free Fluttershy and they did just that. By capitalizing on the tiny hole at the top, the three Unown used their combined powers to expand the hole, making it available for Fluttershy to fit through.
And once it opened, Fluttershy flew out without a second thought, finally free and exempt from harm. "Thank you all so much!" Grateful for them saving her life, she flew into Thunder Stamp and the Unown, hugging them. Thunder Stamp's eyes widened whilst the Unown felt overwhelmed. Soon, her eyes expanded, realizing that it wasn't yet time to celebrate. Not with her friends and everyone in danger.
"Oh! I can't stay here for much longer! Audi, Rarity and everyone else are probably dealing with the rest of the Unown!" She put her hands over her mouth, fearing the worst. Especially for Audino and Bayleef. One was injured and fainted while another was a prime target for the Unown via erasure.
"Hmm...Mmm." Thunder Stamp grabbed Fluttershy's attention, using wing patterns to communicate with her.
"You're right. It's too dangerous to be outside right now. But I really want to help my friends." Fluttershy lowered her head. She was in deep enemy territory right now with everyone on this side of the island being a part of the Indigo Alliance. "W-What do we do?"
"Hmm." Thunder Stamp would take everything from here. All Fluttershy could do now was stick by him until they were safe. Luckily, the Unown were here to help. All three of them. Three Unown weren't as impressive as the rest that were outside, but they could still prove to be helpful either way.
Pegalysium Capital. Sky Monarch.
Over at the Sky Monarch, the entire capital had been overrun and taken over by the Unown. All that was left was the palace which already appeared to be in shambles. The chain had caught up to everyone so far, restraining them all. But there were still some pegasi remaining.
The Unown were all currently flying in one consistent direction. They had already dealt with all of the palace's guards, making them a part of the red chain that was never-ending in its length.
And in that direction, King Paramount, another wield of Rift Magic was within their sights. Paramount stood there, completely stationary as he knew of the severity of his own life. But standing there was bizarre as the Unown immediately zoomed at him the moment they tracked down the Rift Energy within him.
Paramount stood there stone-faced as some red rays for Hidden Power already came his way. But to the surprise of the Unown, once the rays appeared, they had only dissipated once three feet in front of the king. Paramount then let out a slight smile as the Unown advanced, getting closer to the king.
They tried again, using Hidden Power, only for it to dissipate once more. Paramount still kept his stoic face as the Unown and their Hidden Power proved to be useless, much to the shock of the Symbol Pokemon. As far as they know, Hidden Power always works no matter what.
Paramount then backed up against the wall, finally moving as that prompted the Unown to get closer, preventing him from escaping. "Perfect," Paramount uttered. "Now!" He then raised his voice, flying to the side once the Unown got close enough.
It looked as if the Unown would crash into the wall, except that was not the case. They had phased through it as it wasn't a wall at all. Paramount's Rift Magic had then revealed it to be a massive door that was wide open for all the Unown to pass through. Once they passed through, they had entered a room full of nothing but Dynasite.
In fact, even the door was made out of Dynasite. Heavy, but not impossible to close for Paramount's magic. And assisting in this endeavour was his wife Queen Luminary. Once the door was closed, she and Paramount combined their magic with a dash of Rift Magic in the mix.
Together, they had cast a spell on the door and the entire room of Dynasite. The Dynasite had been fortified by Paramount's Rift Magic, causing the Unown to be blocked off. Not only that, but the spell also cast a seal. Laced with Rift Energy, this seal consumed anything near the vicinity of this room, essentially mimicking what Shooting Star had done to the entirety of Pegalysium.
Only in this case, Paramount had used Rift Magic coupled with Luminary's magic to block off the Unown. And it proved to be highly successful. Once trapped, all of the Unown that had come to Pegalysium tried breaking free. But lo and behold, the spell and influence of Paramount utilising Rift Magic said otherwise.
Rumbling could be heard from the door as the seal prevented them from fully getting through. Coupled with Dynasite that had been fortified under the control of Rift Magic, this proved to be a challenge for the Unown.
"There. That should hold them. Hopefully for a long time." said Paramount.
"Great. All that's left is freeing them all from that chain." Luminary sighed. "And finding our son."
"Your Majesties!" Interrupting their conversation was Tip-off who zoomed around the corner, bumping into the walls. "Ow!"
"Tip-off. What is it?" Paramount flew over to Tip-Off once he bumped his head. His eyes rotated for a bit before collecting himself. "And how are you exempt from the chains?"
"Dodging is in my family blood..." Tip-off sighed. "But, your Majesties, listen. Your son. He's returned."
"He has?!" Erupting with a booming voice was Luminary as she appeared in front of Tip-off's face in a second, shoving Paramount out of the way. "Where?!"
"I-I'm afraid he didn't come alone. And it wasn't with our guards. He's with Second Wind." Tip-off wished he could've given them good news but that didn't seem to be the case right now.
Instead, while Shooting Star did return, it wasn't under good spirits or even his usual self. When rushing out of the palace, they stood before the balcony where they saw the horrifying truth for themselves.
Shooting Star hovered there. And right next to him were some more Unown and showing herself to the Royal Family with a smug and condescending look on her face was Second Wind as she removed the hood from her robe. "Don't be too surprised at my return. This would happen eventually and it would be on this level of alerting."
"You! Second Wind, what did you do?!" Luminary roared at her.
"I've done quite a few things that have had a large impact. I'm sure you can figure out at least one of them by now." She flailed her hoof at them.
"What is he wearing?" Paramount noticed Shooting Star's new outfit. He was wearing something similar to the Indigo Alliance, mainly because he was one of them now. "You didn't..."
"I did." Second Wind winked. "Your Cutie Mark fits you perfectly, your majesty. You sure do know how to adapt. Yes, your son here is the newest addition to the wonderful Indigo Alliance. Took some time, but it worked out, didn't it?"
"You would dare go after him when he's at his most vulnerable....!" Words could not describe how angered Paramount and Luminary were. Their son had been turned to the Indigo Alliance at his weakest point which only infuriated them to an all-time high.
"I did. But I also granted his wish. Second Wish chuckled. "I took away the humiliation he felt during the morning from those previous pegasi and allowed him to become serene of mind. Now, he's fulfilled the role of the next Pegasus of Destiny with my help. And of course, all that sweet Destiny Magic had shown itself."
"What?! Impossible!" Luminary gasped.
"Tsk. Tsk. Not impossible with the power of the Unown." Second Wind said otherwise. "With this legendary magic, your son here has blocked off all entrances and ways to enter Pegalysium and will soon make Pegalysium the correct utopia it needed to be. Without your interference, your majesty."
"How dare you! You would take our s-" Just then, Luminary's sentence had been cut off. She couldn't say her next sentence with a complete set of words. "Our s-" Desperately, she was trying to say son, but it was futile. Much like with Cloudflare, the altered memories began affecting those close in Shooting Star's life.
"Ah. Looks like it's reaching you as well." Second Wind leaned in. Luminary realized that she couldn't even call Shooting Star her son anymore. Memories of her and Shooting Star were beginning to slip away. "But I want this to last a bit before you fully forget about him."
"Son!" But Paramount could speak his name still. "The way you obtained the Destiny Magic was now the way to go!"
"It's the only way I could've." Shooting Star spoke back. "After what happened today, I'm grateful to Second Wind for having me gain this magic. It was my destiny, wasn't it?"
"You can shape your own destiny! Windkiss returned for one last time to tell us that! You don't have the follow the path that the previous Pegasi of Destiny had followed and-"
"Ah!" But cutting him off was Second Wind. "We're wasting enough time here as it is! Unown! You know what you want with the king. Feel free to go for it."
The Unown would gladly do it. They approached King Paramount, ready to rid him of this existence. Paramount, Luminary and Tip-off were on their own now with no guards to defend them. The two royal pegasi merged their magic to create a protective barrier, right on time as Hidden Power had already been used.
"What, I thought we were just going to meet them." Shooting Star turned to Second Wind. "Wait you ca-" But once, again, Second Wind had cut somepony off. In this case, she used the power of the Unown to stop Shooting Star for a moment.
And in that instance, his memories had been tampered with once more. Altered enough to put him in a perplexed and befuddled state where he could only close his eyes and feel dizzy. "Just hold on there, Shooting Star," said Second Wind as Shooting Star had passed out. "Very soon, you won't even remember him."
Second Wind then turned to the King and Queen as they were currently fending off the Unown, using all the spells that they could use. This was the most pressurizing moment in their life so everything they had to offer had been unleashed. Tip-off cowered in fear, hiding behind the King and Queen.
"While they're at it...I believe now would be the best time to use Pegalysium's secret." Second Wind left the Unown to their own devices, deviating from the conflict. She would go for Pegalysiuym's greatest secret. Something that was too valuable to ignore.
And it wasn't hidden away at all. It was out in the open as Second Wind already knew of its existence. Years of the Indigo Alliance and their actions within Pegalysium were responsible for this knowledge being passed on.
And the secret in question could be found at the front of the palace. Mainly the door that was shaped like a clock. Second Wind stood before the clock door, placing her hoof on it, feeling the clean texture from it.
"It's so out in the open and yet using it is nigh-impossible. Unless you are Pegasus of Destiny." The Grand Judge deviously smirked, turning to Shooting Star who was brought here by her magic. "With this Destiny Magic, I can unlock the secret of this door and do what other members of the Indigo Alliance were never able to do."
"The door!" Tip-off noticed Second Wind's location, sneaking away from the conflict as to not be hit by anything from either side. He scurried to the door as quickly as he could before Second Wind could use the power behind the clock door.
"I've been waiting for this!" She then picked up Shooting Star as he was starting to wake up after a few seconds. "Pegalysium will finally be made in the image that we've chased for so long! We will rewrite time!"
Outside Pegalysium, away from all the chaos occurring, Celestia, Twilight and Luna had found themselves here. Alongside Pheromosa, the 12 Leavanny, Raboot and some Pikachu from the Pikachu Highlands, the group were here to help Pegalysium in the midst of its disaster which could soon transfer to Equestria.
Unfortunately, they would come to face this sudden surprise once Luna was the first to approach Pegalysium, spotting one of the first sky islands that held a rainforest.
"Some of us should find Rarity and Fluttershy while the rest of us go for- Luna was cut off the moment she ended up hitting something physical. "GOUH!" She cried out with her face being pressed on the invisible forcefield made by the Destiny Magic. It felt like hitting glass and metal at the same time. "Ugh..." Luna groaned, siding off of the invisible forcefield as she also felt a shock through her body. Truly unpleasant.
"Ah. I think we all know what this is." Celestia observed. "We might have been too late to arrive if a forcefield is already in our way. Are you alright, Luna?"
"Hoh...My ears burn..." Luna whimpered, flying back to her sister.
"Please tell me we can break it..." Twilight sighed. "Rarity and the others are trapped past it and there's no telling what the Unown can do in little time or ample time."
"Enough to change whatever they see fit. Stand back." Celestia ordered everyone to stay behind her. The Pikachu that were on her back were already doing so, holding onto the Ruler of Equestria. Celestia would test out this forcefield, just to see how effective it seemed.
With a buildup of her magic surrounding her horn, out of it came a radiant golden beam that lit up parts of the skies and clouds. It made direct contact with the forcefield, resulting in the beam reflecting right back at Celestia. "Oh!" Celestia gasped, quickly zooming out of the way. Everyone else moved out of the way as the beam pierced through various clouds, flying off into the distance before fading away.
"Well...We shouldn't do that again." Luna uttered as everyone was in agreement. But with this revelation, it created new obstacles to try and overcome. And at the worst possible time too.
"Alright then. Attacking it won't work. This can prove to be troublesome..." Celestia squinted. "Does anypony have an idea already?"
"I was thinking of attacking it along with everyone else but..." Darkrai spoke, shaking his head. "Seems that won't end well for all of us."
"Ah!" Luna had something. She held her Poke Ball out, sending one of her Pokemon into the fray. "You might be able to help us. Frillish.
"Frillish.
"Wait. Will Frillish work?" Twilight asked.
"Surprisingly yes. Frillish can ignore forcefields with his intangibility. I hope that this forcefield counts." Luna, while confident in Frillish, was still worried that the forcefield that was able to deflect her sister's beam might ignore Frillish's intangibility. "Hopefully. Go, Frillish."
"Frill-Frill." The Floating Pokemon turned intangible, approaching the forcefield as everyone held their breath. And the result? Failure. Frillish crashed into the forcefield, experiencing the same thing that Luna felt with an added shock. "Frillish!" Frillish cried out, floating away from the forcefield.
"Not even intangibility works?!" Twilight gasped. "Then...what can work?" Their options were already looking thin despite only being 2 minutes since they had come across this forcefield. The efficiency of it was enough to make them realize how big of an obstacle this forcefield was.
"There's no such thing as a perfect forcefield. Everything has imperfections," said Celestia as she had approached the forcefield. The Princess of the Sun had then covered her hooves in magic before then placing them on the forcefield. Her magic-coated hooves were being pushed onto the forcefield, trying to break right through or at least cause a dent to form.
"Gardevoir!" Passion would do the same, joining her trainer. She used Psychic on the barrier, doing her best to also push through it. Celestia decided to try and tap into the power of the Boundless Cutie Mark as hundreds of little Cutie Marks were rotating around her main Cutie Mark. Celestia was already giving it her all, but even with her and Passion working together, the forcefield didn't even show a sign of breaking.
Celestia and Passion then moved, feeling their hooves and arms tremble from the shock. "Neither does that work. Not a dent on it."
"Pika!" PikaSupreme raised his arm, climbing onto Celestia's head as he would give it a shot. Not just him, but the other Pikachu as well. Altogether, they had built up electricity within their bodies, focusing on the forcefield.
"Uh, the attempt is nice and all but the forcefield will just reflect it," said Celestia. "And wait, you're still on-" But she was soon cut off once the Pikachu unleash their Electric-Type attacks onto the forcefield. "Ghhhh!" Celestia felt the volts coarse through her body, shocking her, Luna, Darkrai and Passion as they struck the forcefield.
As to b expected, they had been reflected. However, there was a twist. Once the reflection of the volts came their way, some of the Pikachu had absorbed it. This was because of their ability Volt Absorb and it helped greatly. Once returned, the volts were absorbed, only for the Pikachu to fire some more Electric-Type attacks at it.
Twilight watched this, noticing how the constant back and forth of volts from the forcefield led to parts of it trembling. "Oh, that's it! That's one way to maybe make a dent! Returning all of that electricity back at it with enough volts! Great thinking, Pikachu!"
"G-G-G-Great thinking, indeed!" Luna shuddered after having all the electricity affect her. But eventually, the Pikachu had stopped, seeing their combined efforts, while capable of making forcefield ripple, wasn't putting a dent in it. "Pika?!"
"Hah...At least a tiny bit of progress was shown." Celestia sighed as her body was smoking. "Maybe hitting it faster than it can reflect could be the way to go."
"Let me try." Luna flew ahead, aiming to give the Pikachu that pathway of making a dent. And to do so, she would use the power of Lunar Ire. A red streak formed across her mane with the dark blue and crimson aura that Lunar Ire carries showing itself.
Afterwards, Luna used her magic to focus directly on the spot where all the Pikachu had concentrated their Electric attacks. She started telekinetically pushing against it. The forcefield would obviously reflect her own telekinesis back at her, only for Luna to send it back.
Even the magic of Lunar Ire struggled to get past this forcefield made out of Destiny Magic. "Just what kind of magic is this made out of...?!" Luna growled. "Pikachu, now!"
"Pikachu!" The Pikachu had used the same attacks once more, shooting it at the spot that Luna was concentrating on. Luna protected herself with magic coating while also focusing on the forcefield. The attacks struck the spot her magic was focused on as the rippling came through once more.
"P-Passion! Do the same with Thunderbolt!" A shocked Celestia ordered.
"Gardevoir!" Passion did just that. To negate the electricity that was affecting her, she summoned electricity of her own, giving her some resistance as the bolt of 100,000 volts went towards that specific spot. Darkrai, who was also a victim of these shocks, had also used Thunderbolt to try and break through.
All of those attacks combined with Luna's magic were pressured on the forcefield with each of them giving everything they had to try and make a dent that could be exploited.
"Let me try seeing if they're okay!" Twilight quickly took out her Xtransceiver, aiming to call her two friends. She went for Rarity's Trainer Number first, selecting it. However, not even a second and there was no ringing or sign of transmission. The Xtransceiver couldn't send a signal to Rarity's Xtransceiver. "It's not working! That forcefield must be blocking any communication!"
Knowing this, it was pointless to use this device at the moment. Calling Fluttershy was also out of the picture. All Twilight could do now was wait for the dent to arrive.
Feathercoast. Nightfall.
Meanwhile, Feathercoast had been completely taken over by the Unown, reworked in Second Wind's image. Mayor Umbra Streak and many other ponies had been restrained by the red chain while also having their homes renovated and other structures reworked from the inside.
The town hall of Mayor Umbra had been turned into another Indigo Alliance headquarters, removing the old design completely. A flag had been made representing the Indigo Alliance and their colours. Sunpuff and the other ponies who worked at the Feathercoast Kindergarten were kept at the kindergarten which had already undergone renovations. Indigo Alliance-based objects could be seen within the school for the little ones now.
The museum here in Pegalysium also had some of its exhibits altered, reshaping history in the process. Everything was on full lockdown. Second Wind didn't see much importance with Feathercoast as a whole. Sure it was her home, but the Sky Monarch was the main prize that she was shooting for and her preferred place to reside in.
She wanted to feel like a queen. Perhaps an empress. One that controls all of Pegalysium without having to be a secretive ruler of a secret society. And the addition of Indigo-Alliance thematic things being out in the open, plus the secret at the Sky Monarch were massive examples of that.
Arriving here to see their reworked home town were Garnet, Kaleidoscope and Clear View, along with Fluttershy's Bayleef and the Pokemon from the Drifting Peaks grotto. "What happened here?!" Garnet gasped. "And what are those things?!"
"Bay!" Bayleef gasped. She hoped that she wouldn't have to be near the Unown for a while but that wasn't the case. Stopping near Feathercoast meant that the Unown had been alerted to a nearby Rift presence.
The Unown had also seen new individuals to restrain. No matter what, all ponies in Pegalysium were ordered to be restrained until the restructure of everything was completed. So said Second Wind to the Unown with the only exemption being Indigo Alliance members.
And upon seeing Bayleef, they had targeted her. This area didn't have many Unown here. Mainly due to how small Feathercoast was and how little effort was needed for it. However, it was that small amount of Unown that presented a visible disadvantage.
"Bay!" Bayleef quivered, holding onto Charizard tightly. Charizard and the other Pokemon were aware of the Unown that chased her down after she shared her story. Now they were coming face to face with them.
"Rrr!" Charizard looked at the other Pokemon, knowing what needed to be done. They would protect Bayleef from being erased by the Unown. No questions asked.
"Oh! They're coming this way!" Garnet screeched, closing her eyes. But she had nothing to worry about. Not when Charizard and the others were there to protect her.
"Char!" Charizard opened its mouth, unleashing Fire Blast at the approaching Unown. Garnet, Kaleidoscope and Clear View watched as the same attack that managed to blow a Gyarados away had been seen for a second time. And it was just as impressive as the first time.
It engulfed the Unown in front of them, creating a vicious paroxysm of flames with crimson and orange sparks flaring all over the place. The Unown struck by Fire Blast had fainted as a result. Everypony in Feathercoast were made aware of this explosion, gazing at the night skies.
There, they saw not just three of their fellow neighbours, but also a giant lizard, a giant bug, some big birds, some sort of grass dinosaur and a few others in the mix. "Garnet?" Sunpuff noticed her fellow kindergarten teacher in the skies, riding on Charizard.
"Amazing!" Kaleidoscope gawked. "We're with Pokemon, duh! Why are we scared?!"
"Heracross!" Heracross then moved ahead alongside the Pidgeot towards the Unown. The Single Horn Pokemon swooped underneath a Hidden Power Flying, using Megahorn on the Symbol Pokemon. It proved to be super-effective against the Psychic-Types as it managed to hit three of them in a row, knocking them out.
"Pidgeot!" Some of the Pidgeot either stayed back, using Gust or Air Cutter to fend off the Unown or got up close and physical with Aerial Ace, Peck and Drill Peck. Either way, the Unown were taken down.
"Mantyke!" There were also the Mantyke, who took the sea lake that was found around Feathercoast, jumping out of it. They caught the Unown off guard with one of them using Confuse Ray to confuse the lot of them. After confusing the Unown, the rest of the Mantyke had used moves such as Water Pulse, Swift and Water Gun against the Symbol Pokemon.
"Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur used its vines to latch onto some of the Unown, throwing them against each other whilst both Nidoran Male and Female were assisting the Pidgeot, while on their backs, tackling the Unown.
The Unown were overwhelmed as Bayleef watched all of these Pokemon protect her. Bayleef was grateful for that. It made the Leaf Pokemon tear up, knowing that even in different nations on different levels, she had those that would protect her. Friend or not.
Due to their overwhelming union against the Symbol Pokemon, instead of staying behind to try and fight back, the Unown chose to flee. Their numbers were minuscule compared to Charizard's group. They had been scared off, fleeing into the distance and departing from Feathercoast.
Everypony cheered, happy that the Unown were fended off. Successfully and with no collateral damage too, despite the giant blast of fire. Charizard and the rest of them had descended once everything was said and done. Well, almost everything. There was still the red chain made by the Unown. Thankfully, it wasn't anything the Pokemon couldn't handle.
"Oh! Many-many-many thanks!" Sunpuff chuckled, feeling relieved to the core as Heracross had broken off parts of the chain with its horn. "Those strange letters were terrifying! And look what they have done to our town! All the indigo here is awful!"
"Thank you for this, Garnet. All of you." said Umbra. "I would've never thought you'd end up rescuing us. Especially with Pokemon."
"Well, help comes in many forms, doesn't it?" Garnet laughed. "Even if it's from giant bugs and lizards."
"Heracross."
"What happened here by the way?" Kaleidoscope asked, curious about the renovation. They were only gone for a few hours and so much had changed.
"Those strange Pokemon are to thank for this. They had some odd ability to reshape everything before our eyes." Umbra explained. "From how it appeared, they had the power to alter reality. And from what they brought, Second Wind is the one behind it no doubt."
"It was her," Garnet confirmed. "You see she...kind of took control of Shooting Star."
"She-" But before they could gasp in shock, all of a sudden, they could not finish their sentence. And then together, Sunpuff and Umbra said the same thing. "Who is Shooting Star?"
"?!" Hearing this, Garnet was flabbergasted. But this meant only one thing. And Garnet feared this greatly. The Unown had truly mangled with his memories, making it so that it wasn't just ponies close to him that could soon forget his status, but eventually, everypony in Pegalysium. "No way..."
"Is something wrong, Garnet?" Kaleidoscope asked.
"Please tell me you at least know who the son of the King and Queen are!" Garnet grabbed the face of Mrs Sunpuff.
"They have a son? Are you sure?" Sunpuff replied with a puckered face. Garnet couldn't believe what she was hearing. Very soon, all of Pegalysium would forget about the prince and instead, bear witness to another pony that was still Shooting Star. A loyal member of the Indigo Alliance.
"Bay! Bay-Bay!" Bayleef then nudged Charizard, telling him and the others that they had to find Fluttershy as soon as possible. Bayleef feared for Fluttershy during this crucial time. Charizard understood clearly as it quickly grabbed everyone, placing them on its back once more.
They had already dealt with Feathercoast, keeping it safe. All that was left was finding Shooting Star and Fluttershy. "Everypony, stay hidden inside." Umbra Streak ordered. "In case those Pokemon come back to restrain us."
Out on a sky island jungle.
In a jungle, Rarity could be found. She managed to leave Lulolum Island, evading any of the Unown that were nearby. But right now, the fashionista felt exhausted. Tired from all the running and the fact that it was late.
"Hah..." She sighed as her Xtransceiver wasn't working either. She was unable to get in touch with any of her friends now, leaving her with just two of her Pokemon and Fluttershy's harmed Audino. "What rotten luck. No way to reach my friends and Fluttershy has been captured. How did it come to this."
"A-Audino..." Audino groaned as she sat near a tree, even unable to hear her groans. She thought about Fluttershy, Raboot and Bayleef right now. She even wondered why her hearing wasn't as effective as before. She tried using Heal Pulse on herself to bring her hearing back. And while she managed to heal her injuries, her hearing was still mute along with her speech. Rarity had asked Audino if she would be alright, but what was the point if nothing could be registered.
"Audino! Audino! Can you hear me?! Audino!" Rarity held the Hearing Pokemon, shaking her and hoping for a response. But Audino simply looked Rarity in the eyes, tearing up all of a sudden. Rarity pulled back, seeing Audino put her arms over her ears, breaking into tears. Some sniffling could already be heard as the Hearing Pokemon felt so weak and useless now.
"Audino..." She mumbled. " Not even her tears could be heard by Rarity or herself. But even she couldn't hear her, Rarity could see the distress and sadness coming from Audino.
"Oh, Audino." Rarity went to comfort Audino, hugging the Hearing Pokemon. Audino then hugged Rarity back, grateful that she had someone to lean on in this unfortunate time. Sounds and colours of the Unown changing reality continued in the distance, available for Rarity and Audino to see. Rarity then looked Audino in the eyes before changing her expression into a serious one.
She then recalled a certain item that she had used last morning. If anything, that item is what prompted her to arrive at Pegalysium with Fluttershy. The communication shell for the Pegalysium Police. "Aha!" She took it out, seeing that it was still there even after all that running and jumping around. Still in one piece too.
If there was one way to get help, it would be from the authorities no doubt. Rarity thought back to how this shell was used in the first place. It wasn't too complicated thankfully. One-touch of the clamp at the back and the communication shell worked its magic.
"Hello?" She spoke into the shell, hoping to get a response. And she certainly did.
"Uh...H-Hello." An officer spoke.
"Thank Celestia! I'm calling you to report a missing pony case!" Rarity got to the point. "A friend of mine by the name of Fluttershy has been taken. By the Indigo Alliance."
"Oh, about that...we're occupied right now." The officer replied as he and many others were all being restrained by the red chain and having everything be revamped by the Unown. "These letters have us too busy to do much so..."
"Letters? Unown..." Rarity grumbled as she was now getting annoyed by the Unown at this point. "Your station is in Big Sky, as usual, right?"
"R-Right!"
"Then I'll be there." Rarity turned the shell off as she had a new destination to approach. She would end up helping a large authority such as the police force. Certainly a major step up from helping citizens.
"Alright then...Enough sitting around." Rarity stood up. "Fluttershy is out there somewhere. So are Pheromosa, Leavanny and Raboot. Those Indigo Alliance ruffians and the Unown want to mess with me and my friends? That was their first mistake." She then held out one of her Poke Balls, sending out Milotic once more.
"Milotic!" Milotic was mainly sent out to the river where she could already get comfortable with the environment.
"Milotic!" Rarity hopped onto Milotic's back along with Audino. "Full speed ahead. Our first destination will be Big Sky. Once there, we won't hold back for a second against the Unown. Onwards!"
"Milo!" Milotic was off, zooming through the river. Big Sky was up next and soon the rest of her friends that have yet to be found.
Sky Monarch.
At the Sky Monarch, the Unown kept King Paramount and Queen Luminary busy with Paramount trying to avoid being erased by the Symbol Pokemon.
And while they were being kept busy, this gave Second Wind to chance to capitalize on something grand. Pegalysium's secret. The Clock Door that was the main entrance of the palace. The power to interact with time sat there out in the open.
But, despite its visible appearance, only one force could open it. Not a physical one with extraordinary strength, but a magical one. And the magic that could do so was Destiny Magic. Belonging to the Pegasus of Destiny.
Shooting Star, the current one, would be used to do so. He had woken up, facing the Clock Door with Second Wind helping him up from the ground. "Now, Shooting Star. Open it. Use the amazing power of Destiny Magic to unlock it."
"I understand." Instantly complying, the Pegasus of Destiny stood firmly in front of the door, harnessing the power of Destiny Magic on the spot. And by doing so, the door reacted to this legendary magic as it would react to no other.
The door opened up, emanating light from the inside that was unseen by many. Only those from a previous generation. The light resembled that of stars, flowing out of the door once opened as it prompted Second Wind to squint. Once it was fully opened, the light gave off an aura that was welcoming to them.
The intensity of it died own, allowing for Second Wind to look into it. Paramount and Luminary noticed the light as it had illuminated the entire capital. "The door!" Paramount gasped before protecting himself from another ray from Unown. They surrounded him from all sides, preventing him from going anywhere.
"Finally...Give a moment, will you, Shooting Star?" An excited Second Wind trotted inside. The light then enveloped her once she entered, making her seemingly invisible. Quickly approaching the entrance, avoiding any of the Unown was Tip-off. He was the first to see Second Wind going for the door.
He didn't have to try too hard to avoid the Unown since they were so focused on King Paramount more than anything. The only thing standing before him to reach that door was Shooting Star who stood outside of it instead of following Second Wind inside.
Meanwhile, inside, Second Wind was met with the full scope of what lay within the door. It was a sparkling aether filled with flowing images. Billions upon billions of them. Possibly trillions and beyond that. Quintillions. This was because everything that was flowing within this realm were moments in time.
Second Wind felt a sense of great accomplishment within her spirit right now. She had made it this far. Granted, it took losing once to get here, but it is what it is. And during her grand accomplishment, she saw something right in front of her forming.
Second Wind fell on her back after this strange force appeared before her, giving the Grand Judge a fright. She soon calmed down as the force soon revealed itself. Forming in front of her was a face. A face that looked far more defined than anypony's face here in Equestria.
In fact, this face resembled something more of a Rapidash, but without the Pokemon-Esque details. This face looked like it came from another dimension. Another world.
It had an amorphous mass with light and dark spots and is rooted into the aether. Countless wings grew out from its back, flapping majestically as Second Wind had no idea what she was looking at.
"W-What are you?" She stuttered, still feeling somewhat overwhelmed by its appearance.
"I am the Avus-Pegasus." It spoke with a dominant and sky-piercing voice. "The source of the overflowing Magic Power in this Dimension that you are standing in. The Time Dimension."
"Ah..." Second Wind stood up.
"You have come here for a reason. Do you wish to view time? Visit time? Or manipulate Time? Speak and I shall show you the time you desire to face." It asked her.
"I'll visit it. And I'll also manipulate it. I do it better than anypony." chuckled the smaller pegasus. Her big chance was in front of her. She wasn't going to waste me. "Listen, Avus-Pegasus. This is the timeline that I wish to enter."
Outside, Tip-off had appeared before Second Wind, alerting the Pegasus of Destiny. There wasn't any other way of getting around to the entrance. Thus, an out in the open approach was taken. Tip-off couldn't refer to him as the prince due to the Unown, but he certainly saw him as Shooting Star.
Shooting Star spread his wings out, standing in front of the door and preventing any entrance. "Hah...I didn't think I'd face a Pegasus of Destiny." He spoke nervously with a trembling lip.
"I know why you're here. You're not getting past the door." Shooting Star shook his head, showing Tip-off how minuscule he was by letting the Destiny Magic within him flow out. It terrified Tip-off. He trembled on the spot just feeling this overwhelming force that would stop any of his tracks.
"I might regret this...I have no idea what's in there but...oh well!" Despite being fearful of this magic, Tip-off showed his true loyalty to the Royal Family and Pegalysium as a whole, taking flight while closing his eyes and putting his front hooves forward.
"Wait, you're actually approaching me?!" Shooting Star didn't think he would after displaying his magic. But he wasn't going for him. Shooting Star believed he was, only for Tip-off to pass him. He was heading for the door. Shooting Star gasped, quickly biting onto Tip-off's tail to prevent him from advancing.
Tip-off grimaced after his tail had been pulled on. He flapped his wings ferociously, but Shooting Star's Destiny Magic allowed him to easily pull him back. Seeing that he was weak to overpower Shooting Star, the last-ditch attempt had been made. He took off his robe, allowing it to fly in Shooting Star's face.
However, the second he did that and with Shooting Star flinching, it was all too late. The intense light from before had returned, bringing out various rays to the outside. Tip-off was too mesmerized to move as the robe flew off of Shooting Star's face, allowing him to feel mesmerized as well once he set his eyes onto the door.
Everyone was. Paramount, Luminary and all the residents of Pegalysium's capital couldn't help but gaze. They then saw clock hands fly within the lights as they could not look away. Even if they willingly wanted to. It was pointless.
And the last thing they heard before the astral light coming from the Clock Door covered everything in white was the sound of someone laughing. The sound of Second Wind laughing. And after they heard her laughter, everything went to white. Not just for the capital, but for all of Pegalysium.
All who were within this nation in the sky bared witness to this mesmerizing light as the laughter of Second Wind polluted the skies more than anything. Celestia and everyone on the outside backed away once they saw the light approaching. They were the only ones who were outside of Pegalysium.
"I don't like the look of that." Celestia shook her head, already feeling something horrible as she and everyone closed their eyes, finishing their assault on the forcefield. None of them were ready for what was about to come next.
As if nothing had happened, morning had come. All was calm and peaceful within the skies of Pegalysium even after the flash of light that came from the Clock Door, enveloping the entire nation and its many sky islands.
Opening her eyes and feeling an odd sense of adrenaline through her body was Fluttershy. She gasped for a bit, gazing at the fresh new atmosphere. "W-What happened?!" She uttered as she was still standing next to Thunder Stamp and the Unown.
Speaking of the Unown, they had cast a barrier of light energy around Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp, shielding them from the expansive light the moment it came their way. Afterwards, the Unown lowered the light once the flash had ended. Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp found themselves outside of the building and right near the more nature-themed part of Lulolum Island.
They were within a forest section of the island, just close to the town. Mainly the town that can be seen by everyone instead of the one that was hidden from all.
"Thank you for protecting us, Unown. But what was that light?" Fluttershy wondered. "And when did it become daytime all of a sudden?"
Not only that, but everypony was going on about their day as if nothing had happened. Despite how last night, there was a huge Unown attack along with everything being in shambles, starting with the destroyed hotel. In fact, the hotel was back in one piece. Everything was healthy and fine from the looks of it.
Thunder Stamp was also the first to notice this rapid change in scenery. Not just with how it instantly became daytime, but with how certain things seemed new. He nudged Fluttershy, bringing her attention to the change. Fluttershy soon noticed how the entire city of Lulolum Island, the full scope of it from both sides, could be seen.
The mirror side was finally out in the open instead of being hidden. And the main building that used to be the Indigo Alliance's hideout was now known as something bigger. "The Indigo Union?!" Fluttershy gasped. Indeed, now it was a union that everypony knew about. Whether they were part of the union or not. Gone was the alliance.
Fluttershy continued to spectate the rest of the town in the distance, noticing how Indigo flags were now common among many houses. The hotel was still there, unchanged for the most part. But everything felt so different. It was unlike anything that Fluttershy had felt in the beginning when first coming here.
To gain the answers, the Unown would do so. The Unown had recalled everything, including the flash. To communicate with Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp, they had used electromagnetic waves to do so.
Soon, Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp had received it, gaining knowledge that would've been lost due to what had caused the flash of light, but thanks to the grand power of the Unown, that was not the case. Not only did they speak to them through electromagnetic waves, but they also used their power to show them both visages of what led to it.
Fluttershy had seen the flash of light coming directly from the Sky Monarch. The point of view had been focused onto another Unown that was there at the time, witnessing Second Wind entering the Clock Door.
She and Thunder Stamp got to see a glimpse of what Second Wind had changed. Mainly with an image involving King Paramount, Queen Luminary and Shooting Star respectively.
And after the light emerged, the view of time being altered was something new that Fluttershy had never seen before. Afterwards, the vision ended there as the further parts of it proved to be too overwhelming for Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp to see.
"She changed time?!" Fluttershy bellowed, pulling her mane. Panic ensued. She started flying around, realizing how vast this issue was for all of Pegalysium. "Thunder!" Fluttershy grabbed Thunder Stamp by the face, startling him. "We have to do something! I have to find my friends first!"
"Mmm!" Thunder Stamp flinched after having his face grabbed. He then realized with time being altered, familiar locations would have been changed too. The burly pony then thought about the images that Unown had shown him and Fluttershy carefully.
They only showed them what Second Wind had done to the royal family. In fact, unlike many others, Thunder Stamp could remember Shooting Star's name. And his status. "Hmmm..." He then looked at the Unown, realizing this was their doing.
The Unown managed to keep the memories of Shooting Star's true history intact for these two unlike everypony else who began forgetting his status and couldn't even say his name before forgetting all about him. Thunder Stamp then looked at Fluttershy, knowing where to go next. His grunting and facial expressions allowed Fluttershy to understand. They were heading somewhere else for the meanwhile.
"Big Sky? Okay. I just hope that I can find Audi and the others still..." Fluttershy sighed as it was off to Big Sky now within this altered timeline.
Outside Pegalysium. Day.
They weren't the only ones who were unaffected by the timeline change. The light only affected those within Pegalysium. And thankfully, Celestia and the others were free from that as the forcefield essentially saved them due to how much they were struggling to get through it.
It took them a while, but after blinking, they soon noticed the change in scenery. Morning had come and nightfall was long gone. "S-Sister...When did you raise the sun?" Luna asked.
"I didn't." Celestia shook her head. "When did you lower the moon?"
"I certainly didn't." Luna denied that as well. Neither of them had controlled the sun and moon as of late. In fact, it wouldn't be hours until they did so. But it felt as if those hours had passed by in a flash.
And together, the alicorn sisters realized that it did pass by in an actual flash. Figuratively and literally. "That light!" They shouted in unison.
"Oh, my eyes..." Twilight rubbed her eyes. "Are we still going to push through?"
"Without a doubt, yes." Luna nodded. "This situation could be larger than we expect if daytime has already come. It was nightfall just a second ago. Something happened in Pegalysium that must've changed the time. And that light is a good indication of that."
"Then, let's continue. Everyone, focus on that same spot once more." Instead of pondering any longer, Celestia ordered everyone to keep doing what they were doing before. Attacking the same spot to create a dent. Even if a different time had come along, they wouldn't stop until they passed through to Pegalysium.
Twilight meanwhile still wanted answers. As did a few. But those answers might not come to her immediately. Not until the forcefield was broken through.
Pegalysium Capital. Sky Monarch. Day.
The place where the flash originated from. Straight through the Clock Door. However, the door was now fully closed as it had already been used. Much like Lulolum and presumably everywhere else, everything was peaceful. Residents of the capital went on with their day, living their rich and luxurious lifestyles.
Except that something was new. Not new to them but certainly fresh in appearance. Not from the outside. That all looked familiar. But rather the inside.
Waking up with his eyes flashing was Tip-off. He gasped once his eyes had opened, causing him to feel winded. Despite how the flash had affected everypony in Pegalyisum, Tip-off still felt some rebound from the previous event. Granted, it was only a rebound and there was no recollection of his memories at the moment, but the feeling was perplexing to the mind.
"Oh goodness..." Tip-off groaned, holding his head. Afterwards, once his eyes were fully open, he could see his surroundings. And he was graced with the royal throne room. However, the appearance of it was incredibly different.
Massive braziers half enclosing each of the ten soapstone columns lit up the entire throne hall and blanketed everything in a warm yet eerie glow. The intricate indigo patterns on the embowed ceiling dance in the flickering light while statues of pegasi looked down upon the marble floor of this royal hall.
An indigo rug splits part of the room in half from the throne to midway down the hall while embattled banners with golden trimmings drape from the walls. Between each banner stands a large candlestick, they've all been lit and in turn illuminate the statue of a certain singular pony. Thick, stained glass windows depicting important moments of victory in the past were hidden by drapes coloured the same carmine as the banners. The curtains have been adorned with gilded linings and emblazoned edges.
A grand throne of Dynasite sat beneath an almost entirely close baldachin canopy and was adjoined by nothing else. The throne was covered in layered motifs that all had the symbol of the Indigo Alliance.
"You look out of it, Tip-off. Is something wrong?" The voice of a mare spoke to the befuddled Royal Advisor. A voice that was far too familiar and far too threatening to the ears.
"Oh, sorry, your majesty. It's just that the throne room looks..." Tip-off had replied before realizing whose voice that was. The Royal Advisor quickly turned around to see the ruler of Pegalysium sitting on the throne. Not two rulers but one ruler and only one throne as opposed to the second one that was there before.
And sitting on it was Second Wind.
Although, there was something different about her. Apart from the regalia she wore, she appeared much taller than before. Taller than Queen Luminary and practically the same height as King Paramount and arguably Princess Celestia. A radical change from her average pony height.
Now, the former Grand Judge of the Indigo Alliance had become the Ruler of Pegalysium. The sole Ruler with nopony else by her side.
"Uh..." Tip-off looked dumbfounded. He felt as if something was awry when looking at Second Win. But he blinked for a moment with his mind returning to normal. "Ah, pardon me. I feel a bit off for some reason."
"That so? Well, take a rest then. I won't be needing anything at the moment." Second Wind ordered.
"Y-Yes, um..." He paused his sentence before then resuming it. "Grand Queen!" He then left the room, leaving Second Wind on her lonesome. Nopony else was within this room aside from the guards who were stationed outside. They were the closest.
Once she was alone, Second Wind took the time to get comfortable on the seat. Despite it being made out of Dynasite, it had a comfortable sinking feeling to it. Seconds passed with absolute silence. But that silence was broken up once Second Wind started laughing.
"Hahahaha! Success!" She screamed, succeeding in her goal. "I've done it. Something that no other previous Grand Judge could achieve. I suppose I'm the best of this generation. And possibly the rest."
She then used her magic to bring over a drink, unable to control her laughter with how excited she was fr her resounding victory. She ended up getting what she wanted. Total control over Pegalysium. She drank from the glass before thinking about her actions that had altered time. Despite this victory, Second Wind thought beyond it.
"However...I wish I didn't have such little time." Second Wind then placed the drink on a table. "I was only able to replace the King and Queen while also changing everypony's memories. Truthfully, I should've gone for something higher..."
Indeed. While her goal was accomplished, Second Wind thought bigger. Mainly with the missed opportunities. She thought back to her time in the Time Dimension. Ironically, it was short-lived as she could interact with one point in time and nothing more.
"I should've dealt with those at Equestria. Perhaps gone back in time to when Ash Ketchum and his friends came here. Then the major threats would've been taken out of the way. Alas. So little time can allow me to do so few things." Second Wind sighed before smirking. "But it was worth it. And speaking of Equestria..."
The Grand Queen then hopped off the throne, trotting forward. RIght in front of her, a large round table had emerged, shaking the room a bit. However, this table wasn't for sitting or standing around. Second Wind stopped before the table as it had then shown a magical projection that illuminated into the fray.
This projection had then showed the map of Pegalysium. All of it. This roundtable map was all Second Wind's to observe. It was never there to begin but such was the perk of an altered timeline. And even in this changed timeline, the Unown were still assisting Second Wind.
They were above the ceiling, floating around the room haphazardly. The Unown had no rhyme or reason to the things they do, making them do whatever in any space that they wanted to. Even if meant being in one room the entire time.
Second Wind looked at the map projection, hovering her hoof over it. She then tapped on the first location. Big Sky and pathways connected to it. There, she could see all of Big Sky for herself. Total omniscience of everywhere in Pegalysium. And there, she saw a certain pony from Equestria who was still here. Fluttershy. That alerted Second Wind immediately.
"Fluttershy?! She was supposed to become a Cloven by now...How is she still roaming?" Second Wind wondered. Fluttershy was an oddity. This revelation worried Second Wind for a bit, even after her resounding victory. But then, something else caught her attention from the map. She could see that near the outskirts of Pegalysium, some rippling could be felt.
Selecting the outskirts, she could see the cause of this. She saw that Celestia and her subjects from Equestria were here. And they were using their combined efforts to try and break through the forcefield. Whether it be through telekinetic control or blasts of electricity, they were doing what they could. And now, Pheromosa and the others were getting on the action.
"Twilight Sparkle. Of course. And that pony over there is Celestia? Not bad." Second Wind nodded. "I'm actually jealous of her mane right there. But if they're here...they caught on quickly. But how would they have known of my actions up here?" This got Second Wind thinking. She wasn't aware of the disaster-sensing abilities that Absol and Xatu had.
She sat on her throne, looking at the table and seeing Celestia and her subjects plus the Pikachu army giving it everything to push through. "This could be a problem. With Fluttershy free and them showing up here. If they were able to know about my plan...then they must know about Pegalysium's secret. Hmm..."
Even after succeeding, Second Wind was already thinking of all the potential threats. And ponies from Equestria were the biggest example of this. However, another smile met with Second Wind's face as she wasn't too worried.
"I suppose I shouldn't forget about the power of the Unown. They have their own sources of Rift Energy down there. Especially with Jade Skies and that one petty pony, Emerald Aura. Unown."
The Unown then came to Second Wind under her command, circling the Grand Queen as they were ready to fulfil her desires as soon as possible. "Tell me...who in Equestria also possess some semblance of Rift Magic?" She requested. The Unown then sent electromagnetic waves through her head, telling her all she needed to know. And the scope of it was larger than she expected.
"Desires...?" She gawked, realizing that nearly everyone in Equestria had something Rift related inside of them. And the Desires were to thank for that as there were still some lurking within many others. "So, almost the entire population. Hmm, I was hoping that it would be the important figures but...oh well. I know you all want to rid everything Rift-related in this world, don't you?"
The Unown flew around rapidly, singing as they confirmed Second Wind's question. There were still some Rift anomalies here in Pegalysium, no doubt. The Symbol Pokemon could feel it.
"I see...In that case, here's what we'll do. Multiply the number of Memoir Petals. Erase the memories of Twilight Sparkle and her friends from ever coming here in the first place. Afterwards, give them some time of peace...and then feel free to attack Equestria, but don't get rid of all of them. It wouldn't hurt to rule two nations now, would it?" Second Wind's new plans were now leaning towards a larger scope than an entire nation. Two nations now.
The Unown would do just that. Every single Unown in Pegalysium received electromagnetic waves from the Sky Monarch. They had work to do. Altogether, they focused on one of Pegalysium's exclusive flora. The Memoir Petals. Capable of erasing memories with ease.
An abundance of them would be used. Far more than there already were as Second Wind's plans were continuing to flow perfectly in motion.
Feathercoast. Day.
Over at Feathercoast, it was all a part of the Indigo Union. Even after the town was saved in the true timeline, it didn't stop Second Wind from meddling with the town she grew up in.
And with this timeline change, Garnet was affected. Right now, she was at the Pegalysium Kindergarten, going about her normal day as a teacher day, teaching her class of rambunctious children.
In her hooves, she was holding a book to them. And as if she had just woken up, the teacher blinked a few times before having her heart skip a bit for just a split second.
"Ms Garnet?" One of the foals spoke, causing her to gasp. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh. Uh..." Garnet paused on her words, observing the classroom. She felt both warm and cold at the same time. Her eyes locked onto the book she was reading. It was all about the adventures of a little pegasus. Nothing more. "Um, I'm fine, I just...what time is it?"
"It's almost time for recess!" Another foal stood up, flailing her hooves and aiming them at the clock. "Just 15 minutes to go!"
"R-Right. Recess. Recess?" Garnet was still trying to collect her thoughts. She wasn't sure what to think at the moment. All of this had her lost in a trance. She then placed the book down standing up and turning away from the children.
"Uh, where are you going, Ms Garnet?"
"I need to...Clear my head for a bit. Maybe it's something I ate." Garnet groaned. "You all can have an early recess. Go along."
"Early recess! Woohoo!" Granted the almighty power of having an early recess, the children didn't waste this opportunity at all as they dashed out of the classroom and went straight for the playground.
Once she had the room to herself, Garnet took a moment to sit and lounge. She wasn't the only one feeling this way. While the altered time had made everyone go on as if everything was normal, there were those who still felt somewhat perplexed by this. However, despite their mind going frantic, they were unable to think about what truly happened and just dismissed it as a headache or a strange adrenaline rush.
The same went for Garnet. Laying on the seat, she looked outside the window to see how daytime was here. The last thing she remembered seeing was it being nightfall and a flash of light. Nothing more. Unsure if she was meant to be teaching today, Garnet chose to take a quick visit to her home. She left the kindergarten promptly as the chaotic sounds of the children erupted across the town.
Back home, she wanted to grab something to eat to clear her mind. To her, that felt like the best approach. However, the moment she opened the door, something charged out.
Bayleef.
"Bay!" Bayleef tackled Garnet once running out of the house. But by accident, as she caught Garnet off guard.
"Gah!" Garnet screamed as she fell over. She then groaned, writhing on the floor as Bayleef stood over her.
"Bay! Bay-Bay!"
"W-What are you...?" Garnet winced as Bayleef was shouting at her. Despite the timeline change, the memories of Pokemon remained. "Oh, right. You're a Pokemon...Bayleef, was it?"
"Bay-Bay!" Bayleef then hopped off of Garnet before returning to her home. Garnet stood up, witnessing how the Leaf Pokemon had grabbed Garnet's saddlebag, bringing it over to her. "Bay!"
"Wait a second. Why are you in my home?" Garnet cut to more pressing things.
"Bay! Bay-Bay!" Bayleef then jumped around, spouting out words that Garnet just could not understand. Pokemon speech patterns were not her forte yet. Bayleef then ran up to Garnet, causing her to back up in fear. Bayleef had then thrown the saddlebag onto Garnet, forcing her to wear it.
"What is up with you...?" A perplexed and confused Garnet questioned.
"What's going on here?" Becoming alert to all of this were two guards. But upon turning around, Garnet noticed the look of the guards. For starters, they were all wearing indigo uniforms, something she had never seen before. Or so she thought. She also realized that these guards were new.
"Is that a Pokemon you have with you?" The other guard asked.
"This uh...This isn't mine. This is kind of a nuisance." Garnet denied as Bayleef puffed her cheeks, offended by being called a nuisance. "I don't know what it's doing."
"Either way, you can't have a Pokemon here in public. We'll just take that off your hooves and give you a warning at best." The guards approached Bayleef, aiming to take her away from the town.
"Bay? Bay!" Bayleef knew that was something was wrong. Much like Garnet, she had never seen guards here before. But unlike Garnet, Bayleef knew more. The Leaf Pokemon had used her vines, causing them to fly out and wrap around the two guards.
"Oh!" The guards gasped before they were then thrown to the side by Bayleef's strength. They screamed after being thrown away like yesterdays' garbage. Speaking of which, they ended up crashing right into a garbage can. One of them landed inside of it while another was knocked over, alerting the citizens.
"W-W-W-What did you do?!" Garnet screeched, noticed how all eyes were on her. Bayleef then wrapped her leaves around Garnet, dragging her along. "Hey!"
"Bay!" Bayleef pressed on without standing around anymore. Garnet groaned, trying to pull the leaves off of her. But she certainly wasn't overpowering the vines of a Bayleef.
"Garnet? What's going on?" One of Garnet's close friends, Kaleidoscope, opened her door to see her friend being dragged away. "Bayleef?"
"Help!" Garnet cried out. "This Bayleef's kidnapping me! I think! Just get it off!"
"Hmm...Ah!" Kaleidoscope made one of her wings snap before heading into her home. Returning from it, Kaleidoscope found herself some shears. "These'll do!" With the shears in her mouth, making her speech slightly muffled, Kaleidoscope slid on over, getting in the middle of Garnet and Bayleef's vines.
With careful aim, she snapped the vines perfectly in two, severing the connection. Bayleef tripped over as Garnet fell on her back once they were split up.
"Easy." Kaleidoscope tossed the shears away. "But Garnet. How come you have a Bayleef with you here? You know it's illegal to have a Pokemon."
"It's not my Bayleef!" Garnet grumbled before sitting up. "It-" However, the teacher needed a moment to process Kaleidoscope's last words. "Wait. Illegal?"
"Yeah. Only the Grand Queen can own Pokemon. Usually, it's those weird letter things." Kaleidoscope explained. The timeline change definitely showed itself on her as her perspective on reality had been changed. While Garnet was starting to process it, Bayleef definitely knew something was wrong.
"Bay!" She gasped before rushing over to Garnet. The moment Garnet started thinking about the changed timeline, Bayleef had used one of her leaves immediately. The leaf came off, floating in Garnet's direction and touching her leg. The moment it did so, Garnet's mind came to a halt. What she tried to think about was quickly reversed.
"Wait a second..." Garnet froze. "Uh, Kalei. Do you...feel weird?"
"Hm? Weird like what?" Kaleidoscope tilted her head.
"Weird as in...something's off? I just had the strangest feeling today." Garnet then turned to Bayleef, looking the Leaf Pokemon in the eyes. "Way off..."
"It's probably those kids messing with you again. Also um...might not be the best time to be seen with Bayleef so..." Kaleidoscope, noticing that the guards were getting back up, quickly zoomed back inside of her home to make herself distant from Garnet at the moment.
"Wait!" Garnet cried out as Kaleidoscope had locked her doors. Pointless to cry out now. Garnet scrunched her face, soon remembering that everypony was staring right at her. Not wanting to be seen in a different light, Garnet attempted flying away from Bayleef, only for Bayleef to sprout more vines, grabbing Garnet's tail. "Huh?!"
"Bay!" Bayleef dragged Garnet off. She wasn't finished with her, much to Garnet's displeasure. Everypony steered away from Bayleef when it got close, not aiming to interact with the Pokemon in any way. The guards soon spotted Bayleef running off with Garnet, getting the garbage off of her.
"What's going on?" Garnet whimpered, wanting answers as to why today felt so bizarre and why she was getting kidnapped by a Bayleef. All answers that have yet to come her way.
Outside Pegalysium.
Finally, after all their hard work, visible progress had been made on the forcefield. Thanks to focusing on one spot the entire time, Celestia and everyone managed to finally make that dent. And it was made with the final kick that Pheromosa landed on it.
"Look! It worked!" Twilight cried out. "There's a dent in it!"
"Then now is my chance!" After finding the dent, Luna capitalized on it. She couldn't let this vital moment slip away. The power of Lunar Ire was used once more as Luna now gained two red streaks on her mane.
She had then created a magical manifestation of claws out of thin air. Strong and small enough to touch the dent. The magical dark blue claws made their way towards the dent, grabbing it before it could close off. Tied with Luna's own strength, they were being used to their fullest potential.
And it showed. The caws started ripping the forcefield by damaging the dent. Luna had visible sweatdrops on her. But soon, all of that strain had vanished once she had finally done it. She had ripped through the dent, making a visible hole. A sizable one.
"Hah..." Luna sighed once the hole had been made. "Whoever made this forcefield certainly did an amazing job. Perhaps we should try and make one as good as this someday."
"Perhaps Right now, our friends are out there in Pegalysium somewhere." Celestia flew ahead. "Everyone, get ready for the worst to come." With the hole open, they could finally pass through.
And now there was solid land to stand on, freeing Celestia, Luna, Passion and Darkrai from the trouble of carrying the other Pokemon. The army of Pikachu, 12 Leavanny, Raboot and Pheromosa had touched solid ground, finally feeling their legs again after minutes of floating.
"Pika! Pikachu!" Immediately after landing, PikaSupreme ordered his loyal Pikachu subjects to get searching for Fluttershy, Rarity and their Pokemon. No time to waste. Especially when it felt like time had completely in a flash.
Twilight then took out her Xtransceiver once more, hoping that it would work better now that she was inside Pegalysium instead of outside. "Come on...Please work." But after selecting Fluttershy's Trainer Number. Sadly, even when past the forcefield, the Xtransceiver could not reach her either. "No good..."
"Strange..." Celestia stopped for a moment. "Everything seems calm all of a sudden. I would've thought there would be visible events from what Absol and Xatu described."
"Yes. It's odd, isn't it?" Luna agreed, feeling that it was all too peaceful right now. "Were we too late? Or was it that light again?"
"Maybe Absol can figure it out." Twilight suggested before sending Absol out.
"Absol!"
"Absol. Can you feel the disaster still? Is it still around?" She asked as everyone leaned in to face the Disaster Pokemon. Absol understood before letting his horn do all the work as usual.
The Dark-Type closed his eyes, searching for the same disaster. And despite everything seeming calm, Absol's horn vibrated. That shaking was a good indication that all was not what it seemed. "Sol!"
"So there is still a disaster going on," said Celestia. "Seems as if we might have to get close to the source. Pheromosa. You move the fastest out of everyone here. Can you grab the Pikachu and head for any of the locations? Anywhere you last saw Rarity and Fluttershy or think you might find them."
"Mosa-Mosa!" Pheromosa was on it. She picked up the many Pikachu, having the length to hold a majority of them. Including PikaSupreme and PikaNoble.
"Twilight. Luna. We'll go for the Sky Monarch. We might be able to get into contact with the Royal Family." As for Celestia and her group of alicorns, it was off to the Sky Monarch for them. Soon, both groups went off in different paths. Pheromosa and the Pikachu would go wherever while the princesses would fittingly head to a royal area.
Pheromosa took off at the speed of sound, leaving a massive dust cloud already. Twilight, Luna and Celestia took flight, aiming to get a better look from above. However, their arrival wasn't made blind to everypony.
Mainly Second Wind.
Knowing of their arrival and under her command, the Unown would take things from here. By multiplying the Memoir Petals, they had then spread these mind-manipulating flowers into the air, causing them to pursue specific targets. Elsewhere, Bayleef, who had just taken Garnet, wandered off to set things right.
But she wasn't the only one who had memories of what happened prior. Thanks to the three Unown on their side, Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp had something to remember and see that something was wrong.
All the while, Second wind sat there, enjoying her new royal lifestyle. Total domination over all of Pegalysium as the Grand Queen. And soon, her next target was the nation that foiled her first plans in the beginning. Equestria.
Gradually arriving at Big Sky ended up being Milotic who had Rarity and Audino on her back. She followed a stream that led her to this big casino-based city. However, upon arriving here, much like a few others, Rarity felt a change. "What was that all about...?" Rarity asked herself, wondering what the flash was. She noticed Big Sky in the distance, going about her way.
Time had been altered still and Rarity, while unaware that it has been altered, still felt odd. Especially when seeing that the sun was up instead of the moon. And arriving at Big Sky were Fluttershy, Thunder Stamp and the Unown.
Big Sky remained unchanged even after the change in the timeline. However one could argue that it had seen an upgrade in terms of luxury. Not only was it a casino, but now, it resembled a movie studio. It was now a metropolis of skyscrapers filled to the brim with equipment for producing big cinema features, similarly to the Pokestar Studios. It clashed well with the casino sections.
Entering the city, Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp were met with blue street lamps that had transparent spheres with spinning crystals inside them.
"Wow..." Fluttershy gawked. This would also be her first time visiting Big Sky as a few of her friends had already visited it. "I can imagine that this would look during the night."
"Mhm." Thunder Stamp could agree on that as he continued to lead Fluttershy through Big Sky. Along the way, Fluttershy got to witness movie posters along with magical projections that were identical to TV. Although, it was mainly stationary images that were cycling in different time spans than anything.
And speaking of these posters, Fluttershy could see how influential Second Wind had made everything about the Indigo Alliance. Aside from the newly established Indigo Union replacing the alliance, there was something larger. Posters for the Indigo Empire. Her reign over the nation had certainly been cemented.
"Where are we going by the way?" Fluttershy asked, wondering what the point of visiting Big Sky was. That's when Thunder Stamp took a quick turn to the right with Fluttershy, looking at his surroundings for a bit. Once the coast was clear, he went behind one of the casino buildings before standing next to the wall. He made sure everything was in a tight space for this, making it hard for anypony to see him.
He had something to show Fluttershy. With a lick of his lips, Thunder Stamp focused his hoof on one spot on the wall. There was a tile that stuck out from the rest of the other tiles. With some sound that sounded hollow and hard to find, right underneath Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp, the floor had suddenly opened up.
"Hm?" Fluttershy blinked for a second before being dropped into the hole. "Ah!" Immediately after she and Thunder Stamp were dropped into it, she started screaming as the top of the hole had closed off as if nothing had happened. Within the hole, Fluttershy was met with a slippery slope that led downwards while having some twists to it.
"Oooh....! This is actually fun!" She soon found herself enjoying this swirling momentum. One second she was screaming in shock and the next she was having a ball. From where this was leading, it looked to be a secret base.
"Hmm." While moving through the slope, Thunder Stamp found the time to show Fluttershy something despite their rapid movements at the moment. Fluttershy leaned in, noticing how Thunder Stamp pulled out a picture.
A picture of what seemed to be a base of operations. One look and Fluttershy could already tell what this meant due to Thunder Stamp's occupation and the slope underground. "Oh. Is that where all of your fellow officers are? So this slope must lead to your base."
Thunder confirmed it with a nod. But he showed her more, revealing all of the secret entrances that weren't just the hole they came through. He showed her different ways to enter the base across all of Big Sky since the city was so massive, to begin with.
"This all seems so fun!" Fluttershy giggled. "I can't wait to see what it loooooooks...Like?" But Fluttershy was met with utter horror and shock once they got there after the slope ride was coming to an end. And a similar yet grander expression graced Thunder Stamp's face.
"Gah!" He gasped, witnessing what his base had turned into. Instead of being the stylish and clean base that the images led it to be, it was a total mess. Complete destruction as the final part of the slope had been broken off. It would originally lead them to the ground where there would be something soft to land on. But that soft object was destroyed.
It looked to be a pillow that was now torn to bits. That soft landing was gone as Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp had to use their wings instead. Once there, they got a closer look at the totalled base.
The furniture here which was meant for multiple ponies all working here had been ripped to shreds. Various tables of the mechanical texture had also been damaged, creaked, split in half, or even rusted. An array of files had littered the destroyed base with torn paper that all had specific words that could no longer be recovered.
Thunder Stamp picked up objects of a place that was once great to look at. Now it was just awful to even be in. He even picked up a picture showcasing just himself. He stood in the picture with an uncomfortably empty space, indicating that others were meant to be there.
"What happened here?" Fluttershy wondered before gazing at the picture. She noticed the vast empty space and how the picture only showed Thunder Stamp who was standing in the far back instead of the front. "This picture...were there others meant to be there?"
"Mmhm..." Thunder nodded before giving off a deep sigh. Fluttershy and he already knew what this meant. It was involved with Second Wind messing with time, no doubt. "Hah..."
"You think she knew about this place and came to destroy it?" Fluttershy translated, reading Thunder Stamp's facial expression as he let out a slight mumble in response. "Aw, it's okay." Here to comfort him was Fluttershy. "You still kept memories of them. And we know the way to fix this. It's that door"
"Hmmmrgh...?" He turned to her with a distraught expression.
"That's right. Now we both have friends to help save." Fluttershy reassured him. "Let's work together and fix all of this. Then you'll see your friends and your base again."
"Hmm...Thanks." Touched by her words, Thunder Stamp actually blurted out a proper word instead of just grunting. It threw Fluttershy off guard for a bit since she was used to hearing him grunt, but it wasn't too surprising.
"I know Rarity can do fine with her Pokemon but. It's Audi, I'm the most worried about. We should find her sooner and do something about this changed time."
"Mhm..." Thunder Stamp went back to grunting and mumbling before wiping away his tears. He then looked Fluttershy in the eyes, grunting once more as he asked her a question.
"Oh, Audi? Well, I guess her being my best friend and being a Pokemon would be new to you. And everypony in Pegalysium. You aren't too familiar with Pokemon yet. They're like some of the best friends you could ask for. Shaped like friends too. Especially Audi. I'll never forget when I first met her..." Thinking about her partner, Fluttershy reminisced on the day she and Audino had met and became loyal friends to each other.
Equestria. Fluttershy's Cottage. The Pokemon House. 3 years ago.
During the earlier days of the two worlds merging, the Pokemon House was at its early days ever since it was finally. It was a concept that Fluttershy had in her mind and thus, it came to fruition. Pokemon were still overwhelming to many ponies in Equestria. But among the few who weren't overwhelmed by them was Fluttershy. And a place for them to come and relax was perfect.
She was surrounded by many Pokemon that she managed to attract to her cottage. And boy, did she attract. At that time, Dawn and Brock had also found themselves here in Equestria due to the abundance of gateways that randomized everything.
And thanks to their help along with Ash, Fluttershy was able to know more about Pokemon. Especially what they like and don't like. Currently, Fluttershy was feeding the Pokemon what she could, giving them a grand old time. And while she did that, peeking from the trees was the Pokemon she would soon form a powerful bond with.
Audino.
"A-Audino..." Audino in this instance was in an unpleasant state. Her body was full of scratches, completely tattered on all fronts and sides. She limped towards the tree, feeling weak beyond belief as her stomach was growling.
This Audino had been through something truly rough for her to look like this. She found her way to Equestria in this state before ending up at Ponyville.
"Man...sometimes I wanna eat some of the Pokemon food with how good it is," said Ash, kneeling in front of the bowl of Pokemon Food. The appearance was enough to make a human hungry.
"You'd better not." Dawn nudged him. "I don't think your stomach's built like a Pokemon. Then again..."
"Hm?" But while feeding the Pokemon, Fluttershy noticed the Hearing Pokemon before anyone else. Just near the trees that were enveloped by some bushes. Audino gasped before trying to hide the rest of her body from Fluttershy. Unfortunately, she was so big plus her ears always stuck out so the tree wasn't enough. The bushes either.
Audino then turned around, trying to run away, only to fall over due to her limped leg. "A-Audino...!" She whimpered.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy immediately rushed over to her side. Upon seeing Fluttershy approaching, Audin tried backing away, as fast as she could, but she was too slow to do so. She then closed her eyes, fearful of Fluttershy's approach. The Hearing Pokemon quivered on the ground, covering her eyes and fearing the worst.
"Audino!"
"Are you okay?" But Audino got the wrong idea. And she soon found out once Fluttershy descended next to her. Fluttershy placed her hoof on the Hearing Pokemon, making Audino twitch for a bit. But there was no need to fear.
"A-Audino?"
"What happened to you?" Fluttershy wondered, seeing the horrible state that Audino ended up in. Ash, Dawn and Brock also rushed over upon seeing the injured Audino.
"Oh, man! What happened to that Audino?!" Ash gasped.
"Pikachu?!"
"It must've been through a rough battle for it to turn out like that." Brock gawked. "Looks like it's hanging in there thanks to its durability."
"Uh, I think I ran out of potions!" Dawn looked at her bag as it was dry of potions. Piplup jumped into the bag, trying to see if he could find any. But he did end up finding his favourite food which he quickly took a bite out of. "This place doesn't have a Pokemon Center, does it?"
"Piplup!"
"It's okay. I can help this Pokemon." Fluttershy would take things from here. A Pokemon Center would take too long to reach due to the distance difference. "Audino, was it?"
"Audino..." Audino whimpered, nodding her head. Fluttershy looked to Ash, Dawn and Brock, telling them to help pick Audino up. They did so, carrying her full weight and bringing her closer to the Pokemon House where methods of healing Pokemon had been adopted. Fluttershy had Brock to thank for that as his double role as a Pokemon Breeder and Pokemon Doctor at the same time.
Once brought there, Audino was treated by Fluttershy and some assistance from Brock. She used everything she learned from Brock, which was relatively quick considering the time they've known each other.
And after being healed up with every part of being tended and cared for, Audino was back to full strength. But not only that, because of how she had been healed up, this prompted the Hearing Pokemon to learn a new move. One that would help herself and others for months and years to come.
"Audino!" Heal Pulse. Excited that she was healed and also fed to fill that growling stomach, in a spurt of energy, Audino had used Heal Pulse while jumping around.
"W-What's this?!" Fluttershy gasped, feeling comfortable with Heal Pulse's relaxing aura. It made her melt, descending to the floor. "It feels so great..."
"Looks like Audino learned Heal Pulse from all that healing," said Brock. "That's one way to learn a new move."
"Audino!" Grateful for healing her, Audino went to grab Fluttershy, giving her the strongest hug to date that caught Fluttershy off guard. She would hug Brock too if he wasn't taller in comparison to Fluttershy.
"Y-You're welcome!"Fluttershy stuttered before giggling, enjoying Audino's hug as she was spun around by the Hearing Pokemon. Ever since then, Audino, much like many of the Pokemon here, found the Pokemon House to be a relaxing place to come to.
Or rather, stay. Audino never left on that day Fluttershy healed her. She stayed behind and never went anywhere else. Days passed with Brock and Dawn leaving and Audino would just have Fluttershy to help with the healing. But Fluttershy wouldn't do it alone. With Audino being a natural healer, the Pokemon House would be a safe haven for many other Pokemon that were in need.
And whenever they needed help, one of them would aid the other. Whether it be Audino protecting Fluttershy from threats or even if Audino herself needed healing.
Present day.
"I guess it's not much, is it?" Fluttershy said. "I don't know what happened to Audi that made her so injured. And we got along well after that. But I'm happy to have met her. And seeing her in that state back at the hotel was awful. It reminded me of how horrible she looked back then. I can't let Audino be like that again. Especially when she's now worried about me."
"Mmm...Bahaa!" Touched by Fluttershy's story, Thunder Stamp broke into tears. The Unown made a bucket to catch his tears promptly.
They had then left the base, seeing that it was trashed and affected by time. There was no point in being here anymore. But as they took the exit to the base which was a flight of stairs that led to another building, they would be met with an alarming sight.
The Memoir Petals.
Sent to erase the memories of certain ponies and Pokemon that had shown up here, they pursued Fluttershy after learning that she had managed to escape the fate of being a Cloven. These magical petals were soaring through the skies, not radiating their light until they found their targets.
Rarity had witnessed this as she was thankfully exempt. At least due to Second Wind's orders. The same couldn't be said for Fluttershy. The moment she and Thunder Stamp returned outside, they saw the petals in the distance.
"Wow! How beautiful! What are those petals?" Fluttershy admired the Memoir Petals in the sky. However, while she didn't know what they were, Thunder Stamp certainly did. He quickly put his hoof over Fluttershy's eyes, protecting her from the power of the petals. "Oh! What's happening?!"
Thunder Stamp then had the Unown carry Fluttershy away as the petals found their target. The petals then gathered closer to each before increasing in speed. They violently dashed through the skies, causing wind pressures enough to knock some ponies over.
Fluttershy took a peek once Thunder Stamp's hoof was low enough. That's when she saw the Memoir Petals chasing her down while forming a petal whirlwind. "They're chasing us?! Wait, why?!"
Thunder Stamp grunted, giving a vocal-less explanation. before looking Fluttershy in the eyes. The petals then flew some windows to get around quicker, dedicated to wiping Fluttershy's memories off the board. "They're going to what?!" Soon, Fluttershy found out what these petals could do.
The Memoir Petals then shattered some windows before appearing in front of Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp. The Unown had made glasses for them, shielding the duo from the light that the petals could give off. However, the petals were persistent as these special glasses wouldn't stop them. They simply moved quick enough to mess with the wind, forcing the glasses to almost come off.
Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp held onto the glasses closely to avoid the light. But the petals weren't just focused on distance. They also got physical. The petals got closer to the pegasi, only for the Unown to protect them once more, forming a barrier.
Noticing the petals flying in the distance and causing a ruckus were Rarity, Milotic and Audino. After arriving here at Big Sky, they took notice, hearing the commotion. "What on earth?!" Rarity gasped before returning Milotic to her Poke Ball. She hopped on Audino's back, allowing the Hearing Pokemon to carry her.
Ponies were alarmed by the Memoir Petals as all of them had closed their eyes, fearing that they would lose their memories too if they were exposed to the light.
The petals eventually diverged, splitting up to cut their target off. And they did it with brute force and success at the same time. Some ponies were carried away by the wind pressure these little petals gave off as Thunder Stamp and Fluttershy ended up being cornered by them.
The petals had then gathered around the barrier, lifting it into the air. If they couldn't break through since they were still light petals, they could simply break it. Everypony looked to the skies, witnessing Thunder Stamp and Fluttershy in the skies.
And noticing this without a doubt was Rarity and soon Audino. "Wait..." She squinted her eyes, looking past the array of petals and the barrier they carried. There, they saw their friend. "Fluttershy!"
"Audino!"
The petals then used the full force of their speed to launch the barrier downwards. Fluttershy held onto Thunder Stamp once they were shot down like a missile. The impact would be hard no doubt. However, Thunder Stamp wouldn't allow any harm done to the innocent as was his job as an officer.
He ordered the Unown to protect Fluttershy as he knew that she was the important pony in this instance. Thunder Stamp didn't feel the same way to himself. The three Unown understood clearly as they used their power to send Fluttershy out of the barrier, making a separate one for her to float in.
The barrier that Thunder Stamp sat in had hit the ground hard, destroying a roulette wheel that other ponies were playing with. He felt his head shake while also feeling bewildered. His eyes rolled around as if they were marbles. It was safe to say that it knocked the wind out of him. However, the petals quickly left Thunder Stamp, realizing he wasn't the true target.
They pursued Fluttershy who was floating in her own barrier while also being assisted by the Unown. They were now tasked with protecting Fluttershy no matter what. However, against the swarm of Memoir Petals, even three Unown might not be enough as all of them reunited to try and erase Fluttershy's memories.
But they wouldn't be alone.
Piercing through the air and obliterating some of the petals was a Hyper Beam. It consumed the petals, destroying a majority of them since they were so fragile. The explosion of Hyper Beam afterwards was enough to even damage the rest.
"That Hyper Beam... Was it?!" Fluttershy knew of one Pokemon close to her that could use Hyper Beam. And once she looked down below, lowering her glasses, she saw her friends once more.
Audino and Rarity.
"Fluttershy!" Rarity waved at her along with Audino, who was still mute.
"Girls!" Fluttershy shouted, thrilled to see her friends again. The Unown quickly saw that there was familiarity between them, which prompted them to carry Fluttershy's barrier to them. As for the petals, they had been wiped out thanks to Audino. They were plentiful but their fragility was a prime target for Hyper Beam.
Very few of them remained and the few that were left ended up being destroyed by a Hidden Power from just one Unown. The rest of the petals tried approaching, only to be blocked by the Unown, putting an end to them.
"Rarity! Audi!" Fluttershy rushed over once she was freed from the barrier. Without holding back, she ended up hugging the unicorn and the Hearing Pokemon immediately. And she made sure it was powerful. Similarly to how Audino overwhelmed Fluttershy the first day they met, Rarity and Audino receive that same treatment. "I was so scared!"
"S-Same here darling!" Rarity's grunted before laughing. "We were worried about you! Audino the most!"
"A-Audino!" The mute Audino cried her eyes out, bawling uncontrollably before returning the hug to Fluttershy.
"Audi. Can you still hear me?" Fluttershy asked, hoping that Audino could still hear the words of Fluttershy. But unfortunately, she couldn't. Neither could her words be made vocal even when her mouth was opened. "Oh, Audi..."
"Audino..." Audino sniffled. But right now, she didn't care about her lack of voice and hearing. All she cared about was seeing Fluttershy here once more. But here to fix all of that were the three Unown tasked with saving her. They hovered towards Fluttershy before catching the attention of Rarity and Audino. "Audino?!"
"Get back, Fluttershy!" Rarity stepped in front of her, holding a Poke Ball out. "I know what these Unown are and what they're capable of...!"
"Audino!" Audino stood beside Rarity, growling at the Unown. The Unown then froze on spot, feeling threatened by them both.
"Wait, you two. It's okay." But Fluttershy could vouch for them. She floated in front of the Unown, protecting them. "These Unown are with me."
"They are?" Rarity lowered the Poke Ball.
"Audino?"
"Mhm. Unown. Can you please help me?" Fluttershy turned to the three Symbol Pokemon. "There's something wrong with Audi. I don't know what it is but..."
The Unown didn't have to hear anything else. They had a pretty good idea of what to do. They gathered as one, approaching the Hearing Pokemon. With their powers combined, they did what needed to be done and returned Audino to the Pokemon that she was truly meant to be.
One with amazing hearing abilities as a golden light had graced hr. Audino closed her eyes as the light lasted only 2 seconds before fading away. Afterwards, Audino could hear again. "A-Audino?" Not only that, but she could hear her own voice again. "Audino!"
"You did it!" Fluttershy gasped. "Oh, thank you so much, Unown!"
"Audino!" Audino jumped for joy as Rarity had nothing to fear now with these three Unown. Speaking of the Unown, they had also been grabbed Audino as she showed her appreciation to them. "Dino! Audino!"
"Well...it all worked out in the end." Rarity uttered. "Almost. Some of my Pokemon and your Raboot are missing...So, it's not all over."
"If you could find me, then we can find them too," Fluttershy reassured. Everything that had happened couldn't go ignored by the pegasi of Big Sky. Especially to the guards.
"Hey! Are those Pokemon?!" The local guards that were all wearing Indigo shouted out. "What's going on here?!"
"Um, there's a lot to explain..." Fluttershy whispered. "It's best to just come with me. Plus, you'll meet Thunder Stamp!"
"Thunder who?" Rarity replied before being dragged away by Fluttershy. Soon, they were on the run from the guards after they spotted Pokemon. There was quite a bit for Rarity to know.
However, the Memoir Petals, while they had failed to wipe Fluttershy's memories off the map, there were still more as they ha been multiplied by Second Wind's Unown army. Fluttershy was not the only target of this mind wiping petals.
Pheromosa, who was carrying some of the Pikachu from the Pikachu Highlands, leaving a massive dust cloud trail for her speed had noticed the petals in the distance. She and the army of Pikachu admired these petals and how beautifully they fluttered in the sky.
"Phero..."
"Pika..." Unfortunately, it was their beauty that allowed them to catch others off guard. Especially with the light that flashed from them. Pheromosa and the army of Pikachu had seen them, being affected by the mind-manipulating light at a first glance.
It wasn't just them. Celestia, Luna and Twilight were heading for the Sky Monarch to meet with the King and Queen. Or in this case, unbeknownst to them, the Grand Queen. To catch them off guard, in the distance they saw not the petals, but arguably, something worse than the Memoir Petals.
The Unown.
They were being sent to Equestria, flooding the skies with darkness. Celestia and her fellow alicorns quickly hid behind a mountain to keep themselves away from the Unown. The Unown were too fixated on Equestria to even think about them. They had the petals to do that for them.
"The Unown?! Where are they going?!" Luna wondered.
"From that direction...it looks they're diving downwards." Twilight noticed the direction that the Unown were flying at. They went in a downwards diving position, descending to lower air. "You don't think they're heading for Equestria?!"
"They might. Absol and Xatu said that this disaster could affect Equestria as well." Celestia's heart skipped a beat after seeing the abundant swarm of Unown flood the skies whilst descending. "I hope we're not too late."
Speaking of Equestria, over at SugarCube Corner, Pinkie Pie was currently making the pace comfortable for the second Mew that she and her own Mew were taking care of. The Mew from Holon was not used to being out in this much public nor was she used to being this close to it.
"No need to worry." Pinkie said to the second Mew. "My Mew and I are gonna make you feel great here."
"Mew-Mew!"
"We should give you a name since you're a second Me...How about...Mew Two?!" Pinkie Pie jumped, thinking of a nickname for Holon's Mew. "Nah that's taken. Twice. How about Mewspaper?"
"Mew...?" Holon Mew titled her head as Pinkie Pie had a slew of Mew nicknames.
"Aha! Mewster!" She then pulled off posses each time she gave a new name. Her own Mew joined her in this silly endeavour. "Mewie! Mews! Oh wait, I got it! Mewthree!"
"Mew-Mew...." Mew wasn't finding many of these names good enough. But she would settle on at least one to make it easier for Pinkie Pie. However, as Pinkie Pie got out a list for Mew nicknames, Mr and Mrs Cake looked outside the window with their eyes being graced with a new and frankly terrifying sight.
Their jaws dropped from what they were witnessing. And soon, everypony in Ponyville would find out. Rainbow Dash left her home up in the sky, being one of the first to see this. And frankly, everypony in Cloudsdale being in the skies were the first before anypony below.
From Applejack's home and even Twilight's Castle where Spike, Cold Colt and Starlight remained. All of them saw the same thing as the Cutie Mark Crusaders plus Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon recognized this all too well due to being the first ponies to encounter them.
The Unown.
Covering the skies with black and white which wouldn't be limited to just Ponyville or Cloudsdale as their targets were all those with some semblance of Rift Energy inside of them. And the Desires were big examples of that, affecting almost everyone.
The Unown invasion was about to begin. And it would start at Ponyville.
Pegalysium. Sky Monarch. Grand Queen Second Wind's Throne Room. Afternoon.
Sitting on her throne that was never meant to be hers and knowing the apocalyptic chaos that she was about to create was Second Wind.
After altering time via the Clock Door, the Grand Queen was not yet satisfied. Not until her enemies were dealt with. Especially those who foiled her when she was the Grand Judge in the Indigo Alliance, which was now the Indigo Empire.
Which was why an army of Unown that she could control were currently at Equestria, ready to add it to Second Wind's rule. But there was something on her mind. And as usual, Second Wind would speak to herself with nopony else present in the room.
"Hmm. Even though I took the throne, where are Paramount and Luminary now?" She wondered. The King and Queen were out of the way as royalty. "Shooting Star should be around citing as the new Grand Judge for the Indigo Union but...Tip-off! Get in here now!" She roared, calling for her Royal Advisor.
"Y-Yes your majesty!" Rushing into the room after his name was called out was Tip-off. Earlier, he was sent off to try and relax his head, but Second Wind demanded some questions as the Royal Advisor came to a screeching halt in front of her throne.
"Tell me this. Do you know about two ponies named Paramount and Luminary?" Second Wind asked.
"Paramount and Luminary? Um..." Tip-off didn't give a lightning-fast answer. He had to think about this. But the conclusion was unsatisfying for Second Wind. "No. Never heard of them."
"Hoh? Then how about this? A blue stallion with a blonde mane plus a light red mare with a purple mane and a golden streak. How does that description sound?" Second Wind tackled their appearances to try and get a better answer. "Any ponies that match that description?"
"Uh...Ah!" Tip-off had a better idea of that description. "There's...Nopony here that fits that." But the answer was the same. He was unaware of them. His mind was cleared about the existence of them.
"Hm. Oh, well. That approach failed." Secon Wind shrugged.
"But their names do sound familiar..." In that split-second, Tip-off could barely recall those names. But they were lost to time. Figuratively and literally. "Oh, by the way, Grand Queen. There was some commotion reported over at Big Sky and Feathercoast."
"What kind of commotion?"
"Well, there have been reports of ponies having Pokemon with them. One of them was a teacher from Feathercoat named Garnet who ran off with one and another were two other ponies. They look to be some of the ponies from Equestria."
"Fluttershy! Garnet!" Second Wind shouted, blowing Tip-off back as she stomped her hoof. "There are always wrenches, aren't there? It seems that a lot has changed but not much has changed at the same time."
"W-What hasn't changed, your majesty?" Tip-off groaned, holding his head after hitting the wall.
"Nevermind that." Second Wind collected her thoughts. Even as the ruler of Pegalysium, there were still threats that got under her skin. Pre-existing ones that have foiled her once. "Only I can own these Strange and Wonderful Creatures. Especially the Unown. Find Garnet and especially Fluttershy and whoever that other pony may be. I'd also love to see the look on their faces when Equestria is affected by the Unown."
"Wait, what?! The Unown are attacking Equestria?! Are we at war?" Tip-off screeched after getting back up. All of this was new to him and practically everypony else in Pegalysium don't even know about this.
"No, no. There's no war." But Second Wind dismissed it. Besides, we aren't engaging against them. It's the Unown.
"I would've thought we would make peace with Equestria."
"We will. After the Unown do their job. Although, I hope they don't resort to erasing everypony there. I want a civilization to rule afterwards."
"And...if they do?"
"Well, repopulation is always a good second option to go with." She shrugged as she was willing to let the Unown erase them if it came down to it. "Tip-off, you're excused. I need to be somewhere right now." Second Wind then dismissed Tip-off for the day, allowing him to go along his merry way.
Tip-off promptly left the throne room as Second Wind would also do the same instead of just sitting around. Though, she did enjoy the luxury enough to almost stay in the same room forever. But before she would do so, Second Wind summoned the table once more from the floor.
This time, she went over to a communication shell that was resting on the side. A golden one too, showcasing its royalty status. Upon grabbing the shell, Second Wind had a quick call to make. "Grand Judge. Shooting Star. I'll need your assistance once more."
Out in a jungle sky island.
"Bay! Bay-Bay!" Elsewhere, Bayleef was still dragging Garnet along against her own will. Garnet was wrapped around Bayleef's vines, unable to do anything. Bayleef managed to retain some memories of what had happened. And it was all thanks to that leaf of fate. Bayleef had one objective in mind. Find Fluttershy and the others.
"Why me?" Garnet sighed as Bayleef was heading straight for one of the Flow-up Clouds A way to rapidly travel across Pegalysium. Optional and also prone to make anypony perplexed. "Wait a minute...Hold on!" Garnet gasped, pleading for Bayleef to stop. "Going through a Flow-up Cloud in this position is-"
"Bay!" Too late for that. Without thinking of what she was facing, Bayleef jumped into the Flow-up Cloud with Garnet included. And much to Garnet's dismay, she would travel through it without any control.
"Gaaaah!" She screeched with her uvula shaking. The Flow-up Cloud allowed them to travel rapidly with Bayleef feeling the wind pressure through her face.
Flow-up Clouds usually go upwards, sending the traveller to a higher height. But this one had extra pathways that would eventually lead to the top. Garnet could already feel herself being overwhelmed by the stream of wind. Bayleef set her eyes on the prize as the pegasus felt like fainting at this point.
At the same time, there were guards from Feathercoast who were currently searching for them both. The same two guards even. However, they lost track of Bayleef and Garnet, unable to continue their search.
This Flow-up Cloud led Garnet and Bayleef in zigzag positions along the way as Garnet felt sick, on the verge of passing out and tired of this all at the moment. The trip inside the Flow-up Cloud ended as the final force of it rocketed Bayleef and Garnet into the air.
Now, they could get a birds-eye view of a majority of Pegalysium. They broke through the clouds with Garnet's pupils disappearing for a moment, becoming nothing but white as she was bewildered beyond belief. Bayleef stayed in the air for a bit before spotting familiar locations.
Mainly Big Sky, the Sky Monarch, Various temples Lulolum Island and Feathercoast. But more than that, the biggest thing here that was moving was Team Rocket's Rocketship. It was still active with Team Rocket inside, currently being pursued by what seemed to be more of those Indigo Empire guards that had just come into this timeline.
"They didn't mind us stealing it before! Why now?!" Meowth cried out as they were currently being chased because of the treasure that they had stolen from the temples. It wasn't a problem before as they were never aware, neither did they care much about it. But this alternate timeline changed that.
"Who cares?! James, just keep going! Faster!" Jessie commanded.
"Fast as it can right now!" James yelled back as the guards had Unown of their own to aid them. The Unown ferociously attacked the Rocketship with Hidden Power, bombarding it with rays.
"Halt! This is your final warning! I mean it this time!" One of the guards announced with a shell that had a speaker-effect to it. Judging from his words, this chase has been happening for a quite a while despite the change in time.
"Bay!" Bayleef saw the ship, knowing that it would help being inside of it due to its bulky and large size. Finally, her air time ended as she started falling. But the Leaf Pokemon made sure that she would let the wind direction guide her closer to the Rocketship.
"Wait-wait-wait-wait! Let me go so we can fly!" Garnet screeched once more, shaking her head violently as Bayleef did not have the power of flight on her side, fearing that she and Garnet could take a horrible crash if Garnet wasn't released. But Bayleef didn't release her vines. "No! NO!"
However, there was one thing that allowed Bayleef to bypass this. Her greatest life-saving ability. Her Fate-changing Leaf of course. When close to the ground, one of the leaves came off, touching Garnet. Bayleef saw Garnet as a good pony. Capable of being her friend due to previous events.
And with this contact, the leaf had changed their fate. Instead of splatting on the ground, they landed near a tree in the distance that would've been too far away to reach. "Bay!" Bayleef landed on the tree successfully as Garnet had passed out, unable to handle it all.
Once on the tree, Bayleef used her vines to start swinging, going to the next tree. Not as agile as a Sceptile when using the trees to swing, but agile enough for her light body that stood between her pre-evoltuion Chikorita and her final evolution Meganium.
"Bayleef...!" Bayleef built up some momentum by swinging from tree to tree, heading straight for the Rocketship. She wanted to make sure that the leap was high enough when performing her final swing. The Rocketship was still being attacked by the Unown as it tore through the clouds.
It started taking visible damage from all the constant Hidden Power coming from the Unown. While durable, it could only take so much, especially when the Unown were using Hidden Power Fire and Fighting on the ship. Garnet's head flailed whilst Bayleef kept moving as the Leaf Pokemon finally found the right momentum.
"Bay!" Bayleef performed one final swing, ascending to the air with impressive air-time. And if things did go wrong, her leaves would be there. Although, they still had their limits depending on how vast the situation is.
"Come on! Why won't they work?!" James was rapidly pressing on the control panel, searching for the weapons option to retaliate. "Meowth! I thought you fine-tuned the weapons!"
"I did! Didn't make 'em turn around!" Meowth nodded his head before shaking it. But then, he thought about it, realizing how nifty it would be to have weapons that rotated in that manner. "Now that ya mention it..."
"Bay!" Catching them off guard and startling Team Rocket was the arrival of Bayleef. She crashed right into the window of the ship, body-planting into it as her body was pressed onto the glass. "B-Bay..."
"Bayleef?!" Team Rocket collectively gasped. And upon getting this close, the Unown took notice of Bayleef themselves. A Rift Anomaly right in front of their eyes.
Equestria. Ponyville. Afternoon.
Ponyville, and all of Equestria was under attack. Invaded by the Unown who had one goal. To make Equestria the newest nation for Second Wind to rule as part of her revenge against those who foiled her plans previously. However, due to almost everypony here having a Desire, the Unown were leaning towards a different and more terrifying approach.
"Unown!" The CUtie Mark Crusaders shouted as they were the first ponies to discover the Unown during their small journey, knowing how dangerous they could be.
"Who's that Pokemon?" Rainbow Dash held out her Pokedex, scanning the Unown promptly.
"Unown. The Symbol Pokemon. This Pokémon is shaped like ancient writing. It is a mystery as to which came first, the ancient writings or the various Unown. Research into this topic is ongoing but nothing is known. They seem to communicate among each other telepathically. They are always found stuck on walls. When alone, nothing happens. However, if there are two or more, an odd power is said to emerge. They are theorized to be the Thousand Arms of Arceus."
"Ain't those the Unown?" Applejack commented. "How come they're everywhere right now...?"
"Sceptile."
"Rio..."
"Unown!" Cold Colt screamed, knowing exactly why the Unown were here. At least, hew knew one of the major reasons of their arrival. Him, Jade Skies and Emerald Aura were prime targets.
Spike's Axew too. In fact, they all were. But some were bigger targets than others. Across all of Equestria, starting with Ponyville then to Manehattan, Canterlot, the Crystal Empire, Appleloosa, Trottingham and everywhere else. All were being threatened.
Unfortunately, a majority of them had no idea what was coming their way. They couldn't help but look at the Unown who stayed there for a while, blocking out the sun with their black and white colours.
Over at the Crystal Empire, Flurry Heart, who was feeding her Giratina while hanging out with her baby-self, couldn't help bt climb on Giratina's head to look at the Unown. Even though she could fly. Ponies such as Fleur De Lis, Sassy Saddles and Coco Pommel who lived in stylish places stopped what they were doing immediately.
Ms Harshwinny had stopped her current Gym Battle with a young Pokemon Trainer just for them all to spot the Unown. The skies were beginning to shift into colour due to the abundance of Unown. The usual red energy from Hidden Power was being shown, illuminating the heavens with a deep crimson and already bringing a foreboding sense of despair.
As if it wasn't haunting enough, the Unown did their usual singing as it rang through the skies for every creature in Equestria to hear. An unidentifiable song that only the Unown could understand.
Giratina was the exception. Giratina recognized a song such as this. Being a Pokemon that had a strong connection to Arceus, it would stand to reason that it would know about the Unown. Families and other loved ones stood close to each other while looking at the Unown-covered Crimson Skies. And once the singing ended, the Unown finally did what they were set out to do.
It started with their bodies glowing red from the built-up Hidden Power. All various Types of Hidden Power were being utilized as they had all unleashed a bombardment or red rays that showed the skies, piercing through the skies.
"What's that?" Derpy wondered whilst holding her Wooper. And unfortunately, for the eyes of Rainbow Dashand other pegasi, they were the first to notice what this meant. Derpy watched as the first red ray came zooming down faster than the others, hitting Derpy who was the closest. "A-" Derpy's sentence couldn't come out as she was hit by the ray. Her body flashed in front of everypony's eyes.
The flashing was brief as it showed an outline of Derpy while also her inner structure. And in those brief seconds, Derpy had suddenly vanished. Her body was gone and everypony had witnessed this. Not even a trace was left. Wooper had been dropped as his distraught eyes soon realized that Derpy was gone.
"DERPY!" Rainbow Dash and the others cried out at their highest tones. Soon, all of the other red rays caught up as the attack had begun. Billions of rays flooded Equestria, storming on all. And those who were unable to retalite to the rays received the same outcome as Derpy. Their bodies were gone once struck.
Buildings were being warped just to try and reach their targets, warping space. All of reality at this point was being warped. Those within their homes had been hit, vanishing from this plane completely. Panic and fear ensued as ponies were already being wiped away.
Screams echoed throughout Equestria in a haunting way as many of them were cut off once the ponies vanished from this plane.Even some buildings were being wiped away just to reach the targets.
It was a Crimson Nightmare.
Ponies and Pokemon fled, witnessing their friends and family disappearing on the spot. But this didn't go without some retaliation, obviously.
"Wobbuffet! Mirror Coat!" Ms Harshwinny ordered her Wobbuffet to use Mirror Coat. The best move to use in this instance. And for a moment, it worked. Once Hidden Power reached Wobbuffet, the Patient Pokemon's body illuminated multiple colours before reflecting it.
However, none of that mattered as there were too many of these rays. Wobbuffet was hit by too many of them, receiving the same fate as others. "W-Wobbu-"
"Wobbuffet!" Ms Harshwinny gasped as she was struck by the rays too, vanishing along with the Pokemon Trainer and the Pokemo nshe was facing off against. Gone.
Giratina already knew how dangerous this was. Before the rays came crashing down, it had shielded both Flurry Heart's and Manaphy from the raining rays. And surprisingly, while Flurry Heart noticed how multiple ponies and Pokemon were vanishing, Giratina was fine. Giratina only took damage from the rays more than anything as it cried out.
"Mom?! Dad?!" Flurry Heart held onto her younger self, crying out for her parents. And horrifyingly for both Flurry Heart's, they had seen what would happen next to their parents over at the currently warped castle. Straight through the windows.
"Sylveon, Moonblast!"
"Aegislash, King's Shield!"
"Sylveon!" Sylveon, partnered with Cadence, retaliated against the rays. Sylveon's Moonblast managed to blow back two of them, only for more to break through. Cadence used her magic to form a shield around them as she wasn't the only one.
"Aegis!" Aegislash had used King's Shield, blocking some rays that came in lined groups, doing it successfully. However, due to the sparse use of King's Shield, it meant nothing to the rest. "A-Aegis!" Aegislash had been hit by other rays that broke through the shield with their overwhelming numbers, causing him to vanish to.
"Aegisl-" Shining Armor cried out for his partner before being cut off by some rays that came from behind.
"Shining Armor!" Cadence noticed the disappearance of Shining Armor as her heart sank. The rays of Hidden Power and their greater numbers broke through Cadence's shield, especially when she was in shock and distraught by what had happened to Shining Armor.
Soon, she and Sylveon would feel the same result. Cadence and Sylveon were hit with their eyes letting out lights from the rays that connected with them before they ended up disappearing, along with many of the Crystal Empire Guards and their Golurk.
"NO!" A haunting and ear-piercing scream came from the young alicorn. And her baby-self along with Manaphy would already break into tears from seeing this. Their parents were gone.
But there was nothing to do against these rays, no matter what. Over at Manehattan, it was a nightmare at its peak. Las Pegasus and Rainbow Falls didn't fare any better for being high in the clouds along with other high places.
"Scizor, Mega Evolve, quick!" Spitfire managed to fly away from some of the rays, quickly resotrting to Mega Evolution. However, even all their fast flying wasn't enough to avoid all of this.
The Bug-Steel-Type had seen one of the rays coming at Spitfire, prompting Scizor to push his trainer out of the way. "Scizor!" Scizor cried out as he ended up being erased from this plane. Spitfire couldn't even utter out a shout as she was next a second later. The sacrifice didn't matter at all.
All of the Wonderbolts had been picked off in split-seconds, not having a chance to use the fully capabilities of their aerial skills. Not that it would matter anyway against so many Unown. No amount of fighting back could stop this.
Coco Pommel and her Glaceon couldn't hope to freeze these rays with their bodies being removed on the spot. Even those who weren't paying attention to what was happening outside and instead enjoying their favourite activities were taken out before they could even realize it.
And Canterlot, as esteemed as it all was, was not safe. Canterlot Guards and their Golurk were taken out of the picture entirely trying to defend this royal place. Premium Polish hid in her room, shivering and weeping at this horrible sight. She weeped out oil as she was an android, but the Unown didn't care who anyone was. They would be erased.
The rays broke through her room, hitting the android and erasing her from this plane. Her Poke Balls were taken along with her as not an audible sound came from her mouth.
Fleur De Lis tried to use her Z-Move to hopefully counteract these overwhelming rays with an equally overwhelming attack, but time was not on her side. Her Milotic and herself perished. So did everyone else.
No one was safe. Not Chrysalis or her changelings even when holding onto Anthophilia. Not Ember or the Dragons in the Dragon Lands. No one in Equestria's reaches. Except for one.
Magehold.
Home to the Dread League.
Exempt from the Desires being within them was Rosa Maledicta, her loyal assistant Fractured Note and the various other vampire and undead ponies. They could only watch, seeing everything in the distance being blocked out in all directions. Rosa, who had intentions to make Equestria part of her nation, pondered what this all meant.
And at Ponyville, fleeing and fighting back was a helpless cause. Even when knowing what the Unown could od and sharing this knowledge with Mayor Mare, trying to get inside of their homes was useless in the long run. "Stoutland!" Stoutland carried Mayor Mare on his back, using his speed to try and escape. Even if it was all inevitable.
"Ponyta!" Ponyta was carrying Scootaloo, also using his speed to flee. It was pandemonium out here with everypony scattered across the town. Berry Punch and her Skwovet could be seen vanishing as Sweetie Belle watched her home be vaporized on the spot, disappearing. Carousel Boutique was gone.
Pinkie Pie ran out of the home with both Mews by her side. So did the cake family with their children and the Plusle and Minun by their side. Jade Skie was among one of them who also emerged out of the bakery, under high threat for being a Rift Pony. "What's going on?!" Pinkie Pie shouted as both Mews had used Psychic barriers to protect her, Jade and the Cake Family.
"Pinkie Pie!" Applejack ran over, immediately going after her friend with Sceptile and Machamp carrying Granny Smith and Big Mac along the way. "Are ya'll okay?! What's happening here!"
"I don't know! The Unown showed up all of a sudden and this is happening!" Pinkie Pie screeched as safe spots were being taken away every passing second.
"Why isn't Rarity back?!" Sweetie Belle wondered about her big sister and how she hadn't returned yet.
"Oh, Diamond Tiara! Silver Spoon! Over here!" Apple Bloom alerted the rest of her friends, waving at them.
"Hey-" But after being alerted, before they could turn to reach their friends, the rays reached them, wiping the two fillies and their Pokemon from this plane of existence.
Rainbwo Dash and other pegasi could be seen flying from above, trying to escape. But since the rays littered the skies, they were at a great disadvantage. Rainbow Dash watched as many of her friends from the skies vanished left and right as if they were being picked off constantly.
"Let's head for the gateway! Maybe Ash and Pikachu can h-" Scootaloo had the idea of heading to the Pokemon World for help as that was the only thing that could possibly save them. However, their hope had been shattered once they saw that the Unown had destroyed the gateway to Pallet Town. "Help...?" Scootaloo froze, seeing that her hope and everypony's to reach Ash had vanished right in front of them. Her last word was 'Help', resulting in her fading away along with Ponyta.
"SCOOTA-" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle screechedd, only to be taken away too.
"APPLE BLOOM!" Applejack's heart sank as low as it could. Sceptile used his vines to swing from place to place as the Apple Family had lost their youngest right in front of them. All of Applejack's years of protecting her little sister had vanished right then and there.
"Stay close to me, Axew!" Spike knew that Axew was a definite target. But truthfully, everyone was. Starlight and Hatterene would try and push the rays back, but futility is what they were met with.
"It's not working!?" Starlight gasped, seeing that even her amazing magical potential meant nothing against the combined grandiose power of the Unown. Hatterene quickly grabbed Starlight, using her full body to protect her trainer.
"Hatte-!" Useless. As seen by how Starlight and Hatterene were eradicated. Protection was pointless. Everything was. Starlight let out a heart-chruning scream that haunted the eyes of one of her closest friends, Spike.
"STARLIGHT!"
"A-AXEW!" Axew felt like doing nothing wouldn't get them anywhere. He decided to do something and it started by him transforming right into a Haxorus. "HAXORUS!" Expanding his body, he had become Equestrian Haxorus as Spike held onto him. Haxorus immediately used whatever he could fully give out and that came from the diamond patterns on his body.
"Haxorus, don't!" Spike pleaded, knowing that it was futile for Haxorus to do anything against the rays. The diamond patterns on his body would finally do something, but what was the point of it all when the rays from the Unown could ignore it. Haxorus roared at the Unown and the rays before being erased. And so was spike.
"GAH-" Gone was Spike from this existence too. Mayor Mare couldn't believe that all of her citizens would meet a fate such as this. One coated in red and nothing more. And as she turned around, she saw an array of them approaching her and Stoutland.
Stoutland and Mayor Mare had nowhere else to go or enough time to escape. Mayor Mare simply held onto her partner as they could do nothing but embrace the erasure that had come onto them.
Pokemon from the Pokemon House were not safe either. Neither was Zecora, who held the caulron of Rift Magic on her. All the Pokemon that peacefully lived here, gone. Krookodile, gone. Zecora, gone. Along with the cauldron.
Seeing that the only gateway leading to the Pokemon Worl din Ponyville was gone, there was nowher else to run. Applejack and her family screamed, once their bodies flashed and dissolved on sight.
Pinkie Pie closed her eyes, trying to ignore the horrible tragedy that was befelling Ponyville. But she couldn't. Cold Colt rushed over to Jade Skies, hoping that his fellow Rift Pony would still be around. And she was. Cold Colt was still in the picture despite being a heavy target.
"This isn't happening! It's not happening!" A terrified Pinkie Pie screamed. The combined shields of the Mews were eventually breaking from the rays as they couldn't protect them for a long.
"Pinkie Pie."But remaining calm in all of this was Jade. And it wasn't just her stoic and deadpan personality talking. "It'll be okay. This isn't the end of everything."
"But-" Pinkie Pie whimpered, showing an array of tears to Jade. "You'll be wiped out by them!"
"You and everypony taught me that there'll be a way. I want to believe in that way and not let it go. You shouldn't either." Jade out of everypony here had shown a hopeful side before putting on a smile. However, that was all broken apart once the shield shattered.
"M-MEW!" Both Mew's cried out as PInkie Pie watched them each vanish under the power of the Unown. Not even the ancestor of all Pokemon safe as Pinkie's hope was slipping away. The Cake Family were exposed to the rays, disappearing next, much like everyone else.
"I can't do anything!" Cold Colt put his hooves over his head. His Rift Magic could not compare to the Unown. "I don't know what to do! Where's Emerald!? Maybe she could-" But to calm him down, Jade wrapped her hooves around the colt. She still held onto that piece of hope that she had seen be shown in multiple instances.
Cold Colt closed his eyes, bawling uncontrollably. And it was this rush of distraught emotions that allowed the young Rift Pony to use his magic. But before that could happen, the rays reached him. He was too late as Jade and Cold Colt were gone.
Pinkie Pie now saw almost everyone close to her gone. She froze before then accepting her fate. To her right now, hope didn't mean anything with the Unown as her body vanished as well.
And soon, all of Ponyville vanished and beyond. From the Pokemon House, Town Hall, Twilight's Castle to Saddle Lake, Whitetail Woods and more. All of it was meaningless in front of the Unown. A crimson nightmare at its truest form.
"GAH!" Waking up with her eyes flashing was Pinkie Pie. An unexplainable shock had just gone through her body. She started hyperventilating and for a good reason. Previously, she and almost every resident in Equestria had undergone a terrifying attack by the Unown.
A crimson nightmare was the best way to describe it. But through all that hyperventilating, Pinkie Pie was not alone. She ended up bumping into someone. Her Mew.
"Mew-Mew!" Mew grabbed Pinkie's face, squishing it as Pinkie Pe had witnessed that Mew was still around.
"Mew? You're okay?" Pinkie Pie gasped.
"Mew!" Not just her Mew. But the Mew straight from Holon who had been caught up in all of this mess. Especially when she was new to Equestria.
"You too?! Does that mean..." Pinkie couldn't believe her eyes. Upon seeing the two Mew float around, it didn't stop there. She noticed that she was hovering, not touching solid ground. She wasn't flying or anything, this realm just seemed to have a vast space. And by doing a quick little rotate, she saw everypony else.
Everypony from across Equestria could be found here. Still in one piece and equally lost, confused and hovering even without some of them using their wings. Pinkie Pie was stunned. One second, she was seeing so many that she loved being struck by red rays and wiped out on the spot. And seconds later, here they all were.
"Pinkie! Over here!" Rainbow Dash alerted Pinkie, calling for her. Pinkie pranced on the vast space, approaching promptly. Seeing that they were all intact, Applejack hugged Apple Bloom, sprouting tears.
"We thought we lost you, sugarcube!" Applejack wept as Big Mac and Granny Smith joined the hug.
"I-I-I might end up leaving for real!" Apple Bloom gagged from this powerful hug. Others hugged each other upon seeing themselves still here and kicking. They thought for sure it would be the end for them. Whether it was Stoutland licking Mayor Mare's face, Sylveon jumping up and down with Cadence or even Castform bawling in Rainbow Dash's mane, they were happy.
"Jade! You were right!" Pinkie Pie zoomed over, hugging Jade Skies. "Oh, I shouldn't have given up hope! But boy it looked super close to being the end, wasn't it?!"
"Told you. I did good following you and everyone's way of keeping onto hope," said Jade with a monotone tone and face.
"How did this happen?" Scootaloo wondered. "I thought for sure we were gonna be toast right there. We looked like it anyway."
"I don't know but I don't wanna go through that again..." Diamond Tiara shuddered.
"But...Rarity's still not here..." Sweetie Belle wasn't as thrilled, knowing that Rarity was absent. Not just her but Twilight, Celestia, Luna and Fluttershy too along with a few missing Pokemon. The realm was flooded with at least 80% of Equestria from various species. Yaks, dragons and changelings were found here "Where is she...?"
"Flurry Heart! Flurry Heart!" Also exempt from this ream were both Flurry Hearts. They weren't found anywhere alongside Giratina and Manaphy. Cadence and Shining Armor cried out for their dual daughters whilst venturing across this vast space.
"Clemont and Bonnie said the Unown would erase anything Rift related. How come they came after us? And why aren't we erased?" Silver Spoon questioned. Everyone else had questions that were constantly burning. And this realm was one of those questions.
And they would soon gain answers to those questions. It all started once a majestic golden beam of light pierced through the realm in an upwards position. They were all compelled to look at the golden light that appeared before them. The realm stayed silent and so did everyone.
With majesty and grace, the silhouette of a familiar Pokemon appeared. One that could give them all great reassurance. The silhouette of a Pokemon related to the Pokemon that attacked them. The Original One.
Arceus.
Arceus appeared. Dispersing golden light particles into the air as they all looked in amazement. Upon seeing the Alpha Pokemon's grand appearance, a majority of them shouted the same name all at once.
"Arceus!"
"Who?" Ember, the Dragons, yaks, griffons and changelings said as they haven't ever seen or heard of Arceus yet until now.
"Good. You are all doing well and present here." Arceus commented as his voice echoed throughout the realm. Arceus' voice was so powerful that even if someone was hard of hearing, they could hear him. His words also sounded different to others.
To the yaks, while they could understand basic language, Arceus' echoing voice allowed them to hear a speech pattern that the yaks were commonly known for having, including other ponies. This allowed Arceus to speak with anyone with no limitations.
"Arceus! Did you save us?!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"I did. All of you. Welcome to a realm that I made for all of you to reside in. I know you are all expecting your bodies to be nothing at this point. Most of you are probably wondering how you are even still in existence at this point."
"Yeah...The Unown should've wiped us all out," said Apple Bloom.
"And it looked like they did. Hoooh..." Starlight shuddered as she got close to Hatterene to try and feel warm. But there was no warmth or chill in this realm.
"They should have. I simply refused to let it happen. As some of you may know, the Unown are a part of me. There, their power is close to mine. Whatever they can do, I can do better."
"This giant llama saved us? How's that possible?" Ember asked.
"That llama is the creator of the Pokemon Universe. Arceus." Sassy Saddles replied, revealing to the dragons, changelings and yaks that they were standing in front of a figure far more important than any ruler in Equestria.
"Huh? CREATOR?!" Ember and the other species soon turned to Arceus, bowing their heads in respect. "S-So sorry! We didn't know!"
"It is fine. My existence is not known by many. But it seems that is changing with time. Now, let us move on to what matters the most. Your world is being altered by the Unown. All under the control of-"
"Wait! Arceus!" But stopping his sentence was Cadence. Arceus promptly stopped, facing the Princess of Love. "I'm sorry but...what about Flurry Heart?! Both of them! They haven't shown up here and neither have Manaphy or Giratina!"
"And what about Rarity?!" Sweetie Belle had a similar connection. "She hasn't come back since yesterday! Did something happen!? And where's Phione?!"
"Where's Twilight and Fluttershy too?!" Rainbow Dash dashed over, getting close to Arceus. "And the Royal Sisters?!"
"Fret not. They are all fine. Giratina is exempt from the power of the Unown as it is also a part of me. Phione has been given parts of my blessing. The Unown couldn't erase Phione if they tried. It is protecting your daughters and their Pokemon as we speak. Currently, they are high above the skies in Pegalysium. The cause of the Unown attack."
"Oh...Thank goodness..." Cadence wouldn't have to worry about fainting. Her daughters were okay as Shining Armor caught her once she descended.
"Wait, Pegalysium?" Pinkie Pie commented. "Why would they send the Unown to us?"
"It was not a declaration of national conflict. Rather, it was from one pony. Her name is Second Wind." For a better explanation for everyone to see, Arceus used his almighty powers to create a projection of the events that transpired in Pegalysium.
Starting from Second Wind unleashing the Unown to the alteration of Time. Everyone leaned in, getting into tight group spaces despite how much space there was.
"Ever since the first conflict against the Indigo Alliance months back, the flow of Rift Energy attracted the Unown, who were already focused on erasing all that is Rift related. Since they were attracted, members of the Indigo Alliance managed to catch them. Once they learned of their amazing power to control reality, the Indigo Alliance sparked a plan. Or rather, Second Wind did. Just yesterday, she had unleashed some Unown to change the memories and reality of Prince Shooting Star of Pegalysium."
"She changed his memories?!" Applejack gasped. "Uh...Who?" But much like others in Pegalysium, Applejack's memories of Shooting Star had slipped away.
"You cannot recall his name because of the warped reality. Have no fear. I will restore it all to you at once."
"Thought she couldn't get worse than kidnapping..." Stunning her friends was the appearance of Emerald Aura. Cold Colt and Starlight jumped back after seeing her. "Guess we were wrong."
"Y-You got hit too...?" Starlight's heart skipped a beat.
"Second Wind made sure that the powerful Destiny Magic would lean towards the side of the Indigo Alliance. With that magic, she could access the secret of Pegalysium. A Clock Door that has the power to interact with time. Albeit briefly and limited. And with that limitation she had, she took the throne of King Paramount and Queen Luminary, granting herself the status of Grand Queen and ruler of Pegalysium. Now, she commands an army of Unown along with having constant access to the Clock Door. Time itself and destiny are hers to control. Which leads us to today, where she originally sent the Unown to you all for absolute control."
"SO what happened to King Paramount and Queen Luminary? Where are they now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"King Paramount managed to cling on to some semblance of the true timeline. He has the Rift Magic within him to thank. However, Second Wind aims to find out about their current existence and reshape time to make everything perfect in her eyes. A timeline with her absolute control. Your world as we speak is being reshaped into an Indigo Empire paradise Celestia and the others are currently taking action after having Absol and Xatu bring about this calamitous premonition. Your whole nation is in danger. For all species."
Arceus finished the projection, causing it to fade away. Everyone was now caught up to speed, knowing of what Second Wind had done and where Celestia and the others are and what they were doing.
"What are we waiting for then?! We need to get to Pegalysium right now!" Rainbow Dash turned to her friends. "Twilight and the others need our help."
"Shouldn't we focus on another big problem?" Starlight interjected, halting Rainbow Dash. "The Unown are still out there, aren't they? Plus...the gateway to Pallet Town and the Pokemon World are gone. If we go back out there, we could get erased for real."
"Oh! But Arceus can stop them, right?! I mean, you're a part of them like you said, right?" Pinkie Pie slid over, nudging the Alpha Pokemon's leg. "Just give them a good talking."
"Right, right! And you can bring the gateway back too!" Sweetie Belle pranced on the spot as various chatter had begun, placing their hope on Arceus. And rightfully so considering how powerful he was.
"Unfortunately, I cannot do that." But his response shut them down.
"HUH?!" Gutted by this response, some of them fell over. They couldn't believe that Arceus couldn't do it.
"But, you're Arceus! You can do anything!" Diamond Tiara bellowed.
"I can. But not in this instance. The Unown are a part of me yes. However, unlike every Magical Creature, the Unown are the sole exception. Unown are capable of distorting the reality to suit the dreams and wishes of whoever is in control of the Unown. Unlike myself, who is exempt from such a thing as dreams and wishes. It is the sole drive of one that allows them to truly harness the power of the Unown. Much like how Second Wind has the burning desire to gain absolute control over Pegalysium and complete vengeance against Equestria. They will not listen to me. Only her."
"No way..." Rainbow Dash growled, wishing there was something solid she could stomp her hoof on.
"However. This can be countered. The Unown will also listen to those with dreams and wishes that are close to their heart and the main driving force that they pursue." Arceus quickly brought hope back to them all. "Tell me. All of you. What is the one thing that drives your dreams and wishes? What do you wish to accomplish?"
Asking this question allowed many of them to think. But they all have their dreams and wishes in their sights. Large ambitions and sometimes small. But, while they were all unique, everyone in Equestria could agree on one thing. They all talked it over before concluding. Starlight would speak for them.
"We want to be with our Pokemon to the bitter end." Starlight spoke. "Even if the Rift tries to stop us, we want to keep the memories of the friends we've made from another universe. So that our memories of them will never leave and we can make new ones."
"Good. That is a dream worth fighting for. One that can reach the Unown, no doubt."
"But how are we gonna avoid their erasure thing if they're still going to attack us?" Spike wondered. "Seems a bit unfair, doesn't it?"
"There is a way. It is Willpower. The one thing connected to dreams and wishes that ties them all together is the will to make them come true. Willpower powers them indefinitely. So as long as you have that unwavering and burning will, the Unown cannot hope to rid you and your will to achieve."
"But how's that possible? And how are we gonna get that much willpower?" Thorax asked. "I don't think we have that much. Or any of us..."
"Even if they did, resisting erasure by willpower seems unlikely. How would that even happen?" Shining Armor asked.
"It isn't possible. Ash already shows the most willpower out of all. It is why Azelf and he are bonded even from afar. You all can show that much power too. I shall give you the resistance to temporarily resist the Unown until this is all over. The gateway shall be returned momentarily. But in the future, you must all make your own willpower mighty enough to where not even a planet or universe of Unown can hope to stop you."
"We will! Thank you so much, Arceus!" Chrysalis showed her gratitude as she and the other royal rulers of the different races bowed their heads in respect to the Alpha Pokemon. Now, it was time for them to return to reality and make things right.
"Remember this. The Unown cannot do everything. Without me, they have their limits. Capitalize on that. Protect the world that you love. And show me how far you are willing to go for what you hold so dear. I will always be watching." Afterwards, they all become bodies of light that ascended. This realm was also dissipating into light particles before their eyes.
It felt like they were ascending to a higher plane, but they were just returning to their normal plane more than anything. Arceus had done his job and would leave it all to them.
Equestria. Ponyville. Afternoon.
"Holy moly!" Rainbow Dash awoke, returning to her existence. Right on the spots that they were struck at too. As if they had never left. Rainbow Dash soon realized she was back to reality before deeply sighing. "Oh, thank Arceus..."
"Castform..."
"Jade! Emerald! We're back! Back, I tell ya!" Cold Colt was riveted to be back as he went to hug his older Rift relatives.
"Yeah. Feels good to be back." Emerald Aura chuckled. Everyone else felt unbelievable relief. Not just in Ponyville, but across all of Equestria too. They returned to their homes in one piece, free from the horror of being forever erased.
However, even though they were back which caused them all to cheer with glee, the Unown were still there. In fact, they still roamed the skies. And for a good reason. They were busy remaking things for Second WInd's image.
"Let's not get comfortable right now! Look!" Starlight exclaimed, forcing everyone to look at the altered surrounding. The Symbol Pokemon, while working, quickly stopped what they were doing to notice the return of the ponies, Pokemon and other species that they had attacked.
Even the Unown, which were Pokemon that never emote, not even once, felt shocked. That spoke volumes as their power rarely ever fails them. Upon seeing the return of Equestria and its residents, the Unown still felt the Desires inside of them plus the existence of Pokemon that had been affected by the Rift, making them prime targets even after their return.
Without wasting time, some of the Unown had already used Hidden Power, shooting it in the direction of Rainbow Dash Applejack, Spike, Pinkie and Starlight.
"Not this again!" Rainbow Dash roared before covering herself with her wings. "Please work!" She and the others then recalled how Arceus had given them temporary protection. They were hoping it was effective. And once the rays hit them, Arceus proved to be a Pokemon that they could always trust.
Not a single erasure happened.
"Hahaha! We're invincible!" Pinkie Pie stood in a bipedal position, triumphantly thrusting her front hooves into the air. "Invic-" But even if they were immune to erasure now, that didn't mean Hidden Power didn't hurt. "Ow!"
"So we're erasure proof right now, huh?" Rainbow Dash chuckled menacingly as very soon, everyone else who had been hit by the Hidden Power rays felt the same result. It hurt, but they were still around. "Nice! Okay, Castform! Energy Ball!"
"Cast...Form!" Castform was the first to properly hit the Unown back. And he did so by using the power of nature itself, forming a grass ball that had been shot. The first two Unown were hit by the Energy Ball, being knocked out of the sky promptly.
And after seeing the first two Unown fall, it was then that the residents of Ponyville soon knew that the Unown were prime for fighting back against. Not only that, but while there may be plenty of them, they were fragile.
"Alright then, Everypony! Clear the skies of those Unown!" Mayor Mare ordered her citizens. And immediately, seeing that they were erasure-proof, the residents of Ponyville could freely retaliate. And they most certainly did. That went everypony else across Equestria who had just returned.
The Unown received some retaliation via Pokemon moves that were thrown their way. Starting with the pegasi in the skies and soon shifting to everywhere else. The weakness of the Unown had finally shown itself from how fragile they were, making them easy targets for practically every trainer. Ironic as everyone in Equestria was essentially one big target for them all.
NOt only that, but some of the trainers felt a bit vengeful after seeing their loved ones and themselves being hit by those threatening rays, making their attacks on the Unown on a personal level.
"Oh! The gateway!" Scootaloo noticed that the gateway back to Pallet Town was open once more. "We can call Ash and Pikachu for help now! Where's my Xtransceiver?!"
"We sure can. But we should head to Pegalysium right now." Starlight suggested, focusing on the main threat beyond the Unown. "Second Wind's probably already at that door. Who knows what she could do to time afterwards."
"No time to think about it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, shooting her eyes to the skies. She and her friends knew where they needed to be right now. "Let's go!"
Pegalysium. Pegalysium Capital. Afternoon.
There, Second Wind stod before the Clock Door once more. And joining her was Shooting Star, who had now taken the mantle of the Grand Judge in this altered timeline. But, he still held onto Destiny Magic.
By using this powerful form of magic exclusive to Pegalysium, the young prince had opened up the door as it was the only trigger to do so. The door opened itself, radiating that light as always before becoming easier to look at. Once open, Second Wind approached it whilst Shooting Star stood back.
And much like before, when entering the Time Dimension, the Avus-Pegasus showed itself with its far more defined face than anypony in Equestria. "You have returned. Welcome back to the Time Dimension. What do you wish to do?" It spoke with its usual echoed voice.
"Hear me carefully, Avus-Pegasus. I wish to interact with time once more. There are some things I hadn't managed to do yet that I must achieve." Second Wind ordered. "Take me to a time closer to this."
"I am afraid I cannot do that." But the Avus-Pegasus denied Second Wind's order to do so.
"Hoh...? And why is that?" She narrowed her eyes.
"My creator, the first Pegasus of Destiny Windkiss, knew how the dangers with this kind of power being hidden behind the Clock Door. Thus, only the following Pegasi of Destiny with each generation would be allowed to open these doors more than once. Any attempt to do so would result in punishment. No longer can you interact with it. Only view and visit it."
"Well, too bad!" Second Wind scoffed. "You should already know that I tampered with time, making myself the new ruler of Pegalysium. And as the Grand Queen of Pegalysium who just so happens to have a higher status than the Pegasus of Destiny, I order you to grant me that access."
"Are you sure? Never before has this been done."
"I'm fond of doing new things. Especially since I'm the first of the Indigo Alliance to ever open this door and change time. So, this isn't anything new." Second Wind chuckled. "Besides, I just want to check up on a few things. Not so much a big deal."
"Understood. This will go against the wishes of my creator, but as a status greater than the Pegasus of Destiny and an ally to it, I have no choice but to comply. Select the time you wish to interact with." The Avus-Pegasus agreed. Second Wind's alteration of time was the only way this could happen
The timelines showed themselves once more with Second Wind having multiple of her choosing. Second Wind had a few things on her mind. And most of them would benefit her in the future. Mainly to keep the status that she currently has.
However, before deciding which one to go through, Shooting Star suddenly poked his head through, entering the Time Dimension for the first time. "Um, your majesty."
"Hm? What is it?" Second Wind turned. "I'm a little busy at the moment."
"Sorry. It's just that...I've been alerted that well...things aren't going great." Shooting Star uttered, scrunching his face.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Some of the Unown sensed what was happening down at Equestria. I don't quite get it myself."
"Equestria? don't tell me they managed to somehow withstand themselves....!" Second Wind growled, realizing that the Unown didn't completely dominate Equestria. Even though they did, some divine intervention said otherwise. "Celestia and her forces could come after me if they can get past the Unown..."
"What should I do?"
"You're the Pegasus of Destiny and the new Grand Judge. You make the decisions right now. I'll be gone for a few minutes. I just need to do one thing. But if Princess Celestia and her forces show up here, deal with them. Understood?" Second Wind said with a serious tone that came to her voice. Shooting Star understood clearly as he promptly left the time dimension.
Now that she knew that her Unown plan was being held back instead of it going swimmingly as she wanted it to, Second Wind's plans had to accelerate. And thankfully for her, the timeline of Pegalysium could grant her the power for a greater edge. She already knew where she wanted to be.
The Unown faced off against Equestria as Celestia, Twilight and Luna were still heading for the Sky Monarch. With protection from Arceus, Rainbow Dash and the rest of her friends, plus the eventual arrival of Ash and Pikachu would also make their way to the nation in the sky as the journey continues.
"Bay..." Bayleef, who still had Garnet wrapped around her vines, had found herself in Team Rocket's Rocketship after taking a turbulent air ride. The circumstances leading to this encounter were varied. Starting from a visit to Pegalysium for a reward. transitioning into Unown and other moments that resulted in Bayleef being brought into the Rocketship, currently being chased by Pegalysium guards and their Unown.
"Ugh..." A perplexed and fainted Garnet was still whited out, placed on the floor of the Rocketship as Bayleef's vines finally released her.
"Eugh." Jessie grimaced at Garnet, seeing how she was out of it. She looked mildly terrifying with that expression. Jessie soon felt a tremor, remembering that the Rocketship was still being attacked by the Unown. "Oh, right that."
Just then, the Unown finally managed to break through. A hole had been made on the Rocketship's walls. Team Rocket screeched after seeing the hole before then rushing over to it. In second, they managed to patch up the hole with some gathered tools. As always, they are quick with creation.
"Hah. That solves that." Team Rocket said before witnessing their patched up hole obliterated by the rays once more. Team Rocket flinched back with the Unown staring through the holes
"Bayleef! Now that you're here, you deal with those Unown! They've been a massive bother to us so far!"
"Bay? Bay-Bay!" Bayleef knew all about what needed to be done. After all, she was a prime target for the Unown. However, Bayleef wouldn't have to worry about being overwhelmed as the Unown were fewer now. Few enough for Bayleef to handle.
The Unown immediately used Hidden Power after peeping through the hole that they made, attacking Bayleef. The Leaf Pokemon used her vines to spring her up from the floor, evading the rays cleverly without having to run to the side. Afterwards, she had used Magical Leaf whilst airborne, shooting out these enigmatic leaves. Three of the Unown were struck by the barrage of leaves including the guards that accompanied them.
"Oh, those leaves look and smell nice...." One of them felt the mystical aura that Magical Leaf carried with it, only to be then smacked in the face and pelted by the leaves. "Gah!" He screamed as the other guard witnessed his fellow guard fall over. He promptly crashed into a cloud where he ended up bouncing.
"Bay!" Bayleef didn't stop there. Once landed on the floor, the second another Unown entered the ship, it had been grabbed by Bayleef's vines. The Unown had then been smacked into another Unown, causing them to take damage equally.
"Oh!" The second guard gasped as the Unown were then tossed out of the ship. Only two Unown remained, as they came together to unleash one combined Hidden Power onto Bayleef.
"B-Bay?!" Bayleef looked like she wouldn't have enough time to react. But thankfully, she wouldn't have to be the one to try and avoid the rays. Team Rocket could help with that. Mainly Jessie's Wobbuffet.
"Wobbu!" In came Wobbuffet, using his trusty Mirror Coat. It proved to be as effective as always Wobbuffet's reflective abilities, even if for a second, could negate the erasure of the Unown as previously seen by Ms Harshwinny's Wobbuffet. After taking the hit, Wobbuffet's glistening and shining body reflected the Hidden Power onto the two Symbol Pokemon.
The last guard soon realized that his backup had been pelted and tossed aside with the defeat of the Unown being swift as their movements. He then turned to Bayleef and the others, scrunching his face before backing away, not wanting to be caught up in what could come next. He yelped away, right when Bayleef was about to attack him. He didn't even try to fight back, knowing when an inevitable loss was staring him in the face.
"Good riddance!" Jessie chucked, waving goodbye to the guard. "Well, that takes care of that. Good work, Bayleef."
"Bay."
"That should get them off our tails for a while." James sighed. "For now, let's grab Fluttershy and Rarity and leave this place as soon as we can."
"Bay-Bay!" But that's where Bayleef had to interject. Despite them fending off the Unown and the two guards, they weren't done yet. Bayleef jumped around, bombarding them with a barrage of words that only Meowth could understand.
"We ain't done here yet?" Meowth translated. "We've still got some more work to do?"
"Like what?" James leaned in.
"Bay! Bay-Bay!"
"She says that's something's gone wrong with the whole place. Ponies' memories have been flipped on their heads. Especially her." Meowth then pointed to Garnet who hadn't woken up yet after passing out from shock. Slight and hushed groans from Garnet came from her with her body twitching too.
"A complete memory wipe, you say? Oh, that could explain that light we saw." Jessie snapped her fingers, remembering the light that sparked across all of Pegalysium.
"Baaaay!"
"Now she's trying to get all those memories back and find her friends. Geez. Rough day, huh?" Meowth patted Bayleef on the back, feeling for the Leaf Pokemon due to what she had to go through yesterday leading up to today.
"Bay..."
"Well, we are going for them, aren't we? So I say we grab them...and leave." But Jessie thought otherwise. She was all for bringing Fluttershy and Rarity back, but dealing with an event that involved the erasure of memories, especially of the true timeline, was not something she was looking forward to. "Can't be bothered with another big situation. Plus, we're hungry here."
"I have to agree." James nodded, fully agreeing with Jessie on her stance.
"Bay? Bayleef..."
"Ah, don't you worry." Despite disagreeing with helping Bayleef in her larger endeavours, Jessie patted the Grass-Type on the head to give some reassuring words. "Even if we won't do it, the twerps and twerpettes can just handle things as always."
"Bay? Bay." Bayleef was happy to hear it. For that, she had some respect towards Team Rocket, understanding their decision clearly.
"Well, then. Let's get searching for them. All we'll need to do is go high up and show the Rocketship to all. That way, it'll be easy for Fluttershy and Rarity to spot us." said James as he planned to make the Rocketship hover over the various locations and islands of Pegalysium to better attract Fluttershy and Rarity, allowing them to see their getaway vehicle clearly.
But as he ascended the ship, that's when it happened again. The same flash of light that eclipsed the nation. It appeared once more with Bayleef and everyone noticing it approaching. But this time, Bayleef's leaves did not react to it, mainly because Bayleef didn't sense anything that could affect her.
Nothing dangerous came from it, but either way, the light eclipsed Pegalysium once more as time had been tampered with once again. By Second Wind, of course.
Time had been altered and this time, they knew about it thanks to Bayleef's words. However, though the light eclipsed them, not of them felt dazed or confused once the light faded away after covering everything in Pegalysium.
"Bay?"
"It happened again. What do you think changed?" James asked.
"Who knows?" Jessie shrugged, pointing upwards for James to continue his movements of the Rocketship. "Just keep going."
And speaking of Pegalysimu's capital, finally getting close to it, just on its outskirts, where the three princesses. Joined by their Pokemon and also Fluttershy's Raboot. They stood before the outskirts of the Sky Monarch, first noticing the difference with the entrance and how the flash of light happened once more.
But even after that flash of light, standing at the outskirts, just near the entrance to this grand city, they saw that nothing changed at all. The guards and their usual attire were still there as they remembered it being.
"There was that light again..." Luna commented. "But, everything seems completely fine as it is."
"That doesn't make it any better," Twilight replied as they were approaching the gates. The guards standing there recognized Celestia and the others, quickly stepping aside and letting them in. Even under this new rule and despite them not knowing about the changed timeline, Celestia and her friends entered without any potential threat or harm that would stand before them.
They were welcomed with open hooves. Darkrai, always the lonesome one, descended into the shadows to travel quicker and gain a better view of everything. The capital itself seemed natural. Just as how they had last seen it, especially after the attack of the Gallant Pegasus. All the noble homes could be found sitting there in one piece. The layout remained unchanged even in this altered timeline.
"Oh, the princesses." One of the guards at the door spoke. "What brings you here?"
"We heard there was a disaster happening in Pegalysium but...everything seems fine," Celestia spoke. "Apart from the Unown that we saw fly off into the distance. Did something happen here?"
"N-No...Nothing's happened yet." The guard shook his head. "Everything has gone as normal as it needs to be. Across all of Pegalysium."
"Then the only thing we need to worry about right now is Equestria. Those Unown are already on their way." Luna turned to her big sister, already prepared to teleport back.
"No. It wouldn't all be peaceful if we saw the Unown up here first." Celestia stayed adamant.
"Well, if something is wrong, I'd suggest asking King Paramount and Queen Luminary for advice." Just then, the guard revealed that the rulers of the Sky Monarch were still Paramount and Luminary. But Celestia and the others weren't aware of the previous change. They wouldn't even know that something was amiss.
They were invited by the guards to see the King and Queen and hopefully obtain some answers.
The Crystal Empire. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, after their return, the residents of the Crystal Empire found themselves fully invincible and immune to the erasure of the Unown. They had Arceus to thank for that.
Giratina was among one of the few that did not vanish, mainly due to being the shadow of Arceus, making it immune to the Unown's erasure entirely. But that didn't stop Hidden Power from harming it as it had protected both Flurry Hearts and Manaphy this entire time.
But amidst all of this crying after witnessing their family and everyone else vanish, they then saw them return. "Mom! Dad! You're okay! But how?!"
"Oooh...That was weird." Shining Armor blinked. "I'm surprised that the black hole I escaped from wasn't as bad."
"You didn't escape from a black hole..." But Cadence found that hard to believe in the middle of many Pokemon going against the Unown.
"I totally did." Shining Armor stuck to the truth. "Gah, but that's not important right now! Those Unown could still give us trouble! We can talk about this later and help out at Pegalysium once we finish with them."
"Wait! You won't tell me what happened! We were so worried!" Flurry Heart rushed over, holding her younger self. "And Giratina's all hurt from protecting us."
"Something to do with Arceus. We'll tell you all later," said Cadence. "But we will need Giratina's strength in all of this. Sylveon uses Wish."
"Sylv."
"As for us, Aegislash." Shining Armor hopped onto Aegislash, using him as the best way to travel as always. "Go after those Unown. You're the perfect Pokemon to resist them. And uh...Giratina too."
"Aegis!" Aegislash certainly was. The Ghost and Steel typing proved to be great against the Psychic typing. Even though they were unaware of what Hidden Power could do to an opposing Pokemon. Soon, the Unown were being pushed back.
Harshwinny's Wobbuffet had used Mirror Coat proved to be efficient as always when Hidden Power was used on him, causing the attacks to bounce back, knocking out the Unown. Although Wobbuffet took damage, that was nothing when being aided by another one of Harshwinny's Pokemon. Her Alakazam. And soon her Sudowoodo as Harshwinny use every Pokemon in her arsenal.
It proved to be good for the Golurk that belonged to the Crystal Empire guards too as they took the skies with their jet boosters hidden within them, attacking the Unown in the air. It wasn't much of a full-on war with the Unown, as, despite their amazing unified power, they were fragile. Glass Cannons in a sense.
This was discovered by everypony across Equestria. The Pokemon that had been such a huge threat to them, almost erasing them from existence, we're relatively easy to take down. However, the Unown were still formidable with their unification as that was not to be overlooked.
But whilst everypony dealt with the Unown, taking to the skies to find the rest of their friends and help them were Rainbow Dash and the others. Rainbow Dash obviously took flight as a pegasus but for everypony else, they had Pinkie's Mew to handle that. Mew turned into a Lugia, grabbing his friends and carrying them to the skies.
Spike just used his Salamence for solo travelling. He had gotten used to that with Axew also on the back of Salamence. "I think we're almost there!" Rainbow Dash cried out. Hopefully, the islands haven't changed too much. Kinda feels like a drag for having to try and find them all when the wind carries them."
"But it is pretty fn when that happens!" Pinkie Pie giggled with Jade and Cold Colt also being on the back of Lugia.
"How come you brought me along?" Jade asked. "I don't know how to use Rift Magic like Cold or anyone else."
"You've got something. And it's somewhere there. Plus you reminded us not to give up on hope, didn't you?" Pinkie Pie giggled, putting her trust and of course, hope on Jade.
"I still can't believe Second Wind did all of that. That kind of magic has been hiding behind the entrance to Pegalysium?" Starlight commented, referring to the memories that Arceus showed them. "Do you think we should go for the door first before anything else?"
"We'd need some of that Destiny Magic to open it, right?" Applejack replied. "Don't have that...Shooting Star's not exactly on the right side right about now too."
"She's turned everything on its head then." Starlight bit her hoof. "But at least if the Unown are defeated, she won't have many options left. Unless she would try and mess with time again in continuous waves."
"Sounds like you, doesn't it?" Cold nudged Starlight, teasing her and referring to when she meddled with time.
"Alright, you cheeky brat." Starlight scoffed giving a greater nudge to Cold Colt's head, causing him to laugh.
"Ash should've gotten the Xtransceiver message from Scootaloo by now," said Rainbow Dash. "I still can't believe he's got the willpower to resist what we went through. He had a bond with something called Azelf?"
"Yes. One of the Lake Guardians. Twilight showed me when I was working at the Pokemon Lab for the first time. Next to the Unown and the Creation Trio, it and two others are closely related to Arceus. They call it the Being of Willpower. And it would make sense that Ash would bond with Azelf."
"Awesome! I wonder if I have the same?!" Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up with stars. "I mean, we've got big dreams, don't we?"
"Oh? Looks like we're finally in Pegalysium territory!" Breaking up from the conversation, Spike was the first to notice an island And the first place they found themselves at was the Drifting Peaks. Not exactly the place they wanted to be at, but it was a start.
Breaking through the clouds, they could then start searching for the right island to be at, seeking out Fluttershy, Rarity and Audino. Both Mew and Salamence dashed past and over Drifting Peaks, causing the Pokemon living there to witness mainly Mew who took on the appearance of Lugia, overshadowing Salamence in size.
And of course, Charizard, Bulbasaur, Heracross and the other Pokemon living at Drifting Peaks who also had their perception of the timeline altered were still here, unaware of the assistance that they originally gave to Garnet and her friends.
Lo and behold, the interior of the throne room remained identical to what Celestia and Luna had seen in the past. Everything about it resembled the true timeline instead of what Second Wind had done.
If only the three princesses knew. They entered the throne room, welcomed by the familiar face of Tip-off, who also remained here. Tip-off had already gone through two different timeline alterations now, unaware of what had happened. And sitting at the throne were Paramount and Luminary, greeting the alicorns.
"Oh! Good to see you all again," Luminary spoke. "What brings you here?"
"Good to see you too." Celestia greeted back. "You're doing well, thankfully."
"I still feel my heart racing right now." Twilight chuckled nervously. "It's always the quiet moments that can get to me."
"You look tired." Paramount noticed bags under their eyes. "Have you all slept?"
"Well...I would've been guarding the Dream Realm in about 2 hours, but all of a sudden, daytime had come," said Luna as she got the point. "We should probably talk about the light that we saw. Twice in a row."
"What light?" Luminary asked.
"When outside of Pegalysium, we noticed there was a forcefield blocking it. We came here since some of our friends had been threatened by the Indigo Alliance. That when the first light showed itself and all of a sudden, it went from nightfall to daytime in seconds." Celestia explained. "Without Luna or I having to control the Sun and Moon."
"Entire hours have probably passed. We didn't have these bags before." Twilight chimed in. "Whatever that flash was, it accelerated time for us. I already feel like sleeping at any moment too."
"Indigo ALliance. Time accelerating? Oh, that's all troublesome." Paramount and Luminary agreed upon that. It all seemed unnatural before they then raced back to one of Celestia's words. "Wait, you two control the Sun and the Moon?!"
"Oh, right. You didn't know." Celestia giggled. "Hehe. Fun Fact!"
"Does your son know about this as well? Or anypony else. Have they recognized the change in time that happened in a flash?" Luna asked.
"Son?" But the response was a shocking one. Mainly with Luminary. "We don't have a son."
"WHAT?!" Naturally, the three alicorns were given a blindsided bash that caught them off guard, winding them. Despite how all seemed natural, from the location of the buildings, the layout of the capital and the ponies in charge, there was one massive missing link. Shooting Star.
"Although we'd love to have one. How come you're wasting time?" Luminary nudged Paramount who scrunched his face. Paramount hadn't commented about his son or Shooting Star yet.
"Your son! Shooting Star!" Twilight exclaimed. "You know? The Pegasus of Destiny?"
"Oh, we know about him." Luminary snapped her feather wings. "But, unfortunately, Grand Judge Shooting Star isn't related to us. He's with the Indigo Union not something called the Indigo Alliance. An I'm not sure why they would threaten your friends."
"G-Grand Judge...?" A shocked and stammering Twilight blurted out.
"Indigo Union...?" Celestia and Luna uttered as the surprises kept flying at them like raindrops.
"If you're looking for him, you can find him at the higher land greater than ours. Pinnaculum Pegalysium." Luminary continued to speak as it was only Paramount who stayed silent. "He sometimes goes there. Or even at Lulolum Island which is located here with another union parliament."
"..." They were the ones to stay silent now. The three alicorns looked at each other and then back at Luminary. And the at themselves and back to Luminary once more. This continued for a bit with their collective minds processing this newly received information that would no doubt be indoctrinated into their memories forever. They then turned around, facing each other for a secretive group chat.
"Alright. Something is amiss here." Celestia as they all agreed that something was not right here.
"Mhm. Shooting Star isn't their son anymore? And he's part of the Indigo Union? You don't think what I'm thinking happened..." Twilight gulped as she was drawing on one conclusion.
"I believe so, Twilight Sparkle. That light must be the cause of it. Some sort of memory effect could be a part of its properties. Or, the control of time if another Pegalysium nation exists that is greater than this. This couldn't have been done randomly. Someone must've caused this."
"Tampering with time...Ugh. I hope it's not Time Travel again..." Twilight groaned, not wanting another instance with Starlight which was already tiring to go through.
"It could be the involvement of time or something else. But we have to find these answers for ourselves." Celestia broke up the conversation before facing the King and Queen. "Ahem. Well um...You should also know that we came here believing that there had been a threat that would attack both Pegalysium and Equestria. The Unown."
"Unown? How would they be troublesome? They're so cute." Luminary gushed.
"I beg your pardon?" Luna rapidly said.
"Haven't you noticed all the Unown around? Oh, but I suppose only the Indigo Union are allowed to use them. Perhaps we-" But before she could continue, Paramount cut her off.
"Hold on. I'll take things from here." Paramount stepped forward. "We'll talk about this threat, but I wish to talk to all of you in privacy."
"Aw." Luminary pouted, wanting in on the conversation. Paramount took the three princesses with him, deciding to speak elsewhere without Luminary's involvement. They would end up speaking near hallways, just within a room that used to be Shooting Star's room.
Now it was completely empty. The bed was non-existent along with the other leisure objects that the prince once had in the true timeline. Paramount closed the door, facing the princesses and their Pokemon.
"Alright...It's good to know that there are those with some memory." Paramount sighed.
"Memory? Do you still have memories of what happened? Luminary did not seem like she did." Luna stepped forward.
"I do. I'd say I'm the only pony here who remembers what happened. Your suspicions are correct. We do have a son. Shooting Star. But unfortunately, nopony else but myself remembers his status and only has memories of his current false status." Paramount lowered his eyes, feeling visibly distraught about this.
"Then what happened?" Twilight asked. "Why do you only remember? And how did this happen?"
"I have Rift Magic to thank for that," Paramount revealed his reason and way to remember the true timeline. He still kept into Rift Magic. Its cosmic power was a miracle in every sense. "The power it emanates allowed me to keep those memories, resisting the light that affected everypony else. As for that light, it was all thanks to Second Wind. She had used the secret of Pegalysium to do so."
"Second Wind again?" Celestia uttered. "What secret did she use?"
"From what I gathered and kept from the true timeline, her goal was to use the power behind the Clock Door that you see before you at the entrance. It isn't just there for aesthetic choice. It is a real clock that has the power of time. Whether viewing it, visiting it, or interacting with it."
"Time Travel..." Twilight sighed as she already felt a high sense of dread after hearing this.
"Second Wind obviously chose the option to interact with it, and I believe it could be clear on what she had done to change time to her will. Twice in a row. The first one involved Luminary and I being reduced of our royal status, becoming villagers at a small island."
"Twice you say? And if she did that to take your status, why is that you are royalty again?" Celestia asked.
"Second Wind would want complete authority yes. But she's also smart to know that her reign would need something to branch off to. Multiple systems to benefit her. Which is why she allowed us to stay as King and Queen, but robbed us of our son, appointing him as the new Grand Judge of the Indigo Union. Memories of the Indigo Alliance are gone now for the union and Second Wind appointed herself as the Grand Queen. The ruler of Pinnaculum Pegalysium. That brings us to today."
"Where she has absolute control of even your nation." Luna grizzled her teeth. "How could she already be so much trouble so soon?"
"She had the Unown to get her there. But, I haven't ignored this at all. Our hope still resides in the Clock Door. The force that she used to alter time." Paramount looked outside "Unfortunately, only my son, who holds Destiny Magic can open it. And I doubt Second Wind would permit it or even my son. He won't even know that I'm his father."
"Can't your Rift Magic open it up?" Twilight asked.
"I still haven't fully masted this powerful form of magic. I don't doubt that it could potentially open the door even without Destiny Magic. But who knows how long that may take?" Paramount sighed. This was the most emotion he had shown so far and for a good reason.
"No need to worry" But here to make things right was Celestia and her allies. Paramount almost forgot that his biggest semblance of hope was standing in front of him. "We are here now. You're not alone in the memory department. We'll bring your son back to you. And we have the options to do so."
"We do?" Luna and Twilight simultaneously said.
"We do. Hopefully, it's an option that can be effective. Luna. You have to use the Hyper Dream."
"Oh!" Luna gasped. "You're right! I have the dreams of everyone in both worlds from the ast present and future! I could use the Hyper Dream and make things right!"
"And if that goes wrong, we can have a backup. Paramount. Let's have you work on that Rift Magic of yours. I can use my magic to help nurture it."
"Your magic? Magic doesn't work on it, I've discovered." Paramount shook his head.
"Mine is an exception. We'll open that door no doubt. As for Second Wind...with how things are, I do not suggest we go and tackle her. Not yet at least."
"I understand. I just want my son back. Second Wind can keep her new empire for as long as she wants." Paramount was in agreement with getting Shooting Star back. "Eventually, we'll get to that."
"I'll just think of a backup of my own. Just in case." Twilight added her contribution to the mix. "But what about the Unown? They've probably been sent by Second Wind. That could mean that the disaster's still active, but it's ignoring Pegalysium and just Equestria."
"Gah! You're right!" The two sisters screeched, realizing that their home at this point was being invaded and attacked by the Unown.
"I wish I could offer my help in that. But Second Wind would take notice of my actions if I were to send forces to Equestria. But your nation is strong enough to handle themselves." Paramount held his hoof out to Celestia. "That's probably why I believe putting my faith and hope in you is the best action."
"Mmm. Count on us." Celestia shook Paramount's hoof as they were in a full alliance now. "Let's save both of what we love. Your son and our home."
With the existence of a second and greater Pegalysium known as Pinnaculum Pegalysium, Second Wind truly had time at her full control. And all she needed was Shooting Star to open the door and time was hers to interact with at any time. But with Paramount keeping the memories, Celestia, Twilight and Luna offering to save Shooting Star and return his memories, it was no doubt that it could all be turned on its head. As is always the case.
With further assistance approaching in the form of Rainbow Dash and the others and the Unown at Equestria, the tensions were rising as the journey continues.
The Unown were continuing their attack on Equestria. They had already remodelled parts of it for Second Wind's wishes but were promptly interrupted by the residents of each respective location and their Pokemon. Big or small, it was being defended.
And amidst all of this conflict against the Unown, there one was who the most exempt. Technically an Equestrian resident who rarely shows up was Discord. Ruler of Chaos.
Discord opened a torn door into this world, coming from his own dimension. "Hm?" Upon showing up, mainly at the Pokemon House near Fluttershy's cottage, he was greeted with the sight of the Unown. "Is this another invasion? This soon?" He said before witnessing the Pokemon of the Pokemon House going up against these Symbol Pokemon.
That included his Krookodile, who he rarely interacts with and never brought back with him to the Chaos Dimension. Discord's connection to Pokemon wasn't grand at all. In fact, some could say he had the weakest connection to these Strange and Wonderful Creatures more than anything.
But that didn't stop him from being curious about them. He ventured across Ponyville, starting from the Pokemon House while the conflict was ongoing. Discord, only a few seconds of being out here with all of these Pokemon attacks being utilized, ducked underneath some stars of Swift.
Discord took the time to admire it all, seeing Hidden Power clash with various moves of varying types. He made himself some popcorn that flew alongside him, entering his mouth each passing sound, even flowing perfectly with a small melody inside of Discord's imaginative head.
Some of the more circular Pokemon tumbled when being hit by Hidden Power, making Discord chuckle slightly once he saw them roll. There was always something amusing about seeing a perfectly round Pocket Monster roll in any scenario.
"Krook?" Krookodile noticed his trainer before fainting an Unown with Shadow Claw. "Krook! Krookodile!" He cried out for Discord. Krookodile know how much help Discord could be as he kept on shouting to try and bring the Spirit of Chaos over. But Discord was too focused on everything else to pay attention to Krookodile.
"Krook..." Krookodile sighed, feeling somewhat disappointed that yet again, his own trainer had neglected him, barely giving him the attention. Krookodile yearned to have a bond with Discord that other Pokemon have with their trainers, but that wasn't happening.
As for Discord, he eventually found himself in the main streets of Ponyville, witnessing more of the action go along. He saw how it was everypony against the Unown, allowing him to indulge in yet another chaotic event.
"Ponyta, use Flame Charge!" Scootaloo commanded her Ponyta.
"Piplup, Bubble Beam!" So did Sweetie Belle with her Piplup. Ponyta, who had envelope himself in a cloak of fire had tackled one of the Unown, fainting it and receiving an increase in speed too. The bubbles from Piplup's Bubble Beam also knocked some of the Unown out of the sky with consecutive hits.
"Huh? Hey, it's Discord!" Apple Bloom pointed out, alerting her friends. Others were alerted after taking care of some of the Unown, witnessing the Spirit of Chaos' appearance. For once, seeing Discord didn't fill them with a sense of nervousness or even annoyance.
This was the one instance where they were happy to see him.
"Oh, Discord! Can't believe I'm thrilled to see him!" Octavia sighed, chuckling for a moment alongside her Furfrou. Furfrou was also stepping on one of the Unown after fainting it. Due to the great cooperation of the Ponyville residents and how they all knew each other very well, Pokemon included, they stood a great chance against the Unown, who were also great at working with each other. It was their whole motif and source of power after all.
"I don't usually venture out here that often, but right now I do and you're all fighting against letters?" Discord spoke.
"I'm surprised you can tell they are letters..." Mayor Mare commented. "But then again, not too surprised."
"Discord! Can you please help!" Scootaloo pleaded. "These Unown keep on coming and they're everywhere in Equestria!"
"It'd be appreciated if you could stop these Wild Unown!" Amethyst Star shouted, holding her Skitty in the air who was using Charm to lower the attacks of the Unown. "My Skitty can only charm so many!"
"I don't know..." Discord scratched his chin, causing his small goatee to drop some hair that became sentient, hopping around. "You all seem like you're going well enough. I mean, you're all students and proteges of Ash, aren't you? I'm sure you all have that spurt of victory inside of you."
"It doesn't work like that!" Carrot Top shouted in the distance with Sunflora using an overpowering Solar Beam that shot through the skies, hitting multiple Unown in a straight line. "Though I wish it did..."
"Just help us against these Unown! Otherwise, you won't have a familiar place to be at anymore!" Roseluck exclaimed, having her Roserade battling by her side as always. Roserade had used her thorns to wrap some of the Unown once they were defeated, restrained.
"It would be very much appreciated." Mayor Mare commented as the sound of Vinyl and her Pokmon using their sound-based moves echoed throughout Ponyville. Mainly from Exploud and Noivern.
"And necessary right about now." Sliding next to Mayor Mare was Cherry Jubilee. "These Unown work together well just as our Pokemon do. If they succeed, nothing will be left."
"Hm. You all make it sound like it's a problem of an existential scale." Discord thought about it. He then realized that if he would help them, he would gain a second hero status in the end. Similar to how he gained that status during the Invasion of Equestria. Then again, practically almost everyone was titled a hero since they all helped save their homeland. "Alright, alright. You said they're Wild Unown, right?"
"Yes?" Amethyst Star nodded.
"Fluttershy has suggested I get in touch with the Pokemon World so more. IN that case, this will work best!" Discord already had the best way to stop the Unown. And it would also work in tangent with Fluttershy's wishes. With a snap of his fingers, Discord had then summoned a massive array of Poke Balls.
Poke Balls of different varieties covered the skies, much like how the Unown did at first when they showed up to Equestria. The Unown and everyone stopped what they were doing just to look at the skies. Poke Balls that everyone had seen before plus new ones that their eyes had never graced before until now.
This also spanned across Equestria. Not just Ponyville as DIscord was told about the scale of the Unown and how they were all across Equestria. So the best response was to summon Poke Balls that could most definitely cover an entire nation.
And to let them all drop, Discord lowered both his talon and his lion paw, causing them to descend immediately. The billions of Poke Balls rained down, targeting only the Unown and no other Pokemon. Immediately, the first POke Ball struck the first Unown, sending it within the capturing objective by first shrinking.
And much like a regular Poke Ball, even in the skies, it dropped onto the ground, shaking. It shook three times before catching the first Unown. And instantly, the other Unown realized the severity of this as they scattered at once.
The Pokemon Trainers ceased any further action to see all of the Unown fleeing from these adorably fun-sized objects that cannot cause any physical harm due to how light yet magically effective they were. Unown were being sent within the POke Balls each time the billions of them dropped.
Discord also acted as a music conductor, even wearing the right clothes as he manually moved a plethora of Poke Balls in a nice rhythm that clashed well with the singing of the Unown. Fitting.
If anything, this whole scenario perfectly mirrored the Unown attacking Equestria at the start of all of this, threatening to erase everypony. They were essentially gaining the same treatment with the Poke Balls. Except their lives weren't in danger.
Despite being owned by Second Wind, Pegalysium and its lack of Poke Balls made these Symbol Pokemon ripe for the picking in Discord's eyes and practically anyone else who was interested. Unfortunately, no one would get that chance as DIscord also pulled the Poke Balls towards him once they captured one Unown after the other.
Shrinking after shrinking, the light from the Poke Balls grabbed these Symbols. The Unown tried preventing any more of them from being captured as they used their reality-bending powers when together, focusing on the Poke Balls. However, they did not account for a being who could also twist reality to his will.
When they destroyed the Poke Balls, Discord regenerated them and made them bulkier. When they teleported the Poke Balls away, Discord simply brought them back. When they turned the Poke Balls into other objects, Discord changed them back and only multiplied them to overwhelm the Unown.
Discord then made something similar to a tennis ball machine. Only in this instance, it was a Poke Ball machine. And it did exactly as it was expected to do. It rapidly shot out Poke Balls in various directions, catching each of the different Unown of the alphabet flawlessly. Other methods were used by Discord each time the Unown tried resisting.
The Unown created a small dimension around themselves to avoid the Poke Balls, only for DIscord to extend his arm as if he was made out of rubber, and unzip the dimension, causing it to open as the Poke Balls flocked inside immediately, catching them.
Everywhere in Equestria, they witnessed the Unown being captured left and right, flying over to Ponyville to their new trainer. An unlikely Pokemon Trainer yet the one who made the most sense to have them.
The Unown, seeing that Discord also had the power to change reality to his will, although the difference was that he didn't need multiple of himself, decided to retreat. The remaining Unown fled Equestria, ascending to the skies to return to Pegalysium and pass off this information to Second Wind, who was not truly their trainer due to an unregistered amount of Poke Balls.
But Discord was now the owner of many Unown. He gathered all the various Poke Balls that held the many Unown, officially keeping them for good. He formed a large bag that he placed all of them inside. "All done. Wait until Fluttershy hears about this." Discord commented.
"They're fleeing!" Mayor Mare shouted out. "Oh, well-done Discord!"
"Finally, it's over!" The younger ponies were happy about this Unown attack coming to a close. They couldn't quite hear it, but across Equestria, they were happy about the Unown being defeated and some of them fleeing.
"Alright. Where's my medal?" Discord focused on the tributes of victory immediately, moving his head to find a reward instantly. He could just make one, but straight from high authority, AKA Mayor Mare, was what he sought.
"You'll get your medal no doubt," said Mayor Mare. "Perhaps even a...A..." Just then, Mayor Mare yawned on the spot, cutting off her own sentence. Truthfully, she and many others were tired.
Despite Second Wind's tampering of time changing only Pegalysium, it ended up switching night from day across all of Equestria. Some ponies were way past their bedtime at this point. "Oh, sorry..." Mayor Mare groaned. "It was nightfall a while ago."
The same could be said for the Pokemon World. However, since it was not affected by time, it was still nightfall over there, free of any time mishaps. And speaking of which, coming to their aid, right through the Pokemon World was the Trainer that Scootaloo called for. Someone that she and everypony in Ponyville or Equestria, in general, could put their trust in.
Arriving just seconds after the Unown attack was Ash and his partner Pikachu. He came through that gateway, previously unaware that it had been erased before. Joining him was the slightly more tired Goh who couldn't wait to sleep.
"Hey, guys. Is everyone okay?" Ash asked.
"Pikachu?"
"This late and there's already trouble being caused..." Goh yawned. "Can't you all catch a break for at least a month?"
"Ash!" Discord appeared next to Ash in the blink of an eye. "Just short on time. I've beaten you to the victory haul for once, dealing with all those Unown. And catching them too." Discord then revealed the massive bag of Poke Balls, each having an Unown inside.
"Oh! You caught all the Unown?!" Ash was stunned by this, witnessing the sheer number of Poke Balls. Possibly the biggest number hes' seen ever.
"Not all of them, but a sizable amount enough to scare the rest away." Discord replied.
"I hope you're caught up to speed, Ash."Mayor Mare walked over to him. "Because right now, even if these Unown had been fended off, I'm afraid the pony responsible for sending them here won't exactly give up so easily."
"Yeah, I heard from Scootaloo. You all met Arceus?" Ash was given information about them meeting Arceus. And some details of what was occurring in Pegalysium.
"Something about time happened up there." Sweetie Belle aimed her hoof to the sky. "Arceus said that Second Wind changed time. Rarity and Fluttershy are still up there."
"But Rainbow Dash and the others went up to help," Scootaloo interjected.
"Wait?" Discord's attention was truly caught once Fluttershy was brought up. "Why didn't you say that sooner?"
"All we needed to hear. All we gotta do is get up there and help out, right?" Ash said, shooting his eyes to the skies. It was Destination Pegalysium. "Discord. Can you get us to Pegalysium quickly?"
"I certainly can." Discord brought Ash, Pikachu and Goh together. If there was a quick way to travel, he was the one to do so. Goh and his baggy eyes took a moment to process what was about to happen.
With a wave of his hand, Discord had sent all three of them out of here. He would come along with them too. To not only add to his heroic reputation but also help a friend.
"Oh..." Mayor Mare and the others sat or fell on the ground, feeling exhausted and wanting to sleep already. Some had already fallen asleep on the spot. Stoutland acted as a cushion for Mayor Mare, making herself feel comfortable while also carrying her back to her home.
Across Equestria, once the Unown attack had finished, they could all rest. Almost all of them. Some were more alert than others. Mainly Chrysalis, Shining Armor, Cadence and Flurry Heart respectively. Giratina had been healed to full strength by Sylveon's Wish, which allowed the Renegade Pokemon to retaliate and overwhelm the Unown.
Giratina stood over a pile of fainted Unown, reigning victorious among other Pokemon. Now that the attack was over, their attention was drawn to the skies, fixated on Pegalysium and Second Wind. After everything Arceus told them, they knew what to expect.
"Auntie Celestia and Luna are still up there." Cadence pointed out.
"So is Twilight. Arceus said they were fine, but I'm worried it won't be for long." Shining Armor said.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Flurry Heart was already ahead of the curve, hopping onto the back of Giratina. Even though she could fly, there was something satisfying about riding a giant dragon. "I say we go up there and help!"
"Hey-hey!" Cadence rushed over. "Not so fast! We still have an empire to protect here. We shouldn't leave now in case the Unown come back."
"Aw..." Flurry Heart pointed, slumping her head on Giratina's back. They wouldn't head for Pegalysium yet. Not with the looming threat of the Unown still being prominent, even after many of them had been caught by Discord.
Pegalysium. An island near Big Sky. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, at an island just near Big Sky, Rarity had been caught up to speed by Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp. Thanks to the Unown, Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp kept those memories.
"So...that's what happened. What a head-turner." Rarity commented. "But I wonder how we can get home at this point. These three Unown don't seem to have the collective power to do as fantastic things as say ten or more Unown."
"We'll find our way back. And to our friends too," said Fluttershy. "These three Unown might not be able to do much, but they can still help. We were thinking of going for that Clock Door."
"And return time to its normal flow? How will we know how to do such a thing? Everything about time travel just seems so difficult and hard to understand." Rarity pouted, not too fond of anything involving time travel. A first for her but a common thing for many.
"Mmm..." Thunder Stam, who always communicated by grumbling, spoke to Fluttershy once more.
"You're right, Thunder. It could get harder since a second light came through. We were lucky to still have the Unown protect us from it. But I wonder what else has been changed?"
"Audino?" Just then, stopping her tracks was Audino. Her ears, finally able to be used at their fullest once more, hear something in the distance. Something familiar. And they were almost music to Audino's ears. Almost. Looking up at the sky, Audino heard the sound of engines being utilized. "Audino!"
By alerting her friends she brought their attention to the skies. But, they would've seen it either way. Looking up, they had witnessed the Rocketship. A familiar object. "The Rocketship! Team Rocket!" Fluttershy bellowed with glee.
"Bay? Bay-Bay!" And seeing Fluttershy outside the window was Bayleef once they were near the island. They had finally found their friends.
"Looks like we found them. Finally." James said. "Now, let's-"
"Bay!" Happy to see Fluttershy again, Bayleef, with zero hesitation, jumped out of the window, breaking it just to reach her partner.
"GAAAH!" Naturally, this caught Team Rocket off guard once they saw this. It came out of nowhere and was by far the most volatile thing they had ever witnessed.
"Baaaaaay!" But Bayleef didn't care as she was free-falling from a high height. Then again, everything here in Pegalysium is a high height. But for Bayleef, even if it was high, she had her leaf to rely on and Fluttershy's wings.
"Bayleef!" Fluttershy spread her wings out, flying towards her partner. They had finally reunited as Bayleef jumped into Fluttershy's open hooves, embracing her in a full-on hug. "I'm so glad you're okay! I knew you'd be okay!"
"Bay!"
"That Bayleef is unhinged...More than the twerp's I think..." Jessie sighed, feeling genuinely worried for Bayleef after seeing her jump out of the window. Now they would have to make repairs to that too.
"Ugh..." And all it took was that window crash and screaming to finally wake Garnet up. As if the previous attack couldn't do it before. Garnet was gaining consciousness once more with her eyes slowly opening. James descended the ship towards the island as Garnet could already feel the altitude. "W-What...?" An awoken Garnet noticed the streamlined interior of the Rocketship.
She was moving at a snail's pace in the case of processing everything in front of her. She saw objects that she had never seen before and seemed advanced to her. "Wha..." The stunned and dazed Garnet started collecting herself as she noticed someone staring at her face along with a black boot.
"Hey. I think she's waking up." Meowth was the one looking at her with Jessie's black boot being next to her.
"What the...?" Soon Garnet was fully awake, moving her head up to see the slender body of Jessie and James in the background, piloting the ship. A few blinks later and Garnet had a natural reaction to this. "Aaaaah!" She screeched, jumping back before banging her head on the walls of the ship. "Ouch!"
She whimpered, holding her head as Jessie and Meowth just stood there while James was too focused on getting the ship down. "W-Who are you...cats and humans?!" She asked. "Where am I?! What's going on?! Where do I go?! Get me out!" She was starting to panic.
"Relax. We would've thrown you out long ago if Bayleef didn't insist we kept you along." Jessie shrugged.
"Yeah. She's obviously got something big planned for ya. So sit tight, my little pony." Meowth chuckled, alerting Garnet to realize that she was looking at a talking Pokemon.
"Talking...Pokemon...Ooooooohhh." Garnet felt like passing out again as she slumped onto the wall. She didn't quite faint like before. At this point, she was just tired.
The door of the ship opened up, revealing Team Rocket plus Garnet to everypony outside. It's always rare to feel relieved when seeing Team Rocket, but this was a perfect instance of it.
"I can't believe I'm glad to see you three." Rarity said before spotting Garnet. "And oh? Is that Garnet?"
"Please help me I am lost." Garnet pleaded, wanting answers and a way home.
"Bay. Bay-Bay-Bay." Upon reuniting with her friends, Bayleef quickly told Fluttershy everything crucial that had happened, not wasting any time.
"Oh, I figured, Bayleef. Everypony's memories are lost of what happened. We helped Rarity get them back thanks to these Unown." Fluttershy said, showing Bayleef the Unown. Bayleef felt threatened by them, almost jumping away from Fluttershy. "It's fine, Bayleef! These Unown are our friends."
"Bay...?"
"Can you please tell m what's going on?" Garnet asked with a lowered head. She was done with all the surprises right about now. Fluttershy nudged her head in the Unown's direction, telling them to do what they needed to do.
And they would. Garnet felt intimidated by the appearance of the Unown. The fact that they were just black objects with eyes that could never close. The three Unown flew over to the Garnet, using their combined power to interact with her. Garnet was met with a similar treatment that Shooting Star received when his memories were altered.
A similar crimson and soon golden light engulfed her, causing Garnet to be put in a subconscious trance. And once she could view nothing or hear nothing, her memories that had once been altered, but barely kept thanks to Bayleef, were now coming back.
The lights faded as the already perplexed Garnet fumbled around, feeling overwhelmed from all these current events. But on the bright side, she now remembered the true timeline. "Oh, Sweet Alta..." And much like before, she fainted on the spot, falling over.
"Oh. It happened again." Jessie commented. "She's a fragile one, isn't she?"
"Wobbuffet."
Pinnaculum Pegalysium. Afternoon.
But in the midst of hope being brought back, the Unown, who had fled from Discord, returned to Pinnaculum Pegalysium. And it was certainly a higher Pegalysium. A grander nation.
The Unown approached a new capital. It was located much higher than any part in the first Pegalysium, still surrounded by clouds and fog, only the height could almost go beyond the limits of the sky. Some would say space if it was any higher.
And the one building large enough to nearly reach space was a castle. One that stood atop the clouds instead of being surrounded by it. High enough that perhaps even the stars themselves could grace it. The Unown entered the castle, going to only one pony.
Of course, the pony who was behind all of this. Still holding onto the title of Grand Queen, but was now the sole ruler of not just this Pegalysium, but the first one too, proclaiming and setting herself as ultimate form authority.
Second Wind.
She kept the same appearance from the first altered timeline as she witnessed the Unown coming her way. Once they showed up, the Unown, using their singing and electromagnetic waves had communicated with Second Wind once more, letting them know of the ongoing events and their failure to turn Equestria into the new and third land that she could rule.
"I see..." Second Wind commented as she grit her teeth. She was showing agitation and frustration once more, even as a high ruler. "Yet again, they find a way to bend the rules. Only I should be the one to bend everything to my will. Curse you Equestria."
Equestria was getting on her last nerve. Even with the changed timeline, that one land and its inhabitants, despite the distance, thanks to the height of Pinnaculum Pegalysium could still bother her.
"They'll probably focus on the Royal Family before anything. Especially Shooting Star. New order, Unown. Stop them at once. Even if you can't rid them from this existence, do whatever it takes to make sure that this new reality remains. I need it more than anything."
The Unown were off to do just that. They left the castle, continuing to fulfil Second Wind's wish. It was a habit of them. Unable to restrain themselves from those who have high wishes and the will to make it happen.
Pegalysium. Lulolum Island. Indigo Union. Late Afternoon.
Running this union was the new Grand Judge. The former prince of Pegalysium, Shooting Star. To many at the Indigo Union, this was the highest honour that anypony working there could obtain.
However, despite gaining this ranking and also gaining hold of Destiny Magic at last, Shooting Star, not even an entire day with this position, felt off.
"Hmm..." The previously young prince sighed, slumping his head on a table meant for a judge. The stylish and sleek hood that he originally asked for when offered a place at the Indigo Alliance, but turned it down, wasn't even getting his mood into a cheery one.
"Um, Grand Judge?" Roseshy, one of the members of the now established Indigo Union, poked her head through the entrance along with Waverush and Chicane, who always seemed to appear as a trio group. "Are you okay?"
"You haven't done anything yet besides going over to the Sky Monarch and mess with that door," Waverush commented as she and practically every Indigo Alliance Member knew about the changed history. Second Wind wouldn't keep it a secret from them after all.
"Ah...I'm just bored. Mainly with being this Grand Judge thing." He shifted his eyes over to the trio.
"How can you be bored?" Chicane walked over. "It's only second to the Grand Queen with the highest authority and all that. I'd be lucky to get something like that position one day."
"It's not as riveting as I thought it would be. Is sitting around and just saying stuff all there is to it?" This early, Shooting Star had found this position to be lacklustre at best. Despite his warped memories, his crushed spirit and now serene demeanour, the energy of an outgoing prince still remained somewhere. He could still tell when something was uneventful to him.
"Pretty much." Chicane shrugged. You're gonna have to live it with. You're the superior authority right here, so you have to act like one."
"Easy for you to say. You're the gaudy one so this is up your alley." Waverush taunted.
"Hah?" Chicane rushed over to Waverush, getting in her face."Are you calling me dull by any chance?!"
"Uh..." Waverush, trying not to act intimidated by Chicane, nervously looked away. "No way! Totally not! But you totally use words like those." She then whistled, only flaring Roseshy's agitation.
"I don't know. I'd rather be doing something else. I never even get to see what's beyond that Clock Door." Shooting Star stood up, removing the hood. "This hood's not cool enough to keep me entertained."
"Mhm..." Waverush slowly nodded, seeing how Shooting Star was feeling. She could relate in a way. "I don't blame him. It's not really the best thing in the world, is it?"
"Uh, let's chat for a bit girls." To speak in secrecy, Roseshy offered that she, Waverush and Chicane talk with each other, entering the next room and leaving Shooting Star to ponder. "Look. Maybe we should help him."
"Help him with what exactly?" Chicane asked.
"He's obviously missing something. A spark. Probably from what he was like before the Grand Queen changed a few things." Roseshy explained.
"I'd hardly call this a few. It feels like a lot." Waverush thought otherwise. While Second Wind only had minimal time to interact with time, she managed to make an impact that changed quite a lot about Pegalysium and the timeline.
"In any case, I think we should help him get that excitement back from when he was still with the Royal Family. How he was as a prince."
"Sounds to me like you could end up ruining the Grand Queen's efforts to make this happen." Chicane narrowed her eyes at Roseshy. "You're not thinking of that, are you?"
"No, not at all. Even if it's for a bit, let's get him to that mood again. It'd be pretty fun if we had a Grand judge who was that peppy, right?"
"Hmm...A peppy leader?" Waverush thought about it for a bit. Compared to Second Win, Shooting Star was nothing like her. This drained exuberant energy was visible with no sign of intrigue. Waverush did enjoy some excitement, as she imagined the things that could happen with an exhilarating leader.
"Leaders aren't meant to 'peppy'." Once again, Chicane had a different viewpoint. "They're supposed to be exactly what Shooting star became to achieve Destiny Magic. Serene, undisturbed and composed. That-"
"Yeah, let's do it!" Waverush made up her mind, cutting Chicance's sentence off. "I'm up for that! You're a genius as always, Roseshy!"
"Oh geez. I don't know about that..." Roseshy chuckled, blushing and feeling proud of this compliment.
"Ugh. I swear, Waverush, you're the one who influenced her current ideas." Chicane rolled her eyes. "Fine. What do you propose we do then?"
"Do you think he still likes Pokemon? I think so." Roseshy nodded, leaning to the Pokemon side. "The King and Queen did say that he enjoyed sightseeing Pokemon. Let's go above just seeing them."
"Ah, good thinking. I mean, we've got our own. Even if it's just...Unown and nothing else." Waverush sighed. "Wish we could get more but this is the limit."
After agreeing on helping Shooting Star, they re-entered the room, meeting with Shooting Star once more. But once they entered, they saw that he had fallen asleep in such a short timespan. The Grand Judge was snoring with his head still slumped on the table. Whether it was the boredom of this role or how it was meant to be nightfall in the true timeline, he was out of it.
"Oh my. That was fast." Roseshy commented. "Should we...wake him up and tell him?"
"Well, that puts a major delay in the plan, doesn't it"? Chicane shrugged, somewhat happy that the plan wouldn't go through since Shooting Star was asleep. "Perhaps another time."
"Nah, we can still work with this." Seizing a chance even with a slight drawback was Waverush. She rushed over to Shooting Star, suddenly picking him up. "Hrrgh...!" She would have to use her full strength to carry him.
"W-What are you doing?!" Chicane gasped with her wings sprouting out and intensifying in utter shock. "You can't just pick up the Grand Judge like that?!"
"Relax. He's asleep, so he won't know. He wouldn't mind too I bet."
"In case you've forgotten, he's a completely different pony from what he used to be thanks to the changed timeline!" Chicane roared. "He still has this position and who knows what he could do to us if he wakes up!"
"He'll be grateful, that's for sure! Quit your complaining and let's go! We've got a few hours before we clock out when the moon shows itself!" Waverush, eager to get this over with, flew out of the room with Shooting Star on her back. Roseshy promptly followed with Chicane reluctantly doing the same. Not that she wanted to, but mainly because she didn't want anything happening to the Grand Judge more than anything else.
Pegalysium. Pegalyisum Capital. Sky Monarch. Late Afternoon.
And with the topic of Shooting Star, the attempt to bring his memories back was already planned for. Mainly by Princess Luna. And in the meanwhile, Celestia would help Paramount with the Clock Door. Only the Pegasus of Destiny with Destiny Magic could open it, but with the Rift Magic that Paramount held, Celestia would try and bring out enough of this cosmic-like magic's potential for the door.
"Before we start, I could raise the moon now," said Luna. "Realistically speaking, it should be nightfall. But thanks to Second Wind's actions, that isn't the case."
"I think that might be for the best. What do you think, Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked. Twilight herself had a backup plan in case both these plans would go wrong. Horribly wrong. She was hoping that neither would fail.
"It should be nightfall by now. Second Wind may not know about us being able to raise and lower the sun and moon. She would be suspicious, but it would work in our favour to get to Shooting Star quicker." Celestia allowed it. "Let's do it, Luna."
"Right." The two sisters got on it. And it would start with Celestia. Celestia closed her eyes, allowing all of the focus to come through to her. This would be the first time that Paramount would witness Celestia's magic at work. It was simple yet gallant.
He watched as the sun had been lowered by Celestia's magic. There wasn't even an aura of magic surrounding the sun to showcase this. And if there was, the intensity of the sun just overpowered it. The sun was already at its late-afternoon phase and with Celestia's control, it quickly went from a late orange glow to a faint dark blue sky with just a slight glow in the distance.
That's where Luna came in, using her magic to then raise the moon to a certain height, allowing it to then move on its own afterwards until the night was over. Now it was the appropriate time that it should've been. Albeit, earlier as by now, it was past midnight, but this would have to do.
"So that's how it's done. Incredible. Were you born with this talent?" Paramount gawked.
"Not a talent. It's all high magic that makes it possible." Celestia giggled, tapping her horn. "Any pony can do it if they're strong enough."
"Alright. I say we give it at least an hour and he'll be asleep," said Luna. "Possibly, maybe, hopefully. In the meantime, I will govern the Dream Realm back at Canterlot. Perhaps stopping the Unown as well."
Luna was off. She and Darkrai promptly left to govern the Dream Realm as usual. This time, in the Hyperdream, where every possible dream exists. Celestia and Paramount would continue what they were doing at the moment. Celestia poured her magic into the Rift Magic that Paramount held out, nurturing it as if it was a baby or a flower.
But as they were doing that, a newcomer had arrived at Pegalysium. Four of them. Walking through the gates and just coming from below, or rather instantly showing up near the capital was Ash, Pikachu, Goh and Discord.
"Huh? Hey, Twilight! Guys!" Ash and Pikachu noticed Twilight and everyone else up ahead, waving promptly.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash! Pikachu!" Twilight had a high sense of happiness upon seeing those two along with Espeon. "Goh and...Discord?!" That soon changed when she saw Discord here suddenly.
"What is that thing...?" Paramount squinted, gazing at Discord. He had never seen anything like him before. The King attempted to make sense of what kind of creature he was.
"Perfect sense of timing as always, Ash. Pikachu." Celestia flew over. "And I see you brought Discord along with you. This can be of great help right now."
"Mhm. Discord here caught a lot of the Unown that were over at Equestria. I didn't get to see what happened cause it was still kinda night back home. So, what did I miss?"
"You missed it. Just like we did. Second Wind's changed time in different ways to make things work out for her." Twilight explained. "But no need to worry! We've already got something! Princess Luna's off to the Hyperdream to help bring back Shooting Star's memories and we're trying to open this Clock Door."
"Yeah, I heard about that. So that door has time inside of it?" Ash, Pikachu and Goh turned to the door.
"Princess Celestia and King Paramount are trying their best to open it without Destiny Magic. But..." Twilight then swiftly shifted her eyes to Discord. "Discord. Could you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Open the door." Her hoof pointed in the direction of the entrance. "We're not sure if Rift Magic can do it yet but maybe your Chaos Magic can do it. You could try and open it for us."
"I could, I could." Discord nodded, scratching his goatee. "That would put an end to things, wouldn't it?"
"Not everything," said Paramount. "Second Wind is that exception. Right now, we are only focused on saving my son. Wherever he may be."
"Not sure who your son is, but I can go for that door." Discord shrugged, choosing to help open the Clock Door. With just the snap of his talon, he let his Chaos Magic go to work. But notably, upon interacting with the door, nothing happened. One of Discord's eyes extended, looking at his talon as he snapped it once more.
Nothing else. Discord then used his lion paw for a third snap, using both limbs this time. Discord growled, summoning multiple limbs of different species to try and open the door. "What's the matter with this thing!?"
"Not even his magic works on it?!" Celestia gasped.
"Of course not." Paramount shook his head. "The first Pegasus of Destiny Windkiss was the one who crafted this door. She was without a shadow of a doubt, the best Pegasus of Destiny to ever exist. I doubt something as frantic as Chaos Magic could break it. It's the antithesis to Chaos after all. Serenity."
"Oh, whatever. You and your big words." Discord, feeling bitter that his magic couldn't work on the door, crossed his arms before summoning a raincloud over him. First Rift Magic and now Destiny Magic.
"Pika-Pika." Pikachu patted him on the back to comfort him.
"So using Rift Magic is pointless then?" Twilight turned to the orb of Rift Magic that was out in the open. "That's a shame."
"I still don't get what's going here..." Goh said, still feeling tired.
"We still won't give up on this magic." Celestia thought otherwise, aiming to use the Rift Magic either way. "And we also have Luna to hold hope onto. Discord. Even if you can't open the door, you can still help. Fluttershy and the others are out there somewhere in Pegalysium. You, Ash, Pikachu and Goh can also try and find Shooting Star after he-"
"Yes, yes. Already on it." Discord replied with a sour tone. He clearly wasn't too happy about his magic being rejected. He made a bicycle, putting on a bike helmet with his face on it. After that, he pedalled on the bicycle, causing it to move in an instant without any build-up.
"Never seen him that upset." Twilight blinked as there were fire trails from the bicycle after it left at subsonic speeds. Nevertheless, they continued their sole plan to save Shooting Star more than anypony right now.
But dedicated to stopping them after being sent by Second Wind a second time were the Unown. They had left Pinnaculum Pegalysium, going straight for the first Peglysium as that would be where all of Second Wind's most hated individuals were currently at. And she was not far off.
Sweet-Toothed Skies. Nightfall.
Another location in Pegalysium located in the far east. A place known as the Sweet-Toothed Skies. And its name fit perfectly with what it appeared as. This entire sky island was a candy paradise. The mountains were made out of frosted cakes, a river of orange juice running through it, a waterfall of apple juice, trees made out of lollipops and candy canes and so many other sweet-related things. The sky above the island was covered by unique purplish and pinkish clouds. Fittingly, cotton candy.
And this was discovered by Pheromosa, the 12 Leavanny and the Pikachu from the Pikachu Highlands. "Mosa!" They had forgotten why they came here in the first place. Ever since looking at the Memoir Petals, their memories had been filled back, causing them to forget about their friends and their mission here.
They were in a candy paradise right now. Finding them here, or rather tracking them down, was Pinkie Pie who would be gravitated there. But she mainly did it with Slurpuff's sense of smell.
"Slur! Slurpuff!"
"Pinkie, are ya just going here cause it smells good?" Applejack spoke.
"Nuh-uh! Slurpuff could totally track their scent down with all of this stuff. See?" Pinkie Pie stopped, showing everyone that she and Slurpuff had the right incentive to come here. Not only did they find Pheromosa and the others, but they also witnessed the candy paradise before them.
"Woah..." Applejack had spoken too soon. But her eyes were far more attracted to the sweet sight.
"Sweet..." Rainbow Dash said, unintentionally making a pun.
"You said it..." Spike agreed, drooling with Cold Colt. Both Mews went wild, going straight for whatever they could sink their teeth into. Pinkie Pie ate some sweets along the way as was her expected action of her.
"Mhm. This place looks just like that one place in the Pokemon World." Pinkie whipped out a picture. "A place I swore I'd find full of sweet things too."
"Wait, that place?!" Applejack gazed at the picture. "From when we were on that plane to Galar? You still remember that place?!"
"Totally! I've just been occupied to go there. But this is the best substitute before the main course!" Pinkie Pie giggled. "Hey, Pheromosa! Everyone!"
"Phero?" Pheromosa, so focused on the sweets, took a while to recognize her friends along with the Leavanny and Pikachu. But when they did, they waved frantically at them. Some of them were even waving faster than they normally could, mainly the Pikachu. All of that sugar was kicking in, activating a sugar rush for some of them.
"We found them at least. But no Rarity or Fluttershy yet." Spike said, grabbing a piece of candy from the sweet-coated trees. He promptly started snacking away. "Mmm... So good."
"Pheromo?" Right after Spike mentioned Rarity's name, Pheromosa shot up. She then remembered why she came here and after looking at the cotton candy in her hands, the Lissome Pokemon's happy heart of sweets shifted into one of shock and disappointment. The same went for the Leavanny. "Pheromosa!"
She stood up, rushing over to Pinkie and the others to see if Rarity was with them. Rarity lifted up Pinkie, Applejack and Spike, seeing if Rarity was anywhere. But she clearly wasn't. "Phero..." Pheromosa then sat near one of the trees, rocking back and forth.
"Missing Rarity, huh?" Pinkie slid over. "Don't worry. We'll find her. We have Slurpuff for that after all. I mean, that's how we found you all."
"Mosa..."
"Leavan."
"Now! Let's not waste any time!" Pinkie Pie, instead of sticking around and devouring this entire candy-filled island. "Let's get out there and find them all!"
"Mew!"
"Right now? But this is all so good!" Cold replied, filling his mouth with as many sweets as he could. Starlight even found some slight addiction to it the moment she had her first sweet.
"We can stuff our mouths with all of this good stuff once we're done getting everypony." Pinkie picked up Cold Colt. "What about you, Jade?
"It tastes good but..." Jade held the food in her hoof. "I think I prefer your food to this."
"Love to hear it! Let's double the scent then." Pinkie Pie, to boost the efficiency of finding her friends, had sent out the rest of her Slurpuff instead of just one. All 6 had emerged onto the scene, trying to salute, but of course, their limbs were too short to do so. But they would if they could.
"Slurpuff!"
"Okay, Slurpuff. We've got one simple job. Let's find Rarity and Fluttershy." said Pinkie Pie. "And after that, we can all head home once all the big stuff's dealt with. Are you with us, Pikachu?"
"Pika?" PikaSupreme and PikaNoble looked over, having their stomachs stuffed to the brim. PikaSupreme laid on his back along with other Pikachu, too full to move.
"We're gonna have to carry some of 'em..." Applejack scrunched her face. Sceptile already picked some of them up with his vines carrying them along. The Pikachu would need some assistance as they were too full to move. Hard to tell how long they've been here.
A short-lived visit to the Sweet-Toothed Skies. Deep down, Pinkie Pie wished she could stay some more. But her friends mattered more to her. The Slurpuff, with their combined noses, would track down the others with efficiency, even ignoring the addicting and irresistible smell of the Sweet-Toothed Skies.
They weren't the only ones who were using their combined attributes. Covering the skies once more were the Unown. Previously, they had stellar numbers to cover practically everywhere in Equestria. But ever since Discord caught a majority of them, their numbers had dwindled tremendously, much to the dismay and annoyance of Second Wind.
Before they could leave Sweet-Toothed Island, the Unown were the biggest obstacle instead of the delicious pastries surrounding them. Rainbow Dash and the group noticed the arrival of the Symbol Pokemon, but it was less intimidating than it was before. Not just because of the smaller numbers, but because of the protection of Arceus that they now had.
"Oh them again?" Rainbow Dash groaned. "Why now?"
"But there's less of them now." Starlight pointed out. "This shouldn't take too long. Plus, we've got an army of Pikachu that can-"
"Pika..." But the Pikachu were too full to move. So were the Leavanny as all of the food had them sluggish. Sceptile even struggled to hold some of them because of the food within.
"S-Sceptile!"
"Nevermind..." Starlight sighed, feeling somewhat disappointed. The only one exempt from this was Pheromosa and her lissome-like body.
"Ah, it's fine! We can do this without them!" Rainbow Dash would challenge the Unown either way, holding out her Poke Ball and unleashing the Pocket Monster within. "Go, Altaria!"
"Altaria!"
"Riolu. This is gonna be your first go at a battle. Are ya ready?" Applejack looked at her Delta Riolu who has yet to partake in a Pokemon Battle ever since she got him. But now was that chance.
"Rio!" And Riolu would gladly take it, jumping off of Applejack's back and standing front and centre of everyone else.
"You're doing fine, Pheromosa. How come you aren't full like everyone else?" Spike asked.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa giggled, simply pointing at herself. Even if they couldn't speak Pokemon, it was safe to say that Pheromosa's status as the Lissome Pokemon and her amazing speed that allows her to run as fast as she possibly can, was a huge factor.
"That makes sense." Starlight shrugged.
"Here they come! Altaria, use Moonblast!" Rainbow Dash made the first command.
"Fairy Wind, Slurpuff! All together now!" Pinkie Pie ordered all of her Slurpuff, hopping onto the back of one of them.
"Al...Taria!" In unison, Altaria and the Slurpuff had used a combination of Fairy-Type moves. It started with Altaria opening her mouth, summing a pink orb gathered by the power of the moon. Fitting as Luna had just raised the moon. Once shot, the orb was joined by a spiral of magical wind from the Slurpuff.
The Unown promptly retaliated with Hidden Power. The red rays of Hidden Power gleamed through the night sky, meeting with Moonblast and Fairy Wind. Both sides ended up cancelling each other out in the process.
"Sceptile, bring 'em down here with Frenzy Plant! Riolu, use Bite!"
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile stuck his hands in the ground, causing tremendously large roots to come out of the ground. These roots wrapped around some of the Unown, bringing them to a lower level. Frenzy Plant had even whacked some of them aside.
"Rio!" Riolu would then use the vines of Frenzy Plant as a way to travel. It was slippery for him at first as he was certainly not used to running up a giant root. But some of the Unown were close enough for him to attack. Riolu took a strong leap, opening his mouth as his teeth were coated in darkness.
He then took a bite of one of the Unown, causing a black and red combustion of energy to form. Albeit a small one. That one Unown took super-effective damage as Riolu went for the next.
The Unown used their combined powers to burn away at Sceptile's roots with Hidden Power Fire and Poison emanating from their bodies.
"Mosa!" But someone who could definitely run up the roots without any trouble was Pheromosa. At great speeds, she rushed past her friends, running on the roots before approaching the Symbol Pokemon. "Pheromosa!" Utilizing Triple Kick, Pheromosa had struck six Unown with three consecutive kicks. The first struck one Unown, the second struck three and the third smashed onto two more.
The Unown had certainly fainted from that assault and thanks to Sceptile restraining some of them, it was a success. However, the rest of the Unown weren't willing to lose, using a culmination of various Hidden Powers that could cover all Pokemon Types.
"Dragon Pulse!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash both said.
"Alta!" Altaria and Sceptile went in sync, using Dragon Pulse at the same time. Together, they sent out a blue dragon-shaped blast that moved through the flames that had burnt away at the rest of the roots. Their combined strength managed to break through the Hidden Power rays, hitting the Unown that had unleashed them.
And of course, they had further assistance from Spike and Starlight. Spike already had Axew out while Hatterene had just joined the fray. Spike's Axew transformed into Haxorus with his body bulging and expanding with that usual golden glow showing itself.
"Hatterene, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Haxorus, Dragon Claw!"
"Haxorus!" Haxorus met with some of the Unown, swiping his claws at them as they imbued with a pulsating green draconic energy. However, some of the Unwon backed away, shooting their Hidden Powers at Haxorus which involved Ice, Fairy and Dragon. Haxorus closed his eyes, taking the hits despite the effectiveness.
"Hatterene!" There to assist him was Hatterene. Hatterene's body let out a magical shine before unleashing a barrage of rainbows. Haxorus grinned as the rainbows had passed by him, not even touching him. That was proof of their teamwork as the Unown that had attacked him ended up being bombarded by the rainbow rays.
"Okay! I say we make this next attack be seen by everyone so they know where to find us! Let's finish this! Altaria, Dragon Pulse one more time!"
"Leaf Blade, Sceptile! Riolu, you use Strength!"
"Slurpuff, Energy Ball and Fairy Wind!"
"Hatterene, Psycho Cut, now!"
"Sceptile...!" Sceptile crossed his arms before separating them, causing his bladed leaves to extend and glow green. Alongside Riolu, Pheromosa and Haxorus, they would get up close and physical while the Slurpuff, Hatterene and Altaria would assist from afar.
And they would make sure all of their friends would see this. Cold Colt would be the one to make it happen with his Rift Magic, waiting for the right moment when the attacks were at their peak. And they were. Sceptile slashed past the Unown, Haxorus crashed right into them whilst Pheromosa gave them all a stern forward kick with Triple Axel. Riolu's wasn't as extravagant but he still played his part.
Then, the tearing blades of Psychic energy, the spiral of Fairy magic and the spheres of nature came along. The rest of the Unown created a large forcefield to protect themselves from falling this way. When the rest of their fellow Unown were crashed into the forcefield, they did everything in their power to keep it stable.
"We'll push right through that! Okay, Mew! Use Aura Sphere!"
"Mew!" Mew quickly left the lollipop tree, going straight for the forcefield. The other Mew, who didn't involve herself with battling, would bear witness to what her fellow Mew could do With Aura Sphere, he placed his arms together, allowing the concentrated Aura to show itself. "Mew-Mew!"
Mew then tossed the sphere, causing it to travel rapidly through the candy ground, causing parts of it to tear apart. And with great speed, the AuraSphere crashed into the forcefield, adding to the strength that his friends had also showcased. And with that final attack addition, it was enough to break straight through.
Cold Colt then use his Rift Magic at that moment. He allowed the impact of the attacks to expand, making them seem larger than they usually were. The scale of this impact covered the night sky for many to see.
And they saw it without a doubt. Especially Fluttershy's group. "Those attacks..! That must be everyone! You heard it too, right, Audi?!"
"Audino!" Audino could already hear the sounds of Pokemon names and commands being shouted out. They found their friends' location. They knew where to go next and they had Team Rocket's Rocketship to guide them there.
And as for the Unown, they had been overwhelmed, leading to their defeat. Their fragility showed even with their numbers advantage. Albeit small and they were slightly lucky since the Pikachu and Leavanny were too full to act.
"That takes care of that." Rainbow Dash said. "Great job, Altaria."
"Taria!"
"Great job on your first battle, Riolu." Applejack complimented him. Despite having help, Delta Riolu performed well.
"Ri!"
"Pikachu..." PikaSupreme, as his status as a king, gave a thumbs up for their effort. He also felt like he would be able to do something if he wasn't full, but his age would've said otherwise.
"Now that that's done with, let's get rolling!" Pinkie Pie shouted before having one of her Slurpuff picked up by Pheromosa. She and Rainbow Dash were the faster here after all, but even Pheromosa couldn't carry all of them. Some improvisations would have to be made. "But uh...Let's sort out grabbing everyone, okay?"
"Pheromosa."
After defeating the Unown, the group would continue searching for their friends with the guidance of the Slurpuff. The goal to save Shooting Star and reunite with their friends were reaching their boiling points. And of course, the mission to fix the timeline as the journey continues.
The Hyperdream. The space where all dreams of past, present and future converge and exist in one space. From both worlds, not just limited to the one that Luna lives in. They existed as massive bubbles on strings that all connected depending on whose dream it was. Much like a filing cabinet.
"Now then..." Luna spoke after entering the Hyperdream with Darkrai. "Which one is Shooting Star's dream?" To find Shooting Star's in this collection of seemingly endless dreams of an unprecedented number of individuals, Pokemon included to make it more overwhelming, would be insanely difficult.
But thanks to the magic of Lunar Ire, that was not the case. Luna would capitalize on the amazing powers that she had as Lunar Ire. "Show me the dreams of Shooting Star..." She said to herself and the magic gladly granted that wish.
The bubbles all rippled as one connected string of them had come off. The connected string bubbles flew to Luna as they were tailored to the sole pony, Shooting Star.
Luna then hovered over to the bubbles, observing the lineup of dreams. A long lineup as Shooting Star has had a plethora of them over the years leading up to tonight. She had seen Shooting Star's first dream when he was a baby. Luna cycled through the bubbles, searching for the most recent one.
However, upon looking at them, Luna noticed these strange emanations from the bubbles that no other dream of anyone else had at all. "How come these are glowing?" Darkrai asked.
"The Unown," Luna observed, holding one of the bubbles. "Shooting Star's memories may have been altered, but the dreams of his past still remain. Especially dreams of who he truly is. Dreams never die out even if time is being influenced."
"So how do we go about fixing it then? We can't control time."
"We have to make him remember somehow." Luna ended up searching for a dream that greatly involved Shooting Star's parents. There were quite a few to choose from. "This one." She had found the best one to go for. "The dreams of a moment that is most dear is always the best option if you ask me. Quickly, Darkrai."
They found the right dream to enter. One that was the dearest to Shooting Star's heart. This dream from what the bubble showed, involved Paramount and Luminary. The right one to be at.
Pegalysium. Cold Frontier. Nightfall.
The Cold Frontier. Chilling as always. And its chill was greater during nightfall, no doubt. Feeling this chill, even when wearing the necessary Algidity Suits, were Waverush, Roseshy and Chicane, bringing an asleep Shooting Star along for viewing and possibly catching Pokemon.
They had an Unown of their own as always to accompany them as Shooting Star was also given an Algidity Suit for warm protection even when asleep as Waverush was the one carrying him. "Ugh...!" She groaned, having to do all the heavy lifting as carrying Shooting Star proved to be difficult. "Heavy and cold...Why did we have to come here of all places?"
"The Unown told me that if we wanted to make Shooting Star happy, there was a Pokemon here that could do it for them," Roseshy said as the Unown were the ones who encouraged them to come here. "I say we trust in the Unown."
"I'm losing my trust right about now..." Chicane sighed with chattering teeth. "What's this Pokemon that can make him happy?"
"They say it's something called a Snorunt. Such a cute name. And it does sound like a Pokemon that would live here." She explained to them before stopping promptly. Just up ahead was a certain cave that would be familiar to Shooting Star, if he woke up. "This is where we need to be. Right in there, there should be Snorunt."
"Hmm..." Waverush took a closer look, putting on some goggles that came with her Algidity Suits for a clearer view. So did Chicane. They gained a closer look at the cave, looking past all the snow that fell gracefully from the night skies of the oh-so-high Pegalysium.
Coming out of the cave was the Pokemon of the hour. Snorunt. Its little legs made cute yet silent squeaky sounds even when running on the snow with footsteps being left behind. They would finally get to see what this Pokemon looked like and Roseshy was right about the cute factor.
"It is cute." Waverush's eyes opened as more Snorunt showed themselves.
"Snorunt!" The Snorunt did a synchronized jump once they came out of the cave, only making their cuteness factor rise. Chicane could see the cuteness in them as even her cocky attitude was tossed aside for them.
"Aww....!" She gushed. "How adorable."
"Sno-Sno-!" The Snorunt giggled before stepping in their tracks. It was when one of them saw a familiar face, noticing this face before any of the other Snorunt.
This one Snorunt recognized the face of her friend. The pony that helped her get home through the harsh cold during her birthday, who was also currently being carried by Waverush. Shooting Star. "Sno? Snorunt!" Happy to see her friend again, Snorunt excitedly jumped over his brothers and sisters, approaching Waverush and Shooting Star with frozen tears.
"Hey! Why's it coming at me?!" Waverush gasped, attempting to fly off. Only to then realize the weight of Shooting Star held her back, thus, there was no chance of her fleeing. She closed her eyes, but there was nothing to fear for her.
"Oh!" Realizing that it would harm and wake Shooting Star up, Roseshy quickly pulled Snorunt away by dashing over. She grabbed the Ice-Type, preventing any direct contact.
"Sno?"
"Whew..." Waverush lowered her head, relieved at this even though there wouldn't be any harm done. Snorunt then flailed around, wanting to get close to Shooting Star.
"Sorry. But he's sleeping right now." Roseshy spoke to her. "It's best not to wake him up. Especially when it's this late."
"Snorunt..."
"Aren't we meant to wake him?" Chicane asked. "It'd be pointless to bring here only for him not to witness the Pokemon for his own eyes. But then again, I understand that beauty sleep is important,
"Right. Sorry." Roseshy giggled.
"Snorunt." Snorunt hopped out of Roseshy's hooves, walking up to Waverush. She then looked over at her friend, giving off an intensive yet tiny gaze while he was asleep. Shooting Star grunted within his sleep with his ears quietly twitching.
Just then, after that grunt, the Unown surrounding the trio of pegasi had taken action instead of floating next to them. Out of nowhere, the Unown had approached Shooting Star. But not just approach him, they had entered the young prince as if they had phased right through his body. Which is exactly what they did.
"Huh?!" The three of them, and even the Snorunt, were naturally surprised by that. It came out of nowhere. But it was not without a reason. The Unown, despite working alongside other Indigo Union members, followed the wishes of one singular pony.
Second Wind.
With the wish of allowing her plans to continue on, they had entered Shooting Star, aware of the actions of Luna and Darkrai. The Unown and their perceptive abilities were always something to be reckoned with, even if Wareush and the other two had no idea what was going on.
Pegalysium. High in the skies. Within the Rocketship.
After minutes and what felt like hours, they had reunited. Fluttershy's group had met with Rainbow Dash's group on the same island. It took a while, but they got there thankfully. And drawing her attention to the Rocketship in the sky was Twilight Sparkle.
How could she not notice the Rocketship from afar? Upon witnessing it, Twilight's teleportation spell helped greatly as she had already been within it once. Her mind was able to let her return to any spot within the ship.
And she did while also bringing Espeon along with her, of course. The moment she arrived on the ship, before she could let a sentence out, she was met with wind pressure that knocked her away. A wind pressure from Pheromosa running. "Gah!" Twilight screeched.
"Espeon!"
"Mosa!" Happy to see Rarity again and glad that she was in one piece was Pheromsa. At the speed of sound, she had picked up the unicorn, hugging her without any restrictions. "Pheromo!" Leavanny and the others rushed over, surrounding their trainer.
"Oh, Pheromosa! Leavanny! Rarity giggled. "Good to see you all again! I was horrified after seeing you all sink!"
"We saw all those attacks in the distance. Only you all could make such a ruckus like that," said Fluttershy. "Plus Audino heard you all loud and clear even from inside the Rocketship."
"Audino."
"Ooh..." Twilight held her head after the wind pressure. "Girls! There you are!" Soon, she grabbed the attention of her friends. "I should've known you made it up here to help."
"Nice timing, Twilight! Eve." Pinkie bounced over. "You're just in time for our reunion!"
"Reunion?" Twilight shook her head, blinking for a bit. "Uh...W-What happened?"
"A lot happened." Starlight helped Twilight up. "Well, not a lot but it felt like a lot. Didn't take us a lot to get up here though."
"That's a lot of lots. Glad we could make it, anyway. But, boy. Even if it was short, it was weird getting up here." Rainbow Dash chuckled. "You won't believe what we went through!"
"Yeah! We almost got erased from existence!" Pinkie Pie leaned in, startling the rest of her friends.
"Wait what?" Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy said, naturally perplexed by this response.
"Don't worry about that right now." Starlight stood in between them. "Right now, we should think about the Unown. Which is...also the reason why we were almost erased. They're everywhere right now."
"We dealt with our own Unown." Rarity added. "But at least we have these three on our side. Though they are fewer than the array of Unown that we encountered."
"Second Wind's the one who has 'em all. Sent them to us to make Equestria her new place to hang out" said Applejack. "But we got past that. Thanks to Arceus."
"All that's left for us is to free Shooting Star's memories and make them what they used to be." Spike chimed in. "You were already ding that, weren't you Twilight?
"How did you know about that?" Twilight asked.
"Arceus." They all gave an easy answer. Arceus was the one who showed them and told them everything. They were already caught up to speed at this point.
"Oh! Is Garnet gonna be okay?" Pinkie Pie noticed the fainted Garnet.
"I'm up!" Garnet woke up right on time once her name was spoken. Much like before, her eyes would take a moment to witness what was around her. But this time, she was numb to it. "Ohhh..." But at least this time, thanks to the Unown, she gained memories of the true timeline back.
"Are you feeling better?" Fluttershy asked.
"I feel winded..." Garnet groaned. "So much has happened but so little has happened too. Shooting Star...Shooting Star!" She was suddenly alert. Once her memories came back, she remembered what she was doing earlier. "Oh, I forgot! I was supposed to save him but...I failed."
"It's okay, Garnet. We heard it all from Arceus." Pinkie went over.
"Ar...Who?" Naturally, Garnet wasn't even the slightest bit aware of Arceus, as seen by her raised eyebrow.
"We're off to do the same thing. Saving Shooting Star and all that." Rainbow Dash reassured.
"I don't even know where he is right now...You all probably don't know where he is!" Garnet vigorously aimed her hoof at them before standing up. "I was supposed to try and save him with my friends. Both from Feathercoast and the Drifting Peaks. But everything changed all of a sudden. I was reaching too high...Everypony's probably worried about me right now." Disappointed in her failed attempt to save Shooting Star, Garnet hung her head in shame.
Everyone looked at each other, feeling Garnet's disappointment. They could tell that Garnet and Shooting Star were fairly good friends and failing to save a friend was something they could understand all the distraught for. Starlight kept Hatterene's Poke Ball in check before Garnet could potentially let out stronger emotions.
However, while Garnet lost hope, Pinkie Pie and everyone else didn't. Twilight was the first to up to Garnet, wrapping her hoof around the teacher. "Don't lose hope there, Garnet. You tried hard to get to him, so you can't give up now. Not when there's still a chance.
"What makes you say that?" Garnet whimpered, pouting at Pinkie Pie.
"It's our thing. Take a good look at all of us. Because we never lose hope. Not once." Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves as her friends nodded in unison.
"Well, we did lose hope when we first met Discord." Only for Fluttershy to interject and correct them. "And there was that time with Ghetsis' Pheromosa hurting all of us, that one time we got captured by the Cofagrigus at the Royal Canterlot Wedding, when Tirek caught us all..." She continued to list a plethora of hopeless moments. "I guess only Ash, Pikachu and Princess Celestia never lost hope now that I think about it."
"W-Well..." Rainbow Dash scrunched her face, stammering. "We've gotten used to not losing hope!"
"Mhm! Plus, we've got my Slurpuff here to help." Pinkie showed her 6 Slurpuff. They've got a smell that's 100 million times better than all of us. They're already picking up on Shooting Star's scent and we'll find him no problem."
"Oh. I see..."
"So don't you start worrying there, Garnet," said Applejack. "It ain't over till it's over. And it won't be over until we have Shooting Star back to speed."
"RIght. T-Thank you all." Hope had definitely been brought back to Garnet. She teared up from their words, grateful that there were those there to help. "You ponies, dragons and Pokemon from Equestria sure are something."
The Rocketship was headed for the Cold Frontier, guided by the Slurpuff and translated by Fluttershy and Meowth respectively. However, whilst they were getting close to the Cold Frontier, witnessing the icy mist in the distance, their presence, especially within the Rocketship, still didn't go unnoticed.
The Unown.
The remainder of them tracked down the Rocketship and those who would oppose Second Wind. This time, with greater numbers than what Rainbow Dash's group had to face. They approached the Rocketship, covering it with their shadows looming over.
Audino was the first to hear their arrival whilst everyone else had soon noticed them. They looked outside the windows to see the swarm of Unown. And after swarming the ship, the Unown could hear the voice of Second WInd speaking to them from afar. They remembered what they needed to do to make her dreams possible. "Stop anypony that can interfere. Use whatever extent your power can go through to make it possible."
After hearing her words, the Unown would do just that. As if they already weren't doing fantastical things before. Now they could go beyond. With their haunting singing, the Unown focused everything on not the ponies inside, but the Rocketship.
"What are they doing?!" Spike gasped as the Unown had suddenly frozen the Rocketship in place with their combined power. James felt an instant brake that almost made him bump his head on the control panel.
"They're looking for trouble, that's what." Rainbow Dash held her Poke Ball out before then dashing upwards. She was expecting James to open the hatch, only for her to bump into the entrance. "Ow!" She flinched, holding her face. "W-What gives...?"
"I can't open it!" James exclaimed, trying to open the hatch. But it was no use. He also noticed how all the lights from the control panel had vanished. Their energy and electrical supply had been diminished right before his eyes. "The Unown have cut everything off! Which means..."
James had the right idea. With the energy off, the ship started to fall. No power meant that it would no longer hover. Even though the Unown froze it, they promptly released their freezing hold on the ship, allowing it to fall. Naturally, everyone started screaming their lungs off.
"GAAAAAAAH!" They all screeched with their hairs flowing upwards from this downwards momentum they were experiencing. No one could maintain their balance at all. Not even those who could fly.
"Not like this! I'm too pretty to perish!" Jessie and Rarity both screamed, holding onto each other as they felt like they were too pretty to go out and especially not in a gruesome way that would involve an indefinite crash.
"B-Bay!" But of course, their shining beacon of hope still existed. Bayleef's fate-changing leaves. However, aware of Bayleef's power, the Unown that had frozen the ship, didn't just allow it to fall. They had also entered it via phasing through. Catching up to it surprisingly quickly during its descent, the Unown had appeared within the Rocketship, maintaining their balance.
Except for the three Unown owned by Thunder Stamp. Their balance was thrown off. The rest of the Unown only kept this balance thanks to their combined power. Once inside, they had used Hidden Power on Bayleef before her leaves could act up.
"B-Bay!" Bayleef cried out as she was hit by the Hidden Power, crashing into the walls while the ship increased in speed.
"Bayleef, no!" Fluttershy gasped as Bayleef's fate-changing leaves had been cancelled out at that moment. The Unown wouldn't stop there. Almost everyone on this ship had something Rift related in them with the main exception being Garnet.
The other three Unown used their power to slightly gain some balance in this turbulent descent. They had gotten in front of their fellow Symbol Pokemon, trying to convince them to stop. But the wishes of Secon Wind greatly outdid theirs. Thus, they attacked their fellow Unown.
The three Unown used the rest of their power to cast a protective shield but it was not strong enough. The ship was about to crash near the Cold Frontier, right near one of the islands. It would be a hard one no doubt.
Twilight would use her amazing magic to try and keep her friends stable, along with Espeon's Psychic. The Unown attacked them still. Twilight and Espeon flinched and staggered when attacked by the Unown. Twilight already had her Desire removed from her, making her exempt from Rift Magic thankfully. However, that didn't stop her from being harmed.
"Gh!" Twilight grunted as the Unown had the superior advantage. With them maintaining balance and everyone losing balance, they could attack them with Hidden Power constantly.
"Axew! Transform!"
"A-Axew! Ax!" Axew closed his eyes, hoping to pull his transformation off successfully. But with little balance and the Unown having free balance, they had used Hidden Power on him as well. Axew somewhat endured, managing to pull off his transformation with a golden pillar of light showing. "H-Haxorus!"
He emerged as Haxorus, immediately having a heavier weight than normal, allowing his altitude and airtime to be less extravagant than the others. Haxorus attempted to stick his legs onto the floor and his hands through the walls, but it was no use. There was nothing he could do as more of the Unown kept attacking him.
"Haxorus!" Spike yelled.
"H-Haxo!"
"S-Sceptile! Break those windows and grab onto something!" Applejack cried out, freefalling in the air of the ship as she tried holding onto her hat.
"S-S-S-Sceptile...!" Sceptile grit his teeth before shifting his eyes to the windows. The Forest Pokemon had then used Frenzy Plant as his best bet, sending out one of his vines to touch the floor. And that connection was what he needed. Large roots had been summoned, breaking through the windows. The roots of Frenzy Plant then travelled with Sceptile spotting a tree nearby, Mainly on the island that they were about to crash into.
The roots wrapped around the tree with their immense size and length, however, this was all promptly stopped once the Unown had used Hidden Power. Hidden Power Fire had burned away at the roots whilst Hidden Power Poison melted them away. "Scep?!"
With the roots destroyed and a way to keep the ship somewhat stable, it continued to fall, nearing the island. Bayleef tried moving, only for the Unown to summon red chains on her. "Bay?!" The Leaf Pokemon had her legs all restrained along with her neck.
The others received the same treatment. They were all caught by the red chains that were summoned, pinned against the wall while feeling some altitude. The only one not caught by it was Garnet. The Unown had tightened the chains on them, causing them all to feel a shock go right through them. The Pokemon could resist because of their amazing defence. But the ponies and the sole dragon were another story as this was hard on them.
"Wait! Stop!" Garnet yelled, holding her hoof out whilst spinning in the air. She had then grabbed the attention of the Unown with her shout. "You can't do this! Please! They're the only hope I have left!"
The Unown took a moment to listen to her. Much like how Arceus describes it, the Unown certainly listen to those with wishes. Strong ones to be exact. And this was no exception as they heard her out.
"Please! I need to save Shooting Star!" Garnet still had tears in her eyes. "I have to as his friend! I failed to help him before even when I tried cheering him up! I have to try at least one more time and bring him back to us! To his family! If I don't then...I don't know what I would do!" Garnet pleaded.
The Unown had then heard and felt Garnet's will to save her friend. But the moment they felt her strong will and emotion, the ship was already about to crash. At that split second, the ship had crashed onto the island. The Unown had also protected the ship in that split second, granting it a shield. But the impact was still hard as the trees were blown away by the crash.
This alerted Waverush, Roseshy and Chicane as the Cold Frontier was close to them. They had already witnessed the ship in the sky when it got close. "Oh my goodness!" Roseshy gasped, already having the instinct and natural reaction to go and check up on the ship and see if anyone was alright.
"Hey, wait! Roseshy!" Waverush turned to Shooting Star who was still asleep even after that crash. She contemplated wondering if she would leave him behind, but he was too asleep to even wake up with all that noise. Waverush eventually followed her along with Chicane.
The ship was greatly damaged. Even with the Unown protecting it, the impact left a number on it. Parts of it had scattered across the island with the wires poking out. It might as well be broken in half. Somehow still functioning with electricity fizzling, but certainly totalled.
Roseshy, Waverush and Chicane appeared in front of the rubble, witnessing the horrific destruction done to the ship. This island appeared to be a beautiful beach. But not anymore with what happened. All the palm trees had been cast aside, toppled over in seconds. The air which would normally carry the sounds of birds and the soothing sounds of the beach was now thick with the scent of smoke.
But amidst all of this destruction, apart from the Unown that had emerged from the rubble, seeming fine with their protection, Starlight Glimmer had shown herself. She used her magic to protect herself in time, pushing the rubble away.
"Ugh..." Starlight groaned as more of the rubble was tossed aside. Garnet, Cold Colt and Jade Skies were still around. Mainly with Cold Colt using his magic as well.
Espeon, Audino, Bayleef, Sceptile, all 6 Slurpuff, Delta Riolu and the two Mew all came out of the rubble, feeling injured no doubt. Castform showed himself, flying out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag which had fallen over. Haxorus broke the rubble before descending back into Axew.
All of the Pokemon did, including Team Rocket and Thunder Stamp. "That was too close..." James sighed, kneeling on the ground. "Did everyone make it?"
"Still in one piece here." Jessie groaned. "So is my hair."
"Wait! What about Applejack and the others?!" Cold noticed that not everyone had shown themselves. Bayleef immediately started using her vines to toss away at the rubble as Sceptile and Audino followed after.
"What happened here...?" Waverush gawked.
"Audi! Audino!" They rapidly searched for their friends, pulling the rubble away.
"I didn't have enough time to protect them!" Starlight cried out, stomping her hoof on the metallic rubble while also using her magic to move all of it away. Waverush, Roseshy and Chicane stayed back, observing for a while.
Eventually, the others were found beneath the rubble. And unfortunately, they suffered a harder impact than the rest. Twilight groaned as she struggled to get back up. All of her friends were on the floor with their hooves trembling. The world seemed to spin around them and a sharp, throbbing pain took hold of them. Shocks from the red chain still showed themselves with crimson crackles. Twilight had taken a heavy barrage of Hidden Power earlier, making her already harmed and fairly weak.
"Twilight! Everyone!" A mortified Starlight said as Waverush, Roseshy and Chicane noticed the familiar faces, staying silent and slowly backing up. "Are you okay?!"
"W-We made it..." Twilight uttered with a weak voice before then dropping to the ground. The others tried getting up but it was no use. With their bodies overwhelmed, the systems within them had no choice but to let them faint. They fainted in a horrible state.
"Oh no! Twilight!" Starlight exclaimed as they would do more than just faint. Audino rushed over, going for Heal Pulse immediately to restore her friends to full strength. Jade wanted to emote greatly to feel for her friends. This was the most harm she had seen them in so far.
But while she could not emote, there was a tear forming in her eyes along with Cold who definitely emoted. In their current state, it could go beyond fainting. "Say it ain't so." Meowth shook his head as Audino started using everything in her power with Heal Pulse to rejuvenate them.
"A-Audino!" She groaned with everything being illuminated green. But the green had been overshadowed by the black smoke of the destroyed ship.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this..." Garnet lowered her head, seeing that her ray of hope was dwindling. Twilight and the others were that ray of hope that inspired them. All she wanted to do was help her friend more than anything, restoring his memories.
And even still, the Unown felt her emotions flow through. They noticed the destruction that they had caused, mainly from their actions. It was them that harmed Twilight and the others, assaulting them with Hidden Power and the red chains. The other three Unown had tried to stop them but it was too late.
Feeling the guilt, the Unown had then shifted their focus from Second Wind and chose to fulfil the wishes of somepony else with a strong will as well. Garnet.
And there was one thing on their mind to help Garnet gain that spark of hope. And it was a big one. The Unown, and the three that Thunder Stamp owned agreed on using their power for one sole purpose. In unison, they had used Hidden Power, focusing it on Twilight and her friends. Audino backed away as her Heal Pulse was interrupted. She gawked as a golden light of cosmic power showed itself, erupting into a pillar that surrounded all of them.
Espeon and everyone could tell that this wasn't meant to harm them as their eyes closed from the intensity of the light. Twilight and the others were getting back up. But something was changing with them. Their body shapes, in a split second, could be seen changing before being blocked out by an explosion of energy.
The beach had also been restored with the palm trees returning to their original position. The Unown had not only undone the damage, but they had done something magical and grandiose. Espeon and the others looked onwards as the light faded. What they saw blew their minds.
Twilight and the others had become Legendary and Mythical Pokemon.
Twilight emerged as the Legendary Pokemon of Life, Xereneas. Applejack became the invincible Warrior Pokemon Zamazenta. Spike ascended into the air, appearing as the Sky High Pokemon and guardian of the Ozone Layer Rayquaza. Also ascending, Pinkie Pie had become the species as her partner Pokemon, Mew.
Rarity emerged as one of the Swords of Justice, Virizion, the Grassland Pokemon. Fluttershy was given the appearance of Meloetta the Melody Pokemon, standing gracefully. And finally, getting off of one knee was Rainbow Dash who emerged as the Thunder Clap Pokemon Zeraora.
They had all become Legendary and Mythical Pokemon. Courtesy of the Unown. Naturally, everyone was blown back by this as Cold Colt fainted at this amazing sight. And Starlight could only say one word at this stellar revelation.
Rejuvenated to full strength were Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash after a terrifying crash with the Rocketship. Courtesy of the Unown, they returned as Legendary and Mythical Pokemon.
Heeding the willing wishes of Garnet, they had brought the seven of them to different appearances as a way to symbolize a rising hope for Garnet. Just to save Shooting Star.
"Oooh..." Twilight, who was now a Xerneas, looked at her new and longer hooves. "Oh!" It was then that she recognized Xerneas' appearance. This reminded her of how she had the accessories of a Xerneas when in the Pokemon Board game. Only this time, she was the full thing. The real deal. "I'm a Xerneas?!"
"Check this out!" Rainbow Dash shouted, looking at her arms. "What Pokemon am I?!" Zeraora was a Pokemon that was new to her and her friends as well. "But how'd this happen?"
"Not sure, but I love it!" Rarity giggled. "This must be what Virizion feels like every time! How lucky!"
"I'm a Meloetta! I forgot how short it is..." Fluttershy admired her appearance as a Meloetta before tripping over. "Oh!"
"Audino!" Audino quickly rushed over to her partner, picking her up. Audino was always bigger than Fluttershy, but now as a Meloetta, that size difference only grew.
"Thanks, Audi."
"I feel pretty heavy like this, ya'll." Applejack groaned, feeling the weight of Zamazenta's shield. She also struggled to keep some balance in this fortified appearance. "Woah...Woah!"
"Look at this, Mew! Mewie!" Pinkie Pie flew over to her Mew and Holon's Mew, aka Mewie. "Now I'm like both of you! Not what I had in mind when I said I would help find more of your kind, Mewie. But it works out!"
"Mew-Mew!" Both Mew's were happy to see that as they all held hands with each other. It became a trifecta of Mew holding hands and excitedly laughing.
"Hahaha! Look at me!" But the most thrilled about all of this was Spike. Appearing as Rayquaza, he burst into the air, flying around with joy. He was by far the longest and biggest out of anyone here which was a huge step up from his usual self.
He used Rayquaza's long serpentine body to rapidly move and make patterns in the air. Twilight made baby steps, trying her best to get a handle on Xerneas' physique. The hooves were certainly pointer than what she was used to.
"Oh! Shooting Star's Pokedex!" Garnet looked around for the Pokedex, wanting to scan these Pokemon for Shooting Star. "I should still have it! Where is it?!"
"Relax. I can scan them for you. Here." Starlight showed Garnet the Pokedex, deciding to help her. Starlight's Pokedex already had data of Meloetta, Virizion, Mew and Zamazenta due to past events and current events via Pinkie's own Mew, but the rest were brand new.
"Xerneas. The Life Pokemon. Legends say it can share eternal life. It slept for a thousand years in the form of a tree before its revival. When the horns on its head shine in seven colours, it is said to be sharing all of that beautiful everlasting life.
"Rayquaza. The Sky High Pokemon. Rayquaza is said to have lived for hundreds of millions of years. Legends remain of how it put to rest the clash between Kyogre and Groudon. It lives in the ozone layer far above the clouds and cannot be seen from the ground. It flies forever through the ozone layer, consuming meteoroids for sustenance."
"Zeraora. The Thunderclap Pokemon. It electrifies its claws and tears its opponents apart with them. Even if they dodge its attack, they’ll be electrocuted by the flying sparks. It approaches its enemies at the speed of lightning, then tears them limb from limb with its sharp claws. Electricity sparks from the pads on its limbs. Wherever Zeraora runs, lightning flashes and thunder echoes."
"No fair!" Jessie stomped the ground, puffing her cheeks. "Why can't the Unown turn me into a Legendary or Mythical Pokemon?! I'd look amazing as Cresselia!"
"So it was Unown. You helped us?" Twilight turned to the army of Unown. The Unown spoke to them and this time, they could understand the Unown due to having Pokemon biology part of them. "You chose to help us because of Garnet?"
"M-Me?!" Garnet then pulled back as all eyes were on her. "Uh, well...I-I didn't this would happen! I only wanted them to stop attacking and-"
"I get it." Twilight raised her hoof before tripping, only for Espeon to help her up with Psychic. "Ooh...Thanks, Eve."
"Espeon."
"Garnet. I think that's why the Unown helped you." Xerneas-Twilight approached Garnet, causing her to back away while also gawking at the size of this Legendary Pokemon. "From the books that I've read, the Unown seem to react to those with wishes and dreams that come straight from the heart."
"We learned about that too when we were with Arceus." Mew-Pinkie flew over, circling Garnet with the other two Mew. "It's how you wanted to help Shooting Star so much that let them listen to you. Great job!"
"Mew!"
"Helped us turn into this," Applejack commented after being helped up by Sceptile and Delta Riolu. "And got 'em all off ours back for good."
"Gee...Thanks." Garnet chuckled, feeling praised by this. She certainly never received this much praise before even with her status as a teacher. The pegasus could only prance on the spot whilst her face turned red.
The group of Pikachu that was with the group had withstood the crash themselves. Some could say that them being full of food is what protected them from harm. But in reality, it was Starlight's magic at the last second that managed to reach them. Even after that rush, they were still full.
"Pika...?" But while patting his full stomach, PikaSupreme looked to the side, noticing three figures past the acres of trees. "Pika...Pikachu!"
"Hm? Someone's there?" Demonstrating their ability to now understand Pokemon language, Fluttershy and the others turned to where PikaSupreme was facing. And with a quick turn of their heads, they had spotted the trio of pegasi. Unfamiliar to many but familiar to Rarity and Fluttershy.
Waverush, Roseshy and Chicane.
"Those two...!" Virizion-Rarity squinted her eyes, pulling off a serious look with Virizion that nopony in Equestria had seen the real Virizion put on once due to her calm demeanour. But Rarity wasn't calm at all.
Waverush and the other two then noticed Thunder Stamp with them, shocked that he would be by their side. But that was the least of their worries right now as some grudges had been thrown their way.
Rarity had gotten used to Virizion's movements as she started approaching the trio of pegasi. Fluttershy knew them as well, however, she didn't approach them. Roseshy hid behind Waverush, trembling as the imposing visage of Virizion got closer. Thunder Stamp then quickly got in front of Rarity, stopping her from going any further. He put his hooves to halt her.
"What are you stopping me for?" Rarity questioned. "Those three over there captured Fluttershy and attempted to make her into one of those zombie-like ponies, didn't they?"
"Mhm..." Thunder Stamp nodded, knowing that much to be true.
"I don't think we should be facing them right now..." Chicane said to Waverush. "Look at them. They look like they could either crush or eat us with those sizes."
"It's fine." Waverush stepped forward. "We-" But before she could finish, leaving Shooting Star unattended resulted in all of them being caught off guard by an eruption of an unknown energy that came from the island he was resting at. Everyone's attention was drawn to the Cold Frontier, witnessing the golden light erupt.
The was only one thing responsible for this. Or rather, multiple things. A collective group that could perform many things when together. The Unown, of course. And it was all happening within.
The Hyperdream. One of Shooting Star's Dreams. 14 minutes before the light eruption.
The result of this came from Luna and Darkrai encountering some of the Unown. After entering Shooting Star's dreams, the Unown followed, aiming to stop Luna and Darkrai from restoring his memories. It all happened only a few seconds after the duo had entered the dream as they were within a capital that resembled the Pegalysium Capital, but with differences that could be seen. There was something haunting about it, even though this was a precious dream.
"How did they know?!" Luna gasped as she had currently put up a shield to protect her from Hidden Power. The Unown who were helping Waverush, Chicane and Roseshy were the ones attacking. "Darkrai, Dark Pulse!"
Darkrai put his claws together, summoning a pulsating orb of darkness. He then thrust his arms forward, causing that orb t form into a beam. The Unown were hit, taking super-effective damage directly. And that singular Dark Pulse was enough to faint them.
However, it wasn't just these few Unown that knew of Luna and Darkrai's actions. Appearing into the dream of Shooting Star were more Unown, passing through the Dream Realm as well, catching Luna and Darkrai off guard. The oaken princess grit her teeth, knowing that this task of bringing Shooting Star's memories via dream would be harder than expected.
Luna and Darkrai quickly hid, going straight for the nearest building. In this case, it would be the palace that resembled the Sky Monarch with the appearance of another building mixed in within this dream. The Unown swarmed the dream, immediately searching for the duo. Luna concealed herself and Darkrai immediately, using an invisibility spell without the help of Lunar Ire's magic.
For a moment, they would be kept hidden from the Unown. "Hoh..." Luna took a moment to catch her breath. These Unown are already proving to be troublesome, even if they are frail. Sensing our arrival to the Dream Realm and this dream was impressive, I'll say that."
"What do we do now?" Darkrai asked.
"Let's continue searching for Shooting Star. We have to reach him and bring his memories back to speed." Avoiding the Unown, Luna and Darkrai went to search for Shooting Star.
They weren't too late to get started, though now they had the issue of keeping themselves secretive from the Unown. The Unown moved across the capital. Luna and Darkrai noticed how the interior of this palace looked different to what they had seen at the Sky Monarch. They noticed how there were Indigo drapes on one side and the regular drapes they knew about on the other side. At first, they shrugged this off as just the result of the past, but they could see that it went further than that.
As for moving across the palace, thankfully, there are no stairs in Pegalysium. Not when everypony can fly. Luna and Dakrai stopped in front of a room singular room that had only one door. Opening it, they found the pony that they were looking for, but in an odd predicament.
A young Shooting Star could be seen sitting on his bed. Nothing out of the ordinary until Luna and Darkrai noticed what was on his left and what was on his right. On his right, his parents King Paramount and Queen Luminary could be seen. Their bodies were wobbling whilst Shooting Star's body remained stable. The way they wobbled looked otherworldly as if they were fizzling out of this area but couldn't quite leave.
And on the left, Second Wind had been spotted.
Second Wind's body also had that wobbling effect but it was less extravagant than Paramount and Luminary when it rippled. Standing from different sides, they could be seen speaking to Shooting Star. Each with different words, however, they came at such a rapid-fire rate that the young Shooting Star could not process all of them.
He could hear words such as son and destiny, along with other lexicon-related things that were tied to just himself alone. The words of Paramount and Luminary sounded soft yet they were overshadowed by the words of Second Wind that were haunting yet they also carried that gentle nature.
"W-What is this...?" Even Darkrai, who has seen his fair share of bizarre things within dreams and nightmares, especially nightmares, was stunned by this sight.
"Shooting Star's memories...They're conflicted with the dream." Luna observed after taking a closer look at the two of them peeking through the door. "This is a dream of the past. Shooting Star's memories still remember his family, but the new ones of Second Wind are just as prominent. That would explain the appearance of this location."
"So his dream is struggling to choose which one to keep." Darkrai caught on quick. "This is just time trying to sort itself out. But it might as well be tearing it all apart."
"And it seems that Second Wind's words are getting to him more. We were quick to show up now, so let's fix this immediately."
However, even with an invisibility spell, it could not deceive the eyes of the Unown. Without even a creeping sound, the Unown had quietly appeared behind Luna and Dakrai with absolute silence. But even with this silence, Luna and Darkrai felt the appearance of the Unown.
Luna scrunched her face as the Unown did not make any more movements. Mainly because they were waiting for Luna and Darkrai to make a move and thus, they would act accordingly. Luna had a single sweatdrop appear on her as she and Darkrai looked each other in the eyes.
Without needing to speak, the guardians of the night understood each other. They knew what to do. And it started with Darkrai rapidly advancing towards the room where Shooting Star sat.
The Unown took action, however, Luna stuck around just for them. She made a large barrier of magic that had five layers to it. Five layers of magical barriers were used on the Unown the moment they went for Hidden Power.
Luna gave Darkrai enough time to act. The Pitch Black Pokemon held his claw out as they went straight for the young colt. Paramount, Luminary and Second Wind turned their heads to see Darkrai as they froze on the spot. As for Darkrai, the same happened to him.
The weeping Shooting Star raised his head, noticing the arrival of the Pitch Black Pokemon. Darkrai promptly stopped, looking Shooting Star in the eyes. He saw how the young pony put his hooves over his eyes to try and mask his crying. But he wasn't fooling Darkrai with that. Darkrai lowered his claw to take a gentle approach to the crying boy.
"What's wrong?" Darkrai asked.
"I don't know..." The young Shooting Star muttered. "I don't like this dream. I don't know what's going on." And how would he? Shooting Star at this age was unaware of the true events or how any of this was possible. "W-Who are you...?"
"Begone from here." Second Wind spoke to Darkrai with an echoed voice. While the worst were all too fast and hard to understand for Shooting Star, Darkrai could process them clearly. Except for Paramount and Luminary as their words were being too faint to hear. "You're scaring the boy."
"I'm scaring him?" Darkrai repeated. "You may not realize this, but he should be near you at all. Let alone dreaming about you."
"Darkrai! Have you figured out a way to solve this?!" Luna yelled, pushing back at the Unown whilst sending some of her Pokemon to help out. Mainly Musharna and Aurorus.
Darkrai had yet to solve this. This was a predicament that even he had never tackled before. Second Wind spoke to Darkrai as if she wasn't a part of the dream. Rather, it felt like she had infiltrated it as well.
"Shooting Star!" Darkrai listened closely, hearing Paramount and Luminary's words echo and increase in volume for split seconds. They were being drowned out even more, making it impossible for the little pony to hear them all.
"What will you do? Give him nightmares? That won't make it better, will it?" Second Wind chuckled, knowing about Darkrai's ability to give nightmares. That caught Darkrai off, no doubt.
Some of the Unown had slipped away from Luna and her Pokemon, phasing through the rest of the walls to approach the room of the young prince. Darkrai himself had thin options. The best and only thing that he was capable of doing was giving off nightmares.
He clenched his claw, knowing that was his only option. But after looking Shooting Star in the eyes, the Pitch Black Pokemon knew that giving him nightmares and especially with how he was right now, would do no good.
"I don't know what to do..." Darkrai growled as Second Wind chuckled.
"Exactly. Dreams are nothing compared to time. And for myself, time is all mine to control." Second Wind circled Darkrai.
"But I can still try!" Darkrai, despite giving off hopeless words, still clung to hope. "Musharna, come here!"
"Musha!" Musharna responded to Darkrai, rushing over to the Dark-Type by bouncing off of the palace walls. The Unown entered the room, attacking Darkrai as Second Wind stood back.
Darkrai still had an advantage within dreams, making himself intangible as the Hidden Power phased through him. He had then retaliated with Dark Pulse, engulfing the opposing Unown. Second Wind scoffed afterwards, hoping that Darkrai would've gone down at that instance.
"I may grant nightmares, but she won't. Musharna, consume this dream to your liking!"
"Musharna!" Musharna would gladly so if it meant she would have her fill. However, instead of just approaching Second Wind, Musharna was already in a dream. Thus, her mouth acted like a vacuum cleaner. And when it opened, it gained the suction of one.
"What the?!" Second Wind noticed how she was being pulled in. Furniture and other objects within this bedroom were feasts for Musharna as they were all made up of dreams. Second Wid noticed how Paramount and Luminary were not being pulled in. "W-What are you doing?!"
"Getting rid of you. This could be one step or even the biggest step to freeing Shooting Star from this. By removing you from this ream entirely." Darkrai explained. "Then, he will only have his parents to listen to. Who he should listen to. Not you."
"Gh...!" Second Wind growled.
"Oh?" Luna turned around as Aurorus had frozen the opposing Unown, placing them in icy prisons. "Musharna?! How in Equestria are you doing that?!"
"Shooting Star! Son!" Just then, as Second Wind was being pulled into Musharna, the words of Paramount and Luminary were starting to become clearer. This time, Shooting Star could hear the voices of his parents.
He gasped, turning to the right side to face them. He could still barely see them with their rippling bodies, but their words could finally be heard at last.
"No...I think not!" Second Wind refused to let this happen. Any chance of her losing a grip on Shooting Star for even a second was unacceptable to her. "Unown! Do whatever it takes to stop this!"
She shouted as her voice reached outside of the palace. More Unown had appeared outside of the palace, heeding Second Wind's demands and catering to her wishes. Altogether with Hidden Power, they had used their reality-warping abilities to bring out the best possible answer to Second Wind's demand.
The power of the Unown focused on the emotions of Shooting Star more than anything. Shooting Star's eyes flared, unleashing a golden light when opened. The light eclipsed the room as Darkrai and Luna were mesmerized by it. Musharna's absorption of the dream had been interrupted once this entire dream was caught by the light of the Unown. And within that light, something was forming.
Now.
Which led to now. The light then transformed itself into something once erupting. From its mystical power, 12 heads were beginning to form. Snorunt backed away as she and her brothers and sisters were then grabbed by their mother Froslass who had rushed out for her children.
And with those heads, familiar faces were showing up. The first nine were of the previous Pegasi of Destiny while the other three were of Paramount, Luminary and Second Wind. All came from a manifestation of Shooting Star's emotions as thy expanded to a colossal size of 135 metres, this strange 12 headed light creature could be seen from afar in most of Pegalysium's locations.
Ash, Goh, Paramount and Celestia caught wind of this. The three of them would immediately head to the scene without a second thought while Paramount stayed behind. Ash had used Dragonite as a way to quickly travel there. Raboot hopped onto the back Passion, ready to head off and meet with Fluttershy again.
"What is that?!" Fluttershy gasped as the rippling light limbs from the 12-Headed Pony creature flailed around, destroying parts of the area. In the centre of it, Shooting Star could be seen.
The emotions of Shooting Star were being let out and combined with this dream as the collective side of Paramount, Luminary and Second Wind caused him to be conflicted once more. And now, the previous Pegasi of Destiny were a part of this creature, whispering words into his ears.
It was clear that he had woken up at this point. Within the dream and reality, he started crying. But his younger self emitted more tears than his current self as Shooting Star placed his hooves over his head, trying to process all of the words that came through him. A majority of them came from Second Wind and the other Pegasi of Destiny, resulting in Paramount and Luminary's words, once again, being blocked out.
The gigantic glowing hooves that rippled as if they were appendages wrapped around the Cold Frontier Island and other islands nearby.
"Whatever it is, if we don't stop it, it could crush all of the islands!" Twilight exclaimed. "And maybe all of Pegalysium. We've been restored into these bodies of Legendary and Mythical Pokemon. We shouldn't waste it."
"I hear ya!" Spike exclaimed, flying over his friends. "Just gotta figure out how to use this. I can feel a lot coming from my body right now."
"Same here. The speed is nice but..." Rainbow Dash started zipping around, leaving the sound of thunder. "Standing in position is tough!"
"And this shield's way too heavy!" Applejack groaned as some of them had issues in their Legendary and Mythical bodies. Keeping balance was fairly difficult.
"I got used to Mew before in the board game, so I'm all good!" Pinkie Pie chuckled.
"We worked out our bodies back in the board game, even when our statures and body shapes didn't match it before," said Twilight as she stepped forward. "We'll work out with this one too. And this time we have our Pokemon here to help."
"Twilight's right. And as a bonus..." Rarity then revealed a sword that came out of her head. "I get a free sword. How wonderful is that? The Swords of Justice are so lucky."
"Shooting Star looks hurt in the middle there," Fluttershy observed before closing her eyes, using Meloetta's abilities to feel Shooting Star's emotions. "I can feel how hurt he is in the middle."
"Then let's free him. Here goes nothing." Twilight would make the first move in the body of this Espeon. And the first attack would be Moonblast. In front of her, she had formed a pink orb that came from the power of the moon itself. Fairy-Type magic was still magic, making it easy for Twilight to summon it. And it was the boosted assistance of the Unown. "Eve! Help out with Dazzling Gleam!"
"Espeon!" Espeon stepped forward, assisting her partner with her own Fairy-Type attack. Together, they had unleashed Dazzling Gleam and Moonblast.
A giant orb combined with a ray of rainbows could be seen streaking through the night skis, giving it a wonderful glow. As the creature roared, it was then caught off guard by Moonblast and Dazzling Gleam. A direct hit in the centre with one large combustion of Fairy Magic occurring.
Shooting Star groaned inside of the creature and even within his dream. Froslass and her children turned to see everyone in the distance chiming in. The 12-Headed creature's body wobbled as Second Wind's head seemed to be the one in charge.
It had then extended its appendages into the distance, easily grabbing one of the hills at the nearby islands. At the same time, the mouth of Second Wind opened up, unleashing a multi-coloured beam that shot straight at them.
That's where Spike came in. He had Axew, who had then turned into Haxorus, climb on his back, giving him a ride. Spike already knew how to let out fire with his breath. All those letters to Princess Celestia and his time as a Salamence helped with that.
But this time, it was greater than fire. Spike had used Hyper Beam, pulling his head back before unleashing the massive beam of Infinity Energy that met with this multicoloured one. They had clashed for a bit, saying there and entering a struggle.
But breaking the creature's concentration was Haxorus. He had climbed over Spike's head before using Dragon Pulse from above. He unleashed the dragon-shaped attack, causing it to go over the other beams. That led to a clean hit on the creature, breaking its focus, allowing Spike's Hyper Beam to pass through.
"Pheromosa! Be a darling and throw me at it!" Rarity turned to her partner.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa saluted before then grabbing Rarity. With all of her might, she had launched Rarity straight to the creature, but Pheromosa wouldn't just help in throwing her. She would get in on the action too.
The creature had been pushed back before recovering in an instant. With that swift recovery, it moved a few of its appendages, grabbing Spike and Haxorus in the air, wrapping around them while also allowing them to feel the estranged energy that came from it. It stung them, causing them both to wince.
But cutting those appendages in half was Rarity. With the strength of Virizion's sword, plus her swiftness, Rarity had used Sacred Sword to cut the appendages clean off, freeing Spike and Haxorus.
The creature had then sent a few of its heads, causing them to crash into Rarity, Spike and Haxorus, knocking them away. Spike hurled through the clouds whilst Haxorus bumped right into him. Rarity was caught by Twilight immediately, getting her on her back.
The creature had then used the others islands to attack the Cold Frontier, bashing them into this sole sky island. The entire place trembled with rocks being knocked off.
"Okay...Simple steps..." Rainbow Dash took one step with Zeraora, trying to get adjusted to this speed so that it would be natural to her. The first step was simple and so was the second. But immediately after she started jogging, Rainbow Dash took off, leaving a trail of lightning. "Guess it won't work with simple steps then!" She exclaimed.
But joining her in this speedy endeavour was Pheromosa, who was moving just as fast as her. Rainbow Dash could already keep up with Pheromosa, so this wasn't surprising at all. However, the thrill of electricity in her body is what excited her. By running so fast, Rainbow Dash ended up crashing into the creature with an eruption of lightning. This was Wild Charge and much like the attack, Rainbow Dash felt some recoil.
It staggered the creature for a bit, allowing Pheromosa, Espeon and Bayleef to get an attack. Pheromosa delivered three consecutive kicks that extended the stagger whilst Bayleef had used Energy Ball, surrounded by Espeon's Psychic to give it a boost.
The 12-Headed Pony Monster cried out before almost falling over. However, the head of Second Wind extended, becoming serpent-like. It had then flashed a blinding light in front of everyone, causing them to flinch immediately.
With them all being blinded, the 9 other heads went after them. They all moved in that serpentine-like manner, slithering rapidly. The 9 heads had bashed Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pheromosa, Espeon and Bayleef respectively.
They continued, going for the rest. However, that was where Applejack stepped in. She would use Zamazenta's high defence to the best of her abilities. Applejack narrowed her eyes, going for Metal Burst as she stood in front of her friends. The 9 heads had then crashed into Applejack, dealing a heavy blow in the process.
But not heavy for the body of Zamazenta. Immediately after getting hit, Applejack returned the strength of the impact in the form of a silver ball from Metal Burst. She let it out, resulting in a silver light that eclipsed the 9 heads, causing them all to cry out. It immediately fell over, crashing into the icy mountains in the process.
As for Fluttershy, she had acted as support. "Here goes." Fluttershy put her hands together, using Wonder Room. Out of her hands, she formed a massive box that would eclipse all of her friends. Twilight and the others who were on the ground, realized how they gained a pinkish glow around them.
Their defences were raised by Fluttershy. And Applejack, who was already at a high defensive rate, was bulkier than ever. As if she needed to be. "Thanks, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash got back up.
"Look!" Starlight noticed something off about the other heads. Some of the heads are acting strange. Mainly those three!" She aimed her hoof at the heads of Paramount, Luminary and one of the Pegasi of Destiny. The first one.
Windkiss.
"I understand King Paramount and Queen Luminary, but why that head?" Starlight wondered.
"That's Windkiss," Waverush spoke to her. "The first Pegasus of Destiny. The other ones that you're seeing are other Pegasi of Destiny that have come and gone."
"Oooh, so there's been more?" Pinkie Pie gawked.
"It's not just that...look at the magic!" Chicane's eyes widened, getting a better look at the creature's magical glow once it had been stagnant for a bit. "That glow of it isn't just ordinary magic."
"Then what is it?" Spike asked.
"It's Destiny Magic. All of that is Destiny Magic that's forming around it." Waverush explained as this creature was formed out of Destiny Magic. And as if nothing had happened, it regenerated itself, getting back up from the icy rubble. Shooting Star continued to groan within the creature as Second Wind's head got in the way, blocking anyone from seeing him.
Just then, an avalanche had been caused around the area. A large one too. But that wasn't the alarming part. The hooves of the 12-Headed creature had then sprung into the air, grabbing the clouds.
Using the full magic of what a pegasus is capable of doing, the creature had then used the clouds to emit lightning. And not just a standard fare of lightning. Massive lightning bolts that were as big as Spike's Rayquaza body crashed from the clouds below. And they were plentiful.
"Look out!" Twilight cried out, quickly running off with her friends once the lightning bolts and avalanche came down. The pegasi then spread their wings, immediately ascending to the air to gain a faster momentum of escaping.
Speaking of wings, the creature had also grown them. Out of its rippling back, massive wings of multiple layers had shown themselves. The wings shook the skies, blowing away various trees from the area while also causing the islands to rumble.
And nearby civilization islands were not safe from this. As the creature seemed to grow, Shooting Star was raised higher in its rippling body of it while also seeming bigger. His visage grew, allowing others to see him from afar once more.
High in the skies, the approach Ash, Goh and Celestia laid eyes on this creature, feeling the strong pressure it emitted. "Oh, man..." Ash gawked, spotting Shooting Star's body inside of it. "How did something like that happen?"
"Pikachu..."
"Luna. Darkrai. Please be safe." Celestia spoke, knowing that Luna and Darkrai were still in the Dream Realm, hoping for their safety.
Paramount stepped forward, noticing his son. He also noticed the familiar heads that were on the creature. Spitting himself, Luminary, Second Wind and the previous Pegasi of Destiny. It was safe to say that even he knew that this related to Destiny Magic as seen by the silver light it was emitting.
Luminary rushed over after hearing and seeing all of the commotion. Soon, she would notice the events transpiring in the distance. Although, it could soon reach here.
"Is that Grand Judge Shooting Star?!" Luminary spoke, unable to register him as her son. Only Paramount could.
"No. That's our son." Paramount replied, causing Luminary to blink in confusion. "And I need to prove it to you. The Rift Magic might not open the door...but can at least dod one thing that doesn't require Destiny Magic."
"Where are you going, dear?!" Luminary asked, seeing Paramount walk away. The King had then stopped right at the centre of Pegalysium, knowing that he had to do something for his son. For him to return to Luminary's memories and to have them be a family once more.
And with the Rift Magic, he had only one way to do it. The obelisk that was beneath the city. Paramount allowed the cosmic magic to flow as the sounds of the creature echoed throughout the skies. He could even hear Shooting Star's voice within the echo.
"I know this cannot happen again for another generation but...Windkiss. We need your assistance once more."
The Dream Realm. The Hyperdream. Shooting Star's Past Dream.
The lovely dream that Shooting Star once had was now ruined. His bedroom was all that remained as the palace was gone along with the capital. The bedroom hovered around total darkness even after a powerful light from the Unown had eclipsed it.
Luna and Darkrai opened their eyes after witnessing the eclipsing light. When opened, they saw how the scenery had changed. Only the bed and Shooting Star remained. Along with the Unown.
"What happened? What did you do?!" Luna turned to Second Wind, who was still here. Even as a dream apparition, she could still know of the current events and of the Pokemon.
"As we speak, all of the Destiny Magic within Shooting Star has been manifested on the outside. Courtesy of the Unown." Second Wind replied before floating over to Shooting Star. "But this would've never happened. No, no, no. You had to interfere. Now look t him." She wrapped her hooves around Shooting Star, comforting the young colt. But it was a fake comfort.
"Musharna..." Musharna had gotten a good fill-up of this dream. But the flash of light from the Unown had winded her, causing her to be perplexed. Luna promptly returned Musharna to let her rest.
"I don't know what's going on..." Shooting Star whimpered.
"It's okay, my little pony." Second Wind hugged him. "You're just having a bad dream right now. And it's their fault."
"Their fault...?" Shooting Star sniffled, gazing at Luna and Darkrai with water-clad tears.
"Yes. Fittingly, one of the causes nightmares to occur. They came here to ruin you. Scare you. Were it not for them, my words would be crystal clear and your dreams would be free of this horrid event."
"Liar!" Luna bellowed, using a bit of her Royal Canterlot Voice. "We came here to rescue you, Shooting Star! To bring you back!"
"There is nothing to rescue at all. It was I that helped him achieve what the previous Pegasi of Destiny said he would never do. He is in my gratitude from start to finish. I brought out his potential and here you are trying to erase that."
"Shooting Star! Listen to us! She has taken your entire family away from you just to get what she wanted!" Luna barked, trying to reach Shooting Star.
"What family? Shooting Star, do you even know your parents?"
"N-No..." The young colt uttered as memories of his parents and who they really were had been taken away ever since his memories were altered and the timeline had been changed. Second Wind smirked at the agitated Luna and Darkrai, knowing that their words could not reach him. But whilst Second Wind revelled in her victory, Shooting Star's next words threw her off guard. "But I want to know."
"What...?!" Second Wind pulled back, looking down at him.
"I wanna know my mom and dad." The young Shooting Star mumbled. "I think I saw them back there but...I don't know."
"Your parents are irrelevant!" Second Wind shouted. "Even if they existed, I doubt they would've brought out your true potential as I did! I'm all you need."
"That's not true!" Luna roared at Second Wind. "Don't forget about that, Shooting Star. Having parents in your life, those close to you is an amazing feeling! I know you don't remember but at least know what something like that can feel like!"
"Silence!" Showing that she had some control in this realm, Second Wind's wings flared up, causing a magical wave to push Luna and Darkrai back.
"Don't you want to feel the warm embrace of your mother?! Look up to your father as you once did?!"
"I said silence!" Second Wind shouted once more, trying to silence Luna from even having a chance of reaching Shooting Star. She flapped her wings once more, only for Luna to push through, resisting it.
"As if I'd let you, especially at such a young dream, miss out on such wonderful moments that could happen!" Luna broke through Second Wind's magic. "I was young too! The dreams that I had of my sister were nothing but spiteful which led me to become a terrifying Mare of the Night later on! I refuse to let that happen to anypony else young in the world."
"But I don't know who my parents are."
"I'll make you remember then!" Luna flew towards Shooting Star, only for Second Wind to step in front of her. They both butted heads with Luna's horn just missing the rest of her. "You're in my way, you false ruler!"
"Accursed Equestrians! Always sticking your noses in places you don't belong! Unown! Take her away, now! Both of them!" Second Wind barked as the Unown would do just that. Within the Dream Realm, they couldn't quite erase Luna. But they could force her and Darkrai out of the dream.
Luna and Darkrai were repelled by the Unown and their combined power. A hole in the dream had been opened up as the Unown used the rays of Hidden Power to drag Luna and Darkrai out. Darkrai held onto the cracked hole, trying to hang in there.
Luna tried to pull herself back in by ferociously flapping her wings, only to be forced out once the Unown had used more of Hidden Power. Both Luna and Darkrai left this dream as the hole had been closed afterwards.
Shooting Star stayed silent as Luna didn't reach him at all. That left Shooting Star with just Second Wind as this dream from the past had been permanently altered. It was no longer the sweet and dear dream that Shooting Star once had.
"Be happy that they're gone, little star." Second Wind snickered. "Any longer and who knows what might've happened."
"What about my parents? Can I see them?" Shooting Star turned to her. "W-What are they like?"
"I told you. You don't have to worry about that. You are the Pegasus of Destiny. One of the most important ponies in existence. Family means nothing." She spoke in his ear in multiple directions. "If anything, the family that you would have would slow you down. But I won't."
"You promise?" He whimpered as the Unown all circled him.
"Promise."
"I think not!" But interrupting once more was the voice of Princess Luna. Second Wind had a visible vein pop on her head out of frustration. And within the Dream Realm, a massive hole had been cracked through.
With lights from the Hyperdream shining through, the visage of Luna and Darkrai appeared. They had returned, much to Second Wind's annoyance. But she didn't come alone. Second Wind gasped with her eyes widening in shock as someone else had appeared. A familiar silhouette.
The silhouette of King Paramount. And another showed up. One of Queen Luminary. Shooting Star's real parents appeared before him, but it didn't stop there. Another Paramount had shown up. And another Luminary. And more of them. Second Wind froze there, witnessing the constant appearances of more and more Paramount and Luminarys that were floating next to Luna and Darkrai.
Her eyes struggled to keep up with the sheer amount of them that were showing up, entering the dream of the young Shooting Star. "W-What is all of this...?!" Second Wind stammered as the number of Paramount and Luminarys were reaching the numbers of Unown present here.
Shooting Star's eyes focused on these pegasi, noticing them from the rippling ponies from before who he could barely hear. They had shown up once more but with greater numbers. "Luna! What did you do?! How did you gather them so quickly?!"
"It's best not to think too hard about the workings of the Dream Realm. But what you see before you is an array of King Paramount and Queen Luminary. All from different dreams of their own. And equally knowledgable about their own son." Luna explained. "At least Paramount is. Reach him, you two. Reach your son."
"Our son..." Luminary still had her memories altered whilst Paramount kept them. All of them spoke the same word in unison, echoing throughout the dream. "Is it?"
"That is our son," said Paramount. "The one that we cherish the most."
"Shooting Star, you need to remember!" Luna pleaded. "This dream is one of great value and it cannot be ruined!"
"You've already ruined it enough! Unown, stop them!" Second Wind commanded as all of the Unown went for the Paramounts and Luminaries.
Only for Darkrai to get in their way. Darkrai crossed his arms, summoning an array of shadows around him as the Unown were blocked from advancing any further. Luna had then used her magic to not only form a forcefield but also bring in some of the dream bubbles from the Hyperdream.
She had used Lunar Ire's special magic with the Hyperdream to shrink the bubbles, making them around her body size. Smaller but still clear enough to look inside.
"Look!" Luna held out one of the Dream Bubbles to Shooting Star. "On the 27th of December! You were born into the world! This was your first dream!"
"No!" Second Wind rushed in, attempting to block any memories that could be brought back to the young prince. However, the army of Paramount and Luminary would stand in her way. Or rather hover in her way. "Out of the way!" Second Wind used her magic onto the forcefield, trying to shatter it. Paramount and Luminary added their magic onto Luna's forcefield, strengthening it as Shooting Star's eyes were focused on the dreams.
It showed the first dream he ever had right after he was born. It was a dream of him floating around in silver clouds, giggling. And in that bubble, he saw the shadowed faces of Paramount and Luminary. While within the dream, they appeared all wobbly and faint, outside the dreams, the bubbles showed the truth. Much like this one before entry.
"Your next dream with your parents! You dreamt with them, experiencing a land full of your favourite food at the time! Pancakes!" Luna showcased another dream as she used her magic to make the bubbles react instead of just holding them there.
She sent out small wisps that had gone for Shooting Star's head, become one within him. Shooting Star could feel the wisps inside of him as it made him wince from this suddenly mind invasion. Second Wind had then placed her hooves on the forcefield, starting to tear it apart, only for the King and Queen to add extra layers. She spread her wings out, flapping them to try and force the wisps from further entering Shooting Star.
"Years passed and you have clearer dreams as a toddler! The dreams of your first friends! Not just your family!" Luna sent more dreams his way that all contained memories of the true history.
Meanwhile, Darkrai was using Dark Void to put all of the Unown to sleep, left and right. He even threw in some Dark Pulse into the mix as Shooting Star curled onto his bed. "Your friends exist too! The first ones you had and should still remember! Your next dream!"
"This won't happen! Unown...I hope your actions outside are working to my advantage!" Second Wind roared, hoping that the outside was faring better at this rate as she continued to try and break the forcefield.
Pegalysium. Cold Frontier. Nightfall.
And on the outside, in response to the actions inside of the Hyperdream, Shooting Star, who was in the centre of Destiny Magic creature conjured by his dreams and emotions, could feel it all.
The creature, which had 12 heads of the 9 previous Pegasi of Destiny and Paramount, Luminary and of course, Second Wind, cried out. Twilight and her friends, who had been rejuvenated into Legendary Pokemon minus a few, were running from the raging thunderbolts and the avalanche caused by all of this ruckus. Joining them and fleeing the area were Warevush, Chicane and Roseshy along with Froslass and the Snorunt that lived here.
"What's going on with it?!" Zeraora-Rainbow Dash questioned with the lightning bolts ferociously hitting the ground. These lightning bolts of colossal size also started attacking other islands nearby, causing the Pokemon and sky-creatures living there to start running for their lives.
With the Destiny Magic affecting the weather, a tornado was also starting to form in the distance. Coupled with that, the magic had also reacted strongly with the Cold Frontier, forming a violent blizzard.
"It's controlling all of these different weathers?!" Starlight, along with Cold Colt and Jade Skies who didn't have Legendary or Mythical bodies, exclaimed after witnessing the formation of different weather disasters.
"History says that Destiny Magic gives a pegasus full control over the weather in every way! This is just a big example of it!" Waverush explained as she shivered from the cold.
Especially Spike, who had the body of Rayquaza. Being a Dragon-Flying-Type was the worst feeling for him right now, especially for his partner Haxorus who reverted into Axew. "C-C-C-C-Cold!"
"Spike! You're Rayquaza! The books say that Rayquaza has mastery over the weather! So use that!" Twilight cried out.
"How?!" But that was a vague sentence for Spike. Rayquaza was the master of the weather and especially the Weather Trio, but knowing how to stop these violent weather disasters was something that needed better explaining.
"I don't know, just try!" That was the best advice Twilight could give out as she didn't know enough about Rayquaza to help even further.
Spike would just wing it. He would use one of the moves he obtained as Rayquaza. Hyper Beam. Out of his mouth, a large orange beam was unleashed, going straight for one of the tornadoes. And with the natural ability of Rayquaza, the moment it connected, the tornado had been affected.
Right before everyone's eyes, the massive tornado had been wiped out by Spike's Hyper Beam. Rayquaza's weather-altering abilities were just natural as found out by Spike and the others.
"Oh...Sweet!" Spike giggled before being hit by a lightning bolt from above. "Ow!"
Applejack, who had the body and defence of Zamazenta, would utilize Zamazenta's amazing defence to protect everyone. Once three great lighting bolts came crashing down, Zamazenta-Applejack stood in front of her friends, taking the bolts with a heavy electrifying impact following afterwards.
"Applejack!" Twilight and the others cried out.
"I'm doing mighty-fine!" Applejack grinned. "No need to worry!"
"But how do we stop all of this?!" Virizion-Rarity asked as more tornadoes and ferocious thunderbolts emerged by the dozen. "These look like they could go on forever!"
"There's no safe place to fly at all!" Waverush descended. "Any one of those lightning bolts could crush us!" Just as she said that, the number of bolts not only increased, but the 12-Headed Creature focused it all on the group.
Applejack acted as their bastion of protection once more, using her shield which was also metal to attract the electricity. However, even with such high defence and the addition of Meloetta-Fluttershy's Wonder Room, the power that these bolts displayed were potent to the core.
Some of the lightning bolts ended up passing Applejack via the creature's control. The icy and snowy ground had been set ablaze by the impact of these bolts. Rainbow Dash, now having the body of Zeraora, felt like she could do something about this.
She approached one of the incoming lightning bolts, moving just as fast as it as she put her paws out. Thankfully for her, Zerarora's only natural ability was Volt Absorb, causing her to absorb the lightning bolts that came here. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes before then feeling the surge of electricity within her. "Oh! I'm okay?! Yes! Totally knew that would happen!"
"Your ability must be Volt Absorb! Nice going, Rainbow Dash." Pinkie Pie cheered. "Now that I think about it...!" Having a clear idea, Pinkie Pie had used Mew'sa ability to transform, making herself a Ground-Type. Specifically, Camerupt. And with great timing as the lightning bolts had no effect on her upon her transformation.
However, the avalanche was still incoming as a snow tornado, coming with two different weather effects had emerged, towering over Twilight and her friends. Multiple snow tornadoes emerged from the ground, gathering all of the abundant snow just to form them. The head of Second Wind from the 12-Headed Creature of Destiny Magic had also approached with its fangs baring.
"Thunderbolt!" But just then, from the skies above, two familiar voices echoed. And following that shout came 100,000 volts that soon became 200,000 volts when together had come crashing down.
These bolts had pierced the Snow Tornadoes, obliterating them in the process. Twilight and the others recognized those voices anywhere. With their voices in the skies, they had spotted the arrival of Ash, Celestia and Goh. And the two responsible for the dual Thunderbolts were Pikachu and Passion.
"Oh, Ash! Pikachu! Goh! You're here too?!" Fluttershy gasped with excitement in her tone.
"Raboot!" Hopping off of Dragonite's back was Raboot, going straight for Fluttershy. Even though she was now a Meloetta, Raboot could recognize that voice.
"Xerneas. Rayquaza? Zeraora? Meloetta?" Ash was obviously stunned at all of the Legendary and Mythical Pokemon here.
"Zamzaenta too." Goh pointed out. "How come they're all here?! I've never seen some of them before!"
"It's us!" Twilight shouted. "I'm Twilight Sparkle! Right here!"
"Twilight?! Guys?!" Ash, Goh and Celestia were agape with shock. Their friends started speaking frantically with all of their familiar voices coming through. It was certainly them. "Awesome! You're all Legendary and Mythical Pokemon!"
"Pikachu?!"
"B-But how?!" Goh wanted answers immediately.
"It's Unown stuff. Don't worry about it too much." Spike flew over. "But we should worry about that. Shooting Star's in the centre of it all."
"All of Pegalysium could be crushed by that," Celestia observed. "It seems that he's doing it without a clear conscious. Unable to control it."
"How do we free him them?" Starlight asked.
"We can find our ways. Right now, Luna is within Shooting Star's Dream." Celestia thought about her little sister. "I just hope that she can reach him."
Pegalysium Capital.
Meanwhile, at the capital, by using RIft Magic, King Paramount had summoned the obelisk to the surface. After summoning it, he used the Rift Magic on it for one purpose. To call for Windkiss. The first Pegasus of Destiny.
Calling for these legendary pegasi was only meant to happen once a generation. But with Rift Magic, that was an exception as the spiritual visage of Windkiss had been seen, appearing into Pegalysium once more.
"I'm back...? How?" Windkiss gasped. "It hasn't been a generation later yet. How can this happen?"
"Apologies. But I summoned you back for your help, Windkiss." Paramount approached. "It's urgent."
"King Paramount? If you were able to summon me here then it must be important. What happened? D-Dd you sort everything out with your son?"
"About that...Take a look for yourself." Paramount nudged his head in the direction of all the chaos. Windkiss and her spiritual head looked in his direction, soon bearing witness to what everypony in Pegalysium at this point had noticed without a singular miss. "Oh my goodness! All of the Destiny Magic formed into that thing?! What happened?!"
"A lot happened." Paramount didn't feel like going through everything. Luminary would like to know herself, stuck in a similar boat with Windkiss. "For now, your help is greatly needed. You created the Clock Door and the ability to control time, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did. Why is that?"
"The timeline's been changed. By Second Wind. A drastic change that has resulted in the involvement of my son. I ask you to help me open the door. You created it, so you must have the ability to still open it."
"Oh. I-I'm sorry." Windkiss lowered her head. "I can't do that, King Paramount. I'm already long gone from here generations ago. The Destiny Magic within me was passed onto the next one and when they passed on, it went to the next Pegasus of Destiny. I'm just a spiritual apparition at this point."
"Right. I should've known." Paramount sighed as that plan had failed. He had hoped to open the door as soon as possible.
"But. I can do something without my Destiny Magic." And once more, hope showed itself in many forms, sparking back in Paramount's heart. I and the other Pegasi of Destinys' voices could be heard across Pegalysium when we appeared. I can make my voice reach him."
"Really? That could work! Please, do so!"
"Hopefully he can hear e through all of that." Windkiss would give it a shot. Another way to reach the young prince and jog his memory. Windkiss and her sky-encompassing voice had been used, but only sent in one direction. "Shooting Star. Can you hear me?"
The Hyperdream.
Meanwhile, back in the Hyperdream, Second Wind, with the arrival of more Unown, had broken through the forcefield, still attempting to stop Luna. However, the various Paramounts and Luminaries kept getting her way, allowing Luna to have all the time with helping Shooting Star.
"Out of my way!" Second Wind roared as Shooting Star was being flooded by various wisps that came from the bubbles. So many dreams that his true self had forgotten were coming at rapid-fire rates.
"Here! You dreamt of catching your first Pokemon when learning more about the Pokedex given to you by Ash! Shinx or Snorunt!" Luna shouted out as Shooting Star's eyes flared open with purple lights flashing. "Your dream of you and your cousin Cloudflare being superheroes at your school! Don't you remember?!"
"Ghhh!" The little colt continued grunting as he was being flooded with so many lost memories with his mind trying to process them. Second Wind had caused a magical pulse that pushed away each Paramount and Luminary. She then approached Luna, putting her hooves out before she could send the next dream over.
"Enough!" Second Wind barked at Luna, pushing her across the dream. Her wings flapped, showing Luna's face with violent magic that caused the Princess of the Night to groan. "You'll ruin everything! Everything that I had worked hard for!"
"You worked hard for nothing! Only taking shortcuts! I refuse to hear that from somepony as slimy as you!" Luna growled, using her magic to hold Second Wind. She had then tossed the Grand Queen aside. Luna pulled her head back, making sure that her next magic spell had some oomph to it.
And it did. Combined with Lunar Ire's magic, Luna had let out an all-encompassing magic beam that was larger than Second Wind's entire body. The Grand Queen gasped as she was engulfed by the beam, guided directly out of the dream via the hole that was made earlier. "L-Lunaaaaaaaaa!" Second Wind thundered, crying out Luna's name ferociously.
She then held one more Dream Bubble in her hooves, throwing it at Shooting Star. "And this dream with you coming to the Pokemon World for the first time! A dream that became a reality! Remember, please!"
"Shooting Star. Can you hear me?" Just as the bubble was thrown, Windkiss' voice came through.
The bubble had hit Shooting Star on the spot as he went silent for a bit. Everything did as he froze on the spot. For Shooting Star, with everything that had happened, his perception altered the dream around him. Everything went white afterwards. Windkiss' voice kept reaching through the Dream Realm, alerting Shooting Star.
Shooting Star, after having a moment to float there, not saying a word, allowed his mind to process everything. All of the dreams that Luna had thrown his way were coming back to him. So many dreams that had been altered were showing their true events, making the little colt sigh.
"I...I remember them." Shooting Star spoke as these dreams were coming back to them. "I remember that dream. I remember that one too!" He started fluttering around, recalling each dream that stuck with him the most. Luna picked out the ones that he cherished. "Oh and that too! That one was funny!"
"Did it work?" Darkrai and Paramount asked. Luna raised her hoof, letting them keep their patience. Windkiss' voice came through once more, speaking to the colt.
"You. Are you...Windkiss?"
"Shooting Star. If you can hear me, you must hear this." Windkiss couldn't hear Shooting Star replying, but he could hear her. "I'm sorry that I said little back then on that day. You were always worthy of holding Destiny Magic, despite what the other 8 said."
"Huh?" That was also starting to creep back into Shooting Star's head. The day that he was rejected the fulfilment of the Pegasus of Destiny.
"But in reality, there is a reason why you were chosen. A reason that you could make on your own and be the first to do so. You could shape your own destiny instead of following in the hoofsteps of I and the previous 8."
"My own destiny...? Really?" The colt gawked.
"It is you that can do so. Much like how I was the first to form Destiny Magic, you must be the first to form a new path for it. One that the future Pegasi of Destiny can follow. And soon, with generations to come and go, another one will do the same, making a new path."
"I can do that?" Shooting Star looked at his hooves, imagining what that meant for him. "But...I won't be the same. And I can't hold that magic."
"You won't be alone in that. The Pegasus of Destiny should never do it all alone despite their amazing magic potential. You will have others by your side to help you."
"Including us." All of the Paramounts flew to their son. The Luminaries did the same, despite not having memories of him being their son. But her heart was still that of her mother. "We can help you shape that new destiny. We should've helped you when we first found out about your destiny. We still have a chance to do so."
"Mom...Dad!" And upon looking them in the eyes after every dream came back to him, he recognized them both as his parents. In a flash, tears erupted from his eyes before then going in for a hug. Paramount welcomed him with open hooves, hugging his son.
"There," said Luna. "It worked."
"No-no-no!" But returning to this dream was Second Wind. She bombarded them with words, refusing to accept that this was happening. And her enraged status was reaching the outside.
Reality.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" And outside, Ash and everyone were facing off against the creature of the head of Second Wind roared. The creature was hit by 100,000 volts, becoming paralyzed for a bit, allowing for the others to attack.
Applejack decided to get offensive instead of defensive. Utilizing Zamzenta's signature move, Behemoth Bash, she extended the shield on her chest as it illuminated a beautiful red. Applejack then launched herself at the creature with the full force of this attack, bashing it directly.
"Audi, use Hyper Beam! Raboot, High Jump Kick! Bayleef! Energy Ball!" Fluttershy commanded while boosting the strength of her friends with Helping Hand that she had as a Meloetta.
"Audino!" Audino and her teammates, with the help of Fluttershy's Helping Hand, attacked the creature but with some more support. Spike had used Dragon Rush whilst Haxorus went for Giga Impact. Sceptile had used Frenzy Plant, using the massive roots to restrain the creature from any further movements. This allowed Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pheromosa to get some free hits in.
Rainbow Dash had used Plasma Fists as the fists of Zeraora's body became surrounded by light blue electricity, sending a stream of light blue electricity through the ground. That electricity erupted, shocking the creature as Rarity and Pheromosa attacked past it with Sacred Sword and Triple Kick.
Rarity sliced parts of it off whilst Pheromosa staggered it three times. Pinkie Pie and her partner Mew had both transformed, becoming essentially the same Pokemon as Spike. Rayquaza. And with them both, they had wrapped around the creature and its multiple healds, further holding it down as Sceptile's Frenzy Plant was already doing so.
Hyper Beam and Energy Ball made their impact, followed by direct collisions from Spike and the others. The ground below started shattering from these Legendary hits.
"Dazzling Gleam!" Twilight, Celestia and Starlight both said. Twilight would use Moonblast whilst Espeon, Passion and Hatterene would assist with Moonblast.
"Pyro Ball!" Goh commanded his Cinderace.
"Cinder!" Cinderace would add to these sphere-shaped attacks with its own. A pebble that had been kicked up soon became a flaming orb before being launched. These two orbs would fly alongside multiple sparkling rainbows, creating a wonderful colour. The creature was blinded and bombarded by Dazzling Gleam before receiving a direct impact with Moonblast and Pyro Ball.
Afterwards, the creature expanded, only growing in strength. Even after that assault of attacks, it could still continue. However, it was noticeably getting weaker despite its persistence. "Even still?!" Twilight pulled back. "Why won't it go down?!"
"It's the Destiny Magic working at its best!" Chicane exclaimed. "It's all about causing destinies to arrive. And with all of this, It's destined to succeed!"
"Well, that's just unfair," Goh commented. But as the creature would try and continue its victory, burning away at Sceptile's roots, it was promptly stopped before it could perform its next move.
Familiar red rays were shot from above, piercing through the cloudy skies. These rays came from the Unown. But not the Unown that were owned by Thunder Stamp, Chicane, Waverush or Roseshy. Not even Second Wind. These plentiful rays from these plentiful Unown were owned by the most recent trainer of them.
Discord.
"Discord!" Fluttershy and every blurted out upon seeing the Spirit of Chaos. They were certainly happy to see him now at this time.
"I figured if I couldn't open that door, I could just resort to this. Only it'll be these letters doing most of the work, but guess who will be credited for all of it." said Discord, obviously wanting further recognition. There was something appealing about the hero position that he gravitated towards.
The creature could no longer move with all of the Unown holding it there with Hidden Power. This was the most static that it would be. "Now's our chance! We need to grab him out!" Celestia commanded.
"Got it! Pikachu, Quick Attack!"
"Pika!" Pikachu rushed in, moving at lightning speeds as Fluttershy would join him. Fluttershy had used Wonder Room once more, increasing Pikachu's defences. A necessary boost as he had jumped right into the Destiny Magic and its fury. Pikachu could already feel the ferocious aura coming from it. "P-Pika...!" Nevertheless, Pikachu held onto Shooting Star's hoof, beginning to pull.
Joining him were Fluttershy, Celestia, Twilight and everyone else as they would approach the creature, going deep into the Destiny Magic. Thanks to Fluttershy's Wonder Room, they could withstand themselves within it.
Cold Colt chimed in, using his magic to protect everyone. Jade Skies seemed to be the most unphased in all of this. Whether that was her deadpan face or her durability as a Rift Pony, that was unknown.
The creature, despite being overwhelmed by the rays of the Unown, was starting to move once again. "Not again! It just won't stay still!" Spike cried out.
"We need it to be absolutely stationary!" Celestia exclaimed. "An overwhelming way to halt its movements!"
"Hm? You all!" Garnet faced the Pikachu that were all still laying around, full of the sweets within them. They were far too lazy to move. But their combined electricity could be enough for paralysis.
"Pika..."
"Hmm...If you're full then...Unown! Empty them!" Garnet ordered, aiming her hoof at the army of Pikachu. The Unown still felt Garnet's will, compelled to fulfil her wishes. And this right here was an easy task. By pouring red rays onto the Pikachu, not only had they sorted out their fullness problem, but they did exactly what Celestia needed to be done.
"P-Pi?!" PikaSupreme and the others felt an unnerving rush within them. Having themselves feeling stuffed and all of a sudden it vanishing out of thin air was an unusual feeling. A feeling so bizarre that upon being freed of this gluttony, they all unleashed a resounding flare of electricity from their bodies.
The sugar rush had finally kicked in, resulting in all of the Pikachu using Electric-Type attacks. And that was just what was needed for the creature to stay still. Countless volts struck the creature directly as Pikachu and Rainbow Dash added to it. Pikachu and Rainbow Dash borrowed some of the electricity before also unloading their own volts into the creature.
And with this union of electricity, they had done it. The Destiny Magic creature was halted. Pure paralysis from different sources. With its body unable to move, it could no longer fight back and struggle against its opponents. With this stationary stance, Pikachu and everyone managed to successfully pull Shooting Star out at last, freeing him from this creature.
As for the creature itself, once Shooting Star was removed, the sole source of this powerful magic, it had let out a cry of defeat. With everyone exiting, the creature started dispersing. Silver particles from the Destiny Magic had been scattered with the multiple heads being the first to vanish.
They all watched as the one head that bellowed louder than any of them was Second Wind's head. Parallel to the defeated shout that she made within the Dream Realm. It was over.
Instead of blowing up, the creature merely peacefully left. There was something calming about its departure. All of it had left without returning to Shooting Star. The Destiny Magic was gone. All turned silent as the lightning bolts came to an end. So did the other ferocious weather disasters. They were all tied to the Destiny Magic after all.
"Looks like it's over," Ash spoke. "Is Shooting Star okay?"
"Ugh..." Speaking of Shooting Star, he lay on the ground, slowly opening his eyes. A crowd of familiar faces had greeted him, looking down t the young prince. Shooting Star felt befuddled after everything that had happened as he was now waking up. He missed out on a lot that he would certainly enjoy.
"Shooting Star..." Garnet said to him. "D-Do you recognize me? Us?" She hoped that his memories had returned.
"Oh yeah...My dad went to your birthday one time, didn't he? Garnet." And with that sentence, it was safe to say that he was back. Recalling not just Garnet, but also his parents.
"You're back!" Excited beyond belief, Garnet had picked up the prince, giving him a tree-crushing hug that caught him off guard. "Oh, I knew it would turn out great in the end! I knew it!"
"Gouh! I-I can't breathe....!" Shooting Star's eyes bulged out as Garnet's hugging strength was overwhelming. Then again, whenever someone is so happy, their hugs do tend to increase in strength unnaturally.
Everyone else welcomed Shooting Star back with his memories being restored. All done from an inside source. Waverush, Chicane and Roseshy also felt some happiness from this. They did originally plan to bring him to high spirits, but they didn't expect it to turn out like this.
"Sno! Snorunt!" The Snorunt, especially the one Shooting Star befriended, bounced up and down on the thick sheet of snow upon seeing Shooting Star being alright.
"Woah...W-Where did all of these Pokemon come from?" Shooting Star paid attention to Twilight and the others who appeared as Pokemon. Pokemon he had never seen before with only a few within the Pokedex.
However, before Twilight and her friends could explain, the fulfilment that the Unown had given to Garnet had been completed. And upon completing this fulfilment, by using Hidden Power once more, they brought everything back to normal immediately.
Twilight and the rest of her friends had their sentences cut off before feeling their Legendary and Mythical Bodies undergo a reversion. A noticeable one. Ash and the untransformed individuals watched as they had reverted to their natural forms. Back to an alicorn, earth pony, unicorn and pegasus. No longer were they these mighty magical creatures.
"Oh! We're back!" Twilight felt her wings once more as Rainbow Dash took flight immediately.
"Aww..." Pinkie Pie pouted, greatly upset that it was all over.
"What a shame. I was getting used to being a Virizion." Rarity shrugged. "It is what it is."
"But at least it was our second go at it. I think this is a good sign of us becoming more Pokemon in the future." Fluttershy looked to the bright side as this was the second time they had become Pokemon. It could happen again, depending on the circumstances.
The Unown delivered their final deed. And it involved the Rocketship that Team Rocket owned. Knowing that they were involved heavily with its destruction, they offered to restore it. Arceus was right about the Unown. They were truly beings of a neutral position.
Good or evil. It didn't matter to the Unown.
These Unown that once listened to Second Wind, after fulfilling that wish, had no other reason to be here. Thus, they left, heading elsewhere on their lonesome. "Oh! I didn't get to thank-" Fluttershy turned to face the trio of pegasi, only to see Thunder Stamp there. Waverush, Roseshy and Chicane had already departed. "W-Where did they go?"
"Fled no doubt." Rarity stepped forward. "But, Thunder Stamp. Why would you protect them? Even after knowing what they had done."
"Mmm-mmm." With little words and only grunting, Thunder Stamp nudged his head to Fluttershy, allowing her to translate.
"Oh. They're his adopted children. That's why."
"I beg your pardon?!" Caught off guard and feeling as if she was hit by a train, Rarity jumped back after this revelation. Everyone else wasn't as surprised by this, unaware of how big of a deal it was.
"C-Can I get caught up to speed? How come we're in the Cold Frontier?" Shooting Star asked. "And why are you all here?"
"I think it's best if we went back to the Sky Monarch to let it all settle in," Celestia said as now was certainly the best time to return and call it a day. Or rather, a night in this case.
Sky Monarch. Nightfall.
When returning, the three Unown oned by Thunder Stamp were delivering their final good deed. Mainly on Queen Luminary. Her memories of Shooting Star were still lost. But it was nothing that the Unown couldn't fix. While small, three Unown were enough to alter memories.
Once her memories were restored, Shooting Star could face his parents once more. His mother and father with their memories intact. "Oh, Shooting Star. I can't believe I would forget about you." Luminary felt guilt within herself for forgetting about her own son.
"It wasn't your fault dear," said Paramount. "Powerful forces simply tore that connection. But other powerful forces bright it back."
"Hehe." Luna chuckled, as she knew that Paramount was referring to her. Thanks to her actions, she managed to bring Shooting Star's true memories back to them all.
"All of you. From Equestria and the Pokemon Word. You have once again helped our kingdom in a time of need. For that, you have our thanks yet again." Paramount bowed his head along with his family. "You've proven that you are allies that we can depend on."
"You're welcome. Least we can do." Celestia said.
"You guys are awesome. But uh...what about Second Wind?" Shooting Star asked I can't use Destiny Magic anymore. It's all gone from me. That doors gonna be shut forever again."
"But you heard what Windkiss told you, correct?" Paramount wrapped his hof around Shooting Star's neck. "It's time for you to shape your own destiny. A new one. And we'll be here to help."
"Yeah, I heard." He chuckled. "I'm gonna make it something special. Not sure how but...I'll get there."
"Second Wind will be dealt with later on. Let her keep her Pinnaculum Pegalysium. As for you all, I never got the chance to tell you this. But if you wish to take a reward, feel free. Here in Pegalysium, rewards are by choice."
"Aha!" Rarity's eyes shot up with golden bits. Garnet as well. But hers was focused on Quillbits. Pegalysium's currency. "It was worth the hard work and coming here!"
"Hehehehhe....! Payday!" Garnet rubbed her hoves along with Rarity, thinking of all the things they could do with their rewards. Team Rocket had a similar idea. Even when gathering some of the gold from the temples, they wanted more. Ash, Pinkie Pie and Celestia were already thinking about foo as their main rewards. Cake, cupcakes and more.
They were free to choose. And once they requested what they wanted, they could head home as Garnet ran up to Shooting Star, deciding to communicate with him after all that had happened. It was time they spoke as friends and for Shooting Star to catch up. Everyone took some time to stay here and chat away before returning to their homes. But they wouldn't make it too long, of course.
It was a wild ride getting to this point. But as always, with great union, their teamwork made sure that it would all work out in the end.
Pinnaculum Pegalysium. Nightfall.
"Those blasted Equestrians...! Accursed humans!" And clearly, Second Wind wasn't happy about this. She kept her position as the timeline was still altered.
Even when she won, she still lost. Her main source of opening the Clock Door had been robbed. The numbers of Unown that she originally owned had dwindled. Either going their own way or even being caught by Discord. Second Wind calmed down, knowing that this was not the end. But this certainly created issues that she hoped to avoid.
"I won't forget this." She growled. "I'll make sure that you will all pay. Your nation and the world's past that!"
A sunny and shining day in Pallet Town. The sun beamed down on the household of the Ketchum Family and even through the gateway that was close to it.
"Here, Ash. Pikachu. You might want to see this." Delia spoke, sitting down on her bed as she held a book out to Ash and Pikachu. "You already know about our names, don't you?"
"Yeah. It's tradition for our family names to mean something." Ash sat down with Pikachu laying his back on Delia's bed, making himself comfortable.
"Mhm. You know about my name and what it stands for correct?" Delia showed the page relating to her name
"Totally. It means Flower Child and Luster!" Ash snapped his fingers. "Pretty neat stuff."
"Yes. Pretty neat." Delia nodded. "I hope you know what your name means too then."
"Sure do. But uh, I don't quite get why you named me that? It means 'Intelligent history and quick-witted'." Ash scratched his hair. "I'm not that smart."
"It goes beyond that, Ash. I didn't name you Ash for that reason. Here." Delia pointed at Ash's name. "Notice anything about it?"
"It's my name. And...that's it." Ash squinted his eyes. "Wait is there something hidden there?"
"Your name actually is multiple words moulded into one. Here's a neat trick with this." Delia raised her finger before then sliding it on the name. By sliding it, she revealed a secret feature that this book exclusively had.
The words that made up Ash's name were starting to split. The black ink of them had divided into small cubes as Ash and Pikachu were blown back by this. "Awesome! H-How'd you do that?!"
"It's a special book that's exclusive to different family members. You can only imagine how many of them are there in the world. And look. See how your name has small black cubes that split off?"
"Yeah. What's up with that?"
"Your name is actually multiple letters combined and jumbled to spell Ash."
"Huh?! No way! T-Then what are the letters? They're pretty small when I look at them."
"These letters spell this." She then used her finger to rearrange the words. The words appeared smaller than what 'Ash' spelt. But once rearranged, they spelt something else. The word SATOSHI had been seen. "Here it is. These smaller letters get arranged to form your name."
"Oooh...So then, what does that all mean, mom?"
"Pikachu?"
"Thinking back to everything you've done, even when you haven't been here for years, going on different journeys, I made the right choice naming you Ash. All these different letters have their own unique meaning to them. And I think you've already fulfilled them to the brim." Delia let out a soft smile.
"Well, now I gotta know what it's all about!" Ash stood up. "Even if I've done them all, I wanna try it again. Mind sharing some with me, mom?"
"I adore that you love a challenge!" Delia chuckled as Mr Mime started writing down all the descriptions on a paper nearby. "Alright then. Involve some of your friends if you want to. Visit the other regions and discover them for yourself. I'll give you advice on what the Stands for."
"Okay! Let's hear it."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu was up for this as well, jumping onto Ash's shoulder.
"A description from the book. S means Enjoying open-mindedness. Gifted, you bring cheerfulness into the lives of others and help others toward prosperity as well as yourself. I know that much is true with you."
"Pinkie Pie knows a lot about that too," Ash commented. "And so does Bonnie now that I think about it."
"Fearlessness and versatility bring spectacular career, provide for old age. But you and old age are an odd combo aren't they?" Delia joked about Ash's age.
"Yeah! Totally! Haha!"
"Pika-ka-ka!"
"This much is clear to you. So how about you tackle A? All about vitality and enthusiasm." Delia said as Mr Mime gave Ash multiple papers that had each description on them, bundled up nicely. "Go on and experience it. As you do best."
"You got it! Let's go, buddy!" Ash and Pikachu were off, rushing out of the house to follow the letters and their words to see what they can fulfil within them.
"Pikachu!"
Vermillion City. Professor Cerise's Lab. Day.
"You can be very quiet when you have something on your mind. Inspire others, The quick-witted always engage in new activities as your ambitions are attained through application and skill." Ash looked at the A paper, seeing what it had to offer.
"Okay. Let's see what we can do." Ash said before stopping at Cerise Laboratory. After arriving there, he found that Goh and Chloe were having a game of Rock Paper Scissors.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors! I win!" Chloe emerged as the victor in this game, pulling Paper whilst Goh pulled Rock.
"Gah!" Goh pulled his head back. "I usually win these..."
"Guess I'm a cut above the rest. Looks like you're going back to school, wearing this." Chloe whipped out a comically large Weedle Pen, showing it to Goh.
"Hmm...Fine." Goh took the large Weedle Pen as it was also unnecessarily heavy, causing Goh to maintain his balance.
"Oh, Ash!" Cerise noticed Ash. "Great timing. Twilight came here the other day. It's about the Rota Kingdom."
"Oh, Rota? Yeah, what's up?"
"Well, this caught my interest when she brought it up. The Time Flowers. When working with me, Twilight brought up the events that happened back at Pegalysium with the whole time debacle. Then she told me about the Time Flowers that existed around Rota and other parts of Kanto. Apparently, they activate via Aura, don't they?"
"Sure do. I've activated them a few times myself." Ash looked at his hands. "I bet Applejack could do the same since she's got some big Aura too."
"Good to know. You've already brought me back some information about the Holon Region. Think you can do the same for the Time Flowers?"
"Sure thing. 'll stop by Rota sometime and grab them for you. Right now, I'm thinking of going everywhere. It's a special day today."
"How special are we talking?" Goh asked.
"Today's the anniversary of when Pikachu and I first met." Ash rubbed Pikachu's chin, making him nuzzle. "When we first set off on our adventure. Boy, I'm feeling pretty nostalgic right about now!"
"Oh! Happy anniversary then!" Chrysa stood up as she and Ren started clapping for Ash and Pikachu. Goh, Chloe and Cerise started doing the same. "What number anniversary is this?"
"How many? Uh, let's see...We've been travelling a lot of regions, went through a lot of holidays and..." Ash held his fingers out, trying to keep track of the dates. If anything, he had completely lost track. "Ah! I forgot! We've travelled to so many places we lost track of time, huh, buddy?"
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu chuckled.
"Figures..." Goh sighed. "Well, in any case, got something special planned for this day? It's a one-day-one-year thing after all. Like a birthday."
"Ah, not really...But I can bet that Pinkie Pie's already got something planned. She knows a lot about everyone. I've got a few stuff that I'm doing right now. Like this." He then handed out the bundle of paper to Goh and the others.
They got a good look at this name-based paper with had a singular letter at the top followed by a long description at the bottom. Starting from S and ending at I.
"Uh...What's this?" Goh asked.
"Oh! I recognize these!" Cerise had some knowledge about this, adjusting his glasses. "Ash, your family is a Relic Clan!"
"What's a Relic Clan, dad?"
"Relic clans are small little clans that have the tradition of having special names. They didn't all live in the same style that a regular clan would, but back then, they were similar to them. And each of their names had special meanings and special letters that could be rearranged." Cerise explained. "They vanished a long time ago, but their legacy still lives on with their future families. So, you're discovering it for yourself, Ash."
"Sure am. My mom told me all about it. I'm checking out what I can do with all of this stuff. But I figured I'd just do what I always do to see if it works out."
"How about we do something for you and Pikachu now? Oh but what...?" Ren wondered. "Not used to anniversary moments and how they pop out sometimes."
"No need to worry. Besides, I got this!" Ash dug into his bag before pulling out an object that was certainly not from this world. Literally. It appeared as a box with wings. Pegasus wings to be exact.
"Oh, hey! The gift you chose at Pegalysium?" said Goh.
"Mhm. Figured out what it does. It's gonna make you guys laugh!" Ash placed the box down as everyone gave it an intensive stare. The box started glowing before forming an image in front of their eyes.
And that image had shown some fairly familiar images to them. It showed them drawings of the events that played out during the invasion of Equestria. But taken to a comedic level. For starters, everyone was drawn so differently that they looked like they were made out of rubber.
Their movements were all bouncy and erratic, defying all laws of physics, even for Pokemon standards. Ash and the others had wide smiling faces while Empress Twilight and her group had sharp growing faces. And the way they battled was something to see.
Despite the ridiculous art style, the movements were all wonderful to look at, and comedic as all of the regular Pokemon attacks were taken to a joking level as this whole thing was a parody of the event. "Pfft!" Goh was the first to indulge in its comedic value of it. "What is this?!"
"Great isn't it? It turns everything we know into a parody. I saw the battle between me and Bea and boy was it a riot to watch!" Ash chuckled as this object had some high entertainment value to it. "Queen Luminary said that it can work forever as long as we make new memories!"
"How fun!" Chrysa giggled. "That's a wonderful gift to have!"
"Made a good choice with this one." Ash patted the box as it continued to amuse them. He then looked at the paper, wondering which parts he had succeeded at. "Overcoming shyness, huh? Ah, I don't know about that. That was when I was super young..." Ash thought back to his younger days.
Back then, before he reached the age of 10, Ash's outgoing nature was not that present. Ash thought back to when he was relatively shy when at the age of 4 and 5. A short span of time to gain shyness, but that shortness only proved how quick he was to adapt to everything around him.
"I'm gonna head to Equestria now! Be right back!" Ash then took off with Pikachu, leaving the box behind whilst bringing the rest of the papers with him.
"Pikachu!"
"Ah, Ash! Wait! You forgot the box!" Goh cried out.
"Ah, leave it. He'll be back for it anyway." Chloe shrugged, knowing that Ash would return no doubt. But it might not be so soon.
Equestria. Ponyville. Day.
One who enjoys hanging out with friends. Great imagination with rising talent around the company of others." Next, Ash had seen the words focused on the letter T.
And this fits him to a T. Ironically. Ash had already fulfilled this part long ago. Including the first two letters as seen by his previous actions. "Hmm..." Ash observed the papers. "All this stuff isn't so new. I'll just keep doing what I know best. If that's what my name is for, then it's fine by me."
"Pika-Pika."
Ash would continue to live his life naturally. Everything that the papers had shown him so far were already things he had accomplished way before his journeys in Equestria and beyond. Ash and Pikachu took off running as they had passed by the Ash Ketchum Fanclub, located in a nice underground area in Ponyville.
Speaking of his fan club, running it as always was arguably Ash's biggest fan by a mile. Scootaloo. Though, there are some contenders out there. In this world and the Pokemon World.
Typical and expected events went on here for the sole purpose of helping Ash throughout his journey as a Pokemon Master and for the Pokemon World Championships. But right now, they were all just relaxing and playing with their Pokemon in the meanwhile.
"Eat up, Ponyta!" Scootaloo fed her Ponyta, pouring a large bucket of Pokemon Food into his mouth. Piplup jumped into the air to catch his food that Sweetie Belle had launched with her magic. All of Apple Bloom's Grass-Type Pokemon, which were a lot, were out to snack away.
They had seen Ash and Pikachu run by, causing them all to look outside. Scootaloo gasped, quickly hopping onto Ponyta's back. Ponyta was always the best way to travel for Ponyta. "Hey, Ash!" She cried out as her two friends promptly followed after her.
Ash and Pikachu were heading for SugarCube Corner, already thinking of what they would eat before promptly stopping upon seeing the Cutie Mark Crusaders approaching. "Hey, you guys!" Ash slowed down, coming to a screeching halt. "Doing good?"
"Good as always! We heard from Pinkie Pie that today's a special day." Sweetie Belle said.
"Sure is. Today's the day Pikachu and I first met. 1st of April, ya know." Ash stopped by to sit on a nearby bench with the three of them. "Still can't tell how long it's been..."
"Pikachu."
"You never told us what is like when you and Pikachu first met." Apple Bloom commented. "How'd that go?"
"I bet it was awesome, wasn't it?" Scootaloo had high hopes for the story of when Ash and Pikachu first met.
"Bet it was!" Sweetie Belle nodded in approval of Scootaloo's theory.
"Nah. Not quite." But Ash would give it to them straight. "You remember the time I told you when I saw Ho-oh?"
"Yeah. It was the first Legendary Pokemon you saw." The three of them collectively said as Pikachu went over to play with Ponyta, Piplup and all of Apple Bloom's Pokemon.
"That day wasn't the best until we saw Ho-oh." Ash turned to face his partner Pokemon who was playing out. Scootaloo and the others promptly sent out the rest of their Pokemon to indulge in the playtime. "Pikachu and I weren't exactly on the best terms."
He thought back to when he was at Professor Oak's Lab, meeting Pikachu for the first time. A Poke Ball with a lightning bolt in the top centre was where he was first unleashed.
Pikachu's attitude back then was different to what it was now. Untrustworthy of Ash at the beginning with constant electrical shocks being thrown his way. But ever since that Spearow attack on that rainy day, he and Pikachu had gained an unbreakable bond. Trusting one another.
"Maybe that's the reason why we saw Ho-oh that day..." Ash continued to reminisce all of the moments with his best friend. There were so many to list.
Whether it was Pikachu shocking him and his friends under the wrong touch, him helping Pikachu learn a new move or even pushing himself against an opponent, them sharing the same food, partaking in the same activities. They have done so much together. Ash and Pikachu saw each other as not just best friends but also as brothers with how far their bond went.
And when thinking back to all of it, Ash couldn't help but tear up. "Yeah. Awesome. Wouldn't have it any other way." He then held out the papers, deciding to read the rest of his name. Ash looked at all the words on it to see what he could fulfil.
"One who is open-minded. Constancy and truth as friend or lover that earns great happiness." He looked at the letter O with the CMC. Apple Bloom took the next one which was of the letter S. A second one.
"Oooh..." She gawked as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle took the remaining papers. Apple Bloom's S paper was identical to the very first S paper as Ash showed her the similarities. After witnessing them, she went on to peek at Sweetie Belle's paper which had the H letter.
"One who is not judgemental. A happiness that comes from pursuing ideals. A status that they hold can not be enhanced by bragging." The letter H readout.
And the final one, I, was seen by Scootaloo, which tackled something vastly different from the others. "Temperamental tendencies can lurk. But over time, can fade away with the revelation of the truth. Efforts that can be rewarded by beautiful family life. Talent in your greatest love and inspiration. Empathy and understanding bring rewards."
"Wow. What are these?"
"It's a family thing. All those letters come together to make my name. Stuff that I know can work for you all."
"All of us?" They each said.
"Yeah. Being here in Equestria made me see that. Spending time and journeying in other regions with all of my friends also showed me that too. These letters don't have to just be attached to me." Ash held the paper with the letter A. "I've seen enough to know how special you all are."
"Really?!" They liked the sound of that.
"Of course!" Ash patted them on the head, making them giggle. Apple Bloom then climbed onto Ash's head, nudging him in response. "Everyone here can do stuff like my name says. Not just me! I know you three can go beyond it!"
"Hehehe! Okay!" Scootaloo laughed. They continued to mess around promptly, having a ball on this sunny day. Ash and Scootaloo hopped off the bench promptly, holding their breath in. "Are we gonna reach our biggest goals together, Ash?"
"You know it. I'm gonna become a Pokemon Master!" Ash announced.
"I'll be the Strongest Trainer in Equestria!" So did Scootaloo. Pikachu, Ponyta and their Pokemon also heard it out loud. as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom would do the same.
"I'll be a Top Coordinator in all Pokemon Contests!"
"I'll be an amazing Pokemon Breeder!"
"I thought it was a Pokemon Doctor?" Scootaloo turned to Apple Bloom.
"Who said ya can't be both?" Apple Bloom proudly said, winking at them as they all laughed.
"That's the spirit! We're gonna get there. With our friends! Pokemon!" Ash raised his arms to the air.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu and the other Pokemon did the same depending on what limbs they had to offer. Excitement filled their hearts once their Trainers spoke and announced what they yearned to accomplish.
And with this racing excitement, something started happening. Ponyta, Piplup and Cyndaquill both started glowing. Ash and the others caught this as it had grabbed their attention. This mysterious light was familiar to them. This meant only one thing.
Evolution.
A mighty and ferocious flaming silhouette of a large equine erupted from Ponyta's body whilst those flames were assisted by the flames of Cyndaquill. And surrounding this flaming figure was Piplup's bubbles. Their body's started to change, increasing in size as the falling equine let out a mighty neigh.
And erupting from all of these colliding energies, breaking out of the silhouette as if he was using it as a piece of armour or a shell was the newly evolved Rapidash. Joined by Prinplup and Quillava.
"Rapidash!" Rapidash had appeared as Ponyta's evolution finally showed itself along with the other two.
"Oooh! They evolved!" Scootaloo gawked, gazing up at her majestic Rapidash.
"I forgot they can sometimes evolve without battling! Amazing!" Sweetie Belle rushed over, hugging her newly evolved Prinplup.
"I gotta see this!" Having the first instinct to check the Pokedex data was Apple Bloom, whipping out the good ol' dexter. Data on Rapidash had already been gathered ever since the Rapidash Rush that happened 2 years back. But these two were fresh and new to the eyes.
"Quilava. The Volcano Pokemon. Quilava keeps its foes at bay with the intensity of its flames and gusts of superheated air. This Pokémon applies its outstanding nimbleness to dodge attacks even while scorching the foe with flames. Be careful if it turns its back during battle. It means that it will attack with the fire on its back."
"Prinplup. The Penguin Pokemon. It lives alone, away from others. Apparently, every one of them believes it is the most important. Its wings deliver wicked blows that snap even the thickest of trees. It searches for prey in icy seas. Because every Prinplup considers itself to be the most important, they can never form a group."
"Mmm. That's good." Ash nodded in approval before walking off, continuing on his path to SugarCube Corner. "That's how you grow together. See ya soon!"
Ash took a moment to slow down on his way to SugarCube Corner, observing the town around him and how far they've all come with their meeting in the World of Pokemon.
He could still remember when everyone was struggling with these Strange and Wonderful Creatures. In more ways than one. But now, they live alongside them as friends and even family in some instances. The bonds they had built would've never been possible without those to guide them.
And the humans of the Pokemon World were to thank for that. Whether it was Mayor Mare playing fetch with Stoutland, Vinyl and her Noivern plus Exploud blasting music with Octavia and her Furfrou covering their ears together, Berry Punch feeding Skowvet as many berries as it can have and so much more to see.
Ash stopped by SugarCube Corner, standing at the entrance, taking a moment to look at the skies. He and Pikachu then started thinking of all their friends that they had made along the way. There were a lot to go through.
Across so many regions, so many cities and towns, whether visible or hidden from many. Starting from Kanto and currently stopping at Equestria. His journeys in Equestria hadn't finished yet, which led him to think of all of the friends he had made here.
"We've come a long way, haven't we buddy?"
"Pika."
"Since we first had these worlds crossing over, we met Twilight and Spike for the first time. Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Celestia and Luna. So much more to go through too. Goh, Chloe, Cadence, Shining Armor, Derpy, Roseluck, Mayor Mare, Soarin, Chrysalis. Man...So many, huh? I'd be here for hours naming them all.
"Pika-Pika."
"I...I love it My world! This world! All worlds!" Ash pumped his fists into the air, announcing his love for it all. "Everything's so warm as the Sun! All the harmony here is just so awesome too! Everywhere I go, I can feel it everywhere! Pikachu!"
"Pika?"
"I want you and I to get stronger whilst we're here. Anywhere. Let's revisit every region we can. Explore new regions that we've never seen before. And reach Leon together! And when I become a Pokemon Master...I'm not gonna stop there! There are other worlds that I wanna see! More that I wanna do! Let's go there together, buddy!" Ash held his arm out.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu was all for it, having the same thoughts as his partner. And hearing all of this was King Sombra, who was still a part of Ash. Once all of these words were heard by him, Sombra, despite how he was, couldn't help but respect Ash's determination. At that moment, he let out a small smirk.
And after letting ut those words, Ash and Pikachu entered SugarCube Corner to meet with all of his friends. Audino had heard everything, breaking down into tears. "A-Audino!"
"You got pretty passionate out there, Ash. Pikachu." Fluttershy patted Audino on the back. "But we love to hear it."
"Figured as much." Ash chuckled.
"I'm not crying..." Rainbow Dash tried hiding her tears as Castform used his surprisingly water-absorbent body to absorb them. That was enough to turn him into his Rainy Form.
"Nicely said, Ash." Twilight nodded. "Happy Anniversary you two."
"Pikachu!"
"Now come on! Let's go! I planned for this for 2 weeks right here!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, getting this anniversary party started without a second to spare.
They partied the whole day away at SugarCube Corner, goofing around in the process. The sun cast its rays through the building, shining down on them all. Delia stopped by SugarCube Corner, looking through the windows as she held the book of special names.
Watching Ash enjoying his time, she looked at the book, closing it afterwards. Delia also had tears form in her eyes before wiping them off.
"Ash. You didn't need to fulfil them at all. You've already embodied them so wonderfully over the years. That's why you're my son." She spoke to herself. "Your father would be proud. No doubt."
"Phi...Phi..." Asleep during the day was Phione. While everyone was out and about, enjoying everything that the sun had to offer, Phione was asleep. In a deep sleep too. One that could not be interrupted by various noises,
"I'm heading to the Pokemon School now this Tuesday." Rarity spoke to Sweetie Belle. "Take care of Phione, would you? And stay safe.
"Okay!" Sweetie Belle raised her hoof. "I've got an evolved Prinplup and other Pokemon to help me out so it'll be all okay!" She and Rarity bid their farewells equally as Rarity was off to the Pokemon School for the day.
It would be just Sweetie Belle, her Pokemon, Opalescence and Phione. Sweetie Belle had the house all to herself. Not uncommon ever since the Pokemon School was made. And she would never find boredom with the existence of her many friends. Pony or Pokemon.
However, minutes after Rarity left and Sweetie Belle was about to train with her Pokemon for the next contest, Phione had awoken. Not by the surrounding noise, but by something else.
The blessing of Arceus.
In his mind, Arceus' voice could be heard. Her cry echoed through as he was sending a message to the Water-Type. Her task to help find Jirachi was still active.
"Phione!" And she had the first sign of what to do. She woke up instantly, alerting Sweetie Belle and the others with her cry.
"You scared me..." Sweetie Belle sighed with her heart skipping a beat. Upon awakening, Phione already gained guidance on where to go. She hopped on the floor, quickly heading for the entrance. "Where are you going, Phione?"
"Phi! Phione!" Phione waved her arm around, rapidly explaining everything to Sweetie Belle. Except for the massive flaw of her being unable to understand Phione. at all. Not everyone could translate Pokemon.
"I don't get what you're saying..."
"Phi." Phione felt like she couldn't continue wasting time. She had then hopped out the window, cracking it as Sweetie Belle screeched. This damage was seen as severe. Mainly in the eyes of Rarity when she returns.
"Gaaah!" Sweetie Belle went over, picking up the pieces of shattered glass as there was a Phione-shaped crack in the window. "Oh geez...Uhh...!" Sweetie Belle looked through the shattered window, noticing how Phione was going off on her own. "Can some of you stay behind and help repair this?"
"Meowstic!" Meowstic would gladly take that task along with Plusle and Minun. Repairs would be done by them. Even if they had no clue how to repair a window.
"Thanks, you two! Prinplup! Teddiursa! Come on!" Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle would bring Prinplup and Teddiursa along, giving chase to Phione. They rushed out of the door as Phione kept bouncing to travel as there wasn't a sea or ocean for her to use at all. The fastest way for her to travel was obsolete, however, her guidance would push her to go great distances.
The Pokemon House. Day.
"Hah..." Zecora remained at the Pokemon House as Fluttershy had gone to the Pokemon School. Even Team Rocket were absent along with their Rocketship. They were all elsewhere along with a majority of Ponyville's residents who had more to learn about Pokemon.
Zecora had only the Pokemon, but they were great company. However, the reason for Zecora's sigh was tied to the Everfree Forest and how she missed the home that she made there. "You all continue to make for some great company every day. But my home in the Everfree, how I wish once again I could stay."
The Pokemon understood Zecora's feelings. The longing feeling to return to her home. Zecora, while she liked the company, preferred the solitude and small company of the Everfree with just herself and her Pokemon. But, the self-restoration of the Everfree continued with slow progress.
"Phi! Phione!" Appearing at the Pokemon House was Phione. She hopped all the way over to this location, using the trees as a boosted method. Zecora watched as Phione had some decent airtime before landing right next to the pond where the rest of her fellow Water-Type Pokemon resided, causing a splash.
"What Pokemon are you?" Zecora leaned in. "A Manaphy evolution, I can get from you. Especially with all of that blue."
"Phi?"
"Phione! Wait!" Rushing over here and catching up with Phione was Sweetie Belle and her Pokemon. Thankfully, Phione wasn't that fast without any water to use. "You gotta slow down. You crashed through the window and left without saying much."
"Phione."
"Anyway...Why did you want to come here?" Sweetie Belle asked with Meowstic dropping her and Teddiursa. "It all looked so urgent."
"Phi. Phi-Phione!" Once again, Phione spoke rapidly to Sweetie Belle, but the communication barrier between Pokemon and other species was still prevalent as always.
"I still don't get what you're saying..." Sweetie Belle sighed. "What happened to that telepathy from before?"
"Hold on there, Sweetie Belle." Zecora stepped in. "Allow me to translate what Phione wishes to tell."
"Oh? Y-You can speak Pokemon?"
"Fluttershy taught me during my time here. I've picked up a lot of methods ever since last year." Zecora winked, revealing that she also shared the rare skill of communicating with creatures that only seemed to exist with Fluttershy. Her time here at the Pokemon House had allowed her to learn these tricks.
"Phione. Phi-Phi." Phione faced Zecora, telling her everything she needed to know. Sweetie Belle sat down, awaiting the translation.
"So, it's the guidance from Arceus that called you here. The first step in keeping our worlds more than near."
"Arceus?!" Sweetie Belle gasped. "Oh, so it's finally happening?! Did Phione find a way to keep our worlds connected?!"
"Not yet, I'm afraid. But his guidance gave one useful method, starting with I and Jade."
"Jade? You mean..." Sweetie Belle thought of the only pony in Ponyville named Jade. Jade Skies. "That Jade? W-What's she gonna do?"
"Phi! Phione!"
"Arceus had mentioned a stairway to the celestial skies." Zecora then raised her head. "A way to reach Jirachi that goes beyond the skies. Multiple forces must come together. Starting from my stripes to a feather."
"Stairway to the celestial skies? Space? Wait a second!" Sweetie Belle's head then shot directly at Phione. "Phione! Wasn't that one of the ideas that you came up with back at Canterlot Castle? Are you actually gonna use that one?"
"Phione." After nodding, it was confirmed. That idea, which seemed ridiculous when first mentioned, was now considered in the end. "Phi-Phi." She continued explaining what else Arceus had told her in her sleep.
"Out of all options, Arceus had chosen the staircase. One so high that it goes into Deep Space. Princess Celestia has also taken that same approach to mind and had it declared. She is also part of the plan, as Arceus had shared."
"So they're doing the same thing too, huh? But how are we gonna make something that big? I mean, a staircase to space seems pretty big." Sweetie Belle spread her front hooves to show the sheer scale of a staircase of that length. "And tough. I mean, can we even breathe in space?"
"Phione."
"Multiple forces of magic and energy must come together for the staircase to emerge. I, as a Shaman, have access to magic that can make that merge." Zecora stood up. "We should get to Jade and soon to Canterlot. You wish to keep everything connected as soon as possible, do you not?"
"Yeah, I do! Let's do it!" Sweetie Belle had no complaints. If it meant finding Jirachi quicker, then they were going for a staircase no doubt. But of course, they would need some power behind it to make it happen.
And the first two forces that were revealed to make it happen were Zecora and Jade Skies. One that has access to Shamanism and one that holds Rift Magic.
Over at SugarCube Corner, Jade was present as ever, playing around with the Cake Twins. Although, they were playing around with her, was the correct term. Jade sat there and let the children play around with their Plusle and Minun respectively as Pound Cake latched onto Jade's feather.
Entering the building were Sweetie Belle and Zecora, meeting with the deadpan Rift Pegasus. "Hey." Jade greeted. "What brings you two here?"
"Hey, Jade. We just came here because well...it's a big deal. A super big one."
"How big?"
"The connection of worlds is what it's all about." Zecora stepped forward, revealing the reason immediately. "It can't get bigger than that reason, no doubt."
"Oh. Did you find a way?" Jade's attention had been fully grabbed as her existence was also tied to all of this.
"Mhm. WE need different kids of magics to make something to reach Jirachi. A staircase. A space staircase!"
"Space staircase?" Mr and Mrs Cake poked their heads through the door, hearing this insane idea with their very ears.
"Arceus told Phione. We need some of Zecora's magic and your magic to do it. Phione hasn't told us what else we need but I bet it's a lot." Sweetie Belle giggled. "And you've got Rift Magic in you, so that's a big bonus."
"Why didn't you go to Cold Colt then? He knows how to use his magic more than me."
"That-" After being given that question, Sweetie Belle paused before she could give out a full sentence. "Huh...That's a good question. How come you didn't think of Cold Colt first, Phione?"
"Phi. Phione!"
"Phione thought about Cold Colt too, of course. There are many others who will be involved in this plan, especially with ponies that have a cosmic-kind of force."
"That's not many then." Jade stood up with Pound Cake still hanging onto her wing. "It's just me, Cold, Emerald and Obsidian. Cold's still learning with his magic. I don't know how to use mine. Emerald's lost a lot of hers and Obsidian's working with Ghetsis and the others. Are you sure we're needed?"
"If Arceus has given guidance that connects to you, then it must be true." Zecora had no doubt about Jade and the others, even with their limitations.
"What Zecora said." Sweetie Belle slid over. "We're going all in. Princess Celestia's already planning on making that staircase! And I bet once it's done, we'll all get to walk on it! Still don't know how we're gonna breathe in space."
"Hm. Okay. I don't know how to use my magic but if Arceus is choosing me, then I'm in." Jade was all in on this plan. Plus, it would also mean that her chances of existing in this world along with her fellow Rift companions would increase.
"Great! We'll go and get Cold too, of course!" Sweetie Belle giggled. "So, Phione. Who's next to get?"
"Phione!" Phione jumped up, facing Zecora and letting her know who else was needed for this staircase.
"It seems the involvement of Aura is a large factor in all of this. Added with three types of emotional magic." Zecora translated. "If I had to guess with the last two, perhaps Princess Luna is the one we must choose."
"Oh. I get Aura. Ash and Applejack can do that. But Princess Luna? What does she have again?"
"Her magic is the most tied to her emotions out of anypony in Equestria," said Jade. "The first was when she became Nightmare Moon. And the second is with that whole Lunar Ire thing."
"She has absolute control over both emotional forms of magic. Both had originated from something vengeful or tragic." Zecora replied. "The third could be related to the Magic of Love. Held by two that we know of."
"The only ones who have that are Princess Luna and um..." Mrs Cake chimed in, trying to think of the second individual holding the Magic of Love.
"Queen Chrysalis. That's who it is." Mr Cake managed to finish her sentence.
"Her and maybe all of the Changelings. Unless there's another emotional magic we're forgetting, that should be all of them. Wish I had all that magic to feel emotion." Jade lowered her head.
"Princess Luna it is then!" Sweetie Belle raised her hoof, holding Jade's head back up. "Come on! We're going to Canterlot next! Wait till Rarity hears about all of this! She'll love it!"
It was off to Canterlot. But not before grabbing the second Rift Pony Cold Colt and of course, Ash, who resided at the Pokemon World on this shining day. Cold Colt usually stays in two places. Twilight's Castle to be taught by Twilight or Sweet Apple Acres, where it was his home.
Sweet Apple Acres.
In this instance, Sweet Apple Acres was the place to be. Cold Colt, as always, was doing his best to impress Apple Bloom as hard as he could. Even using his Rift Magic to bring over items that he believed would work.
"How do I look?" He used his Rift Magic to give himself a suit. But it was a tacky one as Cold Colt didn't quite form the perfect and dapper suit that he wanted. "Aw..."
"Pfft!" Apple Bloom laughed, mainly at Cold Colt's tacky attire. Cold Colt pulled up the massive polka-dot patterned bowtie on him, feeling embarrassed. "You don't look boring, that's for sure!" Apple Bloom found some amusement in it.
Arriving here, Sweetie Belle was already talking with Ash through the Xtransceiver. She, Zecora and Jade let him know all about what was going on and what was needed.
"Huh. So you need all of that for a giant staircase?" Ash spoke. "Okay, I gotcha. Sounds like we're bringing in one big team to make this happen. Love to hear it."
"Pikachu!"
"For something that big, it needs to have a lot." Jade leaned in. "Phione might have more to tell us on who we can have help make this staircase. Oh, and Sweetie Belle was wondering how we're going to breathe in space since Jirachi's mostly there."
"AH, you'll need space suits for that!" Ash snapped his fingers. "Over at Alola, Sophocles also wishes to go to space. He'll definitely have some space suits for you all to wear. Hopefully, they're pony-sized."
"A space suit..." Sweetie Belle gawked, imaging what a spacesuit could look like. Especially on her.
"Hey, Cold." Jade alerted her fellow Rift Pony. "Sorry to interrupt your failed suave."
"Gee...No problem." Cold Colt pouted as Jade unintentionally taunted him.
"But we'll need you for something. It sorta has our entire existence on the line."
"Entire existence?!" Cold Colt was so alarmed that his suit had burst into ripped pieces. "Is it the Unown again?! Are there more coming?! Is there a super-sized Unown we don't know about?!" Immediately, he started thinking of the worst possible things when being told about existence.
"Ah, it's just Jirachi," said Sweetie Belle as she hung up on Ash. "We're gathering a lot of our friends to make something special happen. We're making a staircase to space!"
"All with different magic to make it happen. You and I will Rift Magic. If I can figure that out soon. Queen Chrysalis and Princess Cadence will use their Magic of Love while Ash and Applejack will use their Aura. Zecora's magic will be added into the mix and Princess Luna also has something to give. Three things to give, I mean."
"Oh. This is serious. Not Unown serious, but still. Is this gonna be where we finally find Jirachi?" Cold asked.
"Maybe not instantly. But enough to shorten the time we have to find it. Wherever it may be. Are you already in?"
"Yeah, I am!" Cold Colt didn't need to hear anything else. He was in. "How are we gonna do this? Do we gather some stuff? Go on a big adventure to collect some rare objects to make it happen?!"
"Not at all, my cosmic colt." Zecora went up to him. "All we need is a magic union as powerful as a lightning bolt. We have a lot to do. Especially helping Jade improve."
"Oh. Right. My magic. Uh..." Jade scratched her mane, giving off an unchanging expression. "I'll see what I can do when we get there. Let's just head to Canterlot now. But is there anyone next, Phione?"
"Phi! Phione!"
"Celestia herself can help with the union, as to be expected. But the next magic that can help is one that is all about being destined." Zecora translated as this one seemed to be cryptic. More so than the others.
"Destined?" Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Cold Colt both said, trying to figure out which one that would be. They thought of the different magics that they had learned about that could relate to it.
"Destined. That would be Destiny Magic. Wouldn't it?" Jade caught on quickly. "This union involved Pegalysium too?"
"Phione."
"Just how many do we need." Cold Colt asked as at this point, the numbers could keep on piling. "Oh, but wait! Prince Shooting Star doesn't have Destiny Magic anymore! He lost it not too long ago. I don't think he's ready yet."
"He still has it in him. But he can't tap into it anymore. Not until he can find himself a new way to shape his destiny." Jade replied. "It couldn't have come at a worse time."
"That's a bummer. We'll be missing one." Sweetie Belle pouted before facing Phione. "Say, Phione...Why'd it take you until now to do this? Why did Arceus tell you now?"
"Yeah. We could've done it when we brought you back here." Apple Bloom went over. "Maybe we'd have that staircase now and all that!"
"Phi. Phione." There was a reason as Phione aimed her arm to the skies, prompting everyone to look up. But there was nothing there. Just the sun and the clouds along with a few Flying-Type Pokemon soaring about. "Phi." Phione then closed her eyes as she could feel the aura of Arceus once more. The almighty light of Arceus spoke to her, letting Phione know more as this knowledge was passed to Zecora, who would also pass it on.
"According to Phione and Arceus, the way to Jirachi is tied to the alignment of the stars. Unlike on Earth, Jirachi cannot be reached or found when this afar. The stars must be aligned correctly with a visible impact. 7 stars to be exact. Today, they will spark the beginning of that creation. And when another day comes, we will have our elevation."
"Uhh..." The three foals uttered, trying to understand those last few words.
"She means that it's only gonna work well if the stars are in the right place." Jade simplified it for them. "Today's the day that they're starting to move. And next time, whenever that is, they'll be in the place that we need to be. And then we'll get out stairs to space."
"So we're not even gonna finish the whole thing today?" Sweetie Belle pouted.
"Better than waiting for nothing." Jade shrugged. "If we can get a base of it done or a good length, that could be good enough for now. Let's hurry to Equestria before this day ends."
Canterlot.
Once they went over to Canterlot, with Ash and Pikachu tagging along, they approached Canterlot Palace. There, they had shared all that was needed to be said to Princess Celestia and Luna.
Applejack had been grabbed from the Pokemon School promptly as she was greatly needed. The stars in the skies could not be seen unless it was nightfall. But they couldn't afford to wait for everything to turn dark, risking this valuable day from leaving this year.
Quickly, the other royalties had been called for. All except for Shooting Star, who could not tap into the Destiny Magic anymore. At least not yet. They all met up at Celestia's throne room, right at a perfectly large roundtable for all of them.
They gathered up at the roundtable after being told of everything. Sweetie Belle sat back as she couldn't do much in this instance. She was only Phione's caretaker in all of this.
"Alright then. Arceus told you that we have to make the base of stairs on this day, Phione. So let's not waste it. Funny how we had the same idea." Celestia giggled. "It's a ridiculous plan but a fun one."
"Phione!"
"If we're making a staircase to space, then where should we properly aim it?" Cadence asked. "It won't be a twisting staircase, will it? Or a straight one?"
"Judging by what Arceus shared about those stars, it needs to be in between them. That must be where Jirachi is laying." Luna replied.
"Yeah. That would make sense. And the 7 adds up too..." Ash put his finger on his chin, recalling something crucial at a fitting time.
"Do you know something about those stars, Ash?" Applejack asked.
"Yeah. They call Jirachi a few things. Like the Wish Maker. But they also call it The Seven Stars of Dreams, Jirachi. Guess it must sleep between them. Wonder what it's like to sleep next to some stars?"
"Pika..."
"Inbetween the stars it is. Let's make this first day count. Everyone. Hooves and hands together. Celestia stood up tall as they were all prepared to make this happen. With Zecora and the other equines standing in a bipedal position, they held their hooves out, connecting them. Ash simply held his arms out, holding the hooves of Celestia and Zecora.
Joining them was the boosted assistance of Ash's Lucario, who had connected his paws with Applejack and Chrysalis. And the final touch came from Phione. She jumped into the middle of the group, landing in the centre of the roundtable. Phione would shine. Both figuratively and literally as her body was radiating a golden light.
The Light of Arceus.
Once they were all connected, the union that was spoken of could begin. Phione started using the Light of Arceus as the main source for all other energy sources to be poured into. Already having a good grasp at what they specialize in, with some even being masters of it, Ash, Celestia, Cadence and everyone utilized their energies that started flowing out of them. Jade tried getting something out, but it wasn't working. Only Cold Colt could use it right now.
The Azure Radiance of Aura. The Shining Light of Celestia. The Emotional Flow of Luna, Lunar Ire and Nightmare Moon. The Warm and Embracing Magic of Love. The Mystic and Secretive Shamanistic Magic. And the Cosmic Power of Rift Magic. They all came together, surrounding Phione. All of them had their eyes and mouths open with their respective colours glowing out of them.
The golden light affected these various energies, responding to them perfectly. Upon taking some time to feel them, the Light of Arceus had then started constructing something out of thin air. Right outside the castle.
Everyone in Canterlot, from the ponies who lived here, the students within the Pokemon School and even the teachers had their attentions' grabbed to look outside. They witnessed something being materialized out of a golden light. The stairs that they spoke had been made. Rather, the base of it. The golden outline of this staircase appearance's with particles flowing out of it. Its height of it was taller than Canterlot Castle and even broke through some of the nearby clouds. Not quite tall enough to reach the cosmos yet.
Ash and the others did their job as their energies faded away. Afterwards, they collectively looked outside, witnessing the staircase that they made as Phione's body had stopped glowing.
"There," said Celestia. "The start of our way to Jirachi. I believe we shall call it the Cosmic Stairway It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
"Wow..." Sweetie Belle was in absolute awe.
"That'll do." Ash nodded in approval.
"Pikachu."
They had done it. After making the Cosmic Stairway, at least the outline, they had future work ahead of them. Phione had fallen asleep after using the power of the Arceus. Sweetie Belle went over, picking up the Sea Drifter Pokemon. "She fell asleep all of a sudden."
"It must've been using the power of Arceus." Luna walked over. "I can imagine that using it for the first time with all of that would tire it. Take good care of her, Sweetie Belle. Aside from Jirachi, you have the Pokemon that can help keep our friendship alive."
"Phione stated that there would be more. Shooting Star is one of them and soon, Jade." Celestia turned to Jade. "For now, we'll continue to work on that staircase overtime until the second big moment for us to extend in further. Jade. I hope that you can know how to use your magic by then."
"Mmm. I'll try." Jade bowed her head.
"I hope that Shooting Star finds shape his own destiny in time. After that, we can all finish it. But thank you all for your hard work. You may now leave. Until next time. Whenever Phione and Arceus will call for us." Celestia called this meeting to a close as everyone had done their job.
The staircase was now permanently there, unfinished. and only a golden outline. But it was a start. Sweetie Belle carried the sleeping Phione home as eyes couldn't be taken off of the Cosmic Stairway.
Ash wondered if he could step on it. But with how there was nothing solid available, it was best to just wait for it to finish being built. Soon, the stairway would reach between the 7 Stars.
Where Jirachi lay.
Ponyville. Carousel Boutique. Afternoon.
"Meowstic..." Meowstic breathed in and out as she, Plusle and Minun managed to repair the window. But with the cost of the boutique's tidiness. A heaping array of glue was everywhere as Meowstic currently dropped a bottle of it.
Sweetie Belle returned to see the total mess as Opalescence was stuck to the walls thanks to the glue while also having her fur frizzled. Electrical shocks could be seen coming out of her, giving a good idea of the event that happened here. As for the window itself, it could look better but at least the shards were back. Albeit unkempt with Meowstic being disappointed with the result.
"Oh. W-Well...At least you tried." Sweetie Belle chuckled, knowing that Rarity was going to be agitated by this. She hoped that it wouldn't be too serious. Sweetie Belle returned her partners before having Prinplup use his sharp flippers to slice the glue off of Opalescence.
Opalescence closed her eyes, but thankfully, Prinplup's precision was nothing to doubt as the cat had been dropped being caught by Teddiursa. Sweetie Belle and the rest of her Pokemon would then start cleaning up. They may be unable to hide the destruction of the window, but everything else could at least go.
"Phione..." Phione snored as Sweetie Belle placed her in her own room, allowing Phione to rest in her bed. The Sea Drifter Pokemon had small golden lights flash from her faintly whilst snoring. It was unknown if that was Arceus sending another message. But right now, Sweetie Belle chose to let her rest, closing the door.
"Sleeptight, Phione."
The next major step in finding Jirachi was underway. A massive golden stairway that would lead to the cosmos. Formed together by various forces that have had time to build up thanks to recent events. Now, they waited for the next time they were needed once the stars were aligned right. The quest to Jirachi was not over yet as the journey continues.
"They haven't done anything yet..." Luna spoke, currently looking in a room where the only thing residing there was the Magical Aura Prison that held Lucien and Sienna. The two Rift Humans. "They were also completely safe during the Unown attack as they said. Something is amiss."
"I understand, Luna. They wouldn't be this stationery at all." Celestia shook her head. "Either they're unbothered by their imprisonment, or it's something else."
"Nothing else here." Hearing their conversation even when hushed were Lucien and Sienna.
"We're just minding our own business here." Sienna shrugged.
"You two seemed far too comfortable and safe during the Unown attack. Though...I suppose you were protected and would come back eventually by Arceus. But you've stayed too silent for too long."
"Relax, princess. We can't do anything after all. Aura's our biggest weakness out of anything else." said Lucien. "You can't expect us to do much, can you?"
"Hmm..." Luna backed away, narrowing her eyes at the two of them.
"Luna. We can handle them later. Right now, we should continue focusing on that stairway to space." Celestia said, focusing on what mattered more than anything else right now.
"Right, right." Luna sighed before leaving with her big sister. "I should probably catch an Audino just in case..." Her voice faded in the background whilst trotting away.
"Of course...Who said we needed to be out and about to do the things we do?" The moment they left, Lucien popped a smirk, raising his finger. "This is the one time we've agreed to help each other, right?"
"Just this once." Sienna stood up. "I'll still outdo you in whatever comes up next. But for this, let's shake the world up a bit." She then held out her hand with Lucien responding with a shake. "Summon a source of cosmic power that no of those power chasers. Start the greatest alliance of villains that this world's ever seen?"
"Sounds good to me." With that agreement, they had come up with a collective plan for the first time. The closest were the Desires but that was mainly Sienna's doing. From within the orb, they had managed to use their Rift Magic. While they were limited in where they could go, their magic, not so much.
Their magic could still work on the outside, not exactly on the inside. And they made sure it would work. Their plan was to lure out certain individuals. Seen as villains to those in this world for obvious reasons. And to unite them all was the main goal.
This went past Equestria. Out of its lands and elsewhere in a wasteland. In that wasteland, erupting in the middle and scaring off some of the Pokemon that resided here even outside of Equestria, was the emergence of Rift Energy.
High-value Rift Energy.
It appeared as the traditional orb that most Rift Energies appear as. Nothing new about that. But the difference was that this one held more of it than any other Rift Energy that had previously emerged in Equestria. From the earlier days of the world's crossing over to the usage of it in Pegalysium.
It had shot a mighty pillar of blue and purple light into the skies, piercing the clouds as it acted as a beacon. The ground below cracked with a large crater being formed by it. The rocks from the crater started levitating constantly from the sheer power of this sphere.
It stayed there for minutes, doing nothing but continuing to spiral there, letting out a horrific cosmic sound that was hard to describe unless someone were to be from space itself. However, despite the shining beacon that it turned out to be, the Pokemon nearby here could not see it.
They could hear its sounds and see the destruction that it caused upon emerging, but any view of this sphere was taken away. It was as if they were staring at an invisible force. But it was most definitely there. Only unable to be seen by them
Except for a select group.
Spotting this from afar was Malamar. Malamar was currently moving across Equestria, making plans for his massive revenge, when he had seen the light in the distance. His eyes could see it, unlike other Pokemon. Not only that, but upon gazing at it, Malamar, in an ironic twist, felt compelled by it. Much like how he compels others with his advanced hypnosis.
Malamar stopped what he was doing, standing on the hills to gaze at this light. By looking at it, it was as if the light was telling him to approach.
"Such amazing power..." Malamar spoke to himself via telepathy. "I need it." He desired that power. It was too vast to ignore as Malamar was the first to approach it. But being that he was a slow Pokemon, he would need a quick mode of transport to help him reach past Equestria's outskirts. Luckily, with his mind-controlling capabilities, he looked to the skies for the nearest Flying-Type Pokemon to use.
He wasn't the only one drawn to it and able to see it.
Elsewhere in Equestria, the bickering duo of Cozy Glow and Togepi were drawn to it as well. Their bond as Pokemon and Trainer was still jumbled and unrefined.
"Huh?" Cozy Glow and her froze once their eyes met with this light. They stared at it for a bit before Cozy Glow's hoof kicked Togepi away.
"To!"
"Oooh...Can you feel that?" Cozy Glow could also feel the amazing magic flowing through it. Togepi growled, running over to COzy Glow. But the presence of the Rift Magic in the far distance was too grand to ignore as any attack on Cozy Glow had been halted for this. "Oh imagine if I had that magic..." She rubbed her hooves together.
"Togepi..." Togepi nodded, also trying to rub her arms together. Unfortunately, they were too short. Togepi and Cozy Glow looked each other in the eyes, knowing that they both wanted that power. "Toge!" Togepi then hopped onto Cozy Glow's back, causing her eyes to bulge out. "Togepi!"
"Ugh...!" Cozy Glow groaned. "Yeah, I get it!" Cozy Glow was the only one here who could fly and Togepi was aware of that, already wanting to take advantage of it. "I'm going already!" Cozy Glow too as she spread her wings out. Now she and Togepi were heading for the far outskirts.
This light didn't reach just Equestria. Due to the towering visage of it and how it broke through the clouds, it had also drawn the attention of a pony in the sky. But of course, the light was only made for certain eyes.
There at Pinnaculum Pegalysium, a nation only made via time alteration, Second Wind caught wind of the light. At her castle, she saw the radiant glow of the Rift Energy, already recognizing this familiar feeling.
"This power..." She walked out to her balcony. "It's Rift Energy. But it feels so much greater than the previous one I had." The Grand Queen then pondered for a moment, realizing that not only would she have the power of the Unown by her side, albeit small, but there was a chance that she could retain some Rift Magic. A larger amount than what she originally had. Second Wind wouldn't pass this at all. "I could try and perfect it this time. Anything to keep me at the top."
Second Wind then spread her wings out, ready to head for the light. But she wouldn't come alone. The Unown would be by her side along with some Pinnaculum Pegalysium Guards. The plan that Lucien and Sienna had made was already coming together so nicely.
Universe 11. The Solar Empire. Canterlot. Day.
This light was not just visible to Universe 1. It had reached Universe 11 as well. Its light could expand that far despite appearing thin. And this time, three individuals had seen it. Daybreaker, Empress Twilight Sparkle and Ghetsis. However, instead of being heavily attracted to it like the previous two who had seen it, these three already knew that something was amiss.
"That's far too out in the open." Ghetsis spoke. "But it is tempting."
"Someone is calling us to come for it," Daybreaker observed. "It's a call for us to have all the power we need. I've seen something like this before."
"I say we go for it." Empress Twilight suggested. "Can't you see and feel how much that is? It's reaching all the way to this universe right now. If we have that...I could get back up to speed. Retrieve what I had lost from Celestia. At least equivalent to all the magic from before."
"You could." Daybreaker nodded. "And Necrozma could feed on it. Light is light after all. No matter how different its colours may be. But it could be a trap."
"If it is a trap, then we will simply dispose of whoever stands in our way to it." Ghetsis thought ahead of them. Daybreaker and Empress Twilight looked at each other before shrugging. They made up their mind.
"Very well then. Let's make our way there, shall we?" Daybreaker replied as they were set to head to Universe 1. They would go with a larger force. Mainly with the Plasma Frigate and the Sunstorm Ships as their main way to travel through the skies or even the seas.
The ships had started up as Colress had been ordered to open up the gateway to Universe 1. A massive hole made for two large ships had been formed. It required the power of multiple Travel Spheres to make it happen. Once opened, they had then passed through, entering Universe 1.
It wouldn't just be an entirely different universe that would be graced with this view.
The Pokemon World. Sinnoh Region. Day.
The Pokemon World was not exempt from this. And the eyes of it were made exclusively for two individuals that were currently working here, on the move and active with ever-growing plans.
Hunter J and the Shiny Gardevoir.
However, J, upon looking at it, dismissed it. Mainly due to the voice of her Desire that spoke to her about it. J did originally plan to head over to see what that entailed during her Pokemon Hunting, but the voice said otherwise.
"I shouldn't go after it?" J spoke to it.
"I'd advise staying away from it. The Twilight in me knows where that could lead to."
"Tch. But it's so out there." J still felt the temptation to chase it down. Despite having a Desire within her, this Desire rejected its natural tendencies. However, she ended up taking the advice of her Desire over anything else. Then again, there wasn't anything else.
However, while it didn't work with J, it certainly worked with Gardevoir.
Nicknamed an Aura Vampire due to her constantly absorbing Aura just for the goal of living forever, the Embrace Pokemon had returned to reality, no longer trapped in the realm of Delayed Aura Ataxia. Funnily enough, her enemies were the ones who freed her.
Ever since then, Gardevoir had been brought to the present day realm, overwhelmed by how different things were. Mainly with the bonds between Humans and Pokemon. Gardevoir thought back to when Humans were terrified of Pokemon. That wasn't the case anymore.
Because of this drastic change, stealing Aura had only been made harder since everyone could fight back. Not just the Aura Guardians she tried to steal from. "I can't believe I was almost caught..." She groaned as her failed battles even involved herself almost being caught in a Poke Ball. "Huh?"
Eventually, Shiny Gardevoir spotted the light beaming from another universe. Her eyes met with it, utterly compelled and drawn to it already. It wasn't Aura, but there was something about it that she couldn't resist. "Ooh...I could use that." She started levitating, already making her way there. All she needed to do was find a gateway to Equestria. And luckily for her, those are abundant.
Equestria. Out in the wasteland. Afternoon.
Eventually, they were all making their way towards the wasteland. The Rift Energy was there waiting for them. And one consistent theme was that they were all travelling by air.
Whether by using a Pokemon to fly, being a pegasus that can always fly, using levitation to fly or rather float, or even massive ships to fly through the air, they had already governed the skies. And it was only a matter of time before they would notice each other. Especially with those large ships in the sky.
"Huh? W-What are those?!" Cozy Glow gasped upon seeing the two large ships flying through the skies, almost being masked by the clouds as they came from the east.
"Out of the way, brats!" And shoving Cozy Glow and Togepi out of the way was Malamar, who had mind-controlled a Fearow to travel faster.
"Ow!" Cozy Glow and Togepi flinched after being shoved by Fearow and Malamar slapping their face with his appendages. They recovered, equally shaking their heads. Though in this case, Togepi's entire body was her head. In unison, they had growled at Malamar and Fearow.
Passing underneath them at a faster pace than Cozy Glow could ever hope to achieve was Gardevoir. Then again, in this instance, everyone was faster than Cozy Glow. Especially the ships. Gardevoir's levitation proved to be quicker than Fearow's flying, passing it and Malamar by.
"Hm?!" Malamar gasped.
"Pardon me~" Gardevoir whistled after passing her. "But I'm just in a hurry for that light over there~"
"Faster, you!" Malamar ordered Fearow. Fearow started picking up the pace. Before, it was only flying moderately to the scene. Now with Gardevoir revealing that she was heading for the same location, Fearow could speed up.
"Toge!" Togepi smacked Cozy Glow in the head, ordering her to also move faster.
"Ouch! I'm trying my best here!" Cozy Glow cried out as she was moving at her absolute best. At the end of the day, she was just a filly. Full of energy, but not exactly holding the speed to make it seem great.
Coming from the west was Second Wind, her Unown and a few of her Pegasi Guards. They saw the large ships before flying over Cozy Glow and Togepi. Cozy Glow simply pouted, knowing that practically everyone was passing her by at this point.
"What are those ships doing? They're not heading for the same location are they!?" Second Wind gasped. She couldn't allow that to happen. Not when so much power is sitting there, untouched so far. "Unown! Stop them!"
Commanding the Unown, the various Symbol Pokemon had used their combined powers, focusing on one spot. Together, they had made a powerful forcefield that got in the way of not just the ships, but Gardevoir and Malamar as well. They ended up crashing into the forcefield, which had an elastic nature to it when they made contact.
"Gh!" Gardevoir grunted with her face pressing on the forcefield. She held her face as Malamar felt dizzy afterwards. Cozy Glow stopped flying, seeing them all crashing. She was surprisingly lucky for being slower than all of them. Second Wind and her group weren't affected, easily passing through the forcefield.
"Later losers!" She taunted, chuckling away as now Gardevoir and Malamar started growling. One by one, everyone's anger was being tested in this. All except for Ghetsis, Empress Twilight and Daybreaker. Even after crashing, their ships remained fine. They were not bothered by this forcefield in the slightest.
"That's a problem," said Colress. "We aren't the only ones going for it and it seems that pegasus over there is using the power of the Unown. Not a bad choice."
"Power of the Unown? Tch." Ghetsis scoffed. "Let me handle this." Ghetsis chose to be the one to deal with the forcefield. Everyone else had their personal ideas through it, but it was mainly Ghetsis who got ahead to it. He entered the upper deck of the Plasma Frigate, gaining the attention of Malamar and Gardevoir.
Cozy Glow took the opportunity to get a lead. And the way to do that was by flying to one of the ships, immediately landing on the back. Mainly of the Sunstorm. They all moved faster than her. Might as well use them to her advantage as Togepi hopped off of Cozy Glow. As for Ghetsis, he had used Hydreigon, summoning him into the fray.
"Hydreigon! Blow this forcefield to bits!"
"Hydrei...!" Hydreigon had various ways of damaging this forcefield. But sensing that it was made via Psychic Energy, allowed him to resort to the Dark-Type. All three of his mouths had used Dark Pulse respectively and to make them stronger, merging them was the go-to option.
With the power of darkness from this mutated Hydreigon, the forcefield that the Unown formed had been damaged greatly. In just seconds, it had shattered. Second Wind was alerted by this, witnessing the forcefield shattering so easily. Even the Unown couldn't help but be blown back by this.
Ghetsis' Hydregion had easily made short work of it. Second Wind continued flying, hoping to outpace them and make it to the light before they could. "Get back here!" But Ghetsis wouldn't allow that.
Using his Dark Magic, he made a black whip that came out of his hands. That whip wrapped around Second Wind's wings, instantly pulling her back. "Oh!" Second Wind screeched after being pulled back by the black whip. Ghetsis then released the black whip, causing Second Wind to hurl through the air.
The Unown had saved Second Wind, using their power to open a dimensional hole. That hole brought Second Wind back to the spot she was originally at. The Grand Queen shook her head, feeling perplexed as the Plasma Frigate and the Sunstorm sped up, easily passing them.
The guards were blown away by the force of these massive moving ships, being sent off course and away from the scene entirely. Second Wind joined the group in growling. That was the common response when something unexpected happens, mainly from another contender.
"Who are you all?!" Gardevoir flew next to the ships, coming close to Ghetsis. Malamar did the same with Fearow as Ghetsis saw both of them on both sides.
"I should be asking you the same thing!" Malamar shouted. "You are currently in my way from achieving ultimate power!"
"I think you mean, my ultimate power?" Gardevoir scoffed. "Power that can help me live forever. And I can sense some Aura coming from this human right here now that I think about it."
"Your ultimate power?!" Second WInd's voice came through. "I think not! You creatures don't need ultimate power when you're already so destructive! Leave it for those who deserve it! Like myself!"
"You're all in my way. Get lost." Ghetsis said as the Plasma Frigate sped up, blowing them away with its wind pressure. The Psychic-Types and the pegasi continued their chase, yearning to get there before anyone else.
Eventually, they all managed to reach the wasteland. The two ships had descended with Cozy Glow and Togepi hopping off. Malamar had no use for Fearow anymore, quickly hopping off of it and releasing the mind control.
"Fear? Fear?" Naturally, Fearow was greatly confused. Unaware of why it was here, Fearow simply went on its merry way, unable to see the Rift Energy nearby.
All except for those who were chosen to. Ghetsis and everyone ended up converging at one spot. Now they could all see each other at a closer angle and distance. And as to be expected, the tension was high with the atmosphere changing.
They all collectively stopped at the crater where the sphere lay. Some of them, such as Gardevoir and Malamar, appeared alone while others appeared in groups. Team Plasma, Solar Empire and Twilight Imperium Guards coupled with a few Unown. All large groups.
Cozy Glow and Togepi could count in a way being a duo. However, to prevent Togepi from doing anything else that could compromise things, Cozy Glow quickly returned her to her Poke Ball.
"Hm?" Empress Twilight, among everyone else, was the only one who had recognized Cozy Glow. From her timeline, she had already met with this particular pegasus before, knowing all about her. "She's here?"
"So. All of you chose to come here," Daybreaker spoke. "Not too surprised. Look at that thing. Isn't that just the largest source of Rift Energy you've ever seen?"
"Why else?" Second Wind stepped forward before recognizing Daybreaker's voice and parts of her appearance. "H-Hold on! Aren't you Celestia?!"
"Not the Celestia of your universe. Call me Daybreaker."
"Doesn't matter. You've all come here for what I need," said Gardevoir. "A major part in my goal to immortality. This sphere could help me realize my goal. And if I have the time, which I will, payback against Ash Ketchum and Equestria can be due."
"Immortality?" Malamar spoke. "Pah. What a weak wish. Why use it for that when it can be used for something greater. I need it for my goal of absolute conquest over everything! First some revenge on Canterlot and then the emergence of my perfect world."
"For a Psychic-Type, you are incredibly moronic," Colress spoke, adjusting his glasses. "Immortality can help with ruling the world for years. That Gardevoir at least has the right idea of achieving something many would want."
"Oh, why thank you." Gardevoir very much liked that compliment.
"My absolute rule is coming from that sphere." Next was Second Wind with her reason. "I had some Rift Magic once but lost it due to how unstable it was." She then started talking to herself with her eyes fixated on the sphere. "But with how I am now, that might not be the case. I could be like Paramount and learn to control it to its fullest. And soon some sweet revenge on Equestria while making it a part of my growing reign!"
"Well, I need it to get back up to speed." Empress Twilight chimed in. "I lost too much magic during that invasion. If I can use this to retrieve all of it back and possibly more than I already had...Then my reign can continue smoothly as if nothing ever happened."
"Again conquering..." Gardevoir squinted her eyes, noticing that some of these reasons were similar in terms of their big end goal.
"Hello, there~!" Cozy Glow ran over, making a cheery and melodic tone. She soon alerted the entire group, causing them to gaze at this filly. Upon being spotted, Cozy Glow had already put on a facade. One that she knows best. And it started by having a cute smile with fluttering eyes. "I hear you're all after that sphere over there...
"Who the..." Ghetsis uttered, pausing on his words.
"But...You wouldn't mind letting little ol' me have that power would you?" She asked with an innocent voice, obviously feeling that since she was the youngest, she could have that power. Of course, this didn't make sense to the others as they all collectively had the same expression.
A collective expression of disparagement and derision could be seen on their faces. They were all unimpressed, confused and abhorrent of Cozy Glow's offer. They could all at least agree on that as Cozy Glow's cute facade did not work on them. Colress didn't even bother to look at her. Only looking at his device.
"Who is this lost child?" Ghetsis asked, pointing at Cozy Glow. The little pegasus pulled back as her offer had been wiped out.
"Eh. Cozy Glow. Dealt with her in my universe." Empress Twilight shrugged. "She was a threat once. But not anymore. Ignore her."
"Hey!" Cozy Glow shouted.
"Anyway...what else could you possibly want this for?" Gardevoir asked. "It sounds to me that all of you have the same idea. Seems that it all boils down to conquering everything that you can. Is everyone here just focused on ruling the world?"
"Yes." Ghetsis, Empress Twilight, Second Wind, Malamar and silently, Cozy Glow, collectively said as a lot of them had the same goal for different worlds. Sometimes even both worlds.
"Aren't you the one who also wants revenge much like some of us?" Second Wind called Gardevoir out as she still had something similar to all of them.
"They all can have the same plan." Daybreaker stepped forward. "I have something else in mind. Two things. To satisfy Necrozma's hunger and to bring back my sister."
"Did you say Necrozma?!" Malamar and Gardevoir were both alarmed by that name.
"Ah, you know about that Pokemon. Good." Daybreaker smirked, now knowing that Necrozma's name alone can strike fear into them. Hydreigon snarled at Gardevoir, Malamar and the others, wanting to attack them as soon as possible. Cozy Glow was the odd one out as the Unown backed away from Hydreigon.
Gardevoir shifted her eyes, already transferring Psychic energy to her legs to move as fast as she could. Malamar had the plan of mind-controlling some of them to do his bidding. Mainly the Unown. Strength in numbers after all. Second Wind scrunched her mouth as a visible sweat drop had been seen. Empress Twilight's horn started glowing with the first spell on her mind being reserved.
Tensions were rising as any of them could attack each other at any moment. And they would not hesitate for a second. Daybreaker was the only one exempt from this. If anything, she saw value in all of this. Everyone here had some grudge against one common enemy. Two to be exact. Ash Ketchum and Equestria.
"Hold on." Daybreaker managed to stop them all. "Let's all not obliterate ourselves here. After all, we have a common goal, don't we? Revenge against those who we lost to. Well, mainly all of you. I haven't lost yet."
"Yes...?" Second Wind lowered her wings.
"So why fight? When we can work together." Daybreaker suggested. "That must be the reason why this sphere had even shown up. As a massive way to make us all gather. You all want the ultimate power that it holds, but how about we act wisely about this? Even you, child."
"Oh?" Cozy Glow was finally acknowledged. By Daybreaker of all ponies.
"I'd never work with anypony else. Especially not two who are exceedingly close to Celestia and Twilight Sparkle." Second Wind scoffed.
"But you'd work with Pokemon. And from what I can tell, you lost to them too, didn't you?" Daybreaker walked around Second Wind. "I can tell how you act from just hearing you talk and seeing you act. You would work with anyone to help reach your goals."
"I...That..."
"Don't try hiding it. I already know many others who have been there too." Daybreaker then stood in the middle. "If we were to battle here the...I won't even need to say the outcome. It could go different ways, but no one here wants to find out, do they? There's a chance any of you could be defeated and lose your chance of gaining this power for yourself."
In their ears, Daybreaker raised a good point. The chances were all over the place due to the vast number differences. Daybreaker was mainly speaking from her side with Ghetsis, Colress and Empress Twilight. They did have the superior number advantage.
"So. What do you all say? Does an alliance against two common enemies sound like a brilliant idea?" Daybreaker raised an eyebrow, waiting for their response. They all collectively closed their eyes before groaning. A majority of them were not fond of teaming up, but at this rate, what other choice did they have aside from being defeated. Daybreaker received their answers via collective sighs. "Good. Then it's settled."
"I hate doing this..." Gardevoir and Second Wind sighed, speaking in unison. "But, it could work out somehow."
"I will require some assistance," Malamar said. "Even if it isn't the way I pictured it being."
"But since we are going to teamup, we will need a name. It's a Pegalysium custom to always do so for alliances. I suggest the Indigo Alliance!" She ended up using the old name for her old organization.
"Malamar Assembly!" Malamar flailed his appendages around.
"The Immortals!" Gardevoir chimed in, raising her arm.
"Cozy Glow and Friends!"
"Destroy Ash Ketchum." Ghetsis said with a monotone voice and face.
"Celestia Crushers!" Empress Twilight laughed, having her own name idea. Everyone did and they were certainly unique.
"Ugh..." Daybreaker shook her head "We'll work on that. Although...The Immortals isn't a bad idea at all." Afterwards, their alliance had been truly formed.
They put their hands, hooves and appendages in one spot, swearing to this team-up. And as if they were on the same wavelength, they collectively stared laughing. Giving off maniacal ones too in the process. They looked each other in the eyes before then facing the sphere of Rift Energy. All of them would hold it. The Ultimate Power would be theirs.
A terrifying team-up had been formed. One out of a shared common goal. The biggest enemies that Equestria had to offer plus some that the Pokemon World had to offer as well, all working together at last. All according to the plan of Lucien and Sienna. Unknown horrors could come from this as the journey continues.
Over at the Human World, it was currently a weekend, meaning that at this time, Twilight was free to occupy herself with Pokemon-related actions. Although, recently, schools across this world have stayed their focus on Pokemon due to recent events.
"Okay!" Twilight exclaimed as she was wearing a tracksuit. She was in the mood for some daily exercise, especially this early in the morning. But Twilight was only doing this for a major reason as she had all of her Pokemon out. All three of them. Alpha Rapidash, Alpha Munchlax and Hisuian Zorua. "It's time for some exercise. But not just any exercise!"
"Then what is it?" Zorua asked.
"Well, I figured if I'm going to reach Rapidash, I could try by taking part in what she and her entire species enjoy. Running." Twilight snapped her fingers as this was a plan to have her and Rapidash get along. Their relationship was neither rocky nor rising. It was just stagnant. "I know how much you enjoy running Rapidash, so let's have a go at it!"
Rapidash stayed silent, squinting at Twilight who started jogging on the spot. Twilight was visibly trying her best, putting on a wide smile to boot. "Dash..."
"Come on, Rapidash. It'll be fun, no doubt. We'll have a blast and we won't run out of food to eat. Munchlax will even take part in it. Right Mun-" Twilight turned to face the Big Eater Pokemon, only to spot that Munchlax had just devoured all of the food that Twilight had prepared for this day.
It was all gone. Clean and erased from the outside. Including the Pokemon Food that was also meant for Zorua and dog food for Spike. Munchlax is a Pokemon that will eat just about anything. No matter what. Munchlax then gave off his signature blank stare towards Twilight, not saying much. Until he did. "Munch."
"Hah...There goes all of our food." Twilight lowered her head as Munchlax proudly patted his stomach after consuming the food of his friends.
"Hey, Twilight!" But her disappointment quickly faded away once a familiar voice was heard. Ash and Pikachu had arrived, here to see their friend. But they weren't alone. Rainbow Dash was with them. But there was one difference that Twilight had yet to see.
"Oh! Ash! Pikachu! And Rainbow Dash!" Twilight turned to them. "Glad you could show up here. You're just in time for us to have some exercise to bond. And um...Munchlax ate all of our food."
"Munchlax."
"Is this is all about Rapidash again?" Ash asked.
"It is. I learned that Rapidash love running, so I figured I'd try and do running activities with her and everyone else. So that we can bond. We haven't started yet so...banking on working out." Twilight laughed nervously.
"Ah, Rapidash..." Rainbow Dash nodded slowly. "I could see myself having a Rapidash. It's a pretty cool Pokemon. Maybe I should catch one."
"Castform." All of a sudden, catching Twilight off guard was the appearance of Castform. Around Rainbow Dash's jeans, there was a small bag. And out of the small back emerged the Weather Pokemon Castform.
"Oh! Rainbow Dash, did you catch yourself a new Pokemon?" Twilight questioned before taking out her Pokedex.
"Oh, yeah, I didn't mention it! Twilight, this is the Rainbow Dash from Equestria." Ash introduced her. This was not the same Rainbow Dash she had already grown to bond with. Equestria's Rainbow Dash made her first appearance.
"Oh. Oh?!" The third time in a row Twilight had said 'Oh', having a startled expression while Rainbow Dash put on a grin.
"I was gonna surprise her but you did it for me already, Ash." Rainbow Dash chuckled. "The look on your face! Yeah, I finally decided to come and check this place out. Kinda got used to being turned into different stuff. First, it was the board game with Braviary, then it was Zeraora and now this. This body's easy to use. Lucky you getting to always be like this, Ash. Check it out! I can do this!"
To show just how well she was getting used to this human body, she showed her hands, pulling off multiple finger poses. From pointing to wiggling her fingers around to then cracking her knuckles, Rainbow Dash found enjoyment in it. She could even perform tip-toes on her face, because why not? With all of these accessible traits of the human body, she would take full advantage of it.
"This also means I can get payback on you for this, Ash!" Rainbow Dash then grinned before attacking Asa via tickling of all things, getting behind him. "Now I can do the same!"
"Gyahahahaha! R-Rainbow!" Ash laughed frantically from Rainbow Dash's actions. But he quickly reversed it on her, paying the favour back. "But I knew a day like this would come!"
"K-Knock it off, Ash!" Rainbow Dash was also caught off guard as the two of them went back and forth, having a blast.
"Well, welcome to our world. I've gotta get used to meeting counterparts. I mean, I saw mine once but...we didn't talk much."
"What?! Rainbow Dash was taken aback, quickly breaking up the tickle fight. "You didn't talk that much with Twilight?! Uh...O-Our Twilight?!"
"She was as frozen as me when we first saw each other. We kinda said Hi to each other afterwards and she just left." Twilight shrugged, revealing that her interaction with her Equestrian Counterpart was unnaturally short. A greeting and a farewell in seconds.
"Hm. Well, you're gonna see them all soon. But did I hear you mention exercise?" Rainbow Dash leaned in. "That's music to my ears right there."
"We are. I'm just hoping that Rapidash will like it. Here's hoping for some great bonding time. Hopefully..." Twilight was putting it all on hope. So far, Rapidash had just shown an incredibly visible stubborn nature.
"Woah...So that's an Alpha Pokemon." This was Rainbow Dash's first official time witnessing an Alpha Pokemon after hearing about Twilight's Alpha Rapidash. "Yeah...It's way bigger than any other Rapidash I've seen. Then again, I haven't seen much. So this is the stubborn Rapidash Ash mentioned."
"Stubborn might be an understatement..." Twilight sighed.
"Ah, don't worry about it!" Rainbow Dash slid over, catching Twilight off guard with a pat on the back. "I've dealt with stubborn Pokemon before. Well...only Mienfoo, honestly. They're tough to get to, but you can reach them eventually."
"How long did it take to reach yours? Your Mienfoo, I mean?" She asked.
"Only took me a few seconds. All I did was taunt her and she started acting. Told her that she'd look weak if she didn't do anything than just stand there." Rainbow Dash chuckled, revealing her less than friendly way of getting to Mienfoo. But it was effective.
And responding to her sentence was Mienfoo herself. The Martial Arts Pokemon ended up forcing herself out of Rainbow Dash's bag, emerging onto the scene for Twilight to witness. "Mienfoo...!" Mienfoo growled, hearing Rainbow Dash's words.
"Uh, Mienfoo!" Backing away, Rainbow Dash put on a nervous grin. "You seriously heard that? Come on, it's true though!"
"Mien...!" Mienfoo's body was turning red along with smoke starting to rise from her temper. Which was fairly short.
"Did you gain Guts or something?" Rainbow uttered for a moment before trying to keep Mienfoo from lashing out. "Look! You're a strong Pokemon now! You just weren't listening so I had to try what I could to convince you. No hard feelings, right?"
"Mien!" Mienfoo crossed her arms, knowing this to be true. But, she would prefer that Rainbow Dash kept something that embarrassing to herself. Mienfoo took pride in being and feeling powerful in every way.
"Hm...So what you're saying is...is that I should taunt Rapidash to convince her?" Twilight was leaning toward Rainbow Dash's words.
"Maybe that can work! Stubborn Pokemon need more upfront ways!" Twilight was already all-in on that idea as she walked up to Rapidash. "Okay, Rapidash."
"Ra?" Rapidash looked over as Twilight cleared her throat, attempting to give out her best taunting tactics.
"I get that you don't want to listen to me and all. But if you don't, then you could just end up being stuck in my back garden forever, not doing much while every other Rapidash in the world gets t move and run freely even with Trainers. You'd be left in the dust and that wouldn't be fun, would it?" She winked, taunting Rapidash.
Upon hearing her words, Rapidash stayed silent for a moment. And after 3 seconds of silence, the Fire Horse Pokemon slowly stood up with her massive shadow casting over Twilight. Twilight Sparkle had a bright grin on her face, hoping that it had convinced her in the right way.
And it convinced Rapidash alright.
Convinced her to blast Twilight's face with fire. "Rapidash!" Rapidash had used Fire Blast, causing it to hit Twilight's face as that was her perfect response. Rapidash then sat down, dismissing Twilight.
"Ugh..." Twilight groaned and coughed as her head was full of smoke along. "Guess that didn't work..."
"Yeah, it probably won't be a sure-fire thing against every stubborn Pokemon." Rainbow Dash chuckled. "But good job for trying. "But there's always the second option. Ya know what I mean, Ash?"
"I sure do!" Ash and Rainbow Dash were on the same wavelength. There were other ways to reach Pokemon and there was one common way that always seemed to be the most effective. "A Pokemon Battle." Both he and Rainbow Dash said.
"A Pokemon Battle?" Twilight repeated.
"Oh yeah. After hearing everything about Alpha Rapidash from Ash, I figured that she loves fighting strong Pokemon to make herself seem awesome." Rainbow Dash walked over. "And I don't blame her. That would make her awesome. So, a Pokemon Battle might be the way to go. What do you say?"
"Rapidash?" Rapidash's attention was actually drawn by this as she turned her head.
"I haven't had a proper Pokemon Battle yet at all." Twilight twirled her hair. "Mainly because Rapidash won't listen to me and Zorua's too shy and Munchlax is still new..."
"No sweat. We can make it work. Back in our world, we always make it work. Let's make it one of my Pokemon against your Rapidash."
"Mien!" Mienfoo suddenly tugged on Rainbow Dash's jeans. "Mien-Mien!"
"Oh, you wanna go, Mienfoo?" Rainbow Dash turned to her. "Alright. We'll make it happen. And ya know...you could teach Rapidash a thing or two." Just then, Rainbow ash had also used the taunting tactic, but with some buildup. Rapidash squinted, hearing Rainbow Dash's words and processing them.
"Mienfoo." Mienfoo then crossed her arms, believing that this would be a cakewalk considering that Rapidash wouldn't listen to anyone.
"Dash!?" Rapidash stood up, replying hastily to Mienfoo, as she declared that she would be the one to win without the order of a trainer. Even going as far as to say that Mienfoo was too small to prove a threat to an Alpha Pokemon.
"Mien?" Mienfoo gave off a cocky smirk, believing that to be false. "Mienfoo." It was safe to say that Mienfoo had riled up Rapidash, causing her flaming mane to intensify.
"Rapidash...!" Rapidash let out a violent neigh before she and Mienfoo's eyes sparked out electricity.
"Looks like they're both into it," Ash observed. "Let's make this battle happen."
The battle was about to begin. It would be Rainbow Dash vs Twilight Sparkle. One Pokemon only. Twilight and Rainbow Dash stood afar from each other along with their Pokemon.
"Okay, Rapidash. If we can work together with your amazing strength, we might be able to win this," said Twilight. "So um...will that work?"
"Dash!" Rapidash stomped her hoof, declining Twilight's help.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Rapidash." Rainbow Dash wagged her finer. "Alpha Pokemon or not, you're gonna go down hard."
"Mien!" Mienfoo agreed, taking her stance promptly.
"Sounds to me like we're ready. Okay, guys! Let's battle!" Ash gave the call for the battle to begin.
"We'll go first!" Rainbow Dash shouted before punching the air. "Force Palm, Mienfoo!"
"Mien!" Mienfo pulled one of her arms back before covering it in an orange glow, rushing towards the Fire Horse Pokemon.
"Rapidash, u-"
"Dash!" But Rapidash wouldn't listen, obviously. She would do things without Twilight. Rapidash went for Fire Blast, opening her mouth and unleashing a crimson flame with a majestic symbol at the front.
"Foo!" Mienfoo came into contact with the blast, throwing Force Palm onto it and resulting in a haphazardous explosion that rustled the grass. Mienfoo managed to destroy the flames, however, but she could land Force Palm on Rapidash as she slid back.
"Release it!"
"Mienfoo!" Until she could land it. Mienfoo used the energy from Force Palm, thrusting her fist forward and sending an orange beam. That beam travelled quick enough to catch Rapidash off guard as she wasn't expecting an alternate variant to this move.
"Ra!" Rapidash cried out after being struck in the face by Force Palm, staggering for a bit.
"Let's continue to get close! Acrobatics!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo then advanced once more, this time, performing multiple stylish flips to approach her opponent.
"Rapidash, look out! Dodge and use Hypnosis!"
"Ra...!" Rapidash shook her head before soon recovering. She saw how fast Mienfoo was, even for a speedy Pokemon such as Rapidash herself. But instead of taking Twilight's advice, she simply decided to blow Mienfoo back with Dragon Pulse.
"Use your momentum, Mienfoo!"
"Mien!" But with Acrobatics, Mienfoo's momentum allowed her to zip to the side, evading the dragon-shaped blast that came her way. Afterwards, Mienfoo had then leapt in, tackling Rapidash's head.
"Dash!"
"Awesome! Now, Fury Swipes!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo performed a backflip before jumping into the air. She pulled both her arms back, revealing her hidden claws to Rapidash.
"Rapidash!" Rapidash responded with High Horsepower, covering herself with an orange energy before then charging at the Martial Arts Pokemon. Mienfoo started swiping her claws as fast as she could once Rapidash and her came into contact with each other.
But this time, Rapidash managed to overpower her, using High Horsepower to break through Fury Swipes, bashing Mienfoo's body. "M-Mien!"
Mienfoo finally took a hit as she was sent flying. The Fighting- Type had then used her extended claws to grip onto the ground, saving herself from tumbling as she made a great recovery. Rapidash then continued approaching with High Horsepower.
Meanwhile, Twilight was left with nothing to do. She looked down, realizing that it might be permanent for Rapidash to forever ignore her. Rainbow Dash saw this before putting on a smile, knowing what to do next.
"Let's mess with her! Slide under and use Reversal!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo retracted her claws before looking Rapidash in the eyes when she approached. The Martial Arts Pokemon had then slid under Rapidash once she was close enough, causing her to miss High Horsepower. But Mienfoo certainly didn't miss Reversal as she jumped up, hitting Reversal onto Rapidash's stomach.
"R-Rapidash!" Rapidash gasped as Mienfoo had enough strength to launch a Pokemon as big as her into the air, albeit briefly. Rapidash then fell on her back as she felt the damage that she had given to Mienfoo earlier thanks to Reversal's usage. "D-Dash!"
"Heh. Come on." Rainbow Dash taunted, giving the beckoning hand sign to Rapidash. Mienfoo did the same with her paws as she knew very well that she was taking control of this battle.
"Hmm..." Ash observed the battle before catching onto what Rainbow Dash was doing. "Ah, I got it."
"Rapidash!" Rapidash was provoked by this as she grew enraged. In response, she held her breath, preparing the biggest Fire Blast she could muster.
"Use Acrobatics again! But hold some of it back!"
"Mien-Mien!" Mienfoo understood Rainbow Dash's approach clearly, approaching Rapidash with those swift movements. Rapidash unleashed Fire Blast, only for Mienfoo to use the swiftness of Acrobatics to leap over it. After leaping over, Mienfoo stomped on Rapidash's head, making a cute squeaky noise and staggering Rapidash just a bit.
Rapidash growled before turning around, using Dragon Pulse next. Mienfoo could even evade in the air, thanks to Acrobatics. Just by a hair though as Dragon Pulse had slightly grazed her. Mienfoo, after descending, then started zipping around Rapidash, leaving behind afterimages in the process.
"Dash? Rapidash?" Rapidash's eyes were following Mienfoo's hyper-fast movements before being caught off guard by a surprise tackle from the side. "Ra!" Mienfoo went back to zipping around as Rapidash started breathing out fire to try and hit her.
But those were avoided too as Mienfoo saw them coming. Mienfoo managed to hit Rapidash again, breaking up her Fire Blast. Rapidash was getting frustrated as Mienfoo kept hitting her from different angles with Acrobatics. Rapidash was unable to land a clear hit at all or even focus.
"R-Rapidash...!" Rapidash panted, almost getting on her knees as she was struggling to gain some concentration.
"Force Palm!"
"Mi..." Mienfoo then struck her paw on Rapidash's chin, holding it there for a bit before adding some extra muscle to it." En..." She had then raised her arm a bit more with the true force of it being shown. "Foo!" Afterwards, she performed a successful uppercut that knocked Rapidash onto her back.
"Come on, Rapidash. You're supposed to be faster than any of us." Rainbow Dash said.
"Mienfoo."
"R-R-Rapidash...!" Rapidash intensified her flames, slowly getting up.
"Rapidash, wait!" But before she could do anything else, Twilight shouted out, grabbing her attention. "You shouldn't have to do this alone. Not with how it's turning out!"
"D-Dash...!" Rapidash turned her head, still choosing to ignore Twilight.
"Listen to me!" But just then, Twilight's voice increased even further. Louder than what Rapidash had ever heard. Twilight held her breath, regretting raising her voice at Rapidash and scaring Zorua. But she had to do it to grab her attention. "I know you want to feel strong and great. Majestic even. But you can't do it by yourself. Look at you."
"Rrrr?" Rapidash did end up looking at herself, seeing how many scratchers and tatters were on her whilst Mienfoo was sitting peachy as if she had never been touched.
"I can help you. Even if you don't want my help, I'm going to try anyway." Twilight closed her eyes, mustering up the strength to finally speak forwardly with Rapidash. "So please. Just this once, can we work together? Then maybe, we can do something. I know you don't like me, but I want to pay you back for what happened back at Mt Molteau if I can. And I don't want to see you struggle like this..."
"Rapidash..." Rapidash had fully stood up, gazing Twilight in her eyes. The Fire Horse Pokemon stood there for a moment, taking in the words of her trainer. Indeed, with Rainbow Dash and Mienfoo being in so much sync, her chances of winning had dwindled.
Rapidash then gave a hesitant sigh before then facing Mienfo once more. But this time, Rapidash turned her eyes to Twilight before giving a slight nod. That was confirmation that she would accept Twilight's help. But only for a bit.
"R-Really?" Twilight was relieved to see this as a tear formed in her eye. Progress had been made. Small, but progress nonetheless. However, once this help had been accepted, a surprise had hit Twilight like a truck.
"R-Rapidash..." Rapidash had fainted. Her eyes turned white before she then fell to the ground. The aftermath f the damage had kicked on it seemed.
"Whoops! Guess Mienfoo put a bit too much force into that one, huh?" Rainbow Dash chuckled.
"Mienfoo..." Mienfoo scratched her head, not expecting Rapidash to suddenly go down like that.
"Oh," Twilight said, feeling disappointed that it ended so abruptly. Rapidash groaned before having Twilight walk over to her. "Rapidash. Are you okay?"
"Rrrr..." She neighed before banging her head on the ground. Rapidash wasn't too happy about how it all turned out, especially when she was about to continue before dropping.
"R-Return for now. Maybe next time." Twilight held out Rapidash's Poke Ball, sending her in. But sending her inside the Poke Ball wouldn't do at all. Rapidash needed full healing. "Is there anywhere we can restore her?"
"A Pokemon Center's the way to go," Ash spoke. "We can head over to Eindoak Town and use that Pokemon Center."
"Hey, Twilight. Sorry about that." Rainbow Dash went over. "My plan didn't pan out as I wanted it to. Was kinda hoping that you'd get that spurt of energy and go all out in our battle."
"It's fine Rainbow Dash. I would've lost anyway against you." Twilight accepted her defeat. Losing to an experienced trainer such as Rainbow Dash was not all that bad. "I just hope that next time, Rapidash will listen to me. Do you think she'll remember what I said today?"
"Maybe. Who knows?" Rainbow could only shrug. Just then, Twilight's Xtransceiver started ringing, prompting Spike and Zorua to bring it over. On the Xtransceiver, the face of Professor Oak could be seen.
"Professor Oak?" Twilight grabbed the Xtransceiver, instantly responding to Oak. "Yes?"
"Twilight. Sorry to interrupt, but right now, I have another Alpha Pokemon task for you." Oak spoke.
"Another Alpha Pokemon. Which one is it this time?"
"You'll find this Alpha Pokemon in the Hoenn Region. The people there said that they had witnessed an unusually large Luxio. But so far, ever since the Snorlax incident, Elite 4 Siebold has started mentioning Alpha Pokemon. So you'll be hearing a lot from them so far. As always, I need you and whoever is with you to go and catch it. Before that J does."
"Hoenn Region, huh?" Ash came over. "Gotcha. We'll head there soon."
"Oh! You know what this means?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed with her smile expanding. "I'm gonna do more stuff with this body! How great is that?!"
"Mienfoo!"
"Report back when you can. And stay safe out there Twilight." Oak responded before then hanging up with Twilight.
"Maybe Rapidash can help against this Alpha Luxio. She couldn't quite team up with you now, but maybe with Luxio that could happen." Ash turned to her as Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder. They were ready for a new adventure just after a Pokemon Battle had finished. Nothing was slowing down today, which could have something to do with two energetic souls being with Twilight.
"I hope so."
Twilight banked on hope once more. Something that was always good to latch onto. Her relationship with Rapidash had only improved slightly. But it was hard to tell if it would stay. For now, it was off to the Hoenn Region to find the Alpha Luxio as the journey continues.
"Well, look who showed up again!" The voice of Carlita blurted out. Currently, she was facing some familiar faces to her. The face of Ash and Pikachu. This time, he was joined by the Twilight Sparkle of the Human World and the Rainbow Dash of Equestria, appearing as a human. A unique combo of friends to be sure.
They had just finished healing Alpha Rapidash over at the Pokemon Center and would soon head to the Hoenn Region to find an Alpha Luxio that had been spotted there.
"Hey, Carlita." Ash greeted. "I've just noticed how many times we've been coming back here lately. I still remember years ago when we showed up here..."
"Pikachu..."
"And this one's...Twilight!" Carlita vigorously pointed at Twilight. "Right?"
"Right. That's me." Twilight greeted. "You must be Carlita."
"Ah, so this is Carlita!" Rainbow Dash slid in with a louder voice. "The one with the Dragon Force thing?"
"This is her." Ash nodded, holding his hand out to Carlita. "We're standing square at the place where all the People of the Vale live at. I told you all about her and the stuff that happened too."
"It's not a lot, is it, Ash?" Carlita nudged. "I ended up joining your sea mission late into the game. But I sure played my part in helping you and the People of the Water with the Dragon Force. That's about it."
"Speaking of the People of Water, we're about to head to Hoenn soon. Ya see, there's an Alpha Luxio around there. We've kinda got missions to find these Alpha Pokemon before Hunter J does and...it's a long story." Ash replied, stopping his story about the Alpha Pokemon.
"Alpha Pokemon? Oh yeah. I've been hearing about those things." Soon, it was revealed that Carlita knew about Alpha Pokemon as well. "They've been popping up lately ever since we got news of them."
"Which one did you hear about? Was it Alpha Snorlax?" Twilight asked.
"That's the one. Over at Nimbasa City, it caused quite a ruckus. Since then, some of us have been spotting them whenever we leave Eindoak."
"Oh! You've seen more Alpha Pokemon?! Where?!" Ash leaned in as this was juicy information to gather.
"They've probably left the spots we've been at. Or maybe they stayed there as their new home. But, those red eyes are noticeable in every way. Saw one of them near Hero's Ruin and all the way at Route 22 near Humilau City."
"Maybe Luxio shouldn't be the one we should go for first." Rainbow Dash spoke. "These ones are closer since we're in Unova."
"Hmm...You've got a point." Ash tapped his foot. While they would have to still head to Hoenn, new Alpha Pokemon in Unova were closer since they were already in the region. "We'll be busy then. Maybe today and maybe tomorrow. Probably, we can do it in one day if we're lucky, but ah."
"Knew you'd say that. But hey, since you're doing this...I want in." Carlita grinned. "I've already had a run-in with one of them, so this Alpha Pokemon thing's got me all kinds of interested."
"Always good to have you along, Carlita. So, which Alpha Pokemon did you see near the Hero's Ruin?"
"It was an Alpha Staravia. A fast one too for something so big." Carlita pointed to the skies. "It's long gone now. Who knows where it could be at this point with all that speed? Plus that Alpha Pachirisu too. Got all aggressive on some trainers and then fled somewhere else.
"Guess we're gonna have to pass on Alpha Staravia and Alpha Pachirisu right now. Let's head for Luxio!"
"Aw, if I had my wings right about now..." Rainbow Dash could see only one flaw with this human body. She didn't have access to her wings. However, she had heard that Equestrian magic could still be accessed thanks to what Twilight and Sunset had done. Though, they certainly weren't in Equestria right now. "Eh. I'll just have Braviary, Castform or Altaria handle it if we see' em."
"So, What's the Hero's Ruin?" Twilight asked as they were already within the ruins. "Hearing about that's already tickled my fancy.
"It's a place where the Black Hero of Unova Myth, one of the two princes of the Kingdom of the Vale, communicated with Zekrom," Carlita explained. "There exists another ruin out there for the prince that communicated with Reshiram but no one's ever discovered it yet."
"We can talk about heroes and ruins later. Right now, let's get rolling!" Rainbow Dash intervened, wanting to get this Alpha Pokemon search started. It was off to the Hoenn Region to find themselves Alpha Luxio before the possibility of Pokemon Hunter J finding it was made or it entering another region.
Hoenn Region. Shoal Cave. Afternoon.
Shoal Cave. A cave that was north of Mossdeep City, and also holds an appearance that changes greatly between high tide and low tide while also being carved into the side of a rocky mountain rising from the ocean.
Upon arriving here, the various bodies of water that acted as pools and waters could be seen with all kinds of Water-Type Pokemon within them. However, they were not active at all.
Mainly because once Ash and his friends came here, the first thing their eyes met with were a group of Spheal that had electricity crackling around them.
"S-Spheal..." The Spheal were clearly paralyzed as seen by how much electricity there was. It made them twitch, also causing them to stay in one position without much movement. A horrible feeling for a Pokemon that is always moving such as Spheal. To make matters worse, the bodies of water also had electricity surrounding them.
"W-What happened here?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"All of this electricity...It's on the walls too!" Twilight noticed as there were even volts moving across the walls constantly, not fading away for a moment.
"Luxio's definitely been here. Or is still here." Ash said, going up to the Spheal. Electricity in an area focused on Water-Type Pokemon was a bad sign in general, especially when it comes from an Alpha Pokemon.
"Spheal..."
"It's gonna be okay, Spheal." Ash patted one of the Spheal on the head as the electric shock went through him. But Ash withstood it. He's used to being shocked, thanks to Pikachu. And speaking of Pikachu, Ash then looked at this partner, knowing what he needed to do.
"Pikachu." So did Pikachu. Twilight had already dug into her bag to grab some Paralyze Heals, but Pikachu, unexpectedly, sorted it out already. "Pika...!" Pikachu started grabbing the Spheals, using the electricity that had surrounded them as a way to feed himself.
Pikachu started absorbing the electricity into his body, which seemed to act as an infinite energy reactor for anything electric. Twilight dropped the paralyze heals, stunned by what she was seeing. "I-Is Pikachu absorbing all of that?"
"Oh yeah. Pikachu can do that. Doesn't even need the ability Motor Drive to do it. Then again, all Pikachus can't gain that ability anyway." Rainbow Dash saw this as a common thing. Pikachu has had his fair share of electricity absorption, especially ones that go on a grand scale.
As for Rainbow Dash, she was already set on finding Luxio and there was a sure-fire way of doing it. Usually, to find someone, she would gain the assistance of Fluttershy's Audino and Pinkie's Slurpuff. But they weren't here to have their amazing hearing and scent be utilized.
So instead, Rainbow Dash had something close to that. Not exactly something that could hear or smell, but rather sweet. And that Pokemon was her Luxray as she brought the Gleam Eyes Pokemon onto the scene.
"Luxray!"
"Luxray can help find Luxio for us, no problem." Rainbow Dash said, showing off her Electric-Type.
"Oh! Because they're both of the same Evolution Line, right?" Twilight asked, only for Rainbow Dash to shake her head and wag her finger.
"Nope. Check out the X-Ray vision. Luxray."
"Lux..." Luxray's X-Ray vision was as useful as Audino's hearing or Slurpuff's scent, some would say more considering how he could see through anything. Luxray's vision pierced through the walls of the cave with ease as he could see the X-Ray signatures or more Water-Types that had been affected by Luxio's electricity.
All of them had electricity crackling around their bodies, causing them to be unable to move. With no one there to heal them, it was hard to tell how long they've been like this until now.
But eventually, after looking through the rest of the cave, Luxray found the familiar visage of his second-stage evolution. Luxio.
Found standing next to the High Tide of the cave, Luxio could be seen exerting electricity constantly. And of course, even with X-Ray vision, the crimson eyes of Alpha Pokemon were still visible. However, not only did Luxray see Luxio, but further in the cave, he saw the X-Ray of humans. They weren't the only ones visiting this cave.
"Lux! Luxray!" Luxray soon alerted Rainbow Dash.
"Found it. Good job, buddy! Lead the way!" Rainbow Dash pointed forth as Luxray would be their guide. Pikachu had absorbed all the electricity from the Spheal, healing them and freeing them of their paralyzation.
"Spheal! Spheal!" The Spheal were all visibly happy about this. They started clapping their flippers together, causing an echo throughout the cave. And to show further appreciation, the Spheal had all swarmed Ash and Pikachu, giving their equivalent to a hug since their flippers were just too short to reach.
"Woah!" Ash cried out as he and Pikachu fell over from the Spheal that had swarmed them. They weren't exempt either. Twilight and the others received the same treatment from all of these Spheal.
"Uh, hold on a second!" Twilight put her arms out but it was too late. Even though she didn't do anything, being friends with Ash and Pikachu granted her this swarm along with Rainbow Dash, Luxray, Castform and Spike. Zorua hid inside the bag, not wanting to receive a hug from any of the Spheal due to her timidness. She chose to stay silent throughout this trip entirely with all of these POkemon around.
"Okay, you guys! Come on!" Ash laughed as he and the others were already enjoying the surprisingly warm cuddling and hugs of the Spheal, despite their liquid origins.
"P-Pika!"
"This is great and all...but we've got a Luxio to find!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed before chuckling. "But this is pretty fun though!"
The Spheal knew how to share love and especially how to make others love them. There was a stupendous appeal about Pokemon that were rotund as Twilight picked one of the Spheal, feeling how soft and round they were. "You're so rotund and soft!" She giggled.
"Who goes there?" Just then, entering this area were the humans that Luxray had managed to spot through the walls earlier. Ash and everyone halted their giggling once they heard footsteps enter this part of the cave.
But they had no need to fear. Luxray had already prepared himself in case these humans proved to be nothing but trouble, aka, Pokemon Hunter J's group. That wasn't the case here. Instead, the friendly arrival of the People of the Water.
"Your majesty!" They all said once noticing Ash. Immediately, to show their respect, they bowed at Ash promptly, welcoming the King of the Sea to the caves.
"Majesty...As in..." Twilight, who was out of the loop on everything about Ash that many have learned so far, slowly turned her head once those words came through. She faced Ash, then the People of the Water, only to look back and forth at each of them. She also noticed how Rainbow Dash and Carlita were unphased as they already knew. "Wait! Ash...! Are you?!"
"Your startled words are correct." One of the People of the Water said. "You are standing next to the King of the Sea, Ash Ketchum."
"KING OF THE SEA?!" Twilight stood up as all of the Spheals surrounding her scattered like bouncy balls or even marbles as they rolled along, not minding it at all. "Ash! You're a king!?"
"Well, not by royal blood or anything like that." Ash shrugged.
"Even so! This is huge!" She grabbed Ash before then backing up, cleaning her hands afterwards. "I've been using the wrong honorifics this entire time then! F-Forgive me, your majesty! K-King Ash!"
"You don't have to call me that, Twilight. Ash is fine." Ash preferred not to be called a king. He could understand the People of the Water doing so but not everyone else, especially his close friends.
"Sorry, your majesty! I mean, Ash!" She held her head up high, correcting herself. Twilight now felt the urge to put greater respect on Ash, even if Ash didn't want this high and mighty praise.
"So, what are you all doing here?" Ash asked. "Has the Sea Temple started moving by now?"
"It has been. But it is still in Hoenn at this point. We came here after learning about an Alpha Pokemon residing here. Something that we haven't seen in Centuries."
"Centuries? Oh, right!" Ash clapped his hands. "You guys have been around for a long time! Guess you would've seen and know about them."
"We heard that even more Alpha Pokemon had been spotted. We're struggling to understand how that's possible. They should've vanished over time with their descendants being the only remnants of them being left behind."
"Pokemon have ancestors? From that far back?" Twilight spoke as even Ash and Rainbow Dash were stunned by this. They continued talking to the People of the Water as Luxray was guiding them towards Luxio with perfect visions.
"It's not just us humans. And I can safely say the same for those living in the other world. Pokemon also have ancestors from years ago. But for certain Pokemon, Alpha Pokemon are their ancestors." A woman of Samiya explained. "Your majesty. We hope that you know what we mean by certain Pokemon."
"Alpha Pokemon are stronger than their entire species. Then that would mean..." Ash then thought back to the one thing that would relate to Alpha Pokemon. The words of Passion's Mother. Another Gardevoir that lived around Route 121. He recalled her words and how she referred to Passion and Pikachu for being special Pokemon.
"You see, for every Pokemon, out of the vast amount of species that exist, one of each Pokemon species is a one of a kind. A special Pokemon if you will. They exceed the normal limitations of what they're capable of. Essentially becoming the best of their entire species. Some even gain unique abilities that are rare to come across. I can already sense one other among you all. Like my daughter here, that Pikachu is much more powerful than the rest of its kind. A rare find."
"So, Pikachu's a descendant of an Alpha Pokemon?" After bringing those memories back, Ash turned to Pikachu, realizing that he had some family blood lurking in him. "Sweet!"
"Pikachu!"
"Then the same goes for my Braviary and your Greninja!" Rainbow Dash went deeper than just Pikachu. "I love to hear it! That just makes things better!"
"It must be that Time Leak that's bringing them here," Twilight spoke. "It's how my Rapidash and Munchlax ended up here. They're being pulled out of their timeline when Alpha Pokemon were the most common."
"Ah, time. It's such a wonderful thing yet it can cause so much trouble for everyone." The woman said, shaking her head. Right as she did so, the sound of lightning had crashed.
The cave had lit up, from the high tide to the low tide. Nearby Water-Type Pokemon could be seen being blown away by this eruption of lightning which sounded like a sneeze as Luxio's voice also echoed throughout the area. Wailmer, Magikarp and Tentacool were among the species that had been blown away.
"It happened again!" One of the People of the Water commented.
"Was that a sneeze...?" Carlita was the only one who recognized that sound as a sneeze as Ash and Twilight rushed over to the Pokemon that had been blown back and paralyzed. Pikachu could do what he does best and absorb the electricity that was affecting them. Twilight whipped out some Paralyze Heals, which she had plenty of among with an abundance of healing items that Spike and Zorua were rolling around in. Never hurts to come overprepared in Twilight's eyes.
Pikachu, acting as an endless reactor, freed these Pokemon of their paralysis as fast as they had been paralyzed. Twilight couldn't do it at the same pace as Pikachu, but those Paralyze Heals came in handy still.
Luxray continued gazing at Luxio's X-Ray in the distance, noticing how it was rubbing its nose. Carlita's assumption was seemingly right as Luxi cocked its head back, preparing for another one. And now that they were getting closer, they could hear the cries of the Spark Pokemon clearer. Alpha Pokemon did have louder cries than their entire species after all.
"Lu...XIO!" Luxio sneezed once more, causing a burst of electricity.
"Oh!" Some of the electricity got close to Twilight as she was healing the Pokemon of their paralysis. Ash quickly pulled her out of the way as the electricity struck the walls. "T-Thanks, Ash."
"It's been at this for hours now. We've been struggling to get close to it at all." One of the People of the Water said.
"Then, we'll be the ones to get close to it. Hurry, Twilight. Hope you've got those Poke Balls ready." Ash turned to her.
"I have enough." Twilight showed her bag as there were no shortages of Poke Balls there. It was about time they approached Luxio and hopefully avoided being shocked. Thankfully, they had Pokemon that could deal with that.
Upon approaching the High Tide, Luxio felt another sneeze coming through. Once more, lightning burst from it upon sneezing, but unlike the Water-Type Pokemon and the People of the Water, there were two individuals who could handle it. Mainly Pikachu and Luxray.
Pikachu and Luxray gladly accepted the electricity that came their way. Pikachu absorbed it for himself, getting his daily fill whilst Luxray simply tanked it with his resistance. Pikachu giggled after being shocked whilst Luxray growled. Luxio's sneezing seemed to get worse by the second. Luxray didn't want to waste any more time, so a solution to that was making an easy shortcut.
"Lux...Ray!" And he would do that with Wild Charge. With an aura of electricity, the Gleam Eyes Pokemon had charged through the walls of the cave, multiple times. He made an easier way to approach Luxray by creating these shortcuts and it proved to be effective as Luxray's Wild Charge came to an end the moment he reached the High Tide.
And standing there, for everyone to see, was the second stage evolution of the Luxray Evolution Line. Luxio. Everyone used Luxray's new path, getting to their destination faster without having to take twists or turns. Eventually, they all met with the Spark Pokemon.
"Luxio...!" Luxio snarled at them once they arrived while also sniffling. Electricity could be seen crackling out of its nose, proving that those were indeed electric sneezes.
"Luxio. Ah, I remember when my Luxray was a Luxio..." Rainbow Dash felt nostalgic about when she had a Luxio before the evolution into Luxray.
"Luxio!" As to be expected, as an Alpha Pokemon Luxio was aggressive towards Ash and the others. The aggressive disposition with Alpha Pokemon was staying consistent. Electricity flared from its body, trying to intimidate them. The People of the Water were certainly intimidated, but not Ash, Twilight, Rainbow Dash or Carlita.
"Luxray!" Luxray especially wasn't intimidated as he responded by also flaring electricity from his body. Twilight gulped, holding onto one of her Poke Balls. Munchlax was her go-to option as he would probably be the one Pokemon that would battle in her steed. She was worried that Rapidash might not.
But before Twilight could do anything, she let go of the Poke Ball, ceasing the possibility of a battle after seeing that Luxio was about to sneeze once more. "L-L-LuXIO!" Luxio sneezed as Pikachu and Luxray took the electricity, shielding everyone else.
"I don't think I'm going to try and battle this one," Twilight said. "That Luxray's obviously sick if it's constantly sneezing like that."
"Never seen this before." Rainbow Dash replied as this was her first time seeing an Electric-Type Pokemon being sick and especially sneezing. Though, she did somewhat expect lightning to always emerge or any other element depending on which Pokemon would start sneezing, much like Cubchoo.
"Luxio!" But even with a cold, Luxio felt brave enough to battle. He already saw them as a threat as he lunged right at Luxio first with Thunder Fang. "Xio!"
"Lux...Ray!" Luxray quickly moved to the side, avoiding Luxio's Thunder Fang. Luxio snarled before then using Quick Attack, moving at lightning speeds to tackle Luxray from the side, right as he had evaded his fellow Electric-Type.
"If you won't then we will!" Rainbow Dash grinned as Luxio slid back. She would happily take on Luxio despite how he was currently feeling. "Luxray, Ice Fang, go!"
"Luxray!" Luxray roared, lacing his fangs with ice. Luxio responded with Thunder Fang as they had both then approached each other, with only one of them being destined to land a bite. And that was Luxray, outspeeding Luxio easily by biting onto his back.
"L-LuXIO!" Once again, Luxray sneezed. And this time, it was worse thanks to Ice Fang. And by doing so, all of the electricity within him had been let out, blowing Luxray back as it still ended up damaging the Gleam Eyes Pokemon anyway.
"Ray?!"
The lightning erupted violently, breaking apart the walls. Everyone ducked and backed away as the electricity was only getting worse with Luxio's sneezing showing up faster and faster with each passing moment.
"Luxray, counter with Discharge!"
"Luxray!" To counter the violent burst of electricity, Luxray would do the same with his own violent burst of electricity. Both flares clashed with each other as if they were two whips being slapped together. Alpha Luxio proved to be strong enough to contend with Luxray, showing the gap between an Alpha Pokemon and a regular Pokemon. Their flares proved to be equal, cancelling each other out.
"Hmmm...Carlita observed the battle, seeing Luxio wipe its nose, which was also glowing red noticeably. Carlita saw this s a result of his cold. Carlita then observed the rest of the cave, seeing how there was constant electricity crackling all over it, preventing Water-Type Pokemon living here from properly staying in their natural habitat. "It must've fallen in the water for this to happen."
"Do you think so?" Twilight asked.
"I don't think a Luxio would just come here and start terrorizing the place. Alpha or not. All of that water, especially outside of the cave, must've given it a bad cold. Ice Fang didn't help at all. What we need to do is warm it up."
"Warm it up?" Twilight held out one of her Poke Balls. "Ah! I have a Rapidash with me! But...I don't know if she'll listen..."
"Try that out for yourself!" Carlita stepped forward with her hands. "I've got a trick that I can use. Stand back, Luxray!"
"Ray?" Luxray turned around, noticing how Carlita was approaching the Alpha Luxio. Luxray halted his attacks momentarily as Alpha Luxio snarled at the Dragon-Type Trainer.
Carlita was unphased by Luxio's intimidation. She only put on a grin, eager to get close. She knew something that could help with Luxio's cold from how she put it. "Being a Dragon-Type Trainer gives you quite a few perks. Especially this!"
Carlita then used the light of the Dragons that some Dragon-Type Trainers are usually seen with. And of course, being a member of the People of the Vale with the power to access the Dragon Force, allowed her to go beyond that. A golden glow appeared around her hands as she then started rubbing them together.
By rubbing them, Carlita was building up heat. Visible smoke came from her hands as she would counter the cold with heat, obviously. Ash gawked as this was also his first time witnessing this.
"Now come here!" Carlita would personally come into contact with Luxio to cool it off. But, as to be expected, as an Alpha Pokemon, Luxio would not allow that. Immediately after she got close, Luxio had used Quick Attack, tackling Carlita's stomach which caused the Dragon Trainer to fall over. "Woah!"
"Luxio!"
"Ow! What gives..?" Carlita held her head as Luxio soon focused its attack on her instead of staying with Luxray.
"If that's the way to get rid of its cold, then sure! Luxray, go!"
"Luxray!" Coming to Carlita's rescue was Luxray. He got in the way of Luxio's next attack, which ended up a move that no other Luxio could learn unless they were an Alpha Pokemon. Iron Head.
"Is that Iron Head?!" Rainbow Dash gasped as Luxio had smashed its head onto Luxray's head, flinching him.
"R-Ray!"
"Luxio!" Luxio had then used Thunder Fang, biting on Luxray's ear with aggression. Afterwards, it used the grip strength of its teeth to then launch Luxray to the side.
"L-Lux!" Luxio's eyes closed before one of them opened. He was still hanging in there even when tumbling on the ground. "Ray...!" Carlita stilled tried heating up Luxio, promptly standing up and allowing the Spark Pokemon to approach her.
"We just wanna get rid of that cold of yours, Luxio. So come on...Stand still..." Carlita uttered, pacing back and forth with Luxio. Luxio sniffled with electricity crackling around its nose.
"Xio...!"
"Oh come on. You won't even let us help you with that? Don't be like that." Carlita licked her lips, halting her pacing movements with Luxio. The two of them eyed each other down as Luxio would rather attack them than take some healing.
"Are all Alpha Pokemon just stubborn?" Rainbow Dash commented.
"Munchlax isn't. But hopefully, Rapiadsh isn't right now..." Twilight looked at Rapiadsh's Poke Ball before deciding to partake in this battle. "Please, listen to me! Rapidash!"
"Rapidash!" Entering the fray was Alpha Rapidash. She appeared before the People of the Water, Carlita and Luxio, standing majestically with her superior size, proving to be the biggest Pokemon here.
"An Alpha Rapidash!" The People of the Water exclaimed.
"Rrrr...?" Rapidash then turned to face Twilight immediately. Twilight gulped, hoping that Rapidash remembered the words said earlier this morning.
"R-Rapidash. I know you didn't get to continue in the last battle. But maybe for this one..." Twilight shook her fist. "I can help. What do you say?"
"Dash...!" Rapidash was bitter about before since she fainted before she could really get started. Once again, she reluctantly accepted Twilight's help. But only for a one-time scenario, such as this.
"Yes!" Twilight jumped for joy. "Okay then! I need you to help warm Luxio and free it of its cold. It's pretty resilient so it might be troublesome."
"Rapidash!"
"Okay! Go and use your flames on Rapidash!" Finally, Rapidash was listening to Twilight. Even if it had one major drawback that would show up in the future. Rapidash galloped towards Luxio, ready to heat it up with the various flames it was carrying.
"Luxio!" Luxio still refused the help as it had used Quick Attack to dash underneath Carlita's legs, promptly distancing itself from Rapidash.
"Dash!" Rapidash made a quick turn, rushing to Luxio at full force. And in her way was Carlita.
"Hoh! Wait a sec!" Carlita realized she was in the way, quickly rolling to the side as Alpha Rapidash moved at breakneck speeds, having High Horsepower active instead of just using her flames.
"Lux?!" Unfortunately for Alpha Luxi, it was not faster than an Alpha Rapidash as the Fire Horse Pokemon smashed the full force of her body onto the Spark Pokemon. Luxio's widened from this hit before then sneezing once more. "Xio!" Even when being knocked back, Luxio could still let out electricity as it had shocked Rapidash.
"D-Dash...!"
"L-Luxio...!" Luxio recovered from the super-effective blow, feeling dazed, however.
"Luxray! Use Ice Fang on the ground."
"Lux...Ray!" Luxray assisted, biting onto the ground with chilling fangs. With the power of ice, he had caused a flash-feeze to this part of the cave area. Rapidash looked around, witnessing the ground being turned to ice. While it barely did a thing to her, not even breaking up her balance, it did something to Luxio.
"Lux?! Lux?!" Not only did it make his movements slippery, but it only worsened his cold.
"Uh, I'm trying to stop the cold not make it worse." Carlita turned to Rainbow Dash, seeing the ice as just an unnecessary problem that did not need to appear. "Besides...not a big fan of ice...Dragon Trainer over here."
"Don't worry. It'll be struggling to try and escape with all of this slippery ice. Now's your chance!"
"Right! Here I go!" Carlita used the ice to slide towards Luxio who was currently spinning on the icy ground. Luxray gasped, quickly using Iron head on the ground to try and break the ice as fast as it can.
"Rapidash! Try using Hypnosis!"
"Rapidash...!" Rapidash's eyes unleashed a mystical purple light that had also reached her horn. She then sent a spiral of that same purple light, focusing on Luxio's eyes.
"Luxio?!" Luxio heard the sounds of the spiral, quickly putting its head to the floor to avoid its enigmatic and hypnotizing light. But, not only did this stop its Iron Head attack, but it also allowed Carlita to finally touch it.
"You're a big target so this should be an easy grab!" Carlita shouted out before grabbing Luxio at last.
"Lux?!"
"Feel it!" Carlita grinned, finally unleashing the heat onto Luxio. Luxio snarled, getting ready to unleash another sneeze. Carlita held on tight, making sure she wouldn't let go as another electrical sneeze had been summoned by Luxio. The volts engulfed Carlita, but the Dragon Trainer toughed it out, even if it was painful for her. "Come on...!" She hoped that her heat was enough as the light intensified.
"Carlita! Face it towards, Rapidash!" Twilight shouted out as Carlita's hair had been frizzed by the electricity. It did have some appeal with this altered style. Carlita heard Twilight loud and clear as she held Luxio towards Rapidash. Luxio was about to use Iron Head right on Carlita, which could prove to be a painful outcome.
Thankfully, that did not happen as the intense flames of Rapidash were so hot, that once Luxio was close to them for a few seconds, the warmth of them was enough to alt its next attack. "L-Lux..." Luxio groaned as the red glow on its nose was fading away. Coupled with Carlita's Draconic Light, a powerful heat had coursed through the Spark Pokemon's body, even making it somewhat woozy from all of this.
"Now's your chance, Twi!" Rainbow Dash pointed. "Throw it!"
"Right!" Twilight had this big chance to catch Alpha Luxio. "Go, Quick Ball!" For extra efficiency, the Quick Ball had been used. It would be the first Poke Ball that Twilight would use on Luxio, increasing its chances.
Luxio had been tapped in the nose by the ball before shrinking. Carlita promptly let go, taking a moment to sit down on the cold floor. She was just now feeling the effects of the electricity. "Whew..." Meanwhile, the ball had been dropped, beginning the traditional shake.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Luxio was caught.
"Yes! First try!" A stunning success. Granted, it took some back and forth battling and grabbing to make it happen, but Alpha Luxio had finally been caught. No one said catching these Alpha Pokemon would be easy but Twilight so far has managed to pull through. "I got an Alpha Luxio!"
"A job well done." Applauding her efforts and everyone else who chimed in were the People of the Water. Once again, it proved to be a team effort to catch these Alpha Pokemon, but it was certainly an effective way of doing so.
"That's one way to catch a Pokemon." Ash chuckled before putting his shoulder on Twilight's shoulder. "Great job, Twilight. And everyone. Got rid of Luxio's cold to boot. But I didn't know you could do that Carlita."
"It's a family thing." Carlita shrugged before laying on her back. "Hah...But can you get rid of this ice, please? I feel like I could faint around it."
"Dash." Thankfully, Rapidash's flames were already melting away at the ice without her needing to do much.
"Thanks, Rapidash..."
"I got Rapidash to listen to me too." With her happiness increasing, Twilight blushed, realizing that Rapidash had listened to her, despite one exception with High Horsepower. "So, Rapidash...D-Does this mean that we..."
"Rapidash." But right after the battle had ended, Rapidash had looked away from Twilight. All she wanted to do was win a battle with the slight help of Twilight and that would be the end of that.
"Right...Maybe it's too good to be true." Just like that, Twilight's happiness was knocked down a peg by Rapidash as always. She then recalled Rapidash promptly.
This Alpha Pokemon mission was another success and would soon be reported back to Professor Oak. Every Pokemon within this cave had their bodies healed up, free of the electricity. They could all call it a day now as they were leaving the cave.
"So, same time whenever?" Carlita comment. "We've got those other two Alpha Pokemon that I saw the other time. Staravia and Pachirisu. That's another Electric-Type to handle..."
"Mhm. Great meeting you, Carlita." Rainbow Dash held her hand out, "Sucks I didn't get to see you battle with that Hydreigon you apparently have."
"Ah, you'll get that chance, Rainbow Dash. maybe next time when we go Alpha Searching. Oh and Twilight. Congrats on catching Luxio, but you seem pretty unsure about something there."
"Sorry. I'm just hoping that Rapidash will listen to me in the future. And for every other Alpha PokemonI can find." Twilight rubbed her arm.
"Don't sweat it. There's no Pokemon in this world that can't be reached. My mom told me that." Carlita passed on some advice for Twilight to latch onto.
"As for us, we should return to Samiya. Unfortunately, we could not do anything to help against that Alpha Luxio. I doubt the other Alpha Pokemon will be just as easy." A woman from Samiya spoke.
"It's great that you tried," said Ash. "Helping out even when it's tough is something special, ya know."
"Pikachu!"
Afterwards, they would all, at this point, go their separate ways. However, they were still at Shoal Cave, meaning that it would be quite a long trip back to their respective homes, except for the People of the Water. They all had a chat along the way, occupying themselves in the meanwhile.
Alpha Luxio had been added to Twilight's Team. A Luxio that had a harsh cold but was now free of it. There were plenty more to go through and plenty more to catch as the journey continues.
"Okay. You've shown up on time." Appearing here at the Pokemon School and sitting in the staff room was BigTime Ben. Joining him were notable faces. Mainly of the Equestria League Gym Leaders. Notable faces such as Roseluck, Sunset Shimmer, Zecora, Soarin, Mayor Mare and Ms Harshwhinny. They were just two Gym Leaders short.
"Welcome to the Gym Leader Summit. A Gym-Leader only even that includes the future of a region's Gym Leader." Ben explained. "Not all of you could make it, but this is good enough.
"So...What do we do here?" Sunset Shimmer asked. "What about the future."
"Well, just two things, really. The first thing first is deciding on how this league can work out. Mainly your positions." Ben pointed at all of them. "Not all of you have substitutes. In case you're not there. I know you won't always be there, Zecora. Sunset."
"Nope. I don't have a substitute." Sunset shrugged. "It's kind of a miracle I somehow manage to show up for every Gym Battle so often. Even when I was in jail..."
"What was that about jail?" Ms Harshwinny's ears perked up before shifting her attention to Sunset Shimmer.
"Nothing!" Sunset scrunched her face, keeping her little jail story a secret.
"I've been at the Pokemon House as of recently. Trainers just come there instead if they want to challenge me," said Zecora as she didn't have a substitute. Her Gym was at Manehattan, but due to recent events, she has had to have battles at the Pokemon House. Zecora couldn't think of anyone at the moment fit to be her substitute.
"Hm-hm." Ben nodded in understanding. "Then...how do these options sound for you two? Gothitelle."
"Gothitelle." Using her Psychic abilities, Gothitelle had formed a massive projection screen of Psychic energy, which had then shown different individuals popping up.
"I had my Pokemon send out surveys for who would wish to be a substitute Gym Leader if given the chance. We have a lot of options, but I'll start with those close to your homes. Soarin. You already work as a Wonderbolt so that's two jobs. However, some of your fellow Wonderbolts, mostly Misty Fly, have suggested becoming substitutes for you. Sound good?"
"Oh! Yeah, I'm cool with that!" Soarin nodded in approval. "She's got some great Pokemon with her."
"Mhm. And because so many of them have offered to try, the 5th Gym might end up changing into a Flying-Type Gym. But that Double Battle theme won't leave it at all. Sunset. Finding a Fire-Type substitute for your Gym was definitely tricky. Surprisingly, not many trainers in Equestria own Fire-Type Pokemon."
"So...No one?" Sunset Shimmer's ears lowered.
"I would've selected Flannery of the Hoenn Gym Leaders, but I did find a select few to fill those shoes in case you can't be there as often. There are few dragons over at the Dragon Lands who've offered to fill that role, but it's hard to tell if they'll be showing up on time. Nopony in Ponyville, Canterlot, Trottingham and so on were found for it. But Daylight Blazer said that if it comes down to it and he doesn't end up succeeding in the Equestria League, he'll come right for that role."
"Whew. Sounds good to me." Sunset Shimmer shrugged as she was fine with it. "You know...just now, I was thinking of my counterpart in the Human World, but that needs to be worked out. I can still make it here to the Gym even if I'm at the Human World occupied by something."
"I know you will." Ben nodded. "Somehow, you're always on time. Love to see it. Now, it's worth noting that Bon Bon, despite recently becoming the 2nd Gym Leader, has started reconsidering it. She is still a secret agent that has missions ordered by Celestia during these cosmic times."
"Secret agent?" Mayor Mare uttered as this was her first time knowing this.
"Pretend you didn't hear that..." Ben scrunched his face, accidentally giving out Bon Bon's secret occupation. "Ahem! Anyway! I tried getting Misty from the Kanto Gyms involved once more, but she turned it down. So, in case Bon Bon ends up giving up that spot...who could replace her? Does anyone here know of any skilled Water-Type Trainers? If not then maybe someone else from another region could come by."
He asked as they all started thinking of possible contenders. Water-Type Pokemon were common, no doubt. Possibly the most common typing out there and a majority of the population at least owned one Water-Type.
"Hm...Sonata only has Vaporeon though and Aria just has Brionne..." Sunset pondered. "And they're all searching for the rest of the sirens so, Nah. That wouldn't work."
"Everypony back in Ponyville either have no Water-Types or just one Water-Type." Mayor Mare put her hooves together, pondering deeply as her glasses lit up from within the shadows. "Now that I think about it...Princess Twilight owns all of those Pokemon back at PokePark, doesn't she?"
"She does. But she's been assigned to a Pokemon Professor, so she's out of the picture." Ben replied as Twilight was shot out of the Gym Leader role.
"I don't know anypony that has a lot of Water-Types," Soarin grumbled. "Never seen one in Cloudsdale or the Wonderbolts Academy.
"Hm, you think about that. In the meanwhile, I can think of someone who could fill that role while we search for someone." Ben snapped his fingers as Gothitelle had then shown the image of a Water-Type Trainer from the Galar Region. "This here is Gym Leader Nessa. Much like Misty, she is the second Gym Leader and Water-Type expert in her respective region. She's also shown interest in Equestria as well."
"That seems fine." Mayor Mare and Ms Harshwhinny equally agreed. So did Roseluck, Zecora, Soarin and Sunset Shimmer.
"As for you two. Mayor Mare. Ms Harshwhinny. You don't have any issues. You can do your natural work and be Gym Leaders with all the time in the world to spare. But you will have to think of a future protege."
"We are getting old...This white streak isn't helping." Mayor Mare flipped her mane. "If we did have proteges for our Gyms, I'd choose...Not sure actually."
"Mmm. I can't think of anypony right now either." The same went for Harshwhinny as they both didn't have ponies on their minds that could take after their gym.
"Ah, it's fine. Even though it's been three years, not everyone will be stacked with Pokemon, that's for sure." BigTime Ben chuckled. "But I believe that eventually, everyone will befriend more Pokemon to the point where they will be surrounded by them more than they already. And when both worlds are forever connected, they will truly be closer than ever before."
"G-Gothitelle!" Gothitelle immediately started crying from Ben's words. So did Soarin and Mayor Mare once taking it all in.
"Nicely put, sir," Roseluck commented.
"Now then. I was wondering if we could work something out with our final Gym Leader. But everything seems fine there. The 8th is already as complete as it needs to be. Maybe not with the name."
"Come to think about it...who's the final Gym Leader that everypony has to get through to enter the League?" Sunset Shimmer questioned as none of the other Gym Leaders were even aware of the final Gym Leader.
"Ah, the final Gym Leader? Well, it was a difficult choice. There are many options we could choose from. The main of this last Gym is more about endurance and such. And the final Gym Leader is a former Gym Leader. Once the first and now the last!" Ben aimed his hand at the projection as the Gothitelle brought a familiar figure into view.
Brock.
"Brock?!" They all said.
"Right-Right! It started with Brock and will end with Brock! That was a nice saying that Gothitelle shared with me once. Brock once stopped being a Gym Leader when he started travelling with Ash during the early years. But even with his status as both a Pokemon Doctor and Breeder, those Gym Leaders skills never faded away. Brock offered to be the final Gym Leader of Equestria and I can't think of a better pick."
"I've heard about Brock from Ash..." Mayor Mare said. "The Kanto Region is considered a region for many to start out in, apparently?"
"You can start in any region even depending on where you are. But there's a fun little saying for young trainers. First you kick it in Kanto, then you head to Johto. Brock's brothers and sisters, mainly his brother Forrest, have been watching over the Gym in his absence. Even now, he has another gym to look after."
"A family of Gym Leaders, huh? Hm-hm." Thinking about it made Roseluck chuckle a bit as her memories pictured her along with another pony. "That would be fitting if my sister were here."
"Oh, right." The Mayor of Ponyville swivelled her attention to Roseluck. "I remember you having a sister, Roseluck. What was her name again? It's been a while."
"Rosa. My big sister." Roseuck closed her eyes, envisioning her sister as it brought upon a soft smile. "Haven't heard from her or seen her in quite a while. Has it really been 21 years?"
"21 years? Yikes..." Soarin scrunched his face, realizing how large of a year gap that was without two siblings seeing each other. "That's a long time."
"She must be extra busy if you haven't spoken or seen each other for that long," said Sunset.
"Mmm. She came here to Canterlot back then to study at Celestia's School of Talented Unicorns." Reminiscing more about the past, Roseluck looked outside the window, gazing at the school. She could see her big sister now walking through those doors. "Rosa had talent alright. Big talent for her magic so it would make sense for her to go there."
"Haven't seen her there. Have I?" Sunset Shimmer started thinking, wondering if she had ever seen Rosa before. From what she could gather, Rosa should at least resemble Roseluck in a way.
"But I only got a few letters from her once she went there. Afterwards, I didn't hear much about her later on. And that's about it." Roseluck halted her reminiscing before slumping her head on the table. "Wonder what she's doing now? Or even where she is..."
"I got chills all of a sudden." Shining Armor couldn't help but shudder. There was something eerie about everything that had been said afterwards. The room turned silent afterwards with a quiet atmosphere.
"Ah, sorry!" Roseluck sat up. "I didn't mean to make it a downer! It's just that Brock was the first Gym Leader in his hometown and uh, I'm the first of mine plus we both have siblings and I figured that since we all have that in common I'd...um-" Roseluck blushed, trying to stabilize the conversation.
"No need to worry, Roseluck." Ben raised his arm. "You said what you needed to say and that is good enough. Happens to most of us, honestly."
"Okay..." Relieved to hear that, Roseluck slumped on her seat with her ears dropping afterwards.
"Now. This briefing has come to an end. But, there is still one thing left to do at this summit. After going through your recent battle records, I've seen that some of you are stronger than you let on. Especially you, Mayor Mare. I can see that I chose wisely to have you be the 7th Gym Leader.
"Ohohohoho! Too kind! You're too kind!" Mayor Mare appreciated that compliment, chuckling rapidly.
"But Roseluck. Your strength as a trainer is perhaps larger than expected. Even for the 1st Gym."
"M-My bad! I know you told me to calm down and not use Roserade anymore to make it easier for everypony. I swear I caught myself a Roselia to even things out. Promise."
"Your choice of Pokemon is fine. You don't have to apologize. It's just that you've started growing so much that it might be hard for us to keep the 1st Gym for you. Or even keep the Grass Gym as the first one in general."
"Yeah. Ever since Applejack taught me a few things, I've been a fast learner. Maybe I get that part from my big sister. She's a fast learner too. So, are you saying that I should be swapped out for another position?"
"Maybe. Obviously, Gym Leaders are meant to hold back against upstart trainers until the 7th or 8th. So you being extra strong and hiding your strength is common. But compared to your fellow Gym Leaders..."
"I'd like to think I've gotten stronger!" Soarin raised his hoof. "I've got Spitfire to thank for that. She's allowed our Pokemon to start taking part in Wonderbolt activities and yon won't believe just how much it worked out for my Corviknight!"
"My strength as a trainer remains adamant." Harshwinny chimed in. "But it proves to be efficient against the Challengers I face. Plus, I barely have the time to train all of my Pokemon."
"I've only had Stoutland for the longest. Alakazam and Whischash are still new, but they can learn fast. Stoutland's still the one who helps me through the trickier moments. Isn't that right, boy?" Mayor Mare patted her Stoutland on the head.
"Stoutland!"
"Well, then. With all of this ever-increasing growth, I have the urge to perhaps rearrange the Gym positions. Or perhaps I'm wrong on that part. The only way to solve this predicament always comes down to a Pokemon Battle! Mayor Mare. Ms Harshwinny. You're both good where you are right now. But Roseluck, I'm curious about where you could stand."
"Trust me! I think I can stand pretty high!" Roseluck grinned before thinking to herself. "This means I can permanently get rid of that whole easy pickings debacle in the past."
"Then, Roseluck, Zecora, Soarin, Sunset. We will have a battle between you four. And even after it's over, it'll be up to you all to decide who goes where." Ben ordered.
"Oh, so like a double battle like with my gym?" Soarin asked.
"Mm-mm. It's a free for all!" Ben exclaimed. "We'll have it at the practice grounds here at the Pokemon School. Time to see how far you've come."
It was off the practice grounds of the Pokemon School. No one was using it at the moment so now was a good time to take that spot before someone does.
The practice grounds were made specifically for students to have as many Pokemon Battles as they wanted, which means that the field itself was massive to hold many of them and the various moves that would be flying around. Physical or ranged.
And standing on four different sides, north, south, east and west were Roseluck, Sunset, Zecora and Soarin. Ms Harshwinny and Mayor Mare were exempt from this, choosing to watch the battle from afar. Looking outside of the window were some of the students within the Pokemon School closest to the practice grounds.
"Alright now, you four. One Pokemon each. And I'd like for it to be your strongest Pokemon." Ben spoke, laying out the short rules. "This all ends until one Pokemon on either side is still standing. It'll only take one Pokemon for me to see where you all stand and your aces are the best to go with. That way, I can get a good grasp on the rest of your Pokemon. Now, send them out, please."
"Righ then. Go, Roserade!" Roseluck went first, sending out her Roserade.
"Roserade!"
"It's a tie between Braixen and Volcarona. But I'm going to go with Braixen for this one!" Sunset Shimmer chose Braixen after going through her options.
"Braixen!"
"I choose my Corviknight!" Soarin threw his Poke Ball at the same time Zecora did. Zecora already had her strongest Pokemon and that would be her Zebstrika.
"Corviknight!"
"Zebstrika!"
"If any of you were wondering, especially Soarin, you're free to use your Z-Moves or anything special for your Pokemon. It's all about your best."
"Yes!" Soarin pumped his hooves.
"As if I'd let you have the time to pull it off." Sunset Shimmer interjected, raining on Soarin's parade.
"We'll see."
"Now then! Battle...Start!" Ben struck his arm down, ordering the beginning of the battle.
"Let the first go first! Roserade, use Posion Jab on Zebstrika!"
"Roserade!" Roserade went first before anyone else. Covering her bouquet arms in poison, the Bouquet Pokemon went straight for Zebstrika.
"So you've chosen to attack me?" Zecora narrowed her eyes. "Zebstrika, use Agility!"
"Zeb!" Zebstrika's eyes flashed as he had moved faster than the eye could see, zooming to the side whilst also leaving a massive dust cloud behind. Roserade had thrust her arm forward, only to miss by 3 seconds.
"Rose?" Roserade gasped. Zecora was also a trainer that communicated with her Pokemon via mental communication or even mannerisms. A perfect way to exempt her rhymes from her battles considering that her entire Gym Theme was about speed. Because of this, Pokemon Trainers always feel like they're battling against a Wild Pokemon.
"Zebstri!" After using Agility, Zebstrika's speed had increased, causing him to zip around Roserade before then using Spark. He had used Flame Charge right as Roserade was just now trying to track Zebstrika's movements. The Thunderbolt Pokemon's body was covered in flames, causing him to smash into Roserade. "Strika!"
"Rade!" Roserade went flying as Zebstrika then went for his next target. Corviknight. Zebstrika was now faster than before thanks to Flame Charge posting his speed. At this point, he was already becoming a blur.
"Braixen, use Psybeam!"
"Brai...!" Braixen jumped into the air, raising her wand and channelling her hidden Psychic abilities that her future evolution possesses. She aimed it at the ground, right between where both Corviknight and Zebstrika were.
"Corviknight Steel Wing and deflect it!"
"Corviknight!" Corviknight cawed as he had hardened his already hard and metallic wings with extra metal. Right as Braixen had unleashed Psybeam and Zebstrika was zooming over, Corviknight used Psybeam for himself. He flew up, whacking his wings onto the beam at full force. With his steely endurance, he managed to redirect the beam, sending it towards Zebstrika.
"Zeb?!" Zebstrika gasped, quickly zipping to the side to avoid the incoming beam. A total miss as Psybeam had hit the ground instead. Corviknight was already airborne, causing Flame Charge to also miss its mark.
"Corvi!" But Corviknight wasn't done. Once Braixen failed her Psybeam, Corviknight approached her with Steel Wing. Braixen was currently falling after losing her airtime, making her extremely vulnerable in the air.
"B-Braix!?"
"Protect yourself with Fire Spin, Braixen! Quick!"
"Braix!" Braixen quickly used Fire Spin, covering her eyes as she allowed the spiral of flames to protect her while she was falling. And that proved to be successful as Corviknight could not only fail to fully connect his Steel Wing, but the emergence of the spiralling flames had struck him, knocking the Steel-Flying-Type back.
"Vi!" A super-effective collision as Braixen's sphere touched the ground. Fire Spin also had its secondary effect which was already affecting Corviknight. He would gain a spiral of flames that would damage him each time he would use a move.
"Braixen," Braixen smirked as she completely spick and span, untouched by anyone. At least for now.
"Zebstrika!" Zebstrika, however, ended up approaching Braixen only seconds after Fire Spin had ended. And it came in hot with Spark, zooming through the area with lightning-fast gallops.
"Roserade! Use your thorns!"
"Roserade!" But halting Zebstrika and even Corviknight from doing anything else was Roserade. She had used her hidden thorns which raced out of her bouquet of arms, wrapping around Corviknight's wings and Zebstrika's hooves.
"Cor?!"
"Zeb?!"
"Now, spin with Power Whip!"
"Rose...RADE!" Roserade put all of her strength into this, moving two heavy Pokemon. Her arms trembled, but she managed to pull it off, instantly forcing Corviknight and Zebstrika to move. And with the strength of Power Whip, it was made easier for her as she started spinning with them.
"Braix!" Braixen ended up being hit by the spinning Zebstrika and Corviknight, becoming collateral damage as she was knocked back. "X-Xen!"
"Yes! Now slam them!"
"Rose!" Roserade lifted her long thorns for a moment before then dropping them to the ground with a slamming motion. Corviknight and Zebstrika had hit the ground with Power Whip's strength being the catalyst.
Ben observed how Roserade was able to hit three Pokemon via the usage of the thorns. Roseluck was certainly showing a lot of promise and this level of strength might give Ben a good grasp and idea of what the rest of her Pokemon were like, even if they weren't her ace Pokemon.
"Corvi...Knight!" But even with Roserade's impressive display, Corviknight and Zebstrika had broken out. The thorns had been ripped apart as the dust had also been blown away by their cries.
"Uh oh..." Roseluck's eyes widened as her mane blew in the wind from the force of Zebstrika and Corviknight cawing and weighing.
"Not bad! But how about this?! Brave Bird!"
"Corviknight!" Corviknight covered himself in a blazing gold aura before then shooting to the skies.
"Zeb!" Zebstrika, with Zecora's mental communication, had then used Spark, chasing after Corvknight in the air. Spark allowed Zebstrika to gain some airtime as he became a lightning bolt that was ascending. Corviknight looked back to see the Thunderbolt Pokemon approach.
"Cor?!"
"Dodge, Corviknight and focus on Roserade!"
"I've got Roserade! Braixen, Fire Spin!"
"Brai...Xen!" Braixen would now focus on Roserae next, having two moves that would work splendidly on the Grass-Poison-Type, making her the most vulnerable Pokemon out of anyone here.
"Counter with Energy Ball!"
"Roserade!" Roserade wouldn't let herself go down so easily. She summoned Energy Ball, quickly launching it at the Fire Spin that came her way. The sphere of nature met with the spiral of flames, causing a temporary struggle. However, Braixen's flames managed to reign supreme, burning through the Energy Ball. "Rade?!" Roserade had taken the flames, directly too.
At the same time, Corviknight soared through the air, trying to escape from Zebstrika. He had then descended, shooting straight for Roserade. Zebstrika, under Zecora's commands, had taken a quick detour. "Corvi!"
"Look out, Roserade!" Roseluck shouted out, noticing how Corviknight was coming straight for her.
"R-Roserade...!" Roserade growled, still feeling the flames of Fire Spin as they were also affecting her.
"Let's take out two birds with one stone! Fire Pledge!"
"Braixen!" Braixen stabbed her stick on the ground, causing pillars of fire to rush forward, aiming for both Roserade and Corviknight. When the pillars reached them, they form a ring of pillars and then merge into one giant fire pillar.
"Slow down, Corviknight!"
"Cor?!" Corviknight had just reached Roserade, only to then be stopped by Fire Pledge. The flames acted as a barrier as Corviknight had stopped at the very last second.
"Wait a second...Where's Zebstrika?!" Sunset Shimmer noticed one of them was missing. Zebstrika was missing as Zecora had this constant smile on her face. This was because Zebstrika was building speed.
A black and white blur could only be seen along with a faint sign of fire Sunset Shimmer and Soarin spotted Zebstrika's rapid movements as Zebstrika had been using Agility and Flame Charge the entire time.
"Zecora, you sneaky...!" Sunset Shimmer gasped, unable to finish her sentence.
"My Zebstrika's speed is now hard to track! All I need now is this one final attack!"
"Zebstrika!" Zebstrika, with all of his gathered speed, would use Spark. Meanwhile, Roserade was trapped within the flames, unable to move as they had consumed her. At the same time, Zebstrika was aiming to ram into both Corviknight and Braixen.
"Metal Sound, Corviknight! Quick!"
"Braixen, use Attract!"
"Zeb!" But it was too late for that. Zebstrika was too fast. Corviknight couldn't emit that horrible scraping sound and Braixen certainly didn't have the time to wink and send hearts his way. Thus, Zebstrika had crashed into Corviknight and Braixen, causing them both to fly off. But not without direction.
Zebstrika purposely focused on the pillar of Fire Pledge before it could fade away. They had been both added into the flames, especially Braixen who was the one who made it in the first place. Zebstrika was right to do it on time with his speed as the pillar had then combusted, lighting the area with an orange and red colour.
Everyone's mane started blowing. Even Zecora's which always stayed adamant for the most part. The only one unphased by everything was Zebstrika as he was free from the effects of the flames. And once the combustion ended, along with the smoke clearing, there was only one victor.
That would be Zebstrika. Roserade, Corviknight and Braixen had all fainted, landing on a pile with Corviknight at the bottom, Braixen in the middle and Roserae right on top.
"That's the match!" Ben called it to a close.
"Awww...!" Roseluck, Soarin and Sunset Shimmer groaned as they hoped they would win this.
"Well, I've seen enough. That was a riveting battle. Well done on your victory, Zecora." Ben approved of this battle and how it all played out as Zecora bowed her head. Everyone went over to their Pokemon, congratulating them for doing a good job despite their loss.
"So, what does this mean? Am I gonna be knocked back down to 4th?" Soarin asked, wondering if his position as a Gym Leader would change.
"Hmm...After going through it all, it's clear that you're all practically even. Even with type differences. Your losses were mainly due to clever tactics, which happens. Roseluck. You still have ways to go. Sunset Shimmer, I can see the same potential for you. Zecora. You won. What say you?"
"I don't exactly have a decision. I enjoyed this battle, so I could care less for positions." Zecora revealed that she simply enjoyed this battle more than anything. Gym Leader positions weren't that important to her.
"Hm. I suppose you're fine with 4th then. Right!" Ben clapped his hands. "Looks like no one is swapping out now. Perhaps in the next summit with more Gym Leaders, that can happen, but we'll see. Aside from that, this Gym Leader Summit is now over. I'll keep records of this, of course."
"They're younger than us so their potential is fairly intimidating, isn't it?" Mayor Mare spoke to Harshwinny.
"Indeed. They are only going to improve as time passes on. Ah, I envy youth sometimes."
"That was a fun battle." Roseluck shook hooves with Sunset Shimmer, Soarin and Zecora. "But it looked like you were all coming after me mostly."
"Hehehe..." Soarin and Sunset chuckled together. They weren't trying to mostly focus on Roserade. Mainly Corviknight.
"We'll have this summit in 5 months! See you until then!" Ben closed it off as this Gym Leader Summit had come to an end. For their very first summit, it was a successful one.
Upcoming positions for substitute and potential future Gym Leaders had already been established along with the revelation of the final Gym Leader, much like the Pokemon Trainers, the future of the Gym Leaders looked bright as the journey continues.
Today, a report from Pokemon Weekly was coming by Equestria. The one to report on the ongoings in this world was none other than the reporter Eli and his Chatot. And this time, it would be all about how this world has managed to continue with Pokemon in their life.
It's been going on for 3 years strong with no signs of slowing down. And everyone in this world was hoping that it would go on without an end. Eli stopped by Ponyville first, speaking to the residents.
"So, how's it all been now that 3 years have gone by living with Pokemon?" Eli spoke to Fluttershy first. "I heard a lot happened here. Like... a lot!"
"Chatot! A lot!" Chatot repeated.
"A lot did happen," Fluttershy commented. "I don't know where to start..."
"Bay! Bayleef!" Bayleef used her vines to grab Fluttershy's back hoof, nudging it to grab her attention. "Leef! Bay-Bay!"
"Oh, that's a good one! I guess how everything's been going so far. You won't believe what's changed over the days and months. For starters, Team Rocket's been a good help here at the Pokemon House."
"Team Rocket? As in the criminal organization Team Rocket? Guess it wouldn't be a surprise for them to eventually make a presence here."
"Oh, no, no. The only Team Rocket I know about are good. Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet."
"Hoh!" Eli's glasses almost burst into pieces. "So you've managed to get Team Rocket Members to help you here!? You must've been intimidating to them!"
"Well, not really. It's a bit of a long story that involves an invasion. I guess the one to explain it the best is Zecora." Fluttershy turned around, spotting Zecora in the distance. "Who's right there. Zecora!"
"Hm?" Zecora heard her name, promptly turning to Fluttershy. And the second she faced the pegasi, Zecora's eyes scrunched with her eyes bulging as she had noticed the camera being pointed at her. "!"
"Over here!" Fluttershy waved. "It'd be nice if you told Eli over here about what happened with the-" Just then, Fluttershy paused once she saw Zecora trembling. The zebra had put on a nervous grin that was crooked and unstable. She was completely frozen once her eyes met with the camera. "Oh my. Zecora are you okay?"
"Uhh...Aaah..." Zecora shifted her eyes as she was unable to perform her usual rhyming sentences. Or a sentence in general. She quickly zoomed off, rushing away without a word.
"She must be camera shy," Fluttershy said. "The first time I'm seen this from her."
"Ah, it happens. But anyway, Fluttershy! This Pokemon House is growing by the second, isn't it? I heard you wanted to make it bigger?"
"Well, more and more Pokemon are coming by. Plus, some Pokemon are bigger than others, so it's necessary to try and expand it. But I'm worried it might get too big and could cause problems for Ponyville if it keeps growing." Fluttershy commented before observing the entire Pokemon House.
While it was big and a blessing for many Pokemon, perhaps its size was its biggest issue. As more Pokemon continue to be attracted to this place, deciding to come here, the size of the house will grow. It was already close to Fluttershy's cottage and any further increase could cause problems for her cottage.
And if it manages to grow past that, overtaking her cottage to the point where Fluttershy won't have a home. And worse, Ponyville might end up being caught up in it with a potential expansion.
"Hmm...Have you tried building it somewhere else?" Eli recommended.
"Hm? I can't think of anywhere else. A lot of places are already full of Pokemon, like Saddle Lake, the Pixie Plains and so much more. Do you know of a place?"
"Beats me. But don't worry. BigTime Ben's the one who helped make this possible too, wasn't he? I'm sure he'll figure something out. But is there anything else you want to tell me?"
"Well, I can say that the Everfree Forest is growing back." Fluttershy laughed, trying to pick something else. "Oh, and as for everypony else, things have been so much easier now. We have better fruits growing along with flowers thanks to some of the Pokemon. Makes it easier for Applejack and the others. Those apples are growing faster than ever. Plus, we've got an excellent Night Watch."
"A Night Watch?"
"Mhm. Absol, Jade and Cold Colt were always the ones who kept guard of Ponyville since they never get tired. At least, Jade and Cold don't. Absol just has a lot of energy. Now it's gotten better. The Pawniard and Bisharp from Twilight's PokePark help keep guard of the town now. They don't usually come out of there, but it's so good they get to see more of this place."
"Oh, I should go and visit Princess Twilight next! I'm curious about all of the events that have happened here. Care to share, Fluttershy?"
"Tot! Care to share!"
"Which one? When Jade was kidnapped by the Indigo Alliance? When we were all attacked by the Unown? Have to save Premium Polish? The invasion? The time Ash swapped bodies with Ghetsis?"
"Mhm! Mhm!" WHilst Fluttershy was unable to choose one, Eli was writing them down without a second thought. This was all juicy to him. "Good stuff, Fluttershy! Take your time!"
"Oh. Maybe we should go and ask. Twilight about it instead. Ask her questions next." Fluttershy chose to help out Eli. Eli wanted to know more. Everything even. No matter how dark or terrifying it may get. It was off to Twilight's Castle.
Twilight's Castle.
"So! Princess Twilight! How are those Pokemon of yours? I hear that your Absol is getting pretty popular. More than just the Night Watch anyway." Eli already came in strong with some questions for Twilight.
"Absol is popular. Very popular in Equestria. Like...very!" To better show this, Twilight had shown Eli multiple different Absol objects. Plushies and other toys plus artwork that either looked pristine or childish. "It may look like an average Absol, but that's my Absol."
"Quite a fanbase, eh?" Eli admired the Absol merchandise. "Kinda reminds me of how you all received merchandise in my world when your names were getting popular. LIke with Rarity being a PokeStar Celebrity. An up and coming one anyway."
"Oh, you have no idea..." Twilight shook her head. "I think some ponies like Absol a bit too much. I think it's both the fact that I'm a princess and he's all...dark and brooding..." Twilight used her wings to cover her muzzle as her eyes were narrowed to try and mimic the standard expression of Absol.
"They do love dark and brooding. So how does Absol feel about it? All of that attention must be overwhelming for the poor guy."
"Nope. Absol doesn't mind. He's usually just neutral but sometimes he'll scare them off if they go too far or get too touchy. The only time you'll see Absol frustrated is during a battle. But not a regular Pokemon Battle. More like...a world-threatening battle." Twilight explained.
"Hm-hm. Yeah, that makes sense. I hear that nothing intimidates your Absol! He's gone up against so many fearsome things it's no wonder he's popular."
"Oh no. Absol's afraid of one thing." Then, Twilight turned her eyes, putting on a sigh which was followed by a slight chuckle. Twilight knew something and it could only make her giggle. "It certainly turns him into a different Pokemon..."
"Hm? What could Absol be afraid of?"
"Well...It's Cadence's Sylveon."
"Sylveon? Oh, because she's a Fair-Type?"
"No-no. If anything Fairy-Types should be afraid of Absol with how aggressive he gets. Sylveon is a different story. She and Absol have a bit of an interesting relationship. Sylveon just loves getting close to Absol while Absol just freezes up or tries to evade her."
"It's true." said Fluttershy. "Absol gets so nervous around her. It's actually adorable."
"Absol..." Absol growled as he heard the entire conversation. Try as he might, that fact could not vanish as he was certainly afraid of Sylveon.
"Sylve!" And speaking of Sylveon, as if it were horrific timing coupled with fate, her cry could be heard echoing all the way to this room. Absol's eyes shot up as the door to this room had opened.
Lo and behold, arriving here was Cadence along with her partner Sylveon. "Hi, Twilight!"
"Sylveon!"
"It's always at the worst time too..." Twilight uttered before waving at Cadence. Absol stood up, navigating the room to find somewhere to flee and hide.
"Sol...?! Sol?!" Absol could see that the nearest door was right where Sylveon stood. And Sylveon knew this with a cunning grin on her face. Absol was being watched by Eli carefully, seeing how his serious demeanour could change so rapidly in the presence of one Pokemon.
"Sylveon!" Happy to see Absol, Sylveon pounced at him.
"Ab!" Absol quickly jumped out of the way, causing Sylveon to crash into the walls. Face first too. Sylveon slid on the wall as she made a fairly hard impact that caused everyone to wince. "Sol?!" Absol witnessed this impact before then running to Sylveon's side. "Absol?!" Absol asked if she was okay as that crash had some weight to it.
"Sylve..." Sylveon did feel slightly befuddled by that. But that quickly faded away once she Absol up close. "Sylveon!" WIth Absol close to her, Sylveon instantly got comfortable with him. Absol's guard was down in that instance as Sylveon rubbed her head on his fur. "Sylve!"
"Absol...!"
"Hard to tell if she did that on purpose. Oh well." Cadence shrugged. "It's about time we hung out again. Well, Sylveon suggested we do. Probably to just come over and see Absol."
"Syl!"
"Ab..." Absol groaned.
"Oh yeah. I see what you mean. I can feel the mood change." Eli nodded, observing how Absol's feelings rapidly changed around Sylveon. "But moving on! You're Princess Cadence, aren't you?"
"Uhh y-yeah!" Cadence quickly faced Eli, standing upright as she noticed the camera being pointed at her. "Hi!"
"Nice to meet you! I heard some wild things from the Crystal Empire!" Eli rapidly shook Cadence's hooves. "Like your two daughters?!"
"Oh, Flurry Heart? Ah, I suppose that knowledge did get out."
"Mhm! I've been going from place to place as a reporter and a few research facilities across different regions have been focused on the Rift and its ways of travelling. And the older Flurry Heart is apparently from an alternate universe?"
"Mhm. She is. She's from Universe 6 to be exact. Her world was once ruled by Empress Twilight. I think you might know about the invasion by now. Myself and Shining Armor also exist in that universe, but we were turned to stone. Unfortunately, the stone bodies haven't been found yet. But on the bright side, that world's free from any harm now."
"Hmm...So what will happen when they're found and freed at last?"
"Well, she'll go home. Universe 6 is at peace right now. It'll feel slightly empty without her, but her Cadence and Shining Armor will feel complete when she's back. Along with Flurry Heart herself. And it won't be goodbye forever since she can go between worlds. So in the end, we'll be together forever."
"T-That...That's so heartwarming!" Eli sat down, putting his arms on his eyes. "Radical! I love a good sob story sometimes!"
"Chatot! Sob story!"
"This is all so good! I need to know more. We all do. Like uh, the Unown thing. I heard something major happened with those Pokemon here."
"Something major did happen. Almost cost us our lives." Twilight shuddered. "But it's fine. The Unown were once a threat but thanks to Discord, who caught so many of them that's not an issue anymore."
"Though, if we ever come across some of them again, we'll need the willpower to withstand their power to erase us. Just as Arceus said." Cadence explained. "I can think of a few who have the willpower. Might need some of my own but right now, Giratina's the only protection we have against them."
"About the Unown, over at the Sinnoh Region, Professor Rowan and a few others found something out. Apparently, the Unown have been messing with things without us knowing about it."
"How so?" Twilight, Cadence and Fluttershy asked.
"Ah, they were pretty vague when I interviewed them." Eli shrugged. "Best I got was that some things changed throughout history. Like that existence of Sylveon over there."
"Sylveon?" Cadence turned to Sylveon, who was still around Absol. "Is something wrong with my Sylveon?"
"Nope. It's A-OK! But Professor Rowan said something about how the Fairy-Type wasn't ingrained in our memories the first time around. It could be a result of the Unown changing reality which warps our perception of things. I mean, you never know! Some Pokemon could've become Fairy-Types without us even knowing they have!"
"..." Twilight and her friends looked at each other, realizing what this could mean. They then looked at Sylveon, having burning questions about the Intertwining Pokemon.
"But ah, that's for you all to figure out!" Eli chuckled. "I'm just the reporter! And this world's still new about Pokemon so it's not that surprising huh? Ghahaha!"
"R-R-Right." They stammered together.
"Anyway! I gotta search some more!" Eli rushed off to continue interviewing the rest of Ponyville. Much like his first visit here, he focused on everyone, leaving no one in the dust.
He stopped by Sweet Apple Acres to check up on the Apple Family and the ongoings there. Eli ended up spotting a Delta Riolu for the first time from his alternate appearance and his typing.
"Right from the Holon Region. The newest member to our team right here." Applejack held the Embalming Pokemon out.
"Riolu!"
"From the Holon Region?! I haven't been there yet but I heard there are so many Delta Pokemon around! Radical! Look at how cute it is!" He gushed over Alpha Riolu before then switching to Apple Bloom who had caught so many Grass-Type Pokemon it was ridiculous. Granted, it wasn't all of them but it was certainly a heaping amount.
"I've got uh...42 of 'em!" Apple Bloom counted. "There's way more out there for me."
"Nice! Have you ever thought about becoming a Gym Leader in the future?" Eli wrote all of this down as Apple Bloom would soon go on about what she was doing next. Mainly being an apprentice to the Pokemon Breeder and Doctor expert, Brock.
Next, he focused on trainers that had the same Pokemon with multiple numbers. Mainly Pinkie Pie and Rarity with their 7 Slurpuff and 12 Leavanny.
"So, for all of these groups, you have the strongest out of each of them, right?" He asked.
"That's right. The one in the middle is my absolute strongest Leavanny." Rarity showed her middle Leavanny who had stepped forward.
"I don't really have a Slurpuff that's stronger than the rest." Pinkie Pie shrugged. "They're all pretty good at what they do."
"Hm-hm. But how do you tell them apart? I mean, you've got so many, does it get difficult to know who's who?"
"It-" That was a stunning question as it made Rarity and Pinkie Pie pause. They gandered at their Pokemon, noticing how to this day, they had yet to name them. "Hm. I suppose we don't have names for all of them."
"I just have each of them sniff each other out so they know who's who. Plus, thanks to that Fairy Magic inside of me, I've got some good sniffing abilities too. Pretty nifty!"
"Oh, right! I heard that you and Fluttershy were taught by Valerie. How does it feel to have some Fairy Magic inside of you? What can you do?"
"Beats me. I just smell stuff better and everything sometimes becomes pink. Oh, but I can see Fairy Magic happen when no one else can." Pinkie Pie explained. "I should ask Valerie for more things to learn since she's the expert."
"Right! I know what I should do!" Rarity clapped her hooves. "I should give each of my Leavanny special capes, scarves or badges! My strongest will hold a golden badge! Or a scarlet cape while the rest wear blue! You all don't mind that do you?"
"Leavanny!" As long as they get to look stylish, the Leavanny don't mind."
"Nice-nice! Say...There's also something about your little sister? I hear from Fantina that she's got a Phione helping out? Something about a stairway?"
"Oh, you haven't seen it? It's going to be marvellous! A stairway to the cosmos!" Rarity looked to the skies. "With Phione giving us advice which comes from Arceus himself, soon, we will be able to reach Jirachi."
"How come you haven't just gone out and explored for Jirachi? That's what most Trainers do anyway for certain Pokemon." Eli asked.
"We would've. But that blasted Rift has been purposefully stopping us from having our chances to find Jirachi. Especially when it had prevented all Jirachi in existence from coming down to Earth. Hmph! How rude!"
"That is pretty unfair." Eli nodded. "But with that stairway, you can reach Jirachi which is commonly found in space. If you see Rayquaza up there, let me know, okay? That'd be radical!"
He continued his interview after finishing with Pinkie and Rarity. His notes were only piling up. Stopping by the Ash Ketchum Fanclub gave him further insight on Ash's reputation here plus the eventual merging of both this Fanclub and the Rainbow Dash Fanclub.
Life with Pokemon has certainly done wonders for the ponies. From delivering letters with the existence of the Pelipper to even controlling the weather on an equal wavelength with the Pegasi thanks to the Flying-Types. The same went for everywhere else as Eli went for Canterlot next.
There, he could spot the stairway that was incomplete but radiated such a beautiful golden outline. And there in the city of Canterlot, he saw Ash and Pikachu about. Not only that but there was a heavy amount of pegasi around Canterlot which was usually a unicorn heavy area. Mainly pegasi from Pegalysium as seen by their tipped wings.
"Oh! What's happening here?!" Eli exclaimed, rushing over to the scene.
"Ah, the Pokemon Weekly Reporter. You're just in time to see this." Fleur-De-Lis spoke. "Pegasi from Pegalysium are coming over after an agreed alliance with Equestria had been made. This is their visiting moment."
"Mhm." Ash nodded. "They're gonna see a lot more with Pokemon now down here. But I bet there's just as many of them up there."
"Pikachu."
"Good stuff! Well, I've got something to say. Ash. What's it like being the King of the Sea?" He quickly shifted his focus onto Ash, rapidly going from one topic to another. "That's a huge title!"
"It is?"
"Of course it is! The sea makes up a majority of the Pokemon World! If anything, you own most of the world as we know it!"
"He has a point, Ash," said Fleur-de-lis. "You might as well be the world's most important figure with all of that control. All of the Water-Type Pokemon and the sea itself are yours to control. We should be calling your King Ash or your majesty, but oh, how you insist we don't."
"Well, I'm just fine with Ash but if you wanna call me that, then it's totally fine. But I think Kyogre's still the big boss of the sea since it made the whole thing."
"Either way, you should be thrilled! Relish in your status! It must be better than shooting to become number and beating Leon, right?"
"I've been trying to tell him this!" Sombra showed himself as his shadowy figure, emerging before Eli's eyes. "The fact that you aren't revelling in your Kingly status is absurd. King of the Sea, no less. Be it me, I would be beyond ecstatic. That is the closest to ruling the entire world."
"Eh...What is that?!" Eli pointed at Sombra. "Ash, I didn't know you had a dark spirit inside of you! Creepy..."
"Ah, this is Sombra. He's the previous ruler of the Crystal Empire. He's kinda stuck to me right now, but I think we're kinda getting along here and there."
"I doubt it." Sombra doubted it greatly. "Your mere presence makes me sick. But...you aren't that bad. You do have potential and show promise here and there."
"Oh, previous ruler as a shadow now? Tell me all about yourself!" Eli was now interested in Sombra. "I'm a reporter from Pokemon Weekly so ask away!"
"Myself? Hm." Sombra smirked. "If you're a reporter then write all of this down. About my great rule and the legend that I left behind and will soon continue to make." This was a massive opportunity for Sombra. He was about to chatter until the bitter end, only stroking his ego.
This would go on for hours as Fleur-de-lis had already left whilst the pegasi of Pegalysium continued to have a tour of Equestria now that they were here. The sun was starting to set slowly with its orange glow glistening. Eli wasn't done as there were a few more to interview.
"So, Princess Celestia. Princess Luna. Anything new to offer?" Eli went over to the two sisters after listening to Sombra.
"Nothing to report now." Celestia shook her head. "The day is coming to an end anyway."
"Okay. But, what is Princess Luna doing right now?" Eli pointed at Luna who was currently standing next to her Xatu. Xatu's eyes were flashing, giving off potential premonitions. "Oooh...Another premonition? What is it about now?
"Xatu..."
"Xatu says that he's seen a lot in the future." Darkrai translated. "Something about a Pikachu with a hat, shadows and a group of ponies. That's all."
"Pikachu...Shadows...Ponies." Eli wrote it all down. "Got it! I'm sure I can decipher it somehow. "Those Xatu premonitions must be chilling sometimes, right?"
"Sometimes..." Luna repeated, knowing this to be true. Xatu can give off unnerving premonitions, but all of that was standard fare for the Xatu Species.
"Well, anyway. I think my work here is done. I can tell that Equestria's doing alright." Eli closed his notebook.
"It is. But I have faith that it can do better." Celestia looked outside, gazing at her subjects. "We have a ways to go before we can reach the type of world we want to be in. Especially with what we're facing off against."
"Cosmic forces, alter egos and empires galore." Luna walked over. "All of those are the only things that stand in our way. But after it is all said and done..."
"Then you'll be smooth sailing." Eli finished. "Your world might as well end up like another Pokemon Region, right? I bet that's what it might look like in the near future."
"Yes...I suppose it will." Celestia and Luna agreed on that. Equestria itself was essentially becoming another Pokemon Region entirely. From the Equestria League to the brand-new Pokemon exclusive locations, it might as well be another region on another side.
"See you around then!" Eli waved goodbye, finally returning to his world once he got everything he wanted down. "I'll be back another time!"
"Chatot! Back another time!"
Another Pokemon Weekly interview had come to an end. This time, it was all about how the world had changed after these 3 years have passed. Granted, these changes weren't slowing down for anything, even with cosmic interference. But that is the charm of it all. To many of Equestria's residents and beyond, to the Pokemon World entirely, it could be potentially seen as a never-ending, ever-wonderful tale.
"Mmmrrgh..." Fast asleep and grumbling in her sleep was Applejack. When asleep, she slept with her Delta Riolu who was hugging onto the Earth Pony. Sceptile slept within a tree outside of the house as that was his best habitat. Riolu made himself comfortable, feeling warm in Applejack's embrace.
"Gol." The only one not asleep, or rather, was unable to sleep no matter what. Golett had entered the room, holding a breakfast plate in his hands.
"Ugh..." Applejack yawned, awakening to the sight of Golett's arrival and what he was holding. "Golett?"
"Golett!" Golett place the food on her bed, ready to be served. Golett then saluted the earth pony.
"For me? Oh, thanks." Applejack rubbed her eye, already prepared to have some breakfast. This isn't the first time Golett has done this. It has been delivering food to Applejack's room every morning. Golett did this without any second thoughts at all. True to its purpose as a Golett, it has a strong sense of servitude.
Applejack ate away as Golett had opened the windows for her without her needing to do it later. It had made her bedsheets neater, moving them up to Applejack's hooves. Even going for the smaller things such as placing Applejack's hat on her head. "Gol!"
"Thanks again. You're always so helpful every morning, Golett."
"Gol-Gol."
This would never be the end of Golett's charitable nature. Because even after breakfast, the Automaton Pokemon would continue to be helpful in any way it can.
Today was a Pokemon School session for some students. Applejack being among one of them. Apple Bloom and the younger ponies wouldn't go today. Only on Mondays to Wednesdays will they go whilst older ponies such as Applejack and many others, head out on Wednesdays to Friday.
Canterlot. The Pokemon School. Day.
The train to the Pokemon School was underway for many students who lived elsewhere. And through it all, Golett made sure that Applejack had a nice ride, keeping watch over her. But she didn't really need much protection when she had Sceptile by her side along with her friends that had equally powerful Pokemon too.
Even when getting out of the train, Golett was the first to exit, observing the scenario around itself. It was all ears despite having no ears.
"Golett. You're always like this when it's time to head out for the Pokemon School." Applejack commented, exiting the train with her friends.
"The whole Golett species are extremely loyal Pokemon, aren't they?" said Twilight. "I mean, the Pokedex even mentions how they receive the orders from their masters from thousands of years ago. That's some commitment."
"Commitment for that long? I don't know if I could do that." Rarity shook her head, thinking of how long that would take to follow multiple orders for thousands of years. Then again, only a Ghost-Type could be able to endure such a long process.
"IS Golett from a thousand years ago?" Fluttershy asked.
"Could be." Pinkie Pie skipped over. "Fantina said that Applejack reminded Golett of someone special from long ago. She didn't say how long. Come to think of it...who could remind you of Applejack, Golett? Oh! Is it someone that looks like Applejack maybe?!"
"I don't think that's it, Pinkie." Rainbow Dash chuckled before thinking about it for a second. Golett immediately attached itself to Applejack by simply being close to her during the Ghost-Type lesson. It was as if it had sensed her nature. "Unless..." Thinking about it some more made Rainbow Dash lean towards Pinkie Pie's theory being possible.
"Well, there's only one way to find out. Fantina obviously caught this Golett when it had a previous trainer. Maybe she knows something about it." Twilight uttered. "I say we ask her."
"Golett!"
To fill their curiosity, they would head to Fantina to find this simple answer. Luckily for them, Fantina was available today as a teacher. When approaching the Pokemon School, they took the time to look at the golden staircase. Everyone would constantly take a gander at it due to its absolute beauty.
There were even those who would try and touch it. Mainly the Flying-Types. A flock of Spearow could be seen approaching the golden stairway, curious about its appearance. But the moment it got close, the enigmatic and mystical light from it immediately compelled Spearow to fly over it. While it was curious the first time, it was forced to flee from it.
Until the stairway was finished, none could make contact with it. Anyone near it would simply move in another direction. So says the light of Arceus.
Within the Pokemon School, the lessons were underway. Twilight and everyone had focused on their classes first before going for Fantina, who was elsewhere within the school. The best time to head for Fantina would be once a single lesson ends. And that came soon, almost swiftly with how hard everyone was working. Eventually, Applejack went for Fantina, who could be found in her spectral classroom.
"Hm? Golett's old trainer?" Fantina spoke.
"Mhm. You brought its old trainer up when I first met it. Is there something about this old trainer that looks familiar to Golett about me?" Applejack asked.
"Ah, yes! I do know Golett's old trainer. I caught Golett because of him." Fantina kneeled, patting Golett on the head. "I learned about his trainer when I was out catching Ghost Pokemon of my own. Golett here has been around for 110 years."
"110 years?!" Applejack's hat flew up for a bite before then dropping back on her head after being so stunned. "Hold on...That ain't that long ago now that I think about it..."
"A long time to some. But that is nothing for a Ghost-Type, évidemment." Fantina walked over to a shelf of various objects. She then started shuffling, searching for something. "Golett shared with me the name of its trainer and more. I still have the picture...right here." Fantina found herself a picture hidden behind some books.
A perfect framed picture that showed some age. Most likely from those 300 years as Fantina walked over to show Applejack this relic. "Golett remembers his face well. This picture that was drawn of the first time they had ever met on that mountain pass."
"This is Kipp. He was not only Golett's Trainer but also its creator. As you know, all Golett are made from clay."
"So that's him, huh?" Applejack took a closer look. "Ain't no way it's just the way we look that makes Golett think of him. Is it?" Applejack looked over at Fantina as the Ghost-Type Gym Leader compared the two of them.
They did have some similarities, but they were few. From the blond hair to even some freckles. Although, Kipp seemed to own more freckles than Applejack. "You do share similarities. But no. That isn't why Golett was drawn to you. Golett could feel the honest heart from you. Just like Kipp here. That is without a doubt the reason it drew similarities."
"So he was honest too, huh?" Applejack gawked as Golett was feeling nostalgic, holding the image close.
"As honest as you can imagine. Kipp was a Golett Sculptor in Unova. A group of trainers that help make Golett and sometimes even Golurk. They specialize in clay far more than anyone in the world and use a strange energy source to bring life to the Golett."
"Strange Energy Source? You mean Infinity Energy?"
"They never share their secrets." Fantina wagged her finger. "It's for safety so that no one could use that same power. Can you imagine what would happen if they have the power to give life to practically anything they sculpt? It would be awfully terrifiant! But it is said that they have different sources sometimes."
"Gol..." Golett continued to admire the picture, thinking of its trainer even more. It had zoned out with only its thoughts being present at the moment. Golett reminisced of the past, thinking about Kipp.
Unova Region. 110 years ago. Windy Willows Pastures. Day.
The Unova Region many years ago. There resided a place known as the Windy Willows Pastures. A farm-like area. There were fields stretching over great distances, their mosaic marked further by the picket fences around them.
All around the area, Rapidash and Flaaffy slept and grazed in the silent pastures, and passing field after field ran a weed-ridden, cobblestone road. But they weren't the focal Pokemon of these pastures. It was the Golett. And as further proof of that, there was an abundance of boxes that all had clay in them.
These boxes covered a majority of the farm on all sides. All of this clay would be used for the birth of the Golett. And speaking of which, sculpting these Ground-Ghost-Types were the Golett Sculptors themselves. They were all essentially a mixture of farmers and sculptors. Perfect multitaskers.
Each of these men and women were trained in sculpting a Golett with perfect detail. All Golett were built the same with consistent heights to boot. Not a single mistake could be made and if there were a mistake to be made by them. And plus, some of them had their partner Pokemon to assist them.
And among these many sculptors was none other than Kipp, who had just finished making his Golett for the first time. "There we go." He spoke, moving his hands away as Golett stood before him. "My very first Golett statue. Wasn't too hard, was it?"
Being as this Golett and practically all of them had just been sculpted, none of them were alive. At this point, they were just lifeless miniature sculpts. The farm was covered with standing Golett that all had the same pose. Everyone's hands were messy with clay along with their clothes.
"Alright then!" An old mentor to all of these sculptors spoke. "Those who are done with their Golett can now move on to the final part. Bringing them to life. Unfortunately, we've run low on the power needed to make them come to life. Sometimes we tend to go overboard when making these Golett, don't we? They aren't even supposed to be that common."
He got a chuckle out of everything. Indeed, Golett wasn't exactly a common Pokemon. And that was shown even further with Golurk which can only be found in specific places as opposed to a Pokemon like Pidgey, Patrat or even sometimes a Ralts here and there.
"We will get some new energy next week. All of our usual areas have run low such as the Apparition Pass. You can hurry on over there or take your time to have all of them refilled. Doesn't matter anyway.
"I'll head to the pass," Kipp spoke, holding up his Golett. "I want to see my Golett come to life so soon. It's my first one."
"Then you will go to the Apparition Pass, newcomer. Gather the energy and make sure that it enters Golett correctly. After that, it's up to you to decide what to do next with Golett. Make it your partner Pokemon or set it off to let it do its own thing."
"I'd like to keep it as my own, sir." Kipp held the Automaton Pokemon close to him. "Staying with Golett forever would be the best."
"Well, you aren't going to be with it forever." Just like that, the mentor had shut Kipp down with that one sentence.
"Eh?"
"Don't you remember? Golett, and an extension Golurk, live for many years. They're ghosts after all. They have a purpose that boils down to your own orders that they can carry out even in the future."
"Oh yeah. I-I forgot." Kipp chuckled. "But...it would be nice to be alongside Golett forever."
"It would only be possible if you were to live forever. Or if some divine intervention from the one they call Arceus happens." The mentor chuckled. "And if you were lucky again, perhaps a blessing from Ho-oh or the like. But, as long as you can make sure your Golett lives a charitable and happy life in the future, that is all that matters."
"Yeah. I bet Golett will make a lot of people and Pokemon happy, won't it?"
"That's the spirit, newcomer. Now, then. Everyone continue. Let's make these Golett's see everything there is to see." The sculptors had then set off to bring life to their Golett.
Not all of them and the options were minimal now. But they had to make, as the mentor had said. Kipp would head for the Apparition Pass to bring new life into this world while others would go elsewhere as Kipp made his way north.
Life had been brought to this world. Kipp was already knowledgable on how to do so and even how to traverse the Apparition Pass, which, as to be expected, carried an eerie aura despite the sun shining through it. Once there, in his hands, Kipp held an incandescent green aura with a spectral black light that glowed within it. Truly fitting for a Ghost.
He had carefully held this green light in the shape of a sphere before then placing it inside of Golett. And within seconds, the light within had possessed Golett, causing its signature golden eyes to finally glow. Golett had been brought into this world.
"Golett."
"Hey, there, Golett. How are you?" Kipp greeted the Automaton Pokemon. "Welcome to the World, little guy."
"Gol...Golett!"
"Feels great, doesn't it? My name's Kipp. Nice to meet you." Kipp held his hand out. Golett, upon having a few seconds of life, could already understand human customs, showing its intelligence. The Ground-Ghost-Type shook Kipp's hand promptly which definitely made him happy. Kipp was thrilled to have succeeded in making a Golett that would become his friend. "From now on, I think we'll make great friends."
"Lett!"
Now that Kipp had a Golett by his side, there was much to do. But to commemorate this moment, Kipp wanted to make sure that something of this meeting would last forever. Thus, he had commissioned artwork to be done. He had returned to the farm with Golett as many other sculptors had succeeded in bringing their Golett to life.
Back at the farm, there was already artwork being made of these two. Golett was now 2 hours old after coming into the world. It was still so new but it was not overwhelming for the Ghost-Type. Then again, usually, Ghost-Types are the ones to overwhelm others.
Kipp watched as many Golett were being set free into the world, becoming Wild Pokemon in this instance. Not all sculptors wanted to make Golett their Pokemon. The Golett had orders to follow even in the future. They even say that the Golett could fare better as free spirits.
As the painting of them was being done by an artist, who was being assisted by his Smeargle, Kipp was starting to wonder about the future. He had Golett now, but what about later on?
"Golett." Kipp got his attention. "I'm a pretty young soul here. Moving on to 20 years old soon in a year. With how much time may come and go, I want to spend all of it with you."
"Gol?"
"That's right. I wanted to sculpt you for a reason. It's mostly a family thing. My mom and dad were Golett Sculptors too before heading off to the Hisui Region."
"Sinnoh Region." The artist spoke. "They've changed it to be known as the Sinnoh Region now."
"Oh. Right. Sinnoh Region. Seeing them create life like that was amazing. That's what inspired me and it was all worth it."
"Golett!" Golett raised its arms in agreement. It was happy to be walking right now.
"But you know...eventually, there's gonna come a time when I'm not around." Kipp closed his eyes, knowing of the future for him. "For a lot of us, really. But you'll be still kicking around even still, Golett."
"Gol?"
"I wouldn't you to forget me. Or any other friend that you and I could make together." The sun shined down on Kipp afterwards prompting him to look up. Just then, an idea was sparking within his head. "Truth is, it scares me so much knowing that I won't be there forever with you. One of my many wishes anyway."
"Golett..."
"But I also don't want you to be alone, Golett." The sculptor placed his hand on Golett's head. "So, here's my order for you to follow forever. Don't be alone or live alone, Golett. Everything can be so much more wonderful with others that you truly care about by your side. Human, Pokemon, or whatever lies beyond. Never forget to make new friends, okay?"
"Gol...Golett!" Golett would make sure to follow that order to the bitter end. Right then and there, the painting had been completed. Afterwards, Kipp and Golett took the time to admire it. And soon, it would become a picture that would be taken and preserved for years.
The two of them would go on to have many adventures. Whether it was just them both or others by their side, they would do whatever they could. And for Golett, this was its purpose. Not to be in the wild, but to be around friends.
Present Day. Equestria. Canterlot. Day.
"Golett..."
"Remembering that promise that Kipp made to you?" Fantina kneeled as Goltt nodded in response. "It's good that you kept his promise even to this day. But you are a Golett after all."
"What was his promise?" Applejack asked.
"Kipp ordered Golett to never be alone. To make new friends. It has done that successfully with you and I. And all of your friends as well. This is Golett's sole order. It's merveilleuse, isn't it?"
"Hmm..." Applejack thought about it. It was indeed touching, but she couldn't help but think about Golett's future and the future friends it could make. Applejack was happy for Golett, but even she, much like Kipp, knows that Golett and her will be distant in many years to come. Golett would still have friends, but Applejack felt like taking it a step further. "What if we could give Golett a new friend now?"
"Gol?"
"Excusez-nous?"
"Lots of 'em. You've been helping me out a lot, Golett. Especially every morning. Might as well return the favour to you. I know what I wanna do now. Fantina. I wanna make some more Golett."
"Oh?!" Fatina's hair tendrils, all four of them, shot up after hearing that. "Do my ears deceive me? Making Golett? Ah, you've taken interest in Golett Sculpting now, have you?"
"Ya could say that. I was thinking about making more Golett just for my Golett here. Having friends that'll be around just as long as it. Sounds mighty fine, don't ya think?"
"Golett!"
"Choosing to make more Golett for your own..." Fantina gawked. "Ah! How sweet! This is something that Kipp would've wanted, aucun doute. Very well. No one is going to stop you at all, but you should know where to go and how to sculpt as well. Allow me to guide you there."
"Thanks, Fantina. Just you wait, Golett. Sweet Apple Acres is gonna have more than just Applin lying about."
"Gol!"
"You'll have to go to the same place Kipp sculpted Golett and where the rest of the Golett Sculptors were. Windy Willows Pastures. After that, it will be up to you to bring life to the other Golett once they're sculpted. But you cannot sculpt them all on your own, my little pony. You know what you need, n'est-ce pas ?"
"I do. My friends. I've already got some of them here with me." Applejack gandered at Sceptile, Riolu and Golett.
"Sceptile!"
"Rio-Rio!"
"And me as well." Fantina stepped forward. " We are friends too, Applejack. I can consider myself to be an artiste sometimes. How I would love to take part in Golett Sculpting!" Fantina clapped her hands, showing interest in this activity. She wanted a piece of the action. "Now! Finish up your lessons and we will make our way to the Unova Region!"
Soon it would be off to Unova. Applejack would be joined by the Gym Leader and Contest Expert Fantina in her quest to sculpt some Golett. She would end up bringing more of her friends along. Applejack shared everything with her friends including the photo of Kipp and Golett to them.
They would all also like to part in Golett Sculpting as well, but all of that would have to be done after their time at the Pokemon School was done for the day. This message had been passed on to Ash and Goh far away in the Kanto Region via the good old Xtransceiver.
Golett couldn't help but wonder what it would be like with more of its own kind around it at all times. It was already sounding wonderful to it. Granted, the farm would be overflooded with extra Pokemon which was already an issue thanks to the various Applin that disguise themselves with regular apples, and it would certainly give Granny Smith a judgemental stare. But it was all in good faith as the journey continues.
Arriving here with a major goal was Applejack along with her friends. The goal was to make more Golett for Applejack's Golett. Certainly, an interesting goal that involved sculpting and the usage of a strange energy source, but nevertheless, it was something to be pursued.
They arrived here at the farm where Golett was built among many others. It was home to Golett Sculptors. Golett was feeling further nostalgia by looking at the pastures.
"Here we are," Fantina spoke. "If you've ever wanted to know where most of the Golett in the world come from, this is one of those places."
"So most of them come here, huh?" Ash gawked. "Nice!"
"Yes. But not all of them. There are other places out there with Golett Sculptors that are hidden. It's all about the secrecy with us Ghost-Type specialists. Now, then. How many Golett shall we make? The same amount as all of you and I? 9?"
"Hmmm...9...9 sounds good." They all agreed on it. 9 Golett seemed like a good enough amount to have. They approached the pastures, seeing the abundance of clay within multiple boxes. A massive supply. Enough to rival that of an acre of trees within a forest.
The workers here were the usual young men and women, working hard to make Golett. To make a Golurk would require a hefty amount of workers. They greeted the group upon their arrival as Golett saw how this entire farm remained unchanged for the most part. Granted, after 110 years, it would go through some changes, but the place itself was good enough to the point where only the bare minimum was needed.
"Afternoon. Do ya'll need something?" One of the workers asked, placing down a box of clay. "You're only here for one thing, right?"
"Why yes! We're here to take part in the Golett Sculpting. All 9 of us. It will be their first time making Golett Scuplturs here."
"Wait. You've one it before?" Twilight asked.
"I only did a mock Golett Sculpting when I was inspired by it." Fantina chuckled. "This will be like a dream come true for me, making my own Golett."
"So is the clay special?" Fluttershy asked, wandering at the mass of clay. "It must be if the Golett can be so durable."
"Oh, the clay? Believe it or not, the clay ain't special at all."
"It's not?!" Each of them, except for Fantina was surprised. They had the same thought about Golett being made out of some special clay. Withstanding Pokemon attacks that have the power to break concrete, steel and even warp the weather itself would've led them to believe that. Turns out, that was not the case.
"Ain't it. The clay's all-natural. You can buy it over at your local Poke Mart."
"Then...how does it work for the Golett?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"They use that strange energy source that the Pokedex describes." Fantina chimed in. "It's that energy that not only gives the Golett life but also hardens the clay. So it's not complicated at all, my little pony."
"As long as I get to give Golett some future friends for life, that's fine by me." Applejack shrugged. "Let's hurry and get this going."
"I hear ya, gal. But uh...one question. Are ya'll able to sculpt with hooves?" The worker asked as only Ash, Goh and Fantina had hands that could sculpt. Everypony else had hooves at best.
"Over at the Pokemon School, They are taught how to sculpt. So they have their way of doing it even without hands." Fantina explained.
"Not easy though. Hard to sculpt things when you've got these!" Pinkie Pie flailed her hooves about.
"Should be easy with these. Right, Rarity?" Twilight was referring to her and Rarity's horns. Magic was their strongest ally in this instance. Then again, for a majority of the time, it always is their strongest ally.
"Can we have our Pokemon help us?" Fluttershy asked.
"Of course. They're free to do the same. So just go for it. Grab yourself a clay box and start making those Golett. You gotta get every detail right though. But Golett's a pretty simple looking Pokemon for that to work."
"Hmm..." To see if it was true, Rarity gazed at Golett for a moment. It was a small Pokemon with minimal patterns. Not difficult but not exactly a Pokemon that can easily be crafted with just one look. "Simple is a tiny overstatement."
Nevertheless, they would get to work. There were no aprons needed for clay sculpting, whether it was for Golett or just average clay sculpting. But Rarity thought otherwise, wanting to keep herself clean. They had images of Golett, other sculpted Golett and Applejack's Golett to go off of.
Their Pokemon would assist them in this sculpting, chiming in on the fun. Once they got a hold of the clay, they found out that it was far more colourful and playful than they expected. Like a child's clay set only with some extra grit on it.
Starting off, Ash had meshed two different shades of blue together, messing around with them. "This stuff's extra soft." He commented. "Can't believe that every Golett and Golurk are made out of this stuff."
"Makes it all the more charming, doesn't it?" Twilight replied, using her magic to both sculpt and hold up an image of Golett too. Twilight had Ninetales help out due to his nine tails and the use they could bring.
"Feels like they could swallow us at any moment," Goh said, pulling on a yellow clay that stretched to great lengths. "Weird. Are we sure it's not special clay?"
"Feels pretty special to me. Hey! Do you think I could give my Golett a cool style on its head?!" Rainbow Dash aimed to get creative, wanting to make a custom Golett.
"Sorry there, my little pony." A worker came over. "But it's gotta be a standard Golett. Nothing else. We can't deviate away from the original model."
"Aw...Seriously?" A disappointed Rainbow Dash pouted.
"Ah, let her be creative." However, despite this rule, Fantina came over. "Variety is the spice of life. Changing the appearance of a single Golett isn't going to make the world collapse, c'est ça ?"
"Hmm...Nothing bad would come from it but..." The worker thought for a moment.
"Let her make a Golett different from the others. It won't look any different from a regional Pokemon or any other Pokemon with alternate appearances. Or even a Spinda with its spots. A first for everything."
"Spinda!" Pinkie Pie's Spinda could vouch for that, popping out of her mane and raising her arm in response to Fantina's words.
"Oooh! In that case, I know what I want to do!" Rarity took advantage of this. Much like Rainbow Dash, she saw the opportunity to go past Golett's standard design and wanted to let her mind roam free with ideas.
Soon, there would be Golett of different appearances. Not too different but they would certainly have their own unique style to them. Hearing this, Ash and the others were now eager to try this out.
"We could make it so that each of our Golett stand out when you put it like that," said Twilight. "Won't be difficult to tell them apart, would it?"
"Fine, fine." The worker shrugged. "Not like the rule was the strongest thing in the first place or even all there. But if you're gonna do it, you'll need some more clay that ain't just the same colours."
"She's right. These are some limited colours we have to work with." Twilight used her magic to bring over the boxes, showing how they all kept the same colours. Cyan, yellow, brown and navy blue. All the colours that fit Golett.
"Well, if you're looking for more colours, just go down to the local store near here. Like I said, it's just regular clay." The worker shrugged as this issue could be easily solved.
"Hm..." Rarity, who gave a slow nod, soon used her magic to send Pheromosa out into the fray. Once the Lissome Pokemon emerged, the fashionista slid some Pokedollars her way. Hefty amounts. All of this came from Rarity's career as a PokeStar Studios Actress. "Pheromosa. Go to the local store in the city and buy as many clay boxes as you can. If a stranger comes up to you with heavy suspicion, you are free to kick them."
"Pheromo!" Pheromosa saluted, holding the dollars close as she knew what to do next. In the blink of an eye, she rushed off to the nearby city, ready to buy heaps of clay. Thanks to her amazing speed, she could make this quick.
With permission, they were free to change up some parts of Golett. However, for the most part, they still kept the appearance close to Golett. In just 7 minutes, Pheromosa had returned from the city, having boxes of clay with different colours in her possession, making everyone free to use whatever they wanted to use.
Ash kept it simple by making a cape out of clay. He did seem to be a big fan of capes. Rainbow Dash stuck by what she wanted as she had Mienfoo help sculpt this Golett. A stylish red and blue stripe was placed on the top of Golett's head along with the back of its head. Rainbow Dash also sculpted a lightning bolt on its chest. It was small, but there, much like the stripes.
However, Rainbow Dash didn't feel 100% satisfied with it, moving her hooves out, reworking it until she got what she felt was right. There wasn't much they could all do with Golett. It was a fairly small Pokemon after all.
But Applejack didn't care too much for appearances. Not in this instance anyway. Be it any other time, she would've probably gone wild with her custom ideas. But out of all of her friends, she kept it standard. Riolu tried helping out, only to end up covering himself with clay.
"Rio..."
"Milo!" Cleaning him up was Rarity's Milotic, using Hydro Pump on Delta Riolu.
"Ri!" Riolu's eyes expanded as he was at least free from the clay, despite being drenched now.
"Golett," Golett observed everyone's craft before deciding to step in. He held his Goh's hand, pausing him for a moment.
"Huh? W-What?" Goh asked.
"Gol-Gol!" Golett seemed to take issue with a few things as it had used Shadow Punch, extending its shadowy arms to grab the hooves of Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. "Golett!"
"What gives?" Rainbow Dash asked as Golett's shadow grip was stronger than she expected.
"Golett seems to know that we're doing it wrong. It's trying to give us advice." Fluttershy translated. "I was sure this image would've helped be enough."
"Golett has been here before. So, it should know how the rest of its brethren are made." One of the workers commented. "I think it's a good idea for a Golett to be a tutor in all of this. Why didn't we think of that before?"
"Good thing I've seen my fair share of Golett," Ash said as he didn't struggle too much with sculpting Golett. Neither did Rarity or Twilight, who always looked at everything closely, giving them this advantage.
And the same went for Applejack who constantly lived with a Golett. Speaking of Applejack, since she was so focused on completing one of the Golett, she had already finished hers. "Done. Wasn't that hard."
"So soon? Amazing job, Applejack!" Ash and Fluttershy applauded.
"I'm probably not gonna get mine done anytime soon..." Rainbow Dash grumbled. "I thought had an idea in my head for this but...I guess this is why that one rule was made. Making Golett look different is tough."
"I'll say. I'm looking at a bunch of them right now." Pinkie Pie commented as Mew had transformed into a Golett, but it was still tricky for her.
"Hmm...How about this?!" Fantina snapped her fingers, hatching an idea that could solve their sculpting dilemma. "You all might not be able to make the Golett you want to, but you can still add something that can differentiate the rest from each other. And should be the glows!"
"Glows? You mean the light that comes out of Golett's eyes and centre and side?" Rainbow Dash uttered.
"Précisément, Rainbow Dash!" Fantina clapped. "How about you all make the glow colour different from what Golett usually has. A colour that suits you and it will let us know who made who or who is who."
"Not a bad idea. I'm going for blue! I'm all about blue!" Ash stood up, already choosing a colour.
"Aw, come on, Ash! I was totally going for blue!" Rainbow Dash interjected. "Maybe I could try...light blue!"
"Mine won't be that different from Golett's regular glow. I'm already yellow right here." Fluttershy raised her hoof. "Maybe I can make it pale yellow?"
"Mine will look absolutely divine! LIterally. All white. Oh and maybe a hidden tint of purple in there." Rarity commented.
"Pink! Pink everywhere!" Pinkie Pie burst in between her friends as her colour was also predictable. They were all deciding based on either their coat colours or Aura.
"While you all choose your glow...Applejack. You finished before anyone. You know what to do next, don't you?" Fantina turned to Applejack.
"Eeyup. The Apparition Pass. I know where to be."
"You'll find it up north. Can't miss that big mountain pass in the distance. When you head there, you're gonna find out that some creepy ghosts are gonna be messing with ya. Mainly some spectre more than anything." The worker warned. "Forget about all of that and just focus on getting that energy source in Golett, ya hear?"
"I got it. But, I'll bring back energy sources for all of them. Makes it easier." Applejack chose to bring along more than just one of that strange energy source. It was all for every Golett. "Ya'll better finish with your Golett when I get back."
"Almost done here. Go for it, AJ." Ash cheered her on.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
Applejack was off to the Apparition mountains with Golett, Sceptile, Delta Riolu and the sculpture of a Golett. With Golett by her side, she would have some guidance since this was all too memorable for Golurk. Ghost-Types tend to have good memories thanks to how long they live.
Apparition Pass.
The Apparition Pass.
It truly lived up to its name. Upon arriving here, Applejack was met with the sight of a crooked land that was mostly cloaked by a light purple mist that flew across the mountains in every direction. Within the mist and even the clouds, silver eyes could be seen flashing in split seconds as eerie howls echoed throughout the pass.
The ground was crooked, seemingly on the verge of breaking apart. The mist had also made bizarre shapes of unknowable horror. But despite this eerie appearance, Applejack was not intimidated or frightened. Neither of her Pokemon were. Sceptile was far too bold to be afraid, Delta Riolu has been seeing Ghosts for quite a while and Golett is a Ghost itself.
"Just look for anything that stands out. Looking at this purple stuff makes it easy." Applejack commented before then walking further. Their bodies were hidden by the mist once they went deeper into the mountain pass. The mist had blocked out their shadows and the entire mountain pass, essentially making it invisible for others to see.
"Gol. Golett." Upon moving through this pass, Golett stood in front of Applejack, waving its arms about as the rocks from the mountains started shifting.
"Hm? Trying to warn me about something?" Applejack asked.
"Gol!" Golett nodded. It has been here before, thus, knowledge about something bizarre here was vast. And the Automaton Pokemon was right on schedule. It had warned Applejack at the right time as the mist from the pass started gathering in one spot.
The silver eyes within it had hovered at the centre, forming a new shape. A familiar one. It started forming hands, legs, a head and a body that was reminiscent of the final evolution for Golett. It had formed a Golurk. Some sort of spectral Golurk had appeared, causing Applejack and her friends to gawk in awe.
Once this spectral apparition of Golurk, it had held its arm out to Applejack. It did not seem hostile despite its sudden appearance. The Golurk Apparition had them summoned something in its giant hands. Something that Golett knew too much of.
The Energy Source that brings life to the Golett. It hovered there in the hands of the Golurk Apparition for Applejack to see. Golurk held it out for reason. It knew that Applejack wanted it and by looking at the Apparition's eyes, Applejack knew what it was going for.
"You're trying to test me, right?" Applejack asked as the Apparition nodded. It wouldn't just hand it out so easily. Applejack needed to quickly prove if she was worthy to use it. This kind of power could do so much when used on sculptures, therefore, this apparition guards it and only reveals it to those it senses. Applejack gave off no wicked intentions. The Apparition could feel her Aura. It was absolutely outstanding.
The Apparition whispered in Applejack's ear by flying past her, asking Applejack a question. The question was of why she came here. Even though the Apparition could sense no wickedness from her, it was still on its guard, wanting to know of Applejack's purpose here.
"I'm here to bring life to this Golett." Applejack held the Golett sculpture out. "But You already knew that. But it's more than that. I wanna give life to other Golett that my friends are making right now. I'm doing it for my Golett here"
"Gol-Gol."
"Golett's gonna keep on living for years. Way past ours and many I know. Golett's gonna make new friends in the future. But I don't wanna have it be alone just searching for new friends. I want friends that'll be around as long as it is, so if there ever comes a time Golett starts feeling lonely, it won't be. Not with others like it being by its side."
"Golett..."
"And I don't know about Sceptile and Riolu, but I'll take a gamble and say them too."
"Sceptile!"
"Riolu!"
The Apparition heard it loud and clearly from Applejack. It was right to not judge her so quickly. The Apparition already knew that many come here for the Golett Sculptures anyway, even though a pony threw it off. However, the Apparition focused on Applejack's words that were about years. It took a moment to sense her and her Pokemon too, feeling something unexpected.
So unexpected that it made the Apparition almost break apart with its misty appearance. There was something different about Applejack and her Pokemon. The Apparition took a moment to process before knowing what it was. It whispered in her ear once more.
"Huh? What do you mean it'll be longer?" Applejack asked. The Apparition continued to whisper in Applejack's ears, sharing information that it had gathered. "Ho-oh? Yeah, what about H-" Just then, after bringing up Ho-oh, Applejack quickly realized what the Apparition was referring to.
She thought back to when she and her friends saw Ho-oh for the first time and the knowledge that Twilight had gathered from Queen Serperior at PokePark. Everything about it related to one thing. Eternal Happiness.
It all started when Ash and Pikachu first saw Ho-oh that day during the start of their journey. The knowledge that Ash was apparently affecting others that he cared for around him with Ho-oh's radiance also came into mind. At first, it was hard to believe, but after thinking about it, Applejack could see that could be true.
"So you're saying that...We're slowly ageing?!" Applejack asked as the Apparition confirmed it. "No wonder Granny Smith hasn't grown two extra wrinkles lately...Ya hear that, Golett?!" Excited, she picked up Golett. "We're gonna be around much longer than we thought! Oh, thanks, Ash! Pikachu!"
"Golett!"
"Sceptile!"
"Riolu!"
The Apparition had fully judged Applejack. She was indeed worthy of the energy source. It had then been held out to her with the Apparition moving its arms close to the earth pony.
"Oh, right! The energy source!" Applejack focused on why she came here. "Uh, I'm actually here for 8 more. They're for my friends ya see. I'm trying to have all of their Golett come to life at the same time."
The Apparition paused. No one had ever asked for multiple before. The Golurk Apparition thought about it for a moment. It stared Applejack in the eyes for a bit, judging her once more. And even if it were to gaze at Applejack for hours, the Apparition could feel the honesty from her heart. Honesty for the good of life. The Apparition had then granted her wish. It had duplicated the energy source in its hand. They were free for Applejack to wield as they hovered around the earth pony.
"Thanks." Applejack thanked the Apparition. The Golurk Apparition nodded before then fading away. Its work here was done until another Golett sculpture shows up here. As for Applejack, it was time for her to head back with new life incoming.
Windy Willows Pasture. Afternoon.
Applejack had returned. And thanks to some help from the workers who gave advice, everyone managed to finish up their Golett Sculptures. And just like Fantina recommended, they had all been given special glowing colours that deviated from the standard yellow. But they had yet to glow until they were given life. Twilight had gone for purple, Goh went for red whilst Fantina chose dark purple to finish all the colours off.
"You kept the cape, huh, Ash?" Rainbow Dash said as Ash's Golett kept the cape he had sculpted. Rarity had also given her Golett a shoulder pad accessory that made it look royal.
"Yep. Totally worth it."
"Alright. Here goes." Applejack then released the energy source, sending it in the direction of the 9 Golett. The sources reacted to the bodies of the Golurk promptly. Everyone watched as once they entered the sculptures, the radiant yet spectral glow from the sources gleamed out of them.
Beautiful particles then flew out of them before their eyes had been illuminated. Each of their respective colours had come to life. As if it were a fancy light show, they had unleashed their glows one by one before they were all then brought into this world, seeing for the first time.
And the first thing they saw was Applejack's Golett
"Gol! Golett!" AJ's Golett cried out to them.
"Golett?" Naturally, they were slightly confused by their sudden existence. As would anyone. But after looking at each other, they realized they were all identical. Applejack's Golett knew how they were feeling and thus already had the intention of making them comfortable in their new life.
"Gol-Gol."
"Looks like Sweet Apple Acres is gonna be extra occupied now." Pinkie Pie uttered. "But it'll be like one big happy family, won't it?"
"Eeyup."
"Bien fait, Applejack." Fantina walked over. "You have managed to live up to Kipp's promise and go beyond it. Giving Golett this is amazing. A clever idea, indeed."
"Thanks, Fantina. Gonna have a lot on my hooves when I bring 'em home." Applejack removed her hat before then placing it on her Golett. "But we can handle it, can't we?"
"Golett!"
"This gives me an idea for tomorrow's lesson! How wonderful!" Fantina giggled. "I should do something like this more often since you all go on such adventures."
"Aren't you a Gym Leader though? Won't that be difficult?" Goh asked.
"Hasn't stopped I and others from enjoying ourselves, has it?"
"Come on, Golett." Applejack picked up her Golett while also referring to the rest of the Golett. "Let's go home. We've got a bit of renovating to do."
"Gol!"
With new life brought into this world, Golett would no longer have to worry about being alone in the future. For two reasons. The birth of 9 other Golett who would be by its side and the prolonged lifespan of everyone else. They all had Ho-oh to thank for that as the journey continues.
"So, Sombra. What do you think? If you could choose a Pokemon, which would it be?" Ash said as he and Pikachu were currently at the Pokemon House. Sombra was still attached to Ash, forced to be by his side forever.
"Why ask me this?"
"You did say you were kinda interested in Pokemon. And if you had the chance to choose a partner, who would it be?" Ash asked as Fluttershy brought over some Pokemon for Sombra to look at. The options were Glameow, Skorupi, Volbeat, Nincada and Nuzleaf. Sombra looked over at the small options, unimpressed by any of them.
"Bah! As if I would want any of these tiny creatures!" He scoffed, causing Glameow and the others to gasp. "This is far off from what I would envision as my own personal Pokemon! Off with you all!"
"G-Glameow!" Glameow and the others promptly rushed off once they were yelled at. Sombra's voice had a strong intimidation factor to it.
"Oh! You scared them off!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "You could've at least said you weren't interested in any of them."
"Tch. I did. Just in the way I know best." Sombra simply scoffed as Fluttershy went to comfort the Pokemon that were yelled at.
"Oh boy..." Ash just sighed at all of this. He has been dealing with Sombra's vast different personality from his but it wasn't anything that Ash was new about. He's seen others like Sombra before.
On the bright side, him and Sombra haven't been at each other's throats at all. Mainly because Ash was on the gentle side as opposed to Sombra who was constantly berating and insulting him.
Just then, grumbling and continuing to despise his watered-down position, something had caught the attention of King Sombra in the midst of his scowling.
The cauldron of Rift Magic. Zecora, along with the assistance of her Weavile, pushed the cauldron out of the Rock-Type room, just now coming out of it. Zecora looked around for somewhere else to place it. At the same time, Sombra's eyes were alert. His heart skipped a beat as that cauldron was his biggest shining beacon of hope. That cauldron could be the best way for him to get his body back, despite Rift Magic being unpredictable.
"Yes!" Thrilled, Sombra immediately forced himself towards that cauldron. And of course, this involved Ash being dragged along with his guard down.
"Woah!" Ash cried out as he was pulled along. He almost fell over as Sombra gained a spurt of speed at the moment. Zecora and Weavile noticed the approaching head of King Sombra which surprised them due to the grimace he was putting on. Ash managed to regain control, but only for him and Sombra to crash right into the cauldron.
Or rather, into the cauldron as Ash's face was the only thing that entered it. Zecora and Weavile quickly held the cauldron back, preventing it from spilling over. But after Ash touched it, the cosmic energy started radiating, enveloping his body in a mystical light.
Zecora and Weavile managed to save the cauldron as Ash fell on his back while still being covered by the light. Fluttershy rushed over after witnessing and hearing the impact whilst Sombra believed that he had got what he had wanted. "Yes! Yes! With that magic, it has the chance of bringing my body back to its true self!"
"Oh my goodness!" Fluttershy gasped as the light only intensified. Zecora, Weavile, Pikachu and the others watched in awe as the light was only intensifying. However, Sombra soon noticed that it wasn't his body glowing, but instead, Ash's body.
"Wait a minute...it's you?!" Sombra bellowed before then seeing Ash minimize. He was going through some sort of transformation. Something that no one would expect and yet his best friend Pikachu had seen before.
The shape of Ash was becoming something familiar to all. Their jaws had all dropped. Every single Pokemon as this was something new to them. Ash himself was just recovering from the collision, rubbing his eyes.
"Oh, man..." He groaned as the light faded away. "Geez, Sombra. How come you can't warn me whenever you do stuff like that? But hey...how'd you up there?" Ash noticed how Sombra was above him along with Zecora. "You too, Zecora.
"A-Ash...Y-You..." Fluttershy stammered with a trembling hoof. Her eyes did not deceive her and everyone else. WHat they were seeing was true.
Ash had become a Pikachu.
"You're a Pikachu!" Fluttershy cried out.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Hm?" To see it for himself, Ash took a gander at his arms. He then wiggled his tail, doing a small and cute swivel to further check himself out "Oh yeah! I didn't think it would happen a second time.
Hearing that made Fluttershy and Zecora realize this was not the first time this has happened to Ash. After years, he had become a Pikachu once more. And because he had prior experience with this, he wasn't too blown back by it. Sombra just shook his head, soon realizing that he didn't make contact with the cauldron at all, even when connected to Ash.
Zecora, soon realizing what Sombra wanted, nodded to Weavile and the other Pokemon. The order was to get the cauldron away from Sombra as they all did exactly that.
"Guess we're back to this, huh buddy? Call it a rare opportunity." Ash said to Pikachu, now identical to his height. "Come to think of it, we can have the Unown do this too, right?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu also seemed fine with it. He had seen it before and it did not bother him that much.
"Ash..." Fluttershy was still mesmerized, grabbing the attention of Ash. "You...You...You're so cute as a Pikachu!" Much like the average Pikachu, Fluttershy found them to be adorable. And this was no different with Ash as he still kept his hat and even hair details in this electric form.
Gushing over Ash's adorable appearance, Fluttershy went to pick him up. Ash was then hugged in his miniature body as his hat almost fell off. "Thanks, Fluttershy. I think I kinda look cool too, don't you think?"
"You do! But you're mostly cute! Oh, wait till everypony else sees this! I wonder what they'll think."
"Hold on!" Sombra interjected. "What about the cauldron? The liquid was meant to transform me and not him!"
"I've ordered Weavile and the rest to take it somewhere else away from you. A shame that the only thing that came out of this was an Ash-Pikachu." Zecora smirked, causing Sombra to find a new disdain for the zebra.
"I'll remember this when I'm free..." Sombra uttered.
"Oh, wait. Are you going to be like this forever, Ash?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, the spell ran out once when a friend named Lily used it on me. I don't know about Rift Energy. It could last longer when I think about it." Ash pondered as this was different to what happened to him that led to this form for the first time.
"Zecora. Do you think we could find a way to reverse him?"
"The only thing I can think of is more usage of Rift Magic. But unless it's controlled, the result will always be erratic." Zecora pondered. "But you can Discord fix all of this. Or maybe Cold Colt, there's honestly no limit."
"You're right." Fluttershy nodded. "I was getting worried there for a moment."
"Yeah, but I wanna try something!" Ash grinned. "I didn't get to spend that much time as a Pikachu back then. So if it's gonna have a different time limit or none, I'd better do whatever I can!"
"Sounds like a plan! Come along!" Fluttershy was on the same boat as Ash as they were off to the Ponyville streets. Sombra sighed, simply returning to Ash as that cauldron approach had failed. Ash and Pikachu matched excellently when walking beside each other.
"H-How did this happen...?" Naturally, Twilight and everyone else were given the sight of Ash's Pikachu appearance. They had a mixture of emotions. Confused, shocked, impressed or cracking up inside. It was easy to guess who was feeling which emotions.
"Rift Cauldron. Pretty neat, huh?" Ash gave off his beaming grin which worked just as well even as a Pikachu. He and Pikachu then gave each other a high-five, being in perfect sync.
"Pikachu!"
"It's not the strangest thing we've seen so far." Rarity shook her head. "I mean, we were all turned into Legendary and Mythical Pokemon weren't we? Among other Pokemon back in the board game world."
"Last year was all about realms and parallel universes. Looks like this year's all about Pokemon Bodies," said Starlight. "Wish I could get a taste of it again..."
"Yep. All looks pretty tame. Plus, this is my second go at being a Pikachu. Feels comfortable already!" Ash, overflowing with energy, had accidentally unleashed a Thunderbolt into the sky. Everyone was thrown back and caught off guard as the Thunderbolt had pierced through the clouds. "Woah...couldn't do that before." Indeed, this was new to Ash. When he first became a Pikachu, that was the limit. He was just a human with the body of a Pikachu with no abilities.
"Pika..."
"Well, that settles it. I'm gonna have a blast for the day." Ash chuckled. "I wanna do all sorts of things as a Pikachu now. Maybe things I couldn't do before."
"Sure thing. Ashachu." Pinkie Pie giggled.
"Ashachu?" Her friends repeated, realizing that Pinkie had strung two names together to form this nickname for Ash's Pikachu form. It was a clever combo. "Oooh."
"Not much we can do with this." Twilight shrugged. "I mean...you're just a Pikachu. The best we can do is see you use other moves."
"That's prime for a Pokemon Battle, don't you think?" Rainbow Dash nudged.
"Aside from the hat, you could look adorable in these!" In the seconds that it took for Ash to shoot Thunderbolt in the sky, Rarity had already brought over some clothes that were Pikachu sized.
"Wait clothes?" said Ash before being given the clothes by Rarity. The rest of them chimed in, dressing him up. Pikachu simply stood back as he had already experienced this kind of clothing attack twice. He knew how it felt and so did Ash. Ash was dressed up in a suit. A dapper one to be exact.
Ash already had his feelings about dapper suits. He didn't mind them but he'd rather not wear any. Even when appearing as a Pikachu. An expression of disappointment filled his face as Fluttershy then added a bow as the final touch. "There! Look at you now! All suited up!"
"The hat is a nice fit too! As always!" Applejack and everyone teased him.
"Pika-ka-ka-ka!" Pikachu laughed along with Twilight and the others.
"I don't know why you're laughing, Pikachu. You're next." But Rarity's eyes flashed as Pikachu was not safe from the clothing assault. It would potentially be his third time gaining an outfit his size.
"Pika?!"
Afterwards, Ash continued to enjoy himself as a Pikachu, while also throwing others off guard with his voice and appearance. Since Ash was friends with practically everyone, his visage as Pikachu, or Ashachu as a nickname, surprised and interested them.
And noticing Ash's appearance was Team Rocket. They were just now heading back to the Pokemon House, only to discover the shocking siht of this slightly different Pikachu with a hat.
"Hm? Is there something off with that Pikachu?" Jessie pointed out.
"I see it. The sides of its fur. And that hat. They all seem too familiar..." James added, squinting to observe Ashachu.
"And those eyes. I know those eyes anywhere." Meowth focused on Ash's eyes, recognizing that familiar gaze. Even as a Pikachu, Ash had a familiar appearance. And soon Team Rocket found out for themselves.
"That's the twerp!" They cried out in unison before hiding behind a bush. Audino heard their screams overpowering some of Ponyville's voices, but she had just missed Team Rocket.
"Looks like our eyes aren't deceiving us. The twerp's become a Pikachu. How fitting." James lowered his voice as he and his friends communicated within the bushes.
"Too fitting." Meowth agreed. "But it ain't the weirdest thing we've seen at all. Remember that Heart Swap thing years back?"
"Yeah, yeah. But hold on a second..." Just now, an idea hatched within Jessie's head after seeing Ashachu. "If the twerp's a Pikachu now, you know what this means?"
"What?" Both James and Meowth asked.
"It means that all of our troubles, every attempt at nabbing that Pikachu for the boss could end right here. Now that he looks like that."
"But that's not exactly the Pikachu we want, is it?" said James.
"No. But if you think about it...the twerp's already shown he's just as special as Pikachu. What with that Aura he has and so on. I say that we make it a twofer. We can have both Pikachu and the twerp as Pikachu!"
"Capture the twerp? That's a new thought..." James tried wrapping his head around it. There have been times where they did end up trapping Ash and his friends while taking the opportunity to steal their Pokemon, but never taking Ash away themselves. Jessie also raised a good point about Ash. Much like how there was something special about Pikachu, the same could be said for Ash. "The biggest obstacle though would be Fluttershy, wouldn't it?"
"Ah, forget about her for one day." Jessie scoffed. "This could be our big moment. We'll be out of Fluttershy's mane later once that forest comes back or when Pikachu is finally ours. Both this time. Then we won't have to worry about anything ever again."
"I don't know...She's not gonna let us go easy if we're caught red-handed." But Meowth decided to be far more cautious about this. They were still living under Fluttershy's wing after all and were also Zecora's students.
"Caught red-handed?!" Jessie couldn't believe what she was hearing. Never before had her allies had this much doubt in situations such as this. "As if that's stopped you before! You two have gone soft!"
"Soft?!" They both shouted.
"That's right! Spending time at that Pokemon House has completely changed almost everything about you. Since when are you two ever this thoughtful?" She vigorously pointed at them.
"Well, Fluttershy has shown us kindness unlike anyone else, so there's that. And what about you? Don't you feel the same?"
"Yes, she has been kind...But this is our job!" Jessie grit her teeth. "We can't let something like this get in our way. Nothing's stopped Team Rocket before! from trying! Most of the time."
"Well, got any ideas on this then?" Meowth asked.
"Nope." Jessie scrunched her face. "Do you?"
"Dry out of ideas right now. Not really feeling that spark." James shook his head as neither he nor Meowth had any of their ideas brewing. "I say, we skip out on today."
"No harm in it." Meowth shrugged, agreeing with James. Jessie only grumbled, not liking how different James and Meowth were acting. She could only blame Fluttershy's absolute kindness, which also rubbed off on her. But before she could do anything else, Ash had already left the scene, heading elsewhere.
Ash also decided to venture off as a Pikachu, going straight for Canterlot next, but not before also spending time around more Pokemon as a Pokemon. Mainly, Espeon and the others plus the fitting theme in the Pikachu Highlands. Ash came before all of them as Ashachu, surprising the Pikachu that all lived here.
"This is how I greet, right?" Ash held his tail out. Every Pikachu greeted each other by connecting their tails and performing a jolt of electricity with another Pikachu. "Nice! Kinda tickles though!"
"Pikachu!"
Further on, Ash felt what it was like to run as a Pikachu. He raced his partner to Canterlot, trying to use Quick Attack. Ash currently knew that he had Thunderbolt at his disposal. But the remaining moves were unknown. Pikachu had already used Quick Attack, zooming across the land.
"Faster Ash!" Rainbow Dash cried out, zooming past him with Fluttershy and Twilight by her side. "Come on! Now that you're a Pikachu, you should be quicker!"
"Trying to!" Ash cried out, but he did not have Quick Attack. But he still had great speeds thanks to his smaller body. And in a spurt of energy, Ash had revealed his second move. Volt Tackle. In a burst of energy, Ash took off like a rocket with a sparking electrical aura, blitzing past Pikachu and all of his friends.
They gawked as Ash left a trail of electricity along the way. However, since it was a quick burst without him realizing it, Ash ended up crashing through a tree, knocking it down. But instead of crashing and stopping, Ash didn't stop. At least, not his momentum.
"Huh?!" Volt Tackle ended as he felt some of the recoil. Ash had zoomed so fast that he ended up falling down a cliff whilst still keeping the momentum. And since these cliffs led to sloped hills, that meant only one thing. Once Ash fell, the body of Pikachu allowed him to roll as his friends all gasped. "Oh! Hey, wait a sec!"
Once he started rolling, Ash soon found enjoyment in it. As he does with many other things. Ash started laughing, rolling down the hill with his Pikachu body and letting the wind and adrenaline overtake him. His friends looked over to see Ash rolling along, heading in the direction of Canterlot.
"Look at him. Always having fun." Twilight commented, feeling somewhat jealous that Ash could always find fun in any scenario, even if it was sometimes out of his control. "Nothing ever stops him from doing so."
"Yes. He does bring great, doesn't he?" Rarity agreed. "I suppose that's another thing he and Pinkie Pie have in common, isn't it?"
"Hahaha! Yeah!" Ash laughed whilst rolling away. His friends followed him promptly while Pikachu, Espeon, Delta Riolu and even Pinkie Pie started rolling on the hills to gain that adrenaline pumping momentum too. Ash was having a blast as a Pikachu. Even though, realistically, there wasn't much for him to do as a Mouse Pokemon. But even still, he found a way.
Eventually, he showed up at Canterlot in his new appearance. Ash's eyes felt dizzy from all the hyper-fast rolling that he had done. So did Pikachu, Espeon, Riolu and Pinkie. Here at Canterlot, the pegasi from Pegalysium were still visiting Equestria. The unity between the two nations had already been declared, leading to constant visits from the ponies in the skies.
And among these visitors were the familiar faces of Shooting Star, Garnet, Kaleidoscope, Clear View, King Paramount and Queen Luminary. It wasn't their first time here. But it was for Clear View at least.
"So. What do you think?" Celestia showed them the golden staircase. "Once it's complete, we'll be able to reach Jirachi and connect the worlds."
"Dear. Are you still thinking about what the Pokemon could do to the world in the future?" Luminary asked Paramount.
"Eh. I could say I'm over it. They helped save us after all." Paramount replied. "I say let them stay if this is what-"
"Woohoo!" Still feeling some rush of adrenaline, Ash had shown up, sliding past other ponies. Ash had just discovered that he also had Surf on his display. He had made a mini-tidal wave that he started moving on, carrying the smaller Pokemon along.
"Oh my. Look at that Pikachu." Luminary pointed out.
"I-Is that...Ash!?" Celestia and Luna recognized that voice, those eyes, those side and front hairs and that hat anywhere. They had born witness to Ashachu for the first time.
"Hey, guys! Check me out! I'm a Pikachu!" Ash pointed at himself, chuckling constantly as he slid past the royals from two different nations. Celestia and Luna were still blown back while, Paramount, Luminary and Shooting Star just stood there, trying to gather their minds.
"Believe us. That is not the weirdest thing you will end up seeing in Equestria." Darkrai spoke, letting the Royal Family know that everything that happens here in Equestria is constantly bizarre with little signs of slowing down. Ashachu was tame compared to what happens regularly.
Ash had made his tidal wave bigger, causing others to join in. Pinkie Pie hopped onto the tidal wave of Surf, joining in on the fun. Very soon, everyone else was surfing along. Twilight and everyone else along with Canterlot residents, mainly the younger ones.
"Hah..." Glittercook, the one who worked at the Pokemon School's Cafeteria and have a small stand outside, sighed before then clocking out for the day. But as she started stretching her hooves, she noticed the approaching force that was Ashachu's Surf, which seemed to grow each time someone else joined in. "Hm!?" Glittercook's mane stood up as it was within her line of sight.
The unicorn put on a protective shield, but that was pointless. The Surf had soon carried her when she chose to stand still. It wasn't 100% in Ash's control as he was still trying to figure this out. But once it carried her along, Glittercook was surprised that she wasn't being overwhelmed.
"Hey there, Glittercook! Welcome to the Surf Crew!" Pinkie Pie blurted out. "Shouldn't have stood still, ya know."
"Oh. This is..." Glittercook took a moment to feel out the flow of Surf. Despite it being a moving stream of water that was also intended to cause damage, it was surprisingly comforting. As if the calming waves that are always heard by the beach had suddenly manifested into their ambience variation, becoming physical. This is what it felt like as everyone on the Surf laughed away.
"How'd you do this, Ash?!" Applejack laughed as the Surf was now starting to pick up Pegalysium citizens. And added to the mix were Canterlot Guards, but even with their stern expressions, they found themselves having a ball too.
"I have no idea!" Ash was just in the moment. He didn't care how he did it. As long as he was enjoying himself. "But I'm loving it!"
And at the end of the day, that's what Ash saw in all of this. Fun. He didn't care if he was a Pikachu, he just enjoyed having fun. There wasn't much he could do as a Pikachu aside from pulling off all of these moves and having different biology. It was all standard fare. But even with that limited choice, he always found a way to make the most out of something.
After the Surf party was over, Ash indulged in more excitement. And he did it with the same individuals he was carrying, right at the Canterlot Gardens where some Pokemon could be found. Some of the Deerling from Deerling Forest even come here from time to time.
Ash started singing as a Pikachu, expecting something unique to come out. But instead, it was just his regular voice as he looked silly, holding a spoon that acted as a microphone, singing about it and making others laugh. He also used Pikachu's innate ability to mimic others.
He and others joined in on these face charades. Ash mimicked some of the ponies in front of him along with the Pokemon too in creative ways by stretching and squashing the soft face of a Pikachu. He even had his friends get certain parts right. And to witness this, he had sent out the rest of his Pokemon.
Needless to say, Dragonite and the others were clearly surprised to see their trainer as a Pikachu. Butt, of course, it was not the strangest thing they had seen considering what they've been through. Dragonite couldn't help but hug this smaller and softer Ash in the process.
They continued to dance and party until the late afternoon sun would show off its radiant orange glow. But curious about this was the Royal Family. Both of them. Celestia and Luna were feeling the atmosphere that Ash was creating, approaching it. Shooting Star didn't have a second thought as he flew over to enjoy himself.
Ash started playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with everyone else, using his smaller hands plus his tail. He won and lost a few of them in the process. Some food was made and brought over by Pinkie Pie and Glittercook for all of this partying to make everyone stuff themselves while they enjoyed this thrilling moment.
"Come on! Let's all sing!" Ash cried out. Everyone started singing, but not in their usual melodic tones. It was in a joking manner. They were laughing too much to act all glorious with their voices. Even those so sophisticated couldn't help but let loose. Fleur-de-lis and Fancy Pants included.
Photo Finish among a few others started taking pictures of Ashachu and this entire party that had sprung out of nowhere out of pure enjoyment alone. Ash pulled off various poses as a Pikachu. Mainly cool, but sometimes cute, which he could now pull off. And he had others to add to the flair of these photos.
Passion performed a photobomb in one of them whilst Arcanine rubbed his massive fur onto Ash, making him laugh. These photos would definitely be saved and kept in good condition for how joyful they were. And due to the joyful feeling of this, certain Pokemon that respond to emotions were feeling all kinds of adrenaline.
Mainly Passion for being a Gardevoir and Twilight Velvet's Kirlia. Starlight obviously had to keep her Hatterene at bay for this. Some drums were brought over for Ash and his friends to play. Ash and Pikachu used their tails to smack on the drums, creating a nice rhythm. They were both joined by Goh's Grookey to play those drums.
"See, Mewie?" Pinkie Pie spoke to the second Mew from Holon whilst her own Mew was already partying away. "This is what you've been missing out on. Doesn't it all just look fun?"
"Mew...Mew!" She could see the fun. Everything about this was rubbing off on her. Very soon, she partook in this bliss.
"Alright...Go!" Ash also tried more physical things with Pokemon. He got into a wrestling match with his Pikachu, wanting to see who had the superior strength. Everyone cheered for their respective sides as Ash and Pikachu had a sumo-style match. Surprisingly, their strengths were equal to each other.
Apart from the food, everyone was given some cider along with other sweet drinks to have. They drank away, chuckling with bright smiles on their faces. Circling the skies were multiple Flying-Types as nearby Pokemon couldn't help but get in the mood too. Everything about this radiated such wonderful emotion.
Celestia's face was covered in cake, already indicating what she had done during this. She had her hooves wrapped around her little sister and Luminary, bawling and laughing her eyes out. Everyone started sharing stories with each other. Mainly silly ones that only intensified the laughter.
Audino's ears felt joy hearing all of this, making her rock her head back and forth as even the more silent Pokemon got a bit active. Darkrai was an example. But Darkrai just nodded his head slowly while standing in the shadows.
Arriving at Canterlot, was Team Rocket. So much for stealing Ash now with all of this. But the truth was, they didn't have an idea at all. At the end of the day, Jessie lost the argument between James and Meowth as they had witnessed this festive sight.
"Team Rocket! Over here!" Fluttershy waved her hooves, calling for them.
"See? Isn't it great?" James said to Jessie as more of Fluttershy's kindness kept on showing itself to them despite their antics. He and Meowth made their way to the party while Jessie could only shrug.
"Fair play. Fair play." Jessie accepted defeat. But it was a defeat that didn't involve them blasting off this time. Rather, it was a gentle yet heartwarming defeat. Jessie soon joined the others.
Ash showed off all of his moves in a Pokemon Battle next, just like what Rainbow Dash suggested. It was him against her Braviary. Ashachu had used Thunderbolt which caused his body to flare up 100,000 ferocious volts. Braviary dodged it, promptly rushing in with Aerial Ace. Ash seemed to have double the reactive instincts that he had as a Pikachu. Combined with his Aura, he could jump over Braviary's Aerial the moment his Thunderbolt had ended.
The final move at his disposal was Quick Attack. He ended up knowing it after all, now having two speedy moves to utilize as he and Braviary went back and forth. Sparks of electricity and other colours illuminated Canterlot for minutes on end. Eventually, the sun reached its peak with the moon slowly rising via Luna's control.
Nightfall.
This party had come to an end. Many were exhausted from all the fun they had, falling asleep on the sot. Or even from all the food they ate. Either way, they were satisfied. Ash himself wasn't close to feeling tired at all despite everything that had just happened.
"What a day..." Ash spoke, laying back on one of the hedges. Fluttershy had fallen asleep on Audino's stomach along with Rarity making herself comfortable with Leavanny's silk. She was wrapped in a String Shot cocoon, like an actual bug. Pinkie Pie held both Mews together whilst Twilight used the warmth of Ninetales nine tails to cover herself while also resting on them.
Ash reflected on everything that's happened. A truly joyous moment. And something like this is what Ash pursued. And now that it was over, giving him to time think back to the whole event from start to finish, Ash nodded slowly.
"Yeah. This is it. This is one part of being a Pokemon Master." He said, looking at all of his friends while also gazing at the golden stairs that could soon lead to the cosmos. "Being this happy...Being this free. It's exactly what I've always kept my mind on. And someday, it's gonna be for everyone out there."
He referred to the two worlds being kept together even after the Rift leaves. He looked at the night skies and how the stars shined brightly with some Minior passing by.
"I swear I'll keep everyone together." Ash held out his tiny Pikachu hands, aiming at the skies. "I'll help the Rift and bring back the family that was lost in it. I'll defeat Leon and become the World's Strongest Trainer. And after that, I'll continue on my journey to become a Pokemon Master."
Just as he said that, his body started glowing. His time as a Pikachu was up. He clenched his fist while still having a remnant of his Pikachu body left. The clenching of his fist symbolized him not just seizing his main dream of becoming a Pokemon Master but also fulfilling everything else had promised. His true self had returned as there was indeed a time limit even with Rift Magic.
"Just you wait, world." Ash announced to everyone, even if they all weren't awake or present there. But even if he was speaking to nothing or even the skies where barely anyone could hear him, he made sure that his ambitions would burn bright as the sun as the journey continues.
"Who's a good boy?! Who's a good boy?!" Twilight rubbed Luxio's stomach. Alpha Luxio was her most recent Alpha Pokemon caught and despite him being a Pokemon that was akin to the lion species, Twilight figured out that Luxio liked being treated like a canine species too.
"Lux! Luxio!" Luxio laughed, enjoying this belly rub. With another Pokemon within her house and the presence of her friends, Twilight was starting to show far more ecstatic emotions constantly.
"You too, Spike!" And as for Spike, since he was a full-on canine, he received a belly rub too. Zorua was exempt from this, only choosing to sleep instead as well as Alpha Rapidash who was just sitting there.
Out of every Pokemon here, Rapidash stood out more than anyone. People that were walking their dogs couldn't help but stare at this massive Fire Horse that had radiant flames. It was a miracle that the grass in the park hadn't burnt away. Some even felt jealous that Twilight could own such a large Pokemon.
Rapidash looked away from Twilight, still ignoring her for the most part even when she ended up listening to her for one moment. It was hard to tell if Rapidash's stubbornness was going down at all, even when some steady progress had been made.
"Yeah, they're such good boys, aren't they?" Catching Twilight by surprise by also rubbing the stomachs of Luxio and Spike was Pinkie Pie. But not the Pinkie Pie of this world, the Pinkie Pie from Equestria, who was joined by Ash and Pikachu.
"Oh! Ash! Pinkie! When did you get here?"
"We've masted the art of moving so slow our footsteps are invisible to ears." Pinkie Pie explained, giving her reason for this sudden appearance without any warning.
"Not sure that's how it works Pinkie Pie but okay. It's good to see you three again. And...another Mew?" Twilight soon noticed the second Mew, also known as Mewie, floating alongside Pinkie Pie.
"Oh yeah. This is Mewie. She's another Mew that's staying with us for a while. We're helping her see what she's missed out of the years. A whole bunch of years!" Pinkie Pie spread her arms out to display the sheer lifespan of the Mew species.
"Mew." Mewie greeted the rookie Pokemon Trainer as she wasn't too bothered by the populated area that was the park. After being in Ponyville for a while and even being a part of that big party in Canterelot, she has been getting used to crowded areas.
"So there's that AlphaDash I've been hearing about. Hey there, big girl." Pinkie Pie slid over to the alerted Rapidash. Rapidash already knew of Pinkie Pie's human equivalent, however, she believed them both to be the same person in the same world when that was not the case. However, the difference between this world's Pinkie Pie and Equestria's Pinkie was that Equestria's Pinkie Pie could whip up some food.
And she did. Right before Rapidash's eyes, Pinkie Pie brought a box of Pokemon Food that was neatly made. "I heard a lot about you, AlphaDash." Much like her Human Counterpart, she had the same nickname in mind. AlphaDash. "Stubborn, huh? But nopony's ever stubborn in front of some good looking food. Eh? Eh?"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash could agree on that. Already, Pinkie Pie had warmed up to the Fire-Type, resulting in Rapidash digging in. She didn't ask questions. Her stomach did everything for her.
"And here's some for the new Alphas." Pinkie Pie didn't forget about Munchlax or Luxio. Munchlax aggressively nodded his head back and forth as he was looking forward to this more than anyone, even though it had just come up. Pinkie Pie, by this point, knew what almost every Pokemon loved. She had Mew to thank for that.
Thus, she whipped out the best food out of her bag for Munchlax and Luxio, placing it in front of them. Munchlax grabbed the entire box, already stuffing himself while Luxio decided to be gentle with it. Of course, Zorua was not left out either.
"Eat up. I had Mew transform into all of you to get it right. So. Any news on some Alpha Pokemon yet?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I kinda wanna go searching for some myself. Rainbow Dash had a go, so it's my turn."
"No. Not yet. But we can always try looking for those Alpha Pokemon that Carlita said she saw. Professor Oak hasn't told me anything new about them yet." Twilight shook her head. "I just hope Hunter J hasn't gotten to any of them. Or maybe she already has. She probably has gotten to some Alpha Pokemon by now..."
"Hard to say..." Ash pondered. "If there's an Alpha for every Pokemon, then no doubt she's bumped into some of them. But it's fine. We can free them. J always uses that arm cannon of hers to turn Pokemon into stone. If we use Hidden Power, it can break the stone."
"Pikachu!"
"That Hunter J. Scary..." Pinkie Pie shuddered. "The Rift doesn't wanna play fair and it'll bring back someone tough to deal with. That's no fun."
"Mew...Mew?" Suddenly, Pinkie Pie's Mew and Meiwe paused for a moment. As Ash and the others were having a conversation, the two Psychic-Types sensed something. It was mainly Mew.
He looked at the skies as his tail wagged back and forth. Mew closed his eyes, allowing his Psychic energy to feel out the atmosphere. After feeling it out, a wide smile met Mew's face whilst Mewie did not recognize this feeling at all. But Mew himself knew exactly what this was.
"What is it, Mew?" Pinkie Pie asked, noticing Mew's tail shaking. Pinkie Pie didn't have her tail right now due to her human form. However, her hair was shaking instead as a substitute. "All that shaking. That means you're feeling something nearby."
"What's going on?" Twilight questioned.
"That's Pinkie Sense and Mew's Psychic Sense too. Pinkie can predict when something's gonna happen sometimes and Mew just recognized Psychic Energy." Ash explains. "Neat stuff. Makes a great combo a lot of the time."
"I need a lot of catching up..." Twilight sighed as she knew it would take a long time for her to understand everything that came from the Pokemon World and Equestria. 3 whole years' worth of everything that happened and even more for the lore and know-how for each world.
"Looks like we've got places to be, you guys!" Pinkie turned to her friends before rushing off with Mew. "It might be another Alpha Pokemon!"
"Gotcha! Come on!" Ash and Pikachu soon followed as mew would be their guide to where this feeling was coming from. Twilight searched for her Poke Balls and she was happy to know that her Pokemon had finished their food. Munchlax finished before everyone else, but it was only Zorua who hadn't fully finished hers.
"Just a bit more before we leave." Zorua pleaded as Twilight returned her Pokemon.
"I'll give you some packed food along the way, Zorua." Twilight placed the Spiteful Fox Pokemon into the bag, cutting her meal short. Spike hopped in as Mew seemed to sense this energy to the east.
When approaching the east, the group found themselves on the outskirts of the town. It was by the local forest. Mew's tail shook some more as he recognized this feeling, no doubt. In fact, he was feeling two things. The group, while they were in the forest, seemed to be moving further from it. Whatever Mew was sensing, it was certainly not coming from the forest.
Beyond the forest would lead to the countryside which was still fairly far away or even the big city or another small town elsewhere. It all depended on where Mew felt it. And when his tail wagged some more, that's when this feeling came close.
Up in the sky, two sonic booms had been made, echoing across the azure air while blowing the clouds away. Twilight screamed, covering her ears from this ferocious and alarming sound.
"W-What was that?! Was that the Alpha?!" She cried out as her heart skipped a beat.
"No...That's...!" Ash recognized those rapid purple moving figures in the sky. Two individuals had made those sonic booms and were flying at the same speed. Pinkie and Mew recognized them too.
It was Mewtwo. Both of them. The other was known as Newtwo. They could be seen dashing through the air, heading further east from here. It made sense as to why Mew and even to an extent Mewie had a funny feeling. Ash and the others ended up pursuing those two.
"Mewtwo!" Ash and Pinkie Pie shouted, but they were too far to hear their calls. At least in the meantime. "Hey, over here!"
"Mewtwo? Is it the evolved form of Mew?" Twilight asked, lagging behind them.
"Nah. They're clones of Mew." To speed up their movements to catch up with these two Genetic Pokemon, Ash had sent out Dragonite whilst Mew had transformed into Garchomp. Both Pokemon could fly at greet speeds that were hopefully enough to catch up with both Mewtwo and Newtwo.
"Clones?" Twilight needed some answers as she quickly helped onto the back of Dragonite. She zipped up the backpack, knowing that this was about to be a swift ride, protecting Zorua and Spike. The two Dragons had then taken flight, ascending to the skies.
"What do you think they came here for?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Do you think they know about the Alpha Pokemon? Or is there something else? And how'd they find a way here?"
"Only one way to find out," said Ash as Dragonite and Mew had accelerated their movements. Twilight knew that Dragonite was fast, however, she had yet to experience the further extent of the Dragon Pokemon's speed until now. And once it was shown, Twilight squealed, holding onto Ash as the force of the wind was strong enough to even reach inside of the bag. Spike and Zorua felt chilly from the pressure that was coming through.
And thankfully, Dragonite and Mew with the body of a Garchomp could indeed keep up with Mewtwo and Newtwo. While not exactly matching their speed, they were close, making their own sonic booms in the sky.
"Hm?" And of course, this would grab the attention of both Mewtwo and Newtwo. Turning their heads granted them the sight of some familiar faces. Ash, Pikachu, Pinkie Pie, Twilight and Mew. Albeit, not the Twilight they knew about. "Youall."
"Hey, Mewtwo. Newtwo." Ash greeted as the movements of these fast Pokemon, all four of them, had slowed down so they could have an ample chat. "What are you two doing here?"
"Yeah. Been a while, hasn't it?" Pinkie Pie giggled.
"Garchomp."
"You're right...They look a lot like Mew." Twilight gawked at the two Genetic Pokemon, pulling out her Pokedex. However, she quickly came to find out that there was no Pokedex Entry for Mewtwo. "Nothing? There's nothing here!" This was the first time Twilight was met with zero results about a Pokemon.
"You should know by now that there is no dex entry for us, Twilight Sparkle. Not with our existence being limited knowledge." Mewtwo said.
"About that...This is the Twilight from this world. Not the one from Equestria." Ash explained. "She's all new to Pokemon. Not too new as she's a fast learner."
"Right. This world. I did manage to see some familiar faces when we were soaring above. So it is a parallel world after all." said Newtwo.
"So what are you two doing here? Must be some super important if you showed up in this world." Pinkie Pie asked while casually lounging on Mew-Garchomp as if she was on a bed.
"We came here due to our agreed alliance with each other." Mewtwo started off. "Since then, we've been moving across worlds to see what other Rift-related issues we can try and stop."
"We learned about something called Desires. We had bumped into a few of them during our journeys." Newtwo followed up. "Since then, we've encountered quite a lot along the way. Some that were...less favourable than others." She shuddered, indicating some unpleasant moments.
"We showed up to this world only 2 months ago. A large portal had been opened up in Equestria and had almost reached the Pokemon World. We tracked it down as it was threatening everything else from the magical pressure it was exhibiting, but it was too late."
"!" Twilight knew exactly what that was. She was responsible for it as she hid herself behind Ash. She was already behind Ash anyway, so hiding wouldn't do.
"Right now, we're also trying to handle those tears in time that we had found."
"You mean the Time Leaks? But there's only one of them around the forest." Ash scratched his hair. "Shouldn't you go after that one?"
"No. There's more than one, Ash. We found out after discovering a hidden portal that led to this world. These Time Leaks have multiplied drastically, but they certainly haven't left themselves out in the open. One of them ended up reaching the solitude area the Pokemon and I have made. These Alpha Pokemon are also threatening other Pokemon in the process. It's clear that they are not supposed to be in this timeline at all."
"Which is why I recommended that we live in a house rather than an island." Newtwo interjected, following up with Mewtwo's sentence. "Or at least, someplace with the chance of closing everything off."
"For the last time. We are not moving elsewhere." Rejecting that suggestion, Mewtwo crossed his arms. "Especially not a house. Neither are we building it. If we were to move, I would suggest a cave over at Cerulean City."
"No-no-no. It wouldn't be enough and it would still be near others. A cave also doesn't exactly have the best way to close things off with privacy."
"Either way, an island works best. Especially one that is on its own out in the sea. And what's wrong with islands exactly? Since when did you take interest in something akin to a house?"
"Different Mewtwo. Different Taste. We can't exactly hide on an island forever. Not with how big they tend to be. We need better and more efficient chances to keep the Pokemon safe." Newtwo had also crossed her arms as the two Mewtwo had different opinions of where they should be. They had descended to the ground with Mew reverting to his original form.
"If you wish to do so, then build your house. I will stick to my islands, thank you very much."
"Wait. You two don't live together?" Pinkie Pie interjected.
"Absolutely not. I'm taking care of the Pokemon. She can take care of herself the same way I can."
"But better." Newtwo smirked as it caused Mewtwo's right eye to squint."Mega Evolution and a taste for something beyond islands. Abandonded infrastructures that I had rebuilt are good substitutes. Plus, the furniture is comfy."
"Mm. Could do without it." Mewtwo dismissed it, flailing his hand. "Someone's grown too accustomed to human culture. But you are young so that is to be expected."
"Y-Young?!" Newtwo was visibly taken aback by that. That was the first time anyone had called her that as she had an overwhelmed expression.
"Built exactly 18 years after my conception." Now it was Mewtwo's turn to smirk. "If anything, this makes me your superior. Senior as humans would say."
"We are practically of the same mental age!" Newtwo got close to Mewtwo. "We even think the same! And I'm not sure we can even age."
"Hm! Clearly, we don't think the same all the time. I choose islands for nature. You choose a building for luxury. We are not the same." Mewtwo replied as the two Genetic Pokemon eyed each other down. Clearly, despite being of the same species, they weren't exactly getting along instantly.
"Can I get a say in this?" Pinkie raised her arm.
"NO." They both uttered with amplified voices, causing Pinkie Pie to scrunch her face.
"Ah, come on guys. We can think about that stuff later." Ash ended up breaking this argument apart. "You're here for something important, right? Let's put all of our energy into that instead."
"Ash is right. This is trivial. Let's just focus on what matters right now."
"Agreed." They could at least be on the same wavelength when it came to ending something that didn't matter too much. "I still think we should use that abandoned building I found..."
"Mew?" Once their conversation ended Mewie popped out of Pinkie Pie's mane, revealing herself to Mewtwo and Newtwo. Mewtwo and Newtwo soon noticed that there was a second Mew right before their eyes.
"AnotherMew?"
"Mew-Mew!" Pinkie's Mew pushed Mewie to the two Mewtwo, showing her that while they weren't exactly Mew, they were still of the same species in a sense.
"Mew..." Mew slowly hovered over to the two Genetic Pokemon.
"See, Mewie? More of you. I told you we'd find some more. And they're bigger too." Pinkie spoke as Mewtwo and Mew were still related in the end. "I'm taking care of this Mew right now, helping her find more of her."
"Mew-Mew?" Mewie wasn't too sure. While they did have some parts of Mew, it was still hard to look at them as such. They weren't even evolutions of Mew."
"Hm. Anyway. Back to the topic at hand." But Mewtwo and Newtwo simply brushed it off. "We've been following some rather mysterious individuals as of recently. We have Xatu and Chatot to thank for that."
"Xatu predicted the future once and saw something terrifying that could come via the result of one Pokemon. A Pokemon that they call Yveltal."
"Yveltal?!" Ash and Pikachu were the most alerted by this, startling their friends.
"Pikachu?!"
"W-What's a Yveltal?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Sounds like a big deal if you're this shocked Ash."
"Yveltal's a Legendary Pokemon from the Kalos Region. It's way more than a big deal. Yveltal's got something powerful behind it that's bad news for everyone."
"Not surprised that you know about Yveltal, Ash. But since you know more than us, what can you share?"
"All I know is that Yveltal has the power to take away life. Just like how Xerneas can give life. So that's why you came here. Yveltal showed up here?"
"Take away life?! Hold on, what?!" Twilight and Pinkie didn't just gloss over those words.
"No. Yveltal is not in this world. Simply put, there are a group of ponies that have been searching for Yveltal. Acting only at nightfall, they have been moving from place to place, eventually even appearing here. I doubt they intended to as the portals to this world are secretive. They have probably left by now but they only seem to appear at night."
"I believe we are dealing with vampires."
"Vampires?!" All three of them shouted out. They didn't need to be from different worlds to know about vampires. A fairly common creature that comes in many shapes. Pokemon, human or pony.
"Vampire Fruit Bats?!" Pinkie Pie was already gaining flashbacks to when Fluttershy became a Vampire Bat Pony. "Nah, they'd only go for fruits. Unless Yveltal's made out of fruits or tastes like one..."
"These Vampires have their sights set on Yveltal. We had followed their trail here as we've encountered them before. They're trickier than they let on..." Mewtwo sighed, confirming that he and Newtwo have had run-ins with the vampires before. "Our goal is to find them before they can find Yveltal. Whatever they have planned with just that one Pokemon can only result in one thing."
"Yeah. I think everyone knows what it is..." Ash was on the same wavelength. Yveltal served one major purpose and it was threatening to everyone. "So, where are you headed since you're tracking them down?"
"Any region we end up finding them at. They could be anywhere. But this time, we'll try something to get the better of them. But it has to be discreet."
"I've got it!" Pinkie raised her arm. "A Stakeout!"
"Maybe...we should try going straight for the source." Twilight chimed in, having an idea that could be beneficial.
"What do you mean by the source?"
"Well, I mean, if they're going for Yveltal, then wouldn't it be best to head somewhere where they can learn about Yveltal? Like a library or someplace ancient since ya know...Legendary Pokemon." Twilight scrunched her face. "Just a thought."
"Hm...She raises a good point, actually. They want anything valuable about Yveltal that could lead them to it. Yveltal isn't exactly going to show itself out in the open like most Legendary Pokemon."
"Very true. But that stake-out plan doesn't seem too bad. Whatever that may be..."
"Let's have both then." Ash stepped forward. "We'll go straight to the source and have a stake-out. Best of both worlds. And if we're gonna learn about Yveltal, then we should be at the Kalos Region more than anywhere right now."
"Pikachu."
"Kalos it is. We shall be there even before nightfall can arrive. Teach us how this stakeout works in the meanwhile."
"Boy, you two are gonna love this." Pinkie Pie rubbed her hands as some devious plotting, not as devious as what the vampires were going for, was about to be initiated.
The revelation of vampires heading for Yveltal of all Pokemon was shocking. While they were unaware of who was responsible for this, either way, they would perform a stakeout on these vampires. With the assistance of two Mewtwo, it would be a ploy to prevent the terrifying usage of Yveltal as the journey continues.
Kalos Region. Camphrier Town. Local library. Late Afternoon.
A plan had been conducted. It involved vampires and Yveltal. Not too odd of a combo. Ash, Twilight and Pinkie Pie were joined by both Mewtwos. The plan was a stakeout. Vampires are usually known to act the most during the night and these vampires were no different. Due to it being late, the moon would rise up in a bit.
Coming from Equestria to the Human World and now the Pokemon World, Pinkie Pie remain in her Human Form. It would be a first for her to be in this form whilst in the Pokemon World.
To perform this stakeout, they arrived at the Kalos Region, which was the home of Yveltal. Knowledge on Yveltal would also be gathered before the vampire ponies could find it first. And this local library was a good place to start.
"I'll be in the library. I think you all should plan the stakeout without me." Twilight said.
"Nah. Let Ash help. He's seen a whole bunch of Legendary Pokemon. He'll know a thing or two." But Pinkie Pie insisted that Twilight gained further assistance.
"By the way...w-where did the Mewtwo go?" Twilight wondered. "I thought they came along with us."
"They did but Mewtwo and Newtwo prefer to stay secretive." Ash shrugged. "They're not too fond of humanity or ponykind as a whole, so they won't be out in the open a whole lot."
"Pikachu."
"I'll tell them all about how a stakeout works! They're gonna love it! In the meantime, you two get to learning!" Pinkie Pie giggled, pushing Ash and Twilight into the library. Pinkie Pie herself would be occupied with both Mewtwo, planning the stakeout before nightfall can come. The perfect time for a vampire to act. "Be right back!" She winked before dashing off.
It was now just Ash, Twilight and their Pokemon.
"Well, this is the only library I could think of. Always noticed it when I first came here but I never went inside." Ash explained.
"So this is a first for all of us then. But what else do you know about Yveltal, Ash?"
"What else? Not much, honestly..." Ash sighed. "All I know is what it can do. I don't even know where Yveltal comes from or how it shows up. But, I guess I do know that it enters a cocoon sometimes. That's one Pokemon I'm totally lost with."
"Pika..."
"Well, let's learn together then. It'll be exciting!" Twilight exclaimed before closing her mouth, hearing the librarian shush her. Quickly, she and Ash started browsing. "You know...I've never learned with anyone else before. Even when sitting next to them back at school, we just did our own thing. Not even my old friend Moondancer learned with me." Deciding to get personal and letting more knowledge of herself out, Twilight explained everything to Ash and Pikachu.
Learning was one of her favourite things out there but without anyone to indulge in it was a massive missed opportunity in her eyes. Especially with those around her.
"But ever since I met you, I've been able to do just that. Learning about Pokemon with you has given me some of the most fun I've had in a long time. And I want to keep learning too. Especially with you, Ash. It just feels right, ya know..." Twilight felt some embarrassment in that sentence, causing her to almost lose balance. Her face also turned red as the best thing she could do right now was twirl her hair.
"I hear ya." Ash understood clearly. "Great to leaning alongside you, Twilight. Now come on. One of these books has to be about Yveltal at least."
They started browsing the bookshelves with their Pokemon plus Spike helping out. They had until nightfall and that would be when the vampires would strike. And as they were shuffling through the books, within this library among many other people and Pokemon who were reading, there were some ponies here too.
They could be found here, also browsing the abundance of books in this local library. Noticeably, these ponies stayed in the shade, using the various bookshelves and windows to block off access from the sun. Wearing hats, hoods and even going to the extent of suspiciously holding umbrellas during a sunny day, these ponies started looking in the direction of Ash and Twilight, hearing their conversation with strong ear twitching.
Among these ponies was Fractured Note.
Vampire Pony and the loyal assistant to the Lich Queen of the Dread League, Rosa Maledicta. There was indeed one vampire here. And thanks to the perks of being a vampire, he had an advanced sense of hearing. Even when being on the other side of the room, he picked up on their words.
"Oh. Isn't that Ash Ketchum?" He raised more of his hat as other ponies that were surrounding him had been alerted. He wasn't the only vampire here.
"It is." Another vampire pony replied with a nervous tone. "We didn't think he would be here."
"We weren't thinking it all." Another one replied.
"From what was told about him, he doesn't strike us the kind of person to read, does he? Do you think he caught on? What should we do now that he's here? Do we start panicking?"
"No. Focus on what matters. Queen Rosa did say that if we were ever to run into him, we shouldn't engage with him at all." Fractured Note lowered his hat. "Ash Ketchum is too big of a combination to try and trifle with."
"I agree with that. But she did say that if anyone was to get in our way, we could either just suck their blood or just turn them into vampires. Do we do the same to Ash Ketchum if it comes down to it?"
"It won't come down to it. We need to focus on finding Yveltal. And none of these books are helping." Fractured Note tossed the books away, pondering for a bit. "And from what I can hear...they don't know where Yveltal is either, so we don't have to worry right now."
"But he might know something about Yveltal." Another vampire scooched over. "Queen Rosa said to find anything about Yveltal, no matter what. Don't you think that Ash Ketchum is that prime target?"
"I say we just kidnap him. Always works out for us." One vampire had a more aggressive approach and idea to it. "It'll get rid of any future problems."
"Hmm...We could bend the rules. For whatever we can do to find Yveltal." Fractured Note thought about it. "As long as things don't get too hairy."
"And if they do?"
"We run. Simple as that. Anyway...let's hang around this town for a bit, shall we? We could hear and gather a lot from this..." The vampires continued to act normal, hiding from the sunlight. All eyes and ears were on Ash and Twilight now. And speaking of Ash and Twilight...
"If we do find those vampires, or if they're nearby, we should probably find a way to distinguish them." Twilight suggested as Fractured Note and the other vampires heard this clearly, scrunching their faces.
"How do we do that?"
"Sunlight is the easiest answer. They act at night, don't they? That much light is too much for any vampire. But aside from that, there's another thing aside from their weakness to sunlight that they can't control. No reflections and sometimes...no shadows."
"Awesome...!" Ash gawked as he was getting some new vampire info. This was the first time he was hearing about it too.
"And no matter what, that's one thing they can't avoid. It's easy to exploit." Twilight winked as Fractured Note and the others knew that to be true. They could not control their reflections of shadows in any way, making them vulnerable.
This made them worry about what could happen next. However, these vampires already knew their weaknesses and lived with them. But they'd be lying if they didn't grimace or groan at it. There was no upside to this. Ash was simply gaining knowledge about vampires and that was it.
"I know a lot about vampires. I used to read a lot about them back when I was younger. Sometimes alone and in my spare time too." Twilight chuckled. "For such deadly creatures, they have a lot of easy weaknesses and flaws. If you need help knowing more about vampires, you can ask me, Ash."
"That's a problem." One vampire sighed. "What do we do about her?"
"We can leave Ash Ketchum. The Queen didn't say anything about others." Fractured Note smirked as all of the vampires were now eyeing down Twilight, who knew a lot about their weaknesses Ash and Twilight read together, going through every book they could as the sun was slowly setting.
"Okie Dokie! Here's how a stakeout works!" Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie, who was on the outskirts of Camphrier Town, was explaining it to Mewtwo and Newtwo. "Pretty simple and short. All we have to do is keep an eye on the entire place. Especially on whoever's suspicious."
"And?" Both of them asked.
"That's it. Told ya it was short. That's all we have to do. And that's gonna be easy since we're looking out for ponies. I'm all human right now. I doubt anypony's gonna wanna come out here at night."
"Hmph. Simple enough. The moment that sun sets and nightfall arrives, I suggest we place a Psychic barrier around the town so that they are unable to enter."
"Be careful. Those vampires have access to some kind of strange magic that allowed them to elude us constantly." Mewtwo warned. "It felt so unnatural. Pinkie Pie. Be alert for it."
"You got it!" She saluted along with both Mews.
"Mew-Mew!"
"Okay! Let's get this stakeout started! But first! Mind telling me what they looked like?"
"Much like you ponies, obviously. But I wonder if they were to have come from the human world during their venture..." Newtwo pondered.
"Then they'd probably look just like me. Their coat would be their skin and all that."
"So...Everyone that comes from your world keeps their coat colours when turned into humans and every human in that world as well? Every single one of them?"
"Looks like it. Guess that's just a parallel world thing, huh?" Pinkie pie giggled.
"And they call us unnatural."
But if not, then they'd show up as ponies. Doesn't matter anyway. I think we can try something extra sneaky with this..." Pinkie Pie had further plans, rubbing her hands together. She would do more than just keep an eye out for the vampires.
Back at the library, Ash and Twilight were still looking for Yveltal information. But it was hard to come by it, sadly. Ash sat on the floor, focusing hard on the books in front of him to see if there was anything. But since he wasn't a heavy reader, he was pushing himself too much.
Twilight giggled, admiring Ash's vigorous enthusiasm to read and learn even if it wasn't something he does a lot. She then got up, heading off to find some more books. Due to the vampires also searching for information about Yveltal, many of the books were missing from the bookshelves. Mainly history books. Everything else was left where it was.
Twilight went upstairs to continue her search, hoping to find something of use there. And that was when the vampires took action. Twilight knew too much about vampires, already making her a threat in their eyes.
Fractured Note stayed behind while the others got on the move. Continuing to use the shade as protection, they had blended in with the shadows. They followed Twilight upstairs, using every shade that they could. And as a better way to have more of the shade cover their bodies, they had turned into bats. Physical bats that were smaller than a Zubat and a Woobat. Their smaller bodies allowed them to soak up more of the shades and even move undetected.
Twilight looked through the upstairs books, seeing what she could find. She focused on just the history books until she ended up finding one book that caught her interest.
"Ooh...Tale of The Aura Trio?" Twilight held a book that was about the Aura Trio. And Yveltal was a member of that trio. She opened the book, to see if it had what she needed. And it did. Since this was all about the Aura Trio, the only images were of Xerneas, Yveltal and Zygarde. "This is it. Yveltal."
"She found it before us?" One of the vampires said. "How?"
"We were only here for 20 minutes. We've barely gotten through the lower floor's books." Another vampire replied as while they were early, not quite early enough to get ahead of them.
"But this is good. She found information about Yveltal First. Let's move." The vampires would now act. Now that Twilight found the book that they needed, they would take advantage of this scenario. And they did so in vast quantities of numbers.
The sun was setting with the skies starting to gain a dark bluish colour gradually. This also meant that the library was reaching its closing hours as others had left for the day. The perfect chance for the vampires as the swarm of bats had then approached Twilight as she and the librarian upstairs were the only ones here. The moon had risen along with the arrival of closing hours.
And thus it was time for Pinkie and the others to take action as well. Mewtwo and Newtwo had used their combined Psychic abilities to form a shield around Camphrier Town, blocking any exit or entrance to it. Now they were on the lookout.
"We're gonna bait them out so hard with this..." Pinkie Pie had some goggles on, sitting atop a tree and looking out for the vampires. So far, all she could see right now were nocturnal Pokemon. As for Mewtwo and Newtwo, they had focused on the library, seeing how the lights were starting to turn off. The one place where the vampires could gain information and it was now closing hours. Mewtwo and Newtwo made sure to keep an eye on that one the most.
The doors within the library were being closed and locked off. All except the exits for those who could most likely fall asleep in here. Ash and Pikachu were still inside, along with a few other vampires like Fractured Note.
"Huh?!" Twilight heard the swarm coming her way, gasping as she held the book close to her. The librarian was the first to be attacked, being covered by this aggressive swarm of bats from all sides. Twilight was next.
"Twilight!" Coming to her rescue was Zorua. Immediately when Twilight's life was in danger, Zorua's shyness could be broken apart and her bravery could be shown in an instant. She hopped out of Twilight's bag, using Swift.
Zorua closed her eyes, summoning star-shaped rays that rained down. And due to them being stars, they had some brightness to them which was alarming to the vampires screeched as the rays of Swift had hit some of them.
"Zorua! Thanks!"
But it wasn't quite over. The lights had gone off soon after, granting the vampires an edge. Spike barked at the vampires whilst Zorua's moment of bravery was gone just like that as the army of bats then started spiralling around the three of them.
"Vampires..." Twilight already knew what this was about. And she just so happened to hold the book that they needed. The librarian here had been placed on the ceiling, hanging there and unable to move at all. "I need to chase them off. They seemed to be scared when Swift was used...Unless..." Twilight thought to herself.
"Here!" Twilight threw the book into the air, alerting the vampires as that was just what they needed. They had ascended, soon turning into their original pony forms while also still spreading their vampiric wings. But Twilight wouldn't just let them have it. She dug into her pocket, throwing one of her Poke Balls up. "Go, Luxio!"
"Luxio!" Out into the fray came Alpha Luxio.
"Glow, Luxio! Use your electricity!"
"Lu...Xio!" Luxio would do just that, allowing all of his dormant electricity to shine. He became a temporary lamp as the golden glow of the electricity inside of him radiated across this floor. The vampires were exposed to this light as they cried out. Their wings could be seen taking visible damage along with smoke emerging. Luxio's light was stronger than they expected as they failed to retrieve the book.
They immediately turned back into bats, flying off. Spike hopped out of Twilight's bag, grabbing the book with a mouth catch any dog would be jealous of. The bats had fled as Luxio did not lower the light from its body. Even the bats that had hung up the librarian fled away from Luxio's light.
"Ooh!" Pinkie Pie noticed the sparks of light happening within the library. "Looks like we've got our chance. That might be them. Already, Mew! You know what to do!"
"Mew-Mew!" Mew saluted as it was time for them to bait out the vampires. And the perfect bait was just what they wanted and Mew could become that prized objective. By spiralling into the air, Mew had transformed into Yveltal. The Destruction Pokemon as the wings of despair had glistened with the rise of the moon.
"Hm?" Ash was made alert to all of this. The sound of bats flying by caught his attention. The vampires had retreated to Fractured Note and the other vampires. Twilight came rushing down, bringing the book along with her. "Hey, Twilight. Did you find it?"
"I did, Ash! Here it is!" Twilight held out the book to Ash. "It has Yveltal in it!"
Fractured Note and the others could take off their hats and hoods now that it was a fresh new night as all of the books they went through proved to be useless. "WE have a problem, sir!" One of the vampires cried out as they returned to their original form. "We found the book that we might need!"
"And how's that a problem?" Fractured Note asked.
"One of Ash Ketchum's friends has it. And they did a splendid job at fending us off from getting the book. That thing had light...So much light." They shuddered as their bodies were still smoking.
"Great..." Not the news that Fractured Not wanted to hear. "Now you all are vulnerable and made aware. Best leave now and-"
"Uh...Sir. Look." But cutting him off was another vampire, nudging at Fractured Note. All of the others were looking outside with their eyes alarmed. The Pokemon that they were searching for was right there, zooming across the night sky. Obviously, this was just Mew in disguise. But who were they to know that?
"Yveltal!" They all screamed, seeing the Pokemon that they wanted more than anything.
"Hmm..." But Fractured Note wasn't falling for it as easily. He found this all to be too sudden. However, the other vampires jumped at the chance of getting what they wanted. Fractured Note could see that things might break apart soon. So, the best thing to do now was to ask for assistance.
And in his eyes, there was no better assistance than his ruler. The Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta. He sat down, closing his eyes and letting his mind do all the talking. Meanwhile, as he sat there in a somewhat meditative state, the other vampires took the chance to see if they could reach Yveltal now that they saw it outside.
"Your majesty. We have a slight issue that's rising." Fractured Note spoke to Rosa Maledicata all the way from the Pokemon World in the Kalos Region to Equestria in Magehold.
"Oh? Is it Yveltal? Did you find it?"
"From what's happening outside, that would be the case. But I'm inclined to believe that it might be an illusion being played on our eyes. It's all too sudden and well-timed for Yveltal to show up now especially when some of our ponies ended up running into some trouble while also discovering a book about Yveltal."
"Pah. Of course it's an illusion. Or something akin to that. That's why I put you under this mission, Fractured Note. You're clever enough to think ahead. It's a Legendary Pokemon after all."
"Thank you. But there's something worse than that. Ash Ketchum is here. One of his friends has the book we need. I know you told us not to engage with him, but...what do we do now that his friends are getting involved?"
"Hm-hm. Leave them be as I said before. It's not yet time to deal with them, Fractured. But we need that book. All it takes is a tiny bit of chaos and objects will start dropping. You know what to do."
"I do." Fractured Note ended the conversation before smirking. While he couldn't deal with Ash and the others, he could indeed do something to grab that book. But before that, he had noticed how some of the vampires, if not all of them were missing. There was only one place for them to be at.
Outside.
Once outside, they were met with a rude awakening. But first, it started with a juke out. "Mew!" Mew reverted to his original form, revealing that he was Yveltal. The vampires were naturally confused by this. They had been bamboozled, believing that Yveltal was truly here. And who could blame them? Mew does a perfect job at impersonating other Pokemon.
Now that they were outside, witnessing the New Species Pokemon fly around playfully, giggling and teasing the vampires, it was time for Mewtwo and Newtwo to go next. They had already put up a barrier as a blockade. They just had one other job to work with. Capturing the vampires. That was their main goal as their eyes flashed in the darkness.
Even creatures such as vampires couldn't help but shudder at the presence of Mewtwo. They felt a horrible chill once the eyes flashed in the darkness. And with little warning, they were given a taste of Mewtwo and Newtwo's Psychic. In unison, the two Genetic Pokemon had outlined the vampires in blue lights, already having them where they wanted.
"This time, you won't elude us again.We have you right where we want you." Both Mewtwo and Newtwo commented, having the same words in mind.
Fractured Note facehoofed as he was the only vampire exempt from this mess. But, despite this setback, the goal was still the same. And he had just the object that he needed.
He ended up using the hat that we wore earlier As if he was performing a hat trick, he pulled something out of it. A dark purple and black chest with strange inscriptions all over them. Fractured Note rubbed his hooves together before then opening it.
"Alright then! Let's see which demon we can bring out here?" Once the chest was opened, it let out a violent yet silent ray of darkness that had summoned a virulent creature into the world.
A shriek in the dark, a flash of lightning, and suddenly a fearsome figure of flame and grime had appeared in front of Fractured Note. It had the appearance of a deer with three fuming eyes staring with staggering energy. Two broken antlers adorned its pudgy head, which itself is cracked all over.
"Okay. Go ahead and mess things up a bit, why don't you?" Fractured Note ordered. This corrupted deer-like creature took off, galloping away. And when it galloped, everything around it was being broken down. It had suddenly multiplied into two the moment it roared. More of it had appeared, breaking everything else in the process.
Especially the bookshelves. one of them ran out of the library, leaving a hole in it. It wasn't long until Ash an the others noticed this. Especially Mewtwo and Newtwo, who were interrogating the vampires.
"What is that?!" Newtwo cried out as this corrupted deer started spreading flames from its antlers. Pinkie Pie's eyes almost popped out, both intimidated and stunned by this creature.
"Keep those vampires there!" Mewtwo ordered as one Mewtwo was enough to hold them all. He got in front of Newtwo, Pinkie Pie and the two Mew, facing this abnormal deer. Mewtwo could already feel the horrifying sounds and aura coming from it.
The same could be said within the library. While it was for the most part empty, two librarians plus Ash and Twilight were still inside. Two of the deers appeared where they were, breaking apart the bookshelves and the books that were around them.
"Ash, what is that?!" Twilight shuddered, continuing to hold the book close to her as these deers didn't seem to ever stop galloping. They kept running with no end in sight, even if something was in their way.
"Can't think about it right now!" Ash couldn't give that answer at all. Not even everything was breaking down in front of them. He and Pikachu knew what needed to be done. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu leapt off of his best friend's shoulder, curling his body a bit. By sparking up all of that energy, he had unleashed Thunderbolt. "Chuuu!" The bolts met with the deers as they ended up stopping them in their tracks. They had been staggered by the bolts, falling back afterwards.
But right as they fell apart, the floor was starting to break open. The ceiling also rumbled with rubble dropping from above. The flames around their antlers had also started spreading like wildfire, rapidly wrapping across the library. They then had millions of eyes sprout out as they could be found within the flames and the walls.
"What's going on?!" Naturally, something like this was just exceedingly bizarre to look at as Twilight backed away from the erupting flames. The floor continued to shake with massive rubble dropping from everywhere.
Fractured Note would also take action instead of just the deers. He set his sights on that book but even with all of this destruction, Twilight would not let go of the book. This aggravated Fractured Note. The deer stood back up, multiplying again before then charging at Ash and the others.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu approached the deer, hardening his tail. The deers had then breathed out fire suddenly, using the flames from their antlers. This caught Pikachu off guard, pushing him back. "Pika! Pi...!" But even after being pushed back by those flames, Pikachu retaliated, rushing back in and delivering a sweep with Iron Tail. He struck their hooves, knocking the deer over.
Twilight placed the book inside of her bag for safety, keeping it next to Zorua and Spike. The deers had not only been knocked over, but that impact from Pikachu's Iron Tail was enough to defeat them. Once they fell over, their bodies disappeared into a puff of black and red smoke.
Mewtwo had also defeated the other deers. He didn't allow them to get close for a second, putting up a Psychic field. Afterwards, Mewtwo sent a tremendous push of Psychic energy which had obliterated these corrupted abnormal deers into black and red smoke once more.
"Everyone out!" The librarian shouted as the second librarian was already fleeing for her life. With the deer defeated, they could all leave before it all comes crashing down on them. The book was safe as Ash grabbed Twilight's hand, rushing out f the library.
Fractured Note narrowed his eyes as he had failed to retrieve the book. He did cause some chaos, just not what he wanted. He backed away from all the falling rubble, descending into the shadows.
Both Mewtwo and Newtwo promptly held the library together, preventing it from truly breaking apart. They also fended off the flames by manipulating them too, showing just how far their Psychic control could span. With some careful hand movements and coordination, they were able to keep most of the library from falling apart. It was still damaged from the inside, but it looked better on the outside.
"Phew." Pinkie wiped the sweat from her forehead. "That could've gone way worse. Could've been here all night."
"Oh goodness..." The librarians sighed, falling on their backs as eventually, the rest of Camphrier Town was alerted by all of this commotion. Mewtwo and Newtwo looked at each other, knowing that they both didn't want to be seen. So along with the Ash, Twilight, Pinkie Pie and even the vampires, they were sent away via teleportation. "Thank you so much for..." But the librarians couldn't thank them in time as they had vanished out of thin air. "Eh?"
"We managed to avoid the worst and successfully grab some of the vampires we were looking for." Mewtwo commented. "This stakeout plan of yours was certainly interesting and effective, Pinkie Pie."
"Thanks. Didn't think that stuff would happen with all of those weird deers." Pinkie replied.
"What was that anyway? Did you know that Pokemon, Ash?" Twilight asked.
"Nope. Never seen it before in my life."
"That wasn't a Pokemon." Newtwo hovered over as all of the vampires were restrained still, unable to do anything against the might of Mewtwo. "These vampires have unleashed something like that on us before when we were pursuing them. Those were demons as they call. They come from your world, Pinkie Pie."
"Demons? Like...what I became once?" Twilight recalled the time she became a She-Demon after absorbing so much magic. It gave her unpleasant memories in the process.
"Either way. We have them. But why is it that you wish to use Yveltal of all Pokemon?" Mewtwo questioned. "Especially one of such destructive power?"
"Lips are sealed." The vampires refused to let them know why.
"That's a good sign they won't say a thing. But if they're from our world, think it would be best for us to head back there with them?" Pinkie Pie suggested.
"They can't be allowed to be here as they'll continue searching for Yveltal. Xatu foresaw a horrible disaster with that Pokemon and these vampires might have some involvement with them. We'll deal with them when we get to your world.
"For now, I have the book that they would like." Twilight showed the book of the Aura Trio to them. The vampires gasped, flailing their hooves around, trying to break free. But it was no use. "Now what?"
"Keep it away from them, Twilight Sparkle. "Make sure they never find it. Continue doing your best to prevent them from even finding Yveltal. I know I can trust Ash and Pikachu with that."
"Sure thing, guys!"
"Pikachu!"
"Guess we're saying goodbye now. Great to see you both again. Mewtwo. Newtwo."
"Hm. Take care. The same goes for you as well. Mew. Especially you, Mewie. Continue to find others like you. Much like how I found another like me. Two even. We will continue to try and stop Yveltal from being found. Hopefully, we meet again." Mewtwo smiled. "Never thought I would say that to anyone."
"They have that strange effect, don't they?" Newtwo also smiled which was a rarity for these two unless in certain scenarios. Afterwards, they left the scene with the vampires, heading elsewhere.
"It's time for us to clock out," said Ash as his group st off for the night. "But I gotta know what they want with Yveltal..."
"Pika..."
Ash couldn't help but wonder about Yveltal's part in all of this. It was certainly something to look out for. Fractured Note had stayed behind Camphrier Town for a bit before witnessing the barrier that Mewtwo and Newtwo made disappeared. The mysterious chest had been placed back inside of his hat as he could regrettably call this mission a failure.
But this was just one mission. There was more. Under the loyalty of the Dread League and the Lich Queen, the grand mission to find Yveltal was still ongoing as the journey continues.
"Wow Discord. You've been spending time with your Pokemon more often?" Fluttershy was having a conversation with Discord and the Unown. A heap of them too. At least around 70 of them. They flew around the cottage as Bayleef, the one who was previously attacked by the Unown, stood in the corner, growling at them.
"Oh yes, yes. I didn't think I'd enjoy their company but these tiny letters know my style." Discord replied. "The moment I let them loose, I decided to see what they could do since I heard so much about them. I wasn't disappointed at all. We started messing around right after, doing whatever we wanted to."
"Really?" Fluttershy leaned in.
"Really. It's as if we are on the same wavelength. Now I don't have to worry about being chaotic myself when I have them by my side. We went on a little trip across the Pokemon World the other day to see what we could do and the results were not disappointing. To think, I've missed out on this."
"It's great that you're bonding with your Pokemon, Discord. They make things even more fun than they already are when they're by your side, don't they?" Fluttershy giggled. "Oh! Can you tell them to turn me into some Pokemon? I enjoyed it the previous time when they did so."
They chatted away with the Unown granting Fluttershy her wish. The Unown turned her into various Pokemon that she took interest in being. Which was basically all of them. And outside watching all of this happening was Discord's first Pokemon.
Krookodile.
Krookodile watched as Discord ended up spending far more time with the Unown than he ever did with Krookodile. In fact, Discord has never hung out with Krookodile for a day, an hour, a minute, or even a second. But these Unown were enough to keep him interested.
And Krookodile knew why this was the chaos. The Unown had something he didn't. The Unown could practically work in tangent with Discord by doing almost anything that they wanted. Krookodile didn't have that reality-warping luxury at all
Angel Bunny laughed at Krookodile as he knew what it felt like. Previously, everyone in Equestria had become so focused on Pokemon that regular animals are ignored. Granted, it's gotten much better recently, but that absence still happened for many. Angel Bunny revelled in this as Krookodile was now the one being ignored.
"Krook...!" Krookodile snarled, facing Angel Bunny who couldn't stop cracking up. Angel Bunny wiped a tear from his eyes before standing up. His laughing slowed down as he and Krookodile looked each other in the eyes for a bit.
After a moment of silence, Krookodile had punted Angel Bunny away in response to his laughter. But even after kicking Angel Bunny away, Krookodile still felt something major. Jealousy.
He couldn't compare to the Unown. Nothing in his arsenal or biology brought him close to the things that they could do. So, the Ground-Dark-Type had to think for a while. He heard Discord laughing within the cottage with constant red and golden lights from the Unown going off including various chaotic shenanigans.
However, despite this sense of jealousy and feeling of being left behind, knowing that he couldn't interest Discord, Krookodile turned to the one option that could grab Discord's attention and finally have his Pokemon Trainer notice him.
Become an Emissary of Chaos.
He wouldn't do it alone. Krookodile needed assistance. In his eyes, to cause chaos would be to have zero control over everything coming into fruition. And to do that, he requested the help of some of the Pokemon living here at the Pokemon House.
"Dile! Krookodile!" He spoke to them, telling them that they needed to come up with something so chaotic that it would be hard to stop. Anything at all. None of them were on board with this. These Pokemon were living quiet lives, well as quiet as it can be, in the Pokemon House. "Dile..." That was an issue for Krookodile. He still needed some help.
That's when his brain got to thinking again. Who or what could help him achieve his goal? The Pokemon of the Pokemon House certainly wouldn't help out. Then, with the snap of his claws, he remembered something. It should've been his first answer but it was perfect. There was something that could let him gain what he wanted.
The cauldron of Rift Magic.
Kept by Zecora within the Pokemon House, the cauldron of Rift Magic held the key to unpredictability. Krookodile glanced at the windows, now knowing what to do next. The cauldron was his new objective, but of course, getting it wouldn't be easy.
The cauldron could be found in the Electric-Type Room. Zecora was present there as well. Zecora acted as a nurse to some of the Pokemon here now that she was staying around until the Everfree Forest regenerated. She knew some neat tricks that could tend to these Strange and Wonderful Creatures.
Krookodile gently opened the door to the Electric Room, noticing Zecora. The Electric Room was by far the most dynamic out of all of them. For such speedy Pokemon, they needed a room where they could get a ton of movement with all the space they could need.
Krookodile spotted the cauldron as Zecora always took it with her. That was one problem that Krookodile could see. Most likely, Zecora wouldn't leave the cauldron alone. However, he knew that the only way for her to leave it is if she was heading elsewhere only to return to the same room. An example was taking a break. That was Krookodile's one chance but it was a rare one so another chance had to be created with his own intuition.
And as if Zecora was the perfect balance between good luck and bad luck, she also carried vials with her. Vials that could be used to take some of the Rift Magic within the cauldron as Zecora had some of them filled up. She was constantly experimenting with this unique form of magic, or as Pinkie Pie likes to nickname it, Fusion Magic due to some Equestrian Magic being added in there.
Krookodile shimmied into the Electric-Type Room, attempting to be stealthy due to his big body and heavy footsteps. He hid behind some of the pillars here. His body was just barely enough to hide behind it as his tail was sticking out. However, the moment he entered the room, some of the Pokemon had already noticed him. Mainly the Electric Rodent Family.
"Pichu?" A Pichu looked over at the shimmying Krookodile alongside Pachirisu and Togedemaru. Krookodile then got on all fours, lowering his body to also move quicker.
At least for the time being, Zecora was facing the Pokemon she was tending to, making the vials up for grabs at the moment. If he couldn't get the cauldron, which was impossible to grab, then the vials would do. Krookodile waved his tail, aiming to use it as a means to grab the vials instead of his claws.
"Chu? Pichu!" Pichu and the others went up to the Intimidation Pokemon, catching up to his antics.
"Dile?" Krookodile turned his head, seeing the Electric Rodents making their way here. So much for being sneaky as he had been noticed since day one. Krookodile's eyes shifted from Pichu to the vials to soon Zecora. The Electric-Types lunged at Krookodile, aiming to stop him.
Krookodile wanted multiple vials, however, he had to settle with just one. It would be a grab and run. The Ground-Dark-Type grabbed only one vial before then bolting off. Zecora, who was holding a Stunfisk, turned to see Krookodile jetting off with one of her Rift Magic vials.
The zebra narrowed her eyes, knowing that this could not lead to anything good. She would still tend to the Pokemon, but that one issue needed to be dealt with. And she knew of one Pokemon that could do so. Her Weavile.
"Krookodile!" Krookodile charged through Pichu and the others as there was nothing they could do to stop Krookodile. He was immune to their Electric Attacks anyway and plus, he was known as the Intimidation Pokemon for a reason. Krookodile laughed before then leaving the Electric Room.
"Weavile!" However, emerging out of the Poke Ball was Zecora's Weavile. Weavile already knew what to do upon his arrival. With Zecora's order, his goal was to retrieve the vial while Zecora took care of everyone else. "Weavile!"
Weavile was on the move, having speed that was on par with Electric-Type Pokemon and even Flying-Types. He had leapt over Pichu and the others giving chase to Krookodile.
"Krook-Krookodile!" Krookodile laughed, feeling glad that he at least got one. He was hoping to gain more though. But all of that laughing came to an end once he spotted Weavile arriving. Weavile was certainly faster than Krookodile no doubt as he was gaining on him. "Dile?!"
"Weavile!" Weavile ordered Krookodile to stop, but obviously, he wouldn't. So, to take the vial off of his claws, Weavile had used Ice Shard. He summoned a shard of ice with a swift flash-freeze, gripping it firmly.
Krookoile couldn't afford to lose here as the shard was thrown at him. With precision, it was a super-effective blow to the back that almost made Krookodile lose balance. "K-Krook!" Krookodile cried out as he managed to retain his balance. Weavile wasn't done with him.
"Wea-Wea-Vile!" Weavile had then jumped from wall to wall, becoming a blur with his speedy movements. He then went for Night Slash, summoning a black and red blade in his claws.
Krookodile knew there was no chance of him outrunning Weavile. And the vial was too fragile to keep running with. Angel Bunny, who had been kicked afar, held his head as he was just now returning. Only to then be knocked out of the way by running Krookodile, flying off once more. Weavile had then lunged off the walls, zooming towards Krookodile with a hefty Night Slash inbound. Knowing how bad it was getting Krookodile took a major risk.
He had smashed the vial on him.
"Wea?!" Weavile came to a screeching halt as his own two eyes witnessed the destruction of the vial and also the Rift Energy flowing across Krookodile.
"Krook! Krookodile!" Krookodile laughed, knowing that Weavile couldn't do anything now. He laughed at Weavile's failure crossing his arms. Krookodile now waited for the Rift Magic to work its magic.
And right on schedule. The energy from the Rift Magic was showing itself, radiating around Krookodile. The time had come. Krookodile was ready to indulge in some chaos in whichever way he could all for the sake of grabbing Discord's attention. He could feel it. The cosmic infinity coursing through his veins and entire body. He was changing. Gaining access to something he could've never done before. And once it finished processing everything, the result...
Was lacklustre.
Krookodile, by some twist of ironic fate, had become a bunny. Specifically, the same species as Angel Bunny. Weavile noticed the dramatic size decrease, looking to the floor as a bunny with the eyes of a Krookodile while having an Equestrian Bunny's appearance could be seen.
"W-Wea...!" Weavile couldn't help but snicker at this. Krookodile had visible disappointment on his face as even he knew he should've seen this coming. After all, it's unpredictable. Despite him wanting to spring up chaos, he could not control the Rift Magic to do what he wanted.
Ironic.
It was then that Krookodile soon realized that he should've just started throwing multiple vials everywhere to cause chaos. But it was too late for that now as Weavile went over to him, picking the bunny-size and shaped Krookodile off the ground, quickly returning to Zecora.
Zecora finished tending to the Electric-Types, standing outside of the rest of the Pokemon House, confronting a transformed Krookodile who was now just a regular bunny.
"Goodness, Krookodile, why?" Zecora sighed as she wasn't mad with Krookodile. Just disappointed as he stood on her hoof rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Why try and steal my vial? It's not like you to be like this. So clearly, something is amiss."
Zecora could see that something was up with Krookodile. He's never done this before as Weavile brought over some Rift Vials to help restore Krookodile. Krookodile then shook his head before aiming his paw at the cottage of Fluttershy. Zecora observed as constant flashes of light kept going on. Without a doubt, it was still the Unown.
One glance at the cottage and all the fun that they were having gave Zecora a great insight as to why Krookodile did what he did. It was for a good reason, albeit not the best approach. "Ah. Now I see the reason why you do so. All because of Discord to the Unown."
Krookodile nodded as Zecora started utilizing the Rift Magic, carefully mixing it to try and restore Krookodile's original body without any mishaps. Zecora was one of the few individuals who could regulate Rift Magic.
"You have become invisible since they can entertain Discord. Sharing the ability to do whatever, whilst you have been ignored." Zecora placed some of the mixed Rift Magic within one of the vials, dropping it on Krookodile's bunny body. Thankfully, Krookodile's originally body had been restored.
"Krookodile..."
"To compete with the power of the Unown is too large of an obstacle. Even if you did so by almost forming a mass debacle." Zecora shook her head.
"Dile." Krookodile sighed, slamming his face onto the wall. He almost botched everything there just for the sake of attention. He started imagining what Fluttershy or Audino would think about him. He could see it now. A disappointed Fluttershy who would end up kicking him out of the Pokemon House. He also saw an Audino who rejected him greatly, which was arguably his greatest fear. He would have to return to PokePark, becoming the gate guard at the Arbor Area once more.
Zecora saw it in his eyes. "You could return to PokePark, yes. But how much that would truly change...well, it's your guess." Zecora walked past him. "The best thing to do is to go to him yourself. Only then could you find some solace in oneself."
"Krookodile..." Krookodile had a choice to make. He took Zecora's advice, knowing that the one way to at least solve this was to confront Discord, who he has barely interacted with. Returning to PokePark would do no good. He took a glance at the vials before deciding not to use them again. "Dile!"
He finally approached Discord who was currently showing Fluttershy just how well the Unown worked with him. The whole day, they've been trying new things out. Mainly turning Fluttershy into a Pokemon. That was her preferred choice of chaos due to her love for these Magical Creatures.
Krookodile appeared before them as Fluttershy had currently taken the appearance of fusion Pokemon. A fusion between Lapras and Appletun, creating a beautiful light green aquatic creature with a tasty apple pie on the back.
"This has been so much fun, Discord. I think we should do this more of-" Fluttershy paused as she had then noticed the Intimidation Pokemon's arrival. "Oh, Krookodile. What brings you here?"
"K-Krooko..." Krookodile held his breath, puffing his chest up a bit.
"Hm?" Discord pondered before returning some of the Unown. Fluttershy had been promptly returned to her original form afterwards. "Oh, right. I forget I own that one."
"Dile." Krookodile's heart sank after hearing that. Discord and he have been so distant that Discord barely remembers Krookodile, causing the Ground-Dark-Type to lower his head.
"You haven't interacted with each other that much. For a year or so." Fluttershy flew over. "Krookodile, are you okay?"
"Krookodile." Krookodile sat down, knowing that if there was someone he could share his problems with, it was Fluttershy who took care of every Pokemon here. "Dile. Krookodile."
"Oh. You're feeling left out?" Fluttershy translated. "You've been wanting to get Discord's attention, especially when the Unown came along."
"Dile."
"My attention? Oh, it's not often someone wants my attention." Discord grinned as this was new to him. "It's not often at all. It's a first time actually. But could it be that I sense some jealousy from him?"
"I think so. Krookodile wants to live up to that role of being your Pokemon. You're his trainer after all."
"I am living up to the role as a Pokemon Trainer. I have them beside me, don't I?" Discord spread his arms out as the Unown surrounded him.
"Yes. But the Unown aren't the only Pokemon that you could spend time with. It's great that you've found others that can have fun with you and spend all the time in the world with you. But you shouldn't forget Krookodile here. He may not be able to warp reality, but he's a fine Pokemon." Fluttershy patted Krookodile on the back. "After all, I can't warp reality, can I?"
"No." Discord scratched his goatee. "Among Ash and a few others, none of you can. I suppose that catching Krookodile wasn't exactly something I was riveted by." Truth be told. DIscord could remember it still. It was at PokeStar Studios right after he and the others finished filming. He only caught Krookodile because it was recommended to him more than anything really.
"We may be a few years late on this, but it's not too late. Discord. I know you'll be busy with the Unown, so why don't you come by and spend some time with Krookodile here and there? Maybe even take him to your dimension?"
"Sure-sure." Discord agreed. "If it adds to my friends' list, then who am I to complain."
"Dile?"
"Good news, you." Discord extended his lion paw, wrapping it around Krookodile. "This could be the start of something new. Maybe."
"Krook? Krookodile." Krookodile sighed as a disaster had been averted. He accidentally spilt out what he would've done if it didn't work out.
"What?! You almost started mass chaos to grab his attention?!" Fluttershy translated as Krookodile covered his mouth. "Krookodile! No!"
"You would've gone out of your way to do that? Just cause chaos?" Discord paused before putting on a sly grin. "Ah. I can see I rubbed off on you. Somehow." He was somewhat proud of Krookodile. ANyone that indulges in chaos is okay in his book.
Krookodile was sweating bullets as he did get an earful from Fluttershy and even Audino plus Bayleef. But at least it wasn't as bad as he was expecting. Angel Bunny came over, feeling winded from all the knocking over that had been done to him throughout the day. He then dropped to the ground, resting near a Snorlax as he originally aimed to taunt Krookodile some more. That wasn't happening.
Krookodile did get his wish. Albeit on a small scale. Having Discord acknowledge him. For the Intimidation Pokemon, this could be the start of something new and great. Hopefully. But that was all to be seen and experienced as the journey continues.
Governing the Hyperdream as always was Luna along with Darkrai. The trillions upon trillions of dreams from different eras met with them once more. Luna had yet to explore every single one of them, especially the ones from the past and future.
Watching over every dream would be impossible now. It was already a challenging task in the Dream Realm. But since the Hyperdream is larger in scale and scope, that difficulty was amped up to a staggering amount.
"Even with a few weeks with the Hyperdream, governing everything is a true challenge. How are we to handle all of them?" Luna pondered, trying her best to come up with something. That's when it hit her. This was the Hyperdream where everyone's dreams existed.
Including hers.
"Aha! That's it! With more of myself, I can cover more parts of the Hyperdream." So, Luna had the bright idea of gathering multiple variations of herself throughout time within the Dream Realm. She and Darkrai approached the various dreams that she has had before in the past. She entered her personal Hyperdreams, grabbing help from herself at different points in time.
This also involved different Lunas who were watching over the Dream Realm, doing her job. It started with the first Luna governing over Octavia's Dream, only to be then interrupted by her future self.
"What in the?!" The past Luna pulled back, naturally and reasonably blown back by this sudden appearance.
"I promise you, this will be worth it." But current Luna reassured her past self. Even if it would take a lot of talking. And the same would go for every Luna they run into.
And so it began. When Luna grabbed one Luna, the rest did the same. Each of them were either having their own personal dreams or even governing other dreams.
Soon, multiple Princess Lunas could be seen dashing about the Hyperdream, witnessing it for the first or even Lunas that were only 3 weeks new to the Hyperdream. Some of them went as far as even being from a time when the Pokemon World didn't meet with theirs yet. Mainly when Luna was freed from Nightmare Moon fairly recently. But it did not go further than that as to avoid any possible Nightmare Moon debacles. So many of them from different points in time mainly focused on the past rather than the future.
All of this was to make the Hyperdream easier. Knowing that there was something grander in scope than the Dream Realm made each of the various Lunas onboard. Soon, Luna had gathered all these variations of herself. Not just from her universe, but even parallel universes with various other Princess Lunas.
"Alright then. I have gathered a substantial amount of myself." Luna said to her past selves. "Apologies if this is all so sudden to you. But if there was an instance I would need all of the help I could receive, now would be the time."
"Nothing to worry about. The moment you told us about this Hyperdream and what it was, who could we not help? It holds dreams that were just now watching over, so it won't be an issue for us to pick up where left off." Another Luna replied.
"Thou did pick an odd time to summon us all." A Luna who spoke in the previous speech pattern she had for centuries before adapting to the modern-day replied, using the royal We, more than anything. "We hadst only been freed of Nightmare Moon 2 weeks ago. It is all new to us."
"Still. In a world where we live with Pokemon, nothing feels like an odd time, does it?" Another Luna within the timeline of crossing over with the Pokemon World replied. "Either way, I hope we can retain memories of this encounter as we should know what to do next when we meet in this Hyperdrema."
"Thankfully, dreams and memories in the past remain unaffected. Only the present-day dreams are the ones we have to worry about. I am unsure about future dreams and if they affect anything."
They had been reassured. Every other Luna was from the past, so while they would retain memories of this encounter only in their dreams, they would not bring this knowledge to reality. This kept the timeline intact and Luna had Lunar Ire's magic to thank for that. Future dreams were another story that had to be observed further before much could be one within them.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Just then, speaking within the crowd of Lunas was another Luna. However, there was something different.
This voice was younger.
All the other Lunas moved to the side, spotting the origin of this shout. And when they did, they saw something that threw them for a loop. It caught them off guard much more than the Hyperdream itself. The Luna that shouted was smaller than them.
A filly Princess Luna.
"...." Absolute silence filled the Hyperdream for a moment as they all took a bit to process this. After a few blinks and a look into filly Luna's large unicorn eyes, one of them spoke. "Who invited this one?"
"I certainly didn't." Another replied.
"Neither did we."
"I barely noticed her. Or myself. Me. I. Oh...I despise self-ponidoxes..."
"Why are we all standing around for?" The little unicorn wondered as she was eager to explore the Hyperdream. She was young so why wouldn't she? This was also an addition to her dream, however, there was one striking difference.
Apart from being a filly, she was just a unicorn while every other Luna was an alicorn, matured and around the time that they had broken free from Nightmare Moon. This little Luna from the past did not know the first thing about the Dream Realm or even Pokemon as a whole.
"Apologies, my little pony. But it is probably best for you not to be here." A Luna flew over. "This is an important scenario after all."
"What? Why not?" Little Luna asked as her face was already being filled with disappointment.
"You are us. But you are from the past. The far past to be exact. I believe at least 20 centuries ago or so." Another Luna pondered. "Too young to know what is happening or what we even do. Or what you will do in the future."
"In short, thou must leave. Too young." Another Luna shook her head as many if not all of them were in agreement with sending this Luna back to her dream.
"N-No fair!" Little Luna stomped her hoof on nothing, puffing her cheeks. She was so eager to explore the Hyperdream, only to be then turned down by herself of all ponies.
"Let me her come." However, choosing to let little Luna come along with the present timeline Luna.
"What?!" All of her past selves blurted out in unison as current Luna approached filly Luna.
"Are you hearing yourself?! Ourself?!" They tried talking her out of it. "Bringing her along? What kind of idea is that?"
"I've had someone else young come along on this Hyperdream journey before." Luna giggled, referring to young Ash Ketchum. "It doesn't hurt anyone, believe it or not. And the same can certainly be said for us."
"Really?" Filly Luna loved to hear it.
"Yes, really. Come along with us." Luna grabbed her younger self's hooves. "I assure you, it is as fun as you are imagining it. Just stay out of trouble, won't you?"
"I suppose we are far more lenient in the future..."
"I'll make sure she stays out of trouble, Luna." Showing himself to little Luna was Darkrai. And of course, with an appearance as intimidating as his, once Luna saw the Pitch Black Pokemon for the first time, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Darkrai flinched as every other Luna had covered their ears. "Ah..."
"M-M-M-Monster!" Little Luna hid behind her older self, cowering in fear as Darkrai backed away. So much for a friendly meeting at a first glance.
"No, no, no! This isn't a monster!" Luna shook her head, holding her younger self. "I mean...they are Pocket Monsters but...have no fear! This is Darkrai. You will be safe around him."
"I will?"
"Oh yes. I know he looks intimidating. In every possible way..." Luna turned to Darkrai, who was the embodiment of intimidation which also helped his role of being a Pokemon that brings nightmares. "But believe me. Looks are not everything. Darkrai has protected me and many others constantly. A true friend who is always there for me. And the same goes for all of you as well." She faced the rest of her past selves.
"You're me so, I trust you."
"There. Now then. Every Luna scatter." Luna ordered her past selves. "Continue where you left off or choose other dreams that you just weren't able to sort out. I know I haven't handled them all with precision. The Hyperdream is a good chance to tie up loose ends."
And s they had set out. Every Luna went off to govern different dreams. There was a lot to choose from so the options were endless. They could be seen entering random dreams or even dreams they were watching over previously.
"As for me...there are a few dreams that I want to take a look at." Current Luna had her eyes set on a specific set of dreams as Little Luna was still holding on to her hoof.
"Oh! Can I pick where we should go?" Just then, Little Luna raised her hoof, cutting Current Luna off. "Please?"
"Hm? Oh, sure. We can make it quick Where would you like to go then, little me?"
"Uh...That one! That one looks pretty nice! It's all glowing." Little Luna had already locked onto a set of dreams that interested her. Her hoof was aimed at a line of bubbles that all had a brighter glow than the rest of them. Current Luna scrunched her face, knowing what that was.
"Luna...Are those the dreams of Ash?" Darkrai pointed out, causing Luna to flinch. "If so why are they glowing?"
"Yes..." Luna sighed, admitting to it. "I added an extra glow to all of Ash's dreams because...well, it's not a mystery to you, Darkrai."
"I see. What dream were you planning on entering first then?" Darkrai asked as they were approaching the dreams of Ash.
"With the Hyperdream, I can view dreams from other universes. So, I wish to try and view the dreams of Emerald Aura. She had been weakened by the Rift a few months back, making her susceptible to exhaustion. Which means that there are probably dreams of her previous life, including Lucien and Sienna."
"I see. To bring back their normal life, much like what Ash aims to do. Never thought about going into the dreams of our enemies."
"Emerald exists in our world as she was created to fit it perfectly. That must mean that her dreams of when she was not a Rift Creation exist." Luna's goal was clear. To see what happened before all of the Rift incidents. She only knew about how the Rift came to be, but the life after that was a mystery. Only the dreams could answer that.
But first, a short trip to one of Ash's dreams was made.
Ash's Dream.
They had arrived at Ash's Drems, which took place in Pallet Town. Seeing that they were in Pallet Town, Luna already knew which Ash this was.
"Oh! Luna!" The Young Ash Ketchum who had met Luna within the Hyperdream before had noticed the Princess of the Night. He was currently riding on a cloud, using it to fly over to Luna. He used the cloud as if it was a cloud, stopping in his tracks.
"Ash. How have you been? In the dream anyway?" Luna questioned, patting the Kid from Kanto on the head.
"Great as always! Knew you'd show up again!" Ash then hopped off of the cloud, dusting himself of cloud puffs. "So. Are we gonna go on another adventure like before?"
"We came here just for a quick visit. Under her request." Luna showed off her little self.
"What is that?" Naturally, Little Luna wanted to know what Ash was, unaware of the existence of humans. "Is that a hairless monkey?"
"Luna!" Princess Luna gasped, pulling back at Little Luna's question. "Don't be rude."
"Wow. She looks just like you." Ash, also having equal curiosity, went up to the filly, pointing at her. He then moved his pointing hand slowly at Luna, eager to touch her mane. In response, Little Luna had used her magic, which at this point was fairly weak, to hold Ash's finger. "Oh!"
"No touching. My mommy and daddy said that its bad for someone new to try and touch you." Luna replied, giving a somewhat proud expression.
"Well, my mom and dad said that it's great to get to know everyone you meet." Ash replied with a different disposition to Little Luna. "That's how I do it sometimes."
"That's weird." Little Luna squinted her eyes. "What even are you?"
"My name's Ash. And I'm gonna be a Pokemon Master!"
"Pokemon Master?"
"Uh-huh! The best Trainer in the world!" To emphasize how serious he was about it, he pumped his fists into the air, shouting out loud. "Ever heard of it?"
"Don't know what a Pokemon is." Little Luna shrugged. "But being the best, uh trainer in the world. That sounds like a big goal." Luna could recognize when something was grand in size.
"Oh believe me. It s." Princess Luna nodded her head, knowing just how grand Ash's goal was. Years worth of training, battling and adventuring to reach that one goal.
"I can show you Pokemon! How about it?" Young Ash ran up to Little Luna. "What's your name?"
"My name's also Luna. Like her." She looked to her older self.
"Hmm...I'll call you...Woona!" To make it easy on Ash to differentiate both variations of Luna, he gave a nickname that was just as quick to pronounce as Luna.
"W-Woona?!" Instead of taking a liking to it, Little Luna's ears stood up with shock. Princess Luna herself started chuckling, finding that name adorable.
"Yeah! Makes it super easy, doesn't it?" Ash laughed.
"My name is Luna! It does not have a 'W' in it! Hmph!" Little Luna was not 100% for it as she looked away from Ash. Ash stuck by it either way as Luna silently spoke to herself. "But it does sound cuter that way..."
"I'll just keep calling you, Woona!" Ash put his arms behind his back, sticking to that option. "Woona!"
"Don't call me that!" The filly shouted, prancing on the spot. "Me! Make him stop!" She then pulled on Luna's hoof the same way she would to her own mother.
"Good grief..." Darkrai could only sigh at all of this, preferring not to be involved in childish squabbles as Young Ash and Little Luna went back and forth.
"Alright you two. I believe the time for your fun chat is over. I have a job to do." Luna broke up this conversation. "Ash, I can already see it in your eyes. I know what you are thinking."
"Oh yeah! I wanna see more of the Hyperdream! Let's go to that future place with Twilight again!" Ash grinned, hopping on Luna's back. Little Luna wanted to do so first but Ash beat her to it.
"Aw! Do we have to bring him along?" Little Luna was against this idea, not wanting Ash to join this dream adventure. She then climbed onto her older self, being behind Ash.
"It will be fine. Just get along you two." Luna spread her wings. "We will be heading to a world that is even different from ours, so be prepared."
"Yeah! Let's go!" Ash pumped his fist into the air as Luna took flight. Two children were now tagging along for the ride. It was out of this dream and off to another that would be exempt from Luna's world and the Pokemon World entirely. That is, if they could find it.
The Hyperdream.
Returning to the Hyperdream, Luna started searching for the dreams of Emerald Aura now that she was capable of sleeping. She closed her eyes, concentrating her magic on one set of dreams. "Bring me the dreams of Emerald Aura. However, she soon came to discover that it was not so easy. She called for Emerald Aura's dreams, only for them to not appear at all. "Strange..."
She tried again, calling for the set of dreams. But nothing had showed up. None of the dream bubbles she wanted had showed up. Curious, Luna started hovering over the Hyperdream to search for Emerald Aura's dreams. One benefit to the Hyperdream was that every dream was lined up chronologically, starting from Arceus to the most recent born pony, dragon, human or Pokemon out there. Luna could even have the power to rearrange them to be alphabetical.
And she did just that. She rearranged the dreams alphabetically, going straight for the 'E' section which was one of the earliest letters out there. She searched through that category, seeing if she could find Emerald Aura's dreams. But sadly, that was not the case.
Try and as she might, even using Lunar Ire's magic to show dreams that involved the name Emerald was pointless. There was not a trace.
"Nothing..." Luna lowered her head. "I tried all of that for no success. Perhaps Emerald is just exempt." Dissappointment filled the alicorn. She came to the Hyperdream to try and reach the dreams of Emerald Aura to hopefully restore the family the Rift had. It ended poorly. Not even a colossal disaster. Just an abrupt end with a hollow feeling.
"Aw, don't feel bad, Luna." Ash patted her on the head. "You tried your best."
"I got to see myself use that kind of magic...? W-When do I get to do that!?" Little Luna was more curious about her future usage of magic. Seeing Luna do all of that proved that her magic potential was something to behold and she couldn't wait to grow up.
"Thank you, both of you. Perhaps, I will have to find another way. But not in the Hyperdream.
"The night is still young, Luna." Darkrai hovered over. "The rest of your many selves are still governing the dreams. Which dream should we go to next?"
"Hmm..." WIth Emerald Aura's dreams being absent, Luna started pondering. What would be the best dream to go to? The options were literally endless. Something came to mind for her immediately. It all dated back to her time journeying to Sea Temple for an important mission. Flurry Heart's words rang in her mind, talking about one pony in particular. Daybreaker.
"So please don't see Great Aunt Daybreaker like that, okay? She'd never do that."
It related to Flurry Heart's relationship with Daybreaker, who was still her great auntie despite a universe difference. Flurry Heart saw Daybreaker differently from what Luna saw. She even remembered how Flurry Heart shared Daybreaker's past and how she came to be. From the loss of her sister to her descent into tyranny and the pony she became. She had a soft spot for her great auntie no doubt.
"There is one dream I want to look at." Luna made up her mind. She was going straight to the dream of Daybreaker. The dream of her sister from another universe. She rearraganed the bubbles once more, bringing over the dreams from Universe 11.
And over at Universe 11, the Princess Celestia, or rather Daybreaker as she was now known, had a plethora of mixed dreams. They started out being wonderfully sweet and joyous dreams and later on, dreams that deviated into a far more malicious and fearsome set.
Luna could feel the contrast of energy from both of them. So did Ash, Little Luna and Darkrai. This pressure made Luna shudder, holding onto Ash as she cowered.
"This pressure..." Luna gasped. "Daybreaker is identical to Nightmare Moon, so it stands that it would be felt. But this much?"
"What dream is that?" Ash asked, looking directly at the dream bubble and witnessing the visage of Princess Celestia. In that dream, she had not yet become Daybreaker. She was still her usual self.
"Hold on, you two. This next dream might go anywhere." Luna braced herself as it was off to Daybreaker's dreams. Luna herself wanted to see if Daybreaker was the pony that Flurry Heart empathized with. She symphatized with the past, but Luna needed to know more. She, Ash, Little Luna and Darkrai entered the dream of Daybreaker. But before she became Daybreaker.
Daybreaker's Dream.
And upon arriving there, it looked far different from what it was on the outside. The appearance of the dream took place in Canterlot, of course. However, something was amiss. There was fire everywhere.
So. Much. Fire.
Flames covered the land of Canterlot and beyond, even covering the skies whilst setting the clouds ablaze. Luna and everyone closed their eyes upon entering this dream as the ferocious sound of fire polluted their ears. Some flames appeared as a deep crimson while also being a mixture of light yellow could be seen. Luna put up a barrier to protect herself and the others from these intense flames.
However, despite the abundance of fire, Canterlot Castle was still standing. The flames did not affect it at all including the buildings of various residents. However, it did affect the grass and other parts of nature with its unrelenting fury.
"I thought you went to a dream earlier than Daybreaker's conception?" Darkrai said.
"I thought I did...But if feels like a Daybreaker dream!" Luna closed one eye, trying to get through the furious flames. She carried the barrier towards Canterlot Castle, knowing that Celestia would be there. Or would it be Daybreaker? Because at this point, it might as well be her dreams.
Little Luna was mortified by this sight, not being too fond of the flames whilst Ash couldn't help but stare. Luna saw how despite the fact that buildings were immune to the flames, nopony could be found indoors, which raised her suspicion. She skipped the long way and chose to just teleport inside of the castle to save up time. She was familiar with it after all.
Luna went straight to the source. The one having this infernal dram that felt more like a nightmare than anything. There was one place to be at. The throne room of Canterlot Castle. Luna made the right choice to head there. Because standing at the throne room on her lonesome with a flurry of flames was none other than her big sister.
Princess Celestia.
She was not Daybreaker yet. An yet this felt like a Daybreaker dream. "Sister!" Luna cried out to Celestia. She could hear crying coming from Celestia when noticing her. She also noticed that along with all of that crying, tears dropped that had been instantly evaporated before they could even touch the floor.
Celestia froze, hearing the familiar voice of her big sister. Her weeping halted for a bit as the Princess of the Sun slowly turned around. Little Luna would also witness her big sister in a much bigger light than she already knew her in. Far bigger. And hearing the voice of Luna made Celestia's heart skip a beat for a bit.
She came face to face with her little sister, but something was off. Something that Luna and Darkrai flinch. Even though it was Celestia, appearance and everything, it was not 100% her actual appearance.
Celestia's left eye was pitch black, having the same orange glow and sharp pupils that Daybreaker had. The front of her mane also had flames that could be seen sparking, as if they were trying to burst out. The same flaming mane that Daybreaker owned, only a less developed version of it. Or rather, those flames would only spread at a given moment. She was not all Celestia as the Princess of the Sun spoke with a shocked and sheepish voice.
Daybreaker's dream. Or rather, Celestia's dream before she became Daybreaker, despite the fact that there was an abundance of flames everywhere, surrounding the castle and other buildings while the grass, trees and the rest of nature were incinerated along with the fact that Celestia seemed to be on the verge of becoming Daybreaker. With a pitch-black left eye that had an orange iris and sharp pupils plus the single burst of fire that trailed down her mane.
"Luna..." Celestia spoke as her tears would continue to evaporate from the intense heat each time they fell. She had seen not just Luna, but Little Luna from a past dream appearing before her. The sight of it managed to make Celestia's heart slow down. And upon slowing down, the intensity of the flames diminished. "Luna!"
She ran over to them both. Both Current Luna and Little Luna received a hug from their big sister. Little Luna and Current Luna had been raised up as Young Ash Ketchum fell off since he was on Luna's back.
"You're here!" Celestia wept. The tears that kept on evaporating from the intense flames could finally flow and drop on the floor once the flames calmed down.
"This can't be right...This should be before Daybreaker..." Luna spoke to herself. "If she's acting like this, then the Luna from her universe is already long gone. But the time frame from Flurry Heart's story doesn't add up."
"You...Are you my sister?" The filly Princess Luna took a moment to look at Celestia. While her big sister looked different from when she was, having an ethereal mane as an adult, she recognized her face and voice clearly.
"Yes! It's me!" Celestia raised the filly unicorn into the air. "Your big sister, Celestia! I-" But then, Celestia took a moment to look at them both, realizing that something was off. A young Luna and an old Luna were present here at the same time. Celestia was quick to notice what this meant. "Oh...Wait. This is all a dream."
She soon remembered that she was dreaming, pulling her sisters away as the disappointment and sadness in her eyes had returned. Her tears returned afterwards with signs of the infernal flames reemerging. They were confirmed to be tied to Celestia's emotions.
"Are you okay?" Ash asked, genuinely worried for Celestia.
"These few moments of happiness aren't going to amount to much or last. It's all taken its toll." Celestia uttered, putting her hoof over her eyes.
"Huh?" Ash and Little Luna both said with tilted heads.
"What's taken its toll?" Luna questioned. But it didn't take long for her to realize what it was. The fact that Celestia was not yet Daybreaker but on the verge of becoming her while also referring to a few moments of happiness gave Luna a good idea. It was the war that led to Daybreaker's emergence. "The war..."
"I yelled at you not too long ago. I shouldn't have." Daybreaker turned around as the flames intensified, but luckily Luna's barrier protected herself and the others. "It's my fault. No. It's not my fault." Celestia shook her head. "It's their fault. They're the ones who forced my hoof..."
"What's going on...?" Little Luna asked, jumping after hearing one of the flames burst with a glass-shattering sound. This was all in response to Celestia's magic.
"She took you from me. They took you from me." Celestia's new words now confused Luna even further. From what she was letting out, it sounded as if this was post-Daybreaker when she lost her Luna. "I didn't mean to let it happen to you, Luna. Honestly." She then turned to her sister, both of them, with her tears returning and evaporating once more.
"Sister! Calm down!" Luan exclaimed.
"But it isn't. I only did what was best for Equestria. And all of it just..." Celestia's hooves trembled with the flames continuing to spread and increase, eventually attacking Luna's barrier. Luna managed to keep the flames at bay however everything was become a fiery vision at this point as the pitch-black eye of Celestia's left eye was starting to spread as a bit of it could be seen emerging on the right.
Just as this was intensifying with Celestia breaking down, Luna heard two things. The voices and cries of a disheartened Celestia and a crack that didn't sound like it came from glass. "I tried so hard! My subjects...they understand? Twilight understands."
The crack was correlating with Celestia's words. Luna looked up to see a crack within this dream forming as ferocious flames surrounded it. She backed away as the flames were starting to burn away at her barrier.
"But it doesn't feel the same with you gone! Please come back to me, Luna!" And that was when the crack formed as Celestia was consumed within a flame-dome. Luna and the others closed their eyes, feeling the heat even within the barrier. The crack had fully opened, revealing the force behind it. And catching her and Darkrai by surprise was the pony that this Celestia was close to becoming.
Daybreaker.
"Daybreaker?!" Luna shouted as Celestia was no longer audible. Her words had been blocked out by the flame dome as she couldn't even be seen.
"Hello, Luna," Daybreaker spoke with only her head being seen through the crack. "You've seen my dream...or rather nightmare for yourself."
"How did you get here?!"
"I thought you would've known this, Luna. Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon are identical to each other. And when you were gone, somepony had to govern both the day and even the dreams at night. My magic is just enough to not just enter the Dream Realm, but your Hyperdream."
"Is that my sister too?" Little Luna wondered as Daybreaker locked eyes on the unicorn. Seeing Luna in that small state was a sight to behold for Daybreaker. While she didn't show a shocked expression, she froze for a moment as her flaming mane gently flowed to show a semblance of serenity.
"Which dream is this? Is this before...or after you become Daybreaker?"
"My dreams were never the same after that day." Daybreaker fully exited the crack, revealing her full body to everyone. She descended, casually stepping on the flames as they did not affect her. "I was unable to sleep. The magic that I had unlocked affected all of my dreams. Even the ones from the past. This nightmare was never pleasant before, but thanks to the war, it has only worsened."
"Impossible...Even from the past?" Luna's jaw dropped.
"I was always known as a prodigy, Luna. This shouldn't be a surprise." Daybreaker shook her head, revealing that her magic potential was truly phenomenal if she could just casually show up here and even affect her past dreams.
She and Luna stared each other down for a moment with the flames raging. Luna already knew how dangerous Daybreaker was and she wasn't looking forward to battling another alicorn in another universe again after what happened previously. She was ready for conflict, as was Darkrai. Young Ash and Little Luna could only wonder what this all meant. Little Luna, or Woona as Young Ash nicknamed her, had witnessed her sister in two different ways.
Part Daybreaker and full-on Daybreaker.
However, Daybreaker did not attack. Nor did she show any signs of attacking. She simply looked at Luna and Little Luna both, putting on a smile. "It's strange seeing two of you here. But you have to have shown up to this dream for a reason. Right?"
"There is. I only came here after remembering what Flurry Heart told me. The story of how you came to become Daybreaker." Luna gulped, still waiting for that hostile moment.
"She did, did she? Hm. Sweet girl." Daybreaker smiled. "So since she told you everything...what of it? What do you think, Luna? Because honestly, seeing you again, especially your younger self, is filling me up with something that frankly should've been gone a long time ago."
"I heard about what happened then. All of that overwhelming pressure and the loss you faced. And I came here to see how it influenced your dreams." Luna swivelled as Daybreaker walked around her, causing her eyes to follow the blazing alicorn. Little Luna felt both a sense of comfort and fear coming from Daybreaker. She was familiar yet something about her was so haunting.
"I'm frankly glad that you know. Not many past my universe do. But why should they? It's all in the past now, isn't it?" Daybreaker chuckled. "What happened, happened. And I emerged as someone capable of putting it behind me. Even so...this is the first time in years that I have gotten the chance to speak to you, Luna. To a Luna.
"A Luna?"
"Precisely. Ever since I lost my Luna, a void in me had been made. Years without my sister who was no longer in this world was far worse than the banishment to the moon. It was a fate that no form of magic could ever fix." Daybreaker looked to the sky before waving her hoof, conjuring a flame. That flame had then transformed into the visage of Princess Luna with this flame manipulation. "The things I did to try and bring her back. So much for it led to nothing. I could only look to where she rested peacefully. The only sight I could have of my little sister."
"What about other Lunas?" Luna asked. "You were already aware of other universes, weren't you? How am I the only one you have talked to for so long?"
"Oh, I knew. But Empress Twilight beat me to it." She then manipulated the flames, forming Empress Twilight, who stood over multiple Lunas. "She had travelled from different universes, conquering them for the sake of her total domination. And in each universe, she dealt with the respective Luna that lived there. Whether sending them to the moon as always or giving them a worse imprisonment than the moon."
Luna had then recalled the words from Universe 6's Princess Celestia, remembering what she said about her Luna and the imprisonment she faced as.
"I lost my role as ruler of Equestria to Empress Twilight. The moment she gained unprecedented amounts of magic from the Bewitching Bell was when we had already lost. I was forced to be a cleaning maid with 95% of my magic being stolen from me. Cadence had been turned to stone alongside Shining Armor and you...well...you were locked up in Tartarus. "
"So many Lunas either lost their magic or were imprisoned in various ways." Daybreaker shook her head. "Because of this, I never did get the chance to meet any of them. All of them were powerless before Empress Twilight. Except for you. You and your universe were the ones that not only withstood the Empress but defeated her."
"Wow...you defeated an Empress?!" Little Luna was stunned by that along with Ash as both their young eyes expanded. "I defeated an Empress in the future!"
"Cool, Woona!" Ash congratulated her on something she would do in the future.
"Stop calling me that!" Little Luna furiously bellowed at Ash, who just giggled in response.
"You're the best Luna I've ever seen. And I knew I'd have the chance to speak to you eventually. Now that the time for that has come and with you hearing and witnessing my past, I want to ask you something. A request." Daybreaker faced Luna.
"What would that be?" Luna was getting ready for the big one. This question could make or break things, no doubt.
"I want you to come with me." Daybreaker held her hoof out as the request was not what Luna was expecting. "Come with me to my world as my sister again. I lost my Luna. But I can still have her back. My plan to bring my Luna back might be scrapped for this."
"M-Me?!"
"I failed to keep my Luna safe." Daybreaker then turned to the filly Princess Luna. "I miss you so much, sister."
"But I'm not your Luna..." Little Luna asked, backing away from Daybreaker as she was approaching.
"No. But you are still my sister at the end of the day." Daybreaker patted Little Luna on the head. "Who cares abot the universal gap? Little Luna somewhat enjoyed these headpats. While she was intimidated by Daybreaker, she could still feel the familiarity of her big sister.
"I will bring you to my world." Daybreaker returned to face the current Princess Luna. "Show you just what I've done. I've created an Equestria that truly protects everypony. No more relying on such evanescent things as the Magic of Friendship or Harmony. All of those held me back from doing what needed to be done. A perfect Equestria."
"A perfect Equestria?" Luna was stunned by what she was hearing.
"Perfect as it is now. But it can be better. You'll see how amazing it is. You'll be by my side again, Luna. Just as I wanted more than anything. To have you back. So please. Come with me."
Luna looked at Daybreaker's hoof for a moment. She then looked at her younger self and back at her big sister. Luna could feel the raw emotions coming from Daybreaker, however, it all wasn't sitting right with her heart.
"No. The Equestria you made is not something I would wish to live in." She shook her head, causing Daybreaker to gasp. Not the answer she wanted. "I am not your Luna. You are not my Celestia." She said with a stern face, rejecting Daybreaker's Equestria.
"I may not be your Celestia, but we are still sisters. The Flurry Heart from Universe 6 is not from your universe and yet she is treated as family. She calls me Great auntie as well even if we are universes apart. So why won't you accept me too?!" Daybreaker's flames were starting to intensify. All I want is my little sister back!"
"I understand that. But I doubt that any other Luna would come back to what you had made." Luna was adamant about her choice, even though she understood and empathized with Daybreaker. "Not with how you are assisting the Empress and Team Plasma to boot."
"I thought you would understand, Luna." Daybreaker scoffed. "Look at me. I take on a form that you once had and overcome. You of all ponies should-"
"I do understand!" Luna interjected "But I said what I said. Coming to this dream and learning more about you has certainly made me think, but my point still stands."
"You will understand more later on..." Daybreaker closed her eyes. "I know you will." Just then, this entire dream had been enveloped by flames as the shield that Luna had made had been overwhelmed. She gasped before seeing nothing but fire afterwards. The barrier had then faded away with everything turning black.
Luna held onto Ash and her younger self as she could see that Daybreaker even had control in the Hyperdream despite not creating it. They had been sent throughout the Hyperdream, passing through another set of Daybreaker's dreams. However, those dreams were short-lived as Luna and the others were rapidly moving through Daybreaker's dreams under Daybreaker's control.
Luna managed to leave the set of the dreams by teleporting herself, Little Luna, Ash and Darkrai out of the chain of bubbles that connected Daybreaker's dreams successfully. However, she was then brought back to another dream once a flash fire happened around her barrier. It was as if the fire acted as a teleporter.
"How in the...?!" A startled Luna wondered how she was outside the dream one second and back inside another. The barrier bounced on the ground as it ended up shattering afterwards. This dream belonged to a pony of the Crystal Empire, who had been interrupted once Princess Luna had arrived. And soon, Daybreaker.
"You think your Sorrowful Rage Magic is that impressive, Luna?" Daybreaker spoke with her voice echoing throughout this dream. "I have always had larger potential than you as your older sister. It was just never fully unleashed until now." She then used her magic to also envelop this dream to flames.
The dreamer of this dream soon witnessed a nightmare as everything was consumed by a violent storm of solar flames that covered everything. Luna used her magic to try and reflect these flames as hard as she could. Luna's dark blue with a hint red magic clashed with Daybreaker's solar magic in a struggle. However, Luna's magic ended up becoming engulfed by the flames as they approached her.
"Darkrai, Dark Pulse!" Luna commanded as Darkrai had used Dark Pulse, unleashing a beam covered with terrible thoughts. This beam was enough to hold back Daybreaker's flames as Daybreaker could feel the negative emotions. They clashed against her flames that were tied to her emotions as they cancelled each other out.
"Of course...This isn't my full potential." Daybreaker stepped forward as the Crystal Pony hid from this conflict.
"What?!" Luna exclaimed.
"Do you know what the full extent of my magic could be? Pure White. The Sun may look yellow to everypony's eyes, but in truth, it's only the atmosphere and the rainbows that make it appear as the colour we know it as. But in space, a pure white star is what truly lies behind it. When I reach that peak, I will shine brighter than anypony out there."
"I thought your big goal was to bring back your Luna?" Luna scoffed.
"That is my end goal more than anything! But how can I reach it if I am not at my best and strongest to not only bring her back, but protect anypony else from harm. I cannot protect any of my subjects if I am weak. Even as how I am now, it will not do me any good."
Daybreaker's eyes then flared as she unleashed some sort of divine flame that had materialized out of thin air. She summoned near impossible ranged flames that managed to hit Darkrai from behind despite being sent forwards. Darkrai could nt have possibly seen it coming as he fell over.
"I'd rather not continue this, Luna. All I want is for my sister to be with me again! Even if I am trying what I can to bring my Luna back, I could still have you!"
"My answer is no!" Luna persisted on her answer, which only further disappointed Daybreaker.
"I thought that sister's were meant to look out for each other...Even if we aren't from the same universe!" Just then, Daybreaker unleashed a powerful scream that a wave of magical force behind it, enough to affect not just this dream, but nearby dreams too.
Nearby dreamers closed their ears as their dreams had been interrupted by Daybreaker's shout. As for Luna, the force of this magic started resonating in her mind, causing her to flinch. It inflicted great pain to her ears before then ending briefly. Ash and Little Luna closed their ears as they were not as affected.
Luna tried fighting back, creating a magical pulse that cancelled out sound. The powerful shout had been cancelled out afterwards, however, it took a lot of magic out of Luna to do so, even with the gigantic pool of magic that Lunar Ire had.
"Give it up. You can't defeat me, Luna." Celestia walked over. "Not with the scope of my dream. My dream far surpasses all, giving me the strength to resist and overcome."
To show this, a powerful dream wave came out of Daybreaker. The scale of her dream was powerful enough to encompass another dreams within the Hyperdream. Darkrai got back up, shooting Thunderbolt at the dream wave. However, it had been consumed afterwards. Luna couldn't d anything to stop this incoming wave as she could only hope to use a barrier.
However, remembering his first encounter with Luna, Young Ash, thinking quick on his feet as always even as a child, retaliated. He closed his eyes, using his dream. His dream to become a Pokemon Master. "Well, I've got a bigger dream too! I'm gonna be a Pokemon Master!" He shouted out as a dream wave came out of him.
"?!" Daybreaker was visibly taken aback as Ash's dream was powerful to clash with Daybreaker's dream. It was revealed that both of them were on similar wavelengths. Their dreams were identical in scope and scale with neither one of them increasing or decreasing. "Ash Ketchum...How big is his dream?"
"Good, Ash!" Luna praised the young Ash Ketchum. "But I will need assistance. Of the hundreds and thousands." And there was only one way to do so. Luna used her magic to communicate with the various Lunas that were across the Hyperdream, who she had previously shown this massive dreamscape to.
The dream waves between Ash and Daybreaker had ended as they were perfectly even. "You. Your dream is as strong as my dream." Daybreaker narrowed her eyes. "Impressive. But you, even as a child, should know what I'm striving for."
"I totally do!" Ash puffed his cheeks. "But I'm not gonna let you hurt my friends! But...I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" Daybreaker raised an eyebrow. "Are you sorry about what I had to experience?"
"Mhm." Ash nodded. He could understand where Daybreaker was coming from despite his age. Ash priotizied family even to this day, so it would make sense for it have existed even as a child.
"Hmph. Typical. But I don't need your sympathy boy." Daybreaker dismissed Ash. "I only want my sister back."
"Well she's right there!" Just then, the voice of Luna shouted out. But it wasn't just one Luna. By turning around and facing the air, Daybreaker was met with thousands of Princess Lunas that were all grabbed from different dreams, summoned by the current Luna. They had all gathered against Daybreaker, giving her the sight of her little sister in thousands of ways.
This dream was now full of Lunas.
"Really?" Daybreaker turned to the current Luna. "Please. Let's not do this." With a tiny spark of magic from her horn, Celestia had suddenly opened a massive solar portal. It boomed into this dream, startling the other lunas as they turned to face it.
This portal acted as a wormhole, immediately pulling in all of the other Lunas. They left as soon as they came as each of them started screaming against this powerful pull. All of the Lunas tried what they could to escape, only for it to be in vain. So much for the thousand Luna assistance as the solar portal grabbed them all.
"That was your best approach, Luna?!" Daybreaker turned to the current Luna with flaming eyes. It was clear that her temper was rising along with the intensity of her mane. She approached Luna, stomping her hooves as she was melting the ground. "Using so many of yourself against me?!"
Luna backed away as Darkrai stood in front of her, preparing a Dark Void in one claw and a Poison Jab in the other. Even Darkrai could feel these massive flames and their cruel intensity.
"You would dare go for something like that, knowing what I'm striving for? All of those Lunas would either perish or are just fragments of past dreams!" Daybreaker exclaimed. "I don't' want to lose my sister again or dream about her. I want my little sister back more than anything. Do you understand?! I hoped you would!" She raised her voice, forming gigantic wings of fire that appeared behind her, enveloping this whole dream as it coated everything in a solar light.
But while Luna, Darkrai and Ash stayed brave in front of this, the little Luna from years ago, did not. Instead, she was afraid. Horrified. She hid behind Ash, crying as Daybreaker's intense flames had been quieted down to hear these cries. Horrified of her big sister's appearance, the little Luna could not bare to look at her.
Daybreaker simmered down, along with her flames. The ferocious fire wings had dispersed afterwards in response to Little Luna's cries. Daybreaker could not stand to see her sister upset. Even if she was from the past, another universe and a dream. The Solar Alicorn closed her eyes, growling as she showed disdain for scaring her little sister.
"Tch..!" Daybreaker scoffed. "I believe I'll take my leave now. I shouldn't have come here anyway." Daybreaker was starting to fade away with a torrent of flames surrounding her. Little Luna looked over, gazing her big sister in the eyes. So did Daybreaker as she hoped her little sister would understand her emotions by just a glance.
"But I would be alert at all times, Luna. There will come a time where we will meet again. Whether it is a massive confrontation like the war or something smaller and confined. And at the end of the day, I will show you the Equestria I made for you."
Those were her final words as she then disappeared in a pillar of flames, leaving the Dream Realm. The crystal pony saw that the madness was over. She ended up fainting in her own dream after witnessing all of that.
"That was something." Darkrai commented.
"Indeed. She is right about one thing. We will meet again. I hope the circumstances are better now. Are you two okay?"
"Totally fine." said Ash. "But was that your real sister?"
"From another universe. The sister I have is much different. And-" Luna paused, looking directly at her little self who was still crying from all of that infernal action. "Little one. It's alright. She's gone."
"Yeah, don't cry." Ash patted her on the head. "We got through it, didn't we?"
"Yes..." The filly Luna wipe her tears away. "That was just too scary. Y-You don't think that..."
"Whatever you're thinking, it won't happen." Luna stopped her right there. "Not with Darkrai and I around. Along with many others."
"The Luna you saee before you is proof of a bright future." Darkrai hovered over as now the Pitch Black Pokemon didn't seem as intimidating after looking at Daybreaker. "So rest easy and dream easy."
"Totally, Woona!"
"I told you not to call me that!" And to fully bring her mood back to normal, Little Luna exploded at Ash Ash laughed as that was the best way to erase the young unicorn's sadness.
"Alright, alright. No need for a second dose of conflict." Luna chuckled. "I have dreams to patrol. I should put this encounter behind me. Come along you two."
"Okay!" Ash and Luna hopped back onto Luna's back, ready to continue adventuring the Hyperdream. The night was still young, giving them all the time to go wherever. Luna looked over at the fainted Crystal Pony, quickly using her magic to wake her up.
Her dream was sent back to normal once Daybreaker arrived so she had that to look forward to. But she certainly wouldn't forget the fiery debalce that happened here as Luna and the others left this dream. But even now when she continued to patrol the Dream Realm, Princess Luna could only think back to Daybreaker's words.
Daybreaker already reigned supreme in her universe. That goal was out of the way. She now knew that her ultimate goal was to bring back her Luna. What started out as a task to find the dreams of Emerald Aura relating to the past of the Rift, now evolved into the dreams and goals of Daybreaker. They would meet again. But Luna feared under what circumstance it would be as the journey continues.
"Boy. Take me to Radiant Hope." Over at the Ketchum Household, Sombra ordered Ash to take him to the one pony he still considered a friend. Radiant Hope.
"Radiant Hope? Uh...how are we gonna find her when you bring that up?" Ash asked as there wasn't any major lead on Radiant Hope that he could think of. They met her once and she vanished afterwards.
"You and your friends manage to find a way. Somehow. Either by absolute talent or absolute luck. Do that and lead me to Radiant Hope. She's out there somewhere. And I need you to find her."
"Well, we've got ways of finding her. Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff have some extra good scent. All we need is Radiant Hope's scent and they can track her down, no problem."
"Pika-Pika."
"We'll do just that. Are ya trying to tie up loose ends with her?" Ash asked before leaving the house.
"None of your business. Even though we are stuck so it will be your business. But, I couldn't leave things how they were before. Radiant Hope had rejected her destiny as a princess just for me. And what did I do? Go on to fulfil my destiny without even trying to reject it once. I simply accepted what the Umbrum and the Crystal Heart showed me. I am already too late considering what I am right now."
"It's not too late." Ash thought otherwise. "Sure you became this, but it's never too late to try something new, ya know."
"Pikachu."
"Why is it that you show so much faith in me? You know what will happen when I am eventually freed, don't you?"
"I just wanna help others. That's all there is to it." Ash replied with those two sentences. His drive to help out others with the right intention was still as strong as ever.
"You're an odd one. Too odd for me." That's all Sombra could reply with as they had approached the gateway to the otherworld, ready to visit good old Equestria.
However, the moment Ash got close to the gateway, he was met with a violent root that had sprung out of the ground. Ash and Pikachu jumped back as this ferocious root emerged by ripping apart the ground with a small hole, threatening to grab Ash as it was focused on him.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Acting quickly, Pikachu leapt forward, protecting his best friend by hardening his tail and slashing the root. The root had been cut in half, before dropping to the ground. It had then withered away as it left as soon as it had attacked.
"That was close...What was that about?" Ash wondered, looking at the withering root and its final pieces before it vanished out of existence. Sombra looked back at the remains of the roots, noticing how small cosmic particles dispersed along with them. The hole that the roots had emerged from eventually closed up.
EquestriaPonyville. Sugarcube Corner.
Over at SugarCube Corner, they went to the one pony who owned Pokemon that could sniff out anyone as long as they had a semblance of them. Pinkie Pie and her 6 Slurpuff.
"So. A pony called Radiant Hope, eh?" Pinkie Pie spoke. "Yeah, we can totally find her. All we need is something from her for Slurpuff to track down.
"Only thing I can think of is her home. Unless you kept something behind from her, Sombra," said Ash.
"Ooh. Is she somepony special?" Pinkie Pie teased the former ruler of the Crystal Empire nudging him. "I didn't know you had it in you, Sombra."
"Hush you!" Sombra bellowed, causing Pinkie to back away, chuckling afterwards, "She is special but that is as far as you go when mentioning her relationship to me. Her home at the Crystal Empire is the last thing left about her. Just help find here and that will be all."
"Sure thing." Pinkie smirked as she could see right through Sombra all too well. "Let's get ourselves ready for the Crystal Empire. Jade, we're heading out!" She bellowed for Jade Skies.
Before they would go, Ash decided to grab himself a quick snack for the day. As if it had appeared right as he thought about it, a piece of cake popped up on the table nearby, perfectly sliced and on a plate. "Say, Pinkie. Mind if I have that slice?"
"Huh? There wasn't a cake made today or yesterday but..sure! Nopony's having it." Pinkie replied, but she was slightly confused about where this slice came from. He was free to costume it. However, Sombra kept his eye on the slice, observing it for a bit. Once Ash picked it up, Sombra could notice the familiar cosmic particles emanating out of them as they were fairly microscopic.
"Don't!" Sombra reacted by using his head to headbutt the slice of cake out of Ash's hands. The cake flew off before combusting with cosmic energy, startling everyone here. The combustion of cosmic energy was revealed to be Rift Energy as it had torn apart the walls.
"Woah!" Pinkie's eyes almost popped out of her head. Part of the wall had been ripped apart as Mr and Mrs Cake ran over to see the destruction.
"What happened here?!" They both screamed as Jade wasn't as surprised as everyone here.
"Pikachu!"
"That slice of cake held Rift Energy from the looks of its particles," Sombra observed. "It only took me two glances, but it's clear that Rift-related attacks have been attempted."
"Oh. It is?" Jade spoke as she was holding a second slice. Everyone gasped, fearing that Jade would get ripped apart. But Jade had already taken one bite from the cake seconds ago. However, Jade seemed completely fine. "Seems fine to me. Tasty."
"Hoh..." Mrs Cake almost fainted.
"Man, first the root now this? These are some surprises..." Ash scratched his hair.
"Pikachu..."
"Those surprises are attempted and on purpose. The second time in the row was enough to let me know so." Sombra was ahead of the curve, knowing that two surprise attacks such as that from a random root attack to an exploding slice of cake were not natural. Even for the Pokemon World. "I know what this clearly is."
"Well, what is it? Don't keep us in suspense." Pinkie hopped on the table, eager to know along with everyone else.
"This and the root from before were attempted assassinations. Someone is out to get you, boy." Sombra revealed. The atmosphere became silent along with everything inside of SugarCube Corner. Jade simply continued to eat the slice of cake, remaining just as silent even with visible movements.
Out there somewhere, Ash was a prime target for someone. Someone that definitely did not want him around. And the options were both limited yet known. Ash has made his fair share of enemies. Some are locked up, some are in other universes and some are still out there, roaming the world.
"Aw, man. Again?"
"Exa- Again?!" Sombra took a moment to process Ash's words as they threw him off. "This has happened before?!"
"Yeah, you should've seen it. Most of Equestria went out to try and attack Ash," said Pinkie Pie. "It all started with this Pokemon Hunter named J. Pretty scary lady by the way. She had this Desire that was all about her wanting revenge on Ash. Then it got super out of control by affecting a whole bunch of ponies and Pokemon in Equestria, which had them chase down Ash from here to Johto." Pinkie broke it down in a simple yet lengthy way for Sombra to process. "Good times."
"I see..."
"So is it J again? If so, then what's she got access to if she can make exploding cake and roots come out of nowhere?" Ash wondered.
"That certainly was not that Pokemon Hunter J that you mentioned. Not at all. I have a clear-cut idea." Sombra already had a good idea of who was responsible for this. It was clear as day for him. "Boy. You are being targeted by the Rift."
"The Rift?" Pinkie Pie and the Cake Family each said.
"It all makes too much sense." Sombra shook his head. "While I said nothing back then, I am still aware of your actions. And what happened back at that Holon Region within that lake is evidence enough of why it would target you."
"Oh yeah...You mean what happened with me and my Aura?" Ash was catching on, already remembering the incident back at the Holon Region when he, Twilight, Pikachu and Espeon entered a gateway, staying within it for a bit. He could remember it now.
It was when Ash had managed to unleash so much Aura whilst holding on to Sir Aaron's Staff that was powerful enough to not just reach the Rift, but also damage it. It was the first time he, Twilight, Pikachu and Espeon, and anyone had seen the Rift injured. Visibly too. Ash remembered how parts of the Rift had been dissolved with a powerful cosmic scream being let out to sell the impact of it.
Naturally, after that shocking attack, the Rift did almost lash out at Ash before retreating to recover. Now that time has passed, it looked like that bottled anger from before had been released, targeting the one who had injured the Rift. Ash Ketchum.
"Right now, you are in grave danger, boy." Sombra circled Ash. "Possibly the greatest you will ever be in depending on where things go. You are singlehandedly the biggest target for arguably the most powerful force in existence."
"Oh! Ash! Are you going to be alright?!" Mrs Cake ran up to him. "I mean, this is much larger than what that Pokemon Hunter did no doubt!"
"S-Should we call for Princess Celestia?" Mr Cake suggested. "Ash your life is in danger!"
"Too much danger! Now it's a whole cosmic force coming after you!" Pinkie pIe lunged onto Ash, holding his shirt. "If having Equestria come after you was like a whole country then...the Rift is like an entire universe! Am I getting that right?"
"Everything you do could be coupled with danger along the way." Sombra continued. "The Rift will do what it can to exact revenge. But, there is a positive to this that I can see."
"Yeah? What's that?" Ash asked.
"If it wanted to get rid of you, it would've done so with a larger scale attempt. From what I can predict, that Aura Attack that you hit it with must've hindered its cosmic abilities. I suspect that the Aura is still permeating within its body, causing it immense power and weakening its absurd power."
"Oooh, you did? Nice job, Ketchum!" Pinkie Pie's mood changed, nudging Ash for that.
"From now on, you will have to stay alert. And I will do everything in my limited power to keep you safe."
"You'd keep me safe, Sombra? Thanks."
"Don't get the wrong idea. You and I are connected. If you perish, I perish and I cannot afford that."
"Ah...Got it." Ash laughed as Sombra wasn't protecting Ash out of a kind heart. It was just for his own life. The plan to find Radiant Hope was still on. Pinkie Pie gathered her Slurpuff as they would all head for the Crystal Empire. But right now, Ash's life was being threatened by a cosmic force out of scorn.
But the trip to the Crystal Empire was not safe either. When getting on the train, Ash had been met with attacking doors. The doors from the train had flown off, multiplying as they threatened to hit Ash. Pikachu and Mew came to his rescue, using Iron Tail and Aura Sphere to break the doors apart. Just trying to get on the train was danger-inducing.
Once those train doors were broken, Ash could enter and take a seat. But even taking a seat was nothing but a bad sign. The moment he went to sit down, the seat of his choice acted as a wormhole, instantly gaining a gravitational pull to it. Ash grimaced, holding onto his hat.
Pinkie Pie, Pikachu, Mew and a few other ponies inside of the train went to grab a hold of Ash, preventing him from being sucked into the seat. Sombra had used his limited magic to attack the seat, obliterating it. With the seat destroyed, so was the wormhole that it had within it.
Ash sighed, taking a seat elsewhere. He knew that it was going to be a long day with this. He was more worried about everyone else around him than himself. While yes, his life was in danger, the ferocious attacks were enough to affect others around him.
The train started moving with nothing happening so far. Ash looked outside the window, wondering what he could do about these rampant attacks on him. The best thing he could think about was his Aura more than anything. It was the best counter to Rift Energy in every way. Rift Energy disobeys the law of reality while Aura was the natural flow of reality. They mirrored each other because of that.
Speaking of the train, the wheels of it had come off, causing the train itself to start losing control. Everyone on the train felt it rock. Ash and the others looked outside, witnessing the wheel fly off in the distance, leaving the train. With a missing wheel, the train was due for a massive incident with others in it.
Thankfully, Mew was there to stop it. Pinkie Pie had sent Mew outside, knowing what Pokemon he had to become to prevent an accident. Machamp. Mew had transformed into Machamp, gaining the absolute herculean strength that the Superpower Pokemon comes with.
Mew had used Machamp's colossal strength to grab the side of the train. His twenty fingers dug deep into the train, poking out and startling others. Mew could only stop this train instead of letting it continue moving. The horrible sound of the train wheels scraping on the rails could be heard, causing those who hated sounds like that to grimace, fall over or just cover their eyes. Or all three. The conductor curled into a ball, beginning to panic along with many others.
But thankfully, Mew managed to stop the train in its tracks, preventing it from moving any further. The train ride came to end, much to the chagrin of others who were trying to get somewhere. Mew looked over at Pinkie, giving a four-armed thumbs-up. Everyone was safe.
But Ash simply looked down with a less than thrill face. That instance threatened everyone on the train all because of the Rift's aim to exact revenge.
Everyone had gotten off of the train, deciding to travel to their destination by different methods. The train itself would have to be dealt with later on to make way for other trains. Ash, Sombra and Pinkie would do the same. But by air.
Pinkie Pie had turned into his favourite Pokemon to always turn into when giving a ride. Lugia. He emerged as the Water-Psychic-Type, giving them a ride to the Crystal Empire.
"This might get worse, Pinkie," Ash spoke to Pinkie Pie as they soared through the skies of Equestria.
"I hear ya. It's like we can't do much without the Rift being out to get you." Pinkie Pie shuddered. "Scary stuff. Finding Radiant Hope isn't gonna be super easy like we thought it would be with all of this."
"But we can find a way to stop all of these attacks." Ash looked to the bright side. "There has to be."
"There is," said Sombra. "That would be your Aura. The one thing that the Rift fears. It both protects you and allows you to combat anything Rift-related. That should be your ultimate form of protection. I doubt a magical barrier would be a good enough substitute. It should protect you from attacks within which is something that Rift cannot do with your body holding so much Aura. Outside attacks are another story."
"But how are we gonna do that? Ash would have to let his Aura be out all the time." Pinkie asked. "Can he do that? Can you do that, Ash?"
"Either way, you'll need to use that Aura to its full extent. Even if it means receiving that Delayed Aura Ataxia that you and other Aura users can suffer from."
"Yeah. I hear ya. But if there's something I can also use, it's Sir Aaron's Staff. Every time I use the staff, it just helps my Aura. Maybe that's the key." Ash wondered if Sir Aaron's staff was a good answer to this. But as he wondered, once they were getting close to the Crystal Empire with the frozen north being seen, the Rift attacked once more.
This time, it involved the snow and the weather. Grey clouds formed around the skies near the Crystal Empire and the Frozen North with Rift Particles emanating out of them. They looked up seeing a terrifying snowstorm along with a colossal snow tornado with ice shards inside of them emerging.
Out of the tornado, the shards had been launched, attacking the group as Mew was the first to have these shards hit him. They ducked from the mass shards coming their way as this snowstorm also threatened those at the Crystal Empire.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Mew, use Psyshock!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu and Mew who had the size of Lugia unleashed 100,000 volts and three thick masses of Psychic energy toward the snow tornado. They managed to damage the tornado and its tremendous size.
They then managed to reach the Crystal Empire in time before it could get worse. Mew quickly descended into the empire. Everyone else had already gotten inside once they saw the snowstorm emerging for their own safety. Mew could return to his normal form, only to then feel the harsh chill with a smaller body. It was probably better for him to be a Lugia due to the resistance to anything ice-related. Aside from that, they were here.
The Crystal Empire. Afternoon.
They went directly to Radiant Hope's home as the snowstorm had come to an end. The Rift failed to use it against Ash. Pinkie Pie closed the door, looking outside to spot any potential threats that could show up and threaten her friend.
"We're good for now. Unless something else happens." Pinkie Pie sighed, sending out her 6 Slurpuff. They could get work with tracking Radiant Hope's scent.
Ash himself started thinking about a way to prevent all of these attacks as they were only worsening with each attempt. If it continued, it would reach larger scales and threaten more of Equestria's residents and soon maybe this whole world. Or even his world in other regions
Ash was a massive magnet for disaster at this rate. He wondered what he could do about this to at least slow the Rift's attacks down. "What to do...? Hmmm...?" The Champion of Alola sat on the floor, pondering. "Do you have any ideas, Sombra?"
"Why turn to me for ideas?" Sombra questioned.
"You've been around longer than me, so I figured you'd know more than me." He chuckled. "You're a king so you've gotta know what to do with these attempted attacks and all that, right?"
"Pika-Pikachu."
"We'd all like that." Pinkie Pie grinned, generally wanting anything to stop these attacks before they amp up to worse levels that could be cataclysmic.
"Hmph. I suppose so." Sombra took this chance to stroke his own ego. "If I were to ever be attacked in secrecy by those out to get me, there is one approach I would take. Destroy them from the inside."
"From the inside?" Ash and Pinkie Pie repeated.
"Precisely. And that approach works better than ever with this instance. Hear my words carefully, boy." Sombra smirked as Ash was all ears for this. "The Rift is a cosmic force. Meaning that everything it does can be performed in various ways based on its own boundless power. However, that can be prevented because of your Aura as any inner attacks are out of the question. Outside attacks, as I said before, are an issue. But, you can turn that against the Rift as well."
"Yeah...?" He slowly nodded, wondering where this was going.
"Everything the Rift does must be connected to it. Aura is like a disease to it. A parasite. If it were to come into direct contact with it, then the Aura would latch on, pushing it back."
"So what you're saying is...I gotta hit it with Aura each time it tries to get me?"
"Exactly. It may not stop all of its constant attacks on you, but with the effects it is still feeling from the previous encounter at Holon, another shot of it will be enough to make that cosmic entity hold back or even take more time to recover."
"Hmmm..." Ash thought about it for a moment. He wanted to help the Rift, returning it to its true form when it was once Lucien and Sienna before they were transformed via an accident. Harming the Rift wasn't exactly on his mind as even when he did it the first time, it was by sheer accident.
But Ash knew he had everyone else to protect. And if it meant holding back the Rift for a bit longer, then he would go for it. He was already thinking of a less violent way to use his Aura against the Rift for a better outcome.
"Alright. Let's do it." Ash agreed to it as Sombra nodded in approval.
"That's it, boy." Sombra's eyes flared green. "The next time it strikes, let it feel the fury of your Aura. You are a king. Therefore, it should feel the wrath of one."
"Mmm. Thanks for helping me out by the way, Sombra. It's great that you're looking out for me."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Nonsense. I thought I already told you that it was to keep myself alive as well. I can't have you perishing with my life on the line." Sombra scoffed, still looking out for himself.
"Aw, don't be like that, Sombra." Pinkie Pie bounced over. "It's okay if you don't wanna admit it."
"You be quiet...!" Sombra snarled at Pinkie, causing the party to slide away. "Have you tracked her scent down already?"
"Slurpuff!" The Slurpuff had already done so the moment they were sent out of their Poke Balls. Radiant Hope's scent had been recognized. Even after years of being absent from the original homeowner, the Slurpuff could still pick her up. "Slur-Slur!"
"The Slurpuff and their cute little stubby arms..." Pinkie Pie playfully flicked the stubs of the Slurpuff, making them giggle afterwards. "Are pointing somewhere south. Looks like we're heading south now."
"Then let us hurry. I must see Radiant Hope. And remember boy. The next time the Rift tries to attack you, let that Aura flow. Understood?"
"Yeah. I hear ya." Ash heard him loud and clear. He wouldn't let any more harm come to himself and others even with revenge on the table. It was off to find Radiant Hope but with a continuous sense of danger. The Rift had never shown to be vengeful before and now that it was vengeful, it showed it in a violent way.
Windswept Canyon.
Another Pokemon-exclusive location formed by the existence of the Pokemon themselves. They had found themselves here at the canyon that seemed to be governed by mainly Flying-Types with a few Rock and Ground-Types here and there. So far, when taking a trip here, the Rift hadn't attacked them yet.
But Ash was still alert as Mew appeared as Lugia within the skies. It was without a doubt his favourite Pokemon to become. It was mainly the sheer size of Lugia that made Mew always choose this Pokemon, fooling others into thinking that the actual Lugia was flying by.
And with the guidance of Slurpuff, finding Radiant Hope was a breeze. They had guided the others to where they needed to be. And right around the canyon, the pony of the hour was there.
Radiant Hope.
"There she is!" Ash pointed downwards as Radiant Hope had removed her hood, witnessing the familiar faces of Ash, Pikachu and Sombra.
"Sombra?" Radiant Hope uttered with Mew beginning to descend. He brought the wind within from the speed he was previously moving at. "Sombra! You showed up again?!"
"I did," Sombra replied as Ash had hopped off the ride that was Mew-Lugia along with Pinkie and her 6 Slurpuff. Mew would introduce his transforming self to Radiant Hope for the first time as well. "I came back to you after what was said before during our first reunion. You said that we would meet again, didn't we?"
"Yes. I did. Didn't think it would be this soon." Radiant Hope removed her entire robe.
"Hey there! I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie decided to introduce herself to Radiant Hope. "Nice to meet you."
"Oh. One of the Elements of Harmony. It's nice to meet you too for the first time" Radiant Hope greeted her back.
"Mew-Mew!" Mew and the 6 Slurpuff also introduced themselves to Radiant Hope with Mew circling the unicorn who had the longevity of an alicorn.
"I see you haven't gotten your physical form back yet." Radiant Hope observed. "But you've been doing well, right?"
"I suppose so. Nothing exactly eventful has happened to me." Sombra shrugged. "Except as of recently with sudden attacks. But never mind that. I came to you to tie up loose ends. You predicted right, boy."
"Heh. Thanks." Ash chuckled as he was spot on for predicting Sombra wanting to tie up loose ends with Radiant Hope.
"Why? We don't need to, Sombra." Radiant Hope walked up to him. "I already told you everything back then at the Pixie Plains. About what I ended up doing after everything else that transpired all those years ago."
"I know. Trying to help me. I had already apologized back then. I frankly am stumped on what I should say next. I managed to find you here but..."
"You don't have to tell me much, Sombra. Even now, we're still friends." Hope put her hoof on his cheek. "I know you're not all about friendship, but you still see me as one. We can forget about the whole destiny thing for friendship. Can't we?"
"We...can." Sombra agreed. "But I am curious. If I am to ever get my body back, what will happen next with you and I?"
"Well, my mission will end there. I've just been roaming the world the entire time to help you. And when I would finish doing so, I started thinking of heading back home, settling down and living a quiet life. Not sure about the princess thing since I've long overdue for that."
"Hmm..." Ash observed this conversation closer, mainly looking at Sombra.
"What about you, Sombra?" Hope questioned. "What will you do once your body is back to normal. Will we go back to being friends?"
A question that Sombra would easily answer without a second thought. He had said it to others before. When he gets his physical body back, he would enslave them all and continue his conquest. But in the face of Radiant Hope, that second thought had been born.
Sombra wondered if he should tell her what he would do. Would it be the right thing? Sombra knew it wouldn't. However, he had been lied to in the past, so any lies revolving around him were essentially disdainful in his eyes. The former ruler of the Crystal Empire closed his eyes as a visible sweatdrop could be seen emerging. He had an answer, but it was quickly swapped out for something else.
"I believed that I could continue my destiny on what the Crystal Heart showed me. But...you defied your destiny, didn't you?"
"I did. Technically, it's not too late for me to become a princess. I have the alicorn longevity and my wings haven't emerged yet. I still look like I haven't left the Crystal Empire for a day even." Radiant Hope chuckled. "So, I believe, it's not too late for you either, Sombra."
"It should be too late. Do you honestly believe that things would change with what I ended up becoming? If anything, I had fulfilled my destiny, only for it have come to an end." Sombra turned away. "I have become an Umbrum and the pony that many feared. You may have swayed your destiny, but mine has run its course."
"That's not true!" Radiant Hope bellowed, startling Sombra. "Oh, Sombra, you can be so stubborn! You were just thinking of enslaving the Crystal Empire again, weren't you? You're still looking into your destiny. But you can change it, just like I did."
"Tch." Sombra had been seen through by Radiant Hope. His lie didn't work as effectively as he wanted it to.
"Besides...you have friends now, don't you?"
"This boy is not my friend." Sombra rejected.
"But he's there for you, isn't he? Were you to be connected to anyone else, they would've despised you." Radiant Hope lowered her head. "They would've done everything in their power to get rid of you. Or worse. But Ash didn't. Did he? He's staying by your side, choosing to talk casually with you instead of a far worse outcome. Pikachu involved. Can't you see that?"
"He's a nuisance more than anything," Sombra growled as Ash chose to stay silent throughout all of this.
"But a nuisance you can talk to." Radiant Hope thought otherwise. "Maybe a nuisance is what you need in your life. I know I was."
"Hmph. Yes. You were a bit of nuisance back then." Sombra closed his eyes, smiling afterwards. "Whenever we would play, you did have your ways of annoying me, didn't you?"
"I did. And that's why we were friends. Can you say the same about Ash and Pikachu?"
Sombra then turned to Ash and Pikachu, thinking about it for a bit. He thought back to each moment he had with them. Mainly Ash more than Pikachu. They have had their banter no doubt. Each time Sombra would berate him, Ash would shrug it off and laugh afterwards, unphased. Sombra always wondered how someone could be that relaxed yet energetic at the same time.
He saw Ash as an oddity. But not an oddity that was exactly a threat to him. An oddity that just happened to exist and was impossible to stray away from. Despite his hatred for all things positive, Sombra managed to always find himself conversing with Ash even if he was stuck to him.
Aside from that, Ash was the only one who chose to speak to Sombra about personal things. Such as someone he cared for, which is what brought Radiant Hope to mind in the first place, and what he enjoyed. He even got tips on being a king from Sombra.
Sombra thought back to all of it. In all of his years, only Hope has ever spoken to him about things that deviated from conquest, enslavement and so on. And now that it was all coming to Sombra, he could only think of one thing. He still saw Ash as a strange individual but in a different light.
"Boy. You still make my head turn." Sombra shook his head. "But...I would be lying if I said you were not amusing to be with." Sombra was honest to him. "I wonder...you have yet to call me a friend. Would you even dare make that claim?"
"We're getting there." Ash gave the best answer possible that threw Sombra off guard. It wasn't an immediate yes as Sombra was expecting. Instead, Ash chose a simple yet effective one. "No one said it was gonna be easy, right?"
"Pika-Pika!"
"I don't understand you." Sombra turned away from Ash. "Do you honestly think you could become my friend over time?"
"I made a lot of promises in this world. I'll add this to the pile." Ash grinned.
"We'll see about that." Sombra agreed to Ash's challenge. "But Hope. You don't have to worry about my physical form."
"I don't?"
"There are ways to bring me back. But...they are being put on hold because of this one right here." Sombra nudged his head in Ash's direction. "Cease your goal. It has a solution."
"Oh. So there is a way." Hope gawked. "Well then...in that case..."
"You can return. Return to the Crystal Empire. Just as you said you would. Perhaps even become a full-fledged alicorn at last." Sombra smiled as he truly wanted the best for his friend.
"I could return now." Hope gasped, realizing that her long journey could finally come to an end. "Oh, Celestia must be so worried about me. What am I going to tell her? Becoming that absent for how long?"
"Worry about that yourself. I will worry about my own future," said Sombra. "But I suppose this conversation is over. This isn't exactly how I envisioned us patching everything up."
"R-Right. But, I still want to do a few things before I return to the Crystal Empire. Even so...I'm glad we had this talk, Sombra." A tear appeared in Radiant Hope's eyes. This was the best news she had heard in a long time. "I didn't think it would take us this long to get here but here we are."
"Take care then. I will be waiting for you at the Crystal Empire. If my physical form is brought back afterwards."
"You don't have to wait for that, Sombra." Just then, Ash had a surprise waiting for him. "Let's do it. Let's ring you back in full, okay?"
"What?!" Sombra pulled back. This was a staggering reveal.
"Oh, thank you so much, Ash!" Radiant Hope exclaimed with joy in her heart.
"A-A-A-A-Are you serious?!" Aside from his defeat years ago, Sombra was absolutely gobsmacked to hear this. "You aren't joking around, are you?!"
"Nope. Let's have either Discord or the Unown do it. Both ways work really." Ash shrugged.
"Totally." Pinkie Pie also shrugged with Ash. "You're not so bad, Sombra."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Thank you-" Sombra was about to explode with happiness before dialling it back, clearing his throat. "Ahem. I appreciate the offer. Many thanks."
"Ah, don't be modes!" Pinkie grabbed his face. "Let it all out! All that happiness!"
"Get off of me!" Sombra roared at Pinkie Pie, blowing her back as Radiant Hope could only let out laughter from all of this. She had never seen Sombra so happy before even if he had just yelled at Pinkie.
"Well, I'm glad. I'll be seeing you then, Sombra." Radiant Hope turned away. "Looks like you're adept at finding me, so I hope you can all do so again."
"We will. Just count on Slurpuff here!" Pinkie raised her hoof.
"Slur-Slur!"
"Hurry, boy. I need to feel my muscles again." Sombra ordered Ash to hurry up.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Ash adjusted his hat. "But it's a good thing we didn't get attacked this time, right? Would've thought for sure it would've been the entire day with the Rift trying to get me. Turned to this instead. Makes it all the more fun, doesn't it?"
"I fail to see how being threatened with your life and then having this conversation afterwards can be seen as fun. Then again...what else can I expect from you?" Sombra just went along with it as he ended up finding amusement in all of this. It even made him laugh.
Soon he, Ash, Pikachu, Pinkie Pie, Mew and the six Slurpuff all started laughing. It was hilarious when they thought about it. But that hilarity was one of the many benefits of their turbulent lives. The threat of the Rift still being out for Ash was still there, but Ash was ready. A dose of Aura was being kept. But aside from that, Sombra and Radiant Hope had patched things up, going their separate ways again.
But they would meet once more at another time. And at a better circumstance. Right now, Sombra was just happy to get his body back soon as the journey continues.
"So...You're back." Celestia stood before Sombra. Not his shadowy construct, but his physical form. Restored by Discord, King Sombra had returned and yet he was still standing next to Ash.
"Yes..." Sombra chuckled, standing before the Ruler of Equestria. "But alas...I'm still attached to him." Sombra's expression changed, shifting his eyes towards Ash.
"Yeah. Turns out that spell that Sombra cast to attach himself to me is a bit stronger than expected." Ash laughed as Sombra groaned. "Discord managed to bring back his full body but he and I are still connected. Plus he can do that shadowy form still. Neat, right?"
"What kind of Spirit of Chaos is he?" Sombra grumbled. "It's better than nothing anyway."
"Well, I'm not going to say it's good to have you back." Celestia approached him. "But at least you managed to console things with Radiant Hope. Now, what will you do? The Crystal Empire isn't exactly your possession anymore, is it?"
"Tch." Sombra scoffed. "I may not be the king anymore...but I have my options. The second best thing is that Sea Temple, Samiya. I could be the king there to make up for my lost position."
"Ash is the King of the Sea. Not you."
"He's unfit to be a king. And if not, then I can be his second Royal Advisor, giving commands in his name. Simple as that." Sombra smirked as he certainly did have his options. Celestia looked over at Ash only for the Champion of Alola to shrug afterwards.
"And what is the other option?"
"Hah...I'd rather not speak it." Sombra sighed, shifting his eyes away from Celestia. "You won't speak a word of it too, boy."
"My lips are sealed!" Ash grinned.
"Pika-Pika."
"As long as you stay out of trouble...I believe I'll welcome you here to Equestria now." Celestia let Sombra off the hook for the meanwhile, but she was fully alert. Sombra could leave now as there wasn't much he could do now. Sombra was still under the watch of Ash despite his freedom. Celestia had to share this with Luna as soon as she could.
But outside the window, catching Celestia's attention was the emergence of what seemed to be a massive stand. Not a food stand but it was certainly something to behold because of its size. This stand belonged to none other than Team Rocket.
"Over here!" Jessie whistled. They were selling something that was enough to grab the attention of most of Canterlot with how large the stand was. And it made sense considering they had heaps of boxes that held one important item that many Pokemon Trainers would yearn for.
Master Balls.
"If you'd like a mountain load of Master Balls then this is the place to be!" Jessie continued, attracting many ponies. "Get rid of having to struggle to catch the Pokemon you want. I know a lot of you ponies haven't even broken past 3 or 4 Pokemon. Now's your chance to get rid of it and make that full team or more!"
"Master Balls?" Naturally, this grabbed the attention of Canterlot's residents. This was an enticing sight to them and practically any other Pokemon Trainer.
"That's right. The pinnacle of Poke Balls!" Jessie snapped her fingers. "There's no better option."
"Only costs 15 bits." James slid over. "But we also accept Pokedollars too so it's a perfect double."
"80 Pokedollars to be exact." Meowth grinned. They were in. They would not pass up on Master Balls at all. Some of them needed them for either Pokemon League reasons, Pokemon Contest reasons or they just wanted more Pokemon. Either way, they were must-have objects.
The Master Balls were unveiled within the boxes as they looked to be the real deal. They were all up for sale as so many of them flocked to the stand to buy some. Jessie, James and Meowth each had cunning grins on their faces which they hid within the shade of the sun. Something was amiss as they got together, speaking silently.
"Of course...It looks like a Master Ball in every way shape or form. But it doesn't quite have that spark to it does it?" Jessie giggled.
"Those arts and crafts lessons when I was young paid off," James commented. "Those fake Master Balls disguised as Quick Balls is art at its finest, don't you agree? Not exactly the prime Poke Balls out there but they do say they're just as good as Master Balls if not better as some would say. So it's not 100% a rip-off."
"And they're cheap to buy too. All that treasure from Pegalysium's still sitting healthy with us," said Meowth. "Those Master Balls do cost a fortune. Especially a heap of them."
Once the residents got news and information about these Master Balls, they started purchasing them without hesitation. Who wouldn't want Master Balls that were just sitting there? Team Rocket held their hands and paws out, giving fake Master Balls and receiving money along the way.
The money was being placed inside the mouth of Pelipper. The same Pelipper that always brings them the Rocket Prize Machine. That mouth could also hold currency. Thankfully, bits were tiny and not everyone owned Pokedollars so it was one big room in Pelipper's beak.
"Uh, hello. Could I get 20 Master Balls?" Requesting for some Master Balls was Premium Polish. She looked up at Team Rocket, holding some Pokedollars up.
"That will be 1600 Poke Dollars, my little pony." Jessie looked over.
"1600?!" Premium Polish gasped, dropping her Poke Dollars. "Aw...I've only got 90 of them."
"Then how about those bits, hm?" Jessie wiggled her eyebrows.
"I only have 10." Premium Polish pouted.
"Tut-tut." Jessie wagged her finger. "I would've thought you'd be loaded since you're living with royalty. A crying shame. But no cash, no Master Ball."
"Can I come back and buy them with the right money?"
"Yes please!" Jessie exclaimed with dollar signs appearing in her eyes. "Mind telling that Princess Celestia to give you a heaping amount?! Just to be safe."
"I can do that!" Premium exclaimed, galloping off to grab some more money for those precious Master Balls that were just Quick Balls.
"Why waste money on that little girl?" But as Premium Polish was about to return to the castle, she was stopped dead in her tracks by somepony referring to her.
Premium turned to see the emergence of another stand that had just been propped up as if it was a flipbook. It came only a few minutes after Team Rocket had just sprouted theirs. And speaking of Team Rocket, their eyes squinted, observing the stand that was opposite to theirs.
It belonged to none other than the FlimFlam Brothers.
"Skip out on a Master Ball," Flim said. "Instead, go for something that can do more than give out a sure-fire catch."
"Something better than a Master Ball?" Premium Polish gasped.
"Impossible." A nearby pony commented, facing the stand of Flim and Flam. Many of the ponies who were at Team Rocket's stand couldn't believe their ears. What could possibly be better than a Master Ball? The Ultimate Poke Ball.
"It might seem impossible but think about the drawback. You might want to use that Master Ball but what if you end up using it on the wrong Pokemon?" Flam spoke. "What if it misses? Not all of us have the hoof or even arm strength to perfectly aim, do we?"
"No. I'm pretty bad at catching. I was already bad at darts anyway..." A unicorn looked at her hoof, flailing it around. She knew that she had a bad aim. Starting from darts and carrying over to Poke Ball throwing.
"You have second decisions when going after a Pokemon, don't you? Might not be the Pokemon you wanted in the first place and you probably went through all of that trouble just to catch one Pokemon, wasting so many Poke Balls that you end up resorting to the Master Ball. But was it worth it?" Flim question, making everypony think.
These questions existed in the Pokemon World, but they had never been fully asked in this world. Mainly due to everyone living here being still new to Pokemon. They have a ways to go than just being stronger trainers.
"But what if you didn't need all those problems?" Flam added. "What if you could just have a Poke Ball that can find the easiest way for you to get the Pokemon you want? This Poke Ball can help with that! The Facile Ball!"
The two brothers then showed them their special Poke Ball that could presumably solve these issues and give quality of life changes. They removed the curtain, revealing an image of a specialized Poke Ball made by them.
"The easiest Poke Ball to use, no doubt." Flim rubbed his hooves together. "It automatically redirects itself to whichever Pokemon you want to catch, so no need to worry about missing or catching the wrong Pokemon. Say goodbye to bad aim. And as a bonus, if it's not the POkemon you want, the ball just won't work."
"Wow! Really?! Can it like...read minds?!" Sunrise Sprint commented.
"That's our little secret." Flam shook his head as the secret to this function would not be revealed. "So, what do you say? Only 15 bits for just 5 of them. Or if you're coming from the Pokemon World, 80 Pokedollars for 5."
Immediately, they deviated from Team Rocket's stand and went to FlimFlams. And complete turnaround. Not only did they invent a Poke Ball that would work efficiently for others, but they shared the same price as Team Rocket. However, it was for multiple objects instead of one.
The Facile Balls were already being brought, selling like hotcakes. Flim and Flam received bits and Pokedollars, which were valuable even in this world.
"They stole our shtick...Price and everything..." Meowth's jaw dropped.
"Hey!" Jessie roared, slamming her fist on the table as she grabbed the attention of Flim and Flam. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Business. What does it look like?" Flam cockily responded.
"You're robbing our customers away, that's what you're doing!" James vigorously pointed with his hair standing up.
"It's just a matter of appeal, sir." Flim shrugged, using his magic to bring swap out some Facile Balls with bits. Assisting them both were their Pokemon. Flim and Flam owned Persian, Solrock and Lunatone. Persian mainly lounged around while Solrock and Lunatone had used Psychic to grab ahold of the boxes and money respectively. "Our Facile Balls have something that many need. It's all about the quality of life changes in this ever-changing world of Pokemon."
"I bet those Facile Balls aren't what they seem." Meowth grizzled his teeth. Team Rocket believed that Flim and Flam were also pulling a scam as the Facile Ball seemed too good to be true.
"Oh, no. They are. We put extra care into our Poke Balls when making them so that they end up being the best Poke Ball possible. Bar none. Not even the Master Ball can compete." said Flam as their sales were going up. Customers were getting the best of both worlds by already having the disguised Quick Balls along with the brand-spanking-new Facile Balls.
This did not bode well with Team Rocket as fewer were now at their stand. Premium Polish thought about it for a second, wondering which was better. The FlimFlam Brothers seemed to have a cheaper option despite sharing the same price. But the amount was a massive game-changer.
"But how does a third alternative sound?" But interjecting Flim and Flam's next sentence was someone else. There was a third contender in all of this that grabbed the attention of both Team Rocket and the FlimFlam Brothers. It was a face and a voice that Team Rocket knew all too well. They couldn't believe their eyes as they had seen him again.
"No...Not him." Team Rocket uttered in unison.
The Magikarp Salesman.
"I have everything that you need right here." The salesman waved at everyone, grabbing their attention. "For all sorts of Pokemon Trainers. But before that, have a gander at these." Just then, he had revealed the exact same objects that Team Rocket and the FlimFlam Brothers, holding them out to the ponies of Canterlot.
"Huh?!" Team Rocket and the FlmFlam Brothers gasped in absolute disbelief. Their products were in the hands of this salesman. This was a sudden shock.
"Added with what you've already seen, how's about I also convince you with some of these? A dual evolution necklace, a pack of golden eggs that will always guarantee you some rare Pokemon no matter what. Or even a potion that can do more than just heal your Pokemon, but also get rid of any pesky diseases that could come their way. And it's all for the sweet price of 5 bits and 20 Poke Dollars. How about it?"
"Ooooooh!" The Magikarp Salesman managed to have a better decision than both Team Rocket and the FlimFlam Brothers combined. They had been outdone as everyone immediately flocked to his stand instead. He had heaps of items that had appeared suddenly before everyone else.
"H-How did he get those?!" Jessie grumbled.
"Those are ours!" Flim vigorously aimed his hoof at the salesman. "We just made them 2 days ago!"
"He shows up again after all these years just to outdo us." James closed his eyes, bursting out into tears. "What kind of cruel fate is this?"
"All that hard work..." Flim shoved the Facile Balls away. Already, the Magikarp Salesman was making more money than them. Despite the low prices, he had so many objects to give out with a larger number of customers flooding in that he essentially made up for the cheap prices.
Premium Polish knew who she was buying from. No need to head to Celestia for extra money. The Magikarp Salesman had won this exchange. But it wasn't over.
"Only one thing left to do...Outdo him!" Jessie clenched her first, vowing to surpass the Magikarp Salesman. "He thinks he can steal our products and outsell us? I don't think so! James! Meowth! Get those hands and paws ready! Time to up the anty."
"I'm afraid not, good lady." Flam interrupted. "It'll be us outdoing him while also outdoing you. Those are our products too, remember?"
"We can't just sit around and let him nab our Facile Ball idea. We aren't even sure how he got them so quickly and unexpectedly."
"Tough. You two won't sell more than us." Jessie scoffed. "Outdoing you two and him will be a perfect twofer."
"If we can do it in time...look." James's jaw dropped as he gazed at the Magikarp Salesman. In just a few seconds, he had managed to drain everyone's money completely with his products. Original or stolen. It didn't take long for the Canterlot Residents to run out of bits and Poke Dollars."
"Woohoo! Pokemon Contests are gonna be flashier for me!" Premium Polish cheered, carrying some Facile Balls with her. Her Pokemon assisted in carrying them as she was out of money to continue. But she was certainly satisfied.
"Hahaha! Score!" Minuette hopped, grabbing a majority of the items with her magic.
"Ah, don't look so upset! Your products are still just as good, aren't they?" The Magikarp Salesman chuckled with Team Rocket and Flim and Flam grizzling their teeth. They zoomed off to continue their work.
And thus began a back and forth struggle. between them. With the main goal of having the superior product. They worked as hard as they could to make customers attracted to a specific product as new ones from all over Equestria were showing up.
Team Rocket had decided to take the food route for a bit, using some of the food that their boss, Glittercook usually makes but with a hint of Zecora's shaman magic which they also learned. They mixed the magic with the food t create a new hybrid that had an intoxicating smell. One that was so addicting to the nose and activated some powerful senses for anyone who got a whiff of it.
"Who wants these Malasadas?!" James cried out. "Special courtesy from the Alola Region with a new flavour added to it! No one in Alola's tried it yet!" They managed to remember the Malasada recipe from Alola, attracting many customers who brought the special malasadas, only for Flim and Flam to counter with drinks.
"Or have a nice drink such as this cider?" Flam interjected. These drinks were good enough to match the malasadas as they went back to their whole cider shtick but the inclusion of a flavour so potent that it could even attract Pokemon as well. Many Pokemon nearby gathered around Flim and Flam's stand, rivalling Team Rocket's customer count.
"Come here instead. I have everything they have but cheaper and then some." However, that was all pointless as the Magikarp Salesman had outdone them once more. Not only did he manage to have the same products that Team Rocket and the FlimFlam Brothers had but for a cheaper price, but he had new products to sell too. He even catered towards the youth some more with toys and even those who wanted some more flair by selling them tarot cards with Pokemon on them.
Those that enjoyed tarot cards brought them without hesitation, doubling up in customers and sales. Team Rocket and the FlimFlam brothers could only scorn and be jealous of this. Beaten again as their customers had been stolen. They had to think again to be better.
They got to work once more. Team Rocket ditched the food and Poke Ball route and decided to go for something that would be more casual for everyone else. Merchandise. They had either crafted merchandise or brought some merchandise from the Pokemon World and did some rearranging here and there to sell it off as their own.
They knew who was popular in Equestria. And as much as it regretted them to do this, they had to make merchandise of Ash.
"Who here wants a twerp plush~?" Jessie whistled as she held out an Ash Ketchum plush with stacks of other merchandise appearing behind her. "It comes with a free Pikachu!"
"And for double that, you can get yourself these!" James showed off merchandise of the Mane 6. "All plushes of the twerpettes! Plus Fluttershy."
"Or, you could have these!" Along came the FlimFlam Brothers to counteract their product. "If you're ever feeling down on your luck, beat up on these Ghetsis and Empress Twilight plushes." They had plushes of Ghetsis and Empress Twilight that were both pony-size and human-sized. "That way you'll feel better."
Just as Flam said that, he, his brother and Team Rocket turned to the Magikarp Salesman, wondering if he would copy them again. Lo and behold, he did. Not only did he have the same plushes that they owned, but he also managed to double up and have merchandise of other characters.
"Here you go, kids." The Magikarp Salesman sold it to the children who were with their parents. Shining Armor, Princess Cadence, both Flurry Hearts, the Changelings and so on. So many favourites were at his disposal and more flocked to him instead of the other two.
Team Rocket and the FlimFlam brothers turned to each other as they decided to gather up. They could both agree on one thing and that sparked them to have a conversation as they made a group huddle.
"Alright. What gives? How come he's able to copy what we make but go above and beyond?" Jessie spoke.
"In so little time. Surely he's not as good as arts and crafts as myself." Flim revealed that he also had great arts and crafts skills similar to James.
"You dabble in arts and crafts? Splendid." James could admire and praise that.
"We can't keep making everything else so quickly. We don't have enough of that magic." Flam sighed.
"What magic?" Meowth asked.
"The reason we've been gathering these products so quickly is because of some Rift Magic we found along the way." Flim started explaining. "Since they could do almost anything, we struck gold by having some Rift Magic that let us duplicate things. A perfect copy method for when we don't have the time to make it all."
"We keep it in a nice bowl, dunking the products there. Don't worry. Lunatone drys off the liquid." said Flam.
"Yeah, that makes sense. But how come you've been having the same idea as us?" Meowth continued to question.
"Just coincidence." Both Flim and Flam said as that was the only answer they could give out. Just pure coincidence. However, what was not a coincidence was the Magikarp Salesman and his products.
"So if you're using Rift Magic...then that bozo must've found some himself." Jessie narrowed her eyes at the Magikarp Salesman who kept selling things like hotcakes. Speaking of which, he even ended up selling hotcakes too to appeal to more customers.
"Alright then. I propose a momentary truce and unification against one common enemy." James suggested. "We beat the salesman together. Deal?"
"Deal." Flim and Flim were in agreement. They wanted the salesman out of the picture too. Hands, hooves and paws were held out, signifying this temporary alliance. "All we need to do is make something that blows what he was out of the water."
"And find out what he's using to be three steps ahead of us," Jessie added. "I know exactly what we should make. We're in Canterlot, aren't we? That means we have to go for the big shot with the most amount of money. The one large and in charge. Princess Celestia. We should all know what to make for her, right?"
"And I know exactly what you need." Just then, throwing them off guard was the Magikarp Salesman as he grabbed their attention. He had held an object for Team Rocket and the FlimFlam brothers to gawk at.
Cake.
Celestia's all-time favourite food. He had placed it on the table, waiting for Princess Celestia to eventually make her way here. Celestia had the most money out of anyone in Equestria, meaning that the prices could be stellar and Celestia could afford it, without a doubt.
"H-H-How did he...?" Jessie stumbled on her words, perplexed as that was indeed the plan that she and the others were about to take.
"Curious? Can't share that information with you all." The salesman shook his head. "But hey! Now that I have your attention, can I offer you some of these?" To 'wow' them even more, the salesman had revealed objects that would entice some of them.
He had revealed a massive bottlecap collection next. A collection of rare bottlecaps that were nigh impossible to achieve. And that was a beautiful sight to James. "Bottlecaps?!"
"Yep. All for just 9 bits." The Magikarp Salesman winked.
"Hm. This chapter title doesn't quite have all the scammy-nature in it..." Meowth observed as James was about to rush over to grab the bottle caps.
"Hold it!" Jessie held him back."Don't you start catering to his side! We won't let him fool us again!"
"Why fool when I know what you want? Like this!" To even persuade Jessie, the Magikarp Salesman revealed merchandise of one of Jessie's all-time if not biggest crush in the world. Steven Stone. Champion of Hoenn.
He had an abundance of merchandise about this Champion with seemingly no shortage. Jessie's eyes were alert with hearts as this was a sight to behold for her. Meowth, Flim and Flam gasped, afraid that they might have lost two of their allies to the salesman.
"S-Steven?!" Jessie got all giddy as her infatuation for Steven was showing. And all of it for such a low price too. Despite this massive bargain, Jessie could actually resist it. "No!"
Jessie prioritized making her own money instead of selling it to someone who she could not trust. Even if it meant missing out on Steven Stone products. "Forget that! You can't persuade us. Not even with Steven Stone. Come on, you all! We're making that cake either way. But better."
Jessie dragged James away, robbing him of his chance to have those bottlecaps. They went for the cake idea even if the Magikarp Salesman beat them to it. All they had to do was make a cake better than his just to attract Celestia.
"Alright then. He wants to play it like that? Let's make a cake that is so attractive that Princess Celestia will ghost the other one!" Meowth suggested as the others were in agreement.
"More than that...let's make a second cake that'll really grab her attention." Jessie put on a devious grin with her eyes glowing red. "But we can't have him know what it is."
"He's obviously using something to predict what we're going to use," said Flim. "Maybe it's best that we don't think of it and just do it. It might be a mental thing."
"Good idea!" James exclaimed. "Makes ourselves brainless so he can't know what we'll do next."
"That shouldn't be too hard for you, James," Meowth commented, swiftly insulting James. Team Rocket got to work. They would use Jessie's way as she already had something. However, Jessie did not let it come to mind as to block off the Magikarp Salesman.
They were going in blind.
2 hours later.
"Would they give Sombra his home back?" Meanwhile, Celestia herself was walking out of the castle, currently on the topic of Sombra. She was joined by her little sister Luna this time. "Probably not."
"Definitely not." Luna agreed with that. As they arrived outside on the streets of Canterlot, Celestia's senses started going off. She slowed down with her ear twitching. Her wings were starting to rustle with the sound of feathers moving. He stepped her hoof lightly on the ground.
The right senses for her were being activated. She closed her eyes, sniffing the atmosphere as she could sense something familiar in the air. Something that she loved so dearly. "That smell...That's...CAKE!"
Celestia knew that smell all too well as she teleported to the location where the cake smell was the most prominent. Right in front of the Magikarp Salesman, who had doubled up on cake supplies, making them in different shapes and sizes.
"Afternoon, your majesty." The salesman greeted. "I see you picked up on the cake, right?"
"I certainly have! Oooh... look at all these flavours..." Celestia felt like having her mouth water from the sheer sight of this. The salesman's table length had also increased to fit all of these cakes.
"All for you. And they won't even cost that much. Just about 100 bits or 100 Pokedollars." He increased the prize, but only for royalty as he knew Celestia could afford it.
"But why buy that?!" Just then, interrupting the salesman's bargain was the voice of Jessie. This time, it was time for her and the others to cut off the Magikarp Salesman. Jessie crossed her arms, standing there with enough smugness to make any cocky individual jealous. "When you can have this?"
Behind a massive cover, something large was waiting to be revealed. James and Flimremoved the cover, revealing the mother of all cakes. Something that no one could even dare criticize.
A massive cake that was modelled after Canterlot. They got everything right. The castle was made out of vanilla, Celestia's favourite flavour. The remaining buildings were either chocolate or strawberry with some frostings to make their roofs. The Canterlot Gardens were full of cakes of different varieties including the hedges and the various models.
They even managed to get Celestial's School for Gifted Unicorns down to a T. Back to the hedges, some of them were made out of cotton candy along with other parts of the buildings. Everyone could admire this as they stared at this delectable variation of Canterlot.
"And for our final cake. Voila!" James and Flim removed the last cover that revealed the final cake. And it was of Cobalion. Since Jessie was infatuated with Steven Stone, the same went for Celestia towards Coblion.
"Oh yeah..." Celestia nodded in agreement before sliding over. She had been convinced. She went up to the life-sized Cobalion cake and the model of Canterlot, being fully convinced. "I want it..."
"That will be 10 Trillion Bits, your majesty."
"Deal!" Celestia did not hesitate. She had the money for this and she was going to devour these right after. "Hoh...I can't wait to sink my teeth into all of this. Especially for this one." She looked at the Cobalion statue, licking her lips afterwards.
"Hm. Outdone so soon." The Magikarp Salesman sighed as he had been defeated. And he admitted it to as Luna facehoofed. "But hey. Can't go out without something. Say, Princess. Luna. How would you like this cake? Or these?" He raised an Ash Ketchum plush.
"Eh. Sure. I will buy them off of you." Luna would at least buy them. The cake and the plush were hers to take. The Royal Guards were ordered to bring the massive cake models back inside. They were also protected by a spell from Celestia as to not be sullied at all.
He may have lost the war of sales but he at least got a lot of money out of it. It was time for the salesman to leave. But there was one burning question that the others had. "Hold it!" Jessie halted him "How is it that you managed to copy so much of what we had done so quickly?"
"The secret? I had one of those Desire things affect me. Lets me know what you're thinking 2 days ahead and I make it out of thin air." The Magikarp Salesman revealed it all to them. At the end of the day, it was still Rift-related.
"I beg your pardon?" That grabbed Celestia's attention as her eyes flared. The Magikarp Salesman just now realized that Celestia and also Passion constantly deal with Desires. That meant only one thing. It had to go.
"Hey!" But not before some complaints came over. Mainly from the customers earlier this morning. They showed up with the Poke Ball products and only these products as they had been broken, shattered or mangled. "What gives?! I thought you said it was the ultimate Poke Ball?!" Complaints from various trainers flooded in.
"Yeah! This isn't a Master Ball at all!" They soon found out that these were just QUick Balls in disguise. Granted, they worked well on the first go since a Quick Ball and a Master Ball have the same approach. The first try and first throw. But sometimes, the Quick Ball isn't always accurate.
"These ones have no control either!" The same went for the Facile Ball. "So much for easy!"
"Looks like the scam came through near the end of it all." Meowth shrugged as the jig was up. For all of them. Including the Magikarp Salesman as he did copy their products too.
"Welp! Gotta go!" Team Rocket whistled as they, the FlimFlam Brothers and even the Magikarp Salesman left Canterlot promptly. Celestia and Luna watched as they fleed from the angry customers who were only dissatisfied with two products. The Poke Balls.
"Should we go after them, sister?" Luna asked.
"And miss out on the cake, are you crazy?! Come along!" Celestia was too enthralled by the cake to even bother going after them. It was feeding time. Luna saw it all as petty too as she went along with her big sister in the end.
"This is more like it." Currently, Sombra was sitting on the throne at the Sea Temple. The throne that was meant for Ash. King of the Sea. With his full body restored, he took the opportunity to sit on a throne once more. He lost his throne to the Crystal Empire. Might as well take another one.
"T-That belongs to his majesty, Ash Ketchum..." One of the guards spoke as Ash himself was standing next to Sombra. "You can't sit on it."
"I'm his ally," Sombra replied, acknowledging Ash as an ally. "Besides, if he will not take his role as king seriously, then I will."
"Well technically speaking he does take it seriously." Alo, the Royal Advisor to Ash chimed in. "It's just that our majesty is far more relaxed than any other king."
"Is he now?" Sombra turned to Ash, narrowing his eyes at the King of the Sea. "Why become king when you end up being absent from your own throne? It's not uncommon for a king to lounge around but away from his throne?"
"Eh. I just do things differently." Ash chuckled. "But even so, I promised I'd keep the role of king to everyone here at the Sea Temple. So I'm still king here, Sombra."
"Pika-Pika."
"Tch. You say it with such a casual tone." Sombra scoffed, shaking his head. "Very well. But! I can do one thing that you will struggle to accomplish. You may have a Royal Advisor to manage things here, but how about I take on that role as well?"
"Hmm...You did use to be a king..." Ash thought about it. "Wouldn't be bad to have two advisors to help out with the future of the Sea Temple."
"Precisely. Then there won't be any mishaps at all." Sombra chuckled. "With us essentially having control of most of the world via the sea, we might as well be the greatest power on this entire planet. Many locations could be considered our property. We could claim so much."
"Sombra's side of wanting to gain control was still prominent. And that reality of Ash essentially owning most of the world was an eye-opener for the former king of the Crystal Empire.
"By the way, your majesty. Today is the day we leave Hoenn. Our temple will be travelling elsewhere." Alo walked over.
"Which region is it now?" Ash asked.
"Who knows? We usually have the temple go wherever. And the light-speed travel should be happening right about now." Right on schedule as the temple started glowing from the inside and outside.
It was time for them to travel. And without a second to spare, much like how it was first showcased, the temple hovered over the sea as the people and Pokemon of Lilycove City stopped to gaze at the floating civilization. This involved the mother of Passion, Gardevoir, who was always present near the city.
Ash held onto his hat as Sombra fell back on the throne. It wasn't lightspeed for nothing. It burned through the atmosphere in a heartbeat before then restoring it with the beautiful and harmonic light that the crystals gave off. They had left Lilycove City and were already past a majority of Hoenn. The temple had then passed Sinnoh, Johto and even Kanto. All of those seas had been passed by in just 1 second.
The speed was truly unreal as the only ones who could even track the moments of the temple were fast Pokemon. Mainly Electric and Flying-Type Pokemon with a few others. It had even passed some gateways. Looking up at the sky with the temple zooming was like looking at a shooting star. Except during the day. It even looked like a second Sun was travelling through the air.
Speaking of gateways, up ahead, the temple was approaching one that was located in the sky. With how it was moving in a straight line, it had passed right through the gateway, entering the otherworld instead of residing here.
Equestria. The Crystal Empire. Day.
Right near the Crystal Empire. That was where they found themselves. The temple flew through the gateway, ending up here as fast as it had left. The Sea Temple always made sure to end up around a body of water. The People of the Water couldn't have it going on land in any circumstance. The temple dropped on the sea, creating a large splash as everyone within the temple bounced from the collision.
"Oh...Man. That speed is still crazy..."
"Pikachu..."
"We've landed in...what place is this exactly?" Alo looked outside of the window, wondering where they were now. This wasn't any region they recognized at all.
"We ended up in the next world." Ash recognized the location in a heartbeat. "I recognize those frozen mountains anywhere. Which means we're close to the Crystal Empire."
"The Crystal Empire? Ah, how fate brings me back to it." Sombra smirked. "Clearly, I am meant for that place more than anything. Aside from having to take orders from that Ketchum woman. Ugh..." Sombra shuddered, thinking of how Delia was still giving him orders. If there was anyone he feared it was Delia Ketchum.
"We didn't expect to show up in this other world that is..." Alo scratched his beard, trying to figure out what the name of this world was called. "Um, pardon me, your majesty. But what is the name of this planet? Is it still Earth?"
"It's-" That question even made Ash think This was something that was not brought up to him even after these 3 years of the worlds being crossed over. "Huh...Come to think of it, I don't know what the name of this planet is. Hey, Sombra. What's this world called?"
"Earth." Sombra ended that burning question in an instant. This world shared the same name as the Pokemon World. Earth.
"There. Earth." Ash repeated. "This'll be your first time in this world. It's gonna be a blast for sure. You've already met everyone at Lilycove City, haven't you?"
"Oh yes. The people of the modern-day are certainly an interesting bunch, your majesty. Such as yourself. And I suppose to an extent, Enola. She tries a lot to be exactly like you, your majesty."
"Really? She does?"
"Oh yes. Along with the other young ones. We have not had someone to aspire towards for centuries ever since our sudden absence. Not even our previous king. This is a first for us."
"Enola, huh? Great to hear she's always doing great..." Ash took some time to reflect on things. "I should check up on her right now. And as King, I hereby order everyone to check out Equestria next!" Ash ordered. "You've experienced Lilycove. Now it's time for the Crystal Empire."
"Pikachu!"
"Yes, your majesty!" Alo, the guards and other citizens replied in unison. They would all see this world for themselves and what it had to offer. This message was passed on as the People of the Water would exit their temple to explore. Surprisingly, they did not feel chilly at all.
Ash watched as the People of the Water, who usually wear clothing that would work well in the summer and showed off some skin, could walk out in the cold of the Frozen North. Living underwater for so long certainly has its benefits.
Even walking barefoot, which is what many People of the Water appear as with minimal footwear, was not an issue for them. The snow did not affect their feet at all. Enola emerged outside, feeling the chill as it was relaxing to her and the People of the Water. Again, Ash and Pikachu were surprised.
Over at the Crystal Empire, the appearance of the Sea Temple had been noted. It was a fairly large structure even from afar. Its height surpassed parts of the mountains while also being slightly masked by the splash. The light from the lightspeed travel had also been noticed. Shining Armor and Flash Sentry recognized that building all too well. The Flurry Heart from Universe 6 poked her head outside of the castle window, being naturally curious about this.
Eventually, the People of the Water had made their way to the Crystal Empire with Ash leading and guiding them. They were welcomed into the Crystal Empire with open hooves. Enola and most of the children rushed in as they were already prepared to run amok.
Greetings were made towards the People of the Water via Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, welcoming them here. They were already on good terms after the whole Sea Temple event that involved invading forces and the Dragon Force.
"Glad you could show up here to our world for the first time," Cadence spoke to the Alo and the rest of the People of the Water. "Shining Armor told me everything that happened back at your temple. You're all welcome here in our world. I should introduce you to my daughter. Or rather daughters."
"Ah, the dual universe twins, right?" Alo said. "We were told of this by his majesty, Ash Ketchum. We understand that one of them comes from another universe."
"That's right! Here's our first daughter from this universe!" Cadence held Flurry Heart out who blew her tongue at Alo and the others. "Whereas our second daughter has some more age to her. Right now, we're her family as her real parents back at Universe 6 have yet to be found. But we're still related so it's not confusing."
"Related!" Flurry Heart repeated.
Samiya. The Sea Temple.
Speaking of the other Flurry Heart of older age, most of her interest leaned towards the temple rather than the appearance of the People of the Water. She had already found herself there before spotting Sombra. Sombra lounged around, sighing vehemently while on the outside of the Sea Temple. He did not approach the Crystal Empire at all. In his eyes, it was a bad idea to head there now in his physical body. He was not with Ash this time as he had free reign over his body once more. However, there were still limitations placed to keep him in check which led him to basically do nothing. Not exactly the fearsome unicorn he used to be.
"If they were all to see me now as I am, they would surely tear me to shreds," Sombra commented.
"Oh...Isn't that?" Upon seeing Sombra, Flurry Heart had just now realized that this was her first time seeing the former ruler of the Crystal Empire."So that's Sombra? He looks a lot shorter than I thought he would be. Not that tall."
"It would-" Being cut off from his sentence, Sombra's ears twitched. The moment Flurry Heart commented about his height, Sombra's ear senses heightened in an instant. Sombra's eyes spotted the one who spoke of him just 15 feet away. Flurry Heart's wings stood up with her eyes shifting to the side.
Sombra did not hesitate to approach her as he stomped toward the young princess. The young alicorn scrunched her face, wondering what to do. She knew exactly what she said and yet running away after accidentally insulting someone was not in her spirit.
"Who are you calling short?" Sombra questioned as he had already gotten close to Flurry Heart this quickly.
"N-No offence! It just came to mind!" Flurry Heart chuckled. "Sorry! Sometimes I just say what's on my mind a lot!"
"Hmmm...You're their child. The ones who took my rightful throne."
"Y-Yep. That's me! Princess Flurry Heart! Or uh...the one from Universe 6. I'm not from this one so technically I'm not their daughter..." Flurry Heart then started rambling, bringing up the topic of being the daughter of two ponies who weren't from her universe and essentially being a sibling to her baby self. Truly an odd one.
"I already know." Sombra stopped her there before she could confuse him. "But please do not tell you're the one next in line to rule despite not being from this universe."
"I already rule the Crystal Emp-" Flurry Heart paused, correcting herself quickly. Or I guess, Crystal Kingdom as it was renamed back in my universe. But I'm no good at that. Aunt Empress Twilight was the one calling the shots back there. I just sat around and did what she told me to."
"Hoh? So you are a sole ruler without any guidance, eh?"
"Pretty much. I don't know the first thing about ruling a kingdom. Let alone an empire! Haha!" Flurry Heart chuckled. "I'm kinda already late to grow up and learn from my parents since...ya know."
"Nonsense. You are never too late to rule. Even with your age." Sombra said otherwise. "Though you do lack the natural qualities to rule from what I can see."
"I guess so..." Flurry Heart couldn't argue against that. But something came to mind that she believed would be of significant help. And it was standing right in front of her. "Oh! Could you teach me a few things?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Yeah! You were the previous ruler so you would know a lot! Mom and dad haven't exactly taught me anything about that yet. But to be fair, I never told them much about the Crystal Kingdom and what I did there."
"Hmm...You would ask me for advice, would you?" Sombra smirked. "Despite knowing of my legacy?"
"No, not really." Flurry Heart hit Sombra with a shocking answer. "I mean...all I know is that you used to rule the Crystal Empire once. Auntie Twilight only told me that you were one of the many enemies she defeated. While uh...also threatening someone too."
"So your knowledge of me is limited." Sombra pondered. Indeed, this Flurry Heart was unaware of Sombra's history and because of this, she found it natural to ask him for advice. "Hm. Forget about it then. I will teach you a few things. Think of me as your greatest mentor."
"Really?! You'd actually teach me?!" Flurry Heart's wings spread out as she was getting giddy.
"Certainly. Your reign over that kingdom will be far more efficient. You will refer to me as Sir. I am no longer king but I shall be respected." Sombra stood tall and proud.
"Aye, sir!" Flurry Heart saluted as she was ready to take some pointers from King Sombra of all ponies.
"Firstly, you need to exude that appearance as a ruler." Sombra walked with Flurry Heart to the Crystal Empire. But not straight through the gates. Sombra still had the power to become his shadowy self, so he had used that ability to conceal himself in the darkness while also speaking to the young alicorn. "Mainly your posture."
"What's wrong with it?"
"You trot around like an airhead." Sombra shook his head. "I swear, I almost saw you trip seconds ago and you prance. A lot. Almost as much as that pink one back at Ponyville."
"Nothing wrong with a little prancing." Flurry Heart pranced around with Sombra's eyes following her, lowered the entire time.
"A ruler does not prance! Unless under certain circumstances. You must stand tall and proud. Always walk with noble prestige and let everypony know who is the largest superpower around. Even when you are not within their vicinity. Appearance matters or else your subjects will underestimate and think less of you. Especially with your limited regalia."
"Hmm...Appearance matters, huh? Oh! How about this?!" Flurry Heart took a quick second to use her magic, teleporting away from here. Sombra blinked for a bit, waiting for the young alicorn to return. In only 5 seconds, she had returned but with a new look. "How's this?"
She wore jet-black shade glasses and a black jacket. She had added some hair gel to her mane, making it shine a bit while also putting on a grin. Her regalia had also increased with her wearing gold boots that were painted black. Flurry Heart almost looked like a troublemaker with the way she appeared.
"What is this?" Sombra questioned.
"You told me to look like I'm the biggest superpower around. So I dressed like I mean business. I used some parts from the clothes I wear when I'm acting as Premium Polishs's bodyguard for Pokemon Contests. Pretty neat, right, sir?"
"...The black appearance is a nice touch. I would've added some red here and there. I would wear that. But this is not what I had in mind." Sombra could appreciate this grittier design as even he would wear it. Alas, not exactly the status of a ruler that he was thinking about.
"Ah, you'll like it! Here try this on!" By surprise, Flurry Heart had used her magic to bring Sombra's physical body back, throwing away the shadowy form. Sombra was taken by surprise as Flurry Heart could effortlessly do. Before he knew it, Flurry had placed an identical set of clothes onto the former ruler of the Crystal Empire.
Now Sombra had matching clothes to Flurry Heart. Even the hair gel. The black shades and jacket complimented him perfectly but he certainly did not wear those black boots. And remembering what Sombra said, Flurry Heart added some red into the mix via red stripes on the side of the jacket.
"See? Not bad, right?" Flurry Heart nudged.
"Hmph. You have superb taste, young one."Sombra nodded in approval. "We will have to work on a few things, but overall, not a bad design choice. With this, I can even walk safely."
Indeed, Sombra could use this as a disguise. This allowed him to walk through the Crystal Empire without worrying about much. And it worked like a charm. Nopony recognized him or even chose to approach him for how intimidating he appeared. Sombra's intimidation factor had now returned thanks to this one effective disguise. He had to applaud Flurry Heart for that.
Nearby, Ms Harshwhinny had just finished another Gym Battle for the day against another trainer. She locked the Gym before then getting ready to return to her office. She had returned her Wobbuffet to his Poke Ball, swivelling to soon spot the duo of Princess Flurry Heart and King Sombra.
Harshwhinny and practically everypony else knew about Flurry Heart's contest disguise. Much to Flurry Heart's chagrin, it was not effective at all as too many ponies knew exactly what her appearance looked like. She had a unique colour palette after all. And to an extent, the same could be said for Sombra. However, when Ms Harshwhinny laid eyes on this disguised pony, she froze for a bit before having her eyes lower.
"Oh?" Harshwhinny uttered before approaching them. "Princess Flurry Heart. Who is this?" She asked with a different tone from usual. Sombra took a closer look as right behind his glasses, his eyes widened. He saw that Harshwhinny was giving him a certain look and it made the intimidating unicorn freeze on the spot. "I'm interested."
"This? This is uh..." Flurry Heart paused on her words, thinking of a backup name for King Sombra. "Jet Black! See, he's wearing all jet black with a hit of red."
"Jet Black, eh?" Harshwhinny smiled with an approving nod. "Not bad. If I may, I would love to get to know him better." Clearly, Harshwhinny liked what she was seeing. Flurry Heart, ironically being the daughter of the Princess of Love, could not see the signals being directed from Harshwhinny to Sombra. But Sombra could. Harshwhinny kept that smile which only made Sombra freeze up some more.
"Get me out of here, right now," Sombra ordered, wanting to be away from Harshwhinny's presence immediately. Flurry Heart understood clearly as she used her magic to move the frozen unicorn.
"Sorry, Ms Harshwhinny! Gotta go!" Flurry Heart chuckled. Harshwhinny kept that same look on her face for a bit, even when Sombra was moving out of view. Sombra sighed, almost removing his glasses as he was free from whatever Harshwhinny would do next.
"Hah...may thanks." Sombra sighed. "I never felt so uncomfortable before in my entire life."
"Don't worry about it. Now. What else are you gonna teach me? I think I've got this appearance thing down already."
"R-Right." Sombra cleared his throat. "There are a few things left to go through. So listen carefully." His lesson to Flurry Heart would continue.
Sombra did have a goal to make her a powerful ruler in her world. Certainly, not this world as the Flurry Heart living here was already set for that. However, with each lesson that he would give to her, Flurry Heart and her blissful innocence would find a way to alter the serious nature of Sombra's advice into something more playful and entertaining.
Sombra watched as his lessons were turned upside their head. Granted, it was supposed to be targeted toward her subjects who existed in Universe 6. But the subjects in this universe were a part of it. Sombra facehoofed as Flurry Heart wasn't showing the status of a ruler that he was envisioning.
A strict approach? Flurry Heart would simply make some rules that still benefited many. Albeit minimal since her parents had the most governed rule over the Crystal Empire. Taking no for an answer as royalty? Flurry Heart would find an alternative to it.
Sombra then realized that Flurry Heart's approach was strikingly similar to Ash's. Ash had the same approach to being a ruler. Especially King of the Sea. All of this mirrored Ash's actions visibly as it made Sombra groan.
"So? How am I doing so far?" Flurry Heart asked, using her magic to lift some foals, juggling about as they laughed hysterically.
"I should've expected this..." Sombra shook his head. "That is my fault for thinking otherwise. But, you aren't bad. You certainly have something that can be seen as a ruler."
"Really? Yes!" Flurry was happy to hear that. "Great to hear that I'm moving on up. You have to give me some more advice, So- I mean, Jet Black."
"Perhaps another time. Somehow, you've exhausted me." Sombra turned away. "I need to find something else to do. That throne was far more comfortable than I expected. Perhaps the temple has softer beds."
"Hey! I'll be heading out on my own Pokemon Journey soon. Mom and dad allowed me to go even further. You should come along and tutor me along the way."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Yeah. Guess who's eager to catch some more Pokemon?" Flurry Heart winked. "Can't just be stuck with Giratina all the time. Even if it's a crazy strong Pokemon."
"Hmph. I appreciate the offer, but unfortunately, there is one major drawback." Sombra turned back to her. "I cannot be too far away from Ash Ketchum. That accursed Spirit of Chaos put a strong restriction on me to prevent me from venturing too far from him. So it's impossible for me to come along."
"Then just bring Ash." An easy solution came from Flurry Heart. "I'd love to go on a journey with Ash too! I've heard so much about him!"
"Kh...Why did I know you would say that?" Sombra groaned.
"It'll be fun, no doubt. Short. But fun! I'll be heading out soon, so remember, okay?" Flurry Heart was looking forward to it as she dropped the foals finally.
Sombra thought about it for a moment before looking at the distance. There, he could spot Ms Harshwhinny eyeing him down with that same sharp expression. Sombra was now thinking about going with Flurry Heart on that journey if it meant avoiding the gaze.
"Flurry Heart?" And it didn't take long for her parents to notice their daughter. It didn't take long at all. They recognized her getup from when she was the bodyguard for Premium Polish. But there was something far more striking about it.
"Mom! Dad!" Flurry Heart stood up. "Check it out! I've updated my look! And I've been taking some pointeRS from-"
"Sombra?!" Cadence could recognize Sombra, causing the unicorn's heart to skip a beat. The foals and nearby ponies locked onto who they thought to be some random pony.
"Well, that's out of the bag." Flurry Heart shrugged.
"What do you mean you took pointers?!" Shining Armor grabbed Flurry Heart's face. "What did he tell you!? You're not looking like that for a different purpose, are you?!"
"Nothing much except how to be a better ruler." She replied with a muffled voice. "Plus we look like this because we match. Neat, right?"
"Precisely. And my work here is done for the day. Toodles." Sombra decided to leave before things could get hairy. It was back to the Sea Temple, although, he wouldn't be safe there neither could he get that far.
"Not my daughter being influenced by him..." Cadence's heart sank as one of the worst possible outcomes she was thinking of was standing right in front of her. But it was not as serious as was expected. That didn't stop the Princess of Love from whiting out for a bit.
Flurry Heart giggled as she thoroughly enjoyed her time with Sombra. It was certainly an odd bond that was formed by them both. One had imprisoned her parents and enslaved this empire once while the other was the daughter of the parents who had been enslaved by him. But then again, in this day and age where Strange and Wonderful Creatures meet up with all different walks of life and form new bonds, what can be considered strange?
All was calm during the night. Many were asleep. Some were getting ready to sleep as lights were being turned off on this serene evening. And on this beautiful night, whilst Princess Luna and Darkrai govern the Dream Realm plus the Hyperdream, Princess Celestia was roaming around.
It wasn't quite time for her to clock out just yet. Before she would head to bed, there was one crucial thing that needed to be done. In Celestia's eyes, this was just as important as being royalty.
"Mmm...Midnight cake." She said to herself, thinking about the massive cake that was modelled after Canterlot. But what truly caught her mind was the cake modelled after Cobalion. She couldn't wait to sink her teeth into it. But upon appearing in front of the royal fridge, opening the door, the lip licking, excited and cake-addicted expression on Celestia had been erased from existence.
The cakes. They were gone.
Her Jaw dropped. Her eyes almost popped out of her head. A sunken heart. The cakes that she would continue eating even during the evening had been ravaged. Minimal pieces were left of the Canterlot and Cobalion cake with only Cobaltion's leg and the balcony of Canterlot Castle being left behind.
"No...No...NOOOO!" A cry of sorrow echoed throughout Canterlot, shattering the windows and even going past the city. This cry had the power of the Royal Canterlot Voice behind it. It had reached the Pikachu Highlands, Deerling Forest, Ponyville, Manehattan, Cloudsdale and more. Celestia had never been this thrown off guard and disheartened.
Just as she had cried out, a small yet hyper-fast figure had dashed by, grabbing Celestia's attention. Her eyes shifted, just missing the swift figure. But she did not miss out on what it had left behind. Celestia swivelled to see frosting trails. Frosting that had come from the cakes.
"Voir?! Gardevoir!" Hearing the cry of their Trainer, Passion and Arcanine had shown up, spotting Celestia. Nothing had happened to her. But it was a catastrophe either way.
Celestia used her hoof to scoop the frosting trail, seeing that it stopped near the window. The culprit was long gone and she, unfortunately, did not spot the figure at all. Only a blur. The Sun Princess clenched her hoof. The frosting had been squeezed and splattered on her face as she took a deep breath.
"Passion. Arcanine." She spoke to her partners without even facing them. Her magical presence was rising with her eyes flaring gold. She meant business when it came to her favourite delicacy. "Justice needs to be served."
Soarin's home.
Coming back from the Wonderbolts Academy after a long day of work was Soarin. He had already clocked out for the night but had woken up mid-sleep. All for one reason.
Pies.
Much like Celestia's love for cake, Soarin loved pies equally. And unlike Celestia, his fridge still had the respective food inside of it. Soarin opened it to see those lovely pies sitting there, making his eyes all wobbly. Soarin stuck his tongue out, ready to consume.
But not while they were cold. Luckily, his Torkoal could fix that. Torkoal, along with all of his other Pokemon, were fast asleep. And even when asleep, Torkoal's flames were still active on his shell. Soarin used the active shell as a way to heat up his pies. He placed one pie on top while placing the rest of them on the side.
Soarin left them to heat up until they were ready. In the meanwhile, he would readjust his bed after crumpling it from all his movements when asleep. It was a common thing for many. However, the moment he turned his attention away from the pies for just a few seconds, entering his bedroom, that mysterious swift figure struck again.
Going from Canterlot Castle to Soarin's Home this quickly only showed its speed as the three pies that were around and on top of Torkoal had been snatched. And with such precision to the point where the sound it made almost became invisible to the ears. It had struck again. First, Celestia's cake. And now, Soarin's pies.
And poor, poor Soarin would come to this terrifying realization. He knew that Torkoal's heat was powerful enough to heat the pies up to a perfect degree in just a few seconds, so he returned with his fangs baring for a bite. Unfortunately, the moment he returned, he was met with shock, horror and disappointment.
The pies were gone. All of them. With only a trace being small crumbs that also led outside much like Canterlot Castle. "M-My pies..." Soarin did not burst out with a booming voice. Instead, he just sat down, looking defeated. He closed his eyes the curtains on his windows flapped ferociously via the nightfall wind.
He looked outside, unable to catch the culprit that had done this as it was too late. The speed allowed for a swift getaway. And this would certainly not be the last time it would strike.
Ponyville. The Pokemon House. Day.
Over at the Pokemon House, Team Rocket were doing their usual job of helping out Fluttershy at the Pokemon House. It was feeding time for the Pokemon and all their various tastes.
"We're running low on food here." Fluttershy pointed out. "We'll have to get more for everyone."
"That's another 2 weeks of having to get that much new food?" Jessie groaned. "Usually, it's a month or more."
"You know Pokemon. They sure have a big appetite, don't they?" Fluttershy giggled before pouring a bowl of Pokemon Food into Bayleef's mouth.
"True that!" Meowth could agree as he didn't have to help out. He was a Pokemon, as he chose to eat instead of assist.
"Pfft. It's not a big deal! I can whip something up." Jessie rubbed her hands together. "Just you wait."
"While you do that, I'll get some more." James stood up as he would head out to buy some food. "We still have some of that Pegalysium treasure plus actual treasure from Royalty. What a lucky break that we chose to help out, right? We wouldn't have been chosen by that King and Queen for a bit."
"Lucky break indeed..." Jessie and Meowth agreed. Since they helped out at Pegalysium a few times, they were also free to choose their reward. And their reward was simple yet effective. Gold. However, they did tend to burn through it at unnatural speeds.
"Be right back!" James rushed off, grabbing as much gold as he could. Found inside of the Rocketship, he made his way for some big shopping. Gigantic shopping was a better term. This was the equivalent of feeding a family. One colossal family so James would be a busy camper.
To get what he needed especially in the time frame of feeding so many Pokemon, visiting the Pokemon World was the second option. The big cities had most of the things that James would need. Luckily, these past 3 years have allowed Pokemon Food to become common in this world, making it easier for James to have closer options.
The best place to be was Manehattan, which meant a fairly lengthy trip for James. He already selected Ponyville first to buy the first batch of Pokemon Food, causing him to carry some bags. He had plenty within them, but not enough for the entire Pokemon House. He could at least rest his arms when on the train to Manehattan.
As he was heading to the train station for a quick ride, he stopped for a moment to notice a nearby trail of peculiar objects, while also picking up on an electrifying sound.
"Hm?" This trail that James noticed was of seeds. They were highly abundant, even perfectly straight. And the one that was leaving this behind and also eating them at the same time was a Pokemon that was new to James' eyes.
"Morpeko." A Morpeko. Another member of the Electric Rodent family. It could be seen grabbing the seeds while also dropping them at the same time.
"Who's that Pokemon?" Curious, James took out his Pokedex, observing this rodent. However, compared to other Pokedexes, Team Rocket's Pokedex had a bit of an attitude. A lazy one. It yawned while facing Morpeko. "Ahem!"
"What do you want?" The Pokedex questioned.
"Can't you tell me about this one?" James tapped on the Rotomdex.
"Alright, fine. I got it. Morpeko. The Two-Sided Pokemon. As it eats the seeds stored up in its pocket-like pouches, this Pokémon is not just satisfying its constant hunger. It’s also generating electricity. It carries electrically roasted seeds with it as if they’re precious treasures. No matter how much it eats, it always gets hungry again in short order. There. Happy?"
"Perfectly acceptable."
"Morpe?" Morpeko soon noticed James as well. It finished chewing on a seed that it ended up electrifying before noticing the bags of food that James was holding. "Morpe!"
Morpeko became attracted to the bag of food, rushing over in James's general direction. The Two-Sided Pokemon came to a screeching halt, jumping up and down in front of the bags. James put two and two together after reading Morpeko's dex entry.
"Oh. You want some of the food in here?" James asked.
"Peko!"
"Hmm..." He started thinking about it. "I need a lot of it for every Pokemon back at the Pokemon House...But one won't hurt!" Deciding to feet this Pokemon, James decided to go for what he would deem the best one for Morpeko. "You're involved with that Electric Rodent family, aren't you? This is what you'd love." He dug into the bag, pulling out a stack of pancakes.
"Morko-Pe!" Morkepo had a wide smile before then grabbing the stack, chewing away like there was no tomorrow. All Electric Rodents loved pancakes and thanks to Fluttershy, James knew this.
"Good isn't it?"
"Morpeko!" Morpeko agreed before swallowing it all. It had a good fill. And to repay James for feeding it, Morpeko grabbed one of the seeds that it leaves behind, quickly shocking it to give it a unique taste before then holding it up to James. This was how it would repay James for feeding it something so delicious. Plus, it just wanted James to try it. "Morpe."
"For me?"
"Peko!" The Two-Sided Pokemon nodded, insisting that James gave it a try. James would gladly do so, wondering what these seeds tasted like, especially when electrified. A quick toss into the mouth with some chewing and the Team Rocket Member got to experience the electrifying taste.
"Mmm! Amazing!" James's hair almost stood up. "Your dex entry lived up to it! Thank you."
"Peko-Mor!" Morpeko cried out with a jolly tone before then digging into its pouch once more to pull out some more seeds to consume. However, the shocking realization kicked in for Morpeko. The seed it had given James was the last one. Its pouch was empty with its hand touching nothing but air. "Mor..."
"Hm?" James stopped for a moment, observing a change in Morpekeo with black lightning sparking up.
"Morpeko...!" Morpeko growled as this absence of seeds certainly triggered something within it. The Two-Sided Pokemon started glowing with all of the black lightning expanding, causing James to jerk back a bit. Once the light and lightning faded away, Morpeko had undergone a quick transformation. One that was the polar opposite of Morpeko's jolly self. Pure anger. "Morpeko!"
"What's this!?" James held out the Pokedex once more, observing this change in Morpeko. The Rotomdex still felt lazy, not feeling like reading it out again. "Hurry up!" But James shook the dex, forcing it to.
"Morpeko. The...you know what it's already called. This is its Hangry Form. Intense hunger drives it to extremes of violence, and the electricity in its cheek sacs has converted into a Dark-type energy. Hunger hormones affect its temperament. Until its hunger is appeased, it gets up to all manner of evil deeds."
"Evil deeds?!"
"That's right. So you'd better get to feeding." The Pokedex then shut itself off as Morpeko locked onto the bags of food that James held. Those would suffice. James grit his teeth before then holding out some more food to Morpeko before things could get hairy. That dex entry was enough to make him know of the stakes.
"Morpeko!" Morpeko lunged forward, snatching the food off of James' grasp. James gasped as Morpeko ripped the box the food was covered by to shreds with such ease.
"Hah..." James sighed as he already wasted two batches of food that were meant for specific Pokemon back at the Pokemon House. "Couldn't you have just eaten the seeds you left behind?"
"Morpeko!" But Morpeko could care less as it started chewing away at all of the food for specific Pokemon. But Morpeko didn't have a general taste preference. When it was in its Hangry Form, all food was acceptable to it. James watched as one half of the food for the various Pokemon was all stripped away.
"What a terrifying sight." James wiped the sweat from his forehead before looking at the first bag. "I've already given it two. If this is how it's always going to be when it's hungry, then I feel for the poor creature that it comes across.
"Mor...Morpeko." Morpeko had filled itself, satisfying its hunger. Because of this, the Two-Sided Pokemon had reverted to its normal form.
"Full?"
"Mor-Morpeko."
"Excellent. Now, you keep looking for food, alright? I've got places to be." James laughed before walking off. However, instead of leaving him alone, Morpeko chose to follow James.
"Morpeko-peko."
"Y-You're following me?!" James took notice as Morpeko held out another seed to James.
"Morpeko." Out of the good of its heart, its dual-sided heart, it wanted to repay James once more for feeding it. Second time in a row. James scrunched his face as he did not expect this Electric-Dark-Type to follow him. Neither did he want it to.
"Uh, I'm flying solo here so..." James took the seed either way before deciding to fast-walk, hopefully losing Morpeko.
But Morpeko did the same, easily catching up to James. James then increased his walking speed some more, almost jogging, only for Morpeko to do the same. James got closer to the train station, unable to lose Morpeko. It was truly tagging along, much to James's chagrin.
The train to Manehattan.
James failed to lose Morpeko as he ended up sitting on the train next to the Two-Sided Pokemon. Along the way, Morpeko had gathered up more seeds, keeping them in its pouches as the train to Manehattan was on the move. Morpeko was burning through the seeds as it didn't have many places to go inside of a train, giving it enough time to eat in a stationary position.
"Why me?" James sighed, wondering why he was the sole individual that Morpeko managed to latch onto.
"Aw, what a cutie!" Observing Morpeko and appreciating its cuteness was a nearby pony. "It looks like a Pikachu."
"It should. A member of that Electric Rodent Family as we call them." James replied. "But it's not cute for the most part."
"I don't know about that." The earth pony hopped off her seat, walking up to Morpeko. Other ponies who adored adorable Pokemon flocked towards the Two-Sided Pokemon. "Look at the way it eats."
"Peko. Morpe?" Morpeko looked over at her, holding out some of the seeds and offering them. When it wasn't hungry and craving for a bite, it had a surprisingly charitable and generous nature.
"Aw, for us?" The ponies gladly took the seeds that were also electrified to give them that extra taste.
"It's nice and cute now..." Only James knew about Morpeko's secondary side. And that would come sooner than expected. Morpeko hadn't gathered as many seeds as it would usually gather due to one detail. The train station was already nearby when gathering new seeds, making Morpeko's resources limited. Manehattan was also nearby as this train ride would soon come to an end, only bringing a foreboding sense of danger.
The ponies enjoyed the taste of the seeds, relishing it. Some of them even fainted from the sheer taste of it. Morpeko dug in for some more, however, the second it had given the ponies some of the seeds, that was the last batch. "Pe...Morpeko!" Naturally, being low on food, Morpeko's anger had resurfaced with black lightning sparking out.
"Not again!"
"Morpeko!" Morpeko's Hangry Form returned into the fray before then releasing its anger afterwards. It did so by stomping on the seats, managing to shake this part of the train as the ponies lost their balance. This attack was Stomping Tantrum as it made some of them bump their heads on the seats.
"Woah! Hey!" They cried out. The black lightning from Morpeko had also scattered, shocking them too. As if they weren't already dealing with Stomping Tantrum.
"Morko-Pe!" To further let its anger out, Morpeko had then used its signature move Aura Wheel. Hangry Mode Morpeko formed a light blue wheel of energy around its body that it did by just running on the spot, ready to charge. The group of ponies held onto each other, fearing that they were its target. Some of the black lightning from before had already shocked them, giving them a good indication to be intimidated by the Two-Sided Pokemon.
"Here! James held out some more food to it before it could start attacking. This time, he chose multiple foods instead of just one. Morpeko paused the Aura Wheel before then grabbing the offered food. It wasted no time in eating what it was given.
"Mor! Morpeko!"
"Phew..." James managed to avoid another disaster as the train to Manehattan had finally stopped. The group of ponies stood there frozen with electrified and puffed up manes before seeing James get up and leave. Morpeko, even in its Hangry Form, continued to follow James while carrying the food it was devouring. "Sorry about that! But it still has its charm, doesn't it?!" James apologized to them before leaving.
"...He's right. It is still cute like that." One of the ponies could certainly agree with James on that before falling over with a smoky body.
Manehattan. Afternoon.
Arriving at Manehattan, James noticed how the first bag was almost done. Giving Morpeko multiple foods was tearing away at the food meant for the rest of the Pokemon back at Ponyville. Even some food that Pinkie Pie had made had been devoured.
James knew that he couldn't keep Morpeko around. Not with these bags of food in danger. It could be worse when buying food here at Manehattan, which currently had the biggest spot for Pokemon Food. He had to lose Morpeko.
"Here!" James dropped the entire first bag in front of Morpeko. "All of this is yours to eat, okay?"
"Pe? Morpeko!" Morpeko was elevated from this. It couldn't believe that James would give it all this food. Accepting James's offer, Morpeko leapt inside of the bag. It was now surrounded by food, rummaging in the bag with its entire body perfectly fitting in it. This gave James the chance to lose it.
"Now chew slowly, okay? Don't want to get sick do we?" James slowly backed away as Morpeko was distracted by the food. A perfect getaway. He then dashed like the wind, running as fast as he could.
Finally, James had distanced himself from the Two-Sided Pokemon. Morpeko had yet to notice that James was gone. Too busy scarfing down all of the food within the bag. James looked at how much gold he had left. While it was enough to buy some more food from Manehattan, the estimated amount was cut in half thanks to Morpeko.
"I'll have to find a way to get enough. I hope I can." said James as he had then approached the store for Pokemon Food.
Meanwhile, Morpeko was just obliterating the food around it. All of this would be enough to satiate its hunger. However, there was one drawback that James forgot. Manehattan did not have a trace of seeds. With no seeds for Morpeko to grab, this could be a problem.
Morpeko's nose had picked up on some food around Manehattan. From the restaurant to various shops, different foods of different kinds were in the air. Morpeko knew exactly where it would go afterwards.
2 hours later.
James spent a while buying as much food as he could. He had to compensate for the devoured food thanks to Morpeko, meaning that it would be going for cheaper products that may or may not cater to certain Pokemon. He gave up a lot of his gold for all of this food while also gaining a bag bigger than the previous one and the one he was currently holding combined.
He left the store, feeling some weight from all the food he had purchased. But all of this would be enough for the Pokemon House, coupled with Jessie and Fluttershy's cooking. Plus the assistance of Zecora so it was not a total loss. However, the moment he stepped outside, Morpeko stood in front of him.
"Morpeko." No longer in its Hangry Form, the Two-Sided Pokemon stood before James with a cheery face and a pair of grapes in its hand.
"Geeeeh! How did you know!?" James almost dropped the food. Morpeko stood beside James, sniffing the new food he had gathered. He truly latched himself onto James, which was not a good look.
"Hey!" Just then, somepony had shouted in James' general direction, alerting him. "You there! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
"Uh..."
"All of my food! Gone in mere seconds!" One of the many store owners of Manehattan bellowed. And it wasn't just that store owner. Another one could be seen appearing. And another. And another.
"It took us a long time to gather and grow most of those!"
"Now it's all history because of that thing!"
Even ponies from the restaurant approached. "Our romantic dinner date...ruined...!" One stallion cried out with the mare next to him shaking her head in disappointment and disapproval.
"Wait...You didn't..." James slowly turned his trembling head to Morpeko, who was currently eating grapes. Judging from what James was hearing, Morpeko had done something on a city-wide scale.
"Morpeko." Indeed, Morpeko had eaten from every store in Manehattan in the span of 2 hours.
"And hey! Aren't you the guy that sold us those fake Master Balls?!" One mare recognized James, recalling the event back at Canterlot.
"Uh...Gotta go!" James made the conscious and best decision to run while he still could. He zoomed off with all of the food at his disposal. At least he didn't have to worry about the gold since he spent it all. Morpeko followed after James, jumping onto his leg. Was not a good look for him yet again. "Not on me!"
"Morpe!"
James now had an angry mob after him, mainly targeted towards Morpeko. But since Morpeko had stuck by James the most, it was assumed that it belonged to James. James looked behind to see a horde of mainly store owners and some furious restaurant customers chasing him down. James wondered how did it come to this in such a short amount of time?
But it wasn't just them.
Out there in Canterlot, Celestia was vowing for justice. Justice for her cake. She had one way of trying to find the culprit. Scent. All canine Pokemon had a strong sense of smell and thankfully, Arcanine was one. After getting a sniff of the frosting, Arcanine started to deduce who was responsible for this. Celestia was ready to bring justice as the journey continues.
James managed to escape a horrific fate. Mainly the Morpeko that was holding onto his leg. After Morpeko in its Hangry Form devoured so much food from Manehattan this afternoon and even last night when it ate pies from Soarin's Home and even going as far as devouring cake from Princess Celestia, it was a target.
"Safe." James had managed to escape from an angry mob of ponies who Morpeko had devoured from, aka the stores of Manehattan and the Manehattan restaurant. The Pokemon House and Ponyville were his safe haven.
"James. You're back. And you brought a friend along." Fluttershy fluttered over, spotting Morpeko as James placed the heavy bag of food down.
"Not exactly a friend. Right now, it's leaning towards being a magnet." James could relax now that he was done with the shopping. "This right here is Morpeko."
"Morpeko!"
"Nice to meet you, Morpeko." Fluttershy greeted the Two-Sided Pokemon. " I see you're a member of the Electric Rodent Family. But, James. I notice that you didn't get that much food."
"I didn't...It ate most of it." James facepalmed before pointing at Morpeko who was already looking at the bag of food. "First bag and second bag while I was heading to Manehattan and back."
"All of it?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"All of it. At least Jessie is whipping up something. Is she done?" Right on cue. As James brought up Jessie's name a fire could be seen sprouting from Fluttershy's cottage. Jessie's screaming could be heard as she burst out of the cottage. In her hands, she held a Poliwag, using it to put out the flames. "Jessie didn't have as good as luck as I did, eh?"
"Well, Morpeko's welcome here at the Pokemon House much like any other-"
"NO!" James sat up, shouting at the top of his lungs and even causing Audino's ears to take damaged. This was one decision that he certainly didn't want Fluttershy going through with. "Fluttershy! You can't keep it here!"
"Why not? Every Pokemon is welcome here." Fluttershy patted Morpeko on the head. "No matter what."
"I know. But, speaking from experience, Morpeko here will eat through everything. There's no getting rid of its endless hunger!"
"Oh, come on, James. Troublesome Pokemon aren't uncommon for me. Besides, Morpeko's not the only Pokemon here with a massive appetite. Isn't that right, Snorlax?" Fluttershy turned to the one Pokemon that had an equal appetite to the Two-Sided Pokemon. Snorlax, of course.
"Snorlax..."
"We'll make sure that Morpeko gets its fill. There won't be any problems here."
"Except for this." Along came Meowth to interject. He slid over, holding a newspaper in his paws before showing it to James and Fluttershy. "Look. Sounds to me that we've got a food problem and a Morpeko problem too."
By observing the newspaper, they noticed how Princess Celestia was involved as James read it out. "It says here that Princess Celestia is currently pursuing an unidentified thief that had ravaged through her cake last night. The ones we made back at Canterlot?"
"Those ones." Meowth nodded. "Modelled perfectly after two things she digs."
"And it says that thanks to Arcanine's sense of smell plus the frosting that had been left behind, Celestia tracked down this culprit to Manehattan, but the culprit vanished afterwards. However, it was reported that the culprit also ravaged most of Manehattan's food resources from stores and the restaurant while being alongside...Me?!" James pulled back as one of the photos was of him and Morpeko running away from an angry mob of ponies. "W-When did they get this image?!"
"Photographers are almost everywhere in Equestria. You'd be surprised by how many there are." Fluttershy causally spoke while James's heart skipped a beat.
"Noo! Not like this!" James got on his knees, pulling on his hair before realizing what this all meant. "A food felon! A cake culprit! In the eyes of the Top Pony in this world!"
"Sucks to be you!" Meowth taunted. "Jessie and I are free from that! Took us a while to become wanted but glad it wasn't me!"
"What do I do? Do I just run back to the Pokemon World?! No. She's been there so she can teleport there as well!" James was starting to panic and it was a natural reaction considering the stakes that had been birthed. "Gah!"
"No need to worry, James. I can explain everything to Princess Celestia. It's just a case of hunger that's all." Thankfully, Fluttershy would be there for James, defending him when Celestia would inevitably show up.
"Thanks, Fluttershy." James was glad to hear it. He could rest easy knowing that Fluttershy would vouch for him. "But the point still stands. IF Morpeko is going to be staying here, there needs to be a way to keep it under control. First, we need to get this food away from it as soon as possible."
"I understand. Audi. Can you and a few others take this bag back to my house?" Fluttershy requested. "Make sure that it's at a good spot to be safe too."
"Audino!" Audino would do just that along with other Pokemon. For the sake of every Pokemon's hunger, the bag of food would be kept somewhere safe. Safe from Morpeko, who would no doubt consume all in its Hangry Form. All James could do now was hope that Princess Celestia would understand.
Speaking of Celestia, she had arrived.
Certainly, the timing was immaculate. She had set hoof into Ponyville after soon learning of who was alongside Morpeko. James shuddered, sensing Princess Celestia's presence. She was here and not exactly happy mood. She focused directly on the Pokemon House, knowing where James resided.
James hid behind Fluttershy, which was pointless considering the size difference as Celestia could be seen approaching.
"James," Celestia spoke to James, easily spotting him from afar.
"Y-Yes, your highness" The nervous human poked his head from the side whilst still being behind Fluttershy, grinning nervously.
"Can I speak with you for a moment"
"Mmm..." As if it was a cross mother finding out what her child had done, James nervously scurried over to Celestia with his heart rapidly beating. He stood up tall in front of royalty with Fluttershy getting ready to jump in at any time.
"James. I wanted to let you know that your Pokemon has done something..." Celestia closed her eyes, grimacing for a bit as she couldn't bear to think about the tragedy that befell her fridge. She could just envision the two cakes in their glory and now their ravaged appearances as she clenched her hoof. "Cruel! My cakes. Both of which you and your friends made are now gone. Consumed and no more. All thanks to your Pokemon."
"Oh, no, no, no, your majesty. Morpeko isn't my Pokemon."
"It's not?" Celestia's serious and saddened tone vanished in a split second as she faced James.
"I'll explain, Princess Celestia." Along came Fluttershy. "Morpeko is a Pokemon that's with James, following him. It's not his Pokemon Trainer. But it certainly was the one who went on an eating spree."
"And I don't know why it's attached to me..."
"I see...Well, I'm not sure if it makes me feel better that it's just a Wild Morpeko. But still...All of that cake. Gone." Celestia sighed. "Pokemon or not, Morpeko needs to answer for this global crime."
"Global?" Meowth repeated as he could not understand how eating some cake was considered a global crime. Then again, it did belong to royalty and Celestia loves cake.
"At best, the highest form of punishment for this is eating their least favourite food for a week."
"That's it?" James and Fluttershy uttered in unison.
"Yes. After all, it's just food." Celestia, while she did love her cake, she didn't prioritize it over everything else. But she did adore to a staggering degree, no doubt. "What did you think I was going to do?" She chuckled. James and Fluttershy laughed as well as they thought it would be something horrible. But this was fairly tame, depending on the taste buds, that is. "Now. Where is that Morpeko? Its hunger must've been stellar."
"Hm?" It took James just now to realize that Morpeko was not here. It was gone. "Morpeko? Morpeko!"
SugarCube Corner.
Morpeko already had a target. It skipped out on the food that was at the Pokemon House since most of it was raw and uncooked and instead focused on something else. Its nose picked up on a wonderful scent.
And that scent could only come from SugarCube Corner. The scent of pastry caught its attention with ease as it bit on some of the seeds in its pouches. But as if by some cruel fate playing a joke on this specific day, Morpeko ran out of seeds yet again along with the grapes it was eating earlier. "Morpeko!" Transforming into its Hangry Form, this only gave it a stronger drive to enter SugarCube Corner.
"Dei...No!" And speaking of SugarCube Corner, Twilight and Spike could be found there, having a good afternoon meal via cupcakes. Deino, a Pokemon known for her goal to become the best biter out there, which was an odd goal, scarfed down the various cupcakes.
But not without some strength. She wanted to break everything with her fangs, no matter what it was. And after eating the cupcake, she went straight for the table next, ready to bite it off and test her strength.
"Ah-ah." Pinkie halted her. "Sorry, Deino. But the table's off-limits. Unless I can disguise some furniture as candy for you."
"Disguise furniture as candy? What?" Twilight uttered.
"Yeah. It's a neat trick I've been practising. Just think! It'll work as a prank and as a clever design! No one's gonna know what's real and what's candy! How's that sound?"
"Could you do that with gemstones?" Spike recommended. "I mean, not that it would change anything but..."
"Morpeko!" Busting through the window was Morpeko. Throwing everyone off guard except for Deino, who was off to bite the next cupcake at the same time. Morpeko's eyes were locked onto the cupcake as well, lunging right at it after breaking the windows. "Peko!"
However, a clash had ensued. Morpeko and Deino's mouths had both come into contact with the same cupcake in perfect unison. Spike fell over, still trying to process what had just happened.
"Mor?!"
"Dei?" Deino and Morpeko looked at each other. The two Dark-Types paused to observe the situation before pulling on the cupcake. They had just now noticed that their mouths were on the same cupcake. Obviously, with both of them looking for a bite, especially Morpeko, they wouldn't just let it slip away.
They started pulling the cupcake back and forth, gradually ripping it apart as the instant they locked eyes and touched the same food, they were already fighting for dominance. They seemed to have equal strength before eventually ripping the cupcake in half with both of them flying back.
"W-Who's that Pokemon?" Twilight and Spike both stammered as Pinkie's ears flopped upon seeing the ripped cupcake. Such a beautiful treat that represents happiness. Torn by fighting.
"Deino...!"
"Morpeko...!" And speaking of fighting, that could potentially happen with Morpeko and Deino staring each other down. Neither was too happy about this. Both of them exuded dark energy in the form of black flames or black lightning. The Pokedex of Twilight observed Morpeko as Mew got in front of the two Dark-Types to halt this confrontation.
"Mew-Mew!"
"So that's what it is." Twilight finished observing Morpeko's Dex Entry. "Then this place is a goldmine for it."
"Pe...Morpeko!" Morpeko needed food immediately. As many as it can get. It ignored Mew's plea to prevent any conflict by using its signature move, Aura Wheel. It formed that wheel of Aura, running on the spot as Deino wasn't helping the situation as she went for Dragon Rush, covering herself in a raging blue aura.
"Wait, not in here!" Spike bellowed, but it was too late. Deino and Morpeko charged at each other with Dragon Rush and Aura Wheel connecting. The collision blew Mew, Pinkie, Twilight, Espeon and Spike back as they butted heads. All other pastries were knocked over by this.
Of course, tracking down Morpeko was Princess Celestia yet again. This time, she was joined by Fluttershy and Meowth. They had the right idea of where to go. SugarCube Corner was the obvious choice as they had just now opened the door to witness the struggle between Deino and Morpeko.
"There it is!" Fluttershy pointed out.
"Morpe!" Morpeko slid back as it and Deino seemed to be equal in strength. Morpeko had then used Stomping Tantrum, shaking the entire room as an already downed Twilight, Pinkie and Spike were bouncing from this constant stomping. Even Celestia and the others were affected while outside.
Deino responded to this by also stomping her feet, but it was not as effective or powerful as the golden shockwaves from Stomping Tantrum were coming her way.
"Return, Deino!" Spike quickly returned Deino to her Poke Ball before Stomping Tantrum could connect. A close call, however, the enraged Morpeko was still prominent and present. Now that Deino was out of the way, Morpeko threw itself towards the next batch of food. Twilight was alert, readying her horn up with magic and fearing that Morpeko was coming straight for her. Espeon prepped herself as well, only for Morpeko to completely fly over them.
Pinkie Pie screeched as she was in Morpeko's way. The pink party pony pounced to the side as Morpeko smashed into the pantry.
"Mor! Morpeko!" Morpeko started ravaging the food in the pantry without wasting any time. As long as it could get its fill, it would be fine.
"Morpeko!" Then, Celestia stepped forward, standing before the Two-Sided Pokemon. "Stop right there!"
"Pe?!" Hangry Form Morpeko paused its eating to swivel its head, facing the Ruler of Equestria.
"My. You are a troublemaker, aren't you?" Celestia smirked. "From my observation, all of Ponyville could be next in line for your food quest."
"Morpeko!"
"Even with what your dex entry says, you have to pay dearly for what you did to my cake..." Princess Celestia gained a glint in her eye. A vibrant sparkle appeared as she narrowed her eyes, gazing down at Morpeko ferociously.
"Morpeko...!" Morpeko gobbled the food while also intensely staring at Celestia. If there was one other thing Morpeko hated than just being hungry, it was being interrupted while eating. It wanted complete solitude when consuming food and any interruption only fueled that urge to be wicked. "Peko!"
Wanting Celestia to stop interrupting, Morpeko unleashed some electricity from its body in an attempt to scare off Celestia. However, Celestia wouldn't be scared off by something so light. She had thrown the electricity aside with her magic, causing it to fly out of the broken window.
"Pe? Morpeko!" Morpeko then tired once more, this time, throwing eggshells directly at the princess. And at a rapid pace too with such little arms. Morpeko was throwing them so fast that they became a blur and were powerful enough to cause harm. Twilight and the others gasped whilst Celestia reacted quickly enough to hold the shells in place. "Morpeko!"
Morpeko then started throwing more food at the Sun Princess, this time in varieties. Soft food and hard food. Especially frozen food as the speed that they were thrown at was enough to be a threat. Celestia made sure to stay alert as she spread her wings.
Princess Celestia manoeuvred around the flurry of delicacies of all kinds while also slicing some of them in half with her magic. Twilight put up a barrier to protect herself from the rapidly thrown food. Canned foods were being thrown next, breaking apart upon contact. Some of the food managed to enter Pinkie Pie and Mew's mouths accidentally, but they certainly welcomed it, getting a good fill.
"Morpe!" Morpeko roared, using Aura Wheel as its next option. Getting through Celestia was not easy as it had launched itself at the Sun Princess. Celestial could see the severity of this as she readied her horn, putting a magic coating around her. Morpeko had crashed into Celestia, only for the coating to hold it back. "Peko...!"
"You'll calm down when you eat, correct? Twilight! Everyone! Throw food into its mouth!" Celestia ordered. "It's fixated on me to even feast right now!"
"On it! Eve, use Psychic!" Twilight and everyone else would chime in with the goal of stopping Morpeko's potential rampage before it could escalate to global levels.
James felt the need to atone for this. Morpeko, in some way, was his responsibility as he started aiding Twilight and her friends. They grabbed as much food as they could from across SugarCube Corner. Whether with their hands, hooves, paws or even telekinetic control whilst Morpeko tried pushing Celestia back.
"Gardevoir!"
"Passion, don't interfere" Celestia halted her partner. "This is personal." Celestia wanted justice for her cake. And she felt like she was the one who needed to dish out this justice. She thought about the two cakes that she could've finished eventually, using that as her driving force of power. With that drive, her eyes flashed golden, causing Morpeko to fly back.
"Mor!" Morpeko snarled before sliding on the walls. It had used Aura Wheel once more as noticeably, its speed had been raised after using that attack. It was raised earlier against Deino and now it had increased yet again, making the Two-Sied Pokemon faster than ever.
Celestia noticed this Morpeko's Aura Wheel zoomed at a swifter pace, forcing her reaction time to go off. Celestia flew to the side, narrowly avoiding Aura Wheel. "When did it get so fast...?!" She thought to herself as Morpeko was now faster.
It quickly made a detour, drifting with Aura Wheel and rushing back towards Celestia full force. Celestia put her hooves out, coating them with magic. She managed to grab Morpeko's Aura Wheel, holding it in place with her enhanced hoof strength.
However, thanks to the speed increase, when holding onto Morpeko, Celestia's hooves could feel the increasing heat, causing her to grimace.
She remained vigilant even with her hooves being damaged by Aura Wheel. It didn't help that Morpeko kept using it to get even faster.
"Princess Celestia! We have all the food we need!" Shouting out was Twilight as they had all successfully grabbed as much food as they could. Especially cake.
"Good! Throw it!" Celestia groaned before holding Morpeko in front of them, still feeling the pain in her hooves.
Everyone started launching the various foods at Morpeko who was viciously growling and spinning. Some food managed to enter its mouth despite its rapid spinning, but some ended up being blown away.
Morpeko felt some food enter its mouth as its anger was starting to diminish but it wouldn't be enough.
"This should end it! Here goes!" James held onto the cake, sliding it underneath Morpeko and Celestia.
"Thank you, James! Eat up!" Celestia was ready to put an end to this. With all of her might, she had slammed Morpeko onto the cake, face-first.
A large cake splat had been caused by this impact with pieces of it flying everywhere. Morpeko's mouth was flooded with a cake along with everyone's faces.
"Mor...Morpeko..." The Two-Sided Pokemon took a moment to chew on the cake, taking it in. Once all of it finished processing, Morpeko's rage had subsided. It was back to normal now. "Morpeko."
"Phew." Celestia let go of Morpeko, cooling her hooves near the fridge. Everyone else could rest easy now that it was all over.
Morpeko ate the rest of the cake whilst being surrounded by more food than it would've continued attacking Princess Celestia with.
But the threat of Morpeko's Hangry Mode was still there. Celestia could close the book on this one.
"It's finally over. Glad that's done with." James swivelled, getting ready to leave, only for Morpeko to run over to James, not leaving him alone at all. "Again?!"
"Peko!"
"Why me?! Can't you go to someone else?! All I did was feed you when we met!"
"That's it!" Fluttershy figured out Morpeko's reasoning for following him. " James. It must be similar to when a baby latched on to someone they see for the first time. They see them as their mother instantly. It's the same as that only with food."
"Morpeko!"
"Oh. Is that so?" James sighed. "So, it's not leaving my sight, is it?"
"Afraid not but it still has a place at the Pokemon House."
"You'll all have to handle Morpeko from now on." Celestia stepped forward. 'It will have an episode like before if it's ever-hungry again."
"And that spells impending disaster for Ponyville." Twilight shuddered. "The Pokedex let us know how big of a deal it is. It might be worse than Snorlax."
"Peko?" Morpeko held up a piece of cake to James, offering him some. Even after all of that, it showed charity to James.
"...Thanks." James came to like this side of Morpeko as he took the piece. But the Hangry Form was enough to make him quake.
Morpeko even shared with Celestia and everyone else, giving them some cake plus electrified seeds.
"Mmm. At least it's a charitable one." Celestia said, loving the flavour of this cake. "Bit that punishment is still due. Understood?"
"Yes, Princess Celestia." James and Fluttershy uttered.
"Although...James. Could you and Team Rocket make those two cakes again?" Celestia requested, still wanting to experience those cakes once more. "Especially the Cobalion Cake. Mmm-mm."
"Remake? S-Sure! I can do that!" James stood up tall. "I won't disappoint you, Princess!"
"You didn't. It wasn't your fault anyway. I'll be looking forward to when they're both ready again. Passion. Arcanine. Let's go." It was time for Celestia and her partners to leave. Via teleportation, they had bid Ponyville farewell. Celestia was certainly the biggest card here who helped them through this potential disaster.
"But Fluttershy. Are you sure you want to keep Morpeko here?" Twilight asked, looking at the Two-Sided Pokemon. "Seems like a colossal waste."
"I'm sure Morpeko will do just fine. And since it's stuck to you, James, I can count on you to help out."
"Sure. I'll try my best." James gave a thumbs-up, vowing to handle Morpeko from now on. Whether he liked it or not, Morpeko was stuck with him. And so was all of Ponyville. Truly a terrifying and peckish force to live with as the journey continues.
"Yes! Finally!" Booming from the Pokemon House was the excited voice of Goh. He held his Rotomphone, gazing at it with a jolly expression.
"Finally what? What happened?" Starlight slid over.
"I got an Email from Project Mew!"
"Oh yeah! That thing you applied for!" Starlight recalled Project Mew and how Gary convinced Goh to enter it in a rather mocking and teasing way. "The team that's doing some serious research about Mew?"
"Mhm! I got a recommendation from Professor Oak! So the next step is to become a member! It says here that I've gotta go to their research facility at the foot of Mt Coronet in Sinnoh. Pretty specific but...okay."
"Should we tell Ash and the others about this?" Starlight asked.
"Ash and everyone are busy elsewhere. But are you saying you wanna come along, Starlight?"
"Of course! I'll cheer you on as your friend." Starlight proudly uttered and stood. "We go on adventures as a duo after all, don't we? Not many anyway. It's mostly just big groups a lot of the time."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Goh cried out as he and Starlight were off to Sinnoh for Project Mew. A Mew-focused task that was right up his alley.
Sinnoh Region. Foothills of Mt Coronet. Afternoon.
At the request of Project Mew, Goh and Starlight had arrived at the foothills of Mt Coronet in the Sinnoh Region. They came across the Research Facility which sat there at the foot.
And up ahead, when they had shown up, two individuals could be spotted there. One was familiar and the other was new. They were talking to each other as Gary could be spotted.
"Oh! Gary?!" Starlight cried out as Gary had just finished his conversation with this girl, with both of them going their separate ways. Soon, Gary would be the one to notice Goh and Starlight.
"Well, well. I wondered who'd show up." Gary smirked. "It's Starlight and...uhh..." Gary took a moment to try and remember Goh's name was Starlight waved at him.
"It's Goh! How do you remember Starlight's name and not mine?" Goh uttered, already feeling annoyed.
"Right, right. Heh." Gary chuckled. "I hear you're gonna take the test."
"That's why I'm here."
"Hey, even a total loser could take the test. All you need is the Professor's recommendation, right?" The grandson of Professor Oak shrugged, playing it off as something so light. An agitated Goh growled as Starlight could already feel the powerful tension in the air. "But this is where the rubber meets the road."
"And what does that mean?" Goh questioned.
"This won't be a cakewalk. Project Mew is serious business. So just give it your best shot." Gary walked by, giving off his last piece of advice. He left Goh feeling in a bad mood as opposed to the jolly mood he felt earlier today.
"Hrrghh...! That guy gets on my nerves!" Goh roared as Starlight silently chuckled. But that was Gary. He always knew how to get under someone's nerves. No matter who they were. They then approached the facility, ready to face whatever trial would come their way soon.
"Hello!" Goh and Starlight yelled at the front of the facility. "Anyone there?!" Thankfully, the door did open right as they called for someone. And standing at the door was a Mime Jr that had greeted them.
"Mime? Mime-Mime!" After spotting Goh and Starlight, the Psychic-Fairy-Type pranced off instead of approaching the newcomers. It only took Mime Jr. 2 seconds to return, but it didn't come alone.
"Oh, who is it, Mime Jr?" A voice could be heard, straining a bit due to the boxes this man was carrying. The man could barely be seen with all the boxes blocking his upper body
"Excuse me! I got an email that told me I was supposed to come here?" Goh shouted out.
"Oh. Perfect." The man managed to slightly poke his head past the boxes. Goh and Starlight were welcomed inside now that they were made familiar to this man. Mainly Goh, being that he was the one accepted here.
Eventually, when entering the facility, they could see the man at his fullest. But not before helping him out with these heavy boxes. Starlight used her magic to carry the boxes with ease whilst Goh struggled.
"Thanks for your help. Now then...Allow to me introduce myself." The man placed the final box down before entering a room with the duo. "Name's Amaranth. Professor Amaranth."
"I'm the leader of Project Mew. And right now, everything you see before you is Mew-related." Amaranth showed off the entire room which was also a library as well with an abundance of books.
"All of this is research on Mew?" said Starlight.
"Oh yes. But it's not nearly enough. I've looked at each of these at least a dozen times, but I wind up with more questions than answers. But the closest I've gotten so far is learning about one of your friends. You're friends with someone named, Ash, aren't you? Along with another named Pinkie Pie. They know quite a bit about Mew."
"They do. Ash has seen Mew a few times while Pinkie lives with Mew. And I guess another Mew." Goh explained. "That's not enough either?"
"Not at all. Searching for Mew is like getting lost in a labyrinth. But there's also something about it that's bizarre and familiar at the same time. The Mew over at Ponyville is one that I've been trying to keep an eye on, but it doesn't do much."
"Yeah. He doesn't." Starlight nodded. "Mostly he just lounges around with Pinkie Pie and eats a lot. Guess it's not the most active Mew in the world."
"But then I heard that your friend Pinkie Pie had the goal of helping the second Mew find more of them. For a while, we thought the Mew population was done for and only one Mew out there in the world existed. But to find out that more of them are still out there was amazing. We were already dedicated to finding Mew, but now that dedication's sprung up ten-fold to try and find more Mew."
"Just like a Fossil Pokemon?" Goh questioned.
"Exactly. Just like how Fossil Pokemon have been revived so many times by different trainers to the point where you can find some of them out there, we're hoping to do the same for Mew, making it a not-so-common sight but also less rare than it is. Can you imagine it? A world with Mew flying about, seen by many."
"Hmmm..." Goh and Starlight started picturing it. Starlight had already seen what a world like that would be like. She thought back to when she and everyone were within the realm of Delayed Aura Ataxia.
There, within the Fairy Realm, the Gardevoir there reminisced of a time when she was once a Mew before becoming a Ralts and soon the Pokemon she evolved into. Being one of the many Mew, she naturally lived in a world populated by mainly Mew with a few Legendary and Mythical Pokemon roaming around. In the modern-day, a Mew resurgence could perfectly mirror that.
Not only would it be an amazing sight for all to see, but it would also fulfil Holon Mew's and to an extent Pinkie Pie's goal. To reunite Mew with more of her species. And this goal could perfect it.
"Huh. That would be a nice sight, wouldn't it?" Starlight agreed wholeheartedly.
"Glad you think so too. Oh, Danika. Can you take it from here?" Amaranth then looked over at a girl who had appeared without warning. The same girl that was with Gary minutes ago and also possessed the same voice heard on Gary's Rotomphone. Another member of Project Mew.
"Sir." She replied, leaning on the edge of the entrance. "I'm Danika. Nice to meet you two."
After the introductions, Goh and Starlight were faced with a monitor that had soon turned on via Danika's control. She would take things from here, guiding them both. On the screen, images of various locations with Mew being involved in them in the visage of a blur were popping up.
"As you may know by now, Project Mew's primary is to conduct intensive and thorough research on Mew. And the site for that research is on this island. At a place called Table Mountain." Danika showed them the image of a stellar island. "This is a massive rock that began forming 2 billion years ago. It encompasses almost 2,500 square miles. That's a world record. Nearly 11,500 feet above sea level."
"So, where's this island located?" Goh asked.
"Does Mew roam there?" So did Starlight.
"I'll take questions at the end." Danika slightly raised her voice with a strict tone involved.
"Oh." Starlight and Goh pulled back. "She's pretty strict."
"Let's just stay quiet..." Goh replied.
"The project takes place during the week the rainy season changes to the dry season. Then it's back to rain and a thick mist covers everything. Except at this point, searching becomes impossible. So, now do you have any questions?"
"Well...About Mew..." Goh got straight to the point about the Pokemon that mattered in all of this.
"All Mew information is classified. But I guess that doesn't mean much when you have a friend who owns a Mew. Unless you have something new to share as classified information?"
"Sorry. But Pinkie's Mew isn't exactly the best Mew to learn from..." Goh sighed. If only Pinkie Pie's Mew was as active as many Mew researchers were hoping for. He was by no means lazy. Just not exactly the best Mew to research.
"Now then. Regarding your membership application, there are trial missions to be performed. And each and every one must be performed successfully. The missions test your skills as a Pokemon Trainer. Your skill at catching Pokemon is one. They also include giving battle commands alone and in combinations and working with other trainers." As Danika continued, the facility received a sound that made the room shake.
"What was that?" Goh wondered.
"Please refrain from talking." But Danika continued either way, despite the sound and the bump.
"Y-Yes ma'am!" The duo replied swiftly.
"Once you've completed the trial mission, you'll receive a special token on your Rotomphone." Danika then showed the image of the token. Fittingly, it was a silver token that had the symbol of Mew that resembled the infamous cave painting from long ago of those who had seen Mew before. "The who receives the most tokens during the trial period will be admitted to the team. This time, three applications will be admitted. Combined with two previously selected, a total of five will be sent on the search. They're called Chasers."
"Two are already selected? Are you one of them?" Starlight asked.
"Yes. I'm one. There's another. His name is Quillon. And what about you, my little pony? Did you apply for Project Mew too?"
"Oh, uh, nope. I'm just here to cheer Goh on. Am I uh...allowed to come along with him? Ma'am?" Starlight raised her hoof with a squee.
"Teamwork is an important skill. It's also being tested in this trial. I will allow it." And thus, Starlight was free to help Goh in his trial mission.
"Yes!" An elated Starlight bellowed.
"It's time," Danika said as the doors to the facility were opening. It was revealed that this facility was also an entire ship. An air carrier to be exact. This entire time, while they were talking, the facility was moving. That now explained the bump they had felt earlier as the moment the doors below opened up, a chill could be felt.
"We're flying?!" The duo exclaimed.
"We're in a glacial region in the northern section of Mt Coronet. Goh. Your mission is to catch an Alolan Ninetales from this location." Danika gave Goh his first mission.
"An Alolan Ninetales? Don't they come from Mt Lanakila in Alola?" Starlight thought for a moment. "Doesn't that mean it doesn't belong here?" Thie ship had then landed, making another bump.
"Your mission has already begun." Danika walked over. "What happens from here on is yours to decide."
"I'll catch it! No doubt!" Goh excitedly announced, setting his sights on that Alolan Ninetales.
But first, they had to get dressed for such a chilly location. They were given special suits to help them through the cold. They were naturally human-sized, but one that was pony-sized was perfect for Starlight.
"You have a 6-hour time limit. Be sure you're back by that time." Danika ordered.
"Right." They were off, walking through the snow while also trying to get adjusted to these tundra-based suits. Goh and Starlight figured that they would need some more help for this and there was no better option than their Pokemon.
Goh threw the Poke Balls into the air, summoning his Scizor, Aerodactyl, Flygon and Misdreavus to survey the skies. Starlight only had Hatterene as always, but the Silent Pokemon proved to be of help levitating Goh to help him through the air. They moved through steep hills in this glacial region, searching high and low for Alolan Ninetales. They searched everywhere they could, but most of them eventually returned empty-handed and shivering from the cold.
Goh sat down, sighing whilst Hatterene wrapped herself around Starlight to keep her warm. "I never imagined it would be this hard..." said Goh as his Pokemon were freezing from all of this searching. "Return." Goh promptly returned them.
"I wonder where it is?" Starlight added.
"The only one left is Scizor..." Scizor was the last of Goh's Pokemon who hadn't returned. If anything, Scizor was the perfect candidate since it resisted the cold.
"Scizor!" Speaking of which, the cry of Scizor could be heard in the distance, echoing nearby. Scizor was calling for them as that was a good sign to them. Goh stood up as he, Starlight and Hatterene followed the direction of Scizor's cry. Scizor's voice came from below the mountains, leading to the three of them sliding waddling down, only for Starlight to levitate herself whilst carrying Goh. Hatterene soon did the same to herself.
Lo and behold, thanks to Scizor, they had found the Pokemon they needed. Alolan Ninetales. Scizor eyed down the Ice-Fairy-Type who wasn't even facing the Bug-Steel-Type at all. Snow fell gracefully around it as parts of the skies had also been darkened as well.
"There it is! Incredible, Scizor!" Goh congratulated Scizor for finding it.
"It's still a beautiful Pokemon..." Starlight gazed at the sight of Alolan Ninetales. She had already seen one before, but no matter how many times she sees it, Alolan Ninetales was just so captivating to the eye.
"Nine...!" However, this beauty was countered by something more beastly. Ninetales snarled, turning its head to spot Goh and the others. It did not have a pleasant look on its face. Upon seeing them, Ninetales immediately attacked them without a second thought. Ice Beam came flying out, threatening to freeze them all.
"Oh!" Each of them gasped as Goh, Starlight, Scizor and Hatterene jumped out of the way, evading Ice Beam. "What gives?!" Goh cried out. "What's wrong with Ninetales?! Doesn't the dex say that it has a tranquil personality?"
"Ninetales...!" Ninetales growled, planning to attack them once more with no hesitation whatsoever.
"Togepi and Gardevoir taught us otherwise." Starlight gulped as Ninetals growled at them. "But it looks like Ninetales is just angry more than anything!"
"Tales!" Ninetales had used Ice Beam once more while Starlight spoke, interrupting her. Just a bit too late as Starlight pulled herself back with magic.
"Goh! Your Scizor's extra super-effective against an Ice and Fairy-Type like Ninetales! Go for it!"
"Right! Scizor! Use Metal Claw!" Goh decided to confront Ninetales. He was hoping to casually approach it since it was described as a peaceful Pokemon but the circumstances said otherwise.
"Zor! Scizor!" Scizor went on the offensive, covering its claws with a silver light. It delivered a strong swing of its claw, but not exactly fas enough. Ninetales proved to be the swifter Pokemon, easily leaping into the air and evading Metal Claw.
"Ninetales!" Ninetales retaliated by once again using Ice Beam but with immaculate precision. Just as Scizor's Metal Claw had missed, Ice Beam made contact. And immediately once it touched Scizor, the Bug-Steel-Type within seconds had its body frozen on the spot.
"Ah! Scizor!" Goh gasped.
"Ninetales!" After freezing Scizor with ease, Ninetales let out a mighty howl that echoed throughout the glacial region. Following this howl, Alolan Ninetales had summoned a massive blizzard while its cry was ongoing, cracking some ice in the progress.
"S-Scizor, return!" Goh grimaced, returning Scizor while also covering his ears with his shoulders. Hatterene closed her ears along with Starlight as the rage coming from Alolan Ninetales was enough to irritate Hatterene. However, the blizzard was a bit too strong for her to do anything right now.
Afterwards, the full force of the blizzard had been unleashed, covering everything in a horrifically thick white and grey sheet of snow and torrent of mist as the visage of Alolan Ninetales was starting to vanish, along with Goh and Starlight's sight of it and everything else. All they could see was the mist now.
"N-Ninetales is-" Goh tried speaking, only to be cut off by the violent blizzard. Ninetales disappeared into the howling wind as the duo quickly rushed off to find somewhere safe to take shelter.
"T-This is bad, Goh! If this keeps up, we'll be-" But Starlight was also cut off. The wind became strong enough to carry them off the ground. Goh held onto Starlight's hoof with Hatterene holding onto Goh's leg. With their combined might, they were able to stay on the ground, however, they could not stop the blizzard as everything went completely grey for them.
3 hours later. Inside of a cave.
3 hours had passed. Goh and Starlight ended up in a cave that was sheltered away from the snow. Despite all of that, they ended up at a safe place, but it wasn't them who found it. Goh groaned, slowly waking up. And the one who ended up meeting eyes with him first was Starlight.
"Goh. Goh!" Starlight cried out his name as Goh was now fully awake.
"Ugh...S-Starlight?" Goh sat up.
"Thank goodness...Thought we lost you there."
"What happened? W-Where's Ninetales?!" Goh recalled the mission in an instant. "We got caught up by that blizzard,d didn't we?"
"We did. Ninetales got away after whipping it up. But we were saved thankfully. By him." Starlight revealed the one who saved her, Hatterene and Goh, turning to face him. A young man wearing the exact same suits that Goh and Starlight were wearing.
This Trainer had a Weavile next to him as spotted as they were both looking outside of the cave and how the harsh blizzard was still raging on. He wasn't even facing them. Only his Weavile did.
"Why did you two even come here?" He spoke to them. "When the blizzard lets up, go home."
"Huh?" Goh jerked back.
"N-Not exactly the way I envisioned someone helping us responding with..." Starlight uttered.
"I've got an important mission here to catch Ninetales! I can't just go home!" Goh refused.
"You failed." But he replied in a heartbeat the moment Goh's last word kicked in. "You could've been toasted if I hadn't saved you. You would've died in that blizzard and you had no options to save yourself. Your weakness annoys me. Both of you. Your Pokemon too." Already, he showed off a harsh tone.
"Hold on there!" Starlight stood up. "What are you talking about?!" Goh didn't fail yet!
"Hatterene!"
"Failed...You're with Project Mew, aren't you? Are you Quillon?" Goh asked.
"That's a name you don't need to know anymore." This was indeed Quillon. The one Danika brought up. And he wanted them gone immediately. They all stayed silent, waiting for the blizzard to subside. Quillon sat with his arms crossed, not paying any mind to Goh and Starlight.
"Hey...Could I ask one question?" Starlight spoke. "What's an Alolan Ninetales doing here of all places?"
"Pokemon Hunters," Quillon answered. "They captured it, hoping to make a profit. They were forced to make a landing during a returned trip. It escaped around here to get away.
"So that's why it acted up when it saw us," said Goh. "So if we catch it..."
"We'll return it to Mt. Lanakila. Where it belongs." Quillon revealed. Ninetales would be a free Pokemon by then, even if Goh were to catch it. Goh wondered about that for a moment. Goh's new objective is to catch Ninetales so that it can be returned to its home on Mount Lanakila.
Eventually, the blizzard had come to an end. Peace within the glacial region had returned. It was safe to come out now but this would also mean that Quillon expected them to depart from this location and return home.
"As you promised, go home."
"I refuse!" Goh protested. "We aren't going anywhere!"
"What's that?"
"My 6 hours aren't up yet. Besides, Quillon. You're looking for Ninetales, right?"
"Yeah? What about it?"
"I wanna help you get Ninetales back home to Mount Lanakila too!" Goh revealed his newest objective that went beyond just catching Ninetales.
"And how would you begin searching for it? Unless your pony friend has a spell for that."
"Sadly no." Starlight shrugged. "But that would be useful. What do you think Goh?"
"I thought about something. Since it use to live on Mount Lanakila, it'd probably go to someplace similar. And this glacial region has a mountain top, doesn't it? Over there." Goh pointed in the far distance, focusing on a mountain top. Quillon took out his Rotomphone to compare the mountain top to Mount Lanakila.
Surprisingly, the formation of this mountain slightly resembled Mount Lanakila, making it the perfect spot for Ninetales to head towards. "Right. We're heading out." Quillon accepted the help of Goh and Starlight after Goh figured out the best spot to try and find Ninetales. Albeit momentary acceptance.
Peak of the mountain.
They arrived at the peak of the mountain where Ninetales was theorized to be. But that theory was soon confirmed as a torrent of snow was starting to clear up, revealing the Fox Pokemon. Ninetales appeared once more, still keeping that furious face that was filled with scorn.
The snow was being manipulated by it with it swirling around the Ice-Fairy-Type. Ninetales made it disperse right afterwards before snarling at the trio.
"Ninetales...!"
"Looks like it's adapted to its environment here," Quillon observed.
"Ninetales!" Goh cried out. "I want you to help you get back to your home! So please...let me catch you!" Goh already had a Poke Ball out and ready, launching it at Alolan Ninetales.
"Tales!" However, just as Goh threw the Poké Ball at Ninetales to catch it, an Ice Beam from a leaping Ninetales had been unleashed, firing in the general direction of the trio. They moved away from the Ice Beam with parts of the snow being frozen over.
"Cinderace, let's go!" Goh quickly threw his Cinderace into the fray.
"Cinderace!"
"Use Quick Attack!"
"Cin! Cin-Cin!" Cinderace advanced, moving in a zig-zag pattern to strike the Fox Pokemon.
"Nine!" However, the swift Quick Attack had been countered by Ninetales' Dazzling Gleam. A sphere of rainbows covered the Alolan Variant, promptly stopping Cinderace in its tracks with its blinding light.
"C-Cinder?!" Cinderace put its eyes over its head, feeling the intensity of Dazzling Gleam's glow. But it wasn't just there to halt Cinderace. Ninetales expanded the sphere, causing it to hit the Striker Pokemon. "Cinderace!" Cinderace was knocked back, falling over afterwards.
"Use Blaze Kick!"
"Der! Cinderace!" Cinderace recovered right afterwards, lunging at Ninetales with flames sprouting around its feet.
"Ninetales!" Only for Ninetales to use Aurora Veil, summoning a massive veil of energy that resembled the northern lights. it had blocked Blaze Kick from making any contact, forcing Cinderace to back up.
"Break right through using Pyro Ball!"
"Cinder! Cinderace!" Cinderace used some of the rubble on the ground, kicking it a few times before transforming the ruble into a ball of fire. With pure force, it had launched Pyro Ball straight at the Aurora Veil. Pyro Ball had the strength to break through successfully, despite being weakened by the defensive barrier, it still hit Ninetales.
"Now! Poke Ball, go!" Goh found the opportunity to catch Ninetales right after it staggered from Pyro Ball's direct contact. He launched it, making it curve as it looked like the ball would fully connect.
But that was not the case. Interrupting Goh's Poke Ball was an Ice Beam. The chilling beam of ice struck the ball, freezing it. However, it wasn't from Ninetales as it was still staggered. Instead, it came from another force.
"W-What was that?!" Starlight wondered as everyone looked in the direction of the unleashed Ice Beam.
"I didn't expect to meet it here." Quillon immediately recognized which Pokemon did this by staring at a wall of ice. This wall of ice was where the Ice Beam came from as something within it had performed the attack. Seven visible yellow lights could be seen within the ice wall as they belonged to only one Pokemon.
Regice.
"REGICE!" Regice broke through the ice wall, revealing itself to Goh and the others.
"Who is that?!" Starlight and Goh quickly took out their Pokedexes.
"Regice. The Iceberg Pokemon. Regice’s body was made during an ice age. Regice cloaks itself with frigid air of -328 degrees Fahrenheit. Things will freeze solid just by going near this Pokémon. Its icy body is so cold, it will not melt even if it is immersed in magma. It is said to sleep inside glaciers for 7000 years."
"7000 years?! So it's been here from the get-go!" Starlight exclaimed.
"Regice may hold clues to the origins of Pokemon. Mainly with its connection to Regigigas. This is an important Pokemon for Project Mew as well." Quillon revealed.
"Goh! I'll take care of Regice! You handle Ninetales!" Starlight offered to go against Regice while Goh dealt with the Ninetales situation.
"Right! Thanks, Starlight!"
"Regice!"
"Hatterene, use Psycho Cut!"
"Hatter!" Hatterene delivered the first attack, swinging her tentacle claw violently. Out of it came violent tearing blades of Psychic energy.
"Regi! Regice!" Regice promptly retaliated by using Ice Beam, meeting with Hatterene's Psycho Cut. Psycho Cut rapidly bombarded Ice Beam, only for Ice Beam to emerge as the superior power in this instance. Hatterene gasped, barely managing to evade the incoming Ice Beam as she swayed her head.
"Ninetales!" Goh cried out to the Fox Pokemon. "I want to help you! Please. Let me catch you."
"Nine...!" Ninetales refused, showing further hostility towards Goh as veins were starting to show. But Goh approached despite Ninetales' rising temper. "Nine...Tales!" Ninetales howled once more, putting Aurora Veil up as protection from Goh.
However, Goh would choose to try and go through Aurora Veil, placing his hand on it. "Hold on a minute! You need to trust me! Let's go back to Alola! Back to Mount Lanakila! Where your home is!" Goh continued to shout, trying to reach Ninetales.
Alolan Ninetales continued its growling, expecting Goh to do the worst he could. But he didn't. Except, the two of them stared at each other for a bit. Goh's face was full of trust as Ninetales took a moment to pause. It saw that Goh did not make any cruel advancements on it. If anything, Goh took the peaceful approach which was something an Alolan Ninetales was commonly known for. After these seconds of eye contact, Ninetals had calmed down. The Aurora Veil faded away. Goh fell over, getting on all fours before looking up at Ninetales.
"Nine."
"Huh? Y-You'll do it?" Goh looked at the now calm Ninetales.
"Nine!" It certainly would. It now trusted Goh and just wanted to go back home at this point.
"Here goes." Goh pulled out another Poke Ball, gently throwing it. The ball made contact, shrinking Ninetales and beginning the traditional shake.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Alolan Ninetales was caught. Goh could rest easy now. He had succeeded in his mission and would now live up to that promise he made to Alolan Ninetales. Meanwhile, Starlight and Hatterene were not faring well against Regice.
"H-Hatter!" Hatterene had been struck by Ice Punch from Regice. She then received another Ice Punch that had knocked her back.
"Hatterene!" Starlight yelled before catching her partner with magic. Regice had then used Ice Beam, planning to freeze them both. Starlight managed to move back with Hatterene, avoiding the Ice Beam. "Talk about aggressive..."
"Stand back." Quillon suddenly intervened in this battle, putting an end to Starlight's attempt. He would now face Regice, already having a Poke Ball in his hand. "Game on." By launching the Poke Ball, out came his own Pokemon and one that Starlight and Goh would see for the first time.
An Urshifu.
"Urshifu!"
"What's that...?" Starlight whipped out the Pokedex as always.
"Urshifu. The Wushu Pokemon. Single Strike Style. This form of Urshifu is a strong believer in the one-hit KO. Its strategy is to leap in close to foes and land a devastating blow with a hardened fist. Inhabiting the mountains of a distant region, this Pokémon races across sheer cliffs, training its legs and refining its moves."
"Use Wicked Blow!" Quillon ordered as Regice was already charging up a Hyper Beam.
"Ur...Shifu!" Single Strike Style Urshifu flexed its arms, becoming surrounded by a dark purple aura for a moment. It then rushed at the Iceberg Pokemon, interrupting Hyper Beam and punching it with great force. The force was so strong that it ended up launching Regice back into the wall it came from.
"R-Regice!" Regice crashed into the wall as it was dazed by the impact.
"Urshifu. That's enough for now." Quillon halted Urshifu from making another attack. Regice sat there with rocks falling from the impact. "I'll come again, Regice...Wait for me until I do."
"Regice..." Regice was left alone, sitting as it was hard to tell if it fainted or not. Quillon returned Urshifu, immediately walking off.
"We're heading back." He ordered Starlight and Goh. They were done here. Goh completed the main trial after all, so there was n other reason to be here any longer. It was all done.
Project Mew. Research Facility. Late Afternoon.
The late afternoon sun had come. And with that, Starlight and Goh felt the much-needed heat via some coffee after the chilling experience they went through.
"Much better..." Starlight sighed, placing her head on the table. "Warms you right up."
"We've received your Alolan Ninetales." Danika entered the room with Quillon also being there. "It'll be sent right back to its home on Mount Lanakila."
"That's great to hear," said Goh.
"Goh. Starlight. Thanks so much for saving Ninetales." Danika winked, no longer showing her strict side. At least for now. "And there's one more thing I have to tell you. Honestly, the mission you cleared...wasn't even an official mission."
"It wasn't?!" The duo screeched as Starlight dropped her coffee.
"It was a test to see if you could take on the Project Mew missions or not. And since you succeeded, Goh, you're now fully applied to be an official member of Project Mew."
"Oh, this is great news, Goh!" Starlight congratulated him. "This is why Gary said that Project Mew wouldn't be a cakewalk. Good for you, Goh!"
"Thanks, Starlight. I thought it was an official mission...but I'm up for the real ones now!" Goh proudly stood up. "Feels like I've just gotten into the starting line though."
"That's okay!" Starlight chuckled. "Just don't let Gary beat you."
"Goh. I heard you caught Ninetales and succeeded. Good for you." Entering the room was Professor Amaranth."
"Many thanks, Professor!"
"And Quillon. I heard you found Regice, eh?"
"The data's being analyzed as we speak." Quillon turned away.
"Hm. Always thinking ahead. No wonder you're the chaser with the highest tokens." Amaranth revealed Quillons standing in all of Project Mew.
"So...Is Regice important to the origins of Pokemon?" Goh asked. "Quillon said so."
"It should be, Goh." Starlight replied. "We can head back to Twilight's lab and I can show you. There's some brief history about the Pokemon World that's connected to Regice."
"You two do that. And it does make me happy that many, especially in the other world are curious about where Pokemon came from. What they truly are and etc." Amaranth spoke. "Truly our world's greatest mystery. And the one said to hold the DNA and the title of the Ancestor of all Pokemon. Mew. That's why I want Mew thoroughly researched. How about you head home and ask that Mew from Pinkie Pie a few things. Share it with us, okay?"
"Okay! We'll do it!" Goh and Starlight promised, giving collective nods.
"But, hopefully, he won't play around too much." Starlight thought about how Mew would act. Only one way to find out and that was back home. his mission was over. Project Mew was in full swing for Goh. The objective to learn more about Pokemon and revitalize the Mew species was the massive end goal as the journey continues.
"Welcome back, you three." Currently, Celestia was speaking to the Royal Family from Pegalysium. King Paramount, Queen Luminary and Prince Shooting Star. "This is your...6th time here?"
"And it's just as good as the last." Shooting Star replied. "You won't believe how much fun I've been having so far."
"By the way, Shooting Star. How goes that new magic of yours?" Luna asked, wondering if he's managed to form Destiny Magic or something else from it.
"Uh...I haven't found anything yet." Sadly, no news of his new magic had been sprouted. Right now, he was dry of Destiny Magic or anything else.
"Is Garnet here? I haven't done much catching up with her." Celestia looked around, gazing outside the window at all of the ponies from Pegalysium showing up. "Mainly with what I also felt the other day."
"What did you feel?"
"My Boundless Cutie Mark grants me something similar to Discord's ability to sense an imbalance in magic. In this case, I can detect strong magic nearby. And I felt some from Garnet. Something large.
"Garnet? The teacher at the Pegalysium Nursery?" Paramount and Luminary both said. They found it hard to believe that she was hiding a vast quantity of magic inside of her. But then again, she has been hanging around their son for a while, but that wasn't enough to make them think of her magic potential.
"Mhm. I already have one student currently. Adagio Dazzle. She's out there in the Human World searching for the rest of the siren species with her family. I wouldn't mind having another."
"Sister are you as addicted to having students as much as cake?" Luna was starting to question Celestia's obsession with having various students with great magical potential.
"No-no-no-no. I just love bringing out the potential in others." Celestia chuckled. It was far from an addiction. Just something that Celestia enjoyed doing for others.
"You mean that school that holds gifted unicorns?" Paramount turned to Celestia's School of Gifted Unicorns which was outside.
"Oh yes, but those are for the younger ponies. I tend to teach older ponies. Would it be fine if Garnet were to learn here? I mean, it would be the first time somepony from Pegalysium was my student."
"Maybe. It's best that we should ask her." Luminary replied. "But with how things are going so far, Equestria and Pegalysium could share a lot. It wouldn't be a terrible idea to have pegasi learn here. We don't have anything like that back at Pegalysium anyway."
"Thank you. Now, I want to talk you about that candy island that you have..." Celestia continued the conversation, focusing on the island full of sweets. Especially cake. Luna could easily see why she was curious about that.
Equestria. Ponyville. Day.
Speaking of Garnet, this would be her first time setting hoof into Ponyville, alongside her friend's Kaleidoscope and Clear View. They had witnessed Ponyville in its current state, Pokemon-influenced and all. They were completely unaware of what Ponyville would look like without the inclusion of Pokemon. Then again, nopony aside from Cold Colt and Emerald Aura would know of Ponyville's original layout without Pokemon.
"Look at all of this...Living with Pokemon I've never seen before." Garnet admired the scenery. "I've been thinking. Those disruptive children I teach could behave a bit with Pokemon beside them."
"I don't know about that, Garnet." Kaleidoscope shook her head. "That'd just distract them some more. But anyway, I already know what Ponyville looks like since Twilight shared some info with me. Told her what Feathercoast looked like so we're both familiar with our respective homes. What do you think of this place, Clear View?" She asked the mute pony, who was using her crystal ball to speak.
"This is what I'd love back home. Living with Pokemon." She formed words with her floating crystal ball.
"We don't have anything close to that. But the King and Queen have been thinking about letting us catch our own Pokemon. We'd be supplied with Poke Balls to do it. Ah, I can't even think about which Pokemon I'd like first..." Garnet started thinking about her first Pokemon and how she'd live with it.
"What about the Pokemon over at the Drifting Peaks where the grotto and that gateway are?" Kaleidoscope suggested. "They're familiar with us. Clear over here said she'd like that Bulbasaur or Charizard. I'm personally leaning towards those Pidgey or Heracross."
"Whichever one works for us." Garnet shrugged. "But maybe your friend Twilight has some good suggestions. I mean, there are how many Pokemon? There's bound to be some for us."
"Speaking of Twilight...I see her!" Kaleidoscope slower down, spotting Twilight and some other familiar faces in the distance, sitting around a bench and chatting away.
Over at Ponyville, Goh was currently showing his Project Mew progress to Ash and the others.
"Urshifu?!" Ash said, looking at Goh's Pokedex and the Pokemon he managed to scan. "Ah, cool! Never seen that Pokemon before! Wish I was there to see it in action!"
"Mhm. So, Pinkie Pie. THink you could get your Mew to be cooperative and help with Project Mew?" Starlight asked.
"That depends." The pink pony playfully shrugged. "Mew's not gonna give a lot out."
"Figured he wouldn't..." But Starlight expected this. "I doubt Holon's Mew is keen on letting others know a lot about her. At best, we might have to wait for another Mew to be found."
"But it's all for the big goal of having every Mew in the world be a bit more common," said Goh. "That's what Professor Amaranth's shooting for."
"A world of Mew, huh...?" Ash thought about it for a second. It was indeed an interesting and wonderful sight to behold if it ever came into fruition."
"That'd be perfect. Mewie would love that, wouldn't you, girl? "Pinkie Pie looked over at the Mew from Holon.
"Mew...Mew-Mew!" And she agreed. She wished to reunite with more of her species as Pinkie Pie was aiming to help her reach that goal. And that idea was right up her alley.
"About that...Pinkie! I've got a place where Mewie can find another Mew." On the topic of Mew, Ash recalled one location that involved another Mew for them to see.
"Really?! Where?!"
"It's right back at the Kanto Region." Ash faced the gateway to Kanto. "Somewhere near Rota and where some of those Time Flowers can be found. It's the Tree of Beginning."
"Tree of Beginning? That massive tree we saw far in the distance at Rota? A Mew lives there?" said Twilight.
"Mhm. But uh...not sure if it'd be safe to go back there. The tree's not super fond of anyone who comes there. I've been there once but..."
"Then, it'd be fine right?!" Pinkie got in Ash's face. "The tree knows who you are so it'll be okay if we come, right?!"
"Mew-Mew!" Both Mew cried out in unison.
"We'll try. Let's head to the Tree of Beginning and see that third Mew." Ash adjusted his hat as a new location was set. Near the Rota Kindom and impossible to notice from there. The Tree of Beginning. Mewie was happy to hear this as this was a further extension of what she wanted. All those years of solitude would be wiped away soon.
"Twilight! Hey Twilight!" But before they could set out, Kaleidoscope called out for her fellow history buff, flying over.
"Kaleidoscope!" Twilight was to see her here as well as to be expected. They both held their hooves out, giving the equivalent of a high-five when coming into contact. "You made it here to Ponyville, finally!"
"Mhm! Figured we'd show up here eventually. Garnet and Clear VIew included. Thought I'd learn more about Equestria by being there myself. You've already been to Pegalysium a few times now, right?"
"I can see that more ponies from Pegalysium are showing up here." Twilight witnessed the incoming droves of pegasi from different parts of Pegalysium. "Great that you're here. But I wish I had time to show you around."
"Oh. Are you going somewhere?" Garnet asked.
"We are. Somewhere in the Pokemon World. It's about finding a Mew for another Mew and...just a whole package of things that I'll explain later." Twilight rambled. "But while you're here, you can check the whole town. I'm sure everypony else will help you around."
"So...the Pokemon World is beyond there?" Kaleidoscope and her pegasi pals peered their ears towards the gateway to Kanto. That gateway back at the Drifting Peaks now made sense to them and where it lead to. Another spot in the Pokemon World.
"And it's got Pokemon galore." Rainbow Dash commented. "From regions to everywhere you can think of. Check it out once in a while and you'll love it."
"And if you want to see more, head to PokePark. I'll have Cold Colt show you around." Twilight suggested. PokePark was also another good place to try as it was a Pokemon-populated area that it was still hard to describe how it existed.
"We'll keep it all in mind. Good luck with wherever you're headed." Kaleidoscope cheered. "We'll be here maybe all day. Mayor Umbra won't be too fond of us missing for a while."
"Did you call?" Recognizing how Umbra sounded a lot like Sombra, King Sombra showed up in his shadowy form from within Ash, appearing before the trio of pegasi.
"Gaaaaah!" The three of them screeched with Clear View making no sound whatsoever. Just an open mouth. Upon seeing Sombra, they were immediately reminded of Umbra as they were identical in appearance with slight differences.
"Hm?" Sombra raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, s-sorry. You just reminded us of somepony." Garnet sighed as Kaleidoscope's heart was beating rapidly. Sombra shrugged before returning inside of Ash.
Afterwards, Ash and everyone were ready to head to the Tree of Beginning. There was no easy gateway to the tree, so it was through the Kanto Region gateway and everything would be handled from there. It would be a lengthy trip considering it's also somewhere near the seas of Hoenn. Rota specifically. But a fun trip either way.
Equestria. Canterlot. Day.
"Oh, how I'd love to go there..." Celestia dreamt of the island of sweets. "For...personal reasons."
"You're free to visit it. But we should warn you that spending too much time on that island tends to affect the minds of anypony there. Because of that reason, nopony stays around on that island for too long." Paramount warned. "Despite how addicting it looks."
"So I'm unable to sit and eat cake on the spot forever there...Curses." Celestia bit her lip at the downside of being on that island.
"It's also not too hard to miss. The vibrant pink is so great that even if the islands were to move, you'd still be able to find it," said Luminary.
"About that. Is there a simpler way of navigating through Pegalysium when the sky islands move?" Luna questioned. "Having to go for hours trying to find specific islands can be so tiring."
"Hm. We should get you all adjusted to that." Luminary pondered. "We wouldn't want confusion and aimless flying. And I believe we know of one pony who can help us with that..."
"Who?" The two sisters asked.
"Starmap. Pegalysium's best cartographer." Paramount revealed."Come with us. With her, getting around Pegalysium will be as easy as it needs to be. Starmap has the entirety of Pegalysium mapped out and then some. Even your nation."
"She has Equestria mapped out?! But I thought that you weren't aware of Equestria. Or at least, your ancestors didn't bother to take notice of it." said Luna.
"I did say that sometimes we pegasi from Pegalysium come down here to gather new resources. We needed a layout to know where we were going." Paramount added. "Starmap managed to get your entire nation down on her map. That involves the entire world."
"You'll see just how amazing she is once we get there." Luminary winked, promising the Royal Sisters an amazing view. Shooting Star would stay behind for the sake of seeing more of this nation and the Pokemon that inhabit it. Right now, it was off to Pegalysium.
Pegalysium. Stream Park. Afternoon.
Another location in Pegalysium. Stream Park. A simple park for many to leisure themselves with. Whether it was doing activities involving sport or playing with their winged pets.
This park also had a tower made out of clouds which was also floating above the grass. The tower was tall enough to break through other clouds and seemingly even beyond that. The only place left to go would be space if it was any taller. And this would be where the pony named Starmap would be found.
However, considering that Pegalysium was a nation for pegasi, they didn't exactly have stairs. Despite the length of the tower, there were no stairs present. Only doors on different floors. The best way to access them was by flying as that was the obvious and only approach. Sometimes teleporting works.
And once the Royals entered the tower, Celestia and Luna had not only seen the abundance of doors that were sitting there without any ledges or stairs, but also an array of maps that were scattered everywhere. Maps with various locations that were both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Each map told a story of different places.
Paramount went for the door that stood at the very top of the tower, knocking on it. A hatch inside of the door had been opened, revealing a hole. And through that hole, some eyes could be seen with a faint gasp coming through. The door was opened for the King and Queen as the pony of the hour had revealed herself.
Starmap.
"Your Majesties. Welcome." Starmap greeted them with a soft voice as she let them in. "I just finished making today's map. I think I'll work on the next one too."
"You should get some rest, that's what you should do." Luminary replied. "You've been working for 5 weeks now. Even during the timeline change."
"Celestia. Luna. This is Starmap. Our cartographer. She comes from a family of cartographers who started out small and as time went on, each descendant and new family member managed to up the scale of their maps."
"Mhm. Nice to you meet you, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." Starmap bowed her head. "Heard a lot about you and I learned about your nation Equestria as well."
"Thank you." Celestia bowed back along with Luna. "So...all of these maps you have. Are they all of just Equestria and Pegalysium or is there more? Luminary did mention something about the world."
"Two of them are of Equestria and Pegalysium. The rest are other places out there. But all of that is foals play to what I truly have. That world part is real. In fact...it's much bigger." Starmap smiled before almost falling asleep. She was certainly working for a long time, causing her to lose some energy.
"After this, you're taking a vacation," Paramount ordered. "That is final."
"Yes, your majesty..."
"So what do you mean by bigger? The only thing bigger than the world is..."
"Have a look at this first." Starmap spread her wings out, using her magic to telekinetically bring over one of her maps. This was a super-sized map. At least as big as a Snorlax. The map was shown to the Royal Sisters as it went beyond countries.
It was a map of the world. Their world. This planet that they call home. All of it was on this sheet of paper for them to witness from every possible location.
"This is the Earth! You just have this?!" Luna bellowed with disbelief. "I've never seen a map of our world before! Or anything close to it!"
"That's not all. I also have this map." She used her magic once more, this time bringing over a map of Pegalysium, but it was different. Or rather familiar. This map of Pegalysium resembled how it looked prior to Second Wind altering the timeline with the Avus-Pegasus. "The true map of Pegalysium. Excluding Pinnaculum Pegalysium. I have it here."
"Believe it or not, Starmap's ability to make maps of practically anything cannot be stopped by even timeline alterations. Even when Second Wind changed the timeline for the first time, she remembered the original layout of Pegalysium." Luminary explained. "It's her special magic."
"It runs in the family. This magic of ours." Starmap yawned. "But the map of the world isn't my masterpiece. This is..." To show the pinnacle of her craft, Starmap exuded more magic from her wings.
However, she didn't use it to bring over another map. Instead, the map was being materialized. Celestia and Luna watched in awe as the room had been darkened, gaining a bluish glow that lit up the room as if they were underwater. Flashes of small lights of various colours popped in in various positions as Paramount and Luminary were unphased. They've seen this before.
Materializing into thin air was the planet that they were all living on. But not just that. The Sun and Moon were being materialized with the same enigmatic blue glow that the magic of Starmap's wings were giving off in this entire room. It recreated the Sun and Moon while also materializing other planets that resided within the cosmos.
Speaking of the cosmos, it materialized that too as all of those flashes were revealed to be stars. The scale of this map was growing to the point where it was starting to encompass the entire room, almost reaching the size of a Legendary Pokemon akin to Kyogre. Luckily, the room was big enough to hold it.
Planets, stars and even galaxies were being shown and materialized with this blue light while also having different colours in the mix to make them stand out. Before they knew it, Celestia and Luna were looking at a map of the universe. Their universe.
Universe One.
"Here. The map of our universe." Starmap casually said whilst rubbing her eye. "It only took me a month but it's as complete as it needs to be. Aside from maybe a few adjustments. You can't see them, but I even managed to add some dimensions there. There could be others I haven't seen yet but I'll get to those."
"A map of the entire universe...That's unheard of." Luna felt like fainting from the sight of this. "And you made this?"
"I sure did. I promised my family I'd go beyond them and surpass what they made. So this is the best I could come up with."
"Well, it certainly is the best you could've come up with." Celestia nodded with an open jaw. "This unmatched!"
"Thank you, your Majesties. But I'm planning to make something bigger than this."
"I beg your pardon?" Celestia and Luna said in unison as their hearts skipped a beat from hearing Starmap's response.
"The Pokemon World. No. The Pokemon Universe is something I want to get down soon. I even learned there are other universes out there that are based on our universe. And even more based on other universes such as the Pokemon Universe. My dream is to make a map for everything. No matter how many there are."
"There is theoretically an infinite number of universes!" Luna exclaimed. "It would be impossible to have it all down!"
"It's possible." But she blew Luna back with that one response. "Every universe is roughly built and modelled somewhat the same but some are bigger than others. All I have to do is just make the same map but with varying sizes. If I can't then there's always the next generation to pick where I..." Starmap was starting to doze off. She certainly needed the rest as she almost fell flat on her face.
Luminary had caught the cartographer with her wings, using her magic to lay Starmap on her sofa. Starmap grumbled, already getting cosy on the couch.
"As you can see, Starmap is something else," said King Paramount. "Where it not for her, all of the moving islands would be an infinite annoyance for everypony. She has made a map for each island formation that is possible whenever the wind carries them, making it so easy to travel. Granted, it did take weeks to get adjusted anyway."
"What an amazing pony..." Celestia agreed. "To think she made maps such as these. The magic here in Pegalysium is simply something else."
"We have Windkiss to thank for that." Luminary stepped forward. "Pegalysium used to have simple magic at the time. But the moment Windkiss became the first Pegasus of Destiny and formed Destiny Magic, she managed to influence the magic of Pegalysium as a whole, forming it into something greater than what it used to be."
"The same is happening for us, sister." Luna turned to her big sister. "Equestria's magic is starting to change with all this topic of Pokemon and the Rift. I wonder what it will be like in the future?"
"Only one way to find out is by experiencing it together, Luna. We will take the maps for Pegalysium only. Each possible island formation please." Celestia requested.
"Done." Paramount used his magic to bring over the necessary maps. "Never again will you two be lost. Starmap won't be making any new maps anytime soon with the break we've given her. But if something comes up, guaranteed, she will make a new one without any hesitation."
"That's possible. Those Pokemon and their effect on the world." Luna shook her head, knowing that Pokemon such as Tyranitar would end up putting Starmap on a tight schedule.
"Now then. Let's continue where we left off and see some more Pokemon!" Luminary giggled, eager to return to Equestria for more of that wonderful Pokemon experience. They would all return as Paramount used his Rift Magic to summon a blanket around Starmap, getting her extra comfortable.
They left her tower, allowing the pegasi to sleep and get a well-deserved vacation for making so many maps. Especially one that spanned the universe itself.
Kanto Region. The Rota Kingdom. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, Ash and his friends were off to the Tree of Beginning. But before that, Ash wanted to stop by the Rota Kingdom for a bit. There, he met with Queen Ilene once more.
"Ash. Welcome back. It's so good to see you again and your friends." Ilene greeted them. "How goes things?"
"Great. I just wanted to let you know about Delayed Aura Ataxia. Haven't gotten rid of it, but we sure found a workaround for it." Ash replied.
"Pikachu."
"Oh? How so?"
"Well!" Along came Pinkie Pie to explain everything at a rapid pace. "We went inside of Ash, Twilight, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's Mind which became one big mind with 18 Realms then we met this Gardevoir that was like an Aura Vampire who ended up making Delayed Aura Ataxia then we beat her but the whole thing's there but at least all the Lucario there are free."
"It's way more than that." Twilight intervened. "It'll take some time to explain it all."
"...Oh. How fun." Queen Ilene chuckled. "I'd love to hear it all but I'm at least happy that you've managed to counteract Delayed Aura Ataxia. You certainly have the ire of Sir Aaron to make it happen, Ash. Alongside the help of your friends."
"Ah, geez. Thanks, Ilene." Ash chuckled. "But we're also here to do something for a friend of ours. We're heading for the Tree of Beginning for her." He then turned to Pinkie Pie, who had two Mews pop out of her head. Her Mew and Mewie, who was the latest addition to their friend group.
"Another Mew?" Ilene noticed.
"Mewie over here wants to reunite with the rest of her species. And I wanna make that happen for her." Pinkie Pie held the second Mew who was shy in front of Queen Ilene. "There's my Mew and the Mew at the Tree of Beginning."
"Ah, I see. How nice of you all. Well, I suppose I don't have much to say now. You all have an important mission for a friend after all. But I will say be careful. Ash. Pikachu. You two are recognizable to the Tree of Beginning and thus, it will not harm you both. But your friends must be careful and need to be kept safe."
"That's what I'm going for, Ilene. And if it all goes south, we can count on our Pokemon to talk to Mew like before. Right, Pikachu?"
"Pika-Pika!"
Their visit with Ilene was short but sweet. They said everything they needed to say to each other. Ash and his friends continued on their way to the Tree of Beginning by taking the best possible ride. Mew transforming into a Lugia. Big enough to fit everyone on his back and he certainly had the speed.
Obviously, this was done outside so as to not harm the indoors. Everyone living in Rota would end up seeing Lugia, believing it to be the real one, oblivious to the visage that Mew was putting on. Mewie returned to Pinkie Pie's mane, sitting on it as the Tree of Beginning was hidden behind the cloud but still seeable.
She was thrilled to know that more of her species existed. The thought of meeting with more of them and potentially a future with much more Mew roaming around was a bright one. And in that instance, Mewie couldn't help but smile with elation as the journey continues.
The Tree of Beginning. Home to many Pokemon including the Mythical Pokemon Mew. Heading there were Ash and his friends. Pinkie Pies' Mew had become a Lugia to carry them all there, however, even with this legendary transformation and the sight of it in the far distance, the Tree of Beginning still took a long time to reach.
Upon soaring through the skies, they took the time to look at the scenery. Mew himself spotted the nearby hot springs that Ash and Pikachu were also familiar with. The sight of it captivated him as he let out a joyous cry.
"Oh. You want to go down there?" Pinkie Pie understood her partner.
"Oh yeah...Those hot springs." Ash reminisced about them. "Yeah. They're pretty relaxing. I could also get you that Time Flower you wanted, Rarity."
"Say no more." Rarity scooched over. "How about we all head down there to see just how good they are?"
"Aren't we supposed to be heading for the Tree of Beginning?" Starlight asked.
"We are, but we enjoy taking our time sometimes when adventuring," Twilight replied. "The tree's still far and we can still see it, so it'll be fine." And Mew agreed as he started descending with Lugia's massive body, carrying the wind with him. Getting close, they could already feel the warm embrace of the hot springs, making it a good sign already.
They all stopped for a moment to enjoy these hot springs while Ash and Pikachu were having a trip down memory lane at the moment. Upon reaching the hot springs and having Mew revert to his original form, they started taking in the heat. They would let all of their Pokemon feel the wonderful warmth and heat of the springs as well.
During the afternoon, the heat of these springs is increased by the sun as some of the Pokemon living around here found great leisure by either sitting in the spring for hours on end or just being near the heat. Truly, an amazing feeling for any species. Pokemon, human, pony or dragon.
"Ahh...Just as great as it was before." Ash said with a relaxed voice. His clothes along with Goh were put to the side for the meanwhile to let the heat sink in.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu melted, laying on his back along with Spike and Applejack. Applejack's hat was kept safely next to the clothes of Ash and Goh. Everyone's Mega Evolution accessories had been put aside as well. Pinkie Pie sprouted out of the spring, blowing out the water as if she was a fountain.
Noticeably, not every Pokemon was inside of the water. While each of them had been sent out, some stayed away from the water due to their weaknesses. Ninetales, The 10 Golett, Cinderace and Raboot respectively. This was a great time killer and frankly, something they all needed. They've been through their fair share of hyper-intense events. From invasions to Pokemon attacks, etc. They've always had time to relax but never in this way. It was a much-needed relief.
"Here, Absol!" Twilight and Starlight splashed some water on Absol, who was not amused. Absol stood there with a serious face as always whilst Twilight and Starlight simply giggled at his wet fur.
"Sol..." In response, Absol nudged his head in Espeon's direction, communicating with her as Espeon knew what to do next. By using Psychic, she ended up controlling the water molecules, splashing them onto Twilight and Starlight next. Payback for Absol.
Hatterene was twitching, trying to control herself from all these emotions flowing about. Mainly positive ones. Her claw was trembling, but she held herself back from doing anything irrational. Mewie also wanted to see another Mew as soon as possible but relaxing here wasn't so bad either.
"Mienfoo! Mienfoo!" Choosing not to partake in any leisure activities was Mienfoo, who'd much rather battle or train. Which is exactly what she was doing with Lucario and Sirfetch'd.
"Can you three take a break from all that battling and relax?" Rarity asked. "Pheromosa is a Fighting-Type and she knows how to take it easy."
"Mosa..." Pheromosa agreed, slumped on the back of a rock whilst in the hot spring.
"Lucario." Lucario and the other Fighting-Types weren't too keen on relaxing. They enjoyed it and it was definitely a satisfying feeling. However, they preferred getting stronger.
"That's their way of taking things easy. They wouldn't have it any other way." Rainbow Dash replied. "But they do know how to chill out a lot."
"Bay!" Catching the Fighting-Types off guard was Bayleef as she splashed water on them. Lucario, Mienfoo and Sirfetch'd flinched from the steamy water as Bayleef chuckled. "Bay-Bay!"
"Mienfoo...!" Mienfoo growled, only to get splashed in the face one more time by Bayleef. Bayleef snorted, puffing her cheeks so as to not laugh again, knowing that Mienfoo had a short temper.
"Lu." Lucario grabbed Mienfoo, knowing that she would let out her anger on Bayleef. She held the Martial Arts Pokemon back casually with just one arm whilst Mienfoo furiously flailed her arms and legs around.
"Ninetales." Ninetales, despite being a FIre-Type, did enjoy the heat of the hot springs. He placed his paw on the water, feeling it out. He couldn't fully enter but he could get a few molecules in there. Raboot tried the same thing, dipping his feet into the water.
"Gengar!" Attempting to scare Ninetales was Gengar, who had popped his face out of the water with his signature grin. However, Ninetales didn't even flinch or jump back. He simply laughed at Gengar's tomfoolery. "Gen?" Gengar uttered, surprised that Ninetales was unphased. But he certainly startled Raboot, who fell on his back, breathing in and out. "R-Raboot!"
"Cinccino!" Cinccino along with Delta Riolu jumped on the stomach of Dragonite who didn't seem to care. Dragonite was too entranced by the water.
"Tari." Altaria, under the influence and effect of the hot springs, ended up getting her fluffy cloud-like wings wet. She looked both adorable and hilarious with her feathers and drooping, causing Sceptile and Audino to chuckle at this.
"Axew? Axew!" Just then, whilst sitting on the head of Goodra, Axew spotted something of interest just on the cliffs. Ash and a few others looked over to see what caught Axew's eye.
A Time Flower.
"Oh, hey a Time Flower!" Ash stood up. "So it regrows in the same spot they're usually found in, huh. Here's a good time for me to give you one, Rarity."
"Ah, right! I did say I wanted some of those for personal reasons." Rarity commented.
"Personal reasons?" Twilight asked as Gengar went over to grab the Time Flower, levitating towards the cliff.
"Sometimes, you forget something crucial that you wish you could recall. And it ends up coming back to you far too late." The fashionista explained. "With that Time Flower, anything that slips my mind will be recalled in an instant."
"True that! But don't you need Aura to make that work? Only Ash and Applejack have something that good."
"That means it's perfect for me. I need something like that in case Granny Smith forgets something. Like she does a lot." Applejack scrunched her face, realizing how useful the Time Flower would be for Granny Smith.
"Bah, I can ask them both for help to activate it," said Rarity, slumping on Milotic. Gengar passed the flower to Ash who had then given it to Rarity. The Time Flower would only be used when needed. Granted, all it would take was Ash and Applejack's Aura to go off at the same time.
Eventually, after spending some more time at the hot springs, they would all eventually make their way back to the Tree of Beginning. The Time Flower was placed inside of Ash's bag for safety as Mew immediately turned himself into Lugia once more. While their hot springs moment had ended, it was something they wouldn't forget. And certainly a place they could come back to anytime.
The Tree of Beginning.
Finally. They had arrived. The Tree of Beginning was what they stood before. The group were near a beautiful patch of flowers while approaching the rest of the tree with most of them unaware of what was to come. Except for Ash and Pikachu.
They admired the scenery that the tree gave them before going through the entrance. And at the entrance, they were met with a cave that had an abundance of blue glowing crystals that were protruding out of this system. Spike felt the need to grab a bite from these crystals, licking his lips upon seeing them. But perhaps later as they were leaving the entrance of the cave with a bright light being seen at the end.
Once they passed through, they saw the tree at its fullest. They were starstruck by the massive lake of enigmatic aura that radiated a similar light to the crystals as this pristine environment held multiple waterfalls from an abundance of cliffs. At the top of this area, a large crystal could be seen, illuminating the area with its azure glow from the water to even the cliff the group was standing on.
Living here were multiple rare Pokemon. Such as Fossil Pokemon that were once extinct. Omanyte, Omastar, Aerodactyl, Lileep, Cradily and Armaldo respectively. This was truly a tree that was old enough to hold these rare Pokemon from so long ago.
Flying across the air of the tree were a flock of Swablu joined by some Yanma and Yanmega. Some Ledyba and Ledian could be spotted too, making Twilight flinch a bit from the sight of these Pokemon. But Ledian was less of a terror to her considering Aria owned one. Even Ash noticed some new rare Pokemon that he didn't see when he first came here years ago.
"We're here, gang. We're right under the Tree of Beginning." Ash said. "Be careful. This tree won't take too kindly to any visitors. It's got bodyguards here. Regirock. Registeel and Regice. Best not to get hostile with them or things could get ugly fast. But don't be afraid to defend yourself from whatever tries to hurt you."
"Pika-Pika."
"Another Regice is here?" Goh replied, surprised that there was another Regice lurking around the Tree of Beginning.
"We just got done meeting one yesterday." Starlight sighed.
"Mewie. The Mew living here is right at the top, okay?" Ash raised his hand, letting Mewie know where exactly to find the Mew that lives here.
"Mew-Mew? Mew!" Hearing that, the second Mew did not wait for a second. She immediately flew off to find the other Mew without hesitation.
"Mew!" Pinkie Pie's Mew promptly followed her.
"Hey, you two! Wait up!" And the third to follow was Pinkie Pie herself.
"I gotta check out all of these Pokemon!" Goh also rushed off to witness all the rare Pokemon that could be found in the Tree of Beginning.
"What do we do?" Fluttershy asked. "Besides looking around."
"We came here to see Mew, did we not? I say that should be our next move." Rarity pranced along. "Besides, this place is too beautiful to just keep standing around."
"Yeah and uh...you think it would be okay for me to grab a bite of these crystals?" Spike asked as everyone started exploring. But Ash was making sure to stay alert in all of this. He knew the dangers that the tree could give out. It saw humans as a threat. And the same could potentially be said for ponies and dragons.
"Remember, guys! Be careful!" Ash warned them, shouting out. He and Pikachu ended up following after Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, keeping an eye out for the tree's defences.
It was off to the very top. That was where Mew would reside. Mewie and Pinkie Pie's Mew rushed to the top as well, searching for any pathways that led to it. At the same time, they would admire the scenery.
Rarity looked through the various caves in this tree that housed so many crystals that it was almost intoxicating to look at. She entered one of the caves, seeing how it had an upper pathway. That could potentially lead to the top as Rarity went straight for it with Applejack joining her.
"All of these crystals. Do you suppose they're related to Aura?" Rarity asked. "That blue glow looks far too familiar."
"Might be." Applejack replied. "Aura's been there from the start, right? So this Tree of Beginning would have some of it."
"Oh, I wonder what it would be like if I take some home with me? Do you think I could make a necklace out of Aura? Oh! How about an earring out of Aura? A bracelet perhaps? The possibilities are endless!"
"Yeah, that'd be..." But just as Applejack was about to finish off Rarity's sentence, her Aura kicked in, sensing some imminent danger. Applejack gasped, turning to the upper pathway of the cave. "Hold on! Something's coming!"
"Hm? What is it?" Rarity asked. Not a second sooner and that feeling that Applejack sense came into fruition via a burst through the walls of the cave. Starling them and their Pokemon, the crystals on the walls had been blown away with a massive hole being made.
And the one responsible for that hole was Regirock.
"R-R-REGIROCK!"
"What is that?!" Rarity gasped as the crystals shards flew past her. Their first time witnessing a Regi and it was not a pleasant or friendly one as RegirocK was instantly targeting the two ponies.
"It's one of those Regis!"
"ÜN ÜN ÜN!" Regirock saw Applejack and Rarity as a threat. Ash's bad feeling came into fruition as the Rock Peak Pokemon went straight for Hyperbeam. A destructive orange ball of Infinity Energy was forming in front of its face, ready t be unleashed.
"Duck!" Applejack cried out, grabbing Rarity and forcing her to duck along with her as the raging beam of Hyper Beam had been unleashed. Sceptile and Delta Riolu ducked as well. The beam obliterated parts of the walls with shards of these crystals dropping from above and the side along with some rubble. Regirock now needed some time to recharge before attacking once more. "What's up with this one?!"
"Ash did mention the hostility of one of these Regi-Pokemon! It seems that was true!" Rarity replied as she stood up. She immediately used her magic to summon a Poke Ball.
"R-R-R-ROCK!" Regirock had recovered surprisingly quickly from using Hyperbeam. With that recovery, it went straight for Stone Edge next, unleashing massive blue crystals from the ground by simply stepping forward.
"Sceptile! Leaf Blade!"
"Pheromosa! Come out and use Triple Kick!" Rarity unleashed Pheromosa into the fray as Sceptile extended his bladed arms to counter against the approaching crystals.
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile slashed some of the crystals apart with his blades whilst Pheromosa dashed past him in a second.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa kicked one crystal, which ended up transitioning into a second kick that shattered the next and finally, the third kick obliterated the last crystal. They did not attack Regirock, remembering Ash's advice of defending themselves. They could protect themselves from whatever attacks came their way instead of rumbling with the Rock Peak Pokemon or any other of the Regis.
"ÜN ÜN ÜN!" Regirock didn't stop there. It had then slammed its arms into the ground, using Earthquake. This part of the cave started trembling, throwing Sceptile, Pheromosa and their trainers off-balance with this sudden tremor. Large amounts of rubble were starting to fall from this impact, threatening to crush them all.
"Phero!" Seeing the threat of the collapsing area, Pheromosa grabbed onto Applejack, Rarity, Sceptile and even Delta Riolu to immediately leave before it all comes crashing down. By holding onto them, Pheromosa used her amazing speed to rush forward. She leapt over the golden shockwaves of Earthquake before then putting her leg out to kick Regirock out of the way.
"REGI! REGIROCK!" However, thanks to its absurdly gigantic defence, Regirock not only took the hit, but it had also used pushed Pheromosa back by flexing parts of its body. Pheromosa's leg felt this pushback as she was prevented from going any further. Thanks to her fragile body, Regirock simply exerting energy from its body was enough to knock her over.
"P-Phe!" She dropped Applejack and the others too in the process of it. Applejack and Rarity grunted before getting back up. They felt some rubble on their backs as it had fallen off.
"ÜN ÜN ÜN!" Regirock would not let them go. It approached the group with Hammer Arm being prepared.
"Ash said we shouldn't try and be hostile with it but...I'm having second thoughts here." Applejack growled, adjusting her hat.
"I agree." Rarity nodded. With Regirock in their way, standing at the entrance of all places, it was hard not to do something about it. RRegirock would not target the Pokemon but considering they were helping Rarity and Applejack, the Rock Peak Pokemon saw that they needed to be subdued first before reaching the Pokemon Trainers.
But it wasn't the only Regi on high alert.
Elsewhere, Goh, Starlight and Spike were on a bridge made out of vines. It was surprisingly stable despite the way it was built as it looked like they were walking on a tightrope. Just slightly thicker than normal. Goh had his Rotomphone out, recording everything here at the Tree of Beginning for not just his Pokemon Research, but also for Project Mew.
"This place. If I'm right, we could use this for Project Mew. It could also give out answers for the origin of Pokemon. I mean, Beginning is in the name right?" Goh commented.
"It could be where most Pokemon came from." Starlight theorized. "Or at least one of the many places. Those Fossil Pokemon might not know of some of their own species being extinct for a long time or even being brought back."
"It's probably been here from the start. Maybe." Spike added.
"Maybe all of this could get me a lot of tokens for Project Mew." Goh giggled before facing the Rotomphone north. The second he did, the next Regi had already appeared, coming into view of his phone and standing near the vine bridge.
Regice.
"Huh?!" Goh gasped, recognizing that Pokemon as he had just seen it yesterday.
"REGICE! RE-REGICE!"
"Regice again?!" Starlight bellowed as Regice had used Ice Beam on the vine bridge. Immediately, it had caused a flash-freeze that spread across the bridge in seconds. The trio were aghast as the bridge was now fragile in this state, covered in ice. It was worse for Spike and Axew, who were sensitive to the cold being cold-blooded creatures.
The weight of them each was already starting to break the now transformed ice bridge with their balance being disrupted. They could already feel their feet becoming cold from this chilling aura.
"C-Cold!" Goh could feel it through his shoes and socks, almost falling over. Starlight shuddered before using her magic to hold everyone and the bridge in place from falling.
"I-I g-g-gotcha!" Starlight shudder. However, there was the threat of Regice still present.
"REGIIIIICE!" After freezing the bridge, to make matters worse, Regice had used Flash Cannon on the bridge, immediately shattering it. The intent to make them fall was very clear as the bridge had been obliterated thanks to its fragility.
However, they were still safe thanks to Starlight, who held them all up with her magic. They were now levitating as the bridge beneath them had shattered with ice shards dropping. Now all they needed to do was find a safe spot to land at.
"REGICE!" The Iceberg Pokemon continued attacking, using Flash Cannon once more while they were in the air.
"Axew! Transform and use block it!" Spike commanded.
"Axew!" Axew was brought to the front by Starlight, immediately taking on his superior form. The golden light enveloped him, altering his size. Right on time as Flash Cannon threatened to hit Starlight's head. Starlight closed her eyes before being shielded. "Haxorus!" Emerging out of the light and blocking the blast of Flash Cannon was Equestrian Haxorus.
Starlight searched for somewhere to land. The best place to be right now was one of the cliffs. She brought her friends there as the cliff was also high up away from Regice which was one advantage they could certainly use. They all descended on the cliff with Regice being below.
"That got too close!" Goh exclaimed, sitting on the cliff. Regice watched, still not letting up its assault on them. "We've dealt with Regice already but..."
"Ash told us not to be hostile or we'll make things worse. I say we leave." Starlight suggested the safer option."
"REGICE!" However, as soon as they started having a conversation, Regice found a truly clever way to get up to the cliff. It ended up using Ice Beam on the ground, forming a rising ice platform with an abundance of shards sticking out. With the strength of its Ice Beam, it made the platform massive in a matter of seconds. It even spread out to the spot where the bridge was, essentially making a backup bridge for the tree.
"Awesome!" Spike and Goh were both terrified and amazed by Regice's skill to perform such an act.
"Not the time to be impressed!" Starlight bellowed as Regice jumped from the platform it had made, having the necessary height to reach Goh and the others. It landed right on the edge of the cliff, making it tremble.
"REGICE!" Regice had come face to face with them once more. Haxorus stepped forward, ready to defend his friends from Regice, even if it meant getting hostile. This was the second Regi that had found some of Ash's friends, unaware of who they were with.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie and the duo of Mews kept going nowhere else but up. Any pathway that led to the top was within their sights. They went through various cave systems and upwards paths, admiring the scenery. And upon venturing through the systems, they ran into Twilight and Espeon.
"There you are!" Pinkie Pie waved at them. "Did you find a shortcut?"
"No. This place is too massive to have easy shortcuts." The Princess of Friendship shook her head. "But I heard some tremors somewhere. You don't think the Regis found the others, do you?"
"Mew..."
"Maybe. But they can handle themselves. I just hope the tree's not out for us. It's gotta recognize Mew, right?"
"Hopefully. But the crystals have me just as curious." Twilight held one of the glowing crystals in her hoof. "It's definitely related to Aura in some way."
"It's got that blue glow for sure. Ooh! I say we try it on those Time Flowers!" Pinkie Pie pranced past Twilight as the group continued on their way to the top.
They left this cave system before entering another one. This time, the next cave had some flair compared to the others. It had a dark blue and green ambience and lighting, unlike the other caves. More of those crystals could be found but they were much longer than the previous ones. The lake here was also on a large scale with rare Water-Types swimming about.
It was hard to tell if they were close to Mew at this point. But all they could do was go up. To do that, they would have to cross the massive cliff gap that was on the other side with the lake in between. Another cave entrance could be seen with an upwards path being spotted.
But as soon as Twilight went to spread her wings out, emerging from the cave was the third and final Regi that guarded the Tree of Beginning. Twilight halted her wings with Espeon assuming a stance that showed she was ready for whatever would threaten her friends.
Registeel.
"∙∙·▫▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ яＥģ丨𝓈ᵗ𝔼ᵉᒪ ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫▫·∙∙!" Registeel cried out with a cry that was harder to understand than the other Regis.
"Who's that Pokemon?!" Pinkie Pie pulled out her Pokedex, reading the entry for Registeel.
"Registeel." Twilight already knew about Registeel thanks to the books of the Pokemon World she owned.
"Registeel. The Iron Pokemon. Registeel has a body that is harder than any kind of metal. Its body is apparently hollow. No one has any idea what this Pokémon eats. Registeel was imprisoned by people in ancient times. The metal composing its body is thought to be a curious substance that is not of this earth. Tempered by pressure underground over tens of thousands of years, its body cannot be scratched."
Standing before them and threatening to rid Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie from the tree's presence was the last Regi. Most of them were now dealing with their own Regis. For the sake of the Tree of Beginning, all threats must be eliminated. That drive never faded away even after Ash and his previous friends were here and it certainly wouldn't be ignored by individuals from another world as the journey continues.
During their visit to the Tree of Beginning, Ash and his friends had been attacked by Regirock, Regice and Registeel. The guardians of the Tree of Beginning. Exempt from this was Ash as he had already been here. The tree did not see him as a threat. However, the same could not be said for most of his friends.
Applejack and Rarity had come face to face with Regirock within a cave. The fearsome Rock Peak Pokemon refused to let them go any further, blocking the entrance. By taking Ash's advice, they would not show hostility, however, that was fairly difficult since Regirock was being extra aggressive in this instance.
"REGIROCK!" Regirock had gone for Hammer Arm, lunging at Applejack and the others.
"Sorry about this, Ash, darling! Pheromosa, Triple Axel!" Rarity ordered, going against Ash's request.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa blocked Regirock's incoming Hammer Arm with a single kick. The ground below shook with shockwaves coming out, blowing away some of the rubble. Pheromosa tried getting the next kick off, only for Regirock's arm to keep her locked there for a moment. To make matters worse, Regirock's hard body was a grand weakness to Phermosa's fragile body. "Ph-Pheromo...!"
"REGI-REGIROCK!" Using its defence, Regirock had the capability to also use its other arm to strike Pheromosa's active leg. Pheromosa felt Regirock's gutsy impact which was a problem for her frail body. A staggered Pheromosa forced her to be unable to dodge in time whilst being stuck in this position.
Pheromosa's Lissome Body was trembling as Regirock ended up winning the close quarters struggle, pushing the Lissome Pokemon back. Pheromosa's legs had been injured prior to this battle and that pushback only worsened this as she slid on the ground, wincing.
"Pheromosa! You're far too fragile for this one! Please, return!" Rarity held out Pheromosa's Poke Ball, knowing that Regirock was too rock-hard for Pheromosa to break through.
"Mosa!" But Pheromosa refused to return. She held her arm out, shouting at Rarity to put the Poke Ball away. Pheromosa didn't want to go out so easily all because she was fragile against a hard-bodied Pokemon.
"Stubborn girl. That's what we like to see!" Applejack could respect Pheromosa's drive to not give up as she grinned with respect. "Sceptile, help her out! Use Frenzy Plant to hold Regirock down!"
"Scep...Tile!" Assisting Pheromosa, Sceptile dug his hands into the ground, summoning massive roots. Regirock's arms and legs were held back by these massive roots, restraining the Rock Peak Pokemon from any further action.
"Don't think little of us! Pheromosa, Triple Kick!"
"Riolu, Vacuum Wave!"
"Rio...!" Delta Riolu jumped off of Applejack's back, manipulating the air to utilize it as an attack. "Lu!" The Embalming Pokemon unleashed a wave of wind with Pheromosa dashing next to it. Pheromosa came crashing in on the restrained Regirock with three consecutive kicks to its body. And delivering that fourth blow was Vacuum Wave. An explosion of Infinity Energy occurred from these impacts with super-effective damaging going through. The impact was also enough to move Regirock away from the entrance.
Pheromosa jumped back with Riolu landing on her shoulder. With all of those hits, they believed that Regirock was staggered for a bit. They took the chance to leave this area away from Regirock, not wanting to engage with it any further. But that was not the case at all. Instead, once the smoke cleared, Regirock was revealed to have not only withstood those Fighting-Type moves thanks to its absurd defence, but it had also broken the roots via Hammer Arm.
"ÜN ÜN ÜN!" Regirock had used the strength of Hammer Arm to rip the roots in half, startling the group. They flinched when seeing Regirock breaking free from Frenzy Plant as while they did manage to leave this cave, Regirock would not let them escape.
"Seriously?!" Applejack roared before holding onto her hat with the Mega Stone hairpin accessory glinting. "Fine! If you're so tough then-"
"No, Applejack!" Rarity stopped her before she could use Mega Evolution. "If we continue any further, this tree might continue seeing us as a threat! We should just leave that Regirock!"
"...Fine." Applejack pulled back from using Mega Evolution as Pheromosa moved at breakneck speeds to get away from the Rock Peak Pokemon, taking the entrance without a second thought. They understood that further hostility would not make things any better. Right now, they were lucky to have gotten through the entrance while being carried by Pheromosa and her amazing speed.
Regirock knew it couldn't keep up with Pheromosa, but that didn't stop its pursuit. The Rock Peak Pokemon moved back into the entrance, aiming to take another route. It knew the ins and outs of this cave as its biggest advantage.
Meanwhile, the same problem had surfaced with Regice. Goh, Starlight, Spike and Equestrian Haxorus found themselves on a cliff with the Iceberg Pokemon standing in front of them.
"REGICE! RE-REGICE!" Regice did not waste time as it had used Ice Beam, unleashing a chilling beam of ice onto the four of them. Haxorus grabbed everyone, ducking with them immediately as the beam froze the wall behind them.
"Haxorus, Close Combat!" Spike shouted out.
"Haxo!" After saving everyone from Ice Beam, Haxorus approached Regice with the intent of fending it off and giving his friends a chance to escape. They weren't here to battle, they were here to find Mew. Haxorus delivered a constant flurry of punches to Regice. Each hit was as hard as the last with sparks flying out of Regice. Haxorus' arms became a blur as it was a surprise that no shards were coming out of Regice from these devasting hits. Unlike Regirock, Regice was lacking in physical defence, making each of these hits a genuine threat to the Iceberg Pokemon.
"REGIIIIIICE!" But Regice ended up stopping Haxorus' Close Combat before he could finish it by grabbing his arms. It's rare for a Pokemon move like this to be stopped midway but only a Legendary could do it so effortlessly.
"Hax?"
"REGICE!" After grabbing onto Haxorus' arms, Regice had used Ice Beam from its face, unleashing it onto the Axe Jaw Pokemon. Haxorus, unable to break free, was met with the violent chill of Regice's ice.
"X-Xorus!" Haxorus cried out as parts of his body had been frozen over. He backed away, shivering afterwards.
"Haxorus, no!" Spike gasped. But thankfully, Haxorus was resilient enough to withstand a super-effective attack. The same went for Regice.
"REGICE!" Regice continued its attack by using Ice Beam once more, only for Starlight to intervene. She put up a protective barrier of magic, blocking the incoming beam of ice and giving Haxorus enough time to break free from the ice.
"Ugh!" But even with Starlight's impressive magic, the strength of Regice was something to be reckoned with.
"Iron Tail, Haxorus! Knock Regice off!"
"Haxo!" Haxorus broke free of the rest of the ice, advancing towards Regice. Regice was too focused on Starlight's shield, allowing for Haxorus to get a free and clean hit off. A smack to the body by Haxorus' Iron Tail allowed for Starlight to be safe as the Iceberg Pokemon was knocked off balance.
"REGIIIIIIICE!" Regice cried out, falling off the cliff. But, it still had the ice platform from before that it had made, landing on that instead.
"Guys! There's another entrance there!" Goh pointed to a nearby entrance that would lead elsewhere to the cave. Anywhere away from hostile threats would do perfectly for them.
"Say no more!" Spike dug into his backpack, going for the next Poke Ball. Haxorus had done his job, knocking Regice over who was certainly feeling the staggering impact of Iron Tail. "Flygon! Help out!"
"Flygon!" Out came Flygon as their main mode of transportation to the other side. The ravine was the only obstacle left for them to deal with as it had previously had a vine bridge before being destroyed by Regice. Haxorus reverted into an Axew before climbing onto the Ground-Dragon-Type with Spike, Starlight and Goh.
It was a shame that none of them could fully go through with Ash's advice. But then again, even Ash would know that something like this would happen either way. He did say they had to defend themselves and this was certainly their best way of defending themselves. Flygon took flight, carrying them off the cliff and over the staggered Regice.
Speaking of Regice, despite it taking such heavy blows, it still would not let them escape. Regice may be lacking in the physical defence, but that didn't stop it as even when staggering, it found the strength to get up. "RE-RE-REGICE!" This time, Regice had used Avalanche.
By manipulating the atmosphere, the Iceberg Pokemon managed to summon an avalanche of snow from the ceiling. Flygon looked up to see the Avalanche approaching, covering most of the air. "Gon?!" Flygon's eyes expanded for a bit as it started flying haphazardly to avoid the falling snow, which was continuous via Regice's control instead of a single instance of it being used.
Goh and the others held onto Flygon tight, feeling the rocky movements and even some of the chilling aura from the descending snow. Starlight shielded Flygon from the cold via magic coating around its body. Flygon greatly appreciated this as it allowed for better focus. The Mystic Pokemon locked onto the entrance as the snow was starting to cover him.
Normally, this would be where Flygon felt an intense beatdown and punishment through its cold-blooded body but Starlight's magic said otherwise. Thanks to this, Flygon managed to escape through the entrance, evading Regice.
Regice witnessed them escape, standing there for a moment. Much like Regirock, it decided to continue moving, using the rest of the tree to its advantage with all of its various pathways. It wasn't over yet. The Regis would not stop until all of them were dealt with.
And as for Registeel, it was having a face-off with Twilight and Pinkie Pie. They were intruders as well as the opposing stood afar from each other on different cliffs, right between a massive lake in this crystal-infested area. Twilight gulped, knowing that Registeel's intent to destroy her and her friends was high but sparing the Pokemon was a given.
"Mew! Mew-Mew!" Knowing of what Registeel was planning, the two Mew had hovered over to the Iron Pokemon, immediately trying to convince it from ceasing any attack.
"¤¸¸.•´¯`•¸¸.•..>> 𝓻𝑒ＧᎥ丂𝐓ⓔ𝔼ˡ <<..•.¸¸•´¯`•.¸¸¤." Registeel spoke in its bizarre and indescribable language once more, hearing the two Mew out. Registeel learned of their reasoning for being here. To see the other Mew that lived here. Registeel understood that completely.
But that did not change its mind. Twilight and Pinkie were still seen as threats. Registeel turned away from the two Mew before then using Zap Cannon. A giant ball of lightning was shot out with Twilight and Pinkie leaping out of the way. Zap Cannon's impact on the ground caused a deluge of electricity to go about before fading away.
"Mew!"
"¤¸¸.•´¯`•¸¸.•..>> 𝓻𝑒ＧᎥ丂𝐓ⓔ𝔼ˡ <!" Registeel still wasn't changing its intention of getting to Twilight and Pinkie as it had used Heavy Slam, leaping off of the ground and into the air with an impressive jump. While in the air, Registeel rotated its body rapidly, aiming to slam the full weight of its body onto them both.
"I think not!" Twilight stomped her hoof before summoning a reflective shield of magic. Registeel came crashing down, only to be bounced back as if it was on a trampoline by Twilight's magic.
"ø¤º° 𝐫𝒆𝓰𝓲丂𝓽έ𝕖ｌ °º! The Iron Pokemon went flying from Twilight's reflective shield. The result was it banging into some of the cliffs, unable to control its momentum thanks to its heavy body. After crashing into some cliffs, it ended up falling into the massive lake afterwards.
"Sorry!" Twilight apologized to Registeel who made a fairly big splash when sinking into the lake. Registeel's weight was its weakness when it comes to the lake. A fairly quicker defeat compared to the other two Regis. "Let's keep going! Quick!" Now was the best time to leave before the chance of Registeel getting up could resurface.
However, despite its heavy body, much like the other two Regis, Registeel would not let up. In fact, sinking into the lake was prime for another advantage. Secretly, without Twilight and the others knowing, an underwater entrance existed that Registeel had used.
Twilight's group passed through the upper passageway, looking for the right path that would lead them to the top. There were a few pathways to choose from, but they mainly went for the one with a steeper path.
But the second they went for that steeper path, popping out of that pathway was Registeel who was waiting at the entrance. Unexpectedly, it had caught up after sinking into the lake . "ø¤º° 𝐫𝒆𝓰𝓲丂𝓽έ𝕖ｌ °º!"
"That's not possible!" Pinkie Pie screeched once the Iron Pokemon showed itself.
"The other way! Quick!" Twilight suggested going for the other pathway to the right. They fled from Registeel who went for Hyper Beam. The beam's destructive power tore through the walls, shaking this cave in the process. Registeel started moving, proving to have the same speed as the other two.
"It'll only listen to Pokemon but it won't stop attacking us! Mew! Mewie! You two might have to go and find Mew without us!" Twilight suggested as the cave trembled once more. "You'll be put to risk if you stick by us! Eve, you go too!"
"Mew?!"
"Is that a good idea, Twilight?!" Pinkie Pie questioned before suddenly tripping over. This was because of Registeel shaking the ground with Stomping Tantrum. Registeel had then dug its hands into the walls, dragging them across the cave which caused massive rocks to fly at Twilight and Pinkie.
Pinkie was the first target with a massive boulder coming her way, only for Espeon to intervene with Psychic. "Esp! Espeon!" She had then shot it back.
"Mew-Mew!" Mew, along with Espeon did not want to leave Pinkie Pie and Twilight behind but Mewie would gladly advance to meet the third Mew, not wasting any time. "Mew?!" Pinkie's Mew was shocked to see that Mewie would leave that fast after Twilight's suggestion.
"ø¤º° 𝐫𝒆𝓰𝓲丂𝓽έ𝕖ｌ έ𝕖ｌ!°º" All the while Registeel was picking up some speed along the way, using Flash Cannon from its face Twilight ducked, holding Pinkie in the process as a hole was blown through the cave. Registeel essentially made a new exit for them.
"Through there!" Twilight shouted as they had gone for the newest exit made by their pursuer. Mew looked ahead, still a bit perplexed that Mewie would leave them. However, he had to continue as Twilight, Pinkie and Espeon jumped through the hole.
Registeel would take another route that it and the other Regis knew about. They were truly never-ending in their pursuit to terminate those who are not Pokemon.
Speaking of which, Applejack and Rarity managed to end up near a forest area within the Tree of Beginning. They could no longer see Regirock within their sights, giving them time to rest. Pheromosa's legs were injured from battling Regirock, who was by far the most durable Pokemon she's had to encounter so far, being a grand weakness for her lissome body.
"P-Pheromosa..." Pheromosa sat on the ground, holding her leg as even running with it all the way here caused some problems.
"You did well, Pheromosa. That brute Regirock wouldn't have stood a proper chance against you if the circumstances were different." Rarity said, massaging Pheromosa's injured leg. "Take a rest for now." She then recalled Pheromosa to her Poke Ball, keeping her safe in the meantime.
"Thought that Regirock would've talked it out first..." Applejack sighed, removing her hat. "So much for being a peaceful place if they're the ones who start attacking us."
"It is a shame. But if this tree has been here for years, it would make sense for them to be so defensive. Others must've come here and done horrible things for the tree and the Regis to see them as a threat." Rarity stood up. "If that Regirock shows up, I have my Milotic who will shower it till it falls."
"Let's keep heading to the top. Wherever it is." Applejack replied as Sceptile helped put her hat back on. Their goal to reach the top and find Mew was still on despite the pursuit of the Regis.
However, the Regis weren't the only thing they should be worrying about. Near the forest, something was sprouting up. The second defence option of the tree that was arguably better than the Regis. It appeared in the form of a strange orange-like goopy substance that first popped out of the trees and soon the ground. They took on the shape of familiar Pokemon. Mainly Fossil Pokemon.
By emerging from the trees and ground, these were none other than the same forces that once attacked Ash and his old friends years ago.
The White Blood Cells.
The tree had amped it up, now summoning these deadly cells in the shape of Fossil Pokemon. Now Twilight and her friends were prime targets for these cells as the closest to them were Applejack and Rarity. The cells broke out of the forest, soon reaching the flat land area that the two ponies stood on.
"W-What is that thing?!" Rarity was the first to notice as the cells started slithering and sliding in their direction. The two of them didn't want to find out what those cells were at all, so the time to flee was now.
"R-REGIROCK!" Until the circumstances worsened. Finding them by taking different routes was Regirock. It had burst through the trees, appearing before Rarity and Applejack by ascending into the air spinning for a bit.
"Not again! Why now?!" Applejack screeched.
"I suppose leaving it alone does not change the tree's view on us! It still sees us a threat!" Rarity backed up, seeing that she and Applejack were being blocked on both sides by Regirock and the White Blood Cells.
"ÜN ÜN ÜN!" Regirock had used Hyper Beam, building it up to blast them. It was either Hyper Beam or the White Blood Cells that would eat them. Either way, the options were not in their favour.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile grabbed onto them, being the next best way to flee. His vines. He unleashed his vines, causing them to fly far to the nearest cliff. Instead, they wrapped around some of those glowing crystals that hung on the walls. Sceptile pulled himself up, just in time to evade Hyper Beam from Regirock.
"REGIROCK!" Until Regirock started moving Hyper Beam, blasting the walls and the cliffs that were everywhere to reach where Sceptile had zoomed to. The cliff that Sceptile latched onto had been blown off, causing his momentum to be halted.
But what's worse was that Sceptile had nothing else to cling to now that the cliff and other cliffs had been blown away by Regirock's Hyper Beam. In short, they were all going to fall. "S-SCEPTIIIIIILE!
"GAAAAH!" The two of them screeched as Regirock needed time to recharge. However, the White Blood Cells were right underneath them, threatening to consume Rarity and Applejack the moment they touched the ground.
"Leavanny! Help!" Rarity counted on her next Pokemon to save her. Any of her 12 Leavanny would do. She raised one Poke Ball into the air, summoning one of the Leavanny.
"Leavanny!" Leavanny emerged. Knowing that the situation was dire, Leavanny used the one move that was close to Sceptile's vines but arguably thicker. String Shot. "Lea!" Out of Leavanny's mouth came a thick silky thread of string. With his expertise in thread weaving, Leavanny had made a net of string that latched onto the nearby walls, what was left of them anyway.
This net had caught them as Leavanny made a successful safe. However, that wouldn't mean too much as Regirock was still below them. Along with the White Blood Cells which were starting to eat away at the string.
"Saved us for now! But how are we going to get out of this?!" Rarity wondered. While Leavanny did save them from having a hard fall, they were still cornered. More White Blood Cells were showing up as they had minimal options once more. The White Blood Cells spread across the rest of the Tree of Beginning, making sure that there was nowhere else for them to escape.
The cells then scattered, latching parts of themselves onto Rarity and Applejack. They could not escape from them for much longer as they were already large enough to encompass the flat land and the forest nearby.
Sceptile, Leavanny and Delta Riolu were ignored as Applejack's hat was the first to be swallowed up. Regirock immediately stopped, knowing that the cells would handle things from here. Applejack's wriggled around with the cells forcing Sceptile and Riolu away from her. The same went for Leavanny to Rarity.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile went to try and cut the White Blood Cells, only for his attack to do absolutely nothing. The blade didn't even slice it in half. It simply bounced back. Leavanny and Riolu tried the same with Vacuum Wave and X-Scissor, failing to do anything.
These cells were seemingly immune to Pokemon attacks entirely. A perfect weapon against other creatures and the ultimate defence against those who try and destroy it.
"O-Our Pokemon, Rarity!" Applejack growled, going for her saddlebag as one of her hooves had already been overtaken.
They wanted their Pokemon to be safe from whatever happens next. They knew the Pokemon wouldn't be harmed after all. With the last of their hooves that hadn't been overtaken, they sent out each of their Pokemon. The 10 Golett, 11 more Leavanny, Ampharos, Milotic and Pheromosa had been sent out, only to see their partners be pulled away by these strange substances.
"All of you! Take care, okay?!" Rarity was mustering up the last of her words as her face was the last to be swallowed up. "I love you all, darlings!"
"This ain't the end, ya'll! We'll be back! That's the honest truth!" Those were Applejack's last words before also being taken by the cells. The Pokemon were in absolute shock as their trainers had been swallowed up so easily. Regirock said nothing. only turning around and walking off, leaving the Pokemon to be utterly distraught.
"Phe...Pheromo..." Pheromosa got on her knees, mortified by what she had seen. The cells along with Rarity and Applejack were gone.
"Sceptile...?" Sceptile touched the ground, trying to see if he could feel for Applejack. But he couldn't. Riolu trembled as he feared he lost another loved one so soon. He started trying to feel for Applejack's Aura, going to find it somewhere. All of the other Pokemon started tearing up, already missing their trainers. Some didn't lose hope after hearing what Applejack said, but it was hard for them not to feel so devastated.
The White Blood Cells spread far enough to catch the attention of Goh, Starlight, Spike and Axew who were on the back of Flygon still. They made their way through an upper cave which revealed more White Blood Cells popping out of the walls. Starlight grimaced at the sight of these liquid forces as one of the cells almost touched her.
Flygon was safe, even though he was instinctively flying out of the way. So was Axew. Flygon could see the exit to the cave, flying as fast it could. However, the blood cells only worsened as one of them extruded a part of its liquid gelatin-like body, grabbing onto Starlight's tail.
Starlight's mouth opened as that single part was enough to pull her off Flygon. "Goh! Spike!" She screeched, holding her hoof out.
"Starlight!" Goh grabbed Starlight's hoof as Flygon was forced to try and slow down. Spike joined in, also grabbing Starlight's hoof to try and pull her back. But that was all pointless as the White Blood Cell simply expanded itself. It was practically impossible for anyone to escape its grasp. "Hang on!"
"I can't...!" Starlight winced as she had used her magic to dig into her saddlebag before that would be taken away. Out of it was her Poke Ball and the only Pokemon inside. Hatterene.
"Hatterene?"
"Hatterene, use-" But before Starlight could give out a command, the White Blood Cell managed to overpower Goh and Spike, successfully pulling Starlight away. Not only that, but it removed a piece of itself, allowing it to hop onto its next target, which was Goh in this case.
"Ah!" Goh was hit by the White Blood Cell while Starlight was being dragged to the ground, using her magic to try and force herself back up. The cell was already spreading throughout Goh's body, pushing him off of Flygon.
"Goh! Starlight!"
"Flygon?!" Flygon immediately stopped in its tracks, no longer flying to the exit. Goh went for his Poke Balls next, thinking about the safety of his Pokemon. At least, the ones he had on hand right now, which were Cinderace, Grookey, Drizzile, Scizor and Raichu.
"Cinderace?"
"Hatterene! I don't know what's going on, but take care!" Starlight closed her eyes, realizing that her attempts were futile. "N-No need to worry!" Those were her last words before being dragged underneath with the White Blood Cells.
"We'll be back somehow! Just hang in there!" Goh yelled as he was also dragged underneath. Those were the next two taken away as the cells targeted Spike next.
They immediately got to Spike by appearing from above via sneak attack. And unfortunately for Spike, having a small body meant that it was easier for the cells to pull him away faster than the rest. Spike gasped as the cells were already going for his head.
"Axew!" Equestrian Axew grabbed onto the cells that covered his friend's head but it was all futile. Spike could not see but he could feel with his last moments. He grabbed onto his bag, ripping it off. That force allowed all of the Poke Balls inside to come tumbling out, freeing the rest of his Pokemon too from being swallowed.
His Salamence, Druddigon, Goodra and Deino were all free to witness Spike be swallowed up. Spike couldn't muster a word from his covered face, but he was certainly saying something sweet before being dragged to the ground off of Flygon's back.
"Xew! Axew!"
"Hm?" Stopping in his tracks was Ash. He was with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, heading to the top together. They were the only ones who hadn't come across a Regi. But they would come across something. This odd feeling that he sensed felt too familiar.
"What's up, Ash?" Rainbow Dash asked. And as soon as she did so, the velocity and speed spreading of the White Blood Cells eventually found themselves where Ash and the others way. "Ew! Gross!"
"Aren't those Fossil Pokemon?!" Fluttershy squeaked, hiding behind Ash. The cells found themselves the next two targets to consume. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. After that, they would pursue Twilight and Pinkie Pie as they started slithering toward them.
Rainbow Dash already had the intention of blowing away these cells, unaware of what they truly were. A Poke Ball containing any of her Pokemon had been held out with a grip strength ready to launch it at full power.
"Wait, Rainbow Dash." Ash stopped her suddenly. And for a good reason. The moment the White Blood Cells got close, they slowed down. For one reason only. Not for the Pokemon. But for Ash.
The White Blood Cells and essentially the Tree of Beginning recognized Ash. From his Aura to his appearance. And why would it? Ash did help save the Tree of Beginning after all. He was a human that they would not attack as the White Blood Cells stopped in their place.
"These are White Blood Cells, you guys." Ash introduced. "They protect the Tree of Beginning along with the Regis."
"Oh." The two pegasi spoke.
"Guessing it sensed you guys and started spreading everywhere," Ash said. "It might've gotten everyone else, swallowing them up."
"S-Swallowed them?!" Fluttershy yelled with her heart sinking.
"But no need to worry." Ash smiled, turning to the White Blood Cells. "Everyone that came here with me is my friend. If you have them, please let them go." He requested the substance.
The White Blood Cells understood clearly. Since they were friends of Ash, they were no longer deemed hostile. This time, Mew was not needed to bring them back. The cells would do it themselves. But not without something to assist them. Ash noticed that his body was glowing in response to the cells' actions.
"Huh?" He looked at himself, seeing that his Aura was exuding. Indeed, Aura and the Tree of Beginning had a powerful connection. While Mew wasn't needed, something else had to assist in the resurgence. Ash's Aura was the key as it had helped in bringing his friend back
Over with Sceptile and the others, as they sat and stood there, weeping for their trainers, all those tears subsided once those gelatin-like cells reappeared. The crystals started glowing a bluish colour. All of them across the tree as out of these cells, their trainers had returned.
Rarity and Applejack were spat back out, blinking as they were reasonably befuddled, perplexed and downright blown back by what they had just witnessed.
"Oh...Oh my." Rarity fell on her back. She needed some time to rest but her Pokemon would not allow them. Milotic and the others rushed over to Rarity while she was on her back, picking her up. A hug was due for this. They had only been gone for a few seconds but they felt so emotional with that little time. "Gh! Y-You all...! I can't breathe!"
"Sceptile! Sceptile!" Sceptile and his elated spirit picked up Applejack with Rilou grabbing her hoof.
"Yeah, I'm back. Told ya we'd return." Applejack giggled. "Not sure how though."
Returning were Goh, Starlight and Spike next. They had also been spat out by the cells with all of the crystals responding to the Aura of Ash. Axew had been knocked over once Spike was shot towards him. The two dragons rolled on the ground as Goh bumped right into Cinderace.
"Axew? Axew!" Axew, who was on the ground, noticed the return of Spike after a fairly hard crash to the face. But that pain didn't mean anything now.
"See? No need to worry." A confident yet still horrified Spike said as Goh's Pokemon flocked to him. Hatterene didn't want to show heavy emotions to anger herself. Now would be the worst time for that to happen. But Starlight's eyes perceived Hatterene's true emotions either way even if she didn't want to show them.
Exempt from the cells and frankly the only ones to have a close call were Twilight and Pinkie. The cells didn't reach them at all. They simply stopped under Ash's Aura and descended to the ground. Speaking of which, Twilight held the crystal piece she took earlier as it had also reacted to the Aura.
"This is Ash's Aura..." She recognized it instantly. This signature Aura glow belonged to Ash Ketchum, no doubt. Her group continued on their way up as they noticed how Registeel ceased following them. It and the other two Regis had been informed of Ash's presence. Friends of Ash are free from harm.
Ash's Aura faded away as he had done his part in returning his friends. Afterwards, the White Blood Cells left, no longer needing to stay active for the meanwhile. Ash felt some Delayed Aura Ataxia in him which made his body twitch. Thankfully, he didn't pass out nor was it a crucial effect.
"Uh...What just happened?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
"Don't worry about it. Let's keep going." Ash casually replied. "We're almost at the top. Pikachu recognizes parts of this place, right?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu certainly did as Mew brought him here once. He could tell that they were close at this point so the best thing to do was to keep on moving. Rainbow Dash still wanted answers while Fluttershy also kept going without asking any questions. The multi-coloured-maned mare paused for a moment, looking at the glowing crystals that responded to Ash's Aura seconds ago. Eventually, she stopped questioning it, following her friends.
The objective to see the third Mew carried on with all threats being tossed aside. Granted, it was terrifying for them, being swallowed up and chased down by the Regis. But on the bright side, if they were to ever return, they would have nothing to worry about as the journey continues.
After a rather terrifying and unpleasant encounter with the Regi Trio and the White Blood Cells that defend this tree, the goal to find Mew for Mewie continued. Thanks to the tree recognizing Ash, all of his friends were free from any further harm. Now they could continue to the top without having to worry about any other threats.
Ash, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were the closest to Mew so far, being at one of the highest points of the tree. And this was further supported once Ash came across what looked to be a toy on the ground. A bouncy ball could be spotted with Pikachu picking it up.
"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu bounced the ball up and down as he vaguely remembered this toy from years back when he was first brought here. This was the toy that Mew played with once.
"We're close it looks like. We should get everyone else here so that we see Mew." Ash stated before whipping out his Xtransceiver. Everyone needed to be present, especially Pinkie Pie and the two Mew that were with her. Castform emerged out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag to play around with the bouncy ball that Pikachu held. Twilight and the others came into view of Ash's Xtransceiver as they started chatting.
"Ash!" Twilight shouted with her voice blaring through the device. "You won't believe what just happened! Out of nowhere, these strange organisms showed up. From the looks of it, they looked like blood cells."
"Which is just...gross!" Pinkie Pie shuddered before licking her lips. "Kinda looked tasty the way they looked like jelly though..."
"Pinkie!" Twilight shifted her eyes to the earth pony, hoping that she wouldn't have the same idea to eat them if given another chance.
"Kidding! I wasn't gonna eat them!" She giggled.
"So that's what those things were. We were just attacked by them earlier." Starlight said. "We already had to deal with Regice and those blood cells ate us up."
"We had Regirock to deal with, the persistent thing." Rarity chimed in.
"For us it was Registeel," Twilight added. " Guess we all bumped into some Regis. But it suddenly stopped chasing us."
"Same for us. We got brought back when we got eaten up. Regirock just up and left too." Applejack's face came into view. "Whaddya think caused that?"
"I've got a good idea of what it was. Or who it was. Isn't that right, Ash?" Twilight looked to Ash.
"Yeah. I helped used my Aura with the White Blood Cells to bring you all back. This time, it didn't harm the tree thankfully. Kinda spooked if it could damage it again next time."
"I was right about these crystals. They are connected to Aura." Twilight held a crystal out. "They started glowing orange when those cells showed up but once Ash's Aura was used, they radiated an azure colour. Do you all know what this means?"
"Uhhh..." Rainbow Dash and the others were trying to figure out where Twilight was going with this. They just couldn't put their hooves, claws or fingers on it. "They have the same colour?"
"No-no. This Tree of Beginning must live up to its name. It's probably been around the same time as the entire Mew species if a Mew already lives here along with Fossil Pokemon. In one of the books I borrowed early on in this crossing of worlds, I learned a lot about Aura. We're standing in one of the earliest trees in existence right here. Maybe even the first tree."
"The first tree?" Ash and the others thought about it for a moment. If Twilight's theory was true, then they were indeed standing in a legendary tree that came before everything else. "Awesome..."
"You should all meet up with us at the north top of the tree. We're close to the very top." Fluttershy spoke. "Just look for a lot of crystals that are long and large enough to walk and jump on."
"Got it. See ya there!" Applejack hung up, followed by Starlight and finally Twilight. As for Ash's group, it was only up for them. There were no other visible upper pathways for them to choose from. Only lower pathways. All of this was a good indication that Mew was nearby.
And while passing one of the caves that led underneath, their eyes had caught a certain figure. At first, they almost walked past it, only for them to come to a complete halt. In unison, they turned their heads to see this figure that was standing as still as it possibly could. But it was not fooling anyone.
A Sudowoodo.
"Sudowoodo...." A Sudowoodo stood there next to one of the rocks, trying to imitate it to keep a low profile. Unfortunately for the Imitation Pokemon, no one fell for it as its appearance was far too distinguishable.
"We can see you, ya know." Rainbow Dash spoke.
"Sudo!" Sudowoodo fell over as its cover was blown. Fluttershy giggled, applauding Sudowoodo's attempt to try and blend in. If only its appearance could match the environment instead of just its poses. Sudowoodo then got back up, silently staring Ash and Pikachu in the eyes.
So did Ash and Pikachu as they took some time to observe the Pokemon in front of them. They felt as if this was a familiar encounter. And after looking at its eyes and thinking for a moment to their last trip here, Ash and Pikachu thought about one major conclusion.
"Hey...Are you that Bonsly that stayed here?!"
"Pika-Pikachu?!"
"Sudowoodo!" Sudowoodo stood up, saluting as it was 100% that same Bonsly from before. It had evolved since the last time they saw each other, looking healthy as ever.
"Awesome! How have ya been?!" Ash and Pikachu ran up to their old friend.
"Woodoo! Sudo!" Sudowoodo was going great. Nothing much has changed besides his evolution.
"These are my friends Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Audino and Castform."
"Hello!" Fluttershy cheerily waved at the Imitation Pokemon with Castform continuously playing with the bouncy ball, not letting it go.
"If you're here, that means we're definitely close to Mew. Mind helping us reach Mew, Sudowoodo?"
"Sudowoodo!" Sudowoodo would do just that. All they had to do was follow him and it would be straight to Mew. With Twilight and the others being there alongside them first, of course.
They all eventually met up at the same spot. The group had reunited at one spot after a few minutes of moving through this massive tree which had even more pathways to choose from. It was easy to get lost. Once they reunited, they all followed Sudowoodo to where Mew resided.
And with his guidance, they had found themselves where Mew resided. Next to these strange portals, there was a secretive from just for Mew filled with an abundance of toys. And there it was. The third Mew.
"Mew?" Mew, who was wearing a hat, had removed it promptly upon seeing the arrival of Ash and the others. At first, it planned to transform and disguise itself, only to soon recognize Ash and Pikachu from all those years ago. "Mew!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's hat to engage with the New Species Pokemon. Mew grabbed Pikachu in midair and initiated a reunion hug. "Pika-Pika!"
"Mew-Mew!"
"We almost got eaten just to find one Pokemon..." Starlight uttered with lowered eyes. "Eh. Not as bad as the Unown." She shrugged it off, seeing that whole debacle as a small-scale situation compared to what else she and the others had been through.
Pikachu began dancing around with the third Mew, speaking to each other about what they'd done so far. Mainly Pikachu and his various adventures around the world which were timeless and had no end in sight. Pinkie Pie looked at the two Mew, nudging her head and encouraging them to go along.
"Mew!" Mew and Mewie called out for the third Mew.
"Mew?" The third Mew turned, facing its fellow New Species Pokemon. It couldn't believe its eyes. Plus its eyes were expanding as this was the most shocked Mew has ever been. Much like the other two, it had not seen a Mew in so long ever since the early days of the Pokemon World when it was just Mew and Legendary and Mythical Pokemon flying around.
Naturally, this was a perplexing sight to it as it was hard to believe. But once the other two got close, it was as real as it can be as Pinkie Pie's Mew held hands with the third Mew. Now it was them dancing around with this striking reunion. Granted, none of them knew each other even from long ago. There were so many Mew across the world back then it was hard to tell.
"Mew-Mew!" Either way, the third Mew was happy to see more of its kind. It felt like an eternity without seeing another as they flew around. Mission accomplished. They had successfully found another Mew for mainly Mewie but Pinkie Pie's Mew was happy to see this too. This was further proof that somewhere out there in this vast world of Pokemon, more Mew are still around. Rare, but they exist.
The third Mew immediately felt like playing with them, going straight for the various toys it had gathered over the years when disguising itself as a random Pokemon, going from place to place in different regions.
"It's good that we've reunited them. But...I suggest we rest for a bit." Rarity sat down, feeling exhausted. Reasonably so considering everything that had happened. "Searching for Pokemon of all kinds is certainly an experience."
"Mhm. So, we found that one Mew. Got another Mew we might need to know about, Ash?" Applejack asked.
"Uh...There's only one Mew I can think about right now." Ash thought for a second. "I guess it's the one that I saw when we were going against Mewtwo way back then. But that Mew goes all over the place so that'll be tough..."
"Let's take a break from that right now." Twilight suggested. "We can focus on finding other Mews out there another time. Who knows? Maybe they're in every region and no one's looked hard enough."
"It's nice though, isn't it?" said Fluttershy. "Reuniting them. It'll be the biggest reunion in the world if we can get more Mews to meet up again. Or even go for that goal of bringing so many of them back. But I don't know how we're going to make that part happen..."
"Mew-Mew!" The third Mew, who was frantically playing around with the other two, flew over to the humans, ponies and dragon, thanking them for bringing two more Mew to it.
"You're welcome!" Fluttershy translated.
"Mew. Mew-Mew."
"What's it saying now?" Starlight asked.
"It's said that human visits now are getting better." Fluttershy translated. "It started off good with Ash and his old friends coming here for the first time. Then it was just as good when someone else came here 4 years ago."
"Hm? Who came here after us?" Ash wondered. This was something that struck his curiosity. Someone else managed to make it out of here safely without being eaten by the White Blood Cells or crushed by the Regis.
"Mew..." Mew tried remembering the name of this mysterious individual. "Mew!" It had recalled the name of this mystery human, passing it on to Fluttershy.
"His name is N."
"N? N was here?!" Ash stood up as Pikachu's ears twitched from this.
"Pi?!" Pikachu almost fell over after being blown back by that name reveal. Ash and Pikachu were surprised to not only hear N's name but to know that he had been here once.
"N? Who's N?" Twilight asked as all of them wanted some answers on this individual with a single letter name.
"N's another good friend of mine. Met him during my adventures in Unova." Ash began reminiscing, sharing what knew about N. "You see, N's Ghetsis' son and a trainer who-"
"GHETSIS' SON!?" Pinkie Pie dropped a box of food that she was prepared to give the third Mew as now everyone had been blown back next. Ash said that so casually. "Ghetsis has a son?!"
"That poor lady..." Rarity shook her head, mourning for whoever got with Ghetsis.
"Well, they're not related. N's a foster child to Ghetsis. But it's pretty scary how they kinda do look similar..." Ash thought about it for a moment. Despite not being related, N and Ghetsis did look fairly similar. "Maybe Ghetsis had a brother who looked like N...Ah, I don't know. But yeah. N's a great guy."
"You can't just say that so casually, Ash..." Starlight's heart skipped a beat.
"So N's been here, huh? Wonder what he did...Ah, I don't need to wonder! I've got this!" Ash recalled the perfect item to use here. The Time Flower. It was kept in his bag as this was the perfect moment to utilize its power. He took out the Time Flower, ready to see what N had done upon showing up here.
Everyone scooched over with their eyes locking onto the Aura-based Flower. With utter concentration, Ash was able to tap into the power of the flower. It let out its signature aurora-like glow that exuded in a flash. It started looking into the past. That past that Ash was looking for. About N.
And upon looking into the past approximately 4 years ago, had shown Ash what he needed to see. This would also be the first time Twilight and her friends would see N. Albeit as a memory. There he was, standing there and facing Mew.
"Yeah...he does look like Ghetsis." Rainbow Dash spoke as they all got a good look at N. "Are we sure they're not related?"
By that time, N had already gotten past the White Blood Cells and the Regis, which led him to the New Species Pokemon at the top of the tree. And the conversation went like this 4 years ago.
"So, you live here, Mew?" N spoke. "Sorry to interrupt. I had just decided to come here to this sacred place. The Tree of Beginning."
"Mew?"
"I heard that this is one of if not the very first tree. I've wanted to come here to hopefully see the origins of Pokemon. All of these Fossil Pokemon are some that I've never seen before. Let alone seeing a Mew for the first time.
"Mew-Mew!"
"If you don't mind, I'd like to know more about this Tree of Beginning. And anything else. My goal was once to learn about the relationships between people and Pokemon. That is until I meed three people who showed me what that bond could truly be like. As friends and sometimes even family. Now, I want to know about the Pokemon World itself. I'm ready to hear what I can get."
"Mew!"
The Time Flower ended the memory afterwards with Ash placing the flower down. He had seen enough. N came here for a simple purpose that was easy to understand. "So that's what happened. Nice, N," Ash spoke.
"Pikachu-Pi."
"Mew!"
"So, what now? Should we head home?" Starlight asked. "Both Mews look like they're having a blast here though."
"Not yet." Pinkie took out some spare food after dropping the first batch from before. "Let's celebrate with finding another Mew! And here's to finding more and for one big reunion!"
That was the better option. They would party the afternoon away alongside the third Mew. Pinkie Pie would certainly try this with the next Mew they potentially come across in the future. All the essentials for a party were there. Albeit on a small scale.
And they partied away to celebrate their newest Mew finding. It was a party fit for a Mew with food choices that were perfect for it. Pinkie Pie already had one Mew, she knew what food the species adored. It was everything. Mew was the ancestor of many Pokemon, so it would stand to reason that practically every food choice was its favourite with no distaste.
This party at the top grabbed the attention of the other Pokemon living in the Tree. Including the Legendary Titans. They all flocked to the scene while most of them sensed some delicious food made by Pinkie Pie. Once they showed up, they were encouraged to join in. All the food that they could eat.
The three Mew had their special way of playing around. By transforming into other Pokemon. They transformed into an assortment of Pokemon to interact with the various toys here while also mimicking certain Legendary Trios. An example being the Legendary Titans.
Speaking of the Legendry Titans Regirock, Regice and Regice, they sat down, observing the party and always being the defensive ones of the tree. Until Ash convinced them to try and get involved. Ash brought the Legendary Titans over to experience this party. While they don't show emotions and neither could they eat any of the food, they could still do something.
Everyone's Pokemon were brought for this as Altaria acted as a bed for the many Swablu. The Swablu rested on their future evolution, getting comfortable as they all fit inside of Altaria's wings. Twilight hid behind Togekiss once the Ledyba and Ledidan came close, only for Togekiss to befriend them. Twilight shuddered just being near these two species of Pokemon.
When Ash's Lucario showed up, the third Mew believed him to be the same Lucario from before, but that was not the case as Mew quickly found out. However, it decided to play with Lucario either way, pulling on its ears. Lucario winced from these ear pulls as Mienfoo sat in the corner, only to be interrupted by an incoming Omastar. She looked Omasatar in the eyes, backing up once she saw the way its face looked.
They laughed away during the party as it was similar to when Ash became a Pikachu once and threw a big party at Canterlot for many to enjoy and experience. All of the Fossil Pokemon had never experienced this much fun before considering how old they were. They had been in the tree for so long while the other Fossil Pokemon out there have been on their own adventures. This was a nice change of pace.
And the tree flourished. In fact, with all of this positive energy radiating across the area, the energy of the tree had increased. It had never increased for such a long time until now as a mystical green glow emanated from it. The same glow that Sir Aaron once summoned to stop a war. It showed up once more to symbolize the harmony made by Ash and his friends.
Eventually, this wonderful party would come to an end as the sun was setting. It was getting late, but they would be lying if they said they didn't have fun. Every Pokemon went off with their stomachs full while some grabbed leftovers to keep for tomorrow or tonight.
The Legendary Titans and even the Tree of Beginning had even begun seeing things in a different light. They have been constantly attacking humans that come to this tree and now ponies and dragons. But after Ash and N had shown up here and even a second time for Ash, jumping to conclusions so quickly was something they thought about. But they would still be cautious depending on who comes here next for the first time.
"Well, we're off." Ash said to Mew and the Legendary Titans. "We're planning on meeting up with every Mew we can. Do you think you know about another one out there, Mew?"
"Mew...Mew." Mew shook its head. Unfortunately, these two were the only other Mews it had seen for a long time. However, Mew had somewhere to recommend. "Mew-Mew!"
"A place where Mews used to always go way back then?" Fluttershy translated. Indeed, Mew knew of a location that the Mew population flocked to in their free time. Which was all the time. "Where is it?"
"Mew!" Mew forgot, shrugging and playfully laughing as everyone pratfell. But it certainly existed somewhere. And according to Mew, some Mew might still know where that location is and would still decide to flock there from time to time.
"We'll find it anyway!" Pinkie jumped up. "Thanks so much anyway, Mew! We'll come and visit with these two more often!"
"Mew-Mew!" Both Mews had waved goodbye to their fellow New Species Pokemon.
This would not be their final meeting. They would return and also hoping that the third Mew would come and see them. It was outgoing despite living in this tree for so long. They had left the tree in its new energized state that they had made. As for the future, despite searching for more Mew, it was boundless with so much to look forward to as the journey continues.
Currently venturing this world and the nation of Equestria were Red and Gold. After coming from another universe parallel to the universe where Ash hails from, they decided to see more of this world and what it entailed.
So far, they've been exploring as a duo, going from town to town and city to city. "Ah, this place feels like it came straight out of a storybook, doesn't it, Red?" Gold spoke while Red said nothing.
"..." He was in agreement, however.
"I mean, I haven't seen every region out there, but I wonder if there's someplace similar to this. Maybe Unova..." Gold pondered. "Kinda reminds me of Unova in some ways. What do you think, Red?
"..."
"Well said." Gold translated. Somehow.
They stopped near a lake full of Water-Type Pokemon. And over at that lake, a gateway could be spotted, resting near the lake. Not their first time seeing one as the gateways were scattered across all of Equestria. Most were out in the open but some were more hidden and harder to find. This one was easier to find as many of the Water-Types avoided it. They took some time to admire the lake and how beautiful it looked.
But after looking at it for a while, something came out of it. A hand. The two trainers from differing regions squinted their eyes as this hand had revealed to have a Mega Ring on it. Whoever was coming through that gateway was capable of Mega Evolution.
And once a shoe came through, that individual passed through, only to then fall over as the gateway was above the lake. "Woah!" The voice of a boy cried out, crashing into the lake. Thankfully, it wasn't a big fall as the nearby Water-Types swam away.
"Oh, are you okay?" Gold rushed over to the lake, spotting the person who had crashed into it.
"Yeah...I think so." This boy got out of the lake, adjusting his hat promptly. And upon emerging from it, Red and Gold took a closer look at this individual recognizing him in a heartbeat.
"Wait a minute...Brendan?!"
"Red! Gold! How've ya been?!" Brendan recognized them both too immediately. Fellow trainers and champions from their respective regions. Although, Red was a former champion.
"So you ended up in this world too, huh?" Gold and Brendan shook hands. "So that gateway must lead to our world then. Lucky find."
"I sure did. I got curious about that gateway when I was heading to Pacifidog Town. I heard about how some of them started popping out of thin air across the world, leading to this world. Though there's not that many of them..."
"'Not many' is right. Red and I only found 7 of them. This world and the parallel universe to ours has like maybe a hundred when I think about it."
"Didn't think I'd see you guys here. Great minds think alike, right? So uh..what is this place? And why is it so...colourful?" Brendan squinted his eyes, noticing how vibrant Equestria was.
"You're in Equestria. This place is all about magic." Goh introduced, placing his hand on Brendan's back before them moving his arm across this magical land. "We've got a lot to show you."
And thus, Brendan would be next in line to experience Equestria with his own eyes. The best place to start would be the various civilizations of Equestria. The nearest location from here was fittingly Canterlot but along the way, Brendan would see the sights for himself and how the Pokemon live in this new world.
Canterlot. Day.
"Aaaah..." Ash was currently at Canterlot, opening his mouth to let some food pass through. And the one throwing that food was Pikachu, using his tail to fling it. His aim was immaculate as Ash got a perfect fill without a single miss. "Awesome aim, buddy! Now it's my turn!"
"Pikaaaa..." Pikachu was up next for some food. Ash grabbed the Pokemon Food as his skills of throwing Poke Balls would come into play here. With stellar precision equal to Pikachu, Ash had launched the Pokemon Food at his partner. Ash caught the food just as well as the duo were in perfect sync.
"Yo! Ash!" Being close to Canterlot still didn't make it short as it was a 3-hour walk for the trio. Gold called out for Ash whilst he was chewing, grabbing his attention.
"Mmm? Mmm-mmm!" He spoke their names while his mouth was full, swallowing the food afterwards. "Oh, hey guys! Came back so soon?"
"Yeah. We're still exploring this world to see what we have. I'd say we've covered..." Gold paused for a moment, raising his finger to think about how much of Equestria's he and Red have covered so far. "A bit. Ya know.." He shrugged. "It's like going through a Pokemon Region again but just sorta different."
"..."
"Hang in there. There's a lot to see. Especially up there." Ash referred to Cloudsdale, Pegalysium and other airborne locations only accessible via flight. "Oh, and who's this?" Ash soon recognized Brendan.
"This is Brendan. One of our good friends who's also from our world straight from the Hoenn Region. He found his way here and it looks like there's a second gateway that leads to our world. Everything else leads to yours though."
"Brendan..." Ash took a closer look at Brendan, squinting his eyes. "You kinda look like that one trainer I saw on TV...Must be a counterpart. But nice to meet ya." He held his hand out to the Hoenn Trainer.
"You...That Pikachu..." Brendan paused for a moment as once he observed Ash, his facial expression was one of deep analysis. Ash stopped for a moment, wondering what Brendan was seeing. "Hang on!" Brendan then dug into his bag, pulling out a Poke Ball. And out of that Poke Ball came a Pikachu. But not just any Pikachu.
A Pikachu wearing Ash's hat. His Hoenn Hat.
"Pikachu!"
Ash's Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder to meet his fellow Mouse Pokemon. Much like every Electric-Type, they must greet each other via an electric touch. For all Pikachu, it was their tails connecting.
"Pika?" And after performing their signature greeting, the Pikachu wearing the Hoenn Hat looked up at Ash for a moment. Their eyes locked onto each other as a wide smile met with this Pikachu. "Pika...Pika-P!" With utter glee, he jumped towards Ash, landing on his head.
"Woah, hey!" Ash giggled as the Pikachu hugged Ash's hat, laughing with unbelievable joy in his head. Ash's Pikachu simply tilted his head at the other Mouse Pokemon latching onto his best friend.
"And the way he leapt over...Hang on a sec...Is this your Pikachu?!" Brendan asked, kneeling to point at his Pikachu and Ash's Pikachu.
"My Pikachu?" Ash replied, observing the second Pikachu. "That is my hat, yeah...I wore that when I journeyed through the Hoenn Region. Guess they sell it there too."
So it is your hat..." Brendan thought for a moment, gazing at Ash. "And your face looks familiar too...You look like that one guy back at Ula'ula Island."
"I do?"
"Yeah! You know what I mean, right Red? Gold?"
"Nope. Haven't visited Alola yet. But I'll get to it. Eventually." Gold procrastinated.
"..." Red had been to Alola before but he had no idea what Brendan was talking about. He merely shrugged.
"I went to visit Alola one time. There was an abandoned site with some Ghost Pokemon floating around. And in that house, I saw a picture of someone with a Pikachu. He looked exactly like you with maybe that same Pikachu. And then I caught this Pikachu months later. Apparently, he used to have a previous trainer and this hat brings him memories of that trainer. And you own that hat too, right?"
"Uh-huh." Ash was starting to catch up with what Brendan was saying.
"Hang on. I know a Pikachu like that too." Gold intervened. "But mine wears a different hat. I have it back in the box though...What about you Red?"
"..." Red pondered, only to shake his head afterwards. He didn't have a similar Pikachu.
"Red might not have one, but Lucas, Hilbert and Calem do too, don't they?" Brendan continued. "We all have a different Pikachu with a different hat based on different regions. Mine has a hat from Hoenn while yours has one from Johto. Our home regions."
"Yeah, it is pretty weird how we all have those..." Even Gold was starting to see something peculiar.
"Ah!" Ash's brain sparked with a powerful gasp. "Different hats? Through different regions? Did they look like mine?"
"I only know about this hat, but I assume so. Does one of your hats have a blue circle and a blue arch on the top?"
"Yeah. My Sinnoh Hat has something like that."
"So does Lucas and he's from Sinnoh too" Gold turned to Brendan.
"And your name is Ash. Elio told us that he got a special Greninja called Ash-Greninja." When Brendan brought up Ash-Greninja, that just made Ash all the more alert. "I've been thinking about something...You must be that guy in the picture. And all of those Pikachu must be your Pikachu. Including this one."
"Say what?!
"Pika-Pikachu?!" Ash and Pikachu were blown back by this. Essentially, this meant only one thing. Ash existed in the parallel universe. But this also made him wonder how they could all have the same Pikachu but with a different hat.
"Woah, that's a brain masher..." Gold held his head, flabbergasted by this. "Usually it's Hilbert or Nate who are this smart. I didn't know you got that deductive, Brendan."
"Hmph. I pick up a few things here and there." Brendan proudly grinned.
"Hold on! Are you saying you guys know me from your world?! And my Pikachu! How are there so many?!"
"Well, I haven't met you before in our world. Neither of us has. But we have met your Pikachu as you can see. No wonder he recognizes you. It's been a long time since he's seen you"
"So...this is my Pikachu from another world." Ash held Pikachu, looking at the Mouse Pokemon. "Haha! Awesome! A parallel buddy! How have ya been on the other side, Pikachu?"
"Pikachu! Pika!" Peachy. This was indeed Ash's Pikachu from another world. Truly an interesting encounter.
"And you know about my Greninja too, huh? Plus some of the regions I've been to." Ash continued, placing the other Pikachu down to further interact with his parallel self. "That's amazing. I didn't think that stuff like that was happening elsewhere."
"Isn't it? Never thought I'd get the chance to meet the Trainer who owned all those Pikachu." Brendan chuckled, seeing this as an odd example of fate.
"Wait...But I only have one Pikachu." That's when Ash realized that something was amiss. "And you said you and Gold have another plus a few others have another Pikachu with my hats."
"Uh, yeah. That's right. Johto for me."
"So how did all of you get different Pikachus if I only have one? Unless I caught multiple!" Ash gasped. "Did I catch multiple?!"
"Well...the Pikachu I found came out of nowhere once..." Brendan started thinking it through. "There was some ripple in space nearby and Pikachu just happened to show up."
"Same here. I saw a ripple when I was near the Frontier Access. I bumped into that Pikachu too." Gold added. "So what does that even mean?"
"Hmph. Allow me to give the best possible." Brendan had another brilliant conclusion come to his mind that he believed was the most likely answer. "All those Pikachu came from those ripples in space. Either another dimension or another universe. And in that universe, there exists another Ash. But he wouldn't just let them go. Our dex entries let us know that he was sent over."
"I sent them over?" said Ash.
"Check it." To prove it, Emerald held out his Pokedex along with Gold. Both had entries for their respective Pikachus with hats.
"Pikachu. The Mouse Pokemon. This form of Pikachu is somewhat rare. This Pikachu is wearing its Trainer’s cap. The cap is proof that the two travelled across many regions together."
"Pikachu. The Mouse Pokemon. This form of Pikachu is somewhat rare. This Pikachu is wearing its Trainer’s cap. The cap is proof that the two travelled throughout the Hoenn region together."
Lo and behold it was true. The Hoenn hat spoke for itself while the other was of Kanto and Johto. Ash wore the same hat during his journey through Kanto and Johto with that stylized C.
"Those hats bring him memories. And he always gets so happy with it. Elio even said that Ash-Greninja was passed on by a trainer who trusted Greninja in good hands. Lucky guy."
"Look at you. You've got a name for yourself in our world. Even if I don't know where or who you are there." Gold commented before putting his arm around Ash, laughing. "Your Pikachu is pretty great too. Strong even. He hits like a truck whenever I battle with him."
"It may mess with time and probably space, but it's good to know that you trusted Pikachu in good hands, Ash."
"I can't believe I did. AIn't that a shocker, right, buddy?" Ash grinned, turning to his two friends who were essentially the same.
"Pikachu!" The duo of Pikachu cried out in unison. It was something to think about.
"Heh...Hehe...Hahahaha! Bahahaha!" The more Ash thought about it, the more he was compelled to laugh. All of it made him laugh. The concept of him existing in another world and entrusting the same Pikachu from different points in time along with his Greninja to others just made it all so comical to him.
Ash couldn't help but wonder what he was like in their world. Obviously, things must be the same as each Pikachu had gone through the various regions with familiar hats that Ash wore with each event probably playing out just like in this world. But Ash thought about possible differences. Either way, it was all fun to thank about.
"Bahahahaha! Man, that's great!" An elated Ash burst out into laughter. "I gotta visit your world someday to see this! And I gotta tell everyone this!"
"Pika-Pika-Pikachu!"
"I hear cries of laughter. What goes on?" Luna appeared alongside Celestia as Ash and Pikachu's laughter was so loud it attracted the Royal Family to show up. Everypony else giving here had their attention grabbed by Ash and Pikachu's laughter as well.
"Hey, Luna! Celestia! You gotta hear this!" He turned to the Alicorn Sisters.
"Ah, I see. Truly, what a hilarious thought." Celestia chuckled as Ash told her and Luna everything. "Parallel worlds certainly are a riot, aren't they?"
"I know right?" Ash replied. "It's something."
"If that's the case then that means..." Luna thought about it for a second. If another Ash existed and one who entrusted his Pokemon to others, then it could only mean one thing. Luna began thinking of a picture-perfect Ash Ketchum in her head which made her fantasize. However, without her realizing it, the power of Lunar Ire was starting to show the visage of dream in the real world ever so slowly. Luna giggled with a silly face before snapping back to reality. "Ahem! It certainly is something to grin at."
"Different Ash's giving us different Pikachus from different timelines. Try saying that a few times. I'd love to run into you in our world if we get the chance." said Gold. "But hey, Ash. Now that we're here, how about we finish the battle we had last time when I first showed up."
"Pick up where we left off, huh? I like the sound of that."
"Ah, no fair, Gold!" Brendan stood up. "I was gonna ask him to battle me first!"
"Too slow" Gold snickered. "You're gonna have to wait another time, buddy. Right after Red. He didn't finish his battle with Ash yet. Right, Red?" Gold looked for Red, however, without them realizing, Red was already gone "Red?"
Red could be found ordering from the shops here at Canterlot instead of indulging in this conversation. He started ordering but without saying a word. His absolute silence terrified the shop owners as they had no idea how to respond.
"Uh...That'll be 4 bits." The mare at the stand spoke, laughing nervously while Red looked at her with an intensive gaze and silent voice. "Who is this and why is he so intimidating...? Say something!" She thought to herself as Red brought himself a drink.
Afterwards, Red returned with the drink, missing out on the conversation. He drank through the straw, making a prolonged drinking sound while looking at them. He said nothing but he was expecting something.
"Let's make it a full battle this time, Ash." Gold spoke. "No holds barred, okay?"
"Oh yeah! I like the sound of that! Let's give it our all, Gold!"
"Hang on!" Celestia intervened. "If you two are going to battle, please don't do it in the Canterlot Gardens this time. I believe the best place to battle should be the Equestria League Stadium."
"Works for us." Ash and Gold spoke in unison. "Let's do it!" Their second battle was on the way. This time with no interruptions or sudden halts. In the Equestria League Stadium, they were free to go all out.
This battle would be available for many to see. And fairly popular too. Ash was a popular figure in this world so it would stand to reason that many would gather to watch him battle. It would be a lot like watching a League Match in this instance. It even felt like being in one for Ash and Gold once they would get there.
Equestria League Stadium. Afternoon.
Many had gathered to see this exhibition match between Ash and Gold. Ponies from far and wide and especially Ash's friends. Which was basically a gigantic majority of ponies in Equestria. Hearing news about Ash's battle with Gold drew the attention of Queen Chrysalis, who had shown up here with a few changelings alongside Anthophilia who was still in her infancy.
"I heard about a big battle involving Ash," Chrysalis spoke, approaching Celestia. "It was mainly her that told me to come here." She held Anthophilia out.
"She told you?" Celestia repeated, looking at the baby changeling. Anthophilia then stuck her tongue out at Celestia and Luna afterwards. It was clear that Anthophilia just wanted to come here due to her seeing Ash as her father. Though they were wondering how she was able to sense it. "Hm. Well, anyway. Welcome. We're sure to have a fun time watching this battle. Gold is a formidable trainer in Ash's words. Straight from another world."
"I'm certain it will be a fun time."
Announcing this battle would be the same pegasus who announced the Canterlot Tournament and Canterlot Tag Battle Competition. He was the go-to for this one. Everyone would have the pleasure of witnessing two Pokemon Trainers from two different universes go against each other. Red and Brendan sat next to Twilight and her friends with Red being the one to keep a good eye on this battle.
"So, Ash told us you know a lot, don't you?" Twilight turned to Brendan.
"I sure do. I haven't told you about the parallel worlds yet but I'll let you know all about it after this battle." Brendan replied. "I've been wanting to see how Ash battles. I've only heard words about him throughout my journeys. In my world, the Ash there got around much like yours."
"Parallel Ash, hm?" said Rainbow Dash. "I guess Red counts as one?"
"..." But Red stayed silent. He couldn't confirm whether or not he was the parallel universe counterpart to Ash but there were parts of him involving his Pokemon that could lead others to think that.
"When I met up with Red, he told me something about you." Gold adjusted his hat, speaking to Ash. "There was something about you that felt familiar."
"Familiar?" A curious Ash replied.
"Yeah. He said it felt like fighting multiple trainers at the same time. Including himself. Me, Brendan, Lucas, Hilbert, Nate, Calem, Elio and Viktor. Red was reminded of all of them when battling you for the first time. It got me curious and excited too. If that's what it felt like, then I have all the reason to challenge you at your best."
"Hoh? That's pretty interesting." Ash grinned, tightening his gloves as Gold's words were getting him pumped for what was to come. "These other trainers you're mentioning. I wanna meet them someday and have a battle with them too."
"I bet you do. But this battle's already got me feeling nostalgic somehow. It feels like I'm about to battle Red again on Mt Silver." Gold chuckled. "Let's see if it plays out the same."
"Yeah. Let's." Ash and Gold were ready. The unicorn referee stood in front of them, ready to speak when needed.
"I'm excited...This one feels different for some reason." The announcer grinned before accidentally hitting his face on the glass. "Ow!"
"The battle will be a full 6 on 6 battle. You may each use 6 Pokemon and switch out at any time. The battle will be over when all 6 Pokemon on either side are unable to continue. You have 60 minutes on the clock. Please send out your first Pokemon."
"I know who I'm going with! Pikachu, I choose you!"
"Here we go! Ampharos!" Both trainers sent out their first Pokemon. For Ash, it was his tried and true partner Pikachu while Gold went for Ampharos first like he did before during their first battle.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder, stepping into the stadium raring to go.
"Ampharos!" Out came Ampharos with a mighty roar, flaring out a bit of electricity from its body. Speaking of electricity, there was an electric feeling going across the stadium with the crowd as they were excited to see this battle.
Watching this were the teachers of the Pokemon School, aka the Gym Leaders as well. A few of them. Mainly Fantina, Olympia, Roxie, Roxanne, Brawly and even the surprise appearance of Candice, who was rarely seen.
"Candice? We haven't seen you since the day we first met you!" Rarity exclaimed upon seeing the Ice-Type Gym Leader. "Where have you been?!"
"She's right. You haven't shown up for any lessons to teach at all." Roxanne said. "Why is that?"
"Don't worry about where I've been!" Candice replied. "I just wanna see this battle go down! Start it already!"
"This Gold Trainer gives off an amazing sense of potential. Equal to Ash." Olympia observed. "As if they are one in the same in a way."
"You make it sound like he's a big challenge for Ash. Is he?" Scootaloo asked.
"Very much on equal footing," Olympia confirmed as Gold was indeed a trainer that could match Ash. "Take a good long look, my little pony. Here is where you could possibly see Ash at his current best. But of course...there's room to grow."
"It'll be fine! He'll win this! Go, Ash!" Pinkie Pie shouted. "And you too Gold!"
"I thought you were cheering for Ash?" Starlight questioned.
"Nothing wrong with cheering for both sides now, Starlight." Pinkie wagged her hoof.
"Then I'll be cheering for mainly Gold since I know what he's all about," said Brendan. "Are you gonna do the same, Red?"
"..." Red stayed silent, simply having the same expression, looking closely at Ash and Gold and waiting for the battle to begin.
"I'll take that as a yes."
"Ready?" The referee was finally about to begin it as everything went silent for a bit. Even the sparkling sounds from the golden stairs that lead to the cosmos remained silent for this. "Battle Start!"
And with that command, the battle would begin. The full battle between Ash and Gold was now with only one of them having the potential to emerge as the victor as the journey continues.
Equestria. Canterlot. Equestria League Stadium. Afternoon.
A battle between Ash and Gold was about to begin. Many were watching as Gold could already be felt as a formidable trainer. Someone that was equal to Ash. This would be the first time where everypony would get to see Ash at his current best.
"Battle Start!" The unicorn referee initiated the battle as the first two Pokemon out there were Pikachu and Ampharos.
"Alright, Pikachu! Use Quick Attack!"
"Pika! Pika-Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu went first, outlining himself in a bright aura before taking off at lightning speeds, leaving behind white trails and afterimages of himself.
"Ampharos, use Power Gem!"
"Ampha...Ros!" To attack its fellow approaching Electric-Type, Ampharos had summoned a ray of light that sparkled as if it were made of gemstones. They had multiplied before being shot at Pikachu.
"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu used the speed of Quick Attack to evade the incoming gems that were raining toward him. He made a zig-zag pattern with his trail while also jumping over some of the gems. Afterwards, Pikachu had a quick burst of speed, crashing into Ampharos' belly. "Pika!"
"Ampha!" Ampharos staggered from that as it was pushed back. Pikachu himself rebounded via the impact, sliding on the ground afterwards.
"Good stuff! Now, follow up with Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" After crashing into Ampharos, Pikachu had used Thunderbolt while bouncing back, staying midair for a bit. And with that ample airtime, he unleashed 100,000 volts from his body.
"Knock Thunderbolt away with Fire Punch!"
"Ros!" Ampharos recovered from being staggered, quickly igniting its arms with flames before then swinging it. Fire Punch and Thunderbolt had connected with Ampharos knocking the bolt away, causing it to the ground instead. This battle was already off to a staggering start. So far Pikachu was in the lead by landing the first attack successfully.
"Could've been a better start but what's the point of overthinking now?" Gold smirked. "Ampharos! Hidden Power Ice!"
"Ampharos!" Ampharos tapped into Hidden Power. And in this instance, it was Hidden Power. From its body, a white aura had appeared before turning blue. Icy blue orbs had been summoned as they were then thrown in Pikachu's general direction.
"Knock them back with Iron Tail!"
"Chuu...Pika!" Pikachu hardened his tail to match that of metal, lunging straight at the orbs. He then whacked them, sending the icy orbs right back at Ampharos. However, some of the other incoming orbs ended up clashing with the ones that were sent back, resulting in an equal match. The attacks blew up in around each other, resulting in an icy blue explosion.
"Now! Fire Punch!" Gold saw this as an opportunity to strike whilst the smoke obscured everything.
"Pharos!" Ampharos lunged through with flaming arms, approaching Pikachu.
"Pikachu, look out! Dodge when you see, Ampharos!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu stood firmly on the ground as the icy smoke from the explosion surrounded him. He made sure to keep an eye out for Ampharos who was within the smoke.
"Ampha!" Ampharos appeared, bursting through the smoke and showing up at Pikachu's left. Pikachu's eyes flared as he had then leapt into the air, evading the incoming swing of flames. However, that wasn't the only swing from Ampharos. Once Pikachu was in the air, Ampharos grinned, striking the Mouse Pokemon with Fire Punch while he had airtime.
"P-Pika!" Pikachu cried out as he was unable to defend in time whilst jumping into the air, receiving a Fire Punch square to the stomach. Pikachu was then launched by Fire Punch with flames trailing out of him. He then tumbled on the ground before recovering afterwards. "Piiii!"
"You okay, buddy?!" Ash asked.
"Pikachu!" That Fire Punch was not enough to make him stressed. He felt it but could soon shrug it off. Pikachu grinned at Ampharos, flaring electrify from his red sacs for some intimidation.
"That Pikachu's just as tough as the one wearing the hat I have..." Gold uttered. "It's Ash's Pikachu, so what was I expecting..."
"Pikachu, return for now." Despite Pikachu still being up for more, Ash recalled his partner as the Mouse Pokemon ran back. The next Poke Ball was already being selected. "Wait a bit. You did good but I wanna go for a few things first before you get back in there."
"Pika-Pika."
"No knockout on the first round but it's fine," said Rainbow Dash. "Gold's from Johto so he's got mostly Johto Pokemon, right?"
"For the most part. There's two exceptions but I guess one of them still sorta counts as a Johto Pokemon." Brendan replied. "You'll just have to keep watching to see what else Gold has in store."
"Hmm...I don't see anything important on him." Pinkie Pie held out some binoculars, searching for a special accessory such as a Z-Ring or even a Mega Evolution Accessory. "But Ash doesn't have anything on him right now. So it's all fair game."
"They won't need any special traits to win this one. This is a traditional Pokemon Battle with nothing extra added." Olympia commented. "Fitting as Gold comes from Johto."
"Right! Let's go, Sirfetch'd!" Ash sent out Sirfetch'd into the battle as his second Pokemon.
"Sirfetch'd!" Sirfetch'd emerged, proudly raising his large leek and shield. Watching this battle as well as King Sombra, who was within Ash. He stayed in secrecy, wearing the disguise the older Flurry Heart gave to him. He wanted to observe Ash at his current best, much like how Red was doing. But Sombra mainly wanted to see what Pokemon Battles could truly be.
"Sirfetch'd, Night Slash! Let's go!"
"Sir!" Covering his leek in darkness, Sirfetch'd approached the Light Pokemon, focusing squarely on his very targetable stomach that was just asking to be struck. At least in Sirfetch'd's eyes.
"Ampharos, meet it with Thunder!"
"Ampha!" Ampharos stomped on the ground before gathering up enough electricity to change the weather. Out of its body, a giant blast of electricity had been summoned.
"Block it, Sirfectch'd!"
"Sir? Sir!" Sirfetch's eyes opened before then choosing to defend himself. He placed his shield out, blocking Thunder once it approached him head-on. The Thunder was powerful enough to stop Sirfetch'd in his tracks, forcing him to keep his shield up for a bit as the sparks were flying everywhere from this collision. "Sirfetch'd...! Sirfetch'd growled with the blast of Thunder starting to push him back.
"Ampha...!" Ampharos was also trying to break straight through Sirfetch'd's shield, adding extra force into to his muscle strength.
"S-SIrfetch'd!" Sirfetch'd ended up being the one to succeed in that struggle, forcing himself forward as he had repelled the Thunder, lunging in with his leek forward.
"Quick!" Fire Punch!"
"Pharos!" Ampharos switched from Thunder to Fire Punch once that attack had failed. Right as Sirfetch'd got close, Ampharos had already summoned the flames on his arms. Fire Punch had met with Night Slash with Sirfetch'd's Leek colliding with one of Ampharos' arms. "Ampha!" Ampharos swung the other arm, only for Sirfetch'd's shield to block it and the flames.
They went back and forth with Sirfetch'd playing defence mostly, using his shield to his advantage. Ampharos' Fire Punch was being swung wildly at Sirfetch'd clashing with his leek and beating on his shield.
"Jump back and shoot Night Slash!"
"Sir!" Sirfetch'd jumped back, using the alternate variation of Night Slash. He started swinging the leek in the air, allowing the darkness to transform into silver waves that came flying down.
"Pharos?!" Ampharos gasped as the raining blades of Night Slash rapidly bombarded him, forcing him to block with his arms up. Ampharos growled with the area being obscured with smoke from the impacts on the ground.
"Light yourself up!" Gold had an easy solution for Ampharos being obscured. Ampharos could see through the smoke easily by lighting its body up, creating a way for itself.
"Here's our chance to strike! Brutal Swing!"
"Fetch'd! Sir!" Sirfetch'd ran back in, continuing to get up close and personal. Now it was time for him to be on the offensive. He lunged towards the body of light within the smoke, swinging at full strength.
"Brighter!"
"Ampha!" But this was where Ampharos would use its light to its advantage. It had used the light from its body, increasing the intensity of it. Enough to bewilder Sirfetch'd.
"S-Sir!"
"Gotcha! Now blast it with Thunder!"
"Pharos!" Once Sirfetch'd was blinded, this gave Ampharos the chance to use its strongest move. Thunder. It unleashed the ferocious blast of lightning on the befuddled Sirfetch'd, shocking him and launching him far back.
"Ah! Sirfetch'd!" Ash gasped as Sirfetch'd started rolling on the ground.
"S-Sir...!" Sirfetch'd was certainly perplexed with his eyesight returning afterwards. He slid on the ground, almost dropping his leek. "Sirfetch'd!"
"Power Gem!"
"Ampharos!" Ampharos was now playing aggressive, unleashing sparkling rays of gemstones towards Sirfetch'd right as he had just recovered. Gold was certainly aiming to apply some pressure.
"Block and use Fury Cutter on some of them!"
"Sir!" Sirfetch'd used both his leek and shield in this instance. His shield had been put up to block the gems while his leek would be used to hit them. As the gems bombarded his shield, Sirfetch'd would use Fury Cutter to hit some of them, even sending them right back at Ampharos.
"Ampha?!" Ampharos noticed how some of the gems were coming back at it, knocking onto its face which caused the Light Pokemon to flinch. Both Pokemon slid back with Ampharos receiving the attacks after the gems were sent right back at it.
"Sir." Sirfetch'd pulled his sword and shield back after blocking and hitting that many gems back. Ampharos certainly knew how to make him act fast as well as Ash, which was ironic considering Ampharos was not particularly a fast Pokemon, despite being an Electric-Type.
"Return for a bit, Ampharos." Gold had then recalled Ampharos, allowing it to take a rest.
"None have fainted yet. This is going to be a long one..." Twilight squinted. "I'd say about an hour. Way past the 30-minute time limit if these two continue,"
"You got all of that from just those few instances?" Starlight replied.
"Togekiss! Go!" Launching the Poke Ball into the air and letting the Pokemon inside emerge, Gold's next option was Togekiss.
"Togekiss!" Togekiss showed up, spinning in the air for a bit before gracefully showing off its wings and style to the crowd.
"Togekiss, huh..." Ash spoke upon seeing the Jubilee Pokemon appear.
"Togekiss is a problem. Aren't three of Ash's Pokemon weak to Togekiss?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Togekiss is dangerous Pokemon for most of Ash's team considering what three of them are weak against." Rarity replied to her little sister. "Only two of them resist Togekiss. Thankfully, he has the options for such as a dangerous Pokemon."
"Okay, Togekiss! Air Slash, now!"
"Togekiss!" Togekiss picked up where Ampharos left off, flapping its wings to send a flurry of wind-cutting blades. Ash chose to stick with Sirfetch'd despite the disadvantages. But everyone knew that's exactly how he preferred to do things sometimes.
"Counter with Night Slash!"
"Sirfetch'd!" The goal was to now prevent Togekiss from getting a single super-effective hit. Once the blades appeared, Sirfetch'd relied upon the alternate variant of Night Slash. Two silver coloured attacks met with each other rapidly colliding in the process. Night Slash and Air Slash equalized, resulting in a stalemate.
"Dazzling Gleam!"
"Kiss!" Togekiss cried out with a serene voice, unleashing a barrage of rainbows from her glowing body.
"We're gonna block those rays, Sirfetch'd! Stand your ground!"
"Fetch'd!" Sirfetch'd would certainly stand his ground, gripping his shield closely. The shield was placed in front of him as the rainbows started aggressively bombarding it. Each hit made the pebbles around the stadium fly up from the shockwaves going about. Sirfetch'd was doing well by playing it defensively. It was his second-best utility next to being offensive.
"Hm! Let's get that shield out of the way! Psychic!"
"Toge!" Togekiss' eyes flashed as it switched from Air Slash to Psychic, focusing on Sirfetch'd's shield. Sirfetch'd's shield was outlined in a purple light, already being manipulated by Togekiss.
"Fetch'd?!" With extreme force, Sirfetch'd's shield was removed from his grasp, causing him to also fall over. Only his leek was in his hand as the shield had been tossed aside.
"Sirfetch'd! Your shield!" Ash cried out.
"Great stuff, Togekiss! Now let's use Psychic one more time!"
"Toge!" Togekiss utilized Psychic once more. But this time, it had picked Sirfetch'd up while he was still on the ground. Sirfetch'd had been levitated into the air by Togekiss, unable to move or even utilize any defensive options. Especially without his shield. After lifting him, Togekiss had unleashed an invisible blast of Psychic energy onto the Fighting-Type, delivering super-effective damage in the process.
"S-Sir!" Sirfetch'd's eyes opened as he was launched afar by this invisible blast. Straight through the air, Sirfetch'd crashed with a fairly hard fall too. One that some of the crowd could feel. Sirfetch'd growled, looking up at Togekiss after crashing into the marble-covered ground. He wasn't out yet.
"All of Togekiss' moves are nothing but bad news for Sirfetch'd and some of Ash's Pokemon!" Rainbow Dash gasped. "And it's just one!"
"Togekiss is also the best at staying afar. Without his shield, Sirfetch'd can't do much against them," said Fluttershy. "But if he gets it back he can do something."
"As if Gold would let him have it back" Applejack replied.
"Sirfetch'd isn't leaving until he gets his shield back." Ash tightened his gloves. "Right, Sirfetch'd?"
"Sir!" Sirfetch'd was in full agreement of that. That shield was going to be picked right back up. It meant a lot to him as much as his leek, making his determination to retrieve it hotter.
"Come and get it." Gold grinned, encouraging them to try. "Dazzling Gleam!"
"Go, Sirfetch'd!" Ash bellowed as the next approach was to simply run for the shield. "Defend yourself with your leek with Night Slash!"
"Sir!" Sirfetch'd made a run for it, heading straight for his shield whilst an array of rainbow rays were coming his way. He held his leek out, swinging it at the rays. He managed to knock some of them back however so many of them were flying over at Sirfetch'd could only do so much with just his leek. The rays overwhelmed him with some of the nearby explosions knocking him over. "Fetchd!"
"It's not over yet!" Ash roared as Sirfetch'd slid on the ground, recovering a second afterwards, continuing to run.
"Talk about persistent! I like that! Togekiss, Psychic!"
"Not this time! Detect!"
"Sir!" The moment Togekiss went for Psychic to grab Sirfetch'd, the Wild Duck Pokemon saw in the future for just one second. That one second was all he needed. He moved at blinding speeds, leaving behind glowing afterimages of himself before choosing to slide to the side, right where his shield was. That Detect was a smart call as sliding with it allowed for Sirfetch'd to reach for the shield.
"Can't Detect in repeat! Psychic again!" Gold utilized this moment to use Psychic once more. Right where Sirfetch'd was about to grab his shield. He was this close to grabbing it, only for Togekiss to cut him off as he was pulled away from it.
"F-Fetch'd?!"
"Go, Togekiss!" Gold trusted his fist into the air.
"Kiss!" Togekiss would once again use the invisible blast of Psychic Energy whilst Sirfetch'd was immobilized in the air.
"I don't think so! Spin your leek with Night Slash!"
"Sirfetch'd!" While he was immobilized in the air, unable to go anywhere, he could still use his leek. By coating it in darkness, Sirfetch'd spun it around, utilizing the silver blades of Night Slash. He spun it around with enough force to generate a whirlwind of these blades. These whirlwinds ended up clashing with the invisible blast, preventing it from touching Sirfetch'd.
"He used Night Slash a whirlwind to defend! Genius! Yes, Ash!" In the crowd, Diamond Tiara's voice could be heard with multiple cheering as well from this already thrilling battle.
The whirlwind and air blades clashed before blowing up in front of each other. Togekiss closed its eyes from this ferocious explosion of Psychic energy and Darkness.
"Sir!" This mild distraction allowed for Sirfetch'd to finally retrieve his shield once he was dropped. Sirfetch'd was fully armed with his sword and shield once more. "Sirfetch'd!"
"Awesome, Sirfetch'd! Return!" Ash recalled Sirfetch'd once he got his shield back. Things were starting to heat up as Ash already knew who to select next. "You're back in there, buddy!"
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu ran in, ready for a second go.
"You've got an odd way of battling, Ash. Pretty fun though." Gold commented as he found himself enjoying the way Ash battled. It was strikingly different from any other trainer he's faced. "But I'm not aiming to lose! Roost!"
"Togekiss...!" Togekiss took this time to recover as it folded its wings up, closing its eyes. Its body was then surrounded by an orb of energy that had the power to heal it.
"Okay, Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
"Pikachu!" Iron Tail was ready. Pikachu ran in with this hardened tail as it was certainly a threat to Togekiss. Most of his moves were anyway.
"Here he comes! Use, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Kiss! Toge!" The rays of multiple colours were unleashed once more. Pikachu narrowed his eyes as the rainbows hovered over him as if they were arrows.
"Go!"
"Pika...Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu leapt into the air, facing the rainbows. He swung with all of his might with Iron Tail, smashing it onto the various rays. "Pi...Pika!" Pikachu yelled, using the weight of Iron Tail to overpower these Faye attacks. Some of them even flew past Togekiss, almost hitting it. Along came Pikachu, still airborne with Iron Tail.
"Woah! Dodge and use Air Slash!"
"Toge!" Togekiss flew out of the way, avoiding Pikachu's Iron Tail which was swung in a downwards position. It made a loud and strong impact on the ground as Togekiss couldn't imagine how much it would've done if Pikachu connected. "Kiss!" Togekiss had then used Air Slash right after it had dodged, unloading on the Mouse Pokemon.
"Catch them with Electroweb!"
"Pika! Chu-Pi!" Pikachu's tail was planted onto the ground. However, he could still use it. An orb was summoned around it as Pikachu then removed the tail, ascending to the air for a bit. That short ascension allowed him to fling the orb from his tail, transforming it into a web.
The web had caught the blades, trapping them until they blew up within it. Both Electroweb and Air Slash had been neutralized.
"Psychic, Togekiss!"
"Dodge with Quick Attack!"
"Togekiss!" Togekiss blew away the smoke with a Psychic blast, revealing Pikachu. However, the moment the smoke was cleared, Pikachu had already zoomed at lightning speeds, evading the blast from Togekiss' gaze.
"Let's finish this! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu soared through the air with the speed of Quick Attack, getting closer to Togekiss as his shadow hovered her. His tiny and adorable shadow with lightning sparking out of his cheeks.
"Dazzling Gleam!"
"Togekiss!" Togekiss covered itself in a shining sphere, unleashing a mass array of rainbows. The two attacks met with each other, at point-blank range. However, only one attack reigned supreme and that was Thunderbolt, blitzing through the rays and smiting the Jubilee Pokemon. "T-Toge!"
A fierce explosive paroxysm had occurred with Pikachu jumping back. Dust had formed from this cataclysmic combustion with electricity sparking about. Once the smoke cleared, it was revealed what had become of Togekiss. Togekiss had fallen over after that devastating Thunderbolt. Even with Roost, Pikachu proved to have dealt some sweet damage. Togekiss had fainted.
"Togekiss..."
"Togekiss is unable to battle! Pikachu wins!" The referee announced with the crowd cheering. The first Pokemon had fainted. It took a while but it was an electrifying knockout at the end of it all. Figuratively and literally.
"Yes! Ash got the first faint!" Twilight cheered with her friends jumping and down and even raising their hooves. It was hard to tell who would get the first knockout but their best friend managed to pull it off. But there was more to come.
"A splendid display," Olympia commented.
"My heart is already racing and just one is down! How exciting!" Candice chuckled.
"Thank you, Togekiss. Take a rest." Gold had returned his Togekiss.
"Alright, buddy. Head back again." Ash called Pikachu back with the Mouse Pokemon dashing off. Pikachu was being saved once more.
"You got me on the edge there, Ash," said Gold. "Out of every trainer I've fought so far, you're certainly the most interesting and unpredictable. I've been waiting for something like that for a while."
"Glad I could help you get here. Let's keep going, Gold!" Ash held out his next Poke Ball. "Dracovish! I choose you!" Ash went for his Dracovish next.
"Draco! Dracovish!"
"Eeuugh!" Gold couldn't help but grimace at the sight of Dracovish, flinching and moving back.
"Hm? Never seen Dracovish before?"
"Heard about it but man...it's something to look at." Gold sighed. "But I'm not gonna let its looks throw me off! Let's go! Gyarados!" Gold chose a ferocious Pokemon this time. Gyarados. But not just an average Gyarados. This was a Shiny Gyarados with its crimson red form, similar to the one that Lance owns.
"Gyarados!" Gyarados immediately roared to assert its dominance over whoever it was facing.
"Now, Gyarados! Let's get the edge in speed and attack! Dragon Dance!"
"Gyarados!" The Shiny Gyarados had bellowed before engulfing itself in an orange light. This orange helped increase its attack and speed for an edge in this battle. And edge that Gold was aiming to make a heavy utility throughout all of it.
"Speed, huh? No water from Dracovish to move in...but we can still work something out." Ash said, knowing that Dracovish was at its fastest via being in water. With no water, its speed was bogged down whilst Gyarados' had only grown." Okay! Dracovish, Ice Fang!"
"Draco!" Dracovish covered its strong jaws in an icy blue aura before then approaching its fellow Water-Type.
"Gyarados! Bite!"
"Gyara!" Gyarados zoomed through the air with superior speed, covering its fangs with a dark aura. Its speed was so great that not only had it passed Dracovish, but it had also bitten its sides in the process
"Vish?!" Dracovish was taken aback by this speed with the side of its body being hit. It staggered, almost falling over from this hit.
"Gyarados!" Gyarados did this once more, zooming and passing Dracovish by biting its sides. This made Dracovish's balance start to wain with Gyarados doing this on repeat. Gyarados was much faster than Dracovish in this instant. Dracovish was starting to spin around from all these consecutive hits with Ash careful watching.
"Hang in there, Dracovish! Let's keep our eyes and ears sharp!" Ash took a patient route, knowing that speed needed patience. Especially one that was superior.
"Too fast! And that was with just one Dragon Dance?!" Starlight gasped with her eyes trying to keep up with Gyarados' movements.
"Dracovish is only at its best when within water. But since these battles never have any lakes or rivers to use, Dracovish is always sometimes slower than its opponent." Roxanne observed. "However..."
"Here it comes! Grab it!" Ash could keep up with Gyarados' speed, waiting for the right moment for its next Bite. That moment was now.
"Draco!" Dracovish had lowered its body, getting under the approaching the Gyarados while also avoiding its Bite. And to pay Gyarados back, Dracovish ended up grabbing onto its tail of all things. "Vish!" Just like that, Dracovish managed to catch up with Gyarados after seeing it zoom around and following Ash's advice of keeping a sharp eye. Things like this made it the Apex Predator of the past.
"Gyarados?!"
"Huh?!" Gold gasped.
"Gotcha! Get a load of Dracovish's jaws! Slam it around!"
"Dracovish!" Dracovish got a good grip on Gyarados thanks to its strong jaws. It had then started slamming the Atrocious Pokemon around as if it was a ragdoll. Dracovish slammed it around a few times on its sides and front of its face while also dealing some damage with Ice Fang to its tail.
"Break free with Aqua Tail!"
Despite all the smacking around, Gyarados could free itself by summoning a veil of water around its tail. That veil expanded, filling Dracovish's mouth as if it was drinking a gallon of water.
"Vish!" Dracovish's eyes expanded as it had let go of Gyarados. Water started flowing from its mouth after the surprise Aqua Tail. To get its distance, right after being freed, Gyarados had used Aqua Tail once more, slapping Dracovish aside whilst the water was exiting its mouth. "Draco!" Dracovish resisted it, of course, sliding on the ground.
"Could've gone south fast! We gotta look out for those jaws and keep our distance! Dark Pulse!" Gold knew how dangerous Dracovish's jaws could get if he had any of his Pokemon get close to it. The best way to battle against Dracovish was to not get too close. Or even close at all.
"Gyarados!"
"Water Gun!"
"Dracovish!" The two sharp-fanged Water-Types had unleashed ranged attacks upon each other. Water Gun and Dark Pulse. They had entered a momentary struggle between these two attacks with one side trying to push through. Ash and Gold could feel the collision of these two attacks tearing each other up with droplets of water and dark sparks flying everywhere with this struggle.
But eventually, neither attack won. They imploded on each other afterwards like many of the ranged attacks used in this battle.
"Fishious Rend!"
"Draco!" Dracovish's hard gills went active, sending all of its strength into its jaws once more, approaching Gyarados.
"Gyrados works best as a physical Pokemon...but we gotta make do and overcome this Dracovish no matter what! Gyarados! Dark Pulse!
"Gyara...!" As Dracovish was approaching, Gyarados started summoning Dark Pulse inside of its always-open mouth, making sure to constantly keep its distance at all costs. "Dos!" The beam of dark thoughts had been unleashed with Dracovish then leaping into the air, facing Dark Pulse once more.
The battle between these two was heating up. Neither side was giving an inch and they loved it. Only one of them would emerge victorious in this exhibition match as the journey continues.
Equestria. Canterlot. Equestria League Stadium. Afternoon.
Ash and Gold's exhibition match continues. With Ash managing to faint one of Gold's Pokemon, Togekiss, he was currently in the lead. Right now, it was Ash's Dracovish against Gold's Gyarados.
"Dracovish!" Dracovish had used Fishious Rend on Gyarados' Dark Pulse, biting onto the attack. It was the best way it could think of getting past Dark Pulse since Gold and Gyarados made the conscious decision to stay away from Dracovish and its powerful fangs.
"It bit through it?!" Gold had witnessed the true power of Dracovish's fangs for the first time. And it was terrifying as Dracovish had then lunged towards Gyarados with Fishious Rend. It bit down on the top of Gyarados head with even greater force than the previous bite it had delivered with Ice Fang.
"G-Gyara!" While not super-effective, the impact was still enough to make Gyarados stagger. Gyarados fell on its back from just one bite of Fishious Rend, showcasing just how dangerous this attack can be the moment it comes into contact with something.
"Keep it up! Use Ice Fang!"
"Vish!" Dracovish continued to advance on Gyarados, making sure to always keep close to it.
"I don't think so! Gyarados, ascend!"
"Grab a ride, Dracovish!"
"G-Gyarados!" Gyarados utilized its advantage as being part Flying-Type, quickly ascending to the skies, only for Dracovish to grab onto its tail. Even after the speed increase with Dragon Dance, Dracovish could still keep up. Those legs were not to be underestimated.
Gyarados ascended with Dracovish being dragged along. The Atrocious Pokemon's eyes widened after seeing the Fossil Pokemon bite onto its tail, which not only threw it off guard but also harmed it. Ice Fang's chill ran through Gyarados' body before then starting to freeze its tail.
"Aqua Tail!"
But Gyarados could not pull it off. Not with its tail frozen and very soon the rest of its body thanks to Ice Fang. Gyarados had been frozen over completely by Dracovish, unable to keep its aerial momentum. Gyarados came crashing down with a frozen body as Dracovish had let go. The Fossil Pokemon managed to successfully land on its feet whilst Gyarados crashed into the ground.
The only benefit was that the ice was broken from the hard impact on the ground. Gyarados grunted once the ice was broken as coupled with Ice Fang, it took some heavy hits. "Gyara." The Water-Flying-Type got up, shaking its head to recover itself.
"Feeling good, Gyarados?" Gold asked
"Gyarados." Gyarados certainly was still in shape to continue. But those jaws of Dracovish were certainly a threat.
"Return, for now. Just wait for a bit." Gold chose to recall Gyarados, changing up his approach. "That Dracovish and its jaws are a problem. It can catch up so quickly even with a speed increase. I need to do something else. Someone to shake things up...
"Ash is in the lead! You love to see it!" Spike laughed.
"Yeah, but look. Gold has something planned." Twilight pointed out.
Gold had another Pokemon in store that he was aiming to turn the tides. Gold was mainly thinking about Dracovish in this instance and the speed that it could keep up with. The right Pokemon was selected for this as the next Poke Ball was out with a wide grin on his face.
"Let's go! Espeon!" Espeon was his next choice, sending the Sun Pokemon into the fray.
"Espeon!" Espeon. Certainly a fast Pokemon. Twilight should know as she had an Espeon of her own. But also one that was a threat to most of Ash's Pokemon. But then again, Togekiss had been defeated first before any of the others.
"Espeon? Ah, that's fine! Ash knows how to handle Espeon!" Apple Bloom commented. "He already beat Togekiss too!"
"Not even Espeon is the same, sugarcube." Applejack shook her head, knowing that this Espeon could still prove to be a threat even if Ash had proper solutions to major obstacles.
"You're right about that." Brendan chimed in. "Out of all of his Pokemon, Gold's Espeon's the one that allows other Pokemon to have an easier time while also making it a hard time for its opponents. Red should know. Even just Espeon alone gave him trouble."
"..." Red closed his eyes as he knew this to be true. Gold's Espeon can prove to be a problem in various ways. But he reopened them to continue watching. In the corner of all of this, Sombra kept observing Ash as his interest was only growing even further with this Pokemon Battle. He was starting to see the mass appeal of it.
"But the question is...will he do it for Ash?" Brendan wondered.
"This is a thrilling battle, isn't it?" Celestia asked Luna and Chrysalis. "Seeing all of this play out makes me want to indulge in a full-on Pokemon Battle one day. If I have the right number of Pokemon, that is."
"Mmm. Ash is as strong as I expected, but this Gold Trainer is just as impressive even if he doesn't have the lead." Chrysalis replied whilst holding Anthophilia.
"Trainers from other worlds parallel to even the one Ash comes from should be expected to be this formidable. It's almost terrifying isn't it?" Luna commented.
"We'll match your speed with some more crazy speed! Espeon, Calm Mind!"
"Esp!" Espeon closed its eyes before surrounding itself in a radiant purple aura that made Ash and Dracovish squint. It focused intensively with a calm disposition that allowed its purple aura to expand and flash brighter. Just like that, Espeon's Special Attack and Special Defence had been raised.
"Calm Mind, huh? Yeah, that could be an issue for us." Ash knew very well how lethal Calm Mind on a Psychic-Type could be in various ways. "Let's focus on getting physical then! Fishious Rend!"
"Dracovish!" Knowing that only its Special Defence had been raised, Dracovish approached Espeon with only physical strength which is exactly what it excelled at. Its fangs lit up blue as one good bite could put Espeon in a bad spot.
"Espeon, use Stored Power!"
"Esp...Eon!" To counter this, Espeon stood on the spot. It did not move to dodge but instead, it would face Dracovish head-on. From its body, a burst of Psychic energy emerged that was wide enough to encompass most of the arena in the form of a radius-wide barrage of spheres
"Jump, Dracovish!"
"Dracovish!" Dracovish had leapt over the orbs, successfully dodging them.
"Eon!" However, Espeon could control the orbs even when fired. It manipulated the Psychic orbs, immediately sending them right at Dracovish while it wasn't looking.
"Huh!? Dracovish, behind you!"
"Draco?" Too late for that as Dracovish had been hit in the back by Stored Power, resulting in a Psychic combustion. One hit to the back from those orbs that had the power of concentrated focus was a dangerous one. Dracovish fell to the ground face-first with purple smoke steaming from its back.
The power behind that sneak attack Stored Power was an impressive one. Strong enough to not only knock Dracovish down but also make it faint. Dracovish was out.
"Dracovish..."
"Dracovish is unable to battle! Espeon wins!" That was one of Ash's Pokemon down at last. His Dracovish was the first to go.
"Phew! That felt close!" Gold wiped some sweat off his forehead. "Those jaws were something else. Thanks for the help, Espeon."
"Esp."
"Thanks, Dracovish. You did great." Ash returned the Fossil Pokemon, thanking it for a great battle. It may have fainted but it had certainly played its part.
"Aww...." The Cutie Mark Crusaders sighed from that defeat.
"Great effort from Dracovish," said Rarity. "I'd say that if Fishious Rend did connect, Espeon would've ended up in the same situation as Dracovish. Just a hunch though."
"How many minutes has it been? All this back and forth makes it feel like it's been maybe 15 minutes." Fluttershy asked as this battle between equally skilled trainers was so well-placed that it felt long rather long.
"Surprisingly, it's been 9 minutes, my little pony," Olympia replied. "But when two trainers of equal strength go against each other, time becomes a lost concept for many."
"Yeah. So we'd better get comfortable." Brawly adjusted himself on the seat before drinking some energy juice, knowing that even with two Pokemon from each side down, it was not ending any time soon.
"Come on, you two! Show us something bigger!" Roxie roared, visibly getting into this. She even felt the need to play her guitar, holding it and standing up, ready to unleash some sound that would overpower everything else. "Maybe some music will make it all the more exciting."
"No, we don't need you distracting everyone from this battle, Roxie." Roxanne halted Roxie from playing the guitar for the sake of everyone's attention and ears.
"Alright. It's your turn, Gengar! I choose you!" Ash already had his next Pokemon in mind. Gengar came into the fray.
"Gengar!"
"Gengar, huh?" Gold pondered. "That's a 50/50 right there. But we'll increase our chances. And it starts with this! Use Calm Mind!"
"Espeon!" Once again, Espeon had boosted its Special Attack and Special Defence with that same purple aura emerging. This also meant that Stored Power was only getting stronger which would prove to be a problem for Gengar being that he was part Poison.
"Let's do this, Gengar! Ice Punch!"
"Gen...Gar!" Right now, Ash was sticking to a Physical approach for the time being as Gengar summoned an icy blue aura around its arms, zooming towards Espeon.
"Here it comes! Stored Power!"
"Eon!" Stored Power was used once more with greater strength than before as the multiple orbs surrounding Espeon's body had been unleashed. But this time, Ash knew of Espeon's ability to control where they move.
"Avoid the orbs and close in on, Espeon!"
"Gengar!" Gengar zigzagged around as the orbs were pursuing him. The Shadow Pokemon performed every manoeuvre he could thanks to his agile and spectral body. He flew over the first batch of orbs before then ducking the next. A trail of Psychic orbs were sent to his back, causing the Ghost-Poison-Type to zoom to the side. "Gen!"
"Keep it up, Espeon!"
"Espeon!" Espeon continued to move the orbs, relentlessly targeting Gengar as it chose not to let the Shadow Pokemon breathe for a second. Then again, Gengar was a Ghost so what breathing was there to stop?
"Gen! Gen!" However, Gengar was starting to feel the pressure. As he kept dodging the attacks, Espeon was making it worse for him, sending them in unpredictable positions. Ash narrowed his eyes, seeing how these orbs were now moving erratically, making it harder for the Shadow Pokemon.
"Hit them away!"
"Gar!" Gengar used Ice Punch on the orbs, knocking them away each time they would approach. He was doing this successfully but with each passing second, Espeon was only changing up the way it moved the orbs. However, the more orbs he hit, the more he was starting to feel some pushback.
The next one he knocked away ended up causing some rebound on Gengar, forcing him back. As he was forced back, he turned to see another Psychic orb coming his way, causing him to swivel and knock that one away too. "Gengar...!" Gengar was starting to feel the pressure.
"I've never seen Stored Power be used in such a way before!" Even Olympia was surprised. "Maybe I should be taking some advice from this."
"Gengar's starting to lose space. He's not even getting any closer to Espeon! If anything, he's getting further!" Goh was right as all of this dodging was forcing Gengar away from Espeon.
"Gold knows that Espeon's fragile up close so he's having Espeon do what it can to keep Gengar at bay. And that Stored Power is like a freight train for Gengar." Roxanne replied.
"Gengar?!" Gengar came face to face with some of the orbs that were lined up like a blockade, threatening to crash into Gengar as another trail was right behind him. He was now surrounded.
"Talk about random!" Ash cried out. "But we've dealt with random before! Phase through, Gengar!"
"Gen!" This was where Gengar's traits as a ghost would truly shine. He had become intangible, phasing through the trail and blockade of Psychic orbs. The orbs crashed into each other, combusting as it allowed Gengar to finally approach Espeon.
"Esp?!"
"Gengar!" Gengar had a massive grin in front of Espeon before swinging his fist. A direct hit onto Espeon. Right to the face too as Espeon felt the chilling blow from Gengar, causing it to be launched.
"Nice hit!" Ash pumped his fist with Pikachu cheering alongside him.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Espeon!" And with that mighty blow from Ice Punch, Espeon's had been frozen.
However, there was a major caveat that always came with facing Espeon. Two of its abilities would always relate to status effects. And in this case, Espeon had Synchronize. The moment it was frozen, Gengar was frozen too. Both Pokemon were encased in ice as they had fallen over while within their icy prisons.
"Not what I was hoping for." Gold commented, scratching his head. "I rarely get the freeze effect." Even when knowing his Espeon had answers for status effects, apparently, the freeze effect was the rarest for him.
"Guess we're both at a stalemate with this one." Ash chuckled. "Unless..."
"One of us breaks out first!" Both Ash and Gold said in unison as Gengar and Espeon could hear them loud and clear. The newest approach was to free themselves from their icy prisons with the voice of their trainers encouraging them.
"Use Psychic to break out, Gengar!"
"Espeon, Stored Power to shatter the ice!" Gold also had a way of breaking free. This was one of his many plans if Espeon were to ever be frozen. Within the ice, both Pokemon were giving it their all to break free. Their eyes were glowing as all of the Psychic energy they could must was being summoned.
It wasn't easy breaking out of an ice prison. Usually, they just wait for it to thaw out. But it could be said that Espeon could potentially have an easier time breaking free as Stored Power was amplified thanks to Calm Mind. Gengar didn't have an amplifier as the ice around Espeon's ice prison looked to be the first to start breaking with cracks forming. Ash knew that if Espeon were to get out, it was free damage for it whilst Gengar would still be frozen.
"I've got it!" But while Gengar was building up Psychic, Ash had already hatched something in mind. It wasn't enough to just free, Gengar. Ash decided to improvise. "Sweetie Belle. Premium. Diamond Tiara. Coco. I hope you're all watching! Here's a contest move to use! Gengar! Use Psychic on the ice prison to levitate yourself!"
"Gen...Gar!" Gengar did just that. Instead of breaking free, Gengar had levitated the icy prison, carrying himself into the air.
"What the?!" Gold gasped as everyone had witnessed Gengar ascend with the ice prison. "Meanwhile, Espeon ended up breaking free via the burst of Psychic orbs.
"Esp?!"
"Check it out! Gengar's all protected inside that ice prison for the time being!" Ash grinned as another one of his hair-brained schemes had come to fruition. No matter what, he manages to pull them off even on the spot.
"Is he? Gengar, start moving and use bits of the ice!"
"Gengar!" Gengar continued to use Psychic wi the utmost best usage of it. Not only was he moving the ice prison while Stored Power was being shot at him, but he also took parts of the prison, summoning shards of ice.
After flying over some of the orbs, Gengar launched the shards at Espeon, raining them down on the Sun Pokemon. He had used the ice to his advantage as Espeon had been bombarded by the shards, taking damage in the process.
"Esp!" Espeon was pushed back by the shards as Gengar was gradually breaking the rest of this icy prison apart just by doing this.
"That's it! That's the kind of ridiculousness well love to see from Ash!" Twilight cheered as she and the others knew that Ash's plans were always a thrill to see, no matter how insane they appear to be.
"I'll call this Psy-Ice! That's it!" And just like that, he had formed a new move. Joining Ice Aqua Jet Thunder Armor, Counter Shield and Makeshift Thunderbolt in the family of Ash's out of this world yet unique moves was Psy-Ice. A Gengar exclusive.
"Man, that's something." Gold laughed, lowering his hat as Ash was bringing him further joy with this battle. "Yeah. You're one heck of a trainer alright. Gives me a bigger motivation to keep going! Morning Sun, Espeon!"
"Espeon!" Espeon would now use the power of the sun for itself. By looking at the star in the sky, Espeon's whole body glows white as all around it, radiant golden rays of light shined outward from Espeon's body Just like that, Espeon had healed up under the grace of the sun. The light was bright enough to briefly blind Ash and Gengar.
"Man, that's bright!" Ash covered his eyes.
"Gengar!"
"I use that to always blind my opponents and give Espeon a chance to heal! Just like this! Now, let's go for Shadow Ball! Break that prison!"
"Esp!" Espeon opened its mouth, summoning a blob of shadows hastily before spitting it out.
"Time to break free, Gengar! Use Night Shade!"
"Gen...Gar!" Gengar had left Psy-Ice for now. But it was certainly a skill that would be used in the future as he broke it apart with ice shards flying everywhere. Upon breaking free, Gengar's eyes flashed black before unleashing a red and black beam from his eyes.
The orb and the beam clashed with Espeon's superior increased special attack coming into play. It had managed to overpower Night Shae, engulfing Gengar in the process. Gengar was given a super-effective hit once Shadow Ball crashed into him.
"Let's follow up with Stored Power!"
"Espeon!" The Psychic-Type soon leapt into the air with the orbs emerging out of it. This time, it would be an aerial assault as the orbs of concentrated Psychic energy had been dropped, ready to bombard the Ghost-Poison-Type.
"Go through the ground, Gengar!"
"Gen!" Gengar slid on the marble-covered ground of the stadium before them turning intangible to phase through. He passed through the ground, evading Stored Power in the process as the orbs had failed. Espeon had descended, landing on its feet before then realizing this was similar to the move Dig. AKA, Gengar could pop out and possibly attack at any second.
"Stay sharp, Espeon! Gengar could show up anywhere!"
"Esp!" Espeon nodded as it would already be quick on its feet, waiting for the right moment to act.
"Who said we were coming up?" However, Ash had another one of his otherworldly ideas. "Ice Punch from below!"
"Gen-Gen!" Instead of bursting up as Gold and Espeon expected, Gengar had instead touched the stadium from underground, utilizing the icy chill from Ice Punch to cause a flash-freeze. Right underneath Ash, Gold, Pikachu, Espeon and even the referee's legs, the stadium was starting to freeze up with ice rapidly spreading.
"The whole ground from below?!"
"Espeon?!" Espeon's balance was immediately thrown off balance by this as its legs were trying to maintain this weakening balance immediately. "Esp!"
"Pop up with an Ice Punch!"
"Gar!" With Espeon lacking balance, Gengar had popped out of the ground from behind Espeon, already having Ice Punch ready once more.
"Behind you, Espeon! Dodge it!"
"Esp!" Espeon turned around, attempting to dodge, only to fail in doing so thanks to the frozen ice.
"Gen...Gar-Gar-Gar!" Gengar could unleash Ice Punch by delivering repeated hits. Espeon felt this frenzy of Ice Punches that were enough to leave it winded in the process. By focusing heavily on physical attacks only, Calm Mind's purpose wasn't working to Gold's benefit as only the Special Attack was of any use. Gengar delivered the last hit, knocking Espeon away which caused the Sun Pokemon to spin on the icy stadium.
"Now! Shadow Ball!" Ash roared.
"Gen...!" He had two blobs of darkness, forming them into one stronger variation before then deciding to approach Espeon, aiming to force it onto the Sun Pokemon instead of throwing it.
"Stored Power! Around yourself, Espeon!"
"Espeon!" Espeon stopped moving to avoid falling over, immediately surrounding itself in the orbs of Stored Power. But as protection. The blob of shadows met with the orbs, resulting in a chain reaction. The two attacks blew up around each other, engulfing both Pokemon in the process.
Gengar and Espeon had both been blown away from this fierce collision. The two of them tumbled on the cold ground before getting back up. But that collision certainly befuddled them. They were now feeling the effects at last as Gengar held his head whilst Espeon was still trying to stand on the ice. But only one of them would stand. And the one to stand was neither as they had both fallen, fainting in unison.
"Gengar..."
"Espeon...
"Both Gengar and Espeon are unable to battle!"
"Double knockout you love and hate to see it." Roxie shrugged.
"At least Ash evened things out there. For a while, it looked like Espeon would win with all of that stored power." Twilight was right on the nose with that one. Even Gold knew that Espeon's Stored Power would've helped him through this.
"Looks like Ash toppled Gold's plan to pave the way for the rest of Gold's Pokemon," Brendan replied. as Ash and Gold had recalled their Pokemon.
"Thanks, Espeon. You battled hard. Return."
"Thanks, Gengar. You left behind this ice floor for everyone else so it won't be wasted."
"Hmm...My Espeon plan didn't pan out. Gotta think ahead fast..." Gold thought to himself before he and Ash held their next Poke Balls.
"Alright! Counting on you, Dragonite!" For Ash, Dragonite was up next.
"Tyranitar! Let's go!" Out came Tyranitar for Gold. Both Pokemon had emerged with Tyranitar already letting out a roar to assert its dominance.
"Dragonite!"
"Tyranitar!" And the moment Tyranitar showed up, its ability Sand Stream had kicked in, summoning an immediate sandstorm. A raging one to boot that blocked out the vibrant rays of the sun.
"Go, Tyranitar! Stone Edge!"
"Ty!" Tyranitar had summoned glowing crystals around its body that resembled rocks orbiting a planet. Tyranitar roared once more, ordering the crystals to fly at Dragonite.
"Dragon Claw!"
"Dra!" Dragonite faced the crystals, covering her claws with draconic energy. The Dragon Pokemon had started swinging at the crystals, shattering them in the process with tremendous force.
"Get close, Dragonite! And strike!"
"Gonite!" Dragonite approached Tyranitar, advancing with Dragon Claw.
"Thunder Punch, Tyranitar!"
"Tyra!" Tyranitar would also approach, however, the ice ground was still an issue. The moment Tyranitar started moving, it could already feel itself starting to wobble. Because of this, it allowed Dragonite to get the first hit in, staying airborne. A slash to Tyranitar's face had been made, pushing the Armor Pokemon back. "Ty!"
"Man...that ice ground..." Gold uttered, knowing that the ice ground was a still problem after Gengar had summoned. But instead of aiming to get rid of it, Gold, much like Ash, sparked an idea. And it involved the ice plus Dragonite. "Wait a sec...I got it! Tyranitar, let's use the ice! Earthquake to raise some of it!"
"Tyranitar!" Tyranitar stomped on the ground, unleashing a golden shockwave while also making the stadium tremble. However, this Earthquake's power had been held back so as to not fully destroy the ice. Gold had an idea as massive ice chunks had been raised. Ash stayed alert, wondering what Gold was going for. That is until he picked up on it instantly.
"Great! Now use the chunks and attack Dragonite with them!"
"Ranitar!" Tyranitar had grabbed the ice chunks, now using them as a weapon. Just like that, Tyranitar had used Gengar's plan against Ash's Pokemon, throwing the chunks at the Dragon Pokemon as this was Dragonite's greatest weakness.
"Dodge, Dragonite!"
"Dra!" Dragonite started zooming through the air once the first two chunks were thrown at it, easily evading them. However, Tyranitar had then used its tails, whacking the rest of the chunks as they were thrown towards the Dragon-Flying-Type.
Dragonite was forced to keep evading while also knocking some of the crystals away in the process. Dragonite then closed in on Tyranitar after getting through the frenzy of ice.
"Here comes Dragonite! Thunder Punch!"
"Tyranitar!" This time, Tyranitar could pull off Thunder Punch as parts of the ice floor had been dismantled. Dragon Claw and Thunder Punch came into contact with each other with Dragonite and Tyranitar having a fierce staredown. They went back and forth with Dragon Claw and Thunder Punch with neither side back away at all.
But as they were going back and forth, Tyranitar also took moments to launch the ice chunks with its tail, sending them at the Dragon Pokemon. Dragonite was pelted in the face by ice chunks, causing her to flinch.
"Ranitar!" Tyranitar took advantage of this flinch, delivering a strong right blow to Dragonite via Thunder Punch. Dragonite's eyes opened as she was propelled away from Tyranitar. She fell to the ground with her large body rolling.
"Dragonite! Are you okay?!" Ash asked as that hit was harder than expected. Dragonite was indeed fine, still able to stand. However, there was one issue.
Thunder Punch had paralyzed her.
"D-Dragonite!" Dragonite winced as her body twitched from the electricity. This would certainly give Tyranitar an edge.
"I'm not sure who was this right now," Fluttershy said, completely lost on the possible victor of this battle.
"Why doesn't Ash just use either of his Fighting-Types?" Chrysalis asked Celestia, knowing that Tyranitar was a massive target for Ash's Lucario and Sirfetch'd.
"Ash never goes the way you expect, Chrysalis," Celestia replied. "He loves to push and test himself whenever he battles."
"True." Luna nodded in agreement. He could switch, but to him, becoming a Pokemon Master means overcoming insurmountable odds. And without a doubt, he makes it work. But this Gold Trainer is an issue no doubt."
"Come on, brat! Just use that jackal and bird already!" Sombra shouted from afar, wanting Ash to put an end to Tyranitar as soon as possible.
"Dragonite!" But even when paralyzed, Dagonite could still stand, albeit with sparks around her.
"Hmm..." Ash held his hat, thinking of the next approach. "Using the ice against me's pretty good, but there's a way I can reverse it even when paralyzed. Hurricane!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite ascended, swivelling her body as she was picking up some wind. Even when paralyzed, she could still perform this one trick with Hurricane as the chunks of ice were already starting to move due to the emerging wind.
"Stone Edge!"
"Ty...Ra!" Tyranitar unleashed Stone Edge, throwing the large crystals once more. This time, it would add some ice chunks to the mix. However, all of that was pointless as Dragonite's Hurricane had pulled them in as well. "Tyranitar?!"
"Your crystals are mine!" Ash grinned. "Release!"
"Gonite!" After gathering an array of ice and crystals, Dragonite unleashed Hurricane, flying out of it as the vicious force of wind had been launched at Tyranitar.
"Holy smokes!" Gold pulled back as this gigantic Hurricane plus giant crystals and ice chunks were coming in hot. "Tyranitar! Counter with Earthquake!"
"Tyranitar!" Tyranitar used the full force of Earthquake this time, stomping on the ground as the golden shockwaves erupted once more, this time destroying all of the ice around the stadium completely.
The shockwaves met with the Hurricane, fighting back against it. The crystals and ice chunks had been shattered, only to them pelt Tyranitar's body. Albeit, it was minimal since they had been broken. Hurricane and Earthquake equalized with the wind dispersing and the shockwaves diminishing.
"Return, Dragonite." Ash briefly returned Dragonite. "Okay! Let's keep this up! Lucario, go!" Ash ended up going for Lucario, summoning the Aura Pokemon.
"Lucario!" And one major benefit to Lucario being out here was his immunity to the Sand Stream.
"Aura Sphere!"
"Lu...Ca...Rio!" Lucario put his arms together, gathering up some Aura before then manifesting it into a sphere. Lucario then stomped on the ground before then launching the sphere.
"Tyranitar! Thunder Punch!"
"Tyranitar...!" Tyranitar was going to meet its arms with Aura Sphere. The approach was to knock it away for even back at Lucario. The sphere had approached with Tyranitar's Thunder Punch meeting with it. Its arms started trembling upon hitting the sphere, but Tyranitar did successfully knock it away. The Aura Sphere flew into the air before blowing up afterwards.
"Return, Tyranitar!" Gold recalled Tyranitar, knowing how big of a risk it was for it to be out here against Lucario. He swapped it out for his next Pokemon. Just wait a bit, okay? Here goes! Typhlosion, you're next!"
"Typholosion!" Up next was Typhlosion. Gold's signature Pokemon.
"Typhlosion?" Scootaloo held out her Pokedex, never seeing Typhlosion in real life yet.
"Typhlosion. The Volcano Pokemon. Typhlosion obscures itself behind a shimmering heat haze that it creates using its intensely hot flames. This Pokémon creates blazing explosive blasts that burn everything to cinders. It creates heat shimmers with intense fire to hide itself."
"It's not time to panic yet." Gold said to Ash. "We're just getting started!"
"Same here! Let's go, Gold!" Ash was on the same wavelength as Lucario and Typhlosion snarled at each other, ready to engage with everything they had.
The limit was 30 Minutes and so far, only 14 minutes had passed. Time was ticking until this battle would end, however, these two, who were the best of their respective regions, would certainly not waste it even when performing at their best as the journey continues.
The exhibition match between Ash and Gold continues. Two Pokemon from each side were down with Lucario and Typhlsion being sent out next. They were still on a time limit, but these minutes would not be wasted on these trainers.
While this battle was ongoing, with Sombra deciding to put on his Jet Black disguise, he had been snuck up on with a hoof touching his back. "Oh! Who goes there?!"
"My bad! Sorry!" But the one present here was the older Flurry Heart from Universe 6.
"You..." Sombra groaned.
"What? You told me that catching others off guar when they least expect was another way to go, right?" Flurry Heart brought up one of Sombra's lessons to her.
"I did say that. But not on me."
"I came here as soon as I caught wind about this battle. How's it going?" Flurry Heart peered her head past the crowd. She was just in time to see Lucario vs Typhlosion take place. "Oooh! It's always fun to see Ash battle! Is he winning?"
"He's tied with that other trainer. But he'd better win this if he wants to properly hold the status of a king..." Sombra narrowed his eyes.
"Lucario! Force Palm!"
"Rrrr!" Lucario advanced, running towards the Volcano Pokemon with his paws glowing.
"Focus Blast, Typhlosion!"
"Typholosion!" Typholosion put its two hands forward, summoning a ball made out of mental energy. Typhlosion had then later thrown the blast.
"Lu!" Lucario locked onto the blast as it had stopped him from going any further. His paw met with the ball of mental energy. Lucario destroyed the blast but at the cost of failing to use Force Palm on Typholosion, causing him to slide away.
"Extrasensory!"
"Phlosion!" Typhlosion's eyes had then flared a bluish colour with then had purple outlines. From his eyes and hands, a Psychic wave could be seen emerging.
"Double Team!"
"Rrr!" Lucario went back in there, but he ended up duplicating himself multiple times in the process. These clones had scattered, causing Extrasensory to hit some fakes that had then been blown away.
"Ty?!"
"Now, Aura Sphere!"
"Luca...!" Multiple Lucario clones appeared above Typhlosion along with the real one, ready to unload them onto the Volcano Pokemon.
"Use Eruption to find the real one!"
"Ty...Phlosion!" In a perfect position, Typhlosion had got on all fours with the flame on its back intensifying. From its back, the flame expanded, unleashing a gigantic eruption of fire that went upwards. All the Lucario clones and the real one gasped as the flames gave an orange ambient to their entire bodies.
The real Lucario managed to stay away while the rest of them were engulfed. Lucario landed, skidding on the ground afterwards.
"That got close..." Ash uttered as he knew one Eruption from Typholosion would do massive damage. The best thing to do was to not get over the Volcano Pokemon.
"Use Aerial Ace, now!"
"Typhlo!" Typhlosion was now the one to get up close and personal, approaching Lucario with a white trail around its body, moving at confounding speeds.
"Lucario! Force Palm!"
"Rio!" Lucario would meet face to face with Typholosion, also approaching the Fire-Type. Soon, the two of them were locked in close quarters combat with Force Palm and Aerial Ace colliding. They pushed each other before Lucario lunged back in, going straight for the head.
"Typhlosion!" Typhlosion had promptly ducked, eluding a hit to the head before then getting a precise hit on Lucario's stomach. Lucario grimaced before then being pushed back. After being repelled, Typholsion went for another Aerial Ace, only for Lucario to then release the energy of Force Palm into an orange beam, blowing the Volcano Pokemon back. "P-Phlo!"
"Use Reversal!"
"Cario!" Lucario would take the damage he felt from Aerial Ace 3 seconds ago and use it on Typhlosion who had just been knocked away by the energy of Force Palm. The Aura Pokemon ran back in with his paw still glowing.
"Extrasensory!"
"Typhlosion!" Typhlosion's flared its eyes, spreading out Psychic waves to push back Lucario. The Aura pokemon gasped as he had been blocked from getting closer to the Volcano Pokemon with an array of mental-based waves.
"Rrrr!" Lucario, much to his chagrin, was forced back once more, unable to get close.
Now, Eruption!"
"Ty...Phlo!" Instead of getting on all fours, Typhlosion had built up the flames boiling within it, unleashing an erupting blast of fire from his mouth. He had more than one unique way to use this devastating flame.
"Dodge with Double Team!"
"Rrr!" Lucario split himself multiple times, using this chance to get around Eruption from a different angle. From above, it was a bad idea, but on the ground from different sides was a different story. The dozens of Lucario clones had emerged, taking the hit for the real Lucario. That allowed the real Lucario to advance while the others fizzled out.
"Now! Reversal!"
"Caaaa!" Lucario had Typholosion where he wanted him as his glowing palm met with Typhlosion's stomach.
"T-Ty!" Typholosion cried out as its flames went upwards with all of Lucario's clones being obliterated. A clear hit that made the crowd erupt as the Volcano Pokemon had almost fallen over.
"That's it, Ash! Keep it up!" Rainbow Dash cheered, flapping her wings excitedly while also feeling nervous about this entire battle considering that Gold was by far Ash's perfect equal.
"It's not like he's overpowering Gold," Roxanne replied, looking at it from an objective point of view. "They're still even in every way right now."
"Ugh..." Chrysalis bit her hoof, feeling nervous. "I rarely feel a rapid heartbeat but this is starting to drive me on the edge.
"I know that feeling." Luna agreed. "At first, I thought I saw a clear winner in all of this, but now, I'm not so sure. Should I use Xatu to see into the future perhaps?"
"That would spoil the fun, Luna," said Celestia, petting Arcanine. "Let's just keep watching a see what happens next."
"Return, Typhlosion!" Gold quickly recalled his Typhlosion. "Let's see if I can slow Lucario down...with Ampharos!" Out came Ampharos as the obvious attempt to paralyze Lucario had been made.
"Ampharos!" Ampharos returned to battle again.
"Ampharos! Thunder!"
"Ampha!" Ampharos stomped on the ground before summoning a ferocious aura of electricity around itself. "Ros!" Ampharos then allowed it to form into a frantic blast of lightning that came flying at full force.
"Here it comes! Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
"Lu...Ca!" Lucario lunged at Ampharos' Thunder, holding out an Aura Sphere. He had used the sphere as a shield, colliding it with the bolt. Lucario was now aiming to push it through as a struggle between Aura Sphere and Thunder had been initiated. "Rrr...!"
"A-Ampha!" Ampharos could be seen gaining veins, trying to overpower Aura Sphere. Lucario's legs were digging through the marble ground and his arm was trembling from this.
"Your other paw!"
"Luca!" Lucario roared, using his other paw to summon an Aura Sphere. He threw it whilst Ampharos was busy with the first one. This allowed for a free hit that Ampharos could not defend against.
"Pharos!"
"Go!"
"Lucario!" Lucario could now unleash the other Aura Sphere now that Ampharos' defence had been interrupted. The sphere broke through the bolt, crashing into Ampharos while it was still feeling the previous Aura Sphere. Another Aura Sphere blowing up in its face had caused the Light Pokemon to suffer a heavy fall.
Gold gasped as his plan to try and paralyze Lucario had failed. Mainly because Ampharos had fainted when it had fallen. "Ampharos..."
"Ampharos is unable to battle! Lucario wins!"
"Lu." Lucario got down on one knee, holding his trembling arm as the crowd went wild after that. Lucario pulled it off at the cost of a damaged arm.
"That plan didn't work out. Darn." Gold lowered his hat before returning Ampharos. "Thanks anyway, Ampharos."
"Awesome, Lucario. Return and rest for a bit." Ash brought Lucario back, allowing him to rest his arm. "It's starting to reach its peak here, but there's no need to worry! Sirfetch'd I choose you!"
"Sirfetch'd!" Up next was Sirfetch'd, entering the fray.
"Gyarados, let's go!" For Gold, Gyarados had returned to the stadium.
"Gyarados!" This battle was now truly amping up as more of their Pokemon were being sent out frequently now.
"Here goes! Bite!"
"Gyarados!" Gyarados slithered through the air with its fangs being coated in darkness.
"Keep your guard up, Sirfetch'd!"
"Sir!" Sirfetch'd held out his shield as he was allowing Gyarados to approach him. His eyes squinted as Gyarados went for his head, only for the shield to get in the way. The fangs had bit into the shield with Sirfetch'd being unharmed. Once they were deep in there, Gyarados found itself briefly stuck.
"Now! Night Slash! Pierce through!"
"Sir!" Sirfetch'd coated his leek in darkness, ready to thrust it towards Gyarados.
"Back up, Gyarados! Quick!"
"G-Gyarados!" But it was not fast enough. Its fangs ended up betraying it once they were deep inside the shield made out of leek, which was also tasty to Gyarados' mouth, Sirfetch'd struck Gyarados' underbelly, knocking the Atrocious Pokemon off as the grip on the shield had ended up with visible fang marks being left behind.
"Brutal Swing!"
"Sir!" Sirfetch'd continued its attack, swinging furiously at Gyarados with a trail of red energy.
"Aqua Tail!"
"Gyara!" Gyarados maintained aerial balance, quickly covering its tail in a veil of water before then swinging at the leek. Sirfetch'd's leek met with the tail of Gyarados with both of them being pressed onto each other. There was no back and forth as one side was trying to push through.
"Dark Pulse!"
"Gyara!" While its tail was struggling with the leek, Gyarados took this opportunity to use another move while the previous one was still active. Out of its mouth, a pulse imbued with dark thoughts had been spewed out.
"Sir?! Sir!" Sirfetch'd used his other arm to raise the shield, protecting himself against the Dark Pulse. That only ended up forcing Sirfetch'd away as Gyarados had won the close-quarters struggle with Aqua Tail slapping him away. With a hit to the side, the only good thing from Sirfetch'd's side was that Dark Pulse had been successfully blocked.
"We're ending this! Dark Pulse one more time!"
"Gya!" Gyarados showed no signs of relenting as Dark Pulse was used a second time against Sirfetch'd, who was still staggered.
"I don't think so! Detect!"
"Sir!" But even when staggered, Detect allowed him to get back on his feet as quickly as he needed to. His eyes flashed blue before then moving at a smooth yet lightning-fast speed that caused him to leave behind a trail of afterimages. Sirfetch'd ended up evading Dark Pulse, appearing to the side.
"Go! Night Slash!"
"Sirfetch'd!" Once to the side, Sirfetch'd approached with his leek being thrust forward. The darkness had even covered his entire body with the angle he was lunging at.
"Bite!"
"Gyarados!" Gyarados was ready to take another bite, but this time, without the shield getting in its way. Both Pokemon got close to each other as the auras of darkness ended up clashing. Ash and Gold closed their eyes with pure darkness emanating from this collision that blew away some rubble.
And out of this black smoke, the Pokemon to fall out of it was Sirfetch'd. He descended, still holding onto his leek and shield. But that didn't matter as it was revealed that he had fainted.
"Sirfetch'd..." But he fainted with style. Stabbing his leek onto the ground so as to not fall on his back. Instead, once the leek, lost balance, he fell forward. To him, falling on his back would be a greater impact than any.
"Sirfetch'd is unable to battle! Gyarados wins!"
"Thank you, Sirfetch'd. Return." Ash returned Sirfetch'd as he was now down another Pokemon. Just like that, Gold evened things out. Ash and Gold continue to take out one Pokemon from each side in turns it seemed. Neither has overpowered the other.
"They're both down to only three Pokemon!" Pinkie stood up. "Oooh, I love it when it comes down to just three! Even though we most see 3 on 3's a lot."
"It's getting too close now! Where's vuvuzela?! Maybe that will help!" Rarity exclaimed, searching in her bag for a vuvuzela she owned. It was her way of continuously cheering for Ash rather than just shouting.
"Leaving the Gym for this was worth it!" Candice chuckled excitedly.
"What?! Left?!" Olympia gasped. "Candice! Are you saying that you should be at the Gym at the moment?! Is that why you haven't shown up to teach others yet? Have you been doing other things?!"
"Yeah. But I still find time, just so you know." Candice wagged her finger as Red, who was always silent, leaned forward when observing how this battle continued to play out.
"Look at you, Red. It's grabbed your interest fully, hasn't it?" Brendan asked.
"..."
"His face says it for us," Twilight replied before facing the battle. "Come on, Ash. You can do this!"
"Yeah! Enough with breaking even!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Win with 3 left, okay?!"
"Pikapi. Pika-Pikachu." Pikachu spoke to Ash, wanting to jump in next.
"Hold on, buddy. Gold might expect me to have you battle Gyarados next. Just wait a bit longer, okay?" Ash replied, keeping Pikachu at bay for a bit. Indeed, Pikachu was an excellent match to counter Gyarados, but Ash knew clearly that Gold wouldn't let another one of his POkemon go down so easily. A switch would be inbound as the next Poke Ball had been selected. "Now! Dragonite, I choose you!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite had returned to the stadium. She was still paralyzed after Tyranitar's Thunder Punch, making her movements slightly delayed along with constant twitching.
"Come back, Gyarados." Gold made a quick switch-in for his next Pokemon. Ash was thinking on the spot on how to approach Gold next depending on which Pokemon shows up. "Tyranitar! Go!"
"Tyranitar!" Tyranitar had also come back as it and Dragonite were about to face off once more. Sand Stream made its reappearance as well with Tyranitar's return.
Everyone's voices were being raised to the maximum with all of their cheering. Flurry Heart was lucky to catch the battle at this time. Sombra scrunched his face, hoping for Ash to gain a victory. Anthophilia felt like crying if Ash would potentially lose, only for Chrysalis to calm her down.
Rarity blew her vuvuzela to continue cheering as she wasn't the only one. Since Pokemon Battles were the equivalent to sports, many would bring instruments Somepony were even using drums and other instruments. Roxie saw this as she finally had a reason to play her guitar, which made her fairly happy.
Brawly rapidly drank his energy juice in the heat of this battle. Some were even eating their snacks nervously with many rooting for Ash. And while Gold didn't have many supporters considering he was relatively new to everyone, he was still being cheered on for his efforts.
"Let's do this! Dragon Claw!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite crossed her arms before separating them to summon the energy of Dragon Claw.
"Thunder Punch!"
"Ty!" Tyranitar did the same only to have electricity form around its arms. The two big-bodied Pokemon had approached each other to pick up where they left off. Dragonite ended up using Dragon Claw to catch Tyranitar's Thunder Punch, holding its arm in place. "Ranitar?!"
"Rrrr!" Once Tyranitar's hand been held, Dragonite took this opportunity to swing at it from the side, giving it a good slap. But the Dragon Pokemon did not stop there. She had then used both claws, swiping them in unison to form an x-shape that had knocked the Armor Pokemon back.
"Stone Edge!"
"Tyranitar!" Tyranitar didn't slide back too far due to its heavy endurance as it had stomped on the ground, summoning large blue crystals that sproute rapidly as if they were growing trees.
"Hyper Beam!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite held her breath building up Infinity Energy before releasing it onto the crystals. The beam managed to block the crystals from getting any further, obliterating them. But at the cost of Dragonite needing to recharge.
"Now! Stone Edge one more time!"
"Ranitar!" Tyranitar took this chance to land a super-effective hit on Dragonite, summoning those crystals yet again beating down on Dragonite while she was recharging.
"D-Dra!" Dragonite cried out after being whipped and pummeled by this crystals. But in that instance, she had managed to finish recharging. She had suddenly grabbed the stones with her claws, ripping them to shreds.
"Now! Draco Meteor!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite formed multiple purple-glowing meteors in the sky, shifting the clouds themselves. The clouds started swirling, turning purple in the process before they gathered in one spot. She then waved her arms downwards, causing the meteors to rain down in vast numbers.
"That's way more Draco Meteors than I've ever seen!" Gold gasped. "Quick! Use Giga Impact to charge through!"
"Tyranitar!" Apart from Eartquake, Tyranitar used its next strongest most that it had at its disposal. By covering itself in Infinity Energy, it had shot itself upwards, leaving behind a massive trail of invisible energy before approaching the meteors.
The Armor Pokemon came face to face with those meteor, managing to break through some of them when going upwards. Its strength was truly showing as it was fighting back against the meteors.
"Go! Hyper Beam! Add it on!"
"Drago...Nite!" Dragonite added Hyper Beam into the fray whilst the meteors were still forming, aiming to overwhelm Tyranitar. Tyranitar moved past the meteors, still taking damage as it felt the ferocious impacts from the attack. But even so, it managed ot breakthrough and reach Dragonite. Hyper Beam and Giga Impact collided, resulting in a devastating paroxysm. This blew the clouds away. along with the rest of the meteors in the process.
Everyone's hair, coats, tails, hats and all other things started blowing in the wind once it all came through. Some even closed their eyes or ears for this. Out of this cloud of smoke, a singular Pokemon could be seen falling out. That was Tyranitar. Meanwhile, Dragonite's eyes glowed perfectly within the smoke to demonstrate her intimidation factor.
Tyranitar crashed into the marble ground as the winner of that aerial collision had been decided. From taking many meteors and a Hyper Beam up close, Tyranitar had fainted.
"Tyranitar..."
"Tyranitar is unable to battle! Dragonite wins!"
"Awesome! You did it, Dragonite!" Ash pumped his fist to the air.
"Dra..." Dragonite breathed in and out, looking at her fainted opponent. And right after she realized she had won, she first smiled before then closing her eyes. With a smile on her face, Dragonite had dropped to the ground. In reality, she had fainted too.
The Sand Stream was responsible for that as it had ended the second Tyranitar fainted. But it certainly left an impact on Dragonite as now she was down and out as well. "Dragonite..."
"Dragonite is unable to battle!"
Ash and Gold returned Dragonite and Tyranitar, thanking them for a well fought battle. A double knockout was a win in their eyes as neither Pokemon would let their opponent go so easy. Now, both were down to two Pokemon. As always, they evened things out again.
"This time, it's Gyarados again!" Gold had sent Gyarados back into the stadium.
"Gyarados!"
"Now's our chance, buddy." Ash looked at Pikachu. "Let's get some licks in before it's late."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded in understanding before running forward. It was his time now. Hearts were beating fast as no one had ever seen Ash in such an equal spot with an opponent before. Especially a full 6-on-6 battle.
"Let's finish this in one shot!" Ash's eyes flared. He was aiming to take out Gyarados with a single hit and nothing more. Pikachu's red sacs flared as he was of the same approach.
"As if I'm gonna let that happen! Dragon Dance!"
"Gyarados!" To increase the chances of it not being hit, Gyarados had boosted its attack and especially its speed. Ash did not intervene at all, he waited for a bit before taking his chance.
"Now, Dark Pulse!"
"Let's go! Makeshift Volt Tackle!" Ash found his chance.
"Pika!" Pikachu had first used Quick Attack, moving at lightning speeds. But to add onto Quick Attack, he had also used Thunderbolt on himself, creating a duplicate Volt Tackle in the process. He moved at even greater speeds at Gyarados, who was charging up a Dark Pulse.
But the speed that Pikachu travelled at surpassed Gyarados as he crashed into the Atrocious Pokemon. Once he connected, the electricity rampantly spread, bursting into the air and covering the entirety of Gyarados. A direct hit that interrupted Dark Pulse and even completely negated the Atrocious Pokemon's speed increase with Pikachu's superior speed. Gyarados went tumbling down, laying on its side. Indeed, Ash pulled off what he had stated.
One shot. Gyarados was down and out.
"Gyarados..."
"Gyaraos is unable to battle! Pikachu wins!"
"Pikachu." Pikachu sat down, sighing for a bit.
"Great stuff, Pikachu!"
"Pika!"
"Just one more..." Spike was raily biting his tails off with Deino doing the same to his other claw. "Should've brought some gems to eat for this..."
"Thanks, Gyarados. Return." Gyarados had been brought back by Gold as he adjusted his hat. "Well, it's come down to this. Typhlosion. I'm counting on you." Gold held out his final Poke Ball. "But thanks for this battle from start to soon finish, Ash!"
"Typhlosion!"
"No problem, Gold! Let's go! Quick Attack!"
"Pika! Pika-Pika-Pika!" Along came Pikachu, moving at lightning speeds as always.
"Aerial Ace!"
"Ty!" But doing the same was Typhlosion who approached the smaller Pokemon. Pikachu passed by Typhlosion, evading his arm swing with Aerial Ace. "Ty?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu then zoomed upwards, tackling Typhlosion's head in the process. He got the first hit, only for Typhlosion to retaliate with its other arm, knocking Pikachu aside. "Pika! Pi...!" Pikachu growled, sliding on the ground as the Quick Attack and Aerial Ace exchanged had ended.
"Extrasensory!"
"Typhlo!" Typhlosion leaned forward, releasing mental waves that originated from its senses as they even managed to pick up some rubble along the way.
"Counter Shield, quick!"
"Pika!" Pikachu had an answer to this. He had gotten on his back, using Thunderbolt which was shot into the air. The Mouse Pokemon then started spinning, summoning a frantic whip of electricity. The Counter Shield successfully pushed back the waves while also shocking Typhlosion in the process.
"T-Ty!"
"Yes! Now, use Electroweb!"
"Pika!" Pikachu got off his back, rolling on the ground before then lighting his tail up. Out of his tail, he had thrown a ball which had soon transformed into a web. That web ended up landing on Typhlosion mid-stagger. With that, Typhlosion's speed had been cut.
"This won't hold us! Eruption!"
"Typhlo...Sion!" Typhloison had blown away the web with ease, causing a massive eruption from its body. The web had been incinerated in the process with the force of Eruption even spreading far enough to reach Pikachu. Eruption worked well when the user has already taken substantial damage, meaning it was stronger than before and could potentially keep getting stronger.
"P-Pi!" Pikachu slid back from this aggressive heat.
"Focus Blast!"
"Typhlohsion!" After blowing away the web, Typhlosion held a ball of mental energy which had been summoned from its hands. That ball was then thrown, blitzing through hthe ground.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Countering this was Pikachu's Thunderbolt. The bolt of 100,000 volts met with the mental sphere, cancelling each other out.
"Aerial Ace!"
"Ty!" Typhlosion moved through the smoke swifty, despite its cut speed. It appeared in front of Pikachu, successfully connecting Aerial Ace. Not once, but three times in a row. First with a frontal hit, then to the side, essentially slapping Pikachu twice.
"P-Pika!" Pikachu cried out as he was propelled like a slingshot. The Electric-Type grimanced before sticking his tail on the ground to recover himself. Pikachu looked up at Typhlosion as that Aerial Ace almost made him feel winded. Pikachu was starting to feel the toll of this battle now, however, that direct contact with Pikachu came with a cost for Typhlosion.
Static.
"T-Typhlosion!" Typhlosion staggere as not only did Electroweb bog it down a bit, but Static had also kicked in. The one ability that is rare to see happen when battling against Ash's Pikachu, but it still exists despite its rarity. Pikachu smirked, glad that Static was his go-to ability.
"Heh!" They never see the Static coming" Ash chuckled. "Return, Pikachu."
"Pika? Pikachu" Pikachu ran back to Ash, taking a break. Ash could see that Pikachu needed some time to catch his breath.
"Typhlosion's slowed down. So let's hit it hard." Ash held out his last Poke Ball as well. "Lucario! I choose you!"
"Lucario!"
"Let's go! Force Palm!"
"Luca!" Lucario rushed in as he would be the one to pick up where Pikachu left off. And Pikachu certainly left behind something great for him.
"Focus Blast!"
"Typhlo...!" Typhlosion attempted to form Focus Blast. However, paralysis kicked in, making it unable to move for that instance, granting Lucario a free hit. Square in the chest too, enough to make Typhlosion's eyes almost bulge out.
"Let 'em have it!"
"Rrrr!" Lucario didn't stop there. He started using Force Palm in consecutive recession, continuing to target Typhlosion's chest. Typhlosion felt this flurry of Force Palm before eventually being forced back.
"Aura Sphere!"
"Luca!" Lucario would then follow up with Aura Sphere, forming the sphere of concentrated Aura, launching it at the bogged down Volcano Pokemon.
"Here we go!" Gold titled his hat. "Check out our full force Eruption!"
"Ty!" This was where Eruption benefited. WIth all of this damage that it had taken, Typhlosion's Eruption was at a colossal level. With its eyes flaring red, the Volcano Pokemon's entire body started glowing. As if it was a bomb, Typhlosion had unleashed a massive explosion of eruptive flames from its body. Powerful enough to break past Lucario's Aura Sphere entirely and powerful enough to reach him.
"Rrr?!" Lucario put up his arms to try and block this wave of fire, but the force of it was too colossal as its heat was even being felt across the stadium. Lucario had been engulfed by the flames with Ash holding onto his hat. "R-Rrrr...!"
"Lucario! Reversal inside of it!"
"Luca...!" But Lucario had a move equal to Eruption. Within the fury of the flames, he had covered himself in an orange glow, releasing that built up energy to try and push Eruption back. And the result was a flaming explosion that emerged afterwards.
Whie Lucario did manage to get Reversal off, even sending some of it in Typhlosion's direction which made the Volcano Pokemon stagger while parts of the flames had been dispered, Eruption proved to have been stronger in this instance as Lucario had fallen.
"Lucario..."
"Lucario is unable to battle! Typholosion wins!"
"Phew." Gold wiped the sweat from his forehead which was also caused by the heat. "Eruption always gets crazy at the last second. Hang in there, Typhlosion."
"Ty."
"You did good, Lucario. Rest up." Ash returned Lucario as now he was down to his last Pokemon. As much as many idn't want it to happen, Ash and Gold evened out at the end of the day. Ash and Gold then looked at each other before smiling.
After smiling, the two of them started laughing. A sign that they thoroughly enjoyed this battle ever since it began. To them, this is was the best form of Pokemon Battling. Pure fun.
"It all comes down to this." Olympia said. "Don't start passing out now, my little pony."
"Not right now?" Rarity uttered, holding her vuvuzela. She felt like passing out from all of this and th heat certainly didn't help. The CMC were starting to shuder too, knowing that this was the be all end all round. Sombra could be seen being visibly trembling while Flurry Heart was nodding her head in absolute excitement.
As for Red, he saw that Ash and Gold were having fun throughout all of this. And to him, that was all that mattered. Red could now have a smile on his face.
"Pikachu! Let's finish this!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu returned, ready to put an end to this battle. Typhlosion as well. They eyed each other down, waiting for the commands of their trainers.
"Aerial Ace!"
"Typhlo!" Typhlosion went first this time, zooming in Pikachu's direction. However, Pikachu still had the speed advantage, especially with Electroweb and Static being put into the picture.
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Once Typhlosion approached, Pikachu met its claws with Iron Tail. They had reached an impasse before Pikachu had descended. Typhlosion swung its arm downwards, only for Pikachu to swing his tail upwards. Iron Tail and Aerial Ace once more with Pikachu pushing Typhlosion's arm away.
"Quick Attack!"
"Pika!" Pikachu then tackled Typhlosion's chest by swapping from Iron Tail to Quick Attack.
"Grab him!"
"T-Typhlosion!" But even after that connection to the stomach, Typholosion managed to grab Pikachu by the tail. The Volcan Pokemon now had Pikachu in its grasp, holding the Mouse Pokemon in place.
"Pika?!"
"Eruption!"
"Typhlo...!" Typhosion started glowing red again, ready to explode with pure heat as even this heat was starting to harm Pikachu's tail. This one Eruption could be the curtain call in the eyes of many.
"Pikachu! Thunderbot in its mouth!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" A daring move, but one that fit Ash perfectly. Pikachu may be restrained, but his usage of Electric attacks was not. From his body, he unleashed 100,000 volts into the open mouth of Typhlsion. Everyone gasped at this shocking sight as Typhlosion was especially caught off guard as it got a fill of lightning.
"T-Ty?!" Typhlosion coughed as Eruption had been cancelled out with the bolts of Thunderbolt imploding inside of it. Its grip on Pikachu ended up Pikachu breaking free. Typhlosion's mouth was now smoking with bolts flowing through within its body and even reaching the outside.
Pikachu backed away as Typhlosion fell on its back, completely overwhelmed. After something like that, why wouldn't it? And with such a devastating blow to the insides, the result had been made.
Typhlosion had fainted.
"Typhlosion..."
"Typhlosion is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! Thus, the victor of this battle is Ash!"
"Alright! Pikachu we did it!" Ash held his arms out with Pikachu running over to hug his best friend.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu went into Ash's loving arms, giving him a slight shock afterwards. The last cheer roared through the stadium after Ash's victory.
"Using Thunderbolt inside of its mouth" Twilight was stunned by what she had seen "...That's just unpleasant. But such an Ash approach."
"That's one way to win. And win's a win!" Rainbow Dash gave a beaming grin.
"Yeah, Ash! Way to go!" PInkie Pie bellowed as even her voice wasn't enough to overpower the applaud of the crowd. Those who were massive fans of Ash were the most thrilled about this.
"Yes!" Sombra was surprisingly elated about this. Flurry Heart scrunched her face, startling from his outburst. "Haha! Excellent work, boy!"
"Done in via the mouth..." Gold shook his head before smiling, walking over to his ace. "At least I know it's a weakpoint for Typhlosion. Thanks a bunch, buddy."
"Typhlosion."
"Amazing! Is this what will happen in the future with that whole Equestria League?!" Chrysalis asked.
"It is. You'll be seeing similar battles such as these when the league comes around." Celestia confirmed. "Probably just as big or smaller but still thrilling."
"And there is my potential victory and becoming the Equestria Champion to look forward to." said Luna, intervening to boost herself.
"Thanks for the battle, Ash." Gold approached. "Didn't see that mouth thing coming. Or at any time, honestly. That's the most fun I've had since when I battled Cynthia for the first time."
"Fun for me too! Had me on the edge there." Ash chuckled. "But I'm glad to know I still have more ways to go if there are trainers out there in otherworlds that are as strong as you." They shook hands, respecting each other afterwards.
"Guess that's that." Brendan stood up. "We're one here."
"Mmm." Olympia and many others stood up as this battle being over meant that they could all now leave. "I hope you've all learned from this battle as to make the Equestria League just as thrilling. A great Pokemon Battle must always be a sight for the eyes."
"I've learned something for sure!" Rainbow Dash flew up. "Maybe I should go for the mouth some more when I'm battling! Yeah, that could work!"
"Not exactly what she meant but sure. I guess that approach works on some Pokemon." Roxanne shrugged. It was all over. What a battle. Definitely one to remember in Equestria's history between two Pokemon Trainers from different universes.
Afterwards, the afternoon sun could be seen radiating its orange glow. Many could be seen leaving the stadium, returning to their homes promptly.
"So, where are ya headed next, Gold?" Ash asked.
"Ah, me and Red are still gonna check out the rest of this world." Gold replied. "Brendan. Are you coming along?"
"I'm heading back to my world but...I'll definitely come over here. Steven asked me to see what I can find here so I'll be doing just that from time to time." said the Hoenn Trainer. "Next time, I want a big battle. Maybe for laughs, I'll bring along the Pikachu your parallel self sent me, Ash."
"Looking forward to that when it comes around."
"Hey. Do you think one of your friends could battle me one day?" Rainbow Dash requested.
"And me?" Chiming in was also Spike.
"Sure-Sure." Brendan waved his hands. "I've never seen you all battle anyway so that'll be fun. Anyway, gotta go! See ya!" Off went Brendan, returning to the gateway he originally came from. Ash and his friends would soon separate from Gold too in the process, going their own ways.
"So this is where all the magic happens." Currently, Rarity was helping introduce Pegalysium citizens to the world below. And the pony she was speaking to was Garnet respectively. "I take on various roles. A fashionista's what I am first as you can see by all of these dresses."
"These are unlike anything I've seen in Pegalysium," Garnet observed the various dresses that Rarity had to offer. Usually, most of them have wings or air patterns on them."
"They do?" Sweetie Belle intervened, asking the pegasus.
"Oh, they do. But I suppose that's what happens when you live in the sky mainly." Garnet shrugged. "These options are the most unique I've seen in a long time, Rarity."
"Why thank you, Garnet. I would love to see some Pegalysium dresses here and there since they're so unique to their own nation apparently."
"Well, I could try making some but...that would be no good."
"Make?" Rarity leaned in with her curiosity being fully peaked. "You make dresses as well?"
"Not all the time. I mainly do it for the foals when we have special parties at the Pegalysium Nursery. I'm not too good at it. But I find some fun in it. A ton of fun!"
"Hoh...!" Rarity gasped. "So do I! A complete time waster!" The two of them looked each other in the eyes before collectively grinning with excitement. And in unison, they screamed together with joy. Sweetie Belle covered her ears along with Phione when hearing this ear-piercing scream. "How fun! Do you like sequins?!"
"Love them!" Garnet found someone who she could relate her interests with. "Oh, you have no idea how rare it is to find somepony like you! I'm stuck teaching kids a lot so I rarely get to meet others like me."
"Really?"
"Really. I dream of heading to Big Sky sometimes and being a massive spender, buying all the best dresses that money has to offer. I always dream of it..." Garnet closed her eyes, picturing herself in Big Sky.
Garnet would look like a big-time pony who would head over to Big Sky for one thing. Spend a lot of money and get as many things as she wanted. But of course, she also wanted to own lots of money that she could constantly gain. A popular figure who owned stellar dresses and stellar objects to boot, being the superior force in Big Sky. That was one of Garnet's many dreams.
She could even see herself impressing her fellow teachers at the Pegalysium Nursery. In short, Garnet wanted to be rich and big.
"Mmm...That's it." Garnet nodded in approval. "One day. I want to make it big-time."
"Well, making suits and dresses for others is a start to it." Rarity replied. "Shooting for a big-time status is an admirable one as I've been pursuing it myself. I'm a movie star if you must know." Rarity winked.
"What's a movie?" Garnet asked as she and everypony else in Pegalysium were oblivious to moves. At least for now.
"Nevermind. Oh, but on the topic of Big-Time...There's something I should check on." The fashionista started thinking of one place. A place located at Lumiose City in the Kalos Region. "That boutique I opened up..."
"Oh, I remember that!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "Never saw it yet and I've never heard about it for a long time."
"Right. Strangely, it feels as if not much time has passed since I first gained that spot. Big-Time Ben was the one who gave me that offer and I just couldn't resist. Young trainers from across Kalos came over to design unique clothes for other Pokemon Trainers. But it feels off...How long have I gone without seeing them?"
"UH...I don't know? Why are you asking me?"
"It could be the Milotic and Ampharos problem again..." Rarity gasped before rushing off. "Oh, I'll be right back Garnet! Feel free to look around the place and try on some dresses, why don't you?! Sweetie Belle, don't cause any trouble!"
"Ah, it's never a good idea to leave-" Garnet tried calling for Rarity, only for the unicorn to be long gone by now. "A stranger with a child..." She then remained silent for a bit before turning to Sweetie Belle. The young unicorn scratched her mane, waiting for something to pop out. "So um...I'm just gonna keep exploring if that's okay with you."
"Ah, don't worry about it!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "I'm old enough to take care of myself, you know. Mostly with my Pokemon protecting me. Even when I'm travelling places day or night. You don't have to worry about a thing."
"Is that a thing down here? As long as children have a Pokemon, they're guaranteed to be safe and go anywhere?"
"Well, I used to do it before we met Pokemon." Sweetie Belle shrugged, making it all sound so casual. "But it's way more fun with them." To a teacher and a caretaker of foals such as Garnet, this was outlandish to her.
Apart from her love for money, she did have the drive to protect the young and hearing that the young in Equestria can just casually go anywhere and feel safe so as long as they have a Pokemon with them was absurd. Little did she know that the Pokemon World was of the same notion.
"Come on! I know some neat stuff for you to wear!"
Kalos. Lumiose City. Afternoon.
After finding the gateway to Kalos which was free of Ghetsis' dark magic, Rarity found herself in Lumiose City. And there it was, located just somewhere near the end of Lumiose City was that spare boutique she received. It still stood there even after 3 years of absence. Its appearance was still a fairly miniature and a less detailed variation of her original carousel boutique but still fancy either way.
Rarity was surprised that she had left it for so long, but also, she had this feeling within her that told her that something was amiss. She shuddered before then using her magic to open the door, hoping that someone was present inside.
"If I recall, I told my friends that I left a Leavanny here to watch over...but all of my Leavanny have been with me for so long..." Rarity said to herself before entering. "Hello? Anypony there?"
"You showed up after all. Rarity." Indeed, someone was here. And catching Rarity off guard was BIgTime Ben. Not the first face she was expecting to see.
"Oh! BigTime Ben! You scared me..." She breathed in and out. "I didn't expect you to be the first face I'd' see here..."
"Ah, I wouldn't be. Gothitelle was the one who told me to come here. She had a feeling that you would end up arriving at Lumiose City just for this place." Ben turned to Gothitelle.
"Gothitelle."
"Right. That would make sense. It was just today that I was reminded of this place. It felt like a faint memory at first and I just had to see how things were but..." Rarity observed the boutique, seeing that there was mostly empty. No outfits had been made at all. Nothing. The only thing here was the various tools specifically made to design outfits. "No one's here...Or rather, has been here. Maybe they're all away for the day?"
"No, that's not it, Rarity." Ben shook his head, sitting on a table. "Truth is...much like how you had just remembered this place, it wasn't until a few months that I had realized something. I made them vanish."
"Y-You...what?!" Rarity's heart skipped a beat for a moment as her voice echoed throughout the boutique. "What do you mean you made them vanish?!"
"Not on purpose." Ben looked at his hands. "They vanished out of my control. I'm not sure how but, I'm certain the people who came to work here were never truly real in the first place."
"That's right!" Rarity thought to herself. "He doesn't know yet that he's also a Rift Human. He must've done it subconsciously or something similar to that."
"I could feel like they were just made by me." Ben kept looking at his hands, clenching them and opening them. "Strange, isn't it? How could I make a human and know they were fake? I was hoping Gothitelle could help figure it out for me but..."
"Well...the answer to that is..." Rarity scrunched her face as she wasn't sure if she could tell him the truth. Then again, Ben was starting to lean towards the truth. He already found out that he created these random trainers but did not know how and knew that they were fake to begin with. Fake in the sense that they were never from this world in the first place.
The fashionista wondered how he would react to it. She cleared her throat before deciding t say it herself. Ben was only getting more curious, wanting to know more about what he had done out of his natural control. "I suppose I should reveal it if no one else has."
"Hm?"
"Bigtime Ben." She took a deep breath before dropping the revelation at last within this empty boutique. "You are a Rift Human."
Canterlot. Afternoon.
"Gouh!" And right over at Canterlot, Lucien and Sienna, who were still imprisoned inside of an Aura Prison felt their waists and chests twitch. An unexpected pressure came to them as their bodies flared a cosmic light briefly before fading.
"W-What just happened...?" Sienna gasped, hyperventilating as this was the most pain she and Lucien had ever felt so far. Even for beings that love unpredictability, they didn't see this coming and weren't too fond of it.
"I don't have a clue..." Lucien held his head. "But it feels like the Rift felt something. Something's been thrown off course. Or balance. Or whatever."
"Like what? Did something happen?"
"We'd know if something happened if we weren't trapped inside of this prison. It's probably already happened. That's why we felt it." Indeed, Lucien and Sienna felt a great disturbance. Something they thought they'd never feel nervous about. They rarely feel nervous about many things at all.
While they were unable to use their power on the inside, they could utilize it on the outside. And with that perk, they searched for where they felt this odd occurrence. And with their senses, it led them to the Kalos Region. Right where Rarity and Bigtime Ben were chatting.
Kalos. Lumiose City. Afternoon.
Rarity had revealed it to Bigtime Ben, letting him know what he truly was. Another Rift Creation based on the Rift's family line. Much like how the Rift was both Lucien and Sienna while the opposing force that was weaker and hidden were their parents. Ben was the grandfather from the universe that this family line came from and this information was now passed on to him.
"I see..."
"Apologies." Rarity nervously shifted her eyes. "I wasn't sure what to do in this instance other to just tell you. Sorry if this comes as a shock."
"It's a shock. A big one. But I suppose it makes sense at the end of the day." He was completely fine with it as Gothitelle was just as perplexed by this. "A shame I don't remember my past life though. All my memories of Johto and what I did to reach here are fake, eh?"
"B-But you're still amazing either way!" Rarity exclaimed. "Past life, Rift Human or not! You're one of the many humans who helped us get adjusted to Pokemon, even catching us up to speed and everything! I and I'm positive everyone else are grateful for it."
"Thank you, Rarity. I just need to think about it for a bit." Ben stood there, pondering for a moment. "Since I'm a Rift Human then..."
Just as he was speaking, he had been cut off. Appearing right within the spare and barren boutique with a looming sound was the Rift. Startling the three of them and shattering the windows from its excessive sound, the Rift appeared at possibly either the worst or best possible time.
And it was all in response to BigTime Ben.
"The Rift?! What's it doing here?!" Ben shuddered with Gothitelle standing in front of him. Cosmic howls echoed from the Rift with the sounds of the universe coming through. A sound that was rare to hear only with the Rift's presence and
"You. You wouldn't show up for no reason." Rarity gulped before gritting her teeth at the Rift. "Only when I brought up Ben being a Rift Human."
"Rarity...!" The Rift could be heard letting out a growl. Something that was rare for it to do and seemingly a first as lately, the Rift has lost all of that cocky bravado it usually lets out. "First Ash, then you...You and your group of friends are more than just hassle at this point."
"Ah. I see." Rarity smirked, already finding the best time to act confident and taunt the Rift. "Still bitter about what Ash had done to you, are we?" She asked as the Rift's cosmic howls were starting to grow louder in response to Rarity's worse. "Hm. You've been severely weakened by Aura. So much so that you're not in top form anymore. Unable to do literally everything."
"You be quiet...!" It was now getting common for the Rift to show signs of being agitated. That impact Ash left on it was truly staggering.
"Now you must know what Cold Colt felt like. Or better yet. Emerald Aura as of more recently." Rarity taunted, comparing the Rift to Emerald Aura who had been weakened greatly to the point where she was the only Rift Pony that could get exhausted. "Not to mention how you have failed to get Ash. A failed revenge story already taking place. Oh, but on the topic of why you're here. It's about Ben. Or more accurately, your grandfather. Lucien. Sienna."
"I said be quiet!" The Rift while weakened, could still be an overwhelming cosmic force, shouting as it had caused a mighty wind pressure within the boutique. Rarity's coat, mane and tail had been blown by this pressure, almost seeing her flying with her hooves nearly leaving the ground, only for Gothitelle to hold her and Bigtime Ben down with Psychic. "He wasn't supposed to know! I had hoped that he'd never know!"
"A crying shame!" Rarity roared back. "He would've found out eventually on his own or someone else would've told him. Besides, why exactly would you want to prevent him from knowing something so important that involves his own existence? Unless there's something you don't want him to achieve is there?"
"I don't have to answer to you! I can do whatever I want even with parts of me being bogged down. Right now, erasing any memory of this is what I must do."
"Do it then." Rarity continued to act smug. "You would've done it without having to show up inside here. Probably would've erased these memories without us even knowing and in complete secrecy. But alas, you're so weak to the point where your cosmically-powerful self must perform it in person, hm? All it took was just one release of Aura. I would say only Ash could pull it off and skilled Aura users but technically speaking...Applejack could do it too. And she's a novice at it at all. Aura's a real-"
"I've heard enough out of you!" Rarity truly tested the Rift's patience, finally ticking it off as much as Ash had done. She was now the second individual to anger the Rift as rays of cosmic energy had been unleashed.
"Go! Ampharos!" Rarity acted quickly as Gothitelle had put up a Psychic shield, defending her friends from harm. With the Rift weakened, Gothitelle's shield could hold back the rays, giving Rarity enough time to send out Ampharos.
"Ampharos!"
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Ampha...! Ampharos huffed and puffed with Gothitelle creating an opening for the Light Pokemon. "Ros!" Ampharos could then unleash Dragon Pulse, sending a dragon-shaped blast which had clashed with the rays. Ampharos managed to cancel out the Rift rays, resulting in an equalizer.
The Rift now saw Rarity as a target, beginning to warp space around the boutique. Stardust had suddenly been thrown out, straight from space itself.
"Gothitelle! Shadow Ball!"
"Ampharos, Zap Cannon!"
"Gothitelle!" Gothitelle and Ampharos worked together with two spheres being summoned. A blob of shadows and a ball of electricity as they were equally thrown. The combined attacks had blazed through the Stardust upon coming to contact with them, approaching the Rift.
The Rift had been hit by Shadow Ball and Zap Cannon as this would be its second time ever receiving damage. First from Aura and now from Gothitelle and Ampharos as it had been both shocked and blown back by Shadow Ball and Zap Cannon.
"Quick! This way!" Rarity made the conscious decision to leave while they were at it. She, Ampharos, Ben and Gothitelle had used one of the shattered windows to make their gateway while the Rift was still feeling the effects of the previous two attacks. It had used its power to heal itself, making it feel like those attacks had never happened in the first place.
But even if it could heal itself, it could never get rid of the Aura that was permeating and weakening it. It was the equivalent of an itch that would just never go away no matter what. Aggravation hit the Rift. It had allowed itself to be damaged once more. This time, after being mocked, which certainly played a part in it taking damage. The Rift had then left the boutique promptly while Rarity and Ben directed themselves away from it.
Right now, the Rift wasn't pursuing them as they could see. They took some time to catch a breather, standing near one of the routes of Kalos.
"Alright. That should've slowed it down." Rarity said. "It didn't seem so bothered with taunting before during the earlier days. Now it's all so provoked by it."
"What exactly happened to make it change in such a way?" Ben asked.
"Ash's Aura hit it a bit too hard which led to it being severely weakened. It's clearly bitter about it."
"I see."
"But I suppose this puts you in danger now. Since I told you about who you truly are, the Rift could come for you much like how it's targeting Ash." Rarity scrunched her face, realizing the potential issues of all of this. "Oooh, this might make things worse than they need to be! Perhaps my taunting went too far!"
"No-no. Your taunting was immaculate." Ben gave a thumbs up. "As to be expected from a rising movie star and a fashionista."
"Oh! You flatter me!" Rarity chuckled, admiring that compliment as she hit her hoof on Ampharos' stomach.
"But...You might be right. Clearly, it didn't want me to know about my origin. And yet, that's not what I'm more worried about." Ben sat down, thinking of the conversation earlier. "The Rift. Am I truly the grandfather to it? Or rather the two humans that make it up?"
"Apparently yes. The Rift is your grandchild. Or grandchildren to be exact. Ash revealed everything to us and passed it on immediately. You only knew about your family in Johto."
"Mm. But I don't know if they were real to begin with. These fake memories of my time in Johto and travelling the world are overtaking me more than anything." Ben sighed, showing visible signs of confusion and stress. His past life in Johto was the result of an altered timeline via the Rift's power. Including his parents. "What a stressful thought..."
"Gothitelle..." Gothitelle scurried over to her trainer, patting him on the back to make him feel better. He certainly needed it considering what he has just learned.
"You might not be safe in Johto either!" Rarity gasped. "Your home could be under threat as well! You should be kept somewhere safe immediately!"
"Where? I have buildings with my brand scattered across the world. I don't think it would be that easy to stay hidden from the Rift."
"Well...uhh..." Rarity paused, trying to think of anywhere Bigtime Ben could flee to and feel safe. Nothing came to mind. She hit a wall. "You're right. I doubt my world would work too. But I suppose Gothitelle and others are your best option. She can keep your memories safe and protect you. You have dozens of Pokemon as well that can guard you."
"That's true. I do have a lot of Pokemon by my side. I can count on them to protect me."
"Gothitelle!"
"Thank you for sharing this with me, Rarity. Don't feel too bad about telling me the truth. It's better to let it be known than hide away true history." He stood up.
"You're welcome but...what about the people back at the boutique? Is there a way to bring them back? You did it by accident so maybe it can happen the same way?" Rarity slid over, wanting to see those people again. She had almost forgotten about them ever since they were taken away unknowingly.
"Sorry. I did it by accident." Ben shook his head. "I even had Gothitelle and other Pokemon see if they could find something but none of them involved me learning how to. It wouldn't be the best approach to just wait for some similar to it to happen again, would it?"
"No. I suppose not." A disheartened Rarity sighed. But that's when an idea sprung into her mind. The best possible solution and the only solution. It traced all the way back to her world in Ponyville. "Or maybe...we can have you learn it!"
"Learn it?"
"Of course! Twilight! She's already teaching Cold Colt. Another Rift Creation. And more recently, Emerald Aura. If she can teach them, then I'm sure she can teach you."
"Oh, I don't know, Rarity..." The big-time trainer scratched his har, turning around. "Is that the best way to go? Won't the Rift be present there as well?"
"Of course it will. That's unavoidable." The fashionista shrugged, knowing that the Rift would know about it either way. "But it's better than not knowing how to use your magic at all. And as a bonus, the Pokemon at PokePark still remember you, don't they? Please. It's the only way to help you."
"Hmm..."
"You and many other humans have helped us through a confusing collaboration. It's time we did the same for you." Rarity held her hoof out, offering her help. Ampharos did the same to mimic his trainer. Ben then looked at Gothitelle who was of the same opinion.
"Gothitelle."
"You too Gothitelle. Hm." He thought about and at this point, he was overruled. Ben did love helping others and there was no shame in having others help him. He accepted it, kneeling down to hold Rarity's hoof. "Alright. I will. Thank you, Rarity."
"Splendid! Have no fear! There's no better tutor than Twilight! Except maybe Princess Celestia..."
They were off to the otherworld. Twilight was soon going to have a new and older student to teach. And to her, that would be amazing. They left the Kalos Region, soon passing through the gateway that connected to the otherworld. And as for the Rift, it had not made its next move yet even after being attacked. Much like with Ash harming it the first time, it stayed silent until further notice.
"Look at you, Garnet! You're so pretty!" And back at the boutique, Sweetie Belle and Garnet got invested in trying various dresses. Many of them fit Garnet well as she found absolute enjoyment in this.
"I do, don't I? This is some of the most fun I've had in a long time!" Garnet chuckled, flaunting her dress. Sweetie Belle's Pokemon had also been dressed up via clothes that were made specifically for her Pokemon. Phione had been involved, being dressed up as well in the process via being pulled into the fashionable fun.
Rarity had returned to see Sweetie Belle and Garnet bonding, which was a nice sight to see. "I see you all share the same taste. A great taste as well." Rarity spoke upon entering.
"Your little sister here is amazing, Rarity! What's this about Pokemon Contests, I hear? And how can somepony look so good with these?"
"You haven't seen anything yet." Rarity walked past the pegasus. "Come along. There's still much to do."
"What happened back at Kalos, Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Did you see them again?"
"Uh...It's best I tell you that as well." Rarity had quite a lot to share. Mainly in terms of how things are changing now. For both this world and the Pokemon World.
Everything was changing. Prior to all of this, it would usually be the Rift that alters things here and there. But not anymore. For better or for worse, this collaboration of two worlds and their adventures do so much to change the course of everything as the journey continues.
It has been only 30 minutes ever since Rarity brought BigTime Ben to Equestria for a sole reason. Currently, he was another target for the Rift. After finding out that he was another Rift Creation, BigTime Ben had been brought over to Twilight's Castle to learn how to control this form of magic he didn't know he possessed until recently.
Twilight was the best option to teach him, in the eyes of Rarity. She was the teacher of Cold Colt and to an extension Jade Skies. So coming to her was a sure-fire choice.
"So glad to have you as my student! I didn't think I'd be teaching you though. Or anypony older than me. I mean Starlight and me are the same age. This is new."
"Ah, glad to be here, Twilight. Hope you can help me through it all." He chuckled in response. "Say. How have you been doing with the Pokemon over at PokePark?"
"Uhh...I barely get enough time to see them. I've got the Pokemon School and a bit of back and forth with Pegalyisum and all that plus we still have threats from parallel universes and...I just can't see that much. The best I can do is the Cove Area and Verdant Court."
"Ah, it's fine. I'm sure you'll find the time. I haven't seen them in a while so it will be nice to revisit them all." He replied before checking out Twilight's category of books. A massive category. Gothitelle met with Espeon as both Psychic-Types ended up greeting each other via a Psychic connection. Their eyes both flashed blue, similar to how Electric-Types greet each other via an electric touch.
"So, do you know everything about Pokemon at this point with all of these books?" Ben browsed through the history books.
"Wish I did. But even with so many of them, there's still so much that the Pokemon World has to offer. From the past to the present and possibly even the future." Twilight replied, shaking her head. "But that makes it all the more fun to learn about them."
"Hm-hm. You've probably read this book then." Ben held a fairly sizable book in his hands. "Legends of Unova 2?"
"I only read the first one. I just got the second one a few weeks back." The Princess of Friendship fluttered towards the thick book. "The Heroes of Truth and Ideals are already in the first one among other figures."
"I see." He opened the book, looking through the contents before then skipping to a specific page. "Then, how about this legend? Heard of her?" He showed the page to Twilight, revealing a familiar figure, mainly in the hair category.
"Who's that?" Twilight looked closely at the lady in the picture as she recognized her hair. After a few seconds of processing it, she noticed it to be identical to Ghetsis' hair. "That hair looks like Ghetsis' hair!"
"It should. There's a big connection to him with the lady you see in the book."
"Wait! Is this...Harmonia?" Twilight recalled how Spike managed to learn about Harmonia via words from Drayden. He learned about the ancestor of Ghetsis' family line, Harmonia. The reason why Ghetsis' last name existed. "So that's what she looked like.
"Indeed. The famous figure from long ago who owned a kingdom that may have been small but was fairly influential in some parts. Isn't it interesting how descendants can differ from their ancestors?"
"Yeah...It certainly is something..." Twilight nodded slowly as the stark contrast between Ghetsis and Harmonia was staggering. "I learned about the battle she took part in. Legendary Pokemon and Mythical Pokemon were involved in them weren't they?"
"Correct. But it was a triumphant victory for Harmonia's kingdom, thankfully."
"I should've started reading this soon if I knew that she would be in here."
"Well, here's your chance then. To learn more about Harmonia and who she was." Ben and Twilight would sit tight with all attention being drawn to the pages of Harmonia. Information about her would certainly carry over to the next one.
Unova Region. The Harmonia Kingdom. 800 Years Ago.
Long ago, centuries ago, there lived a Kingdom. A great and ancient kingdom known as the Harmonia Kingdom. The Unova Region had its fair share of kingdoms and this was certainly one of them that used to exist.
And the ruler of this kingdom was none other than Harmonia. And this kingdom she made was formed by absolute unity. Sitting near a massive range of mountains that mimicked the shape of Togekiss was this kingdom. A massive castle stood at the centre as craters that seemed to mimic something of moon craters could also be seen residing next to the castle. Living in these craters which were full of plants and nature were Pokemon. And of course, living alongside them were humans.
Seven skinny, round towers form a protective wall on two sides of the castle and are connected by towering, massive walls made of light blue stone. Simple windows are scattered here and there across the walls in an asymmetric pattern, along with overhanging crenelations. Trees grew close to the castle gates and provide it with valuable wood for all sorts of purposes. This castle shows signs of decay after being around for ages even before Harmonia founded this kingdom, but its inhabitants are determined to repair any weaknesses to make sure this castle will be around for ages to come.
This great kingdom seemed like a dreamland. Flying above it were various Flying-Types native to the Unova Region but even Pokemon from other regions could be seen showing up as well as on the land. Currently, the people and Pokemon who lived in harmony here were working together to build something.
"Cofagrigus." Cofagrigus had used its four arms to hold hammers, smashing them down on an array of nails with precision. Helping that Cofagrigus were humans and some Duosion, Sigilyph and Reuniclus with their Psychic abilities.
"Min! Minccino!" The Minccino and Cinccino would clean up any dirt made via the construction of this building. Being the guardians of this kingdom were Bisharp and Pawniward, as to be expected along with human guards with ancient armour. But this place was barely if anything, ever under threat from how wonderful it was. And watching the humans and Pokemon build was the one who founded it. Harmonia.
A lady that many called the Great Joy. Or the One Who Brings Smiles. As the titles suggested, she was a figure that focused on making others happy, giving them freedom and smiles on their faces.
Her throne room sat on the top of a massive castle with a window to see everything outside. She watched them all build this building in perfect unison while some shenanigans went down. Standing next to her were various Pokemon that were always beside her. Some were native to Unova but others came from different regions. All of them were guardians and friends to Harmonia.
And atop her throne room, a symbol could be seen. This symbol was consistent throughout the kingdom as it helped to signify its identity. The Sun. The symbol of the Sun was also surrounded by ten wings in a perfect circle.
This symbol of the Sun combined with ten surrounding wings perfectly represented the absolute dawn of a shining world that Harmonia envisioned. However, despite this wonderful peace, Harmonia looked beyond that. Something that she wished to achieve and spread.
"Your majesty. You look slightly static so far. Is something the matter?" One of the people of this ancient kingdom asked.
"Apologies. I was in a bit of a daydreaming state." Harmonia replied. "I was starting at the future. Far past ours and many others."
"The future? Can you perceive time?!" Many people and Pokemon gasped.
"No. I wish." Harmonia chuckled. "I meant to say I was looking to the future. A future greater than what we have here."
"A greater future than this? How so? You've already made it the best it could be, your majesty."
"Yes. You set out to unite so many of us and create this kingdom under a new dawn." The people all commented, praising Harmonia for her great accomplishment.
"I did. But at the end of the day, it is all still small in comparison to this massive world we live in. I have other goals that I wish to see fulfilled. Harmony and peace are something that stand out more than anything. They're permanent, but they can't be maintained perfectly forever."
"That's true..." A guardsman commented, pondering for a bit "Hisui has its fair share of problems with the Pokemon living there. The Alpha Pokemon are terrifying forces as well."
"That can be said for other regions." Harmonia nodded. "Including ours. Living with these Strange and Wonderful creatures was never easy. That's why I want to spread my influence to all of them. Or at least hope for someone else to do the same."
"The whole world...is that possible?"
"Nothing is impossible." She wagged her finger before petting a Pikachu on the head. The Pikachu then ran off after receiving that comforting pat. "But...It's not like me to bring rather glum news. I am afraid I will not be the one to realize that goal."
"Huh?! What do you mean?!" They all shouted.
"You did it for us! Why not everywhere else?"
"Your majesty. Surely you're joking." A villager chuckled. "You can do it, no doubt. How could you not? You brought us all great joy so effortlessly, did you not?"
"I am flattered by your words. Truth is, when I sought out my goal, I had hoped to do it for the entire world. Every region possible united and brought together under one Sun. I was only given the title of the Great Joy for doing just that for different regions I had visited. Sadly, even when visiting them, it isn't quite enough to unite them all."
"Then we can try again. Your influence has already been spreading to seemingly Kanto and Alola first. We can cover the other regions." Another villager suggested.
"I plan to do that. I wouldn't give up so easily. However, my main worries come from how long it could last." Harmonia closed her eyes. "Like I said. Peace and harmony are permanent and forever, but they cannot be maintained always. There will always be something there to throw it off. No matter how many days, years, months or years pass by."
"That's true..." The people lowered their tones, knowing this all to be the harsh truth. Such wonderful concepts could never be held together permanently.
"But...that's why there are those who can help maintain it." Harmonia then turned to a Xatu that was within the air. She looked up at the Mystic Pokemon who also gazed back. "Isn't that right, Xatu?"
"Xatu." Xatu understood her. Harmonia could even effortlessly talk to Pokemon, acting as a translator for them. In fact, she spoke to Xatu from afar with a lowered voice and even still, Xatu could hear her.
"You have to teach us your powerful voice that can communicate with Pokemon someday your majesty." A guard asked as many of them would like to have that skill.
"What did Xatu say?" Three children asked.
"Xatu told me that it had already looked to the future." She kneeled to face the children. "Something that will make you all happy with what's to come."
"What? What?" The children spoke in unison, jumping up and down.
"I won't be the only Great Joy." She revealed to everyone, watching how the residents of her kingdom continued crafting this building, living their lives in a way that Harmonia was satisfied with. Something she wished to see everywhere.
"Another one will come?!"
"Not just one more. Two more. Two Great Joys will come someday." Harmonia then stood up, looking to the skies. "Those that can do what I had set out to do. Possibly even better."
"Oooh..." The children along with a few others gawked in amazement at her words. "Better than you?"
"Mm. Inherited will. A the reams of others. Not just people and Pokemon but potentially even beyond that. Possibly within the stars themselves. Everyone in existence values dreams that they aim to achieve. As long as everyone keeps searching for the meaning of their dreams, they will never cease to be. That is one way to achieving harmony in some way."
"So someone else will inherit your will?"
"Without them knowing it would be my will." Harmonia twirled her hair, thinking of the future. It made her heart melt with joy and happiness. And especially hope.
"Ah, I bet it will be your descendants, right? You have a child coming soon, your majesty."
"Maybe. Or maybe not." Harmonia gave out a soft smile. "I'm getting old too, aren't I? I certainly don't look old, but even I know I won't keep it up for long. And by then...I may not have accomplished my dream for the entire world, but there will be those who carry on my will. Not by heritage, lineage or destiny. But for what they can do naturally. Their dreams will make others smile."
When looking to the sky, through her crimson eyes and past the clouds, Harmonia could envision two silhouettes. Silhouettes helped realized thanks to the power of Xatu. And within the clouds, two familiar silhouettes of the future had appeared.
"Or perhaps I am looking at those very individuals right now." Harmonia looked to the people and Pokemon.
"Ah, I am not sure about that!" One woman scratched her hair. They all laughed in unison, knowing that they certainly couldn't be the next Great Joy. But they would certainly do what they can to make others happy. That much was true.
Harmonia then saw the clouds return, covering the silhouettes as the last of their visage had been enhanced by the rays of the sun. Harmonia looked closer, believing that she saw a third silhouette behind them, but the clouds vanished before that could happen.
Harmonia then walked off, assisting her kingdom and pursuing her dream. Her dream of helping others chase their dreams and bringing joy to many continued with her never planning to stop at once. This would continue for years. Harmonia lived up to her dream through and through.
Eventually, Harmonia knew that there would come a time when she would not finish her dream for the entire world, but knew that it would be carried on. It would take a long time for it to come true. The building that she made became of great importance.
A massive tower had been crafted with the help of people and Pokemon. And within that tower, Harmonia sat down to write something equivalent to a diary. There, she wrote down the meaning of her will and what the future held.
"For anyone who sees this book in the near future. Apologies if it isn't a lengthy one." She wrote on the paper with a quill. Sleeping net to her was a Stoutland which also had a Ralts resting on top of the Big-Hearted Pokemon.
"Here lies my will. A will that I left behind for one purpose. The wonder of dreams. Dreams that lift us up and let us know of what we can achieve and strive to achieve. This goes out to my beloved subjects and the people and Pokemon of the future. As for the future, I only wish for one thing. Harmony. Hard to achieve, but easy to perceive, isn't it? I know that there are those who will seek the same thing or something similar to it. Who knows? Perhaps they will do it without even knowing. What a funny thought that would be. But I will not vanish. I shall not depart from this world. I will live on. Not just in my will, but as somewhat of a spirit. I suppose this letter is starting to feel lengthy to whoever reads it. For my descendants and anyone who also sees this, know that I will always be watching. Perhaps as a spirit or some other mysterious force. Who am I trying to fool? It is mostly spirits. I leave you all with this last sentence to gaze at. The dawn of a new world will come. Or perhaps that new world is already here and it has yet to be fully unlocked. Until then, I will be with you."
Harmonia then finished the letter, ready to share it with her subjects and conserve its words for centuries and aeons to come. Stoutland and Ralts soon woke up, noticing Harmonia's departure from here. They followed promptly as Harmonia continued her life, never steering away from what she believed in.
Equestria. Twilight's Castle. Afternoon.
"So, that's the end?" Twilight flipped the page, searching for more about Harmonia, but there was nothing else to read. Her will was the final thing left behind.
"Afraid so. Harmonia, despite being someone so vehemently passionate about her dream, was never exactly the biggest figure in Unova. Or the Pokemon World." Ben closed the book. "But many still loved her and there are those who still follow her teachings. Mainly descendants of the Harmonia Kingdom who ended up travelling and settling down in other regions."
"I see." Twilight held the book with her magic. "It's still so strange that she and Ghetsis are related. I think I might need to lie down."
"Ah, if you think that relation is bizarre, you haven't seen anything yet, my little pony!" Ben chuckled. "Now, how about a revisit to PokePark? Then you can help me use my Rift Magic."
"Oh, right! Almost lost track of that!" Twilight quickly placed the book back. She learned more about Harmonia. First from Spike and now from a book of Unova. Obviously, there was far more to know, but for now, Twilight was satisfied.
Harmonia's spirit as she said long ago, in her words, would live on. But it was unknown if she had been seen. In the mind of Twilight, perhaps she became a Ghost-Type Pokemon. A Yamask, Gastly or any other spectral-based pocket monster. She wondered if Harmonia became an invisible spirit or an ethereal one. Either way, the Princess of Friendship could only wonder.
She walked out of the castle, heading for her lab before looking to the sky for a sign. There was not a sign of Harmonia anywhere. Twilight started thinking of the Pokemon World as the obvious place to be. But for now, wondering was all that Twilight could do. And wondering about those who inherited Harmonia's will was something that she would certainly not find difficulty in figuring out as the journey continues.
Currently, on an island, Ash and Rainbow Dash were having a training session. Both Trainers had similar goals. One wanted to beat Leon and come out on top as the World's Strongest Trainer while the other was aiming to become the first-ever Equestria Champion. They both boosted each other with their similar goals and would constantly train.
"Alright, Dragonite! Dragon Claw!"
"Dragonite!"
"Braviary, use Steel Wing!"
"Braviary!" Dragonite and Braviary approached each other. The two Flying-Types clashed Dragon Claw and Steel Wing against each other, resulting in the grass being rustled via an erupting shockwave. They looked each other in the eyes before separating.
Braviary flew back in, attacking Dragonite's head, only for the Dragon Pokemon to duck. Upon ducking, Dragonite swung her claw upwards, delivering a hit that sent the Valiant Pokemon higher up. Braviary staggered from that, only to later then have Braviary recover immediately, using his downward momentum to hit Dragonite with an overhead wing swing, returning the favour.
"Alright, take a pause you two!" Ash cried out as they both halted. They had been at this for a while and now was the best time to take a break. "Great work, Dragonite."
"You too, Braviary. I think we did better than last time." She flew over, giving a hoof bump to the Valiant Pokemon as Braviary used his talon.
"You haven't been using Rainbow-Braviary as often, Rainbow Dash," Ash said. "I rarely see you use it now that I think about it."
"Yeah. Ever since that whole thing with the Canterlot Tournament, we stuck with our promise to not use Rainbow-Braviary that much. Way too bad for my health. We only get to use so little and for about 3 minutes or so."
"Braviary!"
"We can take on anyone without needing to resort to it. But it's kind of a bummer though..." She then sighed. "Rainbow-Braviary's so cool. Syncing up with him just gets the blood pumping in all the right ways!" She raised her hooves, emphasizing her love for the Bond Phenomenon. "Shame it's dangerous. How'd you and Greninja get it down pat, Ash?"
"Me and Greninja mastered it the same way you guys did. By understanding each other." Ash looked to the sky, thinking of his experiences with Ash-Greninja. You don't have to be afraid of the Bond Phenomenon, you guys."
"So all we gotta do is just keep doing what we do and it'll work for us?" Rainbow Dash questioned, hoping she was understanding it correctly.
"It's all about your bond. It's already super high, isn't it? You just gotta take it easy even if you've got crazy power." Ash advised. "Can't let it beat you two out, eh"?
"Uh...I think I get it." Rainbow Dash nodded with a slight bit of uncertainty. She would take Ash's advice and yet she still felt some sense of danger with Rainbow-Braviary. Passing out like that was a frightening experience for the pegasus and Braviary certainly wouldn't want her to go through that again.
Afterwards, they all sat down to have some lunch to eat before they could continue with their training. All their favourites were right here to consume. They sat near a lake located on this island, setting everything up for an exciting consumption on this sunny day.
But during their lunch with their Pokemon messing around, they saw something fly through the air. Or rather someone. A family pegasus could be seen hurling through the air.
Daring Do.
"Hm? Mmmm-mmm?!" Rainbow Dash almost choked on her food before downing some cider.
"Oh. hey. Isn't that..." Ash spoke before being cut off by Rainbow Dash.
"Daring Do!" Rainbow Dash bellowed, hovering for a brief moment before descending. "She's here too?" A surprise to be sure. But a welcome surprise from one of Rainbow Dash's friends. And currently, alongside Daring Do was someone else. A Pokemon that appeared to be a Sigilyph.
Both of them recovered midair with Daring Do holding onto her hat. She felt somewhat dazed and perplexed, hitting her head before regaining proper balance.
"Lyph? Sigilyph!" The first to notice their presence was Sigilyph. The Avianoid Pokemon's cries soon alerted Daring Do, turning to where it was also facing.
"Hm? Oh, wait a second..." She squinted before recognizing the familiar faces below. With a smile on her face, both Daring Do and Sigilyph soared towards the group. "Rainbow Dash! And...is that who I think it is?"
"Didn't think I'd see you." Rainbow Dash zoomed over. "Been a while, hasn't it?"
"Mmm. Has been a bit since we've met up. But you've been keeping up with my adventures, either way, right?"
"Oh, I sure have!" Rainbow Dash winked. "Never miss a single one. Gret that you added Sigilyph over there to your stories."
"Of course. Sigilyph makes things way more exciting with what we bump into. Right, partner?"
"Sigilyph!"
"And you..." Daring Do shifted her head to the side, gazing at Ash and Pikachu. "You two...you're actually Ash Ketchum! And Pikachu!" The adventure flew over to her fellow adventures in excitement. "I get to meet you two for the first time!"
"Yeah. What's up? Rainbow Dash told us a lot about you. Great to meet ya, Daring."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Great to meet you too!" Out of pure excitement, Daring Do shook Ash's hand by raising it. "I've been trying to meet and chat with you for a while now. But a lot has happened that's steered me away from doing that. Now I get that chance. I'm a big fan."
"Big fan? Big fan?!" Rainbow Dash repeated two times before gasping. "Of them?!"
"You heard it right, Rainbow Dash." Her fellow pegasus turned to her. "I learned about these two and their adventures when it started spreading. It started at Ponyville when I heard about Ash sharing stories about all of the adventures he and Pikachu had over different regions, especially the ones that involves Legendary and Mythical Pokemon. Then I thought about something...these adventures are just as exciting as the ones I go on!"
"Oh, true-true." Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement.
"Right? Once I heard what was told, I couldn't help but love it all and I got pretty addicted to remembering it all. I usually only read stories about fictional adventures. It's what inspired me to get out there. But having a fellow adventurer who gets around is right up my alley. Ash. Pikachu. You remind me of the idols that inspired me to start adventuring."
"Great to hear it. Adventuring what's me and Pikachu do best. It's an awesome feeling all around."
"Pikachu."
"You should write your own book about your adventures. How does that sound?!" She got closer to him.
"My own book? Uhh...That'd take a super long time, wouldn't it?" Ash pondered. "I'd start from Kanto and go all the way to right now...But it would be fun to read."
"It sure would be fun to read. I write stories of my adventures and yours as so fun that I'd love to read about them instead of just the word of mouth. Just a suggestion." The adventurer shrugged. "But mainly because I wanna collect a whole series of it."
"Oh wow..." Rainbow Dash was amazed by what she was seeing and hearing. Usually, she would be the one expressing how she was inspired by Daring Do and loved her adventures. But now, Daring Do was the one doing exactly that but in front of Ash and Pikachu.
"Say, Ash! Pikachu! How would you like to be in one of my books? You'd make a great cameo there and I know it's gonna gain even bigger traction for my readers and bring in new readers?"
"Huh. That sounds pretty fun actually!" Ash grinned as he had never been in a book before. But he was mainly drawn to the adventure part of it.
"Say, uh, what were you doing out here by the way?" Rainbow Dash intervened. "You and Sigilyph started spinning around like crazy up there.
"Oh, right. You see...I was searching for a certain Pokemon that I learned about recently." She leaned in with Ash, Rainbow Dash and their Pokemon doing the same. "Showed up here and it's a special kind of Braviary."
"A special kind of Braviary?" The duo repeated.
"Check it out." And luckily, Daring Do had information about this special Braviary in her Pokedex, which she had taken out of her saddlebag. The dex had been opened, going straight for the most recent entry. "It's a regional one to boot."
Ash and Rainbow plus their Pokemon locked onto the dex with their eyes fixated on their screen. Right there, they had seen a Regional Braviary for the first time.
"Braviary. Hisuian Variant. The Battle Cry Pokemon. Screaming a bloodcurdling battle cry, this huge and ferocious bird Pokémon goes out on the hunt. It blasts lakes with shock waves, then scoops up any prey that float to the water’s surface."
"It's another Hisui Pokemon!" Ash gasped as he already knew of one Hisui Pokemon. Hisuian Zorua, which belonged to the Twilight Sparkle of the Human World. Another one had shown up in the current day. This time in Equestria. "So it must've come from a Time Leak."
"Pika."
"Braviary..." Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash's Braviary couldn't help but stare. This was certainly the first time he's seen or even heard of a regional counterpart to his species.
"Time Leak?" Daring Do repeated. "Is that what that thing was? I thought it was just a smaller gateway."
"Nah. That Braviary's from the past and it's a lost form too. It travelled through time." Ash explained before then realizing that another Time Leak was present here in Equestria. "Wait...the Time Leak came here too?"
"Oh! That's way better than just a regional variant!" Daring Do was elated by this. "Not only is it a regional form, but it's from the past too? I made the right choice aiming to catch it!"
"Daring. Where'd you find that Time Leak?"
"Just near where that Braviary was. Knocked me and Sigilyph back when we least expected it." The adventurer aimed her hoof to the north. Right where she and Sigilyph were first seen at.
"We get to see another Hisuian Pokemon, buddy." Ash looked at Pikachu as was reasonably hyped for this. Hisuian Variants are essentially extinct in the modern-day. These time leaks were the only way for them to be seen once more.
"This way!" Daring Do, along with Sigilyph, led them to where she had previously been tossed by the Battle Cry Pokemon before it could get too far. Not only that, but it was another Time Leak for Ash to report to Professor Oak.
North of the island.
Arriving at the north part of the island, there it was. The Time Leak. Another one had found its way instead of just the Pokemon World and Human World. Ash held out his Rotomphone, sharing it with Professor Oak. As for Hisuian Braviary, to find this Pokemon, they would need aerial coverage.
Thankfully, Rainbow Dash and Daring Do were already well equipped for that. Ash had sent out his Dragonite to cover the skies as well just to find this Pokemon from the past. Moving further through the island granted them the sight of other Pokemon roaming around. Joining them was Rainbow Dash's Braviary after his curiosity about his regional counterpart had been fully grabbed.
"Hey, Daring Do. one of your books I read involved the invasion. You were doing all of that when it was going on?" Rainbow Dash commented while flying side by side with her.
"Sure was. I didn't think an invasion would happen just out of anywhere." She chuckled. "But honestly, every book you've read so far might not be everything I have to offer."
"It's not?" Rainbow Dash jerked back. "What do you mean?"
"Ever since we crossed over with the Pokemon World, a lot has happened" She started rambling, sharing stories that have not yet been written and published by her. I've been getting into different adventures and wild situations because of it, but unlike the others, I barely get a break. That invasion lasted from dusk till dawn, plus the Pokemon I've been running into take me days or even weeks to handle. It's ridiculous."
"Yeah...It's not easy." Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. "So, you're saying that there's still some stories you haven't shared yet? That just makes me excited!"
"I'll be publishing them out when I get the time. I just got a bit too addicted to searching for Pokemon." She chuckled, admitting to her own gravitation towards the Strange and Wonderful Creatures. "I should just take a break from it for a bit. But that sort of makes me want to do it constantly since Ash and Pikachu are always on adventures."
"Oh yeah. That's true." Rainbow Dash agreed as she and Daring Do turned to face Ash and Pikachu who were on the back of Dragonite.
"Mm. Before our worlds crossed over, those two have been on adventures across various regions non-stop. The same even goes for our world now with what they do. Wish I had that endurance, honestly. Then I'd probably publish every one or two ays." She playfully laughed. "But check out this island. Look like anything?"
"Hm?" Rainbow Dash lowered her head, wondering if she could spot whatever Daring Do was getting at. "I don't see it..."
"You didn't notice when getting here. That makes sense. It doesn't have a name yet anyway. You see...this whole island's shaped like the Psychic-Type symbol." She revealed as once Rainbow Dash took a closer look, she could see it.
The massive mass of grass resembled the rounded diamond eye that the outside of the symbol owned with all of the trees and plantlife perfectly covered the diamond shape without deviating for once to even try and throw off the theming of the island.
And smack-dab in the middle, surrounded by a large lake, a circular hill was the representation of the iris. Indeed, it did mimic the Psychic-Type symbol. Speaking of the middle, much like what the Pokedex said about Hisuian Braviary sending shockwaves onto lakes, the same thing was happening there.
The group felt and witnessed a Psychic shockwave that alerted them. The lake ripped from the purple lights that flared with small sparkles added onto them. Once they descended, flying past the massive trees, they had spotted the Pokemon of the hour.
Hisuian Braviary.
"There it is!" Ash uttered. "Awesome..."
"Pikachu...."
"That's the Pokemon I've been looking for alright." Daring Do grinned as she would have another go at trying to catch Hisuian Braviary.
"Bra? Braviary!" The Battle Cry Pokemon bellowed into the air with a mighty caw that rustled the trees and the lake, causing some ripples. Ash hopped off of Dragonite, holding onto his hat from the shockwave that the Hisuian Braviary managed to form. Dragonite was promptly returned after helping find this Braviary.
"It's way cooler when seeing it this close!" Rainbow Dash's eyes shot up. "I can't believe this form doesn't exist in the present day."
"It does now. Hey, Braviary! You caught us off guard back there, but not this time. Now it's time for round 2!" It was clear that Daring Do would initiate a battle with Hisuian Braviary. A second one to be exact.
"Sigilyph!"
"Braviary!" Braviary gladly accepted the challenge, facing off against Daring Do once more.
"Let's make it a better performance. Sigilyph! Use Ice Beam!"
"Sigil!" Sigilyph made the first move, summoning an orb of ice in front of it before unleashing a chilling beam of ice.
"Bra!" Hisuian Braviary took the skies via the speed of Aerial Ace. Aerial Ace helped avoid Ice Beam while also approaching Sigilyph. The Psychic-Flying-Type had struck his fellow Psychic-Flying-Type in the process, causing it to stagger whilst Braviary flew past it.
"Quick! Use Heat Wave!"
"Sig! Sigilyph!" Sigilyph recovered quickly on its non-existent feet. Once Hisuian Braviary flew past it, the Avianoid Pokemon had suddenly lathered itself in a blazing red aura. From that aura, a smouldering wave of fire had been unleashed. Braviary responded in kind by using a move that Ash and Rainbow Dash had not seen until now.
"Viary!" A spiral of pink Psychic energy emerged around the Battle Cry Pokemon, acting like a mini-hurricane. The purple flames on his head reacted to the emergence of this incoming attack, intensifying. Out of it and with the action of Braviary flapping his wings, a barrage of aura-enriched wings came crashing down, slashing onto the wave of flames.
"What's that?!" Ash and Rainbow Dash both exclaimed.
"It's that move from before!" Daring Do turned to face them. "The dex calls it Esper Wing!"
"Braviary!" Braviary cried out as Esper Wing managed to blaze through the wave of flames, bombarding Sigilyph's body repeatedly.
"S-Sigil!"
"Sigilyph!" Daring Do cried out as her partner was currently on the losing end of this battle. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash's Braviary said nothing but silently observe his Hisuian counterpart.
"Sigilyph! Return!" Daring Do whipped out a Dusk Ball, quickly recalling Sigilyph before it could take any more damage. She already had another Poke Ball ready. "Thank you. Rest for a bit. That Braviary's a problem still..."
"You okay?!" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I'm fine, Rainbow Dash. Catching this Braviary was never easy in the first place. I just hope I don't leave empty-hoofed. I still have Archeops to help out!" Throwing the Poke Ball revealed her next Pokemon to be Archeops.
"Archeops!"
"Archeops! Use Stone Edge!"
"Archeops!" The First Bird Pokemon cawed before materializing glowing blue crystals into thin air. These crystals were then unleashed at full force towards Hisuian Braviary.
"Viary!" And the response from the Battle Cry Pokemon was Hurricane. With the flap of his wings, he had summoned a colossal whirlwind of air to both attack and defend. It did well in defending him via grabbing the stones and trapping them within the spiral.
"Archeops! Dodge and use Acrobatics!"
"Arch!" Archeops zipped to the side, evading the incoming terrifying force of wind which had crushed the crystals in the process. Afterwards, the First Bird Pokemon increased in agility, suddenly zooming towards its fellow Flying-Type.
A hit had finally been landed as Archeops became a blur, rapidly striking Hisuian Braviary with Acrobatics as faint lines of its movements could also be spotted within the blur. "Aviary!"
"Good stuff! Now, Stone Edge one more time!"
"Cheops!" After tackling Hisuian Braviary for a bit, Archeops quickly switched moves, summoning those crystals once more. This time, they were at a closer range, allowing for an easier connection. The Battle Cry Pokemon found itself struck and pelted by the rocks, forcing it back.
"B-Braviary!" Taking super-effective damage, Braviary was finally starting to feel some pushback. Daring Do was doing much better than when they last battled.
"Hidden Power Ice!"
"Arch!" Archeops would then follow up with Hidden Power Ice, summoning orbs packed with the power of the Ice-Type before they were then rapidly thrown in Braviary's direction. Braviary's eyes flared open as he had once again used Aerial Ace as an evasion tactic.
"Braviary!" Hisuian Braviary swerved past the orbs before then switching into Brave Bird, covering himself in a blazing aura.
"I don't think so! Acrobatics!"
"Archeops!" Archeops would counter with an equally speedy Flying-Type attack. The First Bird Pokemon took off, becoming a blur once again.
Soon, they were both flying through the air at rapid speeds, becoming only golden and orange trails and speed lines zooming about. Their auras clashed with each other with sparks flying. Rainbow Dash's Braviary watched carefully still, observing his Hisuian Counterpart. Seeing all of this was giving him an itch for a battle.
However, Hisuian Braviary's Sky Attack proved superior in power as it had knocked Archeops out of the sky, knocking Acrobatics off balance. "Braviary!"
"A-Archeops!"
"Vi!" After breaking its balance, Esper Wing had been used once more. Much like how Archeops used Stone Edge point-blank, Braviary did the same with these wings of Psychic aura, bombarding the Rock-Flying-Type which sent it downwards.
"Oh no! Archeops!" Daring Do cried out before witnessing her partner crash into the ground with purple trails. The smoke cleared as Archeos was still standing, however, that series of attacks had winded it.
"A-Archeops...!" Archeos shook its head as Hisuian Braviary descended afterwards, hovering there patiently.
"Geez..." Daring Do held her hat. "I need to think of something quick. That Esper Wing's a big problem and-"
"Brav! Braviary!" Interrupting her sentence was the Unovan Braviary, who had stepped up. He cawed ferociously at Daring Do. "Vi! Braviary!"
"Hey, Braviary!" Rainbow Dash held her partner back. "Calm down! This is her battle, not ours!"
"Vi?" Hisuian Braviary looked to his Unovan Counterpart."Braviary..." The two Braviary looked each other in the eyes, pausing for a bit. Hisuian Braviary used his Psychic abilities to observe his Unovan Counterpart before sensing something. He could sense the Bond Phenomenon radiating from him along with Ash and Rainbow Dash.
"Sorry. I get that you're itching for a battle against him but...I need to do this on my own." Daring Do turned to the Unovan Braviary before facing the Hisuian Form. "I'm going to catch this Braviary...and then I'm gonna enter that Time Leak sometime!"
"Enter the Time Leak?!" Caught off guard by her declaration, Ash and Rainbow Dash gasped in unison.
"Archeops! Endeavor!"
"Arche...!" Archeops' body stared radiating a silver and red light, building up strength. Hisuian Braviary knew what was coming, proving it to use Hurricane, summoning a massive tornado in the process.
"Now!"
"Cheops!" Archeops released the power of Endeavor in the form of a radius-wide silver and red pulse. This pulse was backed by the amount of damage that Archeops had taken, transforming it into power. And it was stellar power indeed. So powerful that it broke through the Hurricane, dispersing the wind particles.
"Bra?!" Braviary gasped as it was hit by this pulse. The impact was staggering and overwhelming. So overwhelming that not only did it knock it back with enough impact to shake the trees, but it had also brought Braviary down to Archeops' level. A weak level. Such was the purpose of Endeavor. "B-Braviary...!"
"Now's my chance!" Daring Do held out a Great Ball with her wing before throwing it. "Go! Great Ball!" The ball spun through the air, almost being thrown off balance from the wind disturbance that Hurricane and Endeavor had caused. But thankfully, it hit its target, knocking Braviary on the head. It shrunk the Battle Cry Pokemon, pulling it inside before dropping to the ground. Now was the moment of truth. The shaking.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Hisuian Braviary was caught.
"Yes! I did it! I caught a Hisuian Braviary!" A relieved Daring Do threw her hat into the air before flying over to the First Bird Pokemon. Archeops receive a well-earned hug for its hard-fought battle. "Archeops, you were amazing!"
"Archeops."
"Awesome stuff!" Ash, Rainbow Dash and their Pokemon cheered for Daring Do's victory. The second time's the charm and it worked out indeed.
"Pikachu!"
"Braviary!" Braviary, even though he wanted to battle against his Hisuian Braviary, thoroughly enjoyed this battle. He was already wondering what it would be like if it was him over there.
"Whew. Second Try." The adventurer proudly grinned before turning Archeops. "A Pokemon from the past that doesn't exist anymore? Wasn't in one of my objectives...but check. That's another story part to add to my books right there."
"And we got to see it happen too!" Rainbow Dash squeed. "Wouldn't be the first for me though."
"Great job getting Hisuian Braviary. But say...you said you were going to check out the Time Leak next?" Ash went up to her.
"I did. But ya know...not right now. I'm taking a break for a bit, remember?"
"Still. That sounds like a big deal. Isn't going through that thing meaning travelling through time?" Her fellow pegasus replied.
"It is. Time Travelling's been another thing that's caught my curiosity. Thanks to all of this Pokemon and Cosmic stuff going on, so many things I could've never done before, I get to do now. So, travelling to the past to maybe explore ancient places that might not exist anymore today is a win in my book."
"But are you gonna get back? I mean...Time Travelling's a big deal." Rainbow Dash nudged. "Only Ash here's been through it a few times."
"Yeah, you have a point. I would need a way to get back. Unless the Time Leak stays where it is."
"I already sent it to Professor Oak earlier. He's studying those leaks and says that they stay around instead of vanishing." Ash explain. "So they won't be going anywhere for a while. Still, you gotta keep a sharp eye when you're travelling through time."
"Pika-Pika."
"I'll be fine. I love daring things after all. Right now, I'm gonna get home with my new Braviary and start writing. I need the break more than anything." Daring Do sighed.
"Maybe along the way, Ash and I can share some stuff with you! Heard of Pegalysium?"
"Uh yeah. Heard about it when we were all with Arceus. Go on. Tell me more." It was time for them all to depart from this island with Ah and Rainbow Dash sharing what they had done at Pegalysium, giving inspiration to the adventurer/author of what she could write about and explore next.
As for the Time Leak, true to what Oak had told Ash, it stayed static. Never leaving its spot. The same goes for the Pokemon and Human World. Truly, it was still a mystery where they came from and why they were here. Aside from that, Daring Do proudly had herself a Hisuian Braviary and a new chapter in her book to publish as the journey continues.
On this silent night where many were asleep, Twilight was awake for just a bit. Her Pokemon and her pet dog Spike were already out for the night with Rapidash sleeping outside on her lonesome. Zorua was sleeping on her lap, finding it comfortable along with the pyjamas.
Currently, Twilight was reading a book. More specifically, the book that contained information about the Kalos Region. And especially Yveltal. The Pokemon that the vampires along with the Dread League are pursuing more than anything. There, she learned one crucial thing about the Destruction Pokemon.
"Yveltal lives in a cocoon which it only enters after it has caused destruction to many. The location of this cocoon is never consistent as Yveltal rests wherever. It had once unleashed trouble on a kingdom, turning people and Pokémon to stone. A Pokemon that can just take like so easily...Ooough..." She shuddered at the thought of it.
Just then, catching her off guard and making her jump was a sudden bump in the night. Twilight whimpered from this surprising sound, looking in the direction of its origin. But it was nothing to fear. Not all of her Pokemon were asleep. Munchlax was still active, having a midnight snack.
"Oh...Munchlax. It's just you."
"Munchlax." Munchlax brought over some food, offering the midnight snacks to Twilight.
"Oh, I'm not hungry. I was just about to sleep right now." She later picked up Zorua, standing up afterwards. "Thanks for the offer though."
"Munchlax." More for Munchlax as he started snacking away for the night. As for Twilight, it was time for her to call it a night while also keeping the book safe.
She knew one thing. The vampires would persist in trying to find this book that contains information about Yveltal. It already felt dangerous keeping the book if by chance they find where she lives. But even more so if the vampires would show up in this world. Twilight already knew that this world was in danger by the vampires in their quest to search for Yveltal, so for now, she chose to keep it until a proper way to protect it. This was valuable Kalos history after all. Twilight could do one thing. Keep herself away from vampire eyes at all costs. But for how long could she keep it up?
4 Days Later. Equestria. Magehold. Nightfall.
Over at Magehold, where these vampires along with skeleton ponies reside were all still focused on their mission to find Yveltal. Any information about it would do. Vampire bat ponies were already heading out to the Pokemon World to gather information, also making sure to shield themselves from the eventual sunlight.
Rosa Maledicta, the Lich Queen, watched as the vampires were off to find Yveltal information once more. The only thing they had was of the Pokemon's existence.
"It's been 2 months now and there's nothing about Yveltal yet," Rosa spoke, looking outside the window of her throne room. She wasn't too happy about the slow progress with Yveltal, but she certainly had patience.
"Apologies, Queen Rosa." Fractured Note, her loyal servant stepped forward. "Compared to other Pokemon, Yveltal isn't exactly one that many set out to find. It's so destructive that many refuse to try and learn about this Pokemon."
"That's a fun fact." She smiled. "All the more reason why we need to find it. The Black Crusade would've taken years to accomplish with all of our hard work but with Yveltal...taking a shortcut isn't always a bad idea."
"But I have to ask...is everyone in Equestria and beyond set to become skeletons or are there exceptions? Like those Royal Sisters over at Canterlot."
"No exceptions. Even after they become one of us, my magic will make sure that their magic is still active. We need some things to work, don't we?" Rosa further revealed parts of her Black Crusade. "Besides...I do have one individual I'd like to keep around..."
"Who would that be, your highness?"
"I have a sister at Equestria. I'd say the only pony back there who would've never rejected my dark talents...but I'm not so sure." The Lich Queen spoke while being in deep thought. "Then again, with how naive she was at a young age, I doubt she would've accepted it. Either way, it's all in the past. Everypony there has probably forgotten about my existence anyway. That is until we reunite as they will be nothing but bones to serve me. I'd kill to see their reactions when that day comes."
"Hm-hm." Fractured Note nodded in agreement. That question about that one individual being Rosa's sister wasn't too informative. It only made him wonder who this pony was but he decided to do exactly what Rosa said earlier. Leave it in the past. "So. How should we go about Yveltal, your highness? We have other methods we can try."
"We do. But I believe it's time to work smarter instead of harder." She relaxed on her throne. "We will still set out to find Yveltal and its cocoon, but we need a source to tell us something..."
"I can do that, your highness." Entering the room at the right time was another vampire. Her ear could be seen dispersing with magic, indicating that she was listening in as she revealed herself. A pony by the name of Opal Vivacity.
"Hm? Opal?" Rosa turned to her. "Listening as always..."
"Sorry. It's a force of habit. But eavesdropping can always prove to be useful, can't it? At least in my book." She made a soft chuckle. "Especially when it's outside of Magehold and everywhere else."
"You've been eavesdropping in Equestria again, haven't you?" Fractured Note narrowed her eyes. "There's nothing useful there. Why bother?"
"Oh, Note." She shook her head. "Anything can be useful if you look hard enough. And I certainly have every time I head out during the nightfall. I have an answer to our Yveltal problem."
"Go on." Rosa leaned in with her curiosity piqued. "What did you discover?"
"I believe we can have Mellifera help us. She's the mother to Queen Chrysalis...which means one thing."
"That means..." Fractured tried piecing it together, wondering where Opal was going for. And that's when it clicked. "Ah, right! Chrysalis is friends with Ash Ketchum and he certainly knows something about Yveltal."
"That Ash Ketchum is friends with the one who has the book about Yveltal. It can start with Mellifera, then to Chrysalis. And afterwards, with some adjustments, we can reach the book that we need, correct?" Opal's suggestions with her soft voice were highly tempting and powerful to listen to at the time.
"Chrysalis and especially Ash Ketchum could be the key to finding that book...Ah, Opal! You are a clever one, aren't you?"
"Thank you, your highness." She bowed.
"I could've thought about it first though." Fractured Note said to himself, pouting before shifting his eyes to the side.
"Fetch Mellifera. Her daughter might be difficult to reach with how she and the changelings have changed. But deep within her, I can still sense the old changeling ways." Rosa sat up on her throne. "Wait for us, Yveltal. Your cocoon will soon be ours and after that, the world."
The mission to obtain Yveltal had been altered with a less outgoing approach. The answer to finding the Destruction Pokemon was connected to Ash Ketchum. The one who has encountered many Pokemon over the years. Prior to this, Rosa ordered many to avoid Ash. And now, they were going to gravitate towards him.
Faye Mountains. The Changeling Hive. Day.
The New Changeling Hive. Peacefully located at the Faye Mountains as always, flourishing with life and especially love. It seemed to be increasing even more so with each passing day, only bringing greater life to these mountains. And of course, more Pokemon would flock to it as well.
"Thorax." Currently, Chrysalis was speaking to Thorax within the main throne room. "Eventually, there'll come a time when a new ruler for the changelings will show up. I've been thinking of passing that role onto you someday."
"Me? A ruler?" Thorax pulled back.
"Yes. You were the first to truly deviate from what we used to do. Even before all of this world collaboration, your heart was clearly stronger than ours. I can sense some great promise from you."
"Really?! Oh wow. That's great to hear! But...I thought you would've shifted that position to Ash."
"Ash is already the King of the Sea. He's fine where he is. Besides...I'm not sure the world is ready for a double ruler. Or any world to be honest. You can start now by being my advisor, giving me the best form of advice you can. Can you do that?"
"It's an honour! You can count on me to get it done. Wait till Spike hears about this!"
"Queen Chrysalis!" Interrupting Thorax's gleeful moment was another changeling. She came rushing in, almost bumping her head against the wall from how fast she was moving before coming to a halt.
"Hm? What is it?!" Chrysalis already felt the tone in this changelings voice as the speed she arrived here indicated a fairly serious situation more than anything. "Did something happen?!"
"It's...your mother. She's here."
"Mother?!" Queen Chrysalis pulled back, almost slipping off her throne.
She certainly did not expect her mother to visit this hive, especially with how radically it deviated from the old hive and the one even older than that. This would be a place that Mellifera would refuse to ever come to. This was something that Chrysalis had to see. Lo and behold, the changeling was telling the truth. Just now arriving at the new Changeling Hive in the Faye Mountains was the former Queen of the Changelings.
Mellifera.
Upon arriving here, Mellifera was actually visibly impressed with one thing. The amount of love radiating this from the mountains. Considering that the Fairy-Types got along well with the changelings, the love was at an all-time high and could potentially increase even more.
Her presence was noticed from atop a hill, startling the many changelings who saw her. Mellifera paused for a moment, taking in all of the love. It was amazing. The amount of love radiating from these mountains was something that Mellifera thought she would never see.
"Unbelievable..." She spoke, closing her eyes and absorbing the love. "I haven't fed on love for so long. Especially love this powerful...How could I have almost skipped out on this Lovemine?!" She cackled as the magic she was receiving from all of this love was stellar and enough to make her elated.
It was so powerful that even her mane, which signified her massive lack of love feeding for centuries was starting to lighten. Its light green appearance gained a bit of a darkish green tint to it. Mellifera then trotted down the hill, soaking up more of the love. This brought her to the hive where she would see all of the changelings living here.
Mellifera had not seen other changelings aside from her daughter for years now. She would be lying to herself if she said she was thrilled to see others as when the former changeling ruler observed them, walking past the group and their Pokemon, her judgement had already been passed.
"This is repulsive." Mellifera immediately showed her absolute disgust for these new changelings. "I thought my daughter was repugnant in what she had turned into, but this is downright vile. This is what has become of the changelings of this generation? Pathetic."
The changelings took offence to that but not to the extent where they would be brave enough to say something about it. Mellifera approached some of them, already sensing some love coming from their magic. That was the only positive thing she could think about them. When approaching the changelings, the moment she got close, they backed away, holding their Pokemon close to them.
"Not even brave and strong enough as before. What happened to that fierce disposition you all had?" Mellifera was greatly disappointed in how passive these new changelings had become. Gravely disappointed.
"Mother!" Calling out for her mother was Queen Chrysalis as she had drawn Mellifera's attention. "What are you doing here?"
"Hoh? Can't your own mother come by and visit? Especially when the rest of changeling-kind are present here?"
"I mean...you can but...Why?" Chrysalis squinted her eyes. "You certainly won't be a huge fan of all of this. You even said it yourself. So why come here?"
"Why? Well...as much as it makes me want to combust from saying this..." Melifera closed her eyes before twitching. The next batch of words she spews out was certainly poison to her ears. "I want to spend some time with my daughter." Upon saying that, a part of Mellifera shattered.
Equally as struck was Chrysalis. But she was shocked instead of disgusted. She couldn't believe her ears as that sentence from her mother seemed like a one in a million chance of ever being said. "S-Spend time...with me?"
"Correct. We are family after all." Mellifera continued. Chrysalis was processing this whilst Mellifera thought to herself immediately. "Of course...not without a reason. Indeed you to lead me to that Ash Ketchum boy. And after that, the book that holds information about Yveltal..."
Indeed, Mellifera was only here for the same purpose of what the Dread League sought. In fact, she was already aware of the Yveltal approach the moment she visited Magehold months ago. She started thinking back to the conversation that was had between her and the Dread League.
Magehold. Last Night.
"So. That is your plan?" Mellifera said to Rosa Maledicta.
"That's right. Not exactly foolproof yet but we can make it happen. And in return, we will spare one location. The Faye Mountains." Rosa replied.
"What are these Faye Mountains exactly?"
"A mountainside filled with love." Approaching her was Opal, who had planned this from the start. "Fairy-Type Pokemon exhibit the most love out of any Pokemon and they filled a mountainside with all of that love. There is so much that it could satiate the hunger that you've been missing for so long..."
"Tempting..." Mellifera liked what she was hearing. "I have been craving for massive love for centuries now. And you will spare these Faye Mountains even during your crusade?"
"Of course. All of that love that originates there will be yours to have. Granted, everyone else will be a skeletal subject to me but we can work something else out, can't we?" Rosa chuckled.
"Hm. I will do it but...I need to ask one thing." Mellifera agreed, however, with a final question. "What of my daughter? Will she be a part of this crusade? You spoke about her when we had that conversation months ago. What will become of her?"
"Oh, your daughter. That depends. What do you want for her?" Rosa trotted over to Mellifera. "She is your daughter after all. Your responsibility even with all of those years that have passed by and her status as the current Changeling Queen. But, clearly, you show disdain for the new changelings' ways and the path your daughter has taken. So, it wouldn't be too much of a loss if she was involved...unless you're of a different opinion?"
"..." Mellifera continued to stay silent, not giving a single answer to this question. She did despise what the changelings had become, but there was something within her holding her back.
"Well, we'll also sort that out when it comes." Rosa shrugged, teleporting back to her seat. "Once we find the house of this girl, the book will be ours to grab. But make sure that Ash Ketchum is not present there. We only need him to tell us the location of this world instead of going there with him."
"Could we perhaps find a way to keep our original forms?" Fractured Note asked. "My appearance in that world is...eeugh."
"I have this." Catching them off guard, Opal had held out an object straight from Equestria. A Shift Stone. Founded Trixie which had soon been given to others and now, Opal had one. "This'll be the answer to your issue."
"I will be off now." Mellifera turned. "Though I do despite taking requests and orders from others."
"What choice do you have?" The Lich Queen smirked. "You lost so much, Mellifera. You are no longer a queen after all, correct?"
"Hmph." Mellifera said nothing before then leaving the castle and Magehold entirely.
Present day. Faye Mountains. Changeling Hive.
"Well...if you came here for that, then I suppose it's not an issue." Chrysalis walked up to her. "You are still my mother after all. Welcome to the new Changeling Hive. It's still odd to hear it but we can catch up, can't we?"
"I suppose so." Mellifera scoffed. "If we are to catch up, I'd rather not it be here of all places with these sorry excuse fr changelings."
"Mother! These are my subjects! You can't go insulting them even with their new looks."
"I do what I want." Mellifera flipped her mane before noticing one oddity. Amongst all of these colourful changelings, there was one who stood out amongst them all. Someone who was in between the purity changelings forms and the old forms. This caught her attention. "Oh? Hold on...Who is that changeling?"
"Oh. That's Pharynx." Chrysalis introduced. "He's...not exactly all for our news ways of approaching love. So, he is stuck in between the new and old."
"A part of me just rekindled some hope." Mellifera smiled as that was the best news she's heard so far apart from the massive love located in the Faye Mountains.
"Ah, you should probably meet your newest granddaughter." Chrysalis then decided to introduce her to Anthophilia, holding the youngest changeling up to Mellifera. The former Changeling Queen was met with the baby as it had startled her.
Anthophilia giggled as she poked Mellifera's nose upon meeting her for the first time. Meliifera flinched, shaking her head afterwards. "Gh!" She cried out after the initial touch. She even spotted strange sparkles flowing out afterwards. "What is this magic?"
"Anthophilia here was born with tremendous magic. Similar to me when I was small. Here. You can hold her." Chrysalis offered Mellifera a chance to hold Anthophilia.
Mellifera was somewhat intimidated by Anthophilia's colossal magic presence as she held her hooves out. Anthophilia flew into Mellfiera's hooves with the oldest changeling now holding the youngest changeling. Anthophila kept poking Mellifera, this time, on her stomach and close to her neck.
Mellifera had an unimpressed expression plastered all over her face from Anthophilia's constant poking. The baby changeling them forced herself to climb up Mellifera, hugging her face. "Isn't she sweet?" Chrysalis chuckled.
"She's just as clingy as you were when you were a baby." Mellifera sighed."Anyway. I suggest we go somewhere. That Ash Ketchum friend of yours."
"Ash? You want to see Ash?"
"I figured if I am to spend some time with you, I should get to know those close to you, shouldn't I? Your daughter here is already one step ahead." Mellifera tried pulling Anthophilia off, only for the baby to latch herself back on.
"Don't you want to get to know every changeling here instead? And what we've been doing?"
"Oh, come now. It will be fun." Chrysalis insisted. "After all, you are still a changeling. And in changeling territory. So at the end of the day...my word is final." The Changeling Queen smirked, winking at Mellifera. "You're the one who taught me that, correct?"
"Curses...I did teach you that." Mellifera growled as her own teachings came back to bite her. This only slowed down the progress that Mellifera was shooting for as she was forced to spend time with the other changelings. It would take a while before she could get to Ash.
Magehold. Day.
Even during the day, cloudy skies covered this hidden land which was a blessing for the vampires. Currently, Opal Vivacity had left the castle before then looking to the skies. On a black cloud that had constant thunder rumbling, another vampire was resting on it before having her name be called out by Opal.
"Yoohoo~Spectrum."
"Mmm?" The pony resting on it dropped straight through the cloud, yawning for a bit before descending in front of her fellow vampire. A pony by the name of Spectrum Shade had appeared.
"What is it, Opal?" She asked.
"Her highness has entrusted us and many more to continue searching for the book involving Yveltal," Opal explained. "More than that, we shall be the ones who go for the cocoon next."
"Really? That's an honour!" Spectrum cackled. "But wait...we haven't even gotten close to finding out about Yveltal. And isn't that book still missing?"
"I gave a clever suggestion to her highness." Opal paced around Spectrum. "Mellifera is currently with Chrysalis, who is close to Ash Ketchum That is our best lead to the Human World and the girl that has the book."
"Okay. Not a bad idea." Spectrum Shade nodded in approval. "But ya know...when I caught wind of this, I said that we should just bust the whole place up and grab the book. But no one took that advice."
"You are best at causing a ruckus but only at the right time, Spectrum. Who knows? Maybe when we get there, you can do exactly that. And I could d some of my sweet talking too when we get there maybe."
"Isn't that Sweet Fang's job?"
"Speaking of which..." Right on time, Opal had swivelled to reveal the incoming vampire pony who had just left one of the castle doors. The pony that Spectrum Shade recently mentioned. Sweet Fang.
"I'll be coming with you," said Sweet Fang. "Opal here is the charm and beauty. I can just handle the other sweet-talking."
"What other sweet talking? There's only one and she uses it all time time." Spectrum nudged her head in Opal's direction.
"Mmhm-hm-hm." Opal chuckled with a soft voice as always. "That much is true. I am so brilliant at it that I managed to grab these." Just then, catching them off guard, Opal had used her magic to summon specific items.
Poke Balls.
Poke Balls had been dropped in front of her fellow vampire bat ponies in impressive numbers to boot. Spectrum had been bumped in the head by one of them. "Ta-da~"
"These are Poke Balls!" Spectrum gasped, picking some of them up.
"With Pokemon already inside of them." Opal closed her eyes, smiling softly as she continued Spectrum's sentence.
"You already caught some Pokemon?!" Spectrum couldn't believe her ears.
"I did some convincing to the ponies selling them to give me as many as I need. And I had even convinced the Pokemon to come with me. The perks to being so attractive are astonishing, aren't they?" Opal revealed that it was beauty that led to this massive supply of Poke Balls and some convincing via looks. "I've given some to the others already. This will change things, won't they?"
"Does the queen agree about this?" Sweet Fang asked.
"She permitted me in doing so. But after all of this is over, these Pokemon will become skeletal servants at the end of the day. Just remember that. Now then. How about we all wait near the Faye Mountains?" Opal giggled as she, Spectrum Shade and soon other vampires set out on their mission.
It was simple. Have Ash lead Mellifera to the Human World and especially where Twilight was currently keeping a Kalos Book, containing information about the Pokemon they need. Rosa Maledicata waited patiently, having good faith in her servants and to an extent Mellifera.
"Wait for us, Yveltal." Rosa used her magic to summon herself a drink with thunder viciously rumbling in the skies. "Your power will make my goal realized."
Equestria. Faye Mountains. The Changeling Hive. Afternoon.
Currently, Mellifera was here on a mission which was ordered by Rosa Maledicta. The Lich Queen. However, this mission was already going through slow progress as she was spending time with the changelings here, much to her chagrin. Mellifera most certainly despised this. Mainly due to the new changeling ways.
As long as she was within Changeling Territory, Chrysalis being the current Changeling Queen meant that no matter what, Mellifera had to stay. The one instance where her teachings to Chrysalis backfired hard.
"I wish we could put an end to this right now." Mellifera groaned as Anthophilia was still latching onto her grandmother's face. "The only good thing about this place is the amount of love radiating from it. Except you aren't responsible for so much of it."
"Why are you always so bitter?" Chrysalis turned to face her mother, showing agitation towards her constant nagging.
"Why are you still a constant disappointment?" Mellifera asked with a rude retort.
"You should be more into this, mother." Chrysalis said. "Right now, this is the best age of the changelings by far. The love we receive now is far more frequent and healthy to us."
"Mmm. It may be better but it's still bone-chilling. What is all of this anyway?" Mellifera asked, noticing the various Pokemon-focused objects laying around. Many of these objects were meant for the Pokemon as they had also been transformed into decorations to give the hive some extra flair. The special healing cocoons were also healing some of the Pokemon that have already been through a battle today.
"Oh, these? Well since we've become accustomed to Pokemon, we need to have the essentials needed to take care of them. They're one of us now."
"These cocoons heal..." Mellifera poked one of the healing cocoons, startling the Spritzee inside. "How?"
"I made them." Just then, a confident smirk came to Chrysalis. One that made herself feel proud as she shifted her eyes towards her mother. Even after entering her purity form, Chrysalis did not lose some of her proud ways. "My magic is responsible for these special cocoons."
"Impossible!" Mellifera backed up. "It took me years to try and craft a healing cocoon! And I never managed to! And you did so?"
"I suppose I'm not a constant disappointment as you thought, eh?" Chrysalis chuckled. "With this, I can heal just about anyone from any injury. I've also been thinking of getting it to heal illnesses."
"Tch!" Mellifera scoffed. "I-I could've made them eventually if given more time." Despite what Chrysalis had crafted, Mellifera felt the need to make herself seem higher, which made Chrysalis facehoof. "But..I'll admit, it is impressive. It seems that the potential in you hasn't died out yet."
"That same potential you tried to force out of me, right? You could've waited for me to unlock it by myself. That's just one of the reasons I left."
"I needed your magic to reach staggering heights as soon as possible, foolish child. My magic paled in comparison. The love that I could gather was minimal during my time. And yet you were lucky to be born in a time where love is the most prominent."
"Is that why your hive died out?"
"That's right. If you must know, if a changeling queen ever gathers enough love, their magic absolutely moves past their peak, allowing them to do great things. That kind of magic is what I needed for my hive to thrive more than anything. And yet, you fled."
"With how things were over there, I had to. I'd say it was best that I went on my own path." Chrysalis turned away from her mother, hovering in the air before then crossing her hooves. "All that potential you so wanted showed up without being there."
"Kh!" Mellifera growled, stamping her hoof. Unfortunately, she didn't have a clever remark. She also turned away, only feeling like hitting something. Chrysalis could already feel her mother's reaction. The words she spoke were instantly regretted in Chrysalis's ears, despite them being true.
"I-I'm sorry." Chrysalis apologized. "I shouldn't be saying things like that. Especially when you came here to spend time with me and everything."
"Mmmrrgh..." Mellifera grumbled as that was only half true. She certainly did come for Chrysalis, but her intention was not to genuinely spend time with her daughter. It was only about the Human World. Speaking of which, she got back on that topic immediately. "Forget about it. Anyway...I can come and see this hive any other time. I'm more concerned about the rest of your friends outside of the changeling hive."
"Oh, right. Why do you want to see Ash so much?"
"He's your friend, isn't he? You clearly care more about him than me. I need not say much more than that..." Mellifera scoffed. "Aside from maybe learning more about Pokemon."
"Learning about Pokemon? Why didn't you say so? Ash can help you. And so can I." Chrysalis fluttered over.
"Excellent!" Mellifera shouted, almost blowing Chrysalis back. "Where does he lurk around?"
"Well, his home is at the Pokemon World in the Kanto Region. But he could be anywhere. Ash is a massive adventurer after all."
"Joy. There is no consistent location." Mellifera sighed as her hopes dwindled once more.
"But, I can use this." Luckily for her, Chrysalis had the object to rekindle that hope. The Xtransceiver. "Just one call and we'll find out where Ash is."
"Oh. Wonderful." A smile returned to her face. Finally, some progress was being made. All she had to do was learn of his current location, discover the home of Sci-Twi, pass it on to the vampires and she was free to go.
The Human World. Canterlot High. Day.
Speaking of which, the Twilight Sparkle of that world still had the book with her, showing up at school with it. There, her friends were free to see it as well and that was fine with Twilight as long as no vampires were nearby. She sat down with them in the cafeteria, placing both her book and bag down.
Spike popped his head out of the bag whilst Zoru hid. And for safety measures, considering she was in a cafeteria, Twilight kept Munchlax in his Poke Ball at all costs or else a repeat of what happened in Unova could transpire once more.
"Twilight. You're still carrying that book around with you?" Sunset pointed.
"I know. I don't know what to do with it." Twilight held the book out as it was by far the greatest obstacle she's ever had to face. She just didn't expect it to be a book.
"I say we just get rid of the thing." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Tear it up or burn it. Either one works. That way they won't get zilch about that Y-Y...Yah-vel..." She struggled to say Yveltal's name. "Whatever it's called."
"Gah! No way!" Twilight gasped, stunned by Rainbow Dash's suggestion as she stood up holding the book close to her. "This is valuable history! History of the Pokemon World no less! We can't get rid of it!"
"Ah, come on, Twilight! That thing's gonna bring nothing but trouble!" Rainbow Dash pointed at the book, knowing of the dangers that could come with it.
"Rainbow Dash has a point." Rarity nodded in agreement along with the others. "Keeping it around is only dangerous to you, Twilight. Something has to be done about that book. You already told us what those vampires tried to do to you once they found out you had the book."
"Giving it to anyone else could jeopardize them..." Sunset thought for a moment. "We need to think hard. What's the best thing we can do..."
"I still say we just destroy the thing." Rainbow Dash stuck by the destruction approach.
"Even if we do, they'll still keep trying to find Yveltal." Twilight sighed. "They won't stop until they get to it. They could unleash those demons inside of that box of theirs...Maybe I shouldn't have taken this book with me." Now, Twilight was starting to regret ever bringing the book along with her. So many unclear decisions were now bombarding her head, only further increasing her worries and fears.
"Hmmm. What if..." Pinkie Pie got to thinking. "We put it in...one of those other universes?!"
"What do you mean by that?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, Sunset here said that there's a massive number of universes out there. Why don't we just leave the book there?"
"I mean...They wouldn't know about it but someone could still use it and if they somehow figure out universal travel, they could head to that universe and-" Twilight was starting to panic again.
"Nevermind." Pinkie Pie pulled back once Twilight went off.
"Alright. This is way bigger than we excepted." Sunset stood up with all of her friends doing the same, forming a group huddle. "We need to handle this book, now. There has to be someone out there who can reach that knows what to do."
"Ya thinking about the Pokemon World?" Applejack asked. "Might be the best place if ya ask me."
"The Pokemon World and those that live there have a much better chance at holding their own than us." Rarity replied. "I'm sure that a vampire is nothing compared to the world-threatening beasties they have there."
"That's true. It would be best to leave it to professionals..." Twilight thought about the Pokemon World suggestion. It didn't sound so bad. "I thought about giving it to Professor Oak but I don't want to put him in danger."
"Ah, all of Ash's Pokemon live there, right? Those vampires will be blown away by a bunch of attacks before they know it." Rainbow Dash chuckled.
"So someone has to watch it carefully. And someone will know how to conceal it." A pondering Sunset squinted her eyes before twitching. "Gah! All this thinking is making my head hurt."
"I don't think it's that difficult." The only one exempt from all of this hard thinking was Fluttershy. "No matter what, we'll just keep going back and forth on where to put it. You don't have to find someplace crazy to put it, you just have to make sure that you guard it as well as you can. Sometimes, that's better than a complex hiding place."
Her words reached her friends. It reached them so well that they froze for a moment, looking at each other. The group pouted before then nodding in agreement. "Right. You're right, Fluttershy." Twilight nodded before sitting down. "It doesn't have to be somewhere complex. Just keeping it safe at all costs matters. But I still don't think I should be the one to keep it. I think someone else should do that."
"After school, let's head out then," Sunset suggested. "Then we can see how we can keep it safe without going the extra mile. Cause I'm sure not keeping it."
"Me neither." Applejack refused to take the book either. So did everyone else. That book was a target for them. But they were all in agreement that someone capable needed to keep this book. For their sake. For the sake of this world.
Equestria. Outskirts of Faye Mountains. Afternoon.
Chrysalis and Mellifera were ready to set off, however, nearby, the vampires were present. Mainly Opal Vivacity, Spectrum Shade, Sweet Fang along with a few others. They kept themselves safe by either staying in the shads of the trees or wearing hats, cloaks and coats. The best way to protect them from the Sun.
"Sounds like she's managed to get Chrysalis moving..." Once again, Opal was eavesdropping, using her heightened senses as a vampire to listen in.
"Finally." Spectrum sighed as she and the other vampires have been waiting for a while. To kill some time, they picked some apples from trees while also checking out the Poke Balls given to them by Opal. "We can get somewhere."
"Mhm. But first, did everyone check their Pokemon?" Opal asked.
"Uh...No not really." Spectrum shook her head as none of the vampires have even utilized their Poke Balls yet. The Pokemon inside were a mystery.
"If we're going to call it a successful mission, we need to learn how these creatures work, much like the 100 Demons Box we have." Opal held out the box containing the demons.
"Do we have to? I mean, we're gonna make them skeletons someday so what's the point in-" As Sweet Fang babbled on, Opal stompned her hoof, making the ground shape with a dent and a crack being formed as Sweet Fang and the others were startled. Opal kept her signature soft smile, getting up close to Sweet Fang. Howevever, a menacing aura was forming around here.
"Listen here...I'd rather not be the one to get absolutely obliterated by a Pokemon Trainer if the chance that Ash Ketchum catches on happens. So you'd best start bonding with them. Okay?" She chuckled while also having a dangerous intent with her.
"G-Got it..."
"As for the box...when we get there, I know exactly which demon we can use to speed things up. Now everyone, let's get going~" She whislted, being the first to start moving as everyone else followed after her.
"She's way too scary for me..." Sweet Fang sighed while Spectrum merely laughed at that whole interaction. They were off t continue tracking Mellfera down. But it would mainly be one moving force that would do so.
And the answer was the box. Opallooked at the box before then opening it, ready to unleash another one of the 100 Demosn inside of it. With a horrific crash in the atmosphere and a whistle of metal, the demon inside of the box had been unleashed.
A bat-like creature that was mainly an orb with an eye while also having 8 wings on its back. Its dark complexion had its singular cruel eye stare with an eerie foreboding, and another shrill pierces from its cavernous mouth which would intimidate almost anyone who laid eyes on it. A slim, skeletal ridge adorns its rounded body on the top, which itself is otherwise surprisingly smooth. An intense heat escaped this ceature's body.
"We'll have this keep an eye on them." said Opal. "Once the girl is discovered, this demon can instantly track down her scent and know exactly where we need to be. Just like what her highness said. We have to work smarter, not harder."
"You're spending time with your mom, Chrysalis? That's great!" Ash was currently at Vermillion City in Cerise's lab, speaking with Chrysalis on the Xtransceiver.
"Thank you. But...it isn't exactly the most cherry family bonding time." Chrysalis shook her head. "I believe she's only focused on you, Ash."
"Precisely." Mellifera's head came into view of the Xtransceiver. "You are an expert on this Pokemon thing, are you not? I'd better learn something valuable."
"Yeah, I can do that, no problem."
"Pikachu!"
"Good." Now Mellifera decided to get straight to the point. But she decided to clever, masking her true intentions before soon spewing out what she needed to hear. "I've heard about a certain Pokemon. What is it called and how do you pronounce it? Y-Yvel..." Even Mellifera was having some trouble pronouncing Yveltal's name as she rarely says it.
"Yveltal." Ash finished. "You wanna know about that Pokemon first?"
"I would like that." Mellifera smirked as the bat-like demon was ready to gather all of the info that it could grab from Ash. This was potentially the moment of truth.
"Well...it's the Destruction Pokemon so it takes lives..." Ash started off with Mellifera noiding slowly. "It can turn others to stone when it does that.."
"Go on..."
"And...that's about it." Ash shrugged as Mellifera fell flat to the ground. Opal twitched as she was listening in on this conversation as always. That wasn't the answer she was looking for as she tried not to let up her soft and beautiful smile, keeping her composure. "Haha! My bad! But that's not that much about Yveltal! It's pretty limited info if you ask me."
"Pika-Pika..."
"Obviously someone like you would have limited knowledge." Mellifera snarled. "Well, then do you know someone who does?" What of that parallel world that is opposite to us? I've heard about it."
"Parallel world? Oh you mean the Human World. Yeah, what about it?"
"How does one even get to that world in the first place?" Mellifera asked.
"Well, there's a portal for them. But I sometimes use the gateway over at Eindoak Town in Unova." Ash explain. But as he was doing so, the creature that had been summoned from the box was already on the move. The vampires were always close. "Do you wanna go there?"
"Ugh! Absolutely not!" Mellifera almost felt like throwing up from that question. "I'd rather keep my appearance, thank you very much."
"Then why ask about it?" Chrysalis squinted her eyes. "If you aren't aiming to visit there."
"None of your business. I am no longer in Changeling territory so I do not have to answer to you." Mellifera smirked while Chrysalis shook her head. "Anyway. Does someone there know something?"
"Nope. Everyone's new to Pokemon still so all that knowledge's pretty limited right now." Ash shrugged. "My friend Twilight over there has a book about it but she said she was gonna keep it safe and hide it a few weeks back. Don't know where she's put it thought. But it's gonna be safe."
"He doesn't know?" Opal's eyes widened. This was a shocking answer. Even though Ash gave out the name, the book's whereabouts were only getting scarce at this point. However, even unbeknownst to Ash, it was only today that Twilight was reaching for a solution to keeping the book safe. Not just by hiding it, but by also entrusting it to someone.
Mellifera felt like her progress had been bogged down by Ash's information as it made her groan. The vampires already knew that the book had been taken to the Human World and was owned by a human currently, but now, the location of it only became harder to discover. They already had trouble trying to find out where Twilight's home in the Human World could be and now hearing that Twilight had potentially taken it elsewhere started to gut their plans.
"No biggie." But Spectrum thought otherwise. "We still have a chance, even if we don't know where it's being hidden now. Let's head for that place and the demon can take things from there."
The demon had gathered up information concerning a gateway. The gateway near Eindoak Town. All it had to was head for the Unova Region. The demon did just that, flying faster than it normally did while also leaving behind Chrysalis and Mellifra, no longer spying on them. Mellifera's ear twitched from this, causing her to turn around. She was too late eto catch the demon flying off. The vampires would soon follow suite.
"I know! How about we have something big to eat?" Ash suggested. "That's one way I know we can get things started with this family bonding."
"Pikachu!"
"Oh, not ab ad idea, Ash." Chrysalis was in full agreement of that.
"I proper to eat love and nothing more." Mellifera crossed her hooves, refusing to eat anything else that was physical.
"Oh, come no. You're older than me so you need to experience the wonders of real food." Chrysalis insisted. "Trust me. Perhaps that bitter look on your face will vanish immediately once you get a fill of the food."
"I doubt it."
"I like this one, boy." Just then, showing up as a shadow was King Sombra, choosing to stay in the form right now as he had nothing better to do. He had heard everything Mellifera had said and those words were humour to his ears.
"My mom makes a mean Slowpoke-Tail! Try that first, okay?"
"Pikachu!"
The Human World. Out in the forest. Afternoon.
School had ended. Which meant that Twilight and her friends were ready to do something about this book. Someone capable had to keep it instead of either of them. And in the forest which was close to the gateway to Eindoak Town, the Pokemon World came to mind more than anything.
"Alright. Who's up for it?" Twilight asked.
"Why don't we give it to Ash?" Sunset Shimmer suggested. "No one's more capable than him, I know that much."
"Mhm-mhm." Rarity and the others fully agreed.
"I-i don't think we can do that." Twilight shook her head, holding the book close to her. "It would put Ash in danger. I don't want that."
"But whoever gets it will still be in-" Sunset spoke before pausing, realizing why she was so concerned about him. It went past just seeing him as a friend. "Ahh...Twilight. Nice catch." Sunset nudged her with wiggling eyebrows. "You found yourself the best one, I'd say."
"Quit it!" Twilight used her shoulders to nudge the laughing Sunset Shimmer aside. Twilight's face soon turned red afterwards. "Besides, I know that Ash can handle himself. I just don't want him to be flooded with problems that's he's already trying to solve across the world. T-That's all."
"Well, you didn't select Professor Oak either." Rarity replied. "And he's close to Ash's home either way so..."
"I know! How about we call him to find out who can keep it?" Pinkie Pie interjected with a suggestion. "Professor Oak might know someone. Someone as smart as him obviously."
"Great idea, Pinkie. We'll-" But just as Twilight and her friends agreed on that option, Zorua, Spike and next Twilight, picked up on something. Zorua and Spike for their creature instincts and Twilight for that staggering magic that is still lurking within her. She gasped before turning around.
"What is it, Twilight?" Sunset asked before also sensing it. Magic from her world was nearby. Very nearby. She gasped as Fluttershy and the others were lost on what their friends were feeling. But there was certainly something coming. Something threatening to them.
And it came straight for the Eindoak Town gateway. The bat-like demon from before had shown up to the Human World. It flew past the trees, cutting the leaves apart just by being near them. The creature's singular and never closing eye continued shift around as it ascended to the air while also moving further through the forest.
There, it had come to the vicinity of Twilight and her friends, ascending to the air and appearing above the trees. Twilight and Sunset were the first to spot it with their eyes shifting above. Soon, the rest of their friends did the same as they had seen this demon appear. And the demon certainly recognized them.
With its creepy eye moving down, not only did it spot Twilight, but it also saw the book. The book that contained some Yveltal information. Twilight had not taken it away nor had she hid it yet.
"W-What is that?! What kind of Pokemon is that?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"I don't think that's a Pokemon..." Twilight slowly shook her head. "It could be one of those demons from before..." By looking at the creature, it certainly had the same aura and slightly similar look to the deer demon from before.
Once the demon saw the book, it started to pass this information to the vampires. But it did not need to pass through the gateway to do so. The demon's eyes flashed red which were blinding to the eys, forcing Twilight's group to cover their eyes. The glowing red eye was not dangerous at all, but what it was doing was reaching the vampires. Mainly Opal.
Far from here as the demon flew faster than them, still within the limits of Equestria and not even close to the Pokemon World, Opal had received the message from the bat-like creature. The whereabouts of the book had been discovered. Just what they wanted to hear.
"Mm. So she was indecisive, as she? How adorable. We will show up there, but in the meantime, try and take the book as well, why don't you?" Opal ordered the dedmon to try and retrieve the book as the vampires would take some time to get there.
The bat-like creature would do just that. Once its red eye stopped glowing, from its circular body, mouth was starting to appear. It now gained a mouth to utilize with fangs that were barving viciously. A whip-like tail slides behind it, jagged bones protrude along its ridge. Thsi demon could do more than just spy and eavesdrop. It was a demon after all.
Zoura squeaked, heading inside of the bag. Sunset already knew that trouble had come. But little did she and her friends know, aside from Twilight, that this trouble was of archaic proportions as the journey continues.
Twilight and her friends had come across a shocking entity. Not a Pokemon. But a creature that came from Magehold right from the box of 100 Demons. This bat-like demon had appeared before then, having one objective. The book that contains some information about Yveltal.
From its round body with one always-open and staring eye which now had a vicious mouth with cruel fangs followed by a whip-like tail, the creature also started to seemingly grow in size.
"Wait...That thing's a demon?!" Rarity pointed at the round bat-like creature.
"That's exactly what I said! And it's here for this!" Twilight immediately backed away as she knew the book needed to be far away from here as possible. Running was obviously the first thing on her mind as she did just that.
And in response, the bat demon's always gazing eye started glowing red once more. But this time, it wasn't to communicate with the vampires. Instead, this glowing eye unleashed a crackling red ray that immediately tore through the trees and the leaves with utter destruction. The girls all started screaming, running from the incoming ray which threatened them as much as it did the environment.
And the right time too as it had obliterated some of the blades of grass in the process. It may be small, but it held destructive capabilities. Much like every other Pokemon. And speaking of Pokemon...
"You keep that book safe, Twilight!" Sunset Shimmer wouldn't just let this thing start attacking her friends, holding out a Poke Ball. "Go, Volcarona!"
"Volcarona!" The Sun Pokemon emerged to face this bat-like demon whilst Twilight was already out of here along with her friends helping out. However, the demon had something that could deal with massive crowds. Mainly from its body.
As if it was an inkblot, the demon sent out smaller parts of its already growing body, spilling them out. And once they were spilt out, they started forming into smaller variants of the creature, instantly multiplying, much like the deer creature that Twilight had encountered back at Kalos. The only difference was that they appeared in different colours. This looked like a familiar sight that resembled the attack of the Unown, but not to anyone living here, that's for sure.
Sunset Shimmer gasped as the trees were being consumed by these blots. These various colours masked the trees as they were already spreading like a disease. Anything to get to Twilight and the book.
"It can do it too!?" Twilight exclaimed as the blots had mainly tracked her down while the main one was being by Volcarona.
"Twilight...!" Sunset turned to see the blots focusing on her friends instead. She was stuck with this one. "Okay then. Volcarona, use Heat Wave!"
"Volca!" Volcarona confronted the demon, expelling a wave of smouldering flames towards it. The demon responded by unleashing a red ray. They cancelled each other out afterwards with Sunset Shimmer's hair blowing in the wind from the collision.
"Use Bug Buzz!"
"Vol!" Volcarona ascended, approaching the demon to unleash an up-close Bug Buzz. In response, the demon had morphed its body as it did indeed look like a creature made out of ink. And much like ink, the liquid substance could transform, shifting as it had evaded the incoming soundwave.
Right after doing so, it had used its whip-like tail, throwing it at Volcarona while using its ink-like body to extend it. Volcarona was struck by the tail while also being pushed back by it. Volcarona had then had her wings covered in ink, restraining her from making any further actions.
"Volcarona!" Sunset yelled before the tail had then changed directions instantly thanks to its liquid substance, going after Sunset Shimmer next. Her eyes almost popped out of her head before she had then ducked for cover. Just in time as the tail had struck one of the trees, almost knocking it down.
"V-Volcarona!" Volcarona had recovered, summoning flames around her body to evaporate the ink. She had then quickly flown to Sunset Shimmer's sie, noticing how the ink tail of the creature was splitting up once more, aiming to get her from behind. "Vol!"
To save her trainer, Volcarona had used Heat Wave once more, burning away at the whip tail that attempted to sneak up on Sunset. And with the tail too focused on her, the bat-like demon was caught off guard, having its tail evaporate. The demon cried out afterwards.
"Volca!" Volcarona's eyes flared as she had then started dancing around, whipping up flames around her body to boot. Once the flames started dancing with her, the Sun Pokemon directed herself towards the demon. The demon in response had used its wings, transforming them into massive claws.
The claws went to grab the approaching Bug-Fire-Type. Volcarona squinted her eyes, intensifying the flames to greater levels. Once the claws touched the flames, they were immediately burnt away. The bat-like let out a horrific screech as the fire had spread. And it only worsened once Volcarona unleashed the flames, causing them to consume the demon.
The flames were so intense that the trees that it had covered were being freed of their ink coating. The demon was greatly affected by this no doubt. Sunset and Volcarona clearly had the advantage here. To free itself from the pain, the demon had split up once more, this time taking a massive chunk of itself, leaving its other part to burn. Upon reforming into a new and bigger variation of itself, it burst out in a fit of rage. Volcarona was met with rains of black substances with the bat-like demon glowing red to signify its rage.
"Use Quiver Dance to dodge!"
"Vol! Vol!" Volcarona started dancing once more, raising her special attack, special defence and speed, which allowed her to swiftly evade the blots with better efficiency. However, the demon had then used some of the ink that it had covered the trees and grass with, controlling them to fly at Sunset. But this time, Sunset wouldn't let herself be caught off guard by the demon's tricks.
"Just as I thought! Bug Buzz! All around!"
"Volca!" Volcarona had used Bug Buzz once again. This time, with a radius effect as the soundwaves travelled everywhere The demon attempted morphing its body, only for it to start vibrating.
"Too bad! You can't avoid the radius of these soundwaves!" Sunset exclaimed as the ink had been blown away by Bug Buzz, even the ones that had approached her. "Now! Heat Wave!"
"Caro!" Volcarona's eyes flared red as she unleashed Heat Wave once more. The demon used its crackling ray once more to try and cancel the flames out. However, thanks to Quiver Dance, Heat Wave had been boosted. Boosted enough to burn through the ray. The demon was once again given a taste of furious flames that started spreading around it.
It let out that terrifying cry once more with the flames showing it no mercy. The demon ended up backing away once it had taken so much damage, fleeing from Sunset and Volcarona. Even it knew when it was beaten as it left without going anything else afterwards. Now, she could head for her friends with the main demon fleeing.
As for Twilight, she and her friends were still being chased down by the miniature versions of that same creature. Thankfully, at least two of them had Pokemon alongside them for protection as the creatures started covering the trees with their ink.
"Now's a good time to help! Luxio!" Twilight cried out as Spike had held out Luxio's Poke Ball. Twilight grabbed it from the bag, throwing it into the air as the Spark Pokemon had arrived.
"Luxio!"
"I need your help too! Staraptor!" Rainbow Dash quickly sent out her Pokemon into the fray as well. Her Staraptor.
"Staraptor!"
"Please! Use DIscharge!"
"Staraptor, Wing Attack!"
"Lu...Xio!" Luxio held his breath before releasing a flare of electricity. Alongside him, Staraptor had lightened its wings, ascending to face the multi-eyed creatures. The electricity managed to strike multiple of them thanks to its wide range and chain reaction capabilities, shocking all of them and keeping the demons in place.
As for Staraptor, with the demons struck via Luxio's Discharge, their attempt to morph their bodies to escape were pointless when it came to the crackling power that was electricity, which allowed for Staraptor to hit them while they were staggered. And hit them it did. By using its wings, Staraptor flew past many of the bat-like creatures. "Star!"
The demons immediately fell as they were far weaker than their original variant. However, despite them being weaker, they had a way around that. The remaining bat-like creatures came together, gathering in one spot. They used their ink-like bodies to merge as Rainbow Dash and everyone stood back once they began forming.
Sunset Shimmer, who was currently approaching her friends, had witnessed this formation as well. Completely paralyzed by this new creature which seemed to be bigger than the main one.
"Volcarona! Use Heat Wave quick!" Sunset Shimmer saw a chance to attack the demon while it was forming into a bigger variant with larger claws of multiple numbers already poking out.
"Volca!" Volcarona attacked immediately, however, this was where the demon had evolved. Upon forming all of its miniature versions into one larger version, the demon had utilized all of the other variation's eyes, resulting in an unsettling sight.
The bat-like demon was not only large enough to encompass an entire house, but now it had multiple eyes from the side. Rarity felt like passing out after seeing this creature while the others were just stunned. The Heat Wave had only been ignored as the demon morphed its body, creating a massive hole that allowed the wave to pass through.
"Holy moly..." Rainbow Dash, who was about to give out another command to Luxio, could only stand there absolutely flabbergasted by this demon. "Twilight! We need to get rid of the book right now!"
"Really?!" Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash.
"It's here for only that!" Applejack shouted. "You get rid of that and that demon's out of here!"
"But I promised to return it!" Twilight held the book close to her, seeing it as an important piece of history. "It-"
"It's for the best, Twilight! Just get rid of it!" Sunset exclaimed as all of her friends were in agreement of getting rid of the book. "Throw it here!"
"Okay...For my friends...Here goes!" Twilight threw it towards Sunset and Volcarona deciding to give up the book.
"Heat Wave!"
"Volcarona!" Volcarona was ready to end this book and burn up every page there is, riding this burden from the world via a wave of flames.
But the demon would not allow that. It had used its multiple claws, sending them out. These claws were certainly quick enough to intercept the book, however, the demon went a step above that. It sent one of its eyes towards its claw, causing it to appear in the most unusual place. After grabbing the book, the eye on the side of the claw had then unleashed the red crackling ray.
Heat Wave had been intercepted with the ray with the demon now showing the superior strength after this merger, broke through, smiting Volcarona. "V-Volca!" Volcarona had been hit, feeling the horrific fury of these crackling rays. It had launched the Sun Pokemon right into her Pokemon Trainer.
Sunset held out her arms to catch Volcarona, only to fall over once she crashed into her. As for the book, now that it was in the clutches of the demon, it could officially call this a mission complete. At least, that was the case, until Luxiohad lunged forward with his fangs baring.
"Luxio!" Luxio bit onto the book, making sure that it wouldn't go anywhere. But his body was certainly not heavy enough. That was where everyone else came into play as it started with Twilight holding onto Luxio's body, followed by Rainbow Dash and soon everyone else. "L-Lux!
"I got you, Luxio!" Twilight exclaimed as her friends worked together, putting their backs to retrieve the book. A team effort against a demon that merged multiple parts of itself.
"Grr...S-Staraptor! Attack it with Wing Attack with Agility!" Rainbow Dash commanded Staraptor, who was the only one currently exempt from the pull. It would act as the one to distract the demon.
"Star!" Along came Staraptor to try and stop the demon, only to then be grabbed by the other claws that were still available. Staraptor's rapid movements ended as quickly as they had started. "Star?!"
"Volcarona! Return!" Sunset recalled Volcarona, who was winded and gravely harmed by the ray. She would soon head over to help pull. And of course, save Staraptor via the assistance of her other Pokemon. "Braixen! Litleo! Go!"
"Braixen!"
"Litleo!"
"Quick! Use whatever you can!" Sunset didn't have enough time to shout out specific commands. All she needed was for her partners to use everything in their arsenal as she joined in with the group pull. The red glowing eyes from the demon started glowing with all of them targeting Twilight and everyone.
"Brai...Xen!" Braixen had used Fire Spin whilst Litleo went for Incinerate. They intercepted the incoming red rays from the demon, holding them back as they were just on the edge of touching Luxio and everyone else.
"It's no good!" Twilight closed her eyes, struggling to remove this book. Spike hopped out of her bag, helping out. But he could only do so much as a dog. The demon had also started spreading the ink around everyone's body, starting with their arms.
Twilight watched as her arms were being covered by ink along with everyone else. This demon had them beat out in raw numbers just from its ink substance. Braixen's stick had been taken during the spreading of the ink along with her arm. Aghast and perplexed, she tried pulling back, only to see it grab her along with Litleo, who tried burning away at it. Everyone else was having their bodies restrained and covered while the book was starting to slip. Luxio's head had been covered in ink and yet he still didn't let go.
"I should've just gotten rid of the book in the beginning!" Twilight closed her eyes, already feeling guilty while the ink was overpowering them all. "I'm sorry everyone!"
And in response to her emotions, the magic that she feared for so long as starting to show itself. The magic of Midnight Sparkle. Tied to her emotions, this ferocious magical entity was waiting to emerge once more.
Hisuian Zorua, who was cowering in fear from all of this, noticed the familiar aura showing itself once more. Despite being afraid, the one thing Zorua hated more was seeing Twilight emerge as Midnight Sparkle again. Even though Midnight Sparkle's magic was beginning to affect the ink, holding it back, if she were to show up again, then arguably, they'd have a worse demon on their hands.
A She-Demon.
"Twilight!" Not wanting that to happen, Zorua went for the Poke Ball next to her. She used her nose to toss it out of the bag, summoning the Pokemon within.
And the one that emerged was Alpha Rapidash.
"RAPIDASH!" Upon emerging, the sheer power of the Alpha Fire Horse Pokemon had been displayed. Her flames that were always burning intensified as they packed greater power than all of Sunset's Pokemon. Rapidash neighed, causing the intense flames to burst out,
Just a single touch and they spread like wildfire. The ink had not been evaporated, but rather, absolutely obliterated. Rapidash's flames showed no remorse against these demonic substances. The demon felt it. All of its eyes widened with the ink that had covered Twilight and her friends being weakened. Not only that, but within the presence of Rapiash's flames, they had evaporated immediately.
The demon was nothing before the power of an Alpha. With one final horrific cry, the demon was fully consumed by the flames, attempting to split off once more. However, Rapidash's flames were so cataclysmic that the demon simply could not split off into another variant of itself.
Twilight watched in amazement as Rapidash's flames reigned supreme over everything here. Well, perhaps Midnight Sparkle would've been a good contender, but thanks to Zorua, that was avoided. Without an attack being needed to put an end to things. The demon had been defeated.
But even with its defeat, its multiple eyes remained. Those were the only parts of it the demon managed to remain. Now, with the black round body being burnt up by Rapidash's fire, there were just an array of eyes floating in the air, twitching.
"Eugh!" Twilight and everyone grimaced at this uncomfortable sight. Everything about this creature certainly made it deserving of a demon species. It still did not give up, trying to attack with its red eyes. But the flames were burning the irises, throwing off their focus. Unable to continue, the eyes had fled. It was finally over.
"Hah..." Twilight sat down as that disaster had been avoided. "It's over. Thank you, Rapidash."
"..." Rapidash preferred not to have Twilight's thanks. She merely turned her head, wanting to return to her Poke Ball right now. Twilight sighed, wishing Rapidash could properly respond.
"That was close. Those vampires sent that on you?" Fluttershy said.
"They'd do anything for this book, just to find Yveltal." Twilight gazed at the book. "Even if it means unleashing demons on us. It's nothing but trouble. I guess we do have to get rid of it."
"Music to our ears." Sunset Shimmer felt perplexed, holding her face. "Litleo. Inferno, please."
"Litleo!" Litleo would do the honours of ridding this book as that was the only option they could take right now. Twilight placed the book down, allowing Litleo to unleash an inferno on it. The group watched as the book had been consumed by the flames. That burden would now be burnt away.
Twilight took her glasses off as this demon attack was far worse than the previous one by far. The book and its pages were now lost to the flames. Parts of Kalos History. Gone. But for the better.
"That's that..." Twilight lowered her head with Spike and Zorua climbing up to her.
"But that demon still got away..." Sunset uttered, knowing that the demon fled. "Should we go after it?"
"I'd rather we not." Rarity slumped on a tree. "The book is gone so it has no purpose now. Let's just go home please." Everyone was ready to call it a day. The book was destroyed and the demon had nothing else to shoot for. That was a wrap.
Except for one other obstacle. The vampires themselves.
They were not too far away from here. In fact, they were already in the Human World. They had previously passed through it during their search for Yveltal, already aware of one portal that led to this world. When entering this world, they did gain human appearances, however, thanks to the Shift Stone, they were able to retain their original forms, much to their pleasure. Being human-shaped just wasn't their thing.
Opal Vivacity, along with the other vampires, were near the big city, waiting for the demon to accomplish its job. Obviously, that never happened as the demon flew over to them, appearing to the vampires as nothing but a pile of eyes.
"Oh? Judging by that, you lost." Opal observed.
"It lost? Bummer." Spectrum Shade shook her head. "But at least it saw the book right?"
"Hmm..." Opal looked at the demon as it used its glowing red eyes to communicate. Once the flames simmered down, it could properly focus. "I see. It did see the book. That Twilight girl does have it. However, she and her friends have agreed to destroy the book."
"Destroy the book?!" The vampires all cried out.
"And just when we learned where it was." Sweet Fang shook her head "What a shame..."
"Indeed. But you are a lesser demon. It was not a full guarantee that you would succeed" Opal held out the box of 100 Demons."You did tell us valuable information, however, so that much is acceptable. But your use has expired. Goodbye." By opening the box, Opal had returned the bat-like demon to where it had been summoned from it.
With an eerie howl, the demon had been pulled back inside with the force of a typhoon. All of its eyes dropped into this seemingly endless box that was not that big enough to hold a demon. Let alone 100 of them. But, that was magic. Size is one of the many things it can play around with.
"Great." Spectrum facehoofed. "The book's probably been destroyed by now. We're gonna have to find a new way to reach Yveltal's cocoon now."
"I'm not so sure. We still have our chance." Opal smirked. "It is staring us in the face..." The box of 100 Demons was the answer once more.
"Ooh!" Sweet Fang slid over. "How about I do it this time? Let me select the demon, please?"
"Ah. Sure." Opa kindly held the box out to her. "We will go with the next demon we choose and confront these girls. Our hope of gaining information about Yveltal has not faded yet."
"Got that right." Sweet Fang giggled as she looked inside the box. "Burnt book or not...this demon's gonna be the answer to getting that information back to how it was."
There was another demon ready to be summoned. With 100 of them, each demon served a specific purpose. They all had one thing in common. Destruction. But aside from that, there were various traits about them. And the next one that emerged was another that the vampires needed more than ever right now. And alongside this incoming demon, they would go with it. The book had been destroyed. But to the vampires, that can change.
Just like Ash promised, he would treat Mellifera and also Chrysalis to a meal from his mother. Slowpoke Tail. A personal favourite. Mellifera was hating this day and the only thing keeping it from being absolutely terrible was the love she had absorbed from the Faye Mountains.
"So nice of you to drop by and have a meal with us," Delia said. "I believe this is the first time we've met in person and changeling, Queen Chrysalis."
"Oh. You're right. It is." Chrysalis said, poking the Slowpoke Tail. "Apologies or my mother. She's not exactly the cheeriest changeling around. Or cheeriest individual ever."
"I just despise being here. Around other species..." Mellifera shuddered. "Why did I make such a rule?"
"You should be grateful." Suddenly, Sombra, of all ponies, replied to Mellifera with something to say about that. "The food here is immaculate. Enough to make you reconsider being present here."
"Tch. I find it hard to believe that those words would come out of the mouth of an Umbrum."
"Mmm?!" Sombra almost choked on his food. "You know I'm an Umbrum?!"
"I'm older than all of you in this room. Of course I do." Mellifera smirked. "I have small connections with the Umbrum. Not a lot but it exists. And never would I think that you would act like...this."
"As if I like it." Sombra scoffed. "Living in this house and using a guest room..." He twitched after mentioning it. To him, it was degrading for him to stay in a guest room. The former ruler of the Crystal Empire. "How embarrassing."
"Oh, don't lie, Sombra." Delia wagged her finger. "I saw you enjoying the bed and the breeze that it brings through the window. That guest room was made to make anyone who enters it feel right at home."
"I did not enjoy it." Sombra denied it, turning his head away. "I am only staying here simply because I have limitations of where I can go. If I even move 240 miles away from this brat, I will instantly return. I am stuck to him."
"It's kinda like house arrest, ya know," said Ash.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Bahahahaha!" Mellifera laughed at Sombra's current status, causing her to burst out in a way she hasn't for so long. Mellifera wheezed, banging her hoof on the table while Sombra looked at her with a poker face, accompanied by a tiny eye twitch. "That's too rich! Aaha!"
"Hoh? You're one to talk. At least I have something." Sombra instantly gave his rebuttal, causing Mellifera to freeze.
"...Fair play." Mellifera could respect Sombra's retort. It hit just as hard as what she said to him. "Anyway, I wish to leave as soon as possible. Or right now."
"Come on. Don't you wanna see more?" Ash asked with Anthophilia climbing onto his back. "This food is something to go crazy for."
"Tch. It can't be that good..." Mellifera doubted Ash to a colossal degree. "There is no better way to satiate hunger than love. This house is already brimming with it so that is the only compliment I can give."
"Mother. You will find that the food produced in the Pokemon World is unlike anything you have ever seen. Try it."
"Hmph. The rule of you bringing me here may still be in effect due to us being at the hive, but this house exempts the most recent changeling rule. So, I refuse to eat it."
"You could always try Ribombee's Pollen Puff. But you already sai your piece on that." Chrysalis said as Ribombee was eating good alongside Pikachu and Mr Mime.
"Well then..." Delia walked up to Mellifera, standing over her with her shadow reigning supreme. "You're in my house. And I order you to eat up. You don't want to miss out on this."
"..." Mellifer had been stumped there. Delia essentially enacted the same rule of the changelings right in her own house. And surprisingly, Mellifera went with it. "Very well."
"Seriously?!" Ash gasped.
"We changelings are many things. But we do not go back on orders." Mellifera explained before then finally deciding to try the Slowpoke Tail. Her magic ripped a piece of it off as her attention shifted to Chrysalis and then to Ash. Both of them nodded their heads, encouraging her.
Mellifera immediately decided that she would hate it, taking the first bite. However, upon taking that first bite, her view on it had been realised. As if she had entered another plane of existence, everything around her seemed out of control and otherworldly with her eyes expanding.
The feeling racing through her mouth was staggering. It was as if she had been hit by a meteor. A meteor that was soft and welcoming. The hype around the Slowpoke Tail id not disappoint. Something had rivalled her satiation for love.
"This...This...This is...!"
"Amazing?" Chrysalis finished her sentence for her.
"YES!" Immediately, Mellifera started ravaging the plate of Slowpoke Tail, bringing it up to her face and going wild. She looked like a wild beast with the way she was devouring the food, startling everyone. It was safe to say that she loved it.
Ash laughed as it reminded him of when he was young. Granted, Ash does eat like a maniac even in the present day, but at least he toned it down. Back then, any food put in front of him was absolutely slaughtered.
"Mm-" Mellifera noticed how everyone was looking at her. She then cleared her throat, placing the plate down before using her magic to clean herself. "You craft a splendid meal."
"Thank you." Delia chuckled. "It's not wrong to be honest. If you enjoyed it, then you should let us know."
"So, mother. How about being honest with me?" Chrysalis immediately questioned her mother after her elation with the meal in front of her and Delia's words.
"I have nothing to say. Nothing of weight anyway." Mellifera replied, continuing to eat bits of the tail. "
"Well...at least this is a start. Back at the hive, I saw it in your eyes."
"What exactly?" She asked whilst chewing on her food.
"When you saw the healing cocoon I made, I could see the shift in your expression. How long has it been since you have been impressed with me or even respected my magical potential?"
"You knew? How?!" Mellifera backed away. "Is that another one of the abilities you've unlocked?"
"A bit. I can mainly sense good emotions now thanks to what I've learned. But why not admit you were proud of me in that instance?"
"It was just for a moment." Mellifera crossed her hooves. "You haven't made me proud for centuries. And only one bit of it amounts to nothing."
"Figured so." Chrysalis hated to hear that. But she certainly didn't have the strength to get into another argument with her mother. Especially not with the words said back in Equestria. "But if there was still a chance to make you proud, would you take it? You always taught me that a chance can be made at all times. Well...what about with me? Can you believe that I can do so?"
"Hah..." Mellifera slumped on the seat. "Even at an older age, you still have the tendency to use my own words against me as if you're clever."
"Mmmrgh..." Chrysalis grumbled as once again, Mellifera gave a response that she wasn't hoping for.
"But...I will say this. At least you have one thing over me aside from magic potential." Mellifera turned her head away from her daughter. "You have hope. Something I wish I had during my time."
"But I came back to you. And even after what happened all those years ago, I couldn't leave you to perish at the old hive with the others. I still have hope for you. It's why I brought you along."
"I know. And that's what I hate." Mellifera felt like breaking something, clenching her hoof. "I never wished to be weak to reach the point where I am at. Only those mountains have refreshed what I struggled to obtain. The fact that you had to be the one to break me free of my eventual demise makes me hate my own weakness."
"Oh, mother."
"But...I am grateful for this. For you saving me." Deciding to be honest, Mellifera faced Chrysalis. "You chose to do so despite what I had done."
"You're my mother. Of course I would." Chrysalis had her morals straight. Family was far too important to her especially with what she had witnessed that led her down this path. "But, I had help remember?" Chrysalis turned to Ash and Pikachu.
"Mhm." Ash and Pikachu nodded in unison.
"Pikachu."
"I think I'm going to be sick still..." Mellifera groaned. "But, you all are, slightly tolerable. Somehow, the same goes for you, shadow pony."
"Hmph," Sombra grumbled in response before smirking. He thoroughly enjoyed Mellifera's attitude.
"I suppose I should leave you with something. Something of truth." Mellifera stood up, deciding to give out one last piece of honesty as she faced Ash. "Ash Ketchum. I was using you. And my daughter for a brief moment."
"Huh?" Ash's jerked back a bit.
"The question about Yveltal...That was for the vampires. I was ordered by them to try and help you find the book containing information about that Pokemon. That involved you Chrysalis."
"Me as well?!"
"They were most likely listening in. Vampires tend to do that when they are always in secrecy. I know the vampires of Magehlod well. They will be in pursuit without a second means of hesitation. They have the speed to do so as well with that Human World not even being an exception. The Dread League know how to get around. That Yveltal Pokemon is something they would do anything for. Especially since it can apparently cause destruction to others, ending their lives. Just the Pokemon they need for their conquest of the world. All will be reborn as skeleton slaves for Rosa Maledicta once that Pokemon ends all life."
"So that means..." Realization for Ash kicked in. "I let it all out. I put Twilight and everyone in danger because of that."
"Oh, Ash. It's not your fault." Delia walked over, placing his hand on his back.
"But I still revealed it. I gotta get to the Human World stat!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder, already set to go. This was business involving his friend and Yveltal. It was too dire not to wait around for.
"I will come with you." Just then, Chrysalis offered to join Ash, hopping off her seat.
"You too, Chrysalis?"
"Those vampires think they can use my mother? Especially for a Pokemon that caused destruction to others? I think not." Chrysalis already made up her mind. "I've lost some changelings already. Much like with the hive before I made my own." Chrysalis thought back to when Ghetsis had destroyed her old hive, laying waste to it. This was Mellifea's first time even learning about this destruction. "I can't allow something like that to happen again. Especially on a global scale.
"Hm. That's what I like to hear." Ash smirked. "Mom! We're heading out!"
"You make sure your friends are safe, okay?" Delia winked. "Tell Twilight I said Hi!"
"Got it!" Ash tightened his gloves as Sombra had already finished cleaning himself off. The former ruler of the Crystal Empire was already forming into his shadowy avatar as it was another journey with Ash on the way. "I hope we're not too late."
One of the 100 Demons from the box had been summoned. This time by Sweet Fang's personal choice. Out of the box, another demon had been unleashed with the vampires standing back, watching the lights flair.
A bawl in the atmosphere, a whisper of wind, and suddenly, a frightening organism of terror and smoke had emerged. Two ravenous eyes stared with a hollow dread as another bawl escaped from its mouth. A lush head of hair adorns its chunky head, which itself is glowing faintly in the dark. Four legs easily carried its diabolical body as it resembled a mixture of a spider and a centaur.
"A splendid choice, Sweet Fang." Opal chuckled. "This demon will dive into the memories of that girl. All it has to do is find the design of the book. Once found, all we need to do is look for a copy of the book. That way, we shall know which one to grab."
"Oh, really?" Spectrum scratched her mane. "It just has to look at the book cover? Nice. Makes things way easier."
"Not exactly." Opal thought otherwise. "They managed to fend off one of the demons and succeeded in their mission. These humans are not as weak as we thought. At least, the humans in this world. But we will be assisting this demon with our newly gained Pokemon."
"It's getting late too." Sweet Fang looked at the sky, noticing the afternoon sun emanating its orange glow. "Once it's nightfall, we'll be sitting pretty."
"Sitting glamorously, Sweet Fang. Nightfall is where we and demons shine the most." Opal's soft smile soon turned into a sinister one. She and every other vampire knew that to them, there was no better time than nighttime. Not just because it was easy to live in, but because of the benefits.
The late afternoon had come and soon nightfall would too. The vampires set off with this Four-legged Smoke Demon coming along with them. Even with the book destroyed, Twilight was still a target.
Out in the forest.
After having a dire struggle against one of the 100 Demons, Twilight and her friends were ready to head home. The book had been destroyed, eliminating all chances of the vampires receiving information about Yveltal. Everything from the book was burnt up thanks to Litleo's Inferno.
Right now, Twilight's Xtransceiver was ringing. It was from Ash. Answering it, Ash's face came into view as he was currently making his way to the Unova Region.
"Twilight. Are you okay? Is everyone okay?" Ash asked.
"Hey, Ash. You caught us at the best time after the worst time." Twilight chuckled, sitting on a log with all of her friends gathering to see him. "We went through something. One of those 100 Demons showed up again. I think the vampires are here. But we managed to make it."
"It got close though." Sunset leaned in. "Those things are just terrifying. And there's a 100 of them in total?"
"It's great that you managed to make it. Did you keep the book safe by the way?"
"We destroyed it." Rarity revealed. "It was too much of a burden so it's nothing but ashes, Ash."
"Totally for the best. I suggested we do it first ya know." Rainbow Dash intervened. "With no book to grab, they can't learn about that Y-Yva-" Rainbow Dash scrunched her face, trying to pronounce Yveltal's name. "Whatever it's called."
"But since those vampires are still around and that one demon managed to get away, I just have a bad feeling of what's about to come next." Sunset Shimmer shuddered.
"Those vampires won't come for us though. Right?" Fluttershy asked. "The book's gone after all."
"Foolish young girls. Don't get so complacent." Chrysalis, who was alongside Ash, approaching the Unova region, chimed in.
"What is that?!" Twilight and her friends pulled back upon seeing Chrysalis for the first time. Sunset Shimmer was the exemption. A changeling was seen before their very eyes. "It's actually beautiful!" Immediately, they saw the beauty in Chrysalis' Purity Form.
"You truly do resemble your Equestrian counterparts. Somewhat uncanny..." Chrysalis observed. "But as I was saying, my mother already told me about the vampires. They shall not stop until their goal is achieved. And those demons that they have at their disposal are certainly extensions to that."
"But we stopped it," said Twilight. "The demon flew away after losing."
"Foolish child." Just then, joining them on this escapade and throwing them off even more than Chrysalis was her mother, Mellifera.
"AAAAAH!" All of them screamed. Including Sunset Shimmer. Her face caught them off guard, scaring them as opposed to Chrysalis.
"Oh, please. The demon was probably scarier." Mellifera groaned. "As I was saying...with the Box of 100 Demons, they have their ways. Especially one demon that could involve you. Tell me, girl. Did you open the book?"
"I did. Why's that?" Twilight asked. "Is it bad?"
"No matter what...they have something in that box for you. The name of that chest is known as 'The Box of the 100 Demons.'"
"A chest that holds demons that originated from Tartarus itself. Some even from the darkest depths of it. 100 of them were locked up long ago due to how the horrors that they could display and unleash upon the world. Even I can't help but fear some of those horrific monstrosities inside of it. Each demon in there can do many things. One of which will potentially be used on you. A demon that can read your mind."
"My mind?!"
"That is merely an understatement that I made." Mellifera shook her head. "It will dive into your memories and perfectly capture what you had witnessed in the past. "I hope for your sake, you didn't read about that Yveltal Pokemon."
"I did..." Twilight sighed. "I might've screwed up there..."
"It's okay, Twilight. I screwed up too." Ash replied. "But we're not gonna let it knock us around. If they're gonna bring a demon for your mind, then you just have to make sure that doesn't happen."
"He's right. We can still leave before they find us." Rarity uttered. "Although, I'm starting to believe that even heading home won't be the safest place to be. Especially with how late it's getting.
"Hm. To think, I could've chimed in and avoided this." Sombra showed his shadowy avatar, revealing himself to Twilight and the others for the first time. "But this is all the more amusing."
"Wait...Sombra, you knew?!" Ash turned to Sombra.
"Of course I did. I've performed this trick before." Sombra chuckle.
"Then why didn't you tell me?" Ash grumbled. Sombra simply smirked, knowing what he had done before then returning back into Ash, laughing afterwards. Ash wasn't too surprised as Sombra would do this and probably at another instance if given the chance. "Just hold on! We'll be right there!" Ash sped up, immediately hanging up the call.
"Ash!" Twilight tried speaking to him once more but he was already gone. "Why does he rush a lot?" Oh well...Let's get back home."
"Aren't you scared that the vampires might come after you?" Pinkie asked, sliding over to Twilight.
"Yeah. Maybe we should come with you, Twilight. Just in case." Applejack suggested that all of them shouldn't head to their respective homes. Protection for Twilight was her first priority with all of her friends being in the same place.
"I am scared. Terrified even." Twilight's arms felt chilly. Even her voice was starting to tremble. How could she not be afraid of this? "And that would be nice of you girls to do that. It could be a sleepover but...not as pleasant."
"That's why we'll be there." To reassure Twilight, Sunset gave her word that they would all be beside. Twilight looked at her friends. Human, Pokemon and dog respectively. Her fears were still present and their response to the terrifying force known as Midnight Sparkle still lurked within. But there was some ease to it.
Knowing that Ash would arrive and that Sunset and everyone else would be there for her weakened her fears. "Thanks, everyone. But maybe we shouldn't go to my home. They'll come for me there first. I think we should go somewhere else."
"Somewhere else? Hmmm..." Sunset Shimmer thought about it for a moment. She lived in an apartment, much like her counterpart in this world. By looking at her friends, it was hard to say if they could all fit in.
"Heh." But then, Applejack found a big enough place with her eyes flaring. "I got someplace big..."
Unova. Eindoak Town. Late Afternoon.
They had arrived at Eindoak Town, where the gateway to the Human World awaits. It was a 2 hour trip to Eindoak thanks to Dragonite's aerial speed. Taking a plane or a boat was just asking for a delay.
The people and Pokemon of Eindoak were used to seeing Ash show up here fairly frequently. Especially Carlita. Carlita was currently inside her home, opening the window to soon notice Ash's presence at this time. Carlita, for years, never expected to see Ash for a while. If ever again. But ever since the Sea Temple event plus the existence of this gateway, he was becoming a common face.
"So, I pass through and my appearance will become that of a human..." Chrysalis already knew of the effect that would occur on her. A human is what she would appear like the moment she enters.
"Yeah. But getting to Twilight and everyone matters more right now," said Ash as he already advanced alongside Pikachu.
"Mother. Aren't you coming?" Chrysalis noticed that Mellifera stood away from them. In fact, she stood at a corner of one of the buildings, avoiding the humans and Pokemon whilst in the shadows.
"No. I'd rather not. Especially if it means becoming a human." Mellifera refused, shuddering at her potential human form. All too vile for her. "Go. I have already given you my warning. The vampires could also know of my betrayal to them."
"I see. Well..." Chrysalis held her breath before exhaling. "Thank for you helping us, mother. As Changeling Queen, I allow you to leave freely." With that, Chrysalis could send her mother off. She was grateful for what she had done. This was the first time Mellifera had ever done something like this for Chrysalis in so long.
They passed through the gateway, entering another world. Mellifera could leave. These were the last words she gave her daughter without her even being there to hear them.
"Never before have I wished you luck, mainly due to the potential that you carry, my little larva. But good luck." Mellifera spoke before then departing. However, that was promptly postponed once she turned around, bumping into the chest of none other than Carlita. "Gah!"
"Hey there." Carlita winked, startling the old changeling. "Whoops. Sorry about that."
"You insolent brat!" Mellifera almost fell on her back with her horn glowing. "Catching me off guard at such an old age?!"
"My bad!" Carlita continued her apology, putting her hands together. "I just saw you talking with Ash and..."
"Hmph." Mellifera lowered her magic, not having the strength or patience to try anything on Carlita. "It is none of your business. That is all I'll say to you."
"Are you sure? They went through that gateway for something. Especially that one pony that was pretty bright to look at."
"Her name is Chrysalis. A changeling. Not a pony. And she is my daughter. I'd rather you not try and bother her. My daughter is on a crucial mission."
"If Ash is on a mission, then I gotta chime in!" Carlita was ready to rush over to the gateway, already choosing to enter the Human World without a second thought.
"Did you not hear me?!" Mellifera held her back. "You aren't trying to disrupt my daughter, are you? Her mission against the vampires is nothing that a young girl such as yourself should start bolting off to, especially when she needs all of the focus that she can get."
"Vampires?" Carlita squinted. "Ah, that's it?"
"Do you not hear yourself? Are you not aware of the terrifying force known as the vampire?"
"Oh, I am." Carlita shrugged. "Dragons are way scarier though. I'm Ash's friend so I'm pretty sure I'm eligible to chime in. You're his friend too, aren't you?"
"Absolutely not." Mellifera grizzled her teeth. "But...since you are his friend and you show no fear of the vampires, who am I to stop you? Everyone in this world is seemingly reckless so far."
"Sweet! I'll tell your daughter I met you." Carlita chuckled before being dropped by Mellifera. Mellifera saw no point in trying to restrain Carlita. She simply shook her head, realizing that she was starting to get into the matters of humans. Something she certainly did not enjoy.
"I need a rest," Mellifera called it a day, heading home. As for Carlita, being the adventurous spirit that she was, was heading slightly far from home. A part of her did wish that she could go along. But the fear of the Dread Leauge was present. And certainly powerful enough to say otherwise.
The Human World. Canterlot Town. Sweet Apple Acres. Late Afternoon.
Everyone stayed over at Applejack's home, specifically in the barn. This would be the place for them to stay for a bit until they could get past their vampire problem. Which could be soon. The lights within the house of the Apples had been turned off. Curtains had been draped with windows being closed.
Apple Bloom, Big Mac and Granny Smith were the ones to do so whilst Applejack locked the barn. She backed away from the door before taking her hat off. "We'll be safe here. I hope. And if things get wild, we can use the secret exit."
"Secret exit?" Pinkie Pie repeated.
"Right in the corner of those hay bales. Straight to the basement. Apple Bloom made that." Applejack showed them this secret exit, although, it was being blocked off by the hay and some cows too.
"This place looks unsuspecting. I'll wager that it'll keep us safe. Not sure how long though." Sunset Shimmer sat down, wondering how long it would take. Perhaps throughout the entire night or even until tomorrow comes. She was hoping for it to be fairly soon.
"That creepy lady creature on the Xtransceiver said those vampires are relentless. They'll keep at it for...I don't know how long. But I bet they won't be doing much when they meet my Pokemon. But Staraptor's still hurt. Pangoro's fine though."
"Let's uh...not engage with them." Sunset slid over. "If we keep quiet and don't do anything, we'll be safe. The book's been destroyed and they've probably known about that right now. We just wait until they leave and make ourselves secretive."
"And if they don't then you know what's up..." Rainbow Dash wiggled her eyebrows, holding up Pangoro's Poke Ball.
"My house is first." Twilight huddled up. "You don't think they'll trash it when they get there? Will they?"
"It's okay, Twilight." Showing comfort, Fluttershy placed her hand on Twilight's back. Spike and Hisuian Zorua hopped out of her bag to be held by their trainer. "If they do, we'll fix it for you."
"Besides, you've got a way to deal with those vampires, don't ya?" Applejack nudged her.
"Oh, right. I do!" Twilight gasped as Applejack's words kicked her mind into high gear. "My Luxio! His Electric-Type attacks have enough light to affect the vampires. The previous vampires couldn't do much when Luxio gave off light."
"Then that's what we can use. If they do find us, then it won't just be Luxio that'll stop them and send them running." Sunset then dug into her jacket pocket, holding out three Poke Balls. "It'll be my Pokemon too. I doubt they've got much of an answer to fire."
"And my Rapidash too. She won't listen to me, but if I send her out, her always active flames might do the trick. They're always moving." Twilight smiled, holding out Rapidash's Poke Ball. "So, if they come..."
"We have all the light we need." Sunset finished her sentence.
"I'll let Granny and the others know to let 'em have all the light if they show up here." Applejack got up to leave the barn for a bit. Indeed. The vampires had a common weakness that anyone could use. Luxio's electricity and the light he gives off were already superb at staving them off. Fire-Types were presumably just as good. But for now, all they had to do was wait as the sun was setting.
Out in the forest. Late Afternoon.
Elsewhere, upon entering the Human World, Ash and Chrysalis searched for Twilight and her friends. Chrysalis' appearance allowed her to remain tall. This time, she was taller than Ash instead of him being one inch taller. As for her outfit, Chrysalis could not get used to the suit she was wearing. She looked like she was going to work at an office with what she was given upon entering it.
"Is this what some humans have to wear? It's an annoyance on my neck!" Chrysalis tugged on the collar of the suit along with the tie, hating it already. Anthophilia appeared as a baby as expected, resting inside of Ash's bag this time with her head poking out.
"Yeah, ties can be pretty tough." Ash chuckled. "But you can change it, right?"
"Oh. I suppose I can." Chrysalis could still feel her magic active in this world. Knowing this, she had used it to transform the tie. It had now become a necklace. A better fit for her. "Much better."
"Hold on." Ash came to a screeching halt along with Pikachu. Chrysalis and Ribombee soon halted the moment those two did first. Everything stayed silent. Ash and Pikachu could feel something. So could Chrysalis. In fact, she sensed it more so than Ash and Pikachu.
Anthophilia started squirming as an uneasy sensation was passing through the atmosphere. Chrysalis' magic reacted to this horrible feeling with her eyes glowing. Ash and she drew two conclusions to mind. Vampires or one of the 100 Demons.
A demon was the answer as that virulent feeling came from one of them. The spider-centaur-like demon with a smoke body was nearby. It moved through the trees, contaminating them with its smoke while also heading for one only destination. Civilization.
"I can sense it, Ash," Chrysalis said as Anthophilia was starting to cry. Her magic didn't take kindly to this horrible feeling. "So can Anthophilia. That way!"
"Got it! We'll intercept it before it can-" However, the moment that Ash was ready to bolt off, the inevitable blockade had arrived.
"Gotcha!" Startling Ash and emerging from the dim shadows crafted by the effects of the afternoon sun was Spectrum Shade. She was the first to appear. And she appeared with flair as she zoomed through the air, leaving behind a trail of colours representing her mane.
Her fangs revealed themselves to Ash with her wings spreading out. Her eyes also gained a vibrant glow upon her arrival. It wasn't just her. She and other vampires had arrived.
Surrounding, Ash, Chrysalis, Pikachu, Ribombee and Anthophilia, it did not take long for the vampires to find them. Ash was already known for stopping some of the vampires before and Chrysalis was only known due to her relation to Mellifera.
"They knew we were coming?" said Ash.
"Vampires have enhanced senses. That includes scent and hearing. Either one of the two helped in them finding us." Chrysalis explained.
"Sure did." Spectrum nodded in response. "Opal left us to you while she and the others handle things. We know why you're here. Heard about what happened?"
"The book has been destroyed. Your biggest lead on Yveltal is no more." Chrysalis answered. "But...that won't stop you."
"You're right about that. We've got a demon to sort that problem out. But that's beside the point. You!" Spectrum then vigorously aimed her hoof at Ash as all the vampires revealed their Poke Balls. All of them had summoned them via magic or were already carrying them. "Ash Ketchum. Big-name back in our world. Even the Lich Queen knows about that and we're all so secret too."
"Gee thanks." Ash took that as a compliment.
"Shaping up to be a legendary hero. Well, maybe not for long. Because when I think about it, I'll be a Legendary Vampire if I beat you. Just imagine that!" Spectrum chuckled, picturing herself as a legend for being the famous Ash Ketchum, revered across Equestria and the world.
"Sounds interesting." Ash grinned. "You wanna reach that status, then you just have to beat me."
"I like your attitude." Spectrum grinned back.
"We shouldn't waste time with them, Ash." Chrysalis leaned in. "That demon mother spoke of could be on the move right now. Leave them to me."
"To you, Chrysalis?" Ash gasped.
"Pika?"
"For using my mother to use me, I'll put an end to this grudge before it can worsen." Chrysalis faced the vampires with a menacing grin that was akin to her old form before she became pure. "Besides...they chose to stay in these forms. They're too cute to be a threat to me."
"What did you say?! Cute?!" The vampires collectively bellowed after being called cute.
"Well, you got it, Chrysalis." Ash had full faith in her, grabbing his bag while Anthophilia was still inside. The vampires were ready to unleash their Pokemon, only to be postponed by both Pikachu and Chrysalis.
"Pikachu!" While running, Pikachu emanated the electricity from his body, causing light to emerge. Perfect against the vampires. But Chrysalis went above that. The brightness of her Purity Form was not just for appeal. With her hands out, she snapped her fingers, causing a powerful flash of light from her magic to erupt.
This shined brighter than Pikachu's electricity, worsening things for the vampires. All except for Spectrum. Much like how she was seen showing up at swift speeds, she managed to fly away at great speeds. Not only that, but she had used her colours which appeared to be darker shades of the rainbow. These dimmer rainbow colours had been used to mask her as she took cover from the light. The rest of her fellow vampires weren't so lucky as Spectrum saw Ash bolt away.
The speedy vampire squinted her eyes as the light from Chrysalis had ended, giving Ash and Pikachu enough time to leave the area. The vampires would all have to be occupied with Chrysalis and Ribombee, denied the opportunity to go after Ash. All except for Spectrum, who was in pursuit. The vampires sent out their Poke Balls, facing off against Chrysalis.
It didn't take long for Ash to see that Spectrum was after him. He looked up, spotting the vampire zooming through the air and soon soaring downwards. "Yikes, she's fast! Pikachu, Electroweb!"
"Pikachu-Pi!" Pikachu hopped over Ash, summing an orb of electricity on his tail. The orb was thrown before then transforming into a web. However, Spectrum had a response to this. Instead of flying to the side, she chose to be flashy and stylish. The vampire did so by turning herself into a bat.
With a smaller body, Spectrum Shade managed to pass through the net and its open holes, performing a stylish spin in the process. After passing through one of the holes in Electroweb, the vampire pony reverted to her pony form in a flash. Or rather, a coating of dim rainbows as that was her motif.
Spectrum then landed in front of Ash and Pikachu, sliding to the ground. She flipped her mane afterwards, loving to put on a show. Albeit small. "How did you like that?"
"Not bad." Ash couldn't help but compliment her. That was indeed stylish.
"Thanks. But anyway! Let's see if this Pokemon can be just as flashy as yours truly! Here goes!" Summoning the Poke Ball out of thin air, Spectrum finally used her Pokemon. For the first time as well. Emerging out of the ball was none other than a Machoke.
"Machoke!"
"So, you've got a Pokemon of your own? Does every vampire have one?" Ash asked with Pikachu staring Machoke in the eyes.
"Yeah, but it's all so new. We just got them yesterday. Thanks to Opal's amazing way of charming others, these Pokemon were caught without too much trouble." Spectrum explained. "Only had an hour to get to know what this Machoke can do. And I'm gonna use it to the fullest. Machoke! Crush them both with Dynamic Punch!"
"Machoke!" Machoke approached with a glowing first, making the first move.
"Wish I could enjoy this, but I've got friends to reach! Pikachu, let's make this quick with Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu lunged into the air, already being above Machoke. Machoke looked up as 100,000 volts had been unleashed. Responding to that was a swing of Machoke's fist as the two attacks had collided, properly initiating this Pokemon Battle.
Canterlot Town. Late Afternoon.
Searching for Twilight, Opal Vivacity, Sweet Fang and a few more vampires had arrived at Canterlot. Of course, they stayed hidden as always, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Along with the demon.
That same demon was stationery, masking itself within the shadows with the vampires while everything was still public even at this time. Even if the moon were to set, there would still be some movement. Albeit minimal. They watched as the sun continued to set as the moon was beginning to rear itself. The clouds and their orange aesthetic started fading away for the dark blue clouds.
"She lives in one of these houses, no doubt," Opal spoke. "Now, how are we to find her, I wonder? I wish to get this over with and have a nice sleep tonight. But then waking up 3 hours later for a snack."
"Leave that to me, Opal." Sweet Fang stepped up. Her body left the shadows, right on time for the dark blue skies and the clouds to start granting the vampires a chance to be out in the open without protection. A tiny bit of sunshine pierced through the clouds with Sweet Fang squinting. She had then turned into a bat, a common creature in this world. Although, fairly odd to see one in a town.
The vampire bat pony hovered over the town, gazing at the residents and how many of them were currently indoors during these late hours. Sweet Fang wouldn't go for the indoors as she chose to keep it outside. She spotted on human walking further away from everyone else, giving her the opportunity to strike.
She approached the young man walking through the street, distanced from others to be noticed so far. Except in the eyes of Sweet Fang. Once she approached him, the vampire bat pony reverted to her original form, choosing not to be discreet in front of him.
"Hm? Gah!" It didn't take long for the civilian to only be caught off guard by Sweet Fang, but also caught a split-second of her transforming.
"Hey there!" Sweet Fang giggled, ginning before showing her ferocious fangs. The young man had no idea what he was looking at. A seemingly adorable creature that resembled a pony. Albeit, certainly not the kind of pony he's ever seen before.
"What are you?!"
"Don't worry about that. I just need to ask you something." Then, Sweet Fang's most noticeable fang, which was in front, started glowing pink. She looked into the eyes of the young man, soon eradicating his fears and confusion. His eyes widened before having their colours change to a crimson red. The civilian became entranced and frozen in place, unable to react widely like he was before. "Did you happen to see some girls pass by around here?"
"I did..." He nodded as Sweet Fang had him under his control by the usage of her voice.
"Hm. Maybe I should be more specific..." Sweet Fang pondered. "Tell me this then! Did you see 7 girls earlier?"
"7 of them yes." He spoke with a zombie-like tone.
"Great! Did you see where they went?"
"No..."
"Hmmrgh. Nah, you won't work. Pretend you never saw." Sweet Fang deemed him useless, fluttering away before breaking his mind control. The young man was free, holding his head afterwards. His teeth even felt a sting afterwards. Once it was all over, he had no recollection of what happened.
Sweet Fang could see that she needed to try this same approach on others. But with extra efficiency, if she wanted to find Twilight. And luckily for her, this town had many residents to make it work. Transforming into a bat once more, Sweet Fang was about to get busy.
Out in the forest.
"Dual Chop!"
"Machoke!" Ash and Spectrum's battle continued. Machoke approached with both its arms glowing, raising them in front of Pikachu.
"Quick Attack!"
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu's eyes flared as he had used the lightning speed of Quick Attack to run underneath Machoke. Right on time to avoid its downward chop.
"Now, Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu was behind Machoke, giving it a hard metal strike to its muscular back right after it had failed to land Dual Chop.
"Choke!"
"Not looking pretty for me..." Spectrum growled, thinking quick on her hooves. "This'll do the trick!" Her eyes focused on Ash as she had then unleashed her signature dim rainbows via the usage of her wings, similar to how the pegasi from Pegalysium use their magic.
A streak of low saturated and contrasted rainbows approached Ash, aiming to throw his game off. Machoke noticed the streak pass by and soon Pikachu did as well. The stream of dark rainbows was not hard to miss at all.
"Choke!" However, immediately stopping this was Machoke, who had cut the rainbow in half with Dual Chop, much to the surprise of Spectrum Shade. They were prevented from touching Ash.
"W-What the?!" Naturally, Spectrum Shade was blown back by this. "What are you doing?! I thought you were on my side?!"
"Machoke!"
"Heh. Ya see..." Ash held his hat. "Machoke's an honourable Pokemon. All Fighting-Types are. It loves a fair battle the most, so anything like that's a big no for them."
"Machoke."
"Honour? Are you kidding me?" Not exactly what she wanted to hear. Spectrum shook her head as her sneak attacks were essentially forfeited. "I guess that makes sense. Fine! I'll beat you the regular way then! Dynamic Punch!"
"Machoke!" Machoke ran in for one more Dynamic Punch.
"Sorry! But I've got my friends to reach! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika-Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu jumped towards Machoke once more with Thunderbolt surrounding his body. The two of them clashed once more with 100,000 volts meeting with Machoke's fist. However, it was clear who had the advantage. Pikachu and his years of battling against Ash dwarfed Spectrum's limited time with Machoke.
Thunderbolt broke through the energy of Dynamic Punch before then shocking Machoke's entire body with a sparking fury. Machoke was blown back by this with an outburst of electricity happening afterwards. "M-Machoke!" Machoke cried out, sliding on the ground.
"No way!" Spectrum pulled back as the intensity of the electricity startled her. Her weakness to light popped up once more as Spectrum almost fell over.
"Machoke..." Machoke had fainted. Not quite on par with Pikachu.
"That's that." Ash declared this over with Pikachu running back to his partner's shoulder. "You could grow some more as a trainer. But I gotta help my friends!" Ash bid his farewell as he and Pikachu wasted no time, continuing on their way to civilization.
"I don't think so..." But even with this defeat, Spectrum wouldn't just give up. She returned Machoke, hating that she had lost so easily. But it was to be expected against a more experienced trainer. With the moon starting to show within the clouds, a smile graced Spectrum's face which removed her frown.
The perfect time. Nightfall had come. Just what she and every vampire were waiting for. Her eyes gained a mystic glow before eyeing Ash down. "You aren't going anywhere. Not with the timing."
And with the moon being revealed, all vampires benefited from this. Especially the ones against Chrysalis. Speaking of Chrysalis, her Purity form generated light and magic strong enough to repel the vampires. They were unable to get close for even a second.
Chrysalis yawned, keeping herself safe with this barrier of magic which was also bright enough to emit a powerful light source. No matter what, the vampires could do nothing against Chrysalis.
"No fair! The moon's out and we're still having trouble!" One vampire groaned.
"Even with your advantage, it won't help you." Chrysalis shook her head. "The moment you interfered with my family was the moment you lost. Farewell." Chrysalis deemed this over as she intensified the barrier and its light. It had expanded, encompassing the vampires instead of just blocking them.
The vampires all screeched in pain and fear as they all instinctively and collectively transformed to flee. They could not handle the light. Some of them ended up passing out from it while others barely managed to escape. But even their escape was not guaranteed. Not by Chrysalis but by someone else.
When flying out of fear from Chrysalis' light, the vampires had bumped into someone without them paying attention. Only natural when they're afraid. And the one they bumped into was Carlita, who had startled someone else once more.
"Oh! My bad! It happened again!" Carlita apologized as she looked down at the vampire ponies. Due to being affected by Chrysalis' light, crashing into Carlita was the finishing blow. Not on purpose though. "Ugh...Uh..." Carlita wasn't sure of what to make of this, witnessing the passed out vampires before then spotting more of them up ahead.
Chrysalis lowered the magical barrier, dusting herself as Carlita soon came into her view. Carlita recognized her appearance to match that of Chrysalis' changeling form. Only in humanoid form. She found Mellifera's daughter, no doubt.
Sweet Apple Acres. Nightfall.
Twilight and her friends started doing normal activities to kill their boredom. They had been in here for a while with Pinkie Pie having enough food to go around. Eating so much made her yawn with Rainbow ash laying her back on the wall. Luxio was on guard duty, watching through a hole in the barn, keeping an eye out for any vampires. Hisuian Zorua and Spike were asleep next to each other with Fluttershy holding them near her lap. All of the cows were asleep too, perfectly unbothered.
It was all peaceful now. And they still had the secret exit to utilize. Waiting for it all to die down was their best approach. But this peace would not last.
"Lux! Luxio!" Luxio's eyes narrowed as he cried out to his friends. Rainbow Dash banged her head on the wall with Pinkie Pie being woken up.
"What is it, Luxio?! Is it them?!" Twilight got up.
"Luxio!" But it was worse than that. Luxi growled with him moving aside, allowing Twilight to see what had riled him up. It was worse than just vampires. An overwhelming sight graced Twilight's eyes and glasses.
Everyone in town was here. Outside and away from their homes. But noticeably, they all had that same red glow the young man had. Twilight took a closer look to see this red glow as there were so many of them that they practically made a light show from it during this dim time.
This was because of Sweet Fang. She did indeed go above and beyond. Not controlling one person, but instead, controlling the entire town. All of them were under her influence all thanks to her sweet mouth.
Sweet Fang chuckled as Opal, the other vampires and the demon appeared beside her, causing Twilight to back away. This was the only place that no one was currently being controlled, making Sweet Apple Acres the obvious prime target.
"We are in trouble..." That was all Twilight could say as it was worse than they could've imagined. The entire town, now on the side of the vampires, were against them. And that demon was only the worst of what was to come.
The Human World. Canterlot Town. Sweet Apple Acres. Nightfall.
An unlikely scenario. The vampires did not come alone. Thanks to Sweet Fang using her magic, she managed to control almost everyone in town via some sweet talking. Or, more specifically, her magical ability to control others just by speaking in a sweet tone. The demon intended to dive into Twilight's memories, just to do one thing. Recall the cover of the book and that would essentially be the end of it.
All of the controlled civilians stood outside Sweet Apple Acres with the existence of Twilight and her friends already being very well known. Mainly due to how it was only Sweet Apple Acres that had no one under Sweet Fang's control.
"You may convince others with your good looks, Opal. But all it takes is a word from me to make things work." Sweet Fang chuckled as she was being carried by one of the humans.
"Hmm. That much is true. I have the looks and that's all that matters." Opal chuckled. "Now, for the girl...let's not look like savages, alright? We can settle this peacefully. I know you can hear me through that barn, girl."
"!" Twilight shuddered as Opal already knew she was in there.
"We ain't gonna let that demon touch you, Twilight." Applejack said, removing the hay bales to reveal the secret exit. The humans along with the vampires were already approaching the barn, so now was a good time to leave. They all moved through the secret entrance with Luxio staying behind, snarling at them all.
"Luxio...!"
"No, Luxio!" Twilight grabbed Luxio, admiring his courage, but certainly didn't want him taking action yet. Especially against innocent civilians. Luxio was still able to emit a light source against the vampires, but the time for that was not now as everyone made their way to the barn.
"Should I give the order to have them break the barn down?" Sweet Fang asked.
"No. Let the demon do it. We've already cornered this place after all." Opal halted her fellow vampire. The demon was free to act now. The spider-centaur demon with its smoke body approached the barn, leaving a trail of smoke. With brute force, it had used the power of the smoke to smash the barn open.
And once it did, it was already too late. The secret exit had been utilized with the hay bales being put back. Once the barn door had been shattered, the only thing remaining were the cows, who were still asleep even after the commotion. The demon wouldn't stop there.
"Not in there. Oh well. The house it is." Opal shrugged. "And I believe I could use my Pokemon to help find it." Opal held out her Poke Ball, summoning her Pokemon into the fray. A Chandelure.
"Chandelure!"
"All of you. Would you please go and find that girl?" Sweet Fang asked the humans.
And with her having full control, they complied, immediately going for the house. Their overwhelming numbers were enough for humble Sweet Apple Acres. The door had been broken down by the vampires whilst Chandelure merely phased through the house to avoid damage.
"Surprise!" However, as stated before, Applejack and the others prepared for this. Mainly her family. Once the door was broken down, the three individuals that had been spotted were Apple Bloom, Big Mac and Granny Smith, In unison, they unleashed the lights of the house. From lamps, the ceiling lights, candles and bulbs, all light sources were activated.
Naturally, this was blinding and virulent to the vampires. Their eyes were met with the power of light, causing them all to screech. All of them unleashed bloodcurdling cries with many of the vampires already feeling their coats burn from the light. An effective method indeed. Especially in a location that requires energy.
Granny Smith held a candle, whacking the vampires in the head with it. "Go on! Git! Out of my house!" She cried out, not only harming the vampire ponies with the light but also with physical interaction.
"Ow-Ow!"
"Here! Here! Apple Bloom giggled, holding a flashlight which she furiously shined in front of them. "Gee, it's a mighty shame that you're all so weak to light!"
"I hate that she's right!" The vampires hated this one major thing about them. Light. Their greatest weakness. Something so simple was a massive weapon against them.
However, some vampires attempted to try and fly in while wearing their protective clothing, believing that they could bypass all of this light. But, whilst the plan to use light was the common one, Granny Smith came extra prepared.
"Applejack didn't go for this...Big Mac!" Granny Smith chuckled as she revealed the second common weakness to vampires that was easy to find.
Garlic.
Big Mac removed a tray from a plate that was placed on the table, revealing garlic. Granny Smith had a backup plan as the food had been revealed to these ponies of the night. The one's t hat flew in, attempting to grab Granny Smith and the others were met with these sometimes delectable food. What a shame that the Human World counterpart to Sweet Apple Acres isn't limited to apples, otherwise, this would be an easier time for the vampires. But alas, that was not the case.
Sweet Fang hid behind the humans to cover herself while the vampires were held back. Opal covered her eyes as she seemed less affected by this. By using her magic, Opal managed to mask herself in a bizarre coating of magic that had a cursed aura around it. One of a beautiful purple colour mixed with horrific crackles.
"This isn't that big of a surprise..." Opal said as the other vampires backed away. "Those books I've read almost mirror these events..."
"It's a surprise to us though! Grab them!" Sweet Fang yelled as only the humans were safe from the light. And they even outnumbered the Apple Family. There wasn't anything they could do against the humans as they didn't quite prepare for them.
Attempting to enter the next room was a complete failure as Apple Bloom, Big Mac and Apple Bloom had been grabbed by the overwhelming numbers that broke into their home. They were flooded with people afterwards with the vampires currently trying to recover from the light. Speaking of which, the lights were still on, only to be then turned off afterwards by the controlled humans.
"Hah! Nice try." Sweet Fang flew over. "Almost had us there. But pretty soon, you three are gonna be helping me find your friends, okay?" Sweet Fang had Apple Bloom and Granny Smith in mind. The three of them attempted to break free, only for it to be in vain with these superior numbers. The candles had died out with Apple Bloom's flashlight dropping to the ground. The garlic had been knocked aside by the humans as well, eliminating the weaknesses of the vampires. Sweet Fang's mouth was already prepared to work its magic.
"Sweet Fang." Opal silently appeared behind her fellow vampire. "These three might have seen the book before. They live in the same location as Twilight's friends. Keep them under your control for the demon to use them."
"Hah. Too bad!" Apple Bloom stuck her tongue out, blowing a raspberry. "Haven't seen any book so nyeh!"
"Nope." Big Mac shook his head as he hadn't seen it as well.
"Oh, really? Then, tell me this..." In that instance, Sweet Fang's magic had been utilized once more with the Apple Family having their eyes glow red. "Have you seen a book about Pokemon? You can tell little old me."
"Sorry...We ain't seen any..." Granny Smith and Big Macintosh said in unison. They told nothing but the truth thanks to Sweet Fang's magic. The book was nonexistent to their eyes, thus making them useless to the demon.
"But you're right about old and little..." In the midst of mind control, Apple Bloom found some time to insult her. Not Sweet Fang, but Opal Vivacity.
"I think she's calling you an old lady." Sweet Fang turned to Opal. Opal, who was mainly seen as having a calm disposition, twitched her eye.
"I'd rather you not call me old, okay?" Opal said with a bit of disdain in her voice. "Let's keep going. Chandelure could find them and the demon first." The other vampires were befuddled by the light with some of them trying to recover with their coats burning along with the effects of the garlic.
"They know how to resist, that's for sure." Opal sighed with her wings separating. "I hope Spectrum is having an easier time."
Out in the forest. Nightfall.
Spectrum Shade, much like all the other vampires, benefitted from the night. However, for Spectrum, she got the better of it compared to the other vampires. She had recently lost a Pokemon Battle to Ash, but she didn't entirely lose this upcoming one.
Ash and Pikachu were approaching civilization, only to be stopped by a stream of darkened rainbows. Moving at great speeds, these rainbows started wrapping around the forest, acting like some sort of massive sheet. Ash and Pikachu noticed that their paths to civilization had been blocked. Not just from the side, but even from above as a dark rainbow dome had been made.
"What is this?!"
"Pikachu?!"
"During the night, I can do a lot of fun things that I couldn't do any other time." Spectrum chuckled, trotting over to Ash and Pikachu with her wings spread out. "We've got a big goal to get that Yveltal information. I can't let my allies fail if you're gonna interrupt them."
"Well, I can't let them reach my friends either," Ash replied. "Guess we've both got something to achieve."
"Pikachu!"
"Yeah, and that's gonna be me." Spectrum scoffed as she had zipped towards Ash, moving at a quicker pace than before.
"Quick Attack!"
"Pika! Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu moved at lightning speeds, matching Spectrum's speed. He and Spectrum ended up butting heads in a head-on collision. They grit their teeth against each other as it was Pokemon against pony. Spectrum bared her fangs, immediately attempting to bite Pikachu. Thankfully, Pikachu had separated from Spectrum after the head-on collision. "Pika?"
"Give her some light! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika....Chuuu!" The weakness of the vampire had been used once more, exuding 100,000 volts of electricity from his body. It had coloured this part of the forest with yellow, only for Spectrum to have an answer for that.
She had used the darkened rainbow as a means of protecting herself. She summoned a stream of it which had surrounded her, promptly protecting the vampire from Thunderbolt. Her weakness had been blocked with the rainbows only getting dimmer, overpowering the light of Thunderbolt.
"That got close..."Spectrum sighed as even though she managed to protect herself, electricity still moves just as fast as her if not faster. "But I'm sitting pretty with this. No way I'm letting this dome fall."
"Then I guess we just have to make some brighter light." said Ash holding his hat. He wasn't about to let this dome stop him and Pikachu from reaching their friends. Even if it did surround the entire forest.
"Ash!" Still within the forest and also noticing the field of darkened rainbows was Chrysalis. She finally caught up to Ash, but she didn't come alone. Carlita could be seen alongside her.
"Nice! You made it!" Ash exclaimed with joy in his face. "And...Carlita too?"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Is this dome her doing?" Carlita looked at Spectrum Shade and the stream of darkened rainbows that were surrounding her from all sides.
"You bet." Spectrum proudly nodded. "Now, watch this!" With a yell, Spectrum spread her wings out. Her eyes gained a night-light glow as right above the field of rainbows, the clouds were being affected. And from those clouds, a bolt of dim rainbows had been unleashed. The bolt phased through the field, only having Ash and the others in mind.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" Pikachu intercepted the bolt with Thunderbolt. The two bolts cancelled each other out promptly with their respective sparks flying around. They hit the walls of the field, pulsating afterwards.
"So this is a field, is it?" Chrysalis could finally see what this strange dome was. They were currently trapped and forbidden from going anywhere beyond the forest. "Ash! I will try and break free! Yet again, I'll allow you to leave and reach your friends!"
"Thanks, again, Chyrsalis!" Ash was truly glad that Chrysalis would do it for him once more, giving him the chance to reach his friends.
"Dragonite!"
"You're not going anywhere!" Spectrum sent more of those rainbow bolts from above while also scattering streams of dim rainbows.
"Hydreigon! Let's go!" Carlita held out her Poke Ball whilst Chrysalis and Ash faced the incoming streams.
"Iron Tail!"
"Ribombee! Dazzling Gleam!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu's tail hardened with him, Ribombee and Chrysalis retaliating against the stream. Pikachu cut them in half with his tail with Ribombee unleashing a ray of rainbows while also emanating a shining light from her body. The light could not break through to reach Spectrum, but it did help stop the attacks. Chrysalis used her magic against the bolts, forming a reflective shield that had bounced them away.
"Hydreigon! Use Fire Blast!"
"Hy...Drei...Gon!" Hydreigon joined the fray, holding all three of his breaths in before unleashing a fierce blast of fire from the three heads, forming them into one larger Fire Blast. Not only did it break through the bolts, it managed to reach Spectrum as well. Spectrum gasped, putting up another layer of rainbows against the fire for protection.
"Of course...the only way for you to reach them would be to get rid of this field." Chrysalis said, remembering that Ash couldn't exactly reach Twilight and the others if the barrier was still active.
"Right on that! Opal said I don't have to beat you. I just have to keep you busy until the job's done. But I so wanna beat you either way!" Spectrum spread her wings, taking to the skies as her body glimmered with the moon. With her fangs flowing, the dim rainbow had been summoned once more, surrounding her like a halo. She unleashed these rainbows from above in mass numbers, bombarding her foes.
Pikachu, Ribombee and Hydreigon had been struck by these swift-moving rainbows, either bekign knocked to the ground or sent flying. "P-Pika!"
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out as Pikachu slid on the ground. Thankfully, he was okay, along with the other two.
"I have to shine brighter..." Chrysalis said. "Brighter than the darkness she's cast. Ribombee! Join me!" Chrysalis was about to make her magic shine bright than it already was. Alongside her, Ribombee had used Dazzling Gleam, surrounding herself in a sparkling sphere of rainbows. Light had been unleashed from their bodies, beginning to expand in the process. They met with the ferocious array of dark rainbows as it was a clash between brightness and darkness.
"Feels difficult, doesn't it?" Spectrum grinned. "Nightfall's the best time for us! This is a pretty good example!"
"I can see that...!" Chrysalis growled, trying to use her light to push the rainbows back. But, it wouldn't be just her and Ribombee.
"She needs light, does she?" Carlita looked at her hand. The Dragon Trainer knew that she herself possessed access to a form of light. The draconic light and the power bestowed to the People of the Vale. "Let me have a shot!" Carlita held her hand out, assisting them.
Her draconic light was certainly a key player in this. The light shined forth, joining Chrysalis and Ribombee as the dim rainbows were starting to be negated.
"Huh!?" Spectrum noticed this sudden pushback as it happened fairly quickly. "That fast?!"
Carlita had then used both her hands, emanating the light as her arms were already beginning to shake as well. Spectrum tried pushing back as it was struggle between the three of them.
"Hydreigon! Go!"
"Hydrei!" Hydreigon took this opportunity while Spectrum was too busy focusing on the light sources coming her way. The Brutal Pokemon could strike while the iron was hot.
"Hey! Hold on!" Spectrum noticed Hydreigon's arrival.
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon had used Focus Blast, Flamethrower and Dragon Pulse from his three heads, building them up. They were then thrown at Spectrum who already had her hooves full. All three moves managed to break through her shield of rainbow streams with nothing but raw Dragon strength.
"Now!" Chrysalis and the others expanded their light as Spectrum was vulnerable she closed her eyes as the light eclipsed this part of the forest, having enough power to each touch the top of the dome. And speaking of the dome, light rays starting piercing through it. That meant only one thing. It was through.
The dome of rainbows had shattered with a massive array of light shooting into the night sky. It was a gorgeous sight with three different light sources. Spectrum, despite having her dome broken and the light shining her way, barely managed to save herself via her amazing speed. Her speed kept her from being consumed as she zoomed towards some trees for safety. But even if she hadn't been defeated, her dome was gone.
"Go, Ash!" Carlita exclaimed.
"Right! Thanks again!" Ash and Pikachu were off, continuing on their way to Canterlot Town. To get there faster, Ash had sent out Dragonite. Fastest in terms of flying after all.
"I said you aren't going anywhere!" Spectrum cried out before then suddenly putting her hooves on the trees. Another benefit to being a vampire? Super strength. And this showed as the tree had been ripped from the ground.
Spectrum held the tree with ease, thinking of if she should swing it or toss it against Ash and Pikachu. Either one would work out in her eyes.
"Yeah, right! Hydreigon, Fire Blast!"
"Dreigon!" This tree approach had bene promptly stopped the moment Spectrum had any ideas with it. The flames burst onto the tree, immediately setting it ablaze. And since Spectrum Shade was still holding onto it, and with fire being another weakness of vampires, this was a powerful combination.
"Gah!" Spectrum screamed out as the fire had spread fast enough to connect with her hooves. A horrifying screech came from her as she had dropped the tree. The fire remained on her hooves as a she started blowing on them furiously to put it out. Her face turned red from the excessive blowing. "Why you...!"
The main thing stopping her were these four, much to the chagrin of Spectrum. But to Spectrum, it wasn't a total loss. She managed to keep Ash at bay for a while. Now all she could do was hope that Opal and the others had finished the job.
Canterlot Town. Sweet Apple Acres. The Basement. Nightfall.
Twilight and her friends managed to reach the basement after using the secret exit. Applejack could hear the commotion upstairs fearing for her family. Not for them being harmed, but for the possibility of them joining Sweet Fang's collection of controlled people.
They had a moment of solace, but they were prepared still with Luxio and Sunset Shimmer's Fire-Types. However, the people were a different story. Rainbow Dash had her Staraptor out, waiting patiently while the sound rapid moving footsteps went off above.
"Applejack. What about your family?" Rarity asked.
"They'll be fine. I hope." Applejack gulped. "I didn't see those people coming though. I thought it just gonna be those vampires and that's it."
"They've taken control of everyone in town. And we can't hurt them if they're like that." Sunset Shimmer was finding it harder to get through this.
"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Rainbow Dash turned to her.
"The only way to free them is by defeating the vampires." Twilight replied. "Whichever one is controlling them, their control will end and everyone will snap back to reality."
"How are we supposed to know which one did it?" Pinkie asked.
"The best way is the focus the most amount of light source onto either vampire and see which one is behind the mind control." Twilight hatched a plan. "Let's-"
But breaking through the walls of the basement, eventually finding them all down here, was the smoke centaur demon. With heavy smoke, it broke through the walls easily, startling everyone and cutting Twilight off. It found its target. Not just it, but Chandelure as well. Chandelure had an easier time without having the need to break through walls. Phasing through was fine with it.
"Chandelure!"
"The basement? This was your best place to hide?" And joining the two of them was Opal. She had followed the trail of smoke, counting on the demon to find its target. "Honestly. If I were you, I would've selected another world if given the chance."
"Too bad! You're in the face of our trap! Now!" Sunset Shimmer and the others still took the chance to initiate their light show approach, even if they didn't successfully catch them off guard.
"Luxio!" Luxio and Sunset Shimmer's Pokemon unleashed their respective energies. Luxio flashed a flare of electricity from his body while the Fire-Types unleashed flames, sending them towards their opponents.
However, Opal remained calm. With a smirk on her face, she not only managed to protect herself from the electric light thanks to that magic coating from before, but the flames, another vampire weakness, were stopped by none other than Chandelure.
"Chandelure!" Chandelure got in front of the flames, deciding to take them for Opal. But, there was no damage. Shockingly, Chandelure started absorbing the flames that were sent its way, sucking them into its body. It fed of them flames before giggling and wobbling its body. "Chandel!"
"W-What!? What just happened?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"It ate the fire!?" Pinkie jaw dropped as she couldn't believe her eyes. "And the light didn't work?!"
"You didn't think I would catch a Pokemon and not take into account my weakness? My Chandelure has Flash Fire. One of my many weaknesses is so easily erased thanks to this absolute darling."
"Chande!"
"It had to be Flash-Fire..." Sunset growled as now Chandelure was the biggest obstacle. Not the demon.
"We'll make this quick and have the demon look into you, darling. And then, we'll be out of your hair forever. Chandelure, Smog."
"Lure!" A thick dark fog sprouted out from Chandelure's flames, immediately spreading across the basement in seconds. Everyone squinted their eyes as the smoke demon started blending in.
"I don't think so! Please! I need your help, Rapidash!" Twilight covered her eyes and mouth with her arm before sending out her Alpha Rapidash.
"Rapidash!" Rapidash always had to let out a majestic neigh to let her know who stood superior here. However, her moment of superiority was cut off once the smoke was noticed. "Dash?"
"You won't even notice it happen, little girl." said Opal as the smoke demon approached Twilight. Its four terrifying legs had suddenly moved from its lower body, appearing on its upper body and resembling arms. Those arms and its entire body fixated on Twilight's head.
"Lit? Litleo!" Litleo was the first to recognize the smoke demon, intercepting it with Inferno. A stream of fire was sent out of its mouth, holding the demon back. In response, the demon retaliated by using its four arms to whack Litleo aside "L-Lit!"
"Litleo?!" Sunset Shimmer coughed as she could hear the cry of her partner. "This smog is so strong...!"
"S-Staraptor! Blow it away!" Rainbow Dash had the answer to this. Staraptor.
"Star! Staraptor!" Staraptor did just that. It was the perfect counter to the smoke as it had flapped its wings, using the strength of Wing Attack to not only clear some of the fog, but also push back the smoke monster.
"Hmm..." Opal grumbled with her calm disposition starting to be tested at this point. She saw all of this fighting back as a pointless struggle to the inevitable. The smoke demon was blown back as its main weakness was visibly revealed in the form of air. Staraptor's speciality. "Chandelure, use Shadow Ball, please."
"Chandelure!" Assisting the smoke demon was Chandelure via the emergence of Shadow Ball. Shadow Ball passed through all of the remaining fog before then crashing into Staraptor, blowing the Predator Pokemon back.
"Rapidash?" Rapidash took a moment to asses the scene. Everyone here was being threatened. At least, moderately since all the vampires needed was one thing. Making their way to the basement were the remaining vampires along with the humans. All of this noise easily attracted them. "Rapidash!" Seeing the obstacle in her way, Rapidash took action.
By flaring her flames, Rapidash had used Fire Blast, focusing on the Luring Pokemon. However, she soon came to find out that Flash Fire was in affect. "Dash?"
"Night Shade, if you will."
"Chandel!" Chandelure responded by using Night Shade, shooting out a black and red beam at its fellow Fire-Type. Rapidash staggered, growling as the energy of Night Shade punished her.
"Luxio! Discharge!"
"Lux...Luxio!" Luxio coughed from all of the smog. But in reality, he had the one move that could hit everything else. By exuding energy from his body, he released a flare of electricity that acted like a whip. Protecting Twilight was all that mattered as both Chadenlure and the smoke demon had been shocked. Once again, the demon was being held back from reaching Twilight.
This agitated Opal Vivacity. She believed that at this point, Twilight's mind would've been dug into by now, but the Pokemon were the biggest obstacles preventing that. They were even more like blocakdes than obstacles at this point. Staraptor continued to fend off the smoke demon with its wings whilst Luxio, Rapidash and the other Fire-Types staved it off.
Twilight watched as everyone did their best to keep her safe but it was all getting so taxing. And Opal knew it, which is why she kept her cool despite the constant annoyances and obstacles. All of this stress was enough to do one thing. Further elevate the chance of Midnight Sparkle appearing.
"Oh?" Opal noticed this aura of magic flowing out of Twilight. The feeling of it was strange yet familiar. It was the dormant potential of incredible magic. Magic that resembled something from the box of 100 Demons?
"There they are!" Sweet Fang and her posse of humans along with the vampires showed up. "Haven't you got the information yet?"
"They're persistent." Opal shook her head as Staraptor used Aerial Ace on the smoke demon, only to be grabbed it by it afterwards. Braixen interevened, using Psybeam to blow parts of the demon's grip on Staraptor. "But eventually, they'll let up."
To demonstrate, Opal had used her magic on Chandelure. Chandelure felt the magic of its trainer affect it, unbeknownst of what had just happened. "Chande?"
"Chandelure, dear. I've enchaned your sense of hearing. Why don't you go along and try it?" Opal revealed what she had done to the Luring Pokemon.
Chandelure's hearing had been heightened. It could feel the effects already kicking in. Everything from the basement to even outside had been boosted for the Luring Pokemon for a better reaction time. And that showed when Rapidash had used Dragon Pulse.
"Lure!" Chandelure's heightened hearing allowed it to easily evade Rapidash's Dragon Pulse with the dragon-shaped shockwave hitting the walls. Desperation was starting to kick in for Sunset and her friends with these overwhelming numbers backing them into a corner.
Grabbing Applejack by the arms were none other than her controlled family members. Granny Smith and Big Mac had her by the arms while Apple Bloom clung onto her leg. Even when under control, she looked adorable. This is what Applejack feared, however and that same fear transferred over to Rarity as Sweetie Belle was among one of the mind controlled people.
It was almost everyone in town after all. But Sweetie Belle didn't do much except also grab Rarity's leg. "Sweetie Belle! Not you too!"
"Rapidash...!"
"Don't hurt them, Rapidash!" Twilight yelled, knowing that Rapidash would most definitely attack the people that had surrounded her and her allies. "Please!"
"Rapidash?" Rapidash, especially with her relationship with Twilight, thought otherwise. She saw them all as threats and to her, threats needed to be blown away no matter what. Spike jumped out of the bag, barking and attempting to bite the smoke demon, only to fail due to it being smoke after all.
"It's over." Opal announced. "Demon. Get into her mind." The demon would gladly do so. The rest of the opposing Pokemon had the spirit to not harm innocents and that was their weakness. Chandelure confronted Rapidash, preventing her from even trying it in the first place. Not only that, but the vampires still had their Pokemon as well given to them by Opal. Those were a handful as they easily outnumbered the other Pokemon. Everything was closing in. The situation was too dire.
The demon snuck up behind Twilight, using its smoke hands to grab and restrain her. Twilight was finally in its clutches, ready to have her mind be read. Opal declared this game over.
"Twilight!" Except for one Pokemon. Only in serious instances does Zorua ever must up courage. And this was certainly one. If there was one thing that was true, it was that Zorua had no qualms with harming others. Humans Pokemon and now vampire ponies alike.
She jumped out of Twilight's bag, refusing to have her partner go through anything rough, much like how she had a rough experience during her time as a Unovan Zorua. With instinct, she had used her signature move. Bitter Malice.
A ferocious pulse of darkness emanated from the Spiteful Fox Pokemon's body which manifested into the pure malice that Zorua felt towards others. In this case, those who would target Twilight. All of that hatred was transformed into this attack which had then been released.
Bitter Malice had a radius affect, not only blowing the demon away, but everyone else except for Twilight, noticeably. Everything that had been interrupted and cut off with Chandelure especially taking super-effective damage. Sunset and the rest of them were harmed with Twilight being untouched.
"What?!" Opal squinted her eyes as the pulse reached her, damaging her magic coating. All of the people and vampires felt Zorua's anger more than anything, feeling just how virulent it was. If anything, this was worse than being exposed to light, fire or even garlic. The Smoke Demon cried out in horror with a gigantic majority of its body being obliterated, lost to the wind. The radius even moved out of Sweet Apple Acres, reaching the outside. There was no one left in town to see it as they were all knocked out. Except for Ash and Pikachu, who had arrived at Canterlot Town.
Before Twilight knew it, not only was the Smoke Demon off of her, but almost everyone else, including her friends were down and out. Sweet Fang was hit by Bitter Malic, breaking her control of the people. The only ones standing were Rapidash, Chandelure, Twilight and Opal. Chandelure barely managed to withstand it due to its weakness to its own typing. Zorua exhausted herself dropping to the floor. Twilight picked her up momentarilty.
"What was that?! What just happened?!" Opal exclaimed, standing over the bodies of fainting Pokemon.
"That was Zorua's hatred." Twilight picked up the Spiteful Fox Pokemon, who had passed out from using so much of Bitter Malice's power. "And her love to protect me no matter what she has to do."
"Oh my head..." Sweet Fang groaned, sitting up as she was absolutely perplexed by this. "That was..."
"Kh!" Opal scoffed as her patience had finally been tested. That soft composure had been stripped away. "Either way, your friend made the foolish mistake of leading us to you. We can still gather information about the book. The smoke demon isn't fully destroyed."
"It was an honest mistake from Ash." Twilight suddenly stayed vigilant in the face of the vampires. Mainly because she had Rapidash by her side. "And even if it isn't destroyed, I won't let you get to my mind. Not with Rapidash her beside me."
"Ra?" Rapidash turned to Twilight. Yet again, Twilight put her faith in Rapidash, despite their differences.
"Just for this time as well, Rapidash." Twilight looked the Fire Horse Pokemon in the eyes. "For both of ours sakes. Let's not have them try and summon a Pokemon that could end us all."
"Rapidash." Rapidash could get behind that. Seeing as Zorua fainted from all of that energy exertion, Rapidash had a good enough reason to help Twilight. Zorua, along with the rest of Ash's Pokemon, were alright in the eyes of Rapidash.
"Sweet Fang. Recover the smoke demon in the meantime." Opal ordered the only other vampire still standing. "Perhaps knocking this one out will allow us to finally get that memory."
"Oh! Right!" Sweet Fang stood up. The smoke demon was floating with a weak body. A small part of it was still standing but barely able to continue. "Come along, you!" Sweet Fang guided the smoke demon out of the basement as soon as she could.
"You won't stand a chance against me, girl. Not with my Chandelure's heightened senses and immunity to fire. Chandelure, use Shadow Ball!"
"Chande!"
"Here goes nothing...Rapidash! Please, use High Horsepower!"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash stomped on the floor which had already been ruined by the conflict that occurred earlier. Golden shockwaves from the earth itself erupted, flying in the direction of Shadow Ball. The power of Alpha Rapidash was impressive as always as it had managed to break through Shadow Ball, approaching Chandeulre.
"Chandelure!" But Chandelure's heightened hearing was still a great factor, allowing it to ascend over the shockwaves.
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Dash!" Rapidash held her breath in, building up draconic energy.
"I think not! How about I ruin the senses of your Rapidash?!" Opal suddenly let out a menacing grin that was opposite to her beautiful and soft face. Her fangs bared as her eyes glistened in the darkness. Much like Chandelure, she had affected Rapidash too. But not in the positive way.
"Ra-" Rapidash twitched with her body suddenly stopping in place. Before she knew it, Rapidash sense of sight had been cut off. Her eyes closed with the energy of Dragon Pulse ending abruptly. "Rapidash!"
"Hmph! Night Shade!"
"Lure!" Chandlure struck while Rapidash's sight had been interrupted. Unable to see the attack coming, Alpha Rapidash took a hit, unfortunately.
"Rapidash! What happened?!" Twilight gasped.
"I depraved your precious Rapidash of its sight. Try battling with it when it can't see a thing! Mystical Fire!"
"Chandelure!" Chandelure received free hits without having to worry about them being intercepted. It unloaded a spiralling flame of magical fire at the blind Fire Horse Pokemon.
"Dragon Pulse! Quick!"
"R-Rapidash!" Rapidash still had the strength to use Dragon Pulse, but not quite the strength properly aim it. She unleashed it, only for it to hit a wall, thus, allowing Chandelure's attack to connect. "Dash!" Rapidash fell to the floor as Chandelure did not let up. It continued pouring more flames onto Rapidash, despite the typing, letting the Fire Horse Pokemon receive a constant stream of it.
"Maybe I'll even increase the pain sensitivity. How's that?" Opal went at it again, affecting Rapidash from afar. Just like that, Mystical Fire started hurting a lot more than it should as Rapidash's pain receptors had been touched. Now it was truly feeling the burn.
"R-Rapidash! Rapidash!"
"No, Rapidash!"
"A shame! Her majesty, the Lich Queen would've probably avoided this world! Giving us the book of Yveltal would'n't have mattered to your world at all, but alas, look where it brought us." Opal chuckled as Chandelure switched to Shadow Ball, hurling blobs of shadow next. "Perhaps, I should consider this world to her majesty, just to see it all wither away. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"I don't think it would! Thunderbolt!" Just then, replying to Opal with refusal was the voice of Ash. Thunderbol came flying through, going straight for Chandelure.
"Lure?" Chandelure's advanced hearing kicked in. But unfortunately, while focused on Rapidash, the moment it turned around, hearing the bolt of lightning, it had connected already. Lightning speed was a different story. "Chande!"
"You...!" Opal snarled with veins popping out from the side of her head.
Ash and Pikachu had arrived.
And crawling to the basement with a winded head was Sweet Fang. Her eyes looked dazed and confused with her body already sizzling. This meant one thing. She was exposed to light. But it wasn't from Pikachu. It was from Anthophilia.
"Hehehe!" Anthophilia was responsible for it, causing this overwhelming ray of light. She was the closest to her mother in terms of magic potential, and that was certainly showing here. "Light!"
"Ash! Pikachu!" Twilight was thrilled to see them arrive. Whenev er they show up, a part of her can't help but feel that everything would be fine.
"Where's the smoke demon?!" Opal looked around, noticing that the Smoke Demon was no longer with Sweet Fang.
"I had Dragonite blow it away with Hurricane." Ash stated. "You won't be getting inside Twilight's mind. No way."
"Pikachu!"
"Hmph." Opal jeered at Ash before observing her surroundings. The only chance of getting Twilight's memories had been taken out of the picture. All the other vampires were down and out thanks to Zorua along with Ash's arrival. And compared to everyone else, he was sitting pretty in terms of Pokemon numbers and skill.
"I promised I'd make up for me messing up. And I never back down from a promise. So come on. Do you wanna keep battling?" Ash grinned, eager to battle Opal. "Your friend was pretty decent with Machoke."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"I'd rather not." Opal sighed as the light from Anthophilia wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Chandelure had been returned afterwards. "This mission was a failure."
"It was? Aww..." Sweet Fang planted her face in the floor.
"I'll remember this, Ash Ketchum. The same goes for you, Twilight." Opal vowed to get back at them both. They had just made one common enemy now. The rest of the fainted vampires were all collectively picked up by a spell of cloth. Cloth had been summoned by Opal, wrapping around the fallen vampires.
To make her escape, she and Sweet Fang transformed into bats. Smaller and easier to escape from. Due to the basement being ruined, there were lots of exits to choose from. They went for the closest exits, refusing to give Ash the chance to do anything else.
It was over. They were gone.
"Hoh...it's over." Exhausted beyond belief and glad that it came to an end, Twilight sat down. Rapidash groaned, shaking her head as having her senses affected was just downright terrible. Her vision was all foggy after what Opal did, but thankfully, she was starting to regain it.
Everyone else went from being knocked out, to falling asleep. It was late after all as snoring could now be heard. Twilight felt like sleeping too. Ash went to her side right afterwards.
"Nice save, Ash." Twilight commented with her head starting to lower. "But hey, I managed to almost get through it by myself this time."
"You've gotten better, Twilight." He patted her on the back. "Now get a good rest. We all need it."
Out in the forest. Nightfall.
"Oh! Time to go!" Speaking of leaving, Spectrum Shade, who had been going against Chrysalis and Carlita for a while, knew that it was time to depart. She saw two familiar bats in the night sky, making that a good enough indication of things.
She did relatively well holding her own against them both along with their Pokemon. But this mission had been closed off. She didn't need to turn into a batfor better speed. It was only natural for Spectrum Shade as she took the skies.
"Hey, wait!" Carlita cried out, but it was too late. With a mild shockwave that almost became a sonic boom, Spectrum Shade left, causing the trees to rustle.
"It's over." Chrysalis stopped Carlita from going after her. Hydreigon already attempted to do so, but it never went through. Carlita sat down, feeling exhausted herself, no doubt.
A lot of them were. But for Chrysalis, this was nothing. The invasion lasted longer than this. Indeed. But even if it was over, the conflict against the vampires and the entire of the Dread League was not only present, but ever growing.
The Human World. Canterlot Town. Sweet Apple Acres. Day.
The day had come. The radiant sun arose, breaking through the clouds. And here in Canterlot, everyone who was involved with the vampire attack last night had woken up. They found themselves in their homes. Thanks to Chrysalis using her magic, they were all able to return and not a single thing from yesterday had been recalled for them. All of them did get a good night's sleep which started as a total knockout from Zorua at first, so on the bright side, at least they were fully awake but with no recollection. That was for the best.
Ash and Pikachu stayed beside Twilight and the others while they were asleep the entire time. During the entire duration of the night, Chrysalis and Carlita had cleaned up the mess caused by the vampires.
"Mmm..." Twilight finally woke up, seeing Ash and Pikachu first upon her awakening. "Ash? Pikachu?"
"Morning." Ash greeted as she noticed that Zorua was still in her arms. She slept sitting up, which was a rarity. Speaking of Rarity, she and the others had woken up before Twilight, appearing in the view of their friend. Compared to everyone else here, Twilight was the only one who hadn't been knocked out during that event at nightfall, resulting in her having the best sleep out of everyone.
"You were soundly asleep, darling." Rarity said. "But it's great to have you alright."
"We all got knocked out strong by Zorua's attack over there." Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Everyone did. Good thing you were still in one piece though."
"Oh, right! The vampires!" Twilight remembered last night's event.
"Fended off." Chrysalis walked over. "The moment they realized that robbing a part of your memory from your mind had been forfeit, they left immediately. You're safe, Twilight."
"Thank goodness..."Twilight sighed, relieved to hear this. "But I don't think I'll be safe forever. That vampire, Opal. We might've struck a grudge with her."
"Yeah, we did." Ash scratched the back of his head as that much was true. The vampires certainly wouldn't see her in a positive light anymore. "But no need to worry. They'll be occupied with us."
"Pikachu!"
"You two?"
"The Dread League have one major goal to put an end to life on our world and rebirth it as a skeleton-paradise," Chrysalis uttered. "That won't happen unless we stop them. Your world will be kept safe."
"That's a relief." Twilight removed her glasses. "So how come I still feel tired?" Still feeling some exhaustion, Twilight forward. Ash and Chrysalis caught her before she could fall over.
"Sorry about hurting you all back there." Zorua apologized with a wimpy voice.
"Don't apologize for a thing. That...whatever that attack was saved Twilight." Fluttershy kneeled to face the Spiteful Fox Pokemon. "It would've been a loss if you didn't."
"Oh yeah! But it did hurt a lot." Pinkie rubbed her arm. "I think I can still feel it."
"But, Ash. Um...If I get the chance, I'd like to help you just like how you helped us." Twilight looked up at him. "After what happened last night, do you think we could support you next?"
"Always happy to have some help, Twi. We should get going now. Pretty sure Mellifera's gonna worry, right Chrysalis?"
"She will. But she won't show it." Chrysalis shook her head, knowing how her mother could be. "But...I would like to stay in this world a bit longer. This feeling of being a human is bizarre yet exciting."
"You're so bright too..." Rainbow Dash squinted. Even with the vampires gone, Chrysalis shined with immaculate light energy. A little bit of time would be spent here before returning to their respective worlds.
Hidden deep within Equestria's Outskirts. Magehold. The Black Castle. Day.
Returning to Magehold was not easy. Not for the vampires. After last night, they had failed in their mission. Knowledge about Yveltal had been stripped away from them again once more.
The most impacted by this was Opal Vivacity, who had high confidence in her plan. To say she was annoyed and frustrated was an understatement. But to say she was terrified of what the Lich Queen would do to her was a greater understatement.
"Welcome back." Fractured Note slid over, standing at the end of the corridor. "Judging by the look on your faces...it didn't go well, did it?"
"Quiet, brother." Opal grizzled her teeth. She wasn't in the mood to talk about her failure. At least, not to Fractured Note. Her brother was it was revealed.
"Ah, you failed!" Fractured immediately felt like laughing after piecing it together. "So much for working smarter and not harder. What happened, sister? The humans were a bit too much for you?"
"Not for a bit!" Opal roared, causing Fractured Note to back up. "I would've won. Knowledge about the book would've been ours. But it was that Pokemon that ruined things." She growled, thinking about Zorua, the one responsible for the vampires failing in the first place.
"Couldn't get the victory." Spectrum Shade sighed. "Had to deal with Queen Chrysalis to boot. Totally would've gotten the information if I joined you guys in that basement. Just saying."
"That Ash Ketchum also had to show up at the last second. If given the chance and if you had held him back a bit longer, Sweet Fang, we would've had the Smoke Demon recover and finish the job." Opal snarled in Sweet Fang's direction.
"Care to explain It in detail to me, Opal?" Speaking to Opal from afar, even past the end of the corridor, was Rosa Maledicta. The door to her throne room had opened up, causing Opal's heart to skip a bit.
"Your majesty!" Opal gasped with Sweet Fang and the others trembling. Fractured Note held in his laughter before stepping aside.
"I heard it all. You failed." The Lich Queen's tone already made it clear on how she felt about this failure. "The book containing information about Yveltai s gone...is it?"
"Destroyed, your majesty." Opal lowered her head. "It had been obliterated. We attempted to use one of the 100 Demons to enter the mind of the girl and see into her memory. But...there was a Pokemon that managed to stop most of us. I can't explain it, but I could feel so much malice from it. That is what dropped the rest of them. I could've won. Honestly! I didn't lose in battle either!"
"Save it." Rosa halted her. "All of you. You failed. And your excuse is a singular Pokemon?"
"I know, your majesty. But I'm being honest about this one Pokemon. It was unlike anything I've ever felt." Opal shook her head. The amount of hatred coming from it was enigmatic. Colossal, even!"
"How much hatred exactly?" Rosa's attention had been grabbed.
"All I got from the girl was that her Zorua was holding back unbelievable malice. All of that hatred manifested itself in that attack and it was targeted against everyone else except for her trainer. If it's anything of interest, I believe she may have magic similar to yours."
"Hoh? That does sound interesting." Rosa pondered about it. Opal's words managed to sway her. "That kind of malice is something that would attract the Wendigos. Especially the Wendigo Queen."
"Hah..." Opal felt like she was safe now, changing Rosa's focus on something else.
"But, you have still disappointed me." However, she was not off the hook as Sweet Fang behind Opal. "I do respect the accomplishments you have made in the past Opal, but I won't accept another failure in the future. Understood?"
"Yes, your majesty! And I will make it up to you! I swear!"
"Same to you, Spectrum Shade. Sweet Fang. The rest of you will not let me down again." Rosa was kind enough to give them a second chance. She still saw them as capable ponies. A failed mission was something that did bother her, but not enough to drive her over the edge.
"So then, your majesty. What now? How will we focus on finding Yveltal?" Fractured Note asked.
"All we still know is that a cocoon is the one thing that it resides in. You will all continue looking for Yveltal. I could care less about how it's done. As long as the cocoon is ours."
"Easier said than done..." Spectrum Shade muttered, but Rosa' being a vampire, meant that her hearing was enhanced. Sweet Fang forgot about this for a split second before soon remembering.
"But of course...that book wouldn't be the only copy of it, would it? Yveltal is a legend in the Pokemon World." Rosa looked outside the window, watching her subjects of vampires and skeletons roaming about. "Somewhere in the Pokemon World, someone out there knows where we can find Yveltal. Either a book that reveals Yveltal's location or how to summon it. We will not stop until we succeed."
"...I um..." Opal cleared her throat. "If we struggle to accomplish that, I do have one other plan that could work for us, your majesty."
"Is it better than what you had previously done?" Rosa summoned some thorns from the floor, wrapping them around her hoof as she admired the roses that grew on them.
"I believe it is. We can just have someone make the book for us."
"I beg your pardon? How?" Fractured Note and the other vampires turned to Opal Vivacity. Rosa raised an eyebrow as she wanted to see where Opal was taking this.
"In Equestria, there is a new species of ponies that are relatively new. And they come from the Rift. Very few of them, but they are still civilians there."
"The Rift Ponies." Rosa finished Opal's sentence, knowing o these new species of ponies.
"Exactly!" Opal nodded. "They have the power to create and do almost anything since they're connected to the Rift. There's only one of them that we can depend on. His name is Cold Colt. Student to Princess Twilight Sparkle. He's the only Rift Pony with the power to do almost anything. But not just him. There are the Rift Humans too who are being kept at Canterlot."
"Your eavesdropping is always so nice, Opal." Rosa smiled. Opal and her eavesdropping, along with getting around Equestria while playing herself off as a random pony had benefits. "Yes. Those Rift Creations can be useful. But...I suggest we only focus on Cold Colt. I don't want to risk getting into a massive confrontation with Canterlot."
"About that colt. His magic still isn't as grand as we would want it to be. Should we wait for his magic to reach a certain level, your majesty? And then maybe he could form the book for us. He and the other Rift Creations are blessed with Pokemon Knowledge."
"Or maybe, he already has the power to create a book." Fractured Note intervened. "You never know. How big does his magic need to be to make something as simple as a book? I thought you were the one who thought smarter, sister."
"Shut up..." Opal growled at her brother.
"I will say this, Opal. You always know how to reel me back in." Rosa turned away. "Cold Colt is a pony that lives in Ponyville. That is where my sister lives too..."
"I can go sweet-talk him like I always do." Sweet Fang raised her hoof. "Then we can have him make the book for us. Eh? Eh? Will that do, your majesty?"
"...No."
"No?" They were all stunned to hear Rosa's response.
"Not yet. You have just returned from that mission and I can safely say that you have also grabbed the attention of the changelings. You went for their queen as well. Now you have made the changelings an enemy of the Dread League and you expect to already try something else so soon? Especially in Ponyville? Home to Celestia's friends and the closest to Ash Ketchum's own home?"
"Well, when you put it like that-" The vampires all collectively started chattering with Sweet Fang whistling.
"No. The concept is good. And we can make the execution stellar. But...we have to bide our time." The Lich Queen decided to play it slow, revealing to her subjects a prolonged approach. "We will wait."
"Wait? For how long though?" Spectrum asked. "We're not gonna wait for something big to happen just to get that kid, right?"
"Not at all, Spectrum. We aren't waiting for an opportunity. We will use all of our time to craft something. Something that will help the Black Crusade. Some of you will craft a weapon for a specific purpose. Simple yet efficient. Something that will nullify magic across the continent. Use that as a time killer. The rest of you will continue the search for Yveltal, but the Cold Colt plan is still up for grabs."
"Understood, Lich Queen." They collectively spoke. The vampires were dismissed at once with Opal being glad that she did not receive a punishment. But another failure could prompt a punishment the next time.
Opal felt like taking a break for a bit after last night. The rest of them did. They all made their way to the nearest room which was a lounge for other vampires to stay in. Being scolded by their queen was a possibility that never kicked off. That was the only positive in their eyes.
"I can't believe it. I never lose." Opal sat down near the corner. She felt humiliated, still letting that loss get to her. She even held out the Poke Ball containing Chandelure. "That Zorua. The malice it had was delicious but when used against us is a different story."
"We got so close too." Sweet Fang slumped her head on the table. "I had all those humans to boot. How'd it all go so wrong?"
"You said it yourself, Opal. It was Zorua." Spectrum replied. "Don't feel too bad girls. We technically didn't lose." Spectrum was the one who tried cheering them up. "So next time could be different, right?"
"Would you three like to sing a song to wipe away your woes?" Fractured Note joined them, taunting the trio.
"Must you always be so petty during my lowest times? Which is rarely ever." Opal asked.
"You've done it to me countless times. It's only fair, sister. So, you all lost the information to Yveltal. It isn't the end. But, you could learn from this. I doubt that you have shown those humans and even Ash Ketchum the full extent of your magic."
"Oh yeah!" Spectrum sat up, banging her hoof on the table. "Ash doesn't know this, but my dark rainbows can do more than just appear as streams and mess with the clouds. If I had some more time, he would've seen what I was made of."
"I could've done more than just control the humans." Sweet Fang pondered. "Maybe I should've found some Pokemon too, you think? Or maybe they have strong resistance too. I hope not. That would make things tough on us."
"I should've heightened the pain receptors on those meddling kids when I still had the chance." Opal flipped her mane, thinking about Twilight and the others. "Perhaps summon a wide-range pain amplification to their hands. Each time they try and move it, they would feel an array of sensitive focused sparks. So much for being gentle."
"Gentle is what you do best, sister. It's how you've gotten around with your looks. But I can answer why you didn't consider that. How long has it been since we've had to use the extent of our magic and curses?" Fractured Note asked.
"Not that long. It's been like a thousand years." Spectrum replied. "Not much competition. Well, until now."
"We haven't had a reason to push ourselves, brother. For so long, we've been absent from any conflict. I hate to say it, but we have gotten...sloppy. And I'm never sloppy." Opal clenched her hoof. "How can this be?"
"But now we have something to go against. Her majesty was one day planning against Equestria. But now, we have more than just Equestria to prepare for." Fractured walked over. "Seems that you all have to stop feeling so relaxed now that there is something for you to worry about."
"Yeah." They could agree. All of the vampires. After years of being laid back without much to worry about, they now had something that could drive them to work harder. Especially after their defeat.
Spectrum held out the Poke Ball containing Machoke. In that moment of pondering, she thought back to the small exchange she and Ash had during their battle. Something that inspired her with perfect timing in this glum setting.
"That's that. You could grow some more as a trainer. But I gotta help my friends!" The voice of Ash Ketchum rang through her head. An inspirational spark came to her via the words of her enemy. An odd feeling, but something that was definitely needed.
"Let's quit with the doom and gloom faces right now!" Spectrum stood up, grabbing the attention of the defeated vampires. "We've got a chance to make things better for us! Let's have our Pokemon do the same."
"I'm not in the mood for Pokemon right now." Opal sighed. "I only intended to have them be used for yesterday."
"But, we can use them anytime. They're gonna become skeletons in the end so let's have them do whatever they can while we still have the time." She wrapped her hooves around her fellow vampires, pulling them together. "Come on. Gotta prepare for the worst, right?"
"Since when do you give pep talks?" Fractured Note. "Besides, do you honestly think these Pokemon can help that much?"
"I mean...we are searching for one and just one of them managed to knock most of these guys and gals out so...I'd say they help a lot." Spectrum grinned. "What do you say? Let's make it so that we're unstoppable with these weird creatures on our side."
"Sure." Sweet Fang was all for it. "I didn't get to use mine at all. The humans were a good substitute but...the Pokemon could be better."
"I said I wasn't in the mood. But I suppose in this day and age, having a Pokemon is a beneficial factor." Opal shrugged, agreeing to it. "So, from what I'm gathering, you will be the ones to teach us?"
"I battled against Equestria's heroes Ash and Pikachu. I think I can teach you a few pointers." The spectrum-maned mare, smirked, flipping her mane afterwards to appear cool. "Now, let's go!" They would all practice with their Pokemon and achieve greater heights.
So that they would never lose again. Their plans would never fail. And most importantly, they would be back up to speed after thousands of years of laid-back energy. Perhaps then, their next mission would make Rosa Maledicta proud.
Unova. Eindoak Town. Afternoon.
Ash, Chrysalis and Carlita had finished up their time in the Human World. Chrysalis got to experience some more time even when passing through the gateway. She had not yet returned to her world to enter her original form. And waiting for her there this entire time was Mellifera.
"W-What in the?!" Mellifera had seen her daughter's human form while still appearing bright as ever. "What is this!?"
"My human form. Do you like it, mother?" Chrysalis giggled. Being taller than her mother now, Chrysalis went to pick her up. Mellifera looked like a child being carried with her back legs dangling.
"Why in the Ambrosial Plane would I even like it for a second? Put me down!" Mellifera felt like gagging as Chrysalis had then placed her down. "Anyway. I assume you succeeded?"
"Yep. Everything's been sorted out just like that." Ash gave a thumbs-up.
"Good. And that will be the only time I will give you my assistance." Mellifera turned around, trotting off.
"Wait? The only time?" Chrysalis stepped forward. "What do you mean by that, mother?"
"I mean, I only gave you this one favour. No other favours will be done. You should know that I am still going on my own way, daughter."
"But..." Chrysalis lowered her head. "I thought that you did it because we were finally understanding each other as a family. I thought that you would choose to come and stay at the new hive with me."
"You thought wrong. I never came to you for good intentions in the first place. My word is final, Chrysalis. Even if you are the current Changeling Queen with authority over all of us."
"Hey, come on!" Carlita spoke. "She's your daughter, so what gives?"
"It's fine, Carlita." Chrysalis halted her. "If my mother wants to do so, I won't stop her. But, we could meet again, mother. Like we have before a few times. Even if you are to go on your own way, we will always end up appearing next to each other."
"Perhaps." Mellifera was not doubting it. It has been happening for a bit.
"Well...Say goodbye to your grandmother, Anthophilia." Chrysalis held Anthophilia out to Mellifera.
"Aaah..." She opened her mouth to Anthopilia. "Grandma!"
"Good girl! Look at you, learning fast." Chrysalis patted the baby changeling on the head.
"Goodbye." Mellifera bid farewell to her as well. Along with Ash and the others. She was back on her own path as always. Where she was headed was unknown. Mellifera closed her eyes, wondering what the future entailed with how things were changing.
But suddenly, walking next to her were Ash, Pikachu, Chrysalis and Ribombee. They caught Mellifera off guard, causing her to almost trip. "I said I was going on my own path!"
"Yeah. But Chrysalis, Ribombee and Antohpiliha gotta go through the same gateway, remember? I've got my home back at Kanto too." Ash laughed. "Gonna also have to tell Celestia and Luna about the Dread League. So it's you and us spending a bit more time, huh?"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Indeed. Thank you for everything, Carlita!" Chrysalis waved goodbye to Carlita of Eindoak Town along with Ash, Pikachu and Ribombee.
"No problem! See you around!" Carlita bellowed out. "Maybe soon, I can come over to your world if I've got the time! Ah, who am I kidding? I've always got the time!"
"Well, come along then!" Ash encouraged Carlita to come with him.
"Will do." Carlita adjusted her hat before strolling on over. Another jolly individual had joined them in their walk. "So. Equestria. What's up with it?"
"You gotta experience it yourself instead of me telling you." Ash spread his arms out. "You're gonna love this place. It's kinda similar to Unova when I think about it."
"I agree. Being in the Unova Region does not feel different to being in Equestria." Chrysalis could agree with that. "When the two worlds stay connected, I will bet that Unova and Canterlot will be the closest to each other. Perhaps that Castelia City."
"That'd be neat, wouldn't it?" Ash grinned, picturing that imagery. Mellifera had to endure all of this talking from these happy individuals.
"Get used to it, Mellifera," Sombra spoke through Ash, looking at Mellifera with a cocky grin. He surprisingly had a human face after being transported to the Human World thanks to Ash. Though, he hasn't noticed it yet. "I have to endure something like this every day. And the best part is...they could've just used the portal back in the Human World that leads to Canterlot. But alas, that isn't the case is it?"
"Urgh..." Mellifera could only groan as it was back to Equestria with hours of chatter. Mellifera would have to endure it until she was home sweet home. As for Carlita, she couldn't wait to enter the next world.
Information about Yveltal will forever remain rare. This dangerous Pokemon's existence, while known, was better kept away from library books. However, that didn't mean information about it didn't exist. Somewhere out there, as Rosa Maledicta stated, someone had knowledge about Yveltal. And possibly its cocoon.
The Dread League would no longer be a mystery. The Changeling Queen herself has become aware. And soon, with she and Ash had to share, soon all of Equestria would know as the journey continues.
"You were right when you said it looks like something out of a storybook." Carlita had just arrived at Equestria, courtesy of Ash and Pikachu. "Equestria's a neat place. Food's almost as good as mom's cooking too."
"You haven't seen anything yet, Carlita," Ash replied, stuffing his mouth with food. "Isn't that right, Pinkie?"
"Got that right, Ash. So you're a Dragon Trainer, right?"
"I sure am. Well, not a full-time one anyway. But I do have the light." Carlita held her hand out to Pinkie, showing her the golden glow of the draconic light. "Neat, isn't it?"
"Oooh...It's brighter than Spike's." Pinkie gazed into her hand. "Then again, I guess Iris' was also brighter."
"I gotta make a quick trip to Canterlot. Celestia and Luna gotta know about the Dread League before things get out of hand. I'll leave everything to you, Carlita."
"Aye, aye, sir!" Pinkie Pie would take care of things, opting to help Carlita. Ash and Pikachu departed from SugarCube Corner as Carlita was left to her own devices in Ponyville.
"So. Who's Spike?"
"Glad you asked!" Pinkie Pie grabbed Carlita's arm. "I'll take you to meet him right now."
"Mew!" Mew popped out of Pinkie's mane, greeting Carlita promptly.
"Mew?!" Carlita pulled back. Much like any other human, she would have a reasonable reaction to Mew of all Pokemon and his sudden appearance. But it wasn't just him. The second Mew had shown herself, also resting in Pinkie's mane. "Another one?! What's Mew doing here?!"
"Ah, these are my friends! Mew and Mewie." Pinkie Pie giggled. "One of them's my Pokemon and the other's a friend staying around for a while. Can you guess which one?"
"How do you just have Mew with you?!"
"Ah, don't worry about it." The party pony hopped over Carlita, landing near the exit. "Come on. Let's have it be Dragon to Dragon. Dragon Trainers that is. But he's a Dragon too."
"Wait. He's a dragon?" Carlita got off of her seat. Now her interest was truly piqued. But the appearance of two Mews still took the cake. Speaking of cake, it had been left on the table with one of Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff's slowly sneaking up on this pastry meal. Free to eat since Carlita left it behind.
Twilight's Lab. Afternoon.
Speaking of Spike, at this moment, he and Deino were undergoing some biting exercises. Deino's goal was to have the best biting strength possible and Spike, including all of his Dragon-Types encouraged it.
"Okay, then. Throw it Goodra!"
"Goo!" Goodra's horns were wrapped around a steel beam. Courtesy of the Gurdurr living in PokePark. It gave up one of its steel beams just to have Deino test her strength.
"Dei...No!" Deino's mouth opened as wide as it could. And with perfect timing, she managed to catch the steel beam which was larger and longer than her body. But that didn't matter to this daring Dragon-Type. "Deino...!" Once the beam was in her mouth, Deino began using every amount of her biting strength on it with her non-existent teeth.
"Come on, Deino! Let's prove that you can break through even steel!"
"No...!"
"Is she going to do it?" Twilight wondered as she and BigTime Ben were observing Deino's biting practice sessions. They were curious if Deino's biting strength could reach the level of crushing metal itself.
Progress had been shown. A crack was formed on the beam that made everyone gasp. Deino put everything she had into it and it was starting to pay off. Carlita and Pinkie Pie had shown up at Twilight's Castle, walking into the training session. Carlita stood there amazed by what she was seeing. A Deino, biting against a steel beam of all things.
"What's going on here?" Carlita asked.
"Deino's practising her biting strength. She wants to have the best bite in the world. A weird goal, but one worth shooting for you, don't you think?" Pinkie Pie explained as Deino's legs were trembling. The crack was starting to spread at a slow pace, showing that Deino had the capability to damage it and potentially shatter it. But unfortunately, that's all that Deino could muster as her jaws gave out.
"Deino." She dropped the steel beam, only managing to get a mild crack in the process.
"Oh..." Spike and the others sighed. "Well, at least you made a crack through it all. Good job, Deino."
"Dei-Dei."
"Gurdurr." Gurdurr went over to its steel beam, raising it to see the damaged crack. The Muscular Pokemon wondered if it could battle with this. A direct hit against a Pokemon or an incoming attack could potentially shatter it.
"Ah, we'll build you another one, Gurdurr," said BigTime Ben. "Don't you worry."
"That was impressive!" Carlita applauded Deino's efforts. "I've never seen a Deino do that! I'd expect a middle stage evolution to pull that off."
"It is impressive, isn't it?" Twilight turned to Carlita. "Uh...Who are you actually?"
"This right here's Carlita!" Pinkie Pie appeared on Carlita's shoulder, introducing the girl from Eindoak. "The one that Ash mentioned. Straight from Unova in Eindoak."
"So this is Carlita. One of the People of the Vale?" said Twilight.
"That's me. First time visiting here, princess." The Dragon Trainer from Eindoak greeted with a peace sign and wink. "Great to be here already."
"Afternoon!" Spike greeted, walking over to Deino, who still felt some pain in her jaws. "Are you okay, Deino?"
"Dei-Dei."
"Thanks for your help, Gurdurr. You can head back to PokePark now." Twilight ordered as Gurdurr served its purpose. It only came here to help Deino's training session as it had left with a damaged beam. Repairs would soon be done once it returns home.
"So you're Spike, right?" Carlita kneeled to face the baby dragon. "Wow, you're...adorable!" Amazed by Spike and how different he looked from the dragons in the Pokemon World caused Carlita to grab him by the face.
"Gooouh!" Spike's face had been puffed with Carlita easily picking him up.
"You didn't tell me the dragons of this world were this cute, Pinkie!" Carlita giggled, mushing Spike's cheeks. "Are they all like this?!"
"Well, Spike's a baby dragon. And he's the only baby dragon we've seen." Pinkie Pie shrugged as Spike felt trapped, unable to move within Carlita's grasp.
"Y-You're squeezing my face..."
"Oh! Sorry!" Carlita promptly placed him down. Allowing Spike to breathe. The baby dragon held his face, seeing if something was still intact.
"He doesn't look like a baby though," Carlita said. "Doesn't act like one either."
"Well, in this world, baby dragons are different to actual babies. They've got some maturity in them." Twilight explained. "Plus, it's also because...you know, it's best I don't go too in-depth with it."
"But anyway! Aside from that..." Carlita stood up, jumping back to the topic she wanted to discuss in the first place. Deino's recent training session. "I saw what your Deino did. So, you want her to have the best bite ever, you say? Could it be that...if she gets this good as a Deino, how would she be like as a Zweilous and Hydreigon?"
"That's what I was thinking too." The baby dragon nodded in confirmation. "Ya see, Deino's gonna bite harder than a Zweilous the way she is right now. And when she becomes a Zweilous, the strength of a Hydreigon is what she'll get and then after that...well you get the idea."
"Spike said it better than I would've put it," said Twilight. "Deino also wants to bite as hard as Dracovish. By far the Pokemon with the strongest bite in the world. If she can match that then there's nothing she can't chew her way through."
"That is pretty big and weird at the same time. I like it!" Carlita laughed. "But, I want to see how true that is. How good is your Deino's biting strength now?"
"Almost enough to bite through a steel beam as you saw. Just a bit more and Deino's reaching new heights." Spike patted the Irate Pokemon on the head.
"Hm-hm. In that case...I'd like to see how it stacks to my Hydreigon." Carlita held out her Poke Ball, sending out the final stage of the Deino Evolution Line. The Brutal Pokemon Hydreigon. A Shiny to boot.
"Hydreigon!"
"Deino...!" Deino was immediately starstruck upon seeing her final evolution. This was a natural reaction from other Pokemon that witness their final evolutions for the first time.
"This right here is what you want to try and look up to, Deino." Carlita walked over. "I can promise you this. My Hydreigon could snap a piece of the road in two if he wanted."
"Hydrei!"
"Deino!"
"Uhh..." Twilight stood there stunned, quivering in her hooves for a bit. Carlita soon noticed this, wondering why Twilight was shaking all of a sudden. "Sorry. Hydreigon's just a Pokemon that's a bit um...nerve-wracking."
"It's fine." Carlita gave an understanding shrug. "I get what you mean. I mean, who wouldn't be nervous around this powerhouse. Right, partner?"
"Dreigon!" Hydreigon had roared, spewing out fire from his mouth. It almost touched the ceiling with Twilight backing away. Deino attempted to do the same with her mouth, but she didn't have the moves available to do so.
"I'll need some objects, okay? Anything hard and tough to break. And Deino's gonna watch Hydreigon completely tear through them." Carlita announced.
"Deino!" Deino was already on it, focusing on the first object. Or rather, a batch of the same objects. Books. She immediately turned to the bookshelves, dashing over to grab a stack of them.
"No-no-no-no!" Twilight and Espeon got in front of the Irate Pokemon. Seeing her go for the books gave Twilight bad memories of when some of her books had been chewed up by Deino ever since her goal was revealed. "Books are off-limit, Deino. Mainly my books."
"Espeon."
"Even so, a book's not gonna be enough of a challenge." Carlita shrugged her arms, shaking her head as she had extreme confidence in Hydreigon. And why wouldn't she? Considering how powerful he was. "Just show me the best of what you have. That's all. And I can guarantee, it'll all crumble in the face of Hydreigon."
"Hydreigon!"
This would be done outside on the streets of Ponyville. Hydreigon hovered there with many ponies gazing at it. It was their first time witnessing such a ferocious Pokemon. Seeing Hydreigon only reminded them of Ghetsis' Hydreigon and how infamous it had become.
Objects had been gathered by Twilight, Pinkie and Spike. Objects hard enough to the point where only Pokemon moves could break them and perhaps other tools. But for Hydreigon, he wouldn't need Pokemon Moves at all. Just his bare mouth. Various metals from Ponyville were gathered from the spot as well as hard objects of various substances such as a kitchen sink, a tossed out lamp post, a piano and more.
Stopping by to see this hodge-podge of items were Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy while also glancing at the Brutal Pokemon. "There. Will all of these do?" Twilight asked.
"Perfect." Carlita rubbed her hands. "They'll do just fine."
"What's all this then?" Rarity asked Twilight before walking over. "Are you having a yard sale of some sort?"
"Ah, this is just one of Deino's Biting Practices. But in this case, it's Hydreigon who'll be doing all the biting." Twilight explained. "Carlita's Hydreigon. You know Carlita, right?"
"The girl Ash mentioned yes." Rarity nodded. "And who Rainbow Dash befriended not too long ago."
"Here's what we'll do." Carlita held the piano, using a ton of her muscle strength to keep it up. "Hydreigon will break an object and I want Deino to try doing the same thing on the same object. Got that, Spike?"
"I got it."
"Okay then. Go Hydreigon!" Carlita focused the piano on the Brutal Pokemon.
"Hydrei...Gon!" Hydreigon bit away. With his mouth open, he immediately sunk them into the piano without hesitating and wasting any time. And in just one second, just like that, the piano had shattered. The group were stunned in awe by the speed that which the piano had been broken and the power behind it.
Deino's heart skipped a beat from that devastating bite as the shock of Hydreigon biting into it caused the entire piano to crumble. All those piano keys were flying with some of them bumping Deino's head. "Deino..."
"Whoops!" Carlita fumbled. "Uhh...Guess Deino can't bite into that object. Hehe." A mistake had been made. The piano wouldn't be used for Deino as all of it was now demolished. But that only proved how ferocious Hydreigon's bite was. "Let's hold back a bit, okay, Hydreigon?"
"Hydrei." Hydreigon would have to hold back some of his strength Once he did so, the next batch of items would be bitten into. And thus began another training session for Deino.
A lamp post had been to them by Fluttershy with Hydreigon being the first to break it. Holding back allowed him to partially break the lamp post as he then passed it on to Deino. Deino was ready to see if she could do the same with her mouth connecting with the lamp post. While Hydreigon held back, Deino did not.
Her jaws were being pushed to their limit with Deino using everything she had. Successfully, she managed to break one side of it. Deino successfully pulled it off, granting her some applause. The next batch of items were sent over by Twilight and the others with Hydreigon once again starting off and Deino picking up where he left off.
Items were being broken left and right as Twilight and her friends passed them over in levels. From the least durable to the most durable, just to see how far they can go. This little training session grabbed the attention of other ponies and Pokemon, catching their attention. It was a bizarre sight to see, but oddly satisfying seeing the way these items broke.
With each item that was bitten into, Hydreigon broke it in a second while Deino would take some time. One of those examples came from a metal bar. Hydreigon, as to be expected, crushed it. As for Deino, she picked up where she left off with Gurdurr's steel beam, hoping to see if she could successfully pull it off.
And thanks to Gurdurr's steel beam from before and all the other items she ended up biting into minutes ago, she managed to shatter the bar.
"Deino! You broke through metal!" Spike exclaimed as everyone congratulated Deino.
"Deino." Deino smiled; if it was easy to tell when she was smiling, looking up at her idol Hydreigon.
"Hydreigon." Hydreigon couldn't exactly give a thumbs-up or even pull off a smile like Deino since they both had the same stagnant mouth. But, Deino could understand that Hydreigon was proud of her as the Brutal Pokemon gave a head pat with his head arms. "Hy-Hydrei."
"Dei-Dei!" Deino was happy to hear that as her face blushed with happiness.
"What a champ!" Applejack and everyone applauded.
"Mhm!" Fluttershy nodded in agreement. "Pokemon can adapt and learn so fast, can't they?"
"This Deino's hard work is paying off." Carlita kneeled to face the Irate Pokemon. And it's totally gonna pay off in the future too. I wonder if there's anything harder we can try?"
"Well...there's one other material." Twilight aimed her head to the skies, thinking of a material that was almost impossible to destroy unless under a certain effect. She thought about Dynasite. Material from Pegalysium.
"Deino..." But, that was as far as Deino could go. Her jaws twitched from everything she's bitten into, causing the Dark-Dragon-Type to fall over. She felt like sleeping and now was the time. "Dei...Dei..."
"Oh. That's it for her." Spike observed as Axew went over to pick her up. "But she did great. All that help was great Carlita."
"No problem." Carlita laughed. "Maybe later, you and I can have a battle. Deino against Hydreigon. What do you say?"
"Yes please!" Spike nodded without hesitation. " So wait...are you leaving?"
"Nope. I still have more to see in this world. Ash brought me over for that after all. And come to think of it..." Carlita stood up, pondering for a moment. "Rainbow Dash is here too, right? This world's Rainbow Dash. Been a bit. Where is she?"
"Rainbow Dash isn't here right now," said Fluttershy. "She went over to Canterlot for her own training session."
"Hm? What would that be?" Carlita asked.
"To train with Princess Celestia." Twilight stepped forward. "They both share something that Ash also has. The Bond Phenomenon. Rainbow Dash figured she could work alongside Princess Celestia and Ash to perfect the Bond Phenomenon without any issues."
"What's a Bond Phenomenon?" Carlita had another question that needed to be answered. The mystery that was the Bond Phenomenon to her.
Canterlot Gardens. Afternoon.
Speaking of Canterlot, Ash and Pikachu had just shown up there as well. Important information needed to be spread about the Dread League and who better to do it than the one who's encountered them twice in a row so far.
Ash was told by the Canterlot Guards that Celestia could be found at the Canterlot Guardians right now instead of her throne room. And the one with her at the gardens was Rainbow Dash, as correctly said by Twilight. She and Celestia were indeed undergoing their own training session.
"Oh. What's happening here?" Ash asked after arriving at the Canterlot Gardens. He saw that just Passion and Braviary were out right now.
"Ash. Perfect timing for you to be here." Celestia replied. "As you can see, we're both practising the Bond Phenomenon."
"Mhm. I took what you said last week when we were training on that Psychic-Type-shaped island, Ash. And I want to perfect it, ya know." said Rainbow Dash.
"You have perfected it, Ash. Mind helping us out?" The Ruler of Equestria asked.
"Love to! But I have something important to share first, Celestia." Ash immediately switched focus to the reason he came here. Something far more pressing than the Bond Phenomenon. "It's about the Dread League."
"Dread League?" Celestia's eyes narrowed as a serious tone immediately met with her. She started thinking about that name. The Dread League. It almost escaped her, but there was some familiarity to it. "How do you know about that...?"
"Pikachu and I kinda bumped into them two times now. Vampires and all. Glad that you know who they are."
"I do. But I haven't heard about them since I was a filly. So...centuries. And you encountered them? Especially the vampires?"
"Just the vampires. And the demons count too I think." He answered, wondering if the demons did count since they originated from Tartarus. "First, it was Kalos and later, it was at the Human World. They're all shooting for one thing. Finding Yveltal."
"Yve-Y-Wha?" Much like others, Rainbow Dash found it difficult to pronounce the name of this Legendary Pokemon.
"What is this Yveltal?" Celestia easily got the name perfected just like that. "And why would they want it?"
"Yveltal's a Legendary Pokemon that has the power to cause destruction by absorbing life energy. Pikachu and I also met it years back. They've been looking for all information about Yveltal for a while now. It's a good thing we managed to get them away from it."
"Pikachu."
"Oh." Celestia didn't need to hear anything else. "That much is clear. If that's what this Pokemon does, then I can see why they'd want it. Alright. Thank you for this, Ash. I'll see to this situation as soon as I can."
"I know you will, Celestia. But uh, about the Bond Phenomenon. You guys want help, right? Well...I don't think I'm gonna be the best one to do it right now." Ash shrugged.
"Huh? But you helped me with it a year back. Or was it 2 years?" Rainbow Dash replied.
"I can, but I still don't have Greninja with me. He's busy. But I know someone else who can help!" Ash put his arms together, knowing of the best individual to go to. "Professor Sycamore!"
"Professor Sycamore?" The two ponies repeated.
"Oh yeah. He's the one who found out about the Bond Phenomenon and what it was when researching it. He'll definitely help you with it. At least, I think. Plus, you've got the ability to fuse with Passion, Celestia. So it's definitely something that Sycamore's gotta know about it.
"Hm-hm-hm." Celestia nodded to Ash's suggestion. "Yes. A Pokemon Professor would do perfectly. Mine is different from yours and Rainbow Dash, so it is worth looking into."
"Yeah. But you've experienced it, Ash. So you're still gonna help, right?"
"For sure! Wouldn't miss it for a second!" It was official. Professor Sycamore, with the assistance of Ash, would help the two ponies with their Bond Phenomenon while also figuring out what Celestia's version of the Bond Phenomenon was that allowed her and Passion to become Celestial-Gardevoir. It was off to Lumiose City in the Kalos Region.
Two different training sessions. One had already finished which was Deino's and the other was just getting started AKA Celestia and Rainbow Dash as the journey continues.
Kalos Region. Lumiose City. Professor Sycamore's lab. Afternoon.
Arriving here at Lumiose City were Ash, Rainbow Dash, Princess Celestia and their Pokemon. For one purpose. To further research and help with the Bond Phenomenon. Mainly Celestia's. Hers was a unique one that only triggered during Mega Evolution with her Gardevoir. Not only that, but she even fuses with Passion to form Celestial-Gardevoir.
They arrived at his lab, sitting pretty as always in the wonderful city of Lumiose City. The most populous city in the Pokemon World. The moment Ash opened that door, rushing over and tackling him to the ground was none other than a Garchomp. Not just any Garchomp though.
"Gar!"
"Haha! Hey, Garchomp!" Ash laughed as he recognized this Garchomp as Professor Sycamore's Garchomp immediately. The Mach Pokemon playfully pinned Ash down, elated to see him. "Good to see you too!"
"I knew Garchomp would rush out for a reason. Look who's back." A voice spoke to Ash while he was pinned by Garchomp.
"Professor Sycamore!" Ash moved his head to the side, meeting with the man of the hour. The Kalos Region's Pokemon Professor. Professor Sycamore.
"If it isn't Ash and Pikachu," Sycamore replied, greeting the Trainer from the Kanto Region. "It's been too long, honestly. How have you two been?"
"Doing great!" Ash gave a thumbs-up while Garchomp finally got off of him.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder, landing right on Garchomp's head.
"Gar!"
"And who may these be?" Sycamore then turned his attention to Celestia and Rainbow Dash.
"Right. These here are my friends. Princess Celestia. Rainbow Dash and all of their Pokemon. Inside and outside." Ash introduced with Celestia bowing whilst Rainbow Dash simply waved her hoof.
"Princess? Oh, the ruler of Equestria just on the other side?" Sycamore soon realized who this was. Despite being from another world, Celestia was fairly well-known. Mainly due to her superior status as Equestria's ruler.
"That is me. Yes." Celestia confirmed her identity. Ethereal mane and everything.
"Do you know about me too?" Rainbow Dash asked, hoping for that to be the case.
"Sorry. I'm not sure I do." Sycamore shrugged with Rainbow Dash lowering her head.
"Darn. Eh, I'll get there eventually." The multi-coloured-maned-mare didn't let it get to her at all. Sycamore invited them inside, granting Celestia and Rainbow Dash the sight of yet another Pokemon Lab. At least, for Celestia. This would be her first-ever Pokemon Professor Lab.
"So, you're here for a reason. Why else would you show up?" Sycamore already got straight to the point before Ash could even do so.
"Yeah. It's about Celestia and Rainbow Dash. You see, Professor Sycamore, they've got the same thing that I have with Passion and Braviary. The Bond Phenomenon. Uh, Passion's Gardevoir over here."
"What?!" This revelation blew the Kalos Pokemon Professor back. "That's impossible. There should be only one Bond Phenomenon that exists. At least for one Pokemon. These two have it as well?"
"We sure do. Surprised?" Rainbow Dash replied. "Ash was just as surprised too."
"We've been able to tap into the Bond Phenomenon. But I didn't know there was only supposed to be." Celestia scratched her mane.
"Only Greninja wields the power of the Bond Phenomenon. No other Pokemon does." This made Sycamore think. "For years, it's been that way. And two new ones have shown up. For how long?"
"Uh...Mine was three years ago!" Rainbow Dash counted in her head, recalling when Rainbow-Braviary had been seen for the first time. Even the flash of Rainbow-Braviary was seen during a Gym Battle to boot.
"I believe mine was 2 years ago." Celestia already knew when. Just a few days after the Darkest Day did Celestial-Gardevoir show herself. "Mine is known as Celestial-Gardevoir."
"And I'm Rainbow-Braviary. With ya know, Braviary.
"But get this! This is where the cool stuff comes in!" Ash's eyes sparkled, thinking of Celestial-Gardevoir's unique way of being summoned. "Celestial-Gardevoir doesn't work the same way as Rainbow Dash and mine. Celestia uses Mega Evolution to turn on the Bond Phenomenon and even fuses with Passion too!"
"I beg your pardon?! Mega Evolution and Fusion?!" As if Sycamore wasn't hit with more surprises, this threw him off guard. Residents from the other world were certainly packing impressive things that he had yet to see. "That's also unheard of. Well, not Pokemon fusion at least. Okay. Now my interest has reached its peak."~
"Mhm. So, I was hoping that you would know what's up with Celestia and Passion's way of doing it? How come they need Mega Evolution and how can they fuse like that?"
"You came to the right person, Ash." Sycamore placed his hand on Ash. "I as well need to know how this is possible and also how there can be another Bond Phenomenon when there is only supposed to be one. Rainbow Dash. Princess Celestia. Would you mind spending a little bit of time with me?"
"Not at all. Let's do this!" Rainbow Dash was already prepared. This was the one instance where she would love to hear something informative without having to doze off. Celestia was ready as well.
"Great. Come with me to my study room and we can get this started." It was time. Sycamore had to see this for himself and also deduce the enigma that was Celestial-Gardevoir. No matter how long it may take.
Over at his study room, Celestia and Rainbow Dash stood next to each other with Sycamore having objects that recently delved into Ash-Greninja when it was first known to him. But over the years, these objects received an upgrade. And what better time to test these upgrades than on two new Bond Phenomenon Pokemon. Passion was already out and joining her was Braviary.
Ash sat back and watched, holding the three Kalos Starters in his arms. Chespin, Fennekin and Froakie. Pikachu continued to sit on Garchomp's head, resting for a bit.
"Alright then. Show me these new forms." Sycamore was ready.
"Right," Celestia revealed the Gardevoirite that was hidden in her mane. This entire time, it never fell out. She removed the crystal on her crown before then transforming the diamond hole to make it match the circle shape of the Keystone. The stone was placed inside while with the Infinity Energy already beginning to pulsate. The signature glow of Celestial-Gardevoir was teasing Sycamore, waiting to emerge. The Ruler of Equestria tapped on the keystone, initiating Mega Evolution. "Now, Passion! Mega Evolve!"
"Alright, Braviary. Let's go!"
In unison, the two ponies had initiated the transformations. Both Passion and Braviary bellowed with Rainbow Dash doing the same, already feeling herself sync up with her partner. A rainbow pillar emerged in the sky, crashing down as it phased through the building, causing no harm whatsoever. The pillar had consumed both Rainbow Dash and Braviary whilst the dual energies from the keystones started clashing against each other with their gold and blue lights. Celestia's body started glowing gold in the process.
Sycamore put on some glasses with these multiple lights going off in unison. The golden glowing body of Celestia ended up moving along with Passion's body. Both of them gravitated toward each other before letting out a golden flare. Once they started meshing together with the Mega Evolution symbol showing itself, the energies burst out, revealing Rainbow-Braviary and Celestial-Gardevoir.
"Braviary!"
"Here we are." Celestial-Gardevoir introduced herself by bowing to Sycamore. "We are Celestial-Gardevoir."
"Oooh!" Sycamore was starstruck after witnessing these fresh-new forms. And in the process, his machine started picking up on the Infinity Energies radiating from them both. "You were right, Ash! This is amazing! A separate transformation for Gardevoir and a new transformation for Braviary! Splendid!"
"Yeah, it's neat." The pegasus confidently crossed her hooves, posing with the Valiant Pokemon. "But I can stay in it for too long or I'll just pass out. So me and Braviary don't use it that often."
"Passion and I rarely use it unless under dire circumstances. Olympia told us about the dangers of her Mega Evolved form. But when we do use it, it's of great help."
"Well, either way, the machine speaks for itself. It's reading something amazing from what you've brought on." Sycamore gazed at the machine, seeing a plethora of numbers and a frequency matching that of a heartbeat go on. "Give me a bit for me to analyse this."
Sycamore focused on the readings, mainly looking at Celestial-Gardevoir's side. When looking, he expected to find similar results to Ash-Greninja. However, it didn't even take a minute or an hour. Only a few seconds for him to see something stunning and brand new.
"!" Is the expression Sycamore could give out.
"What is it Professor Sycamore?" Ash noticed Sycamore's changing expression to a perplexed one.
"Oh my, oh my." The Kalos Pokemon Professor uttered with his pupils dilating rapidly. He pulled back before turning to face the two transformed Pokemon.
"Is it bad?!" Rainbow Dash was already starting to worry about the worst outcome, pulling on her mane. Celestial-Gardevoir even felt nervous about how the Pokemon Professor was reacting.
"You two." Sycamore cleared his throat. "You don't have the Bond Phenomenon."
"We don't?!" The two of them gasped in unison.
"They don't?!" So did Ash.
"This isn't the same as what Greninja had. In fact, it's something entirely different. Something that doesn't exist in this world." Sycamore continued. "What you have is something similar to the Bond Phenomenon, but it's not quite that. What we have here is something of a different origin. A new origin."
"So you're saying we have something new? But how come it's not the Bond Phenomenon? It feels like it. Just like what Ash said." Rainbow Dash was now more confused than worried.
"Different origin?" Celestial-Gardevoir knew what that meant. But she wondered more about its origin. Then, with her eyes widening, she could think of only one possibility. "Are you referring to our world?"
"Precisely, princess. I can deduce that this enigma originates from your world. It also seems to be magic-influenced with some Infinity Energy involved." Sycamore showed then the results of the machine. "Look. My machine can also pick up on the only type of magic in this world. Fairy-Type magic. And ever since our worlds crossed over, your magic, Equestrian Magic, is something that it's picked up as well. Possibly from events that have happened in our world. Near or far."
"That's one strong machine..." An impressed Rainbow Dash said.
"It wasn't this impressive in the past. I upgraded it so that it can sense energies from a great distance. But besides that, this force is from your world. Rainbow Dash. Your Braviary has something else there. The energy coming off of its transformed state indicates that there is another level to it."
"Another level?!" The pegasus pulled back. "To Rainbow-Braviary?!"
"Braviary?!"
"Mhm. More importantly, it seems that your Equestrian Magic managed to fuse with Infinity Energy, creating an All-New Phenomenon that has never existed in the Pokemon World. That should explain why it was possible. So at the end of the day, the Bond Phenomenon is still something that only Greninja wields but your world has managed to form a similar force to it."
"An All-New Phenomenon from our world. Amazing..." Celestial-Gardevoir said before looking at her arms. She almost trembled from this stunning information.
"Awesome!" Ash and Rainbow Dash were of the same opinion. They couldn't help but marvel at this revelation. "A totally new power from the other world?! Sweet!"
"It is sweet. But it gets better." Sycamore snapped his fingers, smirking. "Since it came from your world, no doubt in my mind that everyone else can do it."
"Hold on. You mean..everyone else can sync up with their Pokemon too?" Ash was hoping he got that right."
"That would make sense." Celestia;-Gardevoir already answered it for Ash before Sycamore could. "It would be like the Elements of Harmony in a sense. Where anyone can harness them."
"Anyone? But what about my Element of Loyalty?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Sorry, Rainbow Dash. But in reality, anypony can use the Elements of Harmony. They are not destined for a specific group of ponies. If you think about it, on that day during Nightmare Moon's return, Twilight could've brought along somepony like Cheerilee along. Can you imagine that?"
"Uhh..." Rainbow Dash did end up imagining it. The sight of Miss Cheerilee holding the Element of Kindness, facing off against Nightmare Moon with Twilight along her side. She even pictured other ponies such as Roseluck, Soarin, Octavia and a few more wearing those elements. "Woah...Guess we got lucky."
"Perhaps. Or maybe there was a pinch of destiny that helped get you there." Celestial-Gardevoir laughed as she made Rainbow Dash's heart skip a beat.
"You're right on the note, Ash. Princess Celestia. If everyone in your world can harness any kind of magic without seemingly no end, then the same can be said for the phenomenon that you two have encountered."
"Sweet! That means I could see all of my friends have special forms." Ash had already pictured it all in his mind. Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Starlight, Spike and so much more that would take forever to think about could sync up with their Pokemon to form a new transformation. "Ah, this is way better news than we thought we'd hear, huh, buddy?"
"Pikachu!"
"Of course, they'll be under the same risk of receiving damage when bonding with their Pokemon to new heights. But that can be sorted, can't it?" Sycamore shrugged.
"Sure. Would take a while..." Celestial-Gardevoir rubbed the back of her hair. "But this is stellar news. For everypony...no, every species out there. Just imagine the power that...oh, I'm getting a bit too carried away with this, aren't I?" She chuckled. "But the question is...what should we call it?"
A name was needed. It certainly wouldn't be called the Bond Phenomenon as that already existed. Something fresh and new was already being stirred up in the heads of everyone.
"Hmm...Rainbow-Braviary has a second stage to it." Sycamore counted twice. "Princess Celestia and Passion can merge upon using the power of Mega Evolution. That much is known. We just need something that clicks with your world."
"Well...Harmony is something I and many others strive for in Equestria." Celestial-Gardevoir spoke. "Ah! I know!"
"Yeah?" They all leaned in to hear what Celestia had come up with.
"The Harmony Phenomenon!" Celestial-Gardevoir had crafted the name of the newest Pokemon phenomenon. "We strive to live in harmony and bonding is one major part of it. It works perfectly, don't you think?" She playfully clapped her hands.
"The Harmony Phenomenon. Yes! It's as beautiful sounding as a Milotic's cry!" Sycamore approved greatly, snapping his finger to it.
"Looks like we've got something new to test out now, huh?" Ash giggled. "I can't contain all this excitement right now!"~
"I know what you mean, Ash!" Rainbow Dash flew over. "But, hey. I wanna know what that other level of Rainbow-Braviary you mentioned was, Professor Sycamore. Ya think I could see what that is? And uh, how am I gonna reach it?"
"That's for you and Braviary to pursue, my little pony. But, if I had to guess, perhaps it works in the same way as Pokemon evolution. The most common way to evolve a Pokemon is by finishing up in a battle. Or even midway through the battle on some rare occasions. Try that with your Braviary."
"Oh, yeah! True that! Ash! Let's battle!"
"I'm game!"
"And Celestial-Gardevoir. May I recommend one thing?" Sycamore walked over to the fused entity. "The form that you've taken on is possible with Mega Evolution. With what my machine tells me, how about you try using Mega Evolution but without fusing. And also taking on a different variation of Celestial-Gardevoir."
"Oh? Without fusing and a different variation?" Celestial-Gardevoir ended up splitting up as those were her last words. Celestia and Passion had returned.
"Gardevoir?"
"Mhm. Perhaps, you can become Celestial-Gardevoir without needing to use Mega Evolution. Or, you can end up Mega Evolving your Gardevoir without needing to fuse. Therefore, you'll have multiple ways to battle, eh?"
"Oooh..." Celestia and Passion looked at us. "Alright. That could be worth trying out. Ash, would you help me?"
"Sure-sure." Ash was willing to help each of them. He wanted to see this for himself. "Let's go, you guys!"
"Pikachu!"
Outside the lab.
Outside of Professor Sycamore's Lab, a short training session was about to begin. Ash would see just what these two new forms could do. That is if one of them could be brought out. He had Pikachu test them out along with the inclusion of Lucario.
"Let's see...I'll try Mega Evolution. We only ever had Passion stay in her Mega Form when we battled Olympia and nothing else." Celestia would choose to have Mega Gardevoir.
"I'm already out with Rainbow-Braviary. But I wanna make this quick before I end up passing out," said Rainbow Dash.
"Got it. Ready when you are." Ash replied.
"Hm. Alright now, Passion!" Celestia tapped the keystone once more, initiating the process for Mega Evolution. "Mega Evolve!" The lights of Mega Evolution made their triumphant return. They connected with each other, forming DNA symbols. Celestia's body, as always, was starting to glow.
This isn't what she wanted. To avoid this, Celestia held herself back. She figured that the best way to avoid herself fusing with Passion was to use magic. The source of this new phenomenon. The Sun Princess closed her eyes, using her magic to prevent herself from gravitating towards Passion and becoming one. Thanks to this, the process of Mega Evolution could finish surrounding Passion without needing Celestia. And thus, Mega Gardevoir had made her second appearance after only being absent for a long time.
"Gardevoir!"
"It worked!" Celestia giggled with elation.
"Splendid." Sycamore applauded. "Now, shall we get started?"
"You bet! Let's go, Celestia! Rainbow!"
"Understood, Ash!" Celestia's eyes flared as she and Rainbow Dash were ready to battle. It would also be Rainbow Dash's turn to see if she could unleash a new level of Rainbow-Braviary.
"Battle Start!" Sycamore gave the call for the battle to begin.
"Okay, Pikachu! Use Quick Attack! Lucario, go for Force Palm!"
"Pika! Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu immediately took off at lightning speeds, leaving white afterimages while Lucario simply lunged with a glowing palm.
"Let's go, Braviary! Aerial Ace!"
"Passion, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Garde...!" Passion put her arms together, forming a rainbow sphere. Out of that sphere, multiple rainbow rays were unleashed. And alongside those rays, Rainbow-Braviary zoomed past them. Pikachu and Braviary butted heads with their fastest moves. As for Lucario, he started hitting some of the rays away with Force Palm, only to get overwhelmed by them, flying back afterwards.
"Lu!"
"Pika!" Pikachu and Rainbow-Braviary reached a stalemate with both of them knocking each other back.
"Let's go further, Braviary!" Rainbow Dash aimed to push herself along with Braviary. They had to reach that next level that Sycamore talked out. And by doing so, their bodies were flaring with rainbows. That was a sign.
"Braviaray!" Braviary cawed with a mighty battle cry as he could feel himself getting stronger. But he wasn't exactly at that next level yet.
"Thunderbolt! Aura Sphere!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu and Lucario worked in unions, unleashing their strongest ranged moves at the same time. A bolt of 100,000 vols along with a concentrated sphere of Aura were thrown, flying side by side.
"Mystical Fire!"
"Breakthrough with Superpower!"
"Voir!" Passion put both her arms out, summoning an enchanting wave of fire.
"Braviary!" Braviary dug deeper into his strength, trying to reach that next level as his talons were glowing orange, gathering some of that untapped strength. He struck his talon onto the incoming Thunderbolt while Mystical Fire met with Aura Sphere. "B-Braviary!"
"Some more, Braviary!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as the duo kept increasing their strength. And especially the Infinity Energy plus Magic within them. This allowed Braviary to power through Thunderbolt, causing a wide shockwave that went in both Pikachu and Lucario's direction.
"Pika...!" Pikachu growled as the shockwave from Superpower ended up knocking him back. However, he slid on the ground afterwards. Thanks to the shockwave hitting Lucario as well, Mystical Fire managed to pierce Aura Sphere, soon engulfing Lucario in these mystical flames.
"Rrrr..!" Lucario growled, putting his arms up to block before being blasted back.
"Not yet. We haven't gotten there yet." Rainbow Dash wasn't satisfied. She needed to see this next level, no matter how far it was.
"Hmm..." Ash looked at Rainbow Dash, feeling as if this scenario was somewhat familiar. Coupled with Mega Gardevoir, it started reminding him of one instance. His battle with Diantha.
"Brave Bird!"
"Plasma Bolt!"
"Braviary...!" Braviary dug deeper once more. By doing so, his Brave Bird emanated a rainbow glow instead of the usual fiery aura that it possesses when used in this form. That was natural to Rainbow-Braviary and a result of the bond between both trainers. However, by pushing himself, his aura was getting bigger., flaring with more rainbows overlaying the previous one.
"Gardevoir!" Passion had then used Plasma Bolt, combining Thunderbolt and Mystical Fire to form Plasma, unleashing a bolt of these mixed elements to form one mightier element.
"Hm." Ash knew what to do. He would only go for Passion. "Double Team, Lucario! Thunderbolt, Pikachu!"
"Luca!" Lucario had split himself multiple times as the bolt approached him. Pikachu joined him in attacking Mega Gardevoir, summoning his own bolts from his body. Thunderbolt had clashed with Plasma Bolt, causing a momentary bolt struggle.
"Now, Aura Sphere!"
"Lu!" All the clones of Lucario could advance on Mega Gardevoir as she was too occupied with Pikachu.
"Use your other hand for Psychic!"
"Voir!" Passion removed one of her hands, using one hand to keep Plasma Bolt active. The other hand had used Psychic, sending an invisible blast as the multiple Lucario clones all merged while charging Aura Sphere in unison. When entering the real Lucario, Aura Sphere had strengthened before being launched. "Garde...!" Gardevoir struggled to hold the two attacks back as Aura Sphere managed to get past Psychic while Thunderbolt bypassed Plasma Bolt.
Thus, she had been hit by both attacks. The Embrace Pokemon staggered, almost falling back. She could still continue even with that double hit.
"Now, Braviary!" Rainbow Dash and Braviary had been charging up the entire time, continuing to push their limits.
"Wait! Braviary! Rainbow Dash, stop!" Ash immediately shouted out, prompting her and Braviary to cease their buildup.
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash did just that. And the moment she stopped, she felt her body twitch. The side of her stomach pulsated, bringing up a familiar pain she hoped not to feel again. "Gah!"
"Rainbow Dash! Are you alright?!" Celestia asked.
"Yeah. Almost did myself in there..." The pegasus breathed in and out.
"I think that's where we should stop," Ash called it a battle, stopping it promptly. "I knew this looked way too familiar. I tried pushing myself once when I was Ash-Greninja. And it didn't go so well for me."
"It didn't?" Rainbow Dash repeated.
"Nope. Passed out again. I saw that happening with you and Braviary and I couldn't let you two faint."
"Ash is right." Sycamore walked over. "You were certainly shooting for that next level, but it was far too volatile and risky."
"Darn it." Rainbow Dash sat down, still feeling the twitching pain as Braviary reverted to his normal form. "Maybe another time then..."
"Braviary."
"But, today was not a total loss." Sycamore shook his head. "Princess Celestia. You managed to unleash Mega Evolution without needing to fuse. That's an improvement."
"Thank you, it is. Well done to you as well, Passion."
"Gardevoir."
"And Rainbow Dash. Keep trying to reach that next level you wish to see. It can be done. Here in the Pokemon World, there is no limit to what a Pokemon can do. And I can safely say that the same applies to your world as there are Trainers there with strong bonds."
"We'll be there to help you through it as always, Dash." Ash held his arm out.
"Pikachu!"
"Rrr!"
"Thanks, you guys." Rainbow Dash loved to hear it, allowing Ash to grab her hoof as she flew up. "I'm not done with Rainbow-Braviary yet. I'm gonna totally perfect it one day. It'd be cooler if it was during an epic moment, right, Braviary?"
"Viary!"
"Well, a quick favour before you all leave. This Harmony Phenomenon needs to be looked into further. With the magic from your world, it's difficult to say what's possible. Princess Celestia. Could you perhaps send me information for every new discovery about the Harmony Phenomenon that's made?"
"Mm. I can do that." Celestia agreed as a new deal with Professor Sycamore had been made. "I also know a few ponies eager to test it out themselves."
"And I wanna see all of it happen!" Ash had a giddy smile. "Thanks for the help, Professor Sycamore."
"Pika-Pika!"
"It's my pleasure, Ash. I bid you farewell and I look forward to when we next meet. It could be sooner than expected."
It was time for them to leave. Upon coming here, they expected to learn a new variation of the Bond Phenomenon. Instead, what they got was something better. A new Phenomenon made exclusively in the other world whilst being of Equestrian Magic origin. The Fusion between Infinity Energy and Equestrian Magic had formed the Harmony Phenomenon. A new phenomenon that had more to explore. And more to look forward to as the journey continues.
"Harmony Phenomenon?" Just now, Ash and Rainbow Dash brought some stellar news back to their friends. They spoke in unison after hearing about the Harmony Phenomenon.
"Wait. First, it was the Bond Phenomenon and now it's the Harmony Phenomenon?" Carlita said as all this talk of phenomenons was starting to mess with her head. "Is there a third one I don't know about?"
"So, it was never the Bond Phenomenon in the first place..." Twilight gasped. "And you're saying that everypony has it??"
"Looks to be that way from what Professor Sycamore said. Either by Mega Evolution or something else." Ash replied. "Neat, right? You can all do it! Everyone can do it!"
"Pikachu!"
"Like right now?" Applejack leaned in.
"Yeah. But I'm guessing it's different for everyone since Rainbow Dash and Celestia have two ways of doing it. Or maybe it's just two ways." Ash wondered.
"Can we do it with just one Pokemon?" Fluttershy asked.
"Uh, he didn't mention anything about that." Ash scratched his face. "But since it's mostly one Pokemon that gets it, then maybe so. Then again, Rarity's got two Mega Stones, doesn't she?"
"Indeed. I could perform a double Harmony Phenomenon if I wanted to when I do. "That will be fun to discover." Rarity giggled. "I'm afraid I'll be a bit busy by tomorrow. It is getting late to boot."
"Right on. But thanks for telling us anyway, Ash." Applejack then looked to Sceptile. "Ya hear that Sceptile? Soon, we'll be getting some even more special than we've got."
"Sceptile!"
"Speaking of late...I should head back." Carlita faced Ash. "It's been great visiting here. And to an extent, that whole event that happened back in the Human World. Not done with yet."
"Looking forward to seeing you around some more, Carlita." Ash held his arm out as he and Carlita shook hands. "We're not gonna forget about those Alpha Pokemon around, are we?"
"Didn't forget about them for a moment. And I'll be seeing you all later, my little ponies." Carlita then faced Twilight and the others. "Especially you two. Spike. Deino."
"Thanks for the help, Carlita!" Spike appreciated being helped out by a fellow Dragon Trainer and a Dragon Pokemon. Once more, most of his mentors, if not all of them, have been Dragon Trainers. No better option.
"Deino."
After that, Carlita was off, heading for Manehattan as that gateway was the closest to Eindoak. I.E, Castelia City which could be found next to the long-lasting town. As for everyone else, they would call it a day. But for Ash and Pikachu, the day will barely end as their adventures have made it so that it feels like multiple hours are left. That was just one of the many joys the felt during this timeless journey to become a Pokemon Master.
But for now, heading back to Pallet Town was the best option. They still felt the effects of the vampire attack from last night. It was only until now that he just realized how time flew by compared to what happened in the Human World and learned about the Harmony Phenomenon.
"Don't forget, boy. Flurry Heart wishes to go on her adventure. I could teach her some things along the way and unfortunately, you have to be dragged along due to our connection."
"It'll be a short but fun journey, Sombra." Ash laughed. "I can't wait!"
The Crystal Empire. Day.
"I can't wait!" The next day, Flurry Heart from Universe 6 was booming with excitement. Today was the day that she went out on a Pokemon Journey. Albeit a short one. "Today's the day. I really get to go wherever, right?"
"That's right." Cadence shook her head. "But just for a bit! It'll be a short journey, remember."
"Yeah, I know, mom. But I'll have friends by my side to help me along the way. Especially since I'm already travelling with a pro. Ash. And if I were to choose a region...I'd go with the Sinnoh Region, no doubt!"
"Flash. She put a lot of faith in you. So make sure you keep her safe." Shining Armor turned to him.
"I will, captain." Flash Sentry saluted before thinking to himself. "Although...I think Ash, Pikachu and Giratina are enough protection for her. I'll just be on the side when I think about it."
"Take all of this. Every Pokemon Trainer needs this." Cadence had then used her magic to suddenly bring over a plethora of times. They were all placed inside of a large saddlebag, hovering over Flurry Heart. The young princess gasped before seeing them rain on her. "You won't get hungry or thirsty with all of this. And since the Pokemon World doesn't accept bits yet, you'll need Pokedollars. Lots of them. Luckily, we have enough to go around thanks to BigTime Ben."
"Uh..." Flurry Heart tried speaking with her head poking out of the sea of items. Cadence cut her off once more with the next batch of items.
"Here are your Poke Balls. I'm only giving you Quick Balls." Cadence dropped next to Flurry Heart. "They're efficient on the first go and that'll decrease the chances of you having to engage in a Pokemon Battle. Especially against a powerful Pokemon."
"But I already have a powerful Pokemon, mom. Giratina."
"Giratina or not, those Pokemon are unpredictable." Cadence shook her head.
"At least give her other Poke Balls in case the Quick Balls fail. They don't always catch a Pokemon on the first turn, Cadence." Shining Armor recommended.
"Oh. Right. You have a point there..." Cadence bit her hoof. "Alright then. How does a Timer Ball sound?" She chose the complete opposite of the Quick Ball. The Timer Ball. "If a Pokemon's giving you trouble, just use it depending on how long the battle's been going on. And just like that, your chances skyrocket."
"You gotta have more faith in Giratina mom...but thanks anyway." The young princess from another universe laughed. "And you're not forgetting one other batch of items, right?"
"Oh. Your Pokemon Cards." Cadence pulled out Flurry Heart's favourite pastime activities. Collecting Pokemon Cards. She had a massive collection of them as it was her ultimate hobby. Thankfully, they were minuscule enough to be placed with the saddlebag even with all the items added. Magic was the result of that.
"Sweet! Maybe I could buy some more along the way." She happily held the bag with the cards within. "Also...Ash, Pikachu and Sombra should be here right about now."
"Hey, there!" Just as Flurry Heart predicted, here they were, sliding into the room. Sombra was under his Jet Black disguise whilst within the Crystal Empire, wanting to avoid the public from noticing him. "Right on time. Right?"
"Right! Thanks for making it you three." Flurry Heart placed the bag around her, prancing over to her friends. "I've got everything ready."
"And make sure that Sombra's kept an eye on as well..." Shining Armor whispered to Flash Sentry. The pegasus understood clear as day.
"Let's head to Sinnoh, guys." Flurry Heart held out a map of Sinnoh. "Which gateway's the closest to it?"
"The closest is Canalave City. That gateway moved a while ago, so now it's near Vanhoover." Ash explained. "We can take that and it's Hello Sinnoh."
"Great! Well, we'll be off now, mom. Dad. I'll be back tomorrow. Or maybe the day after that."
"Just make it soon. Your younger self from this world will be rooting for you. As will we." Cadence held out baby Flurry Heart who was giggling at her older self. "We also need to find a better way to name you both...Saying self is just getting tiring now."
"I'll figure that out along the way." Flurry Heart chuckled before then zipping her bag. "Okay, enough talk! Let's go!"
"Pikachu!"
And they were off. A nervous part of the two rulers of the Crystal Empire kept poking out. But they had faith in their daughter's return. Even if she wasn't from this universe, she was still family either way.
"Alright." Shining Armor took a deep breath. "If we focus too much on this, we won't get any rest tonight. Let's turn our attention to something else, Cadence. Something that endangers not just her but everyone else."
"You mean the Dread League, right? Aunt Celestia already told me yesterday." Cadence nodded as the existence of the Dread League had been brought over to the Crystal Empire. "And thanks to Chrysalis getting some knowledge from her mother Mellifera, we know where they are. They're closer than we think."
Indeed. Ever since Mellifera shared information about the Dread League to Chrysalis months ago, their existence and where the nation of Magehold resided had been revealed. Somewhere, hidden in the Frozen North, this land of vampires, skeletons and the Lich Queen could be found. And nothing but terror and despair awaits there.
Sinnoh. Canalave City. Afternoon.
The wonderful port city of Canalave City. Bisected by a canal while always possessing a distinctly exotic air of foreign culture. Flurry Heart had a lot to see in the Pokemon World. Next to the residents of Pegalysium, she hadn't even scratched the surface of Pokemon at all.
Immediately, she set her sights on the building that attracted her the most. Not the Gym or even the only library in the Sinnoh Region. A new area. Not necessarily new enough to be made after the crossing over of both worlds, but it was made here in Canalave a few years back to still be considered new and young.
Located on the near outskirts of the city, it was an arcade. Predictably, it was known as the Zero Arcade with a stylish number zero being next to the R. She set her sights on that before anything else. Ash, Pikachu and Flash Sentry were eager as well as they approached the arcade.
Once inside, the bombardment of colours had graced their eyes. They were there to lighten the darkened room while also highlighting the various players and arcades. A stunning variety could be found. Arcade Games, pinball machines, claw cranes, billiards and so much more for different audiences.
"Every region's getting something new over the years, huh, buddy?" Ash spoke, elated that there was always something new even in regions he had previously visited. To a big adventurer such as himself, this meant that no matter what, there would never be a boring visit with something new waiting somewhere out there.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"An Arcade..." Flash's eyes widened for a bit, gazing at the colourful interior. "I remember when I wanted to go to the Arcade."
"Good times, right?" Flurry Heart turned to him.
"Nope. I said I wanted to." Flash Sentry took off his helmet, shaking his head. "Never got the chance though."
"Why not?" Ash and Flurry Heart both asked.
"Well, I had the dream of becoming a Royal Guard." He then looked at the helmet. "It was bigger than anything I ever wanted. But I guess shooting for that dream with such passion led to me missing out on a lot. Because my parents figured that I shouldn't waste time on something like arcade games when I should be putting all of that time into becoming a Royal Guard. And I mean, it paid off. Look where I am now."
"Oh, Flash. That's a bummer though." The alicorn's ears dropped, feeling for Flash and the things he had missed out on.
"Your parents had the right decisions in mind." Sombra thought differently with a smirk gracing his face, being a stark contrast to Flurry Heart. "It's always the superior idea to stay fixated on one thing. I aimed to be a king and lo and behold, I was once the ruler of the Crystal Empire."
"Yeah, but you gotta have fun here and there doing other stuff." Flurry Heart pouted in response.
"You've both got a point." Ash stepped in. "You always gotta shoot for what you love. But there's also knowing when to have fun too. Sometimes, you can do it when you're aiming for your goal. And Flash. Now's your chance to catch up."
"Huh? Catch up?"
"Yeah. We're in an Arcade now, aren't we? Here's your chance to go where you never got to go for so long. Let's do it." Ash showed Flash Sentry what he had been missing out on. Flash realized that this was his chance. He got his position as a Royal Guard, so there was nothing to stop him anywhere.
"You're right! This is going to be great! I can't wait!"
"Neither can I! Oh! Let's start with that!" Flurry Heart already found the first game to try out, immediately using her magic to drag Flash Sentry along. Ash and Pikachu set their sights on another game while Sombra merely chose to stay out of this. All of this was of no interest to him for even a moment.
But either way, they had a blast. The group split off to try different games and test their skills. Ash got to try out one of the Arcade Games, choosing a racing one. He was in the mood for something of high-adrenaline and this was perfect. Flash saw some glasses that he wished to wear in the crane game, testing his luck. Alas, he came to experience the horror that was crane games.
Flurry Heart sat on a special chair that struck her fancy. Upon sitting on it, not only did the chair start vibrating, massaging her and making her feel comfortable, but she could also move with it. Pikachu took part in an arcade game that was built for Pokemon. All he had to do was approach it and stand on a pad. The Mouse Pokemon looked at his arms and the screen in front of him, feeling connected to it. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he started indulging in it once he was moving his arms, playing a virtual tennis game.
The group swapped games constantly. Going from one arcade game to the other. Along the way, they started scoring points. And also tickets that were being gathered. Sombra just sat in the corner, hearing the cheers and chatter of everyone within the arcade. They were certainly having fun.
But eventually, something did catch Sombra's eye. One of the arcade games looked rather interesting. A sort of space game involving attacking spaceships. The former Ruler of the Crystal Empire certainly didn't want to just sit around and neither did he want to make it seem like he would enjoy himself.
So, with the power of improvisation, he had used his magic. He telekinetically grabbed a Pokedollar from one of the Arcade Machines of a child, sneaking it away from him without the child noticing. After grabbing that dollar, he inserted it within the machine that caught his attention, starting the game.
Thanks to his magic, he could control the game from afar without needing to use his hooves. And before he knew it, Sombra found himself something that he could enjoy. He started blasting away at the ships, immediately imaging them as Twilight and the others to only further get into the action. It pleased him greatly.
Minutes upon minutes passed with the enjoyment they found. Especially Flash, who had missed out on this since his childhood. Truly a great start to this journey as Ash was surrounded by tickets, having the power to purchase whatever he wanted with them.
And noticing him with all of these tickets was someone who had just left the staff room. A man saw him with the lights from the arcade missing him, covering him in shadows. Mainly his face. The rest of his casual wear was exposed. Upon seeing Ash, a smirk met his face as he approached the Alola Champion.
"These are a lot, huh, buddy. Looks like you got your own prizes when you beat that game." Ash looked at Pikachu with garments of tickets.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu received food as treats. He patted his belly, feeling satisfied with his victory.
"You think I could buy that chair?" Flurry Heart asked, already loving that chair that she could move and massage herself with.
"I'm sorry. But it's not for sale." Just then, the voice of the man who saw Ash had replied to Flurry Heart after finally arriving on their spot. "Well. Look who's here."
"Huh?" Ash felt like he recognized this voice. So did Pikachu. Both of them turned around to the one who replied to Flurry Heart. And when they did, they saw a familiar face. A very intimidating familiar face via an old foe from years back in this very region.
Zero.
"It's been a while. Ash." Zero spoke.
"Hey, you're...Zero!" It clicked to Ash. Zero had returned after so long.
"Pika!"
"A friend of yours?" Flash Sentry asked.
"Oh, sadly, that isn't the case." Zero shook his head. "I never thought I'd meet an old enemy here after so long."
"Yeah..." Ash nodded his head as him and his partner and Zero looked at each other for a bit. There was a tense atmosphere now. One that brought even Sombra over. Flurry Heart and Flash Sentry could feel this shift in the atmosphere and the tension that it brought. It was always so nerve-wracking to see old foes meet up once more.
However, that tension was soon broken up once Ash, Pikachu and Zero started laughing, confusing the three ponies. The trio could only laugh at what they had been through ever since their first encounter. "Haha! Well, looks like you got out, huh?"
"Hm-hm. I did. Served my time and reduced it by being of great help." Zero chuckled. "Even when locked up, I made inventions that benefitted the prison I was at. I never slowed down with my creative mind and what I could craft."
"Awesome!" Ash gawked.
"It is. I once wished to harness cataclysmic power over dimensions and now look at me. Strange how things turn out sometimes."
"So before this, you were like an evil genius then?" Flurry Heart questioned.
"Correct, my little pony. You see, I had once wished to harness the power of Giratina so that I could travel through dimensions. Could've been a king as well." Zero smirked, thinking back to years ago during his vehement mission to capture Giratina. "Especially the Reverse World. But of course, along came you two. Ash. Pikachu. It was best that you stopped me."
"Giratina...?" Flurry Heart gasped as she soon realized that she had a Giratina. "And, wait. Don't you mean Distortion Realm?"
"No, the Reverse Realm. Giratina owns two different realms. The Distortion Realm and the Reverse World." Zero explained.
"Well...I have a Giratina." Flurry Heart revealed the Ultra Ball to him.
"You do?!" Zero gasped as Flash Sentry covered the young alicorn's mouth. Knowing that he once tried to have Giratina's power in the past, Flash Sentry feared that he might try it again.
"Pretend she never said that!" Flash exclaimed but it was too late. After learning that Flurry Heart had a Giratina of her own, this revelation did only one thing to Zero. He thought back to his attempts to capture Giratina. All that hard work he went through just to end up in failure and a pony that was younger than him ended up having one as a friend before he did.
This didn't infuriate Zero. Instead, it made him laugh. Laugh at his failure compared to Flurry Heart's success. The contrast was stellar as Zero only found humour in it. "Hahaha!" He put his hand over his face. "To think...all that hard work. And all it took was an Ultra Ball. Hmph. No complaints here. Anyway, it's in the past. You have no reason to fear what I could do next."
"Okay..." Flash pulled his hooves away from Flurry Heart's mouth.
"Besides. I've moved on to better things. Such as this. My Arcade. The Zero Arcade. When my sentence was reduced and I would soon finish my time, I was offered a chance to have a go at science once more for another lab. I declined, opting to go for something else on a lower scale. And here we are. I made this arcade with what I could perceive. Welcome to the Zero Arcade."
"So this is your Arcade? Aw, sweet!"
"Pikachu!"
"Nice place you got here." Flurry Heart nudged him. "Everything here is so fun and advanced too."
"It should be. I spent years perfecting virtual inventions to make this arcade possible. Mostly everything here is traditional arcade fare, but my best work shines with the ones that are virtual. Of course, none of them are in this room."
"They aren't? What about the one Pikachu experienced?" Ash asked.
"It's close. But not quite. Allow me to show you." Zero would gladly show them all the room where all the magic truly happens. Virtual games that he stated to have perfected. There was no doubt that Zero was a genius.
Right past the nearest door, the next game room could be found. Appearing identical to the first one, but with a greater variety of machines. Virtual ones with striking effects. Clearly, even if someone were to finish all the games in the first room, there was this room, waiting to show off more.
"Everything here is made by me, catering to everyone's personal favourite activities." Zero showcased the room. "Right now, no one is using it, but it does get a plethora of players."
"Oooh..." Ash, Pikachu and Flurry Heart pressed their faces on a machine screen. They started zipping around, looking left and right at everything that this room had to offer.
But, there was something that grabbed Flurry Heart's attention. Even more so than what the first room had to offer. There was one game that catered to her the most as Zero perfectly mentioned and confirmed how everyone's personal favourites were here. She froze in place, standing before a giant virtual box that was focused on one thing. Flurry Heart's favourite activity out there.
Pokemon Cards.
"Woah...A Pokemon Card Game?"
"Like what you see?" Zero walked over. "A virtual recreation of the popular card game that already exists. I didn't just invent in prison. Sometimes, I would have a nice past-time by playing cards. This game is my personal favourite among everything else here."
"I love Pokemon Cards! I've got a huge collection right here!" To express her love for them, the young alicorn pulled out her box from her bag, showing it to Zero. "Do you think I could try it out?!"
"What's stopping you from doing so?" Zero shrugged. "Of course...you will need someone to go against. No one else here has a deck...except for me." Just then, Zero revealed his own collection to Flurry Heart. He indeed shared the same love for this game as the pony from another universe, past the already known connected universe. "So. How about this? Let's have ourselves a card battle."
"Card Battle?" Ash pondered. "Oooh, I've never seen that yet come to think of it."
"Pikachu."
"Yes please!" She accepted without a second thought. A chance to play with her cards at last. No way she was going to miss out on this chance.
Once the two of them entered the virtual box, the game sensed two individuals entering it. Flurry Heart and Zero. Immediately, Flurry Heart saw that her hooves were placed on a pedestal along with Zero. In front of their respective sides, 5 card slots had appeared.
"Here's the fun part, my little pony. The cards that we play will show the Pokemon via a holographic effect. Makes it feel like they're really there. Even though they aren't." Zero explained. "And as for certain cards, this simulation will add some new ones to your decks. Cards that are focused on the ones you know and love."
"Really?" Flurry Heart wondered if this was true. She used her magic to look at her cards before noticing some new ones pop into existence. The young alicorn gasped before pulling out the cards that had been materialized. And upon looking at them, they were of her friends and family.
Cadence, Shining Armor, Twilight, Ash and more. All of them had their own cards that were never in Flurry Heart's collection. But such was the way of the game. "Mom! Dad! And everyone else? Amazing!"
"Isn't it? It helps spice things up a bit. And they each work in unique ways. Now then...since you've been collecting them, you at least know how the game is played, correct?"
"Oh yeah! I look at what these cards say a lot of time, so I know what to do." Flurry Heart grinned with confidence. Ash, Pikachu, Flash and Sombra sat down to watch this incoming match with three of them cheering her on.
"Good. Now then, enough chatter!" Zero eyes flared as a timer that went up to 30 minutes had appeared above them. The stage had been set. "It's time to duel! I expect nothing but your best strategies."
"I'm about to figure out what my best strategies could be." Flurry Heart replied as the first round had come. The time was now.
Certainly, this was not the first thing that everyone does on a first-time Pokemon Journey. But that's what makes them all so much fun. Meeting with an old foe in a fun place was an odd combination, yet not a dull one. This duel between Zero and Flurry Heart had begun as the journey continues.
A virtual Pokemon Card Game duel was about to begin against Princess Flurry Heart from Universe 6 and an old foe of Ash and Pikachu known as Zero, who now owns an Arcade.
"To start things off, we both place our active Pokemon upfront as if it were a normal Pokemon Battle." Zero explained. "Then we work things from there. For my starting Pokemon, I'll place down Clauncher." Upon placing a Clauncher card, Clauncher had been virtually summoned.
"Clauncher!"
"Okay." Flurry Heart played her first card. "I'll go with Mimikyu" The first Pokemon she summoned from the card was none other than the Disguise Pokemon, Mimikyu.
Mimikyu!" Mimikyu had 70 points to go off of whilst Clauncher was limited to 60. Just short of Mimikyu's health points via 10 total.
Once the starting Pokemon were placed forward, they drew 7 cards while also keeping them hidden. 60 cards total were made for their decks and thankfully, Flurry Heart being an avid collector led to her having the right amount. They each held a card holding one Pokemon. For Flurry Heart it was Litwick and for Zero it was Luvdisc. They then placed them both in their respective benches right behind their active Pokemon and in front of them.
"Now that they're both our Active Pokemon, I'll have the first turn." Zero would go first, already feeling confident enough in what he had in his hand. "First, I'll give this Water Energy card to my Clauncher, boosting its attack!" He revealed a card of Water-Type energy with the symbol materializing.
"Clauncher...!" The symbol had entered Clauncher, boosting its strength.
"Clauncher can hit harder now. Next, I'll use this. The Hard Charm." He revealed a card that had a special charm on it. This charm had been summoned before being put next to Clauncher. "I'll just give this to Clauncher and call it a turn. But before that, just quickly, Clauncher's ability Bubble will let me flip a coin. And if it lands on heads, your Active Pokemon gets paralyzed."
Zero then flipped the coin, hoping for heads. It spun around in the air before dropping, landing on tails instead. Zero accepted that he couldn't get the paralyze off.
"Phew. Free from that problem. My turn!" Flurry Heart grinned, revealing the Psychic Energy Card with the Psychic-Type Symbol flying over to Mimikyu, boosting its attack. "I'll give my Mimikyu some Psychic energy!"
"Mimi!"
"Then I'll use its special ability, Filch! It lets me draw two cards, see? And here's what I get." She then used her magic to draw 2 cards. A Psychic Card and a card of Stufful. "These'll do just nicely. Then I'll put Gothita right next to my Litwick and that's that. No attacking yet."
"Hm-hm." Zero chuckled. "No attacking yet, eh? Then allow me to get to that point. First, I'll put this Alomomola next to my Luvdisc. Then, I'll use another Water Energy card to evolve my Clauncher into Clawitzer!" He revealed another Water Energy that zoomed over to the Water-Type.
"Wait, evolve?!" Flurry Heart gasped as Clauncher went through a spontaneous evolution, bursting with Infinity Energy before emerging as its final evolution.
"Didn't you know that? You can place two energy cards on a Pokemon that has the potential to evolve. And if when those two energy cards are on, that Pokemon reaches its next evolution. Or, I can combine two Pokemon of the same evolution family and bring out that evolution. Neat, huh? So go, Clawitzer! Attack with Reverse Thrust!"
"Clawitzer!" Along came Clawitzer, lunging itself at Mimikyu.
"Mimi?!"
"Claw!" It had used the force of water to boost its lunging speed before thrusting its massive claw, smashing Mimikyu with it and dealing a sweet 30 points of damage.
"M-Mimikyu!" Mimikyu had been knocked back, rolling on the simulated floor. With those 30 points of damage, its 70 health points dropped to 40.
"Now that Reverse Thrust had been landed, its special effect allows me to switch Clawitzer out with another Pokemon. And I choose my Alomomola!" Out came Alomomola.
"Alomomola!"
"I have to change every time I use that Reverse Thrust, but it's so worth it. I'll end my turn there."
"Okay...My turn." Flurry Heart scrunched her face before drawing a Nest Ball card. "Sweet another Poke Ball card! And this one lets me search my deck for a Basic Pokemon and put it on my bench. And I've got..." The next Pokemon she pulled out was none other than Cosmog. "This thing! Uhh...Cosmog. Whatever that is..."
"Hm? Never seen one before?" Zero asked.
"Nope. I just got this card one day and saw how pretty this Pokemon was. Never actually seen the Pokemon myself. Or a bunch of them."
"Hmph. It's only natural. The people who make the Pokemon Cards also involve Pokemon that are hard to find. But thanks to a few stories from Alola just about 4 years, Cosmog's appearance and information about it had been shared."
"4 years ago....you mean Nebby?" Ash recognized the context behind Zero's words.
"That was the nickname." Zero snapped his fingers. "Looks like Giratina's not the only Legendary Pokemon you've met."
"Hehe. Yeah." Ash chuckled.
"Pikachu."
"Good to know. I'll play it anyway because it looks cute!" Flurry Heart placed the card down. She had then looked at the 7 cards next to her, ready to play one of them. "Now I'll evolve one of my Pokemon! I already had Gothita on my bench, but behind that, I have Gothorita. And just like you said, I can combine two Pokemon of the same evolution line and bring out the next evolution! Gothorita!"
"Gothorita!" Gothirita had fused with its pre-evolution, overtaking it. Once Gothita had been overtaken, it was Gothorita's turn to shine.
"Then I'll give it some Psychic energy too to make it stronger!" A Psychic-Type Symbol entered the Psychic-Type, boosting its attack."And I'm gonna be greedy by using Filch again."
"Again?" Zero squinted his eyes as Mimikyu's ability allowed for 2 more cards to be drawn. He could see that Flurry Heart wanted to have the numerical advantage at all costs.
"Oh yeah! What a helpful ability!" Flurry Heart chuckled as she ended up receiving two more cards at her disposal. "Then, I'll put Stufful up to the bench next! That's it for my turn."
"Getting greedy are, we? And without an attack in sight. First, I'll give Alomomola some Water Energy. Then, I'll use Alomomola's special ability, Super Deep Dive. I'll switch it out with my Clawitzer!"
"Alomo!" Alomomola had then dived into the simulated floor which perfectly replicated water ripples. Just like that, it had swum back to the bench, tagging Clawitzer out who jumped back into the fray.
"Clawitzer!"
"Now I'll finish. All I need is my Clawitzer right now. Let's see what you have."
"Oh, just you wait. I'll be attacking very soon." Flurry Heart was indeed planning her moves carefully, drawing the next card from her deck. "Woah! A great one! I'll use my Bewear!" She revealed a Bewear card. "And just like with Gothorita, I'll put this to my Stufful and evolve it!"
"Bewear!" Bewear and Stufful had become one with Bewear taking over. Once again, She opted to evolve her Pokemon, not yet throwing an attack.
"And since I evolved it and it's out there, it lets me draw 3 more cards with its ability, Rake it in!" Showing her preference for overwhelming numbers, Flurry Heart drew three more cards.
"Yes. She's learning exactly what I taught her." Sombra confidently smirked. "I taught her that overwhelming numbers is the key to victory. And she's proving it right now. Aren't I a great teacher?"
"Uhh..." Flash Sentry had no comment on that.
"Oh!" Flurry Heart gasped after looking at one of the three cards she had pulled. This card had a familiar friend on it and the first one of her friends that she had pulled. Rarity. "Rarity!" She smiled before seeing the sweet trait that this card had to offer. Just what she needed. "Thank you, Rarity. Okay! I'll play Rarity!"
"Hello~!" Rarity appeared, flipping her mane.
"Oh, he was right about it involving our friends!" Ash's eyes flared up. "That's so cool!"
"Pikachu!"
"And with Rarity's only ability, I get to draw 3 more cards! Hah! I'll be drowning in cards soon enough!"
"I'll take some of these thank you." Rarity used her magic to grab three more cards from Flurry Heart's deck. "Here you go, darling. Three more to go. Good luck, Flurry Heart." Once her card had been used up, Rarity had vanished. She was a Trainer Card after all. A one-time use.
"Thanks, Rarity!" Flurry Heart was given the cards. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna attack just yet. With these extra cards, I'll give two more Psychic energies to my Gothortia."
"Gothorita!" Gothorita had powered up once more. But, Flurry Heart was expecting something else to go beyond that. But it did not happen.
"Hm? How come she's not evolving?"
"For a Pokemon such as Gothorita, whose evolution line has three evolutions, you need three Psychic energies as opposed to my Clawitzer who only has two evolution. So, do you have a third?"
"Uhh...No." Flurry Heart's ears dropped. That's all the Psychic energy I have."
"Let me guess...Filch?" Zero guessed what Flurry Heart's next approach was.
"Totally! Give me some more cards, Mimikyu!" As predicted, she wanted more.
"Mimikyu!" And Mimikyu would grant her that.
"This is certainly the slowest match I've gone through." Zero pondered. "But I can predict good things to come from this."
"My turn's done." Once again, since she already used Mimikyu's ability, her turn was over without yet another attack.
"Of course...Even though I taught her to have superior numbers, I did tell her to use them and attack." Sombra groaned, facehoofing himself. "And yet she has yet to do it."
"Ah, she'll attack soon enough," Ash replied, knowing that Flurry Heart would eventually land an attack.
"I suppose I'll do the same thing as well! Reverse Thrust!"
"Witzer!" Clawitzer attacked once more, dashing at Mimikyu. Once again, it was the only Pokemon that landed an attack, striking Mimikyu directly with its claw.
"Kyu!" Mimikyu suffered another 30 points of damage which brought it down to just 10 Health Points. It was in the red now as Clawitzer had been swapped out for Alomomola once more.
"My turn's done. Now, what will you do, my little pony?"
"Okay...maybe I should start doing something or else I'll lose my Mimkyu." Flurry Heart scrunched her face before using her magic to place her next card down. "I'm putting down Salandit next on my bench!"
"Salandit!"
"And after that, I'll combine this Lampent Card with my Litwick!" Yet again, she went for the same tactics, choosing to evolve her Pokemon constantly. Zero had now figured out her approach as Lampent replaced Litwick permanently.
"Lampent!"
"I'll power it up with a Fire-Type energy!" She revealed another one of her 7 seconds, sending it to Lamept for extra power. Now, it was time for her to decide what to do with Mimikyu as Zero smirked, waiting patiently. "Then...I'll..."
"Don't get nervous now." Rarity spoke. Despite being a hologram, she would act the same way the real Rarity would.
"I'll use Filch again. And end my turn." 2 more cards were given as her turn was done.
"I see what you're doing...too bad I'm going to have to eliminate your card drawing chances!" Zero's eyes flared. "First, I'll use this! Double Colourless Energy! I'll attach it to my Alomomola, which provides it with two Normal-Type energies." The card had been revealed, sending dual energies to Alomomola. "But wait, there's more! Since I've given Alomomola another the right amount that it needs, that allows it to use its attack! Say goodbye to your Mimikyu! Surf!"
"Alo!" Alomomola's turn to attack was now. It cried out before summoning a mighty wave of water from behind it. The Caring Pokemon ascended, floating on top of the wave as it had sent it in Mimikyu's direction.
"M-Mimikyu!" Mimikyu could do nothing to stop this. The dial wave had engulfed it, carrying the Disguise Pokemon with its ferocity as Flurry Heart flinched.
"Not my Mimikyu!" She gasped.
"So much for your Filch." Zero smirked. "That's it for my turn. Let's see what else you have, my little pony."
"Uhh..." Flurry Heart drew another card before looking at her deck. "Okay. You wanna get physical then fine. I'll attack you now. I'm putting my Bewear as my active Pokemon now!" She had then summoned Bewear as her newest Active Pokemon since Mimikyu was out of the picture.
"Bewear!" Bewear showed up with a whopping 130 health points.
"And I'll attach this to Bewear! Spongy Gloves!" She revealed her next card as Bewear had received gloves with a spongy texture, raising its attack by 30. Then, I'll finish up giving it Double Colorless Energy!"
"Wear!" Bewear gained two Normal Energies, nearly reaching the capability of using its attack. "And...that's it for my turn."
"You're finally deciding to get physical with me." Zero was pleased. "Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until next turn for that. From my hand, I activate this! Crushing Hammer!" He revealed his next card which had a toy hammer, but its playful appearance was contrasted by what it could do. "Now, we flip a coin. If heads, you discard one energy from your Bewear. If tails...well then nothing."
"Hrrghh...!" Flurry Heart growled as Zero held a coin in his hand. He then flipped the coin as Flurry Heart was praying for heads by putting her hooves together. Once the coined landed on the floor, by peering their heads over, it had been revealed to have landed on tails. "Phew..."
"Hm. Looks like your Bewear earns that chance to attack again." Zero placed the coin back.
"Yeah, if I can get some Normal Energy. I only gave it two but I don't have anymore." Flurry Heart gulped, looking at her cards. She only had Fire Energy at her disposal. Two of them. "This card game's harder than it looks. Should've played it alongside looking and collecting all these cards."
"Come on, princess!" Flash Sentry cheered her on. "Your Pokemon still has the greater health, doesn't it?"
"Not for long," Zero said with a malicious tone that would fit perfectly with his old self. "From my hand! I summon you to support!" Zero had then shown a card that had a familiar face to it. Another one of Ash's friends was on Zero's side. Princess Luna.
Luna had emerged with a flash of magic, standing behind Alomomola as Flurry Heart was caught off guard. She thought it was only her side that received her friends. "Great Aunt Luna?! But how?!"
"I should've mentioned that it counts for me as well. This simulation always gives new cards to trainers. No matter who they are. So, some of your friends could be on my side."
"Don't take this personally, Flurry Heart." Luna shook her head.
"And with Princess Luna being summoned, her ability activates! During my turn, my Pokemon's attacks do 40 more damage to your Active Pokemon!" Luna had used her magic, showering Alomomola with a dark blue light, increasing its attack power. After that, Luna was gone after her one-time use.
"I bid you farewell."
"40 more?!" Flurry Heart was blown back by that number increase.
"That's right. Add that up to Alomomola's Surf and you have yourself attack power! Enough to weaken your Bewear! Now, go! Surf!"
"Momola!" Along came Alomomola with another Surf that was stronger than the last. Bewear looked up at the massive wave as it had crashed into it. A colossal amount of damage had been done to it, bringing it down to 10 health points. All of that health dropped rapidly.
"B-Bewear!"
"But wait! There's more! I draw another Trainer Support card!" The next card he revealed was of Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash!"
"Haha!" Rainbow Dash emerged, floating in the air. "Hey there!"
"With her, I can shuffle my hand into my deck and draw 5 more cards!"
"5 more cards?!" Flurry Heart pulled her mane as Rainbow Dash zoomed over to Zero's deck. The pegasi grabbed onto some of the cards, zooming back to Zero and showing him what she had pulled.
"Here's what you got. Buh-bye now!" Rainbow Dash had then left, vanishing out of thin air.
"Hm. Excellent." Zero liked what he was seeing. "I should warn you. If you run out of cards in your deck and can't draw on your next turn, you lose. So play wisely, princess. My turn's over.
"Mmmrrgh..." Flurry Heart was starting to sweat bullets. She then looked at her deck, realizing that using Mimikyu's ability and Rarity's ability resulted in her card count decreasing. The young alicorn gasped, noticing that she was down to just 44 cards in her deck. Getting greedy was costing her. "Not good. I need to do something fast..."
She held her breath in, hoping that she could turn this around. She drew her next card, wondering what it could be. Lo and behold, her next card ended up being her auntie. Twilight. "Aunt Twilight!" She exclaimed. "Alright. I'll play you, auntie!" Twilight had been summoned into the simulation, appearing in all of her alicorn glory.
"You look nervous, Flurry Heart." Twilight turned around. "But don't you worry, okay? Try and pull through."
"Thanks, auntie. And with her ability, I can draw 7 more cards!"
"7 more? Now you'll just be down to 37." Zero said, warning Flurry Heart of her drawing overuse.
"But it'll be worth it!" Flurry Heart said otherwise. She took the risk as the next cards that she pulled were ones that she showed great confidence in. Twilight could see the confidence before then fading away after her one-time use. "Okay...I'll use this! Fluttershy!"
"Oh. Hi." Fluttershy just now realized that she had been summoned.
"And I'll add Pinkie Pie to her as well!" Flurry Heart wasn't done with the summoning as right next to Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie had appeared.
"Hey, Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie bounced into the simulation once she arrived, gawking at the area.
"And with both of them, Bewear gains back 60 health points!"
"60? But that would mean Bewear's back to full health!" Zero did the math as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie went over to the Strong Arm Pokemon.
"There, there. You'll feel a lot better." Fluttershy patted in on the back, bringing over some bandages that had been summoned.
"Yeah! Especially if you eat up!" And to speed things up, Pinkie Pie shoved some food inside of Bewear's mouth. Preferably some cupcakes. Bewear's health shot right back up to 130 Health points. It was as if nothing happened to it.
"Bewear!"
"That should do it." Fluttershy was glad to see Bewear feeling better as she faded away. "Take care of yourself."
"Buh-bye! Peace!" Pinkie Pie bid her farewell too as they were both gone.
"Thanks, you two! But I'm not done! I play this! Celestia's Blessing! Help me out, great auntie!" Flurry Heart revealed her next card which was of Princess Celestia. Celestia emerged with a golden ray beaming down on her. The Ruler of Equestria stood gracefully with her horn already glowing.
"With my great auntie's ability, she blesses Bewear with 40 extra points for its attack. And it's going for the only attack it has! Dangerous Blow! Go, great auntie!"
"With pleasure." Celestia's eyes flared a shining white colour before then unleashing her golden magic onto Bewear. Bewear's strength was already boosted thanks to the Spongy Gloves, but now, they had been increased even more.
"Bewear!"
"Many thanks, great auntie!" Flurry Heart thanked the hologram of Celestia. Princess Celestia nodded her head before then vanishing. "Dangerous Blow has a whopping 60 base strength! And with Spongy Gloves plus Celestia's Blessing, it goes up to..."
"130!" Ash and the others put those numbers together immediately.
"Pikachu?!"
"That's right! But I can't pull it off unless I have three Normal Energies. I only have two energies. Luckily...I have another friend to help me out in this!" Flurry Heart continued, postponing Bewear's attack. "I'll play this! Help me out, Applejack!" Now, it was Applejack's turn to appear.
"Right here where ya need me. How ya'll doing?" Applejack tipped her hat off to Zero and his Pokemon.
"And with her special ability, she allows me to draw some energy cards! Mainly, Normal Energy! Go, AJ!"
"On it!" Applejack saluted before heading over to Flurry Heart's deck. "This won't be like finding a needle in a haystack! It'll be easy as..." She shuffled through all of the cards before finding the one she needed. A singular Normal Energy card. "Pie! Here ya go, sugarcube!" She then threw the card to Bewear, adding the final energy needed for Bewear's attack.
"Bewear!"
"My job here's done. Make sure you hit 'em hard." Applejack was out of here after playing her part.
"We will, Applejack. Right now thanks to you. Since all three energies are on Bewear, you know what that means? It's time! Bewear! Dangerous Blow!"
"Be...Wear!" Bewear stomped its foot before engulfing its paws in a raging orange energy. The Strong Arm Pokemon lunged at great speeds, striking Alomomola directly at full force.
"M-Mola!" Alomomola cried out as it was blown back by the shockwave. Whilst flying through the simulation, the card had been destroyed as it certainly was not strong enough to withstand it due to its 100 health points. Out went Alomomola, disappearing from the simulation.
"That's my turn. How's that for attacking?" Flurry Heart grinned.
"Looks like someone's finally getting into the thick of things. Learning as you go. A real prodigy. That's what I like to see."
"Thank you, Zero." Flurry Heart blushed from that compliment.
"That's our princess! A true prodigy even from a different universe!" Taking in pride in the pony representing the Crystal Empire, Flash Sentry felt like weeping.
"Except..." His eyes flashed yellow in a split second. "I have yet to showcase my strongest Pokemon. Allow me to do so! Now that you've destroyed my Alomomola, instead of Clawitzer, I will summon this! A Tag Team Duo! Garchomp and Giratina!" He played his strongest card. A Tag Team card consisting of two powerful dragons.
"Garchomp!" Garchomp roared upon being summoned whilst Girtaina's roar was far greater. They stood side by side with Flurry Heart's jaw being dropped.
"T-T-T-T-Two Pokemon?! And it's these two?!" She almost fell over. "How?!"
"There can be only one Active Pokemon in the field. But thanks to these Tag Team cards, it ends up being one card with two Pokemon. And this one is my personal favourite. I made it myself! Garchomp and Giratina!"
"Talk about overkill..." said Ash, stunned by this dynamic duo.
"Pikachu..."
"How is she meant to beat those two?!"
"Despite being Dragon-Types, they need these three energies for their attacks to occur." Zero then revealed three cards of different energies that were not Dragon Energy. "One Psychic. One Fighting. And one Normal. You can thank Giratina and its resistances for this odd combo. Now, let's see how your Bewear's strength stacks up to my duo!"
"Gar!" The energies had been added onto the two of them, granting them access to their unified attack that would soon be hurled at Bewear at any moment. Flurry Heart witnessed a massive number of 160 points for their signature attack and health points of 270. Enough to take out Bewear in one strike and endure multiple hits.
"That's it. I end my turn." Surprisingly, Zero ended it there. But he certainly terrified Flurry Heart.
"Ending it there? Okay. That gives me a chance to do something! I'm going to make sure that their health comes crashing down! I just need something..." She drew another card before looking at her deck. "This could work! I play the Vitality Band, attaching it to Bewear!" A white band had emerged, wrapping around Bewear's head. Its attack had been boosted by 10 points, reaching 140 now.
"Is that it?" Zero asked.
"So far! And now, I'll lower that health! Dangerous Blow!"
"Bewear!" Bewear approached the two dragons, aiming to weaken them. It wouldn't take them out, but it would certainly knock their health down. "Be!" Bewear had delivered a double strike. First, it had crashed its fist onto Garchomp's body before then launching it into Giratina.
"Gar!" Garchomp cried out as the intense force of the knockback had even damaged and knocked Giratina down when Garchomp crashed into it. That was the end of Flurry Heart's turn as Garchomp and Giratina were down to 130 health points. A consistent number in this duel.
"You fool...YOU FOOL!" Zero cackled. "You've triggered my trap! If attacked, Garchomp and Giratina's attacks go up by 80 points!"
"80 points?!" Flurry Heart gasped.
"A colossal 240!" Zero raised his finger, revealing another card. But before that...I play this! Max Potion! With this, I can fully heal my Garchomp and Giratina as if they never took damage! Bringing you right back to the start."
"Garchomp!" Garchomp and Giratina felt rejuvenated, getting right back up. Not only did their attack increase but they were back up to speed with health.
"Now, then. It's getting late and I have some closing up to do soon. So...this'll speed things up! I play this card and its ability! The Spread of Discord! This card forces you to take out 7 cards each!"
"Hello there!" Along came Discord as even he had been involved. Once he showed up, he forced Flurry Heart's deck to pull out 7 cards, limiting her numbers and edging her closer to defeat. "That should do it. Bye now!" Discord faded away as he was by far the quickest. Now Flurry Heart was down to 27.
"Don't worry. I'll get rid of some of them if you don't mind. With this card! Grand Hammer! Some of these cards are made by me and perfect for certain opponents. Unfortunately for you, you're one of them as this card has the opposite effect to Discord. 7 cards at your disposal will be obliterated!"
"Huh?!" Flurry Heart watched as a hammer had been summoned. A colossal one too. It slammed onto the simulated floor, obliterating seven of her cards with ease. "M-My cards...!"
"Don't forget! There are still these two! Let's drop that card count to 19! Garchomp! Giratina! Calamitous Slash!"
"Gar!" Garchomp and Giratina attacked next. Both dashed at Bewear at Mach speed, making a black and red trail of energy from their hyper-fast movements. Garchomp slashed past Bewear while Giratina had used parts of its Origine Forme to summon its claws, striking Bewear.
"B-Bewear!" That was it for Bewear. Destroyed.
"That's it for my turn. Now bring it."
"Oh, I'll bring it alright!" Flurry Heart was now getting even more serious. "I'll keep weakening that duo down no matter what. First I'll add two Fire Energies to Salandit, evolving it into Salazzle!"
"Sala...!" Salandit had Fire Energies fly over, possessing its body. Emerging from the pillar of fire was Salazzle. "Salazzle!"
"I'll make her my active Pokemon now! And guess what...here comes her ability! Hot Poison! With it, I can leave your Garchomp and Giratina burned and poisoned at the same time! So, go for it, Salazzle!"
"Salazzle!" Salazzle got on all fours, opening her mouth to shoot out a blast of poison. This poison had an aura of fire around it before then expanding to be wide enough to encompass the two Dragons. Garchomp and Giratina felt a searing virulent sting as they had two status ailments now.
"Now, you'll feel 20 points of damage each turn! But I'm not done yet! I play Struggle Gloves!" Flurry Heart summoned some boxing gloves with stars on them as Salazzle's hands had received them. "If this card is attached to a Pokemon that has a weakness to the opposing Pokemon's type, its attacks do 30 more damage. And that Garchomp of yours is the biggest weakness Salazzle could ever have!"
"Tch." Zero scoffed as he knew this to be true.
"And Salazzle's Flamethrower goes from 90 to 120! Not enough to match up with what Bewear had...but thanks to Burn and Poison, that's going to break past it! Go! Flamethrower!"
"Salazzle!" Salazzle held its breath in, unleashing a burst of fire that moved at raging speeds. The flames consumed them as a ferocious explosion of fire had occurred. The two Dragons cried out before taking 120 points of damage. Not enough to do the job.
However, the second Flurry Heart's turn finished, the two status effects kicked in. Burn and Poison. 20 total damage points and the Duo Dragons ended up bringing them to 130. Yet again, the most common number here.
"Still not enough! And if you're forgetting, when they are attacked, Calamitous Slash gets boosted. And since Burn and Poison kicked in, you've helped them both reach an all-time high."
"Burn and Poison counts?!" Flurry Heart pulled back.
"Got that right. 480! First, I'll play this card!" He revealed his next card which ended up being Starlight. Starlight emerged as the next of her many friends. "Thanks to her, I can force you to draw 5 more cards!"
"Sorry, princess." Starlight apologized, using her magic to grab 5 cards out of Flurry Heart's deck, bringing her numbers down greatly. Now she was down to 9.
"You think I'm done? There's this one too." Zero finished it up by playing a card with Spike's face on it, summoning him into the simulation.
"Spike, not you too..."
"It is what it is." Spike shrugged. "Plus, I get to stand next to these super-powerful dragons! How neat is that?!"
"And with this friend of yours, his ability cheers on any Dragon Pokemon, restoring their health by 40 points and increasing their attack by 10." Spike indeed cheered Garchomp and Giratina on, looking up to the two dragons before vanishing. The Duo Dragons had 490 attack power along with some recovered health that went up to 140.
"Say goodbye to Salazzle! Attack!"
"Gar!" Garchomp rushed in, harnessing Ground Infinity Energy to its claws. Salazzle braced for impact before being slashed by Garchomp while Giratina disappeared into the shadows. Once it emerged out of the shadows, it struck its claw on Salazzle's back, dealing the finishing blow.
"S-Salazzle!" That was it for Salazzle and the Duo Dragons were burned and poisoned once more even with Salazzle's defeat, taking 20 points of damage and going down to 120. But their attack went up to 650 at this point.
"I end my turn. Now...what's next?"
"Umm..."She looked at the bench and the remaining cards that she had. With Salazzle destroyed, she was down to just 8 cards now. Flurry Heart took a deep breath, observing what she had left. Only one Pokemon left to be her Active Pokemon and that was Lampent. "All I have is Lampent now. Hmm...Yeah. I think I've reached my limit here."
"Now isn't the time to give up. Even if you're at a disadvantage, you must play until the very end." Zero said, choosing to give her a pep talk despite how he was controlling the battle. "Play your final Pokemon and do your best."
"Okay!" Flurry Heart almost teared up, only to hold them back as her fire had been reignited. And speaking of fire, up came Lampent. "Let's go! I'll evolve Lampent with this! A Rare Candy! And here comes Chandelure!"
"Chandelure!" Chandelure had arrived, having 140 health points to spare. Not enough to take a hit from those two powerhouses, but Flurry Heart was going to try. This was her last Pokemon. And if it falls, the game is over.
"All the cards I've drawn have been tools or trainer cards. I should've organized my deck to make it more balanced...too late for that." Flurry Heart lowered her head. "But next time, I won't make that same mistake. But for now, I'll use what I have! Starting with this! I give Chandelure one Fire and Normal Energy, giving it access to its attack! But hold on!"
"Hmm..." Zero narrowed his eyes.
"I first activate Chandelure's ability! Cursed Shimmer! As long as this Pokemon's in the Active Spot, you can't play any tool cards for good!"
"Huh?!" Zero gasped, noticing that all of his tool cards had been engulfed in a spectral aura.
"As for me, I'm gonna use all of them! Protection Cube is up next! It prevents all damage done to the Pokemon this card is attached to by the attack it uses!" Down to 3 cards, she was going all out.
"No damage?!" Zero pulled back. He looked at this deck, noticing that one of his cards could remove tools. Tool Retriever. But Cursed Shimmer had locked it off.
"Oh, but here's where Chandelure shines some more with its attack! Max Poltergeist! It forces you to reveal your hand. And it does 70 damage for each trainer card that you have with you. Let's see, shall we? Max Poltergeist!"
"Chandelure!" Chandelure's eyes flared as it summoned an array of objects shrouded by ghostly aura while also affecting Zero's cards. His cards had been revealed as he had more Trainer Cards to spare. Each of them were of Flurry Heart's friends as well as other individuals.
"How many is that?! I spy 5! So...that makes this attack 350! Let's go Chandelure!"
"Chandelure!" Chandelure then launched the cursed objects at Garchomp and Giratina, using the power of the Pokemon Trainers.
"G-GAR!" Enough to overpower the Duo Dragons. They had nothing to retaliate for this as a spectral dome-shaped explosion had occurred. Just like that, Zero's most powerful card was gone. The Dragons had been slain by this haunted chandelier.
"Impossible! My Garchomp and Giratina!"
"What can I say? Ghost-Types seem to be my speciality. First my own Giratina and now this Chandelure. My turn's done and this has yet to finish, right? You told me to play my final Pokemon and do my very best. Well, this is my final Pokemon and my very best. How do you like it?"
"Alright, Flurry Heart!" Ash pumped his fist into the air with Pikachu and Flash Sentry hugging each other.
"Pikachu!"
"It indeed is an absolute game-changer." Zero smiled, drawing his next card. "You took out my strongest Pokemon. And your Chandelure is powered up by trainer cards. And as for me...I don't have a Pokemon that can potentially stand up to yours. And my cards are locked up by that Cursed Shimmer. Well done for making this comeback."
"Wait...what does that mean?" Flurry Heart asked. "Does this mean, I win?"
"Let me see..." Zero pondered. "Not at all. I still have cards to spare. And as for you...despite how powerful your Chandelure is, unfortunately, time isn't your friend here."
"Huh?" Just as Flurry Heart tilted her head, a loud beep had been heard, startling her. It was the timer. Time was up for this battle. "Has it really been 30 minutes?!"
"You pondered a lot." Zero shrugged. "It happens. With time running out, I still had these cards to spare." He showed off his Clawitzer, Luvdiscc and various other Pokemon cards that he had yet to play this entire time. "But to be honest, your Chandelure could've taken most of them out. Maybe."
"Aww..." Flurry Heart had lost as the simulation ended as Zero walked over.
"However...You played a fine game, my little pony. You have potential as a Pokemon Card Trainer. As I said before. A True Prodigy."
"Thanks again, Zero." The young alicorn squeed as her friends cheered for her. "That was so much fun! Just as fun as collecting them!"
"Mmm. That's why it's my favourite game." Zero nodded in agreement. "And I think I just found myself a new fun opponent t go up against."
"Really? Great! Because I've always wanted someone to try these cards on with! I got that chance finally!" She happily flapped her wings.
"That was some battle! Pokemon Card Battles are so cool!" Ash exclaimed as he and the others walked over.
"You played well, young one." Sombra even complimented her. "Adding all of those numbers was a clever call. I just wish you had attacked more often."
"My bad." She giggled. "Well...I guess we should be off now since it's getting late. The next destination is over the horizon. Far past Sinnoh."
"Far past Sinnoh?!" Flash Sentry gasped. "Uh, apologies, princess. But your parents stated that you must stay within the Sinnoh Region and go on a journey there for just one day only. Tomorrow will be the finale of this journey."
"Aww..." Flurry Heart pouted.
"Well, we won't be far apart." Zero shook his head. "Now that the game is done, I suppose I can talk to you about far more important things. I was able to pull your friends as cards because I already know what's happening with this world collision."
"You do?" said Ash.
"Yes. Rift Energy and everything. And I believe, I've cracked the code on this cosmic energy."
"You have?!" All of them gasped as it was implied that Zero had perfected Rift Energy whilst no one else has. Not even Cold Colt who was training with it.
"Come with me. I've got something to show you." Zero brought them along as their time in this arcade wasn't done quite yet. Zero ended up becoming an unlikely friend. But then again, such is the nature of those who go on adventures with Ash.
The card game was enjoyable for them all. Flurry Heart found something new to do with these cards that she's collected over the months and especially a new goal of sorting out the best deck that she could make as well as rematching Zero some time. But for now, it was off to another room as the journey continues.
Sinnoh. Canalave City. Zero Arcade. Late Afternoon.
After having a card game match with Zero, he decided to do one last thing of greater value. In his own words, he had cracked the code to Rift Energy. Entering a secret room, he had proven that as deep within his own arcade, he made a lab. Despite him now choosing to make entertainment for others, he never ceased his scientific ways.
"Here. It's a small lab, but it's something. Sometimes, I come in here to make the Arcade Games you see." Zero introduced them to this small lab. "But you see...here is where I managed to solve the enigma that is Rift Energy."
"But how? Even Princess Celestia is having trouble figuring it out." Flash Sentry asked.
"And I thought it was super hard to understand." Ash scratched his hair.
"Seems I beat them to it. I've been hearing a lot about what's been going on over in your world. Especially Equestria. It took me 2 years to figure out how it works and thanks to that time, I could understand the unpredictability of it."
"How so?" Sombra questioned.
"Yeah. It's always unpredictable unless someone chooses to make it predictable. That's what Twilight told me when Cold did it." Ash replied.
"It's unpredictable in nature, the reason for it is because there's something within it that's forcing it to make all of these random decisions. Almost as if there are two forces inside."
"Yeah, there are!" Ash shouted. "The Rift used to be two humans from another world. Now they ended up becoming one. That's Lucien and Sienna who are inside of it."
"That so? Hm. Well, that makes sense...and does raise a few questions here and there. But besides that, here's what I discovered. The only thing I could do with this cosmic power was look into what its purposes were. They're so straightforward. Just seeing what can entertain the Rift. That's been the goal from the beginning. However, it's also done everything that it can to make sure that no one can keep these two worlds connected."
"Yeah. Arceus told us. It's been messing with this world by making a lot of us forget about easy ways to keep everything connected. Totally made us forget about Hoopa. But we have Jirachi." Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"About Jirachi. That's the most important thing I found out. The Rift is keeping the Jirachi away from everyone. Not just leaving the trail cold for the Wish Pokemon. But worse. Let me show you what I mean." Zero had then opened a box that contained Rift Energy. He had some of his own as he held it out to the group. Zero could easily hold it without having to worry about anything happening to him.
"How are you holding it so casually...?" Flurry Heart gawked.
"Giratina's Antimatter is far more dangerous than this. It's true that it's dangerous, but it can still be contained."
"But whenever someone touches it or it touches them, something happens to them." Ash noticed how Zero went unchanged. "Nothing's happening though."
"Pikachu..."
"I learned how to control this power with the time I was given, Ash. Now, it's as harmless as a child's plaything." He bounced the ball of Rift Energy without a care in the world. Indeed, Zero's genius had its benefits. "But back on topic. Here is what I found about Jirachi."
He had then harnessed the power of Rift Magic without needing to have it influence its body. Zero was by far the only individual to do so as the blue and purple cosmic light from the sphere flashed, causing everyone to squint as the room had been eclipsed by this light.
Before they knew it, Zero had shown them what had become of the Jirachi over these past 3 years. And their eyes were given the sight of an ethereal plane. Not just any ethereal plane, but the one that was identical to the Rift. Stars and everything.
Ash and his friends gawked as it felt like they were there. When in reality, they were merely apparitions at the moment, unable to interact with this scenario. But of course, they could see what it had to offer. And apart from the ethereal plane, there they were. The Pokemon that could fix everything.
Jirachi.
Not just one. But multiple Jirachi's. All floating around. They could all be seen in this one massive cosmic space, zooming, spinning, jumping and all other forms of movement.
"Jirachi!" Ash cried out. "Is there where they've been all this time?"
"Ever since the worlds crossed over, the Rift immediately made a separate plane of existence just for the Jirachi." Zero started explaining what he had gathered. "For every Jirachi. Not just the ones from your Universe but other universes as well. They had all been grabbed from their respective universes and brought there. To this Event Horizon that I've called it."
"So...It trapped them all!" Flurry Heart put the pieces together immediately.
"That's right, princess. The Jirachi here are trapped. Locked up in this dimension with no way to leave." And what Zero said was true. The moments of the Jirachi proved this.
Being locked up here at first confused the Jirachi. They weren't sure how or why this was happening as they started chatting amongst each other with telepathy. The Jirachi were more stunned to meet more of themselves considering how rare this Legendary Pokemon was even with their respective universes.
"I didn't think I'd meet another me." One Jirachi went up to another with both of them touching hands and faces in perfect unison as if they were on the same wavelength.
"Same here. It's strange."
"Very strange." All of them said in unison, causing an echo within this endless space.
"Where are we?" Another Jirachi wanted to know where they were. It wasn't anywhere they recognized despite them appearing in the cosmos. "It doesn't look like home..."
"I was with Brendan and now I'm here." Another Jirachi revealed that it had a Pokemon Trainer. A name that was familiar to Ash's ears. Brendan. A Pokemon Trainer from the same universe that Red and Gold come from, further confirming that each of these Jirachi come from different worlds. It also made Ash wonder if the Brendan he met owned a Jirachi or if it was another Brendan out there.
"I wasn't supposed to wake up for another 1000 years. Oh well!" A Jirachi didn't seem to be bothered by this. So far, most of them weren't. This was all an early experience for them. It wouldn't take long for them to realize something was off.
And it started with one of the Jirachi already trying to leave here. And it figured that the best way to do so was via teleportation. But soon, the one Jirachi realized that it couldn't teleport from this dimension. "Hm? That's weird."
"What's weird?" Another one of its species hovered over whilst being upside down.
"I can't leave." That same Jirachi tried it again, attempting teleportation, only to fail completely. "I can't teleport!"
"That's silly. You're silly." The other Jirachi laughed, poking its fellow Wish Pokemon in the face before also trying to leave here via teleportation. However, soon, it would also discover that it was unable to leave as well. "Huh?"
"Told you. Silly." The Jirachi poked its fellow Steel-Psychic-Type in the face once it found out. Soon, the rest of the Jirachi tried the same thing. They were known for always teleporting but in this instance, the only place they could teleport to was this vast endless cosmic horizon.
They were hoping to come across some walls, potentially feeling their hands on them, only to find out there was nothing solid here at all. Thus, knowing that there was seemingly nothing but an endless space was starting to worry the many Wish Pokemon. Reasonably so. This realm, while beautiful to look at, felt haunting in a way. Staying in it any longer could make it feel unusually eerie for the Jirachi.
"W-What do we do?" With a majority of them starting to panic, some wondered if they were still within their universe, as questions started flooding in.
"That's easy!" A more optimistic one had a solution for them all. "Let's all wish to leave!"
"Oh that makes sense." All of the Jirachi said in unison once this simple recommendation came along. Indeed, they had the power to do practically anything they wanted. All they needed was for a wish to come true. Fittingly, since so many of them were in one spot, they could all receive and grant wishes from each other.
In unison, they all focused on one wish. Leaving this realm. Their powers were ready to combine. However, something far worse than having no end in sight within this realm had struck them. It seems that only their teleportation abilities were active as the moment they focused on one wish, nothing happened.
Not a spark. Not a glitter. Not a glint, flash, shine, shimmer or even a faint sparkle. Nothing happened. And upon noticing this, all of the Jirachi had found out that their power to grant wishes had been taken away.
"It's gone..." One of them spoke with a weak voice. This came as a tragedy to them. The one thing that makes them all so special had been robbed of them.
"I can't feel it anymore." Another one whimpered as all of the Jirachi were now fully worried for every right reason. With their powers being absent and only teleportation being allowed within this vast endless space, hope was fading.
Cries and whimpers started echoing across the event horizon. Aside from teleporting, they started flying around in a frenzy with some Jirachi bumping into each other. Witnessing this past event made Ash and the others see how instantly the Rift wanted all chances of the worlds remaining connected to be nothing.
The Jirachi were now sent into a state of sadness. And that could soon lead to despair as many of them still tried using their wish-granting powers, only to be reminded that it was a total failure. What else could they do? Some started crying while others remained silent, unsure of what can be done. Despite having the power to do anything, they could do nothing.
"Jirachi..." Ash uttered, clenching his fists after seeing the Jirachi being stuck here. For three years. That time frame of the Jirachi being here meant only one thing. "Away from their own universes...and they've got nothing else to do or see here."
"Those poor things..." Flurry Heart put her hooves over her mouth as her heart went for the Wish Pokemon.
"This was on the very day that the worlds crossed over. The Rift knew which Pokemon to target before anyone else. Jirachi was vulnerable. All of them across every universe." Zero spoke.
"Hey, don't worry!" But just then, within all of this sadness, another Jirachi stayed positive. Ash and the others turned to face this singular Jirachi. "We'll get out."
"How...?" Another Jirachi asked with tears flowing. This one optimistic Jirachi flew over, using the wish tag on its head to wipe away the tears.
"My friends Max and Ash taught me to never lose hope."
"Huh...?" Hearing this made Ash realize that this Jirachi was one he's met before. The one that had befriended him and especially his old travelling friend from the Hoenn Region Max. This Jirachi he's met before. "It's that Jirachi!"
"Pikachu!"
"We'll get out of here someday. I know it." The optimistic Jirachi helped the others up. "I don't know how long...but it won't be long for us, will it?" It laughed, joking about how the Jirachi all sleep for millenniums. It was the only one here looking on the bright side, thinking back to Ash and Max and how their actions gave it the spark to look for hope. "So let's have fun until that comes! I know a lot of things we can do!"
The other Jirachi weren't sure about that. They don't even know who Ash and Max are. But if there was ever a time they needed something to uplift them, this one Jirachi could do it. With a grin on its face, it would do what it could to keep them all hopeful until that day comes for their freedom.
"So that's why Arceus wanted us to make that staircase!" Ash put it together. "But why would he make us start at Equestria...?"
"Pikachu..." Pikachu wondered that as well. Then again, this unknown realm that the Jirachi are trapped in wasn't exactly made by a Pokemon. Hard to say if it was even located somewhere in the Pokemon Universe.
"Another Legendary Pokemon you know personally." Zero chuckled at Ash knowing about this one Jirachi.
"Yeah. A good friend of ours. Jirachi's probably been helping them out for these past 3 years."
"But to be here with nothing else to do is haunting." Flurry Heart shook her head.
"This memory of the Rift answers why you could never immediately keep the worlds connected in the earlier days." Zero continued. "But of course...that's about to change. You mentioned that staircase. The one located Canterlot."
"You know about that too, Zero?" Ash turned to him.
"I may have ended my pursuit for Giratina apart from the card I own, but I never stopped my curiosity on dimensions. Especially now that we have parallel universes. I've caught wind of the other world remember? I'm well aware of this golden stairway that reaches for the sky. That thing might be the only way to Jirachi if it works out."
"It's gonna work out no doubt!" Flurry Heart exclaimed with confidence. "When everyone works together, they get so much done. I know. I've seen it."
"Yes, yes. I know." Zero slowed Flurry Heart down. "You don't have to tell me that. I know that as well from experience. Isn't that right, Ash?" He then looked at Ash, referring to when they were still enemies.
"You bet." Ash chuckled in response.
"Pika-Pika!"
"But I also plan to help. Help the Jirachi free themselves." Zero ended the memory projection. "I managed to gather this piece of Rift Energy by visiting the Arcane Seas in the Unova Region, also made by Rift Magic. This piece has the ability to see memories as I just demonstrated."
"That's all it does?" said Flash.
"Yes. But I've been working hard to change that. Which I did. I can also make gateways with this thing. Change hair colours, create food, see through the dark and caves or even grow trees. Among a few things that I managed to get from it."
"You managed to make it develop that much? Wow...You really are a genius!" Flurry Heart's eyes widened.
"Thank you. But I have to thank science for it."
"Science is so amazing!" Ash and Flurry Heart both said, amazed by Zero's scientific capabilities.
"At the end of the day, Rift Magic is not untouchable." Zero placed it back in the box. "Much like Infinity Energy and even the magic from your world, it has its inner workings. And with enough hard work, it can be tampered with."
"Zero. Thanks for being such a big help." Ash had to show his gratitude once more. "I didn't think you'd be helping us one day. Especially in a super big way. Now we know where all the Jirachi are."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"It's my pleasure, Ash. I already made up for what I tried years ago. So, I might as well use what I still learned from my years of working with Professor Newton to solve our cosmic problem before it becomes a cosmic crisis."
"Cosmic crisis?" Ash, Flash and Flurry Heart said in unison.
"Right. You're a big name in Equestria, Ash. And I know of what you did. You managed to affect the Rift with your Aura. But now, you've essentially poked something far more ferocious than a Tauros by the horns."
"Yeah. I get what you mean." Ash put on a serious face, nodding in response. "It already tried to get ma few times one day."
"You've damaged and angered a force that is just as powerful as Arceus. It helps since it's weakened now, but also this means that the Rift will take it out on you in ever-increasing ways. I fear that it could get out of hand soon and threaten not just this world, but the other world too."
"What do we do then?" Flash Sentry asked.
"For now, it's best you all focus on what you all need to focus on. Like that stairway. As for me. I'm going to focus on the Rift Energy I've managed to gather. And run this arcade, of course. My progress isn't going the way I want it to, but I'm sure I'll have something."
"I got it!" Ash put his hands together. "How about you come over and help out with Twilight back in Equestria?"
"Pikachu!"
"Hm? Oh, right. Her student is a Rift Pony." Zero thought for a moment.
"Not just that. Twilight's got another student there too. If you and her team up, you could get somewhere fast." Ash saw this as an opportunity to have two geniuses work together. Twilight was the smartest pony he knew and Zero was up there with one of the smartest humans in the world.
And there were a lot. For better or for worse.
"Not a bad idea, Ash. I'll see you there tomorrow." Without hesitating, Zero found it to be a good idea to bring these two minds together. He agreed to it right after.
"Awesome! Plus, we're waiting on Phione to give us the next signal. Or I guess Arceus. Or both." Ash continued, mentioning Phione's massive play in all of this.
"We should be heading off now." Flash intervened. "It's getting late and tomorrow's the last day."
"Just 2 days is kinda lame." Flurry Heart pouted. "Wish it was longer. But we'll make the most of it I guess."
"Well, gotta go, Zero. See you tomorrow!" Ash and his friends were off with the beautiful moon showing itself along with the glorious stars. He and the others were let out of this lab as the arcade was already closing, reaching late hours.
"Hm. See you tomorrow." Zero bid his farewell to them as well. And by tomorrow, a collab of geniuses was due.
Zero himself knew he had to get ready, leaving his lab and preparing for a good night's sleep. Although, for some, mainly Flurry Heart, it would be difficult to sleep knowing that there were so many Jirachi trapped within an unknown dimension.
Route 218. Nightfall.
Speaking of which, near Canalave City was Route 218 as Ash and the others would sleep there before advancing. A nice comfy tent given to them by Cadence had been set up.
As expected, Flurry Heart, as well as Ash and Pikachu, couldn't help but think about the Jirachi. Flash Sentry tried to stay up and be the night guard, but having so much fun in the arcade for the first time in his life had drained the pegasus, causing him to doze off next to a tree.
"Hey, Ash." Flurry Heart spoke, asleep next to Ash.
"Yeah?" Ash replied with his eyes half-open. Pikachu got comfortable around his best friend, lying on his stomach.
"Do you think the Jirachi will all be okay? You know...with that one Jirachi helping them?"
"They'll be fine. I know that Jirachi well so there's no need to worry. Besides, it did say that a millennium's nothing to them." The Champion of Alola smiled. "And it's never gonna be a millennium for when we free them. We'll get them out of there soon. With Phione and Arceus helping us along the way."
"That's nice to hear, Ash." She giggled. "Glad I got to travel alongside you. You always have a lot of stories and adventures to share and learn about."
"Thanks, Flurry." Ash laughed back.
"But you know...those Jirachi reminded me of my mom and dad." Flurry Heart's tone changed with her ears dropping. "From my universe. I don't know where they are either. Auntie put them someplace where nopony can find them. Seeing those Jirachi being stuck in that place brought me back to it."
"Yeah...I get what you mean."
"I really miss them. I love the parents I have now but...even if they're the same, I still want mine back." Thinking about it made the young alicorn tear up. She was starting to feel like the Jirachi right now. She didn't fully break down into tears as she had the Cadence and Shining Armor from Universe One to fill that void. But her true parents were still those ones she wanted back.
"We'll get them back." Ash narrowed his eyes, seeing his mind on another objective for a friend. "I don't care if she hid them in a place that's tough to find. We'll go the distance to find your real parents. No matter what."
"Thanks, Ash." She wiped her tear before thinking to herself. "I can see why auntie's so into him now. I'm glad I have all of these friends with me. Especially you, Giratina." Flurry Heart then looked at Giratina's Ultra Ball, thanking it for being a close friend to the young princess.
"Now...Let's see what we can do tomorrow." Ash yawned. "What are you thinking, Flurry?"
"Me? Well, I was thinking we try and go for that-" But before Flurry Heart could give out a recommendation, Ash had already knocked himself out, entering a peaceful sleep. Flurry Heart simply smiled before choosing to sleep afterwards. "Goodnight, Ash."
After having a pleasant sleep last night, Ash and the others woke up to continue the day. Mainly for Flurry Heart's short Pokemon Adventure. Flurry Heart felt like reporting what she had done so far to her parents via the always useful Xtransceiver.
"So you know where the Jirachi are?" But, Cadence was more focused on the existence of Jirachi's whereabouts than on what Flurry Heart and the others had done.
"Well...not really." "Flurry Heart replied, shaking her head. "We just know they're trapped in a weird dimension somewhere. It could be anywhere. Probably not here or back home."
"At least you found someone who figured things out for us." Shining Armor's face came into frame. "I wish we could just find Jirachi soon and get it over with. Before the worst can happen."
"Truth be told, a lot of things we've been through can be considered the worst, right?" Cadence chuckled in response. "Come home safely once you're done for today."
"Can't I stay a little longer, mom and dad?" The young alicorn pleaded, wanting to go on her journey a bit longer. "There's still so much I want to see."
"No, young lady. We promised one day. " Cadence shook her head, rejecting her request.
"Come on. Please?" She continued to plead. "I'm not in any danger right now, am I? Or even yesterday."
"I suppose not..." Cadence thought about it for a moment. She was still thinking about what Flurry Heart could run into within the Pokemon World.
"Just give me some more time, mom. With the friends I have here, no way am I going to be in danger ever." Flurry Heart used her magic to drag Ash and the others toward her.
"I'm not your friend." Sombra, however, used his magic to keep himself away from them.
"Alright. It won't hurt. Just be back home safely, okay?" Cadence agreed to Flurry Heart's plea. "And tell me if you've caught any Pokemon along the way. Sylveon, Aegislash and Manaphy would love to have more friends to mess around with."
"Oh! I haven't caught any, that's right!" Flurry Heart just now realized that the only Pokemon at her disposal was Giratina, who she's always had as her solo partner Pokemon. "Ash! How many Pokemon are in this route?"
"Uhh...A lot." Ash shrugged before being pulled by Flurry Heart's magic.
"Gotta go, mom! I'll be right back!" Afterwards, the young alicorn hung up, ready to go on a frenzy of Pokemon Catching with the number of Poke Balls she currently has.
Equestria. The Crystal Empire. Day.
"Hopefully, it's soon." Cadence put away her Xtransceiver once the call had ended, petting Sylveon who was rubbing up on her hoof. "At least we can tell Auntie Celestia about where the Jirachi are. That'll make everyone relieved."
"Not relieved enough." Shining Armor walked over. "They're trapped in who-knows-where. We're still practically at square one."
"Nuh-uh." However, Cadence thought otherwise. "The stairway to the cosmos is where that can be solved. Thanks to Phione and Arceus' blessing, we have the parts to reach up to the stars. If Arceus ordered Phione to gather so many of us to make that stairway, that means only one thing. The Jirachi are somewhere in space."
"Space. Yeah, that would make sense." Shining Armor nodded. "The Rift's all about cosmic stuff, isn't it?"
"Not sure how long it'll take for us to reach space of all places. Can we even breathe there?"
"No. But apparently, Reshiram and Zekrom can. Along with many other Legendary Pokemon. Lucky guys and gals." Cadence smiled. "Speaking of Reshiram and Zekrom...they're in somewhat of a similar state as the Jirachi in a way. And Giratina too."
"They are?"
"Mm. This isn't their universe after all. They both are one half of the same Dragon, Kyurem. But they come from different universes."
"That is weird. How do you think that feels to them? Shouldn't we get them back to their homes, Cadence?"
"Reshiram and Zekrom know this. But they're sticking around to help us out after what happened in their worlds. I'm just curious about how they feel about their homes and being away from them. I mean...do they care as much? Flurry Heart does but..."
"I'm sure they do." Shining Armor shrugged while having some confidence. "I mean, why wouldn't they?" Cadence and Shining Armor wondered how Reshiram and Zekrom felt. It was difficult to dictate the emotions of a Legendary Pokemon. Most of them anyway.
Their stern expressions that rarely ever change are a staple of them. Especially the Dragons. The best way to dictate how they were feeling was by their cries. But even that was difficult in some way.
Canterlot. Day.
Speaking of Reshiram and Zekrom, they could be seen up in the skies of Canterlot. A gateway of massive proportions, enough to hold both of them had vanished as they had previously exited out of it. Another mission in stopping the Empress' forces and helping other worlds was a success with these two powerhouses.
They descended, landing in the Canterlot Gardens as that was the one place they were commonly seen at.
"Welcome back, you two." Celestia greeted them both, bowing in respect. The Twin Dragons did the same out of respect to the Ruler of Equestria. "Is that another universe saved?"
"Only the 45th one now." Reshiram spoke. "So far, we've blown back a majority of the Empress' forces. But we have yet to do the same to Team Plasma, who are the ones responsible for most of the gateways."
"Either way. Their allies won't be showing up to those universes anymore." said Zekrom. "Everything they need has been crushed into nothing by us. I almost feel some pity for overpowering them. Almost."
"I do. It is a shame to be such an overpowering force to them, seeing how outmatched they are." Reshiram closed his eyes, feeling some empathy. "However, it is for the better. Especially with what they've done."
"Well, you two are the best at what you're doing alongside Pyrestar and a few others." Celestia chuckled. "Perhaps you should take a break. Then again...you can have a break anywhere you want, right?"
"The Canterlot Garden has grown on me. It is a nice place to be in." Reshiram smiled. "What say you, Zekrom?"
"Hmph. Gardens aren't for me." The Electric-Dragon-Type scoffed. "Or even you. Won't you burn it away if you even have a semblance of a cold?"
"I cannot get cold, Zekrom. I am the only non-cold-blooded dragon you will ever meet despite who we originally come from. Where would you even stay if not here? The mountains?"
"The mountains can get far too rowdy. I'd much prefer a place with an onslaught of electricity more than anything. With them crashing onto the landscape, covering the skies as I lay there, getting a charge as if I was feasting during my downtime."
"Is that what you deem peaceful?" Reshiram lowered his eyes.
"The conditions must be met accordingly. But those Poke Balls are oddly comforting for something so small. And are you not the one who prefers to stay within a volcanic area? Doesn't exactly seem as peaceful either."
"Ah, so you admit that your spot is not peaceful." Reshiram pointed his claw at his fellow Dragon. If there was one advantage Reshiram had over Zekrom, it was that it was easy to tell when he was smiling, despite his stern eyes.
"Gh!" It was only just now Zekrom realized what he had said. "Wait! I take it back at once! You played a trick question on me!"
"Far too late. For a Dragon of Electricity, you are relatively slow in what you say." Reshiram taunted with sparks of electricity flaring from Zekrom. Reshiram laughing was done via draconic cries as the clouds were rumbling from Zekrom's emotional response.
"Hard to imagine that even though they're from different universes, they practically act like they know each other all too well." Luna leaned in. "I mean...they do but...in a technical sense...you know what I mean."
"In a sense, they are brothers, aren't they?" Celestia replied, chuckling. "They remind me of us."
"Hmmm..." Luna looked over at the two dragons, seeing how Zekrom was snarling at Reshiram whilst Reshiram simply acted like there was nothing wrong. "Eh. I suppose so. I see some of myself and a few others in Reshiram. For you...perhaps Zekrom."
"Zekrom?" Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Oh, no. I was thinking that I am more of a Reshiram Pony. Isn't that a unique saying?"
"A Reshiram Pony?" Luna soon raised her eyebrow next at this new word that Celestia had conjured up. It was most likely never going to be used again unless a scenario such as this happened once more.
"Yes. I have my ideals, but I look for the truth a lot, Luna. I know you have massive ideals. Especially for what you aim to do in the Equestria League."
"Indeed. Becoming Equestria's first and only champion is my ideal." Luna grinned, picturing herself as a Pokemon Champion. The first of her world too. The sisters laughed while the draconic brothers bickered. Mainly Zekrom.
"Slow am I? At least I move faster than you." Zekrom scoffed, calming down as the clouds ceased their rumbling.
"Highly unlikely." Reshiram used his wings to shrug. "I believe we are tied in speed, are we not?"
"Maybe in your universe that is the case. But I come from another universe. Perhaps I am the swifter Dragon there, wouldn't you think? Unless you're too caught up in what you deem as the truth."
"Hmmrgh..." Reshiram's smile vanished with a frown replacing his emotion. "Or perhaps it's your ideal vision of being faster than me."
Once again, history had repeated itself even in another universe. No matter what, Reshiram and Zekrom were always destined to argue over Truths and Ideals. But in this case, it was on a smaller scale.
Thankfully.
"You two. Why should we worry about something so small as to who is faster than who?" Celestia flew in between the Dragon Duo. "Or even find out if you are equal. We don't have to argue about this."
"Princess Celestia is correct. We shouldn't-"
"When we can race!" Celestia intervened, having something far bigger than what they were expecting. She wanted to sort this argument out the fun way, clapping her hooves.
"Sister!" Luna gasped. That was not what she was expecting. If anything, Celestia had only amplified the argument to a new height.
"A stunning idea. That is the best way to settle it." Immediately, Zekrom agreed to it without even thinking about it. No hesitation whatsoever.
"Agreed. A true test of skill. Let's settle this once and for all." So did Reshiram. They were on the same wavelength with what they wanted.
"Brilliant! I'll make the preparations!" Celestia squeed as Luna flew over to her big sister.
"Sister! What are you doing?!"
"Making things fun. What better way to test their speed than having them race? It'll be just like the Rapidash Rush that we saw 2 years ago. Or was it 3? I forget." Celestia shrugged. "Besides, it won't hurt anyone."
"Won't it fuel their bickering? Especially if one of them wins and the other loses."
"Trust me, Luna. I'll have it all sorted out." Celestia winked as Luna merely grimaced at this. "To see how fast you two are, how about a race around the world? No-no-no. Around both worlds."
"Both worlds? You mean..." Luna paused for a moment.
"Mhm. You'd be guessing right, Luna. Crossing both globes 50 times will determine who's got the superior speed. It'll start at Canterlot and end at Canterlot. Now then! Let's get rolling!" Celestia raised her hoof as she was ready to see two Dragons race.
1 hour later.
In just one hour, Celestia had set everything up, informing everyone across Equestria about this race. And she had help of course. Not just from her subjects, but from BigTime Ben, who commonly helps with organizing certain things.
A massive banner to represent this race had been made along with a gigantic poster of the two Dragons staring at each other, courtesy of Fancy Pants' Smeargle who had just finished the final touches to the artwork.
"You should be here to see this, honestly." Currently, Rainbow Dash turned the Xtransceiver on, speaking to Ash and the others from the next universe. "Then again, you'll still see it either way as it will be across the entire planet."
"A race with both Reshiram and Zekrom?! Awesome!" Ash and Flurry Heart both exclaimed with joy and mass interest with this.
"I know right?" Rainbow Dash replied. "I'll show you the opening announcement to it. But ya know...I think I should be up there with them. I'm pretty fast."
"Hm-hm. You are fast." Ash nodded, knowing just how fast Rainbow Dash was.
"Indeed. My Pheromosa should also be up there too." Rarity intervened. "Theoretically speaking, Pheromosa should be faster than all three of you with Beast Boost."
"Not faster than me." Rainbow Dash thought otherwise. "I mean...then again..."
"It's Showtime!" Celestia bellowed with her Royal Canterlot Voice. Everyone's attention had been alerted to her royal majesty as everything was ready with both Dragons standing on the starting line. "The Race between Reshiram and Zekrom is about to begin. To see who is the fastest between the two. The rules of the race are simple. The first Dragon to circle both gloves 50 times will be declared the fastest Dragon Pokemon. Unless...there's another Dragon out there that says otherwise."
"I'll bet 20 bits on Reshiram winning this." Already, some ponies were betting on who would win this race.
"Zekrom has this easy by a mile. Nothing's faster than an Electric-Type."
"BigTime Ben took the time to give us these necklaces." Celestia had then used her magic to place large necklaces around the necks of them both, "They'll allow us to track your progress via a massive projection. Be careful where you fly, boys. You're massive, remember?" Celestia said to the Dragon Duo. "Now, get to your starting positions."
The two of them did just that, adjusting their wings and arms while looking ahead. The power coming from their tails could be heard as if they were engines revving up.
"On your marks..." Celestia began the countdown, raising her hoof as her horn started glowing. "Get set...Go!" She then shot her magic into the air which allowed for the race to finally begin. Once the sound went off the two halves of Kyurem took off. And with a great force too.
They didn't need to build up momentum as they had immediately left with a burst of speed, causing a gigantic shockwave that knocked everyone over. Celestia gasped as she was knocked over as well with every single glass in Canterlot breaking apart. Some repairs would have to make. Lots of them.
Once they took off, fire and lightning trailed from their tails as they were becoming white and black blurs from their immediate take-off, zooming through the air. They had already finished passing Canterlot in just 4 seconds flat. Their next stop was Deerling Forest as everyone watched from the large projection thanks to the necklaces.
The Twin Dragons ascended a bit higher as they were neck and neck with neither truly being ahead of each other. Flying-Types were outclassed easily and overwhelmed once they saw these two massive draconic creatures flying across the skies. Their competitive spirits allowed for them to move at speeds no one had seen them move at before.
The Deerling, Sawsbuck and other Pokemon living at Deerling Forest couldn't help but also notice them in the air, flying at breakneck speeds. Some of the Deerling who grazed the grass closed their eyes from the intense wind pressure generated by them both. The trees almost came flying out of the earth itself as a sonic boom could be heard in the sky. Multiple of them.
The Pikachu of the Pikachu Highlands caught wind of this race as they were all cheering for their personal favourites. Despite being Electric-Types, not all of them showed favourite to Zekrom. Some were on Reshiram's side.
They were far gone from Canterlot, Deerling Forest and the Pikachu Highlands by this point. Reshiram and Zekrom immediately reached their next destination. Whinnyapolis. Which last only 15 seconds as that had been covered swiftly without even a minute gone by.
The ponies of Whinnyapolis could only see white and black trails in the sky with fire and lightning. Chicoltgo was up next, being passed without too much trouble in their way. The ponies of Cloudsdale looked ahead to see the arrival of Reshiram and Zekrom.
These two Dragons made every pegasi and their speed look insignificant as they blitzed past them, blowing the entire civilization of Clousdale back. The ponies of Cloudsdale were taken aback as the clouds had all trembled with some of them dissipating from this.
They had passed through so many locations in so little time it was absurd to everyone's eyes. The Crystal Mountains only took 3 seconds as the Crystal Empire and its residents shot their eyes to the sky, gawking at the sight of these two. The Crystal Empire had said farewell to the Dragon Duo as they were going beyond the north.
Yakyakistan even had the pleasure of seeing them both. They weren't aware of the race but they would certainly catch a glimpse of it. And it wouldn't be the last time as these two would be going across both globes. And in just 10 minutes, they were almost done with this world.
Manehattan had said hello to Reshiram and Zekrom with some ponies at the restaurant having their meals interrupted. The table clothes flew off with bowls of food being thrown at the faces of the customers, causing an immediate mess. A theatre play was happening at Manehattan's only theatre, only for the highest note to be interrupted by a sonic boom from the outside which reached all the way here. The pony who put her heart and soul into making sure this high note landed, squeaked after the sonic boom had come through.
Appleloosa, Trottingham, Las Pegasus. All had been blitzed. Speaking of Las Pegasus, they were also gambling on who would win this race. None could see who was in the lead from how fast they were moving. Within one of the casinos, Reshiram and Zekrom had inadvertently helped one pony win a slot machine by having their shockwaves tamper with it, granting this lucky pony a jackpot.
Pegalysium was not exempt from this. Reshiram and Zekrom kept ascending as the residents of Pegalysium looked up to see an unusual sight. This was their first time seeing Reshiram and Zekrom. And they were truly majestic to look at.
The Dragons from the Dragon Lands loved this more than anyone. Seeing two dragons race influenced them to start racing too. Ember took a close look, deciding on which one to root for. She liked the way Reshiram's fur looked so her choice was obvious.
Soon, this world would've been crossed entirely as a mysterious pony who seemed to resemble the Tempest Shadow from Universe 6 had looked to the skies, seeing these massive Pokemon fly about. She stood atop the mountains, holding onto her cloak. They were reaching the end of the world at this point with a gateway being within their sights. That would lead them to the Pokemon World.
Their world.
And once they passed through, they found themselves in the Hoenn Region. Pacifidog Town was passed in seconds as the two Dragons weren't even feeling exhausted for a bit. Neither were letting up as they were still neck and neck. It seemed that Reshiram's words on them being equal in speed was the most likely result.
Once Pacifidog Town had been passed, the seas of Hoenn had been crossed with massive water trails forming without them even being near the sea. Sootopolis City and the Sootopolitans there marvelled, witnessing Reshiram and Zekrom in person for the first time as well. They wouldn't have to go to Hoenn or wait for some apocalyptic event to see them. They had even passed through the massive crater of the great meteoroid crash.
Lilycove City? That was done too with Passion's mother missing them in just the blink of an eye. Mauville? Blitzed. Rustboro? Not even a minute. They crossed the seas once more as a Wailord had jumped out of it. The Float Whale Pokemon flew over the two Dragons, causing beautiful water droplets to fly about.
Just like that, they finished with Hoenn and moved on to Johto and beyond. Every region would be crossed. And truly every region. Some that none of them had ever seen before, including Ash who was being given this view from Rainbow Dash's Xtranseciver.
But soon, he, Flash Sentry, Flurry Heart, Pikachu and Sombra would see them too. They looked up in the sky, already feeling the incoming pressure of Reshiram and Zekrom. They would get to experience this 50 times as they marvelled at them. Ash cheered for both of them with Flurry Heart flapping for joy.
25 minutes later.
They had crossed the world 49 times by now. Just one more to go and one of them would win. But even so, they were still equal. And during that time, the two Dragons couldn't help but notice some tornadoes forming in the distance right around the seas of Kanto. These tornadoes ravaged the ocean as they were large enough to threaten civilization. This was caused by them flying across the globes so fast that they ended up summoning a natural disaster.
The two of them looked at each other, knowing that they had to be stopped. So while they were still participating in their race, they took the time to deal with these tornadoes. Reshiram and Zekrom had used Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt, unleashing these massive spheres of Infinity Energy.
Just like that, they had taken care of a natural disaster by evaporating the water and overpowering it with millions of volts. Easily done as they didn't even slow down for a second. To some of the Pokemon, ponies and people watching, it seemed like they were getting faster by the second. With each natural disaster they managed to create from their speed, they ended up stopping it, fixing what they had caused.
Eventually, they had reached the climax once they passed Ponyville, which had already seen these Dragons come and go. It was time for the final stretch.
And speaking of Ponyville, entering it at the moment where these two Dragons were about to finish was Zero. He was here for Twilight and discussions about the Rift.
"Hmm...Wonder what that was all about..." Zero said, looking to the skies while witnessing two streaks of different energies. He shrugged it off afterwards, appearing before the town. "Alright then. Princess Twilight Sparkle. That castle in the distance is where I need to be."
Now that Zero was here, he could head over to Twilight and sort the future of Rift Energy with two brilliant minds working together. All the while, the race between the two dragons had come to an end. Right back to where it started. Canterlot. Almost half an hour for them to finish this race by going across the entire world.
They stopped right at the finish line, causing a colossal dust cloud to form. Everyone coughed and closed their eyes from this dust cloud's emergence. It was over as Celestia's eyes rolled for a bit.
"That's...50." She shook her head once the race finished. Cheers erupted throughout the city from this spectacular race. A shame they couldn't see any of the Pokemon from other regions since they were moving so fast to keep up with them.
"So who won?" The Dragon Duo asked.
"Well...The projection shows us that...both of you did. It was a tie. Looks like you were right about you both having equal speed, Reshiram. Does that satisfy you?"
"..." They both looked at each other, pondering for a bit. A tie wasn't exactly what they wanted. While Reshiram did state that they were equal in speed, he did feel the urge to try and 1UP his brother. After thinking about it for a moment, they decided on one thing in unison. "Again?"
"Definitely. This time 100 Times."
"Ah, maybe another time!" Luna intervened, stopping the two Dragons before they could take off once more. But Reshiram and Zekrom were itching for another race. "Hah..."
"How about we try it, Luna?" Celestia nudged her little sister. "I'm positive I'm faster than you, eh?"
"Please...I'm younger, therefore, I have more energy." Luna had been baited into having a similar squabble with her big sister, scoffing.
"Smaller too." Celestia snickered. "Maybe that's where all the speed comes from."
"Ah!" Luna gasped with Celestia putting on a devious smirk. "Very well. Let us settle this then!"
"I was thinking the same thing." Celestia and Luna went face to face, deciding to see who was the faster alicorn among them all. And of course, upon hearing this, Reshiram and Zekrom would indulge in it. Having a second round. They found something where they could have fun and it pleased them greatly.
Nopony was complaining. They'd love to see a second race. Especially with the Royal Sisters involved.
Ponyville. Twilight's Castle.
"What a race..." Twilight spoke as parts of her castle had been blown off by Reshiram and Zekrom's intense speeds. Repairs across different parts of both worlds would have to be done. Espeon and the rest of her Pokemon helped make these repairs possible.
But while doing so, Absol's nose picked up on someone. Someone new had shown up at the castle that he never recognized before. "Sol! Absol!"
"What is it, Absol?" Twilight asked as Absol sniffed out the newcomer right to the nearest door. Somehow, this stranger made it inside the castle, without Twilight needing to unlock the door. This stranger moved undetected until Absol's scent kicked i.
"Good, morning." That person had already shown up, knowing where to find Twilight whilst sitting on one of the broken pillars. It was none other than Zero who was here to meet her. Twilight and her Pokemon reasonably pulled back with shock and confusion. "Princess."
Arriving at Twilight's Castle unexpectedly was Zero. As promised via Ash's invitation, he would show up to assist Twilight in these Rift-related studies. Although, he made his entrance in the strangest way possible, sitting on a broken pillar that was caused by the Reshiram and Zekrom race, which was going into a second round at the moment.
Twilight pulled back along with her Pokemon. However, Absol was the only one not alert. His horn didn't tremble. Already, this Absol knew that Zero was not hostile or anyone to worry about. Despite the fact that Zero did still have a menacing face even after all of these years. Those golden eyes weren't all that helpful.
"Zero's my name. Ash sent me here." He got off the pillar. "Pleasure to meet you, your majesty."
"Uh...Nice to meet you too." Twilight was still a bit frozen. "You made quite an entrance here. How did you even get in? The door was locked."
"Glad you asked. I got in with this." Zero had then approached, holding out the Rift Sphere that he had formed. Out of its box and casually being held by Zero, he revealed it to Twilight and her Pokemon.
"Rift Energy?!"
"Espeon?!" Espeon and the other Pokemon were reasonably taken aback by this. Especially with how he was holding it without anything happening to his body. Zero wasn't even wearing any gloves.
"Surprised?" He juggled it with one hand for a bit. "Not so volatile in my hands, is it?"
"How are you holding it like that?!" The Princess of Friendship demanded answers as her hoof trembled while pointing at Zero.
"Ah. I had to do a lot of work to make this possible." He then rolled it on his arm, treating it as if it was a toy. In fact, when looking at it, Ninetales and his dog-like tendencies were acting up. The Rift Sphere did remind it of a toy as all nine of his tails started moving. "Neat, isn't it?"
"Uhh..." Twilight still had a lot going through her mind. Zero had mentioned Ash plus him just suddenly entering her castle was still something she needed to process. Not to mention how he was holding Rift Magic and appearing completely fine without any effects.
"Sol. Absol." However, Absol spoke to Twilight, nudging her. She looked at the Disaster Pokemon, seeing him nod his head once. Absol wasn't alone in this. Togekiss flew over, doing the same. Both of their nods confirmed one thing for Twilight.
"Oh. He's fine." Twilight translated. Absol sensed nothing that was a threat and Togekiss, who could always pick up on good spirits, could see right through Zero. "Well...okay. I can trust you two. But did Ash really send you?"
"Wish I had one of those Xtransceiver things to confirm it." Zero shrugged.
"I do! Give me a second." Thankfully, Twilight had her own. As she went to grab it, Zero couldn't help but look at the interior of the castle. A bit hard on the eyes for him, even though he owns an Arcade with luminescent lights. He also saw how Twilight had a plethora of Pokemon-based books present here. Even though she had her own Pokemon Lab, she made sure to keep some around here.
At the same time, while Twilight had just found her Xtransceiver, immediately searching for Ash's Trainer ID which was the very first one for obvious reason, Ninetales went up to the sphere, seeing it as a toy. He grabbed Zero's attention, causing him to flinch for a bit. "Nine! Ninetales!" Ninetales wagged his nine tails, jumping up and down as his eyes locked onto the sphere.
"Oh? You want this?" Zero caught on fast, raising the ball.
"Nine-Nine! Ninetales!" Ninetales made it clear as day that he wanted to play catch with it.
"Well...sorry, you can't." Zero shook his head, putting the orb behind his back. "I may be safe from it, but you certainly aren't. At least not yet. It's for your own good."
"Ninetales..." Ninetales whimpered, lowering his head as his tails also dropped.
"Hey, Twilight. I was wondering if you could take me-" Just then, entering the room was one of Twilight's students. The young Rift Pony Cold Colt. Upon entering, his eyes immediately fixated on the newest visage within the castle. That would be Zero.
However, being blessed with the knowledge of the Pokemon World as a Rift Pony, upon seeing Zero, it reminded Cold Colt of who he was. Or rather, who he used to be. "Y-Y-You're Zero!" He shouted, immediately knowing about Zero's past actions, causing him to shake this room, startling Twilight, her Pokemon and even Ash and Pikachu who were on the Xtransceiver.
"Cold! Cold! It's okay!" Twilight teleported to him before he could start panicking, using her magic to hold the young colt from making any drastic movements. "He's alright."
"H-He is?!"
"Straight from Ash and Pikachu," Twilight revealed the Xtransceiver to Cold Colt as Ash and Pikachu were on the call. "Zero's here to help. With Rift Energy, just like he said."
"Yep. He learned how to use it faster than anyone I know." Ash replied as the sound of Flurry Heart chatting could be heard in the distance. A Poke Ball could also be heard as the princess from another universe was currently in the midst of trying to catch a new Pokemon. "Oh, nice throw, Flurry!"
"Pikachu!"
"So you're a Rift Pony." Zero approached him. "You truly do blend in well with this world. It'd be impossible to tell who's a Rift Pony this way."
"T-Thanks..." Cold shivered, still fearing Zero. He just couldn't get those memories out of his head. If anything, this was one of the few times he wishes he never had a vast knowledge about the Pokemon World and important events.
"Gotta go, Twi. See ya soon." Ash finished the call, bidding farewell to Twilight.
"See you soon, Ash." Twilight did the same before putting the Xtransceiver away. "Okay. So...you're the first one and I believe only one to harness Rift Energy, huh?"
"Certainly." He then held the sphere with one finger, spinning it. Not only could he casually hold it, but also play around with it as if he wasn't holding a power source capable of doing practically anything. "All I need to do was push my scientific capabilities and even the power of the cosmos can be utilized."
"That's just..." Twilight closed her eyes before being starstruck. "Amazing, honestly! I can't believe you managed to do that! But then again, I can kind of believe it. How exactly?"
"I would say it took me a lot of time. And it did. But it goes further than just me sitting around to perfect holding it so that I wouldn't have to let its power run wild."
"Ninetales!" Ninetales still wanted the sphere, even after knowing of the dangers it could cause.
"Ninetales, no! It's dangerous" Twilight held Ninetales back with her magic before he could pounce.
"Your Ninetales has been eager to play with it. Don't worry. We can make it so that I'm not the only one who can touch it casually."
"So. How do we make that happen?" Twilight asked.
"That's why I'm here. And also to help your little student here get used to his magic." He then turned to Cold Colt. "The only way to do so is in the same way I did it. It's all I know anyway. Luckily, I brought my set with me so we can get to work."
"Uh...Where would that be?" But Twilight didn't see any sign of Zero's work set. There was nothing for him to use, and neither did he carry it with him.
"Right here." Zero indeed had it. And to prove it, he revealed his set by using the Rift Sphere. Out of it, as if it were a clown car, an assortment of scientific objects. Twilight, Cold and the Pokemon backed up as they sorted themselves out. The objects didn't even lose balance when emerging out of the sphere. It was as if they were automatically tidy when being sent out.
"You kept all of that inside of there?!" Twilight bellowed.
"I certainly did." Zero went up to his seat. "I'll tell you this, my little pony. The way to control Rift Energy, from what I found out, is by science. And I mean hard science. From what I hear, you're fairly clever. Clever enough to help with this?"
"Well..." Twilight wondered for a moment. Was she? She knew that her Human counterpart dabbled more in science whilst she focused on magic. "Sorry. I'm more about magic than science."
"Hm. I see." Zero closed his eyes. "So...you might not be as big of a help as Ash let you on to potentially be, eh?" Zero was somewhat disappointed by that. He was expecting more. But it seemed that he would have to do it himself once more. "What a shame..."
"Wait!" Despite knowing this, Twilight still had something to say. "You said you used hard science to control the Rift Energy, right?"
"That's right. Took me from the beginning of the earlier years of the worlds crossing over to make it happen. It was all worth it to make this." He held the orb out. "Unfortunately, you're not qualified to do so."
"I am!" Twilight exclaimed. "I may not be into hard science...but I am into hard magic. Or just magic in general. How's that?"
"Magic?"
"Cold Colt over here uses Rift Magic. It's something that I've been coming to understand more and more each time I teach him. I believe I can help with magic. Much like how you're great with science."
"Hmm..." Zero thought about it for a few seconds before smirking. "If you say so. Let's see if your magic can be as useful then, princess."
"I can prove it." Twilight trotted over to Zero's set with her head and chest held up high. She felt confident and mighty in her abilities. And that's exactly what Zero wanted. The best way to have Twilight work alongside her came from underestimating her and it certainly worked like a charm as now Twilight would do what she could to prove to Zero that her expertise in magic can match his expertise in science.
Thus, they got to work. They had used the Rift Sphere Zero already owned. But Cold Colt was another candidate. He stood completely still whilst Zero observed him with his various inventions. The young pony scrunched his face through it all, afraid that one of these inventions could end up poking him if something sharp was involved. Twilight was having some trouble. Despite her confidence in knowing about Rift Magic, interacting with it was a different story. Her magic was ineffective against it after all.
Zero had the upper hand in that as his machine already had readings of Rift Energy. Compared to the sphere he had, Cold Colt had a lot to offer. His Rift Magic potential was massive and had yet to be brought out. While observing it, he looked to Twilight who was still struggling.
"You seem lost there, my little pony."
"I didn't exactly say I could interact with Rift Magic." Twilight pouted. "The only pony who isn't a Rift Pony who can interact with it is Princess Celestia. I can still try something to understand the inner workings of this thing." She narrowed her eyes at the sphere.
"Well, even if your magic is ineffective, you can find a way, can't you? I hear you alicorns are brimming with magical capabilities that far exceed any other pony tribe. Much like a Legendary Pokemon for comparison."
"I believe I can. This is my first time trying it though." Twilight sighed. "You've had since the start of the worlds crossing over to make it work for you."
"Indeed. But it took me quite a long time to get adjusted to the cosmic power that this thing holds. I almost had my entire body affected by it."
"Almost?!" Twilight gasped.
"Right. The power that the Rift holds, even in something small, is nothing to overwhelm almost anything. There is little that can withstand the overwhelming force that it creates. Trying to avoid what it can do is almost impossible. If it had entered me, I'm not sure my body would've handled all of that power. The energy would occupy and fill me from the inside and overtake me completely. It's a miracle that never happened during my time testing on it."
"Occupy..." Twilight thought about that for a moment. Her brain was acting up at this moment. What Zero said made Twilight ponder about something. She then thought back to every instance that someone had harnessed Rift Energy. And to her, the most interesting example would be from the Arcane Seas. The same spot where Zero found a piece of Rift Energy and where she and her friends went on a trip on the Royal Unova.
Twilight remembered when Pinkie Pie ended up receiving Rift Magic inside of her thanks to the Rift-influenced waters. The result was her gaining a sonic voice that was exceedingly loud. But aside from that, there was one crucial thing that she thought about.
Despite gaining a sonic voice thanks to Rift Energy, Pinkie Pie eventually lost it. As if it had run out. Recalling that moment including when the Indigo Alliance from Pegalysium felt exhausted when using Rift Magic fairly recently made Twilight think. She put the two of them together and realized something.
"That's it!" She had a brainstorm, startling Zero and the others. "What if there's a new way for anyone to harness it without a problem?!"
"And what would that be?"
"How about...we make it a vessel."
"A vessel?" Zero repeated.
"Mhm!" She nodded vigorously. "What if say I emptied out of all my magic power and I became a vessel for Rift Magic? Everypony in Equestria already has magic inside of them, even if it's not that clear as a unicorn or an alicorn. Their bodies ran out of that power eventually but some of them managed to keep a bit of it around. Like King Paramount. So far, only ponies with high magic potential can hold them. But what if the same can be said for everypony?"
"Ooh...I get what you're saying." Zero was catching on fast.
"That's right. And I'm going to try." Twilight looked at the Rift Sphere.
"Right now?!"
"Right now. But um...maybe not from this now that I think about it. This is yours." She giggled. "I know exactly what I can use."
The Cauldron.
Brought over by Zecora, the cauldron of Rift Magic was the perfect object to use. The cauldron had been placed down but not too hard as to avoid having the liquid inside splash.
"Thanks, Zecora. This should do perfectly." Twilight thanked her before facing the cauldron. Zero promptly stopped what he was doing to see how Twilight would use this. It made him curious. Zero backed away, sitting down next to the sleeping Ninetales. Twilight was ready to test her theory out.
"Wait, Twilight!" Cold Colt halted her for a moment. "What if it goes wrong? I mean...what's all that power going to do to your body when you let it get to you?"
"That's why I'll have you to count on, Cold." She looked at her young student. "Whatever happens, I can trust you to get rid of it. Besides, I'm not planning on keeping it around forever."
"Alright. I'll try, Twilight."
"Now...here goes." Twilight took a deep breath as it was time for her to empty out all of her magic. It was certainly something she's never done before. She's felt her magic emptied out before but not by her own will. Now was the time to try it for the first time. Twilight dug deep, using her finite pool of magic for this one more.
From the magic she had as a unicorn to the one she has as an alicorn. Her eyes opened with all of the magic showing itself in a white flash of energy. Everyone here squinted their eyes from the blinding light as purple energy started violently exuding out of Twilight's body. It was far more violent than anyone was expecting.
However, during the process of emptying out of her magic, Twilight was in a static position. She had a lot of magic to go through as letting it all out was not swift due to her magical potential. Everyone else looked in awe as they had never seen anything like this before.
The room had been illuminated by her signature purple aura as it could even be seen from outside, flashing through the windows as if a rave or a light show was going on. All of that magic was not emptying anytime soon.
But while she was emptying it, Twilight soon found herself within her mind. Not exactly what she was expecting considering she was emptying out her magic. The young alicorn gasped once she saw herself within her mind, which was a purple and white ethereal land.
"How'd I get here?!" Twilight wondered, seeing that she was suddenly within her mind. "Is this what happens when you empty out your magic?"
"Why do you think you're here?" Just then, a voice replied to her. A voice that sounded identical to her own. Twilight's ears twitched before turning around, spotting where the source of that voice had come from. Lo and behold, it was an entity that she had forgotten about that existed. The same entity that Princess Luna had within her in the form of Lunar Ire before managing to master the Sorrowful Rage Magic. This entity had also been first unleashed on the same day Luna had become Lunar Ire and now she had returned.
Horizon Storm.
"You..." Twilight looked at the alicorn who sounded exactly like her but vaguely resembled her with crackling bizarre magic around her body. "It's you! Twilight did remember this entity. Only barely. She honestly thought she'd never see it again.
"That's right. You forgot all about me, didn't you? Horizon Storm spoke with an echoing voice that was identical to Lunar Ire. "I bet you forgot that I even existed. Right after you calmed down..."
"You're the same as what Princess Luna has. Just like Lunar Ire..." Twilight's jaw dropped. "You're...Um...What's your name?"
"Gh!" Horizon Storm twitched, feeling insulted that Twilight would forget her name. "I am Horizon Storm!"
"Oh, right. The names come from our parallels and anger." Twilight squeed. "Well...I didn't expect to ever see you again. I'm surprised I remember your appearance."
"What do you think you're doing? Emptying out your magic?"
"I'm trying to solve the key to Rift Magic here. That's all. But how come I ended up here with you when doing it?"
"I intervened. Sorrowful Rage Magic helped me do so. Right now, your magic is still being emptied, but slowly. Emptying it out will get rid of me, don't you know?"
"My magic will recover. Well...I'll have some help making it recover. I don't have the Boundless Cutie Mark after all. And that includes you as well, right?"
"I suppose so." Horizon Storm shrugged. "But either way...now that you remember me and we meet again...when are you going to let me out?"
"Hm?"
"Do you have any idea how many instances I've tried unleashing myself? When Ash overloaded himself with Aura, resulting in his worst Delayed Aura Ataxia effect by far, I mourned for him. But you managed to power through it. When that Pheromosa attacked us at Manehattan, I tried showing myself once again. Even during the entire invasion, I attempted to make my return, but nothing happened during that. Even when Jade was captured, the rage inside of me was itching to burst out. So many instances where I could've returned."
"Then how come you didn't show yourself if you had all those chances?" Twilight asked. "Princess Luna has had Lunar Ire at least show up here and there before she controlled. It even spoke to her for a while."
"It's because of you." Horizon Storm narrowed her eyes. "You seem to have better control of your emotions than Princess Luna, leading to the Sorrowful Rage Magic being held back. There hasn't been anything major yet to truly break past those barriers to let me free."
"And you want out."
"Precisely. So that I can unleash my magic and take revenge on those who have crossed the line. Ghetsis. That Shiny Gardevoir, the Indigo Alliance and so many more."
"Hold on!" Twilight halted her. "That's too risky, don't you think?! Besides...I don't want my body being used for revenge."
"Tough. You and I are one in the same. Lunar Ire confirmed that with Princess Luna. Therefore, there is a part of you that wants revenge against Ghetsis and everyone else, right? If anything, it's what you want deep down."
"No." But Twilight refused. "We've already beaten Gardevoir and even stopped the Indigo Alliance once. Ghetsis has also been pushed back here and there. What you're looking for is pushing it."
"Tch. Should've expected that kind of response from you. You're the same pony that believes reforming everypony is the way to go, aren't you?"
"Well...Not everyone." Twilight shifted her eyes to the side.
"I don't know how Princess Luna did it, but Lunar Ire was what she should've fully embraced." Her echoed voice was starting to intensify. It was clear that much like Lunar Ire, Horizon Storm wanted absolute control over Twilight's emotions.
"Just like Lunar Ire..." Twilight said to herself. "Well in that case...since I'm here, I might as well try and do the same to you."
"What?"
"How about we work together?" Twilight held her hoof out. "We are one in the same, aren't we? We should be just like Princess Luna and Lunar Ire. Unified. I'll have you within me to use a new type of magic."
"Pfft...You're joking, right?" Horizon started chuckling in a low tone. "You think I want that?"
"Well...That'd be the best result, wouldn't it? You and I would be in sync." Twilight squeed. "But I'd have to keep this magic under control. And also learn about it."
"As if I'd let that happen before missing out on the chance to get back on those who hurt you. Who hurt us." Horizon Storm's magic started pulsating as it was very clear where she stood. Only one thing was on her mind. Revenge.
Not exactly what Twilight pursued but for Horizon Storm, these past 3 years for revenge was all that she pursued. Her magic was starting to show its rage more than its sorrow as Twilight felt the ethereal floor shake.
"I'm getting out of here! Starting today!" She roared, causing a wind pressure to fly in Twilight's direction. Twilight already knew how Horizon Storm felt at this point. Talking to her when so much rage was boiling within her would only lead to an impasse.
"Horizon! Wait!" Twilight covered one eye with her mane being blown vigorously by this pressure. But it was clear that Horizon Storm wasn't going to wait as she started walking over to Twilight.
"How about I leave you inside of here and take care of everything else?!" The Sorrowful Rage manifestation of Twilight's emotions roared as two overlapping voices could be heard. They were still the voice of Twilight, just in a dual state.
"Oh, great. No way around it." Twilight stood up tall, knowing that Horizon Storm wasn't going to talk it out with her. But it was the moment that the young alicorn looked back to how Princess Luna managed to overcome Lunar Ire. She knew one thing that was true.
She and Horizon Storm were indeed one in the same. However, it was keeping this emotional and raging side of her under control that was the biggest obstacle to reaching this great understanding. Twilight readied herself for the worst while on the outside, her magic was still being emptied as the journey continues.
Chapter 769 End.
The Twilight that Sparkles over the Horizon's Storm
Twilight was currently standing face to face with the manifestation of her sorrow and rage. Horizon Storm. Similar to Lunar Ire, only, Horizon Storm had been forgotten about. Never popping up again, not even in rare instances. That is until now during Twilight's process of emptying out all of her magic.
Horizon Storm chose to get aggressive and much to Twilight's chagrin, it was unavoidable as she was keeping the Princess of Friendship inside of her own mind.
"I still don't want to have to do this to you, Horizon," Twilight said, trying once more to reason with her.
"That's why you're too weak to be in control. I'd said that I'm better fit to take your place. And even as the Princess of Friendship!"
"Now you're just starting to sound like the Empress a bit...Aren't you against her too just like Ghetsis and the others?"
"Don't compare me to her!" Her rage showed once more as out of thin air, she created a purple combustion of magic that had pushed Twilight away. Twilight yelped as she received the first hit, sliding and rolling on the ethereal floor.
"Fine then!" Twilight quickly recovered, standing up as quickly as she was knocked back. Her horn flashed before unleashing a magical beam. In response, Horizon did the same as both beams of varying colours clashed. Purple and dark purple respectively. An equalizer had been met with them with both beams blowing up in front of each other.
Horizon Storm continued to be on the offensive than Twilight Sparkle. Horizon stomped her hooves on the ground, unleashing what seemed to be a torrent of magic that mimicked a sandstorm. Twilight squinted before then stomping her hooves as well. Instead of destroying the torrent, she simply used her magic to redirect it. With the full force of her magic which also made the Princess of Friendship grunt, she had managed to manipulate the storm of magic, redirecting it to her vengeful counterpart.
"What?!" Horizon Storm gasped before being hit by her own attack. Twilight spread her wings out, flying into the torrent right afterwards without anything happening to her thanks to some magic coating. Twilight used her magic within the torrent, adding a ray to it. Horizon Storm was being showered by both her own attack and Twilight's magic.
"Why don't you just diminish?!" Horizon Storm just had one eye closed with the other eye viciously staring at Twilight. With a flash of her horn, she ended up shrinking Twilight.
"Huh?" Twilight blinked, realizing that she had now become minuscule. The young princess looked at her smaller self, stunned that Horizon Storm could just do that to her. "Oh!"
"I'll crush you with my bare hooves!" Horizon Storm, now appearing larger than Twilight, separated the torrent of magic with her shadow casting over the little Twilight. "Bye, bye! My Little Pony!" With her hooves, she drove them down as it looked like an entire roof was falling on Twilight.
Twilight grit her teeth before then deciding to get risky. The hoof was already too close to do anything else. So the best option was to use her own hooves. And she did just that, raising them to catch the incoming one from Horizon Storm. "Ow!" Twilight cried out as her smaller hooves twitched from this.
She looked down, using her magic directly on the ethereal floor. And if anything, that was the best option as she ended up pushing herself upwards with the force of the downwards beam. Even though she was smaller, her magic was still effective.
Horizon Storm could feel the pushback as her physical strength was failing her. Once Twilight had held her back she changed the direction of her magic, unleashing it right onto the hoof that was over her. It was already in the best position to hit as Horizon Storm felt Twilight's magic sting to a severe degree.
"Gah!" She groaned, pulling her hoof away. Once free, Twilight decided to use her smaller appearance to her advantage.
She immediately landed on Horizon Storm's back, taking a ride on her for a bit. Upon being on her back, the miniature Princess of Friendship unleashed bolTs of magic that would normally feel like tickles depending on whatever smaller entity was attacking. But since her magic didn't shrink with her size, it was painful to Horizon Storm.
Horizon Storm turned her head, zapping some magic promptly, only for Twilight to be as skittish and nimble as a mouse, flying away from her back. Right on time as Horizon Storm had only dealt damage to herself.
The enraged counterpart to Twilight growled with her anger rising gradually. Twilight then started flying around, causing Horizon to start shooting magic as much as she could until she could hit the little pony. Twilight managed to evade them, making Horizon unable to land a single hit. And at the same time, Twilight would tackle her and unleash small rays of magic from every side, irritating Horizon.
"This is getting annoying!" Seeing that Twilight was harder to confront when smaller, Horizon undid the spell. And the moment Twilight returned to her original size, she took advantage of that as well. A devious grin met her face as she unleashed on last magic blast right in front of Horizon Storm.
Now the blast was normal-sized, engulfing the entirety of the enranged alicorn. Horizon Storm cried out afterwards with Twilight flying back to avoid any immediate retaliation from Horizon.
"This shouldn't be happening..." Horizon Storm growled, holding her head. "Since when were you stronger than me?"
"I just met you. How am I supposed to know? But if I had to guess...maybe, it's everything I've been through over the past 3 years that have made me into a stronger pony than I've ever been. Just a guess."
"Tch. I could make you stronger, no doubt." Horizon Storm scoffed. "Believe me when I say that!"
"I believe you. Magic such as this is always prime to have something amazing with it. But I can't accept what it'll be used for. That's why I'm going to sort it out now that I have the chance."
"I'd like to see you try. The things I can do dwarf what you're capable of." To demonstrate, Horizon Storm had conjured another spell. But this one was for the sake of summoning. Twilight stood ready for whatever would be thrown at her. Even though she was prepared, she certainly didn't expect what came next. Or rather, who came next. Right next to Horizon Storm was a familiar visage of one of Twilight's friends.
That would be Applejack. But with an altered appearance. Twilight's eyes and jaw opened up to see that the familiar face of Applejack was influenced by Sorrowful Rage Magic, exuding the same aura and even having a different colour alteration.
"Applejack?!"
"Like what you see? I can summon my friends to my side here. Stronger versions of my friends. Of course, they only exist here. But soon, I can do the same on the outside when I'm free."
"Stronger versions of my friends? Now that's just pushing it." Twilight narrowed her eyes. "My friends are already strong. And they can get stronger without needing that. Especially with how much they're improving in this world of Pokemon we live in."
"Yeah, but they're only safe because of the Pokemon. You remember Pheromosa, don't you? Without our Pokemon, any Pokemon can finish us off faster than the eye can see. In this massive world of Pokemon, these Strange and Wonderful Creatures practically own us with how powerful they are. Being a Pokemon Trainer is just a way to avoid that."
"You don't seriously believe that, do you?!" Twilight couldn't believe her ears. "Pokemon are also our friends! You're me so you should know that!"
"I know that there's a chance that all of this will be forgotten once the Rift leaves. Granted, I don't want that either, but why shy away from the truth and possibilities? I may forget about Eve and everyone else if that day comes."
"That day won't come. If you're me, you would have some faith and hope in us keeping the two worlds connected."
"Since when were we optimists? And besides! It's going to be me that sorts everything out. Because not only will I deal with Ghetsis and everyone else who've threatened our loved ones, I'm going after the Rift!"
"Okay. Now you're completely insane." Twilight could see that Horizon Storm certainly had bigger ideas and ambitions than her. But those thoughts weren't exactly the brightest in any way.
"I'll prove it to you!" She raised her voice as she was still at odds with Twilight. All while Twilight from the outside was still emptying her magic. Albeit slowly thanks to Horizon Storm.
Speaking of which, Twilight was still in this static pose with her body letting out purple magical energy. But she did not respond in any way as Cold Colt waved his hoof in front of her face.
"She's not moving! Is Twilight okay?" The worried Cold Colt looked at Zero and Zecora.
"She's stuck in a petrified state. Either her magic power is high enough for this to take a while...or something else is happening."
"What else?" Cold Colt asked.
"Tell me. Does it normally take this long for magic to be pulled out in this world?"
"Nope. Usually, it's some big bad that comes over and they do in just a few seconds. But this is way more than a few seconds."
"Then there's a problem. Something's not right here. Unless your teacher can solve it first, we might have some inner interference."
"But the magic's still pouring out. So...it's working, right?" Cold Colt squeed.
"I suppose so. But we-" Zero was cut off once a wind pressure came through. That was the result of Reshiram and Zekrom racing once more. "Ahem. We should continue focusing on this work. She had the clever idea of emptying out her body of magic so that Rift Energy can become a vessel. I'll put my faith in her for that. But if it all goes south...any ideas?"
"Umm...Oh!" Fairly quickly, Cold Colt had an idea. His attention turned to Twilight's ace. Espeon. "Eve!"
"What about the Espeon?" Zero raised an eyebrow.
"If it's something inside, then Eve can help. Twilight's a student herself, ya know. First, a student to Princess Celestia and now a student at the Pokemon School. One of her teachers is Olympia and she taught Twilight something great. The Mindscape!"
"Esp? Espeon!" Espeon gasped, catching on to what Cold Colt was saying. She saw through his plan because of this.
"Mindscape?"
"Eve. Go in there and help Twilight! She could be in her mindscape, but you can still enter her mind either way. See if Twilight's there." said Cold Colt.
"Espeon!" Espeon would do just that. She faced her best friend, ready to enter with her. But she wouldn't be alone in this. Worried about Twilight, Ninetales, Absol, Cinccino and Togekiss had approached. The Sun Pokemon turned around to see her teammates standing by her side. "Esp?"
"Cinccino." Cinccino and the others nodded as they made it clear that they were coming along. Twilight was their trainer and friend after all.
"Eon..." Espeon understood loud and clear before nervously chuckling. "Espeon!" She had revealed one crucial detail. Unfortunately, they all couldn't come along as they did not have access to the Mindscape, neither could Espeon bring them along. Not only that, but only Espeon and Twilight could do so.
"Ab?!" Absol and the others jerked back upon realizing this.
"What are they saying?" Cold asked.
"How should I know?" But Zero didn't have the answer to that. He was not a Pokemon Translator.
"Espeon..." Espeon would close her eyes, allowing her mind to link with Twilight's. It was represented via a purple string of Psychic energy that flew out of the gem on her forehead. Once the string touched Twilight's forehead, Espeon could begin the synchronization. The trip to Twilight's mind.
Twilight's mind.
Speaking of Twilight's mind, she was currently feeling the elevation of Horizon Storm's aggression. A Sorrowful Rage variation of Applejack being summoned was certainly causing some problems for her. But it wasn't just that. Horizon Storm had summoned more of her friends to overwhelm Twilight. Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had been summoned next via Horizon Storm, showcasing just what she could do.
Soon, Twilight stood face to face with corrupted variations of her friends that she had been evading mostly instead of retaliating. Twilight had to admit it, but so soon, Horizon Storm had put her on the backfoot.
"Impressive, right?!" Horizon Storm put on a menacing grin. "I can overwhelm anyone so easily with these. Not to mention that I have so many friends so there's no limit to it! I'd have my own army when you think about it."
"No way. You're beginning to sound more like Empress Twilight yet again. I'm starting to get more worried for you. And it's getting harder to reach you too..."
"Big talk for someone who wasn't attacked them yet." Horizon chuckled. "What's wrong? Won't attack your friends? They're not even the real ones and you already feel as if you can't lay a hoof or a beam on them. If you're hesitant to attack fakes...then how can you protect them if something similar to this were to ever happen?"
"Mmmrrgh..." Twilight growled, knowing that Horizon Storm had major truth in what she was saying.
"Guess you're too soft." She shrugged. "Oh well. Don't you worry. I'll have complete fortitude when I get outside."
Twilight could see it all too clearly. Horizon Storm's thirst for revenge had blinded her to many things. Her measures were extreme. Way more than what Twilight was expecting. Now she was simply worried about what could happen if Horizon Storm were to ever overtake her. But as she thought that, Twilight ended up gaining her own ally in all of this.
Espeon.
She had appeared within Twilight's mind via a purple flash. Twilight and she were connected as the Sun Pokemon made her surprise appearance.
"Espeon!"
"Eve!" Twilight was happy to see her, naturally. "Oh, thank goodness you're here! Great timing too."
"Esp."
"That's all the help you're getting?" said Horizon.
"Eve is more than enough to be of great help. She's my tried and true partner. And real instead of what you've just created." Twilight replied. "They may be my friends but they're not who they truly are."
"Yet you still won't attack them. But you'll attack me. How curious..."
"Darn." Twilight lowered her head as Horizon Storm got her there.
"Espeon!" Espeon was another story. She stomped her paw on the ethereal ground before snarling at Horizon Storm. Even though she resembled Twilight, Espeon could already tell that there were many things that deviated from the trainer she loved. "Espeon!"
"You're right, Eve." Twilight looked to her partner as Espeon was already giving a pep talk to her. "I shouldn't hold back. I know you won't hesitate to attack them. How about you attack them first and I'll go from there."
"Esp!" Espeon agreed as she and Twilight reached that agreement.
"Go!" Horizon ordered them as each of the enraged variations of the Mane 6 had transformed into these mist and smoke-like entities with only their heads sticking out.
"Espeon!" Espeon roared, refusing to let any harm be done to Twilight. She didn't see them as Twilight's real friends, giving her all the reason in the world to attack. And she did so by using Dazzling Gleam. First, she emanated a blinding light that had befuddled them and right after that, rays of rainbows had been unleashed.
The rainbows had crashed into them, pushing them back even with their misty bodies. Once Twilight saw them take a hit without even letting out cries of pain, the gloves were off. Thanks to Espeon, she felt some confidence in attacking them.
"Thanks, Eve!" Twilight grinned before exuding a vast flash of magic from her horn. Horizon Storm and her summoned allies squinted from this overwhelming light as they already just finished dealing with Espeon's light.
The misty ponies started flying in different directions as they had suddenly opened their mouths. As if Twilight needed any further proof of these being fakes, gigantic sharp and fierce fangs could be seen when their mouths were opened. They were certainly horrific variations of her friends that would rather rip something apart rather than talk.
"Use Psychic!" Twilight cried out as she and Espeon started attacking these terrifying apparitions. An invisible blast of Psychic energy had blasted away the face of a fake Pinkie Pie including Rainbow Dash in the process whilst Twilight cleared out the fake Rarity and Fluttershy.
With Espeon by her side, Twilight performed much better. Working alongside a friend made Twilight show off her best qualities as she and Espeon stood side by side, blasting away at the faces of their fake friends. Horizon Storm eventually approached Twilight with her hooves out.
Twilight responded to the approaching enraged alicorn, putting up a shield. Horizon Storm ended up forming a shield of her own. And instead of using it as a defensive option, she used the shield as a weapon, bashing it against Twilight's shield. There was a stagger straight through it at Horizon's shield managed to push Twilight back. Twilight stood her ground, keeping the shield active as she was forced away from Espeon.
"Espeon!" Espeon called out Twilight's name as she was occupied with her fake friends. Espeon used to Quick Attack, leaping into the air to jump over an incoming head charge from Pinkie Pie before then using Shadow Ball on it. Even though she landed a successful hit on her, she was then knocked out of the sky by a blast of magic from Rarity. "Esp!"
Espeon fell down from it. Only to recover right afterwards. She saw another one coming from the Fake Rarity, causing her to use Psychic in retaliation.
"You can't beat me!" Horizon Storm declared. "I'm everything you can be!"
"No, you're not!" Twilight roared before expanding her shield "But you'll still be one with me! Where we can work together!"
"As if! You'd be holding me back! Everyone within my sights needs to pay! Especially that other me from the Human World."
"What? Why her?" Twilight wondered as her human counterpart had been brought up.
"Isn't it obvious?" Horizon Storm closed her eyes, snarling. "She got to kiss Ash before us."
"...That's worth taking revenge for?!" Twilight was blown back by that reason. It seemed pettier than what she was expecting. The others made sense but that one was just bizarre.
"Well, don't you feel the same? Hm?"
"Not to that extent! That's it, we're ending this!" Twilight let more of her magic out. Her shield overpowered Horizon Storm's, shattering it. Horizon Storm gasped. She was sent flying by the power that Twilight emanated.
"Help me here!" She called out to the others. Espeon's battle with the fakes had been halted once they immediately flew over to Horizon Storm's aid.
"I don't think so." Twilight casually said as she only increased her magic further. This confused Horizon Storm as she believed that they were equal. The fakes of Twilight's friends had been stopped in place, unable to move.
"Espeon!" This gave Espeon the chance to finish them off. She leapt into the air, having Dazzling Gleam up and ready. She had a rainbow ray for all 5 of them. 5 of these rays had been shot out at full force, having sizes large enough to engulf them. The fakes had been engulfed as the combined efforts of Twilight and Espeon managed to destroy them.
"Impossible! We should be equal! I should at least be better than you!"
"Sorry but...you never were." Twilight shook her head, approaching Horizon Storm with a magical aura that was brighter than anything she's seen. The aura outlined Twilight's entire body as she looked like a giant standing over Horizon Storm, who had sat down. "My strength comes from my friends. And the drive to see them all happy. I'd never take revenge. Maybe I would have a few years back, but not anymore."
"Espeon." Espeon ran to Twilight's side.
"I'd like to see things be put on the right track as you too. But there are better ways to do that. You should know. You're me."
"Darn it..." Horizon Storm stomped her hoof on the ground. It was just now that she realized she didn't stand a chance against Twilight. She was severely weaker than here.
"Come on. Don't be like this." Twilight held her hoof out. "We're one in the same. We can work together and make things right. And I didn't say I wouldn't use your power."
"Hmph." Horizon Storm crossed her hooves as she proved to be strikingly different in personality to Twilight. Cockier and far too proud of herself to an extreme degree. "This battle didn't count..."
"You're such a kid..." Twilight sighed, frankly having enough of Horizon Storm's stubbornness. "Just grab my hoof."
"Mm!"
"Fine then." Twilight scoffed, turning her head away. "If you won't cooperate, then we'll take another time. Right now, I have some Rift Energy I need to absorb. You'll be gone for a bit once all of my magic is emptied out. But I'll bring you back."
"Why would you even after what just happened?"
"I wouldn't get rid of a future friend."
"We aren't friends..." Horizon Storm grizzled her teeth. Despite being essentially the same pony, she didn't see Twilight as her friend. Or rather, herself as a friend.
"Whatever you say. It wouldn't kill you to love yourself though." Twilight chuckled. "Come on, Eve. Let's go." It was time for them to leave. Horizon Storm's magic was no longer affecting Twilight, allowing for her to continue the process. Horizon Storm could already see herself fading away, grumbling. Her path to revenge had been blocked off. But that urge was still there.
Twilight's Castle.
"Oh!" Upon returning, Twilight had also managed to empty out all of her magic. She was now an empty vessel, devoid of any magical power. Espeon blinked, witnessing her best friend feel befuddled. And that was only natural. Without magic, Twilight felt weak. She even lost her colours, appearing pale. "S-Success..."
"Twilight! Are you okay!? What happened?!" Cold asked.
"Just a battle with my inner demons, I guess. Don't worry. I'm okay now." She said with baggy eyes.
"You don't look okay." Zero approached. "You look like a withered plant. But I assume this means that you are now a viable vessel for Rift Energy.
"I am...Let's do this. Zecora." Twilight looked to Zecora, knowing what needed to be done. Zecora already had a cup of Rift Magic available, adding some spices to make the taste bearable. Once it was brought over, Twilight could drink through it.
Twilight held her breath, already needing some to drink with her body being dry and devoid of magic. As if she was drinking her least favourite thing in the world, she gulped down the cup of Rift Magic. All of it. Twilight stuck her tongue out as even with the spices, it tasted rather bitter.
As to be expected, upon drinking it, a newfound power had been given to Twilight. The power of the cosmos was flowing within her. Twilight's natural colours started returning to her. Not just that, but upon interacting with this body, the Rift Energy had rebirthed her magic. No need to find a way to bring it back when it had already been done. Her mane started flowing as stars were flying out it.
Everyone stood back and watched in awe as Twilight was reaching a potential of magic that she thought she'd never experience physically. With her own body, of course. And deep within, Horizon Storm had returned. She noticed herself fading back into existence, surprised that it took Twilight this quickly to bring her back.
But even Twilight didn't expect it. The burst of magic was short-lived as the lights faded. But even with all of that dying down, Twilight had now become a vessel. A creature with both magic and Rift Magic within her. "Oh..."
"How do you feel, Twilight?" Cold Colt asked.
"I feel...I feel...Incredible." She looked at her hooves, seeing a purple spark of magic emerge for a split second before vanishing. "So this is what it's like to have Rift Magic."
"And it seems that your theory worked." Zero smiled. "Becoming a vessel allowed you to harness the power of Rift Magic without any drawbacks or random effects."
"It did." Twilight's theory proved to be successful. A new way to harness Rift Magic had been discovered by her. "I took a bit of a gamble there."
"A big one. You're now permanently full of Rift Magic, Twilight." Cold Colt replied.
"Oh!" Twilight had just realized this. Now that she was a vessel, this magic would be forever one with her.
"But this means that you can understand it much better now that you own this power." Zero looked to the bright side. So. What say you? Should we see what you can do?"
"Right. Let's do it." Twilight was eager to see what could be done. "And maybe now, you can be my teacher, Cold."
"Oh geez." Cold Colt laughed as did everyone else at Twilight's joke. All except for Zero, who simply let out out a smirk but was later followed by a tiny chuckle. They had work to do as the race between the two dragons and the two sisters was still going on. But it would be reaching its end soon.
Twilight Sparkle had managed to confront her inner counterpart Horizon Storm, proving to have a larger conviction than her as well as harnessing the power of the Rift. Truly, Twilight felt that she had indeed come far. But there were still ways to go. Including the definitive mission of keeping the two worlds together as the journey continues.
"Done...I believe the victory is mine, Luna." Celestia breathed in and out as she, Luna, Reshiram and Zekrom had been racing each other for a while now. 50 times across the world to see who was faster. Their speeds were certainly impressive in every way, but they had to know who had the edge.
"I believe I was the one who was ahead of you..." Luna also felt exhausted. Everyone in Canterlot thoroughly enjoyed this race. Both of them. Granted, the excitement of it made some of them fall asleep but it was all worth it as cheers roared through the city.
"My horn had to count. I'm taller than you, Luna. Who won between us, Ben?" Celestia asked.
"Well...looks like Reshiram was spot-on. Not only are he and Zekrom tied for speed but you two as well. It's a complete tie on both sides."
"Oh..." Celestia and Luna both fell to the ground. It was all over. It seemed that these siblings were tied in every way. Though there are some parts where the other could exceed.
"But it was a fun race either way!" Ben chuckled. "We should do this next time with more contestants. I already did so with my Rapidash Rush but it can go above and beyond that."
"That seems to be a recurring theme for us..." Luna muttered while still on the ground with her big sister.
"It does make for inspiring moments though..." Celestia yawned. "And I'm certainly tired. It should be time for you to raise the moon soon, Luna."
"Not before you lower the sun, sister." Luna rolled over.
"Oh right." Celestia laughed along with Luna. They laid there for a moment, deciding to rest. "Normally, resting out here in this position would be seen as unnatural for us. But that's no longer the case, is it?"
"Not at all. I think we can thank Ash for that. Being laid-back such as him is truly a great feeling. We should do it more often."
"Well, we actually end up doing it more often, Luna. Well, in spare times honestly." Celestia smirked as the two sisters decided to keep staying there as everyone else was leaving. Even when laying down, Celestia had lowered the sun with her magic, feeling at peace. Reshiram and Zekrom would also decide to take a break. Mainly here at the Canterlot Gardens. It seemed that Zekrom did find this place to be calming. Only equal to a mountainside full of crashing thunderbolts. The perfect location as he previously stated.
They left the two princesses to rest while Passion and Arcanine sat down next to them. Passion decided to pat Celestia on the face while she was laying down, making the Ruler of Equestria giggle right afterwards. The sun had set with the moon starting to reveal itself. But as they laid there for a bit with everything falling silent with peace, a familiar light had been cast, shooting to the skies. Celestia and Luna's eyes widened, noticing the eruption of light.
Rift Energy.
And it was coming from the south from one location. Celestia and Luna already knew where that was. "Ponyville!" They collectively sat up.
It wasn't just them. When heading back to Ponyville, Rainbow Dash and Rarity had seen it as well. They stopped by the train station, witnessing the eruption of cosmic energy. Everyone did as it was difficult not to miss it.
"What on earth is going on there?!" Rarity dropped her bag. "Is that coming from Ponyville!"
"It is!" Rainbow Dash hovered over the ground. "And that's...Rift Magic!"
Ponyville. Twilight's Castle. Nightfall.
The source of this light came straight from Twilight's Castle as that was where the most Rift Energy within this part of Ponyville could be found. From the cauldron that had been brought over by Zecora, Cold Colt and now Princess Twilight Sparkle herself.
After becoming a vessel for Rift Magic, she naturally wanted to test it out. Although, by doing so, it had unleashed a vibrant flare of Rift Magic to an extreme level. Twilight and none of them expected this abundance of cosmic light.
"What's going on in here?!" Starlight, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy and Spike had barged into the room, witnessing the light. It was hard to miss and impossible to ignore. "Twilight?!"
"H-How did this happen?! What's happening?!" Fluttershy had a lot of questions for just one thing. It blew them all away.
"Uh, everything's fine!" But Twilight herself, despite being the one generating all of this light, was still in one piece, appearing healthy. "Totally!"
"Twilight! Why are you flashing all of that?!" Spike pointed.
"It seems that becoming a vessel for Rift Energy including your potential as an Alicorn has resulted in this overflow of power." Zero was surprisingly calm about this. "Tell me. Were you always this gifted?"
"Well, I was a student at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns so..." Twilight nervously laughed as that confirmed why this flow of Rift Magic was so overwhelming.
"Can't ya make it stop?! It's so bright!" Applejack squinted as everyone else covered their eyes or just squinted them to avoid the intensity.
"That's the thing! I can't! At least, I'm struggling to turn it off!" Twilight dug deep, attempting to shut off the light. "I'm kind of getting used to this but it's not happening anytime sooner!"
"This kind of magic...your body is not used to it," Zecora uttered. "Not for one bit."
"We could use this at a party though." Pinkie Pie looked at the bright side of all of this. "Every night, of course!"
"How long has it been like this?" Starlight asked.
"For a while now. Almost an hour. When I made myself a vessel for this magic, I wanted to test it out and see what I could do. This is the most far we've gotten to try and understand Rift Magic. Even harnessing it without having any unpredictable happening to us."
"She's right. Such as this." Zero showcased this by holding up the Rift Sphere that he owned. Pinkie and the newcomers were reasonably stunned by this. "Unfortunately, even this sphere isn't enough to restrain all of this magic flowing out of her."
"You can hold it just like that?!" Applejack's hat almost flew off.
"And now so can your friend here." Zero juggled the sphere before looking at Twilight. "But even she's unaffected, she'll need to keep all of that magic under check."
"Not off to a great start with that..." Twilight sighed. "But it's fine. I'm devoting myself to working all of this out. First, I need to figure out how to turn this off..."
"Twilight! Are you alright?!" Equally worried for Twilight as much as Applejack and the others were the bursting arrivals of Celestia and Luna. They weren't alone. Rainbow Dash and Rarity arrived with Pheromosa holding the fashionista. That light alarmed them far too much to avoid it.
They paused for a moment, unsure if Twilight was in any immediate danger. Twilight waved at all of her friends as this would be simple to explain and digest while also being hard to get rid of.
"We have a lot of talking to do, it seems." And Zero knew it all too well as he would inform everyone of this new flash of magic.
Canterlot.
Even from within Canterlot Castle, this light could be seen. Pinkie Pie was right. It did work well at the night as it looked like a rave was going on. Noticing this light was the Rift duo of Lucien and Sienna, still trapped within the Aura Prison.
"Look at that..." Lucien commented, gazing into the distance. "Our magic. What could be happening over there?"
"It can't be anything good for us if it's been like that for quite some time." Sienna sighed. "By now, they've probably sorted out Cold Colt's magic. Or something like that. Meanwhile...we're stuck here."
"I don't get it. Why won't the Rift help us?" Lucien groaned, banging his fist on the Aura Prison. "This stupid prison of Aura should be nothing!"
"Just goes to show you how big Ash's Aura is. Honestly, we should've dealt with him from the start." Sienna shrugged. "But, that wouldn't make things fun, would it?"
"We need to do something...I hate getting outside help but we might need that."
"Isn't calling for the Rift outside help though?" Sienna asked.
"Whatever. We need something. Someone. There has to be a way to get us out of this thing for good. And when we get out..."
"We can start by taking revenge on Absol, right?" Sienna stood up. "After all, he's the one who knocked us out, catching us off guard liek that."
"Good point..." Lucien thought about it for a moment. "That little dog...cat...whatever it is should pay. We'll give him a little treat once we're free."
"Allow me to do that," Sienna smirked. "I just so happen to know what Absol's greatest weakness is. He's a tough one so messing with him with other stuff won't do."
"Sure. Whatever you say. But who do we get to help? Overheard anything?" Lucien asked.
"We're stuck in the same spot. Have you heard anything?"
"No..."
"Hmm...Ah!" Sienna snapped her fingers. "No. Nothing." But she quickly calmed herself down. "We're stuck here so overhearing's a bust. We've got one option we can bank on."
"What's that?"
"Something's going to have to make a mess out of Equestria. And I don't think it'll be Ghetsis and the others. Not yet at least."
"Oh? Then who are you thinking?"
"Ghetsis and Team Plasma have one big alliance with two empires and many others from different worlds. But there's one other character who hasn't shown herself." Finally, Sienna had something that came to mind. Something rather devious and chaotic.
"Shown herself..." Lucien tried thinking about where Sienna was going with this.
"I say we summon another Spirit of Chaos." Sienna chuckled. "Or should I say the Personification of Malice? It's time to bring Cosmos in."
"Oh. I like the way you think sometimes, Sienna. You do think quick on your feet." Lucien loved the sound of that. "So. All we have to do is find a way to grab her attention. Shall we?"
"We can only use our power on the outside but not to much success...We managed to make a source of Rift Power for that crazy alliance but...getting the attention of a Spirit of Chaos? How are we going to do that, Lucien?"
"Good point. Cosmos will only show up if...Uhm..." They had reached another wall that they had yet to overcome. "Does Discord count?"
"Bah, she already knows there's a Discord everywhere. I mean yeah, that might bring her out. But...for now..." Lucien sat down. "All we can do is wait."
"Wait? Aw, but it's sooooo boring!" Sienna grumbled. "I don't think I can take another second being inside of this Aura Sphere! How about this?!" She went to grab Lucien by the arms. "The Cosmos thing is still up. But we need to do something about this. I say...we try and go through with this talking thing."
"You mean let them try and bring our old selves back?!" Lucien gasped.
"It's the only way. At least we should pretend than take it seriously. Otherwise, if we don't, they'll keep us here forever. And I can tell you that Celestia doesn't mess around for a pony who loves cake as much as her sister."
"Fine...But I won't like it."
Ponyville. Twilight's Castle.
"I see. So that's what happened." Celestia, Luna, Rainbow Dash and Rarity had been filled in about everything that had happened. From Zero's reason for being here to Twilight becoming a vessel for Rift Energy. They were all wearing sunglasses made by Cold Colt to protect them from the light.
"That's right. Shame I can't turn this off. I don't want to go through life being a walking disco ball." Twilight sighed.
"I think I can help with that." But Celestia surprisingly had a solution for Twilight's colour predicament.
"You can? Oh, right!" Twilight gasped, remembering that Celestia was the first pony whose magic could interact with Rift Magic. The Boundless Cutie Mark was to thank for that.
"Hold still..." Celestia leaned in, focusing her magic on Twilight. With a golden flash, Twilight's overwhelming purple Rift Lights had been overshadowed by Princess Celestia's superior golden light. And just like that, Celestia managed to diminish Twilight's light, putting an end to the light show. "There. Problem solved."
"Oh, thank you so much, Princess Celestia." Twilight was beyond relieved as everyone took off their sunglasses.
"Now then. You have Rift Magic as your newest form of magic, Twilight. That's a colossal responsibility you've given yourself." Celestia nudged. "But, I don't need to ask if you're ready for it."
"I sure am, Princess. But right now...it's getting a bit late. We've been working for a while but it feels like hours, hasn't it, Zero?"
"Sure has. Let's finish up for tonight." Zero placed the sphere of Rift Energy back into the box he usually keeps it in. "How about tomorrow, you take that magic for a test ride?"
"Yeah! Good idea!" Rainbow Dash flew over. "Now that you've got Rift Magic, Twilight, could you uh...Make me something? Please?"
"I don't think I can make objects now, Rainbow Dash. At least...I don't think I can. I haven't tried."
"You could do a lot, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as everyone started walking out. Everything was fine now so there was no need to worry. "Looking forward to it."
"Just be careful, alright?" Luna warned whilst backing up on the door. "If something is wrong, we will come to your aid, Twilight Sparkle."
"I believe the use of the Rift Cauldron is done here." Zecora had her Zebstrika and Weavile push the cauldron of Rift Magic away from here. "But, if you ever need anything, princess Twilight, I'll always be near."
"So will I." Fluttershy popped up behind Zecora, laughing afterwards before then leaving the room with her and her Pokemon.
"I'll be here next thing tomorrow morning. Earlier than you expect." Zero grabbed the box before bidding his temporary farewell to the Princess of Friendship. "Later, princess."
After that, almost all of them were gone. Some stayed as they lived here after all. They called it a day as Spike had already yawned, ready to fall asleep anywhere. Twilight was ready for tomorrow. When she wakes up by then, she'll essentially be a new pony.
8 hours later.
All was calm during the night. The sounds were serene in every way. Absol, as always, was standing guard during the night. So was Cold Colt along with Jade Skies. The local Noctowl, not owned by anyone still to this day, kept a sharp eye open.
However, that peace was promptly eliminated once a scream travelled through the atmosphere.
"No! No! Nooo!" The screaming of Twilight Sparkle. Absol and Cold recognized that voice anywhere. Absol's eyes flared as he immediately rushed to the rescue of his trainer. Cold Colt and Jade would do so as well. Twilight bellowed with a mighty screech.
"Twilight! What happened?!" Cold teleported indoors as Absol had busted the doors down, already having a Night Slash active for an attack. But the second they reached Twilight's bedroom, they found out that there was nothing wrong. Starlight and Spike rushed to the scene, expecting to see something dangerous.
But there wasn't. Although, to Twilight, this could be considered dangerous as she was currently awake. But what's more was that she didn't look tired for one bit. Her Pokemon had been woken up by the shout, seeing their trainer in one piece, healthy as always. They were confused as to what could possibly be wrong.
"Twilight! We heard screaming! What's going on?"
"I...I...I can't sleep!" Twilight pulled her mane.
"You can't sleep?" They repeated.
"No! I tried and tried for hours now and nothing! I barely feel exhausted at all! This can only mean one thing..." Twilight looked at her hooves, trembling. "It's the Rift Magic inside of me."
"Oooh..." Cold nodded in understanding. "Sweet! You're just like me and Jade now! You can never get tired!"
"Not sweet!" At the speed of sound, Twilight appeared in front of Cold's face, grabbing it. "Not sweet at all! This isn't good news for me!"
"Why not? Practically everyone would love to never get tired, Twilight." Spike spoke. "Since you've got endless energy like a Rift Pony now, you can stay awake as much as you want without any problems. I mean, you get to study all night too so isn't that great?"
"It sounds great, yes. But I don't want that." Twilight backed up. "It sounds cheesy but I love dreaming. Sleeping and getting cosy in my bed is one of the best feelings in the world. And if I can't do that anymore..."
"I'm surprised this is the biggest consequence for gaining Rift Magic. But...sorry, Twilight," said Starlight.
"Well...you're right about me having to study some more, Spike." Twilight lowered her head. "Something like this just means a lot to me. I know it's strange but..."
"I get what you mean, Twilight," Jade replied in her monotone voice, grabbing Twilight's attention. "I want what you and everyone else have always had.
"Jade?" Cold looked to his fellow Rift Pony.
"I've heard a lot about dreams. Pinkie Pie shares some of hers with me. Especially her favourites. And every time I listen to them, I always wish I could sleep and have sweet dreams too. Maybe even nightmares just for variety."
"Thanks, Jade." Those words meant something to Twilight. Unfortunately, the problem was still ever-present. "Guess I might have to deal with having infinite energy forever. On the bright side, at least I can catch rare nightfall events..."
"But...What if we don't have to deal with it forever?" Shifting his attention to a ray of hope was Cold Colt. "Twilight. You have Rift Magic now. You can fix that."
"I can? Oh, wait...I can!" Twilight's ears perked up.
"Right. I mean, I can't make myself tired no matter how hard I try. Not sure Emerald or even Obsidian could. But you still have some of your normal magic within you. And you're the smartest pony I know too. So, maybe, you can fix this."
"You're on to something, Cold. All I need to do is practice with his magic in me and I can find a way." Twilight had been given hope once more. "No time to start panicking here!"
"Great! So um...how are we going to do it?" Spike asked.
"Tomorrow morning. Which is in just 3 hours, I'll head out and find a way. Maybe expending a lot of my Rift Energy could make it work. I'm not a full-blooded Rift Pony after all."
"Why not empty your magic like you did before to become a vessel?" Starlight questioned.
"I um...tried that already. Turns out, Rift Magic, no matter how big or small, is absolutely infinite." Twilight chuckled, revealing that she already tried the best method of making herself exhausted. "But even if it's infinite, my body isn't. Let's shoot for burnout."
A new goal had been decided on this very night. Twilight Sparkle had her benefits and drawbacks to receiving Rift Magic. But she was still all the more eager to understand it, even if it made her incapable of ever sleeping and having sweet dreams like before.
"So, how do we do it?" Starlight immediately wondered what the best way to burn out Twilight's Rift Magic was. "I mean, we have our options, don't we?"
"We do have our options. And who better to help us out than the creatures that have shown us the wildest things possible?" Twilight picked up Espeon who had licked her face, playfully. The Pokemon and the Pokemon World were the best options available.
From the beginning of the worlds crossing over, these Strange and Wonderful Creatures have given the ponies events that they will never forget. For better or for worse.
A mission had been set. Princess Twilight Sparkle must fall asleep. After gaining control of Rift Magic, a drawback had been given. Although, some wouldn't consider it a drawback but Twilight certainly would. The inability to ever get exhausted with infinite stamina.
Twilight wished for that to be gone. Dreams were too precious for her to lose and the concept of sleeping as well. Thus, her friends would help her in one way only. Burning her out.
"No need to worry, Twilight." Pinkie Pie said. "The best way to have a burnout...is with a party!" Pinkie Pie was the best option in this case. She spread her hooves out as confetti and music blared from SugarCube Corner, startling Twilight and the others. "Let's have a party celebrating you becoming a Rift Pony! Or half Rift Pony!"
"Great idea, Pinkie!" Twilight approved of this greatly. "I'm ready to party as long as I can here. And the best way to do that is to mess around with my Rift Magic and burn it out."
"Not just that! Let's have a battle first!" Rainbow Dash flew over.
"A battle?"
"Yeah. Pokemon Battles make everyone tired when they go all out, don't they? Pinkie Pie and I agreed to make you battle first and then party later. The party's gonna be longer than the battle anyway."
"Hmmm...Okay.So you want me to do the Pokemon battle first and then the party. I see..." Twilight nodded slowly.
"A big one too. Maybe 6-on-6 battle. But uh...you don't have a 6th Pokemon yet do you?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Sorry. Stuck with 5 on me." The young alicorn shrugged. "But there's always PokePark. I haven't battled with the Pokemon there. Or much at all. It's only been Dewott and Bisharp who helped me out during the Canterlot Tournament."
"Yeah-yeah! Get one of those two! They're so cool! Especially Bisharp!" Rainbow Dash's eyes flared.
"But, Rainbow Dash...I'm not going to be using my Rift Magic in a Pokemon Battle, am I? I cant' do much with it."
"But you do have the Harmony Phenomenon, don't you?" Rainbow Dash nudged her. "You can find a way to make yourself tired with that, right? Everyone's got it after all."
"And it's all about getting into the heat of battle, Twilight." Rarity walked over. "Especially with Mega Evolution, wouldn't you say?"
"Oh, right! Mega Evolution does involve the trainer...And you've never used your Mega Ampharos and Mega Lopunny at the same time Rarity because it's too dangerous."
"Precisely, darling."
"And if this Harmony Phenomenon can appear with Mega Evolution too...Rainbow Dash! Your idea's brilliant!" Twilight saw the benefit of Rainbow Dash's plan.
"Uh yeah. Of course, it was." The pegasus confidently crossed her hooves. "Was there any doubt?"
"We'll have it at Saddle Lake as always. I'll be using just Absol and you can use Braviary and Altaria. That'll do and maybe push myself."
"You got it, Twilight! But don't worry...I'll make sure you give it everything you've got." Rainbow Dash rubbed her hooves together as she wasn't planning on holding back. She would make sure that Twilight goes to the extreme. And for Twilight, that much was needed right now.
"Wait. Will battling actually work?" Fluttershy was also curious about Rainbow Dash's approach.
"It'd better. For my sake and sanity." Twilight replied. "I don't think I could handle never sleeping again. Let's do this."
Saddle Lake. Day.
The group had gathered at Saddle Lake. The objective of exhausting Twilight was in full motion. Granted, the ideas that had come up were only theories that needed to be tested. There was no definitive way of causing a Rift Pony to ever feel tired aside from Emerald Aura, who had been attacked by the Rift, leading to her capability of sleeping.
"By the way...what about Emerald Aura? Can't she help?" Starlight asked Applejack.
"She's just been sleeping and sleeping all this time. Barely wakes up." Applejack sighed. "You're lucky she's a good friend of yours, Cold. Otherwise, she'd be sleeping far out from here.2
"Hehehe..." Cold Colt nervously laughed.
"Okay! 2 on 1! Doesn't seem fair when you think about it but I'm sure it's fine!" Pinkie Pie acted as the referee. "After this, we party the night away, okay?"
"Yeah, I know." Rainbow Dash put on her aerial goggles, already having the Altarianite ready. "Are you, Twilight?"
"I am." Twilight brought over her quill, holding the Absolite within it. She then looked at the Mega Stone, pondering for a moment. "The Mega Stone and all the Infinity Energy inside will mix with Equestrian Magic. That means it could draw into the Harmony Phenomenon. Maybe...if I try something with the stone, it could expend my energy some more."
A new idea had been sparked for the young alicorn. She wondered if it would be risky or have no drawbacks whatsoever. What Twilight was truly shooting for was the capability of feeling exhaustion once more.
"I'm going to try something." She said to her friends before holding the quill pen up. Everyone paused, wondering what their alicorn friend was up to. Twilight decided that now was the best time to test out her Rift Magic as the vibrant purple beam from her horn had been unleashed onto the quill pen holder and the keystone.
She showered just the stone with this magic and nothing else. Twilight's intention was to push the power of the Mega Stone. Simple as that. And with the power she now had, it was very possible as all of the Infinity Energy within it reacted to not just the Rift Magic affecting it but also the Equestrian Magic that flowed across this nation.
Saddle Lake lit up as Twilight quickly contained the overwhelming light that was coming from it. But this was a good sign that something had been done to the stone.
"Uh...Worked like a charm." Twilight giggled. "I added one change to the Mega Stone. Hopefully, this helps with the burnout."
"Oooh? What'd you do? Pinkie Pie asked.
"I connected it to me. I just used spells I already know and added them with Rift Magic. So I know what I'm doing. Let's go, Rainbow Dash."
"Okie Dokie, then! Battle Start!" Pinkie Pie gave the call for the battle to begin.
"Absol! Mega Evolve!"
"Altaria! Mega Evolve!"
In unison, Twilight and Rainbow Dash had initiated Mega Evolution. The lights from the keystone reacted accordingly, flaring with great vibrance. Immediately, they formed the DNA symbol before then entering the bodies of the targeted Pokemon. Absol and Altaria were enveloped in this wondrous light before emerging as Mega Absol and Mega Altaria.
"Absol!"
"Altaria!"
"Alright! We'll go first! Altaria, use Dragon Pulse!"
"Altaria...!" Altaria huffed and puffed, gathering up draconic energy before unleashing it as a dragon-shaped blast.
"Dark Pulse!"
"Absol!" Absol did the same. Only with a spiral imbued with dark thoughts emerging. The spiral and the blast met, cancelling each other out in the process. And just as Twilight hoped, Absol's actions resulted in her feeling an effect as well.
"Yes!" She pumped her fist with excitement once finding out. "It worked! Okay, Absol! Now use Night Slash!"
"Sol!" Absol then lunged into the air, moving through the smoke with his horn glowing.
"Quick! Hyper Voice!"
"Alta-" Altaria was ready to unleash a beautiful sound, only for Absol to be quicker on the draw, swinging his head as his glowing horn slashed onto Altaria's body. "Tari!"
"Nice hit! Now use Night Slash again!"
"Absol!" Absol would follow up with his Night Slash. He still had it active so now was as good as any time to keep going with it.
"Yikes! I thought I was going to be the one in control of this! Quick Altaria! Dodge if you can!"
"Tari!" Altaria certainly could. She managed to recover mid-air, using the skies to her advantage. With just a puff of her cloud-like wings, she managed to fly to the side, evading Night Slash. "Aria!"
"Moonblast!"
"Taria!" Altaria gathered up power from the moon itself before manifesting it into a pink sphere which had been unleashed on the Disaster Pokemon.
"Sol!" Absol took the Moonblast directly. A pink explosion happened afterwards as the Dark-Type tumbled to the ground from that super-effective hit. Twilight felt it as the connected stamina between these two. The more things intensified, the more magic she was spending in response to Absol's efforts.
"Counter!"
"Ab...Sol!" Absol would retaliate via an expulsion of energy. Once Moonblast had struck, Absol concentrated all of that power into his body, releasing it as a vast orange wave. Altaria received this blowback, although it was not very effective.
"That all? Altaria, Freeze him with Ice Beam!"
"Tari!" Altaria shook her head, recollecting herself. Afterwards, a chilling aura appeared around her mouth before a beam of ice was then thrown.
"Dodge and use Night Slash!"
"Absol!" Absol quickly zipped to the side, evading the beam of ice. However, Rainbow Dash wanted that as the beam ended up freezing the ground instead. A flash-freeze occurred, turning the ground into ice as it immediately threw Absol's balance off. "A-A-Absol!" Absol's eyes widened as his legs rapidly moved on the ice, struggling to stay fixated on one spot.
"Gotcha! Dragon Pulse!"
"Alta!" While Absol was frantically losing his balance and moving on the ice, along came Dragon Pulse from Altaria. Absol looked up as he decided he would meet with Dragon Pulse via Night Slash. His horn lit up as he swung it onto the dragon-shaped blast. But thanks to the ice, his legs slipped upon clashing with the pulse, causing Dragon Pulse to hit instead, not only knocking him away but also shattering the ice ground.
"You're doing good so far, Rainbow Dash. Keep going so I can waste it all! Use Giga Impact!"
"Absol...!" Absol recovered, jumping up from the ground before then building up a massive collection of Infinity Energy. And by doing so, Twilight could also feel this buildup. She gasped, realizing that a powerful attack such as Giga Impact was enough to respond to her magic.
"Wait! Absol! Keep building it up!" Twilight ordered.
"Absol?" Absol turned around as the invisible aura of Giga Impact remained. At any point, he could unleash the power. Rainbow Dash and Altaria stopped as well, wondering what Twilight was planning.
"That connection spell worked better than I expected. Giga Impact already makes me feel...well weird that's for sure."
"It does?" Rainbow Dash squinted.
"Alta?"
"Sol." Absol went along with it anyway. He kept the energy of Giga Impact active, allowing himself to build it up some more.
"Uh...W-We could just attack you at any time, Twilight. Or just dodge." Rainbow Dash scratched her mane as Altaria was waiting for the next command. She certainly wouldn't let Absol hit her.
"I know. But so far, this plan is working. Just keep doing what you can Rainbow Dash. You battle even better when you're pushed against the wall, right? So I want that to come out."
"Yeah, but I'm not really struggling here am I? I've got one more Pokemon waiting after Altarai too. If you can get past her, that is."
"Tari."
"I gotcha Twilight. Then bring it on!" Rainbow Dash grinned as she accepted Twilight and Absol's challenge. To push them, she wanted to match Absol's power. "Altaria! Let's use Moonblast!"
"Altaria...!" Altaria mimicked Absol, gathering up power from the moon while also taking her time. By doing so, she managed to make the biggest Moonblast so far with her build-up.
"That looks big enough. Now fire!"
"Altaria!" The attack had been unleashed with stellar power behind it.
"Now, Absol! Crash into it!"
"Ab...Sol!" Absol finally released the energy. And it was worth the build-up as the second he leapt off the ground, a shockwave emerged, blowing Twilight's mane and tail along with everyone else. Spike and Cold Colt fell over whilst Audino held onto Fluttershy.
Giga Impact had crashed right into Moonblast, forming an intense struggle. Absol tried breaking through the sphere as Altaria had definitely made it a challenge for him. And it was all the more beneficial for Twilight, who could feel her connection to Absol. As Absol struggled, Twilight felt as if she was struggling as well.
Twilight closed her eyes as she was forced to use her Rift Magic in this instance. Just what she wanted. She could feel the Rift Magic within her starting to react in a haphazard way. She grinned knowing that her plan could work. Albeit with the consequence of her feeling pain.
Fluttershy and the others watched as Twilight's body started twitching. This sight caused them to start worrying, even if they were all for Twilight's plan. Something started sparking out of Twilight. And it all started from her hoof from what they could tell.
"Hyper Voice!"
"Aria!" Altaria added Hyper Voice onto Moonblast. Thanks to Mega Altaria's ability Pixilate, this attack had become a Fairy-Type attack in the process as the pressure was truly being put on Absol.
"S-Sol!"
"That's great, Rainbow Dash! Go, Absol! More!" Twilight yelled out as Absol pushed past his limits. And by doing so, he absolutely shattered and obliterated the sphere and soundwave, shocking Rainbow Dash and Altaria.
"Absol!" After breaking the attacks, Absol crashed into Altaria with Giga Impact, landing the strongest one he's had so far. Altaria's eyes widened as she felt that to the core, causing her to stagger. A paroxysm of Infinity Energy emerged in the air, causing Rainbow Dash to flinch.
Absol twitched, feeling rather perplexed by that Giga Impact. It took a lot out of him thanks to the build-up. And thanks to Twilight using the Connection Spell, she felt it too. Twilight and Absol both felt weak in their knees.
"It's working..." Twilight uttered with a weakened voice, almost falling over. "Let's keep going."
"A-Are you sure?" But despite how intense the battle was already getting, Rainbow Dash showed signs of hesitation. She saw how Twilight was feeling the effects of this battle.
"Positive. The Connection Spell's tied Absol's stamina to mine so if we keep going, I'll be back to dreaming in no time." Twilight lowered her head.
"I think it's best we stop now, Twilight!" Fluttershy stood up. "Look at you!"
"Huh?" Twilight hadn't noticed it yet, but by pushing herself and Absol far, the Rift Magic, while it did react to these actions, also had other side effects for this new vessel. Twilight looked at her hoof, noticing an alarming sight that everyone else saw moments earlier. But after those few moments, her face had been affected too, receiving the same cracks on her right eye.
The Rift Energy started leaking out as cracks formed around Twilight's hoof. The energy permeated and flashed out of the cracks as Twilight gasped. She quickly placed her hoof down, holding her magic back. "Oh...I-I didn't think that would happen..." Right after seeing them, the effects kicked in.
This pain that the cracks had made came as a shock to her. The damage that Absol received passed on to her, reacting to the Rift Magic in the process. It was not a pleasant sight.
"Altaria, let's stop here." Rainbow Dash decided to end this battle as Mega Altaria reverted to regular Altaria afterwards. Everyone else then rushed to Twilight's side right afterwards. "Twilight! Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine." She nodded before almost falling over. Absol ran over to catch her. His Mega Evolution form ran out the second she fell. Twilight then groaned, feeling like screaming out in the process as it took a larger toll on her than she was expecting.
"Twilight!" They all screamed.
"But...it worked for the most part." The Princess of Friendship smiled even in her condition. "I was right to tweak the Mega Stone and use the Connection Spell. All the Infinity Energy within a Mega Stone was just what I needed to affect my infinite stamina. Fight Infinity with infinity, right?"
"You still hurt yourself, Twilight," said Starlight. "Look at your hoof. The crack's still there."
"What does that mean? Do you know, Cold?" Applejack asked.
"Uhh...Sorry. I don't think I do." Cold Colt sadly wasn't aware of this predicament. "But if I had to guess...maybe doing all of that forced the Rift Magic to tear some of your body up? I don't know."
"Well...on the bright side, you've shattered that endless stamina. But, you look to be in a terrible state. Do you feel like resting now, Twilight?" Rarity questioned.
"Not yet. I can still feel it." The young alicorn groaned before standing upright. "The Pokemon Battle was a good start, but there's still a bit more I need to do...The party's the final option."
"Umm...Maybe we should pass on that right now, Twilight." Pinkie Pie had surprisingly turned the party down. A shocking thing for her to do. And it was all because of those cracks. "If you use that magic again in a big way, who knows how bad those cracks will get?"
"But our plan." Twilight sighed.
"It's not worth getting you hurt." Spike shook his head.
"I...You're right." Twilight quickly ceased herself from taking it too far. "I guess I got too focused on getting it done as soon as possible. I just don't want to be awake all the time..."
"I wish I could say you should take a rest but..." Rarity nervously scratched the back of her mane. "Now what?"
"I should be expecting Zero soon. He'll be at my castle. Maybe he can help. I hope so because this is all so surprising." Twilight placed the pen holder away. "Are the cracks still showing up?"
"Nope, they've stopped. But they don't look like they'll be going anywhere anytime soon." Rainbow Dash observed.
"Hah...This is my fault. I should've thought about what could happen if I had absorbed it all." Twilight felt like she was to blame for this predicament, sitting down. "If I knew then...Oh...What am I gonna do?"
All of her friends looked over, unsure of what to do now. Rift Magic was always such an oddity to them but now with their friend being unable to sleep or dream possibly forever was a downer. They had reached their biggest obstacle so far and it happened to be this. The infinite energy of a Rift Pony, while seemingly an amazing thing, ended up becoming a problem for Twilight Sparkle.
"I'll be at my castle if any of you need me." Twilight decided to return home, using her magic to teleport from the spot. She wanted to keep things silent while the cracks were still there. Absol had been left behind, but Twilight decided to stay on her own for now.
Twilight's Castle.
She ended up in her bedroom, waiting for Zero to show up. Twilight looked at a mirror, seeing that the cracks on her face were still there. She raised her hoof which was constantly glowing, touching her face to see what would happen. Nothing happened.
Twilight could at least feel relieved that she wasn't falling apart. But, the Princess of Friendship feared that future problems could be caused by this magic she now holds. Twilight sat there, taking in the silence. This went on for a few minutes, she found out that being exempt from her friends was another feeling that she could do without. Usually, Espeon and the others are around here roaming about, doing whatever. But after wanting some privacy, Twilight didn't feel strongly about it anymore.
She had used her magic to bring over the Xtransceiver, deciding to have someone to talk to. And to her, the one individual who is always fun to talk to was Ash. With his Trainer Number already being up there, she made the call.
"Hey, Twilight. What's up?" Ash greeted her with Pikachu's face coming into view.
"Pikachu."
"Hi, Ash. I wanted to talk to you about something. I know you're ready for this but..." Twilight was ready to fill Ash in on what has happened since yesterday. Little information but a massive shock.
Right after she told Ash about her becoming a vessel for Rift Magic, having the inability to no longer feel exhaustion or even sleep anymore and the cracks that formed around her body, Ash was blown back along with Pikachu. That was the natural reaction.
"Twilight...You got Rift Magic?! That's so cool!" He was first amazed by the Rift Magic she now had, making Twilight laugh. "But, sorry about what happened to you though." Ash then quickly switched tones.
"It's fine. Wish there was an easier way to solve this. Taking part in a Pokemon Battle did held diminish things...but look what it did to me. I served the connection spell but these cracks still won't leave. I don't know what to do..."
"Pika..."
"You totally do." Ash thought otherwise.
"What?"
"You always know what to do a lot of the time, Twilight. And even if you don't you find a way, don't you?"
"This is different, Ash. We're talking about Rift Magic here. For all I know, there could be other side effects I don't know about. Can I stop them in time?" Twilight looked at her crackling hoof.
"You can, Twilight." But Ash was still in the same mindset. "Rift Magic's never stopped you and everyone before. You can't let it stop you now."
"I guess..."
"Pikachu and I have all the faith in you, Twi. You've got this magic now that's all kinds of crazy. You can do well almost anything. Everything small can be turned into something big with that magic, right? I don't know I haven't seen anything from you yet." He laughed.
"Hopefully, I can." Twilight needed this talk as a smile continued to grow on her face. "What do you think I should you? Is there anything?"
"Hmmm...I guess...while I'm at it, I'd continue trying to exhaust myself. But maybe not with a battle. Maybe with uh..." He paused for a moment, trying to figure something out. "I got nothing."
"Not that helpful, Ash." She lowered her head. "But thank you, anyway."
"Just do what you do best, Twilight. You do awesome when your mind really kicks into high gear, ya know. I'll be rooting for you even from all the way here. I'll be finishing up today too."
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu, of course, would root for her too. "Pikachu!"
"Hang in there, Twi! You'll figure it out! Gotta go!" Ash and Pikachu bid their farewell to her.
"Thank you for the chat, Ash. Goodbye." Twilight did the same before ending the call. Right afterwards, those words resonated with her as she stood up on her bed. "Ash is right! I'm not going to let this stop me. I've been through a lot worse. So, so much worse. I obtained this magic...so it's going to be my duty to control it. You won't stop me, Rift! You hear me?!"
She declared before realizing she was starting to sound just like Ash. Right after declaring to the Rift entirely, as if she was Ash right now at this moment, her stomach started growling.
"But first I need to eat...That's what I get for staring at the clock for hours..." She grumbled, sitting down afterwards. However, this moment of hunger sparked an idea in her mind. "Just like what Ash said...Anything small can be made bigger than it needs to be thanks to Rift Magic. I know just what I need to do."
SugarCube Corner.
Over at SugarCube Corner, Pinkie Pie had returned from Saddle Lake. The party that she had planned for Twilight had been cancelled by herself. It was regretful, but the safety of her friend mattered more. And just as she was putting everything away, popping out of the cake via a teleportation spell and destroying the cake was Twilight Sparkle herself.
"Gah!" Pinkie fell over.
"Pinkie Pie! Keep that food right there where you left it!" Twilight said as she was covered in frosting. "Everything you made for the party...I'm having it."
"But Twilight. You still haven't gotten rid of those funny looking cracks. They're still there!" Pinkie Pie pointed out as the cracks around Twilight still remained. "And...you want to eat? Is that safe?"
"It is. In hindsight. I'm going to exhaust myself by using Rift Magic in one way. With food."
"Huh?" For a moment, Pinkie Pie was confused. But it was only one second later that she knew exactly what Twilight meant. She knows this approach all too well. "Oooh...Gotcha."
"Mhm. I'm going to use my Rift Magic to create the biggest batch of food possible. This is sure to work. I know it."
"Alright. If you say so, Twilight. Everything else is still here for the party. So go to work."
"Gladly." Twilight faced all of the food that were tailored to her. Pinkie Pie knew her favourites as to be expected. Twilight had then used her Rift Magic to do one thing. Increase the size of the food. She was going all in and the dramatic size increase was proof of that.
"Woah..." Pinkie Pie was stunned, to say the least. "Uh...Think you could spare some?"
"Let's do this. I'll eat till I drop." Twilight scrunched her face, feeling somewhat nervous yet confident. She would go through a state of somnolence. Eating too much food can most definitely exhaust someone and Twilight would overpower an overwhelming force with another overwhelming force.
And thus, she wasted no time.
Twilight grabbed the first batch of food, immediately chowing down without hesitation. She chose the hayburgers before anything else. Her personal favourite. Pinkie Pie could only sit in awe. She had never seen Twilight eat like this. Usually, Twilight just eats like everypony. But in this case, it was a different story.
Twilight ripped apart a hayburger with her teeth, already making herself a mess with the sauce on her face. Eventually, Espeon, Absol and all of Twilight's Pokemon found her here within SugarCube Corner. They tracked down her scent, witnessing what their trainer was up to.
They had never seen Twilight act so vicious with food as she was using her magic to grab multiple pieces. And at the same time, she was also using her magic to balance her metabolism. A little trick she consciously picked up with Rift Magic during this vicious consumption.
1 hour later.
"Go, Twilight, go!" Pinkie Pie cheered her on along with the two Mews and the Slurpuff. "Go-go!"
"Mew-Mew!"
"Slurpuff!"
"Gaaaah...!" Twilight didn't slow down. Even when she felt like slowing down, she just kept going, getting herself a drink too. Orange juice to be exact, gulping it down if she ever felt like her mouth was clogged.
Soon, with Mew spreading the word, her friends were drawn to SugarCube Corner. They didn't expect to see her in this state. It wasn't the cracks that alerted them. It was the way she was eating.
"Twilight! Since when do you eat like that?!" Rarity pulled back.
"Yeah, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack thought differently. The way she was eating mimicked the way they sometimes eat along with Ash and Pikachu.
All of the food here was tied to Rift Magic, even having some of it inside. Her friends cheered her on, encouraging the Princess of Friendship to go all the way. This cheering alerted other nearby ponies, wondering what was going on. Mr and Mrs Cake came down with their children to see the devouring of the super-sized foods.
Ponies and Pokemon from across Ponyville looked through the window or opened the door to witness Twilight's consumption. This would go on for a while. The day was still young after all. Zero, who had shown up at Ponyville, couldn't help but gaze at the gathering of ponies around SugarCube Corner.
"Snorlax!" Snorlax was ready to bust in and consume the super-sized food that Twilight had made.
"Mmm!" Twilight's flared as she used her magic to hold even the seemingly unstoppable Snorlax in place. She wasn't about to let it ruin this as Snorlax's rampage had been stopped before it could even begin.
14 hours later.
14 hours had passed. Twilight made it all worth it. With everyone cheering her on, she had the drive to continue. But after eating so much, everything within SugarCube Corner had been finished. And so was Twilight.
"Hah...That's it." She sighed, finishing up with a horseshoe fry. "I did it..."
"Did it work?" Her friends asked, wondering if this plan had worked. What truly mattered was if she felt exhausted and ready to fall asleep.
There was a moment of silence. Her Pokemon stayed static while everyone else inside and outside waited for the result. Twilight sat there with her eyes twitching. The Rift Magic from the food was starting to take its toll. But it was the food itself that truly hit her hard.
And after that abrupt silence, Twilight felt it. A smile graced her face as she closed her eyes. With a happy heart, she fell off the chair, laying flat on her back. Everyone feared that she may have passed out. But after Espeon went up to her, that was not the case. She poked Twilight's face, hearing one thing. Snoring. Confirmation.
"Espeon!"
"It worked. She's asleep." Fluttershy translated as that was music to everyone's ears. Most of them knew about this later than everyone else but they understood the gravity of the situation. Twilight's bizarre plan ended up being successful. Using something as common as food as the answer was not what anyone was expecting.
"Everything here is so strange..." Zero scratched his hair. "I watched her eat food for hours on end instead of researching Rift Magic with her. Somehow, I'm not complaining."
"It's a fun feeling, isn't it?" Pinkie Pie replied.
"Rest easy, Twilight." Rarity said to Twilight as a blanket was placed over her via Cold Colt summoning one. She needed the rest. She missed out on one night of it after all. "Let's give her some privacy now."
To let Twilight rest peacefully, everyone had left the scene, returning to their homes and what they were doing hours ago. Time had been wasted but it was time well spent, that much was true to all of them. Twilight Sparkle had proven to be a worthy user of Rift Magic.
Confusing as it may be, there was nothing that the young alicorn who was once a unicorn could overcome. That was the culmination of her being gifted and the help of her friends. Cosmic occurrences and influences or not, she had her friends and her own spirit to help her through it as the journey continues.
Within a forest in the Kalos Region, a van could be seen by the Pokemon living here. Within that van was a certain group who were on a mission. The Dazzlings along with their mother Vivace. They have been searching for the other sirens as their mission had led them to the Pokemon World.
The Pokemon cleared the way for the van with Vivace being at the helm. Adagio was currently holding her phone, seeing what she could entertain herself with whilst Sonata was slumped on the seat, exhausted. Aria yawned, feeling tired as well. Close to this forest was a city known as Fleurrh City. A city with a Pokemon Showcase theatre located between Couriway Town, Snowbelle City and of course, close to this forest.
"We'll stop here for a bit." Vivace had stopped the van right near the city.
"Huh?" Sonata blinked once the van stopped. "Oh, where are we now?"
"Looks like we're in Kalos." Aria rubbed her eye. "Are you sure this is the place to be, mom?"
"If we're to find the rest of our species, the only way to do it is by magic." Vivace opened the doors to the van, exiting it with Kricketot jumping out. "Prior to us being sent to that Human World, I perfected a spell that would help find other sirens. Sort of like a dog tracking down someone's scent."
"Not that effective if we haven't found any of them yet." Adagio sighed.
"You need have trust in the magic, Adagio. It's leading the way, guiding us to here next. Most likely, they've found gateways to this world after being in the Human World for so long. The magic is telling us to head for a place known as Anistar City. And also this map of Kalos helps to know which location is which." Vivace then held out a map, summoning it with her magic. A map of Kalos was granted to her, making this mission easier along the way.
"Gives us a good excuse to the tour the world, doesn't it?" Aria hopped out of the van. "Not sure why'd they here though."
"Why not? Who wouldn't want to visit the Pokemon World?" Sonata replied.
"Speaking of which...You girls. Would you call yourselves experts with how long you've been with Pokemon?"
"Not even close. It's only been 3 years." Adagio shook her head. "If anyone's at least somewhat of an expert, it's Aria."
"That's right. I ranked fairly high in the Canterlot Tag Competition. No biggie." Aria shrugged as she had some pride in that achievement. While she didn't win, she did end up creating the biggest upset alongside Twilight as her partner. "I'd say I'm a strong trainer overall."
"I'm in second place!" Sonata raised her arm, believing that she was second to Aria as a skilled Pokemon Trainer.
"And that would mean you would be last, Adagio. That's odd." Vivace smirked at her oldest daughter. "Usually, you're always at the top, surpassing your sisters."
"It's only for that!" Adagio roared, putting her phone away. "I'm still the better singer here! Why would I even need to bother myself with Pokemon anyway?"
"But you love Kricketot, don't you?" Sonata put her arms behind her back, giggling while sliding over to Adagio. "He's your best friend."
"Just Kricketot. The only Pokemon I'll tolerate." Adagio looked up as Kricketot hopped into her massive hair.
"Kricketot!" Kricketot loved the sound of that.
"Wouldn't kill you to get some more." Aria shrugged. "Just saying. What about that Pheromosa you were given? Tried talking to it?"
"I got rid of that Pheromosa. Its Poke Ball is elsewhere." Adagio scoffed. "No way I'm letting that thing be with us with the trouble it can cause. But if I were to catch another Pokemon..."
Adagio's next sentence had been cut off via an explosion of Infinity Energy nearby. The sirens were all started as the acre of trees had rustled violently from that outburst. A flock of Pidgey had flown away from the explosion as well as their attention had been averted towards the scene.
And flying out of the smoke was the Pokemon that received the explosion. That Pokemon was a Clawitzer. "C-Clawitzer!" Clawitzer cried out as it tumbled to the ground. The sirens witnessed the Water-Type's body trail out smoke as it got up, shaking its head.
And the one responsible for dealing that damage to Clawitzer was none other than Garchomp.
"Garchomp!" Garchomp jumped out of the smoke, roaring into the sky while also intimidating Clawitzer. It was surprising to see a Garchomp here. Such a rare Pokemon to boot. However, as the sirens watched in awe, they soon realized that this Garchomp was not alone.
Out of the smoke which was fading away, a final figure had emerged from it. A human. Walking into the scene was a familiar face to the eyes of Aria Blaze and an old rival to Ash Ketchum.
Paul.
"Had enough?" Paul said to the Clawitzer. "I'd hate to continue this battle. You can just move on and pretend this never happened, got it?"
"C-Claw!" Clawitzer certainly did as it immediately fled from Paul and Garchomp, jumping into the nearest lake. It looked like a battle had gone on between them both prior to this with Garchomp emerging victorious.
"Good job, Garchomp. Return," Paul said to the Garchomp that was revealed to be his. The Mach Pokemon had returned to its Poke Ball.
"Hey...It's you!" Aria cried out to Paul, grabbing his attention.
"Hm?" With Paul finishing up with his Clawitzer predicament that could only be guessed without context, he shifted his head to the side, recognizing Aria as well. "Well...Look who it is."
"Oh, who's that?" Sonata leaned in, asking Aria as Paul started approaching.
"The one who helped me find you back then when we split up. I didn't mention him, now that I think about it. This right here is Paul."
"Your name's Aria, right?" Paul asked, hoping he remembered Aria's name. It had certainly been a while. 2 years apart since their last encounter which was their only encounter at the time. "Been a while."
"Sure has," Aria smirked, crossing her arms. "Looks like you still have that serious look on your face."
"Look who's talking," Paul replied, pointing out how Aria also had a serious look on her face at all times. If not, then she was either bored or neutral. They looked at each other with synchronized smiles. Despite them meeting for the second time in so long, they already felt familiar with each other. "This is what you look like as a human, huh? Not bad."
"W-What do you mean not bad?" Aria pulled back.
"Take it how you will. That's all I'll say. And these four are?"
"My sisters and my mother." Aria introduced. "You should at least know who Adagio is, right?"
"Student of Princess Celestia right here." Adagio showed off, flipping her mane as she felt that being a student of Princess Celestia was a massive title. "Surprised to see me here, hm?"
"Oh, okay." But to Paul, that didn't matter much as Adagio's high spirit had shattered. Adagio's status became an afterthought to him.
"Hey there! Name's Sonata! Nice to meet you for the first time!" Sonata held her arm out, attempting to shake Paul's hand. Paul looked at her hand before then holding it out. Sonata went to grab it, expecting to be the one to shake it, however, she soon found out that Paul's grip was stronger than expected. "Wow! Your grip is strong!" Sonata exclaimed as Paul ended up being the one who shook her hand instead.
"What was that all about with that Clawitzer by the way?" Aria asked.
"It was bothering some Pokemon when I was journeying through here. Nothing much to it. "Speaking of Pokemon...how's that Popplio of yours? The one I helped you catch way back then."
"Not a Popplio anymore. She's a Brionne. And she's been doing great." Aria held out the Poke Ball, unleashing the Pop Star Pokemon that resided within it. Brionne.
"Brionne!"
"Hm. I was kind of expecting Primarina by now but you can't rush things. Especially if you're all still so new to Pokemon." Paul looked down at the Water-Type. Brionne had noticed Paul, remembering him from when he and Aria first showed up at the lakeside.
"Don't call us new anymore. I've gotten better with Pokemon to know what I'm doing." Aria shook her head. "I already talked about this with my sisters anyway..."
"Ah. So nice that you have more friends outside of Equestria." Vivace spoke. "And this boy is the one who helped you reunite with your sisters?"
"Just Sonata. We...had a fallout a while back before I met Paul." Aria uttered, not wanting to go into that fallout. "Two fallouts, now that I think about it."
"So, if you've gotten better...that means you're an above-average trainer now, right?" Paul asked, smirking while also taunting Aria in the process.
"I'm way more than above-average!" Aria pointed at herself.
"You sound pretty confident about it." Paul liked what he was hearing. "That's what I like to hear from a Pokemon Trainer. How about you prove it then?"
"With a battle? Read my mind." Aria already knew what Paul was going for as she picked up Brionne.
"Battle? Hold on!" Adagio could see that this was another time-waster incoming. Then again, this entire conversation had deviated from the original mission already. "Skip out on that. We're on an important quest right now. To find the rest of our species. We don't have time for a Pokemon Battle."
"Rest of your species?" Paul repeated.
"Yeah, we do." Along came Sonata, responding to Adagio with something else to say. "We helped out Sunset back in the Human World, didn't we? You know with that whole jail thing?"
"Well yes, but that was just a one-time thing." The oldest sibling crossed her arms. "We promised we'd keep on track of what we set out to do, right?"
"Uhh...No." Aria and Sonata did not remember any promise that resembled those words.
"But I did say that we should take some time to help others," Vivace said as those were words that Adagio hoped she wouldn't hear. She understood that her mother had changed but to Adagio, there were some changes she could do without. "Especially those who you three see as friends. And it's clear you have another friend here, don't you, Aria?"
"We're not friends." Despite the conversation. "Aria did not call Paul a friend. She felt as if a second meeting was not enough to bring him to that level.
"Then what is he then?" Sonata teased her second oldest sister, nudging her. "Someone special?"
"Don't you even...!" Aria grabbed Sonata by the face as the youngest of the three sisters still kept a cocky look on her face whilst it was being pulled by Aria Blaze.
"Well, I'm not getting involved in family affairs, that's for sure," Paul replied with his hands in his jacket pocket.
"We're still having that battle though, Paul. Let me show you how good I've gotten if you think I'm above-average!" Aria declared the battle to be official, vigorously pointing at Paul. "It'll be our first time battling, but you'll be surprised at what I can do."
"If you say so. Don't disappoint me with a pathetic display, Aria." Paul accepted it as the two of them would end up having their battle afterwards. They were already in the forest so the stage had already been set.
The two Trainers stood side by side from each other. An acre of trees surrounded them as if they were on a circular ring. Sonata brought over a log as she and Vivace took a seat. However, noticeably, Adagio walked off, obviously not feeling interested in this battle.
"Where are you going, Adagio"? Sonata asked.
"I'll pass on this. I'm heading for that city instead. They might have something nice for me to buy and wear. Come along, Kricketot." Adagio chose to head to Fleurrh City.
"Krick!"
"Shopping? Now that you brought that up..." Sharing Adagio's interest and love for fashion was Vivace. She pondered immediately, thinking about which would be better to indulge herself in. Seeing her daughter have a Pokemon Battle or go shopping. "Oh, decisions..."
"You don't have to worry for long on what to do instead, Mrs Vivace," Paul spoke. "This battle's gonna be short. I can tell."
"Oh, can you now?" Aria adjusted her jacket before taking out her first Poke Ball. "Better not underestimate me, Paul, or else you'll be stuck here for a while. Go, Ledian!" By throwing the Poke Ball, Ledian was up first.
"Ledian!"
"I'll take it a bit easy on you. Drapion! Standby for battle!" Paul sent his first Pokemon out which turned out to be his fearsome Drapion.
"Drapion!"
"So...How about you make the first move?" Paul asked, insisting that Aria went first.
"Trying to get me into a trap? Either way, I was thinking about going first! So, Ledian! Use Mach Punch!"
"Ledi!" Ledian went first, lighting up his four hands before then moving at blinding speeds. The Five Star Pokemon was already close to Drapion, having four different Mach Punches ready for it.
"Drapion! Cross Poison!"
"Dra!" Drapion would meet with Ledian's incoming hits via Cross Poison. With its sharp claws being coated in a glowing poison aura, it swung then at Ledian's incoming arms, initiating an immediate clash between the two. However, it did not last long as the moment Mach Punch and Cross Poison interacted, Drapion overpowered Ledian with Cross Poison emerging as the superior force.
"L-Ledian!" Ledian's Mach Punch had been pushed back as Drapion's claws smashed into him. The Bug-Flying-Type had been knocked back afterwards, hurling at surprisingly swift speeds.
"Ah! Ledian!" Aria gasped. But she had nothing to fear. Ledian managed to recover, despite how hard he had been hit.
"Pin Missile!"
"Drapion!" Drapion continued the assault. Drapion's claws were illuminated white and are raised above its head, where a thin, white line forms and connected them. Drapion thrust its claws forward as white streams of pins were shot at the Five Star Pokemon.
"Quick! Dodge and use Bug Buzz!"
"Ledian!" Ledian ascended, immediately beginning to evade the incoming pins. However, these pins looked to be homing as even when flying upwards, Ledian did not fully escape from them. This forced the Five Star Pokemon to start flying in different directions while also waiting for the right time to use Bug Buzz. "Led! Led!" This proved difficult as Ledian did not expect them to home in on him.
"Grr...Blow them away with Bug Buzz!" Seeing that the pins were hot on his trail, Aria decided to get rid of them immediately.
"Led!" Ledian did just that. He had faced the pins, using Bug Buzz on them instead as a green sound wave had been sent with powerful vibrations, breaking the pins apart.
"Now, jump and grab Ledian!"
"Dra!" Right after Ledian got rid of the pins, Drapion advanced while his back was turned. Leaping at a surprisingly high height for a Pokemon this big, Drapion cast a shadow over Ledian, alerting the Bug-Flying-Type.
"L-Ledi!?"
"Are you crazy?! The air's where he has the advantage! Comet Punch!"
"Ledi...An!" Ledian took advantage of Drapion being in the sky. Focusing on its lower body where its stomach could also be spotted, Ledian charged up his punches before then unleashing them in a furious flurry as if comets were being thrown at Drapion. A vulnerable position that was taken advantage of as Drapion was being hit by these repeated hits from Ledian at swift speeds. "Led-Led-Ledian!"
"D-Drapion!" Drapion seemed to feel it as the consecutive hits stunned it in the air.
"Ledian!" Ledian delivered the final blow, ending Comet Punch as Drapion could finally fall. However, the second the flurry of punches ended, Drapion not only recovered in a heartbeat as if all of those attacks did nothing to do it, but it had also grabbed Ledian's body with its claws, dragging him down. "L-Led!"
"Gotcha. Even in the air, my Drapion can still grab its opponents. And you know what comes next, right?"?
"Ledian! Break free with Bug Buzz!"
"L-Led! Ledi...!" Ledian tried pulling off Bug Buzz, only to be too late as Drapion had slammed him into the ground with its claws. "D-Dian!"
A truly meaty hit as a massive cloud of dust had formed from the impact. Sonata even had to grimace from the collision. Drapion was fine even after falling to the ground. But the same could not be said for Ledian. That slam was enough to finish things off as Ledian had fainted.
"Ledian..."
"That's that for your Ledian," said Paul. " Didn't last too long but it did get something in at least."
"R-Return, Ledian." Aria had returned Ledian as she was already at a disadvantage. "Thanks for trying."
"Come on, Aria! Just take out one of his Pokemon!" Sonata cried out, cheering for her big sister. "Uh, if you can!"
"Oh, I can. Croagunk, go!" Up next was Croagunk. She would battle Poison with Poison.
"Croagunk!"
"Oh, you have a Croagunk now. Not a bad choice. Let me see what Croagunk can do"
"Oh, you'll see alright. Bullet Punch, go!"
"Croa!" Croagunk went first, also using an attack similar to Ledian's Mach Punch. A quick-acting physical move that was intended for the first hit as Croagunk rushed at his fellow Poison-Type.
"Stop Croagunk with Pin MIssle!"
"Dra!" Drapion would keep Croagunk at bay, unleashing those same glowing pins from its claws in multiple streams. The pins rained down, bombarding Croagunk's vicinity as the Toxic Mouth Pokemon was forced to evade them while also still approaching with Bullet Punch.
"You can't dodge them all, Croagunk! Hit some of them back!"
"Gunk!" Croagunk understood clearly. With so many of them, dodging every pin was impossible. Unless some of them were knocked back which is exactly what Croagun had done. He used Bullet Punch to his advantage, slugging some of the pins with the speed of a bullet.
A successful strategy as some of the pins were sent flying back at Drapion. Drapion got a taste of its own attack, being pelted and assaulted by the pins as another successful hit on Drapion had been made. "Dra!"
"Yes! Now strike!" Aria pumped her fist before pointing ahead.
"Croa!"Croagunk rushed in while Drapion was still feeling its own puns. The Poison-Fighting-Type delivered Bullet Punch straight to the face.
"D-Dra!"
"Poison Fang!"
"Drap!" Drapion's eyes flashed as once again, its recovery speed was impressive. The second it had been socked in the face, its fangs started glowing purple. It took advantage of Croagunk being up close in its face, immediately heading for its arm. Soon, Croagunk received some retaliation as Drapion's fangs sunk into its arms. Not only that but now Croagunk was stuck within the Ogre Scorp Pokemon's grasp because of this.
"Croa?!"
"Not again!" Aria growled as this was the second time her Pokemon have been grabbed by Drapion. But this time, she wouldn't let that grasp be her downfall. "Fine! Go ahead and do your worst!"
"You're just going to let me attack Croagunk? Fine then." Paul smirked. "Slam it!"
"Drapion...!" Drapion was about to slam Croagunk much like how it did to Ledian earlier. However, this is exactly what Aria Blaze wanted as she seized this opportunity.
"Here goes...Dig!"
"Croa!" Once Croagunk was slammed towards the ground, this gave him the chance to use Dig. Only available from the ground and how fitting that he was heading for the ground. Once he slammed into it, Croagunk used the chance to use his only free arm to burrow into the ground.
"You're still trapped within Drapion's grasp." Paul saw that this tactic had one major flaw. Even do Croagunk managed to make a hole, his other arm which was being held by Drapion was restrained, preventing him from fully fleeing.
"You think I don't know that?! Use Poison Jab to toss the rocks!"
"Croa!" Croagunk and Aria thought on the spot that surprised even Paul. Croagunk used his free arm, shifting into Poison Jab before then hitting the rocks that emerged from Dig. A clever strategy as Drapion's face and eyes had been hit by these rocks, causing it to flinch.
"Drapion!" Thanks to the flinch, Croagunk had been freed as Paul couldn't help but smile at Aria's quick thinking.
"Well..." An impressed Paul said.
"Now, Dig!"
"Croagunk!" Croagunk was now free to dig. He jumped into the hole he previously made, burrowing it even further before then travelling through the ground.
"Look alive, Drapion!"
"Drap!" Drapion kept a sharp eye, looking out for Croagunk and where he could eventually pop out from. Aria was now starting to improve. Paul could see that she seemed to work better when she was starting to feel at a disadvantage. That kind of adaptation and style reminded him of a certain rival from Kanto.
"Croagunk!" Croagunk eventually emerged and that was right underneath Drapion. Much like how Ledian attacked Drapion's stomach, Croagunk went for Drapion's stomach, bursting out of the ground with an uppercut ready.
"Now!"
"Pion!" However, that all meant nothing as Drapion's ability to manipulate its body in a unique way. Apart from being able to turn its head 180 degrees, Drapion could also straighten or bend its body. And that had been shown as it had bent its body back, resembling the L shape from a certain angle. Croagunk's attack had been dodged, much to the shock of the Toxic Mouth Pokemon and Aria.
"Now, Cross Poison!"
"Dra...Pion!" Drapion had struck Croagunk midair, unleashing a slash at its fellow Poison-Type in an 'X' formation.
"Croa!" Croagunk felt that one no doubt as he had been rocketed to the ground right afterwards. Croagunk slid on the ground with the grass blades tickling his face. Aria closed her eyes with some dust getting on her clothes.
Unfortunately, that was her second Pokemon taken out by Drapion. Croagunk was down and out. "Croagunk..."
"Return, Croagunk. Good try." That was it for Croagunk as he had been sent back into his Poke Ball.
"Aw." Sonata sighed, saddened that Aria had lost another Pokemon while Paul was sitting pretty with just his Drapion. "This is starting to be a bummer now..."
"This is truly exciting." Vivace found absolute fun in this, loving how exciting a Pokemon Battle could be. "Glad I'm not too late to witness Pokemon Battles. But Adagio is certainly missing out."
"So far, your performance is mediocre." Paul closed his eyes. "Ledian was okay and Croagunk was slightly better. But the one I'm looking forward to the most is Brionne. Your first Pokemon. Maybe then, I won't have to go so easy on you."
"You call this going easy?" Aria narrowed her eyes before revealing her final Poke Ball. "Here I go. Even if I lose, my Brionne's going to catch you off guard! Go Brionnne!"
"Brionne!" Finally, Brionne had emerged. Just what Paul was waiting for. Paul expected Brionne to do better than the last two with exceeding results. From the beginning when Aria caught her, he put a lot of faith into what they could do in the future.
Upon emerging, Brionne had noticed that Aria was a bit dirty. The dust from before got on her clothes and that sight did not sit well with the Pop Star Pokemon. "Bri..."
"Hm? What's up, Brionne?" Aria asked.
"Brionne!" To clear Aria up, Brionne had suddenly used Hydro Pump, blasting her trainer with a stream of water. It turns out Aria was the one who was caught off guard, flinching and almost falling over from the water. She was now wet but on the bright side, the dust was gone. "Bri!"
"Thanks, Brionne..." Aria uttered with Sonata laughing at her sister being drenched. Vivace let out a small chuckle whilst Brionne felt proud about cleaning Aria up, even if it was without warning. "Anyway. Let's just focus on the battle okay? If we can just take out that Drapion...we can get somewhere."
"Bri."
"If you can. Come on. Show me what you two can do."
"Let's pick up where Ledian and Croagunk left off! Hyper Voice!"
"Bri-Bri-Ioooonne!" Brionne started off strong by letting out a beautiful sound that was music to everyone's ears. Everyone except Drapion, who had received an alternate variation of it. The soundwaves from Brionne's Hyper Voice travelled fast, blowing the blades of grass and even rustling the trees.
"Counter with Pin Missile!"
"Dra!" Drapion sent out the glowing pins against the soundwave, retaliating with a consecutive force. However, Brionne's Hyper Voice could also be considered consecutive.
"Raise the volume, girl!"
"Brionne!" Brionne increased her tempo, utilizing her talent of singing in her battle strategy. The size of the soundwave increased as Pin Missle kept bombarding it. Neither side managed to get the advantage as the two attacks cancelled each other out.
"Now, Play Rough! Go!"
"Bri!" Brionne leapt into the air with a pink light surrounding her body. It would be a direct attack from above.
"Cross Poison, Drapion!"
"Drap!" Drapion unleashed Cross Poison, sending it as a ranged attack upwards.
"Pirouette around it!"
"Bri!" Brionne had used her dancing skills whilst in the air to her advantage. Once the poison approached her, she managed to do a stylish pirouette that allowed her to evade the attack while still keeping that momentum of Play Rough.
"Hm?!" Paul raised an eyebrow.
"Drapion?!"
"Brionne has the ability to dodge attacks by dancing! And mine can do it in the air! Go, Brionne!"
"Bri!" As if she was a slingshot, she propelled herself downwards after finishing her dance, crashing herself into Drapion. A large cloud emerged as Brionne could have her way with Drapion amidst the mess. She struck Drapion multiple times with Play Rough as she already showing great promise.
"D-Dra!" Drapion's head poked out of the cloud of Fairy Magic, crying out. It had then been knocked out of the cloud as Play Rough had ended.
"Now, use Hydro Pump!"
"Bri...Onne!" Brionne followed up with Hydro Pump, unleashing a high volume blast of water.
"Duck!"
"Dra!" Drapion had once again manipulated its body. It lowered his head and tail, mimicking a straight line now as the blast of water ended up missing.
"Now, use Pin Missile!"
"Drapion!" Drapion unloaded its own ranged attack in the form of Pin Missile, sending those streams of glowing pins once more.
"He really is going easy on me..." Aria growled as Drapion had only used three moves in this entire battle and they were all efficient. "Dance around them, Brionne!"
"Brionne~" Brionne would use her dancing strategy once more, gracefully performing moves to avoid the pins. The dancing was also efficient as Popplio used each dance trick she knew that helped her evasion. However, Paul had already caught onto this strategy and decided to shut it down.
"Toxic Spikes!"
"Drapion!" Drapion finally unleashed its fourth move only seconds after Aria brought it up. Drapion opened its mouth as a dark purple orb formed inside it. It then fires the ball into the air, which spiralled and releases four small streams of purple smoke from the top of the ball. The orb then exploded, forming into multiple smaller orbs that came crashing down.
"We'll dodge that too!"
"Bri!" Brionne continued to dance, however, it was the spikes falling that Aria and Brionne had to worry about. Toxic Spikes sunk into the battlefield, masking themselves.
"Now, Play Rough again!"
"Brionne!" After they sunk, Brionne was ready for the next attack. However, this was where Toxic Spikes kicked in. The moment she decided to take one step forward, the spikes had struck her. "B-Bri!" Brionne's body had been injected with poison, crying out. "Brionne!"
"Should've seen that coming," said Paul. "Let's see how well she does when she's all poisoned. Cross Poison!"
"Oh, I assure you! She can do fine even when poisoned! Hydro Pump!"
"Drapion!"
"Brionne!" A clash of attacks had ensued. Cross Poison and Hydro Pump. Even when poisoned, Brionne had the strength to continue, even if it was damaging her. Hydro Pump and Cross Poison equalled out in the end.
"I can't use Encore because all of Drapion's moves are big trouble..." Aria thought to herself. "He's already had Drapion use Toxic Spikes so there's no need for that move again...I need to think fast."
"Stuck?" Paul noticed that Aria was in deep thought. "Now's not the time to be contemplating! Approach and Poison Fang!"
"Dra!" Drapion would get up close and personal, rushing through the smoke.
"Ah! Brionne, dodge it quick!"
"Bri..." Brionne would try and dodge it via dancing, but the poison was getting to her. She groaned as Drapion had enough time to grab her. Drapion grabbed the Pop Star Pokemon with its claws as its bottom fangs glow purple. "Brionne!"
The purple glow then moved down its arms, making the whole section glow as it does. When the glow reached the last section, it skips towards the hands and the claws, transferring all the power there. Then, multiple purple sparks surrounded the claws as Drapion tightened its grip around Brionne. "Dra!"
"Ionne!"
"That all you can do?" Paul asked, hoping for more.
"It isn't over yet! Let Drapion have it at full volume."
"BRIONNE!" Brionne would unleash Hyper Voice even when being held. And being up close and personal in Drapion's face was the best time to do this. She sang at the loudest volume she could, not only attacking Drapion with a soundwave, but she had also damaged its ears.
"Dra!" Despite this sound blast, Drapion did not let go.
"Hydro Pump!"
"Bri!" Brionne followed up. Her mouth was still open, allowing her to switch from Hyper Voice to Hydro Pump in a second.
As Drapion's ears had been assaulted, it had then received a high-pressure blast in its face. That was enough to free Brionne as the force of the Hydro Pump ended up pushing her back through the air momentarily. Drapion had been knocked back by this pressure.
Drapion even almost fell over as the damage done from the previous two Pokemon was certainly starting to show its effects. Paul could see that this was a somewhat familiar scenario. A scene where multiple Pokemon were needed to handle his Drapion. It reminded him too much of his battle with Ash back at the Lily of the Valley Conference more than 10 years ago.
"Bri...Bri..." Brionne breathed in and out from all of the poison. It was painful for her body.
"Hang in there, Brionne!" Aria exclaimed as Brionne slapped herself in the face.
"You've got spirit. But you can't keep it going with the state you're in. Let's put an end to this, Drapion."
"Drapion."
"Not before that Drapion goes down! I've got a plan for you! Let's use Play Rough!"
"Bri...!" Brionne closed her eyes, digging deep into her Fairy-Type capabilities. Her body radiated that mystical pink fairy glow. However, there was something different. Paul could notice a change in the way this attack was building up. The energy of Play Rough was being converted as Brionne's mouth opened up.
"Huh?" Aria soon noticed this along with Sonata and Vivace.
"Bri...Brionne!" Instead of using Play Rough, Brionne had used something else. But it wasn't an attack she already knew. It was not Hydro Pump, Hyper Voice or even Encore. This was a new attack that had replaced Play Rough with Brionne abandoning it.
Moonblast.
The power of the moon had been gathered as out of Brionne's mouth, a pink sphere had been summoned via Brionne's latent power. When at a disadvantage, she dug deep enough to gain a new move.
"Moonblast?!" Aria gasped.
"Hoh?" Paul was impressed. Granted, this was somewhat of a common thing for Pokemon to do. But while poisoned was definitely new.
"Alright! Go! Use Moonblast!" Aria went with it. Moonblast had replaced Play Rough and now was a good time to use the attack. She unleashed the sphere charged by the power of the moon at her current strength.
"Not bad. Your Brionne's strong, that's for sure." Paul had to respect and acknowledge strength when he saw it. Aria and her Brionne had already proved themselves. "But it's still the end. Cross Poison!"
"Dra...Pi...On!" Drapion used a bit more of its strength, forming the strongest Cross Poison in this battle. All of the poison went to its claws as it had smashed them against the sphere. Upon hitting it, Drapion felt some pushback as the power of this Moonblast was stronger than expected.
However, at the end of the day, Drapion managed to defeat it with the poison travelling through. Brionne winced with one eye open, witnessing the poison coming her way. The result was a direct hit with a purple explosion of poison.
"Brionne, no!" Aria cried out as Brionne felt out of the purple smoke. It was over.
"Brionne..." Three to zero. None of Paul's Pokemon had fainted. In fact, only one of his Pokemon had been used. His Drapion. As for Aria, she suffered a loss where all three of her Pokemon had fallen. Aria walked over to Brionne, picking her up as if she was a baby.
"Thank you, Brionne. You did your best." She hugged the Pop Star Pokemon.
"After all that, that Drapion didn't go down..." Sonata pouted. "There wasn't a chance from the beginning, was there?"
"How fun. You should've told me these Pokemon Battles could be so exciting." Vivace said.
"You both did your best. But looks like you have ways to go." Paul walked over to them with his Drapion. "At least I'm glad you made the right decision of choosing Brionne."
"Uh, thanks, Paul. Wish I took at least one of your Pokemon down. But...think we can have a rematch sometime? You know, when I'm better and stronger?"
"Anytime."
"Well done, you four!" Vivace applauded, approaching them. "Aria. Great job for trying your best. And you Paul. Those skills you have are something to behold."
"It was nothing. That wasn't my best anyway." Paul replied, turning away. "My work here is done anyway. I'm heading for Anistar City next. I'll test myself against one of the best Gym Leaders around. Olympia."
"Anistar City? That's where we're headed too!" Sonata gasped, remembering what her mother had mentioned about the magic guiding them. "Oh! You could come along!"
"Hm?" Both Paul and Aria looked at Sonata.
"Clever thinking, Aria." Vivace placed her hand on her youngest daughter's shoulder. "How about it? Not sure Adagio would approve."
"Hmm..." Paul thought about it for a moment. "I'll pass."
"Huh?!" They collectively exclaimed.
"I would say I prefer to go it alone but...I have my Pokemon with me. But you get the picture." Paul denied going along with them. "But I'll meet you there."
"Oh. Well, that's fine." Aria nodded, shifting her eyes. "Would've been kinda cool if you did..."
"Would it now?" Sonata appeared behind her sister with that same mischievous grin. "Why's that? Hm?"
"You...!" Aria had then grabbed Sonata's face, almost picking her up from the ground.
"I'll go at my own pace." Paul was ready to walk off before he heard his stomach growl, causing him to halt his movements momentarily. "But...I need something to eat first. Reminds me why I was heading for Fleurrh City."
"Well, this region is on the fancier side, isn't it?" Vivace stepped in between them. "Let's eat. And while you're at it, mind telling me, mainly my daughters here, some tips in battling."
"I can learn on my own." Aria crossed her arms, believing that she didn't need any tips or tricks. "It'll make one step closer to becoming a better battler."
"But you still need some advice along the way." Paul walked past Aria, heading for the city as the sirens promptly followed him. "Otherwise, you'll be stuck where you're at."
"Tch. I'll take my chances." A stubborn Aria replied as she and Paul kept bickering. They could continue this conversation whilst heading for Fleurrh City to eat, where Adagio was waiting and was most likely busy.
This mission to find the other sirens were filled with instances that wouldn't immediately lead the group to their related species. But, it was always the journey that counted. Although in this case, the goal was far more important than the journey as the journey continues.
"I needed this." Paul was currently at this city's local restaurant, stuffing himself alongside the Dazzlings. After having a battle with Aria via their reunion, he was treated to some food that Vivace had purchased for him and her daughters. All except Adagio, who was shopping for clothes.
"Same. I don't know what it is but those Pokemon Battles make you hungry." Aria said, eating alongside her Brionne.
"After this, I'm off. I'll see you all at Anistar City. Unless one of us gets there first." Paul drank some water, preventing himself from choking. Brionne felt the urge to add some water to his cup via her own water, only for Paul to pull it away.
"Isn't Olympia the one who works at the Pokemon School?" Sonata asked with her mouth full. "The one in Canterlot'?"
"If that's the case...Paul. You should go there if you want to challenge more powerful trainers." Aria recommended. "It's not just Olympia who's a teacher there. I think every other teacher's a Gym Leader or something?"
"Hm?" Paul's interest had been grabbed immediately.
"Oh yeah! And the principal's Cynthia! I hear she's super important!" Sonata raised her hand. Now Paul's interest had been raised through the roof.
"So...The Pokemon School has what I'm looking for." Paul closed his eyes. "And the second strongest trainer in the Masters 8 is there too. Think I'll pay it a visit sometime."
"What? To go up against all of them? Are you sure?" Aria asked.
"I'm very sure. As if I'd pass up on this opportunity." Paul made his mind up. "I'll be at that Pokemon School. You can expect me there."
"We'll be too busy finding more of our species so...probably not." Aria shook her head. "Not sure how long it'll take honestly."
"So what's up with that? Don't you have more of your species back at your world?"
"No. They got lost. Way back And I mean way back, six ponies came along and started sending them all to the Human World. We didn't know it at first when we saw all of them vanish. But years later when they showed up again, we got sent there too." Sonata explained.
"But ever since we found our mom a few months back, we went on this mission to find them all." Aria continued. "We'll all be reunited with each other again, no doubt. So that's why were' on this journey."
"Man. That's rough."
"That's all you have to say?!" Aria leaned over to him.
"What else do you want me to say." Paul shrugged, before finishing up the last of his food. "I'll wish you good luck with your mission to find them all. I'm heading off now."
"Well...see you around then, Paul. Whenever that is." Aria bid farewell. "We should be getting to Anistar City soon too. Right before Mom and Adagio finish up their shopping."
"Then we'll be in this city for a while then," Sonata replied, knowing how invested the two of them can be when it comes to fashion. Very invested. Paul left the restaurant with Aria and Sonata following suit. Paul went on his way, continuing his journey.
As for Adagio and Vivace, the moment the three of them exited the restaurant, they saw the mother and daughter duo moving from store to store. Since this city had a Pokemon Showcase arena, there were various stores tailored to getting dressed for that one competition.
They had so many choices to choose from and with all of these clothes, they started bickering amongst each other just to decide which should be selected.
"Well, I say that this is what we should go for. And these." Vivace held out some dresses. "They're cheaper too so we won't waste too much money along the way."
"Ugh." Adagio stuck her tongue out, feeling disgusted as she held out her personal favourites. "As if. These are more up to our speed. We like to do it big. Money included."
"I'm your mother so I have all the authority here,"
"Let's not forget who received the most money from Princess Celestia. I'm old enough to claim it as mine." Adagio and Vivace went back and forth, unable to fully purchase anything with all of these words being thrown.
"Looks like you'll be occupied here for a bit," Paul said before finally leaving. "See ya."
"Bye, Paul! Hey! Wanna pass your number quickly?!" Sonata cried out, holding out not her Xtransceiver but Aria's Xtransceiver.
"Hey!" Aria recognized it as hers as she quickly grabbed it away from Sonata's hands. But, Paul didn't have an Xtransceiver of his own so that was all pointless, even if it made Aria feel a bit nervous about if it actually happened.
Paul simply smiled while walking away from them. He found some amusement and enjoyment in being around this frantic family. A part of him did wish to meet with them again. Possibly at Anistar City. But while leaving, Paul wondered about the Pokemon School located at Canterlot.
"Full of Gym Leaders and Cynthia, hm?" He said to himself. "Ash. You need to tell me everything about that world when we meet again someday."
Sinnoh. Out in the mountainside Afternoon.
Speaking of the Ash, he was still involved with Flurry Heart's first Pokemon Journey, which was coming to an end soon. But before it could end, Flurry Heart wanted to see her progress so far. Via her Pokemon, of course.
"Roll call!" She threw the Poke Balls into the air with her magic as they had emerged. These past few days, she had managed to catch quite a few Pokemon. A Glameow, Lumineon, Cherrim, a West Sea Shellos, Chatot, Bibarel, two different Combees and Carnivine. Nine Pokemon in total.
"Carni!" Carnivine already grew fond of Flurry Heart, biting on her head. Flash Sentry gasped as this was seen as the princess being attacked, only for it to be revealed that Flurry Heart didn't mind it. It barely hurt too.
"Neat lineup here," Ash observed the Pokemon that Flurry Heart had caught. "Those Quick Balls your mom gave really worked all the time, huh?"
"Pikachu."
"Mhm. But Carnivine here and Glameow were tough to catch." She replied while Carnine was still on her.
"My recommendation of intimidating them with Giratina was still the way to go," Sombra spoke, sitting by a tree with his hooves cross. "If you had used that Legendary, no Pokemon would dare reject your offer to join them. That's another lesson for you to take, young one."
"I mean yeah...But that's too scary for them. I want to make them all feel welcome, ya know." Flurry Heart hugged her Lumineon, Cherrim and Shellos.
"So be it." Sombra closed his eyes. He still saw the Giratina tactic as the most efficient way of catching Pokemon. While extreme, it did have its merits.
"We should be heading back now, princess." Flash Sentry walked over. "It'll be great to tell your parents what you've done so far. Even if it's not that much."
"Not that much? Look at this, Flash." She spread her hooves out to all of her Pokemon. "I caught all of these and I got to be in a card battle? To me, that's a lot. Well...more than what happens back in my universe, anyway. When I get back, I'll have these little guys by my side. Hopefully forever."
"That is if you all can keep the two worlds connected," Sombra replied. "It'd a crying shame if all of it was for nought. With the Rift out to get especially you, Ash Ketchum, you'd best be alert on what could come next."
"Yeah, I hear ya, Sombra." Ash turned to the former ruler of the Crystal Empire. "We'll definitely keep them together. And uh...getting every universe out there adjusted to Pokemon is gonna be pretty long if it gets carried over there."
"Very." Flurry Heart nodded in agreement. "But it'll be worth it. I can't wait to see my mom and dad from my universe react to them. W-When we find them and free them, of course. I just wish before the invasion happened, that I should've asked auntie Twilight about where they were. But...she'd never tell me anyway. Then again, she's not my real auntie."
"Not your real auntie?" Ash, Flash and even Sombra repeated. Sombra leaned forward, wondering what Flurry Heart meant by that.
"Oh, right. Great aunt Celestia back at my universe told me everything. You see...turns out there's another auntie Twilight who's from my world. It's uh...kinda weird."
"How weird are we talking?" Ash asked.
"Pikachu?"
"There's two of them. The Empress and the one who was locked up in a dungeon for a long time. The Empress comes from a parallel world that's opposite to my world. But it's not another universe. It's still in ours."
"Another world...You mean the human world?!" Ash put it together. The parallel world would be the portal to the Human World where there were multiple counterparts.
"That's it. That's where the Empress comes from. She took my real auntie's identity since they're the same and locked her away for so long until great aunt Celestia found her. She had the pony form to fool everypony. Even me."
"I see..." Sombra rubbed his chin. "Using the advantage of essentially being the same individual to take her identity. Clever girl." He had to respect and compliment Empress Twilight. "Much better than a shapeshifting Changeling."
"Is now really the time to compliment them?" Flash shook his head. But he should've expected this from Sombra. He would most likely do the same if given the chance to head to a parallel world. And Sombra knew he would.
"So, how's she doing now that she's free?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"She's all cleaned up. But, it's tough." Flurry Heart lowered her head as the results, while positive, had their drawbacks to the freed alicorn. "Ever since the Empress took her identity, nopony feels safe around her. Poor auntie Twilight's been staying home for a few months now. She's still so afraid to come back out. I just hope she's doing better right now..."
Flurry Heart wondered how the Twilight Sparkle from Universe 6 was doing, even if she was in a universe far distant from this one. Ash, Pikachu and Flash Sentry could only wonder themselves.
Universe 6. Equestria. Canterlot. Afternoon.
Speaking of which, back at Universe 6, a Universe that had been freed of the Empress' control, the Twilight Sparkle there was indeed still inside her home in Canterlot.
Despite being free from the dungeon after so long and reuniting with her friends, not everything was back to the way it was. Twilight was in her parent's home, staying in the old bedroom she once had as a filly. It did not change after all these years.
"Twilight?" Speaking of her parents, Twilight Velvet knocked on the door, calling for her daughter. "It's been at least 6 months now. Are you still okay with leaving here?"
"Not really." She replied with a meek voice. "I might need some more time."
"It could be almost a full year if you stay in there longer." Night Light replied. "You have to come out sometime."
"I know. But, I don't think everypony out there is ready to see this face again..."
"That wasn't the real you, dear." Velvet shook her head. "Princess Celestia already told everypony the truth, so you should be fine. You can't let that imposter's reputation get to you."
"It already did." Twilight covered herself in her bedsheets, which were too small to cover her now fully grown alicorn body. She then laid on the bed which was too big to fit her now. "Everything she did in this world is too big to ignore. If I show myself out there, I'll end up sacring everypony off."
"Well...That is true." Velvet rubbed her mane before looking at Night Light. They were finding it difficult on how to solve this issue. There was only one thing they could think of. "How about bringing your friends over then? You still have some catching up to do. Would that do?"
"...Sure." Twilight agreed to it. So far, the only ones she felt brave enough to face were her family and friends. That was as far as it went. She looked outside her window, seeing how much the world she knew had changed. While this world was free from the Empress' control, the effects she left behind remained.
Many of the ponies were still separated as Twilight saw that some familiar residents of Canterlot were nowhere to be found. New faces had shown up, occupying these homes. That was the result of time and the Empress' reign.
Some ponies that used to live here were gone. Twilight wasn't sure if they had left Canterlot, sided with the Empress and fled with her or if something else had happened to them. She'd rather not think about it but it was hard not to after what she had gone through. Which was not much as she was stuck within the dungeon, unable to do anything except sit and sleep on the hard cobblestone ground.
Twilight started thinking of what could be next. She could live longer than most solely because she was an alicorn. The future was unpredictable and uncertain for this alicorn. She decided to take a rest until some of her friends would show up.
And also at Canterlot, right over at the castle was the Princess Celestia of this universe. She used the castle's telescope to look directly at Twilight's home. Celestia knew all too well that Twilight had been staying home for months now, refusing to show herself to everyone else.
But, parallel to Twilight was this universe's Princess Luna. After being trapped on the moon for a second time, finally being freed, she was happy to be back. Granted, it was annoying that she went to the moon a second time, but after being there previously for thousands of years, Luna had gotten used to it.
"Is she still in there?" Luna showed up.
"She is. What a shame." Celestia shook her head. "I wish there was something we could do but...everything still feels incomplete. So many ponies that we used to know have gone with the Empress, staying by their side."
"Mm. They don't even know about the parallel world, do they?" Luna pouted. "Oh well. Perhaps if there is ever a second encounter, we can let them know. What about our Twilight? Do you think she can get back her life?"
"I know she will. But now's not the time for that. But we should be there for her along with everypony else close to her." Celestia and Luna left the telescope, giving Twilight her privacy, even if she was unaware that she was being watched from afar.
Universe 1. The Crystal Empire. Afternoon.
"We're back!" Returning home after the short journey was Flurry Heart. And she made sure to make her entrance bombastic as she had unleashed her newly caught Pokemon into the castle. They immediately burst the doors open, rushing into the room.
Shining Armor and Cadence were ready to welcome their daughter back with open hooves, only to be completely overwhelmed by the Pokemon. "Oh!" They cried out in unison as the room had been immediately ravaged by these nine species from Sinnoh.
"Ta-dah! See how many I caught?" It's not the biggest number but nine's a good place to start, right?"
"Uh...sure, sure." Cadence was surrounded by the two Combee whilst Shining Armor had been knocked down by Carnivine immediately. Glameow hissed at Sylveon, causing Sylveon to hiss back. "I can see you had fun."
"I did have fun! The first journey was a success!" Flurry Heart cheered. "I can't wait for the second one. And I'll make it soon."
"If you have all these Pokemon, think you could keep them steady?" Cadence saw how Sylveon was now chasing Glameow. In just a few seconds, the two had already become hostile against each other with Glameow laughing while Sylveon, a usually gentle Pokemon was hissing with a serious expression.
"As cute as they are, we're not having them all run around the place. We don't even let the Golurk indoors." Shining Armor said. "It'll cause too much chaos."
"Ah, it'll be fine, mom and dad!" Flurry Heart giggled as Cherrim appeared above her head. These Pokemon certainly wouldn't be in their Poke Balls. Golurk and Giratina were too big to be indoors but these 9 were just perfect. "It's one way to learn about Pokemon this way by catching them, right?"
"Well, you could always just go to the Pokemon School." Cadence pondered as Carnivine looked at the guards, intimidating them with its always active mouth, ready to chew on something. "Would you like that?"
"The Pokemon School? Uhh..." The young alicorn thought for a moment. "I guess I could learn a lot from there but...school's not my thing. Didn't have much of it back home anyway."
"Ah, but this is a Pokemon School." Shining Armor slid in, putting an emphasis on what the school was based on. "It's way different from normal school. Wait...what do you mean you didn't have much of it?"
"Ever since the Empress took over, every school out there's been uhh..." Flurry Heart was not sure what her next choice of words should be. She was hesitant in saying them. "Well, it's not the best. But it's probably fine now with that universe freed. Hehe."
"Uh-huh...Well, you think about it. I know which Flurry Heart is going there." Cadence looked over at Baby Flurry Heart who was asleep with Manaphy. While asleep, one of the Combee hovered over, only for Cadence to pull it away with her magic, preventing any disruption."
"By the way. Did you find out about that Dread League?" Flurry Heart asked.
"No..." Shining Armor shook his head along with the guards. "That secret entrance that Chrysalis and Mellifera know about won't show itself to us."
"And because your father here is afraid of vampires and skeletons."
"Just skeletons." He scrunched his face as a single sweatdrop had formed on his head. "But, never mind about the Dread League right now. I have uh...other things to do." He went off, ending this conversation.
"The same goes for you." Cadence walked over. "Try not to think too much about them, dear. I want you to be as free as you can be after what you went through in your universe."
"Thanks, mom. This is the freest I've been in a long time." Flurry Heart laughed, showing just how much she enjoyed this new path in her life that was vastly different from her universe. Granted, her universe was freed but so many years of absolute control had passed by for any of that to ever be revisited. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll bring my Pokemon over to my universe! Come on all of you!"
Flurry Heart pranced along with all of her Pokemon following suit. Sylveon pounced, attempting to pin Glameow, only for Glameow to evade and rush to Flurry Heart's side. Sylveon ended up crashing her face to the crystal floor afterwards. "Sylveon..."
Kanto. Pallet Town. Ketchum Household. Nightfall.
Nightfall in the Pokemon World. And the same goes for the world next door. Ash had just returned home with him and Pikachu slumped over in their beds, sleeping erratically. It was natural in this house. Meanwhile, Sombra slept in the guest room which had been customized to his liking.
Sombra stayed awake for the night, staring into the ceiling. The former king of the Crystal Empire started thinking about quite a few things at the moment. From his childhood friend Radiant Hope and the adventures that he had been dragged along with Ash and Pikachu. Sombra was slightly less annoyed by Ash and Pikachu's presence prior to the past or even when the connection had first been formed.
Sombra would rather not think about it as he closed his eyes for his beauty sleep. However, minutes after he fell asleep, within his dream, which was obviously him retaking control of the Crystal Empire and having his reign spread farther than that, something had come to him.
Something that was not uncommon to him. A shadow. Sombra looked up at this shadow wisp, however, there was something different about it. "What's this?" He wondered within his dream.
The wisp started forming a shape, showing an image to Sombra. The unicorn squinted his eyes, taking a closer look. He saw the familiar sight of what seemed to be the vampires from the Dread League. The shadow replicated the visage of the vampires from their fangs to their wings. Sombra wondered what this was all about as the shadow continued.
"Hang on..." Sombra was catching on. "I've seen this before...the shadows are trying to tell me of something to come." After figuring out what the shadows were doing, they made one final shape. The shape of a Shadow Pony. "Another one of my kind..."
Sombra was surprised to see another Shadow Pony. AKA the Umbrum. But he couldn't quite make it out. It could be anyone. But it certainly wasn't him. This only made Sombra curious about what the shadows were trying to tell him. The shadows decided to do one final shape, portraying the visage of what seemed to be some sort of creature.
This was certainly harder to make out than the shadow pony as this creature did have a larger build. Sombra could see large claws and feet and four wings. But that was as far as it went.
"Queen Rabia. If this is you speaking to me again, then what does this mean?" Sombra called out for the Queen of the Umbrum, Rabia. But there wasn't a voice that had responded to him. Eventually, the shadow of this mysterious creature expanded, consuming everything. From the Crystal Empire to Equestria and even seemingly the world. Sombra was not intimidated by the shadows as he revelled in them, but this consumption caused his dream to end, waking him up.
"!" Sombra gasped, waking up. That dream was not a nightmare, but to some, it could be. He sat up, realizing that the future had been shown to him via the shadows. He was annoyed that it was vague. "Hm. Usually, the shadows are always perfect in what they tell me. But since my magic has been weakened...my connection to the shadows has as well. I need to gain that connection back. But first...my beauty sleep."
Sombra went back to sleep, deciding to deal with all of those problems when the Sun comes up. And he was certainly hoping that Ash would go through with it if possible as the journey continues.
The Twilight Sparkle of this universe was still choosing to shelter herself within her parents' home due to the reputation the Empress left behind. She could speak to very few of her friends, hiding from everyone else at not just Equestria, but this entire universe.
Speaking of which, some of her friends had shown up to be there for her. Mainly Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Once locked up by the Empress and had their time stolen but ever since the invasion ended and with a touch of Discord's magic, they had been aged back to retrieve those missing years. But even if they had a second chance to catch up, Twilight felt as if she had no time at all. Despite being an alicorn, thanks to what the Empress had done, Twilight Sparkle was not confident in her future.
"Chin up, Twilight." Rainbow Dash said. "We're here now. Some of us, anyway. Feeling younger than ever too."
"We had a great Hearth's Warming last year when we were reunited. You seemed so happy then." Fluttershy added.
"I was still with all of you. That's all." Twilight lowered her head. "I'm afraid of what'll happen if I go out there. I'll be looked at in the worst way. Or worse! Somepony might have it out for me! Or not even a pony! Maybe a dragon or a changeling or-" She started thinking of the worst possible scenarios.
"If anypony dares try and get you...well, Rainbow Dash already knows what the answer to that is." Rarity turned to the multi-coloured-maned pegasus.
"Thanks, girls. Wish I could also see Spike but bringing him here since he's full-grown would just attract too much attention to my parents' home. But...glad to know he's doing well for himself right now at Ponyville. I didn't expect that growth spurt for him."
"You got a growth spurt too..." Rainbow Dash commented as now Twilight was the third tallest amongst her friend group. First being Spike and the second being Discord.
"Well, when you're ready to return to the outside world, here are these!" Rarity came with gifts. So did Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy as Rarity brought them all over. You can't be staying here without anything to keep you company. We will keep you company, along with what excites you."
"Thank you, girls!" A smile graced her face. Being with her friends allowed Twilight's gloomy aura to fade away. Even if it was briefly as she grabbed the gifts with her magic. "I think I may have needed this."
"No problem. By the way...How'd the Empress figure out how to come to you in the first place?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Come to me?" Twilight turned to her. "Oh. About that...you see...I actually came to her."
"You did?" All three of them leaned in as there was some information about this mixup that could be important to take in.
"Mm. I did tell Princess Celestia and all of you about where I've been. But I never did say what went down." Twilight opened her gifts before thinking back to when this disaster first happened. "It happened years ago. It was when Spike and I just finished stopping Starlight from messing with time. Sunset Shimmer was also sending me letters that I missed out on for a while."
"It happened right after that?" Fluttershy questioned. "So you must've bumped into here, didn't you?"
"You could say that, Fluttershy. I'll tell you what happened. And how we got here. But it won't be long, that's for sure." Twilight was ready to spill everything she knew. It would be short, but critical nonetheless.
Universe 11. Equestria. The Solar Empire. Canterlot. Afternoon.
And speaking of Empress Twilight, she herself was thinking of what to do next. She had already been foiled twice now by the forces of Universe 1. However, even after all those failures, she remained persistent in her goals.
She thought about Universe 1 and all the trouble it had caused her. It was safe to say that every individual from that universe aggravated her with a burning hatred boiling within her. The Pokemon World was included. Empress Twilight's forces were also dwindling across multiple universes thanks to Reshiram and Zekrmon along with the Universal Alliance formed by the Princess Celestia of Universe 1.
"Everything I built is dying down." She spoke to herself, standing near the Canterlot Gardens. "But...I still have my ways of coming back. My ace in the holes won't run out. Especially with the world parallel to this." Empress Twilight Sparkle also thought about the parallel human world that mirrored this earth in many ways.
The earth that she had originated from. Much like the Twilight Sparkle from Equestria, she started thinking back to that world but in a different light.
30 Years Ago. The Human World. Canterlot High. Afternoon.
An event that was far too familiar.
This was during the Equestria Games. A contest between Canterlot High and Crystal Prep Academy. This scenario had already happened before. In Universe 1 and without a doubt other universes out there. Everything from this very day had been carried out as time would've intended it to, but this was where this universe deviated from the first.
Midnight Sparkle existed here as well. A Twilight Sparkle that had unleashed the magic from within her pendant, transforming her into this overflowing magical she-demon.
And just like the other universes, Daydream Shimmer, the alter-ego to Sunset Shimmer had been born She used her powers to seal the dimensional rifts, engaging Midnight in an explosive magical battle. Time seemed to always come back to this one moment. But, with every parallel universe out there, there is a parallel outcome and this was one of them. Their beams clashed ferociously for everyone else remaining here to see.
"I can't...hold it...!" In this universe, Daydream Shimmer was struggling to hold back Midnight Sparkle's magic. Midnight's beam had overpowered Daydream's with nothing to distract her and break her trance for a bit.
"I told you I understood the magic now. It didn't take long for me to master it. You can't beat me!" Midnight exclaimed as her beam had expanded, overpowering Daydream. Daydream gasped as her beam was consumed. And with Midnight proving to have the edge, she had been struck.
"G-Gaaaah!" Daydream Shimmer cried out as the dark purple beam had engulfed her once it made direct contact. Before she knew it, Daydream had been completely overwhelmed. Despite gaining the magic of Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Laughter and Generosity, the unleashed magic that Midnight possessed proved to be slightly greater.
"Sunset!" The five of her friends cried out as Daydream fell from the sky. Not only did she fall, but the magic she received had been blown away by Midnight's force, reverting her into Sunset Shimmer. Applejack and Pinkie Pie quickly caught her before she could potentially hit the ground hard.
Midnight Sparkle had won. A complete parallel to Universe one's outcome.
Sunset groaned, realizing that the Magic of Friendship had failed her. It was hard to believe it but the results did not lie. There was no other magic left to counteract Midnight Sparkle. All of it belonged to her. The She-Demon laughed with lightning sparking from the darkened clouds, brimming with her magical influence.
"T-Twilight..." Sunset could barely stand as her friends were keeping her up. "You don't have to do this..."
"Eh. Too late. I already have. Look at all of this." Midnight showed her the portals throughout the dimensions that she had effortlessly opened up. She even opened another one just because she felt like it. "You couldn't stop me. Now no one can...With all of this magic...I could do so much. I could do more than just travel wherever...Anything's possible. Especially since this is magic we're talking about."
"You can't!" Sunset exclaimed. "You're tampering with something you don't understand, Twilight!"
"And who's going to stop me? It's definitely not you!" She then aimed her hand at the Main 6, unleashing a blast of magic. The speed of it was far too fast for any of them to even avoid. The moment they attempted fleeing from it, the blast had already connected.
And with that blast, Midnight Sparkle ended up turning them all into stone. They had been petrified, stuck in different poses that were all based on running. They all had faces of fear on them while completely stone-frozen. Sunset Shimmer's eyes were closed as she knew when she had been defeated.
Midnight looked over, seeing their petrified poses and expressions. She then descended, touching the ground as her magical aura had burnt away the blades of grass. The She-Demon observed her surroundings for a bit, seeing that there was little left. Everyone else had fled while the Main 6 were left behind. That is until she saw the Shadowbolts.
They were still within this vicinity as they had witnessed the horrific petrification of the students they were competing against earlier who had also saved their lives later on. But they could not save them.
The Shadowbolts certainly weren't brave enough to confront this magical entity despite how cocky they appear. They as well knew their limits. And especially when to flee. Midnight Sparkle did not bother dealing with them or anyone else that could be nearby.
Midnight did shift her eyes, searching for one more individual. Her pet dog Spike. But he was nowhere to be found. All she could see was rubble from the explosive battle she and Sunset had.
Midnight Sparkle pondered on what to do next. She looked at the various portals, knowing that they were ripe for travelling through. Through the portals, the ponies from Equestria were also curious and somewhat worried about the sudden appearance of these rips through reality itself.
"I could start small..." Twilight looked at her arm before then looking at the portals to Equestria. "But this is more like starting big now that I look at it. That works better in my eyes. But first, maybe I can do something about this place before any of that."
The magic had already affected her mind. Any piece of the old Twilight was gone as the raging magic from multiple sources not only transformed her appearance but even the way she thought. And Twilight loved it. Not a single complaint.
She had become power-hungry, realizing that with the power of magic, the possibilities were endless. And she would take full advantage of that. She took flight, ascending into the darkened skies, off to learn more about this newfound power that she now owns. The statues of the Main 6 were left there for hours straight.
One day later.
A day had passed in this universe. The Friendship Games ended abruptly as the portals to Equestria had suddenly vanished. All of this was done under the control of Twilight Sparkle or Midnight Sparkle as her alternate name.
Twilight stayed at Canterlot High for one reason. The portal to Equestria. She recalled how important the statue of the horse was to Sunset Shimmer and how it also had magic. Twilight needed to know exactly what was lying beyond the statue.
Her appearance was slightly different to what she was previously. Twilight retained her normal human form, however, her eyes were still emanating that light blue aura from Midnight Sparkle as well as a tint of darkness within her mane. She certainly wasn't exaggerating when she said that she had understood the magic so easily. Already, Twilight managed to maintain it. But it was not perfect yet.
Twilight placed her hand on the portal, allowing her magic to sense it. It made sense to her. This statue had the same properties as the portals she opened up. "So it's another portal, is it? And it probably leads to that other world."
Twilight smirked before turning around, acing the statues of the Main 6 which were still there. No one was brave enough to come back to the school as an endless dark cloud hovered over it with light blue and purple lightning crackling constantly. It was nothing but a danger zone. Not even Prinicipal Celestia or Vice-Principal Luna had returned here as the school was completely empty.
"That's why you were so cautious when the magic was taken from the statue." Twilight had suddenly revealed her wings that she also kept from Midnight Sparkle's birth. They burst out of the back of her top as she hovered over to Sunset's statue. "Most likely...you've been there before. Or maybe you come from there. You're the only one who could transform just like me after all."
The statue of Sunset Shimmer did not respond as to be expected. But even so, she could hear Twilight's words whilst Twilight cackled. "I could feel the magic coming from that world. It has more magic there, doesn't it? Oh yes...it has to. So I have more options for passing through that world...but my magic can suffice."
And as she was prepared to enter Equestria, someone had come through the portal. Twilight was made alert of this, slowly turning around as the one to pass through it was her.
Or rather, the Twilight Sparkle from Equestria. The Princess of Friendship. This was where it began. Where the two Twilight's met. Only in this universe, Midnight Sparkle remained.
"I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner! I didn't get your messages until just now because I was caught in this time travel loop and, honestly, it was the strangest thing that's ever happened to me!" Twilight went on, only to stop abruptly before another sentence could come out of here.
Her reasoning for stopping was because of a few things. For starters, the rubble from yesterday was still present across the school along with the dark clouds flashing lightning of different colours. But the one thing that caught her off guard was her counterpart. She expected to see Sunset Shimmer when entering this world, only to meet herself.
"Who are you?" They both said in unison.
"You came from that statue...you're from that world, aren't you?" Midnight Sparkle questioned.
"You're my counterpart!" Twilight had put it together immediately. She had already seen the counterparts of her friends so this was not hard to understand. But it had certainly caught her off guard. "W-What happened here?! Where's Sunset?"
"Where? Right here, of course." Midnight Sparkle hovered to the side, revealing not only Sunset Shimmer but Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy. All six of them and their stone prisons.
"No!" Twilight shouted with a combination of shock and horror in her voice. Twilight was frozen as well after witnessing the fate of her friends. After showing up here, processing this entire scenario was starting to become clear. A lot happened here and Twilight could only look to her counterpart in this instance.
When looking at Midnight Sparkle, she could see the wings viciously flapping behind her and the magic radiating around her eyes. That was a red flag that didn't need to be looked at a second time.
"What did you do?!" Twilight growled, saddened and furious about this outcome.
"A lot happened here. But all you need to know is that this is nothing compared to what I could potentially do next. All of this magic is just waiting to be improved. And I'm just the one to do it."
"You..." Twilight's anger had immediately come up. All she saw was another power-hungry individual with high magical power to do almost anything she wanted. It wouldn't be the first time she's come across this kind of foe.
"Hoh? Getting mad, are we?" Midnight Sparkle smirked, proving to be less shy than the Twilight she used to be. "I've never seen myself look so aggravated before. It's a good thing I won't have to worry about ever seeing that again with what I can do now."
Twilight tried unleashing her own magic that originated from Equestria and could be found here as well. Seeing her friends in this state tampered with her emotions. However, Twilight soon felt nothing. There was not a semblance of magic in the air. Not only that, but getting her magic out in this way was never a sure-fire way, nor has she ever done it before.
"My magic..." Twilight gasped.
"All of it's gone. Right here." Midnight Sparkle suddenly held a wisp of magic that had once belonged to her Equestrian Counterpart. "The magic that I had discovered is now one with me. What a wonderful feeling..."
"All of it?"
"All of it. At least in this area. But there's more I could have, isn't there? You came from that world...so that must mean magic is a common thing for you. A shame you didn't come here with any magic of your own."
"She's right." Twilight looked at her hands. "I can't even pony-up here...Just what happened here?"
"Your world is what I want to visit next. There's so much I want to do!" Midnight suddenly held her arm out, unleashing magic from within it. Twilight actually ended up being able to just barely notice it coming her way. A perk of having alicorn magic deep within her but it was a shame none of it was showing up.
Twilight yelped before moving to the side. The beam had passed her, hitting the statue instead. The state had already been destroyed yesterday with just the legs of the horse remaining. But now, the rest of it had been obliterated.
"Wait!" Twilight cried out, putting out her arm as Midnight stopped for a moment.
"Oh. You managed to make me stop for a moment. Won't happen again." Midnight's eyes flared.
"Are you going to turn me to stone too?" Twilight asked with a nervous and serious face at the same time.
"That depends. I can do anything I want. But since you're me...I could take a different route."
"We're both the same here." Twilight slowly stood up with her hands up. "Let's just stop for a bit. You met with my friends here so something must've happened. The letters I got from Sunset Shimmer mentioned the magic here. You've obviously found it for yourself."
"I have. It was unintentional though." Midnight shrugged as Twilight was slowly backing up to the portal. "The device I made was meant to track all of that energy but it also ended up being able to absorb the magic. Once it gathered enough, I could unleash the magic on myself and reach a new capability that I would've never thought existed."
"I see. So this was all one big accident." Twilight scrunched her face with visible sweat drops appearing. "If that's the case, then all of that magic inside of you is messing with your mind."
"Is it now?"
"Yes. This world isn't used to the magic here. It's not even known all that much if at all." Twilight started stalling for time while also trying to talk Midnight out of it. "That much power can corrupt anyone if they're not ready for it."
"I'm clearly ready!" Midnight declared with a booming sound that caused a mild wind pressure. Twilight's hair had been blown in the wind by it. "Look at me. Just yesterday, I took the time to start learning what I could do until tomorrow morning. I understand the magic very well."
"I can't argue with that. But it is something that you can't just take lightly. I don't know what you were like before this but there's no way this is you."
"You're right. It isn't me. But I much prefer this new me." She put on a sinister smile with the sound of thunder rumbling. The dark clouds were starting to spread, going beyond Canterlot High. "The old Twilight was so fragile and unsound. The only thing that matters was her intellect and nothing more. But I've cast aside that old Twilight. I feel far more confident than I've ever been as you can see. Confident in my abilities and confident in what I can do next. I broke out of my shell in the best way possible!"
"Is this how you want to break out of your shell?"
"Absolutely. Since you're my counterpart, you should know." Midnight pointed at Twilight with a tiny orb of magic on her nail, ready to be unleashed at any time.
"I do know..." Twilight closed her eyes. "It took me some time to break out too...But I also know what this magic does. Sunset ended up in a similar spot as you when I first met her. Even if you can handle that power, it won't give you everything you want."
"Funny. Sunset said the thing and look what happened to her. She had the nerve to say that I could be all alone. Ridiculous." Midnight balled her hand into a fist with a spark of magic emanating from it. "What was that magic she mentioned? The Magic of Friendship. It sounded so impressive but...well, you can probably guess the result."
"Alone?" Twilight stood upright.
"And...maybe Sunset has a point. I was alone." For a moment, the old Twilight was starting to show herself from within Midnight Sparkle. But the old Twilight had vanished right after as only Midnight Sparkle was left. "But I can make sure that I never will be alone ever again."
"I understand what you mean...but either way. I won't let you go any further." Twilight felt for her counterpart but also vowed to stop her before its too late. "It's not too late to help you before you hurt others."
"Hmph. I would believe that the only one who can stop me is well...me. But I'm afraid that won't happen. You have no magic and most importantly...you can't return!" Midnight referred to the portal to Equestria as she ended up unleashing the orb of magic that she kept on her fingernail, sending it to her counterpart.
Twilight closed her eyes, unsure of how what to do without any magic. However, that was when the petrified statues of the Main 6 started to glow. Despite being immobile, action was still occurring without Midnight doing anything to them. Six different lights had flown out of them, moving at speeds much faster than Midnight's orb.
Midnight blinked for a second as the lights had finished passing her in a split second. They appeared as tendrils before then going straight for Twilight. Just as Sunset Shimmer thought in her final moments before being turned into stone, there would be someone to retaliate against Midnight.
That ended up being her counterpart as all 6 six lights had entered Twilight with Midnight's orb being blocked off, dissipated upon contact with them. She soon opened her eyes, noticing how she was unharmed. Midnight Sparkle squinted as the lights surrounded Twilight, gently gracing her.
Twilight could also feel it. This feeling was all too familiar as she embraced the magic. "What is this?!" Midnight gasped.
"This is what Sunset mentioned," Twilight spoke as her magic flared, granting her wings and a horn as she had finally gained access to magic. She hovered over the ground with the wind blowing. "This is the Magic of Friendship."
"The Magic of Friendship again?" Midnight groaned. "It's nothing special. I'll prove it by overpowering it again!" Without hesitation, Midnight had attacked, unleashing another magical beam. In response, Twilight put her hand out as well, retaliating immediately.
Similar to what happened yesterday, both beams clashed, but this time, instead of one of them overpowering the other, the two had ended immediately, proving to be equal. Twilight and Midnight had ascended immediately to the dark skies, promptly unleashing magic onto each other.
Far in the distance, the people of Canterlot Town looked over at Canterlot High, noticing purple and light blue lights flashing through the skies. They already decided not to approach Canterlot High and this certainly wasn't convincing them to head there. However, they soon noticed the dark skies ahead were starting to approach the town.
Twilight and Midnight created spheres of magic around themselves as shields that they had then crashed into each other. So far, they proved to be completely even. Fitting as they were the same individual. Their conflict continued far longer than yesterday with Canterlot High being affected once more by the sparks of magic.
"How come you're still standing?!" Midnight roared, attempting to grab Twilight, only for Twilight's arms to retaliate promptly, holding Midnight's back with their fingers interlocking.
"As long as I have the magic of my friends to help, I can't lose!" Twilight stated as Midnight furiously pushed her arms forward to try and overpower her Equestrian Counterpart. But Twilight ended up gaining the edge, pushing Midnight back.
Midnight closed her eyes, flaring out more of her magic to try and succeed, but the alicorn magic in Twilight that she had earned proved to give her the advantage, allowing her magic to shine brighter than Midnight's as the dark clouds in the skies were starting to diminish. Midnight could see that Twilight was the overpowering force. Not her. Soon, she could end up defeated like Sunset Shimmer.
Midnight could see that she could not win this battle. At least, not in the way she was doing so. She decided to go for one option that could potentially grant her the victory. Midnight pulled back before Twilight's magic could consume her, descending to the ground. She looked up at Twilight, who looked down at her.
"We can stop this right now, me," Twilight said before approaching Midnight. "I'd hate to see you continue down this path."
"Stop? As if I'd stop when I've already reached this point. I could go so far with what I've discovered." Midnight closed her eyes with her hand trembling. "I can't let anyone stop me. Not even myself!" She still showed hostility, unleashing another magical ray against her counterpart. However, her other arm was doing something entirely different.
As Twilight blocked out the ray with her magic, she prepared her own ray for Midnight, unleashing it. However, this was where Midnight decided to play dirty, using her magic to telekinetically bring over the statues of the Main 6.
Twilight gasped as her ray had almost touched them. She held the ray back immediately before it could end up harming her friends. But that was exactly the tactic that Midnight needed as she took this golden opportunity. "Gotcha!" She cried out, zapping Twilight with another beam while her guard was down.
"Aaah!" Twilight screamed with the beam of Midnight. Midnight took another shot, hitting Twilight with repeated beams while she was still feeling the first one that had surprised her. Twilight felt as if arrows were piercing her at the moment as each of Midnight's beams targeted her arms, legs and more. Eventually, one of the beams was meant to hold Twilight in place as if she had been hit by lightning.
"That was close!" Midnight said before dropping the statues of the Main 6. They hit the ground, almost cracking from the impact. "I could've lost there. But I can't lose to even myself."
"S-Same here!" Twilight closed her eyes as she was starting to fight back against Midnight's magic with a purple aura slowly overlaying the light blue aura Midnight had summoned. Midnight refused to let Twilight gain the advantage anymore as she poured more of her magic into this beam. Midnight then looked down at Sunset Shimmer and the others deciding to use them once more. But not as shields. After seeing Twilight gain magic from their stone bodies, she decided to take some for herself.
Much like how she stole the magic from this area and the Main 6 previously, she did it again. The Main 6 had become targets for Midnight's power consumption as she did it without even having to face them. Magic was drawn to her as if she was a black hole. Now she had extra power to pour out, especially against Twilight who had been injured from that sneak attack.
Eventually, this clash of awesome magic resulted in a volatile action. The thunder cracked from above as the ground started to shake. The result was a chaotic paroxysm of magic that had turned into a blinding white light. This light had consumed them with both Twilight and Midnight closing their eyes.
Once the light faded away, a massive hole in the clouds had been made, showing the azure blue skies while also keeping some of the dark clouds around. And afterwards, there was no trace of Twilight and Midnight anywhere.
Equestria. Badlands. Day.
Twilight and Midnight ended up in Equestria. Their magic clash was so powerful that it resulted in a portal to Equestria being opened up, bringing them here. Twilight was back home while Midnight was in a whole new world.
"Ugh..." Midnight groaned before noticing a drastic change. It was not her magic, but rather her appearance. Once she got up, she could no longer feel her hands. Now, she felt something else. Hooves. She held her hoof out, noticing how her hands had vanished.
Midnight then touched her face, noticing that it felt different. Her nose was different as her ears were located higher up on her head. Midnight Sparkle knew this biology very well. She had even seen it once opening the portals yesterday.
She had become a pony.
"What?!" Midnight gasped upon realizing the form that she had taken. She felt herself having natural wings now, flapping them. This was certainly surprising, far more than what happened back in her world. Midnight calmed down promptly before then noticing Twilight nearby.
Twilight was back in her natural form, however, the repeated attacks from Midnight proved to have an effect as she groaned on the ground, slowly getting up. Midnight struck before it could continue, using her magic to create magical whips. The whip had surrounded Twilight's hooves, wings and horn, restraining her.
"So this is your world." Midnight approached. "The magic I'm feeling here is amazing...I could do without the pony body though..."
"This isn't over!" Twilight's horn flared, attempting to break the whips.
"Oh, but it is! I should've done this from the start!" Midnight suddenly held Twilight's face before then going for one final magic consumption. This time from Twilight herself. Even in her pony form, she could still absorb magic. All she needed was a proper focus upon contact and this was just the moment for it.
Twilight's eyes flared along with Midnight's as the magic from her was being taken. Unable to fight back thanks to the whips, Twilight's magic was being pulled away with nothing to stop Midnight. The light that came from their eyes intensified, transforming into a white sphere that illuminated the badlands.
The light soon vanished from Twilight's eyes, but not Midnight. Midnight kept that glow for a bit longer, backing up as she could feel the tremendous magic flowing within her. First the magic from the Main 6 and now the mighty alicorn magic from her counterpart. It was all so stupendous.
"Ugh..." Twilight felt weak, lowering her head as she tried falling down, only for the whips to keep her up.
"This is amazing! I knew I could go further." A devious cackle came to Midnight's mouth. Her cackle was elevated from the magic flaring from her body as the white glow in her eyes vanished at last. "For now, I'm satisfied."
"Please. Don't do this..." Twilight still tried reasoning with her. She used the last ounce of her magic that she had remaining to break the whips. But while she did end up breaking the whips, it was too late now as Midnight had taken her magic.
"I already have." Midnight looked down at Twilight who could not stand upright. "This world and the magic that flows through it is incredible. It far outclasses my world. Here...it feels like a natural occurrence. I think I could get used to this place, minus this appearance."
"I'm not alone in this world...I have more friends here." Twilight growled. "My friends aren't just limited to your world."
"Is that so...The Magic of Friendship exists here." Midnight pondered before then turning around. A stunning realization came to her. Something she could use. "Then in that case...how would you feel if I used it?"
"What?" Twilight's eye twitched.
"I won't just stick around here. I think I'll fill in for you."
"Fill in for..." Twilight realized what that meant. "No! You can't!"
"Yes, I can. Look at me." Midnight spread her wings before facing Twilight. "We could be twin sisters. This Magic of Friendship... was so weak on Sunset and yet you ended up having a superior version of it. Your magic is greater than hers, isn't it?"
"Kh...!" Twilight grit her teeth as her counterpart was smart enough to catch on.
"I will become this world's Twilight Sparkle." Midnight looked to the skies. "The Magic of Friendship isn't so bad either. Especially if everyone is my friend. Right?"
"I won't let you!" Twilight galloped over at Midnight. Midnight shook her head, seeing how pitiful Twilight looked in a weakened state. As if it were a casual thing, Midnight unleashed a barrier of magic that had expanded, blowing Twilight Sparkle back. Twilight was forced away from Midnight, unable to approach her corrupted counterpart from another world, tumbling on the rock-hard and jagged grounds of the badlands.
"But I can't leave you out here in case someone finds you..." Midnight rubbed her chin, approaching Twilight who was on the floor, injured even more. "I have a lot of work to do in this magic-filled world. For now, I need to do something about you."
And so it began. The day that Midnight won and the day that the Twilight Sparkle of Equestria had lost. Midnight Sparkle took advantage of this golden opportunity in every way she could. Especially posing as this world's Twilight. This was one of Twilight's fears come true. But she expected it with a changeling. Not from herself.
With Midnight Sparkle now becoming this world's one and only Twilight Sparkle, she lived Twilight's life. From being Celestia's student, the Princess of Friendship and a resident of Ponyville. And soon, the idea of becoming an empress after learning of royalty in this world came to mind.
With the magic she gathered from the parallel world and Twilight herself, she rose to power far greater than any alicorn had ever reached. It was that rise to power that Midnight adored and she certainly had no intention of stopping there for years to come.
"After that, years later when I finally managed to break free, I rushed to Canterlot as soon as I could." Twilight continued speaking to her friends. "But when I got there...I found out that it was now an empire run by her. I couldn't do anything. It was just me only my lonesome against probably billions. And well...that's it." She ended her story as everything had been revealed. "She took everything from me. It's...It's not fair."
Thinking about the story made Twilight tear up. So much of her life had been robbed of her. More so than her friends. Rarity brought over a handkerchief to wipe Twilight's ears away. "Oh, darling..."
"But...I'm somewhat happy. After I learned she had been stopped, I gained some hope back in me." Twilight smiled. "I'm glad for that."
"We're glad you're back. But it's also our fault for not seeing through her," said Fluttershy. "She did feel different from you those past years."
"She was still me at the end of the day." Twilight closed her eyes. "And to be honest...I think the old her is still somewhere there."
"I beg your pardon?" Rarity raised an eyebrow.
"It's the magic that corrupted her. I tried helping her but it was too late. If there is any part of the Twilight Sparkle that existed before unleashing all of that magic on herself remaining, I believe it can be brought out."
"Are you crazy?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "After all she did!?"
"I'm afraid she's too far gone." Rarity shook her head. "It's best we leave it at that and take the Empress off our minds."
"Maybe." Twilight turned her head. "Yeah. Maybe you're right."
"We still have some time left, Twilight." Fluttershy looked up. "Let's make it all count while we're still here."
"Alright. Thanks girls." Thus, Twilight continued spending time with her friends while still being sheltered from everywhere else.
For now, she wanted to take the Empress off of her mind. The truth had been revealed to her friends, who would most likely pass it down. Her time had been taken away from her, but it was never too late to get it back. Especially with friends by her side. As the journey continues.
"Bisharp!" Moving at breakneck speeds alongside his platoon of Pawniard was the Bisharp of PokePark. He had approached Twilight who was joined by Fluttershy and BigTime Ben. "Sharp!"
"Uh, hi Bisharp." She waved at the Dark-Steel-Type who ended up kneeling to Twilight with absolute respect. It was only natural as Twilight was a princess and Bisharp along with his platoon of Pawniard all serve a queen. Queen Serperior that is.
"Sharp!"
"Oho. My Bisharp and Pawniard seemed to have found a liking to you." Ben replied. "Look at you being worthy of their absolute respect."
"It's only because I'm a princess that's why..." Twilight chuckled. It was mainly Bisharp who sowed the most loyalty to Twilight. The Pawniard, not so much. They were loyal but not to an extreme degree as Bisharp. Speaking of the Pawniard, they closed their eyes, silently sighing at how dedicated their captain was to being by Twilight's side. They had a larger bond to BigTime Ben thanks to their past. Their fabricated past that is.
"I've tried suggesting Bisharp should go to Shining Armor and his guards. He's so loyal that the Crystal Empire could flourish with someone like him. But he's said no a lot of the times. He'd rather stick by me since I'm his trainer now."
"Bisharp!"
"That's the kind of loyalty we love to see, right?" Fluttershy giggled. "It's just like Rainbow Dash."
"Right. Anyway...now that I'm here, I think it's high time a lot of them got out there to experience the world apart from PokePark. Only Bisharp and Dewott have been outside. Everyone else has been here for how long?"
"Bisharp?"
"That's right, Bisharp. Everyone." Twilight didn't need Fluttershy to translate Bisharp's words for her. His reaction spoke volumes. "I still don't get how an entire world exists here or how you managed to bring it to my lab, Ben. Oh, wait. I do. Rift Magic. "But anyway, it's time all of you got a taste of well...everything."
"There's a lot to see." Fluttershy leaned in. "A lot to do. The same goes for us when it comes to this park."
"Sharp. Bisharp!" Bisharp stood up tall, saluting along with his Pawniard. This was a direct request from the Princess that would be carried out instantly. He rushed off to tell everyone at once.
"In the meantime, how about we try those attractions out, Twilight," Fluttershy suggested, showing excitement towards the attractions that had appeared during the Pokemon Festival two times now.
"Read my mind! We didn't have a go at the Lopunny Dance Inferno so now's a good time as any to get that chance!" Twilight replied with an equally giddy expression. The two of them wasted no time as they were off to the attraction.
As for BigTime Ben, he decided to sit around for a bit along with his Gothitelle while everyone else would be off doing their own thing. More on the active side while Ben chose to keep it slow. He was still old so he did prefer the quieter things in life.
But while looking at the scenery of PokePark, and seeing Twilight fly off with Fluttershy, he couldn't help but think of what would come next. Lots of things about the future were on his mind. Mainly one involving Twilight.
"You know Gothitelle...I already gave the entirety of PokePark to Twilight. That goes for all my Pokemon here." He said to the Astral Body Pokemon.
"Gothitelle? Goth."
"Mm. But you know...I was thinking about leaving everything else to someone else." Ben continued as Gothitelle already knew what he was referring to. His entire corporation. BIG.Co as it's known.
"Goth."
"I'll have to leave it to someone I can trust. I was thinking that Twilight could be the one. But...I'd hate to force it on her." He lowered his head. "Maybe there is someone else out there. What do you think?"
"Telle." Gothitelle shrugged as no one came to mind. But whoever would be chosen would have to be ready for control of such a corporation.
"Ah! Maybe it could be you!" Ben then turned to Gothitelle, startling her. "Yes, yes! You've been around it long enough to know what to do, right?!"
"G-Gothitelle?!" Gothitelle jerked back. She didn't even think about herself or even that possibility. "Telle! Gothi!" She shook her head promptly.
"Hm? No?"
"Goth!"
"Well, okay then. I was for sure you'd love it. You always seemed happy to see the new inventions that were made." Ben scratched his hair before shrugging. "Ah, can't be helped. "I'll think of someone another time. Wish I had kids right about now..."
"Gothi..." Gothitelle wiped her forehead, easily escaping from that potential rabbit hole. Despite her love for the company, she certainly couldn't see herself being in charge of it.
Sweet Apple Acres. Afternoon.
"Hmm..." At the moment, at the wonderful and verdant Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack had an unamused look on her face whilst being surrounded by her 9 Golett who were moving about as if they were children. In a way, they were since they were relatively new to the world after being made out of clay.
The Golett jumped around the house, interacting with Apple Bloom and her Pokemon most noticeably. But Applejack wasn't focused on the rampant Golett. What truly mattered to her was Emerald Aura.
Currently, the weakened Rift Pony was laying on a couch that had been made exclusively by her as seen by the emerald patterns and her face being involved in the centre. She looked at Applejack with a relatively smug face before eating some apples in front of her. "Something wrong, AJ?"
"You ain't done anything for a while ever since you came here." Applejack said, narrowing her eyes.
"I don't have to." Emerald shrugged. "I'm only staying here because...uh..." Emerald then froze, wondering what to say next. There was one thing that was most certainly true. Emerald Aura had nothing to do here.
"Nothing." Applejack finished Emerald's sentence for her. "You're only here because Cold invited you here."
"That's right. And we're all family, aren't we?"
"Not yet." Applejack thought otherwise as Emerald almost choked on the apple. "Ever since you moved in, you've been eating the apples out of the trees day and almost night. Ya know how hard we try and grow those? Messes with the cider too and I'd rather not get all those complaints again..."
"Not my fault they taste so good. And yeah...I did get carried away. But come on...this is the first time in forever that I've ever felt sleepy or even this hungry. Being a Rift Pony with nothing to worry about was the greatest feeling ever. And that some of those feelings are gone, it's become a struggle for me."
"Not much of a struggle..." Applejack lowered her eyes as Emerald Aura showed no signs of struggling with her new conditions. If anything, she made herself comfortable here while still having enough Rift Magic for quality of life effects.
"I'm not bothering your family so it's all good. Plus, as long as you can keep these apples coming then any future problem won't do."
"How come you can't make your own apples?"
"Uh well...when I try, it doesn't taste as good." She scrunched her face. "Doesn't have that same flair to it, even if I copy the way your family makes it."
"That's because it's all-natural." Applejack gave a proud smile. "Can't copy that. If ya wanna taste the real thing all the time...you gotta grow it. Unless your magic can sort that out?"
"No." Emerald Aura sighed. "I can't even use my magic to make things grow quicker anymore. Being weak suuuucks!" She slumped on the couch, pulling her head back before making a prolonged groan.
"Then how about this? You're gonna help out on the farm by growing those apple trees with us. If ya know how, you ain't gotta worry about wanting more. But it'll still take some time.
"Never worrying about more?" Emerald sat up as now she was interested. "Aw, but that means I do have to do something."
"But it's a pretty great reward, ain't it?" Applejack reeled her back in, letting her know that the reward was worth it. "There's even apple pie and cider for a job well done."
"Apple pie and cider..." Emerald's love for apples was starting to show as she shook her head vigorously. "Okay! You've got yourself a deal, cowgirl!"
"Love to hear it. First thing tomorrow morning. And hey...that Rift Magic of yours could come in handy in some parts."
"Aw, tomorrow morning? Can't I wait a bit longer?" Despite agreeing to help, she wanted to wait a bit longer. Applejack looked at her with a face that was easy to read and understand. Emerald had complied. "But, tomorrow works anyway."
Life carried on naturally over in this world and the Pokemon World as well. So far, nothing surprising had occurred. But of course, with how frantic things get around here, it was only a matter of time until some other event pops up and throws everyone off guard. Whether it's on this earth or the Pokemon World.
An unknown dimension.
Elsewhere, the resided a peculiar dimension. A dimension that was similar to Chaos Dimension where Discord resides However, it had its differences and they were not pleasant at all. This odd realm was a twisted one. Furious flames burned within this realm, replacing the ethereal skies that would usually be found within a dimension.
Alongside these flames were vast venomous forests that were floating around with nothing to connect them, a bone-choked swampland and rivers of churning magma. Dangerous wisps of unknown origin flew across this horrific plane, moving with the ferocity of fire and lightning. A colossal maelstrom resided in the middle of this disturbing dimension, forming destructive sounds that would be unbearable to be around. This entire place felt more than just chaos. It felt like malice. And despite how corrupted this place appeared to be, someone lived here.
Within the maelstrom, a figure was hovering there, unbothered by the disruptive sounds this dimension made and all of the life-threatening forces flying about.
A figure that was eerily similar to Discord. The same race as well. A Draconequus. This draconequus stayed quiet until something had been heard. The sound of Rift Magic. A spark of this cosmic magic had grabbed the attention of this draconequus as it had appeared as a small spark instead of a large one. The small spark of Rift Energy had then called the name of this draconequus, already knowing it.
Cosmos.
"What's this?" Cosmos pulled the spark towards her. It kept calling her name before soon stopping once it was already close to her. "Who is this?"
She listened closely to the spark of Rift Magic. It continued to speak but in a quiet tone. The voice was hard to hear as entering this dimension was difficult for it. The voices coming from it were from none other than Lucien and Sienna. Their plan to call for Cosmos ended up succeeding, albeit barely as their weakened power result in this small spark.
Cosmos listened in to the words of the spark and the message that was sent through. She hovered there for a moment, taking it all in. She didn't just take in information about Lucien and Sienna, but also the Rift, along with the existence of the Pokemon World. All of this was enough to have Cosmos pay her full attention to it.
In a few minutes, she had already learned what she needed to hear. Everything that had happened in Equestria had been revealed to her. And her response?
"They want me to help them? Ridiculous." She crushed the Rift Spark, making it far smaller than it previously was. "As if I'd help anyone else. But...you've ended up meeting new folks haven't you, Discord? This Pokemon World also seems somewhat interesting to me. I'd love to take a venture there...if I could escape."
Cosmos didn't live here out of her free will. She was trapped here within this dimension, only having the malicious vibes to keep her company. She pondered for a moment, noticing how the spark of Rift Magic was still active. Lucien and Sienna knew all about Cosmos, especially where she was located if it had shown up here. Cosmos then thought about it for a moment, realizing that these two Rift Humans who had sent this message could do one helpful thing. She grabbed the tiny spark of Rift Magic, looking at it for a bit.
"Or maybe...this is what I can use to break free of these accursed stars. Turning them into a realm of malice got boring too quickly." Cosmos saw a chance for freedom. The remaining spark of Rift Magic had been rejuvenated by her, increasing in size. The Spirit of Malice was ready to leave this dimension as soon as she could and this was her only hope for it.
Visiting Big Sky in Pegalysium were Ash, Pikachu, Rarity, Fluttershy and Audino. And their guide was none other than Garnet. They were brought to the big casino city in the sky and this time with nothing to ruin it for them. No secret societies and no attacking Unowns. At least, not in standard Pegalysium.
"About time we get to spend some quality time here in Pegalysium. Especially in a place such as Big Sky. It reminds me of Las Pegasus too." Rarity said.
"Mhm. Technically speaking, this is my first time being here without having to worry about anything." Garnet spoke. "I've always wanted to come to Big Sky and now I can thanks to the friendship I have with Prince Shooting Star."
"Really? How?" Fluttershy asked.
"Audino?"
"Look at this!" Garnet's eyes flared as she revealed the massive bags of money she was carrying with her. Enough quillbits to spend in this place. "I'm rich right now! It's the reward I chose when we helped save Pegalysium. It was all so worth it. I already used some of it to buy things that I've been missing out on...now I can go all out on this place!"
"Ah, not too all out." Rarity slid over. "This is a casino spot after all...one big mistake and all of that money you hold will vanish in a heartbeat."
"Relax. I know that. I got too cocky last time I had a lot of quillbits. But I won't make the same mistake again. I'll keep a chunk of it and win big too. Nothing's going to stop me from shooting for what I want! No doubt!" Garnet was confident in her skills.
"That's the spirit, Garnet!" Ash encouraged her.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash!" Rarity hopped onto Ash's back, whispering in his ear. "It's wonderful that you encourage others but this is one topic that might not need your stupendous pep talking. Especially with something that can have devastating results..."
"Huh? Really? Ash asked, unaware of the dangers that came with casino areas. "How come?"
"Oh, you're so innocent, Ash. Let's keep it that way." Rarity shook her head, loving Ash's obliviousness to many things but also worrying about him.
"By the way. Ash. Are you feeling comfortable with being out here?" Garnet questioned. "I mean, look at you. Compared to every living thing in Pegalysium, you stand out the most. Even the Pokemon look more natural than you."
"Hm?" Ash looked at himself before also looking at his surroundings. There was truth to Garnet's words as the pegasi here in Big Sky couldn't help but look at Ash directly. A human was by far the most bizarre thing to them even when Pokemon are involved. "I guess so..."
"Oh! You could use the pony disguise that Discord gave you." Fluttershy recommended. "You don't use it that much."
"Haven't found any reason to. Only used a bit when coming to Pegalysium for the first time too." Ash scratched his hair. "I guess I could use it for sneaky purposes only but...Ah, I don't think I need to hide my true form."
"You'd be easier on the eyes if you did keep that form..." Sombra commented while also insulting Ash at the same time, hiding within him instead of showing himself to all of Pegalysium.
"As if you're any more charming to look at, sir." Rarity snapped back at Sombra after his insult to Ash. She gave a cocky smirk while Sombra merely narrowed at her.
"So this place has some games, right? Let's check them out them." Ash already set his sights on the various games that could be played here in Big Sky.
"Go ahead. There's a little something for everyone. But since you love excitement so much...how about you try the Studio Rush?" Garnet suggested one game they could try.
"Studio Rush"? Ash repeated.
"Mm. I've heard about it but never been there. Too frantic and energetic for me. There's this massive studio that's underneath Big Sky. Almost as big as it too. It's also a racing attraction so there's that."
"Under the studio huh...well, I know what I'm doing first!" Ash's eyes shined like stars as this casino game was already a must-do for him.
"Pikachu!" The same went for Pikachu. They wasted no time, immediately scurrying off to find this studio that allows races.
"Oh! Wait for me, please!" Fluttershy flew after them, trying to keep pace as she was also eager about this racing studio lying underneath Big Sky itself. Audino followed soon after.
"Dino! Audino!"
"I suppose it will be just you and I, Garnet. At least I can make sure you don't make any mistakes here." Rarity faced her fellow fashion enthusiast.
"Sure-sure. Now let's hurry. I have a lot to do." Garnet fluttered off with Rarity following her. Both sides were off to entertain themselves.
Underneath Big Sky.
Garnet was right. There was indeed a massive studio in the form of a racetrack underneath the city. Upon arriving, Ash, Pikachu, Fluttershy and Audino saw the racetrack was a metropolis of skyscrapers filled to the brim with equipment for producing films. This was technology that Equestria had not yet reached, only experienced thanks to the Pokemon World. This place was also similar to one of the other areas located at Big Sky that shared a similar theme.
"Oho! Nice!" Ash admired the racetrack. "They've got stuff to film here? Is it all real?"
"I didn't think Pegalysium would have something like this." Fluttershy gawked.
"We don't. At least, not yet." Just then, someone had replied to them, grabbing their attention. Ash, Pikachu and Fluttershy promptly turned around to see a pegasus descending in their direction. "But thank you for noticing."
"Oh, not yet?" Ash then faced the massive racetrack once more. "Wait so then..."
"All a proof of concept." The pink pony answered. "Juneheart's the name. And I see that you've caught interest in my game. It's great that I got it from you three famous figures."
"You know about us?" Fluttershy responded.
Everypony here in Pegalysium does, of course. King Paramount and Queen Luminary spread the news. From the attack of the Indigo Alliance and the wiping of our memories. You've helped keep us safe despite being from below."
"Oh, that makes sense. Well, nice to meet you, Juneheart." Fluttershy held her hoof out. "So, you made this racetrack?"
"Obviously not. It was built. But I came up with the idea. Or...at least my friend did." Juneheart shook back. "It's all pre-cursor to what Pegalysium could have in the future. My friend Nimbus was the one who pictured it all. He's to thank for this.
"Oooh. So he pictured a film studio in the future, huh?" Ash uttered. "Nice stuff."
"Isn't it?" Juneheart laughed. "He shared this concept with me, so I made it into a reality. Not too shabby, is it?"
"It's massive too. How long does this thing go?" Ash asked, pointing at the racetrack, trying to find an end.
"It's almost as big as Big Sky itself." Juneheart walked up to Ash. "Racing on it would take you at least 8 minutes to finish. But if you were to walk around it as if it were a normal studio, it would take you...." She started thinking about the correct time for finishing this whole track with a walk. "30 minutes. Maybe more."
"Yikes. It's that big is it..." Ash's jaw dropped before grinning. "All the more reason for us to race on it.
"Glad to hear it." Juneheart flapped her wings with excitement before having her face turn red. "You two will be the first to race. I've been waiting for this..."
"First to race it? Nopony's raced it before?" Fluttershy then took in those words, realizing that there may be more to this racetrack than its existence. "Garnet said that it was too frantic for her."
"Uhh well..." A sigh met with Juneheart's mouth as she regrettably lowered her head. "That's because it's only been used by the workers who were testing it out. It went instantly fast in the beginning. Much shorter than the 8-minute mark that it has now. It might not be as extreme as it was before and that's a good thing! To some."
"So how come no one's been here yet?" Ash asked.
"Believe it or not, it's new. The Studio Racetrack had been finished 5 days ago. Much faster than it should've been finished. The workers were stunned too."
"5 days ago!?" Ash and Fluttershy exclaimed, surprised that something this massive took such little time to make. "H-How?!"
"Do you all have super speed?!" Ash was hoping that was the case, believing that the pegasi in Pegalysium could move and work at speeds equal to Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom.
"That would be exciting. But no. It's the Unown." Juneheart revealed before flying over to the snack bar for those who would watch the race. Upon hearing the name of the Unown, Ash, Pikachu, Fluttershy and Audino already knew what to expect.
Juneheart had opened one of the cabinets containing candy bars, revealing the Symbol Pokemon hiding within them, levitating the candy bars. There were indeed Unown here, but it wasn't too surprising as more of them had a presence here in Pegalysium. Four of them in total were within the cabinet, trying to eat the sweets in the bars.
"I don't think you four can eat without a mouth." Juneheart laughed as the Unown flew out. "Here they are. The Pokemon responsible for the short time."
"Yeah, that makes sense." Ash nodded with his arms crossed. "Those Unown can do awesome stuff when they're together."
"Pika-Pika."
"Thanks to these funny-looking guys, we finished the racetrack faster than expected. I planned to make its grand opening next year, but it's far too early now."
"I'm surprised you have Unown with you. Did you catch them?" Fluttershy asked. "Oh, wait. No Poke Balls."
"They came to me." Juneheart then pulled the four Unown that fittingly spelt the letter four, hugging them. "I met then just 2 months weeks ago when I was afraid that I couldn't fulfil Nimbus' wishes. I was a bit down on my luck then. And that's when they came to me. I don't know how they knew honestly..."
"The Unown can do that." Ash walked over. "They can sense everyone's feelings and always help them. They knew in a heartbeat."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Exactly so. Your friend Nimbus must be so happy to know about this!" Fluttershy bellowed with excitement.
"He is. Well, he would be." Juneheart lowered her head. "Unfortunately, I haven't heard from him since those 2 months. But if he were here, then he'd be thrilled to the core. I know I am. And I definitely need to know just how great it can be by having a race with it. And you two can help me with that."
"That's why we're here. Let's get this race going!" Ash pumped his fist.
"Pikachu!"
"Just one teensy-tiny problem." Juneheart halted Ash, using her wing feathers to mimic a finger pinch. "The ride's um...not suitable for humans. The Wing Vehicles I didn't expect any humans to ever use it honestly."
"Darn." Ash lowered his head in disappointment.
"But...That can be changed." Juneheart already knew that this little setback could be fixed. And she had the four Pokemon fit for the job. "Unown. Go."
The Unown would sort it out as the four of them concentrated Hidden Power onto the racetrack, specifically the vehicles meant to move along them. With ease and the power to alter reality, one of the vehicles had been altered just for Ash's build. And it didn't even take a minute.
"There. That will do," said Juneheart as the makeover was complete. "Now, you can get going."
"Sweet! Thanks, Juneheart." Without wasting any time, Ash immediately hopped into the seat of these Wing-Shaped vehicles with Pikachu resting on his head. Fluttershy sat in the seat right next to Ash with Audino staying back. She preferred to watch.
Once inside, Juneheart had strapped them in for safety measures before backing up. The sound of the racetrack starting up could be heard as the lights had been turned on. It was time.
"8 minutes total. These vehicles are made so that anyone can easily control them."Juneheart explained. "Nimbus wanted everyone to try this ride out so you don't have to worry about struggling with it. Good luck you two."
"Right. Let's make it a good one, Fluttershy." Ash gave a thumbs up to his friend from Equestria.
"Pikachu!"
"You too, Ash!"
"Alright! Everything's ready..." Juneheart rubbed her hooves together as a countdown had already begun via the sounds of beeping. The flashing lights from the street lamps helped with that 5-second countdown. "Now go!"
The race had begun.
The two of them grabbed onto the vehicles as their own arm motions allowed them to control them. It was indeed easy for anyone to use as they were surprised by this method of driving. This was also their first time driving something as well as the two wing-shaped vehicles started accelerating.
The Wing Vehicles immediately went down a slope that already boosted the acceleration. Ash held onto his hat whilst Pikachu gripped Ash's shoulder. The slope had given the momentum they needed as they had then attempted drifting the vehicles with their next path being a turning pathway. It would be their first time too.
And it certainly proved to be fairly tricky. Ash grit his teeth, gripping onto the Wing Vehicle with extra force as he managed to drift it. Fluttershy did the same, but she managed to pull it off via fearful instinct. Anything worked out as the vehicle drifted either way. They both made the turn as they were then greeted with the sights of the race with a closer view.
Juneheart, or technically, had a clear vision of future technology. At least, technology that would take a few centuries for this world to ever reach. There was a rough concept for TV screens lined up in a perfect rectangular line, reflecting Ash, Pikachu and Fluttershy in it. There was even artwork about potential shows that could be made on these screens one day.
"Oh, what does this do?" Ash noticed how the Wing Vehicles had something else going for it. A could be found right in front of the cockpit. Ash took a gamble with it, pressing it. And immediately when pressing it, Ash's Wing Vehicle suddenly took flight, finally acting like a wing. "Oooh!"
"Pika?!"
"Ash! Pikachu?!" Fluttershy gasped as the vehicle had more than just the capability to take flight. Once it was in the air, it had accelerated, zooming through the air while also leaving behind a mildly strong wind pressure. By doing this, Ash unintentionally had gone up to one of the higher pathways of the raceway that could only be accessed via this feature.
"Yeahahahaha!" Ash was clearly having a great time with this. So was Pikachu as the vehicle landed on the upper pathway with Fluttershy being at the bottom. Ash had also taken the lead by using that button.
"Oh! It's time for me to keep up. I hope I can." Fluttershy scrunched her face before looking at the button in front of her. Soon, she ended up forcing the vehicle to take flight and accelerate as well. She closed her eyes as her mane was blowing in the wind gracefully from it.
But, despite the rush, it allowed her to catch up to Ash. However, she had just missed the upper pathway, causing the pegasus to remain on the lower path instead. But she was still neck and neck with Ash. With how varying this raceway seemed to be with paths so far, it was only a matter of time until they came across obstacles. And they certainly did.
Right in front of them, large DVD discs, concepts of them at least made with plastic, had been sprung up from thin circles on the raceway's floors. The three of them grimaced as the speed they had previously utilized would result in them approaching the discs much faster than they were hoping for.
Now was a good time to start dodging as they moved their arms around to frantically move the vehicles. Ash managed to avoid the first one just barely as the vehicle had chipped the side of the disc. After avoiding it, he had to try and avoid the rest.
Fluttershy moved hers to the side sooner while also feeling the rocking of the vehicle as she now regretted not bringing any safety gear. Even though it was not necessary for this. Ash and Fluttershy moved the Wing Vehicles past the DVD discs that appeared and were also moving from side to side.
It was certainly challenging moving them from side to side. Ash ended up crashing into one of the discs, shattering it in the process. It was revealed that the discs were not harmful at all, however, they could slow someone down. And Ash's vehicle was certainly slowed down. He tried pressing that same button for a boost, only to find out that it was flashing a blue light with a small bar filling up. It was recharging.
"Guess I'll have to speed up another way." Ash could not use the boost right now. He gripped onto the vehicle tighter, building up his acceleration.
As for Fluttershy, she managed to avoid the discs that stood in her way. There weren't that many of them so those that had been cleared. However, next, Fluttershy could see that the loop was the next obstacle to overcome. "Uh...I'll go the other way!" She chose not to go on the loop as she moved the Wing Vehicle to the side. By doing so, she went down another slope that brought her to the lower parts of the raceway.
And by heading there, she had come across an entrance that certainly wouldn't be allowed. She passed through the entrance as it had brought her to a changing room, filled with the expected objects such as clothes and makeup. Fluttershy's speed within this room caused her to accidentally receive some of these clothes. A hat had dropped onto her head, a very stylish one as well.
The room also acted as an obstacle with the clothes being moved around by a machine. Fluttershys' face had been powered while some lipstick was also added to her lips. She closed her eyes from the powder while also being given a dress that surprisingly fit her well. All of it kept pace with the speed she was moving at as this room also had a built-in camera that immediately took Fluttershy's picture once her appearance had been altered.
She left the room, still feeling somewhat perplexed. However, she was having a fun time during all of this as she laughed with absolute enjoyment in her heart. The same went for Ash, as to be expected.
He took the loop route, instantly shooting his eyes towards this spiralling path while accelerating towards it. "Here I go!" He exclaimed as he moved up the loop. By doing so, Ash's acceleration helped him overcome this obstacle as he and Pikachu let out excited cries when moving in a circular position. They were upside down for a few seconds before getting back on a straight path.
The loop also acted as a speed boost, allowing Ash to take the lead. Despite racing through different pathways, Ash and Fluttershy would come across the same obstacle. And from what they could tell, they looked to be wind tunnels.
The wind tunnels were unavoidable and necessary as their vehicles had been pulled towards them. Upon reaching them, they could feel the increased turbulence along with the wind blowing in their faces. Ash's hat almost fell off, only for Pikachu to keep it safe for him.
The Wing Vehicles moved left and right erratically when on these wind tunnels, but they certainly helped for some speed increase as Ash ended up landing his vehicle on a ramp right after getting past the tunnel.
Fluttershy did not come across a ramp. Instead, she came across an upwards slope that would take her to the top, getting her back on the standard path. Soon, she and Ash were about to finish the first lap. And they were certainly all for doing it again.
They simultaneously laughed while passing the first lap, having the time of their lives right now. Audino cheered along as Juneheart was happy to see this. Seeing that the ride was successful in how it functioned, she started thinking about Nimbus at this moment.
"Nimbus, I wish you were here to see this. How happy it would make you..." She spoke to herself but Audino could hear her clearly. She pictured Nimbus in her mind, thinking back to when the idea of this raceway was conjured up. A conversation that happened 2 months ago before Nimbus' departure.
"Juneheart. Look at this. Can you yell what this is?" Nimbus showed her the drawing of a studio. Something that was strikingly new to Juneheart and technically any pegasus in Pegalysium.
"A complete mess. What is that thing?" Juneheart had no idea what she was looking at.
"I dreamt about it once. A place where entertainment can be pushed higher. We won't have to rely on sports, casinos or anything else to keep us entertained. But those are fun too."
"It does look...somewhat exciting. What do you call it anyway?"
"I was thinking of making it a raceway. And it'll be called a studio. Neat, right? I hope I can make it happen. And have it make sense to boot."
"It does now." Back to the present after she stopped thinking about the past and saw how Nimbus' dream had come true. The only downside was that it was hard to tell if he would be here to see it. But, she did have a glimmer of hope for it.
"If it gets popular enough...everypony's going to come here. I know it." Juneheart said. "And maybe then...he'll come back to me."
After thinking about the past, her friend and the future, Juneheart continued to watch the race. And fittingly, as she mentioned how everypony could come here, this race and the speed it was moving at started attracting other ponies. The pegasi nearby noticed Ash, Pikachu and Fluttershy racing on this bizarre raceway of a concept they had never seen before. They couldn't help but stop as Juneheart gasped upon seeing pegasi arrive.
"What is that thing?" An old pegasus asked while on Sky Wheelchair.
"Don't know...but it looks interesting, doesn't it?" Another one spoke as the appeal of this raceway and the theme around it was appealing to the eyes. This confirmed that Nimbus had the right idea of what the future entertainment for Pegalysium could be.
More pegasi showed up to watch this race, unaware of who was winning this. But they didn't care. It was fun to watch. Pegasi love speed and this was something to definitely get them hooked as Ash and Fluttershy had used the boost once more to accelerate. Soon, the pegasi were getting entertained with their voices rising.
The picture of Fluttershy going through the dressing room had been sent out via the nearby photo booth of this studio-themed raceway with Audino taking them out. Audino saw her trainer in this alternate style, chuckling at it. "Audi! Audino!"
Soon, cheers were starting to fill the scene as well. Music to Juneheart's ears as this raceway had received its attractors at last. Juneheart was hoping that it could only go up from here.
Big Sky Casino.
"Gah..." Meanwhile, at the casino, Garnet's face was slumped on a table with quillbits surrounding her. Something had happened to cause this.
"That was a close one." Rarity sighed. "You almost lost all of it. I warned you about this, Garnet. These types of places are as double-sided as a Morpeko."
"I was gonna use those quillbits to buy more dresses. At least 50 of them. Now I can only buy maybe...25."
"Ah, don't feel so bad, darling. "Rarity patted Garnet on the back. "I can make you some dresses back home for free. Or just give you some pre-existing ones I made."
"Really?"
"Really. You and Sweetie Belle enjoyed putting them on that one time, so why not? Now let's just get away from...this." Rarity looked at the culprit responsible for almost costing Garnet everything. A machine that was a hybrid between a slot machine and a poker game. Truly a terrifying combination.
"Maybe one more go?" Garnet raised her head, already tempted to try again. That is until Rarity pulled her back with her magic. Garnet circled up with a scrunched face as she was being pulled away.
"Let's go, Garnet."
Studio Raceway.
Meanwhile, the race had finished. Those 8 minutes were up and Ash and Fluttershy managed to tie as both their pathways were effective. Fluttershy's gentle and safe route while Ash's wild and extreme route resulted in an equal pace.
"Hmmm...Might need some tweaking if both sides can win at the same time." Juneheart could see that there were still some adjustments needed for this raceway. "But either way...I'm glad it was a success. Ash. Fluttershy. Pikachu. Thank you so much for helping me in this."
"No problem. Hey, we should do this again sometime." Ash replied.
"Maybe with more competitors. That could be fun. I saw so many pathways that could be taken with it." said Fluttershy.
"That's the idea. Come to think of it..." Juneheart then turned to see the rest of the ponies who had shown up to watch this race. The answer was staring her right in the face. "Who else wants a go?"
"Oh, me!" One pegasus blurted out, flying in front of the rest of them. Only for another one to do the same. And another. And two more. Three more. Ten more.
"I'd like one!" Just like that, there were others who were interested in trying this race out. There were more Wing Vehicles for everyone here."
"Okay! But there can only be 8 of you on board so hold on!" Juneheart slowed them down as she needed to choose among the many volunteers. "Unown. Go ahead and tweak it, please." She turned her head to the Unown, asking them to make the adjustments. The Unown were off to do just that.
As for Ash, Pikachu, Fluttershy and Audino, they could leaven ow. They had their fun. But they certainly wouldn't forget this place and a visit to it would be due another time.
"That was a blast, Fluttershy. Now I wanna try everything else here." Ash laughed.
"Maybe you need someone to teach you that, Ash. This place has somethings more complicated than this raceway." She replied.
"Really? How complicated?"
"Um...I'll let Rarity tell you."
"Well, anyway. I should also get ready for tomorrow. I've been invited by Celestia and Luna for some training."
"You three train together?"
"For the first time. It's all about that Harmony Phenomenon after all." He raised his finger while explaining. "It's still so similar to the Bond Phenomenon in some way and they want my help. Plus the teachers from the Pokemon School since they're extra strong. Hope I get to battle some of them like old times!" He got giddy thinking about it.
"Pika-Pika!"
"I wonder what my Harmony Phenomenon is like." Fluttershy pondered before taking the Mega Stone out of her mane. It had her all so curious as she was leaning more towards the Mega Evolution side. "Do you think I could come over tomorrow and try out with that training?"
"Sure thing. I just gotta see what everyone else has." Ash grinned, too excited at the endless possibilities of everyone in Equestria having their own unique forms for their Pokemon. Only two of them had been seen, meaning that it was a long way to go to see all of them. But that was all the more exciting.
They had fun today. But there was more to come tomorrow. And potentially the day after tomorrow. And so on and so forth. But that was only natural in this world and the Pokemon World. The possibilities are always increasing and being discovered with no signs of stopping as the journey continues.
Chapter 777 End.
Harmony through the Night! The coming of Malicious Revival!
Today, Ash and Fluttershy had come to Canterlot for one purpose. Training. Training alongside Celestia and Luna. The Harmony Phenomenon was still something relatively new. At least, in what it's capable of. However, despite not being the Bond Phenomenon as many were led to believe, it was still identical to it. Ash was chosen to assist as he had the most experience with it after all.
"Do we make it the entire day of practice?" Luna asked as they had already gathered at the Canterlot Gardens.
"We have all the time in the world to get used to it, Luna," Celestia replied to her little sister. "Let's make it count. And it's wonderful that you're joining us, Fluttershy. It was a great approach for you to come here."
"Oh. Really?" Fluttershy replied, wondering how that was a great approach.
"Really. You're the first pony in Equestria to have ever used Mega Evolution. It's its own record, honestly. As a bonus, you have some properties of Fairy Magic inside of you."
"That's right. I ended up getting some on me back in the Frenzy Forest. Ms Valerie taught me a few tips on what I could do now." The pegasus explained.
"Which is why I brought her over. You can show yourself now, Valerie!" Celestia then revealed that she had involved Fluttershy's mentor with this. It was revealed that she was waiting this entire time, appearing out of seemingly thin air with cherry blossoms spiralling in the wind was the Gym Leader from the Kalos Region.
Valerie.
"I'm here. Princess." Valerie gracefully touched the ground, bowing her head to the two sisters. Celestia and Luna bowed in response. "Thank you for having me."
"How'd you do that?!" Ash gasped, needing to know she managed to pull off teleportation of all things.
"Pikachu?!"
"It's a little Fairy-Type trick." Valerie winked. "How have you been, Fluttershy?"
"I've been great, Valerie. But...I haven't been seeing you around lately. Or even some of the teachers. It's usually just Brawly, Roxanne, Roxie, Fantina and sometimes Olympia here."
"Sorry. But I get occupied back at my gym a lot. Trainers tend to reach me faster than you think. At least nowadays. But anyway, I'm glad to help you all out. It's an honour."
"You might have a trace of the Harmony Phenomenon in you, Fluttershy." Luan turned to the pegasus. "Thanks to the Fairy Magic after all. And Pinkie Pie as an extension since she drank from the lake of Fairy Magic. Now that I think about it...how did you gain the magic?"
"Me? Well, Valerie told me that it happened when I Mega Evolved my Audino. That's when I got it in me."
"Then I have it as well." Celestia raised her hoof as she indeed had Fairy Magic within her as well. Mega Evolving with Passion for the first time led to that magic being birthed within her.
"Then I have nothing I suppose." Luna pointed, realising that she did not have a semblance of Mega Evolution with her. All of her Pokemon have stayed the same. "I suppose there's Manectric..."
"Who knows? You might have something unique with Darkrai, don't you think?" Celestia nudged her little sister. Upon bringing that up, both Ash and Luna started thinking of that possibility.
They each pictured Darkrai with an altered appearance. Their eyes squinted in unison as Ash and Luna had two different concepts of what would happen if Darkrai was affected by the Harmony Phenomenon. Ash imagined Darkrai gaining extra black tendrils on the side of his body and a light blue aura that constantly trailed out of them as well as a black cape.
Meanwhile, Luna pictured herself fusing with Darkrai, much like how Celestia and Passion fuse to make Celestial-Gardevoir. However, that was only possible with Mega Evolution, making Luna see that possibility as a low probability.
"Only one way to find out then. We're all ready, aren't we? Luna, you can go first." Celestia offered Luna the chance to start things off for them. Luna would gladly do so as she chose to send out all of her Pokemon instead of just one.
"It could be any of them. Let's see who." She threw the Poke Balls into the air, summoning all of them into the Canterlot Gardens. Meanwhile, Darkrai had emerged from the shadows, joining his teammates. "Ash. May you and I have a battle to see if we can drag something out."
"Oh yeah. I'm up for it." Ash was up for a battle.
"Pikachu."
"I'll just use Mega Evolution again and see if that does something new." Fluttershy chose to stick with Audino, holding out her Mega Stone from her mane. "A little help, Princess Celestia?"
"Sure thing, Fluttershy. Mega Evolution to Mega Evolution." Celestia replaced the diamond in her crown with the keystone, changing the diamond shape into a circle fit for the Gardevoirite. "I'll lend a hoof with my magic. That might do something."
They all had their unique methods of unlocking the further possibilities of the Harmony Phenomenon. So far, only two methods exist. Mega Evolution and syncing hearts. However, as Professor Sycamore said, there were potentially other methods. And it all came down to the magic from Equestria itself. That already gave Celestia a good idea of what to do.
Both Keystones had been activated for Audino and Passion, wrapping them in the mystical light. Celestia once again had to use her magic to keep herself steady, preventing her from fusing with Passion to summon Mega Gardevoir instead. Mega Audino had also entered the scene.
"How about this, Fluttershy? Sycamore said it's dependent on the magic from our world. I say...I try some spells to help with the Harmony Phenomenon. Does that sound like a good idea?"
"Spells? Well..." Fluttershy pondered before being startled by a blast of electricity. Pikachu's Thunderbolt was responsible for that as he was currently facing off against Luna's Xatu.
"Iron Tail!"
"Xatu, use Night Shade!"
Pikachu and Xatu clashed with Luna having the same idea as Celestia. Using existing spells from Equestria on herself and her Pokemon. She had used the Connection Spell, linking herself with Xatu to hopefully bring out some results.
"Spells are good." After turning away from Pikachu and Xatu, Fluttershy accepted the usage of spells. Celestia nodded before having her horn glow.
As they continued their training, the guards of Canterlot couldn't help but stare at this two-way scene happening. Whenever it comes to Pokemon, the Canterlot Guards can never help but gander and turn away from everything else to look at the actions of these Strange and Wonderful Creatures.
Of course, some would still keep a good eye on Canterlot, but most focused on the Canterlot Gardens. That included Premium Polish, who looked outside the window of the guest room, which had now become her room. She and the guards weren't the only ones watching though.
Still locked up and kept within the Canterlot Dungeons were none other than the Rift Siblings Lucien and Sienna. They watched the flash of various colours as it was a normal thing for them to see nowadays. This massive Aura prison was already one of these lights.
Another day of them being trapped here and yet despite that, they refused to communicate meaningfully. They were indeed the purest manifestations of the Rift, making them the most stubborn. However, they wouldn't have to keep looking at this sphere and outside for long as suddenly, appearing outside the sphere was a familiar sight. Rift Energy. The duo gasped, witnessing this spark of Rift Energy appearing out of thin air.
"Rift Energy! Did the Rift hear our cries finally?!" Sienna said with a bright smile on her face.
"It has to be!" Lucien nodded with a hopeful spirit as well. However, that was soon revealed to not be the case. This was someone else. The spark of Rift Energy had expanded, meeting the size of the Aura Sphere that imprisoned the two of them.
A face could be seen appearing within the spear, having a transparent appearance. This face belonged to none other than the entity that Lucien and Sienna tried reaching and ended up succeeding.
Cosmos.
"Cosmos!" The duo cried out, falling back. They expected to see Cosmos eventually, but with how weakened they were right now, they believed that it would've taken a bit longer. "So it did manage to reach space..."
"You two...I got your message." Cosmos spoke to them through the sphere. "You gave out some interesting information."
"So you heard? About the Pokemon?" Sienna stood up. "Ah, glad the message wasn't hard to listen to. No way it would've been clear with that little energy."
"Since you know everything, we've got our lucky break now." Lucien giggled with excitement. "Even when trapped, we can still do so much!"
"Uh, we might have to keep it down." Sienna hushed him. "Audino's outside. We talk too loudly and we'll attract them no doubt."
"Oh. My bad." Lucien and Sienna would now talk in a lower tone. "It's uh, best you do the same, Cosmos. But we won't have to worry about that since we'll be free."
"I will. Unfortunately, I'm not here for you." Cosmos suddenly shut them down, causing the Rift Siblings to blink with confusion and disbelief. She also kept her voice down so as to not alert Audino. "The Pokemon do interest me. Thank you for telling me about that. But I'm here for Discord more than anything. At least...part of me is here for him. As you can see, I'm not fully free. I'm trapped in that accursed constellation, Andalusian."
"T-Then you could still use our help, right?" Lucien laughed nervously, hoping that Cosmos could reconsider things, resulting in the concept of freedom. "Any chance of freedom and our Rift Magic can be a lot of help ya know...Especially freeing you."
"You raise a good point, I won't deny," Cosmos smirked with Lucien and Sienna leaning in, expecting some marvellous news. "But, I'm unable to free you now with how restrained I am." Their happy faces soon sank. "I need the means to escape. You two know everything about this world, don't you? Then you must know of how I was truly imprisoned."
"D-Definitely!" Sienna stuttered. "You were sealed in that constellation until eventually, the star you were in was knocked out of the sky by a comet and knocked down to Equestria. Discord ended up burying one of the stars himself in the Everfree Forest in order to ensure that you would never return."
"Clever girl." Cosmos nodded. "And that is exactly where I need to be. The Everfree Forest."
"Still so weird that she's made out of stars..."
"You two are one to talk. Anyway, the only way for me to gain my true form back starts with the Everfree Forest."
"Uh...about that..." Lucien rubbed the back of his head. "The Everfree Forest isn't exactly in the best shape right now."
"Hm? And how come?" She narrowed her eyes with her voice and tone intensifying.
"Well, a lot has happened with all of these crossover shenanigans. And the Everfree Forest has been caught up in it a few times. Especially when it was destroyed."
"DESTROYED?!" Cosmos bellowed as her voice was powerful enough to alert the guards. The Canterlot Guards rushed in as soon as they heard the shout, unlocking the door. Cosmos quickly hid herself with the spark by moving behind the sphere of Aura that imprisoned the Rift Siblings. Audino had also heard this shout, looking at the walls where it originated from. Everything fell silent as Audino squinted afterwards.
The guard observed the area, seeing that nothing had happened to Lucien and Sienna. The source of the noise was nowhere to be found as he looked at them with judgemental eyes. The duo just shrugged in response with the guards leaving the dungeon promptly. After he was gone, Cosmos continued where she left off with Lucien and Sienna turning to face her.
"Destroyed? How troublesome..."
"But it's all good." Lucien halted her. "I mean, it wouldn't be difficult to get rid of your star. I mean, Discord's seeds survived the explosion and the forest is regrowing itself. So there's nothing to worry about."
"Hmph. Fine. Either way, I still need to get that star. All of them. I need some pawns to search for them..."
"Let us do it." Lucien and Sienna offered to help. They didn't mind being called pawns so as long as they could break free. "Cosmic being to cosmic being."
"I would use you but remember, I can't free you yet. However...I still have the power to influence something. Similarly to how you had sent this spark of Rift Energy to me as a way to communicate, I can do the same to anything."
"Uh, then how about using the spark we gave you?" Sienna suggested.
"I was just thinking that. My powers were weakened even in that dimension. However, I had enough power left to grow this spark of Rift Energy. But I doubt it's not enough to get rid of this sphere, is it?"
"No..." The two of them sighed, knowing that this spark was not enough. To even rub it in, Cosmos had bashed the Rift Spark onto the Aura Prison.
However, the moment she did, she found that not only was it not strong enough to do so, but the spark had also been damaged with parts of it being disintegrated. "Oh, it definitely won't." Cosmos shook her head. "This Aura is unbelievably potent. And I can sense some of Celestia's magic in that. Looks like someone's improved over the years."
"Not fair..." Sienna huddled up. "Stupid Aura..."
"But with this, I can go the extra mile. I just need to find someone to search for those stars."
"I got something!" Lucien raised his hand. "Use the teachers."
"The teachers?"
"Yeah, from the Pokemon School. Those are the last people that anyone would expect. We've seen the events involving you play out naturally. You can trust us."
"Ah, forget about the teachers!" Sienna pushed Lucien out of the way. "Who you really should go for...is Cynthia. Trust me. Let her help you and things will be smooth sailing."
"Cynthia?" Lucien raised an eyebrow as Sienna looked back at him. With that eye contact, Lucien understood Cynthia's approach perfectly. "Oh, right, right! Cynthia's who you should go for. Uhh...we did tell you who she was in the message right?"
"Not at all.Looks like you are useful after all." Cosmos was having second thoughts. "Very well then. I'll go for those teachers. Add some of this Rift Energy into the mix and see what I can do with it and in return...I'll bring you three along. You know how the story plays out so I can use you."
"Yes!" Lucien pumped his fists with Sienna jumping for joy. "Uh, if you can, just get one of the teachers to free us. That could be a good place to start! She's the Principal of the Pokemon School so you know where to be."
"Noted. Stay right there." Cosmos had left the dungeon, continuing her plan. Lucien and Sienna gave a high-five feeling a great sense of accomplishment.
"Bingo! Look who came up with the best idea so far. Even when trapped, I've still got it." "Lucien crossed his arms, feeling successful.
"But I recommended Cynthia, so hah. Got you beat there, Lucien." Sienna proudly said, 1UPing Lucien in this instance. And Lucien knew this.
"Yeah-yeah, whatever." Lucien shrugged. "At least we'll be free. Can you imagine it? If we work alongside Cosmos, there's nothing we can't do. The Rift's going to be more satisfied than anything!"
"True that. Now we just kick back, relax and let the magic happen." Lucien sat and rested his head on the sphere, acting calm and collected. So did Sienna. They never act like this within this Aura Prison but if there was ever a time for them to do so, it was now.
"Wait. Is Cynthia even in today?" Lucien realized the one detail that was very crucial. Sienna simply just shrugged, hoping that she was. That was all they could do right now.
The Pokemon School. Afternoon.
Lessons were currently underway at the Pokemon School. Much how like Valerie was already teaching Fluttershy outside, everyone else was being taught by the Gym Leaders from different regions. Some even came from the same region.
However, only Cynthia mattered. Cosmos could do so little as she continued moving around as a tiny Rift Spark. She would use what little of her power left to make her revival assured. She made her face and the spark transparent, phasing through the walls as if she was an apparition.
She took the time to see this Pokemon School for herself, looking at all the ponies and their current studies. Cosmos had also seen the Gym Leaders, witnessing a human for the first time as well as some Pokemon.
"Look at all of them..." Cosmos commented with a malicious grin on her face. "I've had pent up malice waiting for centuries now. And I can't wait to unleash it all on them first. Now, where's that office?" She then started searching for the principal's office. While floating, she started listening to the conversations of the students and the teachers here just to pass the time. Being alone in that dimension, trapped forever was certainly painful so anything would do for her.
She saw a type chart of all the various Pokemon Types and learned about the various moves that could be used. Funnily enough, she ended up learning along with the students.
Cosmos moved through the hallways before spotting the room she needed to be in. The principal's office. It wasn't too hard for her to find. Cosmos wasted no time, zooming straight towards it. She was ready to have Cynthia be the catalyst for her revival...
Only to then find out that she was not here.
Much like most of the teachers here in the Pokemon School, they were all important figures in their respective regions. Cynthia was the Champion after all. However, she spent more time adventuring than being the champion.
"What?! She's not here!" Cosmos roared. "Tch! Some principal she is..." Cosmos found that this was just a minor obstacle in her way. She started thinking of an easy solution. it came to her maniacal mind easily. "Well, if she's not here today...I'll leave something behind for then."
Cosmos decided to let the effects play out until Cynthia had arrived. She used every ounce of her power that she had currently to create something. Out of thin air, she created a necklace. An attractive one too. This necklace had a star on it. One that greatly resembled Twilight's Cutie Mark. To finish it off, she dropped some of her magic along with a spark of Rift Magic into it. That was all Cosmos could muster as she grimaced.
"That's all for me...I need to return to that dimension to regenerate. But soon, I won't have to anymore." Cosmos cackled before leaving. She disappeared along with the Rift Energy in the form of a tiny sparkle. Now all she had to do was wait.
Canterlot Gardens. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, the training continued and the results so far were as followed. Luna had battled with almost every one of her Pokemon, unable to bring out a special form with them. Her Connection Spell only shared the damage with them but that was only via the spell.
"No good, huh..." Ash scratched the back of his hair. "We've still got some Pokemon left to go, Luna."
"Forget it." Luna sighed, shaking her head. "This method is not working. We'll have to think of something else. What about you, sister? Are things faring better on your side?"
"Well, we might have a sign. Fluttershy's Fairy Magic is working well with Mega Audino. Have a look. "Celestia replied, showing just what Fluttershy had managed to accomplish. After using Mega Evolution, Fluttershy's body was glowing pink, similarly to how Celestia's body glows gold when using Mega Evolution herself.
"Just let it come to you, Fluttershy," Valerie instructed. "Fluttershy sat there for a moment, letting the magic come to her as her aura was starting to glow brighter. "Fairy Magic is peace in its purest form. You need to let all of that matter."
"I..." Fluttershy started speaking with her eyes almost opening. "I can hear so much..."
"Hear?" Ash leaned in along with Celestia and Luna.
"You've always had that trait thanks to sharing a bond with Audino. But you can go much further." Valerie encouraged her to keep going. "You might gain what Audino has to a T."
"There are so many sounds..." Fluttershy squinted while having her eyes closed as her ears were twitching. By bonding with Mega Audino, her sense of hearing was accelerating rapidly. Sounds from across Canterlot were flocking towards her ears. But it went above that.
The skies themselves and the noises they made were starting to be picked up by Fluttershy. Even the noises from underneath the earth itself. Fluttershy was starting to hear as much as an Audino. At least, close to that level as her hearing was extending far beyond Canterlot.
However, this was where her limit had been reached as her ear received a sharp pain that caused her concentration to break. "Ow!" Fluttershy cried out, almost falling over as her eardrums went haywire.
"Audino!" Audino immediately rushed to Fluttershy's side once the pain came through. "Dino! Audino?!"
"I'm fine, Audi." Fluttershy rubbed her ear. "But that was a bit overwhelming."
"It can be." Valerie nodded. "But, at least this is a sign you've improved greatly with your Fairy Magic to be able to do this."
"Thank you. But...Is it the Harmony Phenomenon?"
"Professor Sycamore didn't say that it had to be all about alternate forms." Celestia walked up to her. "You have the hearing of an Audino within you, so as far as I'm concerned, you're not only the first pony to unleash Mega Evolution, but one of the few first to have tapped into the Harmony Phenomenon. At least, part of it."
"I did? Yay!" Fluttershy was happy to hear it as she flew into the air with excitement. "Now I really want to improve it some more. We still have time, right?"
"We have a little bit of time left before the moon rises," Luna replied. But your ears...Will they be alright?"
"Heal Pulse, Audi."
"Audino..." Audino put her arms around Fluttershy's ears, utilizing the power of Heal Pulse on them. Fluttershy already had the solution to the pain within her ears. With the mystical green glow of Heal Pulse appearing, the pain had vanished in a heartbeat. It was as if it was never there.
"See! I'm completely fine now! As long as I have Audi here, I'll be safe and all ears." She laughed, realizing she made a pun as it excited her some more.
"I don't see why we have to stop. Let's try something else, Luna." Ash turned to Luna. "Got anything."
"Sadly no. My Connection Spell failed and I don't think it's proving to be the most effective method." Luna sighed, facehoofing before sitting down. "What else is there? Do you suppose I have some Fairy Magic in me? Maybe?"
"No..." Valerie shook her head. "Oh! But Olympia told me that you and Princess Celestia have something similar. The power of Psychic, right?"
"Twilight too," Celestia added. "And now that you've brought that up...perhaps that is the gateway to what you might need for the Harmony Phenomenon, Luna."
"Of course! Why didn't I think of that?!" Luna sat up before facing both her Xatu and Musharna. "Xatu! Musharna! One more time!"
"Xatu!"
"Musha!"
"Hmmmrgh..." Meanwhile, Darkrai just stood there, being unresponsive the whole time. The Harmony Phenomenon was an interesting concept to him, but gaining a new appearance was something that Darkrai wasn't all for. At least not yet. He knew that his turn was coming eventually.
They continued to train with Fluttershy and Luna focusing as hard as they could. Luna added some of Lunar Ire's Magic into the mix while Fluttershy went back to focusing only on her sense of hearing. Audino would be there to heal her too. Luna attempted to bring out something special for her two Psychic-Types, using spells on herself and them. But so far, nothing happened.
It was only Fluttershy that made some progress. She was improving her sense of hearing while Luna had visible veins pop out of her face and hooves from how hard she was trying. She even tried shouting words, hoping that would make her spells more effective. But that proved to be pointless as this carried on for a while.
Nightfall.
Eventually, nightfall had come. Celestia had lowered the Sun while Luna raised the moon. And throughout those remaining hours, nothing had come from Luna. Fluttershy did exceedingly well, but Luna had failed. She let out a sigh of defeat before lying on her back.
"Man. Nothing?" Ash scratched his hair while sitting on the benches. "None of Luna's Pokemon ended up getting anything."
"Pikachu..."
"Nothing is right." She groaned. "All that hard work...Perhaps I'm not eligible for the Harmony Phenomenon."
"Nonsense, Luna." Celestia looked down at her little sister. "Much like how anypony can bear the Elements of Harmony, you can unleash this Phenomenon as well. We just need to find the right method of doing so."
"Wake me up when that method arrives..."
"Good try anyway." Darkrai and the rest of her Pokemon went up to her. "Time for you to rest, Luna. Would you prefer if I governed the Dream Realm this time?"
"That would be nice, Darkrai. I shall lay here for a bit. I've exhausted myself already..." Luna sighed, choosing to rest here to suck in all that has happened so far.
"I should get going now. I have to wake up healthy and strong for tomorrow." Valerie said, bowing to the two princesses, even while Luna was down on the ground. Ash and Fluttershy would depart soon. As Luna sat there, wondering why the methods she tried so far had failed, she looked up at the moon.
Truly a calming sight. Looking at the moon allowed Luna to feel some sense of serenity. It could wash away the failures of today and make way for new beginnings. While being the opposite of the sun, it had the same feeling to it. And while sitting there looking at the moon, Luna then pondered something. It seemed that she wasn't ready to give up just yet.
"Hold on...Wait for a moment." She spoke, stopping everyone from leaving. "Perhaps, there's one more way."
"What would that be, Luna? Did you figure it out?" Celestia asked.
"Maybe." She narrowed her eye at the moon. "The Harmony Phenomenon works in any way. So as long as there is magic and Infinity Energy between a Trainer and a Pokemon, something can be born from it. I've failed to make that happen...but what if I can make it work during the night."
"The night?" They all repeated.
"Precisely!" Luna jumped up. "It may sound cheesy, but what other option is there? I wasn't born with the power to move the moon, I had to earn it. Especially when I became an alicorn. The same goes for mother and father when it comes to the Sun and moon. No matter how you look at it, my sister and I are connected to those big spheres in the sky."
"That is true." Celestia nodded. "But unfortunately, that's as far as it goes, Luna. We can only control them."
"But what if that can change?" Luna smirked, deciding to shoot beyond. "Excuse me for a moment. I'm going to the moon."
"Say what now?" Ash had to pause and think about what Luna just said. But before everyone could process it, Luna had done exactly what she said she would do. In the blink of an eye, a slightly disruptive burst of magic had occurred on the spot with the colours of both Luna's regular magic and the magic of Lunar Ire.
She had used Sorrowful Rage Magic into the mix. And whenever that magic gets used, that only means that something out of Luna's natural limits was about to be performed as a dark blue sparkle in the sky could be seen. Ash and the others raised their heads, focusing on the moon.
"Awesome!" Ash gawked. "Go, Luna!"
"Pikachu!"
"I've never heard of something like this! She can just do that?! Will she be fine?!" Valerie gasped, putting her hands on her mouth as she feared for Luna being in space.
"She can." Celestia had faith in her little sister. "And no, she can't breathe in space. But the moon works fine, oddly enough. Good luck, Luna."
They watched for a while, waiting for Luna to come down. They were exactly sure what Luna was planning to do on the moon, but since it was for helping her potential Harmony Phenomenon, they were all too curious. They waited for at least 15 seconds until something happened.
The moon had been outlined by a dark blue light, signalling that Luna had used her magic. The moon looked even more beautiful with the light surrounding it as if it were a coloured drawing. A sparkle happened in the middle of it as well. However, that all ended once a dark blue pillar of magic shot from the moon, hitting the spot where Luna originally left.
Just like that, she was done.
"Done. I believe I've found something that can work." Luna announced as everyone had to know. "My Harmony Phenomenon shall be born during the night."
"Oooh..." Collective Ooohs had been uttered from the group.
"I went to the moon, cast a tiny spell on it and came back with this." Luna shrugged it off as if going to the moon was not a big deal. To her, it wasn't. She controls it and has been imprisoned there before. "Darkrai. Musharna. Xatu. You three are the ones most closely related to the night. I'm counting on you to help me realize this."
"Sure, Luna," Darkrai replied as Musharna and Xatu were in full agreement of helping Luna all the way.
"Thank you. Now then. Let's see if this works..." It was time for Luna to try out her new trick. She went back to the Connection Spell, however, not only did she add Lunar Ire's magic into it, but also the moon started glowing.
"Look!" Ash pointed it out before anyone else as Pikachu, Celestia, Fluttershy, Valerie Audino, Passion, Arcanine and the rest of Luna's Pokemon looked to the moon. It was radiating the same light that Luna had left behind.
"Truth is...I used the Connection Spell on the moon." Luna spoke with her eyes closed as her aura wrapped around the three Pokemon. "There was no better force to use it on. Now I am truly connected to the moon." Luna had gone the distance indeed as tiny blue stardust was dropping from above, showering the three of them in it.
However, only one of them had reacted to it. And that was Darkrai. His body reacted to the magic that Luna had summoned as the Infinity Energy within him was showing. Darkness flowed from the Pitch-Black Pokemon as he was surrounded by an orb of darkness.
The orb was both silent yet also terrifying at the same time, shaking the blades of grass. It perfectly represented a Pokemon as mysterious as Darkrai to boot. Luna smiled as her method was a success. Something that only she had come up with. She was ready to see it happen, but, exhaustion had gotten to her.
"Curses...Using my magic while tired was perhaps not the best idea," Luna uttered before yawning. Thanks to this, her magic effect on Darkrai had been abruptly ended. Darkrai noticed that the orb had vanished as it was all bonded to Luna. If she stopped, it stopped. "Oh...But...I believe that we can call this a success."
"Aw, man. We might've seen something new. But have a great sleep, either way, Luna." Ash said as the chance to see Darkrai's new form had been slipped away. But it would return.
"Thank you..." Luna grumbled. "Can somepony carry me to my bed? Preferably, you Ash..." Her energy gave out as she dropped flat on her face, dozing off. She had knocked herself out via that method.
"Well, uh, okay." Ash nodded before walking up to her. Just as she requested, Ash had picked up the slumbering Princess of the Night, placing her on his back. "So that's how many Harmony Phenomenon's down now?"
"Realistically, I'd say that makes 5 ponies. Pinkie Pie is the 5th." Celestia replied. "We have a long way to go. But nothing good teaching can't accomplish. Perhaps it's time for my school to get a new subject."
"How fun this has been. You should bring me along for more of these, Fluttershy." Valerie held Fluttershy's hooves, raising her from the ground.
"I'd be glad too!" Fluttershy replied as she and Valerie giggled together. They soon went their separate ways as Ash carried Luna right back to Canterlot Castle. The Training was done for now. But there would be more. And certainly, more ponies involved.
And it was all the more exciting.
2 days later. Canterlot. The Pokemon School.
It has been two days now. And just now showing up to her office was Cynthia. She opened the door before waving goodbye to Fantina who had left for classes. It was a sunny Friday now and Cynthia was certainly looking forward to when school ends and the adventures she loves to go on continue.
"I especially can't wait for summer. It's not too far away." Cynthia was most excited for summer. For a few reasons. One of which would be Undella Town and how perfect it was during that time. She still had her special home there as well. But before she could continue thinking of what else to do during summer vacation, when approaching her desk, that's when she saw it.
The necklace.
After two days, it had been kept there. Cosmos was certainly patient for someone described as the Spirit of Malice. She had been waiting for Cynthia to show up, putting good faith into the words of Lucien and Sienna.
"Oh?" Cynthia stood in front of her desk, noticing the necklace. She picked it up, observing it for a bit. "This is a nice necklace. Looks a bit familiar though...Twilight's Cutie Mark? Is this hers?"
With Celestia finally holding the necklace, the spark of Rift Magic with Cosmos' face within it had appeared once more. She stayed on the top of the room so as to not draw any attention to herself. She had Cynthia right where she wanted her. "Good. Put it on, why don't you?"
After having the time to recover her strength back in that dimension, she used her magic once more when she had the chance. This time, focusing on Cynthia. Instead of waiting for Cynthia or anyone to put it on, Cosmo affected Cynthia's mind. Albeit very little. Her weakened magic prevented full-on mind control, but enough to do something to anyone's mind.
And for that moment of control that she had, Cynthia gazed at the necklace with a blank expression. She was not thinking straight as she was compelled to put it on. The necklace was now on her as a straining Cosmos had then ordered her to leave the room.
Cynthia had left her office as the mind control was up. Her mind was free with Cosmos needing a lot more energy than she expected to make this possible. "Curse it all. Even mind control is taxing on the body. I need my magic restored at once. And this one is just who I need to make it happen. Now it's time for one last effect Rift energy."
"Oh!" Once Cynthia snapped back, she realized that she was out of the office. The Champion of Sinnoh held her head before then realizing the necklace was on her neck. "This necklace...Right, Twilight!" Cynthia still believed that it was related to Twilight, aiming to return what was never hers to begin with.
However, before she could set off and do so, that was when a voice came through the necklace. And once the voice came through, Cynthia's eyes had turned from grey to purple. Bizzare cosmic swirls replaced her pupils for a bit as the necklace let out these words.
"Find the Rest." This was Cosmos' voice. While not being there, she made it so that the necklace was the best form of communication that she could have. That was when with a burst of small yet vast magic, the necklace had projected something.
Cynthia gasped to see that the necklace was magical. She had already deduced it instantly. Once the beam had been shot out, it had created a visage. A sort of holographic map. Right before Cynthia's eyes, the projection of space had appeared, holding one constellation.
She gawked at this sight, unable to take her eyes off of it. That was because she couldn't. The Rift Energy within the necklace was playing its part next to Cosmos' magic. Cynthia had no idea what this constellation was, but it had her curious. Her adventurous mind was responsible for it. O rather, the Rift Energy was.
"Splendid." Cosmos was thrilled to see this, cackling in her mind.. "Now, the time for my return is near. Oh, I can hardly wait."
Sitting there in imprisonment as always within the Aura Prison were Lucien and Sienna. Bored out of their mind and not having much to do except wait for Cosmos to free them. Cosmos wouldn't free them herself. Her magic was still restrained. However, they knew that she would send someone to free them and that someone was Cynthia. The Champion of Sinnoh. Recommended by Sienna herself.
"It's been 2 days..." Sienna sighed. "Do you think Cynthia came in yesterday?"
"I don't know." Lucien shrugged, slumping on the sphere. Another day of waiting and absolutely nothing eventful. But, they were still holding out on Cosmos freeing them. After letting Cosmos know that they were aware of every important event in this world's history, they managed to score themselves their freedom.
All they had to do was wait for it to come to them. More importantly, someone that Cosmos was influenced. Cynthia, of course. However, at this moment, Cynthia was not present at Canterlot. She was previously, but not right now.
Ponyville. Twilight's Castle Afternoon.
Instead, Cynthia had travelled to Ponyville. The necklace was still around her neck as Cosmos' voice silently spoke to her, influencing the Champion of Sinnoh. With each passing second, that control over her was getting stronger. The necklace kept speaking to her, asking Cynthia to do one simple thing. Find the rest.
Upon seeing Cynthia, Twilight had opened the door, greeting the principal of the Pokemon School. "Oh, Cynthia!" Twilight said once meeting with her. "What a surprise! I never expected you to ever visit me."
"Hello, Twilight. I just came here to bring this to you." She held the necklace up, showing it to Twilight. Twilight Sparkle laid her eyes on the necklace, seeing that it resembled her Cutie Mark. From the purple star to the other white stars connected to it. "It looked like your Cutie Mark, so I assumed it was yours."
"Pretty...But it's not mine." Twilight shook her head, though she did admire the necklace.
"Oh. Well, I do think it looks good on me." Cynthia giggled. Knowing that it did not belong to her, she was leaning towards keeping it unless someone else owned it. "Now that I'm here, now is a good time to tell you that it also has something special about it that I think you should see." Cynthia didn't stop there. It was about the projection. Twilight invited her in.
At the same time, Cosmos was secretly watching everything. It was all thanks to that necklace she affected. She had become Cynthia's eyes. Literally. She watched the Trainer enter the castle, waiting for Cynthia to finally enact the process of bringing her back.
When inside, it was revealed that the rest of Twilight's friends were here as well, sitting around their usual roundtable. Cynthia had greeted them immediately. "How have you all been? Getting out of trouble?" Cynthia joked.
"We wish." Applejack shook her head as none of them managed to stay out of trouble. Unintentional trouble that is.
"Nice necklace you have there!" Rarity noticed Cynthia's necklace. "Thought it looks like it would be Twilight's."
"That's what I was thinking," Twilight replied.
"It does seemingly fit a human more. Perhaps it was a gift." Cynthia further observed the necklace. "Unless someone thought you were a human, Twilight. Anyway...this necklace is fairly bizarre. I could swear I hear voices coming from it."
"Voices?" They all slid over with Cynthia holding the necklace out. Once close to them, everyone took a good listen. Especially Fluttershy, who had undergone some Harmony Phenomenon training to increase her sense of hearing. But even with all of them up close to the necklace, there was nothing. Not a single audible sound had been unleashed.
"It's dead silent," Spike commented.
"Even my new hearing can't hear it." Fluttershy shook her head as did Audino. Not even the Hearing Pokemon's feelers could pick it up.
"Audino."
"Hmm...strange. The necklace tells me to find the rest. But I'm not quite sure what that means. But perhaps this works still." Moving to the good part, Cynthia had shown everyone here what the necklace could do. Aside from looking pretty, when tapping on it, Cynthia managed to trigger the magic within it. Out of the necklace, the projection of space had been unleashed once more, this time inside Twilight's Lab.
"Neat!" Pinkie Pie blurted out a sMew flew up, flailing his arms at the projection. It was simply a holographic visage so there was no interaction.
Twilight had witnessed the projection and its appearance. The moons and planets within the cosmos had been shown via this one necklace. But more importantly, the constellation that this part of space held could be seen. "What can you make of it, Twilight?" Cynthia asked. Twilight froze there for a bit with an open mouth before gazing right at the projection. Her eyes widened.
"Wait...I know that constellation!" She was more focused on the constellation instead of the fact that the necklace could summon a projection of space itself. "The Andalusian!"
"Anda...? What now?" Rainbow Dash was unable to pronounce it.
"Andalusian! It's a series of stars that just showed up in the night sky centuries ago! Star charts everywhere had to be changed! It's the biggest astrological anomaly ever!"
"Is that what that is..." Cynthia narrowed her eyes. "Andalusian."
"Then one day, the whole constellation went dark." Twilight rushed her magic to interact with her bookshelves, only to pull out some maps instead of books. She was highly excited about this while Cynthia still had that dead stare, hearing the voices from the necklace. Twilight showed the map to everyone as it appeared in the shape of a heart. And around that heart was 6 stars.
"Cynthia. The Necklace you're wearing isn't meant to be like my Cutie Mark. It's meant to be these points on the maps. Stars!" Twilight exclaimed.
"What are the odds of that?" Fluttershy gawked.
"Cynthia. By finding that necklace, you may have stumbled upon a clue to solving the biggest cosmic mystery of all time!" Twilight turned to Cynthia. "That must be what the necklace was telling you to do about finding the rest!"
"Lucky me." Cynthia smiled, not having much of a response.
"So...what do we do?" Rainbow Dash went to the map. "Just find all these things and fling them back into the sky?"
"Seems simple enough. I mean, we've got a map telling us where to look." Applejack added.
"And flinging them back to the sky part? We can do that, right?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I can kick pretty hard." Applejack shrugged as the approach to throwing the stars was something they were both lingering on.
"You two can't just touch stars." Twilight shook her head as Cynthia went to pick up the map, observing it for a bit.
"It'd be in line with how we're all trying to reach space, right?" Rarity spoke. "Do you think we could use that golden stairway to put the stars back in the sky?"
"I don't know. But I think it's a nice break from all our normal series of events. No strange monsters, evil Pokemon or Rift Creations trying to harm us and everyone." Fluttershy commented.
"Yeah, but it's still space-related. Can't get away from that." Spike shrugged.
"Why would we? Space is like the final frontier! It's where everything ends! I think that's the meaning of it." Rainbow Dash expressed her love for the concept of space. Many do indeed call it the final frontier.
"Think of the research opportunities we now have with this. From what their magical qualities are and what the stars are made out of...so much!" said Twilight as Cynthia's eyes were fully focused on the map. While looking at it, Cynthia's eyes were glowing those same pink colours once more as she looked over the heart and the stars.
"Indeed..." Cynthia agreed as she still looked at the map without looking back at anyone else, facing away from them. "We could learn everything from it. "All we need to do is find the rest..." Then, Cynthia started repeating the words that the necklace kept telling to her. Cosmos' influence was certainly potent. "Find the rest...I shall leave now and find the rest."
"Just you?" Twilight tilted her head as Cynthia changed it from 'We' to 'I'.
"I do love to adventure when I'm not battling or running the school." Cynthia closed the map. "I believe I'm exploring more than I appear at the school, wouldn't you agree?"
"We barely do see you. But hey, that's how it goes." Pinkie Pie replies. "Adventure awaits, right?"
"May I take the map for a while, Twilight?" The Champion of Sinnoh asked the Princess of Friendship.
"Sure. But we'd love to help you, Cynthia. Finding those stars gets me all excited!" Twilight pranced on the spot. "Making it a team effort will help us find the stars faster, right?"
"That is true. Good thinking, Twilight. I'll call for you all soon. Try getting all the help you can as well. If you want." Cynthia chuckled in response. Cynthia then bid farewell as well as everyone else left the castle, having something new in mind. Those 6 stars of the Andalusian.
Saddle Lake.
Once they had all left and Cynthia was off on her own, It was all music to her ears. Not her adventurous side but something else. Her eyes flashed pink once more with a devious smile emerging on her. At this moment, Cosmos was speaking through her as her voice was a fusion of Cynthia and Cosmos. Cynthia had left Ponyville before then looking at the map she held. Right now, Cosmos was the one speaking, not her.
"At least, after all this time, someone powerful enough to embody for me to embody has been found." The voice of Cosmos was the most overpowering voice. "Though, I didn't expect it to be a human or even someone that has something that could be considered equal to Magic. What is it called, Aura? Yes, that's it."
She then held her hand out, realizing that Cynthia's body was an equal vessel to what she had envisioned. An alicorn. She used the Aura within Cynthia's body to essentially rejuvenate parts of herself. It was effective enough to have her conjure some magic from her hand.
"This Aura is something special." Cosmos laughed. "It's as if I took a nice bath and washed away all the pain. With this, I can do a bit more. Not sure if it's the Rift Energy that's also responsible but I could care less."
She shrugged before stopping near Saddle Lake, sitting on a log. She had then opened the map, looking at it once more. "I was thinking of possessing that princess back at the castle, but oh well. This body is just as good. How delightfully fortunate. But soon, that princess and others will assist me either way. I will need every piece of my magic back so I can get back to...him." She referred to Discord, only having sights for him.
The horrifying visage of Cosmos was starting to emerge from Cynthia's body. It was in the form of a cosmic-filled entity with sharp claws and fangs along with a hunched body.
"Are you ready for me, Discord, my dear? Because I'm coming home." She rubbed her hands together. "But first. To use this status to my advantage. A Principal and a Champion correct? Let's see how well those teachers do too."
The Pokemon School. Late Afternoon.
Lessons at the Pokemon School were ending. On Friday, it was the day when the younger students come to school instead. And as they were all leaving, some teachers remained within the school, getting ready to leave themselves.
One of which was Fantina. She closed up her doors, getting ready to depart from this world and soon it would be back to her world. But the second those doors were closed and she turned around, there was Cynthia, standing right behind her.
"Oh!" Fantina gasped before catching her breath. Ironically, the Ghost-Type Specialist had been startled. "Oh, Cynthia. You scared me there..."
"Apologies. I didn't know I could get that silent." Cynthia chuckled, putting her hand on Fantina's shoulder. "Do you think I could speak with you for a bit?"
"Mais oui!" Fantina clapped her hands together once. "What is it? Is it about maybe next semester for the students?
"Mm-mm." Cynthia shook her head as suddenly, Cosmos' magic started kicking in via the necklace. The necklace wasn't just a way to speak through Cynthia and control her, Cosmos' magic, what was remaining of it plus some Rift Magic was also flowing through it. "School can wait. Right now, there's something important I need from you, Fantina. Something fit for a Ghost."
After saying that, the magic rushed to Fantina's head. Fantina's body went through a rapid shock with two different magic sources affecting her. Chaos Magic and Rift Magic. Little ounces of it, but those small ounces could do so much as time has proven before.
Cynthia smiled as the Cosmos within her was affecting Fantina's mind. Cosmos truly did want some help finding those stars, but her assistance would go beyond ponies and a dragon. Thanks to everything that had been shared with her by Lucien and Sienna, the Spirit of Malice started thinking big. And Gym Leaders along with the Strange and Wonderful Creatures known as Pokemon were certainly big things to be shooting for. But her magic flow didn't stop there. She connected it with the Poke Balls that Fantina kept within her, going the extra mile.
Just like how she managed to gain control of Cynthia thanks to the necklace, it was easy for her to get through Fantina, who was exempt from a necklace. She did have a nice sense of fashion that didn't warrant a necklace, however. Fantina grimaced, almost falling over and getting on her knee before managing to maintain her balance.
"Oh là là..." Fantina's eyes flashed purple as well.
"Just a tiny favour. Can you have those Ghosts of yours do something for me?" Cosmos was not holding anything back. Playing it as cool as she can was the best way she could think of getting her true body back. And just as importantly, Cosmos needed to know everything.
Everything that Lucien and Sienna apparently know. Once she asked Fantina to do her one favour, she and the Ghost-Type Gym Leader had departed. Cosmos was not done. Even if the moon was starting to rise as she continued walking through the school.
"She is only one teacher," Cynthia spoke. "They're all strong like her, right? Why stop with just her?" She set her sights on the rest of the teachers here. At least, the ones still within the school at this time. Not a lot to pick from, but their strength certainly made up for it.
Canterlot Dungeon.
Once again, the Rift Siblings were waiting as the sun was starting to set. They heard nothing from Cosmos yet or even if she managed to find Cynthia and control her.
"Still nothing. Typical Sienna. Always having bright ideas but never going through the details." Lucien shook her head.
"Hey!"
"It's true though. Who's the one who helped you perfect those Desires?" Lucien then gave a cocky smirk before crossing his arms. Sienna's head lit up as she hated that this was certainly true. "I've got the edge on you with that, as you can see."
"At least I thought about Cynthia. You were only going for the Gym Leaders more than anything."
"Yeah well, I-" But before Lucien could reply, leading to another heated argument, both of them heard something drop. They stopped what they were doing, recognizing that the sound came from the door. They wondered what had caused the sound, but their pondering had been ceased as someone had phased through the walls.
A Mismagius.
"Misamgius." Mismagius had arrived in the Canterlot Dungeon, having those same pink eyes that Cosmos possessed. Lucien and Sienna knew about Cosmos all too well, recognizing the glow.
"Wait...Cosmos!" They simultaneously cried out with hope in their voices. Just then, the doors had suddenly opened, causing the two siblings to scrunch their faces. But they had nothing to worry about as the one who had opened the door was none other than Cynthia, possessed by Cosmos.
Not only that but the guards could be seen on the floor, currently dozing off. The one responsible for this was Mismagius, but mainly another one of Cosmos' pawns in her quest to be reborn. Fantina.
"Oh! You dealt with them easily it looks like!" Sienna gasped after seeing the guards asleep. "But, didn't you have to deal with the Golurk?"
"Golurk? Oh. You mean these things?" Cynthia then moved to the side, showing that she had two extra forces alongside her, also under the same effect that Cosmos had made.
Golurk. Two Golurk that stood alongside their guards stood alongside Cynthia, Fantina and Mismagius, being under Cosmos' control as well. The guards had been left out.
"Even those two...?" Lucien gawked.
"All I did was simply catch them off guard with a little dose of magic. Nothing special. This character Cynthia has her advantages besides the good looks." Cosmos shrugged before approaching them both. "Now, free them."
"Oui. Mismagius, Shadow Ball on that Aura Sphere!" Fantina ordered.
"Mismagius!" Mismagius summoned the only thing that could break this Aura Prison. A Pokemon Attack. It has not had an attack unleashed on it until now though. Lucien and Sienna stepped back as the blob of shadows along with the two Golurk had fired it onto the Aura Prison.
The sphere had been blown away. That involved not just the Aura, but Celestia's magic as well. The Infinity Energy had burned right through it, evaporating it as if it were water. Finally, they were free.
"Freedom! Woohoo!" Lucien raised his fists into the air as he and Sienna hugged each other, thrilled about this. They laughed for a bit before realizing they were hugging each other. The siblings then pulled away, clearing their throats. "Mm. Knew it was gonna happen eventually."
"Same here," Sienna replied.
"Now that you two are free, you can repay me, can't you?" Cosmos walked up to the siblings. "I was planning on sending everyone on a chase for those stars...but it seems you can help me. You said you knew how everything played out so take me there."
"Uh, yeah about that..." Sienna then spoke with nervousness in her tone. There was something she and Lucien did not want to say right in front of Cosmos' face. "One problem..."
"And what would that be?"
"I guess we didn't share all the knowledge of everything that's happened to you." Lucien whistled. "But our magic has been weakened..."
"Weakened?! Since when!"
"Since we got captured." Lucien lowered his head. "That Aura is a poison to us. We've been trapped in it for 2 or 3 months now I think. There's a reason why that spark of Rift Energy was so small when we sent it to you."
"We had previously summoned a Rift Sphere out in the mountains to send a few villains after it and that had already drained us," Sienna added. "Trying to reach you beyond the stars and in that dimension took a lot out of us too. I'm afraid we're dry on Rift Magic now..."
"So, how long were you planning on telling me this?" Cosmos narrowed her eyes. "You didn't tell me the moment I met you both."
"W-We were just hoping for our escape! We didn't think you'd want us to use our magic too! Haha!" Lucien tried reasoning with Cosmos. "I mean, we still have some magic in us, but with all of that Aura acting like an incurable disease, it's gonna be tough doing well...everything."
"I mean, that's how it goes right." Sienna squeed as the magic of Cosmos was starting to build up around her. Despite her having small ounces of it, it was still threatening either way. "Uhh..."
"You two...Deceive me, will you?" Her voice deepened.
"Wait! We can still be of help! We know how everything goes, remember?" Lucien halted her. "In the original timeline, you ended up losing after everything you've tried. In fact...that necklace you've put on Cynthia was also in the original timeline. Just uh...not on her but Twilight instead."
"It was?" Cosmos held the necklace.
"R-Right!" Sienna stuttered. "You're even holding that map with you, which means that history's going to repeat itself! But we can help you change that. Change how history goes. I mean, this world's already strayed away from its original timeline in some areas so what's the harm, am I right?"
"Hmm..." Cosmos thought about it. The Rift Siblings managed to raise an excellent point, one that made Cosmos rethink things. "If that's so...what happened today? Was it similar to the original timeline?"
"Well uh...originally, Rarity found the necklace, then she gave it to Twilight cause it looks like her Cutie Mark. Then she went to the castle to show her friends, found that same map and-" Sienna started going over what had happened in a simplified way.
"Stop. I've heard enough." Cosmos ended Sienna's sentence. "You're telling the truth. You do know how it plays out. How wonderful and convenient..."
"Hah..." They were both relieved as they had dodged a bullet there.
"Very well. You two will come with me. Tell me what I should do next to deviate from the original timeline. This is the only time I will let someone give me advice." Cosmos ordered.
"G-Got it. Well, uh, what were you planning to do next after this?" Lucien asked.
"After hearing that you have been weakened, I planned to head for the Secret Underground Chamber that Canterlot has, housing various forbidden artefacts. One of those chests has the Andalusian star."
"Well, yeah that also happens. But Applejack was there with you so...It's only a minor change." Lucien shrugged.
"We can still head for the chamber and get the star. But maybe not with us around. Or even you with that appearance." Sienna nervously pointed at Cosmos.
"And why not? Is this Cynthia character not respected here? She did help stop an invasion that happened in this world, didn't she? And she is the principal of that school."
"Yeah, yeah, true. But...Don't know if they'd let you in that easily." Sienna answered, unsure of what to say next.
"Hmph. We will still make our way to that chamber. Use whatever ounce of your magic you still have in you to be of good use." Cosmos turned around with Fantina and the other Ghosts following her. "Besides, I have those other teachers as assistance."
"Other teachers?" Lucien said as he and Sienna soon followed after them. "You mean...you got the other Gym Leaders?"
"Precisely." Cosmos smiled as the Golurk were left behind. The door to the dungeon had been closed by the Golurk as they were then ordered to stay behind via Cosmos' order. The guards were still asleep. "And soon, the other teachers as well. If I'm going to take revenge on Discord, I need to get back at those who had also defeated me. Celestia is up next."
"Uh, might not wanna do that." Sienna stopped Cosmos immediately.
"Hm? Why not?"
"Original timeline. Going to Celestia's is exactly what happened last time. Plus, she's not the same Celestia you knew. Her magic has gotten better. Like...way better. And there's that stupidly strong Gardevoir she was with her. Let's uh...try something else."
"Hmph. Fine. What do you suppose we do differently since it sounds like you're rewriting the story." Cosmos crossed her arms.
"Uh...Help me out here Lucien." Sienna nudged her head in her brother's direction. "You're the one with the details."
"Ahem! Right! So, I suggest..." Lucien scratched his hair, thinking of the next action for Cosmos to take. "Uh, send the Gym Leaders after the star? Maybe?"
"That is your new idea?" Cosmos was not impressed. Lucien didn't have much else to say. "Fine then. If going for Celestia next is a bad idea, then I will propose something to deviate from the timeline. But I will still go after her later on."
"Oh, I got something!" Sienna jumped up. "You want overwhelming numbers? I know the place to be. Frenzy Forest! Trust us, that's the place to be with all the Pokemon to control. I mean, the teachers are already familiars and friendly with that place so..."
"Looks like your ideas aren't dry after all." Cosmos smiled as Sienna managed to recover herself and Lucien in the eyes of the malicious draconequus. "Tonight, I take the Pokemon. And tomorrow morning, I will take the star."
Frenzy Forest. Nightfall.
"Del...Delphox..." Speaking of Frenzy Forest, all was calm during this time. Delphox and the Pokemon living here were all asleep. Peaceful times only existed for these Pokemon as they were unbeknownst to the storm that was coming their way. One that was full of chaotic malice.
Delphox rolled in her bed, smiling as she was having a pleasant dream. However, moments later, an orange glow had passed through her window. It went over her face, causing the Fox Pokemon to twitch in her sleep. "Phox." Delphox groaned, opening her eyes as the glow was getting brighter.
But it was more than just the glow. Her ears had heard something upon opening her eyes. From what they could pick up, it sounded like Pokemon cries. That was common here. But another thing that was even just as common to Delphox herself was the sound of fire burning. Being a Fire-Type and all. Those two sounds were meshing together as Delphox soon looked out her window. And thus, those sounds all made sense.
The forest was on fire.
"Delphox?!" Delphox gasped as this peaceful night had been disturbed. The beautiful trees had been lit ablaze within the Grass and Water-Type area along with the others. Even with water around, these flames were violent, rapidly spreading as many Pokemon were crying out and running out of fear.
"Hahahaha! Brilliant! How I've missed this!" Cosmos laughed as she had already gotten her hands on some of the Pokemon here. Using Cynthia's familiarity with them was the best option she could've gone for.
"No. But it's been so long since I've unleashed malice upon something. I needed this." Cosmos grinned as she had used Cynthia's face in a terrifying way. Visible veins could be seen with her pupils becoming as sharp as a serpent. Indeed, Cosmos was nothing but pure malice.
Even Lucien and Sienna were terrified as walking right next to Cosmos were the Pokemon she had targeted. Immediately, she went for the heavy hitters. Mainly Aggron, Pyroar and some Pokemon from the Steel, Ground and Fighting areas. All of them had that pink glow in their eyes as well.
"Hahaha! Come on! Let's enjoy it a bit more before we head back to Canterlot tomorrow morning! I want all the Pokemon here, but not before I have my fun!" She raised her hand as the controlled Pokemon continued their rampage. These Pokemon were friends with the others here, but that did not seem to be the case anymore. Not with Cosmos in charge.
Assisting these controlled Pokemon was Fantina. And she was indeed joined by the other Gym Leaders who were within the Pokemon School at the time. Roxie, Valerie and Roxanne. All three of them had that look in their eyes. Although, it was hard to tell with Valerie since her eyes were already odd. Their Pokemon had been influenced by Cosmos as well, doing her bidding while listening to their corrupted trainers.
Cosmos wanted both her absolute return and complete malice. And after centuries of being hidden away, she was going all out for it.
Ponyville. 20 minutes earlier. Nightfall.
"Absol!" And the one to sense the incoming disaster minuted before it began was Absol, who was standing guard during the night as always. His horn trembled as the incoming disaster had been predicted by him. Sensing this, the Disaster Pokemon wasted no time. "Sol!"
Absol was off. He could sense a disaster of colossal proportions, one that was close to the invasion. His horn not only acted as a way to sense disasters but also a way to locate the disaster. And right now, he had only one place set within his sights. The Frenzy Forest.
Absol ran as fast as he could, already leaving Ponyville. He was just hoping that it wouldn't be too late until the disaster had not only begun or even if it ended already. Because with Cosmo, it's hard to tell. Her malice was something to fear and it could only be worse if her true body was ever restored as the journey continues.
Frenzy Forest was on fire. All thanks to Cosmos. Possessing Cynthia via the power of the necklace she made for her, she easily got close to the Pokemon here, controlling them just as she did to Cynthia's body. Not just the Pokemon, but four Gym Leaders. Fantina, Roxanne, Roxie and Valerie.
Cosmos revelled in this malice. She loved it so much as it fed her. Cosmos needed this type of malice after being trapped in the stars for so long. Controlling most of the Pokemon here to cause malicious chaos and do her bidding.
"Isn't this wonderful?!" Cosmos spoke, standing over a hill as she watched the forest burn. "And this isn't even a bit of my best work. I have a lot more to show later down the road! Especially when I get my body back! Maybe I'll set one of Celestia's schools on fire again. No that's too redundant, especially with this scenario. I need to up my game."
"Uh, yeah..." Lucien spoke as he and Sienna didn't have much to say. Granted, both of them could only speak when it came to important moments at this point in time, especially with Cosmos and how she ended up in the original timeline.
"Are you two just going to stand there?" Cosmos turned to them.
"We uh...we just figured you'd want us to speak when you need to know something important." Sienna gulped, hiding behind Lucien.
"Correct. But I feel like being cooperative today." Cosmos snapped her finger, causing an explosion of fire to emerge around the area, causing further malice against the Pokemon living here. "Those Gym Leaders are already doing a good job. I should thank you for recommending them to me. It's been centuries since I've caused chaos alongside others. In fact...it was only with one individual."
"Discord, right?" Lucien spoke.
"Precisely. Oh, but he never saw the enjoyment that I saw...He held himself back with his chaos magic. The things we could've done if he had just gone that extra mile. Disappointing." Cosmos clenched her hand as a veil of fire appeared around her before fading away. "Well, it's fine. Very soon, he'll pay for what he did to me. But before all of that can happen, tomorrow, the star will be mine."
"And we should uh...cover our tracks after tonight, right?" Sienna leaned in. "All of this destruction could be made public since Frenzy Forest is kind of a popular place."
"Sure. We'll cover those tracks. We'll have the Pokemon here to do it for us. And if some of them end up perishing then oh well! That'll still mean no one will be left to tell the tale." Cosmos cackled as the forest was already dying. Lucien and Sienna looked at each other, knowing that they were going to have to be around such malefic behaviour. Even to them, it was all terrifying.
However, despite the forest being under attack, the other Pokemon here would prevent their homes from being obliterated and lost to the flames. One of which was Vespiquen and her hive of Combee. They could be seen flying over the horizon as the hive had already been affected by the wildfire that spread at speeds so great that it was not slowing down for even a second.
And more on the side of helping others, there was Delphox. Delphox ran through the flames as she easily resisted them thanks to her typing. She watched as many familiar faces were suddenly attacking the homes that they came to know and love, including the friends they made there. "Delphox?!"
And among these terrifying sights was something that stunned Delphox. Everyone here was a friend but some were family. And one of those was the Pyroar evolution line. Up ahead, Delphox had seen the little Litleo run up to his parents. The Male and Female Pyroar. Amidst all of this destruction, being close to his parents was the safest option thus far.
"Lit! Litleo!" He called out for his parents. However, the moment Litleo got close, he could see what they were doing. The two Pyroar weren't fleeing or protecting the forest like the others. Instead, they were involved in the carnage being brought upon the Frenzy Forest. "Lit?"
"Pyroar!" The two of them unleashed searing flames from their mouths, incinerating and obliterating everything in their path. They had focused on the Electric-Type area, which had many small Electric-Types flee with their homes being torched.
"Lit?" Litleo was frozen by this horrific act. His own parents were adding to the carnage. But not through their own will. Once he trembled on the spot, the two Pyroar had eventually noticed their son, turning their heads to spot the Lion Cub Pokemon. "L-Leo!" Litleo called for his parents once more, hoping that he would be exempt from the damage.
"Pyroar!" However, not even hesitating, or even taking the time to look at their own son, the Pyroar roared in front of Litleo, showing that anyone was their enemy in this case. Litleo closed his eyes as the roar from the two Royal Pokemon blew his fur along with the blades of grass that had also been burnt away.
The two Royal Pokemon followed up with their roars by immediately attacking their own son without a second thought. Cosmos' malice blocked all thought of reason away from others as Flamethrower had been used. Litleo was still frozen by what his parents were doing, unable to move away from the flames that approached him.
"Del!" Delphox stepped in, holding her wand out as Psychic had been used. An outline of Psychic energy covered the Lion Cub Pokemon, pulling him away at the last second. The flames struck the ground, damaging it even further as any trace of grass had been wiped out of existence.
"Roar! Pyroar!" The two Pyroar had soon noticed Delphox as well, targeting her. Anything that moved were their prey unless they were also controlled by Cosmos and Cosmos herself.
"Delphox!" Delphox then held Litleo in her hands before choosing to flee instead of engaging the two Royal Pokemon. Delphox would rather not harm Litleo's parents in front of him or even harm any of her friends. She ran with Litleo in her arms whilst the Male and Female Pyroar immediately pursued them both. However, Delphox's path was quickly stopped by a fellow Psychic-Type. Gothitelle.
"Gothitelle..." Gothitelle, along with other Pokemon had shown up, locking onto Delphox, noticing how she was missing that same glow from her eyes along with Litleo. Delphox grimaced as the two Pyroar were behind her, running like the wind while Gothitelle and other Pokemon were right in front of her.
"D-Delphox."
All the while, Cosmos spread her malice further. More of the Pokemon here were being controlled. Any that managed to escape from their attacking friends had succumbed to Cosmos who relied on brute force in this instance.
Roxie's Poison-Types helped with the destruction of the forest via their poison, melting everything away. A horrific poisonous scent filled the atmosphere as well, polluting the once healthy area. As for Fantina and Valerie, their Ghost and Fairy-Types allowed for the immediate halt of those that tried to escape.
"Sylveon! Blind them with Dazzling Gleam!"
"Gengar! Thunderbolt! Mismagius, use Psychic afterwards!"
Gengar, Mismagius and Sylveon had stopped a group of Pokemon with Sylveon using Dazzling's Gleam's overwhelming light to blind them. Once blinded, Gengar had paralyzed the ground with Thunderbolt, halting their movements while also sending 100,000 volts through them all.
The Pokemon cried out as Mismagius used Psychic to further keep them steady. As if they didn't have a way to escape any further. Other Pokemon, such as Vespiquen and her Combee attempted to rescue those who were trapped.
"Vespi!" Vespiquen sent her Combee to attack from above as all of them ended up using Bug Buzz, sending an irritating sound in massive droves. This sound pierced the ears of Gengar, Sylveon and Mismagius once unleashed, proving to be effective when there are multiple of these vibrational sounds going off.
However, even they would be stopped by another force taken over by Cosmos. Roxanne. The Trainer who had the Pokemon fit to deal with these Bug-Flying-Types.
"Crush those bugs with Power Gem, Probopass! And Armaldo, use Rock Slide!"
Attacking the Combee and interrupting their vibrational attacks were Probopass and Armaldo, also having that controlling pink glow in their eyes. Sparkling gemstones and a bombardment of rocks had been summoned out of thin air as the durable body of these Rock-Types allowed them to power through the sound waves.
Once these rocks had been summoned, the sparkling gemstones had been unleashed, rapidly bombarding the Combee. The rocks from Rock Slide followed suit, raining down from above instead of being sent upwards. It wasn't just Roxanne's Pokemon. The other Rock-Types within the Frenzy Forest became subject to Cosmos' control once she ended up getting to them. They joined in with their fellow Rock-Types, putting an end to the alarming Bug Buzz.
"Vespi!?" Vespiquen gasped as her subjects had been hit out of the sky by the rocks. She squinted her eyes as the rocks were coming from all directions. Vespqiquen would not be left out. She would soon join her subjects as some rocks were coming her way as well.
The Bug-Flying-Type noticed how another Power Gem was incoming from two different Pokemon. A Boldore and a Nosepass. In response, Vespiquen had used Air Slash, cancelling out the gems. Cosmos watched, raising her hand with some more of her magic flowing out. She was relying on Cynthia's Aura to keep parts of her magic active instead of running out of it.
Her magic ended up casting a dark cosmic purple storm that was almost large enough to encompass the forest. The malicious magic coming from these clouds had damaged the forest some more, shooting out lightning that had obliterated hiding spots that any Pokemon would've fled to.
"Look at them struggle. If I had my magic back, I think I'd make it worse for them. But this'll do." Cosmos commented, watching Vespiquen and the other Pokemon struggle for survival whilst still standing on that hill. "That'll come soon. And when tomorrow comes, not only will one of the Andalusian stars be in my possession, I can take some revenge on Celestia. It'll all be so-"
"Absol!" But interrupting Cosmos' monologue was the arrival of another Pokemon. One that had come all the way from Ponyville, sensing this disaster from afar.
Absol.
Absol came lunging in with his horn already glowing. His target was who he saw as Cynthia. But the Disaster Pokemon knew all too well that this was not the Cynthia he knew based on her actions. Destroying those hideouts was enough to let him know that something was amiss.
Cosmos gasped as Absol was ready to use Night Slash, swinging his horn downwards. Cosmos just barely managed to move back, avoiding Absol as Night Slash only managed to trim off a strand of Cynthia's hair.
"Absol!" Lucien and Sienna screeched upon seeing Absol. The Pokemon that had knocked them both out and resulted in them being captured.
"Absol...!" Absol slid on the ground as he made his entrance amidst all the malicious chaos.
"Who are you?!" Cosmos growled at Absol, only for Absol to growl back.
"That's the Pokemon that belongs to Princess Twilight!" Lucien exclaimed. "Absol! A pretty terrifying one too..."
"That's an understatement for him." Sienna shook her head. "That Absol's a force to be reckoned with!"
"Is he now?" Cosmos looked down at the Disaster Pokemon with a malevolent stare. While looking at him, she immediately caused a pink flash, focusing it on Absol. "How much of a force are you then?" The intent was to intimidate him and that stare she gave was certainly scaring Lucien and Sienna.
But not Absol.
Absol was unphased by Cosmos' stare. He didn't even flinch with the flash of light or even the veil of fire that had been summoned by Cosmos once more. None of that was intimidating to the Disaster Pokemon.
"W-Well...Someone's a gutsy one." Cosmos scoffed, slightly annoyed that Absol was unphased.
"If he rats to Twilight, this whole thing will come crumbling down!" Sienna pulled her hair, already fearing the worst.
"I think not. Because this thing isn't leaving here at all." Cosmos had other plans for Absol she immediately attacked the Disaster Pokemon. But not with a Pokemon. Rather, she had used the magic she managed to keep, unleashing it in the form of a beam.
In response, Absol had retaliated with Dark Pulse, meeting with Cosmos' malicious beam. The two of them cancelled each other out with a cloud of smoke emerging. However, pouncing out of it was Absol as he advanced on Cosmos. Cosmos was alarmed by how fast Absol acted as the Dark-Type nearly landed another Night Slash.
Cosmos had been startled. Not something she feels much often as she conjured up a shield to protect herself. Night Slash had connected with the shield, shaking the area as Lucien and Sienna backed away.
"I've never faced someone as aggressive you before...!" Cosmos snarled before pushing her shield to push Absol back. "But it's fine! You'll go down all the same! It's time I use these for once..."
Seeing that Absol might be a handful, Cosmos dog into Cynthia's pockets, going straight for a Poke Ball. She wasn't sure which Pokemon she would send out. But one thing was for certain, not only would it be under her command, but it would've also succumbed to Cosmos' magic. The cosmic aura of Cosmos had already surrounded this Poke Ball as she had thrown it.
Out of it came Roserade.
"Roserade!" Roserade cried out as her eyes were flashing a deep purple, going well with the glow that Cynthia's eyes and everyone else's eyes were radiating.
"I have no idea how to use these creatures, but attack! Crush that Absol!" Cosmos ordered. Pokemon Moves were still a mystery to her, but she could care less about them and how they worked. All she cared about right now was getting Absol out of the way.
"Rose!" Roserade followed the order. Despite not knowing any attacks, due to Cosmos' control over her, Roserade would still pull off a Pokemon Move either way. In this case, Roserade had used Power Whip, slamming a massive whip of thorns towards Absol.
"Sol!" Absol, being the speedy Pokemon that he was, zipped to the side. Absol had then replied by using Dark Pulse once more, shooting it at Roserade while she was wide open.
"R-Roserade!"
"Absol!" Absol was ready to knock some sense into Roserade. And the best way he could think of doing was by pure power. And thankfully, Absol was just the Pokemon for that job as he charged at Roserade with Giga Impact.
"I don't think so!" Cosmos interrupted. Not only could she not care for the attacks of the Pokemon, but she also dismissed the rules, attacking Absol while he was confronting another Pokemon. She put her hand out, using her magic to summon a horrific torrent of fire.
"Sol? Absol!" Despite the emergence of this fire, Absol had powered through it with Giga Imapct's power. The torrent of fire had been blown away as Cosmos was blown back by this. Figuratively of course. Roserade was the one who was blown back as Absol had crashed into her. "Ab!"
"Rose!" Roserade screamed as she was sent flying, going right past Cosmos who was still stunned that Absol could just ignore that fire as it was just a nuisance in the way.
"A-Absol...!" Absol needed to recharge with Giga Impact as always. He stood there with his body smoking, fangs baring while eyeing down Cosmos.
"You think you're so tough!" Cosmos scoffed before digging into Cynthia's pockets again. "If I had my full body and magic back, you wouldn't stand a chance! You don't scare me you dog...cat...whatever you are! Go!" She decided to overwhelm Absol, sending out more of Cynthia's Pokemon.
Her Garchomp, Gastrodon, Glaceon and Kommo-o had been summoned. And even they were under Cosmos' control as well thanks to the magic that affected Cynthia's body. However, not all of them were out. There was one Pokemon missing.
"Uh, Cosmos. Maybe um, throwing them all out isn't the best way to go with this." Lucien said. "You should try and-"
"SILENCE! I DIDN'T ASK YOU!" Cosmos roared at Lucien, ending his sentence. Lucien scrunched his face as he had no say in this. Cosmos had no time for advice on how to battle with Pokemon. "Crush him now! Go!"
"Gar!" Garchomp and the others rushed over to attack Absol all at once. Even they had lost any sense of control as their attacks were not coordinated. And that was certainly wrong as Cynthia's Pokemon are always well-paced and skilled in their attacks.
"Sol!" And this lack of coordination allowed Absol to capitalize. Garchomp came rushing in with Dragon Rush, covering herself in a blue draconic aura. Absol had finished recharging as his speed returned to him. "Absol!"
The Disaster Pokemon jumped over Garchomp's Dragon Rush, knowing that he couldn't engage with it head-on. At least, not with Giga Impact as that would result in him having to recharge once more. He conserved his energy before evading the Mach Pokemon's Dragon Rush.
"Glaceon!"
"Gastrodon!" Glaceon and Gastrodon attacked next, using Stone Edge and Ice Beam which were focused on the air where Absol was. Large crystal stones were thrown along with a chilling beam of ice to boot. Absol had a little bit of air time as he had used that air time to retaliate.
He did so by letting the attacks hit him, causing Cosmos to smile, believing that Absol was finished. She thought too far ahead as Absol did it on purpose, allowing one of his attacks to be boosted in the process. And that attack was Counter. Once hit, Absol had taken the damage from Counter, converting it into energy. His body glowed yellow as he had unleashed a powerful orange pulse that was unleashed onto Glaceon and Gastrodon.
"G-Glaceon!" A super-effective hit on Glaceon that had staggered and knocked it away while Gastrodon also suffered heavy damage from it. The wind blew ferociously from Absol's counter, causing the hair and dress of Cynthia's controlled body to blow in the wind. Cosmos felt that even though she was not on the receiving end of this counterattack. Lucien and Sienna held onto each other with their clothes being blown too.
"Kommo-o!" Kommo-o approached Absol with Outrage as its eyes flashed red. Joining Kommo-o's incoming attack were Garchomp and Roserade with Scale Shot and Petal Blizzard. A blizzard of petals had been unleashed as well as hard and sharp scales from Garchomp's body.
Absol was surrounded by these three attacks as the first to hit him was the claw of Kommo-o's Outrage, slashing him in the face. "A-Absol!" After being slashed, Absol staggered, causing Petal Blizzard and Scale Shot to connect.
He was bombarded, pelted and assaulted by these two attacks while still recovering from Outrage. Afterwards, Kommo-o struck again with Focus Punch, delivering a direct blow to Absol's stomach once it was exposed. "S-Sol!"
Absol felt that one. A super-effective hit as he was sent flying. The Disaster Pokemon rolled on the ground, crashing through the rubbles of broken down trees and rocks in the process. The Dark-Type managed to get back up by sliding onto the ground. He took a lot of damage from that assault, but he refused to stay down.
"Ugh! That should've been the end of you!" Cosmos jeered as she pointed at Absol. "Do your job right! Destroy Absol!"
"Garchomp!" Garchomp and the others continued their assault on Absol. All 5 of them. Absol snarled, knowing that he most likely couldn't take another assault despite how stubborn he may be.
In this predicament, Absol decided to rely on one thing. His surroundings. Living in the wild for years and picking up survival strategies was something he never forgot. Luckily for him, the forest was just what he needed as he could use parts of it to his advantage, even if it was burning down. He backed away slowly as the flames were closer to him, especially with all of the fire affecting the tree branches that had fallen over.
Glaceon had used Ice Beam, aiming to freeze Absol. Absol had used a burning branch to his advantage, hitting it with Night Slash. That branch had been launched with the force of Night Slash, immediately overpowering Night Slash with the heat.
The flames destroyed Glaceon's ice beam, causing an explosion to obliterate the branch and cause a smoke cloud to obscure the visions of his opponents. Garchomp and the other squinted as Absol unleashed Dark Pulse while the time was ripe.
Straight through the smoke, Dark Pulse had hit Gastrodon, separating it from the rest of its teammates. Once Absol got that hit in, he immediately moved elsewhere, keeping his distance away from the opposing Pokemon.
"After him!" Cosmos shouted upon seeing Absol flee. Garchomp and the others chased him down whilst Gastrodon had fallen over, still feeling winded from that sudden Dark Pulse.
Absol looked back to see the 4 Pokemon of Cynthia pursuing him. Garchomp and Kommo-o were the fastest among the two of them. Absol knew that taking all of them on was a dangerous task even if he was brave. And even if they weren't in their right mind, these Pokemon were still powerful as they were trained by Cynthia. To Absol, the only way to beat them is with the skills he learned throughout the years and using their minds against them.
Absol certainly couldn't do the last part but the first part is something he excelled at. He instantly rushed to one of the areas throughout this burning forest. However, obstacles stood in his way. Controlled Pokemon.
"Rhy...Don!" Rhydon was a big obstacle as it had used Earthquake, sending a powerful tremor in the form of golden shockwaves towards the Disaster Pokemon.
Absol leapt into the air, jumping on one of the trees to avoid the shockwave. However, because the tremor shook the area, it started bringing down all the trees. Absol jumped from falling tree to tree, getting as much distance as he could. He managed to use the falling trees to his advantage as all of them came tumbling down. But he wasn't leaving this spot without some damage.
He approached Rhydon from above after it had used Earthquake, utilizing Counter once more. By gathering the damage he received earlier from Cynthia's Pokemon, Absol smashed his glowing horn onto Rhydon's head. "Absol!"
"R-Rhydon!" A super-effective hit. One that was powerful enough to knock Rhydon out as the Rock-Ground-Type had fallen over. Absol continued on his path as Garchomp and Kommo-o were gaining thanks to their superior speed.
Absol travelled through the wreckage, entering and leaving many destroyed homes. He watched the carnage as the fires raged on showing no signs of stopping. Garchomp and Kommo-o obliterated the wreckage while scaring off nearby Pokemon that were still fleeing.
Eventually, Absol reached the area he wanted to be at. The Fairy-Type area. It was once home to the dazzling and twinkling Faires. But now, this beautiful area had been tarnished by the malefic chaos that Cosmos had brought upon the forest. However, the few things that remained were the pools of Fairy Magic. That's what Absol needed as Garchomp and Kommo-o finally caught up to him once he stopped in his tracks. "Gar!"
"Kommo-o!"
"Absol!" Absol roared back at the two Dragons, showing no fear. Kommo-o then lunged at Absol with Focus Punch, preparing to end this in just one blow. Absol knew that Focus Punch was nothing but bad news if it would connect. The Disaster Pokemon had run to the side, narrowly evading Kommo-o's incoming strike.
Absol then looked to the pool, knowing that it was the biggest weapon against the Dragons. And him as well. The Disaster Pokemon was all about taking risks and this was one of them. Even if it meant that he would be injured as well, he had only one thing on his mind right now. Take out the two hardest-hitting Pokemon of Cynthia and deal with the rest.
"Garchomp!" Along came Garchomp, rushing towards Absol. Kommo-o made a quick turnaround, charging up Focus Punch by focusing all of its mental energy into its claws.
"Sol!" Now was Absol's chance. He took the risk, immediately putting his horn into one of the pools of Fairy Magic. He could already feel his weakness being exploited as he closed his eyes. However, he endured it. But he would make that Garchomp and Kommo-o couldn't. "Absol!"
With all of his might, Absol had used the power of Counter to strengthen his horn before then releasing its energy. He used the explosive energy of Counter to erupt the Fairy Magic within the pool. As if it were a geyser going off, the pink liquid had sprung out violently with Absol also flicking his horn to direct the attack.
"Gar?!" The liquid had been exposed to Garchomp and Kommo-o as it had been directed towards them. The two Dragons had been based on Fairy liquid. "Garchomp!"
"Kommo-o!"
Much like how Aura was damaging to Rift Energy, the same could be said for Fairy Magic to Dragon Pokemon. Especially when it was in the form of a massive stream of liquid. Garchomp and Kommo-o were showered by these liquids as Absol didn't receive the worst of it. He took damage, mainly his horn as he went for the next pool.
He did it again. This time, thanks to taking some damage from the pool of Fairy Magic, Counter had been strengthened. And with increased strength in Counter, that meant that the next pool he targeted would have a stronger force added to it. And indeed it did as another stream had been unleashed. Faster and stronger as Garchomp and Kommo-o had been hit by a second one.
They were pushed back by the stream as their bodies were twitching uncontrollably from the mystical liquids that have affected them. It felt like getting hit by multiple Fairy-Type attacks at the same time which was not pleasant at all. While Garchomp felt super-effective damage from this, Kommo-o had it worse.
Being a Dragon-Fighting-Type was his biggest weakness against Fairy Magic. Absol went to another pool, constantly harming himself while also powering up Counter. Bigger and stronger streams had been summoned, relentlessly being thrown in Garchomp and Kommo-o's directions.
"Kommo-o!" Kommo-o could not take anymore. Out of the two Dragons, it ended up fainting first. Garchomp hung in there though. She managed to stay active despite the massive streams that were thrown at her. While she did not faint, the streams ended up carrying her away. Garchomp could be seen being sent out of the Fairy-Type area with droplets of pink liquids flowing in the wind.
"Sol...Absol..." Absol managed to deal with them both. He defeated one Dragon and sent another Dragon off.
However, his work here was not done. He still had to deal with Cosmos herself, the forest burning down and the remaining Pokemon of Cynthia. He took down the biggest problems, but his sights were set on the true problem of it all. Cosmos herself.
Absol rushed off, deciding to evade Glaceon and the others to find Cosmos. He was in a weakened state, but he still had the strength to continue.
Speaking of Cosmos, she continued to watch the carnage go on as the Pokemon here were all starting to become under her control. She walked through the ravaged forest, witnessing how many Pokemon had fainted from this destruction. Some of them couldn't handle all of this pressurizing heat as they passed out from it.
"Ah, this is a nice feeling." Cosmos smiled, revelling in this malice. "But it can only get better from here! You'll be next, Canterlot! And right after that, I'll go for after everywhere else! And maybe that Pokemon World! Yes...that world's interesting. I have a lot to see there. I can't wait!"
"Absol!" Absol had once again interrupted Cosmos' monologuing as he was approaching her at full force while having injuries across his body.
"You again!?" Cosmos roared upon seeing Absol. She was agitated and aggravated with this Pokemon. "You should learn to quit already!" Cosmos had enough with Absol, putting her hand out to use her magic once more. None of Cynthia's Pokemon were around at the moment, leaving her to handle Absol herself.
She caused the rubble of rocks to transform into jagged rocks this time, sending them at Absol. Absol grit his teeth, using Night Slash immediately. He had slashed away at the jagged rocks that had the potential to pierce him. They were disposed of quickly as Cosmos changed up her approach.
She had then used some of the fainted Pokemon as shields, raising their bodies with telekinesis. She held them out, expecting Absol to refrain from attacking. "You'd better stand back you-"
"Sol!" Absol did not. He was still going through with the attack as he had used Counter. An orange pulse burst out of his body, but it had only gone through the ground in a flat position. Just what he needed as it had targeted the legs of Cynthia's possessed body, staying away from the fainted Pokemon.
"G-Gah!" Cosmos screamed as her legs had been damaged, causing her to drop the Pokemon. Absol continued his assault before then lunging at Cosmos. He still had to be careful. This was Cynthia's body after all. The Disaster Pokemon had bashed his body into Cosmos, causing her to almost fall over. "You little....!"
Cosmos' eyes sharpened as she had then used her magic to turn the ground into poison. Only a part of it where she was safe. She could also only do so much of it thanks to her restrained magic. She grinned as Absol's legs had touched the poison once he landed.
"A-Absol!" Absol cried out as the poison stung horribly. But he refused to let it poison his body.
"Thought you could outdo me?! The Spirit of Malice?!" Cosmos boasted, using her limited magic to rip the ground apart. Once the ground could be seen ripping open, a pool of fire was already summoned within it, aiming to consume Absol entirely.
"Sol!" The Disaster Pokemon sucked up the damage before transforming it into power. Counter. He had used Counter once more, transferring it into his paw. He stomped on the ground, not only causing a tremor, but he even stopped the ground from ripping apart. The flames could not fully come out.
"How in the...?!" Cosmos gasped as Absol charged at her with a held back Giga Impact. He wanted to take Cosmos out but not to the point where Cynthia was horribly harmed. He came flying at full force as Cosmos' eyes widened, realizing she couldn't do anything about this.
"ABSOL!" Absol made direct contact. He crashed into Cosmos at full force. The explosive power of Giga Impact had registered through Cosmos as this was by far the hardest thing she had been hit by. And it was not even Absol going all out with it as Lucien and Sienna witnessed a surprising result that they did not expect. With that mighty blow, Cosmos had fallen to the ground.
Lying on her back as Cynthia, Cosmos had been overwhelmed. Lucien and Sienna saw it with their own eyes before realizing what had just happened.
"Absol beat Cosmos!" The Rift Siblings said at the same time. They were stunned to see Absol be the one to be victorious. By himself without any help.
"I-Impossible...!" Cosmos growled, sitting up as she looked at the Disaster Pokemon. "I-I can't lose like this...Not after I have just found a body..."
"Sol...Sol..." Absol breathed in and out as he knew he had won. However, with Cosmos still sitting up, despite winning the battle, Absol knew that he had to find a way to fully finish this, especially with Cynthia's body still being stolen.
He walked up to Cosmos, disrespecting her by putting his foot on her stomach, pinning her down. He made sure to let Cosmos know that she had lost. The Disaster Pokemon's crimson eyes stared into Cosmos' eyes. For the first time ever, Cosmos felt fear.
And the one to strike fear into her was Absol.
"I won't let this be the end..." Cosmos groaned.
"A-Absol..." Absol was out of options. Even though he won, he had no way to free Cynthia from Cosmos. And Cosmos knew this.
"I need to recover...And I'll make sure you're out of the way too!" Cosmos knew that she had to recover her strength after what had just happened. There was only one place to head back to. The dimension she was banished to. She could still access it as she immediately grabbed Absol's horn. "You're coming with me!"
"A-Absol!?" Absol gasped as his body had been lit up with the colours of stars. Cosmos grinned as her body lit up as well, radiating those stars. Absol charged up Night Slash onto his horn, only for it to be too late.
Cosmos had sent herself and Absol away from this dimension as a flash of dark pink energy was left behind, almost blinding Lucien and Sienna. Before they knew it, Cosmos and Absol were gone.
An unknown dimension.
Cosmos retreated to the one place she could regenerate her strength. This dimension was located within the stars far out in the galaxy. Upon arriving here, she had let go of Absol as her hand had already been harmed from touching his horn.
"A-Absol...?!" Absol gasped as he suddenly felt himself floating. He felt perplexed and had a bit of whiplash before noticing that his surroundings had changed. Drastically.
"How do you like this?!" Cosmos exclaimed. "Right now, you're in this dimension with me. I call it the Malice Dimension in my name."
"Absol...!" The Dark-Type snarled at Cosmos before twitching. He had taken too much damage from what he had gone through, making him unable to do much more.
"You may have beaten me, but you will be trapped here you pesky Pokemon! " Cosmos landed on a tower of spikes. Being in this dimension was starting to heal her already. "I still have to bring my body back to full strength. A shame you won't be here to see my return."
Cosmos was already prepared to return to Earth. All she wanted to do was keep Absol here. She saw him as too big of a threat to keep out in the world, thus, she chose to leave him here.
"Absol!" Absol tried running to her, but he was floating in nothing but space right now, unable to run or jump.
"Useless! You'll be out of the way...and my return will still be made!" Cosmos chuckled with her body once again lighting up with that same cosmic energy. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of your friends. Especially that Twilight Sparkle that's close to you. They'll all be in for a world of malice. They will suffer!"
Cosmos had let those become the last words she said to Absol before disappearing in a flash. Her laugh echoed throughout this horrific dimension, leaving Absol behind.
"Absol!" Absol cried out with his voice also echoing out, overlapping with Cosmos' laugh. He was now trapped. Trapped within this Malice Dimension full of horrific things that were a danger to him in every way.
Knowing this, Absol feared for his friends. For Equestria. And for Twilight. He cried out once more into the endless dimension, this time screaming Twilight's name.
Frenzy Forest. Nightfall.
Cosmos had returned, right where she was previously. She had recovered some of her strength from being in the dimension for a few seconds. Absol had been left behind while she was free to return here by using Cynthia's body. Lucien and Sienna were still processing everything that had happened.
"Hah...Ha..." The Spirit of Malice breathed in and out before recollecting herself. "That was surprising. I didn't expect that one Pokemon to cause so much trouble."
"You left Absol behind...?" Sienna uttered.
"I certainly did. Rightfully so." Cosmos stood up, holding her head. "But...if I'm correct...since that was the Pokemon belonging to that princess from Ponyville, are you telling me that there are others just as dangerous as him."
"Y-Yes..." Lucien stuttered.
"That creates an issue. But nothing I can't solve." Cosmos laughed, seeing the Pokemon as a massive threat but also a means to an end. "I hate to do this, but I believe we'll have this forest back to the way it was. I refuse to leave a trace behind. The Pokemon here will still work for me...including others I have in mind."
"What about tomorrow then? You're still planning on attacking Equestria by then?" Sienna asked.
"I'll sort that out when that day comes." Cosmos sighed. "I want those other Gym Leaders by my side still. And I still need to head to that room to find myself one of the Andalusian stars. Understood."
"R-Right..." The Rift Siblings nodded in unison, very slowly.
"We'll clean up this mess after it's done. And if we can't then we'll leave with all of the Pokemon being on my side. Then...none of them will tell the tale. If they can after it's all burned down that is? Gahahaha!" Even after all that, Cosmos couldn't help but continue revelling in the moment of malice.
The destruction was dying down, but the effects it would leave behind were catastrophic. Lucien and Sienna along with the controlled Gym Leaders were off to do some cleanup for the night so as to erase any trace of this horrific event. Absol was trapped and the goal to find the second Andalusian was still set for tomorrow.
With the overwhelming numbers of controlled Pokemon rising, there was seemingly no way for any remaining Pokemon to withstand the storm that was approaching. Cosmos' quest to restore her full body was only getting started as the journey continues.
"Hello! Anyone?!" Right now, the real Cynthia was stuck. Ever since her body had been taken over by Cosmos, her mind was unable to think for itself. She found herself within her mind, crying out for someone ever since yesterday. "How could this happen...?"
Cynthia wondered how this had happened or how she had even ended up like this. She could only think back to that moment at the office, where she found the necklace. It all came back to it. No matter how hard she cried out, no one would respond to her.
No one except the cackling of Cosmos that echoed throughout her mind. She heard Cosmos' laugh coming from all directions, essentially mocking Cynthia. "There's that laugh again..." Cynthia had already heard it. Ever since yesterday, it has been happening. With Cosmos taking over her body, she laughed at Cynthia's inability to break free. This almost frustrated Cynthia.
However, she did not lose hope. Cynthia closed her eyes, remaining calm even in this void of mind. "I can't start worrying now. Or ever. Whatever is happening...I'm certain someone will find out that something is off. Whatever it may be...and whatever these laughs are."
All she could do now was wait.
Equestria. Near Ponyville. Day.
Cosmos was approaching Ponyville, still having the body of Cynthia under her control. After last night, her defeat was almost certain from the paws of Absol. But, even though Absol defeated her, the Disaster Pokemon had been sent to the Malice Dimension where Cosmos was once seen.
Cosmos had healed up and recovered after last night. She still had the Gym Leaders that were under her control since yesterday. Fantina, Roxanne, Roxie and Valerie. But that wasn't where her control ended. She got busy last night at Frenzy Forest. But while approaching Ponyville, Lucien and Sienna, who were following Cosmos' command without mind control, stopped in their tracks.
"Uh, I don't think we can go to Ponyville..." Lucien said.
"Hm? And why is that?" Cosmos asked.
"We'd end up in heavy enemy territory if we entered Ponyville. We were locked up for a reason." Sienna twiddled her fingers. "But we can do something else to help now that we're near it."
"I just said that we can't go there." Lucien nudged her.
"I know but...hear me out. There's another Rift Creation like us over at Ponyville. Someone else who has memories of this world and the Pokemon World. Well, okay I guess three of them but two of them have those memories."
"Hoh? Go on?" Cosmos was all ears as any useful information was a goldmine to her. Anything to prevent her apparent failure in the original timeline.
"His name's Cold Colt. And the other's Emerald Aura. Who's lounging it out at Applejack's Home now." Sienna explained. "If they put together where Twilight and the others are headed, they'll for sure reveal everything about you."
"I see..." Cosmos pondered. "That would risk my cover being blown. How annoying."
"Ah! I got it! What if we don't have to go to Ponyville at all?!" Lucien snapped his fingers, coming up with a bright idea. Sienna and Cosmos were curious about what he had cooked up. "Twilight and the others split up into groups to find the stars...and we've got our own group, right? So why don't we just use this group to find them."
"Hm-hm. You raise a good point, Rift Human. Your usefulness isn't wasted it seems." Cosmos was already in agreement with this plan. "I've already gathered up enough numbers to do my bidding. Why not use that?"
"What about Cold Colt and Emerald though? They could still be a problem." Sienna focused on her fellow Rift Creations. "Plus, Cold has more magic than us now. He's the biggest problem, no doubt."
"How big of a problem?" Cosmos asked as her smile disappeared. "I'd rather not have anything else get in my way like that Absol from last night."
"Uhh..." Sienna shrugged. "He's got a lot of potential and there's no telling how much he's grown with his magic so...pretty big. Very big."
"Hmph. I don't need that coming back to bite me. That little pony should be dealt with immediately." Cosmos looked at the distance as the Sun was rising. "The day is about to arrive now. Roxanne. Roxie. You will go to the boy and sort him out. And uh, that Emerald one as well."
"You got it!" Roxie replied. Even when under mind control, she still kept her exuberant personality.
"We'll see what we can do." Roxanne bowed. "I already have an idea that could work."
"The rest of us will split up into different groups. The other Gym Leaders back at that school included. These are the places you will all pursue. Klugetown. The Crystal Empire. Griffonstone. The Everfree Forest. And I will go to Canterlot as to be expected. And remember. Deal with anyone who would dare ruin my return. You Rift Humans are still coming with me."
"Not inside Canterlot...right?" Lucien gulped.
"Not at all. I can't risk you getting captured again. I need your information more than anything to ensure my victory. But you will stay at Frenzy Forest, got that?"
"Got it." The Rift Siblings replied.
"I did promise Twilight and her friends that I could call for them. But instead of letting them go to where the stars are...I think I'll send them somewhere else." Cosmos had other plans for Twilight and the others as she snapped her fingers to summon some maps.
"Give them these maps. They all lead to uncharted areas. As for all of us, we will be focusing on the destinations where the stars truly are."
"That's cool and all but, ya know...I'd suggest one last thing. Just for good measure." Lucien put his hands together as Cosmos narrowed her eyes, waiting for this chatter to end soon. "I-I'll make it quick! It's about the Pokemon. You could try and learn to battle with them?"
"Hm?"
"I mean...you've got Cynthia's Pokemon now. Absol beat you so it wouldn't hurt to get used to battling with them, right?" Lucien tried to not come off as disrespectful just to avoid Cosmos' wrath.
"You're right about that." Surprisingly, Cosmos did not lash out at Lucien this time. She knew that this was one drawback to having Cynthia's body. She was lacking the skills. "Fine then. You'd better have the power to sort that out."
"We do!" Sienna raised her arm. "we can use the little bit of our remaining magic to bring you up to speed with Pokemon Battling. Sound good?"
"Hurry it up. The next time someone stands before me, I can use those skills to pummel them." Cosmos ordered as Lucien and Sienna got right on it. She stayed completely still, allowing the Rift Siblings to touch her. Their hands were placed on Cosmos' shoulders as they used their cosmic power to make some adjustments.
Cosmos' eyes flared as the skills of a Pokemon Trainer were being granted to her. It wasn't something she felt like she wanted, but in this case, she needed it. Cosmos accepted it as she didn't feel any different. Then again, there was no specific feeling of being a skilled Pokemon Trainer. At least, one that she could think of.
"Done. That should do." Lucien said as he and Sienna backed away.
"Good. It'd better work. Now, Let's set out." Cosmos and her group had set out, continuing on the quest to restore her full body so that she can once again cause malice throughout the world. They all had their destination and their plans. Roxie and Roxanne went straight to Ponyville first before anywhere else.
At Ponyville, Twilight and her friends had been gathered early in the morning to get a good start on their journey. They were always excited for a new journey to begin and the things they could experience. Some were hoping it wasn't anything dangerous at all. They had their bags ready along with extra bags that were bigger and packed with a plethora of objects. Luckily, their Pokemon could carry the bigger bags instead. Sceptile had a large one on his back as did Audino.
However, despite them all rising to this beautiful day, ready to set out, Twilight was the only one lacking a smile on her face. And for a good reason.
"Hey, Twilight. What's wrong?" Pinkie Pie bounced over.
"Well..." Twilight had a bit of a disgruntled face. She wasn't exactly in high spirits like everyone else. "Not everyone is here...Absol's gone."
"He was on nightguard duty as always and all of a sudden, he just vanished. I haven't seen him today at all..." The young alicorn sighed.
"We're gonna have my Slurpuff here track his scent down." Pinkie Pie latched onto one of her Slurpuff. "We'll find him in no time, Twilight."
"Right. We will, Pinkie Pie. He might even come back to us by himself." Twilight had hope that Absol would be found. However, Slurpuff's powerful nose wouldn't be enough. It certainly couldn't reach space and another dimension to track down Absol's scent. "He's way too wild for the worst to happen Anyway...I've given everyone here a map. This should help you out."
All of her friends were holding onto maps fixated on different locations as well as those bags that would be brought with them. "They have everything they need to travel from protein bars, a detailed timeline and a drawing of a star gem."
"Bit too detailed if you ask me..." Applejack looked at the map, struggling to understand it.
"It's usual for Twilight." Rainbow Dash replied.
"We also have these maps that Roxie and Roxanne gave us." Twilight passed the maps to her friends. "They came in to see Cold Colt early this morning today also. My guess is that Cynthia's probably already one step ahead of us in searching for the stars. Maybe."
"It won't be a long journey, so they'll probably still have some time to head back to their jobs as Gym Leaders." Fluttershy replied." But I guess Roxanne might be late since she's the first Gym Leader of her region."
"We can't let her or anyone beat us to it then. We should get there before anyone else." Rainbow Dash flew over.
"Let me just pay a quick visit to the Pokemon House and my home." Fluttershy took flight. "I need to feed Angel and the others. After that, Discord will tag along."
"Discord? Are you sure?" Starlight asked, nervous about Discord's inclusion.
"Mhm. It'll be fun! With him and the Unown combined." Fluttershy was already getting excited about the possibilities before flying off to her home.
"You all should head to these spots. They're probably already altered to fit the Pokemon but their locations should still be the same. Pinkie Pie. Please make sure you find Absol."
"We will. Come on, Slurpuff! Let's go!" Pinkie raised her hoof as Slurpuff was already on the way.
"Slurpuff!" Slurpuff was off. But the running speed of a Slurpuff was certainly not going to help with the search. Nothing would in reality. Mew had transformed himself into a Machamp, immediately picking Slurpuff and Pinkie Pie up. He certainly had the speed to get there as he took off running. Twilight would follow Pinkie Pie in the quest to find Absol. Finding him was far more important than searching for the stars.
"Machamp!"
"We're out of here! Come on, Rarity!" Rainbow Dash also had the speed to leave.
Rarity would usually be lagging behind, but she had the perfect Pokemon to keep up with Rainbow Dash. Her Pheromosa. Pheromosa had been sent out, immediately picking Rarity up as if she was a child. Pheromosa also carried the bags on her back. They were a bit heavy for the Lissome Pokemon but she endured either way.
"After her, Pheromosa. Be careful with the bags as well.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa left the area, following Rainbow Dash's rainbow trail. Applejack would eventually partner with Fluttershy, who was currently at her home. She would have to wait compared to the rest of her friends whilst Spike and Starlight would team-up.
"Just wait for me, Absol," Twilight said. "I know you're okay"
Fluttershy's Home.
"Discord! I have some great news!" Fluttershy had entered her home where Discord was currently at. Currently, Discord was up to his usual shenanigans, messing around with Angel Bunny. "Oh."
"Finally." Discord recognised Fluttershy's voice as he had a bowl of lettuce on his head along with tomatoes in his eyes all while wearing an apron that said 'Chaos the Cook'. "Tell your monster of a lagomorph that he can starve."
"Oh, Discord! You need to use the spring mix, not the romaine! I should've told you." Fluttershy flew over, preventing Angel Bunny from pelting more tomatoes. She had to sort things out first before she would leave on her quest.
"How was your little meeting? You said you were going on a trip? I do hope it's to go antiquing. A Chippendale table for my breakfast nook would look lovely!" Discord asked. "Or perhaps...Scuba Diving in the Great Reef?! Oh, how about a walk in Gallop Park?"
"Maybe some other time. We're headed places to find a fallen star." Fluttershy replied, revealing what she and her friends were truly doing. Upon mentioning a fallen star, Discord's expression changed from happy to downright stunned and startled. His eyes widened as he turned around, looking somewhere overwhelmed.
"A...fallen star? D-Did you say a fallen star?"Discord asked with a stuttering voice.
"That's right. Twilight is very excited about it. She said a constellation fell out of the sky and we're on an adventure to collect all the pieces. How fun!" Fluttershy squeed. But Discord thought differently.
"W-What was the name of the star? There's no possible chance it could be the...Andalusian Constellation?"
"Uhm...yes. That's what it was called! I didn't know you were so well versed in astronomy. That's going to save you from reading the first 12 pages from Twilight's notes."
"This is just...some whim of Twilight's right? A flight of fancy? A hobby? She doesn't think these stars actually exist, right? Right?" Discord's face was getting noticeably more and more nervous.
"Well, it was actually Cynthia who found one. But here's a drawing of it." Fluttershy then showed her the book that Twilight lent her and the rest of her friends. The same constellation was on it. From the heart and the stars surrounding it. "And it's pointed the way to all the others. They're pretty far, but hopefully, we can get home soon."
"She found one?!" Discord grabbed Fluttershy, lifting her off the floor.
"Oh, yes. It was all so exciting."
"We have to leave." Discord made up his mind as fear had struck him to the core.
"What? Why?" Fluttershy asked as Discord ran out of the cottage. The moment he ran out, he opened a portal to his dimension, taking Fluttershy with him.
The Chaos Dimension. Discord's Home.
"Twilight, Cynthia and all of you cannot reunite all the pieces!" Discord urgently yelled as he had brought Fluttershy to her home in this dimension that was less horrible than Cosmos'. He then summoned some bubble wrap of all things, immediately placing it around the book that Fluttershy had with her.
"Why Discord? What's happening?"
"Those stars...aren't stars. They are Cosmos. You remember what I told you back at PokeStar Studios?" Discord shuddered from just mentioning her name alone. "Cosmos was once a terror upon Equestria. She was...well like me. But she took things too far. She hurt things. It took the combined efforts of the most magical beings to lock her away in the stars. And those stars were her prison."
"Oh my." That was all Fluttershy could say as she felt the terror in Discord's voice. She had then remembered when Discord had brought up Cosmos for the first time, back at PokeStar Studios when he revealed her name to her and Ash. "But wait...you said she wasn't from this universe."
"I did. But it seems I was fearing another Cosmos from another universe. The Cosmos in this universe is still someone that I fear as much!" Discord trembled. "Years ago, a shooting star knocked her out of the sky and the stars scattered. I've vested a powerful interest to keep Cosmos from coming back."
"We can talk about it just like we did back at PokeStar Studios," Fluttershy recommended as Discord gave her a hard hat for safety as well as creating a bunker for Fluttershy. The bubble wrap from before had also surrounded Fluttershy as Discord believed this to be the best way to protect her.
"Not really, but I suppose we have to." Discord sighed, laying down on his couch. "Before the stars fell, I used to monitor them constantly, always afraid she would come back. I thought it was a good thing they fell and spread across the land...it meant she was much farther away from being whole. But I ended up finding one...in the Everfree Forest."
"There's one in the Everfree Forest?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Mm. It called to me. Cosmos' voice had a strong influence to bring me over. I hid it away. Under no circumstances can all those stars be reunited."
"Oh, dear." A stunned Fluttershy uttered.
"'Oh, dear' isn't the half of it." Discord sighed.
"Well, this is perfect. You should know where it is. We should go get and give it to Princess Celestia. She needs to know about the threat of Cosmos coming back, right?" Fluttershy wriggled her way out of the bubble wrap as the hard hat fell off.
"I suppose but I'd rather be left out of it. This is Cosmos we're talking about..." Discord bit his nails before then dialling back a few minutes to what Fluttershy had said. "Wait. Did you say Cynthia found them?"
"Yes, Cynthia. She's the one who insisted we should head out and find them. Why?"
"That has to be Cosmos' doing!" Discord bellowed. "Your Champion Friend might be in trouble!"
"Cynthia's in trouble?!" Fluttershy fell over as the bubble wrap popped all over, freeing the pegasus. "Then the maps ew have...one of them doesn't go to the Everfree Forest...My friends!" Fluttershy realized that her friends, including her, were exempt from the Everfree Forest as the maps did not list it at all.
"Are all in line for a trap." Discord finished her sentence. "Whatever Cosmos is doing, she's going for those stars either way, Fluttershy."
"We need to go to the Everfree Forest first!" Fluttershy spread her wings out. "If Cosmos didn't mention that place, then she'll have one free star with no one to stop her! Which means that everywhere else doesn't have a star there..."
"Must we go?" Discord squeed. "You're being far too reasonable with something like this.
"Yes! To save our friends and keep that star away from Cosmos. Before it's too late."
"A-Alright." Discord was hesitant but he would do this for his friends. "I'm not going to like it though."
The Everfree Forest. Afternoon.
The Everfree Forest. Still regenerating but it was close to being finished. The eerie nature of the Everfree Forest had already been restored. All thanks to three different forces.
The natural magical flow of Equestria, The chaos seeds that Discord planted centuries ago and the Rift Energy that had been planted 3 years ago. All three of these forces worked together to bring back the forest. And along with the seed and spark of Rift Energy, one of the Andalusian Stars had remained even after the forest had been destroyed.
Discord had brought Fluttershy here, quickly running through his memory to remember where he had hidden the star. They had to only find this star, but also warn their friends and especially focus on Cynthia, the one that Cosmos had possessed. It would be a busy day.
"It should be right here. Underneath this vicinity. I'll just clear the way." Upon arriving at this specific spot at Everfree Forest and witnessing the regeneration process, Discord had used his magic to dig a wide hole through the ground. After forming that hole, the star had been found. Fluttershy picked it up as it indeed matched the drawings and necklace that she had seen.
But right after it had been found, Audino's ears, along with Fluttershy's heightened sense of hearing had picked up on a nearby sound. The duo turned in the direction of the sound which came from the bushes.
They immediately stayed quiet to notice that someone was there. It was not a creature of the Everfree. They have yet to return here until the forest is restored. But instead, a familiar face.
Valerie and Sylveon.
"That's...Valerie! And Sylveon!" Fluttershy smiled upon witnessing her Fairy Mentor. "Hello, Valerie!" She waved at Valerie, who stood there with Sylveon by her side. Fluttershy flew over to them with a thrilled expression. Valerie waved back as well along with Sylveon using her ribbons.
"Audino!"
"Hello, Fluttershy. What brings you here?" Valerie greeted.
"I was about to ask the same thing. I didn't expect you to show up here. Did something happen?" Fluttershy asked.
"Mmm. Not at all. Everything here seems natural. At least... as natural as the Everfree Forest usually is." Valerie chuckled for a bit before looking at Discord. Upon seeing Valerie, Discord noticed how bizarre Valerie's eyes were. They were naturally bizarre due to her tapping into Fairy-Type magic. However, Discord spotted that something was off about these already off eyes.
"We came here for this star. It's a bit of a long story." Fluttershy replied, wondering where to start with this array of information that she received yesterday and today.
"A star you say...? You wouldn't happen to know anything about this little thing, would you, Discord, dear?" Valerie put her hands behind her back as she glanced over at Discord. Her bizarre eyes were letting out a pink glow that Discord recognized. Not only that, but Valerie's voice gained a second layer.
The voice of Cosmos.
"Cosmos!" Discord soon realized who he was talking to as his heart skipped a beat. Numerous times. Absolute fear had struck him. A fear he had not felt in centuries.
"Cosmos?!" Fluttershy gasped once that name was mentioned. She navigated her head, wondering where Cosmos was. But the Spirit of Malice was right in front of Fluttershy.
Being close to Fluttershy, who was also a friend of Discord, gave Cosmos every reason to attack her. With a menacing grin that was out of place for Valerie's face, Cosmos raised her arm up as she grew sharp nails, promptly swinging them at Fluttershy.
"Raboot!" Raboot was the fastest to react to Cosmos' swing, kicking her hand away with a High Jump Kick. Fluttershy took a second to process what had just happened as it all flew by so fast. Cosmos snarled at Raboot who had prevented her from landing a sneak attack. It startled Fluttershy as she had almost received a horrific scratch, causing her to jerk back.
The Andalusian Star had been dropped, only for Sylveon's ribbons to grab it midair, pulling it towards her. Once it was within their vicinity, Cosmos was the one to hold it now. Upon holding it, the Andalusian Star radiated a familiar pink glow that matched the one Valerie and Sylveon's eyes were giving off.
"I don't believe it...But I thought you were in the body of Cynthia?!" Discord screeched.
"I can pass my spirit onto whoever I influence. Right now, I'm not just in this body...but that one as well!" Cosmos pointed at Sylveon, who was also under control. Cosmos was within both of them. "It's so good to see you again, Discord, darling!" Both the voices of Valerie and Sylveon spoke to Discord as that voice haunted him.
"Y-You're Cosmos...?" Fluttershy backed away with Raboot, Bayleef and Audino standing in front of her.
"That's right, my little pony. Come here, Discord. It's been too long!" Cosmos spread her arms out with a haunting magical aura behind her. "I'm already close to returning. We have so much catching up to do! I already have one of the stars now!"
"But I thought you already found one"? Discord gulped.
"Oh, no, this is the only official one I've obtained. Thanks to the Rift Magic I was given, I ended up creating one more star in the form of a necklace. So in a sense, I have one more extra star that is a part of me. Nifty, right?"
"Oh...that's great..." Discord tried playing it nice when in reality, he was terrified beyond belief.
"I've been so bored in space, my dearest. It's been so long since I've had company. In space, no one can hear you scream, so shouting out was pointless." Cosmos sighed. "But I'm not alone anymore. We can go back to having as much fun as we had in the past. And our reign of chaos and torment will dominate again. Everypony in Equestria will fear me. And they will adore you. Just like you always wanted."
"Well, Cosmos. You see...I'm actually out of the chaos game. Gone in a new direction. Restructured. Whole. New resume, really." Discord grinned, revealing the change that had happened to him after all these years of him being away from Cosmos.
"Come again?" Cosmos wasn't thrilled to hear this.
"Have been for a while. Now, I am a reformed draconequus. So I think you'll just need to find somepony else to reign with." Discord shrugged at her as Cosmos' jaw dropped from both bodies.
"I am so displeased to hear that, darling." Her tone intensified with her magical aura from the Andalusian Star intensifying. Once she got one part of her power back, she used it to form another Andalusian necklace around her.
Soon, Fluttershy and her Pokemon noticed tentacles rising from behind her. These tentacles were not from any creature in the Everfree Forest. Once again, it was Cosmos. This signified her growing rage.
"So does this mean you'll do some goody-two-shoes thing like go behind my back and stop the others from aiding me to my completion?!" Cosmos growled, pointing at her fellow draconequus.
"What? Me? Never." Discord laughed, but Cosmos could easily see right through him.
"Is this what you've attracted yourself to?" She then glanced at Fluttershy with a horrific stare. She was immediately disgusted by that thought. "Ugh."
"Raboot!" Raboot bellowed at Cosmos.
"Bay-Bay!" So did Bayleef.
"Um...we should be leaving now." Discord slowly backed away with Cosmos approaching him with a casual walk. "It was lovely having a chaat with you after so long, Cosmos but um..."
"Hang on. Where did you send my friends off to?" Fluttershy spoke. "And um...I don't really appreciate you taking control of my friends' bodies either."
"Tch. That's none of your business." Cosmos scoffed at Fluttershy. "You gave me what I wanted though, so thank you. I was thinking of letting your friends do the same but something important made me change my mind."
"At least you thought of being cooperative...?" Discord tried making this conversation less awkward.
"I only ever wished to be cooperative with you Discord. But to be honest, that selfishness of yours is what's so attractive about you as well. How I missed it...It's one of the things I adore about you. And I know you. Do you know what would distract you from warning the world of my return?"
"A sternly worded letter?" Discord squeed.
"If you're busy trying to protect someone you care about!" Suddenly, Cosmos had attacked Fluttershy once more. This time, with increased magic as she unleashed both a beam from her hands and a Moonblast from Sylveon's body.
"!"
"Audino!" Audino immediately protected her trainer by using Protect. She formed a green shield in front of her, facing the incoming attacks. A successful block as she had managed to stop the two attacks. However, even with just one blast, Cosmos was able to almost push Audino back along with her Protect. And that was only with one Andalusian Star with her once more.
"These Pokemon...No matter! I have Pokemon of my own!" Cosmos then revealed two more of Valerie's Poke Balls. Out of them came the rest of her Pokemon. Spritzee and Mawile.
"Spritzee!"
"Mawile!"
"Let's see if these skills work. Spritzee. Unleash your Moonblast! The same to you, Sylveon! And Mawile! Rip them apart with Bite!" Cosmos finally knew some Pokemon Moves that she could use thanks to what Lucien and Sienna had done.
"Spritzee!" Spritzee summoned a sphere that was powered by the moon with Sylveon doing the same. As for Mawile, it would rush in with its massive maw, coating its fangs in darkness.
"Raboot! Go and use Flame Charge! Bayleef, use Energy Ball!"
"Raboot!" Raboot advanced as a battle had engaged between Fluttershy had Cosmos. Raboot coated himself in a flaming aura while Bayleef had unleashed a ball that was powered by nature itself.
Energy Ball had clashed with the two Moonblasts while Raboot had crashed into Mawile before it could pull off Bite. The Steel-Fairy-Type had been knocked over while Energy Ball managed to equalize with the two Moonblasts.
"Audi, use Hyper Beam! Raboot, Ember!"
"Audi...!" Audino charged up Hyper Beam, holding her hands out as she gathered Infinity Energy in her palms. As for Raboot, he kicked a pebble into the air, igniting it.
"Nope." Cosmos once again interfered in a Pokemon Battle. And this time, one half of her magic being restored, her options had increased. She had used those tentacles from before as they had burst from the ground. These tentacles had wrapped around Audino's arms and Raboot's legs, pulling the Rabbit Pokemon down while also interrupting Hyper Beam.
"A-Audi?!"
"R-Raboot!" Raboot had been slammed to the ground as the tentacles restrained him. The tentacles also went up to Discord with less hostile intent. Cosmos still harboured feelings for her fellow draconequus. Discord yelped, immediately ascending to avoid the tentacles, only for them to follow him along with some thorns.
"You're not going to leave me, Discord, darling! Now, use Gyro Ball and Fairy Wind!"
"Sylveon!" Sylveon cried out, summoning a gust of pink wind that had Fairy Magic embedded in it. Spritzee started spinning rapidly, having enough force to charge through multiple trees.
"Quick, Bayleef! Use your leaves!"
"Bay!" It was time for Bayleef to use hear Fate-changing leaves. She forced some of her leaf buds to come off, instantly flying over to Audino and Raboot. She didn't have a move that could counter Gyro Ball and Fairy Wind so this was the best option.
And it certainly worked without failure as once the leaves touched Audino's ears, fate had been changed. Cosmos had witnessed the power of Bayleef as not only had the attacks of Gyro Ball and Fairy Wind missed but the tentacles holding down them that also vanished.
"The power to change fate..."? Cosmos gawked before grinning. "In that case..." She snapped her fingers, turning the ground into tar. Once it had been altered, the tar had immediately caught Bayleef, Fluttershy, Audino and Raboot since they were all on the ground.
Raboot got the worst of it as he ended up face-first on the tar. "R-Raboot!"
"That rabbit of yours looks flammable! Let's see how much!" Cosmos cackled as she focused her magic on Raboot. She knew that if fire came into contact with tar, the results could be catastrophic. However, the moment she forced Raboot to unleash fire from his body, Discord intervened, pushing the fire back.
He had saved Fluttershy and the others from experiencing a horrific flammable paroxysm. Cosmos blinked, realizing that her actions had been reversed thanks to Discord. "Discord?!"
"Ehehe..." Discord waved at Cosmos before then using his magic to make the tar disappear.
"You really have changed...for the worse!" Cosmos roared, vastly disappointed at how Discord had changed. Chaos was still in his nature, but not the type of chaos that Cosmos wanted.
"Are you three okay?" Fluttershy asked her Pokemon.
"Audino!" Audino and the others were still healthy and available to continue.
"Do you want to keep this up, my little pony?" Cosmos pointed at Fluttershy. "You're just wasting time...Didn't you want to go and rescue your precious friends from whatever they might run into."
"My friends!" Fluttershy gasped as Cosmos was right about that. This scuffle that she was going through with Cosmos was draining time, causing Fluttershy to stray further away from her friends.
"That's right! Gahaha! What's it gonna be? Surely you want your friends to be safe, but you wouldn't want someone as powerful as me to be free, would you?" Cosmos hit Fluttershy with two difficult options. Rescue her friends or end up having to try and stop Cosmos here.
"I choose my friends." Fluttershy made up her mind instantly, surprising Cosmos. She expected a little bit of hesitation.
"That's our cue to leave!" Discord decided that it was not worth fighting Cosmos. He snapped his fingers, only for Cosmos to do the same at the right time. Discord managed to leave the Everfree Forest, but he soon realized that Fluttershy and her Pokemon did not come with her. "Fluttershy?!"
Cosmos kept her behind. While he snapped to poof away, Cosmos snapped to keep Fluttershy and the others behind. Outside the Everfree Forest, Discord looked over to see the emergence of those same terrifying tentacles that Cosmos seemed to always bring along with her.
Fluttershy saw the tentacles rise in every direction, forming a tentacle cage around the Everfree Forest. One of these rising tentacles had almost struck Discord, forcing him to back away as these tentacles rose to great heights.
"Aren't you going to come back for her, Discord?!" Cosmos' voice echoed throughout the forest, reaching Discord from the outside. "Surely you will for someone you care about!"
Discord was stunned as tentacles started closing together. Cosmos' maniacal laughter could be heard as just one Andalusian Star was enough to make her this dangerous.
"Discord! It's okay!" Fluttershy suddenly replied to Discord. "Valerie and the others are my friends too. I have to help them. You should help the others too. It's not too late maybe."
"Are you insane? Don't you know that I am in everyone that I've controlled? You have no idea who else I could be controlling at this moment." Cosmos scoffed.
"I don't know. But it won't stop me. I have the greatest friends that I can count on. Even from another world." Fluttershy stayed confident and brave in the face of a malefic force. "I'm getting my teacher back too while I'm here."
"Another world..." Upon bringing that up, Discord immediately thought of one of his best friends from another world. The Pokemon World. Ash Ketchum. Realizing this, Discord had left this world immediately.
"Run all you want, Discord, darling! You did it before and you've done it now! It doesn't matter. I'll still find you once more. And we'll be together forever!" She continued the booming voice before ending it. "But first...I'll deal with you, pony. I think I'll have fun torturing you once this is over."
"That won't happen."
Fluttershy was still somewhat nervous, facing off against the Spirit of Malice. She wasn't sure what her odds of winning this were. She stood before the controller body of a Gym Leader, a teacher and friend to her who also possessed the terrifying cosmic powers of chaos and malice. And the same went for those who were under Cosmos' control. But nevertheless, she was prepared to do her best and free her friends from this body and mind control.
Cosmos, who was fully controlling Cynthia's body while also possessing others she had controlled, roared, looking for the Canterlot Chamber room. She had even used the controlled bodies of the guards and Golurk to try and find this room. She started last night, forcing the guards and Golurk to search high and low.
The next Andalusian Star was located somewhere in the chamber if she could find it. Cosmos already possessed two, retrieving one part of her power. The first was made out of Rift Energy as a substitute while the real one had been found at the Everfree Forest.
She didn't come alone. Joining here was Fantina. Fantina acted as support in case things went awry. Along with many others. The Pokemon from Frenzy Forest had gathered. Under Cosmos' control after last night's attack, these various creatures from different regions had united.
"I had been to Canterlot once...where is that other star?" She then asked the Rift Siblings who were currently on the outskirts of Canterlot staying away from the place they were once imprisoned at. This question was asked through the body of a Shellos outside and the guards as well.
"Well...ever since the Storm Behemoth attacked 2 years ago, Canterlot Castle has gone under some renovations," Lucien answered.
"That involved the chamber," Sienna added. "Plus, there was the whole invasion that kinda messed a few things up...Spiritomb, Passion, Eternatus...and...a lot happened. I mean in the original timeline, you found it pretty soon since you had Twilight's body and all that..."
"Yeah. Some rooms ended up being switched up because of it." Lucien shrugged at Shellos.
"So a cause of a timeline alteration allowed the chamber to be moved? Ridiculous." Cosmos growled. She went back to speaking through the body of Golurk along with Shellos' body for the last time.
"But uh...If there's one place they would change the chamber room, it might be much lower in the castle for objects so important," Lucien suggested. Cosmos sighed before using the intangibility of Golurk to sink through the ground. Lucien made the right call as Cosmos was able to access rooms that she wouldn't be able to do so normally unless he was royalty.
But thanks to the star she received at Everfree in the form of Valerie and the body of Golurk, she found secret passageways. All of the important items were stored in secrecy as the layout of Canterlot Castle, while it did look the same on the outside, inside, everything was different.
It took her a while, but eventually, she found the room she was looking for. The Canterlot Chamber Room. "Here it is..." Cosmos spoke as one of the Golurk, using its Ghost intangibility to phase through the door. Unfortunately for Cosmos, she was not alone. Upon entering the chamber, someone else was there. Someone who was a master of the shadows.
Darkrai.
"Xatu told me another disaster was coming," Darkrai uttered. "Looks like I found a good hint of it."
"?!" Cosmos was stunned. She was not expecting anyone else to be here, let alone someone as intimidating as Darkrai, who she had encountered for the first time.
"So...who are you?" Darkrai asked as he immediately saw through Cosmos. The Spirit of Malice was not too pleased with someone catching onto her so easily as she and Darkrai stood there at a standstill for a bit.
"Ths could be an issue." She spoke through the body of Fantina who was next to Lucien and Sienna. "But nothing I can't sort out. Ghosts. Come to my aid."
She then ordered the Ghost-Types as they immediately flocked to Canterlot Castle. But not directly. Instead, they had phased through the ground for an easier entrance. The chamber was down below, so heading beneath Canterlot soil and the vicinity was the way to go in their eyes, which were also Cosmos' eyes.
"Xatu told me of a disaster that threatens not just Equestria, but the whole world. Possibly more. And it all starts with some stars. One of them is located here...correct?"
"Someone's a smart Pokemon..." Cosmos growled as she was both impressed and annoyed by Darkrai's perception. Then again, he had Xatu to thank for that.
"Who are you? And what are these stars you're looking for?" Darkrai hovered next to the chest and various other important objects within the chamber. Cosmos already knew where the Andalusian Star was. She could sense it.
"Those stars are none of your business. Only mine. So I'd suggest you move out of the way, you accursed creature. "
"Look who's talking." Darkrai snapped back at her. "Xatu gave me a sneak-peak detail about your appearance. So who's the accursed creature here?"
"You've got a big mouth on you. I actually like that!" Cosmos laughed as she was entertained by Darkrai so far. "I could use you later on. But right now, I need that star! My revival needs to be complete!" She roared before finally making her move.
Darkrai spread his arms out with his claws already generating Dark Void. The Pitch Black Pokemon was always ready for conflict no matter where it may be. However, Cosmos wouldn't engage him alone. Darkrai gasped right underneath the soil and floors of Canterlot, the Ghost-Types that Cosmos had called for had appeared in droves. Darkrai looked around him as multiple Ghosts phased through the castle, arriving at the chamber thanks to sharing the same sight.
Soon, Darkrai was surrounded as the chamber was flooded with Ghost-Type Pokemon. He paused his Dark Void for a moment to assess the situation.
"Oh, what's wrong? Frozen with fear?" Cosmos taunted Darkrai once he was outnumbered. Her voice started coming from every Pokemon here. It was done one by one and sometimes in unison, creating an eerie echo. "I'll be a bit generous this time if you give up and let me have the star. Then I'll control you next to join in on the fun. It will be an absolute riot. I've figured that I could cause some tyranny with these Pokemon as well. What do you say?"
"This confirms it. You're absolutely clueless." Darkrai replied immediately, insulting Cosmos. Which was everyone in this room.
"Huh?" All of them uttered, confused by Darkrai's response. Cosmos expected Darkrai to be absolutely stunned.
"You're a greenhorn to all of this, aren't you? You should know...that Ghosts are weak to Dark." Darkrai revealed one of the weaknesses of Ghost-Types. He was one of them. With his eyes flaring blue, he immediately formed an intense pressure inside the chamber while also finally unleashing Dark Void, which he had been holding this entire time.
Small orbs of darkness were thrown everywhere as the Ghosts were still feeling the pressure. Immediately, the orbs struck the various spectral species from all directions, putting them to sleep. Some of them managed to avoid Dark Void, however, but just barely thanks to this pressure Darkrai brought with him.
"Why you...!" Cosmos snarled in the body of a Haunter. Immediately after some of them managed to evade Dark Void, they attacked Darkrai. Cosmos herself, controlling the body of a Banette, had manipulated the floor itself. The wooden floorboards had been transformed into a jagged wooden fist that was thrown directly at the Dark-Type.
Darkrai's eyes tracked every Ghost that was attacking him along with the floor suddenly being manipulated. In response, Darkrai had used the shadows to his advantage, manipulating them as he formed a blockade of shadows that protected him from the incoming Ghost-Type attacks and the jagged fist.
Afterwards, Darkrai ascended, using Dark Pulse from both his claws. He started spinning while firing Dark Pulse, causing the two pulses imbued with dark thoughts to hit multiple targets. Various Ghost-Types had been blown back or overwhelmed by Darkrai's Dark Pulse. Some had even fainted from the sheer power he was exhibiting in it.
Cosmos was getting frustrated as she issued a coordinated attack on Darkrai. She even summoned a sinkhole from the walls and the floor while also throwing thorns and tentacles at the Pitch Black Pokemon.
It was then that Darkrai had used the Countershield. The technique that was created by Dawn, perfected by Ash and titled by Fantina, Darkrai had used Thunderbolt on himself before spinning once more. He created a furious flare of electricity that moved around with the ferocity of a whip. It also protected him from the incoming attacks, knocking them away while shocking the opposing Ghost-Types.
Cosmos felt all of the damage as she was linked up to every Pokemon here. She had been hit with numerous 100,000 volts consecutively in various directions. The Countershield had also blown back the sinkholes while also destroying parts of the room in the process. Darkrai clearly had full control of this situation. Some Pokemon tried to sneak up on him by phasing their arms through the walls.
Darkrai quickly summoned some shadows to grab onto their arms, constricting them as if they were snakes. He then made the shadows pull the Pokemon out of the walls, slamming them into the floor. He then decided to get up close and personal, attacking a Dusclops and a Trevenant with Poison Jab, slashing his poison-clad claws onto them while flying past the two Ghost-Types.
The chamber was being damaged in the process of these attacks being thrown. The chest that held the Andalusian Star was also being affected. Cosmos was hoping for the battle to destroy the chest, however, she feared that the ruckus being caused within this room would lead to her being caught.
And it was certainly starting to resonate as this battle started rumbling across Canterlot. The guards responded. But not in the right way. They were all under the control of Cosmos, meaning that they were part of the issue currently ongoing. But the one to respond to this correctly before anyone else was Luna.
"What's all that noise?!" Luna galloped through the halls of Canterlot, tracking down the source of that trembling. So did Celestia as Passion and Arcanine were dashing alongside her.
"You felt it too, Luna?! It sounds as if it's coming from underneath the castle!" Celestia replied. Her sisters and her Pokemon hurried as fast as they could to the lower levels of Canterlot as the guards pretended to run in that direction to keep Cosmos' profile low. "Arcanine! Go and keep Philomena, Premium and Raven safe!"
"Arcanine!" Arcanine would go for Premium Polish and Raven Inkwell, who were susceptible to the harm being done to the castle at the moment. That included anyone else inside that could be harmed. The guards heard this command from Celestia as it was passed onto Cosmos' ears. AKA, all of them.
Hearing this forced Cosmos to push things. She already had one half of her magic power back. Now was the best time to use it to the best of its abilities.
Cosmos found the best time to act. Darkrai was away from the chest. If there was any time to act, it was now as she used her magic from the hand of Golurk to bring the chest over. Darkrai noticed this as he had used Dark Void, launching it directly at Golurk.
Golurk had been hit by the void, meeting the same fate as the other Ghost-Types that had fallen asleep. The Automaton Pokemon dropped to the ground. However, Cosmos was everywhere. She was in every Pokemon, allowing her to act simultaneously. Even if Golurk had fallen, other Pokemon were there to be utilized. She had used her magic from multiple Ghosts, with all of them using telekinesis on the chest.
"You can't stop me from getting what was mine," Cosmos yelled via multiple mouths. Darkrai zoomed over, moving through the shadows for quicker movements. He had also controlled the shadows, causing them to fly out in the form of tendrils. These tendrils immediately wrapped around the chest, not only holding it but keeping it shut. There was now a struggle between the Shadow Tendrils and Cosmos' magic.
"Watch me!" Darkrai replied as the tendrils and the telekinesis from all the Ghost-Types and Cosmos' power overall. This was where Darkrai had a slight advantage. With the shadows holding the chest down, he was free to use an attack.
The Pitch Black Pokemon summoned a Dark Pulse, increasing its size and power. All of the Pokemon were too focused on the chest to retaliate. Cosmos took main control of another Golurk to focus on the Dark Pulse. She had used Focus Blast as Golurk, attempting to fight back. Focus Blast had been thrown at the pulse while the others tried fighting back against the shadows.
Upon clashing with Focus Blast, it was clear that Darkrai had a better grasp of his power while Cosmos was getting used to the power of a Pokemon. She struggled to hold Focus Blast back as Darkrai was winning this exchange. He poured some extra power into Dark Pulse, forcing Focus Blast even further back.
She could not win this exchange. Darkrai had the superior power output against Cosmos as she started trembling, unable to keep Focus Blast active. Cosmos knew she had to think fast. Her main focus switched back to one of the guards who was running next to Celestia and Luna.
"Your majesty! Allow me to help!" She posed one of the guards, running to the Princess of the Night who was the closest to her. With her hoof placed on Luna, Cosmos had used her magic to quickly swap positions. Luna, who had just realized she had been teleported by a guard, was a bit befuddled. Celestia witnessed this guard use magic. Something that none of them can do. The other guards that were near Celestia kept running until the deed was done.
And indeed it was. Luna had arrived at the place she needed to be, sure. But not in her own way, neither was it in the safest approach. Upon being brought to the Canterlot Chambers, Luna ended up taking Golurk's position. It was Luna who had been hit by Dark Pulse.
"GAAAH!" And with all of that power, Luna received the full strength of Darkrai's Dark Pulse, screaming out in pain as her body was hit with the force of dark thoughts.
"Luna!" Darkrai cried out, realizing he had struck his friend. Luna had been caught off guard by something like this. It caused the Princess of the Night to immediately drop to the floor.
"Gotcha!" And Cosmos didn't stop playing dirty there. She did it once more, controlling a Froslass as it had fired a beam of malicious magic right at the Pitch Black Pokemon. Darkrai was stunned by what he had just done, allowing Cosmos to get the drop on him.
Now Darkrai had been caught off guard, even if it was for a second. The Dark-Type felt the power of Cosmos' Chaos Magic as his Shadow Tendrils had vanished.
"Let him have it, will you?" She spoke through the body of Froslass, seeing that this was not only the best chance to open the chest and receive what she wanted, but also unleashing a flurry of attacks onto Darkrai. And that's exactly what happened. It only took one Pokemon, a Sableye, to open the chest while the rest of them attacked Darkrai.
Darkrai had been hit by a barrage of attacks. Not just Ghost-Type attacks. The Pitch Black Pokemon was unable to counteract as he was being assaulted and bombarded by them. Cosmos laughed in the body of Sableye as the next Andalusian Star was indeed within the box.
As for Darkrai, after being attacked from all sides with different moves, the result was a combustion of energy that consumed him and blew parts of the walls of this chamber apart. Other objects had been damaged in the process from this explosion of Infinity Energy.
"D-Darkrai...!" Luna, despite being hit hard by that Dark Pulse, was still conscious, albeit severely injured. She was on the floor with the shockwave of the explosion blowing her hair. The smoke cleared as Darkrai fell from it. "No!"
"That was a close one! Sorry, but I refused to have another Dark-Type Pokemon defeat me!" Cosmos laughed as the third Andalusian Star was once again hers. She formed it into another necklace for her to wear. With another star within her possession, her magic had grown once again. "Three more stars...and I shall be whole again!"
"Ugh..." Darkrai groaned as had not fainted despite all of those attacks.
"Hoh? You're still standing?" Cosmos noticed Darkrai still being active along with Princess Luna.
"Who are you?" Luna growled, slowly getting up.
"Have you forgotten about me?" Cosmos turned to Luna. "I'm insulted, Luna. Doesn't this star look familiar to you?"
"That star...Cosmos!" Luna soon remembered who she was. The glowing magical aura looked familiar to her as well as she was face to face with the Spirit of Malice once more after centuries. "But how? Discord said that you left all of a sudden..."
"He said that? Ah, he must've changed your memories about me, didn't he? Oh, Discord. Trying so hard to bury my existence for good." Cosmos sighed in the body of Banette. "Oh, well. At least you remember. I never left. I was simply sent away against my own will. But now I'm back...reclaiming what was originally mine!"
"You're a fool to show up back here..." Luna lowered her head, still recovering from the mighty Dark Pulse. "Especially within the castle."
"Am I? I for one think I'm perfectly safe...since I have so many creatures to help me. Not only that but the other stars are already being pursued by them." Cosmos was right about that. She had control over many Pokemon and a few humans. At this very moment, she had various mind-controlled individuals searching for the remaining stars.
"We'll stop you...get up, Darkrai!"
"Yes, Darkrai. Get up." Cosmos repeated after Luna. Darkrai did indeed get up. However, the moment the Pitch Black Pokemon arose, Luna's face turned into one of shock and horror. One of her worst fears had come to life. Something that was terrible for her and potentially everyone else.
Darkrai was now under Cosmos' control.
"Taking control of this body feels somewhat nice..." Cosmos spoke through Darkrai's body, looking at the claws of the Pitch Black Pokemon. "It's almost identical to my original body."
"Darkrai, no!" Luna yelled with tears almost forming in her eyes. She closed her eyes as her hooves trembled. "You...Darkrai promised that he'd never end up in such a state where he wasn't in full control of himself. And you've gone along and torn that promise he made away!"
"Don't worry, Luna. You're next! I'm going to have so much fun with you starting now!" Cosmos cackled. She used the body of Haunter to phase through the floor behind Luna, gripping onto her hoof. Cosmos had Luna within her grasp, covering the Princess of the Night's body in her chaotic magic.
Cosmos was ready to have Luna on her side as well. However, while the magic was surrounding Luna, nothing was happening. "Hm?"
"Sorry to disappoint you...but my parents cast a spell on me to prevent something like this!" Luna exclaimed as she used her magic to blow Haunter and the other Pokemon away with a pulse. "You can't control me!"
"Kh!" Cosmos growled, agitated that Luna was immune to mind control. It was all because of that one little gravitational issue with the Empress last year. "No matter! I'll leave these Pokemon with you. I have things to do! Starting with taking over Canterlot!"
Cosmos had the star. She no longer needed to be here. She left with the body of Darkrai, growing fond of it while also bringing the body of Sableye along, who was wearing the necklace. The remaining Ghost-Types were ordered to battle against Luna as she was in the room with all of them.
An injured Princess Luna stood face to face with these spectral entities, but that wasn't all she had to deal with. Once Cosmos left with the body of Darkrai and Sableye, she decided that now was the best time to raise the stakes.
And that involved all of the Pokemon from Frenzy Forest waiting. It was time for them to bring chaos onto Canterlot. Immediately, all of the Pokemon rushed to Canterlot. With Cosmos' power now increasing even further, her effect on Equestria was starting to show.
A chaotic cloud started forming over Canterlot as Celestia looked outside to see the shift in the skies. Her eyes had also witnessed Pokemon from afar arriving, but not with good intentions.
As Celestia looked outside, wondering what exactly was happening on this day, the guards had also chosen this to be the best time to act while Celestia was trying to process this. With them having the magic of cosmos within them, the guards had suddenly lunged at the Ruler of Equestria from her back.
"Garde...Voir!" However, Passion turned around in a heartbeat, having a Dazzling Gleam in her hands. The Embrace Pokemon faced the guards, unleashing rainbow rays and a blinding light that eclipsed them. Celestia turned around a second later to witness this. The other guards saw them drop to the floor, flat on their faces before hissing at Passion.
"What's going on here?! What's the meaning of this?!" Celestia bellowed at the guards. She needed to know what was going on. The skies were changing, a ruckus could be heard somewhere on the lower levels of the castle, Pokemon were flocking here while her own guards attempted to attack her while she wasn't looking. All of it needed to be answered.
"My inevitable reign, that's what." And responding to the Sun Princess was Cosmos. Not just through the mouths of the guards, but also from Cynthia, who was the most under Cosmos' control.
Cynthia was the main vessel as she walked through the hallways with a horde of Pokemon already going straight for the castle. But some of them also focused on the streets of Canterlot, choosing to cause chaos there.
"Cynthia?!"
"Gardevoir?!"
"Not Cynthia...Cosmos!" She reintroduced herself, spreading her arms out as her shout caused thunder to boom in the skies. Her signature chaos magic was also shown in her hands.
Celestia recognized both the name and the magical aura that radiated from her hands. With parts of her power returning, even her magical aura was starting to become clearer and more akin to its original appearance. Celestia may be bewildered by everything that's happening, but one thing was for certain. Cosmos was here. That much was known.
Upstairs, Arcanine had grabbed Premium out of her room. The little unicorn was just minding her business until the Legendary Pokemon ended up grabbing her without asking any questions. Then again, Premium couldn't understand Arcanine so there wouldn't be any questions asked at all.
"Slow down, Arcanine!" She cried out whilst on Arcanine's back. Arcanine wasn't slowing down for anything. He looked out the windows, seeing that a storm was brewing. One that was not normal in any way. When running through the hallway, up ahead were some of the Canterlot Guards. "Hey! Excuse me! What's going on?!" Premium Polish figured that she could ask the guards about the current situation.
However, all of them were under Cosmos' control. Once they turned around, their hooves had transformed into a long, extending tentacle that shot towards Arcanine and Premium.
"Arca!" Arcanine barked as Premium Polish's eyes almost popped out of her head upon seeing hooves turn into tentacles. The Legendary Pokemon had used Extreme Speed to dash right past the tentacles faster than they could catch him and the little unicorn. It didn't take long for Arcanine to realize that something was amiss.
The guards already populated the castle and with so many of them being under Cosmos' control, it proved to be a major problem. It was an equally serious problem outside. Possibly greater. The Pokemon of Frenzy Forest immediately started attacking the citizens of Canterlot, having the same malicious intentions as Cosmos.
And what's worse was that all of them had Cosmos' magic. Cosmo may not have her full body back or all of her magic, but using the bodies of dozens almost made up for it. It was chaos in the streets as an amalgamation of Pokemon attacks along with different magical uses had been unleashed onto the city.
They had mainly used spells to gigantify themselves, appearing larger than even the houses. Massive claws, tails and more could be seen emerging, breaking through these houses in the process. Cosmos was determined to take over Canterlot and instead of playing it safe, she preferred the only way she knows how to get things done.
Malice.
Ponyville. The Everfree Forest. Afternoon.
"Raboot, Flame Charge! Audi, use Heal Pulse! Bayleef, Energy Ball!" Meanwhile, back at Everfree, Fluttershy was still fighting to free Valerie and her Pokemon from Cosmos' control.
"Raboot!" Raboot ran alongside a ball of energy and nature itself that Bayleef had made, heading straight for Mawile and Spritzee. Audino had healed her teammates along the way in a green light.
"Fairy Wind!"
"Sylveon!" Sylveon held back Raboot and the Energy Ball by conjuring a powerful wind. Assisting Sylveon was Cosmos summoning a furious tornado.
Fluttershy stayed on the ground to avoid the tornado carrying her away. Her hooves were firmly stuck to the ground as Raboot started running on the spot, attempting to charge through the wind. He was unsuccessful as he and the Energy Ball were blown away. "R-Raboot!"
"Give up so I can play around with you!" Cosmos ordered as she caused massive fangs to emerge from the ground, attempting to swallow Fluttershy.
"Bay!" However, Bayeelf proved to be the biggest player in all of this. Her leaves went off once more, responding to Fluttershy's fate. Throughout this battle, she's been using her leaves frequently to protect her friends as the leaves touched her, quickly altering fate.
Cosmos had witnessed fate change once more as the jaws had disappeared. More of Bayleef's leaves started disappearing thanks to all the close calls.
"That Bayleef...The power to change fate should be mine...!" Cosmos was visibly jealous of Bayleef's ability to change fate. Not even her Chaos Magica allowed her to push that boundary. Magic as powerful as that even had some limitations here and there. But they weren't much.
"I need to find a way to reach Valerie but...I don't know a thing about mind control." Fluttershy uttered with a visible sweatdrop forming on her head.
"If you want this body back, you'll have to probably destroy it then." cosmos shrugged, giving Fluttershy the worst possible outcome for freeing Valerie.
"I won't!" She strongly declined such a possibility.
"What else can you do?" Cosmos laughed! And do you think these are the only bodies I've possessed?! You have no idea how many of them I've currently taken control of. And I think I'm enjoying raising the body count at this point. Maybe your friends will be next..."
"I won't let you control my friends!"
"No? If not then I can just torture them. Or, with the directions I've given them, they've probably come across something that has sealed their fate with a glorious end. Unfortunate...but fun."
"Where did you take them...?" Fluttershy gasped as the words that Cosmos said led to the darkest possibilities.
"Discord and I would head to some specific areas when we were always on our romantic date.s. When it wasn't appearing before ponykind, we took some time to unwind in places. They are some of the worst places you could ever think of."
"That's romantic?" Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion. Raboot grimaced as he was frankly getting tired of all this talk about love.
"Raboot..."
"Very! And I would always leave something behind there to remind us of the time we had, terrorizing so many ponies. And even after all these years, that memorabilia still exists. And your friends are about to enter some of the most chaos-infested places in the world."
"Chaos-infested?!" Fluttershy and her Pokemon bellowed.
"Just like how there are places brimming with whatever happy-go-lucky magic you have, there are places filled with chaos magic! And you can thank me for making that a possibility! So, do you think your friends can withstand that? I'd love to see it with my own eyes! Until I deal with you. You seem to be close to Discord...and that just gets under my skin, you know that?"
"Audino...!" Audino let out a mild growl towards Cosmos.
"I still believe in my friends...and I need to do something about this fast," Fluttershy replied before coming up with something that could work. "That's it! Audi! Use Hael Pulse on them!"
"Dino? Audino!" Audino already knew what Fluttershy was going for. A Heal Pulse Overheal. A strategy that was only used in certain scenarios and this was one of them as Audino sent a massive green pulse towards Cosmos and the other possessed Pokemon.
"Pfft! This is your next big attack?!" Cosmos merely laughed at Fluttershy for even attempting a healing move on her. She allowed the green light to engulf her, not being intimidated by it at all. "What are you gonna do? Heal me to death?!"
"No. I'm going to try and free you from my friends!" Fluttershy's tone had been raised as she had then revealed the Mega Stone in her mane. Mega Evolution was inbound as the keystone reacted to Fluttershy's spirit along with Audino's. "Audi! Mega Evolve!"
"Au...Di...No...!" Audino's voice echoed as the Infinity Energy from the Audinite clashed together before surrounding the Hearing Pokemon.
"What is that?!" Cosmos shouted, unaware of Mega Evolution. This would be her first time witnessing it. And it was fitting that she would see it from the first pony who had ever used Mega Evolution. She squinted her eyes as the light of Mega Evolution shine bright across the Everfree Forest.
Mega Audino was here.
"Audino!" And with this boost in power, Heal Pulse had been boosted as well. Fairy Magic permeated the pulse that she was emitting. Cosmos still seemed unbothered by this, especially since she was being healed without needing to return to the Malice Realm for regeneration.
However, that was when the effect of Audino's overhealing Heal Pulse had kicked in. But that came after something else. The Fairy particles within the pulse had travelled to Cosmos. And once they arrived and made contact, Cosmos' smug expression had been wiped away for something else.
"GH!" Cosmos felt something horrid. Something utterly virulent to Cosmos. The reaction she had made that clear as she held her chest, almost falling over as the pulse from Heal Pulse was finally starting to work its magic. But it was mainly the Fairy Magic that was responsible for it.
"So...much...Happiness!" Cosmos got on her knees, gripping the grass. The energy of Heal Pulse was pushing the limits of this body that she possessed. It was an unusual feeling that Cosmos despised greatly.
Just like that, Fluttershy had found a new weakness for Chaos Magic. It wasn't just Aura but Fairy Magic proved to be highly effective against it as Audino continued pouring more of her energy. The Chaos Magic within Cosmos was at odds with Fluttershy's Fairy Magic.
"This is Fairy Magic," Fluttershy spoke with a calm voice as pink Fairy particles flew past her. Her body was also radiating a pink light from the connection she and Audino shared. "It's all about happiness and peace. This is the best way I can reach Valerie."
"Why is only your magic working on me like this!?" Cosmos held her hand out, trying to push back the Fairy Magic with her Chaos Magic. She wondered why Valerie wasn't a problem for her but Fluttershy was considering they both possess Fairy Magic.
"You're using Valerie's body and taking over her Fairy Magic. My magic is my own. And I believe in myself to make it stronger. To make Audi stronger. Sorry, but I'm taking my friends back."
"AUDINO! Audino yelled as the whole forest was eclipsed in a pink and green light. It was sa beautiful sight sight. So beautiful that not only did it give the eerie Everfree Forest a glamorous appearance, but the power of Heal Pulse ended up speeding the process of the Everfree Forest healing.
"N-NOOOOOOOO!" Cosmos yelled at the top of her lungs as she felt herself burning up from the serene magic covering her. She was unable to fight back against it as letting her guard down and believing that it was just a method to heal her was the biggest mistake she had ever made. Then again, who would've predicted Heal Pulse to do so much. Seeing that she couldn't stop it, she decided on the next best thing and the only thing she could do.
Flee.
With the strength she had whilst being showered by the Fairy Magic particles, Cosmos had only sent the body of Valerie away, leaving behind Sylveon, Spritzee and Mawile. She managed to pull off teleportation, but a weakened version of it as three Pokemon had been left behind. Those three Pokemon also screamed with Cosmos' voice passing through.
Audino ended Heal Pulse as the green and pink energy had faded away. Audino's Mega Evolved Form had also ended right afterwards. Fluttershy's approach worked. The overhealing properties of Heal Pulse had proven to be effective in this specific scenario.
Sylveon, Mawile and Spritzee could be seen standing and floating there, absolutely bewildered. Being hit with such an overwhelming amount of serenity was intense for anyone. It was somewhat ironic.
"Sylveon..." But either way, the mysterious chaotic pink glow from their eyes had vanished. They fainted afterwards once it was all over.
"It worked!" Fluttershy was thrilled to see that this plan was a success. Three of her friends had been freed but one of them managed to escape. However, the moment she tried to jump for joy, the strain that the previous Heal Pulse emitted had shown itself. Fluttershy sat down, exhausted as her own Fairy Magic had been added into that move.
"Audino?!" Audino ran over to Fluttershy, picking her up.
"I'm fine, Audi. I guess I exhausted myself the most with Heal Pulse." She chuckled, feeling the need to sleep. "But it's not over. All of my friends are headed for Chaos Destinations. We need to get home for my Xtransceiver...before it's too late."
"Aud! Audino!" Audino understood clearly as she, Raboot and Bayleef started legging it. It was back to Ponyville over at Fluttershy's cottage for her Xtransceiver. Her friends had been sent to areas that were brimming with Chaos Magic. Rare finds, but not for the right reasons at the moment.
Fluttershy had managed to find a secondary weakness to Chaos Magic. Aura and Fairy Magic were the only two effective ways to against such a dangerous power. Cosmos has been overwhelmed by two Dark-Types and a Fairy thus far, but her goal to reign over Equestria and possibly more and cause as much malice as she can to every living thing out there would not stop her at all as the journey continues.
Out in the far reaches of Equestria, existed one of the few and rare areas that were infested by Cosmos' Chaos Magic. This was the Jagged Isle. An island that looked like a monster's face from a birds-eye view.
Rainbow Dash and Rarity ended up arriving at this location after following the map that Cosmos had given to them, believing that they would find one of the stars here. They stepped onto the island with Pheromosa placing Rarity down. Immediately after showing up here, an enigmatic feeling filled the atmosphere.
There were various lakes that had dark pink waters with an indescribable howl echoing throughout the island. The cloud formations were also bizarre, spelling out something that Rainbow Dash had to squint to see. She saw that the clouds spelt out the name 'Cosmos'.
"This is the place. One of those stars should be here. But boy...it looks like it's out of Equestria's bounds." Rainbow Dash commented, looking at the map and how the location went far past most known areas in Equestria. It was still within Equestria's vicinity, but it was so far away that it almost reached the very end of the nation.
"It does, doesn't it? It also feels so strange and chilly..." Rarity replied before returning Pheromosa to her Poke Ball. "Thank you for the help, Pheromosa."
"That means it's the perfect place to hide a star." Rainbow Dash put the map away ascending to the skies. "If it's glowing, we might find it high above."
"Good point. How about we-" But before Rarity could finish her sentence, bursting from the lake was a massive green tentacle that suddenly grabbed Rainbow Dash's hoof. "Oh! Rainbow Dash!"
"Ew!" Rainbow Dash naturally grimaced at this as a creature could be seen popping out of the lake. Despite it emerging out of the smaller lakes, the creature and the tentacle itself were absolutely massive. The head of this cephalopod creature showed up, splashing the chaotic liquid everywhere. Rainbow Dash and Rarity's eyes widened as they got a good look at the monster that had emerged.
It had Discord's face while also keeping the body of an octopus. The sight of it was downright terrifying to them as they weren't sure what to make of this.
"Discord?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. The creature grinned before attempting to drag Rainbow Dash down with it to the lake. "Castform, Weather Ball!"
"Cast!" Castform emerged out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, utilizing Weather Ball. It ended up being a Normal-Type Weather Ball as a white orb had been unleashed from his mouth. The orb struck the tentacle, immediately forcing it off of Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was free, however, this was still an octopus. Which meant that there were others.
Seven more tentacles had flown out of the various lakes, appearing much bigger than they should be.
"I need your help again! Pheromosa!" Rarity quickly went back to Pheromosa's Poke Ball, throwing it into the air as the Lissome Pokemon had returned.
"Pheromosa!"
"Triple Kick!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa rushed to Rainbow Dash and Castform's aid promptly. As for the pegasus and her partner, Rainbow Dash grabbed onto the Weather Pokemon, flying out of the way of these incoming tentacles. The face of Discord ended up extending as if it had an elongated neck, moving straight for the two of them.
Pheromosa interrupted the creature, kicking three of its tentacles with one kick each. The tentacles trembled as the creature with Discord's face also felt it. The hits shook it to the core as those three tentacles dropped like flies. Now it was down to just four tentacles.
"Castform! Reflect-Type on Pheromosa!"
"Cast...Form!" Castform got another attack in. He focused on Pheromosa as his radioactive cells copied her Bug-Fighting-Type. An azure glow covered him as he unleashed a burst of exploding butterflies and a barrage of fists from his body. The natural result of his cells being far more radioactive than any Castform out there.
The array of butterflies and fists came raining down, hitting each of the tentacles while also pummelling the face of this monster. The face of Discord received mainly the fists rather than the butterfly as that expulsion of energy was enough to force the monster back. It retreated to the lake it came from.
"Phew..." Rainbow Dash sighed as that little scuffle had ended quickly. Just what they needed. "What was up with that? Why did it have Discord's face?!"
"I'd rather not know. It certainly wasn't Discord despite the face." Rarity shook her head, still trying to process what she had just seen. Right after they had encountered that creature, the howling that could be heard already had suddenly increased in volume. Not only that, but as Rarity turned around, wondering what that sound was, she noticed that something was missing.
The way she and Rainbow Dash had suddenly disappeared. The sea was nowhere to be found or any nearby land that they had once seen. The fashionista's heart skipped a beat as the scenery changed. Now, there were far more jagged mountains in this already jagged location.
"When did the scenery change?!" Rarity shouted out. Rainbow Dash turned to where she was facing, She saw it too. However, the moment Rainbow Dash turned and Rarity blinked for a bit, it seemed that another change in scenery had been made.
The jagged mountains had seemingly expanded and extended. The tall mountains had grown in width and height, forming a jagged cage while also blocking off the rest of the land beyond. It felt like they were within a dark cave as even the skies had been blocked off by what seemed to be floating mountains. They weren't connected to anything, but they were still covering everything else. At any moment, it looked like those mountains could drop.
"How the-" Rainbow Dash was trying to figure out how mountains could be floating and blocking off the sky at the same time despite not being connected to anything. "Rarity! I think we're blocked in by these mountains!"
"Nothing a good kick can't solve! Pheromosa, Triple Kick on some of those mountains!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa rushed to one of the mountains, seeing if she could reveal an exit to this warped place. However, the moment she went to kick one, the jagged properties suddenly vanished. Pheromosa's legs had bounced off of the mountain as if she was in a bouncy castle. "P-Phero!?"
"Oh! Pheromosa?!" Rarity gasped as Pheromosa was immediately launched into another mountain. That same mountain also had bouncy properties as it had responded to Pheromosa. Soon, Pheromosa started bouncing from mountain to mountain without any control of her body.
"Mosa! Mosa!" Pheromosa at first was confused about how a mountain could be its usual rough and rugged exterior and all of a sudden, it was bouncy and playful. Seconds later, after being bounced around, she started to enjoy it, laughing.
However, that laughter soon vanished when the next mountain finally lived up to this island's name. Jagged spikes extruded out of the mountain, threatening to hit Pheromosa.
"Phero?!" Pheromosa's fun had ended up promptly upon seeing these spikes emerging. Rarity, seeing her partner in grave danger, quickly used her magic. Usually, Pheromosa was the one to save her but now she was returning the favour as her magic blast ended up breaking the jagged spikes, saving the Lissome Pokemon.
"Are you alright, Pheromosa?!" Rarity ran over to Pheromosa who had just fallen over. The Lissome Pokemon thankfully did not suffer from the jagged spikes, but the fact that it changed from jagged to bouncy to jagged again meant that anything could be unpredictable here.
"Mosa..."
"Uh...Rarity." Rainbow Dash was the next pony to see the unpredictable. Or rather, horrifying. She alerted Rarity and Pheromosa while also covering Castform's eyes. The sounds from the atmosphere not only got louder but the origin of them had been spotted.
The Chaos Magic within the Jagged Isle tampered with the scenery greatly as Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pheromosa and the curiosity of Castform had seen something form in the distance. It was the visage of Cosmos along with ponies. They were being shown illusions of what Cosmos enjoys the most. Causing malice to others.
The illusions were made out of smoke and fire but they were all the more haunting. Soon, the illusion of Cosmos looked over at Rainbow Dash and the others, grinning at them while also pointing at the quartet. It was as if the illusion was saying that they were next. They also noticed how Cosmos was also a draconequus, much like Discord.
"W-We're still looking for the star...right?" Rainbow Dash asked, trying to make sense of all of this but it was pointless. At any moment, the scenery of this place could change.
"Let's just keep moving and stay safe." Rarity suggested that they go with the flow. This place was teeming with chaos so anything could happen at any moment. The moment they advanced, they were heading deeper into the island, which meant that all of that Chaos Magic that Cosmos left behind was bound to get worse from here.
Canterlot. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, over at Canterlot, the raid on the castle and the city itself was underway. Cosmos had made her biggest move yet. By using the Pokemon from Frenzy Forest along with the guards of the castle, she was ready to overthrow Celestia and do what she wished to do from the start.
Reign over Equestria with a malicious claw. She still possessed Cynthia, who was the perfect vessel for her, but a secondary vessel had been found in the form of Darkrai. The next Andalusian Star had been found and transferred into her, granting Cosmos access to more of her magic, making her a bigger threat than before. While Luna dealt with the various Ghost-Types in the chamber,
Celestia came face to face with Cynthia, who exhibited Cosmos' magic. She was also surrounded by the guards and their Golurk to make matters worse. The city of Canterlot was under attack from all of these Pokemon that possessed Cosmos' magic.
"Cosmos!" Celestia shouted. "You come back and you take over the body of my friend?!"
"Not just this body, but all of them. We're all connected like one big hive!" Cosmos laughed. "But that won't matter in the end. Because once my body is back to its prime, there won't be a need for all of you. I'll just rule. Simple as that. But you, Celestia...I can't have another ruler around."
"Passion. Be very careful." Celestia warned Passion, knowing just how dangerous Cosmos was.
"There's no place for someone like you in my world! Especially after you sent me away!" Cosmos definitely had a lot of spite towards Celestia and everyone involved in her banishment. She held her hand out, unleashing a terrifying beam of malice.
Celestia did the same in response. Both of their hairs blew violently from the release of magic as a golden and dark pink beam had clashed. Upon clashing with Celestia, Cosmos controlled the other bodies of the guards and the Golurk, sending them towards Celestia.
"Gardevoir!" But with Passion in the way, it wouldn't be so easy. Passion protected her best friend, forming a Psychic wall that had held the guards and the Golurk back, preventing them from getting anywhere near Celestia.
Upon clashing beams with Celestia' Cosmos noticed a sudden change. The Celestia she knew from before never had magic this potent. It threw Cosmos off guard for a bit as Passion had expanded her wall, pushing the guards and the Golurk away.
"So they were right about your magic improving!" Cosmos growled. "But I didn't expect it to be this much!"
"A lot has happened!" Celestia replied as the windows were starting to break from this exchange. "I doubt you can outperform us anymore!"
"I beg to differ!" Cosmos roared before using her other hand to shoot another beam, adding to her power. Even with this additional beam, Celestia still managed to hold it back. There was no clear victor in this.
"Passion! Use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Voir!" The Embrace Pokemon looked back at Celestia before knowing what needed to be done. Without Celestia needing to be specific, Passion had surrounded herself in a vibrant light that ended up blinding the eyes of not just the guards and the Golurk, but also Cynthia. The light expanded to encompass the entire room as it affected everyone except Celestia.
"GAH!" She cried out as she had been exposed to Fairy Magic once more. Much like Fluttershy, Celestia possessed Fairy Magic thanks to her bond with Celestia. Celestia won the struggle thanks to Passion's assistance as Cosmos' body felt like it was burning up after being exposed to the magic of the Fairies once more. She fell over with smoke emerging from her body. "Fairy Magic again?!"
"Stings, doesn't it?" Celestia commented as Cosmos glanced at Passion. "Did you think I'd be on the same level as I was so many years ago?"
"I suppose not. But..." Despite how she had lost the struggle and was currently being hit with constant surprises, Cosmos kept her confident attitude while also putting on a dastardly smirk. "My magic is nearly full once more. I still have enough to emerge victorious. And I have the numbers to make it possible!"
Without using her hands, Cosmos had used telekinesis to send out Cynthia's Poke Balls and out of them emerged Cynthia's Pokemon. But once again, only 5 of them had appeared. There was a 6th missing.
Celestia was met with Cynthia's Pokemon, but it didn't stop there. Bursting through the walls were more Pokemon. During their attack on the city, some of them chose to attack the castle to overwhelm Celestia. Ad by some, it was just Cosmos overall.
From the walls, ceiling and even the floor, Pokemon were popping up, all enhanced by Cosmos' magic and using them in ways to cause more malefic chaos.
Arriving on this spot via teleportation was none other than Celestia's little sister, Princess Luna. She was previously in the chamber, dealing with the Ghosts as her conflict with them led to her appearing at the upper levels of the castle via teleportation. The Ghosts followed after her, phasing through the walls to travel faster. Luna would soon see the chaos that had attacked Canterlot with more than just Ghost Pokemon being the cause.
"Sister. Mind telling me what's going on here?" Luna asked as she and her sister stood back to back. Luna had all of her Pokemon out in the fray. It couldn't even out things, but it helped with their already low numbers. All her Pokemon had been brought here after the ruckus that had occurred within the chamber.
"It seems we're being raided, Luna." Celestia remained calm along with Luna. Despite the massive numbers, they were not intimidated at all. "Similar to the invasion, right?"
"I doubt it. The invasion was far more troublesome than this. Cosmos is only using mind control and body possession to get this far." Luna replied as Cosmo snarled, feeling greatly insulted. "Even if she took control of Darkrai."
"Darkrai?!" Celestia gasped. "That's terrible. She took control of Cynthia too and it seems a plethora of Pokemon as well."
"That's not the half of it!" Cosmos laughed. "I took the time to control some of those humans at that school you have. Speaking of which...it takes me back to when I first set that school of orphaned ponies on fire. Doesn't it, Celestia? Oh, right, your memory of that and other things were taken away. In that case...let's make a new one!"
Using the further extent of her magic even when it was not at full strength, Cosmos, along with other Pokemon that had fingers, simultaneously snapped them. And with just that snap, Cosmos had sent this entire room on fire. A horrific burst of flames had occurred across the room, burning away the carpet while also consuming everything in a scarlet blaze. But it wasn't just this room.
Cosmos had sent the entire castle on fire. The ponies of Canterlot, who were fending off the attacking Pokemon with their own Pokemon, had witnessed the beautiful Canterlot Castle set ablaze. Celestia, Luna and their Pokemon got closer together as magma started pouring in.
"Think I'm playing around now?! Actually, I am." Cosmos giggled as this was her definition of playing around. "Why don't we go a bit further!?"
Cosmos didn't stop there. While Celestia and Luna were figuring out what to do about this sudden blazing issue, Cosmos already had something in mind. The Spirit of Malice had then made Celestia and Luna's mouths disappear.
"...!" The two sisters noticed this immediately as their mouths had been rubbed off as if they were never there. The residents of Canterlot had lost their mouths as well, unable to say, scream or verbally unleash anything.
"Try giving commands now." Cosmos taunted, knowing that Pokemon Trainers can only retaliate via commands towards their trainers. Even without mouths, the Pokemon could still fend for themselves, however, certain commands would be lost forever.
Despite this loss of literal words, the two sisters stayed calm. They closed their eyes as they shared one thing in common. Teachings from Olympia had prepared them for this. They wouldn't need to say anything as they communicated with their Pokemon via telepathy. Celestia could do it easily with Passion while Luna could communicate with both Xatu and Musharna.
"Gardevoir!" Upon receiving the commands of their trainers, Gardevoir, Xatu and Musharna shared these commands with their teammates. The other Pokemon understood clearly as they enacted Celestia and Luna's commands.
Cosmos was surprised that they could still act even with nothing to say. Passion and Frillish had used Thunderbolt and Hydro Pump side by side. They had sent it towards two incoming Flamethrowers from a Simisear and a Shelgon. Thunderbolt had mixed with Hydro Pump, increasing the ferocity of it as it had easily overpowered the Flamethrowers, blasting Simisear and Shelgon while also putting out some of the flames.
Speaking of the flames, Gliscor and Excadrill were the best ones suited for this predicament as they had simply powered through them. The magma was a different story as that was far more volatile than the flames.
Cosmos decided to get physical with Celestia as she had suddenly sprouted out vampire wings. She flew towards the Princess of the Sun, extending her fingernails as they were laced with a terrifying poison. "Usually, I hate fighting, but with my body not fully restored, how else am I going to ensure my victory?!"
"!" Celestia narrowed her eyes as she spread her wings, using her magic to bring her mouth back. She had then given herself a magic coating, protecting her from the poison. Cosmos ended up slashing Celestia with her poisonous nails, only for the coating to negate it. "Well, you're certainly not prepared for what modern-day Equestria has to offer."
She spoke once more, responding to Cosmos' sentence about fighting before then using her magic to unleash golden streams that had pushed the Spirit of Malice away. Just then, right behind Celestia, a massive mouth could be seen hovering behind her. Celestia turned around to see that it was the mouth of a Haunter that had been expanded thanks to Cosmos' magic.
The Sun Princess cast a protective as the mouth immediately closed on her. It looked as if Haunter had eaten her, only for golden lights to flare out of Haunter's body. Haunter's eyes widened as it opened its mouth with Celestia's magic pushing it away.
The magma flow was still increasing as Frillish focused Hydro Pump onto the magma. Haze had emerged from this contact but it was not enough to stop it. Frillish couldn't do it alone, and neither did many have an option to deal with magma.
"This is getting out of hoof fast, sister!" Luna exclaimed to Celestia. "We may be able to defeat Cosmos here and now but all of this destruction is only getting worse!"
"I need to check up on Arcanine and Premium too. Philomena and Arcanine will be fine with these flames but Premium's still an android. Pure metal." Celestia replied, seeing that if something wasn't done things could worsen with each passing minute.
"Do you think I'd let you leave?! Garchomp, Dragon Rush!"
"Gar!" Garchomp charged at Celestia with a blazing blue aura of draconic energy.
"Passion, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Gardevoir!" Passion responded to Garchomp by surrounding herself in a sphere of rainbows before then intercepting the Mach Pokemon. The Dragon-Ground-Type and the Psychic-Fairy-Type had clashed upon contact, shaking the floor. Speaking of the floor, it was starting to come apart.
"Oh, I can feel it..." Cosmos cackled as once the floor had let up, instead of it revealing the downstairs section of the castle, it was revealed that Cosmos had used her magic to summon some sort of dimension. "My magic is returning to me...I'm so close to my prime! And my reign as well!"
Doing this caused some of Luna's Pokemon to fall through as they entered this strange dimension that had been made within the castle. Rubble could be seen floating as Gliscor, Musharna, Xatu, Florgres and practically any Pokemon that could fly or hover had kept a perfect balance despite the emergence of this dimension. But, the Pokemon that couldn't fly, float or hover had fallen into it. Cosmos would sacrifice her controlled Pokemon just to ensure her victory, even if her opponents could just simply fly. However, the true danger of the dimension came from what it was capable of.
It nearly mirrored the Malice Dimension as a plethora of horrible things started spewing out of it. Florges had used Light Screen, granting all of her allies a protective veil of Infinity Energy for better defence against whatever Cosmos would throw at her.
"Sister! Go and find Premium Polish!" Luna said before zapping away at a stampede of approaching Donphan. "I can bring try and bring back some of our guards! And maybe Cynthia and her Pokemon as well!"
"You can?!" Celestia faced Luna as Gliscor and Xatu protected the Princess of the Night from Glaceon and Kommo-o.
"Lunar Ire can maybe do something about this. I can try and break her control! Go!"
"Alright! Good luck, Luna!" Celestia put all of her faith into Luna. "Let's go, Passion!"
"Gardevoir!" Celestia and Passion would search for Premium Polish, hoping that she was okay. She was currently with Arcanine, meaning that the android filly was in good hands but in this state, that protection could fade away.
"My revenge on you hasn't finished yet, Celestia! So you won't be going anywhere!" Cosmos swiped her hand as the dimension that could be found underneath this part of the castle had suddenly expanded. It had a gravitational pull to it, forcing Celestia and Passion back.
This was where Luna shined. She already had her fair share of gravity thanks to the Empress. With the spell that her parents cast on her along with the magic of Lunar Ire and she managed to counteract the gravitational pull. Cosmos made it heavier while Luna made it lighter, allowing for her sister and the Embrace Pokemon to fly freely away from the dimension and room. Despite Luna chiming, the dimension was still growing as the castle was starting to crumble.
"Face it! At the end of it all, I have you outmatched!" Cosmos appeared in front of Luna, grabbing her by the neck. "My magic isn't at its fullest and yet I'm still proving to be quite a handful, aren't I?! You should know that since you know who I am!"
"I do know...!" Luna growled as Cosmos started gripping her neck. Luna stayed strong even with this powerful grip. "But, it's just like what my sister had said...you're not prepared for what modern-day Equestria has to offer!" Her Royal Canterlot Voice snuck in there as the force of her voice managed to damage Cosmos' ears.
"Gaaah!" Cosmos flinched as she held her ears. Being attacked in the ears was truly uncomfortable, but that immediately inspired Cosmos to do the same. She had also used her voice to her advantage, however, her usage of it was far more catastrophic. "ENOUGH!"
Cosmos used her magic to boost the volume and intensity of her shout. It surpassed Luna's by milestone as the force of it generated a soundwave so powerful that not only did harm the ears of her opponents and allies, it also blew them all back as well.
Luna groaned as she put up a protective shield around herself, blocking out all sound. However, the power behind Cosmos' shout was far too destructive. Her Pokemon couldn't do anything to stop this. Luna's shield along with her had been launched by the frequency waves as it also started cracking.
Right as everyone was being pushed back by this mighty soundwave with no one being able to stop it, Cosmos had also opened up a hole within the dimension. The hole was void of anything, unclear of where it led to. Mainly because it didn't lead to anything. Instead, something had emerged.
A claw belonging to a familiar Pokemon. A Pokemon that was close to Luna who had also been possessed fairly recently. Darkrai. Cosmos had used the body of Darkrai exclusively for Luna. Once his claw emerged from the hole, Cosmos had used Dark Void, immediately shooting it at Aurorus and the others who were still being held back by the soundwave.
"A-Auro!" Aurorus gasped as Dark Void was a direct hit. Immediately after it consumed her with a flash of black and purple, Aurorus had been put to sleep. Cosmos sent more Dark Voids, scattering them as small black orbs. She ended up utilizing Dark Void differently thanks to her Chaos Magic, turning the orbs invisible.
All of Luna's Pokemon were being put to sleep by these invisible orbs of darkness when they least expected it. Not like they could do anything as Cosmos seemed to have no limit to how long she could scream.
Her screaming didn't stop at the castle. It affected the outside, harming the ears of the ponies living there and throwing them off focus.
"Aurorus!" Luna yelled within her bubble, seeing her Pokemon immediately doze off. She was the only one who could see the invisible orbs thanks to Lunar Ire's magic but her options were slim at the moment as the claw of Darkrai extended. It appeared much larger than Luna, her shield and almost every Pokemon here.
With this massive claw, it had hovered over Luna's bubble, immediately grabbing onto it. Out of the hole, Darkrai emerged with Cosmos deciding to switch over to him instead, finding Darkrai to be closer to her true form. At least in some properties.
Luna looked up to see her ace Pokemon being used against her as the grip of Darkrai started shattering her shield. Luna looked in horror at what Cosmos was doing to her best friend. And Cosmos knew it.
And loved it.
"Still think it was a good idea to let your big sister leave?" Cosmos asked, laughing at Luna as now she was on her own with all of her Pokemon asleep. "It'll be somewhat amusing defeating you with your friend. But I think I'll play with you for a bit in this dimension here! Hows t-"
However, before Cosmos could finish one of her many tangents, she suddenly felt her body tire out. Mainly the body of Darkrai. It caused her grip on Luna's shield to weaken as she felt wobbly. "W-What is this?!"
"Musharna's ability. Synchronize. The moment you put her to sleep...you shared the same status as her." Luna smiled as once again, Cosmos was at a massive disadvantage with having a severe lack of Pokemon Knowledge.
"Curse it...!" Cosmos was aggravated by this, even when she had been granted some knowledge and skills of Pokemon Battling. She quickly switched control back to Cynthia's body before then continuing her attack there. Darkrai's body had fallen asleep with Cosmos immediately focusing all attacks on Luna, who was on her lonesome. "Fire!"
"Garchomp!" Garchomp had used Stone Edge as every other Pokemon on Cosmos' side unleashed their strongest special attacks onto the Princess of the Night, ganging up on her.
Luna braced herself as the magic of Lunar Ire had repaired her bubble shield. However, she wondered how long she could last as all of the attacks had struck the shield, resulting in this entire dimension lighting up. Cosmos' magic was rising once more as somewhere out there in the world, she could feel the next Andalusian Star nearby.
Frenzy Forest. Afternoon.
"Absol's not here..." Meanwhile, Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie's search for Absol had led to nothing. After he went missing last night, Pinkie had used the powerful noses of her Slurpuff to track down Absol's scent.
The six Slurpuff did manage to follow his scent to the Frenzy Forest, which had been repaired to avoid suspicion, but unfortunately, there was no trace of Absol anywhere. His scent ended here.
"Slurpuff..." The Slurpuff shook their heads, unable to go any further.
"Absol's scent just ends?" Twilight's voice had a sense of nervousness in it. Hearing and knowing this changed how she perceived this entire scenario. Normally, she wouldn't be too worried as Absol was stubborn and amazing at surviving in the wild.
But without a trace of him left and with nowhere else to go, the Princess of Friendship feared for Absol. Something that she never felt except for the Darkest Day event.
"Where could he be?" Pinkie Pie sighed. "And where are all the Pokemon from Frenzy Forest? This place should be populated from all sides..."
"Del! Delphox!" Indeed, there were some Pokemon still left behind. Emerging from the acre of trees that were once burnt down and crushed by the terror that befell Frenzy Forest last night was Delphox. A popular figure in this forest. And in her arms was the Lion Cub Pokemon Litleo.
They were still around the forest while the others were gone to raid Canterlot. It wasn't just her. Gothitelle, along with Dottler had emerged before Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Espeon, Sceptile, Machamp and Slurpuff. The controlling pink glow from Cosmos' was no longer within Gothitelle's eyes, but neither Twilight, Applejack or Pinkie Pie would know that.
"Delphox? Litleo? It's just you two?" Applejack said.
"Delphox! Have you seen Absol around?!" Twilight desperately asked.
"Delphox..." Delphox closed her eyes, holding Litleo close to her. Litleo was currently asleep, exhausted after last night. It was the afternoon and he had yet to wake up. Delphox shook her head, unaware of where Absol was.
"Gothitelle." But Gothitelle stepped forward, having something to say. Something important to share. She looked Twilight in the eyes, sharing a Psychic link with her. Twilight gazed back at Gothitelle as the Astral Body Pokemon spoke to her via telepathy, giving Twilight something crucial to know about. Not just about Absol, but the current event that was ongoing.
Gothitelle had shared information about Absol. She knew where he was. And it was all thanks to Cosmos controlling her. Cosmos' biggest advantage to controlling someone was that she was essentially gaining an extra pair of eyes and ears. Gothitelle had appeared as one of the various Pokemon who had been controlled by her, but now, she appeared free.
"Absol's in another dimension?!" Twilight blurted out after being shared this information. Gothteille gave so much in so little time. But that was one of the many perks of being a Psychic-Type with such high intelligence.
"Gothitelle." Gothitelle continued, giving Twilight the last details that she needed to know.
"What else did she tell you?" Applejack asked.
"Gothitelle was able to see where Absol went...There's this being called Cosmos. She took control of everyone here in the Frenzy Forest...becoming their eyes and ears. That involves even Cynthia and some of our teachers it looks like. She saw Absol fight back against her while this forest was being burnt to the ground.
"But...it looks fine now." Pinkie Pie looked at the forest as nothing about it had changed at all.
"That's because Cosmos used her magic to redo the damage that was done. Pinkie." Twilight turned to face the earth pony with a worried expression. "I'm afraid we're dealing with another draconequus."
"Another?! There's more!" The party pony was blown back. She thought that Discord was the one draconequus in existence. Now, she was aware that another existed and potentially more.
"Gothitelle."
"You were able to break free of her mind control. Is that same for every Psychic-Type?" Twilight asked.
"Goth." Gothitelle shook her head. While it was revealed that she managed to free herself from Cosmos' control, other Psychic-Types did not have that same luxury. Delphox had merely been saved by Gothitelle herself to even be here today.
"Gothitelle! You have to tell me how I can get to that dimension!" Twilight flew over to Gothitelle, pleading with her. "I need to get Absol back right now!"
"Telle..." Unfortunately, Gothitelle could not help with that. She knew where Absol had been sent to, but getting there was nigh-impossible unless it was from Cosmos herself.
"Absol..." Twilight stomped her hoof on the ground. However, she did not lose hope. Twilight knew that Absol had a specific location. Granted, reaching there was an issue, but it made her strong, knowing that the Disaster Pokemon could be saved and was out there in the stars. "Then...he's somewhere where the Andalusian Star Constellation would be. That means we're being used, aren't we?"
"Used? Wait, what about Cynthia and the others?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"That's the thing, Pinkie Pie. Cynthia and our teachers are also under her control. And it looks like Cynthia's the main vessel for Cosmos. The maps she gave us...these locations don't lead to the stars at all." Twilight took out the map from her saddlebag, opening it. All the locations here did not point to a single Andalusian Star. "We've been tricked! All of us!"
"Mew-Mew?!"
"Espeon?!"
"Sceptile?!"
"We have to go get them!" Pinkie Pie stretched her mane. "Or should we get to Absol first?!"
"I don't think we can reach Absol right now. The best thing we can do is head for our friends first before something bad can happen." Since Absol couldn't be reached at the moment, the rest of her friends were next in line to be saved.
"Telle. Gothitelle." However, before Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie could zoom off to find their friends, Gothitelle had one last thing to share with her. Another telepathic message had been sent to her, regarding one last thing about Cosmos. The Astral Body Pokemon had then pointed east. The east led to three specific places. Deerling Forest. The Pikachu Highlands. And more importantly...
"She's raiding Canterlot!?" Canterlot. Everything that Gothitelle managed to gather from her time being possessed by Cosmos had been shared. She knew everything.
"So do we go to Canterlot first?!" Now Pinkie was stuck on where she and Twilight should head to first. The options were little but intense in terms of their stakes.
Twilight Sparkle thought about it. Knowing that Canterlot was being attacked meant that some of her friends including her parents were in grave danger from the Spirit of Malice. Most of the Pokemon from Frenzy Forest were joining in on raiding the place thanks to Cosmos' control over them. It was a tough decision for Twilight, but she made up her mind.
"We'll save our friends from far away," Twilight replied, taking out her Xtransceiver. "I've got faith in Princess Celestia and Luna to protect Canterlot. For now, we need to see if they're okay."
"Alright." Pinkie Pie nodded, understanding Twilight's choice. It was not an easy one as she had multiple important individuals in her life on different sides at this point. By using her Xtransceiver, she called for Rainbow Dash. However, there was nothing.
No response from Rainbow Dash at all. The Xtransceiver waited 10 seconds until there was no response from it all. Twilight then switched over to Rarity, hoping for something. But even she did not respond. "None of them?" She then quickly went over to Starlight's Trainer Number calling it.
10 seconds had passed.
Not a word.
"How come they ain't picking up?" Applejack asked.
"I don't know!" Twilight tried calling for Starlight next, but that failed. Spike was a failed call as well. "It's as if something's blocking it! Oh, please...someone respond!" She went over to the bottom option where Fluttershy's Trainer Number was.
Twilight bit her lip, praying that one of her friends would at least respond. The fact that none of them had picked up their Xtransceivers only made the Princess of Friendship, the Cowgirl and the Party Pony Pinkie Pie worry. So far, worrying was overtaking them in this entire predicament.
Thankfully, Fluttershy ended up responding. She was the only one who was not away from home.
"Hello. Twilight?" An exhausted Fluttershy, who was currently being healed by Audino's Heal Pulse had said. She was laying on her bed, absolutely worn out after the usage of the most Fairy Magic she's had to use so far. Bayleef had used her vines to raise the Xtransceiver up to Fluttershy's bed.
"Fluttershy! Are you okay?!" Twilight asked. "You look out of it! I tried calling everypony else and-"
"I'm fine, Twilight. At least I will be. I ended up exhausting myself by using so much Fairy Magic." Fluttershy replied. "I tried calling you but I fell asleep before I could get home. It's good to see you were okay."
"Thanks. But everyone else won't respond. There's a lot happening right now! A lot of chaos!"
"I know. It's about Cosmos." Fluttershy was already ahead of Twilight in terms of the whole Cosmos debacle.
"So you already know. Then...what's going on?"
"I'll tell you everything. Right now, you have to get to everypony else, Twilight. Discord's gone. He ran away afraid of Cosmos...but I know he'll be back."
"Of course he's gone at this time." Twilight put her hoof on her face, stretching it. "Alright! I'll head for Starlight and Spike. I hope we're not too late."
"Our teachers...Cold!" Applejack soon realized that Roxie and Roxanne were back at Ponyville. They were also teachers at the Pokemon School after all. "Sorry, Twilight! Pinkie Pie! Go on without me! I need to get back to Ponyville!"
"What? Why?" Twilight asked as Machamp had grabbed both Applejack and Sceptile, immediately rushing off with them at great speeds.
"It's Cold! Roxie and Roxanne are with him!" Applejack shouted out with her voice fading in the distance.
"Ash! Ash! Ash, my boy!" Crying out Ash's name was Discord. This entire time, he's been frantically searching for his friend. At the moment, the other world was being attacked by Cosmos. Discord's old lover who had returned with a chaotic vengeance. "Oh, Delia said he was in Johto, didn't' she?"
Johto was the region where Ash and Pikachu's adventures led to today. Discord's eyes had appeared inside of the clouds to get a better view of this part of Johto. And over at Violet City, that was where he and Pikachu could be found. Joining them as always was Goh and right now, they were speaking to Hollow at the moment. Discord had spotted him, immediately teleporting to his side.
"Ash! There you are!" Discord showed up, startling him, Pikachu, Goh and Hollow.
"Oh! Discord?!" Ash gasped.
"Pika?!"
"It took a while but I found you!" Discord grabbed him by the shoulders. "It's awful! The worst possible scenario is happening right now!"
"What's going on?" Goh asked.
"Remember what I mentioned back at PokeStar Studios? Cosmos is back..." Discord shuddered with his face being close to Ash. "And I don't think in high spirits! At least for the right reasons!"
"Wait, her?! Are you serious?!"
"I've never been more serious in my life, Ash, my boy." Discord shook his head as this was the most serious Ash had ever seen him. It was rare for Discord to be like this. Serious and terrified at the same time. "I ran from her again and I'm Equestria and everything else past that is in for a horrible time."
"Can you tell us what's happening there?" Hollow requested.
"There's no time! You're just going to have to come with me if you want all of us to live!" Discord extended his arms, grabbing Goh and Hollow as well, needing all the help he could get. He'd rather not waste any time trying to explain everything. All Discord thought about was having Cosmos leave before her absolute revival could come about. He left Violet City and the Pokemon World as well, bringing Ash and the others along.
Equestria. Ponyville. Afternoon.
Applejack had shown up to Ponyville, remembering that Roxie and Roxanne were with Cold Colt at the moment. With Cosmos possessing Pokemon and humans, it made Applejack fear for Cold Colt, who was with two of them right over at Twilight's Castle.
She had used Big Mac's Machamp to show up as fast as she could, locking onto Twilight's castle. However, Machamp suddenly stopped in his tracks, coming to a screeching halt. "Champ!"
"Machamp! What's up?!" Applejack asked. Machamp's abrupt halt was rooted in shock. The moment he arrived at Ponyville, there were already those waiting for Applejack's arrival. Applejack and Sceptile had witnessed what Machamp had seen.
The residents of Ponyville were all staring at the three of them, having the enigmatic pink glow in their eyes. Upon seeing this pink glow, Applejack realized that Cosmos had already struck most of Ponyville at this point.
"Welcome back, Applejack." It started with Mayor Mare speaking to Applejack with the voice of Cosmos coming through, stunning Applejack. "Didn't expect to see you so soon, though." The voice then transferred to everypony else in Ponyville with their voices echoing.
"H-How did ya..."
"I have eyes everywhere. Those Flying-Type Pokemon are very useful, aren't they?" It was revealed that Cosmos could get a better look at things thanks to the Pokemon that could fly. Applejack looked up to see that a flock of Pidgeotto were standing on the trees, viciously gazing at the earth pony.
Her movements did not go unmonitored. All of the residents here were waiting just for her as it seemed that all of them were under Cosmos' control.
"Where's Cold!? And my family?!" Applejack was more concerned for her family at the moment, looking at the crowd of ponies and Pokemon.
"Cold Colt's having the time of his life right now." Replying to Applejack was one of her family members. Apple Bloom. Applejack feared this as her little sister had been taken over. Looking at the crowd some more and she ended up spotting Granny Smith and Big Macintosh in the mix. Machamp was especially struck by this as his trainer Big Mac was taken over too.
"You don't have to worry about him right now." Carrot Top said, shrugging. "Roxie and Roxanne are making sure he's a contended and happy pony at the moment. One that is surely out of our way."
"I swear if you did anything to him...!"
"Or what? What can you do?" Cosmos chuckled in the body of Roseluck. "Look at the numbers, why don't you?" Indeed, Applejack was greatly outnumbered. Far more than anyone else dealing with Cosmos at the moment.
Her options were slim at the moment. Face to face with many ponies and Pokemon including her friends and family put the farm girl in a tough position. Another friend of hers came to mind. Fluttershy. Including the Pokemon House, home to various Pokemon that could match the massive number of ponies and Pokemon that had been taken over. Applejack feared for Fluttershy and the Pokemon living there, worried that they might have been taken over as well.
"Well. Only one thing left to do...Machamp! Start, running!"
"Champ!" Machamp nodded as he immediately took off. Applejack was going to risk it for the sake of her friends. At least, that's what Cosmos thought. Instead, Machamp ran the other way instead of directly into the streets of Ponyville.
"Running?! What a shame! After her! It's been a while since I've tortured someone, so let's make it count!" Cosmos aimed her hoof as Mayor Mare, ordering everyone to pursue her. It started with the Pidgeotto flock and soon everypony else.
Twilight's Castle.
Meanwhile, Roxie and Roxanne were still there over at Twilight's castle. This whole time, Cosmos has been rubbing up to the little colt, stalling for as much time as she could until her revival was complete. She couldn't have somepony as powerful as Cold Colt intervene.
"Hey, uh...this is great and all..." Cold Colt spoke as he was currently being fed some ice cream from Roxie and Roxanne. "But, I'm getting kinda full here. It's been hours."
"Come on. Don't you wanna eat some more?" Roxie grinned, holding up a spoon of ice cream up to his mouth as it had chocolate chips in it.
"I've only seen you two all day..." The Rift Pony sighed. "I'm getting full here too...And don't you two have Gyms to be at? Or at least schools?"
"A day off is always nice." Roxanne smiled. "If you're tired of the ice cream, then you'll probably prefer something new."
"Yeah, like a break." Cold replied, lowering his head. "You could at least help me be a better Pokemon Trainer...I'm subpar at best. Plus, I haven't seen anyone else lately."
"They went on a little trip." Roxanne put the ice cream aside. "They might be back soon. But you aren't feeling lonely with us around, are you?"
"No." He pouted. But right after that, the sounds of stomping and the wind blowing could be heard from outside. Cold's ears perked up as he stood up, looking towards one of the windows. "What's all that sound?"
"Ignore that," Roxie replied in a heartbeat, only for Cold Colt's curiosity to be the overpowering force in this instance. He teleported to the window before Roxie or Roxanne could even grab his tail to stop him. The two of them growled as Cold Colt got to witness the rampant scene outside. He used his magic to increase his eyesight greatly, looking far past Twilight's Castle.
Citizens of Ponyville were all currently rushing in one direction, pursuing Applejack. Applejack was currently headed for Twilight's Castle at the moment with Machamp carrying her and Sceptile.
"Applejack!? What's going on?!"
"Hmph." Roxie and Roxanne looked at each other, knowing that they couldn't risk any interruptions to Cosmos' plan. Especially with somepony who had the power to do what Cosmos could do. Albeit on a small scale. With both of their hands out, a pink ray had been unleashed at the little Rift Pony.
Cold Colt's tail swished for a bit before seeing a pinkish glow coming his way. The young colt quickly jerked back, narrowly avoiding the ray as it had pierced through the window and parts of the wall.
"Uh..." Naturally, he was confused and dumbfounded by this. The two trainers who he was having with for the majority of the day had suddenly tried to blast him to bits. "What's uh...what's up?"
"No use in hiding it now." Roxanne closed her eyes along with Roxie. Both of them opened them to reveal the pink glow. They had masked it this entire time to hide the possibility of them being under Cosmos' control. "We've stalled for enough time."
"Those eyes...Those are Cosmos'!" Cold Colt's knowledge about the original timeline had shown itself.
"They were right. He is knowledgeable. But that's to be expected from a Rift Creation." said Roxanne. "Do you know what this is all about, my little pony?"
"I think I do but..." Before he could finish his sentence, something didn't seem right in Cold Colt's eyes. It wasn't the fact that Cosmos was back and she was taking control of everyone's bodies. It was rather when Cosmos had shown up. "This is early."
"What do you mean early?" Roxie questioned.
"Well uh...funnily enough. You're not supposed to show up until next year." He chuckled even in the face of danger. "But I guess that's just the cause of the timeline being messed up in this world, right?"
"Hmph. So my return was inevitable anyway." Cosmos smiled, feeling somewhat relieved about that. "But frankly, that doesn't matter right now. I have to say, I should thank you for taking the time to be with me this long. You truly helped me get back up to speed."
"Eh?"
"Truth is...I didn't just come here to stall for time. I came here to also draw from the Rift Energy you have." Cosmos held her hand out as Roxanne, generating some crackling magic. "I heard you had great potential and those two certainly didn't lie. I've spent these remaining hours drawing out some Rift Magic from you and it's been greatly helping my recovery process. Thank you for that."
"Knew it was all too good to be true..." Cold lowered his head. "The ice cream tasted nice though."
"But I wonder why I couldn't control your mind?"
"I've already had mind taken over before. So, I just learned to get past it with my magic. And even if you did take some from me, I can just get it back in no time."
"Good to see that you're an optimist. But are you also a realist?!" Cosmos had then used her magic to send out Roxie and Roxanne's Pokemon.
Probopass, Armaldo, Cradily, Aggron, Carracosta and Golem from Roxanne's team. Meanwhile, Roxie's team consisted of Scollipede, Toxicroak, Garbodor, Crobat, Drapion and Weezing respectfully. These Rock and Poison-Types showed up before Cold Colt, shaking the room with their entrances.
"Do you have some more of that magic to give me?" All of them spoke with the voice of Cosmos. Cold Colt shifted his eyes outside, seeing that Applejack was still being chased.
Speaking of Applejack, she was heading for the castle. Even with this stark number difference, she prioritized the safety of her friends more than anything. She only wished that she could do the same for her family, but alas, they were now serving Cosmos only.
"Sceptile! Use your vines!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile, who had latched on Machamp's back, readied his vines. Machamp was already closing in on the castle thanks to the speed he was moving at. However, the agile Flying-Types were catching up, proving to have speeds capable of matching Machamp's and even surpassing it. Some of them had used Aerial Ace, swiftly moving through the air to catch up with Machamp.
Sceptile's vines stretched far enough to reach the castle, wrapping around one of the pillars. After grabbing it, Machamp braced himself, allowing for Sceptile to carry his body weight and Applejack's combined as he left the ground.
Just in the time to avoid the incoming Aerial Aces. However, the other Flying-Types had used Air Slash and Air Cutter, focusing on Sceptile's vines. The blades of wind had sliced Sceptile's vines in half, interrupting his swinging motion. "T-Tile!"
"You're mine!" Cosmos had extended the arm of a Lombre using her Chaos Magic, causing it to become exceedingly long as it went to grab Applejack. Applejack held on tightly to Machamp, unaware of the arm that was coming towards her.
"Champ!" That was where Machamp came in. While falling, he had used one of his four arms to grab the extended arm of Lombre. Upon grabbing it, Cosmos had felt the pure power of the Superpower Pokemon, causing her to wince.
"Gah!" Cosmos cried out as Machamp had then tossed her aside. However, this moment of retaliation would not last as Machamp could see that Cosmos was throwing everything at his group. Wanting Applejack and Sceptile to make it out, Machamp had suddenly thrown them towards the balcony of the castle.
"Machamp!"
"Huh?! Machamp?!" Applejack gasped after seeing the Superpower Pokemon throw himself off. "What are ya doing?!"
"Champ." Machamp saluted at the two of them before spreading his arms out for the incoming attacks. He took the hit for them, ensuring that his friends would continue on and potentially end this disaster. The explosion from all of those attacks hit him had caused a shockwave that ended up boosting Applejack and Sceptile a bit higher towards the balcony. They ended up arriving at the castle after all as they were unable to witness Machamp take all of those attacks.
Speaking of Machamp, he crashed into the ground, fainting right afterwards after sacrificing himself like that. Applejack was taken aback by that. Cosmos took great interest in Machamp's strength. She knew that she needed that kind of power on her side. So far, Machamp was the hardest hitting Pokemon she had seen thus far. Applejack wanted to save him, but it would be pointless in trying to do so in this current predicament. Seeing that self-sacrifice ended up giving her a greater drive to overcome this.
"Thanks, Machamp. I won't let ya down." Applejack and Sceptile couldn't waste any time. They had to use all of the time that Machamp gave them to save Cold Colt or else it would've been for nothing.
Fluttershy's Cottage. Afternoon.
"Fluttershy!" Rushing through the doors of Fluttershy's cottage was Ash alongside his partner Pikachu. Joining him were Goh, Hollow and Discord after coming here from Violet City. "You weren't at the Everfree Forest! Are you alright?!"
"Ash. I'm fine." Fluttershy replied, still feeling exhausted while also being healed by Audino. "I just tired myself out by using my Fairy Magic. Never used that much before."
"That's great. So Cosmos showed up, huh?" Ash said. "From which universe?"
"It wasn't another universe, Ash. Cosmos comes from this universe. Ours." Fluttershy sat up. "But it's all the more dangerous...she started off by taking over Cynthia's body. And some of our teachers back at the Pokemon School."
"Cynthia?!" Ash, Goh and Hollow each exclaimed with shock.
"Pika?!"
"A lot happened." Fluttershy continued. "Some of our friends have been sent off to places where Cosmos wanted them...To distract them while she looks for the Andalusian Stars to bring herself back."
"Is everyone else okay?" Ash asked.
"Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie are okay. But Starlight, Spike, Rainbow Dash and Rarity...I can't reach them. The Xtransceiver won't work with their Trainer numbers." Fluttershy picked up her Xtransceiver, using her wings to tap on Starlight's Trainer Number. The device rang for 10 seconds, only for nothing to happen. "Nothing. I'm worried...but it's probably getting worse since Cosmos is attacking Canterlot."
"She wants complete reign over Equestria." said Discord. "And if she does...that's the worst kind of reign."
"Wait, what are we dealing with here? What's Cosmos all about"? Goh questioned.
"She's exactly me." Discord pointed at himself. "A draconequus. The only difference right now is that if she gets all those 6 Andalusian Stars, the same magic I have will be back in full swing with her. Can you imagine what she'll do once she's gets it all back?!"
"Cosmos' at Canterlot, right?" Ash leaned in toward Fluttershy.
"Mhm. She's controlling the Pokemon from Frenzy Forest to try and overthrow it. Twilight and Pinkie have gone off to find everyone else before it's too late. Applejack should be back here by now to check up on Cold Colt and-"
Just before Fluttershy could finish giving a quick rundown on things, a booming sound had travelled far enough to reach here. Audino's ears picked it up first along with everyone else. They had all flinched as the trees rustled with Fluttershy's windows almost cracking.
"What was that?!" Hollow shouted.
"Audino!"
"That came from the town!" Fluttershy got off her bed as all of the Pokemon here at the Pokemon House either fell over, snarled in the direction of where the sound came from or just hid.
"She's coming! She's definitely coming!" A frightened Discord had hidden underneath Fluttershy's bed. "No doubt!"
"Boy. Since we're dealing with someone similar to that draconequus...I have a suggestion." Sombra's shadow appeared next to Ash, speaking to him. "Use that ring that you used to defeat me 3 years ago. I could feel the amazing power from it."
"I hear ya, Sombra. But right now, we need to get a move on!" Ash rushed out of the cottage with Goh and Hollow following along.
"Wait for me!" Fluttershy followed as well. She had been healed to the point where she could start galloping. Even fly as she spread her wings out. Audino, Bayleef and Raboot soon joined their friends. Meanwhile, Discord still hid, too frightened to face Cosmos. That was all he was doing and much to Discord's chagrin, Cosmos was right about him running away. He ran away in the past and he was running even now.
Twilight's Castle.
Back at Twilight's Castle, Cold Colt was currently on the run. His pursuers were Roxie and Roxanne along with their Pokemon. He teleported through a room, only for Aggron to break the doors down with its bare hands.
Toxicroak jumped through the massive hole that Aggron made before having Poison Jab ready. It jumped from wall to wall, closing in on Cold Colt with its flexibility and agility.
Cold Colt screeched as he quickly used his magic to create the first object he could think of. Toxicroak lunged at Cold Colt, thrusting its arms forward with Poison Jab. Cold Colt created two wardrobes that were stacked together, using that as a shield.
"Toxic!" Toxicroak's arm spikes ended up stabbing into the wardrobe, sticking there. The Poison-Fighting-Type had been blocked, only for it to tear the wardrobes in half with Poison Jab, melting the wood away as well.
"Bring this entire room down! Earthquake!" Roxanne ordered her Armaldo and Golem.
"Armaldo!" Both Armaldo and Golem had stomped on the ground, summoning golden shockwaves. These shockwaves crossed streams before spreading across the room. Before Cold Colt knew it, the power of two Earthquakes had absolutely shattered this room in mere seconds. The walls broke down along with the floor which gave out.
The little unicorn was running on air for a few seconds before falling. Rubble started falling with him as the lower and upper floors had also been affected thanks to the power of the Double Earthquake. Cold Colt screamed whilst falling from a high place. The rubble bumped him in the head along the way, causing immediate injury. Despite this, he still had the power and time to use his magic to levitate himself.
He watched as the floors all broke apart, crashing into other rooms. The rubble crashed onto his shield, but none managed to break it.
"Oh...Twilight's gonna be so mad..." Cold Colt grimaced as he lowered himself to the room below that was still intact.
But he knew that he might not get the chance to see Twilight mad considering his options. Outside was not safe either as the residents of Ponyville were currently surrounding the castle. They had even started entering instead of waiting for Roxie and Roxanne to get it done.
Another Earthquake had been used, sending even more of those golden shockwaves towards Cold Colt. The little unicorn braced himself, only to be saved afterwards. A vine had wrapped around his shield, pulling Cold Colt away from the shockwaves.
Sceptile was responsible for that. Applejack was drawn to the biggest noise that had been made inside the castle, leading to here. "Applejack! Sceptile!"
"How ya doing, little guy?" Applejack asked with a smile on her face. She was glad to see that Cold Colt was still in one piece despite this mass destruction that was ongoing.
"Could be better right now." He chuckled, feeling genuinely terrified of his current circumstances as Sceptile had placed him down. "I guess you already know what's happening."
"Ya don't have to tell me, Cold. We've got a good idea of what this is all about." Applejack's smile soon faded as she put on a serious face, looking up. As the remaining rubble from the upper floors dropped, Roxanne, Roxie and their Pokemon came into view, standing on what was left of the upstairs. They looked down at Applejack, Cold and Sceptile while the trio looked up at them.
"Not the smartest move coming here, farm girl," said Cosmos through the body of Roxanne. "You're still outnumbered. Plus, there are more that have just entered. And with all of this destruction, it'll be easy to find the point of interest, won't it?"
"She's right, Applejack. Everyone in Ponyville is controlled by Cosmos right now. She's everywhere! Eyes, ears, everything!"
"The kid gets it." Cosmos chuckled using Roxie's voice. "Still want to keep trying."
"So...you've got eyes and ears on everything, do ya?" Applejack was unphased by this. She knew that the odds were greatly stacked against her. However, these past 3 years have taught her that overwhelming odds do not signify the end.
"All across the world at this point. Soon anyway." Cosmos shrugged. "And I believe I'm close to the next Andalusian Star somewhere..."
"In that case...Cold. I'm gonna need you to do something for me real soon." Applejack had a plan. Something had attached to her mind as she was banking everything on this idea. Cold Colt nodded, waiting patiently for what Applejack's plan was. But of course, they had to get past the horde of controlled citizens as well. And that was just another challenge waiting to happen.
Out in the badlands.
Cosmos contained her search for the next Andalusian Star, using as many bodies as she could. She did indeed have eyes everywhere as she was currently a Swellow, hovering over the skies of the badlands. And by reaching this area, she could feel the next Andalusian Star.
"It's here," Cosmos spoke as the fourth star had been sensed. Her eyes focused on the massive ravine located here. By staring at it for a bit, Cosmos used her magic to enhance her sight.
Lo and behold, the next Andalusian Star was there.
This was the one star that she wouldn't have to worry about fighting for. Here at the badlands, there was no one to stop her as Cosmos was thrilled beyond belief about this. Not even the Pokemon living here would bother with the star, let alone even see it due to the massive ravine. But Cosmos certainly could.
"Good...Good!" A thrilled Cosmos had blurted out with her voice echoing throughout the skies. "Just a bit more, Discord my darling. I'll be back to my prime and I can finally finish what I started."
Cosmos flew into the ravine, heading straight for the fourth star. By flying down, the power of the Andalusian Star was already resonating with her, recognizing its original owner. Little by little, Cosmos' magic was returning to her as her body was masked by the darkness of the ravine. She seemingly disappeared when entering it.
However, seconds later, a light shined brightly in the darkness of the ravine. A dark pink light. That light then formed into a pillar, shooting out of the ravine before piercing the clouds. Once that light hit the clouds, it started spreading as if it was a bucket of paint being spread across a canvas. Much like the dangerous storm that Cosmos had summoned over Canterlot, the clouds and the skies were changing. However, this time, cosmic sparkles could be found within them as everything was being darkened in a matter of seconds.
Within the ravine and once again echoing through the skies was Cosmos' voice. But this time, in the form of laughter. Pure maniacal laughter that could send a chill down someone's spine. It was certainly chilling for the Pokemon here at the badlands to hear. With that horrifying laughter, Cosmos knew that she was one step closer to her revival. And potentially one step closer to a malefic reign as the journey continues.
"Yes...YES!" Cosmos shouted in celebration. The fourth Andalusian Star had been found. And with that fourth star found, she was so close to her revival. Granted, the first Andalusian Star she had was made out of Rift Energy. A substitute. Realistically, the one she recently found was actually the third one. But the substitute had enough power to get her this far.
Luna stood there stunned as she felt the increase in magical pressure. The dimension that Cosmos had made was still there as all of Luna's Pokemon were still asleep thanks to Cosmos using Darkrai's body. "What is this?!" She exclaimed while still being outnumbered by all the opposing Pokemon.
"A portion of magic returning, that's what!" Cosmos spoke through Cynthia's body. "Even with these annoyances in my way, my revival's still imminent. So, what will you do now, Luna? What was that about you freeing the others from mind control?"
"Wouldn't hurt to try!" Luna stayed fearless even with Cosmos' magic gradually returning to its prime. She tapped into the magic of Lunar Ire, shooting a beam at Cosmos. Cosmos shrugged it off, casually moving to the side to evade it. However, Luna anticipated that.
With a smirk on her face, she redirected the beam, causing it to turn. But this was where Cosmos' utility of having so many controlled bodies came into fruition. She had multiple eyes at this point as a Torkoal had seen the redirection due to being close to Cynthia. Seeing it through the eyes of Torkoal prompted Cynthia to move out of the way once more.
"Nice try." Cosmos shrugged before swiping her hand. She had then used her magic to hold Luna in place, restraining her for a bit. Out of this dimension that had been created within this section of Canterlot Castle, a magical box had been summoned right where Luna hovered. Before she knew it, this box had already enclosed her.
Her Pokemon were also captured within these boxes while they were still asleep. This box was both hollow and heavy as Luna bumped her head on the top. It was specifically made for her size along with the other boxes.
"This is nothing!" Luna scoffed at these boxes before unleashing a magical pulse from her horn. She attempted to break out of the box, only to find that the box remained intact. "What?!"
"With most of my magic back, my options just went ten-fold! Do you know what material this is, Luna?" Cosmos spoke to Luna as her voice managed to travel through the box. "Thanks to those Rift Humans, I managed to learn about a metal known as Dynasite. Hardest metal in this world apparently. And I can see it doesn't disappoint."
"Dynasite?!" Nothing about this revelation was good news to Luna's ears. The hardest metal from Pegalysium had been made known to Cosmos.
"And if smashed together, they won't break. At least...I'll make sure they won't! Gahaha!" Cosmos then manipulated each of the boxes that held Luna's Pokemon. Some were big. Some were small. But they were equally heavy. Cosmos immediately sent them crashing into each other, starting with Luna's box.
"Gh!" Luna grunted as the box of Aurorus and Excadrill had crashed into her box while also hitting Musharna, Xatu and Florges' boxes. The impact was devastating considering how heavy and hard Dynasite was.
"Musha!" Musharna cried out as she bumped her body onto the box. Florges and the others did as well. Considering Luna had caught so many Pokemon over these past 3 years, there were a plethora of boxes for Cosmos to use as she played around with them.
Luna felt like she was inside a whirlpool or a twister as the boxes kept smashing into each other, harming the pony and Pokemon inside. Cosmos laughed, enjoying this malicious action. She thrived off of this and with her magic being close to its prime thanks to the recent Andalusian Star that had been found, her actions were only going to get worse. And with a mind as twisted as hers, the possibilities were endless and horrific.
"F-Frillish!" Despite all of this smashing, there was one Pokemon who could avoid this. Her Frillish. Being a Ghost had its advantages, especially the power to become intangible. Frillish had phased through the box he had been trapped in, emerging right afterwards.
"Thought I forgot about you?!" Cosmos already anticipated Frillish freeing himself. The moment he emerged out of the box, ready to attack Cosmos, the box that Gliscor was inside had been launched at him.
"Fr-" Frillish had been hit in the back of his head by Gliscor's box. It was a devastating hit as he fell over from it. Frillish had been knocked out in one go.
"What was that?! Frillish?!" Luna heard Frillish's cry, desperately needing to know what was going on outside. "Cosmos!"
"I'll pass the control to this one." Cosmos then switched this Dynasite control onto the body of a Darmanitan, still keeping Cynthia as her perfect vessel. "I have to catch up with your big sister. I'll be right back!" She whistled before teleporting away as Cynthia.
She used the hands of Darmanitan to continue smashing the boxes together. Luna was powerless against Dynasite, unsure of what to do with such a durable material. There was only one way to pierce it, but unfortunately, she did not possess the power to do so.
Aura.
Meanwhile, outside, despite the Pokemon from Frenzy Forest attacking Canterlot, the citizens weren't pushovers at all. In the original timeline, perhaps so, but thanks to these past 3 years and the bond they've formed with their Pokemon, even being attacked was something that everypony was prepared for.
Once the Pokemon of Frenzy Forest started attacking, the residents of Canterlot retaliated in a heartbeat.
"Milotic. Dragon Pulse." Fleur-de-lis was a great example. She and her Milotic were being attacked by a Lilligant and Drifblim, only for Milotic to blast them away with a dragon-shaped shockwave. Those Pokemon had been taken care of. Fleur then turned to see that the same could be said for the others.
Moondancer could be seen using her Umbreon while Minuette was using her Simipour. However, despite them retaliating, Chaos Magic combined with the power of Pokemon was a dangerous combo. It forced the trainers and their Pokemon to put in far more effort if they wished to overcome this bizarre raid.
Fleur then raised her head, looking to the skies and how they had been overtaken by Cosmos' cosmic storm. In fact, the storm was only growing and expanding even further. It started showing up in more than just one part of Equestria. With the next Andalusian Star found, Cosmos' influence had grown, covering the beautiful azure skies of the world with her malicious cosmic veil.
Cosmic thunder rumbled within the clouds, bringing on a foreboding sense of dread that could potentially worsen as Cosmos continues.
Back at the castle, Celestia had found Premium Polish and Arcanine. They were rushing out of the castle to avoid the carnage being brought upon it. Philomena had already flown out of the window to get ahead. "Oh! It's great that you're alright!" Celestia ran up to them.
"Princess Celestia! What's happening!?"
"I'll tell you everything later. Right now, you need to be far away from Canterlot at once! We need to find a safe place for you, my little pony." Celestia grabbed the little android filly. "If there is a safe place..."
"There isn't!" Replying to Celestia was the cause of all this trouble. Cosmos. She appeared as Cynthia once more, having her vampire wings on her back. Celestia gasped, holding Premium close to her before looking up to see the Spirit of Malice. Arcanine barked at her right after she appeared.
"Miss Cynthia?!" Premium gasped.
"No. It's not." Celestia quickly corrected her. "It's someone despicable using the body of my friend and many others."
"Good news! I'm feeling much better now." Cosmos giggled, clapping her hands. "Another star has been found. I'm close to returning. But...I still need that throne. And getting you out of the way is the only way that can happen."
"A shame that won't happen. Arcanine. Get Premium somewhere safe. Return once this is all over and protect her with your life."
"Arcanine!"
"Oooh. A shame that won't happen." Cosmos chuckled. "You see...once I found that other Andalusian Star, I decided to lock off Canterlot."
"What?!" Celestia exclaimed.
"You didn't notice. No one did except for yours truly. No one is escaping! I'm going to have so much fun playing with you all for all of eternity! You've got that?!" Cosmos roared, making the skies thunder with cosmic lightning shooting out. The lightning hit the castle, setting it ablaze. As if it wasn't on fire already. "So. What now?"
"Princess Celestia..." Premium looked to the Ruler of Equestria, hiding behind Arcanine right afterwards.
"It's fine." Celestia remained calm. "I wasn't planning on leaving or abandoning my subjects. If I beat you here, Cosmos, it will be the end of all of this."
"I doubt that." Cosmos descended, having Cynthia's Pokemon by her side. "I think I'm getting the hang of this Pokemon thing as well. I suppose getting attacked by them and knowing all of these moves helps greatly."
"Passion!" Celestia then revealed the Mega Stone that was hidden within her mane, levitating there. She brought it over, removing the crystal on her crown as she had changed the diamond mould of the crown into a circle for the stone. "Mega Evolve!"
"Garde...Voir!" Passion yelled as the light from the Mega Stone had been unleashed. Premium closed her eyes as the light also stunned Cosmos for a bit. The room had been lit up with a golden aura with Celestia and Passion merging with their bodies connecting.
Out of this flare of light, Celestial-Gardevoir had arrived. Cosmos was bewildered by what she had seen and what she was now seeing. "W-What the? Who are you?!"
"Since you've taken control of so many, we decided to become one to even things out a bit," Celestial-Gardevoir smirked. "I am the fusion between Mega Gardevoir and Princess Celestia. Call me Celestial-Gardevoir."
"Fusion. Bah! Like that's supposed to scare me. Get her!" Cosmos unleashed a crackling beam of magic while Garchomp and the others did the same. Garchomp and Gastrodon had used Stone Edge while Glaceon used Ice Beam and Roserade used Petal Blizzard.
Celestial-Gardevoir had put her hands together, using Psychic in one hand and Mystical Fire in the other. She unleashed a ray of rainbows and a stream of magical flames at the same time, overpowering Roserade and Glaceon's attacks while also manipulating the stones from Stone Edge. She had then sent the attacks back, launching them at the opposing Pokemon.
"Kommo-o!" Kommo-o intervened, using Outrage to smash the stones into bits once they were launched back.
"I feel confident in defeating you, Cosmos!" Celestial-Gardevoir declared. "After all, you're only using the body of Cynthia! You're less than second-rate! Possible third-rate!"
"What did you say?!" Cosmos growled.
"The real Cynthia has immaculate skills and a bond with her Pokemon. You couldn't hope to draw out their real power! Which means that I can take them on without worrying too much!"
"I don't need skills to win! I just need my magic!" Cosmis raised her arm as she suddenly turned the walls into massive fangs. They had come alive, roaring in Celestial-Gardevoir's direction. Premium Polish screamed, holding into Arcanine's leg as the mouth walls started extending, ready to gnaw on their prey.
"Arcanine, Flamethrower!" Celestial-Gardevoir ordered before using Plasma Bolt to blast away at the walls. The mouth walls had been blown back by a wave of fire and a beam made out of pure plasma thanks to the combination of Thunderbolt and Mystical Fire.
Celestial-Gardevoir then ascended with Cosmos doing the same. They would take this to the skies as Garchomp and the others targeted Arcanine.
"Now's a good time as any!" Premium Polish saw that Arcanine was greatly outnumbered. Even if these Pokemon couldn't draw out their true strength, they could be a problem for the Legendary Pokemon.
To assist the Fire-Type, Premium sent out her Pokemon as well. Swanna, Flareon, Masqueiran, Inkay, Smeargle and Steenee had arrived to give Arcanine backup.
In the air, Celestial-Gardevoir and Cosmos had engaged with Cosmos using Dynasite once more, being a fan of its sturdiness. She threw a cube of Dynasite at the Alicorn-Pokemon-Fusion, only for Celestial-Gardevoir to choose to evade them, knowing that she couldn't possibly break them.
Celestial-Gardevoir ducked and flew over these incoming Dynasite cubes that broke through the walls and ceiling. She had some close calls with some cubes almost hitting her face. Celestial-Gardevoir moved her head back with a stunned and shocked grimace on her face representing how close some of these hits were.
She quickly retaliated, using Thunderbolt as she shot it directly at Cosmos. Even though she knew that she was attacking Cynthia's body, her options were limited at this point. The Thunderbolt had been blocked by the cubes sadly as more of them were flying at her.
This forced Celestial-Gardevoir to fly away from these incoming Dynasite cubes as Cosmos made sure they kept pace with her. This also forced Celestial-Gardevoir out of the castle, causing her to appear outside. The cubes followed her there as she flew past many buildings in Canterlot that were being torn apart by these attacking Pokemon who shared Cosmos' malice. They were all Cosmos after all.
Celestial-Gardevoir knew she couldn't evade them forever. She started thinking of something. An idea sprung in her head. She decided to let them hit someone else. Cosmos in this instance as she quickly redirected herself, flying towards the Spirit of Malice.
Cosmos' eyes widened, realizing that Celestial-Gardevoir was coming her way. And at great speeds too. The speed of a Gardevoir combined with the speed of a fully grown alicorn led to great acceleration and swiftness. Celestial-Gardevoir feared hurting Cynthia's body. But she knew one thing was for certain. Cosmos wouldn't let herself get hit.
And she was right on the mark as Cosmos immediately made the cubes disappear out of fear once Celestial-Gardevoir got close enough. The Fusion had Cosmos right where she wanted her as she had then used Psychic, unleashing an invisible blast of Psychic energy from her hand.
Cosmos had been led into Celestia's trap, feeling this invisible Psychic wave hit her. She cringed before being blown back. The Spirit of Malice showed visible agitation before retaliating via her the chaotic storm. She used the cosmic storm she had summoned, unleashing lightning bolts from the sky.
Celestial-Gardevoir looked unphased as she merely swayed her body to the left and right, easily avoiding the lightning bolts with little effort. Cosmos was starting to despise the look on Celestial-Gardevoir's face as she had then created magma in her hand, throwing it at the Alicorn-Pokemon-Fusion.
To retaliate, Celestial-Gardevoir ended up using her magic aura. A golden and pink aura meant to represent the two halves that had become one had flared with majesty and ferocity. The majesty of this form and the anger that Celestia and Passion showed towards Cosmos for doing this to their home and their friends.
This beautiful, raging magical aura managed to block off the magma, causing the streams to be consumed by it upon contact. After getting rid of the magma, Celestial-Gardevoir zoomed through the air with Cosmos following her. Cosmos made an entirely new dimension from her bare hands, causing it to appear in front of Celestial-Gardevoir. This dimension had explosions going off constantly without any end.
However, Cosmos did not expect what came next. Celestial-Gardevoir had then held the ethereal plane of the dimension in her bare hands, gripping it before it could cause any harm. She used Magic coating to protect herself from the explosions as the dimension was being held like a ball. It didn't exactly grow quick enough to be utilized properly.
"H-How in the?!"
"It's not my first rodeo with dimensions!" Celestial-Gardevoir replied before throwing it back at Cosmos. Cosmos was still blown back by the fact that Celestial-Gardevoir could do all of this. A quick fusion between Celestia and Passion had caused such a drastic change. Realizing she was about to be hit by her own dimension, Cosmos made a barrier around herself with the dimension making direct contact with it.
After it blew up, Celestial-Gardevoir approached her, flying into the massive cosmic smoke that had been made. In her hand, she had created Dazzling Gleam, knowing how vulnerable Cosmos was to Fairy Magic now.
She thrust her arms forward, unleashing a ray of rainbows that passed through the smoke. However, Cosmos quickly got back into the swing of things, summoning a Dynasite cube to block the rainbow rays. Seeing that the cube was in the way, Celestial-Gardevoir decided to simply just teleport in front of Cosmos while also being behind the cube.
Cosmos snarled with her claws being swung at Celestial-Gardevoir. The Mega Evolved Fusion had then unleashed a bright flash of light from Dazzling Gleam, stunning and blinding Cosmos before she could swing at her. "G-Gaaaha!" Cosmos cried out from being stunned.
"Right where I want you!" Celestial-Gardevoir had then let Cosmos have it, unleashing Dazzling Gleam once more by pummelling Cosmos with multiple rays. Cosmos was being showered by these constant rays of Fairy Magic. It was all volatile to her as the fusion had then kicked her down.
"C-Celestia!" Cosmos growled whilst being rocketed to the ground.
"It's Celestial-Gardevoir!" Celestial-Gardevoir replied immediately before then using a full force Dazzling Gleam for good measure. This one came in the form of a massive pink and gold wave. This was larger than Cosmos' entire body, at least the body of Cynthia. Cosmos closed her eyes from this overwhelming light as the Dazzling Gleam was a direct hit, engulfing her in its radiant light before hitting the ground with Cosmos in it.
Dazzling Gleam strafed the ground in the process, hitting some of the opposing Pokemon along the way. The Ruler of Equestria ended up helping her subjects by defeating some of the Pokemon for them. The Fairy Magic involved affected all of them including the Dark-Types, Dragon-Types and Fighting-Types especially. They all cheered after Celestial-Gardevoir helped them out.
A large smoke cloud had occurred as Celestial-Gardevoir looked down at the ground where the attack ended, waiting to see what had happened with Cosmos. Speaking of Cosmos, she was on the ground with the smoke still going on. While laying there, visible rage and frustration were boiling up with her. She banged her fist on the ground, frustrated that Celestial-Gardevoir could give her so much trouble.
"Even with most of my magic back...I'm still losing like this?!" She roared. "Rift Humans...If you have anything to share...share it now!"
She called out for Lucien and Sienna. This entire time, Lucien and Sienna had been standing away from Canterlot, residing near the Deerling Forest. She spoke to them in the body of a controlled Deerling, barking at them.
"Guess you're losing, huh?" Lucien chuckled with Cosmos sneering at him. "Uh, but all's not lost!"
"What is this Celestial-Gardevoir?!" She bellowed in the body of Deerling. "You should've told me everything about this world!"
"We didn't have the energy left! Sorry!" Sienna backed up, bowing her head. "But...we can tell you one thing that could help."
"Spit it out!"
"Celestial-Gardevoir's strong yeah...but I don't think Celestia and Passion have mastered it yet," said Lucien. "They can use it for only a short period of time. If they go on any further, they'll both harm themselves and tire out. Maybe even pass out. So uh...is that good enough?"
"That's perfect." Cosmos liked the sound of that. She found something that she could expose from Celestial-Gardevoir. An easily exploitable weakness to boot.
This information was given to everyone that was under Cosmos' possession, especially the body of Cynthia. Back at Canterlot, the massive smoke cloud was still going on for a bit before then starting to die down.
However, once the smoke vanished, Cosmos was not there. Celestial-Gardevoir let out a small gasp, but she remained calm, waiting for Cosmos. Then again, Cosmos was everywhere so in reality, she didn't lose sight of her.
Instead, Cosmos had teleported, appearing behind Celestial-Gardevoir. The Alicorn-Pokemon-Fusion was made aware of this, immediately turning around. However, she did not see Cynthia. Instead, she was face to face with a Whimsicott. "What?!"
"Gotcha!" The body of Cynthia had appeared from behind instead. Whimsicott was merely the distraction. The distraction gave Cosmos her chance as she had placed her palm on Celestial-Gardevoir's back. She had then used her Chaos Magic to target Celestial-Gardevoir's biggest weakness. Her time limit.
She accelerated the limit of Celestial-Gardevoir's body immediately, giving it the presence of hours gone by using it. "AAAAAH!" Naturally, this was critical to Celestial-Gardevoir's body and to the two individuals inside.
The combined voice of Celestia and Passion screamed as their natural limits had been pushed immediately. Their nervous systems had been attacked as well. The residents of Canterlot watched in horror as their princess had been attacked in a horrific way. Cosmos was enjoying this. She poured some more in, wanting to torture them some more.
With this overload of the senses and the limit of how long she could keep Celestial-Gardevoir active, the two of them were unable to go on. With the feeling of hours passing by within this merged body, the eyes of Celestial-Gardevoir had whited out, along with Celestia and Passion's eyes.
They had passed out from this overload. Celestial-Gardevoir had split with Celestia and Passion falling right afterwards. It was a horrifying sight for the citizens as they were both due for a crash landing. Cosmos certainly wouldn't try and save them, that's for sure.
"Ooh, I wonder how hard of a hit this will be?" She put on a sadistic smile, anticipating how hard the two of them would hit the ground. Ponies that had Flying-Types immediately tried saving their princess only for Cosmos to restrain them via the expansion of Ivysaur's vines. The vines had grabbed onto the wings of every Flying-Type here, holding them back.
However, there was one option that they all had that could save them both. Magic. Right as they were about to hit the ground, Fancy Pants and everypony here who were all unicorns due to Canterlot's population had used their magic to grab Celestia and Passion. Their combined might was enough to reach them both.
A stunning save. A close one too. Once they had been levitated in the air, Fancy Pants and the others had let go, allowing for them to touch the ground peacefully without any severe damage.
"Why you...!" Cosmos was not happy about that. She was waiting for the impact, only for it to be ruined. "No matter! I still have more time for that...because guess what. I win!"
"No, you haven't!" Moondancer protested. "We're still here."
"Your Princess is down and out while the other princess is too busy being smashed around." Cosmos chuckled. "As far as I know, I've won this battle! And if you all want to try and fight back be my guest...I'll simply crush you just like I did to these two right here."
Cosmos hovered over all of them as she immediately used her magic to heal the Pokemon that had been damaged in battle. The ones on her side of course. The storm she brought upon Canterlot worsened as the beautiful Canterlot Castle was beginning to burn down.
Kanto Region. Pallet Town Day.
Far away from the chaos, there was peace in the Pokemon World. Delia was in her home as always, chopping away at some carrots. It was a standard day for her with nothing too eventual happening. But she did enjoy the peace and quiet while humming away during her cooking.
However, this peace was suddenly interrupted as the skies had darkened. The radiant golden sun was being blocked off by the clouds, which had taken on a different colour. Delia heard rumbling, looking outside to see the mysterious clouds.
"Is it about to rain?" She wondered.
"Mime-Mime." So did Mr Mime. However, these storm clouds were not natural. Delia looked out the window, noticing where they were coming from. Out of the gateway leading to the next world over at Ponyville. Cosmos' Chaos Magic had grown enough to reach here.
Delia saw how these clouds continued spreading at an unusual pace. Faster than any cloud has ever spread. This didn't go unnoticed by the residents of Pallet Town. The clouds hovered over the few houses that this quiet little town possessed and especially Professor Oak's lab.
Speaking of Professor Oak, he was currently working alongside his two assistants. Tracey and the Twilight Sparkle from the Human World who had shown up today. Twilight thought nothing of today until this moment. Ash's Pokemon as well. They were minding their business, only to see this sudden change in weather.
Charizard, Bulbasaur. Sceptile and Infernape already had a bad feeling coming off of this. It wasn't just Pallet Town, however. Or even Kanto.
The cities from far away could even notice these eerie skies. Pokemon from Viridian Forest and Cerulean Cave saw how fast these clouds were approaching. Flying-Types immediately flew away or descended, wanting to evade these skies as they could already sense a foreboding presence from them.
The magic that Cosmos was emitting managed to enter this world all thanks to the gateways. With all the various gateways scattered across the world, her magic would eventually pass through them and bring about this chaotic storm. Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and beyond. All of them were about to witness an incoming storm. While this storm seemed harmless, it all depended on what happens back in the other world.
Equestria. Ponyville. Twilight's Castle. Late Afternoon.
The Chaos Storm that Cosmos had created spread across Equestria and even reached the Pokemon World in different regions. That goes for almost the entirety of this world as it was going beyond Equestria.
The storm blocked out the golden sun, preventing any rays from shining through. Thunder boomed through the skies as cosmic lightning was constantly threatening to strike at any moment. Over at the castle, the controlled citizens of Ponyville were still pursuing Applejack and Cold Colt who were outnumbered and surrounded.
However, help was on the way. In the form of Ash, Fluttershy, Goh and Hollow. They stayed out of sight upon seeing the controlled residents of Canterlot who were outside and inside the castle.
"How are we gonna get in?" Goh asked. "They have the whole place surrounded right now."
"And from the inside too." Hollow peeked into one of the windows. "Looks like something big happened in there."
"I don't see Applejack or Sceptile anywhere...so they're definitely still around and okay." Ash deduced, noticing that Applejack and her partner Sceptile were nowhere within the crowd of controlled ponies and Pokemon.
"Should we try having the Pokemon from the Pokemon House help?" Goh suggested. "There's a lot of them back there so maybe we can even the odds right?"
"I'm surprised that Cosmos hasn't found out about that place yet," Hollow added. "Do you think we'll free them by beating them?"
"No...We've got the best two ways of doing it. Fluttershy already freed Sylveon, Spritzee and Mawile with her Fairy Magic. And since Aura's just as effective, we're gonna use that too."
"Sylveon..." Sylveon lowered her head, thinking about her trainer Valerie. The same went for Spritzee and Mawile.
"Don't worry, you three." Fluttershy patted the Intertwining Pokemon on the head. "We'll get Valerie back. Along with all of our friends. Ash. I think we might have to get help from the Pokemon House after all. It's risky but..."
"Gotcha. Applejack's gonna have to use Aura too. And my best way of using it is with this." Ash had then held his hand out, summoning Sir Aaron's Staff. "Fluttershy. Counting on you to get all the Pokemon here to create a big diversion so I can use my Aura on 'em all."
"Mm." Fluttershy nodded in understanding. "We can have the Pokemon over at PokePark help as well. But the lab is close to the castle."
"Don't worry about that Fluttershy. We'll distance them away from the lab by getting a head start with our own diversions." Hollow had suddenly held out multiple Poke Balls along with Goh. "It'll be easy with the numbers we always carry with us."
"We'll start right now. You can focus on getting to Applejack." Goh suggested. "And if we do get mind-controlled...well then, we can count on you two to free us."
"Right. Then Pikachu and I will bring the Pokemon from PokePark over while you've got them distracted."
"Pikachu."
Goh and Hollow left as Ash would definitely be ready to free them both in case they do end up getting controlled. Goh and Hollow wouldn't stay secretive as they would be out in the open. Fluttershy, Audino and the trio of Valerie's Pokemon went back to the Pokemon House, ready to bring over all of the Pokemon living here to even out the numbers.
"That scent..." However, thanks to having the body of a Stoutland, Cosmos could pick up on familiar scents. However, before she could distinguish it, Goh and Hollow had intervened.
"Come out!" In unison, they shouted out as their Pokemon had emerged from their Poke Balls, catching the attention of some of the residents who were still outside the castle, expecting Applejack and Cold Colt to show up eventually.
"Hoh? Some new fools to mess around with?" Cosmos spoke through the body of Mayor Mare, facing Goh and the others. Cosmos and all those she controlled still had a stark number advantage, however, Goh and Hollow would do their best to decrease those numbers until reinforcements could arrive.
Inside the castle, Applejack was face to face with Roxie and Roxanne along with their Pokemon. To assist her Sceptile, Applejack had brought out all 9 of her Golett along with her Delta Riolu. Cold Colt chimed in with the only Pokemon he had. His Cubchoo.
"Sceptile, Frenzy Plant! Golett, Shadow Punch!"
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile had used Frenzy Plant, touching the floor as he had summoned massive roots that burst through the already destroyed room.
"Gol!" The 9 Golett assisted him by holding their hands out, unleashing fists of shadows that flew out in unison.
"Toxicroak, Protect!" Roxie ordered.
"Toxicroak." However, despite this combined effort, all it took was one Protect from Toxicroak to block it off. The roots and punches had hit the shield all at once before being nullified.
"Now! Poison them with Poison Jab and Cross Poison!"
"Aqua Jet, Carracosta! Aggron, Head Smash! And you! Probopass! Power Gem!"
"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"
"Cubchoo, use Icy Wind!"
"Riolu, Power-up Punch! Golett! Ya'll stop those Poison-Types with Mud-Slap! One of ya'll use Dig!" Applejack gave multiple commands, making sure they were all specific.
"Rio!" Delta Riolu roared before lighting his paws up with an orange energy. He hopped onto Sceptile's bladed arm which he had just extended with Leaf Blade. The Embalming Pokemon leapt off it before approaching Carracosta. As for the Golett, they swung their arms, throwing out manifested mud towards the sparkling gemstones and X-Shaped poison that had been thrown this way. Cubchoo helped freeze those gems by sneezing out a chilly wind.
As for one of the 9 Golett, it had dug underneath the floor, going for an underground attack while everyone would work from the surface. Riolu smashed his palm onto Carracosta's aura of water as Sceptile clashed both his bladed arms with Toxicroak and Aggron's Head Smash. He managed to hold the two of them back, holding them in place. "S-Sceptile!"
"Golett!" The Golett that dug underground had emerged, assisting Sceptile as it had popped out, headbutting Aggron while Sceptile was keeping it at bay.
"A-Aggron!" Aggron took some super-effective damage from that. But not enough to get past its amazing defence as the Iron Armor Pokemon slid back. Sceptile managed to also push Toxicroak away, winning the struggle.
"Riolu! Switch! Get that Aggron!"
"Rio!" That's where Riolu came in as he and Carracosta equalled out with Power-up Punch and Aqua Jet. Thanks to Power-up Punch, his attack had increased as he ran to the Steel-Rock-Type.
"As if! Cradily! Rock Slide! And Golem, Focus Punch! Now!"
"Crobat! Brave Bird this instant!"
"Cradily!" Cradily had summoned rocks from thin air right above everyone else. Crobat flew past those rocks, moving at great speeds as it had tackled Riolu with a blazing gold aura.
"Crobat!"
"R-Riolu!"
"Riolu!" Applejack gasped as Delta Riolu took the most damage out of anyone here, staggering greatly. The Dark-Fighting-Type had also been launched, flying through the air as the rocks were heading his way.
"Sceptile, Grab him!"
"Scep!" Sceptile quickly used his vines, aiming them upwards at the Embalming Pokemon.
"Cut them with Megahorn, Scollipede!"
"Scoli!" Along came Scolipede to promptly stop Sceptile from saving his teammate. Both its horns lit up as it had used Cosmos' magic to move faster than it normally can. With this speed increase, it had cut the vines in half. Sceptile's eyes widened as Scollipede unleashed a second Megahorn while it was this close to Sceptile. The Bug-Poison-Type whacked the Forest Pokemon aside with a super-effective blow, causing Sceptile to join Delta Riolu in the air.
"S-Sceptile!"
"Gr...!" Applejack growled, thinking of what her next move should be. She had to think fast as even if she managed to beat these two, there were still others within and outside the castle.
"I gotcha Applejack!" But this was where Cold Colt's magic benefitted Applejack greatly. The moment two of her Pokemon took big damage, he used his Rift Magic to heal them. It was as if they had never taken any damage. Once they had healed, Sceptile and Riolu recovered midair with Sceptile sliding on the ground.
"Tile!"
"Riolu!"
"Nice save, partner!" Applejack winked back at him only for Cosmos to scoff and sneer. "But...this won't make things easier...These Gym Leader Pokemon are extra strong, ain't they?"
"It doesn't help that they have Cosmos' magic on their side. She's all of them." Cold replied.
"But...she doesn't have Roxie or Roxanne's skills," Applejack called Cosmos out, exposing one flaw with her. "Which means I've got a pretty great chance at beating her."
"Funny..." Cosmos smiled via the body of Roxanne, closing her eyes before looking down. "That's exactly what Princess Celestia said when facing the body of Cynthia." Saying that had shocked Applejack and Cold Colt. Judging by how Cosmos worded that, it made them both think of a cruel and virulent outcome between Cosmos and Celestia.
Cosmos then looked up, witnessing the shocked expressions on their faces. She truly enjoyed expressions like that. Anything that involves shock and horror fueled her thirst for malice. "That's a nice expression, you two. Let's see if I can make it better."
"Now's a good time as any. Cold...I need you to do something." Applejack nudged the little unicorn. "Cosmos has so many bodies right now...why not let all of 'em feel what happens next?"
"All of them?" Cold repeated before processing what Applejack was referring to. In just a few seconds, he understood Applejack's approach. "Oh...I gotcha! But wait! Won't that harm your family too."
"We ain't gonna harm them. We'll do something else to win this. Make sure ya get her at that right moment. Thunder Punch, Sceptile! Golett, Shadow Punch! Riolu, Power-up Punch!" A small plan had been made by Applejack. A plan that was sure to affect everyone. But it wouldn't be with physical force. Instead, it would be by something else that could still put an end to Cosmos' chaotic rampage.
"Whatever you're planning, it won't work! Not with some newcomers!" Cosmos cackled as the mind-controlled residents of Ponyville had snuck up on them. Cosmos waited for the right moment to show the rest and that moment was now as they had burst out of the walls.
"S-Scep?!" Sceptile and the others were naturally caught off guard by this. The Golett took longer to react compared to Sceptile, who was still off. The only ones able to react in time to their appearance were Cold Colt and Delta Riolu. The moment they arrived, all of the opposing Pokemon had unleashed their attacks.
"Applejack!" Cold Colt cried out for her before putting up a shield. Right on time as all of the Pokemon attacks had bombarded Cold Colt's shield. If that shield had never been put up, the results would've been catastrophic. However, despite the quick save, this presented a problem.
Multiple Cosmos had now arrived where Applejack and Cold Colt were. This entire time, they had managed to avoid the horde of controlled ponies and Pokemon by moving across Twilight's Castle, but now, they had found them and had every room occupied.
"Too bad. So sad." Cosmos shrugged, knowing that she had put a massive wrench in their plan.
"It ain't over yet," Applejack begged to differ. "We can still do it...if we get the chance."
"Sadly you won't. It's best that you give up and let me control you. You'll all be part of my soon-to-be kingdom anyway. And of course...the best part will be that I get to torture you in any which way I like. I'm curious about what I could, honestly? What is it that you modern-day ponies are afraid of now? I'd love to hear it." Cosmos grinned as the ponies and Pokemon closed in on Cold Colt's shield, attacking it relentlessly.
Cold Colt tried expanding his shield, only for Cosmos to hold it back. She started using her Chaos Magic to shrink the shield, forming a tight space around Applejack and the others. Applejack growled before going for the hatpin that was on her hat, holding the Sceptilite. Mega Evolution was her next option in this tough spot. Cosmos' hand trembled as she was pouring more of her magic into this next attack.
From Roxie's Hand, a crackling ray of Chaos Magic was thrown, distorting space for a split second. Applejack turned around to see this ray as it was distorting the shield itself, having a powerful influence on the atmosphere. And the Chaos Storm helped with this as well as chaotic lightning had struck.
"Bisharp!" Suddenly, help had arrived. Jumping through the many broken walls of the castle was none other than Bisharp. The Bisharp from PokePark of course, alongside his platoon of Pawniard. Bisharp came crashing in, slashing right through the ray of magic that Cosmos had made.
"What the?!" Cosmos gasped as her ray had been sliced in half, prevented from breaking or affecting Cold Colt's shield. Bisharp also made a fairly stylish landing alongside his Pawniard platoon. But he wasn't the only PokePark Pokemon to show up.
Thanks to the diversion made by Goh and Hollow, the Pokemon from PokePark had arrived. Raichu, Pignite and Dewott were all carried in by a flock of Tranquill and Unfeazant. They were dropped into the castle from above while the others took the various broken walls and holes as their main means of appearing here.
Such as Queen Serperior who had slithered through the cracks, showing up with her daughter Princess Snivy alongside their servants Lilligant and Leavanny.
"What's this all about?!" Cosmos looked in all directions with everybody she was possessing in this very room. When she did, she could see that there were various ways to look for new Pokemon showing up.
"Samu...Rott!" Bursting through the walls and cutting them apart with an X-Shaped water slash was none other than Samurrot. Roxanne's Rock-Types were caught by this sneak attack from behind, taking super-effective damage. This was done by Samurott's Razor Shell.
Sitting on Samurrot's back were Fraxure, a Watchog and the three monkeys Pansage, Pansear and Panpour as they waved at the Spirit of Malice.
"Oh! These are all from PokePark!" Cold Colt lowered his shield. "I can't believe you all showed up!"
"Serperior~"
The one responsible for this was Ash. He brought them all over. However, this was not all of them. Only the Pokemon from the Arbor Area and the Cove Area had shown up. There were still more out there with greater numbers waiting ahead. Speaking of these other Pokemon, they were outside, assisting Goh and Hollow.
"Scrafty, Dark Pulse!"
"Cinderace, Pyro Ball!"
"Cinder!" Cinderace had kicked up a pebble before igniting it into a ball of fire. Joining these two in this unified attack were not just Goh and Hollow's Pokemon but the Pokemon from PokePark as well.
Leafeon, Whimsicott, Drifblim and Vaporeon chimed in with Energy Ball, Ominous Wind and Water Pulse. Cold Colt took a gander outside to see this increase in allies. Cosmos did as well. But then again, she already saw it due to her possessing multiple bodies. And she was certainly not thrilled about this sudden increase in enemies.
"Oh well. That means more Pokemon for me to possess, right?" Cosmos didn't see this as a big deal. If anything, she saw this as an opportunity to grow her army of possessed bodies. "And I believe right now at Canterlot, my victory's already set in stone, so what do I have to worry about?!"
"Cold. We're still going for that plan. But now, we've got a chance to make it work." Applejack said to the little Rift Pony. "Just don't get caught in the crossfire, alright?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Thanks for showing up, ya'll. We need the help." Applejack held out the hatpin. She had then harnessed the power of Mega Evolution, something that intimidated Cosmos due to how much trouble it gave her. "Sceptile! Mega Evolve!"
"Scep...Tile!"
"Not this again!" Cosmos squinted with all of her eyes as the dazzling light from Mega Evolution had shown itself once more, illuminating the room. Serperior and the o there watched in awe at this sudden transformation. Sceptile's eyes flared red within the light before transforming his body slightly. Out of the light emerged Mega Sceptile.
"Sceptile!"
"Useless! I'm still out there searching for the remaining stars and you're here wasting time, trying to defeat your friends and family! Isn't that a waste?"
"Yeah. But you touched my family so ain't no way I'm leaving." Applejack revealed that at any time, she could've left, but choosing to stay was all because of her family. Cold Colt was also family to her by extension and she certainly wouldn't leave until the ones she loved were safe and free of Cosmos' mind control.
"That's enough to get you to stay? Bleh." Cosmos felt like gagging. "Get her. And make sure all of these extras are under my control!" Cosmos ordered.
"Serperior!" Serperior had equal authority here since she was a queen. She ordered all of the Pokemon here to not only defend the castle but also defeat their opponents. Then again, there wasn't much left to save with this castle since it had already suffered.
Soon, an indoor and outdoor brawl between multiple Pokemon had occurred. It added to the chaos, but in a way that could potentially put an end to it. Thanks to the Pokemon of PokePark, they managed to even out the overwhelming numbers here at Ponyville.
But it was only going to increase further thanks to the Pokemon over at the Pokemon House. A smaller PokePark, but populated with those Strange and Wonderful Creatures nonetheless. The storm was growing even further as the chaos magic from it was starting to distort space itself as cosmic ripples showed within the skies.
That's when Cosmos spoke with a sinister and plotting grin on her face.
"In that case...I'll make it rain."
Kanto. Pallet Town. Professor Oak's lab.
"Professor Oak! What's that?!" The Twilight Sparkle from the Human World asked. Hisuian Zorua hid and shuddered in Twilight's bag, fearing the absolute terror that this chaotic storm cloud could potentially bring.
"Hmm...If I had to guess...I'd say we're in for a big storm." Oak did his best observation. "But this doesn't look like any storm I've ever seen. Perhaps it could be magic."
"Magic?" Twilight repeated. That wasn't something she wanted to hear. Magic had been nothing but trouble back in her world and to see it here in this form only brought bad memories and a fearful possibility to Twilight's mind.
The people of Pallet Town couldn't help but keep looking up at the chaotic skies. They noticed how it was coming from the gateway that was located over at the gateway leading to Ponyville. Just as they were looking at it, that's when they began to notice something raining down from it. They couldn't quite make it out but there was certainly something there.
Then, after moments of silence, something had dropped from the sky. Delia noticed how this peculiar visage dropped near her home. Once she got a better look at it, she had witnessed what had fallen from above. It was not an object but rather a creature.
Cosmos.
Or rather, a smaller variation of Cosmos. Her true form had been revealed, albeit in a smaller size.
"Aww...aren't you adorable?" Delia gushed at the little Cosmos, finding her to be cute. Cosmos shook her head after crashing into the ground. And once she showed up, it started raining more of her.
Smaller variations of Cosmos started raining from the chaotic storm clouds in massive droves. Cosmos found a way to gain more numbers. By using herself. Pallet Town was met with a stream of raining Cosmos, but the residents were unaware of the type of creature they were facing.
Kalos. Out on the road.
Over at Kalos, the van that the sirens were driving had been overshadowed and darkened by the chaotic storm above. It hovered over the Kalos Region as Sonata stuck her head out of the car, being the first to notice.
"What's up with that? Is that normal"? Sonata pointed to the sky, alerting her family. The three of them soon laid eyes on the chaotic dark pink storm that blocked out the sun. The van had been stopped near acres of trees once these skies had been noticed.
Vivace was the first to notice that this storm cloud was of a magical origin. Her eyes narrowed as she got out of the car. When it came to magic, Vivace was a knowledgable siren. Just as knowledgeable as her friend Sunlight, who was an alicorn. However, despite knowing that it was magic, Vivace had no idea what kind of magic she was looking at, especially since it was visibly distorting space ever-so-slightly.
She observed this bizarre storm cloud before seeing the miniature Cosmos drop from it. These various miniature Spirits of Malice were showing up everywhere, covering the skies with their amalgamated bodies.
"Freaky..." Aria said as she and her sisters were confused and somewhat amazed by what they were seeing when she and Adagio left the van. It was raining Cosmos. These tiny creatures could only possess one thing. Malice. Much like their creator.
"This magic isn't right! Girls! Get back in the van!" Vivace ordered, knowing and feeling how devastatingly serious this all was. "Hurry!" She shouted as her daughters got back outside.
All across the world, many Cosmos' were being dropped as the Chaotic Storms in every region were starting to converge. After spreading far enough, these clouds would end up becoming one.
Sinnoh. Canalave City. Zero Arcade. Late Afternoon.
Over at Zero's Arcade, Zero himself and his customers looked outside the arcade windows, witnessing a sudden flood of Cosmos. They dropped on the roofs, trees and even near the route which was closer to the Zero Arcade.
The Cosmis Chaotic Thunder rumbled with sparks flying out. And out of these sparks, more Cosmos' were starting to show up. A heap of them dropped onto the top of Canalave Library as there were constant crash landings.
"Everyone get inside." Zero had ordered them to enter the arcade for the time being. Much like Vivace, he knew that none of this was instantly safe to be around. The customers went back into the arcade as they were ordered to stay there for a while. They were having so much fun so that was a guarantee.
Zero would have to extend his Arcade's opening hours just for this moment. The Cosmos' started dropping around his arcade, landing on his roof or in the front of the building, right next to the doors. Zero quickly locked the doors immediately, not taking any chances. Those skies were already telling of something bizarre.
Equestria. Canterlot. Late Afternoon.
Back in the other world, Canterlot was the first to receive these raining Cosmos. The rain there was far greater than anywhere else as well.
Celestia and Passion were still o the ground, unconscious after having their bodies overloaded whilst being Celestial-Gardevoir. Arcanine, who was busy battling against the controlled group of Cynthia's Pokemon alongside Premium Polish helping him out, was unaware of what had become of his friends.
Luna was still trapped inside of a Dynasite box along with her Pokemon as the boxes kept being smashed against each other. No matter what, she could not break this metal without the right power source. Thus, she was left to take this malicious torture while being unaware of what was happening outside.
As for the residents of Canterlot, they were already struggling against Cosmos, who had already defeated their ruler, albeit in a crafty way. They had to deal with many mind-controlled Pokemon but now this new problem had arisen.
"Here's a quick look at what I truly look like!" Cosmos spoke while in the body of Cynthia, hovering in the air with her vampire wings. She held her hand out as a small Cosmos landed on it. "Very soon, you'll all be looking at a normal-sized version of this little devil. Exciting isn't it?" She laughed, but no one responded.
Cosmos then let go of her smaller self, allowing her to join her sisters. They weren't just raining to throw everyone off guard or even confuse them. These Cosmos all had one thing on their mind.
The real Cosmos knew as well. Chaotic lightning struck behind her, not even touching the Spirit of Malice. Cosmos was starting to get giddy. She rubbed her hands together as if she was a child in a toy store, ready to get what she wanted. In this instance, not only was she getting what she deserved, the Andalusian Star, but she felt like she was about to get more as the Spirit of Malice saw victory in her eyes, declaring it imminent. With a booming voice that even matched the loud volume of the cosmic thunder, she declared to the entirety of Canterlot and to an extent, Equestria and beyond.
Fluttershy had arrived at the Pokemon House, immediately seeking the help of all the Pokemon living here. The world was currently undergoing a Cosmos Crisis. With the chaotic storm in the skies, just three Andalusian Stars left and miniature versions of Cosmos' true form dropping from above, Cosmos was truly gaining the edge, albeit with assistance via controlled bodies.
"Ah...it's good to see that you're all still okay." Fluttershy was relieved that none of the Pokemon here were under Cosmos' possession. She got a small fright from the sound of chaotic thunder rumbling before shaking her head. "Right now, I need your help. All of Equestria needs your help. It's a lot to go through. I don't have time to explain."
"Krookodile." Krookodile and many of the Pokemon here were already dedicated to helping Fluttershy out. She took care of all of them here, acting as the best possible caretaker they could have. The giant storm of chaos along with the explosion that was heard earlier was also a great reason.
Fluttershy felt glad to be surrounded by so many friends of different species. She didn't need to say much for them to be by her side. "Thank you. Thank you all." A grateful Fluttershy bowed her head. "But let's come up with something. I need all the Fairy-Types to come together for me quickly. And anyone that knows a Fairy move."
Immediately, all the Fairy-Types and Pokemon that knew a sort of Fairy Type move living here flocked to Fluttershy. Fairy Magic proved to be effective against Cosmos as it had freed Valerie's Sylveon, Spritzee and Mawile.
"Cosmos still probably has more numbers than us, so we need to free as many of our friends as we can. And even the Pokemon who are from Frenzy Forest. All we need to do is-" However, before Fluttershy could continue, that was when they had arrived.
From the chaotic storm, it started raining Cosmos. The miniature variations of her true form, of course, in which Fluttershy and everyone got to see what she truly looked like. And unlike the other Cosmos' that started falling from above in both worlds, these ones had already started causing chaos.
"What are those?!" Fluttershy gasped, witnessing the raining miniature Cosmos' as they all had a semblance of Chaos Magic with them even in this small state. It was a little amount of it but still chaotic nonetheless as they set themselves on fire. They let out tiny maniacal laughter before crashing into Pokemon House with a fiery wrath.
Upon crashing with a fiery body, they immediately set the beautiful acre of trees on fire when smashing into them. The Pokemon House also had some flammable material in the form of straws and leaves, making them susceptible to what came next. The house had also been crashed into by the raining Cosmos' and their flame bodies as a fire had started.
The flames were just as destructive as a regular wildfire with these little malicious creatures with the area being up with an orangish glow.
"I know he's here!" The Cosmos all spoke with higher-pitched voices. "Discord darling!"
"Cosmos!" Fluttershy pieced it together. She had a similar build and appearance to Discord while also calling for him. The voice was also recognizable as Cosmos' voice, confirming to the pegasus that this was Cosmos' true form.
"Ah! It's you!" Cosmos glanced at Fluttershy. Upon seeing her, Cosmos only had nothing but scorn. Fluttershy was one of the few individuals who gave her a hard time during this chaotic rampage. Not only that, be showed visible disdain towards the pegasus due to her being Discord's friend. "Fluttershy...So this is where you live, hm? I made the right call dropping here it seems."
"Sylveon!" Sylveon snarled at Cosmos, demanding that she released Valerie from her control.
"I can have some sweet payback...and I'll start by destroying everything you love" Cosmos declared with a booming voice that damaged Audino's sensitive ears. "But don't worry. I'll keep you around just to be my personal plaything. It's been a while since I've had one of those.
"Krookodile!" Krookodile stood in front of Fluttershy the moment Cosmos threatened her and practically everyone in the Pokemon House. Speaking of the Pokemon House, many of the Pokemon there started exiting the moment the flames sprouted up. The Water-Types came together to put these flames out before they could worsen.
However, they had to deal with the miniature Cosmos' at the same time. They immediately started throwing themselves at the Pokemon, having less magic than Cosmos who was already lacking in her prime but enough malicious nature to cause tremendous chaos. But all of that could be retaliated by the Pokemon here who immediately faced off against the various Cosmos'.
Cosmos' magic ran rampant with what she could work with. The trees were targeted once more. Instead of being set on fire, Cosmos had turned them into monstrous trees, becoming fully sentient. Some Pokemon that were near the trees were caught off guard, especially the Water-Types who had put out the fire earlier. Massive roots shot out from the trees, wrapping around the Water-Types that weren't looking, catching them off guard.
"Krookodile! Please take care of everything else here!" Fluttershy requested the Ground-Dark-Type. She was still focused on freeing her friends but the miniature Cosmos' were in the way of that. She left everything up to Krookodile. "And keep Discord safe too."
"Krookodile!" Krookodile nodded in understanding. The Intimidation Pokemon had one solemn job and he would carry it with great force.
"Everyone else, come with me!" Fluttershy called for the Fairy-Type Pokemon as they promptly followed Fluttershy, Audino, Bayleef and Raboot.
Naturally, there were many Cosmos' that got in her way, using their combined magic to create a wall of jagged rocks that had been thrown in their direction.
"Krooko...Dile!" Krookodile had used Earthquake, stomping on the ground as he created a golden shockwave that raced towards the spikes. The shockwave passed by Fluttershy and the Fairy Pokemon, avoiding them as the spikes had only touched the energy from Earthquake. The spikes were crushed by the superior power of the earth while also blowing away the miniature Cosmos' due to the force the attack generated.
The Intimidation Pokemon gave a thumbs-up to the pegasi and the others. That let Fluttershy know that the Pokemon House was in good hands. Or claws in this case. She smiled before leaving the house and her cottage overall.
Kanto. Pallet Town. Late Afternoon.
At the Pokemon World, once all of the Cosmos' had rained down from the chaotic storm above, their rampage of chaos could begin. And the Kanto Region was already in the way of Cosmos' malicious ways.
A group of them had landed near the Ketchum Household with Delia and Mr Mime witnessing their arrival. Delia found Cosmos to be adorable, especially in her miniature form.
"I wonder what you little cuties are?" Delia kneeled down, facing the miniature Cosmos'. The horde of Cosmos soon turned to face Delia Ketchum and Mr Mime. They put on grimacing faces that had only malicious intent in them. Right now, there were two targets in front of them ripe for terrorizing.
They didn't waste any more time as the horde of Cosmos' had immediately lunged at Delia and Mr Mime with their claws and wings out. "Oh my!" Delia gasped as she and Mr Mime were caught by surprise as these miniature draconequus' had already overwhelmed them.
"Mr Mime?!" Mr Mime's ears and face had been grabbed as the various Cosmos' had caused them both to fall over.
"This one's a beauty, isn't she?!" One of the Cosmos' spoke. "Think we should control her?"
"No, no, let's get creative. I've been itching to torture someone for a while now!" Another replied as they all wanted to cause malicious torture instead of continuing to take over multiple bodies. All of it wouldn't matter when Cosmos' true form was eventually restored.
"Mi-Mime!" Mr Mime tried using Psychic to push the various Cosmos' away, only for all of them to use their magic as retaliation. They could essentially use Psychic, just not with Infinity Energy. Chaos Magic was the reason. Reflecting the Psychic away had also harmed Mr Mime's body due to the recoil that was added.
After grabbing Delia and Mr Mime, the Cosmos' decided to take this inside. They all combined their power to teleport Delia Ketchum and Mr Mime into the Ketchum Household while also having something diabolical in mind.
Upon being sent back into their own, Delia and Mr Mime found that they were no longer being grabbed by the hordes of Cosmos'. However, they were still restrained. And the object in question that was restraining them was a Dynasite table that had been laid on.
Dynasite chains wrapped around their arms and legs as their backs were on the table of intense metal. The interior of their home had also been changed. Despite being brought back indoors, Cosmos had used her combined magic in all of these pint-sized duplicates to change them to her liking.
She had a made funhouse with that magic. Outside, it looked like a regular household but inside, Cosmos had made a special room that fit more of her style. And in that special room, Delia saw how there were these unsettling smiles everywhere. The lights had been cut as the chaotic storm above darkened it, making those smiles all the eerier as the dozens of Cosmos' were everywhere in this one room, surrounding them.
"What's going on?!"
"Now, now! Let's get this started, shall we?!" Cosmos cackled. "I think to get us back up to speed, we should do this first! Let's see how strong you are in there." She tapped Delia's head. "And then, we'll do other fun things afterwards."
Cosmos targeted Delia's mind first. Multiple of her had gone up to Delia's face. She then looked at the room, noticing how the picture of her family was on the table nearby. She looked at the picture, spotting not just Delia, but her son and husband as well.
"Oooh! This is a good one! How about I show this?!" Seeing who her family members were, Cosmos knew exactly what to do. Her duplicates immediately touched Delia's head, going straight for a telepathic invasion. Delia's pupils shrunk as she let out a split second gasp.
"Just to make things more interesting!" Cosmos, while beginning to invade her mind, had also poked Delia from the sides, delivering an electric shock. Delia grunted from this as the duplicates chuckled. The malice they were looking for was starting to come back to them. And the true Cosmos overall. "Ooh, that felt good! But not as good as this!"
Afterwards, Cosmos found herself looking into Delia's mind and memories. Afterwards, Delia's pupils had whited out as Cosmos saw into her mind, once again, spotting her family. The most common figure was Ash Ketchum, who Cosmos was seeing for the first time.
Delia closed her eyes from the electric shock she kept receiving from the side before opening them. Immediately after opening her eyes, she was suddenly moving. "W-What...?!" Delia gasped before seeing the Dynasite table move. It had gained wheels all of a sudden as she was passing through this room which had been expanded to a much larger size than how it originally was. Such was the way of this funhouse that Cosmos had made.
When moving through this room, Cosmos's effects on her mind were already kicking in. Delia's vision had been obscured as she ended up seeing a picture of Ash up ahead. "Ash?"
There she saw her son. But something was off. When the table went closer, Delia immediately closed her eyes, not wanting to know what Cosmos was planning on showing her. She had no idea that her mind was being used to Cosmos' pleasure, believing all of this to be real.
"Ah-ah-ah. No hiding~" Cosmos whistled,d using her magic to force Delia to keep her eyes open. And once those eyes were opened, she saw what picture Cosmos had projected of her son. They were multiple pictures instead of one, plastered everywhere.
Pictures of Ash being harmed in various ways. Different angles of Ash on the floor could be seen as his body received a cruel variety of different ways he could be harmed. A burnt body with flames burning away his clothes, especially his hat. His body twitched uncontrollably from the electricity around him, crackling constantly.
There was a picture of him being covered in wax, motionless and unable to move as the hot wax harmed his body all over with nothing to do. Other pictures involved Ash being drenched in poison with his body starting to corrode and melt away. Delia wanted to look away but she couldn't, thanks to Cosmos who was laughing constantly with audible echoes.
"Ash?!" Delia was frightened by what she was seeing. Her beloved son, in these horrific situations that harmed him greatly. Possibly even more. While it frightened her, it pleased Cosmos.
The pictures kept coming as more and more virulent ways that Ash had been harmed kept popping up through this long hallway. They were getting worse and worse along the way as Delia was forced to see them all.
"This is just the start!" Cosmos' voice boomed through the room. "I'm going to have so much more fun with you...and everyone! But for now, enjoy the ride! There's plenty more where that came from!"
"T-This isn't real!" Delia cried out, perceiving this as nothing but an illusion. "I don't know who you are, but this would never happen to my son!"
"Not yet." Cosmos cackled. "But the mother always experiences things first, right? I believe we should do that to you. And soon, your son can join in some sweet mother-son bonding. And I'll let you choose because I'm so generous."
Cosmos manipulated some of the images, bringing it over to Delia. Four different methods of physical harm had been shown to her, all of which Cosmos planned to use.
"Don't be shy. We can start small if you want~" Cosmos giggled. "Nighttime is nearby, so we have the whole night to ourselves and tomorrow! How exciting!"
"Gh...!" Delia tried breaking free from the chains, but not only was that pointless since they were chains, but also the fact that they were made out of Dynasite. "I choose none!"
"None? Oh, of course you'd say that." Cosmos groaned, expecting that kind of response as she shook her head, throwing the pictures. "It's fine. I'll choose. I'd have the better options anyway. But I haven't forgotten about your weird mime friend. Let's keep going, okay?!"
Cosmos would continue to toy around with Delia, showing more pictures of Ash in horrible situations with a damaged body. And very soon, Cosmos was planning on performing all of these vile acts on her.
Professor Oak's Lab.
"Charizard!" However, it was a different story in the rest of Pallet Town. The miniature Cosmos duplicates attempted to play around with everyone else here, only for them to encounter the wrath of Ash's Pokemon.
Charizard had breathed fire on the small Cosmos' while the Twilight Sparkle from the Human World, Oak and Tracey stood behind him. Immediately, Ash's Pokemon already knew that these small Spirits of Malice were nothing but trouble. The second they attempted to cause malice to them, the Pokemon of the Alola Champion acted accordingly in the right way.
"Gliscor!" Gliscor had used X-Scissor, knocking some of the Mini-Cosmos' out of the sky when they tried to jump on the others.
"What are those things!?" Twilight asked Professor Oak who was surprisingly calm about this. "What kind of Pokemon are those Professor Oak?!
"My Pokedex doesn't say a thing about them!" Tracey held out his Pokedex as it didn't get a single bit of info about Cosmos.
"Hm. Then, in that case, they're not from this world. Perhaps, they're from the world next door." said Oak. "Might be a creature of magic too."
"Why's it attacking us all of a sudden?!" Twilight had more questions. She closed her eyes as Kingler, Corphish, Totodile, Buizel, Oshawott and Palpitoad unleashed a stream of Water-Type attacks toward the attacking malefic creatures.
"Not a clue. But don't worry. As long as Ash's Pokemon are here, you'll be safe." Oak reassured her. "But the same should go for everyone else if these things are raining everywhere."
"Ash's home!" Twilight gasped. "Mrs Ketchum!"
"Infernape!" Infernape responded immediately to that. He heard Oak and Twilight bring up the rest of Pallet Town's residents. So did Staraptor, Gible and Glalie. They knew where to be next.
"You there!" Cosmos' voice suddenly boomed as she focused her attention on Twilight. Multiple of her had ascended into the air while the rest were still in a scuffle with Ash's Pokemon. "Ah...you look exactly like that pony back at Equestria..." Cosmos could see the immediate similarities to her world's Twilight. "A counterpart. And best of all...I can sense something from you."
"W-What?" Twilight stuttered as it kept raining more Cosmos with seemingly no end in sight. As long as that storm was up, they would continue dropping with overwhelming numbers.
"You have a massive amount of fear inside of you." Cosmos could sense Twilight's fear. She knew that deep down, Twilight had something she could exploit. With malice, of course. And that excited the Spirit of Malice. "Oooh, I'd like to have fun with you the most next. You are-"
"Talonflame!" Interrupting the mini Cosmos' in the air was Talonflame who came charging in with Flame Charge. The miniature versions gasped as they had been tackled by Talonflame and its blazing aura.
"Qui...lava!" Quilava helped deal with the Cosmos' in the air by using Eruption, unleashing a massive pillar of fire from his back that had engulfed them at the right angle.
"Twilight. It's best that you get home if she's focused on you." Oak suggested. Despite having a calm disposition, he knew that Cosmos was planning something downright terrifying if she was fixated on Twilight.
"O-Okay!" Twilight nodded in response.
"Boldore. Glalie. Make sure she makes it back, alright?"
"Glalie!" Glalie immediately hovered over to Twilight, offering her a ride. Twilight hopped onto the back of Glalie as she used him as a ride. Once she hopped on, Glalie hovered away with Boldore sliding alongside him. It was off to the Kanto port, to the Unova Region, and right through the gateway that leads to her home.
"There's nowhere for you to escape!" Cosmos shouted as there was truth to what she was saying. A massive form of truth as dozens, possibly hundreds of her were raining everywhere else.
As for Infernape and the others, they made their way towards Ash's home, but Cosmos' kept raining, constantly blocking their path. Professor Oak and Tracey remained safe for the most part, but with all of these Cosmos' constantly falling, these overwhelming numbers might never end.
Elsewhere across the Pokemon World, with the emergence of so many Cosmos' duplicates, they had spread chaos across the various regions in different ways. Whether it'd be the small towns or the big cities, the forests, the caves and the seas, they were all being threatened by chaos.
Speaking of the seas, the lightning from the chaos storm ended up targeting that, smiting the area. The cosmic lightning had a volatile reaction to the waters much like how standard electricity would. The Water Pokemon were threatened, feeling the chaotic lightning come through. Some of them fled, while others either received a shock from it.
The various forests received Cosmos' favourite chaotic action to do. Set things on fire. A wildfire had been born in various forests but with the addition of these Mini-Cosmos' tearing them up with their claws, ripping the trees and plant life to shreds.
However, with all of this chaos, there were Pokemon who retaliated, as to be expected, much to Cosmos' chagrin. She expected heaps of retaliation by this point considering she was already dealing with it back in her world.
Cosmos wasn't just using small duplicates of herself to cause havoc. Her influence over this world ended up warping space in the process. And by doing so, she managed to draw out power from the dimension she was banished to in the stars. With the current amount of magic she had, she could barely do this, but it was still terrifying now that she had the capability to do so.
From the Malice Dimension, terrifying things were being brought out that would add to the malefic chaos that was occurring. All of the things that Cosmos formed in that dimension due to her lengthy banishment there had been summoned, proving to be just as malicious as her.
Equestria. Out in he mountains near the Pixie Plains. Nightfall.
Meanwhile, while Twilight and Pinkie Pie were searching for their friends via the power of Slurpuff's powerful nose, the moon had not risen. Despite nightfall approaching, with Princess Luna stuck, the correct celestial body had not shown itself neither did the Sun set thanks to Celestia passing out.
"Something's not right..." Twilight looked to the skies as she, Pinkie Pie and the Slurpuff were all on the transformed body of a Mew that had become Lugia. Mew's favourite Pokemon to turn into. "The Sun and Moon should've been lowered and raised by now...Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!"
"W-What do you think happened?" Pinkie Pie questioned with a nervous tone in her voice.
"I don't know but we need to keep going. Faster, Mew!" Twilight aimed her hoof forward. However, immediately afterwards, she felt something land on her head, throwing off her serious tone. "Ow!"
"Huh?" Pinkie looked up, being the first of her group to finally notice something coming down from the chaotic storm. Or rather someone. The Cosmos' had started raining there as they landed on Slurpuff and Pinkie's head and Twilight's hoof and soon the entire body of Mew as Lugia. "Oooh..."
"What are these things? Draconequus'?" Twilight looked at the small draconequus that dropped on her hoof and head. Immediately, they gripped onto her mane while clawing at her. "Ow!"
"Espeon!" Espeon had some on her as well, immediately noticing that Twilight was being attacked. So was Mew as the giant body of Luna was a massive target. A target big enough for the potential smiting of chaotic lightning.
"Get them off!" Pinkie Pie screeched as these tiny Cosmos' started crawling all over them, clawing, biting and scratching them. It was all unnerving for the body.
"Slurpuff!" Slurpuff certainly couldn't get them off thanks to his little arms, which was without a doubt one major weakness for the Meringue Pokemon as the tiny Spirits of Malice laughed in their faces.
"Don't worry! It's going to get worse!" Cosmos spoke to them in a high-pitched voice as the chaotic lightning was finally targeted them. Twilight and her friends gasped, looking up to see the lightning coming their way.
Mew had been struck by this hyper-fast bolt of chaotic lightning, immediately feeling the painful sting and shock it brought. Once he had been hit, the aura of lightning affected everyone else shocking them as they were on Mew. Cosmos' was fine, however. She made it so that the lightning did not affect her.
"M-Mew!" It was so hard-hitting towards Mew that he ended up reverting to his normal form. Pinkie Pie, Slurpuff and Espeon fell off immediately with nothing to ride on through the air.
"Mew, no!" Pinkie cried out, swimming through the air to try and reach the New Species Pokemon.
"Mew-Mew!" The second Mew popped out of Pinkie Pie's mane, seeing that her friend took a nasty blow from the lightning. She also saw that they were falling from a great distance. Only Twilight managed to recover thanks to her wings. "Mew...!" Mewie had also transformed, this time, turning into a Pokemon that could resist the electricity.
Flygon.
"Flygon!" After transforming into Flygon, Mewie swooped in, catching Pinkie Pie and Slurpuff whilst Twilight managed to save Espeon via telekinesis. To say that the many Cosmos' were agitated that once again, her targets ended up saving themselves was an understatement.
"Nice save, Mewie!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as Mew and Twilight had descended with their friends, touching the mountains afterwards. It was most definitely safer to be on the ground than in the air thanks to this chaotic lightning that was going on.
"Is everyone okay?" Twilight asked as they landed on the cleft of a mountain.
"Yeah. But boy that stung." Pinkie Pie shuddered. Cosmos was a bit confused by how they managed to withstand such a powerful blast of lightning. But, she realized that it could be one reason for this resistance.
"Fairy Magic..." She snarled. And without her realizing it, she was right. Pinkie Pie was in a similar case as Fluttershy in which she had Fairy Magic that had been revealed by Valerie. Twilight had an advantage thanks to her being an alicorn and the magic of Horizon Storm within her.
She looked up to see the dozens of Cosmos' that have come from above as the chaotic thunder rumbled with their coordinated snarl. "Who are you?" Twilight questioned.
"I am Cosmos." Cosmos finally revealed herself to Twilight Sparkle and her friends with all of her voices going off. "What you see now is my true form but on a smaller scale...Very soon, I'll be massive once more."
"So that's Cosmos?" Pinkie Pie gawked. "Aw, she's kind of cute."
"What did you do with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!?" Twilight roared. "And where's Absol?!"
"That mangy mutt...cat...whatever that thing is! Having a nice vacation back at my Malice Dimension, where it deserves to be after giving me so much trouble in such little time. Luna's having fun being smashed around at the moment. Your precious Ruler of Equestria is taking a nap, but I'm not done with her. Or anyone else in this world. You've all been postponing my revival ever since last night."
"Princess Celestia...?!" Twilight was horrified to hear that.
"Ah. Now that I get a good look at you, you do resemble your human counterpart. Hm." Cosmos found some amusement from that. "Anyway, I've been fixated on making you my playthings when we first met. It was in the body of that Cynthia girl. I'm getting my chance to relieve my stress here. Won't you help me out, Princess of Friendship?"
"Espeon...!"
"You're going to pay...!" Much like how Espeon was growling at the Spirit of Malice, Twilight's visible anger had been shown and directed towards Cosmos'. For a split second, Horizon Storm was trying to claw her way out. Harming her friends, sending them elsewhere that spelt nothing but danger was enough to rile her up.
And Cosmos loved it. She did enjoy herself some anger. The thunder of chaos struck once more near the Pixie Plains and these mountains as it would be these dozens up dozens of Chaos' threatening and facing off against Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and their Pokemon as the journey continues.
"Arcanine..." Arcanine was currently keeping Premium Polish safe from the chaos that was still going on. He ended up on the lower levels of the castle after being in a heated battle against some powerful Pokemon that Cosmos had full control over.
He decided to retreat to the lower parts alongside Premium Polish's Pokemon. Cosmos had gained the advantage with all of these overwhelming numbers.
"That got too close." Premium Polish sighed before sitting next to a pillar. She recalled her Pokemon as most of them ended up fainting while some were badly injured. "Cynthia's Pokemon are extra crazy strong. Wish Reshiram and Zekrom weren't in another universe right now as always...And Princess Celestia's out there hurt..."
"Canine." Arcanine thought the same as Premium Polish. Both Celestia and Passion were out there, harmed and unconscious thanks to a dirty play by Cosmos'. He wanted to help them, but he had the sole task of protecting Premium Polish, especially in these circumstances. Arcanine was a Pokemon of his word but a loyal one as well.
"Arcanine. It's fine." Premium Polish could feel Arcanine's struggle to choose a path. Protect Premium until this ends or help Celestia and Passion and practically all of Equestria. "You can go on ahead. They're both special and important to you, after all."
"Arcanine?"
"My Pokemon are hurt and some of them are down and out. But they'll still be by my side even then. So you need to be by Celestia and Passion's side too. Go."
"Ar...Arcanine!" Arcanine nodded in understanding. Immediately, the Legendary Pokemon took off as Premium Polish sat there, resting up.
"But...I could really use something to eat right now." It was only now that Premium Polish realized she was hungry. Despite being an android, she had natural organic needs as well.
Arcanine ran up the stairs, searching for a quick way outside. The lower levels of Canterlot were vast after all and it did take him some time to even reach here. Now it would take him some time to get upstairs unless he were to use Extreme Speed. He accelerated, taking his speed to the extreme as he became a white trail. This allowed him to get around quicker.
Arcanine had already seen Celestia and Passion unconscious along with the raining Cosmos' that emerged from the Chaos Storm. He only hoped that they would both get up and press on.
However, whilst running through the castle and going up the stairs, Arcanine felt a sudden change. He saw it as well. Before he knew it, the layout of the castle was beginning to change, throwing him off balance. "A-Arca?!" The Fire-Type gasped, seeing how the stairs started to take on different angles.
The floors separated along with the walls, mixing, shifting and moving all about in erratic and new ways. Arcanine stayed on the stairs he was currently on before being carried away. He then quickly ran once more, lunging towards the closest stairs that were also moving. He jumped from stairs to stairs while they kept getting arranged, eventually, getting the higher levels in the least expected ways.
However, once he got on the last batch of stairs, while he did manage to reach the hallway where there were various windows about, the sight was not pretty at all. The door to the throne room was surprisingly close. Closer than it has ever been. Arcanine saw that the entire layout of the castle had been drastically changed and there was only one individual that had done this.
Cosmos.
Speaking of Cosmos, once Arcanine turned to the door, there she was. Cosmos, still fully possessing the body fo Cynthia, could be seen sitting on Princess Celestia's throne. She had adjusted the size of the throne to match Cynthia's height as the Legendary Pokemon was aghast by what he was seeing.
"Oh, good. You're just in time to see the changes." Cosmos spoke to Arcanine. "I was wondering where you rushed off too."
"Arca?! Arcanine?!" Arcanine called out for Celestia, Passion and even Luna.
"Oh, about your trainers and the others...you might want to take a look outside."
"Canine?" Arcanine went up to the window, seeing what had become of Canterlot while he fled downstairs. By looking outside, he saw that Cosmos had done it.
She had won.
The residents of Canterlot had been defeated as the hundreds of Cosmos' could be seen lurking over the buildings with their claws gripping onto the roofs, causing them to crumble.
Currently, they were standing to dance, but not by their will. The ground itself had been greatly damaged with multiple rock pillars being scattered. On these pillars, various citizens of Canterlot were standing on them while a massive pit of fire had been summoned. This raging fire was enough to get them all to start dancing as ordered by Cosmos herself.
All of the miniature Cosmos' watched and laughed at them, enjoying this dance. They even shot out sparks of chaotic magic at them just to get them to start dancing faster or even if they stopped. Already, Cosmos made herself comfortable in Canterlot. She vowed to reign over Equestria after all and not only did she have the skills to do so but the tyranny to make sure her reign was absolute.
The Pokemon were a different story. Whilst the ponies were all being forced to dance, the Pokemon had been captured. They could be found inside of these transparent orbs that had chains connected to them. These chains had been stabbed into the giant rock pillars while dangling over the pit of fire that surrounded them. Everyone's Pokemon was inside either fainted or trying to break free. Or even cowering from the ferocious flames. The Pokemon that Cosmos' controlled also watched the fiery dance, enjoying it equally as they all shared Cosmos' malicious mind.
"Like it? I figured those Poke Ball things were effective in capturing those annoying creatures. So I just used my magic to create my own. Call it a Chaos Orb, if you will. How fun!"
"A-Arca..."
"And if you're wondering about Celestia...I made sure to give her some special treatment." Cosmos held her hand out as she summoned one of those Chaos Orbs that she made. And inside them, Celestia and Passion could be found. The Ruler of Equestria and the Embrace Pokemon, still unconscious, were captured as well.
"Canine! Arcanine!" Arcanine barked at Cosmos before rushing towards her with Extreme Speed. Cosmos smiled, seeming unbothered as she continued to hold the orb out to Arcanine, teasing him with it. But the moment Arcanine got close, Garchomp appeared.
Using Cosmos' magic to teleport, she appeared right in front of Arcanine, blindsiding him with Stone Edge. The rocks had been launched out of her body before crashing into Arcanine. "Gar!"
"A-Arcanine!" Arcanine cried out, receiving super-effective damage. The Legendary Pokemon fell over, rolling on the floor. That surprise Stone Edge was enough to completely bewilder him to the point where he did not recover swiftly. He laid there on the floor, twitching instead.
"Bahahaha!" Cosmos laughed at him, using both Cynthia and Garchomp's bodies to do so. "Oh...That's good. Sorry, but, the victor's been decided. I win. You all lose. As it should be."
"C-Canine..." Arcanine growled, trying to get back up. Garchomp walked over, stepping on Arcanine's head as she forced him back down, pinning the Fire-Type to the ground.
"You did put up a fight, I'll give you that. There were times when you all had me a bit frightened. Especially with this!" Suddenly, Cosmos had revealed a Z-Crystal. The Waterium Z. This belonged to Fleur-de-lis and her Milotic as it was now in Cosmos' possession.
As for Milotic, she was in the orbs as well with Fleur dancing near the pit of fire. "I saw that thing building up from this and that just couldn't happen. The power I felt from it was certainly overwhelming too...But I wonder why I can't break it?" Cosmos tried crushing the Z-Crystal, only for nothing to happen. "But it's all over now that Canterlot is under my control. And don't worry. I haven't forgotten about the extras. I heard from those Rift Humans that two Pokemon would show up here. Reshiram and Zekrom, correct?"
"A-Arca..." Arcanine tried getting back up, but the foot of Garchomp prevented him. He was too weak right now to even get up at all.
"Those are their names. Out there protecting other universes from some empire. And now that the concept of other universes...other worlds have come up...that automatically fills a potential void in me!" Cosmos raised the orb high up. "Why stop here?! After I conquer this universe, I can go for the rest, outdoing that empire!"
"Arcanine?!"
"That's right! My malice can go even further beyond!" Cosmos stood up from her throne. "Might as well live up to my name for once. Ah, and about Luna..." Cosmos snapped her fingers before finally bringing Princess Luna over. She was still inside of the Dynasite box, however, now, she was unconscious. "Passed out from all the smashing. What a shame. I was hoping she'd hang in there longer. Oh well. There's tomorrow."
Cosmos then tossed the box away as it crashed into the ground. Luna bounced inside of the box as her Pokemon were nowhere to be found either.
"Speaking of which, I'm feeling a bit of a nighttime mood." Cosmos raised her arm before then using magic to change the celestial bodies. She had enough magical power at the moment to lower the Sun and raise the Moon. The sun was finally setting even though it was far past its usual fall time. But with Celestia out cold, it stayed there for a while.
Right after the Sun had left, up came the Moon. However, previously, the Sun had been blocked off by the chaotic storm with not a single sun ray piercing through. And the same went with the moon. The storm of chaos was so powerful that not even the light of the moon could peek through. Thanks to this, it was total darkness.
It felt like a blackout as there was barely a semblance of light. The only form of light was the pit of fire that everypony was dancing on.
"I may have claimed victory here but I haven't won just yet." Cosmos sat back on her throne, causing it to float. "I still need to find the remaining Andalusian Stars. Usually, the limit is 6 but now it's 7 thanks to this substitute I made out of Rift Magic. Fairly handy. I also need to defeat the rest of those Pokemon Trainers from trying to stop me and reunite with my lovely Discord. But it seems he has some friends who'll gladly try and protect him. How sweet."
"Arcanine..."
"After I'm done with that...I'll send every Fairy-Type into that same dimension I sent that Absol to!" Cosmos declared. "And then, my conquest will be officially done. I'd say that's a fine roadmap of what to do. And just to keep it numerical, Universe 2 will be the next universe I conquer. And Discord will be by my side as a King. I can't wait! Hahaha!"
Cosmos had so many plans now. After learning about other universes, her malicious intentions would not stop in this universe. If anything, it was just the beginning as Arcanine looked over at the orb, seeing how his best friends were still down and out along with Luna, whose head was twitching.
It was all grim and seemingly hopeless on this night. Premium Polish was downstairs, currently at risk. Arcanine realized that coming up here was for nothing.
However, within the castle which had been altered to fit a more chaotic look, Darkrai, who was still on the floor after being possessed by Cosmos was starting to twitch. His claws trembled as Cosmos was still controlling his body, enjoying what Darkrai loved. But the moment Darkrai's eyes started opening, a mixture between his natural blue eye colour and Cosmos' controlling pink eye colour were starting to clash against each other in an erratic and conflicting way.
Out in the mountains. Near the Pixie Plains. Nightfall.
Meanwhile, Twilight and Pinkie Pie were going up against the miniature versions of Cosmos'. Twilight already knew that Cosmos was the one to send Absol away to the Malice Dimension, but she also learned of what Cosmos had done. Luring her friends into traps and harming Princess Celestia and Passion.
All of that was enough to enrage Twilight as the magic of Horizon Storm started leaking out. Pinkie Pie gasped, backing away as the Sorrowful Rage Magic was radiating from her body. Cosmos blinked for a moment. All of them. This kind of magic was odd to them as they could even feel the rage.
"Twilight..." Pinkie Pie shuddered, fearing what could become of her friend.
"It's fine." However, despite the anger boiling up within her, Twilight could control Horizon Storm, preventing her from coming out. She had already done so weeks ago. "Sorry if I scared you there."
"Hmph. Had me worried about nothing." Cosmos scoffed. "Oh well. About time I got you out of the way next. I've been itching to mess with another alicorn, you know!" The multiple Cosmos' finally made their move, advancing on Twilight, Pinkie Pie, their Pokemon and Mewie.
"You talked about Fairy Magic with ill intent, didn't you...?" Twilight closed her eyes, standing there as the Cosmos' were rapidly approaching her and Pinkie Pie. "In that case...Eve! Dazzling Gleam!"
"Slurpuff! You use Dazzling Gleam too!"
"Espeon...!"
"Not this again!" Cosmos saw this as an all too familiar force. This time, it was used by two Pokemon as two rainbow spheres dazzled from Espeon and Slurpuff's bodies. The sphere of Fairy Magic shined with great force as all of the miniature Cosmos' hissed and cried out from the energy coming from the spheres.
They had been unleashed as rays right afterwards, targeting the miniature Cosmos'. Each of them were sniped out of the sky by Dazzling Gleam, feeling the volatile reaction.
"Now! Shadow Ball!"
"Fairy Wind!"
"Esp!" After stunning them with Dazzling Gleam, Espeon jumped into the air, summoning a blob of shadows while also being joined by Slurpuff who had generated a turbulent wind made out of Fairy Magic.
Cosmos retaliated, already being fearful of the Fairy Magic that was present here. She had used the chaotic lightning from above as it met with Shadow Ball. Shadow Ball had been held back before being pierced by the bolt of chaotic lightning. Espeon gasped before moving out of the way from this bolt as it had struck the ground, leaving a fairly hard hit in the process.
"Mewie! Keep Mew safe!" Pinkie Pie spoke to Mew, ordering her to keep her own Mew safe for the moment while he heals. She quickly got out the rest of her Poke Balls, throwing out her remaining 5 Slurpuff.
"Mew!" Mewie picked up Mew who was badly injured from the powerful smite of chaos lightning he received earlier. She backed away, leaving Twilight and Pinkie Pie to do the rest.
"Go! Togekiss!" Twilight had sent out Togekiss, capitalizing on Cosmos' fear and weakness towards Fairy Magic.
"Togekiss!"
"Togekiss! Sky Attack! Eve! Dazzling Gleam!"
"Alright! Fairy Wind altogether!"
"Toge!" Togekiss shot higher into the air, enveloping herself in a golden veil of aura. But not before allowing Espeon to jump on her back. She brought Espeon along as the Sun Pokemon was charging up Dazzling Gleam. All 6 Slurpuff had used Fairy Wind, combining it into one massive pink wind.
The hundreds of miniature Cosmos' had warped space immediately. Once Togekiss zoomed towards her with a sphere of pink energy surrounding her and Espeon, she quickly changed the direction of where they would go. Togekiss suddenly felt herself fly in the opposite direction. "T-Toge!?"
"Espeon?!"
Once their direction had changed, they had been forced into Fairy Wind, taking the turbulent pink tornado instead. They had been carried and whirled around thanks to Cosmos' interference with space.
"Ah! Eve! Togekiss!" Twilight gasped before spreading her wings. She decided to get involved instead of letting her Pokemon handle thins. The Princess of Friendship took flight, using her magic to disperse the Fairy tornado. Togekiss and Espeon felt winded and dazed from it, but thankfully, they were still standing, albeit dizzy.
After taking to the skies, the many Cosmos' approached Twilight in droves, throwing themselves at her with their bodies on fire. They acted like small meteors, ready to crash down on a planet. The planet in this case being Twilight Sparkle.
"Slurpuff! Sticky Web!"
"Slur!" One of Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff had opened her mouth, shooting out a net that she managed to weave in seconds. This web got in between Twilight and the various Cosmos', immediately catching some of them. But thanks to their small bodies, some of them managed to pass through the open spots while the others were trapped.
This allowed Twilight to retaliate thanks to Slurpuff's intervention. She faced the approaching Cosmos', using her magic to create a massive reflective shield. This shield formed right as the Cosmos' got close, causing them to crash into it as if they ran into a tree or a window.
Twilight smiled before expanding her magic to push them all away. She managed to fizzle those Cosmos' thanks to the pushback, including the ones on the web. However, there were still more of them coming from all sides.
"Dazzling Gleam!"
"Espeon!" Espeon and Togekiss combined their respective Dazzling Gleams, merging the spheres that shined around them into a sky-piercing light. Out of this light, it ended up shooting out dozens of rays that were enough to tag multiple of these tiny Spirits of Malice. Not all of them but a lot.
Twilight assisted the power of Dazzling Gleam. She used her magic to make it far more flexible as if it were a whip or made out of rubber. It could now go in multiple directions and zoom around with extra fluidity.
The various Cosmos' started fleeing from the rays that were coming everywhere. Thanks to what Twilight had done, these flowing rays tagged some of the Cosmos' by being just as erratic as them. The rays were bigger than their bodies, engulfing them in the pure light of Fairy Magic.
The rays had even pierced the clouds slightly, almost breaking away the chaotic storm. But it was not enough. Cosmos growled out frustration before turning that frustration into power. From the ground, giant earth claws had emerged, grabbing Pinkie Pie and her 6 Slurpuff with the force of Cosmos' rage.
"Gouh!" Pinkie Pie's eyes almost felt like popping out as these earth arms had extended, threatening to slam the seven of them to the ground.
"Mew-Mew!" Mew, who was resting up, decided to get involved. Even if he was injured, he prioritized Pinkie Pie's safety as he flew over.
"Mew!" Mewie cried out after he flew away. But there was no use stopping him now since his trainer was in danger.
"Mew...!" Mew had used Psyshock, covering himself in a massive purple and pink sphere before crashing right through the earth arm that had grabbed Pinkie Pie and the Slurpuff. The arm broke apart, dropping them.
"Nice save, Mew!" Pinkie Pie cheered before realizing she was falling from a high height. "Uh oh! Wait!"
"Mew!" Mewie got involved as well, immediately using Psychic to grab them all, preventing them from falling. The other earth arm was still present as it ended up grabbing the weakened Mew.
"M-Mew...!" Mew groaned as the earth arms ended up slamming him against one of the mountains, leaving a dent in it. Cosmos' had also used her combined magic in this miniature forms to summon the indestructible block of Dynasite. It took all of them to make it appear as it dropped from above with a massive size.
"Be crushed!" Cosmos' declared with all of these high-pitched voices. "Nothing can break through these! Gahaha!"
"Nothing...?" Twilight highly doubted that. She knew that were was one way to break. And thankfully for her, she had the Pokemon that could do so along with Pinkie Pie. "Togekiss! Aura Sphere!"
"Toge...Kiss!" Togekiss formed a sphere of Aura from her mouth, shooting it up at the sphere that was rapidly approaching. It was a close call due to how fast it was falling with its immense weight. It even caught on fire. However, Cosmos soon found out that there was something that could break Dynasite.
Aura.
It had pierced right through the cube, leaving a visible hole in it. After going straight through, the cube ended up blowing up with a blue aura emerging. Cosmos' jaw dropped with all of these miniature bodies, stunned by what she had witnessed.
"W-What!? But it should be unbreakable!"
"Not without Aura," Twilight added. "That's something that not even Dynasite can ignore. But not only that...it would've taken more than just one Aura Sphere to break it...That tells me one thing. Your version of Dynasite with those small bodies is far weaker, isn't it?"
"Khh...!" Cosmos snarled before thinking to herself. "Curse that pony. She's right. I could make the heavier variation if my true body was here or even if I had another body aside from these smaller ones..."
"I still need to find a way to reach Absol..." Twilight said to herself. "Please be okay out there, buddy."
"Either way! I don't need Dynasite to win! I can prove it and have proved it already!" Cosmos bellowed summoning hundreds of earth arms from the ground.
Twilight looked up to see these massive arms were almost as plentiful as the miniature Cosmos' in this area. Cosmos' was certainly going to occupy her and Pinkie Pie for a while now.
"Now's as good a time as any to use these." Pinkie Pie, seeing the massive earth arms and how many of them there were, decided to even out the playing field. And there was no better time than one of the special objects that she had received. It was not the Mewnium Z.
But the Dynamax band that Bea had given her.
Pinkie Pie decided to combat size with size. She immediately took out Mew's Poke Ball before harnessing the power of Dynamax. Once Mew's Poke Ball was shown, the energy from the band started radiating its signature light red colour as it then flowed into the Poke Ball.
The Poke Ball, now influenced by Dynamax Energy, had immediately returned Mew, freeing him from the giant earth arm that was holding him in place. It had then expanded to a colossal degree, almost being too heavy for Pinkie Pie to hold, but she managed to withstand it.
"Okay, Mew! Dynamax!" Pinkie Pie then threw the super-sized Poke Ball into the air. Once up there, it had unleashed the New Species Pokemon, but with a much larger size than what she usually has.
Cosmos gasped as she had seen the titan that had appeared before her, having enough height to rival her earth arms. Dynamaxed Mew had arrived.
"MEW...MEW!"
"W-What in the?!"
"Nice choice, Pinkie Pie!" Twilight cheered. "And since we're near the Pixie Plains, we can use that to our advantage as well."
"I hear ya, Twilight. Let's go, Mew!"
"MEW!"
Ponyville.
Back at Ponyville, Applejack, Goh and Hollow were still occupied with the possessed bodies of their friends. Applejack's plan had yet to come to fruition since Cosmos was doing everything in her power to keep them from trying anything clever. The Pokemon from PokePark, despite them being brought over here thanks to Ash, were also finding it difficult to overcome this challenge.
"No good." Applejack growled. "How am I gonna have Cold Colt get that spell off with all this moving?"
"Like I said! Whatever you're planning, I won't let you get the chance!" Cosmos exclaimed in the body of Mayor Mare. "But...frankly this is dragging out much longer than I want it to."
"Then uh...what say you give up and call it a day?" Cold Colt shrugged.
"As if! You two are a problem that I can't afford to let go of!" Cosmos shouted. "And even if you send those Fairies my way, it won't stop me."
"Fairies?" Applejack and Cold Colt said in unison.
"Your little friend Fluttershy and her posse of Pokemon are trying to come here with as many of those Fairy Pokemon she can grab. However, she's facing off against my miniature versions. While they're susceptible to Fairy Magic as well, it won't have an effect on me! They'll be occupied with those smaller variants for hours!" Cosmos laughed as Fluttershy would've been here by now but thanks to the raining Cosmos' that was not the case.
"Dagnabit..." Applejack held her hat with slight agitation in her voice and face. "Gotta think of something."
"I do want to call it a day, though. I have things to do now that Canterlot is under my control." Cosmos approached with the body of Mayor Mare. "So...what will you do now? Even if you do pull off your plan successfully, I can always just negate it, if you must know."
"She's probably right about that..." Cold Colt agreed, much to Applejack's chagrin. Cosmos was starting to see that hope in their eyes slowly fade with how much trouble she's been giving them. And it pleased her greatly. Malice involved despair and any form of it was a plus in her book.
However, as Cosmos was revelling in this moment and Applejack thinking hard, that's when something shocking happened. While they weren't looking, a few of the controlled Pokemon ended up attacking their allies. Catching them off guard, they had unleashed a stream of Normal, Grass, Flying and Water attacks. The most common type here in Ponyville.
A surprise attack had been made. One that Cosmos wasn't expecting. She expected it from outside sources who hadn't yet been controlled by her but it was from the ponies and Pokemon she managed to get.
"What the-" She gasped before being hit by another attack. This time Swift as star-shaped rays had been unleashed on multiple of this one Normal-Type attack was used by various Pokemon. Applejack, Cold Colt, their Pokemon and the Pokemon from PokePark stood there stunned, surprised by what they were seeing.
Caught off guard and not expecting this, Cosmos was overwhelmed. Multiple of her possessed bodies were bewildered after being caught off guard like this while the ones that attacked her were fully focused.
Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Big Mac, Granny Smith, Carrot Top and Roseluck were among the ones who had caught her by surprise. Their Pokemon, minus Machamp who was still under Cosmos' possession were focused and free of Cosmos' control as well.
"Ya'll are okay?!" Applejack gasped with joy in her voice. "But how!?"
"How? You can thank her!" Sweetie Belle had then held out the Pokemon responsible for this. Phione.
"Phione!"
"Phione ignored Cosmos' mind control." Sweetie Belle explained. "And it's all thanks to the light of Arceus. Because of that sweet light, Phione managed to free us and let us keep it low. It was pretty scary though."
"And Sweetie Belle's Meowstic was the one who made our eyes glow. Pretty neat, right?" Scootaloo grinned.
"Meowstic." Meowstic crossed her arms, not seeing it as a big deal.
"As long as we have Arceus by our side inside of Phione here, we're smooth sailing." Apple Bloom said.
"Ah...Many thanks, Arceus!" Applejack thanked Arceus, shouting to the sky. She was truly grateful that his light had done this as this was once again another time where Arceus had helped the ponies of Equestria. Although this time, his light lived on within Phione.
"WHAT'S AN ARCEUS!?" Cosmos roared before being blown back by BonBon's Azumarill using Hydro Pump.
"Now's our chance!" Cold Colt saw the chance to use the spell. He ran up to Furfrou, immediately going for the spell while he had all the time he needed. Cold Colt focused his magic onto Furfrou, initiating the spell. At the same time, the ponies and Pokemon who were revealed to be undercover had continued to give Applejack that chance of victory while still catching Cosmos off guard.
Furfrou grimaced with Cold Colt needing to pour he everything he had into his magic to make this spell possible. It would be a big one as it was the Connection Spell. The plan was to have every controlled body of Cosmos be fully connected. Not in the way they were currently were via sharing the same sight and everything, but in a way that would make every single possessed body of Cosmos feel a lasting effect.
And thanks to the efforts of Phione and the others, Cold Colt could pull off this spell successfully as a white line had come out of Furfrou before then tagging the nearest body of a Primeape. After Primape had been hit, the line continued, tagging others, especially those who had been knocked down by the blindsided surprise attack.
Cold Colt's eyes flashed with insane Rift Magic as he pushed the spell and his magic to the limit, catching them all. Before she knew it, Cosmos felt a surge of Rift Magic that had her stunned. Everyone backed away, allowing Cold Colt to work his magic.
Cosmic light shined all across the castle and even pierced through the chaotic clouds. Cold Colt backed away, holding his head as that was the most magic he had to use so far. It went past his limit as he almost fell over, only for Raichu to catch him.
"W-What did you do...?!" Cosmos growled in the body of Roxanne.
"The Connection Spell." Applejack smirked. "Neat little thing I found out that exists thanks to Twilight. Since Cold here used it on you...everything that happens, you're gonna feel it."
"Feel it!?"
"That's right. All of ya'll!" Applejack chuckled. Cosmos put it together, realizing what she meant by that. It basically meant that the next series of attacks that hits Cosmos will without a doubt affect everyone else. Not only did they all now share sight, scent and hearing, but now they shared connected pain.
"You sneaky little...!" Cosmos could both admire and hate how devious that plan was. She almost wanted to congratulate it but not so much since it was being used by her.
"But...I ain't gonna hurt ya. Instead, we're gonna free ya." Applejack, despite having this plan focused on making sure that Cosmos felt every bit of pain of what she did to her family and friends, wanted to free their bodies from her control. And thanks to the Connection Spell, she could do it in one go.
"As if I'd let you do so!" Cosmos roared with her voice booming through the skies, causing the castle to shake.
"Ash...if you're nearby...we need some of that Aura to free them too. My Aura's still untamed. Unless I can pull it off somehow." Applejack thought to herself, thinking about Ash. She knew that Aura was a big key player in this as well. She was putting the rest of her faith and hope into Ash while believing in herself and the potent Aura that she possessed.
Now that Cosmos' bodies, all of them, were connected far beyond what they were originally alongside her being caught off guard by ponies and Pokemon who had broken free thanks to Arceus' light, the scales had tipped once more as the journey continues.
Cosmos was about to begin her malice escapades on Delia Ketchum, who was still strapped to a Dynasite table. Her mind had been invaded as she was shown horrific things involving her son that she couldn't bear to watch. Now, Cosmos wasn't to try all of those against her just to quell her thirst for malice which she had been missing for so long.
"Now...how about we try the wax first? That's a good starting point." The miniature Cosmos' all laughed before dangling their claws over Delia's head, generating wax.
Delia turned her head, trying to close her eyes, however, Cosmos still kept them open thanks to her magic as all she could do now was brace herself. Mr Mime was restrained by the table as well, trying desperately to break free. It tried using Psychic via its eyes as the chains of Dynasite were starting to rumble. As these were weaker variants of it, any Pokemon move could affect them. However, Mr Mime wasn't fast enough.
Thankfully, it wouldn't be him that breaks through it. Bursting through the windows with a blazing fury was none other than Infernape.
"Infernape!" Infernape had used Mach Punch as he was joined by Staraptor, Bayleef, Bulbasaur and Snivy.
"What the?! What now?!" Cosmos' roared as the flying rubble and glass had hit her miniature variations, knocking them over. Infernape and the others already knew to come here while the rest of their teammates handle things back at the lab and the rest of Pallet Town.
"Bulbasaur! Everyone!" Delia was beyond happy to see them along with Mr Mime, who had managed to break off one of the chains of Dynasaite. He wouldn't have to break the other one as along came Infernape, using Mach Punch once more.
"Infernape!" The Fire-Fighting-Type blitzed right past both Mr Mime and Delia's tables, shattering them in the blink of an eye. The Dynasite tables broke apart as swiftly as Infernape had passed them. No one else aside from Staraptor had seen it happen.
"Oh my!" Delia gasped before dropping to the floor.
"ACCURSED POKEMON!" All of the small Cosmos' roared with high-pitched voices. She was frankly tired of them despite controlling them as well. These Strange and Wonderful Creatures known as Pocket Monsters or Pokemon for short are a lot like the attack Double-Edge. Beneficial on one side but can have a powerful drawback on the other side.
"Bay-Bay!" Bayleef mainly came here for Ash. She was worried that Ash had been attacked here, but there was no sign of him. "Bay..."
"Sni!" Snivy whacked Bayleef on the head, telling her to put that aside from now. Snivy frankly had enough of Bayleef putting Ash over everyone else that would be close and dear to her.
"Bay..."
"It's great that you're here," Delia said to Infernape, Staraptor and the two Grass-Types. "I'm not quite sure what's going on, but I can count on all of you to help. Especially against someone who would dare show me...that."
"I had way worse images in mind." Cosmos replied. "If you'd like, I can show you. After I finish with these annoying creatures and then continue having my fun with you. And your son too, of course. Can't forget him."
"Bay...!" Bayleef's expression turned from sad to furious. The moment Ash was brought up in the conversation, she had a burning spirit inside of her that was as hot as Infernape's flames. Now, she had a great reason to lash out at Cosmos'. "Bay! Bay-Bay!"
"Snivy..." Snivy simply shook her head, realizing there was no dealing with Bayleef's obsession over Ash. She just had to go with it. But, this boiling rage could be a huge benefactor so Snivy didn't see it as all bad. At least in this instance as Delia, Mr Mime and Ash's Pokemon faced off against the miniature Cosmos with the Ketchum Household.
Equestria. PokePark. Cove Area. Nightfall.
"Okay! I think that's everyone!" Ash was currently at PokePark, gathering as many Pokemon as he could to assist his friends in the Cosmos' predicament. This entire time, he's been bringing as many as he could over to Ponyville to assist in having superior numbers to Cosmos. "I can't stay here for long. I gotta help every out. Are you ready, Pikachu?"
"Pikachu!"
"We'll have to get all of them in one go with Aura!" Ash summoned Sir Aaron's staff while running off. "That way, we can free them from Cosmos. Let's make it count."
Ash was going for one big hurrah. Of course, this threatened him as well as the threat of Delayed Aura Ataxia still existed to this day. However, he's been taking risks with it frequently and as always, he's managed to overcome them. With one hand grabbing the staff and another grabbing a Poke Ball that had Lucario inside, Ash was more than ready.
Upon leaving PokePark and entering Twilight's lab, Ash had noticed that nightfall had arrived. But it was hard to see the moon as Cosmos' Chaos Storm covered it and a semblance of light.
"Boy. Now might be a good time to stop by your world. Remember what I said about that Z-Ring of yours/" Sombra appeared as a shadow once more, speaking to Ash.
"I hear ya. But I gotta help everyone else before that happens." Ash would head for the Z-Ring later. Right now, he had a town to help out as he rushed out of Twilight's lab alongside the Pokemon from PokePark.
"Hm. In that case...allow me to try something. If everything goes south, then I will use my magic to intervene."
"Really? What can you do, Sombra?" Ash asked.
"That Cosmos' believes she's doing mind control. In reality, she's merely possessing bodies. Might as well show her how it's done."
"Uh...Are we sure about that?" Ash chuckled, unsure if Sombra's method was better than Cosmos'. If anything, it sounded equally as bad.
"I'm just saying." Sombra shrugged. "If it comes down to it. But hurry up and use that Aura of yours before the worst comes."
"You got it!"
Twilight's Castle.
Back at the castle, Cosmos had received the Connection Spell thanks to Cold Colt pulling it off successfully. Now, every single body that she has possessed would most certainly feel whatever comes next in unison, much to the dismay of Cosmos.
"Y-You may have pulled the spell off successfully, but don't think I'll let you stop me from using these bodies," Cosmos shouted through the body of Roxie.
"Yeah, but can you beat out Arceus' light?" Sweetie Belle held out Phione who also had the power to negate Cosmos' control thanks to the blessing of Arceus.
"As if I'd let that happen!" Cosmos growled as she used all of the bodies that she controlled to suddenly fly. All of them within Ponyville had taken flight, sprouting out vampire wings in the process. "I'll-" Just as she spoke, Cosmos felt a powerful twitch through her body that ended up affecting the others.
The effect of the spell was already taking place swimmingly well. Somewhere out there, Cosmos was being harmed due to the bodies she took control of.
"Looks like it works like a charm even outside of Ponyville." Applejack smiled after seeing Cosmos and every possessed body flinch and twitch. "You'd better go for it while you've got all these chances Phione."
"You heard her. Go for it!" Sweetie Belle encouraged Phione.
"Phione!" The Water-Type jumped out of Sweetie Belle's hooves before radiating Arceus' light once more. However, Cosmos had used all of these bodies to teleport herself into the air, gaining some distance from Phione once she lunged her way. Phione had missed only to be caught later by Serperior's vines.
"Serperior!" After catching Phione, Serperior had then used her vines to launch the Sea Drifter Pokemon up.
"Get back!" Roaring with anger and fear in her voice, Cosmos had caused a powerful gust of wind with all of these possessed bodies that forced Phione away. The force of this wind was strong enough to push everyone else inside of this room away due to the combined might. They all closed their eyes as some of them had been picked up from the ground.
"Phi-Phi!" Phione cried out after being blown away.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile managed to catch her safely, however, using his vines to do so. After blowing everyone away, Cosmos and all of her controlled bodies had left Twilight's Castle, giving themselves extra space instead of having to limit themselves to the castle's interior, despite how damaged it was.
"Phione!" Phione ordered Sceptile and the others to do everything in their power to get her towards Cosmos. Any possessed body would do. All she needed was a way to let Arceus' light permeate through her long enough.
"Tile!" Sceptile nodded in understanding before looking at Applejack.
"I hear ya, partner! Frenzy Plant!"
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile used his massive roots. By stomping on the ground, he summoned giant roots that were large enough to wrap around Twilight's Castle, shooting them into the air.
"Phione!" Phione then used these roots and their colossal heights to reach Cosmos and the others. For the first time, Cosmos chose to flee. Something she hated doing. But she wouldn't go down without a fight as she used her magic to set the roots on fire.
"Prinplup, Brine!" Sweetie Belle ordered her Prinplup.
"Horsea, go for Bubble Beam!" So did Scootaloo to her Horsea
"Azumarill, Hydro Pump!" And finally BonBon with her Azumarill. Two blasts of water along with a stream of bubbles had been unleashed, flying together. These had helped Phione, putting out the flames before they could burn the roots away. Phione used Water Pulse, helping herself to put out the flames.
"Darn it all!" Cosmos bellowed raising her arm before summoning the chaos lightning from above. She shot it down, targeting Twilight's Castle.
"Oh! Lanturn! Eat up!" However, Ms Cherilee had a Pokemon for that. Her Lanturn.
"Lanturn!" Lanturn faced the lightning bolt itself, lunging itself at it. The bolt had struck the Light Pokemon, but not a single trace of damage had been done to it, much to the shock of Cosmos. Instead, Lanturn had absorbed it.
"What?!" Cosmos gasped.
"Volt Absorb. It absorbs all electricity if you must know." Ms Cheerilee said as Lanturn had powered itself up thanks to the chaotic lightning it absorbed. It certainly felt different from regular lightning. "And in return, the user heals up."
"Lan-Lan!"
"These accursed Pokemon...!" Cosmo growled before then choosing to use the clouds. She used her magic to bring over some clouds, multiple of them before then using her magic to manipulate them. The clouds had become hard as rocks before being thrown at the residents of Ponyville.
"Phi!" Phione gasped as not only were the clouds heavy and solid, but they still shot out lightning, threatening to shock her.
"Bi...Sharp!" But along came both Bisharp and Dewott, using Night Slash and Razor Slash to cut these clouds in half. Now that they were solid, it gave them both an excuse to slash the clouds. They narrowly saved Phione as Bisharp's body conducted the electricity. However, Dewott ended up shocking himself in the process once the chaotic lightning touched him.
"D-Dewott!" A worthy risk as Phione was safe. As long as she was still standing and had the light of Arceus ready to free everyone, that was all that mattered. Cosmos kept using the clouds as she had a massive array to choose from.
All of these clouds started raining down, bombarding Twilight's Castle as well as the surrounding area where Goh and Hollow were. Cosmos found a way to retaliate viciously and tip the odds in her favour. Everyone backed away and started running from these destructive clouds as they first crashed into something and then unleashed a devastating flare of electricity.
Lanturn absorbed more of it but it certainly couldn't absorb a hit from these solid clouds as it had also backed away. Cosmos laughed, managing to keep herself away from Arceus' light for the time being.
"She knows how to make things easier for her, that's for sure." Applejack held onto her hat whilst running off. Everyone could see that Twilight's castle was no longer safe to be in. Immediately, they all ran out of it to avoid being crushed by the continuous falling rubble.
"What's happening there?!" Goh exclaimed.
"Nevermind that," Hollow replied. "So as long as we keep holding Cosmos back and give them all some time, we'll be smooth sailing later on. At least...I hope it doesn't go on for too long."
"Almost had me there!" Cosmos spoke within the skies, nervously laughing. The clouds kept dropping as they started threatening the other buildings in Ponyville with the lightning piercing through the windows, doors, roofs etc.
The storm of chaos started swirling with more and more miniature Cosmos' raining down. No matter what, she had numbers to constantly 1UP everyone. With more of her miniature selves dropping above, flooding Ponyville, it seemed like this could potentially go on for hours so as long as Cosmos always had a way to weasel out of a rough spot.
However, once more, those numbers would be countered. Over the horizon, the other Pokemon from PokePark had been brought over. And joining them were none other than Ash and Pikachu, who were right behind them.
"Made it in time! I think!" Ash cried out as all of the Pokemon went ahead of him.
"Pikachu!"
"More?" Cosmos scoffed. "Then I'll just add to the pile as well. I can keep doing it for as long as I can!"
"Ash! There you are!" Goh looked up to see Ash arriving. "How come you're so late nowadays?"
"My bad!" Ash cried out before stopping in his tracks, meeting eyes with Cosmos for the first time. Cosmos immediately recognized him as the boy in the picture back at Delia's home. "Those eyes... so those are Cosmos'?"
"Pikachu..."
"Where's Fluttershy? Is she not with you guys?" Ash asked.
"Fluttershy's occupied with those smaller Cosmos'. That's her true form, apparently." Hollow pointed at the smaller variations of Cosmos. "Her and the Fairy-Types might not make it in time. But as long as they're keeping the other Cosmos' back then..."
"Ash!" Applejack cried out after leaving Twilight's Castle. The castle itself was almost n its last legs. It was still standing but any further damage could signal the end of it for sure. "Now's a good time to use your Aura!"
"I've used the Connection Spell to connect every possessed body of Cosmos!" Cold Colt shouted. "All of them should feel what comes next!"
"I gotcha!" Ash understood clearly. He wasted no time as he held the staff with both his hands.
"Aura?" Cosmos uttered in the midst of this scuffle, remembering what Aura was. The one force of power that could break Dynasite. She already knew how powerful it was and the way Applejack mentioned Aura with just that one sentence was already giving her a sense of imminent defeat.
Cosmos couldn't let that happen. She was getting somewhere and her progress wouldn't be bogged down or completely wiped out by this point.
"Gonna make this count!" Ash then focused his Aura on the staff as Cosmos focused all of her attention on Ash next. From right underneath him, she had made a sinkhole to try and sink him straight to the ground. "Eh?"
"Sink! Sink to the ground below!" Cosmos bellowed as the sinkhole was starting to pull everyone else in due to its massive radius. Various Pokemon that were fending off Cosmos had been interrupted, feeling their bodies gravitate to the sinkhole. The skies rumbled with the chaotic clouds swirling downwards, threatening to either crush or twist its targets while also bursting with electricity.
A chaotic tornado had been made with the buildings being affected by it. This immense pressure of wind had enough power to start ripping them from the ground.
"As if! Frenzy Plant!"
"Sceptile!" Mega Sceptile had used Frenzy Plant once more, summoning those giant roots as always. This time, the roots emerged from the sinkhole, immediately wrapping around Ash and Pikachu. They had enough strength to do so while also wrapping around everyone else who were being pulled in.
"Thanks, AJ!" Ash said before looking at Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded in understanding, putting his hand in Ash's pocket. Out of the pocket, Pikachu grabbed one Poke Ball before then throwing it himself. And out of it came Lucario.
"Lucario!"
"Lucario! Use Aura Sphere on those skies!"
"Rrr...!" Lucario put his hands together, landing on the roots of Frenzy Plant before summoning a sphere of concentrated Aura. "Ca!" Lucario then unleashed Aura Sphere as it travelled through the sparks, debris, rubble and more that had appeared due to this chaotic debacle. Aura Sphere had crashed into the Chaos Tornado as both attacks had cancelled each other out.
Cosmos snarled before thinking of launching everyone else at Ash. But, she then realized that would be too risky as Ash could end up affecting one of them and put an end to this body possession. Despite her tilting the scales, the residents of Ponyville and the Pokemon World managed to tilt them the other way and apply pressure. Cosmos backed away with all of her possessed bodies, making sure to only attack from a far distance.
She had every one of her controlled bodies focusing on using only ranged Pokemon attacked and magic from afar, making sure that not a soul would get close. Ash stood on top of the roots before running up them. Mega Sceptile continued to pour more Infinity Energy into this attack, extending the roots past their natural limit.
"Give Ash some help! Golett! Shadow Punch!" Applejack ordered her 9 Golett.
"Golett!" The 9 Golett had used Shadow Punch, sending long shadow arms that rushed to Ash's aid. But two of these arms ended up grabbing Phione, who was another strong contender for breaking the control. They brought Phione up to where Ash was, placing the Water-Type on her head.
"Hey, Phione!" Ash greeted.
"Pikachu!"
"Phione!"
"Get back!" Cosmos shouted, using her voice to create a powerful shockwave. This shockwave held Ash, Pikachu, Lucario and Phione back. With multiple bodies using this powerful voice, it launched Ash and the others far back.
"Catch them with your thorns!" Roseluck shouted out.
"Roserade!" Roseluck's Roserade ended up coming to Ash's rescue, using her thorns to grab the Champion of Alola and the others, preventing them from taking a hard fall.
"Go, Rapidash!" Scootaloo chimed in, sending another one of her Pokemon to help out. This time, it was her Rapidash who emerged into the fray.
"Rapidash!"
"Let Rapidash take Ash there! He's the fastest one here!" Scootaloo suggested as Roserade used her thorns to place Ash and the others onto the back of Rapidash. The Fire Horse Pokemon would be the one to carry them there as the roots from Frenzy Plant were still active. "Use Flame Charge! Over and over again!"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash ignited his body with a blazing aura of fire, however, his flames did not harm them as they were seen as friends. Rapidash then took off running at blitzing speeds.
"Since you like roots so much, how about this?!" Cosmos retaliated against Sceptile's Frenzy Plant, using roots as well. But these roots came from the skies, bursting through the Chaotic clouds with an eerie and crooked black appearance as they moved with the ferocity of a dragon. The roots smashed into the ground, flailing around with intensity as if it were a whip.
Everyone backed away as these black roots had cleaved the ground as well as smashed against the roots of Sceptile's Frenzy Plant, causing them to start breaking apart.
Rapidash maintained his balance despite the roots being attacked. Sceptile continued to extend them, pushing the strength of his Mega Evolution to the absolute top. More of these roots appeared, going for everyone else in the process with mass numbers.
"Protect!" Blocking those roots from harming others was none other than a shield. A shield that had been made by the Hearing Pokemon, Audino. And if Audino was here, that meant that Fluttershy was here. And she certainly was, along with the Pokemon she brought along with her.
"Audino!" Audino pushed back the roots, pulling off a successful Protect as she was in her Mega Evolution state.
"Fluttershy!" Ash turned around, noticing that the pegasi along with the Fairy Pokemon and some of the other Pokemon from the Pokemon House had appeared.
"Sorry, I'm late! It was just so much trouble getting here!" Fluttershy apologized.
"You...!" Cosmos and her personal disdain towards Fluttershy was showing once more. Once the black roots failed, Cosmos kept trying everything she could with her limited magic, altering space once more. She pulled what she could from the Malice Dimension as these terrifying wisp-like energies came flying out with what seemed to be sharp fangs around them.
They bit away at the roots of Frenzy Plant at ludicrous speeds while also tackling them. Despite the limited magic so far, there was nothing that Cosmos couldn't do. Which is exactly why Ash and everyone knew she needed to be stopped before her true form could be reborn.
"Lucario! Aura Sphere! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuu!" Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder, sparking his body with electricity as Lucario joined him in the air with Aura Sphere already active. Out of Pikachu, 100,000 volts were thrown, flying alongside the sphere of Aura. These two attacks met with the wisps, clashing with them. Lucario's Aura Sphere managed to beat out the wisp before flying towards Cosmos. Another wisp got in the way, blocking Lucario's Aura Sphere from getting any closer. The black roots had been used once more, emerging from the ground this time.
"Houndoom! Overheat!" Hollow commanded.
"Cinderace, Pyro Ball!" So did Goh. Both their Fire-Types had burnt away these black roots with a stream of fire and a fireball respectively. Houndoom's fire was especially effective as it burned with brutal intensity, wiping the roots out of existence.
"Rapidash!" Rapidash kept using Flame Charge in short bursts, increasing his speed gradually. And it was paying off. Right now, he was the fastest Pokemon here. However, even Sceptile was starting to reach his limit.
"S-Sceptile...!"
"Hang in there, Sceptile!" Applejack cheered her partner on, hoping he could keep it up until the roots were high enough.
"Audino." Thankfully, Audino was here. She had used Heal Pulse, covering Sceptile's body in a calming and relaxing green veil. Heal Pulse was just what Sceptile needed.
"Scep? Sceptile!" Sceptile felt refreshed. Before, he was waiting and now he was eager to keep going on. Applejack looked at Fluttershy who gave her a reassuring smile, letting her know that they were still in this. Another storm had come in the form of a flexible tornado that started zigzagging, moving in unpredictable patterns.
"Bisharp!" Bisharp cut through the rest of the incoming black roots and the wisps with Lilligant, Leavanny and Roserade all using Petal Blizzard. A massive storm of beautiful pink and green petals had been unleashed, pushing back against the ferocious chaos storm.
They managed to hold the storm back, however, it had diverged, splitting up before blowing away Roserade and the others right afterwards. "R-Roserade!"
"Roserade, no!" Roseluck cried out as she and many others had been carried away by the numerous storms.
"Rapidash!" Rapidash had reached his peak right about now, moving so fast that he ended up becoming a blur. Ash held onto his hat and Phione with Lucario and Pikachu gripping the staff so that it wouldn't fly off.
"Think you can stop me?! Your mother is currently with me, if you must know!" Cosmos resorted to a dirty tactic. Targeting family.
"Mom?!" That got Ash's attention. If his mother was involved, he would be all ears. Just what Cosmos wanted as she was already thinking of the horrible things she had planned for Delia after capturing her in her own home.
"That's right! I showed her some fun ways to torture someone and figured I'd try some of them on her...But some weird monkey, bird and other Pokemon are trying to ruin my fun. It doesn't matter though."
"Hm." Just then, Ash had smiled at that, catching Cosmos off guard. Ash knew which Pokemon fit those descriptions. At least, one of them. A bird could be any of his Flying Types and the rest were vague. "That just means mom's in good hands."
"Why you...!" Cosmos hated that Ash stayed optimistic. It frankly infuriated the Spirit of Malice as her rage correlated with the storm.
"Here we go." Ash was now closer to Cosmos than ever before. "Jump, Rapidash!"
"Rapidash!" The time was now. Rapidash had leapt off the roots at last and thanks to his powerful legs along with the speed he managed to build up, he got a colossal amount of air-time to the point where he was almost flying.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile could finally finish Frenzy Plant as Ash held the staff up high, still channelling all of his Aura into it. He never lost focus for a second as Lucario had connected with both the staff and Ash as well to tighten his focus. Cosmos sent a blaze of chaotic fire as her last attempt to fend Ash off.
"Now's our chance! All together now!" Fluttershy chimed in, seeing that this was the best time for all the Fairy-Types to assist Ash. "Use Hyper Beam!"
"Audino!" Mega Audino, Sylveon and the other Fairies used whatever attacks they had, sprinkling Fairy Magic into it. Audino had used Hyper Beam which had Fairy Magic inside of it, targeting the gigantic blaze of chaotic fire that came streaking down. The combined attacks filled with Fairy Magic managed to hold back the flames but just barely.
"Lucario! Phione! Now!" Ash exclaimed before finally releasing all of that Aura he had built up.
"Luca!"
"Phi!"
In unison and with the assistance of the Fairies, they managed to generate a massive flare of Aura and Light with the beautiful colours of Azure Blue and Solar Gold. Cosmos' eyes were graced and punished by these two majestic sparkles as their flare expanded in seconds.
"No..No..NOOO!" She screamed in the body of Roxie first before then screaming in Mayor Mare's body, Machamp's body and soon all of them. Not just here, but everywhere else. She used all of her magic to try and push this back, however, the two forces managed to push through. "I...won't give up control! I...won't!" She declared with her voice straining.
However, her sentence had been cut off as there was a giant flash of power in the sky, consuming her and all of the bodies she had controlled. The chaotic skies had been blown away, giving way to the beautiful night sky and the silver Moon. The light had come once more.
"Yes!" Ash cheered, pumping his fist into the air as Rapidash started freefalling. But thanks to his powerful legs, he would be fine upon landing. Ash was barely fine as using that much Aura almost caused him to pass out. His body twitched, however, when he gripped the staff, he managed to restrain himself from passing out.
As for Cosmos, once the flash had ended, all of the bodies she controlled started falling from the sky. They were both unconscious and unable to recover.
"Oh! Sceptile!"
"Scep!" Sceptile was already on it. Once again, Frenzy Plant had been used. For the last time. The roots had caught them all. Whether by them landing on them or being wrapped around them.
"Champ...Machamp." Machamp had been broken free of Cosmos' body possession as seen by how he was sleeping. Immediately after he was free, the Superpower Pokemon got into a comfortable passion, scratching his face. He was indeed back as well as everyone else.
"Worked like a charm." Cold Colt chuckled. "Got a bit close there though."
"We pulled it off, didn't we?" Fluttershy walked over. "That means the Pokemon that went over to the Pokemon House should be okay now. As well as the rest from Frenzy Forest."
"Syl! Sylveon!"
"Of course. Valerie too." Fluttershy patted Sylveon on the head as she wouldn't have to worry about her trainer anymore now that the plan was successful. Everyone else laughed while the rest of their friends and family sat and slept there. They deserved the rest as Roxie was holding Stoutland and Mayor Mare whilst sleeping.
However, one of them was awake. And that was Roxanne. For a moment, Cosmos' pink eyes were still there, but they were fading as Pikachu stood upright, being on full alert. "Pikachu!" His cry had soon alerted the rest.
"Kh...Stupid Aura...Stupid Fairy Magic...Stupid Arceus!" Cosmos growled with her control on Roxanne fading away. She banged on the ground with everyone looking down at her. However, despite being defeated her, Cosmos' smile had remained. "But...it's not over yet."
"Huh? How?" Goh uttered. "We beat you!"
"The vessel that I've been using from the start is still active..." The Spirit of Malice laughed, referring to Cynthia, who was the main vessel she pulled from. "Not only that...but this entire scuffle I've been having across the world so far...has only been a way to pass the time. In reality...the rest of the stars are still being sought out."
"Say what now?!" Ash leaned in.
"That's right...Those Rift Humans know of the future..." She coughed before continuing. "They know where the remaining Andalusian Stars are. This entire time...you've been wasting time. while I sent them both out to find the last three! Way to entertain a gal!"
"Oh, no-no-no-no-no!" Cold Colt cried out with rapid-fire words.
"Victory will still be mine now. I was one step ahead of you the entire time! And once my full body returns, I can continue my expansive reign and emerge as queen of not just one world...but multiple worlds and beyond! How's that?!" She laughed as she revealed herself to be one step ahead of them. This battle, while fierce, was only a time-waster at the end of the day.
"We'll stop you." But Ash said otherwise, keeping hope and optimism up. "We stopped you here and we'll do it again. Even if you get those final stars. Count on it."
"Pikachu."
"Kh...That positivity of yours gets on my nerves." Cosmos snarled at Ash. "If you think so...then I'll see you later, boy! This is not the end!" That was the last time Cosmos had used Roxanne's body. The pink glow had faded away as she had left the Rock-Type specialist's body. Roxanne then fell flat on the ground, passing out.
"Alright. We won here, but it's not over yet." Ash faced the rest of his friends. "The rest of our friends are out there. She still has Cynthia under her control and she's not gonna stop until she's back in full swing. Let's finish this while we have the chance and catch up soon."
"Cosmos said something about your mom. Doesn't that mean that the Pokemon World is in danger too?" Goh stepped up.
"Yeah...I'm heading back there to check up on mom and Mr Mime. You guys can all go ahead without me."
"Are you sure? You used a lot of Aura back there." A worried Fluttershy asked.
"Ah, I'll be fine. Just focus on getting to Rainbow Dash and everyone else, wherever they are." Ash made the staff of Sir Aaron disappear. "You've got a lot of Pokemon alongside to help. PokePark and the Pokemon House combined."
"He's right on that. We should be smooth sailing right now." Roseluck added. "We'll go to Canterlot to see what's happening there then."
"Sweet. I'm heading back home for a bit!" Ash and Pikachu immediately took off with Ash returning Lucario to his Poke Ball. "Good luck! I'll catch up with you guys!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Let me and Audi heal you all up first before we head out," Fluttershy suggested. Before they could continue on their journey of stopping Cosmos, they would all need to heal. But it had to be fast as right now, Cosmos was one step ahead of them, using all of this time to search for the remaining three stars.
They stopped her once more, but yet again, the Spirit of Malice was persistent and stubborn as she was malicious as the journey continues.
Back in the Pokemon World, the miniature variations of Cosmos were still very rampant. Despite Cosmos' control on many bodies being released, her smaller duplicates remained and were still a problem.
"Infernape! Please use Flamethrower! Staraptor, Brave Bird!" Over at the Ketchum Household, Delia Ketchum along with Ash's Pokemon were fending off these miniature Spirits of Malice's. All of their anger had been targeted towards Cosmos which is something Cosmos would usually adore and revel in, but not when she was being attacked.
"Infernape!" Infernape had held his breath, puffing his chest before unleashing a giant blast of fire that had engulfed the miniature Cosmos'. Staraptor meanwhile had blown past some of them with a golden aura while moving at great speeds.
"Bayleef, Razor Leaf! And Snivy, Leaf Storm, if you will!"
"Vy! Snivy!" Snivy jumped into the air and multiple glowing green leaves start spinning around her body. Whilst she summoned those leaves, Bayleef had extended her vines, wrapping them around the pint-sized Cosmos', restraining them. That gave Snivy the chance to blast them with Leaf Storm.
All of the smaller Cosmos' screamed as they were overwhelmed by the storm of leaves, disappearing immediately. The blast of fire that Infernape had used immediately broke through the house. The wonderful Ketchum Household was being damaged in the process.
And approaching his home after learning about Cosmos showing up in the Pokemon World was Ash. He had jumped through the gateway from Ponyville, arriving at Pallet Town. The moment he passed through and got up to the door, he was met with a giant blast of fire.
"Yikes!" Ash and Pikachu grimaced as the large blast of fire had passed right by them, almost catching them in its fury. Despite how close that was, Ash recognized those flames anywhere. It was most definitely Flamethrower. And with that final assault from Infernape and Snivy's attacks, the Cosmos' within the Ketchum Household had been defeated.
After the door had been blown away, Ash ran inside to see that his mother and a few of his Pokemon had finished things up the moment he arrived. He was right in believing that his mother was in good hands as long as she had a Pokemon by her side. And it was clear as day that it was the stunning truth.
"Mom!" Ash cried out to her.
"Hm? Ash!" Delia ran to Ash, immediately holding her hands out. After the horrible things Cosmos had shown her, Delia felt like hugging him like there was no tomorrow. She picked Ash up with the strength of her hug, causing his eyes to widen with a slight cough coming out of him. "I knew you would be alright! Those horrible images were nothing but fiction and illusion!"
"G-Great to see you're okay, mom! Thanks for being there, you guys." He then looked at the Pokemon.
"Staraptor!" Staraptor saluted along with the others nodding in unison.
"Of course!
"You and your family are going to pay!" The last remaining miniature Cosmos could be seen on the table, barking at Ash and the others. "I am everywhere right now! Think you can handle mass numbers on a global scale?! Let alone in two worlds?!"
"Everyone will be fine," Ash replied, facing the small Spirit of Malice. "They're all strong just like my mom here. Even if you're everywhere, they've got the skills to beat you."
"Pikachu."
"Curses...!" Cosmos hated that Ash was right as she ended up vanishing. That was the last of the clones within this household. However, there were still more out there, especially within Pallet Town and beyond. But much like inside this home and everywhere else, there were those who wouldn't let Cosmos trample over them and cause all the chaos that she wanted.
"I still don't quite understand what's going on here," Delia spoke. "Why did she look so much like Discord? And what's this about her being everywhere in the world?"
"Eh...it's a lot. I'll tell you all about it when it's all done. Right now, I gotta head back and stop Cosmos from getting her full body back." Ash turned away. "Everything's fine here, so Pikachu and I gotta make sure nothing goes wrong back at Equestria. Or that world's entire Earth."
"Hold it." Sombra intervened, appearing as a shadow before nudging his head towards the stairs. "The ring. Take the ring immediately while you're still here."
"My Z-Ring? Oh, right!" Ash rushed upstairs as the former ruler of the Crystal Empire constantly suggested that Ash should take his ring. He knew how powerful it was considering that it took part in his defeat. Ash arrived in his room, scanning it for a bit. It was a miracle that his room was still in one piece considering the scuffle that had occurred.
There it was. The Z-Ring along with the Pikachunium Z. Sitting next to his Alola League Trophy and some of his Gym Badge cases from various regions. The Kid from Kanto swiped it from the table before leaving the room with it. He had brought along some serious firepower with him, only via Sombra's suggestion.
"I'm heading out!" Ash cried out as if he was going out on a normal night. But right now, everything was far from normal.
"Have a nice night! Come back soon, okay?!" Delia replied as if this was also a normal night. But then again, even with Cosmos' attacking and spreading chaos, the Pokemon World was so full of possibilities that a normal night, even with the magic of chaos, can be very vague.
Equestria. Out in the mountains. Near the Pixie Plains.
"Mew! Use Max Mindstorm!" Meanwhile, Twilight and Pinkie Pie were dealing with their own miniature Cosmos' as well as Mew had recently Dynamaxed.
"MEW!" Mew had put his hands on his head before channelling his endless resource of Psychic Energy into this one attack. The first one he'll ever do. Thanks to Psyshock, he could use this Dynamax attack as it appeared in the form of swirling mental energy with multiple layers.
The miniature Cosmos' felt restrained and immobile as a telekinetic hold had outlined them. Mew kept them in place, preventing them from going anywhere before unleashing the swirling energy and its many layers downwards. The clones had been crushed under Dynamax Mew's Max Mindstorm.
The mountains had been levitated by Mew's heightened Psychic capabilities. The duplicates had vanished, but there were still some of them remaining along with those giant earth arms. Once Mew had finished using Max Mindstorm, these earth arms had grabbed his tail and his arms via returning to the ground before emerging once more.
"MEW?"
"You only have three attacks with Dynamax, Pinkie! So make it count! Eve, use Psychic! Togekiss! Blow those arms away with Sky Attack!"
"Slurpuff! Fairy Wind! All together!"
"Toge!" Togekiss came charging in at high speeds, enveloping herself in a golden aura before breaking off one of the arms. Espeon stood from afar, wrapping her Psychic hold onto one of the arms before then crushing them to bits. Twilight assisted via her magic, releasing it in the form of a beam as it had cleaved off the arms. The winds of the 6 Slurpuff had blown away parts of the rocks via a Fairy Tornado. Some of these rocks ended up hitting the smaller Cosmos' as collateral damage.
Mew only had two more goes while within his Dynamaxed State. The arms had shattered, but not before transforming into sharper rocks that were as large as the mountains themselves. These rocks were then thrown at Mew, Togekiss and Espeon respectively.
"Oh!" Twilight gasped before using her magic to put up a massive shield around all three of them. The jagged rocks had then smashed against the shield, almost piercing it.
"Mew! Fly west!" Pinkie Pie shouted.
"MEW-MEW!" The New Species Pokemon started flying to the west, however, the larger body made him slightly slower. Twilight and the others promptly followed Mew as it forced Cosmos' to follow all of them.
"Get back here! Are you giving up already?!" Cosmos taunted, believing that they were retreating. All of these miniature malice beings were right behind them, throwing a stream of chaotic magic in their direction. However, Mew going west was part of one simple yet effective plan.
Since they were near the Pixie Plains, Fairy Magic was prominent.
"Eve, use Psychic! Togekiss, Aura Sphere!" Twilight shouted while using her magic to repel Cosmos' attacks. They gave Mew enough time to focus and head straight for the Pixie Plains.
"Only two moves left...Mew! Use Max Knuckle!"
"MEW-MEW-MEW!" Mew then turned around, nearing the Pixie Plains as he had then flailed his arms. Straight from the skies, breaking through the chaotic clouds was a gigantic glowing fist. The Cosmos' all looked up in shock as this fist was enough to crush most of them. Some of them managed to split up while the rest were smashed by Max Knuckle.
The giant fist had crashed into the ground, leaving a visible dent in it. Mew only had one more attempt in his Dynamax state before it would come to an end. The Cosmos' all shouted out with bursting rage as they caused the mountains to not only extend in size but manipulated them to start crashing down on Mew and his friends as if a building was coming down.
"Last go! Mew! Max Guard!" Pinkie Pie closed her eyes as Mew's last Dynamax Attack had been used.
"MEW!" And it was one that truly mattered. Mew put his arms out, forming a shield that was as large as his entire body. And it was certainly enough as the giant shield had nullified, negated and blocked the mountains from landing a direct hit.
Cosmos then turned the last mountain into an explosive, setting it off instantly. That last exploding mountain had shattered Mew's Max Guard, blowing everyone back.
"M-MEW!" Mew's last moments in his Dynamax state had come. The moment he was blown back as the same moment he had returned to normal.
Thankfully, no one had been harmed. Twilight flapped her wings whilst Togekiss had caught both Espeon and Pinkie Pie. Mew had recovered himself despite being winded for a bit. Their movements came to an immediate halt as the rubble from the mountains dropped from above.
They took some time to recover with Mew spinning around. Mewie flew over, keeping her fellow New Species Pokemon stable before he fell over. "She's certainly persistent and relentless," Twilight commented, slightly praising Cosmos for being this persistent in making sure she succeeded.
"Are you done now?" Cosmos commented as her remaining duplicates hovered over Twilight's group. "That giant form of yours was short but sweet, wasn't it? A shame. It looked like a genuine threat there. I suppose that pink cat knows what it's like to have limits now. But that won't last for me once I'm back in full form."
"Mew doesn't need an extra-large form to beat you." Pinkie Pie replied. "Besides. We just needed the right spot to weaken you, that's all."
"Mew-Mew."
"The right spot?" The Spirit of Malice squinted her eyes, wondering what Pinkie Pie was eluding to. Abruptly, 10 seconds after being here, that's when the magic of the Pixie Plains had registered. This mystical sensation had licked in for these miniature duplicates as they recognized this feeling.
Fairy Magic.
"No...No! Not this!" Once she felt it, each of the Cosmos' had cringed and twitched. The presence of Fairy Magic within this area was enough to make them all uneasy, especially in this small body. All according to plan.
Twilight and Pinkie Pie looked at each other, having devious grins on their faces after lurking Cosmos into this trap. Now that she was immobilized via the feeling of Fairy Magic, they both spoke in unison to Togekiss and Mew.
"Aura Sphere!"
In unison, Togekiss and Mew had used Aura Sphere. They got close together to make sure that it had the right amount of power needed. The spheres linked up together before being thrown at the same time. The correlating Auras worked well together as they merged into one larger Aura Sphere.
Cosmos was vulnerable. Unable to act or move thanks to the lovely Fairy Magic that radiated throughout these plains. Thus, Aura Sphere was free to hit all of her miniature duplicates. It was certainly large enough to do so. That was the last thing the duplicates saw before being consumed by the sphere.
An azure flare that was the cause of two different Auras going off had emerged, lighting up the night sky. And speaking of the night sky, the explosion of the Aura had also blown the clouds away. The Chaotic Storm had come to an end, revealing the silver Moon.
"Hah...Done and done." Twilight lowered her head, relieved that it was over. At least this part. Cosmos was still very much active and continuing on her goal to return in full. Not only that, but since it was nightfall, they have been at this little escape for hours now and there was no sign of it slowing down.
"Great job, all of you!" Pinkie Pie applauded her 6 Slurpuff and the two Mews. She sat down with both Mews circling her. "Glad that's over with."
"It's not though." Twilight shook her head. "Far from it. There's still something that's bothering me."
"What do you mean? All we have to do is find the rest of our friends, right? And it'll be all done."
"Those were just smaller Cosmos'. The real one is still out there...and with the body of Cynthia to boot. Canterlot might still be in trouble even if we've won here."
"But she sent them here for a reason, right? Maybe she's getting desperate?"
"She's already desperate, Pinkie. Lucien and Sienna are by her side, so she'll know how history originally goes. The location of the other Andalusian Stars will be out in the open for her. We have to keep moving. No time to take a break. And I need to get Absol back."
"I gotcha Twilight. But...Absol's still in that other dimension though. How are we gonna reach him?"
"The only one I can think of who can help us is Discord. He's a draconequus like her with the same magic. I hope he's already helping out right now. Come on." Twilight and Pinkie continued on their path to find their friends. The 6 Slurpuff went back to picking up on their scents with Mew turning into Luga once more.
Equestria. Canterlot. Nightfall.
Over at Canterlot, Cosmos' malicious reign continued. She still kept the body of Cynthia as that was her main vessel. Her body felt the Aura, Fairy Magic and Arceus' light that had broken her control over so many ponies, Pokemon and a few humans.
Naturally, Cosmos' showed a colossal disdain for the ones that had taken away her possessed bodies. It was virulent to her as she could still feel the effects. Cynthia's body had resisted it. However, despite what had just happened and knowing that Ash and the others were heading here to Canterlot, a smile had been put on her face.
That was because, appearing at Canterlot via teleportation, were Lucien and Sienna. The two Rift Humans who knew of the location of the remaining Andalusian Stars. They appeared before Cosmos as she had high hopes upon seeing them.
"Oh, it's a joy to see you. Truly. I assume that now that you're here...you have the other stars?"
"We do. Only one of them, though." Lucien replied as he held out one Andalusian Star. "This one was near Klugetown, but no one found it. Since you weren't supposed to come back until next year in the original timeline, no one from Klugetown had touched it yet. Or at least, they didn't put it up for sale. It was just near the outskirts."
"And the others?"
"The other one is at Griffonstone. And the last one is at the Crystal Empire." Sienna answered. "After that, all 6 of them will be back to you."
"Excellent. I should thank you for getting one for me. Give it here." Cosmos used her magic to bring the star over to her. It was drawn to her after all. "The substitute Andalusian Star that was made from the Rift Magic has proven to be useful...If I were to gather one more star, that would be equal to six. But I suppose seven of them would boost things up a bit, wouldn't they?"
"Yeah, I guess." Lucien shrugged. "Not sure what seven would do, honestly."
"So is this technically the fourth of fifth star?"
"Both." Cosmos started laughing quietly before increasing the volume. Once she turned the Andalusian Star into a bracelet for her to wear, her arms were trembling. Her chaos magic had shown itself, radiating its usual dark pink colour. However, it had intensified ten-fold. It wrapped around the throne while also shaking the throne room. Cosmos closed her eyes, letting the magic flow as her laughter continued. She then opened her eyes as a flare of magic burst out of them. She was feeling greater than ever.
"Ah, well done, Rift Humans!" Cosmos spoke as Lucien and Sienna were being pushed back. "Two Andalusian Stars! All mine!"
"Something's not right..." Lucien gasped as he got on one knee. "Her magic seems far greater than it should be even with the 4th...or 5th...whatever star with her."
"It's our Rift Energy!" Sienna realized where this overwhelming force was coming from. "Not only does it replace the 5th star, but it has even greater influence the more stars she gets back! In the original timeline, even with the stars she gathered before the 6th, she could never do any of what she's currently done! I didn't think out Rift Energy would have this much influence!"
"Hrrgh...!" Cosmos growled as she was taking in all of this overwhelming magic. It was close to what she was truly capable of. "It seems so! Looks like Chaos Magic and Rift Energy are just like Electricity and Water! If that was the case in the original timeline, then consider myself beyond my prime! This will only make my full resurrection greater!"
"Oh, man..." Lucien and Sienna sat down, stunned by how much of an increase Cosmos had received with the current star.
"Ah..." She took a deep breath, letting all of the magic naturally rest within her. "Oh. And I'd say that this is the fourth star. Let's leave it at that. Now then...with so much of my magic back, getting the rest of them will be easier than ever. This time, I will set out to find them on my own."
"And us?" Sienna leaned forward.
"You will still come with me. You are most definitely useful. I could also use some servants in my new kingdom. But before that...they're expecting me here at Canterlot. Those Pokemon Trainers. I would love to see them here when they show up, but I can't afford to waste time..." Cosmos pondered for a bit.
"Servants?" Lucien and Sienna looked at each other.
"Ah. I know. I'll just cut space in half!"
"Come again?" The Rift Siblings blinked as they were hoping they heard her right.
"Here!" Cosmos didn't hesitate. She showed them exactly what she meant. Everything she did was literal to the core. With her heightened magic being close to her prime, possibly exceeding it, she showcased the lengths of her Chaos Magic.
Cosmos used the body of Cynthia to take on an astral form. She became a gigantic wisp that still had Cynthia's body, but mainly her hair and her upper body. The lower half was more akin to that of a tornado and a lightning bolt combined. After becoming this Chaotic Astral Being, Cosmos had grown to a titanic size.
She phased through the castle as the residents of Ponyville, who were still dancing near the pit of fire while their Pokemon were trapped in those orbs near the flames, had looked up to see the emergence of this gigantic astral entity. Her laugh was even louder, passing through all the skies of Equestria and beyond.
Once she was up there, she could be seen from afar. Deerling Forest, the Pikachu Highlands, Kingdra Durance, Exploud Valley and so on. Her giant astral form had a vibrant yet dark and eerie pink appearance to it. Many could see it, especially those that were approaching Canterlot, AKA, Fluttershy and everyone else.
Once she was so high up that her head went above the clouds, she had summoned massive scissors and just as she said seconds ago, she was about to indeed, without a doubt, personally, cut space. These scissors were certainly large enough and had the power to do so.
"Just a little snip..." Cosmos dug the scissors into what seemed to be the air itself. The sky could be seen being pierced as if someone was poking a bed sheet. It was surreal to the eyes as the scissors pierced right through. Naturally, affecting space itself caused a powerful disturbance.
With the sky itself being pierced by Cosmos' scissors, everything was shaking. The clouds trembled, but not with thunder. They were visibly shaking as if they had become solid once more under Cosmos' influence. It didn't just shake this sky. The gateways were fully connected to the Pokemon World as Cosmos' actions reached there, much like how her Chaos Storm affected that world due to how powerful it was.
The skies of the Pokemon World quaked with visible cracks showing. It certainly wasn't the strangest thing that had ever happened in that world, but it was up there. And for everyone to see unless they were asleep. Like Komala. And once the scissors were deep enough, Cosmos completed the task.
With one snip, she had cut space in half.
The fabric of space itself was catastrophic as the stars themselves had been seen, only to be then completely overshadowed by Chaos Magic with had an assortment of colours that did not mesh well with each other.
"No way she just did that..." Lucien's jaw had dropped.
"I think she did..." Sienna almost felt like fainting, only for Lucien to hold her up. Everyone had a similar reaction to her. The residents of Ponyville stopped dancing to just look at this.
There was now this massive cut that revealed the horrific Chaos Magic to their eyes with the slight appearance of space. All of Cosmos' magic blocked them from seeing it though as the cut was so powerful that it ended up showing the skies of the Pokemon World. In a weird wobbly appearance, the Pokemon World had been seen after being breached. The cut had wrapped around both worlds and their skies, almost making a perfect circle in the process.
"Gahahahaha!" Cosmos clapped her hands, giggling with excitement. "There! That's one way to keep you all connected to your Pokemon forever, eh?! This is wonderful! Oh, how the good times are coming back to me! Are you seeing this, Discord?! This is exactly what we could be doing together soon! And we will!"
"That's just not right..." Moondancer shook her head, appalled by what she was seeing.
"Now! The last stars! I can do better than this!" Cosmos was now ready to set out for the final Andalusian Stars in Griffonstone and the Crystal Empire. And soon, her true form would return for good. "Ah, but I still want a little bit of assistance. Lucien. Sienna. Get ready to leave."
"G-Got it..." They both said as they were too overwhelmed by this.
"And for one more assistance...I won't just use this girl's Pokemon. But this Poke Ball is something I need to use as well." Cosmos had then held her hand out, revealing Cynthia's final Poke Ball. The one Pokemon that had not come out yet.
Her Lucario.
But upon trying to control Lucario via sending Chaos Magic through it, Cosmos was only met with one thing. A horrible sting. The Aura from Lucario radiated through the Poke Ball before then burning Cosmos' hand.
"GAH!" She roared in pain. "Oh, forget it! I can't control this ball and whatever is inside it! This thing is worthless!" Seeing that she couldn't do anything to this Poke Ball, Cosmos decided to get rid of it. Aggravated, she threw Lucario's Poke Ball far into the distance, never wanting to see it again.
Lucario's Poke Ball vanished into the wind, almost passing through the torn space and entering another universe. Cosmos then left her Chaotic Apparation, returning to Cynthia's normal size. Lucien and Sienna blinked with stunned expressions while Cosmos shrugged it off like a normal thing.
"W-W-W-W-WHAT IS THAT?!" A natural reaction from the Twilight Sparkle of the Human World. Space itself had been cut in half thanks to Cosmos once she received her fourth Andalusian Star.
Twilight, whilst being sent back to her world via the assistance of Glailie and Boldore. She and many others across the world had seen the massive tear in space, revealing the Chaotic Magic that had blocked out the stars themselves. All thanks to massive scissors the size of skyscrapers.
She had just arrived at Vermillion Harbor, which was thankfully free from any miniature Cosmos. All she needed to do was take the S.S Anne to Unova and she'd be home sweet home via the closest gateway to her world.
"Uh...Thanks for getting me here, you two." Twilight thanked Glalie and Boldore. "Glad nothing happened along the way. I'll take it from here."
"Glalie."
"Boldore."
"Won't they be everywhere else, Twilight?" Hisuian Zorua's head popped out of Twilight's bag. "Maybe...we should bring them along until we reach there."
"Oh. You're right, Zorua. Glalie. Boldore. Looks like I need a bit more protection from you two. Those small things might not be here but everywhere else. Think you can help?"
"Boldore!" They would gladly do so. Twilight rushed over to the S.S. Anne, which was already planning to leave especially with this massive rip in space. She looked up to the sky while entering the ship, worried about what this massive rip in space meant.
But obviously, it was nothing good.
Equestria. Train to Canterlot. Nightfall.
"A-Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Roseluck spoke as she and many others from Ponyville were on a train heading to Canterlot to meet with Cosmos' and hopefully put an end to this. And along the way, they had witnessed space being cut in half. Anyone would notice this.
"That just ain't right." Applejack shook her head in disbelief. They were all stunned by what they were seeing. "That Cosmos' has gone too far now."
"I don't think she did that in the original timeline. Did she get all six Andalusian Stars?" A petrified Cold Colt wondered.
"But it's pretty cool though!" Despite space being cut in half by skyscraper-sized scissors, Scootaloo and the younger ponies, felt as if this was absolutely beautiful. And some way, it was.
"What do we do about that?" Fluttershy wondered. "I mean, I'm not an astrologist or horologist, but that looks bad. Especially with all of that Chaos Magic flowing around."
"That's Chaos Magic?" Roseluck turned to her.
"Mm. It's what I see sometimes when I head to Discord's dimension. If all of that is up there, then something terrifying could come out of it."
"She's already messed with space. What could be worse?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I'm glad you asked, my little pony." Just then, a familiar voice had replied to Sweetie Belle. Before the group knew it, the trap had come to an abrupt halt with most of them losing their balance and falling off their seats. This voice belonged to Cosmos.
Cosmos had shown up as she had used that same giant astral body while still possessing Cynthia to pick up the train. This massive cosmic hand had grabbed it as if it was a toy, removing it from the tracks. Everyone inside of the train tumbled, slipped, fell or hit their head against someone or something.
"C-Cosmos!" Fluttershy gasped as Cosmos' eye could be seen appearing within the mirror. She looked into the train, seeing all of the residents of Ponyville as ants at the moment. Just how she liked it. Many of the residents screeched before also backing up. Some held onto each other while others hid underneath the seats. But all of that was pointless as Cosmos' had reached a point where she was near her prime without even having the final Andalusian Stars.
She towered over everything nearby in this Chaotic Astral Form. The mountains, the buildings in the distances, the hills, everything. Cosmos saw herself as above everyone else and this certainly showed how literal she took it.
"Oh, this is hilarious." Cosmos chuckled while looking into the train. "Just almost an hour ago, you all were giving me trouble and I actually showed signs of visible fear. But now...not so much. It's you all that are fearful now but I've yet to give you any trouble. Until now, that is."
"Cosmos! You can just tear space in half!" Cold Colt screamed.
"Yes. Yes, I can and I just did. I don't need to be lectured by some child." Cosmos scoffed. "Right now, payback is due. I never got the chance to spread proper malice to you Ponyville residents. But now, I can have that chance. Starting now."
Cosmos was feeling extremely vengeful. She was already vengeful when she managed to return to Earth, but after the humiliation back at Ponyville, she had a bigger thirst for revenge than she had before. She immediately started spinning the train around with quickly hand reflexes.
Everyone inside was treated to a hyper-fast turbulent spin that caused them to start flying around within the train. They crashed into the walls and window as Cosmos sped up the spinning to the point where the train appeared as a mini-tornado.
They all tried holding onto something with Sceptile, Bayleef, Roseluck and a few other Grass-Types using their vines to wrap around the seats and handles within the train, keeping their balance. But that was exceedingly difficult in the presence of Cosmos.
Cosmos switched up, wanting them to suffer some more. She then tossed the train into the air, making everyone in there far more dizzy and bewildered than they already were at this point. Once the train had been thrown upwards Cosmos swiped her hand, causing it to start shrinking. Not everyone else was inside but only the train.
It was given ample airtime as the train was diminishing in size and space. Cosmos' goal was to see if she could crush them within the train itself. She stood there with her hand on her chin, waiting patiently for the results.
Everyone inside could see that it was shrinking. And with so many of them inside the train, the gap was already too small for them. Those who were close to the walls could already feel it press against their backs.
"It's shrinking!" Goh shouted while desperately holding onto the handles.
"Sure wish Machamp wasn't asleep right now!" Applejack cried out. After being freed from Cosmos' control, those who had passed out were currently asleep or unconscious. They needed to rest after that, but now, Applejack wished that Machamp wasn't asleep as his amazing strength could be used for this. "Sceptile! Keep the walls together with Frenzy Plant!"
"Sceptile!" To make up for Machamp's missing strength, Sceptile would use what was essentially his signature move at this point due to how many times he's used it. Frenzy Plant. These massive roots were summoned via Sceptile managing to touch the floor. That was all he needed as the roots emerged from there.
Immediately, these massive roots had slithered past the innocents and struck themselves against the top and sides of the train. As expected, the power of these roots managed to combat the shrinking of the train, however, there was a visible struggle. The shrinking walls were starting to break the roots apart with cracks forming on them. Even Frenzy Plant wouldn't be enough.
To try and keep themselves from being crushed, everyone came together, pushing against the walls. They would have to rely on their physical strength here. It took the combined strength of the ponies and the power of the Pokemon to even keep the shrinking walls back.
Cosmos found amusement in seeing them struggle. After how much she struggled against them, satisfaction was coming her way as she snapped her fingers, shrinking it at a greater and stronger rate. This made things harder for them ten-fold as the roots from Sceptile's Frenzy Plant kept breaking down.
"Hmm..." Cosmos looked around, noticing a sea in the distance. Upon seeing that sea, she decided to use that as a part of her malicious actions. "Aha!" With just the movement of her arm, she had sent the shrinking train towards the sea at the speed of a comet. Everyone inside was not only being slowly crushed within this diminishing space but they were also being sent towards the ocean.
Cosmos laughed, using her magic to see straight through the train, wondering what they would try and do to overcome this. But from the looks of it, none of them could do anything. Apart from one Pokemon.
Fluttershy's Bayleef.
"B-Bay...!" Seeing that everyone here was in danger, Bayleef's leaf of fate had kicked in once more. She closed her eyes before ripping off one of her leaves. All it needed to do was touch someone and that someone was Fluttershy. Once that leaf touched Fluttershy, fate had been changed.
A white flash enveloped the train as fate had been manipulated to the point where time had been reversed. Cosmos watched with her own eyes as the train had been reversed. Time had been dialled back completely, preventing the train from not only crashing into the sea but also erasing any trace of Cosmos using her magic to shrink it.
The train had been restored while also placed back on the tracks. Such was the power of Bayleef's Fate Changing Leaf. Everyone else had been placed back in their seats as if nothing had happened.
"That green dinosaur and its leaves..." Cosmos was naturally annoyed by Bayleef's Fate Changing Leaf. Because of its existence, her malicious actions that involve imminent danger can be wiped away for something safer.
"Hah...Nice save as always, Bayleef." A relieved Fluttershy lowered her head.
"Bay."
"We're not safe though...I still feel dizzy." Cold Colt shook his head while some of them felt like passing out. Cosmos approached the train once more as she certainly wasn't done with them. Bayleef may have saved them once, but the Spirit of Malice wouldn't stop there. Her vengeance ran deep.
Kalos. Out near a countryside. Nightfall.
Meanwhile, out near the countryside, the van of the sirens was currently moving at great speeds while also being chased down by the miniature Cosmos'. Vivace put the vehicle at full speed as the smaller Spirits of Malice tried keeping up with it. Some of them ended up grabbing onto the van, using their claws to try and tear through the metal.
"What's going on?! Why's there a massive tear in the sky?!" Aria wondered, wanting questions about all of this.
"It's Cosmos," Vivace said with a disgruntled voice and face. "What you see before you in the skies is Chaos Magic at its work."
"Chaos Magic?!" Sonata and Aria gasped.
"Mom?! You know who this is?!" Adagio pointed her thumb at the window as Cosmos' face appeared there. Vivace then drove the van next to a tree, causing the smaller Cosmos to be whacked by it, becoming collateral damage as she flew off.
"I do, unfortunately...The draconequus from another dimension. Cosmos. Before we were graced with all of these parallel worlds and different universes, we were still living peacefully in the ocean as always. However, I had once ventured somewhere during my younger years before any of you were ever born. I discovered the first of many portals that existed in our world. But this portal was not located at Equestria."
"Where then?" Sonata asked as the Cosmos' duplicates had ripped off parts of the roof, startling the Dazzlings. Vivace had then used her magic to blow them away via the flash of her eyes. The duplicates went flying right afterwards and the speed was definitely great due to how fast the van was originally moving, making the launch and the inevitable crash all the more powerful.
"It was past Equestria. Somewhere that I didn't get the name of. All I remember was seeing countless monsters such as centaurs, gargoyles and many more there. Either way, when I accidentally came across that dimension which was hidden in the deepest parts of some badlands, I saw her. The Spirit of Malice, Cosmos. it was downright terrifying what she was doing there. That is one of the many things I vowed to forget about and I'm glad I managed to do so with how long I've been around. A gargoyle by the name of Scorpan told me all about her."
"And what did you learn?" Aria asked.
"I'd rather not get into it. All you need to know is that she's downright horrifying. And someone you should stay away from." Vivace stopped right there. She clearly didn't want to go any further with information about Cosmos.
"Well, can we try and continue getting rid of them. As for the tear in space...I can't answer that." Vivace continued driving away from all of the Cosmos' that chased her family down. Her daughters had learned something about Cosmos from what she was capable of and who she was. The only thing to do now was to prevent her from harming them.
Equestria. The train to Canterlot.
Back at Equestria, Cosmos watched as the train kept going. Thanks to Bayleef, it was functional once more. Cosmos, in her massive astral form, started thinking of the next approach. She pointed at the railway, immediately combusting it.
A barrage of magical explosions approached the train from behind at greater speeds than it could possibly move at. Everyone looked behind to see the railway break apart bit by bit. Despite doing this, Cosmos was expecting Bayleef to use her leaf.
And indeed, she did. Bayleef's leaf went off once more, taking a piece off and landing on Applejack's hat. Fate had been changed to the point where a new track to Canterlot had been made. Bayleef's leaves were seen as being powerful enough to create something new for a safer outcome as the train had also gone to this other track that was unaffected by the explosions.
However, Cosmos could see one drawback to Bayleef's Fate Changing Leaf. It had a limit. The leaves on her neck and on her head were not infinite. She had already used them twice now with most of them coming from the leaf on her head.
"Ah...I see how it works now." Cosmos found out Bayleef's biggest weakness. A weakness that she could easily exploit thanks to her malicious mind and magic. "Let's see how long you last?!"
Thus, Cosmos started throwing everything at the train just to trigger Bayleef's leaves. She thought of the worst ways to go out starting with jagged rock spikes from the ground emerging. A leaf came off, changing fate as the rocks had broken into pieces before they could pierce through the entire train.
Cosmos had then created a massive hole in front of the train that led to who-knows-where. No one would know as Bayleef altered fate to the point where the hole had become fragile like glass. The train broke through the hole, shattering it into pieces and negating its dimensional travelling properties.
Cosmos also saw that depending on how big the threat was, the more Bayleef's leaves would be used. Her top leaf was missing a massive chunk after the spikes and holes. Seeing that motivated her to ramp up the intensity. She had then sent a string towards the train, setting it on fire. This hot string was also sharp enough to pierce the train as Cosmos moved it along, burning the metal away.
Bayleef's leaves went off once more with a massive chunk coming from her top leaf. The string had become water, putting out the flames while also repairing the metal. Cosmos rubbed her hands together, enjoying herself by pushing Bayleef and seeing what she could come up with to eliminate all of her leaves.
Cosmos had grabbed a chunk of the sky with her bare hands before then throwing it at the train. The size of this sky chunk had enough width and power to crush the train, only for Bayleef to return the cloud to its original spot, taking off another chunk of its leaf. The top leaf was already reaching its limit due to how many pieces of it had been taken off.
"Bay...Bay..." Naturally, this was starting to tire her out.
"Bayleef's getting exhausted!" Fluttershy hugged the Leaf Pokemon, seeing her overwork herself. "If this keeps up, she'll run out of leaves!"
"We need to go faster then! Let's try adding electricity to this thing!" Scootaloo cried out.
"It's a steam train so coal is what it runs on. Which means we need Fire-Types." Cheerilee answered. "Luckily, you and Fluttershy have some, don't you?"
"Oh yeah!" Scootaloo then dug into her saddlebag, holding out two Poke Balls.
"Oh! Wait! Rapidash isn't big enough to be in here!" Cheerilee quickly ran over, stopping Scootaloo before she could damage the train.
"Try whatever you can!" Cosmos shouted with her voice travelling through the train. "I'm the superior cosmic force here!" She then clenched her hand, freezing the train in its tracks. There wasn't anything happening that prompted Bayleef to use her leaf. The train had only been stopped. And just when it was about to reach Canterlot in a few minutes. "Look at how easy this is now."
She then flicked her finger up, bringing the train towards her. Easily, she was currently the most powerful being here aside from Discord who was still hiding in fear of her. When raising the train, she started walking with it to Canterlot, deciding to have a chat with the ponies and Pokemon inside.
"Not much else that can get in my way. I'm undoubtedly the most powerful being ever, that much is true. Unless, all of you believe you stand a chance now, do you?"
"We sure do! Cinderace, use Pyro Ball! Goh exclaimed, commanding his Cinderace.
"Raboot, Ember! Bayleef, Magical Leaf!" Fluttershy chimed in as they all chose to attack Cosmos since she was this close to them.
"Houndoom, Overheat!" Hollow pointed directly at Cosmos' face.
"Roserade, Petal Blizzard!"
"Meowstic, Shadow Ball!"
"Swift!" Many other ponies and their Pokemon had used the same attack alongside the other unique ones had all attacked Cosmos. Star-shaped rays, balls of fire, streams of fire, spiralling petals that had the ferocity of blizzards, mystical glowing leaves, a blob of shadows and so on. Different attacks were sent toward her.
"Oh please." For once, Cosmos was unbothered by the Pokemon Attacks. She used her hand to telekinetically hold them, halting the attacks in place. They were all then dragged towards Cosmos as she started playing around with them by bouncing them up and down as if they were toys. "See? Even these attacks aren't that threatening to me anymore. They were powerful prior to this, I'll give you that."
Everyone was stunned that she managed to stop every single one of them. Cosmos then looked at the attacks before looking back at the train. "How about I give it all back to you? Twice the power. It'll be absolutely-"
But right then, just as Cosmos was planning to send the attacks back at the train to bring upon a devastating impact, she had been caught off guard, too focused on the ponies, Pokemon and two humans inside of the train.
"Hyper Beam!"
A Hyper Beam had caught her by surprise. A direct one to the astral face as the Spirit of Malice had been blindsided by an attack that was just as powerful as all of these attacks combined. Possibly even more. After being caught off guard, Cosmos' eyes closed before then losing her telekinetic hold onto these various Pokemon Attacks.
The attacks had hit her once she had lost control over them as Fluttershy and her friends ended up connecting their attacks after all. Just not in the usual way. And they had two individuals to thank for that.
Ash and Dragonite.
"Ash!" Fluttershy exclaimed with joy after seeing Ash alongside the arrival of Pikachu and Dragonite. Everyone was happy to see him. But their smiles quickly faded away once they realized that Cosmos' hold on the train had ended. "Oh!" It started falling, only for Bayleef's leaf to change fate once more.
The train had been sent back to the tracks, but with a safe landing instead of a crushing one. Everyone felt slightly perplexed but still hopeful. But there was a crushing impact after all in the form of Cosmos' falling over. She crashed into the nearby mountains thanks to Dragonite's sneak attack.
"GH! IT'S YOU!" Cosmos noticed Ash Ketchum for the third time now.
"So, she really did take Cynthia's body..." Ash recognized Cynthia's face. This was a sad sight to him, seeing his friends being taken over this way. Thankfully, this was just an astral body. He couldn't motivate himself to harm Cynthia's real body.
"I told you it was just an astral form. You don't have to worry about harming the real one, boy." It was Sombra who let him know that. It definitely paid to have a magic expert on his side at this moment. But he's already friends with a hefty amount of them anyway. "Punish her."
"Get lost!" Cosmos lashed out at Ash, unleashing a devastating blast of magic at her.
"After this, I'm gonna get Cynthia's mind back to normal! Dragonite! Close in on her and use Dragon Claw! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Dra!" Dragonite zoomed to the side, evading Cosmos' blast. After dodging it, the Dragon Pokemon summoned green draconic energy around her claws. As for Pikachu, he leapt off Ash's shoulder, preparing for a blast of 100,000 as a yellow aura sparked around his body.
Dragonite went first as her amazing speed had been showcased. So amazing that even Cosmos couldn't react to it on time as Dragon Claw had swiped her astral body, causing her to stagger.
"Pika...Chuu!" Which gave Pikachu a chance to strike. A bolt of lightning shot out of him before smiting Cosmos' The Astral Body of Cosmos had jittered. Being shocked by electricity will do that to anyone. Pikachu was then recovered by Dragonite who flew by him, causing the Mouse Pokemon to land on Ash's hat.
"Why you...!" Cosmos then extended Cynthia's fingernails before swinging them at Ash. She set them on fire as the flaming fingernails had burned parts of the atmosphere.
"Woah!" Ash gasped as Dragonite quickly flew underneath Cosmos' arm, evading her swipe. "Electroweb! Draco Meteor!"
"Pika-Pika-Chu-Pi!" Pikachu jumped off yet again, this time, throwing a web of electricity that started off as a ball before then transforming into the web, wrapping around Cosmos' arm. It shocked her while also wrapping around it.
"Dragonite!" As for Dragonite, she had manipulated the weather as the clouds started swirling. And from those clouds, which were glowing purple, multiple purple meteors had descended. Cosmos, who had just now ripped the web off of her arm, had yet to notice Draco Meteor.
She noticed how there was a purple glow that could be seen getting closer. And before she could look up, immediately, she had been bombarded by multiple meteors that rained down with immense fury. "AAH!" Cosmos screamed as these meteors pummelled her. Despite being smaller than her astral body, they were powerful enough to knock any large down. And Cosmos' astral body in the form of Cynthia was certainly big enough.
Everyone watched as the meteors had sent this titan down. Truly, a great sight considering what she had put them through. Bayleef certainly smiled as she took some time to recover with Audino healing here. Cosmos crashed into the nearby mountains with all of the rubble falling on her.
Cosmos was utterly bewildered. She was still trying to process the heavy meteors that fell on her. She looked up, looking Ash in the eyes.
"You...What does a human such as yourself think you can do to me in this state?" Cosmos was still highly confident in herself due to the immense power she had retained even after being hit that hard. The Champion of Alola then took the time to declare something to her while adjusting his hat. The light of the moon shined down on him, Pikachu and Dragonite as these words left his mouth.
"We're gonna beat you...get you out of Cynthia's body. Fix That tear in space and head home until the dawn comes. Count on it."
Another one of the estranged locations out in the far parts of Equestria that was once a spot where Cosmos and Discord used to hang out at, overflowing with Chaos Magic. Spurious Valley.
Twilight and Pinkie had arrived here after having the Slurpuff track the scents of their friends down. Spike and Starlight's scents had been sniffed out, leading to this valley. And upon arriving here, they were greeted with a sight that wasn't exactly chaotic.
"Spike? Starlight?" Twilight spoke with a confounded face. The appearance of the valley appeared to be Ponyville of all places. Spike sat on a mountain of gems, eating away alongside his Pokemon as Starlight stood near a school. She wore a dress, owning a school that seemed to have her name on it.
"Hey, Twilight!" Spike waved at her, stuffing his mouth with gems. His appearance had been altered slightly as he was now taller and looked more akin to Ember. "Mmm!"
As for Starlight, various ponies rushed out of this school as it seems that this island was fairly occupied. Pinkie Pie bounced over, wanting to get involved in what seemed to be a fun time. They have been here this entire time while everything else across Equestria was under a massive threat. They had yet to notice the massive tear in the sky.
"Esp...Espeon!" But, Espeon squinted her eyes, knowing that something was amiss here.
"Hold it!" Twilight held Pinkie Pie back with her magic, preventing her from going any further. "This place is off! Eve can see right through it."
"But it looks so much fun!" Pinkie Pie replied.
"It does, but it's all a facade. This isn't Ponyville. At least, not the right location of it." She then took out the map that Cosmos had given her. "Spurious Valley. That just screams out fake. All of this is an illusion. Probably left behind by Cosmos."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Spike shrugged before throwing a gem directly at Axew. Axew opened his mouth, consuming the gem in one go.
"We don't have time for this." Twilight would rather not waste time in this valley of Chaos Magic. She used her magic to instantly grab Spike and his Pokemon, pulling them away from the mountain of gems. The gems came crashing down as Spike watched them all fall. But more than that, once he and his Dragons were pulled away, Spike saw how they turned into mushrooms.
"Mushrooms?!" Spike gasped as Espeon used Psychic to then pull Starlight away. When Starlight was pulled away from the school, not only did the school melt and reveal itself to be nothing but cracked hills. The students weren't real either. The illusion was broken, revealing them to be pebbles that soon dropped to the ground.
"My school! My students!" Starlight cried out after seeing they were fake. Even the dress she wore was fake as it vanished. Spike's older appearance had vanished as well, returning him to his current appearance.
"Wake up you all!" Twilight exclaimed, snapping them back to reality. It only happened once they were on the outskirts of this valley, away from the illusionary magic that permeated this false wonderland.
"Felt like years went by..." Spike lowered his head.
"It's all an illusion. This place must've made you feel like years had gone by, giving you a false image. Truth is, it's now nightfall. Hours have gone by instead. Perfect for Cosmos to waste time for us." Twilight explained.
"Cosmos? What's going on?" Starlight was a bit out of it. She was still recovering from the illusion.
"It's a lot to explain. What's important is that there never was an Andasulian Star here. And um...that." Twilight then nudged her head to the sky, showing Spike, Starlight and the Dragons just exactly what had happened during their time in the illusion. They looked up at the sky to see the massive tear through space and how Chaos Magic flowed through it.
"What the?! What is that!?" Naturally, Spike, the Dragons and Starlight all had the same reaction.
"A lot happened. What's important is that we've been tricked. We managed to find you here in this area which is where Cosmos used to come to centuries ago. Rainbow Dash and Rarity are all that are left. And after that...we'll head to Canterlot to stop Cosmos." Twilight looked north, fixating on Canterlot, which was impossible to see from this distance. But she knew exactly where it was.
"I'm still so confused." Spike sat down along with his Dragon-Types, wanting to know everything that happened so far. But right now, it was best that they started getting a move on for their remaining two friends.
Equestria. Out in the mountains. Near Canterlot. Nightfall.
Ash had encountered Cosmos and her astral form in the appearance of Cynthia. The train to Canterlot that consisted of Fluttershy and some of Ponyville's residents who weren't knocked out, was still moving. Previously, Cosmos had interfered with it via various malicious actions, but with Ash's appearance, the train was free to move now that her attention was drawn to someone else.
"Ash! Be careful!" Fluttershy cried out from the train with her head out of the window.
"I will! You just get to Canterlot safely, okay?!" Ash replied back before then putting on a serious face against Cosmos.
"You're the one with the excessive amount of Aura. One of the few things that can pose a threat to me." Cosmos commented, getting up from the mountain she was knocked down on. "But it won't get you too far with how much I've retained of my magic."
"I wouldn't count that just yet." Ash remained confident in the face of chaos. This greatly annoyed Cosmos. Something about Ash staying so positive and bright, fearless in front of her and even declaring that he was going to absolutely defeat her rubbed Cosmos the wrong way.
"I've had enough of your mouth already!" Cosmos lashed out at him once more, using her voice to create a strong wind pressure. This tornado was just as large as her astral body, having enough power to pick up the crushed mountain rubble while also blowing away the clouds.
"Counter with Hurricane, Dragonite!"
"Dragonite!" However, Dragonite was a Pokemon that had that same kind of destructive power. She had flapped her wings, sending a ferocious gust of wind that immediately clashed with Cosmos' tornado. The Hurricane and the Chaotic Tornado cancelled each other out as Cosmos' closed her eyes from the pressure that blew in both directions.
"Lucario! Come on out!" Knowing that he needed Aura to free Cynthia, Ash had sent out Lucario, throwing his Poke Ball into the air.
"Lucario!" Lucario had arrived, being airborne for a bit.
"Aura Sphere!"
"Rrrr!" The Aura Pokemon put his paws out, summoning the force of energy that was oh-so-threatening to Cosmos. Cosmos saw Lucario's appearance before acting fast. She controlled the skies above, sending out a crashing bolt of chaotic lightning that had hit Lucario before he could pull off Aura Sphere. "Ca!"
"Lucario!" Ash gasped as Dragonite quickly flew over, catching him. "Let's switch to the ground, you guys!"
"Dra!" Dragonite started to descend, only for Cosmos to raise her gigantic leg.
"You'll have a greater disadvantage there!" She bellowed before stomping it in Dragonite's direction. The Dragon Pokemon flew to the side, evading the stomp as Cosmos ended up smashing her leg into the ground. The ground trembled with visible cracks forming.
"Get back here!" Cosmos then started running after them. The sight of a giant astral lady chasing after a Dragon, a jackal, a mouse and a human was an odd one to whoever could spot it.
"Thunderbolt! Aura Sphere!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu and Lucario released short bursts of Thunderbolt and Aura Sphere while being pursued by Cosmos. Dragonite would be their guide while they did the rest of the work. Cosmos put her arm up as the attacks crashed into her. She shrugged them off before using her magic to summon a giant metal wall from the ground.
This large metal wall emerged in front of Dragonite, acting as a way to stop her movements. But Ash had an answer for that as well.
"Force Palm!"
"Luca!" Lucario leapt off of Dragonite's back, heading straight for the wall. He concentrated his strength on his palm before smashing it onto the colossal metal blockade. With one strike, Lucario managed to blow a massive hole through the wall. Massive enough for Dragonite to pass through.
The Aura Pokemon chose not to land on Dragonite. Instead, he would head to the ground himself, much like what Dragonite was already planning. Lucario stuck a stylish landing while Dragonite had finally touched the ground. Meanwhile, Cosmos had barged through the metal wall with veins popping out of her astral body, showing her rising aggravation.
She then continued to stomp at them, believing that she would have a much better chance on the ground. However, Dragonite proved to be just as fast on the ground as she pulled back, evading the stomp. Cosmos growled, then switched to her hands and swiped them furiously at the Champion of Alola and his Pokemon. Try as she might, she was unable to catch the Dragon Pokemon's swift flying skills.
"Gah! This isn't working!" Cosmos believed that it was the cause of her being so massive that she was failing to catch them. So, to give herself an easier time, Cosmos chose to shrink whilst in this astral form, reverting to Cynthia's original size. Fine then! Let's see how you handle these!" Cosmos had then held her hand out, showing five Poke Balls. Cynthia's Pokemon, of course. They had been sent out to assist Cosmos as it wasn't just Cynthia's body that had not been freed from Cosmos' control.
Garchomp, Glaceon, Gastrodon, Roserade and Kommo-o were still being influenced by the Spirit of Malice. Once they emerged, they were revealed to also possess that astral appearance Cosmos was currently using in Cynthia's enlarged body.
"Cynthia's Pokemon?!" Ash gasped upon seeing Cynthia's Pokemon also being taken control of. It was one of the things Ash dreaded ever since this whole body-possession fiasco started. It was clear that it wasn't fully finished yet. Ash hopped off of Dragonite as now Cosmos was meeting him on his level.
"Do you think you're wasting my time, brat?" Cosmos grimaced at Ash, trying to intimidate him, but to no avail. "Truth is...the remaining Andasulian Stars are being searched by those two Rift Humans. This conflict is pointless. They'll have the final stars that I need in the end before you can do anything of importance. This battle is just filler at this point. Filler for my eventual rebirth and inevitable victory!"
"I wouldn't say that." Ash thought otherwise, making Cosmos twitch. "With all that ruckus you've caused, even if you do get it, I don't think it's gonna be super easy to get out of this." He then laughed which only provoked Cosmos more. "Besides. Messing with space like that isn't gonna make a certain Pokemon happy, that's for sure."
"Pikachu."
"A certain Pokemon?" She raised an eyebrow before shaking her head. "It doesn't matter what Pokemon you're referring to! I'll crush that Pokemon but not before I crush you! You're facing off against a team that is regarded as nigh-unstoppable thanks to the body of the Champion I possessed! As a Pokemon Trainer, do you think you can win?"
"With how you're using them, their true potential's gonna be blocked off," Ash replied. "I can beat them. And besides...it'll give me a good test run on how I stack up to one of the greats, don't ya think?" Once again, he showed his carefree attitude, chuckling right afterwards with a bright smile on his face.
"YOU...DO YOU THINK THIS IS A GAME!" Cosmos bellowed before then sending Garchomp and the others towards Ash and his Pokemon.
"Everyone! Come on out! Pikachu! Hit the ground with Iron Tail!" Ash acted in response, sending out the rest of his Pokemon to even the odds. Sirfetch'd, Gengar and Dracovish had emerged into the fray.
"Chu...Pika!" And right as they had emerged, Pikachu had hit the ground with Iron Tail to immediately form a large dust cloud. This dust cloud acted as a defence mechanism to not only obscure the opposing Pokemon but also give Ash the chance to send the rest of his Pokemon out. Garchomp and the others were blindsided by this dust cloud as their momentum had been thrown off.
"Draco!" Dracovish and Dragonite struck while the smoke had obscured them. They took the chance to attack while their opponents were still blindsided. Before Kommo-o and Glaceon knew it, they had been caught off guard. Kommo-o had been slashed by Dragonite whilst Glaceon was picked up by Dracovish. Dracovish's fangs had bit into Glaceon with an explosion of water happening right afterwards. The Ice-Type and the Dragon-Fighting-Type had both been launched away right afterwards.
"Now, Sirfetch'd, use Fury Cutter on Roserade! Pikachu, Quick Attack! Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
"Sir!" Along came Sirfetch'd and Pikachu, approaching Roserade and Gastrodon. Suddenly, Cosmos used her magic to duplicate Cynthia's Pokemon, creating an array of clones. Once these clones emerged, Pikachu and Sirfetch'd only managed to hit the clones, causing them to disappear. "Sir?!"
"Pika?!"
"Lest you forget, I can influence them with my magic!" Cosmos laughed. "I've also had my fair share of Pokemon Battles during this night and the afternoon. My skills have increased thanks to them!"
"Oh yeah? I'd love to see how much they've improved! Lucario, Double Team into Aura Sphere! Pikachu, spin with Thunderbolt!"
"Luca!" Lucario charged up his Aura Sphere while also duplicating himself. He immediately matched Cosmos' duplication with copies of himself as well. Cosmos was reasonably taken aback by this. She didn't expect her duplication trick to be countered so instantly.
"Pika-Pika!" But that wasn't the main thing to worry about. Cosmos was about to be introduced to the Countershield. A flare of electricity had been sent everywhere once Pikachu started spinning on his back. Coupled with the multiple Aura Spheres, some of the duplicates had been blown away. Garchomp and Gastrodon's remained thanks to their immunity to Electric, however.
"Garchomp!" The duplicates of Garchomp had then used Scale Shot, unleashing dozens of scales onto Lucario and Dragonite. Lucario managed to resist it while Dragonite took heavy super-effective hits from them.
"Kommo-o!" Kommo-o approached Sirfetch'd with Outrage, covering its claws and entire body in a raging red aura.
"Detect! And then Psychic!"
"Sir!" Sirfetch'd had a response to this. Detect. With his eyes flashing blue, he detected Kommo-o's incoming attack, immediately sliding back. Once Sirfetch'd evaded Kommo-o's Outrage which had smashed the ground, that gave Gengar the chance to attack.
"Gen...Gar!" Gengar had sent an invisible blast of Psychic energy which had blown Kommo-o away, dealing super-effective damage.
"Gar!" The clones of Garchomp, Glaceon, Gastrodon and Roserade attacked in unison with each of the clones using their thorns. This mass array of thorns had not only wrapped around Ash's Pokemon but Ash himself.
"Oh!" Ash's arms and soon his body were caught up in these thorns as all 6 had been restrained. That gave all of Cynthia's Pokemon to attack them while they were restrained. Garchomp and Gastrodon's Stone Edge had crashed into Pikachu and Gengar whilst Glaceon had used Ice Beam on Dragonite. The clones had chimed in to make these attacks far stronger.
"P-Pika!" A direct hit. There was no retaliation against this unified attack. The thorns truly helped as Pikachu and the others took the attacks directly. Some of them had received super-effective hits.
"Dragonite! Spin!"
"D-Dragonite!" While Dragonite no longer knew Dragon Dance, she could still spin fairly quickly. And that tactic came into play in this scenario as Dragonite closed her eyes, allowing her body to move freely. Dragonite wrapped the rest of the thorns around him while also pulling some of the Roserade in his direction.
"R-Roserade!" Roserade gasped as some of its clones had been dragged along. Dragonite then started ascending, moving so fast that she gained a Tornado Aura. Her spinning also caused the real Roserade and the clones to hit Gastrodon and Kommo-o's clones, making them vanish out of thin air.
Dragonite's wind pressure that she formed around her body managed to make the Roserades a part of it. The thorns that surrounded her were broken apart, freeing her, but she kept going to build up this hurricane. Cosmos ducked as the bodies of Roserade were being swung everywhere.
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu hardened his tail, using the metal to cut through the thorns. He had his way of freeing himself without needing Dragonite's help.
"Ice Fang!"
"Dracovish!" So did Dracovish. Those fangs belonged to an apex predator so thorns were not enough to keep it at bay as it had torn through the vines with ease. Dragonite then ended her spinning, releasing the tornado as all of the clones ended up being blown away.
They vanished right afterwards as some of them crashed into Cosmos, causing her to put up a protective shield. Cosmos then targeted Ash while he was still restrained, shooting a blast of magic at him.
"I think not." But along came Sombra in his shadow form, using his magic to protect Ash. For once. He got in front of Ash, putting up a shield that immediately deflected Cosmos' blast. She certainly did not expect that sudden appearance, especially out of Ash, who she assumed little of.
"What in the...!?" Cosmos gasped.
"I need this one alive to keep me alive. You won't be harming him." Sombra commented.
"Gen...!" Gengar then zipped towards Garchomp, covering his hand in ice. Garchomp was ready for Gengar as she had used Dragon Rush, charging straight at the Shadow Pokemon. "Gar!" But that's when Gengar tricked her. He used his intangibility, phasing right through Garchomp the moment they got close.
"Gar?!" Garchomp's Dragon Rush had failed as she came to a screeching halt. That gave Gengar the chance to strike while the iron was hot.
"Gastrodon!" But along came Gastrodon to ruin it. The Water-Ground-Type had used Muddy Water which had been expanded and boosted by Cosmos' magic to the point where it had a size comparable to a tsunami.
"Gen?!" Gengar had been interrupted as the massive wave of water came his way, threatening not just him but his friends as well.
"Oh geez!" Ash gasped as Sombra cast a shield around Ash's body to protect him. Unfortunately, he did not protect everyone else, leaving Pikachu and the others to take this overwhelming tsunami of Muddy Water.
"P-Pika!" Pikachu growled, resisting Muddy Water slightly but he ended up being carried away by the tsunami along with his teammates. Ash's bubble shield from Sombra had been carried away as well, but he was fully protected.
"Have something from the Malice Dimension!" Cosmos decided to use the Malice Dimension next as one of the many ways she thought of getting rid of Ash. Out of it, crooked giant music notes came crashing down. They played a horrible melody that was painful to the ears while also melting the clouds from their horrific sound and passing through them.
"Draco Meteor!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite flew out of the Muddy Water despite its great size, lifting her arms as she brought the clouds together to form a spiral. Immediately after doing so, the music notes crashed into her. "D-Dra!"
"Dragonite!" Ash gasped as the Dragon Pokemon was forced back into the tidal wave of Muddy Water, making a hard impact to boot. Cosmos cackled, however, despite being struck down, Dragonite still managed to pull off Draco Meteor. A familiar purple light flashed in the skies as the Dragon-Type attack had been initiated.
The meteors came crashing down, intercepting some of the music notes before they could touch the ground. The notes and meteors clashed, combusting in front of each other while the rest of them that managed to hit the ground had spread a horrible vibration.
Pikachu and the others grimaced from this terrible sound while Cosmos flew away from the incoming meteors that managed to bypass the music notes. This very spot received a bombardment of different forces. A giant tsunami of Muddy Water along with large meteors and destructive music notes. Muddy Water had finally ended thanks to the volatile reaction from the notes and the meteors with everyone else sliding on the ground.
"Now! Let's focus on freeing them! Aura Sphere, go!" Ash saw a chance. With the opposing Pokemon being worn down by this battle, now was a good chance to try and free them.
"Lu...Ca!" Lucario had thrown out an Aura Sphere, targeting Cosmos first. This Aura Sphere was extra-large, intended to engulf her entire body to try and free Cynthia from Cosmos' control.
"Oh really!?" Cosmos replied by holding her hand out, suddenly summoning a giant fire claw. This large fire claw caught Lucario's Aura Sphere before it could fully reach her. However, despite catching the sphere, Cosmos couldn't fully stop it as it was fighting to break through the claw. "Grr...Curse this blasted Aura!"
"It needs more power!" Ash held his hand out, summoning the staff of Sir Aaron. With the staff in his hand, Ash Ketchum channelled his power with it. The staff responded to the stupendous Aura of Ash, allowing him to transfer that power into Aura Sphere in the form of an azure flow. The Aura Sphere had been boosted thanks to this before then obliterating the fire claw.
"Ah!" Cosmos gasped before then flying out of the way, narrowly escaping the Aura Sphere. The ball of Aura had travelled across the ground, blowing the blades of grass away before then disappearing out in thin air, leaving behind blue sparkles in the end. "That was close..."
"Guess I'm gonna have to get closer then." Ash grinned, lowering his hat before hopping onto Dragonite's back. "Let's get in there, Dragonite!"
"Dra!" Dragonite cried out, flying at full speeds towards Cosmos. One way or another, that Aura was going to touch her.
"Tch!" Cosmos put her hands together, manipulating space once more. This time, she had greater control of space. She had used the ever-present force known as gravity, sending some of it here as a heavy form of gravity had held Dragonite back from advancing. "Stay back!"
"D-Dra!" Dragonite was held back from advancing any further thanks to this wall of gravity that had been summoned.
"Man...!" Ash held onto his hat as Dragonite tried her best to break through it. She was making progress as her sheer power was allowing her to move ever-so-slightly forward.
"That can't be!" Cosmos couldn't believe her eyes. Seeing Dragonite move past gravity was a bizarre sight for even her. "Get that Dragonite!" She then ordered Garchomp and the others to try and throw Dragonite off her game. Garchomp and Kommo-o came charging in with Dragon Rush and Outrage whilst Glaceon, Gastrodon and Roserade had used Ice Beam, Stone Edge and Petal Blizzard.
"Protect Dragonite, guys!" Ash retaliated as all of his Pokemon did the same for the Dragon Pokemon. They didn't even need to hear Ash give an attack command to know which attacks to use. Thunderbolt, Aura Sphere, Water Gun and Night Shade were unleashed while Sirfetch'd decided to get up close and personal with Kommo-o and Garchomp. Sirfetch'd had some help from Dragonite herself. She wanted in on the assistance despite being assisted herself.
Thunderbolt and the other three ranged attacks had come into contact with Ice Beam, Stone Edge and Petal Blizzard while Sirfetch'd and Dragonite clashed with Garchomp and Kommo-o. Their collision was so great that the field of gravity that Cosmos had summoned had been affected.
Visible cracks within the air itself could be seen, signifying the destruction of that field. Cosmos was aghast as the attacks had cancelled each other out, resulting in a fierce explosion of Infinity Energy. The attacks were too volatile against each other. Everyone else had been pushed away thanks to this paroxysm of Infinity Energy. A complete stalemate.
Dragonite managed to remain sturdy along with Garchomp while the rest of their teammates had been launched. Ash held onto his hat from this ferocious hot wind blowing through the mountains, taking the chance to strike. He jumped off Dragonite's back, going straight for Cosmos with his staff out.
Garchomp came to Cosmos' aid, using Dragon Rush. However, Garchomp was quickly blocked by Dragonite, who had used Dragon Claw to intercept Garchomp. Dragonite managed to give Ash all the time he needed right now and the Champion of Alola capitalized.
"Gotcha!" Ash unleashed all the power from the staff that came from his Aura, unleashing an azure flare.
"I won't let it happen twice!" Cosmos, vowing to make sure that Aura wouldn't get the best of her, retaliated with a flare of Chaos Magic.
Soon, the two universal forces of energy had clashed. The result was far less destructive than the different Pokemon moves clashing but had a greater result. Ash's Aura and Cosmos' Chaos Magic fought for dominance for a few seconds before engulfing them both. Ash's Aura managed to sting Cosmos', however, Cosmos did everything in her power to keep it from fully affecting her.
The result was both of them pushing themselves. Ash pushed his Aura to the max while Cosmos used her limited Chaos Magic to try and succeed. Ash's body was about to give out as ended up being pushed back. So did Cosmos. Both of them managed to hit affect each other in the long run, but the one who suffered the most was Cosmos.
"GAAAAAH!" She screamed as the Aura had infected her, interacting with the Chaos Magic inside of her. Ash tumbled after being thrown back. Despite suffering less pain than Cosmos, his body could faint at any moment and result in another Delayed Aura Ataxia moment.
Sombra used his magic to summon a wall of shadows. This wall of shadows had caught Ash, preventing him from receiving a hard crash. "Ugh..." Ash grunted as he hung in there, but barely after pushing himself. Cosmos jerked back, almost falling over.
Despite the encounter being a draw, Cosmos took the brunt of this accumulated damage. Seeing how winded she was, she immediately used her magic to return all of Cynthia's Pokemon. "Darn it! Darn it all...! I should be unstoppable! I shouldn't lose to someone like you!"
Seeing that she was fairly bewildered to keep going, Cosmos attempted one last action to try and save herself. With the flick of her finger, she had manipulated the earth and the sky, messing with space once more. The force of gravity along with the tremors of an earthquake had passed through the ground, immediately moving the landscape itself.
"Huh?" Ash and his Pokemon felt this sudden change in momentum. Before they knew it, the ground itself, a large majority of it that made up most of the mountainside, had been manipulated. This entire chunk of the area had been dragged away as if it was being carried by sea, drifting away. Ash and his weakened Pokemon were then taken away, distanced from Cosmos.
It wasn't just the chunk of the landscape being taken away. The sky had been tilted, sending Ash and his friends on a downwards momentum due to the tilted heavens at a 60 degrees angle.
That was Cosmos' best attempt as she wouldn't have to interact with Ash's Aura again. At least for now. Right now, Cosmos only felt like recovering. She managed to get Ash and his team away from her, giving the Spirit of Malice some time to think and breathe.
To heal, she thought of one thing to do. She looked up at the sky and the massive cut that she had made, focusing on the Chaos Magic flowing inside of it. The Spirit of Malice grunted before ascending, flying towards the cut. Her wings felt weak thanks to the Aura, but she persisted. She managed to teleport higher into the sky to avoid pushing herself any further.
Once high enough, Cosmos jumped into the sky of Chaos Magic as if her life depended on it. Entering it allowed her to be in her element. She closed her eyes, floating within the cracked sky and the flow of Chaos Magic before taking deep breaths.
After a few seconds, all of the Chaos Magic responded to the draconequus, welcoming her. It was a wonderful feeling as Cosmos started recovering as a smile appeared on her face. "Aaahh..." She managed to heal up after all that had happened. It was a close indeed. One that Cosmos wished didn't get as intense as it had to be.
"That Ash Ketchum...He's too much of a threat. How can Aura be this dangerous to me?" Cosmos put her hand on her face, gripping it with a burning hatred. She found someone new to hate with all her fury. Ash Ketchum. "But...He could only do this to me when my magic was not at its peak. Which means...the moment I am fully revived...not even Aura can stop me."
Cosmos was now highly optimistic about her revival. Aura proved to be a terrifying force to her. Something that could combat her Chaos Magic and leave a lasting effect on her. It made her thrilled that her revival could negate that completely.
"Yes! And even that pesky Fairy Magic as well! Oh, Discord! All of these roadblocks and obstacles are keeping us apart for so long...but very soon, we will be together again!"
She laughed before descending out of the flow of Chaos Magic. She was expecting the final two stars eventually and potentially the extra third one that could let her break past her natural magical limitations.
However, while laughing by herself, thinking of all the achievements she could obtain, a roar had been heard. Cosmos' laugh had been overlapped and overpowered by this roar which had echoed throughout the skies. She paused for a moment as this roar was audible in every direction. The Spirit of Malice wasn't sure what kind of roar this was. It did not sound like anything she had heard before. It confused Cosmos, but she decided to press on, ignoring it.
"They're expecting me at Canterlot. They'll see me there..." Cosmos chose to head back to Canterlot where Fluttershy and everyone else was waiting.
She used her magic to look in the distance, seeing that the train to Canterlot was about to reach the nearest train station. Cosmos would meet with them there, teleporting back to the royal city.
Griffonstone. Nightfall.
Sienna had arrived at Griffonstone. She was looking for one of the Andalusian Stars that was located somewhere here while Cosmos was busy dealing with those who would get in her way.
As for Griffonstone, during this chaotic night, many of the griffons had been used to chaos by now. At least, their own unique chaos that only exists here. Al lof this rabble wasn't enough to get them curious as this part of Equestria remained almost unaffected by Cosmos so far. Almost. Thanks to the sky being torn in half, mysterious purple rain started dropping from below, causing a purple rainstorm here at Griffonstone. Again. That wasn't enough.
Just what Sienna needed.
She went rummaging through all the small stands that sold products, searching for the Andalusian Star, but despite having a good memory of it, thanks to Cosmos' actions being far earlier than the original timeline had it, the location of the stars was not consistent. Only the Canterlot Chamber and below the Everfree Forest kept their original locations.
"Come on...Stupid timeline. Where is that final star?" Sienna grumbled, quietly moving through all of the stores to try and find the star. So far, she wasn't gaining any luck. She then turned her attention to the buildings of the Griffon, seeing that as the next target.
This made her sigh. Sienna did not want to mess with the griffons up close, especially considering how much her magic has been hindered. But, her options were scarce now. The buildings were all that she could think of. "Oh well...Griffons love things of great value...so one of them has to be keeping it inside."
Sienna was ready to try and infiltrate all of these homes without waking a single griffon up. However, before she could think of which house to visit first, her attention was drawn to something new. The sky. It wasn't the tear in the sky that caught her. She already knew about it and was still stunned by it. Rather. Something else.
She heard a roar that had passed through the skies and even from the realm of Chaos Magic. The same roar that Cosmos had heard. Except, unlike Cosmos, Sienna recognized this cry. And upon hearing it, sent shivers down her spine.
"Oh no! It's-"
Canterlot.
Cosmos had returned to Canterlot via teleportation, getting rid of her astral form for now and reappearing as Cynthia's standard appearance. She stood on the castle's balcony, watching over everyone else that was below her. Still, the ponies kept dancing as some of them had passed out or fallen asleep from exhaustion. Others took breaks, wanting to catch their breath.
Cosmos had then seen Fluttershy and the others show up here, at last, leaving the train station as they came across the gates to Canterlot, which were not guarded at all. Mostly because all of the guards were knocked out thanks to the Connection Spell.
"Cosmos!" Applejack shouted at Cosmos, spotting her on top of the balcony.
"Beat you here first!" Cosmos taunted.
"Where's Ash?!" Apple Bloom gasped.
"That nuisance and I aren't done yet!" Cosmos clenched her fist. "He may have gotten the better of me...but the next time I see him, victory will be mine for sure!"
"Oh, so you lost?" Roseluck put on a cocky smirk. "And fled all the way back here, huh? That's embarrassing for someone who's gotten so powerful, eh?"
"I did not lose!" Cosmos roared, causing chaotic lightning to come crashing down. The lightning had woken up those who were falling asleep, startling them as constant streams of this chaotic lightning kept thundering and raining down constantly, correlating with Cosmos' rage. "It was a stalemate at best!"
"But we can fix that, can't we?" Applejack adjusted her hat. "Before you can get back to your true body!"
"You won't beat me! I'll admit, you're formidable and you pose a threat! But this is only because I'm limited! When those final stars come to me, I will be unstoppable! That much is true! Can you even debate that?"
"Well..." Goh shrugged.
"You can't! It's that simple! But right now, I need to make do with what I have. And what I have was enough to threaten all of you! Even with that grass dinosaur changing fate to save your lives!" Cosmos pointed at Bayleef who was still missing some of her leaves. Despite being healed by Audino, she needed the Sun to recover her leaves.
"B-Bay...!"
"When I become ruler of this universe, I need to make some immediate changes and improvements! I've acknowledged the strength of Pokemon. They are powerful. Absurdly powerful." Cosmos shook her head. "But when partnered with a trainer, their strength is magnified to a point where it becomes oh-so troublesome to deal with them. Which is why...the Pokemon World is next in line for me to conquer. Possessing bodies won't do anymore. I need to have the Humans of that world submit to my will so that I can keep that overwhelming strength that they share with those creatures. You all...not so much."
"Are you saying we don't have a strong bond with our Pokemon?!" Applejack shouted back at her.
"You all are subpar. You're just like me in that you don't know everything about these Strange and Wonderful Creatures. I'll consider adding you to my army...just in case. But the Pokemon World and the power that could be on my side is too wonderful! I will become more than the Spirit of Malice! I will become a God! Above all! And with an infinite number of universes out there, my malicious conquest will be endless! More and more will rack up my count, whether in destruction or loyalty to me! And there will be nothing...Nothing that will stop me! Do you hear me?! No-"
But just as Cosmos went on a rant, declaring what she would do after this was all over, her rambling had been cut off. By that same roar. This time, it was closer, louder and had stronger vibrations. The chaotic lightning around her had crashed, but the roar overpowered it.
Straight from the skies, a giant figure had appeared with a pink flash, right behind Cosmos. Everyone looked in awe and shock while Cosmos was stuck in place. That's when they saw it.
A theropod-figured Pokemon had appeared with round purple-striped plates on its shoulder area, where two pink pearl-like crystals lie encrusted with a grey rim encircling them, and fin-like wings on its back. Stripes and markings of a darker shade and grey underarms and waist could be seen complimenting its light purple body. To many, this Pokemon was new, but to Hollow and to an extent Scootaloo, this Pokemon looked familiar. Cosmos slowly turned around to see a massive shadow cast over her. That's when she also saw this large Pokemon for the first time.
It was none other than the Spatial Pokemon and the Guardian of Space.
"Oh, man..." Ash and his Pokemon had recently been sent away on a massive chunk of a mountain landscape after a fierce battle against Cosmos. In a desperate attempt to save herself and recover, she had moved the land itself, causing it to drift away from her, taking Ash and his friends along with him. "Is everyone okay?"
"Pikachu." Pikachu and the others were fine but certainly winded. But they would recover afterwards. Right now, they had to focus on getting back to Cosmos after she sent them all away.
"Let's head back. Cosmosis gonna be at Canterot, no doubt." Ash got back up, adjusting his hat. Everyone else jumped back up, ready to keep going.
However, before they could leave, Lucario felt something. When standing back up, his Aura reacted to something with a familiar presence. His eyes flared blue as he could feel another Aura presence nearby.
"Rrr..." Lucario, after sensing this Aura, immediately ran off, deviating from his team.
"Huh? Lucario?" Ash noticed Lucario take off. However, Lucario had shared this information with Ash via an Aura Pulse that allowed him to communicate with the Alola Champion. "Oh...I gotcha!" Ash followed after him along with Pikachu and the rest of Ash's Pokemon.
The Aura that Lucario could sense was calling to him. He closed his eyes before reopening them and gaining that blue glow once more. With this vision, he could see the Auras of others. The Pokemon that lived here all had their Auras viewed by Lucario, but they weren't the main focus.
The main focus came from another Pokemon that was currently not out in the open, but rather, inside of something. Right next to the waters, resting on a mound of sand was a Poke Ball as Lucario came to a screeching halt. "Luca!"
"A Poke Ball?" Ash certainly wasn't expecting this to be found. However, when faced with it, much like Lucario, he could feel the Aura coming from it. The Aura spoke to both Ash and Lucario as Ash realized what this may be.
He then thought back to his encounter with Cosmos and how she used all of Cynthia's current Pokemon on hand. Except for one. Cynthia's Lucario.
"Wait a sec...Lucario?!"
Canterlot. Nightfall.
Palkia had arrived.
The Guardian of Space had made its first appearance here in this world and with a grand one too as it stood behind Cosmos, stunning the Spirit of Malice and everyone else here that had seen Palkia appear.
"Who's that Pokemon?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"It's Palkia!" Hollow exclaimed as he and Cold Colt were also taken aback by Palkia, mainly for its sudden appearance while everyone else was just downright amazed by the Pokemon itself.
"Palkia...? I've seen that in a stature before!" Scootaloo recognized Palkia from the statue she saw at Lilypad Town. She quickly took out her Pokedex to scan the Spatial Pokemon.
"Palkia. The Spatial Pokemon. Palkia is said to live in a gap in the spatial dimension parallel to ours. It has the ability to distort space. It is said that space becomes more stable with Palkia’s every breath. Palkia's total control over the boundaries of space enable it to transport itself to faraway places or even other dimensions. The birth of Palkia was what caused the walls of our world to disappear, creating a sky that spans for infinity."
"So that's Palkia?!" Fluttershy recalled the name Palkia before from Twilight along with Applejack. They had finally seen it for the first time and the similarities to Dialga could definitely be seen.
Palkia looked down at Cosmos, seeing her as the main reason why there was suddenly a massive cut between both worlds' space along with space itself being warped constantly from Cosmos' actions.
"What? Here to lecture me?" Cosmos scoffed while facing the Spatial Pokemon, showing no fear. To match Palkia's size, she had suddenly taken on her astral form in Cynthia's body once more, growing once more. "I can match your size so easily, you overgrown lizard!"
Palkia was unamused. It was here to fix space and put a stop to the main catalyst. Cosmos laughed in Palkia's face before sharpening her fingernails. Much like what the Pokedex described, space was being repaired just by Palkia breathing as Cosmos swung her sharp extended fingernails at the Spatial Pokemon.
Palkia immediately retaliated, raising its arm up as it had blocked Cosmos' swing. And so casually to boot as the nails had almost shattered from being blocked. Cosmos let out a short gasp before being the next to be attacked. Palkia retaliated in a heartbeat, using Hydro Pump to do so.
A massive blast of high volume water had been unleashed on Cosmos' face, pushing her away from Palkia. She went flying off the balcony while also heading straight for the streets of Canterlot. Everyone else was in the way, potentially being collateral damage as they immediately started moving so as to avoid being crushed.
That went for the residents of Canterlot who were being forced to dance as they finally moved from their imprisoned spots while Cosmos was incoming. Cosmos went flying with her arms and legs breaking parts of different buildings when passing by. She then crashed to the ground with her body tumbling for a bit.
Cosmos held her face as it was drenched in water even with her astral form. The Spirit of Malice used her magic to dry herself before hissing and growling at the Water-Dragon-Type. "Lucky shot..."
Cosmos was originally planning on attacking Fluttershy and her group, but now that had changed. Palkia was the target. She had then decided to pull a sneak attack on Palkia while it wasn't looking. From the tear in the sky, large flaming spikes came raining down at high speeds with Cosmos having a wide grin on her face.
However, Palkia had juked her out, making her think she had pulled off a successful sneak attack without any suspicion by forming a pink barrier around its body. The barrier had immediately blocked off the spikes, causing them to combust. Cosmos' smile was turned upside down right afterwards as Palkia then approached her.
Cosmos had summoned a Dynasite platform underneath her, causing her to rise up while also bringing along some Dynasite Cubes in the process. However, Palkia soon proved that not even Dynasite was a problem for it, even if it was the real deal. The pearls on Palkia's shoulders glowed pink as its eyes glow orange and its forearm starts to gather energy. The Spatial Pokemon then slashed the air and releases a pink crescent-shaped blade of energy from its arm. Space had been slightly affected by its slash.
Without having the need for Aura, Palkia had cut right through the Dynasite with ease. Even the nigh-indestructible Dynasite was meaningless before the Guardian of Space. Cosmos' heart had skipped a beat as she grew vampire wings from her back, immediately taking to the skies, only for Palkia to follow her.
"Awesome!" Scootaloo and a few others were amazed by Spacial Rend.
"S-Should we help out?" Goh asked as Palkia zoomed through the air with Cosmos throwing destructive soundwaves towards it. The Guardian of Space put up a barrier to charge right through it, startling Cosmos, who tried outpacing it.
"I think Palkia has this." Hollow shook his head.
"Well while Palkia's doing that, we should get everyone else." Fluttershy focused on saving the rest of the Canterlot Residents who were still around the pit of fire. That was the biggest focus now. Palkia would handle everything else with Cosmos.
"Get back!" Cosmos shouted a the Spatial Pokemon, trying to fend it off with a pink cosmic beam that had black sparkles emanating out of it. Cosmos' attacks warped space, but everything Palkia did in retaliation had repaired it. Palkia's barrier protected it from the beam as always as it was still approaching Cosmos.
Cosmos roared, pouring more magic into her beam as it expanded in size. This time, Palkia had to put a little bit more effort into it as it had expanded its barrier, pushing the beam away. Cosmos had visible veins popping out of her head as she had then grabbed the air itself, manipulating it.
By grabbing the air, Cosmos ended up changing the humidity of it. The atmosphere was altered, trapping Palkia inside a ball of thick air. Palkia then responded by using Spacial Rend once more. It slashed inside the ball of thick air, immediately cutting it in half while also managing to restore the atmosphere to its original form.
A massive doughnut had been formed by Cosmos, having jagged spikes around it as it had appeared right around Palkia. The Spatial Pokemon found itself suddenly caught by this attack as it started squeezing it, restraining the Guardian of Space. Cosmos finally got one on Palkia as she made the doughnuts explode.
Palkia roared within the explosion with Cosmos' maniacal smile returning to her. She saw a chance. She knew she just had to make it work out, especially against a force as powerful as Palkia. Speaking of Palkia, it had soon flown out of the smoke, using Power Gem in retaliation.
Large gemstones were thrown with beautiful sparkles flying out. Cosmos made a cloak of diamonds which she had used to protect herself from the gemstones. The gems crashed into the diamond cloak, breaking it part one by one. However, once all of them were broken, Cosmos was gone.
Instead, she had appeared behind Palkia while it was focused on the scene in front of it. Cosmos then put her hands on the head of the Spatial Pokemon, sending sound waves through it. These sounds were intentionally horrible for anyone to hear as Palkia cried out from the abominable things he was hearing.
"Here! These sounds come from the Malice Dimension itself! Aren't they just precious to hear?!" Cosmos laughed while torturing Palkia's head and ears. However, this ended soon once Palkia had used Aqua Ring. A veil of water had been summoned from his body which immediately counted Cosmos.
Cosmos' laughter had been cut off once some of the water entered her mouth. She had a hiccup and a rebound. She pulled back, coughing immediately as the water dropped from her mouth. It left Cosmos greatly stunned, allowing Palkia to strike while the iron was hot.
Shadow Claw had been used, slapping Comos in the face. Cosmos' eyes almost burst out of her head as that slap had some meat to it despite her being in an astral form. Palkia did it again, rapidly slapping her in the face with Shadow Claw while also pushing her back.
Each hit Cosmos felt was enough to make her put on various facial expressions in a chaotic manner. Fitting to what she does but not so enjoyable when she's being battered and slapped around. Aggravated by this, Cosmos had then opened her mouth, expanding it with horrific fangs forming. She had then bit into Palkia's arms, stopping his Shadow Claw assault.
With her mouth gripping Palkia's hand, she had then thrown the Spatial Pokemon away. But not without having something for it to crash into. A horrible torrent of poisonous sludge had emerged behind Palkia, floating in the air. It was large enough to engulf it as the Water-Dragon-Type had seen sent inside this wall of sludge.
Two seconds later, Palkia had broken out by using Hyper Beam. Cosmos gasped as a giant blast of Infinity Energy came her, blowing away the torrent of sludge as it dropped to the ground, no longer staying airborne. Cosmos narrowly evaded Hyper Beam as it had grazed her.
She then glared at Palkia, shooting out a crooked ray of Chaos Magic at it. The Spatial Pokemon was caught by this ray as it was tied to Cosmos' eye movements. By moving her eyes, Cosmos managed to control Palkia, slamming it against the buildings.
The Spirit of Malice laughed while dragging Palkia across the ground, breaking apart more of Canterlot. This did not last as Palkia managed to break free by transferring some of its cosmic power into the source of the ray. The power travelled through the ray, leading directly to Cosmos' eyes.
"AGH!" Cosmos' eyes had been hit as she screamed in pain, holding her face. "GRR...! YOU!" Cosmos was stunned, staggered and paralyzed by this attack on her eyes, allowing for Palkia to use Spacial Rend once more, slashing the air as dimensional slashes were sent towards Cosmos. "!"
Cosmos got to feel what Spacial Rend felt like to the opposing attacker. Once the slash passed her, it tore apart some parts of space while also tearing away at her astral form. Cosmos' astral form had lost parts of it. The left shoulder and elbow, parts of the head and even both feet.
Since she was using a form that was tied to space that made her extremely vulnerable to Spacial Rend. And Palkia knew this as Cosmos' body jittered. She managed to recover the lost parts by replacing them with new parts. Meanwhile, Palkia was still sitting pretty, barely looking like it was struggling at all.
Cosmos bellowed out of anger, teleporting towards Palkia, only for Palkia to do the same. They both teleported in front of each other, bashing their heads in unison. They teleported again, moving from this spot to another.
This time, it was on top of Canterlot Castle they both had barriers that collided. Palkia's barrier emerged victorious. Another teleportation act had been done and this time it was going past Canterlot. They appeared near Deerling Forest, clashing with each other constantly. Then the Pikachu Highlands and so on.
And with each teleportation, Palkia managed to get ahead of Cosmos, hitting her the most. Cosmos jerked back as their teleporting shenanigans had stopped at the Canerlot Gardens. Palkia had then used two attacks at once. Aura Sphere and Spacial Rend. Spacial Rend on its left and Aura Sphere on its right.
It started with Palkia slashing parts of Cosmos' astral body, tearing them apart and all their special properties and then finished off with Palkia throwing the sphere of Aura. Aura Sphere had attacked the torn off sections, dealing greater damage to the Spirit of Malice. Cosmos had lost half of her astral body now as she could not recover them.
At least, not here.
Cosmos trembled with fear. This was yet another Pokemon that managed to fend her off this much. And this time, this one Pokemon could have the potential to do more than just defeat her. Naturally, the best thing to do was to recover. And there was no better place than the Malice Dimension.
Cosmos immediately left the scene, holding her face with her only remaining arm before teleporting out of thin air. However, Palkia was not done with her.
The Malice Dimension.
Back at the Malice Dimension, Absol was still trapped, unable to break free. He had been hopping from floating platform to platform, trying to find something to free himself.
But, despite having no options to break free, Absol did not lose hope. The Disaster Pokemon rested on a platform that was miraculously less violent than the others. It was a platform full of terrifying cries which Absol could handle. He thought about all of his friends back in Equestria and even the Pokemon World. Twilight came to mind first. Absol wanted to head back as soon as possible to let Twilight know he was okay.
Suddenly, Absol's lonely presence within this realm ended once a certain someone had popped in, startling him. Cosmos had returned, appearing here to heal "Sol?!"
"Gah...!" She breathed in and out as her heart was racing. It was certainly a close call as she made a chair fr her to sit on, relaxing for a bit. "What was that thing...? Why was it so powerful? Curse these Pokemon..."
"Absol!" Absol roared at Cosmos before leaving the platform he was previously on, rushing towards the Spirit of Malice for a second round, right as she was healing.
"You again...? How are you still alive and sane in this dimension?" Cosmos groaned, facing Absol. "Ah, it doesn't matter." She then pointed at Absol, creating a gravity field to prevent him from getting any closer. "You're the least of my worries now. Funny, since you were such a threat to me back at that forest. But not anymore."
"Absol...!"
"Now that most of my magic is back, you're nothing to me. The only things I have to worry about now are Ash Ketchum and that overgrown lizard. All I need are the final three stars and my power will be at its absolute prime and possibly beyond that. And I won't let it-"
Cosmos had been cut off. Her tangent towards Absol came to an abrupt halt as someone else had entered this dimension. She gasped, looking up as a crack could be seen forming within the Malice Dimension. And out of that crack, a familiar arm had broken right through. Cosmos already recognized it in a heartbeat.
"NO! IT CAN'T BE!" She stood up from her chair as the crack had expanded with the arm tearing the rest of this part of the dimension open.
Palkia had emerged.
The Spatial Pokemon appeared in this dimension, teleporting and breaking straight through it, much to the absolute shock and horror of Cosmos. Being that it was the Guardian of Space, much like how the Pokedex said, it can travel to other dimensions. Even ones that do not originate in its universe.
"Absol...?" Absol was also stunned, but now he was hopeful as he saw a crack in the realm. He recognized Palkia thanks to living with Twilight who loves researching about the Pokemon World. And now that this crack existed, Absol found a potential way home. "Sol! Absol!"
"Impossible! How did you get here?!" Cosmos roared with seething red eyes. "Just what are you?! Who are you?!"
"Absol!" While Cosmos was distracted, Absol took the chance to attack her with Night Slash. His horn lit up as he swung his head, sending multiple dark blades towards her while she wasn't looking.
Cosmos had been blindsided by Absol who wanted to get a good lick in. The Spirit of Malice flinched, almost falling over as black explosions happened around her face. "Gah! You...!"
"Absol-sol-sol." Absol could be seen laughing at Cosmos, showing that he did hold grudges. Now Cosmos was faced with a major problem. Palkia could enter her dimension. Once Palkia found her, it immediately continued the attack.
A panicking Cosmos had then held her hand out, throwing massive mirror shards at the Spatial Pokemon, only for Palkia to shatter them with ease via a simple roar. After breaking the mirrors, Palkia approached with Giga Impact. Cosmos had no choice but to fight back. She didn't have time to fully heal, putting her in a rough spot.
Cosmos manipulated her hair, turning it sharp before then throwing it at Palkia as if it were a whip. Meanwhile, Absol focused on getting out of here, jumping from platform to platform to reach where Palkia had arrived at.
Palkia blocked the sharp hair before then crashing into Cosmos with the full force of Giga Impact. Cosmos growled before being blasted away by the explosive Infinity Energy from Palkia's Giga Impact.
She crashed through some of the massive platforms that she had made in this dimension, destroying them in the process. Cosmos shook her head before then summoning millions of eyes around the Spatial Pokemon. These were as hard as Dynasite as they were all thrown at Palkia. The Water-Dragon-Type had got into a blocking stance, putting up a barrier as the eyes were rapidly raining down on it.
"Sol?" Absol then heard Palkia cry out to it. The Guardian of Space knew that Absol should not be here. So, while it was being attacked by eyes, it took the time to speak to Absol, telling him to go while he had the chance. "Absol." Absol was grateful for what Palkia had done before rushing off.
The Disaster Pokemon reached the crack in the dimension before using Giga Impact to get a higher boost through the air. And with that boost, Absol managed to pass through the crack, finally leaving this dimension. Palkia had then expanded its barrier, pushing away all the eyes.
"Curse you!" Cosmos howled at Palkia before deciding to approach it. She didn't have time to heal so it was best to try and d what she could. And there was one thing on her mind. Getting Palkia out of here. She teleported in front of Palkia before then pulling her arm back with had Chaos Magic flowing all over it, ready to strike.
Palkia did the same with Spacial Rend as the two entities from space had clashed their attacks against each other. The result was a dimensional one. The impact between Cosmos' swipe and Palkia's Spacial Rend ended up disrupting this dimension as the energy from Spacial Rend radiated and affected the Malice Dimension.
The dimension had suddenly shattered, revealing something else. They had teleported somewhere else, leaving the Malice Dimension and entering another.
This dimension seemed to resemble a marsh but instead of mushrooms, these strange otherworldly plants resided here. The sky was also the colour green with red clouds of all things along with two suns being spotted in the sky. Palkia overpowered Cosmos, sending her rocketing down as she crashed through these bizarre plants.
Palkia then followed after her, only for the plants to suddenly lash out. These plants had a mind of their own, extending as they had wrapped around Palkia's leg while it had approached the Spirit of Malice. They had also restrained Cosmos while she was on the ground, reacting to her as well. These plants would attack anyone it seemed.
Cosmos set herself on fire, burning these mysterious plants while Palkia simply used brute force to break them. Cosmos managed to get out of the plants first, taking the chance to strike Palkia with a cosmic blast. The Spatial Pokemon just now noticed it but was too late to react as Cosmos managed to knock it away.
After knocking Palkia back, Cosmos took every chance to try and defeat Palkia as she flew right at it. She then pushed the Guardian of Space, immediately deciding to leave this dimension and transfer to another.
Or rather, multiple.
Cosmos started pushing Palkia through various dimensions. The first was a dimension full of these futuristic pyramids that were surrounded by what seemed to be angel halos. Cosmos broke through that as well before then shoving Palkia through a dimension of fire, one of ice, the other of water and another of electricity.
Palkia retaliated after being forced through these dimensions, kicking Cosmos off its body. Palkia then used Spacial Rend within this dimension of electricity, only for Cosmos to swipe with her chaotic arm once more. They swapped dimensions yet again.
This time, they ended up in a dimension that had a city. And the one who was knocked over was Cosmos as she crashed into the road of this city of another dimension. In this dimension, ponies lived here as well. However, they looked different from the ponies of Equestria.
Some of these ponies had elastic skin that were covered in feathers. The elastic ponies had stretched their bodies back once Cosmos hit the road. Another group of ponies appeared to be somewhat amphibian, having gills and fish scales while also possessing long and agile tails.
There were more of these alternate ponies as some had four eyes which sit sunken in their sockets or even three or six eyes. Some had scales as their coats and some had feathers. All of them were so unique, but that did not matter nor was it acknowledged by Palkia or Cosmos.
"By Queen Astral Feet's name! W-What are those?!" One of the feathered ponies uttered as there indistinct chatter among them all. Cosmos got up from the crater before then expanding her size to a greater proportion. The ponies immediately fled, seeing as another destructive impact was due.
Palkia had used Hydro, only for Cosmos to block it off with a cosmic beam. Her creative mind wasn't being as helpful as she wanted it to be in this instance. Cosmos hated the fact that all the creative things she could think of were so far pointless against Palkia. The beam and Hydro Pump clashed as the dimensions had changed again.
Another city had been found in this new dimension. This time, housing dragons that looked identical to the ones back at Equestria But this view was gone as the dimensions kept breaking against each other constantly with Palkia and Cosmos throwing multiple attacks at each other.
Eventually, the one to emerge the victor of these constant ranged attacks going back and forth was Palkia as it had all the strength left to spare. Meanwhile, Cosmos was weakened, unable to gain the advantage. But if she wanted to fall, she certainly wanted it to be in her dimension. She quickly switched locations back to the Malice Dimension, where Palkia ended up bombarding her with Power Gem.
Cosmos fell, horribly damaged from this back and forth scuffle. "D-Darn it all...! I can't keep losing like this!" Once again, Cosmos had lost as Palkia looked down on her. "I would win if all of my magic was back...it's not fair..."
Palkia let out a small roar as he only came here to defeat the source of the problem. Now, all it had to do was prevent Cosmos from pulling something like this again. Palkia thought of the best way to do so and the only thing that came to mind was sealing her powers.
And that couldn't be made clearer once Cosmos' astral form had dropped. Once the astral form vanished, she revealed Cynthia's true body. And as to be expected, the four Andalusian Stars were on her as accessories. A necklace and bracelets to be exact.
Palkia could feel the cosmic power coming from them as it knew what to target. It had used Power Gem, summoning multiple gemstones that sparked with absolute radiance before unleashing them. Cosmos gasped, using whatever was left of her strength to protect the stars. She only managed to protect one of them.
Only one Andalusian Star had been saved as the rest were obliterated. Cosmos turned around, trying to crawl away as she was now weaker than before. Even though she was recovering within this dimension, her magic had been diminished once the other stars were destroyed.
"No...No..." She whimpered with Palkia watching her crawl away. It was pointless now that the stars were destroyed. There was no recovering them, making Cosmos' path to absolute power and full-on revival obsolete. "It's not...it's not fair..." She slammed her fist on the ground. "It's not! Why!? I just wanted to be with my Discord!"
She was frustrated beyond belief. But even though she managed to save one star, to Cosmos, she had a backup. The remaining three stars that were still out there. However, even if she managed to get those three stars, her true power would forever be limited, lost to existence.
She was still counting on Lucien and Sienna to do something. For now, Cosmos only had one thing on her mind. To run. She used the remainder of her magic to teleport away from this dimension, heading somewhere else.
Palkia saw her flee in terror, knowing that one more star existed. Right now, Palkia decided to do something quickly before continuing its pursuit. Fixing the tear in space. It has been sitting there for a while as the Spatial Pokemon left this dimension to fix the space between both worlds.
Equestria. Near The Crystal Empire. Nightfall.
One of the stars was confirmed to be located at the Crystal Empire. And the one that was sent there was Lucien. However, instead of trying to retrieve the star, Lucien had barely done a thing.
Mainly because of the fact that the Crystal Empire was partnered with the Renegade Pokemon Giratina. Speaking of Giratina, it and the rest of the guards of the Crystal Empire had dealt with the remaining miniature Cosmos' that had attacked. Thanks to their defensive force and the power of one of the Creation Trio, they emerged victorious. Flurry Heart hugged Giratina in the face, proud of it.
"No way. Nope." Lucien decided not to even bother as he shook his head. He was already away from the Crystal Empire, choosing not to get engaged long ago. Right now, he had nothing else left to o since his Rift Energy was weakened as well as facing a potential punishment from Cosmos.
If only he knew.
"Hah...I'll just search for that extra star." He sighed before stopping next to a cave, deciding to take a break. He was unsure of what would come next. While he was free from Canterlot, he wasn't exactly as powerful as he was now. That went for Sienna too. But Lucien saw a positive to this. He wouldn't have to be around his sister who he disagreed with on certain petty things. "Hm. At least I don't have to be stuck in the same room with her."
"That's no way to talk to your sister, is it?" Just then someone had replied to Lucien, startling him. It came from the nearby cave as he scurried on the snowy ground.
From that cave, the one that had replied to him as a surprise visitor. Someone from the Pokemon World but was currently residing in another universe parallel to this one.
It was none other than the scientist of Team Plasma Colress.
"C-Colress?!" Lucien gasped upon seeing the scientist.
"Glad you know who I am." Colress pushed up his glasses. "Because I know who you are as well. Lucien."
"Uh...W-What are you doing here? Why are you here right now?"
"Why? Well, I never stopped spying on this world even with my previous spycams destroyed in all of the events that have happened or just by a random moment. It's so fascinating to continue observing this world that is connected to mine. Why wouldn't I keep observing it?"
"That's fair..."
"And besides...apparently, this is a big moment in this world. At least, it should've been one year later, according to Empress Twilight Sparkle." Colress walked out of the cave.
"Empress Twilight? A year later?" Lucien started putting the pieces together. "Y-You know about Cosmos?!"
"I do. And the fact that all of this should've happened next year. But altered timelines tend to readjust things, don't they? Empress Twilight told me about Cosmos once I observed the chaotic events transpiring in this world. A truly powerful being she is...Very powerful. But, not at her best, am I right?"
"Yeah. Cosmos is weaker than before, but she's getting back up to speed. All she needs are three more Andalusian Stars to be at her prime. One of them is a substitute made by Rift Magic."
"Hm-hm. But finding them now with how things have changed is difficult. Especially with how you chickened out with the Crystal Empire." Colress smirked.
"Gh!" Lucien flinched. "Yeah I did...but they have Giratina with them! Unless...Oh!" His eyes widened. "You're here to bring another powerful Pokemon to battle Giratina and distract everyone?!"
"Oh, please no." Colress shook his head. "That's a waste of resources and power."
"Darn..." The Rift Human lowered his head.
"Instead. I'm here to give you a shortcut. With these." Just then, Colress had caught Lucien off guard, revealing to him the most important items in this entire debacle.
The Andalusian Stars.
All six of them.
"N-No way..." Lucien stood, gazing at the stars as Colress had all six of them. "B-But how...?!"
"You're the ones involved with this world collaboration event. You should know that these stars come from another universe. Empress had encountered Cosmos before in her universe. You can tell that she emerged victorious. Not only that, but she kept the stars around due to their amazing power."
"D-Does she know that you brought them here?!"
"These ones come from another one of her palaces in different universes. So maybe she does and maybe she doesn't. What's important is that you take my offer. I'm not one for ignoring hard work but...this is a situation where a shortcut is needed. So. Will you take it?"
"...Yes." Lucien pondered for a bit before accepting it.
He took Colress' offer as this was the easiest way to give Cosmos all the stars back without having to go through the effort. Colress smiled once the stars were given to Lucien. He had done what he came here to do as the journey continues.
Fluttershy and everyone had rescued the ponies and Pokemon of Canterlot from the pit of fire. With Cosmos being away, they had the chance and all the time to free the Canterlot Residents as the orbs that the Pokemon were trapped in had been broken apart. The flames were put out by Water-Type attacks, putting an end to this overflowing heat that was constantly there.
"Thank you for that," Fleur-de-lis said after being freed. "It was about time...All of that dancing wasn't my best unless I put on my favourite dress. Pretend you never saw it when showing up here.2
"My hooves burn..." Minuette sat down, rocking back and forth whilst looking at her burnt hooves that have been moving on the broken ground while a constant flow of fire went on. She was immediately cooled off by water from her Simipour.
"Where do you think Palkia went?" Fluttershy wondered. "I haven't seen it for a while."
"Palkia probably followed Cosmos back to her dimension. It can move through and appear in any dimension after all." Cold Colt explained. "I'm sure Palkia's fine."
"It should be. It's one of the Creation Trio. It's stupid strong." Hollow added. Just as they were talking about Palkia, lo and behold, the Spatial Pokemon had returned. It had appeared at Canterlot once more, travelling from the Malice Dimension to here.
Everyone's attention had been geared towards the Guardian of Space as Palkia came here to do the one thing that prompted it to show up in the first place. Fix space. As the creator of space, the balance needed to be restored at once. The Spatial Pokemon looked up at the massive tear, knowing that it would take more than breathing to fix this.
Palkia teleported to the top of the tear through both spaces from both worlds, putting its claw on it. Palkia could physically interact with it much like how Cosmos managed to interact with the sky and space at the same time. The Spatial Pokemon's signature cosmic pink glow emanated as it started dragging its claw and arm across the torn skies.
By moving forward with it, Palkia could be seen repairing the damage that Cosmos had made to space. It was a beautiful sight to see and a rare one too considering an event like this is unlikely to happen unless certain circumstances lead to it.
The damage to space could be seen being reversed as if it never happened all the while a giant white and pink dragon travelled along the heavens. Despite everything that had happened, this was a calming sight to see and the best way to have everyone feel a sense of peace. And as a bonus, Cosmos was nowhere to be found.
"Wow...Oh, wait a minute." Fluttershy took a moment to stop admiring the beautiful sight of pink stardust dripping from above. "What about Princess Celestia and Princess Luna? Where are they?"
"Not sure." Moondancer shook her head. "Princess Celestia had her Celestial-Gardevoir overloaded, causing her to pass out. After that, Cosmos captured her, but we're not sure where she is. Or where Princess Luna is either."
"Dino..." Audino would sort that out. She leaned her head in the direction of the castle, focusing on the sounds coming from that spot. She was looking for something specific. A heartbeat or any other sound that could originate from either Celestia, Luna or their Pokemon. She walked over to the castle with Fluttershy following her.
Palkia was leaving Canterlot since it would have to go across the entirety of both worlds to fix this mess. It was an incident on a double planetary scale.
Near the Kingdra Durance. The path to Canterlot.
Previously arriving at the Kingdra Durance Ash had found one of Cynthia's Poke Balls. The Poke Ball that contained her Lucario. Lucario was the only Pokemon that had not been affected by Cosmos' control and it had Aura to thank for that. After that, they were leaving the Durance, heading over to Canterlot as Lucario spoke to Ash and his team along the way.
"Hmm...So you got sent all the way here." Ash sat down alongside the rest of his Pokemon, listening to what Lucario had to say about the Cosmos debacle. "And you've been trying to free Cynthia this whole time, but couldn't do it since Cosmos was keeping you away."
"Rrr." Cynthia's Lucario nodded in response.
"But. That means we've got three times the Aura to free her." Ash stood up before holding out the staff of Sir Aaron. "How about this? If you, me and my Lucario all use Aura together, we can free Cynthia. I tried, but she sent me away before I got the chance. But if we overwhelm her like this, it'll be a safe bet that we'll get Cynthia back."
"Luca!" Cynthia's Lucario and Ash's Lucario liked the sound of that. It was a good approach as Aura was perfectly effective against Cosmos to the point where she absolutely fears it.
"Great. First, I gotta check if everyone else is okay." Ash dug into his pocket, pulling out his Xtransceiver. He wanted to know the status of his friends more than anything right now. He went for the first two that he knew were available at the moment. Fluttershy and Applejack as he called them both. The device rang before showing the faces of them both.
"Ash! Oh, glad to see you're okay." A relieved Fluttershy said as she was currently inside Canterlot Castle. "Where are you?"
"I'm at Kingdra Durance. Got sent all the way here. I just wanted to know if you guys were going okay right now."
"Never better. Right now, Palkia's fixing space." Applejack answered.
"Palkia's here?!" Ash gasped once the Spatial Pokemon had been brought up. "Awesome!"
"We saw it appear here at Canterlot. After that, it went off to deal with Cosmos and came back later to fix the damage she did to the sky. It's a pretty sight if you can see it."
"Uhh..." Ash looked up at the sky, wondering if he could possibly spot Palkia. The Spatial Pokemon hadn't arrived at this spot just. "Nah. Not yet. But if it battled Cosmos...then Cynthia-" Entering the call and cutting Ash's sentence off was none other than Twilight. She had joined the call. "Twilight?"
"Sorry to interrupt, but has anyone seen the massive rip in the sky?" Twilight immediately jumped to the tear.
"We sure have. I think everyone has by now." Applejack replied. "But ya'll don't have to worry about it being there forever."
"We don't?" Twilight, along with Pinkie Pie, Spike and Starlight who had come into frame had pulled back. "I don't know about that...This is space we're talking about."
"Palkia's sorting that out," Fluttershy added. "A lot has happened. Too much, actually."
"Let's catch up with what we've all done. Right now, We're off to find Rainbow Dash and Rarity next and after that, we'll try and reach Absol," said Twilight.
"Palkia's repairing space but we don't know where Cosmos is right now." Fluttershy was next. "We're looking for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna at the moment. But we can't find them. They're not in the castle."
"I found Cynthia's Lucario. The only one of Cynthia's Pokemon who wasn't taken over." Ash filled them in on what he had done so far. "That's all from me. I'm heading back to Canterlot now."
"I'll meet up with you, Twilight," Fluttershy added. "I also have to find Valerie for Sylveon, Spritzee and Mawile."
"We all know what we're doing then. So, let's all meet up at Canterlot together, okay?" Twilight asked her friends. They all nodded in unison as they promised to meet up at that same spot. All of them hung up on each other with two groups heading to one place.
Out in the mountains.
Cosmos had retreated, fleeing to another mountainside within the magical land of Equestria. Her defeat by the claws of Palkia left her weaker than ever. Three Andalusian Stars that she retrieved had been destroyed by Palkia. Only one of them was kept safe as she managed to escape from Palkia with the little time she had left.
The weakened Spirit of Malice was crawling towards a cave, seeking shelter. Palkia may be able to move through space and visit other dimensions but a cave certainly wasn't a dimension. But it was a part of space much like everything else in existence. Cosmos needed to find some way to stay safe as she was still on the ground.
"Discord...if you're coming for me...help me!" Cosmos cried out, entering the cave. She grabbed some of the pebbles within the cave, crushing them with what little magic she had left. She thought of everyone who had gotten in her way in this entire event.
Ash. Absol. Pallet Town. Ponyville Residents. Canterlot Residents. The Pokemon From PokePark. Celestial-Gardevoir. Palkia and more across the Pokemon World and this world. All of them played their part in preventing her revival. Every moment was crucial and stuck to Cosmos like a sore thumb.
Absol was the first to give her a hard time, defeating her at Frenzy Forest. Despite having the numbers advantage and Cynthia's Pokemon, Absol's years of being in the wild and adaptability granted him victory over Cosmos.
Fluttershy was the first one to discover that Fairy Magic could affect Chaos Magic, much like how Aura affected it. She was the first to make Cosmos feel an unpleasant feeling as Fairy Magic was the perfect antithesis to what she was all about. Fluttershy managed to make Cosmos flee with great success.
Celestia and Passion with the combined might of Celestial-Gardevoir were a match for her, using the beautiful Fairy Magic as well to damage her. Cosmos' defeat would've been assured there had it not been for Lucien and Sienna exposing the one weakness of Celestial-Gardevoir. Overtaxing her body limit which caused the fused entity to pass out along with Celestia and Passion.
Ponyville's Residents may have been taken over by Cosmos', but all it took was synchronized teamwork among good friends and a sudden betrayal. The Pokemon from PokePark matched the numbers that Cosmos racked up as well as the Pokemon from PokePark.
But the four major things that truly mattered then were Ash, Lucario, Phione and Cold Colt. With Phione using Arceus' light to break the body possession of some of Ponyville's residents, Cold Colt using the connection spell to link every possessed body that Cosmos' had taken so as to have them feel the same thing at the same time and the power of Aura freeing their bodies from Cosmos made for a resounding victory against the Spirit of Malice.
Ash was also the one to nearly free Cynthia from Cosmos' control a second time. He put up a great battle against her even when super-sized for a bit. Ash and also Fluttershy proved to be the major reoccurring problems that plagued Cosmos.
And of course, there was Palkia. The Spatial Pokemon and the Guardian of Space. A dimensional battle between Palkia and Cosmos occurred with Palkia appearing as the superior force. Palkia was the one who destroyed most of her stars, leaving her in this state.
All of it had been processed through Cosmos. It was a day that she would never forget and a night that would never leave her memories. And thinking back to all of it made Cosmos realize how powerless she truly was. Not right now, but rather with everything that had happened. The bonds between the people, ponies and Pokemon were truly something grand. It reminded her of how she was defeated many years ago. For now, all Cosmos could do was lay there, vengeful at everyone who had got in her way.
However, she wouldn't be alone soon as teleporting to her position was none other than Lucien.
He appeared as a cosmic flash as Cosmos looked up to see his arrival. "No time for sulking, Cosmos. Here." Lucien had seen Cosmos' current expression before then revealing the 6 Andasulian Stars from another universe. "All 6 of them. Ripe from another universe."
"All...six...of them..." Needless to say, she was stunned, perplexed and slightly exhausted. She couldn't believe her eyes. The stars that Palkia had destroyed had shown themselves once more. She held her hands out, trying to get back up but she couldn't, thanks to the damage she had received. "And they're...from another universe."
"Uh...I went to...another universe to get these. Yeah! Looks like I'm better than my sister, right?" Lucien grinned, taking all the credit for finding these stars as he wanted to 1UP his sister.
"Oh...much better. Give them to me."
"You got it. Here you go," Lucien had then dropped all of the stars into Cosmos' hands, bringing her the best possible thing he could've given her. Not the remaining stars but newer ones that were from another universe. And most importantly, combined with the substitute star that was made by Rift Energy, Cosmos would have seven.
Once they were in her hands, Cosmos felt a spark of hope. The stars radiated around her, recognizing this magic immediately, even if it was from another universe. She combined all of the Andasulian Stars into one object. A crown. A crown fit for a tyrannical ruler as she manifested it on her head.
After that, her signature magical aura enclosed her body with Lucien backing away. The aura had dazzled with a fierce scintillation that lit up the cave and even the outside. Lucien squinted, using his cosmic power to create special glasses for his eyes. The light expanded as within it, Cosmos was getting back up.
And while getting back up, standing upright, her body started to change. It wasn't just reverting to its original form. That much was to be expected with all 6 stars brought together. Instead, she had used Cynthia's body, merging it with hers.
Lucien's jaw dropped as he saw Cosmos' original shape appear with small bits of Cynthia showing up. But Cosmos didn't stop at Cynthia. She had used the rest of Cynthia's Pokemon, merging with them. The bulk of her appearance was her shape and almost everything else.
The crown she had placed on her head was made out of Garchomp's scales as well as the arm vanbraces that she decided to give herself. Poisonous thorns stuck out of these vanbraces which came from Roserade. She gained a third eye thanks to Gastrodon's biology while Kommo-o's scales were made into armour that meshed well with Garchomp's scales, making up one-half of the vanbraces while Garchom's made up another. And finally, there was Glaceon, who had been utilized to give Cosmos sharp ice shards that were constantly floating around her with an icy breath to boot.
She had become a chimaera creature that was far more chaotic than a draconequus. As for Cynthia, her involvement in this chimaera fusion was nowhere to be found, but the body was still within Cosmos.
"Sweet Arceus above..." Lucien sat down, gazing at this monstrosity that was radiating overflowing Chaos Magic. Thanks to that substitute star being the 7th star, her magic was greater than what it was in her prime, ten-fold.
"OH YES! THIS IS MORE LIKE IT! HOW I'VE MISSED THIS!" Cosmos was satisfied. At the end of the day, she got what she wanted. Well, not all that she wanted. Her control over Equestria, this entire universe and beyond was still up in the air. Along with two more goals. Reuniting with Discord and the newest one. Revenge against those who got in her way. "THANK YOU, LUCIEN!"
"Uh...Glad to be of assistance."
"I AM NOW THE MOST POWERFUL BEING IN THE UNIVERSE! TWICE THAN WHAT I WAS BEFORE!" She continued speaking with a booming voice that was worthy f a cosmic being that had ascended. She then cleared her throat before speaking in a medium tone. "Ahem. Glad I got that out of my system. There is much work to be done. But for someone like me, not much at all."
"So, the hunt's over right?"
"It certainly is, my little Lucien." Cosmos had then grabbed Lucien, picking him with her massive claws. Lucien was downright terrified as he was vastly powerless in front of this monstrosity. "But, I wouldn't mind taking extra stars. Not just from this world, of course."
"W-What do you mean by that?" Lucien gulped as he already started putting together what Cosmos meant by that.
"I previously learned of other universes out there. And when you brought me those stars, you made me aware of more than just one me. There are other Cosmos' out there, much like myself." She cackled.
"Oh, so you're gonna work with them, right?" He grinned at the Spirit of Malice.
"Hmmm...Perhaps. I will work with them." Cosmos nodded before flaring her eyes red. "And then after that, I'll destroy them and take their stars for myself!" She revealed her true intentions. "There will be room for only one Spirit of Malice around! Plus, I do need those stars after all."
"Oh. Okay."
"Not a second more to waste. My revenge is now! Prepare yourselves, humans...ponies...Pokemon! Enough playing around! I will begin your destruction at once!" Cosmos declared her vengeance in full swing. She was going all-out in an all-out state.
Jagged Isle.
Jagged Isle. The island where Rainbow Dash and Rarity ended up at. Twilight and her friends had tracked them both down thanks to Slurpuff's powerful scent. Fluttershy, as said before, met up with Twilight once more, reuniting with some of her friends once more. She did so by using the map that was originally a trap made by Cosmos, but at the end of the day, it led her here as she could be seen taking to the skies.
"Glad you could make it on time, Fluttershy," said Twilight. "How'd you get here so soon?"
"It's not too hard to reach. It's far but I found a neat shortcut that starts at Pikachu Highlands and ends near Baltimare." Fluttershy held the map out. "Applejack and everypony else are back at Canterlot helping clean things up. But I still couldn't find the Princesses. Their scents are gone."
"We'll find them. Right now, we have the rest of our friends to get back." Twilight replied.
It led them here to the Jagged Isle. They saw the monstrous face as well when arriving here but they already knew what to expect now that they knew it was a place that Cosmos had affected with her magic. They ventured through the island without hesitation or wasting any time with Slurpuff leading the way.
They wouldn't have to struggle to find their friends. Mainly because they made it clear to them. Large jagged spikes broke through the mountains as Rainbow Dash alongside Altaria could be seen flying away from the spikes. Rarity had been carried away by Leavanny who had used String Shot to grab the fashionista. Milotic could also be seen eroding the spikes with Hydro Pump.
"There they are! Rarity! Rainbow Dash!" Twilight cried out, alerting her friends.
"Twilight! And everyone else?!" Rainbow Dash replied as she and Rarity noticed the rest of their friends. "Glad you could make it! But uh, now's not the best time!"
"There's little time! Come on, we're leaving this island!" Starlight shouted.
"We could if we would!" Rarity responded as Leavanny protected her from everything this jagged area was throwing at all of them. "But this island is completely random and hard to read!"
"Not for Eve! She can see through it!" Twilight uttered as Espeon's ability to see through illusions helped greatly through this scenario.
"And me!" Pinkie Pie raised her hoof, pointing at her eyes. "Fairy Magic right here!"
"Oh, and Pinkie Pie too," Twilight added Pinkie Pie into the conversation. "Just follow us and mainly Eve!"
"If you say so!" Rainbow Dash ducked some of the spikes which had then rotated with the elasticity of rubber. Altaria noticed this, using Ice Beam to freeze the spikes in place. After they were frozen, the spikes had dropped to the ground, shattering.
Leavanny had used String Shot in the direction of Twilight's group as Twilight held her hoof out to the string, allowing it to touch her. This helped to connect her with Leavanny as the Nurturing Pokemon had lunged herself toward the Princess of Friendship, including Rarity and Milotic, who had been touched by the string as well.
Rainbow Dash, Castform and Altaria merely used their flight to fly to their friends. Once they were close, Espeon was the one to guide them, running ahead of the group. The island suddenly opened up, revealing a mouth and fangs. It was indeed the face of a monster for a reason.
It was a monster. Similar to the Isle Monsters up at Pegalysium. The mouth opened up, trying to swallow the others while they were running and flying as fast as they could.
Mew would be the one to carry them back home via the body of Kyogre. He had turned into the Sea Basin Pokemon, being the best Pokemon to travel from the sea. The island summoned multiple gargantuan jagged mountains that were revealed to be claws and arms instead. The appearance of this island made more sense now.
Twilight and Starlight worked together to blow these claws away, shooting out a synchronized magical beam. The beam broke through the claws, shattering them as they crumbled. Milotic eroded them once more with Hydro Pump while Mew helped out with Aura Sphere.
The monster could be heard roaring as it was sentient. This entire time, Rainbow Dash and Rarity were being attacked by a sentient island for hours straight. The monster had failed to devour them as soon as they showed up so now was the best time for a final attempt to do so.
However, thanks to Mew, that did not happen. Mew had used the powerful body of Kyogre to immediately jump into the air and crash back into the sea. He made a massive splash that rushed over to the island, but it would also crash onto Twilight and her friends. Thankfully, she could make a barrier that could protect her friends.
The island could not.
Thus, the massive splash of water had crashed onto the island, entering its mouth which was an entire chasm. This perplexed the monster greatly as Twilight and everyone got on the back of Kyogre, beating out the monster in this short race.
"Go, go, go!" Twilight aimed her hoof to the north. Mew was already on it. It was a good thing that Kyogre was fast despite its large body. Mainly thanks to the sea. Mew zoomed through the surface of the water with Kyogre's body as everyone else hung on to either the back of Kyogre or each other.
The monster was too late to do anything. It tried summoning its claws again, only for its prey to be too far away to even grab them. It had failed to devour the group.
Meanwhile, the group had managed to reunite most of their friends once more. The two locations that were meant to be traps had been escaped from with swimming success. They all cheered after succeeding in evading this chaotic island.
"That's two." Twilight laughed. "Everything's coming up just fine here."
"Yeah but...we were stuck there for hours." Rainbow Dash sighed. "No fair. What did we miss out on?"
"Explaining it all is going to get tiring but...it's best you get caught up to speed, anyway." Twilight shrugged.
"We tried calling you earlier about this island but our Xtransceivers were not responding at all." Rarity spoke. "Why is that?"
"It's probably the Chaos Magic around that island. It didn't work with Spike and Starlight when we went to the other island." The Princess of Friendship explained. "Looks like we know that Chaos Magic can mess with Xtransceiver communication. But either way, it's still a useful tool, isn't it?"
"So, what about the stars then?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We got sent places t find them, right?"
"We did." Twilight took out the map that Cosmos gave her. "But not the right places. Those islands and everything else on this map were nothing but traps. It was to distract us so that Cosmos would find the stars herself. That's all thanks to Lucien and Sienna."
"Oh, those two?" Rainbow Dash then scratched her mane. "They're involved?"
"They know about the original timeline, so it stands to reason that they'd know where the Andasulian Stars are. Luckily, we had help and managed to catch up with her. Well, Absol did. I hope he's okay out there..." Twilight's mood then changed, still missing Absol. It had been almost an entire day without seeing him.
"I WOULDN'T START MISSING HIM SO SOON, MY LITTLE PONY!" A response had come through. The response belonged t a vice that no one wanted to hear. All of Twilight's friends had their bodies tremble before then looking up at the sky. Lo and behold, the draconequus of the hour was present.
Rather, nigh-omnipresent. When looking up at the sky, they saw the head of Cosmos. The true form of Cosmos, that is. And when her head appeared, she was massive. So massive that she blended in with the clouds, even blocking some of them off as her horrific serpentine eyes had locked onto the merry band of ponies, Pokemon and a dragon.
"Cosmos!" Twilight stood up as Cosmos had found them. But that was not difficult at all. This was because Cosmos' massive size allowed her to be seemingly everywhere. And she certainly had the power to do so now thanks to Lucien but mainly Colress.
With her power back in its prime and even beyond that, Cosmos already showed off the kind of power she could now display. Vengeance against those who had got in her way was imminent and she was going to do it with the utmost malice in her heart. The big confrontation against the Spirit of Malice had arrived once more as the journey continues.
Cosmos had been revived. All 6 Andalusian Stars had been gathered from another universe thanks to Colress who had then given it to Lucien, passing it onto the Spirit of Malice. Combined with the substitute Andalusian Star made by Rift Energy, Cosmos was far past her prime.
She had returned to her original form while also merging with Cynthia and 5 of her Pokemon, creating a superior yet disturbing chimaera variation of her true form. She showed it to the majority of the world as she took on a massive size with her head blending in with the skies.
And a certain Legendary Pokemon, who was currently fixing space had noticed her. Palkia. Palkia stopped for a moment before noticing the gigantic Spirit of Malice before its eyes. Even the Spatial Pokemon couldn't ignore this.
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DESTROYED ALMOST ALL OF MY STARS..." Cosmos gazed at the Spatial Pokemon, holding the biggest grudge against it out of everyone else. Upon spotting the Spatial Pokemon, Cosmos raised her massive claw at Palkia, parting the clouds and blocking out the moon.
When her claw moved, it sounded like a tornado going off with visible wind trails showing up. Palkia wasn't just going to float around and let this happen. The Spatial Pokemon had put up a barrier which had then been broken the second Cosmos' claw had crashed into it.
Palkia's barrier shattered as it was launched away, hurling through the air. The Guardian of Time recovered before then slashing the air, using Spacial Rend. The purple slash from Spacial Rend had touched Cosmos' claws. Cosmos felt it as even in her prime along with the combined bodies of others, she still felt pain.
But it was greater than before surprisingly. Cosmos roared as Spacial Rend somehow hit harder than before when she went up against it in a weaker state. Cosmos growled before then flaring her eyes at the Spatial Pokemon.
Before Cosmos knew it, the area around it had been turned upside down. Palkia's body rotated along with the ground and sky as the natural order of space had been reversed. Of course, Palkia wouldn't let that stand as it had immediately used Spacial Rend once more.
Thanks to Palkia, space returned to its normal position. Cosmos was not pleased with how easily Palkia could fix it. With a burning hatred for the Water-Dragon-Type, Cosmos tried to increase the gravity on Palkia. A massive field of gravity had been summoned before focusing on Palkia.
However, since Palkia was the Guardian of Space itself, gravity was involved. The Spatial Pokemon returned Gravity to its normal shape by shooting out a pink cosmic ray at it.
"IS THERE NOTHING YOU CAN'T DO?! WHY DON'T YOU TURN INTO A FISH?!" Cosmos had enough of Palkia reversing everything she did while also having an answer for everything. Turning the Water-Dragon-Type into something was the best approach she could think of as a dark pink cosmic ray came out.
Palkia replied by using Hyper Beam as it had clashed with the ray. However, Cosmos had then diverged the ray, causing an extra one to appear out of it. That ray had turned, catching Palkia from behind. The Spatial Pokemon ended up being hit by the ray after all, crying out.
Cosmos expected Palkia to turn into a fish, however, much to her chagrin and absolute shock, Palkia resisted it. Cosmos found out for herself that Palkia could resist her ability to change others into whatever she wanted. Turning Palkia into something to torture the Spatial Pokemon was pointless, so Cosmos thought of the next best thing. Simply attacking it until it fell.
She turned the ray that had hit Palkia into a destructive one. A massive flow of destructive Chaos Magic had punished Palkia, causing it to lose the beam struggle. That allowed Cosmos' ray to succeed in this clash as it had struck the Spatial Pokemon. Palkia was hit from both sides as Cosmos decided to amp it up, summoning extra arms to shoot more rays at Palkia.
After smiting Palkia, she had then made a massive hole in the ground while also using her massive arms to grab the Water-Dragon-Type. Cosmos wanted Palkia out of the way immediately, dragging it to the hole below. Palkia roared, trying to break its arms free from Cosmos' grip, but she ended up creating layers around her claw.
Palkia had then been smashed into the hole at full force as Cosmos then used her magic to cover it up. The hole was overflowing with Chaos Magic from top to bottom as Cosmos had used the entire strength of the ground to cover up this hole. Palkia could be seen screaming after being thrown inside the hole. It had descended into the dark shadows of the earth before being blocked off.
Inside of the earth, Cosmos added one final part to ensure Palkia's restraint. Out of the soil, strange chains were formed. They had replaced Cosmos' arm, restraining Palkia, starting from its arms to its head. The Spatial Pokemon continued to roar as the volume of it was powerful enough to even reach outside despite being blocked off from the surface.
"Let's see your space abilities help you through that." Cosmos taunted Palkia. "I have other things to do than to waste time with you."
Indeed she did. Now that she was massive with her appearance being seen across most of Equestria, she was nigh-omnipresent. Twilight Sparkle and some of her friends had been spotted by Cosmos while on the back of Mew who had become Kyogre.
"W-What was all of that?" Twilight and everyone had seen Cosmos do random movements in the air without her even interacting with the group. They were unaware of Palkia's involvement and current situation.
"Don't worry about that. Because you're next!" Cosmos then went after Twilight's group, revealing her massive claws that were armoured with Garchomp and Kommo-o scales. "I'm thinking...all of you will be my personal pets! Cats, dogs and goldfish galore!"
"Eugh!" Twilight grimaced at the thought of that. "Eve, Dazzling Gleam!" She and the rest of her friends wouldn't allow themselves to become anything else for Cosmos to play around with.
"Castform, Weather Ball! Altaria, Dragon Pulse!"
"Espeon!" Espeon, Altaria and Castform came together, unleashing rays of rainbows, a ball of energy that mimicked the clouds and a dragon-shaped shockwave as it had all crashed into Cosmos' claw. Cosmos managed to crush the attacks by grabbing them. However, she felt another sting when interacting with the attacks. It wasn't as bad as Palkia but it was still noticeable.
"Gh! Again?! These attacks didn't hurt before...!" Cosmos flailed her claw as it was smoking. She then opened her mouth, sucking in all of the air. By doing so, she was also pulling Twilight and her friends towards her. The water that Mew was swimming in had also been affected.
Twilight and her friends could feel this tremendous pull as getting off Mew would be pointless. They tried holding on for dear life while Mew attempted to use the full body weight of Kyogre to try and withstand the pull. Kyogre's weight was certainly heavy enough to resist, but it wouldn't be enough as the entire sea was being taken away by Cosmos. Eventually, Mew couldn't sustain it for much longer.
Thus, they had all been pulled from the sea with all the water being drawn towards Cosmos. Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy all tried using their wings to fly away, however, their flight wouldn't help them in this scenario either. There was only one thing that could save them.
Bayleef's Fate Changling Leaf.
"B-Bay!" Bayleef's leaves had come to the rescue once more. This time, a massive chunk of it. This chunk ended up being the last of her head leaf as it had touched Fluttershy's tail. Fate had been changed greatly.
Not only did just the water end up in Cosmos' mouth, but Bayleef had changed fate to the point where she and her friends were further away from Cosmos. Well, as further away as they could be right now. They had left the sea and were close to land near the fields that could be found in the distance. But Cosmos was too big to evade.
Cosmos gagged with all of the water that had entered her mouth as Twilight and everyone were brought to the fields in a flash They had Bayleef to thank for saving their lives yet again.
"THAT GRASS DINOSAUR!" Cosmos was getting tired of Bayleef's power to change fate, but she knew of the drawbacks so it didn't aggravate her too much. "But...all it takes is a bit more and all of those leaves will fall."
"Bay..." Bayleef lost her top leaf as only a stump remained. All she had left were leaves around her neck. After that, it was over. Her powers would be obsolete.
"Hang in there, Bayleef!" Fluttershy held Bayleef close to her as Mew reverted to normal once they were all on land. "She needs sunlight to heal! But the moon is still up!"
"Oh, does she now?" Cosmos had heard Fluttershy as her eye had appeared underneath the field they stood on. They were all jump-scared by Cosmos' massive eye suddenly appearing. She had then used Roserade's thorns. Massive variations of them as they sprouted out of the beautiful field, immediately poisoning the stellar verdant appearance.
The thorns had all come together, reaching high enough to match mountains. They had then formed a large dome of thorns with poison leaking out of it. She had trapped Twilight and her friends in this poisonous thorned dome that closed out the gaps with dozens upon dozens of thorns.
And emerging out of the ground once more was none other than Cosmos herself. Her eye had turned into her body with the claws being the first two things to sprout out. Everyone backed away as her claws smashed into the ground, causing rubble to fly up. Then, out came her head which immediately showed the icy breath from Glaceon, freezing the blades of grass while also sending a horrible chill. Spike and Axew didn't take too kindly to this chill as Castform's body immediately reacted to it, turning him into his Snowy Form.
Afterwards, out came the rest of her body as Cosmos' full body had been shown to the group in all of its horrifying and amalgamated glory. She stretched her arms with the sound of bones cracking in the process.
"This is somehow much better," Cosmos said to them. "Now. I can get back to getting rid of all of you. Or playing around with you in my era where I rule. Either one works. It just depends on how durable you are."
"Bay..." Bayleef growled while also wincing from her weakened body. This is the most she's had to use her power and it was taxing to the body.
"Your body..." Twilight got a closer look at Cosmos. "What did you do with Cynthia and her Pokemon?!"
"I merely merged with them, that's all. These Pokemon, despite how annoying they can be, have their advantages. I'm thinking of fusing with that Dragon next if I can control it somehow. But it seems to be fairly resilient. How annoying. Anyway, about that green thing...It looks like her hours are almost up. Do you think she can protect you for long in that condition?"
"We won't need Bayleef's power to survive against you." Twilight got in front of Fluttershy, looking Cosmos dead in the eyes. She and her friends had absolute confidence in the power of their Pokemon.
"We shall see about that!" Cosmos roared, causing a wind pressure to emerge that blew everyone's hair, coats and furs. They all withstood it, but it was certainly chilly thanks to Glaceon's icy breath. It was now or never against Cosmos. She was right in front of them so the chance to defeat her was right in front of their eyes. And they were going to take that chance right now.
"We'll use everyone then!" Twilight had used her magic to send out all of her Pokemon, minus Absol who was still missing. Ninetales, Cinccino and Togekiss would make up for this, however.
"Hatterene! Go and use Dazzling Gleam as well!" Starlight threw her Poke Ball out, sending her Hatterene into the fray.
"Altaria, use Hyper Voice!"
"Audi, Hyper Beam!"
"Altaria!" Altaria sang a beautiful song that turned into soundwaves whilst Espeon, Togekiss, Hatterene and Audino released multi-coloured rays alongside a massive beam of Infinity Energy.
"Go! All of you!" Rarity used her magic to send out all of her Pokemon. Her Pheromosa, Lopunny, Ampharos, Milotic and 12 Leavanny into the fray. Meanwhile, Cosmos had shifted the direction of Dazzling Gleam, Hyper Beam and Hyper Voice, sending them back at the original users.
"Zap Cannon! Energy Ball! Hydro Pump, now!" Rarity had that covered as Ampharos, Milotic and her 12 Leavanny had intercepted these attacks. Zap Cannon and Hydro Pump took out Hyper Beam and Hyper Voice while three Energy Balls had stopped the triple Dazzling Gleam.
However, the remaining 9 had attacked Cosmos, slithering their way through. Cosmos had been hit by these 9 spheres that were powered by nature itself. She mildly flinched from it with green explosions going off. But right afterwards, she had been hit by Tri Attack, feeling a searing burn, a chilling freeze and an electrifying shock that gave her different variations of pain.
As she was recovering from the flinch, Ninetales had crashed into her with Flare Blitz, adding to that burn. Ninetales bounced off Cosmos while also receiving some recoil damage along the way.
"Axew! Transform and use Close Combat!" Spike ordered before holding out two of his Poke Balls, throwing them into the air. Out of them came Salamence and Druddigon.
"Axew!" Axew had transformed his body, going from his younger and small self to his older and burlier self in a matter of moments via a golden light beaming down on him. "Haxorus!" Once Haxorus arrived, he ran straight towards Cosmos with Close Combat on the ready.
"Druddi!" Druddigon and Salamence had shot out explosive sludge and a stream of crimson flames that flew next to each other, creating a brief but nice spiral.
"Raboot! Use High Jump Kick!"
"Eve, Quick Attack!"
"Pheromosa, use Triple Kick! Lopunny, High Jump Kick as well!"
"Useless!" Cosmos declared before using Kommo-o's scales, clanging them together to form a powerful sound wave that pierced the air itself. The soundwave was massive enough to encapsulate the entire field as Audino and Fluttershy's sensitive ears could already feel it.
"Hyper Voice!"
"Altaria!" Altaria countered this booming sound with Hyper Voice, sending an equally powerful soundwave right back at her. The two soundwaves collided, cancelling each other out as it allowed Espeon and the others to continue their attack.
"Espeon!" Espeon reached Cosmos first, tackling her in the face with Quick Attack. Cosmos growled before then swiping her claw, knocking the Sun Pokemon away. "E-Esp!"
Sludge Bomb and Flamethrower had been blocked by Cosmos summoning a tall pillar from the earth itself, nullifying those attacks as they crashed into the pillar, not even breaking it.
"Pheromo!" But Pheromosa, Lopunny and Raboot certainly did. Pheromosa used her first kick on the pillar, shattering it whilst Raboot went ahead of them, smashing his foot against Cosmos' nose.
"GAH! Cosmos screamed as she felt her nose scrunch from the impact. Pheromosa joined in by kicking Cosmos' face two times. Once on the left side and one more time on the right, making it the equivalent of a slap. Lopunny finished it off by stomping on Cosmos' face with both her legs. Cosmos felt those, more than she felt like she should before then breathing out a massive blast of Chaos Magic that had blown Pheromosa and Raboot away.
"R-Raboot!" Raboot and Pheromosa were sent flying, only to be then caught by Haxorus, who was still approaching Cosmos'. Haxorus caught them both in his hands, saving them from a hard fall.
"Haxo!" After catching them, he immediately dropped them both to continue his Close Combat. He finally got the chance to land it as it started with him delivering a staggering hit to Cosmos' face which had already been slapped by Pheromosa. Haxorus then delivered a series of punches to Cosmos' face while also slapping her with his tail.
Cosmos then used the third eye that she had received from Gastrodon, shooting a cosmic ray at Haxorus. Haxorus had been shot back by this Cosmic Ray, feeling his body tremble as he slid on the ground.
"Heal Pulse!"
"Audino!" Audino would heal them all thankfully, using Heal Pulse to do so. All of her allies had been healed up with a wide pulse of green energy as if nothing had happened. Rainbow Dash had also sent out the rest of her Pokemon who were in tip-top shape right now. Braviary, Mienfoo, Whirlipede and Luxray.
"These attacks you're throwing at me...what did you do to make them stronger?!" Cosmos exclaimed. "They weren't this painful before!"
"It must be because...you're part Pokemon now," Twilight smirked as Cosmos jerked back. "Since you absorbed Cynthia and her Pokemon, all of her 5 Pokemon's strengths were given to you. But, that also means you received their weaknesses!"
"WHAT?!" Cosmos gasped as she was indeed now as vulnerable as any Pokemon to a certain number of attacks.
"So..that means.." Rainbow Dash and the others were processing the meaning behind this. It was simple and downright hilarious as it made her, Spike and Pinkie Pie burst into laughter. "Bahahaha! You made yourself way weaker than before! What a goofball!"
"Grr...!" Cosmos had been mocked. Indeed, while she was in her prime, beyond it even, that also meant she made herself fairly fragile to Pokemon Attacks. As if she wasn't fragile enough.
"And thankfully! We all have options to deal with all of Cynthia's Pokemon!" Twilight shouted. "Like so! Dazzling Gleam!" Then, she and Starlight shouted out to Espeon and Hatterene to use the same attack.
"Mega Evolve!" Everyone else would Mega Evolve. At least, most f them. Twilight didn't have Absol with her currently while Pinkie Pie was exempt from Mega Evolution. Rainbow Dash's aerial goggles, Fluttershy and Spike's rings along with Rarity's earing and necklace had been unleashed.
All of the energies clashed against each other to engulf the respective Pokemon. The Mega Evolution symbol flared out, unleashing Mega Audino, Lopunny, Altaria and Ampharos.
"Salamence, Dragon Pulse! Haxorus, Close Combat again!"
"Ampharos, you should use Dragon Pulse as well! Leavanny, Energy Ball and Aerial Ace! Pheromosa, build your speed with Quiver Dance!" Milotic, Dragon Tail!"
"Raboot, use Flame Charge! Audi! Heal Pulse again!"
"Mew! Aura Sphere! Slurpuff, Fairy Wind!"
Once it was revealed that Cosmos was now highly vulnerable to Pokemon Attacks thanks to fusing with Pokemon, Twilight and her friends were about to exploit that. And unfortunately for Cosmos, all of Twilight and her friends had Pokemon that were super-effective in every category. Not just with their typing but with the attacks that they had in their arsenal.
"I won't let you!" Cosmos summoned multiple massive tails with icy spikes around them, swinging them violently at the group.
"Ra...Boot!" Raboot had melted away the ice by cloaking himself in a veil of fire. Haxorus grabbed two of the tails with his arms, holding them in place, preventing them from swinging any further.
"Sala!" Salamence appeared above Cosmos with Ampharos on his back. The two of them had used Dragon Pulse, sending out two Dragon-shaped shockwaves that merged to create a bigger one. Cosmos looked up with her third eye, noticing them both.
Milotic had smashed her tail against the tails that came up from the ground, blocking them. But these tails had soon turned into terrifying claws that split into hundreds of claws as they then flew around. That's where four of Rarity's Leavanny chimed in. They moved at confounding speed, hitting the claws away with the speed of Aerial Ace.
Luxray's Discharge had fried the claws before they could touch anyone while Braviary obliterated them with Steel Wing. Either by crushing them or cutting them in half. Weather Ball and Ice Beam ended up freezing them over, causing the claws to drop and shatter right afterwards. Whirlipede had barged through these claws by simply rolling over them, moving at great speeds in the process.
Cosmos countered Dragon Pulse by breathing a chilling ray of ice at it. The ice ray had overpowered the dragon-shaped blast before going straight for the two Pokemon above her. Salamence and Ampharos had taken a hit, unfortunately with Salamence suffering the most thanks to the ice. The two of them fell to the ground with Ampharos crashing first.
But they weren't the only Pokemon above her. Braviary flew through the icy smoke, appearing in front of Cosmos with Steel Wing, smashing it against her whilst flying by. Cosmos' head spun around like an owl as Braviary's speed combined with Steel Wing was the hardest hit she had received so far. But it was about to get worse.
Fairy Wind was incoming as it threatened her as much as Aura Sphere. Cosmos quickly extended her tail, using it to grab Braviary who had flown away. She had then thrown Braviary into the Fairy Wind made by the 6 Slurpuff, causing him to take the damage instead.
Aura Sphere had barged through these claws while Twilight, Rarity and Starlight ended up chiming, not just leaving their Pokemon to do all the hard work. They used their magic to zap these claws out of the sky. As many as they could. She had then used Roserade's poisonous thorns to block off the rainbow rays that were packed full of Fairy Magic.
Pheromosa moved at breakneck speeds, faster than what Cosmos has had to deal with so far as the Lissome Pokemon ran up her arm, starting from her claw. Cosmos just now noticed this before seeing Pheromosa's speed increase thanks to Quiver Dance and Beast Boost.
Whirlipede came out of nowhere amidst the chaos, rolling up Cosmos' arm much like how Pheromosa ran up her arm. The Curlipede Pokemon had then used the full force of Steamroller to not just crash into Cosmos' face but also roll in it fr a bit. It felt like a tire being rubbed on her face which was not pleasant.
"Now, throat Chop!"
"Mienfoo, Force Palm!"
"Mooo...Sa!" Pheromosa went straight for the jugular, moving so fast that she became a blur. Cosmos couldn't track her as she receive a devastatingly powerful kick to the neck. Cosmos coughed before being bombarded by Fairy Magic from Espeon and Hatterene.
Aura Sphere had finally reached her, hitting her square in the face which was the one part of her that was the most commonly attached. Raboot crashed into her leg, almost tripping her over whilst Haxorus and Mienfoo were the ones to do so, hitting her other leg in unison with direct punches. Cosmos fell over from this assault, hitting the ground hard.
It was a successful assault as everyone managed to make her fall over. Cosmos had also felt the same pain that Pokemon feel when they get hit by super-effective attacks. It was perplexing to her.
"Yes!" Rainbow Dash pumped her hooves into the air after they had knocked Cosmos down. Cosmos was on her back, still taking in what had just happened while everyone else took a breather.
However, this moment of silence was only just a time-waster for Cosmos to strike. She took advantage of this silence, attacking Twilight and her friends while still being on her back.
Cosmos had suddenly turned everything pitch-black. Before Twilight and her friends knew it, the skies had been blacked out. The moon and its light had vanished along with the clouds themselves. It was similar to a blackout. Everything had been turned black from the seas, the ground and so on, disrupting everyone's vision.
"I can't see!" Rainbow Dash shouted before bumping into someone. "Ow!"
"That can be fixed! Ampharos!"
Thankfully, there was a Pokemon here that could shine through the darkness. Ampharos. The Light Pokemon had illuminated himself, emanating an electric glow that pierced the pitch-black light. However, the second he lit everything up, not only did it reveal his friends, but it also revealed an attack that Cosmos had pulled on them while there was a blackout.
An unusual flare of fire had come their way. It blended in with the darkness, making it almost invisible until Ampharos revealed it. This fire had an astral appearance within it as it looked vastly different from any other kind of fire they had seen.
"Audi! Protect!"
"Hatterene, Protect!"
"Audino!" Audino and Hatterene got in front of each other, using Protect in unison. They formed a massive barrier that had blocked the incoming flame, however, they did not nullify it. Twilight, Starlight, Rarity and Hatterene had also used magical shields to add to this protection.
Even with these different shields, these flames proved to be surprisingly fierce as they engulfed the entire field while also evaporating the nearby water. The shields could not hold it back any longer as Hatterene and Audino's shields broke. They had been blown back as this unusual fire kept coming.
"How is it?!" Cosmos cackled. "This is fire straight from the Malice Dimension! It's filled with all of the vengeful hatred that I have gathered from the past to the present! Block all you want, my hatred is too strong!"
"S-She has a...p-point!" Rarity stammered as her magic wasn't enough. It had failed her as she was pushed back. Now it was just Twilight and Starlight.
"Nine! Ninetales!" Ninetales shouted at Twilight, insisting that he should absorb the flames with his Flash Fire ability. He noticed a crack in the shield occurring from the flames before then taking the chance to absorb them. Ninetales broke through the crack, jumping into the flames.
"Huh?! Ninetales, no!" Twilight gasped as the Fox Pokemon met with these malicious flames. These were still flames, so they counted as fire for Flash FIre to absorb. Ninetales took the risk, allowing these flames that had Cosmos' hatred with them.
Immediately after absorbing them, Ninetales noticed that they felt like no other flames. He closed his eyes, feeling an unusual pain that was hard to describe. However, he resisted and powered through it. "N-Ninetales...!"
"He's actually doing it!" Pinkie Pie gasped as she and everyone saw how Ninetales was gravitating all these hateful flames towards him. It was painful, but Flash Fire and his resistance to fire, in general, helped him through as all of its furies were being bottled up inside the Fox Pokemon.
"GH! Fine then! I have more fury to spare! But not in the form of fire! In the form of this!" Cosmos had then replaced the flames with electricity as Flash Fire had been interrupted. Ninetales felt a horrifying shock go through his body. Astral Lightning had been summoned, booming from both Cosmos' claws and the pitch-black skies themselves.
Unfortunately, no one here had a method to absorb it. Not even Ampharos or Luxray. The lightning had broken through the shied that Twilight and Starlight had made before threatening to crash on all of them. There was no other way to protect themselves.
Except for one. Bayleef.
"Bay...!" Bayleef used all of her strength for this one. A large majority of her leaves had come off from her neck, touching Fluttershy's head, Twilight's horn, Rainbow Dash's wings, Espeon's gem and the rest of her friends. Once they were all touched by the Leaf of Fate, fate had changed.
But instead of manipulating the lightning. Bayleef's power had sent them away. Right now, Bayleef only thought about keeping her friends safe. This field was breaking down thanks to the flames, plus, they were all far from home. And because of Bayleef's will, the leaves had chosen how fate would go.
Fate had decided to send them away from this area. In a flash, they were gone. Right on time as the hyper-fast lightning had crashed into the round, splitting in half. But it was all for nothing. They were gone. Cosmos shook her head in annoyance, but she was at least proud that she managed to put that much pressure on them.
"Run all you can...You can't escape me."
Ponyville. Fluttershy's Home.
Back at Fluttershy's home, Discord was still hiding. He opened up a door from his dimension, wondering if everything had simmered down. When she showed up, he saw that everything was indeed silent. Cosmos and her forces were long gone from here.
"Oh...It's over. Phew." Discord wiped some sweat from his head. "I knew they had it handled. Why was I even worried?" He chuckled, feeling as if a massive bullet had been dodged. Or in this case, a meteor.
All the Pokemon from the Pokemon House were here and had been healed up. They were sitting pretty after fending off all of Cosmos' forces when they showed up here.
"Hm. But no Fluttershy?" Despite everything being at peace, Discord had not seen Fluttershy yet. That part made him a bit anxious. But while he was fearing for what could've happened to Fluttershy ever since she went off to stop Cosmos' conquest, unexpectedly, something had shown up at the cottage.
A massive eye had peeked inside of the window with Discord not yet noticing it. It took Angel Bunny nudging his leg to grab his attention. He had seen the eye once it came into frame.
"What is it? I need to find your owner pronto. Unless you've seen her." Discord stretched his head downward to look at Angel. The bunny had aimed his arm at the window with Discord turning his head.
Right away, those eyes were all too familiar.
Cosmos' eyes.
Discord's own eyes had rolled out of his head in absolute shock. He wanted to scream but he was so stunned that she was here, that he couldn't scream. Either way, he was terrified with Angel Bunny hiding behind him. "C-C-C-Cosmos..."
"Discord. There you are." Cosmos had found him. The one she loved. But the one that Discord was absolutely terrified of. Back in her prime and stronger than ever. Discord's worst nightmare had returned to him at last, much to the dismay of the Spirit of Chaos.
"Discord! There you are!" Cosmos had found Discord. She appeared as a giant with her eye being seen outside the window. Once Discord saw her, he had only one thing on his mind.
Run.
Discord made the conscious decision to run away from his ex-lover, especially with how she was back in full swing with her true body while also having an amalgamated body of Cynthia and her Pokemon. But the second he chose to run, Cosmos had extended her arm, breaking it through Fluttershy's window.
The arm slithered indoors with Angel Bunny and the rest of Fluttershy's animals inside fleeing. Discord had been grabbed by the elongated arm with Cosmos' massive claw gripping him. His eyes popped out with his cheeks puffing as Cosmos had then ripped the roof off of Fluttershy's home, revealing her face to Discord.
"Oh, Discord! Sorry that it took so long but so many distractions have been getting in my way as of recently!" She giggled, pulling Discord towards her. "But now we're together again at last."
"Uh, w-wonderful." A terrified discord replied, trying to play it safe. "Did you have fun so far in this new collaborative world?"
"Ugh! Barely!" Cosmos groaned. "These Pokemon and their trainers can put up a fight. Malice just isn't cutting it with them. I miss the good old days. That friend of yours Fluttershy managed to get away, but I'll deal with her later. You don't mind do you?"
"Well, I..."
"But never mind that!" Cosmos giggled. "We're together at last! We have so much catching up to do! Canterlot should be mine by now and all those who are resisting me won't succeed! I received all my stars back once more plus one. I'm more than capable to pick up where things left off. And as a sign of my victory, here is the Ruler of Equestria."
Cosmos held her other claw out, summoning the Chaos Orb that she had made. Within it, Celestia and Passion were still trapped, unconscious to boot since their bodies had been overloaded to the limit. Discord scrunched his face upon seeing them both down and out.
"So much for her and her...whatever this green thing is meant to me," Cosmos smirked before bouncing the orb up and down. "I think this will make a nice decoration in my castle. Or an accessory. Ah, it doesn't matter. Either one works."
"Oh then...what about, Princess Luna?" Discord continued the questions.
"Her? Bah, she's got a concussion right now. A hard one after all that smashing with Dynasite. Unconscious as well. Not sure what I want to do with her but-" Just before Cosmos could finish her sentence, she had been interrupted. This interruption came from an attack.
A Pokemon Attack.
The Pokemon from the Pokemon House had shown up at Fluttershy's cottage, immediately going after Cosmos. Cosmos felt an array of different Pokemon Attacks hit her from the side, dealing super-effective damage. Since she had fused with Cynthia's Pokemon, she was now incredibly vulnerable to Pokemon Moves. Way more than she used to be.
"You!" Cosmos grimaced after being caught by surprise. The Pokemon of the Pokemon House recognized her thanks to her miniature appearance so they didn't need to ponder on if they should attack her. Plus, ripping off Fluttershy's roof and breaking her window was a big reason enough.
Once they got her attention, they started unloading various attacks onto the Sprit of Malice, throwing whatever they had at her. Mainly from afar. Fire, Grass, Ice, Bug and Fairy were the ones that Cosmos felt the most thanks to Cynthia's Pokemon as she put her arms up, blocking these attacks with a painful scowl on her face.
Meanwhile, Discord took this time to leave as he made his body slippery, allowing him to slip through Cosmos' grip while the Pokemon all bombarded her. Cosmos noticed that Discord escaped her grip, but was then hit in the eye by Swift.
"Enough!" Cosmos thundered at the Pokemon. Both figuratively and literally as she shot out that astral lightning that was embedded with all her vengeful fury. The lightning had consumed any incoming attacks while also roaring through the ground.
The Pokemon immediately backed away only for some of them to be shocked by Cosmos' vengeful lightning. The lightning flared across the ground, continuing on its path of destruction even when hitting the opposing Pokemon as it threatened to damage the Pokemon House.
Thankfully, the Ground-Types got in the way, using their immunity to any form of electricity to block the lightning. It had hit them instead, doing absolutely nothing.
"Discord! Where are you going, dear?!" Cosmos cried out before elongating her arm once more. Discord opened a hole in his dimension with a zip, only for Cosmos to close it off by pulling the zip upwards. "Don't leave so soon, we've just reunited!"
"I uh...have some preparations that need to be done, that's what!" Discord turned around, facing away from Cosmos before being greeted with a massive claw. This claw had grabbed him as he was in Cosmos' grip once more.
"We can do that later! Right now, I have some unfinished business. That Princess and her friends are still around as well. I need them out of the way, understood? They've probably retreated to this spot. I just know it."
"Krookodile!" Krookodile saw his trainer currently being held by Cosmos. He rushed to Discord's side, using Stone Edge. The stones emerged from the ground as blue crystals, crashing into Cosmos' legs. Cosmos had been interrupted once more before glaring at Krookodile.
"Oh no, Krooodile, not now." Discord shook his head after Krookodile made his appearance. Cosmos pointed her claw at the Intimidation Pokemon. This was when Discord was reminded of his other Pokemon. His hundreds of Unown. "Hold on!" He shouted, causing Cosmos to pause for a bit. "Aren't we wasting precious time here with all of this? I mean, this place isn't that important."
"You're right. They're here somewhere." Cosmos nodded. "But I hold grudges!" Despite Discord convincing her, Cosmos still wanted some vengeance. And to do that, she decided to multitask. A way to spot Twilight and her friends and lash out at the Pokemon of the Pokemon House.
She dropped Discord before then expanding her size. She was far bigger than the entire Pokemon House and all of its locations, towering over everything in this area. She put on a menacing grimace for all the Pokemon to see while Discord slowly backed up, focusing on some new assistance. By the hundreds.
5 minutes earlier.
Indeed, they had shown up in Ponyville. All thanks to Bayleef saving them from imminent danger. However, by changing fate to bring all of her friends here, it took a massive toll on the already exhausted and weakened, removing a majority of her neck leaves as a lot of them had touched each of her friends, which were plenty.
"We're back at Ponyville?" Twilight noticed the familiar surroundings before turning to face Bayleef. "Bayleef. Could your leaf always do that?"
"It never teleported us before." Starlight shook her head. "I guess the leaf can do anything that Bayleef puts her mind to. I think."
"Bayleef." Bayleef smiled, looking like she was on the verge of passing out. But she was glad that she managed to get her friends back here.
"Poor, Bayleef. I think you've done enough for now." Fluttershy said to her partner who had used too much of her levels. Bayleef practically looked naked without them. "Take a rest." She had then pulled out Bayleef's Poke Ball, which she rarely ever uses. Bayleef was sent back inside her Poke Ball to recover.
"We could've totally taken that lightning, though." Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves, not too fond of suddenly retreating like that.
"I doubt it." Twilight shook her head. "Unless we had a Pokemon that had the ability to absorb electricity, we would be fine. But Ninetales managed to absorb all of that baneful fire."
"Ninetales!" Ninetales cried out as some of that fire flared ut of his mouth. That caught everyone off guard as astral fire with the colours of blue, red and purple had been seen, startling them.
"Wait! Ninetales?! You kept the flames?!" Twilight gasped as it was not a one-time use. Ninetales now had these malicious flames stuck to him as it didn't look like it bothered him at all. "Wow...You're something, alright."
"Ninetales." Ninetales stuck his tongue out.
"There ya'll are!" Just then, reuniting with their friends were none other than Applejack, Goh and practically the rest of Ponyville. They returned from Canterlot, filling the streets of Canterlot once more considering everyone else was unconscious.
"You're back?" Fluttershy stood up. "Did you get everything sorted out back at Canterlot?"
"We came back here because we saw an extra-large Cosmos in the sky. She looked close to Ponyville so we got worried." Applejack explained. "Ya'll doing okay?"
"Could be better." Rarity replied. "We just had an encounter with Cosmos far from here. Seems she's back to her prime now with some unsightly appearances."
"We saw. Did she just have Cynthia's Pokemon added onto her?" Goh asked.
"She did." Twilight nodded. "Cosmos ended up absorbing them all to create an amalgamated variation of herself. She has all the strength of Cynthia's Pokemon. But now she shares their weaknesses."
"Weaknesses?" Cold Colt repeated.
"Pokemon Moves now work better on her than they did before. She didn't know." Pinkie shrugged before chuckling. The thought of Cosmos not knowing about this until it was explained to her was all too funny to think about, especially her reaction.
"But it's great that we're all still here." Fluttershy was more pleased to see her friends in one piece. By working together and thanks to the power of a Fate Changing Leaf, they managed to all survive. "But uh...where's Ash?"
"Ash is-" Those 5 minutes from before were up. At this very moment, before Hollow could say something about Ash, along came Cosmos.
Her body expanded as she broke through the trees, yelling with her voice booming across the area. This was around the time when she decided to multitask, searching for Twilight and her friends while also dealing with the Pokemon from the Pokemon House. And that time was now.
"THERE YOU ARE!" Cosmos spotted them, just as she hoped. Princess Twilight Sparkle and a majority of her friends had been found. Right here at Ponyville where they had all reunited. "Thought you could run for long?"
"We didn't intend on running," Twilight replied. "If anything, you let us find you before we had to go searching."
"Oooh, someone has a mouth on her." Cosmos let out a fake shudder. "I should expect that from an alicorn, however. But look at you now. Look how many of you it took to stand a chance against just me. I am just one entity."
"Using multiple bodies, that is!" Rainbow Dash called her out, causing Cosmos to scoff as she knew this was true. "You're doing all of this for what? Just because?"
"And rule everything," Cosmos added. "And get back with my Discord. But yes...I am also doing it just because. Why not? I live and thrive off of chaos. Shouldn't I be allowed to fulfil what I was made for? It kind of defeats the purpose of a draconequus."
"When it harms others, that's where we draw the line," said Twilight.
"But that's where all the fun comes from. Using my magic on objects, land or whatever else would be too boring" Cosmos groaned. "Using it on living breathing creatures is so different and so unique. After all, it's why I got such a kick out of attacking Equestria centuries ago. I was stopped, yes. But now, two of the forces that stopped me are now in this state."
She then used her magic to summon two things. A Chaos Orb and a Dynasite Cube. Inside of it, Celestia, Passion and Luna could be seen as the cube had been made transparent.
"Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! Passion?!" Twilight gasped while shouting out their names.
"I'll give them credit. They were far stronger than when I first encountered them centuries ago. Celestia even beat me but...some helpful advice and it was I who emerged victorious." She dangled the orb. "I was weaker, certainly, but not anymore. I'm above my prime. If I were you, which I was for some of you, I would give up while I still could."
The Chaos Storm from before had appeared, encircling the skies once more. The residents of Ponyville and their allies could feel the intimidation factor coming from Cosmos, no doubt. All of the Chaos Magic that came from the tear in the sky flooded towards her, overtaking the night skies with an array of unkempt and disorganized colours. But the residents of Ponyville and their allies did not give up. Not when they knew there was a chance.
"No? Well, then. Allow me to put an end to this once and for all. Get ready to be a part of my empire!" Cosmos decided that now was the time to finish this event. She felt as if it had gone on long enough.
"This might be our last chance," Twilight uttered before gulping. "We should make it count." All of them were going to try and finish this to the best of their abilities.
"Now. How should I sta-" Cosmos was thinking of how to put an end to them with all the options she could choose from. But, during her moment of pondering, she had been blindsiding yet again. A common theme due to how cocky and boastful she was.
This time, she had been interrupted via a black slash. This slash came at unprecedented speeds, hitting Cosmos in the face and leaving a visible mark. Everyone was astounded by this surprise attack as it didn't come from any of them. Being blindsided by this slash had almost toppled the Spirit of Malice. Twilight recognized that slash anywhere.
She looked up at the sky, seeing a familiar figure leap through the trees and even the clouds with an impressive jump. She knew the one Pokemon who would be so bold to catch someone off guard like that.
Absol.
"Absol!" Twilight was thrilled to see Absol once more as the Disaster Pokemon came crashing down. But of course, he landed on his feet like a cat. Though, it was still hard to tell if he was a cat or a dog. Or both. "You're back! You're really back!"
"Absol." Absol turned to face Twilight, putting on a smirk
"THAT THING AGAIN?!" Cosmos met with the Pokemon that started her boiling rage in this current event. Absol. Absol's sneak attack Night Slash was enough to drive Cosmos to an infernal rage. "ENOUGH WASTING TIME! ALL OF YOU WILL SUFFER!" She immediately attacked them, sending out Roserades thorns and Garchomps scales which were expanded.
"Here goes nothing! Absol, Night Slash! Eve, Psychic!" Twilight ordered as the conflict between Ponyville and Cosmos had begun. It started with Eseon and Absol and soon everyone else as they gave their Pokemon various commands.
Absol continued Night Slash, cutting the poisonous thorns in half while Espeon controlled the poison with her Psychic mind, crushing it from the inside while also breaking some of the thorns.
Sceptile had used Frenzy Plant, summoning large roots from the ground that met with these massive thorns, clashing against them. This allowed other Pokemon to run up the roots and use them to approach Cosmos. Pheromosa, Lopunny, Raboot and many more took that opportunity with Pheromosa moving ahead of them thanks to her superior speed.
Cosmos had made the scales pop out of the thorns and roots in massive rows as Pheromosa and Raboot were knocked off the plants that Sceptile had made. But along came Braviary with Steel Wing to cut the scales in half, only to them then grabbed by the thorns.
Ninetales, Rapidash and Raboot had burnt away the thorns via Flare Blitz and a combined Flame Charge. The three of them had crashed into the thorns as Ninetales ended up showing some of the vengeful fire that he had absorbed from Cosmos.
Cosmos scowled at Ninetales, recognizing the astral fire that she owned. Cosmos then used Kommo-o's scales to cause an ear-piercing sound that assaulted everyone's ears, especially Fluttershy and Audino's ears. It also made a soundwave that pushed other Pokemon away along with Sceptile's roots.
This soundwave was strong enough to even affect the buildings, threatening to pull them off the ground while other ponies, especially the younger ones and their Pokemon had been sent flying. Twilight and Starlight worked together to put up a barrier that encased all of their friends. This barrier had blocked off the sound coming from the soundwave, protecting them until it finally finished.
Once the barrier was down, they could continue, but now Cosmos was making it harder for them. Using Glaceon's icy breath, she started to flash-freeze the atmosphere itself. This made the air thin to breathe in while also freezing the beautiful grass and trees of Ponyville.
All the Fire-Types came together with Hollow's Houndoom using Overheat, Goh's Cinderace using Pyro Ball along with Rapidash using Inferno and so on. They held back the ice as it was powerful enough to even combat against fire. Its greatest weakness.
With the addition of other Pokemon attacks, they managed to blow away the icy breath that Cosmos had unleashed. But, Cosmos retaliated with another cataclysmic force. A tsunami. She had brought upon a massive tsunami that burst out of the ground with enough size and power to not just tear through Ponyville but also go beyond and threaten other locations.
Thankfully, they had Pokemon that could sort that out. Cheerilee's Lanturn had Water Absorb, perfect to absorb the water that was coming this way. However, Cosmos knew this by now as she switched it up. The moment the water came towards Lanturn, Cosmos had transformed it into a monster that was made out of Dynasite instead of water. This Dynasite monster gathered every part of the tsunami, turning it into Dynasite with massive fangs emerging. This was not something that Lanturn could absorb.
Rarity's 12 Leavanny had pulled Lanturn away with String Shot as the creature slammed its arm down. The impact of Dynasite hitting the ground was a colossal one with a metal as powerful as Dynasite did serious damage to the earth.
Cosmos wasn't just dealing with Twilight's group but also Krookodile's group. Back at the Pokemon House, she had used her magic to terrorize the utopia of Pokemon. She had used her tail of all things, multiplying it as they were essentially extra limbs attacking Krookodile and everyone.
All the while, Discord had gone into his dimension away from all of this madness. But this time, Discord wasn't running out of fear. He appeared in his dimension where all of his Unown that he had caught could be found.
The Unown lounged either inside his home or the vast expanse of this dimension, not doing much unless by Discord's orders. That was how the Unown worked after all.
"Alright, everyone. Gather around." Discord called for them as the Symbol Pokemon all flocked to their trainer. "Right. If there was ever a better time for me to use you all, now is the time. There's a problem happening outside, but I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle."
Discord then opened up a portal within his dimension as the Unown didn't need to hear anything else. Al, they needed to do was fulfil Discord's wishes as they normally do. Once the hole was open, the Unown with their massive numbers had flown out.
More assistance to help defeat Cosmos was on the way in the form of the many Unown. Back outside, over at the streets of Ponyville and the Pokemon House, Cosmos was putting the pressure on the group for sure.
Some of the Pokemon from the ponies had fainted from Cosmos' assault, causing them to be returned. But of course, they had more teammates to help them out.
Pheromosa breathed in and out as her fragile lissome body couldn't handle this. Rarity saw this before returning the Lissome Pokemon to her Poke Ball, leaving it to the rest of her Pokemon.
To match Cosmos' size, Pinkie Pie had Mew turn into Lugia, emerging as the Water-Psychic-Type. Cosmos looked Mew dead in the eye as he used the body of the Diving Pokemon to ram right into the Spirit of Malice. Cosmos managed to keep herself steady by increasing her weight. She grinned at Mew before opening her mouth, unleashing a massive flare of astral fire.
Mew had taken the flames head-on as they engulfed his entire body even as a Lugia. Sadly, Mew could not copy Lugia's Typing and thus, these flames were truly painful as he fell over, almost hitting the town hall building. Sceptile had used Frenzy Plant to catch Mew, however.
Cosmos then gripped the air itself as if it was a bedsheet, messing with space yet again. She had removed a chunk of the sky off before throwing it at the group. They weren't sure what to do against the sky of all things. The only thing they could do was attack it. But before they could do so, someone already did.
Bisharp from PokePark appeared, cutting the sky chunk in half. It split into two pieces before dissipating and shattering at the same time. "Bisharp! You're here!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Sharp!" Bisharp looked back at Twilight as he and the rest of the Pokemon from PokePark still had not finished their duty. Since they were all officially Twilight's Pokemon, they would defend her no matter what. She certainly had the numbers to protect her.
But Cosmos was still a problem. All of these numbers were needed to go up against this one entity, making it certainly challenging as she had various options against so many Pokemon despite having a weakness to them now.
"I'm getting tired..." Scootaloo panted. "I still haven't slept."
"We just need to get Phione to shine that light on her and Cynthia and all her Pokemon are free, right?" Sweetie Belle also appeared tired as the scuffle between Cosmos continued.
"Phione."
"Ash isn't here. Where is he?" Spike asked. "Was he with you?"
"Ash set up a plan. He's going all-in with his Aura." Hollow explained. "He's waiting for the right moment to use it all on Cosmos for a Hail Arceus attempt. I hope he pulls it off soon because there's no way we can continue against someone like her."
It was revealed that Ash was setting up a plan. Not much of a plan as it was a simple action, but something that would help Cynthia and her Pokemon. Defeating Cosmos was another story, but it was mainly the ones she fused with that needed saving.
High in the skies, riding on the back of Dragonite, Ash was already near Ponyville at this point. But, even though he was expected to use his Aura, Sir Aaron's staff and the Aura of his Lucario, there was one extra ally. Cynthia's Lucario. The one Pokemon that was not affected by Cosmos' magic. Four times the Aura. Ash had come up with the plan a while ago with the Kingdra Durance and when he comes up with a plan, he makes sure that it's initiated.
He saw Cosmos in the distance with Dragonite hovering there. Cosmos could be seen throwing out an assortment of magic against her opponents as it looked like she was in two places at once.
"There she is." Ash adjusted his hat with both Lucarios behind him. "We'll make this in one shot, you guys. Even if it doesn't defeat Cosmos, we'll at least free Cynthia and the others."
"Rrr!" The two Lucarios said as Dragonite advanced towards the scene. Ash had the staff out, ready to take action at any moment. At least, when he's close enough.
Cosmos was facing off against Ponyville. With a vengeful wrath against its residents and those who assisted them, the Spirit of Malice let out all of her hatred that she had boiled up for so long and targeted it at the Pokemon and Pokemon Trainers.
The Spirit of Malice showed no signs of exhaustion, but her opponents certainly did. While not all of them, the residents of Ponyville were not stamina-fiends. The skies sang a horrible sound from Cosmos' Chaotic Storm as she laughed whilst flailing her tail around which had multiplied,
"Oh. Maybe I should try and get ahead of things with universes." Cosmos thought about reaching into other universes as she held her massively terrifying claws out. She once again interacted with the sky itself, piercing her claws through it as if she was touching something physical.
But, interrupting her from messing with not just this world but potentially another world from another universe was an Unown. Multiple Unown. Hundreds of Unown to be exact. They had used Hidden Power on Cosmos, zapping crimson rays from their eyes all over the Spirit of Malice's amalgamated body.
Unown and their Hidden Power was arguably the worst thing that Cosmos could experience right now. Because she was now vulnerable to Infinity Energy after merging with Cynthia's Pokemon, Hidden Power and its various ways of attacking a Pokemon depending on their type were stunningly painful to the Spirit of Malice. They had been sent here by Discord, who was currently hiding to prevent any suspicion from Cosmos that he was the cause of it.
"Gah! What now?!" Cosmos growled after being zapped by Hidden Power. The hundreds of Unown were of great assistance to Twilight and everyone else as they had more allies on their side. Especially since the Unown proved to be a huge problem to them a few months back. "What type of Pokemon is this?!" Cosmos thundered, swinging her massive claws at the Unown once setting her sights on them.
With a swing of her claw, she made a wind pressure while also knocking some of the Unown away. But there were so many of them that they rivalled the numbers of Twilight's group. More of them showed up, using the only attack they could use. Hidden Power. Each ray was tailored to expose the weakness of Cynthia's five Pokemon and it worked efficiently.
Discord peered from the corner of a building, hoping that Cosmos hadn't noticed him or knew of the fact that he sent the Unown. The last thing he wanted was Cosmos targeting him.
Approaching the scene were Ash, Pikachu, his Lucario, Cynthia's Lucario and Dragonite. The Aura within them and the Staff of Sir Aaron were already raring to go with the goal of freeing Cynthia. They saw that Cosmos was occupied with so many Pokemon that the golden opportunity was right there.
That is until Cosmos spoke directly to them.
"I see you." Cosmos had used Gastrodon's third eye and other eyes to survey the area. She immediately spotted Ash's group approaching her from the sky while in a battle. Ash gasped as his sneak attack had been compromised. "I see that staff as well. Do you think I'd let it happen a second time?!"
After spotting Ash and his party, Cosmos multitasked yet again, focusing on a new target. She opened her mouth, suddenly summoning a storm of snakes. Massive snakes as well. These snakes were sent to deal with both Twilight's group and Ash's group. Four of these snakes had slithered to the sky while another four had slithered on the ground.
These massive snakes also ignited their body, setting the ground ablaze from their heat as they had the same malicious fury as Cosmos in every way.
"Pika...Chuuu!" These snakes were swiftly met with a thundering smite from Pikachu's bolt of 100,000 volts, a destructive beam from Dragonite and two concentrated spheres of Aura that came from both Ash's Lucario and Cynthia's Lucario as they swirled around each other, moving at the same speed.
The four snakes had been shocked, blasted away and engulfed by these four attacks before spoofing in a cloud of chaotic smoke. Meanwhile, below, Sceptile had used Frenzy Plant to grab these snakes, restraining them. However, the flames burnt away at the vines, only for Milotic and other Water-Types to then spray them with water. The snakes were drenched in water before then vanishing in a puff of smoke.
That puffs of smoke soon turned into Cosmos' claw as she summoned another one of them. The same went for the ones in the air. These arms had grabbed Milotic, Mega Sceptile and the other Water-Types after appearing, slamming them into the ground. They had also caused enough force to the point where their trainers had been launched back by the tremor. Milotic had fainted alongside the other Water Pokemon. Only Mega Sceptile was left as Bisharp cut the arms to help him out of this grip.
Queen Serperior, Lilligant, Rarity's 12 Leavanny along with PokePark's Leavanny had collaborated with great unity starting with the 12 Leavanny using String Shot, wrapping it around Cosmos' arms and head. Afterwards, once she was restrained, Lilligant, who was charging Solar Beam prior to this, had released a verdant beam while Petal Blizzard and Leaf Storm joined it.
Cosmos' face was met with this array of nature, jerking it back and almost knocking her over. Cosmos, in retaliation, had then multiplied her head while the main one was still feeling the effects of Leaf Storm, Petal Blizzard and Solar Beam. Once she multiplied her heads, she now had six more of them to use.
But these weren't just duplicates of her head. These six heads belonged to Cynthia and her 4 Pokemon. All of their heads were poking out while still being connected to Cosmos' neck, making her already look like an even bigger monstrosity. She now resembled a terrifying Hydra at this point.
"Oh, it's just getting worse..." Twilight backed away upon seeing this horrific hydra Cosmos. With each passing minute, not only were Cosmos' attacks getting worse but so was her appearance as it was deviating away from something understandable.
"Oh, it only gets worse from here, my little pony!" Cosmos exclaimed before laughing with five different voices from five different individuals that she absorbed. All of their voices were meshing against each other, making a horrific sound. It was unpleasant to Fluttershy, Audino and the Audino from PokePark.
Out of these six heads, Cosmos had unleashed cosmic beams that all had equal destructive power. These six beams had crashed into the ground, spreading nothing but destruction this time, blowing away the opposing Pokemon with different elements imbued within them. Dragon, Ice, Water and Grass.
The head of Cynthia looked over at Ash's group, extending to try and bite them. Cynthia's Lucario was mortified by what Cosmos had done to its trainer.
"This is it! Here goes!" Ash saw an opportunity, however. Dragonite accelerated towards the head as Ash and the two Lucario had put their arms out. "Pikachu, Electroweb!"
"Pika-Pika-Chu-Pi!" Pikachu had summoned an orb of electricity, hopping off of Dragonite's back. To give his friends a better chance at freeing Cynthia and her Pokemon as the orb had been thrown before then turning into a large net. That net had grabbed onto Cynthia's face, restraining it. It also shocked Cosmos' body in the process with only the parts of Garchomp and Gastrodon being unaffected.
But on the plus side, one of her heads had been restrained as Ash and the two Lucarios had touched it. Cosmos' eyes expanded with her pupils dilating as Ash and the two Aura Pokemon managed to finally make contact, much to her shock. And once they touched her face, the Aura began to flow.
Everything came to a halt for a moment once the power of Aura had shown itself. A trifecta of Auras went off in a dazzling Azure light. The darkness that Cosmos produced had been pierced with the flare of Aura spreading across the head of Cynthia.
Cosmos let out a thundering roar after feeling the Aura reach her. The light had not only enveloped Cynthia's head, but also the entire body of Cosmos along with Ash and his group. It was a success touching Cosmos but the true plan of freeing Cynthia and her Pokemon was still in the air.
An unknown realm inside Cosmos' mind.
This entire time, Cynthia has been on her own, devoid of anyone else to see or talk to. Cynthia sat on a non-existent ground, huddled up as it felt like months had gone by for her. Possibly years. When really, it's only been two days and one night. But it felt much longer than that.
Cynthia never lost hope. She believed well and true that she would be rescued somehow, someway. All Cynthia had to do was wait. There was nothing else she could do anyway. But even when having hope and waiting, Cynthia couldn't help but think about her Pokemon and how they were doing. She wasn't even aware of Cosmos and everything else that was happening. The only trace of Cosmos that she knew about was the constant laughter that echoed across this realm. But even then, Cynthia had no idea who Cosmos was. It looked like she would stay there forever until something happened. A crack.
"!" Cynthia stood up, sensing this crack immediately. This crack had formed within the realm, shattering the darkness that encapsulated it. The Champion of Sinnoh stood there for a moment before seeing a familiar flare burst through. A flare of Aura. And right through it, a hand showed up.
Ash had arrived.
"Ash!" Cynthia exclaimed with joy in her voice.
"Oh, this thing's pretty narrow!" Ash growled as he managed to reach this arm. "Cynthia! There you are!"
"Luca!" Both Lucarios had burst their heads through the realm, giving Ash more space. Cynthia's Lucario was especially overjoyed to see its trainer once more. As she should normally be.
"Grab our hand and paws, Cynthia!" Ash held his hand out while the Lucarios used their paws. Cynthia did not have to waste any more time or say anything else. She knew what needed to be done. Cynthia ran over as her hands met with three different limbs.
The plan was a success. Only possible with the help of many others. That was the strength of Ash and all those who were his friends. The strength of bringing others together to overcome odds as another flare of Aura had happened within this realm.
The Aura had spread out, engulfing the entirety of this realm in a matter of seconds as if it were a wildfire going off. Or rather, a calming flow of water that filled the sea as Cynthia closed her eyes with a smile.
Back outside. Ponyville.
"G-GAAAAAAAAH!" Outside, Cosmos was screaming in absolute pain. Previously, she had been touched by Aura from the outside but now, it was made worse for her as it happened on the inside.
Inside Cosmos' mind, the Aura had been unleashed. The result of that powerful force that was poisonous to her played its part as she grabbed her six heads with multiplied arms, roaring and shaking the skies and clouds while everyone watched and closed their ears.
Speaking of the six heads, they were all starting to jitter and shake at insurmountable speeds, moving so fast that they became a blur. Cosmos was trying to keep these heads stable, but it was no use. Her heads all felt light, everything around her seemed to spin and a feeling of nauseousness crept up slowly with the five heads beginning to glow.
For a moment she focused on the pain, honing in on every sensation. Where it came from, how badly it hurt and how badly they wanted it to stop. Tried as she might it seemed impossible to relax completely. Just then, lights flared out of her body in every direction.
Nine lights had shown up as they were all under Cosmos' possession. At least, now they were. The Chaos Orb that Celestia and Passion had been placed in revealed itself once more, flying out alongside the cube of Dynasite that contained Luna. The power of three different Auras going off inside of her was more than what Cosmos was expecting as the five heads ended up transforming into those remaining 7 lights.
And out of them, Cynthia and her Pokemon could be seen emerging. Everyone ran or flew back as Cosmos let out a burst of Chaos Magic that expanded to a wide radius from this volatile reaction. And carrying Cynthia was Ash and the two Lucario, keeping her up while Dragonite flew back. The rest of Cynthia's Pokemon were a different story as they all couldn't be grabbed by Ash at the moment.
"Oh! Leavanny, String Shot!" Rarity ordered her Leavanny.
"Leavan!" The Leavanny solved that issue. By using their strings, they managed to wrap all of their thick silky strings onto the bodies of Cynthia's Pokemon.
These silks were made to be extra durable thanks to their thickness as the moment they dropped to the ground, the multiple layers of strings cushioned the fall. Dragonite managed to get everyone else down safely once Cynthia was free. But, her Pokemon had been through quite a lot and thus, they were currently unconscious. But not Cynthia herself thanks to being safe inside of Cosmos' mind.
"They did it! Nice!" Twilight cheered after seeing Cynthia and her Pokemon freed. Everyone else cheered while Cosmos was feeling winded after having Aura inside of her and the loss of her vessel. Then again, she no longer needed Cynthia as a vessel.
"Nice save, you three," Cynthia said to Ash and the two Lucario after being saved. She took a moment to take a breather and everything in at the same time. Her Lucario rushed over to her, hugging the Champion of Sinnoh "It's great to see you as well, Lucario!" She laughed, hugging Lucario back.
"That was a success!" Ash chuckled. "Got almost crazy back there with all those heads though!"
"Pikachu!"
"I knew I'd be rescued eventually. But I suppose I should've known it would be you to free me. Your Aura capabilities have truly improved. Far more than what I have."
"Gee, thanks, Cynthia. It's just great to have you back with us."
"Pikachu."
"But it's not over. Is it?" Cynthia then put on a serious face before turning around to see that Cosmos was still around. She may have lost her amalgamated monstrosity, but she was still in one piece either way. If anything, her weakness to Pokemon Attacks had dwindled now that Cynthia's Pokemon had been separated from her.
"HAH! ALL YOU DID WAS REMOVE MY NEW WEAKNESS!" Cosmos laughed at them before balancing herself. "I'M STILL ABOVE MY PRIME! THE RIFT ENERGY THAT MADE A SUBSTITUTE ANDALUSIAN STAR FOR ME IS COMING IN GREAT HELP!"
"Rift Energy with a star? What exactly happened?" Cynthia wanted to know everything that had transpired while her boy was under control.
"And...I have enough power left...to do this!" Cosmos continued what she tried earlier. She used her magic to once again duplicate her arms, summoning hundreds of them. Once these arms were out, Cosmos had interacted with the sky once more. But she was going above and beyond just that.
After piercing her hand through the skies themselves, Cosmos dug deeper, breaking through the boundaries of reality. When moving her arms further, she made not just the sky shake, not just the town or the nearby areas shake, but the world as well.
Cosmos managed to make the entire planet shake just by touching the sky. Visible cracks were also forming within the skies and their celestial bodies everyone started losing balance from the trembling of the earth. The cracks spread out further as the clouds started to crumble. The view of the night sky rippled furiously as Cosmos' eyes and entire body flared with Chaos Magic, sending a raging heat that was from all of her hatred.
Ash held onto his hat, trying to keep it steady while everything around him and his friends were starting to collapse. But that wasn't the case. Instead, Cosmos was reaching for other universes.
Universes 3, 5, 8, 12 & More.
And she did.
With many of the residents of these different universes living their lives, some of them even being freed from the Empress Control thanks to the Universal Alliance, they certainly weren't expecting what would happen next.
Things to them seemed ordinary until massive arms with long claws burst straight through their skies, shattering them while also making a sound that none of them had ever heard before. It felt otherworldly to the ears as each of them had been jump-scared indefinitely
Various universes had been reached by Cosmos. Her arms were made to be large and long to reach these universes as the shattered skies had dropped sky shards that started falling. Naturally, everyone across different universes had no idea what was going on as these sky shards had some weight to them with some of them piercing through buildings as if they were swords.
Right in-between these massive claws that were moving through universes, a face had appeared. Cosmos' face. It had an astral appearance to it while also perfectly capturing her virulent grimace, her horrifying sharp eyes and her haunting laugh that blocked out all other sounds.
Her claws had also broken through mountains, building tops and more once they reached these different universes. The sky shards were so far the biggest problem upon Cosmos' appearance. They had enough strength to pierce through the buildings as ponies, dragons, changelings and other species started fleeing. NOt from the giant face and claws from the skies but from the sharp shards that originated from the skies themselves.
An abrupt burst in the skies and a burst of dark pink energy marked the coming of malicious destruction. Cosmos broke the boundaries between universes without needing to use a gateway. Truth is, she could always do this. Such was the stellar and horrific power of Chaos Magic.
Her appearance had even expanded to the point where she was among the stars. Her face was out of orbit, only appearing in the skies due to her stagnant size as she overshadowed the beautiful night sky and the stars with her terrifying appearance.
And one of these universes that had been reached was none other than Universe 7. Home of Daybreaker. Daybreaker's universe had also received a crack in the sky.
However, instead of putting on a serious face, Daybreaker, who was standing on her balcony, merely smiled at this. She seemed unbothered. Unphased. Even though the sky has been broken with shards dropping, Daybreaker used her amazing magic to not only hold the shards in place but also place them back.
Her magic proved to be grand enough to repair the damage made by Cosmos. The residents of Canterlot watched in amazement, but they thought nothing less of their ruler.
Joining Daybreker on the balcony was none other than Ghetsis and the one who brought the spare Andalusian Stars over to Lucien to give to Cosmos.
Colress.
"Well, Colress. You did well in managing to get the stars over." Daybreaker spoke. "Cosmos looks to be in tip-top shape. Probably more than usual."
"It wasn't that difficult. Just go to another universe and had over the stars." Colress shrugged. "A great plan. But of course, it was a splendid recommendation from Lord Ghetsis."
"Again. This is the best way for your Supernova weapon to gather heaps of power. You don't want to limit yourself to RIft Magic, do you? You should shoot for other great powers." Ghetsis replied as this was revealed to be his plan.
"And you were right, Ghetsis." Daybreaker laughed. "Cosmos doesn't know this but she's helping us. Or rather me. I need all possibilities of bringing my sister back. And if the options are minuscule and hard to achieve, then we make our own."
In truth, this plan was all meant for Daybreaker's Supernova. Weapon. A weapon that had the power to absorb different forms of energy, From magic, Infinity Energy, RIft Magic and even Chaos Magic as right now, after reaching this universe, Cosmos' magic was being given to the massive weapon inside of the palace.
Universe 1. Equestria. Ponyville. Nightfall.
Back in the first universe, everyone had seen just what Cosmos had done. They saw how the skies cracked but they were unable to see what she had done beyond that. But, it wasn't hard to know that it was nothing good.
Discord had seen it all, however. He looked past the cracks, noticing that Cosmos was reaching another universe. Multiple even. Discord held his breath in as he knew that this much damage could only be fixed by someone similar to Cosmos. And much to his chagrin, that was him.
He was still terrified of the Spirit of Malice, afraid to tell her the truth. But after seeing everyone's efforts, especially his Unown and even his Krookodile, Discord could see that there was some form of bravery that he managed to gain by sending his Unown there. It was that one moment that he was brave enough to do so, but there was still some cowardice behind it. Discord started thinking of what he should do next.
Once Cosmos removed her claws from the cracks in the skies which had been left behind, Discord finally showed himself. Cosmos took notice of her fellow draconequus as he flew up to her enlarged body with her eyes locking onto her lover.
"Discord. Darling. There you are. Why hide for so long? You don't strike me as the nervous type." Cosmos spoke to him. Discord then looked down, facing his friends with an audible gulp that only Fluttershy and the two Audino had heard.
Fluttershy knew how Discord was feeling. She nodded his head, encouraging him to go through with what could come next when involving the Spirit of Malice.
"Cosmos." Discord spoke with a slight whimper in his voice. "This is it. You're done for. Put everything back to the way it was or I might have to..."
"Have to what, dear? We have a lot to look forward to for every other universe. So why put this back together? Things are coming up my way. Albeit with some slight annoyances. After all, you care for me too much to do anything else, right? Centuries ago, I noticed you were always looking up at the sky because of me."
"I was looking up at the sky because I was terrified of you." Discord then landed on Cosmos' face, poking it. Cosmos had hearts in her eyes, not bothered by Discord's words. "Terrified that you would come back, you arrogant fool. You were making me miserable!"
"No. You adore me." Cosmos was in denial.
"No. For you see...the truth is..." Discord took a deep breath before finally revealing the truth to her. "I was the one who ran to Celestia and Luna to beg them to lock you away. And these Unown were sent by me to stop you." He finally admitted it to Cosmos.
"Because you don't have the heart to do it yourself." Cosmos gushed, still believing that Discord had intense feelings for her. Everyone watched as this conversation went on with some of them gagging from Cosmos' replies. "Admit. We're two sides of the same coin! You can't hurt me. You care about me."
"I did care about you once. But you were never that special to me...nor were you my friend!" Discord had suddenly expanded his body size, matching Cosmos as he was going straight for the crown of the Andalusian Stars. Cosmos was shocked to hear this as she blocked Discord from grabbing the crown by holding his arms.
"What?!" She growled.
"You stopped thinking about what I wanted! You used me! You didn't care about me! That's not what a friend is, let alone a lover! I don't even know what you are!" Discord continued to lash out at her. "Right now, I'm not afraid of you anymore! You will put everything back the way they were before you came back! These humans, ponies and Pokemon are my true friends!"
"Discord!" Cosmos thundered with a storm brewing until that storm slowed down. She suddenly let go of Discord before putting on a face of distraught. "You've changed."
"I have." Discord shook his head as Cosmos was severely disappointed by this. Her mouth trembled as she looked genuinely sad about what had become of her fellow draconequus.
"I haven't." But, that was all a ruse as she caught Discord off guard, blasting him with a massive ray of Chaotic Energy. Cosmos laughed after blindsiding Discord before cackling. "YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I AM!? I AM MALICE PERSONIFiED! OBVIOUSLY, I USED YOU! WHAT GOES BETTER WITH MALICE THAN CHAOS?!"
"Discord! Ash and everyone screamed as Discord had been shot down y this massive blast of Chaos Magic. He fell to the ground in this massive body before shrinking. Cosmos revealed her true intentions before laughing at Discord's downed body.
"AND IF CHAOS WON'T JOIN ME AS MY COMPANION, YOU CAN SIT AT MY FEET AS A DOG!" Cosmos declared Discord useless to her now. Only seeing her as a potential new pet. Discord tremble on the ground before rubbing his eyes, sitting up to see the true face of the one he once had fun with.
The final confrontation against Cosmos was here. After freeing Cynthia and her 5 Pokemon from Cosmos' control, especially Cynthia who was the main vessel for a long time, they could all finally focus on putting a stop to Cosmos once and for all. Discord as well had finally stood up to Cosmos while also receiving a painful chaotic blast that knocked him to the ground for a bit.
Celestia, Passion and Luna were on the ground after an explosion of Chaos Magic forced most of Cosmos' effects to fizzle out. All thanks to the power of Aura. However, they were still badly injured as Celestia and Passion's body limits had been pushed whilst Luna suffered a concussion from being knocked out by Dynasite.
"Fluttershy. Audino. Please heal them." Twilight went over to them along with Fluttershy, her Audino and even the Audino from PokePark. "They should recover at a quicker rate with Mega Audino's Heal Pulse."
"We're already on it, Twilight. Audi. Use Heal Pulse." Fluttershy replied before facing not just her Audino but PokePark's Audino. The power of Heal Pulse was used twice with the green auras covering the bodies of the two sisters and the Embrace Pokemon.
All the while Discord got back up, feeling winded from Cosmos' blast. After finally standing up to her, he received pain in response as Cosmos had also revealed her true intentions to him.
"I'll rule the various universes myself then! All of you will serve under me!" Cosmos exclaimed before putting her claws back into the shattered holes through the universe itself, reaching for another universe. She then removed her claw, pulling something from another universe and revealing it.
She ended up grabbing a destructive form of energy that had a gauzy grey aura with green runes in it. Her other claw pulled out another magical source from another universe as this one had a semi-transparent red aura with orange blobs on the fringe. Cosmos wasn't sure what kind of magic she was tampering with but she could care less.
She meshed these two magical sources from different universes together, making the atmosphere itself shine as her body was outlined with this combination of magic. She was forming a horrible paroxysm by doing, turning these sources into her own cosmic power.
However, before she could do anything about it, someone interrupted her. And it came from far instead of nearby. From the distance, breaking through the dark clouds, a Hyper Beam had shown up. It flew over everyone's heads before then crashing into Cosmos' body as it was large enough to engulf her.
Cosmos screamed as the two magical sources she had combined had almost fizzled out. The Spirit of Malice nearly fell on her back, only to disgustingly twist and contort her body to make sure that wouldn't happen. She then faced the direction of the Hyper Beam, wondering who was responsible for it. By now, Cosmos was getting sick and tired of all these interruptions. She believed it was Palkia. But it was someone closely related to Palkia.
Giratina.
"Giratina!" Ash thundered after seeing the Renegade Pokemon arrive. And of course, if Giratina was here, that means that its trainer Princess Flurry Heart from another universe.
"Hiya!" Flurry Heart waved at everyone. It wasn't just her and Giratina, of course. Her parents were with her. Riding on Aegislash as always was Shining Armor and carrying her partner Sylveon with magic was Cadence Alongside the guards of the Crystal Empire.
"Ugh..." Cosmos rubbed her head. "Why do I even bother with these surprises?" The ponies and Pokemon of the Crystal Empire had descended upon Ponyville, showing up to back up Ponyville. Giratina especially locked eyes with Cosmos, already sending the cosmic disturbance that she brought about.
"We finished with our Cosmos problem back at the Crystal Empire," Cadence spoke. "We can thank these two for warning us about the incoming miniature ones." She then turned around, aiming her hoof at the group of guards and Golurk, who had then walked to the side.
The two ponies behind them this entire time were none other than Emerald Aura and Jade Skies. Two more Rift Ponies. They had shown themselves with Emerald Aura removing a tiny bit of Cosmos' claw off her hoof.
"Jade!" Pinkie Pie zoomed over, meeting with her monotone friend. Jade stood perfectly still with Pinkie Pie hugging her, causing her to wobble. "I was worried about you all day!"
"Sorry about that." She replied. "Emerald and I's visit to the Crystal Empire turned sour with this sudden attack. It happened when we were on the way there."
"But more importantly!" Emerald slid in. "I told them everything I mean, I know about Cosmos all too well thanks to this great knowledge of both worlds. I caught them up to speed."
"She told us everything about Cosmos when she showed up." Shining Armor added while looking up at Cosmos who was being bombarded by Hidden Power from the Unown and other attacks from the Pokemon House. "Everything from the original timeline, that is."
"So we're all up to speed." Flurry Heart chimed in. "Giratina also felt something familiar nearby. Do you know what that is?"
"Not sure. But as long as you're here, that's all that matters." Twilight replied before looking over at Celestia, Luna and Passion.
"Aunties!" Cadence took notice before rushing to the side of her aunties. Mega Audino and Audino had just finished using Heal Pulse with Mega Audino's shining significantly brighter thanks to all that Mega Energy.
The concussion and the overtaxing of the body had been taken care of all thanks to these two Hearing Pokemon. Cadence had nothing to worry about as her aunties would indeed recover.
"Ugh..." And it started with Celestia grunting, slowly opening her eyes. The first thing she saw was her niece Cadence alongside the two Audino, Twilight and Fluttershy's faces. "Oh..."
"Princess Celestia! You're up!" Twilight shouted.
"Not so loud, Twilight..." Luna groaned as she had also woken up, at last, rubbing her eye. Passion held her head, still feeling some sort of pain. But either way, they were fine. The sound of Cosmos screaming went off along with the sound of other attacks.
This alerted the three of them once they had awoken. Their attention was drawn to the battle happening around Ponyville against the fully resurrected Spirit of Malice. Seeing Cosmos immediately reminded them of how and why they were in this position.
"Cosmos!" Celestia stood up. It was as if she never passed out since she had a lot of energy in that shout and the speed that she stood up. "So...her resurrection succeeded after all."
"But she hasn't won yet," Ash replied to Celestia. "We just have to beat her and it'll all be over."
"Most of you look tired though..." Flurry Heart noticed how the Ponyville residents were exhausting themselves. Nightfall had shown up hours ago and neither of them have managed to rest up. "Do we have enough numbers?"
"Enough to work with," Cynthia spoke. "All we have to do is destroy that crown of hers that possesses her stars. She's done an excellent job at fortifying it. Nothing is breaking through it. Not even that Hyper Beam from Giratina hit it."
"Yeah, you're right!" Flurry Heart gasped as the crown was unaffected. "So then...what can break the crown?"
"I've got something that might work." Ash had an option available. Thanks to Sombra reminding him, he had held his hand out, revealing his Z Ring and the Pikachunium Z-Crystal on it. "Mega Evolution so far isn't working on that crown, but Z-Moves might have that extra power we need. At least, this one."
"Pikachu!"
"I have mine as well." Fluttershy held out the Firium Z while Pinkie Pie bounced over, showing the Mewnium Z. "If we use them all together, it could break the crown."
"Those are powerful options. Let's make it work. As for us." Celestia and Passion looked up at Cosmos as without even having second thoughts, they had gone back to using Celestial-Gardevoir. Celestia stood completely still, using her magic to activate Mega Evolution.
Despite just now getting back up after being healed, the Embrace Pokemon and the Ruler of Equestria were willing to risk it all to stop this cosmic threat as the lights from Mega Evolution and Celestia's golden magic had appeared, wrapping them before fusing them both. A pillar of golden energy shot into the sky, separating the dark clouds before revealing the fusion of Celestia and Passion. Celestial-Gardevoir.
"We'll distract her long enough for you to use your Z-Moves," Celestial-Gardevoir spoke, ascending into the air.
"B-But you just healed up! Are you sure about this?!" Fluttershy questioned, bitting her hoof.
"Positive." The fusion grinned before flying off. Following Celestial-Gardevoir was both Luna and even Giratina without Flurry Heart needing to say anything.
"Oh! Giratina, wait!" Flurry Heart cried out, following the Renegade Pokemon. Cosmos, who was already occupied with so many Pokemon, had to deal with more problems.
"Cosmos!" Celestial-Gardevoir shouted out Cosmos' name before unleashing Dazzling Gleam onto her. Cosmos hissed at the fusion, putting up a shield against the Fairy Magic.
"Ah! Look who's up! Ready to be overtaxed once more?!" Cosmos taunted while holding back the Fairy Magic. But breaking through that shield was none other than Giratina.
The Renegade Pokemon roared, crashing its body into Cosmos at full force, using Antimatter to disintegrate her shield. Cosmos felt Giratina's heavy body smash into her as it was vastly heavier than even Palkia. This allowed for Celestial-Gardevoir's Dazzling Gleam to connect thanks to Giratina's efforts.
Cosmos coughed from this double whammy of attacks. To add to that team assault, along came a vengeful Luna who had used the power of Lunar Ire to strengthen her anger. A beam consisting of Luna's natural dark blue colours and Lunar Ire's crimson red aura had appeared with a beautiful sight before then going straight for Cosmos' eyes.
Cosmos received a horrible eyeshot thanks to Luna. Luna made sure that it stung, wanting Cosmos to feel the pain she brought her and her Pokemon thanks to the cubes as Cosmos screamed. She put her claw over her eye, staggered and wide open.
Giratina had used Aura Sphere while other Pokemon took advantage of Cosmos' stagger. The Spirit of Malice had been blasted with an array of attacks, including an Aura Sphere that came from Giratina, which only added to the pain.
With pure aggravation, Cosmos had used those two magical sources that she gathered from earlier, finally unleashing them. An unusual meteoric fusion of magic had been unleashed, hitting Giratina first, pushing it back before then splitting up into other smaller beams, targeting Celestial-Gardevoir and the others.
Celestial-Gardevoir immediately started fleeing from these beams along with Luna. However, they were homing as they ended up multiplying to a ridiculous amount. Enough to overwhelm its targets. Celestial-Garedvoir and Luna were struck by them, suffering some damage from a magical source that originated from two different universes.
It had a ripping, crashing malevolent force to it that split parts of the ground apart. Giratina fell over, crashing through the rubble and nearby hitting a building in the process. Flurry Heart used her magic to hold Giratina in place, keeping it steady and preventing any collateral damage to the buildings.
All the while, Ash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had already activated their Z-Rings. They were just waiting for that opening and that moment for them to unleash it on Cosmos' crown. The triple lights were flaring from the rings as they had yet to strike some poses.
Cosmos had made an eyepatch, using it to heal her damaged eye. She grizzled her teeth before then igniting them. Cosmos then went leapt through the air, threatening to bite down Giratina, who was the biggest target here.
"Force Palm!" Rainbow Dash, Cynthia and even Ash shouted to their Pokemon.
"Mien...Foo!" Mienfoo and both Lucarios interrupted this with Force Palm. They had jumped into the air, uppercutting Cosmos and preventing her from getting a fiery bite. Not only did they stop her, but the force of the uppercut ended up smashing her teeth together, causing the flames to backfire on her. Cosmos' mouth caught on fire because of this with some of her teeth shattering.
"Let me cool you off! Hydro Pump! And follow up with Zap Cannon, Ampharos!" Rarity bellowed.
"Luxray, Discharge!" Rainbow Dash joined in.
"Minccy! Thunder! So did Twilight.
"Sceptile, Thunder Punch!" And so did Applejack.
"Milotic!" Milotic unleashed a powerful stream of water that had focused on Cosmos' face. It did end up putting the flames, however, not only was she blasted back as well as being drenched in water, it made her highly vulnerable to electricity.
"Ampha...Ros!" Once Cosmos was drenched in water, she was met with electricity. Ampharos threw a sphere of electricity, Sceptile moved in with his hand sparking some volts while Luxray unleashed a flare of lightning.
Celestial-Gardevir chimed in, using Thunderbolt to add to this electrifying assault. Cosmos, who was just now recovering, had to receive this array of electricity. The Pokemon from the Pokemon House who were unable to affect her thanks to the fused portions of Garchomp and Gastrodon earlier could now do something with their Electric-Type attacks.
A fusion of water and electricity was never a safe thing and Cosmos would feel the full force of such an effect. The Spirit of Malice grizzled, growled, screamed and quivered, but not once did she fall over. Even after being blasted by such powerful Electric attacks and being thrown to the ground.
Even so, she did not waver. She merely grinned before then having the genius idea of converting all of this damage into something she could use. She used all of her hatred, gathering the water and electricity that covered her body. Cosmos managed to make it all form into one force. A malevolent ball of vengeful lightning and raging water.
After forming it, she threw it back at the ones who had assaulted her. Mega Ampharos, Mega Sceptile, Luxray, Cinccino and even Twilight plus Rainbow Dash had been the ones to receive the brunt of this attack.
The chaotic fusion between these two forces then caused an electrifying tidal wave that had formed. Discord immediately put a stop to this, using his magic to turn the tidal wave into a cake batter. It was a quick and tasty save as the cake batter was far slower than water, causing it to barely reach anyone.
Cosmos then stretched her body to insane proportions, mimicking that of an octopus. A massive one as she even gained multiple tentacles. But these far surpassed the usual eight tentacles an octopus has as she flailed them around, knocking away some of the nearby Pokemon.
"No good...She's moving too much!" Ash said as it was hard to focus on Cosmos' crown since there was so much movement. The Z-Moves were still active with Pikachu, Raboot and Audino waiting patiently.
"Hah..." Celestial-Gardevoir held her head as she was now pushing her body limits instead of Cosmos forcing her to do so. That moment of breathing in and out allowed for Cosmos to grab with one of her tentacles. "Ngh!"
Coming to Celestial-Gardevoir's aid was Aegslash as he had used Sacred Sword, cutting the tentacle in half which made Cosmos scream in pain. Celestial-Gardevoir had been freed while also receiving some healing from the two Audino. Mega Audino and PokePark's Audino had both used Heal Pulse to recover the fusion's stamina, getting her back up to speed.
Flying past Celestial-Gardevoir was none other than Giratina who had travelled through the shadows with Shadow Force before then reappearing behind Cosmos, bashing its head onto her back. The Spirit of Malice fell forward, only to be met with a combined Aura Sphere from Togekiss plus Ash and Cynthia's Lucario.
While she fell forward, the trio of Aura Spheres had crashed into her. Cosmos then summoned an extra tail, wrapping it around Giratina's body without even having to face the Ghost-Dragon-Type. Giratina was then thrown towards the two Lucario and Togekiss, causing a wind pressure thanks to its body weight. Togekiss flew out of the way whilst the two Lucario had ducked.
Sceptile thankfully caught the Renegade Pokemon with Frenzy Plant, wrapping massive roots around its body, keeping it safe from a hard crash to the ground.
"We're not getting anywhere with this..." Rarity panted some of her Leavanny sat down. They didn't have infinite stamina, unfortunately.
"Yeah...Even I can't go on for this long." Rainbow Dash descended as the Cutie Mark Crusaders started wobbling, trying not to fall asleep. But that was difficult because, at the end of the day, they did not have the stamina of a Pokemon. Certain Pokemon, anyway. Even some of the Pokemon were getting tired, wanting this to be over.
"I gotcha!" Luckily, they had someone that could fix that. Cold Colt. By using his Rift Magic, the young pony ended up giving them the stamina that they needed to continue. Rarity's eyes widened as she could feel her exhausted body suddenly rejuvenated as if she was just waking up on a fresh new day. "Will that do?"
"Ah. It will do greatly, darling." Rarity nodded, stretching her muscles. "But even so...we've yet to stop Cosmos. If we don't do something, this could go on forever."
Just as Rarity was pondering on the next upcoming seconds and minutes of this scuffle, someone else had joined the raid against Cosmos. Cosmos held Giratina's head while the Unown kept blasting her, only for something to shoot up. The Spirit of Malice looked up, witnessing a familiar pink energy.
This pink energy flowed up like a water stream, even resembling water slightly. It broke through the dark clouds while also slicing them in half. A familiar roar had also emerged. One that had prompted Giratina to roar in response. Both of these roars worked well with each other as a burst of pink energy happened in the sky. That pink energy had also shot out pink rays that pierced through Cosmos' arms, making her wince.
And emerging out of it was Palkia.
Palkia had returned.
"Palkia!" Ash shouted.
"Pikachu!"
"What?! HOW'D YOU BREAK FREE?!" Cosmos' eyes flared as she was certain that Palkia had been restrained for good, only to find that it was free and still healthy to boot while roaring to the skies.
"Palkia says it just did." Fluttershy translated for Cosmos.
"Just did?! What does that even mean?!" Cosmos shouted back at Fluttershy. "And...What are you doing?" Cosmos had then noticed that Fluttershy alongside Ash and Pinkie Pie were charging something up. Their Z-Moves. But before she could get a closer and longer look, Giratina headbutted her, flinching the draconequus and forcing her off.
Palkia flew over, landing next to its fellow Creation Trio member, Giratina. Despite being from different universes, they were still related and knew of the threat in front of them. The two Dragons looked at each other before nodding in understanding. Cosmos sneered at them both. Mainly Palkia since it had destroyed her previous stars in the first place.
She stood before two members of the Creation Trio, remnants of Arceus and so many other Pokemon. All the while, no longer being fearful of any of them now that she was in her prime. Beyond that even.
"None of this intimidates me anymore..." Cosmos said. "You all used to terrify me with how much power you had. In such small and cute bodies too. But not anymore. You should be offering me! And me alone! If anything, I should be the Icon of Fear as well the Spirit of Malice!"
"I wouldn't go along and call yourself the Icon of Fear." Luna thought otherwise with Cosmos looking at her. "It's most certainly not and never will be you."
"Hoh? And who exactly can replace that? You?" The Spirit of Malice chuckled at Luna's opposing words, dismissing them as just big talk with nothing to back it up.
"Not me. But a good friend of mine." Luna continued a smile forming on her face. Right below her, shadows were starting to move as they passed by everyone's shadows. "Only he can show everyone true fear. Isn't that right? Darkrai."
After mentioning his name, the shadows had attacked. By blending in with the night and the constant shadows that were formed by everyone here at Ponyville, the Pitch Black Pokemon Darkrai had emerged.
Large shadow tendrils joined him as they constricted Cosmos' body when she least expected it. She certainly didn't expect the shadows to attack her as she had seen the return of yet another Pokemon. Darkrai. Darkrai was back in full swing, using all of the nearby shadows during this black night.
"NOT THIS THING!" Cosmos bellowed, trying to rip the shadows off of her. But Cosmos soon found out that trying to remove shadows was not as easy as it looked. The durability of the shadows was far greater than she was expecting. "W-Why can't I move?!"
"Now!" Darkrai turned to Ash and the others. "Now's your chance to use your Z-Moves!"
"Thanks, Darkrai!" Ash replied as now was the best time to strike. They could now strike a series of poses. The energy from within their Z Rings had finally gone off, entering Pikachu, Mew and Raboot.
"Pika...!" All three of them built up their respective energies. Pikachu's leapt into the air, absorbing electricity from dark storm clouds that have formed above it, even overpowering the Chaos Storm. "Pika-Ka-Ka!"
Meanwhile, Mew made every Pokemon's body glow in response to his Z-Move which had the genes of various Pokemon. As such, Palkia, Giratina, the Unown, Absol and every Pokemon far and wide had seen their bodies let out a gold and pink light before then flowing in Mew's general direction. He summoned millions of small orbs that carried a plethora of genes as they all swirled around to form the DNA symbol. And as for Raboot, he simply raised his arms, conjuring a ball of fire that was almost heavy for him, but he managed to keep it steady.
Cosmos struggled to break the shadows apart. She tried everything with her magic, only for Darkrai to bring more. "I AM GOING TO-" But before she could continue and shout out with violence, King Sombra intervened. He used his magic to cover Cosmos' mouth with shadows. Something that he could also control.
"Silence." said Sombra. "You should be quiet when true power is about to show itself."
"Mmrmrmrrrgh!" Cosmos growled with her mouth covered, unable to make audible words and unable to move. That is until she planned to set herself on fire to try and break free, only for Discord to appear behind her, grabbing Cosmos in a full nelson position.
"Sorry! This is for your own good!" Discord apologized, choosing to keep Cosmos steady and prevent her from doing anything that could result in Ash and the others failing.
"PIKACHU! 10,000,000 VOLT THUNDERBOLT!"
"RABOOT! INFERNO OVERDRIVE!"
"MEW! GENESIS SUPERNOVA!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu and his teammates had unleashed their Z-Moves as he fired seven bolts of electricity, each a different colour of a rainbow, at the Spirit of Malice. Raboot meanwhile kicked a gigantic ball of crimson fire while Mew sent the power of a billion ancestors towards Cosmos in the form of a giant DNA Sphere.
Giratina and Palkia chimed in, using Hyper Beam and Spacial Rend. Palkia slashed the air with a space-powered cut while Giratina released Hyper Beam which flew next to it. Celestial-Gardevoir used the remainder of her strength by using Plasma Bolt.
All of these attacks worked in unison with each other before then targeting Cosmos' crown. Cosmos tried shaking her head, but she couldn't, thanks to the shadows. Thus, the attacks had landed. With the force of a meteor smashing into the planet, a destructive, sky-piercing sound, as well as an eye-shattering and majestic flare of multiple lights from multiple elements, had gone off.
Cosmos yowled with a covered mouth as the sound of her scream had broken the shadows that restrained her mouth. She could finally speak but with absolute anger in her voice.
"C...CURSE YOU POKEMON!" That was all she had to say as the crown had shattered at last. With all of that power, the crown that held the Andalusian Stars had shattered as well as the stars flying out. Discord turned microscopic, getting out of there before he was potentially hit by the attacks.
Afterwards, the result was nothing but a flash of light that only happened because of all the attacks that had been used against each other. But despite how many of them had hit her, the light was peaceful, not making a loud sound or anything of the like. All it had was peace.
Everything fell silent. The clouds had parted. The Chaos Storm that hovered there for hours had finally vanished, giving way to the night sky and the moon. Despite Celestia not raising the sun yet or Luna lowering the moon, in the distance, the dawn was faintly shining.
With the dawn of the sun shining in the distance, that was the perfect signal as Cosmos fell to the ground with all of her stars separated. hey didn't just seperate. They were broken in pieces after that devastating combination. Once she fell to the ground, her body started trembling
"Do you think this is the last you've seen of me?!" Cosmos still had a lot to say, sitting up. "F-Fools! I'll find a way to regain my power, and you'll be sorry! You can't destroy malice! YOU'LL ALL BE SORRY!"
Still having some fight left in her, Cosmos crawled over to her broken Andalusian Stars, only for Palkia to stomp its foot right in front of her, preventing Cosmos from going any further.
"Funny. That's exactly what you said in the original timeline. And you haven't been back since." To add insult to injury, Emerald Aura's pettiness showed once more as she revealed the truth of the original timeline to Cosmos, shattering her future plans. "Funny how time always repeats itself, isn't it?"
"NOOOO!" Cosmos let out a final raging holler of hatred before being sent away by Palkia. Palkia slashed the air, warping space for a bit as the Spatial Pokemon chose to send her to another dimension. A dimension where she would be powerless and pay for her crimes.
Her cry echoed out as everyone saw her body twist and spiral when entering a new dimension somewhere out there in the vast expanses of space. "S-SPACE IS SO BORING THOUGH...! THIS ISN'T THE END...! I SWEAR IT! IF YOU CAN ALL DEFY THE ORIGINAL TIMELINE...I WILL AS WELL! MARK MY WORDS!"
Those were her final words before disappearing into another dimension. To signify a job well done, Palkia let out a small cough that had space particles coming out of its mouth. It was one here. They all were.
"Phew! It's finally over!" Ash sat down as the chaotic event came to a close. Everyone else either sat down as well or just fall on their backs and faces. They deserved the rest as Ash laughed with Pikachu jumping on his stomach.
"Pikachu!"
"Finally..." Celestial-Gardevoir sighed as they had unfused, returning Celestia and Passion. Once Celestia was out, she laid on her back, hooves out and everything. The Ruler of Equestria laughed for a bit before then subconsciously using her magic on the Sun.
Luna did the same thing, laying on Darkrai while also using her magic to finally lower the mon after hours of it being up and blocked off as well. The dawn of the sun could finally show itself as it shined graciously over the land and Ponyville. It was truly over as Fluttershy went over to hug Discord out of happiness.
A powerful force known as Cosmos had finally been defeated. Her Chaos Magic was truly something terrifying and all of this would've been made worse had it not been for the power of Aura, Fairy Magic and Arceus' light. But at the end of the day, victory belonged to Ash and his friends as the journey continues.
The sun has finally risen on Equestria. After Cosmos' defeat, the dawn had come with the moon being lowered at last. The skies were still torn after the damage that Cosmos had done. However, Palkia was there to fix it as the Spatial Pokemon ascended to the skies, preparing the remaining damages to space.
It moved its claw across the sky, reversing the terrible tear in space gradually. Meanwhile, once this battle was done, everyone who was exhausted immediately put themselves to sleep even during the day.
"Glad that's over with." Rainbow Dash laid on Altaria's fluffy wings. "Oh the bright side, at least the invasion was harder than this. I guess."
"Yeah. It's a good thing you told me to bring the Z-Ring along, Sombra." Ash spoke to Sombra, who chose to show up in his physical form instead of his shadow form. "Great call."
"Obviously, it was a brilliant move on my part." Sombra boasted. "I recognize true power when I see it."
"We all did well," Cynthia replied, laughing alongside everyone. "That's another tale for the books, isn't it?"
"Yeah. For my memory book. I might have to get a new one since it's running out of space." said Twilight, looking over at the many ponies and Pokemon who had fallen asleep from exhaustion. She and everyone else then looked to the skies, seeing Palkia go to work.
"Hey, Palkia! Thanks for the help!" Ash stood up, alerting the Spatial Pokemon. Soon, Pinkie and the others thanked Palkia while Giratina stayed silent instead of thanking its fellow Creation Trio member. Palkia looked back at them before replying with its signature cry.
"It says we're all welcome." Fluttershy translated for them.
"Everyone gets a day off or more with this," Celestia spoke. "We deserve it. And some reparations are needed."
"Hold on." Just then, interrupting this moment of peace was Emerald Aura as she stomped her hoof forward. "Hate to break up the nice and harmonious moment that you always have, but it's not over yet."
"It's not?" Ash and the others said in unison.
"It will be once we do one last thing. Ash. Don't you have a Time Flower with you?" Emerald then turned to the Champion of Alola. "If so, then use it on this spot."
"Huh? Oh, uh, sure." Ash dug into his bug, searching for the Time Flower. He took it out of his bag, before placing it on the damaged ground which had been ravaged by Cosmos. "So, what's up?"
"Just go back to when Cosmos lost her stars."
"Got it." Ash then channelled his Aura into the flower, focusing on this very spot and on a certain scenario. The Aura flared across the area before then showing a memorial projection of a moment that happened a few minutes ago.
It showed all of the attacks crashing into Cosmos' crown, ultimately overwhelming her as the crown containing the Andalusian Stars had been destroyed. The stars all flew out as Emerald Aura narrowed her eyes, paying attention to the stars.
"There!" Once she noticed the stars flying out, she had used her magic. She wasn't as powerful as she was before, but she certainly had enough power to affect the projection. By using most of her magic, Emerald Aura created a field of magic that had suddenly frozen the projection of the Time Flower.
After doing so, she took a deep breath, exhausting herself just from that one action. Emerald Aura certainly missed the days when she could do almost anything.
"That's the moment...See?"
"Why stop at this moment?" Luna questioned as the entire projection scene of Cosmos being defeated while on the verge of falling on her back and the stars separating had been frozen. It created a fairly hilarious image to think about.
"Look. You see the stars?" Emerald Aura aimed her hoof at the stars. "I knew something was off when they first crashed and broke."
"What's wrong with the stars?" Twilight asked.
"Look. There are seven stars up there. That's one extra star than what Cosmos usually has."
"Well...yeah. She used the Rift Energy to make a substitute, didn't she?" Spike replied.
"Mm. That would be the 7th spare star." Twilight nodded before squinting her eyes. The Princess of Friendship was starting to get something. Something that raised a lot of curiosity. "Except...when Cosmos ended up being revived, we heard her shout in the distance. You could've had a clearer version of it with your advanced hearing. Right, Fluttershy? Audino?"
"We did." Fluttershy and Audino nodded. "Audi and I heard something that Cosmos said. She said that almost all of her stars had been shattered."
"Right on." Emerald appeared in front of them both. "Someone destroyed her stars, but she got them back and revived herself. That's impossible since once those stars are destroyed, Cosmos can't bring them back."
"Uhh..." She was trying to think about this. "So what you're saying is...These stars are different from the others?"
"I think it's something else, Ash." Twilight turned to him. "If Cosmos couldn't bring them back then there's only one explanation."
"Oh!" Ash and Fluttershy thought of the only possible explanation. And it all went back to when Discord first mentioned Cosmos. They thought of when they found out about this universe's Cosmos and the Cosmos from another Universe. That's when it clicked. "They're from another universe?!"
"Yeah. Pretty much." Emerald Aura shrugged. "Somehow, she gained Andalusian Stars from another universe that belonged to another Cosmos."
"When we last saw Cosmos before she gained her true form, we only saw four stars on her. Three of them were real and one of them was that substitute, right?" said Hollow. "That's when Palkia battled her."
"So she couldn't have found the rest of them, right?" Goh was also catching onto this.
"And that means that the remaining three Andalusian Stars are still out there. The one in the Crystal Empire. The one at Griffonstone. And the other one which should be at a flea market here at Ponyville." Emerald Aura revealed that there were still some stars left.
"Oh...Oh No!" Discord shouted. "If those stars are still around, then Cosmos does have a chance to come back! Why?! Why?!"
"Calm down, Discord." Celestia calmed the Spirit of Chaos down. "Emerald Aura here already spouted out the locations of the remaining stars. It's wonderful that you have a perfect recollection of the original timeline."
"That's right." Emerald Aura flipped her mane., feeling proud of herself. She quite liked the praise. "Even if it's one year too early, my memory never fails me. So, even though those stars are still left, we can deal with them before Cosmos can have a chance to come back."
"Then what are we waiting for," Ash replied. "Let's find those last three stars."
"Pikachu!"
"We'll head back to the Crystal Empire." Cadence raised her hoof. "Just tell us where to go, Emerald."
"We'll head to the flea market then. I can't believe it was right here all along and she didn't notice it..." Applejack scratched her mane while adjusting her hat, wondering how Cosmos never thought to look here.
"Then, we'll go to Griffonstone." Ash pointed at himself. They all had places to be. "Cold Colt. Mind showing us the way to it?" Three locations where the remaining Andalusian Stars would be. It wouldn't be too hard since everything was at peace now and they had the perfect guides.
"Wait!" Fluttershy intervened with something important. Arguably just as important as the remaining stars as it involved a certain Gym Leader. "We still have to find Valerie! Her Pokemon are still worried about her. She's probably free from Cosmos now but..."
"Sylveon..." Sylveon, Mawile and Spritzee lowered their heads, thinking about Valerie. Even though they won, Valerie was still nowhere to be found as she did retreat whilst being possessed by Cosmos.
"We'll find her!" Pinkie Pie and one of her Slurpuff slid over, nudging Fluttershy. "All it takes is the awesome nose of Slurpuff to make it work!"
"Slurpuff!"
"Good luck finding those remaining stars. When you find them, just destroy them like the rest have been destroyed." Celestia ordered as everyone went their separate ways for a while. The easiest would be Ponyville and even the Crystal Empire. But Griffonstone was a different story.
Three stars remained as the potential of Cosmos returning was possible. There was also the task of finding a missing Gym Leader from the Kalos Region. Valerie.
Griffonstone. Day.
They had arrived at Griffonstone on the back of Dragonite. Griffostone had remained untouched from the Cosmos attack. Many of the Griffons there if not all of them had not awoken from the malicious chaos that went on for hours.
But since the Sun had finally risen, allowing some of them to wake up. The griffons were completely unaware of the events that had happened since yesterday and the entire night. Cold Colt would be the one to guide them to that other star.
"Okay. It's one year earlier so the star won't be at the same spot. But it'll still be here at Griffonstone. Somewhere." Cold Colt said.
"Then we'll search and ask everywhere," Ash suggested as he, Pikachu, Cold Colt and even Sombra went off to ask about a purple star. They'll take any hint that can lead them towards it.
They weren't the only ones though. Now that the Sun had come up, Sienna, who had been searching for this star in Griffonstone was still on the hunt. But her luck failed her thanks to events with Cosmos being too early. Once the Sun showed up, Sienna felt like giving up, sitting near the outskirts of Griffonstone.
She then looked up to see the tear in space being fixed up by Palkia. She sighed before standing up. She saw how many of the Griffons were starting to emerge out of their homes now that the Sun had risen. They all brought out their goods and belongings while Sienna felt like giving up.
"Mmmrgh...Why am I even bothering with this?" She scoffed, crossing her arms. "Not a single one of those houses had the star. Whatever. Cosmos can go ahead and be without another star, what do I care?"
It was clear that Palkia was already fixing the damage that had been done. But before Sienna could depart from here, the moment she turned around, she was met with a griffon to the face. "Gah!"
"What do you think you're doing at my spot?" The griffon asked as she brought over by using the strength of a Machoke to do so.
"S-Sorry!" Sienna laughed before backing away. "Guess that looked weird sitting around here, right?"
"Mmmrgh..." The Griffon grumbled while Sienna had a nervous expression. But while she was now coming face to face with a griffon, she could ask a question about the star. Sienna realized that this could be her big chance.
"Uh, hold on! Quick question. You wouldn't happen to have seen a certain star around here, would you?" Sienna rubbed her hands together. "Preferably a pinkish one. I wouldn't mind buying one off of you."
"A star?" The griffon replied, thinking for a moment. "Meh. I don't have a star. But if I did, I'd charge it at a high price. If I see one, I'll make it extra special to purchase."
"Figures." Sienna felt defeated as she walked away before flicking her finger, summoning multiple bits around this one griffon. "Thanks for the help anyway."
"Haha!" The brightest smile came across the Griffon's face as she hugged her Machoke. This many bits to a Griffon was the best gift they could ask for.
Sienna called it quits. She was now wishing that the event had occurred during its original timeline. She walked past many stores that the griffons had set up with various items. Her eyes met with the stores, hoping to find one of them that had the star, but not a sign of it.
However, when scanning the area full of stores, her eyes quickly caught something. One of the griffons was speaking to a Pelipper. And that Pelipper was currently trying to cough something out.
"Spit it out already!" The griffon exclaimed, shaking Pelipper.
"P-P-Peli! Pelipper had something stuck in its massive bill. Something that was causing it pain. Once it managed to cough it out, this sharp object was revealed to be just what Sienna was looking for. With immaculate timing and the blessing of the griffons waking up during the sunrise, Sienna had found it.
An Andalusian Star.
"!" Now was not the time to call it quits in her eyes. With gusto, she rushed over to that spot with the griffon and the Pelipper as the star was being cleaned. Pelipper sat down, still feeling the sharp pain. "Hey, hey, hey!"
"Hm? What do you want?" The griffon replied with a gruff voice.
"Sorry that I'm interrupting an important moment with this but uh...how much for that star over there?" Sienna asked with a bright smile on her face while pointing at the Andalusian Star.
"Oh, this thing?" The griffon held it up. "Ah...I've been trying to sell this thing for a while. But no one here can give me the right amount of bits."
"I can! I can!" Sienna pointed at herself like an excited child as she spoke the truth. She had the power to give out as many bits as she wanted to. "Just say the number and I'll make it happen!"
"Oh? Really now?" The griffon had a sly look on his face before then revealing the number. "50 bits."
"Deal!" Sienna snapped her finger, dropping 50 bits onto the griffon and the Pelipper. She paid up with the right amount as the griffon couldn't be more pleased. "Hw's that?"
"Oh, you're a lady of your word!" He said with joy in his voice. "Alright then, take it. I was gonna try and throw it out to the skulls one day anyway."
"Don't mind if I-" But just as Sienna went to grab it, that's when her achievement ha been shattered. Both figuratively and literally. Moving at great speeds was a bolt of darkness that had crystals around them. This bolt had pierced through the Andalusian Star with the crystals doing the same.
And in the blink of an eye, the star had shattered while also being consumed by a darkness with crystals dropping to the ground. Sienna's pupils dilated as her hand was stuck in the same motion out of absolute shock. She then turned her head as only one individual was responsible for this.
"Mmm. I think not." King Sombra.
"S-S-S-Sombra...!" Sienna gripped her hand as the griffon lowered his head, looking at the shattered remains of the star. It was far beyond recovery now as only a few sides remained. The rest had been swallowed up.
"Eh. I wasn't too interested in the star, anyway. Plus, I got these bits so...bye!" The griffon was happy either way. He dismissed the star before throwing all of the bits into Pelipper's large bill. They were all enough to fit inside the Water-Flying-Type's mouth. Once he got his bits, he and his Pelipper had left this spot while Sienna locked eyes with Sombra.
"Sorry." Sombra shrugged. "But I can't have you using that star. If anyone is to control this world and even other worlds out there, it shall be me. You should know that, right, Rift Human?"
"Kh...!" Sienna growled, hissing at Sombra with veins appearing around her hand. Even a spark of Rift Magic had shown up.
"Hoh? Are you sure you want to stretch this any further?" Sombra questioned. "You and I may not be in our prime anymore, but I still possess the magic to retaliate. And an accomplice to boot."
Sombra had then used his magic to manipulate the shadows. Mainly, Ash's shadow. Since they were now connected, Sombra had limited options of how he could interact with Ash. Pulling him in different directions. And this was one of them.
"Woah!" Ash had brought over with Pikachu on his shoulder as always. Sombra used Ash's shadow to bring him to this spot as Ash was certainly the biggest threat to Sienna right here.
"Darn it...!" Sienna could see that it was pointless. Refusing to risk herself here, Sienna used her magic to teleport away. Just what Sombra was expecting. Meanwhile, Ash almost fell over, only for Sombra to keep him steady and up by controlling his shadow.
"Oh, man..." Ash held onto his hat. "What is it, Sombra?"
"Take a look." Sombra had then shown Ash what was left of this Andalusian Star. He aimed his hoof at the ground as the remains of the star were covered in shadows, slowly breaking them down. "That eliminates any chance of that draconequus coming back.
"Woah! Great job!" Ash praised Sombra.
"Pikachu!"
"That should be the end of Cosmos. At least...in our universe." Sombra turned around. "You remember how they mentioned that those spare stars were found from another universe?"
"Yeah. I remember. That means there's way more Cosmos' out there."
"If we're lucky, they won't come here." Sombra shrugged before turning into his shadow form. "But in case one of them does decide to try and intervene with our universe, you know what needs to be done."
"We'll beat them too." Ash was already on the same page as Sombra.
"Now you're thinking like a king. Hurry back home. My room is waiting for me and I wish to eat some Slowpoke Tail."
"You got it. I'm hungry too." Once again, they were on the same page, wanting something to eat. Nothing was better than heading home and having mom's cooking. Their work here was done. All they had to do was get Cold Colt and head out.
Faye Mountains. Changeling Hive. Day.
Searching for Valerie had led Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to the Changeling Hive, located in the Faye Mountains. Thanks to Slurpuff's great scent, they arrived here in no time.
Chrysalis had led them inside the hive as Valerie was indeed here. She brought them over to the spot where all of the healing cocoons were. When entering almost all of them hadn't been used. Except for one of them. One cocoon was currently open, indicating that someone had been healed in it
That someone was Valerie. Valerie sat next to the cocoon she had been inside as her body had been healed. She looked a bit dazed, but that was mainly due to having her body be affected by the Connection Spell. Much like many others who were freed from Cosmos, she was unconscious and had only recovered not too long ago.
"Sylveon! Valerie's Pokemon rushed to her side once they saw their trainer in one piece.
"Oh. Sylveon. Spritzee. Mawile." Valerie spoke to them as Sylveon pounced onto the Fairy-Type specialist.
"One of my changelings found her unconscious near the sea. I figured it would be a friend of yours. I could sense the Fairy Magic coming off of her." Chrysalis explained. "Mind telling me what happened exactly? The sky was torn apart as well."
"A lot happened." Pinkie Pie replied. "I'll tell you everything later!"
"Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie. I'm not sure what's going on but...I feel somewhat relieved." Valerie laughed. "And dazed in the head too."
"As long as you're alright, that's all that matters," Fluttershy responded. "Let's get you home, Valerie."
"I think I'll stay here for a bit. This place feels calming. I can feel so much Fairy Magic coming from here..." Valerie slumped near the cocoon. She could feel the Fairy Magic coming from the land. "So relaxing..."
"So. About that tear in space." Chrysalis turned to Pinkie Pie, wanting to know everything about last night and yesterday. Pinkie and Fluttershy had a lot to share, no doubt.
Universe 11. Equestria. Canterlot. Day.
But at the end of it all, the true winners of this were those that were stationed and living at Universe 11. After Cosmos received her full power and broke through multiple universes, the magic that she possessed had gone over to Daybreaker's ultimate weapon.
The Supernova.
Combined with Rift Magic, this cosmic chaotic power was being given to the weapon as it was able to withstand any form of power no matter how grandiose and universal it was. All thanks to Ghetsis' idea of gathering magic from Cosmos as well. Daybreaker put her hoof on the Supernova, thinking about what she would end up doing with it once she had enough.
All that was on her mind was her sister Luna and how she wanted her back in the world. "Just wait a bit longer, Luna. Soon, I'll have the power necessary to bring you back." That was her ultimate goal. Having Luna back. And this weapon was the main key to bringing her back. No matter how long it has been without her sister being here.
As for Ghetsis and Colress, they walked off after listening to Daybreaker speak about her little sister. Further plans were already being made. "What next, Lord Ghetsis? Is there anything else we can grab?"
"Does Twilight know yet about her missing stars?" Ghetsis questioned.
"Not for a second. Then again, she's been trying to use the Andalusian Stars for herself for a long time. A shame she isn't a draconequus." Colress shrugged. "She didn't need those stars anyway."
"Good. We'll think of something later." Ghetsis and Colress continued on their way as this mission was a success. And without a single interruption from their enemies.
Universe 1. Equestria. Ponyville. Day.
The last stars had been destroyed. Spike had found the last one at the Flea Market before then choosing to eat it. That was the last of Cosmos' power. Gone.
"Mmm...Cosmic power tastes good," said Spike, patting his belly.
"That's that." Twilight could call this truly over. "Now, we're finished. That's another one for the books. Thanks for telling us about this, Emerald. Not sure what we would've done."
"Eh, whatever." Emerald Aura flipped her mane. "But ya know...I wouldn't mind getting something in return. Maybe a medal or something like that. Anything will do, really. I don't mind." Truth is, she wanted a lot in return. Mainly to make up for what she had lost.
"How about this then?" Twilight already thought of something. "You've been a big help telling us about the other stars and bringing extra help from the Crystal Empire over. You're also helping Applejack over at Sweet Apple Acres and you're not looking to cause any trouble like before. Even when you had your magic a few months back, you still helped out with the Pegalysium incident."
"Yeah, yeah." The Rift Pony nodded.
"How about in return, we give you some of your power back?"
"R-Really?!" Emerald Aura's heart skipped a beat from that as she rushed over to Twilight. "You mean it!? Seriously?!"
"It's the least we can do. Plus, it's the best gift I can think of giving a Rift Pony." The Princess of Friendship chuckled. "The cauldron of Rift magic should work just fine for you."
"Yes! Mansion, I'm coming back!" Emerald pumped her hooves back into the air. She then looked at Applejack and the others before scrunching her face. "B-But...I do like those apple pies. And this town is kinda nice now that I think about it."
"Ah, don't worry about it!" Applejack nudged her on the back, almost knocking Emerald Aura over from her absurd earth pony strength. "You live how you wanna live, alright? But you're now welcome back at Sweet Apple Acres."
"Uhh...I'll stay at your home for a bit." The Rift Pony replied. "After that...then I'll think of something."
"Great to hear it. Come on, we've got a cauldron to get you to." Twilight laughed, putting her hooves around her friends. At the end of it all, laughter had been made. Combined with the golden sun, it was a glorious sign of everything involving this event finally ending.
The infinite, prodigious and miraculous world of Pokemon.
A world that is multitudinous of the most fantastical creatures out there that thrive in so many ways that differ from each other with unique spins. The number of Pokemon out there is practically nigh-impossible if not fully impossible to even counter. There are many Pokemon old and even new that exist out there and there are more of them likely on the way in the future.
No matter where you go, there will be a Pokemon. From the lush green lands, the vast and tall mountains or even in populated areas such as towns, cities and even entire kingdoms and empires. Truly, their numbers know no bounds with no sign of slowing down.
And alongside these mystifying and romanesque creatures are the greatest friends close to them. The Pokemon Trainers. Appearing in different shapes and sizes much like their Pocket Monster partners. Whether it be the humans who had been with the Pokemon from the beginning and the earlier years of their world or even the newer species such as the ponies, dragons, changelings, griffons and more that exist in another universe on another earth.
No matter what they are, their bonds are ever-present. Pokemon Trainers and Pokemon, competing together against others in the Pokemon Battle and hoping to one day emerge as the best of the best. Possibly champions.
But there is one young man who seeks to aim beyond the title of a Pokemon Champion. A Pokemon Master. The greatest of them all.
And that man is known as Ash Ketchum, who hails from Pallet Town. Alongside his partner Pikachu, both of them are shooting to the very top with the main goal of becoming a Pokemon Master. And one of the main big steps to achieving that rank is challenging the best of the best in Ash's eyes.
To become a Pokemon Master. The first one ever. Truly an ambitious goal that has been going on for years for Ash. However, his dream is being supported by those close to him. Not just by Pikachu, but by many others he's met along his various journeys. Even the friends he has made in the otherworld.
Such as Princess Twilight Sparkle and her mishmash of friends who were also Ash's friends. They don't just support Ash to reach his goal. Ash, Pikachu and each of them support each other. Such is the bond that they've all formed.
And with every friend, every encounter and every event that they all go through, something new is always waiting in the future. Whether near or far.
Acreus' Perspective.
"And when I watch from afar, I can't help but fixate on this world and how it develops with magical creatures. My attention is drawn toward a certain household located in the long-standing Kanto Region. Two good friends of mine live here. Ash and Pikachu"
It has been exactly three weeks since the Cosmos event. All was calm. Entering the Ketchum Household was none other than the Twilight Sparkle from the Human World, paying a quick visit. Arceus watched from the skies, masked within the azure beauty and the clouds with only a faint golden glow sparking here and there. He noticed the counterpart from another world show up.
"HI, Mrs Ketchum. Is Ash home?" Twilight greeted her with Hisuian Zorua and Spike jumping out of her bag, immediately running around inside the Ketchum Household.
"No. Ash went off to explore for a bit," Delia replied. "Sorry."
"Drat..." Twilight lowered her head in disappointment.
"But, he'll be back soon, I can guarantee that. Did you need him for something?"
"Ah, we were about to search for those other Alpha Pokemon that are out there in the world. I'm still on that goal to catch them all. Or at least as many of them before Pokemon Hunter J can use them."
"Oh, how goes that? Have you caught any new ones so far?"
"Eh...there's no new info about any new Alpha Pokemon. Professor Oak usually gets them, but he said that the occurrences for Alpha Pokemon have settled down. The first few weeks were when they became spontaneous. It's calmed down now, but they're still out there. I'm just waiting." Twilight sat at the dinner table while Zorua was backing away from Mr Mime who was trying to approach her.
Zorua squeaked, dashing away as Mr Mime lowered his head, not meaning to scare her. "Patience, Twilight." Delia came over, placing some food down for her. "That's the one thing a Pokemon Trainer should always have. Then again, my little Ash wasn't exactly very patient in the beginning."
"No?" Twilight looked up at her.
"No. Well, it's too be expected for when he was a child. But during his 10th birthday, when he was about to head for his first journey as a Pokemon Trainer, he just wanted to try and catch every Pokemon out there and beat the league. Nothing else was on his mind. Very different to the Ash you know today."
"Oooh..." Twilight was now very curious. Arceus was curious as well, wanting to know about one of his friends. He made a cosmic apparition of himself in the form of a golden light, descending from the skies and his realm. This tiny sparkle of light entered the household without making a sound or being seen.
"Even with his friends and him visiting different locations, getting up to all sorts of antics, he would still be on the move with such swiftness. This carried on for a while with all the stories he told me when he came back home." Delia continued.
"So, what happened? When did he learn to slow down? He still has some speed to everything he does so far."
"Well, it started with his friends and how they would let him slow down here and there. But it truly began when he visited Sinnoh and it took off when he went to Kalos. But Alola was where it came full circle. If it wasn't for all of his friends, many of his accomplishments wouldn't be made. Or even some of the people and Pokemon he met in the past wouldn't be found or become close to him."
"I see."
"Having friends is a joy. Especially those who will stick by you and enjoy things with you. Perhaps, that's Ash's one skill that surpasses his battling skills. Being able to make friends along the way. And you're one of them."
"Oh geez. Thanks, Mrs Ketchum." Twilight chuckled from that before going for a bite. Only for Spike to jump over the table and snag the food with his mouth. "Ah! Spike!"
"Hehehe!" The cheeky little dog laughed before chewing the food in front of Twilight, running upstairs to Ash's room. Twilight facepalmed before shaking her head. She still had some more to go.
"Well...I'd best be going soon. This was just a quick visit." Twilight looked at the food before beginning consumption. "After I get a quick bite."
"Ash is out there, but you should meet him at the Unova Region, funnily enough. You took the boat from Castelia to here, after all. He went to Nimbasa City for PokeStar Studios, so that's some fun to be had over there~"
"Mmm! Sounds great!" Twilight replied while chowing away. She would make it quick but the food was too good to speed through with how delicious it was to her. Arceus gathered a lot from this as he made his golden light fly out of the house, once again, not making a single sound.
"I've learned about Ash from years ago. The words his mother said intrigue me. I have made friends of my own. Some from the far past. Starting with Damos. And now in the present with many more. But is staying in my realm for so long and only making scarce appearances all that I do? Could I do so much more with others by my side? Do the three beings that I created count as such? I have to see more of this bond of friendship for a clearer answer."
Equestria. Canterlot. Afternoon.
Over at Canterlot, Premium Polish was currently playing around with not only her Pokemon but also Celestia's Pokemon. Despite it only being three weeks after the attack that Cosmos had made, Celestia still felt like taking a break here and there more frequently while still managing her duties as the ruler of Equestria.
Premium Polish was on Celestia's back, holding on tight as the alicorn took the skies, giving the young android pony a beautiful view of Canterlot. "Higher, please! I want to see all of Equestria!" Premium pleaded.
"Are you sure?" Celestia questioned. "For that, I'd need to be extra high. Can you take it?"
"Uh..." Premium Polish squinted her eyes, pondering that question. She wasn't so sure. Neither had she ever reached that high before.
"Ah, I can just use this." Celestia laughed before using her magic to form a magic coating around the little unicorn. Arceus showed up here as well, wanting to know more about friendship at its core. He appeared right next to the golden stairway that involved some of his light, thanks to Phione. He even stood on it without even being seen still.
"I arrive at the other Earth. This world is developing with magical creatures gradually despite the hardships that come with it. I spectate the first pony I met ever since the Rift brought the worlds together in a combined yet separate state. Princess Celestia. I watch her and ponder about the meaning of friendship to a ruler of a massive nation."
Celestia brought Premium Polish to the skies that were far beyond Canterlot. She broke through the clouds before reaching a certain height. There, Premium Polish got an amazing view of Equestria. The wonderful land that she and many lived in with the beauty of the Sun shining its golden rays through the clouds while also beaming down on various places.
"Better?" Celestia asked.
"Way better! Thanks for this, Princess Celestia!" Premium hugged Celestia's face out of excitement while Arceus raised his to continue watching how a bond between others works. "It's so pretty...I rarely get to see sights like this."
"Oh? How come?"
"Mom and I never went out together. At least not to sightsee. But...I bet if I saw her again, we'd end up seeing everything together. She wouldn't have to be busy anymore. What do you think, Princess Celestia?"
"I believe you're right about that, my little pony. I too believe that Skyblue Shine's return will involve some mother-daughter bonding between you both. A family experience is something truly wonderful that should always be experienced."
"That's true isn't it?" Premium patted Celestia on the head. "You're like family to me!"
"Oh!" Celestia's eyes widened with her tail and ears rising. "W-Well...That's nice."
"I mean it." The little android giggled. "Auntie Celestia!"
"I'm always an auntie, aren't I?" Celestia lowered her eyes with a quick giggle. "Ah, sometimes I wish I could be more than auntie..."
"Like?"
"Like." Celestia closed her eyes before smiling. "I want to be a mother someday. Have children of my own and future grandchildren. I have dreams such as that as well."
"Oooh. And with who?"
"Hehehe...." Just then, while still having her eyes closed the Princess of the Sun made a dumbfounded laugh before thinking of the one individual she wished to live her life with. Cobalion, of course.
"Princess?" Premium waved her hoof in Celestia's hoof trying to snap her out of it. Celestia couldn't help but think about Cobalion and her future with him.
"I watch over the Sun Princess and how she lives with the bonds that she had made. Even with a pony that is an android, she is seen as family. That makes me wonder. Do I have a family? Are the three creatures I made my family as well? I suppose I am a father. And to an extent, a mother. Perhaps every magical creature is my child. Even if they are man-made. It wouldn't be hard to believe as no matter the species families can be seemingly formed in any way. I see now. But I yearn to know more."
Ponyville. Day.
"I arrive at a town that has developed with magical creatures far quicker than any location in this world. Ponyville. In this town, the Phione that I gave my blessing to exists here waiting for a moment where I give her another message to continue the construction of the stairway when the time is right. I come across a place known as Carousel Boutique where Phione currently resides."
"A Guide on the Harmony...Phenomenon." Currently, Sweetie Belle was sitting on the floor looking at a book that Twilight had brought over. It was a book full of blank pages but with a book cover already being made. Present within the boutique was Twilight Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie.
"Princess Celestia decided that we should try and teach everyone about the Harmony Phenomenon," Twilight replied. "I figured I'd get a headstart, so I asked if I could make a book about the Harmony Phenomenon. This is where it all starts...I'm so excited to be the first one to make a book about it!"
Twilight couldn't handle her excitement. Something like this was a golden opportunity for her. She already assumed the role of a teacher to Starlight Cold Colt and as of recently BigTime Ben. She was getting used to being a teacher of many things. From magic, Rift Energy and now an all-new phenomenon that was exclusive to this world.
"It only has a few pages. Those are about Princess Celestia and Rainbow Dash. The only two so far who've unlocked the Harmony Phenomenon. We have two examples already. Fusion and something similar to the Bond Phenomenon. Once we discover more possibilities we'll add new sections and categories to this book."
"Oooh." The CMC and Pinkie Pie all gawked with interest.
"Fluttershy. I was already thinking of putting something about you in it." The Princess of Friendship turned to Fluttershy.
"Really?"
"Mhm. You have advanced hearing now. Straight from Audino's amazing sense of hearing. It most definitely happened when you first used Mega Evolution. Princess Luna has something new that she has yet to reveal with Darkrai. Or I guess because it's mainly effective during the night, we won't see it 24/7."
"Like a werewolf!" Pinkie Pie appeared in-between them.
"You also share something with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie that makes you eligible for this book. You have the ability to see things that not many can see without Fairy Eyes, right?"
"That's right. I see all kinds of Fairy Magic in the air. But it's only when I'm around my Slurpuff. And when Audino Mega Evolves and stuff. But I'm hoping I get those special eyes that Valerie has! Maybe mine would look different!"
"Oh! What do you think I'll have?!" Scootaloo cried out. "I'm hoping it's for either my Rapidash or Horsea! I could gain a flaming mane or even become a dragon-pony! That'd be sweet!"
"I'd like to be a Moon with my Teddirusa. A whole moon!" Sweetie Belle expressed her hopes for the Harmony Phenomenon.
"An actual moon?" Apple Bloom noticed how stellar that sounded.
"That's right! I'll travel around as a mini-moon! That symbol of Teddiursa's chest might come into play right?"
"Well, we'll have to find out." Twilight laughed. "Whatever it turns out being, it's going in the book. And so much more. I'm sorta hoping that I get a Harmony Phenomenon with one of my Pokemon."
"Oh yeah. With who?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Come on out!" Twilight used her magic to throw all of her Poke Balls out. Absol, Togekiss, Ninetales and Cinccino had arrived as Twilight had multiple selections. Espeon ran next to her teammates. "I'm wondering about what it would be like with all of you."
"Esp?"
"I could have an extra coating of fur that'd be so smooth that no magical attack would harm me! Straight from Minccy!" Twilight aimed her hoof at Cinccino.
"Cinccino." Cinccinon nodded in approval of that.
"Or, I could have nine tails justl like Ninetales!" She switched to her next Pokemon. "Or even nine horns!"
"Nine horns?" Rainbow Dash repeated.
"That's right. Using magic would never feel any easier. And maybe I'll have some latent power within them that could curse someone. Or make them feel happy, I don't know. It'd be creepy but...I'd love to get something from Ninetales! Like maybe absorbing fire!"
"Nine-Nine!"
"How about Togekiss?! Could I also tap into Fairy Magic and have those special eyes? Maybe..."
"Togekiss!"
"I already have Mega Evolution for Absol but what if I could sense disasters just like him? Then I wouldn't have to worry about missing out on my next lecture!"
"Absol..." Absol turned his head as he found this jibber-jabber of the Harmony Phenomenon to be uninteresting to him.
"I'm not sure that's a disaster..." Scootaloo scratched her hair.
"To Twilight, it is." Rainbow Dash flew over to her fellow pegasus. Missing out on something like a lecture was considered a disaster to her.
"And um...Eve! I could get something similar to your fur. It might let me predict the weather...and the thoughts of others! I'd be ahead of the curve with that!"
"Espeon?"
"The possibilities are just endless!" Twilight pranced on the spot before almost slipping only for Ninetales to catch her with one of his tails. "Oh. Thanks, Ninetales."
"Ninetales."
"Hmmm...Maybe I could go for more than just my Braviary." Rainbow Dash smirked, thinking of other ways she could have the Harmony Pokemon benefit her other Pokemon. Not just Braviary. "It'd be so cool..."
"Wouldn't it hurt? Having more than just one Harmony Phenomenon?" Fluttershy questioned. "Rainbow Braviary already harms you."
"Uh...You got a point. But I'm sure we'll figure out the fainting problem and we'll be smooth sailing afterwards." The multi-coloured maned mare chuckled.
"Whatever it ends up being...it'll be the best example of the bond we've made with our Pokemon," Twilight replied before hugging both Cinccino and Espeon. Ninetales used all of his tails to bring his teammates closer, resulting in a ground hug. They laughed together with Absol scowling, still being hesitant towards hugs.
"You too, Phione." Sweetie Belle then turned to Phione.
"Phi?"
"That's right. You're one of us after all." Sweetie Belle chuckled before bringing Phione over with her magic. "A tried and true friend!"
"Phi...Phione!" Phione agreed to that notion. She did indeed make some new friends here. Just then, Phione looked up sensing a familiar presence. "Phione?"
"What is it?" The little unicorn asked.
"Phione says that she senses Arceus nearby." Fluttershy translated. "Wait, Arceus is here?!"
"Ah. It seems my presence had been made aware in this area. Either way, I have learned more here at Ponyville. The Harmony Phenomenon. A new phenomenon that is not of my creation but rather a result of this world's magic. Mainly Equestria. A power that is strikingly similar to that of Aura and the Bond Phenomenon, tied to the relations between not just friends but also family. I understand how this kind of power had come to be. It also helps me to understand friendship. I have seen so little yet learned so much. And yet I yearn to keep searching. I wish to see exactly what this world has gone through."
Arceus continued on his way but he stayed within Equestria, wondering about the nation and this world. He had already seen so much at the Pokemon World since he's been watching it from the beginning. Now it was time for this world to be watched over since his children also live here as well.
The Alpha Pokemon used his almighty power to immediately see the events that had transpired across Equestria, similar to how the Time Flower shows memories but on a grander scale. And within seconds, Arceus had seen so much.
"I see the emergence of a behemoth made out of storms. One that even threatened the Pokemon World. It is truly a terrifying force as many homes had been ravaged because of its electrifying pulse. And yet I bear witness to Ash and so many others coming together to stop this one force."
He saw the Storm Behemoth and the events that transpired from it. Starting from the Pokemon World and ending up here going on a rampage. He saw how even this monstrous behemoth had been defeated despite its overwhelming power. It was the combination of so many others that believed in each other that helped them succeed.
"Again. I see another instance of bonds emerging as the victor. A horrible invasion from a universe that shares similarities to this one. They face off against a mighty force from a tyrannical Empress who is once again a counterpart to Twilight Sparkle. The battle is a ferocious one, lasting one night and almost an entire day. Legends and Myths become involved in this battle on opposing sides. But, this universe succeeds with the help of those from the Pokemon Word. Once again it is their bond and belief in each other that grants them the power to win."
Arceus saw the invasion of the Twilight Imperium. He saw how there was a constant back and forth with neither side letting up. However, because one side only sought conquest the side that fought against that and stood for harmony emerged victorious because of the bonds that they had formed. A recurring theme that Arceus has seen.
"I see so many of them. An event that takes place high in the skies in a nation known as Pegalysium. Twice. A moment where I saved the lives of them all from my own creations. I see the attack of a Spiritomb that threatens the spirits of others. And so much more that are short-lived but vast nevertheless."
Arceus saw everything. Even the event where he had to get involved by saving everyone's lives. He saw the previous Pegalysium event that involved a kidnapping. Arceus also saw the moment when Passion's power went out of control when she was just a Kirlia. And so on and so forth. He even saw the most recent event. The attack of Cosmos.
And despite how much this world goes through, it manages to pull through and survive. That was something that Arceus admired and respected.
"Realistically this world would've been destroyed at an earlier time. But it is thanks to the Humans and their magical creatures that the creatures that live here can continue. Because of the humans and the lessons, tips and advice that they share this world shall truly live on. Even building a school here to help them. I will continue to watch this world and every event that transpires. I too believe. I believe that they can over anything. But there is one last thing I must do before I continue my endless observation."
Unova. Nimbasa City. PokeStar Studios. Day.
"I arrive at where Ash and Pikachu are. Just as his mother, Delia Ketchum had said he would be at. I see him with another of his friends. Her name is Rarity. I come at a time where she seems to be asking him something."
"So, Ash darling. With how I'm being given permission to make an idea for a movie here...I was wondering if I could take some pointers from you?" Rarity asked whilst Pikachu played around with Pheromosa and the others.
"Yeah? What's it about?" Ash replied.
"Your goal. To become a Pokemon Master. I want to make something similar to that. A success story. Maybe a trilogy would work if I'm given that permission."
"Oooh...That would be pretty neat."
"Neat is right. I'm also thinking of making the events from back home into a movie as well. That would be enjoyable. I can already see my future. From a stunning actress to even an amazing script writer!" Rarity chuckled.
"And I'll rush over to watch them all!" Ash replied with gusto.
"What about you Ash? Everyone else has their future planned out. You have your goal as a Pokemon Master but...what next? When you finally achieve the final frontier goal, what will you do when you become a Pokemon Master?"
"What will I do?" Ash looked to the sky where the Sun shined with such beauty and love. "That's easy. I'll keep going. Maybe before I become a Pokemon Master or even after I become one. It's just like what Olivia said. The world is so vast. And there's so much I haven't seen yet. Even in other universes."
"That answers my question." Rarity shrugged. "So a timeless adventure it is then?"
"Got that right Rarity." Ash winked while Rarity nudged his leg.
"Now I see. For someone like Ash who lives for the thrill of the adventure the journey is truly endless isn't it? Endless enough to revel in. That makes me wonder something as well. What shall I do? I will continue to watch over everyone and their bonds with the Magical Creatures. But is that all? Perhaps I will have a Trainer of my own? Shall I give them a part of myself to use in battle and explore the world? It seems that spectating over the ones that I can call my friends has taught me a lot. Even I have a future to look forward to."
Arceus had learned a lot. It was a bit like a Friendship Lesson. The same thing Twilight used to do. But Arceus found it out on his own. He had seen and heard enough despite continuing to watch over them. Arceus will do so for both worlds and learn along the way. After all, even he knows that he is much like the Strange and Wonderful Creatures he created. And the thought of that made Arceus somewhat feel warm.
Such is the gift of Pokemon. And the gift of Friendship. It reaches far beyond the limits of any creature. Whether they be human, pony, Pokemon and more. And much like how there are more friends to be made out there, there are other Pokemon out there waiting to be found.
Still lounging around this world thanks to Team Plasma. And they haven't disappeared since. Because these Ultra Wormholes were constantly open, Ultra Beasts have full access to them. And a returning Ultra Beast had just passed through it. Not on its lonesome though. This time it brought allies with it in few numbers.
UB-04 Blade.
Kartana.
"Srehtorb emoclew." Kartana once again spoke backwards to its fellow Drawn Sword Pokemon. They all spoke it. "Detset eb nac sretsamdrows sa seitiliba eurt ruo erehw dlrow a si siht. Devorpmi evah yeht fi ees ot hsiw I taht sregnellahc yhtrow emos tem evah I. Em htiw emoc won."
The Kartana had all flown off heading for a specific civilization. They were here for only one reason. The same reason every Kartana has. To test their strengths as sword wielders. The Pokemon nearby watched as these origami-styled Pokemon hovered through the air speaking in a language that is familiar to them but backwards.
It was time for them to test their strength.
Ponyville. Twilight's lab. Afternoon.
Currently, Twilight was hanging out with some of the Pokemon that came from PokePark. The door to PokePark was open as it led to the Cove Town in the Cove Area first before anything.
As always, staying by Twilight's side was Bisharp. Now that the Pokemon from PokePark are showing up outside recently, Bisharp was able to keep guard of Twilight at all times now. Twilight had the book about the Harmony Phenomenon in her hooves showing it to them. She believed that every Pokemon from PokePark could reach this phenomenon. Professor Sycamore was the one to deduce it first, however.
Her lab was flooded with Pokemon from mainly Cove Town. The three Elemental Monkeys were playing around like monkeys usually do, no matter the universe, jumping around Twilight's lab just to cause some chaos. "Pan! Pansear!"
"Esp? Espeon!" Espeon tried stopping these monkeys, chasing them as a purple, green, red and blue blur was all that could be seen from their rapid movements. Cinccino had met with her pre-evolution Minccino. Upon seeing each other, they both noticed that they had some dirt on them.
"Minccino?!"
"Cinccino?!" It all started with Minccino leaving the cove area and touching Cinccino once. After seeing the dirt, the two of them started cleaning each other, sharing the same mind essentially. After cleaning each other, they called it a swift job well done, only for Drilbur to pop out of the ground by using Dig, not only breaking some of it off but also bringing some dirt along.
"Drilbur!" Drilbur looked happy though when emerging into the lab with this form of travel.
"Cin?!
"Min?!" Annoyed that Drilbur had made such a mess, the two Normal-Types gave the Mole Pokemon a quick knock on the head. But Drilbur looked completely unphased before descending back into the hole.
"Axe! Axew!" Axew and Fraxure from PokePark were currently having a chat with Spike's Axew, who was an Equestrian Variant. Spike's Axew showed them that he could switch between his normal Unovan Form and his Equestrian Form. But he can go further.
His body flared with golden light before emerging as a Unovan Haxorus. But he had then switched it up, appearing as an Equestrian Haxorus. The first of his kind. "Haxorus!"
"Axew-ew!" Axew applauded this. It was a joy seeing its fellow Dragon-Type of the same family have a unique appearance and more power to unlock.
"Fraxure..." Fraxure was let down by this, lowering its head as it wished to see an Equestrian Fraxure. Sadly, that was not the case with Spike's Axew.
"They make things pretty hectic, don't you think, Twilight?" Starlight said while being carried by Drifblim.
"Twilight! Guess what?!" Bursting into the lab was none other than Fluttershy. She showed up with far more energy than she normally has.
"Huh?! What is it?!" Twilight gasped as Drifblim had dropped Starlight out of shock, only for the PokePark Audino to catch her, holding Starlight Glimmer as if she was a baby.
"Kartana's back!" Fluttershy had brought along the Ultra Beast that had once visited Equestria and had a friendly short competition with Bisharp. But this time, he came with his brethren. Five Kartana's had entered the lab, appearing before Princess Twilight Sparkle and her Pokemon.
Bisharp stood tall, saluting his fellow blade users as his platoon of Pawniward did the same. Ninetales and Togekiss looked at both sides for a bit before deciding to do the same thing out of fun. Ninetales put all of his tails to his head to salute while Togekiss used her wing. Pansage, Pansear and Panpour felt like doing the same.
"Ynop elttil ym, erom ecno teem ew. Elkraps thgiliwt ssecnirp, yas I dluohs ro." Kartana greeted Twilight while the rest of his species did the same.
"They said hello." Fluttershy translated to a simpler version.
"Oh, hello to you too, Kartana." Twilight greeted back. "It's a surprise to see you again. And with more of your species here too. I assume you're all here for one reason, right?"
"Edalb eht fo sretsam sa slliks ruo tset ot. egdenoH htiw gnola ,devorpmi sah prahsiB hcum woh ees ot ereh kcab emoc osla evah I tub."
"Kartana says that he came back to test his skills. But he also said that he wanted to see how much Bisharp and Aegislash, who used to be a Honedge have improved."
"Bisharp." Bisharp looked Kartana in the eyes. His hard-to-describe eyes. If they were even eyes.
"Well, in that case, what are we waiting for? I was also looking forward to seeing Kartana again. There are so many other things I wanted to see if he could cut through." Twilight walked over. "Spike. Call for Shining Armor."
"Got it!" Spike saluted.
"And as for me..I'll call Kaleidoscope. I want to see if Kartana can cut through Dynasite. It would have to take getting King Paramount and Queen Luminary's permission though."
"Fo kaeps uoy tisanyD siht si tahw?"
"Kartana asked what Dynasite is." Fluttershy translated.
"It's this powerful nigh-indestructible metal that is almost impossible to break. It took us needing the power of Aura to even shatter it." Twilight explained.
"I remember seeing Palkia break them with an attack that wasn't Aura. Do you think Legendary Pokemon are strong enough to do it without Aura?" Fluttershy pondered.
"It would make sense." Twilight nodded. "But let's see if Kartana's blade can cut through it. Even Pheromosa needed some help from Aura to break it."
"tuc t'nac I gnihton si ereht. etisanyD eht em gnirb."
"Bisharp. Get ready for a battle soon. You're going to do better than before, right?" Twilight looked at the Sword Blade Pokemon.
"Sharp! Bisharp!" Bisharp cried out before standing tall. He wanted a rematch ever since Kartana chipped off a part of his body. Now was a chance for him to get that rematch.
Shining Armor had been called over to Ponyville while multiple blocks of Dynasite had been brought over. They had been brought over by King Paramount himself and his guards. The Dynasite blocks were then dropped on the ground, making a loud thud along with a visible crack appearing. Twilight brought the rest of her friends over to watch this imminent display of sword skills.
"Here. Five blocks of Dynasite as you requested." Paramount spoke. Doing this one favour for them despite being a king was something he didn't mind. They had helped his nation from danger twice now after all. "And...you believe this Pokemon can cut through it, correct?"
"That's Kartana's deal. From what we've discovered, there's nothing this Ultra Beast can't cut through. But we wanted to see if it works on Dynasite." Twilight explained. "Without any Aura."
"Kartana's an Ultra Beast just like Pheromosa. Can he even break it?" Rainbow Dash wondered. "Might need some Aura for it. Get ready, Ash."
"Ah, I don't think I need to share some Aura," Ash replied.
"It's great to meet you again, Kartana. Aegislash has been looking forward to clashing blades with you again," said Shining Armor to the Drawn Sword Pokemon. "Look at him now."
"Aegislash!"
"Sharp!" Bisharp slid over, declaring that he had chosen to challenge Kartana first.
"There are other Kartana here, Bisharp," Fluttershy replied. "You have some extra options."
"Bisharp." The Dark-Steel-Type shook his head. "He knew there were four more but he wished to challenge the one who had chipped him, even if all the Kartana were equal in strength.
"Hmm...How about this?!" Ash raised his finger with an idea sprouting up. "Let's make it a free-for-all. Bisharp vs Aegislash vs Kartana. That way we'll see how each of 'em stack up. How does that sound?"
"Sharp..."
"Aegis..." Aegislash and Bisharp looked at each other before thinking about that approach. They just now noticed that neither of them have battled each other despite being Pokemon that were owned by two ponies who were related to each other. Both have had an encounter with Kartana and both are experts at the blade. "Slash!"
"Bisharp!" They agreed to it with a collective nod.
"It's a deal then." Twilight shrugged. "Is that okay with you, Shining?"
"Ah, sure. It also means we get to see who's the better Pokemon Trainer between us." He then put on a cheeky smile. It seemed like this was a moment he has been waiting for a while.
"First, the blocks. Are you ready, Kartana?" Twilight said to the five Drawn Sword Pokemon. They were always ready. "Then... go for it!"
The five Kartana had faced the five Dynasite blocks with everything falling silent. King Paramount had to see this for himself after learning that Kartan can apparently cut through anything. But will Dynasite be that roadblock?
The atmosphere also became quiet with the final howl of the wind going off. Afterwards, the five Ultra Beasts zoomed at great speeds, swinging their blades. They became blurs from their blinding speeds. A white streak had appeared before vanishing as it passed through the block. Everyone held their breath in anticipation, wondering if Kartana was truly capable of doing it without Aura.
That's when the result had come.
"Tcejbo sselhtrow a tuc ew ,erom ecno." They had cut through the blocks of Dynasite, cutting them in half. The two sides of the blocks dropped to the floor as Kartana could indeed cut through even Dynasite. Without needing Aura.
"Oh! They did it!" Ash gasped as everyone stood tall.
"Pikachu!"
Pheromosa emerged from her Poke Ball of her own will after hearing this. Once she let herself out, she saw that the blocks of Dynasite that even she had to use Aura to even damage had been sliced without Aura. By a fellow Ultra Beast to boot. Seeing this made Pheromosa puff her cheeks out of jealousy. "Mosa...!"
"Amazing!" Twilight went over to the sliced pieces. She gave them a mild poke as they had crumbled afterwards. "Well uh...that confirms that theory. Your blades are unbelievable Kartana."
"Tbuod yna reve ereht saw?"
"Bisharp..." Bisharp looked in awe before then looking at his arm. He already knew he wouldn't be strong enough to cut even Dynasite. This only showed how strong Kartana was in comparison to him, but he wouldn't let it get to him.
"Okay. Now that the Dynasite test is over, it's battle time." Twilight looked over at Bisharp. "I hope you're ready, Bisharp. It's been a long time since I've battled with you via commands."
"Sharp."
"Don't get nervous after seeing that, Aegislash." Shining Armor said to his partner. "Kartana may have the superior cutting strength, but let's see if it has the superior skills."
"Aegis!"
Twilight, Shining Armor and Kartana took their places. They stood in a triangle position. The perfect position for a free for all between three Pokemon. Bisharp polished his blade while Applejack walked over to take the role of referee. The other four Kartana would sit this one out, watching their fellow Drawn Sword Pokemon handle this himself.
"Alright, ya'll. There ain't no time limit for this and the battle's over if two Pokemon on either side are down and out." Applejack explained. "Shouldn't be too long anyway."
"Got it. Ready, Bisharp?"
"Bisharp!" Bisharp cried out with the sun rays beaming on his shiny body.
"Not as ready as Aegislash here."
"Aegislash!"
"Alright then." Applejack backed away before raising one hoof. She had then swung it down, initiating the battle. "Battle Start!"
"We'll go first! Bisharp, use Night Slash on Kartana!"
"Bisharp!" Bisharp made the first move. His bladed arms were coated in darkness as he threw himself towards the Grass-Steel-Type, targeting him first.
"I don't think so! Aegislash, Sacred Sword!"
"Aegis!" That is until Aegislash intervened. The Royal Sword Pokemon got in the way of Bisharp's attack, lighting his entire body up with an orange glow. Bisharp gasped, quickly switching to Aegislash as he had blocked the incoming Sacred Sword. His attack on Kartana had been halted.
"Sorry, Twily. But Aegislash has been looking forward to this for a while. Push Bisharp away!"
"Slash!" Aegislash used the strength of Sacred Sword to push Bisharp back. Bisharp still kept his guard up with his arms before staggering for a bit. Now it was Kartana's turn to attack. It went for a blindsiding attack on Aegislash, using Aerial Ace to move at confounding speeds.
"Behind you! Sacred Sword!"
"Aegislash!" Aegislash quickly turned around, meeting with Kartana's blade in the nick of time. Sacred Sword and Aerial Ace had connected with a mild shockwave going off. The two of them looked each other in the eyes before initiating a back-and-forth clash.
Sparks started flying when those two Pokemon started clashing their blades with ferocity and speed. The sound of metal clanging together also echoed through the area.
"Bisharp! Get in there with Night Slash!"
"Sharp!" Bisharp rushed into the fray while his fellow Steel-Types were going at it. He joined in on the clash with his blades meeting with Kartana's blade and Aegislash's blade via both his arms. Now, it was a triple clash. The three of them went at it, swinging with such skill and grace at the same time.
Bisharp ducked a swing from Aegislash's Sacred Sword before then blocking another Sacred Sword from Kartana. He moved back before then being pursued by Aegislash who moved forward. Kartana intervened by appearing in front of them with the speed of Aerial Ace. It had caught Aegislash by surprise, swiftly hitting him in the face.
"A-Aegis!" Aegislash was the first to feel any real damage as Kartana then went for Bisharp next.
"Guillotine!"
"Sharp!" Bisharp leapt forward, having a sure-fire one-hit-KO attack in his arsenal. When he approached with it, even Kartana knew how dangerous it was. The Grass-Steel-Type gasped before then flying to the side, evading Bisharp's Guillotine.
"Got you scared, huh?" Twilight smirked, knowing that even Kartana was susceptible to Guillotine's ability to take out an opponent in just one go. "Let's make sure these next hits are hard on the ears. Laser Focus!"
"Sharp...!" Bisharp's eye had flashed as he had powered his sight. Thanks to Laser Focus, he had a greater concentration than before to an intense level. Bisharp's strength had been boosted as well.
"Now! Night Slash on Aegislash!"
"Bisharp!" Bisharp took off, approaching Aegislash with a train of darkness on his arms. Aegislash looked up to see the Dark-Steel-Type leaping into the air, planning a downwards hit.
"I don't think so! King's Shield!"
"Aegis!" But that all failed once Aegislash had used King's Shield, blocking the devastating blow of Night Slash which had been boosted by Laser Focus. Bisharp growled as his attack had been cancelled out.
However, once Bisharp's attack was stopped, Kartana capitalized, using Sacred Sword. The Drawn Sword Pokemon appeared next to Bisharp in the blink of an eye before slashing his chest.
"B-Bisharp!" Bisharp took a tremendous amount of damage from that hit as he went flying.
"Bisharp, no!" Twilight as Bisharp rolled on the ground. Being a Dark-Steel-Type and taking a Fighting-Type attack was downright painful.
"Okay, Aegislash! Metal Sound!"
"Aegis!" Aegislash had used a non-attacking move instead of going in for the attack. He let out a horrible metallic screech that sounded like scraping metal. Kartana felt this horrible sound as it had him stuck in one place, staggering and twitching.
"Now, strike with Sacred Sword!"
"Slash!" It was all part of Shining Armor's plan. Now that Kartana was staggered, still feeling the horrible sound from Metal Sound rupture through his body, this allowed Aegislash to catch him while his guard was down. Aegislash had slashed Kartana with a full-force Sacred Sword, dealing super-effective damage.
Kartana was now the one that had been sent flying. So far, all three of them had taken some damage but BIsharp took the most. Speaking of Bisharp, he got on one knee, finally recovering. However, Aegislash's assault was not over.
"Sacred Sword on Bisharp next!"
"Aegislash!" Aegislash switched targets, going for the winded Bisharp.
"I don't think so! Jump back and use Night Slash from afar!"
"Bi...Bisharp!" Bisharp jumped back, using the alternate variant of Night Slash. He swung his arms in the air before sending out dark crescent waves. Aegislash started slashing these crescent waves while approaching the Sword Blade Pokemon. Kartana joined in, attacking Aegislash from the back with Leaf Blade.
Aegislash's movements had been interrupted once Kartana had used Leaf Blade. Once more, Kartana proved that he was the fastest Pokemon out of his fellow swordmasters. Aegislash almost fell over after that back attack as that allowed for the remaining blades from Night Slash to connect.
"A-Aegislash!" Aegislash had been hit by a few Night Slash blades, taking super-effective damage to boot. Afterwards, Kartana moved back to gain some momentum. He rushed in, also possessing Guillotine. However, he seemed to focus it on Aegislash.
"Why's he going for Aegislash? He's immune to Guillotine." Twilight thought before clicking on it. "Unless...he's coming for Bisharp!"
Her assumption was correct. Kartana had purposefully gone for Aegislash, only to phase right through him. Aegislash looked confused before seeing Kartana head for Bisharp.
"Guillotine!"
"Sharp!" Bishar would counter Guillotine with Guillotine. The two One-hit attacks had crashed into each other with great ferocity. A white light sparked out of them both with the two Steel-Types trying to push through each other. "Bisharp...!"
"Come on, Bisharp! Show Kartana that strength you used against Cosmos!"
"Bi...Sharp!" Bisharp yelled, putting his all into this Guillotine. By screaming and exerting more of his body limits, he managed to start pushing Kartana back. He thought about when Kartana sliced the block of Dynasite while also chipping him when they first met. He channelled all of his thoughts about Kartana and how he was superior to him into power. This was the Pokemon Bisharp wanted to surpass.
"Now's our chance! Sacred Sword!"
"Aegislash!" Aegislash decided to strike while they were both busy. He appeared in-between them with his blade held high.
"Just what I expected! Switch into Night Slash!"
"Bisharp!" Bisharp quickly switched into Night Slash by using his other arm. He quickly swung it at the Ghost-Steel-Type blocking the incoming Sacred Sword. Bisharp was now holding back two attacks with two arms and two different moves.
"Deedni sretsamdrows taerg dna stnenoppo yhtrow era uoy. devorpmi evah htob uoy." Kartana spoke to them both with Bisharp and Aegislash giving everything they had.
"S-Sharp...!"
"A-Aegis...!"
"Em taefed nac uoy erofeb og ot syaw emos evah uoy ,revewoh!" Just then, unexpectedly, Kartana managed to overpower them both. He had switched into Aerial Ace midway before then delivering a mighty push that had overpowered Sacred Sword and even the deadly Guillotine.
He overpowered them both, slashing his fellow Steel-Types. The two of them let out a short-burst gasp before then falling over. They didn't even go flying. They just fell down from Kartana's sheer strength. It was clear who was the superior force here as they had both fallen.
Bisharp and Aegislash had fainted.
"Bisharp..."
"Aegislash...."
"Bisharp and Aegislash are both done for! That means Kartana wins!" Applejack declared this match over as applause went through after this battle. Nearby ponies had spectated this battle, finding it enjoyable. King Paramount and some of his guards couldn't help but applaud this battle as well.
"Great work, Bisharp. You did well." Twilight went over to Bisharp, using her magic to raise him up.
"You too, Aegislash. You battled with style there." Shining Armor helped his partner up as well.
"Guess that's that. Kartana's always extra strong, huh," said Ash.
"Mhm." Fluttershy and the others nodded in agreement. The other Kartana applauded their fellow Drawn Sword Pokemon before flying over to him. Kartana had not only proven that he could cut through Dynasite with ease, but he also proved that he was the superior swordmaster over his fellow Steel-Types. But he did have to respect their strength.
"You're amazing, Kartana." Twilight praised Kartana. "To think that there's an entire space out there with Pokemon as skilled as you."
"Pretty scary too..." Shining Armor shuddered. "It's a good thing they're on our side."
"That was an awesome battle too!" Ash, Spike, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Sedalb fo retnuocne txen ruo ot drawrof kool I. Llew depoleved evah yeht taht nees evah I .dlrow siht ot kcab gnimoc ruonoh a saw ti."
"Kartana says that it was an honour coming back here. And he would love to clash with them again someday." Fluttershy translated for everyone.
"Did that thing just speak backwards...?" King Paramount just now discovered that Kartana's language sounded familiar to the ears.
"We look forward to it too, Kartana. I guess... you're heading back now, right?" Twilight replied.
"Nruter ew erofeb sedalb ruo tset llits tsum ew. on."
"It sounds like they're not done yet. They're still going to test out their blades before they head home. Maybe across Equestria or even the Pokemon World."
"Got it. Until then, Bisharp here will be better than ever. I mean now he stood a chance against you and there's not a single chipped piece on him." Twilight chuckled while Bisharp blushed in embarrassment.
"Sharp...BIsharp!" But right after that, Bishar vowed to be better than Kartana when they next meet. Whenever that may be.
"Aegis!" So did Aegislash. He wanted his victory over the Ultra Beast one day. No matter how long it would take. And he would use all of that time to grow stronger.
"Seirasrevda yhtrow dna ynop elttil ym, snamuh ,lleweraf." The Kartana all bid their farewell before flying off. Their quest to hone their skills was never-ending despite already being so skilled in the first place. Twilight and everyone waved goodbye with Bisharp proudly saluting such an amazing swordmaster.
"You know what would be cool...If we saw the Swords of Justice battle Kartana."
"Oooh...That would've been cool." Spike nodded in agreement. "And maybe that one wolf Pokemon with the other sword. Uh...what's it called again?"
"Oh, Zacian. We'd have to do some revival for that to happen." Rarity replied. "What about your Sirfetch'd, ASh?"
"I think the leek would've been cut off if Sirfetch'd battled them. Right, Ash?" Starlight asked.
"..." Ash stood there for a moment, taking in what Starlight had said. "Ah, man! I should've joined in the battle with Sirfetch'd! Gaah!"
"Nevermind." Starlight shook her head with Pikachu patting Ash on the back.
"Pikachu..."
Kartana was a massive wall to overcome. Such amazing sword skills but it was a back and forth battle either way. Bisharp and Aegislash had yet to overcome him, but one day, they vowed to do so.
"Ugh..." An early sunrise had come as the golden rays beamed through the windows of Applejack's room. They hit her face enough to wake her up. And once she woke up, she was met with one sight. All 10 of her Golett, staring her in the face.
"Golett."
"Gyah!" Applejack was so startled she almost ended up kicking one of the Golett by accident with her flailing hooves. Only for the Golett to expect this, using their Ghost intangibility to negate this incoming hoof kick. "Mmm...Do ya'll have to do that every morning now?"
"Gol." The Golett all hopped off the bed before collectively using Shadow Punch to form shadow arms, grabbing Applejack out of her bed while also showing her a plate of food. The Golett were tremendously loyal to Applejack to the point where they were doing everything for her.
Applejack had been carried out of her bed while also being force-fed. Before she could process it, the Golett had used their shadow arms to take her out of the room.
"Wait...I'm still pretty tired." Applejack groaned, trying to keep her eyes open.
"Lett? Golett." After hearing that Applejack was still tired, the Golett rushed back to her room immediately, using their shadow ars to place her back on her bed. Applejack smiled before being given her blanket back. The Golett peacefully placed it on her, making her feel comfortable as if nothing had happened.
"That's better..." Applejack said before curling up in her bed.
"Sis! Wake up!" But that peace was immediately obliterated once Apple Bloom entered the room, startling Applejack before she could even close her eyes.
"Oh...Why, Apple Bloom?"
"It's a big day today!" Apple Bloom hopped onto Applejack's bed. "The Pokemon School's having another day where we head over to Alola and try and find some Z-Crystals!"
"Oh...right." Applejack sat up as all of her Golett started running around the house. "We never got one of our own, did we?"
"This time we will!" Apple Bloom grinned. "I'm going for that Grass Z-Crystal. I've already got a ton of Grass-Types to make it work after all. What about you?"
"I don't know...I'll check the moves to find out..." Applejack yawned as she was still feeling tired, unable to talk at frantic speeds like her little sister at the moment.
"I'm gonna head out now. See ya there!" Apple Bloom ran out as Applejack flopped out of her bed, face-first onto the floor in a flat position. It was time for her to go. But before she could depart, she took a look at the most recent picture of her family.
A picture of a family reunion that was made possible by Tapu Fini. Since it was so special, Applejack kept it in her room, looking at it for a moment. A part of her was relieved that there was a resolution with her parents after the prior events and a chance to see them again. She then left the room, closing the door after reflecting on this picture.
Alola. Hau'oli City. Day.
Hau'oli City. Known as the city overflowing with gentle joy. A coastal city situated on Melemele Island and also being the largest city in the Alola Region. It had a nice Beachfront, a Shopping District, a Mall, and a Marina. Few, but beautiful.
Appearing here with the students were Roxanne, Brawly and Fantina. The student count was slightly shorter as some ponies already had Z-Crystals. An example being Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo.
"My neck..." Roxanne held her neck, still feeling some whiplash and effects from when she was possessed by Cosmos. "Uh, anyway...you're back here at Alola to find yourself Z-Crystals. You already know how it goes. You can head out there to find yourself a Z-Crystal, just like you tried before. Do you all have one that you wish to get?"
"I'm still searching for the Psychium Z," Twilight replied, focusing on giving a Z-Crystal to her Espeon. "But...I wouldn't mind finding myself a different one." Everyone else discussed which Z-Crystals they would be looking for. They all had their personal choices, ranging from the typing of their Pokemon or one of the four moves in their arsenal.
"Grass for me!" Apple Bloom raised her hoof. "And you, sis?"
"Well...I guess I'll go for maybe Ground or Ghost. Or Dark?" Applejack wasn't fully decided on what she wanted.
"Let it come to you. That's what I say. But..." Roxanne yawned. "Go at...your own pace. Some of these crystals could be inside of the buildings here. We were personally tasked with scattering them so..."
"Geez. Are you okay?" Brawly asked. "Ya know...you could've just stayed home today. And the day after that too. That whole body possession thing has you all messed up."
"Nonsense. As a teacher, I must always be present." Roxanne shook her head, staying adamant. Only for her to then hold her neck. "But...I do still feel winded. Has it really been three weeks? It feels like only yesterday this all happened."
"I know what will fix this!" Fantina slid over. "How about some shopping at the mall? Or a nice hairdo at the salon?"
"How about the beachfront? While you chill out, I can ride those waves." Brawly suggested. "I even brought my surfboard for this region. As always."
"Not really in the mood, you two." The Rock-Type Specialist sighed. "But I could use some rest and relaxation."
"Great!" Brawly placed his arm around Roxanne's neck and shoulder. "You all head off and find your crystals. You can ask for help too. No shame in that. Might even find a Kahuna here. You can also hang out in the city as long as you can focus on what's important now."
"If you get lucky, you could meet an Island Guardian on your wandering. Some say that Island Guardians know how to find Z-Crystals faster than anyone else, so that will be a stroke of double luck. Have fun!" Fantina said.
"I'm already off. Bye!" Twilight flapped her wings, flying off to search for a Z-Crystal as she used her magic to drag Espeon along. Everyone else went their separate ways to search for these Z-Crystals.
Applejack went East, wondering if she would find something there. A Z-Crystal could be anywhere. They could even be within buildings which is what made the search all the more exciting. Apple Bloom followed after her sister, choosing to stay close to her.
However, special eyes were on Applejack. Over at the beach, a head had slightly poked out so as to not draw too much attention. The eyes of a certain Pokemon had also appeared who has had interactions with Applejack and her family. Usually, this Pokemon does not appear on this island, but it did just for Applejack.
Tapu Fini.
"Fini..."
Tapu Fini then descended into the water before then deciding to follow Applejack. And to an extent, Apple Bloom, curious about how they will go about their Z-Crystal Search.
Shopping District.
The bustling centre of the city, where you can get everything from fashion items to popular treats to eat and also where more and more people have become fashion conscious to take commemorative photos
Rarity chose this place first. Not only believing that it had a Z-Crystal potentially but mainly because she wanted to visit this place. Best of both worlds.
"You never know...this place might have some." Rarity rubbed her hooves together. In truth, she was just in a shopping mood. After all, she was told to enjoy herself while also focusing on the task at hand. At the end of the day, Rarity was carrying out the rules of this lesson.
She started zipping around, wondering where to start. But this district wouldn't be the first place for her to visit. Hau'oli City also had a mall, making Rarity's options bigger. Rarity focused on the biggest part of this district that had multiple crowds nearby. To her, she believed that would be where a Z-Crystal would be found. But of course, she would take her time for obvious reasons.
Hau'oli Outskirts. Route 1.
But as for Applejack and Apple Bloom, they went out of Hau'oli City, appearing at Route 1. They caught a whiff of salt on the southerly winds. Applejack and Apple Bloom saw that this beautiful path filled with flora connects Iki Town at its north end to Hau'oli City in the south. Applejack wasn't fully confident in her directions but she was confident that she would find a Z-Crystal eventually.
Sceptile hung from the trees, searching high and low within this part of the region. There weren't many trees for the Forest Pokemon to use, unfortunately. But he would make the most of it.
All the while, Tapu Fini followed them both. It moved through the trees, watching their directions carefully. However, in a matter of minutes, Applejack already had a disgruntled face. That face spoke many words and one of them was that she knew she had no idea where she was going. Alola was a region that she hadn't visited too often.
"We're gonna get lost, aren't we?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Not if we have our Xtransceivers," Applejack replied. "But yeah. I'm already feeling lost here. But we can make something work here. How's about we send out our Pokemon to help find these crystals."
"Oh yeah! That's a good one!" Apple Bloom agreed as she took her bag off, dropping all of the Poke Balls. Applejack also grabbed her bag, opening it before throwing it into the air. The Poke Balls inside had dropped as Applejack's 10 Golett and her Delta Riolu had emerged.
"Golett!"
"Riolu!"
As for Apple Bloom, she had a lot of Grass-Types to assist her. Far too many. The only odd one out was Emolga, who immediately took the skies. Once they were all out, the Pokemon were tasked with helping their trainers find some Z-Crystals. Any crystal would do. Having multiple Pokemon that all had different moves was a win-win scenario.
It meant that no matter what Z-Crystal was found, either one of their Pokemon could benefit from it. Many of them scattered with Apple Bloom sitting on Skiploom as her means of transportation.
"Sceptile?" Sceptlie slid down from his vines, coming across a pond. He wondered if there was a Z-Crystal there but all he was met with was a nose touch from a Finneon that had emerged. Sceptile's face became wet from the touch as Finneon giggled, descending back into the pond. "Scep!"
"Finneon!"
"Golett!" The Golett all started digging, thinking that the crystals could be underground. Thanks to them being Ground-Types, the speed of their burrowing was fairly swift. They didn't even need to use any attacks to make it work. Delta Riolu was on the more playful side.
"Riolu!" He started running around, admiring the breeze instead of focusing on finding the crystals. His rampant running ended up causing him to almost bump into a Ledyba.
"Ledy?!" Ledyba gasped as Riolu passed it. Riolu apologized right afterwards. Riolu kept running before then passing by a Spinirak nest. Thankfully, he avoided it so as to not cause any unwarranted trouble.
The Golett had already dug a sizable hole as they entered it, marching as if they were troops. In a sense they were. An Applejack was their commander. All of them did their best to find a Z-Crystal, even if there wasn't one here. They also made sure not to bother the Pokemon living here.
Tapu Fini admired all of this hard work, even if one of them was just running around. Seeing that it was pointless to hide as it had met with Applejack and Apple Bloom before, the Land Spirit Pokemon chose to show itself. And it did so by giving Applejack a scare.
"Fini!"
Tapu Fini appeared right in front of Applejack's face while she was trotting, also appearing upside-down to boot. "Gah!" This was the second time that Applejack had been jump-scared today as she jumped back. "Hah...Again?" Tapu Fini laughed as it found some slight enjoyment from doing that to Applejack.
"Oh! It's Tapu Fini!" Apple Bloom recognized the Water-Fairy-Type while skipping through the air.
"Didn't think I'd see you again so soon." Applejack stood up, adjusting her hat as all of her Pokemon flocked to her once they heard the cry of their trainer. The Golett formed a tower of themselves, using it to burst out of the ground while Sceptile swung over and Riolu just ran over. "Great to see you anyway, Tapu Fini."
"Sceptile."
"Fini." Tapu Fini was happy to see them again as well. The Land Spirit Pokemon then twirled around before dropping sparkling water from its eyes. Tapu Fini then flew backwards, leaving a trail of sparkling water for them to follow. Delta Riolu understood it first as he immediately chased after the tears.
Delta Riolu had used his Aura to communicate with Applejack, relaying a message to her. Applejack had a slight jitter as she was not used to having Aura pulsate through her still.
"I think it wants us to follow it." Applejack caught on after Riolu passed the message on. Soon, she, her sister and their Pokemon followed after Tapu Fini to wherever it was leading them. The sparkling water touched the ground, growing some roots and small plants in the water. Such was the power of Tapu Fini. Not only did it have a special water that purifies both mind and body but it seemed to affect nature as well.
Ten Carat Hill.
Tapu Fini brought them all to Ten Carat Hill. A great hill that was formed by the activity of an underwater volcano. It is famous for the hollow in its middle that is open to the air. Applejack and Apple Bloom were now thinking of potentially spotting a Z-Crystal here.
But that wasn't why Tapu Fini brought them here.
Once they stopped walking, Tapu Fini faced Applejack mainly, hovering there for a bit. Everything grew silent as the group had no idea what was coming next.
"So. What now?" Applejack asked.
"Fini." Tapu Fini had used the sparkling water again, however, this time it was in massive amounts. It felt like a shower had come as Tapu Fini had carefully used the water in a specific way. Applejack and the others closed their eyes once the water started flowing. Some of them had even been touched by it.
It was revealed that Tapu FInihad used that water to create a substitute Pokemon Area. One that was made out of plants and perfectly resembled the traditional arenas that trainers battle on. It even had the Poke Ball in the middle.
"An area?!" Applejack looked down. "Hold on! Do you want battle?!"
"Fini!" Tapu Fini cried out as it indeed wanted a battle against Applejack.
"Oh! It's just like what Fantina said! We might get lucky and find one with an Island Guardian! We've found an Island Guardian! So maybe we'll get a crystal!" Apple Bloom jumped up and down.
"Oh. You've probably got a crystal, huh?" Applejack looked up at the Land Spirit Pokemon. "Hmmm...Well, if I'm gonna earn it, I gotta go through something tough. And what's tougher than battling a Legendary Pokemon?"
"Fini."
"Alright then. Tapu Fini. Let's have a battle!"
"Fini!" The stage had been set. It would be Applejack against Tapu Fini. It was unclear if Tapu Fini had a crystal, but the battle would still take place as Apple Bloom and everyone backed away to spectate. The rest of Applejack's Pokemon stayed behind her as the battle within Ten Carat Hill was about to begin.
Applejack also found this to be a great opportunity to see how far she had come. Battling a Legendary Pokemon was a great way to test one's strength. Win or lose.
"Rio! Riolu!" Riolu jumped up and down, wanting to be the first to challenge Tapu Fini. He then front flipped over Applejack's head, landing in front of her.
"You wanna go first? Alright then, I won't stop you, partner."
"Rio!"
"Let's go first! Vacuum Wave!"
"Riolu!" Riolu made the first move. He jumped into the air, putting all of his strength into his paws before thrusting them. The force of it summoned waves of wind in two droves.
"Fini!" Tapu Fini replied by using a signature move. A fairly powerful one too. Nature's Madness. Tapu Fini slammed one of its hands on the ground as a pink shockwave had emerged with wisps of blue aura appearing above the ground. It immediately overpowered Vacuum Wave, wiping it out before then reaching Riolu, blowing him back to the ground.
"R-Riolu!" A super-effective hit too against Delta Riolu's Dark-Typing. Once he was down on the ground, The Embalming Pokemon was hit with multiple pink, blue, and yellow bolts. "Rio!"
"What was that?!" Apple Bloom gasped.
"Riolu?! Are you okay?!" Applejack cried out.
"Riolu...!" Riolu felt incredibly winded from just one attack. He managed to get back up but he was already feeling weak.
"You won't go easy on us...That's what I was looking for though. Riolu! Swords Dance!"
"Ri!" Riolu rushed in, lighting his paws up while also increasing his attack. Tapu Fini merely used its speed to evade what was coming its way. It had zipped to the side, leaving behind an afterimage as Riolu's punch had missed. But the Embalming Pokemon did not stop there. He immediately turned around, using his Aura to sense Tapu Fini. He would bank on his Aura to help him keep up.
Riolu started swinging his paws at Tapu FIni, trying to hit it. Tapu Fini still had the speed advantage as it went over and under Riolu's attacks. Riolu couldn't seem to hit it at all.
"Fine then! Dark Pulse!"
"Ri...O...Lu!" Delta Riolu had then put his paws together, summoning an orb made out of dark thoughts. It made Delta Riolu's clothes flow from the pressure coming from it as the Dark-Fighting-Type had smashed it into the ground. He made a Dark Pulse emerge with the strength of a shockwave, enough to eclipse the arena.
"Fini!" Tapu Fini actually felt like defending itself against this. Or rather retaliate as it had used Water Pulse. Tapu Fini made one orb of water before then throwing it to the ground. That orb had also formed into a pulse that resembled Riolu's Dark Pulse. But more than that, it managed to overpower Riolu's pulse, reaching him.
"R-Rio!" Riolu was hit by Water Pulse, feeling the power of ultrasonic waves that launched him back. Riolu rolled on the ground before sliding right afterwards. He had unfortunately fainted. "Riolu..."
"Good job, Riolu. Please, come back." Applejack closed her eyes before returning Delta Riolu. Tapu Fini was still looking healthy, not suffering one piece of damage.
"Gol! Golett!" The Golett had then cried out, offering to go next. The problem was that there were 10 of them and each of them wanted to battle.
"Uh...I choose..." Applejack was already having a hard time choosing. She wasn't sure who to pick first as all of them were weak to Tapu Fini either way.
"Fini?" Tapu Fini tilted its head, waiting for the next part of the battle to begin.
"I guess I'm going for you." Applejack chose her first Golett. This Golett was the most experienced out of all of them, making it the victor.
"Golett!" Applejack's first Golett that had the standard golden eyes had run forward, standing in front of her. "Gol!"
"Let's make it count, Golett. Ya'll watch how your senior works, okay?" Applejack looked back at the other 9 Golett. This was the perfect time for them to see how Applejack's first Golett battled, giving them inspiration.
"Gol-Gol!" All of them cried out, cheering for their brethren and trainer.
"Golett! Start off strong with a flurry of Shadow Punches!"
"Gol...Golett!" Golett had attacked via Shadow Punch, extending its fists as they had become shadows. However, this time they multiplied as Golett started punching the air rapidly, sending a flurry of Shadow Punches.
"Fini!" Tapu Fini gasped, trying to evade these ones as well. However, Golett manipulated one of the arms, causing it to turn. This turning Shadow Punch had struck Tapu Fini, staggering the Land Spirit Pokemon. Finally, a hit had been made.
And once Tapu Fini was staggered, this allowed the other Shadow Punches to crash into the Water-Fairy-Type. Tapu Fini felt all off them as they struck every part in its front body before knocking it back. The Shadow Punch flurry had ended.
"Yeah! Now get in there with Heavy Slam!"
"Lett!" Golett then did a quick squat before jumping into the air, ready to slam the full force of its body weight onto Tapu Fini. Itwasn't much, but it was certainly heavier than the Island Guardian. Tapu Fini shook its head before then looking up to see Golett above it.
"Fini!" Tapu Fini had used Grass Knot immediately in response, summoning vines from the ground. The vines passed Tapu Fini while wrapping around Golett's leg.
"Golett?" Golett looked down as Tapu Fini had used Golett's weight against it. Essentially, retaliating against Heavy Slam in the process as Grass Knot targeted Golett's weights, slamming it down. "Gol!" The vines slammed the Automaton Pokemon with its own weight as some dust had kicked up.
Applejack growled as the dust had cleared. Thankfully, Golett was revealed to still be up and active for battle. But it certainly took some heavy damage from that Grass Knot as it rolled out of the dust.
"Are you doing okay, partner?!"
"Golett!" Golett nodded, getting on one knee.
"Come on, sis! Win this! You can beat that Legend!" Apple Bloom shouted as she and everyone were rooting for Applejack to overcome the power of a Legendary Pokemon.
"Easier said than done..." But Applejack knew all too well that even with her battle experience, facing a Legendary POkemon was one of the hardest things that can ever be done for a Pokemon Trainer. "But I ain't gonna let you trample all over me, Tapu Fini."
"Fini!" Tapu Fini wouldn't have it any other way as the wind entered the cave, blowing Applejack's hat in the process.
The battle between these two was just getting started while everyone else was out there searching for Z-Crystals. This lesson went a different path than what Applejack was expecting but it was one between a friend and the best way to test herself as the journey continues.
Malie Garden. A well-manicured garden located in the middle of Malie City. The school activity involving searching for Z-Crystals was still on and this activity led Twilight to Malie Garden.
BY showing up here alongside her Espeon, Twilight looked at the nearby sign of this Garden. There, she discovered that people from the Johto Region came here to Alola and had designed this garden. And she could see the Johto influence when getting a full view of the place. It sported a very Johto-like outlook, with a tower similar to the Bell Tower in Ecruteak City, standing at one of its corners.
"Nice..." Twilight nodded in admiration. "There could be a Z-Crystal here. I'll make a wild guess and say a Grass-Type crystal might be here. Only one way to find out." To search for these crystals, Twilight went over to some of the people living here at Malie Garden.
"Alola. Are you searching for a Z-Crystal, my little pony?" But before she could do so, someone beat her to it. An old lady alongside a Stufful that was on her head.
"You already knew?" The young alicorn was slightly taken aback. This lady wasn't even close to her earlier and her voice wasn't even that loud to draw any attention.
"Lots of trainers searching for Z-Crystals usually have that face. It's hard to ignore. And also I see a lot of pegasi flying in the air, searching for them as well. If you're here...are you all from the Pokemon School over at your world?"
"That's right. We're here from some Z-Crystal Searching. We've done it before but I didn't find a single one the first time. Here's hoping for a lucky find today."
"Hmm...Well, you're just a tad bit late. We had a Z-Crystal here but I had already given it away to someone after battling with him."
"You did?! Are you an Island Kahuna?!"
"No. He just wanted to fill a void. He did manage to find the crystal but he was certainly someone who wanted to challenge himself for it. So that he feels that he's earned it. I just so happened to be the nearest challenger. Sadly, I did not stand a chance. He had a Darkrai which was just grim to face."
"Stufful."
"Oh. Well, uh...which Z-Crystal was it?"
"Yes. The one I gave him was the Darkium Z that was found at Route 10 before being given to that fairly intimidating individual. But a nice boy, nevertheless."
"Drat..." Twilight lowered her head. "I could've given that to Absol...A Dark-Type Z-Move, from what I heard is pretty intimidating to look at. But that makes sense."
"If it makes you feel any better, that young lad is still here in this region. You could see the Z-Crystal in action while you have the chance. He sure was an avid battler too."
"He's here? Where?"
"He looked to be heading to Mount Hokulani. Just up northwest. He said he was looking for more Z-Crystals and I told him about how a recent emergence of Z-Crystals has been showing up recently over at Mount Hokulani. It's not all lost. You could have a better find over there."
"Great! Mount Hokulani it is! Thank you, miss." Twilight found a stroke of luck thanks to this old lady. She and Espeon went towards Mount Hokulani. While they both would love to slow down and admire the sights since everypony was off searching for Z-Crystals, Twilight couldn't pass up this opportunity in case they all vanish.
Ten Carat Hill.
Over at Ten Carat Hill, Applejack's sudden battle against Tapu Fini continued. It was still unclear if Tapu Fini was doing this to give them a Z-Crystal, but the battle was underway either way.
"Golett! Earth Power!"
"Gol-Gol!" Golett slammed the ground with its bare fists before then making a golden shockwave erupt from below.
"Fini!" Tapu Fini ascended to avoid this as it didn't pose any threat to her. Afterwards, Tapu Fini had used Water Pulse, summoning an orb with pulsating water packed into it, throwing the orb. Golett had been hit by this high-speed pulsating blast of water that sent ultrasonic waves as well, flying off the ground.
"G-Gol!"
"Ah!" Applejack gasped before switching to the next command. "Shadow Punch, quick!"
"G-Golett!" Whilst flying through the air, Golett had sent out Shadow Punch by holding its arms out, unleashing a long arm of shadows that raced through the blue smoke. It almost caught Tapu Fini off guard, only for the Land Spirit Pokemon to counter it with Grass Knot, summoning vines from the ground that had constricted arm before it could touch Tapu Fini.
But the arms did get close, just being one inch shy from touching the Water-Fairy-Type's face. The arms faded as Golett barely managed to recover on the ground, sliding for a bit before almost falling on his back.
"Gonna give it one more go, Golett! Dig!"
"Golett!" Golett would now try underground as it immediately burrowed its way through the surface. The Automaton Pokemon moved at swift speeds with its arms before then disappearing from Tapu Fini's sight.
"Fini...!" But Tapu Fini was waiting for it. It knew that at any moment, Golett would pop out. And to try and draw it out, it had used Nature's Madness. By slamming the ground a pink shockwave with wisps of blue aura appeared above the ground before then relentlessly attacking it.
However, despite how these wisps rained down on the ground with multicoloured bolts appearing afterwards, Golett had been untouched. Mainly because it was not just taking a predictable pathway. Applejack smiled as Golett had burrowed up to the walls.
And after reaching the walls, the Automaton Pokemon had burst out of them, catching Tapu FIni off guard. It took just now for Tapu Fini to notice the walls being affected before being met with a heavy blow to the face by Golett's fist. "Gol!"
"Golett!" Golett was ready to get a second hit in now that Tapu Fini was confounded by that sneak attack. Whilst having some air-time, Golett went for a flurry of Shadow Punches, getting some free hits in. Gradually, Applejack was improving against Tapu Fini despite appearing at a disadvantage first with Delta Riolu fainting first.
However, Tapu Fini was not a slouch. Not for a second. Once it had been pelted by all those Shadow Punches, the Land Spirit Pokemon unleashed Ice Beam from its eyes of all things. The beam of ice had grazed Golett, almost fully hitting it as only a part of its boy had been frozen. But now the entire ground had been frozen once Ice Beam touched the ground.
A flash-freeze occurred with massive spikes also emerging. Enough to damage Golett as he started falling. "Ah! Golett, behind you! Use Earth Power, quick!"
"Lett?!" Golett turned around to see the large ice spikes that had appeared. The Ground-Ghost-Type raised his arms, channelling the power of the earth as it was ready to smash the spikes. However, once Golett's back was turned, Tapu Fini had struck. It had used Water Pulse while Golett was too busy focused on the spikes. A pulsating blast of water had been thrown, hitting Golett while it was facing the other way. "G-Gol!"
"Golett, no!" Applejack cried out as Golett dropped to the ground, crashing through the ice spikes and shattering them to pieces. Along with the ground. Golett landed face-first into the ground, sliding along the way too. After so many super-effective hits, it had reached its limit.
Golett had fainted. The other 9 Golett were somewhat saddened, but still proud of their brethren for putting up such an amazing fight.
"Golett..."
"Thanks, Golett. Return." Applejack lowered her head before returning Golett. Tapu Fini had been worn down but it was still proving its strength as a Legendary Pokemon and an Island Guardian. While she did have 9 other Golett left, Applejack felt like finishing this.
And she knew of one Pokemon who would be perfect to finish this battle off with. Her tried and true partner, Sceptile. Sceptile nodded in understanding once Applejack looked right at her.
"Come on..." Apple Bloom was especially nervous, wanting her big sister to win whilst holding onto her Skiploom for comfort. It was just then that when Apple Bloom noticed that this battle was coming to an end, she wondered if she counted in this instance.
If there was a Z-Crystal waiting for Applejack, would there be one waiting for her as well? This was something that Apple Bloom needed to know. "What about my Z-Crystal...?"
"Alright then...You're up, Sceptile."
"Sceptile!" Up came Sceptile. He stood before the Land Spirit Pokemon as Tapu Fini knew he already fared a better chance. Tapu Fini was especially looking forward to this one.
"USe Mega Evolution!" Apple Bloom shouted, encouraging her big sister to Mega Evolve Sceptile. It would give her a great power boost.
"Nah. I ain't gonna use it." Surprisingly, Applejack refused. "That'll make Sceptile too vulnerable to Tapu Fini. I'm gonna try and win this after all."
"Fini."
"But, Tapu Fini. I wonder why you wanted to battle me in the first place?" Applejack asked, wanting an answer to Tapu Fini's sudden battle declaration. "Is this about a Z-Crystal or something else?"
"Fini."
"Oh, right. I Don't have Riolu's Aura to help me understand." Applejack lowered her head, realizing she couldn't understand Tapu Fini. "Ah, it's fine. I'll figure it out once this battle is over. Are ya ready, Sceptile?"
"Scep! Sceptile!"
"Great! Then, start with Leaf Blade!"
"Tile!" Sceptile rushed in, using his bladed leaf arms which had then extended before lighting up.
"Fini!" Tapu Fini knew of the threat that Sceptile posed so it had immediately gone for Ice Beam to end this as soon as it can.
"Scep!" Sceptile used his swiftness to zip to the side, narrowly avoiding Ice Beam.
Sceptile then jumped, approaching the Land Spirit Pokemon with a bountiful leap.
"F-Fini!" Tapu Fini received a super-effective slash with Sceptile dashing past it. The Water-Fairy-Type's body spun from that slash before recovering, using Nature's Madness, sending a pink shockwave.
The shockwaves rushed through the arena, wide enough to catch Sceptile as it sent those multicoloured bolts at him.
"Tile!"
"Fini!" Tapu Fini followed up with Grass Knot while Sceptile was in the air as these large vines already surrounded him.
"Counter with Frenzy Plant!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile opened his eyes before then touching one of the vines. Once he touched it, he made a massive root burst out of it. More roots showed up as they started clashing with the giant vines.
"Thunder Punch!"
"Scep!" Sceptile landed as the roots and the vines had cancelled each other out, wrapping around one another as Sceptile then approached Tapu Fini with electricity around his hands.
"Fini!" Tapu Fini used Ice Beam as a quick retaliation with Sceptile crashing his fist onto the beam. The electricity and the ice cancelled out before resulting a double-coloured explosion.
"Again!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile went through the smoke, using Thunder Punch again. Tapu Fini gasped before being slugged in the face by an electrifying punch. The Land Spirit went flying while also being paralysed in the process.
"Let's finish this! Frenzy Plant!"
"Tile!" Sceptile unleashed another Frenzy Plant while Tapu Fibi had been paralysed, capitalising on this opportunity.
"Fini!" But Tapu Fini wouldn't let that pass as it had used Nature's Madness once again. In response to Sceptile's Frenzy Plant, sent out the power of nature in the form of a shockwave.
The shockwaves managed to tear through some of the roots, striking Sceptile while some of the roots got past the shockwaves, smacking Tapu Fini.
Both of them had received damage in the end as they both staggered. Applejack was banking on finishing this in one more attack.
"Leaf Blade!"
Scep...Sceptile!" Sceptile went in for one last hurrah. Meanwhile, Tapu Fini was going for one last Ice Beam. Sceptile reached the Island Guardian with a great leap, swinging his blade while Tapu Fini unleashed a massive chilling beam of ice. There was a heavy collision between the two attacks colliding, resulting in a raging green and blue combustion of Infinity Energy.
Applejack held onto her hat as the force of this explosion was enough to cause a great pressure. Apple Bloom and the others, however, had been blown away.
"Oof!" Thankfully, Apple Bloom had been cushioned by her many Grass-Types.
The smoke started clearing. Applejack looked ahead through it as only one Pokemon fell from it.
Sceptile.
"Sceptile..." Sceptile had fainted while Tapu Fini was still active. The Land Spirit Pokemon had won this battle.
"You did well, partner." Applejack went over to Sceptile, helping him up while Apple Bloom and the Golett rushed to Applejack's side.
"Aw you lost..." Apple Bloom pouted.
"But I had a great battle through it all." Applejack was not even beat up by it. She had fun with that battle afterwards while also having the chance to battle a Legendary Pokemon.
"Fini." Tapu Fini flew over, bowing its head to Applejack in respect.
"Thanks for the battle, Tapu Fini. Sorry if I didn't use Mega Evolution on you. Kinda played it safe there."
"Fini."
"So now what? It was good meeting you again but there's gotta be a reason for this, right?"
"Yeah. Are you gonna give my sis a Z-Crystal? Am I gonna get one? Do I have to battle you?"
All these questions and Tapu Fini would certainly answer them. "Fini." The Land Spirit Pokemon summoned those sparkling waters once more, flying off while leaving a trail for Applejack and the others.
The group followed immediately, focusing on Tapu Fini's tears. Tapu Fini's answers had not yet registered with them but it soon would as it led them to a pathway. This pathway led to a curved route before then appearing as an upward slope.
Mount Hokulani. Afternoon.
Minutes later, while moving through this slope, there was a quick exit out of Ten Carat Hill that Tapu Fini had revealed to them as light shined through here. It was revealed to be a shortcut to Mount Hokulani.
The spot where new Z-Crystals had emerged. Lo and behold, once they left the hill, they came across some Z-Crystals that were lying around. "Oh! Z-Crystals!" Apple Bloom ran ahead after seeing these crystals.
"Oh...that's what you wanted to do." Applejack now understood Tapu Fini's intentions clearly. Tapu Fini nodded as Applejack caught n immediately. "Thanks for this, Tapu Fini. You've been a mighty fine Pokemon to be around. And talk to."
"Fini-Fini." Tapu Fini giggled for a bit before nudging its head, telling Applejack to choose her crystals while she had the chance. She gladly would as Apple Bloom already went for one. She went straight for the Grassium Z. Perfectly eligible for almost every one of her Pokemon minus Emolga. Unless Emolga learned a potential Grass Move.
She raised in the air with glee while Applejack already set her sights on the one she wanted. The Groundium Z. She went over to pick it up, seeing that it was perfect for her Golett. All 10 of them. Afterwards, Tapu Fini flew back, leaving behind its signature fog to mask itself as it had sensed Twilight Sparke nearby. Not just Twilight, but other ponies who were told about Mount Hokulani's crystals.
Not only that, but the mysterious individual was also present here within this mountain. Once Applejack turned around, she saw that Tapu Fini was gone.
"Applejack! Did you get some?!" Twilight noticed Applejack, rushing to her earth pony friend.
"Sure did. Check it out. Applejack showed the Groundium Z to the Princess of Friendship. "What about you, Twilight? Did you get one?"
"Not yet. I was told to come here as there's been an emergence of Z-Crystals lately. I'll get mine for sure."
"Best hurry. Everypony else is coming here." Applejack nudged her head to the skies, showing that the other students had already shown up.
"Oh! Right! Where's the nearest one?!" Twilight shifted her eyes and her head from left to right before taking flight for a better view from above. Everyone else flocked to here as this mountain was now populated with ponies.
Applejack smiled, knowing that she would see Tapu Fini again someday. Whenever that third day comes. She followed Twilight, offering to help her friend out. Twilight descended, seeing that the crystals were too small to view from above. She needed a closer look. This was when she decided to use the Rift Magic she now possessed. She used it on her eyes, enhancing her sight as everything became closer to her. Thanks to this spell, she could spot a Z-Crystal at last. It looked to be the Psychium Z.
"Well. This area certainly has an emergence of ponies now. Not just Z-Crystals." Just then, someone had spoken to Twilight, admiring the sight of ponies. Twilight stopped in front of the Psychium Z before then looking over at the one who spoke to her.
"Well uh...it's a school activity and everyone's hungry for some Z-Crystals." Twilight giggled before then spotting this individual. Her heart skipped a beat. The person she was facing had an intimidating glare. Just like what the old lady said. Applejack saw her too before almost being blown back.
The one that they saw was none other than another person that Ash had met before. And also had a battle with. A Trainer who took part in the Lily of the Valley Conference years ago.
Tobias.
"Oh. You must be the one the lady mentioned." Twilight sighed before putting the crystal in her bag. Sorry, you gave me a fright there."
"My apologies. I do tend to catch others off guard." Tobias walked over. "But I do recognize you two...Aren't you legends from your world?"
"Legends?" Applejack repeated as she and Twilight looked at each other. They collectively laughed as they hadn't been called legends before. They've been heroes and icons but not legends. That would take generations for that to happen. "Aw, shucks, I don't know about legends!"
"I assume that's what you are." Tobias shrugged his shoulders slightly. "After everything I heard from your world. You're Princess Twilight Sparkle. And you are Applejack. RIght?"
"That's us. Nice observation." Twilight giggled. "I guess we're getting popular just like Ash. At least, in this world."
"We had those figures made out of us. A nice trade-off for Ash being popular back at Equestria, huh?" Applejack smirked. Indeed, while Ash was popular in Equestria, Twilight and her friends were gaining some traction and popularity in this world. Mainly due to their appearances, the marketing that came from them and their involvement in the Pokemon School alongside the teachers who worked there.
"That makes sense..." Tobias closed his eyes. "You would be friends with Ash. I alrayd knew that...but it looks like it's true up close."
"Oh. You know Ash personally?" Twilight asked.
"Personally but not much. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tobias." He finally introduced himself to the girls and their Pokemon.
This school activity wasn't over yet, but some nice finds had been made. Thanks to Tapu Fini, Applejack managed to prove her strength, allowing her to find a shortcut to Mount Hokulani. Twilight and the other students had gained some good advice on coming here to this mountain for some Z-Crystals as well. That is, as long as they don't run out. The number was not specified.
And finally, Twilight and Applejack had come across another individual that Ash has met yet again. The mysterious Trainer that owns a Darkrai. Tobias. What will become of their interaction? As the journey continues.
Tobias had shown up before Twilight Sparkle and Applejack. During their search for Z-Crystals, they had come across this mysterious trainer who had once battled Ash years ago. Certainly a surprise, especially for Applejack, who has now had two surprises today. One with Tapu Fini and now Tobias.
"Hm...You're a lot shorter than I expected..." Tobias observed the ponies, seeing that they only barely got past his knee. It blew him back a bit.
"Your world just has bigger species, that's all." Twilight shrugged. "Besides, I'm slightly taller since I'm an alicorn."
"Are you sure about that?" Applejack had high doubts as she stood side-by-side with Twilight. Applejack was surprised as Twilight was indeed one inch taller. "Woah Nelly, you're right..."
"I'll be taller than Shining Armor soon!" Twilight grinned while also having a smug expression. She could see herself towering over Shining Armor one day and she couldn't wait to rub it in. "I guess I do have to thank the Empress for showing me my future height. So, Tobias, is it? The lady back at Malie Garden mentioned you in descriptive words only. Do you actually have a Darkrai?"
"Darkrai? Darkrai?!" Applejack gasped. Darkrai was a fairly big name as it was already a popular Pokemon back at Equestria since Luna owns one.
"That's right. But don't worry about that. It's not too big of a deal, is it?"
"Well, uh, we've only ever seen one Darkrai. But I guess we've seen him around to get used to it." Twilight laughed. Seeing Luna's Darkrai as the only Darkrai made it so that the Pitch Black Pokemon was a regular sight. But there was certainly a rarity to the Darkrai species even still. "Wait...if you went for the Darkium Z, you probably gave it to your Darkrai."
"And soon the others. I came here to Alola to live Z-Crystals to all of my Pokemon. Not just one. I currently have three at my disposal. Did you all come here for just one?"
"Ah, we've been here before." Applejack spoke."It's our first time getting Z-Crystals. But I wasn't thinking of getting two..."
"I was. I already have one for my Espeon and I think I'd like another for some of my Pokemon."
"Are you sure you don't want more for your hundreds of Pokemon?" Tobias asked.
"Oh. You know about my PokePark?"
"I told you. You have become legends somewhat in this world. At least, in my eyes. Your popularity definitely leads to some exposure to certain things. You own hundreds of Pokemon over at PokePark. All eligible for battle."
"That's right. But um...I haven't battled with any of them." Twilight chuckled. "Just Bisharp a few times and only once with Dewott. There are just so many of them."
"Can't bring yourself to leave anyone of them behind, huh?" Applejack nodded.
"Mhm. For all I know, I'm missing out on some battling prodigies. But giving them all Z-Crystals though...Sounds overwhelming. And a lot of posing needed for that, don't you think, Tobias?"
"Perhaps you're right. I just find Z-Crystals so important." Tobias suddenly took out the Darkium Z, holding it out in Twilight and Applejack's faces. "Moreso than even Mega Stones.2
"Really? How come?" Twilight asked.
"You're also a new Pokemon Professor and an avid researcher on all things Pokemon, right? Well, here's something new for you to look into. Z-Crystals are connected to Arceus."
"They are?! Arceus?!" This blew Twilight, Applejack and their Pokemon back. Anything involving Arceus was already something to pay attention to. But the connection of Z-Crystals and Arceus was a concept that would've never come to them.
"Some would think that should be obvious. Everything comes from Arceus. Well, at least those who believe in Arceus as more than just a myth. But during my travels, I discovered that these Z-Crystals are similar to how the fabled plates of Arceus work. They react differently to how they would with a normal Pokemon."
"So..." Twilight held her hoof out, looking at the Psychium Z while Applejack looked at the Groundium Z. "These crystals are just like Arceus' plates."
"What plates?" This was new to Applejack. She had never heard about any plates involving Arceus.
"Ah, that's right. You and many others don't know. Well, when I was learning about the Pokemon World, got little information about Arceus. There isn't that much information about him anyway, but I did learn about his plates. 17 of them. Each of them corresponds to all of the Pokemon-Types, minus the Normal-Type. With those plates, I believe that Arceus can become any type he wants."
"Any?!" Now that Applejack was made aware of the plates and what they could do to Arceus, her amazement had been elevated.
"And these crystals act in the same way?" Twilight raised the Psychium Z with her magic. "Oooh..." Twilight's eyes immediately sparkled. After taking some time to process all of this thanks to what Tobias had shared, her curiosity had reached an intense state that only she could contain. "I need to know more..."
"Not much else to know." Tobias turned around. "At least, there isn't much we know about these crystals. Even me. I still can't figure out who made them. It could be Arceus or some other force related to Arceus. You never know."
"All the more reason to know!" Twilight exclaimed. "This means we're channelling the power of Arceus into this. And Arceus has to have made these. If these are connected to Arceus' plates, then these are probably pieces of them."
"Like seeds from an apple." Applejack made the best analogy she could think of for these crystals.
"Right on, AJ. You had a great idea in suggesting that we go for more crystals to Tobias. I'm going to grab as many as I can. And once I take all of them home, I can get to understand these crystals some more."
"You might be too late for that," Tobias smirked before pointing his thumb over his shoulder. Twilight and Applejack poked their heads to the side, seeing where Tobias was pointing to. Their eyes widened as Applejack's hat flew off.
Thanks to Mount Hokulani having some Z-Crystals, many of the ponies here had managed to grab the crystals for themselves. And if their Pokemon couldn't use that crystal for typing or move reasons, they would simply trade with their fellow students for an easier time.
"Apologies. Our conversation seems to have drawn out for a while." Tobias said.
"All those Z-Crystals." Twilight lowered her head in disappointment. Her interest in the crystals led to the other crystals being taken already.
"You'll get another chance, Twilight." Applejack patted her on the back, comforting her friend.
"And that chance can come sooner than you think." But Tobias managed to spark some hope in Twilight. "Don't give up now. You have another chance to find some more Z-Crystals. During my search, Mount Hokulani wasn't the only place I learned about a few Z-Crystals lying about. There is another."
"Really?! Where?!" Twilight bellowed, standing upright and tall.
"You're on Ula'Ula Island right now. Another location on this island is Blush Mountain. That is where a few more Z-Crystals are said to be found. I'll pass this information to you alone so as to not alert the others."
"Blush Mountain. Got it. Are you coming Applejack?"
"Sure am, Twilight. Might have to get Apple Bloom first."
"I know the way. Follow me." Tobias would be the one to lead them, albeit with some discreet movements in case someone chose to follow them. It was off to Blush Mountain for a few more Z-Crystals.
Hau'Oli City. Afternoon.
Back at Hau'oli, while everyone else was off searching for Z-Crystals, the teachers chose to relax. Mainly Roxanne who still felt the effects of the Cosmos event after her body had been possessed.
Brawly enjoyed his time by surfing the waves over at this city's Beachfront. Roxanne sat on a chair, staring at the vast expanse of the sea while Brawly was having the time of his life. She looked less ecstatic than Brawly with an exhausted expression. She even felt like falling asleep. However, some of the water that Brawly managed to kick up got on her face, waking the Rock-Type specialist up.
Fantina meanwhile, had come out of the city's Gracidea shop, holding some Gracidea Flowers which she had already used on herself, turning them into an accessory for hair. She went over to Roxanne, placing one on her head for some flair.
"Enjoying yourself?" Fantina asked.
"Not really. I mean...the sea is nice to look at. And these flowers are nice as well but...I feel as if there's something in me that's making me feel so drab." Roxanne lowered her head. "She couldn't quite figure out why she was acting like this.
"Hmm...It could be that a part of Cosmos is still affecting, you, non?"
"Gah! Are you serious?!" Roxanne gasped as she was fully awake from that. That was the most energy she showed today at all.
"Kidding." Fantina chuckled, playing it off as a joke. Roxanne slumped on her chair as her heart had skipped a few beats from that. "But, it still might have something to do with her. "You should've truly stayed home today, Roxanne. And even tomorrow and the day before that, don't you think?"
"My duty as a Pokemon Teacher though...I've never wasted it not once, nor never."
"Oh, forget about that. Your health matters more than some role. Even as a Gym Leader. I understand you're dedicated to what you do. But there is no shame in skipping out. When I was young, I used to skip out on some contests myself."
"You did? You?" Roxanne gasped. "But you're such an expert at them. A real Top Coordinator."
"Oui. But I didn't become that way without overcoming a few things. As a child, I was so terribly nervous to stand in front of a large crowd. Stage fright is what I had. I would always practice contest moves back at my home and when the time came for me to take part in my first contest, I was nowhere to be seen. But, later on, I managed to overcome it and grow into the éblouissant coordinator you see today."
"Oooh..."
"And if I happened to be sick, I was not present. Not every great trainer, coordinator or any other status is flawless, Roxanne. Everyone has had some slip-ups in their life. It happens to the best of us and that is perfectly fine. Unless you're Leon then there is no off-day." Fantina laughed.
"Wow. Thank you, Fantina. I guess I needed that. Taking some days off wouldn't hurt at all...It's a new concept to me. But I guess it isn't to Roxie."
"Enjoy your days off!" Fantina patted Roxanne on the back. "We will handle things from here on out!"
"Ow, my back..." Roxanne twitched from the back pat as she was even feeling the effects there.
"Oooh. Désolé."
Blush Mountain.
Blush Mountain. The mountain where the Geothermal Power Plant is situated. Also known for the output that covers almost all of Ula'ula Island's electric needs. But slightly away from that spot were some hills that were flowing with electricity.
Tobias, Twilight, Applejack and now Apple Bloom had shown up to these hills that were just near the outskirts of the mountain. The Z-Crystals were now out in the open. Instead, their trip led them to a cave within the mountains, away from the power plant.
Entering the cave within the mountains, they had the chance to see all the sparks that permeated this specific part of Alola. Most likely, the power plant was influencing this sudden flare of electricity running through the walls. Thankfully, they didn't touch the ground as that would be a struggle to walk through.
The Pokemon here all either thrived off of the electricity or were immune. A bunch of Geodude were asleep while the electricity covered their bodies. Charjabug and Elekid felt themselves being refreshed by lounging around this electrical frenzy. The Mudbray casually walked around, passing through the volts.
However, there was something else that neither of these Pokemon could face. When moving deeper into the cave and passing by the Pokemon that lived here, they could feel a rising heat. This wasn't the Alola Sun and the heat that it brings along. It was something else.
"Hoh...Is it getting hotter all of a sudden?" Applejack took off her hat, using it to fan herself.
"It is...Maybe it's the fact that we're getting deeper into this cave." Twilight sighed as she was starting to feel the heat as well.
"It's something else. The electricity here over the years has made one unique transformation." Tobias replied. "They say that lightning is hotter than the surface of the Sun and that heat is starting to show itself. Which means, we're close to the Z-Crystal."
"How are you so sure, mister?" Apple Bloom asked as she was slowing down from this heat.
"I have been here before. Just two years ago. But it was before I learned of the importance of Z-Crystals. Fittingly, Rift Energy is responsible for this."
"Because of course it is." Twilight sighed as Tobias revealed that Rift Energy was responsible for this sudden heat. The electricity within the cave was a victim of this cosmic energy, no doubt.
"Stand back." Tobias suddenly stopped walking as everyone stopped behind him. Right on time too as they reached seemingly the end f this pathway. Right in front of them, raging fires could be seen moving in haphazardous directions. These flames also had cosmic sparkles within them, confirming that Rift energy did indeed mess with the electricity here.
Not only that but a unique type of lightning had been discovered. Flame lightning. It exploded with the speed of lightning and the ferocity of fire, hitting the walls while also having a thundering sound to boot.
"Flame Lightning?!" Twilight was blown back as this was something to know about. "Oooh, I'm so glad I started studying this kind of magic!"
"Wait! The Z-Crystals are in there?!" Apple Bloom gasped, believing that they had to go through that fire hazard to find some of them.
"They are. But fear not. I have a Pokemon that can help us through this." Tobias held out this Poke Ball, ready to unleash one of them out. They were expecting his Darkrai, but a different Pokemon had shown up. "I need your assistance! Entei!"
Entei had arrived.
One of the Legendary Beasts. Upon emerging from Tobias' Poke Ball, Entei stood tall, not even letting out a cry or a bark. And that was for a good reason as the Pokedex would reveal it soon in the stunned eyes of Twilight, Applejack and Apple Bloom.
"What is that?!" Applejack shouted before quickly going for her Pokedex.
"Entei. The Volcano Pokemon. Entei embodies the passion of magma. This Pokémon is thought to have been born in the eruption of a volcano. It sends up massive bursts of fire that utterly consume all that they touch. It is said that when it roars, a volcano erupts somewhere around the globe."
"Entei. Clear out those flames." Tobias ordered as Entei jumped into the hazardous area. This mighty beast casually passed through the destructive fire as if it was nothing. The heat didn't even phase it once. Entei then used fire against fire, using Flamethrower.
"Wait. Won't that make it worse?" Apple Bloom questioned, seeing that this action was only prone to cause more danger.
"Sometimes, fire can be used to put out another fire. Albeit with a certain amount of risk." Twilight explained to the filly. "Crazy how nature works like that. But how do you have such a powerful Pokemon with you, Tobias? And you have a Darkrai as well?"
"I get around." Tobias smiled. "The Pokemon World is massive. Any Pokemon can be found in so many places. The possibilities are endless in what you can find. It's that reason why going on an adventure is so romanticised in our world."
"No arguments there. But it's still overwhelming for you to have two Pokemon of such rarity..." Twilight chuckled, still finding Tobias' Pokemon to be extra special.
"You have no idea, my little pony. Entei. Have you found anything yet?" Tobias asked as Entei managed to push away all of the flames, making the area clear for a moment. However, the moment they tried stepping forward, new flames had sparked up. But this time, with extra ferocity. The heat had risen as the power of the Flame Lightning had increased.
Entei looked to the size as the Flame Lightning touched it once more. However, instead of just shrugging it off, even Entei flinched from this as it moved to the side a bit. It was mainly the lightning that did the most. Entei was hit with another Flame Lightning as the abundance of flames had suddenly increased.
"Hm?! Entei!" Tobias roared, realizing something was amiss. Entei was still able to power through them and push the flames back, but they were seemingly getting more and more violent each time Entei did so. "What's this all about?"
"I think I know!" Twilight stepped forward. "It must be the Rift Energy! A common thing this kind of energy does is that it responds to whatever it's facing. Each time Entei gets rid of those flames, it comes back with a greater force than before."
Twilight was correct. The more flames Entei got rid of, the stronger the Flame Lightning became. Entei was still the superior force, but this rising intensity did not spell anything good as the Volcano Pokemon kept trying to find some stones.
"Maybe the best way to stop it is to bring all the flames onto one target. And I know just the Pokemon to help out." Twilight took out a Poke Ball with her magic, throwing it into the air. "Go, Ninetales!"
"Ninetales!"
"Ninetales! Head in there and absorb that Flame Lightning and see if you can find some Z-Crystals! Be careful of the lightning though!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales nodded in response before rushing in, joining its fellow Fire-Type in the volatile area full of electrifying flames. The second Ninetales had entered it, his body reacted to the flames. His ability Flash Fire kicked in, pulling in the flames once they threatened to attack him.
The Fox Pokemon pulled it all into him so casually. He had once absorbed the hateful flames of an enraged draconequus. So this wasn't so bad to him. Sensing Ninetales absorbing the flames, the amount of Flame Lightning had increased, focusing on one spot as a loud burst of fire went off. Everyone squinted as Ninetales took dozens of flames that had surrounded him from all sides.
This amount of fire was enough to obliterate a building or even more. Possibly an entire time as Twilight, Applejack, Tobias and Apple Bloom's jaws dropped. Twilight trembled a bit, fearing that Ninetales had taken too much from that overwhelming amount of flames.
But, seconds later, he emerged out of them, completely fine and in one piece. Untouched and healthier from before. Ninetales panted before then running to Entei's side.
"Impressive...Usually, abilities such as Flash Fire have a limit to how many flames they can absorb."
"Wait. There's a limit?!" Twilight gasped as this was new to even her. She had no idea that abilities similar to Flash Fire that absorb certain elements had limits.
"Of course. Absorbing that much fire will eventually break the ability of Flash Fire unless a Pokemon similar to Entei possessed that ability. But it seems your Ninetales can handle it with no problem. Seems to me like you have a special Ninetales on your hooves."
"Nine! Ninetales!" Just then, Ninetales shouted out once he was close to Entei. Entei let out a head nudge as they both ended up finding Z-Crystals.
"Oh! You did it!" Twilight cheered.
"Now, return quickly," Tobias commanded. Entei ran through the destructive flames, still having the durability to take them all while Ninetales simply strolled along, taking in all of these flames with no limit to what he could absorb.
Ninetales then pounced onto Twilight, loving a good praise from her. Twilight laughed as Ninetales playfully licked her face, still showing some of those electrifying flames around his body. It even frizzed up his fur. "Ninetales! Nine!"
"Okay, Ninetales! Cut it out!"
"A job well done, Entei." Tobias held his hand out as Entei dropped the crystals into his hand. Tobias could feel the heat coming from the once they touched his palm it made him twitch a bit. He then turned to the ponies, holding it out to them. "These belong to you."
The crystals were revealed to be the Ghostium Z, Normalium and the Fairium Z. Twilight and Applejack took the stones that correlated best with their specific Pokemon. Twilight chose the Normalium and Fairium Z while Applejack went for the Ghostium Z.
"Thank you so much for this, Tobias." Twilight and Applejack paid their respects, thanking the mysterious trainer with surprising Pokemon.
"The least I can do to help new trainers. After all, everyone in your world are newer to Pokemon than even the children here. There is still a lot left for you to know. Right, professor."
"Mhm." Twilight nodded in agreement. After all, learning that these crystals were greatly connected to Arceus was another new thing that they've learned.
"Well, I have other stones I want to look for. And then, I'll be on my way from this region to the next. It was a pleasure finally meeting you. Princess Twilight Sparkle. Applejack. And you too, little one. "Say Hi to Ash for me when that chance comes."
"We sure will. But are ya gonna come to our world someday?" Applejack asked.
"I'm already planning it." Tobias walked away, looking back with a smile before then returning his Entei. "I'll be seeing you sooner than you think. Farewell."
"Sooner than we think?" Twilight repeated, wondering what Tobias meant by that. He was obviously to pointing to how they would have another encounter but the girls couldn't help but wonder under what circumstances and where it would be.
But, they quickly pushed it aside to immediately start leaving this area as the heat from this cave was still relevant. They rushed off, still being close to Tobias. But the moment they went ahead, Tobias was gone. It threw them for a loop as one second, he was walking off at a standard pace and the next he suddenly vanished.
"Strange guy..." said the Princess of Friendship. He was indeed a mysterious trainer that still left a lot to wonder about.
Hau'oli City. Late Afternoon.
"Welcome back! How did you all do?!" Fantina greeted her students once they had returned from their Z-Crystal Search. The students showed up with their fair share of crystals. And this time, unlike the first time, a lot of them managed to get some crystals.
All thanks to the people of Alola giving pointers on where to go. Some students were still missing some, unfortunately, but they had other chances in the future and even visiting the region without needing to go through a school activity. Rarity was one of those students to have not found one.
"Oh well." But she wasn't beat up by it. Mainly because she managed to obtain something of greater value in her eyes. Fashion. Rarity, her Pheromosa and her Leavanny were all carrying bags as Rarity went on a massive shopping spree over at the Shopping District and the mal as well. "Better luck next time for me. But today was not a total loss."
"I can see that." Fantina giggled as Rarity's fame as a PokeStar Studios actor allowed her to shop big with so many PokeDollars. "Now, I believe it's time we leave. But I can already predict some of you will be back soon. After all, summer is close, isn't it?"
"I'll be back here for summer too!" Apple Bloom raised her hooves. "What about you, Sweetie Belle?"
"I didn't get a crystal..." Sweetie Belle pouted until Rarity dropped a bag of goodies in front of her. "But this might cut it."
"We saw a lot today. No complaints here." Applejack said with her eyes closed. This has been the most eventful day for her. Tapu Fini. An Entei and a special cave to boot. She was a satisfied pony.
Once everyone was about to leave, Tapu Fini watched on once more from the sea, fixating on Applejack and Apple Bloom. The Land Spirit Pokemon let out a faint cry that only Applejack and Apple Bloom were allowed to hear. It was a cry of joy. Applejack's Aura went off, detecting some words from the Island Guardian. While she couldn't understand the words, she knew the feeling behind them.
"See ya later, Tapu Fini." Applejack spoke, looking at the beach. It looked like she was speaking to herself, but to the Alola Region, someone was always speaking to something. No matter what.
"Alright...Let's see what you have in there." Currently, Twilight was up late at night, studying Z-Crystals of all things. It has been hours since her activity over at the Pokemon School had finished up and after Tobias told her that Z-Crystals are greatly connected to Arceus and act similarly to Life Plates, she had to figure it out for herself.
She had three Z-Crystals at her disposal. The Psychium Z, The Fairum Z and the Normalium Z. Each were eligible for her all her Pokemon in one way. Whether by types or moves. She focused on all three crystals, aiming to dissect them.
"Hmm...But if I want to look into them, breaking them apart is probably what I would do. But that would be a total waste. I need to find a way to look into them without breaking them..." The Princess of Friendship wondered.
She had to think of something. While she was thinking almost all of her Pokemon were asleep aside from Absol who stood outside the lab. Spike and Starlight meanwhile were back at the castle, sleeping soundly. That's when it hit her.
"I know. I have Rift Magic now. All I have to do is use that magic on an existing spell to make a better variation of it." Twilight said before narrowing her eyes at the crystal. She found a way to separate the crystals while also keeping their power.
With her horn flashing a luminescent purple light, she managed to split the three Z-Crystals in half. Something that has never been done before. And once she split them, the Infinity Energy inside of the crystals had already shown itself in the form of Psychic, Fairy and Normal Energy. It lit the room up which was already lit as Twilight squinted from this overwhelming light. She had used her magic to protect herself while also using it to contain the energy.
The Infinity Energy had been held back, maintained within the crystals as Twilight managed to keep their power there. Once she had the energy contained, Twilight was free to go the distance with further experimentation.
"I did it!" She exclaimed with glee. However, seconds later, even if she managed to contain the Infinity Energy, separating the crystals still had a unique reaction. And that reaction involved Twilight herself as all three crystals shot out different light rays that had struck Twilight. It didn't hurt her at all, but what it did was suddenly pull her in. "Oh, wait!"
Twilight felt her body suddenly leaving this spot as the moment she screamed, Absol rushed in, along with all of her Pokemon waking up in response to their trainer shouting. But it was too late. Twilight was gone. What was left was her outlined body with her signature purple magic glowing around her. The Pokemon had no idea what could've possibly happened to Twilight with this.
Inside the Z-Crystals.
Twilight found herself inside of the Z-Crystals. She let out a small gasp before opening her eyes. She got to see what it was like inside of the crystals and the flow of Infinity Energy.
And what she was stunning to the eyes. Trillions upon trillions of stars were seen flying about. She was in a universe-like area that had Infinity Energy colours flowing around inside of the usual black void of space. These stars were also filled with Infinity Energy, representing the three types she had interacted with. Psychic, Fairy and Normal. They all zoomed by at swift and slow speeds at the same time.
One of these stars got close to Twilight as she was jump-scared by it. This one appeared smaller. Ths entire appearance slightly mimicked that of what was inside a Rift Entity. Twilight gazed at the smaller star that the Psychic Infinity Energy, poking her hoof on it.
The star reacted to Twilight's poke before then sensing the Psychic energy that she possessed thanks to Olympia's teachings. It resonated well with her, not causing a single volatile reaction. Twilight laughed at this strange but warm and nice feeling as the star zipped away.
"So this is what it's like inside of a Z-Crystal?" Twilight gawked, flying past some stars while also touching them, making a beautiful sound upon contact.
"I see that you're enjoying yourself." Just then, while Twilight was having fun surfing across the Infinity Energy cosmos, touching the stars and even flying through them, a voice spoke to her. A very familiar voice.
"Arceus!" Twilight recognized Arceus' voice. His voice echoed through this plane but there wasn't a single physical body to be found. But there was an astral one. Right in front of Twilight, a golden light began materializing in front of her.
The light particles formed an Astral Projection of Arceus, made out of his own light as he blended in well with this Infinity Energy plane. His light appearance was just as large as his real appearance.
"Oh, uh...!" Twilight, after seeing Arceus, believed that she might've been caught experimenting on Z-Crystals. "This is uh...This is not what it looks like! I didn't think this would happen and-"
"It's fine." But Arceus did not mind it. "Your experimentation has led you to not just the inside of the Z-Crystals but the flow of the Infinity Energy. The force that resides and permeates within our multiverse. From one world of magical creatures to another."
"So this is the flow of it? I mean, I somewhat expected to see Infinity Energy inside. It's what powers everything Pokemon..." Twilight replied. "Oh, but while you're here. I learned that these crystals were greatly connected to you. They're similar to the plates that you have, correct?"
"My Life Plates. Yes. They are extensions of my Life Plates."
"Oh. That explains it." Twilight turned upside down while floating within this flow. Arceus' Astral Projection followed her while she moved at the opposite angle. "So, since they're extensions of you, you entrusted it to the people and Pokemon of Alola and the future generations, right?"
"Not at all. And besides, I never entrusted much to the humans before. That was never the case. Not in the previous timeline."
"Previous timeline?!" The concept of time had come up once more as Twilight got back in the correct angle, gasping as her curiosity had been elevated. "What do you mean by that, Arceus?"
"The truth is, my little pony, humanity would've been destroyed. And you would've never met with Ash and many of your new friends from that world." Arceus said as Twilight froze for a second. "For you see, I once planned to destroy the human race, believing that I was bringing them to justice. I would've wiped them all out and you would never see me as how I am now. Or at all. I might've done the same to your world if the Rift were to ever combine our worlds."
"O-Oh..." Twilight's heart skipped a beat. Everything that Arceus just said was downright terrifying. She felt like she was in imminent danger all of a sudden. "So...what changed?"
"Thankfully. Ash and Pikachu and their friends prevented that. Alongside another good friend of mine. Damos. They saved my life while also revealing a truth to me that I was blind to. This all took place in the past. Because of them, in the present, I was able to come to my senses."
"Sounds like a long story. So if you didn't go back in time to help make the Z-Crystals, what made them? They're still a part of you, right?"
"The one who created the Z-Crystals was a being known as Ultra Necrozma."
"Ultra...Necrozma?!" Twilight recognized that name anywhere. The Pokemon that Daybreaker currently owns. Its standard form, that is. But the Ultra part was new to her.
"The creation of the Z-Crystals was the result of Ultra Necrozma losing all of its light. This goes for every Necrozma in every universe. Each have Z-Crystals. Ultra Necrozma, dare I say, is a magical creature that has enough light to rival mine.
"Huh?! N-N-No way! Your light is way too much! There's no way that someone can rival it, right?" A nervous laugh left Twilight as she looked Arceus in the eyes. But Arceus was fully serious about this. "Unless...it can."
"Never underestimate the limitless potential of magical creatures. But yes, I'm afraid so. This powerful light that matches mine can be viewed as something beautiful or a threat. The Necrozma of Ash's world has found peace with itself. But the one that you currently fear will attack you one day is a prominent threat indeed."
"And Daybreaker's having Necrozma absorb as much light as it can..." Twilight shuddered. The visage of Daybreaker came into min das she viewed her in a background of crimson and destructive flames. And right within those flames, floating behind Daybreaker was Necrozma.
"But...I suppose I should not frighten you with that information right now. After all, you and many others are prepared for what Necrozma will bring."
"Mmm." Twilight nodded slowly. "We're growing stronger every day. Thanks to the lessons we learn from our teachers and the experiences we go through with Pokemon."
"That is good to hear. Then I suppose this is the next step to growing stronger. Because I did not just come here to greet you. No. I came here to confirm the creation of a new Z-Crystal."
"New Z-Crystal?!" Twilight stepped back. "Wait, do you mean..."
"Even if Necrozma created the Z-Crystals, my power is still influenced by them. When they were made, my Astral Projection appeared in every Z-Crystal on that day. This is somewhat similar to how I arrived at them. And since you have entered the crystals, I have arrived to help make you form a new one, much like how Necrozma formed the others."
"I get to make...my own Z-Crystal?!" Twilight's eyes lit up with excitement. She pranced around like a little filly, excited about this information while Arceus' eyes followed her. "This is so exciting! It was worth experimenting on them! So worth it! So, it'll be of my own power, right?!"
"Your magic has influenced it. Therefore, it will contain parts of Equestrian Magic. And to an extent, you can thank the Harmony Phenomenon for this possibility. Truly an amazing force your world has discovered."
"Hehe." Twilight stood proudly. "It's nothing, really. So, how do we make it? And...do I have to sacrifice one of my crystals to create it?"
"Not at all. Necrozma and I, in a sense, are two sides of the same coin. I gave light, it takes light. Depends on the Necrozma from which universe, that is. But I can most certainly create a crystal just like it can. I will make a fourth crystal for you to keep. A crystal that is dedicated to you. But it is up to you to decide what is capable of."
"Up to me?" Twilight repeated as a purple light appeared in front of her. Arceus' Astral Projection had lent some of his power into this light that perfectly mimicked Twilight's Cutie Mark.
Arceus would build the mould of the crystal, but Twilight would have to be the one to choose the type of attack that was going to emerge from it. It was all her as Arceus used his power to form the crystal.
She thought about it for a moment. The possibilities were vast. She was going crazy over it in her head as if she was a child again. And she absolutely loved it. After a while, Twilight had decided on it.
"I've decided. But...if it's not a bother...can I involve you in it?"
"Hm?"
"Uh, yeah. I'd like to add your light to it Arceus. I don't know, it just feels so safe being around you, to be honest." She giggled.
"Very well. I will add some of my power into this crystal." Arceus agreed. Once Twilight had decided on it, Arceus added the final touch. His light. The Light of Arceus entered the crystal as it combined with Twilight's Magic, Infinity Energy and a bit of Necrozma's power.
And thus, a new Z-Crystal was made.
"In the likeness of your name, it shall be dubbed the Twilightium Z. Use the power that is connected to you. And the Pokemon you have chosen for it."
"I know who I've chosen. All of them." Twilight revealed that she assigned the power of this Z-Crystal to all of her Pokemon. Not a sole one but everyone. That included the ones at PokePark.
"A generous choice." Arceus nodded in approval. "Then...I shall leave you to it. We will meet again, as always." Right afterwards, the Astral Projection of Arceus had left. Twilight's crystal dropped into her hooves as her time within the -Crystals had suddenly ended.
Equestria. Ponyville. Twilight's Lab. Nightfall.
"Oh!" Twilight had returned. She blinked for a split second, finding herself back in her lab. Her Pokemon were all surrounding her after gathering around her outline. Once they saw that their trainer was back, all of them, except for Absol had pounced on her. "Oof!"
"Espeon!" Espeon and the others cried out with tears of joy, overwhelming Twilight.
"Oh! Ow! Okay! You all can get off me now!" Twilight shouted while also chuckling. Her Pokemon separated, giving her space to breathe. And once they separated, that's when they saw it. The Twilightium Z.
Twilight stood up, shaking her head and readjusting her mane. She held her hoof, showing the crystal. The Princess of Friendship then used her magic to raise it in the air as she was proud of it to the core.
"Thank you, Arceus." And while looking at the crystal, she had to thank Arceus. Not just for helping make the crystal, but for everything. A soft smile graced her face before then yawning. Twilight then remembered how late it was and now that exhaustion had kicked in. "Oh...but first I need some rest."
She slowly sat down on the floor, not bothering to head back to her bedroom. She was too tired to try anyway as the crystal dropped in front of her. Her Pokemon decided to continue sleeping next to Twilight. They all gathered around, getting into their favourite sleeping positions.
Cinccino slept on her head, Espeon laid beside her while Togekiss and Ninetales wrapped their wings and tails around her. Ninetales had also used his body heat to keep them all warm for the night. After that, they were all soundly asleep with Absol keeping guard.
Equestria. Canterlot. The Pokemon School. Olympia's Classroom. Day.
"Ta-dah!" Showing up today at the Pokemon School, Twilight had a surprise for her friends. The Twilightium Z. Her own personal Z-Crystal. Made last night and appearing with the dazzling beauty of a new item.
"Ooooh!" Naturally, her friends were stunned to see a Z-Crystal tailored towards Twilight.
"So, you really made your own Z-Crystal?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Awesome!"
"It wasn't just me. Arceus is the one who made the crystal. I just added some of my magic into it. Oh, and Arceus added his light. And it all came together to form the Twilightium Z. This is the first and I guess only of its kind."
"It's just as fantastic as the other Z-Crystals." Rarity commented. "If only it had all of your colours though."
"So. Arceus helped you?" Appearing behind Twilight was her Psychic-Type teacher Olympia. Olympia kneeled down to get to the ponies' level, staring at the Twilightium Z. "Do tell."
"Well, I decided to start learning more about Z-Crystals. And I figured dissecting some would be the key to it. And boy, I got massive things out of it. I got to see Arceus. I learned about the creation of Z-Crystals and even more about Arceus and Necrozma both. It was all worth it. The power of this Z-Crystal benefits all of my Pokemon, just as I intended it to."
"Well done." Olympia complimented the Princess of Friendship. "You've certainly come a long way. All of you. From running from Pokemon to sharing their power. You are true Pokemon Trainers."
"Thank you, Ms Olympia," Twilight replied with a beaming face.
"By the way, Twilight. What kind of attack does it have?" That's when Rainbow Dash started asking the big questions.
"Hm?"
"Yeah. You and Arceus made the thing. So what kind of Z-Move can it do? It's a new one, right? Never before seen."
"They're right," Olympia added. "This attack will the first of its kind. That goes for the special pose that comes along with it."
"And what's it called too? Naming is important." Rarity leaned in.
"Ah, well about that...I've figured out what the attack is going to look like, but I didn't quite picture the name or how I'm going to do the pose." Twilight chuckled, revealing that the traits for her Z-Crystals were currently missing two important factors. The posing and the naming. "I haven't sorted that out yet."
"And that's where your friends and your peers come in. We will help you sort that out." Olympia replied as she along with Twilight's friends will sort out the missing traits of the Twilightium Z. "Do we all have our ideas?"
"Mhm." Indeed, they all had something in mind. Just what Twilight needed. The naming part would be simple but the posing part was where complications would arise.
"In fact...let's make that today's lesson. Tell us the kind of attack that it is and the name will become clear to us." Olympia asked.
"Right. Well, it goes like this. I decided to make it fully connected to Equestrian Magic. Whoever's using the attack gathers up the magic of Equestria and forms it into my Cutie Mark. Once that mark shows up, it forms into a massive blast of magic. I couldn't think of much else but a large blast. Seemed like the most effective way."
"That's perfectly fine. Most Z-Moves are simple to understand but the beauty of them is how they are not only performed but the process of the attack emerging. They also tend to have names that are overboard. It's only natural."
"Oh, you're right." Twilight nodded. "My attack does have that same prolonged feel to it. Plus, it looks different depending on which Pokemon uses it. But I haven't seen it been used yet."
"Well then. Have we all decided on what the name of it should be?" Olympia asked the others. Rainbow Dash and the others huddled up, discussing the perfect name for this attack due to its description. It drew power from Equestrian Magic itself, obviously being a part of the Harmony Phenomenon and it was a massive blast that came out of a projected Cutie Mark. The name of it was clear to them.
And in the span of the few seconds that they had to name it, Rarity had used her magic to write on a piece of paper, showing the name to Twilight.
"How does Harmonic Twilight Starblaze sound?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Sounds good to me!" Twilight was perfectly fine with that name. "That overboard name sound just like a Z-Move alright."
"Rainbow Dash came up with the last word while the rest of us came up with the other two. They worked well in tangent and the placing is just perfect." Rarity explained.
"Splendid." Olympia clapped her hands. "Now comes the tricky part. The pose. Twilight. You must find the right pose you're comfortable with to make this Z-Move work. Otherwise, you'll be stuck with a crystal that does nothing."
"Right. That part is what I was kind of nervous about. How am I going to find the right pose? And one that doesn't hurt my muscles?"
"Why not just mimic some poses from other Z-Moves and switch it up?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "Seems like the easier option to me."
"Oooh. Or maybe you can pose in the shape of a star. Just like your Cutie Mark." Fluttershy suggested.
"If I'm going to make my own pose, I think I'll make it so that it's simple for a pony to use. I already know using a Z-Move cramps your muscles, Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie."
"True that." The multicoloured-maned mare shook her head while crossing her hooves. "The attack is cool but boy does it hurt to pull off when posing."
"It does hurt a bit when I use one too." Fluttershy agreed.
"I try to ignore the pain on my muscles. But I can't." Pinkie grinned. "Makes it all the more effective, I guess."
"We'll sort that problem out as well. For now, let's see what pose the Twilightium Z will need. Twilight?" Olympia turned to the alicorn.
"I got it. I think I'll go for Flutterhsy's idea. A star makes the most sense but I should also make it so that nopony ever has to struggle with it. If it's ever used by somepony else." Twilight replied, choosing a pose. "Maybe a dance for you to do in the beginning and then afterwards, the star pose at the end to initiate the attack. That way, I won't have to worry about hurting their muscles trying to come up with elaborate poses."
"She has a point." Rarity nodded. "Everypony can do a star pose easily. Especially if it's quick at the end."
"What if you need to do it when you're at the Human World? Sometimes you head there after all." Starlight asked, bringing up a good point. Twilight would have an easier time pulling of a Z-Move in the Human World with her Human Body, but making a pose specifically for ponies and translating that to the other world was a real roadblock.
"Good point. I can still use the star pose at the end but..." Twilight had to think again. "What's the best approach to it then?"
"Let's figure it out while in the middle of battling. It's about time we use the school's arena. Come along." Olmypia stood up, leading the group of ponies over to the school's arena. Located outside. The basis for the Twilightium Z had been finished up. Now it was time for the main test.
Pokemon School Arena.
They had arrived outside the school's arena. Perfectly wide for something as powerful as a Z-Move to be used. In this instance, it would be Twilight vs Olympia.
"So I should make it up as I go?" Twilight asked.
"Yes. If Roxie were here, she'd say to let the rhythm of battle help you. And I'd agree. You already know how it should end. Now all you have to do is find a way to seamlessly enter that star pose. Now, emerge, Meowstic!" Olympia held out her Poke Balls, summoning both her Meowstic. Male and Female.
"Meowstic!"
"Now. Just one extra question about that crystal. Wat type is it? It's meant for all of your Pokemon, right?" Olympia questioned. "Now that both my Meowstic are out, that Z-Crystal should have the right type."
"The type. It's..." But the moment Twilight looked at her Z-Crystal, that's when a voice spoke to her before she could finish her sentence. A voice she heard just last night while inside the crystals. The voice of Arceus.
"Use it in any way. Just as you imagined it." Arceus' voice spoke to Twilight through the crystal. Twilight gasped as she certainly did not expect that.
"Arceus...?" The Princess of Friendship made a faint sound. That's when she realized that the Light of Arceus was speaking to her. Arceus did add his power into the crystal after all. And once he spoke to her, Twilight understood very well what this crystal was truly capable of. "Mmm. You're about to find out, Ms Olympia. I'm choosing both my Cinccino and Espeon!"
Twilight suddenly chose two Pokemon to combat Olympia's two Pokemon. Not just her ace Espeon but her first ever Pokemon, Cinccino.
"Cinccino!" Cinccino cried out as Espeon ran forward, standing next to her.
"Two Pokemon? Curious..." This made Olmypia ponder something. Twilight obviously didn't choose two Pokemon just to rival Olympia's two Meowstic. There was another reason behind it. "Now! Let us begin! Helping and Future Sight in unison!"
"Meow!" Together, the two Constraint Pokemon had used Future Sight and Helping Hand as a golden aura appears around the Male Meowstic, allowing him to transfer the aura to the Female Meowstic, powering her up.
As for the Female Meowstic, she extended her ears as the eye-like patterns on her inner ears illuminated a bright blue. Meowstic created five wormholes before then shooting blasts of electrified psychic energy through the wormholes. They had disappeared right afterwards but would soon return.
"Let's finish it before Future Sight lands! Eve, Quick Attack! Minccy, Tri Attack, let's go!"
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemn would advance on her fellow Psychic-Types while Cinccino would assist from afar. Espeon moved at lightning speeds, leaving a white trail while Cinccino had throw three spheres of three different elements. Fire,Ice and Electric.
"Hm. Think they will hit?" Olympia smirked as both Meowstic suddenly outlined themselves in a familiar blue light. A Psychic light. Just then, they had zoomed to the side, using their Psychic abilities to evade the incoming attacks. They split up as Tri Attack hit the ground, failing to hit a proper target while Espeon missed the Male Meowstic completely.
"Not yet! Go again, Eve!"
"Esp!" Espeon continued attacking the male Meowstic by redirecting herself towards him. Meowstic kept evading shower, matching his fellow Psychic-Type's speed as Espeon couldn't hit him so far. Both of them suddenly took to the skies, levitating with Psychic.
"Darn..." Twilight growled as the Meowstic flew around in the skies, teasing their opponents.
"Are you getting into that mood to pull off a successful move yet, Twilight?" Olymia asked. "Because if not, then this battle will over sooner than you can even think about pulling off the pose.
"Mrrrgh...I will pull it off the right way." Twilight's eyes flashed purple as she then raised her hoof. "Eve! Shadow Ball! Minccy, Thunder! Strike them down!"
"Cinccino...!" Cinccino raised her arms, manipulating the weather itself. The skies rumbled while Espeon opened her mouth, summoning a blob of shadows.
"Dark Pulse and Light Screen!"
"Meow!" The Male Meowstic had used Light Screen, placing a protective golden aura around himself and his teammate, boosting their resistances to the incoming attacks at the right time. Thunder boomed from the skies while the Female Meowstic unleashed Dark Pulse onto Shadow Ball.
The Male had been struck by the lightning while Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball clashed, resulting in a tie as the two attacks cancelled each other out, combusting with a black and dark purple explosion. Thanks to Light Screen, the Male Meowstic managed to stay in the air, albeit feeling some heavy electric impact.
"Now, head up there with your own Psychic and use Dazzling Gleam!" Twilight then spread her wings out, getting into a bipedal position before thrusting her hoof into the air.
"Eon!" Espeon ended up using Psychic on herself to levitate in the air for a while. She zoomed towards her fellow Psychic-Types before reaching their height.
"Psyshock!"
"Meowstic!" Both Meowstic's had then used Psychock in unison, forming purple orbs of energy in their hands. The duo then released six dark purple beams of energy from the orb, but not before Espeon retaliated.
Once she was up with them, she had used Dazzling Gleam in combination with Psychic, surrounding herself in a orb of rainbows before then unleashing multicoloured rays that ended up clashing with the beams.
"Now's my chance...Tri Attack!"
"Minccino!" While the two of them were distracted by Espeon, Minccino had attacked, throwing three orbs in the air. Once Dazzling Gleam and Psyshock cancelled each other out, passing through the smoke was Tri Attack.
The Female Meowstic was the one who had been struck by these attacks. "Meow!" After being hit by Tri Attack, she ended up getting one condition. In this case, it was the Burn status. This also caused the Female Meowstic to start falling, only for the Male to catch her.
"Great! Now for one more! Shadow Ball and Aqua Tail on the Male!"
"Cinccino!" Cinccino jumped up, using Aqua Tail to do so as she slamme her tail on the ground. The impact boosted her into the air, bringing her towards the Constraint Pokemon while Espeon prepared a Shadow Ball while still airborne.
"Blow them back with Psychic!"
"Meow!" The male Meowstic managed to blow them both back. Before Espeon could use Shadow Ball, an invisible blast of Psychic Energy had pushed her and Cinccino away with an impressive wide range.
"E-Esp!"
"I don't think so! Hit it with Aqua Tail! Release it, Eve!"
"E-Espeon!" Even thought she was pushed back, Espeon managed to release Shadow Ball while falling down. The force of Shadow Ball being unleashed propelled her back faster than Cinccino. This allowed for Cinccino to strike.
"Cinccino!" Cinccino looked at Shadow Ball, swinging her tail at it when it passed by. At the right moment, Cinccino managed to catch it, hitting the blob with Aqua Tail, giving it a boost. The ball moved much faster as it managed to hit both the Male Meowstic and Female Meowstic.
"Ooh." Olympia's eyes slightly widened as she was certainly impressed.
"We're on a roll here! And I think I'm getting the hang of the perfect pose!" Twilight jumped for a joy as the body movements she's been making so far has allowed her to get adjusted to what she could pull off as Espeon and Cinccino stuck a nice landing.
"Aren't you forgetting something, my little pony?" Olympia smiled, knowing there was one other factor in this that was a threat to her Pokemon.
Future Sight.
The wormholes had returned as out of them, five Psychic blasts had emerged with ferocity. And thanks to the Female Meowstic's ability Keen Eye, they had immaculate accuracy.
"Oh no! Eve! Minccy! Dodge!"
"Esp?! Espeon!" The two of them immediately started booking it, but it was pointless. Keen Eye wouldn't allow it. The attacks moved at blitzing speeds, hitting Twilight's Pokemon before they could find the best route to dodge. As if they could dodge in the first place. They had been bombarded with a barrage of blasts before being enveloped in a Psychic explosion. "Esp!"
"Cinccino!"
"Eve! Minccy!" Twilight cried out as both her Pokemon tumbled. But they were able to hang in there. As the smoke cleared, the Male Meowstic descended with the Female with both of them touching the ground. Thanks to Light Screen, they were also able to hang in there.
"You've done very well, Princess Twilight. Even if this was just a test, you've shown that you can perform swimmingly well despite the circumstances. That's what I love to see from my students."
"Thank you, Olympia. But I haven't done my best yet. There's still one thing left to do. And it's the reason why we're here."
"Of course. Go ahead. I'm ready for your Z-Move. Bring on your Harmonic Twilight Starblaze."
"This is it!" Pinkie Pie sat up, getting all giddy. The rest of Twilight's friends did the same as they were so ready to see how this attack was performed.
Twilight already had the Z-Ring as the power of Alola, Arceus and Equestrian Magic was already starting to emanate from it. Three different lights had also shown up. The Golden light of Arceus, the illuminating yellow light from every other Z-Crystal and Twilight's signature purple colours.
She closed her eyes as she got into this bipedal position once more. The lights then flared out as Twilight could hear Arceus' voice once more, telling her to use it.
"I can hear you loud and clear, Arceus." She said while still having her eyes closed. "This crystal isn't just for show. It's what's going to pave a way for a better future. Anything that comes our way, I can count on this crystal to help ensure everyone that it will be okay."
"Esp!" It seemed to be direction towards Espeon as the lights started flowing in her direction. Twilight moved her hooves around in two different ways. The motion of water, swishing from left to right as well as making an arch shape with her hooves. After making the arch, she then spread her wings out as they became apart of the pose too. The Princess of Friendship had then put both her hooves forward.
But that's when the lights not only flowed towards Espeon, but also Cinccino. This stunned everyone as Cinccino was also pulling off the same poses with the power from the Twilightium Z coming to her.
"Cinccino!"
"Cinccino too?!" Olympia gapsed. "Does that mean...?"
"Here's the first of many to come!" Twilight's eyes opened as her voice suddenly echoed throughout not just the arena, but the entire school as well. That's when a golden materialized figure appeared behind her.
It was the figure of Arceus.
Twilight then pulled off the star pose by putting both her front hooves out, maintaining her balance. That was the end pose as the lights then reached their peak. Espeon and Cinccino were ready.
"Eve! Minccy! Harmonic Twilight Starblaze!"
The attack had been initiated. Millions of Cutie Marks that represented Twilight's had shown up in small sizes, flowing into the sky before them merging. They combined to form a gigantic version of Twilight's Cutie Mark. It was as big as the entire Pokemon School as everyone, even inside the school and across Canterlot looked at awe.
Espeon and Cinccino then jumped into the air as they were pulled into the Cutie Mark. Their bodies resonated with it as the star stared vibrating rapidly, letting out stardust.
"ESPEON!" Espeon and Cinccino had cried out with all of their might as a purple blast the size of Canterlot Castle had emerged.
"Oh my...Dark Pulse and Psychic, Quick!"
"Meowstic!" The two Meowstic tried fighting back at this titanic blast, only for Dark Pulse and Psychic to be enveloped by it in the matter of seconds. This was because of another light within it. A Dark Energy that resembled the Dark-Typing as it was perfect against the two Meowstic. Alongside that, the Purple Energy perfectly represented Twilight and Espeon while another one, a white one, was representative of Cinccino's Normal-Typing.
"Take this! I told you it was meant for all of my Pokemon! And this is it! The start of more to come!" Twilight held her hoof out while having a booming voice.
"A Z-Move that can be used by two Pokemon...With the right type necessary..." Olympia stood there stunned along with her Pokemon. They were just amazed. "Amazing, Twilight. You've made something special."
And right there, the attack landed on the Male and Female Meowstic. Once it landed, ended up forming a gargantuan dome-shaped purple explosion that then turned into a tall purple pillar that had pierced the clouds themselves, reaching far into the sky. Despite how destructive it looked, it had also made a beautiful magical sound to boot as Twilight closed her eyes from this heavy impact.
The aftermath of the explosion was also peaceful instead of violent. It cleared up, turning into stardust that flew into the sky. They then sparkled with grace and elegance as out of the smoke both of the Meowstic had fainted.
"Meowstic..."
"Whew..." Twilight sat down as the light figure of Arceus had faced away. It had exhausted her as her Pokemon ran over after their victory. "We did it. I know it was a test but that felt so serious..."
"Esp!"
"Cinccino!"
"That was amazing!" Starlight exclaimed. "Definitely one of the wildest ones I've seen so far!"
"I know right?! It was just as crazy as Pikachu and Mew's Z-Moves!"
"And it seems, the right pose has been found." Olympia walked over. "Well done, Princess Twilight. You've found the right rhythm and method for your exclusive Z-Move."
"Oh, thank you. But...my muscles still hurt from that. I guess there is no way for a pony to pose without feeling some muscle pain." Twilight chuckled. "Guess we're going to have to get used to that some other way."
"Hey, if it works, it works." Pinkie Pie bounced over. "But what was that all about? That Light Arceus that showed up behind you."
"That was Arceus' power helping out. It's forever a part of this crystal." Twilight held up the crystal while on her back. "From now on, Arceus will always be helping us."
"That's what we like to hear." Applejack nodded in approval.
"But that Z-Move...Are you saying that it works depending on which Pokemon is being attacked by it?" Olympia added. "Both my Meowstic are Psychic-Types and the energy within that purple beam was a Dark-Type energy alongside Psychic and Normal as well."
"That's right. It immediately makes one dominant type depending on which Pokemon is being hit by it and capitilizes on it. I aimed to make a super powerful Z-Crystal that was special in its own right and I succeeded."
"Hm. Well, this lesson is officially over. You can all leave home early for this. I also believe that this will help you in the future, Twilight. For when yu have to go through the Battle Exam."
"Battle Exam?" Twilight repeated.
"A way for you to go up some levels by battling your teachers. I am at that next level alongside Drayden and Volkner. I look forward to seeing you all there when you've all reached the top."
"But we're already at your class." said Fluttershy.
"I know I just love teaching that's all." Olympia glggled. "There's no level that will stop me from doing what I love."
"Wait till Ash learns about this." Twilight smiled before getting up. This lesson was over and it was a stunning success that Twilight had smashed.
Her new Z-Move. The Harmonic Twilight Starblaze. A Z-Move exclusive to her and acted different from other Z-Moves. And with the power of Alola, Equestria and Arceus within it, it was certainly a force to be reckoned with. The pose was perfect too. The name was the right kind of overboard for a Z-Move and it certainly lived up to the hype. A satisfying conclusion indeed as the journey continues.
Another universe has been freed thanks to the help of Reshiram and Zekrom. The two Dragons laid waste to the Empress' forces, breaking down their weapons, machinery and so on with their overwhelming fire and lightning. But of course, they had help from other universes from the Universal Alliance that had already been freed.
And with another universe freed, cheers resounded across this universe. But the work of the Twin Dragons was far from over. They were ready to set off to another universe. And the one to help them get there was Queen Pyrestar who also hails from another universe.
Another large gateway had opened up, allowing the Twin Dragons to fly through. They have been at this for weeks. Reshiram and Zekrom certainly had no time to rest, even if they wanted to. But such as the perseverance and persistence of a mighty dragon. Especially since these two are separated halves of the strongest Dragon, Kyurem.
Once another universe was free from the Empress' control, this message was passed on to Universe One. All the way to the first Universe's Princess Celestia.
And speaking of Universe One, over at Twilight's Castle, Zero had returned. Zero now frequently helps Twilight with anything Rift Related. He was also an expert in it much like her, using its power to understand this cosmic energy a bit more.
"So. About those gateways. That Cosmos attack would've ended sooner but apparently, someone came from another universe and brought those extra stars to bring her back to full strength." Zero commented. "Is that right?"
"Right. I don't know which universe. It could be any. Counterparts exist everywhere after all. It might've been Team Plasma though...Colress is spying on us from all over even still. Team Plasma probably brought the stars from the universe they're residing in. It's a real hassle."
"Team Plasma, huh? And here I thought they disbanded years ago."
"That and we have other things to worry about. Like Necrozma, a Pokemon named Yveltal and so on." Twilight sighed, slumping her head on the table.
"And how is it that your world has survived for long? From everything I learned, the mere appearance of a Tyranitar or even a Mandibuzz would've led to a complete crisis within this universe."
"A-A Mandibuzz?!" Twilight sat up before nervously chuckling. "You're joking about that...right?"
"..." But Zero's face had no semblance of comedy behind it. He was dead serious about what he had said. That sent a sense of dread within Twilight's heart.
"Oh. Well um...You can thank Ash, Pikachu, BigTime Ben and a few others for that. It's a good thing they know their stuff, otherwise, we'd be done for. But back to the gateways..."
"About that. How about this? What if we just make something that lets us detect gateway actions?" Zero suggested.
"Oh? A device that lets us know when a gateway, not from either of our worlds, but another universe parallel to this one is being used." Twilight was already catching on as Zero nodded in response. "Of course! The same thing happens with Rift Humans and Ponies. Cold Colt is always able to sense when someone uses Rift Magic no matter how far they may be. Making a device that does something similar with gateways is genius."
"That way, you'd be more alert about Team Plasma and whatever threats potentially show up. And you'd tell your ruler, obviously."
"Nice thinking, Zero! Let's get to that right away!"
"Sure. But...do you even know how to make a device? This world doesn't strike me as the technological type."
"No...Not yet." Twilight lowered her head as that was one roadblock she had come across. Despite her great intellect, she was an expert at the arts of magic while Zero was an expert at the arts of science.
"Figures. I'll make it then. But you understand the gateways more than me, so you'll handle that."
"Got it. Let's make this device happen." It was settled. To make things easier for Equestria and this world in general, a device that would detect passageway from other universes parallel to this one. It was a clear quality of life addition that was needed. For the sake of everyone living here.
Canterlot. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, back over at Canterlot, Celestia was meeting with the various universe counterparts of herself, Luna, Cadence and Twilight from other variations of Equestria. This was right after Reshiram and Zekrom had helped free another universe. Another meeting between them was ongoing.
"Reshiram and Zekrom doing great as always. Love to hear it." Celestia nodded, proud of the Twin Dragons. But she would expect nothing less from Legendary Pokemon. "Sure wish they were here during the Cosmos' attack. Might've ended quicker..."
"We're grateful for those two Pokemon giving their aid. And they're so nice to be around as well despite their overwhelming and intimidating appearances." Another Celestia commented. "But...on the topic of Pokemon, there's something that's been commonly going around in each of our worlds."
"Hm? What's wrong?" Luna asked the various universe counterparts.
"Nothing serious. But ever since Reshiram and Zekrom showed up, along with the knowledge of these Strange and Wonderful Creatures known as Pokemon, each of our Twilight Sparkles have been curious about them."
"Oh, they have?" Celestia replied, looking at each counterpart to Twilight Sparkle. Lo and behold, once that was brought up, a majority of them all had that same look on their faces. Small but visible grins that were brimming with curiosity.
"Guilty." A Twilight Sparkle that never became an alicorn spoke. "We've all actually been having late-night conversations throughout our universes about Pokemon."
"And visiting them too." A Twilight Sparkle who had golden serpent-like eyes said. "We all had that agreement that we'd love to see more of them. Reshiram and Zekrom are the only ones we get to see the most really aside from Gardevoir and Arcanine. And also because they're so massive."
"Oh. Is that so? Well, what are you waiting for? This world of ours is all yours to explore. And by extension the Pokemon World." Celestia was already in full agreement with that. "But...it would be very confusing for everypony if many Twilights suddenly showed up out of nowhere."
"Eh. It wouldn't be too off." Luna shrugged. "They'd probably at first think they were just Ditto or Zorua."
"We get to come?! Yes!" A slightly younger version of Twilight Sparkle jumped for joy. A majority of them did, prancing about and giggling as they were psyched to see more Pokemon.
"Do we have to?" But, in contrast to all this excitement was a Twilight Sparkle who was not so cheery. "Seems like a time waster..."
"Ah, it won't hurt." Another Twilight replied. "After everything we've been through we need this."
"Come right through my universe." Celestia backed away, already expecting a storm of Twilight Sparkles to come through. Luna did the same as all of the Twilight Sparkles from different universes and wasted no time. It was all focused on Universe One.
They couldn't wait much longer. Immediately, they had all started passing through the gateway that connected to Universe One. They came in droves as purple blurs and figures started filling the throne room of this universe's Canterlot. Their voices all came through, eager with excitement as they already discussed what they could possibly see. Reshiram and Zekrom were good indicators of what to expect.
Now that they were all here, they were free to explore as so many Pokemon were waiting for them. Aside from Reshiram and Zekrom, the three other pokemon they've seen so far have been Gardevoir and Arcanine. Darkrai was never out in the open so he was a mystery to them. So much more were out there in all shapes and sizes.
"The best place to see a gigantic majority of them in my opinion would be the Pokemon House over at Fluttershy's cottage. That location should be familiar to all of you, right?" Celestia suggested.
"Or even Frenzy Forest." Luna chimed in. But all the Twilights had already left the throne room, flying or trotting off to see the world that awaits them. Not only that, but this universe reminded them of a simpler time before the Empress attacked.
The less cheerful Twilight from before was the last to exit the gateway as she followed her fellow counterparts, not as thrilled to see Pokemon, but she would give it a shot either way.
Ponyville.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors!" Currently, Ash, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were playing Rock Paper Scissors. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy used their wings to mimic the motions easily. Ash drew Rock, Rainbow Dash drew Scissors while Fluttershy drew Paper.
"So who wins?" Fluttershy asked as she put her wing over Ash's hand while Ash's hand touched Rainbow Dash's feather.
"Again," said Rainbow Dash as they had taken another turn at Rock Paper Scissors. But during their fun little game where they went back and forth, comically unable to gain victory over each other, they were not expecting the storm of Twilight Sparkles that was coming this way.
"Audino?" Audino was the first to hear a barrage of hoofsteps and wingbeats that were more abundant than usual, even here at Ponyville. And soon Fluttershy since she shared Audino's hearing ability. Albeit, a smaller version of it.
"Paper-" But before Fluttershy could finish the last word of this game, she had been interrupted by this barrage of sudden sounds. "Oh. What's this?"
"Hm? What's up?" Ash asked as he drew Paper while Rainbow Dash drew Rock. With Fluttershy stopping for a bit, Ash declared victory, grabbing Rainbow Dash's wing.
"Aw!" Rainbow Dash groaned after her defeat.
"I hear something. Hoofsteps and wingbeats." Fluttershy uttered. "And...Twilight?"
"Twilight?" Ash and Rainbow Dash repeated.
"Pika?"
Indeed, various Twilight Sparkles started making their way here. Over the horizon, Ash, Pikachu, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and soon others squinted their eyes, noticing purple figures in the distance. Only one pony they knew had that signature purple coat.
And just like that, they had seen hordes of Twilight Sparkles from different universes show up with so many of them having slightly different appearances.
"What the?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed out of pure shock after seeing so many of them.
"Aw, sweet!" Ash was rather amazed by this sight, always loving something new.
"Pika-Pika!"
The ponies of Ponyville felt like rubbing their eyes to make sure they weren't seeing things. It was the real deal. Once all of those Twilight's fully arrived at Ponyville, their presence was very much visible and physical.
"There are so many Twilight's..." A stunned Fluttershy gasped. "Do you think...?"
"They're from other universes. Totally." Ash finished Fluttershy's sentence as all of the Twilights started greeting the ponies of Ponyville. At least, this universe's Ponyville.
"I missed the look of this place." A Twilight Sparkle that had a halo above her spoke, looking at this world's Ponyville. Truthfully, all of them missed this. While their respective Ponyville's were healing after the Empress' attack, this one was the most reminiscent of how it used to look before the attack.
"Eh...It's brighter than mine..." One Twilight had to disagree. A Zombie-like Twilight Sparkle that had stitches around her commented with a somewhat haunting voice.
"That's Wherefore it's an alternate universe. Differences everywhere as Thou can see." A Twilight Sparkle who looks to come from an older time spoke in a different tone and slightly different language. "Thou all Dost feel welcome Hither?"
"I do feel a bit welcome here. It feels like home." A Twilight Sparkle that was a dragon instead of a pony had replied. She even resembled Ember in height. "But, don't you all think this is creeping everyone out? I mean, so many of us."
"The ponies of this universe seem to welcome us just fine." A Twilight Sparkle who was a cyborg had commented, meeting up with Mayor Mare. She ended up scanning the town using her eyes along with its residents. "There is no cause for alarm."
"This is a surprise." Mayor Mare chuckled, shaking the metallic hoof of this Cyborg Twilight. "Ooh, your hoof is heavy!"
"It's only been an hour and we've already seen so many Pokemon. They're so strange...but I love them! Look at this dog one!" The unicorn Twilight commented.
"Stoutland?" Stoutland looked at the unicorn Twilight who faced him.
"Say. What's up with all of this?" Naturally, being so curious about this emergence of alternate Twilight's led Ash, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and their Pokemon here.
"Pikachu?"
"Well, we have visitors from other universes here." Mayor Mare greeted. "The same pony but with different looks. Twilight."
"Nice to meet you. Hope this isn't overwhelming." A Twilight Sparkle spoke, but Ash and Pikachu did not see her. "Down here." Her voices led to the ground as the duo looked down to see that there was a Twilight Sparkle who was a sock puppet of all things. "You there. You look like you have a suitable hand."
"A sock puppet?" Ash kneeled down.
"If you'd be so kind as to pick me up? Your arm looks similar to Spike's so that could work."
"Oh. Sure." Ash had used this Twilight just like a sock puppet, picking her up so that she wouldn't be awkwardly lying on the ground to the side.
"Much better. Where was I?" Ash got a closer look at how she spoke. She had googly eyes along with a tongue that stuck out constantly. Seeing her talk with those traits made Ash and Pikachu chuckle. "Oh, haha. I know. Very funny."
"Sorry. It's just funny to look at!" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"Why is my universe the one that looks the goofiest...?" The Sock Puppet Twilight sighed.
"How do you even live in your world?" Rainbow Dash asked as that was a question that she needed answers to.
"We're held up by dragons in this symbiotic relationship. But as you can see, my Spike didn't show up."
"So. Since you're all here, I bet it's for one reason, right?" Ash looked at all of them while still holding onto the Sock Puppet Twilight as if he was a stage actor.
"To see the Pokemon?" Fluttershy leaned over as all of the Twilights nodded in unison. The biggest and only reason they came here. "Great! We have a lot to go through!"
"Sure do, Fluttershy," Ash replied. "But this world's only the start of it, ya know."
"You're talking about the Pokemon World, aren't you?" A Twilight Sparkle who was concealed in shadows, hiding around the shadows of her counterparts had commented.
"Sure am. But let's start small. You ain't seen nothing yet after all." Ash pointed to the rest of Ponyville, showing the Twilights just what they were about to expect.
"I was already thinking of making this for newcomers to these wonderful creatures." Mayor Mare spoke. "Now's my chance to make it happen. A tour guide is what you all need! But don't be afraid to wander off, okay?"
Mayor Mare and the others would gladly guide all of these counterparts. Indeed, this world was only scratching the surface of Pokemon. There were plenty here, of course, but the Pokemon World far surpasses that in numbers too impossible to name.
"So, what's this little cutie's name?" A Twilight Sparkle who appeared as a Fairy noticed Pikachu.
"This is my best buddy and partner, Pikachu." Ash introduced his tried and true partner.
"Pikachu." The Mouse Pokemon hopped off Ash's shoulder, walking alongside the Twilights. "Pika-Pika."
"Aww..." Naturally, Pikachu's cuteness was his dominant factor. Everyone who saw him couldn't help but admire the Electric-Type. Pikachu had new fans now as was the norm as they all gathered around the Mouse Pokemon.
"Aww...look at these chubby cheeks!" A more hyperactive Twilight moved ahead of the others, wanting to get closer to Pikachu. A bit too close as her hooves were going straight for Pikachu's red sacs.
"Wait no!" Ash noticed this, but he was too late to stop it. Once the Hyperactive Twilight got ahold of Pikachu's red sacs, that's when Pikachu twitched.
"Pika...Chuuuu!" And thus, a Thunderbolt had emerged, shocking everyone within his range, delivering 100,000 volts to their bodies. It was clear as day that Pikachu wasn't a fan of his red sacs being messed around with.
"Cuh...Pikachu doesn't like that very much..." Ash spoke as Fluttershy and the other Twilights fell over with smoking bodies.
"Right. I'll remember that..." The Hyperactive Twilight backed away. "This doesn't negate the cuteness though..."
"But what about this one? It's so soft to be around." A Twilight Sparkle had jumped into Audino's arms.
"Audino!"
"This is my partner, Audino. She's soft for all the right reasons. And has great hearing." The pegasus patted her partner on the back.
"Great hearing?" Speaking of pegasus, a Twilight Sparkle who appeared as a pegasus instead of a unicorn or even an alicorn had replied. "How great?"
"Not even a pebble will escape Audino's ears." Mayor Mare responded. "But massive crowds coupled with a barrage of different noises are her weakness."
"Dino..."
"You gotta check out the Pokemon House. This way." Ash pointed in the direction of Fluttershy's cottage as he, Pikachu and Fluttershy went ahead of the group. The various Twilights followed right after while some of them chose to stick by Mayor Mare to see more of Ponyville before heading to the Pokemon School.
Twilight's Castle.
Meanwhile, over at Twilight's Castle, the device that would detect Gateway Transportation was being developed heavily by Zero and this universe's Twilight Sparkle.
With their combined intellect, they were able to get far ahead in the development of this device as it had a similar appearance to the X-Transceiver. It was already almost complete and thankfully, they had access to Rift Magic already to make this development quicker and easier. But during their development, Zero had taken a look outside for a moment, spotting a peculiar sight that he would eventually see either way.
"Hm. Extended family over for the day, Twilight?"
"Extended family?" Twilight commented, looking up from her table as she fluttered over to where Zero stood. Once she took a look outside the window, that's when she saw them.
Her counterparts.
Big and small. Abstract and all too familiar. So many Twilights to see. Some looked easy to understand while some were harder to understand. Twilight floated there, paralyzed by what she was seeing. Espeon also took a peek, having an equal reaction to her trainer. Her Pokemon Trainer had seemingly multiplied, but Twilight already knew what this was all about.
"Seems like we have another reason to finish making that thing." Zero nudged his head over at the device. "MIght as well finish it, right?"
"Uhh..." Twilight was too dumbfounded to reply properly. Her eyes then followed Ash leading the group of Twilight towards the Pokemon House as she needed some time to process all of this. To Twilight, seeing another version of herself was not that surprising.
She had already seen her human counterpart and her tyrannical counterpart from another universe. But this many of them was another story. The Princess of Friendship used her magic to try and clear her eyes but they were not deceiving here. It was all real.
"Give a second." Twilight looked away from the window, rubbing her eyes. "I need to take it all in."
"Espeon?"
"Overwhelming? ah, I don't blame you." Zero shrugged. "How about we just finish adding the final touches to this thing and get it over with? Then you can have some rest."
"No way I'm resting through that...I need to know more!" Twilight suddenly exclaimed with energy. In truth, she was just as excited as her counterparts. "There are other versions of me right here, right now! I have to go and see them!"
"Oh. Guess you're not overwhelmed." Zero smirked.
"I've already added my magic to the device." Twilight picked the device up. "And add some touches to it. It's you that's the science expert Zero. You should finish making it. This'll give me the opportunity to meet my other selves."
"Fair enough. I suppose you'll want me to name it?"
"Eh. Sure. Whatever suits your fancy." Twilight swivelled around with her horn lighting up, already preparing the teleportation spell. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be-"
"Going somewhere?" But the moment she turned around, another Twilight Sparkle had shown up right in front of her. Twilight was thrown back along with Zero as they didn't expect one of them to show up out of nowhere. This Twilight was the one who concealed herself in the shadows as she revealed herself. "Sorry. Force of habit."
"Hoh...Hoh..." Twilight breathed in and out, feeling like fainting before she started chuckling. "No problem."
"Hm?" But just as this Shadow Twilight had shown herself, the device started going off as noticed by Zero. He quickly grabbed it, looking at the device as for the most part, despite it missing some finishing touches, it could indeed detect when a gateway was being used. "Well, looks like we've already got a successful test."
"Huh?" Twilight looked over."You mean..."
"Someone's opened up a gateway," Zero revealed, showing the device to them. "Question is...is it another one of you? We'll have to find out?"
The device was a success albeit still missing some additions. Today was certainly a strong focus on counterparts and alternate universes. An entire army of Twilight Sparkles had shown up to this universe just for the sake of seeing the Pokemon. And who could blame them? Though, the sight would still be bizarre to many considering all the unique variants there were.
But all the more reason to see them all. Just like how there is excitement in seeing more Pokemon. Their visit has just begun as well as an extra visit to this universe via another gateway opening somewhere as the journey continues.
"Twilight! Twilight!" Rushing into the room of her daughter was none other than Twilight Velvet. She almost fell over, quickly using her cane to hold her up. "Oh, my. Guess what?"
"What happened?" Twilight sat up once her mother came in.
"Great news. At least, it sounds like it. All of your counterparts are currently visiting Universe One in a fun venture to see some Pokemon."
"Oh. Is that it?"
"Not excited? You can hang out with yourself multiple times over." Twilight Velvet chuckled. "It's also the best excuse to get out there."
"Ah, I'm not sure being around a counterpart of myself is what really want." Twilight shuddered as her mother scrunched her face, realizing what she meant by that. Empress Twilight already left a bad impression on any other counterpart.
"Oh, I see. Well...ignoring that...how about the Pokemon? You can go ahead and see those, can't you?"
"Well...The Pokemon do interest me." The alicorn shifted her eyes to the side, admitting that Pokemon interested her. Pokemon interests many individuals no matter what after all. It's how so many Twilight Sparkles from different universes went off to see them in the first place.
"Now's your chance to see them. Princess Celestia passed this message on me in the first place. What do you say?"
"I'd like to see them But um...could you come with me?" She pulled her bedsheets closer to her.
"You're old enough to explore without your parents, sweetie. But, your friends are another story. If they're available, that is. Princess Celestia has already prepared a gateway for you to use at any time."
"I'll be on my way then." Twilight got out of her bed. "Can we exit out of the back though?"
"Still nervous around everypony else, hm? Alright then. I can still protect you even at this age. Come along." Twilight Velvet waked along as she led Twilight to the back of the house to avoid the populated area of ponies. Either way, she was heading to another universe. Something that she was nervous about.
Meanwhile, back at Universe One, the various Twilights from other universes were currently being toured and caught up on these Strange and Wonderful Creatures known as Pokemon.
And over at Twilight's Castle, she and Zero had encountered another Twilight who snuck up on them. A Shadow Twilight who was silent and hard to spot. All the while, a device that had been made to detect gateways being opened up had been sensed.
"What's all this?" The Shadow Twilight moved just like the shadows, leaving a trail of darkness behind as she trotted. Her eyes were fixated on not just the castle but also the Pokemon information located on these bookshelves. "Oooh...You already have a way to know about Pokemon so quickly."
"Well, yeah. Living with them for 3 years now lets you get up to speed with them. Both primary and secondary research." Twilight shrugged, replying to her shadow counterpart. "SO, about you! You're one of my counterparts!"
"Hm?" Just then, Shadow Twilight was the one who had been snuck up on as Twilight zoomed over, getting right in her face, catching the Shadow Twilight by surprise. "Oh, yes. That's right"
"And you're a shadow too..." Twilight gawked. "Wonder what led to this?"
"Nothing led to it. I'm just a Twilight that's a Shadow Pony." She explained. "This is how I was born. I definitely look vastly different from everypony else, don't I?"
"From what I've seen so far, yes. But that can change. You have to tell me about your world though! What's it like?! Are there other Shadow Ponies?! Is it okay?!"
"My world's fine. Well, it's still recovering after the Empress attacked it. And it's a pleasant place to be at. At least, for a Shadow Pony. This world is a bit too vibrant for my taste."
"Hm-hm." Twilight nodded in response as Espeon used Psychic to bring over a piece of paper and a quill. Twilight then started writing it down with her magic soon controlling the quill.
"Go and have fun," Zero said. "I'll just be here finishing with this device. It may be able to sense when a gateway's just been opened up, but I need to make it so that it tells us where it's opened up."
"Right. Thanks, Zero." Twilight replied before facing back at her Shadow Counterpart. "So...a Shadow Pony, huh? Does that mean you're an Umbrum?"
"That's right. Nice deduction. But I want questions and answers about all of this Pokemon stuff." The Shadow Twilight replied.
"Oh, right, right. Um..." Twilight thought for a moment before hatching a perfect plan t both satisfy her curiosity about her counterparts and allow her Shadow counterpart to explore the knowledge of Pokemon. "Zero! I'll leave things with you! Come on, Eve!"
"Say what?" Zero just processed those words. But the moment he looked over at Twilight, the Princess of Friendship alongside the Sun Pokemon were gone via teleportation. Now it was just Zero and the Shadow Twilight.
But immediately, Shadow Twilight manipulated the shadows to grab herself some of the Pokemon Books, already opening and browsing through them. Zero merely shrugged as he continued his work on the device.
The Pokemon House.
Over at the Pokemon House, Ash and Fluttershy had led the various Twilight Sparkle counterparts here. This area had a plethora of Pokemon to see. It was easily the second most Pokemon-populated area in Ponyville. The first was PokePark, located at Twilight's Lab.
Immediately, the Twilights were all surrounded by these Pocket Monsters of all shapes and sizes. Whether it was inside or outside of the house.
"And you keep these fierce and powerful creatures as your pets?" The sock puppet Twilight who was on Ash's hand said to him and Fluttershy.
"They're not our pets. They're our friends." Ash shook his head. "Then again, I don't think we've ever had pets in our world before."
"Pika-Pika."
"It's strange. At any moment, these things could lay waste to this entire town. Possibly the world too. And you're just so calm and casual around them." A Twilight Sparkle asked them both. "How'd you master it so easily?"
"It wasn't easy the first time. Pikachu and I didn't get along at the start. But soon, we became the best of pals. Isn't' that right, buddy?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu raised his arm before playfully patting Ash on the face.
"For me, the Pokemon were already easy for me to understand. They share a lot of similarities to the animals in this world after all." Fluttershy explained. "Though...it was hard to understand some of them at the start. I couldn't make out what some Pokemon were in the beginning. Like Audi here."
"Audino."
"About that thing...is it a rabbit, bear or what...?" Another Twilight asked. The others were genuinely curious as they had no idea what creature Audino was meant to resemble. It was practically impossible to figure it out.
"Oh. Audi here's an Angel."
"Audino!"
"That's an Angel...?" The other Twilights were finding it hard to see that.
"Oh my gosh! Aren't you adorable?!" But amidst the confusion of Audino, there was the admiration of Dragon-Types via the Twilight Sparkle that was a Dragon in her universe. In her claws, she held a Shelgon, a fairly rare Pokemon to some.
"Shelgon!" Shelgon immediately used Dragonbreath, blasting the Dragon Twilight's face. Twilight then playfully replied by doing the same, breathing out purple fire. By doing so, she immediately started bonding with the Endurance Pokemon. Shelgon actually ended up laughing instead of retaliating against Twilight. That was certainly a way for Dragons to bond and hang out with each other.
The other Twilights found enjoyment with certain Pokemon. There was indeed a Pokemon for everyone, just like how there was a Pokemon for everything.
"We needed this so much..." A Twilight Sparkle who was an Earth Pony that had a glowing horn and wings commented, lying on her back. She seemed to be a pseudo-alicorn with the glowing horn and those glowing wings whilst being surrounded by Pokemon.
"Right..." Another Twilight replied. "This is the kind of joy we missed."
"You're all here now, aren't you?" said Ash. "So chill out as much as you want and get those nerves out of you. It's all about having fun here!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Ya know...there's one other counterpart missing in all of this," Ash said to himself, knowing exactly who was missing. The Twilight Sparkle from the Human World. "Sure wish she was here to see it."
"Oh. Since you're all so interested in Pokemon, would you like that some with you?" Fluttershy suggested.
"Take some?" The other Twilights repeated.
"Mhm. We already have Pokemon as partners in our world. It wouldn't hurt to have a new friend by your side?"
"If only we had them when the Empress attacked. We'd probably have a chance." A random Twilight sighed, wishing she had Pokemon earlier. But alas, that was not the case.
"It's gonna be like starting from scratch if they bring Pokemon over to their world..." Ash pondered. "But ah, I'm sure you're all gonna figure it out. You're all Twilight after all."
"Oh, thank you for the compliment. Now uh, could you take me to one of those Pokemon?" The Sock Puppet Twilight requested. "I'd like to make my choice."
"Sure. Are you all gonna want Poke Balls?" Ash asked all of them as he and Fluttershy continued to guide them all through the day. Some of these Twilights were definitely leaning on bringing some Pokemon with them.
Deerling Forest.
Meanwhile, the Twilight Sparkle from Universe 6 had already arrived a while ago. But she was far away from her counterparts at this point. While they were all over at Ponyville and Canterlot viewing all the Pokemon they wanted, this Twilight chose to stay away from them.
She was the tallest ut of all of them and resembled the Empress greatly. Twilight still felt a sense of fear after what the Empress had done to ruin her life. Twilight showed up at Deerling Forest, which was always a nice place to be at just for its relaxing nature.
She stood near a lake before then sitting down next to it. She previously found silence and peace within her room but now the Deerling Forest was equally as calm with the sounds of the forest giving a calming aura. Twilight needed this.
"Deerling?" Naturally, being at a forest aptly named Deerling Forest would house some Deerling. A Summer Form Deerling had appeared, immediately confirming that Summer had arrived as the Deerling went over to the lake where Twilight sat.
"Hm?" Twilight sat up as the Summer Form Deerling came her way. She was a bit startled, but she had nothing to fear in the face of Deerling. "Oh. Scared me there."
"Deerling." Deerling could make out Twilight's appearance. This world's Twilight Sparkle has been seen around her often after all. It felt some familiarity with her despite the alternate appearance. Deerling went up to the alicorn, prancing around her.
Twilight laughed as Deerling playfully ran around her. Soon, other Deerlings had gravitated towards her. Soon a herd of the m came to this spot after seeing Twilight. But some of them were just coming over for a drink. Twilight was soon surrounded by these Season Changing creatures as there was a calming and joyful bliss that they brought with them. It made all of her nerves vanish.
Soon, one of them made contact with the alicorn, but a rapid reaction from Twilight did not occur. Being around a herd of Deerling was a great feeling. Sawsbuck might be a different story depending on the circumstances.
Aside from that, Twilight took the time to be around these Normal-Grass-Types and take in nature as well. After living in a dungeon for so many years until she reached this height, this sight was a beautiful breath of fresh air.
However, Deerling Forest was close to both Canterlot and Frenzy Forest. Naturally, this meant that the various Twilight Sparkles from other universes and their Pokemon-searching would lead here. Twilight heard the sound of her own voice in multiple numbers.
Her eyes widened. Her face scrunched. She immediately stood up with the Deerlings' eyes following her. She heard more of them coming closer. The other Twilights were showing up here to see more Pokemon for themselves.
The alicorn shifted her head to the side, noticing that they were coming the same way she came. That meant that her passageway back to her universe was kaput. Twilight was still fearful of what they would do or how they react if they ever saw her. She was the only counterpart that was old enough to match the Empress' size. They were essentially the same individual just from parallel worlds.
"Oh, no-no-no..." Twilight backed away before she then started running. One of the Deerling then followed after her, wondering what was wrong with Twilight. This was the first Deerling that she saw that ended up following her. Twilight had become too familiar in this forest to ignore. To Deerling, she was a friend.
Twilight ran as fast as she could, looking for another way out of this forest to avoid her parallel universe variants from spotting her. But, during her gallop to escape, that was when Twilight made a new discovery that no one else in this world had made.
When running off, one of the lakes within this forest seemed off. A familiar cosmic glow flashed within with sparkles coming out. It was especially well hidden behind the leaves, much like how the Deerling are always well hidden when hiding from hostile threats. Once she ran through the bush of leaves, that's when she ended up stepping into the gateway. Or rather, slipping into it.
"Wah!" Twilight let out a cry right after she slipped. And the moment her hoof touched the gateway, she was pulled in. Twilight Sparkle entered the gateway accidentally with her entire body falling in.
"Deerling!" Deerling followed suit. He jumped right in without a second thought, going after Twilight. Now he was the second individual to discover this hidden gateway. But as a plus, Twilight ended up escaping her other counterparts.
But once they showed up, the Deerling were now just downright confused. They were seeing multiple Twilights right after seeing one of them seconds ago.
Ponyville. Twilight's Castle. Afternoon.
"Hm. Another one's been used." Zero sensed another gateway being passed through. This was the gateway that Twilight had just passed through. "Looks like a new one too."
The device was almost complete. Just some tweaking was also needed. Zero wanted to make sure that it wouldn't always go off when every single gateway was used. He only needed it to go off when a gateway from another universe has opened up. It was back to work while the Shadow Twilight had already surrounded herself with a pile of Pokemon Books.
Much like her counterpart of this universe, she was so invested in them that she'd end up making a novel mess out of it while using some shadow tendrils to hold up the books, multitasking perfectly.
Unova. Skyarrow Bridge. Afternoon.
Skyarrow Bridge. The biggest, longest bridge in Unova. Located between Pinwheel and Castelia City, this was a long suspension bridge that connected the southeastern part of Unova via those two locations in central Unova. The bridge served as a means of transportation into and out of Castelia City as the sheer size of it was amazing.
However, that was not where Twilight ended up. Instead, the gateway from the lake fittingly led to the sea underneath the bridge. She floated up, lying flat on her face. Thankfully, Deerling was there to help. He was a surprisingly good swimmer as he pushed Twilight's body back up to shore. The closet spot here was Castelia City and its Ocean Piers.
"Gah!" Once Twilight was pushed up to the forest, she was turned on her back, letting out a powerful gasp. Deerling hopped over her as the alicorn breathed in and out. While Deerling could swim, Twilight could not. At least, this variation of her couldn't.
"Deerling?" The Season Pokemon asked if she was okay.
"Oh...Thank you so much." Twilight thanked Deerling for saving her life before then getting up. She ended up from Deerling Forest to Castelia City. Right now, she was at the Prime Pier, just across from a place known as Mode Street.
She got back up, just now realizing that the change of scenery was vastly different to what she had seen before. Twilight feasted her eyes on the wonderful Castelia City. The City of Grandeur.
Instead of processing the gateway that had sent her here, she was too busy fixated on this one. Twilight couldn't help but start wandering She immediately saw other Pokemon residing here. Mainly within the skies as a flock of Pidove and Tranquill flew by. Deerling followed right after her, staying by Twilight's side. This region was familiar to him so it wasn't too big of a deal for the Season Pokemon.
She also saw Humans. It wouldn't be the first time for her. Prior to her unfortunate time being stripped of her magic and locked up, she had been to the human world where Sunset Shimmer resided, so the sight of humans was not surprising in the slightest. Instead, Twilight saw how the people and Pokemon lived with these magical creatures of such destructive yet cute proportions.
"This must be the Pokemon World." Twilight deduced. The alicorn was perfectly fine walking around her. The only things she feared at the moment were other ponies and her counterpart after what the Empress had done. But for the humans living, not a trace of fear came about.
Now that she was in a world where there were more Pokemon to see, Twilight had to view it. The concept of Pokemon was enough to get her out of her home after all. After leaving the piers, she came across the populated areas. Mode Street was the closest area as it was a commuter-heavy street, but not as large or as busy as Castelia Street. any trees and plants line its sides, giving the street a feeling of nature.
Deerling certainly felt it as it was all too familiar to him. The Season Pokemon couldn't help but smile after being near this street. But a different feeling came to Twilight. She still felt the energy of this street, but something else came over. The smell of a Casteliacone.
Twilight and Deerling walked by a Casteliacone Stand which was open for the summer, the hottest season of them all. A shame she couldn't buy any. She was absent of Pokedollars but it was still something she could admire as she ended up passing by so many busy humans.
It was something bizarre to Twilight. The fact that she felt far more comfortable around strangers and Pokemon rather than her own counterpart and even the ponies back at her home city of Canterlot. But such was the diversity of parallel universes.
Twilight and Deerling's venture led them to a less populated area but still brimming with life. Castelia Park.
Castelia Park, to many people living here, was a special spot. Not because it was where rest and relaxation along with fun activities could be had, but because it is said to be where it all began for Castelia City.
Twilight stopped walking for a bit to gaze at the park. As to be expected, people had their Pokemon run around and mess about with other Pokemon, even with some roughhousing. Ironically, the only Pokemon not doing so was a Herdier, a Pokemon related to an animal that would thrive off of this within a park.
"Deer!" Deerling jumped up and down, feeling like getting in on the action. Being here didn't feel like an accident anymore for Twilight. She didn't even mind the fact that she willingly led herself to this city. If it meant finding some solace, then it was all wonderful for her. But soon, this moment of peace broke when Twilight came across someone else.
"Uh...excuse me?" A familiar voice had come through. That voice resonated with Twilight. Once she heard it, she shuddered. Mainly because it sounded just like her. That meant only one thing to the alicorn. There was another Twilight Sparkle here.
With a nervous and fast-beating heart, she slowly turned around with her hooves trembling. And once she turned around, that's when she saw her. And that's when they met.
The Twilight Sparkle from the Human World.
Alongside her partner Zorua and pet dog Spike. She immediately recognized pony Twilight just by appearance alone from just looking at her hair. Even though the peace had been shattered, there was still silence. An awkward silence. But it was only caused by the Pony Twilight who was just stunned to move. Not because this was another Twilight, but because this Twilight matched the appearance of the Empress when she first met her.
This was the Empress' counterpart from another Human World.
Two Twilights have just met up. The one from Universe 6 and the one from Universe One who hailed from the Human World. Here at Castelia Park, the two counterparts from completely different universes had encountered each other. It was a surprise to both of them. Shocking to the Human Twilight but downright terrifying and brought horrible memories back to the pony Twilight.
"So that's my pony counterpart...?" Human Twilight marvelled at her pony counterpart. She had already seen her Equestrian counterpart, albeit once, but never in her pony form. Although, this was clearly an older Twilight as she was the same height as Princess Celestia.
But while the Human Twilight couldn't help but be amazed, the pony Twilight was haunted by this. Memories of what she had to endure thanks to her human counterpart swelled back to her. Something within Twilight went off. Seeing this counterpart reminded her too much of that horrible feeling.
Being stuck in that dungeon for so long, robbed of so many of her years while her friends were also imprisoned elsewhere. Her entire life had been stolen by the Empress who had struck fear into everyone else just by having the same appearance.
Twilight wasn't just terrified of her human counterpart, she was also vengeful. Similar to how Princess Luna possesses Nightmare Moon and how Daybreaker is a part of Celestia and so on, that same raging magic was boiling up within Twilight.
The same type of entity was known as Midnight Sparkle. She was a constant force that lurked not just within the Human Twilight but also the pony Twilight. They were worlds apart after all, despite being from different universes. Midnight Sparkle rested deep within her at all times.
And as if she was possessed, that was when Twilight heard a voice that was sadistically familiar. The voice of Midnight Sparkle. Despite hating this alter-ego, she was also within this Twilight as her voice spoke to her, encouraging this Twilight to do one thing.
"You..." She spoke with her head down, channelling all of her anger into the horrible memories. No food. No water. No one else to be there with her for so many years to the point where everyone she knew and loved grew old, believing that their friend had betrayed them.
"Huh?" Naturally, HumanTwilight wasn't sure of what was about to come next. Neither could she predict this. The voice of Midnight Sparkle resonated in her head. She hated this voice because it belonged to the one who put her in such a mortifying state.
But it encouraged her to lash out.
"You...You took everything from me!" This Twilight had the right to be vengeful and upset. The one who robbed her life and history was her human counterpart. Unfortunately, this anger was also directed towards this Twilight. Negative changes in her thinking and mood had emerged, causing a volatile reaction.
A reaction that was so volatile that resulted in a furious Twilight unleashing a blast of magic from her horn at this human variant. The Human Twilight was aghast as the blast had narrowly been avoided. It grazed her sleeves, tearing a piece of it off while making a loud noise. The blast flew into the air as it was powerful and loud enough to alert everyone else within the park.
"Huh?! W-What are you-" The HUman Twilight had no idea why this attack had suddenly been enacted. Deep down, Twilight knew this was not the same Empress at all, but the Midnight in her still wanted to release Twilight's bottled-up anger.
A swelling pulse of magic that was fueled by pure anger had emerged around her before then targeting her human counterpart some more. And because of this anger, this allowed Midnight Sparkle to slowly claw her way out, gradually revealing herself. Deerling backed away after Twilight's raging aura appeared.
Twilight screamed with a saddening fury which echoed across the area as the pulse of magic spread out. Afterwards, Twilight had ascended from the ground with her wings spreading out. A hint of Midnight Sparkle's magic also started leaking out, showing itself as highlights within Twilight's natural aura.
And the Human Twilight noticed this all too well.
"It's you..." She uttered as she could see that Midnight Sparkle was making a reappearance in someone else's body. As Twilight hovered there, the visage of Midnight Sparkle crept out, appearing above the alicorn. Her face was the only thing visible as she also had a purple energy to make up her visage.
Already, Midnight Sparkle was able to show herself partially. All of those years of being locked up and forced to be alone with nothing else to do but sit around in a cold, hard dungeon that had a thick air to it had caused this.
Thanks to all of that, Midnight Sparkle had a stronger urge to unleash herself as this kind of alter-ego magic was greatly connected to emotions. And nopony was feeling a rush of negative emotions more than this Twilight from Universe 6. However, instead of letting out a burst of maniacal laughter, this version of Midnight Sparkle was not feeling any form of happiness.
It was nothing but pure anger that she was feeling.
Midnight Sparkle took control once more, changing Twilight's magic from her natural purple into a light blue colour. The signature colour of Midnight. Out of her horn, another beam had been unleashed the Human Twilight made a run for it. The beam had hit the ground, causing damage to it as Twilight flew after her Human Counterpart.
The people and Pokemon backed away as Twilight unleashed a continuous magic beam that tore apart the pavement and grass within the park. Twilight immediately fled from Castelia Park, running from a continuous beam of pure hatred.
"You took away so much of my life from me!" She roared, letting everything that she held back out at last. The Human Counterpart quickly made a right turn, heading through an alleyway while using the smoke as camouflage. This allowed her to evade the enraged alicorn for a while.
"Twilight! What's going on?!" Hisuian Zorua asked while closing her eyes from the sound of the beam tearing up the road.
"It's her! Midnight Sparkle." Twilight sat in the alleyway, keeping her voice down. "I feared I'd see her again someday but...not from another me."
"She's back?!" Spike gasped before getting back into his bag. The sounds of the beam taring up the ground had ended, but the counterpart from another universe was still on the hunt for Twilight.
"I'm afraid so. She's possessed by her too..." Twilight gulped, holding her bag close to her. "But that means my counterparts under her influence right now. Midnight's getting to her in the same way she got to me."
"What do you mean by that?" Zorua asked.
"She said something about how it was my fault. Something happened to my counterpart and it somehow involves me. But...I don't remember what I did..."
Inside Twilight's Mind.
Meanwhile, within Twilight's mind, while was in a fit of rage, she found herself coming face to face with her alter-ego, Midnight Sparkle. Now that she had seen the individual that took her life, this parallel to the former Princess of Friendship could now show herself.
"That's it. Let all of that hatred out." Midnight encouraged Twilight to lash out, floating around her. "It's good and satisfactory to unleash it all."
"But it's not her." Despite this fit of rage, Twilight knew that this Human Counterpart was not the same one. "You heard what mom said. Multiple counterparts from different universes started leaving their worlds to see some Pokemon. She's another counterpart of mine, but she's not the Empress."
"Does it matter?!" Midnight roared. "That face...just seeing it brings back those horrible memories! Don't they to you as well?! She locked you up for around 40 years or more and left you there to rot with no food or water. It's a miracle you even survived that long even with restrained magic."
"I know but..."
"Who's to say she doesn't have it in her? After all, I can tell. Somewhere deep inside of that counterpart, a variation of me exists. She could still become that same Midnight that robbed you of your life. Channel that anger. I already exist within you. You hate me as well, don't you?"
"I do. You ruined everything for me." Twilight wept with tears rolling down her face. Indeed, she was already aware that Midnight Sparkle had always resided within her. "But...I always knew you were there."
"What?" Midnight pulled back.
"All those years I was trapped inside of that dungeon, I could hear you. You were upset just like me. I can't hate you since you and I went through the same thing. We're one and the same."
Midnight Sparke couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her pursuit of revenge led her to believe that Twilight would do the same, but that was not the case. Not only did she know that this was not the same Twilight Sparkle who imprisoned her, but she also shared some empathy with her alter-ego.
"That's rubbish!" Midnight Sparkle detested that, too blinded by rage to fully understand Twilight. "I say we get rid of any trace of Midnight Sparkle. She can return at any minute. Then...we travel the multiverse...and destroy all of them. Any Twilight that can possibly become her needs to be targeted."
"I don't want that though! Please!" Twilight protested, but right now, her alter-ego was in full control. And she was going to be in control until she finds satisfaction.
Back to reality.
Midnight Sparkle gained control of Twilight's body for the most part now. Her magical aura was overshadowing Twilight's traditional aura now.
Deerling still stuck by Twilight's side despite this outburst of rage. The Season Pokemon could see that something was amiss here. One second, Twilight was all peaceful and calm and the next she had the fury of a volcano. Twilight had a constant furious magical aura around her while moving through the air which forced everyone else away from her from just how fierce it was.
As for the other Twilight, she knew that hiding wouldn't be the sure-fire option forever.
"I need to help her," Twilight said.
"You do?" Spike and Zorua both said.
"I do. Midnight Sparkle isn't something I can't ignore especially since I have it as we. Plus, this whole city's in as much danger as Canterlot High was back then if something isn't done." Deciding to be brave instead of hiding forever, Twilight would step up and try to help her counterpart.
If this was her in the past, she would've kept running, but not anymore. After thing things she's been through so far, Twilight's fears had been diminished, giving birth to an ever-rising sense of bravery and courage as she left the alleyway.
"Where are you?!" The enraged alicorn thundered, searching for her Human Counterpart. She made a mild shockwave from her roar that almost pushed Deerling back.
"I'm right here!" Immediately responding to her counterpart, Twilight had shown herself in the face of such a terrifying force that could destroy her at any second. She left the alleyway, barely standing up to the clearly superior pony counterpart with overflowing magic.
Once she stepped out, the furious alicorn from another universe turned around to see her human counterpart. Her eyes were already flaring a light blue aura that had an unbridled intensity filled with a combination of rage and sadness.
Universe 6's Twilight approached the Human Twilight, looking her in the eyes while also slowly descending. Zorua hid deep inside the bag whilst Spike stayed out. He couldn't bring himself to bark at this enraged alicorn because, at the end of the day, it was still Twilight. He could make out this scent as it was strikingly similar to his owner.
"Getting rid of you will be the start of something new. All those years of being alone just because of one power-hungry pony. Ridiculous!"
"Please listen for a bit!" Twilight held her hands out, trying to reason with the alicorn. "I don't know what happened but I'd like to know and help. What do you mean by power-hungry pony?"
"You don't need to know much. All you need to know is that Midnight Sparkle must go. And soon, every other Midnight Sparkle that lives in every Twilight Sparkle."
"Every Twilight Sparkle...?"
"And after they're all gone...I'll eliminate myself. So that Twilight can have a wave of everlasting peace, free from the memories of what she had to go through."
"I...I still don't get it. But I understand the Midnight Sparke part. You want to get rid of it as much as I want to. But does that mean I'm going as well?"
"You're the big one...It was your counterpart from another universe that led to this horrible imprisonment for so long. Just seeing your face alone...you're the one who'll unleash a terrible magic, no doubt. You are the direct counterpart to her. The Empress."
"I won't. Because I've already unleashed the magic before."
"What?!" Now, Midnight was thrown back by this. This was not the response she was expecting, but this was mainly due to how she was unaware of the timeline involving this Twilight's universe.
"I already did it. I became Midnight Sparkle once more. I unleashed the magic I didn't mean to unleash and almost brought upon a horrible catastrophe. Deep down, I was even thinking about becoming an Empress, just like you said."
"Then...in your world..." Midnight was starting to think of the possible outcome of this Twilight already unleashing the magic. She wondered what it could mean since she was standing before her, looking completely fine.
"If I'm a counterpart to another Twilight from another Human World, then she's probably done it already. But, in my world, I had friends by my side who helped me through it. Ash. Sunset and a few more to name."
"Sunset?!" Midnight Sparkle was hit with another surprise. She had all the memories of that very day that Midnight Sparkle had attacked and taken everything from her. Midnight remembered the incident with Sunset Shimmer. In her universe, Sunset Shimmer failed, but from what this Twilight was telling her, the opposite happened.
"Midnight Sparkle's still in me and I'm still afraid of her. I'm even afraid that she might come out again at the worst time. But I don't have to always worry about that when I know I have my friends to stop me if it all goes wrong. And I want to keep that magic back to make sure no one's hurt again. And if the same goes for every other Twilight Sparkle out there, then I'm wishing the same for them."
Midnight took some time to process this. Despite being a complete counterpart to the Empress, there was a colossal difference that helped set her far apart. She had already conquered that specific timeline that ruined the life of this alicorn for years. It was concrete proof that it could be overcome. But then again, alternate universes have that luxury and all these possibilities.
Deep down, Twilight smiled at this, wiping her tears away while Midnight Sparke was just thinking of a response. The enraged alicorn was struggling to do so. This one speech managed to backfire her plans greatly. And because of Twilight's smile, the positive energy emerged, overlaying the negative energy.
"W-Wait...!" Midnight noticed that she was starting to disappear once Twilight's sadness was being stripped away. Since she was being powered by negative emotions, all it took was something sweet to push it back. "No! It shouldn't..." But before she could get her next word in, Twilight regained control without even doing it on purpose.
The raging light blue aura faded away and was replaced by Twilight's natural and calming purple aura. The visage of Midnight vanished too with everyone at the park still feasting their eyes at this. Once Twilight was back, she slowly descended to the ground, feeling slightly winded.
"Oh...." The alicorn held her head, almost falling over as Deerling ran to her side.
"Deerling!"
"Are you alright?!" Twilight ran over, helping her alicorn counterpart stay steady.
"I-I am..." Universe 6's Twilight replied. Once she recollected herself, she took a moment to look at her surroundings. Even if for a moment, Twilight ended up causing some damage as Midnight Sparkle, mainly to the pavement and concrete ground. There was a visible path of destruction that had torn the ground up, leaving everyone here at the park surprised.
Not the children though. To them, they thought it was cool.
"Oh...Oh no." Realizing what she had done, Twilight lowered her head in shame. This was not what she was expecting when deciding to see some Pokemon. Twilight's biggest fear currently was seeing everyone look at her in a bad light because of the Empress. But now, she managed to make everyone look at her strangely without even needing the Empress' influence. Ashamed and embarrassed, she sat down, putting her hooves on her face. "Great...just great."
"Hey, it's over now. No need to worry." But her Human Counterpart from another universe was there for her, along with this one Deerling from Deerling Forest.
"There's a lot of reason to worry..." The alicorn replied with a low tone.
"That was totally awesome!" The children further expressed their amazement with what they had seen. While others may be stunned in the wrong way, the children, at least some of them, would always find time to admire something that looked appealing to the eyes. And even if it was filled with violent intentions, magic was always appealing to the eyes.
"Not all bad. But...let's head somewhere else." The Human Twilight suggested that leaving Castelia Park was the best option right now. The closest spot she could think of right now was Café Sonata. She held her pony variant up, leading her away from here with Deerling following along. "Sorry for interrupting your fun, by the way!
Twilight then apologized to the people and Pokemon here for the disruption of the peace before leaving with the other Twilight putting on a bright yet nervous smile, not wanting this to be awkward at all.
Café Sonata. Late Afternoon.
Arriving at Café Sonata gave both Twilights, especially the pony one, time to wind down. She needed this after what had just happened so far. The Human Twilight meanwhile had ordered three bottles of Moomoo Milk and some Lemonade for Zorua, Spike and even Deerling. The alicorn took the lemonade immediately, drinking it as if there was no tomorrow.
"Oh, thank Celestia...I needed this." That lemonade was super-effective as the moment she drank it, the pony felt refreshed. So did Deerling after drinking some of the Moomoo Milk.
"Deerling!"
"Professor Oak told me that this cafe was a nice place to get some relief. The drinks here are great." The Human Twilight replied. "Better?"
"I feel better now. Still a bit bummed out from what just happened." The alicorn pouted.
"It's fine. I've been there before." She laughed in response. "At least you're happy again and that's all that matters right now."
"Mmm. You're right. Especially with what I heard earlier. About you overcoming that moment." The former Princess of Friendship then looked at the can. "In my universe...it wasn't a success much like yours."
"Oh." The assistant to Professor Oak leaned forward. "So...I'm guessing your timeline had the opposite outcome. Was it during the Friendship Games?"
"That looked to be the case when I showed up there. The same events probably played out but with a different end. The Midnight in my universe won while you managed to overcome yours it sounds like. And Sunset Shimmer and everyone else are fine?"
"No one was hurt." The upstart trainer nodded in confirmation, making the alicorn feel relieved.
"That's good to hear. I wish that was the same for my universe but...alternate universes after all." It was the moment that the pony Twilight was starting to find some disdain for alternate universes. She found the concept of them to be wonderful but considering what had just happened to her, it wasn't looking as bright in her eyes. "Trapped for so many years in that dungeon with nothing to do. Nopony to talk to or even eat and drink.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't know this Empress put you through something so horrible like that."
"It was Midnight Sparkle who did so. Even if she's within us all as our alter-ego, she can be seen as another entity." Twilight then picked up the can with her magic. "The Twilight Sparkle within her has been locked away. She may look like us to a T, but in reality, she is just Midnight Sparkle."
"Wait, so she's a separate entity?!" Twilight gasped.
"Sort of. Midnight can take our place, hide our minds and replace it with her own. But...it looks like that didn't happen to you in time, thankfully. The same could've probably happened to me. But it fully happened with the Empress. At this point, Midnight Sparke is the real entity and Twilight Sparkle is just the alter-ego that's been hidden away for so long."
"Ash told me about how she invaded the other world. I had no idea it was far deeper than that. So that's what would've happened if I was never stopped. Oooh..." The Human Twilight shuddered at that thought. Soon, she would've been a second Empress in the making.
"But the words you said to me sparked up some hope. And I'm glad. Never thought it would be me that talks some sense into...well, me. Alternate worlds are weird like that."
"They sure are."
"I'm a little scared. Midnight could pop out from me, just like how your afraid of your Midnight Sparkle showing up again. But you gave me some confidence to try and overcome it. But I want to do more than that."
"What do you mean by more?"
"Well...I don't think my Midnight is the same as yours and especially not the Empress. My Midnight was the only company I ever truly had. She was always inside of me, but I could never talk to her. I could hear her voice every time, even when I went to sleep, but this is the first time she's ever been unleashed for me. And truthfully I feel sorry for her. Even if she's my alter-ego I still see her as me. Midnight's been stuck in that dungeon, feeling my pain too."
"And you don't want to get rid of her, do you?" Twilight deduced her pony counterpart's intentions immediately after processing her sentences.
"That's right. If I can, I'd like to help my Midnight. I want to free her from all that rage she's built up. It's possible but, I don't know the probability."
"We can't know unless we try." Twilight then laced her hand on her counterpart's hoof. "That's something Ash said to me. You're here now and free from that dungeon. You've got all the chances to catch up with your life, right?"
"Mmm. Right. At least, potentially less or more than you." Just then, the alicorn giggled.
"Say what now?" Twilight raised her eyebrow.
"Right now, I'm far older than you to be your true counterpart. You're still young and since I'm an alicorn, I'll live for a long time. But the same goes for you so...I'm your senior here."
"Senior?! I thought that was what I would look like in the other world! We're not the same age?!"
"Ah not quite. Not yet at least." She shook her head while her counterpart puffed her cheeks.
"Aw..." The Human Twilight was mildly disappointed by that as the sun was slowly setting with the moon beginning to rise, faintly showing the starry skies. The two of them continued to chat for a bit at this cafe. It was clear as day that two Twilight Sparkles from two different worlds and two different universes could bond.
A specific combo but it worked perfectly. Both of them had made new friends. Themselves. But after talking with each other about a highly serious situation and putting a patch on it for a while, they were able to form a new bond. Perhaps this was just the result of this one special day where various Twilight Sparkles from different universes come together. Perhaps.
The Twilight Sparkles of multiple universes had spent most of their time here, looking at all of the Pokemon. Ash and Fluttershy and to an extent Mayor Mare had done a splendid job at doing so.
Naturally, over the course of them visiting this universe, AKA, universe one, they managed to spend some time around the trainers and their Pokemon. All of which were familiar to the various Twilight Sparkles as every resident here, minus a few exceptions, had counterparts in other universes.
Each of these variations had also met up with the closest friends to every known Twilight Sparkle. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Starlight Rainbow Dash.
"Is that real?" Rarity asked a Twilight who had a glowing horn and a pair of glowing wings that looked somewhat transparent.
"I know it's different from everypony else's but it's 100% real. Think of me as a Pseudo-Alicorn." The pseudo-alicorn Twilight replied. "A Pseudocorn. How does that sound?"
"Fine by me." Rarity nodded as this Pseudocorn Twilight was currently surrounded by Rarity's Pokemon after wanting to see them. Her reactions varied from admiring and being intimidated by Pheromosa's beautiful and overwhelming tall appearance to also seeing some beauty in Milotic, the Leavanny and to an extent Ampharos. Even without his Mega Evolved hair.
Meanwhile, the Dragon Twilight, who already showed great interest in Dragon-Types, was obviously drawn to Spike's Pokemon but also Spike himself.
"So if you're a dragon back at your universe...doest that mean...?" Spike questioned as the Dragon Twilight was currently holding Equestrian Axew and Deino in her arms. Deino gnawed on her arms, but not a single trace of damage was made.
"That's right, Spike. You are a pony. This universe is a complete reverse of mine." She replied while looking down at Deino's pointless yet adorable effort. "I can guarantee you that there are many reverse universes out there with certain scenarios and certain characters. Doesn't that make it all the more exciting?"
"Yeah. But if that's the case..." Spike thought for a moment about his pony counterpart. He then realized that being a pony meant that he might have a better shot at getting with Rarity. Not only that, but he also saw that since he and Twilight swapped places, that meant that he was possibly an alicorn himself. "Nice..."
"What are you thinking about?" Twilight noticed Spike's dumbfounded face.
"Nothing..."
While all of them communicated with practically everypony here, the Twilight Sparkle of this universe had already gone around, meeting with her counterparts. She saw how so many of them were different yet similar to her. Whether it be by the way they act, how they spoke and even their magic. Speaking of magic, most of them had something different to offer.
Each magic, no matter how different they were, all originated from Equestria. Twilight could already feel the abundance of Equestrian Magic from different universes in the air.
"It's a bit of a weird day for us, Twilight." Applejack and the Cutie Mark Crusaders went over. "Uh...You are our Twilight, right?"
"I am. Don't worry. And I suppose this sight is a bit overwhelming. I'm surprised there hasn't been mass panic with so many of myself going around. If this was right after the time Pinkie Pie copied herself, I'd be freaking out."
"I saw one Twilight that looked like a rabbit. A super big one! Can we keep her?" Apple Bloom asked her big sister.
"Uh...Nope." Applejack greatly shook her head in denial towards that request. Twilight simply laughed at that brief exchange.
"Wish I had the whole day to see more of them. I heard they were across Equestria. Plus...they should be heading back to their respective universes by now which is a shame." Twilight sighed. "Oh well, if there's one thing I know about myself, it's that I'll come back for more."
"Really?" Scootaloo questioned.
"Mmm. We're all the same no matter what. I know I'll see them again. And hey, they might be lucky and come back just in time for an incoming event."
"Oooh. What event?" The three of them were ow greatly curious, leaning in.
"Well, it's on a smaller scale compared to the others but it'll be enjoyable to watch. It's something that BigTime Ben put up as always but also, Princess Celestia was involved in. Do you know, Applejack?"
"Nope. Haven't heard about anything yet." The farm pony shrugged. "Uh, what's going on soon?"
"We're heaving another Pokemon Tournament. But this time, it's a junior one. Exclusively for children."
"Just for us?!" The trio bellowed with excitement.
"That's right. The Canterlot Junior Cup as it's about to be known as. It'll be available just 3 days from now. The arena's already been chosen. This time, it's the old arena we once used for the first Pokemon Tournament we had here. All that's left are decorations."
"A competition just for us. Do you know what this means?!" Scootaloo grabbed Sweetie Belle, shaking her as her eyes lit up with stars appearing. "I finally have a chance to come out on top."
"S-S-S-Same here." Sweetie Belle agreed while stammering from all that shaking. "Not exactly a Pokemon Contest but it'll be fun either way."
"I can win this for sure." Scootaloo couldn't contain her excitement. "Three days, right?"
"That's right. Technically soon to be two since midnight will come." Twilight replied. "So, you'd best get ready training up your Pokemon for the eventual. day. I know you always stay up late at night to practice contest moves, Sweetie Belle."
"Sure do." Sweetie Belle giggled with a cheeky tone.
"It'll be fair game going up against trainers as young as you. Ages 10 and down. Now, you won't have to be nervous about Ash being there as the biggest roadblock." Twilight joked around, knowing that if ASh was there, the chances of anyone would be diminished greatly.
The young ones rushed off to prepare themselves for that incoming tournament. The moon could be seen rising as the sun set beautifully, leaving the view of the earth for a few hours. Thanks to summer closing in, daytime lasted longer.
Once the moon had been seen, the other Twilight Sparkles realized that they should probably be heading back by now. They spent their time well in this universe. As for this universe's Twilight Sparkle, she figured that now would be the best time to check up on Zero and see how the device was coming along before he could leave.
As to be expected, once she showed up back inside her, castle, it had already been completed long ago. Zero was just lounging around alongside the Shadow Twilight who was still here. The device itself could be seen lying on the table, brand new.
"About time," Zero spoke as he had been waiting for a while now. "I finished just two hours ago.
"Oh, Zero!" Twilight went over to the device. "This is great! What did you change?"
"I made it so that now it only detects new gateways that open up from other universes or even a familiar one. It's up to you to decide which one belongs to Team Plasma and such. Though...we can always rework it and make it sense only gateways they open up."
"That would be nice. But right now, it's fine just the way it is."
"My time to leave then." Zero got up, finally leaving the castle. "I'll be back another time."
"And what about you my shadowy counterpart?" Twilight asked the Shadow Twilight.
"Hm? Oh!" Truth is, she lost track of time. The moment her counterpart called her name, she was now fully alert, realizing that the Sun was gone. But once the moon arose, she blended in perfectly with the shadows with only her eyes sticking out and nothing else. "That's my cue. Um...thanks for letting me browse by the way. I learned so much."
"Enough for you to come back?"
"You know it. I guess you would since you're me. How about one more surprise before I leave?"
"Oh? What's that?"
"This." Just then, the Shadow Twilight chose the best way to exit the caste. By descending into the shadows themselves as her eyes also vanished as well. Just like that, she was gone as it looked like she was never here in the first place. Truly, a nice surprise.
"Well, that's that. We'd best start sleeping soon, Eve."
"Espeon."
"But that's another one for the memory book. It'll only get bigger once we start visiting their universes too."
"Esp?"
"That's right." Twilight used her magic to place the books back where they originally were. "I'm a Pokemon Trainer after all. And even before I became that, I am interested in adventures. Becoming a trainer only boosted my love for it. Are you looking forward to it?"
"....Espeon." Espeon simply yawned before walking away.
"Okay then. Goodnight, Eve."
Nightfall.
"Rapidash, use Flame Charge! Horsea, Twister!" To prepare for the Canterlot Junior Cup, Scootaloo decided to get some late-night practice while she was at it. She and her Pokemon were ready to train vigorously as Rapidash charged right into a draconic twister.
Rapidash managed to overpower the twister, running straight through it, proving to have legs strong enough to even most past the winds. But then again, these were fairly tame winds. However, these winds could be made stronger to surpass even the natural ones of nature and that's exactly what Scootaloo was aiming for.
Also practising hard was Sweetie Belle as to be expected. She stays up late whenever a new Pokemon Contest is nearby and the same went for this Junior Cup. Her Pokemon already knew how to work hard during the night.
As for Apple Bloom, not so much. She chose to sleep despite having an abundance of Grass-Types and the most number of Pokemon out of her friend group. But Apple Bloom was not worried at all. After all, she only saw this upcoming Junior Cup as one thing. Fun.
Universe 6. Equestria. Canterlot. Nightfall.
And once the visits of the various Twilight Sparkles came to an end, the Twilight Sparkle of this universe had also returned. She showed up back home at a time when everypony was currently asleep.
Twilight still had a fear of facing everypony here in Canterlot after the effects the Empress left behind, but since so many of them were now asleep, the streets of Canterlot were empty. Twilight stepped forward as she was the only pony there now. Nightfall was the only time when she could step outside and not have to fear anyone, albeit briefly.
She took some time to stay out here, but even Twilight knew that not everypony would be asleep. There would be some exceptions. And one of those exceptions showed herself in the form of Princess Celestia.
"Mm." The former Princess of Friendship nodded in response. "It's a bit of a shame that I have to wait until nightfall to step out into Canterlot...It truly is."
"Ah, but nightfall is beautiful. Luna can testify that. And so can your friend next to you."
"My friend next to-" Twilight repeated before then realizing that she didn't come alone. Right beside her, the Deerling from Deerling Forest had shown up. "Gah!"
"Deerling."
"You followed me here? Uh, that's nice and all...but you should get back to your universe right now. Thanks for sticking by me by the way."
"Deer." Deerling nodded as he just wanted to spook Twilight. Fitting as the Moon was out. Once he got that scare out of her, the Season Pokemon galloped away, heading back to his universe as Celestia kept the gateway open.
"Did you enjoy yourself?" Celestia asked.
"I did. And I got the chance to meet with another version of myself. And now, I want to do more than just sit around in my room all sad. Princess Celestia. I want to help the Midnight in me. And a few other things.
"The Midnight in you? Oh, right. Midnight Sparkle is who the Empress is. But why help her?"
"I'll tell you everything. One other thing I know for sure is that I won't feel so coupled up anymore." She approached her fellow alicorn who had centuries of years over her. "But just out of curiosity, I'd like to know more about what happened to this world while I was locked up. I even locked myself in this room."
"You're too tired right now to hear it all. But I'll share a few things with you before you sleep." Celestia was ready to drop some information that Twilight missed out of all these years. "Well, ever since the Empress rose to power after the Battle of the Bell, many alliances with the races we all came to know and love ended up being shattered. The first were the Changelings."
"W-What happened with the changelings!?"
"The Empress or I suppose Midnight robbed them of their love. She had already defeated Chrysalis and viewed all the other changelings as a posable threat such as her. Thus, not only did she take away their love through her own cruel actions, but she left the changelings to starve. Now, there are no more changelings."
"They're all gone?!" A haunting reveal had been made to Twilight. From what Celestia shared, all of the changelings in this world were no more. Left to starve and without any form of love, good or bad, they were no more after all these years. Some good friends were gone too. "So that means Thorax and Ocellus too..."
"The changelings went back to their wicked ways, but thanks to the overpowering force of the Empress, they were too terrified to even try and steal love from here. Thorax tried fixing things, but it was no use. As for the dragons, well, they went into hiding in the same lands that Tirek once came from. Spike is the only dragon we've seen around."
"But that means we can still find them and talk to them, right?"
"If they don't have the urge to burn us down. The dragons hid from Midnight's overwhelming magical power and one day vowed to come back and take their revenge. That's the one thing I'm terrified about. They've yet to show up. And as for the Hippogriffs, Griffons and Yaks, some of them still sided with the Empress, so that relationship is still intact. We have some of them that are now glad the Empress is gone. Not all alliances went away."
"Oh thank goodness..." That was the only form of good news so far that Celestia had shared.
"Either way, a massive collapse happened from all of this. And once she discovered other universes that had similar species, the Empress sought to do something about them as well. But, they were stopped. She wanted to destroy some of them as well, but that didn't come to fruition. In fact, some of the other species that work for the Empress are a result of that plan being discarded. Someone stopped her plans instead of her own will to do so."
"Really? By who?"
"Daybreaker." Another reveal had been made. This time, it was about Celestia's alter-ego. "Daybreaker was the one who stopped the Empress. She prevented the Empress from destroying and absorbing the magic from other races while also being the one to suggest that they take on new roles such as scientists and such."
"Daybreaker did that? But...shouldn't Midnight be far stronger than her?"
"You'd think." Celestia shrugged. "Especially considering that Midnight took magic from Grogar's bell. I'm not sure how, but without even needing outside magic, Daybreaker had the superior edge. Midnight at first declined Daybreaker's offer and so they ended up clashing."
"Daybreaker won, didn't she?"
"Oh, she did. The result of Daybreaker and Midnight battling left a shocking effect. In this massive collection of universes we call a multiverse, there exists a massive flame somewhere in the cosmos. An Astral Fire so fierce that it lights up the universe and resonates with the stars while it burns planets in its way. Needless to say, Midnight lost. And once she lost, she took Daybreaker's offer."
"So, Daybreaker's the one who started it all?"
"Midnight wanted that empire in the beginning. But it was Daybreaker who steered her away from a path that would've resulted in only ponies existing. If it were not for her, some of the alternate universes might not even exist. Either way, Daybreaker seems to be the superior force in all of this. And with most f the Empress' magic gone, Daybreaker is now the strongest of the alliance."
"How do you know all of this? You were demoted to being a maid, right? How were you able to get so much information when being stuck cleaning the palace and ships.
"I was. But truthfully, even after the Empress had complete control of everything, I still had one pony I could count on. My old secretary Raven Inkwell. She's the one who shared all of this information with me as Midnight kept her as a secretary still. She's retired now, but I'm glad she was able to pass on all of this valuable information."
"Oh. I see. Well..." Twilight suddenly blinked a few times before lowering her head. "I'm exhausted...I think now's a good time for me to head to bed."
"Sleep well, Twilight. I know for a fact that many ponies here enjoy having a peaceful sleep now that the tyranny is over." Celestia replied as Twilight walked back to her home, ready to feel the warmth of her bed once more. But, she already had some warmth within the cold night. Celestia's warmth, that is.
But, right as Twilight went home, something came up in Celestia's mind. It was about Daybreaker once more. Now that she brought her up, her thoughts were fixated on that alter-ego.
"Twilight already knows about her alter-ego. Daybreaker may already exist as a force out there, but she's also inside me." Celestia then put her hoof on her chest. "I'm rather glad I don't have any immense rage inside of me. But...the one I'm worried about the most is Universe One."
Universe 6's Celestia was most worried about Universe 1'S Princess Celestia. She was currently the only known Celestia that has not had a harder time as this universe's, other universes and even Daybreaker herself who has already experienced a tragic loss that led to her fiery birth.
Thre was this looming sense of destruction. Universe 1's Celestia, much like every other Celestia, had Daybreaker inside of her, that was undeniable. Just like how there was a Midnight in every Twilight.
Considering that Universe 1's Celestia was the strongest Celestia with only Daybreaker being equal to her, the alter-ego resting within her could potentially emerge. And with the threats she has to deal with from Team Plasma, the Solar Empire, Twilight Imperium and more existing, Universe 6's Celestia knew that there could be that one instance where everything pushes her counterpart to the edge.
"Ah. But I have faith in her." Despite this barrage of fears, she had faith in her counterpart. After all, Universe 1 was the universe to defeat the Empress and push her back while also starting an alliance to free other universes. That Celestia was a shining beacon of hope.
But even this Celestia, from all her years of watching over Equestria, and seeing what Twilight had accomplished, knew that all of that can be tampered with. She shook her head, dismissing it all before then heading back to her castle. It was about time she got some sleep herself.
The newest competition in Canterlot had been formed once more by BigTime Ben but this time Celestia had a huge involvement in it. This was a competition exclusively for children. It already existed in the Unova Region at Lacunosa Town and now it has passed on to this world, right here in the magical land of Equestria.
Fireworks went off to celebrate the beginning of this new competition. Trainers had shown up to this competition in the form of colts and fillies. A tournament just for them without having to worry about the overwhelming power of those older than them. Exceptionally excited for this the most were the Cutie Mark Crusaders and of course the other young ones.
They had already entered the indoors of the stadium, where the rest of their fellow young trainers were waiting patiently for the completion to begin. The temporary Pokemon Center was also present there as always, available for anypony to heal their Pokemon.
Some familiar faces were there. 18 competitors and most of them were recognizable as some came from Ponyville. Diamond Tiara had been spotted among them along with 5 other Ponyville residents. Hailing from Cloudsdale was Rumble and straight from this city were Sunrise Sprint and Sapphire Flash.
Surprise competitors from other parts of Equestria had been spotted. And two of them threw Sweetie Belle off guard. Velvetwind from Trottingham and Gelidity from Themcolt.
"Hello, Sweetie Belle!" It has been a while since they've seen each other so this was a surprise reunion. Her unicorn friend rushed over to the Trottingham pegasus once they met again.
"You both are here too? I thought you'd only stick to contests."
"You're here too, aren't you?" Velvetwind pointed out how Sweetie Belle was also taking part in it. Pokemon Coordinators still had the skills of battling after all due to how contests work. And it was a natural thing as a Pokemon Trainer after all.
"I came here because Nidoqueen wanted to try this out," Gelidity revealed that her reason for being here was to grant the wish of one of her Pokemon. Her Nidoqueen. "That is all."
"Not as much as I thought there would be." Meanwhile, Scootaloo was expecting a higher count of trainers here. But the maximum was 22 Pokemon Trainers. It was certainly smaller than the first Pokemon Tournament and the Canterlot Tag Battle Competition.
"That's because they said it would only be 22 of us." Diamond Tiara replied. "And I gotta feel sorry for the ponies who couldn't enter in time. Sucks to be them."
"Good thing Twilight told us in advance." Apple Bloom nudged the pegasus.
"Oh, wow. I thought it was a joke but it's real." Just then, Sapphire Flash Spoke, looking right at Scootaloo and Velvetwind for one reason. Their similarities "You two do look alike."
"You noticed?" Scootaloo and Velvetwind both commented at the same time. The only differences between them were their mane styles, eye colours, their Cutie Marks and their voices. That was all. Everything else was eerily similar.
"So now that we're all here, guess who's winning this?" Diamond Tiara grinned, already prepared to immediately declare who would be victorious. "Me." As to be expected, she chose herself. Diamond Tiara may have undergone some changes, but some things never change.
"Nuh-uh. I'm winning this." Scootaloo protested. "I trained hard for 3 days just for this moment. My Pokemon are up to speed too."
"I always train hard every night." Sweetie Belle added. "But Diamond Tiara. You don't have other Pokemon, do you? You still have Purrloin with you."
"That's not true. I've got some more waiting." Diamond Tiara smirked as it was revealed that she didn't just have Purrloin by her side. There were more waiting.
"Oh. Well...this could also be my chance to finally beat Gelidity in something. Hopefully." The unicorn then shifted her eyes towards her contest rival who has bested her in just Pokemon Contests. Especially the battle stage. But perhaps this competition might swing the pendulum at last.
"But before we get to start, apparently, we're gonna get ourselves an exhibition match," Velvetwind said. "And guess who's gonna be in it?"
"Uh...one of the teachers?" Apple Bloom questioned.
"Even better. Ash!"
"An exhibition match?" Speaking of Ash, he was currently having a conversation with Princess Celestia and BigTime Ben right near Canterlot Castle. Indeed, he would represent this exhibition match.
"That's right. Much like how the Unova Junior Cup has exhibition matches between a Champion and an Elite 4 Member, I figured we'd pass that tradition here. And Princess Celestia is in full agreement of that." BigTime Ben explained.
"We'd like to excite them all first before the matches can begin. And fittingly, you're a Champion yourself, Ash." Celestia added. "It also helps that you're popular here, so bonus points. Plus, the winner of this tournament will have a chance to battle you at the end of this."
"Sweet!" Ash was always up for a Pokemon Battle, no matter the format of it. "I'm up for it! So, who am I battling for a bit?"
"Pikachu?"
"Well, I thought about it and our newest teacher at the Pokemon School decided to step forward and take that offer," Ben replied.
"The school has a new teacher?"
"Mmm. He's certainly strong enough to pose a challenge after looking him up. Why don't you show yourself." BIgTime Ben then moved his hand to the castle, focusing it on the corner. Out of the corner without even the guards seeing him was a familiar face.
Someone that Ash had not seen for years until now. When he emerged from the corner, he revealed himself to be the same individual who had helped Twilight, Applejack and Apple Bloom obtain their Z-Crystals and had once battled Ash in the Lily of the Valley Conference.
Tobias.
"Long time no see. Ash." Tobias spoke, greeting Ash as this reunion was far longer than Sweetie Belle and Velvetwind's reunion.
"Tobias," Ash spoke his name as the two trainers stared intensively at each other.
"Pikachu..."
"Wait...you know each other!?" BigTime Ben was especially surprised that these two have knowledge of each other. At this point, it seemed like Ash knew almost everybody in some way.
"Yeah. We battled against each other at the Sinnoh League. Been a while, Tobias. Never thought I'd see you again."
"Neither did I. Until I heard about your fame in this world. So, Ash. How have you been all these years? Becoming the first Alola Champion and all of this already gives me a good idea."
"I've been great!" Ash replied with high energy. "Doing better than ever now! I'm shooting beyond just being Alola Champion. I'm gonna take the title of the World's Strongest Trainer and reach my ultimate goal of becoming a Pokemon Master."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"What about you, Tobias? And is it true you're a teacher at the Pokemon School now?"
"That's good. As for me, I planned on joining the Sinnoh Elite 4 once. Unfortunately, that didn't come to fruition. Bertha is a force of nature."
"Oh, really?"
"Really. So then, years later, I tried the World Coronation Series. I did well and almost got into the Masters 8. But as fate would have it, another Elite 4 Member got in my way. This time it was Flint. I saw a bit of a continuous streak there."
"You're in the World Coronation Series too? You can still get into the Masters 8, right?" Ash asked. "I'd be psyched to face you there!"
"Sadly no. You see, once you're close to the Masters 8, you gotta battle the 8th ranked of the tier to try and get in. And if you fail, well, that's it, unfortunately. You can't get back in there."
"Harsh." Ash, Ben and Celestia said in unison.
"It is. But, hey, what can you do? So just think of me as a roaming trainer. I still have my purpose though. And it looks like all that roaming also led me to this school once I caught wind of it. I offered to be in here and I got in. I'll be their newest teacher once summer is over. And will you be there?"
"Sorry. But I'm not at the Pokemon School." Ash chuckle.
"Makes sense. You're too strong for that now. But, I wonder how strong you are now compared to me? Looks like now is a perfect time to find out."
"Yeah. Let's make this exhibition match a good one for the years, Tobias."
"Pikachu!"
"Oh! Now you both have me excited." Celestia got all giddy learning more about Tobias and how he and Ash had a small history together. The two trainers walked over to the stadium, ready to begin this exhibition match.
For the Junior Cup, thousands had gathered for this. It wasn't as much as the previous two contests and it certainly won't be greater than the eventual Equestria League in the future, but it was a large crowd nevertheless.
The 18 Trainers had lined up at the side of the stadium, just near the arena. Announcing this battle as always was the pegasus who announced the previous two competitions. He seemed to be the go-to.
"Uh. Hello?" He spoke into the microphone as it let out higher decibels than expected for a brief moment before settling down.
"That's more like it. "Like the last two contests, I'll be describing all the action that happens here. But I doubt you'll hear me with all of your eyes focused on the battles. Let me just say what the rewards for this competition are. Not only is a nice and shiny cup waiting for the winner, but the victor of this tournament will also get a chance to battle none other than Ash Ketchum at the end. We don't have a Regional Champion yet, so he'll have to do!"
"We get to battle Ash!" Apple Bloom gasped after hearing that along with the other colts and fillies.
"Oh, I have to win now!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"But first! An exhibition match before we start things off. It'll be Ash against a trainer by the name of Tobias."
"Did he say Tobias?!" Twilight sat up as she and Applejack and as an extension, Apple Bloom were shocked to hear that name due to their previous run-in with him. Speaking of Ash and Tobias, along they came as Tobias emerged first, showing himself to the crowd.
"He's a roaming trainer who is soon to be a teacher over at the Pokemon School and comes from the Sinnoh Region! Tobias is his name!"
"Greetings, Equestria," Tobias said while revealing only one arm. The other one was hidden as cheers resounded over the stadium for this new trainer.
"And hailing from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region is none other than the Alola Champion and a great hero of our nation, Ash Ketchum! And Pikachu!"
"Hey, everyone!" Ash ran out to the arena once his name was called out. There were even louder cheers within the stadium just for him. The screams of Ash's fans, which was practically everyone dominated even the winds themselves as they could be heard from every direction. Some of these screams were of fans so dedicated that they already had some Ash fan apparel with them in the blink of an eye, going crazy for him.
"Pikachu!"
"You're name precedes you, Ash. This only excites me more to see just how strong you've gotten."
"You know it, Tobias. I've been wanting to see how strong you've gotten since our last battle. You're already tough, so I already know what to expect!"
"Pika!"
"The match will be a 5-minute 1-on-1 battle." A unicorn referee spoke, giving the brief rules of this exhibition match. "Please, send out your Pokemon."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu grinned, expecting Ash to send him out against someone like Tobias.
"Sorry, Pikachu, but I wanna battle alongside the others for now. But you'll get your chance once we face the winner." Ash revealed as he took out a Poke Ball.
"Pi..." Pikachu lowered his head as he was so ready to go first, but alas, he would have to wait until the winner was crowned.
"Dragonite! I choose you!" Ash picked Dragonite, sending the Dragon Pokemon into the fray.
"Dragonite!"
"Dragonite, hm? Then in that case...my pick is Latios!" Tobias sent out his Pokemon and it was a surprising one. Another Legendary Pokemon at his disposal. Ash already knew that he had this Pokemon as the Eon Pokemon Latios had appeared. This was a Pokemon that no one else had seen until now.
"Who's that Pokemon?! Latios?!" Twilight and many others took out their Pokedexes to observe and scan this new Pokemon that had graced their eyes.
"Latios. The Eon Pokemon. Latios has the ability to make others see an image of what it has seen or imagined in its head. This Pokémon is intelligent and understands human speech. Latios will only open its heart to a Trainer with a compassionate spirit. This Pokémon can fly faster than a jet plane by folding its forelegs to minimize air resistance."
"Check out those wings!" Spike gawked with glistening eyes. "That's one of the coolest dragons I've seen! But then again, they're all cool in their own way! And I get to see a Dragon fight too!"
"Axew!"
"He just has that with him?! And I thought I had a rare Pokemon..." Pinkie Pie wiped some sweat off her forehead, referring to Mew.
"Lucky!" Goh bit his thumb, feeling some sort of jealousy toward Tobias.
"Oh. You think Latios is a surprise?" Applejack replied as she, Twilight and Apple Bloom knew of another Legendary Pokemon Tobias had in store. Entei. But Ash and Pikachu already knew of a third rare Pokemon in his team. Although, in a twist of ironic fate, Ash only knew about two of them.
So at the end of the day, knowledge of Tobias' entire team was still a mystery to everyone. But that might change with his position as a teacher at the Pokemon School.
"Now! Begin!"
"Alright, Dragonite! Use Dragon Claw, let's go!"
"Dra!" Going first, a light-green aura formed around one of Dragonite's hands and transformed into a claw-like shape. The Dragon Pokemon then spread her wings out, soaring towards her fellow Dragon-Type.
"Latios, retaliate with Dragon Claw as well!" Latios would do the same. It would be Dragon Claw against Dragon Claw as Latios had to angle itself upright a bit to make sure Dragon Claw was efficient. The two Dragons clashed, slashing their claws against each other.
it was a back and forth exchange with green sparks flying everywhere. Dragonite and Latios also kept flying everywhere from their hits colliding and at high speeds as everyone marvelled at this amazing sight. Eventually, the clash had a victor. It was Dragonite as she ducked an incoming slash from Latios. Once she ducked under it, she took the chance to slash Latios in the face, finally landing a clean hit.
"Dra!" After that crushing blow, Latios was pushed back with a super-effective hit with Dragonite being the first to land a successful hit in.
"Yes! Now head in for another one!"
"Latios, use Luster Purge!"
Latios opened his mouth as white sparkles formed and gathered in front of him, forming together into a pink ball of energy. He then fired a massive pink beam from the ball that tore through the atmosphere.
"Hurricane!"
"Gonite!" Dragonite flapped her wings and released multiple crescent-shaped blades of energy that then formed into powerful gust of wind as they met with the pink beam. But, Luster Purge managed to break through the gust of wind, hitting Dragonite. "D-Dra!"
"Now, head in and use Giga Impact!"
Latios's body had then been surrounded by an orange sphere of energy. Then the colour faded before turning purple, with orange streaks of energy that spiralled around the orb. Latios then zoomed, ready to smash into Dragonite at full force.
"Draco Meteor!"
"Dra!" Dragonite raised her arms, manipulating the weather above. Dark clouds started forming with purple lightning flashing. However she ended up being hit by Latios' attack, pushing her back. "D-Dragonite!"
"That leaves you wide open!" Ash saw a chance, however. Latios needed to recharge after using Giga Impact and now was his chance to capitalize on that. "Go!"
"Go!" Dragonite then brought her arms down which resulted in gigantic draconic meteors falling from above. Latios could do nothing about this, especially with those vast numbers.
"Brace yourself, Latios!" Tobias roared as Latios closed his eyes. The meteors then crashed into him, dealing super-effective damage while also bringing out a powerful explosion in the process. Tobias' clothes blew in the wind while Ash held onto his hat. "Now, Aerial Ace!"
Once the explosion ended, it was revealed that Latios was fine as he flew out of the smoke at high speeds, still having more in him to go. Just what Ash expected and wanted.
"Alright! Spin with Dragon Dance!"
"Drago!" Dragonite then started spinning her body, build going up attack and speed.
And in the process, she formed a gust of wind around her body. Once Latios moved at confounding speeds, he managed to take Dragonite, but thanks to her concentrated state within Dragon Dance, Dragonite was able to protect herself via the gust of wind. Latios kept zooming around, trying to flinch or even push back Dragonite. But that wind shield was certainly stopping that from happening.
"Such defence!" Tobias gasped after seeing how Dragonite could protect herself with Dragon Dance of all things. He then smiled thinking to himself. "You've grown into a stupendous trainer, Ash. Truly. And with even higher gusto than you had. Indeed...you certainly have the spirit and power to go up against Leon...and perhaps take the title as Monarch."
"Great, great!" Fluttershy applauded, clapping her hooves together as this battle was so exciting that she couldn't help but get hyped. Everyone else was naturally hyped.
"Go, Ash, go!" Pinkie Pie thrust her hooves into the air. "Beat that plane-looking Pokemon!"
"Latios! Move away and let's use Luster Purge!"
Latios ended up Aerial Ace before flying back. He had then summoned a pink ball for Luster Purge once more, unleashing it at full force. Latios and Tobias had now seen just how far Ash had come so there was no need to hold back.
"Let's go! Dragon Claw!" Ash roared, making his hands into the sign of a claw.
"Dragonite!" Dragonite finished Aerial Ace before then switching into Dragon Claw, forming those green energy clas as she was now faster than before, leaving behind a shockwave once she took off. Latios' Luster Purge meanwhile had been unleashed as Dragonite was approaching it.
The Dragon Pokemon slashed the beam head-on and thanks to Dragon Dance increasing Dragon Dance's power, Dragonite was able to deflect the beam, knocking it away as it hit the ground.
"Dragon Claw as well!" Tobias gasped, quickly going for the next command.
The Eon Pokemon approached with Dragon Claw as well, ready for another back and forth close as Dragonite's speed now matched that of Latios' thanks to Dragon Claw. The two Dragons clashed once more with ferocity.
Latios used his speed to his advantage this time, flying out of the way of an incoming slash just to move in and get his own slash off, only for Dragonite to catch him, proving that she matched his speed now. And thanks to Dragon Dance, her Dragon Claw managed to push back Latios' DragonClaw as the Dragon Pokemon was ready for a heavy slash. Latios' eyes widened, prepared to zoom back to avoid a heavy hit.
"Time!" But time was up as the referee called this match. Those 5 minutes went by as both Pokemon stopped their movements immediately. Dragonite made the energy of Dragon Claw fade away while Latios slowly flew back. "The exhibition match is a draw!"
Once the match was over, everyone cheered as it was an exhibition match worth watching. Tobias then returned his Latios before then approaching Ash. "Thank you for the battle, Ash. It was worth it all."
"Same here, Tobias. It was great battling you again after so long." Ash held his hand out as they both shook hands. "Let's battle again sometime, okay?"
"My pleasure." You'll e seeing me around at the Pokemon School more often after all. And even that incoming Pokemon Festival as well. I'll be off until summer ends."
"Love to hear it." Ash grinned as he had so much to look forward to now. "See ya soon."
"A big thanks to Ash and Tobias for giving us that exhibition!" The announcer said. "Now, it's time to see 18 TrMatchesatchus. Please look at the screen."
The matchups were coming up now as the screen turned on. Multiple Trainer portraits came into view, moving rapidly being lined up. Once they lined up, they started spinning in a circle, shuffling the trainers with a random selection.
"The first battle is Gelidity vs Sapphire Flash!" The first one had been laid out. It would be between Gelidity and Sapphire Flash as they both looked at each other from afar with Gelidity waving at her.
"The second is Velvetwind vs Rhapsody. The third is Polly vs Quick Solve. The third is Diamond Tiara vs Rocky Road. The fourth is Sunrise Sprint vs Blue Moon. The fifth is Scootaloo vs Sweet Sorbet. The sixth is Little Mark vs Petals. The seventh is Apple Bloom vs Lu Petunia, the eighth battle is Rumble vs Quirk and the ninth would be Sweetie Belle vs Delight and the tenth battle Lucky vs Prancer was the final one.
All of them had been listed off right after being matched up. All they had to do was head back inside the building and prepare themselves. Especially Gelidity and Sapphire Flash who were up first. Everyone else went back inside as Ash took a seat next to Celestia up on the balcony, watching this battle from above.
As for Tobias, he would still stick by and watch this battle. He would be their teacher soon after all. Tobias also appeared on the balcony as he wasn't exactly fully gone yet.
"Oh. You're sticking around, Tobias?" Ash asked once he showed up.
"Pika?"
"I figured I'd watch how the new generations of trainers from another world perform. That way, I know what to expect once I teach them." Tobias added. "And of course, when one of them battles you."
"Look alive. You won't be disappointed." Celestia smiled, knowing that great things could come from this junior cup.
"Yeah. Can't wait." Ash smiled, looking forward to who he would be facing in all of this. It was soon to be well underway. The curtain has already risen with the matchups being chosen as the journey continues.
The Canterlot Junior Cup had begun. After an exhibition match between Ash and Tobias had occurred, the official competition could begin with the first match-up being Gelidity vs Sapphire Flash.
Speaking of which, they had just now stepped into the arena as the first match was now. Watching from atop the balcony of Canterlot Castle were Ash, Celestia and Tobias. Ash was especially excited as the winner of this entire competition would get to battle him.
"Alright then. Both trainers, please send out your Pokemon." The referee spoke.
"I will choose my Oricorio." Gelidity already made her choice, sending her Pokemon out in the form of Oricorio. In this case, it was the Baile Style Oricorio.
"Oricorio!"
"Then, I'll go with my Simipour!" Sapphire Flash then revealed her Simipour which she chose to counter Gelidity's Baile Style Oricorio.
"Simipour!"
"The battle will be over when both Pokemon on either side are unable to battle. You have only 10 minutes on the clock. So...begin!"
"I'll go first! Simipour! Water Pledge!"
"Simi!" Simipour initiated the first attack. It started by slamming its hand into the ground. Afterwards, a column of water came rising up in droves.
"Oricorio! Revelation Dance! Dance around it!"
"Corio!" However, once the columns came its way, Oricorio started doing what it does best. Dancing. It closed its eyes, dancing with the intensity of fire. A fire so powerful that it can combat even the beautiful waves. It spun around at great speeds, weaving the column of water that came its way while also moving in a zig-zag pattern. And of course, Revelation Dance involves an attack. In this case, a fiery one.
Oricorio then leapt into the air, doing a dance with some airtime before then unleashing a burst of fire that came crashing down. The flames had then beautifully and ferociously blasted Simipour, pushing the Geyser Pokemon back.
"Simi!"
"I can tell that was strong, but it's not that effective," said Sapphire Flash. "I'm not taking any chances though. Confide!"
"Confide?" Gelidity repeated as she didn't even know what this attack was. But she would soon find out as in the blink of an eye, Simipour appeared next to Oricorio.
"Cori!" Oricorio gasped as all of a sudden, Simipour was faster than it. And once it was next to the Fire-Flying-Type, that's when Simipour started to speak in its ear.
"What does Confide do?" Spike asked.
"Apparently...it's a move that allows the user to tell the opponent a secret. Of all things." Twilight explained. "There's a Pokemon move for everything and this one just lowered Oricorio's attack. Nice play, Sapphire."
"C-Corio..."
"Now! Water Pledge!"
"Simipour!" Once Oricorio was stunned, Simipour could strike, releasing another column of water by simply touching the ground once more. The column had erupted, engulfing Oricorio for some super-effective damage.
"Cori!"
"Yes! Great job!" Sapphire Flash cheered. "Let's keep it up by using Aqua Tail!"
"Simipour!" The super-effective hits would keep on coming as Simipour then veiled its tail in water. It then leapt into the air, going for an overhead attack.
"Dance again with Agility!
"Co!" The Dancing Pokemon's eyes flashed red as it had then evaded Simipour's attack by pulling a limbo dance move. Right on time too.
"Simi?"
"Corio!" Oricorio then zoomed away, moving at blitzing speeds. As if it wasn't fast already, with a white outline around its body, it left a red blur from all of its rapid dance moves.
"Look at that speed!" The announcer called out as Simipour and Sapphire Flash were struggling to keep up with Oricorio's movements. It was faster than ever.
"Yikes..." Sapphire's eyes felt like they were spinning. If she kept trying to follow Oricorio, she could end up becoming dizzy in a second. "It's fine! Let's use Acrobatics to try and catch Oricorio!"
"Pour!" Simipour started moving with agile speeds as well. It jumped off the grounds at nimble speeds, almost becoming a blue blur but not quite. When it tried to approach Oricorio, the Dancing Pokemon only ended zipping somewhere else, evading Simipour's kick. "Simi?"
"Again!"
"Simi!" Simipour tried again, chasing after Oricorio a second time, but the Fire-Flying-Type used its dance moves to evade another incoming Acrobatics. Simipour did it again and again with consecutive misses. It just couldn't seem to ht Oricorio's hyper-fast dancing.
"Using contest knowledge in battle. That's my approach. Gelidity smiled with her eyes closed. "It works well because of the battle stage in Pokemon Contests. Oricorio. Mirror Move!"
"Co!" And with a lightning-fast step, Oricorio had combined the speed it had gained with Agility and its amazing dance moves with Mirror Move, copying Acrobatics. This allowed it to move faster than ever as it appeared in front of Simipour before it and Sapphire Flash could even see it coming.
"Simipour?!"
"Oh, do-"
But before she could tell her partner to dodge, Oricorio did a stylish upper kick that raised Simipour's head while also sending it into the air. After that, Oricorio started moving through the air with Acrobatics, dancing and kicking Simipour so fast that all that could be seen was an array of sparks and a red blur hitting Simipour constantly in seconds, keeping it in the air. "S-Simipour!"
"Revelation Dance now!"
"Corio!" After hitting Simipour multiple times Oricoro appeared above the Geyser Pokemon, stepping on its face with a dance move that made the Water-Type stagger. After that devastating step, Simipour had been launched to the ground.
The dust emerged as Oricorio gracefully landed on the ground, showing some style as usual. Sapphire Flash gasped as the smoke was starting to clear. It seemed that Confide didn't weaken Oricorio enough as that final Revelation Dance ended up knocking Simipour out, resulting in the Geyser Pokemon fainting.
"Simipour is unable to battle! Oricorio wins! Thus, the victor is Gelidity!" The referee announced Gelidity as the winner as Sapphire Flash was the first to be knocked out.
"Aw...Bummer." Sapphire Flash sighed as she was disappointed by her loss. "Just when I chose the right Pokemon. Thanks for trying anyway, Simipour."
"Simipour."
"Great stuff, you two!" Ash roared all the way over the balcony as his voice joined the various cheers that went off from that brief but entertaining battle.
"Oricorio. Excellent job." Gelidity said to the Dancing Pokemon. Oricorio took a bow to everyone after that great performance. Even in a Pokemon Battle, it still felt like showing off.
"Well, I can't say I'm not too surprised." Sapphire Flash went over after returning Simipour. "I heard about you from Pokemon Contests. And you're an amazing coordinator there. The best in Equestria. So this loss isn't so painful."
"You did well too." Gelidity paid her respect as well. "Thank for you the battle, Sapphire. If you'd be so kind? Cheer for me through it all."
"I will now. Good luck. And I hope to see you against Ash."
"That's it for round one. Now it's time for round 2. Velvetwind vs Rhapsody. And then after that, we'll have Quick Solve vs Polly." The announcer spoke. Gelidity and Sapphire Flash bid farewell to each other before then parting ways.
The other two rounds went on. Velvetwind especially showed her improvement to her friends after they haven't seen each other for a while. She brought out one of her Pokemon which turned out to be a Bronzor instead of her signature Drifblim while she was currently facing off against Rhapsody's Purugly. The battle between the two already had a few rounds to it as Bronzor had been pushed back by the Normal-Type.
"Purugly! Use Shadow Claw!"
"Pur!" Purugly jumped into the air, moving at surprising speeds for something so big and seemingly lazy, revealing its claws and extending them before they were then covered in shadows.
"Oh, it's fast!" Velvetwind gasped. "I want that speed! Speed Swap!"
"Bronzor!" Seeing how fast Purugly was, Bronzor decided to take that speed for itself. But not before Purugly slashed its entire body twice, sending the Bronze Pokemon flying back and dealing super-effective damage. However, once Bronzor was knocked away, it managed to shoot out a white light from its right eye. This light had the height, length and width of a string as it stung Purugly in the face.
"Pur?" Purugly felt a sudden sting on its face as the string was hard to see thanks to its size. That string then caused an energy eruption around Purugly's body, causing it to gasp. Afterwards, the light around it had then flown back to Bronzor, who had just now recovered from being launched.
Now, Bronzor had Purugly's speed while Purugly had Bronzor's speed, making it the slowest Pokemon currently.
"Ah! But Purugly's speed is what I need!" Rhapsody exclaimed as Purugly's speed is what he wanted to use.
"Oh well. That's a shame, mate." Velvetwind shrugged but she had no shame in swapping their speeds. "Heavy Slam!"
"Bronzor, now faster than ever, ascended into the air with greater speeds before then planning to smash its entire body weight onto Purugly, who weighed less than it.
"Purugly, use Dig!"
"Pur!" Purugly then burrowed its way underground, quickly digging a hole to hide in for a bit. Bronzor came crashing down, only to end up hitting no one in the process.
"Haha! How's this? Up you come, Purugly!"
"Pur!" Purugly then burst out of the ground with its claws out, having the power of the Earth within it.
"Now, Bronzor! Flash Cannon!"
"Bron!" But now that Bronzor was faster, it immediately zipped to the side, evading Purugly's Dig. After dodging it faster than Purugly could even react or even slash, Bronzor unleashed Flash Cannon. A silver beam made out of light energy came flying out, hitting Purugly square in its stomach.
"P-Pur!" Purufly's eyes widened as it was then blown back, shot right into the very hole that it burrowed through in the beginning. Using Purugly's own speed helped greatly to give Bronzor that edge as once Purugly hit the hole, making it bigger than before, it had fainted. "Pur..."
"Purugly is unable to battle, Bronzor wins! Thus, the victor is Velvetwind!" Now, Velvetwind won the second match. Another victory for another young one as she flew over to Bronzor, hugging the Bronze Pokemon.
The next match between Quick Solve and Polly was ongoing as well. Velvetwind had returned to the stadium room as her Pokemon and Rhapsody's Pokemon were being healed up by Nurse Joy. The other children looked at the screen watching Quick Solve and Polly go at it. It was Herdier vs Sudowoodo in this case.
"Say. Do you think we'll get a full 6v6 battle with Ash depending on who wins?" Scootaloo asked while the match was ongoing.
"We don't even have six Pokemon. I only have five so I'm lacking one." Sweetie Belle replied. "But...I don't think any of us are getting past one of Ash's Pokemon."
"Mmm." The other foals were in agreement with that.
"I don't know about that...I think I can take out one." But, Scootaloo boasted great confidence. "At least one. Not sure about more. "If it's more than just a 1-on-1, that is."
"I think I have a pretty good chance myself." Diamond Tiara intervened. "Not to brag or anything."
"You always brag..." Apple Bloom squinted.
"I've seen enough of Ash's battles to predict him. Kind of. Ash is all about being unpredictable, so I just have to predict the unpredictable."
"How does one do that?" Gelidity asked.
"No idea. But I'll think of something. We have a lot of matches left to go before any of us reach Ash."
"UH...Maybe we can skip out on battling Ash and just go for the cup? Seems like a safer bet to me." Rumble suggested. "I'd want that cup most of all."
"It would look good in my room." Diamond Tiara replied as suddenly, the match between Quick Solve and Polly had ended. They looked at the screen as Quick Solve's Herdier barely managed to beat Polly's Sudowoodo. A new winner of this bracket had been made. "And it looks like that's my cue. Rocky Road, right?"
"Hm? Yeah, that's me." The colt raised his hoof. "Let's make it a good one."
"Are you gonna use Purrloin for this one?" Apple Bloom asked, wondering if Diamond Tiara might use those new Pokemon in this round.
"Wait and see." She grinned before then walking out to the stadium alongside Rocky Road. Quick Solve and Polly returned indoors, heading straight for Nurse Joy and her Chansey.
Over at the Canterlot Castle balcony, Ash was having a great time as always watching these battles occur. Tobias observed them closely, seeing just what this new generation of trainers that reside in another world were capable of.
"With the rate these battles are going at, we might not even need a second day. Maybe." Celestia commented. "I suppose I won't have much time to look away and check up on Cadence or the others. Or else I might miss something."
"Cadence? Oh, they aren't here." Ash noticed, shuffling his head around.
"Cadence and the Crystal Empire are busy right now. Busy with keeping an eye on the country of Magehold. After all, it's said to be near the Crystal Empire, hidden greatly."
"Ooh, I gotcha." Ash nodded in understanding.
"Pikachu."
"For something as serious as Yveltal which threatens all life, we need to be one step ahead of them."
"Yveltal, you say..." Tobias joined the conversation. "That would be a terrible Pokemon for someone to use against everyone. Almost nothing can withstand Yveltal's power to wipe out life. And you have someone in this world wanting to get their hooves on such a Pokemon?"
"What can we say? The concept of Pokemon is exciting to practically everyone." Celestia chuckled. Meanwhile, Diamond Tiara and Rocky Road were then ordered to bring out their Pokemon, drawing the attention of Ash, Celestia and Tobias back to the tournament.
"Go! Vanilluxe!" Rocky Road had sent out his Vanilluxe by kicking the Poke Ball with his hooves.
"Vanilluxe!"
"Then say hello to my Seviper!" Diamond Tiara revealed her new Pokemon by rolling the Poke Ball on the ground. Out came Seviper.
"Seviper!"
"Seviper...? Wait a minute." Sweetie Belle squinted her eyes. "Isn't that her mom's Pokemon?"
"I think she might've borrowed Pokemon from her parents. She doesn't have new ones." Scootaloo pieced it together quickly. "But that doesn't matter. Pokemon's a Pokemon."
"Battle start!"
"Okay, Vanilluxe! Icicle Spear, go!"
"Vanill!" Vanilluxe went first, manipulating the atmosphere itself to freeze it. By freezing parts of the atmosphere, it had summoned five sharp icicles before then launching them with its mind.
"Seviper, Poison Jab!"
"Sevi!" Seviper hissed before slithering towards the shards. It had covered its tail in poison before then using its agile body to evade the shards. Only three of them as Seviper had used its tail to smash the shards before then lunging forward to gain some airtime. "Viper!" After evading and destroying some of the shards, Seviper had slapped Vanilluxe with its poisonous tail, causing the Snowstorm Pokemon to spin away.
"V-Vanilluxe!"
"Sevi." Seviper then slithered back, waiting for Diamond Tiara's next command. Despite being a Pokemon that belonged to her mother, Seviper had a good bond with Diamond Tiara that allowed her to use the Poison-Type in battle.
"Now, go in again! But this time with Iron Tail!"
"Viper! Seviper would approach Vanilluxe once more, going in for a super-effective blow this time as its tail hardened to match that of iron.
"I don't think so! Ice Beam!"
"Vanill!" But once Seviper got close enough, one of the heads of Vanilluxe unleashed a beam of ice. Seviper's tail clashed with this beam, holding it back, however, that's where the other head came in. The second had also used Ice Beam while Seviper was already busy with one.
"Vi?!" Seviper had been hit from the side by a second Ice Beam, resulting in a blindsided hit from two Pokemon that were essentially one. This can certainly be considered great teamwork as Seviper's body had been frozen from that Ice Beam, placing the Fang Snake Pokemon in an icy prison. "Sevi!"
"Ah! Seviper!" Diamond Tiara gasped as the icy prison then fell to the ground with Vanilluxe flying back.
"Hehehe." Rocky Road made a cheeky laugh while putting his hoof over his face. "How's that? Flash Cannon!"
"Vanill!" After freezing Seviper, Vanilluxe struck while it was restrained, unleashing a silver beam from both of her mouths. Seviper couldn't do anything about this and thus, Flash Cannon landed, blowing the Fang Snake Pokemon back along with its icy prison which did not break. The icy prison then crashed to the ground with Seviper tilted over.
"Hmph." Diamond Tiara scoffed before smiling, not showing any fear. "That can be fixed. Seviper, Flamethrower!"
"S-Sevi...!" Seviper's icy prison suddenly started turning red as the temperatures within started rising. Then, a burst of flames emerged from the icy prison, melting and shattering the ice as Seviper managed to free itself.
"Oh!" Rocky Road and Vanilluxe gasped in unison.
"That was short-lived. Now, use Flamethrower again!"
"Seviper!" Once it was free, Seviper opened its mouth, unleashing scarlet flames in the form of a wave.
"Flash Cannon, quick!"
"Nilluxe!" Both heads of Vanilluxe had used Flash Cannon, sending two light beams out. The two beams formed to create a bigger one but Seviper's Flamethrower was strong enough to cancel them both out, resulting in an explosion.
"Now! Glare!"
"Sevi!" Seviper struck while there was a smoke cloud. It did so by widening its eyes. Even with this smoke cloud, Seviper's eyes could still be seen as they were making a strange pattern that was enough to intimidate the Ice-Type. But it did more than just intimidate it. It paralyzed Vanilluxe.
"V-Vanilluxe!"
"Not my Vanilluxe!"
"How's that? Payback for freezing my Seviper. Bet you don't have anything to counter this."
"Mmrgh..." Rocky Road growled. "I can still attack though! Flash Cannon!"
"If you're quick enough! Seviper, Iron Tail! Go!"
"Seviper!" Seviper moved faster than Vanilluxe could move. But then again, Vanilluxe couldn't move at all. For this one second, the paralysis had kicked in, causing it to twitch and stagger, giving Seviper a free hit. The Fang Snake Pokemon leapt off the ground, taking off like a missile. It was even positioned like a missile. "Viper!" Seviper then hardened its tail before smashing it onto Vanilluxe from above.
"Vani!" Vanilluxe was then sent rocketing to the ground. Some sprinkle of snow came out as the dust settled. And within it, it was revealed that Vanilluxe had fainted. "Vanilluxe..."
"Vanilluxe is unable to battle! Seviper wins! Thus, the victor is Diamond Tiara."
"Wasn't even an issue." She shrugged while cheers went off. Just what she wanted to hear. Rocky Road sighed as he was out of the round. "Great work, Seviper. I bet mom is going to be so proud of this. She's probably here watching it now."
"Seviper."
"Thanks, Vanilluxe. Return." Rocky Road brought her Vanilluxe back. "Mmm...That's a shame."
"I've got something you can use for your next battle. I'd suggest getting a Pokemon that can cause status conditions without using a move. Like a Pikachu with Static. That way, you'll have better options. Just a suggestion." Even after defeating him, Diamond Tiara passed on some advice for her fellow foal.
"Oh...That is a good idea! I'll catch a Pokemon with that kind of ability! Thanks, Diamond Tiara!"
"My pleasure."
"She's that good with someone else's Pokemon? Pretty jealous..." Sweetie Belle puffed her cheeks. "But I bet it's only for battles and not contests. Hopefully."
"So that means the other Pokemon is her dad's." Scootaloo deduced. "And maybe a fourth one we don't know about?"
"Alright! It's my turn!" Interrupting Scootaloo was Sunrise Sprint as it would be his turn along with Blue Moon to have their match. Diamond Tiara and Rocky Road returned indoors, heading straight for Nurse Joy while Sunrise and Blue Moon ran out.
Blue Moon seemed to be fairly secretive, wearing a hat that covered most of her face instead of his mouth. A fang could be seen there as this hat was strangely effective at casting a shadow, despite them being inside a room with a lot of light. Blue Moon also walked quietly while wearing a jacket that concealed what seemed to be wings.
"Hey, Diamond Tiara. How come you didn't tell us you were using your parent's Pokemon? I mean, it's not that big of a surprise." Scootaloo went over.
"It's not? W-Well, I had to use them because...I still don't have any new Pokemon with me."
"Seriously?" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both said.
"No. I keep saying I'll get some, but I'm so picky. Not even the Pokemon House has one I want. I only chose Purrloin because she was so perfect for me." The earth pony smiled. "If only there was a Pokemon as great as my Purrloin, I'd pick it."
"That's kinda lame..." Scootaloo lowered her eyes at Diamond Tiara's reasoning for not having another Pokemon by now.
"How are you gonna take part in the contests if you're low on Pokemon?" The filly unicorn asked.
"Looks like we're doing something else after this competition is over." Scootaloo hatched a plan. "How about we pick out a Pokemon for you ourselves?"
"Sure but none of them strike my fancy. But...I guess I'd want a starter Pokemon. Those might work."
"Which one?" The three of them leaned forward.
"Uh...Well, Purrloin is great because she gets me. We're like sisters in a way. We think the same things together and we always know what we want." Diamond Tiara started explaining herself while Sunrise and Blue Moon were around to begin their match.
"How does Charmander sound?" Scootaloo asked.
"Ew, no. Mom's scared of lizards." Charmander had been shut down.
"Oooh. Chikorita's a pretty Pokemon. How about it?" Apple Bloom added, suggesting a Grass-Type.
"It's also a dinosaur. Which is a lizard. But it is pretty. And I've heard stuff about Ash's Bayleef too..." Diamond Tiara did think about Chikorita as a possible choice.
"Okay. No lizards. That makes Snivy's out of the picture too. What about Fennekin? It's a fox. Foxes are close to cats, right?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
"Those are dogs." Diamond Tiara corrected. "But, I guess Fennekin is good. Braixen is cute too and I do love the way Delphox looks."
"Litten's definitely a cat." Apple Bloom nodded. "That's the one you can have. Sounds like Twilight's lab is the way to go."
"These options are nice. But will they be like my Purrloin?"
"It doesn't really matter what they'd be like, my little pony." Walking up to Diamond Tiara and joining the conversation of the foals was Nurse Joy after bringing over her Seviper. "You can have a Pokemon of any kind with any personality. I'm sure your Purrloin resonates with you the most. Lots of trainers have a Pokemon they can relate to. Like me and my Chansey. And I suppose, my entire family alongside other Pokemon such as a Blissey and Audino."
"Chansey."
"I guess so..."
"Your Pokemon will love you either way. Whether they be energetic or lazy. There's a little it of something in every Pokemon that everyone can relate to."
"Oh. R-Right." Diamond Tiara nodded. "I guess I just love my Purrloin so much."
"Nothing wrong with that. I love my Chansey to the core as if she was my own sister. That means I have more sisters in my family."
"Chansey."
"Oh...Look at that!" Rumble then turned his attention to the screen that showed Sunrise Sprint vs Blue Moon. Everyone soon turned to face it, witnessing the progress of this battle.
So far, Sunrise looked to be in the lead with his Conkeldurr doing a great job at putting some pressure in. However, this Blue Moon character was eerily calm as she was batting with a Pangoro.
"I've got this! Is my brother watching?" Sunrise raised his head, looking at the crowd to see if his brother was observing his battle. Win or lose, he wanted his brother to be proud of him. Indeed, Daylight Blazer was within the crowd, watching his brother. "Yes!"
"That must give you some strength, right?" Blue Moon suddenly spoke. "Seeing your brother watch you?"
"Oh, it does. And I'm gonna push that by beating you! Go! Use Superpower, Conkeldurr!"
"Conkel!"Conkeldurr then ran towards his fellow Fighting-Type, pouring Infinity Energy into his concrete pillars.
"Then, I should end this quickly. Dragon Claw!"
"Pango!" Pangoro stomped on the ground, summoning draconic energy around his hands which then formed into an energy claw. Pangoro slashed towards Conkeldurr's pillars, resulting in a clash. It was a back and forth one as the claws kept meeting with the pillars. The pillars would not break for a second, but neither could Conkeldurr overpower Pangoro.
"Grab the pillars!"
"Goro!" Just then, Pangoro had grabbed one of the pillars while still using the strength of Dragon Claw. He promptly ceased the back and forth clashing.
"Con?!"
"Hey! Let go! Conkeldurr! Hyper Beam!"
"Conkel...!" Conkeldurr opened his mouth, building up a beam of Infinity Energy while also being close to Pangoro. If this attack were to hit up close, the result would be devastating.
"Throat Chop."
"Pangoro!" But stopping that from happening was a hard hit to the throat from Pangoro. By hitting the throat of Conkeldurr, the Fighting-Type ended up coughing as Hyper Beam had been interrupted. Pangoro had also removed one of its pillars from its hand.
"Keldurr...!"
"Now! Seismic Toss!"
"Goro!" Pangoro had then thrown a pillar at Conkeldurr, causing him to flinch while he was still recovering from his throat being hit. Pangoro then grabbed the Conkeldurr, ascending into the air with him. It was an impressive height as Pangoro started spinning while coming down with Conkeldurr.
"C-Con?!"
"Pangoro!" A direct crash into the ground. Headfirst too. The arena ground cracked a bit as a large dust cloud had emerged in the shape of an explosion. Everyone else winced as they felt that impact. It was one of the scenarios where if someone was hit in a certain way, everyone could feel it. And this was one of them. Pangoro jumped out of the moon as Blue Moon smiled with an open fang.
"Conkeldurr..." Unfortunately, Conkeldurr had fainted with the pillars resting next to him.
"Conkeldurr is unable to battle! Pangoro wins! Thus, the victor is Blue Moon."
"Aw come on!" Sunrise Sprint groaned before shaking his head and returning his Conkeldurr. "Thanks, Conkledurr. Looks like we have to improve again."
"Good work, Pangoro." Blue Moon said as the sun was starting to shine brighter than ever as the afternoon had come. Blue Moon gasped before then returning the Daunting Pokemon. She then turned around, trotting away.
"Hey! Aren't you going to say anything?!" Sunrise shouted.
"Sorry. I have to go and...grab something to eat! I'm very hungry!" Blue Moon made an excuse before then bolting off.
"Okay then..." Sunrise shrugged before looking at the crowd. Even if he lost, his brother was still proud of him, giving him an approving smile. But he would like a moment where he won an entire competition. "Oh, well. Maybe next time in the Equestria League."
Back of the stadium.
Blue Moon had run off to the back of the stadium where the sun wasn't shining as much. She took a deep breath before leaning against the walls, hiding in the shadows.
"The sun's getting too bright now..." She said. "But it's fine. These battles are fast. And if I can keep up this undercover persona, I can win and head home." She then removed her hat and jacket, revealing who she truly was. This was a disguise. Not the clothing but rather her name. She revealed her true self. Not a regular pony.
The Canterlot Junior Cup continues as the first four matches had ended. Now it was time for the remaining six matches to begin. And this time, Scootaloo would be up next facing off against a pony by the name of Sweet Sorbet.
As for the recent trainer who had just finished battling, Blue Moon, who was not who she seemed to be. After hiding behind the back of the stadium to stay in the shade once the sun got brighter, she was a vampire. Not an average pony. This vampire foal took a break, deciding to stay under the shade until the first matches were over. And while staying there, she got a message in her head. From Rosa Maledicta the Lich Queen of the Dread League.
"Night Sprout. How goes things?" Rosa's voice came through, speaking to this vampire pony who had taken on a fake name to disguise herself.
"They're going good so far, Queen Rosa." Night Sprout replied to her in her mind. "Thank you for letting me join this competition. But I wish I could use the box right now. Please? I've always wanted to use it."
"You're not allowed to use the Box of 100 Demons here. Besides, you're on your own and that will create problems. You're here for Yveltal knowledge while we focus on getting more knowledge about Yveltal elsewhere. That's the only reason why I let you join this tournament."
"I got it." Night Sprout squinted her eyes while looking up at the sun. "But, it'd be great if anypony back at Magehold would come over and watch me maybe with this. You should've seen my first battle. I won!"
"They're too busy. Remember, focus on Yveltal. Twilight Sparkle's Castle in Ponyville or her lab might be the way to go."
"I got it. The second round might not start soon, so I'll start poking around there." Just then, Night Sprout turned into a bat as her fastest form of transportation. "I' might make it back in time too. Could I still use the box though?"
"No. Use the Curse Magic you already have."
"Okay, okay..." She groaned before flying off, heading to Ponyville before the second round of the Canterlot Junior Cup could start. And thanks to her being a vampire, her speed was enough to make up for it. And it certainly did as she stayed within the shadows while also already being far away from the stadium and the castle.
She was by far the smallest bat due to her being a foal as her visage disappeared within the shadows with no one even nearby to see her or even notice her. But of course, despite being on a mission sent by the Dread League, this vampire filly took part in the Canterlot Junior Cup just for fun. And with the rate these battles are going at, the second bracket could start sooner if she wasn't quick enough.
But, Night Sprout wasn't as alone as she thought she was. She may use the shadows as protection from the Sun, but there was one individual who worked within the shadows, always watching even under daylight without any fear of the star in the azure skies, unlike a vampire.
Darkrai.
The eye of Darkrai poked out of the shadows as he locked onto Night Sprout, spying on her and witnessing her transformation into a vampire. Darkrai knew what he needed to do next. He hid back into the shadows before then pursuing the filly vampire, racing her to Ponyville.
Back at the arena, Scootaloo's match against Sweet Sorbet was about to begin. "Both trainers, please send out your Pokemon." The referee spoke.
"Okay! I choose you, Quilava!" Scootaloo chose her first Pokemon. Quilava.
"Quilava!"
"Then my pick is Rotom!" Sweet Sorbet chose Rotom. In this case, it was Fan Rotom.
"Rotom!"
"Battle Start!"
"Okay, Quilava! Use Flame Wheel!"
"Quil!" Quilava went first, curling up into a ball before then igniting his entire body in flames, making a circular fire around him. The Volcano Pokemon then started rolling, leaving fire trails behind him and on the ground.
"Nuh-uh! Rotom, blow it away!"
"Ro!" Instead of using an attack, Rotom ended up using its fan as retaliation. By spinning its body, it created a powerful gust of wind that enveloped this entire area with an impressive radius. This kind of Pokemon was greatly needed during summer, but right now, this isn't what Scootaloo or Quilava, who thrived off of summer, needed as the wind was holding back Quilava from getting close.
"Q-Quilava!"
"Come on, Quilava! Push through!" Scootaloo encouraged her partner as Quilava was trying his best. And indeed, he was starting to move forward, but all Rotom had to do was amplify the intensity of the fan. The gust of wind increased as Quilava couldn't get close enough, resulting in him being forced back.
"Now, use Air Slash!"
"Ro!" Rotom then finally used an attack. Right after pushing Quilava back, it had unleashed white blades of wind that could tear through even the air itself. Quilava had been bombarded by this barrage of wind blades while in the air.
"Lava!" Quilava cried out before rolling on the ground. He managed to recover by sliding before then shaking his head afterwards.
"Do you feel better? It's summer so the heat is boiling. And it's hotter than ever too thanks to all the Fire-Types that live here." Sweet Sorbet commented. "Rotom's here to fix that."
"Eh. Not really." Surprisingly, Scootaloo shrugged, essentially finding this heat to be not as intense as Sweet Sorbet said it was.
"Huh?" Naturally, the unicorn was surprised by her answer. "How come?"
"I live with two Fire-Types. I've spent so much time around them that I've gotten used to the heat." The little pegasus grinned. "It's all okay for me. And as a bonus, since it's summer, every Fire-Type is stronger than ever! This includes my Quilava and Rapidash! So let's keep going and show her, Quilava! Rollout!"
"Lava!" Quilava curled into a ball once more, this time, using Rollout as he spun so fast that he became a red and dark blue colour based on his coat and flames before then zooming off.
"I'll just blow it back again! Go, Rotom!"
"Rotom!" Rotom did it again, spinning its fan to create a mighty gust of wind. However, Scootaloo and Quilava were prepared for it. And Scootaloo figured that the best way to get around this was to use a trick from one of her idols Rainbow Dash.
"Drift, Quilava!"
"Quilava!" Quilava had then drifted while using the speed he had gained. It was similar to how Rainbow Dash's Whirlipede tends to drift with Rollout and Steamroller. Perfect for dodging, attacking and gaining momentum. And that same approach was used here.
Quilava managed to drift to the side, evading the gust of wind just barely as it grazed him, almost knocking him off balance. Once Quilava pulled off a successful drift, he accelerated, crashing into Rotom from the side via the speed he gained from drifting.
"R-Ro!" Rotom took a super-effective hit from Rollout as it was knocked back, ironically spinning through the air from that impact.
"Oh, that's your trick, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie pointed out.
"Any Pokemon with that kind of move can do that...but it sure is a strong one." Rainbow Dash replied. "Great job, Scootaloo!"
"Nice one! Now, use Flamethrower!"
"Quick, Rotom! Use Discharge!"
"Lava!" Quilava and Rotom entered a clash with Quilava throwing a ferocious flame that came out of his mouth and Rotom unleashing a flare of electricity that moved around like a violent whip. The scarlet stream of flames and the golden flare of electricity clashed with intensity with neither being stronger than the other. Both attacks cancelled each other out in the process.
"Rotom! Shadow Ball!"
"Ro!" From the smoke clouds of the two attacks blowing up against each other, Rotom had shot ut Shadow Ball, sending a blob of shadows that carried the smoke along with it.
"Let's charge right through it, Quilava! Flame Wheel!"
"Quilava!" Quilava would take the attack head-on. By forming a wheel around his curled body once more, he rushed in headfirst, approaching the blob of shadows. Quilava crashed into Shadow Ball, entering a small struggle with it. However, this ended soon once Quilava ended up breaking through the blob.
"No Way!" Sweet Sorbet gasped as Quilava had the right strength necessary. And the heat of summer played into it.
"Yes Way! Go, Quilava!"
"Lava!" Quilava then approached Rotom-Fan at full throttle right after destroying the bl of shadows like it was nothing.
"Are they always this much stronger during summer?!" Starlight gasped. "I mean it makes sense but...!"
"Fire-Types thrive the most during summertime," Fluttershy replied. "Under the summer sun, they're at their absolute best and they're almost unstoppable too. Isn't that right, Raboot?"
"Raboot!"
"Quick, Rotom! Stop it with Air Slash!"
"Rotom!" To try and fend Quilava off, Rotom unleashed those tearing blades of wind once more as now the pressure was starting to be felt. But not even Air Slash could get past the incoming Volcano Pokemon. With brute force and some momentum to boot, Quilava powered through the slashes with his aura of fire before then crashing into Rotom. "R-Ro!"
A direct hit, followed by a flaming explosion. Out of that explosion, Quilava had done a backflip, emerging in one piece. A Pokemon like him thrived off of explosions and the flames they bring about. Not so much Rotom. At least, not in this form. Heat Rotom sure, but Fan Rotom ended up perishing.
"Rotom..." By slowly descending to the ground, Rotom had fainted.
"Rotom is unable to battle! Quilava wins! Thus, the victor is Scootaloo!"
"Hehehe! Yes!" She jumped for joy, almost flying for a split second there. She then pranced over to Quilava, hugging the Volcano Pokemon with a great leap. "You were so awesome, Quilava!"
"Quilava."
"That'll do it. I taught her that drifting stuff, ya know." Rainbow Dash proudly nodded her head due to Scootaloo's efforts. "I can tell you that she'll make it to the very end."
"That's the stuff, Apple Bloom!" Ash pumped his fist with Pikachu jumping for joy.
"Pikachu! Pika-Pika!"
"For trainers so new to the Pokemon World, they catch on fast..." Tobias gawked, stunned by the rapid growing strength of these Pokemon Trainers from another world.
"You have Ash to thank for that. Before the Pokemon School, he taught everypony over at Ponyville how to battle and they've all grown to be such great trainers. They've even helped save this world from major threats, you know. And they'll do it again someday."
As Scootaloo thanked Sweet Sorbet for a fun battle, shaking hooves, they went back to the stadium as the next match between Little Mark and Petals would ensue. After that, the one that Applejack was looking forward to the most was Apple Bloom vs Lu Petunia.
Path to Ponyville.
Night Sprout was still on her way to Ponyville while the Canterlot Junior Cup was ongoing. However, at the speed she was moving at, she could very well make it in time for her second battle. She had already passed Exploud Canyon and even the Pixie Plains while still staying concealed in shadows.
Manehattan and other locations had been passed by as her bat form certainly allowed to her move at impressive speeds. Especially for a child. But, pursuing this vampire filly was Darkrai after learning about her true identity and her main reason for being here aside from taking part in the Canterlot Junior Cup, which was of her own volition.
"It should be up ahead." She said in her bat form. "This'll be easy! If I get information about Yveltal...I'll get so many rewards I can feel it." She started daydreaming. "All the deluxe food that only the Queen gets to eat...maybe my own castle. Or even a special curse that nopony else has seen. It'll be so great! And winning that cup is gonna look good in my room too."
"Sounds to me like you have big dreams for someone so mischievous." Suddenly Darkrai spoke with his voice echoing through Night Sprout's ears.
"Gee, thanks." Without knowing for a few seconds, Night Sprout had instinctively replied to Darkrai. But it took only 2 seconds of silence for Night Sprout to gasp, realizing that someone was listening to her. "Ah!"
Darkrai emerged from the shadows while also flying beside Night Sprout at the same time, keeping up with her great speed. The Pitch Black Pokemon looked her dead in the eyes, intimidating the little vampire filly. "So. You're a part of the Dread League. And from Magehold."
"Who are you!?" Night Sprout flew back, only for Darkrai to advance on her. She then stopped flying, coming to a screeching halt as she stopped right near Froggy Bottom Bogg. Night Sprout was able to get a closer look at Darkrai, recognizing him as Darkrai had some fame within Equestria. "You're...Darkrai!"
"You know about me...Then you should know that coming here by yourself out in broad daylight is not a wise move." Darkrai crossed his arms, looking down at Night Sprout who was genuinely terrified of the Dark-Type, despite coming from a place filled with skeletons, vampires and demons.
"You...You..." But soon, her terrified face suddenly changed once she took a longer look at Darkrai. "You're so amazing!"
"Hm?" Darkrai's eye opened up a bit as he expected something more along the lines of true fear. But instead, all he got was admiration from Night Sprout.
"I've heard about you!" Night Sprout started zipping around, gawking at the Pitch Black Pokemon from all sides with stars in her eyes. "The nightmares you bring to others are just amazing! You can manipulate the shadows and think of the worst possible things! You're my idol!"
"I am?" Darkrai stood there, stunned by this revelation. Instead of just fighting back or even running from Darkrai, Night Sprout expressed genuine intrigue and admiration for him.
"Oh yeah! And I guess everywhere else over at Magehold. Everypony there is so amazed by you because of what you do! They wish they had a Pokemon that was exactly like you!"
"Uhh..."
"And I get to meet you! I mean, I knew I Would eventually one day, but not so soon! Lucky me! Can I take a picture with you? I brought a camera with me!" She then held out her jacket, pulling something out of it. A bat-like camera had been revealed, specifically tailored to the ponies of the Dread League.
Darkrai was still trying to process this encounter which wasn't going the way he thought. Night Sprout stood next to him before using this camera to take a picture. The result was an excited and thrilled Night Sprout having the biggest smile on her face and a perplexed and dumbfounded Darkrai who had a poker face on. Which was just his regular face.
"Sweet!" She pranced on the spot once the picture was taken. "This is going up my wall too..."
"I'm never great with children. And this is a new kind of challenge. But even so..." Darkrai thought to himself. Dealing with a child who was also a vampire was without a doubt his biggest challenge yet. But even if she was a child, Darkrai put the safety of his friends before anything else since this involves Yveltal. "Ahem. Kid. Sorry, but, I'm afraid this is as far as you go."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. I have to take you back to Canterlot. You have a Junior Cup to finish, don't you?"
"I do, but I'll be quick about it. I just have to get to Ponyville and find a book about Yveltal. That's all."
"That's not going to happen. Sorry, but I have to do this." Darkrai ended up manipulating the shadows around this area. From behind Night Sprout, a claw had emerged. She felt an odd presence behind her before turning around. There, she saw the claw.
"Oh!" Now that her attention was on the claw, Darkrai could strike. "So cool!" She admired the intimidating claw as Darkrai threw an orb of darkness that turned out to be Dark Void. It consumed the little vampire, freezing her for a bit. Before Night Sprout knew it, she was put to sleep, dropping to the ground, along with her camera. Darkrai used his claw to pick them both up afterwards, beginning to descend into the shadows. He felt awkward doing this, but he did what he had to do.
"!" Just then, as Darkrai started descending, everything around him turned dark. He let out a short gasp as this darkness was new to even him. In just a split second, the beautiful scenery of the lake had vanished, replaced by this black landscape and void. "Hm?! What's this?!"
"Sorry, Darkrai." Night Sprout spoke as she suddenly appeared behind Darkrai. At least, a gigantic version of her while her physical body was still in Darkria's claws, asleep. "But those nightmares won't work on me. I've seen things that are real-life nightmares...Let me show them to you. The things I've seen back at Magehold."
Night Sprout's giant apparition suddenly let out a mischievous grin as her body started moving as if it were akin to stop motion, making it unsettling. It didn't scare Darkrai, but the Pitch Black Pokemon knew that there was something odd about Night Sprout as her eyes flashed. A light purple glow emanated from her eyes before then enveloping this entire black void and soon Darkrai. Just as she said, Night Sprout had something to show him.
Canterlot. Canterlot League Stadium. Afternoon.
The competition continued. Minutes ago, the match between Little Mark and Petals had ended up with Little Mark being the victor. Now, it was time for Apple Bloom to battle Lu Petunia.
She already showed up at the arena alongside her opponent as both were ready to go. Apple Bloom had so many Grass-Types to choose from in this battle, but only one Pokemon could be used per round.
"Both trainers, send out your Pokemon."
"I choose Maractus!" Maractus was Apple Bloom's choice in this battle as she threw the Poke Ball into the air, bringing out the Cactus Pokemon.
"Maractus!"
"Go, Granbull!" Meanwhile, Lu Petunia sent out Granbull to battle.
"Granbull!"
"Come on, Apple Bloom!" Naturally, her sister was the one who cheered for her with the most energy, holding onto Sceptile in the process. Delta Riolu was also on top of Applejack's head, cheering along.
"Battle start!"
"Granbull, use Play Rough!"
"Gran!" Granbull went first, winding up its arm before then lunging at the Cactus Pokemon with open arms. There was both a playful and aggressive intent behind this attack.
"I don't think so! Spiky Shield!"
"Maractus!" Maractus retaliated. Both offensively and defensively at the same time. She put her arms together, lowering her head before then extending the spikes around her hands and head. By doing so, she ended up producing a green force field covered with spikes that protected her from the incoming Play Rough.
"G-Gran!" Not only did it block Granbull's attack, but the second the Fairy Pokemon made contact with it, the spikes had also struck it, dealing damage in the process. "Granbull!" It was the perfect offensive and defensive move as the Fairy Pokemon jumped back.
"Hehehe." Apple Bloom let out a cheeky laugh. "How's that?"
"Hmph. That's nothing. I can keep going. Outrage!"
"Outrage?!" Apple Bloom gasped.
"Granbull!" Granbull was now getting destructive. A red outline of energy emerged before then showing crimson eyes on the Fairy Pokemon. Powered up by draconic energy, Granbull was now going on a rampage. It violently rushed forward, cracking parts of the ground before then ferociously swinging its fists.
"Maractus! Seed Bomb, quick!"
"Mara!" Maractus created several glowing green seeds over her head before then sending them rolling towards the Fairy Pokemon. Upon touching Granbull, they combusted. However, thanks to the power of Outrage, Granbull pushed through, appearing out of the smoke as Seed Bomb wasn't enough to stop it.
"Gran!" Granbull roared after emerging out of the smoke, delivering a ferocious punch to Maractus' face right afterwards, launching the Cactus Pokemon back.
"M-Mara!"
"Ah! Maractus!"
"Don't let up! Go, Granbull!"
"Granbull!" Thanks to Outrage, Granbull could keep going with overwhelming strength on its side.
"Maractus! Bounce!"
"Ma? Maractus!" Maractus quickly took the skies, performing a bountiful leap. Just in time to avoid Granbull's next swing. Once she was in the air, the Cactus Pokemon came crashing down with both her arms out.
"Granbull!" But, the moment Maractus got close when descending, Granbull had suddenly grabbed her arms, halting her attack immediately.
"Ractus?!"
"Granbull!" The fury of Outrage was a dangerous once as Granbull then started spinning Maractus with the strength of a Dragon.
"M-Mara-Ra-Ra!" Maractus cried out from all of this spinning.
"That Outrage is too good on Granbull! And it hits hard too!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Come on...!" Applejack was now starting to worry so soon, taking off her hat and biting on it, fearing for her little sister. Granbull then raised Maractus, preparing to smash her to the ground.
"Maractus! Shoot some of your spikes out, quick!"
"M-Maractus!" Whilst being raised, Maractus managed to shoot out some spikes from her body, releasing them as most of them missed but one of them manage to stab Granbull's nose.
"B-Bull!" That was enough to flinch Granbull. It would flinch many either way as Granbull let go of Maractus, resulting in the Grass-Type being launched once more.
"M-Mara...!" Maractus managed to regain her balance, but as a result, she was now dizzy from all that spinning, tumbling, twirling and waddling about. "Ra...Ra..!"
"Granbull...!" But Granbull was in a similar spot. After using Outrage, it was now confused. Such was the drawback of using such a powerful attack. The Fairy Pokemon held onto its face as it and Maractus were both perplexed.
"At least they managed to end up befuddled," Twilight spoke. "But it's not looking like it's in Apple Bloom's favour right now."
"Whew...That Granbull could've finished this pretty soon..." Apple Bloom wiped some sweat off her forehead. "But...I can use this dizziness!" That's when an idea hatched in her mind. To Apple Bloom, this dizziness was a blessing for a Pokemon such as Maractus. "Maractus! Use that dizziness! Ya love to dance, don't ya?!" Combine that with Drain Punch!"
"Tus...Maractus!" Maractus understood clearly. She was one of those Pokemon who enjoyed music and dancing. In Maractus' case, maracas. Unfortunately, there were no maracas around, but she could still use this by thinking of a nice beat in her mind. She used that beat as her arms started glowing orange, gathering up Fighting-Type energy.
The Cactus Pokemon started dancing, using the dizziness to her advantage as she approached the Fairy Pokemon, moving about in an unpredictable pattern.
"Uh...okay then. Granbull! Let's use Ice Fang!"
"Bull..." Granbull shook its head, still feeling some confusion before then coating its fangs in an icy blue aura. "Gran!" The Fairy Pokemon rushed in a more straightforward pattern, but thanks to the confusion, its momentum was slightly disrupted.
But not Maractus. Whereas Granbull was bogged down by this befuddling state, Maractus, benefited from it as she had twirled to the side, evading an incoming bite from Granbull. She not only twirled to evade the Ice Fang, but she had also slapped Granbull's face with Drain Punch, connecting it in a different way than how Drain Punch usually connects. "G-GRan!"
"Mara!" And thanks to that contact, green orbs came out of Granbull and flew towards Maractus. She stole some of Granbull's energy, healing herself to bring her some of her strength back.
"Granbull!" Granbull went in again, trying to bite Maractus only for Maractus to dance around it again, hitting the Fairy Pokemon with a second Drain Punch that knocked it back. "Bull!"
"What gives?!" Lu Petunia groaned.
"That's Maractus' ability Chlorophyll. Since it's summer and the Sun's brighter than ever, she's faster than ever too. And she's even harder to follow when dizzy and dancing. Mighty nifty, ain't it?"
"That's a great mishmash!" Twilight leaned forward. "Using all of that to Maractus' advantage is genius! It just makes her harder to catch and predict!"
"T-That's my sis." Applejack closed her eyes, proudly smiling afterwards. "Knew she'd improvise on the spot."
"I can still pull this off! Granbull, Outrage again!"
"Granbull!" Granbull would try Outrage against this frantic Pokemon. The Fairy Pokemon went in once more, rampaging at full force, risking another confusion. It started swinging wildly to combat Maractus' unpredictable movements. Soon, it became a game of evasion.
Maractus would try dancing around the incoming attacks would Granbull wouldn't have a consistent way of attacking. And these two ended up bouncing off of each other. Each time Maractus would dodge an attack and land a Drain Punch, she managed to heal herself. But after being hit by Drain Punch, Granbull managed to get in close, hitting one of Maractus' with Outrage to weaken her once she healed herself.
But even after being hit, Maractus continued dancing as it was a back and forth between heavy hits and heavy healing. One dodge, one hit from Maractus, resulting in some recovery. One hit to the body from Maractus, Granbull would get another hit, knocking the Cactus Pokemon back. They seemed to be equal, but Granbull boasted the greater strength. Maractus was only hanging in there thanks to Drain Punch.
"This is pretty fun to watch! But I'm gonna end this! Ice Fang!"
"Gran!" Granbull ended Outage which resulted in it being confused once more. It went for Ice Fang, putting all of its strength into this next attack.
"Now! Spiky Shield!"
"Mara!" That was all negated as Maractus ended her dancing, putting up a spiky defensive shield that stopped Granbull right in its tracks. It ended up biting into one of the skies, resulting in immediate pain.
"G-Gran"? Granbull blinked before processing all of it. Naturally, this stung to the core. Biting onto something sharp like that, even with ice protecting its teeth was unpleasant as it moved back, crying out.
"Round it up, Maractus! Seed Bomb!"
"Maractus!" Maractus then summoned those same several seeds once more before launching them. Granbull's eyes widened before being met with verdant explosions. Maractus also managed to regain her balance, no longer feeling dizzy. If anything, dancing helped her greatly. Such was the strength of some Pokemon with certain quirks to them.
"Granbull..." Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Granbull. It had fainted, unable to benefit greatly from a befuddling state.
"Granbull is unable to battle! Maractus wins! Thus, the victor is Apple Bloom!"
"Yeahahaha!" Apple Bloom pranced about. "Felt a bit close, but I did it! I did it! We did it, Maractus!"
"Maractus!" Maractus danced over to Apple Bloom with joy in her voice.
"A rough start, but a great end." Rainbow Dash commented.
"Mm." Fluttershy nodded in response. "She pulled through greatly at the end. I guess no one can do much against a dancing Pokemon. Especially one that's also dizzy too."
"THat's the stuff!" Applejack sat up with pure excitement in her heart. "Way to go, sis!"
"Sceptile!"
"Rio!"
"Oh well. Return, Granbull. Thanks for the help." Lu Petunia sighed before returning the Fairy Pokemon. "I wonder if there's a loser bracket in this thing."
"Hey. Thanks for the battle." Apple Bloom paid her respect. "Had me worried there in the beginning. It was fun though."
"Sure. Good luck to you through it all." Lu Petunia also paid her respects, winking at Apple Bloom as they would both return to the waiting room while the remaining two matches occur. All that was left was Rumble vs Quirk and Full Beat vs Delight. And once those finish up, the first round will be over.
The other two matches had finished up quicker than the previous one. With Rumble emerging victorious with his Riolu defeating Quirk's Sandslash and Sweetie Belle winning against Delight in the end with the power of her Teddiursa using Night Slash on a Shelgon. Now that those battles were over, and with it still being early in the afternoon, the first match of this bracket was over.
"Today's battles were enjoyable from start to finish!" The announcer spoke. "But some of them, I wish were longer. Oh well. Short but sweet. But I bet now that this bracket is over, the battles will get fiercer from here on. And the day's still young too. Let's prepare for round two. But first, a lunch break. I'm hungry."
"Round 2 here we come!" Scootaloo exclaimed before looking outside the window, fixating on the balcony where Ash Ketchum stood. "And soon, I'll have my chance to finally battle you for real. Ash."
Excitement fills the air as Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom have won their first-round battles. But there's more battling ahead in the Canterlot Junior Cup as well as the scenario happening between Darkrai and Night Sprout, far from the competition and Canterlot as the journey continues.
The first-round battles of the Canterlot Junior Cup have concluded. The second rounds in the second brackets would begin soon. And the first match was between two of Sweetie Belle's Contest Rivals. Gelidity and Velvetwind. But first, a lunch break had been made.
The young trainers back in the waiting room were given food, eating together at a shared table alongside their Pokemon. They had their personal favourites as half of them ate with frantic behaviours, having zero table manners while the other half ate with care and distinguished manners, showing a perfect duality between the foals and their Pokemon.
"Hm. Blue Moon still isn't back." Sweetie Belle noticed that Blue Moon, who was actually the vampire pony Night Sprout, was not present even at this lunch break.
"She said she was hungry when she beat Sunrise," Scootaloo replied. "But all the best food's here. Maybe she has her own? Oh, well. More for us."
"It'll be Gelidity vs Velvetwind next. I can't wait to see you both battle!" Sweetie Belle's eyes lit up.
"I'm a bit terrified, honestly..." Velvetwind giggled nervously as she had a right to feel somewhat intimidated. Gelidity was a skilled Pokemon Trainer. The tricks that she displays during Pokemon Contests, especially during the Battle Stage, make her a formidable force and seemingly a prodigy too.
Looking at her, she could also sense a feeling of great dread. She saw the visage of a terrifying giant before her that was right behind such a gentle pony.
"It's almost time for you to head out." Nurse Joy spoke to Velvetwind and Gelidity. "How's the meal?"
"Great!" The foals all said in perfect unison.
"Don't be too scared of me." Gelidity laughed which only intimidated Velvetwind further. "Go easy on me if you want."
"That's going to be difficult. But since the winner gets to battle Ash, I guess it isn't the scariest thing possible...I won't fault to disappoint."
"And when either one of you makes it to the third round, you' be battling yours truly." Diamond Tiara uttered before then thinking to herself. "Though...I think I'd prefer it if I battled Velvetwind instead. That Gelidity's too much for me right now, that's for sure."
"Let's get going then. I'm all already full. Are you ready, Gelidity?"
"Mm." Gelidity hopped off her seat, nodding in confirmation. Everyone else would finish their meals while also looking at the screen simultaneously to observe the battle. The pegasus and the earth pony then trotted outside as the first match of the second rounds could officially begin.
"But...That girl Blue Moon should get back soon," said Nurse Joy. If not, she'll be disqualified..."
The two foals stepped out into the arena as everyone's eyes were glued back to the scene. Most of them had something to eat after that short lunch break as the action was now back.
"Ah...That's better." The announcer licked off some food from his mouth. "We're back now. And it's time for the first match of the second round to begin. It's Gelidity vs Velvetwind!"
"Both trainers, please send out your Pokemon." The referee ordered.
"I choose my Drifblim!" For Velvetwind, she threw her Poke Ball first, sending her tried and true partner Drifblim.
"Drifblim!"
"Hm...Then I pick Nidoqueen!" Gelidity thought about it for a bit before then selecting her Nidoqueen for this battle.
"Nidoqueen!"
"Battle Start!"
"I'll have the first go! Drifblim, use Gyro Ball!"
"Drif...Drifblim!" Drifblim hovered there for a moment before then spinning his body, already kicking into a high-speed velocity. However, he did not move from the spot. Instead, he stayed there, continuously spinning.
"Oooh. Stone Edge, please, Nidoqueen!"
"Nido!" Meanwhile, Nidoqueen attacked while her target was spiralling in one constant position, summoning rocks around her body. Then put her arms out, unleashing the rocks at full force. This was sure to be a super-effective hit, no doubt.
That is until the moment the stones approached Drifbllim, all of that constant spinning from Gyro Ball made a difference. His spinning body caused the stones to suddenly be blown away once they reached him. A wind aura started appearing around his body which had repelled the stones as some of them almost hit Nidoqueen.
"Queen!?" Nidoqueen put her arms up from the reflected stones.
"Ta-da! Gyro Ball's stronger depending on the speed of Drifblim's opponent! And it looks like your Nidoqueen is faster than him, so this Gyro Ball is extra strong."
"Ooh..." Gelidity was impressed by this.
"I already had something like this planned for my contests and I took inspiration from Ash's Dragonite with this trick. So now go! Drifblim!"
"Blim!" After summoning a wind aura around his body from his constant spinning, Drifblim approached the Drill Pokemon, leaving behind a shockwave in the process. Drifblim was still moderately fast despite Nidoqueen apparently being quicker than him.
"Nidoqueen, grab Drifblim!"
"Nido...!" Nidoqueen held her arms out, prepared to grab Drifblim as he was getting closer. She would use her brute strength to her advantage and what better way to do so than to let her opponent come to her.
"Go down!"
"Drifblim!" But once Drifblim got close and Nidoqueen moved her arms to try and catch him, the Blimp Pokemon only ended up fast falling, dropping rapidly to the ground and evading the incoming grab.
"Nido?"
"Drifblim!" Now that he was on the ground, Drifblim started rapidly spinning there too while still approaching Nidoqueen. But this time, he could go for an attack on the legs. Not before conjuring up a dust storm from all of his spinning. By spinning on the arena, he managed to kick up some dust which resulted in a dust tornado that emerged in front of Nidoqueen.
"Nidoqueen?!" Nidoqueen put up her arms as the ferocious dust tornado came up, enveloping her vicinity.
"Something like this won't hurt Nidoqueen! But it'll blind her for a bit! Now, strike her!"
"Drif!" Drifblim zoomed in, crashing his body into Nidoqueen's legs, hitting the knee mainly. He got a free hit in while Nidoqueen was squinting her eyes from the tornado. He was like a spinning top on the ground as he crashed into both her legs.
"Queen!"
"Keep going!"
"Nidoqueen! Now, try grabbing Drifblim again!"
"Nido...!" NIdoqueen opened her eyes as she looked intensively at the tornado that surrounded and consumed her. The Drill Pokemon could still withstand this. All thanks to her Ground-Typing. She powered through with pure perseverance before spotting a purple blur coming from the side. "Queen!" There, she managed to spot Drifblim, attempting to grab him.
"Blim!" However, even after seeing Driblim, he was still moving too fast to catch as he ended up jumping over Nidoqueen's incoming grab, ascending to the air for a bit before then landing on the ground once more.
"Oh, nice! Drifblim's surprisingly doing better in the tornado than NIdoqueen, who's much bulkier than it!" Twilight exclaimed, leaning forward. "And thanks to Gyro Ball, she can't catch it with all of this movement and ruckus."
"Mhm. That Gyro Ball sure does come in handy if someone's faster than you. It's still strange how that works." Fluttershy replied as Nidoqueen tried grabbing Drifblim each time.
"Yes! You're doing great, Drifblim! Keep it up until she falls."
"Hmm..." Gelidity pouted, thinking of a new approach. "Aha! Superpower! Clap your hands!"
"Nido...Queen!" A solution had been made to deal with the Driblim Tornado situation. A good clap was seemingly the answer to it. Nidoqueen channelled her power into her arms before then clapping them once. By doing so, she made a thunderclap. A clap so powerful that it resulted in a thunderous shockwave that blew everything around her back.
This included not just the tornado as she managed to disperse it but also Drifblim, throwing his momentum with Gyro Ball off. "D-Drif!" Drifblm felt this mighty shockwave from Nidoqueen. HIs Gyro Ball movements had ended, pushing Blimp Pokemon back into the air. The attack wouldn't affect him but the shockwave from it did.
"I can't use Superpower on Drifblim. So I'll just use it in a different way to help me." Gelidity giggled. "It works well. Doesn't it?"
"Ah! It's just like what you do with Braviary's Superpower, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie bellowed, looking over at her pegasus friend.
"Again...every Pokemon with that attack can technically do it. If they've got the right limbs for it, that is..." Rainbow Dash replied as this was just another case of trainers adapting quickly to what they can do with Pokemon Attacks. "But, I bet this is something she picked up when it comes to her Pokemon Contests."
"I picked it up for my contests." Gelidity ended up confirming it. "And I know how I want to battle from now on in this tournament."
"You do?" Velvetwind replied.
"Yes. I'll battle as if I'm in a Pokemon Contest! That'll help me more! Is that a good idea?"
"Gulp!" Judging by Velvetwind's gulp, it was a terrifically perfect idea. That way, she would feel more in her element and that only made Velvetwind more worried about this battle.
"Okay then. Water Pulse and then Stone Edge!"
"Nidoqueen!" Nidoqueen knew exactly what to do and how to do it. BY using her contest experience, which was her greatest expertise, Nidoqueen had first stomped on the ground, summoning glowing blue crystals. But instead of sending them towards Drifblim, she made them appear around her.
"Oh, what's this? NIdoqueen's protecting herself with crystals!" The announcer pointed out.
"Not good! Let's try and stop her! Quick! Use Gyro Ball to clear out all of those crystals!"
"Drifblim!" Drifblim would use Gyro Ball once more. This time, with the intent of destroying the crystals. If this approach worked, it would be satisfying to the eyes to see all of those crystals break one by one in a circle.
"Nidoqueen!" But that's when Nidoqueen used Water Pulse. She made one orb of water but that was all she needed. The Drill Pokemon threw the orb at one of the crystals, but instead of breaking it, the water ended up bouncing off of it.
And once it bounced off of the crystals, it moved onto the next one, bouncing off of it as well. And the next and the next. And then soon, this orb started hitting every crystal.
"What's going on?!" Rarity leaned forward.
"I see it!" Twilight gasped, already knowing exactly what Gelidity was planning.
"Be careful, Drifblim! Smash right through those crystals!"
"Driblim!" Drifblim managed to smash right into one of the crystals, destroying it and moving on to the next. However, the Water Pulse was still moving about, bouncing off of the remaining crystals while Drifblim kept going.
"Now! Superpower!"
"Nido!" Nidoqueen held her hand out, channelling Superpower into it as she had then locked onto the orb. Thanks to all of this back and forth bouncing, Water Pulse had gained a high velocity that made it stronger than ever. And that strength was only going to be boosted once Superpower came in. "Queen!"
A mighty blow had been made onto the sphere of water as the speed and power of Water Pulse had been accelerated. Pulling off a successful contest move, the Water Pulse had not only been launched forward, but it brought along some of the crystals that had been shattered. The water had a turbulent wind around it, pulling the shards to add to this attack.
"D-Drifblim!" Drifblim felt this heavy impact as it stopped him in his tracks. The Blimp Pokemon was not only hit by a full-force Water Pulse but shards of crystals from Stone Edge that sparkled beautifully around the water pulse. It was both a beautiful and devastating attack as Drifblim suffered super-effective damage from i.
"Drifblim, no!" Velvetwind cried out as the Ghost-Flying-Type spun around in the air, feeling absolutely winded by that combination of attacks.
"It worked! Hooray!" Gelidity jumped for joy.
"Using Water Pulse in that way...I should've stopped her from battling this way when I had the chance." Velvet chuckled nervously. "But if that's the case...if I'm going to give myself a better chance and everyone else at winning this, I need to beat Gelidity right now even if she's better. So let's go, Drifblim! Shadow Ball!"
"Drifblim!" Drifblim raised his head up before then conjuring up a blob of shadows. This time, Velvetwind was going all in. She wasn't going to wait and see what Gelidity would plan next. Now was the time to finish this battle and claim victory over a truly formidable young prodigy.
"Water Pulse and Dragon Pulse!"
"Nido!" Nidoqueen would combat sphere with sphere. But with a second move in the mix. Dragon Pulse. Nidoqueen created the pulse of water in her hand before then suddenly putting it close to her open mouth. Afterwards, she built up some draconic energy before then unleashing a dragon-shaped blast.
That blast had roared out of Nidoqueen while also merging with Water Pulse. The blue sphere of Water Pulse was in the mouth of this energy dragon as it soared through the air, approaching Drifblim's Shadow Ball. The energy from Water Pulse turned this energy dragon into a beautiful light blue colour in the process.
The Light Blue Energy Dragon roared at the blob before then meeting with Shadow Ball. However, the pulse of Water Pulse ended up colliding with Shadow Ball first, cancelling it out. After the two attacks cancelled each other out, that allowed Dragon Pulse to continue without worrying about anything getting in its way. Dragon Pulse still kept its new colours while still approaching the Blimp Pokemon.
"Ah! Become inta...uh...Phase through!" Finding it hard to say intangible, Velvetwind went with the simplified explanation of it. Drifblim understood clearly.
"Blim!" A nice quick save from Drifblim. By using his Ghost-Type body, he made himself intangible, causing Dragon Pulse to phase right through him, negating this attack as the dragon-shaped shockwave hit the ground, blowing up there with Drifblim being unharmed.
"Alright! Let's use some contest moves of our own for a bit! Charge in with Ominous Wind!"
"Drifblim!" Drifblim then approached Nidoqueen while also summoning an eerie wind with spectral energy. That wind surrounded Drifblim's body before then forming into a dark purple spectral trail that had light purple wisps within it. It made a terrifying sound that echoed throughout the area.
"Go, Nidoqueen! Stone Edge!"
"Nidoqueen!" Nidoqueen then also approached Drifblim before then stomping on the ground at the last second when she was close to him. Drifblim ended up crashing his body with Ominous Wind into Nidoqueen while Nidoqueen ended up summoning blue crystals from the ground.
Both attacks had landed at the same time, resulting in an explosion in the very middle. There was debris of rocks that flew out of the explosion along with some spectral energy to boot. However, once it all settled, only one Pokemon was revealed to be standing.
Nidoqueen was still standing. The smoke cleared to reveal her. That defensive and sturdy body was without a doubt a tough one to get past. And Difblim found that out the hard way as he fell on his back. He had fainted.
"Drifblim..."
"Drifblim is unable to battle! Nidoqueen wins! Thus, the victor is Gelidity!"
"Oh, joy!" Gelidity pranced on the spot. Once she won this battle, Nidoqueen ran over with her arms out. Cheers resounded across the stadium as NIdoqueen picked Gelidity up, giving her a hug that was equal to that of a mother. "Nidoqueen! Great work!"
"Nido! Nidoqueen!"
"Oh, well...Not too surprised." Thankfully, Velvetwind was not too beat up by it as she had gone over to Drifblim, helping him up. "You were great, Drifblim."
"Drifblim."
"And you too, Gelidity. But I'm not surprised or too beat up y it."
"Many thanks for the fun battle." Gelidity walked up to Velvetwind. "Thanks to you, I know how I want to battle through the entire competition."
"Yeah...hehe..." Velvetwind chuckled before thinking to herself. "I might've doomed everypony else here."
"Wish me luck. And I will see you at the contests." Gelidity held her hoof out as she and Velvetwind partook in a hoofshake. After paying each others respects with a sporty hoofshake, the next matchup would begin soon as they went back into the stadium.
Sweetie Belle felt the same thing that Velvetwind felt. Battling Gelidity who now planned to battle as if she was in a Pokemon Contest was now a difficult roadblock to overcome. As if there wasn't already some difficulty. However, this also excited Sweetie Belle. It gave her a further purpose to go past her best. And if she gets the chance to battle Gelidity here, she'll get to see how she stacks up to her greatest contest rival.
Darkrai had opened his eyes. Recently, after catching Night Sprout, he planned to bring her back to Canterlot after discovering her true identity and her main goal of finding information about Yveltal. He had used Dark Void to put her to sleep, however, that was when Night Sprout's Curse Magic had shown itself.
Night Sprout planned to show Darkrai something terrifying. Despite being hit by Dark Void, she did not experience any nightmares. Mainly because she, in her own words, had already experienced a real-life nightmare.
When Darkrai owned his eyes, he found himself in a dreadful scenery. Jet black skies with green and purple thunder flashing within the clouds, crooked trees and enigmatic flowers, bulky towers and a fierce castle. This was Magehold. Home of the Dread League.
"This place...is this Magehold?" Darkrai uttered after looking at the place. He could only suspect that this was Magehold due to the description that Chrysalis gave out.
"It is." Night Sprout spoke with her voice going all over the place. "It's such a great place. But I didn't think it was great in the beginning. You'll see why." Night Sprout then changed the scenery, sending Darkrai into one of the towers in a second. Darkrai soon found himself in another scenery.
This time, it was a room that was a massive contrast from everything Darkrai had seen. A children's playroom was the new scenery. It fit the look of one as there colourful tiles on the floor and even on the walls.
This place did not fit that of a vampire and skeleton-filled world. However, Darkrai, being the Master of Nightmares, knew that this was all part of the terror in some way. After looking at the layout, he turned around, spotting a group of foals that were right behind him.
These foals were all sitting on the colourful tiles, but none of them were smiling in such a fun and playful area. Their eyes all looked fairly soulless as they had blank stares. And standing in front of them were multiple ponies. Vampire ponies to be exact.
"You see this?" Night Sprout spoke. "This is where I got my Curse Magic. Where everypony here got theirs. But it wasn't fun getting this great magic in the first place. We weren't all born vampires. Some of us used to be half-vampires."
"Half vampires?" Darkrai repeated, keeping a close eye on the foals. He saw how these vampires went up to the foals who weren't vampires yet. And that's where the Curse Magic came in. They unleashed a horrific stream of magic that was full of nothing but haunting and vile curses. They moved around with the ferocity of a hurricane before then entering the foals.
Their blank eyes suddenly changed as it made the children start going crazy. They finally displayed some energy, but it was not for a good reason. This sense of adrenaline ended, making the children move in erratic ways. Various curses flowed within them. Each were equally virulent and downright horrible to experience when receiving it for the first time. Some of them were even in pain.
"Getting that curse magic made all of us go all crazy. It didn't just turn us into full-blooded vampires, it also made us forget about leaving this place and our real family."
"What did you say?!"
"Mhm. Those curses prevented us from wanting to do anything like that. OF course, that all changed once we got older and now I can go anywhere I want. But who cares about my entire family when I have only my mom back at Magehold? After forgetting about it, we all regained our memories, but Magehold was our home and nothing could change that."
"So, you were all benumbed for your magic..."
"Whatever that means. But yeah. It gets worse though. Getting Curse Magic wasn't easy to use or figure out how to use. So, a monster from Tartarus was the way to go."
Entering the scene was a creature from Tartarus. A terrifying one at that. A gigantic lion with an odd fur that looked as sharp as steel roared within this playful yet dreary room. Joining this lion were two other monsters. A gigantic eagle that had a bronze appearance with mighty talons that had great physical strength and lastly a sphinx.
These three creatures terrorized the children. Upon seeing these three beasts from Tartarus, the children fled in absolute fear while the older vampires watched. Once they ran, the three monsters chased them down, hunting the foals.
"Those monsters from Tartarus would terrorize us. They chased us down for 4 whole weeks. The place is big, so we had a lot of places to hide and run from them. My favourite was the lion, it was so cute."
When running from the beasts, the foals thought of every possible spot they could find. Meanwhile, the monsters were tearing up the place chasing them down and trying to find them. In every room they hid in, the monsters from Tartarus would smash their way in. The eagle had talons strong enough to shatter walls while the lion bashed through with its incredibly powerful fur.
No matter where the children hid, they would find them. Once the eagle broke down the walls, its eyes peered into the shattered hole, spotting groups of children cowering in fear. They screamed as the eagle would tear down the rest of the walls with its talons, forcing them to run again. The children barely got a chance to ever rest for even more than an hour.
And because of this, they had baggy eyes. Exhausted and tired from running from these monsters. It didn't help that it lasted for 4 weeks straight, way more for a child to handle. Perhaps an adult could handle it, but not these foals.
"We didn't eat, drink or sleep from all of that running. I think it was the magic that helped us. And speaking of magic...we were all so terrified of being chased down by those monsters that when we were finally back to a corner, that's when it happened. When we unleashed our magic."
After those 4 weeks of pursuit and fear, the monsters had them. They found a dead end in what seemed to be a wall of wilted flowers. These flowers were just as dangerous as the monsters, spewing out poison, so backing up against them was a terrible decision. Out of options and most likely to perish with either deadly force, there wasn't much they could do, except scream and cry.
And it was this breaking point of fear and despair, running away for so long that the Curse Magic within them had been unleashed, a massive burst of Curse Maic of all different colours had flared out from these ponies. Much like most magic, it was tied to their emotions and it showed greatly here as the Curse Magic was so great that it managed to fend off the monsters. They backed away as the horrors of Curse Magic could already be felt. Once they felt it, the monsters stood their ground, ceasing their attacks on the foals.
After finally unleashing their Curse Magic, the vampires applauded the young foals. And more importantly, Rosa Maledicta, the Lich Queen, watched over them, letting out a sinister smile.
"That's horrible...To have them bring out their magic in such a way."
"I've seen a lot of bad things in my time at Magehold, Darkrai." Night Sprout giggled. "I can show you a lot of them. One of the best parts about my magic is that I can show so many nightmares. It's just like you, Darkrai. How cool is that?!" She then continued laughing as Darkrai closed his eyes, taking all of this in.
"It's terrible..."
"Isn't it? Oh, I bet I'm the first to scare you, huh? Wait till I tell everypony back at Magehold. They might not believe me but...I'll know it's real. So. Are you scared? Are you? Are you?"
"I'm not scared."
"Huh?" Night Sprouted raised an eyebrow as that wasn't the response she was expecting. "Y-You're not?"
"It's terrible to look at...not terrifying to look at though." Darkrai opened his eyes. "When it comes to Nightmares, I not only grant them, but I know how to endure them. I've faced off against a malicious draconequus...this is nothing."
"Huh?! B-B-B-But...my nightmares!"
"I've seen all I needed to see. And while it's terrible to witness...there's nothing in this world, my world or any world that can strike fear into my heart!" Darkrai's eyes then widened as this nightmare was ineffective against him, making Night Sprout gasp in shock. With his overwhelming Infinity Energy, Darkrai was starting to break the memory that Night Sprout had made.
"Uh oh." Night Sprout scrunched fer face before realizing that she had been beaten. "That's to be expected from the Master of Nightmares. He's so cool..." She still couldn't help but admire Darkrai. "Ah! But I'm gonna be late for my next match at this rate! Gotta go! Before the entire place could break down before her, Night Sprout had already left with her energy apparition fading away.
Darkrai also felt that she was no longer within his claws. He looked over to see that her physical body was also gone. Darkrai stared it at for a bit before then finally breaking this nightmare that Night Sprout had shown her.
He was back in Equestria and the sunny weather that it encompassed. Darkrai left that nightmare, witnessing things he didn't expect, but was all the more prepared for thanks to his status as the Master of Nightmares. Night Sprout was indeed gone once he returned to reality.
She had managed to recover from a nightmare that easily as Darkrai looked around for her. "Hmm...She said she would be late for her next match. She's heading back to Canterlot...I'll meet her there." Darkrai descended into the shadows, heading back to Canterlot.
Now that he saw these nightmares, he learned a bit about Magehold. Seeing how those children were treated sparked a fire within Darkrai. But this fire was not targeted at Night Sprout. Not one bit.
Canterlot. Canterlot Stadium. Afternoon.
Night Sprout barely managed to return. The battle between her and Scotaloo was near. She had her cap and her jacket as her only form of disguise, quickly putting them back on. Thanks to her great speed as a vampire bat while also managing to stay within the shadows, Night Sprout barely made it.
The battle between Diamond Tiara and Quick Solver had happened with Diamond Tiara managing to win with a Toucannon. Her father's Pokemon.
"Tou...cannon!" Toucannon had used his signature move Beak Blast as a burst of fire is what took down the opposing Haunter.
"H-Haunter..."
"Haunter is unable to battle! Toucannon wins! Thus, the victor is Diamond Tiara!"
"Hah! Easy!" Diamond Tiara chuckled. "That was some fine performance there, Toucannon!"
"Toucannon."
"Hmm..." But after watching the battle, Scootaloo was feeling a bit worried about Blue Moon, wondering if she would show up. So far, that was not the case as this battle between Diamond Tiara and Quick Solve had already been solved.
"Made it!" Thankfully, she showed up. Night Sprout, or in this case Blue Moon, had rushed inside of the waiting room. She put her hoof over her hat, making sure that her disguise would not falter. "M-Made it..."
"Oh, there you are," said Nurse Joy. "We were getting worried that you wouldn't return in time. That must've been some meal.
"Sure was. Hehe." Blue Moon chuckled nervously, knowing that wasn't the case. Right now, she was also being targeted by the Pitch Black Pokemon Darkrai. "Sorry that I made you all worry."
"Ah, it's fine." Scootaloo walked over. "As long as you're here. Let's make this battle a good one, okay"?
"Okay." Night Sprout nodded, promising to give Scootaloo a fun battle. As for Darkrai, he had also returned to Canterlot, using the shadows to make quick movements and easy shortcuts. When returning, the Pitch Black Pokemon emerged near the waiting room.
He looked through it, spotting Night Sprout as he could easily spot her coat and mane colour. He saw that she was already heading out to the stadium, so a different view was needed as he sank into the shadows. Not only would he watch over her, but he would also head to the one pony who needed to hear this.
The battle between Scootaloo and Night Sprout, who was going under the disguise of Blue Moon, was about to begin. Night Sprout recently had a run-in with Darkrai, causing her to almost be late for her next battle. But she barely made it. Speaking of Darkrai, he had a lot to share with Princess Celestia after what he had seen.
Over at the balcony, Darkrai had ascended from the shadows, grabbing the attention of Ash, Celestia and Tobias. Especially Tobias.
"Darkrai?!" Tobias gasped. He was surprised to see this Pokemon here for one good reason.
"Princess Celestia. You definitely need to hear this." Darkrai spoke to her.
"What is it, Darkrai? Did you discover something?" Celestia asked, sensing the seriousness in Darkrai's voice. Then again, he always sounded serious.
"I did. It's about Magehold and the Dread League. I managed to get something important that you need to know. And she's standing right there." Darkrai aimed his claw at the arena where Night Sprout was.
"Both trainers. Please send out your Pokemon." Meanwhile, the referee had given the command for them both to send out their Pokemon.
"Then for this one...it's Pachirisu!" Scootaloo picked her Pachirisu for this battle, sending the EleSquirrel Pokemon out.
"Pachirisu!"
"For me, I'm sticking with Pangoro." Just like before, Night Sprout chose Pangoro for this battle, sending the Daunting Pokemon out.
"Pangoro!"
"She's a vampire?!" And right after both Pokemon had been sent out, Celestia gasped, gazing at Blue Moon. She wasn't sure if she could believe that, even if Darkrai was a good friend.
"It may be hard to believe, but that disguise exists for a reason. As a means to protect herself from the Sun." Darkrai explained further. "Her main goal is to find information about Yveltal, but she's also here to participate in the tournament."
"Both?" said Ash as he turned to face the arena. "Hmm..." He sat there, pondering for a bit.
"I also left her to complete the tournament even after returning here. Is that alright with you?"
"Hmm...Let her finish this battle first." Celestia chose to hold out, observing Night Sprout before doing anything else. It was too soon to do anything rash, especially out in the open.
"You're gonna have that small Pokemon battle my Pangoro?" Night Sprout let out a tiny chuckle, seeing the overwhelming size difference between Pachirisu and Pangoro. It was almost laughable. "I think this'll be easy and quick."
"Size isn't everything, ya know." Scootaloo pouted along with Pachirisu, who was trying to size Pangoro up by putting on a tough expression.
"Where I come from, it is everything." Night Sprout scoffed. "I think this competition's gonna be a breeze for me. I'll get past the last few matches and then battle Ash and win!"
"Win? I don't know about that..." Scootaloo lowered her eyes as Night Sprout was certainly reaching.
"I'll prove it. And I'll start by beating you."
"Battle Start!"
"Okay, Pachirisu! Let's use Spark!"
"Pachi!" Pachirisu went first. By building up energy within his body, he unleashed an aura of electricity before then using it to propel himself. He was going for a full-force electrifying tackle that made her move at impressive speeds.
"Pangoro. Dragon Claw!" Night Sprout shouted out.
"Pangoro!" Pangoro would meet Pachirisu by holding his hand out. An energy claw made ut of draconic energy had been formed in a dark green as the Daunting Pokemon then slashed with great ferocity. Spark and Dragon Claw collided with Pachirisu trying to break past Dragon Claw. Pangoro was clearly dominant in the physical strength category. "Goro!"
"Pa!" Pachirisu had been overpowered as Pangoro's Dragon Claw pushed him back, causing the EleSquirrel Pokemon to slide on the ground, almost falling on his back. "Chi...!"
"No good. Pachirisu won't break past that." Scootaloo said to herself. "Unless I do this! Pachirisu! Start zooming around with Spark!"
"Pa!" Pachirisu then used the force of Spark once more. But this time, consecutively. He started moving with Spark, using that same trick he did during the first Canterlot Tournament. Like a living lightning bolt, Pachirisu started moving from place to place with great speed, leaving only a flash of yellow and a golden blur.
"Goro? Goro?" Naturally, Pangoro was trying to follow Pachirisu. That was a challenge as Pachirisu certainly had the speed advantage over Pangoro.
"That's nothing. Pangoro, catch Pachirisu with Dragon Claw!"
"Pangoro!" Pangoro would try his best. He still kept the energy of Dragon Claw active. When Pachirisu approached, he swung his claw, however, he was too late as the Electric-Type managed to hit him in the face first. "Pan!" Pangoro growled with his head being moved back as Pachirisu zipped away. When Pangoro went to try and slash her now that she was close, he was too late yet again.
"Pachi!"Pachirisu rushed in again, tackling Pangoro from another side. Pangoro felt another electrifying impact, trying to land Dragon Claw to the best of his abilities, but he was too slow once more.
"Go, go, go!" Scootaloo yelled as Pachirisu went back and force, tackling Pangoro from all sides. Meanwhile, Pangoro was struggling to land Dragon Claw and could not hit Pachirisu once.
"Come on! Keep swinging! At least try and grab it!"
"Nice stuff!" Rainbow Dash cheered. "That Spark trick still works wonders for her!"
"Picking a big Pokemon while that trick is active is an unfortunate fate," said Twilight. "I don't know how she's going to overcome this."
"I can't overcome this!" Night Sprout thought to herself as she was struggling to keep track of Pachirisu. The moment she would try and say something to Pangoro, Pachirisu was already seconds ahead. Night Sprout certainly didn't want to lose right here and have Scootaloo prove her wrong. But that looked to be the case.
That is until she made a risky choice.
"Hmm...The only way I get past this...is with some Curse Magic. Yeah, that's it." Night Sprout decided to include some magic in this battle. It was the only solution she could think of. By using her Curse Magic, she manipulated not her body, but Pangoro's body.
Pangoro's eyes were the ones that were mainly affected as that was all that mattered right now. Dark blue shadows appeared around Pangoro's pupils as the energy was faint. While Night Sprout wanted to use her magic, she also didn't want to get caught, genuinely investing herself in this battle.
"Goro..." Pangoro's vision had been boosted greatly. Not in terms of how much he could see, but how fast he could catch something with his eyes. And once Pachirisu approached once more, Pangoro spotted his movements thanks to Night Sprout's Curse Magic. "Pan!" Pangoro roared, finally catching Pachirisu at the right moment, swinging his Dragon Claw.
"P-Pachi!" Pachirisu had finally been hit after all of her rapid movements. A clean one too as she went flying from the tearing power of Dragon Claw.
"Ah! Pachirisu!" Scootaloo gasped as the EleSquirrel Pokemon tumbled. Her electric aura had faded away as well but she was still in this. "I didn't think Pangoro would end up seeing it...We'll come back to that later. Pachirisu, use Discharge!"
"Pachiiii!" Pachirisu would keep his distance. And he would do so by unleashing a golden flare of electricity that flailed around violently.
"My Pangoro can see and deal with that too." Night Sprout smirked as the rapid movements of Discharge weren't bothering her. Not when she had enhanced eyesight on Pangoro. "Pangoro! Throat Chop, now!"
"Pangoro!" Pangoro would meet with the flare of electricity up close. With his brute force, he covered his hand in darkness before then chopping at the barrage of volts. Pangoro managed to cut them in half, clearing a way for himself was rushed in, violently chopping left and right.
"Yikes!" Scootaloo's ears, mane, tail and wings stood up, terrified at how Pangoro was just approaching, powering through the electricity. "Quick, Pachirisu! Flash!"
"Pachi...Paaaaa!" Seeing that Pangoro was getting too close, Pachirisu would have to stop him in his tracks. ANd what better way to do so than with Flash. By illuminating his body with all of the electricity residing within him, Pachirisu unleashed a light so bright that it encompassed this area. The referee had to whip out some sunglasses just to protect his eyesight whilst Scootaloo and Night Sprout squinted.
However, Pangoro was the most affected by it as he was the closest to Pachirisu. And once that golden light showed itself, he had been blinded and it didn't help that his vision had been greatly enhanced thanks to the Curse Magic. Now was the worst time to have amazing vision.
"P-Pangoro!" Pangoro cried out as he stepped back, putting his arm over his head.
"Of all the odds of that squirrel having a blinding move..." Night Sprout hated this. The moment she decided to give Pangoro enhanced eyesight and only a few seconds later, Pachirisu whips out an attack that perfectly counters it.
"Yeahahaha! Now, let Pangoro have it! Spark, let's go!"
"Pachirisu!" Now that Pangoro was wide open, Pachirisu could strike at full force. He stomped on the ground before building up some strength. He took a running start, building up some speed before taking off like a rocket. The EleSquirrel Pokemon had then crashed into Pangoro's stomach with an impact so great that multiple sparks flew out along with a visible shockwave.
"G-Goro!" Not only did it cause Pangoro to feel the power of this tiny titan, but after being hit by so many Electric attacks, it was only a matter of time before he was paralyzed. And that time was now. Pangoro was pushed back as electricity sparked out of his body. His vision was healing but it was still perplexing to him thanks to the enhanced sight.
"Huh?! What's all of that?!" Night Sprout gasped, noticing the sparks of electricity around Pangoro.
"It's paralysis." Scootaloo stood in a bipedal position, crossing her hooves while putting on a cheeky grin. Pachirisu did the same thing as Pangoro twitched, getting on one knee.
"Paralysis...?" Night Sprout paused for a moment before having a stunned expression that made her jerk back. "Like from the neck down!? Does it need some medical attention?!"
"Uhh..." Scootaloo then put on a poker face along with Pachirisu. "W-Well, it's paralysed but...not like that."
"Pachi."
"It's a status condition thing." Scootaloo scratched her mane. "It just makes the Pokemon a bit slower and sometimes stops their attacks."
"That's weird. Last I checked, being paralyzed was something worse. " Night Sprout smiled as it had some sadistic energy behind it. "Something pretty nice to look at."
"Nice to...look at...?" Scootaloo heard that clearly as it made her shudder. The implications behind Night Sprout's words were not pleasant at all.
"Ah!" Night Sprou realized what she was saying could lead to some unwarranted trouble. But she already had some trouble surrounding her thanks to Darkrai. "Forget that. So how am I supposed to battle if my Pangoro's paralyzed? That doesn't seem fair."
"You don't know a lot about Pokemon, do you? Well, you just keep going."
"Just keep going?" The vampire filly tilted her head. "That does sound pretty fun...having Pangoro battle in such a bad state gets me all cheery. That'll be a nice nightmare to see..." She thought to herself.
"Yeah. But that's all up to you and your Pokemon...Is what Ash told me. A Pokemon's at its best when it's battling with everything despite what happens. Even if my Pachirisu here gets frozen or something like that, I'm still gonna try."
"Pachirisu."
"Oooh..." Night Sprout nodded in understanding. "I think I get it. It's still pretty new to me."
"Then, I'll teach you!" Scootaloo declared that she would teach Night Sprout, seeing that she was new.
"What did she say?" Rarity uttered."Teach her?"
"Oh, that's so sweet," said Fluttershy. "Looks like we're all becoming mentors for new Pokemon Trainers, right?"
"You're at least around my age! I need to be taught!" Night Sprout vigorously aimed her hoof at the pegasus.
"Yeah, but who's got the most experience here?" Scootaloo replied with a cocky and confident smirk. But it was one that was both respectful and had some superiority energy in there.
"You..." Night Sprout had to admit that. Scootaloo was using her skills to lead her to victory as all Night Sprout did was use magic to enhance her Pokemon's sight.
"But, don't worry. I'd love to teach someone new about Pokemon. I've already been taught a lot about it by my friends and my teachers, who are also my friends. It's my turn."
"Nice, Scootaloo." Ash nodded in approval of Scootaloo's offer to help out Night Sprout. Even when hearing that she was a vampire, Ash couldn't help but respect that.
"Hmmm..." Celestia kept watching, judging this whole scenario along with the battle. It made her think for a bit about this vampire.
"Gee, thanks. Sounds good to me." Night Sprout ended up agreeing to take Scootaloo's assistance. "Maybe after this battle, you can teach me a few things. After I win."
"Huh?! Who said you were winning?!" Scootaloo roared. "Let's go, Pachirisu! Spark!"
"Pachi!"
"Seismic Toss!"
"Go-" But before Pangoro could assume the correct stance for Seismic Toss, that's when the paralysis kicked in. Pangoro twitched, feeling a burst of electricity inside and outside of him. This caused his stance to be disrupted and everything else, just as Scootaloo said. "G-Goro!"
"Chi! This allowed Pachirisu to crash right into Pangoro's head too, delivering a heavy blow and once again, almost knocking him back.
"Aw, come on!" Night Sprout groaned as now she saw what Scootaloo meant by the paralysis effect.
"Hehe! Now, Discharge!"
"Pachi!" After crashing into Pangoro, Pachirisu lunged back, building up even bigger energy as he blasted the Daunting Pokemon with a burst of discharging electricity. While Pachirisu was able to unleash a plethora of attacks, none of them were enough to knock Pangoro down.
At least not yet. Night Sprout could see that if this went on, Pangoro would eventually fall and that was something she wasn't shooting for. "I don't want Pangoro to lose...I need to win so that I can battle Ash!" She growled before sparking up another idea.
Her Curse Magic would play its part once more. She shifted her eyes, still hoping no one was looking or had noticed Pangoro's enhanced sight. "Unless...I just get rid of the paralysis..." She used her Curse Magic yet again on Pangoro. This time, on his entire body.
"G-Goro. Goro?" Pangoro felt another change in him. This time, his paralysis was gone. It just up and vanished as the yellow electricity crackling around him had faded away. "Pangoro."
"Huh?! His Paralysis is gone?!" Scootaloo gasped.
"It sure is. Guess my Pangoro's just that tough." Night Sprouted let out a sinister chuckle. "So, I've still got a chance! I'll finish this pretty quickly!"
"You can't break out of Paralysis...can you?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Not at all. The only way to get rid of the Paralysis is by healing." Twilight shook her head before looking over at Night Sprout. "Unless..."
"Okay then." Scootaloo took a deep breath. "I'm gonna finish this now."
"Same here. Whatever happens next is gonna defeat you!" Night Sprout declared. "This victory's mine! Pangoro! Dragon Claw!"
"Pachirisu! Dig!"
"Pachi!" Pachirisu burrowed his way underground while Pangoro approached him with draconic energy claws. But once he got there, Pachirisu was already underground. However, the vision enhancement from Night Sprout was still there as Pangoro waiting for the EleSquirrel Pokemon to show up.
"Pa!" Pachirisu burst out of the ground, going for a head tackle.
"Goro!" Pangoro saw it as he went for a strong slash the moment the Electric-Type got close. Pachirisu had been knocked away as Pangoro was now able to keep up with him.
"Discharge!"
"P-Pachi!" Pachirisu slid on the ground before then unleashing a flare of electricity. Pangoro put his arms up, blocking the rapid flares as they violently whipped him.
"Go through it, Pangoro! And use Seismic Toss!"
"Pan...Goro!" Pangoro stayed in a blocking stance, pushing his body through all the electricity just to try and reach Pachirisu.
"Keep going, Pachirisu! More!"
"Paaaachiiiii!" Pachirisu raised the power of her volts, upping the intensity as the lights were enough to darken the area. Pangoro felt this increase in power as now this forced him to try and break through some more.
"Pangoro!" Pangoro cried out as the electricity exploded around him, pushing him back. He couldn't break through it.
"Fine! Then hit the ground with Dragon Claw!"
"Pangoro!" Pangoro slashed the ground with the power of Dragon Claw as Night Sprout was now getting into the heat of a Pokemon Battle. She was now starting to see how fierce they can become when both trainers are trying their absolute best. Pangoro slashed the ground, sending the energy of Dragon Claw towards Pachirisu.
"Uh oh! Dodge, Pachirisu!"
"Pachi!" Pachirisu started booking it as the energy approached viciously, even leaving claw marks on the ground. But it seemed that when trying to run to the side, the energy managed to graze her, damaging the Electric-Type. "Pa!"
"Pachirisu, no!"
"Chi!" Pachirisu rolled on the ground, gritting his teeth. HE was still in this battle, but now his fragility was starting to show. Whilst he managed to land the most attacks on Pangoro, the strength of the Daunting Pokemon said otherwise.
"Are you okay, Pachirisu?!"
"Pachi...!" Pachirisu got back up, breathing in and out as scratches were now seen around her from this long and intense battle.
"This victory's mine!" Let's go! Seismic Toss!"
"Pangoro!" Pangoro bellowed before lunging in. Scootaloo growled, thinking of what her next approach should be since Pangoro's showing greater endurance than her partner. That's when an idea hit her.
"I got it! Pachirisu! Get ready!"
"Pachi...!" Pachirisu stood there, looking Pangoro dead in the eyes. the Dark-Fighting-Type ended up grabbing Pachirisu with just one arm. After grabbing Pachirisu, Pangoro put the Electric-Type in a powerful grapple hold. He had then taken a mighty leap, ascending into the air at great lengths.
"Oh yeah!" Night Sprout almost revealed her vampire wings, gently flapping them while cheering her partner on. "Go, Pangoro!"
"Now! Discharge!"
"Pachirisu...! Pa!" Pachirisu's eyes flared yellow as this was part of Scootaloo's plan. Pachirisu unleashed a devastating burst of electricity that was up close to Pangoro's face and entire body. Closer than ever as the skies were lit up with a golden light shining and sparking greatly.
"P-Paaaan!" Pangoro cried out as Pachirisu let him have it all. The hold on the EleSquirrel Pokemon had been weakened too, allowing for Pachirisu to slip out as Seismic Toss had been interrupted.
"Oh no!"
"Oh yes! Now! Spark!"
"Pachi!" Pachirisu went for one final hurrah. While having some air time, he sparked up his body with another golden aura as Pangoro started falling. But to make sure this was the end, Pachrisu shot himself down as a lightning bolt-shaped aura came crashing at full speed, hitting Pangoro's stomach. The force of Pachirisu made Pangoro fall down faster as a great crash had happened on the ground.
Pachirisu jumped out of the smoke afterwards, waddling about as his eyes were also dizzy. He almost fell over but he just barely managed to keep himself steady. "Pachi."
"Pangoro..." But as for Pangoro, it was over. He had fainted.
"Pangoro is unable to battle! Pachirisu wins! Thus the victor is Scootaloo!"
"Let's go! Pulled it off in the end!" Scootaloo thrust her hoof into the air with Pachrisu doing the same with his arm.
"Pachi!"
"She did it! Oh, that was a bit stressful but she did it!" Fluttershy exclaimed, flapping her wings with joy.
"That Pangoro looked invincible for a bit, but there was no need to worry!" Twilight laughed.
"Pachi!" Pachirisu then ran over to Scootaloo as the both of them embraced with a hug. "Pa!"
"You rock, Pachirisu!" SCootaloo laughed, spinning with Pachirisu in her embrace.
"I lost..." Night Sprout lowered her head, grumbling as this was not the outcome that she wanted. However, that all changed once she raised her head. "But...that was a lot of fun."
"Wasn't it?" Scootaloo grinned with Pachirisu sitting on her head moments later.
"Mhm. Thank you, Pangoro. I know you did your best." Night Sprout went over to the Daunting Pokemon. "Even when using my Magic on you."
"Wait. You used magic?!" Scootaloo gasped.
"RIght. Sorry for cheating but...I just didn't want to lose."
"It's cheating?"
"Isn't it?" Now the two of them reached a confusing state of mind. Night Sprout thought it was cheating, but Scootaloo wasn't so sure. They had only one pony to look at for answers. The referee.
"Eh. She lost." The unicorn referee shrugged. "Plus, there's nothing in the rules that says it's against the rules. I think."
"Works for me. Thanks for the awesome battle, Scootaloo."
"You too, Blue Moon. Uh, if we ever meet again, let's have another battle."
"I don't know if we'll have another battle. But one day, we'll all be together in one place." Night Sprout replied, having sinister and deadly undertones within what she said.
"Uh sure. Root for me, okay?"
"That was the best one so far!" Ash pumped his fists into the air with excitement. "They were both awesome!"
"True." Tobias nodded in agreement.
"What now, Celestia?" Darkrai focused on what truly mattered. Night Sprout. Now that she lost, she could no longer take part in this competition.
"Well, this is a great chance to get close to a vampire from Magehold. Not one for interrogating children though..." Celestia pouted before standing up. "Let's go anyway. We'll meet her outside."
"Hang on." Ash turned to Celestia. "Don't do anything too rash, you guys."
"Pikachu."
"Not at all. At the end of the day, and what Darkrai had told me about what he saw in those nightmares, she's just a child."
"A terrifying child," Darkrai added as he had a different opinion in contrast to Celestia. "From what I've seen, she is a problem. At least, when it comes to finding that book."
"Ahem. The important thing is that she's only here for information about Yveltal. Blue Moon was going for Ponyville, right, Darkrai?"
"Twilight's Castle, no doubt. Which means that the vampires know about Ponyville and what Twilight does." Darkrai answered. "Are you sure you know what to, Princess Celestia?"
"I do. Let's make this as simple as we can."
Night Sprout had lost, so she was most definitely out of here. However, while the completion was what she wanted to do the most, now that she lost it, NightSprout could focus on the next best thing, Finding information about Yveltal. But despite her goals, she certainly had fun as she got to experience the true thrill of a Pokemon Battle as the journey continues.
"Bummer. Maybe another time. If there is another time for them." Night Sprout spoke as her battle with Scootaloo had ended in her defeat. Now that she lost, she had no reason to be here anymore. It was off to Ponyville to find some Yveltal information.
She took her hat off, hiding in the shades to protect her from the Sun before taking a deep breath. But the moment she decided to step into the shadows, Darkrai had emerged. His shadow loomed over her as the young vampire had bumped into Darkrai.
"Gah!" She screeched, turning around to see the Pitch Black Pokemon. Upon seeing him, her eyes lit up as her admiration for Darkrai had returned. "Ah! Darkrai!"
"Not this again..." Darkrai groaned as once again, Night Sprout was about to go crazy over this Master of Nightmares.
"Hehehe! Did you see my match?! Did you?! I could've won that but...eh." Night Sprout shrugged.
"He saw it. And it was a great battle." Just then, someone else had replied to Night Sprout. It wasn't Darkrai, but rather Princess Celestia, who had come with Darkrai. Night Sprout turned around to spot the Ruler of Equestria standing right in front of her.
"P-P-P-Princess Celestia...!" Naturally, after seeing Celestia, Night Sprout was downright petrified to the core. Meeting with Equestria's Ruler was something she wasn't hoping would happen.
"Blue Moo. Right?" Celestia spoke with a smile on her face. "You did well out there in your battle. You're certainly new to Pokemon Battling, aren't you?"
"Uh...that's right." Night Sprout nervously replied. "Would've won by the way. But never mind that. I'm done with that competition. So now I can focus on the next best thing."
"Yveltal. Correct?" Celestia questioned.
"You know it. But you wouldn't stop a little ol' filly like me, would you?" Night Sprout winked at Celestia who jerked her head back. It was then that Night Sprout started thinking to herself. "I know a few things about Princess Celestia. And one thing's for sure. There's no way she can super-seriously punish a kid with that warm heart she's got. What are you gonna do now, Princess Celestia?"
"I would."
"You would?!" Not the answer she was expecting. "But...I guess that makes sense."
"Darkrai told me everything." Celestia continued as various guards were already spotted around the area, keeping an eye on Night Sprout. "I'm sorry. But there's no chance that we'd ever let the Dread League get their hooves on any Yveltal information. Even to a child."
"Bah." Night Sprout scoffed before smirking t Celestia. "So what? Are you gonna hurt me?"
"What!? No!" Celestia protested to that horrid thought.
"Then what?" Night Sprout continued to target Celestia's, warm heart. "I don't know if you know this, but I'm a pretty big deal in my own right, ya know. Are you gonna take me seriously then?"
"Gardevoir...!" Passion was getting rather irritated by Night Sprout's words, especially since they were targeted exclusively at Celestia. The Embrace Pokemon clenched her fists, growling at the young vampire.
"Princess Celestia. Don't be shaken up by her." Darkrai said to Celestia. He could see that this was one instance where Celestia was stuck "These are scare tactics."
"Y-You're right. Thank you, Darkrai." Celestia took a deep breath before staring Night Sprout down. "I know what I need to do. For the sake of my subjects and everypony, I cannot let them down."
"Hmph." But while NIght Sprout showed a confident look on her face, deep down, she was also in the same position as Celestia. She was stuck. "This is bad! Why'd I have to go and open my big mouth?! Now I'm surrounded. Think...what do I do here? If you're hearing this, Queen Rosa, I need serious help."
"Gardevoir." Passion looked at Celestia, nodding at her trainer. It was essentially Passion encouraging Celestia to do what she believed was the right option.
"Alright then. Blue Moon. I'm afraid you aren't leaving Canterlot just yet." Celestia said with a heavy heart. While she was no stranger to laying down punishment on somepony young, to do it on this level was something even the Ruler of Equestria was not ready for. But Celestia had to do it, putting her subjects and friends before anything else.
"Say what?!"
"I..." Celestia looked to the side before then thinking to herself. "This is way harder than it looks...! Come on, Celestia. She's just a child! But that's the problem..."
"Maybe if I make it up they'll let me go." Soon, it turned into a scenario where the young vampire and the Sun Princess were both thinking to themselves.
Despite being of different ages with massive number differences and a stark contrast in what each of them stand for, at the end of the day, when it came to something big that they weren't ready to handle, that's where the struggles come in.
"I can't ground her since I'm not her mother. Oh, but she does have one of her parents back at Magehold, doesn't she? Is that a good idea? No, no. I need to deal with her before she becomes a threat. But how do I do that?"
"She might let me go." Night Sprout started sweating bullets. "But that tall green Pokemon's really giving me the death stare. It's almost as scary as Queen Rosa's..." She looked over at Gardevoir who was still vexed at Night Sprout for taunting Celestia.
Meanwhile, Darkrai and the guards were looking back and forth at the two of them. There were no words being spoken as it created an awkward silence. Celestia scrunched her ace while Night Sprout kept a cheeky grin up that was hiding her genuine distraught.
"I could seal her magic...That's it." Celestia finally found something to say. "Then, I'll seal your Curse magic!"
"I can still look for the book!" Night Sprout aimed her hoof back at her.
"Gah, she's right!" Celestia gasped. "How about I ban the book from this world?!"
"There's always Kalos and the Pokemon World!" Night Sprout retaliated once more causing Celestia to wince. While Night Sprout didn't have many options, she certainly knew how to talk big and waste time. The guards were invested in this, fascinated by this back-and-forth squabbling. "Plus, I can regenerate my magic!"
"Vampires can regenerate magic?" Celestia repeated.
"Oops! You weren't supposed to hear that!" Night Sprout put her hooves over her mouth.
"It's not that big of a deal or revelation.." The Sun Princess squinted.
"Y-Your majesty. Are you...really having trouble with this?" The guards asked.
"Y-Yes..." Celestia embarrassingly closed her eyes, nodding. "Apologies. But when it comes to children...I don't know what to do! It's time like this where I wish I had a rowdy daughter."
"I feel you," Darkrai replied as he could relate to Celestia's struggle. Children are not his forte either. But arguably, Celesia was worse than Darkrai. "But this vampire isn't exactly making any progress standing around here."
"I totally could!" Night Sprout roared in the response.
"Do it then." Darkrai encouraged her while giving the filly vampire a menacing glare. Her face froze as she slowly turned her head to face Gardevoir, who was still giving her an equally terrifying glare.
"Uhh...I..." Night Sprout spoke as she was tempted to use her Curse Magic in this instance. But she already knew a few things about Celestia, including the powerful magic of an alicorn. Something that not even a vampire, at least a filly can match as known by the event that happened back in the Human World. It didn't even take an alicorn to defeat the vampires when they attacked the Human World for the book containing information about Yveltal.
"Drat." Night Sprout lowered her head in defeat. "It's not fair. My disguise was full proof!" She angrily tossed the cap and jacket to the ground as the guards looked down at them
"Was it?" The guards each said. The only reason why they hadn't believed the disguise was suspicious was due to there being no mention of a vampire at all today until recently.
"But..." Despite knowing that she had no chance, there was one sure-fire thing she could count on. "If you keep me here...they'll come."
"Gardevoir?"
"That's right. The Dread League will come for me. And they'll save me and get me out of here. That enough for you?"
"She's right." Celestia couldn't argue against that. "They'll most definitely come. Especially her mother...right?"
"Hah! You got that right. That's why you're pretty weak, Celestia." Night Sprout taunted. "Not with your magic. But your way too weak in the heart when it comes to kids, ya know."
"What?" Celestia stepped back as she suddenly bumped into something. Right behind her, to her absolute shock and the others, a giant apparition of Night Sprout appeared. "W-When did this happen?!"
"Curse Magic." Night Sprout winked. "You call yourself a ruler? You don't even know how to handle one kid. Pretty embarrassing, if you ask me." In mere seconds, Night Sprout had turned this area into nothing but darkness, just like what she did to Darkrai.
"It's true that I'm weak when it comes to that, but..."
"But what? You don't have the guts to handle it!" Night Sprout targeted Celestia's weakness once more as the giant apparition of her hoof poked Celestia, pushing her back. Celestia was stunned as there was not a single lie inside of Night Sprout's words.
Just then, around this black void, images of familiar foals popped up. A young Twilight Sparkle. A young Sunset Shimmer and recently Premium Polish. All foals that Celestia has been around.
"I mean, that makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?" The filly vampire laughed with sadistic intent. "To these foals, you're practically their second mom when you think about it. Oh, but what would you do if something like this ever happened?"
Afterwards, the visage of these foals changed. The filly Twilight Sparke turned into a younger version of Midnight Sparkle along with Sunset Shimmer becoming a younger she-demon, much like what happened in the Human World. As for Premium Polish, she was turned into what seemed to be a mindless android that had a destructive intent behind her, loaded with weapons. Seeing this made Celestia gasp in shock.
"If this would've happened, and I'm gonna guess one of them's gonna happen later, you'd totally do something about it right?" Night Sprout's head floated over to Celestia. "Would you battle them maybe? Send them away? Take away all of their magic? Oooh. Or maybe, you'd turn them to stone. What's it gonna be?"
"I'd...I'd..." Celestia shuddered, closing her eyes as Night Sprout's magic now made sense to Darkrai. It was similar to what he could do with his nightmares and it was even similar to what King Sombra could do.
"I see now. Her Curse Magic must focus on fears and weak hearts." Darkrai observed.
"You got that right. But it's only weak hearts. The fear part just comes with the package. That's not the true nature of my Curse Magic though. It's way, way worse than this."
"I see now..." Celestia said to herself with a shaky voice.
"Oh? You see that you're stumped?" Night Sprout flashed her eyes, believing that this was her chance to be free.
"You...Even though you're a child...you have the sadistic nature of an adult." Celestia had made up her mind as she raised her head. Once she did, her eyes flashed a vibrant gold as the Sun Princess wasn't as weak as Night Sprout thought she was.
"Huh?!"
"You gave me some time to think. My mind has now been made up." Suddenly, Celestia used her magic to make an apparition as well. But this one was astronomically larger than Night Sprout.
"W-Wait!" NIght Sprout sat down, backing away. "I-I thought...!"
"That I had a weak heart? I do. But I've had my weak moments. And every single time, I know how to overcome it with my spirit. That's one thing you should've known about me when you targeted it."
"I uh..."
"I believe our debate is over." Celestia's body let out that same golden light as this illusionary black void had been broken just by her exerting some magical power. The apparition of Night Sprout had crumbled into bits. The guards all closed their eyes as Darkrai nodded in approval.
Once the void was broken apart and the apparition had crumbled away, Night Sprout laid on the floor with her head spinning. Feeling Celestia's magic was perplexing, especially since it was full of light. A vampire's greatest weakness.
"It's over." Celestia walked over to the downed filly. Upon seeing Celestia approach, she scurried back, now truly terrified of the alicorn. She was already intimidated but now there was a bigger reason. Darkrai moved to the side, allowing for Night Sprout to back up into the walls.
"P-Please don't hurt me!" Night Sprout called out, using her Curse Magic to put up a magical barrier while also putting her hooves up.
"I'm not going to hurt you. Not for a bit." But despite making up her mind, Celestia refused to harm a child. Night Sprout opened her eyes to see the Ruler of Equestria's serious expression. While it was dead serious, there was also a great deal of sympathy and both empathy behind it.
"You won't?"
"Remember? Darkrai told me everything. Your past and how you got your magic." Celestia replied. "Pressuring you like this forced you to use that magic on me, just to try and lower my guard. It worked for a bit. And I'm sorry for that pressure."
"I-I don't need your sympathy." Night Sprout lowered her barrier. "I'm perfectly fine. Hmph!"
"She's got some bravery even after all of that..." A guard whispered to his fellow guard.
"What are you gonna do with me now, huh? I bet you were bluffing on making up your mind."
"I'm not. I wish I was. But I put my friends and subjects over everything else and I vowed to stop any threats. Including you. I'm sorry, little one. But...I have to arrest you. It's my duty to try and do what's right, even if I struggle at finding that right option.
"Mrrgh...!" Night Sprout growled, lowering her head. Celestia used her magic to encase the young filly in a golden bubble. Night Sprout gasped before then immediately trying to break free. However, when she tried using her magic, she quickly found out that Celestia's magic was far beyond hers. The bubble would not even scratch as the guards picked it in unison.
"Where should we take this, your majesty?" The guards asked.
"I..." Celestia shifted her eyes, still struggling with this. "Anywhere but the dungeon. I'd like for her to see the rest of the Junior Cup. One of the highest rooms in the castle will do."
"This isn't over, ya know! They'll still come for me! Queen Rosa will totally notice that something's wrong!" Night Sprout yelled at Celestia. "And I..." But before she could continue lashing out, her stomach growled. "I'm hungry."
"Get her something to eat too. Lots of food. Afterwards, I'll figure out what else I can do." Celestia ordered as the guards took her away.
"Are you doing alright?" Darkrai asked, still seeing that Celestia was contemplating her current decision.
"Did I do it right?! Was that the best thing to do, Darkrai?!" Celestia turned around. "What do I do now that I have her? Oh, the Dread League could possibly come here sooner than expected no doubt!"
"Gardevoir..."
"It's not easy. I'm not a ruler but I can't imagine trying to sort this out." Darkrai crossed his arms.
"Oooh, what now?" Celestia sat down, putting her hooves over her head. "Aha! I'll just let her go afterwards! And get rid of any books relating to Yveltal! That's easy enough, right?" Seconds later, Celestia was starting to panic. Despite having a strong spirit, her heart was too gentle.
"We'll think about it after the tournament is over," Darkrai suggested. "Will that help?"
"Yes..." Celestia sighed. Despite finally making that choice, she felt a great weight had been put on her now. "That would be nice. But before that. There's one other thing I should do."
When returning to the balcony, Celestia and Darkrai were just in time to see the finale of this current battle between Apple Bloom and Petals. Apple Bloom was about to take the victory with her Skiploom.
"Alright, Skiploom! Finish it with Aerial Ace!"
"Skip-Skip!" Skiploom covered her body in a light blue outline before rushing at high speeds toward the opposing Pokemon Amoonguss.
"Ah! Stop it, Amoonguss! Use Venoshock!"
"Amoon!" Amoonguss had sprayed a stream of poison from its mouth as a final attempt to stop and defeat Skiploom. However, thanks to Aerial Ace's speed and Skiploom's constant skipping, the Grass-Type zoomed to the side, evading the poison before then crashing into Amoonguss from the side.
"Skiploom!"
"Amoon!" Amoonguss took flight from the side Aerial Ace tackle. After taking flight, it had crashed to the ground, landing on its head, essentially appearing upside down. Truly, an impressive landing. Unfortunately, Amoonguss wouldn't be thinking about that as it had fainted. "Amoonguss..."
"Amoonguss is unable to battle! Skiploom wins! Thus, the victor is Apple Bloom!"
"Hah. Missed most of it, it seems." Celestia said as cheers bellowed throughout the stadium once the match was over.
"Yeah. So, how'd it g with Blue Moon?" Ash asked.
"Pikachu?"
"Well...We managed to keep her here but it was not easy." The alicorn put her hoof on her face, still stressing over what she had done. "Silly me...I had so much trouble with her. Outnumbered and everything. But she's just a child. I have to find a way to deal with her afterwards."
"It's alright." But Ash felt Celestia's stress. "I get what you mean. If I had to do something about a kid, it'd be super tough, I'll tell ya that. Taking care of a kid is unlike anything else, right?"
"Right." Celestia nodded in agreement. "But...what do you suppose I should do after this, Ash?"
"She looked like she had fun having a Pokemon Battle. Why not try that out? Have a battle with her?"
"Have a battler with her? Are you sure?"
"I'm kinda just thinking off the top of my head." Ash chuckled. "But Blue Moon totally enjoyed that battle she had with Scootaloo, I can say that."
"Pika-Pika."
"Hmm...maybe a Pokemon Battle would work." Celestia started thinking about it. It did sound like a good idea. It even made her smile thinking about it.
"Looks like it's my turn next." Sweetie Belle spoke, looking at the brackets. After defeating Delight, soon, she would battle Rumble due to the matchups. She looked over at Rumble, who just now noticed it was his turn.
"Wait...Oh yeah!" He sat up. "It is our turn!" After sitting up, he and Sweetie Belle made their way outside. Apple Bloom alongside Petals were just now healing up their Pokemon as the last match of the second bracket was about to begin. This tournament went along swimmingly with no problems. The only possible problem had been dealt with in the form of Night Sprout.
And on the topic of Night Sprout, she had been placed at a high point in Canterlot Castle. The bubble had been brought to another guest room which was made exclusively for Night Sprout. But she would not be there for long due to Celestia's decision.
But, Celestia still wanted her to view the battle. Once she was brought there, it was right next to the window. Night Sprout put on a scowling face, still feeling utterly defeated. She couldn't quite beat Celestia by targeting her heart. But that scowl soon faded away once she looked outside. She realized that Celestia was telling the truth about letting her see the battle.
"Ooh." She pressed her face on the bubble, gazing outside. The guards had even opened the window, allowing for a clearer view and some more noise.
"Get some food too." The guard said. "Princess Celestia has ordered the best food we have for this one."
"Isn't she our enemy though?" Another guard asked.
"Eh. Food is food." He shrugged as the other guards went off to fetch Night Sprout some food. Night Sprout could still hear her stomach growling. But to distract her from that, the battle between Sweetie Belle and Rumble was nigh.
"Both trainers, please send out your Pokemon."
"For this one...I'm going for my Prinplup!" Out came Sweetie Belle's Prinplup for this battle.
"Prinplup!"
"Go, Riolu!" And for a second time, Rumble had chosen his Riolu.
"Riolu!"
"Wait. Riolu again?" Sweetie Belle tilted her head. "What about your other Pokemon?"
"Uh...Don't have any. Riolu's all I got. But it's fine. I can depend on Riolu, so there's no need to start thinking about others right now." Rumble proudly said.
"Rio."
"Battle Start!"
"Let me go first, okay? Piplup, use Aerial Ace!"
"Prinplup!" Prinplup spread its flippers out before coating them in white energy. That white energy also gave Piplup a slight boost in speed for just this attack as he took off, approaching the Emanation Pokemon.
"Riolu, use Meteor Mash!"
"Rio!" Riolu pumped himself up before then also approaching the Penguin Pokemon with an azure blue aura surrounding his paw. The two of them clashed with Aerial Ace and Meteor Mash colliding. They looked each other in the eyes before then jumping back.
"Prin!" Prinplup then rushed in, delivering the next swing with Aerial Ace's confounding speed, only for Riolu to block it with one of his paws, still using the energy of Meteor Mash. He staggered a bit from blocking the attack before then pushing Priplup back. "Prin!"
"Rio!" Riolu then lunged in, going for a double Meteor Mash with his two paws. Riolu was the one who managed to get a hit in, striking Prinplu's chest with both his paws. The energy of Meteor Mash combusted, blowing the Penguin Pokemon back.
"Prin!"
"Yeah!" Rumble cheered as Prinplup stabbed his sharp flippers into the ground, bringing him to a screeching halt. "Okay, Riolu! Now use Quick Attack!"
"Rio!" Riolu then took off, leaving behind afterimages of himself as he moved at lightning speeds, keeping up the attack and not allowing Prinplup to collect himself.
"I don't think so! Bubble Beam!"
"Prinplup-lup-lup!" Prinplup then shot out a spray of bubbles that were forcefully ejected, almost pushing Prinplup back from the force he unleashed them at.
"Oh! Dodge them!"
"Rio!" Riolu used the speed of Bubble Beam to zigzag past the bubbles. He had even used his Aura to sense where some of the bubbles would come. However, not all of them as some of the bubbles managed to catch Riolu, bombarding him. The closer he got to Prinplup, the more bubbles there were and he found this out as the bubbles blew him away.
"Great! Now follow up with Aerial Ace!"
"Lup!" Now that Riolu had been pushed back, Prinplup could advance, using the speed of Aerial Ace to do so.
"Quick Attack!"
"Rio!" Riolu would do the same, using an equally swift move as he recovered by sliding on the ground. Soon, the two of them became blue blurs that approached each other. They butted heads before then moving away, moving at speeds that needed concentration to keep track off.
Two blue blurs went back and forth with Riolu bashing his shoulder at Prinplup's sharp flippers, unable to overpower them. But Prinplup wasn't able to outpace Riolu as he seemed to be faster among the two as he couldn't quite hit him. Overall, Piplup had strength but Riolu had speed.
"No good. Riolu's way too fast! Unleash we do this! Spin with Aerial Ace!"
"Prinplup!" Deciding to get creative, Prinplup had then used the speed of Aerial Ace to his advantage, but in a different way. By spinning on one spot, the speed of Aerial Ace allowed Prinplup to gain a wind aura that was around his size but slightly taller. He became a mini-hurricane with this trick.
"Haha! Yes!" Sweetie Belle cheered. "Go!"
"Uh oh! Run for it, Riolu!"
"Ri!" RIolu gasped as he turned around, immediately jetting off as the moving mini-hurricane of Prinplup chased him down. It picked up all the rubble from the ground, gravitating towards the Penguin Pokemon. Thanks to all of this momentum, Priniplup was starting to catch up to Riolu finally.
When Riolu ran to the side, Prinplup used his body hurricane to immediately drift there, appearing beside the Emanation Pokemon in just a second, stopping him from taking this path. "Lup!" After appearing next to Riolu, Prinplup had landed the tornado, causing the ferocious wind to send the Fighting-Type flying.
"R-Rio!"
"Oh, no! Riolu!"
"Now! Bubble Beam!" Sweetie Belle aimed her hoof into the air.
"Prinplup!" Once Priniplup was in the air, he shot out bubbles at a rapid speed, striking while the iron was hot.
"No way! Ice Punch!"
"Rio!" Riolu could still act in the air surprisingly. While having some airtime, he covered his paws in a chilling aura before then attacking the bubbles. The bubbles ended up freezing from Riolu's impact, dropping to the ground and cracking afterwards. Riolu then started hitting as many bubbles as he could while he was still in the air, barely managing to destroy them all.
"Oh! This is amazing!" Meanwhile, Night Sprout was in awe of what she was seeing.
"Isn't it?" Suddenly, without warning, and even without the guards spotting her, another filly had entered this room. It was none other than Premium Polish. The guards and Night Sprout gasped as they just now noticed Premium Polish's appearance.
"Gah!" Night Sprout jumped back, bumping her head on the bubble. "Ow!"
"My bad." Premium Polish chuckled after scaring them all. She then turned her attention back to the battle that was happening between Sweetie Belle and Rumble. "You've got a pretty good view up here. But it's nothing compared to the crowd."
"Uh, thanks. But you aren't there either." Night Sprout replied.
"Eh. The castle's way too comfy to leave. Plus, this works too. "The unicorn giggled, making Night Sprout chuckle at that reply as well. "I'm Premium Polish by the way. ANd who are you inside this bubble?"
"Me? I'm Blu-" But Night Sprout realized that this fake name was pointless now that she was exposed. "Night Sprout. Night Sprout's my name."
"Prin!" Back with the battle, Prinplup had just been hit by a mighty Meteor Mash from Riolu, receiving a heavy blow to the face. But Prinplup returned the favour as his flipper had hit Riolu's face too with Aerial Ace. The two of them managed to hit each other at the same time.
"Rio!"
"Wow, Rumble. Yur Riolu sure is good." Sweetie Belle complimented Riolu. "And you're not so bad either."
"Thanks. But it's about time I finished this. And I'll use this attack to do it! Riolu! Final Gambit!"
"Ri...O...!" RIolu was going for the mother of all final moves. Final Gambit. This would take all of his energy into one attack. He raised his arms, conjuring up a massive amount of Infinity Energy as it formed into a large ball with a blue flame inside of it, bursting with ferocity.
"Oh geez!" Sweetie Belle grimaced at the sight of this sphere and the fury that it possessed. This attack was truly an all-out final attempt with how much power it was radiating. "Get ready, Prinplup!"
"Prinplup!"
"Lu!" Riolu finally unleashed the attack, throwing the sphere as it started shaking the ground itself from its mighty movement.
"Now! Feather Dance!"
"Prin!" Prinplup's eyes glared as the sphere was right in front of him, large enough to engulf his entire body. Once it was close to him, he flew up into the air and flapped his wings. Just barely, he managed to evade the massive sphere by using Feather Dance to leave a husk behind. That husk had been obliterated with a fierce explosion going off. Prinplup ended up being hit by the explosion, falling out of the sky afterwards and hitting the ground.
Both of them ended up falling in the process. Final Gambit was an attack that was only used for last-ditch efforts and once it had been used Riolu had fainted. But not Prinplup. Despite being hit by the explosion, he was still able to stand. Barely though as the force of Final Gambit's explosion was something to fear.
"Riolu..."
"Riolu is unable to battle! Prinplup wins!"
"Phew! That was a close one!" Sweetie Belle laughed as she felt genuine fear once Final Gambit came into play. "That Final Gambit is something, but it's all okay!"
"Yes! That's my little sister!" Rarity held out her vuvuzela, blowing it to cheer and praise her little sister.
"Awww!" Rumble sat down, groaning. "Maybe keeping Final Gambit wasn't the best option. But it's so strong though...Thaks for the hard work Riolu."
"Rio."
"And thanks for the battle, Rumble. I'll say this. You could've had me. If you didn't use Final Gambit that is. Or if Prinplup didn't dodge it."
"Prin!"
"It would've totally won me the battle." Rumble pouted. "But, it was fun. Can't deny that. Good luck in the tournament then now that you won this one. I'll be rooting for, I guess."
"Thanks, Rumble."
This ended this match. The last one could go on between two other young trainers. The last match with Lucky had ended, finishing the second bracket which would transition into the quarterfinals.
"Oh. That ends this second bracket round." The announcer spoke as everyone applauded this final round of the second bracket. It was a worthy finish for sure. But now that the numbers have gotten smaller, the winners of each bracket would now soon face each other. "Now, it's time to show the trainers who will be advancing to the semifinals."
The screen started shuffling the faces of the Pokemon Trainers, showing who was going where. Gelidity would be facing off against Diamond Tiara. After that, it was Scootaloo vs Apple Bloom and at the end, it would be Sweetie Belle vs Lucky.
It started with 21 Trainers and now it was down to just six. Time flew by with this tournament, but it was fun either way. And that was exactly what Night Sprout was experienced when watching this. It was one step closer to battling Ash at the end of this as the journey continues.
The third rounds of the Canterlot Junior Cup were next. Only six trainers remained in it, making this the Quarterfinals. Managing to pull through with their skills alone were the Cutie Mark Crusaders as the three of them managed to make it in.
The remaining six were in the waiting room, taking a small break before the next match between Gelidity and Diamond Tiara would happen.
"It's just us now," Scootaloo said to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. "Pretty soon, I'll be battling you, Apple Bloom."
"Can't wait." Apple Bloom grinned with a beaming smile. "I knew we'd all face each other someday. Now's a good time for that."
"Let's make it so that it's all three of us left in the game, okay." Sweetie Belle suggested as they all put their hooves together, promising to try and reach the semi-finals together. "And after that, one of us is battling Ash."
"I've wanted to battle Ash more than anypony. So, I'm going all-in for this. Hope you don't mind."
"It's fine. I'm a coordinator more than a battler after all. Ash is all yours. If you can get past me that is." Sweetie Belle laughed while also taunting her friend. "But...Gelidity might be the perfect mix of both. She's so strong."
"And if she makes it to the next round, I'll have to face her. So uh...no pressure, right?" Scootaloo responded with a nervous laugh.
"That won't happen." But Diamond Tiara intervened, thinking otherwise. "Because I'm beating here. That's just what's going to happen and nothing else."
"Okay," Gelidity replied. "We'll see. Let's just have fun. The day's somehow still young too so we're all lively. Especially in summer. But from where I'm from, the heat is getting a bit too much."
"It's time for you two to start." Nurse Joy walked over while tending to the remaining Pokemon that had battled earlier. "Good luck."
While Diamond Tiara and Gelidity were about to have their battle, up at the castle, Night Sprout, who was still kept within Celestia's magical bubble, was watching from a high point in the castle while also having Premium Polish beside her. The two fillies who were not normal ponies had met for the first time.
"Ooh. So you're a vampire?" Premium Polish learned of Night Sprout's true identity. "Not as scary as I thought you'd be."
"Not yet. I'm still young." Night Sprout proudly replied. "One day I'll grow big and fierce and these fangs are gonna have some extra bite to them."
"Neat. Since you're a unique pony, the same goes for me. I'm an android pony." After Night Sprout revealed what kind of pony she was, Premium Polish felt that it was fitting for her to do the same.
"Android? What's that?"
"It's like a robot pony. But I look just like a regular one, don't I? I freaked out when I found that out." Premium explained. "Everything you see here is all steel and flesh put together."
"Weird...I like it!" Being that she's from the Dread League, this type of thing was fascinating to Night Sprout. Anything uncomfortable was a plus in her book.
"Uh...that's a weird thing to like." Premium laughed nervously as the guards entered the room with a plethora of food. Celestia ordered for Night Sprout to have the best and indeed, the best had been delivered as they were all placed on a moving table.
Premium Polish and Night Sprout gawked at the food as all of it was insanely appealing to the eyes, even for a vampire who comes from a dark place. This was definitely above a guest meal. It looked like a meal for a royal family. "Oooh...this all looks so good. I get to have it?"
"Mm." The guard nodded.
"Just so you know, this won't change my mind but..." Night Sprout stuck her tongue out. "It looks so good though...but how am I ging to eat this since I'm stuck in here? I guess you're gonna have to free me. Right?" She then let out a cheeky grin, believing that she would be freed from the bubble.
"Not at all. The bubble works so that only those outside can interact with it." The guard explained, shutting Night Sprout down as she put on a disappointed face.
"Bummer...Oh well." Night Sprout would still get to eat exquisite food so it wouldn't be a total loss. The guards moved the table and food through the bubble, giving Night Sprout access to all of these goodies. It was all free for her to eat. She was bot a guest and a prisoner essentially.
And with all of this food, she could eat while watching the battles of the Canterlot Junior Cup. It would help boost the enjoyment of the battle when eating something good. Speaking of the tournament, Gelidity and Diamond Tiara had already arrived at the arena, ready to begin.
"Both trainers, please send out your Pokemon." The referee ordered.
"This time, I choose, Purrloin!" Diamond Tiara threw her Poke Ball into the air as Purrloin had emerged.
"Purrloin!"
"Oooh, Purrloin. Then...Ninetales! Please, come out!" Gelidity immediately picked an excellent counter to Purrloin. Her Alolan Ninetales.
"Ninetales!"
"Her Alolan Ninetales is what spooks me...but I've got this." She thought to herself. Ninetales was essentially her ace, which would make this a harder battle. But Diamond Tiara also had her ace Purrloin out, giving her some confidence. "It's a 1 on 1...which means, if this were a full battle with more Pokemon, I'd have a chance to beat one of them. I just have to make it feel like I'm battling against another Pokemon in her team that I've already faced. That doesn't sound any better in my head..."
"Battle start!"
"Ninetales! Ice Beam!"
"Tales! Nine...!" Ninetales pulled her head back before gathering a mist of ice around her mouth. Seconds later, it had been unleashed in the form of a chilling beam of ice.
"Purrloin! Shadow Ball, now!"
"Purr!" Retaliating against Ice Beam, Purrloin stood up in a bipedal position before then generating a blob of shadows. The Devious Pokemon then chucked it as if it were a toy, crashing the blob against Ninetales' Ice Beam. Both attacks matched each other in power, blowing up in unison right afterwards.
"We're off to a good start. Now get in there and start scratching with Night Slash!"
"Purr!" Purrloin hissed and let out a fierce meow before then covering her claws in darkness. The Devious Pokemon ran through the smoke as Gelidity acted immediately.
"I can't use Extrasensory on it...So then, Aurora Veil!"
"Nine!" Alolan Ninetales cried out as her body became surrounded in a veil of rainbow-colored aura. This would greatly help her resist attacks as Purrloin lunged at Ninetales landing on her face. "Nine?!"
"Purr...Loin!" Once on her face, Purrloin started scratching, seeing Ninetales as a couch or curtain. Something that cats love to ruin as her claw movements were speedy, resulting in various scratches.
"Oh!" Gelidity gasped. "Blow her away with Ice Beam! Ninetales!"
"Nine...!"
"That'll do for now, Purrloin!"
"Purr!" After getting a ton of licks in with all of that scratching, Purrlin hopped off of the Fox's Pokemon's face, right as she was going for Ice Beam. The beam of ice came flying out, going over Purrloin's head and into the sky. A successful dodge on Purrloin's part as there were scratch marks on Alolan Ninetales' face. "Purrloin."
"She's doing good so far." Sweetie Belle commented while watching. "Do you maybe think she can pull it off?"
"Why are you asking me? I have no idea." Scootaloo shrugged. "But I'm excited to see how this turns out!"
"Ninetales! Imagine that this is a contest! Ice Beam and Aurora Veil!"
"Nine!" Once again, Gelidity and her Pokemon would battle as if they were in a Pokemon Contest, making them a bigger threat than usual. It started with Alolan Ninetales letting out a beautiful howl before summoning that rainbow-coloured veil once more.
"That's it..." Diamond Tiara stood there, waiting it out. She didn't captiilize on this moment. Instead, she was taking her time along with Purrloin, waiting for the next command.
"Why isn't she doing anything?" Rainbow Dash wondered. "Ninetales is taking a while to make this contest move happen."
"She has something planned. You can see it in her eyes." Twilight pointed out. "Whatever it is, Diamond Tiara knows what she wants to do next."
"Tales!" Ninetales then merged two of her attacks together. By continuing to use Aurora Veil, she started expanding its size before then adding Ice Beam into it, summoning a light blue chilling beam as it had then mixed with the veil of rainbows. Ninetales managed to manipulate the veil, turning it into an attack via this combination of moves before then unleashing it as a light blue rainbow beam.
"Now! Copycat!"
"Purr!" Diamond Tiara's plan had been unveiled. She waited for the right moment and showed just what she had planned. Copycat. And just like the name suggests, it copied exactly what Ninetales did. Not the move that she used, but her means of attacking. She managed to replicate both Ice Beam and Aurora Veil combined, summoning that same chilling rainbow veil around her.
It happened the moment Ninetales' attack had struck Purrloin. It was a direct hit, dealing damage to Purrloin, but it was not a definite victory for Gelidity as the moment the attack had hit Purrloin, not only did she withstand it, but she also jumped through the smoke, while also using the aura of Ice Beam and Aurora Veila round her.
"What the?!" Sweetie Belle and her friends gasped upon seeing this combo. Purrloin copied Ninetales' attack and changed it up, approaching the Fox Pokemon. She had a light blue and rainbow aura, similar to what Ninetales made except now she made it her own.
"Oh!" Gelitidy's eyes flared open as this wasn't the response she was expecting from Purrloin. Before she and Ninetales knew it, Purrloin had crashed into the Ice-Fairy-Type with this dazzling combo, resulting in a rainbow explosion.
"N-Nine!" Alolan Ninetales cried out before then being blown back by her own combination, tumbling on the ground.
"How's that?!" Diamond Tiara smirked. "Copycat usually copies the attack of the opponent. But in this case, it managed to get two in a row since Alolan Ninetales ended up using both Aurora Veil and Ice Beam at the same time, making it one move. I was saving this for my contest but now was a good time to use it."
"You planned that...?" Gelidity gawked.
"It wasn't easy. I spent days, weeks and a few months just for this." She then chuckled. "I figured that since contest attacks usually use combination, wy not use Copycat to capitalize on that. But I couldn't have done it without Ash recommending it to me." She then revealed that Ash was the one who taught her to try it out.
"That's a one-time use and thankfully, Aurora Veil boosted Purrloin's defence! You used it twice so you Ninetales is definitely tougher. But I've got the answer for that. Iron Tail!"
"Purr!" Purrloin had a super-effective attack at her disposal in the form of Iron Tail.
"You're impressive, Diamond Tiara. But I won't lose. Go, Ninetales! Moonblast and Ice Beam!"
"Tales...! Ninetales!" Ninetales combined two other attacks yet again. It started with Ninetales with her gathering the power of the moon itself. An image of the moon appears behind her as it then formed an orb of pink energy in front of her mouth afterwards.
"Faster!"
"Purr!" Just then, Purrloin accelerated, approaching Ninetales at a quicker made as it made Gelidity jump.
"Oh! Quick, Ninetales!"
"Nine!" Ninetales could feel the urgency in Gelidity's voice as she then shot Ice Beam into the sphere, but since it was sped up, Ninetales didn't have time to make it as beautiful as it needed to be. Either way, once the sphere was hit by Ice Beam, only a bit of it managed to freeze over, making it look hal frozen as Ninetales unleashed it.
"Smash through it!"
"Purr...Loin!" Purrloin had used the power of Iron Tail to capatilzie against the dual weakness of Ice and Fairy. She swung her tail, smashing the ice and the sphere. After doing so, the attack had been discombobulated as the shards of ice went flying in Ninetales' direction, bombarding her as the Fairy Magic shattered.
"Diamond Tiara's winning?!" Apple Bloom and the others couldn't believe her eyes. So far, it was Diamond Tiara and her Purrloin that were gaining the advantage in this battle.
"Aw. That didn't look as pretty as you hoped, huh?" Diamond Tiara taunted. "That's another thing. Since you wanna use your contest moves in this battle, I figured that I'd just stop you before that combination can fix itself. And I picked the right moves and the right Pokemon ust for your Ninetales."
"Just for Ninetales...?" Gelidity stepped back.
"That's right. I taught Copycat and Iron Tail to Purrloin all because of you." Diamond Tiara aimed her hoof at her fellow earth pony, revealing that she was waiting for this moment from the beginning. "My Purrloin and I were fixated on beating you since you made yourself such a big deal. We aren't in a Pokemon Contest, so using Contest moves in something that's way fiecer than a contest where everything's just constant movement is a big mistake. Just saying."
"Uh...!" Gelidity was dumbfounded. Diamond Tiara planned this out far better than expected. Gelidity knew that she was a prime target within Pokemon Contests.
"Oh my." Fluttershy and many other's eyes widened after Diamond Tiara revealed her plan. "That's dedication."
"I'll say." Rarity nodded in approval. "It's almost spiteful how she did it all for just one Pokemon seemingly. But still genius either way."
"Gelidity looks a bit out of it. See?" Pinkie Pie pointed out how Gelidity's expression changed from calm and composed to downright blown back. This was something new, even for the eyes of Sweetie Belle and her friends.
Gelidity was always composed during her contest and een during her first two battles in this competition. But now, they were seeing just how shocked she was. And Diamond Tiara loved it. Her smile said it all as seeing a befuddled Gelidity brought some peace to her as she started thinking to herself.
"You were always the talk of Pokemon Contests here in Equestria. I decided that if I'm going to be the best coordinator, I need to 1UP you. Even more than that. I needed to show everyone just how much I can overwhelm you. The best of the best so far. So that way, I'd show you aren't invincible and throw you off your game. That's how I like to play my battles. If anypony's going to be the most known and greatest coordinator, it's me."
"W-Well..." Gelidity shook her head. "Then...I won't battle like I'm in a contest. I will battle the normal way if that works." Now that Diamond TIara stunned her, Gelidity figured that playing it the usual way was the best option.
"Go ahead if you think that'll be a better option. Purrloin and I are ready for you! Night Slash!"
"Ninetales! Moonblast!" Gelidity grit her teeth, finally showing a serious face and a sense of pressure being put on her by Diamond Tiara and Purrloin.
"Ninetales!" Alolan Ninetales would now amp the intensity along with Gelidity. They now saw that Diamond Tiara was a force that should not be underestimated. In fact, Diamond Tiara was seemingly appearing as the superior force here. Meanwhile, Purrloin was already approaching with her claws being coated in darkness. Ninetales gathered the moon's power before then harnessing it into a sphere.
"That's it..." Diamond Tiara thought to herself once more. "I've already stunned you to make you battle differently than what you're used too.. Now it's time to strike while you're still feeling that pressure before you get your cool back."
"Purr!" Purrloin then scratched her claws onto the orb of Fairy Maic, trying to break through it. The sphere managed to win the clash, blowing up and pushing Purrloin back. But thanks to Aurora Veil, Purrloin slightly withstood it. However, despite changing the way Gelidity acted, Ninetales still had two Aurora Veils that had been used previously. Purrloin slid on the ground before bearing her fangs.
"Shadow Ball! Roll it!"
"Purrloin!" Purrloin then held one paw out, summoning a sphere made out of shadows before then rolling it on the ground.
"Blow it away with Extrasensory!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales would destroy Shadow Ball via Extrasensory as she released a rainbow-colored beam, focusing it on the ground. Extrasensory and Shadow Ball met with each other before combusting with Infinity Energy going everywhere.
"Return the favour with Copycat!"
"Pur!" Purrloin then used Copycat once more. Straight through the smoke, that same rainbow-colored beam from before had shown up, this time, from Purrloin's eyes as they struck Ninetales square in the face.
"Nine!"
"Go! Iron Tail!"
"Purr!" Once Ninetales had been staggered by her own attack, Purrloin advanced with a hardened tail.
"Ice Beam on the ground!"
"Nine!" Acting quickly, Ninetales had unleashed Ice Beam on the ground, causing an immediate flash-freeze.
"You think I didn't plan for that too?! How's this for a Contest move?! Smash the ground!"
"Purrloin!" Adapting in a heartbeat, Purrloin had used the strength of Iron Tail to smash the ground. The ice had been destroyed immediately as shards of ice rose up.
"Hit them back!"
"Purr!" Afterwards, Purrloin swung her tail repeatedly, hitting the shards back at Ninetales in droves.
"Dodge them, please!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales quickly zoomed the side, evading the approaching shards of ice as the Fox Pokemon was on the backfot.
"Hw abut we freeze that ground ourselves? Copycat!"
"Purr...Loin!" Mimicking Ninetals, Purrloin had also frozen the ground by breathing an icy beam of ice once she copied Ice Beam. The ice had been frozen yet again as Ninetales slid from all the dodging that she did from the shards. She almost fell over from it before maintaining her balance.
"And you don't have an attack strong enough to shatter this. Go, Purrloin! Iron Tail one more time!"
"Purr!" Purrloin continued to advance on Ninetales with Iron Tail, coming at full force while also sliding on the icy ground, using it to boost her speed.
"I can! Moonblast!"
"Ninetales aimed her mouth at the ground before then unleashing Moonblast with all of her strength. She would prove to Diamond Tiara that she did have an attack that could destroy the ice, even if it was not steel or anything hard. Moonblast had been shot at the ground, striking the ice as a pink explosion emerged.
It did damage the ice, but unfortunately, one Moonblast was not enough to break it all, much to the shock of Gelidity as Purrloin skated past the explosion. Gelidity was hoping to break the ice and ruin Purrloin's smooth movements, but that did not come as easy.
"Oh, no!"
"Patience pays off! All my months of waiting are gonna shine here! Go, Purrloin!
"Purr...!" Purrloin then lunged into the air, getting extra close to Ninetales as she was going for an overhead attack.
"Ninetales! Moonblast again!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales unleashed Moonblast a second time. Purrloin swung her tail downwards as it struck the orb of Fairy Magic, resulting in a heavy clash. Purrloin hissed as she drove her tail straight through the orb. Not only did she overpower it thanks to the raw power of Iron Tail against a pressured Ninetales, she also cut it in half.
"You're done for!"
"Loin!" Once she cut the orb in half, Purrloin smashed the tail onto Ninetales' head, delivering a super-effective blow. The hit was so hard that not only was Ninetales forced into the ground, but the ice ground had shattered as well. Blue smoke had emerged, filling the arena as Purrloin jumped out of it. The Devious Pokemon then cleaned herself from all of the dust as everyone looked into the scene of destruction.
"That's that." said Diamond Tiara. "Victory is...mine?!" She gasped along with many others as once the smoke cleared, it was revealed that Alolan Ninetales was still standing.
"N-Ninetales...!" Ninetales breathed in and out as she was completely damaged from this pressurizing battle.
"Amazing! She handled all of that?!" Twilight exclaimed with amazement in her eyes.
"Ninetales! You're okay!" Gelidity was thrilled to see this. "You would never go down so easily! I knew it! Thank you!" She now believed she still had a chance after seeing her partner still stand. Diamond Tiara narrowed her eyes, also believing that she may have to do some extra work before claiming victory.
However, none of that would happen.
"N-Ninetales..." Ninetales then dropped, losing the strength to stand up. That was all she could muster as this battle was over. Ninetales had fainted. "Ninetales..."
"Ninetales is unable to battle! Purrloin wins! Thus, the victor is Diamond Tiara!" She did her best. But ultimately, due to Diamond Tiara preparing for this one moment and capitilizing on a few weaknesses, Gelidity, who seemed invincible, had lost the battle, much to the shock of Sweetie Belle.
"Oh." Gelidity said with a slightly slumped heart, closing her eyes. "I lost. It seems. Oh well...We tried our best, Ninetales. You did everything you could." She then walked over to the Ice-Fairy-Type, hugging her downed body.
"Nine..." Ninetales sat up, nudging Gelidity's face and nuzzling it afterwards, making her laugh.
"Ah. It's my victory. Splendid work, Purrloin." Diamond Tiara praised her partner. Purrloin then looked back at Diamond Tiara before putting on an adorable smile. Right after she smiled, her body started glowing.
"Purr. Purrloin?"
"Oh!" The earth pony's jaw dropped as everyone leaned in to see this sudden flare of white energy. It came out of nowhere, but it meant only one thing. Darkness swirled around Purrloin's body, closing in on her as her body shape started changing. She got back on all fours, growing in size. Her body length becme sleeker as her eyes flared within the energy. Yellow sparkles radiated out as Purrloin was evolving.
Once the energy burst out, leaving behind purple and yellow stardust with dark particles inside of them, out came Purrloin's final evolution. After that battle, she ended up evolving into the Cruel Pokemon. Liepard.
"Liepard!"
"Oh! You evolved! Amazing!" Naturally, this was an extra bonus in Diamond Tiara's eyes. Not only did she win, but her Pokemon had also evolved, prompting her to take out the Pokedex.
"Liepard. The Cruel Pokemon. These Pokémon vanish and appear unexpectedly. Many Trainers are drawn to their beautiful form and fur. Stealthily, it sneaks up on its target, striking from behind before its victim has a chance to react."
"Lucky me! And I got a new move to boot! Liepard, this is great!" Diamond Tiara ran over, pouncing and hugging the Cruel Pokemon after her evolution.
"I did. Uh...Sorry if I went a bit overboard there. I got a bit too into it, honestly." She squeed. "I did kinda throw you a bit too off balance there."
"It's fine. You planned it all very well. I can't be mad at something to genius." Gelidity laughed. "It also helped me and Ninetales see that we have ways to go. I guess I'm more of a coordinator than a battler."
"Mm. Root for me, okay? Because very soon, I'll be facing him." Diamond Tiara then faced Ash, who was cheering due to this heated battle of wits and strategy. Sweetie Belle rubbed her eyes before then applauding the efforts of Diamond Tiara. No choice but to celebrate it.
"Now I'm a bit worried about Diamond Tiara." Scootaloo said. "But right now, it's you and me next, Apple Bloom."
"Eeyup. Let's make it a good one." Apple Bloom held her hoof out as Scootaloo shook it. As good friends, they would battle hard against each other.
This Canterlot Junior Cup was starting to reach its final soon with few trainers left. Afterwards, Sweetie Belle would have to face Lucky and thus, the semi finals could begin as the journey continues.
The Canterlot Junior Cup is nearing its end. Five competitors remain as the next match would be Scootaloo vs Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle vs Lucky. Diamond Tiara had just finished her match, defeating Gelidity in a surprise twist.
"Alright. It'll be you two next, Scootaloo. Apple Bloom." Nurse Joy said after tending to Diamond Tiara's now evolved Liepard and Gelidity's Alolan Ninetales. "After that, it's you two, Sweetie Belle. Lucky and...Umm..." Just then, Nurse Joy froze up, scanning the area and looking at the current trainers for a bit, noticing something was amiss.
"Is something wrong, Nurse Joy?" Scootaloo asked.
"Hmm..." The nurse pondered for a moment. "Something's off here. If either of you wins your matches, who goes up against who?"
"Well, If I beat Apple Bloom, I'm battling Diamond Tiara," Scootaloo replied. "And if Sweetie Belle beats Lucky, then she'd probably battle...uh...Who'd you battle?"
"That's easy." Sweetie Belle shrugged. "My next opponent would be..." But much like Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle froze. Her sentence couldn't be finished as she just now realized exactly what Nurse Joy was getting at. And so did everypony else in the room. "W-Wait! Who would I face?!"
"I knew you'd figure it out," said Nurse Joy. "We're one trainer short of a bracket."
"Seriously?!" The foals all bellowed.
"H-How'd that happen?!" Apple Bloom stammered. "I thought we were all equal in numbers?!"
"That doesn't seem to be the case. It appears there's a slight discount. How are we going to solve this...?" Nurse Joy pondered for a bit.
"That's where I come in!" Entering the scene at the right moment was BigTime Ben alongside his Gothitelle. "I suspected that something was amiss. It all seemed so standard in the beginning too."
"What now? If we're down one pony then..." Scootaloo paused on her sentence, wondering what the next approach to fix this was.
"Unfortunately, entries are closed. But!" Ben raised his finger. "We can have an extra match."
"Extra match?" The foals all repeated.
"Right, right. Sweetie Belle. Lucky. You two are at the end of the bracket. Depending on which one of you wins, you'll go through an extra battle before you enter the Semifinals."
"Ooh. Against who?" Sweetie Belle leaned forward.
"Why, me, of course." Ben proudly crossed his arms. "If one of you makes it past the final quarter-final match, you will face me in battle. And if you win, you'll be able to advance to the semifinals. Not too bad of an offer, right?"
"That's a good suggestion." Nurse Joy walked over. "But if that's the case, if either of them wins, the finals will still end up having one extra trainer. A 3rd one. That doesn't seem right for the third trainer."
"You're right about that. Which is why I've devised the perfect finale for the finals." Ben then grinned with his moustache flaring up. "How does this sound, my little ponies? A three-way battle?"
"Three-way battle?!" Once again, the foals repeated his words.
"Of course! It'll be three trainers battling against each other. Definitely a vast stark from the usual one-on-one finales, but depending on how the battle turns out, it could come down to one on one."
"Is that even allowed?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"It is now. I'll oversee it with Princess Celestia as well. So, do we have a deal?"
"Deal!" Sweetie Belle yelled before looking over at Lucky. "I'll win this and have the chance of beating you! Right, Lucky?"
"Sure. It'll be fun." Lucky was fine with it. Not exactly bombastic or excited about it. It was a good offer.
"Splendid!" Ben nodded his head, proud that this offer was agreeable to everypony here. "Now then. Scootaloo. Apple Bloom. Why don't you go on ahead and finish your battles?"
"Got it! Let's do this!" Scootaloo cheered as she and Apple Bloom ran out, ready to have themselves a friendly battle with a sprinkle of competitive spirit within it. Ben would be waiting for whoever would win the last match between Sweetie Belle and Lucky and would decide on who would get to advance to the finals and have that three-way battle. For now, the battle between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom was now.
Two good friends would be battling against each other as they stood apart from different sides of the arena. And while looking at each other from afar, they were both already having thoughts about how they were going to approach this battle. Not with the way the battle could turn out but what Pokemon they would use.
"I've got mostly Grass-Type Pokemon on my side. So Scootaloo's probably gonna go for either Rapidash or Quilava. Unless I psyche her out and go with Emogla. But she might already know about that..." Apple Bloom thought to herself, worried that Scootaloo might counter-pick her. This was probably the worst opponent to battle while having mainly Grass-Types and only one Pokemon that was a different type.
"She's got a lot of Grass-Types...but some of them can totally be a problem for my Quilava or Rapidash." Scootaloo was having a similar issue in her head. "I can't choose Horsea at all which is a bummer. Sorry, Horsea. Maybe another time. But if she's gonna go for Emolga...then I know who I can choose."
"Look at those eyes." Applejack pointed out. "Those are the eyes of heavy thinkers right there. Great stuff happens when my little sis starts thinking heavy."
"They look stuck too." Starlight pointed out. "Must be their Pokemon choices, right?"
"Probably it," Twilight replied. "Apple Bloom has a lot of Grass-Types while Scootaloo has two Fire-Types. But since she caught so many, there's bound to be some that resist fire or are neutral to it. But Scootaloo's got her picks, especially since there's one Pokemon that also resists fire."
"Both trainers. Please, send out your Pokemon." The referee ordered as the eyes of the fillies flashed.
"I've got it! I know who I'll pick!" Both of them had then decided on who they wanted to send out. And in unison, they both shouted out the same command. "I choose you!"
"Gible!"
"Appletun!"
"Huh?!" Once they both sent their respective Pokemon out, they were equally stunned.
"I thought you were gonna pick Emolga! That's why I picked Gible!" Scootaloo bellowed, aiming her hoof at Apple Bloom. "Or even Lombre or Lotad even!"
"I picked Appletun because I thought you were gonna psyche me out by picking Quilava or Rapidash when I thought you wouldn't! And I guess you didn't.
"I know that feeling." Twilight laughed along with many others once the two foals realized how the opposing Pokemon they wanted wasn't out there.
"Either way, this works in my favour." Scootaloo grinned right afterwards. "I've got the right Pokemon to battle Appletun."
"Same here. My Appletun's a good pick against your Gible too." In the end, despite them both having different Pokemon out, they each had an advantage and a disadvantage. It would be Dragon vs Dragon.
"Battle start!"
"I'm first! Gible, use Dragon Claw!"
"Gible!" Gible went first, holding his claw out as it was then enveloped in a draconic green energy. The Land Shark Pokemon then advanced, approaching his fellow Dragon-Type.
"Appletun! Use Apple Acid!"
"Aaaaa!" In response, Appletun would use its signature move. Apple Acid. By using the tart apple body that it had on its back, Appletun then harnessed all the juices within the apple, adding acid to it before spraying it out in a vicious stream.
"Gible?!"
"Try powering through it, Gible!"
"Gible!" Gible would do just that. He also resisted Apple Acid, believing that it would be a cakewalk for him to power through the attack. But the moment he approached and made contact with the stream of acid, that was not the case. "G-Gible!" Instead, Gible's body shuddered from the acid, slowing his movements down. The stream then forced Gible back, preventing him from touching Appletun.
"Bad move right there! Gible's weaker now thanks to that attack! And all of my attacks are gonna work well against him." Apple Bloom smirked.
"Oh yeah?! I'll just keep coming with Gible! Bulldoze!"
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Gible!"
"Appletun!" In unison, Gible and Appletun had used Bulldoze and Dragon Pulse. It started with Gible stomping on the ground, summoning golden shockwaves right afterwards. Followed up by that was a dragon-shaped shockwave by Appletun.
The shockwave and the pulse collided, entering a temporary struggle. Neither attack seemed to be superior than the other and thus, they cancelled each other out in a wide combustion. But that's just what Scootaloo needed, capitalizing on Gible's superior speed compared to Appletun.
"Dragon Claw, go!"
"Gible!" Out of the smoke, Gible appeared, lunging into the air. This time, he was closer to Appletun, giving him some extra time to attack.
"Ah! Above you, Appletun! Dragon Pulse!"
"Apple...!" Appletun raised his head, charging up Dragon Pulse but it was too late now. Gible managed to slash Appletun before Dragon Pulse could be unleashed. Dragon Pulse had been stopped entirely as the fierce slash from Gible had knocked Appletun over. "Tun!"
"Ah! Appletun!"
"Aaa!" After being knocked over, Appletun started spinning on the ground while on its back before then tilting to the side.
"Hehe! Now, Dragon Claw again!"
"Gi...!" A second Dragon Claw was about to arrive as a follow-up as Gible landed on the ground, running towards Appletun while it was on the ground.
"Get up, Appletun! Hurry and use Headbutt!"
"Appletun...!" Appletun just barely managed to get itself back up by forcefully tilting its entire body, overcoming its weight. By the skin of its non-existent teeth, Appletun evaded Dragon Claw as Gible almost grazed Appletun's body. And right after evading the attack, now that Gible was this close, the Apple Nectar Pokemon could strike. "Tun!" Appletun did so by immediately smashing its head onto Gible's own head.
"Gible!" Gible cried out as he flinched immediately. He staggered while moving back after Appletun's Headbutt connected, almost making him fall over. Gible regained his balance before then shaking his head.
"T-Tun!" But there was a catch. Gible's Ability, Rough Skin. Appletun felt some blowback from hitting Gible up close, receiving some damage.
"Come on, Scootaloo! You've got the speed!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.
"You can do it, little sis!" Meanwhile, Applejack cheered her little sister on. Both ponies had their personal favourites whilst Pinkie Pie rooted for both of them, waving two flags.
"How's that?" Applebloom giggled. "Not so slow, right?"
"Guess not. But I still won't let it beat me. Gible and I are gonna reach Ash. You understand, right Apple Bloom?"
"I do. But boy golly, I'd be lying if I said I didn't wanna battle Ash too. Let's see who gets to him. Appletun! Withdraw!"
"Apple!" Just then, Appletun sat down for a moment as its entire body flashed red. By doing this, it had increased its defence, giving it a greater resistance to Gible's attacks.
"That won't stop us! Gible! Hone Claws!"
"To counter Appletun's defence boost, Gible had sharpened his claws by rubbing them together, immediately increasing his attack. Gible had attack power while Appletun had defensive power. Only one of them could overcome the other.
"Now, Dragon Claw!"
"Gible!" Now that his strength had been boosted, Gible went in for a Dragon Claw with his eyes flashing red, leaving behind a small red trail.
"Apple Acid!"
"Appletun!" And just like before, Appletun would simply spray some acidic apple liquid.
"Not this time! Run to the side and strike!"
"Gible!" Gible then zoomed to the side, evading the stream of water before then homing in on Appletun. Appletun's defence would be tested as Gible slashed the side of the Apple Nectar Pokemon's body, knocking it back.
"One more time, Gible!"
"Gib!" Gible leapt forward, going for another Dragon Claw.
"Headbutt!"
"Apple...Tun!" Meeting with Gible's Dragon Claw was Appletun's headbutt. Covered in white Infinity Energy, Appletun had smashed its head onto Gible's claw, initiating another clash. The two dragons growled at each other trying to overpower each other.
"Come on, Gible!"
"Go, Appletun!"
"G-GIble...!" Gible roared, trying hard to break past Appletun's hard defence. Meanwhile, Appletun was trying to overpower Gible's attack power.
They were equal right now, as seen by everyone watching. Thus, the two of them backed away once a shockwave from their attacks emerged. And yet again, Gible's Rough Skin had come into play, damaging Appletun in the process.
"Dig, Gible!"
"Gible!" Gible then burrowed his way through the ground as fast as he could, leaving behind some rubble. Afterwards, the Ground-Dragon-Type disappeared into the ground before then advancing on Appletun from below.
"Get ready and use Dragon Pulse, ya hear?!"
"Apple!"
"Gible!" Gible would strike above Appletun's belly. And once a crack and a mound started appearing underneath Appletun, now was the right time to use Dragon Pulse as its mouth flared with blue draconic energy. Gible burst out of the ground, hitting Appletun's stomach. The impact managed to raise Appletun off the ground, but not high enough.
Once Gible raised Apletun, striking the Grass-Dragon-Type in the chest, he found out that Appletun barely felt it thanks to his resistance to Ground-Type attacks and its increased defence. And thanks to this durable body, not only did Appletun not stagger, but it also allowed it to successfully pull off Dragon Pulse without any delay.
"Apple!" Right next to the ground where Gible stood, Dragon Pulse had been unleashed, causing a draconic explosion that not only blew Gible back but also Appletun as it was a great risk. "T-Tun!"
"Gible!" Both Dragon-Types took super-effective damage as they were separated. Appletun managed to stay on its feet while Gible rolled on the ground before then jumping back up, recovering afterwards.
"Not strong enough? Fine then! Dragon Pulse! Let him have it!"
"Tun!" Right after being pushed back, Appletun let out a short-burst Dragon Pulse that moved far quicker than Appletun could ever move.
"Not good! Block it with Dragon Claw!"
"Gible!" Gible put his draconic energy claws up, using them as an extra layer of defence. Right on time as the blast had smashed into his claws, being larger than his entire body, almost touching his head. But, the claws of Dragon Claw held the attack back, but there was still a struggle.
Dragon Pulse started pushing Gible back as his legs scraped on the ground as he put his all in trying to keep this attack back. It was truly a battle of dragons, having the intensity of one.
"Can you do it, Gible?!" Scootaloo cried out, encouraging her partner to give it his all.
"G-Gible!" Gible managed to just barely overpower Dragon Pulse by screaming at the top of his lungs. There was a slight echo as Gible blew the Dragon Pulse back with the strength of Dragon Pulse, proving that he still had the attack advantage. Appletun gasped as its own attack was sent back at it.
"A-Apple!" Appletun felt that one. A super-effective blow from its own attack that left it staggering, almost falling over once again on its apple body. This battle had great progress behind it. The crowd went wild over this Dragon Battle as both Gible and Appletun had certainly exerted themselves.
Appletun had the defensive advantage, but all of those Dragon Claws caused it to feel the pressure and Gible's Rough Skin had come into play. On the other side, while Gible's defence had been lowered thanks to Grav Apple, he still managed to hang in there and had an attack increase.
"This is great...just what I wanted, Apple Bloom." Scootaloo chuckled. "I'm getting pretty exhausted from this one."
"Same here." Apple Bloom laughed alongside her friend. "I ain't much of a battler, but this is so much fun!"
"Isn't it?"
"Eeyup. But...I'm gonna end it now, Scootaloo. And I'm gonna do it with this." Just then, Apple Bloom had revealed a massive game-changer. It was high time she pulled out her ace in the hole as her hoof rummaged through her mane, revealing an item.
The Grassium Z. A Z-Crystal.
"GAH!" Scootaloo almost passed out from seeing that. "Your Z-Crystal?!"
"I had it ready for most of my Pokemon except Emolga. All of my Grass-Types can use this beauty right here and now's a good chance to try it out for the first time."
"Oh, rats!" Scootaloo put her hooves on her head, growling. "I should've gone with Quilava and Rapidash! Then I'd get to use my Z-Move too!"
"Here I go, Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom had also taken out a Z-Ring from her mane. Once the ring had been put on, the crystal could be inserted. The Grassium Z touched the mould before then letting out a spark of energy that showed the Z-Crystal's symbol. Scootaloo gulped as she readied herself.
The power of Alola had once again entered Equestria, responding to Apple Bloom's spirit. Immediately, the earth pony got into a bipedal position, ready to pull off the necessary poses.
"So excited to finally use one. And I can already hear something. I hear nature itself. From Deerling Forest and even the Pikachu Highlands." Apple Bloom spoke, performing the poses as the crystal let out bigger flares of light that were aimed toward Appletun, covering the Grass-Dragon-Type in this golden energy. "It's pretty nice to hear...I can hear my home too! All the apples and plantlife everywhere!"
"Tun!"
"Gible! Get ready!" Scootaloo said to the Land Shark Pokemon with an audible gulp. Gible stood strong in the face of this incoming attack. "I need to reach Ash. I want to!"
"APPLETUN! BLOOM DOOM!"
"APPLETUN!" After pulling off the poses. Appletun then became surrounded by a light green aura, causing the battlefield to be covered in flowers. Flowers of all kinds could be found here for everyone to gawk and marvel at. The energy surrounding Appletun formed into an orb in the air, which was then fired in the shape of a massive verdant beam.
"Here goes nothing! Dig! Now!"
"Gible...!" Gible's eyes flared as the beam approached him fast. And at the same time, he smashed his claws into the ground. The light of the beam made everything bright and hard to see as moments later it struck the ground, resulting in a massive green explosion. The wind blew fiercely from this nature-powered attack as it was destructive as it was beautiful.
The explosion then turned into a pillar-shaped one before shooting into the sky. The light was starting to fade along with the massive cloud of smoke that had been formed. Everyone gasped as Gible was nowhere to be found. All that was left was a hole.
"A hole?" Apple Bloom leaned forward. "Wait...then that means..."
"Now! Go! Dragon Claw!"
"Gi...Ble!" Gible had returned. Bursting from the ground, he now appeared behind Appletun instead of underneath. Gible had managed to work his way around Bloom Doom.
"Your Dig worked?!" Apple Bloom gasped. Scootaloo's plan to use Dig managed to save Gible as entering the ground was a smart play.
"Sure did! It was a gamble, but entering the ground was the best thing to do! It was the only option too!" Scootaloo chuckled. The Ground-Type move Dig was the greatest option in this instance. Every other attack would've failed miserably and done nothing, except for Dig, which allowed Gible to stay away from Appletun and the surface. And especially away from a gigantic beam.
"No fair, Scootaloo! Dragon Pulse!"
"Too late!"
"Gible!" Gible was ahead of Appletun. The moment Appletun turned around, charging up Dragon Pulse, Gible's Dragon Claw had already landed. The Land Shark Pokemon then slashed past the Apple Nectar in the blink of an eye. Before Appletun knew it, Gible was already on the other side.
"Apple?" His attack had landed faster than Appletun could react. And when he did react, the result was as expected. A moment of silence occurred before Appletun had then fallen to the ground after that super-effective strike. "Appletun..."
Appletun had fainted.
"Appletun is unable to battle! Gible wins! Thus, the victor is Scootaloo!"
"Whew! That was close!" Relieved, Scootaloo fell on her back, laughing. "Hahaha! I did it!"
"Gible!" Gible then ran over to Scootaloo, pouncing on her. Afterwards, he put his massive mouth on her head, excitedly gnawing at it.
"Ow, Gible!"
"Aw..." Apple Bloom sighed before then walking over to Appletun. "Well, we tried. Thanks a bunch for doing your best, Appletun.
"Appletun."
"That's a shame." Applejack lowered her hat, saddened that her sister wouldn't be making it into the semifinals. However, she smiled right afterwards. "But, I can say this. My sister's extra strong, ain't she?"
"Mhm." Her friends agreed. Truthfully speaking, if Scootaloo hadn't chosen Dig, Bloom Doom would've most certainly won Apple Bloom the battle.
"Looks like you're making it to the end, Scootaloo." Apple Bloom said before returning Appletun. "You're the battler out of all three of us after all. Good luck out there."
"Thanks, Apple Bloom. And for the battle too." She sat up before the returning Gible to his Poke Ball. The two fillies then gave each other a high hoof before then heading back to the waiting room.
"Best one so far!" Night Sprout commented while eating the food, enjoying herself. Premium Polish ate alongside her too as well. "Coming to this tournament was worth it!"
"Right?" Premium Polish agreed before drinking some apple juice. "Mmm."
"How are you able to drink that stuff without going haywire? Aren't you made out of metal?" Night Sprout asked before continuing to stuff her face.
"Part flesh remember."
"Oh. Right." Night Sprout continued feasting away as she couldn't get enough of the food. But as she was enjoying herself, that's when she got herself a message. A message from her home.
Magehold.
Specifically from the Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta once again. Time had passed since their last conversation today as the Lich Queen got into the little vampire's head yet again.
"Night Sprout. Night Sprout, how goes your progress? It's getting rather late."
"Queen Rosa?!" Night Sprout also spoke to Rosa Maledicta while using her mind. "Ah, my progress. Well, uh, I kinda got captured. Sorry. But I'm here also having a pretty good time, if that makes sense. The ponies here are pretty nice to boot."
"So, you were unable to et anything about Yveltal then."
"Nope. My cover's blown, so I doubt I can do it solo. You're gonna come and rescue me, right?" She squeed in her mind.
"You will return to Magehold. But, we won't need anypony to bring you back here."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"You will be reborn right away. The Infinite Revival will be used on you, my little pony."
"Oh...I get to have it be used on me? Yes!" She laughed before then deciding to speak out in the open. "Well, Premium. It's been pretty fun, but I've gotta go."
"Huh? But aren't you trapped here?" Premium Polish questioned as the guards slid over.
"She's right. You can't just leave, understood?" A guard added as there were too many guards for Night Sprout to go anywhere or try anything.
"I totally can. I'm going to explode now, so see you around!"
"Explode?" Premium Polish repeated. And once she did, that's when it happened. Night Sprout's body lit up with lights flaring out as the guards and Premium Polish backed away. Before they knew it, just like what Night Sprout said, she exploded.
A combustion of Curse Magic emerged inside of the golden magic bubble with Night Sprout's entire body vanishing. The guards and Premium Polish were naturally flabbergasted. They had just seen a pony blow up right before their eyes. Premium Polish immediately fainted before being caught by one of the guards.
This was going to be a bit difficult to explain to Princess Celestia.
Magehold. Within a chamber.
Back at Magehold, there resided a chamber of great size. This chamber was not used for storing any items, much like a normal chamber. Instead, this chamber and its creepy atmosphere with bones sticking out from the side possessed what seemed to be pods.
Massive pods in massive numbers were located within this chamber that had not a drop of light anywhere. They had a mysterious purple and green liquid inside of them that let out howls each time a bubble popped. And watching over this room was none other than Opal Vivacity. She stood in front of one pod as something was forming inside of it.
"Welcome back. Night Sprout." Opal Vivacity commented as Night Sprout's body suddenly reformed itself in this pod. Her entire body was brought back after combusting back at Canterlot. But right now, she was asleep instead of waking up as she rested within the mysterious cursed liquid.
A failed mission on Night Sprout's part. But, the Dread League wouldn't simply stop after some failed missions. After all, just like what Rosa Maledicta said, there are other vampires out there working hard to search for Yveltal. Night Sprout groaned within the pod as her time at Canterlot was over.
But not the Canterlot Junior Cup as the journey continues.
After a stunning battle between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, with Scootaloo emerging victorious, the last match of the quarterfinals would begin soon. It would be Sweetie Belle vs Lucky and afterwards as the final match of this bracket, depending on which one of them wins, they would have the chance to battle BigTime Ben and either will also be able to enter the semi-finals.
But before that battle could happen, rushing to Celestia's side was a Canterlot Guard, having urgent news about the vampire filly Night Sprout. "Your majesty! Your majesty!"
"Hm? What is it?" Celestia stood up, sensing the urgency in his voice.
"Hah...hah...It's the vampire pony. Blue Moon. She combusted!" He exclaimed, breathing in and out after catching his breath.
"Combusted?!" Celestia gasped along with Ash, Tobias, Pikachu and both of Celestia's Pokemon.
"No way!" Ash bellowed.
"Pika!"
"D-Did I hear you right? You said...combusted. As in, she blew up?!" Celestia wanted to make sure that the guard was speaking the right words and sentences.
"She did. Right within your magical bubble, her body suddenly blew up with a flare of magic." The guard went into further detail. "She said that she was leaving here and then suddenly, that's when the explosion happened. It was a shocking sight to see. But...there was nothing left behind."
"Nothing left behind, you say..." Celestia gawked. "And she said she was leaving. In that case...she might've stayed true to what she said about her departure."
"What do you mean by that, Celestia?" Ash questioned.
"It must've been something that came from the Dread League in Magehold, no doubt." Celestia turned to him. "Night Sprout would've done that earlier if that wasn't the case. Show me the room."
"Yes, your majesty!"
"I'll be right back, Ash. Pikachu. Tobias. I just need to observe the scene."
"Hold on." But before she could leave, Ash had something to add. "I've got the best way to know how it happened. I've still got a Time Flower with me."
"Time Flower? Oh, right. Those special flowers. Great thinking, Ash." Celestia nodded, seeing where Ash was going. Using the Time Flower meant that they could see exactly how the scene had played out without having to guess. All it needed was Ash's Aura activation.
Soon, Ash and Celestia immediately left the balcony, following the guards to one of the guest rooms that was located around this high point of Canterlot Castle. At the same time, Sweetie Belle and Lucky had entered the arena, at last, ready to battle as only one of them would have a chance to battle Ben and make it to the Semifinals.
Guest room.
When arriving at the guest room, Ash had placed the Time Flower on the ground. As for the magic bubble that Celestia had made, she could finally send it away as it had served its purpose. It was also surprisingly still intact despite a sudden combustion happening within it.
Once the flower was placed, Ash used his Aura to activate it. A beautiful azure pulse went off, engulfing this entire room as Ash focused on Night Sprout specifically, which allowed the Time Flower to know exactly what to do. It worked perfectly since this was Night Sprout's first time here.
A projection of the event that occurred minutes ago had played out, showing Night Sprout within a bubble. And to Celestia's surprise, Premium Polish was there too at that moment. She wasn't here now though.
"Well, Premium. It's been pretty fun, but I've gotta go." Minutes ago, Night Sprout spoke to Premium Polish, who she had formed a small bond with after they chatted for a while, eating together as well.
"Huh? But aren't you trapped here?" Premium Polish replied to her as Celestia watched closely, taking in Night Sprout's words. So far, it was all perfectly aligned with what the guard had shared.
"She's right. You can't just leave, understood?" A guard spoke.
"I totally can. I'm going to explode now, so see you around!"
"Explode?" Premium Polish repeated as that was when the explosion happened. Just like how everypony earlier ended up being shocked by what they had seen, Ash, Celestia and their Pokemon were equally blown back by Night Sprout's body suddenly lighting up and combusting on the spot with Curse Magic blowing out.
It was true to the eyes. A pony had just blown up, but not a single trace was left of her. The explosion didn't damage the bubble either as Night Sprout's body was gone. Once that happened and they each had their collective gasps, witnessing Premium Polish faint, the Time Flower ended the projection.
"I see...Now I understand." Celestia commented after assessing everything the Time Flower had shown her. "Most likely...she has been taken away."
"Taken away? Are you sure, your majesty?"
"I'm sure. And I'm also sure that we'll be seeing Night Sprout again. She's probably returned to Magehold, but no doubt, the vampires are still out there searching for any information about Yveltal. Twilight's Castle is a prime target too."
"Yeah. They'll keep coming there unless we deal with that book." Ash added.
"Pikachu."
"Call Twilight here immediately. We'll have a quick chat about this." Celestia ordered as the guards immediately rushed off to fetch Princess Twilight Sparkle, one of the few individuals who presumably had information about Yveltal. "And what of Premium Polish? I saw her faint in the memory."
"She's back in her room, your majesty."
"Good. Magehold might soon know that we're standing in their way." Celestia looked outside the window, thinking about the new threats coming her way. Not just her way but to this entire world and even the Pokemon World.
Magehold. Within the dark chamber.
After combusting on the spot and ending up here in one of the pods where Opal Vivacity watched over them, Night Sprout was taking a small nap, unconscious as the purple and green liquid inside of these pods started healing her.
"Oh, you poor little thing. Failed and ended up back here." Opal Vivacity placed her hoof on the pod. "Finding information about Yveltal has been far harder than expected. Not even my charms have been able to make the progress any faster than it already is. But, that will be sorted out soon enough."
"Opal Vivacity." Just then, calling out Opal's name and grabbing her attention was none other than Rosa Maledicta, the Lich Queen herself. Upon seeing the biggest figure in Magehold appear, Opal gasped right afters.
"Q-Queen Rosa!"
"Hm. Perhaps I should've given her the box since she requested it." Rosa commented, stopping in front of Night Sprout's pod. "But, I doubt it would've helped that much. Especially over at Canterlot."
"It would be a big place for that box to be unleashed at. Especially with so many ponies and Pokemon." Opal replied.
"Not just that." Rosa then used her magic to summon a throne of thorns, which she then sat on, raising the throne to a higher level. "Over the past 3 or 4 years, Canterlot and frankly the rest of Equestria aside from us have started to pose a greater threat. Ever since the introduction of Pokemon, they've managed to reach new heights they would've never reached before. From having these powerful creatures by their side and unlocking new boundaries of magic."
"Right. It is a bit worrying. But surely, we still have a chance, don't we?"
"We do. Our Curse Magic still holds weight to stand up to the new heights they've reached. However, with how things are advancing for them, this could twist and turn our chances greatly." Rosa narrowed her eyes, thinking about the future and how it could turn out. "But of course...that's why I ordered those to be built."
"Hm? Ah! The weapons that'll take away their magic! Of course!" Opal exclaimed.
"That's right. Such overwhelming magical power needs to be restrained. For our odds to increase, of course. Massive numbers of them are needed to get rid of all the magic. But our Curse Magic will stand strong. Opal. How long until they're completed."
"Almost~" Opal whistled. "I'd say we need at least...5 months or so. That's not too long for a vampire."
"Not at all. That's what I love to hear." Rosa smirked. "The Necrobeams will be our ace in the hole along with Yveltal to complete the Black Crusade. But, I already have something else in-store, just in case things go awry."
"Something else? Oh, what is it? Is it possibly one of the 100 Demons?" Opal wondered.
"No." Rosa shook her head before using her magic to bring over a drink. She passed another drink to Opal for her to have as they had this dark conversation. "Our third Ace-in-the-hole...shall be the Pony of Shadows."
"The Pony of Shadows?!" Opal didn't even get a chance to have a drink as the glass had dropped from the shock in her voice. She then looked down, appearing visibly disappointed once her drink was spilt. "Oh...my drink."
"Yes. The Pony of Shadows. He's been in hiding for too long now. And I believe that he wouldn't mind exacting revenge on the rest of Equestria." The already dark room had darkened some more as the thorns wriggled violently once Rosa let on a smile that only exuded cruel intentions.
She had three powerful forces that would help her Black Crusade with one of them being a backup if things were to go wrong for the entirety of the Dread League. Yveltal. The Necrobeams and the Pony of Shadows.
Canterlot. Canterlot Castle. Afternoon.
"You don't have it?!" Meanwhile, back at Canterlot, once Twilight was brought over to speak to Twilight, a slightly shocking revelation had been made.
"Sorry to disappoint. But, I don't have anything containing Yveltal information." Twilight Sparkle shrugged as this entire time, she didn't even have anything about Yveltal back at her castle or lab.
"Nothing? I thought you would've had something, Twilight." Celestia walked over.
"Well, Yveltal's not exactly a Pokemon that many would want. I can see why." The young alicorn chuckled. "I do have something about Xerneas, but you can probably guess why I could obtain that. Plus, BigTime Ben is the one who gave me a majority of the Pokemon books while some of them, I bought, so even he doesn't have anything about Yveltal."
"So...Night Sprout would've failed in the end. That is a shame." Celestia added. "At least, it's a relief that we don't have to worry about your home being attacked."
"You're safe and sound, Twilight," Ash said. "It could've been part two of what happened back at the Human World."
"Pika-Pika."
"Thanks. And we should also thank the Pokemon World for making information about Yveltal too scarce. It might be rarer than Mew. In knowledge at least. Maybe."
"But it does mean that it gives the Dread Leauge a greater drive to find it," Celestia replied. "Ash. You're also a target since you have some knowledge about Yveltal after meeting with it."
"Yeah. But I'm not gonna let them get anything out of me. Including Pikachu. And besides...we don't even know where Yveltal is either so there's that."
"Pikachu."
"Glad we sorted this problem out. But it wasn't much of a problem at all." Celestia shrugged before she and the others had their ears pick up on something. The voice of Sweetie Belle passed through this window as the battle between her and Lucky was ongoing.
"Oh, the battle!" Ash went over to the window, immediately fixating his eyes back on the battle along with Twilight and Celestia. Even at this spot, they could still get a good view.
"Go, Teddiursa! Night Slash!"
"Teddiursa!" Sweetie Belle's Teddiursa got a chance to shine in this battle as she was facing off against Lucky's Heliolisk.
"Okay, Heliolisk! Parabolic Charge!"
"Heliolisk!" Heliolisk spread its frills as it then fired a blast of electricity into the air. A sphere of electricity formed above in-between Teddiursa and Heliolisk before it then shot out multiple blasts of electricity.
"Above you! Go!"
"Teddi!" Teddiursa would meet with the blasts of electricity, using Night Slash to do so. She swung her cute paws with the ferocity of an adult Ursaring, slashing away at the incoming blasts. Once she knocked the blasts out of the way, she continued to advance on Heliolisk.
"Uh oh! Heliolisk! Dragon Rush! Quick!"
"Helio!" Heliolisk immediately covered itself in a blazing blue aura that had the face of a dragon in the front. Afterwards, Heliolisk charged in with this massive aura, approaching Teddiursa.
"That's a big attack!" Sweetie Belle gasped, knowing that Dragon Rush was an attack that should not be taken lightly at all. This could cost her the battle. "But, we'll power through it! Right, Teddiursa?!"
"Ursa!" Teddiursa heard Sweetie Belle loud and clear as she collided with Heliolisk. Night Slash and Dragon Rush clashed, resulting in a heavy impact that let out a shockwave. Immediately, Heliolisk was starting to overpower Teddiursa, with Teddirusa trying to push back.
"Come on, Teddiursa! Push through!"
"Nuh-uh." Lucky shook his head. "Heliolisk's ability is Solar Power. Since it's summer and the sun's brighter than ever, all of its attacks go up, ya know. It's not just Fire-Types or even Grass-Types that benefit from this season."
"Lisk!" Heliolisk beat out Teddiursa in the clash, blowing the Little Bear Pokemon back.
"T-Teddi!" Teddiursa cried out, rolling on the ground before jumping back up.
"I'll win this. Use Glare!"
"Heliolisk!" Just then, Heliolisk unleashed its frills once more. But this time, the frills showcased a mysterious pattern that was mind-boggling to the eyes. And Teddiursa was immediately fixated on it as the pattern then flashed yellow.
"Ursa?!" Teddiursa gasped as his body was instantly paralyzed by the effects of Glare. Now, he was stunned and stuck in one spot. Rarity gulped as she started huddling her hooves together, fearing that her little sister would lose this.
"Helio!" Heliolisk came rushing in with Dragon Rush once more, this time at a stunned Teddiursa, who wasn't moving at all. Sweetie Belle hadn't said anything either.
But that was for a good reason.
"Gotcha." A cheeky smile graced her face as she already had something to reveal. "Dodge it and use Dynamic Punch!"
"Teddiursa!" The second that Heliolisk came close, Teddiursa managed to evade the raging Dragon attack in the blink of an eye, zooming to the side and leaving an afterimage. Heliolisk ended up hitting no one in the process.
"What?! How?!" Lucky bellowed.
"Teddiursa's ability is Quick Feet! If she's hit by a status condition, her speed gets an increase!" Sweetie Belle had also revealed Teddiursa's ability, in response to Lucky doing the same for his Heliolisk. "Now, Teddiursa!"
"Teddi!" Teddiursa's paw lit up with a vibrant and dazzling orange colour before she then lunged at the Generator Pokemon.
"Behind you, Heliolisk! Weather Ball!"
"Lisk!" Heliolisk harnessed the power of the weather before turning around. Since it was summer, Weather Ball had generated fire, forming a flaming orb. However, Teddiursa was much quicker than even Heliolisk as the Little Bear Pokemon had smashed his paw into the orb and right near Heliolisk's mouth before the Electric-Normal-Type could unleash it. "H-He!"
"Teddi!" Teddiursa roared with an equal ferocity comparable to that of an Ursaring. The attack blew in front of Heliolisk's face and especially its mouth as the Generator Pokemon was knocked back after receiving that devasting blow from its fellow Normal-Type.
"Heliolisk..." Heliolisk then slid on the ground before revealing to have fainted right afterwards.
"Heliolisk is unable to battle! Teddiursa wins! Thus, the victor is Sweetie Belle!"
"Woohoo! Score!" Sweetie Belle jumped for joy before running over to Teddiursa. "Nice, Teddiursa! You were amazing!"
"Teddi!" Teddiursa jumped into the hooves over her trainer. As if she was holding an actual teddy bear plush, Sweetie Belle embraced the Little Bear Pokemon, spinning with her. "Ursa! Teddiursa!"
"Guess I wasn't as lucky here. Oh well." Lucky shrugged before walking over to his partner, helping Heliolisk up.
"I've got one final chance to enter the semifinals. I just have to beat BigTime Ben next." The little unicorn giggled. "Thanks for giving me a fun battle by the way, Lucky. Wish me luck."
"Sure. I'll send all my luck to you." Lucky returned before trotting away. Now that the last match of the Quarterfinals was over, before they could announce the semifinals, the match between BigTime Ben and Sweetie Belle was needed due to there being one pony short.
"Oh, my sister is about to be both a skilled Pokemon Coordinator and an adept Pokemon Battle." Rarity's heart melted. "These are some of the best moments in an older sister's life. Don't you all I agree?"
"I'm not the oldest in my family, but I get you." Pinkie Pie agreed.
"So. Who do you have winning this? My bet is on Scootaloo. She's yet to use her Z-Move, ya know." Scootaloo proudly smirked. "And when she does, it's gonna be a sure-fire win for her."
"I'm picking my sister, obviously." Rarity went for Sweetie Belle. "She may not have a Z-Move, but she makes up for it with her amazing skills. Sweetie Belle stays up late, after all, learning new things each time."
"What about Diamond Tiara?" Fluttershy questioned. "She did all that work for months just to beat Gelidity's Ninetales. Do you think she's been planning the same thing with them? Mainly Sweetie Belle since they're both coordinators."
"If she did..." Spike pondered for a moment. "That'd be pretty scary. She does hang around with them too. But Liepard's her only personal Pokemon. The other two are from her parents."
"We'll see for ourselves." Twilight had suddenly appeared, returning to her seat. She had already seen the rest of the battle from high up at the castle.
"Oh, Twilight. How'd it go?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well...I have a few things to share. Involves explosions and a certain Dark-Type. But...let's focus on the tournament, shall we? We're nearing the end."
"Okay." The announcer spoke once again as everyone's attention was geared towards him. "That's the final match of the Quarterfinals. However. It's not over yet. We won't reach the penultimate stage yet, everypony."
"Not yet? How come?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"It's probably because of how there's one pony missing." said Twilight. "I already noticed it a while ago. But there's one pony short in this tournament and Sweetie Belle won't have anypony to battle in the semifinals."
"What?!" Rarity was stunned by this as her mane spiked up for a split second. "T-Then what now?! My sister can't face no one, can she?!"
"Because...we'll have an extra match before the end." The announcer continued. "Sweetie Belle won this battle, thus, she has access to the Semifinals. However, since there's nopony for her t face in the semifinals, she'll have to battle an extra trainer to make it there. In fact, we won't have a Semifinals."
"We won't?!" Twilight and everypony exclaimed.
"Nope! Just the finals! You'll see what I mean when we get there. For now! Sweetie Belle will be facing BigTime Ben for the chance to reach the Semifinals!"
"That's a great idea!" Twilight nodded in agreement. "But then...what's happening with the finals. Unless..." Twilight Sparkle thought of only one possibility.
"You're gonna see what it is, ya'll." Apple Bloom, who was now sitting in the crowd alongside her big sister, already knew as she heard the information for herself.
Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle returned to the waiting room to have her Pokemon healed up. She was about to battle BigTime Ben so her partner needed to be back up to full strength, depending on what format this battle would be. Speaking of BIgTime Ben, he sat on the couch with Gothitelle behind him. Sweetie Belle and her friends couldn't help but wonder about his amazing strength.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Scootaloo whispered to Sweetie Belle. "BigTime Ben has a lot of Pokemon. And Gothitelle looks to be his go-to ace who can do a lot of things. So be careful, Sweetie Belle."
"I know. I'm getting shivers just thinking about what he has."
"Don't be too frightened my little pony." BigTime Ben replied, startling the two fillies. "You've come this far, so any opponent that stands in your way should not strike fear into you. Even with my size. Bahaha!"
"You're right. But...are you strong, BigTime Ben?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
"Am I strong?" He put his hand on his chin before grinning. "Catching all of those Pokemon wasn't easy. That should give you a good hint on what you should expect."
"Oh, he's stupid strong then," Scootaloo whispered, already guessing what BigTime Ben meant by that. "You're gonna have to go all-in for the next match. If you're lucky, the battle might be a full 6-on-6 battle."
"I don't have six Pokemon though. I'm one short. But I do hope he'll give me a chance to use both Plusle and Minun. I want those two to shine in this tournament too."
"Then it's settled." Once again, BigTime Ben could hear them as their whispering wasn't secretive right now. "A Double Battle it is then. Just for your Plusle and Minun. Sound good?"
"Great! They'll love it!" Sweetie Belle laughed. "Let's have a good match, Mr Ben."
"We will. Let's show them what we can do, Gothitelle."
"Gothitelle."
Sweetie Belle and Ben stared each other down as their extra battle was about to begin. This was Sweetie Belle's big chance to advance to the finals. Battling BigTime Ben. The man with Big Ideas and a Big Number of Pokemon. The climax of the Canterlot Junior Cup was approaching as the journey continues.
Equestria. Canterlot. Canterlot Stadium. Late Afternoon.
Sweetie Belle would now have a battle with BigTime Ben. Since she won the final Quarterfinals match, due to there being one pony short, the semifinals were ineligible and only the finals, which would be a three-way battle would occur. However, for that to happen, the Extra Battle against Ben was the ticket for Sweetie Belle to reach those Finals. If she could beat BigTime Ben, that is.
"Before the end, we have this extra battle." The announcer said. "Sweetie Belle vs BigTime Ben. She'll have to win this one too if she wants to make it to the climactic round. It'll be a Double Battle for this extra battle."
"I've never seen him battle before. Have you, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"No. But he's caught a lot of Pokemon, so he probably has a lot of experience. Years of it too. Since his past was added in the Pokemon World thanks to the Rift, he's kept those skills for sure." Twilight replied.
"So my sister is going up against her biggest battle yet? Oh." Rarity shuddered, fearing for Sweetie Belle and the outcome of this battle.
"The Battle will be a Double Battle. Both Trainers, please send out your Pokemon." The referee ordered.
"Okay! Go! Plusle! Minun!" Sweetie Belle chose the perfect duo for this Double Battle. Plusle and Minun. They were made for Double Battles.
"Plusle!"
"Minun!"
"In that case...Gothitelle! Decidueye!" Ben already chose his Pokemon. He threw a Poke Ball into the air while Gothitelle hovered forward, standing in front of her trainer. And out of the Pokeball came Decidueye.
"Gothitelle!"
"Decidueye!"
"I can do this...!" Sweetie Belle started pumping herself up, believing in herself to take victory against an adept trainer. She had no idea what BigTime Ben was capable of, but she wouldn't let that get to her. She's come this far, after all.
"Battle Start!"
"We'll go first! Plusle! Minun! Dual Spark!"
"Plus!" Plusle and Minun would use the same attack in unison. A double Spark. By covering themselves in a sparking aura of electricity, the two Cheering Pokemon took off like missiles, rushing towards Gothitelle and Decidueye.
"Gothitelle!" With just one hand, Gothitelle send an invisible Psychic blast that got in the way of both Plusle and Minun since they were grouped together.
"P-Plus?!" Immediately, Plusle and Minun felt their bodies freeze on the spot as a purple outline appeared around their sparking aura, holding them in place. Gothitelle restrained the both of them by using the invisible blast to blindside them.
"Decidueye!" And since they were restrained, this allowed Decidueye to strike, advancing towards the Electric-Type duo. The edge of Decidueye's wings illuminated a beautiful verdant green as they were used to slash the dual Cheering Pokemon.
"M-Minun!" The two of them cried out as Gothitelle then released the blast, sending them both flying. Sweetie Belle gasped as the two Electric-Types tumbled once they hit the ground.
"Are you two okay?!"
"P-Plus!" Plusle and Minun were still active. But their fragile bodies made them glass cannons and their opponents were already in sync with each other.
"Here comes some more, Sweetie Belle. Decidueye! Spirit Shackle! Gothitelle! Calm Mind!"
"Gothi...!" While Gothitelle concentrated on boosting her defensive capabilities, Decidueye went on the attack, jumping into the air before then drawing an arrow quill from its wing, with a shadowy aura surrounding the tip after it WAS drawn.
"Let's deal with Decidueye first! Plusle! Agility! Minun Light Screen!"
"Minun!" Minun would have a perfect counter to Gothitelle's Calm Mind. Light Screen. He raised his arm up, putting a protective golden aura around himself and his sister Plusle. Meanwhile, Plusle gained a second layer of light in the form of Agility before then taking off like a rocket with her speed greatly increasing.
Meanwhile, Decidueye fired the arrows it at them both at the same time. Plusle zoomed to the side, ending the incoming arrows thanks to the speed of Agility. However, just then, the arrows looped around, homing in on Plusle. It targeted her shadow, immediately catching up to her once she approached Decidueye. Before she knew it, her shadow was caught.
"Plus?!"
"It caught Plusle's shadow?!" Sweetie Belle gasped as the second the shadow of Plusle was caught, Plusle herself couldn't move at all.
"P-Plus?! Plusle!" Plusle noticed this as she tried moving with the speed of Agility once more. However, the arrows were glued into her shadow too deep, forcing the Cheering Pokemon to stay behind. Once the shadows got her right where Decidueye wanted her, the energy within the arrows created a burst of blue fire-like energy around Plusle. "P-Plusle!" The only good thing about this was MInun's Light Screen, which had allowed Plusle to take this attack better, but it was still painful either way.
"Next! Gothitelle! Signal Beam!"
"Gothitelle!" Gothitelle struck next. A light blue ball of energy forms in front of Gothitelle's forehead which then fired a rainbow-coloured beam of energy from the ball.
"Save, Plusle, Minun! Shock Wave!"
"Mi...nun!" Thankfully, Minun was there to be of support once more. The second Cheering manifested two sparkling blue orbs of raging electricity above his head and even above his tail.
With brute force, Minun unleashed a blue lightning bolt from each orb, intercepting Gothitelle's Signal Beam. The two attacks barely cancelled each other out with Gothitelle almost winning the beam struggle, only for Minun to just tie with her, resulting in a colourful combustion of Infinity Energy. However, Plusle was still stuck, unable to move from that one spot.
"Plusle! You can't get out?!"
"Plusle!" Plusle turned her head, flailing her arms at Sweetie Belle frantically.
"How am I supposed to work through this...?" Sweetie Belle growled as Spirit Shackle had definitely complicated things.
"Not good! Minun's the only one who can move right now! And Gothitelle's stronger than ever thanks to Calm Mind!" Rarity now felt the need to panic as in the matter of a few minutes, BigTime Ben had already put Sweetie Belle in a fairly difficult spot.
"It's fine!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed as she wasn't about to let the pressure get to her. Plusle's ability is Plus. And Minun's ability is Minus. Gothitelle's not the only one who can increase her power. Thanks to these two sharing abilities, they help each other and make their attacks stronger!"
"That's true. That would also explain how Shock Wave managed to stop that powered-up Signal Beam. But how are you going to help one of them since Plusle is stuck?" Ben questioned.
"I know what to do! If there are shadows in the way, we'll brighten the area! Plusle, use Spark!"
"Plusle...Plus!" Plusle's only possible way of breaking free from Spirit Shackle's shadow lock. By exuding a golden aura around her body, Plusle generated some light. And since the two of them benefited from each other's abilities, this light was brighter than ever.
"I won't let you, sadly! Decidueye! Psycho Cut! Gothitelle, use Dark Pulse!"
"De!" Decidueye would advance on Plusle while Gothitelle unleashed a purple and black spiral of energy imbued with Dark thoughts. Decidueye's wings lit up once more, this time with purple Psychic energy.
"It's all you! Minun! Iron Tail!"
"Minun!" Minun intercepted them both. He lunged in, getting in front of his sister before then hardening his tail. His tail had extended for easier use as he then swung it at both Dark Pulse and Psycho Cut. Dark Pulse had passed Decidueye, making it the first to come into contact with its opponent as Minun's tail crashed into it. He was now locked in a struggle. "M-Minun!"
"Decidueye!" And along came Decidueye, ready to strike while Minun was distracted with the pulse.
"Just this once...let's battle like we're in a contest! Just like Gelidity! Combine Spark with Iron Tail!"
"M-Minun...!" Taking a page out of Gelidity, Sweetie Belle went for a contest trick just this once. Now was a good time to try anything for the sake of Plusle's safety. Minun's eyes flared yellow as the second Decidueye got close to him, the electrifying energy of Spark burst out of his body, also covering his tail.
Due to the clash of two different energies, The aura of Spark and Dark Pulse mixed before then resulting in a fierce explosion that ended the struggle. And it was right in front of Decidueye the second it was close to the Cheering Pokemon. The Arrow Quill Pokemon ended up being hit by the emerging explosion.
"D-Decidueye!" Decidueye cried out as it was blown back. Finally, a hit on one of BigTime Ben's Pokemon had been made with Minun also receiving some black back from the energy. But it was all worth it as Plusle had been protected. Minun then slid on the ground, recovering as his Light Screen was still in effect, keeping him in the battle from all these powerful attacks.
"Impressive! But what about Plusle?! Psychic!"
"Gothitelle!" Plusle was still wide open as Gothitelle was free from damage as well, putting her hand out and wrapping the Cheering Pokemon in that psychokinetic blue outline.
"Just what I want! Brighter!"
"Plusle!" Thanks to Plus and Minus taking effect every single time an attack is performed by either Pokemon, the strength of their attacks go up. And now that Spark was being used a third time, it had been increased. Plusle let out a greater flare of electricity, this time, the massive increase in the light had interacted with the outline of Psychic.
"Gothi?!" Gothitelle could feel it. Plusle was forcefully using her electric aura to fight back against the Astral Body Pokemon's telekinetic hold, forcing Gothitelle to try harder.
"Gothitelle?!" BigTime Ben immediately noticed this. He could now see that when under pressure, Sweetie Belle seems to perform better instead of giving in to the pressure.
"Help your sister out, Minun! Get on her back!"
"Minun!" Minun then ran in, approaching Plusle.
"Restrain Minun as well! Spirit Shackle!"
"Eye!" Decidueye would target Minun next, aiming to trap his shadow.
"Go! Spark!"
"Mi...Nun!" To beat out the arrows and also reach his sister in time, Minun had also used Spark which too had increased in power. It not only allowed MInun to take off with greater force, essentially resulting in greater speed, but once the arrows of shadows approached him, he used his electric aura to barge right through the arrows instead of trying to avoid them.
Spark's power had blown away the arrows as Minun had leapt off the ground. Decidueye gasped as the arrows were now obliterated by the Cheering Pokemon.
"Yes! This is exactly why Plusle and Minun work so well together!" Twilight cheered. "Thanks to Plus and Minus, they can grow stronger together!"
"Go, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity stood up as her mane was getting messy from her hyperactive movements, but she could care less right now.
"Mi-Minun!" After breaking through the arrows, Minun reached his sister, getting on her back. It was like giving a piggyback ride to a sibling, but under different circumstances that involved the art of battle.
"Now for a double spark! Show them both, you two!"
"Plusle!"
"Minun!" Now that they were closer together, the two Cheering Pokemon unified their Sparks. And when together, their Sparks let out a light that was almost enough to match that of the sun as everyone squinted from this blazing light.
"G-Gothi!" Gothitelle and Decidueye felt the brightness as it even threw Gothitelle off focus.
"Oh!" BigTime Ben especially was stunned as the light coming from the Dual Sparks was also enough to affect the wind, making his marvellous moustache flow.
"We'll win this! Go, Plusle! Minun!" Sweetie Belle shouted with a proud smile on her face as the light of the two Cheering Pokemon had eradicated Decidueye's shadow lock. And thanks to that, Plusle was free to move. And once she was free, the two of them took off like missiles once more. They were still using Spark after all as their energies combined to create a larger Spark. The eyes of the duo flared a red and blue colour, making it look like the giant Spark was a monster.
"Hm. Splendid, Sweetie Belle." BigTime Ben nodded in approval of Sweetie Belle's strength. "Gothitelle! Psychic! Decidueye, Brave Bird!"
"Gothitelle!"
"Decidueye!" Gothitelle and Deciduye respected their combined strength as well. Thus, they would do the same and unify their attacks to stop their opponents. Gothitelle gathered up all her strength, forming a large blast of Psychic energy while Decidueye lunged forward, covering itself in a golden blazing veil. This time, Decidueye could keep up with Gothitelle's attacks as it flew next to the blast of mental energy.
A clash ensued.
The Giant Spark had crashed into Deciduey's Aura and Gothitelle's Psychic blast. Immediately, it rocked the area as there was a power struggle that had initiated. One of great proportions. And the catalyst for this were two small and cute Pokemon who were fierce.
In reality, that was Sweetie Belle's team. Small but fierce. The two Cheering Pokemon gave it their all, trying to push through as a powerful wind pressure was kicking up from the struggle. Sweetie Belle closed her eyes from all the wind blowing in every direction as it was even reaching the crowd, blowing so many manes, tails, eyelashes and clothes.
"Plusle!"
"Minun!"
But thanks to Plus and Minus, their attack managed to emerge victorious. The Spark intensified in response to both of their abilities syncing together. Decidueye gasped as its Brave Bird had been overpowered and swallowed up. The Arrow Quill Pokemon received a powerful tackle which then led to the Giant Spark heading in Gothitelle's direction.
"Telle?!" Gothitelle gasped, trying once again to use Psychic to hold them back. She tried using it to push Decidueye and the two Electric-Types back. But it was no use as the last thing she saw was a golden light before the Giant Spark crashed into her.
The outcome resulted in an explosive flare of electricity that blew up on the spot. That was the last of the rucks as everything was now settling. Out of the smoke, two Pokemon had flown out of it. Those Pokemon ended up being BigTime Ben's Pokemon.
However, only one of them fainted.
"D-Decidueye..." Decidueye slid on the ground as it was the one that had fainted. And as for Gothitelle, she barely managed to save herself, levitating with Psychic.
"Decidueye is unable to battle! Only Gothitelle remains!"
"No way!" Sweetie Belle gasped. "B-But I was for sure that they would both go down together!"
"Bahahahaha!" BigTime Ben chuckled as he then returned Decidueye to its Poke Ball. "My Gothitelle is a tough one, isn't she? Just one Calm Mind was enough to pull her through."
"Gothitelle."
"Aw, no fair! It would've been a great finish!" The little unicorn groaned.
"Amazing! Even after all of that?!" Twilight sat up. "I knew Gothitelle was his best Pokemon but this is impressive!"
"She beat one Pokemon! Oh, how I wish beating one counted as a complete victory!" Rarity groaned.
"But, now she has the numbers advantage, doesn't she? It's just two against one. Then again...That Gothitelle is extra strong, isn't she?" Rainbow Dash gulped.
"So awesome!" Ash stood up. "Aw, if I knew Ben would be this strong, I would've battled him long ago!"
"Pikachu!"
"It's not time to panic yet." Sweetie Belle wiped some sweat off her forehead. "I can still do this. Plusle and Minun still have more left in this."
"I wouldn't let you win so easily, even if we are friends," Ben replied. "Are you ready to go on, Gothitelle?"
"Gothi!" Gothitelle nodded. However, despite tanking those attacks, there was one little gift that Spark had left behind as it had revealed itself.
Paralysis.
"Gothitelle!" Gothitelle cried out as her body felt a sudden shock. Electricity sparked out of her body as the Dual Spark caused her to gain paralysis. The more the electricity, the higher the chance to paralyze.
"Alright! Paralysis!" Sweetie Belle thrust her hoof into the air.
"Oh, no! Paralysis!" Meanwhile, Ben put his hands over his head.
"Now's our chance to finish this! For real this time! Minun! Light Screen again! And then follow up with Iron Tail! Plusle, Metronome!"
"Plusle!" Plusle and Minun had their chance to attack while Gothitelle had a status ailment. Minun granted him and his sister some extra defence by setting up another Light Screen, covering themselves in a shiny golden aura. As Plusle wagged her finger, searching for a random move, her brother Minun went ahead, hardening and extending his tail.
"Gothitelle! Calm Mind once more!"
"Gothitelle!" Meanwhile, Gothitelle would only increase her strength and defensive capabilities some more. She closed her eyes, focusing as her power had been raised. Minun then lunged into the air once Gothitelle focused.
"Minun!"
"Now, Dark Pulse!"
"Gothitelle!" But just as quickly as she had focused, she also opened her eyes with a great reaction time. The paralysis wasn't kicking in just yet for her. Once Minun approached her, she unleashed Dark Pulse with both hands. The second Cheering Pokemon swung his tail downwards, hitting the pulse as another struggle had been made. But this time, Gothitelle overpowered Minun. Thanks to Calm Mind being used twice, her strength was greater as Minun's Iron Tail couldn't win.
"M-Minun!" Minun was blown back. Even thanks to Plus and Minus, Gothitelle's attacks were still superior with just the usage of Calm Mind twice. But thanks to Light Screen, he just barely managed to hang in there, but now,, his stamina was showing.
"Plus!" Finally, Plusle found an attack. And that attack was Grass Knot. Vines sprouted from the ground, wrapping around Gothitelle's body and restraining her. And thanks to her weight, Grass Knot had damaged her in the process, trying to force her down.
"Goth!"
"Come on, you three!" Rarity roared. "Win this, I beg of you!"
"Go! Iron Tail again! And join up with Spark!"
"Minun!" Minun recovered by sliding on the ground as his sister passed by him at greet speeds with an electric aura. Minun joined her by running with Iron Tail, but he was behind her instead of next to her.
"Gothitelle! Psychic!"
"Telle!" Gothitelle bellowed as she used her great Psychic power to blow away the vines, freeing herself with ease. Afterwards, Gothitelle then used Psychic again, unleashing the invisible blast at Plusle. Plusle had been held back by the power of Psychic. Thanks to Light Screen, they were able to resist Gothitelle's strength, but the Astral Body was still overwhelmingly strong.
"P-Plusle...!"
"Gothitelle!" Gothielle overpowered Plusle, launching her and defeating Spark in the process. But even though Plusle was sent flying, there was still Minun.
"Throw him!"
"Plus!" Plusle found some leftover strength in her as with the time she had, she held her hand out, allowing for her brother to grab it. Minun grabbed his sister's arm once it was out. And thanks to their great coordination, Plusle had used all of her remaining strength to launch her brother as she continued to fall back.
"Minun!" Along came Minun, gaining a speed boost thanks to Plusle as this next hit would have a hard hit thanks to the velocity.
"Dark Pulse!"
"Goth!" Gothitelle was ready to blow him back too. But that's when it happened. The paralysis had kicked in. Gothitelle staggered and flinched as she was unable to pull off Dark Pulse in time.
"Minun!" And that gave Minun his chance. With everything he had, he slammed his tail onto Gothitelle's head. A great blow, one that resulted in Gothitelle crashing into the ground. A dust cloud formed as Plusle slid on the ground, face-first at the same time.
Minun jumped out of the smoke, breathing heavily from all the energy he was exerting. He got on his knees before looking over at his sister, who had fallen. Plusle had fainted.
"Plusle..."
"Plusle is unable to battle!" The referee announced, but his words weren't finished yet as he locked onto the dust. The dust was clearing as the result had finally been made at last.
"Gothitelle..." Gothitelle had also fainted.
"Gothitelle is unable to battle! Minun wins! Thus, the victor is Sweetie Belle!"
"Oh...Finally..." Sweetie Belle fell on her back as that was the most exhausting battle for her yet. The biggest cheer so far had rocked through the area. And it was a perfect one as this battle was worthy of this thunderous cheer. So far, that was the biggest and best battle in the Canterlot Junior Cup. And it came from an extra battle.
"Thank you, Arceus!" Rarity, in her hyperactive excitement, jumped for joy before then grabbing Spike, shaking him violently. "They had the strength to win! Yes!"
"Minun!" Minun immediately rushed over. He helped his sister up, carrying her on his back before then running over to Sweetie Belle to express the enjoyment he found by winning this battle. "Mi-Minun!"
"Plusle."
"I know, Minun. We did it. But boy, am I tired?" Sweetie Belle laughed. "Is this what top-level Pokemon Trainers feel all the time. Amazing...Talk about a rush."
"A job well done, Gothitelle." Ben walked over to Gothitelle, helping her up. "I can say that we're almost past our prime, eh? Well, just me anyway."
"Gothitelle."
"And the same goes for you, Sweetie Belle," Ben said to the exhausted unicorn. "A fantastic display of skill. You are more than worthy to advance to the finals."
"Sweet. I'm gonna take a small rest now before that happens." The little unicorn smiled before then getting back up, stretching her hooves. "Thank you for the fun battle, BIgTime Ben."
An amazing battle between Sweetie Belle and BigTime Ben has come to an end. One that deserved applause as everyone immediately applauded the spectacular scuffle they had witnessed. Sweetie Belle had also received the respect of everypony here.
Not only would she be recognized as a skilled Pokemon Coordinator, but when it comes to battling, she had a stunning talent there as well, making her versatile. Rarity wept greatly with Twilight bringing over a box of tissues just for her. This battle would be hard to top, but the finals would certainly be the one that could potentially rival or even surpass it.
Unbeknownst to everyone else, the final battle would be a three-way battle between Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara, eliminating the need for a Semi-Final. And whoever wins that battle will have the chance to battle Ash as the journey continues.
Equestria. Canterlot. Canterlot Stadium. Late Afternoon.
The finals were here. And it would be a battle consisting of more than just two competitors, but three, making it a unique finals match. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara were the final trainers remaining and would have their final battles before reaching Ash, who was waiting for either one of them. A short break had been issued to give Sweetie Belle some time to rest.
And once she rested up after an extra heated battle with BigTime Ben, she was ready for the final battle against her friends who managed to make it here based on their skills alone, their spirits and some month-long planning to boot. The Canterlot Junior Cup was at its final stage at last and the Sun was still shining with ample time left.
"This final match of the Canterlot Junior Cup will be a three-way battle instead of the usual 1-on-1!" The announcer said as the three fillies took their spots. Scootaloo on the right, Sweetie Belle on the left and Diamond Tiara in the middle.
"A three-way battle? Really?" said Rainbow Dash as no one was expecting this.
"I expected this." Except for Twilight. "There was a reason why that extra battle against BigTime Ben happened and why the Semifinals were taken away. Being that they were one pony short would've caused some chaos, but that seems to have been sorted out. Now, the finals are between three different trainers."
"Even if there's a third party in there, my sister will not lose." Rarity replied.
"Well, I'm shooting for Scootaloo to win this. Go!" Rainbow Dash thrust her hoof into the air, cheering for Scootaloo.
"Since this is a three-way battle, the rules of a regular Pokemon Battle are the same. You're only allowed one Pokemon for each side and the battle will be over when two Pokemon from either side have fallen and just one remains. You have 10 minutes as usual." The referee laid out some brief rules for this battle.
"We've made it this far. But I don't plan on losing." Scootaloo said to her friends.
"I didn't have a plan for you, Scootaloo. Or you too, Sweetie Belle." Diamond Tiara added. "Only for Gelidity. But, even so, I can win this without needing a month-long plan."
"Winging it? That's fine." Sweetie Belle laughed. "That's what we do as Pokemon Trainers most of the time. If we don't have a plan..."
"We just go with the flow. Right?" Scootaloo continued as the other two nodded in agreement.
"Trainers. Please send out your Pokemon."
"Rapidash, let's go!"
"Out you come, Meowstic!"
"Go, Liepard!"
The three of them chose their best and strongest Pokemon respectively. Scootaloo's Rapidash, Sweetie Belle's Female Meowstic and Diamond Tiara's newly evolved Liepard.
"Rapidash!" Once their aces arrived, the trio of aces started at each other and so did their trainers. There was a bit of silence as anticipation for the final match was heavy. The referee looked over at them before uttering those sacred and exciting words.
"Battle Start!"
"Me first! Rapidash, Flame Charge, go!"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash would make the first move out of his friends. Rapidash stomped his hooves before then covering himself in a burst of flames.
"You're not the fastest anymore..." But Diamond Tiara intervened, however. "Liepard! Night Slash!"
"Liepard!" Liepard was the one who ended up going first instead. With a flash in her eyes, Liepard moved at swift speeds, swifter than what she used to be when she was a Purrloin as she had approached Rapidash with her claws out, coated in darkness.
"Ah! To your left, Rapidash!"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash was still just as quick as he reacted to Liepard approaching him from the left. He galloped to the right as immediately, Rapidash and Liepar clashed with Liepard's darkness-coated claws meeting with Rapidash's head and his flame aura.
"Liepard got this fast?!" Scootaloo did.
"Of course. Leopards in our world are already pretty fast, so this was a given. But a Pokemon leopard is far faster obviously." Diamond Tiara smirked.
"Liepard!" Liepard roared, trying to overpower Rapidash. But, they seemed to be equal with neither of them being able to gain the strength advantage as it seemed to be an endless struggle.
"Now's my chance. Meowstic, use Thunderbolt!" And along came Sweetie Belle to also intervene.
"Meowstic!" Meowstic joined the battle, using Thunderbolt. She leapt into the air before putting her paws together, forming a spark of energy. Out of the spark emerged a bolt of 100,000 volts that went straight for their opposing two Pokemon.
"As if! Get back, Liepard!"
"You too, Rapidash!"
"Dash!" Both Rapidash and Liepard moved back, evading the blast of electricity just in time with their speed. However, Rapidash was now slightly faster thanks to Flame Charge, returning as the fastest out of the three as the bolt hit the ground instead. Diamond Tiara already knew of Rapidash's increased speed.
And she wanted it for herself.
"Copycat! Go after Meowstic next!"
"Lie!" Luckily for her, she'd just the attack for that. Copycat. Liepard immediately flashed her eyes at Rapidash before then copying his Flame Charge, reading his Infinity Energy. After copying it, Liepard's body was surrounded by those same scarlet flames as he went straight for Meowstic!"
"Quick, Meowstic! Dodge and use Energy Ball!"
"Meow!" Jumping back, Meowstic had unleashed another ranged attack. This time in the form of a green orb that was made out of the power of nature, throwing it at Liepard.
"That won't stop Liepard! Go!"
"Liepard!" Only for Liepard to charge right through the ball, burning it all up as she advanced at Meowstic. Right after she burnt through the ball, Liepard crashed into Meowstic with Flame Charge, not only blowing the Constraint Pokemon with a fiery explosion, but her speed had raised as well, putting her back on par with Rapidash.
"Meowstic!" Meowstic cried out as she flew through the air. The Psychic-Type managed to recover by herself, sliding to the ground.
"This is only the early parts of the match! Don't worry, Meowstic!" Sweetie Belle yelled. "Let's try and use Psyshock on Rapidash!"
"Meow!" The Constraint Pokemon hovered in the air as she closed her eyes. Upon opening them, they flashed three different colours. Three thick masses of light blue, blue, and purple energy formed in front of Meowstic's body as she burst the orbs at the Fire Horse Pokemon before they then turned into beams midway.
"Alright, Rapidash! High Horsepower!"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash neighed before standing on his hind legs as his body was lathered in an orange aura. With the full force of his body, then charged at the beams, crashing into them. He tried barging through the attacks to reach Meowstic, however this time, Meowstic wouldn't allow that to happen a second time as the two attacks cancelled each other out, resulting in an explosion and some smoke afterwards.
"Night Slash!"
"Lie!" Out of the smoke came Liepard, capitalizing on this area effect to strike Meowstic, going for a super-effective blow.
"Look out, Meowstic! Energy Ball!"
"Meow!" Meowstic gasped, just now reacting to Liepard's appearance as she was so fast it took just 2 seconds to spot her. But the moment Meowstic made the green sphere, Liepard had already reached the Psychic-Type, slashing her claws of darkness.
"Liepard!" A super-effective blow as Meowstic was blown back by this one, rolling on the ground.
"Ah! Meowstic!" Sweetie Belle cried out, seeing Meowstic roll after receiving a heavy and super-effective blow. Meowstic was still in this, but that Night Slash left a mark that whittled her down. The Constraint Pokemon stopped rolling afterwards before then groaning.
"High Horsepower!"
"Rapidash!" Along came Rapidash to attack Liepard while she was looking elsewhere. It would be an attack from the back this time.
"Copycat!"
"Liepard!" But Liepard would copy Rapidash's High Horsepower. And it would be far more effective for Rapidash.
Both of them charged at each other with that same glowing orange aura before then butting heads. Since Rapidash was taller, Liepard had to lunge to make this work. They entered yet another struggle before going back and forth. They separated, charging in again as Liepard zoomed to the side, evading Rapidash's High Horsepower first.
When she evaded and rushed in for a chance to strike, Rapidash did the same, jumping over her. Rapidash tried stomping on Liepard with High Horsepower while he was in the air, but having an equally great reaction time, Liepard ran out of the way as the two of them turned around, butting heads once more. These two were equal so far as this battle was getting everyone excited. This back and forth and fast-paced action was already putting it on par with the battle between Sweetie Belle and BigTime Ben.
"No good. Meowstic's too slow to keep up with those two." Speaking of Sweetie Belle, she growled, showing a sweatdrop as Rapidash and Meowstic were taking control of this battle while Meowstic was falling behind so far. "Keeping my distance is the best she can do...unless. I got it! Meowstic! Trick Room!"
"Meowstic!" But there was an answer to this. Thanks to this overwhelming amount of speed that her opponents had, Meowstic figured that it would be best if she received it. Trick Room was the way to go. Once she put her arms up, Meowstic summoned a massive box made out of Psychic energy that surrounded the entire arena.
Meowstic manipulated the dimensions themselves to give herself an advantage, reshaping reality slightly. It would all be worth it as the moment she altered the dimensions, the speed of both Rapidash and Liepard had been reversed. No longer were they the fastest.
Now it was Meowstic.
"Rapidash?"
"Liepard?" Liepard and Rapidash stopped their head-on clashing to look over at Meowstic. So did their trainers. This speed change could mean trouble for them as they mainly relied on their speed for victory.
"Big deal. Copycat!"
"Lie!" But in the end, it was all for nothing as Liepard was the perfect counter to everything that these two could do so far. The moment Trick Room had been used, Liepard copied Meowstic's move, using it for herself. The dimensions were being altered once more.
"Wait! What happens when two Trick Rooms get used at the same time?!" This was new to Sweetie Belle along with Scootaloo too.
"That's easy. Having a Pokémon that can also use Trick Room in retaliation can reverse the effects of the move. If the move is used twice, the dimensions return to normal.
"No way!" Sweetie Belle pulled back as her plans had been foiled.
"I don't believe it. Liepard seems unstoppable."Twilight commented. "All three of its moves are so perfect for her opponents. Night Slash for Meowstic. Copycat exclusively for Rapidash's High Horsepower to use against him and the chance to increase her speed thanks to Flame Charge. Diamond Tiara's Liepard is..."
"Terrifying?" Pinkie Pie replied first.
"Invincible?" Then Rainbow Dash.
"Practically perfect?" And Starlight finished it off. Twilight nodded as those were all the things she thought about when trying to describe Liepard.
"Mm. And there's still that fourth move that she learned when she evolved from Purrloin earlier." Fluttershy added. "That hasn't been used either."
"No need to worry!" A nervous Rarity bit her hoof. "It doesn't matter if she has the world's most perfect and flawless Pokemon! My little sister won't lose so easily to such counters! Come on, Sweetie Belle, darling!" She then stood up, further trying to boost Sweetie Belle's confidence.
"Phew..." Scootaloo felt relieved. She was worried about the speed change as Diamond Tiara inadvertently saved her. She only intended for Liepard's speed to return but Trick Room affects everyone after all.
"Aw, come on!" Sweetie Belle groaned. "Copycat's so good but so annoying too. There goes my speed advantage."
"Tough. Let's use our newest move that we learned today! Goodbye Shadow Ball! Hello Secret Power!" After Liepard had evolved, she had already been revealed to have learned a new move. But now, everyone would see what that move was.
"Liepard!" Secret Power was the newest move. With her body becoming lathered in a pink glow, she interacted with the arena itself, drawing power from it. Since the arena was mainly ground, Liepard drew into the power of Ground Infinity Energy, unleashing an orange beam that had rocks from the ground around it.
"Yikes! Rapidash! Solar Beam!"
"Rapidash!" To counter this attack, Rapidash tried Inferno. His strongest move as it was perfect to use it now since it was summer. With the Sun being at its peak during the Summertime, Solar Beam wouldn't need a long charging time. Immediately, Rapidash already built some solar energy before then unleashing a giant green beam out of his mouth.
Solar Beam and Secret Power clashed, initiating a beam struggle. However, thanks to the boosted power of the Sun and Grass' advantage over Ground, Rapidash managed to beat out Secret Power, engulfing the orange beam, as at last, Liepard received some damage once her beam was beaten out.
"Lie!" Liepard cried out once the beam hit her, blowing the Cruel Pokemon back.
"Finally! Now, Flame Charge, let's go!"
"Rapidash!" After Solar Beam had landed, knocking Liepard back, Rapidash advanced with Flame Charge, moving so fast that he left a fire trail.
"Copycat!"
"Liepard!" Liepard would retaliate with that same attack. There was no way she was about to let Rapidash outspeed her as she also left behind a fiery trail. The two auras of fire clashed with each other once more.
"And here I was worried that your Rapidash's Flash Fire would come into play! What's wrong? Is Rapidash not feeling well?" Diamond Tiara taunted as the two speedy Pocket Monsters kept pushing each other.
"I swapped out Flash Fire for Flame Body! You're about to feel the burn pretty soon!" Scootaloo gave a snappy retort.
"Meow...!" Meanwhile, Meowstic was still falling behind, slower than them all. Being on the losing end was frustrating to her as SWeetie Belle started hatching a plan.
"Okay...Okay. Trick Room can be copied thanks to Liepard's Copycat." Sweetie Belle closed her eyes before thinking to herself. "I went to the Pokemon School for a reason...Trick Room gets beat out by another Trick Room, so Liepard can easily do that...But..." That's when it hit Sweetie Belle. "Copycat only works by mimicking the previously used move. It doesn't allow the Pokemon to choose whichever move they want! So the key to outspeeding them with Trick Room without having to worry about a reverse...is to use another attack right after Trick Room!"
Sweetie Belle found the main weakness with Copycat. It was a versatile and useful move, for sure. But in some cases, its greatest strength can also be its greatest weakness, if manipulated in a certain way by the opponent. And Sweetie Belle was the right opponent.
"Okay! Keep her busy for a bit Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle grinned as she looked at Meowstic. Meowstic looked back as she could already see that Sweetie Belle was planning something just by staring at her eyes.
"Liepard!" Liepard backed up as the Flame Charge clash had ended. Both Rapidash and Liepard increased their already grand speed.
"Night Slash!"
"Liepard!"
"High Horsepower!"
"Rapidash!" Another clash would seemingly ensue, but this time, Liepard tricked Rapidash by taking advantage of the height difference. Despite being equal in speed and seemingly strength, Rapidash was the bigger Pokemon here. Liepard was second and Meowstic was third.
And with this height difference, a blow to the lower section was incoming. The moment Rapidash raised his legs, Liepard struck, using the second variant of Night Slash which involved swinging her claws so fast she sent out dark blades. These dark blades struck Rapidash's 'legs the moment he started galloping.
"R-Rapidash!" Rapidash cried out as he was thrown off balance once the blades hit his hooves, knocking him over. The Fire Horse Pokemon was the third Pokemon in this three-way battle to receive a hard hit as things were slowly being evened out.
"That's the ticket! Secret Power! Go!"
"Liepard!" Once Rapidash was blown back, Secret Power had been used once more, harnessing the energy of the Ground and turning it into a beam.
"Not good! Smart Strike!"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash would use his horn for this one. His horn extended for this attack while also receiving some metal coating as he would meet the beam head-on. Rapidash smashed his horn onto the beam, stabbing into it. He was able to hold it back in this struggle, but the power behind Secret Power's Ground Infinity Energy was certainly giving him some trouble as he didn't use Solar Beam to combat it this time. He would have to rely on his horn for this as Secret Power was starting to push him back.
"Hang in there, Rapidash!"
"Here goes nothing! Trick Room!" And thus, with Rapidash and Liepard busy, Sweetie Belle could have Meowstic use Trick Room once more. The dimensions had been altered to Meowstic's liking, shifting the speed of every Pokemon around the arena.
"Again?!" Diamond Tiara turned her attention to Meowstic. "I shouldn't have taken my eyes off of you! Liepard!"
"Liepard!" Liepard cried out in response, turning her eyes to gaze at Diamond Tiara who was just in the corner of her vision.
"Use Co-"
"Don't ignore Rapidash! Go Rapidash!"
"Radpidash!" But, Rapidash was still in a struggle with Liepard. The moment Diamond Tiara called out her name, Liepard lost some focus. This allowed Rapidash to just barely edge out and beat Secret Power by galloping with all of his might.
"Now! Thunderbolt, go!"
"Meowstic!" But before Diamond Tiara could have Liepard use Copycat, Meowstic had already used her next move. Thunderbolt. She put her paws together, unleashing that bursting bolt of 100,000 volts as this would be the only attack that Liepard could copy now. Trick Room was out of the picture now that it had been used.
"L-Lie!" But, aside from that, Liepard had been sandwiched. Thunderbolt targeted her from behind, shocking the Cruel Pokemon whilst Rapidash took his opportunity to win the struggle with Secret Power, charging headfirst. He smashed his horn into Liepard while she was being shocked, delivering a double whammy.
"Not my Liepard!" Diamond Tiara gasped as Rapidash had then thrown Liepard into the air with his horn. Finally, Liepard's massive advantage had been reversed as now she was no longer the fastest. She and Rapidash were tied as the Cruel Pokemon fell from above.
"Lie!" But cats do land on their feet, including this one as Liepard made a safe recovery to the ground. "Lie-Liepard!"
"Well, well, well. Looks like Meowstic's now the fastest Pokemon here." Sweetie Belle proudly grinned, knowing that she had put a wrench in their strategies. "Hehehe! Score! Looks like Copycat's easy to expose with how easy it is to use too!"
"Hmph!" Diamond Tiara scoffed. "Big deal. I still have a way to get Liepard's speed back."
"Uh...You do?" Sweetie Belle's confidence was put on pause.
"I do. I just have to copy him." The earth pony smirked before then looking at Rapidash. She referred to Rapidash's Flame Charge.
"As if! I'm not gonna let Liepard have the chance to copy Flame Charge!" Scootaloo declared. "Besides. I'm gonna get Rapidash back up to speed with Flame Charge and I won't let you catch up to him anymore, Diamond Tiara."
"You have to outpace Meowstic first! Now! It's time for our beautiful comeback, Meowstic! Energy Ball! A double dose of it!"
"Meowstic!" Meowstic held Energy Bal in her paws. Two of them. Two spheres exclusively for her opponents as she immediately took off.
"If I beat Meowstic, Trick Room's effect goes away! Night Slash!"
"Flame Charge!"
"Liepard!" Liepard and Rapidash both knew that as long as Meowstic was around, their speed would be lacking. Liepard lunged at her while Rapidash built up some speed with Flame Charge but it was still a long way to go.
"Meow!" But the moment Meowstic was close to the two taller Pokemon, she immediately jumped over them, possessing the superior speed as Rapidash and Liepard looked up. "Meowstic!" Meowstic then threw the Energy Balls from above faster than her opponents could turn.
"Liepard!" Liepard slashed her claws at the Energy Ball as even though she was slower, that didn't mean she couldn't fight back against approaching attacks. At least, by the skin of her teeth as she just managed to slash the ball in time. As for Rapidash, he burnt away the Energy Ball.
"Get up and there and slash her!"
"Lie!" Liepard would approach Meowstic in the air by taking a mighty leap. Her physical capabilities didn't get altered either as she was ready for a fearsome slash.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Meow!" Meowstic simply gave a cocky smirk before then using her remaining airtime to unleash Thunderbolt, which was the perfect attack to use in this instance due to the speed of lightning. Liepard tried clawing at that, only for the lightning to hit her first, blasting her back to the ground.
"Solar Beam!"
"Look out! Get down!"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash meanwhile had built some Solar Energy instantly as Liepard flew past him. He still had the speed to unleash the energy beam at Meowstic.
"Meow?!" Meowstic grimaced as her ample airtime had ended finally. She performed a limbo pose while falling, barely avoiding the beam. It grazed her fur every so slightly before shooting to the sky. Everyone in the crowd cheered as Meowstic was certainly making her comeback with this alteration to speed.
"Go! Psyshock!"
"Meow!" Meowstic was also a cat, allowing her to stick a safe landing and a stylish one too. The moment she landed, she struck with great speed, unleashing Psyshock at Rapidash. Rapidash received the three masses of Psychic energy moments after Meowstic stuck her landing. The Fire-Type was pushed back as now Meowstic was taking control of this battle.
"Amazing! Meowstic's now gaining the lead! I didn't expect it to be a battle of speed, but it's s much fun!" Twilight giggled.
"Come on! Get that speed back up, Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Yes! That's it, Sweetie Belle!" Meanwhile, Rarity was revelling in this. Once her sister was seen making a comeback, she flailed her arms with great intensity.
"It isn't over yet! I'm going to win this!" Diamond Tiara protested. "Copycat! Use Rapidash's Solar Beam!"
"Liepard!" Liepard would copy Rapidash again. But this time, he would use his attack against Meowstic. After copying it, Lepard also wouldn't have to worry about charging it up, especially with a move such as Copycat, thanks to the Summer sun. A verdant beam was unleashed, tearing through the ground as Meowstic and Sweetie Bele were ready to face it immediately.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Meow!" Meowstic met Solar Beam with Thunderbolt, putting her all into this one as a streaking bolt of electricity came roaring out, clashing with Solar Beam as it formed a shockwave as well from the collision. Now, Meowstic was the one entering a beam struggle with Liepard.
"Go! Flame Charge!"
"Dash!" But along came Rapidash to intervene with this battle, going straight for Meowstic this time while also regaining some speed. But it wasn't enough. This time, it looked like Meowstic was the one who was about to be sandwiched.
"Oh! This could be bad for her!" Fluttershy gasped.
"I don't think so! Meowstic! Release your restraints!"
"Meow!" Now was a good time to release Meowstic's restraints in the eyes of Sweetie Belle. Much like how she had this overwhelming power as an Espurr, as a Meowstic, she was harbouring more of it within her ears. While Meowstic was holding back Solar Beam, she had then mentally raised her ears, unleashing her true power.
The eyeball patterns on the interior of its ears emitted psychic energy once they were shown as it helped stop Rapidash in his tracks. It did not affect Liepard as she was still a Dark-Type but it had blown Rapidash away. As for the struggle between Meowstic and Liepard, it ended up being a tie as the two attacks blew up in front of each other, resulting in combustion.
"Go! Night Slash!"
"Liepard!" Once again, Liepard took advantage of the smoke, running through it. But this time, MEowstic was quick to notice and retaliate.
"Energy Ball!"
"Meow!" Meowstic summoned two Energy Balls, holding them for a moment as Liepard went in for a swift slash. Meowstic used one of the spheres of nature to block Liepard's slash, using it as a temporary shield. It had fizzled out after being slashed into pieces. After blocking the slash with Energy Ball, Meowstic then unleashed the second, slamming it in Lieprd's face. "Meowstic!"
"Liepard!" Liepard received a heavy blow to the face with this one as it pushed her away. Liepard shook her head while sliding back, hissing at her fellow cat Pokemon. Meowstic hissed right back.
"Yikes. This is getting too close now." Scootaloo commented.
"Right. But it's way too fun to get mad at." Sweetie Belle laughed, thoroughly enjoying this battle as well as her opponents and everyone else who was watching this.
"I didn't plan for you two but...it could be worse." Diamond Tiara shrugged. "But it's getting late right now. And I'm getting hungry too."
"I hear ya. It's about time we finished this. Or at least..." Scootaloo dug her hoof into her mane, pulling out her secret weapon. Everyone knew she had it this entire time and would only be able to use it on two of her Pokemon. "I'll finish it."
The Firium Z.
"Gulp!" Collectively, Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara gulped upon seeing the Firium Z being pulled out. She also revealed the Z-Ring in her mane before then putting them both on.
"Yes! This is gonna be sweet!" Rainbow Dash stood up. "Do it!"
"A Z-Move...I don't think I have anything for this one." Sweetie Belle shuddered. "But...I have to try something."
"Here we go, Rapidash!" Scootaloo placed the crystal into the ring, activating Z-Power as the Power of Alola had once again arrived at Equestria, lending its strength. Scootaloo stood up in a bipedal position, ready to pull off the right poses.
"Rapidash!" Rapidash could already feel the Power of Alola approaching.
"Get a load of this!" Scootaloo's mane flared up once she started feeling the Z-Power within. "My mind, body and spirit feel great! It all feels like a raging fire in me!" All of the energy within her then flowed towards Rapidash, engulfing his body in a blazing golden aura.
"Dash!"
"Here it comes! Get ready, Meowstic!"
"You too, Liepard!"
"RAPIDASH! INFERNO OVERDRIVE!"
"Ra...Pi...Dash!" Rapidash summoned a ball of fire that was large enough to take up a huge portion of the arena, even going out of bounds. The ball was unleashed, picking up some rubble and burning it away as thanks to the Summer Sun, its power was greatly heightened.
"It's risky! But try copying it! Copycat!"
"Lie!" Liepard would try and copy Inferno Overdrive. However, she would soon find out that this was not the case. She looked at the sphere, trying desperately to copy it, but it was not working.
"Sorry about this, Diamond Tiara! Kick her!"
"Meowstic!"
"Wait, what?!" Diamond Tiara gasped as Meowstic went up t Liepard, kicking her forward. Liepard gained a small boost forward as not only had she failed to copy the attack, but she would be the one to take the hit instead of both Pokemon. Meowstic stood far behind Liepard to avoid the massive radius of this attack. That was the only way she was going to properly avoid it as once it hit Liepard, the Cruel Pokemon received a blazing explosion afterwards.
The three trainers covered their eyes and ears as the explosion ended right afterwards. Diamond Tiara opened her eyes as her jaw dropped. Meowstic managed to survive the Z-Move by using Liepard as a sacrificial Mareep. Once the smoke cleared, Liepard was the first one to faint.
"Liepard..."
"Liepard is unable to battle! Rapidash wins!"
"Grrr...! Sweetie Belle!" Naturally, Diamond Tiara was greatly upset at this as she glared at the unicorn. Her eyes were ablaze with anger and irritation.
"Sorry! I had to do what I had to do!" Sweetie Belle squeed, blushing a bit. "You understand, right?"
"Hmph. Whatever." The earth pony scoffed. "I would've done the same thing too. But I thought for sure that Copycat would work." Disappointed, Diamond Tiara returned Liepard to her Poke Ball. "But...You were still wonderful to the very end. Liepard."
"A worthy sacrifice." Rarity shrugged as Diamond Tiara walked away from the arena. "But oh well. It is what it is."
"It was a good try from Diamond Tiara. Still. That was pretty cold Sweetie Belle. Nice." Rainbow Dash commented.
"Copying a Z-Move. I wonder. Would that have worked?" Celestia giggled.
"Yeah. There's Z-Copycat. But it only works unless you have a Normalium Z." Ash had also laughed as Diamond Tiara did have the right idea of trying to copy Inferno Overdrive. The one big flaw with that was the fact that she did not have the right Z-Crystal for it. Or a Z-Crystal at all.
"Pika-Pika."
"Ahem! This isn't over yet! Smart Strike!"
"Rapidash!" But out of the remaining smoke, along came Rapidash as Scootaloo wasn't done yet. Rapidash came zooming in with an extended horn out.
"Uh oh! Meowstic! Thunderbolt!"
"Meow?! Meowstic!" Meowstic faced Rapidash once she saw him approaching. Rapidash's speed was slightly better now even in the twisted dimensions of Trick Room, allowing him to keep up a bit, but Meowstic was still faster as she unleashed 100,00 volts of electricity.
"Perfect! Conduct it!"
"Rapidash!" Since Smart Strike was a Steel-Type move, it was eligible for one thing. Metal conduction. Rapidash used this to his advantage, sticking his head out as he allowed the attack to reach him. Immediately, Thunderbolt reacted to Smart Strike and Rapidash's metal-enhanced horn. It allowed him to not only borrow this strength but also continue his path of attack. "Dash!" Rapidash powered through Thunderbolt after conducting it, tackling Meowstic!"
"M-Meowstic!" Meowstic went flying once more in the air thanks to Rapidash's Smart Strike.
"I'm gonna finish this, Scootaloo! Psyshock! Go!"
"Meow...Meowstic!" Meowstic put her all into this last attack. Raising her arms as she received some airtime. With this airtime, she summoned those orbs of Psychic energy once more.
"Same here! Rapidash! Solar Beam!"
"Rapi...Dash!" Rapidash would end it with his strongest attack as well. Solar Beam. At the same time, both of them unleashed their attacks. Three thick masses of energy and a giant verdant beam that was powered by the Sun. They clashed from different angles. From the earth and the sky.
This truly felt like the last clash as everyone leaned in to see this. Diamond Tiara stopped walking for a bit just to watch how this would all end. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle scrunched their faces as their hearts were beating fast.
Neither Rapidash nor Meowstic wanted to lose for the sake of their trainers. No matter what, a Pokemon always tries to do its best for its trainer to the very end. However, only one of them would emerge victorious.
"Rapidash!" And with the power of the Summer Sun, that was Rapidash as Solar Beam managed to charge through Thunderbolt, engulfing it before going straight for Meowstic. Meowstic's last sight was a green glow before then being blasted by the power of the Sun.
There was a final explosion in this fierce battle as Meowstic fell out of the cloud of smoke. Silence filled the air before it was then broken up by Meowstic hitting the ground. The verdict had been made.
Meowstic had fainted.
"Meowstic..."
"Meowstic is unable to battle! Rapidash Wins! Thus, the victor of the Canterlot Junior Cup is Scootaloo!"
"I won...I won!" Realizing she won her first-ever tournament, Scootaloo stood there stone-faced before then having the brightest smile she could muster up. The crowd roared as that battle was certainly one that would be engraved in their memories forever. "Oh yes! Yes!"
"She did it!" Rainbow Dash boomed with excitement along with her friends.
"Oh, what a shame...But such a great battle either way!" Rarity wanted her sister to win, but this battle was too enjoyable to be disappointed by as she cheered along with her friends. "Sweetie Belle! You did great!"
"Guess that's that" Sweetie Belle walked over before helping Meowstic up. "Meowstic. Thanks for doing so well."
"Meow..." Meowstic, being the cocky individual that she was, wasn't the biggest fan of losing. She turned her head before crossing her arms. Sweetie Belle laughed right afterwards.
"Rapidash! Oh, you're so awesome, Rapidash!" Scootaloo galloped towards Rapidash, jumping for joy. She almost even flew for a moment as Rapidash also ran her way.
"Rapidash!" Rapidash then turned around, allowing Scootaloo to get on his back. The little pegasus then gave the Fire Horse Pokemon a hug, laughing with uncontrollable oy in her heart. Sweetie Belle was happy to see her friend get this far.
"You've earned it, Scootaloo," said Sweetie Belle. "Great stuff."
"Great stuff to you too, Sweetie Belle." Scootaloo's face felt like falling off from how much she was smiling as she also looked over at Diamond Tiara who stuck around. "You too, Damond Tiara."
"Likewise." Diamond Tiara replied, acting high and mighty with every chance that she got. Some things never change.
"That brings an end to the Canterlot Junior Cup as Scootaloo is this competition's champion. But, there's obviously one final event. Before that, the award ceremony is up next. Let's give rounding applause to these great trainers." The announcer said as everyone did just that.
Scootaloo felt that this was her greatest accomplishment by a mile. And she wouldn't have it any other way as she desired to stay on Rapidash's back for a bit, taking in the moment. The little pegasus then looked up at the balcony, staring at Ash as she knew what was coming next.
Afterwards, the awards ceremony happened. There were three pedestals for the Top 3 Trainers in this competition. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara respectively.
Scootaloo received the golden cup as to be expected along with a few other prizes that came in boxes that she couldn't wait to take home and open. Sweetie Belle received a silver cup while Diamond Tiara earned a bronze cup. Their Pokemon also stood next to them, receiving medals for their respective sizes.
"Well done, you three," PrincessCelestia spoke to them. "It was certainly worth deciding to make this competition happen. Not just for a good show, but to also see how far you've come. And I can say that the future of Pokemon is in good hooves in this world."
"Thanks, Princess Celestia," said Scootaloo.
"Now. The main event is over, but there's just one final extra match that needs to happen. You know what's next, my little pony."
"I do." Scootaloo then looked over at Ash who was eagerly waiting for this incoming battle, raising his hat while Pikachu climbed up his shoulder. "Get ready, Ash. Because here I come!"
"I'm always ready, Scootaloo." A pumped Ash Ketchum replied with Pikachu's red sacs flaring. The extra match would truly close things off and everyone would head home, having some great to remember and talk about for the rest of the day. "Let's go!"
Equestria. Canterlot. Canterlot Sadium Waiting Room. Late Afternoon.
The Canterlot Junior Cup has ended. But there was one extra battle that was due. The extra battle between Ash and Scootaloo. Scootaloo's victory in the competition scored her the chance to battle Ash at last, something that she had been looking forward to. And at her current best, the little pegasus was feeling more than ready.
She sat in the waiting room, thinking deeply about how she was going to approach Ash. Compared to the rest of the trainers she had battled through this competition and the ones she had also seen battle others, Ash far surpassed them in every way. Scootaloo held Rapidash's Poke Ball, looking at it during her moment of deep thought. And at the same time, Ash and Pikachu had shown up in the waiting room to greet Scootaloo.
"It's almost time for us to head out there," Ash commented. "Feeling great?"
"Mm. A bit nervous too. This'll be a serious battle against you as well." Scootaloo replied. "I can't believe I made it this far though..."
"Those are all of your skills showing themselves from these past 3 years." Ash stood next to her. "It's always so sweet when it pays off, doesn't it?"
"Pika."
"It is. But I have you to thank for that." She looked up at the Alola Champion. "Meeting you on that day when everything was still so new to us was one of the best days ever, ya know. You were so cool on that day! And when you started teaching us all about Pokemon Battling was even cooler. Even if I go to the Pokemon School, you're the best teacher I could ask for, Ash."
"Not just me. But your Pokemon helped you get there too, didn't they? And everything you've learned from watching so many battles too. Kinda reminds me of my earlier days as a Pokemon Trainer."
"It does? I do!" Scootaloo gasped as being compared to Ash was something that she loved to hear.
"Yeah. Guess I don't say this that much. Or even at all. But I see myself in you, Scootaloo. That's how it goes, right?"
"Really?! That's great!" She got all giddy just from hearing that, flapping her wings. "It means a lot for you to say that to me, Ash!"
"Glad to hear it. Let's both do our best, okay?" Ash put his fist out which resulted in Scootaloo answering by bumping her hoof to his fist.
"Okay!"
The two of them arrived at the arena as the true final match of this junior cup would begin. All of the competitors, minus Night Sprout, were ready to see how the best of them had managed to make it to the top.
ASh and Scootaloo didn't have much else to say about this. They knew why they were here. The Summer Sun was sowing its orange glow that would usually appear when the day was close to ending. Thus, it confirmed that after this battle, the day would end along with this entire event.
"You have 10 minutes on the clock respectively." The referee started. "You are only allowed one Pokemon. The battle will be over once both Pokemon on either side are unable to continue. Now, for the final time, please, bring out your Pokemon."
"Pikachu! I choose you!"
"Go! Rapidash!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu and Rapidash, their strongest Pokemon, would be the ones to battle. A great choice for the final battle as well. Pikachu and Rapidash smiled at each other as at the end of the day, these were two best friends going at it. Technically four.
"This is it, Rapidash. Our big chance to prove ourselves to Ash!" Scootaloo shouted. "Let's make sure we last a long time in this one! The full 10 minutes!"
"Rapidash!"
"Full 10 Minutes, huh?" Ash chuckled as King Sombra revealed himself in his shadow form once more, deciding to get a word in.
"We are going to absolutely crush you, child." He commented with Scootaloo sticking her tongue out at him.
"Now! Battle...!" The unicorn referee raised his hoof before swinging it down, uttering the words everyone wanted to hear. "Start!"
"Let's go, Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Ash thrust his fist forward, giving the first command of the battle.
"Pika!" Pikachu advanced, taking off like a rocket before running at lightning speeds, receiving a sparkling white aura that also formed into a trail and afterimages. "Pika-Pika-Pika-Pika!"
"Go! Rapidash! Flame Charge!"
"Dash!" Rapidash would also approach Pikachu, galloping with a burst of fire becoming his aura, leaving a scarlet trail of heat. The first clash had begun with Pikachu jumping up, butting heads with Rapidash. A fierce collision resulting in a small shockwave had formed with both of them backing away. Rapidash's speed had increased right afterwards.
"Use High Horsepower!"
"Rapidash!" Standing on his hind legs, Rapidash enveloped himself in an orange aura that came from the ground itself before then galloping back at the Mouse Pokemon with greater speed than before.
"Get under him with Quick Attack!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu, who had just slid on the ground, went back in with Quick Attack once more. Even with a speed increase, Quick Attack would always even things out.
When they approached each other once more, Pikachu went underneath, running past Rapidash through his legs. Rapidash tried stomping his hooves that were imbued with Ground-Type Infinity Energy on Pikachu, only for the Electric-Type to already be behind him.
"Electroweb!"
"Pikachu-Pika!" Once behind him, Pikachu created an orange-yellow orb of electricity on its tail, flinging the orb, which then transforms into a circular yellow electrical net that was big enough for Rapidash's size.
"Rapidash?!" Rapidash turned around to only see a high-speed net fall on him. Once it dropped onto the Fire-Type, not only did it trap him, but it also electrocuted Rapidash, dialling back the speed that he had gained seconds ago.
"Now! Thunderbolt!
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu would follow up immediately with Thunderbolt while Rapidash was currently stuck.
"Break free with Solar Beam!"
"Rapi...Dash!" Rapidash neighed, drawing on the power of the Sun. Even if it was nearly setting, there was still a ton of sunshine to use as out of Rapidash's mouth, a giant verdant beam was shot out, breaking through the web and meeting with Pikachu's Thunderbolt.
A truly fierce clash had ensued as Thunderbolt and Solar Beam cancelled each other out. Scootaloo grit her teeth, seeing that even with the Sun, Pikachu's Thunderbolt was powerful enough to hold back such a devastatingly strong attack.
"Okay then! Smart Strike!"
"Dash!" Emerging seconds later out of the smoke was Rapidash, extending his horn as he had then hardened it to create a metal coating.
"Counter with Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu would also use some metal. With Iron Tail, he hardened his tail before then swinging it in a downwards motion, initiating another clash with Rapidash, this time with metal. The sound of these two Steel-Type attacks crashing into each other made a clanging noise. They backed up from each other but they weren't done. Pikachu went back in with another Iron Tail with Rapidash meeting within yet again. It was like two swords were going at it.
Sparks flew all over the place from their impacts as Scootaloo was doing exceedingly well to keep up with Ash at this pace. And Ash absolutely loved it.
"Nice stuff, Scootaloo! Go, Pikachu!"
"Hit him right where you can, Rapidash!"
Both Pokemon Trainers cheered for their Pokemon, encouraging them to try new things. Pikachu and Rapidash went in further another strike which would be their last metal clash. And it resulted in both of them hitting each other. Pikachu managed to hit Rapidash in the face while Rapidash struck Pikachu in the stomach. The two of them resisted Steel-Type attacks, thus they were both knocked back without too much damage being dealt to them.
The two of them smiled at each other before then being interrupted by something. Since they ended up hitting each other in using, Pikachu and Rapidash, with great timing, ended up getting their respective abilities off.
Static and Flame Body.
"P-Pika!" Pikachu cried out as an eruption of flames happened around his body. Meanwhile, Rapidash ended up twitching and staggering from a crackle of lightning.
"Pikachu! Are you doing okay?!"
"Can you go on, Rapidash?!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Rapidash!"
"Great!" The little pegasus grinned as this was getting her blood pumping. Battling against someone who was at a greater level could be both terrifying and exciting. And right now, Scootaloo was feeling the second one as this was also something a pegasus couldn't help but resist. "Go, Go! High Horsepower!"
"Dash!" A super-effect was due as Rapidash came galloping forward.
"Flame Body's way scarier than Static...but that's not gonna scare and stop us! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu then jumped into the air, deciding to keep his distance this time as a flare of lightning burst out of his body before then transforming into a bolt of 100,000 volts. Rapidash came into contact with this attack, trying to break past it. However, Pikachu's Thunderbolt won this encounter as it had blown the Fire Horse Pokemon back.
"R-Rapidash!"
"Now! Quick Attack!"
"Pika! Pika-Pika!" Pikachu then descended before then running one second later at lightning speeds, not letting up his attack.
"Okay! Here's our chance for a comeback! High Horsepower again!"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash would go for a second HIgh Horsepower, sticking to a super-effective approach. He ran towards his opponent once more, but this time, something else was waiting for Pikachu.
"Jump!"
"Now, Rapidash!"
"Pika!" Pikachu planned to jump over Rapidash this time with Quick Attack, only to be countered by Rapidash also performing a jump. But Rapidash's jump was far greater than Pikachu's as the Fire Horse Pokemon had used the same trick that Pikachu had done on him earlier, but instead, he went above him.
"Dash!" Rapidash was now above Pikachu as the jumping strength of the Fire Horse Pokemon and his hooves far surpassed Pikachu's jump. Once he was in the air, he stomped on Pikachu's back in the air, finally delivering a super-effective blow.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out as he was sent rocketing back to the ground. He tumbled when approaching the arena ground before rolling and jumping back up as a form of recovery. Pikachu received another burn from Flame Body as he kept taking gradual damage.
"Good stuff!" Ash held his hat.
"You're not going to let her outdo you, are you?" Sombra narrowed his eyes at Pikachu.
"No way. But this is just what I wanted to see. She sure has come a long way. Let's go, Pikachu!"
"Pika!" Pikachu let out a powerful cry, exerting electricity from his body to show that he still had some more even after that super-effective blow.
"Rapidash! Solar Beam!"
"Counter Shield, go!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu would use Counter Shield to retaliate, getting on his back before then using Thunderbolt. Right when Rapidash had unleashed Solar Beam too. The frantic burst of electricity that flew everywhere had blocked Solar Beam, preventing Pikachu from taking a hit. Not only did it stop Solar Beam, but some of it had shocked Rapidash in the process.
"R-Rapidash!"
"Pikachu! Hit the rubble of rocks with Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu got off his back before then focusing on all of the rubble of rocks that had been made from this fierce battle. The Electric-Type took advantage of the abundance of them, hardening his tail before then rapidly swinging it at the rocks, using them as weapons. Pikachu didn't have an attack that was super-effective, but these rocks would change that.
"Dodge them with Flame Charge!"
"Rapi! Rapidash!" Rapidash would both approach Pikachu and avoid the rocks he was throwing at high speeds. Rapidash galloped with a beautiful crimson blaze around his, zigzagging past the rocks. However, the paralysis showed itself midway. Once he dodged some of the rocks, he slowed down a bit, feeling the electricity crackle within his body. "R-Rapidash!"
After being slowed down by paralysis, some of the rocks ended up hitting the Fire=Type successfully in the face and neck, pushing him back.
"Awesome! Now, Electroweb!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu got his super-effective hits in with the rocks. Now it was time to slow Rapidash down yet again with Electroweb. An electric orb came flying, turning into another net.
"We'll just burn our way through it then! Go, Rapidash!"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash did not stop using Flame Charge even after being hit by all of those rocks. He shook his head before pressing on. He narrowed his eyes at the Electroweb before then using his brute strength to crash into it. Rapidash met with the web but this time, by putting more of his strength into his hooves, he had a small struggle with the web, only to then burn through it, leaving a massive hole as he pressed on.
"P-Pika!" Pikachu ended up receiving a heavy blow from Rapidash's Flame Charge once it reached. The Mouse Pokemon received a far blowback that made him spin through the air.
"Yes! Solar Beam!"
"Dash!" Rapidash capitalized on Pikachu being thrown through the air while he had some time, unleashing Solar Beam.
"I don't think so! Makeshift Volt Tackle!"
"Pika!" Pikachu would use another one of his strategies. He merged Quick Attack and Thunderbolt to rebirth Volt Tackle, which he used to utilize a few years back. By covering himself with the aura of Quick Attack and Thunderbolt, Pikachu created a substitute Volt Tackle as he then used the power he had gathered, boosting through the air and heading for Solar Beam. Makeshift Volt Tackle met with Solar Beam, cancelling it out moments later.
"It's almost hard to believe! Look at how well she's doing against him!" Rarity was elated and stunned by this as the clash between Makeshift Volt Tackle and Solar Beam ended in a draw.
"Uh-huh." Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. "Even though Ash is in the lead, she's still in there. I'm so proud, ya know..." Rainbow Dash then teared up as this battle and Scootaloo's performance was touching her heart greatly.
Twilight looked at the eyes of Ash and Scootaloo, seeing how much fun they were having. This was the epitome of friends just having a good time, even in a Pokemon Battle. Especially in a Pokemon Battle. Celestia saw it too, but this time, it was in the eyes of everyone else. Seeing this massive expanse of excitement, joy and thrills made the two alicorns fortify their goal to protect and keep all of these smiles in the future.
The Canterlot Junior Cup was just a fun tournament and a way to see how well the next generation of Pokemon Trainers shapes up to be. But it also turned out to be something else that allowed the two Princesses to further pursue their goals.
"I'm doing this good...but I can do better." Scootaloo breathed in and out as Pikachu felt another burn damage. Seeing how heated this was getting, she figured now was a good time to use it. Her Z-Move.
But the moment she took her Z-Ring out of her mane, Ash had revealed something similar. His Z-Ring. He dug into his pocket, revealing both his Z-Ring and The Pikashunium Z.
"Huh? Wait, what?!" Scootaloo gasped. That Z-Ring was something she did not want to see today. "You have your Z-Ring with you?!"
"Yep. Sombra kept insisting that I bring it everywhere I take it." Ash chuckled. "No matter what, he wouldn't let me leave the house with yelling in my ear about it.
"Pika-Pika." Pikachu also laughed.
"Hmph. To think that you left it behind for so many days..." Sombra spoke within Ash, shaking his head with great disappointment. "A King should always have his greatest weapon by his side."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Ash replied before putting his Z-Ring on. "So. Are you ready, Scootaloo? Let's finish this with a bang."
"R-Right!" Scootaloo put her Z-Ring on as everyone leaned in, knowing what was coming next. A Z-Move clash.
Z-Moves have already been used in this competition three times. But, it was only ever used against a Pokemon that could not use a Z-Move in retaliation. Now, it would be from two trainers as they would have the honour to see two Z-Moves clash, something that was rare to see even in the Pokemon World. The two of them put their Z-Crystals inside their respective Z-Rings as for the fourth time in a row, Alola's Power had returned to Equestria as golden flares flashed out of the rings.
"Uh...W-What happens when two Z-Moves collide?" Starlight gulped, fearing the destructive capability of this clash.
"We're about to find out," Twilight replied.
"Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash then threw his hat into the air as that was Pikachu's cue.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped into the air, taking Ash's hat for this moment. Afterwards, Pikachu then descended before fist-bumping Ash along with a hand slap gesture with his remaining airtime. Once he descended, Ash poured all of the Z-Power into Pikachu. "Pi! Pika!"
"One more time, Rapidash!" Scootaloo then struck the necessary poses for Inferno Overdrive.
"Rapidash!"
"Here it comes.." Ash started the chant. "Much bigger than a Thunderbolt...Ten Million Volt Thunderbolt!
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu was in sync with Ash's poses.
"Nah, this is much bigger!" Ash grinned as Pikachu's body was violently crackling with electricity. "This is Pikachu's zenith and full power right here!"
"Pikachu-Pika!"
"This'll burn as bright as my spirit and Rapidash's spirit too!" Scootaloo exclaimed as flames burst out of Rapidash's body. The area darkened once these two Z-Moves were nearing their full activation. Their Pokemon were overflowing with Z-Power as some ponies had put on protective gear, fearing the worst when these two mighty moves make contact.
"Rapidash! INFERNO OVERDRIVE!"
"Ra...RAPIDASH!" Rapidash neighed as in front of his face, a smouldering ball of fire had burst into existence as Rapidash's singular cry had unleashed the arena-sized attack.
"PIKACHU! 10,000,000 VOLT THUNDERBOLT!"
"Pika! Pikachu!" As for Pikachu, he once again jumped up but this time, he was encompassed in a crackling orb of electricity before that orb had then brightened, becoming a full-on aura. "Ka! Ka! Ka! PIKACHU!" Afterwards, Pikachu released all of that built-up electricity in the form of six different colours that matched the rainbow.
These 6 Thunderbolts came charging at the massive ball of fire at a great velocity. 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt and Inferno Overdrive clashed, immediately setting the area ablaze with ravening sparks. The rubble had all been blown away from the impact as the referee had also put on protective gear.
It was as intense as everyone expected it to be as the resulting clash created two different wind pressures that blew in each direction. Some of the crowd ended up being blown away by this pressure while some held on for dear life. Scootaloo closed her eyes from the pressure, keeping one of them open to see how it would turn out. She just barely managed to see Ash as he was grinning, holding onto his hat.
"Yeah. You've gotten strong, Scootaloo." Ash said with a proud look on his face. "All of you. Man, you guys are awesome. But...you've still got ways to go!" He then raised his head as his eyes flared with an azure blue Aura sparkling for a split second, showing that he had the advantage by a mile. "Go, Pikachu!"
"PIKA!" Pikachu exerted some more power into the attack as the Inferno Overdrive had been penetrated. The flames fizzled out as the orb cracked. Pikachu's attack reigned supreme as the six thunderbolts crashed into the Fire Horse Pokemon. The ferocious clash had ended with a white light emerging right afterwards.
Ash took his hat off his head, knowing what would come next. Everyone else who hung on or had been blown away took a peek at the fading light and smoke. After such a fierce attack, only one of them would withstand it. Pikachu descended as his attack succeeded in the end.
"Rapidash..." Rapidash had fainted, however.
"Rapidash is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! Thus, the victor is Ash!" And that was all she wrote. Officially, it was over. Now that the extra battle ended, the Canterlot Junior Cup came to a proper close as the crowd let out their final cheers and applause.
"Guess that's that." Scootaloo smiled as she expected this result, trotting over to her partner. "We tried, Rapidash. But Ash is still so strong."
"Rapidash." Rapidash nuzzled Scootaloo, making her laugh. After her win-streak through this competition, it had come to an end. Ash and Pikachu walked over to pay their respects to such skilled trainers.
"Ash. Pikachu..." Scootaloo's eyes lit up as Ash held his hand out along with Pikachu.
"Here's to getting stronger. Together. I'm psyched to see how far you'll go, Scootaloo. We're gonna keep on improving together in all sorts of ways, aren't we?"
"Pika-Pikachu."
"We are." Scootaloo felt like tearing up, only for Rapidash's flames to evaporate the tears. Rapidash stood up as he and Scootaloo made contact with Ash and Pikachu's arms. "Thanks, Ash. For everything. Next time, let's battle when I'm at my best. Whenever that is."
"I'll be waiting for your best. For now, let's all head home and eat like champions. Okay?" Ash grinned, referring to how Scootaloo was a mini-champion for winning this tournament. Her heart skipped a beat as that was also something that she loved to hear. The little pegasus nodded in agreement as the curtains closed on the Canterlot Junior Cup.
Truly, an exciting event. Despite being smaller scale than the first Canterlot Tournament and the Canterlot Tag Battle Competition, the Canterlot Junior Cup did not disappoint. It gave the younger generation to show just how far they've come. The future of Pokemon was in good hands and hooves from both worlds.
But now, it was time to go home. Tobias left the scene without a whisper, mysteriously vanishing just like he did in Alola as Celestia pranced off to help fix the arena, which had taken a lot of battle damage. Twilight and her friends left their seats as the Sun had finally reached the horizon. All that was left was for the silver Moon to come. But before that moon could rise, they were already heading home.
But, this wasn't even the tip of what could happen next. The Equestria League was the one that everyone was looking forward to. The mother of all competitions when it comes to Pokemon Battles. The Regional League. It was so close yet so far at the same time.
Still nearby the Crystal Empire was the Sea Temple, residing in the cold waters of the north. This time, Ash had brought along his mother, Delia Ketchum to view this Sea Temple that wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, but had the stupendous speed to go from one place to another in seconds. Joining the Ketchum Family were Twilight, Fluttershy and the Flurry Heart from another universe who were just here for a visit, lounging around the temple.
"Welcome back, your majesty." Alo, the Royal Advisor to Ash and the Sea Temple had walked up to the group. "And to all of his friends, allies and mother."
"Ah, so this is the place where you became a king? You'll always be my little prince, though." Delia chuckled as Ash put his hand on his face in slight embarrassment.
"Aw, mom..."
"So. What does that make me?" Delia asked the People of the Water. "I'm sure you can all consider me a queen, right?"
"Uh..." The guards looked at each other before shrugging. "S-Sure? Maybe."
"Oooh, how fun!" An elated Delia clapped her hands. "When I was young, I dreamed about being a princess but a Queen works better too, don't you think?"
"Hmm...Guess so!" Ash laughed. "I'm the King so I hereby say you're the Queen. Does that work out, mom?"
"Definitely."
"That's not how it works but whatever..."Sombra just shook his head as he was surrounded by Water-Types who wouldn't separate from him.
"You're lucky to be a princess yourself, Twilight. Flurry Heart." Delia then turned to the alicorn. "I do see a lot of princesses in this world too. Ah, it's like a fantasy coming true. It took a while, but it happened. I suppose that's to be expected since you had another dream that came true, Ash."
"I did? But I'm not a Pokemon Master yet."
"Not that. Way before that. It was something along the lines of being a hero. No, no...it's far beyond what you are now. You remember, don't you?" Delia put on a sly face, nudging Ash. It took a few seconds for Ash to pinpoint what she was referring to. He immediately grimaced as Pikachu needed to know this as well.
"What is she referring to, your majesty?" The People of the Water slid over.
"Yeah. What is it?" Flurry Heart questioned.
"Uhh...well...Ya see..." The King of the Sea lowered his head. He was hiding something that only Delia knew about. "I didn't think she'd remember it."
"Oh, it's just the most precious thing you'll ever see. He went out of his way to make his own hero. What was he called again? Ashman?"
"It was Galaxy Master!" Ash cried out, correcting Delia. "And it was the coolest thing ever. Still kinda is too ya know. Ashman was a prototype and all that..."
"P-Pika!"
"Pfft!" Unable to contain their amusement, Pikachu, Twilight and some of the People of the Water chuckled at it. They found it amusing indeed.
"Right, right. I never forgot about it anyway. I tried getting it out to the local radio station, but I wasn't so lucky. I think the book is still around too."
"Really? Are all the pages there, mom?" Ash asked as Delia dug into her bag, pulling out the sacred item that Ash still held near and dear to him. The comic book.
"Still perfectly stable. But the paper has shown its age a bit." The book had a cover that showed this Galaxy Man character. His stature was a tall and vigorous one, befitting of a superhero. There were a plethora of pages made up of paper too.
"Oh. So that means you wrote your own story?" Twilight looked over at Ash. "That's a lot of pages too."
"Sure did. Man, it was so cool making him. He's the coolest ever!" Ash raised his arms into the air. "It didn't last very long. I only drew him for a few months and some of those pages aren't filled up and are totally blank, but I'll never forget how much fun it was to make that book."
"You had a nice sense of naming even back then too," Fluttershy commented.
"In any case, mom is right. I lived up to that status too, being a hero and all. I guess we all lived up to what we wanna be. Well, I wanna be a Pokemon Master though. That'll take a bit longer."
"I never imagined or dreamed of being a princess, actually." Twilight decided to chime in her dreams. "When I became one, it threw me off guard."
"What did you want to be then, auntie?" Flurry Heart asked.
"To tell you the truth, I still wanted to be Celestia's student. But I never thought about becoming an alicorn when learning with her. So in the end, I reached my goal just with some bonus prizes."
"Oooh! Oooh! I've got a dream!" Flurry Heart raised her hoof, drawing the attention of the others. "It's...umm..."
"It's...?" Twilight and the group leaned in, wondering what the alicorn from another universe would say.
"It's...well, I haven't thought about it." But, it was a letdown as Flurry Heart had nothing to offer. "I don't have anything to shoot for."
"Nothing at all?" Delia questioned.
"Nope. Most of my years living under my other auntie's rule made me lose any ideas of being something. But now that I don't have to worry about that, I can be whatever. Just what though? What do you think, Sombra?"
"Bah. You're already a princess, what more could you want?" Sombra scoffed. "Being a ruler is the only goal one should strive towards. Especially since you have proper control over your Crystal Empire back in your universe."
"Yeah, but that's kinda boring. I want something more exciting. I could try and be the best Pokemon Card Duelist out there...That battle with Zero was fun after all. Is there something for that back at your world, Ash?"
"No idea. Might be." He grinned back at her.
"I'll go for that too. I've already collected so many cards after all."
"Now. Delia...We-"
"Please! Call me Queen Delia!" Delia interrupted Alto, wanting to go by the Queen status now that she had been royally given one by her own son.
"Right. Queen Delia. Being that you're the son of our majesty, how would some clothes befitting of a Queen sound?"
"Perfect! Take me to these amazing clothes immediately. I'd love to wear them oh-so-much." Delia put her hands together with her eyes lighting up.
"Of course. But, we don't have clothes for a queen. Instead, we make some. The first of its kind. And we shall do it...with the crystals." Alo revealed.
"Crystals?" Delia repeated. "From the Crystal Empire?"
"No, no. The Crystals from our temple. The ones that hold astronomical power. Your majesty. You already know of the amazing power that the crystals can do as you've experienced them yourself."
"Yeah. Get this mom. It lets you fly through the water and even the air. Plus, they've got the power to make this temple go crazy fast from one place to another."
"They do? Oh, they must be magical then! I would've still been convinced if they came from this world too."
"Indeed. The crystals can do many things. And one of their stupendous powers is to make clothes. Does that sound enticing?"
"Yeah, it does!" Ash, Delia, Twilight, Fluttershy and Flurry Heart collectively exclaimed as they were equally all for it. If only Rarity were here to hear this.
"Rarity's going to be here to hear this." Twilight already thought ahead, holding out her Xtransceiver.
"Well, come along." Alo led them to the room where the crystals and the Sea Crown resided. More of their amazing power was about to be revealed as they were also focused on the simpler things.
"I could bring some clothes back with me to my universe. My subjects back at my Crystal Empire, or I guess the Crystal Kingdom, still aren't in high spirits. Hearth's Warming managed to spark something back in them." Flurry Heart spoke to Twilight while walking to the treasure room.
"If that crystal can potentially make clothes of our liking, then there's no doubt whatever's best for your subjects can be made," Twilight replied. "At least, that's what I'm guessing."
"Mhm. Great Aunt Celestia will love it too. But...I'm probably reaching too far if I think about Great Aunt Daybreaker as well."
"Oh. Daybreaker?" Twilight wasn't too stunned when Daybreaker's name was brought up, despite her severe impact on the Sea Temple thanks to Necrozma.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I still have strong feelings for her even if she's my auntie from another world. Is that weird?"
"Not at all. You're still the daughter of Shining Armor and Cadence in this universe. And I guess that also makes you the older sister of this world's Flurry Heart. It's a bit wild, but it makes sense."
"That perfectly describes all of this Pokemon stuff, huh." Flurry Heart laughed alongside Twilight. But, Flurry Heart just couldn't help but think about Daybreaker, who, despite how she presented herself, was a pony that Flurry Heart saw in the same light as this world's Celestia, Cadence and Shining Armor.
Universe 11. Equestria. The Solar Empire. Canterlot Palace. Day.
Speaking of Daybreaker, currently, she was in her room. For once, she wasn't making big moves to further reach her plans. Even a powerful ruler such as herself chose to wind down. But even when relaxing, Daybreaker was still plotting and in deep thought.
In this instance, Daybreaker was holding Necrozma's Poke Ball, looking at it. The dangerous Necrozma rested within, still craving more light. The fact that Necrozma still needed more after what he had gone through was unbelievable to Daybreaker.
"Necrozma. What's it going to take for you to be satisfied?" Daybreaker wondered, speaking to the Prism Pokemon from within. "The light from the Sea Temple Crystals. Light from other Pokemon and even light sources from cities and so on. Nothing is satisfying you."
In response, Necrozma's cry had come from the Poke Ball with a prismatic pulse emerging. He spoke to Daybreaker as the alicorn understood clearly.
"I know. You were absent from any light for centuries." Daybreaker then looked outside her window. "It'll take far more to satisfy you. But for how long?"
Indeed, Necrozma's absence of light has led him to the point where not even light sources from other worlds were enough. The vast light that came from the crystals managed to satisfy him for a bit, but it wasn't enough. Daybreaker knew that she could probably fulfil Necrozma's hunger for centuries to come, but even that would be a hassle. Necrozma needed more. Sitting around was not an option for him as he continued to cry out for more light.
"I understand completely, Necrozma. I know how you feel as well. It was made clear to me on the day I first encountered and caught you." Daybreaker responded as she began thinking back to when she first met Necrozma. Before she found Necrozma, the Prism Pokemon was in a different situation than he was currently, but there was still a vast craving for light.
2 years ago. Another Pokemon World. Out in a harsh cold world.
There existed a universe that was parallel to many other Pokemon Universes out there. Nothing uncommon. However, this universe compared to the ones that have been seen so far was practically a nightmare to be at.
At a first glance, this looked to be a tundra or an arctic area, filled with nothing but snow and ice. However, that was not the case as it would soon be revealed by Colress. A gateway opened up in the sky, revealing the Plasma Frigate as it had arrived in this universe and the cold area.
"We've arrived," Colress spoke at the helm of the frigate. "This universe seems to be nothing but ice all around."
"What do you mean by ice all around? Isn't this just an arctic area?" Daybreaker questioned.
"No. I mean that the world is ice." To further prove it to Daybreaker and the others, Colress pulled up a holographic map of this world from every angle. This world was shown to have an entirely different colour than most. It still retained the colour blue but with a far more icy flavour to it.
Colress spun the holographic projection, showing every angle as each part had an icy aura radiating from it. He zoomed in, showing the different locations that would be countries. But at this point, they weren't. There were indeed buildings, but they were all frozen over.
Pure white ice and snow had layered over them. The buildings had frozen with a thick cold mist masking the area, making it impossible to see anything else. Colress moved to another location, showing towns, cities, villages, forests and so on, all under the effect of a powerful blizzard. No matter what he showed, there was always ice.
"As you can see, everything is frozen. The entire planet is one big ice ball." Colress explained as the grunts from both Team Plasma and the Solar Empire gasped at this chilling sight.
"Oh...n-now you tell us!" A pony shuddered as she and many others were starting to feel the overwhelming cold, causing them all to clatter their teeth. Ghetsis seemed fine, however, using his Dark Magic to keep himself warm. Daybreaker was completely fine as well since she was essentially a walking Sun.
"Here is where Necrozma is said to be found. Right?" Ghetsis said to Colress.
"That's right. From what I found out about this icy world, it looks like the culprit responsible for this is Kyurem." Colress revealed the Pokemon that had frozen this world.
"Kyurem?" Daybreaker repeated, hearing Kyurem's name for the first time.
"Kyurem is a Pokemon we've had a small interaction with in the past. We once tried capturing Kyurem but failed, so we managed to find its other half Reshiram. But, during our mission to try and capture Kyurem, I managed to discover some of its Infinity Energy. And even now, that same energy has been found. Look."
Colress switched screens, showing Daybreaker exactly what he meant. Readings went off as the ice coming from this world was so connected to Kyurem that a holographic projection of Kyurem had also shown up in the corner.
"It's the same ice. Without a doubt, Kyurem is responsible for this. Who else would be able to freeze the entire planet? I also found that Ice-Type Pokemon are more common than ever in this world while the other types are practically in hiding or hibernation. You're bound to find some Fire-Types too."
"And this Pokemon Necrozma is supposed to be here?" Daybreaker questioned. "Surely there is no chance that it could survive in a place like this."
"There's not enough light for Necrozma to absorb." A Shadow Triad Member said. "Lord Ghetsis. Is this a Pokemon that we truly want?"
"It is. The power behind Necrozma is one that is arguably the greatest of all time. Kyurem is said to be the world's strongest dragon, but Necrozma hides a power that rivals that."
"Speaking of which, my research has led me to discover that Necrozma has been here for centuries now." Colress continued, manipulating his screen as he showed the group the whereabouts of the Prism Pokemon.
The screen had focused on the icy world, fixating specifically on this area where the Plasma Frigate was. Colress zoomed in a bit to reveal the location of Necrozma. By zooming in through a deep cave that only seemed to go deeper and deeper, there was a turbulent blizzard that was joined by another blizzard.
Many of them squinted their eyes to try and see past the blizzards as it seemed to lead into another dofp part in the cave with so many layers to it. Eventually, past all the darkness, that's where they saw it. The Prism Pokemon Necrozma.
Trapped within a 30-layered iceberg, covered in snow, the Psychic-Type could be found resting there, surrounded by not just a prison of ice, but a gruesome snowstorm that had no end to it.
"Necrozma..." Daybreaker gawked, witnessing Necrozma for the first time.
"From what little is known about this universe, centuries ago, a horrible veniality was done that caused Kyurem to bring this world to an ice age." Colress started explaining what he knew about this world's chilling origin. "Kyurem's anger was vast, leading it to cause a flash-freeze that froze the entire world. Seeing the taboo that had been done, Kyurem deemed this world unworthy to continue on as the way it is currently, leading to this."
"Are there even any people left in this world?" Ghetsis questioned.
"Yes, but it's little. But when Kyurem chose to freeze the world, Necrozma intervened. It knew that if everything were to be frozen, where would it find light to absorb? Light is Necrozma's life. Without it, it would either go crazy or worse. Perish. Like a Spoink without its bouncing heart. I would assume they had a fierce battle which resulted in Necrozma being frozen. Or, it was just the weather that eventually got to it. Either way, Necrozma is a victim of this ice age that Kyurem had made."
"Hmmm..." After hearing that, Daybreaker continued to look at Necrozma and his frozen body.
"Honestly, I'd say it's for the better." Colress shrugged. "Necrozma is far too terrifying. But...you still wish to use its power, don't you, Lord Ghetsis?"
"It doesn't matter how terrifying the Pokemon may be. Power is power. It's also about time Necrozma left its century-long slumber in that ice." Ghetsis replied. "But...if things do go awry..."
"I'll go after it." Daybreaker stepped forward, choosing to go after Necrozma as she used her magic to grab an Ultra Ball from the tale. "I know the situation already. That Pokemon shall be mine.
"Without a plan?!" Colress gasped. "Don't you see all the ice here?!"
"What of it? I decided to come for Necrozma as a recommendation. Ever since you told me about what Necrozma was capable of, I already had great plans brewing in my head. Oh. Here's a suggestion that sounds good to the ears. The Pokemon you couldn't capture before. Kyurem, was it? Now that you're here, why not give it a second go? Might find some better luck here." Daybreaker giggled, taunting Team Plasma.
"Tch." Colress scoffed. "That's true. This might be our second best try to capture Kyurem, Lord Ghetsis. If we fail..."
"If we fail...it will be frustrating, but not the end of the world. We have other options." Ghetsis responded.
"I'll go alone, might I add." Daybreaker nodded as her horn sparked with an eerie orange that also had flames bursting out of it.
"Alone?! Wait, your majesty-" The Solar Empire ponies cried out, but it was too late. Daybreaker had already teleported out of the Plasma Frigate and into the harsh cold land. The rest of Team Plasma were already set on finding Kyurem while the soldiers from the Solar Empire would follow their Queen. Necrozma was the prime target, but Kyurem was a bonus in their eyes.
Daybreaker arrived at the snow-capped mountains and immediately after showing up, her flames had melted some of the snow around her. Mainly her mane and tail. She trotted off as from the Plasma Frigate, the Solar Empire Ponies, which consisted of pegasi had flown out, following their ruler. The armour that they wore certainly wasn't enough to keep them warm.
But that's where Daybreaker came in. She used her magic to coat all of her troops in a blazing orange aura. That aura had great heat behind it that was enough to keep them all warm and survive the harsh cold. The designated destination was a cave. A stupendously deep cave. Meanwhile, Team Plasma went off to do their own thing.
2 hours later.
A 2-hour journey. For 2 hours, Daybreaker and her troops have been moving through the snow, searching for this cave that was located somewhere between these massive mountains. They even passed through a city that was completely abandoned and dcivilizationllization thanks to the unbelievable abundance of ice and snow. This civilization certainly showed its age as the buildings were originally made out of clay and wood along with traces of hay.
The many sounds of wild Pokemon who've made their home in this town are carried in the wind and give it a new sense of liveliness and vibrancy that still had a haunting feeling to it.
Path after path of abandoned homes made for a terrifying thought. Each house was once a home, a home belonging to a family and now there was only emptiness. But with nothing else to lose this town had a strange sense of comfort about it. Like a world of opportunity, except there was nobody there to take it.
But while continuing on their path, Daybreaker and her forces came across some trouble. Trouble via some Pokemon.
"Glalie!" Beartic had appeared by bursting through the roof of a building, letting out a terrifiyng cry that went well with the blizzard as joining the Freezing Pokemon were a group of Weavile. They are most commonly known for living in these harsh conditions and hunt their prey with a great advantage over the environment and weather. And in this case, they had an eternal advantage thanks to Kyurem.
"Trouble? I should've expected some in this harsh cold land." Daybreaker commented as the Weavile continued to appear out of the buildings. They weren't that abandoned after all. The Ice-Types now proudly call everywhere their home.
And everywhere was their territory.
"Weavile!" Once the Weavile appeared in massive numbers, collectively, they had all used Blizzard. As if the area wasn't harsh enough with an ongoing and endless snowstorm, the Weavile had added to it with their vast number advantage. Once the blizzards emerged, the troops already felt their bodies being held down. This was more than what they could normally handle, even with the heat keeping them warm.
However, Daybreaker was unaffected. Every time a snowflake came close, it melted away as her fiery body was enough to handle this.
"This is a waste of my time." Daybreaker did not pay any mind to the Weaviles and the Beartic. She walked forward, looking Glalie in the eyes. "I'll leave everything else here to you all. Necrozma is all I want." Daybreaker left everything to her troops as they would have to deal with the Weavile and their massive numbers. The troops saluted even with some of them being carried away in the snowstorm. But they had great faith in their ruler while Daybreaker counted on them.
Soon, the troops and the Weavile were all lost in the snowstorm and the mist, nearly impossible to see as the only one left standing in Daybreaker's way was Glalie.
"Glalie!" Glalie attempted to stop Daybreaker, using Sheer Cold to do so. Glalie's body became surrounded by a blue aura as the inside of its mouth shines white. The ground around Glalie begins to freeze anything in its wake, sending a flash of ice toward Daybreaker.
"Which means you're irrelevant. So out of my WAY!" Daybreaker used her Royal Canterlot Voice, staggering Glalie as she also breathed fire from her mouth. Her destructive flames easily powered through the energy of Sheer Cold as if I was nothing. Glalie gasped as its body was blasted by unbridled heat.
"G-Glai!" Glalie cried out as it was sent crashing through some frozen hills in the distance, gaining insane velocity while also having a trail of fire come out of it. Daybreaker closed her mouth with some smoke coming out of it before continuing on her path.
She could hear the Weavile attacking her troops, unbeknownst of what could be happening and how they would fare against the Ice-Dark-Types. But, she was only focused on Necrozma more than anything.
4 hours later.
4 hours had passed now. It was hard to tell where the Sun was. But after those 4 hours, Celestia had come across the cave with multiple depths where Necrozma was resting.
In there, endless darkness could be found, but it was nothing that Daybreaker couldn't solve with her constant flaming body. The Corrupted Sun stared into the vast darkness of the cave before looking to the side. There were other caves here, but none of them had that same darkness that the middle one had.
Daybreaker could even hear unusual noises coming from it. Without wasting any more time, Daybreaker went into the cave, ready to find and catch Necrozma.
And the moment she chose to do so, within one of the caves which seemed to be unimportant, golden eyes flashed through them, watching the alicorn from another universe enter it. And joining those golden eyes that had a constant glow to them was a growl before the eyes then faded into the mist. Daybreaker had more than just the Weavile and Glalie and even Necrozma to expect as the journey continues.
2 years ago. Another Pokemon World. An ice planet. Deep within a dark cave. Afternoon.
2 years ago, Daybreaker and Team Plasma had come here for Necrozma and as a bonus, Kyurem, who was responsible for freezing this entire planet. While Team Plasma attempted to find Kyurem on this icy planet, Daybreaker had entered a cave with multiple dark depths to find Necrozma.
Entering this dark ave also brought another barrage of blizzards along. Of course, Daybreaker was unaffected by it. This icy planet and the harsh cold meant nothing to the heat that she emitted.
She was also a permanent light source as the first part of this dark cave had been lit up. When entering this murky area, Daybreaker noticed how there were crystals prodding out of every corner of different colours. Some of these crystals had been frozen over thanks to the abundance of ice.
But she had no time to stop and see the sights. If she wanted to find Necrozma, Daybreaker figured that going to the very bottom of the cave would work out in her favour. After moving through so many pathways, that idea seemed tempting. Utter destruction within this cave was on her mind.
"Beartic!" But before she could do so, lurking within this cave and rushing out of one of the pathways was a Beartic as it had spotted Daybreaker. This was Beartic's territory and once again, Daybreaker had stepped into the territory of another Pokemon. But, then again, this entire icy planet was the territory of all Ice-Types.
"Another one of you?" Daybreaker looked up at the Freezing Pokemon, fearless as yet another Pokemon was getting in her way of reaching Necrozma. This could be a common reoccurrence considering that she had yet to explore the entirety of the cave yet.
"Beartic!" Beartic did not hesitate to attack Daybreaker. It went in, using Superpower as its claws were covered in an orange light. Once it rushed in, the Freezing Pokemon swung its super-powered claws, only for Daybreaker to put up a protective barrier.
Superpower struck Daybreaker's barrier, resulting in a great shockwave that blew away the crystals and various rocks within this part of the cave. Daybreaker stayed still once her barrier had been hit as it did not budge or break at all.
"Tic? Beartic!" Beartic was stunned for a second that the barrier did not budge as it tried again. The Ice-Type swung with Superpower once more, trying to break it. Beartic struck again and again. Left, right and above, using all of its strength. This part of the cave continued to shake with ice shards and stalactites falling from above in response to Beartic's heavy impacts. The ground was even starting to crack.
"This is getting annoying," Daybreaker grumbled, expanding her barrier. Once her barrier expanded, not only did it melt away the collapsing ice shards, but it had blown back Beartic and any rubble that got near.
"B-Bear!" Beartic slid on the ground, feeling the heat from Daybreaker's barrier. But to Daybreaker's surprise, it was still standing instead of falling. "Beartic!" The Freezing Pokemon didn't give up so easily as it had then used Stone Edge. Beartic smashed the ground, causing multiple glowing stones to burst out of the ground.
Daybreaker narrowed her eyes before unleashing a devastatingly fast beam of magic from her horn. The beam had blasted through the stones, stopping them in their tracks. It was also too fast for Beartic to react in time. Daybreakers beam struck the Freezing Pokemon's stuck, sending the heat of the sun through it once more.
"Beartic!" Beartic roared, almost falling over as it held its chest. It didn't give up so easily, Giga Impact right afterwards, throwing everything it had at Daybreaker.
"Pathetic." Daybreaker found Beartic's efforts to be commendable but pointless as the moment the Freezing Pokemon lunged in with a bursting white aura, Daybreaker put a stop to it by emitting a powerful magical pulse that had not only stopped Beartic midway from even reaching Daybreaker, but the intense power by this pulse had eradicated the aura of Giga Impact, consuming it into the flames as Beartic was blown away once more.
"Tic!" Beartic had crashed into the walls immediately with flames trailing out of its body. The Ice-Type slumped on the ground as well, feeling perplexed. Beartic growled, holding its head as it still tried getting back up. The Freezing Pokemon had great persistence. It could barely stand though as it got on its knees, now feeling how overwhelmingly strong Daybreaker was.
"Again? You should learn when to quit." Daybreaker sighed, preparing to blast Beartic a second time. Any annoyance that got in her way and prolonged her mission to reach would be dealt with. It was now that Daybreaker figured that taking a massive chunk of the cave along with Beartic was the best way to multitask.
Her body started glowing a radiant orange as her magic power swelled out, threatening to obliterate the cave to make this a quicker journey for Necrozma. Beartic's eyes widened before lowering its head, powerless to stop what was coming next.
"Cubchoo?" Arriving at the scene of the battle was Cubchoo. The cub of Beartic. It peered its head from the corner before gasping at the sight of Daybreaker's aura. "Cubchoo!"
"Bear!" Beartic noticed Cubchoo before rapidly rushing to its side. The Freezing Pokemon grabbed Cubchoo with its arms, holding it close. Cubchoo embraced its older evolution as the immense heat from Daybreaker's aura was starting to affect them.
"Hm?" Daybreaker noticed this scene immediately, pausing for a moment. After a few seconds of gazing, Daybreaker sighed before lowering her aura. She didn't release it all to destroy a chunk of the place after all. Instead, Daybreaker pressed on, ignoring them both. "Stay out of my way, otherwise, I'll grant this cave and entire land a destructive end."
"Beartic..." Beartic growled as it allowed Daybreaker to walk by. It wouldn't dare try and stan dup to her after what it had witnessed. Cubchoo trembled, feeling uneasy in the presence of Daybreaker's flames, but she was gone now, diminishing that fear. However, it lingered.
1 hour late.
An hour later and Daybreaker was halfway there. The deeper she went, the more the icy mist became present, hardening her vision. It was annoying but Daybreaker expected this, pressing on either way.
But along the way, that was when she was met by another entity. Another Ice-Type had stood in her way, prompting the Ruler of the Solar Empire to stop in her tracks. Yet again, her mission to find Necrozma has been stopped.
"Who's there now?" Daybreaker questioned, looking ahead of the murky mist. Those same golden eyes from before were there as Daybreaker had seen them for the first time. A growl that had a frightening sound to it had responded to Daybreaker, only making her more cautious.
The figure that had these menacing golden eyes had emerged from the mist at last. The eyes paled in comparison to the sheer size of this Pokemon. Ice followed this Pokemon, adding extra layers of ice to the walls and ground. Daybreaker noticed how there was this bipedal figure emerging with a staggering height. It was none other than the Pokemon that was responsible for the planet being turned to ice.
Kyurem.
"Mother of me..." Daybreaker's jaw dropped as she was visibly stunned to see Kyurem and the overwhelming amount of mist coming out of its mouth. It was so overwhelming that Daybreaker had never seen anything like it, especially with how fast everything froze over. That led to one conclusion in her mind. "All of that ice...You must be Kyurem."
"Why have you come here?" Kyurem questioned her, using telepathy to speak. "You and that thing in the sky are not from this world. You'd better have a good reason for being here."
"Hmph. Is it customary for you to overly question visitors? If you get any in a place like this..." Daybreaker smirked. "My business here is something quick and easy. Something that doesn't bother you, Kyurem."
"Hoh? You obviously are not from this world, therefore...there's something here for you to even know about this world's existence."
"Hmph. It should be obvious what I'm here for. The Pokemon that apparently battled you many years ago and is locked down here. Necrozma. Ring any bells? Then again, it's been so many years since you've frozen this planet, you've probably forgotten about it."
"Necrozma? You must be referring to that Pokemon that harbours light. You would aim for such a powerful Pokemon? Curious. Why should I let you go any further."
"Why stop me?" Daybreaker shrugged. "Unless you rule this world. Which I mean...you probably do since you froze everything just because a group got on your bad side. A bit harsh, don't you think?"
"You reek of evil. You're one to talk about my actions."
"Am I? Last I checked, civilization in this world is greatly limited to just your Pokemon brethren. The humans in this world can barely live. It's a miracle that they are still around. You may have gotten justice on those that wronged you in the past, but the ones of the future well...that's a different story. So, who's the evil one here?"
"Hmmrrgh..." Kyurem grumbled as it knew that Daybreaker had a stellar point. "Big talk from such a little pony."
"Say what you will. Unless that Reshiram part in your can fix all of this or some other Legendary Pokemon shows up, you aren't in the clear, my friend."
"That is not likely."
"And why's that?"
"Necrozma was not the only Pokemon that battled me. Many have challenged my goal to freeze those who betrayed me. But it was just that. Those who betrayed me were my only targets, not everyone else." Kyurem revealed there was a bit more to it.
"Hm? Go on..." Daybreaker was curious.
"Do you truly believe I would willingly freeze the entire planet? The ones who betrayed me were led by someone who possessed a strange power. This power drove me mad and greatly increased my power just for his own gain. I had no control over myself. He managed to split my true form in half while still being able to harness the power that I hold within. With this destructive power at his command...and my own will, he began his ferocious conquest with me as the weapon that would intimidate others. Of course, the other Pokemon tasked with protecting the planet arrived."
"The Legendary Pokemon..."
"Right. It was a ferocious battle and eventually, Necrozma joined after learning about how everything was being frozen over, including the light that it depends on. Because of the amazing power I received, all of them fell and were frozen, much like Necrozma. To this day, they are unable to move or free themselves. Even those that possess fire. But, the one to free me from my control was what they call an Aura Guardian. However, the damage had been done already and the planet had been frozen."
"Hm. I See."
But, this ice isn't fully mine. That man's strange power seemed to have a cosmic origin to it. Because of the cosmic power residing within it, the ice would never fade away. Try as I might...even when recovering my strength, I could not melt it all. I am indeed to blame for the total cryofreeze of this planet and robbing many of their peaceful lives...The Creator Deity spoke about how one day, this planet will once again feel the warmth of the Sun. That day will come when something can root out the cosmic energy within."
"Cosmic energy...It must be Rift Energy then." Daybreaker could only think about Rift Energy when it comes to cosmic energy.
"The creator deity. The one they call Arceus spoke of that day. I regrettably attacked Arceus as well during that fateful day. Alongside the Aura Guardian, I was free. But, Arceus the Creator had to heal after what I had done thanks to the cosmic power that was added. Since then...the warmth of the Sun was the last thing it shared before leaving to heal. I have not heard from Arceus since. Now, do you understand?"
"I understand completely. It certainly adds a lot more to things. But...I still need Necrozma. I wish no ill intent on you. Will you let me through?"
"Hmph. Go." Kyurem allowed Daybreaker to press on. Despite feeling something eerie within her, Kyurem could also tell that she was surprisingly honest as the two of them only had to look at each other for a bit.
"But...I suppose I'll leave you with two things. I'd advise staying hidden from those ships. And you said that cosmic power is what led you to cause your rampage?"
"Hm?"
"I'll be back here. Wait maybe one more year or so and I will root out the energy within. I'm building something back in my world specifically meant for cosmic energy. Until then...farewell, dragon." Daybreaker had kept Kyurem safe from Team Plasma and had promised to help this world out as well.
Kyurem found Daybreaker to be an odd one. But he would wait until that day that she would supposedly return and bring the warmth that Arceus spoke about.
3 hours later.
After a few more hours of moving through this dark cave, crushing everything in her path, Daybreaker finally came across it. By burning through a mass expanse of snow, Daybreaker had found Necrozma's ice prison. There it was.
The Prism Pokemon had been found in the deepest part of the cave. Locked in ice that had snow all over it, Necrozma was in a seemingly eternal slumber due to the endless ice.
"There you are, Necrozma," Daybreaker commented, walking up to the icy prison. She got to see the Prism Pokemon up close and exactly how being trapped in this ice has affected it. It was hard to tell since Necrozma's face wasn't one that could instantly give off emotion.
Daybreaker put her hoof on the ice prison before then feeling something sudden. The moment she touched the icy prison, that's when a haunting cry revealed itself. The cry of Necrozma. Daybreaker gasped after hearing it. It travelled through her senses as it was impossible to ignore. She took this in, realising what this meant. The cry was both terrifying and gentle at the same time. To many, it would be terrifying, but Daybreaker saw the sombre side to it.
"That came from you." She said. "This sounds like a cry of pain. Yes. You've been trapped here for centuries. Possibly around the time when I was still a filly."
The cry came through yet again from Necrozma. While there weren't any movements to show this, Daybreaker could just rely on its cries.
"I hear you. The cries of being robbed of something you need. But, this prison won't last forever. Starting now." Daybreaker closed her eyes as the presence of her mane was already melting the ice the entire time.
Once the ice melted, Daybreaker backed away as at last, for centuries, Necrozma had been freed. But instead of waiting for the entire ice to melt, Necrozma broke out of it, sending shards flying everywhere. The shards melted once they came into contact with Dayreaker as she couldn't help but smile at this.
However, the moment Necrozma had been freed after centuries of icy imprisonment, something was burning inside of it. Robbed from devouring light, Necrozma was seething with rage. Justifiably furious, the Prism Pokemon could finally let out its anger at last as this part of the cave was starting to shake.
"What now?" Daybreaker looked around, feeling the tremors from every direction. Before she knew it, flares of prismatic lasers came flying out. This was the first time she had witnessed Necrozma's Prismatic lasers. Multiple lights filled with prismatic colours burst out with great intensity, hitting every part of the cave.
This was Necrozma's rage being unleashed and it was tremendous as the lasers pierced through the walls, reaching the outside as well. Daybreaker was in danger of being struck by these lasers. Not only was she threatened by the lasters, but Necrozma's rage was also so on par with its hunger, that any source of light was greatly needed. And right now, a great source of light was in front of it.
Daybreaker herself.
Necrozma noticed how Daybreaker was oozing light. From her flaming mane to her flaming tail. But Necrozma could also sense the magic inside of Daybreaker. It was crying out to him in his eyes. Despite being the one to save Daybreaker, Necrozma still needed light. Thus, Dayreaker was perfect now as it immediately rushed to the alicorn.
"Not good!" Daybreaker gasped, realizing she was a target for Necrozma. She flew back, immediately evading Necrozma's Brutal Swing once it approached her. The claw smashed into the ground, shattering the rest of the ice.
Necrozma then pursued Daybreaker, using Brutal Swing yet again. Daybreaker continued to fly back, evading Necrozma's constant swinging at high speeds. while flying through this part of the cave. Multiple pillars of ice were being broken or melted apart from either Daybreaker's movements or Necrozma's destruction.
Seeing that he couldn't catch up to Daybreaker, Necrozma realized that without some light, he was slower now. Unable to keep up, decided to attack from afar, using Photon Geyser. He unleashed a continuous burst of energy from his body that went in different angles but were all fixated on Daybreaker.
"!" Daybreaker could feel the intensity of this attack as she immediately retaliated with a magic beam. The multiple bursts of energy met with Daybreaker's beam, resulting in a heated clash that completely melted the area. The impact of the two beams ended up blowing up in front of each other, pushing both of them away. Daybreaker maintained her momentum as she put up a barrier, going through the walls. "I see...All those years without light and I'm the first thing it sees."
Daybreaker figured out that she was prime for absorption as Necrozma chased after her, using Photon Geyser once more. To retaliate, Daybreaker covered her horn in a blazing aura before swinging it. She swung at the lasers, knocking them away. Necrozma then used Stone Edge, summoning giant rocks around its body and then throwing them at high speeds. Daybreaker used her magic to control these rocks with telekinesis, tossing them aside.
"I need to satiate its hunger...and of course capture it too or I could become a lightless husk. Unless..." Daybreaker looked over at the Ultra Ball that she was still levitating with her. But Necrozma wouldn't make it easy. Even without light, he was still a powerful force as he then started tearing the cave down. "You there! Necrozma! Listen to me!" She suddenly called out for it.
Necrozma charged at full force, only for Daybreaker to put up a barrier. Necrozma charged headfirst into the barrier, ferociously attacking it afterwards with Prismatic Lasers. Clearly, it wasn't here to listen to Necrozma. It needed to feast on some light.
"All of that rage is stupendous. But I know exactly how you feel!" Daybreaker had a different method of solving this. "As I said before, you were robbed of what you needed more than anything. Light."
Necrozma roared, using Gravity to force Daybreaker and her barrier to the ground. Daybreaker managed to keep it active, however as Necrozm then attacked it from above, using Prismatic Lasers once again.
"That Pokemon Kyurem did this, didn't it?" Once Daybreaker brought up Kyurem's name, Necrozma passed for a moment. It remembered Kyurem very well and that name only heightened its rage, causing it to try and shove its claw through Daybreaker's shield. At the same time, by touching her shield, Necrozma was gaining some light by gradually absorbing it.
Daybreaker could see that with all of this anger, catching Necrozma immediately would only lead t further problems. She wanted to have Necrozma at his most calm if that was possible.
"Locked up here with not a shred of light. Forced to suffer for centuries in this harsh cold area, just because of the actions of others." Daybreaker spoke as Necrozma tried everything on her barrier. "Truly, a horrible existence to be flung into. I can understand that..." Right then, Daybreaker thought about how she came to be. Her memories flashed back to when she had lost Luna. While not the same thing, Daybreaker could still feel for the Prism Pokemon.
But her words so far were not reaching it as Necrozma then used Gravity again, this time, bringing down the entire cave area on Daybreaker, only for Daybreaker to incinerate them with her flames.
"So...Allow me to grant your wish." Daybreaker would be the one to give Necrozma some light. She immediately put everything to a screeching halt as her magic flared across the cave from the inside and outside. It went beyond just the outside of the cave.
Daybreaker had unleashed a storm of fire from her body that was so fierce that not only did it light up the dark cave, eradicating the darkness. Necrozma had been stopped in place too, feeling the overwhelming and superior magic. As it stands currently, Daybreaker was above him.
A storm of fire had spread across the icy lands, melting it all away. Before Necrozma knew it, Daybreaker managed to reach into Necrozma's mind. The Prism Pokemon was still stunned, hovering there before then realizing that something was ringing in its head.
"Now can you hear me?" Daybreaker spoke to Necrozma. For now, Necrozma was calm. "Your rage should end here. If you were to continue, no doubt you would cause a rampage. But...that's fair, isn't it? I lost something...someone valuable to me that made me lose my old self. You shouldn't have to suffer for everything that happened here, should you?"
This time, Necrozma was taking the time to listen to Daybreaker. He could also feel something within him. Light. Daybreaker had been lending some light to him after all. He tried stealing it, only to find out that Daybreaker was offering hers in the process. Heaps of it too.
"Rampaging will do you no good, however. It will only lead to further rage and no progress but only annihilation without complete victory. So instead, let's start anew. You're free now, but how can you possibly survive in this world that has lost a majority of its light?"
Necrozma roared in response, speaking to Daybreaker. Daybreaker closed her eyes, using her magic to translate the roar of the Prism Pokemon. Thanks to her magic, she managed to under Necrozma.
"I see. You're a dark husk now. Even if you did try and somehow found more light here...it wouldn't do anything. All those years without any light has left you with a massive starvation that can last even longer than when you were imprisoned." Daybreaker translated and indeed, she was right.
Everything she said was right in Necrozma's eyes. This was where she learned of Necrozma being unique to the other Necrozmas from other universes. She needed more light than any of them.
"Let me help you then." That's when Daybreaker offered to help. "If you're so hungry for light, I will give it all to you. I will get you back up to speed and make sure that you're satisfied, however long it may take. And we can start by taking the light from the remaining light from this universe? Will that do?"
Necrozma nodded. It was a done deal. He could see that Daybreaker was truly here to help him. She was the one who freed him and the one who was offering to assist him in his quest for light. Until he reached his prime, Necrozma would starve, but that was why Daybreaker was here.
The two of them looked at each other for a bit as something resonated with Necrozma from Daybreaker. It was hard to describe, but Necrozma felt some familiarity and safety around the alicorn. He could trust her despite the overwhelming force that she exuded. Once Necrozma agreed, Daybreaker dropped her barrier.
The Ruler of Equestria held out the Ultra Ball to Necrozma, seeing if it truly trusted her. And he did. By raising his claw, Necrozma poked the Ultra Ball as it had pulled him in. The ball dropped to the ground s the traditional shaking had begun.
1...2...3...Gotcha!
Necrozma had been caught. After successfully capturing Necrozma, Daybreaker smiled before then choosing to send him out instead of keeping him inside. Necrozma now had a Pokemon Trainer. Daybreaker.
"Let's get out of here, shall we? But, perhaps there's one light source you wish to absorb first?" Daybreaker questioned. Necrozma then raised his head and claw, aiming at the sky. Or rather, space. "Space, eh...? You wish to absorb the Sun and the stars. Hmph. Brilliant. But can you breathe in space?"
Necrozma froze yet again before crying out. Now, Daybreaker could understand Necrozma thanks to the magic that she uses. The Ruler of Equestria couldn't help but chuckle at what Necrozma told it.
"Hahaha! I see. Not enough power or strength for that too." Daybreaker chuckled. "Ah. Not to worry. Soon, you'll be able to fly into the cosmos one day, Necrozma. And then the Sun, the stars and whatever lies within the final frontier will be yours to take. For now. Let's go."
It was time for them to leave. Daybreaker had succeeded in retrieving Necrozma, but she ended up forming a promise to the Prism Pokemon. A promise that she would bring back all of the energy that he had lost for centuries. Daybreaker had the lifespan to make it happen and potentially the conviction.
At the end of the day, Kyurem was never found by Team Plasma. And this was done by Daybreaker. Team Plasma received nothing while Daybreaker received Necrozma.
Universe 11. Present day. Equestria. The Solar Empire. Canterlot Palace. Afternoon.
Daybreaker finished reminiscing about the day she met Necrozma. It felt like yesterday to her. Daybreaker never forgot what she was aiming for. She had already started granting Necrozma's wish of regaining all of his light energy and now, there was another that related back to Necrozma's universe. There were also the goals that she had in her own universe that were plentiful.
"I still have a lot to do," Daybreaker spoke. "For a brighter future unto dawn. It's all for my subjects as well...And you are one of them, Necrozma." She smiled at the Ultra Ball as Necrozma sent a pulse in response. A bond had formed between them based on a promise. And Daybreaker certainly knew how to pursue a promise once it was made.
"Now then. Enough lounging around. The Supernova can most certainly absorb the Rift Energy back at your frozen world. But moving it is still an issue in itself. I'll commission for it to have mobility. As for you, Necrozma, the crystals from the Sea Temple are the best things for you. You were fairly satisfied for a while. If we can get another or more...then you'll be able to take to the cosmos and absorb the next best thing. The Sun and the Stars."
Universe 1. Equestria. Near the Crystal Empire. The Sea Temple, Samiya. Afternoon.
"Woohoo! This is amazing!" And back in this universe, Delia, Ash and a few others were enjoying themselves by using the crystal's power to form new clothes. Delia went wild with the crystal, using it to make clothes befitting of a queen as just minutes later, this entire room had been covered in clothes with all of the guards drowning in a sea of them.
"Awesome. But these are a lot of clothes. Don't ya think?" Ash said, wearing the clothes befitting of a King.
"Not at all, Ash." Delia, alongside Rarity who was talking from Twilight's Xtransceiver protested. "The skies are the limit and if you have a lot of power, why not have fun with it for the simplest things?"
"She's right you know, your majesty," Alo spoke while having multiple dresses on his face. Pikachu was given some clothes that fit his size while Twilight, Fluttershy and the older Flurry Heart dressed themselves up based on what they imagined.
"I would use those crystals for something else but...whatever." Sombra shrugged as he was still being followed by Water-Type Pokemon.
"Maybe those clothes from your Galaxy Master book will do?" Delia held out Ash's old comic book of when he was a child, resonating it with the crystal. "Or perhaps, something new that comes to mind?"
"Well..." Ash scratched his hair. "There's a lot I wanna name."
"Ohohoho, my dear Ash." Delia laughed. "My room is compatible with my clothes. Your room not so much, so be careful."
"Aw, man! You're right! Wish I had a bigger room now..." Ash replied causing everyone to laugh as the book of Galaxy Master was placed back inside the bag. Deia felt done here as the crystals made things entertaining for her. But her time at the Sea Temple was not over as more entertainment was due.
"Come on! Show your new queen around!" Delia decided to walk like a queen now that she was wearing the appropriate attire. The guards were currently trapped to follow her though. But now, they all saw a large portion of Ash inside Delia. Ash does get his traits from both his parents after all.
Now that Delia was made aware of the Sea Temple and can now visit it at any time, becoming the newest queen while her son still ruled over it the most, the People of the Water had not seen the last of Delia Ketchum and the last of what she could bring to their temple as the journey continues.
It's a silent and peaceful night in Pallet Town. Ash was slumped on his bed alongside Pikachu, having his big dreams as always, speaking in his sleep too. Except, nothing was 100% natural.
The comic book that Ash made years ago had been placed in his room once his mother rediscovered it after so long, sitting on a table. Now that it had returned, Ash could keep this memory of his younger days. However, that's when an incandescent flare of golden light particles sprung out of the book.
Light particles that greatly resembled the light from the Sea Temple Crystals. These particles shot up, phasing through the ceiling and roof of the Ketchum Household. Like a shooting star, it took the skies, blending in perfectly with the dazzling night sky. A quick and new phenomenon had just occurred.
Equestria. Pegalysium. Hummingbird Isle.
Up at Pegalysium, Ash and Twilight were visiting the nation in the sky once more. This time, they were on a Sky Boat that travelled through the sea of clouds within a place known as Hummingbird Isle. And their tour guide was Twilight's fellow history buff from the Pegalysium Gallery, Kaleidoscope.
"So that's what Mega Evolution is? Sounds painful." Kaleidoscope spoke as Ash and Twilight shared knowledge with her about Mega Evolution.
"To some Pokemon. But, they can get used to it over time." Twilight explained. "So, what's here to see at this Hummingbird Isle?"
"Well, you're about to be amazed. We here at Pegalysium have a few phenomena of our own. And this is one you'll absolutely love. Don't let the size of Hummingbird Isle fool you too. It's much bigger now that we're here."
"So, the only two phenomenons we know about our Destiny Magic, right?" said Ash. "Wonder what else is there? Hmm..."
"How about those maps? That pony named Starmap was able to make maps of this entire universe and so much more. It's impressive how she could do all of that by just looking at it for a while."
"That's just in her family blood. The magic only gives her a slight boost, so it's not a phenomenon. But it could be when you think about how impressive it is. Here at Hummingbird Isle, there's an extra location hidden past the gardens of the birds that is something you just have to see. A century-long sight that only started happening during the earlier days of Pegalysium."
"The earlier days, hm? Then..." Twilight started pondering. "It would have to be something that the founders of Pegalysium added."
"Not at all. It's an outside source. I don't wanna spoil the surprise but you'll see. It'll be one for your history books." Kaleidoscope giggled.
"Outside, huh? I'm gonna take a wild guess and-" But before Ash could say anything else, that's when a tremor came through. The sea trembled as the hummingbirds all flew away. The Sky Boat rocked on the sea cloud, barely losing its balance. "Woah!" Ash and Twilight cried out.
"Pika?!"
"Was that an earthquake?!" Twilight cried out. "Or I guess...a Skyquake?"
"Right, right. I should also show you the first surprise. Hummingbird Isle is home to something else. Take a gander." Kaleidoscope had a bonus surprise to show them before the main one. She aimed her hoof in the distance, focusing on the massive array of clouds that were strong enough to hide whatever could be beyond there.
Ash, Pikachu, Twilight and Espeon stood up, squinting their eyes as they couldn't see anything yet. But the closer the Sky Boat, then the clearer things became. Whatever caused that tremor was definitely beyond those clouds. However, the Sky Boat was sailing away from that spot while still allowing the group to focus on the thick clouds. There were large hills that almost touched the peak of the skies. But those weren't the main focus. Instead, black visages that resembled silhouettes started coming into view. Joining those silhouettes were these crimsons lights that were glowing in front of them
The four of them looked for a while before recognizing these figures. These were pony silhouettes and those lights were their eyes. Before they knew it, they were staring at giants.
"A-A-Are those...?!" Twilight fell back on the boat, stunned by what she had seen once things became clearer. Her voice was stammering at the sheer size of these giant ponies.
"Giants?!" Ash finished her sentence.
"Pika?!"
"That's right. Meanwhile, Kaleidoscope was all casual about it. "Those are the Pegalysium Giants of Hummingbird Isle. Well, the ones that roam nearby it, anyway."
"So cool!" Ash found them to be stunning while Twilight rubbed her eyes, still feeling a bit perplexed. Seeing giant ponies wasn't too out there considering Wailord existed and so did Dynamax. But this was certainly the first time they've seen physical giant ponies instead of astral projections.
"How's that possible though?" Twilight questioned."Is it magic? Did a Pegasus of Destiny do this? I already know one of them, Windkiss created that Time Door."
"Not at all. Pegalysium's far bigger than you think. No pun intended. Truth be told, those giant ponies are all-natural. They come from a land of giants populated by giant pegasi known as Wingbeat Pass. It's far further than where we are now."
"A place full of giant pegasi, huh? Kinda reminds us of the Island of Giant Pokemon, right, buddy?" Ash laughed, recalling how he and Pikachu came across an island full of giant Pokemon.
"Pikachu!"
"Because of course, such a place exists..." Twilight sighed. "In any case, I think this is the best part of Pegalysium so far. Seeing these giant pegasi in the distance and learning that there's something better waiting for us? Oh, this is all so much fun!"
"We're almost at our destination. Get ready for this, you all." As the boat continued on, these giant pegasi stared at them with Ash and Twilight staring back. It was a bit unnerving for such giant pegasi to be staring at them, but seconds later, the giants simply walked away. They meant no harm.
20 minutes later.
Eventually, the Sky Boat was steered to the higher parts of the sea. It had moved on an upwards sea cloud, bringing the group to the designated destination. The main event revealed itself once they arrived. Ash, Twilight, Pikachu and Espeon hopped off the boats to bear witness to a sight that, in Kaleidoscope's words, surpassed the view of the giants. And once they saw it for themselves, Kaleidoscope had a point.
At first, it seemed to be an average mountainside. But it only took a second later to see what these mountains were keeping. Scattered everywhere, digging deep into these mountains were meteors. Massive chunks of rocks from the cosmos themselves.
"Meteors?!" Ash and Twilight repeated as the meteor count was astronomical. The number of meteors that were around was so vast and expanse that this large mountainside was holding so many of them.
"How can there be so many meteors here?" said Twilight. "That's just...well, it's destructive, that's what it is."
"Welcome to Meteor Mountain." Kaleidoscope introduced. "Meteors galore. Impressive, isn't it? Usually, you never see multiple meteors in one spot, but here we are."
"They don't just look like normal meteors too. Check out all of those lights." Ash pointed out how all of the meteors were radiating different spectrums of light. These light particles from each of the meteors flew in frantic and inconsistent directions with no purpose or reason.
The craters themselves were flooded with these particles as there were also these strange sounds coming from them that could only possibly come from space with how bizarre they were.
"It looks like stardust." Twilight saw that those particles weren't just average particles. But she wanted to know why there were so many of them. "They all came from space obviously, but how did so many of them fall?"
"This is the outside source I was talking about. A long time ago, when Peglaysium was being formed in the sky thanks to magic, one of the first-ever locations that our ancestors made was formed right here. A mountainside that was so large that it could reach even beyond the limited sky given more time over the years. It was originally known as the White Heights. But then...it only took 20 years later for something to happen. Meteors fell from above. Dozens of them. They came crashing down on this mountainside unexpectedly, forcing our ancestors away from here."
"Did someone ever figure out why so many of them came down though?" Ash asked.
"Well, it all relates to one meteor. A meteor that is constantly flying around this part of the sky and space. It's known as the Omen Meteor. We're not sure why, but this event happens more commonly than a regular meteor shower and only fixates on this one spot. They come from a singular meteor and send them flying down with seemingly no end. We're not even sure how the Abberant Meteor can make so many and not diminish. I mean...it is a rock, right?"
"Oh. Can you see the meteor from here since it sends so many of them down?" Twilight questioned.
"Starmap had that covered. The Omen Meteor resides in an interstellar cloud known as the Dragonfly Nebula. That's where it comes from. And that's all. Wish there was more I could tell you about this."
"Well, it's more than enough," Twilight replied. "You've shared a great phenomenon with us, Kaleidoscope."
"Yeah. How about we check it out some more?" Ash pointed his thumb at all of the meteors, wanting to get closer.
"You're speaking my language, Ash." Twilight was already thinking about it as she, Ash, Pikachu and Espeon would approach some of the meteors.
"Hang on! Meteors have radiation in them!" Kaleidoscope shouted. "Some of those meteors are new!"
"We know." The two of them replied as they weren't bothered by it at all. Kaleidoscope found them odd. It's not like someone to casually go up to some meteors. But of course, they would still stay safe around them. Twilight already had some magic coating ready while Ash had his Aura.
Kaleidoscope shrugged, prancing along to join them. She was just as curious as them after all and if there was a chance for her to get closer to the meteors, it would be with these individuals who didn't fear getting close to them. When getting closer, they could hear the sounds clearer now. Twilight recognized some of these sounds after her limited time within the Z-Crystals.
So many to choose from as Ash picked his first meteor. This one caught his attention as it radiated the same azure colour as his Aura. The beautiful stardust flew in his direction as the moment Ash got close, he could feel something calling to him. Ash stood there for a moment, looking at the meteor.
"Pika-pi?"
"Something came from that meteor..." Ash said before kneeling in front of the azure meteor. Curious as to why the meteor pulsated in his direction, Ash went over to touch the meteor. Pikachu followed the hand of his best friend, staying cautious as anything could happen when touching a meteor in his eyes. And the moment Ash touched the meteor, the next second, he could not only hear voices, but his perception changed.
There was a rapid change in scenery. Everything around him had changed. Right in front of his very eyes, figures were starting to pop into view. By resonating with his Aura, Ash had a special interaction with the meteor as these voices called out to him as they were connected to the figure.
"Ash. Hello? Anyone there?" And one of those voices belonged to none other than a former resident of Ponyville. Pear Butter. "Can you see us?"
"Woah..." Ash had indeed spotted Pear Butter as next to her was Bright Mac. He flashed his eyes before noticing that their appearances were familiar. "Wait a sec. Big Mac...Applejack...Apple Bloom's...parents?!"
"That's right." Pear Butter nodded. "Howdy there. Nice to finally meet you for the first time."
"Pikachu?" Pikachu could hear Ash speaking, but he couldn't see where or who he was speaking to.
"Is this the meteor doing this?" Ash looked down at the meteor?"
"Looks like it," said Bright Mac. "Quite a surprise to see you all of a sudden. We didn't think you'd show up."
"You're seeing us from the Ambrosial Plane, aren't you? Does it look new to you?" Pear Butter asked as Ash saw how bright and ethereal this scenery was.
"Oh, that place where Sunlight and Eventide are? You're there with them?!"
"Eeyup." Bright Mac replied. "It's where us ponies who are long gone head to. Nice place here."
"It's great to meet you for the first time. We've been watching from above and you sure are an interesting fellow, ain't ya?" Pear Butter commented. "And a great friend to our kids. Thanks for helping them get through so much."
"No problem. So uh, this meteor lets me see in this place? Sweet." Ash looked inside the meteor. "It also reacts to my Aura it looks like. Hey Twilight! Come here!"
"Hm?" Twilight immediately teleported, responding to Ash's call. "What is it? Did something happen?"
"Get a load of this. This meteor lets me see into the Ambrosial Plane. It reacted to my Aura, but since Togekiss has Aura Sphere, you might be able to use it too." Ash held it out to her. His Aura was already flowing within the meteors.
"Is that so...?" Twilight was now interested as her hoof had touched the meteor. Thanks to King of the Sea's Aura surrounding the meteor, the Princess of Friendship was able to see into the plane as well. "Oh! You're right!"
"Neat, huh?" Ash grinned.
"You two are Applejck's parents...I never thought I'd meet you!" Twilight gasped. "Well, I sorta did because of Tapu Fini, but still."
"Oh, Tapu Fini. That's a kind Pokemon right there." Pear Butter replied. "We loved what it did for us a few months back."
"So...are we here physically? Or..." Twilight needed to know if this was a physical appearance in the Ambrosial Plane.
"Uh..." Pear Butter and Bright Mac looked at each other before shrugging. That's when Bright Mac had an idea. "Ah! Catch this!" Out of thin air, he had summoned an apple before throwing it at Ash. Ash was ready to catch it, only for the apple to phase through him.
Confirmation. They were not truly there.
"Aw, man..." Ah wished he was there right now. That was another world that he could potentially explore.
"Well, we tried." Pear Butter giggled. "But, can you see anypony else here?"
"Anypony else? Not really. You're the only two we see." said Twilight until an idea had come up. She looked over at the other meteors, ready to test a new theory. "Unless! Ash! Use your Aura on this meteor too!"
"Got it." Twilight then used her magic to bring over another meteor, putting her other hoof on it. In Twilight's theory, the other millions of meteors could do the same thing. Ash shared another piece of his Aura to the meteor next via a pulse expulsion.
Lo and behold, when she touched them, she was given an expanded view of the Ambrosial Plane. It was as if she was unlocking a new stage that was hidden. And by unlocking it, two more ponies had been revealed. The ponies gasped, spotting Twilight Sparkle as some of them looked old and some of them were just around her age.
Twilight got more meteors, interacting with them with her magic to see multiple ponies from different walks of life appear. It was a stunning sight to see.
"I get it now! These meteors let us see into the Ambrosial plane! So then that means...every single one of these meteors have the spirits of ponies inside of them?"
"Spirits?! For real?!"Ash and Kaleidoscope yelled. Ash's Aura allowed him to connect to the other meteors, expanding in a wide pulse as he saw what Twilight saw in great numbers.
"Pikachu!"
"It's something like that." Just then, answering Twilight's question was Sunlight alongside Eventide. The former rulers of Equestria. It was no surprise that they were there, however, they haven't passed on yet. "You all have made a wonderful find here."
"Oh. Queen Sunlight. King Eventide." Twilight uttered. "What are these meteors? And why are they like this?"
"That's something we found out centuries ago, my little pony." Eventide replied. "These meteors that come from the Omen Meteor are bizarre in which they're connected to us."
"The meteor is in one fixated spot, which means that every smaller meteor that falls out of it fixates on this mountainside. So if you ever see a random meteor crash elsewhere, it won't be from there."
"Really?" This was new to Bright Mac and Pear Butter.
"Aw, come on, you guys! I can't see anything!" Kaleidoscope puffed her cheeks as she didn't have anything special to see these spirits.
"They're free for you to touch, Kaleidoscope. No need to worry. These are the safest meteors you'll ever come across, that's for sure." Twilight responded.
"Uh, okay." The pegasi walked over. "Still not sure touching a meteor is the safest thing to-" But before that last word could be said, it was eliminated as Kaleidoscope instantly saw the Ambrosial Plane "Oh! Oh wow! You weren't kidding. Is this what these meteors are hiding?"
"The magic from this meteor is something special, even if it does one of thing. It's as if everyone who has passed on finds a way to come back home. Albeit in a different location. And we're still alive, anyway." Sunlight said.
"Ooh. We might have to rename that meteor then." Kaleidoscope suggested now that she knew more about these meteors and what they could really do.
"Hmm...So that's what it is." Now that all of this had been revealed to Ash, he wondered what he could do next? These meteors were impressive, but Ash felt like he couldn't just go on about his day and see the meteors as another special sight that is only good for sightseeing. Ash thought for a bit as something came to mind. "Hm. Okay then. I've got something."
"Pika?"
"What do you mean, Ash?" Twilight asked.
"Everyone that's passed on can be found here. And all of those meteors are all spirits. Including the stardust that comes out of them, right?"
"That's right." Sunlight nodded. "Why?"
"We're going to do something really quickly. I might have to go through Delayed Aura Ataxia again to make this work."
"Delayed Aura Ataxia?! Ash! Whatever you're planning, don't do it!"
"Too late." Ash laughed. "It's already in motion and you're gonna help, Twilight. First, I'm gonna head to the Sky Monarch first. Then, you should head to Ponyville. And meanwhile, I'll head to the Changeling Hive. And I'll see Lofty Skies too.
"All of those locations? Why would y-" But it only took Twilight a few seconds to realize what Ash was planning. When it clicked, she gave a soft smile. "Ooh...Ash. Alright. No arguments there."
"Wait. What's happening?" Kaleidoscope needed answers though, unaware of the layers that this plan was being used for. It was something that related to multiple ponies and changelings from different locations. "What's Delayed Aura Ataxia? And what's a Changeling?"
Pegalysium. Sky Monarch. Afternoon.
A quick mission had been made by Ash with great assistance from Twilight. Both of them would take different routes. Ash went to the Sky Monarch first, heading straight for the King and Queen to give them some important news. Since this was a landmark in their nation, it was only natural they needed to know about the speciality of the meteors from Meteor Mountain.
"What do you mean spirits?" King Paramount leaned forward after Ash shared what he had discovered. "Are you saying that...?"
"That's right. Figured this was as good a time as any to get you to meet your parents again." Ash revealed what his plan was. Since those meteors connect to the Ambrosial Plane.
"Oh! Dear! That means you get to see them again!" Luminary gasped, looking over at Paramount, whose jaw had dropped. The only time he was this surprised was when his son was in danger. His parents were just as important and this news was staggering to the adamant king's heart.
"I'll be there soon. Kaleidoscope's waiting back at Meteor Mountain. I'll be down at Equestria for a bit. Come on, Pikachu!" Ash immediately rushed off with Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" As Ash and Pikachu left the scene, Paramount was still perplexed as Luminary waved her hoof in his face, trying to snap him out of it.
"Oh, my. Guards. Get to Meteor Mountain at once. Wait for Ash Ketchum as well." Luminary ordered. "Might as well bring Shooting Star for this one as well."
"Yes, your majesty!"
Equestria. Ponyville. Sweet Apple Acres. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, back at Ponyville, Twilight went to Applejack's family before anything else after seeing Bright Mac and Pear Butter. She explained everything about Meteor Mountain and what those special meteors were.
"Is that so...?" Applejack lowered her hat before smiling. Right afterwards, her entire family started laughing, confusing Twilight.
"Uh...what's so funny?"
"If you would've told me that we'd get another way of seeing our parents again that isn't Tapu Fini well...I don't know if I would've called you crazy, but I'd be starstruck!" Applejack and her family were obviously elated by this. Besides Tapu Fini, they had another way of seeing their parents. And this option didn't seem to move, unlike Tapu Fini.
"We get to see 'em again!" Apple Bloom jumped up. "I was kinda hoping that Tapu Fini would've done it for us again, but oh well."
"That's great to hear. Well...let's head up to Pegalysium then. I can fly up there perfectly fine."
"Hold on there." Granny Smith stopped Twilight. "Since you're gonna do that, there's one other pony you should head to, don't ya think. Or two."
"Two more? Uh...Who exactly?"
"Princess Celestia and Luna've been around longer than yours truly. Don't ya gonna give her this favour with all that they've seen?" Granny Smith suggested.
"Oh, you're right! They did have many friends in the past!" It clicked with Twilight. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have had friends from the far past, no doubt. "The meteors that come from the bigger Omen Meteor apparently fall more commonly than every other meteor show event. So most likely more of them will come crashing down with more spirits. Any one of them is bound to have a friend of Celestia and Luna."
"How's about you head to Canterlot? We'll go up to Pegalysium and see that Meteor Mountain."
"Oh. Sure. But to make it easy for you...Eve. Head to Team Rocket and ask them for the Rocketship. You'll be the one to guide them to Meteor Mountain."
"Espeon." Espeon would take care of everything else. Meanwhile, Twilight was off to Canterlot to inform two more ponies.
Faye Mountains. Changeling HIve.
"Thank you so much!" And over at the Faye Mountains, Ash was being hugged by Chrysalis, who made him struggle to breathe for a while. "You don't know how much this mean's to me!"
"N-N problem...!" Ash uttered with a weak voice. "You're kinda crushing my bones too!" After revealing Meteor Mountain to Chrysalis, this meant only one thing. The changelings that had perished from Ghetsis' attack could return. This was stellar news to not just Chrysalis, but every other changeling.
"Pikachu."
"Gah..." Ash was finally let go, taking a deep breath. "Oh, man. But ya know...I was also thinking of finding your mom too."
"Oh, right. My mother. I understand that completely. But...perhaps, we'll let her come another time. I want to see them again soon and it would take a while to find my mother."
"But if we see them again, will they be happy to see us?" Thorax questioned as these long-gone changelings were potentially still in their old forms.
"It doesn't matter. As long as I get to see them." It all didn't matter to Chrysalis. Old or new, she was fine with it. "Meteor Mountain, was it?"
"Yeah. So, what are we waiting for?" Ash dug into his pocket, throwing a Poke Ball out. Out of it came Dragonite.
"Dragonite!"
"Just follow us." Ash hopped onto Dragnite's back, ready to return to Pegalysium. A reunion with spirits was due at this moment and a mass expansion of Aura as well. This would be a reunion unlike any other. A reunion of family and friends from the other side.
Over at Meteor Mountain, the Royal Family had already shown up. And once they were there, they waited for Ash while looking at all of the meteors here. It was hard to tell which one belonged to who. The only one that was easy to make out was Bright Mac and Pear Butter's meteor.
But soon, this area became a bit more populated. Showing up minutes later were Ash and the others. They had all gathered t this one spot. Pegasi, Earth Ponies Alicorns and Changelings. Each of them had someone important who was long gone. And the only one to make it all possible was Ash.
However, Applejack could activate one of them with her Aura. She had a grand source of Aura. Not as big as Ash's, but powerful enough to make this meteor react to her. Kaleidoscope passed the meteor to Applejack, allowing it to treat her.
"We meet again. This is a sudden second reunion, isn't it?" Pear Butter spoke to her family.
"Sure is. Makes it all feel familiar. And as if you never left us, mom. Dad." Applejack said.
"Did ya see it? Did ya see me at the Canterlot Junior Cup?!" Apple Bloom asked them.
"Sure did. Wish you won though ut...oh well. Your friends are just so skilled, ain't they?" Bright Mac replied.
"They sure are. But I could've totally won if Gible didn't use Dig." Apple Bloom pouted, believing that she could've pulled the victory with her Z-Move in Dig wasn't in the picture.
"This is it, Ash. Do your best." Celestia said to him. "We'll be here if you almost faint."
"Okay. Sir Aaron, help me out here." Ash held his arm out as he summoned Sir Aaron's staff for assistance. It was all up to him. So many of them were waiting to see their loved ones again. Some of them for a second time. Even if it pushed his body to the absolute limit, Ash would do whatever he could to make others smile. "Here we go!"
With deep concentration, his Aura pulsated out, already starting to react to every other meteor nearby. The meteors reciprocated Ash's Aura. Both the benign feeling and the burning spirit within it. Ash let his Aura run free as the stardust from the meteors went will.
Visibly showing some strain, Ash had poured everything into this, keeping himself steady as this was certainly making him struggle with how many meteors there. But, thanks to Celestia's magic, she kept Ash steady, healing him. Thanks to Celestia's healing magic, Ash could continue on.
Eventually, once he reached a vast majority of the meteors, he managed to not only connect with them but his Aura id more. By pushing it to the max, the spirits of those from the Ambrosial Plane were starting to be seen. Not by touching the meteors, but rather, they had astral bodies appear out of them. Ash's Aura had shown just how far it could go as it performed a great feat.
Millions of ponies appeared as astral bodies, left and right. Immediately, Celestia recognized a plethora of them once they started showing up. Even Bright Mac and Pear Butter's astral bodies became visible to everyone's eyes.
"Hoh man...done." Ash breathed in and out as he got on his knee. Celestia helped him up right afterwards.
"Well, done, Ash." Celestia congratulated him. She then looked onward, seeing how so many familiar faces had been seen.
"Mom!" Loft Skies immediately saw his mother, flapping to her respective meteor. The changelings and Chrysalis saw the others s they had distinguishable appearances, rushing over.
"Ain't that beautiful to look at?" Pear Butter chatted.
"Eeyup." The entire Apple Family approved.
"Phew...I'm gonna take a small nap now." Ash decided to lay on his back as it still strained his body even after the healing. But he had done what he set out to do. He performed a grand reunion.
"Oh. It's all real." Chrysalis felt like she was dreaming, but she wasn't. She and the changelings met with the long-gone others, who were naturally stunned by the sudden appearances of their fellow species.
"Q-Queen Chrysalis. Is that you?" Naturally, questions arose bout their appearances.
"What happened to all of you?" Another changeling asked.
"A lot happened. I suppose now is a good time to catch you all up on recent events. But before that...I'm sorry that I wasn't able to protect all of you on that day. It is my fault that you ended up there." Chrysalis lowered her head. "But...seeing you all again was the only chance I would get to apologize."
"You don't have to apologize. Uh..y-your highness. We understand. Sucks though..."
"On the bright side, this Ambrosial Plane isn't so bad. We gained some weird forms when we came here though."
"Weid forms?" Thorax repeated, realizing that they had probably entered their new forms as well, even in another realm. And yet they looked the same. "How come you look the same then?"
"The Ambrosia Plane allows anyone to choose their appearance based on their entire life. There is no limit here." Sunlight explained, walking over.
"Aaah..." The changelings all nodded in unison once that was explained to them. Chrysalis caught up with her lost changelings, relieved that they were doing better on the other side. Celestia and Luna caught up with others as well. Since they knew so many ponies, many faces gathered to meet them.
They weren't too affected by this. The twin alicorns had come to terms with how they had a longer lifespan than many others. Thus, they had done their farewells to their friends long ago, leaving no wounds. But as for Paramount, he had a wound that was hiding with his stoic and strong personality.
He walked past all of the Astral Bodies of long-gone ponies and changelings, focusing on only his parents. He looked in the distance, spotting two familiar figures. Both of which looked like a combination of himself. A station had his mane and tail style while a mare had his colours from his coat, mane and tail. He galloped forward, coming to a screeching halt in front of these two ponies. King Thunderglaze and Queen Ascent had been seen again.
"Mother! Father!" Paramount cried out their names as if he were a child again. The moment they saw their son, they didn't need to guess. That appearance was of their son, only bigger than they last remembered. "It's true. It's all true what Ash Ketchum had said."
"You always did gallop to us when you shouted our names." Ascent spoke as Paramount had heard the voice of his parents once again. Just hearing it was enough to send chills through his body. It was both beautiful yet still a bit hard for him to take him.
"Come on, boy. I see tears. Don't try and hide them from us." Thunderglaze pointed out how Paramount turned his head away. But tears could be seen dropping to the ground and also there was the fact that his body was trembling, showing signs of sadness.
"No shame in being sad my son. Let's look at you straight in the face." Ascent spoke as Paramount turned around, showing his saddened face to his parents. "Aw...if I could hug you again, I would. Physically, I wish."
"I thought I would never see you two again..." His voice trembled as Shooting Star and Luminary walked over to comfort him.
"Dad. Are you gonna be okay?"
"Perfectly fine." He put on his poker face, but it was no use. Everyone could see through him for the first time. And he knew it. "Curses..."
"Ah, it's fine. Sadness is a powerful emotion of relief. You're here now. You have this chance...no. Endless chances to see us again thanks to these meteors." said Thunderglaze. "You've done a great job t ruling Pegalysium in our absence son. Always knew it, anyway."
"Mmm. We made sure to continue watching from the Ambrosial Plane. Well done, dear." Ascent nodded as she and Thunderglaze were greatly proud of their son. Even with his parents gone, he managed to grow up to be a great ruler and that was perfect in their eyes. "Now then. About your family here."
"Oh. Um. Good afternoon~" Luminary waved as she was finally noticed. "Queen Luminary is my name. And this is our son, Shooting StarW-We have a lot to talk about. Not used to talking to spirits though..."
"You know, those coloured tips on all of our wings are going to become natural." Thunderglaze aimed his hoof at their wings. "Just give it some more years or so and every pegasus is going to have tipped wings."
"Aw, it won't be special anymore?" Shooting Star flapped his wings. "Oh well."
Everyone reunited. Heartwarming was the only thing that could describe this scene as they chatted away, catching up with each other and tying up loose ends. As for Ash, he was resting after bringing them all here. Celestia looked back at Ash who was smiling peacefully while resting. One could mistakenly believe that he had passed n too with the way he was resting and smiling.
"There's something special in return for you, Ash. For all that you did here." Celestia commented while looking at Ash. He would receive something for something so charitable. But for now, with him resting, everyone could stay here for as long as they wanted to. Even potentially under the night sky where the meteors are the most beautiful.
The Hisui Region. One day it would soon come to be known as the Sinnoh Region. There was were a few civilizations this soon-to-be grand region, but, far beyond that, there was a hidden one, located in the harsh icy lands known as the Alabaster Islands.
Away from the harsh snowstorms that populated a majority of these chilling land, the civilization stayed in a rather humid spot. But this tale was not about that civilization. This tale was about the woman who once lived here, but perished one day. A woman who was just as soft as the snow.
"Why are you doing this?!" The lady by the name of Yuki was currently in a threatening position. Cornered by other village people, she was being yelled at as flames had been lit on torches thanks to the power of a few Fire-Type Pokemon. This was a dark day for her. "What's going on?!"
"You came here, bringing nothing but terror and bad omens to us." A village person said to her. "So much of what we need to withstand the rest of the winter and onwards is now gone because of you, among other things!"
"It was an accident! I swear! It's just that...I come from another space separate from yours. I have yet to get adjusted to this world of yours."
"Excuses you won't save you from this!" Another one yelled at her. "You should've stayed in that space if you were this unaware of what you could do."
"But I..."
"We've tolerated you for long enough. You're too much of a danger...leave now from this world! Take your otherworldly curse away from here." The village people ordered. This lady of old seemed to come from not another land, but another space entirely. Bringing with her an unusual power that was deemed a curse.
Hated by those from this world after she came here out of her own curiosity, this white-dressed lady was chased out of the village. The people and Pokemon chased her away, forcing Yuki out of the village as she was also attacked from behind. Multiple attacks were thrown in her direction, almost hitting her, but she managed to avoid them all.
Thus, her frantic running led her to the harsh snowstorms. She was already lost in the mountains, far from the civilization that she once called home. If she dared return to her home, she would be forced out once again or even attacked. Immediately, the horrible and harsh snowstorm punished Yuki's body while also slowing down her movements.
She found it difficult to keep walking, but she'd rather advance than go back. But, she felt like passing out from all of this pressure. Her body just couldn't handle it.
She shuddered with an icy breath. But despite being in this frigid and harsh land. It looked like she would fall her all alone, until, up ahead, a cave had suddenly come into view. It certainly wasn't there the first time. But it was only by slowly walking through this ruthless area that this cave appeared.
And inside of it seemed to be a lady, sitting on a mound of rocks. This lady donned what looked to be a witch hat along with a black robe. Yuki squinted hard through the snowstorm, she had green hair and her eyes were crimson red, glowing in the dark cold.
"Please help me..." Seeking help, Yuki pleaded, taking help from this stranger. She wanted to do anything to survive at this point. "I-"
"You don't have to explain yourself." The Witch spoke. "I know all about you, stranger from another world. Shunned and forced out of your new home...and you have no way to return to your original home."
"I was..." She lowered her head, kneeling on the snow as her tears turned to ice, making mounds in the snow-capped ground. "After everything we went through...How could they?"
"Wronged by those you were close to. Forced out of there with months and years of happiness taken away. How tragic." The Witch let out an estranged cackle, not showing much sympathy for Yuki. "Right now, you wish to go home more than anything. But this world is so beautiful and that is why you came here in the first place. A shame. But...I can give you the best of both worlds."
"Y-You can? You can save me?"
"Oh yes. But, you're not the first one I've seen in this state." The witch pointed at Yuki, having sharp fingernails with red tints on them. "This is the only offer I can give you. I cannot save your life as the way you are now...but I can rebirth you and give you new life. You will be reborn in two bodies. The first is the creature known as Froslass. And as for your home, you will return there in the form of the lissome-shaped entities that live within that space...What of it? Will you take the options?"
She didn't have much of a choice. Her body was already damaged by the snowstorm and this was the only thing that could grant her the chance to live to see another day. At least, in two different bodies.
"Please. Do it." She took the offer as that was all she could do.
"Good." The Witch found that to be a pleasing answer as her crimson eyes flashed in a split second. And before Yuki knew it, she was suddenly sinking into the snow. The snow pulled the lady from another space inside as she writhed around. But that was pointless as Yuki's body was already weak from being in the cold.
"You will become one with the snow land itself. Your new life will begin in your old home and new home. No longer will you continue pining for your original home, for you will be in two places at once. The two halves from different spaces will split more than just your soul. One of you will be gentle as you usually are. But the other will incur a frightening and vengeful wrath. Sooner than you think." The Witch's voice was starting to fade away the further Yuki sunk into the snow. "But...there is one more thing."
"W-Wh-" She tried saying 'What', only for the snow to cover her mouth. Only her eyes were remaining as these were the last words that she heard from the witch.
"One day, your two halves will meet again. In one place and in one spot. Until then, it shall be you that creates the future legacy for all Froslass. If I were you...I'd wait until that special day when you will arrive at that spot, it will be up to you. When that day comes, you will know when your two halves will reunite." That was all the Witch said until Yuki's entire body became one with the snow itself. Only the laughter of the witch echoed before vanishing.
Afterwards, she was reborn. Into a Froslass. She was created by the snow itself via snow manipulation by the witch, who was still a mystery and was never seen again.
Once she became the Snow Land Pokemon, there was only one thing in her mind for this moment. Revenge. Revenge against those that betrayed, attacked, shunned and forced her. The flames of revenge burned greatly within Froslass as now she had the true power to exact that revenge.
The people of that civilization fled in fear once Froslass had attacked them. Froslass brought upon a terrifying storm of blizzards that was greater than what the people and Pokemon living here had seen so far. And would possibly ever see in their lives. The wrath of Froslass punished this town for pushing her away and when she let out a chilling cry, the villages could all hear the voice of Yuki behind it. And for slight moments, they could see the visage of Yuki pop out.
Those that managed to escape Froslass' wrath would go on to tell the story of Froslass and the legacy of the Froslass species would continue from there.
And as for the other Pokemon she ended up being reborn as, it took place in the world that she once came from. She had returned there in the body of a Pheromosa. The Lissome Pokemon. When she awoke, she found herself in the body of a shiny Pheromosa, but in this body, unlike Froslass, she had no recollection of the past. All she knew was that Ultra Space was her home, but this location in general was unfamiliar to her until she would get adjusted to it.
"Pheromosa?" And in present-day, Pheromosa, who sitting on a mountain of pillows, had her peace disturbed for a split second. The Lissome Pokemon felt like she heard someone else calling to her from somewhere.
"We're off to PokeStar Studios, Sweetie Belle. Would you like to come along today?" Meanwhile, Rarity was off to continue her work as an actress at PokeStar Studios.
"Yes, please! Come along with us, Phione. Are we gonna make movies today or..."
"Mm-mm." She shook her head. I'll be busy working. But I'll leave you and your Pokemon to the studio. Pheromosa."
"Mosa." Their mode of transportation was Pheromosa instead of a boat, train or even a car. Pheromosa's speed was perfect and they could rely on her as the Lissome Pokemon picked the two ponies up from the floor. Afterwards, Rarity brought two straps over with her magic. One of them was meant for Pheromosa's back while the other was for her front. Phione and Sweetie Belle were strapped to the front and Rarity were strapped to the back.
"So, what movie are you in this time? You said it was a big one when you went there yesterday."
"Apparently, it's a precursor to what they call TV Show. I'll have to show you what those are especially. I lost myself watching one of them and a whole day almost went by for me."
"Is it that good?" Sweetie Belle questioned as Pheromosa gently left the boutique before then running at blitzing speeds. She continued to speak about this topic to her sister along the way. And during Pheromosa's swift movements through the land of Equestria, the Lissome Pokemon kept hearing that call yet again.
It didn't leave her head as it just appeared out of nowhere. And yet, the sound was familiar to her. She had heard it before. The sound was that of a Froslass' cry, which was a Pokemon she already knew about. However, there was a second layer to this Froslass cry that Pheromosa couldn't make out. It almost sounded human.
Unova. Virbank CIty. Afternoon.
They had arrived at beautiful Virbank City in southern Unova. But upon arriving there, something was amiss. When they showed up, there was an unusually large amount of snow in the way.
The three of them were stunned as this mountain of snow was unexpected. It certainly wasn't there last night as Fire-Types were being used to melt this ridiculous amount of snow.
"Wow...They went above and beyond for this movie. It's coming out into the streets too." Sweetie Belle commented, believing that this was part of the set.
"No. It's certainly not part of this set." Rarity shook her head. "This wasn't here yesterday. ANd it's so much snow as well. It's summer as well so..."
"Well, my little pony, there's an answer for everything. And unfortunately, you left 1 hour too early to see that answer." Someone had replied to Rarity. Upon hearing this voice, Rarity suddenly tensed up, putting on a grimacing expression as her head slowly turned to face the individual.
"Oh. It's you."
"Alberto."
"That's Baron Alberto to you, okay?" He corrected her. The man from Alamos Town, Baron Alberto, alongside his Lickilicky which was his signature Pokemon.
"What do you want now?" Rarity asked with a dry tone.
"Nothing. You can't always assume I'm doing something targeted to you." Alberto shrugged. "And for once, I'm not responsible for this mess right here."
"Oh. That means you know what caused this, right?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
"I do. I did say that Rarity over here left 1 hour early before it happened. All of PokeStar Studio was suddenly attacked out of the blue. Right under the nearly full night sky. A Froslass came over and caused a powerful snowstorm for no reason."
"Froslass did this?" Rarity turned to face the studio. "It doesn't look that bad."
"You're right. It isn't. It's fairly tame considering how cold Froslass can get. But honestly, she has some nerve attacking us out of the blue. Especially when I was about to deliver my most powerful line yet."
"Why did Froslass do this exactly?" Rarity asked. "You were here while I was gone."
"Like I said. No reason. But, since I know a lot about Froslass from my home region in Sinnoh, my guess is that she was looking for some new prey to freeze and take back home to her cave, per the norm. Obviously, she must've come here because of my good looks? Who can resist this?"
"Kh..." Rarity scoffed.
"I've never heard of a Froslass that attacks civilization like this. Don't they do it in the mountains or something?" Sweetie Belle added.
"They should. But we have one that likes to change her taste. Luckily, Lickilicky and I fended her off, preventing any further damage to not just the studio, but the entirety of Virbank City. You're welcome."
"Yeah right." Someone had interrupted Alberto though, making him rapidly swivel. Naturally, since this was Virbank City, the local Gym Leader would be present at all times. Roxie. "My Scollipede did the same thing."
"True. But I did the most work." Alberto bragged.
"Sure, whatever. Hey, there, Rare. Sweetie Belle." Roxie met face to face with her students. "Sorry for this sight right here. PokeStar Studios is closed for now."
"Aw..." Sweetie Belle was vastly disappointed by this. "I was gonna do something new and cool too..."
"Same here. I was invited to play a sick song for one of the movies. Oh well. Gonna have to wait until it's all melted away. But, Froslass could come back tonight maybe. There's gotta be a reason why she showed up in the first place. Especially during summertime too."
"Whatever the reason, she'd be smart not to come back here," Alberto added. While listening to the conversation, Pheromosa started thinking. Since Froslass had been brought up and was responsible for all this snow, it started to relate to the constant sounds of Froslass ringing in her head.
"Phe?" But then, it got worse. Pheromosa not only kept hearing Froslass' cry, but she soon turned around, slowly walking away from the group as her face was stoic and seemingly numb.
"Hm? Pheromosa?" Rarity soon noticed that Pheromosa was walking off in a zombie-like manner without even telling her friends. Just then, her walking speed had increased as any momentum that Pheromosa gains was bound to lead to some speed as Rarity ran in front of her. "Pheromosa. Are you alright, darling? Hello?"
"Mosa..." But she could only hear Froslass.
"Phi. Phione." Seeing Pheromosa's state, Phione used the Light of Arceus to pass on a message to Sweetie Belle as Pheromosa started running immediately, heading straight for the source of Froslass' cry.
"Wait!" Rarity bellowed.
"Rarity! Phione says that Pheromosa senses something." Sweetie Belle relayed the message. "She senses Froslass somewhere it sounds like!"
"She sensed Froslass? How?" Rarity questioned, unaware of the voices in Pheromosa's head.
"That Ultra Beast did, did she? Hm-hm. Excellent!" Alberto snapped his fingers. "That means that Froslass isn't too far from here. Correct?"
"Oh, she's going to her? From this distance. Not bad." Roxie approved.
"Thank you. My Pheromosa is-Wait! I shouldn't be standing around! Pheromosa! Wait!" Rarity galloped, along with Sweetie Belle, immediately following after Pheromosa, who was only going to build up greater speed. Luckily, all Rarity and Sweetie Belle had to do was follow the constant dust trail that was heading west.
"Here's my chance to stop that Froslass before she attacks again!" Baron Alberto aimed to follow where Pheromosa was headed. There was a chance he could encounter Froslass once more.
"Not if get there first." But Roxie was already ahead, following her friends. Alberto gasped before then also following the dust trail to see if Pheromosa was truly sensing Froslass nearby.
Pheromosa went west, ending up near Route 20 and Floccesy Ranch and Floccessy Town. Neither of these places would have a Froslass at all, especially in this weather where plants thrive the most.
There wasn't a trace of snow anywhere. But she could still hear her. Closer and closer, Pheromosa heard Froslass' voice, running past all the Pokemon that lived here and even avoiding the Floccesy locations. Froslass was somewhere else less populated.
Rarity and the others continued to follow her dust trail as she made it easy for them. That way, despite her overwhelming speed, they would have a way to find her. Pheromosa couldn't shake this voice away. But soon, the closer she was getting to Froslass, the more this human voice started to show up.
Eventually, Pheromosa came to a screeching halt. Now, the voices were no longer near nor far. They were at one fixated area. And it was right in between Floccesy Town and Pledge Grove.
"Pheromo..." She stood there, wondering where the remaining voices were coming from. But at the moment, there wasn't a sign of Froslass. That is until she showed herself.
A blizzard had kicked up all of a sudden in this grassland area. The cry of Froslass came through, alerting Pheromsoa while also catching her off guard with this instant blizzard. The Lissome Pokemon closed her eyes as the hail was already starting to beat on her.
She opened her eyes, searching for Froslass as she would be the only one to do this, especially in an area such as this place. Pheromosa's view of the grasslands had been altered as well. The grass was being frozen over by the blizzard as well as the skies were blocked out by a cold and chilling cloud of mist. Seconds later when looking onwards, that's when Pheromosa saw her.
Froslass.
Froslass emerged from the snowstorm, gazing at Pheromosa with those signature and never-changing eyes that were always so gentle and soulless at the same time. Pheromosa couldn't help but suddenly feel stuck when looking at Froslass.
When the two of them met each other, there was a brief pause as their eyes met. Only the sounds of the blizzard raged on. That is until Rarity's voice boomed through the snow.
"Pheromosa! Pheromosa!" Rarity cried out as she came in the direction of the snowstorm. She used her magic to put up a protective shield along with Sweetie Belle. "There you are!"
"Over there! There's Froslass!" Sweetie Belle noticed Froslass.
"Ah, you found her! Great work, Pheromosa!"
"Mosa..." But Pheromosa didn't respond to Rarity at all. Instead, she kept looking at Froslass. While they seemingly didn't do much except stare at each other, in reality, they were connecting.
Pheromosa recognized Froslass. And Froslass recognized Pheromosa. Both of their eyes flashed in unison when continuing to look at each other as a familiar figure appeared in a transparent light in both of their perspectives.
Yuki.
They noticed that figure. That was because, she was them, and they were her.
"What's going on? Why are they just looking at each other?" Sweetie Belle questioned. "Can you figure it out, Phione?"
"Phione..."
"Phero...Pheromosa." Just then, without warning, Pheromosa's body started to freeze, starting from her legs. Rarity and Sweetie Belle collectively gasped as the Ultra Beast was receiving a rapid-freeing process while Froslass seemingly did nothing but just stand there.
"Pheromosa!" Rarity ran to Pheromosa once she saw the ice emerging.
"Froslass!" But the second Rarity decided to get close, Froslass used another Blizzard. This was one was greater than the one she had already summoned. This destructive snowstorm had made things harder to see while also overpowering Rarity's magical barrier.
Her barrier shattered as she was then pushed away by the cold storm. Sweetie Belle held on tightly to Phione, feeling the immense pressure. This snowstorm was more than enough to carry them both, forcing them away from the Lissome Pokemon as they screamed while being sent back away from these grasslands.
"Pheromosa!" Rarity shouted out Pheromosa's name, trying to go for a Poke Ball with her magic, but the storm was too immense to focus. At the same time, when Pheromosa's body had been frozen, placing her in an icy prison, Froslass used Psychic to carry her frozen body. Pheromosa had become prey. Prey to herself. "No! Y-You, let her go!" Rarity growled, witnessing Froslass carry away Pheromosa, fading into the ice seamlessly.
"Lickilicky! Hyper Beam!" Suddenly, Alberto's voice had been heard somewhere in this brutal snowstorm.
"Crobat! Tailwind!" So was Roxie's voice.
"Licky! Barging through the blizzard was a burst of energy in the form of a beam. The pressure of the beam was enough to tear through the wind. But it was Crobat who managed to rid of the rest of it by using Tailwind, flapping its wings with great speed.
The combination of Tailwind and Hyper Beam managed to fend off the snowstorm, diminishing it. However, when Froslass left, it had already weakened. Everything became clearer as the ice on the grass began melting away. A nice and quick save from Roxie and Alberto.
"Hey! Are you three alright?!" Once the snow was gone and things became much clearer, Roxie ran to their sides, seeing a downed Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Phione. Luckily, they were alright, but the ice had certainly sent chills through them.
"We're fine. I feel too cold though..." Sweetie Belle shuddered.
"That Froslass...!" Rarity growled before staggering when getting up. "She took Pheromosa."
"Pheromosa's gone?!" Roxanne gasped.
"Pheromosa." Rarity felt a cold coming on. It was expected for one of them to catch a cold after all of that. It just happened to be both of them.
Pheromosa had been taken by Froslass. In reality, she had been captured by herself, becoming her own prey. A prophecy from thousands of years ago made by a witch had come true. One day, the two halves will meet and that day was now. The question was, what will happen next between them both as the journey continues.
"Achoo!" Over at the Virbank City Complex, Rarity and Sweetie Belle had been brought to the hospital after receiving a harsh chilling attack from Froslass. "So cold..." Sweetie Belle shuddered as the hospital's nurse had a Growlithe that was warming them up.
"Luckily, since it's summer the cold won't last much longer," Roxie commented. "You'll be fine."
"Stay here for a few minutes or so and we'll let you go." The nurse said before leaving the room, allowing her Growlithe to stay behind.
"Pheromosa...That Froslass has some nerve taking her away." Rarity sat up on the bed, furiously using her magic to grip the sheets. Pheromosa had been taken by Froslass, who was responsible for the heap of snow in PokeStar Studios. Rarity could only think about Pheromosa's status. She was most definitely going to be one of Froslass' many frozen prey in whatever chilling area she was residing in.
"A bit of a wonder that she only froze Pheromosa. "Alberto commented.
"Yeah, you've got a point there. She didn't freeze any of us back when she showed up last night. My Pokemon are still fine and warm too." Roxie added, noticing that Alberto had a point. "She didn't even try. So why your Pheromosa?"
"I don't know but...I need to get her back as soon as I can. She did something to Pheromosa, and I just can't avoid it."
"There's a reason why she took only Pheromosa..." Abruptly, someone had replied to Rarity. There was someone else in the room that no one had noticed or even seen at all. They all had collective gasps, turning to face the one who uttered those words. Sitting next to the window was the sudden appearance of a lady.
A lady with green hair and crimson eyes. Eerily similar to the one who Yuki met all those years ago in the harsh snowstorm and brought about the two halves.
"W-What the...where'd you come from?" Roxie stammered as she certainly wasn't here before.
"A reason why she took only Pheromosa?" But Rarity didn't care about how or when she got here. Pheromosa was only on her mind and anything relating to her was crucial at this very moment.
"Yes, yes." The lady rubbed her hands together as she was wearing gloves. However, her fingernails were so sharp that they pierced through the gloves, showing off the red tips. "With such overwhelming power that is greater than any other Froslass, it's a mystery why only Pheromosa was taken and not anyone else, right?"
"Who are you exactly?" Baron Alberto questioned.
"What's the reason. Please, I need to know." Rarity pleaded.
"The reason...do you recall one of those dex entries about Froslass? I expect you to know it the most." The eerie lady then shifted her eyes at Alberto, referring to how his home region was Sinnoh.
"We do. Froslass takes her prey when they're frozen and brings them back to her mountain. That's it, right?" Sweetie Belle answered.
"That one is obvious. But the other is of a tale."
"Ah. Of course. The Tale about Froslass." Alberto added. "It's about the soul of a woman lost on a snowy mountain possessed an icicle, becoming that Pokemon. They say that the Froslass population for Snorunt greatly increased because of her."
"Really? I thought it was because she passed on." Roxie scratched her hair, thinking of another Froslass tale.
"It's the same thing." Alberto shrugged.
"Are you saying that has something to do with Pheromosa being taken away? But why?"
"That's because Froslass and Pheromosa are one in the same. At least, those two specifically."
"One in the same?!" They all collectively exclaimed. Judging by what the lady had said, this could only mean one thing.
"That's right. The soul of that woman who perished in the mountains and was reborn as a Froslass still wanders this world with a hollow and cold heart. At least, that side of her. My purple-maned pony. Your Pheromosa is the opposite of that, isn't she?"
"Of course she is! My Pheromosa is genuine and has a kind heart. She's in no way like that Froslass who took her. Unless..." It was all coming together for Rarity. By taking the words of this mysterious lady and the hints that were thrown her way, the unicorn had concluded on one outcome. "You're saying that my Froslass and Pheromosa...are the same Pokemon? No. The same human?"
"You catch on fast, my little pony."
"You're kidding?! Right?!" Roxie's guitar almost fell off. "No way that's possible! It's one girl in two bodies?!"
"Believe me...sharing bodies with a Pokemon isn't impossible. I should know. Sadly." Alberto grumbled as he had an experience with his body becoming that of a Pokemon. Fittingly, his own Pokemon, Lickilicky.
"But why those two? Froslass makes sense but Pheromosa?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"That girl is not originally from this world. She comes from another world, another space if you will. That girl came here to visit, but it soon turned into a nightmare when she was forced away from the place she could call home."
"Another space...Ultra Space!" Rarity already knew about Ultra Space. Pheromosa's connection to Froslass was starting to add up.
"One of them is vengeful after all these years, pining to return home while the other one has found peace and made a new home. The question is...which one of them will end up as the true version?" The lady gave a bad omen. "That girl aims to be complete once again. On this special day, her true self will return and potentially as an even vengeful force than she was previously. Unless...That change."
"It will change! Rarity removed the bed sheets with her magic. "All of this talk about two halves, worlds and revenge is enough now. I know one thing. If she's planning to make herself whole, I refuse to let Pheromosa be a part of a revenge story. Not one bit. I'll find Froslass and resolve this."
"How exactly?" Alberto asked. "There aren't many distinct Froslass besides their shiny variants. Finding the right chilly mountainside with the right Froslass could lead to us stepping into the wrong one and making us unwanted trespassers."
"That's why I have my friends. I have an accessory back home that Pheromosa wears. Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff will sniff her out that way." The fashionista hopped out of her bed. "And as for Froslass...I believe I understand it clearly."
"You do?" Sweetie Belle replied.
"It's somewhat similar to one of those movies I was cast in. A lost soul that's been searching for a way to make himself whole. Froslass and Pheromosa are one soul in two bodies. If it's possible, I'll make it so that this split personality debacle gets solved before it gets out of hoof.
"You're saying you're actually gonna go through with this merging thing?" Roxie scratched her mane. "How's that gonna work?"
"Not sure. We'll find out when we get there. If not, there's always another option available. Whatever this girl's name is, it's clear that her spirit isn't truly satisfied. Pheromosa is that girl and I can tell that she was wonderful in her time. A shame what happened to her."
"So, we're gonna stop and help Froslass at the same time. Got it." Sweetie Belle squeed.
"Thank you so much for telling us this. Who are you by the way?" Rarity asked the crimson-eyed lady. But the moment everyone turned away, she was gone. Without a whisper or any form of sound, the lady vanished. She was nowhere to be found, becoming a greater mystery than before.
"What the?! Where'd she go?!" Roxie navigated her head around. "Did you see her, Growlithe?"
"Growlithe." Growlithe shook its head. No one saw her.
"It doesn't matter now. What matters is saving Pheromosa. And to an extent Froslass. Will you help us, Roxie?" Rarity requested.
"Sure, sure. That's what a teacher does for their students, right? But, we're friends so friends do this too, ya know." Roxie laughed.
"Ahem." Baron Alberto cleared his throat. "Clearly, you're not forgetting someone, are you?" He flashed his eyes.
"You wanna help too? Why?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"You wanna brag about beating Froslass, don't you? You know that not everyone's gonna be there to see it, right?" Roxie pouted at Alberto.
"Even so, it will still be the truth." He crossed his arms. "Though...I do wish that a crowd would show up there to see my victory."
"Wait for us, Pheromosa. And the same goes for you too, Froslass." Rarity's determination burned with great passion that was enough to melt the ice that Froslass had left behind. Eventually, the cold will subside under the Summer Sun, but even with a cold, Rarity would press on.
Sinnoh. Route 217. Near Snowpoint City. Late Afternoon.
Route 217 End. Snow blows down from Sinnoh's greatest landmark, Mt. Coronet and grows into a harsh, ceaseless blizzard. It was a pure white tundra.
Thanks to Pinkie Pie and her Slurpuff, when sniffing out a necklace that Pheromosa would wear sometimes, they were able to track Pheromosa and Froslass' location with Slurpuff taking the lead. Rarity and her sister made sure to wear some scarves and hats just to show up at Route 217. However, Froslass' lair wouldn't be out in the open.
"Slur. Slurpuff." Slurpuff aimed his head to the ground.
"Sounds like Slurpuff's sniffed her out underneath." Pinkie Pie bounced over to where Slurpuff had stopped. "Might even be way away from Snowpoint City."
"Ah, so that Froslass chooses a location near civilization and makes her hideout underground." Alberto deduced, wearing too many jackets to protect him from the cold and to prepare for Froslass. "Clever."
"It doesn't matter where she puts her hideout. Pinkie Pie. I need you and Mew to start digging." Rarity requested.
"You got it! Mew. Let's try...Excadrill or Dugtrio. Whichever one you like."
"Mew-Mew!" Mew saluted before then transforming into an Excadrill, relying on those powerful claws. "Excadrill! Exca-Exca!" By using Excadrill's claws, Mew began burrowing as Slurpuff stayed behind him. It was off to the underground as the moon was starting to come into view, peering through the misty clouds.
"Phero...Mosa?" Speaking of Pheromosa, after being frozen up for a while now, she awoke with the top of the ice around her head melting away. Her vision was no longer immobile. The Lissome Pokemon flashed her eyes, blinking to get adjusted to things.
Instantly, Pheromosa noticed a drastic change in scenery compared to what she recalled. Everything was less chaotic now. Now, she was within a cave, but this cave had an equally perplexing sight that wasn't chaotic but rather haunting.
In front of her, a mass array of people and Pokemon could be seen. Lined up in a perfect line, these people and Pokemon were all in a worse condition than Pheromosa. They were completely frozen solid while also having faces of despair in them. Looking t them made Pheromosa think that she could hear their screams even with zero movements.
Naturally, Pheromosa was horrified by this sight. However, the longer she looked at these frozen people and Pokemon, the more her memory was being triggered. It was mainly the people that triggered another part of her memory. When looking at them, she recognized their clothing.
These clothes belonged to an older time, which was thousands of years ago. And much like how seeing that specific Froslass made her remember her original form before the split, these people reminded her of the village that was located at the Alabaster Icelands. These were them. After all of these years, their bodies had been frozen up.
"Phe?!" Familiar faces of the people that she once used to live with before being forced away by them. But seeing them in this state was unpleasant, even with that history.
"Froslass." Froslass hovered to Pheromosa once she was awake, alerting her other half. It was all clear to Pheromosa now. While Froslass had perfect recollection of everything that had happened ever since that chilling day, Pheromosa was only just now regaining those lost memories.
The memories that the mysterious green-haired-crimson-eyed lady had sealed away only worked on Pheromosa. But unlike Pheromosa, a Froslass never forgets. The entire species always remembers.
"Mosa?" Pheromosa called out a familiar name that she remembered. The name that they both shared. The girl from Ultra Space, Yuki.
"It's good that you remember me." And just like that, all of a sudden, Froslass began using telepathy. "At long last, I can reunite with myself. But do you remember everything else?" Hearing this form of telepathy, deep inside of Pheromosa's mind, she started speaking with language as well, but only in her head. However, Froslass had used Psychic to dig into her other half's mind just to listen to her.
"I remember. I remember what happened on that day back in the mountains. I froze up. We both froze up."
"We did. We would've perished forever there if it weren't for that witch." Froslass flew over, circling the LIssome Pokemon. "She saved us that day and told us that we had a chance to meet up again one day once we were split. That day has come. I sensed you nearby just yesterday and missed you. But now, I have you. We have us."
"But these statues...aren't these of our friends from long ago? Why would you keep them like this? And is this the icelands that we used to live at?" Pheromosa asked.
"Friends? They aren't our friends. After everything we went through, they would dare try and force us out. Even go as far as to attack us." Froslass backed away as the visage of a cold-hearted Yuki who had soulless eyes came into view with a transparent appearance. Meanwhile, Pheromosa had the opposite, retaining Yuki's gentle and lively eyes. "How could you call them friends still?"
"It was my fault. Our fault. We should've known the dangers of coming to their world since we were from another space. But...since we didn't we caused them so much trouble that they didn't deserve. I wish I did something about it earlier. None of this would've happened."
"Don't you dare say that. Were we deserving of that cruel fate in the mountains? Had it not been for that witch, we would've probably had-" But just then, Froslass was cut off as she heard something.
The sound of the ground shaking and drilling as well. Mew was close by, using the power of Excadrill to move through the underground.
"What was that? Is someone there?" Froslass uttered as the sounds were only getting closer.
"That must be Rarity!" Pheromosa instantly thought about Rarity. That was the only possibility in her mind.
"I'll deal with them. Or rather, they'll deal with them." Froslass suddenly turned to the statues of the frozen people and Pokemon, using Psychic. With the sheer power of Psychic, she managed to shatter the ice and after thousands of years of being stuck in an icy prison, the people and Pokemon from the old village had been freed.
But not in great condition. Their bodies were all light blue now after being frozen for so long. Their legs and every single limb felt numb and stiff. Groans came from them as they could still let out some noise but they were only grunts and groans. But they could barely speak, acting like zombies as their legs started moving, trembling. Ordered by Froslass, they went straight to the source of the noise.
"What have you done with them?!" Pheromosa gasped. "You didn't have to do this!"
"That Witch gave me the power to exact my revenge. And I did. On all those who betrayed me and it felt good too. But I'm jealous of that part of myself. That part was allowed to go home and meet with the others. I should've gone there. That's my one regret from taking the witch's offer."
"Hm? Hold on a sec!" Roxie halted everyone, causing Mew to stop drilling. During their venture through the underground cave system, Roxie heard and felt something coming nearby. Everyone stopped to take in the atmosphere and see what Roxie had sensed.
Two noises were heard. Footsteps and groans. These came from the thousand-year-old people and Pokemon who have not aged at all thanks to their icy prisons. Once they came into view, Rarity and the others saw their sluggish and eerie walks as their pupils were nowhere to be seen either.
"Zombies?!" Rarity and Baron Alberto shouted out what they were seeing.
"Ice Zombies! Sweet!" Pinkie Pie, Sweetie Belle and Roxie's eyes lit up, thinking ahead of just ordinary zombies. The groans got louder as the Cold Humans and Pokemon locked onto the group, seeing them as the enemy. They stopped for a moment with their bodies beginning to twitch even harder than before. They were unable to get their original movements back but under Froslass' control, they were able to get adjusted to these new ones.
Their groans became louder as suddenly, they expelled chilling waves of ice from their body, covering this part of the underground cave system. The Pokemon were unable to use their attacks, but they could certainly expel ice still as a means of attacking.
"Yikes!" Pinkie Pie's mane and tail stood up upon seeing this terrifying wave of ice coming this way.
"Toxicroak! Come out and use Protect!" Roxie thought fast, digging into her pockets before then lobbing a Poke Ball, almost falling over.
"Toxicroak!" The second Toxicroak emerged, it knew what to do. It put both its arms out once it landed in front of Mew and everyone. A large barrier of energy had been formed in the nick of time, blocking the incoming streams of ice. The ice streams crashed into the barrier, negated completely. However, they left some collateral damage. The ice was so potent that the walls immediately froze over. Some snow had even formed from it, sending a cruel breeze through.
"They're so pale and blue!" Alberto grimaced. "I've never heard of someone leaving Froslass' cave!"
"That means she's nearby." Rarity was ready to press on, using her magic to hold out a Poke Ball. Out of it came her Lopunny, who had physical strength close to Pheromosa.
"Lopunny!"
"Wait, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle halted her sister, already knowing what she was up to. "We don't have to hurt them! Look at them!"
"Hm?" Rarity took a moment to look at the people and Pokemon. She already knew they were blue, but it was only now that she could see how they were truly feeling. Despite their zombie-like movements, they took some time to try and cover themselves. Their arms struggled to move from one spot as they shivered, holding their shoulders.
After all these years, they were still alive but they were struggling to go on with the state they were in. The harsh ice from Froslass could finish them off before they could have the chance to do anything else besides moving in a jagged way.
"Right." Rarity lowered her head. "I'll leave them to you then. I'll go after Pheromosa." Rarity would try and avoid them as she hopped onto Lopunny's back. Sweetie Belle and Phione did the same, wanting to come along. "Give them some warmth if you can. Lopunny, go!"
"Lopun!" Lopunny started hopping away. Compared to Pheromosa, she was almost identical to her. From physical strength to even the speed she moved at. Or in this case, the length she was able to jump at as immediately, Lopunny stepped on their heads to get ahead.
"Apologies!" Rarity apologized to the Cold People and Pokemon when Lopunny jumped on each of their heads to get head. They felt a bit perplexed afterwards.
"Now that she's gone ahead, how does one deal with them without doing any harm?" Alberto suggested. "Because I'm thinking the opposite."
"Rare said to try and thaw them out The best option's the summer sun. So, we just bring them up to the surface and it'll be peachy." Roxie replied as they started moving again, using the snow to their advantage. This time, they exuded snow from their bodies, sending them in droves.
"I've got something better! Mew! Transform!"
"Exca! "Going from an Excadrill to another Pokemon, Mew switched into the perfect Pokemon that he could think of for this situation. A Fire-Type would do. The second the snow waves approached, Mew got in front of them, having his body engulfed in a flare of light before the waves hit him.
"Infernape!" He emerged out of the smoke as an Infernape as the snow had melted within his presence.
"Nice pick! Infernape! You can jump around this place with that body! Go, Mew! Thaw them out with Infernape's flames!"
"Fernape!" Mew would use Infernape's hair as the main source of thawing them out. However, the Cold Zombies wouldn't make it easy for them. They then used the ice from the walls as it was confirmed they had the ability to manipulate the cold in this horrible condition. But that was only possible because of Froslass. Vast numbers of ice shards came flying out of the walls that had already been frozen, appearing in each direction.
"Toxicroak, Drain Punch!"
"Lickilicky! Use Power Whip!"
"Toxic!" Toxicroak croaked, harnessing energy in its arms before them swinging some punches at the incoming shards. Lickilicky had used its tongue, covering it in a verdant aura before then swinging it like a violent whip, hitting away the shards whilst Mew pulled them close to him, making sure that Infernape's flaming hair would act as a campfire. It was all up to them in this part of the underground.
"Lopun!" As for Rarity and Lopunny, they showed up with Lopunny kicking the large rocket entrance down with her powerful legs. Unfortunately for Froslass, appointing frozen bodies ended up leaving some trails of ice and snow that led these two right to her home.
"Phero? Pheromo!" Pheromosa was ecstatic to see her friends again once those walls were shattered.
"Pheromosa! Don't worry, we're here, darling!"
"Froslass...!" Froslass growled as Rarity hopped off Lopunny. Froslass was displeased by this. Using those frozen people and Pokemon was a failure. But that only made sense considering they were in horrible conditions after keeping them frozen for thousands of years.
"Froslass! We need to talk." Rarity shouted Froslass name, making the Snow Land Pokemon twitch. She then walked forward, nudging her head to Lopunny which was a sign for her to go and free Pheromosa.
"Lopunnny." But the second Lopunny walked over, Froslass had used Psychic, dragging Pheromosa and her icy prison towards her, preventing Lopunny from getting close. "Lopun?"
"Fros! Froslaaaaaassss!" Refusing to let her other half go, Froslass let out a disdainful cry towards the both of them that now only caused another snowstorm, but also rattled their ears and the cave.
"Ugh!" Rarity attempted to power through it this time, using some magic coating to protect herself as her hooves slid on the ground. Sweetie Belle and Phione were almost blown away, but Lopunny managed to grab them both by wrapping her ear around them.
"Phe! Phero!" Pheromosa screamed at Froslass, pleading with her to stop. After all, Pheromosa and Froslass were on in the same and to an extent, it felt like Pheromosa was attacking her best friends.
"I need answers immediately!" Rarity put her hoof up over her face while trying to move forward in this snowstorm. "I heard everything already. Especially the most from that strange green-haired lady."
"Fros?" Hearing that description made Froslass gasp for a split second. The Witch had been brought up once more.
"You two are one girl, right? Suddenly split into two and become different Pokemon. Pheromosa and Froslass." Rarity continued. "Vengeful and kind is what I know of this separate existence. Pheromosa. Did you know about this?"
"Mosa." Pheromosa didn't at first, but now she remembered it all.
"No matter. What matters is that I solve this. You're aiming to become whole again. To become the girl you used to be in the past. And that's by merging with Pheromosa, correct?"
"Froslass." Froslass nodded in confirmation.
"But, you don't have a way of doing that, do you?" Rarity smirked, making Froslass twitch. She was right. Froslass didn't have a way to make her and Pheromosa whole again, neither was she sure that they could return to being Yuki together. They may no longer be one body and one soul.
"Froslass!"
"Hmph. Figures. There probably is a way for that to happen. The Pokemon World is massive and endless after all." Rarity chucked. "But, even if you do find a way, I won't let your complete self overtake Pheromosa. That sweet side of her is something that should not be taken away from anything. You can agree with that, Froslass. You used to be like that when the two of you were one being."
"Fros...Froslass!" Froslass was starting to get annoyed by Rarity's words while Pheromosa smiled at the speech she gave.
"At the end of the day, Pheromosa is practically fully alive. But you're a Ghost, aren't you?" Rarity's smirk turned into a frown as she put on a serious face. "You're the progenitor of most Froslass that exist. And you come with a grudge. If anything, you're just a vengeful spirit at the moment."
"Lass!" Froslass bellowed before then using Shadow Ball, summoning a blob of shadows, lunging it at Rarity at full force.
"Lopunny!" Only for Lopunny to get in the way, using her immunity to Ghost to her advantage. She smashed apart the blob of shadows, preventing it from reaching Rarity.
"Who does she think she is?!" Froslass spoke to Pheromosa with some mild telepathy once again.
"But it's true!" Pheromosa interjected. "Rarity's words are harsh, but she's here to help. I promise!"
"How can this marshmallow help me? The only one who helped me was the witch and this pony is just being a nuisance! She's close to you, isn't she? I was a fool to be as kind as I was. It made me weak. As a Froslass, I don't have that weakness...and it made me stronger. If only I had this back in the past. But now, I can stand up and get rid of anyone who would try and wrong me or ruin everything for me!"
"Wait, don't!"
"Froslass!" Froslass continued to attack, running out of patience for Rarity. Her power surged as it was certainly greater than any Froslass that Rarity had seen so far.
"She's not listening, Rarity!"
"No way to talk her through it now it seems. Lopunny!" Rarity wasted no time since right now, Froslass was beyond the point of talking. She took out one of her Mega Accessories that was for two of her Pokemon. Lopunny, in this case. Rarity unveiled the pendant from her mane as she smoothly put it around her neck. "Respond to the keystone, Lopunny!"
"Lopunny!" Lopunny cried out as Rarity also used her magic to activate the power of the keystone. Both of them. Two massive lights flared out of these Mega Stones from both the Trainer and the Pokemon. At the same time, Froslass had used Shadow Ball, sending two of them in Lopunny's direction.
"Mega Evolve!" Rarity exclaimed as the moment the blobs f shadows appeared, the aura of Mega Evolution had prevented them from going any further. The energy of Mega Evolution blew away the blobs as Mega Lopunny had arrived.
"Lopunny!"
"Lass...!"
"But Rarity! Mega Lopunny can't do anything to Froslass! She's a Ghost-Type!" Sweetie Belle uttered as some of Lopunny's strongest moves would have any effect on Froslass. She would be immune.
"True...but you see, Sweetie Belle. Mega Lopunny has Scrappy. Which allows her to attack Ghost-Types! Go! High Jump Kick!"
"Lopun!" One of the greatest benefits of Mega Lopunny. Her ability to hit Ghost-Types, which was a big threat to Froslass as it meant that High Jump Kick would target her Ice-Type weakness.
"Lass?! Froslass!" Froslass growled before using Psychic, unleashing a blast of invisible energy. Lopunny kicked right the blast, using her increased strength to push through. But after barely breaking through it, she couldn't reach Froslass as she descended.
"Lass!" Froslass followed up by using Blizzard, sending a potent storm of ice towards the Rabbit Pokemon.
"Lopunny! Focus Punch!"
"Punny!" Lopunny focused all of her power into her ear, charging it before then thrusting it. She managed to blow away the snowstorm with strong wind pressure from her ear thrust. This surprised Froslass as some of the pressure came her way.
"Bounce!"
"Lopun!" Lopunny approached Froslass once more, this time, using the walls and the entire cave to start bouncing from wall to wall.
"Froslass!" Froslass twitched as she flew over at Lopunny, using Payback by channelling some dark energy in her arms. She and Lopunny clashed in the air with Bounce and Payback. At the same time, Sweetie Belle saw a chance to free Pheromosa while Rarity was distracting Froslass.
"Here goes. Phione. Try freeing her with...w-what moves do you know? I mean, any attack will break this ice, anyway."
"Phione. Phi...!" Phione knew Supersonic, generating odd soundwaves from her body which were certainly powerful enough to only rattle Sweetie Belle and Pheromosa's ears, but also shatter the ice.
"Lass?!" Froslass gasped, seeing that Pheromosa had been freed thanks to this distraction.
"You'd best focus on your opponent! Now, Lopunny! High Jump Kick!"
"Lopunny!" With that slight distraction, Lopunny had struck. Her leg had smashed into Froslass' body, sending her flying to the ground.
"F-Froslaaaaass!" Froslass screamed after being hit by a super-effective attack. She tumbled when crashing to the ground as Lopunny stuck a stylish landing.
"Lo!"
"F-Fros!" Froslass bumped into a wall, slumping on it. She shook her head before having her pupils dilate, showing visible and utter anger towards Rarity and Lopunny.
"We can stop this now!" Rarity bellowed. "Frankly, I don't want to battle you in the first place. I only wanted to talk to you. After all, you may be a Froslass, but there's a part of you in there that is reminiscent of Pheromosa, even if a grudge has taken you over.
"Mosa!"
"Battling you feels like battling her, to be honest. And I wouldn't want to greatly harm Pheromosa. So let's stop this, Froslass and not make it hard on all of us."
"Froslass...!" Froslass' anger said otherwise as she banged her arm on the ground, floating back up.
"No? That other half of her didn't even know who I was even if she and Pheromosa are the same. My words just won't reach her, will they? But your words can, Pheromosa."
"Phero?"
"You are her. And she is you. If you can...please try and come to terms with yourself. Whatever you can do!"
"Phi! Phione!" Phione cried out, passing on a message to Sweetie Belle that she would soon relay.
"I think that's best!" Sweetie Belle replied. "Phione says that Froslass is too vengeful to see past anything. Pheromosa's the only one she'll listen to."
"Then, go, Pheromosa. Do your best."
"Mosa." Pheromosa was already doing that from the start, taking to Froslass to try and reason with her. Their conversation had failed before but now, Pheromosa wanted to give it a second try. "Phero!" She shouted out the name of who they once were. Yuki.
"Froslass...?!" Froslass looked over at her other half. Yet again, they spoke to each other through their minds. "Trying to talk me out of it again? Especially with what that friend of yours did."
"You attacked her first. But, I understand. Even after a thousand years, you're still so mad. Me."
"Of course I am! But...why is it that I received something as long and arduous as this existence, while you received the better outcome? You were allowed to return home...and you even returned to this world. All of it is just so frustrating!" Froslass showcased her rage some more unleashing a powerful Psychic wave. Pheromosa grumbled while Lopunny held onto the others. Rubble flew everywhere from this pressure.
"You still want to g home, don't you?"
"I do! But this is my new home now. For years, I've been waiting for that day when our two halves would meet again. And I was hoping that I could become whole again, but emerge as a stronger Yuki than before. But that last part isn't going to happen. Instead, my other half just so happens to be against me. I just feel incomplete now. I got my revenge on those who wronged me, so why is this the one thing I can't fix."
"That's because you can't. Even if the witch gave you this powerful body. That anger you hold isn't going to help put you at ease!"
"And you're at ease, I presume?" Froslass scoffed.
"I am at ease. That's because...I did something that our true self did. I managed to not only return home but find a new one that I can proudly stay at. Living with Rarity and the others changed everything for me."
"What?"
"I left Ultra Space again. Just like in the past. But this time, I'm not too keen on heading back. And I won't have a reason to. Because here...I'm loved. We're loved."
"Loved? How long is it going to take until they turn on you? When they fear you?"
"Rarity won't. They won't. Everyone in this world and back in the other world at Equestria won't ever turn on me. Even if something terrible were to happen, they'd be there for me. A lot has happened over the years. For both of us. You were stuck here in this cave while I was stuck at Ultra Space. In the end, we went back to square one. Even appearing in the same area where the old village used to be. But not anymore."
"You're talking nonsense! How am I supposed to feel complete now, huh?!"
"You don't have to merge with me to become complete. You can just come with me." Pheromosa suddenly held her arm out. "We're one in the same. We can feel complete by being with each other. Sure, we may not return as Yuki. But we'll always be Yuki in spirit, even with these new bodies."
"Even after everything...you kept up this much hope? Why? How?"
"It's what we're like. Back at Ultra Space, I had hopes that I would venture out there. And when reborn as an Ultra Beast, I kept that hope up once more. That's how it's always been. And living in Equestria taught me that hope is stronger than I ever imagined. That Witch brought us both back in different forms. And told us that we'd meet again. But she never said how it would end if we met."
"Hope. I had some hope that those villagers weren't being serious about what they did. Should I even think about it or even reach for it?"
"I did. And besides...you kept them around, didn't you? They're still alive. If all my adventures with my friends have taught me something, it's that there's always a chance to fix at least something."
"Tch.And you'd think they'd forgive me? I don't think so." Froslass turned around, putting her hand over her face. "I can't possibly find new friends anymore. Not with how I am now. They used to be my friends but...it's all been shattered like ice."
"They probably won't forgive you at all. They're probably scared even when they snap back. But you can have new friends too." Pheromosa turned to face Rarity and the others. "My friends are your friends deep down. But...they're more to friends than me. Rarity and everyone are like my family. And even so, I still have some friends I wish to see again back at Ultra Space. So as long as I have them by me, I can stay strong without having to change myself. This is how I grow stronger."
"You...You...!" Everything that Froslass was hearing made her growl constantly. But, after hearing everything from Pheromosa, Froslass knew deep down that at the end of the day, this was who she truly was. "Curse that witch..." She started crying as her tears turned into ice. The Snow Land Pokemon tried hiding her face, but it was no use.
"Come here." The Lissome Pokemon walked over to her other half once Froslass descended, weeping. Pheromosa then held Froslass, hugging her. "Let those tears flow. I know I would. We're the same after all."
"Are we? I used to be like you but now..." Froslass whimpered.
"You still are. But even those that stay strong have weak moments. So no need to worry." Pheromosa comforted Froslass, patting her on the back. She allowed Froslass to cry on her for as long as she could. Froslass lost the will to fight. And the will to sustain her burning grudge. It had fizzled out from the cold.
"Froslass...Froslass..."
"Pheromosa."
"Wow. W-What did she say?" Sweetie Belle wondered s she could tell it was powerful.
"Pheromosa knows what to say. That's all I can answer, Sweetie Belle." Rarity walked over as Sweetie Belle looked at Phione, asking her to try and relay a message. "Froslass."
"F-Froslass?" Froslass looked up at Rarity with her frozen tears breaking once they hit the ground.
"At the end of the day, you are just like her deep down. Grudge or not. Whoever you two were back in the past, I can safely say that I met her in different lights. But it looks like your heart stayed the same with those tears."
"Lass."
"Let's put it all to an end. You may not return as that one singular being..." Rarity then held out a Poke Ball in front of Froslass. "But you can always be with your other half forever. Back home with us."
"Mosa."
"Froslass." Struck in the heart, Froslass had seen kindness yet again after years of solitude and only feeling hate. Thanks to Pheromosa, that burning hatred had diminished. She then held her arm out, gently touching the Poke Ball as this was her big chance to be with herself yet again. The ball shrunk her down, pulling the Snow Land Pokemon in before dropping and shaking.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Froslass was caught.
Pheromosa was the one to pick up the Poke Ball. By her own will and seeing others use this item, Pheromsoa managed to send Froslass out. "Phero."
"Froslass?"
"Welcome to the family, Froslass. Great to have you." Rarity said. "But you were always here, weren't you?"
"Pheromosa!" Excited that it had been resolved, Pheromosa used her long arms to grab everyone, pulling them in and delivering a big group hug. "Mosa-Mosa!"
"Oof! Pheromosa!" Sweetie Belle cried out.
"We have a lot to do back home. And a lot to show. You're welcome there, my friend."
"Froslass..."
"Oh. What about the frozen people and Pokemon? What are we gonna do about that?"
"Ah-" Rarity, Pheromosa and Froslass passed. "That's a...good question. They are going to be greatly confused once they snap out of it. But, nothing a few words can't fix. There's also PokeStar Studios to deal with."
"Lass...." Froslass twiddled her fingers, realizing the mess she had made while everyone simply laughed.
"Gaaaaah!" Meanwhile, the people and Pokemon had been thawed out after so many years of being frozen. Thanks to Mew using Infernape's flames, the moment they were thawed out, they had a reasonable reaction to being free and seeing the light of day for over a thousand years. "Aaaah!"
"Daaah!" They all started freaking out, having multiple feelings and emotions rush through them, trying to process everything.
"Ooh. That's a problem." Pinkie Pie scrunched her face. "So uh...now that they're free...how are they gonna get round in this new world?"
"Hm-hm. Leave that to me." Alberto smirked. "I can sort things out for them in a jiffy."
"Where am I?!" One of them grabbed Pinkie Pie, picking her up, deserving answers as she was also unaware of what kind of creature she was looking at when gazing at Pinkie Pie.
"Sounds like someone needs some food to refresh." Pinkie Pie giggled. "I'll deal with that when we get home. How do you guys feel about cupcakes?"
Yuki had returned at last. Pheromosa and Froslass were two pairs that made this complete entity. Even with these new bodies, she was still the same person but in different bodies. And with Rarity catching Froslass, she was now a part of the group. The family. In a way, it was like she was always there thanks to Pheromosa. And with her other half and new friends to help her get through everything, a new future was made for Froslass.
The crimson-eyed lady with green hair looked down at the hole that Mew had burrowed, smiling afterwards. She was still so mysterious as she backed away, slowly vanishing into the mist of the snow.
"Well done. But this won't be the last time you all have to face the past."
It has been a few hours since the Froslass incident.
"Haa...Haah...!" Still feeling an intense rush of shock after being freed from a thousand-year ice imprisonment, the humans and the Pokemon that came from an old village located in an older Snowpoint City before it became a city, were twitching uncontrollably. trying to process everything.
But, amidst all of this confusion, they received some food after being robbed of food for so long. Pinkie Pie treated them to some Equestrian food as while they were feeling a rapid rush and an unbridled sense of shock, they also filled their stomachs.
"There you go." Pinkie Pie patted them on the back. "I can't imagine how hungry you all must be after being frozen. It's all free."
"Many thanks..." One of them spoke with a weak voice, drowning in cupcakes. Their bodies still felt somewhat chilly, but thanks to Mew remaining as an Infernape, he kept them all warm. "You are strange Pokemon, most certainly."
"Oh. I'm not a Pokemon." Pinkie Pie giggled. "I'm a pony but...you're all way behind anyway."
"So. What's this all about?" Jade asked after witnessing the hordes of frozen People and Pokemon eating away.
"You can ask Rarity about the full details. But long story short, they were all frozen by Froslass for who-knows how long. They would be crazy hungry with their stomachs being paused. But a lot of them act like they've been frozen for thousands of years."
"We have." One of the ancient people replied, drinking some water to clear his throat. "We've been frozen for over a thousand years in that cave..."
"Wait! You actually were frozen for that long?!" Pinkie Pie gasped.
"Yes. I think..." But, the people were too perplexed to think straight as the man had slammed his head into a cake, causing it to splatter on everyone else.
"Yikes. They're really gonna need some time to rest. You'll be back home soon enough once you get adjusted to the gateways. Judging by all those warm clothes, you probably came from Snowpoint City."
"What is this 'Snowpoint City'? You meant the Snowpoint Temple?" A shivering lady replied to Pinkie Pie.
"Nope.Snowpoint City. Unless there's a temple we haven't' seen yet?"
"No, Pinkie. I think they mean that Snowpoint Temple is Snowpoint City. At least that's what I'm getting." Jade replied.
"Snowpoint Temple isn't our home either..." A young boy was unable to grab the next batch of food with his arm being frozen on the spot, only for Mew to warm it up. "But we don't want to go back to that snowy place."
"No? How come? Is it because of Froslass? Relax, she's not there anymore." Pinkie Pie shrugged.
"No. No, no, no." A man shook his head. "We just don't want to go back there ever again. We've been wanting to leave that place for so long but were unable to due to the horrible snowstorms. And at last, we're free from there."
"Oh. It was that bad, huh?" The earth pony grimaced, rubbing the back of her mane. "Guess going back there's not an option."
"From what they're saying and how they're dressed, they're definitely not caught up or from this age, Pinkie Pie. I think we should leave this one to Twilight." Jade suggested.
"You think they've been frozen for that long? Yikes. So then...where are you gonna go then?"
"We don't know...we..." But before they could answer that, after eating so much food, they immediately all slumped over or crashed their faces into plates and cakes, falling asleep out of exhaustion. That combination was enough to put them all to sleep with a powerful itis combination.
But they needed some rest either way as they all did it in perfect unison. SugarCube Corner was a slight mess, however from all of the rampant eating.
"I know that feeling. Let's let them rest until tomorrow morning. See you soon, Jade." Pinkie Pie backed away slowly as constant snoring came across the entire room. "Hope things are going just as well with the rest of them."
Sinnoh. Snowpoint City. Local Hospital. Nightfall.
Barely. All of them were downright overwhelmed to the point where they started moving rampantly, especially since they were at Snowpoint City, which was the modern variation of the land they lived in. It was hard to keep them steady as nurses were having a plethora of problems. The one to bring the rest of them here was Baron Alberto.
Eventually, they all calmed down, taking a rest and eventually sleeping. It would be a lot for them to process especially in this modern age. They were all essentially the catalyst for one of Froslass' dex entries.
"Look at these clothes." One of the nurses pointed out. "Don't they remind you of the ones back at the museum?"
"Mhm." Another nurse nodded in agreement. "They looked like ancient hisui clothes. It's all very authentic too. Do you think they could make an authentic dress for me one day?"
"Authentic and long-lasting too." A third nurse commented. "We've discovered that their bodies had been frozen for more than a week. Possibly years. I don't think these are dressmakers."
"What are you saying? That they've been frozen for years?"
"Probably. But who knows right?" She shrugged as the nurses all left the room, leaving the people from the past to rest up while the Pokemon would rest at the local Pokemon Center.
Equesria. Ponyville. Twilight's Castle. Day.
Over at Twilight's Castle, the people and Pokemon from last night had shown up here for Twilight to assess. And upon looking at them and their chilling bodies, she reached a conclusion.
"Oh, yes. They're not from this era." Twilight shook her head. "The clothes and the way their bodies are frozen up already give good hints to it. And from the answers they gave me, it made things clearer."
"Oh! So they have been frozen for a ton of years! How many?!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "Is it actually a thousand?!"
"It's around a thousand, yes. Just like the People of the Water, we're looking at humans and Pokemon that have gone past their era. Which is just amazing as always!" Twilight showed her enthusiasm for something like this. "Can you believe that Froslass' ice can do that?! It's terrifying but amazing too!"
"Kinda creepy though..."
"This place looks like it could've matched your era. Does everything here make sense to you all?" Twilight asked.
"Almost...This world is still strange to us..." One of them replied as the Summer Sun had eventually thawed them all out. At last, they were no longer shivering. Their bodies retained their natural colours instead of being icy blue. "You said that you aren't Pokemon?"
"No. A lot happened in this world, so don't worry about it for now. But...about your homes. You came from a place known near a landmark known as Snowpoint Temple. But since this is the present, Snowpoint Temple's gone and now it's just Snowpoint City. That village of yours is long-gone now, but Route 217 is still where most of you lived."
"Yeah but..." Pinkie slid over. "They kinda don't wanna go back there."
"Oh. Alright then. So they won't head back..." Twilight began to think. "Hmm...Well, where would you like to go?"
"We've always been aiming to find a new home one day. The one we used to have was harsh on us at the worst times. Our home now shall be at the east of Hisui, where we originally planned to move."
"Hisui? Oh, you mean Sinnoh."
"Sinnoh?" They all said.
"The region had a name change while you were frozen too. A lot has happened. But where in Sinnoh, or I guess, Hisui did you wish to go since it was east?"
"The Cobalt Coastlands. A place where we could finally find some warmth." A lady started dreaming of this area. "After living in that harsh tundra, feeling the warmth of those lands will bring us so much bliss..."
"Bliss..." They all felt like melting at the thought f being at the Cobalt Coastlands.
"Hm. The warmest place in Sinnoh is Sunyshore City. So that's probably what it's turned into. You wouldn't mind living in a city, would you? Or at least the land near it. Sendoff Spring. It'll still be tricky for you all to get around this new era. The gateways especially."
"We'll help you get around. It's probably best to head to Sendoff Spring first." Pinkie Pie offered to continue helping these lost people and Pokemon. At least until they found the place where they could settle. Their home was long gone and a new one had to be found.
"You're gonna bump into some weird things along the way. Just follow me. Canalave City's gateway is the quickest one to get to." Leading a group of people that came from the past, Twilight and Pinkie Pie would send them to a place where they can settle. While they were far behind, starting a new village would still let them leave peacefully.
But along the way, they would see what the modern Pokemon World was like and even how it interacts with this world that was still so strange to them. The children had mainly begun wandering off once they got a better look at Ponyville. No matter the era, age or century, children were always chaotic and mischievous.
They couldn't wrap their heads around everything so far. Starting from the Cutie Marks and ending with the sheer number of ponies. They already knew of equine-like creatures thanks to the existence of Ponyta and Rapidash but everything else was a blur.
It didn't help that almost everyone here got up to their own shenanigans that they might've never seen in the past but now they would.
"I'm finally warmed up." Rainbow Dash was currently meeting face to face with a Riolu. Specifically, Applejack's Delta Riolu, holding her hoof out while Riolu held his paw out. Riolu stood on a table as the two of them were about to have an arm-wrestling contest. "Let's go!"
"Ri." But the moment they started, Riolu had easily overpowered Rainbow Dash, emerging victorious in the matter of just one second, slamming her hoof to the other side.
"Gah!" The multi-coloured-maned-mare gasped after witnessing that quick victory. It ended up making Applejack and her Pokemon laugh. "Uh...T-That was a fluke! One more time!" She tried again as Riolu accepted the second challenge.
"Rio." Again, in one second, Riolu won. When he won a second time, Rainbow Dash's eyes became soulless and blank as it happened swiftly again.
"My hoof's sore! Again!" She attempted it again, making up an excuse. She wound up her hoof, trying to gain some extra strength. "Let's make it right this time. It won't end in one second, okay?"
But just another second later, Riolu won the contest again with ease. Rainbow Dash's face had slammed into the table at the same speed that her hoof had been beaten out. Riolu smiled, feeling proud of his victory.
"Face it, Rainbow Dash. Even if they're small, ya can't beat a Fighting-Type's strength." Applejack shrugged.
"No fair..." She spoke while still lying on the table. "I need some vengeance!" Her eyes flashed before throwing out a Poke Ball that had sent out her Mienfoo.
"Mienfoo!"
"Mienfoo. You're gonna have to take over in my stead and make me feel better. Beat Delta Riolu in a paw-wrestling contest!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she wanted to heal this pain that Riolu had given her.
"Mien?" Mienfoo looked over at her fellow FIghting-Type.
"Rio." Riolu grinned, encouraging Mienfoo to accept his challenge. Mienfoo was hot-blooded, so she was easy to provoke and persuade when it came to things that she was passionate about.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo hopped on the table as she and Riolu would begin a paw-wrestling contest. That was just one example of the things they get into within this world since they were still so new to Pokemon. Even moving away from a heated contest between Fighting-Types, there was more that could be spotted in this colourful place.
Carrot Top was trying to break what seemed to be a block-shaped carrot, slamming it on the ground at full force. Unable to break it, she had help from her partner who was a Kantonian Farfetch'd. Farfetch'd raised its leek, focusing all of its strength onto this surprisingly hard block-shaped carrot. With all its might, it had swung the leek down, only for it to break.
Farfetch'd screeched as Carrot Top had backup leeks with her. She passed another one to Farfetch'd, allowing it to swing again at greater forces, but each time a leek was swung on this carrot, it would not break.
There was more to see. Mayor Mare threw a frisbee into the air for Stoutland to try and catch, only for Berry Punch's Skowvet to snipe it out of the air with a single berry seed being spat out at speeds that broke the sound barrier, only making a small sound barrier shockwave.
Berry Punch scrunched her face as Mayor Mare turned to her fellow earth pony once the frisbee broke into pieces. She grabbed Skwovet and ran away as fast as she could.
There were other smaller events happening all at once that would interact with others. From above, Staravia suddenly bumped into the head of a Combusken, which immediately prompted Combusken to kick it away out of irritation, which had then led to Staravia bumping into Sweetie Drops who had just turned around, taking a Staravia to the face. Combusken's eyes widened as it did not mean to do that. Up in the sky, Cloudchaser apologized for that inconvenience as that was her Staravia.
Cruising through the streets of Ponyville was Scootaloo, using a Sky Scooter that could normally be found in Pegalysium. Speaking of Pegalysium, she was currently being chased by foals from Pegalysium who were telling her to stop, but their fellow pegasi from another nation were having too much fun.
There was also the arrival of Ash and Pikachu, who were mainly here to venture to their heart's content. They waved hello to Twilight and the others from afar before meeting with Rainbow Dash, who was cheering Mienfoo on as the paw-wrestling with Riolu was intensifying.
"This is an interesting and lively place..."
"It is. I think because we're still so new with Pokemon, it makes everything much better. Never a dull moment." Twilight replied. "But it gets better back at your world. Just like us, there's a lot for you to see."
"Just a quick question~" Pinkie Pie whistled. "You've all lived in the past so...do you know about Mew? I mean, you saw my Mew. Know of anymore Mews out there?"
"Sorry. We don't know of any other Mew." They shook their heads as they couldn't share a new location that would be worth checking out.
"Bummer." Pinkie Pie pouted as they were now leaving the vicinity of Ponyville. Wherever the people and Pokemon of the past went now was a mystery.
However, Froslass, who was now with Rarity and her other half Pheromosa, looked outside, witnessing them all leave the scene. Deep down, despite exacting revenge on them, she felt guilty for keeping them trapped within ice for so long. Froslass wished to make amends, but she hesitated. For now, Froslass felt it best to stay quiet until the day she could meet face to face with them again.
Over at Pegalysium, yet again, Ash and Pikachu were paying a visit there. This time, they were heading to the special grotto at Drifting Peaks where a Charizard, many other Pokemon and a gateway heading to the Battle Pyramid could be found. Today, he was joined by all of his friends instead of a select few. The Pegalysium guest today was Garnet.
"So, are they all gonna be fine? Getting adjusted to this new era?" Ash asked Twilight, bringing up the topic of the frozen people and Pokemon that had been freed after over a thousand years.
"It'll take them some time. But they've already set their sights on Sendoff Spring. I'm sure the rest of them will catch up later." Twilight replied.
"They're still pretty bugged out about it all. I mean, I'd be too if I woke up after thousands of years of being frozen, ya know." Pinkie Pie commented.
"So like....anyone can live long enough to be in the next era just with some freezing?" said Rainbow Dash. "Good to know..."
"But you'd miss out on all the fun for years." Pinkie Pie thought otherwise.
"We're here. Drifting Peaks." Garnet stopped in her tracks, prompting everyone to do the same. Here, they had arrived at Drifting Peaks where Charizard and the rest of them had spotted the arrival of a familiar face and new faces.
"Zard? Charizard!" They flew over with Charizard leading the way. Garnet gasped as she had been tackled by the Flame Pokemon in a power hug.
"Ow! Charizard!" Garnet laughed as all of the other Pokemon surrounded her. Each of these Pokemon had grown close to Garnet and get excited every time she shows up. "Knock it off!"
"Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur put its vines on Garnet's head, pulling her close before looking down at her from an above angle. Garnet's face turned red from all this overwhelming love she was receiving.
"Pretty naat that they also fund a way to live up here," Ash commented. "But...how'd some of them get up here in the first? Charizard and Heracross make sense but..."
"It might have something to do with that." Twilight had spotted it. Or more like she sensed it. Now that she was a vessel for Rift Magic and possessed heaps of it, she could sense nearby Rift Energy. And by aiming her hoof onwards, Twilight spotted the gateway.
"Oh, right. That thing." Garnet was picked up by Heracross before also looking at the gateway. "That gateway's always been there. Well, when I first showed up at this place. Went through it but...Didn't want to risk much."
"Where does that one go?" Applejack asked.
"Uh, some pyramid place, I don't know." Garnet shrugged. "It was all dark grey I think."
"Could it be Holon?" Fluttershy wondered.
"Dark Grey Pyramid?" Hearing that made Ash's head start to think of one possible place in the Pokemon World that had a pyramid he knew of. There was only one. "Oh! The Battle Pyramid?!"
"Battle Pyramid?" Twiight repeated as Ash immediately approached the gateway. He didn't need to be cautious around this considering he knew where it went.
Knowing that the Battle Pyramid was there made him think of an old friend that he could see again. Curious about this Battle Pyramid, his friends followed. Garnet was finally freed from the grasp of the Pokemon as she took a deep breath. However, she showed love back to them by petting Bulbasaur on the head.
Kanto. Battle Pyramid. Afternoon.
As for the gateway, everyone hopped through it and Garnet was indeed telling the truth about what she saw there. The Battle Pyramid of the Battle Frontier. The final frontier facility that was relatively hard to find compared to the others that were scattered across islands. A large mechanical pyramid stood at the centre of this area. Ash and Pikachu felt nostalgic yet again upon seeing it.
"Yeah! It is the Battle Pyramid!" Ash exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"Pikachu!"
"Is that thing made out of metal!?" Twilight gasped as it did not look like an average pyramid. At least, with the texture. Compared to the pyramids she knew about, this one was covered in a dark grey metal instead of stones from the desert, making this possibly the most durable pyramid of all time.
"Hold on." Garnet finally made her way through, joining her friends in this world.
"What's a Battle Pyramid? Besides what the name implies?" Starlight questioned.
"It's part of the Battle Frontier. It usually flies around and never sticks in one place, just like the Sea Temple. Looks like it showed up here this time."
"Who's in there?" Fluttershy asked. "Is it another prince or Pharoah?"
"Nope. The one inside that pyramid is..." Ash had a smile on his face as he paused his sentence. Right on time, just as his smile had come, the pyramid started opening, alerting everyone. One of the sides of the pyramid acted as an entrance, separating as Audino and Fluttershy could hear footsteps nearby.
Someone was coming. Ash knew exactly who this was. Coming out of the pyramid to meet with these two familiar faces was the strongest of all the Frontier Brains.
Brandon the Pyramid King.
"Brandon!"
"Pikachu!"
"If it isn't Ash. Pikachu. Young man. It's been a while." Brandon greeted Ash and Pikachu once they met again. "I figured that gateway over there would pique your interest like the others."
"Yeah. You're right. Pikachu and I have moved through a lot of them, that's for sure. Probably haven't even found all of them yet."
"Hm? Who are your friends over there?" Brandon soon noticed Twilight and the others. "Your party has grown the last time I saw it."
"Party?" Garnet repeated, realizing that she was now getting roped into this group and the adventures that they take on. At least, a small part of it at the moment. Twilight and everyone waved to Brandon, introducing themselves. He took a closer look at them, finally recognizing their appearances.
"Hmm...So that's who you all are. Makes sense since you're here with these two." Brandon nodded. "What brings you here today after so long?"
"I just had to see if it was real. This gateway connects to the Battle Pyramid, but I'm guessing it's not gonna be here forever right?"
"Not at all. We'll be leaving this spot in 2 days and heading elsewhere. But, you showed up just in time. Very soon, I'll have a challenger come by for a battle. After that, we're off."
"What's a Battle Frontier by the way? Is it all in that place?" Pinkie Pie had a question herself.
"You see, the Battle Frontier's this special event where you can take on new and stronger challenges. It's sort of like a bigger Gym Battle when you think about it. And the Frontier Brains are the Gym Leaders." Ash explained it to the best of his knowledge.
"And it's only accessible if you manage to reach far at a certain point as a trainer," Brandon added. "Otherwise, entering it will be impossible and finding this place would be just as impossible. But that gateway changes that. At least, while we're still here."
"I still remember to this day when you came by and challenged me a few times, Ash. And after hearing about your recent accomplishments, you've certainly deserved those Frontier Badges."
"Gee. Thanks, Brandon."
"Frontier Badges? Sweet! So then...Could I enter?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Could you? That depends. You're going through what's known as the Equestria League back in your world. If you were to do various challenges in this world instead, then that chance for you to challenge the Battle Frontier will come. However, this challenger only requested to battle me while also being from your world."
"Huh? Really?" Rainbow pulled back. "So then...what about the others?"
"Battling the final Frontier Brain is something anyone is allowed to do, but only as an exhibition match. The rest of it needs to be official. As for this challenger, she'll be here soon. She wished to prepare herself before going through with the battle. You came at the best time to see this upcoming battle."
"Nice stuff. Say, is Scott around?" Ash looked around for Scott, who was the organizer for the Battle Frontier.
"He's busy at the Battle Pike. It's just me for now until the entire group is reunited in two days. And it sounds like...that challenger is showing up now." Brandon looked to the skies which prompted everyone else to do the same. Audino and Fluttershy already heard it.
The sound of wings flapping in the air. They were getting closer as they did not belong to a Pokemon but rather a pegasus. When that pegasus showed up, Rainbow Dash was the first to recognize that visage.
Lightning Dust had arrived. A surprising reveal as Rainbow Dash was the most taken aback by this. Lightning Dust descended, not yet spotting Rainbow Dash until a mighty gasp and shout came from her rival.
"It's you?!"
"Hm?" Lightning Dust looked over before also having a shocked expression. "Gah! You're here?! Did you follow me?!" She vigorously aimed her hoof at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash even did the same thing when spotting her.
"Follow you? No way! I just showed up here with my friends. I didn't think you'd be the challenger. Y-You are the challenger, right?"
"Of course, I am. Learned about this place all by myself and I took the chance to challenge the best trainer in this Battle Frontier thing. I couldn't enter it anyway."
"Lightning Dust found this place and issued an immediate challenge with me. I accepted, of course, but seeing as she's a new Pokemon Trainer from your world, her reasons for challenging me are something I have to test."
"Got that right. Frontier Brains are sort of a mystery, aren't they? It's not known if they're better than Gym Leaders or even Elite Four Members. So what better way to test it out than to face you, Brandon the Pyramid King."
"Young lady. I admire your spirit but...you might want to be careful what you get yourself into." Brandon closed his eyes before then smirking. "I may accept challenges any time from anyone, but I do more than just battle."
"Yeah, yeah. Now that I'm here we can get started. And all of you can watch as I win this and beat the strongest Frontier Brain." Lightning Dust declared that she would emerge victorious.
"Pssh. Yeah right." Rainbow Dash scoffed, calling it a bluff.
"I don't know about that..." Ash knew very well what the outcome of this battle would be. "But you gotta love the energy she has."
"Pika..."
"Bayleef senses a fate that she can't change." Fluttershy shook her head.
"Bay."
"You remind me of someone that also challenged me," Brandon commented. "I doubt that even if I were to say what I was capable of, you wouldn't leave for a second, would you?"
"Not at all. Let's do it now, come on!" Lightning Dust exclaimed.
"Very well. Come inside." It was official. They would all get to see Lightning Dust take on Brandon the Pyramid King. Aside from Ash and Pikachu, everyone would get to see the strength of a Frontier Brain for the first time.
Inside the Battle Pyramid.
They had arrived within the Battle Pyramid as everyone else took their seats while Brandon and Lighting Dust stood in the arena. The arena was staggeringly large. Bigger than any Gym arena while being close to that of a Pokemon League Stadium at best. Its size m watched a contest stage more than anything. Garnet would also have the chance to see her first official Pokemon Battle that didn't put anything major at stake.
Although in this case, Lightning Dust's pride was at stake.
"Right then. I'll lay out the rules for you, young lady. It's a full 6-on-6 battle. Here, Pokemon exchanges on both sides are allowed instead of one. And it will all be over once either Pokemon on each side is unable to battle." Brandon explained.
"I know that already. But I was hoping for that 6-on-6 one. This'll give all my Pokemon a chance to win this. Lightning Dust grinned, holding out a Poke Ball. "I'm ready."
"Alright then." Brandon also held out a Poke Ball. "Let's start."
"Go! Banette" Lightning Dust launched the Poke Ball, sending out her Banette.
"Banette!"
"Regirock! I need your assistance!" Brandon chose Regirock, revealing one of the Legendary Titans to everyone.
"REGI-REGIROCK!"
"He's got a Regirock?!" Spike shouted as the others were blown back by this. Garnet just shook her head, not sure what she was looking at. She still had a lot to see when it came to the different species of Pokemon.
"You have that kind of Pokemon with you?" Lighting Dust's eyes widened. "That's a little unnerving, but it won't get to me. I'll beat a Legendary and show just how great I am at this!2
"We'll see."
"Go! Banette! Shadow Claw!"
"Nette! Banette!" Both of Banette's claws became surrounded by a black aura with a purple outline. The aura then took the form of a bigger claw as the Marionette Pokemon lunged at Regirock.
"Regirock! Stone Edge!"
"𝐔𝐍 𝐔𝐍 𝐔𝐍 𝐔𝐍 𝐔𝐍 𝐔𝐍!" Regirock retaliated by summoning multiple glowing blue rocks around its body. IT held its arms out before then lunging these rocks in a barrage.
"Banette!" Banette started swinging at the stones, trying to knock all of them away. However, some of them managed to hit the Marionette Pokemon as the speed was a bit too much. "Bane!" Banette was knocked out of the sky, unable to land Shadow Claw.
"Now, Regirock! Zap Cannon!"
"RE-ʳєＧ𝓘я𝐎ςＫ!" Regirock followed up with Zap Cannon, summoning an orb of electricity that crackled violently.
"Banette, quickly! Dark Pulse!"
"Nette!" Banette didn't end up crashing on the ground. Instead, it managed to recover by levitating and rolling its body. And in the midst of rolling, Banette managed to generate an orb of darkness. It appeared upside down, unleashing a black wave at its angle. "Banette!"
Zap Cannon and Dark Pulse met, wobbling and fighting against each other. But, Zap Cannon managed to edge out, blasting through Banette's Dark Pulse.
"B-Bane?!" Banette gasped as its attack had been torn through with ease. The orb then struck the Ghost-Type, sending vicious volts through it Finally Banette hit the ground and in that process, Zap Cannon's best effect came through. The power to always paralyze the opponent, which is exactly what happened to Banette.
"Gah! Banette!" Lightning Dust exclaimed as Banette stood up, having electricity crackle around its body. Already, Brandon and Regirock had taken the lead with ease, getting a status effect off. "This is nothing..."
"Really now?" Brandon replied with an amusing smirk. "But, I suppose this would be simple and any trainer could pull this off. I've yet to play at my best currently."
"Grr...Return, Banette!" Lightning Dust chose to return Banette instead of keeping it out. She quickly swapped Poke Balls, sending out her next Pokemon. "How about I shock you back? Toxtricity!"
"Toxtricity!"
"Here we go! Overdrive!"
"Tricity!" Toxtricity had used the electrical organ strings on his chest, strumming them as it unleashed a huge echo vibration wave.
"Regirock! Block it!"
"RE!" Regirock would try and block it instead of countering the vast wave of electricity. It put its arms up, allowing the vibrations to connect. The vibrations managed to shake the Rock Peak Pokemon, but they could not move it. Regirock did not budge.
"Would've been better to counter! Poison Jab!"
"Toxi!" Toxtricity would now approach Regirock, covering his arms in poison, approaching the Rock-Type.
"Drain Punch!"
"REGI! REGIROCK!" Regirock would counter with the opposite of Poison Jab. Drain Punch. One would potentially poison the opponent while the other would heal the user. Regirock and Toxtricity met with their respectively physical moves clashing, creating some sparks.
"Tox!" Toxtricity tried pushing through Regirock, however, the Rock Peak Pokemon had the physical strength to hold back the Punk Pokemon.
"Pointless! Now, Regirock!"
"Ữ𝐧 𝐔𝓷 𝐮𝐍!" Regirock would use more than one arm. It would use the other one that was still free to use. From the right, Regirock attacked Toxtricity from the side.
"Get back, Toxtricity!"
"Tox!" Just barely, Toxtricity managed to move away from Regirock's second Drain Punch. The punch whiffed, almost hitting his electric organs in the process.
"Go in, one more time! Poison Jab!
"Tricity!" But, Toxtricity would still try with Poison Jab, lunging back in as this time, he had used both of his hands, swinging violently at Regirock.
"Hold your guard and defend yourself, Regirock!"
"REGI!" Regirock would defend itself from Toxtricity's attacks this time, putting its arms up.
"Yeah, right! Go from behind!"
"Toxtricity!" Toxtricity switched it, lunging over Regirock's head and going for its back instead of its front. A quick switch-up that was beneficial since Regirock was a slow Pokemon. "Tox!" When behind Regirock, Toxtricity, smashed both his hands into Regirock's back, finally landing a blow as Regirock dropped its arms. The force of the hit from the back was enough to even slightly move Regirock.
"Yes! Now blow it back with Boomburst!"
"TOX!" After slightly pushing Regirock back, Toxtricity followed up with Boomburst, strumming his organs once more. Something greater than electric soundwave came out. A massive wave of crushing sound that shook the area, attacking everything. The sound was powerful, harming the ears of the Pokemon, especially Audino, who was the most sensitive it.
"How's that?! That walking rock's gonna move and crumble under the might of my Pokemon!"
"So you say." Brandon remained calm. "Drain Punch!"
"RE...GI...!" Regirock slowly turned around, facing Toxtricity as it was suddenly moving through the soundwaves.
"No way!" Lightning Dust gasped as it looked like Regirock was barely bothered by this. "Amp it up, Toxtricity!"
"Toxtricity!" Toxtricity amped up the volume and frequency of the soundwaves to try and push Regirock back. At the same time, Regirock was approaching. The soundwaves looked like they were managing to keep Regirock at bay, but that was all fake as Regirock's fists managed to not only push through the soundwave, but also sock Toxtricity's face. "Tox!"
"Ah! Toxtricity!" Lightning Dust gasped as Toxtricity had some of his energy taken away from him. Regirock had managed to heal itself after that impact.
"That's harsh. Regirock might never fall if she doesn't do something." Twilight Sparkle commented.
"How come?" Garnet asked as she wished to be caught up in all of this.
"Regirock has an amazing defence. And thanks to Drain Punch, it can restore its energy as if nothing happened and continue going on. The only Pokemon that can ignore that energy-stealing attack is her Banette." Fluttershy explained.
"Energy stealing?" Garnet squinted. "With just a punch?"
"It's not over yet!" Lightning Dust growled. "This is just getting started, okay?!"
"Indeed. Regirock, return." Suddenly, Brandon chose to return Regirock, swapping the Rock Peak Pokemon out for another Pokemon. Lightning Dust scrunched her face as she was hoping that her Toxtricity would be a match for whatever Pokemon shows up next. "Regice! I need your assistance!"
"REGICE! RE-REGICE!"
"This time it's Regice?! He has two Legendary Titans?!" Rarity exclaimed. "Then...what are his other six Pokemon?!"
"He's got two more that hit hard. You'll see." Ash replied, knowing of two more heavy hitters and immovable forces in his team.
"Well, I love what I'm seeing!" Rainbow Dash laughed, enjoying Lightning Dust being beaten out so far with Brandon taking charge of this battle.
"Hmph! Ice-Types are way too fragile. I'll take advantage of that! Return, Toxtricity!" Lighting Dust also chose to return her Pokemon. The next Poke Ball had been taken out as she launched it a second later. "Incineroar! Out you come!"
"Incineroar!" Out came her ace, Incineroar.
"I'll finish this in one strike! Go! Flare Blitz!"
"Incine...ROAR!" The Heel Pokemon crossed his arms in front of his face and its body, engulfing it in a crimson aura. Incineroar then puts its arms down and soars straight at the opponent like a missile. While flying towards the opponent, only its head can be seen, and its body becomes covered in spiralling red-yellow fire while it becomes surrounded in red-orange fire.
"Earthquake!"
"ICE!" But Regice immediately responded with an equally devastating attack. By smashing both its arms down, it summoned a giant golden shockwave that harnessed power from the earth itself.
"What?! Earthquake?!" Lightning Dust pulled back as Incineroar's Flare Blitz crashed into the giant golden shockwaves, postponing it from reaching Regice.
"C-Cine...!" Incineroar growled, trying to break through the golden shockwaves of the earth. However, Earthquake emerged victorious, overpowering Flare Blitz while also blowing Incineroar back, dealing super-effective damage to the Fire-Dark-Type that launched it away.
"Incineroar, no!"
"R-Roar!" Incineroar hung in there, but that Earthquake winded him while also putting him on the backfoot in a matter of seconds.
"She can barely do much against her." Starlight gawked. "All three of her Pokemon so far have been hit hard. And his Pokemon are sitting pretty and healthy."
"Both of his Regis have great defence..." Twilight shuddered. "If he has more, then Lightning Dust might never make one of them fall for even a second."
"So. How is it, Lightning Dust?" Brandon said to his opponent. "You wished to take on a powerful opponent such as myself. Compared to who you've faced through your young Pokemon Journey, how does this level of battling feel? Is it exactly what you wanted?"
"And more." Lightning Dust scoffed. "But, you're only using Legendary Pokemon! Obviously, I'm gonna have a hard time! How's that super fair?! Be it anything else, I would've made things even, ya hear?!"
"Nooooooo!" Brandon suddenly shouted, startling Lightning Dust. "Young lady! That excuse will do you no good!"
"Eh?"
"Do you think this is only because I have Legendary Pokemon? It doesn't matter what kind of Pokemon is out in the battle. It's the trainer's strength that matters. Ash and other trainers that have come here have proven that they don't need the power of a Legend to claim victory. That is the true eternal passion of the Pokemon Trainer and the Pokemon. Facing the opponent no matter who they are?"
"Grr...!" Lightning Dust growled as she didn't have much to argue back with.
"But. Since you see it that, way, I'll do this. Regice, return." Brandon returned Regice "Hold on for a moment, my friend. Young lady. Let's see how you deal with this?! I need your assistance, Dusknoir!" He sent out his next Pokemon as it was a Dusknoir.
"Dusknoir!"
"Sweet! Brandon's Dusclops evolved!" Ash pointed out, remembering when it was a Dusclops in the past.
"Heh. You're willingly sending out a weaker Pokemon just to prove a point?" Lightning Dust smirked while Garnet hid behind Rarity once Dusknoir appeared, confirming that she was terrified of ghosts, reasonably. "Kinda cocky, don't you think?"
"See for yourself if my Dusknoir is weaker," Brandon replied which only irritated Lightning Dust some more. The battle between these two was in its early stages. Neither side has lost a Pokemon but Brandon's Pokemon were still healthy while Lightning Dust's current Pokemon were already feeling some damage.
Lightning Dust's persistence to try and out-best such a powerful Pokemon Trainer was potent. But Brandon believed that it wasn't enough with how she was now as the journey continues.
Lightning Dust was in the midst of having her battle with Brandon, the Pyramid King. In her efforts to challenge a powerful trainer, she was already struggling against Brandon, with three of her Pokemon greatly damaged while Brandon's Pokemon were still sitting pretty. Regirock and Regice had left an impact on Banette and Toxtricity along with Incineroar who was currently out. And now, it was Brandon's Dusknoir against Lightning Dust's Incineroar.
"I'll make you regret choosing a weaker Pokemon! Go, Incineroar! Darkest Lariat!"
"Incineroar!" Both of Incineroar's hands became covered in a yellow-orange fire that sparked with great ferocity. He then started spinning rapidly in just a second while holding out his hands, spinning approaching Dusknoir.
"Dusknoir! Focus Punch!"
"Dusknoir!" To retaliate, Dusknoir punched the air itself, causing an aura of white energy to form from the force used. Out of that energy, A white fist came flying out, meeting with Darkest Lariat. Incineroar attempted breaking through Focus Punch whilst Dusknoir tried doing the same to Darkest Lariat. But overall, none won the clash as Incineroar was forced back while Dusknoir retracted its arm.
"Now, Disable!"
"Dusk...Noir!" Dusknoir flashed its singular eye stunned Incineroar in a second. Incineroar was mesmerized by the glare as Dusknoir had left something behind that was a massive detriment.
"There. What will you do now that your best move against Dusknoir has been locked?"
"Ooh! Tough! He just disabled Darkest Lariat!" Spike leaned in. "So much for her Incineroar. It looks like it would have a lot of Fighting-Types moves.
"Well? You said that my Dusknoir is a weaker Pokemon than Regirock and Registeel? Weren't you going to prove that? It's not too late." Brandon taunted Lightning Dust.
"Darn it...! Return!" LIghting Dust chose to return Incineroar. Underestimating Dusknoir had led to her strongest Pokemon's best attack on Dusknoir being disabled. She swapped him out for the best Pokemon she could think of as a counter. "I'll show you! No way you're disabling anything from my Banette!"
"Banette!" Banette had returned, still affected from paralysis.
"Banette!" Shadow Claw!"
"Dusknoir! Shadow Punch!"
"Dusknoir!" The two Ghost-Types would clash physically. It was Shadow Punch vs Shadow Claw. Dusknoir's hands became lathered in a shadowy aura as it reached its arms out. Two fists in the shape of Dusknoir's signature baleful fired out of Dusknoir's fists.
Banette slashed Dusknoir's fists as they entered a back-and-forth clash with dark sparks flying everywhere. Banette managed to keep some pace, only for Dusknoir to manipulate the trajectory of the fists, making them fly behind the Marionette Pokemon. "Bane?!" Banette gasped as it just barely managed to fly away from the back fist.
"Get in close! Now!"
"Banette!" Banette accelerated through the air, avoiding the incoming barrage of Shadow Punches.
"Dusknoir!" But the second Marionette got close, Dusknoir had a surprise for it. Unexpectedly, its stomach had opened up as it did resemble that of a face. And out of that stomach, a third fist came flying out, catching Banette by surprise as it had been slugged by it, flying back.
"Nette!"
"No way! I won't let it turn out like this! Banette! Dark Pulse!"
"Banette!" Banette managed to recover by floating once again, unleashing Dark Pulse right afterwards.
"Is that the best you can do? Focus Punch!
"Dusknoir...!" Dusknoir focused on the incoming pulse of darkness that Banette had unleashed before channelling Fighting-Type Infinity Energy in its fist. With great focus, Dusknoir smashed into the pulse, shattering it right before Lighting Dust's eyes.
"Come on! Dazzling Gleam, now!"
"Nette!" Banette kept giving it everything it had, surrounding itself in a sphere of rainbows. Rainbow-coloured rays then came flying out at high speeds as the Marionette Pokemon was starting to feel the pressure.
"Shadow Punch!"
"Dusknoir!" Dusknoir would approach Banette. It had zoomed ahead, moving in a zig-zag pattern to avoid the rays that started raining down, even masking itself in the rainbow smoke that had emerged.
Before Banette knew it, Dusknoir was in its face with Shadow Punch ready. All it took was a single one as the Gripper Pokemon unleashed a strong arm punch to the Marionette Pokemon's face, dealing super-effective damage.
"B-Banette!"
"No! Banette!" Lighting Dust yelled as Banette dropped to the ground before spinning away. Once it fell, that Shadow Punch was just enough to end it.
"Banette..." Banette was unable to battle. Dusknoir was the victor.
"Kh..." Lightning Dust grit her teeth before then returning her Banette.
"All that back-and-forth...actually, there was barely a back-and-forth," Twilight said. "Banette's down and Dusknoir hasn't been touched once."
"On the bright side, at least Banette didn't get betrayed by paralysis." Pinkie Pie squeed as ASh watched intensively at this battle. Watching this battle reminded him of another battle that happened in this Battle Pyramid. But it wasn't him in the arena at that time.
"I was sure I could've had Dusknoir...but that stupid Disable ruined it all." Lightning Dust was bitter as always, finding something to blame her hate on.
"Noooo! Brandon shouted out her name, alerting the pegasus. "Young lady! Letting a single move ruin your chances of victory is bound to drag you and your Pokemon down. My Dusknoir isn't invincible. Your Banette losing doesn't; mean you're out of options. There's always a chance."
"Is he...teaching her while humiliating her?" Garnet observed. "Wish I could do that to some of my students...But they're too smart."
"I think he is. He's been doing that so far." Applejack replied.
"A Pokemon's strength comes from the skill of the trainer. Whether they be small, large or even have disadvantages. Remember that." Brandon continued. "Now. This battle isn't over yet. Bring out your next Pokemon and see how far you can go."
"Tch. I'll go far! One Pokemon down won't stop me! Go, Cryogonal!" Next up was her Cryogonal.
"Cryogonal!"
"Ice Beam now!"
"Cryo!" Out of Cryoginal's face, a chilling beam of ice as unleashed as Lightning Dust would play more aggressively in an attempt to put Brandon on the back foot.
"Dusknoir! Advance and use Focus Punch"
"Dusk...!" Dusknoir only needed a few seconds to focus before then flying towards Cryogonal with Focus Punch. The Gripper Pokemon met with Cryogonal's Ice Beam, smashing Focus Punch into it as white and blue sparks flew around. Dusknoir smashed through Ice Beam with its surprisingly large physical strength.
"Not good! Move, Cryogonal, move!"
"Cry!" Cryogonal just barely managed to avoid Dusknoir's incoming punch once the Ghost-Type had smashed right through the beam. Cryogonal flew to the side as Lightning Dust saw an opening.
"Solar Beam!
"Crryogonal!" Thanks to the Summer Sun, Solar Beam was instant. Out of Cryogonal's face came a bigger beam. This time, it had a verdant appearance. And thanks to the instant speed of Solar Beam, Dusknoir had finally received a hit as the beam had engulfed it.
"Dusk!"
"Finally! Direct hit!" Lightning Dust was elated by this as Dusknoir flew back. "Keep going! Use Flash Cannon!"
"Ogonal!" Another beam was unleashed. This time, it was made out of light energy with metal shards within them.
"So, that's how you battle with Cryogonal. Unique. Dusknoir! Block it with Shadow Punch!"
"Dusk!" Dusknoir held out its arms, summoning shadow fists that came flying out. These fists had grabbed onto Cryogonal's Flash Cannon, holding it back. The Gripper Pokemon lived up to its name as it had used the arms of Shadow Punch to crush Flash Cannon, resulting in a silver combustion.
"Are you kidding me?!" Lightning Dust growled as the wind pressure blew her mane.
"Focus Punch!"
"Noir!" Dusknoir immediately flew through the smoke, advancing on Cryogonal when it had the chance, causing Lightning Dust to gasp.
"Cryogonal! Ancient Power! Now!"
"Cryo...!" Cryogonal harnessed the power of ancient fossils, however, it was too late.
"Dusk!" Dusknoir had already arrived, delivering a devastating blow to Cryogonal's centre. Which was practically its whole body as a potent shockwave ruptured through the Ice-Type. The rocks crumbled from the shockwave as Cryogonal was slingshotted once Dusknoir finished the hit. Cryogonl dropped just like a snowflake but with a greater impact. And after that singular devastating blow, it had fainted.
"Cryogonal..."
"One hit...?" You can't be serious..." Lightning Dust was flabbergasted. She was now down two Pokemon and it only took one hit for Dusknoir to claim victory. She was now down to just four Pokemon. Three of them were healthy while one of them took a big blow. She growled, returning Cryogonal as things weren't going so easy for her. "Okay! You make your point with Dusknoir."
"I did. But, I shouldn't have needed to make a point with Dusknoir in the first place. To others, it should be obvious that Dusknoir would be formidable. Underestimating a certain Pokmon is a mistake that many trainers should grow from."
"Yeah well...I'm still going t make a great comeback." She held out her next Poke Ball.
"A comeback? That would be excellent...except you can't win." Brandon declared before then returning Dusknoir at last.
"Say what?!" The pegasus pulled back after Brandon made that declaration.
"You can't beat me, young lady. Your battling style reeks of arrogance. Your ego is what holds you and your Pokemon back from realizing their true potentials and your potential as a Pokemon Trainer. Your skills are locked behind that ego. Young lady, you believe that you're entitled to greatness. That will be your downfall."
Brandon had finally revealed the faults of Lightning Dust, making her speechless for a bit. She wasn't sure what to say at the moment as everyone watched in awe.
"Is that it? I thought she was just unlucky." Pinkie Pie commented. "Those attacks looked good to me."
"He's got a point though. And it looks like Lightning Dust is taking it seriously." Starlight looked at Lightning Dust, noticing her expression. It went from confident, to moody.
"Hmm..." Rainbow Dash wasn't feeling as elated by this. Previously, she was thrilled to see Lightning Dust feeling the pressure, but now that feeling wasn't there anymore.
"Yeah. Maybe you're right." She continued to hold out the Poke Ball, not yet throwing it out. "But as if I'd just suddenly change it all up. I worked hard when I issued a challenge to you. No matter what you say, my Pokemon and I did our best."
"Really now?" Brandon narrowed his eyes.
"That's right. You think I wouldn't prepare for such a crazy strong trainer like yourself?" Lightning Dust then reminisced about when she was training to battle Brandon eventually. It was only last night.
Equestria. Yesterday.
I still felt the major loss that I experienced back at the Canterlot Tag Competition. I didn't even get my chance to face Spitfire, so I dedicated the remaining few months to improving myself.
Out in Equestria's mountainsides, Lightning Dust, alongside her Pokemon trained hard to try and make up for that embarrassing loss one day. Lightning Dust yearned to get better, but in the way that she wanted to. That involved long and arduous training with her Pokemon.
"Incineroar!" Incineroar and the rest of her Pokemon were in fairly rough conditions, tackling mainly their weaknesses. Incineroar tackled his weakness to rocks, attempting to tank them all to build some resistance.
"Cryogonal." Cryogonal's training was to try and withstand the summer heat. The Cryogonal species are rarely ever seen during summer, so this was a big deal. And after months of training, Lightning Dust's Cryogonal could now traverse in the summer sun, albeit still feeling the heat.
Lightning Dust wanted to be the best that she could be and that approach was by going up against the hardest methods. And her Pokemon were all for it.
"It's so tiring..." An exhausted Lightning Dust slumped on a tree. All of this training was harsh on her even if she was the one who decided to do it.
"Incineroar." However, Incineroar and the others were there for her. They had already agreed to improve themselves with this training method that Lightning Dust made. Cryogonal ended up cooling her off with some ice.
"You're right, Incineroar. We promised that we'd go far. Who cares what they think? I like doing things my way." She then dug into her saddlebag, taking out what seemed to be a Mega Ring, but there was not a crystal inside of it. "That's how I roll as a Pokemon Trainer and soon at the Equestria League, I'll show them all."
Current day.
"I can't beat you? Yeah right!" Lightning Dust protested. "You can call me arrogant, whatever! I'll gladly take it. I've heard it all before from trainers I've battled and no matter what, the answer's always the same. Point is, your words won't wear me down, I'll still try and beat you either way!"
"Hm." Brandon nodded with a slightly amused face before holding out another Poke Ball. "Young lady. The words you're saying are piquing my interest. Registeel! I need your assistance!"
"ЯΣGIƧƬΣΣᄂ!" Registeel was next as that was another Legendary Titan that Brandon had.
"He has all three of them?! Yeah, this does feel a bit unfair now that I look at it..." Spike said.
"I'm not gonna give up just because you're lecturing me! That's not the pony I am! But I still battle for something, ya know?"
"And what's that?" Brandon questioned.
"I battle to become better than others. Spitfire's at the top of it all, so I want to be there too. And with my own way. And It's also for my Pokemon!" She then threw the Poke Ball, sending her next Pokemon out. Claydol.
"Claydol!"
"It's still about Spitfire and how she got fired from the Wonderbolts. Did she really put everything Pokemon-related into that grudge?" Rarity wondered.
"Looks like it. But doing that means that Lightning Dust has something to strive towards. And that kind of thing does make a Pokemon Trainer stronger. Right, Ash?" Twilight looked at Ash.
"Hm. Yeah. That kind of passion makes a Pokemon Trainer and a Pokemon stronger." Ash nodded in agreement. "But..." However, Ash saw that there was more to it. Whether it was for better or for worse was unknown. He had to continue watching to see how this would all end.
"You fight for your Pokemon. Hm. I see. But you still can't beat me."
"We'll see about that! Go, Caydol! Earth Power!"
"Claydol!" Claydol manipulated the ground itself with its Psychic power, making the ground erupt with large golden shockwaves bursting out.
"Registeel! Flash Cannon!"
"ƧƬΣΣᄂ! REGI!" Registeel responded by using Flash Cannon, unleashing a beam of light energy that intercepted the shockwaves of Earth Power. Both attacks cancelled each other out in the end.
"Registeel! Hyper Beam!"
"ЯΣGIƧƬΣΣᄂ! ЯΣ-ЯΣG!" Registeel followed up by unleashing another beam. This time, it would be a Hyper Beam which was stronger and longer.
"Use Hyper Beam too!"
"Clay!" A clash of Hyper Beams ensued. Registeel and Claydol entered a fierce Hyper Beam clash. Claydol barely managed to hold on as the struggle was a tie.
"Need to do something else after this...!" Lightning Dust said. Both Claydol and Registeel needed to recharge as she needed to figure out her next approach while the two of them recover.
"Too slow! Return!" But just as quickly as she was thinking of something. Brandon was quick on the draw as well, returning his Registeel. He was already ahead of Lightning Dust in everything. "I need your assistance, Regirock!"
"REGIROCK!" Regirock had returned. It was only to give Registeel some time to recharge but the Rock Peak Pokemon would get its chance against Claydol.
"Stone Edge!"
"RE!" While Claydol was still recharging, Regirock took the time to attack. Lightning Dust couldn't do anything about this except let Stone Edge connect. Ground resisted Rock after all as the stones around Regirock's body had been launched smashing into the Clay Doll Pokemon. Right after they hit Claydol, it had finished recharging.
"This still works in my favour! Earth Power!" The battle was now starting to speed up with both trainers throwing out rapid commands. Claydol used Earth Power as fast as it could, manipulating the ground.
"Stone Edge!"
"ROCK!" Regirock responded with another Stone Edge, smashing its arm into the ground. To counter these golden shockwaves, Regirock summoned large crystals that came bursting out. Once again, the two attacks tied as Lightning Dust was unable to keep the pressure on Brandon's Pokemon, whether it was close or far.
"Return!" Brandon returned Regirock once more. Regirock did what it needed to do in keeping Claydol at bay whilst Registeel recovered. And indeed, Registeel was fully recharged. He was making quick swap-ins and swap-outs which was only making Lightning Dust worry as his remaining two Pokemon had yet to be seen.
"STEEL!" Registeel had returned, fully charged as it faced off against Claydol once more.
"Lock-on!"
"Regi!" Once it returned, the Braille pattern on Registeel's face glowed red as it released a red ring from its body as if it was a disc.
"What is that?!" Lightning Dust exclaimed, unaware of Lock-on. "Dodge it!"
"Claydol!" But dodging Lock-on was pointless as even when it was being unleashed, it had stellar homing capabilities. The moment Claydol decided to fly out of the way, Lock-on had pursued it.
The red ring homed in on the Clay Doll Pokemon with accurate precision. turning into a red target that sticks to the opponent. Claydol could not avoid it as the ring had already attached itself to the Ground-Psychic-Type.
"Now! Iron Head!"
"GI!" Registeel's body became surrounded by a white aura, making it seem black and white. The Steel-Type then lunged itself at Claydol, but that speed looked too slow in Lightning Dust's eyes.
"Too slow! Get up and use Psychic!"
"Clay!"
"Are you sure?" Brandom smirked as Registeel suddenly accelerated in a split second, zooming into the air. The second Claydol ascended, Registeel was already at its height, instantly smashing into the Ground-Psychic-Type.
"C-Clay!" Claydon was pushed back by this as thanks to Lock-on, all of Registeel's attacks would connect.
"Grrr! Try again with Psychic!"
"C-Claydol...!" However, when trying to use Psychic, Claydol flinched, hesitating as the attack was unable to go through.
"What?! What's wrong, Claydol?!"
"Never heard of flinching?" Brandon commented. "Iron Head has a chance of doing that."
"Why you...Return!" She quickly returned her Claydol to swap it out for another. This time, her ace had returned as she launched the Poke Ball. "Go, Incineroar.!"
"Incineroar!"
"I'll finish this right now! Flare Blitz!"
"Cineroar!" An all-out attack on Registeel was about to be made. Incineroar had used Flare Blitz, building up high octane energy before then lunging himself at full speed, leaving behind a trail of fire.
"Hyper Beam!"
"Regi!" Registeel would meet Flare Blitz with Hyper Beam. The two powerful attacks had collided. Incineroar would feel some recoil from this which was risky considering it had already taken Earthquake minutes ago. Flare Blitz and Hyper Beam equalized as Incineroar suffered recoil damage, skidding back. However, Registeel had to recover once more.
"Go! Close Combat!" Now was that time. Lightning Dust wouldn't allow Registeel to leave as Incineroar moved as fast as he could. Incineroar moved through the smoke, just managing to finally reach. This allowed him to let loose. Incineroar started unleashing a ferocious flurry of punches to Registeel, dealing super-effective damage with multiple sparks flying out.
Registeel was taking each blow that great weight to it. However, its staggering defence allowed it to endure it. After delivering the last blow, the best result that Incineroar got was pushing Registeel back.
"It didn't fall?!" Needless to say, Lightning Dust was starstruck that such a powerful and super-effective move as Close Combat didn't even make the Iron Pokemon fall. "Return for now...Incineroar." She recalled Incineroar, giving him some time to rest.
"It doesn't matter what she does. The Legendary Titans are too durable. Can she even faint one?" Fluttershy gasped.
"Nope." Twilight, Starlight, Rarity and Applejack shook their heads in unison. After the experience they had back at the Tree of Beginning, it was nigh-impossible to take down a Legendary Titan. At least, in their eyes.
"It's possible but Lightning Dust's not there yet." Ash thought otherwise. He knew that every Pokemon could be defeated, no matter the odds or benefits. However, he deduced that Lightning Dust didn't have the strength yet to do so.
"The Legendary Titans cannot be taken down so easily with super-effective moves. But, those are the best options, aren't they?" Brandon replied.
"I need to do something...Anything." Lightning Dust said to herself as she felt like she was amazing zero progress.
"Young lady. I commend your hard work. Despite how you battle, you approach your opponent with bravery. You've even learned to use other options if your best one is out of the way." Brandon complimented Lightning Dust. Despite his harsh criticism, he knew a capable Pokemon Trainer when he saw one.
"Uh...Thanks?"
"However. It's time we put this battle to an end." Brandon declared as his eyes flashed before he returned Registeel to its Poke Ball. This entire time, he's been holding back some of his strength. But now, the Pyramid King could unleash it all as LIghtning Dust shuddered, knowing that Brandon's true strength would show itself. "Come to my aid, my friend!"
Brandon shouted as he raised his arm, calling for someone. He didn't hold out a Poke Ball this time as everyone started looking around, wondering why he was calling for.
"Hang on. Is he...?!" Ash caught on quickly, realizing who he might be calling for.
"What's going on?! Where's your next Pokemon?!" Lightning Dust questioned.
"This Pokemon...Around 16 years ago, I requested and promised to entrust its future to me while it slumbers in its temple. And after that, just two years ago, I visited the home of that friend of mine." Brandon started as the wind was starting to build up within the pyramid. "A friend that slumbers peacefully. After revisiting its home, we agreed to help each other in battle, forging a new promise! That friend of mine is here!"
Appearing inside the pyramid by bursting through the walls was a blue orb. Ash and Pikachu recognized that orb anywhere and they knew who exactly was in it as the orb had landed in Brandon's grasp.
"I need your assistance! Regigigas!" He shouted out the name of the creator of all the Legendary Titans. Out of the blue orb, a massive Pokemon emerged.
And it was a big one.
A staggering height of 12'02" and 3.7 metres. Easily towering over Brandon and practically everyone else, almost large enough to reach the pyramid. A large, white golem-like entity had emerged with seven black circular 'eyes' arranged in a specific pattern that looked to express anger. It possessed long arms, with three fairly human-like white fingers, and short legs that end in large mossy bushes instead of feet. It was none other than the Colossal Pokemon.
Regigigas.
"REGIGIGAS!"
"W-W-W-W-What the...?! Lightning Dust backed away, falling on her back as Twilight and the others were seeing Regigigas. in physical form for the first time.
"So that's it?! Regigigas?!" Twilight quickly took out her Pokedex along with her friends.
"Regigigas. The Colossal Pokemon. It is said to have made Pokémon that look like itself from a special ice mountain, rocks, and magma that soon became Regirock, Regice and Registeel. There is an enduring legend that states this Pokémon towed continents with ropes. It’s said that Regigigas created other Pokémon from many different materials before it moved the continents to where they are today."
"Woah, Brandon! You caught Regigigas?!" Ash gasped.
"Pikachu?!"
"Not exactly. We had another encounter that was dangerous to both of us." Brandon looked at Ash. "After helping each other a second time, Regigigas agreed to help me in battle at any time. I don't have a Poke Ball with Regigigas as you can see. So, young lady. Can you find a way to continue with this overwhelming force in front of you?"
"I...I can take it!" Lightning Dust stayed strong in the face of a Pokemon this massive. But she was still intimidated. "Go! Tyrantrum!"
"Tyrantrum!" Her next Pokemon was a Tyrantrum as it had emerged to challenge the Colossal Pokemon.
"This is everything I've got! Tyratrum, use Head Smash, now!"
"Tyrantrum!" The Despot Pokemon's body was laminated by a whitish-blue aura, making it seem black and white, as it shot at the opponent like a missile.
"Regigigas! Hammer Arm!"
"REGI...!" Regigigas raised its arm as it was certainly the slowest out of all of the Pokemon that Brandon has fought side by side with. This slow movement allowed Tyrantrum to connect Rock Head, landing the first hit. However, that hit did not budge Regigigas at all. Instead, the second Tyrantrum smashed its head into Regigigas' chest, the Colossal Pokemon brought its arm down, smashing it onto the back of the Rock-Dragon-Type.
"Ty-" Tyrantrum's eyes widened as in just a second, it had been vigorously shot back to the ground, resulting in a large dust cloud explosion. Lightning Dust covered her eyes from all of the dust as Tyrantrum didn't fall out of the smoke. "Tyrantrum..."
Instead, it had fainted on the spot, lying there in front of Regigigas. All it took was one attack and that was all she wrote with Tyrantrum, unable to get a second attack in.
"Ah! Tyrantrum!" Lightning Dust gasped.
"Tyrantrum didn't even get to do anything. That's rough." Spike shook his head.
"It was already going downhill from the start. But now, it's accelerated downhill." Garnet chimed in. Despite not being an expert in Pokemon Battling or having any experience with it, she could already see that Lightning Dust's chances had greatly dwindled. Second time in a row now.
"I can't afford to let you walk all over me. One of your Pokemon is going down!" After returning Tyrantrum, she swapped out for her next Pokemon. "Toxtricity, let's go!"
"Toxtricity!" Toxtricity had returned.
"That giant's going down! The bigger they are, the harder they fall! Boomburst!"
"Tox!" Toxtricity strummed his electric organs, letting out the biggest volume wave that he could make against this titan of a Pokemon.
"Regigigas! Hidden Power!"
"GIGAS!" To counter this, Regigigas put its arms out, challenging hidden strength. In this case, Regigigas had the power of Hidden Power Steel, sending a silver blast from its arms. They intercepted Boomburst, clashing with the soundwaves before then blowing past them. Boomburst had been beaten out as the beam approached Toxtricity.
"Dodge it! Quick!"
"Toxtricity!" By the skin of his non-existent teeth, he managed to evade Hidden Power, barely. It almost grazed him before crashing to the ground.
"You're still slower when up close! Poison Jab! Now!"
"Tox!" Toxtricity would get physical with Regigigas, taking advantage of its slow speed. Toxtricity was definitely faster than it in every way.
"Regigigas! Hyper Beam!"
"GIGA-GIGA-REGI!" Regigigas would strike hard with Hyper Beam. While it was slow when it came to physical contact, from afar, that was a different story.
"No, you don't! Go, Toxtricity!"
"Toxtricity!" Toxtricity then umped up, slugging Regigigas in the face before it could have the chance to unleash Hyper Beam. Toxtricity was still faster even in that category. Not only that but Toxtricity managed to get off the Poison status ailment with that sharp Poison Jab blow, infecting Regigigas.
"Poison Yes!" Lightning Dust loved to see it. "Now! Run for it!"
"Tox!" After getting a good hit in, Toxtricity ran off. It was a hit and run.
"Running won't save you! Regigigas!"
"REGIIIII!" Even after being sugged in the face and receiving poison, Regigigas still had time to unleash Hyper Beam. This entire time, it had been charging it up and keeping the energy in its arms. Once Toxtricity backed away, Regigigas fired Hyper Beam at a downwards angle.
"Boomburst!"
"Toxtricity!" Toxtricity quickly turned around, strumming his chest once more to try and beat ut the power of Hyper Beam. The two destructive Normal-Type attacks met, but there was not a single struggle. Instead, Hyper Beam easily blazed past Boomburst, winning out. Toxtricity's eyes widened as he knew what would happen next.
After being hit hard and overpowered by the Colossal Pokemon, the Punk Pokemon reached his limit. What followed after the explosion was the sight of the Electric-Poison-Type flying out of it with smoke trails on him. He landed on his back before then fainting, leaving Lightning Dust with fewer options.
"Toxtricity..."
"R-Return." She lowered her head as now she had only two Pokemon available to continue. But, the pegasus wasn't here to call it quits or just give up so easily. Not when she's held her own this far. "Here goes...Claydol!"
"Claydoll!" Claydol was back as Lightning Dust would now take a ranged approach. Her other ranged approach was currently unable to battle in the form of Cryogonal.
"Now, Claydol! Psychic! Grab Regigigas!"
"Clay!" Claydol's eyes flashed blue as the mental power that it possessed was focused on Regigigas, attempting to grab the Colossal Pokemon. However, the second it attempted to do so, Clay Dol and Lightning Dust would see that Regigigas wasn't just big. There was a reason why it could carry the continents.
"Do you think that will move Regigigas?! Don't mock its strength! Regigigas! Hammer Arm!"
"REGI!" Just then, Regigigas would get in close. It roared, breaking the Psychic hold that ClayDol had with ease. The Colossal Pokemon started moving as it appeared faster than before which threw Lightning Dust off guard.
"What the?! Where'd this speed come from?! Claydol, stop Regigigas with Earth Power!"
"Claydol!" Manipulating the ground, Claydol made large golden shockwaves fly out to try and stop the Colossal Pokemon. But it was all for nought as Regigigas powered through it. The shockwaves weren't enough as Regigigas had slugged Claydol, sending it through the air. "C-Clay!"
"Ah! Claydol. Then...use Hyper Beam! From above!"
"Claydol!" Claydol still resisted it thanks to being a Psychic-Type. The Ground-Psychic-Type managed to recover in the air before then using Hyper Beam from above, betting all of its strength in this one attack.
"Hammer Arm, once more!"
"RE...GIGIGAS!" Instead of countering with its own Hyper Beam, Regigigas had used Hammer Arm yet again. This time, in an upwards strike. Regigigas bent down for a second before then performing an uppercut with Hammer Arm, completely negating the hammer part of it.
Hammer Arm uppercutted Hyper Beam, which resulted in so much force that the energy ended up being reversed. Lightning Dust couldn't believe what she was seeing as Claydol had been hit by its own attack, engulfed in the Infinity Energy.
"No way! Claydol!"
"Claydol..." Claydol came falling down after receiving its own attack from below. Once it touched the ground, the Clay Doll Pokemon had fainted. Lightning Dust was frozen for a moment before then closing her eyes. She went from frustration to feeling a sense of nervousness and the fear of losing. But her loss was practically already set in stone.
"R-Return..." She returned Claydol while looking away.
"You have your last Pokemon, young lady. Make it count. Even though you will lose, you should try what you can to see if you can leave an impact. Such as taking either Pokemon on my side out."
"I will...I said I'd do that. But...this isn't what I was expecting."
"Overconfidence will always get you in trouble. While there are many things in the Pokemon World that are unpredictable, this is one of those things that are predictable. And it's only possible by you."
"Only one Pokemon left." Pinkie Pie commented. "Do you think that Poison might do Regigigas in?"
"Incineroar has Close Combat which hits hard so maybe that, combined with the poison might end up faiting at least one of Brandon's Pokemon," Twilight replied as there was that slim chance of Brandon's Pokemon fainting.
"Hey. The peanut gallery's right." Lightning Dust gasped after hearing their words. "I can take one of them down! And I have the Pokemon to do it! My strongest Pokemon!"
"Hoh. Then, come. See if you, Incineroar and the poison can do it." Brandon encouraged her.
"You got it! This is my final shot! Incineroar!" She launched the Poke Ball with one final throw.
"Incineroar!"
"Darkest Lariat should be available now that so much time has passed. But...I'm going all in for this one! Get ready, Brandon! That giant's going down!"
"Come."
"Incineroar! Bulk Up!"
"In...Ci...Neroar!" But before Incineroar would attack, he had amped his strength and defence to give himself a better chance.
"Regigigas! Hammer Arm!"
"GIIIIII!" Regigigas would go for a super-effective attack already, continuing to use Hammer Arm. However, it was now a tad slower thanks to the effect of Hammer Arm.
"Close Combat! Now!"
"Incineroar!" Incineroar would enter a physical clash with Regigigas. When it came to physical strength, Incineroar was Lightning Dst's strongest Pokemon overall. And the moment his paws met with Regigigas' fist, he managed to hold his own. The clash between two Fighting-Type attacks caused a rumbling shockwave.
That's when they started going back and forth. Incineroar could throw out a constant barrage of attacks with Close Combat while Regigigas could block them with its massive arm that was the size of Incineroar's entire body. Sparks flew from their clashing as Incineroar was still in this. The poison was also gradually harming Regigigas.
One punch came through, but Incineroar managed to avoid this next hit by moving his head and body to the side, leaving Regigigas wide open once it missed.
"Too slow! Strike!"
"Cineroar!" Seeing an opening, Incineroar had kneed Regigigas' chest, finally dealing a super-effective blow. This blow ended up staggering Regigigas for a few seconds as the Heel Pokemon jumped back.
"Yes! Let's keep this up! Darkest Lariat! It can't keep up with this!"
"Incineroar!" Incineroar would use his signature move. By spinning and forming a red and black whirlwind, he started moving at rapid speeds.
"Hmph! Regigigas! Hyper Beam!"
"REGI!" Regigigas would meet this speed with an attack that was fast in its own right. Out of its arms, Hyper Beam came blazing out.
"Look out! Drift!"
"In!" Incineroar used the momentum of Darkest Lariat, drifting to the side. Hyper Beam had been evaded, however, once it hit the ground, it left behind an explosion that was strong enough to blow Incineroar away just from the pressure and shockwave alone. Incineroar was sent flying, forced out of Darkest Lariat. "R-Roar!"
"Hang in there! Now's our chance to strike! Close Combat!"
"Cineroar!" With Regigigas recharging, Incineroar advanced, managing to find his footing as he was a cat after all. Once he regained his balance, he lunged in with another Close Combat.
"You've made it far, my little pony." Brandon crossed his arms, putting on a smile. "You've joined the ranks of trainers who've managed to come here and hold their own."
"Roar! Incineroar then delivered a series of blows to Regigigas while it was recharging, not letting up.
"Go, go, go! Keep hitting it!" Lightning Dust shouted as Incineroar kept attacking Regigigas with Close Combat, hoping to eventually knock it down and faint it.
"But...This is where it ends! Hammer Arm!"
"RE!" Abruptly, Regigigas had suddenly caught Incineroar's next punch. Once the punch was caught, the Colossal Pokemon gripped his paw, having him in his grasp.
"Gah! Break free, Incineroar! Flare Blitz!"
"In...Incine...!" Incineroar heated up his body, trying to force Regigigas' grip off. But the Normal-Type did not budge. Once it got ahold of Incineroar, it struck with its other arm. "R-Roar!" Incineroar received the biggest blow yet.
Hammer Arm knocked it away, sending the Heel Pokemon flying as Regigigas' attack was big enough to match Incineroar's size. Lightning Dust's jaw dropped as Incineroar flew right past her. The Fire-Dark-Type crashed into the walls of the pyramid from the distance he got.
Everyone looked over as Incineroar slid down from the wall. The rubble followed him, surrounding him like an altar. That final Hammer Arm did the trick. Incineroar had fainted.
"Incineroar..."
"It's done. Thank you for your held, Regigigas." Brandon was the victor. All 6 Pokemon of Lightning Dust were unable to battle while Brandon hadn't even revealed his remaining Pokemon. Regigiggas' work here was done as it had returned into the orb that it came from, shrinking as if it were being sent in a Poke Ball.
"I lost..." Lightning Dust grumbled as she walked over to Incineroar. "Thanks for trying, Incineroar. We couldn't faint it though..."
"Incine."
"Bravo! What a battle!" Garnet applauded as that was an enjoyable first time of her seeing a Pokemon Battle.
"That's that. She didn't do terribly, did she?" said Rarity.
"Not much you can do against a Legendary Pokemon especially since we're all still growing," Fluttershy replied. "But that was a great effort, either way. It wasn't super fast like we all thought, was it?"
"Yeah...Yeah, you're right." Rainbow Dash suddenly smiled. "She was pretty awesome out there." Instead of revelling in Lighting Dust's defeat, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but respect the effort that she put in this battle. At the end of the day, they were both Pokemon Trainers and despite their rivalry, they both put everything they have into what they love.
"I thought I could get somewhere with this..." Lightning Dust returned Incineroar before getting up. "Guess not. SO much for a Washouts advertising..."
"Young lady." Brandon approached Lightning Dust. "That was some fine battling there. Stand up tall and be proud of yourself."
"Be proud of myself?" Lightning Dust scoffed. "I lost. How can I be-"
"Noooo!" Brandon interevened, causing Lightning Dust to stand up tall. "Young lady. You lost, yes. But...the fact that despite everything I said, you stuck true to who you are. Knowing you were on the back foot, you pressed on. Knowing what I said, you didn't cast what you believed in aside. Many trainers would've changed a lot of things drastically at this point."
"R-Really?" The pegasus stuttered.
"You've done an excellent job in training and raising your Pokemon and they clearly share that passion with you. But...you allowed your overconfidence and your emotions to get the better of you. You are an egotist."
"Kh!" Lightning Dust took that to heart as she flinched.
"But is that so wrong?" However, Brandon surprised her with his next choice of words. "We all hype up our strength, skills and capabilities, no doubt. I do it myself sometimes. But what's important is to know how to limit them. Know your weaknesses and strengths, of course. Know when there's a wall that just cannot be surpassed in the usual way. Once you better control your emotions as well, there will be no wall that you can't work your way around. You have potential, much like everyone back in your world. Don't let it go to waste."
"I understand. Thank you, Brandon." Lightning Dust thanked Brandon, no longer feeling staggeringly bitter about this. "Still wish I took out one of your Pokemon. I didn't even get to see the rest."
"Perhaps another time. we may battle again, my little pony. Next time, when you've got everything under control, battle me again. Now, I'm off to return Regigigas' orb. It can't return on its own like it shows up on its own. Ash. All of you. Thank you for coming today."
"No problem, Brandon. Thanks for the fun battle!" Ash cried out.
"Pikachu!"
"So like...what are you other POkemon since you had the Legendary Titans of all things?!" Twilight bellowed. "Is it more Legendary Pokemon?!"
"Yeah?! Is it?!" Pinkie Pie and the others repeated.
"No. Just a Solrock and a Ninjask."
"Awww..." They were slightly disappointed by that, expecting a full team of Legendary Pokemon.
"When I head home...I'Il work harder and take what you said to heart. And when I get to equestrian League, I'l come back to you when I'm the champion." Lightning Dust declared.
"You mean when I'm the champion?" Rainbow Dash grinned, intervening as Lightning Dust had been provoked.
"As if!" Immediately, the two of them could potentially start bickering again. But this time, Lightning Dust left. No arguments today.
Everyone else would disperse as the Battle Pyramid would be leaving in two days. Where would it go next? No one knows. But it would be there waiting. Whether it'd be for an exhibition match or an official Battle Frontier match. Brandon was another powerful trainer for Twilight and her friends to remember.
But, there were more out there. More trainers to meet and so many more to battle in this vast world of the most wondrous creatures as the journey continues.
Out in Geosenge Town, Officer Jenny was on patrol as always. But this time, she had something bigger to focus on than just common issues around her. She would still handle them, but there was a bigger threat at large.
Yveltal.
"This is the only place in Kalos that has something important related to Yveltal." Officer Jenny stopped by the massive encircled stones that were strange ruins of old. After it was revealed that the vampires of the Dread League planned to spread Yveltal's destructive power over not just Equestria and the whole world but also the Pokemon World, it became the duty of the law to protect their world.
Officer Jenny and others across every other region had been passed this information down by the massive police force. Princess Celestia had connections to important organizations. All thanks to BigTime Ben's collaboration and the Ranger Union. They even had a board that had a marker drawing of the Box of 100 Demons, so they were catching up already.
As for the massive stones, these were connected to Mega Evolution. And Mega Evolution was also connected to both Xereans and Yveltal. Due to that one part about Yveltal, it was a prime target. While it wouldn't track down Yveltal, it was still an important object for the vampires as Officer Jenny drove away.
Over at the Geosenge Town Police Station, the officers were all going through a debrief about the Dread League and their goal for Yveltal. They went over how could they could spot a vampire and what to do about the stones before things could get out of hand quickly. But these stones were still fairly important to Geosenge and Kalos' history.
To be better adjusted to the other world and the crimes that would come here, the police of the Pokemon World were given Travel Spheres, which were still around. These were new ones as on them, there was a label that mentioned the Ranger Union, the ones responsible for making these new spheres.
Kalos has been the region where the Dread League appear the most and thus, they would be heading here more than anywhere else.
"I've seen sightings of ponies around Kalos recently." Officer Jenny started thinking to herself while heading inside. She thought back to how ponies were popping up recently, however she didn't want to jump to conclusions and accuse other ponies of being vampires. "Usually, the fang of a vampire is easy to spot, but not all of them have fangs apparently. I've been focused on working even at Nightfall. No matter what night it may be, I'll wait for them."
This town's Jenny focuses on the night. The best time to see vampires. News about the Dread League and Yveltal have been recent once their goal spread past one world. It wasn't too late to try and find them even if it was a few months late.
Time had passed. Everyone went on with their day. And it was another night for Jenny to stay up late and always be aware. But, this was obviously a detriment to her sleep schedule, especially as an officer.
She constantly stayed on her motorbike, having Arcanine in the guest seat which was larger than the driver seat due to Arcanine's size. Staying up even at night for days just to find some vampire ponies was hard on her as she focused on the stone, knowing that it was a potential point of interest.
But, Officer Jenny had her limits. She yawned, feeling the urge to sleep. There would be times when she managed to go through the entire night and times when she'd slump over and sleep until the Sun arrived.
"Here. Have some coffee." A voice replied to Officer Jenny, holding out some coffee to her.
"Thank you..." Jenny uttered before taking the coffee, getting herself a quick sip. She then turned around to see the individual that had done this. It was Geosenge Town's Nurse Joy. "Nurse Joy?"
"Up late again, Officer Jenny? I've been seeing you moving around town late at night recently. Sharp on the lookout for those sneaky vampires?"
"Sneaky is right...I'll get them. I just need a lead and for Arcanine's scent to kick in. If I can keep staying awake. But, how come you don't look tired?"
"It's a family tradition for us Nurse Joys to always power through even during the night. That way, every Pokemon can be healed no matter the time." Joy proudly crossed her arms. "Worked for generations. At least for most of us."
"Ah. Anyway, since you're up, I suppose you're my extra eyes and ears. I'm more focused on that rock. Legend says that it has some connection to Xerneas and Yveltal."
"Oh, right. Aside from coming to give you some coffee, I wanted to tell you about some of the people and Pokemon here. Recently, they've been feeling a bit drained during nightfall. You should come and see this."
"Drained?"
Pokemon Center.
Inside, the Pokemon were all taking a rest here instead of their homes. Blissey was taking care of these Pokemon as their bodies looked pale with their naturally vibrant colours being saturated. There were a lot of trainers during this night shift.
"Just yesterday, they were all drained by something. According to the description of the trainers, a lullaby had been played when out on Route 11. Something attacked them there and they just managed to escape."
"You stayed up all night and soon this one to recover them. I wish I had that kind of stamina..." Jenny gawked as Joy was proud of herself, proudly putting her hands on her hips and having a bright smile with blushes. "How even?"
"Hm-hm-hm!" She let out a sweet and muffled laugh. "We Joy's know how to drink our milk three times a day! Never skip out on a single one!"
"Bliss-Bliss!"
"I'm not sure that's how milk works for stamina but okay. Where are the trainers then?" Jenny asked.
"They're at the local hospital. They were attacked by that same thing as well. I'm afraid that more patients might come along during this nightfall as well if there's something nearby."
"It's most definitely the vampires." Jenny already made her mind up. "Route 11 also has some crystals that sprout along the mountain path. But those crystals are nothing compared to the ones right here."
"I see. But then...how come they haven't come for the large one yet?"
"The police force has been protecting that crystal ever since we caught wind of the Dread League. I doubt they'd risk anything with our numbers. But they would try and go for smaller numbers, such as these Pokemon and their trainers."
"Oh, dear!"
"I know where I need to be then. I'll meet them at Route 11. Those crystals can still be of some use to them." Officer Jenny would head out to Route 11, expecting to encounter some vampire ponies. "I'm not the only officer awake at this time, so the rest of them will take good care of the stones here."
"Oh, wait!" Nurse Joy ran up to her. "You could be drained too. Every other officer is asleep by this time except for you. You and Arcanine might need the healing."
"You'll come along?" Jenny turned to Joy.
"Of course! Blissey and I need to help others no matter what. Besides, nothing here is draining my Blissey. Even if it does, Blissey can fix that."
"Blissey!"
"Treatment is always needed." Jenny couldn't argue with that. "Alright then. This is our first time working together. Let's make sure it flows well so that we can stop those vampires. Come on, Arcanine."
"Arcanine!"
Route 11.
A route in western Kalos, connecting to Geosenge Town and Reflection Cave. When arriving here, one can feel the power of the earth's interior from the crystals that sprout along this mountain path. Built on a mountainside and along the path, many clear crystals were scattered everywhere that were all connected to the one in Geosenge Town.
And currently, holding these crystals were the figure of two ponies. Their hooves had picked these crystals up as they glowed beautifully in the night. And the ponies holding them indeed had the wings to confirm their species.
Vampire ponies.
These two ponies were known as Melody Moon and Bittersweet. And alongside them, they had Pokemon of their own thanks to Opal Vivacity's action. Melody had a Mismagius while Bittersweet had a Sigilyph.
And sitting right next to them was the Box of 100 Demons.
Melody observed the crystals, trying to use her magic in any way to interact with them. However, nothing happened. Her Curse Magic was ineffective on it.
"Drat. These crystals are connected to Yveltal, but how are they supposed to give us a lead?" Melody wondered.
"They seem useless," Bittersweet said with a low tone, tossing one of the crystals away. "Let's just go after the big ones already. They're just sitting right there."
"Hm. The bigger stones are there for us to see, but again, our magic won't do a thing to them. They're essentially bigger versions of these smaller crystals. Unless there was some way we can interact with it, they're just tall rocks that we can look at."
"Have you tried singing to it like you usually do to everything?" Bittersweet laid on her back, blowing her mane.
"Haha. Singing to a crystal. That's preposterous. It only works on living things. And when Opal and I harmonize, great wonders happen."
"Whatever. But we still need to d something about that crystal. You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I am." The two vampires then turned to the Box of 100 Demons. "Surely, there's a demon in here that can sort it out for us. A 100 is a lot, but somehow it still feels like little. Know what I mean?"
"Forget that." Bittersweet sat up. "I've got a better suggestion. Just get a demon that can carry the whole thing. You've seen the size of that crystal, right?"
"Hmm...Super Strength, basically...Good approach, Bittersweet. You're far more clever during the night than in the day."
"No, that's just obvious."
"Right then. Let's see who can grab the stones, shall we?" She had then opened the box, preparing to unleash another one of the 100 Demons into this world.
A flare of dark magic had burst out of the box, letting out 100 howls. The magic shot into the sky before then unleashing a new demon. A flicker in the fog, a wave of heat, and suddenly they were met with a sickening beast of fury that resembled an ape. Two penetrating eyes stare at them with a bellowing fury. This one had the perfect physique to possess super strength as its eyebrows and fur were on fire for extra danger.
"That'll do." Bittersweet nodded. "Now, this could go really well or really bad. Those Pokemon Trainers are something else, you know that?"
"I do. That's why I'm going for a second one."
"A second one? You mean another demon?"
"That's right! One for the stones and the other as a distraction! Now, which one's next?" Melody was aiming to bring out another one as a distraction. But immediately, the Ape Demon sensed life nearby, growling as it turned around, smashing its fists into the ground.
"It senses someone nearby," Bittersweet commented. "So do I."
"Aye. That light would attract some attention. We'll give the second demon to them." Melody had then brought out the next demon after choosing one.
A screech in the black, a burst of fire, and suddenly, entering this world was a rotten figure of terror and dread. Two barren eyes stare at the vampire ponies and the other demon with an overpowering animosity, and another screech rages from its meagre mouth with unimaginable force. Shadowy hair adorns its blubbery head as this time, it resembled a falcon. A large falcon to boot.
"You'll grab those stones," Melody ordered the Ape Demon. "And you'll serve as a distraction. I hear they have some officers around here." She then ordered the Falcon Demon. "Bittersweet. Would you like to drain them this time?"
"Pass." Bittersweet gave an instant and effective answer. "You do it this time."
"My pleasure." The vampires and the demons were off. The Ape Demon ferociously ran off, shaking the trees while the Falcon Demon soared through the skies, leaving behind flaming feathers while also glowing in the night sky.
"Arcanine!" Arcanine suddenly stopped in his tracks. The Legendary Pokemon's fur had suddenly rustled while also growling all of a sudden.
"Hm? Why did he stop?" Nurse Joy asked.
"Trouble." Officer Jenny kneeled, patting Arcanine on the back. "That means someone's nearby. We might be close to the ponies we need to see."
"Really? Where?" Joy wondered.
"Nine! Arcanine!" Arcanine started barking at the sky, spotting the light that was zooming through it. When they all looked up, they saw that same light. It was the falcon.
"Who's that Pokemon...?" Officer Jenny gawked, witnessing the falcon for the first time.
"Never seen that one before." Nurse Joy shook her head. Even if she was versatile in Pokemon and how many species there were, she would never think of a demon. As the Falcon Demon soared, it dropped its flaming feathers, specifically on top of Jenny and Joy.
The feathers had also dropped faster than an average feather, which would take some time. These ones dropped as if they had the weight of a bowling ball, coming in hot. Figuratively and literally.
"Hang on...It's coming this way! Arcanine, Flamethrower!"
"Arca...Nine!" Arcanine would fight fire with fire, unleashing a scarlet wave of flames from his mouth, ready to overpower these flames and add them to his own fire.
"Sigilyph, Air Slash" But someone had intervened once Arcanine had used Flamethrower on the Flaming Feathers. From the mist that was made by the falcon, blades of air came flying out, blindsiding Arcanine.
"Ar!" Arcanine was interrupted as these blades of air had knocked him to the side
"Arcanine!" Officer Jenny cried out as Blissey caught Arcanine, preventing him from crashing. However, since Arcanine was interrupted and couldn't stop those flaming feathers, they had made contact. They hit the ground, immediately spreading a flare of flames that latched onto any greenery.
The trees and the grass caught on fire as the feathers had not just spread a wildfire, but prior to their spread, they had combusted, only kickstarting the havoc.
And moving through the flames, appearing in front of Jenny and Joy while having a barrier of magic around them were Melody Moon and Bittersweet. Alongside their Sigilyph and Mismagius, who had hovered over the flames.
"Gotcha." Melody Moon spoke with a devious look on her face which was only complimented by the flames. A further look at her and Jenny had seen the fangs and wings, confirming that vampires were indeed nearby.
"Vampires!" Jenny spoke with narrowed eyes as Blissey had dropped Arcanine.
"That's funny. The other towns and cities had two people who looked just like you." Bittersweet apparently recognized Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny, unaware of the massive family line. "Is there some weird cloning magic going on?"
"So you've finally decided to make your move, have you? Think you can get those stones without having to face me?" Jenny replied.
"We've waited quite a while for this." Melody shrugged. "But that police force of yours was just a slight problem for us. However, that won't be the case anymore. We'll find out what we can do with those stones, even if it takes a while. Yveltal's out there somewhere and those stones are the key."
"But why? Why do this?" Nurse Joy asked. "Getting rid of all life? That's just not right!"
"Meh. It's not all doom and gloom," said Bittersweet. "You'll all be reborn as skeletons and live with us. It'd be pretty neat to have skeleton humans and Pokemon for once. That'll be new."
"But, you're in our way. We've been slow on progress when it comes to finding Yveltal. Whether it's by how scarce it is or others trying to stop us."
"Tough. Because I'll be taking you in." Officer Jenny declared. "You're all under arrest. You and your Pokemon."
"Under arrest? Pah. What about that falcon then? How are you going to arrest that?" Melody taunted.
"She's right, Jenny! That falcon looked like it was going in the direction of the town!" Nurse Joy pointed out as the Falcon Demon was destructive enough to cause this much damage. Speaking of the fire it had suddenly increased thanks to the ferocity of this falcon, intensifying greatly.
"Oh, right. You forgot about this fire too, didn't you? Unlike regular fire, that falcon's flames come straight from Tartarus itself." Melody commented as she protected herself with the flames along with Bittersweet.
"Gah..." Jenny and oy were starting to feel those flames once they had some time to spread. The two of them had their pupils dilate as a burning sensation came through "W-What is this...?"
"My heart feels like it's heating up..." Joy grunted as she suddenly kneeled down with Blissey putting her hands on her back. In just a few short minutes, the flames had already done some damage. The arms of Officer Jenny and Nurse oy were starting to gain some dark spots on them that only added to the problem.
"Like I said. Not like normal flames. Sigliyph. Air Slash."
"Mismagius, Ominous Wind."
"SIgil!" While Jenny and Joy were feeling the aggressive heat of Tartarus, the opposing Pokemon took the chance to attack. Blades of wind and a spiral of foul air had been sent in their direction, however, Arcanine and Blissey were still here.
"Arca!" Arcanine immediately intercepted with Flamethrower, holding back Air Slash while Blissey had used her immunity to Ghost-Type attacks to shove Nurse Joy out of the way, allowing the attack to reach Blissey instead. Or rather, completely phase through her. The impact of Flamethrower and Air Slash resulted in a combustion that made the two vampires look away for a bit.
Despite fending them off, the flames of Tartarus were only getting worse. And the aggressive heat was harming Jenny and Joy to the point where they could only hold themselves.
"Bliss! Blissey!" Blissey spoke to Arcanine, agreeing that it was too dangerous to be around here. The flames were volatile and unnatural, coming from a darker place.
"Arca!" Arcanine agreed as well as he picked up Officer Jenny whilst Blissey picked up Nurse Joy.
"Running away? It's no use. Watch as the flames dance to my melody~" Suddenly, living up to her name, Melody Moon started humming a sweet yet cruel melody. And the moment Arcanine and Blissey ran off with their trainers, Melody's melody had affected the flames themselves.
As if they were listening to Melody's voice, the flames began dancing as the vampire had the power to manipulate them. And with this cruel melody, she then made the move towards Arcanine and the others with a coordinated movement. The flames tore through the area as it threatened the Pokemon living here as well. It was a big route which meant that the fire had more space to roam freely.
"Not bad. You used the falcon's flames to your advantage. Wish I could do that." Bittersweet commented, watching the trail of fire.
"Anything can dance to my song. Opal and Sweet Fang think they've got the best voice, but I think not. Don't tell them that though." Melody continued to speak in the tone of a melody as she and Bittersweet advanced, heading for the town.
The flames were affecting other Pokemon here despite not touching them. Tartarus flames could cause intense heat that could be felt from great distances while piling up in power. Much like how it had put Jenny and Joy to their knees without making any contact and affecting their hearts, it could do many things.
A flock of Starly and Staravia tried flying away from the route, feeling their bodies tremble just from the heat itself. Hordes of Pokemon started fleeing once the heatwave was nearby. Their home was in danger of being attacked, but some Pokemon wouldn't allow that.
As for Jenny and Joy, they by a cave to rest. The dancing flames were still searching for them, but for the time being, they were safe. That is until the flames potentially burn everything down.
"Blissey." Blissey had used Aromatherapy, eliminating the aggressive heat that was threatening them both. Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy took a deep breath once the soothing energy of Aromatherapy came through. However, those dark spots remained for the time being.
"Thank you, Blissey. It looks like we need some more time to deal with these spots." Joy commented, looking at her arm.
"We'll deal with that later. Right now, I need to head to town. The falcon could harm everyone else in there." Jenny said, standing up.
"Hold on!" Joy grabbed her arm, which ended up harming Jenny due to the dark spots. Nurse oy unintentionally harmed someone for once as she pulled her arm away. "S-Sorry! But, you can't go now. Not with all of those spots on you."
"I have to go, Joy. It's my duty as an officer."
"But there are other officers there. I need to rest up myself and you should do the same. These dark spots are unlike anything I've seen before."
"They do twitch...and even with Aromatherapy, I can still feel something coming from them." Jenny looked at the spots, seeing how they were pulsating. The flames from Tartarus were already a handful. From the way they spread, the range they can affect others and the spots that they leave behind. "Even so, I've never been one to ignore my duty. Neither have you when it comes to helping Pokemon."
"Jenny...?"
"Our families are similar. Not just for our vast quantities and our massive family tree, but because we all want to help others. Whether it'd be for justice or just for the sake of genuinely helping them."
"That's true...I've never considered staying behind before. Maybe one of my sisters or cousins have."
"Right now, those vampires threaten all of those ideals we have, don't you see? If they get even one chance of finding Yveltal, everything and everyone we know and love will be gone. Including us. That can't happen."
"You're right! If anything...this all goes against what I and my family strive for! Who cares about some dark spots any-" But the moment Joy decided to exert some energy, the spots pulsated, responding to her energy as it caused her to sit down. "Ow! These are dangerous though!"
"Blissey!"
"Right. We'll have to work around these dark spots. For now, here's what we'll do." Jenny then dug into her pockets, pulling out two more Poke Balls. Out of the came Swanna and Herdier.
"Swanna!"
"Herdier!"
"Swanna. I need you to put these flames out. Herdier. Go with Nurse Joy and Blissey to the town and stop the stones from being taken. The other officers will be there."
"Wait." Joy intervened all of a sudden. "There a Pokemon here as well that are in danger. I'm staying behind to help them as well. You understand, right Jenny?"
"Joy?"
"Don't worry. I'll e fine. I have Blissey here with me after all. You should go on ahead. I protect the forest, you protect the town. That's fair, isn't it?" Joy let out a bright smile of happiness, despite the troubles she was facing.
"Hm." Jenny smiled back. "Alright then. Just stay safe. I'll be back. Swanna. Stay with Joy."
"Swanna!" Swanna saluted. Officer Jenny, Arcanine and Herdier were off, returning to Geosenge Town. However, to make sure that the dark spots wouldn't be a constant detriment to her, Jenny got on Arcanine's back as the Legendary Pokemon would take her there.
Joy would take the forest alongside one of Jenny's Pokemon. Putting out the flames from Tartarus and saving the Pokemon was something they had to get down despite their minuscule numbers. Bt Nurse Joy wasn't one to let that stop her. She's taken care of multiple Pokemon before and saving multiple Pokemon was practically the same thing in her eyes as Blissey helped her up.
However, the moment Nurse Joy was ready to go, the spots started pulsating yet again. But this time, they were far more violent, causing Joy to get on her knees and wince in greater pain. "Aaaaah!"
"Bliss?! Blissey?!"
"There you are~" The voice of Melody Moon had been heard. She was still speaking in a melodic tone to keep the flames moving. And when she let out a melodic tone, the spots pulsated yet again, harming Joy.
"Hrrgh!" Joy grimaced. "S-So...her voice is the one making this constant pain." Nurse Joy had already figured it out with her expertise in health. Indeed, much like how Melody Moon was able to control the flames of the Falcon Demon by humming a melody, she could do the same to the spots since they were connected.
The furious underworld flames had appeared, dancing in a coordinated melody. And walking through the flames that had opened a sizable hole was Melody Moon, appearing once more. alongside Bittersweet. She had found Nurse Joy right near this cave. Joy took a deep breath before standing up again. Blissey and Swanna got right in front of her, becoming her shield.
"Hm? Where's your blue-haired friend~? Or is it light green~?"
"She has an important duty to do. Much like stopping you and what you're doing the same. The same goes for me and stopping this damage to the route." Joy replied, holding her arm, trying to ignore the pain that Melody Moon was sending.
"Aha. But can you do anything with those spots~?" My beautiful voice controls it all, so no matter what, you'll always feel the flames~" She chuckled, sending more pain to Nurse Joy. "It's impressive that someone of such standard flesh can take so much though~"
"I can still do a lot. Especially with my Blissey and the help of Jenny's Swanna. As a nurse, I'm always making sure that others are in good health...but there are times when individuals such as you need to feel some pain." Nurse Joy suddenly grinned, knowing that even she had to battle to inflict some pain, which wasn't common for a Nurse Joy.
"Oooh~ I'm so scared~" Melody Moon wobbled her head, not fearing Nurse Joy's threat. "Sigilyph, Ancient Power~" She commanded while also sending the flames towards her targets.
"Mismagius. Deal with them by using Shadow Ball!"
"Sigilyph!" Sigilpyh and Mismagius would attack with the flames, sending fossiled rocks and a bolt of electricity in unison.
"B-Blissey! Thunderbolt!" Joy commanded.
"Blissey!" Blissey would attack while Swanna would do its own thing. A spark of electricity capable of 100,000 volts came flying out of Blissey whilst Swanna had Water Gun, intercepting the attacks. The four attacks connected, resulting in a smoke cloud of Infinity Energy appearing. It was large enough to be seen from afar.
Especially by Officer Jenny, who was still within the vicinity of the route. She looked back, witnessing the emergence of the smoke cloud, thinking only one thing.
"Joy!"
"Swanna!" After the attacks cancelled each other out, along came Swanna, flying through the smoke and using Wing Attack as it advanced on Mismagius. Mismagius was met with a surprise hit to the body by Swanna's wing.
"Mismag!" Mismagius had been launched back, but not before the flames had suddenly attacked Swanna. Right after it had knocked Mismagius away, the Water-Flying-Type was suddenly wrapped by the flames thanks to Melody's voice.
"Swan?! Swanna?!"
"I don't know the flames won't give them dark spots, but who cares~?" Melody Moon shrugged, intensifying the flames as Swanna was being put inside of a giant fireball.
"I've got the nurse. SIgilyph! Air Slash!" Bittersweet commanded as she spread her wings out, deciding to get close to Nurse Joy. At the same time, Sigilyph sent slashes of wind that would greatly harm an already injured Nurse Joy.
"Blissey!" Blissey was her shield once more, using Protect. A large barrier had been placed around Blissey and Joy, keeping them both safe.
"I wouldn't do that..." Bittersweet smirked as she finally revealed her Curse Magic. With just the flash of her eyes which emanated a mixture of green and red, she manipulated Blissey's Protect.
The barrier that Blissey created had been altered, going from something that protect her, to something that would harm her. The barrier suddenly felt hot. As hot as the flames that were already around this area. Blissey gasped before immediately lowering the shield to keep Joy safe from any further heat. But doing so allowed Sigilyph's Air Slashes to connect, bombarding Blissey as she was in the way.
"Bliss!" Blissey was pushed back as Bittersweet managed to reach Nurse Joy, landing in front of her.
"Like that? First, it was something protective and now it's used against you. My Curse Magic is neat, isn't it?" Bittersweet said to Nurse Joy before stomping her hoof on her leg, preventing the nurse from going anywhere.
"Ugh!" Nurse Joy already had to deal with the spots, but now, there was the issue of Bittersweet being next to her.
"What should we do with you? We could take you back. Having a nurse for our Pokemon can do some wonders...But you'd probably be an appropriate nurse for Magehold if you weren't all flesh. Should we fix that?" Bittersweet revealed her fangs.
"Bliss...Blissey!" However, Blissey was a passive Pokemon for a reason. She could still fight, but her defences made it so that it was almost impossible to defeat her. The moment Nurse Joy had been threatened, Blissey had used the full force of her body, bashing it against Sigilyph.
"Sigil!" Sigilyph was sent flying by Blissey's body tackle. Her body weight was enough to launch Sigilyph back a bit as the Avianod Pokemon crashed into Bittersweet, interrupting her.
"Ouch!" Bittersweet had flinched while also being forced away from Nurse Joy. Blissey then ran to Joy's side, only for the flames from Melody Moon's humming to intercept her.
"Bliss?!" Blissey gasped as she ran into the flames.
"The swan, I get. The same goes for the dog. But how come you aren't getting any dark spots on you~?" Melody Moon questioned as she had also trapped Blissey in a fireball.
"B-B-Blissey...!" There was a good reason for that. Blissey's defences. Her endurance was the key. Even if she was trapped within the fireball, her great endurance and defences would keep her going as she started using Aromatherapy inside of the ball to continuously hold back the heat.
"Swanna!" Swanna had also freed itself, using Aqua Jet within the fireball. Spouts of water flew out, dousing out the flames as Swanna was also unaffected, thanks to her common resistance to Fire. After breaking free from the Fireball, Swanna used the momentum of Aqua Jet to fly directly toward Melody Moon.
"Hm?!" Melody turned around, hearing the sounds of water flowing. She turned around as she was in imminent danger of being tackled by an incoming White Bird Pokemon. A splash of water had been made as Swanna bumped heads with Melody Moon, pushing her away. "Agh! You stupid bird...!"
"Bliss!" Blissey's endurance helped her through the fireball. Since Melody Moon's melody humming had been interrupted thanks to Swanna, the power of it had dwindled, allowing the Normal-Type to break free. After breaking free, Blissey had picked up Nurse Joy, carrying her like a baby.
"Blissey...get us to the rest of the Pokemon. I need to help them now." Joy said as the pain had subsided thanks to Swanna's interference.
"Bliss!" Blissey was already on it. No use in staying here any longer. The other Pokemon were in danger after all. Some of them might not have resistance to the dark spots like Blissey, Swanna and Arcanine.
Swanna would give them a chance for some cover. The White Bird Pokemon had used Water Gun on the ground, causing another splash. This time, it was a radius splash as it acted like a mini-tsunami, flying in the direction of Bittersweet, Melody, Mismagius and Sigilyph.
"As if! Mismagius! Ominous Wind!"
"Mismagius!" Mismagius had pushed the splash away by whipping up a foul wind. However, the attack did its job. Swanna's Water Gun was only meant to serve as a distraction and a way to cover the path that they took. And it worked successfully.
Once Mismagius managed to push the mini-tsunami away, Blissey, Swanna and Nurse Joy were already gone. Not too far from here, but enough to be out of sight.
"They're going to keep running, aren't they?" BIttersweet said as Melody Moon groaned, holding her head. Swanna made a pretty heavy impact to stagger her a bit. Getting hit by a Pokemon attack was not pleasant no matter what. "Come on. Let's go."
"Wait." Melody shook her head as the flames were put on pause for a bit. "Forget them. We'll head for the town instead. I'll leave the flames to that nurse. The stones matter more than anything. ANd besides...that other demon should be there by now."
Geosenge Town.
Indeed, the Ape Demon had shown up at Geosenge Town. And it didn't take a while for the police to be alerted. When Officer Jenny finally arrived at Geosenge Town, she saw the problems this ape was causing.
But that wasn't all. The Falcon Demon was already hearing here in the first place. Much like how it attacked the forest, it also attacked the town, dropping its feathers. The feathers did what they normally do. Blow up and immediately summon a violent fire that could cause these painful dark spots on others.
As for the Ape Demon, strength was greatly impressive as multiple Pokemon attacks from the police were keeping it at bay, but not defeating it just yet. It knocked away the attacks before aggressively slamming the ground, causing some ruckus. Trying to reach the stones was a tricky task as the ground rumbling had knocked the opposing Pokemon away. The strength had also made some rocks pop out of the ground as the people of Geosenge Town had been disturbed. Once the Pokemon were pushed back and the officers had fallen over, the ape took the chance to run towards the stones.
"Flamethrower!"
"Arcanine!" Arcanine attacked the ape from behind with a stream of flames. The ape had been caught off guard, falling over immediately from that blindsided attack.
"Is everyone okay?!" Jenny cried out as Arcanine ran to the fellow officers.
"We're fine. Just a bit of a fall, that's all." Another officer said as the Pokemon got back up. A ground shake wasn't enough to stop them. "But what's happening exactly? What is that Pokemon?"
"I'm afraid the vampires have made their move. And that might be one of those 100 Demons they brought up to us. Is everyone in the city alright?"
"We've evacuated the people the second that creature came along. But these spots on us..." Another officer showed her arm to Jenny. They had already received it.
"That's because of that other demon." Jenny looked up, seeing the Falcon Demon circling the night skies. The Ape Demon was also getting back up, growling as it had been further aggravated. "Our priority is to make sure those pillars don't go anywhere. You know that. But first, I'll call for some backup."
"The other officers from afar?" An officer questioned.
"No. I'm calling for the Ranger Union. Arcanine. Go!"
"Arcanine!" Arcanine would head for the station before it could potentially catch on fire soon. The Ranger Union were just like the police, but they were all in one spot rather than being spread out. Once the Ape Demon got back up, it looked over at Officer Jenny, roaring at her. Arcanine!"
However, the Ape Demon's roar was nothing compared to the roar of an Arcanine. One roar and anyone who witnessed it was stunned. The same goes for a demon as it was taken aback by it. That allowed the police to attack while the ape was charmed by Arcanine's roar.
Geosenge Police Station.
The station was still in good condition thankfully. But these flames would continue until nothing was left. Arcanine managed to get Jenny safely to her destination without any problems.
"T-Thank you, Arcanine," Jenny said. Since Melody Moon was far away from her, the pulsating spots weren't frequent or even as painful. She got off Arcanine, heading for the call centre.
But the Falcon Demon was ordered to give a distraction. That meant everything that threatened the Black Crusade plan. Breaking into this station was the Falcon Demon as it blasted through the walls.
"Herdier?!"
"Arcanine?!" The two dogs gasped as the Falcon Demon arrived, targeting Jenny and her Pokemon. Jenny gasped, witnessing the arrival of this demon that was both fast and highly destructive with just the drop of a feather.
"Keep it busy, you two!"
"Arca!" Arcanine and Herdier would deal with the Falcon Demon while Jenny went for the phone. The two of them made sure that the demon was fixated on them as Herder had used Take Down while Arcanine used Bite.
But the Falcon Demon was a falcon for a reason. It was agile, immediately soaring to the sides and evading both Take Down and Bite at the same time. It would tricky to g against something that could use the air to its advantage, especially after blasting a hole in here.
But, enough time was given to Jenny for her to call them. She dug her nails in the wooden table from the pulsating spots before getting a response from the Ranger Union. She reached one of the people working there as a certain voice had responded to Jenny, belonging to someone who would help in a heartbeat.
The Dread League had struck again. This time at Geosenge Town. After sending two demons from the Box of 100 Demons, they already caused some havoc not just in the town but also on Route 11 which was nearby. The citizens had been evacuated by the police force thankfully, but the threat was ever rising thanks to the actions of Melody Moon and Bittersweet.
Calling for help was Officer Jenny. And the best source of help was focused on the Ranger Union as Jackie was on the phone speaking to Jenny. At the same time, Jenny's Arcanine and Herdier were dealing with the Falcon Demon indoors.
"The Dread League?!" Jackie gasped as Officer Jenny filled him in on what was happening so far. The Dread League, the demons that they had unleashed, the flames from Tartarus and the stones and their importance.
"Right. They've made their move here, finally. We're handling things here at the moment, but if there was a chance for you to find the Dread League, it's now."
"Got it, got it. We'll be there. You said that there are these flames that leave dark spots behind, right? I just need to put something on first and I'll be right there."
"Thank you. Those vampires should still be heading for Geosenge Town despite that demon attempting to grab the stones and make with them. Hurry." Jenny and Jackie finished their conversation as they both hung up. Jackie would be there soon.
"Arcanine!" Meanwhile, Arcanine and Herdier's scuffle with the Falcon Demon continued as the moment Jenny turned around, flames had already spread from the Falcon Demon's feathers. They showed up during her conversation with Jackie.
"Arcanine! Herdier! Are you two alright?!" Jenny ran over. The two of them were doing fine but this Falcon Demon was tricky for them to catch. "Let's finish this. Arcanine! Extreme Speed! Herdier, Hyper Voice!"
"Heeer!" It started with Herdier howling. This howl was strong enough to stun the Falcon Demon from its intensity, making it cry out.
"Arca!" After it was stunned, Arcanine had used Extreme Speed. Moving at speeds that went to the extreme, Arcanine tackled the Falcon Demon with blitzing speeds, knocking it away.
"Now, Flamethrower!"
"Canine!" After tackling the Falcon Demon, Arcanine followed up with a stream of flames. The Falcon Quickly recovered, flapping its wings in retaliation. The wings had clashed with the scarlet flames as it was fire against fire. The feather flames kept rapidly coming, holding back the stream,
"Now, Herdier! Play Rough!"
"Herdier!" Herdier would attack while the Falcon Demon was busy running to the side before then lunging in with a pink aura around its body.
The Falcon Demon turned to see Herdier approach as it lost focus on Arcanine's Flamethrower, allowing the flames to beat out the feathers. Not only that, but Herdier gave the demon a good smack. This combination of attacks resulted in the Falcon Demon being overwhelmed as the impact of Herdier's smack and the blast of Flamethrower pushed the Falcon Demon away, sending it through the hole that it had previously made when breaking in. Afterwards, the energy of Flamethrower had combusted, resulting in a fiery explosion.
The Falcon Demon had flown out of the explosion before losing some of its feathers. But these feathers did not combust for once. Not without the demon's command and will. The Falcon Demon may have destructive power, but it was fairly fragile.
Jenny and her Pokemon rushed over the Falcon Demon started dissipating suddenly. Its body was moulting while also unleashing sparks of ash into the air. Afterwards, the Falcon Demon cawed before getting up, flying away in defeat.
"Get back here!" Jenny cried out, looking up at the Falcon Demon as it was now slow when it came to flying. Arcanine, Fla-"
But the moment Jenny was about to give another command, that's when the Ape Demon interrupted. It smashed the ground, nearly making Jenny and her Pokemon lose their balance in the midst of running. This was one harder to take down than the Falcon Demon. Not only was it just as destructive but it was far more durable than the Falcon Demon, making this one a bigger challenge.
The Ape Demon then ended up grabbing one of the stones at last with its hand while using the other one to block incoming attacks that were trying to force it away.
"Get your hands off that!" Jenny bellowed at the Ape Demon. The Ape Demon thundered at her before then using its other hand to swat an attack in Jenny's direction. The other officers gasped once the attack had been swatted towards Officer Jenny.
"Flamethrower!"
"Canine!" Thankfully, Arcanine had intercepted the attack which turned out to be Swift, burning straight through it with a stream of scarlet flames.
Not only did it beat out Swift, but it had also reached the Ape Demon, attacking its face. The Ape Demon received a scorching hit to the face, prolonging its goal of ripping out the stones. Its grip on one of them attempted to rip it out, but these stones were more seeded into the ground than the Ape Demon was expecting. Super Strength would do the job but not as quickly.
Arriving here at least were Melody Moon and Bittersweet. They were expecting the Ape Demon to have already taken the stones, but that was not the case. Thanks to the Geosenge Police Force, it was being delayed constantly.
"It hasn't taken them yet? That's annoying." Bittersweet commented. "These officers are good at doing their jobs. But..."
"Everyone gets distracted with a little melody~" Melody began her melodic humming and immediately changed the tides of this entire scuffle. Since the officers here were all affected by the Flames of Tartarus that had been dropped from the Falcon Demon's Feathers, they all had those dark spots on them. And much like how Melody Moon's melodies could manipulate the Flames of Tartarus, she could affect the dark spots too.
"Agh!" Jenny felt the true pain of these dark spots as they pulsated, sending the cruel heat of Tartarus through her. And soon, the other officers and some of their Pokemon would feel that pain. Before they could give out another command, the officers and Pokemon fell to their knees or wobbled around, grunting and groaning.
The Falcon Demon had done its job perfectly, allowing Melody Moon to take absolute advantage of the damage it had left behind. Speaking of the demon, it flew back as Bittersweet held the box, opening it for the demon.
"Good work, bird brain. You're totally gonna be needed again one day." Bittersweet said as the Falcon Demon only returned to heal up after Jenny and her Pokemon defeated it.
Thanks to the actions of Melody Moon's humming, the Ape Demon, who was unaffected by the flames, not having a single dark spot on it, could focus on taking the stones. Both the demon's hands gripped onto two of the stones, using its full strength on them. The stones started trembling as the Ape Demon had the capability to eventually rip them out.
"This has been a fun little game of ours~" Melody Moon walked over to the officers and Pokemon who were struggling to keep themselves steady. The only ones unaffected were Arcanine and some Growlithes who were immune the destructive flames.
"Arcanine!"
"Growlithe!"
"Oh, these dogs~" Melody sighed, standing in front of the Fire-Types who barked and growled at them. "It doesn't matter. I can always send others after you~ Like so~"
Just then, under the control of Melody's melodic voice, all the Pokemon that had been drained last night had heard this voice. They had also been evacuated when the town was being attacked, returning to their Poke Balls as their stay at the Pokemon Center had ended.
But the moment they heard Melody's voice, something changed. The Poke Balls of the Pokemon started trembling all of a sudden, alerting their trainers. They looked at their pockets and bags before witnessing their Pokemon exit. It wasn't out of their own volition, or even suddenly having the power to do so. Instead, it was Melody. They no longer felt drained. Instead, they were not only back to normal, but they now only had one trainer in their eyes.
Melody Moon.
"Wait! Furfrou!" A trainer cried out as her Furfrou suddenly started running off, heading to Geosenge Town which was still ablaze thanks to the Falcon Demon.
"Come back, Roselia!" The trainers started going after their Pokemon, wondering why they were suddenly approaching the town. However, it had been cut off. The trainers had been blocked from reaching their Pokemon as a Melody Mon made the Flames of Tartarus slide in, blazing in between the Pokemon Trainers and the Pokemon.
The flames would now affect them since they were close. Soon, the trainers would feel the Flames of Tartarus as those dark spots were already starting to show themselves.
With the Pokemon under Melody's control, they had arrived to intervene with Arcanine and the many Growlithe. The two Fire-Types turned to see the arrival of the other Pokemon. But they were not in their right mind. Right now, they only followed one individual now.
They had gathered around Melody Moon who put on a truly sinister face. So far, the tides had changed in the favour of the Dread League. Even though the Demon Ape was still trying to rip the stones out with its super strength, it was only a matter of time until they would be taken away.
Route 11.
Meanwhile, at Route 11, the Tartarus Flames continued, slowly destroying this beautiful route and the homes of the Pokemon that lived here. Hariyama, Sawk and Throh were trying to put it out but even though they held them back, they didn't have the means to do it so far.
"Swanna!" That was until Jenny's Swanna had used Water Gun, finally showing up to the Pokemon's side. A stream of water had passed by Throh, hitting the flames. Water was truly the only thing that would work against them as Swanna had already previously doused some of the Flames of Tartarus earlier.
"Throh?" Throh and the other Pokemon turned around to see that Swanna along with Nurse Joy and her Blissey had shown up, here to help.
"Everyone! This way, please!" Joy said as Swanna had made a pathway that was free of Tartarus Flames. Once they saw they had a path that was safe, the Pokemon took it immediately, rushing off. The three Fighting-Types stopped what they were doing to follow after the others as Swana continued to spray water on these flames of the Underworld.
Their home wouldn't be completely destroyed now that Swanna was here to douse out the flames, even if it was just one Pokemon. Nurse Joy might not be able to save it now with how it was. She would need more Water Pokemon to make these flames vanish faster and the only place for that was Geosenge Town's Pokemon Center along with all the Pokemon in there.
They were drained, however, and had evacuated the city. Either way, with how things were turning out Nurse Joy could now leave the rest of it to Officer Jenny.
"Jenny. I hope you're doing well back at Geosenge Town."
Geosenge Town.
"Looks like the big ape's finally gonna get them." Meanwhile, back at Geosenge Town, Bittersweet revealed that the ape was nearly finished ripping them out of the ground. "Those stones sure are tough, but nothing beats super strength.
"Victory is within our sights~! Ooh, I could just break out into song instead of humming~!" Melody was getting excited, harming the other Pokemon and the officers as well.
And as she casually spoke, Arcanine and the Growlithe were trying to keep the opposing Pokemon at bay, preventing them from harming their trainers. And as a crimson blaze from the depths of Tartarus colour the land, all seemed grim. And Melody's humming just added to the darkness of this terror as everyone within this city's vicinity writhed in pain, making it enjoyable for the vampires.
"Boomburst!"
But there was another voice that beat out Melody's humming. But it wasn't the voice that shouted out Boomburst. Instead, a massive soundwave that drowned out Melody's humming had arrived, not only startling Melody Moon but also creating a pressure great enough to push the Ape Demon off of the stones, sending it flying back.
"What?!" Melody's melodies had been interrupted yet again as her mane blew violently in the wind. The Boomburst had put everything on pause as the violent flames stopped dancing one Melody stopped humming.
The one responsible for Boomburst was Chatot. And that Chatot belonged to one person, who Chatot had flown to, landing on his shoulder. Arriving here and wearing a special suit was the Pokemon Ranger. Jackie.
"Finally..." Jenny sighed.
"Sorry for the wait." Jackie approached Jenny and the officers as he was unaffected by the flames thanks to the suit he was wearing. Chatot was also wearing a miniature suit. "After what you told me about those flames, we had to find the best suit to negate them. Made one for Casey here, too."
"Chatot! Negate them!" Chatot repeated, also wearing a smaller variation of the suit.
"Who's this now?!" Melody growled, viciously staring at Jackie. As for the Ape Demon, it groaned, putting its hands over its ears as the Boomburst left an impact, stunning it for a bit.
"Are you doing good?" Suddenly, Bittersweet had used her magic, reversing the damage done on Melody Moon by turning it into something sweet. Healing Magic to be exact.
"Fine! Fine!" Melody yelled before keeping her cool. "He just caught me off guard."
"We've been looking for you, Dread League. In partnership with Princess Celesti and Equestria, you're already shaping up to be a handful for both our worlds," said Jackie. "We don't want all life to be wiped out by Yveltal. On both sides. So, you understand that we have to stop you, right?"
"Tot! Stop you, right?!"
"Hmph. If you can. Because right now...you're near the flames~" Melody hummed, harming the others once again, restarting the dancing of the Underworld Flames. However, she soon realized that Jackie was unphased, putting on a smug expression. "What?!"
"Didn't you hear me? The suit. The suit." Jackie tugged his suit.
"Chatot! The Suit!"
"Plus, not only do we have to take you in, but we also need to do something about that box." Jackie then pointed at the Box of 100 Demons that Bittersweet was holding. "Confiscating it is probably the best approach. Of course, it'll be up to Princess Celestia."
"Don't mess with us blondie...I can still get rid of you in other ways!" Sigilyph, Air Slash!" Melody Moon roared at Jackie who had already gotten on her nerves. The Pokemon that she now commanded had continued attacking Arcanine and Growlithe, who were currently the only lines of defence.
"Arca! Arcanine!"
"I'll try and get rid of him as well." Bittersweet stepped up. "Mismagius! Shadow Ball!"
"Mismag!" Mismagius would attack alongside Sigilyph sending out blobs of shadows while along with slashes of air. Jackie was on the move right afterwards as Chatot flew off his shoulder. Jackie managed to avoid them once he dashed away, but that only prompted Sigilyph and Mismagius to pursue him.
"I need to get that box first..." Jackie focused on the box more than anything right now.
"Jack!" Jenny yelled while gripping her arm. "She's controlling the other Pokemon with her voice. "You know what to do!"
"Please, call me Jackie! And I'm already on it." Jackie smiled as another Air Slash and Boomburst were sent his way. "Casey! Aerial Ace!"
"Chatot!" Chatot then flew in front of Jackie when Shadow Ball and Air Slash came his way. The Music Note Pokemon had then used Aerial Ace, moving at confounding speeds. He managed to hit away Shadow Ball, not only being immune to it so he wouldn't have to worry about any recoil damage but he also sent it back at Mismagius. dealing super-effective damage.
"Magius!" Mismagius was hit bits own attack. And after the damage it received previously during the battle with Blissey and Swanna, it had fainted, dropping to the ground. "Mismagius."
"Huh? Hey!" Bittersweet rushed over to Mismagius once it fainted. As for Air Slash, Chatot used the speed of Aerial Ace to fly around the blades of wind. Despite being a shoulder Pokemon, Chatot could indeed battle thanks to his experiences with Jackie, making him a glass cannon. From being a Pokemon belonging to a pirate to now belonging to a Pokemon Ranger.
"Sigilyph! Ancient Power!" Due to Jackie already riling her up, Melody shouted instead of using a sweet melody. This allowed the officers to feel some ease as well, putting them back in the action.
"Sigil!" Sigilyph fought back, using fossilized rock that came from the ground before then unleashing them at the Normal-Flying-Type.
"That's a problem! Boomburst!"
"TOT!" Chatot broke the rocks with a mighty blast of sound. The soundwave had reached Sigilyph after obliterating the rocks, knocking his fellow Flying-Type away. ANd with an attack as powerful as Boomburst, Sigilyph was also down and out, fainting once it crashed down.
"Sigilyph..."
"What?!" Melody Moon bellowed as Chatot made sure it would reach her too, slightly pushing the vampire. Melody turned around as her Pokemon had been defeated as well. Chatot cleared those problems away easily as Melody Moon ran over to Sigilyph. BIttersweet was using her magic to heal Mismagius and soon she would have to do the same to SIgilyph.
"Done and done. The next thing we need to do is this." Jackie then held out his Capture Stylus before facing the Pokemon that were being controlled by Melody Moon. "Capture...on!" He unleashed the Capture Stylus, sending a beam of light that spun like a spinning top.
The opposing Pokemon were too focused on Arcanine and the others to notice what was coming their way. Their attacks had been postponed as the effect of the Capture Stylus had kicked in. Arcanine and the others had stopped as well once the beam of light circled their opponents.
"Nice save, Jackie." Jenny went over to the Pokemon Ranger. The Pokemon had all managed to snap out of it for the time being. The Capture Stylus and Jackie's commands would bring them back to their side. And thanks to Melody's singing being interrupted constantly, the flames were no longer as aggressive.
"The Capture Stylus received some neat upgrades. It's all we need to break that mind control." Jackie then snapped his finger as the light from the capture stylus faded away, leaving the Pokemon. "Just like that. From one mind to another."
"Oh! Roselia!" Roselia's trainer ran over, hugging Roselia. "Why'd you suddenly run off?"
"Roselia?"
"So, that's what it is..." Jackie looked over at Melody Moon. "Your voice is what controls those flames. But you also controlled those Pokemon too. Blocking a Trainer from seeing their Pokemon and controlling them too. Harsh."
"Tch!"
"Come to think of it...you could've controlled the trainers too." Bittersweet pointed out. "They were drained as well."
"You drained the trainers! I drained the Pokemon!" Melody roared at Bittersweet.
"Oh yeah. Nevermind."
"I still have more! Grab those stones, already, ape!" Melody Moon no longer felt like singing in a beautiful melody. All she cared about was getting the stones.
"Casey. You know what to do." Jackie whispered to Chatot
"Chatot! Know what to do!" Chatot flew away from Jackie's shoulder before then approaching the Ape Demon who was still dedicated to ripping out the stones. It managed to move one of them in the process with the second one gradually being lifted.
"I won't let you! Bittersweet! Heal them now!" Melody Moon would return to her melodies, aiming to use the flames against Chatot. Even if they couldn't give Chatot dark spots, they were still flames at the end of the day.
"Think fast!" But Jackie had an answer to that. From his pockets, he had a surprise for Melody Moon. Next to his Capture Stylus, this was his second best object to use. It wasn't even meant for attacking but when he used it on a Team Plasm Grunt, he's found use in it.
A Cheri Berry.
He flicked the berry at high speeds as always, sending it to Melody's mouth. Now was a bad time to have her mouth open especially with all of that anger. With this one chance, the Cheri Berry had entered Melody Moon's mouth.
"A-" Naturally, this was a big target for Melody's voice. She would be interrupted in another way. This time via a berry. She scrunched her face as it turned red from all the heat burning up from within. The berry had already taken its effect. Its spiciness was similar to that of the underworld flames. Now, Melody would know what they felt like. Her eyes widened as she suddenly breathed out fire from the heat. "Hot!"
"Now! Extreme Speed!"
"Arca!" Arcanine took this chance to attack. Moving at lightning speeds, Arcanine had knocked Melody Moon over. Bittersweet had postponed her healing just to help her fellow vampire out. But, it was now that she realized how outnumbered she was.
As for Chatot, he flew next to Ape Demon's ears, doing what needed to be done. Instead of unleashing a powerful attack, Chatot did something less destructive to keep the stones safe. He had used Sing.
By singing into the Ape Demon's ear. The Ape Demon hadn't yet noticed Chatot, too fixated on the stones. But it would never notice Chatot as it felt drowsy now. The grip on the stone had weakened from this beautiful lullaby that was being played.
The Ape Demon yawned, removing its hands before then lowering its head. The Ape Demon then slowly fell on its back, making a loud thud noise as it had been defeated as well. That was two demons down. Bittersweet could see that defeat was imminent. She and Melody were the only ones left.
"This won't happen!" Melody sat up. "Bittersweet! Release all of the demons now!"
"As if! We'll destroy the stones if we cause any more trouble. Let's withdraw for now!" Bittersweet saw that the odds were greatly stacked against them. She opened the Box of 100 Demons, immediately retrieving the Demon Ape back into the box as if it were a black hole.
"You won't escape! Arcanine! Extreme Speed!"
"Arca!"
"We'll get you back for this, for sure," Bittersweet said as she and Melody had turned into bats for quicker mobility. Melody's claws had grabbed onto the Box of 100 Demons, having enough strength to carry it. They took the skies at equal speeds to Arcanine's Extreme Speed.
These vampires called it a night. It was a failed mission. However, they knew about the location of the stones either way. n aggravated Melody felt like hitting something but since it was summer, the Sun would rise faster than usual, making her time here limited. The vampires fled into the night.
"I can't believe we failed...Another progress on Yveltal completely squandered!" Melody groaned.
"It's not a total loss. I managed to snag something." Bittersweet brought some hope.
"What? You did?"
"That Ape Demon couldn't grab the whole thing. But some of the damage left some rubble behind. Like this." Bittersweet revealed that she had some rubble from the stones. "Might as well work with what we have, right?"
"Tch. Fine. We'll return it to the Lich Queen. And next time, some of those crystals." They got something at least. While not the entire stone, it still counted as something. This mission was not a total failure.
But for Officer Jenny and the police, it was a success. The town had been saved along with the preservation of the stones. Granted, there was still some damage thanks to the flames, but for the most part, they were no longer dancing and could be put out now. Some of those Pokemon that had been controlled were Water-Types or at least knew a Water-Type attack.
The trainers could also return to their Pokemon, reuniting thanks to Jackie's efforts and Jenny's recommendation. Things were settling down now at Geosenge Town.
Peace had returned to the town of Geosenge. Repairs were being made as Swanna and other Water-Type Pokemon were putting out the flames. The Pokemon reunited with their trainers as they could continue to rest up.
Nurse Joy made sure that every one this time was healed. The entire town was now her duty to heal them all. The Pokemon Center received minimal damage, making it functional and safe to be at once the flames were put out.
"There. You should feel better now." Nurse Joy said to the Pokemon. She only needed some extra time to heal those who had been drained. But of course, those that had been affected by the dark spots would take some more time. "Everyone. Every single one of those dark spots will be gone soon enough. Hopefully, before the sun rises."
"The hospital's all clear now." Jackie walked up along with Officer Jenny, "The trainers can finish their checkup. Looks like you need that as well, Jenny."
"It's Officer Jenny, please. I'll be at the hospital soon. Wish I could've caught those vampires though..." Jenny sighed. "Oh, well. At least everyone is safe. That's what matters."
"About the vampires. We're still focused on getting that box of theirs." Jackie replied. "Pretty soon, once we get ourselves a big lead on the Dread League, we'll infiltrate their base. And by we I mean me. I've got a Shift Stone ready, all I need is just something to go off."
"I can help with that!" Jenny gasped. "Arcanine and Herdier have been around them at last. They can probably pick up on their scent. Will that do?"
"Hm-hm. Good stuff. Princess Celestia's already thought of that same thing with her Arcanine. It's still pretty tough to reach them even if we have sensory advantages. They seem to know exactly how to hide."
"Oh, take it off your mind for a bit." Joy intervened. "Jenny. Why not just rest? You stayed up all night and you could knock yourself out at any time."
"You're right. I am feeling tired already." Jenny yawned. "We'll chat again, Jenny. Goodnight."
"As for me, I'm preparing to infiltrate a new country. Wish me luck." Jackie grinned before walking off with Chatot.
"Tot! Wish me luck!"
"The next time those vampires show up, I'll be more than ready for them." A determined Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy both said at the same time in their heads, vowing to perfectly deal with the vampires next time. Whenever that chance would come, they'll be ready.
Aside from that, it was back to their regular duties minus the threat of demons and vampires. And most definitely, their family all across the Pokemon World would do the same. Vampire or not. As the journey continues.
"Ninetales..." Ninetales had arisen, sleeping next to his friends. His friends had already started eating before him with food served by Twilight. A bit late but his favourite food was already right in front of him. As if he was never tired in the first place, Ninetales got excited, wagging his nine tails around.
"So. You want to know what that 19th door in the 18 Realms is?" As for Twilight, she was speaking to Ash who had come by today.
"Yeah. That last one's a mystery. I'm just curious about it, ya know. I'll head there soon, but there's some stuff I gotta do first." Ash replied.
"Well, I'll go with you. We have no idea what's inside that extra door. It could be a Type that we've never seen before. But then...that makes the Pokemon School's 18 Types irrelevant, right?"
"Uh, I guess so. Might be something else I think."
"Might be the Unown again. Who knows? So about the Human World. I was thinking of coming there too sometime and..."
"Ninetales." But as those two were having their conversation, Ninetales stuffed his face. But as he was stuffing his face, that's when he heard something. Something spoke inside of Ninetales' head, prompting him to pause his breakfast. "Nine?"
"Hey! I know you can hear me you nine-tailed freak!"
"Ninetales?" Ninetales stood up, looking around for this voice. He wasn't yet aware that it was inside his head. At the same time, Ash and Twilight walked out of the room with the rest of Twilight's Pokemon following. They had just finished their food while Ninetales was still trying to hear that voice. He shrugged it off before walking away.
"Don't you walk away from me! I demand you stop and listen!" The voice inside of Ninetales went on a rant that was filled with nothing but hatred and frustration. And that voice belonged none other to the most recently defeated large threat in Equestria.
Cosmos.
Inside Ninetales' head, she was screaming out, trying to grab Ninetales' attention, but she could only get slight pauses until Ninetales walked along as if nothing happened. As for Cosmos' presence within Ninetales, it all had to do with some certain malicious flames.
Which is exactly what Cosmos was in right now. A realm full of those flames of hatred that she generated but Ninetales had absorbed thanks to Flash Fire. She had two prisons now. A prison in another dimension and a prison inside of Ninetales himself.
"If I had my magic I'd absolutely blast your ears! Curse it all!" Cosmos bellowed in frustration as even here, her magic was locked away. However, as she angrily sat on the floor of malicious flames, she suddenly felt a gravitational pull. "Hm?"
Cosmos' body was suddenly being warped along with this realm as she gasped, standing up to see everything being pulled in one. Cosmos began panicking, looking through the eyes of Ninetales to see the cause of this.
It was a Poke Ball.
Outside and back to reality, Twilight was returning her Pokemon into their Poke Balls, minus Espeon. Ninetales was one of those Pokemon as he shrunk when the Poke Ball was held out and since Cosmos was a part of him, that meant she was being pulled in too.
"Wait! What is this?! Nooooo!" But her voice was cut off once she entered the Poke Ball. Ash and Twilight were already leaving the castle, off to experience another day.
Magehold. Day.
Back at Magehold, the Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta was currently looking at the rubble of rocks and the crystals that Melody Moon and Bittersweet had brought her. After failing to get the entirety of those three mysterious stones, they settled for these instead.
Rosa was fairly disappointed by this, however, she would still work with it. Any chance to find Yveltal was crucial, no matter how small it may be. As for Melody and Bittersweet, they were peeking through the window of Rosa's study room, hoping that what they brought back was useful.
"I can see you two." Despite them being behind her, Rosa could sense the two vampires looking at her, startling them. "Come inside."
"S-Sorry, your highness." Melody Moon apologized before sheepishly opening the door. "But...how goes it? Is it serviceable?"
"It's all we could get after all." Bittersweet added.
"It's fine," Rosa replied. "These crystals are linked to Mega Evolution. And Mega Evolution is linked to Yveltal. It's still something after all. Your job was decent at best.
"D-Decent..." Melody lowered her head, wanting it to be more. But alas, that wasn't possible with how things turned out. Bittersweet felt bitter by this, stomping her hoof.
"But, all the more reason we need the Black Crusade to succeed. The Pokemon World is full of surprises. Not only that, but since we've been away from conflict for so long, we're severely lacking. Melody. You work well with Opal's voice. Bittersweet, the same goes with you and Sweet Fang. The entire Dread Lague is undergoing retraining for years of absent conflict. But of course, once the Black Crusade is a success, all conflict will cease."
"Right, right." Melody Moon chuckled before pouting, still feeling hurt by her performance.
"For now, we'll cease our attacks on the Pokemon World. At least, until we're ready. And perhaps we'll return there if necessary. For now, these crystals might just be the key that we need."
Kalos. Geosenge Town. Day.
Speaking of Geosenge Town, peace had returned to the town along with repairs. Everything went back to normal as if nothing happened last night. All Pokemon and Trainers were healed up, free of those dark spots thanks to Nurse Joy and Blissey along with the other nurses in regular hospitals.
But right now, something was approaching Geosenge Town. A golden light appeared in the azure skies in a flash. This light flew past some of the Flying-Types in the skies before then rocketing to the town of old. This beam of light was a mystery in every way.
A mystery to everyone, however, the light particles around it greatly resembled the light from the Sea Temple's crystals. And that same light that flew out of Ash's comic book.
Just then, the light started to speak.
"In a hurry, he responds to the danger that has been sprouted up, moving across the heavenly skies." The voice had a deep booming effect to it while also speaking as if it was a narration. "When he arrives, he-" But the second the light appeared at Geosenge Town it let out a spark that was meant to replicate a gasp. "Sees that it's all alright?!"
The light had seen Geosenge in a peaceful setting. A large contrast to what happened last night. It involved Flames of Tartarus, two Demons and corrupted melodies. All of that was over now.
"I-I'm too late. Drat." The light sounded greatly disappointed by this. It wished to appear when the conflict was underway. Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny and all the officers along with Pokemon Ranger Jackie had sorted it all out.
"Hm? What's that?!" Officer Jenny spotted the light in the sky as she was at full alert ever since the event last night. The light felt like it didn't need to be here now that all the trouble had gone. It soon zipped away with Officer Jenny watching it ascend.
The beam of light's next destination was unknown. Right now, it was just aimlessly soaring through the skies and nothing more.
"It seems that justice had already been served back there. Now he travels elsewhere to lay out some justice and hopefully isn't one day late or one week late like last time. "From the way it reacted to Geosenge's peace, its alignment was already set, bu ut no one else knew about that. At least, that would be the case. But there was one entity who knew about its existence and what it is.
Intercepting the light's movement was another booming force greater than it. The Rift. The Rift had covered the light in an aura of Rift Energy, keeping it in one spot.
"Gasp! He's been stopped in his tracks! A mysterious energy has held him back!"
"Enough with your narration already." The Rift finally appeared before the light. Still to this day, Ash's effect on the Rift had left it weakened, forcing it to regenerate and stay out of the picture with almost nothing to do for a while. The RIft managed to regenerate parts of itself, but that Aura was like poison to it. "I need you more than anything right now."
"You do?" The light responded to the Rift. If someone were to be nearby, it would look like two forms of energy were speaking to each other. Which is exactly what it was.
"Yes. I really do." The Rift had used its energy to affect the light, making it grunt. The Rift had recovered enough power to do something new as a flare of cosmic energy had burst out of the light. The Rift had another plan. And whatever it may be, chances are, it was all directed toward Ash.
No longer was it a goal to see some entertainment and create scenarios that would keep the Rift amused. Now, it was just pure vengeance as this light particle was the Rift's first major plan to target Ash.
Equestria. Ponyville. Sweet Apple Acres. Afternoon.
Over at Sweet Apple Acres, something new had been placed there. It was hard to miss considering its size as it originally came from space itself and crash landed at Pegalysium. And soon, it was brought back to Equestria and kept at Sweet Apple Acres.
That of course was one of the meteors from Meteor Mountain. And this one had the spirit of Pear Butter and Bright Mac, meaning that no matter what, Applejack and her siblings could always see their parents. It was like they had never left. And thanks to Aura being able to activate it, their astral projections had popped up, making them visible.
"King Paramount was kind enough to let us keep this. Who am I kidding? He didn't care at all." Applejack shrugged. "Too wrapped up at the moment with his parents to even think about it. So he let us take it home since it has our parents."
"Really now..." A stunned Fluttershy was amazed. "So, there are other meteors like this back at Pegalysium? Does it have everyone?"
"Kaleidoscope said that new meteors drop commonly. So, there's more to come with more spirits showing up." Ash explained. "But I wonder if that mountain can hold every single meteor that comes down?"
"Pikachu..."
"Maybe now. Since King Paramount and Applejack along with a few others took those meteors with them, they'll have some space. And with more spirits showing up, that mountain won't have to worry when others come and fetch them." Twilight replied. "But it has me all curious...what's beyond there? The Omen Meteor is somewhere out there in space and I'd love to see it."
"We've got that Arceus staircase that's gonna go into space soon and find Jirachi, right?" Applejack added. "Shouldn't we just use that?"
"You're going into space?" Pear Butter said with widened eyes. She then looked at Bright Mac as that was a surprising leap in life. Space is considered the Final Frontier after all.
"When it's finished, of course. We still need to get some spacesuits for that." Twilight responded. "But you know...it's weird what I'm getting recently."
"What is it, Twilight?" Fluttershy turned to her.
"Something tells me that Pegalysium and Meteor Mountain weren't there before."
"Say what?" Ash and the others equally said.
"It's so strange." Twilight Sparkle pondered. "They exist, but ever since I got Rift Magic, something's been telling me that they were never here in the first place. As if these meteors and that entire nation and other things that we know are completely new."
"They are new. Right?" Fluttershy was trying to follow this. "We just learned about Meteor Mountain. And Pegalysium's still somewhat new to us."
"I know. But I think I've figured it out." Twilight grinned as everyone leaned in. "It might have something to do with the original timeline. We might be seeing new additions that have weaved their way into the past. It's the same thing with BigTime Ben."
"Oooh..." Ash and the others were following while Bright Mac and Pear Butter simply nodded as if they understood what was going on.
"But, we'll have to wait and see if that's true." Twilight squeed. "I mean, a part of me believes that the Dread League were always here."
"You do that. Pikachu and I are gonna head out. Twilight...or I guess the other Twilight? Hmm...I'm gonna need to make these names easier for me?" said Ash as he wanted to find an easier way of saying both Twilight's names.
"I for one would like Twilight Prime." Twilight already had something, proudly letting out a cheesy grin as Applejack shook her head. "If that's okay with you."
"I got it! She's amazing at science so I'll call her Sci-Twi. Does that work?"
"Well, it's something." Fluttershy couldn't argue against that name at all as Twilight, Bright Mac and Pear Butter laughed.
"Rolls of the tongue nicely so there's that." Applejack agreed.
"Pikachu..."
"Well, we're off. See ya soon!" Ash and Pikachu were off to the parallel world. Most likely, Alpha Pokemon-related.
"Wait, Ash! If by some chance you overexert yourself and head for that 19th door, tell my counterpart to use the Xtransceiver!" Twilight shouted, giving Ash a heads-up.
"Will do, can do!" Ash gave his final word before it faded into the distance.
"All this talk about Aura, otherworlds and counterparts is too much." Bright Mac shook his head.
"Mhm. What happened here while we were gone? " Pear Butter questioned.
"Well..." Twilight figured that now was a good time to tell them everything. From start to finish as she used her magic to bring over a log for her to sit on. "Let me start from the beginning. So, it happened just one day after we defeat Discord."
Gorebyss Cove.
Gorebyss Cove was another water-centred location in Equestria that was the cause of the Pokemon adapting to this world and changing the land itself. This sea was vast and connected to other nearby seas within Equestria's waters, located south of here.
Aside from the obvious Gorebyss living here, this was a cove, so other Pokemon of different kinds and habitats would show up here. A group of Chimchars had already made this place their home, swinging from the trees that were surprisingly plentiful. Not as plentiful as the flowers here which were graced by the Sunflora and the Bellossom.
This place didn't have a gateway though. But that was all about to change thanks to the guards from Canterlot. The Chimchar stopped what they were doing to curiously look at the guards as they were all holding new Travel Spheres.
Made by the Ranger Union, of course.
"Alright then. Open up a gateway that connects to Hoenn." The guards looked at a letter that was made by Princess Celestia as they were here under orders. "The overabundance of water made by the Pokemon could flood parts of Equestria, so there has to be a gateway in between."
"This works, doesn't it?" Another guard said. This cove has the least amount of water, so we can send the incoming waves here and let them go to Hoenn. No shortage of water there."
"Apparently, there's this bottomless part in the Hoenn Region that makes it so that it never floods if there's too much water coming in. Do you think it might have something to do with that Legendary? Kyogre?"
"Maybe. Haven't seen it to know so."
"How's this possible though? What caused this?" Another guard asked, curious as to how this problem sparked up.
"Might have something to do with the invasion or Cosmos. Either one. It's not a full problem yet, but we should stop it before it does become one. Princess Celestia said that the water should drift elsewhere until the problem's sorted up. Her majesty's already cooking up a new spell that she can make for this issue."
"Can she do that? I never knew her magic was that great. That's amazing!"
"She's apparently unlocked new magical capabilities than what the original timeline of her was. Or something like that. For now, let's open up a gateway to Hoenn and send it there. Then, the People of the Water will help sort the rest out." A guard held the Travel Sphere up, aiming it at the sea.
"Hold it!" Suddenly, a voice boomed, stopping the guards from doing anything else. The guards and their ears twitched as they looked up to see the origin of this sound, including the Chimchar and the other Pokemon living here.
It was the golden beam of light that resembled the energy from the Sea Temple's crystals. It appeared once more, this time, in Equestria as it was approaching this spot. Once again, the voice within was narrating.
"Moving at great speeds, he makes his entrance right on time before the sphere can be used. And with a flash, he lands!" The voice narrated exactly what was happening and what would happen next.
Just like it said, the light flashed to the ground, performing a landing that made the guards and the Pokemon close their eyes. The light landed specifically on a hill instead of the lower sections. A slight wind pressure had been made too.
And once that light had finally descended, the voice within was given a visage. The Canterlot Guards gathered themselves before narrowly squinting their eyes, trying to see what was within it.
A silhouette popped up first. A silhouette of a man that had stood up tall, putting his hands on his lips while balling them into fists. A cape swooshed gracefully within the light as the energy was finally dispersing.
"W-Who are you?!" A guard questioned.
"Hm? That is a good question! Allow me to introduce myself!" The voice spoke, managing to keep the light around for a bit as he suddenly started posing. "A flash in the cosmos! A light appears before the world to heed its sorrow and plea! From spacetime itself, I appear!"
"What?" A guard took off her helmet, a bit taken aback by what she and the others were hearing. The light suddenly let off explosions behind the visage that were not destructive at all. They seemed somewhat playful.
"The Superstar!" The light then expanded before finally revealing the man within and his full appearance, further befuddling and surprising the guards along with the Pokemon.
"Galaxy Master!"
"..." Total silence filled the air for a bit as even the energetic Chimchar couldn't help but pause completely at this sight. Everything about that sequence was new to them.
"Oh brother, who's this chucklehead?" One of the guards said, not impressed by what he saw.
"Now!" Galaxy Master vigorously pointed his finger at them with such enthusiasm behind his voice. "Drop that sphere immediately!"
"Huh?" The one holding the sphere had a reasonably confused expression. "W-Wha- who are you even to say that? You just showed up out of nowhere!"
"What do you want with this sphere?"
"I've been sent by a troubled soul who has felt nothing but pain." The man in a Superhero outfit clenched his fist, seeming emotional by it. "The Rift, as it's known as. Where there are those who feel pain and require help, I'll be there!"
"You were sent by the Rift?!"
"Precisely! That sphere holds its power, does it not? I'll be taking it away and preventing you all from opening another one of these gateways now."
"As if. You've already made us decide what to do about you. Working for the Rift requires you to be under arrest. You'll be sent to Princess Celestia immediately." Even though they were taken aback by this character, they already knew what to do once they heard about the Rift.
"Hm-hm! Tell your monarch that will not happen." Galaxy Master crossed his arms, wagging one finger in denial. "I plan to restore what was missing. And you've all been busy these past 3 years. Everything you've done shall be toppled!"
"That's a definite threat." The guards nodded in unison before then unleashing their Poke Balls into the air. ut of them came their Golurks, ready to apprehend this colourful character.
"Golurk!"
"Summoning your Pokemon? Then in that case..." He had another surprise for them. By raising his arm, he suddenly summoned a flash of blue energy that made a thunderous sound. This pillar of energy flashed onto his hand when it came from above as another wind pressure was summoned.
"What now?!" The guards exclaimed as some of them had been blown away slightly.
"Come! My friend! Pikachu!" He cried ut the name of a Pikachu as lo and behold, once it touched his hand, he then thrust it forward, shooting out a smaller beam. As if he had special magic of his own, that beam hit the ground, rapidly forming a familiar figure of a friendly Pokemon.
"Pikachu!" He summoned a Pikachu.
"Huh?!" The guards grouped together as this colourful and strange man had summoned a Pokemon from the skies themselves. They would've at least expected a Flying-Type to appear from the skies. "D-Did he just create a Pokemon?"
"No! He summoned it!"
"But that's a pretty stupid choice though...We have a lot of Golurks. He just has a Pikachu." One guard pointed out how much of a disadvantage this was. Pikachu was an Electric-Type after all and all of them were Ground-Types.
"Oh, yeah. Good point. Golurk, apprehend him. And I guess the Pikachu too. Shadow Punch!"
"Golurk!" The Golurk had all extended their arms by turning them into shadows that had great reach. Easy for both physical combat and restraining someone.
"It's best not to underestimate those that are small! Go, my friend! Unleash your Water Stream!"
"Pika...Pika!" And by what he meant Surf. This Pikachu had access to Surf. Pikachu jumped into the air, but instead of summoning some water, he had suddenly used the water in the surrounding area of all things. As if he could manipulate water itself, he pulled the water from the Gorebyss Cove to his arms, using it as his own power. "Chu-Pi!"
Pikachu had then unleashed the water that he controlled, sending a strong stream of it. The stream had overpowered the shadow arms, drowning them out as the Golurk were then blasted by this alternate variation of Surf.
"G-Gol!" The Golurk had been carried away by the stream of water, taking super-effective damage as the guards were in danger of being carried by the stream as well
"Quick, Golurk! Earthquake!"
"Golurk!" Some of them Golurk managed to withstand the stream before then smashing their hands on the ground. The Chimchar were loving this as a battle had broken out. Golden shockwaves broke through the stream just to try and reach Pikachu.
"I think not! My friend! Light Speed!"
"Pikachu!" He meant Extreme Speed, which is what this Pikachu also had. Pikachu took off, utilizing his speed to the fullest. IN a flash, Pikachu had a yellow flash around his body before he then moved at the ferocity of a lightning bolt. He moved so fast that he managed to pass through some of the shockwaves before they could register, evading them.
"Hah! They're Ghost-Types, so that's still pointless! Dynamic Punch!"
"Lurk!" The Golurk came together for one big Dynamic Punch, fixating int on Pikachu, who managed to avoid their Earthquake surprisingly with just one Extreme Speed.
"So you say? Pikachu! Show them a big wave! Water Stream!"
"Pikachu....!" Pikachu stopped in front of the Golurk, looking up at their Dynamic Punches. The moment they came down, Pikachu suddenly put his hands up. The fists of the Golurk crashed down on Pikachu's hands, but they were surprisingly held back.
The guards couldn't believe their eyes. Dynamic Punch had been held back by a Pikachu, who wasn't even using an attack. At least, until now. Once he had a hold of their arms, he wagged his tail, using it to manipulate the water this time instead of his arms. A bigger wave was incoming from different directions. And the guards were within range.
"This is the big finish!" Galaxy Master roared, pointing ot the sky as Pikachu managed to crash each stream into the guards and the Golurk. The Golurk received the worst of it all, receiving another super-effective hit as the stream transformed into a whirlpool, finally carrying the guards.
"Oh! Aaaaaah!" The guards were sucked into the whirlpool with their Pokemon, receiving a turbulent ride. Pikachu did a stylish backfliped that resulted in him posing right after he stuck a landing.
"Pika!"
"That's game." Galaxy Master declared this battle over. And indeed, it was.
The power behind that Surf was stellar as the guards felt dizzy right afterwards. Their Golurks had also fainted in the process with water dripping all over them. The Travel Sphere remained intact, immune to water. Galaxy Master walked up to retrieve the Travel Sphere, officially claiming it after his big victory.
"Well done, my electrifying friend. I believe this is the start of a great team-up." Galaxy Master said to Pikachu, who had excitedly jumped onto his shoulder.
"Pika-Pikachu! Pika!"
"Ooh, I Know! How about this addition?" The man in the costume had then waved his arm around, summoning a red cape around Pikachu to give him that superhero flare. "Now, you're really showing power."
"Pika!"
"This is one of many. But for now, this mission is a success! We got a Travel Sphere!" He raised the sphere into the sky as Pikachu celebrated with him.
"Pi-Pikachu!"
"Why you..." A guard said, crawling over Golurk. "You'll hear from this from Princess Celestia..."
"I think not. I'll be taking this now. As for you all...hmm...I suppose I can only leave you here. You are the law of this world after all. Come, Pikachu! There's more for us to do!" Galaxy Master's work here was done. His exit was similar to his entrance. He became a body of light again and this time, Pikachu became one as well.
With a flash, they were gone, leaving behind the guards and the Golurk to lay there defeated. They groaned before having the Chimchar hop over with curiosity.
"Chimchar?" The Chimchar patted the guards on the head, surrounding them and their Golurks. Total defeat by a mysterious man and his Pikachuthat came from the skies. It was amusing to the Chimchar despite what had happened.
And of course, Galaxy Master was sent by the Rift, who was obviously behind all of this. The Rift secretively peeked through the clouds, watching how the Galaxy Master was already off to a strong start. This was all part of his plan and vendetta against Ash. It was a unique way to start his revenge but every revenge, no matter how bizarre, are always filled with rage and animosity. Including something as campy as this.
"He's off to a great start. This is the best approach I could've thought of. Just you wait, Ash Ketchum. I'll ruin everything you have by something that you created."
"Ah, Ash. Heading to the Human World again?" Celestia spoke to Ash and Pikachu, who were currently making their way to the Human World, just to see Twilight. Or as Ash just now thought of, 'Sci-Twi'.
"Sure am." Ash turned to Celestia before putting his foot through the mirror. "We'll be back soon as always."
"Ah, perfect timing! I was thinking of doing the same."
"You're gonna go through too, Celestia?"
"Of course! For two major reasons. For one, I want to appear as a human and know what it feels like. The closest is when I become Celestial-Gardevoir. ANn two...it's the only way I can be taller than you without special rules."
"Gah!" Ash gasped, realizing that for the longest time, he had always been taller than Celestia by one inch, minus Celestial-Gardevoir. His days of being the tallest could come to n end once Celestia passes through that gateway.
"Hm-hm." Celestia playfully laughed. "We'll see who's large and powerful this time, Ash."
"Gardevoir." Passion rubbed her hands while standing next to Celestia as they both had that mischievous look on their faces. Although Passion was always taller than Ash.
"I'm not sure why you're laughing Passion. I'll be your height when we get there." Celestia added.
"Garde!" Gardevoir's laughter was cut off as she also came to that realization. This friend group had a great obsession with being large and in charge. Being taller than the other was surprisingly addicting to them.
"Darn it." Ash lowered his head before facing the portal. "Alright. Let's go."
"Pika-Pika."
"Splendid~!" Celestia playfully replied as she, Passion and Arcanine eventually passed through the portal along with Ash and Pikachu going first. It was off to the Human World and Ash already knew what to expect thanks to the existence of Principal Celestia.
The Human World. Canterlot High. Afternoon.
Entering this world yet again were Ash and Pikachu, here to see some friend of theirs. Since it was summer in this world as well, Summer Vacation had come up for the students of Canterlot High, making the school less populated. But they would still hang around here from time to time.
Entering here, Ash could hear the silence of the area. This was the quietest Canterlot High has been. But that wasn't on his mind. He knew what was coming next the moment Celestia passed through the gateway.
Once Celestia emerged, she wasted no time and started focusing on only herself and nothing else. There won't be anything close that can rival the curiosity she had about her human form.
"Ooh...Look at me!" Celestia admired her human form, gazing at her dainty fingers. She then noticed she was wearing a white jacket with yellow line patterns that were befitting of royalty. "And this outfit is wonderful! Not too shabby."
"You look so cool!" Ash, Pikachu, Passion and Arcanine admired Celestia's human getup. It helped that the Sun was focusing on her.
"Pika-Pika!"
"I certainly do." And Celestia was proud of it, making her jacket flow in the wind with some magic. It was just as surprising as Celestia was able to easily use magic despite coming here for the first time. "Alright then! Now that I'm here, I've been itching for some exploration. What kind of fun things can I find here?!"
"Do you wanna start with this school right here? Or, you're probably thinking of something bigger, right?"
"You know me so well, Ash. Come along then!" Celestia then pointed to the distance. "Take me to this world's Twilight Sparkle! Oh, that felt good to do with an arm!" She was also just having a good time, experiencing a new form. This human form certainly had more fingers than Celestial-Gardevoir. That was one bonus.
Ash led the way as Celestia and her Pokemon followed. Since there were still students hanging around here, they would notice Celestia easily and believe her to be their principal. Speaking of Principal Celestia, when walking out of the building, it was only inevitable for her to meet her counterpart one day.
Upon exiting the school, her eyes were fixated on the familiar figure. She gasped for a moment, seeing her counterpart walking alongside Ash, having a conversation. Celestia rubbed her eyes, wondering if this was real. It was. But to Principal Celestia, after knowing about the existence of two separate Twilight Sparkles and Sunset Shimmers, this wasn't too surprising. It was just that she wasn't expecting to see herself today.
"Woah...how'd you do that?" A student went up to the principal, believing that she pulled off a magic trick to make this happen when that was not the case.
But, getting to Twilight's Home wasn't instant. As the second Celestia went out into town, she recognized familiar faces right off the bat. This was Canterlot's counterpart after all. Canterlot Town. She saw so many familiar faces here. She's used to seeing alternate versions of her, Twilight, Luna and Cadence but not of everyone else.
She stopped by to see all these counterparts, greeting them and even seeing the parallels to certain stores back in her world. Naturally, some of them were students that went to Canterlot High but chose to stay home during their vacation. TO them, it was bizarre that their principal would come by with such enthusiasm. Even if she wasn't.
Canterlot Town was not just a parallel to Canterlot but Ponyville, making it a double parallel. This meant that she would recognize some Ponyville residents here.
"Hey, Ash!" One of this town's residents waved over at Ash. That being Fluttershy. She ran over, currently holding an egg in her arms. A Pokemon Egg.
"Hey, Fluttershy! How goes that egg?"
"Good so far. I've been feeling some wobbling from it, so whoever's in there is almost ready to come out one day." She looked at the egg as it was shaking within her grasp. "Oh, you're with Principal Celestia?"
"Ah, Fluttershy. Good to meet you in this world!" Celestia replied enthusiastically. "You see, I'm your Celestia's counterpart. Not actually from this world."
"Ooh...The majestic jacket would make sense then."
"It does, doesn't it?" Celestia flaunted her jacket some more. "So, since you have an egg, do you have a place for Pokemon too?"
"Uh...if you mean my home then sure. A lot of them flocked to my home. I tried taking them to the Animal Shelter but...they're not the same as animals. For the most part." Fluttershy chuckled. "But...what Pokemon are those two?"
"Meet Passion, who's a Gardevoir." Celestia wrapped her arm around Passion, who was now around her height as both of them gave thumbs up.
"Gardevoir!"
"And my lovely Arcanine." She then rubbed Arcanine's back, making him pant.
"Arca! Arcanine!" Arcanine seemed more elated by a back rub than ever before and Celestia would capitalize on this.
"Oh? What's this? Human hands are more effective, eh? In that case..." A sly look came to her face as she continued to rub Arcanine's back> "How's this?!"
"Canine!" Arca!" Arcanine was loving it as he then turned to lay on his back, wanting a belly rub. Celestia granted him that wish, giving him an advanced belly rub that greatly pleased the Legendary Pokemon.
"Who's a good boy?!"
"Lucky...You have such beautiful Pokemon. Like her." Fluttershy then looked at Gardevoir who was by far the tallest Pokemon she had met so far. "Uh, hello."
"Gardevoir." Gardevoir waved before putting her hand on Fluttershy's head.
"Oh, is this a special greeting for this species?" Fluttershy chuckled once Passion patted her head.
"Voir!"
"There are so many things I want to try as a human. Such as those stellar poses you do when you battle. I have my limitations as a pony but now..."
"Now, you can do it. Pose anyway you like." Ash encouraged. "Make it look cool!"
"Pikachu!"
"That's the plan, Ash."
"This Celestia's more excited than I ever would've thought." Fluttershy was genuinely surprised to see how enthusiastic this counterpart was. Her Celestia was already enthusiastic, but this was at a new level.
"Surprising, isn't it? Something similar must've happened to your world's Celestia." Celestia replied, continuing to give Arcanine belly rubs.
"Something similar?" Fluttershy repeated. "Not sure. I don't know her that well."
"Well, I'm a princess back in my world. The ruler of an entire country known as Equestria. And being a ruler, you have the power to do anything, but rarely do you get to experience everything. My royal duties would limit me to what I could do. I didn't get to experience many fun activities in my youth. I missed out on so much."
"Oh, I see..."
"But now, that's no longer the case. Pokemon coming into my life was the best thing that could've happened! I've never felt freer and live! I can do so much and experience whatever I can! These past 3 years have been some of the most entertaining moments in my life. And I'll take every opportunity I can."
"Wow! You're also a princess?!" Fluttershy gawked as she had a new admiration for this counterpart.
"Mhm. Oh, I may have wasted a bit of time now that I realize. I have to meet up with Twilight." Celestia stood up. "Lead the way again, Ash."
"Sure thing. We won't be far from here. Today might be another day we search for Alpha Pokemon. But that means you'll get to see Twilight's Alpha Pokemon too."
"Ah, right. Bigger than their usual species, correct? I also wish to see that Sunset Shimmer who's apparently in juvie."
"Are you sure you want to see her too?" Fluttershy questioned.
"My curiosity knows no bounds. Let's get rolling!" Celestia walked off with her hands high in the air, too elated and thrilled to even think about anything else but exploring this strange new world. Ash would still lead the way, but now Fluttershy's curiosity had been piqued as she decided to come along.
Luna had just returned from another day of practice with her Pokemon. Her royal duties were mainly available during the night so she was free to train during the day and afternoon. Although, practice does tend to exhaust her.
"That's another day done. The Equestria League is so close. I wish everypony would catch up already. I just have to deal with the final gym and I'll be ready
"Y-You're highness..." Suddenly a voice spoke out to Luna, grabbing her attention. Luna turned to see a hoof poke out of the corner. It was the hoof of a guard as more of them showed up, dripping water on the ground. They all then showed themselves as they were currently wet and dizzy.
"Hm? Ah! What happened?!" Luna rushed over to them. She used her magic to bring over a couch, causing them to rest on it before they could hit the hard ground.
"It was bizarre, your highness..." A guard spoke, removing her helmet. "Just bizarre."
"It must be. You're all wet and dizzy. Was it at the Gorebyss Cove that you were sent to?"
"It was...we were supposed to open a gateway in between the seas of Gorebyss Cove and Hoenn so that the water would flow and renew."
"Well, it looks like you were all successful with all of this water around you. It must've been trickier than expected."
"No. This isn't the cause of that. Someone intervened and stopped us from doing so...He had a Pikachu he suddenly summoned from the skies...It used the water against us and..."
"I'm sorry what?" Now Luna was starting to learn the reason as to why they were like this.
"Some sort of costumed character working for the Rift..." The guards were so perplexed to the point where making it cohesive wasn't happening at the moment. "He had some nice poses and a way of speaking too."
"Hold on, hold. Let me try and understand all of this. Start from the beginning. What's this about the Rift and a Pikachu?" Luna questioned. The guards would all start from the beginning and make it clearer for the Princess of the Moon to understand.
The Human World. Twilight's Home. Afternoon.
"Ash! Pikachu!" You're here!" Finally, Ash and Pikachu had arrived, prompting Twilight to rush out of her home. Joining her were all of her Alpha Pokemon, minus Rapidash who was sitting outside as always.
"Luxio!" Luxio leapt at Ash, giving him a hug. Munchlax rushed to Ash, already sensing some food in his bag that he wanted personally. Hisuian Zorua sat on Twilight's shoulder, gently waving at Ash and Pikachu.
"Hey, Luxio! Everyone!"
"Great that you showed up now. You too Fluttershy and...P-Principal Celestia?"
"Hi-hi!" Celestia greeted this counterpart of Twilight. "Nice to meet you!"
"Oh, uh...I didn't expect you to be here. Especially during summer. But I guess since it's summer, it would make some sense. W-What are you doing here?"
"Ah, I'm not your Celestia. I come from the parallel world. But I'm a Celestia all the same." Celestia walked up to Twilight. "I've heard about you, Twilight. And everything in this world from my Twilight, Sunset Shimmer and Ash. You've had quite the experience in the world."
"It's an experience for sure." She laughed before shaking Celestial's hands. "And you have some interesting Pokemon with you. One of them is...very tall."
"I know. Passion is tall since she's a Gardevoir. But I doubt it compares to your Alpha Pokemon that I've heard about. And speaking of which., let me get a look at these little darlings." Celestia fixated on Munchlax and Luxio, who were the only Alpha Pokemonthat respected Twilight.
"Lux. Luxio!" Luxio stood tall in front of Celestia while Ash had passed Munchlax some food.
"Pokemon that are much bigger than their usual species...and I can certainly see that." Celestia kneeled to face Luxio. "This Luxio is around the same height as a Luxray. In my world, I'm bigger than both a Luxio and a Luxray. But Luxray is close to my height. I can only imagine how tall this one will become when it evolves."
"Lux!" Luxio couldn't wait either.
"And your Munchlax here could be a giant when it becomes a Snorlax. It's a lot to look forward to, isn't it?"
"It is. And you're a Celestia that knows a lot about Pokemon, don't you?"
"Oh, I do." She put on a grand grin before facing Twilight. "And more. Including magic. Equestrian Magic already exists here...but you've yet to really see the wonder that is Pokemon Magic."
"Pokemon Magic?! That exists?!"
"OF course it would. With how unique Pokemon are, why wouldn't they? Passion here has magic since she's a Fairy-Type. The more Alpha Pokemon you catch and the more about Pokemon you experience, the more you'll see. That's the beauty of Pokemon that I came to discover these past three years."
"And we're going through it together." Ash walked up to Twilight. "There's an adventure into the unknown waiting out there, Twilight. I'll show you sights in such a beautiful world, that's for sure."
"Pikachu."
"I'm looking forward to it all the same. Right, Spike? Zorua?"
"Arca! Arcanine!" But right now, Spike and Zorua were occupied with Arcanine and Fluttershy. Since they were both dogs, it was only natural for Spike and Arcanine to start playing, chasing each other while Fluttershy held Hisuian Zorua.
"Yeah, sure, Twi-" Spike was interrupted when Arcanine pounced on him. Being distracted was a big mistake. "Aw!"
"Arcanine!"
"So. You called about an Alpha Pokemon, right, Sci-Twi?" Ash asked.
"Huh? W-What did you just call me?"
"It's new. I made a nickname since I know two Twilights. Since you're so great at science, how does Sci-Twi sound?"
"It sounds...pretty catchy. Rolls off the tongue too. But maybe cal me that when there's more than one me around." Twilight squeed.
"Sure, thing, Twilight."
"Speaking of Alpha Pokemon...this must be your Rapidash I've heard about." Celestia then turned her attention to Alpha Rapidash. Rapidash for the most part was trying to ignore all of this ruckus until Celestia approached her. "Hello there~"
"Rapidash?" Rapidash opened her eyes before then spotting Celestia coming her way. The Fire Horse Pokemon stood up tall, showing her majestic height as she was currently Twilight's largest Pokemon.
"Oooh...You're a big and healthy girl, aren't you? Just as tall as they made you out to be." Celestia nodded in approval. "Wish I was that tall back home..."
"Oh, yeah! Ash! Professor Oak contacted me. He said there have been some new Alpha Pokemon sightings in Unova. It might be the same Pokemon that Carlita said she saw." Twilight uttered.
"Unova, huh? We already have a gateway that leads there. What are we waiting for? Let's do this!"
"Oooh!" Celestia slid in between the group. "We're going on a new adventure? How fun!"
"Do you wanna join, Celestia?" Ash asked.
"Hey. It's Principal...Or I guess Princess Celestia." Twilight replied. "Call her by that, Ash."
"It's fine. Ash always calls us by our normal names. Makes us feel like we're part of the ground. And indeed I'm coming along. I don't have any important duties today so I'm available. I want to see a new Alpha Pokemon for myself as well. Come on, the day is still young...but before that. There's one thing I want to try.
"What's that?" Fluttershy asked.
"This." Celestia then backed away as Passion knew what was coming. By digging into her hair, she revealed her Mega Stone. And thankfully, the crown fits her in this world as she used her magic to change the mould from a crystal to a stone.
"What's going on?" Twilight asked as she and Fluttershy were about to see something great happen.
"Here goes." Celestia then placed the stone in her crown before then beginning the process of Mega Evolution. Upon placing it there, a flash of yellow energy flared out, startling Twilight, Fluttershy, Spike and the Pokemon while Ash and Pikachu watched casually.
The light had lit up the entire area, including Twilight's home as golden sparks were flying everywhere. A solar gold outline had also covered both Celestia and Passion to prevent fusion.
"Passion. Respond to my heart! Go even further beyond! Mega Evolve!" Celestia shouted, pointing to the skies as she felt a great sense of euphoria from doing this. She then aimed her hand forward, pulling off the poses that she wanted to do.
"Garde...Voir!" Mega Evolution was taking place as Passion's body began to alter. A flash of colours flew by, changing the Embrace Pokemon. For the first time, Twilight and Fluttershy would witness Mega Evolution. And bursting out of this overload of Infinity Energy was none other than Mega Gardevoir in all of her mystical glory.
"Gardevoir!"
"M-M-Mega...Evolve?" The two of them said in unison, stunned by what they saw and what they were seeing now. A new form for Gardevoir. A further evolution.
"Mega Evolution. That's what it is." Ash explained.
"Hahaha! That was exciting!" Celestia clapped her hands. "It'll be even better when I battle!"
"Gardevoir!" Passion flew over to Celestia as they both excitedly held hands, spinning around in unison. They were both the same height now so this was entirely possible.
"Now! Let's find ourselves an Alpha Pokemon!" Celestia then raised her arm, ready to set out there and explore the Pokemon World as a human. This day was getting better and better for her.
"Gardevoir!"
Equestria. Out in the mountains. Afternoon.
Galaxy Master.
Brought from Ash's old fan-made comic book and into reality by methods no one else but the Rift knew about, was standing on top of a mountain, alongside Pikachu he had summoned. However, despite being a superhero, he was working for someone that many would not see as heroic.
The Rift.
Galaxy Master had one goal in mind that he would fulfil for the Rift. Heal it. The Rift had been badly damaged by Ash's Aura and was lacking in power. Being absent for a while was the only way it could recover by itself, but now, it had Ash's own creation on its side.
"Alright...We have a lot of work to do, Pikachu. Across this world, many things that originated from the Rift are out there, being used in various ways. Whether that be gateways or whatever bizarre force that it might've formed. Our job is to retrieve them and heal the Rift, so that everything returns to normal."
"Pikachu."
"There will be great challenges along the way. The Rift has told us that much. This world is filled with great forces of evil that hold mystical powers that are enough to send shivers down one's spin!" He held his hand out as the wind had blown right on time.
"Pika...!"
"But! We'll emerge victorious!" He clenched his fist, looking to the skies as the sun beamed down on him. His cape flapped majestically as well. "For the sake of the future!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Now! Let's head out! Our next destination...? Wherever our sense of justice takes us!" They were off. By becoming small bodies of light, which Pikachu being even smaller, they had left the mountaintop, flying off into the distance to fulfil the Rift's wishes.
Anything Rift-related or at least had an energy that relates to the Rift would be recovered. Just as the Rift planned. One big plan to ruin everything Ash loves.
Opelucid City. A city that is known for having a mixture of both the past and the present. Constantly changing rapidly while also respecting history and old values.
Ash, Sci-Twi, Fluttershy and Princess Celestia had shown up here. This was a new collection of characters together. One of them came from the Pokemon World. Two of them came from the Human World and the other had just gained her Human Form from being in the Human World for the first time.
Celestia had already expressed how happy she was to be a human and all the possibilities that came with it. They were here at Unova to find themselves an Alpha Pokemon, which had been reported by Professor Oak.
"Look at this..." The Human counterpart of Fluttershy had visited the Pokemon World for the first time and got to witness the sight along the way.
"So...We're looking for an Alpha Pachirisu from what Professor Oak managed to get. All we need to do is find the biggest source of electricity." Twilight said, holding out her phone. "Alpha Pokemon are generally aggressive, so finding a giant burst of electricity is what we can go off of. But this image of Pachirisu is a bit off. Looks more like Pikachu."
"It does, doesn't it? Maybe it's both of them. Just like Snorlax and Munchlax." Ash looked at the screen.
"I see...But in the meantime, why not spend some time in this city for a bit?" Celestia decided to explore the place while appearing as a human. I bet no one will recognize me like this. We might even find it somewhere here."
"Well, we did find Snorlax and Munchlax here. But that was because they were attracted to the food. What Route is past here, Ash?" Twilight asked.
"Route 10. But we could always take the next routes that are east and west from it. I say we try and split up and-"
"Ash! Hey Ash!" Suddenly, Ash had been interrupted. By a familiar voice. Ash and Pikachu felt a rush of memory within their heads as they knew who that was. It had only been a few months since they've visited Opelucid City and met with an old friend there. Unova's Strongest Trainer and Champion.
"Hm? Iris!"
"Pika!"
"Oh!" She came to a screeching halt after running all the way here. She wasn't wearing her Champion Outfit today. Iris preferred to keep it simple and less flashy unless she was in a battle. "I knew you'd show up here a second time eventually. Should've prepared a new surprise for you."
"Iris? Oh, that friend of yours from years ago." Celestia recognized that name. "You told me about her during the story about Kyurem."
"That's right. This is her. She's come a long way from being my travelling friend to being a champion."
"I have, haven't I? Didn't take too long for me to reach new heights." Iris proudly smiled. "I heard it was only three years ago for you to become a champion. Guess I was faster, huh?"
"I was taking my time though," Ash replied. "You'd get pretty lost in Alola's beauty too, ya know."
"Fair enough. And uh...Who's this?" Iris looked up at Celestia with gleaming eyes. Celestia grinned, already seeing that no one would fully recognize her in this form.
"Oh, I'm just your everyday Pokemon Trainer. Nothing important here." The Ruler of Equestria giggled alongside Passion.
"Hmmm..." But Iris had her doubts. She gazed at Celestia a bit further, but she couldn't decipher anything yet. "Alright then."
"Yes...!" Celestia turned around, pumping her fist. It was a success.
"So, what are you doing here?" Iris asked.
"We're gonna be looking for an Alpha Pokemon. An Alpha Pachirisu. Seen any recently? You hang out in the wild a lot, Iris."
"Alpha Pachirisu? Aaaah...Eh.." Iris dug deep into her memories, trying to see what she could recall. "I remember being out the other day, swinging with Emolga..."
Two days ago. Route 9.
"Woohoo!" Iris swung on the trees with Emolga flying next to her. She was just having her usual fun in the way she knows best. Nature. It was also one of the ways she could interact with Emolga in the air by swinging from tree to tree.
When all of a sudden, it looked like something was trying to shock me out of the sky. I could've been hit with a ton of volts if I didn't get a lucky swing away.
A burst of electricity emerged from afar, coming Iris' way. Iris was oblivious to it at first until it passed by her, making her jump as her momentum was lost. "Oh!" Iris gasped once the lightning bolt had passed by, nearly grazing her. The vine she held on to had been let go, causing the Champion of Unova to crash to the ground. Facefirst too.
"Emol?!" Emolga quickly rushed to her trainer's side as Iris was lying flat on her face. She soon raised her head, feeling slightly befuddled. "Emol?"
"I'm fine...But what was that all about?" A disgruntled Iris got back up, shaking her head to regain herself. She looked around, wondering where the source of that electricity came from. One second, it was there and the next, it just fizzled out, disappearing entirely.
I tried looking for where it came from, but even when I spent the entire day wandering around for it, I couldn't find anything. It only happened once. At least, in one route. The next one was over at Route 10 suddenly. So I went there, but it was the same thing. There was no one. Going back and forth to those routes didn't give me anything.
Current day.
"So maybe it actually was both Pikachu and Pachirisu," Ash commented once Iris explained what she saw. "So ya can't find them on either route?"
"I saw a few of them, but was just too late to catch up." Iris shrugged. "It could be more than two Pokemon if you ask me."
"If they're not there...then they must be...somewhere in the city!" Twilight deduced. "Maybe. Hopefully."
"You think so?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'm just guessing at this point. Either that or each of those Electric-Types already found somewhere else to wander about." Twilight shrugged. "It's a good thing we're here in Opelucid City already. Ash, you know this place well."
"Sure do. We could try here. And if not, we've got ways to go before we find one."
"Pikachu."
"Those are words I like to hear. I've been wanting to explore this city." Celestia replied. "We can do some great multitasking. And I can get into some mischief too..."
"Hold the phone." Iris leaned to the side, looking past Twilight. This entire time, Hisuian Zorua has been hiding from Iris, seeing her as another stranger. It didn't take long for Iris to notice this new Zorua. "Is that...a Zorua?"
"Mmm!" Zorua squeaked before jumping into the bag, hiding from the Champion of Unova. Twilight laughed as she had something to share afterwards.
"I'll get a head start~" Celestia whistled before then excitedly running off. But in the midst of this excitement, she accidentally sprouted her wings via Equestrian Magic, revealing them to Iris and the others. She left the ground once the wings emerged, causing her to hover over the streets.
"Huh?!" Iris' eyes felt like popping out of her head. Other people would soon notice this, witnessing a lady with wings taking to the skies while Passion scrunched her face, using Psychic to bring Celestia back down. But it was too late. Everyone had seen it.
"Whoops." Celestia put her hand over her mouth. "Got too excited there. Luckily, my horn didn't show either."
"You...You.." Iris wanted answers as she pointed at Celestia, who hid her wings. Iris had yet to know about the Human World and the shenanigans that come here.
"I'll be at the mall if you need me." Celestia kept up her smile before backing away to the mall. Passion and Arcanine followed right afterwards.
"We're off too, Iris." Ash, Twilight and Fluttershy went ahead too. Iris was still perplexed, choosing to follow Celestia instead of Ash's group, needing to see what else could come from this mysterious lady.
Meanwhile, back at Canterlot, Luna received everything she needed to know about Galaxy Master and his sudden appearance. She had a better understanding of this character and his goal.
"Hmmm...This is a problem. Sounds like he's another Rift Creation. A rather expressive one." Luna pondered. "Either way, the Rift is incredibly weak, so we cannot afford to let it recover. Not after what it's done. And he seeks to retrieve anything Rift-related...not my watch."
"I could always head out and find him." Darkrai emerged from the shadows.
"No. Not on your own this time, Darkrai. Let's make it a team effort like usual. And we'll stop him before it gets out of hand. Interception is what we need."
"Where do you think he'll be?"
"Anywhere. The Rift has affected so much over the years that traces of it are practically common in Equestria. The guards said that he appeared as a beam of light...so we know exactly what to find." Luna was already plotting a way to find Galaxy Master. "Here's a list of places we can look at."
Luna then revealed a list that was comically long, stretching out and rolling along like a carpet, showing Darkrai just how many places they could stop by. Darkrai's eyes followed the list as it went from hallway to hallway, stair to stair.
"We have a lot of options. My sister isn't here at the moment, so we will have to take over for a bit. I'll order multiple guards across Equestria just to find him. Meanwhile, we'll work from the shadows as always. This Galaxy Master will be stopped by us."
Luna and Darkrai were already on the case, ready to stop this herald of the Rift. Everywhere would be flooded with guards from now on. The Princess of the Night ordered the Canterlot Guards to spread out and keep watch of as many areas as they could just for one individual. Anything related to the Rift would always garner massive attention.
Unova. Opelucid City. The Mall. Afternoon.
"Look at this, Passion! I can hold it all without magic!" Meanwhile, at the mall, Celestia found many benefits to being a human. For example, shopping. Instead of using her magic to grab some bags, she would now use her arms, which she couldn't do with her hooves. Celestia already brought heaps of objects within bags just to see how she could hold them.
Passion would use Psychic to do it anyway, showing a parallel. Despite having amazing magical potential that many would crave, Celestia enjoyed being like others. Her status as a ruler of Equestria was second place to the enjoyment she found known as life.
"Oh...but it does affect my arms a bit." Celestia also found out the major weakness of carrying many bags that many others face. As satisfying as this was, she would prefer to use magic. That wasn't all that she stopped at.
After shopping at the apparel shop, she continued to explore the mall. She stopped by the cinema area. Her eyes were glued to popcorn bags as the Princess of the Sun rubbed her arms together. Without wasting any time, she brought herself some popcorn to eat.
"So...they dig their hands into these bags and eat continuously...?" Hearing about how people eat popcorn during movies, Celestia wanted to try it out for herself. She looked around before then wiggling her fingers over the food.
Celestia dug in, already feeling the popcorn and the salt that came with it. it was an odd sensation as she took her first few bites of popcorn in chunks. One bit was all that she needed to be sold. Her eyes opened up to a whole new world. In seconds, she started rapidly taking out chunks of popcorn, eating them at a manner that did not befit a princess.
But Celestia didn't care. Being a princess was behind being a ruler. Third place. "So good!" Celestia spoke while snacking away, getting her hands dirty in the process. "Passion try this!"
"G-Gardevoir." Passion would rather not get herself dirty, rejecting the bag of popcorn. Passion was the only one sticking to her way as royalty. Since she was Celestia's Pokemon, she was practically royalty at this point.
Celestia's adventure continued. Being a human led to all the possibilities she could explore that were not possible as a pony at all. Even if she were to become Celestial-Gardevoir, the limitations of that form would kick in soon.
Celestia got to feel the excitement of playing a guitar. She regularly saw violins being played during the Grand Galloping Gala and while she never took part in those activities, guitars made her fairly curious. Guitars had more appeal to her than a violin.
By stopping near a guitar shop, she got the offer to play the guitar for the first time. Granted, she was downright terrible at it, but that didn't stop her from playing her fingers on the guitar.
"Well, she has the spirit." The shop owner giggled, respecting Celestia's efforts while Passion embarrassingly stood in the corner from this bad music.
"Gardevoir..."
It was off to the next.
"To think that you commonly ready like this..." Celestia checked out the bookstore, sitting down to read without needing magic or just placing it flat on the table. Now, she could hold and flip the pages which were revolutionary to her. "This somehow feels just as simple."
"You're a weird one lady." A child said to Celestia, watching her read a book about fantasy.
"Sorry. This is all so fun for me." Celestia giggled. "I can do this manually now!" She then flipped the pages of the book rapidly just for the fun of it. The children found amusement with Celestia and how odd she was.
The children also took the opportunity to play with her Arcanine, getting on Arcanine's back. The Legendary Pokemon would humour them as to be expected from his nature.
But all of this entertainment would soon be beat out by one thing that Celestia wanted to do from the start. Battle. She finished up the more leisurely and simple activities before moving into the good stuff. And thankfully, the mall had what she wanted.
First, she brought herself some cake, because why wouldn't she? She would have the chance to eat cake with the hands of a human, looking forward to that with the utmost joy. But while walking through the mall whilst holding a box of cake, the Princess of the Sun came across another store.
"What's this? Ace Trainer Battle Arena?" Celestia looked up at the sign of the store as it had the image of two trainers holding out Poke Balls. More specifically, Ace Trainers. "Oh, I've heard of these trainers before. They're Trainers who frequently travel around the world to meet new Trainers and take part in Pokemon League competitions. And they're staggeringly strong as well...This is my chance!"
A battle was due. Celestia approached this store, ready to battle with the body of a human. It was mainly the posing that she was looking forward to.
When entering, the name of the store was exactly as she expected. Ace Trainers were everywhere, wearing identical clothing to make it clear who they were. And in this store, other trainers would take on these skilled Ace Trainers to see if they could emerge victorious. Of course, that was tricky.
Celestia looked for a battle that she could jump in. There were many stadiums that were open spots for anyone to join. All they had to do was pay 25 Poke Dollars, which Celestia had a lot of.
"Hello. Would you like to take on Ace Trainer? You'll hone your skills and maybe win a prize." An employee asked.
"Oh yes. Yes, I do." Celestia nodded.
"Great. We have a spot open for you. It'll only be 25 Poke Dollars."
"Easy." Celestia then used her magic, revealing her horn which had startled the employee, causing her to jerk back. In seconds, she had both placed the box down and pulled out 25 Poke Dollars from her bag, doing both at the same time. "There. 25 exactly."
"Uh, thank you..." The employee took it before then witnessing her horn fade away. "You'll be battling against Ace Trainer Eileen. Good luck, miss. And have fun."
"Oh, I will!" Celestia felt like a little kid in this instance, too excited to contain herself. Without wasting any more time, Celestia made her way to a free stadium. As for the box of cake, it would be left there until the battle was over.
Ace Trainer Eileen was already waiting for Celestia, anticipating her next battle. She wouldn't expect her next opponent to be Celestia if she even knew that this was the Ruler of Equestria herself. Celestia had to make sure she was ready to appear fierce. IN her mind, she wanted to battle in a certain style as she turned around, pondering about her battle approach.
"Let's see...How do I want to battle?" The Sun Princess put her hand on her chin, holding it. Another new thing she could do as a human. "ELegentally like how Olympia and Cynthia do it? Or do I do it with absolute energy much like how Ash battles? All these options..."
"Uh, excuse me?" Eileen called for Celestia, grabbing her attention. "Aren't you here to battle me, miss?"
"Oh, sorry! I was just thinking about how I want to battle...and maybe figuring it out along the way is best for me. It'll also be my first official trainer battle without anything important getting in the way. So, shall we begin?"
"We'll begin, alright. You know the basic rules about a Pokemon Battle but for this, you can only use three Pokemon?"
"Three Pokemon?" Hearing that made Celestia realize that she only had two Pokemon. Gardevoir and Arcanine. She was missing one. Or rather, she didn't have a third Pokemon. "Um...I can work with this."
"Okay then. Here at this store, we like to do things quickly so that everyone gets a chance. Let's not spend too much time, okay, miss?"
"I promise you these battles will go by quickly."
"Then, let's begin." The two trainers stood side by side from each other as there was a referee who had shown up to oversee this battle.
Celestia was counting on both her Pokemon to lead her to victory against three opponents. Something within her was making her blood boil with happiness. This kind of excitement was enough to make her battle like there was no tomorrow. And against an ace trainer, that kind of adrenaline is needed.
"Allow me to send out my first Pokemon! Simisage!"
"Simisage!" SImisage was Eileen's first Pokemon.
"That's an easy pick. Arcanine, go!" Celestia shouted out as Arcanine jumped past her, entering the arena.
"Arcanine!"
"Just so you know, there are no switch-ins for this battle." The referee said. "You have 10 minutes in total for this battle. Now...begin!"
"Arcanine! Extreme Speed!" Taking the chance to do multiple poses, Celestia held her hand out, thrusting it with great force to replicate the speed of Extreme Speed.
"Arcanine!" Arcanine became surrounded by white and clear aura as he charged at blitzing speeds, leaving behind some afterimages while also becoming a blur.
"Right to it, eh? Simisage! Hidden Power Rock!"
"Simi! Simisage!" Simisage had a counter to its weakness. By holding its arms out, the Thorn Monkey Pokemon summoned some orbs that contained Rock Infinity Energy, perfectly effective against Arcanine as the orbs were then launched.
"Dodge it with your momentum!" Celestia swiped her hand to replicate the motion of a swift dodge.
"Nine!" And it was indeed swift. By using Extreme Speed's momentum, Arcanine was able to zip to the side, evading Hidden Power. After that, he zoomed in, tackling Simisage. "Arca!"
"Simi!"
"Success! Victory goes to the one who attacks first!"
"We'll see about that! Focus Blast, now!"
"Simi...!" Simisgage then put its hands together, forming a ball of mental energy while tightening its focus. "Sage!" The ball was then launched, only to miss right afterwards and hit the ground. This was surprising to both Celestia and Arcanine as Arcanine hadn't even tried to avoid it. The attack foiled itself, making a weak explosion afterwards.
"Uh...That was Focus Blast? What happened to all the focus?" Celestia scratched her hair.
"It doesn't always hit okay?! Again!"
"SImisage!" Simisage tried it a second time and this time, the attack was on the right path, guaranteed to reach Arcanine without failure.
"That's more like it! Arcanine, Flamethrower!" Celestia put her hands out, mimicking claws and fangs being bared. It resembled that of a creature viciously breathing out fire.
"Arca...Nine!" Arcanine countered this blast with a scorching beam of scarlet flames that came from his mouth. The beam and the flames stream clashed, entering a small struggle before cancelling each other out, resulting in an explosion.
"Hidden Power!"
"Sage!" Simisage would attack while the smoke cloud was up, sending out those orbs laced with Rock-Type Infinity Energy in them.
"Incoming, Arcanine! Smash them to bits with Close Combat!" Celestia then smashed her fist into her palm, making a meaty sound from it.
"Arca...Nine!" Arcanine would counter the orbs with Close Combat. The Legendary Pokemon lunged before then ferociously swiping his paws at the orbs, smashing them at full strength. Celestia was finding out her favourite way to battle. It was the expression of certain arm when it came to certain attacks.
A mixture of Ash and Cynthia's styles.
Arcanine managed to break the orbs, defeating Hidden Power once more with stupendous strength. But he didn't stop there, he would advance and continue striking with Close Combat.
"Sheesh! She's good! Shadow Claw!"
"Simi!" Simisage would meet Arcanine's Close Combat with Shadow Claw. Claws made out of shadows clashed with Arcanine's orange-clad paws, resulting in a bright spark. The two of them went back and forth as Arcanine's speed was enough to keep track of this agile Thorn Monkey Pokemon.
Celestia grinned, getting into the thick of this battle. Those 10 minutes would go by without any of them even noticing. Many people here focused on this battle especially, seeing how fast-paced it was getting.
"Simisage!" Simisage managed to get the better of Arcanine, slashing his face which forced the Legendary Pokemon back.
"Canine!" But Arcanine rushed back in after being slashed, clashing with the Grass-Type once more. A spotlight had been placed on them both already.
"Let's finish this, shall we?!" Celestia's body suddenly emanated a golden light, representing her magic. "Flamethrower!"
"Jump up with Seed Bomb!"
"Simisage!" While Arcanine had unleashed Flamethrower, Simisage used the explosive power of Seed Bomb to launch itself into the air, evading the attack barely as the flames passed by from below.
"Now, Hidden Power!"
"Simi!" Simisage would attack from above, using the air to its advantage. But whether on land, sea or air, Celestia wouldn't falter.
"Up, Arcanine! Keep those streams going!"
"Arca...Nine!" Arcanine focused his Flamethrower upwards, sending it towards Hidden Power and intercepting it. Another clash had ensued between these two.
It was a heated one. This battle attracted many customers as the trainer of focus was Celestia. They were all so interested in seeing her battle. Not only did she look unique and familiar after the scenario that happened outside, but some of them swore they had seen her before. Her voice was familiar too, even if it was constantly screaming.
And in the midst of all of this excitement, especially with this battle, a power outage had happened.
Unexpectedly, all the lights within the mall had been shut off in the blink of an eye. It all happened the moment Flamethrower and Hidden Power clashed.
Everywhere in the store, lights were being shut off rapidly to everyone's surprise. But it wasn't just the lights, everything electronic was being powered down. Which was basically the majority of the mall. The automatic doors had been stopped with some of them permanently staying open while others were permanently closed, creating great conveniences for others.
Electronics of all sorts that were crucial to the mall had been powered down, interrupting some payments even, which was just unpleasant for the customers.
But despite this power outage, Celestia and Eileen continued their battle, too enthralled in it to even pay attention to the power outage while everyone else was wondering what was going on.
Outside.
"There!" Naturally, with all of the lights within the mall being turned off, it sparked some attention. Especially from Ash and his friends, who had pointed at the mall when all the lights went off. They even saw how some people bumped into the automatic doors, expecting them to open, only for them to not. "Did you see that?"
"I saw it. The lights went off and those automatic doors are sealed." Twilight replied. "That can only mean one thing. A power outage. And that leads to electricity..."
"So, you think either Pikachu or Pachirisu are in there?" Fluttershy asked.
"One of the two. Then again, they're both strong enough to power a city, aren't they? No doubt they've done something to the mall." Twilight added.
"Then we know where we're headed." Ash wasted no time, heading straight for the mall.
"Wait! You can't get in from that side, Ash! Pikachu! They're automatic!" Iris bellowed, causing him to stop immediately.
"R-RIght...Another way..." Ash laughed while Iris shook her head. "Uh, which way?"
"Hmm...I actually don't know either. I usually just take the automatic doors." Iris was guilty of also not knowing another away in. They would all find a new way in.
But as they were ready t head inside and hopefully find themselves two Alpha Pokemon, though one would be fine, without them knowing, they were being watched.
Watched by someone who was constantly lurking. Green hair and crimson eyes. Reminiscent of the witch who granted Yuki the life of two Pokemon. And who had shown up at a hospital once. Those same crimson eyes were locked onto Ash's group with an eerie aura emanating out of them.
"Heading in to find out for yourself..." The mysterious woman spoke. "But, if you catch that Pikachu, what will happen to time itself? Specifically to you, Ash Ketchum. I wonder?"
During the search for presumably two Alpha Pokemon, an Alpha Pikachu and an Alpha Pachirisu, Ash's party had been led to the mall. The same mall where Celestia was having the time of her life as a human, battling an Ace Trainer by the name of Eileen.
The mall had suffered a power outage that shut everything electronic off. The mall and all of its services had been interfered with, locking some customers in and out of the building. Ash and the others were trying to find their way in because of this.
Eventually, they found a normal dor that needed manual action. When they entered the mall, they saw how the staff were trying to get things started up and under control. Customers and their payments had been interrupted, leading to some potential chaos that no one wanted.
"That power outage's already had its effect on everyone," Iris observed. "Where are we gonna find Pikachu though?"
"It probably did it in the control room. If it was caught, then it would've probably run off." Twilight explained. "It might be running around in the mall right now."
"Pika. Pikachu."
"Pikachu? You're saying you can find the other Pikachu?" Ash translated as his best friend nodded in confirmation. "Okay then. You know your species better than I do. Do what you can."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Are you sure you want to catch that Pikachu...?" But just then, before the group could continue searching for the Alpha Pokemon, an eerie voice halted their movements, drawing their attention as it was both silent yet strong enough to be heard by them.
"Huh?" Ash and his party turned to see the origin of the voice. And the one who spoke was that same green-haired, crimson-eyed lady who had been watching them from before. She made her appearance in front of them.
"That is a bold action in every way." The lady spoke as this time, she was wearing clothing that was identical to the staff's uniform. "Catching that Alpha Pikachu will be a stellar game changer for everyone."
"How did you know we were going for an Alpha Pikachu?" Fluttershy asked.
"If you do catch that Pikachu, what will happen to this very scenario?" The lady rubbed her creepy hands together, bringing on an uncomfortable vibe that cause Hisuian Zorua to squeak. She looked at the strange lady before gasping, as if she was shocked by something.
"Wait a minute..." Zorua felt like something was off about that lady. Or rather, she seemed familiar.
"What are you saying?" Iris questioned. "Who are you anyway?"
"Who am I? I'm just a simple old lady, aren't I? But I do look somewhat young in my 50's I'll admit. As for what I'm saying...those Alpha Pokemon that you have, Twilight Sparkle, are very important to time itself."
"Time itself?" Twilight repeated.
"Oh yes. The concept of Alpha Pokemon fizzled out over the years and that name has become a blur. Until those Time Leaks appeared and started bringing those Pokemon from the past into the present. Some would say that they shouldn't be here. And you have some of them at your disposal."
"I uh..." Twilight wasn't sure what to say next.
"Of course, you managed to successfully catch them. But what happened when you caught those Pokemon? Certainly, something out there must've happened. Something big. And the same could be said for when you catch that Pikachu."
"What's wrong with catching that Pikachu?" Ash questioned.
"Pika?"
"You should hear this the most, Ash Ketchum. If that Pikachu were to be caught, the chances of time being altered pop up. Especially since that Alpha Pikachu is a direct ancestor to yours." The lady then revealed the truth about this Pikachu, startling the others.
"What?!"
"Ancestor?! You're not saying what I think you're saying?!" Iris gasped.
"Wait a sec..." But this revelation brought Ash back to a conversation he and Twilight had with the People of the Water when searching for Alpha Luxio.
"We heard that even more Alpha Pokemon had been spotted. We're struggling to understand how that's possible. They should've vanished over time with their descendants being the only remnants of them being left behind."
"Pokemon have ancestors? From that far back?" Back then, Twilight was shared this crucial information.
"It's not just us humans. And I can safely say the same for those living in the other world. Pokemon also have ancestors from years ago. But for certain Pokemon, Alpha Pokemon are their ancestors."
"And just like what Passion's mom said about Pokemon with unique abilities...So the Pikachu here is my Pikachu's ancestor?!"
"Pi? Pikachu?!"
"Spot on. So, young lady. If you were to catch that Pikachu, what will happen to your friend Ash over here? Will life go on normally, or will everything be turned upside down?"
It all started to click to Twilight. Time was a heavy factor in all of this. And she might've already altered it after catching Rapidash, Munchlax and Luxio. But she wasn't sure how. What she was sure about was Ash and Pikachu's future. Everything ties to that Pikachu and everything in the current day could potentially collapse depending on what happens next.
"Of course...You could always leave it to Pokemon Hunter J and let her change time itself. Then, it would lead to an inevitable outcome. Or maybe not? Or maybe someone else could catch an Alpha Pokemon out there..." Her words weren't making it any better. They were only making Twilight think harder.
"Hey! You're scaring her!" Iris exclaimed at the mysterious lady, trying to stick up for Twilight.
"But, she might have a point." Fluttershy knew exactly what the mysterious lady was talking about. "Time is very important, you know. What do you think, Twilight?"
"But..." The lady had more to say. "I did say there were chances. I didn't exactly say it was guaranteed."
"It's not guaranteed?" said Ash.
"You can maybe see it as some sort of divine intervention, or absolute luck. But those Time Leaks aren't what you think they are. They may have time in them, but there's something unique about their existence that differentiates them from any other time anomaly. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure that out, Twilight Sparkle."
"I know you!" Finally, Zorua recognized the mysterious green-haired, crimson-eyed lady. "You're that Witch I saw once!"
"Witch?" Iris and Fluttershy repeated. Zorua knew about this witch as well since she came from the same region in the past. The Hisui Region.
"Hoh. That's not very polite." The Witch chuckled, lowering her hat. "Sometimes, I prefer Wizard or Enchantress."
"Hang on a second." Twilight intervened. "From what you're saying, there's a chance that nothing will happen."
"That's right. There's a chance. That's the beauty of the Time Leaks and their special effects. Have you made up your mind?"
"It's a big risk. I set out to try and catch many if not every Alpha Pokemon there is, but I'm taking a big gamble with time itself. But...Hunter J could easily change that as well. I can't take that risk."
"So. What is your answer?"
"I'll still try and catch them," Twilight revealed what she wanted to do. She bravely took the biggest risk possible.
"Huh?! Wait!" Iris jerked back. "A-Are you sure?! She said some pretty intense stuff! This could be a real game changer?! I could..." Iris then had a deep thought for a few seconds. "I might never be a champion if that's the case!"
"And I may never meet you, Ash." Twilight looked at Ash. "It's pretty nerve-wracking, isn't it?"
"But, she wouldn't be telling us this if there wasn't a chance, right?" Ash saw the positive in all of this before glancing at the Witch. "You're here to help us instead of giving us that big scare."
"You catch on well, Ash Ketchum." The Witch chuckled. "The special effect the Time Leaks leave behind is all dependent on you, Twilight Sparkle. When you come face to face with that Pikachu, you'll know exactly what I mean. Until then..." Just then, as if time had frozen, everyone was frozen in place for a bit.
And the second they all blinked, the mysterious witch was gone. Just like that. There wasn't a trace of her left.
"Huh?! W-Where'd she go?!" Iris wondered. "Could it be magic?!"
"She is a witch, so that would make sense." Fluttershy nodded. "But everything said was so eerie."
"Well, Twilight. Are you gonna head for that Pikachu now?" Ash asked.
"I am. And whatever happens next is up to me, she said. I think I might know what she meant by that. And well...leaving that Pikachu on its own could creature future problems." It was decided. They would go and try and find that Alpha Pikachu.
However, instead of searching for this Alpha Pikachu, Pikachu essentially gave off signs that led them to the Mouse Pokemon. Another flare of electricity had gone off, creating a powerful golden light that stretched across the mall. It went off two times in one second. The power was back on for a bit, only to then go off seconds later.
This conversation lasted long enough for them to get an easy hint as to where Alpha Pikachu may be. Without wasting any time, they advanced, following the main point of where the flare of electricity came from.
Back at the Ace Trainer Battle Arena, Celestia and her opponent Eileen were too focused on the battle to even notice the power outage. Celestia especially. Both the thrill of a Pokemon Battle and the way she could pose now that she had the body of a human.
"Let's finish this! Hidden Power Rock Simisage!"
"Simi!" Simisage leapt at Arcanine, unleashing Hidden Power in the form of orbs, ready to finally defeat the Legendary Pokemon.
"I think not! Flamethrower!" Celestia bellowed, raising her arm.
"Arca...!" Arcanine held his breath in before unleashing a greater Flamethrower from before. "Nine!"
And it all resonated with Celestia as her body was letting out golden sparkles. The stream of fire raged out, not only overpowering the orbs, consuming them in the scarlet flames, but it had also reached Simisage, engulfing the Thorn Monkey Pokemon.
"Simisage..." Simisage dropped to the floor, finally fainting after a fierce battle with Arcanine.
"Simisage is unable to battle! Arcanine wins!"
"Yes! We've had our first victory every!" Celestia jumped for joy, revealing her wings once again due to pure excitement. "Ah! What a wonderful feeling!"
"Canine!"
"Hm. Thank you, Simisage. Return." Eileen returned her Simisage. "That lady's extra strong...There's something strange about her. Aside from those wings."
"Oh, Arcanine! You're amazing!" Meanwhile, Celestia was relishing in her victory, hugging Arcanine and picking him up thanks to her height as a human.
"Arcanine!" Arcanine licked her face, wagging his massive tail out of happiness.
"Don't celebrate just yet!" Eileen pulled Celestia back in, holding out another Poke Ball. "This battle's still on! I've got two Pokemon left! Go, Simipour!"
"Simipour!" Out came Simipour next.
"Right. Let's continue, Arcanine!"
"Arcanine!" Arcanine ran back in, ready to continue and guide Celestia to victory. At the same time, there was something bigger happening within the mall.
Storage Room.
"Pika...Pika..." The Alpha Pikachu was still on the run. After shutting all of the power off again, everything went dark. The staff were trying their best to start things up and find the culprit. Now, the Mouse Pokemon found itself in the storage room of all places. And this was for one reason.
A bottle of ketchup.
"Pika!" Alpha Pikachu, who was around the height of an average Raichu, had found himself boxes of ketchup. All of it was sitting there, expected to be put on shelves, only for Pikachu to use Iron Tail, cutting the boxes apart and letting out mountains of ketchup bottles.
The Mouse Pokemon excitedly drank from the ketchup bottles, making a mess already and painting the storage room red. At the same time, the mall was in a state of panic with the staff trying to sort everything out. But in this scenario, Pikachu controlled the power of the mall, preventing anyone from getting what they wanted.
"In here?" But just then, a voice travelled through the door, alerting Alpha Pikachu. It was the voice of Ash.
"Pika! Pikachu!" Ash's Pikachu also spoke through the door, alarming Alpha Pikachu which prompted him to stop his feast. The Alpha Pikachu was obviously aggressive and having his meal interrupted rubbed him the wrong way.
Since he already busted into the storage room, the door was available for anyone to enter as both the handle and the lock had been broken off, prompting Ash to fully open it. And there he was. Pikachu's ancestor.
"It's Pikachu!" Iris cried out. "And a big one too...That's at least the size of a Raichu!"
"Oh my. Look at all of that ketchup. He must've been incredibly hungry." Fluttershy pointed out the bottles of ketchup that were scattered everywhere.
"There he is, Pikachu. Your super great grandfather..." Ash uttered.
"Pika...Pikachu." Pikachu couldn't believe he was looking at one of his ancestors right now. To initiate the traditional Electric Rodent meeting, Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder to greet his grandfather. "Pika?" The usual way Electric Rodents and other Pikachu greet each other is by holding out their tails and connecting them. Pikachu hoped that Alpha Pikachu would do the same.
"Pi?" Alpha Pikachu looked down at Pikachu's tail, dropping his bottle of ketchup. He looked at his descendant, unaware of who he truly was. But he knew was a fellow Pikachu. After a moment of silence, Alpha Pikachu also stuck his tail out. "Pika."
"Pikachu." Pikachu put on a cheery face. There was something magical about meeting his many-great grandfather. The two tails connected, creating sparks of electricity. "Pika-Pika!" They exchanged electricity which made them fuzzy inside.
"That's surprising...usually, Alpha Pokemon are aggressive from the start," Twilight said. "I guess greetings are the exception."
"In that case...Come on out, Emolga!" Iris would give Alpha Pikachu another electrifying greeting from a fellow Electric Rodent. Her Emolga.
"Emolga!" Upon emerging, Emolga noticed the traditional greeting. She saw both her old friend Pikachu and another Pikachu in the same room. Excited, Emolga ran over, putting her finger out. All she needed was a finger to share electricity. It connected to both Pikachu as she joined in, sharing some of her electricity. "Emol."
"Pi? Pika!" Pikachu was also happy to see Emolga again, exchanging electricity.
"You're right. I heard Alpha Pokemon just attack on-sight. So what gives with this one?" Iris asked.
"It might be because he was hungry," Fluttershy answered, already seeing what could lead to Pikachu being so gentle at the moment instead of instantly going onto the attack.
"Really?" Twilight turned to her.
"Look at all those ketchup bottles. He must've come here for something to eat. Being well fed with something it loves must keep it gentle. Not sure why it would be ketchup..."
"My Pikachu loves ketchup," Ash replied, already knowing how his Pikachu feels about ketchup. "So, it makes total sense for this one to like too. I guess every Pikachu loves ketchup. Sweet."
"Aw...if I had known that, I would've given him some ketchup." A missed opportunity in Twilight's eyes. If she had some ketchup, she would've probably got to Pikachu easier. That's when Twilight realized she had that chance. There was a mountain of these bottles after all. "Unless..."
"Pika. Pikachu!" Now that he got to meet his ancestor, he decided that now was the best time to share that he was his grandson. His direct descendant.
"Pika?!" Alpha Pikachu was reasonably taken aback by this. This was all shocking to this larger-than-average Pikachu in every way. He couldn't believe that he had a grandson or that he was a grandfather.
"Emol? Emol?" Emolga was looking back and forth at them, not fully getting what was happening.
"Here." Twilight went up to Alpha Pikachu, holding out a bottle of ketchup to the Mouse Pokemon. "How's this?"
"Pi...?" Alpha Pikachu looked up at Sci-Twi. At first, his red sacs were flaring with electricity. Despite being surrounded by another Pikachu and Emolga, the humans were still a red flag for him, causing his happy face to transform into a fierce face, causing Twilight to gulp. "Pika...!"
"Pika! Pikachu!" However, Ash's Pikachu had held back his grandpa, preventing him from taking any drastic actions, especially in this room. He told his grandfather that Twilight was a friendly face in every way. There was no need reason to fear her.
"Pi?!" Alpha Pikachu looked back at his grandson, listening to what he had to say. Thankfully, Pikachu was a Pokemon that could listen to reason immediately.
"Emol! Emolga!" Emolga vouched for that. Mainly because she didn't want Iris to be harmed in the chance that Alpha Pikachu shocks everyone.
"Pika." Alpha Pikachu would take their word on it. He already grew fond of his grandson and Emolga. He faced Twilight who still had a nervous look on her face, gently holding out the bottle of ketchup. Pikachu then grabbed the bottle, keeping his electricity active, just in case. But nothing happened when he took it. Twilight did not act. Because of this, Alpha Pikachu was free to drink this ketchup bottle safely. "Pi...Pika!"
"Nice going, Twilight." Ash gave a thumbs up. "You too, Pikachu. Emolga."
"I want to befriend Alpha Pikachu instead of battling it. Using the ketchup bottles is the best way it looks like. Here's another, Pikachu." Twilight would continue to feed Pikachu, passing by some more ketchup bottles. Ash and the others would stand back, allowing Twilight to handle everything else.
"Pi? Pikachu!" Pikachu excitedly grabbed the rest of them once Twilight held them out. He drank away and due to this abundance of ketchup bottles, there was a red mess on his body and the floor too. But he could care less. This was the most peaceful Alpha Pokemon Twilight had seen so far. And it was glorious. She kept it coming, appeasing Pikachu, who was already looking very pleased.
"Hang on. Isn't this for the mall?" Fluttershy stopped Twilight in her tracks. "Should we keep doing this?"
"Don't worry about it." Iris shook her head. "As the Champion of Unova, I'll talk to Drayden about it. Plus, we've avoided any further trouble with the city after all."
"Pika! Pikachu!" Excited about the ketchup he was being given, Pikachu got playful, holding out a bottle and pressing on it. BY doing so, he accidentally blasted his grandson with the bottle of ketchup. "Pi?"
"Ka!" Ash's Pikachu received a face full of ketchup by accident. But it was a happy little accident as ketchup was his favourite as well, prompting him to lick it off. But after that, Pikachu decided to retaliate in kind, grabbing one of the bottles from Twilight's hands. And right after that, he squeezed the bottle, blasting his grandfather.
"Pika!" Alpha Pikachu had been hit back. And this resulted in a playful exchange. He grabbed some more bottles, shooting back at Pikachu as Ash's Pikachu did the same, beginning a Ketchup Battle.
"Oh! Hey, you'll make this a bigger mess than it needs to be!" Twilight exclaimed as Emolga was caught in the crossfire, struck by red streams which had knocked her down.
"Emol?!" Emolga shook her head as she then gained a crimson flash in her eyes. Much like her fellow Electric Rodents, she was easy to pull in when it comes to playful feuds. Immediately after getting back up, The Electric-Flying-Type joined in on the fun, grabbing some bottles and squeezing them in retaliation.
"Pika!" Both Pikachu's had been struck by the crimson streams. They laughed, shooting Emolga back, however, Emolgahad one advantage.
Flight.
"Emolga! "She took the skies, firing the bottles from above for an aerial advantage, causing the two Pikachus to rethink their strategy as it was now erupting into chaos. But it was about to get more frantic.
"Hold on! Let's-" Iris stepped in, only to be then hit in the face by Emolga's ketchup streams, stopping the Champion of Unova immediately.
"Emo!" Emolga gasped, realizing what she had done while Ash was trying to hold in his laughter. The ketchup slid down Iris' face as at first, she looked furious about it, making Emolga gulp in fear of what could come next.
"Why you...You wanna play it like that?!" Iris indulged in this, grabbing heaps of bottles as she soon joined the fun, blasting her own Pokemon out of the sky.
"Emo!" Emolga had been sniped out of the sky, falling into the mountain of bottles. Iris started attacking the grandfather and the grandson right afterwards.
"Hey, don't leave me out of it!" It was only a matter of time until Ash joined in. Something like this was up his alley as he grabbed his fair share of bottles to start blasting away.
"Oh, ASh..." Twilight sighed, facepalming right afterwards as Fluttershy suddenly ran past her. "Fluttershy! You too?!"
"Of course! Isn't this fun?!" Fluttershy said before placing the Pokemon Egg down safely.
"It's a huge mess, is what it is," Twilight replied before watching all of them go crazy with the bottles of ketchup that were strangely endless. Watching it made Twilight smile. Even though it was chaotic and messy, she had gotten used to it after living with Pokemon. "Ah, who am I kidding? Let me have a go!"
And soon, she had been pulled in. Everyone joined in on the fun as the storage room would soon become a red mess. And they were all loving it. They battled away, losing track of time in the process. And Alpha Pikachu grew fond of these people. It was more than what he expected would happen.
"Simisear..." Meanwhile, Simisear had been defeated by Arcanine as well. And all it took was a meaty Close Combat.
"Simisear is unable to battle! Arcanine wins!"
"Another one down by the same Pokemon..? Ugh. Thanks, Simisear" Eileen groaned before returning her Simisear. "Simipour it is then!
"Simipour!" Simipour was the last of her three Pokemon. And Celestia was on a roll, seemingly unstoppable.
"Garde! Gardevoir!" Passion cried out, wanting to join the battle desperately. Arcanine already had his turn as she flailed her arms.
"Oh. S-Sorry, Passion. But I'm not allowed to switch out unless Arcanine faints. Sorry, but I'm on a roll now." Celestia apologized as Passion sat down, crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks out of jealousy. "I'll make it up to you when we get back."
"Gardevoir..." "Simipour's going to put an end to your streak! I won't be perfected! Simipour, use Hydro Pump!"
"Simi...Pour!" Simipour started with a high-volume blast of water, aiming to finish Arcanine off in one shot.
"Meet it with Flamethrower!"
"Arcanine!" Arcanine would meet a super-effective attack with Flamethrower, of all things. But he proved to be strong enough to match Hydro Pump as Flamethrower clashed with the blast, resulting in an equalized struggle.
"Close Combat!"
"Arca!" Arcanine jumped through the smoke as his paws were covered in an orange energy, ready to deliver what he already delivered to Simisear.
"I don't think so! Superpower!"
"Simi...Pour!" Simipour would meet Close Combat with Superpower as two powerful Fighting-Type attacks had collided. And after all this time, Celestia's magic had just been building up within during this battle. Her eyes flashed yellow as they resonated with Arcanine.
"Arca...Nine!" Arcanine had beat out Superpower, overpowering it. Arcanine delivered a continuous stream of attacks to Simipour right after breaking through Superpower. Sparks flew everywhere as Simipour was sent flying after a vicious headbutt. Everyone could feel that one as Simipour even rolled on the floor.
"Si...Simi...Simipour..." Simipour tried getting up after that, slowly sitting up. But the impact was for too great, causing it to faint after just one strike.
"One hit?!"
"Simipour is unable to battle! Arcanine wins! Thus the winner of this battle is...Uh...W-What is your name?" The referee didn't get Celestia's name at all. Celestia figured that now was a good time to spill it since she amazed everyone.
"Celestia."
"Celestia! Wait, Celestia??!" The referee jerked back along with everyone else. That name has become somewhat famous in this world thanks to the connections.
"The Ruler of Equestria..." Eileen's jaw dropped before she then crossed her arms. "Hmph. I don't feel too bad about it now, I guess..."
"Oh, that was so much fun!" Celestia rushed over to Eileen as everyone else was still talking about how Princess Celestia was just casually here. "Many thanks for the battle, Eileen. It was a thrill to the very end."
"Oh, uh. Y-You're welcome, your majesty. It was my pleasure." She now referred to Celestia with a formal attitude.
"You've defeated one of our Ace Trainers. Would you like to be promoted as one, Princess Celestia?" An employee asked.
"Oooh, that sounds wonderful. I'll take the title. And perhaps, I'll go above that as well." Celestia giggled, accepting the title. She was now considered an Ace Trainer. "I should also be going now. Apologies that I can't stay! Farewell! It's time to go Passion!"
"Gardevoir." Passion was still upset about not having a chance to battle. She pouted before using Psychic to grab all of the bags following Celestia and Arcanine. The people applauded Celestia's battle, praising the Princess of the Sun to show her the utmost respect.
Despite preferring to be free and be like everyone else, Celestia didn't mind some praise here and there. She could always have the best of both worlds. And it was up to her to make that happen.
Late afternoon.
The orange glow of the sun could be seen. The day was almost over. Ash and everyone had left the mall, ready to head back home. It would be time for Celestia to lower the Sun in her world after all.
Ash and his party came out of the mall looking like a red mess after the fun they had. Alpha Pikachu joined them outside, no longer flaring electricity around.
"Oh my. What happened to you all?" Celestia said. "You're all so messy."
"We uh...had a lot of fun." Twilight squeed. "And we made a new friend too. This Alpha Pikachu."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Well, we need to clean you up before anything. Hod on." Using her many spells, Celestia pointed at Ash and the others, harnessing her magic as her horn was starting to slowly appear on her head. Just like that, she was able to gravitate the ketchup towards her, manipulating it.
Afterwards, Celestia sent the ketchup to the nearest bin, successfully cleaning up with the power of magic. Everyone looked brand new and sparkly too as golden particles surrounded them, fixing them up.
"There we go. Much better. Today was a fantastic day. I certainly enjoy being a human. I know that I'm certainly coming back to this world another time."
"Glad you liked being one of us," said Fluttershy. "We're looking forward to when you show up again."
"Hm. And I'm excited to see you all sooner than you think. The next Pokemon Festival is coming up and I believe you all should join. Any gateway you pass through will lead you to the festival."
"Ah, sweet! Another Pokemon Festival!" Ash jumped for joy.
"I can't wait!" Iris was aware of this special festival. "I'll see you soon there, Ash!"
"You bet, Iris!"
"So, Pikachu." Twilight kneeled, facing the Alpha Pikachu. "I was wondering if...you would come with me."
"Pika?"
"Yeah. It's a big risk though, but, I'd like for you t come with us. If that's okay with you." Twilight held out a Poke Ball to him. And the moment she did so, Twilight felt an odd sensation come through.
Just like what the Witch said, Twilight would know when the time comes. And now was that very moment. Twilight froze for a bit as she looked at Pikachu with wide eyes. There was something calling to her. A mystical aura could be seen by only her as it was around Pikachu's body. Pikachu tilted his head as the magic within Twilight was giving her signs.
The effects of the Time Leak had finally shown themselves, showing Twilight's rapid visions. They ended abruptly as she shook her head. But a part of her knew what she needed to do now.
"So that's what she meant...strange," Twilight uttered. "But anyway...what do you say, Pikachu?"
"Pika..." Pikachu thought about it for a moment. Twilight was the one who offered him some ketchup bottles, making it clear that she meant no harm. He looked at his grandson and Emolga as well as the others. They all had different faces but a similar mood. Pikachu could tell that they trusted Twilight as much as they trusted each other. "Pikachu."
Pikachu then poked the Poke Ball's button with his nose, allowing it to shrink his body. The Poke Ball pulled the Mouse Pokemon in as he agreed to join, just to see how Twilight was and the potential to spend some more time with his grandson. The ball shook in Twilight's hand, beginning the countdown.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Pikachu was caught.
And thankfully, Ash and Pikachu were still here. They looked at each other, wondering if there were any changes done drastically to them. But it was all fine.
"Phew...Crisis averted. We're still here!" Ash cheered.
"Pikachu!"
"So that's why the Witch said that there's a chance instead of a guaranteed possibility." Twilight smiled. "I think I get how these Time Leaks may work. Come out, Pikachu." She then released Pikachu, sending him out.
"Pikachu!" Alpha Pikachu returned. Immediately after showing up, he knocked the Poke Ball out of Twilight's hands, causing it to roll on the floor.
"Ah! Hey!" Twilight cried out.
"Guess he doesn't like staying inside Poke Balls either. Like Grandfather, Like Grandson, I guess." Ash jokingly said as that reminded him of Pikachu's reaction to POke Balls early on in their adventure. It then prompted everyone else to laugh as now Twilight would have two Pokemon out of their Poke Balls who would be beside her. But, she didn't mind it.
"Let's head home, all of you." Celestia grabbed Ash and Twilight's shoulders as they were all ready to head back to their respective homes. They had a good time here.
"See you at the Pokemon Festival, Ash. Pikachu. And hopefully all of you." And Iris would see them again potentially in the Pokemon Festival. That was a promise. She parted ways as it was back to the gateways and home sweet home.
And as they departed from here, the mysterious Witch decided to stick around for a bit, standing within the crowd and dressing up as a normal everyday lady, wearing a sunhat. As always, she decided to get the last word in.
"You've done well, Twilight Sparkle. You preserved time with your well-natured spirit. However, can you do the same for the rest of the Alpha Pokemon you meet? We shall see in the future..."
Equestria. Canterlot. Canterlot Castle. Late Afternoon.
"I'm back!" Returning to Equestria after spending some time as a Human, Princess Celestia appeared back at Canterlot Castle. When she showed up, it was awfully quiet here. Celestia was expecting a little bit of noise, but that wasn't happening at all. Instead, an eerie silence filled the castle. "Hm?"
Celestia, Passion and Arcanine took a wander around the castle, curious. They saw that there were minimal guards located across the castle. They could only spot them on the first and fourth floors.
"Strange. Why is it that there are so few of you around?" Celestia asked, approaching one of the guards.
"Sorry, your majesty. But it was ordered by Princess Luna that a majority of us start guarding various places in Equestria." A guard explained.
"Various places? What happened exactly?"
"Well-"
"There's a superhero around!" Interrupting the guard and sliding over, appearing before Princess Celestia was Premium Polish. "That's why!"
"A superhero?" Celestia was all ears for this. "She sent guards for a superhero? Must be a big fan..."
"It's not that, Princess Celestia. This character, who goes by the name of Galaxy Master, is another Rift Creation. He's solely dedicated to restoring the Rift, targeting every area that hols anything Rift-related. Just earlier today, he interfered with our goal to open a gateway in between the seas of Hoenn and Gorebyss Cove, taking the Trave Sphere."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Here. This is what the guards said he looked like, so I drew him." Premium Polish used her magic to bring over a notebook. And on that notebook, she made a quick drawing of how the guards described his appearance, turning it into a child-like variation.
"Aw, that's adorable." Celestia admired Premium's artwork and its flaws. "So this is our culprit...a superhero made by the Rift, eh? That's certainly new. And it'll most likely create new issues for us down the road. The Pokemon Festival is in just one week from now."
"Should we postpone it?" The guard asked.
"Not for a moment. The Pokemon Festival will arrive on time. Everyone's too excited about it. And not even a superhero will get in the way of it. Luna's already focused on catching him and I'll do the same. Where's my sister now?"
"She's out looking for this character. Somewhere." Luna's actual whereabouts were unknown. But she was on the move, searching for Galaxy Master before things could get out of hand. And knowing that he was focused on anything Rift-related, she had a lot of places to choose from.
Saddle Lake. Nightfall.
The moon had risen via Luna's magic. The silent and peaceful night had come at last. The moon gracefully beamed across the sky, focusing on Ponyville in the far distance. And with the recent rise of Galaxy Master, Canterlot guards were stationed nearby at Ponyville. And for a good reason.
Ponyville was a big target, housing multiple Rift-related forces. From those affected by the Rift, created by the Rift or even a substance of the Rift itself. This would be a goldmine for the wandering superhero.
Up in the sky, a golden light was passing by. Two of them. Those golden lights were Galaxy Master and his Pikachu. While searching for some more Rift Energy to retrieve, their journey led them to Ponyville. The humble town where ponies and Pokemon are the most connected.
"Soaring through the night skies, the two heroes decide to finally take a break after hours had passed." Galaxy Master narrated to himself once again, this time, bringing his partner Pikachu into the mixture. The two of them dropped to the ground before emerging as their true physical forms. "Ah...that should do it for today."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Hmm...But if we're going to rest, we must make ourselves comfortable..." Galaxy Master pondered. "The hero pondered greatly, knowing that he must rest. While justice never sleeps, the body still needs to be taken care of at all times. Then it hit him!"
"Pika?"
"Of course! How could I forget about my secret base? The Mighty Star Tower!" He cried out, causing his voice to echo once he brought up that name. "Hm. But...this world is the enemy's territory. They're practically everywhere. Thus, we'll need a secretive spot. Such as...underground! Yes, that's right! It won't be much of a tower if it's underground, but perhaps it's the best option we can have. Of course, we'll need assistance to get it underground."
"There you are!" But before he could do so, someone had found him. And that someone was Princess Luna. From above, she soared towards Galaxy Master, finding his location here at Saddle Lake. It wouldn't be the guards who found him first but Luna.
"What's this?!" Galaxy Master gasped before narrating again. "Suddenly, a pony with the complexion of the night appears with a mane as ethereal as the night sky and graceful yet intimidating wings. She confronts the caped hero and his partner are stunned at her arrival."
"Hm? Um...Thank you?" Luna realized she had just been complimented by Galaxy Master. She would now find out that he tends to narrate as if he were in a comic book. "Anyway. I found you. In the night sky, your golden light is easier to spot and it led me right to this place. Saddle Lake."
"So it seems. You are the one who is the sister to the reigning monarch of this world. Princess Luna." Galaxy Master was already aware of Luna's existence. "A shame I can't place my tower here now."
"You won't be pacing anything anywhere. Seeing that your goal is to restore the Rift, you've already prone to being arrested and locked up. There won't be any shenanigans from you."
"Hm-hm. So you say. However! You cannot arrest justice! I've set my sights on a goal and I plan to see it through!" He pointed at Luna. "I don't sense any Rift Energy in you, so I must kindly take my leave."
"You're not going anywhere." Luna narrowed her eyes as from the darkness of the night, an eerie shadow had popped up. The shadow of Darkrai. Darkrai ascended from behind Galaxy Master, already having a Dark Void available to quickly put an end to this colourful character as soon as possible.
That is until Galaxy Master reacted.
"Milky Way Backflip!" With a bombastic voice, he had already sensed Darkrai's presence, performing a stylish backflip which had evaded Darkrai's Dark Void once it had been unleashed. Darkrai gasped as Galaxy Master let out a star pose after he landed, managing to be both goofy and clever at the same time.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu ran to the side of his partner to keep himself safe.
"A backhanded trick like that won't work on me!" Galaxy Master declared. "You and your Avatar of Darkness will have to do better than that."
"Avatar of Darkness?" Darkrai repeated after being referred to as that. "I actually like that." Once again, Galaxy Master managed to impress others with his bombastic words.
"Dark Void didn't work. I suppose the other options are free to use now." Luna sighed.
"I suppose I have no choice." Galaxy Master then stood tall, narrating once again. "Face to face with two emissaries of darkness, Galaxy Master and his partner Pikachu have been found. In an attempt to bring about their Mighty Star Tower, the radiant Princess of the Night had discovered them and had the power to find them during the night skies!"
"Again with the narration?" Luna raised an eyebrow.
"He speaks as if he's in a book," Darkrai observed. "Even going as far as to describe us instead of himself."
"For the sake of the future, he cannot be allowed to lose here. Thus, he confronts the ebony forces!" Galaxy Master then pointed at them. "Pikachu! I choose you!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu ran forward, standing in front of Galaxy Master with his arms crossed.
"If it's a Pokemon Battle you want, then fine! Darkrai, let's make this quick!" Luna shouted as Darkrai went ahead, ready to face off with Pikachu.
"Swiftly, the hero makes a valiant first move! Light Speed!"
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu went first, using Extreme Speed as he became an immediate yellow blur, rushing towards Darkrai.
"Light Speed? You mean extreme...never mind! Darkrai! Poison Jab!" Luna ordered as Darkrai covered his claws in poison, violently swinging them at Pikachu. The two of them clashed with Pikachu smashing his head onto Darkrai's claws. He used the aura of Extreme Speed as protection from the poison as a fierce clash ensued.
"Immediately, the clash is fierce!" Galaxy Master even narrated the battle. "The two Pokemon meet, seeming equal in strength. However! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" Pikachu ended the clash by moving back. He then switched to his next attack. Thunderbolt. The Mouse Pokemon leapt into the air, manipulating the clouds as Darkrai and Luna looked up. The clouds swirled with thunder flashing within them. And from those clouds, a blast of lightning shot down, covering Pikachu in its power.
"Dark Pulse, quick!"
"Chuuuu!" Pikachu had used the power of the storms themselves, releasing a bolt of electricity that possessed 100,000 volts while Darkrai retaliated, unleashing a beam that was imbued with dark thoughts. They entered a struggle with the two attacks fighting for dominance. The two attacks were equal, cancelling each other out in the process.
"We're already struggling against this one Pikachu?" Luna growled as she had come across another Pikachu who was surprisingly strong. It wasn't just Ash's Pikachu. "Darkrai! Dark Void!"
"The Avatar of Darkness summons a malicious orb of nightmares, unleashing it in the form of multiple orbs! But the reaction to this is swift! My friend! Evade it with Light Speed!"
"Pika!" However, the second Dark Void had been unleashed Pikachu used the speed of Extreme Speed to evade them. He zigzagged, moving in the pattern of a lightning bolt as that continued to work well for him. By evading all of the Dark Voids, he managed to tackle Darkrai, landing the first. "Chu-Pi!"
"Ugh!" Darkrai groaned as the impact of Extreme Speed was fierce thanks to the velocity as he was then pushed back.
"Poison Jab!"
Darkrai retaliated as quickly as he was knocked back, however, immediately returned a counterattack. He swiftly slashed Pikachu with Poison Jab, knocking the Mouse Pokemon away at a greater distance.
"Pika!"
"My electrifying friend! Are you alright?!" Galaxy Master gasped as Pikachu managed to recover by sliding back. He was doing fine.
"Pikachu!"
"For someone so new to the world, you're a skilled one," Luna commented. "The way you battle feels familiar as well."
"Justice always adapts and catches up!" Galaxy Master declared. "Pikachu. My friend. I believe you should deserve some rest for now."
"Pika?"
"In our battle to defeat this evil that spreads across a nation, we must have more allies. No. More friends by our side. For now, sit back and allow your friends to join in and help reach our goal."
"Pika...Pikachu." Pikachu ran back to Galaxy Master, taking a break.
"He's treating this like a normal Pokemon Battle? Don't you understand the stakes here!" Luna aimed her hoof at the caped character.
"Of course I do!" He yelled back with a greater voice. "More than anything. If I lose here, it's all over. And I can't let that happen...so I need your assistance to make sure that is the case, my friend!"
Suddenly, as he let out an echo, an immense pressure was coming from his body. Luna and Darkrai gasped as Luna's mane and tail were being blown by this instant pressure that was coming straight from Galaxy Master.
"W-What is this?!" Luna put up a barrier to try and protect herself from the pressure while Darkrai dug his claws into the barrier to hold on.
"Now! In my galaxy! A great supernova flare of six crimson flames appears!" He shouted out as an actual flare of fire combusted behind him. It resembled that of a supernova as it began damaging Luna's barrier. Six flaming stars had also surrounded Galaxy Master before becoming one with the supernova. "Do you wish to back out?! It's too late to back out, I'm afraid! With a blazing glory! Come to me! Dragon of the Mighty flames! Charizard!"
Pillars of fire had burst out of the ground, making it seem like there was a volcano erupting around the area as there was even a red ambience. There was a second combustion with the supernova as out of it, the Flame Pokemon Charizard let out a mighty roar. The supernovas were obliterated by his roar as Galaxy Master had summoned a Charizard.
"Charizard!"
"Unbelievable...he summoned a Pokemon...?" Luna couldn't believe her eyes. She had never seen anyone casually summon a Pokemon. Or even summon them at all.
"Stunned, they come face to face with the Dragon of the Mighty Flames." He narrated. "Charizard! A great advantage has been made for the side of justice!"
"I-It's not a dragon though..." Luna stammered.
"Charizard! My friend! Guide us to victory! Draconic Crush!"
"Char!" Charizard would use Dragon Claw, summoning massive green energy claws before immediately charging in.
"You mean Dragon Claw?! Poison Jab!" Darkrai would meet Charizard's attack with his own claws. Now that Galaxy Master has shown how strong he was, Darkrai couldn't afford to take it easy as Dragon Claw and Poison Jab had clashed. Sparks flew from the impact as they went back and forth, clashing their claws against each other.
"Charizard!" Charizard blocked some incoming hits from Darkrai's Poison Jab, holding his claws out in an x-shape. e then pushed Darkrai's claws back before going in for a swing, only for Darkrai to fly over him. The Flame Pokemon ascended, pursuing Darkrai as an aerial battle ensued.
The Flame Pokemon and the Pitch Black Pokemon had an aerial battle that was both heavy and swift. Orange and black blurs zoomed through the skies with green and purple sparks flying everywhere. They butted heads while also putting their claws against each other.
One final strike and they both managed to hit each other in the face. Both Pokemon had been knocked back as Darkrai was now having to hold his own against two powerful Pokemon.
"Don't let up Darkrai! Thunderbolt, now!"
"Charizard! Great Blazing Stream!" And by that, he meant Flamethrower.
"Chari...Zard!" Charizard would meet Thunderbolt with Flamethrower, unleashing a blazing scarlet stream from his mouth as it smashed into the bolt of 100,000 volts. And this time, the one to win the struggle was Charizard as his flames had blazed through the volts.
"What?!" Luna gasped.
"There's nothing the Great Dragon cannot burn down! G!"
"Charizard!" Charizard flames had consumed Darkrai's Thunderbolt before then engulfing him. Darkrai received a heavy hit from Charizard's Flamethrower, causing him to grimace. The flames then combusted, bringing out a bright explosion that rustled the trees.
Darkrai flew out of the explosion with smoke trailing out of his body. The Dark-Type was still conscious but that attack winded him a bit.
"Ah, but we aren't finished! Relentless, he makes another attack! Charizard! Cleaving Blades of the Sky!"
"Zard!" And by that, he meant Air Slash. Charizard flapped his wings, sending out blades of wind that could cut through the sky itself.
"I refuse to lose like this!" But Luna wouldn't let herself be beaten like this. Not under a standard Pokemon Battle. "Darkrai! Now's a good time to try this out."
Luna closed her eyes along with Darkrai as an aura of darkness had embezzled the Pitch Black Pokemon. They were digging into the Harmony Phenomenon as Darkrai was bringing out a newfound power. It was still new to both of them as it was only used once for a few seconds. But this time, the power showed more of itself as the forcefield of darkness had blocked the blades of wind.
"What's this?! The Princess of the Night and the Avatar of Darkness have brought out a dark power! The blades of wind have been completely blocked off!" He narrated yet again.
"Darkrai! Now! Use the shadows to your will!"
Darkrai put his claws together, manipulating not just his shadow, but also the shadows of everything here. The shadows of the trees, the shadows of the plants and even the shadows of Galaxy Master and Charizard.
"P-Pika?!"
"What?! We're being lifted?!" Galaxy Master then noticed that his body was being taken off the ground as his shadows were being manipulated by Darkrai.
"Thanks to the Harmony Phenomenon, I can bring out the best of Darkrai...It's still so new to me, but I believe I can understand it. With this, the shadows of everyone are under Darkrai's control. Go, Darkrai!"
"C-Charizard!" Charizard had been smashed into the ground by Darkrai manipulating the shadows. Meanwhile, Galaxy Master and Pikachu had been restrained by shadow tendrils that ended up wrapping around their bodies.
"The clutches of darkness have us restrained. Truly, a terrifying force." Galaxy Master growled while also narrating. Whether he was winning or in trouble, he would narrate. "But...the flames of Charizard say otherwise! Watch as they shine with the light of a supernova! Flamethrower!
"Charizard!" Just then, Charizard had used Flamethrower in a unique way. Much like how Pikachu uses Thunderbolt and Surf differently, Charizard ended up exuding fire from his entire body instead of just his mouth.
He became a living fireball, emanating a flame of great ferocity that any Fire-Type would admire. And the light from it was so intense that much to the surprise of Luna and Darkrai, it was pushing back the shadows, removing Darkrai's control over the Flame Pokemon. The flames had even protected Pikachu and Galaxy Master.
"That can't be!"
"Oh, but it be! Shine brighter my friend!" Galaxy Master's voice echoed out as Charizard had more to give out.
"This is dangerous but...let's use some more, Darkrai!" Luna had used her magic in unison with Darkrai's power. She would push herself with this newfound power from the Harmony Phenomenon as Darkrai expanded his sphere of darkness.
The flames and the darkness fought against each other viciously as it was taking more than what Luna expected to try and overcome this. The two of them were far too vast as an eclipsing light and a consuming darkness had filled Saddle Lake. Afterwards, the attacks had cancelled each other out in the process.
Their battle could be seen from Saddle Lake and this only boosted the intensity of it as the entirety of Saddle Lake had been overtaken by these dual forces. The Canterlot Guards were already heading there minutes ago before witnessing the bright flash of light that had eclipsed everything.
"You...!" Luna spoke while everything was being eclipsed. "You!" But then silence filled the air as Luna had pushed herself when it came to the Harmony Phenomenon, putting an end to this conflict.
4 minutes later.
4 minutes had passed ever since that flash of light. The guards had arrived to see the outcome. And the outcome was that there was no winner. Despite everything that happened, neither side claimed victory. Instead, they tied. However, Luna was being held by Darkrai after pushing herself while Galaxy Master and his Pokemon were nowhere to be seen.
"Your majesty! What happened!?" The guards asked.
"He got away...curse it all." Luna sighed, holding her head. "I wish we had better control of that power, Darkrai. Then maybe, we would've caught him."
"Maybe. But he was far greater than what we were told about him. Being able to summon a Pokemon and do that?" Darkrai replied.
"Right then. Keep searching for him. He's out there somewhere, aiming to start up his own base of operations." Luna was placed down.
"The Pokemon Festival is in one week, your majesty. What should we do about that since so many ponies, people and Pokemon will be there."
"Oh, we'll wait for him there." Luna breathed in and out. "The Pokemon Festival will be when we catch him. The presence of Rift Energy will be greater than ever. Just you wait, Galaxy Master."
Luna was now more determined than ever to catch Galaxy Master. He was a tricky one. Both were bombastic in how he acted but he was a formidable Pokemon Trainer, housing an amazing wealth of skill and the power to seemingly summon any Pokemon to his side.
The Pokemon Festival was nearby and Luna was aiming t meet him there. Because at the Pokemon Festival, all walks of life would be there. All she had to do was wait for that week to come.
"What is this?" Currently, news about the current character known as Galaxy Master had been spread out as news. Newspapers about this entity came out at great speeds for everyone to see. Rarity held the newspaper, witnessing it for herself. "Another Rift Creation?"
"This one looks flashy, doesn't he?" Sweetie Belle looked over.
"Oh, but he does dress nicely." Rarity nodded in approval of Galaxy Master's outfit. At least, the drawing of it, based on what Luna had seen for herself. "It says that his goal is to restore the Rift by gathering as much Rift Energy as he can. Ooh, that's almost everything in this world and the Pokemon World, isn't it? And the Pokemon Festival is closing in. Hmm...it'll be sorted out later."
"You think so?"
"Of course. I have a good feeling that this will keel over in fairly soon." Rarity had high confidence that the Galaxy Master debacle would be short-lived. "We need to get ready for the Pokemon Festival. This isn't a big problem."
"It is a big problem!" Just then, interrupting Rarity and shutting down her words was Twilight Sparkle. In a burst of magic, Twilight used her magic to teleport to Rarity's home. "It might be bigger than we think!"
"What? Really?" Rarity turned to face Twilight, not at all bothered that she suddenly appeared in her home. "How so?"
"This isn't just some random Rift Creation. I recognize this character." Twilight held out the newspaper. "This is Ash's character!"
"Ash's character?!" The two sisters repeated.
"That's right. I recognize him. It was back at the Sea Temple when he was brought up. This character right here was made by Ash when he was a kid. A fanmade comic book that he would do."
"Ooh, so that's why he looks like a superhero." Sweetie Belle gawked.
"I was blown back when I saw this. Even though his appearance is far more detailed and lifelike, he still resembles how he looks in the book. But it feels like something like this would've happened eventually since the Rift knows about everyone and their lives."
"But why choose this?" Rarity asked. "A character from the imagination of a child? That's a bit of an odd choice, isn't it? Why couldn't it have gone for anything else than that?"
"The Rift is still weak thanks to Ash's Aura, so this was probably the best it could do. And for it to choose this of all things...it had to be for a big reason." Twilight wondered. "The Rift is out to get Ash after what happened with the Aura, so choosing his childhood creation might be the key to that. Either way, I have to tell Princess Celestia right away."
"What about Ash?" Rarity asked before Twilight could teleport away. "Shouldn't he know about this? It is his creation."
"Oh, he'll know. It's everywhere now." Twilight then departed, teleporting away from Carousel Boutique. She was one of the few individuals that knew about Galaxy Master prior to this news. Rarity and Sweetie Belle had now learned that this wasn't just a random troublemaker. It was tied back to Ash, as a form of burning vengeance by using his own childhood creation.
"Hm. Well, we're about to have an eventful 3 weeks." Rarity shrugged it all off. "This year's Pokemon Festival will be 3 weeks long this time."
Canterlot.
"So...that's it is." Celestia had been given all the information she needed thanks to Twilight. Luna was present in the room as well, learning more about Galaxy Master. "The Rift would use something like that?"
"It's weird, no doubt," Twilight replied. "But it does make sense as a form of revenge."
"Using someone's childhood creation like that...how despicable!" Luna growled, still feeling bitter about last night and even now after learning about Galaxy Master's origin.
"Well, we have a peculiar enemy now. Luna suggested that we should try and catch him during the Pokemon Festival, where the presence of Rift Energy will be higher than ever. And I thought that was an amazing idea."
"Will we be able to catch him there?" Twilight asked.
"Most definitely. or at least, intercept him. And on the topic of the Pokemon Festival...we're making it far bigger than the last two." Celestia smirked.
The Pokemon Festival was being set up at the moment. The third one aimed to be bigger than the previous two, which were already big in their own rights. But it wasn't just going to be bigger across both worlds. Celestia aimed to push the size of this Pokemon Festival. And there was only one way to do so.
"We'll make this third Pokemon Festival multiversal. Send it across the other universes." Celestia had used her magic to open up multiple gateways. She was making this Pokemon Festival multiversal, choosing to spread the joy of this festival to other universes, especially after what they had been through. All the decorations and attractions of the Pokemon Festival were being brought over.
"Multiversal?! Really?!" Twilight bellowed.
"Really," Celestia repeated. "We'll be seeing a lot more colourful individuals now. I can guarantee you this'll bring even brighter smiles to them."
"By the way...What is Ash's reaction to this?" Luna asked. "How does he feel about something like this?"
"He's probably seen it by now and his reaction...? Well, we can only guess what it could be."
Ponyville. SugarCube Corner.
"No way..." Ash had indeed seen it. It was everywhere. The moment he went to SugarCube Corner, the image of his own creation smacked him in the face. Pinkie Pie was the one to show him the news. Also, present within SugarCube Corner was Bea, who wasn't even aware of how big of a deal this was. "Can it really be him?"
"Pika?"
"You looked pretty stunned by this, Ash." Pinkie Pie noticed. "News about this guy got out fast and blew up big too. What do you think about this?"
"This is...This is..." Ash's words were being prolonged, trying to process this. His reaction to this revelation was unknown. Until now. A bright smile graced his face, showing his pearly whites. "Awesome!"
"It is?" Pinkie Pie squinted her eyes.
"Oh yeah! He's real!" Ash stood up, holding the newspaper. "He's actually real! This is amazing! Galaxy Master!"
"Isn't this a problem?" Bea asked. "Why are you so excited about this?"
"Galaxy Master's someone I made when I was young. I wanted to make my own superhero and story about it, so I did. But I never would've thought he'd be real." Ash held the newspaper close to him. "Man, I can't wait to meet him!"
"Sounds fun. But maybe meeting him might not be the best thing ever." Pinkie Pie slid over. "He's kinda public enemy number one thanks to this newspaper right here. But he doesn't sound too bad."
"It says here that they'll be planning to find him during the Pokemon Festival." Bea read the news. "That'll be the place for you to find him. If he's exactly how you pictured him as a kid."
"He's gotta be!" Ash pumped his fist. "I just know it. But I didn't think the Rift would use him. Pretty neat stuff, if you ask me. It's gonna make this year's Pokemon Festival even better than it was."
"I wish I had my own childhood character brought to life." Pinkie Pie pouted. "I made a rock sculpture of a clown when I was young back at my home. I can only see him now if were to come to life..." She then imagined this character of her own. A clown that was made out of rocks. A Rock Clown Pony.
"Everything here and anything involved with it continues to feel straight out of a storybook," Bea replied before eating a cake. "Mmm. But that's the best part about our respective worlds, isn't it? It's a child's dream. Just like how this place is my dream as well."
"I can't wait to see you, Galaxy Master," Ash said to himself while staring at the drawing of his own character. Despite how the news portrayed it, he couldn't help but be amazed. It was a dream come true for him in every way.
Universe 6. Equestria. Canterlot. Afternoon.
Over at Universe 6, much like every other universe, the Pokemon Festival was being set up there. There were enough resources to go around. A staggeringly gigantic amount of resources.
Everypony would have their chance to see what the Pokemon World had to offer. It was an exciting feeling for all of them considering how interested they were with these Strange and Wonderful creatures. And of course, the Mane 6 of this universe were excited to the core too, similar to their universe one counterparts.
Twilight was still in her home to this day, but she was feeling less down thanks to her short trip to the other worlds and experiencing Pokemon for the first time.
She looked outside the window, seeing the decorations for the Pokemon Festival being set up. And as to be expected, there were Pokemon here as well, helping the humans set things up. This world and its inhabitants were not strangers to humans, especially since they helped free their universe.
Looking outside the window and admiring all the Pokemon put Twilight at ease. It was even encouraging her to come out of her room. There were Pokemon she's already seen before and new ones for her eyes to grace.
"Wow..." The alicorn gawked in awe. But while she was admiring what was outside, she was oblivious to who was inside. Or rather, behind her.
"Deerling."
"It is a great sight." She unknowingly replied to a Deerling. Immediately, Twilight gasped before turning around, spotting the Normal-Grass-Type. It was the Deerling from before who had joined her for a few hours in the Pokemon World. He had shown up again, still rocking that Summer Form. "Oh! Deerling! Hi, boy!"
"Deerling!" Deerling cried out as he had embraced Twilight. It hadn't been too long since they've seen each other at all, but it felt good to reunite especially since they were universes apart. Deerling already knew where Twilight lived, prompting him to show up here with ease, especially since the gateways had been opened up.
"So, what's this all about? Why the big show?" Twilight asked. Deerling knew exactly what this was all about as he has seen two Pokemon Festivals in a row. Twilight would have to wait and see what this was all about for herself. "Well, whatever it is, it's a great excuse to get out again. I was already planning on heading back to the Pokemon World. This is a bonus."
And all this time, her parents were listening in on this from outside her door. They nodded in approval as the existence of Pokemon was the best thing that could've happened to their daughter considering how long she had been locked up. Twilight's smile was appearing frequently. Her room was even starting to pile up with some Pokemon books she managed to receive. And she had one good friend to thank for that.
Herself.
Universe One. The Human World. Twilight's Home. Afternoon.
And by herself, that meant the Twilight Sparkle from this world. Or Sci-Twi as she has been named as of recently. Over at her world, after Celestia brought up the Pokemon Festival, Twilight along with her friends had been encouraged to join it.
Granted, this world was still so alien to Pokemon, so the festival would not show up here. But, they had the gateway to Eindoak Town in the Unova Region that they could use. The festival would be anywhere in the Pokemon World. Currently, Twilight was speaking to Professor Oak about this upcoming festival.
"I get to do all of that?" She said.
"And more. Of course, it will last 3 weeks and that could get in the way of your search for Alpha Pokemon..." Oak replied.
"That's completely fine. I can have fun there and maybe have a chance t find an Alpha Pokemon. It can't be too hard since it'll be extra large and this festival goes everywhere. Even on routes. Isn't this exciting, all of you?"
"Pikachu!" Alpha Pikachu agreed, running up to Twilight. He couldn't quite rest on her shoulder much like how Ash's Pikachu does or even on her head. He was bigger than the average Pikachu after all.
"About Pikachu...I got that report you sent me. It's a surprise that I'm looking at a great-great, how many great grandfather Pikachu right now. Must've been a nice family reunion between the two."
"Mhm. I felt nervous when I was given the choice to try and catch him. If I did, I would've probably messed with time and ruined everything." Twilight nervously laughed. "But that mysterious witch told me that the Time Leak had unique effects. I think by catching Pikachu, one of those effects showed up. Ash and his Pikachu are still around after all and everything looks normal. What do you think, Professor Oak?"
"I'm starting to question if Dialga was truly the one who made those." Professor Oak pondered. "I thought so at first, but this doesn't sound like anything Dialga would allow unless there's more to it. Either way, catching those Alpha Pokemon is a huge risk, huge reward type of scenario now, isn't it?"
"Yeah. There's a good chance everything stays the same or I might end up redoing everything. So...no pressure."
"No pressure indeed." Oak laughed. "But, like you said, you did something to make things carry on normally. If you ask me, it's that you have a good heart."
"Is that the reason why?"
"Not sure. But it would be nice. Anyway, I'll be seeing you next week when the Pokemon Festival starts." Oak and Twilight eventually hung up their call.
"Maybe he's right. That's what I was thinking when I caught you, Pikachu."
"Pika?"
"What else could it be? That witch said it all depended on what I did. If i had done something else, would Time have changed? Because then, you would've gone somewhere else and then something would happen to time. Or if I were to catch you under different circumstances."
"That's just confusing me a bit." Hisuian Zorua said.
"Ah, I shouldn't overthink it too much for now. All that matters is that we have a new friend here. But ZOrua...you said that yu saw that witch before, didn't you?"
"I did. It was very long ago. Or I guess...2 years ago back in my time. I was still getting used to Hisui after becoming this new form. And when I was roaming around, lost, that's when I saw her. She had those same red eyes and that green hair of hers. She was kind of creepy when I first saw her. I couldn't believe it when I saw her again. It was definitely her."
"Green hair and red eyes..." Twilight repeated. "That's the only thing we can describe her by. I was thinking about Ghetsis since he has green hair and green eyes but...nothing much to pull from there. She could be a descendant too. Yeah, that could be it."
"Or maybe she time travelled too." Spike chimed in. "She just disappeared out of nowhere right afterwards. Just saying."
"Maybe. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. Let's take our minds off it. There's a lot for you to see."
Equestria. Magehold. Afternoon.
"The Pokemon Festival. What a golden opportunity." And of course, since the Pokemon Festival was a recent yet major event in this world, it would catch the attention of everyone. And that means everyone. Including the Dread League.
Rosa Maledicta managed to get her hooves on a newspaper as she stood on the balcony, reading about the upcoming festival. She had Opal Vivacity to thank for that and her natural charms on others.
"It's the third one this year, your highness. We could use this to try and find Yveltal. But then again...there'll be a massive increase in ponies, Pokemon and people. Possibly even more species will show up now that I think about it."
"Exactly why we must go. A staggering number of people will be there and one of them must know something about Yveltal. I believe it's time for us to get involved in these events. Let's enjoy the Pokemon Festival!" She then raised her voice, speaking to her subjects below.
They all cheered in unison as they would use this opportunity to find something. Anything about Yveltal. Of course, subtlety was key. As a bonus, they get to enjoy an event that appealed to many. But their intentions said otherwise. As the vampires and skeletons all cheered, Rosa flipped the newspaper, spotting Galaxy Master on it.
"As for any annoyances, we'll eliminate them as well." She referred to Galaxy Master.
"Did you hear that? We get to go to the Pokemon Festival!" Night Sprout cheered along with her fellow vampire foals.
"I've always wanted to give that one a swing. And when I get there I'll have a rematch against him." Spectrum Shade referred to Ash. "Maybe. Possibly. Hopefully. He won't be too hard to miss."
"What about us?" But the skeletons thought otherwise. Despite them cheering the words of their ruler, going out into the world and especially during one of the biggest events was a big challenge in their eyes. Their non-existent hollow eyes. "We can't possibly step out there in these forms."
"Same here. But you guys don't have to worry about being burned to a crisp." Spectrum Shade shrugged. "Looks like you're gonna have to wait your turn. Don't worry. When Yveltal ends up getting rid of everyone, we'll have a fourth Pokemon Festival that'll involve skeletons. Not so bad, is it?"
"Beh." The skeleton ponies scoffed as they were visibly annoyed. At least, in the way they jittered. But they would still play their part in all of this. Especially during the Black Crusade.
The Pokemon Festival was just an extension to Rosa Maledicta personally. And it was all for the task of finding and capturing Yveltal. The Destruction Pokemon. And in the words of Rosa, this was all she had to say to Equestria.
"You can't hear it yet, but the bells are ringing for your Equestria. This is a Prelude to Destruction."
Kanto. Pallet Town. Ketchum Household. Nightfall.
"We're home." Ash and Pikachu had returned home, greeting Delia.
"Welcome home, you two. Are you getting ready for this year's Pokemon Festival? I know I am." Delia replied. "With this one being 3 weeks, I'll go the distance and travel everywhere."
"Mhm. I can't wait to see who I'll meet this time. But I know who else I'm gonna meet during this third festival." Ash smiled, looking at the picture of his family.
"Oh. Your father?"
"Not really. But yes." Ash shrugged. "I'll just tell you what I learned today. You're gonna love this, mom." Ash was ready to spill what he had learned today about the real-life existence of Galaxy Master. A week will pass and the festival will come.
Much like before, many familiar faces will appear. Some old and some new. And in the words of Ash, in a way, his father would appear. That remained to be seen as these three weeks will be one to remember and live to the fullest as the journey continues.
The Third Pokemon Festival was here. 3 weeks of complete fun across not just both worlds, but now multiple worlds, making this the largest one so far. The first week had arrived, kickstarting the festival.
"Ooooh. It's always during summer, isn't it?" Delia stepped out of her home, wearing a sunhat and sundress under this intense heat. "Hope we don't get burnt under the sun."
"I kinda thrive in the sun." Ash jumped out of his home, raising his arms. "Makes me feel lucky!"
"Pikachu!"
"Well, well. Where should we start? So many options. Everywhere in the Pokemon World is available and in a festive mood. Aside from Christmas, that is." Delia pondered as Mr Mime left the room with some bags, knowing that Delia would be busy shopping.
"That's a lot of bags. You're going on a huge shopping spree for these 3 weeks, aren't you, mom?"
"Princess Celestia did a massive favour and sent me loads of gold that I could convert into Pokedollars. Such is the benefit of you being Equestria's hero." Delia giggled. "I'd be crazy not to use all that gold she sent me."
"Yeah. That was one of her ways of saying thanks." Ash nodded in response.
"Well, she wasted all of it!" Appearing as a shadow next to Ash, visibly aggravated was King Sombra. "I was going to use that gold personally to spice up my room!"
"My home, my rules." Delia stuck her tongue out. "Looks like you'll have to work for it just like my son and Pikachu do. Heroes and everything."
"Tch. Now I have to spend three weeks around some ridiculous festival." Sombra growled.
"Ah, it's not all doom and gloom. You're gonna find something neat at this festival, Sombra. No doubt about it." Ash laughed. "Anyway. I'm gonna meet up with both Twilights at Unova. Where are you headed, mom?"
"I'll start with your option! Unova! Lead the way, son! We've got a lot of work to do for these 3 weeks!" Delia pointed forward. "All these Pokedollars are craving to be used."
"Gotcha. It'll be Castelia City." Ash would lead the way with Delia and Mr Mime following right afterwards. Sombra decided to emerge in his physical form, immediately using his magic to put on his disguise as the pony known as Jet Black.
But of course, Kanto had something to offer since it was a part of the Pokemon Festival. Pallet Town was met with some visitors from Equestria as Ash and Delia indulged in some festival activities from the get-go.
One of them was a Prize Punch game. A massive board that was filled with these steel circles could be seen as Ash stopped to take part in it. The goal of this was to try and smash through these hard circles and receive a price. Ash knew who would work well for this.
"Alright, Lucario! Force Palm!"
"Luca!" Lucario smashed his paw through one of the circles to the left, shattering it. Out of the circle, Lucario was granted some unique glasses that had a bio-luminescent glow around the edges and on the frames that immediately fell into his paws. "Rrr?"
"Nice! But, what's up with those glasses?" Ash wondered as Lucario put them on. The moment they were put on, this allowed Lucario to see everything in inverse. He immediately took them off, blinking for a bit before passing the gift to Ash, not wanting it. "Gee thanks."
"Ooh! Let me have a swing at it! Mimey, Focus Punch!" Delia aimed to get in on the action.
"Mime-Mime!" Mr Mime would do the same. He channelled some strength into his fist before smashing through one of the steel circles. A successful impact as a random prize would now be ejected towards him. For Mr Mime, he received what seemed to be a massive cloak with polka dots on it.
But when the cloak came his way, landing on him, Mr Mime's body became invisible along with the cloak and the only thing that remained were polka dots. Mr Mime was still there, but it was just floating polka dots that could be seen.
"Ooh, neat stuff." Ash nodded. "You can use that cloak for stealth."
"No, you can't. The polka dots still remain. What use will this be?" Sombra protested while Mr Mime moved around as a walking pair of polka dots. The group continued as they would take some time to reach Unova since they were getting distracted by all the activities placed around the Pokemon Festival.
Unova. Castelia City. Day.
And meanwhile, over at Unova, Twilight and Rainbow Dash had already arrived there. And immediately, they had already taken part in the activities, gathering up some prizes. But for today, they had a set goal for this Pokemon Festival. At least, for this first week.
"This festival's also going to be used to catch this Galaxy Master character," Twilight said to Rainbow Dash. "He'll go straight for anything that has Rift Energy and I'm one of them since I became a vessel for Rift Magic."
"Still can't believe that Ash's creation came to life like that. But boy...that's so awesome." Rainbow Dash grinned and much like Ash, she was all for Galaxy Master considering that he was a real-life comic book character that came to life. "Lucky Ash! I gotta meet him!"
"You seriously want to meet him?" Twilight questioned.
"Totally. I mean, he's gonna give us problems, but still. Might as well enjoy this. It wouldn't be the first time we've met with fiction."
"You're right. Hope those problems aren't too big though..."
"Anyway. Here's what I wanna do at this festival. For this one, I've got a chance to battle an Elite 4 Member. From any region. Get a good look at this." Rainbow Dash dug into her bag, holding out a flier. "Says here for this Pokemon Festival, you get to battle an Elite 4 Member across each region. And that's what I wanna do."
"Elite 4 Members? That's a big jump, don't you think?"
"Nah. Totally fine." Rainbow Dash scoffed. "I'm gonna start here at Unova and battle an Elite 4 Member. They should also appear in different locations to boot."
"What if you get trampled?"
"I'm not gonna get trampled." She protested again, believing in herself to stand a chance against any of them.
"Okay then. But you'll have to be ready if you're gonna face an Elite 4 Member. You don't want a repeat of what happened with Lightning Dust."
"It won't be a repeat." Rainbow Dash shook her head before shifting her eyes to the side and speaking in a lower tone. "I hope. Anyway. I won't feel too bad about it when I lose to one of them. Battling an Elite 4 Member is the perfect way to see how far I've gotten. In fact...hey, let's battle Twilight!"
"You and me? Battle?"
"Yeah, yeah. We haven't done it yet and I want to warm up before I meet one of the Elite 4 Members. I'll start here at Unova and then next I'll go to...hmmm..."
"Hey! Hello!" Before Rainbow Dash could think of her next destination, a familiar voice had rung out to her.
"Not now, Twilight. I'm thinking." Rainbow Dash replied, hearing Twilight's voice. But it wasn't the Twilight Sparkle next to her.
"Oh, that would be her." Twilight nudged her head, revealing that the one who called out for them was Sci-Twi. She came running over as she was already set to be here thanks to Ash. Alpha Pikachu ran past her, stopping in front of Twilight and Rainbow Dash.
"Hm? Oh, it's you!" Rainbow Dash cried out. "Uh...What did Ash call you again? Science something?"
"It's Sci-Twi. And it's nice meeting you two again. Especially myself for the second time." Sci-Twi faced Twilight as this was their second time meeting each other. But now, it would be less awkward since they were already aware of each other from their respective worlds. "Hi..." She gently waved her arm.
"Hi." Twilight greeted back, waving her hoof. "I see you've been busy with your Alpha Pokemon work...You've got an unusually large Pikachu. Ash's Pikachu's ancestor, right?"
"Pikachu!" Alpha Pikachu nodded.
"He is. Great to speak to you without things being awkward. But it must be weird for you Rainbow Dash. To see two of us just talking to each other like this."
"Nah. We have hundreds of Twilights come over one time, so it's not a big deal." Rainbow Dash shrugged it off. This sight would be bizarre to others, but not to her. "But hey. At least you get to see me as a pony? Don't I look cool?" She put on a bright grin.
"You looked adorable as it." Sci-Twi thought otherwise, stunning Rainbow Dash. Sci-Twi laughed right afterwards along with Pikachu and Spike.
"I was afraid you'd say that..." Rainbow Dash knew that to be the truth.
"So, this Pokemon Festival...what's there to do?" Sci-Twi asked.
"Well, usually this festival is always erratic and things happen around us. Just like now." Twilight nudged her head to the sky as an object was flying this way. They each looked up as both Twilight and Rainbow Dash spread out their wings to try and catch this spherical object.
"I got it first!" Rainbow Dash managed to reach the object first, catching it with her mouth as Twilight missed. "Yes!"
"Nice catch! Come here for your prize!" This was part of a Pokemon Festival game as Rainbow Dash had been called over, being the lucky one to catch this object.
"Aww...." Twilight sighed as Rainbow Dash got giddy.
"We'll battle later. I'm gonna get something first." The pegasus flew away, heading for the attraction.
"Oh well. So, why don't I help you out?" Twilight said to her Human Counterpart. "I have some experience here in this world. Especially with Unova. We can start with something good to eat?"
"I just had breakfast already but..." Sci-Twi gazed at the food stands and all of their unique selections. "Having something else to eat so soon wouldn't hurt too much."
"Great. Anything to prolong my battle with Rainbow Dash. Gotta prepare for that and I'd like you to take me on an Alpha Pokemon search if that's possible." Twilight asked as she, her counterpart and their Pokemon were ready to get some nosh. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was getting her hooves on all these prizes that she could choose from.
Castelia City was always usually lively, but now thanks to the Pokemon Festival, everywhere is as lively as Castelia City with huge crowds being spotted everywhere. Even on routes. Routes are never that populated, to begin with, but because of the Pokemon Festival catering to even Wild Pokemon, you couldn't go anywhere without seeing someone. This festival would involve everyone. Even those who were unknown.
Especially the vampires.
Vampires from Magehold were present. After learning about the 3rd Annual Pokemon Festival, by the order of Rosa Maledicta, some of them had been sent to the Pokemon Festival to gather more information about Yveltal. With an event this big, they had to take the chance.
To protect themselves from the harsh sunlight, they all wore something over their backs and heads. Among one of these ponies were the ones who tried getting the book from Sci-Twi a few months ago and had once again shown up at Unova.
Opal Vivacity, Sweet Fang and Spectrum Shade. Opal was in a similar outfit as Delia, having the sunhat and everything. They were all over at one of the food stands, getting some cold drinks and some food to eat.
"See what I see?" Opal spoke, slightly raising her sunhat as she had spotted Sci-Twi.
"Totally. It's her." Sweet Fang replied, staying in the shades to protect themselves. "We still have that demon in the box. We can have a second go at trying to dig into her memories. Doesn't hurt to try again."
"We didn't bring the box with us. Fractured Note has it this time," said Spectrum Shade.
"Hmmm...She looks to have a Pikachu with her now. That's double the light energy." Opal narrowed her eyes. "We'll just keep our eye on her for a bit, just in case. We still need to focus on others if we're going to find something about Yveltal."
"Yeah but...there's a second one." Spectrum Shade spotted the second Twilight who came from their world. "What about her?"
"Same for her. Let's not make any rash decisions. Besides, I'm enjoying this drink. This isn't so bad. It's better than pumpkin juice." Opal drank the soda. "Mmm!"
"That's true." Sweet Fang nodded in agreement. "The food's just as good."
"Might have to do some extra sweet-talking for more of these." Opal giggled.
"Well, I don't wanna just sit around and wait." Spectrum Shade craved some excitement. She looked around, seeing what could grab her attention was her head slumped on the table. And thankfully, the Pokemon Festival offered something for everyone.
Rainbow Dash was still holding onto the flier that allowed her to challenge the Elite 4 Members. She looked at the flier, selecting one of the Unovan Elite 4 Members, already deciding who she would like to battle first. Spectrum Shade stood up, adjusting her baseball cap before narrowing her eyes.
Spying on Twilight and her friends paid off as Spectrum Shade found something that could satisfy her. The Elite 4 Challenge sounded enticing as the multi-coloured-maned vampire sat up. "Oooh. I know what I wanna do."
Equestria. Canterlot. Day.
Much like Castelia, Canterlot was flooded with visitors for the Pokemon Festival. Celestia had already gone the distance by allowing other universes to enjoy this festival, opening up multiple gateways. But aside from different universes, Celestia also allowed the nation of Pegalysium to join in on the fun.
"Celestia!" Luminary greeted Celestia as the Royal Family from Pegalysium had shown up. Celestia and Luminary approached each other, embracing in a hug. "Oh, thank you for the invite!"
"It's no problem, my friends! A shame I couldn't get it all up to Pegalysium." Celestia greeted back as she and Luminary patted each other on the back.
"It's fine, it's fine. Paramount here's been planning to use his Rift Magic to sort that out." Luminary replied.
"Mmm. Travels to Pegalysium and Canterlot will be made easier from now on. Starmap's maps will be updated to show pathways." Paramount said.
"Hey, dad. COuld I uh...run off and do my own thing?" Shooting Star asked.
"Go ahead. But stay safe." Paramount allowed it as Shooting Star was gone at the speed of a shooting star, rushing off to explore the Pokemon Festival freely. But secretly, with just the flap of his wings, Pegalysium Guards started stealthily following him. "Ahem. Celestia. About those Poke Balls..."
"Ah, it's fine. All of them should be up there in no time. Hope it's not too difficult to use them. And just to be safe, I made sure that they were all Quick Balls. One throw and there's a good chance the Pokemon will be caught in a second. But it's always best to get to know them first."
"I tried that. The Unown are difficult Pokemon to understand. I can't tell what they're feeling." Luminary shook her head as the Unown always had the same expressions. Which was only one expression. "But, the others will have more to offer."
"Enjoy yourself. As for me, I'll be busy for maybe...the first two days. This festival is friendly to everyone, no matter the status." Celestia turned around. "Oh, and if you happen to see a costumed character, it'd be great if you could tell us that."
"Is something wrong?" Luminary asked.
"Something is very wrong." Appearing out of nowhere without warning was Luna. She was as stealthy as her ace Pokemon Darkrai. "This festival is also being used to catch someone. Someone who was made by the Rift. A superhero from a child's old fanmade book...It's a bit of an odd story..."
"Sounds fun! I'd love to hear it!" Luminary was interested while Celestia departed from the castle, heading off to do her own thing. Celestia ended up heading to a certain room. A room that she had already been in last week. The room where the mirror to the Human World was.
She wanted to experience that feeling again. Being a human was fun for her from start to finish and experiencing that form while taking part in the Pokemon Festival was a combination that she couldn't resist.
The Princess of the Sun immediately jumped through the mirror with Passion and Arcanine following right afterwards. It was time for a second run as a Human. Premium Polish, who was secretly within this room, had shimmied away from a treasure chest she was hiding behind, just witnessing Celestia enter the human world.
"She must really love being a human to go there with such energy." Premium Polish commented. "The only gateway there leads to Unova...so I'll meet her there and surprise her." Feeling playful, Premium Polish would try and make her way to Unova as quickly as she could. All she needed to do was head to Manehattan and surprise her.
Meanwhile, right above Canterlot, two massive forces had flown by, casting large shadows over the castle and even Canterlot itself. That would be the Twin Dragons Reshiram and Zekrom.
The two of them would also indulge in the Pokemon Festival. They've just finished protecting another world and stopping the Empress' forces yet again and joining the festival was a great option to relax. They didn't have a set destination. All they wanted to do was fly across the world but without needing to race. But Reshiram wouldn't mind slowing down as he has experienced the things the ponies of Canterlot do. Especially since he was paralyzed and stuck at Canterlot Gardens for a while.
"It's tradition over at Pegalysium to perform a dance to illustrate their family history on the winter solstice. It's supposed to be a symbol of strength and generosity." Down below, the ponies of Pegalysium were sharing some of their nation's knowledge with the ponies of Equestria, along with some humans who had shown up.
"Aw, isn't that sweet?" A Canterlot pony replied.
"And in the city of Airton, it is tradition for grandmothers to be the first to sing a song to newborn babies. It's supposed to bring good fortune and health. I made sure to do it first by knocking everyone out. So guess who's still healthy even with this old body/" An old pony said with a proud smile, making the other ponies look at each other nervously.
"I've gotten used to this world. Even more so than my own world. I wouldn't mind staying here." Reshiram spoke to Zekrom whilst flying through the skies. The people were stunned to see two Legendary Pokemon casually flying through the skies.
"That's nice. But soon, we will have to head back to our original worlds one day. When this is all said and done, we'll return. Absolute Balance needs to be brought back to each universe."
"You are right. The same goes for Princess Flurry Heart and her Giratina. One day, she will have to return Giratina to the Distortion Realm. But...is that really a fair choice for her? She's clearly grown a bond to Giratina. And I've grown fond of this world and Princess Celestia."
"We'll have to see when that time comes."
Faye Mountains. Changeling Hive.
The festival had been brought to the Faye Mountains as there was a trail of decorations that led to the Changeling Hive and the mountains. The changelings were already enjoying themselves as to be expected. They would show some visitors just how they did things back here.
There were other visitors coming this way, and three of them were rather special. Special in the sense that not only did they come from parallel worlds from the Pokemon World, but all three of them would feel familiar to one individual despite being separate individuals.
They made their way through the decorations, following the trail to the Faye Mountains. They coulda already hear a unique form of music coming from beyond. The changelings had their own way of producing music. Aside from the usual singing, they transformed their unique bug noises into music and it worked efficiently as the people, ponies and Pokemon found them to be entertaining.
"We're here it looks like." Those three individuals had moved through some bushes as Chrysalis, who was sitting on a tall tower to oversee things spotted them.
"Hm? Ash." When she took a closer look, her eyes were betraying her. It looked like she was seeing Ash. Three times. But instead, that was not the case.
It was Red, Ethan and Brendan who had arrived. For a few seconds, she thought Ash had shown up as their appearances were similar to him. She already knew who the three of them were, but she couldn't get that comparison out of her head as she rubbed her eyes. Coming from a parallel world, Red, Ethan and Brendan had arrived at the Pokemon Festival after catching wind of it.
"Ah, it's you three." Chrysalis flew away from her tower, descending to greet the three Champions. "Welcome, welcome. To our hive."
"Oh, it's...Uh..." Ethan tried saying Chrysalis' name but couldn't quite get it right. "Crystal?"
"My name is Chrysalis. Queen Chrysalis. The Second Changeling Queen." She introduced herself in a formal way with honorifics. "Red. Ethan. Brendan. It is Ethan, right? Or is it Gold? There was some confusion when Celestia told me about you."
"My full name's Ethan Gold. You can call me Ethan or Gold. Either one works." Ethan AKA Gold finally gave out an easier way to address him.
"..." Red lowered his hat to greet her, staying silent as always.
"Thought we'd take the time to show up to this 3-week festival," Brendan said. "And by that logic, the next one will be 4 weeks long and so on. It might as well become a month-long festival once it reaches its peak.
"3 weeks of this..." Ethan started daydreaming. "This gives us all the chances to see everything. Not just in this world, but in that other Pokemon World. It's not quite the same as our world, right?"
"Will there be more of you?" Chrysalis asked. "Surely, it isn't just you three that have shown up to this world despite the open gateways."
"Nah. Lucas and Hilbert should be here soon. So should Hilda and the others." Brendan replied. "It's 3 weeks so there's no need to hurry. But, there's something I want to try and do. Or rather, we'd like to try and do."
"We'll spend some time here for a bit and head to the Pokemon World. Since this world is parallel to ours, we wanna try and battle the same people we've battled already."
"What do you mean by that?" Thorax heard their conversation, holding his Zorua.
"I wanna face Lance again!" Ethan declared.
"For me, it's Steven. And uh...Lance for Red too." Brendan replied. "In our world we became champions. Well, Red stepped down as one. And that had us thinking..."
"If they're still champions in this world, that must mean they're stronger than their counterparts in our world." Ethan leaned in, putting his hand on Brendan's shoulder. "We have to see if that's true."
"Hm. Fair enough. Well, I won't waste all of your time. Enjoy yourself here at our hive. Would you like some Hive Juice?" Chrysalis used her magic t bring over a cup of juice that looked unappealing to the eyes.
Ethan and Brendan stared with grimacing faces as it was certainly not appealing to them. The name didn't help, but Chrysalis' sweet smile made them fear denying her offer. All except for Red, who grabbed one and immediately took a drink.
"Ah! Red!" The both of them bellowed as Red thoroughly enjoyed the drink.
"...?" Red looked over at them with a confused face, not seeing why they would see it as unappealing. But Chrysalis already knew they found it unattractive, laughing right afterwards. The three of them would enjoy their time here before heading straight for the Pokemon World, focusing on the champions who they were already aware of in their respective worlds.
The third Pokemon Festival was already in full swing. The first week was still young with more to come. Visitors from parallel worlds, other universes, different nations and all kinds of species would appear. Such was the tradition of the Pokemon Festival as the journey continues.
Unova. The Pokemon Festival. Castelia City. Afternoon.
The Pokemon Festival and its first week were underway. Currently, both Twilights were eating together after meeting up for a second time. While they were doing that, Rainbow Dash was fixated on finding one of the Elite 4 Members and challenging them as that was a free option for this year's Pokemon Festival. And at the same time, the vampires were present here, fixated on Yveltal while blending in during this festival. A lot was going on.
New visitors were coming in, especially from other worlds that were parallel to the nation of Equestria. Castelia City didn't have just one gateway, there was another.
Another gateway was located within this city, making it the one place in the Pokemon World with the most gateways, despite there being only a second one, so it wasn't a high bar. There was a gateway that blended in well with the walls. Some graffiti had been sprayed on the walls in one of the back alleys, residing there for years now.
The colours of this graffiti worked well with the gateway colours, making it seamless in a way. Not only that, but the gateway was practically inside the walls, giving it a tad bit of stealth. However, this gateway did not lead to Equestria at all. It led to another world parallel to this. And the two individuals emerging out of it were proof of that. Two voices echoed throughout the gateway as new visitors were coming through.
"Ow-ow! Hilbert, you're stepping on my foot!"
"You're stepping on my foot too, Hilda!" The two voices were bickering as they had emerged out of the gateway, pushing each other. Another parallel Pokemon World. This is where this gateway connects to. And the two individuals that came out of it were Pokemon Trainers that were already familiar with this place.
Hilbert and Hilda.
"Ow..." Hilbert held his foot. "It seemed wide from the outside..."
"Guess it's narrow on the inside. I hope they all aren't like this." Hilda replied. "But we're here. This is the parallel world Brendan talked about."
"Oh yeah. It sure is." Hilbert and Hilda took a gander at this new world. They could already feel a great sense of familiarity here. But that wasn't just because of the fact that this was another Pokemon World. They've been here before. In this region specifically.
"It feels a lot like Unova. As if we never met."
"That's because it is Unova. Check it out." Hilbert poked his head out of the back alleys, spotting the Central Plaza, also known as the Castelia Central Area. They recognized that large flowing fountain that is said to bring people and Pokémon together and the vending machines. Their eyes would not deceive them.
"Castelia? What are the odds Unova's the place where we end up first?" Hilda gawked, surprised that they ended up back at Unova, their home region.
"Pretty weird. What do you think this version of Unova is like? I bet it's all kinds of crazy."
"Ethan told us that it's got a lot more to offer than our world," Hilda replied. "But how different could it be? Aside from all the colourful ponies around."
"How much you wanna bet it's got a creepier mood to it than usual...And if you lose a Pokemon Battle, you lose your soul!" Hilbert tried being scary, wiggling his fingers in a claw motion, trying to scare Hilda. And it worked to some degree.
"Cut it out, Hilbert!" Hilda bellowed.
"Kidding! Come on! Let's not miss out on it!" Hilbert went ahead with Hilda following right afterwards. It was time for them to see what made this version of Castelia different from theirs.
They would obviously partake in the activities that the Pokemon Festival had to offer. The two of them ran down familiar streets, recognizing certain patterns along the way. At the same time, Ash and Delia had finally arrived at Castelia City after having some fun over at Kanto.
"This way, mom!" Ash shouted out as he and Hilbert had run past each other without either one acknowledging their fellow Pokemon Trainer.
"Did this city get bigger or something? Twilight!" Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had flown over Hilda, searching for Twilight and Sci-Twi. She would eventually find them via a higher aerial view.
"Ooh, something smells good." Hilda was attracted to a nice scent as she went in direction of the food, passing by Twilight and Sci-Twi, heading for that same food stand they went to.
"There you are, Ash. Finally." Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Sci-Twi approached Ash. "Now that you're here, we can really get this thing started."
"Have fun, all of you." Delia would go her own away along with Mr Mime. I'll be occupied in Unova. But you might catch me in Virbank City.
"Ash. Check this out. Have you seen this flier?" Rainbow Dash showed the Elite 4 flier to him.
"I sure did." Ash already had one in his possession, revealing it to Rainbow Dash. "They're kinda hard to miss. I saw some of them back at Kanto."
"Then you gotta know I wanna battle some of them. To see where I am. I asked Twilight if she wanted to battle with me. Ya know...to get myself ready for when I face one of them. What do you say, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Hard pass. I'm not up for that." Twilight immediately declined. "But, if you'd like to quickly test yourself, you can always try out the arenas. The Pokemon Festival always has a battle arena since Pokemon Battling is the biggest thing in the world. Go for that."
"Hm-hm. You're right. I could just do that. Alright then!" Rainbow Dash decided on it. "I'll do that. And the first Elite 4 Member I wanna try and face is her. Caitlin. I-If she's the one I find first."
Rainbow Dash would head to one of the areas for a quick warmup. There was always one more somewhere in the Pokemon Festival, so they weren't hard to miss. She wouldn't be the only one heading to the arenas.
Hilbert was off to do the same thing. While Hilda got something to eat, Hilbert drew his attention to the various battle arenas here. Dozens of opportunities for a battle, just sitting there across Castelia City. Of course, it was only once a year.
"Well, it is Castelia City, alright. But there's some stuff I've never seen before." Hilbert said as Hilda followed him, eating at the same time. "Wonder what our home town looks like..Wait?! Could we meet our doppelgangers?!"
"Ethan said that he has a doppelganger here, but he hasn't met him yet. We could have doppelgangers. Or not." Hilda shrugged before stuffing her mouth. "Mmm! Haven't had this in Castelia before though!"
"Maybe in this world...trainers are significantly stronger. Maybe. Only one way to find out." Hilbert stopped by one of the arenas to have a quick battle. Right on cue, Rainbow Dash had also arrived at that same arena. "Ah! There's a trainer I can battle! This'll be some easy warmup!"
"You talking to me?" Rainbow Dash realized that she had essentially been called weak in the words of Hilbert, hearing his sentence.
"Mhm. Haven't battled since yesterday, so I need to do some catching up." Hilbert adjusted his hat. "What do you say? Battle?"
"After what you just said, yeah! Let's do it!" Rainbow Dash accepted Hilbert's request as to be expected. A Pokemon Battle would take place between Hilbert and Rainbow Dash. Immediately, once the battle had been declared, rushing to the stadium was a referee.
They were littered everywhere, waiting for trainers to initiate a battle. Ash already grabbed himself some of that food that both Twilight and Sci-Twi as well as Hilda had enjoyed. SPectrum Shade, who was a vampire that showed interest in Pokemon Battles had decided to sneak into the crowd, taking a gander at this upcoming battle.
"After this, I wanna head over to a certain place in Kalos," Ash said to Twilight. "There's something I gotta check out."
"Pikachu?"
"Alright then. You're both only doing this for a bit...so please send out your Pokemon. You get three each." The referee said.
"I only need one Pokemon for this. Let's go! Emboar!" Hilbert sent out his first Pokemon before holding his hat and launching the Poke Ball.
"Emboar!"
"Emboar?" Sci-Twi took out her Pokedex to get some data on Emboar.
"Emboar. The Mega Fire Pig Pokemon. Emboar can throw a fire punch by setting its fists on fire with its fiery chin. It cares deeply about its friends. It has mastered fast and powerful fighting moves. It grows a beard of fire."
"That's one heck of a name...but that won't scare me! Let's go! Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash chose Mienfoo first.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo bellowed out, trying to intimidate the first opponent within her sights. She noticed Emboar, standing upright. He was a big Pokemon so trying to size him up would be tricky.
"Battle Start!"
"Show them what you're made of, Mienfoo! Force Palm!"
"Mien...Foo!" Mienfoo would go first, channelling her strength into her paw and summoning an orange energy before then rushing in.
"Emboar! Use Hammer Arm!"
"Emboar!" Emboar did the same, but for his entire arm, emanating that same energy. Emboar would meet Mienfoo in an up close and personal encounter. He swung his arm as Hammer Arm met with Force Palm creating a meaty and heavy impact that resulted in an immediate shockwave. However, upon meeting with Emboar's Hammer Arm, Mienfoo was immediately overpowered as Hammer Arm won the struggle, knocking Mienfoo and beating out her Force Palm.
"M-Mien!" Mienfoo received a heavy lariat from Emboar's Hammer Arm, flying back.
"Ah! Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash gasped as Mienfoo recovered by sliding on the ground.
"It's only a Mienfoo. Bit much, don't you think?" Hilda said to Hilbert.
"Ah, it's fine. That just encourages her to try harder, doesn't it?" Hilbert laughed.
"Hmph. You're gonna have to try harder once my Pokemon let you have it! Hit him fast, Mienfoo! Agility and Dual Chop, go!"
"Foo! Mien!" Mienfoo would increase her speed, outlining herself in a white energy before then zooming forward. She would also summon draconic energy on her paws as she certainly had the speed advantage compared to Emboar.
"Hooooh! That's fast!" Hilbert gawked. "But nothing Emboar and I can't handle! Fire Punch!"
"Em...!" Emboar built up strength in his hands, sparking up an aura of fire.
"Too slow! Now!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo managed to get a hit in, smashing her first paw into Emboar's face, creating some sparks. She then swung the second one, successfully landing Dual Chop. "Mien?" However, Emboar barely looked phased by it. He shifted his eyes to the side, staring directly at Mienfoo.
"Boar!" After taking those two heavy hits, Emboar retaliated with a monstrous Fire Punch to Mienfoo's stomach. Once again, she had been knocked back but this time with a trail of fire.
"Oh, no! Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash cried out as Mienfoo crashed to the ground instead of recovering. She groaned after hitting the ground. All it took was two hits and that's all she wrote. Mienfoo had fainted.
"Mienfoo..."
"Mienfoo is unable to battle! Emboar wins!"
"Sweet!" Hilbert pumped his fist into the air. "Awesome stuff, Emboar!"
"Emboar!"
"Tch...man..." Rainbow Dash grizzled her teeth as she wasn't fond of that swift knockout. But, she had to take it in stride and accept that she was going up against a powerful opponent. "Oh well. You did good, Mienfoo. Return."
"Foo...!" Mienfoo smashed her fist into the ground, furious that she didn't get to do more as she had returned.
"This isn't looking good," Twilight commented. "How's she going to do her best against an Elite 4 Member if this is how her first battle is turning out?"
"Looking good, Hilbert!" Hilda shouted. "Just don't get too careless! Who knows what she could have next?"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Alright, bring out your next Pokemon, my little pony."
"Hmph. Fine. Let's go! Altaria!" Next up was Altaria as Rainbow Dash threw the Poke Ball into the air, summoning the Humming Pokemon.
"Altaria!"
"Oh. That could be a problem." Hilbert's eyes widened a bit as his smile turned into a frown. "Hmm...But I'm gonna stay in either way."
"Of course you are..." Hilda shook her head. "Good luck then."
"I don't need luck, Hilda! All I need is passion! Stone Edge!"
"Emboar!" Emboar had an attack exclusively for Flying-Types in the form of Stone Edge as it had smashed the ground, summoning tall pillars of stone.
"He's got passion on his side, Dash! Be careful!" Ash warned her.
"Pikachu!"
"That's nothing! Dragon Pulse!"
"Al...Taria!" Altaria put some power into this Dragon Pulse, unleashing a raging blast that was in the shape of a dragon. Dragon Pulse had smashed through the stones as Altaria won this clash. Emboar received an impact that was enough to push him back as the dragon-shaped blast had combusted right on him.
"Em!"
"That's more like it! Hurricane!"
"Taria!" Altaria could continue playing offensively from afar. She flapped her wings ferociously, generating enough power to generate a Hurricane. A large tornado had formed before then heading in Emboar's direction.
"Okay. Maybe I do have to try harder! Charge through with Wild Charge!"
"Emboar!" Emboar would meet with Hurricane directly. He stomped on the ground before covering himself in a bright yellow aura with electric sparks flying everywhere. The Mega Fire Pig Pokemon then took off like a rocket, charging headfirst into the Hurricane. With sheer force, he smashed into the Hurricane, holding it back. But surprisingly, he managed to break through the Hurricane, dissipating it before approaching Altaria.
"Yikes! Hyper Voice!"
"Altaaaa!" Altaria let out a beautiful melody with a powerful soundwave that echoed out. The soundwave was large enough to engulf Emboar's entire body, however, Wild Charge ended up breaking right through the soundwaves with brute force, smashing into Altaria. "Tari?!"
"Ah!" Rainbow Dash gasped as Altaria had been knocked out of the sky by Wild Charge. Emboar received some recoil damage but managed to shake it off. As for Altaria, she was about to hit the ground before recovering right afterwards, flapping her wings. "That was close...This guy's good. I didn't think I'd bump into such a stronger than so soon..."
Rainbow Dash couldn't believe how strong Hilbert was. Then again, she had no idea what kind of opponent she was facing as he came from a parallel world from this one.
"Okay. I'm back in the swing of things." Hilbert stretched his arms. "I needed this kind of rush and excitement after what I went through yesterday."
"Don't get too comfortable! Altaria and I are just getting started!" Rainbow Dash had acknowledged Hilbert's strength. And this allowed her to go all-out. Of course, that involved Mega Evolution. She touched her aerial goggles, activating the keystone as it resonated with the Altarianite.
"Hm?" Hilbert passed for a moment before spotting the stone in Rainbow Dash's aerial goggles. "Hang on a second?! Is that...?!"
"Oh, it is. You're really strong. Surprisingly strong. So I have a reason to use this. You're getting in the way of me challenging the Elite 4. So, we'll beat you as quickly as we can! Altaria! Mega Evolve!"
"Altaria!" Altaria's body was enveloped by the power of Mega Evolution, causing a dazzling flare of Infinity Energy with crimson and golden colours flying everywhere. Out of this flare of energy, the Mega Evolved form of Altaria had appeared. Mega Altaria. "Altaria!"
"Sick..." Hilbert gawked.
"Let's do this! Moonblast!"
"Taria!" Altaria was going all in, drawing power from the moon itself. She then turned it into a pink orb of Fairy Magic that let out beautiful pink sparkles for everyone to see.
"This'll make it stronger than before! Not even Emboar can fully resist this!" Twilight exclaimed with joy.
"Go!"
"Altaria!" Altaria unleashed the orb as despite how beautiful it was, it moved with the ferocity of a rocket, tearing through the ground.
"Cool stuff...But." Hilbert suddenly grinned before lowering his hat. "Hit it back with Hammer Arm!"
"Em...!" Emboar hardened his arm as veins had shown up. And with all of his might, he smashed Hammer Arm into the incoming Moonblast, managing to catch its incredible speed. The impact of Hammer Arm meeting with Moonblast was both swift and fierce as the blast was sent back faster than it had approached. Altaria gasped as she had been hit by her own attack once it was deflected.
And since she was still a Dragon-Type, this attack would do super-effective damage. A pink explosion had emerged from the impact with Rainbow Dash's mane and tail being blown in the wind. That Mega Evolution was for nothing as Altaria had fallen out of the pink smoke. Her body flashed as her Mega Evolved form had disappeared right afterwards.
"Altaria..." Altaria had also fainted.
"Altaria is unable to battle! The winner is Emboar!"
"Phew. Almost got worried there." Hilbert chuckled before holding his Poke Ball out. "Okay, Emboar, take a break now. You were great."
"Thanks, Altaria. Get some rest." Rainbow Dash sighed, upset that she lost twice in a row. The best she could do was force Hilbert to give Emboar a break. But not only did that mean she was down to one Pokemon but HIlbert had two healthy Pokemon. "Geez...What a bummer this is."
"Hey, don't feel so bad," Hilbert said, grabbing her attention.
"Say what?"
"Truth is...I haven't had anyone last this long against me for like 6 months now." Hilber chuckled. "It's a relief that there are trainers out there that I don't have to speed through."
"Ahem!" Hilda crossed her arms at Hilbert. "I'm standing right here! What about me and the others?"
"Y-Yeah. You guys gave me a big challenge. But that was like 10 years ago." Hilbert rubbed the back of his head. "We already battled Hilda. But I'm just saying this pony here is better than I thought, ya know."
"So, I'm the longest battle you've had since 6 months?"
"Got that right. I was going crazy fearing that I'd never get something worthwhile again. Glad to see this world has something to offer me. But I'm still gonna beat you, so get ready."
"Hmm...I can't use Rainbow-Braviary since I just used Mega Evolution. I'll pass out, no doubt. But even so, I can count on you, Braviary!" Finally, Braviary had emerged.
"Braviary!"
"Ooh, Braviary. I'll respond with my own then! Let's do this, Braviary!" Hilbert revealed that he had a Braviary of his own, sending him out.
"If I can just beat one...I'll feel good about myself." Rainbow Dash grinned. "That's what I'm gonna do!"
"Hoh? Bring it on then. Let's see if you can do just that." Hilbert encouraged Rainbow Dash.
"Brave Bird!" Both Hilbert and Rainbow Dash had given out the same command. Both Braviarys had taken off at confounding speeds and blazing auras, leaving behind orange trails. At such great speeds, they had some powerful velocity that had a great impact once they clashed.
"Braviary!" The two Valiant Pokemon had then ascended, keeping the aura of Brave Bird as they moved around in a spiralling motion before engaging in a fierce aerial battle. Their auras clashed in the air, leaving behind some sparks as each impact made a loud noise in the process. Two orange auras were smashing into each other ferociously
"Viary!" Rainbow Dash's Braviary managed to blow Hilbert's Braviary back, causing him to slide to the ground. Rainbow Dash's Braviary on the Brave Bird clash, but he wasn't done as he chased down Hilbert's Braviary while he was on the ground. "Bra!"
"I don't think so! Iron Head!"
"Braviary!" Hilbert's Braviary had recovered, hardening his head as it was as hard as iron. The moment Rainbow Dash's Braviary came in close, Hilbert's Braviary used his fellow Valiant Pokemon's velocity against him, smashing his hardened head into Rainbow Dash's Braviary's head. They butted heads, but Iron Head won this exchange, not only causing some pain to both Braviarys heads, but the impact also knocked Rainbow Dash's Braviary away. Now he was the one sliding away.
"V-Vi!"
"Okay! Now, Close Combat!"
"Bravi!" Hilbert's Braviary then ascended before covering his talons and wings with a blazing red aura, soaring towards his fellow Valiant Pokemon.
"Superpower, go!"
"Vi! Braviary!" Braviary would meet that attack with Superpower, gathering an orange aura around his wings and talons. He flew up, approaching the opposing Braviary. Looking at this battle reminded Ash and Twilight of Brandon vs Lightning Dust. It was somewhat similar for a moment, but there was something different about it.
Superpower and Close Combat with another fierce clash ensuing. Hilbert's Braviary unloaded a barrage of wing smashes and talon kicks while Rainbow Dash's Braviary would counter with just slow and singular hits that were on par with those barrages.
"Braviary!" Both Braviarys would bring an end to this as at the same time, they ended up hitting each other in the face with their talons.
They both ended up pushing each other back in the process, spinning through the air. In the end, they both hit the ground right afterwards with such heavy hits. Hilbert got a bit stunned there, not expecting his Braviary to also drop. Two smoke clouds came about. And after those smoke clouds vanished, only one of them could potentially emerge victorious.
Which was neither of them. They both fainted. The clash was fierce enough to where both of them were tied in their speed and strength. It was a double knocked.
"Both Braviary are unable to battle! This match has been decided and the victor is the Trainer on the Right!"
"Aaah...Hmmm..." Rainbow Dash calmed herself down. She didn't let out her anger or cry out in defeat. She took in stride before smiling. She ended up fainting one of his Pokemon after all. "Oh well. There's always a bigger fish. Thanks for your help, Braviary."
"Braviary."
"Nice stuff, Braviary. Thanks for trying to hang in there." Hilbert said to his partner. "Thanks to you, we won and I've found someone who can last longer than usual after 6 months."
"Vi."
"Well, are you satisfied now?" Hilda asked, walking up to Hilbert as others walked off once this battle was over, thoroughly enjoying it.
"Sure am. If this is how skilled the ponies are...then I've got a peaceful mind," said Hilbert. "Hey, rainbow pony. Thanks for the battle!"
"Huh? Oh uh, yeah." Rainbow Dash stood up with her Braviary. "I was gonna use this to try and get myself ready for the Elite 4 battle."
"Is that what you were shooting for? Hah. Well, consider this a test run." Hilbert stood stall along with his Braviary who was still badly hurt. "You just went up against someone that's above an Elite 4 Member. You're looking at the Number One Trainer in the world. Hilbert Blair's the name."
"Number one? As if. You beat them once, that doesn't make you number one." Hilda narrowed her eyes at Hilbert, shutting him down instantly.
"Don't worry about that." But Hilbert preferred to make himself seem as massive as he could be. "Listen, my little pony. If you wanna get stronger and even go past the Elite 4, then how about you be my student?"
"You always let things go to your head, don't you?" Hilda had an impressed expression.
"Say what?" Rainbow Dash was visibly confused.
"Yeah, yeah. Safe choice, ain't it? You'll learn everything from the best."
"You don't even have Mega Evolution like her..." Hilda sighed. "How can you teach her everything?"
"Don't sweat the small stuff." Hilber wagged his finger. "What do you say?"
"You're an odd one. What's your name?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Hilbert. Number One." Hilbert finally introduced himself. "And this here's my great friend Hilda."
"Hi. Guess it's a bit too late for introductions, isn't it?" Hilda waved at them. "Sorry for my friend, Hilbert here. He's got a big head, as you can see."
"Hey. You gotta know when you're great, right?" Hilbert shrugged. "When you're a strong trainer, no shame in seeing just how strong you are deep down."
"He's not wrong there," Ash added. "I can tell. That's some strength he's got."
"Hm? Red! When did you get here?!" Immediately after seeing Ash, he was reminded of Red in terms of the hair and other qualities, pointing at the Alola Champion.
"Me? Red? You kinda look like him actually!" Ash took a closer look at Hilbert, also spotting some similarities to Red.
"Yikes...they're all so strong." Spectrum Shade shuddered. "How am I gonna compete with that...'ll just go to the Elite 4 Member before they do. Maybe I can get some pointers or a shortcut to some extra strength." She then departed from the crowd, vanishing from sight.
"Oh, you're that guy that left behind your Pikachu seven different times. Or was it eight? Ah, it doesn't matter. It's pretty freaky that we'd meet after we came into this world for the first time."
"We're also from another universe that's parallel to this one." Hilda stepped forward. "Ethan and Brendan told us everything already. Nice to meet you, at last, Ash Ketchum."
"Great to meet you guys. I've been itching to meet more strong trainers from your world, ya know. Glad you could make it here, you two."
"There are even parallel Pokemon Worlds?" Sci-Twi said.
"You have no idea what else is there..." Twilight shook her head as Sci-Twi was barely scratching the surface of these various parallel worlds.
"So, now that you're here, how's about we be your guides? Or uh...do you already know Unova?" Ash asked.
"Oh, totally. We were born and raised here. This place is so familiar to us, especially Castelia. We wanna see what makes this place different though." Hilbert added.
"And see what other similarities we can find," said Hilda. "Mind if we tag along with you all?"
"Love to hear it! This is gonna be great!" Ash put his arm over Hilbert's shoulders while Hilbert did the same. "We're heading for one of the Elite 4 Members. Let's get going, shall we?"
"Let's!" Hilbert was all for it. "And just follow my lead, my student."
"I'm not your student!" Rainbow Dash protested as Hilbert automatically made Rainbow Dash his student without her even agreeing. A new party had been formed at the Pokemon Festival.
Hilbert and Hilda. Hailing from another Unova Region from another universe had joined the Pokemon Festival as other visitors from other worlds were only going to keep piling on. Not just from Equestria's side. Despite the afternoon arriving, the day was still young for the Pokemon Festival. The first week wasn't close to finishing as the journey continues.
Equestria. Manehattan. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
The massive city of Manehattan. Made even bigger with the Pokemon Festival ongoing. As always, this festival was a way to bring everyone closer. But, it had a second reason. To catch Galaxy Master.
Speaking of Galaxy Master, he was here.
The fictional character who had emerged into reality was present within Manehattan. But he was currently under disguise along with his partner Pikachu. Their disguise consisted of two long coats. At least, as long as their respective bodies. Pikachu's coat was relatively short. Galaxy Master had also put on a hat, attempting to shield his face, but going undercover in a superhero costume was difficult, no doubt.
Galaxy Master looked at the newspaper, seeing the ruckus that he and his Pokemon had caused so far. He's made quite a name for himself for only one day since last week.
"Great Nebulas!" Galaxy Master gasped at the sight of the news. "It seems our existence in this world is all too vast now to be ignored, my yellow friend."
"Pika..."
"This brings new problems that we could do without. However, we must continue despite this severe disadvantage. Justice cannot afford to worry about the disadvantages that evil gives us."
"Pikachu!"
"But...getting some Rift Energy is also harder than it looks, despite the massive abundance of it. The Rift told us that its power had been formed into various entities and objects. One of them was a mysterious stone that allows one to change their appearance. That's what we could use, Pikachu."
"Pika?"
"Of course...we'll have to find one first. Let's see if we can at least find something here. Come along!" Galaxy Master and Pikachu would advance. But instead of running or even walking, they would shimmy. They dug their hands into their pockets, dancing to the side while looking suspicious despite trying not to be.
They left the back alley before arriving at the streets in public. Galaxy Master had pulled his hat down so far that it completely replaced his head, making him look like a sentient hat and jacket. On the plus side, his face was completely masked.
A colt laughed, pointing his hoof at them both due to their silly movements. His mother pulled him away before secretly laughing as well. They moved through the festival with this shimmy, trying to look as unassuming as possible.
The duo looked around for any trace of Rift Energy, searching high and low. Galaxy Master did unnecessary but stylish backflips to reach places. He shuffled past some attractions, poking his head in places to find anything. However, during his search, something stopped him immediately.
He heard crying. Galaxy Master froze on the spot once he heard the sound of someone crying. To him, that garnered massive attention, no matter what.
"A cry for help!" Galaxy Master exclaimed, standing tall. He put everything aside just to respond to this cry. The fictional character had then zoomed in the direction of the cry, leaving behind a dust trail. He was off to the scene.
The sound of that crying came from a young pony who was with her group of friends. She was also with her mother, who was trying to comfort her. "There's always the next Pokemon Festival, so don't worry dear." The mother said.
"Hup! What seems to be the problem?!" Galaxy Master appeared in a heartbeat, startling the others.
"Pikachu?"
"Gah! W-Who are you?!" The mother pulled back. However, the daughter wasn't as surprised. Anything to gain some help was desperately needed for her.
"I-I couldn't get that in time...That chariot..." She raised her hoof, aiming at the sky as there was a chariot flying away. This chariot was carrying what seemed to be a Deluxe Ice Cream, but the poor little girl had missed it, deleting her chances of having that deluxe ice cream.
"Sucks that none of us are pegasi..." One of her friends uttered, shaking her head.
"I see. Worry not. I'll get you some of that." Galaxy Master put everything aside for this one objective.
"R-Really?" The girl sniffled.
"I'm sorry, who are you? You look shady." The mother was cautious.
"Wait there! Quickly, he and Pikachu had rushed off to catch that chariot." He was once again narrating his own actions and everything else. He and Pikachu did indeed rush off, but they would have to take to the skies first if they were to catch that chariot.
Luckily, Galaxy Master had just the POkemon for that. But, he preferred to make things more dramatic, jumping from building to building as he became a blur and red blur from his movements.
"I can't get there by jumping really high. But I have a solution for that! With a blazing glory! Come to me! Dragon of the Mighty flames! Charizard!" He raised his arm into the air, summoning his Charizard.
Flying through the skies, Charizard had appeared, diving down to meet his trainer. Galaxy Master did another stylish flip with Pikachu latching on. And with immaculate timing, he managed to get on Charizard's back on time.
"Get us to that chariot, my flaming friend!"
"Charizard!" Charizard would do just that. And swiftly as well. The Flame Pokemon zoomed through the skies, heading for the chariot. Of course, Galaxy Master was greatly wanted now. And any sign of him was crucial, especially his Charizard, who had been seen by Luna along with his Pikachu.
Guards from Canterlot were now more present than ever, and when seeing a Charizard and a Pikachu in the air, they took immediate action.
"Hold it!" Galaxy Master shouted as Charizard reached the chariot, startling the ponies in the air.
"Gah!" The pegasi all gasped.
"I'd like to purchase one of your Deluxe Ice Creams!" Galaxy Master ordered an ice cream just for the young girl.
"Pika. Pikachu." But Pikachu was also curious about it, nudging Galaxy Master's shoulder.
"Make that two."
"W-Well...it's free during the Pokemon Festival. I can't believe you flew all the way up here even though we're leaving already." The pegasus explained as he shrugged. "Plus, it's already the afternoon and we have to-"
"So soon?!" Galaxy Master raised his voice, causing the pegasus to squeak. "No. For such a festive time, the youth must experience happiness at all costs. Leaving so soon with such an attractive item is far too much."
"I-Is it now?" She stuttered. "I guess you have a point there. We were thinking about heading to Ponyville next but...if it's just one more ice cream, we can spare some extra time."
"Splendid!" Galaxy Master loved to hear it as he was given two Deluxe Ice Creams. One of them was passed on to Pikachu to enjoy. "Carry on then. Onwards, Charizard! Make sure you don't melt the ice cream.
"Charizard!"
A successful side objective. Galaxy Master went ut of his way to make one child happy. By getting her this Deluxe Ice Cream that she desperately wanted. The girl sniffled while the mother was still processing what had just happened. Afterwards, the girl, her mother and her friends look up to see Galaxy Master returning. And in his hands, he had that ice cream.
"You got it!"
"Comet Pass!" Charizard came swooping in, as Galaxy Master passed the ice cream to the little filly. She had an overjoyed look on her face as she did get her chance after all. The filly wouldn't have to wait for the next festival.
"Well, he's odd but nice." The mother said as she wasn't too creeped out by Galaxy Master. Not after how he went high up just to get her daughter what she wanted.
"Thank you!" The little girl exclaimed.
"You're welcome! Enjoy your summer treat. Now, I must go. There is someone else who needs my help."Galaxy Master spoke as the girl would enjoy her ice cream to the fullest.
"Aha! There you are!" The guards spotted Galaxy Master as he ended up right where he started when aiming for that ice cream.
"That's my cue. Off we go, Charizard!"
"Charizard!" Charizard was off, fleeing from the Canterlot guards. The guards would use their Golurk to catch up to Charizard. The Golurk immediately used their jet boosters to pursue the fictional character.
And thus, a chase ensued.
The Golurks pursued Charizard through Manehattan, immediately grabbing the attention of others. Charizard flew over some decorations while also spinning through a ring just to pull off a trick. The Golurk had used Shadow Punch to try and catch Charizard, using shadow hands that extended, reaching the Flame Pokemon. Charizard had ignited his tail with a greater flame, burning away the hands that attempted to grab him, forcing the Golurk to retract their arms.
"Hm?!" Galaxy Master then noticed that more Golurks had appeared up ahead, blocking Charizard from heading forward and cutting him off. "Brute force it is! Charizard! Spin, my friend!"
"Char!" Charizard nodded as Galaxy Master and Pikachu held on for dear life. Pikachu laced the entire ice cream in his mouth so that it wouldn't drop. Only until Charizard's spinning was over. Charizard started spinning while approaching the barricade of Golurks. However, the Golurks would retaliate by using Shadow Punch consecutively. Charizard combined his spinning with Flamethrower, forming a spiral of flames around his body. It was getting harder for Pikachu to keep the ice cream as he and Galaxy Master had to endure the flames.
Since Shadow Punch failed, the Golurk all come together to hold Charizard with their bare hands. Charizard crashed into one of them, only for that Golurk to hold him back. This allowed the other Golurk to fly in.
"I think not! Andromeda Shine!" Galaxy Master suddenly stood up tall, deciding to help out his Charizard since the Golurks were starting to gain the edge.
"Oh, that's bright!" The guards cried out as they covered their eyes along with the Golurks. This light was beautiful to look at as it was powerful against those who were close to it. Those that weren't close to it could look at this beautiful light show.
"Now, my friend! Charge through!"
With brute force, Charizard barged through the blockade of Golurks by overpowering the Shadow Punches. He pointed to the sky, pulling off another pose as the ethereal stars on his cape came into play. The stars on his cape suddenly emitted a radiant light.
Charizard managed to gauge some distance between himself and the Golurks thanks to Galaxy Master's light. But the Golurk would persist. Galaxy Master chose not to engage in a massive conflict, especially here. He aimed to get away from them. And there was one location that he set his sights on.
The Bridleway Theater.
Charizard made a sharp turn as the Golurk and the guards were just now recovering from that blinding light. Galaxy Master recalled Charizard, making him vanish in a puff of astral energy before heading into Bridleway Theater at the speed of sound.
The Bridleway Theater.
The guards continued to follow him with some of them arriving at Bridleway Theater while the rest had gone to other locations. They lost sight of his location, so relying on random areas was the best they could do.
Currently, at the Bridleway Theater, there was a play going on. It was orchestrated by a younger group of ponies who were reenacting the Invasion of Equestria. It was a fairly enjoyable theatre play as the children had given it their all to make it as fun as it could be. From the costumes, the set and everything else.
The guards who entered here couldn't see anything wrong as everyone was laughing and having a good time. In reality, Galaxy Master had snuck in here and was already playing one of the parts unknowingly to everyone. He and Pikachu had managed to disguise themselves as one of the Pokemon apart of the invasion.
Pikachu dressed up as a Pachirisu while Galaxy Master appeared as one of the Golurk, standing still while the children went crazy, running around to replicate the various battles that were said to have happened. The Golurk costume was the only thing properly hiding his appearance.
The guards then left Bridleway Theater, finding nothing here. And once the guards left, in a burst of speed, the Golurk costume and the Pachirisu costume had been emptied out in the blink of an eye, dropping to the ground. No one had noticed it yet until it had happened.
They left the scene, standing behind Bridleway Theater as they were in the clear for now. But being in Manehattan was not safe for them.
"Success, my yellow friend. I believe it's time we left here. Let's return to our mighty Star Tower for now."
"Pikachu."
Whereabouts unknown. The Star Tower. Underground. Afternoon.
The tower had been placed underground, shielded from the eyes of Equestria. The location of this underground was unknown. Only Galaxy Master and Pikachu knew where and how to reach it.
They had returned to their tower which was a vibrant azure colour, resembling that of Aura. Their base of operations had objects that were mainly essential to Pokemon and not to Galaxy Master himself. Though, there was a bedroom for resting and a kitchen for eating.
"Alright. Manehattan will have to wait." Galaxy Master sat on his chair which he had then spun. "We'll return there later...but we at least know of which areas have Rift Energy. Thanks to this board." He then aimed his arm at a board that was placed near the windows.
This board had a lot to offer. Mainly about every known source of Rift Energy thanks to what the Rift had shared. Images of various faces belonging to multiple individuals could be seen. Twilight Sparkle. Bayleef. Equestrian Axew. Cold Colt. Lucien. Sienna. Emerald Aura, King Paramount, Second Wind and almost everyone since they had Desires in them. However, some of these Desires had been defeated thanks to Princess Celestia and the others, making their existence diminish over time.
It wasn't individuals. Objects and locations counted as well. He had pictures of the Rift Cauldron, the Rift Volcano which was also sentient. The Arcane Sea, Travel Spheres and so much more.
"It's a lot to do. But we can make it happen. Retrieving the Travel Spheres are self-explanatory. But how does one remove Rift Energy from another? That's the serious question." Galaxy Master pondered
"Pikachu..."
"Right. We'll have to figure that out as well. The Rift didn't give us any pointers about that. For now, we have to focus on where to go next. We could get some more Travel Spheres and we could also focus on there! That location!" He pointed at the image of the Arcane Ocean. By far, the biggest source of Rift Energy that exists. It was an entire ocean full of Rift Energy.
"Pika?"
"Yes! It's off to the Unova Region, Pikachu!"
Unova. Mistralton City. Afternoon.
Ash, the two Twilights, Rainbow Dash Hilbert and Hilda had shown up in Mistralton City after leaving Castelia. Their goal to find an Elite 4 Member so that Rainbow Dash could challenge them was on.
But before they could do that, over at Mistralton City, they distracted themselves with the other activities that could be found here. One of which being this massive rope that extended from Mistralton to one of the routes. It was a massive Tug of War game. The biggest they had seen so far. It stretched far and wide.
"This might be the biggest Tug of War game ever," Hilda observed the rope. "You'd need at least 100 humans, ponies and Pokemon to pull this thing. Or...maybe a Machamp can sort that out."
"Would you like to take part in it?" An employee asked. "We're already getting started with it, so now's your chance."
"We're gonna join, for sure." Ash agreed to it along with his friends.
"Bah. It doesn't look so tough." Hilbert touched the rope. "I bet my Emboar can pull this thing no problem. Let's do this."
"Great. Just get on whichever side you feel comfortable with."
They did just that. Partaking in this attraction, many Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon gathered to try and see who could win this game of tug and war with this large rope. There was a good chance that it would be so strong that neither side would manage to get far. But that waits to be seen.
Ash and the others stood on the right while their opponents stood on the left, ready to pull away. They had some heavy hitters there in the form of Fighting-Types, Ground and Rock-Types. Relatively strong Pokemon.
"That looks tough..." Twilight observed. "They have the right Pokemon for the job."
"It's nothing." Hilbert scoffed. "Listen up, all of you!" He then shouted at his opponents. "Don't think you're gonna win this because you've got the most number of Pokemon that are right for the job. I, Hilbert Blair, the number one Trainer and his subordinates are gonna win this!"
"Subordinates?" Hilda, Twilight and Rainbow Dash repeated. They didn't expect to be called that.
"Oh, right. You're my student, Rainbow Dash." Hilbert added.
"That doesn't make it any better...And I'm still not your student!"
"You talk big. But can you win within a best of three?" One of the opponents replied.
"Best of three?" Hilbert repeated.
"That's right. If either side wins twice, it'll be over. This way, it gives everyone a second try if they feel they haven't done their best." The employee explained.
"Hmm...They could bust out some new Pokemon right afterwards." Hilbert pondered before snapping his fingers. "Alright. Game plan! I'll sit this one out! Hilda. You're gonna have to try and win this one. Rainbow Dash, Twilights, try and lose the next one and I'll swoop in and win the third one and finish it. Easy."
"Hang on! Is that even a real strategy?! Why do I have to take the fall?!" Rainbow Dash roared.
"That sounds like a recipe for disaster if you ask me." Twilight shook her head.
"Of course, you'd come up with that..." Hilda sighed, facepalming with visible veins appearing on her head.
"Ash, try and back me up," Hilbert asked.
"Uh, sure. Not sure about the second one though." Ash nodded.
"There isn't gonna be a fall-out in the second one! Hilbert, you're playing through it all!" Hilda grabbed Hilbert's shoulder, gripping it with immense strength that made Hilbert shudder. "Got that?!"
"Ow-ow-ow! G-Got it! But it'd be cooler if I was last..."
After that discussion, they sent out their Pokemon as assistance. Hilbert brought out both his Emboar and his Hydreigon. Hydreigon had used all three of its head to grip onto the robe while Emboar's brute strength was self-explanatory. Ash would use Lucario, Dragonite and Dracovish. He was betting on Dracovish's fangs.
Hilda had shown her Pokemon. Which turned out to be Serperior, Simisage and Haxorus. An impressive lineup indeed as Haxorus had the physical strength to match up with Fighting-Types.
"Ah. Just one last thing to add." The employee raised her finger. "On both sides, you'll have a powerful Pokemon at the very end of the rope helping you out. Over at Route 7 for the left side, there's a Conkeldurr and on the outskirts of Mistralton, there's a Throh for the right side. Just so you know. Is everyone ready?"
"Dracovish's fangs are gonna do it for us, no doubt," Ash said. "Those apex predator fangs are no joke."
"That's a Pokemon...?" Hilda wasn't sure what she was looking at as the appearance of Dracovish made her uneasy.
"Ready...Go!" The game had begun. The biggest Tug of War game with the most contestants. They each put their full strength into this with noises flooding the area. The sheer force of the Fighting-Types were already being shown off as one side had more Fighting-Types and physically stronger Pokemon. The left side was beginning to win, but the right side wasn't making it easy.
"Draco...Dracovish!" Dracovish's expression had changed to a serious one as it ended up digging its fans through the rope, pulling it back from the left side. Emboar had grunted, helping to bring it back as well. However, with this intense struggle, some of them would obviously give out and were unable to continue.
Some Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon had fallen over from this intense struggle, diminishing the numbers. Meanwhile, from the very ends of each side, Throh and Conkeldurr were also giving it their all, barely able to see what was happening up ahead thanks to the comically long rope. Hydreigon had also dug its teeth into the rope, much like Dracovish.
"My hands are burning! Ow!" Sci-Twi moved her hands away, giving up as they were smoking. She blew on them before shaking them. She was out of here. Serperior had constricted the rope with her body while both Pikachus were gritting their teeth in this fierce struggle.
"Come on...!" Ash and Hilbert growled. Zoroark had transformed into Emboar to try and replicate that strength, giving the right side an advantage.
"Dravo...Vish!" But then, with a surprising turnout, one Pokemon managed to beat them all out. Everyone except one Pokemon had fallen over. Both sides fell over but the rope mainly leaned to the right side.
Dracovish had won it for them. But not only did Dracovish win the entire thing, but it had also snapped the rope in half from its bite, showing off how mighty its jaws were. Not even Pokemon with powerful arms could beat it out. But the force of Dracovish's fangs left a messy outcome. Others went flying once Dracovish pulled the rope back.
"Gaaah!" Ash and Hilbert went rolling down a hill thanks to Dracovish whilst Twilight and Hilda landed facefirst.
"Oh my..." The employee said as the rope had been split in half. That essentially ended the entire game since the bulk of it was gone, making its length non-existent. "T-The winner is the right side. The rest of the rope is gone so...I guess that's it."
"Great job, Dracovish!" Ash cried out while rolling away. His voice was fading away.
"What about my cool finish?!" Hilbert also cried out, rolling with Ash. They were most definitely going to crash in the massive acres of plants nearby, ruining such a wonderful lineup.
But that didn't happen. An invisible force had knocked Hibert out of the way, causing him to be sent flying. On the bright side, the plants would be fine. "Oh come on!" Hilbert shouted as Hydreigon quickly flew after him whilst Emboar was still recovering.
As for Ash, he had been stopped abruptly before his body could even touch the plants. Another invisible force had outlined him in a pink aura, stopping him from going any further.
"Oooh...Nice save, Twilight." Ash said to Twilight, believing that this was her aura. But Twilight's aura was purple.
"Uh, Ash. That's not me." Twilight shook her head.
"Oh? Yeah, it's pink actually. Then who's this?" Ash wondered before standing up. The outline had vanished right afterwards.
"Tini!"
"Melo!"
Just then, two voices had cried out to Ash with echoes. These voices were gentle and familiar, kicking up some memories in Ash's head. He froze for a bit, remembering these voices as he turned around. "Hang on...Is that?"
Victini and Meloetta.
They had made their second appearance at the third annual Pokemon Festival. This time, both of them were in the same area as it was Meloetta who had caught Ash while Vicitni had blown Hilbert away. Two Mythical Pokemon had revealed themselves, just for Ash, hiding behind the plants.
"Hang on...is that-" Hilbert recognized them before landing in the nearby lake. Victini and Meloetta had greeted their close friend once more while Hilda was just as starstruck as Hilbert.
Now that both of them were here, this Pokemon Festival was certainly shaping up to be not just longer than the previous two, but now far more interesting. With Galaxy Master, the vampires and now Meloetta and Victini present, anything could happen as the journey continues.
Unova. Mistralton City. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
"Victini!" Making a surprise arrival at the Pokemon Festival for a second time were Victini and Meloetta. This was the second Pokemon Festival they've joined despite it being the third. They had reunited with Ash, finding him here at Mistralton City.
"Melo!"
"Oh! Victini! Meloetta!" Ash exclaimed, happy to see two of his mythical friends once again. He immediately embraced them both with a hug. The three of them laughed as Pikachu ran over to join the group. "Great to see you!"
"So it is Victini and Meloetta..." Hilda's jaw had dropped as Meloetta made a cheeky smile, grinning at Twilight. Twilight responded with an unimpressed expression as she and Meloetta were close rivals. Victini was just happy to see Ash again before then holding hands with Pikachu and dancing about.
"For real?!" Meanwhile, Hilbert got out of the lake after being pushed into it by Victini. He shook his head as Emboar and Hydreigon rushed to his side. Emboar immediately used Flamethrower on Hilbert's face, cooling him off but also leaving his face a smoking mess "Kah...Thanks, Emboar."
"Emboar."
"Who are those two?" Sci-Twi immediately took out her Pokedex to observe these two Mythical Pokemon. The data on them both had been gathered instantly with Sci-Twi learning all the unique things about these two Psychic-Types.
"Should've known you'd show up for another Pokemon Festival," Ash said to them. "And on the first day too. Sweet."
"You're friends with both of them? Lucky..." Hilda commented on Ash's relationship with them both.
"Mhm. We're both good friends. I've got a lot of stories to tell with both of 'em."
"Man...wish I had a Victini on my side." Hilbert pouted before leaving the lake, completely dry thanks to Emboar. He soon returned both his Pokemon.
"A Pokemon that grants victory to all...No way." Sci-Twi, meanwhile, had just finished learning about their dex entries and the one that surprised her the most was Victini's.
"Yes way," Twilight added. "All Victini needs to do is affect you with its power and you can overcome anything. It's not just with Pokemon Battling either. Isn't that right, Ash?"
"That's right. Victini can make anything better. No one has a power like Victini." Ash fist-bumped Victini.
"Tini!"
"Hmmm...So, this Victini's wild, right?" Hilbert slid over, looking at Victini for a moment. "If that's the case..."
"You'd better not be thinking what I think you're thinking, Hilbert." In the blink of an eye, as swiftly as Hilbert slid over to Victini, Hilda appeared just as swiftly behind him. "You're not thinking of catching Victini, right?"
"Gh! W-Well, it was just a thought!" Hilbert chuckled. "Besides, it's a wild Pokemon, so what's the big deal?"
"Victini here prefers to stay wild," Ash explained. "But it's not afraid to hang out with others. Not anymore when I first met Victini back at Eindoak Town.
"Victini!"
"Ah, whatever. There's still the Victini in my world. I'd love to meet it someday." Hilbert shrugged.
"You're only going for Victini just to get past Leon," Hilda said, making Hilbert stagger. "So much for being number one."
"Leon? What's up?" Ash asked.
"He calls himself number one but he hasn't beaten Leon yet," Hilda explained. "Not sure why if there's one obstacle he can't get through."
"He's tied with me as number one, obviously." Hilbert made up a new rule. "I haven't battled him yet so we're even. All I gotta do is beat him once and then I'll be the only number one trainer in the world!"
"That's not how it works, Hilbert! You can't call yourself the best unless it's under a tournament!" Hilda roared while Hilbert kept his proud expression.
"That's how it works back at Nuvema Town."Hilbert then gave a thumbs up as Ash and the others laughed at this amusing exchange.
"Then...by that default, I'm number one!" Hilda shouted out, causing Hilbert to immediately made a sharp turn with his eyes building out.
"What?!"
"You beat me once and I beat you once. How's that, number one?" Hilda smirked, using Hilbert's own rule against him.
"Gah! T-That's..." Hilbert's hand trembled, trying to think of a smart response whilst Hilda had a smug look on her face, finally trapping Hilbert.
"So what about the Tug of War game? Is it over? What happened to best of three?" Sci-Twi asked.
"Dracovish destroyed the entire rope, so that's game." Twilight picked up the remaining rope with her magic. "Lucky us, right? It pays to have a such a rare Pokemon our side. We would've probably won in a few seconds though if Victini were here earlier. The power of a Mythical Pokemon is special. Oh and uh, Meloetta too, I guess."
"Melo...!" Meloetta growled at Twilight.
"This is cool and all but...I really wanna meet up with an Elite 4 Member now." Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves. "Maybe Victini can fix that...or Meloetta can pull any one of them in with her voice. Or something like that, I don't know."
"You're looking for an Elite 4 Member?" The employee of the Tug of War game commented. "Well, you showed up to the right place. There's one currently here."
"Really?!" Rainbow Dash moved at the speed of sound, leaving behind a shockwave as she got in the face of the employee. Her attention was fully grabbed. "Where?!"
"A-Ah...well, she's doesn't prefer having the Elite 4 title attached to her name. That's what she told us anyway." The employee stammered. "She's still a member either way. You can find her near Mistralton Tower."
"Doesn't prefer it...?" Ash immediately started pondering. That kind of preference sparked a memory in him. "Hang on...Could it be Bertha? But she's from the Sinnoh Elite 4."
"Sinnoh Elite 4? But this is Unova." Hilbert said.
"This is the Pokemon Festival. It doesn't matter who's where. Especially with all these options." Someone had replied to Hilbert. Right on cue, the lady of the hour had shown up. Drawn to all the noise that was happening at this very spot, it was only matter of time until she showed up.
Bertha of the Sinnoh Elite 4.
"Plus...I enjoy getting out like this from my own region sometimes." Bertha added.
"Ah...well...good point." Hilbert couldn't argue against it.
"Look at this. Isn't this an interesting lineup?" Bertha admired the colourful lineup of characters. That involved the two Mythical Pokemon that were hiding behind Ash.
"It is Bertha!" Ash cried out.
"Hello, Ash." Bertha greeted "How long has it been? Judging from how we both look, probably not that long."
"It feels pretty short but it's not. Weird, huh?" Ash laughed right afterwards.
"I've heard you've been moving up in the world recently, Ash. Congratulations on becoming Alola's first champion and reaching the Pokemon World Coronation Series."
"Hmmm...I was planning to battle one of the Unova Elite 4 first, but oh well. I'll take this instead." Rainbow Dash flew over to the Elite 4 Member. "Hey there. This year's Pokemon Festiva allows us to challenge Elite 4 Members. So, I wanna challenge you, please."
"Hm-hm. You do. Well, give me some time." Bertha turned around.
"Huh? Give you some time?" Rainbow Dash pulled back.
"Yes. I for one enjoy the Pokemon Festival and what it has to offer. It's only been three years since it's been introduced but the enjoyment of it is too vast. I'd like to have some fun before I battle. Please understand, my little pony."
"Aw....but I was so pumped!" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"Such is the law of Pokemon Battling, my student!" Hilbert exclaimed, walking up to Rainbow Dash. "We all need some downtime, don't we? I know you totally do after I beat you back at Castelia."
"Yeah...I remember. And I'm not your student." Rainbow Dash grizzled her teeth.
"We'll battle after one thing. A great meal. Here at Mistralton, there's a buffet and no one wants to miss out on that." said Bertha.
"Buffet?!" Ash's eyes lit up after hearing that. "Say no more! Let's do that first!"
"Yeah! Let's!" Hilbert was just as excited along with the others. There was an array of food waiting for them. Bertha would lead the way, but the scent of this food would attract them very soon.
"Lots of food sounds too good to pass up." Ash turned to Victini and Meloetta, encouraging them to come along. Victini was all for some food. "There might be some macarons there."
"Tini?" Victini gasped. That was Victini's favourite and that prompted the Victory Pokemon to get involved. Of course, Victini would look at the other options there. Meloetta would already go along just for Ash.
Indeed, there was a long table filled with a large array of food of all kinds. The perfect combination of Quality and Quantity. There was something for everyone as the food sparkled, showing off its freshness. Food for humans, ponies and Pokemon. It was beautiful to the eyes.
"Mmm! Hey there! You made it!" And feasting on this buffet along with others was none other than Pinkie Pie. She was eating alongside her Pokemon before waving at Ash and the others. "Knew you would make it in time for this."
"Look at all of this..." Hilbert rubbed his hands together. "A meal fit for number one!"
"You got here before us, Pinkie?" Ash said before sitting down. "Lucky...you've probably already had some of the best things here."
"I have but everything else is just as good. Try it out!"
"Will do!" Ash went in, not wasting anymore time. Everyone sat down to have a meal but not before sending out the rest of their Pokemon.
Hilbert sent out his Emboar, Braviary, Hydreigon which were already known. And the remaining three ended up being Volcarona, Zebstrika and Carracosta. Hilda revealed her last three Pokemon, which where Reuniclus, Whimsicott and a female Jellicent.
Bertha would only slightly involve herself in this buffet, eating one thing at the time. But everyone else just went crazy. Even some of the most gentle and civilized individuals can't help but lose manners in the face of their favourite foods.
"Togekiss?" During this feast, Togekiss paused for a moment, looking over at Hilbert's Carracosta. Immediately after seeing Carracosta, Togekiss was reminded of her adopted father, who was also a Carracosta. She was about to rush over, but soon remembered that not every Carracosta was her Carracosta, even if she's only seen three of them. "Toge..."
"Mien. Mienfoo!" Mienfoo poked Emboar's leg, grabbing his attention.
"Emboar?" Emboar looked down with his mouth full.
"Foo! Mienfoo!" Mienfoo wanted a rematch. An immediate rematch. She wanted payback against Emboar for taking her down in just two hits. The Martial Arts Pokemon did some shadow boxing to show that she wouldn't let herself go down as quickly as before. "Mien!"
"Emboar." Emboar didn't feel like fighting right now. He was only enjoying the food and stuffing his stomach. The Mega Fire Pig Pokemon preferred that Mienfoo relaxed for a bit. And he did so by shoving some food in Mienfoo's mouth.
"Mien-" Mienfoo was stunned once the food entered her mouth. She was ready to retaliate, only for the food to resonate with her. "M-Mien?" She chewed on it for a bit as the taste had wiped away any frustrations that Mienfoo currently had. SHe closed her eyes, savouring this holy taste. "Mienfoo..."
"Mew? Mew!" Mew and Victini had met each other for the first time. This was another Mythical Pokemon for Mew to get to know since he doesn't know many aside from his fellow Mew, Mewiw and Darkrai.
"Victini!" Thus, they created a new way for Psychic-Types to greet. Mew and Victini touched their paws and fingers, creating a spark of Psychic energy, similar to how the Electric Rodent Family greets each other. By exchanging their respective energies. "Tini!"
Hisuian Zorua was hiding inside of Sci-Twi's bag from start to finish. The Pokemon Festival was overwhelming with so many people, ponies and Pokemon around. She was being fed inside of the bag, staying away from anyone's sight. However, she poked her head out of the bag just for one Pokemon. Earlier during the Tug of War Game, Hisuian Zorua noticed Hilda's Zoroark.
Zoroark got her her attention, prompting Zorua to sneak out of the bag and creep up on Zoroark. Regional form or not, this was still a friendly face she could trust.
"Zo..." Zoroark was too into the food to notice that Zorua was creeping up on him. It wasn't until that Hisuian Zorua stopped right in her tracks. "Rr?"
"Hello." Hisuian Zorua nervously greeted her evolved form from another region. Zoroark looked at Hisuian Zorua before having his eyes expand. He had never seen this form of Zorua before, but he recognized the species.
"Z-!" Zorua almost choked on his food, startled by Hisuian Zorua's appearance. He started beating on his chest, grabbing the nearby berry juice and drinking it. "Zo..."
"Sorry about that!" Zorua apologized to giving Zoroark such a scare.
"Zoroark..." Zoroark took a deep breath before sitting down, saving his own life.
"That Zorua of yours...I'm surprised to see such a rare variant of it." Bertha spoke, spotting Hisuian Zorua.
"You know about Hisuian Zorua?" said Sci-Twi in response to Bertha.
"I do. My family knows quite a lot about the Pokemon of the past. Especially me. I would've never thought I'd see a Hisuian Pokemon, however...come here." Bertha held her arm out, asking Zorua to come over.
"I don't think Zorua is-" But much to Sci-Twi's surprise, Zorua came over. She wasn't afraid of Bertha at all, catching Sci-Twi off guard. Hisuian Zorua felt a sense of safety when looking at Bertha. This sense of safety allowed her to get closer. "No way!"
"This is the same case as those Alpha Pokemon, yes?" Bertha stared scratching Zorua's chin, already knowing what to do to get friendly with the Spiteful Fox Pokemon. "Time is acting up again."
"You're not the only one with a Pokemon that comes from a long time ago." Pinkie Pie said to Sci-Twi. "How lucky am I to have a Mew? And we're friends with a second Mew and soon all of them!"
"Mew!"
"Since you know a lot about the past, Bertha, do you know about a witch?" Ash asked, bringing up the topic of the mysterious witch from a week ago.
"A witch? Hmm..." Bertha pondered for a moment. "I've heard that long ago, there used to be a witch in Hisui. But she originally came from Unova, legends say."
"Originally from Unova?" Sci-Twi repeated. "Well, that would make sense on why she was there."
"They say that she had green hair and crimson eyes...That was the only appearance that they gave out about her. Everything else is a mystery apart from her mystical powers." Bertha continued. "But sometimes, she appeared in different clothes depending on where she would be."
"She looked pretty normal when we saw her. Unelss that was a descendant. Maybe." Ash replied.
"That's funny." Pinkie Pie drank some apple juice. "Rarity said that she saw someone like that back at the hospital."
"She did?" Ash and Sci-Twi looked over at Pinkie Pie.
"Oh yeah. Rarity told me what happened back at Sinnoh. It was all about how Pheromosa and Froslass bonded and reunited again or something like that. But there was this lady who had the same hair and eyes that you all said. She even showed up in a nurse outfit in the hospital before disappearing. Isn't that freaky?"
"It is freaky..." Hilbert shuddered. "Only a witch could do that..."
"Are you saying that she's been around for that long?" Hilda asked. "No way. Right?"
"Who's to say she hasn't? Descendants can be uncanny to their ancestors or sometimes they're not." Bertha smiled. "If she had the exact same eyes and hair, then it's 50/50."
"Pssh. That's nothing." Hilbert scoffed. "We know lots of guys with green hair and red eyes. Uhh...actually, two of them. One of them has both and the other only has green hair, so, nevermind."
"If she ever shows up again, you can try and ask her yourself. Or perhaps she prefers to keep things a mystery, right?" Bertha winked.
"I do love a good mystery." Twilight squeed with excitement. "That just means it's waiting to be solved!"
"Mm-mm." Hilbert shook his head. "Nope. I wouldn't. Not gonna mess with anything from the past."
"You've messed with things form the past before, Hilbert." Hilda pointed out. "We both have."
"Yeah but...Not witches. They're scarier than Pokemon..." Hilbert expressed one of his common fears. He loved to discover the unknown but there are some things out there he'd prefer to remain a mystery.
"But, judging from that description, she could be from that infamous family line that possess those qualities." Bertha had a bit more to reveal as Zorua climbed up to her lap, receiving a back rub. "Their genes are very dominant and will most likely overtake any other gene when it comes to an offspring. That offspring is born with red eyes and green hair. Some say that it is a sign of royalty. Of course, this was in the past. It isn't that known today and it might not even exist anymore. But she might be a remnant."
"Hmmm..." Hearing all of this reminded Twilight of two individuals. Ghetsis and Harmonia. Both fit the descriptions perfectly. Green hair and Crimson eyes. And now there was a third person in the mix who had the same descriptions.
"Isn't thinking about the past so much fun?" Bertha laughed. "It doesn't matter how far it may be or how hard others try and hide it. Eventually, someone will uncover the past. Nothing is hidden forever. Whether it turns the world upside down or revives what was once lost. Cynthia told me that and there is a stark truth to those words. What say you all? Do you believe the past is never fully hidden."
"No way." Ash immediately answered. "Speaking from experience, I know there's always a way to uncover the past, no matter what."
"Pikachu!"
"Mhm." Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie nodded in agreement. Sci-Twi thought about it for a moment. The Time Leaks, Zorua and the Alpha Pokemon that she caught were proof of that. She agreed too along with Hilbert and Hilda.
They were all surrounded by Pokemon of the past after all. Twilight's Alpha Pikachu was Ash's Pikachu's many-great grandfather from long ago. Hisuian Zorua also comes from the Time Leaks along with all of Twilight's Alpha Pokemon. The two Mews, Victini and Meloetta were all examples of the past, especially with what they've seen.
Very soon, many of their Pokemon would end up the same, what with Ninetales' long lifespan while Absol had been around longer than all of his teammates. No matter what, they were always involved with time in some way.
"That's good to hear. As for me...I feel lucky!" Bertha said with a giddy tone. "Most would've expected me to be gone by now. But time has been ever-so kind to this old body." Bertha was glad that she was still around, despite how old she was.
"Same here." Hibert pointed at himself. "I don't look a day old. Guess when I get old, I'm gonna look like I'm in my 20's. Neat stuff."
"We all look like we haven't aged a day." Hilda replied. "I still look the same as before! And I can guarantee the same goes for Ash."
"I've kinda changed but yeah. Guilty." Ash shrugged.
"Pika-Pika."
"I know Rarity loves this." said Twilight. "Staying young is one of her dreams and it already came through when we met Ash. Of course, we still have other dreams we want to finish."
"Well. Rainbow Dash, was it? I believe I owe you a Pokemon Battle." Bertha was finally getting to the Elite 4 challenge, grabbing Rainbow Dash's attention. "You want to see how far you've come, don't you?"
"Oh yes!" Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof. "I need to get ready for the Equestria League soon, so what better way to do so than challenging some of the best?"
"Hm. Not a bad idea. I can't find a flaw with that. Well, let's get started soon."
"Wait!" Just then, a voice had interrupted them. They all turned around to se a pony standing up ahead. This was Spectrum Shade in disguise. She too wanted to challenge the Elite 4 before anything else, straying away from her original goal. "I want to battle you first! Let me go!"
"Huh?!" Rainbow Dash pulled back.
"Sorry, my little pony. But this one already requested a battle with me." Bertha stood up, holding Zorua.
"Well, maybe later. Because I wanna battle you more than anything right now." Spectrum Shade held out her singular Poke Ball.
"With just one Poke Ball? You're a new trainer, aren't you?" Bertha noticed that Spectrum only had one Poke Ball on her. She didn't even have a saddlebag, confirming that this was her only Poke Ball.
"I am...Pretty new." Spectrum lowered her head. "I got introduced to it pretty late, honestly."
"Hm. Well, I suggest that you watch our battle instead. Rainbow Dash here has high spirits so I sense a great ordeal from her."
"Gee thanks." Rainbow Dash enjoyed that compliment, proudly crossing her hooves.
"I too would like to see how far the new generation of Pokemon Trainers from another world have come. It's far too interesting to ignore. Shall we go now, Rainbow Dash? Let's battle at the Mistralton Tower and make it our stadium."
"Works for me! I'm ready, Bertha!"
Rainbow Dash and Bertha would have their battle on the Mistralton Tower. And all Spectrum Shade could do was watch. She had already seen Hilbert battle Rainbow Dash back at Castelia. Now she would see another battle from a high level trainer against Rainbow Dash and see how much she's improved since that last one. The first Elite 4 Challenge would begin as the journey continues.
Unova. Mistralton City. Celestial Tower. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Rainbow Dash was about to face off against Bertha of the Sinnoh Elite 4. After having a nice buffet, the two would battle at Mistralton City Tower, also known as the Celestial Tower, with Ash and the others spectating.
Spectating was the undercover Spectrum Shade, trying not to give herself away as a vampire. Being a very new trainer, even more so than everypony in Equestria, watching this would give her a perfect experience of what she would have to try and reach.
As for Celestial Tower, it was a staggeringly tall tower with a large bell whose tones are said to purify the spirit. Some consider this to be the counterpart to Kanto's Pokemon Tower, Hoenn's Mt. Pyre or even Sinnoh's Lost Tower since they were all burial grounds for deceased Pokemon.
"Right then. I would like to do a special option for this battle, my little pony. I want you to battle with Pokemon that you feel have less observation than normal." Bertha asked as the winds of the azure skies were dominant in this area. Ash, Hilbert and Hilda held onto their hats from this pressure as hairs, manes and tails blew gracefully in the wind. Spectrum Shade also kept her hat on, trying to contain her disguise.
"Observation? Alright. Works for me. You're an Elite 4 Member, so anything's fine. I didn't do my best against Hilbert, so here's my second chance." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Heh. That's to be expected though." Hilbert smirked. "Back in my world, I'm on the level of a champion, so it's totally fine that you lost to me. No biggie. Now that I'm here, I can give you some pointers in this battle, my student."
"Uh...sure. I'll maybe listen to them." Rainbow Dash reluctantly said.
"But, young lady. Don't get too ahead of yourself. Then again, you don't strike me as the type to do so, correct?" Bertha wanted to know if Rainbow Dash was the type of trainer to get ahead of themselves when facing a powerful opponent. Especially one that trumps over them in every way.
"Nah. I already know that feeling." She shook her head. "I've already been through it way before Pokemon."
"Oh. That's good. I suppose I don't need to teach you that and just battle as if it were an everyday Pokemon Battle. Although...I do wonder if you're an observant one. This is what I want to know about you and some of your Pokemon."
"Observant?" Rainbow Dash repeated.
"That's what Bertha focuses on the most," said Ash. "When we met her back at Sinnoh, she told Dawn paying attention to her observant skills would help her out in her contests. She says it's an awesome tool for battles and Contests and even everyday life."
"Really now?" Twilight and the others looked at Ash, learning what Bertha had passed on to him.
"Mhm. And by, that really helped out when Pikachu and I got to Alola."
"Pikachu."
"I'm glad you remembered it so well, Ash." Bertha nodded, proud that Ash recalled and took her advice to heart. "But what about your friends? They come from a world where Pokemon are relatively new and weren't there from the very beginning. In your world, how are you with your observation skills?"
"Top of the line! I'm a Wonderbolt, ya know, so I'm always using those skills. Even way before I became a Wonderbolt."
"But what about everything else? Including battling?"
"Everything else and battling? Well..." Rainbow Dash pulled back, thinking about it. She would have to think about every battle she had done so far and every action in her life aside from her enjoyment of flying. "Hm...I guess maybe in a few things but not really battling. No."
"Hoh. Then I do have something to share. Ash already said it, but I'll demonstrate it. Send out the Pokemon you believe lack much observation. Who knows? Perhaps you've already been using those skills in all of those battles without even knowing. You are a fast pony, after all, so your reaction time should be immaculate."
"Oh, you bet it is! Let's go, Bertha!"
"Let me handle this!" Pinkie Pie appeared in between them, opting to be the referee. Twilight was about to get up, only for Pinkie Pie to take the referee role before she could. "You've got infinite time! If either Pokemon goes out on one side, it's over! Send out your first Pokemon, pretty please."
"Let's do this! Luxray!" Rainbow Dash threw her Poke Ball into the air, sending out her first Pokemon. Luxray.
"Luxray."
"Go! Gliscor!" As for Bertha, she sent out her Gliscor as her first Pokemon.
"Gliscor!"
"Oh! A Ground-Type! "Seeing that the first opponent was a Ground-Type was bad news for Luxray. Rainbow Dash knew that sending him out first wasn't the best approach, but she wouldn't have known since Bertha sent hers out second.
"Ah. I forgot to mention. I'm a Ground-Type specialist. So every single one of my Pokemon are Ground-Types. That shouldn't be an issue, right?"
"Not at all. Besides, I've got options for Ground-Types. Just you wait and see." Despite this surprising revelation, Rainbow Dash wasn't worried. Indeed, most of her Pokemon had perfect responses to Ground-Types. Two of them were even immune to Ground-Types.
"But Luxray's an observant Pokemon, right? He's got X-Ray vision." Pinkie Pie asked. "Are you sure this is the right Pokemon, Dashie?"
"Luxray may have X-Ray vision, but he never uses it in battle. I kinda wanna use that. Plus, he's always thinking of getting hits in and nothing else. Does that work, Bertha?"
"Hmm...That depends. You have a point with his X-Ray vision, but I want to see it for myself if your Luxray is less observant as you say it is. Maybe, that special vision isn't his only sharp sense."
"Battle Start!"
"Here we go! Luxray, use Ice Fang!"
"Luxray!" Luxray went first. By letting out a mighty roar, the Gleam Eyes Pokemon coated his fangs in an icy aura, rushing in.
"Gliscor! Guillotine!"
"Gli!" Gliscor immediately went for a powerful attack. A one-hit attack was incoming as Gliscor's claws were coated in a silver aura.
"Hah!" Immediately, Rainbow Dash was on full alert. She promised herself she wouldn't go down as quickly as she did against Hilbert. And Guillotine could ruin that. After hearing that attack, Rainbow Dash would have to refrain from going on the offensive for this moment. "Jump over Gliscor! Quick!"
"Lux!" Luxray sensed the immediate danger as well, immediately jumping over Gliscor. The second Gliscor was about to swing its claws, Luxray had already leapt over the Fang Scorp Pokemon.
"Phew! That was close..." Rainbow Dash sighed as she would've been down one Pokemon already.
"Hm. Well, anyone would be smart enough to avoid Guillotine. That much is known." Bertha said. "But, I'm not sure if you're as observant as I think you are. Not yet anyway."
"You'll see. I was just thrown off by Guillotine. Get a load of this! Ice Fang!"
"Lux!" Luxray went in for another Ice Fang, turning around and approaching the Ground-Flying-Type.
"Then, I'll indulge you. X-Scissor!"
"Gliscor!" Gliscor would go for X-Scissor. It covered its claws in a shining green aura, but Gliscor did not fly towards Luxray. Instead, it waited for the Gleam Eyes Pokemon to get close. Luxray jumped up, ready to take Gliscor out of the skies.
That's when Bertha's skills came into play. She observed Luxray's movements, seeing that he slightly opened his jaw a bit more, which was a signal that he was ready to land Ice Fang.
"Grab it!"
"Gli!" Gliscor had then zoomed to the side, evading Luxray's bite. But not only did it dodge the fangs, but it also used the strength of X-Scissor to grab Luxray by the neck, clamping him. "Gliscor!"
"L-Lux?!"
"What the?!"
"You need to strengthen your powers of observation, Rainbow Dash. Strengthen them when it comes to everything. Luxray can't break out because it probably has an Electric-Type attack meant for this situation. But that doesn't mean anything against Gliscor, correct?"
"Grrr...!" Rainbow Dash growled as Bertha was right. Usually, the way Electric-Types free themselves when they're trapped is by using a burst of electricity, like Thunderbolt, Discharge or anything else. But for a Ground-Type that wasn't happening.
"What will you do then? Can you find something that will free Luxray despite his disadvantage? What can you see?" Bertha was teaching Rainbow Dash, trying to show her the ways a trainer can observe the battle and find workarounds in the process.
"I can't see anything. Do you guys see something?" Twilight asked.
"Hmm...Can't say." Hilda shook her head. "Without the right attack, Luxray's stuck.
"That's the kind of thing Bertha taught me. She taught me how to increase the variety of moves I have." Ash started, revealing what else Bertha taught him. If anything, Bertha was the one who greatly affected Ash's future battling styles for years to come with parts of it sneaking in every once in a while. "Sometimes, there's a move that can solve the issue. You just have to find it."
"No?" Bertha saw that there wasn't a response to Luxray's position. "Well, in that case, let's end this. Gliscor, Guillotine."
"Gli!" Gliscor had used Guillotine on its other claw, replacing the energy of X-Scissor. This could be it for Luxray. But, Rainbow Dash was putting in full effort to observe what she could. That's when she saw something. It was her only chance and the only attack that would work.
"Got it! Wrap your tail around Gliscor with Iron Tail!"
"L-Luxray!" Luxray acted accordingly as he hardened his tail with iron. Rainbow Dash saw one advantage with Luxray's tail. It was impressively long. Luxray was identical to a lion, so a long tail was to be expected. And due to the position Gliscor was holding Luxray in, it gave Luxray the opportunity to use his tail in a specific way.
By manipulating it, Luxray had wrapped his tail around Gliscor's body, clamping the Fang Scorp Pokemon in retaliation. This sudden clamp had thrown Gliscor off, interrupting its Guillotine.
"Gli?!" Gliscor gasped as the weight of Iron Tail squeezed its upper boy, causing the Ground-Flying-Type to grimace. This also allowed Luxray to break free from Gliscor's grip since it was thrown off by the Iron Tail clamp.
"Lux!"
"Haha! Yes! It worked!" Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof into the air with excitement as Castform had also flown out of Rainbow's saddle bag to cheer with her.
"Castform!"
"Hm. Not bad. You used the reach of Luxray's tail. And thankfully, the position was perfect for Iron Tail to be used." Bertha nodded in approval of Rainbow Dash's choices. "But, you were aware that Gliscor was big enough for that to happen?"
"Uh...big enough?" Rainbow Dash repeated as she and Castform stopped celebrating for a bit.
"Cast?"
"Gliscor is bigger than Luxray in terms of height. Had it been another Pokemon of a smaller size, what would you have done? Would Luxray's tail have reached them? These are the things you need to consider when going up against an opposing Pokemon, Rainbow Dash."
"I'd find a way through that too! It doesn't matter how big or small they are!" Rainbow Dash declared.
"Heh. I could've taught you that already." Hilbert proudly grinned, boasting that he would've taught the same thing to Rainbow Dash.
"The sad part is, he's not wrong." Hilda sighed in response.
"Hm? So you say? Then, let's continue and see how things turn out. X-Scissor!"
"Gliscor!" It was another X-Scissor coming up and this time, Gliscr would fly in instead of staying in one position.
"Here we go! Iron Tail!"
"Ray!" And Luxray would deliver another Iron Tail. The two of them approached each other with Iron Tail being swung. However, Rainbow Dash could see that Gliscor was going for the same X-Scissor trick. Gliscor was trying to grab Luxray's tail.
"Not this time! Swish your tail down!"
"Lux!" Luxray swished his tail down before Gliscor could grab it. By doing so, he managed to evade another rough spot before swinging his tail upwards, forcing Gliscor to clash with him instead of going for another trick.
Bertha was impressed. Rainbow Dash was observant indeed. She predicted that Gliscor would go for that same trick, especially with Luxray needing to turn around for his Iron Tail to be used.
"Not bad." Bertha smiled. "Second time in a row, my little pony."
"Thanks. But in reality, I have Ash to thank for that." Rainbow Dash turned to face Ash. "Thanks to him, I've learned how to use so many neat tricks in battle. And to everyone else back at Ponyville, obviously.
"No problem." Ash gave a thumbs up. "But you can thank Bertha for what she also taught me."
"How nice. You've become a mentor as well, Ash. So, I'm inclined to believe that there are tricks that you've picked up along the way in everypony else, right?"
"You know it," Ash confirmed that he taught everyone some tricks that they could utilize. And these tricks have helped them greatly.
"Then in that case...enough chit chat. Let's go." Bertha's eyes suddenly narrowed Rainbow Dash's heart skipped a beat. Bertha was about to get serious. "Gliscor! Earthquake!"
"Gli...scor!" Gliscor had then smashed its claws into the ground, creating a mighty tremor that transformed into pulsating golden shockwaves.
"Yikes! Try pushing it back with Discharge!"
"Luxray!" This was the only attack that would work. Luxray exuded a flare of electricity from his body, causing it to reach the golden shockwaves. However, immediately right afterwards, Earthquakes' shockwaves powered through Discharge, reaching Luxray. Luxray was struck by the shockwaves, resulting in an explosion to occur.
"Oh no! Luxray!" Rainbow Dash cried out as there was no chance for Luxray to fight back against that attack. Just like how there was no chance for him to withstand that attack.
"Luxray..." The explosion faded away as Luxray was down on the ground. He had fainted.
"Ooh. Luxray's down and out! Gliscor wins!" Pinkie Pie announced. The first victory went to Bertha, but Rainbow Dash wasn't expecting much from this outcome.
"If I were you, I would've probably swapped Luxray out by now. Staying in can be dangerous for your Pokemon, Rainbow Dash. It's always good to know when the time to switch is needed. Just like now. Return, Gliscor." Bertha returned Gliscor while Rainbow Dash returned Luxray.
"Thanks, Luxray. You were great. Alright then...whoever comes next, I've got the Pokemon for it! Let's go, Altaria!"
"Altaria!"
"A good choice...But how will you respond to this? Mamoswine!"
"Mamoswine!" Mamoswine was Bertha's second Pokemon. Another great pick against Rainbow Dash's Altaria.
"Great. Mamoswine." Rainbow Dash grizzled her teeth. Mamoswine was a massive threat indeed. Rainbow Dash knew that since she was going up against an Elite 4 Member, so this wasn't an ordinary Mamoswine.
"Don't get so riled up by the Pokemon your opponent chooses. If you do, your head won't be fully in the game and you won't be able to battle in the way you usually do."
"She's right, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed. "I know that feeling personally!"
"Yeah, I got it! Altaria! Dragon Pulse!"
"Taria!"
"Mamoswine! Icicle Spear!" Mamoswine opened its mouth as the inside of it started to illuminate a vibrant light-blue. It then releases multiple sharp, thin, spear-shaped ice shards from its mouth, intercepting Dragon Pulse.
The spears crashed into the pulse, holding it back. However, Mamoswine unleashed some more spears, pressurizing Altaria's Dragon Pulse. Afterwards, Ice Shard won the struggle, pushing back Dragon Pulse as the Humming Pokemon had been struck by a barrage of shards.
"T-Taria!" Altaria cried out taking massive damage from such a super-effective move as she was knocked out of the sky. The Dragon-Flying-Type was slightly carried away by the wind before then hitting the ground, landing next to Rainbow Dash. However, despite that super-effective blow, Altaria managed to hang in there. "T-Tari!"
"Oh geez..." That was another close call for Rainbow Dash. "Okay. That's not gonna happen again."
"Really? But, does your Altaria have the strength to make sure it doesn't?" Bertha asked as Rainbow Dash looked over at Altaria. Just one Icicle Spear and she was already greatly weakened. "That's one thing that every Pokemon Trainer should observe. The state of their Pokemon. Can they continue?"
"You're right...I was gonna throw Altaria back in there." Rainbow Dash replied. "Kinda used to going all the way but...return, for now, Altaria." Rainbow Dash recalled Altaria as Bertha warned her about the dangers of keeping a Pokemon out in certain conditions.
"There's no shame in switching out so soon. Usually, trainers tend to switch out when they feel that their Pokemon have done enough work for now. But in reality, at any moment, your Pokemon could be greatly weakened. Always observe the state of your Pokemon and make the right call. That way, victory can be seized much easier."
"I got it, Bertha. But..." Rainbow Dash held out her next Poke Ball.
"But?" Bertha raised an eyebrow.
"This next Pokemon's a bit too stubborn. No one's getting through to her. Let's do this, Mienfoo!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo roared out with unbridled energy. Out of all of Rainbow Dash's Pokemon, Mienfoo was the one to most likely ignore Bertha's teachings.
"Mienfoo here's gonna truck on and do what she does best!" Rainbow Dash declared, raising her hoof. "You'll see what I mean! Go, Force Palm!"
"Mienfoo!" MIenfoo lunged in, channelling her strength into her palm.
"A stubborn one? I'm no stranger to that! Mamoswine! Earthquake!"
"Mamo!" Mamoswine stomped on the ground, also having access to Earthquake as even larger shockwaves from what Gliscor created had formed.
"I don't think so! Combine it with Agility!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo's common combination was always using Agility since it would increase her already amazing speed. Mienfoo relied on sharp and quick movements and with the boost of Agility, Mienfoo moved so fast she became a blur, jumping over the shockwaves with the speed she managed to gather.
"Oh." Bertha gawked at Mienfoo and that move combination, thoroughly impressed. "Double Edge!"
"Mamo!" Mamowsine would meet Mienfoo in the air with Double Edge after she had dodged the Earthquake. It jumped into the air with great force, generating a silver aura that left a trail behind him. "Maaamooo!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo and Mamoswine collided with Force Palm smashing into Double-Edge. The collision was fierce as Mienfoo was trying to smash Mamoswine to the ground. Her arm was twitching in the presence of this heavy Pokemon. Mamoswine also had to put some effort into its attacks just for Mienfoo.
"That Mienfoo lacks any form of observation...but she makes up for it with her spirit." Bertha could already read how Mienfoo acts. The passion in Mienfoo and the fierce spirit she brings was enough to make anyone cautious. "But..."
"Mamo!" Mamoswine won the exchange, overpowering Mienfoo's Force Palm. Mamoswine ended up knocking Mienfoo into the air, receiving some recoil damage but it was nothing compared to the damage Mienfoo took.
"M-Mien!"
"Oh yeah?! Unleash Force Palm's energy!"
"Mienfoo!" While in the air, the currents of winds that were commonly around Mistralton City had kept the Martial Pokemon airborne for a while. Just enough time for her to unleash Force Palm in the air, using the orange energy as a weapon. The energy transformed into a beam, shooting towards Mamoswine from above.
"Counter with Earthquake!"
"Swine!" Mamoswine unleashed Earthquake again. This time, to block the attack. The golden shockwaves acted as an impenetrable wall, blocking Mienfoo's attack as there was an explosion right afterwards.
"Mien...!" Mienfoo growled before descending.
"Come back, for now, Mamoswine." Bertha returned Mamoswine before then swapping into her next Pokemon. "This time...I'll give Nidoking a chance!"
"Nidoking!" Nidoking was her third Pokemon. Rainbow Dash was expecting Gliscor to return but instead, this behemoth of a Pokemon was her opponent.
"Mienfoo...!" Against such a large opponent, Mienfoo always felt the need to size herself up to her opponent. Nidoking grinned at Mienfoo's attempt to intimidate him.
"Nidoking! Sludge Bomb, now!"
"Nido!" Out of Nidoking, destructive and explosive poison sludges were shot out rapidly in droves.
"Mienfoo! Hit them as fast as you can with Fury Swipes!"
"Foo! Mien-Mien!" To counter this, Mienfoo revealed her hidden claws, extending them. The FIghting-Type had then started swiping at the sludges as fast as she could. And this was her speciality. Swift strikes. This benefit showed itself greatly as Mienfoo was capable of keeping up with the sludges, slicing them apart with her claws.
"Yeah, go, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight cheered her on, seeing that she was starting to hold her own against an Elite 4 Member perfectly.
"Go, Mienfoo! Acrobatics!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo, who had already gotten faster earlier, started moving with even greater speed, performing stylish flips while approaching Nidoking. She did an airborne frontflip that lasted a while before then going in for a dive kick.
"What a rowdy Pokemon...reminds me of my old days. Earth Power!"
"King!" Nidoking would meet with Mienfoo via Earth Power. However, the attack would be channelled into his arm instead of being unleashed as shockwaves. He swung his claw, smashing it against Mienfoo's leg. There was another collision with sparks flying.
"Keep going, Mienfoo!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo then jumped off Nidoking's claw before using the agility of Acrobatics to her advantage. Nidoqueen went for a downwards smash with Earth Power, only for Mienfoo to do a cartwheel, narrowly evading it. "Fo!"
"Nido?!" Nidoking turned around before seeing Mienfoo zoom in for a headbutt.
"Mien!" Mienfoo bashed her head into Nidoking's face at full force. Nidoking barely staggered, but some damage had been dealt.
"Grab her and use Thunderbolt!"
"Nido!" Nidoking immediately went to grab Mienfoo, only for Mienfoo to backflip right afterwards. However, even though she managed to backflip away from Nidoking's grab, there was something else she didn't see coming. Nidoking's tail. He had also used his tail, swinging it as it had tripped Mienfoo.
"M-Mien?!"
"Ah! Mienfoo!"
"King!" After tripping Mienfoo, Nidoking grabbed a hold of Mienfoo. Bertha didn't even need to tell Nidoking to do so. The Poison-Ground-Type just knew. Now, Nidoking had Mienfoo in his clutches and up next was Thunderbolt.
"Darn it...! Smash your head into Nidoking!"
"M-Mien...Mienfoo!" Mienfoo wouldn't let herself be taken out like this. Attempting to free herself, she smashed her head into Nidoking's face once again. But just like before, Nidoking did not stagger. Mienfoo tried again repeatedly, harming her face in the process.
"Nidoking!" 100,000 volts were unleashed, shocking Mienfoo as Nidoking gave her a bear hug.
"Mienfoo, no!" Rainbow Dash yelled as Mienfoo was being punished, crying out with all of these volts going through her. The Martial Arts Pokemon showed some restraint, trying her best to power through this.
"Your Mienfoo has amazing passion. The likes of which I've only seen a few times. But, even the most passionate and fierce Pokemon have to be observant. Your Mienfoo's aggressive style is what works for her, but that shouldn't leave her wide open, especially with her being Pokemon so fixated on sharp reflexes."
"Ugh...!" Rainbow Dash grimaced as the volts kept coming through, keeping Mienfoo stuck in one spot. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, thinking deeply. Indeed, she's so used to how Mienfoo battles. Aggressive and always uses speed to her advantage. Rainbow Dash grew accustomed to this style as it resonated with her, putting pressure on her opponents.
But against someone who was always observant, Mienfoo's style had a weakness against that. But that was only because of how Rainbow Dash chose to approach them. The skills of the Trainer bounce off the Pokemon.
"Mienfoo!" Just then, Mienfoo shouted at Rainbow Dash, grabbing her attention. Mienfoo started ranting, showing visible frustration. Not by her current situation but with how Rainbow Dash was taking this. The Martial Arts Pokemon wanted Rainbow Dash to look further and understand Mienfoo some more. "M-Mien!"
"You can hear it, can't you?" Bertha asked. "Mienfoo's frustration."
"Mienfoo..." Rainbow Dash stood there dazed. "I hear you. You're a martial artist. I can't allow you to slip up like this. You're fierce but you've got more to show."
"Foo." MIenfoo nodded as Nidoking even took the time to pause his attack, keeping Mienfoo in his clutches.
"You must always observe your own Pokemon, Rainbow Dash. Not just in their conditions, but in what they feel. And even your opponent's Pokemon. How much do you really know about them? And how much of their potential can you bring out of them?" Bertha continued to instruct Rainbow Dash. But she wasn't just instructing her. Twilight, Sci-Twi, Pinkie Pie and even Spectrum Shade were being mentored.
Bertha had a lot to teach them. Despite them being with their Pokemon for so long and forming strong bonds with them, everypony had no idea how far their bonds with their Pokemon could go. Ash knew. And those bonds can reach even greater heights.
"Hm. Yeah, I got it. Let's go, Mienfoo! Let's break free from Nidoking! Agility!"
"Mien...!" Mienfoo then closed her eyes, generating the silver aura of Agility around her. That was another speed increase. Or so it seemed. But instead, the silver aura turned into a pink aura as Mienfoo was suddenly in a deep state of focus.
"Hm? That's not Agility." Twilight noticed as Nidoking was ready to shock her again.
"Mienfoo...!" Mienfoo had then done some deep breathing before utilizing her intense focus. This wasn't Agility. It was something else. The second the volts were about to travel through, in a split second, Mienfoo's eyes had opened. Not just that, but the pink aura became a forcefield that had suddenly expanded from Mienfoo's body, pushing back the volts and even Nidoking with its expansion. "Mienfoo!"
"King?!" Nidoking slid back once the forcefield emerged. He and Bertha looked in awe along with everyone else as Mienfoo was floating in the air, putting her paws together. This was the calmest that Mienfoo has ever been.
"Hey! That's Meditate!" Ash immediately recognize what this move was. It was Meditate. Gone was Agility. Now, Meditate had taken its place.
"That moment between you and Mienfoo had put Mienfoo at ease. And it seems this is the first time it's ever happened." Bertha observed. "Because of this, your Mienfoo has tapped into Meditate. Impressive."
"Mienfoo." Mienfoo descended as the pink forcefield faded away. She lowered her paws before opening her eyes. The Martial Arts Pokemon found a counterpart to her fierce attitude. Complete meditation and focus. Her attacks had been raised but this also meant that she was now more observant.
"So, Mienfoo. Is that something you were looking for all this time? Or am I missing something?" Rainbow Dash asked, wondering if Mienfoo wanted to have a calmer side at times.
"Foo." Mienfoo nodded her head. She wanted some of this. Being so headstrong allows her to dish out some fierce damage and put her opponents on the back foot with pressure. But, Mienfoo knew that someday, she would have to gain a cooler head.
This was because of her final evolution. Mienfoo looked to the skies, spotting the visage of Mienshao, who was the opposite of Mienfoo's fierce personality.
"No? Oh. I think I get it. Alright then, let's keep going. Force Palm!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo ran in with Force Palm, now having a new state of mind.
"Excellent. But you're still going to lose. Sludge Bomb!"
"Nidoking!" Nidoking would stop Mienfoo dead in her tracks with Sludge Bomb, sending out explosive poisonous sludges.
"Here it comes! Stop and block it!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo would use the energy of Force Palm defensively. She stopped in her tracks, holding her paw out as she allowed the bombs to reach her. Mienfoo closed her eyes, expanding the orange energy of Force Palm to the point where it looked like a gentle wave that was flowing. It even moved like a wave as Mienfoo moved her arm around, making the energy flow. The flowing energy had deflected the poison, keeping it away from her.
"Amazing! She feels so much different now!" Sci-Twi was stunned by this change of skill.
"And it was so fast too!" Hilda gawked. "She's a fast learner, alright. I wish my Mienfoo could've done that before he became Mienshao."
"Now, strike!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo's fierce attitude was back as she got rid of all the bombs. The Martial Arts Pokemon lunged in, still maintaining some leftover speed from the now-gone Agility. She would use the remnants of that move one last time, becoming a blur.
"Earth Power!"
"King!" Nidoking would meet with Force Palm, initiating a fierce physical clash. Mienfoo was coming face to face with another heavy Pokemon, trying to push through as always. The energy of Force Palm flowed beautifully once more, showing her immediate growth.
"M-Mienfoo!" Mienfoo closed her eyes, putting her gathered strength from Meditate into this final push.
But against an Elite 4 Member, she wasn't there yet. Nidoking had the edge in strength, overpowering Mienfoo as there was a fierce explosion around the area. Mienfoo was enveloped in the light of this explosion as Bertha looked on with a smile on her face.
The smoke cleared as it could be seen from afar on the top of Celestial Tower. Once it cleared, Mienfoo could be seen standing, holding her paw out as it was still touching Nidoking. Nidoking was surprised to see that Mienfoo was standing even after all of that.
But that was only because she had fainted while standing up. "M-Mien..." Mienfoo didn't have the strength to continue as she fell on her back. "Mienfoo..."
"You did good girl. But you're unable to battle." Pinkie Pie went over, patting Mienfoo on the head. "That means Nidoking wins this one."
"Figures. That's an Elite 4 member for you." Rainbow Dash walked over. "I think I'm gonna call this battle quits."
"Huh?! So soon?!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "A-Are you sure? You still have Altaria though! And some of your Pokemon could use some of that observation stuff, ya know."
"I'm sure. Braviary, Whirlipede and Castform already have a good grip on observation. Especially Whirlipede. I'm gonna stop here. And for Altaria's sake." Rainbow Dash held Mienfoo up. "And for your sake too, Mienfoo.You were amazing."
"Mienfoo..." Mienfoo groaned before then receiving a hug from Rainbow Dash.
"I'll accept it. Let's call this battle over." Bertha returned Nidoking.
"Oh. Okay then. Bertha win this battle!"
"That's my student for you..." Hilbert teared up. "I'm so proud!"
"Against all odds, she lasted a long time and learned something new too," said Sci-Twi. "Amazing."
"That's Rainbow Dash for you. That's the kind of determination that'll help her get to the Equestria League. No doubt about that."
"Yeah..." Ash nodded in absolute agreement. Rainbow Dash was one step closer to reaching the Equestria Leauge with what she was picking up along the way.
"I need to get them all healed up soon. That damage is the biggest I've seen so far."
"They're way stronger than I thought..." Spectrum Shade said to herself before slowly backing up. The vampire looked at her only Poke Ball before then turning into a bat, swiftly flying into the indoors of the castle without anyone spotting her. Pikachu almost did, only to just miss her thanks to her speed.
"That was quite enjoyable, honestly." Bertha walked over. "You've shown me that you do have splendid observation skills. Perhaps they need to be worked on, but for the most part, I can see a bright future ahead for you, Rainbow Dash."
"Thanks, Bertha. I'm gonna use everything you taught me too."
"Hm-hm. But, you won't be seeing the last of me. Not until this festival ends. I plan to have the time of my life during this Pokemon Festival and you all have the right energy."
"Sweet. You're gonna tag along?" Ash replied.
"I don't have a set destination right now. Plus, there will be others who would like to battle an Elite 4 Member out there. As much as I love battling, I can't be asked to battle 24/7 for 3 weeks. Why not just have fun?"
"Can't argue with that. We're planning to head somewhere else soon. Well, I was. There's a place in Kalos I wanna visit. It's called Arche Valley." Ash revealed his destination.
"Arche Valley?" Twilight repeated, trying to think if she's heard of it before. But nothing came to mind.
"In that case...please teach me along the way, Bertha!" Rainbow Dash pleaded. "I want to know if there's more I can learn from you. I really want to grow. More than anyone back home, ya know."
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo agreed.
"I hear you, I hear you. I suppose I can give you extra tips along the way. Now come along. My SUV is nearby. This time, there's enough room for all of you...including Meloetta and Victini. But not before you heal your Pokemon, Rainbow Dash."
"Awesome! Arche Valley, here we come!" Ash pumped his fist into the air.
"Pikachu!"
"I can give you some pointers too, pupil," Hilbert said to Rainbow Dash as they all started strolling away, walking down Celestial Tower and its many steps.
"I don't know about that...And I'm not your pupil. But uh...where'd that therp ony go. Didn't she want to battle you?" Rainbow Dash noticed that Spectrum Shade was gone. She left without a trace.
"I have a feeling that she learned something here." Bertha smiled even in the absence of Spectrum Shade. "Good luck, young trainer."
Rainbow Dash had received some new advice from yet another teacher. She has had many teachers in her life that have helped her skills as a Pokemon Trainer. Champions. Elite 4 Members. Gym Leaders and potentially more to come. And with Bertha tagging along just for the sake of a good time, there was more to learn along the way as the journey continues.
Kalos. Cyllage City. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Cyllage City. Known as the city of peaceful strolls, it was a city nestled between the cliffs and the sea, overlooked by steep Bicycle racecourses. Currently, Fluttershy, Spike and Applejack had shown up at Kalos for the Pokemon Festival right at Heahea City. And they were greeted with great warmth that was enough to satisfy their hunger.
Here at Kalos, they were sharing delicacies from other regions and in this case, they were met with Alolan delicacies, such as the famous pancakes that end up transforming Pikachu into an Alolan Raichu. They had first hoof and claw experience on how good these were.
"I feel like evolving just by eating these," Spike commented, stuffing himself with pancakes. But Spike was luckier than the rest of his friends as well as Axew and all of his Dragon-Types. He had the most supply of pancakes as there was a special dragon event going on for this Pokemon Festival.
And as a massive advantage, Spike not only owned Dragon-Type Pokemon but he was a dragon as well, thus, he got the best of both worlds.
"Sorry, Sceptile. Mega Evolution doesn't count." Applejack patted Sceptile on the back as he couldn't get a large supply of pancakes. He was only a temporary Dragon-Type. Sceptile ate his smaller supply of pancakes with tears rolling down his face.
"Sceptile..."
"We've had a good run for the first day. What about tomorrow? Or even tonight?" Fluttershy asked, thinking about what they could do next at the Pokemon Festival.
"Aaah...Fluttershy. You're a decent battler, ain't ya?" Applejack already had something in mind.
"I'm not battling." Immediately, Fluttershy turned down any request to battle. And she said so with a nice smile.
"Oh. Nevermind..."
"But...Raboot loves battling." She then held the Rabbit Pokemon out who had pancake bits in his mouth, licking them off. "He'll love anything that involves a good battle."
"Boot. Ra..."
"What's that? You'd like to keep battles at a minimum?" Fluttershy translated as Raboot nodded in confirmation. "Oh, alright then. I guess this is the best place to wind down. Nevermind then."
"Forget about battling. We can do that later. Next, we should go to Alola. That region's got something I want to see." Spike stood up, having something in mind. It was tailored towards him, of course. "They say there's a Totem Kommo-o in Alola, And you know what that means?"
"It means we're still gonna have Pokemon Battles?" Applejack replied as it all came back to Pokemon Battles.
"Y-Yeah...But wouldn't it be great if I caught Kommo- on the first try?" Spike proudly said "Ever since I battled with Avaun, Kommo-o's one of the many Dragon Pokemon I've wanted to catch. And if I get lucky, I'll get a Z-Crystal out of it. Eh?"
"I would say that's a lot but...this festival is a lot," Fluttershy responded. "We'll go and see Kommo-o...but how about we try out that attraction?" However, Fluttershy's attention was drawn elsewhere. She aimed her hoof to the north, showing off a massive attraction that was bigger than the rest. She would get up and lead them there so that they could get a better look.
There was something surprising waiting there. In two ways. One of them was surprising for everyone else but for Applejack, it could be a different story.
The attraction was a large dome. It was surprising that something so big could show up after just one week of preparation. But such was the magic of Pokemon companies. And when they showed up at that dome, two signs were shown up. And on those signs were some familiar faces. A familiar Mythical Pokemon and a familiar friend of Applejack.
"Come see...Countess Coloratura and Meloetta?!" Applejack gasped after reading the sign and spotting the image of her friend. Coloratura was present here and she was next to a Meloetta.
"Oooh, there's a Meloetta here?" Fluttershy was more interested in Meloetta than anything else. "I didn't know your friend was partners with a Meloetta."
"Neither did I. This is all new to me. So she's here right now?" Applejack moved past the sign, heading for the indoors.
"Well, the other one says that the Songstress Primarina's gonna be here. What about that?" Spike asked, but Applejack and Fluttershy had already entered, prompting Spike to follow. "Wait!"
Tempo Dome.
This place was known as the Tempo Dome. Another attraction that was exclusive during the Pokemon Festival. And within this dome, it was full of various colours that appeared in the form of tiles. In fact, everything here was nothing but tiles. These tiles represented the 18 Types and made up the entirety of the dome. It was hard to see where there was a door.
"This place is weird..." Spike gawked before taking a step forward. And the moment he did, a sound had been played. One of the tiles had been pressed on, creating a melodic sound. "Hm?" It sounded like a guitar. A ukelele to be exact.
"Nice sound, Spike," Fluttershy replied before also taking a step forward. Her hoof pressed on one of the tiles, creating another sound that resonated with the sound Spike had made. It was yet again, the sound of a ukelele, but with a different tone. "Oooh..."
"Hm." Applejack tried it out too. This time, with a jump." She leapt over, landing on one of the tiles that were slightly further away from her friends. Once she created another melody, they all understood how this place worked, collectively having the same smile on their faces.
"Raboot!" So did Raboot, as he started jumping from tile to tile, creating a nice melody which had a fast tempo. "Boot!"
"Nice sounds, Raboot." Fluttershy joined in, prancing on some more tiles. And no matter which tiles were stepped on, they would all resonate with the others, creating a pleasant sound.
"Come here, Axew." Spike encouraged Axew to give it a try.
"Axew!" Axew jumped up, getting some decent airtime. And while he was in the air, in a split second, he ended up transforming into Haxorus with a beaming light shining in the air. Equestrian Haxorus emerged as he stepped onto two of the tiles. Not only that, but his tail had also hit four of them at the back.
Audino took baby steps since she had a short range than everyone else. But even if she took gentle steps, she was still able to create something. Sceptile decided to get creative, using his vines to touch some tiles while standing at the same spot.
Soon, they started having fun in this dome, moving from tile to tile and creating a consistent melody. It was as if this dome resonated with the spirits of everyone.
And by jumping and prancing on so many tiles, one of them opened up a passageway, grabbing their attention. The passageway was the replacement for the lack of doors in this place. And in that passageway were other Trainers and their Pokemon as they waved at Fluttershy's group.
"Hey there." A biker and his Cleffa waved at them before then disappearing by stepping on another tile, creating a louder melody. That title opened up another passageway that sucked them both in. "Oh!"
"Cleffa!"
"Oh my!" Fluttershy spread her wings, heading for that passageway, wondering where that duo went off too. She descended, stepping on another tile. That sound then opened up another passageway, revealing another level to this large dome that also felt like a maze.
Applejack and the others joined Fluttershy's position, looking at the extra level. And that's when they saw her. On the next level, which had a circular appearance to it, Applejack's childhood friend, who was also the biggest pop star in Equestria had been seen.
Coloratura.
"Hm? Applejack?" She noticed her friend as Meloetta appeared behind her. She indeed had a Meloetta of her own. A rare Pokemon to have due to how timid the species can be.
"Rara?" Applejack saw her friend who she had reunited not too long ago. They met just last year. "Hiya!"
"Hi-" But their greeting was interrupted once Coloratura's hoof touched one of the tiles. All it took was a slight graze for the tile to be set off. Her eyes widened as she slid back. In fact, this level of the dome had a circular appearance to it, making this one more turbulent. "Not again."
"Where are ya going?" Applejack asked as Coloratura started spinning in loops from top to bottom, setting off other tiles. This circular played a sound that resembled that of country music with the guitar and everything.
"Sorry! But this dome's still new to me!" She exclaimed, only for Applejack to follow her, entering the circular level. She set off one of the tiles as it ended up pulling her forward. This dome had some sort of gravitational pull that only reacts according to the appropriate tile.
"Same here! I didn't think I'd see you in this place!" Applejack shouted before getting closer. "Who am I kidding? I sorta did. How goes things?"
"Better than ever. Now that I have Meloetta with me." Applejack commented, looking over at Meloetta, who looked sick from all of this spinning.
"Melo..."
"You got yourself a Meloetta? Lucky...But how?"
"Yeah, how?" Fluttershy and Spike asked as they also got close by taking the same level. They were all spinning in loops, heading to who-knows-where.
"Call it a chance meeting. This Meloetta here comes from another world. This isn't her universe. So I'm told. But it doesn't matter, because I have an amazing backup singer with me." She then hugged Meloetta, whose eyes bulged out.
"M-Meloetta...!"
"What's with this place though?" Spike asked. "It's fun but so confusing."
"From what I can tell, it's like a maze. I was told to come and perform here, but you'll have to wait until tonight for that to happen. The colours of this dome will light up the city at night." Coloratura explained as eventually, they left the circular level, entering another one.
They all were sent flying out of the level, screaming at the top of their lungs once they were shot out. Fluttershy spread her wings, being graced with the ability to fly. Everyone else, not so much. However, this next room had softer tiles, making the landing safe as the moment they hit the tiles, they created an orchestral sound.
"Ooh..." Applejack adjusted her hat. "I don't know if I'm gonna get used to this place."
"Get used to it. It's for the better if you wish to get out of here." Just then, someone spoke to Applejack from high above. Fluttershy had already seen him.
It was none other than Baron Alberto, alongside his Lickitung. He stood on one of the tiles that resembled a tower, crossing his arms and looking down at the others.
"This place requires a lot of time to get used to. For me, it's not a problem at all. I've been here quite a few times." Albert spoke with a pompous tone as always.
"Oh, it's you again," said Coloratura as she had already met Alberto. "I thought I lost you there."
"Countess Coloratura. You can't be getting lost here when you have a song to perform tonight." Baron Alberto shook his head. "I've already decided to spread the word about this."
"I told you, that's my stage name. And you did that? Why thank you?"
"You said you know how this place works. Can you help us?" Fluttershy flew over. "It's fun but we're bound to get lost in this place. I think we're already lost."
"Of course. I'd be happy to help." Alberto snapped his fingers. "Of course, I have to tell you about these tiles and how unique they are. You already sense something different with these tiles, don't you?"
"Yeah. They sound like orchestra tiles." Spike patted one of the tiles as it made an orchestra choir. "Cool. The other two sounded different."
"That's because every tile in different levels plays a different kind of sound, tailored to a generation of music, making it the ultimate musicians area. There are over 1,200 definable subgenres that all link back to the top 13 main genres. A lot to think about, huh?"
"That's a whole lot.." Applejack's eyes widened. "Woah nelly...How does anyone get around in this place?"
"Ah, don't let those numbers overwhelm you. Those 1,200 subgenres have tiles that are next to each other. So you only have to worry about 13 rooms. Maybe 5 at worst."
"I'm focused on the pop one, obviously. But... I wouldn't mind using the other genres to make it sound grander." Coloratura already had an idea of what she wanted to do. "All I need to do is find my way here before nightfall comes, or else I'll have to perform tonight. Mind giving us a shortcut, manager?"
"Manager? Manger?!" Applejack gasped as Coloratura had a new manager. And it ended up being Baron Alberto of all people. "Him?!"
"That's right. He doesn't look like much. He looks a bit silly in some cases..." Coloratura whispered.
"I can hear you!"Alberto roared.
"But he's a great manager and he means well. Better than the last one. He's also funny to be around."
"Hm-hm. Follow my lead and hurry. Or else, someone might steal the show from you. Musicians from far and wide would be crazy not to come here."
And he was right. They would be crazy not to come here. Which is why four more had shown up at the Tempo Dome. Four visitors from another world of another species, currently taking on their human forms. In their quest to find one of their own, the sirens had appeared, joining the Pokemon Festival for the second time in a row.
Adagio, Aria and Sonata alongside their mother Vivace.
"Well. Looks like you're the one wasting time and stopping to see the sights." Sonata said to Adagio as she was the one who wanted to come here. Her love for music was just that great.
"Shut it. I'd be crazy not to come here. All of us would be. A place with music? That's a goldmine for us." Adagio crossed her arms, grinning at the Tempo Dome.
"Someone's already gonna be playing there." Aria looked at the sign. "What are you gonna do about that?"
"I know you, Adagio." Vivace leaned forward. "I know what you're planning to do next. Are you sure you want to through with it?"
"Most definitely." Adagio nodded. "I say we make our own big show there."
"So... an Upstage." Aria then smiled as well, having that same devious look on her face. "Nice."
"Yeah. Have we ever done an Upstage before?" Sonata asked.
"No. But it's a first for everything. We'll perform a song that skyrockets over whatever she's planning. Oh and her Pokemon." Adagio cackled, planning to upstage Coloratura and Meloetta.
"Oh, you three. You're still so devious. You take after your mother." Vivace giggled. "You three work best. I'll stay out of this one and watch the show."
"Come on, girls. Let's get ready." The Dazzlings would enter the Tempo Dome, but they would have no idea how complicated it would be on the inside.
Approxiamtely 5 minutes later.
And they did. It was a frantic mess. They had already left the Ukelele Zone and triggered a tile that lead to another level, causing them to fall into it.
Or rather upwards. They screamed as this level had an upwards gravitational pull, sending the three of them up. They were sent to the fourth stage which had a diamond shape to it. And the genre of music for this one was Rock.
"What is this?!" Adagio roared, trying to adjust herself. "This is..."
"Fun!" Sonata exclaimed, rolling on the tiles to create a guitar solo that sounded too good to be annoyed by. "I like this better than the first!"
"It reacts so nicely. It's like there isn't a single bad noise coming from it." Aria slid her hands on the tiles.
"Hmm...I can't hate it. It is pretty nice. So all the music comes from here." Adagio kneeled with her knee playing a guitar sound. "It's so out there and showy...my kind of place."
"But how are we gonna play our big show on this thing?" Sonata asked, climbing up the diamond-shaped level. "I mean if there's gonna be a crowd in here, won't they mess up our groove by stepping on these tiles? Even if they sound good either way."
"She's right. We'd have to find a way to make it work. We also want everyone to see right?" Aria questioned.
"I have the answer for that." Adagio stood up. "I learned a spell that creates powerful hologram visages. I'll just use it to show ourselves to everyone in this city. Easy as that."
"As if!" Just then, Coloratura's voice had come through. From above, Pop music could be heard. A passageway to the upper levels had been opened up as Coloratura's group had entered the fray.
Adagio backed up as this group crashed down, setting off the rest of the tiles. Thankfully, every tile was safe, making the landings fun instead of dangerous. Coloratura was even stylish enough to stick a landing alongside Meloetta. Sceptile had used his vines to create a net, catching the others.
"I heard you correctly, didn't I? Upstage me?" Coloratura walked up to Adagio.
"You heard us right indeed." Adagio shrugged. "We'll just make a quick and strong takeover of this place and give everyone an even bigger show."
"You three?" Applejack and Fluttershy immediately recognized the Dazzlings. They weren't too surprised to see them at a place like this.
"Of course...this place has all the options we could ask for, so the sky's the limit. And our performances go beyond the limit. No big deal." Adagio boasted.
"Well, I hate to break it to you, but I'm already set to perform. You can't just come out of nowhere and declare this."
"We can and we will. Our passion for music burns brighter than anything else!" Adagio exclaimed. "Any chance to sing and show everyone our talent is a golden opportunity."
"But why now?" Coloratura asked.
"Upstage. Just for the fun of it." There wasn't much of a reason for the Dazzlings to try and upstage her. They just felt like doing it. "Or we can't wait. Either way, we're going to go bigger than you. If you want, you can go first and we'll go second and outdo."
"Mmm...No. I don't think so." Coloratura shook her head.
"That's right. You three are nothing but delinquents." Alberto vigorously pointed at them. "I've already spread the word that this will be her show."
"And that's why we came here," Adagio added. "I can already picture what we could do with something like this. All the combinations.."
"Mhm..." Aria and Sonata nodded in agreement.
"Are you sure about this?" Fluttershy then decided to interject. "We could all just solve this peacefully, right?"
"She's right. Upstaging? Really?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Do you wanna try and have that happen at a nice time like this?"
"Well...We just wanna perform. And if it's in a big way, what's the issue?" Sonata slid over as the Dazzlings were going through with this. "Plus, this is kind of Adagio's shtick. Best not try and argue against it. It'll go nowhere.2
"Hmph. Then I have a solution." Alberto got in between Adagio and Coloratura who were competitively staring down at each other. "This dome isn't just for music. It's for Battle Music!"
"Battle music?" They all repeated.
"Oh yes. The spirit of Pokemon Battling lives on in everything. Including this. This dome can sometimes be used for battles but you won't be standing around in one spot. No, no. You'll sort it out in a place like this and I'd love to see who'd play the best tune with all of these movements. Of course, I'm rooting for Coloratura but we'll see."
"Deal!" Adagio took the offer. "I'll play a melody that's too good to beat."
"I've already figured out how this place works. I know which tiles will bounce off well against each other." Coloratura thought otherwise.
"Did it have to come to this?" Fluttershy sighed as Aria went over to her.
"Yeah. Sorry. We're just playing along." Aria revealed that she wasn't fully serious about the Upstage. It was enticing, but Adagio was fonder of it than her sisters. But they had some interest in showing off more than others. "Kinda. Let Adagio get through this and be over with it. Besides. Her only Pokemon is Kricketot who's..."
"Not strong?" Adagio finished Aria's sentence. "Oh, you'll find that my Kricketot's capable enough."
"Kricketot!"
"Oh. Well, in that case, good luck." Aria backed away from Fluttershy, siding with her sister. "Sounds like she knows what she's doing."
"Honestly...I'm all for this." Spike had no problems with this discourse. He wanted to see it for himself.
"You and your Kricketot against me and Meloetta? Oh, no. If there's a tile that can play bells, they'll already ring your fate." Coloratura taunted Adagio as a fierce musical rivalry between the two of them was born.
Adagio, for the sake of being herself, chose to upstage Coloratura, just because. She may not have a sensible reason but the excitement of being so petty and frivolous was too enticing. As for Coloratura, if anything, she sank right into Adagi's trap, going along with what she wanted. Applejack, Spike and Alberto would watch it, interested while Fluttershy just shook her head, waiting to see how this goes. The challenge was too exciting to pass up too.
Kalos. Cyllage City. The Pokemon Festival. The Tempo Dome. Afternoon.
A sudden conflict had appeared. Between the Dazzlings and Coloratura. In the Tempo Dome, which was an area that had responsive tiles that would play a melodic sound of any genre, Coloratura and her partner Meloetta were planning to have their big show tonight. But, the Dazzlings aimed to Upstage them. To settle this, a musical battle would take place. This was new information to Fluttershy, Applejack and Spike. And even to the Dazzlings.
"Do we really have to go through with this?" Fluttershy asked.
"It was already set in stone the moment Coloratura heard Adagio's declaration of upstaging her. A musician would never let an opposing musician get to the better of them after their own performance, especially with what's been said. It's unacceptable. This was unavoidable." Baron Alberto explained.
"How do you want to do this? Because I've been singing since I was born. Literally." Adagio smirked at Coloratura, boasting how she was an amazing singer even at a strikingly young age. "I was singing even before you were conceived. Think of me as your senior."
"That's funny. I've outperformed all of my seniors, so I'll add you to the pile." Coloratura snapped back, making Adagio growled.
"We'll settle this. Kricketot. I need you the most for this."
"Kricektot!"
"Hmm...I can't have Meloetta battling like this. Maybe I should change now and let her transform."
"And waste all of that good energy on this?!" Albert exclaimed. "You can't become the Countess and use Meloetta's Pirouette Form against someone as irrelevant as her."
"Who are you calling irrelevant, extra?!" Adagio then barked at Alberto, baring her fangs as she made him jerk back and squeak. "Time to go, Kricketot."
"Kricketot!" Kricketot hopped out of Adagio's large hair, jumping onto one of the tiles. This would be Krikcetot's first big battle. Fitting how it was in a musical area.
"Not one for battling but, oh well. Meloetta! Change now!" Coloratura shouted out, raising her hoof as Meloetta was about to undergo a transformation.
"Melo...!" Meloetta had readied herself as well. She started by leaping into the air and singing a specific melody. This melody would bring out her alternate form. Melo-Melo-Lo~!" Soundwaves came flying out, heading in Adagio and Kricketot's direction. They were all frozen by this beautiful melody as a rainbow aura had exuded out of the Melody Pokemon.
The light then enveloped her as the musical-bar style streaks in her hair were graced with a golden light that slid over it. This light had then changed the colour from light green to orange. Her hair even started changing styles, wrapping around her head. Her hair had been stylized in a high bun as her usual blue eyes son took on a red appearance. She did a pirouette dance, sending out sparkles and bubbles as her other form arrived.
Pirouette Forme Meloetta.
"W-What the...?" Adagio was stunned by what she had seen. She didn't want to give any compliments to her opponents but after that transformation, she was resisting.
"Uh...on second thought, it's not too late to back out, Adagio." Sonata gulped, having a change of heart. "That's some style."
"Not for a moment!" But Adagio remained strong. "That's only one stylish showcase. The rest is decided by us."
"Tot!"
"If you like losing then sure." Alberto taunted from afar. "But just know that you don't have anything that can outclass what they both have to offer. What can a Kricketot do?"
"I wouldn't look down on Kricketot." Adagio's eye twitched as she maintained her temper.
"I have to agree with you on that," Coloratura said. "I once saw a group of Kricketot sing an amazing melody during the night. Maybe not by themselves but together, Kricketot can make amazing songs. But you only have one Kricketot...so make it count please." She then winked at Adagio Dazzle.
"Adagio! Let us join! It'll be three against one! That way, things'll be easier for us!" Aria cried out.
"Yeah! We're gonna be part of the Upstage too!"
"Later. For now, I want to do this myself. Watch this. We'll play a great melody. I've dabbled in some orchestra music myself. "String Shot!"
"Kricketot!" Kricketot went first, shooting out a line of string from his mouth. The string had passed Meloetta, focusing on one of the walls.
"I get how this place works. It doesn't matter what I step on. A beautiful sound will play. So I'll just make something that's to good to dislike. Follow my lead, Kricketot!" Adagio then started stepping on specific tiles, playing an orchestra as Kricketot began swinging with the long string.
Kricketot's body slid on the tiles, playing orchestra choirs as Adagio was going for a fast tempo. And Kricketot knew that, prompting him to slide on the tiles while swinging. Adagio's orchestra would be full of despair and how she was going to crush Coloratura at her own game.
But Adagio wouldn't stop there. She wanted to show everyone outside that she was going to upstage Coloratura in the end. At that moment, Adagio had used her magic, unleashing it. She used the spell she mentioned earlier, creating a massive magical projection of the current scenario and expanding its size.
The magical image's visage appeared above the Tempo Dome, larger than the building itself. It showed Adagio moving around along with Kricketot, free for everyone in Cyllage City to see. It was even powerful enough to unleash sounds. Just what Adagio wanted.
Everyone stopped what they were doing as the sounds that were coming from the Tempo Dome thanks to Adagio's projection were pleasant to the ears. There was a buildup with Adagio's Despair Orchestra.
"We won't let them get the better of us. Meloetta. Acrobatics."
"Melo!" Meloetta and Coloratura would do the same. Coloratura started prancing, going for a more Hopeful Orchestra. It clashed against Adagio's Despair Orchestra. Everyone else heard how during the buildup of Despair, there was a subtle buildup of Hope, giving them a good idea of what this music could contain. "Etta!"
Meloetta lunged at Kricketot, going for a dive kick, only for Kricketot to use the momentum of his string to swing out of the way. This caused Meloetta's leg to smash into one of the tiles, creating a loud orchestra hum from it.
"Nobody move. You'll throw off their mojo." Alberto spoke. "It's best that we stay completely still."
"So...this is a musical battle?" Fluttershy watched as the music correlated with the movements of the Trainers and the Pokemon. "This is fun!"
"Sure is!" Sonata nodded.
"Quiet!" Adagio shouted, not wanting to be distracted by any loud noises as Fluttershy and Sonata scrunched their faces.
"It was supposed to be a Battle Frontier Facility, but that never went through. And so, it became an attraction. And it was definitely worth it. Not everyone wants to go to the Battle Frontier after all."
"Meloetta!" Meloetta was trying to hit Kricketot with Acrobatics, but the Cricket Pokemon was faster than she was expecting. Way faster than anyone was expecting.
"He's a slippery one...But maybe we need our own vocals to one-up them. Meloetta! Please use Relic Song!"
"Lo-Meeee~!" Meloetta started singing with the choir, adding her vocals. She sent a powerful soundwave across the room which had then targeted Kricketot's strings. But this song wasn't just powerful, it was also relaxing. The stings were destroyed throwing Kricketot's balance off.
"K-Kricketot...!" Not only did Kricketot fall, crashing into one of the tiles, but the sound of Relic Song and its effect to potentially put others to sleep was starting to linger. He started squinting as the song was that soothing.
"Don't fall asleep, Kricketot!" However, Adagio's voice was enough to keep him up once she saw that her partner was starting to feel a bit drowsy.
"Tot!"
"Now might be a good time for us to help!" Sonata shouted. "Pretty please?"
"Kricketot doesn't have a single move that involves singing..." Adagio thought to herself. Kricketot, despite loving music, couldn't generate much music himself. He couldn't even sing. That would be Kricketune. His final and only evolution. The best he could do was clack his antennae together to make a xylophone sound.
Meanwhile, Meloetta was a Pokemon completely centred around singing. She had an attack that involved singing and could put Kricketot to sleep at any time.
That's when Adagio had an idea. She quickly recalled one of Coloratura's words earlier, realizing how important that was and how it correlated to Kricketot being underwhelming on his own. It was when Adagio told her not to look down on Kricketot.
"I have to agree with you on that. I once saw a group of Kricketot sing an amazing melody during the night. Maybe not by themselves but together, Kricketot can make amazing songs. But you only have one Kricketot...so make it count please."
"Just one Kricketot...how about multiple then?!" Adagio then held her hand out, using her magic. One of the spells she had learned was the duplication spell. A fairly strong spell, depending on how it was used. And now was the time, in Adagio's eyes. She sent the wave of magic towards Kricketot, enveloping him in a golden light.
"Kricke...Kricketot-to!" Just then, Kricketot had multiplied. Multiple of the Cricket Pokemon popped up, stepping on each time to create an orchestra choir. It was a fitting sound too as it perfectly captured the sense of rising action and the appearance of many. A dramatic sound. "Kricketot?!"
"M-Melo?!" Meloetta gasped, even with her singing. It sounded beautiful and urgent too as Coloratura gasped as well.
"Aria. I need some extra backup here..." It didn't take long for Adagio to receive help from her sisters. She knew that even if she had duplicated Kricketot, the spell could fizzle out. And all it would take was Meloetta attacking one of them.
"Alright!" Aria pumped her fist before throwing Poke Ball. "Don't worry! Brionne will back you up! Go Brionne!"
"Brionne!"
"Ooh. A Brionne? I saw that one too, singing by the beachside." Coloratura commented as she had even seen a Brionne sing.
"What other singing Pokemon have you met, Rara?" Applejack asked.
"A lot of them. When I heard that Pokemon who were focused on singing existed and were adept at it, how could I not get excited and look for them?" Coloratura giggled.
"I'd pay attention if I were you!" Adagio bellowed. "Now we outnumber you!"
"Oh! And what about me?" Sonata jumped up, causing one consistent orchestra sound to go off as she raised her hand.
"None of your Pokemon can sing. Pass." Adagio and Aria said in unison, shutting Sonata down from joining in on the fun. A distraught Sonata had frozen in the air, stunned by that response.
"Now! Create a beautiful symphony and use Pound! Make it sound like drumbeats!"
"Kricketot!" Kricketot and his duplicates alongside Brionne would go on the offensive. Each of the Kricketots ran on the tiles with their short legs, creating a rising tempo of great speed. The Despair Orchestra overtook the music this time as Brionne decided to add to that despair, letting out a harmonious yet cruel soundwave.
"Brioooone~!"
"Those odds don't scare Meloetta. Please, Meloetta. Use Acrobatics!"
"Etta!" Meloetta then leapt off the walls, bringing back some hope to the orchestra. But it was faint since the odds were stacked against her. The Kricketot all came in with their arms out, wrapped in a silver aura. They all went to strike Meloetta, only for Meloetta to gracefully pirouette away from their attacks.
She not only looked good doing it, but she ended up, kicking some of the duplicates away, causing them to crash into the other tiles. The duplicates faded away as some of them remained, missing Meloetta and hitting the other tiles with Pound instead. However, Meloetta had to deal with Brionne's Hyper Voice.
She gracefully did a backflip away from it, sliding her leg on top of the tiles that were on the ceiling. The Hopeful Orchestra was right now the dominant force as everyone listening to this felt like they were watching a story as well.
It was a story about how Despair was starting to dominate, but Hope kept coming back. They would imagine a scenario where two characters would fill those roles.
Vivace had stopped to watch her daughters, smiling at their actions. That was the face of a proud mother, watching her daughters in action and always being the best. She missed this sensation after centuries of absence from them.
"String Shot!" Adagio moved across as many tiles as she could. And thanks to Aria chiming in, that was increased. The remaining Kricketot duplicates jumped on different tiles, following Adagio's lead while also collectively shooting strings out of their mouths. An array of strings came in Meloetta's direction, having great quantities. These quantities were enough to finally grab a hold of Meloetta.
"Melo?!"
"Excellent! Now, Pound!"
"Kricketot!" The real Kricketot had then run on the line of thick strings, heading straight for Meloetta. He had then finally delivered the first hit, smashing his arm into Meloetta. His strength was weak, but it was enough to push someone back as Meloetta hit a tile on the wall.
"Melo?!"
"Oh! Not my Meloetta?!" Coloratura gasped as another passageway had been triggered by Meloetta's impact. This immediately sent the Melody Pokemon to another level with Kricket following her by falling in.
"Yes! This way!" She spoke to the duplicates and Aria, heading for that same level as well. The duplicates all lowered String Shot before then following Adagio once more.
"Hmmrrgh...I may not have a Pokemon that can sing but I can still help!" Sonata shouted, wanting to be a part of this badly. It was true that none of her Pokemon could sing, but she still had the potential to assist her sisters in battle, especially with a Pokemon as agile as Meloetta.
"Melo!" Meloetta slid on the tiles in this room as the sound had changed from Orchestra to Rock. And it was a seamless and immaculate change. Right after Kricketot had hit her into this tile, a Despair Choir had gone off, perfectly transitioning into a guitar solo that was meant to amplify the rising tension.
Everyone else reached the Rock area as Sceptile had used Frenzy Plant, making a net to avoid any of the notes being played except for the minimal ones on the walls. He didn't want to interrupt this Musical Battle.
"I think we'll get rid of the duplicates first. Say bye to your backup singers. Dazzling Gleam!"
"Melo! Meloetta!" Meloetta then did a pirouette on the same spot, summoning a large orb of Fairy Magic. That orb had then shot out rays of rainbows, hitting each of the remaining Kricketot duplicates. Kricketot gasped as all of his duplicates had been destroyed, taken out of the battle.
"Tot?!"
"Acrobatics!"
"Melo!" Meloetta then started jumping from tile to tile in this next room, setting off some energetic guitar sounds. Even this one conveyed a sense of hope. Prior to this, the ryas from Dazzling Gleam had also set off the tiles. Not only that, but she seemed faster, appearing in front of Brionne.
"Bri?!" Brionne gasped before being kicked in the face by Meloetta, flying into one of the tiles. "B-Bri!"
"Brionne!" Aria cried out as Brionne rolled on the tiles, setting off another guitar solo that was tailored to Meloetta's actions.
"Look out, Kricketot! Behind you!"
"Kricke?!" Kricketot twitched as Meloetta became a blur, appearing behind Kricketot. He was next and this attack would be super-effective.
"No, you don't!" That's when Sonata decided to join in, throwing her Poke Ball out. "Go, Lopunny!"
"Lopunny!" Along came Lopunny, joining the Musical Battle. She came swooping in, intercepting Meloetta's kick with her own powerful legs, protecting Kricketot. Kricketot almost fell over from the impact of these two legs clashing against each other.
"You need some muscle for this one," Sonata said. "I may not have a Pokemon that can sing, but I can protect you all, that's for sure."
"Fair enough. Kricketot! Bug Bite!"
"Kricke....!" Kricketot then took advantage of Meloetta's current position, biting on her arm by generating energy fangs. Kricketot himself didn't have a physical mouth after all.
"Me?!" Meloetta grimaced as the bite was surprisingly potent for someone so small. She then did a pirouette, kicking both Lopunny and Kricketot away. "Etta!"
"I'll be honest...this is fun." Coloratura smiled, finding enjoyment in this Musical Battle. She was expecting to completely dominate and outperform the Dazzlings. But right now, the music that was being produced by their actions was enough to make Coloratura see that the Dazzlings had a great taste in sound.
"One more time." Adagio had used the Duplication Spell once more, affecting Kricketot to give him an advantage. The Kricketot duplicates had returned.
"How are we doing so far?" Aria asked.
"Hmph. We're doing just fine. Right now, everyone should be watching. And I won't lie...this music's top-notch. But it can be better. And we'll make it better by beating her."
"I don't think so." Coloratura shook her head. "I already know how this is going to turn out. Meloetta does too."
"Melo."
"You tell 'em, Rara!" Applejack bellowed, cheering for her childhood friend.
"But this music though..." Alberto started writing notes down about this musical performance. Meloetta did most of the vocal singing and while only Pokemon and Fluttershy could understand her, her musical voice was universal to the point where everyone watching could enjoy it. Albert saw an opportunity.
"Now, Kricketot! Pound!"
"Brionne! Aqua Jet!"
"Lopunny, Bounce!"
The approach was to set off every tile. And they had the means to do so. The multiplied Kricketot started pounding on all of the tiles, setting off a hard rock sound. Brionne enveloped herself in a veil of water before taking off. She then flew past some of the tiles, setting them off with the speed of Aqua Jet, making a speedy tempo.
And to make some backing guitar sounds, Lopunny bounced onto one tile at a time. The Dazzlings wanted to make sure this music was synchronized. Just what they specialize in.
"Hm." Coloratura smiled at their efforts. She could respect their coordination just to make the best music possible. It was the same with her and Meloetta. "Okay then. Relic Song!"
"Melo-Melo...Etta!" Meloetta started singing once more, but this time, she would use the guitar sounds that the Dazzlings were creating instead of hitting any other tiles. She created a small soundwave that was only limited to her vicinity but was loud enough for everyone to hear.
"She's trying to jack our music!" Aria growled.
"Oh, but it works pretty well..." Adagio could work with this. What Meloett was doing could be taken advantage of. Meloetta even changed her voice to match that of a rock song. To add a sombre and slower part to this song, Adagio pressed her hand on one of the tiles, keeping it there while the Kricketot followed her actions, doing the same to other tiles.
The music had slowed down to give a less extravagant section. A section that would slow things down. Meloetta changed her tone and pitch for that one as well.
"Is it me...or are they sort of working together?" Applejack noticed a sudden change in this battle.
"I think so." Fluttershy nodded. "That or Meloetta's going with the flow.
"That's the Musician Spirit, my little ponies!" Albert exclaimed with high energy, being dramatic in her arm motions, putting his hand on his chest and his other hand out into the air. "Though they may be enemies, excellent musicians recognize splendid music. They may try and 1UP one another, but since they're in the same room, their music bounces off each other splendidly. Just like how Lopunny bounces from those tiles."
"I'll admit this. You know what you're doing." Coloratura nodded in approval. "I suppose you weren't being reckless when choosing to upstage me. Only skilled musicians would try to do so."
"Hmph. Thanks. Only one band has ever managed to rival us in skill." Adagio smirked along with her sisters. "You're the second musician to ever make us work this hard. I should be mad but...I do love some good competition."
"Now she does." Sonata giggled while Adagio sighed.
"But this is where it ends." Adagio's eyes flared as she removed her hand from the tile, ending the sombre sound. "Let's open everything up! Aria! Sonata! Go!"
"You got it!" Sonata saluted. "Bounce towards Meloetta!"
"Moonblast! Now!"
"Lopunny!" Lopunny and Brionne would go on the offensive with Brionne gathering power from the moon itself, forming a pink spare. Lopunny was going for a straightforward kick that was bound to do super-effective damage.
"Hm. Meloetta! Please, use Relic Song at your best!"
"Etta! Melo~Melo~!" Meloetta would give it her all too, expanding the soundwave of Relic Song. The soundwave acted as a forcefield, blocking Brionne's incoming Moonblast. Lopunny kicked into the soundwave, only to be pushed back. Even Moonblast was knocked back.
"Perfect...Bide!" Adagio gave out her final command.
"Kricketot!" Kricketot and all of his duplicates would the incoming Moonblast and soundwave, standing in one large group. The pink blast of energy and the soundwave hit them all, just as Adagio intended. But before that, a white light had surrounded them all. Once it hit them, they endured it.
"Now! Finish it off with the orchestra as well!"
"Kricke...TOT!" All of the Kricketot then unleashed their energy in the form of a massive sphere of energy. A sphere that was so large and bright that not only did it force everyone to close their eyes, but it even reached the orchestra section, setting off all the orchestra sounds and mixing them with the final guitar sounds.
"Amazing! This sound is amazing!" Coloratura giggled. "But...Relic Song!"
"ETTA!" Meloetta fought back with a final orchestral cry. Her biggest one yet. The wave was far bigger than before as it was strong enough to push back Kricketot's light. The light was reflected, engulfing Kricketot, Lopunny, Brionne and their trainers instead. The Dazzlings gasped before being blown back by the light, screaming out.
"N-No way!" Adagio was the one who screamed the most before disappearing into the light.
And that was all she wrote. The final sound of this beautiful music was a single guitar strum as it all came to an end.
Naturally, everyone enjoyed this and gave it a deserving round of applause. Vivace would've preferred to see her daughters win but it was an excellent performance by them as well.
Fluttershy and the others watched in awe as Meloetta did a graceful pirouette to the floor, hovering over the tile. She had done what she needed to do. And now, she wouldn't have to be in her Pirouette Form. A rainbow light flashed out of her as she soon returned to her Aria Forme.
"Excellent work, Meloetta." Coloratura walked over as the Dazzlings and their Pokemon were on the floor. Their POkemon had fainted, emerging as the losers of this Musical Battle.
"Aww! I thought we were gonna win! We had the numbers and everything!" Sonata groaned.
"Bummer." A disappointed Aria felt like punching something. But that was the old her. Brionne crawled over to her trainer, comforting the siren.
"Just when I had a plan and everything!" Adagio growled as she ended up punching the tiles. "Darn it all! Hah..." She then took a deep breath before picking up Kricketot. "Sorry about this, Kricketot. We lost."
"Kricketot."
"You lost? What do you mean by that?" Coloratura commented, looking at the Dazzlings with a soft smile. "If you ask me, you've gained victory just like Meloetta and I."
"I beg your pardon?" Adagio looked up at them.
"She's right. I can hear them." Fluttershy suddenly spoke as she and Audino's enhanced hearing allowed them to hear not just everything inside but everything outside. And the applauding of the people, ponies and Pokemon were heard loud and clear. "They're all cheering for you."
"Audino!"
"Oh right...my spell from before." Adagio gasped, realizing that even though she lost, everyone who had seen her appearance could respect what they've witnessed. She hoped to come out on top but in the end, she shared the very top with Coloratura.
"I'd say they loved it." Coloratura offered to help Adagio up, holing her hoof out. "This went from a grudge match to something that only we could make together. Isn't that wonderful?"
"..." Adagio looked at Coloratura's hoof for a moment. She stayed silent before then putting on a smile. In the end, she did make everyone love her music. Even though Coloratura was involved, any sign of achievement was fine in her eyes. Though, she would've preferred it if it was just her and Kricketot. "It can't be helped. It was a great performance anyway."
Adagio grabbed Coloratura by the hoof before then standing up. Surprisingly, Aria and Sonata never expected to see Adagio have some sportsmanship, especially with singing. But she took it well.
"Fluttershy and the others applauded this sportsmanship as well as everyone else giving a second round of applause outside. Vivace wiped some tears away, seeing how far her daughters have come. It was beautiful.
"Bravo! Bravo!" Alberto exclaimed. "I was thinking...how would you three like me to be your manager? You were amazing!"
"Pass." Adagio immediately turned Alberto's offer down, making him slide away.
"U-Understood."
"I guess we already gave them a big show. Shame it wasn't tonight." Coloratura giggled. "But...maybe we can work on one together. For a second time. How about we make our own song at the very end of this festival?"
"The very end? On the third week?" Adagio said.
"That's right. I think it would be fitting. And until then...I want to see your Kricketot evolve. All of that gusto reminds me of when I was young and wanted to get into music. When Kricketot evolves, I want to see just how great of a singer he becomes. Whether it'd be sooner or later."
"Kricketot?"
"You heard her, Kricketot. We need to get you into a Kricketune soon." Adagio was all for it, having no complaints whatsoever. Kricketot's eyes were filled with stars. His evolution would come soon.
"So. Third Week, huh?" Applejack walked over. "But, I wanna spend some more time with you, Rara. You were a bit too couped up with the Dazzlings."
"You're right! We have three weeks to ourselves. Let's hang around as much as we want! And we'll come back here to perform." Coloratura was all for sending time with Applejack as friends once again.
A satisfying conclusion for many. A competitive Musical Battle had soon formed a new bond. And a new goal for Kricketot. Soon, he would become a Kricketune, whenever that was. And the Dazzlings plus Coloratura would give one final song at the end of this Pokemon Festival. For now, it was off to enjoy more of the festival as the journey continues.
Kalos. On the road. Pokemon Festival. Late Afternoon.
Currently, Ash, Twilight, Sci-Twi, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were in Bertha's SUV, heading for Arche Valley in the Kalos Region. The breeze of the wind graced them with Spike enjoying it the most. This was an exciting group that many would be shocked to see if they knew every single one of them.
A Champion, An Elite 4 Member, Two Trainers from a parallel world, a Princess, her human counterpart, two more ponies and two Mythical Pokemon AKA Vicitni and Meloetta. No one would ever imagine this combination of characters and Bertha's SUV was large enough to hold them all. It had received quite an upgrade since last time.
"So, what's Arche Valley all about?" Twilight asked. "It must be important to you if you want to go there."
"Arche Valley's a special place, alright. I didn't get a lot from it, but it's where Hoopa is. And also where people can speak to Arceus."
"Speak to Arceus?" Twilight and the others repeated.
"Ah. You mean that Arche Valley. I knew that name sounded familiar." Bertha replied. "You mean the sacred place where the ancient people live. Why am I not surprised that you know about its existence?" She then chuckled, amused by Ash's involvement with that place.
"Wait, hold on? This is too good to ignore." Hilda stood up as a Pidgeotto flew over her head, making her duck. "Ash. You said it's a place where people can speak to Arceus. As in...physically?"
"Well, I don't know. I think it's from beyond or something like that." Ash scratched the back of his head. "But, they're super connected to Arceus, that's for sure. It's like they can hear Arceus' voice there."
"I'll explain it better. At least, from what I learned." Bertha had something to share. "Arche Valley is one of the oldest locations in the world. Sinnoh might be where Arceus was widely known, but it was Arche Valley where Arceus would visit the most. Inhabitants of Arche Valley founded this wonderful valley one day by encountering Arceus itself. Stories say that they were on their last legs, clinging onto the last thread of life. And when they met Arceus, the Creator Deity restored them, giving them life again."
"Oooh...So Arche Valley was sort of like Arceus' home?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Somewhat. It's said that Arceus once used to come there. There was something special about that valley that Arceus would gravitate there. And when Arceus saved their lives, the inhabitants were beyond grateful. Not only did they find a new land to build their homes, but they swore everything to Arceus. So much so that Arceus entrusted some of its power to that valley. Or perhaps, it was already there due to how many times it appeared in the valley. No one knows. And because of the Power of Arceus, the inhabitants of Arche Valley can tap into nature and communicate with Arceus."
"She said it better than I did. And that was so cool!" Ash's eyes lit up along with Pikachu's. "Arceus really is amazing!"
"Pikachu!"
"Arceus does sound amazing. I wish I could see it in action," said Sci-Ti, yearning to see this almighty Pokemon. "I want to hear more about this story of how Arceus valley came to be too."
"The details are all foggy. No one knows what caused the inhabitants to end up in such a brutal position. They were lucky to run into Arceus when they had the time though. But, as I said before, the past can always be restored."
"That's true. Ash has something right in here that can see into the past." Pinkie Pie looked inside Ash's bag, referring to the Time Flower he was carrying.
"Oh yeah. The Time Flower. Good call, Pinkie." Ash replied.
"Time Flower? Well, why don't you tell me everything special that you've gathered during your journeys? You young ones seem to tap into other supernatural forces."
"I've got my own Z-Crystal. Arceus blessed his power into it. How about that?" Twilight asked.
"Just as interesting." Bertha chuckled. "I'm glad I'm around to learn and hear about all of this. Oh, but it's getting a bit late right now. How about we all stop by one of the cities? The closest city here is Laverre City. Arche Valley will be hard to reach so going across most of Kalos is what we need to do."
"Sure thing. We'd better hurry though. I'm getting hungry." Ash's stomach growled along with Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Pikachu. And practically everyone.
"Same here." Hilbert chuckled.
"Tini!" Victini could hear the grumbling stomachs, deciding to act accordingly. He wanted them to fill up as soon as they could. And the best way to do that was to add his power. The Victory Pokemon would use his infinite pool of boundless power for this one scenario.
"Hm?" Ash and Hilbert turned around, noticing Victini's body emanating an orange glow. He then placed his hand on the vehicle, transferring his power into it. "Oh! Wait, Victini!"
"Victini!" But it was too late. The SUV went at full throttle, faster than it could ever reach. Everyone felt a burst of speed, causing their hairs to flow while Ash, Hilbert and Hilda held onto their hats. Bertha's eyes widened as she temporarily had the fastest SUV in existence, blitzing past any Pokemon that were running in the distance. Flying-Types couldn't hope to catch up either.
"T-Too fast!" Sci-Twi exclaimed as she and Twilight held onto each other.
"Oh! This is more like it! This is the kind of speed I've wanted for a while! " Bertha surprisingly enjoyed this speed. It gave her a great sense of adrenaline that she was looking for. "Excellent work, Victini!"
"Tini!"
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Hilda grumbled, feeling like passing out.
"I am sick..." Hilbert had already passed out, slumping on the seats as they were headed for Laverre City at top speed.
Laverre City. Nightfall.
Laverre City. The city of otherworldly dreams. An unearthly city created by those inspired by a mysterious and ancient tree 1,500 years old. The entire city sat at the base of this ancient tree which now houses the Laverre Gym.
Ash's party had reached here in a matter of seconds. All thanks to Victini. Some of them were still recovering from the absolute rush of speed that they felt.
And since the moon was about to show up soon, they would all have a chance to rest before they get back on the road again. Arche Valley was their newest major destination. A few hours passed and the moon had shown itself. They all stayed at a local hotel to get some rest.
"Hah...So that's what they meant by Infinite Energy." Sci-Twi laid down as this room had multiple bunk beds. The right amount for all of them. "So anything it touches is filled with that power."
"It's the first time I've seen Victini use it on something that isn't a Pokemon," said Hilda.
"Victini." Victini gave a V sign, something he's known for doing at times.
"Say, uh...Victini." Hilbert slid over to Victini, rubbing his hands. "Could you do me a quick solid? See, I wanna try and..." But before he could say anything else, Hilbert could sense Hilda's anger radiating his way, forcing him to back away. "M-Maybe later."
"Get some sleep, all of you." Bertha looked at them all. "You've had a good first day. Those three weeks won't blitz by, however. And Ash...there's a reason why you want to go to Arche Valley. It's not just to see Hoopa, is it?"
"Oh, right. They say that Hoopa's a Pokemon who can warp space. Just like Palkia. Ash. You're going to see Hoopa just to try and keep our worlds connected, right?" Twilight asked as Ash stayed silent for a moment. "But...Hoopa's power to do so has been sealed away thanks to the Rift."
"That's the plan. And I think the same happened to Palkia. Otherwise, Palkia would've maybe kept everything together long ago." Ash replied.
"Pika..."
"Hoopa, Jirachi, Palkia and Phione. All of them have the power to keep our worlds connected forever. The Rift probably went for Palkia first before going for Jirachi and the others. That goes for every other universe. If they were given the chance to have their true power back, we wouldn't have to think about keeping the worlds together."
"And the Rift sealed a part of your memories that prevented you from remembering Hoopa," Twilight recalled all the other effects the Rift had left behind.
"But...I already know what I can do." Ash looked at his hands. "My Aura can break that. It can break past the Rift's energy. If I can get Hoopa's power back, then we might not need that golden staircase. Maybe."
"Will it work?" Sci-Twi asked.
"Only one way to find out. And even if Hoopa can't do it, I gotta at least save my friend, no matter what. Hoopa finds travelling from space to space a lot of fun after all. I can't let it lose that."
"Pikachu."
"Hmmm..." Bertha then looked over at Ash before then switching her attention to Victini, putting on a smile. "Well, I'm positive that you'll succeed in helping your friend no matter what. Now, let's rest up."
"Got it." Ash stretched his arms as Meloetta leaned on Bertha's shoulder. Everyone else was ready to get some shut-eye and be ready for the second day of the Pokemon Festival.
"Melo?"
"You don't look that tired, Meloetta." Bertha looked at her. "Why don't you spend some time with me while you're awake?"
"Etta." Bertha and Meloetta would stay up while everyone else would rest. They got comfortable in their respective beds as the lights had been shut off.
Victini got comfortable. Despite being a Pokemon that possessed endless energy, he needed to rest as well, drawing up to Ash and Pikachu. Hilbert already knocked himself out, slumping on the bed. Both Twilights slept apart from each other as Twilight used the entirety of the bed sheets to cover her smaller body.
The party over at Laverre City would continue even during the night. But it would be kept down during this time for the sake of everyone's beauty sleep.
However, while this festival was ongoing, there was this constant looming threat. It wasn't Galaxy Master. Rather, it was the one who sent him on a mission to retrieve anything Rift-Related.
The Rift itself.
Vengeful towards Ash, it would constantly lurk around, eerily keeping an eye on him. Galaxy Master was its new way of gaining revenge since it was too weak to do much on its own. The Rift wanted to see Ash suffer and rid of any chance of hope that he could obtain. And that involved the connection of the two worlds.
Unova. Out at Sea. Nightfall.
And currently, Galaxy Master himself was on the move, heading for a certain place that was brimming with Rift Energy. The Arcane Sea. A sea exclusively made out of Rift Magic. He took a trip here on a small boat, sitting on it and wondering how to get to this Arcane Sea.
"How do we get there, exactly? The heroes ponder." He narrated again.
"Pikachu..."
However, when trying to find the entrance, he was suddenly called by the Rift. The voice of the Rift reached him, causing Galaxy Master to look up.
"Galaxy Master. I need you to forget about the Arcane Ocean for a while."
"Hm? Why exactly?"
"Please. Head elsewhere. They're trying to speed up to process of locking my powers away forever and keeping both worlds intact."
"So soon?!" Galaxy Master gasped. "I would've thought it would have taken a few more years for that to happen."
"That's not the case. There's a devious and cruel Pokemon by the name of Hoopa, who I've kept its powers away. Even if they were to restore Hoopa, I still have its true power hidden elsewhere to prevent any further mischief. But...they have something that can guarantee them endless power. And if they manage to break the seal, it's hard for me to even say if Hoopa's true power will return."
"Hm-hm. I understand." He nodded in understanding. "It's a gamble then. If by some chance the true power of this Hoopa Pokemon returns, then everything will be for nought. But there's also the chance that the power of Hoopa will be restored, yet it will be unable to keep it all connected. Truly a big risk. And what about this Pokemon hat guarantees endless power?"
"I'll tell you the rest along the way. Right now, I need you to go to a place known as Arche Valley."
"I understand! But, I'll need a quicker form of transportation on the Sea. I need your assistance, my new friend!" Galaxy Master would summon a new Pokemon. By harnessing the power of the Sea itself, he brought up a water whirlpool. "Come to me! Lapras!"
Emerging from the whirlpool was Galaxy Master's newest Pokemon. Someone who would transport him far and safely through the seas. Lapras.
"Lapras!"
"Hup!" He then hopped onto Lapras' back along with Pikachu. This was the best way to go by sea. Already Lapras could trust Galaxy Master. He radiated that positive energy, despite being unaware of who was working for. "To Arche Valley!"
"La!"
Equestria. Canterlot. Nightfall.
Meanwhile, back at Canterlot, much like Laverre City and every other city, the festival went on during the night. Luna had brought up the moon, thoroughly enjoying herself, but not without thoughts.
She thought about two things. Galaxy Master and the Cosmic Stairway. Galaxy Master aimed to restore the Rift's strength, bringing it back to full power. Meanwhile, the Cosmic Stairway, in all its golden glory, was the ultimate way to reach Jirachi, according to Arceus.
"It's probably a series of well-placed events," Luna spoke, looking outside of the window and staring at the staircase. "If Ash had never affected the Rift so greatly...would we have been able to make this staircase at all without someone interrupting us? No...Shooting Star is the missing piece. His Destiny Magic needs to be revolutionized in his own way for the staircase to be completed. Only then will we walk up it."
Luna thought about how every crucial moment that has happened so far would potentially lead to Jirachi. Looking back at it and especially when visiting the Dream Realm plus the Hyperdream, everything all leads to Jirachi.
The day Ash brought Jirachi up changed everything. The force that was known as Delayed Aura Ataxia, while dangerous, seemed like a necessary evil to help Ash better his Aura. Aura was one part of the Cosmic Stairway. Even before that, there was Cold Colt, who had been befriended by everyone back at Ponyville. He was an essential part of the stairway as well. His Rift Magic housed great potential after all.
It even made Luna wonder if Arceus knew all along. He was the one to send his blessing to Phione, letting everyone know what kind of powers were needed to craft this stairway.
"Could Arceus have already seen how it all ends? For him to share his power with Phione...does he already know what we need? Most definitely." Luna said to herself. "Arceus does know. He knows what we need...perhaps, he foresaw all of this happening before the major events could come by."
It was all so intriguing to Luna. This stairway was the prime example of a beacon of hope. More than that, the newest semblance of Arceus had been born not too long ago. Twilight's Twilightium Z. Embedded with the power of Arceus, Luna wondered if that Z-Crystal mattered as well.
"Mmm." Luna shook her head. "That should all be obvious to you, Luna. I should be pursuing Galaxy Master right now but...I wish to enjoy this Pokemon Festival for what it is. Ah, who am I possibly kidding? I can do both."
"Your majesty!" A guard came rushing in, almost falling over. "Ooh! Reports have said we've spotted him! He's on the move yet again."
"Hm. I understand." The Princess of the Night spread her wings out, ready to head out and continue her duty. Not just by having fun, but by protecting the Dream Realm and searching for Galaxy Master as well. Faith was in her heart after all.
Faith in herself, her friends and family and Arceus himself.
Kalos. Laverre City.Morning.
"Aaah...!" Ash had stretched his arms. The sun had beamed through the windows, waking everyone up. He woke up with Victini on his head, almost falling over. Everyone else was already awake. They got up before Ash did. Once again, he was a late sleeper. "Oh man...did everyone else get up before me?"
"Again. You somehow sleep so early but wake up so late, Ash." Twilight was still in the room while everyone else was outside. "Come on. There's good food outside to get you ready for today."
"Food? Yes please!" Ash hopped off the bed as he, Pikachu and Victini were fully awake once food was involved.
"Pikachu!"
"Victini!"
They quickly rushed out of the hotel, ready to feast on the delicacies from other regions. And as a bonus, ponies from Equestria had brought along their delicacies.
Everyone got to try something new. Especially Hilbert, who had already begun, stuffing himself with Equestrian delicacies. Most were homemade.
"Save some for us!" Hilda exclaimed, pushing Hilbert's hand way from the pile of food he ended up ravaging through, nearly finishing it all.
"My bad!"
"Meloetta." Meloetta was sitting underneath the table, eating a shortcake biscuit. Bertha was also supplying her some biscuits underneath the table. Joining her there was Hisuian Zorua, also choosing to hide and eat underneath the table.
Ash arrived just in time to have some, taking his gloves off and rubbing his hands together. Victini stayed invisible, sneaking up on some of the delicacies that others were already enjoying. He snagged one of the pies under people and ponies' noses, dragging them his way.
"Mmm. I just noticed this. Every Psychic-Type can turn invisible, can't they?" Pinkie Pie said, easily spotting Victini's actions as the pie was being devoured in midair by seemingly nothing.
"Almost," Ash replied, already having his mouth full.
"Oh. About Arche Valley. It's a Sacred Place, which means it's hard to reach, right?" Sci-Twi asked. "The stories I read usually involve that kind of thing with sacred places."
"That's certainly the case. Sacred Places, most of the time, are difficult to reach. It's usually the forces of nature being defensive. And since Arche Valley's inhabitants are connected with nature, it's guaranteed that finding this divine valley isn't easy. Not one bit." Bertha replied.
"It's gonna make it all the more fun to get there," Ash responded, raising a cupcake to the air. "Just wait up, Hoopa."
"If Arche Valley's so old...maybe it'll involve something with Mew. Just a guess." Pinkie Pie hopped on the table, scanning the area to see what else she could consume.
"Not every old place is involved with Mew, Pinkie," said Twilight.
"I don't know about that one smart cookie." Pinkie licked her lips before going for a cookie. But someone already went for it. A hand had landed on the cookie at the same time Pinkie's mouth had touched it. "Hm?"
"Oh?" And that hand belonged to Sonata Dusk. One of the Dazzlings. She and Pinkie Pie paused, looking at each other before narrowing their eyes. The scent of this cookie was too good to resist and they both wanted it. Since they both made contact with this cookie, they started pulling from their respective sides. "H-Hey, Pinkie!"
"H-Hey, Sonata!" Pinkie replied as they both said with passive-aggressive tones, fighting over the cookie already. "Surprised to see you here..., especially with your hand on this cookie...!"
"I should've already known you'd be here at such a delicious place...So, mind giving me this cookie? You've already eaten a lot?"
"But the taste is so good..." Pinkie Pie's eyes twitched as they were going back and forth with one side trying to claim the cookie.
"Pika!" But that's when someone split it. Pikachu. Ash's Pikachu came swooping in with Iron Tail, slicing the cookie in half, causing Pinkie Pie and Sonata to part. They both received half as Pikachu stuck a stylish landing.
"Chu! Pika!" Alpha Pikachu applauded his descendant's stylish action.
"Aw! Only half?!" Sonata groaned as the cookie was too good to be split in half. At least, in her eyes, as she disappointedly took a bite out of it.
"Hah...oh well. It still tastes good." Pinkie Pie had her complaints, but they subsided once she got a full taste of it.
"Good to see you three." Twilight faced the Dazzlings. "How goes your search?"
"Eh. We're getting there." Aria shrugged as the sirens had appeared. Vivace was elsewhere though, doing her own thing away from her daughters.
"We've been hit in the face with a few distractions. Hopefully, it's limited." Adagio shrugged.
"Even though you started one yesterday," Sonata said with a cheeky grin, testing Adagio's wrath.
"Ah, that's how it is sometimes. My journeys are filled with stops all the time. It's a lot of fun. Trust me." Ash could speak from experience.
"He's right." Aria raised her finger. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't having fun. What else are we going to run into along the way?"
"Well, if we do run into something else, I'd like for it to be as fun as the last one. Maybe some clothes will do..."
"We'll run into someone, that's for sure. At least, if we're on time. Hopefully, he hasn't beat us to it."
"Good luck with that. We'll be heading off soon to a sacred place..." Pinkie Pie flailed her hooves around, trying to appear mysterious. Mew, Ash and Pikachu mimicked her arm movements. "And good luck on your search!"
"Yeah sure. Come on girls." Adagio showed some form of kindness to them before walking off, doing their own thing during this festive time. "Oh and, Aria. Who are you talking about?"
"Who else could she be talking about?" Sonata crept up behind Aria with a devious grin. "She's talking about Paul, who she wants to meet again at Anistar City."
"Zip it...!" Aria grabbed Sonata's face, stopping her in her tracks. But Sonata continued to be mischievous, giggling as she knew how to target Aria's weak spots.
And Aria knew that to be true. She, her sisters and Paul promised to meet up at Anistar City. That was where they were headed after leafing Laverre City. It was just in between Dendemille Town after all.
And without a doubt, Paul would be there waiting for them. Three parties were headed to Arche Valley. Two were headed for Anistar City. It was constant movement during the Pokemon Festival. And it was to be expected for such an energetic time.
As to be expected, on top of a hill, Paul stood tall, glancing at the horizon and looking in the distance to see Anistar City. He was the first to get close to this city and not the Dazzlings. But Paul kept to his promise. Even if he made it there, he would wait for them as the journey continues.
Anistar City. Paul had currently arrived at this city, beating the Dazzlings to it. But even after beating them here, he would wait for them, knowing that they would show up here soon.
Paul would take some time to wind down. While he wasn't one for festivities, he tossed them aside after the Lily of the Valley conference, he could at least indulge himself in the simpler things.
Paul sat on his lonesome while everyone else was rampant with energy, moving around rapidly. Paul would kill some time, waiting for the Dazzlings. And if they don't show up after some time, he would get on with his day and advance to the next location, expecting them to catch up later on.
Paul would have something to eat too. Realistically, he would've been here a while ago, but the journey of a Pokemon Trainer leads to many pathways that prolong the adventure but make it all the more exciting. Some small Pokemon Battles were happening nearby but Paul wouldn't involve himself in them.
But he would watch them, seeing how this new generation of Pokemon Trainers from another world were. After what he's already seen and what he's seeing now, they were impressive. In just three years, they had learned quickly. Granted, they were still behind many trainers from this world but they certainly had experience.
Paul taught a few of them that came to mind. Spike learned something from him and Aria certainly picked up something after their double encounters. He spent minutes sitting around, eating his food while waiting for the Dazzlings.
Paul then noticed how one of the trainers was currently slipping up, having a hard time against the opposing Pokemon and its trainer. His attention was drawn there as this young pony was struggling. And it was a reasonable struggle.
The trainer was using a Vikavot against a Rhydon. A naturally dangerous matchup as Vikavolt was on the back foot. The younger trainer's options were slim as this was seemingly his last Pokemon. Paul did a quick check on Vikavolt's data with his Pokedex, checking out his novelist.
He was surprisingly shocked that all of Vikavolt's offensive attacks were Electric and the only other move that wasn't an Electric-Type move was Sleep Talk.
"What do I do...?" Her options were slim as Vikavolt was in a rough spot. Having the sense to help younger and newer trainers, Paul walked over, appearing near the young filly.
"Have you tried aiming for the horn?" Paul spoke, grabbing the filly's attention.
"What?"
"Use your Electric-Attacks on Rhydon's horn. That'll give you something."
"Hey! We're in the middle of a battle! You can't just gi-" The opposing mare cried out, before receiving a menacing glare from Paul after shouting at him. She soon stayed quieted, scrunching her face. "G-Go on."
"The horn?" The mare whimpered.
"Rhydon's horn is the only thing that isn't immune to electricity. It's made out of iron and can be like a lightning rod. No matter what, Lightning and iron will always conduct. Try that instead of backing out."
"Oooh...okay! Aim for the horn, Vikavolt! Zap Cannon!"
"Vika...volt!" Vikavolt would attack, unleashing an orb made out of electricity. This was a final gambit as the filly put her hooves together, praying that this would work.
"Pssh. As if that's gonna-"
"Rhy!" "But it did work. That horn was both Rhydon's greatest weapon and weakness as well. The power of Zap Cannon reacted to the horn in a second, conducting and sending a shock through Rhydon's body. It was deemed impossible for something like this to happen to Rhydon, but that horn ended up changing things as a bright smile was brought back to the filly's face.
"It works!"
"It works?!" The opponent and other ponies gasped.
"You're never out of options to make new chances, even if you win or lose." Paul gave out that form of advice before walking off. This gave the young trainer some opportunities and left Rhydon open to some disadvantages. The battle between those two would continue instead of ending.
Paul went back to what he was doing, returning to his table full of food. He just felt like he needed to do just that before it would bug him forever. It was back to eating and waiting for the Dazzlings, otherwise, he'll have to battle the Anistar City Gym Leader later on.
Or rather, she'll come to him.a Olympia could sense a great wealth of power nearby. Her Psychic senses went off, causing her to freeze on the spot.
"Such an amazing sense of skill is nearby..." Olympia said, navigating her head to find this Trainer that housed great potential. Olympia could certainly tell when someone had potential that was brimming to the core. The last time she sensed someone of this much potential came from Ash and Greninja. That's when she saw him.
She saw Paul, sensing that great wealth of skill from him. This would gravitate Olympia towards Paul instead of Paul coming to him. Paul, while silently eating, sensed someone approaching. He then looked up to see that it was Anistar City's Gym Leader Olympia.
"Hm. Looks like you came to me." Paul commented.
"Why? Were you expecting me?" Olympia sat down at the same table as Paul. "Because I certainly wasn't expecting to encounter someone like you here."
"I only came here to challenge you. But I would take my time before reaching you." Paul replied before putting his food away. "Guess there's no need to wait for those three to get here."
"Oh, now, no need to speed up. I'd be happy to give you a challenge. And besides...the potential you hold is absolutely astonishing. I only know two others who have come here with that much potential with them. Perhaps this battle we'll have will help bring out more of that potential."
"I only came here to test my skills as a future Gym Leader. To do that, I need to go through a lot. Way more than what I've already been through."
"You'll become a Gym Leader?"
"I was asked to be one. But before I can become a Gym Leader, I want to go up against other Gym Leaders and learn more about Pokemn and their nature. I've already been through a few gyms before coming to Kalos." Paul explained his true reason for being here. "As for this great potential, I don't know about that..."
"Oh, but you should be proud that you're harbouring something like that I can already tell that you're an amazing trainer already, but you could reach new heights. But that's your decision."
"I'll think about it, maybe. Right now..." Paul stood up. "I'm here to do what I aim to do."
"I'll grant your wish." Olympia stood up as well. "Battling with a future Gym Leader sound interesting. Let's see if you're overwhelmingly strong or just the right level for a Pokemon Trainer to try and reach."
"Hey, mister!" But before they could leave to the gym, the filly from before had rushed over with high spirits, grabbing Paul's attention. "I did it! I won!"
"Congratulations." Paul congratulaed the filly without even looking at her. But the filly was happy either way. Meanwhile her opponent was still stunned by what she had seen.
"Aim for the horn...come on..." She disappointingly rolled the Poke Ball on the ground while putting her hoof on her face. Needless to say, that defeat left a massive impact on her.
"But. Change your Pokemon's moves. That horn trick won't work on every Ground-Type you meet. It's best to have some versatility." Paul gave one final piece of advice to this filly.
"Got it! I will!" She saluted before galloping away. Paul then did a smile without showing it to her.
Already, Olympia could tell what kind of Trainer Paul was and what she was getting into. And thanks to giving that filly advice, twice in a row, and speaking with Olympia for a while, enough time had passed for them to arrive.
Just nearby, driving their van which was controlled by their mother, the sirens had finally arrived at Anistar City. Despite having access to a vehicle, Paul still beat them there. He was also led by some distractions and yet he got here first. Paul and Olympia had just now entered the Gym. Paul was the victor in this race.
"Hurry! The Gym's pretty big and hard to notice!" Sonata hopped out of the van first.
"There's no chance he beat us here." Aria shook her head. "We've got a van and everything."
"Just hurry up and get this over with. What are you going to do? Just wait for him?" Adagio questioned.
"Well...this place looks like it'll kill some time." Sonata shrugged. "You never know with the Pokemon Festival."
"I'm pretty confident we got here first. Van and everything." Aria patted on the van before they all then approached the biggest building here. The Anistar City Gym. "There's no way we he would-"
Anistar City Gym.
"Get here before us?!" But the second Aria opened those doors, she and her sisters saw that Paul was already here. They entered the gym to see that the victor of this race was Paul.
"You're late. Not by much, honestly." Paul replied with his hands in his pockets. Adagio could care less as she was more impressed by the appearance of the gym while Aria and Sonata were stunned. Looking at this Gym made her feel like she was in space all of a sudden.
Multiple Psychic students of Olympia were present here as always since Olympia was undoubtley the best Psychic teacher in all of Kalos.
"B-But how...?" Sonata stammered.
"F-Forget about it." Aria shook her head, admitting defeat. "He beat us here somehow. Congrats, I guess."
"Ah, these must be your three friends." Olympia said. "They're just in time to see a future Gym Leader in the making. How would like this format to be, now that we're about to begin? I tend to always go for Double Battles, personally."
"Double Battles are fine with me...with all 6 of my Pokemon." Paul revealed how he wanted to do this battle.
"A double battle with all 6 Pokemon...Hm." Olympia smiled. "It's been quite a long time since I've done that. Such an exciting choice. I will agree to that format."
"Forget everything else happening outside. We get to see Paul have a full 6-on-6 battle?!" Sonata eyes lit up as this felt more exciting than anything that could happen outside.
"Your Pokemon better watch this as well. Especially your Brionne, Aria." Paul suggested before taking his hands out of his pockets, revealing two Poke Balls. Aria knew what Paul was getting at. Brionne would get a full view of this battle and learn from it as Aria had sent her out.
"The Battle will be a Full 6-on-6 Double Battle." One of the students would act as the referee. "The Battle will be over when all Pokemon on either side is unable to continue. Please, may you both send out your first two Pokemon."
"Here I go. Froslass! Drapion! Standby for Battle!" Paul sent out his first two Pokemon. Froslass and Drapion.
"Froslass!"
"Drapion!"
"Now...come out! Slowking! Sigilyph!" Olympia revealed her other two Pokemon. For once, she didn't lead with double Meowstic.
"Slowking."
"Sigilyph!"
"Alright then...Battle Start!"
"Let's get the weaknesses out of the way first. Slowking! Miracle Eye! Sigiliyph, Tailwind!" Olympia made the first command.
"Slow." Both of Slowking's eyes glow blue, strengthening its ability to resist attacks and allowing it to hit Dark-type Pokémon with Psychic-type moves. It managed to remove the immunity towards Drapion with just one move. Not only that, but since Drapion was also a Poison-Type, now super-effective hits were viable against it.
"Sigil!" Meanwhile, Sigilyph flapped its wings, manipulating the direction of the winds themselves, forcing them to favourite Olympia's Team and oppose Paul's Team.
"Dra!" Drapion's claws illuminated white as they were then raised above its head, where a thin, white line forms and connected them. At the same time, Froslass had formed a blob of shadows in her arms, raising it over her head. Drapion thrusted its claws forward, shooting out white streams of pins at the opponent while Froslass launched the blob.
"Meet them with Psychic and Heat Wave!"
"Sigilyph!" Reacting quickly, Sigilyph flapped its wings, sending a smouldering wave of heat while Slowking held its hand out, telekinetically holding the pins in midair. Heat Wave clashed with Shadow Ball with both attacks cancelling each other out. As for Pin Missile, Drapion fired some extra pins from its tail to try and blindside Slowking.
"King." Slowking ended up redirecting the other missiles, causing them to crash into the ones that Drapion had sent, resulting in a tie.
"Hm. Froslass! Ice Beam on the floor!"
"Froslass!" Suddenly Froslass had sent a chilling beam of ice downwards, causing a flash-freeze on the entire floor. Ice had appeared in the matter of seconds.
"Melt it away, Sigilyph! Heat Wave!"
"Intercept Sigilyph with Cross Poison!"
"Dra!" Just then, Drapion started sliding on the ice. Its pointy feet were viable for skating on the floor as Paul used that to his advantage. It was a way to fight back against Tailwind. It also made sense why he had Froslass freeze the floor as Drapion moved quicker at this pace. It quickly intercepted Sigilyph before it could make a wave of heat, smashing its X-Shaped poison-clad arms into the Avianoid Pokemon. "Drap!"
"S-Sigil!" Sigilyph cried out before being blown back by Drapion.
"Clever...using Drapion's tiny feet on the ice." Olympia saw Paul's plans. This made Drapion, who was already fast, far faster than before. "But...Psychic!"
"Slow." Slowking had then used Psychic on the ice floor, ripping out ice chunks. These chunks were then launched at both Drapion and Froslass.
"Drapion! Hit it away with Cross Poison! Froslass, Shadow Ball!"
"Pion!" After hitting Sigilyph away, Drapion would swivel, facing the ice chunks that were ripped out of the ground, hitting those as well while Froslass sent a blob of shadows to intercept the chunks. However, right as Drapion clashed with the chunks, a mental blast had suddenly hit him, blowing him back and dealing supre-effective damage. "D-Dra!"
"Hey, what gives?" Sonata leaned in. "Drapion's immune to Psychic-Type attacks! Is she cheating?!"
"No. Look here." Aria held out the Pokedex, showing off Olympia's Slowking and what Miracle Eye could do. "Miracle Eye makes it so that Dark-Types are no longer immune to Psychic-Type attacks. And since Drapion's part Poison, that Psychic is now a big threat against his Drapion."
"Oooh...That's pretty deep. She must've been waiting for something like this for Slowking to even have that attack." Sonata gawked.
"But...Types aren't everything." Paul smirked, persisting as he would leave an impact before switching things up. "Head towards Slowking, Drapion! Froslass, Hail!"
"Drapion!" Drapion would now approach Slowking as Froslass suddenly called on a hailstorm with a chilling cry.
"Hmph. Slowking! Jump!"
"Slow!" Thanks to Tailwind, Slowking was able to gain some momentum and acceleration. The Royal Pokemon performed an impressive leap, immediately jumping over Drapion and gaining some airtime.
"Gotcha. Spin with Cross Poison!"
"Dra!" But, Drapion wasn't just sliding towards Slowking. It was planning for a counter attack. Drapion immediately spun its body, using the Poison energy around its claws. By spinning on the ice, Drapion had generated a Poison Tornado that emerged from its body, rising upwards.
"S-Slow!" Slowking had been hit by this Toxic Tornado, carried and spun by it while also receiving some damage. Not only that, but the tornado of poison had also laced the Royal Pokemon with some poison.
"Incredible!" Olympia gawked as she didn't expect this. Paul had used the Counter Shield method in a new way and to his benefit. "Sigilyph! Ancient Power!"
"Gilyph!" Sigilyph would then summon rocks from the ground itself, full of fossilized power. It was all then sent towards Froslass instead of Drapion. That Toxic Tornado would be dealt with later.
"Now, Froslass! Ice Beam!"
"Froslass...!" Since Froslass had set up Hail, this allowed her ability Snow Cloak to take action. It increased her speed as once again, Paul had fought back against Tailwind, finding a way to maintain some speed. Froslass zoomed past the rocks with a graceful spin before then unleahsing a chilling beam of ice.
A direct hit towards Sigilyph, dealing super-effective damage. Not only did it deal some heavy damage, but Sigilyph's body had been frozen over. As if it wasn't already feeling the chill thanks to the snowstorm that Froslass had made, now its body was trapped within an icy prison, dropping to the floor.
"Awesome! Look at Paul go!" Sonata applauded.
"He's winning this so far. But I'm not too surprised." Adagio shrugged.
"You're certainly taking advantage of this battle and twisting it in your favour. Impressive. You truly do possess quick battle intuition. Just what I expected from someone with such great potential. But...Psycho Shift! Send it to Drapion!"
"S-Sigil...Sigilyph!" Just then, within the icy prison, Sigilyph managed to create a Psychic wave that travelled through the ice. At the speed of light, the Avianoid Pokemon ended up sending its status condition towards Drapion, who had ended the Toxic Tornado seconds ago.
"Dra-" And thanks to Psycho Shift, without Drapion even expecting it, its entire body had been frozen over as well. Psycho Shift had used Froslass' own effect against her teammate. Sigilyph had also been freed from its own prison.
"Drapion's done its part." Paul returned Drapion in the meanwhile. But it would be back. "Take a break, for now. All I needed was this hail...now, it's time for someone who doesn't mind it for a bit. Metagross! Standby for Battle!" Then, Paul revealed his next Pokemon, which was a surprising one.
"Metagross!"
"Metagross?" Aria took out her Pokedex to read about Metgross once it had appeared.
"Metagross. The Iron Leg Pokemon. Metagross has four brains in total. Combined, the four brains can breeze through difficult calculations faster than a supercomputer. This Pokémon can float in the air by tucking in its four legs. Metagross is the result of two Metang achieving fusion. When hunting, this Pokémon pins the prey to the ground under its massive body. It then eats the helpless victim using the large mouth on its stomach. Because the magnetic powers of these Pokémon get stronger in freezing temperatures, Metagross living on snowy mountains are full of energy."
Lo and behold, Metagross was unaffected by the hail. Being a Steel-Type brought a plethora of resistances and incredible durability to boot. This was all part of Paul's plan. Froslass benefitted from the Hail via an increase in her swiftness and now only her and Metagross were able to ignore the hail.
Meanwhile, Olympia's Pokemon could not resist the hail as one of them was even poisoned thanks to Drapion's Toxic Tornado. Paul's team were ready for Olympia, otherwise, he would've never decided to come here.
"Oh, this should be easy then." Sonata shrugged.
"Bri! Brionne!" Brionne was enjoying this throughout, mainly cheering for Paul.
"I don't know about that..." Aria thought otherwise.
"Oh. Pardon me. I'm so used to keeping my Pokemon in as a Gym Leader, I forgot that this isn't an official Gym Battle. I'm allowed to switch, am I?" Olympia asked.
"Go ahead." Paul didn't care at all. A battle was a battle, even if they were limitations.
"These Pokemon are impressive...but the ones I want see are her Meowstic." Paul said to himself. "That's why I'm going to force them to show up."
The Battle between Paul and Olympia was starting off strong with Paul taking the lead. However, the tied of a Pokemon Battle can change depending on how things go. Many variables were involved in this battle and even with the advantages, Paul knew that Olympia was not to be taken lightly since she was a Gym Leader.
Kalos. Anistar City. Anistar City Gym. The Pokemon Festival. Day.
Currently, Paul was facing off against Anistar City's Gym Leader, Olympia. The Dazzlings watched as a Future Gym Leader in the making was having a fierce battle with Olympia.
Paul was in the lead so far, taking control of this battle. But, Olympia was going down so easily. Just what Paul wanted if he was going to become a Gym Leader. It was currently his Metagross and Froslass against Olympia's Slowking and Sigilyph. A Hail had been brought up, bringing out Froslass' Snow Cloak.
"This will prove to be troublesome..." Olympia assessed everything that's happened so far. "His Pokemon have great responses to mine so far.
"Now, Metagross! Meteor Mash! Froslass, Ic Beam!"
"Ta...Meta!"
"Hold them both back with Psychic and Heat Wave!"
"Slowking!" Slowking, who had been previously poisoned by Drapion, held its arms out, sending a powerful Psychic blast whilst Sigilyph had sent a smouldering wave of heat.
Metagross's hand illuminated both white as the silhouette of a golden meteor appears around its hand and it punches the opponent. Metagross came charging in with a blur aura, moving with the ferocity of a meteor whilst Froslass unleashed a chilling beam of ice alongside Metagross.
Ice Beam and Heat Wave connected. Heat Wave managed to hold back the beam of ice, however, Slowking was unable to hold Metagross back. The Steel-Psychic-Type crashed into Slowking at full force, resulting in a blue explosion as golden stars could be seen flying out after the impact.
And out of the stars and explosion, Slowking was sent flying, rolling on the frozen ground. It slid for a bit on the ice before then running out of steam to continue. Slowking had fainted.
"Slowking..."
"Slowking is unable to battle! Metagross wins!" The referee said as finally, one Pokemon from one side had fallen. In this case, it was Olympia's Pokemon. That was one victory for Paul.
"Return, please, Slowking. And good job." Olympia returned Slowking before swapping Poke Balls.
"You should return too, Metagross." Suddenly, Paul had returned Metagross as well. He only needed Metagross to perform one action before holding out another Poke Ball. This would force Olympia to guess which Pokemon would be next. Would he send Drapion out again or bring out someone new?
"Now, it's your turn! Reuniclus!"
"Gyarados! Standby for battle!" Both had revealed their next Pokemon. For Paul, it was his Gyarados and for Olympia, she had revealed her Reuniclus.
"Shouldn't he have swapped his Froslass out instead of that Metagross?" Adagio questioned. "Metagross seems too good to recall and that Froslass is too fragile."
"Such is the mystery of a Pokemon Trainer." Sonata shrugged. "They make some strange decisions that only they get most of the time.
"That's why Paul's so good, duh," Aria replied. "Years of experience will make any decision look strange to the eyes. We're not watching a Trainer from Equestria battle anymore.
"Let's keep this up! Gyarados! Ice Fang! Froslass, Shadow Ball!"
"Gyara!" Gyarados coated its fangs in ice before slithering towards Sigilyph. Meanwhile, Froslass disappeared into the hail, masking herself to get the jump on Reuniclus.
"Hm. Fire Punch, Reuniclus! Sigilyph! Ascend and use Sky Power Gem!"
"Reuniclus!" Reuniclus ignited its arms with an aura of fire before then waiting for Froslass to approach. Meanwhile, Sigilyph had ascended with Gyarados doing the same to pursue its fellow Flying-Type.
"Sigilyph!" Meanwhile, Sigilyph unleashed a barrage of gems, trying to push Gyarados away. Gyarados had been stopped, forced to bite at the rocks, freezing them.
"Gyara!" Gyarados froze the rocks, but some of them crashed into the Atrocious Pokemon, forcing it to fly back for a bit. It was a successful defence by Sigilyph.
Meanwhile, Froslass hid in the Hail, swiftly moving with complete stealth. It aimed to attack from behind. However, Reuniclus was ready for Froslass, knowing that she was using the Hail and her Ability Snow Cloak to her advantage.
"Now!"
"Reu!" Just then, Reuniclus had swung its fist, hitting the air instead of Froslass. But that was all according to plan. Once it swung its strong arms, Renuiclus sent a powerful stream of fire that had blitzed through some of the hail. The stream of fire was made massive thanks to Reunicles amazing arm strength, almost forming into a tornado before then melting away some of the ice on the ground.
"Lass?!" Froslass gasped, immediately backing away once it felt the heat. That moment of shock was enough to expose the Ice-Ghost-Type. That left her wide open as Reuniclus delivered a blindside strike to Froslass with Fire Punch. "F-Fros!"
A direct hit with a blazing force. Reuniclus' physical strength helped greatly with this impact as Froslass tumbled on the melted ice floor. Snow Cloak couldn't help her against Reuniclus' heavy blow. And once she fell over, Froslass was the next Pokemon to faint.
"Froslass..."
"Froslass is unable to battle! Reuniclus wins!" Now that Froslass had been defeated, the Hail had disappeared, no longer beating down on the others. The area was clear again along with all the ice on the ground being melted away.
"Thank you, Froslass. Return." Froslass had been called back by Paul. Now it was even, but Paul aimed to keep the odds back in his favour. First, he had to do something about Sigilyph, who was stubbornly hanging in there. He had the right Pokemon for the job. "Electivire! Standby for Battle!"
"Electivire!" His Electivire would do the trick.
"Oh. In that case...return, Sigilyph." Just then, Olympia had returned Sigilyph, throwing a wrench in Paul's plan. "Come out, Gothitelle!"
"Gothitelle!"
"It's not often I get to use the rest of my Pokemon in battle. Many people usually see me with my Meostic. So this was already fun for me when you chose this rule, Paul."
"Hmph. You're welcome." Paul smiled back in response. "Too bad that's not going to stop me from crushing all of them one by one. Electivire! Thunder Punch! Gyarados, Hyper Beam!"
"Electivire!" Electivire went ahead, approaching Sigilyph while Gyarados would focus all of its efforts on blasting Gothitelle with a full-powered beam.
"Prepare yourselves! Reuniclus, Fire Punch! Gothitelle, stand your ground against Hyper Beam!"
"Goth!" Gothitelle would embrace this attack, waiting for the right command. As for Electivire, he and Reuniclus entered a fierce clash with both of their fists colliding. The two of them went back as sparks of electricity and fire were sent flying everywhere. They went back and forth with both arms being swung at great force and intensity.
"Elec!" Electivire landed a successful hit against Reuniclus, smashing it in the face with Thunder Punch as Reuniclus spun around from that hit. It had then retaliated with an equally hard hit by swinging at Electivire's face.
"Reu!"
As for Gyarados, it finally unleashed Hyper Beam at a seemingly defenceless Gothitelle, releasing it in the form of a massive beam. Gothitelle looked the beam in the eyes but she wouldn't just stand there and take it. Olympia was waiting for the right time. And that time was now.
"Mirror Coat, now!"
"Thitelle!" The beam had hit Gothitelle, directly. But in that split second the attack had connected, Gothitelle's body lit up, reflecting the attack right back at Gyarados.
"Gya!" Gyarados had been hit by its own attack, resulting in a fierce explosion. It was just as fast as it had travelled over to Gothitelle, possibly faster due to the reflection. It was a heavy impact that dealt some great damage to Gyarados. Not only that, but it had to recharge thanks to the aftereffect of Hyper Beam.
"Go, Gothitelle! Reuniclus! Dark Pulse and Psyshock on Gyarados!"
"Gothitelle!" Gothitelle and Reuniclus would team up on Gyarados. Reuniclus had ended the clash with Electivire, pushing the Electric-Type Pokemon back. Gothitelle and Reuniclus had both manifested massive forms of energy via an aura of Darkness and three thick masses of Psychic energy.
"Electivire, Protect!"
"Elec!" Electivire quickly ran to Gyarados' side, becoming its guardian. Once the attacks were unleashed, Electivire put his hands out, forming a wide barrier of energy. The attacks crashed into the barrier with great intensity, however, they had been blocked. Not only that but Gyarados had been given enough time to recharge thanks to Electivire.
"Now, Gyarados! Ice Fang!"
"Gyara!" Gyarados had then flown over, fangs bared and coated in a chilling aura of ice.
"Gothitelle! Gravity!"
"Telle!" Only for Gothitelle to absolutely put an end to that. The moment Gyarados had flown over Electivirie, Gothitelle had used Gravity swinging her arms downwards and manipulating the gravity around not just Gyarados but also Electivire.
"Gya!" Gyarados had been forced down, immediately crashing into Electivire. Electivire didn't see it coming as Gyarados had been dropped on it, resulting in a double hit. Paul narrowed his eyes, but he wasn't too worried about it.
"Elec." The smoke cleared after the double impact as Electivire was getting back up, pushing Gyarados off of him. As for Gyarados, it had fainted, unfortunately.
"Gyarados..."
"Gyarados is unable to battle! Gothitelle wins!"
"Thank you, Gyarados. Return." Paul closed his eyes, returning his Pokemon. Olympia had quickly turned the tides to her favour. Now, Paul was down to four Pokemon.
"No need to get nervous, right? He still has more." Sonata scrunched her face, feeling nervous.
"By that look on his face, yes," Aria observed Paul's current emotions. He knew that he could keep this all under control, even if he was down two Pokemon.
"Brionne."
"Electivire. You should return as well." Paul held out his next Poke Ball before then returning Electivire for a while. He stood there for a second, pondering his next approach. How would he deal with the rest of Olympia's Pokemon? He was already expecting the double Meowstic and the return of Sigilyph. Paul knew what he needed to do.
"I can sense that you've made up your mind," said Olympia. "Normally, I would feel nervous about what my opponent will do next."
"It wouldn't hurt to be flashy next. Metagross! Drapion! Standby for battle!" Paul brought Metagross back and Drapion as well. However, Drapion was still frozen. But the second Metagross emerged, it had stomped on the ground, shattering the ice with sheer power alone.
"Metagross!"
"Drapion!" Drapion roared once it was freed from the ice.
"Let's go for a double knockout! Metagross! Agility! Drapion, Night Slash!"
"Meta!" Metagross suddenly moved at great speeds, increasing its speed while also instantly appearing next to Reuniclus.
"Reuniclus, Fire Punch! Gothitelle, Dark Pulse!"
"Reuniclus!" Reunicus shared a super-brain, much like Metagross, making the two of them almost alike. However, Metagross possessed the speed advantage as the moment Reuniculs went to punch Metagross, the Steel-Psychic-Type had zoomed to the side, evading the swing. Reuniclus tried again, attempting to strike Metagross but its fellow Psychic-Type continue to evade with Agility.
"Dra!" Drapion had sliced through Dark Pulse with Night Slash, meanwhile, charging in and approaching Gothitelle with a streak of darkness.
"Evade and use Energy Ball!"
"Goth!" Gothitelle suddenly spun to the side, evading Drapion's swing while also generating an orb of nature. However, Drapion wouldn't stop there.
"Grab Gothitelle!"
"Dra!" Drapion's tail had come into play once more, wrapping around Gothitelle's body the moment she evaded by twirling to the side. That was all for nought as Drapion's tail had caught her, interrupting Energy Ball.
"Goth?!"
"Meteor Mash!"
"Meta!" At the same time, Metagross went for Meteor Mash, pulling back and gaining some acceleration. It would fly right in with Reuniclus narrowing its tiny eyes.
"Now, Reuniclus, fly up and use Psyshock!"
"Reu!" Reuniclus had levitated upwards, causing Metagross to pass by. But that's exactly what Paul wanted as a smirk graced his face. Olympia gasped, seeing that Metagross was heading in the direction of Drapion and Gothitelle.
"Dra!" Drapion had then thrown Gothitelle, sending her towards Reuniclus. Reuniclus had halted Psyshock, so as to not harm its own teammate. Reuniclus had used its strong arms to catch Gothitelle, almost falling over from the speed she was thrown at.
"Meta!" Right afterwards, thanks to the speed increase of Agility, Metagross redirected Meteor Mash, taking to the skies and going for both of its fellow Psychic-Type with great velocity.
The Multiplying Pokemon and the Astral Body Pokemon gasped as Metagross crashed right into her at full force. Paul predicted that Olympia would use another evasion tactic. Thus, he capitalized on it.
And it worked out in his favour. Metagross backed away as Gothitelle and Reuniclus were both seen falling from above, crashing down. Just like Paul said, he was going for a double knockout.
"Gothitelle..."
"Reuniclus..."
"Both Gothitelle and Reuniclus are unable to battle! Drapion and Metagross win!"
"Yes! A double knockout!" Sonata stood up, clapping her hands as Adagio had shown some increased interest in this as well.
"Now there's just only three left." Aria leaned in, holding Brionne close to her.
"Bri!"
"Good." Paul smiled. This was part of a bigger plan. Paul knew that Olympia's aces Meowstic were the best at coordination. They bounced off each other after all and make for an amazing team. However, since Sigilyph was still active and Paul had just knocked out two Pokemon instead of one, removing a spot for Sigilyph that Olympia was saving up, he had just thrown a wrench in Olympia's plans.
And Olympia knew this. She would either have to go along with her double Meowstic plan and risk having Sigilyph be on its own. Or, send one of the Meowstics out and have Sigilyph team up with them with less amazing synergy. Or even the risk of having one of the Meowstic faint and then Sigilyph would take their spot. Either way, Paul had changed the tides to his favour with this double knockout.
"For the first time...I'm stumped." Olympia smiled. "No one has ever done this to me before. This is only proof that I was right to see the stark potential in you."
"Thanks. Now, what will you do, Olympia?" Paul questioned. "I've still got a lot left for you and your Pokemon. "Bring them out. Your Meowstic."
"It isn't over yet, Paul." Olympia held two Poke Balls out in an X-shape before then throwing them out. "Meowstic! Sigilyph!"
"Meowstic!" She ended up going with one of the Meowstics. In this case, it was the Female Meowstic.
"Sigilyph!" And Sigilyph ended up being chosen instead of the Male Meowstic.
"I can sense this battle is nearing its end. And I will make sure that I emerge victorious. Sigilyph, Heat Wave! Meowstic, Thunder Wave!"
"Meow!" Two waves were unleashed. One with the intent to deal damage and the other to paralyze. Respectively, Metagross would be burnt while Drapion would receive some paralysis.
"Cross Poison and Psychic!"
"Meta!" Metagross' eyes had illuminated a baby blue colour before telekinetically controlling the blast of fire. Heat Wave had almost reached Metagross, barely. But, Metagross managed to hold it in place, shooting it back at Sigilyph.
"Sigilyph!" Sigilyph received a blow from its own attack, flying back. Meanwhile, To counter Thunder Wave, Drapion had used Cross Poison, spinning once more. That Toxic Tornado had returned, acting as a shield to block Thunder Wave, preventing paralysis while also approaching Meowstic.
"Quick, Meowstic! Get on top of Sigilyph!"
"Meowstic!" Just then, Meowstic had performed a stylish backflip, reaching Sigilyph. This not only helped her evade the tornado of poison, but this would grant some synergy between her and Sigilyph. Meowstic got on Sigilyph's back, temporarily using it as a ride. "Meow!"
"Let's see how you deal with this. Dark Pulse! Power Gem!"
"Meow!" Meowstic would attack from above, holding her hand out as she unleashed a pulse of darkness right afterwards. And Sigilyph would add to that by using Power Gem, causing to fly next to Dark Pulse.
"Pin Missile!"
"Dra!" Drapion would face the rays and beam with Pin Missile, shooting out multiple light arrows that immediately clashed with the attacks. Power Gem and Pin Missile had a fierce back and forth, but Dark Pulse managed to break through some of the pins thanks to Power Gem holding the rest of them back, leaving few for Dark Pulse. Thus, the blast had blitzed towards Drapion, knocking it back. "D-Drapion!"
"Metagross! Meteor Mash! Get up there!"
"Metagross!" Metagross would approach those two, already having the ability to take to the skies. And with the power and speed of Meteor Mash, it would reach them undoubtedly. But this time, Olympia was ready for Meteor Mash.
"Time for a pincer attack! Heat Wave and Dark Pulse!"
"Meow!" Just then, Meowstic had separated from Sigilyph, jumping up while Sigilyph ended up ducking. Aiming for a pincer attack, Meowstic and Sigilyph attacked at the same time from top to bottom. A wae of heat along with a pulse of darkness had been sent towards Metagross once its attack had missed.
"M-Meta!" A double super-effective hit from both sides. That stung Metagross badly, resulting in the hardest hit in this entire battle so far. The Dazzlings gasped at this amazing pincer attack, knowing that would spell bad news for Metagross. And it did. Metagross dropped from that devastating combo attack. Meowstic landed back on Sigilyph, containing to use this tactic. "M-Metagross..."
As for Metagross, it had fainted. That double attack was devastatingly strong. Even after limiting Olympia's synergy with both her Meowstics, she found a way to work around it and claim victory.
"Metagross is unable to battle! Meowstic and Sigilyph win!"
"Hmph. You did well, Metagross. Get some rest." Paul called back Metagross as now he was down to just three Pokemon, making it even for both sides. "So much for screwing up your Meowstic plan. You worked around that fast...just what I was expecting from a Gym Leader."
"Thank you." Olympia bowed her head. "Though, I'll admit I was feeling stuck on what I would do next. However, as a Pokemon Trainer, you must always find an alternative."
"Same advice I gave to that filly." Paul smiled. "Finding an alterative's always the way to fight back in a fierce battle. Glad we agree on that. But...I don't need to think of an alternative to know what's coming next. Go! Garchomp!" Paul sent out his next Pokemon. His Garchomp.
"Garchomp!"
"Let's get physical! Night Slash and Dragon Claw!"
"Gar!" Garchomp went ahead first with Drapion following right afterwards. Paul wanted to get rid of the even numbers as soon as possible. This time, it would be brute force as the next approach.
"I think not! Dark Pulse! Power Gem!"
"Sigil!" The same attack combination would be unleashed on the two beastly Pokemon. Garchomp tore through the gems while Drapion clashed with Dark Pulse, already occupied with it. Garchomp ascended, taking to the skies whilst clawing away at the gems.
"Quick! Evade, then use Tailwind and Future Sight!" Olympia saw that she needed to change up the winds themselves, just to deal with Garchomp's speed. Meowstic already started by warping space itself, sending five orbs into the air before they then vanished.
"Pin Missle! Stone Edge!"
"Drapion!" Drapion had finally finished dealing with Dark Pulse before shooting light arrows.
"Gar!" Garchomp ceased Dragon Claw, quickly switching into Stone Edge. Large rocks were summoned around it as the Mach Pokemon would approach them at the same time. The pins and the arrows followed Sigilyph and Meowstic with Meowstic jumping to evade some of the pins that came close. They flew across the entire area as it was a high speed pursuit.
"Descend!"
"Si!" Sigilyph then dove down, halting Tailwind and waiting for the right moment to use it as it was approaching Drapion. Drapion was ready to slash Sigilyph with Night Slash, only for Meowstic to intercept.
"Dark Pulse!"
"Meowstic!" Meowstic unleashed Dark Pulse before Drapion could use Night Slash. A blast of darkness crashed into Drapion as Sigilyph immediately flew back. Drapion itself was sent flying, but it wouldn't be the only Pokemon to be struck.
After evading most of them and getting some time to catch its breath, Sigilyph flapped its wings, ready to unleash Tailwind, only for Garchomp to unleash some extra stones.
The stones came flying in at rapid speeds, crashing into SIgiylph's wings and interrupting Tailwind. Sigilyph had not only had its wings been struck but super-effective damage had been dealt as well, causing it to lose its balance. Meowstic jumped off as the remainder of the stones crashed into Sigilyph, knocking it out of the sky. After battling for a while, Sigilyph finally gave out. Stone Edge did the trick.
"Sigilyph..." Sigilyph had fainted. But not just that, Drapion had fallen as well, thanks to Meowstic's Dark Pulse.
"Drapion..."
"Both Drapion and Sigilyph are unable to battle! Garchomp and Meowstic win!"
"And that just leaves one more..." Paul was ready for the Male Meowstic as the odds were stagnant due to this double knockout from both sides. This was a fearsome back and forth and the Dazzlings were loving every bit of it.
"This is too exciting..." Adagio commented. "These human battles are far beyond what we've seen in Equestria..."
"Come on..." Aria bit her thumb, praying for Paul's victory as he had two Pokemon left along with Olympia. But Olympia's perfect synergy team was about to be unleashed, making the odds fluctuate.
"Thank you for your amazing efforts, Sigilyph." Olympia returned Sigilyph. "Take a good long rest."
"Thanks for that, Drapion." Paul had also returned his Drapion.
"I'm somewhat terrified for the trainers that have to face you since you'll become a Gym Leader soon," Olympia commented before holding out the final Poke Ball. "But this has been a fun battle, either way. Thank you for this, Paul. However, it ends now, sadly."
"I agree..." Paul held out his final Poke Ball as well. "Electivire! Standby for Battle!"
"Go! Meowstic!"
"Electivire!"
"Meowstic!" Finally, the Male Meowstic emerged as Electivire returned to the battle. It would all come down to this. This fierce confrontation would reach its conclusion.
There was a moment of silence as the Dazzlings scrunched their faces. The next choice of moves would decide the victor of this battle. Paul closed his eyes for a moment, thinking deeply. Something propped up in his mind. As always, he had a plan and he was going to make sure it was executed.
"Let's go! Thunder Punch! Dragon Claw!"
"Elec!" ELectivire and Garchomp would go first. Olympia couldn't afford to waste time.
"Helping Hand and Psyshock!"
"Meow!" The Male Meowstic would assist the Female Meowstic, clapping his hands and granting her extra strength. And the Female Meowstic could feel this power increase. The Female crouched her body as three thick masses of light blue, dark blue, and purple energy formed around the front of her body. Meowstic then fired the masses at the opponents, one after the other.
"Gar!" Garchomp had been blocked by the first one, slashing its claw into it. "Gar...!"
"Elec!" Electivire was stopped by the second one, smashing his fist into the mass. And as for the third one, that was a wild card. Along with the second wild card. Future Sight.
It popped out of space itself, with all five orbs heading for Garchomp and Electivire.
"Gah! Future Sight!" Paul gasped as Future Sight came from the side, striking his Pokemon. Garchomp and Electivire received the damage, allowing for the third Psyshock to hit Garchomp.
"Thunder and Stone Edge!"
"Electivire!" Electivire and Garchomp recovered quickly, unleashing some ranged attacks. A giant blast of electricity along with large crystals were sent forward in retaliation.
"Dual Psyshock!"
"Meow!" Both Meowstics had used Psyshock in unison, unleashing six thick masses of Psychic energy. They had clashed with the crystals and the blast of thunder with superior numbers. Those numbers soon became one as the masses had merged into one bigger Psyshock beam. This large beam broke through the crystals and overpowered the electric blast.
"E-Electivire!" Electivire and Garchomp were both engulfed by the giant beam of Psyshock, being blown back. Aria gasped, standing up as this was getting serious. Paul's chances were slipping.
"Draco Meteor!"
"G-Gar!" Garchomp's eyes flashed as it had recovered in the air, Garchomp had then shot an orb into the air as it soon became multiple meteors of draconic energy that came raining down.
"Light Screen and Dark Pulse!"
"Meowstic!" The Male Meowstic would increase their defences against attacks such as Draco Meteor, coating themselves in a mystical aura. As for the Female, she would try and fight the meteors with Dark Pulse, shooting it out at a wide angle.
"Thunder Punch!"
"Vire!" Meanwhile, Electivire would advance, having Thunder Punch active. Dark Pulse managed to get rid of some of the meteors but a few had slipped y, hitting the floor near Meowstic, causing an explosion.
"M-Meow!" And thanks to the collision, a smokescreen had been formed, allowing Electivire to take advantage of this.
"Be aware, you two!" Olympia shouted out.
"Electivire!" Electivire appeared behind the Male Meowstic, socking him in the back with Thunder Punch. He was sent in the direction of his teammate, crashing into the Female Meowstic.
"M-Mewostic!"
"Good! Now Dragon Claw!"
"Gar!" The smoke cleared as Garchomp rushed in at Mach speeds, smashing both Meowstics at the same time once they crashed into each other thanks to Electivire. A heavy blow, but not enough to take them both out. The two Meowstics recovered before snarling at their opponents.
"Let's finish this!" Both Paul and Olympia shouted.
"Psyshock!"
"Thunder and Dragon Claw!"
"Garchomp!" Garchomp went ahead of its teammate while Electvire would stand back. Meanwhile, both Meowstics had combined their Psyshocks into that same massive Psyshock blast from before. The six masses merged to create this devastating beam. This looked like it would be the final attack as Sonata and Aria held onto each other.
"Now! Use it on Garchomp!"
"Elec!" But that's when Paul's secret plan had been revealed. Electivire's Thunder wasn't heading for the Psyshock. Instead, it was focused on Garchomp. Paul had used Garchomp's immunity to Electric attacks to his advantage.
Garchomp was covered in an electric aura that would act as a barrier. Electivire poured a lot of power into this attack, making the aura of electricity great as Olympia gasped, surprised by Paul's approach.
Thanks to this combination, Garchomp had powered through the Psyshock beam after smashing its head into it. Ith brute force and the aura of Thunder, Garchomp had not only flown through the beam, but it ended up slashing past both Meowstics in the blink of an eye.
Psyshock had dispersed, leaving behind some white sparkles as both Meowstics had dropped to the ground. There wasn't an explosion. They just simply dropped. Everything calmed down as the two Psychic-Types had fainted.
"Meowstic..."
"Both Meowstics are unable to battle! Electivire and Garchomp wins! Which means the winner of this battle is Paul!" The referee announced it as Paul seized victory.
"He did it! Yes!" Sonata and Aria jumped up as Adagio did a light clap, closing her eyes and acknowledging Paul. Aria quickly realized how energetic she was before using Sonata off her.
"And that's that Excellent work, you two." Paul said to them both, walking over.
"You were magnificent. Both of you." Olympia held up both her Meowstics. "We still have ways to go. The scope of the Pokemon World and the strength of every trainer that emerges is only increasing rapidly."
"Meow."
"Nice, Paul!" Sonata ran over, coming to a screeching halt. "That was the best battle we've seen so far!"
"Nice stuff." Aria nodded while walking over. "You had us nervous there for a bit."
"I banked it all on that final attack. I didn't want to reveal my strategy until the end. That way Olympia wouldn't think of a way to counter it."
"And you did an amazing job with that," Olympia replied. "You may be a Gym Leader in training, but you're already a mighty and capable Gym Leader in my eyes, Paul. What you've shown here has been stellar in every way. Thank you again, for giving me such an entertaining battle."
"Yeah. It's been an honour." Paul bowed his head.
"But with those skills...you could become an Elite 4 Member. Or even a contender at the Pokemon World C-"
"I'll stick to being a Gym Leader." He interrupted Olympia.
"Very well then. Now, I have a festival to continue, but I can expect great things from you when you finally get your Gym, young man."
"Where are you gonna go now, Paul?" Sonata asked. "You said you were gonna head here, right?"
"Wherever I can. This festival has many options with many things to do. I need to keep honing my skills as a Gym Leader. You all continue searching for your fellow sirens. I'm still doing my own thing."
"They're not here at Anistar City, so it's back on the road. But ya know...we could always give you a ride to wherever you wanna go. If you want." Aria turned away, crossing her arms.
"Sure. I'll take one." Surprisingly, Paul agreed this time, causing Aria's eyes to open. She was expecting him to reject and do things on his own.
"Awesome!" Sonata put her arms around both of their shoulders, pulling them in. "It's gonna be great talking to you along the road! I knew you'd come around eventually!"
"S-Sonata!" Aria growled, trying to break free.
"It's only for a bit." Paul sighed before putting on a smile. The old him would be annoyed by this. But this was the new Paul. Aloof and calm as ever but stronger than ever.
His road to becoming the newest Gym Leader would continue and Olympia would be looking forward to when that day comes. Right now, the Pokemon Festival was waiting for them for more to see and there were more Gym Leaders for Paul to take on as the journey continues.
Alola. Poni Island. Seafolk Village. The Pokemon Festival. Day.
Here at Seafolk Village, Princess Celestia had made an appearance. Appearing in her human form, which he had gotten accustomed to quickly, she gravitated towards this village and its small scale. She mainly gravitated to the entirety of Alola due to the Sun.
Being in Alola felt like being in a familiar place. It was like she never left Equestria. And in the body of a human, it led to her realising her hidden capabilities. For example, she came across one attraction that was a test of physical skill.
A High Striker game.
"Hm. I remember these..." Celestia stood upon the attraction. "A way to test one's strength. Back in Equestria, we usually use magic or our mouths...never our hands."
"Well, now's your chance. Go on. Smash away." The employee encouraged Celestia, aiming at the hammer. It was free for Celestia to try and see how much she could earn.
"Alright then." Celestia rubbed her hands together before raising them. She was going for a hard hit.
"Uh, you have to use the hammer miss-"
"Haha!" But Celestia was literal when she meant her hands. The moment she channelled her strength, her body radiated magic, causing her to smash into the machine. One strike and immediately her strength had broken the limitations of the High Strike game. The bell had shot up the machine, breaking through it and heading to the skies.
Everyone's jaw dropped as the bell kept flying, breaking through the clouds and even nearly hitting some Flying-Types along the way. Judging by that ludicrous distance, it wasn't coming back down for a while. It might as well have gone into orbit.
"Splendid! How did I do?" Celestia asked, putting her hands together as they were smoking. The hammer was unnecessary. Her bare hands were just enough.
"N-New high score...pick a prize, please." The employee stammered as many gathered around to admire Celestia's insane strength. The physical strength of an alicorn resided within her even in this human form. She didn't even need to be in the Human Word for Equestria Magic to go off. Equestrian Magic has been flowing in this world due to recent events after all.
Celestia was given a batch of prizes to choose from. But since she broke a second that was most likely not going to be beaten by a while unless a super strong Pokemon was involved, she could choose as many as she wanted.
Passion carried some of the prizes as she, Celestia and Arcanine continued exploring to see what else they could do. Passion found herself fond of a Teddiursa plush. A fairly large one to boot.
But while exploring Seafolk Village, something had caught her attention. It would've caught her attention at any time as it had also targeted her weak spot.
"Oh!" Celestia froze on the spot, spotting a stand that sold pastries, desserts and sweets. And where there were pastries, there was Cake. The Ruler of Equestria knew what she wanted as she rubbed her hands together, sliding over to the stand of pastries and sweets. They were already loaded out with ready-made selections.
But Celestia wasn't the only one heading for the stand, absolutely addicted to the sight of it. Someone else was just as excited as her, but they favoured the dessert part of the stand. That was the Champion of Sinnoh, Cynthia. Her eyes were fixated on the ice cream and the sweets. But mainly the ice cream.
"I can see the look in your eyes." The old lady wearing a large sunhat at the stand said as her Ralts nodded in agreement. "The sight of ice cream and cake entices you both. Plus sweets."
"Mhm." Cynthia and Celestia nodded in agreement as their eyes were sparkling.
"How about the best of both worlds then?" With lightning-fast hands, the old lady mad mashed together some ice cream with a large vanilla cake as Celestia and Cynthia's eyes followed her movements.
In a matter of seconds, an ice cream cake had been formed. The vanilla was the baseline while ice cream sprinkles were on top of it as well as ice cream frosting. The best of both worlds for them. Celestia loved all forms of cake and anything sweet was appealing to Cynthia's eyes.
"Here you both go. Sit and have a bite." She then stylishly sent the Ice Cream Cake towards the table. Both of them were satisfied, immediately sitting together at that table to share this grand combination f their favourite things. It took a while for them to realize they had met each other again.
"Oh. My mistake. I didn't greet you when I saw you, Cynthia." Celestia chuckled.
"I barely recognized that it was you with this human form." Cynthia laughed back. "Oh, but this already distracted us, didn't it?"
"Mhm. Ice Cream Cake...Never had it before. All we need to do is make some slices." Celestia used her magic once more. This time, she made her hands act like knives, rapidly moving them as she cut up slices in a matter of seconds, stunning Cynthia. And these pieces were perfectly aligned too. Cynthia applauded this skill of slicing along with Passion.
They both had their fill, along with Passion and Arcanine. This was a cake that satisfied them both to the core. Celestia could get her hands dirty with cake for the first time, licking them off. Such were the wonders of being a human. According to her.
"Do you like my jacket? I think it contrasts well with yours." Celestia asked.
"Black and White? It's a perfect match." Cynthia agreed before finding a sweet spot with the cake, holding it out to Celestia. "Try this."
"Hm?" Celestia was fed the sweet spot of the cake before nodding in approval of its quality. "Mmm. Then, how about this?" Celestia used her natural senses to find a sweet spot, holding it out to Cynthia. She was fed as always, approving of this equal quality."
"Mhm. We should hang out more often. When we're not busy in our respective roles." Cynthia replied.
"You're both a Champion, Principal and Archaeologist. You're very occupied, aren't you?"
"Same to you, being a massive ruler of an entire nation. Especially with your lifespan. You've been ruling for how many years?"
"Millenniums upon millenniums and centuries upon centuries. I have my experiences and I've adjusted myself perfectly to become Equestria's ruler. Safe to say I don't plan on quitting anytime soon. Or ever. I will admit, it has brought some limitations to me for a long time."
"But not anymore, right?"
"Not at all. Pokemon was the best thing to happen to me. I've been able to get out more and experience what this brand-new world has to offer. I already have two amazing new friends of mine that are always by my side.
"Gardevoir."
"Arcanine!"
"Though...wish I had more Pokemon. Everyone nowadays are going past just two Pokemon. Full teams of 6 are common and sometimes entire gardens or places full of Pokemon. Ah, there's so many to choose from..." Celestia pondered, thinking of which Pokemon she would want next.
"Oh, but now you have the time to choose. Or is that challenging since there are so many?"
"Probably." Celestia sighed. "Ah, but I'll think of one eventually."
"If you're looking for a Pokemon, how about I recommend one that is fit for a ruler?" The old lady at the stand had something to say, hearing their conversation. "There's a Totem Pokemon nearby."
"A Totem Pokemon...? Oh like what Chrysalis has." Celestia replied. "Larger and stronger than their natural species. Almost sounds like an Alpha Pokemon now that I think about it."
"Ah, I know what she's referring to. It was the same place I caught my Kommo-o. At least, it was at Heahea Beach. There exists another Kommo-o over at Vast Poni Canyon. It's been the Totem Pokemon of that place for years, always moving about. I once tried catching it, but received one from Heahea Beach instead."
"Then...That's the one for me!" Celestia stood up.
"Oh. I didn't say there was only one." The old lady commented before putting on a smile. Celestia and Cynthia collectively gasped before facing the old lady.
Just then, they now noticed that this lady had a second Pokemon on her shoulder, contrasting her Ralts. It was a Deino as the lady then raised her hat, revealing crimson eyes and green hair. The same appearance as that mysterious witch.
In fact, this was her.
"Sometimes, multipe Totem Pokemon come around and make rare appearances. Salazzle, Lurantis, Ribombee and so much more. Granted, they rarely come around there, but they can appear. Feeling lucky?"
"I am now!" Celestia exclaimed. "Even if I can't get Kommo-o, I'll have other Totem Pokemon to choose from.
"You'll have to be quick and careful about it then. Totem Pokemon will disappear and head back to their usual locations. See if you can reach that Kommo-o first."
"I'll help you there. Vast Poni Canyon is a difficult place to traverse, so they say." Cynthia offered her suggestion. So, let's make it a team effort, okay?" She then held her hand out.
"Sure. Let's make it happen." Celestia then held her hand with both of them and Cynthia soon did the same. It would be a team effort from these two to traverse Vast Poni Canyon and find Totem Kommo-o, the strongest of the Totem Pokemon.
Vast Poni Canyon.
Vast Poni Canyon.
The most challenging path on Poni Island. The ups and downs of this canyon are beyond any other as it connects to the Ancient Poni Path, filled with rare Pokemon.
Celestia and Cynthia already scaled parts of this canyon, feeling a great sense of height. They look at the nearby sea, witnessing rare Pokemon such as Dratini and Dragonair swimming about. The Dratini and Dragonair quickly waved at them with their tails, prompting Celestia and Cynthia to wave back.
When entering the caves, they spotted not just Carbink flying around but also Machokes. These Machokes were all training with a group of Mienfoo while the Carbink watched. Celestia stopped by to watch them before having one of the Mienfoo climb on her back. She laughed as the Mienfoo could smell delicious cake on her, wanting to know where it could find some. But Celestia had devoured it all before coming here.
Dugtrio, Alolan variants, popped out of the ground just to show Cynthia and Celestia their fabulous hair. Celestia used her magic to create an energy-based 10/10 for their hair, making the Dugtrio satisfied. Of course, the rarity of Pokemon increased, revealing Lycanroc. Both forms.
They saw a Midday and Midnight form dashing by like the wind. And that was all they would see of them as a Rockruff was running behind, trying to catch up with them.
"No sign of Kommo-o yet, but I'm loving this sight," Celestia commented. "After this, I'll head back and try another one of that Ice Cream Cake."
"I'll have seconds," Cynthia replied. But just then, they both came to a screeching halt. As if they had the same senses, they sensed someone nearby, stopping in place. "All it took was the sound of footsteps that sounded familiar to them for them to stop.
There were actually two or possibly three footsteps, coming from different sides of the caves and they were closing in. Arcanine would use his nose to sniff out the area, searching for these scents. And the moment he did, he recognized two of them.
"Arcanine!"
"Arcanine?" Poking out of one of the cave entrances was none other than Spike. Alongside his Equestrian Axew.
"Ah, Spike. It's you." Celestia commented, but there was a third footstep, coming from the other cave entrance that forced the others to turn around.
"Did someone mention Spike?" That voice belonged to Ember, who had also shown up. There were indeed other trainers here and seeing that they were both dragons, gave Cynthia a pretty good idea of why they would be here. "Spike?"
"Hm? Aren't you that Celestia from the Human World?!" Spike gasped.
"No, no. I'm your Celestia, just taking on this form. Ta-dah~"
"Oooh. Nice jacket." Spike nodded in approval of her jacket.
"Thank you. It is a nice jacket, isn't it?" Celestia was proud of this white jacket, spinning around and making it flap too.
"I didn't expect to see you here." Ember walked out of the cave. "Did you get the same idea as me?"
"Uhh...what idea would that be?" Spike asked before already catching on. Seeing as they were both Dragon Trainers, the answer is clear. "Oooh...right, right."
"This is a nice surprise." Celestia put her hands together. "So, you must all be here to catch some Pokemon too. Mainly a Totem Pokemon, right?"
"We are. I already knew I wanted to come here after hearing about a Totem Kommo-o that's around here." Spike gave his reason for being here.
"Kommo-o's the same reason I'm here," Ember added.
"Then we all share the same reason. Totem Kommo-o is who we all want to meet. But...there's just one problem with that." Celestia raised her finger, wagging it. She found it addicting, wagging her finger as it was another thing that humans could do. She couldn't stop staring at her finger, almost being hypnotized by it until Cynthia snapped her out of it.
"You all are shooting for Kommo-o," Cynthia spoke. "But, there's only one Kommo-o isn't there? Especially a Totem one in this canyon. Surely, you can't all catch it at the same time."
"She's right. I wasn't expecting anyone else to come here..." Ember replied. "Plus, there won't be another Totem Pokemon here will there? This is an exclusive spot for Totem Kommo-o."
"Well, I kinda wanna catch it because it'll remind me of Avaun. You know." Spike replied. "So..."
"A shame. Because I've already decided that I shall be the one to catch Kommo-o. Sorry." Celestia pointed at herself. "Maybe next time."
"That is...if one of you could reach Kommo-o first." Cynthia smiled, issuing a challenge for them. It would only matter if one of them reaches Kommo-o first before anything.
Celestia, Spike and Ember looked each other in the eyes with Celestia having to look at both sides. There was a moment of silence between them both. They all knew what needed to be done.
"Sorry, but I need that third Pokemon!" Celestia went ahead, immediately running to get a head start. Passion and Arcanine soon followed.
"Oh! No way!" Spike quickly dug into his bag, holding out one of his Poke Balls. He then threw it into the air, summoning his Druddigon.
"Druddigon!" Druddigon emerged as Spike quickly hopped onto his back. However, Ember didn't need to summon a Dragon-Type to fly. She could already fly whilst Spike couldn't as Ember flew past him.
"Drudd!" Druddigon was off. He was an expert when it came to caves, so choosing Druddigon for this exploration was a smart move on Spike's part. Cynthia would just watch it play out. She already had her own Kommo-o after all.
It was now a race for Totem Kommo-o.
Such a rare Pokemon would only be at the pinnacle of this canyon. Practically the very end. That's where they would all head, taking different routes and pathways to reach the end.
But, they would be met with some obstacles along the way. Not every Pokemon here was friendly. Some were hostile immediately after seeing the trainers. Skarmory was one of them. A flock had spotted Celestia taking this pathway, targeting her without a second thought.
"Skarmory!" They cried out, alerting Celestia to look up. The Skarmory had their talons out, going in for a Swords Dance. "Oh! Passion! Arcanine! Mystical Fire and Flamethrower!"
"Garde...Voir!" But she had her Pokemon here to protect her. Passion put her arms together, forming an enigmatic flame that was then unleashed in the form of a spiral whilst Arcanine simply breathed out a stream of fire. The flames shot down the Skarmory, dealing super-effective damage and knocking them out of the sky.
After dealing with the Skarmory with ease, Celestia and her Pokemon continued, going through the pathway that they were currently on. Spike would across some obstacles too.
Golbat. Usually, this species of Pokemon, alongside their pre-evolution Zubat were the scourge of many caves. Naturally, they would attack immediately, going for Poison Fang and Wing Attack.
"Druddigon! Metal Claw! Axew, Dragon Claw!"
"Druddigon!" Druddigon hardened his claws before being swarmed by the various Golbats. A large group had covered Druddigon's body, making it seem like there was just a Druddigon-shaped army of Golbats. However, they all then blown back by not only Druddigon's roar but also a hard swipe from his claws.
"Axew!" Axew joined in, swiping his claws with draconic energy. The two Dragons worked in perfect unison, slashing and swiping away at the Golbats, forcing them away from Spike, granting him his safety. Once the Golbat were all scared away and some had fallen, defeated, Spike and his Pokemon were free to go.
And of course, the same went for Ember. Her enemy came in the form of the few Midnight Lycanrocs that were roaming about. Celestia had already spotted one of them and now another had appeared before Ember, blocking her way with a mischievous grin.
"I'd rather not deal with you right now. I need to save up my strength for Kommo-o...but!" Ember then threw a Poke Ball, forward, revealing one of her Pokemon. It was her first ever Pokemon, but now, he had evolved. Once a Gible and now a Gabite.
"Gabite!"
"Lycanroc!" Midnight Lycanroc would go first, using Crush Claw as it bared its fangs against Gabite.
"Gabite! Dragon Claw!"
"Gabite!" Gabite would retaliate with his own claws. By summoning green draconic energy around it, Gabite moved in, engaging in a closer quarters encounter with Midnight Lycanroc. It was a Claw Clash with sparks flying around. The encounter was fierce with both Pokemon going head to head. "Ga!"
Gabite managed to block two incoming Crush Claws, gaining the upper hand. Or in this case, the upper claw. After blocking two Crush Claws with one claw, he then performed a Dragon Claw uppercut, hitting Lycanroc's chin and sending the Midnight variant into the air. "L-Lycan!"
"Finish it with Fire Blast!"
"Ga...!" By holding his breath, Gabite gathered massive amounts of energy, before then releasing a 大-shaped blast of yellow-orange fire from its mouth at the opponent. Lycanroc was hit in the air by this powerful attack, even if it wasn't very effective. An explosion occurred in the air as Lycanroc dropped from the smoke, fainting.
That was another Pokemon out of the way. Ember would keep Gabite around since he was experienced with caves as well. She and Gabite flew over the fainted Lycanroc, continuing on their quest to find Totem Kommo-o.
No one was going to get in their way of reaching Kommo-o. Any Pokemon that comes across them would have to feel their wrath. And since they were all experienced, having three years or in Ember's case, two years to hone their skills, they were capable of taking on many Pokemon.
However, the race for Kommo-o would only lead to one of them catching the Dragon-Fighting-Type. Not all of them could catch it. Thus, the second one of them ran into each other, they would have to do one thing.
Spike and Ember had ended up at the same pathway, running into each other once. This time, they stood on different sides of the same pathway, which had another one that was smack-dab in the middle. By spotting each other, they paused and filled the atmosphere with silence.
"Spike...You can let me have this one. I've only got three Pokemon while you've got six now." Ember commented, trying to convince Spike to back out.
"Sorry. But I already set my sights on Totem Kommo-o, Ember. Even if you're my friend, I won't let you beat me there." Spike was adamant in his choice. So was Ember. There was no point in trying to convince each other. They both wanted Kommo-o and that much was clear.
"Then...I can't let you go any further, Spike. I won't let anyone get ahead of me. Not when I'm shooting to become a great Dragon Master."
"Gabite."
"Same here, Ember. And being a Dragon Master means taking on other Dragon Trainers to hone your skills. So you already know what that means."
They were both in full agreement on another thing. Neither of them would let the other go through the middle upper pathway. But, there was only one way to prevent that. A Pokemon Battle.
Such was the tradition in the Pokemon World. If there's an obstacle, there are two ways to deal with it. Work together with friends and family or battle through it. Of course, the second option was the one that made the most sense here.
Spike and Ember would face off against each other in a Pokemon Battle for the right to reach Kommo-o. Whoever would win would have that chance. It was a battle between friends that would be of draconic proportions as the journey continues.
During the goal to catch the Totem Kommo-o that resides in Poni Canyon, Celestia, Spike and Ember were in a race to see who would reach the Scaly Pokemon first. They took different pathways, but two of them had run into each other. Spike and Ember.
Celestia was on her own, currently heading on the upper path to try and find Kommo-o while Spike and Ember would engage in a Pokemon Battle to see who would go ahead. While running up the pathway, she could hear some rumbling from below. It echoed throughout the cave as it sounded like a Pokemon Battle was going on.
"Must be more obstacles for those two...or they're fighting for the chance to reach Kommo-o. A shame I'll be the one to get there first~" She whistled with a proud look on her face. "After I'm done here, I have to bring Luna along and hold her in this form. Or maybe make her appear as a human too. Oh, this is all too much fun~!"
Speaking of Spike and Ember, moments before the rumbling, they were still staring each other down, knowing what had to be done. It would be fitting as they were both Pokemon Trainers and dragons. Competitive conflict was bound eventually.
"So, sorry, Ember. But I really wanna get that Kommo-o. So...Go for it Druddigon!" Spike hopped off Druddigon, letting him go first in this battle.
"Druddigon."
"Same here. I don't mean beating my friends. Get in there, Gabite."
"Gabite!" Gabite stepped forward as he and Druddigon started roaring at each other to assert dominance. This would be a battle against two Cave Pokemon. They were battling in a familiar area so neither one of them would have an advantage over the other.
"Carbink?" Immediately, the Carbink that live in this cave poked their heads to the side, spotting and sensing an incoming Pokemon Battle. And this battle would result in the noises that Celestia had heard recently.
"Let's go, Druddigon! Metal Claw!"
"Druddi!" Druddigon went first, covering his claws in a metallic aura as he left dents of his footprints on the ground.
"Go, Gabite! Use Dragon Claw!"
"Ga!" Gabite went ahead, responding with his own claws. It would be a claw-to-claw confrontation that would start things off. Not too uncommon for Dragon Pokemon. That's how they usually start their battles. They smashed their claws together before initiating a fierce clash.
"Druddigon!" Druddigon went for a swift hit, only for Gabite to block it right afterwards with the side of his claws. Druddigon went in for another hit as Gabite blocked it again with his second claw. Gabite struck back once he blocked the double Metal Claws, slashing Druddigon's face and forcing him back. "Dru!"
"Gabite!" After forcing Druddigon back, staggering him for a bit, Gabite figured now was a good time to advance, going for a vertical slash to his fellow Cave Pokemon's face.
"Don't let him get the better of you, Druddigon!"
"Druddigon!" Druddigon wouldn't let that happen. His eyes flashed red as he quickly reacted to the incoming slash, using the strength of Metal Claw to grab Gabite's claws. "Gon!"
"Ga?!" Gabite gasped as one of his claws had been restrained. Before Gabite could use the other claw, Druddigon used his brute strength to then shoulder throw Gabite while he had him in one place. "Gabite!" Gabite was then thrown over and slammed down to the ground, causing some rocks to fly up.
The Carbink all cried out, stunned and mesmerized by this battle. Which meant that they couldn't look away. This battle had interested them to the point where they could ignore it. Taking a peek at this battle were the other Pokemon. Mainly Mienfoo and Machoke who crept up and took a peek. Something like this was too good to ignore since they were Fighting-Types. Rocks from above this part of the cave dropped from Gabite's impact.
"Now, Gunk Shot Let's go!" Spike roared.
"Druddigon!" Druddigon would follow up by gathering poison in his mouth, transforming it into energy. Out of the Cave Pokemon's mouth, a ball of purple energy had been shot out with poison leaking out of it.
"Quick, Gabite! Dig!"
"Ga!" But while he was on the ground, he used it to his advantage. Gabite used his expert digging skills, quickly burrowing underground. He quickly evaded Gunk Shot as the poison had splashed into the ground. Plus, this allowed Gabite to make a counterattack. "Gabite!" He swiftly emerged out of the ground as quickly as he entered it, moving at a short range and giving Druddigon a powerful attack from underneath.
"Druddigon!" Druddigon had received an uppercut to the chin by Gabite's resurgence to the surface.
"Sweep him with Dragon Tail!"
"Dru...Druddigon!" But Druddigon could recover fast for a Pokemon of his size as always. The moment he received that heavy upwards attack from Gabite's Dig, he retaliated by using his tail, coating it in draconic energy and then swinging it.
"G-Ga!?" Gabite had been swept the second his feet touched the ground, causing him to leave the ground momentarily.
"Smash with Power-up Punch!"
"Dru...!" Druddigon would strike while Gabite was in the air after the sweep, frozen there as his eyes witnessed Druddigon bringing down an energy punch. It was sent right onto Gabite's stomach, causing him to not only hit the ground hard but also make a hole that Gabite had fallen in. The impact was that strong as Gabite's stomach ruptured a bit.
"Ah! Gabite!" Ember gasped as the impact on the ground was so strong that cracks were beginning to form. And those cracks ended up breaking this part of the cave. Right below Spike, the ground had opened up, causing him to immediately fall.
"Uh oh." Spike noticed that Druddigon may have hit Gabite too hard there. Soon, he fell with Druddigon receiving the same experience along with Axew and Ember. However, they all had one benefit that Spike didn't have. At least not yet. Flight. Druddigon recovered by flapping his wings while Ember did the same.
Gabite could do the same but he was too busy holding his head and stomach after that hard impact. Axew couldn't fly, even if he did have his ability to evolve and de-evolve at will. Plus, the ground below wasn't too deep, so the fall was short-lived. Axew couldn't fly, even if he did have his ability to evolve and de-evolve. That didn't stop Spike and Axew from hitting the ground and having a few rocks hit their heads as well.
"Ow!" Spike groaned as there were large rocks that had blocked off Spike, Druddigon, Gabite and Ember. Spike and Druddigon received a blockade that was preventing them from seeing Gabite and Ember. Spike, who was still holding his head, saw this as a chance. If anything, this destruction from Druddigon's Power-up Punch was a blessing.
"Ooh! Lucky chance! We can head to Kommo-o with all of these rocks dropping!" Spike and Axew hopped onto Druddigons' back as Ember had enough time to see what they were doing.
"Hey! Spike!" Ember roared. "We're in the middle of a battle here! Where are you going?!"
"I know! But I bet you can't catch up with us before we reach Kommo-o! Let's make it a fast one and battle along the way! If you can catch us!" He chuckled.
"Grr...Fine then. Gabite." Ember would get on Gabite's back for this one. "Dig."
"Gabite!" Gabite bellowed before then burrowing through the ground once more. They all had the same pathway in mind. The upper pathway. Druddigon had flown back to the upper part of the cave even after it crumbled, heading straight to the upper pathway.
Meanwhile, Gabite would still end up on that upper pathway despite burrowing underground. Being that he was adept with caves, this would be simple for him. But then again, the same can be said for Druddigon as they were both known as the Cave Pokemon.
"Just you wait, Kommo-o." Spike giggled, excited to reach the Scaly Pokemon when he does. If he does. "I'll have seven Dragon-Types after this and maybe I'll be able to take on Avaun when he sees how far I've come. It's gonna be great."
"Spike!" Just then, interrupting Spike's happy moment was none other than Ember. Her voice thundered out, prompting Spike to turn his head.
He noticed that there were mounds forming in the ground, rapidly keeping up with Druddigon's flight. This was done by Gabite as his head and Ember's head were poking out of the ground, along with Gabite's fin. The intimidating face of Ember had appeared, staring Spike dead in the eye, making him gulp.
"Gabite, Dragon Claw!"
"Ga!" Gabite then jumped out of the ground, diving like a fish with his claws out. Druddigon reacted to this flying upwards as he narrowly evaded Gabite. Gabite had then dove back into the ground, making a new hole as he continued his pursuit of Druddigon.
"Dragon Tail, quick!" They would both race and battle along the way with Gabite jumping out of the ground once again. This time, Druddigon would respond by using Dragon Tail and the second that Gabite jumped out for another Dragon Claw, Druddigon quickly swung his tail, clashing with Gabite's claw.
But much like how Druddigon grabbed Gabite, Gabite would do the same to his fellow Cave Pokemon by using Dragon Claw to hold Druddigon's tail. Druddigon's eyes widened while Ember put on a devious smile. Suddenly, Gabite had then thrown Druddigon along with Spike and Axew, hurling them through the air.
Gabite would soon dive back into the ground, pursuing them as this battle to reach Kommo-o was only intensifying.
"I should near the top by now." Celestia was still moving through the cave, going through an array of upper pathways. She only focused on the p and nothing more while Spike and Ember were too busy battling each other. This gave Celestia a massive opportunity as she wasn't distracted by anything.
"Celestia! There you are!" Cynthia finally caught up to Celestia.
"Cynthia!"
"You should be close to the passageway that connects to the Altar of the Sunne."
"Altar of the Sunne?" Celestia repeated as this was new information to her.
"Totem Kommo-o is the final roadblock before someone can reach the altars. If you can get near those altars, no doubt, you'll find Kommo-o, waiting there for you."
"Haka!" But someone was already there to see Celestia. Aside from Kommo-o, Hakamo-o were also present. Bursting out of the walls, the mid-evolution of the Kommo-o evolution line had appeared. Three of them. Celestia came to a halt with Passion, Arcanine and Cynthia doing the same.
"Of course...there are the Hakamo-o that can be found here too," Cynthia added. "Think of them as final roadblocks to Kommo-o."
"I've already had roadblocks through this cave. This won't be anything new and different." Celestia shrugged.
"You know...you could always just catch Hakamo-o and evolve it into Kommo-o." Cynthia nudged Celestia, giving her an alternative. "But, that way isn't what you're shooting for, right? You've already made up your mind."
"Correct," Celestia smirked. "We take the fun option back at Equestria. I know I already want to see Kommo-o and that's final. I won't let Hakamo-o get in my way either."
"Haka!" The three Hakamo-o lunged at Celestia, each of them using Dual Chop.
"Passion!" The moment the Hakamo-o got close to her, Passion had appeared via teleportation standing in front of Princess Celestia. The Embrace Pokemon stood firmly, allowing Dual Chop to hit her. She was immune to it either way as the Kommo-o ended up chopping their hands onto Gardevoir, being blocked from reaching Celestia.
"Ha?!"
"Dazzling Gleam!" Celestia exclaimed as she spread her arms out to replicate the movement of when Passion used Gardeoir, being in perfect sync with her Pokemon as this was her battling style. Replicating movements.
"Garde...!" Now was a bad time to be in front of Passion. The Psychic-Fairy-Type immediately exuded a pink aura before then expanding into a shield. "Voir!" The shield had engulfed the Hakamo-o, making them see nothing but a blinding light as the shield expanded, combusting and dispersing right afterwards.
The Hakamo-o dropped after the power of Dazzling Gleam had encompassed them, sending beautiful sparkles across the entire cave. Cynthia nodded in approval while also sensing a great wealth of skill from Celestia and Passion.
The Hakamo-o were out of the way for now as Celestia would continue towards the upper path, not slowing down for a moment.
Path before the Altar of the Sunne.
She had arrived. The final pathway. Located at the very top, there was a bright light that shined through the entranceway. That was the light of the Sun, confirming that Celestia had indeed reached the top. And standing there at the very end seemed to be more Hakamo-o. This time, they were joined by Jangmo-o too.
Celestia stopped before the evolution line, but there was one more missing. She stood there, filling the atmosphere with silence, waiting for the Scaly Pokemon to show itself.
And as to be expected, Kommo-o would appear. But it would be from above instead of the cave. Celestia sensed someone coming from above as there was a sparkle in the azure skies. That sparkle then revealed itself to be a figure that was descending rapidly.
Crashing down at high speeds, shaking the ground and causing some wind to blow the dust was none other than the Pokemon of the Hour. The reason why they were all here.
Totem Kommo-o.
"Kommo-o!"
"There you are," Celestia said upon witnessing the Scaly Pokemon. "Honestly...thought you'd be bigger. But you just look like an average-sized Kommo-o."
"Ko!" Immediately, Kommo-o was taken aback by Celestia's words, along with its pre-evolutions. Never before had anyone said this about Kommo-o, especially with its totem appearance.
"Oh, well. Listen up!" Celestia vigorously pointed at Kommo-o. "Kommo-o. I'm here to add you to my team! As the Princess of the Sun and Ruler of Equestria, I shall bring you along! But of course, that's not possible without a challenge being issued. Correct?"
"Kommo-o!" Kommo-o roared as the pre-evolutions stood in front of it, wanting to involve themselves in this battle. It wasn't uncommon for other Pokemon to join a Totem Pokemon. Immediately after accepting Celestia's challenge, Kommo-o was overflowing with aura, pumping itself up.
"You'll have to get past all of them as well. They won't let you defeat Kommo-o so easily," Cynthia said to Celestia as she was about to battle multiple Pokemon along with a powerful Totem Pokemon.
"I know. Passion and I are ready for this. And there's always Arcanine who can chime in if it gets too out of control. Are you ready, Passion?"
"Gardevoir!"
"Then, let's begin, shall we? Clear away the Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o first with Psychic!" Celestia put her hands out while also moving them in a sweeping motion.
"Voir!" Passion went first. The pre-evolutions would have to be separated if she wanted to reach Kommo-o. She put her hands out, mimicking Celestia's motions while telekinetically grabbing Hakamo-o and Jangmo-o. She then sent them flying in separate directions, dealing super-effective damage in the process.
"Jang!"
"Haka!"
"Kommo-o!" Kommo-o would move in once the others had been separated from it, going for Poison Jab as its claws were laced in poison.
"Here it comes, Passion! Dazzling Gleam!" Celestia pulled her hand back before then creating a magical orb and throwing it to the ground. That gave Passion a good idea of what she should do.
"Garde!" The moment Kommo-o swung his claws, Passion had elegantly flown past Kommo-o, evading Poison Jab. Right afterwards, she summoned a sphere of magic in her hand, getting ready to throw it at the Scaly Pokemon's back.
"Ko!" Only for Kommo-o to suddenly zoom out of the way. Passion was surprised by how swift it moved as the second Dazzling Gleam was thrown, it hit the ground instead of Kommo-o, failing. "Kommo-o!" Afterwards, Kommo-o went for Close Combat once it had evaded Passion's Dazzling Gleam.
It lunged in, going for a devastating kick with an orange trail of energy behind it. Passion had been smacked in the face by Kommo-o's face, receiving minimal damage but damage nonetheless as she slid back. Kommo-o would go for another hit after striking Passion, this time a blow to the face.
"Block it!" Celestia put her arms together in an X-Shape, prompting Passion to act fast.
"Garde!" Gardevoir also put her arms together, blocking Kommo-o's second hit as the impact had formed a crater below them.
"Now's our chance! Grab Kommo-o and send it flying with Psychic!" Celestia clasped her hands together while spinning around in a throwing motion.
"Voir!" Passion's hands were a bit tied at the moment. But she could still use Psychic and mimic what Celestia had ordered. By having her eyes glow, she managed to grab ahold of Kommo-o, spinning the Scaly Pokemon.
"K-Kommo-?!" Kommo-o gasped as its body was being hurled by a Psychic control. The super-effective blow hadn't happened yet until Passion released it, dealing invisible damage to the Dragon-Fighting-Type and sending it flying. "Ko!"
"Excellent! Let's keep it up with Dazzling Gleam!"
"Gardevoir!" Passion would follow up by using Dazzling Gleam, using the sphere of magic to shoot out multi-coloured rainbows at high speeds.
"Ko!" Kommo-o, who was highly durable thanks to being a Totem Pokemon, had recovered immediately. The moment it saw the rays, Kommo-o would retaliate by using Clanging Scales. Kommo-o folded its arms then unfolded them as it lets out a big roar, sending blue shockwaves toward the rays.
The shockwaves managed to intercept the rays as they cancelled each other out. After attacks cancelled out, Kommo-o rushed back in with Poison Jab.
"Meet it with Psychic!" Celestia's eyes flashed as she aimed her hand at Kommo-o's poison-laced claws.
"Gardevoir!" Passion focused on Kommo-o's claws, aiming to control it via the poison. However, Kommo-o had used its speed to its advantage once again, swiftly moving to the side and becoming a blur before Passion could see it. "Garde?!"
"Beside you, Passion!"
"Voir?!" Passion gasped as Kommo-o slugged her in the face with Poison Jab, receiving super-effective damage in return. The Embrace Pokemon suffered a heavy hit from that before tumbling and crashing through some rocks.
"Mo-o!" Kommo-o wouldn't stop there. It immediately went for Flash Cannon, putting its arms out and unleashing a beam of devastating light energy.
"Quick! Mystical Fire!" Celestia cupped her hands together before thrusting them out and opening her hands.
"V-Voir!" Passion stopped before she could hit another rock, levitating to recover herself. Once the beam of light energy came racing in, she retaliated by unleashing a spiral of mystical flames. The stream of magical flames and the beam of light energy had clashed, resulting in an immediate struggle.
The impact was strong as the Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o had no choice but to stay back from this immense pressure. There was a hot wind blowing now as it made Cynthia and Celestia's jackets flow from the pressure.
"Combine it with Thunderbolt, now! Plasma Bolt!" Celestia exclaimed as she was going for the usual Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt combination. AKA, Passion's own signature move, Plasma Bolt.
"G-Gardevoir!" Gardevoir managed to transfer a high surge of 100,000 volts into the magical flames, merging them to form plasma. A burst of plasma had occurred, destroying nearby rubble as the beam had transformed, expanding in size. It was immediately powerful enough to push back Kommo-o's beam.
"K-Ko?!"
"Gardevoir!" A crater formed from this struggle as Plasma Bolt started tearing through Flash Cannon. This forced Kommo-o to give it its all, or else defeat was imminent and guaranteed. But, Flash Cannon couldn't beat out Plasma Bolt, resulting in Passion winning the struggle. The impact on Kommo-o was strong, but not very effective. It was still a Dragon-Type after all.
"Mo!"
"Now, Dazzling Gleam!" Celestia then started thrusting her hands back and forth repeatedly. And Passion would do the same.
"Voir-Voir!" But with Dazzling Gleam. She then sent multiple rainbow rays by moving her hands back and forth, bombarding Kommo-o. Kommo-o gasped as the rays crashed into it at full force, forcing the Scaly Pokemon to go on the defensive.
"She's amazing..." Cynthia couldn't help but wonder at Celestia's skills. "She's improved this much in just 3 years? Many trainers can barely reach this level so quickly...It makes sense now. Celestia is a natural-born prodigy. Not just in her world, but for Pokemon as well."
"K-Kommo-o..." After being bombarded by so many Dazzling Gleams, Kommo-o felt dizzy, holding its head. Now was a good time for Celestia to unleash a Poke Ball.
"Celestia! You don't want to gain it do you?! Now's your chance!"
"Oh, right!" Celestia gasped as she was getting too into the battle to remember why she came here. Quickly, she used her magic to take out a Poke Ball from her pockets. This time it was an Ultra Ball, just for safe measure. "Go! Ultra Ball!" She then launched it with her full magical might.
"Ko?" Kommo-o looked up before being bonked in the head by the ball. It immediately shrunk the Scaly Pokemon with a red light, sending it before dropping to the ground. Now came the moment of truth. Celestia would potentially get a third Pokemon at last.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Kommo-o was caught.
A success. A successful battle with great back and forths and a great way to hone her skills. Topped off with a successful catch. Kommo-o was now Celestia's third Pokemon.
"I did it...I did it! Cynthia, I did it!" Overjoyed that she caught her third Pokemon by battling, Celestia found a great sense of excitement. This was far different to when she first caught Gardevoir and Arcanine. She was so excited that she ended up hugging Cynthia with amazing strength.
"Ough! Y-You certainly did!" Cynthia hugged her back. "I can tell this is your first time catching a Pokemon this way. The excitement is something else, isn't it?"
"Gardevoir!" Passion flew over, joining in and hugging both Celestia and Cynthia with her greater arm reach. "Garde!"
"I know, Passion! Look at us now!"
"Arcanine!" Arcanine wanted in as well as he lunged up, getting on Celestia's back.
"Okay, Arcanine! That smarts!" Celestia chuckled as it was a great feeling for everyone right now. Of course, she had to retrieve the Ultra Ball too. With a flick of her finger, she used her magic to bring it over.
They all broke up the group hug as Celestia looked at the ball for a moment. RIght afterwards, she had sent ou Kommo-o out. It was still dazed after the battle, shaking its head before realizing it had been caught.
"Kommo-o. Thank you for the fun battle." Celestia walked up to the Scaly Pokemon, holding her hand out. "Apologies if I went overboard. Battles excite me."
"Ko...Kommo-o." Kommo-o harboured no ill feelings towards Celestia. It was a Fighting-Type and it enjoyed battling strong opponents. Celestia was not only a powerful opponent but a trainer who was worthy of catching Kommo-o. The Totem Pokemon held its claw out, shaking with Celestia. Granted, it would need some healing after the battle.
"J-Jangmo-o!" Naturally, Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o were saddened that their role model would be leaving now that it had a trainer. Tears burst out of them, dropping everywhere.
"Ko." Kommo-o would sort this out. It was no longer the final roadblock. Now they would have to be that final roadblock. Or rather, one of them would be the true final roadblock. It went up to one of the Hakamo-o before touching its head. Just then, Celestia and Cynthia had witnessed Kommo-o share some of the Aura Power that it holds with Jangmo-o. Now, Hakamo-o was overflowing with Totem Power, becoming the new Totem Pokemon of this area.
"Did you know they could do that...?" Celestia asked.
"Not at all," Cynthia replied as this was her first time seeing something like this too. Soon, Hakamo-o would be just like Kommo-o. Figuratively and literally, since one day it could potentially evolve.
"Made it!" Just then, two voices were nearby, echoing this direction. Celestia and Cynthia turned around, recognizing those voices.
Spike and Ember.
"No, I made it!" Ember shouted in retaliation as they were still racing. The sounds of attacks being smashed against each other could be heard. Gabite and Druddigon were neck and neck, butting heads as neither Pokemon would lose in their natural territory.
They finally reached the upper pathway and the stopping point of this cave with bright smiles on their faces. They believed one of them would get to Kommo-o first.
But alas, when they got there, they saw that Princess Celestia had beat them to it. She was already putting her arms around Kommo-o's neck. "Gah! No way!" They both gasped as Gabite and Druddigon stopped what they were doing. Their battle had no point anymore.
"Yes, way." Celestia winked. "You're just a few seconds late, you two. But I can see and tell that you had a fun battle racing up here, right?"
"Gardevoir." Passion laughed.
"Aw...come on." Spike got off Druddigon, getting on his knees. "But I was gonna catch Kommo-o and battle Avaun..."
"I need a fourth Pokemon already..." Ember sighed. "Kommo-o would've been a massive level up, but...oh well."
"It's not all a total loss." Cynthia walked up. "You have Kommo-o's pre-evolutions here. Why don't you try and catch them instead?"
"Hmmm..." Spike and Ember looked over at Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o. They were still very much available, itching for a fight since Passion separated them. "Fine."
"As for us, we'll be on our way. I need to heal up Kommo-o. Oh and find Luna. Unless I don't get distracted. Good luck on your Dragon Training though." Celestia returned Kommo-o before happily skipping away, proud of her third Pokemon. Cynthia shrugged before following her new pastry-dessert-sweet-loving friend.
"I swear there's a reward for beating Kommo-o..." Cynthia paused for a moment before dismissing it and walking off. Oh well.
"Hah...Okay. Who wants to go first?" Spike pointed at one of them. They would spend a little more time up here. They may not have caught Kommo-o, but they can always work up to gaining a Kommo-o themselves.
As for Celestia, she was gung-ho and overjoyed to the core. Catching Kommo-o meant that she had a new friend by her side. Another powerful Pokemon was with her. Cynthia looked at Celestia, knowing that there was a stellar ordeal of power and skill within her.
Not just with magic but with Pokemon Battling too. Cynthia wasn't sure how she was able to befriend so many powerful trainers who have vast potential and skill, but she's gotten used to it seeing that she was one of them back in her younger days. And despite being the oldest here, Celestia had a lot of room to grow as a Pokemon Trainer.
And that room was vast and endless as the journey continues.
Alola. Poni Island. Seafolk Village. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
"Ah...what a great start to the second day!" Exiting the Pokemon Center was Princess Celestia, stretching her arms. Leaving the Pokemon Center were Spike and Ember along with Cynthia. The three of them had caught themselves new Pokemon. Specifically, Dragon-Types.
They previous raced to catch Totem Kommo-o, but only one of them succeeded in reaching the Scaly Pokemon first and successfully caught the Dragon-Fighting-Type.
Princess Celestia was the victor of that race. Princess Celestia had caught herself a Totem Kommo-o whilst Spike and Ember had caught themselves a Hakamo-. The Hakamo-o were already weakened from Gardevoir's Psychic, making their capture easier.
"I would've done with Kommo-o but this is fine." Spike sighed, still disappointed that he wasn't the one to catch Kommo-o. But, Hakamo-o only needed one stage to reach that final form.
"Well, now that that's done, let's order just one Cream Vanilla Cake. This time with extra sweets." But the second Cynthia said that, when she and Celestia approached the table, the lady was gone. The one who gave them the cake after knowing exactly what they liked had vanished along wither Ralts, Deino and the entire stand. "Hm? Did she leave already?"
"Oh! She's gone?!" Celestia gasped as the food stand was no longer there. The witch had vanished yet again. And without a trace. "What a shame...Such a wonderful combination. Gone."
"Don't worry." Cynthia put her hand on Celestia's shoulder, already having an alternative. "There's a place in Johto that can fulfil your wishes. It won't go anywhere, I promise you."
"Oh. Works for me. I should try and contact Luna first. Spike. Ember. What will you two do?"
"I'm heading back to see Fluttershy and the others." See you around, Princess Celestia. Cynthia. Oh and uh...Ember."
"I've got places to be too." Ember spread out her wings. "Maybe I can test my luck and catch another big Dragon-Type elsewhere...
They all soon went their separate ways, having new draconic partners on their side. Celestia wanted to personally see her sister as a human as well while also enjoying everything else in Seafolk Village before heading to Johto for some more delicacies.
As for the witch, her identity reminded a mystery as well as her presence. She was gone with the wind when she could be anywhere at any time.
Kalos. Out at sea. Afternoon.
Elsewhere, over at Kalos, Galaxy Master was currently on a journey to reach Arche Valley, as ordered by the Rift. Since the order from last night, he has been moving through the seas on the back of his Lapras. Eventually, he reached a hillside, prompting Lapras to stop.
"Thank you, Lapras. I'll call you when needed." Galaxy Master held his hand out as Lapras had dissipated into an azure light. With ethereal energy, she was gone. Galaxy Master and Pikachu would now continue their journey to Arche Valley on land.
This hillside may look peaceful but it was undoubtedly rough and would be tricky to travel on. Not to mention the absolute scale of it. Galaxy Master also had to keep a down low since he was a wanted man. He knew that because of the Pokemon Festival, Canterlot Guards would become ever-present in various locations. Calling for Charizard and taking to the skies might be the wrong approach now.
And he was right to be cautious. Popping their heads out of the sea were Canterlot Guards, wearing snorkels and swimming armour. A unique type of armour specifically made for underwater purposes. They had been following Galaxy Master ever since they spotted him out at sea. Now, he was on land.
After that, they took off their swimming armour and continued pursuing him while also dripping wet from being underwater since last night.
"Hm-hm. This terrain is incredibly rugged." Galaxy Master commented while trying his best to traverse such a rough terrain. Pikachu would stay on his shoulder to keep away from this rugged mess.
The guards saw that Galaxy Master was struggling with the terrain. They would use this to their advantage. Luckily for them, they had Golurk, who was an expert with this kind of terrain. The Golurk all assembled together before then slamming their fists onto the ground.
Together, they had caused tremors that had caught Galaxy Master off guard, halting his movements. He gasped, almost falling over as the plan was to catch him while an earthquake was going off. Especially with this terrain that he was already struggling to get used to.
"Suddenly! An earthquake occurs in such a rough place!" He narrated his own predicament as Pikachu held on tightly to his shoulder.
"P-Pikachu!"
"Have no fear! There is always the Pokemon for the job..." Just then, Galaxy Master managed to regain his balance as he was about to call another Pokemon.
"Here it comes. This time, we'll intercept. Get ready Golurk." But the guards were ready this time. Whoever comes from those skies would be knocked out. However, very soon, they were starting to feel a tremor. Their smiles faded away once the tremor came towards them, causing some of them to fall over "Ough! W-What?!"
"You shall make things easier for us! Now, come my terrain-moving friend! Torterra!"
Bursting out of the ground was Galaxy Master's newest friend. This was the Pokemon responsible for all those tremors as a super-sized Toreterra had burst through the ground, causing a strong magnitude.
"Torterra!"
"You'll help us through this my verdant friend." Galaxy Master hopped onto Torterra's back, finding an easier way to move through this terrain. "Our destination is Arche Valley. A place that is hard to reach. But we'll find a way. Onwards!"
"Tor!" Torterra then burrowed a hole through the ground, choosing to travel that way. Underground travel could most likely work in their favour. The guards got up, recovering from the tremor.
"So he's gone underground this time." And joining the guards, focusing on pursuing Galaxy Master was none other than Princess Luna. She had shown up, wearing a Pokemon Hat and drinking some soda she received at the Pokemon Festival. She looked silly putting on a serious face with these objects.
"He's been cleverly evading us since last night, your majesty. Somehow, he's able to perform everything perfectly." The guard said.
"Of course he has. He's straight from a comic book that was made by a younger Ash. Which means that everything he does is bound to be successful. Because that's the natural law of being a superhero. But, I'll end up overwriting that law. Go, Gliscor! Excadrill!" Luna had sent out two Pokemon to pursue Galaxy Master underground.
"Gliscor!"
"Excadrill!"
"Enter underground and purse Galaxy Master. I'll be right behind you. The same goes for you all." She then looked back at the guards as they nodded in understanding.
Excadrill began burrowing underground instead of using the hole that Torterra had already made. It would intercept Torterra. Once Excadrill made the hole, Gliscor, Luna and everyone else entered, following the fictional character and his Pokemon.
"As he travels through the underground, he wonders how he would reach this Arche Valley." Galaxy Master narrated his adventure once more. "Torterra moves through the underground for an easier time, but the heroes can't help but feel like they're being followed."
"Pika?"
"I know, Pikachu. Our presence is a great risk overall. If we are to restore the Rift, finding help aside from the friends I summon will be difficult. That entire nation of Equestria sees us as enemies, so our numbers don't compare at-" Just then, he cut his own sentence off turning his head. "Suddenly, he senses imminent danger with Interstellar Sense! Torterra, beside you!"
"Tor?!" Torterra looked to the side as he could see cracks forming within the walls. Galaxy Master also possessed the power to sense danger and straight through the walls, Excadrill had appeared.
"Exca!" Excadrill bared its claws, going in for a devastating slash with Metal Claw.
"Pikachu!" But Pikachu intercepted with Iron Tail, hardening his tail and clashing with Excadrill's Metal Claw. The impact resulted in a loud clanging sound as Torterra's movements were halted. Up ahead, another fellow Ground-Type had made his appearance.
"Gliscor!" Gliscor came charging in, using his flying strength to power through the underground itself.
"They caught up fast! Torterra, brace yourself!"
"Tor!" Torterra bellowed as he would stand his ground. Gliscor came charging in with Aerial Ace, smashing his claws into Torterra. Torterra had been pushed back while Galaxy Master braced himself. The Grass-Ground-Type managed to withstand the blow as Pikachu jumped back on Torterra's back.
But it wasn't just two sides that Galaxy Master had to look out for. Other Ground-Types were incoming. But appearing before the Golurk was Princess Luna, who had followed her Pokemon.
"There you are!" Luna appeared, using her horn as a drill by enchanting it with magic.
"Princess Luna! You're a persistent one!"
"So are you. But you're more stubborn rather than persistent." Luna replied as the hands of the Golurks burst through the walls, appearing before the fictional character and the underground. "You should be clever enough to know that everywhere you go, you'll be followed either way."
"I know. But that won't stop me. We'll carry on and achieve our goal!"
"Pikachu!"
"Torterra!"
"That's admirable. Unfortunately, we have that same burning spirit as yours. To keep our worlds connected." Luna descended as the guards all showed up, climbing over their Golurks. Galaxy Master was surrounded but Luna knew that outnumbering him and surrounding him wouldn't matter because of one major factor.
"But...none of that matters much if he has the power to always succeed. How do we defeat someone who's destined to succeed? There has to be a way."
"Well, good luck catching me. Torterra! Andromeda Shine!" One of his signature moves. By striking a pose, Galaxy Master emanated a blinding light that had confounded Luna and the others. The underground had been lit up as this gave Torterrra the chance to keep moving.
"Not this time!" Luna used her magic to quickly recover her eyes before pursuing Galaxy Master. The chase was on and she would certainly be too busy to speak to Celestia.
Kalos. Dahara City. Afternoon.
Sitting by an inlet in the desert, Dahara City is a sprawling metropolis with towering skyscrapers surrounded by stone houses and home to one of the tallest towers in the world. The Dahara Tower.
Ash and his party had arrived here with their goal to find Arche Valley. And this city is where Ash first learned about Arche Valley. Bertha stopped her SUV as they came across this grand city which was once a small village but it prospered greatly.
"Here we are. Dahara City." Ash got off the SUV, standing before this great city once more. "Man, it's been a while since we've been here, Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
"I've never seen this place before!" Hilda gasped as the existence of Dahara City, especially with how massive it was, wasn't known to her. The same goes for Hilbert.
"We can learn something about Arche Valley here. I might get to see Baraz and Meray again. But...I wanna what they've got here during the Pokemon Festival!" Ash ran off to explore the city and how it was affected by the Pokemon Festival. Victini and Meloetta would follow him as to be expected.
"Uh! That won't help us find information about Arche Valley sooner!" Twilight shouted before realizing it was pointless.
"It's hot here though..." Sci-Twi commented as the summer heat was present within Dahara City.
"They say there's a nice beach here. Cool off there and also find something about Arche Valley. Dahara City has some connections to Arche Valley due to its history."
"Just do what you usually do Twilight and find those books." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I'm gonna cool off too with some drinks."
"Count me in!" Pinkie Pie followed Rainbow Dash right afterwards. Everyone else would spit up and meet up once more. At least, until they find something about Arche Valley.
Ash got to see the development of Dahara City. It improved surprisingly fast when he was last here. An extra part of the city was built along the banks of a labyrinth of rivers and is truly a leading-edge marvel. Its grace is matched by the backdrop of a majestic mountain which had helped improve this city greatly.
The skyline is packed with various skyscrapers and they have aspects which represent their past, present and future. Technology was thriving in Dahara and it has attracted a lot of attention since their technology was less present than others. But recent years have changed that.
Ash never got a chance to fully explore the city when he first got here due to the problem of there being a Legendary Battle. But now, he had that chance, witnessing everything that he missed out on, such as hundreds of take-outs, concession stands and food carts that offer a plethora of culinary choices and those who feel hungry for something else. And anyone here can enjoy sightseeing, an amusement park, libraries or one of the many other recreational venues.
Ash saw that there were three massive parks to choose from along with the free access to check out any building he wanted. Didn't matter which one he entered, he could view the architectural features on the inside and outside.
And with such a hot place, the drinks were at their absolute peak. Sci-Twi stopped by to see the beautiful options that Dahara could offer during the day and the night. They had holiday-related drinks, night walks, traditional plays and cold beverages. The night walks would have to wait when it's eventually nightfall.
Twilight brought herself some of these drinks, sipping with great joy. She ended up passing some of them to Ash when they ran into each other, taking the same path. Dahara City smacked them in the face with all of these activities that were plentiful during the Pokemon Festival. Possibly the most so far.
Scavenger hunts, truth and dare games, romantic gestures and traditional hair styling. Sci-Twi styled her hair alongside Hilda and Bertha, getting new and unique styles that were Dahara City's exclusives.
"I'm not planning on catching every Alpha Pokemon. That feels like it'd be possible. But I want to catch as many as I can before Hunter J can do it." Sci-Twi spoke to Hilda and Bertha. "But I'm afraid they'll become harder to catch later on."
"That's the natural force that comes with catching Pokemon." Berth replied. "Get through it, young lady. You have the skills and spirit to do so." They had a chat while having their hair styled while Ash and Hilbert watched closely, observing these bizarre styles.
"Would you two boys like something fresh?" One of the employees appeared behind them with a comb and scissors. The way she held them was downright menacing, causing Hilbert to shudder and hold onto his hat. They were offered a chance to change their hair but Ash and Hilbert preferred their hairstyles the way they were.
Victini wandered off on his own, sneaking around with some invisibility. Thanks to his power of invisibility. Some food had been taken under others' noses without them noticing. Victini would always do this just to get a quick bite.
However, when going for a cupcake, he was suddenly interrupted. "Tini?" When trying to grab the cupcake, someone else grabbed the cupcake. Another invisible force. "T-Tini!" Victini growled, trying to pull the cupcake back to his side, but the other invisible force was strong enough to fight back, initiating a struggle.
The people and Pokemon witnessed a floating cupcake being pulled back and forth, stunned for a bit as they couldn't take their eyes off it
"V-VIcitni!" But Victini had his endless energy. And with a boost of that energy, he managed to beat out the other invisible entity, successfully retrieving the cupcake. Afterwards, people and Pokemon witnessed the cupcake being broken apart with parts of it vanishing. Truth is, this was just Victini enjoying his cupcake while the other invisible force backed away, holding a tiny piece of the cupcake, defeated by Victini.
That is until the invisible force retaliated, not taking that defeat lightly. While Victini was enjoying his cupcake, a cup of soda had been dropped on him. Victini's eyes widened as his body was almost exposed since his concentration had been broken. He quickly hid the rest of his body as the other invisible force started laughing after dropping the cold soda on Victini
"Tini...!" Victini threw away the cupcake, causing it to fly towards one of the people, only for a Munchlax to jump up and consume it.
"Munch!"
As for Vicitni, he could now sense the other invisible force. Thus, he flew towards that force, only for the other invisible entity to fly away, laughing mischievously. Victini was certainly occupied.
As for Twilight, during her search for something about Arche Valley, she came across one of the stands that caught her attention. It wasn't a food stand. Rather an accessory and trinket stand. There, she saw something that was surprising to her.
"Hey...What's this?" Twilight flew over to the stand where there was a lady who wore white and gold garments. She certainly had an older style than everyone else in this village.
"Oh. You've noticed how special it looks." The lady held out the trinket, letting Twilight get a closer look. Twilight's eyes did not deceive her. What she saw was exactly what she thought it was.
That symbol was all too familiar as she's seen it a few times. She made an interesting discovery. This symbol was now on a pendant as it was dangling in her face. It was the symbol of the Alpha Pokemon and the creator of the Pokemon Universe.
Kalos. Dahara City. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
A pendant of Arceus had been found by Twilight.
The symbol of the Creator Deity was right here in Dahara City, found at a jewellery stand. The lady at the stand revealed the pendant to Twilight as that symbol was all too familiar to the eyes.
"An Arceus Pendant...beautiful." Twilight admired the pendant as her eyes were sparkling just by looking at it. But the further she looked at it, it seemed to be more than just your average pendant. She froze there for a moment as the Princess of friendship had witnessed a divine golden glow that was slightly emanating from it.
There was something resonating with her. Twilight gasped as this faint but soothing light felt familiar. She looked in her bag, gazing at the Twilightium Z. Her personal Z-Crystal was also glowing, mainly because it was connected to Arceus as well.
"My crystal's also glowing?"
"That much is obvious." The lady said, adjusting her hood. "You can feel it too, can't you, my little pony? Arceus' light."
"Yeah..." Twilight took out her crystal, holding it out to the jewellery. She noticed how the Twilightium Z and the pendant resonated with each other, intensifying the glow. Twilight was amazed that she made this developing discovery.
"Espeon..." Espeon gazed into the light as it was mesmerising.
"Hang on! Could this pendant be from Arche Valley? Oooh, is this a clue?!" Twilight gasped.
"Maybe. Or perhaps, the light of Arceus resonates with another semblance of Arceus' light. Your Z-Crystal and this pendant. Although, you could put some pieces together by just looking at me, right?" The lady giggled.
"Well...you do dress nicely. White and gold are colours that are synonymous with Arceus. So you must be from Arche Valley, right? That's the only explanation. And this pendant comes from the valley too, doesn't it?"
"It comes from there. Yes. But you could see it as a normal pendant." She held it out to Twilight.
"Why would I? My Z-Crystal's resonating with it so well. I can feel it. , This pendant is too similar to the crystal for it to be a coincidence." Twilight took the pendant, choosing to purchase it.
"Clever choice of words...Of course, that would make sense since Arceus shared its power with you." The lady then said, raising her head as her hood slid back a few inches. Making another appearance after appearing in Alola was none other than the mysterious lady so little knew about.
The Witch.
Green hair, crimson eyes and all. Her words had an eerie tone to them once she replied to Twilight. The moment Twilight and Espeon looked away, her hair was poking out of the hood along with the revelation of her crimson eyes, which she had kept closed for a while.
"Say what?" Twilight looked back at the Witch, who had instantly gone back to her previous appearance, hiding her hair and keeping her eyes closed. That response was shocking to Twilight as not many would know about how Arceus shared his power with the Z-Crystal. "How did you know...?"
"Perhaps it's the fact that I know Arceus well. Why else would I have the pendant? So, would you like to take it? Even though it's not your size."
"It's not my size but...my human counterpart might like it." Twilight decided to share this with Sci-Twi. It was her size and would certainly look good on her. Twilight should know. She was her counterpart after all. "Oh and since you gave me this, could you tell me where Arche Valley is?" Twilight asked before looking up at the Witch. However, she was gone.
Once more, she vanished without a trace, stunning Twilight and Espeon. They looked away for a while and she was gone. There wasn't even a sound or anything. Not even the sound of the wind came by. It was like she was never there. She only left the Arceus Pendant to Twilight.
"Where did she...Eve, did you see her?"
"Espeon." Espeon missed her as well, shaking her head. They each looked around, only to see that she was nowhere to be found. Twilight was reasonably uneasy by this. She then looked at the pendant, watching it dangle before shaking her head.
"A-Anyway...let's head back with the others and see if we can still find Arche Valley with this." Twilight would walk off but she couldn't help but ponder about the lady.
Meanwhile, Victini was chasing another invisible entity who was staying hidden just like him, trying to get his revenge on this mischievous trickster as it continued to laugh.
"Tini!" Victini followed this invisible force through an alleyway, using his signature move, V-Create. He charged right in, igniting the V-insignia on his head and going in for a full-force tackle. Only for the invisible force to fly right over, causing him to crash into the walls. "Ti!"
"Too slow!" The force finally spoke before revealing itself. It was none other than the Mischief Pokemon Hoopa. He laughed at Victini after he crashed into the wall.
"Victini...!" Victini growled at Hoopa, getting a full look at the one who tried to take his cupcake. "Tini!" Victini flew over, yelling at Hoopa with visible anger. If Fluttershy were here, the things she would translate from Victini would not be pretty, that much is true.
"Don't be too mad. Hoopa will give you more cupcakes." Hoopa would show off his speciality. By removing one of the rings from his arms, Hoopa held it up, instantly connecting to a random place in not just this world but the other world. "Alléhooparing!"
"Tini?" Suddenly, Victini paused after hearing this. He looked up, wondering what this ring would do and how it would give him some more cupcakes.
"Everyone dig in!" Mrs Cake held out a plethora of cupcakes with varying designs and flavours to a crowd of people, ponies and Pokemon, especially Bea, who had a sweet tooth.
Bea felt like melting after seeing all of these cupcakes, her hands wiggled over them as everyone would have a chance to experience this wonderful taste.
If they had the chance.
Hoopa's ring had shown up right above SugarCube Corner, grabbing everyone's attention as they looked up. The ring was massive as it had the right size to suck all of the cupcakes up. Immediately, Hoopa's ring had taken the cupcakes, bringing them through the portal with great power.
"Ah!" Bea gasped as all of the cupcakes were gone. In a matter of seconds, they entered the ring blindingly fast. The ring had also closed off by shrinking, fizzling out of existence as if it was never there. Everyone could just look stunned as their cupcakes had been taken from them so quickly. They left as fast as they had arrived.
"Oh...W-Well, there's always more." Mrs Cake shrugged, revealing the positives. But everyone was still stunned by what they had witnessed.
Kalos. Dahara City. Afternoon.
"Tini?!" Back at the Pokemon World, all of those cupcakes came raining down on Victini once the ring hovered over him. Victini received a mountain of cupcakes.
"Were you surprised?" He giggled once the cupcakes had dropped. "Here you go! And some for Hoopa too!" Of course, Hoopa would grab some of the cupcakes for himself. He only had a few of them earlier. Victini poked his head out of the mountain of cupcakes, stunned by what he had witnessed. "Mmm!"
"Victini...Tini?" But, Victini wasn't thinking about the cupcakes right now. Instead, he was thinking about Hoopa himself. Hoopa constantly referred to himself in the third person, making it clear that this was the Pokemon that Ash and the others were looking for.
Instead of heading to Arche Valley to find Hoopa, Hoopa came right to them. Victini gasped, seeing as this was a major chance and opportunity. "Tini!"
"Hm? What?" Hoopa asked as Victini burst out of the mountain of cupcakes.
"Tini! Victini!" Victini started flailing his arms, moving around rapidly and explaining everything he could to his fellow Psychic-Type. Hoopa took it all in as all he started hearing was babble out gateways, the Rift and Arche Valley. Nothing too important to him. But the thing that really mattered was how Victini brought up Ash and Pikachu.
"Ashkan and Pikan?" Hoopa's eyes widened as he quickly grabbed Victini, shaking him. "You know them?! Where?! Show Hoopa!"
"V-V-Victini!" Victini jittered before telling Hoopa that he could show him where they were. All Hoopa had to do was follow Victini. "Tini!"
Victini would lead Hoopa to Ash and Pikachu, leaving the alleyway and the many cupcakes that Hoopa had spawned. The moment they left the alleyway, a group of children alongside their parents passed by it. The children spotted the cupcakes, , instantly rushing over to them to fill their stomachs.
"Look, mom! Free cupcakes!"
"Don't eat those! Some of them are on the ground!"
"Here you go." Back with Twilight, she ended up giving the Arceus Pendant to her human counterpart. "It fits you more than me. Literally."
"Wow, thank you." Sci-Twi received the pendant, putting it on. It was a perfect fit as the pendant complimented her exceedingly well.
"Looking good, Twilight!" Hilda patted her on the back. "And you just found this at a jewellery stand."
"Yes. A lady gave it to m, but she vanished mysteriously. Not sure how and it still bugs me." Twilight replied. "She must've definitely been from Arche Valley."
"Maybe it's that witch again..." Hilbert shuddered. "Is she here?!"
"I doubt she's here anymore since there's not a trace of her left." Twilight shrugged as Sci-Twi giggled, playing around with the pendant for a bit.
But while playing around with it, unexpectedly, a faint voice had come through. A voice that was hard to hear and was difficult for Sci-Twi to even pick up.
"Seek out all Pokemon..."
"Huh?"
"I still didn't get anything about Arche Valley though. Wish I could still speak with her. But maybe this pendant can help us. It exudes a similar light as the pendant."
"So we're still iffy on where we can find Arche Valley. That's a bummer." Hilbert sighed as they still had no way to reach Arche Valley. But there was a way. The Pokemon that could go anywhere he wanted was nearby.
Hoopa.
"Pika? Pika-Pika!" Pikachu had spotted Victini nearby, wondering where he had been. But it wasn't Victini who caught his attention. Rather, it was the Pokemon that was trailing behind him
Victini spotted the park that Ash and the others were sitting at in the distance with Hoopa right behind him. "Tini! Victini!"
"Pika-pi!"
"Huh? Hey isn't that..." Ash stood up once Pikachu nudged him. He stepped forward, looking past the crowd of people. Victini was familiar to the eyes and so was Hoopa. "Hoopa!"
"Hoopa?! Seriously!" Twilight looked over, poking her head along with Hilbert and the rest. Ash and Pikachu wasted no time, approaching one of their many Mythical friends.
"Oh! Ashkan! Pikan!" Hoopa would see them both as well, thrilled to spot some old friends and reunite with them. Both sides were moving as fast as they could. However, the closer they got to the park, that's when something shocking happened. "Ough!"
Hoopa suddenly crashed. His body smashed into something while Victini went ahead. The Victory Pokemon turned around, witnessing a forcefield of some sort that pulsated for a few seconds.
"Hoopa?" Ash came to a screeching halt once he saw that Hoopa suddenly crashed. And it was a direct one too. Hoopa was pushed back from this impact, holding his head.
"Ow...!" Hoopa groaned, holding his head after crashing into this invisible forcefield.
"So that's Hoopa?" Upon seeing Hoopa, both Twilight and Sci-Twi had to gather this information, holing out their Pokedexes.
"Hoopa. The Mischief Pokemon. In its true form, it possesses a huge amount of power. Legends of its avarice tell how it once carried off an entire castle to gain the treasure hidden within. This troublemaker sends anything and everything to faraway places using its loop, which can warp space. With its power sealed, it is transformed into a much smaller form."
"Hoopa, are you okay?!" After seeing Hoopa crash into the wall and hold his head, Ash went to his friend's aid. But the second he approached Hoopa, Ash received the same treatment, crashing into that same forcefield. "Gah!"
"Ash!" Twilight and the others cried out as Ash fell to the ground.
"Pika-pi!"
"Oh, man..." He held his head, feeling a crackling force of energy around him as it faded away.
"Tini?!" Victini came to Ash's aid as he was able to reach Ash with no problems. But when Hoopa tried flying forward, he came across another forcefield.
"Hey, Hoopa. Are you alright?" Ash got up, thinking about Hoopa's well-being instead of his own. He did just crash into a forcefield after all.
"Hoopa's fine. A bit dazed though."
"Was there always a forcefield here?" Hilda asked, holding her hands out, trying to see if she could touch this invisible forcefield. However, her hands didn't touch anything. It was only when she went towards Hoopa that she ended up feeling something from a different side, causing her to move back. "Ouch! What gives?!"
"Hoopa. Are your rings still working?" Ash asked. "Can you still go places?"
"Hoopa's rings still work after you helped, Ashkan. But Hoopa doesn't know what this is." Hoopa then ascended, trying to see if he could take a different route. He threw one of his rings into the air, flying through it so that he could appear next to Ash.
He could successfully pass through his rings. Previously, he had been restrained from doing so but that was no longer the case. However, a new limitation had emerged. He passed through the ring, appearing on the other side, only for another forcefield to appear, hitting Hoopa once he showed up on the other side behind Ash. Hoopa rolled through the air after being pushed back.
"Oh...Hoopa can't reach Ashkak and Pikan!" Hoopa groaned as he was blocked from reaching Ash.
"It's the Rift." Twilight already deduced why this was happening. It all had to do with how the Rift planned to keep every chance of the two worlds staying connected forever absolutely non-existent. From Jirachi to Phione and also Hoopa along with other Pokemon. "Hoopa is one of the Pokemon that the Rift made sure to deal with first when it started all of this."
"So this forcefield is made by the Rift too?" Sci-Twi asked.
"Without a doubt. The Rift knew that Ash would've gone for Hoopa. So to prepare for this, it probably blocked Hoopa's chances of getting close to Ash and it definitely kept Hoopa from reaching Jirachi from what we know."
"That's horrible!" Hilda exclaimed.
"It is. And it's all too familiar to me." Ash closed his eyes as this kind of scenario was very familiar. In a double sense. Mainly because both Victini and Hoopa had been in a similar scenario to this, especially Victini.
"Tini." Victini knew how Hoopa felt. He was once prevented from leaving Eindoak Town and its entirety for centuries, unable to go anywhere else. It was until 10 years ago that he was finally free thanks to Ash.
"The Rift's already sent all the Jirachi somewhere we don't know and now it's done this." Ash's fist tightened as he was visibly upset about this. "It's just not fair to my friends."
"Wait. Then how come Victini can get close to you?" Hilbert asked. "Victini here's a special Pokemon. Infinite power and everything. Plus it came here with Hoopa."
"The Rift probably doesn't see Victini as a big enough threat. Which is frankly just rude and untrue. So many would do anything for Victini's energy." Bertha added. "Most likely, Victini is seen as a wild card or rather someone that is unable to interact with the Rift's effect on the two worlds. Possible. Who knows?"
"I can still reach Arche Valley. Hoopa. Are Baraz and Meray over at Arche Valley right now?" Ash asked.
"Pikachu?"
"They sure are!" Hoopa saluted. "Hoopa can head there, no problem. But it's great to see you again, Ashkan! Pikan!"
"It's good to see you again, Hoopa. A shame I can't interact with you right now. Unless..." Ash held out his hand, looking at it it before intensifying his eyes. "I said I was gonna use Aura to help Hoopa and now might be a good time. But I didn't think it would involve something as wide as this."
"Aura? Hang on, Ash!" Twilight gasped, halting Ash immediately. "This doesn't feel like an ordinary forcefield from what I've seen! The Rift's made it so that no matter where you go, you won't be able to interact physically with Hoopa, let alone get as close as you want to. You'd have to maybe do something special if you want to break the Rift's effect which is everywhere."
"She's right." Hilda nodded in agreement. "Ash, you could very well pass out if you try and break this restraint. It's possibly everywhere you and Hoopa will go. Behind you, below you and over you."
"I know that but..."
"There's a way, duh!" Hilbert suddenly intervened, having a proud grin on his face. "The answer's been in our face this entire time, you guys. Ash can totally break that restraint with his Aura. He just needs the right boost. And we have the ultimate boosting Pokemon here."
"He's right. Victini." Bertha pointed at Victini. The Victory Pokemon.
"Tini?" Victini then pointed at himself once he was mentioned.
"Yeah, that's something that came to mind too." Ash turned to face Victini. "Victini. I want you to help me. Help me break this restraint on us and Hoopa."
"Pretty please, Vikan?" Hoopa ended up giving Victini a nickname, staying in line with the 'Kan' gesture.
"Vi...Victini!" Victini would instantly agree to it. Ash was his best friend. And much like how Ash had helped him in the past, Victini would do the same for him.
"Thanks, Victini." Ash held his fist out as he and Victini did a fist bump.
"Now, Ash. Even though you'll get a massive boost of energy from Victini, you could still pass out from Delayed Aura Ataxia. We won't know what happens next either." Twilight was still being cautious about this.
"Melo." Meloetta agreed as this all sounded serious to her. Seeing Ash harmed wasn't something she wanted to witness.
"If you pass out from this, who knows how long you'll be unconscious?" Twilight shuddered.
"That's why you guys are gonna be there. I know you'll head in when I knock myself out, Twilight." Ash had full faith in his friends. "We already know a way out of Delayed Aura Ataxia, don't we? So come to my aid."
"Oh..I-I will!"
"Alright." Ash held his arm out, closing his eyes before channelling his Aura. "Sir Aaron. I need your help." In his hand, Sir Aaron's staff had appeared, expanding. Ash gripped onto it as the flow of Aura could already be felt. Hilbert and the others would get to witness Ash's spectacular Aura at work. The greatest Aura that has ever existed in this day and age.
Ash's goal was to try and find a way to break the restraints that the Rift had created. A restraint that involved him and Hoopa. This was not a standard forcefield that only had one direction. It potentially went in every direction, blocking Hoopa's ring from reaching Ash.
Ash needed to find a weak spot. And thanks to the guidance of Aura, he could begin searching. Ash closed his eyes, letting his Aura guide him and find that weak spot. Everyone would stand back and watch Ash do what he can. But he would receive some help.
"Victini." Victini put his hands on Ash's back, sharing his Infinite Energy and giving Ash an astronomical boost. This was both a good thing and a bad thing. It would increase Ash's Aura but also endanger his well-being.
Meloetta put her hands together along with Sci-Twi, praying for Ash's success. And as for Ash, he could sense something. He opened his eyes before then feeling his astral body close in on something. A giant cosmic wall
As of now, Ash was once again interacting with the Rift.
Kalos. Dahara City. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Ash was currently standing still, focused on doing one thing. Finding a way to break the Rift's stellar restraint that was potentially larger than anything Ash had to face. Hoopa was unable to get close enough to Ash and the other restraints that the Rift had put on him were unknown at the moment.
Thanks to the power of Victini, Ash would expand his Aura even further beyond, using Sir Aaron's staff as well while Pikachu, Twilight, Sci-Twi, Hilbert, Hilda, Bertha, Victini, Meloetta and Hoopa all watched.
"I've heard about Aura but I've never seen it be used like this before," Hilbert commented. "Didn't even know it could get so crazy."
"Ashkan can do this?" Hoopa leaned in before almost interacting with this omnipresent forcefield that was around him and Ash."Oooh."
"That's Ash's special Aura," Twilight replied. "No one has a bigger Aura than Ash. Not in this century. Isn't that right, Ash?"
"Pika-pi?"
But when speaking to Ash, there wasn't a response from him. Usually, Ash would've said something by now, but nothing was uttered. Only silence and the sound of Aura flowing. When Twilight took a closer look, wondering why Ash wasn't saying something or even moving, she flew over to look at his face, screaming his name.
"Ash!" Moments after Ash had tapped into his Aura and received a boost of energy from Victini, he immediately passed out. And It happened while he was still standing up and holding Sir Aaron's staff.
Twilight screamed out Ash's name once she saw that he passed out standing up. His eyes were still open but his pupils were so dilated and altered to the point where it looked like they were about to white out. It was surprising that he was still standing.
"Tini?!"
"Is he gonna be okay?!" Hilda asked as Meloetta shuddered.
"I've never seen anyone pass out standing up, aside from a Pokemon. But if he hasn't fallen over yet...that can only mean one thing." Bertha narrowed her eyes. "Ash is in a deep state of focus, far beyond what he was already doing. Look. His Aura is still active."
"You're right! It is!" Hilbert gasped. "Uh...that's a good thing?"
"I've never seen that before." Twilight was stunned. This was a major discovery. Ash's Aura never showed itself when he was passed out. It looked like he was in a state of Delayed Aura Ataxia, but his Aura was still active. "What's going on with Ash?"
"Pika..."
"Tini..." Victini felt guilty, knowing that his infinite energy was the cause of Ash's Aura being sent to an all-time high. Victini could only hope that Ash was doing well within his deep state of mind. Sharing some extra power would most likely be a bad idea.
"Meloetta." Meloetta patted him on the back, letting Victini know that it would be alright. At least, she hoped so. The only form of hope was Ash's active Aura.
"I'm heading in." Twilight's horn emanated a purple glow as the Princess of Friendship was already set to enter the world of Delayed Aura Ataxia once more. "I'm the only one who can also trigger Ataxia. Pikachu and I are familiar with the place too."
"Purple Ponyta's going to go inside of Ashkan's head?" Hoopa flew over.
"That's ri-" But in the midst of replying to Hoopa, Twilight realized that the Mischief Pokemon referred to her as a Ponyta. A purple one to be exact. "Uh...my name is Twilight. Twilight Sparkle." She gave out her full name
"Okay, Twikan! Good luck!" Hoopa saluted, giving Twilight a nickname as well.
"Let's go, Eve. Pikachu. Let's hope it's not as serious as we think it is. If you see Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie, inform them about this. You should all focus on keeping Ash safe since he's vulnerable right now." Twilight instructed, pleading for them to keep Ash safe.
Twilight immediately expended some of the Aura within her, using it to enter a new realm. It would mean that she would have to knock herself out as well. Pikachu and Espeon would join her as they each sat down, closing their eyes. By manipulating the Aura, Princess Twilight Sparke managed to enter the same state of mind as Ash.
As for Ash, he may have fainted, he was indeed somewhere else. However, he didn't end up at the 18 Realms of Delayed Aura Ataxia. Instead, Ash found himself elsewhere.
The Trainer from Pallet Town found himself floating in space which wasn't too new. He knew this was some rendition of space as he was breathing in it. His body started flying in the cosmos, unable to control his direction. Ash knew that he was most likely within a part of the RIft. He had already seen what was inside of a Rift Entity and it was revealed to be space of all things.
Ash passed by planets and stars that looked large from afar, but they were smaller when up close. At least briefly. He held his arm out, touching some of the planets and stars that he passed by and in return, his Aura reacted to them.
But there was something different about this space. It wasn't like the space that he saw from the Rift Volcano or even what he's heard about Cold Colt and the others. In front of Ash, a pathway had been formed.
A pathway made out of starlight and stardust, beautifully flowing in the cosmos with an ethereal appearance. The Alola Champion landed on the pathway as it also possessed colourful neon lights and decorative neon boards, with shooting stars and laser beams illuminating the dark skies of the cosmos.
"Is this the Rift's or something else?" Ash wondered while running on the starlight path. When trying to break this massive forcefield, he did not expect this to happen. It was all so wonderful to him as he felt a great sense of acceleration. Even in what seemed to be a serious situation, Ash found a way to smile through it and even have fun.
He looked up to see constellations forming. Constellations of familiar Pokemon and even some that resembled ponies too. It made him wonder about this realm even more.
"Check it out...I wish Pikachu were here to see this." Ash gazed at the constellations that continued to pop up. "But, I gotta stay focused. I need to help Hoopa. Just gotta figure out where I am and break out of here too. I can use my Aura to do that but maybe something related to Hoopa can be found here."
Ash would continue running on this starlight path, passing by stars, planets and galaxies galore. Just then, the pathway suddenly angled differently the further Ash went. It curved to the side while also being slightly upside-down. Ash managed to manoeuvre himself on it as the pathway went straight once more.
Ash then came to a screeching halt on the pathway as he saw something up ahead. It was too important for him to ignore and was certainly something he wasn't expecting to see here. His eyes stretched out a bit as he took gentle steps forward, marvelling at the sight of what stood before him and at the end of this Starlight Path.
A gigantic wall could be seen. A wall so large that it stretched across the cosmos itself, having a stupendously comically large length that was impossible for Ash to even think about.
This wall was made out of an unknown material that Ash had never seen before. This cosmos-expanding wall had a translucent, mirrorlike substance that was a mixture of ethereal blue and purple. The colours of the Rift. Seeing those colours made it clear to Ash that it was Rift related to the core.
He looked at it closer, seeing that this wall was not static at all. In fact, it was moving while also being stuck at one spot due to its astronomical length and size.
It seemed very flexible despite having a solid form, moving with the wavy motion of the sea itself. This material was also slick texture in solid form, making this a bizarre substance.
But more important, Ash saw that there was a plethora of things poking out of the wall. He was surprised to see that millions upon millions of objects and faces were sticking out of them, seemingly stuck.
"What is this...?"
"Ash! Ash!" Suddenly, a voice called out to him. Ash responded to this cry by turning around, spotting three familiar faces incoming. Twilight managed to reach Ash after using her spell. Now that she had access to Rift Magic, becoming a vessel for it, things were made easier for Twilight Sparkle as she brought along Pikachu and Espeon.
"Pika-pi!"
"Espeon!"
"Ah, there you guys are!" Ash held his arms out, happy to see that they made it here so soon. "I didn't think you'd find out about this place so soon. It's not the 18 Realms after all."
"You're right. This appearance only matches that of a Rift Entity." Twilight observed the surroundings. "This isn't what I was expecting when coming after you...But what's with this massive wall?"
"Pikachu..." Pikachu admired the dazzling sights before getting up on Ash's shoulder.
"Not sure. But it's got these faces and things on them. Are you thinking what I'm thinking Twilight?"
"I think so. This might be the massive forcefield that's preventing you from fully reaching Hoopa." Twilight deduced it, connecting the limitations and restraints that the Rift had created and linked it to this. "Not sure about the faces and objects...that's creepy. But this thing's definitely the key to it."
"So...if we do something about it, Hoopa's free, right? But what about everyone and all that stuff in it? Are they actually there?"
"I don't know, Ash. But we have to try something. Plus, what's with that material? I've never seen it before."
"It's not from this realm originally..." Just then, a voice had replied to Twilight. She looked over at the wall as one of the faces started speaking. The others looked over as the eyes of this person also moved, scaring Twilight to the point where she jumped up.
"Gaaaah!" Twilight screeched, clinging onto Ash's back while quivering in fear. Lo and behold, these faces were alive and sentient. The mystery behind this massive cosmic wall was just getting started for them.
Kalos. Out on a hillside. Underground. Afternoon.
"Torterra!" Meanwhile, Galaxy Master was still being pursued by Princess Luna and the Canterlot guards. Behind him, Excadrill, Gliscor and a lot of Golurks were hot on his trail. Torterra had leapt over an incoming Shadow Punch from the Golurks with such grace.
They raced through the underground as Torterra burrowed through many pathways only for Excadrill to do the same, making new pathways to try and cut Galaxy Master off.
"This might go on forever. We'll need to find a new way to lose them. The underground just won't do." Galaxy Master said as Princess Luna had caught up to him with ease, preparing a magical blast from her horn.
"Pikachu! Unleashing your lightning!"
"Pikachu!" By that, he meant Thunderbolt. Pikachu jumped off Galaxy Master's shoulder, unleashing a mighty blast of electricity that intercepted Luna's incoming blast. The two blasts cancelled each other out, forming a large smoke cloud in the process.
Luna growled, closing her eyes from all of the smoke and even slowing down from the impact. "Darn it all...Darkrai!" She then bellowed Darkrai's name.
Darkrai was around here. Wherever Luna was, Darkrai would follow and be there. As Excadrill dug through the walls, intercepting Torterra and tackling with him Horn Drill, Darkrai would emerge, assisting Excadrill. Galaxy Master held on tightly once Torterra was pushed back as Darkrai emerged from the shadows with his claws out.
"Great Galaxies!" Galaxy Master gasped once Darkrai emerged, unleashing Dark Void. Torterra couldn't evade this in time. Galaxy Master and Pikachu jumped off as Torterra had been struck by the orb.
"Tor...!" And that ended up being one of Galaxy Master's Pokemon knocked out and put to sleep as Torterra dropped t the ground.
"Torterra My friend!" Galaxy Master shouted as some Stone Edges from the Golurk were incoming at full force. "Pikachu!"
"Pika!" Pikachu knew what to do. He hardened his tail, swinging it and smashing the incoming stones to bits whilst Galaxy Master held his hand out, returning Torterra.
"Thank you for your assistance. We got far, my friend." He said to Torterra before looking up at Luna and Darkrai. "Princess Luna and Darkrai..."
"Be careful, Darkrai. He has the ability to always swing everything in his favour. Such is the natural law of a child's creation. So, stopping him will be difficult." Luna warned Darkrai about how Galaxy Master would seemingly constantly succeed.
"I know that. I won't let that stop me!" Darkrai advanced, going in for a Poison Jab as his claws were coated in Poison.
"Pikachu! Unleash your stream of water!"
"Pika...Pikachu!" By that, he meant Surf. Even when underground, Pikachu could gather some water, holding his hands out. In seconds, he managed to manipulate the seas from outside the underground that were close enough for him, causing them to fly in this direction.
Suddenly from the walls that had already been burrowed by Torterra and Excadrill, gigantic streams of water came blasting out from different directions, causing a loud sound as one of them pushed Darkrai away before he could reach Pikachu.
"Even from this distance?!" Luna gasped as one of the water streams had smashed into her, causing her to be carried along with everyone else. Excadrill, Gliscor and the Golurk received super-effective damage from this as they were being carried away by the water. The guards all screamed while Luna managed to recover herself by flying out of the water. However, the damage had been done. "Why you...Thunderbolt!"
Darkrai would use this chance to attack Galaxy Master while there was a large amount of water. He sent a surge of electricity through his body that affected the water. 100,000 volts of electricity came along, shocking Galaxy Master and his Pikachu, finally dealing some damage.
"Gah!"
"Pikachu...!"
"R-Retaliate with an even greater burst of electricity!"
"Pikaaaaa!" Pikachu would hit back with his own Thunderbolt, sending the energy back to Darkrai and the others as the water went crazy. Darkrai and Luna had been blown back by this massive flare of electricity as all of the water started flooding the place.
Luna and Darkrai growled once they were shocked, feeling a devastating surge of electricity flow through them. Galaxy Master saw that now was a good chance to escape. He took one of the pathways that had been opened up by the various destructive water streams, swimming through there as he and Pikachu submerged into the rising water to mask their pathway choice.
Luna and Darkrai recovered from this as they saw that it was getting dangerous to be underneath here. Many of the guards were starting to drown in the water. She unleashed a massive blast of magic, shooting it upwards and creating a hole to escape from in the process.
Afterwards, she used her magic to grab everyone here, saving them from imminent drowning whilst the Golurk and even her Excadrill had fainted from the water. Luna carried them all out, unable to continue pursuing Galaxy Master and Pikachu, who seemed to do just fine going through this massive flow of water.
"Another failure..." Luna sighed. "I suppose the odds are always in his favour. How do I get past something like that?"
Once she left the underground, she returned to the hillside, dropping everyone off. The guards were saved before they could drown, breathing in and out and gasping for air. Luna only cared about their safety, but at the cost of her losing Galaxy Master and Pikachu. The underground was flooded now thanks to this, but she wasn't giving up yet.
"No. I can still get to him." Luna then used the Underwater Breathing Spell, allowing herself and Darkrai to breathe for 20 minutes. "Let's go, Darkrai. He probably hasn't gone far."
Within an unknown realm.
"T-T-The face in the wall is talking!" Twilight shuddered while grabbing onto Ash's back, gripping it. This was the most unnerving thing she's seen so far.
"Ow! Twilight!" Ash groaned as the strength of an alicorn was harming his back.
"Apologies for scaring you." The face of the man continued to speak with a faint tone. "But I never thought I'd see someone else appear here without being pulled into the wall."
"Oh. So you're all real. And you've been trapped here too?" Ash questioned. The face tried to nod but that wasn't happening at all. "What happened here? And what's up with this super-sized wall?"
"This wall was originally made by us during the beginning of the two worlds coming together. We were made aware by the coming of the Rift by Arceus." The man within the wall said.
"Arceus told you?" Ash and Twilight both said.
"With the power that we gather from Arceus, we used it to make a forcefield that would block off some of the Rift's powers. But, the Rift was ahead of us and used our own wall against us. Not only that, but it made it large enough to span the entirety of this spatial realm. What you see before you is the Cosmic Wall. You are at the edge of this universe."
"We're at the edge of a universe?!" Twilight gasped. "That means it's the very end! I never thought I'd reach the end of a universe! It seems impossible!"
"So, wait. Are you guys from Arche Valley too?" Ash asked. "You said that you used the power of Arceus to do this, right?"
"Pikachu?"
"We don't come from Arche Valley, but we have relations to it. We could be considered disciples, studying about Arceus and connecting with him from afar. As for this wall, it is a mixture of both Arceus and the Rift's power combined, making it an astronomical force. All of us disciples were pulled into this large wall and since then, we've been unable to break free."
"So you've been here since the very beginning of our worlds crossing over. For three years..." Twilight's jaw dropped. "That's horrible. But both Arceus and the Rift's power? I guess they can coexist because I have the Twilightium Z."
"Alright. You can tell us all everything. Right now, we're gonna get you all out of here." Ash stepped forward.
"Don't come any closer!" He shouted at Ash. But it was too late. The wall already reacted to Ash's movements once he came close. Immediately, cosmic energy burst out of the wall, summoning something to confront Ash and Twilight.
Ash stepped back as an immense pressure that emanated a golden, blue and purple energy, reminiscent of Arceus and the Rift's colours had emerged. Pikachu and Espeon already prepared for the worst. But no one would expect what kind of entity would emerge out of the wall as a form of defence.
A burst of light and the sound of avian songs and draconic calls mark the coming of an entity. After materializing from nothing, a magnificent being with familiar eyes stood before them. These eyes were identifiable as they resembled either Dialga, Palkia, Giratina or even Arceus as it filled them with an immense sense of awe.
Those eyes belonged to a certain shape. This shape looked almost like Dialga before fulling revealing itself. Curved wings of pure energy had emerged from the back of this entity as it wasn't quite Dialga. It wasn't Dialga at all. The shape of Dialga had been more, creating an equine body that was clad in shining armour. This entity carried a sword and shield that had the Arceus symbol on it, levitating it. The size of it even matched Dialga to boot.
"What is that?!" Ash was stunned as he and his friends had practically seen the emergence of a divine entity. "Dialga? No..."
"Pikachu...!"
"It's the combination of Arceus and the Rift's power." Twilight could already sense it thanks to having the Twilightium Z and being a vessel for Rift Energy. "It's a new Rift Creation, but I never thought something like this would appear."
The Entity let out a roar that sounded just like Dialga's roar but was also packed with a horrific sound of the cosmos themselves, causing another wind pressure to occur. Ash and Twilight found themselves face to face with a new kind of enemy the likes of which they had never seen before.
"Please! Run while you still can!" The man pleaded, already believing that it was pointless to retaliate against such an odd yet majestic entity.
"No way!" Ash thought otherwise. While this Rift-Dialga Entity was fairy intimidating to look at, Ash wouldn't run even in the face of danger. "We're gonna get you out here and that's that. We won't let whatever this is stop us!"
"Pikachu!"
"I'm shaking right now but I'm with you, Ash." Twilight agreed as they looked up at the Rift-Dialga Entity. Its wings spread out even further, illuminating the dark universe and even the Cosmic Wall.
A shocking discovery and a shocking opponent. Ash Ketchum and Twilight Sparkle had found themselves face to face with an opponent the likes of which they had never seen before. An opponent that felt vastly otherworldly compared to what they've faced so far. They've already encountered otherworldly entities already. The goal was to still remove Hoopa's restraints, but it seems that goal was paved with some unexpected obstacles.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 852 End.
The Combination of Arceus and the Rift! A Pink Tide
Face to face, Ash and Twilight are met with an entity that was made by both the power of Arceus and the Rift, standing in front of the Cosmic Wall which spread so far it reached the edge of this universe within the vast forcefield.
It was an obscured variation of Dialga, one of Arceus' creations, emerging from the Cosmic Wall as a response to Ash and Twilight attempting to interact with it. All they knew about this entity was that it was a combination of two powerful forces. and with the appearance of Dialga, it would be a force to be reckoned with.
"We should be careful, Ash! We could end up harming everyone else within those walls if we get carried away. Or it might durable enough to take it. I don't know."
"No need to worry, Twilight. This is all for Hoopa and now it's for them. I'm not gonna let the Rift keep me away from my friends and lock away their freedom. No matter what." Ash's eyes intensified as Pikachu's red sacs let out a flare of electricity.
"Pika!"
The Rift-Dialga gave off a signal that it was ready to attack, by letting out a divine flare from its body before using its wings. Its wings shot out golden feathers that looked to be razor sharp, having cosmic energy all around them as they were sent in droves.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Eve, use Psychic!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu and Espeon retaliated. Pikachu pumped up his body before unleashing a crackling burst of electricity, powered by 100,000 volts as they intercept the golden feathers, stopping them in place.
"Espeon!" Espeon used her mental strength, holding the feathers in place. After doing so, she managed to crush them with her mind via an invisible blast. The feathers didn't reach them at all but this Rift Dialga had other options. Such as the sword that it was levitating.
The Rift Dialga approached with its ethereal sword, swinging it violently as it let out a trail of golden sparkles with blue and purple stardust.
"Iron Tail!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu would counter with Iron Tail, hardening his tail to match that of iron as he then lunged into the air. The Mouse Pokemon swung with all his might, clashing with the astral sword. The impact let out cosmic sparkles from how hard they clashed as many of them came from the sword. Pikachu jumped back before going in for another swing, only to be blocked by the ethereal shield. "Pika?"
"Eve! Quick Attack, now!"
"Espeon!" Espeon would join Pikachu. Once the shield had blocked Pikachu's Iron Tail, the Rift-Dialga swung its sword downwards on Pikachu, only for Espeon to tackle it at lightning speeds. However, thanks to the armour, Rift-Dialga barely nudged and Espeon felt some recoil. "E-Esp!"
"Pika!" Pikachu received a cosmic slash as he had been blown back by this. Gold and purple sparkles trailed out of him once he was hit while Espeon was then bashed away by the shield. Pikachu recovered on the starlight path, shaking is head and the same went for Espeon.
"Are you doing okay, Pikachu?!" Ash asked, worried about how that sword had been swung.
"Pika!"
But they couldn't take their eyes off this version of Dialga for a second. Immediately, Dialga sent out a crackling orb of what looked to be a spherical version of Dialga's signature move. Roar of Time. Out of its mouth, this ball came flying out, having a clockwork texture and pattern within it.
"Quick Attack!" Both Ash and Twilight shouted, aiming to use the speed of their partners to their advantage.
"Pi!" Pikachu and Espeon split up, running to different sides at lightning speeds, leaving behind white afterimages. They managed to evade the sphere of time, however, once they did, it suddenly split up into four different smaller orbs. "Pika?!"
"They're coming this way!" Twilight noticed that two of them were headed for her and Ash. She quickly put up a barrier, protecting Ash and herself from these time spheres.
"Thanks, Twi! Pikachu! Make those orbs hit that Dialga instead!" Ash came up with something that would damage this Rift-Dialga, even if with all of that armour.
"You too, Eve! Go under!"
"Espeon!" Espeon and Pikachu would do just that. Together, they were fleeing from the orbs while heading for the Rift-Dialga too. In response, the Rift-Dialga had used its massive wings once more, curling them and increasing their sharpness. It did have the Steel-nature of Dialga even if it wasn't the actual Dialga.
The wings were sent towards Pikachu and Espeon as if they were swords, prompting the two of them to lunge over the wings. Rift-Dialga's wings hit the starlight path instead, stabbing through it. And once Pikachu jumped over Rift-Dialga while Espeon slid under it, the orbs came back and hit the entity instead of the pre-determined targets. That managed to push it back even with the armour on, causing the Rift-Dialga to stagger.
"Thunderbolt!"
"DazzlingGleam!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Once Rift-Dialga had staggered, Pikachu and Espeon unleashed 100,000 volts and a barrage of rainbows, crashing them all on this entity. With great coordination, the two of them were able to push back this cosmic entity, almost forcing it on its back.
"Yeah! That's the stuff!" Ash pumped his fist up, applauding Pikachu and Espeon.
"Well done, Eve!"
"Well, I'll be." The man inside of the wall was amazed that they could hold their own against such an enigmatic and ethereal being, especially since it was a creation of Arceus and the Rift's power but mainly the Rift since it was hostile towards Ash and his friends.
It prompted the other people stuck in the walls to gaze and marvel at the scene before them. Ash and Twilight continued attacking while the Rift-Dialga would retaliate by forming a golden and blue barrier to protect itself. Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball crashed into the barrier while the people watched Ash and Twilight face off against this entity.
There was hope. Ash did promise to get them out and he was living up to that promise already by dealing with the hostility of the Cosmic Wall.
"Ash! It's made out of both the Rift and Arceus' power! So maybe you can use your Aura to weaken parts of it!" Twilight suggested, targeting the crucial weak points of any Rift Creation. Aura.
"Gotcha! Pikachu, hold it with Electroweb!"
"Eve, Psychic, now!"
"Pika-Pika! Chu-Pi!" Pikachu then summoned an orb of electricity on his tail as the goal was to restrain this astral entity. The orb soon turned into a web that was large enough to hold it while Espeon would use her mental strength to hold it down.
However, the second the web reached the Rift-Dialga, it suddenly let out steel spikes that were surrounded by cosmic energy out of its body, piercing through the web. It even used its wings of pure light energy to blow away the incoming Psychic energy, forcing Espeon to lose control as the cosmic steel spikes almost hit Pikachu.
"Pi?!" Pikachu was narrowly hit by them, descending to the back and running back before any more could touch him. But right afterwards, the Rift-Dialga unleashed cosmic rays from its body, using the reflectiveness of its armour to send out some more.
"Yikes! Look out!" Ash held Twilight down, evading one of the incoming rays that came flying by. Pikachu and Espeon did the same as these rays went wild. "Pikachu! Counter Shield!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" To counter the abundance of rays, Pikachu got on his back, using Thunderbolt. A flare of electricity had emerged, fighting back against the rays in a fierce clash.
"We're gonna be here for a while," said Ash as this cosmic entity was already proving to be a handful. Ash and Twilight wouldn't be leaving this realm swiftly as expected. There was this major obstacle to deal with before anything else.
Kalos. Dahara City. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
"Hello? Are you guys done in there?" Meanwhile, back outside, Ash, Twilight, Pikachu and Espeon were practically statues at this point, stuck within this new realm. Hilbert waved his hands in front of Ash and Twilight but there wasn't an inkling of a response.
"I don't think they'll respond. I think they're in another world right now." Sci-Twi asked. "Not sure for how long...or even what's happening in there."
"I didn't think Aura would get so deep." Hilda crossed her arms. "Kinda makes me wish I caught that Lucario a while back if stuff like this was possible. But boy, was it stubborn."
"There's no telling how long they'll stay like this," said Bertha. "But Ash is more vulnerable with how targeted he is by the Rift now. Twilight told us to keep them safe, so that's what we all can do now at the moment."
"In that case, let's get them inside." Hilbert went to touch Ash, putting his hand on his shoulder. Immediately, Ash fell over from that reaction, dropping face first to the ground as the impact was surprisingly hard, sounding like stone. "Gaaaah!" Hilbert and everyone screamed once they heard Ash hit the ground hard.
"Hilbert, you blockhead!" Hida bellowed, baring her fangs with a burning fury while Hilbert got on his knees, apologizing to Ash.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It was a mistake!" Hilbert bowed his head constantly, only to then realize that Ash couldn't hear him. It looked like he didn't even feel it. His Aura was still active too.
"Hoopa will handle this!" Along came Hoopa, believing he had the best solution for this. He held up one of his rings, interacting with space once more. And in this case, Hoopa would try and carry Ash by summoning an army of Machamps. Out of the rings, multiple Machamps came jumping out, swarming the park
"Machamp! Machamp!" The Machamps all cried out as some of them performed stylish landings once emerging from Hoopa's rings. Hilbert, who was still on his knees, was knocked over by the Machamps and their knees.
"Ow! Hey!" Hilbert cried out as the park was overtaken by an army of Machamps, surprising the people and Pokemon nearby.
"Uh! Isn't this a bit much?!" Sci-Twi asked, almost being knocked over by the abundance of Machamps and their mighty muscles. Just a nudge could knock any of them over.
"With this, Ashkan, Pikan and Twikan will be carried anywhere!"
"That's great and all but this is way too many Machamps!" Hilda cried out as she was already smushed together by the Machamps who were obscenely plentiful. "We can handle this ourselves!"
"It's also highly excessive." Bertha was away from all of the danger along with Victini and Meloetta. "We appreciate your assistance but this is a bit overboard.
"Overboard? Alright. Hoopa will send them back." Understanding Bertha's sentiments, Hoopa would reverse what he had done. He held out his ring once more before moving it close to Machamps. "Everyone! Back where you came from!"
"Champ! Machamp!" The Machamps could see a way back home. Once Hoopa held out the ring, they all started running and lunging back inside the ring, knowing that this was the mystical object that brought them here. Hilbert had been trampled on, lying on the floor with a dazed face while Sci-Twi and Hilda were still in one piece instead of being crushed.
All the Machamps returned to their respective homes in their respective regions once they all passed the ring. The park was absent of any Machamp out there.
"T-Thanks..." Hilbert gave a thumbs up as there was an imprint of a Machamp's foot on his face. A very visible red imprint as well.
"We'll just carefully do this." Sci-Twi went to pick her pony counterpart up, holding her. They would all have to head indoors to keep them safe, just in case something terrible were to happen. Ash was already a target for the Rift after all.
"Melo." Meloetta would use Psychic, holding Ash, Pikachu and Espeon up. And right at this moment, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had shown u to witness this bizarre sight.
Ash and the others were currently being carried away with the utmost care, making sure not to drop them. Sci-Twi was holding her pony counterpart as if she were a child, confusing the duo.
"W-What's going on here?" Rainbow Dash asked once she and Pinkie Pie.
"It's some funny mind thing going on." Hilbert shrugged as he stood up, recovering quickly from the trampling. "Don't worry about it. Whatever it is, I'm sure they've got it under control. Right now, we're gonna keep them safe."
"Apparently, Ash is a target," Hilda added. "A target of the Rift itself, so that's why."
"But don't worry!" Hilbert exclaimed. "I, Hilbert, the number one trainer in the world, will keep them safe from some freaky cosmic threat. Count on it."
"Ooh. And who's this?" Pinkie Pie glanced over at Hoopa who greeted Pinkie Pie. "Never seen this Pokemon before."
"Mew?" Mew popped out of Pinkie Pie's mane upon spotting Hoopa. He could already tell he was staring at another Mythical Pokemon with Psychic capabilities.
"Hoopa! That's me!" Hoopa greeted himself as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had finally met with the Mischief Pokemon. Mew was on the right page with who this was.
"Mew!" Hearing that he was Hoopa, Mew flew out of Pinkie Pie's mane to greet his fellow Mythical Pokemon, hoping that he had some relation to the rest of the Mews.
"We can get to know Hoopa later. Right now, how goes everything?" Rainbow Dash interrupted Mew, asking for details on what was happening with Ash and Twilight.
"Hoopa here is restrained from getting close to Ash. There's this massive forcefield from every angle that was made by the Rift. Right now, I guess Ash is trying to break that forcefield since his Aura's still active, even though he's unconscious. My other self went in to try and help him." Sci-Twi explained everything before looking down at her pony counter. "Aw. She's cute when she's resting like this."
"Don't call me cute..." But even when unconscious, Twilight responded to Sci-Twi, startling the human counterpart.
"Ooh. Then you'd better keep 'em in a place with a lot of light. You never know when the vampires might show up..." Pinkie Pie flailed her hooves around, putting on a menacing face.
"The vampires? Yeah, right. They're not gonna be here, Pinkie Pie." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "And how would you know they would be here actually?"
"Oh. I smelled a vampire back when you were battling Bertha. But she left." Pinkie Pie shrugged, revealing that this entire time, she knew that there was a vampire nearby. And the pony she was referring to was the one who wanted to battle Bertha as well.
Spectrum Shade.
Everyone else dug into their memories, each thinking about that same pony who wore the jacket and the cap, standing with them on the Celestial Tower.
"Wait! Her?!" Rainbow Dash roared before instantly getting in Pinkie Pie's face, holding her and shaking the earth pony. "You knew this entire time and didn't say anything?!"
"She didn't look like she was hurting anyone." Pinkie Pie squeed. "So I just let her be. No big deal, right?"
"It is a big deal! They're after Yveltal, remember? As if we're gonna let them do whatever they want. That means...there are vampires sneaking around in the Pokemon Festival, disguising themselves. Just great. Why can't this festival ever go on without something serious happening?"
"I'd say you made the right choice, Pinkie Pie," Bertha replied, surprising Sci-Twi and Rainbow Dash with that response. "You were right to let her go, I'd say."
"I was?"
"She was?!" Rainbow Dash repeated. This confused her greatly. She didn't expect an Elite 4 Member to say this, let alone just allow Spectrum Shade to run free.
"Thanks, Bertha." Pinkie Pie let out a bright grin that showed her pearly whites, causing them to blind Rainbow Dash in the process. "I didn't think you'd agree with that."
"You made that choice because of your keen senses. I'd say, someone already has a great sense of observation. Or is that just your Fairy Magic going off?" The Elite 4 Member giggled.
"Probably both." Pinkie Pie stood tall, feeling proud of herself. "But yeah. Ash had a run-in with the vampires, so they're gonna want some revenge on him, obviously. That's why we should stay in a place with all kinds of light."
"Then we'll just keep the lights in that hotel on all night." Hilbert aimed at the Dahara City Hotel which housed a colossal building the likes of which were so tall that they could match some of the tallest structures in the Pokemon World. "Man. They're freakishly tall."
"Oh, but before that. Pinkie Pie. Nice to meet you." Pinkie Pie held her hoof out to Hoopa, greeting the Mischief Pokemon.
"Pinkan." Hoopa already had a nickname for Pinkie Pie after hearing her name. He had a nickname for everyone and they all ended in 'Kan'. "Hoopa's happy to meet more of Ash's friends."
"Same here. We heard quite a bit about you, ya know. But, do you think you know any Mews? Aside from the one you just met." Pinkie Pie questioned him, wanting to get more information about the whereabouts of other Mews.
"Hoopa knows all about Mew!" Hoopa replied as he did indeed know about the New Species Pokemon Mew.
"That's great!" Pinkie Pie jumped for joy. A Mythical Pokemon who knew all about Mew. This could potentially lead to more information about locations where Mews can be found. With each passing month, Pinkie Pie discovers something new that thrills her.
However, Hoopa had more than just information about Mew.
"Here! Hoopa will show you!" He held up his ring once more, ready to bring something through. No one was ready for what was coming next. They were about to see just how far Hoopa's powers go and why exactly the Rift wanted to make sure Hoopa could never interact with Jirachi. "Alléhooparing!"
Suddenly, they all heard something. Something big was coming. Or rather, in big numbers, much like the many Machamps that showed up earlier. They all looked at the ring as the next thing they knew, a storm of Mews had shown up, flying through the rings as a pink tide emerged.
"MEW! MEW!" The Mews all cried out as once again, Hilbert was taken down by some of them.
"Not again!" For a second time in a row, Hilbert had been downed by the Pokemon that have been summoned by Hoopa in massive numbers. But to everyone else, this was absolutely stunning. Pinkie Pie and Mew's eyes lit up after witnessing what Hoopa had done.
This was important for Mewie especially to reveal herself as she was also hiding in Pinkie Pie's mane. Mewie flew out of Pinkie Pie's mane before witnessing what she wanted in the beginning. The main reason why Pinkie Pie offered to help her. To find more just like her.
Lo and behold, here they were. Dozens and dozens of Mews, reaching around the hundreds had appeared, flying around with bliss and joy in their hearts. naturally, this garnered the attention of everyone else in the city as they had witnessed an abundance of Mew the likes of which no one else has ever seen before.
But they had seen Legendary Pokemon battle in this city before so it wasn't all too surprising. It was however to Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Hilbert and everyone else.
"We did it...We did it!" Pinkie jumped for joy. "Isn't this great, Mewiei! We found more of you!"
"Mew..."
"I've never seen so many Mews in one place. Let alone one." Bertha couldn't believe her eyes as she then put on a smile, glad about one thing. "How relieved I am to be around long enough to see this."
"Mew...Mew everywhere." Hilbert and Hilda stood back to back. "We never even found one of our own, right, Hilbert?"
"Not one bit."
"Were you surprised?" Hoopa giggled as Pinkie Pie nodded her head rapidly. Just then, the earth pony lunged in, hugging Hoopa which made his eyes bulge. "Gouh!"
"I was very surprised! This is the best surprise ever since my birthday! Thank you so much, Hoopa!"
"Huh. So this is why the Rift didn't want Hoopa to meet with Ash. his is incredible. It can just bring anyone over?" Rainbow Dash gawked, understanding the severity of why Hoopa was one of the first Pokemon the Rift went for.
"Mew-Mew!" Pinkie Pie's grabbed Mewie, pulling her towards her fellow New-Species Pokemon. This is what she wanted and she got it. However, Mewie was shy, still feeling the timidness of when she was around during the golden age of the Mews.
"Mew..." She hovered back, slightly intimidated to confront so many Mews. It was just like the past. But Pinkie's Mew encouraged her. After all, she already knew what it was like to speak to another one of her kind.
It was a Mew-Utopia. Much like how it was in the past.
"Wish you guys were her to see it." Sci-Twi looked at Ash and Twilight along with their Pokemon, wanting them to witness this wonderful sight just for themselves.
Within this mysterious realm.
Right now, they were fairly occupied with the Rift-Dialga to return to reality. But they were standing their ground against such a powerful foe either way. Granted, it was taking some time and a lot of coordination.
"We're not getting anywhere with this, Ash." Twilight said, growling at the RIft-Dialga. "We need to defeat it in one go and deal with that wall too. Now's a good time to send out more of our Pokemon."
"Yeah."
But before they could do anything, that's when the Cosmic Wall acted once more. Seeing that Ash and Twilight were challenging to face, it would send something to deal with them both. Something to assist the Rift-Dialga.
A shooting star and a quick, bright flash of blinding energy had burst out of the Cosmic Wall, grabbing their attention. A new variation of an Arceus and Rift Creation was arriving as a brilliant being with eyes with a circle of light stood in front of them, appearing next to Rift Dialga. Two massive wings like thunderclouds could be seen, rumbling with its appearance. It carried a weapon of bright energy while surrounded by a pulsing energy, likely a protective barrier. It had a slightly more upwards stance compared to Rift-Dialga but it was the same size. And those eyes were similar as well. This meant only one thing.
"Palkia!" Ash cried out, recognizing this figure. Not only could the Cosmic Wall sent out a variation of Dialga but also Palkia.
The Rift-Palkia had emerged, letting a cry that was similar to Palkia. Ash and Twilight had their hands and hooves full now that there was a second one involved. They were already having some trouble with the first one.
"Why another one?" Twilight lowered her head, letting out a groan and a sigh.
"We'll just stop this one too." Ash kept his spirits up. "We've got more Pokemon to help us out. Let's just hurry and save everyone."
"R-Right!" Twilight stood up tall as now it was a full 2-on-2 battle. They weren't going anywhere unless they defeated what the Cosmic Wall had sent to them.
This fierce battle in another realm world continue while other wild things happen on the outside, such as the emergence of a hundred Mews. And even so, this was still the early parts of the Pokemon Festival. As the journey continues.
The Cosmic Wall. A massive wall that stretches across this mysterious universe, existing at the very edge of it. This colossal wall not only trapped people who were aware of the Rift's actions but also summoned creations that were a mixture of Arceus and the Rift's power.
A Rift Dialga and a Rift Palkia.
Ash and Twilight were already struggling with a Rift-Dialga but now a Rift-Palkia has arrived to make it worse as a means of the Cosmic Wall aiming to defeat all possible threats, much like how it was used against the original creators, the people that were embedded within the wall.
They had an ultimate method to stop all of this and remove the forcefield that was keeping Ash and Hoopa away from each other. Aura. One of the few things that could affect anything Rift-related.
"So as long as the Cosmic Wall sees you as a threat...it'll continue to churn out defences." The man within the wall said. "We made it so that it would be a vast defence against the Rift, but its power has been altered and is being used by the Rift itself."
"In that case, let's make it one big hurrah and end it as soon as we can, Ash. You won't be severely harmed on the inside compared to the outside." Twilight said as they were going for one big Aura pulse to end it.
"Gotcha! Go, Lucario!" To make sure it was guaranteed, Ash would send out the Aura Pokemon Lucario for extra efficiency.
"Come out, Togekiss!" And out came Twilight's Togekiss for the backup.
"Lucario!"
"Togekiss!"
"Just give me some time to make it work." Ash held out his hand, summoning Sir Aaron's staff once more by expanding its size. "I wish Victini was in here to give me a boost but this is all we need."
"Right. Togekiss, use Aura Sphere! Eve, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Okay, Lucario! Get in there and use Aura Sphere! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuu!" A ranged assault would occur. Aura Sphere, Dazzling Gleam and Thunderbolt would be unleashed. Lucario and Togekiss threw out spheres of concentrated aura while 100,000 volts and rays of rainbows came flying in.
In response, that's when the powers of these Rift-Arceus creations showed themselves some more. They could do more than just attack. After all, they were variations of Dialga and Palkia so they could do more.
At the same time, they both used their abilities, albeit weaker variations of what the actual Dialga and Palkia were capable of. They had warped time and space. By the power of Rift-Dialga, Dazzling Gleam and the two Aura Spheres had been rewound, returning back to Espeon's body as if the attack never happened whilst Palkia manipulated space, causing Thunderbolt to hit Togekiss instead.
"To!" Togekiss cried out after being hit by the blast of electricity while Lucario, Pikachu and Espeon gasped once they saw that their attacks hadn't gone through.
"Togekiss!" Twilight gasped as Togekiss almost fell before managing to hang in there. After reversing and manipulating their attacks, Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palka unleashed two breath attacks that were coloured blue and purple. Representative of both their original colours and the colours of the Rift.
Twilight acted fast, putting up a shield of magic to block the breaths while everyone else was confused. The dragon breaths had crashed into Twilight's shield. The force of them together was enough to shatter Twilight's barrier, pushing her back.
"Twilight!" Ash caught Twilight after the blowback, protecting her from a heavy impact. But Rift-Palkia followed up, using what looked to be Spacial Rend. It raised its arms up before then swinging it down. Indeed, this was just like Spacial Rend as a purple wave of energy had emerged, moving in between Ash and the others. In the blink of an eye, the starlight pathway and parts of space had been split up.
Ash and Twilight were split up instantly once Rift-Palkia split space. They were split up with their Pokemon being on their respective sides. Ash, Pikachu and Lucario were hurling to the left while Twilight, Espeon and Togekiss were sent flying to the left, leaving the starlight path.
"Warping space and time...we should've seen this coming!" Twilight groaned while drifting away from Ash and his Pokemon. Afterwards, Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia split up to attack both sides with weaker numbers.
These two were making it harder for them. Freeing Hoopa from the Rift's restraint was getting increasingly harder as Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia came flying in with devastating Auras. The plan to have Ash use all of his Aura was still in motion but that would need some time for him to make it work.
Kalos. Dahara City. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, there was an equally wild scenario happening outside. Hoopa had just summoned hundreds of Mews from his ring as they were all flying around Dahara City. This was wonderful to Pinkie Pie's Mew and Mewie as this was their goal from the start. Finding other Mews across the world.
But with the power of Hoopas ring, it was instant.
"So this means the Mew species isn't as rare as it seemed to be," Bertha observed all of the Mews flying around. "Perhaps, they were all so mischievous to the point where they disguised themselves."
"That's not it. Hoopa just got them from different dimensions and worlds." Hoopa responded to Bertha, flying to her. Indeed, not all of these Mews came from the same universe. Some of them were from completely different worlds far from here.
"Really now? So one of these Mews has to be from our world then." Hilbert replied as a Mew flew over his head.
"Oh. Well, that's fine with us. It doesn't matter where they come from." said Pinkie Pie. "As long as Mewie's got more of her own to see and meet. That also means the other Mews from this world are still out there. Or maybe some of them are here already.
"Mew-Mew!" Pinkie Pie's Mew was already socializing well with every other Mew. At the same time, hiding behind him and not fully facing the other Mews was Mewie herself. She could face one or two Mews but this was a massive amount. However, Pinkie's Mew was here to support her."Mew."
"Mew..." Mewie moved to the side, facing a total of 7 different Mews. She was reminded of how in the past, she would hide from every Mew, unable to interact with them. Now was her chance as the other Mews waved at her. This prompted Mewie to wave back, albeit sheepishly.
But it went well. After all, these Mew could all understand each other no matter how each of them felt. And with such an amazing friend as Pinkie Pie's Mew here to support her, Mewie felt some sort of peace. Her wish had been granted by the looks of things.
"Well, they aren't gonna stay here forever, right?" Hilda commented. "They have their own homes back in their universes. At least, I think so. Mew seems to go anywhere it wants."
"Uh, they might not head home if someone doesn't stop them." Sci-Twi was already ahead of everyone, seeing that the consequence of having so many Mews out and flying everywhere would lead to them wandering off. They are a curious species after all.
"Hm?" Pinkie Pie and everyone soon turned around to see that a plethora of Mew had already flown away. "Gah! Wait! That could be a problem now that I think about it!"
"With so many Mews around, someone is bound to want them all," Bertha added. "Especially that Hunter J."
"Bringing that up only makes it worse." Sci-Twi lowered her head as everyone now knew how serious this could get. While Hoopa did something wonderful, it came with massive risks.
"Gah!" Pinkie Pie stretched her mane, processing the drawbacks. While it was amazing seeing them all fly around like this, she didn't want the worst to happen. "What do we do?! I don't wanna send them back! Or do I?" She then pondered.
"Mew-Mew!" However, Pinkie Pie's Mew spoke out, saluting Pinkie Pie as he already had the perfect solution. He knew how his fellow species worked after all so the answer was clear.
"Ooh. That's a good idea." Hoopa heard what Mew had shared, nodding in agreement. Mewie, Victini and Meloetta did the same as only they could understand Mew.
"Huh? What? What did they say?" Hilbert got in between them, wanting to know what they agreed upon. "Wish I could speak Pokemon. Man..."
"Mewkan says that we can just hang out with them and let them go home later. No need to worry." Hoopa translated. "Hoopa will be their uh...Sabby."
"You mean cabby?" Hilda corrected Hoopa, knowing what he meant by that. Indeed, Hoopa would be the one to send them back since he already brought them here. However, while Pinkie Pie was afraid that she might've made them all vulnerable targets, Mew already knew that the best way to get around this while also avoiding any problems was to hang out with them.
Mainly for the sake of Mewie. She would be the focal point as spending more time with her fellow Mew would increase her happiness. While she did find peace knowing that there were more of her out there and some more that have yet to be seen in her world, she was still missing the element of hanging around these various New Species Pokemon.
"Oh. Okay." Pinkie Pie let go of her mane as it returned to normal as if it was a balloon snapping back into place and jiggling about. "A bummer Ash, Twilight, Pikachu and Eve are gonna miss this out."
"I'm sure they'll wake up soon enough. We'll let you and the Pokemon handle this while we get them to the hotel." Bertha offered to guard Ash, Twilight and their Pokemon. "Victini. Meloetta. You two can join in on the fun while we handle things."
"Tini!" Victini loved to hear it. Though, Meloetta would prefer if she were to stay with Ash instead.
"Melo..."
"Victini!" Before Meloetta could do so, or ever, Victini grabbed her arm, pulling the Melody Pokemon with her. Meloetta had already been dragged into this Mew scenario, unable to spend time with Ash. Then again, he was currently unconscious so spending time with him would be difficult.
Meanwhile, carrying them with the utmost care, Ash, Twilight and their Pokemon had been safely brought over to the Dahara City Hotel until they end up regaining consciousness. But no one else would know the type of battle they were going through right about now.
Dahara City Westside.
"But I want to stay with Ash!" Meloetta cried out. "I want to keep him safe just in case!"
"It's fine, it's fine. He'll be fine." Victini replied. "Right?"
"Hm? Oh, right!" Mew was too distracted hanging around his fellow Mews. This took him back. Back to when the earth was populated with Mews before they all evolved into the Pokemon that exist today. Thanks to Hoopa, he could experience those early days once more but this time from Mews that came from other dimensions.
"Hoopa never knew you were all so important," Hoopa commented, surprised that Mew was so important that the entire species couldn't afford to be out in the open for as long as they want considering how important they were. Then again, this was Dahara City and it's seen something far greater than an army of Mew.
"Welcome to my world!" Mew grabbed the paws of other Mews, dancing around with them. "This is the best world ever! Better than anywhere else!"
"Huh? That's a lie." Some of the Mews begged to differ.
"Nope. 100% True. This world has weird space things happening. I can prove it to you." Pinkie Pie's Mew could back it up. All he had to do was show them the ponies that could be found here. Their respective worlds certainly didn't have ponies. At least, ponies that weren't Pokemon. "But right now, I want to throw a party for her."
"Me?" Mewie noticed that she was being pointed at by Mew. And this was to be expected as this was centred around her.
"Oh yeah! It's all about you, Mewie!" Excitedly, Mew flew over to his friend pulling her this way. Mewie used her tail, transforming it into the tail of a Ninetales to cover her entire body. "We're gonna throw a big party for you just like how Pinkie does it back home."
"Will it have Honey Cheesecake?" Mewie had one request. Her personal favourite dessert from SugarCube Corner.
"Coming right up. We'll have so many Honey Cheesecakes that it'll last two days! Maybe even three! But...we're gonna have to work together to set everything up."
"You don't have to do that! with Hoopa around, anything's possible!" Hoopa was the answer to that. His ring was practically the answer to almost everything, being able to summon anything. "You want party decorations right?"
"Well...big enough so that we can party all day and all night. Maybe near that garden!" Mew aimed his paw over a garden at the distance of this mega-metropolis. A 75,000-metre flower garden could be seen, displaying millions upon millions of flowers with more than dozens of flowering plants with different species that could be seen.
It was a luxurious place to behold and to the Mews, a perfect place to have a party. Everyone looked at each other while agreeing that it was perfect. Wide enough too.
"That'll do. And then...you should sing at the party, Meloetta!" Mew declared, taking the role of a party planner, much like his trainer.
"You want me to sing?" Meloetta gasped as she already liked the sound of it. It also meant that she would get to sing in that beautiful flower garden. "I'd love to!"
"Great. But make it just for her." Mew patted Mewie on the head. "I wanna make sure it's all about her today."
"Ooh. What about me? What about me?" Victini asked, curious about what his role would be in this upcoming party.
"Uh...Fireworks! Pretty please?" Mew squeed, not thinking much about what Victini could be so he just came up with the first thing to mind. He took the factor of Victini being a Fire-Type and slapped the fireworks role on him.
"Fireworks?" Victini pouted. He wanted to be more than that considering his infinite power. But it looked like that wasn't the case right now. "Ahh...Fine. I'll try and make it as bright as I can."
"Wonderful! Do it Hoopa! Uhh...you can bring party decorations right?" Or is it just Pokemon and stuff?" Mew asked.
"Hoopa can do more than that! Hoopa will bring those Honey Cheesecakes too! They sound delicious!" Hoopa would get started, holding out two of his rings, making sure to get it right. Hoopa was also in the partying mood. Sometimes, mischievous Pokemon love to have fun at parties.
Either way, they can still be mischievous there.
Out of Hoopa's dual rings, party decorations were being grabbed from different parts of the Pokemon World and Equestria too. Bunting flags came flying out but they needed something to support them.
A massive array of tables with various foods had been pulled in, dropping in the Flower Garden as Hoopa found himself some Honey Cheesecakes. But, he wanted to spice things up, selecting multiple desserts and food for everyone to enjoy and explore. There were also cups, juice and soda cartons that came dropping in. The Mews all gazed as Party streamers dropped onto them as well as a massive pink banner.
Of course, Hoopa could only summon them, not set them up. This would take the efforts of the others to make it work. Mew already knew how he wanted this to be present as he rubbed his paws together.
"All it needs is some Psychic and we're good to go," Mew commented. "Let's make it work team!"
"We're a team now?" The Mews repeated. "Okay then!" But they found no issue with it. They were all in this together from start to finish.
They got to work as the Mews spread out to set this party up. Of course, PinkiePie's Mew would be the one to instruct them on how a party was meant to be set up. Many months of living with Pinkie Pie have given him some major experience.
"Oh! Do you think I should dress up for this?!" Meloetta gasped. "Aw, but Ash might not see me in it. Oh, I could just transform too."
"If you want a dress, you could always ask Rarity, but she's really far away from here. Probably somewhere else." Mew suggested this option to the Melody Pokemon.
"Fireworks...I don't know if I wanna do it." Victini sat down, crossing his arms.
"Does Vikan want Hoopa to bring in more Victini to help?" Hoopa suggested an abundant increase in Victini.
"No way! I can do this!" Victini stood up, pumping his fists. "I'll make it as bright as I can!"
As the party was being set up, the banner had been written on with the Mews turning into Smeargles. On the banner, it was congratulating Mewie mainly as ordered by Pinkie's Mew. Everything was coming up nicely in this Flower Garden. To show her thanks for this, Mewie had given Mew a power-hug for all that he did for her. And she'll have to give Pinkie and the others some hugs as well.
Very soon, her party would be set up. Pinkie Pie was watching the whole thing, wiping a tear off her face as she was absolutely proud of Mew. He learned from the best after all.
Over at the Dahara City Hotel, Ash, Twilight, Pikachu and Espeon were placed on the luxurious beds of the hotel as Bertha paid for the expenses. They looked peaceful even when unconscious though Ash was still radiating high levels of Aura within his body.
They didn't make a single sound aside from Ash's Aura as it had already been 30 minutes since this has happened. The only time they responded was when Twilight sub-consciously replied to Sci-Twi.
"On second thought...Aura's pretty dangerous if something like this can happen. Almost makes me glad I never caught that Lucario." Hilda commented.
"I wish I could see what was happening in there. Or even help out." Sci-Twi sighed, worrying for them all. "What now? Do we just leave them?"
"Maybe. But after this, Ash may need to find a way to strengthen his Aura so that these unconscious episodes won't be frequent anymore," said Bertha.
"How's he gonna do that? Sounds like it's a pretty huge burden having Aura, ya know." Hilbert laid his back on a bed, resting for a bit. "It's awesome but it's dangerous to your body at the same time?"
"That's mainly Ash's Aura. It's so big that it can be the best weapon we have or it can screw him over." Rainbow Dash replied. "It's helped us a lot of times but it's put him in some pretty bad spots when it pushes his body. Sucks."
"It's a double-edged sword. But some say the way to fully withstand Aura is by using Mega Evolution." Bertha revealed one way that Aura could be maintained without massive strain.
"Mega Evolution?" Rainbow Dash and the others repeated. "But doesn't Mega Evolution make it worse? Rarity can't even use two Mega Evolutions at the same time or it'll hurt badly. I can't even use the Harmony Phenomenon and Mega Evolution at the same time either. I'll pass out too, no doubt."
"Judging by what Rainbow Dash said, won't Mega Evolution just be a bigger burden?" Sci-Twi asked.
"If you see it that way...however, Ash's Aura brings more positives than good. With the time I've spent with him, I've been able to observe his Aura for what it is. His Aura being so massive doesn't just make it strong but also suitable to hold anything. Think of Ash's Aura as a vessel. The sheer size of it allows him to not only showcase a massive wealth of power but also a way to let the power come to him."
"Oooh...Just like how Twilight has Rift Magic in her!" Rainbow Dash gasped. "She emptied out her own magic first to add Rift Magic in it!"
"That's right. Similar to that. But in this case, Ash won't need to empty out his Aura to become a vessel for the power of Mega Evolution. His Aura can be multiple vessels instead of just one. It's not like he can empty it out anyway. It's his lifeforce after all."
"AH, I gotcha. All Ash has to do is let all that Mega Evolution energy become a part of that Aura. Man, he's so lucky. Why don't I have some mega Aura with me?" Hilbert sat up. "The number one Trainer in the world should have something like that, ya know."
"If you had Aura, you'd knock yourself out in the first five minutes." Hilda snapped back at Hilbert's sentence as always.
"There are other ways and Mega Evolution is one of them. Of course, Ash will have to wake up first before any of that." Bertha looked over at Ash, who wasn't even twitching in his sleep. Even with everything happening inside, nothing was making him move. All they could do was watch and listen to the sound of Aura.
Within the mysterious realm.
"Ugh!" Ash crashed into a meteor along with Pikachu and Lucario. They had been separated from Twilight and her Pokemon after what the Rif-Palkia did. Ash held his head, looking up as the Rift-Dialga would face him and his Pokemon only. Meanwhile, Twilight would be occupied with the Rift-Dialga.
"Man...If this keeps up, I'm never gonna save those guys and Hoopa," Ash said, getting up back as Pikachu and Lucario growled at this Rift entity. He couldn't see Twilight right now. She was stuck with the other Rift entity on the right side.
Ash knew that if something wasn't done, he and Twilight might end up in that wall with the people and those objects. And if that happened, everything else on the outside would spiral into chaos. Ash thought about everything that could happen.
He wouldn't be there to challenge the Masters 8, help against the Rift since his Aura was so powerful or even keep his promises to others that he's met. He wouldn't even get to experience the rest of the Pokemon Festival or even fulfil the promise that he would keep the worlds connected and find Jirachi.
Worst of all, he would worry his mother, no doubt. And something like that couldn't happen. Ash closed his eyes, thinking about everything that would happen. This one event happening with a gigantic forcefield already had a lot of things riding on it. No matter what, Ash would take this seriously.
And it was because he thought of everyone else and the stakes that were behind it at all, the moment he opened his eyes, his Aura exploded out of nowhere. As if a dragon was roaring, blowing away the mountains themselves. Rift- Dialga flinched for a bit as the sound of the Aura was that intimidating. Lucario could feel Ash's pure determination as it was helping his Aura.
Ash's Aura illuminated the darkness of these cosmos' with its intensity, shining as bright as a star. Possibly. Because of the bonds he shared with so many others and knowing of the stakes, his Aura was made stronger.
"I can't let that happen!" Ash declared. "If I don't get out of here...I'll never become a Pokemon Master! Back out there, Hoopa and the others are waiting! And so is everything else that'll come later! Even if my opponent's a mixture of Arceus' power and the Rift's power, I'm not gonna lose this!"
"Pikachu!"
"Lucario!"
"If I'm gonna become a Pokemon Master with all of my achievements...I'm gonna add you to the pile of those achievements. I hope you're ready. You're going down!" Ash adjusted his hat as he was going to make sure this was the final confrontation between them. This was serious enough for Rift-Diagla to adjust its sword and shield. He would experience Ash at his absolute best at the moment.
And his absolute best would be something to behold.
Within the mysterious realm that housed the Cosmic Wall.
"Let's not waste any time! Pikachu! Lucario! Buy me all the time I need! Quick Attack! Force Palm and Double Team!" Ash was going all in. After knowing what was at stake, he would guarantee the freedom and safety of his friends by doing everything he could.
He held Sir Aaron's staff in his hand, already concentrating his Aura while Pikachu and Lucario would deal with the Rift-Dialga and guarantee that Ash would have enough time to expend his Aura.
"Pika!" Pikachu used Quick Attack, advancing towards the Rift-Dialga while Lucario used Double Team, duplicating himself and following Pikachu's lead. They were jumping from meteor to meteor to try and reach Rift-Dialga since they were away from the starlight path thanks to Rift-Palkia.
Rift-Dialga responded by using what looked to be Roar of Time once again, unleashing a blue beam that had the power to distort time itself. The beam was affected by the Rift's power, sending out mall time bubbles that would slow the clones of Lucario down, but not the real one as the real Lucario slipped y.
Pikachu managed to evade these bubbles with his lightning-fast movements. But now they were aware that this variation of Dialga had power over time. They couldn't afford to make mistakes otherwise their hard work would all be undone. Both figuratively and literally.
Pikachu then tackled Rift-Dialga's head while Lucario used Force Palm from the side. Since this was a combination of both Arceus' power and the RIft's power, mainly the Rift's, Rift-Dialga counted as a Pokemon and possessed the Steel-Typing. Thus, Lucario's Force Palm dealt super-effective damage, pushing Rift-Dialga away.
In response, Rift-Dialga used its sword, causing it to accelerate with more incredible speed. By using its time abilities on the sword, Dialga could swing it faster than usual. It had also extended the size of the sword just for extra efficiency. With one swing, the sword moved ahead of time by a few seconds, slashing Pikachu and Lucario at the same.
"Ca!"
"Pika!"
"Iron Tail and Aura Sphere!"
"Pika!" Pikachu and Lucario would retaliate as Rift-Dialga swung the sword down once more. Pikachu's tail clashed with the sword while Lucario unleashed Aura Sphere, only for it to be blocked by the shield. Pikachu had a fierce back-to-back clash with the sword while Lucario continued to throw Aura Spheres at the shield. His Aura was starting to affect the shield since t was made out of Rift-Energy as well.
"Pika!" Pikachu then jumped over the sword swing before lunging towards Rift-Dialga. He delivered an overhead smash with Iron Tail, striking Rift-Dialga's head at full force. Rift-Dialga staggered from that, allowing for some of Lucario's Aura Spheres to fly in and deliver some more super-effective damage.
Right then, not only did Rift-Dialga reverse any damage that had been done to it with its powers, it had then accelerated its own body, moving so fast that it did a tackle to both Pikachu and Lucario in one go despite them being apart from each other.
"Pi!" Pikachu groaned after receiving a split-second tackle which had sent him and Lucario. Rift-Dialga still had steel properties while also radiating two different energies so that impact certainly stung.
Afterwards, it extended its wings, wrapping them around Pikachu and Lucario before they could land back on one of the meteors. The wings then separated from Rift-Dialga's entire body as it slammed through some meteors.
"Hang in there you two!" Ash exclaimed as his Aura was building up, expanding in size. He then saw that his partners needed help. They couldn't do it by themselves. "I need you guys to help out. If you can hear me, please come out!"
Indeed, Ash's Pokemon could hear him even from within here. From his pockets, four Poke Balls came flying out, levitating and moving while Ash was still focused on building up his Aura.
Before Rift-Dialga could slam them into some more meteors, someone had interrupted it, blasting through its wings. Dragon Claw had been unleashed, slicing straight through the golden wings which made Rift-Dialga cry out. Dragonite was responsible for that as the rest of Ash's Pokemon had shown up, saving Pikachu and Lucario.
"Gen...gar!" Upon joining the battle, Gengar had used Night Shade, unleashing black and red beams from its eyes while Sirfetch'd and Dracovish assisted by using Night Slash and Water Gun.
Rift-Dialga was struck by these beams while also being blasted by the powerful stream of water. This would also give Ash some extra time as all of his Pokemon were here. However, Ash knew one thing. The Cosmic Wall could up the ante by sending more out and it could take forever. The only way to make sure that wouldn't happen was by getting his Aura to the right level.
"Just a bit more you guys..." Ash said before turning his head, thinking about how Twilight was doing against Rift-Palkia since they had been split up from the starlight pathway.
Twilight wasn't finding things easier. She, Espeon and Togekiss had to deal with Rift-Palkia warping space, sending smaller comets towards them. In a place like this, Rift-Palkia had a lot of advantages.
Espeon was on Togekiss's back, using her to get around easier as Togekiss was evading the incoming comets. Twilight simply obliterated these comets with her magic once they got close.
"Dazzling Gleam!"
"Espeon!" Together, Espeon and Togekiss had used Dazzling Gleam, unleashing a barrage of rainbow rays that were certain to deal super-effective damage to Rift-Palkia. Twilight chimed in by unleashing a blast of magic from her horn.
Once again, the entity had warped space, creating wormholes that absorbed the rays of Dazzling Gleam and even Twilight's magic. After absorbing them, Palkia redirected their own attacks back at them by repositioning the wormholes. Before they knew it, Twilight and her Pokemon were hit by their own attacks by these wormholes.
Speaking of wormholes, once Twilight and her Pokemon had been knocked over, Rift-Palkia used them to its advantage, duplicating them and placing its staff weapon and claw through them. Out of these wormholes, duplicates of Rift-Palkia's weapon and claw came flying out.
"Please help!" Twilight cried out for the rest of her Pokemon while also putting up a shield. Her Poke Balls were shot out with magic, summoning Ninetales, Absol and Cinccino.
Absol used his horn, intercepting Rift-Palkia's weapon by slashing with Night Slash. The other weapons and claws had been fended off by Hidden Power and Tri Attack. All of Twilight's Pokemon came to her assistance, standing before Rift-Palkia.
"Thank you all." Twilight sighed once they showed up and saved her. However, even with this extra assistance, Twilight would still struggle. And from what she's found out so far, Rift-Palkia and Rift-Dialga also have yet to show what they can really do. "With its power of space in this way, some of our attacks might not reach it. This might take forever. It's time to-"
But before she could do anything, such as go for her Twilightium Z, suddenly, she felt a massive increase in Aura. She gasped, looking over as Ash's Aura was starting to accelerate. Perfect timing as Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia had already accelerated their capabilities minutes ago.
"I can feel it!" Ash said as his eyes were flashing blue from all of this Aura. It was certainly something as it was so powerful that the pressure of Delayed Aura Ataxia had even reached here. Bits of Victini's power were still lurking within Ash, prompting his Aura to rise to new heights.
Ash groaned as naturally, his body was in pain once more. He dropped Sir Aaron's staff as his body trembled from all this overflow of Aura. Ash almost dropped to his knees as Twilight gasped upon seeing Ash in such a state. She wanted to over and help but Rift-Palkia had put up so many wormholes to block her way.
"I won't let it get to me like this...!" Ash uttered before taking it easy. He closed his eyes, letting the Aura come to him naturally instead of forcing it. And by doing so, the pain, while it was still there, decreased. Ash managed to power through it, allowing him to reach the current peak of his Aura. "Yeah! That's more like it! Thanks, Victini!"
Ash had done it. With all the time given to him by his friends, he could allow his Aura to flow freely. He didn't even need Sir Aaron's staff in this scenario. Ash allowed all the Aura to flow naturally, bringing out its true power. From his body, a large flow of Aura was emerging, causing everyone to stop what they were doing, especially Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia. The Rift energy within them could feel a dangerous force incoming. Something that could force them back or worse.
Everyone looked over to see Ash's massive burst of Aura.
He let out a roar that echoed throughout this universe while letting Aura reach everything. It moved at incredible speeds while also managing to avoid harming any of Ash's friends.
A massive gale of Aura had lit up this dark universe while also eradicating Rift-Palkia's wormholes as if they were never there. They had all been lost to the Aura. Rift-Dialga tried reversing this area of time so that the Aura Burst never happened. It summoned a bubble of Aura around Ash to reverse his actions, only for his Aura to break through the bubble with absolute ease.
Rift-Dialga gasped as it was enveloped by the azure light of the Aura. The same went for Rift-Palkia as they both let out cries once the Aura caught them. Ash made sure they were back inside the Cosmic Wall. The two entities were being carried back to the wall as Twilight and everyone watched Ash's Aura perform new things. Ash was physically controlling his Aura to do so.
The Cosmic Wall tried retaliating as quickly as it could, attempting to summon a third entity. From the Cosmic Wall, a third head was showing up. A head that resembled Giratina. However, that wouldn't happen as Ash's Aura moved too fast to the point where it pushed the head back in as well as the two entities.
The people within the wall smiled as they could feel their bodies being freed from their current positions. Ash's Aura couldn't fully break the Cosmic Wall at the moment but he set out to do what he aimed to do. The Cosmic Wall had a high level of durability but with the strength of Ash's Aura, he managed to large parts of it down. Not all of it but enough to free the people trapped in it. But Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia would be shoved back in as their bodies were absorbed by the energy of the wall.
Afterwards, everything was covered by the Aura to the point where this dimension was starting to break. Visible cracks were showing as Ash emanated so much power that he could free himself from this dimension. His Aura finally ended once he set out to do what he aimed to do. That was as far as he could go as he got to his knees.
"Ash!" Twilight flew over to Ash once he saw him get on his knees, exhausting himself. Ash managed to withstand all of that without falling victim to Delayed Aura Ataxia once more.
"I did it..." Ash breathed in and out before looking up at everyone who came to his side. "Did I?"
"You sure did. You pushed them back. And you even freed the people from the wall." Twilight nodded in confirmation. Ash's hard work had paid off once again.
"W-What about Hoopa? That's what I wanted to do the most?"
"You broke parts of the wall. That probably means some of the forcefield's presence has been weakened on the outside. Not sure how much, but you've pushed yourself far enough Ash. We're leaving."
Indeed. Ash broke this dimension so hard it would automatically force them out. Their bodies were disappearing into stardust, returning to the real world. The Cosmic Wall was still prominent with its colossal size. Ash managed to break a large chunk of it but it wasn't enough to get rid of the whole thing. This wouldn't be the last time they would come here.
But before they left, Twilight took the dance to drop a sparkle of Rift Energy on the starlight path. This one sparkle would be helpful in the future.
Kalos. Dahara City. Dahra Hotel. The Pokemon Festival. Late Afternoon.
"Oh, man..." Ash groaned as he finally recovered from Delayed Aura Ataxia. Upon waking up, he found himself within the Dahara City Hote, sitting up on the bed.
"You're finally awake," Bertha commented as she was still here along with Rainbow Dash and Sci-Twi, waiting for Ash to wake up. "It only took 2 hours."
"Yeah. Way more than we were expecting." Twilight held her head. "But...we did it. Well, a few things actually."
"How'd it go?! Did you find the problem with the forcefield?!" Rainbow Dash flew over to Twilight.
"You still look hurt, Ash." Sci-Twi put her hand on Ash's shoulder, seeing him in a dazed condition. He broke out of Delayed Aura Ataxia but the effects were still there. "Do you want to take another rest?"
"I'm fine. Where's Hoopa and everyone else?" Ash asked, seeing that Hoopa wasn't around.
"They're outside, having a party at the Flower Garden," Bertha replied. "They're all doing fine and they seem to have attracted others to this massive party for Mew."
"Oh...I gotta get out there." Ash stood back up, ignoring the effects of Deleyad Aura Ataxia. That Aura Burst from before was certainly leaving an impact as Ash staggered when stepping forward.
"Hold on! You shouldn't go out there like that!" Twilight held Ash's back, preventing him from going any further.
"I just gotta see Hoopa, that's all." But Ash persisted, continuing to walk, even if the effects were there. "I wanna see if we can be together again."
"Pika-pi." Pikachu also got back up, walking beside Ash instead of getting on his shoulder, not wanting to risk harming his trainer.
"Well...I guess I'll tell you everything we saw there." Twilight, meanwhile, would share her and Ash's experience within that strange dimension and the things they encountered, starting with the Cosmic Wall.
Ash got outside, seeing that the afternoon Sun was slowly starting to set, showing off its deep orange glow over the horizon of Dahara City. Ash expected events such as this to take a while, especially when it came to the Rift.
When leaving the hotel, he approached the Flower Garden, which housed a large party orchestrated by Pinkie Pie's Mew and set up by Hoopa and every other Mew here. It was all for Mewie and her wish coming true thanks to Hoopa. Ash even saw the massive banner celebrating this event.
Pinkie Pie, Hilda and Hilbert were already there, having something to eat at the party. And naturally, this party attracted a crowd. However, since the people of Dahara City were so used to such rare Pokemon, the Mew had no reason to disguise themselves in this city. They would just be themselves.
Meloetta sang at this party for Mewie specifically, creating a wonderful melody while VIctini had used his V-Create to make some fireworks in the sky. Ash looked up, seeing these fireworks go off, appearing beautifully even in the orange sunset. They would only get better during nightfall.
"Ashkan! Pikan!" Hoopa spotted Ash and Pikachu, flying over to them. "Hoopa was waiting for you two to get up!"
"Yeah. We're up. And I'm hoping it worked." Ash stopped in front of Hoopa. "Something big happened in there and I want to make sure it paid off. So...can we get closer?"
"Hoopa will find out for himself!" Hoopa would test it out by going in for a hug. Ash held his hand out as Hoopa came flying in at full force. Ash saw that there were invisible pulses from different sides going off. The same pulses that were blocking him and Hoopa from getting closer.
But that was only from the sides. In the middle, Hoopa passed through no problem as he and Ash embraced each other with a full physical contact hug. "Yeah! It worked!"
"Pikachu!"
The plan worked. Not all the way but enough for Hoopa to find a pathway to reach Ash as they spun around. Hoopa excitedly got on Ash's head as the two of them laughed. Pikachu joined right afterwards as the reunion had been completed.
"Ashkan and Pikan did it! They did it!"
"Told ya. Doesn't matter if walls, mountains or planets block our way, we'll cut a road through them all and get to our friends." Ash replied, holding Hoopa up. "I'm glad I got to help, Hoopa."
"Ashkan and Pikan always help Hoopa. Hoopa's too grateful!" Hoopa twirled around. "Hoop's glad to have such amazing friends as you two!"
"No problem, Hoopa. Next, we're heading to Arche Valley, just cause I wanna see it for the first time. But can you find Jirachi though?" Ash asked, getting to the big questions.
"Hmm..." Hoopa dug his hand into one of his rings, searching through space to see if he could find Jirachi. Any Jirachi if there were potentially any that hadn't been locked away by the Rift. "Sorry. Hoopa can't find any."
"Man...that's a shame." Ash sighed.
"But!" However, Hoopa had some optimism. "Hoopa will keep searching until Hoopa finds something. One day, Hoopa will get to Jirachi. Count on it."
"Yeah. we will." Ash held his fist out for a fist bump as Hoopa responded accordingly. "I may be tired but I wanna enjoy this party too. Let's do this!"
"Pikachu!"
Now that he accomplished one of his major goals, Ash could party away with everyone else as Meloetta excitedly gasped once seeing Ash. She then realized she was still singing, keeping her melody up so as to not distract herself or put herself off melody.
"Took you long enough!" Hilbert said, stuffing his mouth with pastries. "You were gonna miss out on all of this while I ate it all, ya know!"
"Glad to see you're up!" Pinkie Pie waved her hoof.
"Leave some for me!" Ash rushed over to the table of pastries before they could all potentially vanish tomorrow. He deserved this feast after what he did for his friend.
Right now, Hoopa was free yet again. And as for the people stuck in the wall, Ash hadn't seen them, but he knew they were free. The Champion of Alola was wondering if he would run into them relatively soon. But right now, all he could think about was the party while Mewie was dancing with the other Mews and socializing with them. Her shyness towards her fellow species had dropped all thanks to Pinkie Pie's Mew.
Ash and Mew did something of note here. Both went out of their way to help their friends. One was more dangerous than the other but still genuine nonetheless.
It also wouldn't be the last time they saw from the Cosmic Wall or even the Rift-Dialga and Palkia. Those two entities along with the third one that resembled Giratina were still there, hidden within the Cosmic Wall. This never-ending battle with the Rift seemed to be truly never-ending. But even Ash knew that all things must come to an end.
However, he decided that this beautiful union of worlds should never come to an end. And with how much hard work he puts in to make sure his friends are happy, he would put even greater work into making sure that this union remains.
Next up was Arche Valley. A sacred land that Hoopa would already accept them to enter. The second day of the Pokemon Festival was slowly coming to an end as the journey continues.
Kalos. Dahara City. Dahara Hotel. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Nightfall had hit during the Pokemon Festival. The party for Mewie continued until they were all exhausted. Many of them fell asleep on the spot while some of them had some leftover food. All of the Mews that came from other universes were instantly sent back by Hoopa's ring.
Mewie was happy to see them all and especially having the chance to socialize with them. And knowing that Ash was good friends with Hoopa, she could see them again. As well as the potential of other Mews that are still in this world, hiding in small numbers.
Mewie fell asleep next to Mew with a smile on her face as they were both being held by Pinkie Pie, who had also knocked herself out for partying so hard.
Over at the Dahara Hotel, Sci-Twi and Bertha were asleep as well. Silence blessed Dahara City after everything that happened in it during the day and afternoon.
"Seek out all Pokemon..." There it was again. That voice that came from the Arceus Pendant. While Sci-Twi was asleep, the voice spoke out to her, requesting one thing. Sci-Twi grumbled in her sleep after hearing her voice. This wasn't her second time hearing this. It had been calling out to her all night.
All she could hear was the sound of someone requesting for her to find all Pokemon. She managed to sleep through it, however, she was unaware that there was more to this pendant than meets the eye.
Johto. Cianwood City. Nightfall.
Cianwood City. A beachside city that has benefitted greatly from the wonderful sea, located on the far western edge of the Johto Region. Tales of Lugia and the whirlpools it creates circulate among the sailors that stop in this port town.
Here, Celestia had shown up with Cynthia to continue their cake, ice cream and sweets crusade. They already brought as much as they could and greatly enjoyed themselves all day until nightfall. However, Celestia was currently sitting on the beachside, still in her human form as she was wondering about Galaxy Master and how the efforts to find him were going.
"Celestia. I got us some last scoops of ice cream before we rest for the night." Cynthia walked up to Celestia, holding up the scoops of ice cream. "Is something wrong?"
"I spoke to Luna via telepathy, even from this distance. They're still having trouble with this Galaxy Master. Looks like our plan to catch him during the Pokemon Festival isn't going so well.
"The festival is still young. We're approaching the third day of the first week." Cynthia lent her a scoop. "We should try going after him next then."
"That's the plan. I'm aiming to help Luna but the problem is that this Galaxy Master seems to escape when he needs to. Luna described something about how everything seems to bend to his will."
"Bend to his will?"
"Something like how he's made by a young Ash. That makes sense though. The imagination of a child knows no limits and I suppose when it comes into reality, it might as well be a challenging force that will take tremendous amounts of hard work to overcome."
"Ah, lucky Ash. I wish my childhood imagination would come to life as well. But I didn't make anything in the past to warrant something similar to a Galaxy Master. What about you?"
"Me? Well, we don't have to get into that, do we?"Celestia turned away, laughing nervously. Judging by that laugh, she had something to hide and Cynthia knew.
"Hh? That means you do have something hidden?" Cynthia put on a devious smile, radiating an aura that Celestia could sense. This aura was insisting that Celestia spill what she was hiding. "What could you have made all those centuries ago?"
"Mmm...Nothing important. It's in the past!" Celestia's face turned red. "But I can still remember it vividly. And anyway, it was a long time ago so my memory of it isn't that great. I bet you still remember what you made, right?"
"Truth be told, not really." Cynthia shrugged. We're both getting old enough to forget a few things. But in your case, you're far older so those memories can become far more distant, right?"
"Even so...we look beautiful for our age don't we?"
"Yes, we do." They both nudged each other before having their ice cream. Once Celestia got a taste of the ice cream, the flavour shocked her as she pulled back. It felt like she had been shot through the heart by the impact of this taste.
"Gaha! This isn't frosting flavoured!" Celestia grimaced. "This is lemon-flavoured!"
"Oopsie. You were too focused on the stars~" Cynthia giggled as she took Celestia's favourite flavour.
"No fair!" The Ruler of Equestria then reluctantly had this ice cream flavour while Cynthia had her personal favourite flavour. Such was the consequence of not paying attention to her ice cream. She leaned in, trying to grab the ice cream from Cynthia, only for Cynthia to hold her back, laughing.
"Better luck next time~" Cynthia taunted Celestia, causing the Princess of the Sun to pull back and accept what she currently had.
"In any case, let's head to my vacation home over at Undella Town next," Cynthia suggested. "I just ordered something that'll keep us busy for a while. And the plus side is that I'm not being bothered there anymore."
"Mmm. Undella it is. I also want to do one thing and that's train my Totem Kommo-o now that I've got him. I can't leave him out of the fun now, can I?"
"Of course not. I'll let you practice with me when we get there. But you know I won't go easy on you, Tia. Then again, from what I've seen, you could be downright frightening for a prodigy such as yourself."
"You're one to talk about frightening," Celestia replied, knowing that Cynthia had an edge on being terrifying when it came to battling. But Cynthia certainly saw something in Celestia for her to say that. The two of them would finish their ice creams before heading to bed and preparing to leave for Unova's Undella Town.
Of course, there was still the problem of Galaxy Master, who has once again escaped the sights of Luna, even during the night.
Kalos. Out in a forest. Nightfall.
"Lost sight of him," Luna commented as she had once again lost sight of Galaxy Master, failing to capture him. The Princess of the Night had then put her hooves over her face after this failure. "This is embarrassing."
"Don't feel too bad. I'm pretty embarrassed too." Darkrai spoke to her, emerging from the shadows as the Canterlot Guards and their Golurks were all resting. "That Galaxy Master is already proving to be a major handful. Even my shadows can't catch him."
"I didn't want to believe it but it seems to be true. Fate seemingly bends to him because of who made him. With the imagination of a child, he's practically unstoppable." Luna grumbled. "How do we get past that? Would Bayleef's leaf count?"
"In any case...I have an idea that's sprung up." Darkrai chimed in with his own plan. "He's after everything Rift-related, right? Let's stop by places that are brimming with Rift-Energy and wait for him. He'll come there without a doubt if he wants to restore the Rift."
"That's true. We have our options. The place where that Rift Volcano resides...but the biggest place with Rift Energy by a margin is..."
"The Arcane Sea. It's where Ash and everyone once went to." Darkrai added as they were aware of that mystical sea. Out of any known location in this world and the other world, the Arcane Sea was the most prominent Rift Energy area imaginable. An entire sea of Rift Energy along with a Torterra that was the size of a planet, influenced by Rift-Energy to become that massive.
"But first...I need some rest." Luna slumped on a tree. "And to enjoy this festival a bit more."
"You should do that. I'll head to Arcane Sea and call you when I need to." Darkrai offered to handle the rest from here. He wanted Luna to enjoy herself at this celebratory time. It wasn't fair to her that she had to deal with this problem.
"But what about you, Darkrai? You should enjoy it too." Luna sat up. "You rarely get to enjoy anything with us. Usually, you're busy protecting Equestria and I've only ever battled with you in serious situations or even at a Gym Battle. Everything else hasn't been as interactive."
"Don't worry about that, Luna. I'm used to it." The Pitch Black Pokemon descended into the shadows as he chose to continue working. Kicking back and relaxing wasn't his style as he was Equestria's protector through and through.
Luna watched him descend, feeling a bit saddened that Darkrai would have to constantly work. In a way, it greatly paralleled her older sister prior to the arrival of Pokemon.
"Darkrai..."
Kalos. Dahara City. Day.
"Well, it's time for us to head to Arche Valley," said Twilight. "Dahara City was a lot of fun though. Then again, every place is a lot of fun in this world.
"Oh! Let Hoopa take Ashkan and everyone there!" Hoopa offered to take them with fast travel. With his rings, of course, as he held one of them out.
"Tsk tsk." Hilbert crossed his arms, wagging his finger. "Hoopa. We don't need that. It's the journey, not the destination, ya know. We're gonna take our time getting there with all the thrills that come along with it. Ya get what I mean?"
"Yeah, but the ring sounds cooler," Hilda replied as everyone was getting ready to enter the ring that had already been set up. They were all in approval of this travel method as Hilbert had been shut down. "We can always just explore everything else later after all."
"But what about the journey...?" Hilbert groaned.
"I hear ya, Hilbert," Ash responded. "But yeah. Hilda's right. We can just take a journey through the places we missed. No harm done."
"Pikachu."
"I'll go first!" Rainbow Dash flew through the ring at full speed, leaving behind a rainbow trail as she was already in Arche Valley.
"Me next!" Pinkie Pie bounced right in alongside Mew and Mewie floating in. They were already entering this sacred land and they wouldn't have to go through all the hardships thanks to Hoopa.
Bertha took her SUV, driving it through the ring as it was made to be big enough to fit a vehicle as well. Victini, Meloetta and Sci-Twi followed right afterwards along with Hilda and Ash. The second to last one to enter was Hilbert, who still wanted to take the long way to Arche Valley, just for the fun of it. Afterwards, Hoopa closed the ring, being the last one to enter Arche Valley.
Arche Valley.
They had arrived. The Sacred Land of Arche Valley.
Once a place where Arceus would casually come around and visit, now a small village that houses people who are connected to Arceus himself. And the place was certainly worthy of such a name relating to the Alpha Pokemon.
The wheat of this land was golden to the core. Gold and shining so bright they resembled the Sun. When they arrived, they were on a river bank. Cool water flowed by, eddying around the twigs of a fallen tree branch. The water reflected beautifully from the Sun as a Milotic could be seen swimming by. There was a welcoming air to this place, no doubt. They were all welcome here. There were ivory statues placed throughout Arche Valley that resemble Arceus's ring as to be expected.
Built around flowers that sprung from even the mountains, this valley looked both intimidating yet welcoming and harmonious. Large trees could be seen in the distance, possessing a bark that was so bright it looked like it was emanating rainbows and flowing like the water itself. The trees also possessed various leaves of many dazzling colours to boot.
There was even a pathway surrounded by flowers, leading to Arche Valley as a way to welcome them whilst new flowers were starting to sprout today.
"So this is Arche Valley..." Ash gawked at the sight of this place. It felt like he was in another world with how different it felt from everywhere else he's been. "Amazing..."
"Pikachu..."
"Mmm...This is a nice feeling." Twilight took in the soothing air. "Why didn't we come here sooner?"
"Come on! Hoopa will show you everything else!" Hoopa would lead the way as they all went towards the flowering pathway, entering Arche Valley.
The outpost itself looked impressive. With its ceramic tile rooftops, Redstone walls and calming ocean front, Arche Valley had a mystical atmosphere. The group saw that it was an improving economy, which was mainly supported by jewel crafting, carpentering and farming.
They stopped by to look at the jewel crafting, seeing the people work hard to make rare jewels that some had never seen before. Arche Valley wasn't involved with the Pokemon Festival since it was so secretive and hard to reach but that didn't stop Ash and the others from having a good time.
They stopped by to have some of the food here. Mainly some hot and rich bread that was as enticing as some of their favourite foods as well as the lovely food known as a kebab. This was something new that they've had as well, taking a bit about of this stick-based dish. They felt like melting from this taste.
Twilight was more interesting in learning about Arche Valley since it was so connected to Arceus. She stopped by this town's local library, as to be expected. And the beauty of Arche Valley, aside from its appearance, showed itself even more. Twilight saw that this library was one of a kind.
Mainly due to the selection of books. When she started browsing, Twilight discovered that Arche Valley possessed information that no other library in the Pokemon World did. It obviously touched on the history of the Pokemon World but it went even further.
"Amazing..." Twilight looked at the books that she had opened up. "It has detailed records on Legendary Pokemon too and secrets that no one else knows about. I didn't even know this existed." Indeed, these books went into further detail compared to any other book that she has back home.
If there was any place in the world that would house critical information that would be impossible to find, it would be a place like Arche Valley. Twilight got to learn more about Groudon and Kyogre and how they came to be. She even got to know all of the destinations and locations they've been to as well as the truth behind their conflict.
Ancient items that were once lost to time had been written here, found yet again and further proving Bertha and Cynthia's point of how nothing can be forever lost in time. Eventually, someone would uncover the past. And once more, it was happening here at this library.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" The librarian asked Twilight as she nodded in appearance.
"It is. The books back home don't have this many secrets. How come this library as books about things I've never seen before?"
"That's because the people of Arche Valley, myself included, originally came from different regions across the world." The librarian explained.
"Different regions?" Twilight repeated.
"Mm. My family line comes from the Johto region and everyone else here comes from other regions. Because their ancestors came from different regions and different civilizations in the past, all of it is written down here. Some that not many others know about. That's why such important history is kept in such a sacred place as this. They are records of what our ancestors have witnessed and we will do the same for our descendants."
"Oooh..." Twilight kept searching before coming across something containing Kalos legends. One of which involved Yveltal. The Destruction Pokemon. "There's something about Yveltal here too..." She continued reading about Yveltal as this was crucial.
Yveltal barely has any information about it. No one knows where it can be found or how to even summon it. It was truly a rare Pokemon. But now, there was some information about it here at Arche Valley.
"Do you think I could borrow this book please?" Twilight requested.
"Oh, sorry, my little pony. But every book here is sacred, so we can't allow anyone to take them away from Arche Valley." The librarian revealed that it was impossible to borrow from this place. But that wouldn't stop her from looking at it.
She continued looking at Yveltal's information, learning about all the places where this Pokemon has found itself. Yveltal was a Pokemon that would only appear at crucial moments.
"Yveltal will only show up and start a cycle where it destroys and Xerneas can arrive to continue that cycle and bring life to everything. Both of these Pokemon once fought fiercely at...the Sea Temple Samiya?!" Twilight discovered that both Xerneas and Yveltal had been at Samiya before. The place where the People of the Water reside.
She continued flipping the pages to find more information relating to what she and her friends had discovered. She looked at multiple books at the same time by using her magic, multitasking in the process. And when looking at multiple, that's when she came across something as important as Yveltal. Something that's been bugging her.
"Hang on..." She looked closely to see the lady from the past. Ghetsis' Arceus Harmonia as there was a drawing of her. There was even information about her and all the achievements that she made. But more than that, Twilight found something interesting.
"Harmonia is said to come from a clan of people who share one thing in common. Green hair and crimson eyes. This clan of people had the innate ability to tap into powers that no one else could achieve. Such as the ability to create alter-egos...Alter egos?" Twilight scratched her mane.
"Espeon?" Espeon was just as surprised by this.
"There was one that continued to persist. A mysterious witch who had no clear origin of who she came from. All that was known was that she was an alter ego of one of these Green haired, crimson-eyed people. This witch could do more that made others believe she was a Pokemon. This mystical clan diminished in numbers over the years but their descendants would still remain. Ghetsis is one of them, isn't he? And maybe that witch really is from the past."
"Esp." Espeon nodded in agreement. It seemed plausible from what Twilight was learning, but there was something else that was important to note.
"The descendants of this clan still contain the mystical powers from their ancestors, however, the witch foresaw a prophecy. A prophecy that one of them would change that mystical and kind power into something threatening to the entire world. The descendants lost connection to their powers and it was said that in future centuries, someone will retain those powers one day but they would be corrupted. That is what the witch prophesized before she passed away."
"Scary, isn't it?" The librarian replied.
"It is...But if that's the case, then that means Ghetsis is the one who she prophesized about. And if Ghetsis can do everything they could do in the past, does that mean the witch is...Ghetsis' alter-ego? No way, that couldn't be. Could it?"
Twilight found herself glued to this library and this book, unable to look away. What other secrets did this book and the entire library hold?
Meanwhile, while exploring Arche Valley and looking at all the figures that represented Arceus, mainly his symbol, it wasn't long until Ash and Pikachu came across two familiar faces nearby.
"Hm?" Ash stopped in place, squinting his eyes to look in the distance as two figures were already waving at him. He knew those clothes and faces from anywhere. "Ah! There they are! Baraz! Meray!"
"Pikachu!"
"Well, look who finally found themselves here," Meray commented once she and her older brother approached Ash and Pikachu. "It's been a while, hasn't it? Ash. Pikachu."
"Sure has. Nice to meet you guys again."
"Pika!"
"Hoopa. Did you bring them here? They look perfectly fine if they were aiming to come here by foot." Baraz asked.
"Hoopa did!" Hoopa saluted in response.
"Is it really that dangerous to come here?" Pinkie Pie asked. "We were told it would be pretty tough but we took the easy way through."
"It is difficult." Baraz nodded. "The path to the valley is under Arceus' protection. Anyone who gets close will have to go through some trials. Unless they have something to protect themselves or share a connection to Arceus in some way."
"Guess we dodged a big one there." Hilda sighed, wiping the sweat off her forehead.
"You're all wearing that pendant too." Rainbow Dash flew up to Baraz and Meray, pointing out their Arceus pendants around their neck.
"You are...so cute!" Meray took a moment to look at the ponies that stood before her before hugging Rainbow Dash, catching her off guard.
"Gough!" Rainbow Dash's eyes widened once she received a power hug. Meray couldn't resist herself as she found the ponies to be adorable. "C-Can't breathe!"
"Hm?" But, Baraz was focused on someone else instead of the ponies. Instead, he was focused on Sci-Twi. When looking at her, Baraz spotted that she was wearing the same thing they were.
The Pendant of Arceus.
"Where did you get that?!" Baraz quickly ran to Sci-Twi, startling her. With a serious tone in his voice, he held Twilight's shoulders, looking her dead in the eye as Twilight didn't expect this escalation.
"Uh...g-get what?" Twilight stammered.
"How did you get this Arceus Pendant?!" Baraz exclaimed. "Something so rare is just casually being worn by you?"
"It was from someone over at Dahara City who was selling it yesterday. It was just an accessory at her shopping stand." Twilight replied.
"She's wearing one?!" Meray gasped before letting go of Rainbow Dash, allowing her to catch her breath. "But that's impossible outside of Arche Valley!"
"Umm...I'm lost on this!" Sci-Twi needed answers as she was very intimidated right now. It sounded like she did something terrible from the intensity of their voices.
"What's wrong you two?" Ash asked, curious about why this was so serious.
"Sorry for that..." Baraz pulled back. "But the Arceus Pendant...You said it was there as a shopping item?"
"R-Right." She stammered in response.
"That can't be right. The Arceus Pendant can't be made out of anyone outside of Arche Valley. It can only be made here." Meray added. "Unless they came from here."
"According to my pony counterpart, she was wearing clothes that looked like they were from this town. So...maybe that's it?"
"Even so, do you understand how serious this is?" Baraz asked. "Because now that you have this pendant on you...you're forever tied to Arceus."
"...Huh?" Naturally, Sci-Twi was taken aback by this. There was more to this pendant than meets the eye and the importance of it was elevated from just being a casual accessory.
And at the same time, someone else was approaching Arche Valley under the orders of the Rift. Galaxy Master. He wasn't too far from here. But since he was approaching Arche Valley, he would have to encounter the hardships that exist around Arche Valley.
"I'm tied to Arceus now?" Sci-Twi had been hit with a striking revelation. The Arceus Pendant around her neck wasn't an ordinary accessory. "Uh...that doesn't mean what I think it means, right?"
"Yeah. What does it mean?" Pinkie Pie asked as everyone was curious. Ever since her pony counterpart gave it to her after receiving it from the mysterious witch back at Dahara City, the importance of this pendant had skyrocketed, especially since they were currently at a sacred land that was tied greatly to the Alpha Pokemon himself. Arceus.
"For starters...the fact that you're wearing it means that you're eligible to connect with Arceus," Meray added. "Truth is, not anyone can just put on the pendant."
"Not anyone, you say? Why's that?" Bertha questioned.
"It's the same reason why finding Arche Valley is so difficult and even reaching it is filled with mystical protection. Those that wear Arceus Pendants are judged by Arceus himself." Baraz lifted his pendant. "Anyone who tries to wear it that isn't eligible will find that the pendant suddenly shrunk or even receive a burn. It might even go through you. Either way, it's not easy."
"It'll go through your body?!" Everyone gasped as they were thinking of a far more gruesome action when Baraz mentioned that.
"Uh...He meant phasing through you." Meray corrected them as it wasn't as serious as they thought it would be.
"So I'm accepted by Arceus...that's nice." Sci-Twi smiled, feeling some sort of achievement now that she knew how these pendants could be worn specifically. "I didn't know Arceus trusted me."
"But you definitely didn't receive it from anyone here. We have records about each Arceus Pendant that's been made here at Arche Valley. Making the pendant isn't easy either..." Baraz pondered.
"How come? Anyone can copy this pendant, right?" Hilbert asked, seeing that the Arceus symbol was simply to replicate and make into a pendant.
"Anyone can make a pendant that has Arceus' symbol on it. But not everyone can make these specific pendants." Meray held out her pendant. "These special pendants are made under special requirements and objects. It may look like gold but it's something entirely different."
"Diamond?!" Ash, Hilbert and Rainbow Dash said in unison, already coming up with the first material they could think about.
"Pearl?!" Pinkie Pie, Sci-Twi and Hilda gave their own guesses on what this material could be since it wasn't gold at all.
"How about Platinum?" Bertha gave her guess as she was the last one to speak.
"Uh no...It's a material that doesn't exist on earth. Even we don't know the name but all we know is that it's the same material that's on Arceus' body." Meray explained. "Because of that, not everyone here at Arche Valley wears them, as you can see. But they're still worthy of wearing them."
"This also means Arceus trusts you," Baraz added. "That's not a small thing, you know."
"That's pretty obvious. She's just as great as her counterpart. She's got something with Arceus too." Ash complimented Sci-Twi, knowing that Arceus would've trusted her long ago.
"Oh well..." Naturally, she enjoyed that compliment, blushing from it while twirling her mane.
"But more importantly. Who was that lady anyway?" Meray asked, wanting answers about this mysterious lady who was in possession of such a special material. "No one else should be able to have something so rare."
"We're all thinking it's a witch our friends have been seeing so far." Pinkie Pie answered, flailing her hooves around to make herself seem menacing, but she only came across as silly. "She's been going around being a weird but not actually evil enchantress."
"A witch?" Baraz and Meray repeated before looking at each other. When they heard mention of a witch that's when they nodded in unison. "Hm. Makes sense."
"You're going with that so easily?" Hilda squinted her eyes as Baraz and Meray accepted the answer. If it was hard to explain then a witch or even a wizard would be the resolute answer to it.
"In any case, keep that pendant safe with you. Because right now, you're connected to Arceus to the point where you can potentially hear its voice." Baraz added.
"Come to think of it..." Twilight thought for a moment, looking at her pendant. "I think I've been hearing voices in this pendant recently. It was when I first got it and even when I was asleep. Is that Arceus?"
"You did? What did Arceus tell you?" Meray questioned.
"Uhh...It was hard to hear since it was so quiet but all I heard was something about Pokemon. I couldn't hear it all too well, sadly. I've never even heard Arceus' voice before now that I think about it."
"Well then, if you want to hear Arceus, we can solve that. And you came to the right place for that." Meray offered to help Sci-Twi. Since she had the Arceus Pendant, she could hear Arceus' voice now. But it was too faint to fully process as of now.
"Oooh. Am I going to meditate or something?" Sci-Twi's eyes lit up as she walked beside Meray. "I bet that's it!"
"Not really. It won't take long but we'll show you a simple way to hear Arceus' voice and tell you more about what the pendant can do. Since you have one of them, you can do more than just hear Arceus."
"I gotta see this!" Ash followed them. "I bet you're talking about Arceus' light, right?"
"Pikachu."
"As for me..." Rainbow Dash rubbed her hooves together, wondering what she could do in the meanwhile. Arche Valley was relatively small and was so shielded from everywhere else that the Pokemon Festival did not come here. So, her options were limited. "I got it! Hoopa. You can summon any Pokemon, can't you?"
"Hoopa can!" Hoopa saluted. "Except that wishing one but Hoopa will try and find it."
"Yeah, yeah. Forget about Jirachi for a bit. Can you do us a favour? I need you to summon some Pokemon for me, just so I can battle them. How's that sound?" The pegasus flew up to Hoopa, nudging him as she wanted to improve herself. And with Hoopa's ability to bring out any Pokemon with his rings, that wish could be granted.
"If you're going to train, please do it outside Arche Valley," Baraz asked. "Keeping it safe is our top priority. Hoopa, don't cause too much trouble, okay?"
"You're already thinking about trying the same thing, aren't you?" Hilda immediately focused her attention on Hilbert, who had a similar idea as Rainbow Dash.
"You already know it. It's pretty fitting that my protege would have the same idea as me."
"I'm not your protege..." Rainbow Dash grumbled, greatly regretting losing to Hilbert as now she was constantly being referred to as his student. "And that's just a coincidence. Anyone else would have something similar in mind."
"You kids go on and have your fun. I'll take a gander at this place some more." Bertha would go and do her own, solely here at Arche Valley.
Even if there wasn't a Pokemon Festival here, there were still options. Everyone went their separate ways to do what they wanted to do. Some would practice, others were learning within this town and some would channel the power of the Alpha Pokemon via a mystical pendant. But there was one final individual that was entering the picture.
An individual who was just arriving here, but had to go through the hard way to reach Arche Valley. Sent here by the Rift, it was none other than Galaxy Master.
Outside Arche Valley.
"What a ferocious storm!" Speaking of Galaxy Master, the second he set foot on Arche Valley grounds, at least close to them, he was met with a devastating storm. The clouds remained a natural azure colour but the storm was akin to that of a gloomy dark-clouded atmosphere. "He finds himself face to face with this great storm that blocks him from reaching Arche Valley. The heroes hold on tight, thinking of a way around this!" He narrated his and Pikachu's own predicament once again.
"P-Pika...!" Pikachu held tightly onto Galaxy Master's cape as the storm was pushing them back. Galaxy Master gripped onto a tree, digging his claws into them to try and maintain his position.
"So...these are the defences keeping me from Arche Valley...!" Galaxy Master growled as his voice was being drowned out by the storm. While he had the strength to hold on, it wasn't enough as the storm was still succeeding. The tree was even starting to be pulled out of the ground by Galaxy Master's grip.
"Not sure why the Rift wants me here...but if it's for its health and restoration, I'll do what I must! Now is a good time for to fight back against the fearsome winds!" Galaxy Master held his hand up while his legs were leaving the ground from the intense winds. "Let's retaliate! With a wind pressure greater than this storm! Straight from the heavenly azure skies! Come to me!
"Star...Raptor!" Descending from the clouds with a mighty soaring speed was none other than the Predator Pokemon Staraptor. But it wasn't alone. It was joined by other Flying-Types. Pidgeot, Swellow, Unfeazant and Talonflame had arrived to assist Galaxy Master.
"As the five Masters of the Air, fight back against the wind! Flap your wings my Avian Allies!"
"Pidgeot!" Pidgeot and all the other Flying-Types started flapping their wings in unison. They used a form of Tailwind that would help fight back against the storm. And with their perfect coordination with rhythmic wingbeats, they were able to kick up a powerful turbulent whirlwind.
This greatly changed the moment of things as the pressure of the storm was heading the other away, freeing Galaxy Master and Pikachu from their predicament.
"Phew...many thanks, my Feathered Friends." Galaxy Master took a deep sigh while Pikachu was utterly relieved. "However, there's more to come. I know it. Arche Valley won't be easy for any of us once we go further. You should all return now."
"Star! Staraptor!"
"What's this? You wish to join me and go ahead and try to spot the valley. Even though you're aware of the dangers?" Galaxy Master translated, even understanding Pokemon speech. "Hmmm...it's risky but risk is what we're all about. I trust you Cawing Comrades. Go ahead and survey the skies. I'll join you what the help of Charizard!" He then held his arm up, summoning another Pokemon.
From the skies, another airborne Pokemon had arrived, swooping down with a flaming tail. It was none other than his Charizard. He did a stylish backflip before getting on Charizard's back. "Let's go ahead!"
With all of his Flying-Types by his side, they were ready to continue advancing towards Arche Valley. Why? The Rift hadn't given him a reason but that could be found out once he ends up reaching this sacred valley.
Arche Valley.
Over at the Arche Valley Library, Twilight, who was looking at these rare books that tell secrets of the Pokemon World that not many others know, was starting to think about something.
"No, no, no. That can't be true." Twilight shook her head as she was currently thinking about how it could be possible that Ghetsis' alter ego is that mysterious witch that's been showing up recently around her friends. After learning about the innate powers the people with crimson eyes and green hair possessed, Ghetsis was the descendant of that clan and was the only current member that possessed magic.
"But what if it is?" Twilight was having second thoughts, thinking about it deeply. "He's already increased his capabilities by absorbing the magic of another King Sombra. It would make sense that he'd form his own alter ego eventually. But why would it be a witch? And why is that witch helping us?"
"Espeon?"
"Aaah...it's starting to make my head hurt. Only one thing to do. Wait for her to show up again. Whenever that is. Or could I do something else?" Twilight started to think about it. Her capabilities weren't limited any more thanks to her possession of Rift Magic. She could do a lot more than she previously could.
Knowing this, Twilight decided to experiment with something, focusing on the mysterious witch. Finding the witch would be difficult unless there was something to track her footprints. Twilight used her magic to create a projection that would show footprints. Usually, on a solid floor, this would be impossible to see and even more so outside unless there were footprints left behind.
She then revealed her own hoofprints as they obviously related to her. Twilight also saw Eve's hoofprints. But she went a step further, focusing on two footprints. After spotting those footprints, she used the further extent of her Rift Magic to detect whose footprints they belonged to.
Her senses went off as they focused on the librarian. These were her footprints. After seeing that her new form of magic could not only reveal footprints but also detect who it belongs to, Twilight found the right spell.
"Oh yeah. This'll work no doubt." The Princess of Friendship nodded in approval. She had a way to find the witch. If she ever shows up again and vanishes, Twilight would simply use this spell on the grounds that she stood on. "But first, I need to keep reading these. This is all too good!"
Arche Valley Garden.
A scruffy bed of moss-covered grass is flanked by aromatic shrubs. A pond was built in the front right of the garden, terraced, large, and filled to the brim with Aquatic Pokemon life. The flowers and plants are trying to take all the attention in this garden, and succeeding to a large extent too; they're fighting an eternal competition for the best spots.
This was Arche Valley's beautiful garden that was flourishing. That was yet another beautiful thing that this valley possessed. Here, Sci-Twi was brought over to discover the things she could do with the pendant.
"One of the things you can do with that emanate the light of Arceus. Just like this." Meray held out her hand, releasing a golden glow. This glow was pure and even divine, radiating a soft aura with it. "You should be able to do it casually, even if the glow is faint. Just try it."
"Okay. Like this?" Twilight held both her hands out. Naturally, the pendant responded to her. Mainly her heart. Twilight felt her heart warm up as out of her hands, a small but bright glow of divine light had shown itself. It was as simple as that.
"There you go!" Meray applauded. "Arceus is always around us so you never have to worry about trying to get it right multiple times if he's guiding you.
"Oooh. So Arceus is always helping me without me knowing or seeing?"
"That's right. A semblance of Arceus can be sensed anywhere. Now that you can let out that light, try using it on a Pokemon. The Light of Arceus can be used for many things. It can be used to soothe Pokemon or even hold them back if things go awry. Is there a Pokemon you want to try it out on?" Baraz asked.
"Hmm...I know!" Twilight dug into her pockets, taking out a Poke Ball. "There's one Pokemon I wish to get along with a lot more, but that's pretty difficult. But if Arceus' light can soothe her, then maybe that'll change. Please, come out. Rapidash."
"Rapidash!" Alpha Rapidash had emerged as Baraz and Meray were taken back by the sheer size of this Rapidash.
"Okay. So I just hold it up to them, right?" Twilight went up to Alpha Rapidash. Rapidash was already looking away from her the second she approached. "Guh...Rapidash. Come on."
"That Rapidash is surprisingly large, isn't it?" Meray spoke to Baraz as they couldn't ignore the sheer size of this Rapidash, which was bigger than any Rapidash they've seen.
"But, maybe this will work." Twilight held her hands out, allowing the Light of Arceus to show itself. She closed her eyes as the light latched onto Rapidash's body.
It did its job. The light soothed Rapidash, putting her at ease. However, it didn't warm her up to Twilight at all. Twilight was hoping that was the case, only for Rapidash to sit down. But she did enjoy the light either way.
"Aw...I thought that would work." Twilight sighed, lowering her hand.
"The Light of Arceus is mainly used to calm certain Pokemon down or even relax them." Baraz walked up. "In some cases, it'll let the Pokemon warm up to you but not in this case."
"Bummer." Twilight pouted.
"There's more to learn. We're just getting started." Baraz held his hand out, exuding a powerful flare of light that made Twilight gawk. It amazed her that thinks to this pendant, she could do so much more.
"I'm ready!"
Outside Arche Valley.
Meanwhile, Hoopa used his ring to bring out some Pokemon for Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash requested some strong Pokemon and thus, Hoopa brought out a Machamp, Bouffalant and a Pyroar.
"Whirlipede! Rollout!" And right now, Rainbow Dash was already initiating a battle with one of them. Whirlipede took off, rolling towards Pyroar.
"Pyroar!" Pyroar fought back by using Flamethrower, shooting out a stream of flames to try and push back Whirlipede. Whirlipede spun as fast as he could, having enough strength to power through the Flamethrower. And with this amazing speed, he had crashed into Pyroar, dealing super-effective damage. "Py!"
"Okay! Altaria, use Moonblast!"
"Taria!" By gathering the power of the moon, Altaria unleashed a pink sphere directly at Machamp. Machamp retaliated by using Dynamic Punch, knocking the Moonblast away. Altaria gasped as the blast almost hit her, passing by.
"Go, Luxray! Wild Charge!"
"Lux!" As for Luxray, he was going for Bouffalant, charging in with a crackling aura of electricity behind it. Bouffalant responded by using Head Smash, crashing with Luxray in a head-on collision.
Rainbow Dash knew that the final Gym Battle would be the hardest one out of all of them. If she wanted to make it into the Equestria League, she had to get strong enough so that the final Gym Leader wouldn't be a colossal blockade. Practice makes perfect after all.
"Good work, Rainbow Dash." Bertha applauded Rainbow Dash's efforts, seeing how hard she was working. Her Pokemon were going back and forth with these opposing Pokemon that Hoopa had brought over. Noticeably, these Pokemon were also enjoying themselves even if they had been summoned out of nowhere.
There was a speedy momentum with Luxray and Bouffalant's clash that sent sparks everywhere as well as some recoil damage. Luxray quickly swapped places with Whirlipede, going for Pyroar next with Discharge. As for Whirlipede, he would roll towards Bouffalant with Steamroller. Pyroar's Flamethrower would ferociously fight back against the Discharge while Altaria was evading Machamp's attacks by swiftly flying through the skies, taking the aerial advantage.
Pinkie Pie cheered for Rainbow Dash, encouraging her to seize victory and improve to new heights. Hilbert still saw her as his protege as this was making him tear up, even if Rainbow Dash didn't want to be seen as such.
But during this fierce training session, something had occurred from afar. It was far away, but noticeable from this distance. A loud sound boomed through the area as a pillar of light shot into the air. This grabbed everyone's attention, forcing the training to come to a halt.
"What was that?!" Hilda stood up.
"That came from up north," Bertha observed the direction of the explosive light as the trees were blowing. "It might be one of those challenges that come with trying to reach Arche Valley."
"Oooh. Someone got unlucky then." Hilbert shook his head.
"Are they alright?!" Pinkie Pie was worried about whoever was caught in that since Arche Valley had protection that would fight back and test whoever would try and approach this sacred ground.
"What about my training?!" Rainbow Dash cried out as everyone else was heading over to investigate what caused that sound and if the individual in question was alright. "Ah, fine. I'll continue later."
They all went over to the north part of these outskirts as Pyroar, Machamp and Bouffalant were all sent back by Hoopa's ring. They had done enough now. As for the source of that explosion, the only ones that were trying to reach Arche Valley that would come across these challenges were none other than Galaxy Master and his Pokemon.
He and his Pokemon were currently struggling against a thunderstorm that was being shot from the ground instead of the sky. Truly, this place was bizarre to do that. His Flying-Types were narrowly trying to evade the lightning bolts that were flying out, but that was tricky as another storm had kicked up here.
"Great Galaxies! This place is relentless! Is this what someone has to go through if they want to reach Arche Valley?!" Galaxy Master exclaimed as Pidgeot and Talonflame had been shot by the lightning bolts, falling from the sky. "Ah! Talonflame! Pidgeot!"
This thunderstorm was only getting more and more ferocious with each passing second. Galaxy Master held his hand out, returning Pidgeot and Talonflame as they disappeared into stardust.
"Only one thing to do about this. Pikachu! Go!"
"Pika!" Pikachu would take it from here. Since there was electricity going around, it would make sense for him to deal with this. And he did so by allowing the bolts to hit him. Pikachu would personally absorb the electricity. The ferocity of the bolts had been sucked by Pikachu as they were gravitating towards him, sensing a great ordeal of electricity. "Pikachu!"
Thanks to Pikachu's efforts, the lightning bolts had been absorbed and kept away from Galaxy Master and the rest of his friends. Pikachu got a good fill too, pumping himself up with this increase in electricity. This allowed his friends to fly past this area as Pikachu would follow them from below, absorbing more electricity along the way.
Eventually, they managed to leave that area and avoid the ferocious thunderstorm thanks to Pikachu. But now that they were getting further, the obstacles were getting harder as Galaxy Master and his Pokemon descended.
"Thank you, my electrifying friend. All of you. Return, for now." Galaxy Master called back his Flying-Types. That meant all of them including his Charizard. "We couldn't see it even from that height. This valley truly is great protected. But we won't give up."
"Pikachu..."
"Whatever comes next, we'll have the ally to help us through it."
"Pika. Pka?!" But just then, right after Pikachu agreed with Galaxy Master, he suddenly took on a serious stance. Pikachu sensed someone approaching.
"Hm?! You sense someone nearby, Pikachu?!" Galaxy Master was also alert, looking to the south of this direction. He too could sense someone approaching. Multiple footsteps could be heard as well as a wing beat. It was hard to say if it would be a friend or foe who approaches through those large bushes.
But that would soon be discovered as the first one to step out of the bushes was none other than Rainbow Dash. And when Rainbow Dash emerged, so did everyone else.
"Hm? What the...?" Rainbow Dash stopped in place once she spotted the colourful character in front of her. Galaxy Master and Rainbow Dash stared each other down and soon everyone else looked at this character and his Pikachu.
An encounter between this group had occurred at least. When looking at him, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash immediately knew who this was. Whatever happened next was bound to lead to something that the Rift could not ignore. If anything, knowing that they were coming to Arche Valley was the Rift's reason for sending him here.
And all of it was just for the sake of taking revenge on Ash.
An encounter with Galaxy Master had been set. Rainbow Dash and her friends came across this fictional character. After going through two obstacles within Arche Valley, he encountered Rainbow Dash's group here on the outskirts of Arche Valley.
"Wait a sec..." Rainbow Dash took a moment to observe Galaxy Master. His appearance was very familiar to the eyes as the pegasus and Pinkie Pie gasped. You're that guy! The one that Princess Celestia and Luna are looking for!"
"What guy?" Hilbert and Hilda asked.
"Hm-hm! I am that guy! But allow me to introduce myself!" Galaxy Master nodded, feeling the need to make an entrance speech. And of course, this was prime for some poses as Galaxy Master had such an effect on the world that he managed to darken the area.
Everyone looked around to see that this area had been darkened, hiding the clouds. But it was for a reason as Galaxy Master had the power to summon a spotlight on him, making it authentic.
"A flash in the cosmos! A light appears before the world to heed its sorrow and plea! From spacetime itself, I appear!" The spotlight and light that was around him suddenly let off explosions behind the visage that didn't cause an ounce of destruction.
"The Superstar! Galaxy Master!" He finished his entrance by pulling off a pose. Pikachu posed alongside him just to look as cool. Everything fell silent for a moment once the intro finished. Hilda had a confused expression while Hilbert, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie found some amusement in this. Hoopa simply laughed at this.
"That was..." Hilda paused to process what had just happened.
"So cool!" The three of them exclaimed as they were honest about how they saw Galaxy Master's entrance and even his poses. Hilbert even applauded it.
"Thank you. Thank you." Galaxy Master took a bow after receiving applause. Pikachu mimicked him right afterwards.
"Uh, isn't he the enemy, you guys? At most for your world." Hilda snapped them back nto the main reason why they were alerted by Galaxy Master's arrival.
"Oh right! No time to think he's cool! Not when Equestria's enemy is right in front of us!" Rainbow Dash aimed her hoof at the fictional character. "You picked the worst group to bump into, pal. Especially when-"
"Especially when the Number One Trainer in the world is here!" Hilbert stole Rainbow Dash's trash-talking speech for his own, stepping forward and pointing his thumb at himself while Rainbow Dash grumbled. "Talk about bad luck."
"Hm-hm. A hero never worries about who he managed to come across." Galaxy Master shook his head. "Not when I'm here to achieve another goal and that goal is...hmmm...why did I come here again?"
"Pika. Pikachu." Pikachu let Galaxy Master know the main reason why. He already forgot about it since the Rift gave him a quick description instead of letting him take some time in his base to remember it.
"Ah right! I'm here for the one known as Hoopa! I must seal up this mischievous entity's power at once. That power is also conflicting against the Rift, especially with what Hoopa is capable of."
"You're here for Hoopa?" Hoopa pulled back once Galaxy Master pointed at him.
"So that's why you came to Arche Valley." Bertha squinted her eyes. "Hoopa would be a threat to the Rift, wouldn't it?"
"That's right. I've heard about Hoopa's powers. They are something special. So powerful that it can interact with space as much as it likes."
"Hoopa can do all of that!" Hoopa giggled. "But Hoopa won't let Galaxy weirdo seal Hoopa's power away. Hoopa doesn't want that again."
"Again? Ah, so this has happened before. I'm not sure if my own powers are capable of sealing your power away, but I have to try. After this, I have to continue gathering as much Rift Energy as I can."
"You're seriously trying to let the Rift gain its full strength back?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "Just when we were all catching a break from its crazy power. Howcome you wanna bring something like that back to full strength?"
"The Rift told me everything. From start to finish. I already know about how its powers were greatly weakened a few months ago. So to restore its strength, I need to gather as much Rift Energy as I can in any way shape or form. It also told me about how you're all stopping it from putting an end to this."
"Putting an end to what?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"After this, the Rift wishes to place everything back to normal. It only keeps the worlds connected in this way for the sole reason to seek out entertainment as a bored entity, going around worlds and observing what new events can appear."
"I mean...yeah. He's not wrong." Rainbow Dash shrugged. Galaxy Master had been told the truth it seemed. But there was more coming.
"All of this was the result of a universal crossover. That's the word for it. And something like this isn't meant to last. If it does, it could break everything apart. A universal collapse!"
"Say what now?!" Hilbert and Hilda gasped.
"You're saying that it's all gonna come crashing down?"
"Hm. These are two worlds that were never meant to interact with each other. If they were to stay connected for too long, the imbalances will show themselves. This has already happened with multiple worlds in the past. Both their worlds
"That's a lie!" Rainbow Dash shouted out. "I bet the Rift lied to you!"
"Did it?" Galaxy Master replied in a serious tone, not a tone that made it sound like he had to think about it.
"Yeah! D-Did it?" Rainbow Dash asked as from the way Galaxy Master replied to her, that might not be the case, making even Rainbow Dash think for a moment. She was the one thinking about it instead of Galaxy Master.
"Something like this can't be ignored. The Infinity Energy may keep it stable, but eventually, it'll give out. Which is why the RIft must always leave and restore the natural balance of the two worlds so that complete destruction isn't warranted In fact, I'll show you. Starlight Vision!"
Galaxy Master held his hand out, unleashing a flash of light. This flash of light would show them all a projection as Galaxy Master would prove it all to them. Very soon, they were shown a projection of space. More specifically, the two worlds and their respective Earths. They could finally see how the two of them were distant and close to each other and right in the middle of a colossal flow of Rift Energy that was as large as the Cosmic Wall.
"Can that seriously happen?" Hilda asked Bertha as she shook her head. This was far beyond her knowledge.
"Yeah, but we're trying to keep it together. We've made a ton of friends here." Pinkie Pie replied. "You're not going to let us forget about it, are you?"
"The Rift told me that something like this would happen. Connecting the worlds would only add to the problem." Galaxy Master continued. "Even if they merged, it would still cause an erratic reaction. That's because there'll be an anomaly too great to erase. A constant that will always be there. Not even the power of Pokemon can prevent it."
The projection then showed not just the two worlds being destroyed, but also the entire universe as entire stars, galaxies, nebulas etc were being consumed. Both universes were caught in this destructive force, causing everyone to gasp at this sight.
"Even Jirachi?" Pinkie Pie pulled back.
"Even this Wish Pokemon that I've heard about. You understand, don't you? There are forces out there that far transcend what you can comprehend. Forces to go beyond even the greatest galaxies. And this so happens to be one of those forces, caused by the combination of two worlds that are vastly different from each other. Apologies, but I can't afford to let any of you perish. You may forget about everything that happened but it's better than losing everything in a cataclysmic reaction."
"These memories are our everything!" Rainbow Dash roared. "That Rift's caused nothing but trouble to us. Obviously, you're being tricked and I'm gonna knock some sense into you!" She held out her Poke Ball. "Pokemon Trainers communicate at their best when they battle, don't they?"
"There's too much riding at stake here!" Galaxy Master pointed back at her. "Do you think that you can stop what is coming?"
"Yeah, I can. I'm positive there's no anomaly here and the Rift's just making it up, so I'll make you see that. But I'll also take you to Canterlot right after this since you're wanted!"
"Very well then! Prepare yourself, multicoloured-maned mare!"
"My name is Rainbow Dash. Don't you forget it!" Rainbow Dash threw the Poke Ball into the air, summoning her first Pokemon Altaria.
"Altaria!"
"Rainbow Dash. Alright. Let's begin, pegasus! Pikachu, my loyal friend! Go forth!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu ran ahead, ready to face Altaria. It would now be a battle against Rainbow Dash and Galaxy Master.
"Anomaly this. Destruction that. I bet it's all farce. Just an excuse to get its power back. I'm not gonna let that happen." Rainbow Dash said, instantly calling the words of the Rift a complete and total bluff.
"But still...everything will be destroyed if our worlds stay together?" Pinkie Pie was on Rainbow Dash's side, but there was something terrifying about the fact. The Rift was a vastly knowledgeable force, knowing everything about both worlds and other worlds out there.
Even if lies had been spread, the collapse of both worlds was something that Pinkie Pie was starting to think about. Could such a thing be possible to the point where no Pokemon could stop it?
At the same time, masking itself within the clouds was the Rift itself. It had shown up just to watch this battle. This was the perfect time for it to appear.
"Hoopa. Get going." Bertha said to Hoopa. "You're not safe here."
"Hoopa will go!" Hoopa nodded in response before summoning one of his rings underneath his body. Afterwards, he descended, leaving the outskirts of Arche Valley.
"Let's go, Altaria! Ice Beam!"
"Alt...Aria!" Altaria went first, unleashing a chilling beam of ice from her mouth that raced towards Pikachu.
"The Dragon Avianoid makes the first attack, but Pikachu retaliates right afterwards! Galaxy Master narrated. "Pikachu! Unleash your ferocious electricity!"
"He narrates too?! Sweet!" Hilbert and PInkie Pie said to themselves as Rainbow Dash was fighting the urge to compliment Galaxy Master.
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu retaliated with Thunderbolt, releasing a burst of electricity from his body. The bolt of lightning intercepted Ice Beam, resulting in a powerful clash that ended with both attacks blowing up in front of each other.
"Lightning Speed!"
"Pika!" By that, he meant Quick Attack as Pikachu took off at lightning speeds, approaching Altaria while leaving a white trail.
"You mean Quick Attack?! Altaria! Moonblast!"
"Altaria...!" Altaraia started gathering power from the moon, channelling it into an orb that she was ready to fire. But Pikachu had already crashed into her. "Tari!"
"Now for a quick hit! Smash Altaria with pure iron!"
"Pika! Chu-Pi!" Pikachu had used Iron Tail, unleashing a heavy blow to Altaria after tackling her, turning his tail into Iron. Altaria staggered as she was also sent flying from that impact, hurling through the air.
"Ah! Altaria!" Rainbow Dash gasped as Altaria went further into this forest area of Arche Valley. The Humming Pokemon managed to recover, but not before shaking her head.
However, now that she was elsewhere in the area, the defences of Arche Valley would show themselves. The mystical protection that had been formed by the citizens of Arche Valley kicked in, targeting Altaria. Altaria noticed how there were rumblings around her, causing her to navigate her head.
"Tari?!" Altaria had a sharp instinct for a moment, flying to the side as she narrowly escaped a ferocious boiling hot geyser that erupted from the ground.
"Right! The defences of the valley! They had to show up now..." Rainbow Dash groaned. "Look out, Altaria!"
"Now's our chance to strike, my friend! Manipulate that water!" Galaxy Master yelled, referring to Pikachu's Surf and the unique way he uses it.
"Pika...!" Pikachu held his hand out, manipulating the geyser from afar. His power over Surf was something to behold as no other Pikachu could do this. Once he manipulated the geyser, he multiplied it, causing the extra geysers to crash into Altaria.
"Tari!"
"No way!" Rainbow Dash gasped before holding out two more Poke Balls. "Help Altaria out! Luxray! Mienfoo!"
"Luxray!"
"Mienfoo!"
"Force Palm! Ice Fang!"
"Mien...Foo!" Mienfoo and Luxray would assist Altaria by attacking Pikachu. Both of them lunged in with a glowing palm and chilling fangs of ice.
"Lightning Speed!"
"Pika!" Only for Pikachu to use Quick Attack to dash right past them. He managed to avoid both Luxray and Mienfoo's attacks at the same time by becoming a yellow blur. The two of them gasped once their attacks had been evaded so swiftly, quickly turning their heads to face the Mouse Pokemon.
"We seem to be outnumbered a bit. But there's nothing to fear!" Galaxy Master would call in some extra help while he was at it. And of course, this involved him raising his hand to the sky, calling for his allies from before. "Come to my aid, my feathered friends!"
Descending from the skies for a second time were Galaxy Master's Flying-Type allies. Pidgeot, Swellow, Staraptor, Unfeazant and Talonflame. But this time, there was one more member that joined them. A Noctowol. A shiny one to be exact as it flew alongside its fellow Flying-Types.
"No way! He can summon Pokemon?!" Hilda was stunned by this as the only one who could summon Pokemon was Hoopa with his rings. But there was another individual here that could do the same thing.
"So they were right. He can summon Pokemon..." Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up from the sight of these Flying-Types. Even her Pokemon couldn't help but be amazed. Now that she knew that Galaxy Master could indeed summon Pokemon, Rainbow Dash was aware that beating him would be harder than expected.
Already, he outnumbered her entire team and with the knowledge of him having a Charizard, that number was only going up depending on what he does next.
"Don't get shaking up, my protege! So what if he can summon some Pokemon?" Hilbert shouted. "You've got this!"
"I'm not finished yet." Galaxy Master suddenly intensified his voice as he meant business. "I plan to end this battle as quickly as I can." By the tone in his voice, Rainbow Dash sensed an unsettling chill as suddenly, the skies above had summoned a star that could be seen even in the daylight. Seven of them had appeared in a circular pattern.
"Can you feel the sensation of an ardent blaze and tempestuous typhoon rushing through the cosmos?!" His voice suddenly echoed as everyone felt a powerful pressure coming this way, causing their clothes and hair to flow. "Seven stars come together to bring about the ultimate Draconic force! Appear! Right now! The Dragon of the Heavenly Skies! Dragonite!"
Dragonite had been summoned.
Straight from the clouds and appearing in a flash of an azure light went off, showing the darkened silhouette of Dragonite with its eyes glowing. After the light flashed and disappeared, Dragonite had been revealed, letting out a roar that matched that of a typhoon.
"Dragonite!"
"You gotta be kidding me..." Rainbow Dash trembled. "You're going all out so soon?"
"I did say I would end this as soon as I can. But it's also to show you that trying to fight me is pointless when the end result is something that will finish you all off. We can end this battle now. I will only seal up Hoopa's power even further to prevent any way of reaching Jirachi. It's for your own good."
"A-As if...!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, showing a visible sweat drop. "You may have the numbers but that won't stop me."
"You don't have to worry about numbers, my student." Hilbert suddenly stepped forward, holding out his Poke Ball as did Hilda. "We're here, duh."
"Stay out of this. You won't like what comes next." Galaxy Master said to them both.
"You make a good point about how things could turn out if these worlds stick together. But what's stopping them from fixing it?" said Hilda. "We've seen our fair share of wild events and there's nothing that can't be solved. Even something as big as this."
"Perhaps. But there are some things you can't avoid."
"Oh, but there are." Bertha stepped forward, having something to say about that. "You're a hero, right? Aren't heroes the ones who always see that there are opportunities everywhere? Heroes aren't the type to think anything is impossible. So why should you?"
"Hmmm..." Galaxy Master pondered for a bit.
"You can take all of us on!" Hilbert declared. "Then it'll be an all-out Pokemon Battle! How's that sound?"
"We won't let you reach Hoopa either! Not since he just got the chance to see Ash again! It was the Rift who kept them away and you're trying to lock something within Hoopa away again because of the Rift!" Hilda shouted, calling him out.
"Did you say Ash?" The moment Galaxy Master heard those words, he froze on the spot.
"Pika?"
"Please!" Just then, Pinkie Pie had something to say. "I get what you're saying but we don't wanna lose our friends, ya know. We made such great memories with them. Some were even so recent as yesterday! Even if everything breaks down, I'd rather go out with my friends than forget they ever existed."
"Mew-Mew!" Mew vouched for that. As did Mewie as she flew out of Pinkie Pie's mane. Galaxy Master heard everything they had to say. This made him think for a moment. He looked at them in their eyes, sensing the determination in their spirits. Young and old.
From what they were saying, these were individuals who would prefer to keep their friends than lose them forever to the point where they never met. They would rather be destroyed with them rather than lose those memories.
"I see." Galaxy Master lowered his head before looking at his hand. "He looked at his hand, thinking deeply after hearing their touching words. The hero was frozen, struggling to say something else." He narrated his own struggle.
"He's even narrating that? He sure is committed." Hilda uttered with a surprised expression.
"I've always strived with one thing. Whether it was doing the right thing or not..." He said to himself. "But is this the right thing to do?"
"You were just created like one week ago though..." Rainbow Dash lowered her eyes.
"So then tell me. Do you believe you have a way to prevent what could happen to your worlds?" Galaxy Master asked.
"We do!" Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie exclaimed. They were fully in the belief that there was a way. And they could back it up. From what they've seen and experienced, there was nothing in this world or even their world that was impossible. The impossible was always possible.
"Hmph. How rash was I?" Galaxy Master turned around, looking to the skies. "The bonds between others are more important than anything. If they believe there is a way...then there is a way. A true hero should never doubt the impossible when they can make anything possible."
Judging by his response, smiles were put on their faces. Their words managed to reach Galaxy Master. Despite his imposing voice, he was understanding of them. Though, it was only his voice that was imposing. Everything else was another story.
"Very well." Galaxy Master was about to turn around, only for the Rift to take action. He despised the fact that Galaxy Master was taking their side.
The Rift wanted revenge. Galaxy Master was the best form of revenge he could think of right now against Ash and everything he cherished. And seeing Galaxy Master starting to rethink things made him realize that a semblance of Ash Ketchum would always be somewhere.
"No...I can't have you switching sides...You will do as I say!" The Rift used his recovered power to affect Galaxy Master from a far distance in the skies, still masking himself. The moment Galaxy Master turned around, he received a shock in his heart that made him kneel.
"Gah!" Galaxy Master groaned holding his heart.
"H-Hey?! What's wrong?" Rainbow Dash asked as she and the others, including Galaxy Master's own Pokemon were in shock at this fictional character's sudden descent.
"Pika?! Pikachu?!" Pikachu ran up to his partner. It started off as a sharp pain within his chest, but it soon spread across his entire body, worsening it.
"Quickly! We need to get him some help!" Bertha immediately focused on getting him help. She knew that he was in pain with the way he was holding his chest.
"O-Oh! Got it! Hilbert stuttered as he, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash went to help him up. But something was amiss. Bertha would try and lead the way back to Arche Valley since Hoopa wasn't here right now. That meant they would have to pass through the obstacles.
However, Galaxy Master's pain subsided as he suddenly stood up tall. One of the obstacles of the valley went off, summoning a huge cluster of vines from the trees.
"Huh? Hey!" Hilbert cried out as Galaxy Master broke away from the group. The vines even came between them as the fictional character and his Pokemon all stopped in place. Very soon, Pikachu and the others felt a sense of static, but without the pain in their hearts.
"Uh, something's not right!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as the vision of her Fairy eyes allowed her to see what others couldn't. And right now, there was something radiating from them. A familiar cosmic energy. The Rift's energy. It managed to grab ahold of Galaxy Master and his Pokemon, messing with their heads.
Immediately, the Rift had changed their perception of Pinkie Pie and the others. It also warped the words that they said to Galaxy Master, showing them something entirely different. Galaxy Master could now only recall faint words, but from what he could gather, those words supported the destruction of everything.
"What's up, Pinkie? What's going on?" Rainbow Dash asked as more vines kept coming, blocking their way and separating them even further. Right now, Galaxy Master was back on the Rift's side, but at this moment, his cheery attitude was gone.
"Dragonite. Raging Beam of Destruction!" Galaxy Master suddenly ordered Dragonite to use Hyper Beam.
"Drago...!" Dragonite held its breath in, gathering up destructive energy. Not only that, but the other Pokemon began sharing their Infinity Energy with Dragonite, powering up the Dragon Pokemon.
Rainbow Dash and the others thought that he was about to obliterate all of the vines that were in their way judging by the choice of the attack. But Bertha saw something else. Before she could run over, more large vines had flown in, almost grabbing her.
"Look out!" Bertha shouted.
"Gonite!" Dragonite unleashed Hyper Beam with more power than it usually has thanks to the shared power of Pikachu and the others. A gigantic orange beam came raging out as it did end up obliterating the vines, but it also went for Rainbow Dash and the others.
It was now that they realized they were in danger. The only one to think of something fast enough was Mew, who flew in front of everyone.
"Mew!" To protect them from harm, Mew had summoned a large barrier that caused Hyper Beam to crash into it instead of everyone else.
It was a smart and swift idea by Mew as no one else had the means to think of something to stop this quick enough. The beam crashed into Mew's barrier with tremendous power, resulting in a colossal explosion that blew away all of the large vines in the process. Everyone else had been enveloped in the bright light while Mew closed his eyes.
As for the Rift, it greatly enjoyed what it had seen. Seeing Dragonite unleash such a devastating attack was glorious, especially against this group.
"Forget Arche Valley. I need to move faster thanks to this." He spoke as the light from the explosion was still going on, resulting in a large smoke cloud. "Galaxy Master won't leave my side. I need him to restore me to full power. That anomaly part is true though...because it's me. I'll be the one to destroy these two worlds. Once I get my full strength back, I'll make sure that everyone and everything in these worlds are crushed. But I'll leave Ash all alone in a desolated world."
"Oh...man..." Hilbert just stood up. Around him were obliterated vines after Galaxy Master's Dragonite had used possibly the most destructive Hyper Beam they've ever seen. Thankfully, once they got back up, they were all saved.
All thanks to Mew. His barrier had shattered as he barely managed to block the Hyper Beam, resulting in him feeling the aftershock of the explosion. Everyone was in one piece though, unharmed. Dragonite's Hyper Beam was so powerful that it practically got rid of the defensive vines.
Speaking of Dragonite, it and Galaxy Master along with the rest of the Pokemon were nowhere to be seen. After the explosion, they had vanished without a trace.
"Hey! He's gone!" Hilbert gasped. "Don't tell me he dipped after attacking! That's so not Hero-like!" Hilbert roared, flailing his fists around.
"Something wasn't right there." Pinkie Pie said. "He looked fine earlier but all of a sudden, he went rogue."
"Was it by will?" Hilda asked. "Because I didn't see that coming." Hilda wiped the dust off her arms. "That Hyper Beam was something else."
"Just when we helped him up...what was up with that?" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"You guys. I saw something. With my eyes..." Pinkie Pie showed off her eyes, flashing them in Rainbow Dash's face, intimidating her. "It looked like Rift Energy. Something went wrong with Galaxy Master that made him attack us out of the blue."
"Are you saying it wasn't his fault?" Hilbert questioned. "I don't know about that...looked pretty on purpose to me."
"Oh, but I saw the Rift Energy around him right when got back up. And it didn't look friendly. Nuh-uh." Pinkie Pie shook her head. "My guess is that the Rift did something about it when he saw how were chatting it up. Or at least, when he was changing his mind."
"It can do that? I thought it was greatly weakened." Hilda replied. "But I guess Galaxy Master's been healing it recently, right?"
"By what you said, Pinkie Pie, the Rift certainly doesn't want Galaxy Master switching sides," Bertha added. "Not when he's set his sights on regenerating all that it lost thanks to Ash."
"That's right. It probably had him under its control once he listened to what we had to say. Poor guy. He's only one week old." Pinkie Pie shook her head. "So young yet so old."
"Wait a second...did he go ahead of us?!" Hilda gasped. "He said he was going for Hoopa right?!" Once she brought it up, everyone's eyes shot open. By now, Galaxy Master was far away from them and could potentially be at Arche Valley right now, still under the Rift's control.
None of the other defences had been set off though, but they couldn't take their chances. Immediately, they all set off to return to Arche Valley and they could greatly do without the obstacles, going back the way they originally came from.
Arche Valley. Day.
But lo and behold, when they showed up at Arche Valley, that wasn't the case at all. Everything seemed fine back at Arche Valley. Everyone was getting on with their day without any issues befalling this peaceful valley. Thanks to the mystical protection outside the valley, all of that noise might as well have been utterly non-existent as no one was disturbed. High or low, there wasn't a trace of him.
Pinkie Pie made one of her Slurpuff try and sniff Galaxy Master out, but Slurpuff soon discovered that Galaxy Master's scent was not present here. He didn't reach Arche Valley at all. Even Slurpuff's powerful nose was ineffective for this search and the trail went cold indefinitely.
"There you are! How'd it go?" Hoopa was still here as well, floating over to Pinkie Pie's group in one piece. He remained untouched and not a scent of Galaxy Master was on him.
"Funny. How come he didn't show up at Arche Valley? Didn't he come here for Hoopa?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"Maybe he gave up or something?" Hilbert shrugged. "I don't know."
"Did Pinkan and everyone not beat him?" Hoopa asked.
"Uh...no, not really. He kinda got away. We're not sure where he is right now. Slurpuff's scent didn't lead us to him. He just up and vanished without a trace."
"That can't be right. Slurpuff should be able to pick up any sense..." Bertha pondered. "Unless, because he came from a fictional world, he doesn't have a scent?"
"Whatever it is, the next time we see him, it's on," said Hilbert. "Oh. And the same goes for the Rift too."
"I think we've overstayed our visit here at Arche Valley, don't you think?" Hilda asked. "Everything seems fine here and Twilight's getting some good practice with her pendant right now. Maybe. Just gotta wait for everyone else to finish what they're doing."
"I vouch we go right after Galaxy Master!" Hilbert raised his finger. "He's not gonna get away from us that easily!"
"And how are we gonna do that?" Hilda crossed her arms. "Slurpuff can't even track his scent at all. He could be anywhere. If we're lucky, we might bump into him again."
"Yeah, if we're that lucky." Rainbow Dash sighed. "I'm still pretty bummed out about that..."
"First the Rift cheats and hides away all the Jirachi and now it messes with someone just to ruin our chances?" Pinkie Pie pouted as her face was turning red from genuine anger. Mew had the same expression on his face, feeling Pinkie's rage. Mew realized that all the work he did to make Mewie happy could be reset thanks to the Rift's interferences.
"Mew...!"
"Hmm...if Pinkan and everyone are upset, Hoopa can fix that with this!" Seeing that some of them were a bit on the downside, the Mischief Pokemon was ready to cheer them up in the only way he knew how. Objects from his ring, of course, "Alléhooparing!"
And out of those rings came a horde of Blissey, storming the direction of Pinkie Pie and the others. A large pink tide had emerged, overwhelming them as they were all suddenly bombarded with hugs. All of these Blisseys could sense the sadness in their hearts, immediately rushing over to comfort them.
"Wait! This is too much!" Rainbow Dash yelled, holding her hoof out as yet again, Hoopa brought out too many Pokemon instead of a minor amount. Soon they all received group hugs from the abundance of Blisseys who were here to make them all smile.
Much like the people at Dahara City, the people here at Arche Valley weren't all that surprised. Hoopa has lived here for a long time after all.
"Ah, but it's pretty nice..." The comfort of the Blissey was on another level. Just having a few seconds with them was enough to melt their hearts as Rainbow Dash had a pleased expression. "Thanks, Hoopa..."
"I've never been hugged by a Blissey before...I've been missing out." A relaxed Hilbert said as he was drowning in a sea of Blissey. Hilda nodded in approval as Pinkie Pie was already feeling the perfect synergy with her and the Blissey. The Blissey went a step further by throwing them up and down.
Simple but efficient. That was the way of the Blissey. They had other ways to make others happy, especially with their signature eggs, but they don't have to always utilize them. While they were previously upset about what happened with Galaxy Master, they were quickly rejuvenated with happiness.
Bertha wasn't as hyperactive as the others thanks to her old age. But even with her age, she was feeling pleasant to the core. Naturally, she was once again happy to experience something like this in her day and age and this was only possible thanks to the cast of characters that she's encountered and befriended. Taking them along with her SUV was the best idea she's had yet.
"Finally. Done." Meanwhile, Twilight had finished reading at the Arche Valley library. She was a bit saddened that she couldn't take any of the books home with her, but she received a staggering amount of information. "Wish I could borrow them but...sacred is sacred. Can't argue with that. But they were so amazing though." She took a deep sigh.
And immediately, upon sensing Twilight's mild disappointment, some of the Blissey rushed to her side. Some of them departed from the massive group hug just to cheer up Twilight as the Princess of Friendship and the Sun Pokemon witnessed a pink and white tide coming their way.
"Hang on a sec..." Twilight squinted her eyes as the amount of pink was so abundant that it delayed her vision. But once she got a clear view, she witnessed what was incoming. "Oh!"
"Espeon!"
"Blissey!" Soon, Twilight and Espeon were surrounded by Blisseys that responded genuinely to Twilight's emotions. They were given eggs this time, courtesy of the Blissey. Although, only two of them would do.
"T-Thanks but I was only mildly disappointed. Not completely destroyed by it." Twilight appreciated the offer and the kindness of the Blissey. But she could get over her disappointment fairly easily. Hearing that, the Blissey respectfully went away. So did the others once Pinkie Pie and the others had their spirits lifted.
Hoopa would soon send them all back in the same ring they appeared in. He did his job and made everyone happy successfully. That was a good note to potentially end things on. They were just missing their other friends before they could depart from Arche Valley.
Arche Valley Garden.
Over at Arche Valley Garden, currently being taught Baraz and Meray was Sci-Twi. She was still receiving some lessons about the Arceus Pendant. Thanks to this pendant, Sci-Twi shared a connection with Arceus, much like her pony counterpart.
She kneeled in front of some plants, exuding her light. She could already do this easily as it didn't require that much effort to do so. When her light reacted with the flowers, it caused them to grow. But only slightly and yet it was enough to amaze her.
"I can bring life too?!" Sci-Twi gasped.
"Well, not exactly bring life but you can connect with nature in a way as well," Meray answered. "Either way, you're good at this. I didn't think you'd get adjusted to the light so easily. Usually, others just slip up with it."
"Really? How so?" She asked Meray.
"I remember when some of my friends ended up making the flowers grow too big and ended up being entangled by them. It's still a hilarious sight today."
"Well, this shows she's already awesome at it." Ash walked up to Sci-Twi. "You're a natural-born prodigy, Twi!"
"Pikachu!"
"Well...I don't know about that." Sci-Twi blushed. "I just think it's pretty easy. And maybe even Arceus is helping me, just like you said."
"Don't get too confident." Baraz intervened. "Eventually, it's only going to get harder. It took a while for us to get adjusted to what we could do with this light. Sometimes, it's not pretty at all."
"Baraz is right. Things can get pretty intense." Meray stood up. "It's also reminding me of something else that happened with my friends. But never mind that. Right now, you should be at a good level. What do you think?"
"I agree! I can do this now!" Sci-Twil put her hands together, generating a holy and divine light from her hands. When generating this light, she managed to make her hair flow for a bit along with the blades of grass and the plants. She could already mildly affect the area around her. Mainly some flowers but at a minimal scale.
"You can make plants grow and heal them. That's as far as you've gone so far but you can do so much more in the future. Just remember one thing, Twilight." Meray held both Twilight's hands. "Now that you have this pendant and light, it's up to you to keep yourself safe."
"Myself safe?" She repeated.
"Mhm. Something like this shouldn't be taken lightly. You're from another world after all. Our grandfather mentioned how Arceus' light, in all of its benevolence can be moulded into various things. But it can't all be good. That's why the people at Arche Valley work hard to make sure that never happens." Baraz explained.
"W-What happens if it goes wrong?" She asked, curious about the setbacks since there was potentially some history with this divine light.
"If it goes wrong, either come to us or even look to yourself. With Arceus' light on your side, you can use the power you now have to help yourself in different ways. Mainly by connecting with Arceus, who won't hesitate to help you. Even if you can't see Arceus, it's close to you at all times." Meray added. "Hopefully, it's not too confusing."
"No. I get it." Sci-Twi made a soft smile. "I already have friends who'll help me through the toughest things. And having Arceus by my side sounds like I'm getting extra help."
"That's the spirit." Ash and Pikachu gave a collective thumbs-up.
"Pikachu!"
"Then go along then. Just don't mess around with that power too much okay?" Baraz shook his head. "Know when exactly to use that power."
"Got it! I think it's time we went somewhere else, Ash." Sci-Twi asked Ash. "I'd like to meet more of your friends if that's possible!"
"Really? Ya know that means heading to Equestria. Are you still ready for that?"
"Uhh...Maybe if one of your friends are in this world right now, we can go see them." Sci-Twi preferred to stay within these limits and her own world. She was still hesitant about going to Equestria. "I should meet up with Sunset and the others too."
"Then, let's head to another region while we're at it. How does...Hoenn sound?" Ash suggested the Hoenn Region as their next destination. The region with blissful waters all around.
"Deal! Thank you, Baraz! Meray!" Sci-Twi put her hands together, thanking the two of them for what they did. "I won't forget this."
"No problem. But ya know...We're not just going to stick around her forever." Meray winked. "The Pokemon Festival might not come to Arche Valley since it's hidden but we can't resist it. Well, I can't resist it. Baraz here's not too big about it."
"I'm big about it." Baraz crossed his arms. "I just don't show it. That's all."
"Well, since you're involved in it, why not check out another region?" Ash gave another suggestion to them both. "Any place is good."
"Another region? Oh well...we'd prefer to stay in Kalos but that's not a bad idea honestly." Meray thought about it. "Which region would we even go to?"
"Anywhere will do. But if you're feeling extra adventurous, you can visit the other world and Equestria. Lots to see there." Ash replied.
"Hm. We haven't been to Equestria. But from what I hear, that's where most of the big events happen. And it's a place brimming with this Rift Energy too." Baraz said.
"Wait, we're heading there first? It's because of all that energy, isn't it? It's not all that. Our pendants have the better energy anyway." Meray held up her Arceus Pendant.
"Definitely. But, I just want to take a gander. That's all honestly and see how the magic works there. I'm more of a mystic fanatic than anything, Meray."
"I guess so. But I don't think we can learn anything there. Arceus' light is all we need anyway."
"We're gonna head off now. Is it okay if Hoopa tags along?" Ash requested Hoopa to join them. He wanted to spend some more time with the Mischief Pokemon.
"Hoopa's enjoying this festival greatly so go ahead. But be sure to bring Hoopa back on time before this all ends. We don't want things getting out of hand." Meray waved at Ash and the others once they ran off.
"You got it! Catch ya later!" Ash shouted with his voice fading in the distance.
"Pikachu!"
Unova. Undella Town. Day.
Meanwhile, shifting to the Unova Region and Undella Town, Cynthia and Princess Celesti were having themselves a quick morning bite before they do anything energetic.
They mixed and matched their favourite flavours of cake, sweets and ice cream, sharing them with each other. At the same time, the peaceful Undella waves blessed their ears.
"So. How do you enjoy being a human so far, Celestia?" Cynthia asked.
"It's too much fun! It was fun the first time and it's certainly fun the second time. My favourite part is having fingers. So much versatility it's amazing." The Sun Princess giggled.
"Mhm. Now I'm thinking that we might have to swap one day. If you can become a human, then perhaps I wouldn't prefer being a pony." Cynthia was already thinking about a potential species swap where the roles are reversed.
"You? You want to be a pony?"
"Just for a bit. I was wondering what would happen if I became one myself." Cynthia started daydreaming, picturing herself as an entirely different species. "I'd argue I'd be as tall as you since we're both the same height as humans. Or maybe...I'd be a dragon for some spice."
"Not a bad choice. But sometimes I like to dream differently. When I was young, I dreamt of being a special kind of species. Granted, I made it up as a child and it didn't make any sense, but it was fun. But if you were to become a pony...then I'd still be large and in charge."
"I charge yes, but large? We're the same height here, Tia." Cynthia shrugged before smirking. "Are you sure about that?"
"Positive! I'm Equestria's tallest pony. Well, excluding my parents who hang around the Ambrosial Plane mostly. And I suppose outside of Equestria, there are those Giant Pegasi that live up at Pegalysium. So...I'm only the tallest back at Equestria. Even though Passion is much taller than me and Ash comes around Equestria so many times that he practically lives here..." She lowered her head before realizing others were taller than her. "Oh. So much for me being large and in charge."
"Haha." Cynthia giggled. "Oh, but you still have the power, don't you? Who needs to be large and charge when you're potentially at the peak of your species? At least, I believe you are. Are you?"
"How kind of you to say that, Cynthia. There's no determined stage to what a peak pony looks like. Many would just go for an alicorn. Though I suppose if everypony in the future was an alicorn, that would truly be the peak. And a somewhat intimidating sight."
"Well, you'll certainly be around long enough to see it."
"And I'll be around long enough to do all the things I love. What about you, Cynthia? Aside from battling, you love being an archaeologist, right?"
"That much is true. If I'm being honest, I love being an archaeologist more than a Pokemon Trainer." Cynthia looked up at the sky. "Something about it always made me so excited. Battling does the same thing, but not on the same level. Sometimes, I even think about retiring just to continue exploring."
"Retiring from battling? Especially as a champion? That's a massive decision." Celestia held out a piece of cake, sharing it with Cynthia.
"I haven't decided on it yet. But I'll make up my mind one day. You've probably had enough time to make countless decisions, right?"
"If there's something you love, why not take the risk to sacrifice something else? That's what I used to do back then when I was a filly. But after becoming a Princess and the ruler of an entire nation, I couldn't sacrifice my role. Instead, I practically sacrificed my chances of having all the fun I wanted to have." Celestia sighed, thinking about all the things she missed out on for centuries.
"But that's not the case now, is it? You look to be partaking in everything that you couldn't do before. That sacrifice was worth it, wasn't it?" Cynthia flipped her hair.
"Oh, it was! And it all led to me having an amazing outfit!" Celestia stood up, showing off her outfit once more. "I'd say those centuries were all worth it. Patience is a virtue~"
"Alright. I think we've had enough chat about time and age. I'm feeling a bit old bringing it up. It's time I helped you practice with your Kommo-o. And maybe your other Pokemon." Cynthia also stood up. "I sensed something great in you, Celestia. It also makes me excited to see what you can do."
"Really? Is it my magic?"
"Not your magic." Cynthia walked past her. "You seem to be a prodigy at Pokemon Battling. Back at the Vast Poni Canyon, your battle with Totem Kommo-o helped me witness something. Honestly, I'm glad you aren't entering the Equestria League."
"Hmmm. So I have innate battling skills too? Well, Passion and I do work exceptionally well when we fuse. Since you saw it, I'd love to see myself bring it out some more. I'll use everything I can. Especially my Harmony Phenomenon. Which is...all I have now that I think about it."
"Ah. That reminds me!" Cynthia gasped. "You didn't receive a Z-Crystal!"
"I didn't?" The Princess of the Sun tilted her head, wondering why that was so important right about now. She didn't even think about Z-Crystals at all.
"I knew I forgot something. Since you caught Totem Kommo-o and won that battle, you should've received a special Z-Crystal from it. The Kommonium Z. But I suppose you didn't confirm that you were doing an island trial at all."
"Oh. Is that so?"
"Ah, well, let's not worry about that right now." Cynthia dismissed it. "We can deal with that later. In the meanwhile, let's have our practice battle."
"With pleasure!" Celestia ran over to find herself the perfect spot to battle Cynthia. Undella Town was fairly populated during Summer, so there wouldn't be many open spots. But they found a place either way.
Once they found a spot to have their battle, they took their respective positions. Cynthia stood on the left while Celestia took the right. And naturally, when the people here saw Cynthia standing apart from someone else, that meant only one thing. Someone was about to battle Cynthia.
They couldn't help but focus all their attention on this incoming battle since Cynthia was involved. They would sit back and watch how this would unfold, unaware of who this mysterious trainer was facing Cynthia.
"Personally...I want to see the Harmony Phenomenon in action." Cynthia thought to herself. "Celestia and everyone there have found something amazing. And it looks like she's the one to have tapped into the most. I'd love to see what that kind of power brings out.
"I hope you're ready, Cynthia!" Celestia held out her Poke Ball. "We may be friends, but I refuse to take things easy! Plus...it is my first time battling a friend like this."
"I'm not expecting anything less, Tia." Cynthia also held her Poke Ball out. "Come. Let's battle!" The energies between the two of them were clashing, albeit invisible. A practice battle was about to occur but there was something in the air saying otherwise. This wouldn't be so swift as many others were thinking.
Right now over at Undella Town, Cynthia and Celestia would engage in a quick practice battle for the sake of Celestia getting adjusted to her newest Pokemon, caught from Vast Poni Canyon. Totem Kommo-o. They had their Poke Balls out and all they had to do was throw them to begin the practice. The people here at Undella Town stopped what they were doing just to see Cynthia battle.
"First for everything. I haven't battled with more than two Pokemon ever." Celestia looked at Totem Kommo-o's Ultra Ball before throwing it into the air. "But here I go! Kommo-o, please come out!"
"Kommo-o!" Here he was. Totem Kommo-o. In tip-top shape and ready to throw down against whatever Pokemon would appear. Granted, Kommo-o is a Pokemon that prefers to battle strong opponents and is most likely to avoid battling weak opponents. Lucky, all of Cynthia's Pokemon were strong. Stupidly strong, one might say.
"Then here! Kommo-o!" Cynthia would fight Kommo-o with Kommo-o, sending her own out. Her Kommo-o was a regular-sized Kommo-o, making Celestia's the bigger one. But size wasn't everything.
"Who is that by the way? Doesn't she look a lot like that princess from Equestria?" A swimmer spoke to one of the people here, pointing out Celestia's appearance. It was so different from everyone else's and that crown was strikingly similar to Celestia's regalia. Even her mane.
"She does. You don't think it's actually her, right?"
"This'll only take a few minutes or less. Just to get you adjusted. You've only ever done practice battles, correct?" Cynthia asked.
"That's right. I practice with my sister but I've never had a proper full-on battle before. Maybe one day I'll get to have it. But right now...who should make the first move?" Celestia vigorously pointed at Cynthia as any of them could attack first and initiate the practice session.
"You should come at me first Tia." Cynthia encouraged her friend to go first as Kommo-o performed a gesture that was also encouraging the opposing Totem Kommo-o to do the same.
"Right but uh...just one moment!" Abruptly, Princess Celestia put the battle on pause before it could even begin. She did this just to take out her Pokedex and hold it up to Kommo-o. "I just have to remember his moves from before and check them first. Sorry."
"Oh. Well, take your time." Cynthia allowed it. Celestia just got Kommo-o and remembering his moves were crucial, no doubt. Everyone was surprised to see how she was forcibly taking her time to do this. As if they had zero hope for her in the beginning since she was facing Cynthia but now, she seems like a complete novice to them.
"Okay...Clanging Scales. Poison Jab and Flash Cannon and finally Close Combat. Alright! Now, I'm ready!" Once she read all the moves, she adjusted herself instantly.
"Splendid. Don't be shy. Attack me." Cynthia's eyes flared, prompting Celestia to take action.
"With pleasure! Go, Kommo-o! Strike hard with Close Combat!" Celestia started things off, thrusting her arm back and forth to replicate Close Combat. Cynthia would get to see how Celestia's movements helped her in battle.
"Ko!" Totem Kommoto rushed in, blowing some of the sand from his movements. Now it was up to Cynthia to respond accordingly to this opposing Kommo-o.
"Kommo-o. Outrage!"
"Kommo!" Instantly, Kommo-o retaliated by putting his arms up, covering them in a raging red aura that also gleamed from his eyes. Right when the opposing Totem Kommo-o came close, Cynthia's Kommo-o engaged in physical contact. Both Kommo-o, instead of hitting each other, locked claws as Totem Kommo-o came to a screeching halt.
It was a physical struggle for strength as both Pokemon were locked in a pushback exchange. One Kommo-o was trying to push back the other with their respective moves as neither had managed to hit the other yet. Even though Celestia's Kommo-o was a Totem one, size certainly wasn't the big factor here.
Seeing that they neither could push the other back, both Kommo-o had jumped away from each other, but their exchange would continue as Celestia's Kommo-o went in for a strong claw strike only for Cynthia's Kommo-o to not only block it with its tail, but it also ended up wrapping its tail around the opposing Scaly Pokemon's arm.
"Ko?!"
"Now, slam your fellow Kommo-o to the ground!"
"Kommo-o!" Cynthia's Kommo-o ended up slamming Celestia's Kommo-o to the ground, causing the sand to fly up from the heavy impact. That was a guaranteed super-effective hit as the Totem Kommo-o growled. However, Cynthia's Kommo-o didn't stop it there.
"Ko?!" It started spinning Celestia's Kommo-o, dragging him through the ground and causing sand to get in his eyes, which was very unpleasant.
"What do I do about this?!" Celestia growled, thinking of a way to escape this since Cynthia's Kommo-o had her Kommo-o in a bit of a compromising position. But Celestia was a fast thinker as she had a few options that came to mind. "That's it! Grab the ground and use Flash Cannon!"
Celestia shouted as she gave the spinning Kommo-o glances on what he could do to break free. She started by getting down and digging her fingers into the sand and opening her mouth, telling Kommo-o to do the same. The people watching this battle observed Celestia's movements and how she was she was pulling off this pose. It was odd to them but entertaining and interesting as well.
"K-Ko!" Kommo-o caught glimpses of this. He was already aware that Celestia loved to battle this way due to the battle against Gardevoir. So seeing Celestia do these actions gave him the right action to execute. Kommo-o did just that, using the strength of Close Combat to smash his claws into the ground.
He managed to get them deep in the sand, causing Cynthia's Kommo-o to suddenly feel an abrupt halt. Cynthia's Kommo-o lost its momentum from all its spinning, stopping in a 180 degrees direction. After it had been interrupted, Totem Kommo-o released a beam of silver energy that hit the ground. The result was a sliver explosion that not only hit the opposing Kommo-o but even the original user of the attack.
Both Kommo-os were blown back by the silver explosion, releasing the tail grip. They both fell over, rolling on the sand as now Cynthia's Kommo-o got sand in her eyes as payback.
Cynthia had already seen how quickly Celestia could think when in a compromising position. And especially for a Pokemon she just recently befriended. However, Cynthia wanted t keep this battle going for a bit longer just to see what else Celestia could do. From her experience, Celestia had the skills of a prodigy, despite coming from a completely different world.
These prodigal skills had to be revealed.
"Now, Clanging Scales!" Celestia had clapped her hand, using her magic to replicate a sonic sound. And since Cynthia's Kommo-o was confused thanks to the effects of Outrage, Celestia's Kommo-o could get a free hit in.
"Hit yourself with Sky Uppercut!" But Cynthia had an answer for that too. A way to break out of Kommo-o's confusion.
"Ko!" A direct smash to its own face and the confusion had been eliminated. Quick and efficient. At the same time, Celestia's Kommo-o folded his arms before then unfolding them, sending blue shockwaves towards his fellow Scaly Pokemon.
Cynthia's Kommo-o received a super-effective hit from these shockwaves, causing it to stagger, but not fall over. Totem Kommo-o couldn't make the opposing Dragon-FIghting-Type fall over again like before as Cynthia's Kommo-o was showing more of its strength gradually.
"Now, blaze through it with Flamethrower!" Cynthia shouted, holding her hand out. Kommo-o's eyes flashed for a split second as flames were flaring up in its mouth.
"Mo-o!" Out of its mouth, Cynthia's Kommo-o unleashed a powerful stream of fire that was so strong that it even burnt through Kommo-o's scales. Celestia's Kommo-o was blown back once he was engulfed by the ferocious flames as it beat out his signature attack.
"Ko!" Kommo-o cried out before falling on his back, groaning. Celestia gasped, believing that Clanging Scales would've won that exchange just by Kommo-o's biology alone. But that wasn't the case. As she had a stunned expression, she got to see how exceptionally strong Cynthia was.
"Kommo-o! Are you alright?!" Celestia bellowed as Kommo-o could still stand. But he was already on the losing side, holding his head once standing up. He growled, shaking his head while also hunching over, showing that a few more hits might finish him off. So soon too.
"Hm. I suppose with such a new Pokemon...she wouldn't get too far." Cynthia closed her eyes, expecting Celestia to go further. But that wasn't the case. "Oh well. It's a start. Let's finish this practice battle, Kommo-o! Outrage!"
"Kommo-o!" Cynthia and her Kommo-o were ready to end this right here and now. This practice session would seemingly come to an end and Celestia certainly didn't want that. Not when she wanted to grow with Kommo-o. She wanted this growth and session to last longer as the opposing Kommo-o was approaching. As for everyone else watching this, they expected this much from the result.
"No...I want to enjoy it a bit longer!" But Celestia refused to let it end here. Her eyes flashed a beautiful divine yellow as the same went for Totem Kommo-o's eyes. "Get ready, Kommo-o!"
"Ko!"
"Oh?" Cynthia's eyes opened up a small bit. Something had reignited in Celestia already. Perhaps, she had more to show before it could end. Or rather, she was going to make it wouldn't end as quickly as Celestia and everyone else were thinking.
"Give it a taste of its own medicine! Close Combat!" Celestia suddenly smashed her fists together as Cynthia was wondering what that meant.
"Ko-Ko!" But Totem Kommo-o knew very clearly what this meant. And it was all thanks to the light that was gleaming in his eyes and Celestia's eyes. The second Cynthia's Kommo-o came in swinging, instead of hitting back, Celestia's Kommo-o had used his opponent as a means of counterattacking.
He swayed to the side from one of the incoming claw swipes before then using the strength of Close COmbat to knock Cynthia's Kommo-o's claw back at it.
"M-Mo?!" Cynthia's Kommo-o had its claw redirected towards its face, causing it to receive damage from its own attack which caused super-effective damage in the process. Cynthia was amazed as Celestia used Kommo-o's method of breaking out of confusion to her advantage.
"Ko!" Totem Kommo-o then did the same for the other claw, making Celestia's hand gesture finally make sense as the other claw had been sent back at Cynthia's Kommo-o, dealing another super-effective impact.
"Yes! Now Flash Cannon!" Fangs had been bared by Celestia as the more enthusiasm and energy she was putting into this battle, the longer she was going on. Cynthia was starting to notice just how Celestia battles.
"Mo!" After stunning Cynthia's Kommo-o, Totem Kommo-o jerked his head back, gathering light energy before expelling it with his breath. The beam was large enough to engulf the opposing Kommo-o, sending it back as Celestia was still in this. Cynthia's Kommo-o was now the one to receive multiple hits as it slid back on the sand, growling.
Everyone else was surprised that Celestia was lasting this long against Kommo-o. They weren't even aware that this was a very recent Pokemon of hers.
"She can still go on..." Cynthia gawked. "But it's more than just her spirit being reignited. There's something else with her."
"It isn't over yet! Poison Jab! Let's leave an effect!" Celestia then viciously held her hands out and made them into claws, swiping at the air. She even put magic on her nails to replicate poison.
"Kommo-o!" Kommo-o went in, lacing his claws with poison as the opposing Kommo-o was now confused after using Outrage. But once again, it used Sky Uppercut to break the confusion without Cynthia having to tell it to do so. It just knew that it always had to be done in this scenario.
"Fight back, Kommo-o! Flamethrower!"
"Mo-o!" Kommo-o would quickly try and affect Totem Kommo-o first before any potential poison could come through by unleashing a stream of scarlet flames.
"Cut through!" Celestia then swung her hand and sharp claws through the air in a forward motion.
"Ko!" Kommo-o followed suit. By using Poison Jab, he slashed the incoming flames. Surprisingly, with Celestia trembling her arm, this encouraged Kommo-o to add some strength to his arms. And with sheer power, he clashed right through the stream of flames, reaching his fellow Scaly Pokemon and delivering a strong slash to the face. Not only that, but the flames received a nice pattern that separated them thanks to Poison Jab.
"M-Mo?!"
"Flash Cannon! Up close and personal!" Celestia then mimicked a grabbing motion, nearly putting her heads together and opening her mouth.
"Kommo-o!" Kommo-o knew what to do as he grabbed his opponent's head. And this was easier since he was the bigger Pokemon due to being a Totem Pokemon. After that, he was ready to unleash Flash Cannon in his opponent's face holding him in place.
"Quick! Iron Head!"
"Ko!" But Cynthia's Kommo-o quickly retaliated by smashing its hardened head into the Totem Pokemon. Princess Celestia's Kommo-o had been interrupted before flinching right afterwards, receiving some knockback that garnered distance between the two of them.
"Not quite." Celestia grinned along with Kommo-o. It was astounding that they were surviving this long. And Cynthia was amazed by what she was seeing. Observing Celestia some more, she could finally understand what this kind of battling style was.
"So that's it. It's just like how she battles when she becomes Celestial-Gardevoir. Passion and her are one entity so they share one mind and one body to execute things perfectly. And in this case...the same thing is happening with Kommo-o." Cynthia figured it out.
Indeed, Celestia was battling as if she was fused with Kommo-o, much like how she fuses with Passion to create Celestial-Gardevoir. But this time, Celestia wasn't fused with anyone. Instead, she was in sync with her Pokemon's actions.
"But it's probably more than that. That light in her eyes and the magic that sometimes appears around her...That might be the Harmony Phenomenon taking place. That might be what allows her to be so in sync with such a new Pokemon."
When looking at Celestia, this golden light was previously much more visible during her battle against Kommo-o. She shared a strong bond with Passion, so it made sense why the light was so strong. But with a new Pokemon, it was faint but present.
"It's like she becomes the Pokemon itself."
"Don't zone out on me, Cynthia. I'm enjoying this too much!" Celestia said with a bright smile before cupping her hands and generating light magic within her palms. "Flash Cannon!"
"Kommo-o!" Kommo-o would fire Flash Cannon from his hands instead of his mouth this time as he mimicked the motions of Princess Celestia.
"I never zone out! Flamethrower!"
"Ko! Kommo!" Cynthia's Kommo-o retaliated accordingly, unleashing Flamethrower from its mouth as these two attacks would clash with one another. A fierce clash of elements had occurred. Fire and Light Energy. It was a strong struggle, blowing away the sand from their equal ferocities as they tied in strength. After the attacks blew up in front of each other, Cynthia and Celestia were ready to capitalize.
"Close Combat!" Celestia leaned forward, prompting her Kommo-o to run through the smoke. She then swung her arm downwards, causing Kommo-o to do the same when approaching his fellow Scaly Pokemon.
"Sky Uppercut!" Cynthia retaliated instantly as her Kommo-o swung its arm up with such strength, it summoned a whirlwind around it. Both claws had clashed, resulting in some sparks that flew around. The force of Sky Uppercut launched Kommo-o upwards but the exchange wasn't over.
Celestia stomped her foot, prompting Kommo-o to come diving down with a downward kick. Cynthia's Kommo-o gasped before receiving a hard foot stomp from above that went straight to the dome of its head. Everyone felt that as the impact had some stellar weight to it.
"That's it! Let's end this now! Ring Clanging Scales in its ears!" Celestia then hugged herself by putting her arms on her shoulders. That made Celestia's Kommo-o give Cynthia's Kommo-o a bear hug, restraining it.
"Ko?!" After restraining his fellow Scaly Pokemon, he already manipulating the scales around his body, bringing about a devastating sound. And since it was so up close, Celestia-s Kommo-o received heavy super-effective damage as well as some pain to its ears. The shocks caused an explosion to emerge that masked them both. Everyone else apart from the two trainers closed their eyes as Cynthia's Kommo-o flew out of the smoke.
"Ko...Kommo-o..." When dropping to the ground after emerging out of the smoke, it was clear that Cynthia's Kommo-o received the brunt of it all. And by taking that much damage, Totem Kommo-o had fainted, shocking everyone.
Celestia had defeated one of Cynthia's Pokemon and with such a great comeback too.
"Haha! Success!" Celestia pumped her fist in the air. "That did the trick didn't it?"
"It certainly did. Return, Kommo-o. And thank you" Cynthia returned her Kommo-o before smiling. Everyone couldn't believe that Celestia defeated one of Cynthia's Pokemon. Only trainers from the Masters 8 had even done so. And here was Princess Celestia, pulling through.
But instead of ending things here since it was just meant to be a practice battle, Cynthia continued. Holding out her next Poke Ball and throwing it to the skies. "How's this then?!"
"Togekiss!" Out came her Togekiss, who immediately twirled in the sky for style points.
"Togekiss...That might be a problem." Celestia narrowed her eyes at the Jubilee Pokemon. Apart from that, very soon, these two had forgotten that this was meant to be short and sweet. But since Cynthia was getting pumped up by this and especially Celestia, they completely forgot why they were doing this in the first place.
So much for a practice session. Now it had become a serious battle.
"Return for now, Kommo-o!" And much like a serious battle, Celestia returned her Kommo-o to let him get some rest. She was already prepared to swap him out for someone else. She looked back at Arcanine, nodding at him.
"Arcanine!" Arcanine ran past Celestia, getting in front of her as he would take centre stage.
"Uh...I thought this was just meant to be a practice battle." A young boy brought it up as he finally decided to speak among the crowd. Once those words came out, both Cynthia and Celestia gasped.
As if they had been snapped back to reality and out of their respective heads, they soon remembered why they were doing this. They blinked for a bit before looking back at everyone and their Pokemon.
"O-Oh. We were practising?" Celestia held her head as her crown almost fell off. "Were we, Cynthia?"
"Oops." Cynthia put her hand over her mouth. "That's right. I didn't even remember that. Slipped our mind."
"I suppose so." Celestia laughed, which prompted Cynthia to laugh too. The spirit of a Pokemon battle can do that to someone. They can get so into it that they forget everything else. Such was the beauty of a Pokemon Battle.
"But, thanks to this battle, I've discovered something amazing from you, Celestia." Cynthia walked up before returning Togekiss to its Poke Ball. "I'm not sure even you know it."
"Know what?"
"Your battling style. Does it come naturally to you? The way you battle seems to be similar to when you're Celestial-Gardevoir. Did you plan that?"
"Well, I suppose it does come to me naturally. Being Celestial-Gardevoir a few times gave me a few changes but they only exist for battling. When I first battled with Arcanine as a human, I just felt a natural instinct to do some of these poses. They make me look cool too." She squeed.
"Hm. But it's more than that. You improve so quickly it's surreal." Cynthia turned around, pondering for it. "You are a prodigy yes, but...I've never seen such a leap in power before."
"Oh well..." Celestia blushed. "My mom said I was an early grower in every category. I hope to improve with more Pokemon I end up catching in the future. And thank you for the battle. Um, I mean, practice session."
"It was a pleasure. Your majesty." Cynthia and Celestia shook hands as everyone applauded them both for the entertaining battle. Celestia had gained new respect from everyone here as well. "But, let's see how good you are at everything else."
"I was just thinking that. Come on. Let's take a dive! I want to see how good I can swim like this!" Celestia then pulled Cynthia with her.
"But you'll ruin your look, won't you?" Cynthia gasped, realizing that Celestia's stylish look could be drenched and unkempt.
"They don't call me the Princess of the Sun for nothing. I'll warm and clean myself up in time!"
"I'm not sure that's how heat works on clothes in this scenario..." Cynthia closed her eyes before chuckling. She certainly found a new friend. Someone that shared a lot in common with her. Being around Celestia at this time was pleasing to Cynthia and it was only going to get better from here on.
Sinnoh. Eterna City. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
And meanwhile, over at Eterna City, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had found themselves here. The long-lasting Eterna City. An old city that shows fading and almost-forgotten vestiges of ancient history. But even so, they still existed and kept going.
As to be expected, they were greatly enjoying themselves here for ponies of their age. Everything was enjoyable as they were joined by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as well. They've been here since yesterday.
But during their fun, Scootaloo came across something interesting. History was brimming at Eterna City and at this time, photos had been recovered from the past. The people here celebrated their history, placing photos on a large banner that had been set up by some Vigoroths.
Even photos of the present were placed there. This large banner that was exceedingly long, acted as a sort of time capsule. Granted, it wasn't a capsule, but everyone placed these photos on these walls to preserve happy moments or even reminisce about them.
Some of them were even taking pictures of themselves to create new memorabilia. Some of them were a mix of humans and ponies, showing the friendship that both worlds had formed. This banner was large enough to probably hold all of the pictures from Eterna City and more. And if there was no more space, another banner would emerge.
But while this was all nice to look at and heartwarming, there was one picture that was too important to Scootaloo's eyes. She walked past the crowd of people, going up to the banner.
In that picture, there was one Pokemon that caught her interest. It looked like it was a part of the Cyndaquill evolution line. It even looked like a Typhlosion. But different.
Very different.
The young pegasus had come across a piece of history that she was about to learn herself, involving one of her own Pokemon.
Over at Eterna City, one attraction involved a sort of Time Capsule event. Though it wasn't a capsule, more like a banner. A large and long banner that held various pictures that were plastered on. These pictures were memorabilia. From the past to the present as pictures were being taken to show the bonds between both worlds that have been made.
But Scootaloo, when observing this banner of pictures, came across one that involved a familiar Pokemon. It looked like Typhlosion at a first glance but there was something different about it.
The image was in black and white, showing its age as there wasn't any colour to it. But Scootaloo suspected that it shared a similar colour scheme to the Typhlosion evolution line. She mainly focused on the flames that were around Typhlosin's neck, something which she has never seen before.
"Who's that Pokemon?" Scootaloo wondered. "Is it Typhlosion?"
"It is Typhlosion. Good eye." The vendor who set up the picture replied to Scootaloo once he saw her focus on the picture involving Typhlosion and the old lady next to it.
"Wow...but it looks a bit different from the Typhlosion I know. Is that a new form?" The filly pegasus asked.
"It is. That right there is a Hisuian Typhlosion."
"Hisuian Typhlosion?" Scootaloo repeated as the vendor revealed the name of this alternate Typhlosion. Not only was Scootaloo right on the mark for spotting the correct species but she even saw that it was a new form. A regional form to be exact. "Sweet. So there's something different from the normal Typhlosion out there...and I could have it!"
She gasped, realizing that she had a Quillava. This could potentially mean that a new evolution could emerge for her Pokemon when he finally fully evolves.
"Oh...sorry about that." The vendor rubbed the back of his head, having some bad news for Scootaloo which had to be said for her own good. "That's not possible. Not anymore."
"Huh? Why not?" Her excitement drastically dropped.
"Truth is, Hisuian Typhlosion isn't around anymore. This picture is of my great-grandmother and her Hisuian Typhlosion around 150 years ago. This was when Sinnoh was called Hisui before changing its name."
"But it's still the same region, right? How's that stopping me from getting a new Typhlosion?"
"The region's changed over the years, my little pony.. That goes with certain conditions. Eterna City used to be a forest in the past, for example. And thanks to those conditions, Hisuian Typhlosion isn't a possibility anymore." The vendor continued to explain, giving the biggest reason as to why this form of Typhlosion wasn't possible anymore. "If you evolved your Pokemon here, you'd just end up with a normal Typholosion."
"Aw..." Naturally, Scootaloo was bummed out by this, sitting down with her ears dropping. "It would've been so cool to have a new Typhlosion through. Can I at least wait for one to show up?"
"Yeah, if you want to wait a hundred more years for something Sinnoh to change." The vendor couldn't give her any better options. If Scootaloo was to wait a hundred more years, then perhaps, Sinnoh's surroundings would change to benefit her Quilava.
"Fooey..." The pegasus pouted. There went her chances. "150 years too late? Lame..."
"What's stopping you from trying to have one?" But just then, a third-party individual had joined in on this conversation, speaking with an eerie voice and grabbing the attention of both Scootaloo and the vendor. This voice belonged to the once again elusive and mysterious lady with crimson eyes and green hair.
The witch. She once again showed up someone was curious about something, not making a sound at first before popping up. This was one of those scenarios where the concept of Hisuian Typhlosion was too big for Scootaloo to ignore.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Scootaloo was not bothered by the appearance of this witch, who was now dressed up as a humble shopkeeper, wearing a different hat as always.
"Why try and give up so soon? For all you know it could still be possible. You're in the Sinnoh Region after all." The witch replied, putting on a smirk.
"Uh, sorry miss. But I already told her it's not possible." The vendor shrugged, shaking his head. "Sinnoh's changed a lot since then and having a Hisuian Typhlosion isn't possible anymore."
"Is it?" She quickly replied with a striking question that was short but effective. And with that smirk on her face, the witch was fully on the side of Hisuian Typhlosion being a complete possibility even to this day.
"Yeah...Right?" Now the vendor was curious. Judging by the tone of her voice, the witch possibly knew something. "Hang on, of course it's not possible. There hasn't been a sighting of a Hisuian Typhlosion for years now."
"Maybe not now. But that can change." The witch raised her finger, having more to say. "Even if Sinnoh has changed over the years, there are still mysteries in this beautiful world that have yet to be uncovered. Perhaps...there's a place where your Quilava can become a Hisuian Typhlosion"
"Wait. How'd you know I had a Quilava?" Scootaloo asked.
"Child. I'd suggest going to Mount Coronet. Even to this day, a plethora of landmarks, no matter how long it has been, retain something special about them."
"What's so special about Mount Coronet?" The little pony questioned once more.
"Oh, right! I get it now!" The vendor was catching on. "In the past, a professor by the name of Laventon discovered that something over at Mount Coronet influenced a Cyndaquil that once lived there. They lived on the mountain for so long that it's said a magical power from the mountain entered them. But you can't find a Cyndaquil at Mount Coronet anymore."
"So then it is possible!" Scootaloo stood up as her excitement and hope had been reignited.
"I guess so now that you brought it up. But you'd still need a lot of time for a Hisuian Typhlosion to show up. You'd have to practically live at Mount Coronet for your entire life if you want the magic to enter your Cyndaquill.
"Aw...it would still take some time?" Scootaloo grumbled, realizing that time was a major factor in all of this. "There's gotta be a quicker way. But...Maybe it's changed now over the years. It's settled! I'm going to Mount Coronet!"
"Well...no argument against that." The vendor shrugged. "Go for it kid."
"I will! Thanks, by the way, miss-" But the second Scootaloo turned around to face the witch, just like before with everyone else she's interacted with, she was gone. Without a sound or even a trace of her. "Huh...? Where'd she go?"
"Uh well anyway..." The vendor was dazed for a moment before looking at Scootaloo. "I guess your chance to get Hisuian Typhlosion is viable. It's just that it's so rare, many wouldn't think it was ever real."
"I'll make it real. You see, I'm entering the Equestria league to become Equestria's first-ever Champion. Even if I don't win, I'll wow the crowd with my Hisuian Typhlosion. So I'll make it well-known, that's for sure." Scootaloo took out one of her Poke Balls, holding Quilava's Poke Ball and looking at it deeply.
"Neat. But...could you do me a favour down the road?" The vendor asked, scratching his face as he had something to request. "Since you're going for a Hisuian Typhlosion, it'd be great if one day, you could send a photo of you and Typhlosion to me. My grandma would be reminded about great-grandma's picture."
"I'll remember." Scootaloo took no issue in that. She would do a favour for this vendor as it wasn't out of the realm of possibility for a Cutie Mark Crusader. Though, this request might take a while. Afterwards, Scootalo rushed off to inform her friends and had to Mount Coronet.
The goal was to embed Quilava with the enigmatic magic that resides within Mount Coronet.
"We're going to Mount Coronet?" After being informed of it, Sweetie Belle replied to Scootaloo as all of her friends had been told about the potential new evolution of Quilava.
"That's right. All we gotta do is have Quilava filled with some of that Coronet Magic. And later down the road, Hisuian Typhlosion's gonna make his grand debut. I can see it now." Scootaloo then looked to the skies, imagining how Hisuian Typhlosion would appear.
She instantly thought of Quilava evolving during a big battle. Whether it was against a rival or even during another serious event similar to the invasion. Either way, she wanted it to be big in every way.
"But how long is it gonna take for Hisuian Typhlosion to show up?" Apple Bloom asked. "You said that it'll take some time."
"Yeah. It'll take some time for Quilava to evolve. I betcha that when we get to Mount Coronet, Quilava's gonna be filled up with some magic." Scootaloo nodded, in full belief that this plan would work. "This has to work. I really want that Typhlosion. So will you girls help me get that magic inside Quilava?"
"Sure thing. But after that, I'll have a favour of my own." Diamond Tiara smirked, bringing about her own personal wants after the Mount Coronet event. "You remember the Canterlot Junior Cup, right? I tried using Copycat on a Z-Move but it failed miserably."
"I totally remember that." Sweetie Belle tried holding in her laughter. "That was pretty funny. A shame it can't copy everything, right?"
"Hmph. That's what you think. But I found something interesting out from Miss Roxanne." However, Diamond Tiara rapidly responded, ready to reveal something. "Turns out, there's a special Z-Move for Copycat, among other things."
She shocked everyone before then reminiscing on what Roxanne told her back at the Pokemon School. It was weeks ago right after school was finishing. Everyone was heading home but Diamond Tiara stayed behind to receive some special information from Roxanne out of her own curiosity.
"I saw that you tried to use Copycat on a Z-Move. Sadly, that won't do...Unless you have the right Z-Crystal for it." Roxanne dropped something big for Diamond Tiara, grabbing the young earth pony's attention.
"The right Z-Crystal? There's a Z-Crystal that's like Copycat?!" With her pupils expanding with stars appearing in them, Diamond Tiara was ready to improve her arsenal. This was her chance to do so by hearing what Roxanne had to say.
"Well, it's actually just the Normalium Z, but depending on what moves your Pokemon has, the Normalium Z can create exclusive and somewhat rare Z-Moves. Such as Z-Swords, Z-Disable, Z-Perish Song and so much more. Not many people know this but the Normalium Z is the most effective Z-Crystal out of all them, much like how Normal-Types have the most versatile options out of any other type."
"Wow...So not only can I have Z-Copycat...I could potentially have more Z-Normal-Type moves at my disposal." This was a massive breakthrough for Diamond Tiara. Ideas were brewing in her head. "And all I need is the Normalium Z, right?!"
"Yes. And more Pokemon that have access to certain moves. Since the Normalium Z is so standard and most trainers only know about Breakneck Blitz, if you have access to the other Normal-Type Z-Moves, you'll blindside any opponent." Roxanne winked as she gave Diamond Tiara a massive advantage.
An advantage that not many others would have. All she needed was one Z-Crystal to make it happen. Of course, she would have to catch more Pokemon to fulfil her plans, so that was noted as well. The possibilities were endless.
Such was the beauty of the Normal-Type.
"Oh yeah. I'd be the biggest wild card. Jack of all Trades, master of...well I'd like to be the master of all those Normal Z-Moves." Diamond Tiara rubbed her hooves together while having a bright grin.
"I didn't even know the Normalium Z could do all of that." Silver Spoon adjusted her glasses before realizing she could use this to her advantage. "I've got a Normal-Type too actually. But I guess it's the movepool that matters instead of the type."
"So, we're gonna do that. But not before catching a bunch of Pokemon. Here's a list." Diamond Tiara had a list of Pokemon she wanted to catch so that she could use the Normalium Z on all of them. And when pulling it out of her saddlebag, it was revealed to be a long list.
The fillies all watched the list roll on the ground with multiple names popping up. It was fairly extensive as it could wrap around all of them two times.
"We'll start alphabetically." Diamond Tiara said. "Good thing every Normal-Type fits a majority of the alphabet. At least from the ones I know."
"Hang on. I get you wanna get the Normalium Z by why is it only Normal-Type Pokemon?" Apple Bloom soon noticed how every Pokemon on this list were Normal-Types with only a few of them having secondary typings. From Aipom to Zigzagoon.
"Yeah. Every Pokemon can learn a Normal-Type move." Scootaloo added. "Why not catch different Pokemon of different types?"
"Only if I'm not using a Z-Crystal on them. Plus, some Pokemon might make a mess of the house thanks to their typings. If I catch Normal-Types, they won't make that much of a mess since they don't have any special quirks to them. They're just normal. Plus, they've got the most variety of Normal-Type moves so there's that."
"Fair enough." The fillies all agreed with Diamond Tiara's reasoning.
"Hang on. Your mom has a Seviper though." Only for Silver Spoon to remember that her mother owned a Seviper which was a Poison-Type.
"Ahh...but Seviper doesn't spew Poison out constantly." Diamond Tiara instantly replied with a reason as to why Seviper was an exception.
"Okay! Let's head to Mount Coronet first! It can't be too hard to miss! It's right over there in the far distance!" Scootaloo aimed her hoof upwards, showing the massive mountain in the distance. Since Mount Coronet was so massive, many could see it from afar, faintly masked by the azure skies and the clouds.
It was off to Mount Coronet.
Unova. Opelucid City. Day.
Over at Opelucid, the vampires were still around. They continued to stay hidden within the crowd of ponies. At this moment, Canterlot guards were more focused on finding Galaxy Master but they would keep an eye out for vampires still.
Spectrum Shade's group had reached Opelucid City, enjoying themselves while also trying to find a way to search for Yveltal leads. Legendary Pokemon were certainly elusive and lived up to their status.
"Nothing on Yveltal yet...but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't having the time of my life." Opal Vivactiy commented, drinking a nice cold soda. "But, very soon, I might get something. The humans I've controlled should find at least something."
"It's strange how they haven't come back with anything yet though." Sweet Fang commented while looking at a Pokemon picture book that grabbed her attention. "A few months back, the humans you controlled at Kalos ran into a dead end."
"Yveltal is a very rare Pokemon. So rare that any information about it is only limited to what it can do and the places it once affected. But even so..." Opal sighed. "Those places no longer have Yveltal around. It goes anywhere, honestly. All we know is that Kalos is the place that it lives at."
"Maybe instead of using the humans to try and find Yveltal, we can try something else. There might be a demon from the Box of 100 Demons that could do it. Maybe?" Sweet Fang suggested.
"No, no, no. There's not a demon there that can find Yveltal sadly. Unless those human pawns can find something about Yveltal or something else, this might as well be an endless chase for one Pokemon. The Black Crusade will have to wait yet again. What do you think, Spectrum?"
"Hm?" Spectrum Shade was focused on her Poke Ball, thinking about the battle between Bertha and Rainbow Dash before looking over at Opal Vivacity. "Oh well, we gotta keep trying. That's all I can say. Besides, Melody and BIttersweet got some small crystals from that strange rock, didn't they? Queen Rosa's probably looking at them now to do something."
"But from how much time has passed, it's possible those rocks don't do a thing to help us find Yveltal." Sweet Fang shrugged before slumping on the chair. "We might as well just resort to try and get into Twilight's head again."
"There'll be something. There has t be. Queen Rosa will always find a way. Though...there's one thing we could resort to, now that I think about it." Opal adjusted her sunhat before looking to the skies. "Perhaps, what we need to do is bring Yveltal out."
"Bring Yveltal out?" Sweet Fang and Spectrum Shade repeated.
"That's right. If Xerneas is Yveltal's opposite, then both will only show up under certain circumstances. That beautiful-looking deer Pokemon brings life when it's needed. But Yveltal will take it away when it's needed. Perhaps, we need to try something like that."
"You mean...Give life? U, how are we gonna do that?" Spectrum Shade questioned.
"I don't know a spell for it. Such a spell would go against everything in the world. But then again, our wonderful queen has access to a library of dark and forbidden spells that involve horrible things." Opal Vivacity stood up. "I have something new planned. Can you hear me, your majesty?"
"I can hear you clearly, Opal." By using telepathy from afar, Opal Vivacity reached Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta to speak with her. "What you said is interesting...Bringing life to force Yveltal out."
"That's right. I suggest that we try and bring about as much life as we can to the point where it's too much for the world. Let this world suffer from success if you will. Let it brim with life and thus, Yveltal will show itself, cleansing this world of the overwhelming numbers. This great cleansing is sure to bring it out."
"That's a tall order though." Sweet Fang secretly took Opal's soda without her looking. "I mean, can we even bring life? Can her majesty do that?"
"That's a good question. Can you, Queen Rosa"? Opal asked.
"I specialize in the Dark Forbidden Arcane Arts. Everything I do is a complete antithesis to all things good as most said to me when I used to be at Canterlot. Nothing I have can bring life at all."
"Ah. That's a shame." Opal lowered her head in disappointment. It looked like that plan was out of the question.
"Of course, that's what forbidden magic is meant for. Possibly, there exists a spell that can do so. The variety of magic is endless and knows no limit. From what you've suggested, Opal, we'll need to find the right way to bring about a mass production of life that will be a detriment to the Pokemon World. Yveltal must bring balance after all."
"Then should we head out and find that spell?" Opal requested.
"If we can't find a spell for that, then we might have to control every human and Pokemon on this planet and let them get busy." Sweet Fang wiggled her eyebrows.
"Don't waste your time with that now. I have something better. Right now, I'm still planning on doing something with these crystals. But I believe I can make some adjustments. Opal, you'll be needed back at the Dark Chamber. Not right now, but it'll be a vital part of this plan."
"Understood. I suppose you want me to prepare something new for the pods?"
"That's right. This time, we'll use the pods to duplicate every time somepony combusts and returns there. The Necrobeams will still sap away at any magic except ours but we can use some of their power on the pods."
"Using the pods to bring life? Hmm...I've never done something like that." Opal shook her hand. "But it'll be a first time for everything~! I'll make sure that those pods duplicate our vampires constantly. Might need a room expansion though."
"What about everything else? Those rocks and the Pony of Shadows?" Spectrum Shade joined in on the telepathic communication.
"Every plan is still in action. The Necrobeams will help to take all magic power away when we advance on Equestria and the world. The Pony of Shadows is our ace in the hole if things go awry. We're still focusing on our 5-month plan. By now, we only have 4 months left till everything is ready. But before that, I'm feeling a bit bored."
"Oh, I know what this means!" Sweet Fang gasped. "You're looking for some excitement, your majesty! Don't worry! I know what to do! Let's make new skeletons before the Black Crusade! How's that sound?"
"I would love to do that." Rosa sounded pleased by that. "It's been a while since I've taken the life of many others. And I rarely get out anymore. A girl needs to be outgoing sometimes. The Pokemon Festival also has a large crowd too..."
"We'll be waiting for you, your majesty." Opal finished the telepathic conversation as she and the other vampires would be expecting her appearance very soon.
Rosa Maledicta was coming to the Pokemon Festival.
The Dread Lague continue to work from shadows as always as various plans for their ultimate goal were constantly being put in place. Rosa Maledicta had many plans and contingencies especially. Even if they couldn't find Yveltal, those plans were still available and effective. 4 Months remained until they would make their big move.
The Black Crusade.
Sinnoh. Mount Coronet. Afternoon.
Mount Coronet.
A sacred mountain that was capped the year round with snow. It is the highest mountain in the Sinnoh Region and a part of a long mountain range that divides the region in half. This mountain boasted such an amazing history that it is said that this was where Sinnoh began. This mountain was the crux and origin of the Sinnoh Region to many.
Mount Coronet stood majestically in the middle of Sinnoh, extending from the northern wilderness to the southern tip of the region, splitting it into two halves. It was truly best defined as a mountain range, with the highest peak shrouded in legend even to this day, reaching so high up that it pierced the clouds themselves. It was perhaps the highest mountain in the entire Pokemon World with nothing being its equal.
Scootaloo's group stood before this titanic mountain as Silver Spoo held out a map that detailed Mount Coronet a bit. And it certainly wasn't a safe mountain from what she was reading.
The goal was simple. Have Quilava receive special magic from Mount Coronet. Years ago, the Cyndaquil that lived here took years to have the magic enter them, resulting in the birth of Hisuian Typhlosion. But over the years that has changed with no Cyndaquils being around this mountain range.
Scootaloo had a Quilava which was a step above Cyndaquil. Encouraged by the mysterious witch, she was ready to see if that magic could still affect her Quilava at this stage. Possibly even faster than the Cyndaquil. There was only one way to find out, obviously.
But Mount Coronet would be a juggernaut of a place for them to explore. The fillies weren't aware of it yet but this mountain would truly test them as Pokemon Trainers, the same way the Canterlot Junior Cup tested some of them.
Mount Coronet. The mission here was to do one simple thing. Embed Scotaloo's Quilava with the mystical magic that legends say this mountain possesses. The only way to receive a Hisuian Typhlosion in the future was to allow the magic here to flow into Quilava. Though, the amount of time for that to happen was unknown.
The moment the fillies stepped into the mountain, they were met with a massive cave which made up most of Mount Coronet, though there were several above-ground areas in which it snowed constantly, showing the climate of Sinnoh some more.
The first thing they found was how there were bridges here at Mount Coronet. These were man-made as many others had been at Mount Coronet before but no one to this day has seen a trace of a Cyndaquil.
"So, we're just gonna stay here and hope that some magic comes by?" Silver Spoon questioned Scootaloo.
"That's right." Scootaloo had already sent Quilava out, immediately sitting down with him. To Scootaloo, not much action was needed for this to be possible due to the main objective. "All we gotta do is sit and hang around here until the magic comes. That's that."
"Quilava."
"Hmm..." Diamond Tiara squinted her eyes as everyone else did the same, waiting for this mysterious magic to reveal itself. Everything would fall silent very soon as immediately, it all became very uneventful. "This can't be it. That's all we're here to do?"
"Well, we can't think of anything else. It's pretty simple, really." Sweetie Bell added. "We're just here for one thing."
"But Scootaloo did say it would take some time. We don't know how long it would take." Silver Spoon said. "But...We don't have to sit around forever. If we move, Quilava's still gonna be inside the mountain. I say we check out the sights here. Like Spear Pillar. They say that something with Dialga and Palkia happened up there." Silver Spoon then held out the map, focusing on Spear Pillar, which was at the very top.
"We don't have to sit around, but I'm gonna do it just because." Scootaloo shrugged. "Plus, we might leave if we get a sign that the magic's done entering Mount Coronet. Maybe if there's some flashes or something like that."
"Well...you can do that. I'm feeling adventurous compared to you all. I might end up catching some Pokemon here too. Of course, nothing that'll mess up my home and have access to a move for the Normalium Z." Diamond Tiara decided to move across Mount Coronet instead of just staying static the whole time. "What can I find?"
"Uhh...The Pokemon found us before we did." Apple Bloom pointed out as they were currently being watched. Apple Bloom spotted these Pokemon first before alerting her friends.
When they all turned their heads, standing across the long bridge was a Medicham. But it was soon revealed to be three Medichams as the arms of the other two were moving from the side behind the first Medicham, giving the fillies an illusionary show.
It certainly grabbed the attention as the three Medicham were moving their heads one by one in the motion of a snake, impressing the fillies some more. After applauding them, the Medicham took a bow before leaving. Seeing the Medicham encouraged Sweetie Belle to do one thing.
"Hm. Actually...I might need something like that. The unicorn pondered. "Not the trick they just did but maybe a Pokemon just like Medicham. They can do a lot."
"I'm already going ahead! Psychic-Types are okay for the house as well! Wait for me, Medicham!" Diamond Tiara already pranced off, pursuing the Medicham once they left. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon would follow Diamond Tiara's lead while Scootaloo would just stay on the spot with Quilava, waiting for the magic to appear.
She was going to have to wait for a while as there wasn't a sign yet. But she wasn't the only one waiting for a sign. Or rather, someone else was receiving signs within Mount Coronet.
On the fourth level of this titanic mountain, a fairly rare Pokemon lived there. That would be an Absol, considered rare to some and could only be seen by either powerful trainers or when it brings about a warning of a disaster.
But at this moment, Absol had been disturbed. Not by any noise within the mountain. That happens all the time with the amount of Pokemon living here. Instead, it came from its horn and that meant that a potential disaster was coming. That's what it always meant after all.
"Absol?" Absol stood up as the horn was vibrating at an intense frequency. The disaster was greater than what Absol was expecting as it made the Disaster Pokemon gasp. Whatever Absol was sensing was potentially reaching the Sinnoh Region. Or maybe, it was already here.
Route 208.
This disaster wouldn't be caused by natural events. Instead, it would be done by someone. Near Mount Coronet, a gateway had been opened up. As usual, this was by a Travel Sphere but not from anyone from the Ranger Union or Canterlot.
This gateway had been opened up by none other than the dominant ruler of Magehold and the leader of the Dread League. Peering through the gateway with a devious smile that only foretold horrible things to come was the Lich Queen.
Rosa Maledicta.
After deciding to get out for a while to kill her boredom, she wanted to interact with the Pokemon World. But not in the same way many others wanted to. Rosa Maledicta was here to do one thing. Fulfil her twisted satisfaction that could only be found at Magehold. Sinnoh was the region she managed to enter on this day.
When arriving at Route 208 in the Sinnoh Region, Rosa was met with a lush field of grass spreads from Mt. Coronet's sheer rock face, creating a vista of contrasts. It was so beautiful. But the moment Rosa took one step, these lush fields had been affected by a malicious dark wave of magic.
This wave spread across the grass, instantly wilting them. Flowers too had been eliminated by Rosa Maledicta's magic, losing their beauty and all the time they took to get to this point. It had all been wiped out just like that, appearing lifeless.
But it didn't stop there. Rosa had then summoned thorns from the ground as these thorns ended up replacing the various blades of grass that were once alive. Now, this part of Route 208 housed blades of thorns. These thorns moved with the same momentum and erratic behaviour of a spider as cracks could even be heard from them.
The thorns also started extending in length from their erratic movements, spreading further as Rosa walked through this blackened and prickly field that she formed herself. The increased length of the thorns started masking her appearance as she then walked on a tower of thorns that formed in front of her. There, she was able to get some height and overlook this world.
The Lich Queen's eyes were averted towards Mount Coronet and its amazing height. So far, she hadn't done anything to anyone else but Rosa was planning and waiting, deciding to take her time when it came to her malicious acts. To her, it required some thought and creativity.
"These thorns don't grow as nicely as they do back at Magehold." She said with a somewhat exhausted tone. Even though she got to do something outside of Magehold at last, she looked to be too unimpressed so far. But that could change depending on how things would go for her.
After all, she was here to have fun.
Mount Coronet.
Pursuing the Medicham still was Diamond Tiara, joined by her friends as Sweetie Belle was looking to catch herself a new Pokemon for the sake of new contest moves.
"Wait! Come back!" She cried out, trying her best to catch up with the Medicham. But as if they were teasing her, the Medicham continued to be elusive, stylishly doing flips all over the place to reach different levels. "Ugh! They're so stylishly evasive!"
"Maybe we can cut 'em off at another side!" Apple Bloom suggested as they would intercept Medicham from a different angle. The girls all took different pathways that would at least connect to the same area. Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle really wanted those Medicham as it was worth coming to Mount Coronet.
As for the Medicham, they would indulge in this.
However, something else was coming to Mount Coronet during this chase. And the first one to notice it would be Silver Spoon. When taking a new path, she looked to the side which showed the outside of Mount Coronet. And right there, her eyes managed to catch a disturbing sight.
The thorns from Rosa Maledicta were nearby, approaching Mount Coronet gradually. The earth pony had to adjust her glasses to see if she was seeing this correctly. Indeed she was. Those were thorns, packed with a sinister feeling. But below, far away from the higher parts of the mountain, the thorns had already arrived.
These black thorns started wrapping around the bottom of the mountain as there was an abundance of them that were constantly growing. They wrapped around the mountains as if they were dressing it, but it wasn't under Rosa's command.
Rosa didn't have control over the thorns despite summoning them. Instead, she was letting them do their own thing while she would wander off. She had no interest in Mount Coronet. To her, it was just a regular mountain.
And over at the bridge, Scootaloo and Quilava were still sitting around, trying to meditate. But there wasn't a sign of the magic coming through. Quilava didn't feel anything though. The thorns crept into Mount Coronet, being sharp enough to pierce through it. Their intentions were unclear as they slithered in, reaching the first level.
"Quil...Quilava?" Quilava's nose picked up a scent. This scent resembled that of a back garden. Or any garden. He was already sensing the thorns, believing there to be plant life in this place. As for Scootaloo, she was already getting tired of sitting around. No progress could be found or felt at all.
"Aah...It's not good." Scootaloo stood up. "Do we really have to stay here for a long time for the magic to show up? I can't wait that long. Maybe that lady from before can tell me how long we need to be here. If I knew where she was.."
"Lava." Quilava suddenly nudged Scootaloo, hoping that she could smell what he was smelling. The scent of a garden and plant life was nearby somewhere.
"Hm? What's up, Quilava?" Scootaloo asked before she and the Fire-Type turned around, hearing something creep up on them. It sounded like something wrinkly and crooked was nearby, scratching up on the mountains. Those were the thorns, slithering into this level. "What the...?"
The thorns slowed down a bit. Only when coming across Scootaloo and Quilava. It already sensed life within the mountain to show up here and it had already come across its first sign of life. Scootaloo and Quilava weren't sure why there were suddenly thorns creeping up here, neither were they comfortable with this. Neither of them felt safe as Quilava got on all fours, staying cautious.
"Quil...!" Quilava growled at the thorns before getting in front of Scootaloo. That's when the thorns promptly took action when slowing down for a while.
One second they were slow and now they were incredibly fast. At great speeds, the thorns came flying in, passing by Scootaloo and Cyndaquil. Scootaloo gasped as the thorns passed her face, smashing through the wall in the mountain. Her pupils shrunk as she shuddered, knowing that a great sense of danger was around her. The thorns were hostile, immediately targeting against Scootaloo with more coming her way.
"Lava!" Quilava was still here, being Scootaloo's bodyguard. He used Flame Wheel, curling into a ball and summoning a ferocious aura of fire. Before a thorn could touch her, Quilava intercept them, crashing through the thorns, snapping them and setting them on fire.
"Oh! Nice save, Quilava!" Scootaloo exclaimed. But she wasn't out of the clear yet. Now that these thorns were fully hostile, their increasing numbers would only mean they would continue attacking. More of them crept from the corner, going after Scootaloo and Quilava. "Uh, time to go!"
Right away, Scootaloo and Cyndaquill made a run for it from the number of thorns that had shown up. But Quilava would e the one to protect her with what he had. He turned around, using Flamethrower on the thorns, burning them away. However, even though he was able to properly fight back against them and had the advantage over these thorns for being a Fire-Type, there was still an abundance of them coming.
Not just from this direction but everywhere else. After all, the thorns were wrapping around the mountain gradually. And from how many they were, it was possible that they could take the entirety of Mount Coronet. To wrap around the largest mountain in the world would certainly be a sight to behold.
But someone here had already sensed a bad feeling about these thorns without even being aware of them prior to this. Absol. Thanks to its horn, it could already sense the coming disaster.
"Absol!" Absol ran as fast as it could, warning the other Pokemon here. The horn could also somewhat describe the disaster and thanks to that, Absol could let them know that being inside the mountain right now wasn't as safe as it would usually be.
The Pokemon living here watched Absol run by, crying out and warning them along the way. It didn't stop in its tracks to shout at them. It just kept running, passing on these crucial words to every Pokemon it saw. And luckily for Absol, all the Pokemon here knew to believe it.
If Absol senses something is wrong then something is wrong undoubtedly. All the Pokemon listened to Absol, heeding its warning. Their only warning was to leave here. However, that would also pose a problem as they would soon find out. Pokemon from all across Mount Coronet were starting to move once Absol ran by just to pass out the warning of a coming disaster.
Naturally, Diamond Tiara and the others would see the various Pokemon here moving rapidly. They stopped in their tracks in different pathways to see all kinds of Pokemon they would've eventually run into fleeing.
"What's up with them?" Sweetie Belle wondered as even a Gyarados was swimming away in a lake that could be found in this mountain. Chingling, Bronzong, Golbat, Graveler and more were all in a hurry.
Apple Bloom moved to the side to avoid the rolling of the Graveler that came by. Powerful Pokemon such as Machoke had also heeded Absol's warning, seeing a disaster as something that not even brute strength can solve.
As for the Medicham, they were informed of this as well. They ceased their little fun game with the fillies just to focus on pressing and serious matters. Diamond Tiara saw how the Medicham joined the crowd of Pokemon, running with them as this chase had come to an end for something the rest of the fillies were unaware of at the moment.
But very soon, they would be.
The thorns had sped up from every side. When Absol reached a part of the cave that lead to the outside, it and the other Pokemon discovered that the thorns had already wrapped around a good chunk of the mountain. "Sol?!"
Mount Coronet had been covered by dark thorns. One second, they were slow and the next, they were fast enough to encase the entirety of Mount Coronet. This was because much like how they sensed Scootaloo and Quilava, the thorns sensed plenty of life within the mountain to move faster. And it only took 7 minutes to do so.
These thick thorns created multiple layers as they instantly locked everyone here inside the mountain. The outside could barely be seen. There were so many layers that not even the sun rays came through. Not just that, the thorns broke through the walls, sending more inside to cause more trouble. Absol and the other Pokemon focused on the thorns that managed to enter here, seeking nothing but hostility.
Though they were locked in, these Pokemon could still defend themselves. But no one, except for Absol, was ready for the abundance of thorns that they had yet to see, even when being locked in by these ones.
"What's happening? Why are there so many thorns?!" Silver Spoon backed away as the thorns uncomfortably crept up on her. Much like the motion of a snake, the thorns were taking their time against their prey. Silver Spoon scrunched her face before quickly throwing out her Poke Ball.
"Glameow!" Out of it came her partner Glameow, who was met with these dark and mysterious thorns that seemed to be alive. So alive that they could be careful and plan out attacks. "Meow?"
"Sorry to let you come across this, Glameow!" Silver Spoon shrugged as Glameow was already bothered. She could do without any serious events since this was a festive time. The Pokemon Festival was all about having fun but somehow, there was always something that came along to interfere.
And most of the time, the timing is the absolute worst.
Right now, Mount Coronet was locked. No one could get in and in one could get out. Naturally, the large number of thorns that wrapped around the mountain could be seen from afar since Mount Coronet could always be seen from various distances.
All the while, Rosa Maledicta didn't care that much. After all, she felt the thorns do their own thing. Speaking of Rosa, she was already on her way to one of the cities here. And the nearest one she would reach would be Hearthome City.
Hearthome City. The Pokemon Festival.
Over at Hearthome, while enjoying the festival, many of the people here couldn't help but look at the mountain in the distance. They saw how there was something dark around it. Though there were many thorns and many layers, the prickly parts couldn't be seen to really tell that they were thorns.
When entering Hearthome, there was already a massive atmosphere change for Rosa Maledicta. And for a place such as Hearthome, this atmosphere change was stellar. After all, This friendly city started as a place where people and Pokémon gathered, then grew into a centre of commerce. But immediately, Rosa's presence changed that.
The people, ponies and Pokemon here at Hearthome couldn't help but feel that something was off. And that was unnatural for them since they all never had such heightened senses before. And they didn't. That was just Rosa's presence as she did a casual walk. She blended in with the crowd of ponies, seeming normal as she wasn't wearing anything.
Rosa may be the leader of an entire nation of vampires but she wasn't a vampire herself. She was just a unicorn with tremendous magical power. Therefore, she blended in perfectly without needing to worry about the sun. Rosa smiled as she was loving how focused the people, ponies and Pokemon were when looking at the mountain and especially this eerie feeling they were getting.
Rosa Maledicta arrived at Amity Square, a notable attraction is Amity Square, where Trainers relax with their Pokémon, though no one was relaxing right now thanks to the ominous feeling.
Rosa sat at a table, deciding to slow things down. As if she wasn't already doing so. She sat next to the pool at Hearthome while everyone else discussed the strange feeling they felt but couldn't find, even though it was among them. This was more up her alley. Rosa could practically hear their emotions.
"Something about this is too satisfying. A drink would make this perfect." Rosa spoke, loving how she affected everyone with her presence. No one in Hearthhome looked to be having a comfortable time. They wished they could see what was getting under their skin and making them uncomfortable.
But they couldn't.
Except, there was one individual who seemed unphased. Rosa already spotted her in the distance. The one individual who still had a smile on her face, not worried about this strange feeling that was permeating the atmosphere and was even wondering why everyone had switched emotions compared to how they were feeling today and yesterday was Hearthome City's Gym Leader.
Fantina.
This was interesting to Rosa. Someone could resist the terrifying presence that she already spread. She used her magic to summon a drink, taking a sip from it while eyeing down Fantina. Rosa Maledicta was already aware that in this world, the Humans were the ones to watch out for. Mainly those greatly involved with Equestria. And Fantina was one of them.
Rosa Maledicta was finally at the Pokemon World, letting the thorns do their own thing while she would indulge herself in what makes her happy. But before she could continue enjoying herself, Hearthome City's Gym Leader Fantina had to be acknowledged as the journey continues.
Sinnoh. Hearthome City. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Arriving at the Pokemon World for the first time, the Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta already spread out her horrifying presence and magic. Starting from the thorns that overtook the lush fields of Route 208 to now sending an uncomfortable feeling through Hearthome City.
The people, ponies and Pokemon here at Hearthome couldn't describe what they were feeling. They felt something truly horrible nearby, but couldn't spot what it was even though the cause of it was sitting comfortably in this city. However, not all of them were affected by Rosa Maledicta's presence.
Fantina, the Hearthome City Gym Leader was unphased. And this greatly interested Rosa, who was casually sitting at Amity Park. The fact there was someone out there who was unaffected by her presence within an area that was a massive contrast from the eerie Magehold was bizarre, to say the least.
"Are you alright?" Fantina noticed how everyone here was feeling off compared to how ecstatic they were minutes ago and yesterday.
"I think so." A biker replied, holding her arm. Something about it felt numb yet she could still move it perfectly fine. But the biker lady continued to take in some deep breaths. "Not really."
The same went for everyone else. Everything hurt. Heads, chest, arms, hooves, etc. Granted, it wasn't so serious that they were all dropping but a part of them felt like it would get t that point eventually. The festive fun of this festival ceased for a bit as no one partook in any activities for a bit.
The humans, ponies and Pokemon then started gaining some fears. Just what Rosa wanted. Their fears were reasonable due to what they were feeling right now. What if there was no end to this pain? What if it got worse? These thoughts alone were enough to get their heart racing faster, never mind the pain itself. It'd probably take a simple and obvious decision to either give up or keep going at this point, but that decision just didn't seem to come.
Fantina was confused. Even more so when she something black around Mount Coronet. This was not the kind of excitement she enjoyed or was looking forward to. It was then that Fantina saw that there was only one individual here smiling while everyone had lost their smiles.
"You seem fine." Fantina went up to the Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta who was the unknown catalyst for all of this. "At least that's a good sign."
"So do you," Rosa replied as she was just as surprised by how not every single individual here was affected. Fantina was fine in every way. Unphased by Rosa's presence. "Why's that? If everyone else here is so disturbed by something, shouldn't you be disturbed too?"
"What would be disturbing them?" Fantina sat at the same table as Rosa. The Lich Queen saw that the further Fantina got, she still wasn't affected at all.
"Maybe something's shown up in the atmosphere to make them feel this way. Something so awful and heart-twistingly vile that they never expected to show up." Rosa then made subtle comments, referring to herself. She was even expecting Fantina to try and put the pieces together.
"If so...then I wouldn't be bothered by it." Fantina shocked Rosa with that answer, making her almost spill her drink in the process.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I've been around something like that before. It's when I was raised around my Ghost-Type Pokemon. And many other Ghost-Types in the past. So I believe I know a thing or two about vile and awful." She then chuckled, finding something to laugh about despite what was happening around her.
"So it's because of Ghost-Types then." By hearing this, Rosa had discovered that Fantina had built up an immunity to something akin to her ominous presence. Being raised around Ghost-Type Pokemon was a surprising beneficial factor.
By this revelation, potentially, other trainers who have been around Ghost-Types long enough or even own them could resist or even be immune to this presence. And the thought of it was somewhat annoying to Rosa. She also felt lucky that neither of the vampires were here to see this. Even the vampires, despite how natural they were around the Lich Queen, still feel a sense of fear, especially when it comes to failure. But that was only the benefit of living in Magehold.
Just then, a sound echoed across the sky that was far from here but loud enough to be heard by many others. Especially here at Hearthome. It came from Mount Coronet. One of the thorns broke off the walls again, causing a booming sound to go off.
"What's happening today?!" Fantina stood up after seeing some rocks drop from Mount Coronet. Rosa knew exactly what this was. The thorns were having their fun, focusing all their efforts on Mount Coronet.
Others decided to try and clear their heads if that would work. That would mean going to a more secluded area such as the routes which were usually peaceful. However, the second a group of them decided to do so, they were immediately met with something that stopped them in their tracks.
They could take a step outside of Hearthome. When trying to do so, they all immediately moved back, unable to go any further as they shuddered. It was as if there was something too great forcing them to stay back.
"What now?" A disgruntled pony commented as there was something in the way. Something no one could see. Just like the presence that Rosa Maledicta exuded just by being here. In fact, when trying to move forward, only to be blocked again, this originated from Rosa Maledicta as well.
She didn't create a forcefield out of magic. Nothing like that. Instead, her presence was so great that it forbid anyone else from leaving. And to her advantage, no one could figure out that she was the cause. Just by her presence alone, not only could she afflict many others and send an uncomfortable sensation through them but it was so great that no one could leave even if they wanted to.
But even though Rosa knew this, there was still the wild card of Fantina. While she was immune to Rosa's presence, could the same be said for the invisible blockade?
"Excusez-moi... I should get them some help." Fantina offered to help everyone, unable to see them all in a troubled state. "Oh. Would you like to help me?"
"Help you?"
"Oui. You seem fine too. Maybe you can help use some magic for this." Fantina requested the Lich Queen's assistance before heading to the people, ponies and Pokemon to try and do what she could.
"I'll use my magic, alright." Rosa spoke to herself as a tiny black and purple crackle of magic appeared on the tip of her horn. She already had something in mind. "Maybe, I can use you all for future purposes. Especially you." She had her eyes on Fantina. Already, Fantina intrigued her just for her immunity. But now, Rosa could feel that someone like Fantina might be someone she would want down the road.
Mount Coronet.
Meanwhile, over at Mount Coronet, the CMC and all the Pokemon at Mount Coronet were currently in a similar position to the crowd back at Hearthome City. However, instead of being blocked off from leaving via Rosa's presence, they were instead physically blocked off by the ridiculous abundance of thorns that wrapped around the entire mountain with various layers.
Right now, various thorns were pursuing and attacking those that were locked in the mountain. Scootaloo and her Quilava were currently on the run from these thorns with Quilava providing support, burning away at the thorns with every chance he had by stopping and running each passing minute. But even when using Flamethrower on these thorns, there were still so many of them showing up and more to come.
When running up ahead, Scootaloo was met with new thorns that broke through the walls, blocking her way. She gasped, falling on her back as that luckily helped her avoid the incoming thorns. But it was only a stroke of luck. More of them were coming.
When they turned around to try again, Quilava came to Scootaloo's rescue once more, burning them thorns away with Flamethrower, creating another close call.
"Thanks again, Quilava..." Scootaloo sighed, laying on her back. "But why are there so many? No one told me that Mount Coronet would have so many thorns that acted like this."
"Quilava."
"Everyone else!" Scootaloo gasped, sitting up before realizing all of her friends were in equal jeopardy. These thorns were plentiful and there was more than enough for everyone here. Scootaloo had to find her friends as soon as she could and right now, she needed a faster way to travel.
Luckily, there was the Pokemon for the job. Her Rapidash.
"I need your help! Rapidash!" Scootaloo launched the Poke Ball into the air as Rapidash was ready to emerge. However, after seeing Silver Spoon send out Glameow, the thorns detected life within these strange objects.
Instantly, when the Poke Ball was unleashed, the thorn took action. It rushed over to Rapidash's Poke Ball, immediately knocking it away. Scootaloo and Quilava equally opened their mouths and widened their eyes in absolute shock and horror as Rapidash's Poke Ball had not only been knocked away but it was sent outside of the mountain thanks to the various holes these thorns had made.
"Rapidash! NO!" Scootaloo bellowed after seeing Rapidash's Poke Ball fall out of the mountain. Just like that, her strongest and fastest Pokemon had been taken out of the equation, falling off Mount Coronet with his Poke Ball. Scootaloo couldn't believe her eyes as tears could be seen forming.
Despite being blocked off, the thorns opened up a passageway just for Rapidash's Poke Ball, sending it away from Mount Coronet in the process, only further upsetting the little pegasus.
But the thorns didn't have time for tears. They went on the offensive even at Scootaloo's time of shock. Quilava would try his best to push them away again, only for some new thorns to burst out of the ground, intercepting his actions.
"Quilava?!" Quilava's legs and neck were restrained by these lower thorns, preventing him from using Flamethrower. Soon, Quilava found himself restrained as he tried breaking free with Flame Wheel or even Rollout. But these thorns were so strong that curling his body or manipulating it in any way was pointless. "Lava!"
Quilava even tried using his back flames to bur the thorns away but after seeing Quilava's biology, the thorns were smart enough to avoid its flames at all costs.
"Quilava!" Scootaloo ran over, going for another Poke Ball. But, a blockade of thorns came in between her and Quilava, preventing her from going any further. Scootaloo came to a screeching halt as her face almost touched the sharp thorns, forming another close call.
The thorns didn't forget about Scootaloo. Seeing that Poke Balls could be found within saddle bags, the thorns went for those next. Scootaloo backed away as fast as she could, evading one of the thorns that tried to snag her bag. But she couldn't evade them forever. While Quilava was struggling, Scootaloo could be considered on her own but the rest of her Pokemon had yet to be unleashed.
The moment she backed up however, one of the thorns already occupied a nearby spot. Scootaloo bumped into one of the thorns, receiving a sharp poke in the process. Her wings took the most from this.
"Ow!" She cried out in pain as that moment of weakness was enough to give the thorns enough time to act. Scootaloo closed her eyes from the poke before having her saddlebag taken away by the constricting and vicious thorns that were quick to adapt to the scenario. "Hey! That's mine!" She cried out with one eye open. The moment she raised her hoof, the thorns were cruel enough to wrap around them first, finally getting a hold of the pegasus.
Now Scootaloo was within their clutches just by this singular hoof grab. And judging by how her saddlebag was ripped away from her, there was a high chance it was about to get worse.
As for her friends, they weren't having an easier time at all. Across the levels of Mount Coronet, the thorns occupied everywhere at this point. And thanks to Scootaloo and Silver Spoon, they knew to target the Pokemon and the Poke Balls, seeing them as a threat.
Speaking of Silver Spoon, she and Glameow were on the run from these slithering thorns, trying their best to escape. They've been running for a while but these dark thorns were relentless, popping up and showing up in different areas.
"Glameow!" Glameow cut through some of the thorns that were up ahead with Aerial Ace, successfully clearing the way. But when one was struck down, dozens more would show up. Such was the nature of these thorns. Overwhelming numbers that adapted were the way to go.
The thorns had also grown strong enough to affect the various levels. The ground beneath Silver Spoon started shaking, causing Silver Spoon to lose her balance and stop galloping in the process. "Oh!" She gasped, nearly falling over once the ground quaked.
Cleverly thought by these dark thorns, their adaptation skills were superbly fast as the moment they shook the ground, they also broke it apart. Cracks formed, resulting in this level of Mount Coronet to give out. And once that happened, Silver Spoon and Glameow fell.
"G-Glameow!" The Catty Pokemon and her trainer screamed while falling from a fairly high level, only to be caught by the thorns. They wrapped around Silver Spoon's legs and Glameow's springtail. Silver Spoon lost something more than her saddlebag, which didn't contain any more Pokemon but just spare Poke Balls.
Her glasses were gone too, dropping from her face and down to the next level which was fairly high up from here.
"M-My glasses! I can't see without my glasses!" She cried out as she had those glasses for a reason. Instantly, her vision had been obscured, giving her only a blurry sight of everything around her. She couldn't even see how far her glasses had dropped.
And this pleased the thorns.
The thorns felt satisfaction from this, seeing Silver Spoon lose something that she needed and holding her in this position. These thorns shared the same craving for suffering that their creator, Rosa Maledicta enjoyed.
And of course, it wanted to make others suffer. It already caught Scootaloo and Silver Spoon. Many more within this mountain remained.
Right now, the Pokemon that lived in this mountain were fighting back against the thorns and were successful in destroying them. But this was to the thorn's advantage. Each time it was burnt, slashed, obliterated, torn apart and many other forms of destruction, it was adapting.
Absol cut them apart. The Machokes and Gyarados tore them apart with brute force. Clefairy, Golbat, Meditite and the three Medicham from before along with many others had the means to stop these thorns.
After receiving so much damage, the thorns adapted to these struggles. They adapted once more to grow stronger and more resistant. The moment Absol tried using Night Slash once more, it discovered that its horn was unable to smoothly cut through the thorns like before. "Sol?!"
"M-Machoke?!" The Machokes were equally surprised as their brute strength had failed to rip through the thorns yet again. These thorns had grown thicker enough to resist the Machokes grand strength. Even when they tried grabbing them, the thorns became heavier, forcing the Machokes to exert more physical strength than what they usually use.
Every Pokemon's natural way of dealing with these thorns had been countered by the growth of these thorns. When using their fast reflexes to evade these thorns, the Medicham discovered that the thorns had adapted fast enough to keep up with them, catching them when they managed to evade a few.
The thorns were giving them a hard time in every category, forcing the Pokemon to feel the pressure and potentially, at this rate, back them into a corner.
Diamond Tiara was on the back of her Liepard, using Liepard's speed to her advantage. But once again, the thorns had already grown fast enough to keep up with even Liepard. These thorns were all connected and could grow in unison, flourishing perfectly. They kept up with Liepard, pacing right next to her.
Liepard came across one of the open walls that the thorns broke through, which led to the outside. Forced to come to a screeching halt, Liepard would potentially fall off the mountain as Diamond Tiara held on to dear life. Liepard stopped right on time as her feet were right near the edge of the mountain. If she went any faster, there would've been a horrible and messy end.
But now, she was corned by various thorns that wouldn't hesitate to mess with her off the edge. Not only that but there were more thorns in front of her since the entire mountain had been blocked off. And even if she found a way to break free, more were waiting beyond this mountain.
As for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, at the same time, they had already been backed into a corner, surrounded by a garden of thorns. They had the urge to take out their Poke Balls but if they did, the thorns would not hesitate. And they knew it. A sense of dread filled the atmosphere which greatly satisfied the thorns.
When trying to use her magic to blast away the thorns, her magic rays bounced off the thorns. They were strong enough to counter a Machokes strength after all. Thankfully for Sweetie Belle, she wouldn't need her hooves to take out her Poke Balls. She had the advantage of Magic.
"Meowstic! Prinplup!" Sweetie Belle quickly sent out Meowstic and Prinplup but she only gave the thorns a new way to stop the Pokemon from appearing. Sweetie Belle's unicorn horn was now another target.
"Meowstic!"
"Prinplup!" Meowstic and Prinplup came to Sweetie Belle's aid as Prinplup used his razor-sharp flippers to block the incoming thorns, but the sharpness wasn't an issue for the thorns anymore. Neither were Psychic capabilities even when Meowstic used Psyshock on them.
Some of the thorns were pushed back by Psyshock, only to recover right afterwards, assaulting Meowstic and Prinplup. Meowstic and Prinplup were counted in a matter of seconds, whipped multiple times before being pushed away. These thorns had grown too powerful.
It was all a matter of numbers. The number of damage they had taken from different Pokemon and how the number of more thorns they can produce. Truly, this was only something that a Lich Queen could create just by appearing in this world for the first time.
They overwhelmingly towered over Sweetie Belle and her Pokemon, casting massive shadows. As if there wasn't any way out of here already. Meowstic and Prinplup continued to struggle against these thorns as her saddlebag was the next big target.
When trying to use her magic the thorns already crept up from underneath, using their increased size just to overwhelm the little unicorn. Sweetie Belle's magic wasn't strong enough as not only was she poked and knocked away but the saddlebag was ripped from her with ease.
"I need help...Someone help!" Sweetie Belle cried out for some more help at the top of her lungs. But everyone here needed help.
And that cry for help would become something special for someone to hear.
Unova. Arcane Sea. Afternoon.
Only one individual heard Sweetie Belle's cry for help. The word 'Help' was a massive word for this individual. Standing at the Arcane Sea on the back of his Lapras was none other than Galaxy Master.
He heard her voice. Sweetie Belle's voice resonated with him from the sheer intensity of it. Despite being in a completely different region, for this fictional character brought to life, that wasn't an issue.
"!" He gasped after hearing a serious plea. Much like how he was able to show up at Geosenge Town for the vampires, being too late since the problem had been solved, he received another alert from another region.
Galaxy Master was no stranger to this thanks to Geosenge Town. And after hearing this, he decided to move. Despite being here at the Arcane Sea for the Rift, someone else was crying out for help and he couldn't ignore this.
"A cry of help!" He exclaimed. "Pikachu! Lapras! We can finish gathering the water from these seas later!"
"Pika?"
"La?"
"Right now...a desperate cry for help is near." Galaxy Master switched his current action to focus on something else entirely. And just when he had gotten this far. "Thank you for your help, Lapras. But we'll head there in our light forms."
"Lapras!" Lapras was happy to help. Galaxy Master returned her as stardust, absorbing her into his arm. Lapras would be needed again once they return to the Arcane Sea. Galaxy Master and Pikachu could only reach a certain destination on time because of one reason.
They had the power to become light. More specifically, light that greatly resembled the light from the Sea Temple's crystals. Once Lapras was gone, they didn't even touch the sea. Instead, they turned bodies into light, wasting no further time.
While they couldn't move at the speed of light, they could travel fairly fast either way. Fast enough to leave the vast Arcane Sea and also enough to appear hidden with the brightness of the azure skies and the Sun.
However, they weren't the only ones here. This entire time, Darkrai had been here, knowing that Galaxy Master would come after a place this special and loaded with Rift Energy. He had the right assumption as he saw their bodies of light travel above them. Darkrai hadn't touched the sea of Rift Energy at all, merely staying hidden far enough to be undetectable. A shame there weren't any shadows here.
The Pitch Black Pokemon would wait here for their return, knowing that there was too much Rift Energy here to ignore or even leave behind considering their goal.
Sinnoh. Mount Coronet. Afternoon.
Despair had already come to Mount Coronet. First Hearthome and now Mount Coronet, though Hearthome wasn't suffering as much as what was happening at Mount Coronet.
The thorns were clearly dominant in all of this. The Pokemon were doing what they could but it just wasn't enough. There were too many of them and they were only growing by the second in terms of adaptability. Their options were running low as the thorns were toying around with them.
Diamond Tiara and her Liepard had been caught due to their limited options as well as Apple Bloom being caught as well. Her Poke Balls were all being held up with the thorns keeping them and teasing her in the process. By how things looked, it would be obvious that the thorns would emerge victorious.
That is until a flash of light came bursting through. Two of them.
From the skies, flying straight through some of the thorns from the outside that blocked Mount Coronet, two bodies of light had managed to break through them.
The thorns that restrained the Poke Balls and Apple Bloom had been obliterated by this light, disintegrating in the process as it was unexpectedly sensitive. Apple Bloom had been dropped, saved by these beams of light as her Pokemon were free as well. Not a dent on the Poke Balls had been made as the thorns in this area had backed away.
"W-What in tarnation...?" Apple Bloom groaned, holding her head after being dropped. She turned her attention away from the thorns and instead towards the beams of light that showed up.
Galaxy Master and Pikachu made their grand entrance. Right after breaking through the vines, they left their light and bodies and introduced themselves to the earth pony who was still a bit bewildered. And she was about to be even more bewildered once these two individuals had arrived.
A call for a hero had been made and only one of them could hear that call as the journey continues.
"W-Who are you...?" A stunned Apple Bloom had witnessed the arrival of two individuals. Galaxy Master and his partner Pikachu, who had ended up saving her from these dark thorns.
"Who am I? Allow me to introduce myself!" Galaxy Master was ready to make another entrance speech. At this point, it was necessary that he must do so when someone asks who he is. And of course, he affected the area around, darkening it and adding a spotlight.
"A flash in the cosmos! A light appears before the world to heed its sorrow and plea! From spacetime itself, I appear!" The spotlight and light let off explosions behind him as always. This time with new colours added into the mix. "The Superstar! Galaxy Master!" He finished his entrance by pulling off a pose. Pikachu posed alongside him just to look as cool.
"Pikachu!"
"Oooh..." The earth pony was instantly taken aback by this. But after hearing that name and getting a longer look at this fictional character, she was reminded of how Galaxy Master became instantly popular in Equestria for all the wrong reasons. Now, he was here in the same vicinity as her. "Ah! You're him!"
"I am him. Are you alright, my little pony?" He then held his hand out, offering to help Apple Bloom up. Apple Bloom stared at him for a bit, quickly dismissing his instant reputation in Equestria, taking his hand. He did save her life after all.
"Y-Yeah. Thanks." Once she was helped back up, Pikachu grabbed all of the Poke Balls that the thorns had dropped right after being blown away by an overwhelming force of light.
"Were you the one that called for help, young one?"
"I didn't. But I heard my friend Sweetie Belle cry out somewhere. I think we're all in danger because of these thorns that are everywhere." Apple Bloom lowered her head, thinking about the status of her friends considering how volatile these thorns were.
"Hm. Have no fear. That's why I'm here." Galaxy Master kneeled to face Apple Bloom. "These thorns won't be enough to stop me and I'll ensure that all of your friends and whoever else may be in here are safe."
"But aren't you the one helping the Rift?"
"I am. But I can't ignore another cry for help. Even if I may be in a different region."
"Thanks. Oh! I can call 'em!" Apple Bloom went over to her saddlebag, thinking about her Xtransceiver. Once Pikachu passed her saddlebag over, a shocking sight was discovered when opening the bag. Not only did the thorns take her Poke Balls away but they had also attacked her Xtransceiver.
The communication device received a massive hole that had been pierced through. It was already hinted at by the hole in her bag. The thorns already broke through the device, leaving a large hole and completely disabling it. Now, the Xtransceiver was at its worst state.
"M-My Xtransceiver!" She cried out, holding it up to see the utter destruction that befell it. It was no longer functional as the wires were poking out now.
"Don't worry. We'll still find them. Do you know your way around this mountain?"
"N-No..." The earth pony sat down, dropping her Xtransceiver. All of her contacts had been wiped out with no chance of recovery at this rate. The best she could do was get a new one. If she could escape from Mount Coronet, that is.
"Hm-hm. I see." Galaxy Master nodded in understanding. After what Apple Bloom shared with him, he was already thinking of the best way to handle this scenario. Especially with all of these thorns that were in the way. Inside and outside.
Speaking of the thorns, more of them had shown up. Bursting through the ground, they appeared, becoming more volatile than ever since Galaxy Master and Pikachu arrived, disintegrating parts of them with that mysterious light.
"Hold on!" Galaxy Master grabbed Apple Bloom, holding her close to him as protection while Pikachu would be the front guard, flaring his red sacs up with a fury of lightning.
"Pikachu!" Immediately once the thorns came flying in, Pikachu used Thunderbolt, exuding 100,000 volts that intercepted the thorns. The thorns were met with these volts, stopping in place as this was another element that had attacked them. And another element for them to adapt to. But not before they broke apart from the electricity, dropping to the ground and splitting into pieces with smoke coming out of them.
"Let's find your friends! Quickly!" Galaxy Master, carrying Apple Bloom, took with the acceleration of a jet with Pikachu following behind. The thorns had already grown fast enough thanks to its recent encounters, making it capable of chasing them down with incredible speeds.
But surprisingly, Galaxy Master was already managing to get ahead of these thorns. Apple Bloom gripped onto Galaxy Master, closing her eyes as all she could do now was just hope that her friends were safe.
Pikachu would use Iron Tail on the incoming thorns, attempting to slice them. However, thanks to the resistance against sharp attacks, the thorns resisted. Once his tail smashed into the thorns, his body vibrated from the impact, causing him to jitter. "Pi-i-i-i-k-k-a-a!"
"What's wrong Pikachu?!" Galaxy Master exclaimed, slowing down for Pikachu. Pikachu lost his balance, bouncing on the ground from the vibrations. The thorns then grabbed a hold of his tail, immediately having the means to capture Pikachu. They adapted too quickly.
"Pika...Chuuu!" But Pikachu could recover and react just as fast as the thorns grow. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said about how Pikachu could get out of this. When he tried using Thunderbolt on himself, he soon discovered it was ineffective.
The volts went through and managed to fry and smoke some of the thorns but ultimately, a majority of them didn't budge. Pikachu tried again, letting out more bursts of electricity, only for them to end in failure.
"Incredible!" Galaxy Master gasped. "These thorns have adapted to Pikachu's Thunderbolt!" He immediately picked up on the actions of these dark thorns, seeing how quickly they evolved. "They won't budge. Hold on, Pikachu!"
But just as quickly as he figured out the thorns could adapt, he then thought back to when he first showed up here. The light that he and Pikachu could turn into. They greatly damaged the thorns earlier, however, there was a chance that the thorns adapted to that too. And potentially the rest of his Pokemon if he were to bring them out. But Galaxy Master would gladly try whatever he could.
"Galaxy Flash!" Galaxy Master held one hand out, deciding to test that theory out. He used the light from his body which was his most significant source of power. The light showed up, immediately hitting the thorns.
Lo and behold, the light was as effective as before. Once it hit the thorns, they disintegrated from the mystical power it possessed. It didn't grow resistance to the light at all. The dark thorns were still vulnerable to the light as Pikachu was freed. Galaxy Master even forced them to retreat for a bit once again.
"Haha! That did the trick! Come along, Pikachu!"
"Pi? Pika?" Pikachu blinked for a bit as his body felt some of the thorns that wrapped around him earlier. He continued following his trainer as Galaxy Master had already found a weakness toward these thorns within minutes of showing up here.
Hearthome City.
Meanwhile, at Hearthome City, Rosa Maledicta was still observing how things were going here under her presence. It all seemed to go well but there was still the exception of Fantina, who was immune to her presence.
"Maybe you should get home." Fantina decided to help those who were feeling uncomfortable without any explanation they could find.
"I tried." A pony replied with a dreary tone. "But...I can't leave for some reason."
"Same here. I don't know if I don't have the strength too." Someone else who wasn't from Hearthome commented as they were all being blocked from leaving thanks to Rosa Maledicta's presence. Not only was it strong enough to make them feel uncomfortable and afflict them with something that could be considered painful, but it had the strength to prevent them from leaving this place.
Just by fear alone. The fear that something would get them or the fear that danger would arrive the moment they left. Rosa had that much of an effect on this vicinity.
"I'll help. Come with me." Fantina would guide them, however. She guided three individuals while holding a little pony in her arms. This pony felt ill, rubbing his nose as if he was coming down with the cold. But when putting her hand on his head, she felt some heat as well on the little colt.
"Am I sick?" The colt asked as he squinted his eyes and scrunched his face, feeling a headache. That was a total of three different afflictions now and it was unnatural to have them mixed together.
"If you are, you can enjoy the festival from home." Fantina held him closer to comfort the little colt. "You can even watch videos on your Pokedex."
"Wait...you can do that?" He sniffled.
"Oui." Fantina nodded before getting closer to the end of Hearthome. Rosa Maledicta had to see how this would go. Would she be immune to it just like how her presence did nothing? The individuals that were being guided by Fantina could already feel that presence, forcing them to stay back. "Don't be scared. You have nothing to fear."
Fantina encouraged them to come along. And that's when she stepped out of Hearthome City's vicinity. And once she did, she was fine. Nothing was forcing her to step back. She couldn't sense something in the atmosphere that was overwhelmingly threatening. It was all casual to her.
"!" Rosa was stunned once more. Not only could Fantina ignore her presence but she could even leave it too. And thanks to her encouragement, she encouraged the others to leave the vicinity, erasing that fear from them. Once they felt comfortable enough to be out of Hearthome, Fantina placed the colt down, letting them all be free.
"There should be a Pokemon Center in the next town. You can go there or head home." Fantina said before petting the colt on the head, sending them on their way.
"I'm stunned again..." Rosa commented. "She can ignore my presence entirely. Does she not fear what I emit? I suppose someone who has an experience with Ghost-Type Pokemon would have that."
Fantina continued to help everyone, seeing that most of them weren't comfortable being in Hearthome at the moment. She would do what she could to make them feel better, guiding others away from Hearthome to clear their heads. Whether it was heading to the Pokemon Center or a nice forest to calm down. She stood on the outskirts of Hearthome, acting as a safe passage out of this city.
"Interesting. That's all the more reason I could have her. In fact...why didn't I think about this before? My subjects back at Magehold need better tutoring with Pokemon if we're to have some advantages. Going to that Pokemon School is too risky. Having someone who is experienced with Pokemon, however... could work. I should use that."
That's when a fresh idea popped into Rosa's head. Fantina was about to become a useful asset to her. It's true. Everypony back at Magehold were absolutely inexperienced with Pokemon, slowly learning the ropes. But with someone like Fantina, that could change.
Rosa could see it now. Under her reign, Rosa could tutor them all. Especially the younger ponies. It would be just like those horrific teachings that they would do to the foals and unlock their hidden magic. But this time it would be less aggressive. However, cruel intentions were still behind it all.
And the only way to have Fantina comply was by having her under control. The Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta now had a bigger reason to take Fantina for herself.
Mount Coronet.
Back at Mount Coronet, Scootaloo and Quilava were trapped. The thorns had cradled them, cornering the duo at every corner while constructing them. It was a rough spot for them in every way.
Scootaloo had lost Rapidash's Poke Ball along with the saddlebag containing the rest of her Pokemon. Now with nothing to help herself out of this, she and Quilava were unable to do anything that would help them. Quilava kept exuding fire from his body but the thorns had grown to gain a resistance to the flames.
"Q-Quilava...!"
"It's no good, Quilava." Scootaloo sighed as she was already admitting defeat at this point. "These thorns won't burn anymore. This blows..."
"Lava..."
"I just wanted to see if I could get that magic from Mount Coronet. To see if you would become a new kind of Typhlosion later on. But I don't think I'll get to see it now." Scootaloo was regretting how this all turned out. Something that turned into a fun exploration soon became a hostile attack.
"Quilava." Quilava was especially saddened by this. Much like the rest of his teammates, making Scootaloo proud was the greatest goal he could achieve. But that wasn't the case now or potentially ever. He wished he was stronger. Strong enough to break these thorns once more. But alas, the adaptation skills of these thorns crushed those wishes.
Quilava wasn't one to give up, however. Much like the fire within his body, his determination burned brightly. There has to be a way out of this. But his flames wouldn't do a thing. He could emanate them sure, but the thorns still wouldn't burn.
Superior strength wasn't everything in all scenarios. And for this scenario, Quilava needed to do something with his flames. His greatest source of power. Right now, he thought about the mountain. He already learned about how the Cyndaquil from the past would live here and let the magical power from Mount Coronet flow into them, eventually giving them the power to become Hisuian Typhlosion. But there was one difference now.
Quilava had already gone past Cyndaquil. He was in the middle of his evolution line. But he was of the same species. And being that he was of the same species that would soon become Hisuian Typhlosion, Quilava wanted to try something that probably might've never been done before.
He would try and be the first Quilava to inherit this magic for the first time.
"Quilava..." Quilava closed his eyes, trying to see what he could find. There had to be something the Cyndaquil of the past could feel that let them become Hisuian Typhlosion. He stopped fighting back against the thorns since it was pointless at this rate. He only stayed silent, much like Scootaloo.
And that's when he heard something.
Familiar voices spoke out to him that made Quilava open his eyes. He knew these voices very well. Mainly because he used to emanate the same voice. The voice of Cyndaquil. Quilava heard voices coming from the mountain, but they didn't echo to the point where even Scootaloo could hear them. Only he could hear them.
Voices of Cyndaquil were speaking to him from the mountain, connecting with their second stage evolution. Quilava took these voices in as they had a sort of spectral feeling to them. Quilava then saw something once more that only he had the privilege of witnessing.
Small purple fire orbs were floating nearby, phasing through the thorns as Quilava was so focused that he could witness this for himself. These orbs also let out the Cyndaquil sound. As if they were Cyndaquil. He could hear what they were saying to him. One of them was to not give up. Not like this.
The voices of Cyndaquil spoke out to Quilava, encouraging him to continue. Quilava already knew this and it's what he was trying to do for a while. But now he had support from these orbs. And these orbs were proof that a mystical energy resided within the mountain.
Quilava had a greater drive to succeed now. Hisuian Tyyphlosion was waiting to return to the modern day. Quilava got to thinking. He tried looking for the best way to break free. That's when he saw something. His flames could still expand, albeit, unable to affect the thorns. So improvisation was needed.
The top of this level might be the key and so was the rage that the Quilava species possesses. When their rage reaches a certain point, there's nothing they can't burn down. For that one scenario, the Quilava species receive the greatest flames in existence.
"Quilava...!" And right now, Quilava was feeling that rage. He expelled his flames with a grand destructive force, causing it t to expand as a pillar. At that moment, he forgot about Flamewheel and instead, learned a new move.
Eruption.
A gigantic pillar of fire shot into the air, blazing through the thorns and hitting the top of this level. Not only that, but the flames were potent enough to crack the ground. The thorns were shocked to find out that Quilava's flames reached a point where they could burn them once more. Their adaptability had been overwritten for this one instance as the ground below was breaking apart and so was the top of the level.
The thorns had been incinerated, releasing Quilava and Scootaloo. Scootaloo gasped after she was freed, surprised that Quilava's flames were that successful. The pillar of fire kept going after breaking through this level, continuously shooting upwards to the point where it almost reached the top of the mountain.
"Quilava! Awesome!" Scootaloo's eyes lit up after seeing this explosion of fire go off. It was powerful enough to do the trick. However, perhaps it was a bit too powerful as the ground below them had been destroyed thanks to Quilava's Eruption. Now, they were bound to fall as the rocks from above were also dropping. "Oh."
Scootaloo blinked before falling with Quilava. She screamed at the top of her lungs as the thorns would end up losing sight of these two due to the number of large rocks dropping from above. Quilava took a massive risk and it may cost them. But Quilava was glad that he made this breakthrough and this could be a sign that the magic was already entering him. However, he might not see his evolution again since they were both falling from a high height.
"Charizard!" That is until someone came swooping in. Charizard did. The Flame Pokemon arrived with Galaxy Master, Pikachu and Apple Bloom on his back. The Fire-Flying-Type made it in time catching Scootaloo and Quilava with his claws before they could hit the next ground or even be crushed by the rocks.
"Ah! Charizard?!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"Onward, Charizard!" Galaxy Master pointed ahead with Charizard using his brute strength alone to charge through the rocks. Despite being a Fire-Flying-Type, he could barely feel the rocks dropping on him. And right now, the thorns were pursuing him but thanks to all the rocks dropping from above, the thorns had to slither in various directions to try and reach them.
"You doing okay you two?" Apple Bloom asked once as Charizard put them both on his back, fleeing from the thorns.
"Y-Yeah. We're fine." Scootaloo nodded in confirmation. "Thanks for the save Charizard. Pikachu. And...wait." Much like Apple Bloom, she soon recognized this familiar figure from his cape t his helmet. His entire outfit, really. "You're him!"
"I'm him! A fl-"
"You already did your intro, mister. Now's not the best time for it." Apple Bloom interrupted him before he could make another intro speech.
"Right. Let's save the rest of your friends, my little ponies. Go, Charizard!" Galaxy Master said before having Charizard accelerate. The thorns did what they could to try and reach them. And thanks to their adaptability, they managed to do so as some large thorns appeared in front of the group, planning to block Charizard's path.
But Galaxy Master had an answer for that. He emanated that golden light once more, touching Charizard's body. Charizard was enveloped in that same mystical light as well as it granted him protection. Not only did it do so, but he used it to burn through the thorns. His flames were also enveloped in this mystical light, affecting the thorns and going through their adaptability.
The thorns could see that their adaptability was receiving some strong counters. Mainly thanks to Galaxy Master and now the pure rage of Quilava's flames that were strong enough to keep up with them. They had to adapt again. They had to find a new way to come out on top.
The thorns regrouped. A large majority of them did, mainly from the outside. They came together, using their collective sentience to form something new. That light that Galaxy Master possessed most likely couldn't be adapted enough to resist. Something about it was too powerful. But what they would do is grow into something that was strong enough to hold its own.
And if not, retreating was the answer.
Whatever they were turning into, they wanted to make sure that Galaxy Master and Quilava especially would receive the brunt of it. Now the thorns were feeling vengeful instead of playful.
And all the while, the nearly unconscious Quilava had to wonder about those orbs that spoke to him with the voice of Cyndaquil. Was that a sign of things to come?
Over at Mount Coronet, Galaxy Master had found an effective weakness against these thorns. The mystical light that he and Pikachu possess was the one thing that could get past the fast and efficient growth of these dark thorns.
But in response, the thorns had to find a way through this. They regrouped. A majority of them anyway, gathering many thorns together to try and overcome this mysterious light. The thorns moulded themselves by attaching to each other, combining to strengthen their already strong builds. This would decrease their quantity a bit but increase the quality of their build.
Elsewhere within the mountain, Galaxy Master was focused on the mission of saving the rest of Apple Bloom's friends. Diamond Tiara and Liepard had already been caught with none of Liepard's moves helping her break free. The thorns were toying with them, spinning the earth pony and her partner around for a while.
"Enough is enough..." Diamond Tiara groaned as she was beyond dizzy at this point. Because of this overwhelming velocity, she passed out moments later. But she wasn't even allowed to rest and recover. The thorns wouldn't allow it. The second she passed out, the thorns whipped her head, waking her up. "Gah!"
Diamond Tiara cried out after being hit in the head. To make matters worse, these were thorns at the end of the day and their sharpness was not to be ignored. When she was whipped on the head, Diamond Tiara had a red bump showing. She wished she could hold it right now, but her hooves were tied. Figuratively and literally.
Thankfully, she would get that chance as along came Charizard, burning down these thorns. Galaxy Master's Charizard and the others he managed to recover, had shown up. Charizard's light flames had overpowered the thorns, forcing them back. They were forced to retreat as the flames could also spread without having to worry about the thorns' adaptability. Charizard had successfully cleared the way, keeping this part of the mountain safe for the time being.
"Finally...Took you long enough." Diamond Tiara groaned before being caught by Galaxy Master. Charizard couldn't fit everyone on his back. Especially not a Liepard, so soon, another Pokemon would have to join his role as well.
"Alright. There are a few more of you left, right?" Galaxy Master asked as Charizard came to a halt. "How many exactly?"
"It's just Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon left. But I don't think we can carry all of them with Charizard." Apple Bloom replied as Galaxy Master only needed two more trainers along with their Pokemon to save.
"You have to save my Rapidash too!" Scootaloo exclaimed, getting in front of Apple Bloom. "Those thorns threw Rapidash's Poke Ball out of the mountain. And I don't know how tough a Poke Ball is and what's happened to Rapidash..." The pegasus twiddled her hooves.
By this point, it has already been minutes since Rapidash's Poke Ball fell out. Even if he was to be released from the ball, he certainly couldn't get back inside. Apart from Charizard's flames that were surrounded by this mystical light and the rage of Quilava, Rapidash couldn't burn through it. Any other attack would fail thanks to its durability as well.
And to make matters worse, there were already more thorns outside at Route 208. They seemed never-ending, endlessly growing in every way.
"I'll get that Poke Ball back. As for Charizard, he won't be the only one carrying us." Galaxy Master held his hand out. It was time for another Pokemon to appear. And preferably, someone that could traverse a cave area within a mountain efficiently. There was only one Pokemon for that. "Come! Torterra!"
"Torterra!" Bursting out of thin air with stardust was Galaxy Master's Torterra, who appeared bigger than most other Torterra around. The girls have heard about how Galaxy Master could summon Pokemon out of thin air and now they've seen it for themselves.
"Wait! You can actually summon Pokemon out of thin air?! That's real?!" Diamond Tiara, who was holding her head from the pain earlier, spoke out with a booming voice whilst Liepard got on Torterra's back. If there wasn't enough space for the next batch of individuals, nothing was stopping Galaxy Master from summoning another Pokemon.
"Indeed. I'm starting to enjoy seeing everyone's reaction to it." Galaxy Master let out an exaggerated chuckle. He now found something to entertain himself with for a bit, Something like this was surprising as the only two individuals that could do something like this would be Arceus and the Rift.
In short, not that many.
"Anyway! Onwards, Charizard! Torterra!" Putting aside the entertainment, he continued with his goal to save everyone on this mountain. But he was not yet aware that it wasn't just Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle that were left. But the Pokemon that live in this mountain.
As for the mountain itself, it was slowly being crushed by the thickness of the thorns. They had grown strong enough to do so and were only going to grow stronger depending on how things go.
Silver Spoon was being played around with by the thorns after losing her glasses. The thorns kept her glasses around, teasing her with them, knowing that her sight was awful and blurry without them.
"Please...give me back my glasses..." She whimpered, flailing her hooves. But she couldn't even see which direction they were at to properly touch them with her flailing hooves. Not only that but she was being harmed in the process thanks to the thorns. Glameow was powerless as to be expected as the thorns were playing with her springtail just for the cynical fun of it.
Heading in her direction was Galaxy Master and everyone else on his side. They were just a few corners away. However, the thorns wouldn't allow him to go any further. Galaxy Master and to an extent Quilava, were serious threats now after that they did.
Before they could even reach Silver Spoon, the thorns would get in their way. But not just that, they saw that up ahead, some of the Pokemon from Mount Coronet were in a predicament as well. Charizard slowed down under Galaxy Master's command as the stakes were bigger than he expected. He only thought that it was just these fillies and their Pokemon in danger.
But it was more than that.
Everyone on this mountain was in danger. It was being crushed and their home could fall at any minute while some of them were already exhausting themselves. Machoke and Absol, not so much. However, while they had incredible stamina and could go on for days and weeks, they were struggling to get rid of these thorns, unfortunately. Some of the Pokemon had already been defeated, restrained by the thorns.
"It's worse than I thought." Galaxy Master commented. The thorns soon slithered towards his group, standing before them. After merging to become stronger and more individual, the thorns had a more imposing force to them, mainly against Galaxy Master.
Since they had some sentience, their vengeance was boiling to the point where a dark magical aura appeared around their thorns, seething at the sight of Galaxy Master and even Quilava. And everyone could see this aura clearly. Everything about it radiated hatred, waiting to be unleashed on those that forced the thorns to bring this hatred out.
Galaxy Master could already tell that these thorns had improved. After knowing that they could adapt, it was hard to say how well they've grown now. But one thing was for sure. The light that he possessed was effective enough to work.
"There's too many of these thorns everywhere...I don't think all my Pokemon can stop 'em either." Apple Bloom clung onto Galaxy Master's cape while the Pokemon were fighting for their lives. "What do we do?"
"These thorns obviously have some sort of sentience. Reacting to our actions and adapting right afterwards. Therefore...I have something that could do the trick. But listen. All of your Pokemon can only affect them with the light that Pikachu and I possess. Charizard and Torterra will share some with you. You'll have your chance to attack while I keep it occupied."
"By yourself?" Scootaloo said.
"Of course. But have no fear!" He hopped off Charizard. The moment he did so, he used his mystical power to add a spotlight to himself yet again. Whenever that spotlight comes on, something dramatic and exaggerated was inbound, no doubt. "Anything with sentience can't help but pay attention to this!"
"W-What's he planning?" Diamond Tiara tilted her head as the thorns were lost on this as well. At first, they were thinking that Galaxy Master would confront them without the help of any of his Pokemon. And while he was confronting them, it wouldn't be by battle.
"Dark Thorns!" He called out the thorns, vigorously pointing at them once the spotlight shined on him. "We weren't fully introduced to each other. But allow me to fix that!"
"He isn't gonna reintroduce himself now...Is he?" Apple Bloom squinted her eyes in utter confusion. Why would Galaxy Master do this now of all times? But it would make sense soon.
"Observe! Overflowing in this body is an infinite power! Call it unbreakable, if you will! Dare to test it out?" Galaxy Master taunted the thorns, encouraging them to attack him. The thorns were already planning on doing so, but that's when Galaxy Master brought something else that would change things.
"Or...do you risk being blown back by my light?" He then exuded light energy from his body. The thorns, for the first time, hesitated. They didn't rush in to attack Galaxy Master. Instead, they held back once they saw that light. That mystical light was already threatening to them that the mere sight of it made them fully alert.
"Perhaps you will be blown back. Or perhaps you won't." He tapped his head. "That dark aura around you doesn't make it any better. I can sense the far through your roots. "Will you come close? I don't blame you for hesitating! This is the result of daily purification that polishes the heart while the body remains unbreakable!"
"You were just born last week though..." Diamond Tiara responded but Galaxy Master carried on. However, his words were working. The thorns were static at the moment.
Suddenly, he started doing more poses than usual when introducing himself. And his titles were ramping up. And these poses went from brief to prolonged. Galaxy Master started pulling off strange poses that confused even the thorns. He started making poses that didn't make much sense to what he was saying. It looked like he was dancing if anything but it certainly wasn't a dance anyone could take their eyes off of. And not for the right reasons.
"Haha!" He then did some tip-toe dancing with his arms out, performing an array of poses that not many would think about at all. "Your cruel nature can't harm this heart! Neither can it harm this body! And the techniques I possess will colour you over with how stylish and refined they are! Like a shooting star in the night sky!"
After that, he then twisted his body. And not his entire body. Only his upper half. Scootaloo and the others gasped in absolute shock and awe at what they witnessed. His upper body rotated rapidly at the speed of a spinning top or even a helicopter whilst his lower body was static. It stunned the thorns some more.
"Hohoho! Observe my fantastic technique! Want to try your luck?! Perhaps, you'll be hit by a twister of light! The twister of the stars! Or perhaps this!" After twisting his upper body in an erratic way, he then made a pose that resembled a four-legged creature. Any kind of four-legged creature. Whether it'd be from this world or the other world.
However, instead of doing it the same way everyone else does much like the ponies and even humans who get on all fours, Galaxy Master turned his head upside down and his hands and feet to the side, facing the opposite direction while everything else was facing the right direction.
"Gh!" The fillies should be getting their Pokemon out and attacking but they were fairly mesmerized by this sight.
"C-Can the human body even do that...?" Scootaloo shuddered.
"I thought granny was the only one who could do that." Apple Bloom added, making her friends look at her with stunned and confused eyes
"Pikachu." Pikachu was the one to remind them what they needed to do. While it was fascinating to watch Galaxy Master pull off these bizarre poses, he was only giving them time to act. Pikachu, Charizard and Torterra had already passed on the light to their respective Pokemon and Poke Balls. Thanks to this light, they were able to affect the thorns once more.
"Can you go on, Quilava?" Scootaloo asked Quilava. The Fire-Type had some strength left in him, even after learning Eruption.
"Quilava."
"Let's be stealthy about it. Galaxy Master's already occupying those thorns...whatever it is he's doing. We should try and help those Pokemon over there." Diamond Tiara suggested. Liepard already snuck off Torterra's back, receiving this mystical glow around her claws and even tail. Anything she would do now would be effective.
Liepard used her speed to her advantage, moving backwards as Scootaloo and everyone else backed away as well. Charizard and Torterra would be their blockades and curtains thanks to their massive sizes. They were certainly big enough to hide the ponies, Pikachu and their Pokemon. Especially Torterra.
They went completely out of sight and Galaxy Master was being effective at keeping the thorns occupied, pulling off even more bizarre poses.
"So! What will it be?!" He shouted at the thorns. The dark thorns finally took some action. They rushed in, approaching Galaxy Master, but there was still this threat of the mystical light.
And Galaxy Master capitalized on that. He struck a pose, emanating that light from his body yet again. Once he did, just three feet away, the thorns came to a screeching halt.
"Haha! Hesitant still?!" Galaxy Master pointed at the thorns. And with just that point, he was able to force them back. "Now I see. You can adapt to almost anything that is deemed a threat, changing your thorns to become stronger and faster. Truly an impressive adaptability skill. But when it comes to this light, that's not the case. This light of mine has something. Something that you can't adapt."
The thorns could only stay silent from this. It wasn't like they could speak despite having a form of sentience. But Galaxy Master was exposing them, already seeing through their amazing adaptability.
"However...this means one thing. The fact that I can counter this, means that there are other things out there that can get past your adaptability. Much like how I arrived to save that one girl and her Quilava. Your thorn had been burnt up by Quilava's flames...meaning that you can't adapt to everything even if there are similarities! Am I getting that right?"
The thorns heard enough. In a fit of rage, they rushed over to Galaxy Master, only for the fictional character to do a stylish flip, avoiding the thorns as they smashed through the walls and the ground.
"Therefore! If someone were to possess something similar to Pikachu's Iron Tail but on a greater scale, they could still damage you! It all depends! Nothing is truly flawless. Everything and everyone has a weakness after all. And I know I can push Pikachu's Iron Tail. The best way to counter something that adapts fast is to adapt as well!"
The thorns went crazy, swinging with volatile intent while Galaxy Master continued performing stylish flips just to avoid them. But he couldn't avoid them forever. The thorns adapted to his flips as well, increasing in speed even more. They managed to catch him when he did one of his flips. Galaxy Master had been hit by one of the large thorns, however, something new had been revealed, even for him.
The moment the thorns hit him, they phased through the fictional character. As if he was intangible, the thorns went right through him with golden light particles oozing from his body. His clothes didn't seem to suffer any damage at all. He still felt some impact as he immediately stepped back after phasing through these thorns.
"Oh...this is new." He marvelled at his status. To him, this was equally surprising. "Then again...there's something about this Mountain that I can't quite figure out."
"Liepard!" Now was the time to strike. Liepard and Cyndaquil snuck up on the thorns after they had been confused by Galaxy Master this entire time. Cyndaquil had used Flamethrower while Liepard copied that attack with Copycat. Two large streams of fire, cloaked and surrounded by that light came charging in.
The thorns had been blown apart by these flames and burnt. Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo stayed behind to help out while Apple Bloom, alongside Pikachu and the others had left to find the others. Charizard joined in by using Flamethrower as well, adding to the streams of flames.
"Nice shot!" Galaxy Master gave a thumbs up before seeing the thorns flail around. Now it was his turn to retaliate against the thorns. And there was only one way to do this. By using the light from his body, he blew away and disintegrated the darkness around some of the thorns. And he certainly made sure this light was bright, expanding across this vicinity.
That sneak attack not only blindsided the thorns but the ones that were pressurizing the other Pokemon had been hit by Galaxy Master's light as well. Torterra joined in by using Wood Hammer with his feet, smashing into one of the thorns and breaking them apart as if they were twigs.
The thorns had realized the shift in the odds. Earlier, it was dominating and had locked everyone in the mountain while also slowly crushing it. But the moment Galaxy Master entered, that greatly changed.
The thorns saw the light energy radiating from this fictional character, realizing that it had come across a great weakness. And this weakness could multiple thanks to the amount of Pokemon here. All they needed was that light energy from Galaxy Master and his Pokemon.
Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle and her Pokemon were doing everything in their power to escape from the thorns. Sweetie Belle put up a barrier, only for the thorns to grab it and throw the barrier around, playing around with Sweetie Belle in the process. The little unicorn was too afraid to lower her shield, forcing her to be thrown around while Meowstic and Prinplup were tied up.
"Pikachu!" Along came Pikachu, using a light-covered Iron Tail to slash through the thorns. With a clean cut, he released Meowstic and Prinplup from his bonds. All that was left was Meowstic. After losing parts of itself, the thorn retaliated upon witnessing Pikachu appear. "PIka?"
Pikachu used Quick Attack, swiftly zooming to the side before then focusing on the thorns that were grabbing Sweetie Belle and her saddlebag as well. The thorns then chased him down across this vicinity, forcing Pikachu to keep up his velocity.
"Chu...Pika!" But with one mighty leap, he approached the thorns that were holding Sweetie Belle, slashing them into pieces. The thorns split up, dropping Sweetie Belle and her bubble shield. Another successful save thanks to this life as the thorns were forced back once more.
"Finally...I thought that would never end." Sweetie Belle groaned, lying on her back. Right now, she just wanted to rest. That's all.
As for the thorns, they were definitely feeling the pressure to the point where they were seeing a different outcome. Right now, the thorns could only think about someone. Someone that summoned them here in the first place.
The Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta. Despite being set off to do their own thing, the thorns started slowly flailing about, thinking deeply about Rosa. In a way, Rosa was their mother for bringing them into this world just by her first appearance alone. And without her now, that posed a problem.
The Pokemon that were pressured had been saved by Galaxy Master and the others with some of them still having the strength to continue. Right now, the thorns felt as if they had peaked. And instantly of finding a new way to win, they simply slithered away.
The thorns reversed themselves, moving away from everyone here. Judging by this, the thorns were about to give up. To avoid any more interactions with this mysterious light, the thorns would vanish. Not just from inside Mount Coronet, but outside too. They moved away from the walls they broke through as the thorns were being unwrapped from Coronet from top to bottom.
"A-Are they leaving?" Scootaloo questioned.
"I believe so. They're retreating." Galaxy Master commented. "Probably because it's decided how this will go. Or rather, how it will carry on. Those thorns know that this could be an extensive battle that would take faster and faster adaptability. "But, is everyone okay now?"
They certainly were. With the thorns fleeing, struggling to find someone to claim victory right now, the mountain was being freed. The Pokemon were beyond relieved. The ones that previously attacked everyone had been removed, slithering away.
The same went with Silver Spoon, who had been dropped by the disappearing thorns. Luckily for her, Sweetie Belle showed up, using her magic for this one moment. As for the other fillies, much like the rest of the Pokemon, they could sit down and relax now. Or even lie down. These thorns, despite their massive numerical advantage, had one disadvantage.
"Hah...I can't believe that light was enough. How come?" Diamond Tiara asked while sighing.
"I'm not sure. But it might have something to do with this mountain. There's something here, my little ponies." Galaxy Master said before standing up. He had a few things left to do before he would leave and continue his goal. Check up on the others and retrieve Scootaloo's Poke Ball.
All the while, he couldn't help but think about this presence within the mountain. This presence was only felt when he was hit by those thorns. Or rather, when they passed through him. When looking at his arms, he generated the light particles.
And from what Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara briefly saw, it looked like Arceus' light.
As for the thorns, they would retreat, leaving this confrontation to be somewhat of a stalemate. But Galaxy Master and everyone on this mountain took the victory. The thorns would return to where they showed up. The once lush and now dark field Route 208. Today was not the day to challenge this kind of light.
"Silver Spoon...hey, Silver Spoon!" A voice cried out to Silver Spoon, who was unconscious for a while. The earth pony had been slapped in the face a few times, slowly waking up as her vision was still blurry. Her glasses had been taken from her after all.
Once those eyes were opened, her vision returned. The glasses were no longer being toyed around with by the thorns. It was as if they never left her face in the first place, though, there was a visible crack which was one drawback. And the one responsible for waking her up was Apple Bloom. She was joined by the rest of her friends who all had messy manes at the moment.
"Ah, that's good." Apple Bloom sighed with great relief in her voice. "You were out for a bit."
"W-What happened?" Silver Spoon stood up before noticing the crack in her glasses. All that dangling and throwing around resulted in this minuscule damage. There was already a hole poking through that ruined the glasses. "Aw...my glasses."
"The thorns just up and left. Take a look." Scootaloo pointed to where the thorns had retreated. It started from the inside and soon the outside. It slithered away, removing its prickly parts from the mountain.
But the thorns wouldn't leave without some payback. They still felt vengeance toward Galaxy Master after exposing their weakness. If it was going to leave, it was going to leave with something damaging. And that would be trying to crush Mount Coronet.
However, there it was again.
The same thing that Galaxy Master sensed. Something within the mountain had revealed itself without any form of visibility. Only a presence. But this presence made sure that Galaxy Master wasn't the only one to sense it.
The thorns sensed it too. This presence was unlike anything it had ever sensed before. It was both warm and welcoming but threatening and overpowering at the same time. The thorns sensed the latter. And after sensing this presence, the thorns abandoned crushing the mountain entirely.
Instead, they would fully retreat.
All the thorns would retract, faster than expected as well. This presence terrified them. So much so that even these sadistic thorns had to flee in terror.
"They've stopped." Galaxy Master pointed out. Since he was the only one here who could sense this presence, he knew exactly why the thorns were so quick to leave all of a sudden. "They planned to crush the mountain and everyone in it but that presence from before scared them away..."
"So it's finally over. That's a relief." Sweetie Belle sighed, lying on her back once the thorns left the scene. Everyone else could relax and get on with their day. All their manes would have to be readjusted and fixed after what they went through. That involves a new pair of glasses for Silver Spoon.
"It's not over yet." Galaxy Master replied as there was one final act. Luckily, once the thorns fled, that act of heroism could be completed.
"Noctowl!" Now it officially was. Emerging from above and flying through the walls as a Noctowl. Specifically, Galaxy Master's Noctowl, who he had sent out. Noctowl was tasked with doing one thing. Finding Scootaloo's Poke Ball that contained Rapidash.
After being thrown out thanks to the thorns and from such a high height as well, it was hard to say if the Poke Ball withstood that fall. Thankfully, when showing up at the mountain after the thorns had retreated, Noctowl confirmed that the Poke Ball survived the fall. There wasn't even a crack on it.
"My Poke Ball!" Scootaloo rushed over, almost flying for a bit. Noctowl rolled in on the ground, prompting Scootaloo to pounce on it. With a gleeful smile that almost ate the pebbles on the ground thanks to her pounce, Scootaloo grabbed Rapidash's Poke Ball. "Thank you! Thank you, so much!"
"Now, it's over. Great work, Absol." Galaxy Master adjusted his cape before holding his arm out, returning Noctowl. Noctowl did what it needed to do and with great success too. A smile had been put on Scootaloo's face which was satisfactory to Galaxy Master. After all, he stopped what he was doing from another region just to help these fillies and all the Pokemon here.
Speaking of the Pokemon, after the thorns left, removing themselves from the mountain, they rejoiced. It felt like that would've gone on forever. But they had someone to thank for this. The individuals that came here and chimed in. After sighing over her cracked glasses, Silver Spoon and the rest of her friends noticed how the Strange and Wonderful Creatures came storming over with smiles on their faces.
Well, most of them could form smiles anyway.
The Pokemon had to thank them. It was only right as their special home had been protected from imminent destruction. Something as longstanding as Mount Coronet couldn't fall to thorns of all things.
"Hm. Well, my work here is done." Galaxy Master said. "Get home safely. I have a feeling that this mountain and the presence within it will protect you."
"Wait. You're leaving?" Sweetie Belle replied. "So soon?"
"I have others to help." Galaxy Master was about to turn his body into light particles along with Pikachu, but he stayed for a bit to speak with these children. "A hero must always be on the lookout for others."
"You're helping the Rift though..." Diamond Tiara grumbled. "Thanks for saving us but..."
"Yeah. Forget about the Rift." Scootaloo stepped forward. "There's something I gotta know. Do you know who Ash is?"
"Ash?" There it was again. The name that was able to grab Galaxy Master's attention. "That name still sounds so familiar to me...Ash."
"You should know who Ash is. He's our hero back home." Sweetie Belle added. "Just like you as well, mister."
"Is he now?" Galaxy Master turned around, looking to the sky. It was hard to see his face but one could imagine he was pondering for a moment. Possibly even putting on a smile. "So, he truly is out there...Then why wasn't I informed about his existence? Ah, this makes me happy."
"It does?" The fillies all said.
"This changes a few things...Anyway, I should be off now. Stay out of trouble children but if you do get into trouble, know that with one shout for help, I'll be there. Come along, Pikachu."
"Pikachu!"
"Wait! We still want to ask you a lot of-" But before Diamond Tiara could say anything, Galaxy Master and Pikachu had turned into bodies of light, immediately exiting through one of the many destroyed walls of this mountain.
It was back to the Arcane Sea at the Unova Region, where an entire sea of Rift Energy was to be gathered. The fillies were slightly confused about how he could help both the Rift and them as well. But they understood that was the way of a hero. Helping those in need.
"He kinda reminded me of Ash a bit." Apple Bloom commented. "Ya know what I mean"
"He did come from a comic book so I guess so...He said he was happy about it too. What does that mean?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I don't know. All I know is that we should get out of here. Sorry for getting you guys into this mess by the way. I didn't think this would happen. Those thorns didn't look like they were from Mount Coronet so I don't know where they came from." Scootaloo felt like she had to be guilty about this, apologizing to her friends. "I'm not even sure if Quilava got that magic in him."
"It's fine. We can always try again at this mountain another time." She was forgiven without a second thought, starting with Diamond Tiara. "Who cares if that magic may or may not have entered Quilava? At least we're okay."
"Yeah...I'm just gonna have to guess at this point. Let's head home and do something else. You said you wanted to catch some Pokemon that can learn certain moves just for that Normalium Z, right?"
"I did but...let's take a break and rest up first." Diamond Tiara stretched her hooves, postponing her goal for some recovery. Mainly to heal up since those thorns did poke into their bodies, leaving some marks But once that was done with, they would continue their endless fun at the Pokemon Festival.
But hopefully without something like this happening again. Mount Coronet was safe once more. Both by Galaxy Master and the mysterious presence that exists here. There was another presence that only Quilava could sense though. Before returning to his Poke Ball, he thought back to those orbs that had the voice of Cyndaquil within them.
Potentially, that was a sign. A sign that the magic within Mount Coronet was already within Quilava. But only time would tell. And that time would come when Quilava potentially evolves. All he had to do was wait.
Hearthome City. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Back at Hearthome, Fantina helped everyone here by getting them some space to clear their minds. Hearthome was a tad bit empty now once they were away from Rosa Maledicta's presence.
But while Rosa was annoyed that Fantina could bypass her presence and ignore it in every way, she was also planning on bringing Fantina with her. Back to Magehold. After seeing how immune Fantina was to her presence alone, Rosa Maledicta figured that having someone like that at Magehold teach everything about Pokemon to her subjects was a great move.
Of course, it wouldn't be under Fantina's own will and decision.
But before that, Rosa was alerted by something else. Her thorns. The thorns that she summoned upon entering this world for the first time returned to her. But they didn't return with their massive sizes or vast quantities. Instead, they returned in the form of 7 smaller thorns that were hard to see. But could only be seen by Rosa.
Rosa held her hoof out as the thorns slithered to their creator like a child rushing to their parents after being upset. And the thorns were certainly upset.
"My darlings. Back so soon? Why's that?" Rosa asked, sensing that the thorns were feeling vengeful and defeated at the same time. She spoke to them, putting her ear close to the thorns. Rosa Maledicta then heard whispers from the thorns. Much like how the orbs back at Mount Cornet could speak to Quilava, these thorns could speak to Rosa.
"Someone hurt you. Your poor things." She caressed the thorns with her hoof, not even feeling the prickly parts of them. She was completely immune to her own creations, unsurprisingly. "Don't worry. Speak their names and everything that happened. And I'll make preparations for them. Especially when they become subjects at Magehold.
The thorns weaved the story to Rosa, telling them everything that happened. Mainly focusing on how their amazing adaptability skills had been matched and countered by someone.
"What?!" Rosa gasped, pulling back. "Impossible. Apart from my magic, there's nothing that can counteract your amazing adaptability. Yet there's something that can do so?"
This displeased Rosa Maledicta. So much so to the point where she didn't feel like being here anymore. The Lich Queen stood up from her seat, deciding to focus everything on this shocking revelation. Her thorns could be seen as perfect with no weaknesses. And if they did have a weakness, the thorns would just adapt and erase it.
That wasn't the case anymore. Now, there existed something in this world specifically that could fight back against the adaptability of the thorns to the point where it's all fair game.
"I'll sort it out when we return to Magehold, my darlings. But before that, I need to do two more things. The people and Pokemon here still need something left behind. A shame they won't remember me. And...there's someone here I want to bring back with me."
Rosa then made the thorns vanish. They disintegrated by just a single blow from her breath, leaving only small bits of themselves behind. They would be needed again when the time is right. And for Rosa, that time was the Black Crusade.
Her time at Hearthome City would be over. But not without something to leave behind and someone to bring along. Rosa Maledicta's horn let out a tiny drop of magic. This tiny drop was a green and black sparkle that immediately sunk into the ground.
This sparkle of magic would then expand underneath the city the moment it descended. The prime target before anyone else was Fantina who was oblivious to what was coming. Then again, there was no way she would know about this. However, the Hearthome City Gym Leader, even if for a brief moment, turned around to witness the last thing she'd ever see at Hearthome City.
Everything for this Pokemon Contest expert and Gym Leader had gone to black in a heartbeat. It was even before her heart could be one more time. Whatever came next was something that Fantina couldn't hope to ever think about. And neither would she see what would happen to Hearthome City.
Over at Pegalysium, Starmap was at her tower, even during this festive time when everyone was invited to the Pokemon Festival. But that didn't mean she couldn't involve herself while staying home.
"Now is a good time for me to map the rest of the Pokemon World." Starmap already planned on mapping the entire Pokemon World. Or rather, the Pokemon Universe. She already managed to make a map of this universe, especially every position of Pegalysium and now that Equestria and Pegalysium were on good terms, the chances of her entering the Pokemon World shot up.
Her room was already flooded with maps, but it was about to increase in quantity very soon. To prepare a map for the Pokemon World, Starmap brought over a fresh piece of paper. Multiple of them which would soon form into an astral projection of the entire universe that she could craft.
However, when looking at the sheet of paper, Starmap, despite not having anything on it right now, was fully focused on it. She could see the Pokemon World in her eyes. But not how it was now.
"It's happening again...The Pokemon World will appear a certain way when I get there. But...I fear that something might happen. Something awful." Her wings started fluttering after saying that. Right now, she felt a bad omen that could emerge within the Pokemon World, only for her wings to slow down. "Or maybe not. Maybe it's the opposite. I can already feel something wonderful about this new world. It could either lead to something beautiful for years to come or something awful might ruin it all."
"Starmap! I made it!" Just then, interrupting Starmap was a pegasus none other than Cloudflare. Cousin to Shooting Star and someone who knew Starmap. "It's already the second day. Are you ready to head out?"
"I am. I have the sheets that I need." She faced Cloudflare, holding up the sheets with her magic from her wings. "And this time, I had enough sleep so I'm ready to see this festival through and through.
"Great stuff. I'd love to see your new work completed. Having a map of the Pokemon World in its entirety would just be the best. And judging by what I got from Shooting Star when he was given a Pokedex, there are some locations with Pokemon that I could head to or just avoid entirely."
"Speaking of which, did you get yours already, Cloud?"
"I sure did." With a wink, she revealed a Pokedex from her bag. At last, Pegalysium were getting Pokemon Essentials delivered to them. They needed it since these Strange and Wonderful Creatures now populated their nation "And it's amazing. I saw some Flying-Types nearby the other day and this thing is too effective for its own good. What about you?"
"Mine? Oh, I forgot. I was too cooped up in her as always. But I'll get mine and learn about the Pokemon too. But I'm not really a creature expert. I'm a map expert." She chuckled, flipping her mane.
"Leave that to me. I know a thing or two about creatures. Oh, and you're gonna need this too." Out of her bag, Cloudflare revealed some more essentials that were necessary when living among Pokemon. Thrown in Starmap's direction were the famous and always helpful Poke Balls.
"Oh!" Starmap tried catching them, only to have her hooves full with the map, resulting in the Poke Balls hitting her in the face. "Ow..."
"We finally got some Poke Balls. Mainly these things called Quick Balls if we wanna catch a Pokemon as fast as we can without all the hassle. And the normal red ones too."
"Hmm...So these are the things we just throw at them and it catches them?"
"Yeah. Well, it's got its inner workings. I'm assuming it's magic, which is why I'm too excited to go to the Pokemon World and find out for myself. What about you? Aside from the maps and all that."
"Well...while I do love my maps, I want to know about the history of the Pokemon World too. Just like how I recovered maps of old civilizations that lived at those temples here at Pegalysium, I want to do the same for Equestria and the Pokemon World."
"Wait, you never told me that!" Cloudflare gasped, getting in Starmap's face. "You can do that?!"
"Y-Yeah. I can also remake the entire structure of anything from the past. No matter how old it is." Starmap further revealed the extent of her abilities. Not only could she make out the universe from the way the stars are aligned, the formation of planets, etc, but even the past was a factor as well.
"Amazing...You're so lucky your family line has something like that." Cloudflare backed away. "Are you sure you're not a Pegasus of Destiny? Maybe a secret one?"
"I'm positive I'm not. Just good genes." Starmap playfully laughed at that joke. "Come on, let's hurry, please! The Pokemon can change the terrain too to their liking, so I need to remember that as well!"
"Right, right. Just follow my lead, Star." The two of them would depart with Starmap finally getting involved on the outside. She already had fun doing her job but the now fun shall be doubled with the Pokemon Festival.
Making sure everything was left in place, Starmap shut the door, only returning when needed. When she has everything she needs on these new maps, then she shall return.
The Pokemon World. It's various regions. It's landscapes that are ever-changing and the various ancient structures that still reside to this day. The stars in the Pokemon cosmos and beyond. All of it is something that Starmap wishes to map down. No matter what.
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Afternoon.
Mossdeep City. The city where research is always underway, day and night, all in the hope of understanding the distant reaches of space. Such places of interest involve the Mossdeep Space Center. For a city that wishes to understand the cosmos, this Space Center was the ideal structure to make.
Right now, Ash's party had arrived at Mossdeep City. What exciting things can they get to here after leaving Kalos? Perhaps one of the attractions that have shown up just for the Pokemon Festival.
An attraction that was larger than the Mossdeep Space Center and even the Tempo Dome that had recently been revealed. This attraction resembled one of the most playful places in the world. A carnival. That was what their eyes were set on.
This carnival stood out to them the most as the name of it is what truly got their attention. Mainly Ash, Rainbow Dash and Hilbert's attention. These three are battle-heavy and the name of this carnival involved the word 'Battle'.
Battle Carnival was its name.
"Yeah. This is the place." Ash and Hilbert equally said, standing before this carnival. "Battle Carnival."
"They even have Pokemon Battles at Carnivals? Why?" Sci-Twi needed to know. At this point, Pokemon Battles could be found anywhere or could start anywhere. She was still new to Pokemon so all of this was bizarre to her.
"My guess is that living with Pokemon from the beginning leads to stuff like this. Don't think about it too much. It's the charm of this world." Twilight could only respond to her human counterpart in this way. It was probably the best answer she could give.
"How long has it been since I've been to a carnival?" A giddy Bertha spoke, reminiscing about her younger days just from the sight of a carnival. "Oh, I hope it's like how it was when I went there in my younger days."
"Only one way to find out." Someone replied to them. Appearing right next to the door along with a few were employees, wearing colourful outfits that fit the carnival them. "Step right into the Battle Carnival and see what awaits you."
"Something for everyone. Special rules are waiting for you in there. Are you feeling brave and lucky enough?"
"I guess we are." Hilda shrugged as they all nodded in unison.
"Great. We can see some bright looks on your faces. I can already tell some of you are more interested in the battling more than anything. Don't worry. There are simple non-battling activities in there as well." The employee removed her hat, winking at them. "But how about we tell you something special about the battle challenges that reside within this carnival?"
"I'd like to hear more about this carnival in its entirety but...go ahead," Twilight said.
"Okay then." Another employee slid to the centre, adjusting his bowtie. "When you get in there, you'll obviously use your Pokemon to battle. But here's the kicker...you only get to use one of your Pokemon."
"Only one?!" They all spoke in unison. A special rule had been laid on them. Just one of their Pokemon. No more than that. This carnival, in the few minutes that they've already stood in front of it, hit them with a rule that many trainers of high levels would tackle.
"That's right. Bad the only Pokemon you can use...are other Pokemon that aren't yours. Whether it'd be from another trainer or the rental Pokemon we have here." They laid out some extra rules before they entered. "But we, the employees, can use our own Pokemon. Sound fair?"
"Sounds fun!" Ash, Hilbert, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Hilda and Pinkie Pie collectively said. Bertha already agreed with it, nodding in approval.
"So we can only use other Pokemon that aren't ours, huh? That does make things fun." Rainbow Dash pondered. "Maybe Roxanne was planning us for this when she made us trade Pokemon."
"We all have a sizable number of Pokemon, right? I mean...I assume all of you have 6. I have five which works out for whoever gets my Pokemon." Sci-Twi commented.
"Before you enter, think carefully about who you want to use. One Pokemon that belongs to you and 5 others that don't. No takebacks by the way.
"Hmm...Who am I gonna choose to help me out in battle?" Ash looked at his friends. "I'm gonna have Pikachu by my side as always but everyone's got a lot of Pokemon so..."
"Melo!" Just then, Meloetta clung herself onto Ash's arm. Just then, Victini and Hoopa hovered in his direction as well. Ash looked around him to see that these Mythical Psychic-Types had all focused on him alone. He already knew what this meant.
"Huh. I guess I know who I'm teaming up with. I'll team up with these guys!" He pointed at the Psychic-Types, making everyone, including the employees. That was a massive choice.
"Hang on...I just now noticed them!" One of the employees screeched, dropping his music note cane. "Isn't one of them...Victini?"
"You only recognize Victini?" One of the employees raised her eyebrow. The other Mythicals should be surprising, but it seems his knowledge ended there.
"Aw, no fair, Ash!" Hilbert groaned. "I was gonna choose one of them. Mainly Victini..."
"Hoopa. Victini. Meloetta. I'm counting on you three. We've never battled together too so..."
"But you still need two more Pokemon. Any other Mythical Pokemon we don't know about?"
"Yeah. These two." Hitting the employees with an even bigger surprise, Both Mews had popped out of Pinkie Pie's mane, waving at the employees.
"Mew-Mew!"
"Oh." That's all they could say. They were so blown back by the other Mythical Pokemon in front of them that the appearance of Mew, while surprising, wasn't enough to overcome the reaction they already had. "...Alright then. No complaints here. But uh...no duplicates, please."
"Ash. You can have my Absol." Twilight offered one of her Pokemon to Ash, holding out Absol's Poke Ball. He was now down two one more Pokemon.
"Absol? What about Mega Evolution for Absol?" Ash asked.
"I don't always have to use it. I've got Z-Crystals now to fill that void. And it works for all my Pokemon unlike Mega Evolution so there's that bonus."
"Great. That just leaves one more Pokemon for me to join up with."
"Uh...I don't have much faith that she'll listen to me throughout the whole thing...so I'd like you to have her, Ash." Sci-Twi would offer up one of her Pokemon to Ash as well. In this case, it was the one Pokemon she struggled communicating with. Her Alpha Rapidash. "Here. I hope she's not a handful for you, Ash. You know how she can be."
"Yeah. I hear ya. No need to worry, I'll do my best to work with Rapidash." Ash now had six Pokemon to battle with. One of them was his and five of them weren't.
Now it was everyone's turn. Ash traded some of his Pokemon with his friends as they all would mix their options. One by one, they took Poke Balls from different individuals, making it all unique. This even involved Bertha, who was mainly a Ground-Type specialist. But with this challenge, she would battle with other Pokemon that weren't Ground-Types.
A notable swap was that Pinkie Pie entrusted Mew to Sci-Twi. Her Mew, not Mewie, who was still a Wild Pokemon. Sci-Twi would have to work together with a Mythical Pokemon. Certainly a leap from working alongside Alpha Pokemon.
Once everyone swapped with each other, they were ready to enter the carnival and see what they could encounter. These battles were probably difficult for a requirement like this to exist. Ash was more than ready alongside his new tames, adjusting his gloves.
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Battle Carnival. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
The Battle Carnival. Currently stationed at Mossdeep City, Ash and his party would enter this special carnival that had one special rule. All trainers were allowed to use Pokemon that weren't their own. One Pokemon would belong to them officially while the rest would be borrowed, spicing up how they would all battle.
And once they entered the carnival, they were ready to swing into action and see what battle awaits them. As to be expected, it looked like a carnival but with some extra flair. Since this was battle oriented, there were many pathways with different doors to be taken in every direction. And the unique place about this would be how there was a pendulum that could be seen.
A sizable pendulum but right now it wasn't swinging. Instead, it was smack-dab in the middle of the carnival, immobile with a hint of movement. Naturally, the usual carnival attractions were here. From food to various rides, etc. But the battles were where it was at there were already people here, enjoying themselves in the usual way a carnival is meant to be enjoyed.
"You can enjoy yourself with all our rides but the rest of you are here to battle. Or both. Here's something to get you all in the mood." One of the employees here commented while passing a fun dip bag to PInkie Pie, just for entertainment. But the real entertainment was about to come soon. "Hopefully it's for a while since this looks better during the night."
"I would imagine so. So how does this work? Aside from using Pokemon that aren't ours?" Hilda asked.
"Well, enter those doors and you'll be met with a crowd of people waiting to watch your battle. There'll be a trainer waiting for you there, mainly us employees and make sure you wow the crowd. This is a carnival after all." The employee explained.
"It doesn't matter how many of us you beat, you can go on and battle as much as you want. With a 20-minute time limit of course." Another one explained the rules. "And if you feel you're getting a bit overwhelmed, you're free to grab a snack r swap battles with someone else."
"Can there be double battles?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"IF you want. It's a carnival, so there are no limits. Go crazy. Just be careful because we know this place better than you do and we won't hesitate to take advantage of that."
"Fine with me. I'll go ahead!" Ash went first, going for one of the doors on the right. He was followed by Victini, Meloetta and Hoopa, who were all teaming up with him. Ash also had Alpha Rapidash's Poke Ball along with Absol's Poke Ball while keeping his Pikachu.
"Don't bump into anyone too overwhelming! There are three trainers here who are just that!" The employees gave out one final warning.
"Yeah, yeah, we'll be fine!" Hilbert replied as he, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie followed suit, heading to different doors of their choice.
"Just give me a moment to buy something before I start. I want to enjoy this nostalgia while it lasts." Bertha would take it slow, heading to the vendors for something to eat. Twilight, Sci-Twi and Hilda would also take it slow before departing.
This room that was located in the middle seemed to be a court. A massive court that made up most of this area with the room being completely dark too. Twilight only managed to generate light around herself and Espeon by using her magic to do so.
Twilight entered one of the rooms and the moment she did, she found herself changing her appearance. In a flash, something had placed clothes on her that only took her and Espeon and few moments to process.
"Hm?" She blinked as this hyperfast feeling made her look at herself. Mainly her hoof as she saw that there were stars printed on them. Twilight then looked at Espeon's gem for a better view as it had reflective properties. Perfectly convenient and useful in every way. Granted, the gem was tiny so squinting was very necessary.
But thanks to the usage of Rift Magic, Twilight managed to increase her eyesight, seeing exactly what happened. She was wearing an outfit identical to the ones that the employees were wearing. A full carnival-themed getup but tailored towards a pony's build. There was a star on her face to match that as Twilight pulled back. By pulling back, she just now noticed that Espeon was also wearing a carnival-themed outfit for her body.
"That was fast. When did this happen?" Twilight wondered, amazed by how fast she and Espeon were dressed up. She looked at Espeon's hat, seeing that she appeared adorable in it. And the entire getup as well. "Not complaining though. It has a nice charm to it."
"Espeon." Espeon could do without the hat, using Psychic to remove it. But as endearing as these outfits were, Twilight and Espeon decided to appear as their normal selves. Twilight used her magic to clean them up and reappear how they always do but it was endearing to see themselves in such a colourful light. Well, more colourful than how they usually appear.
"So. Who am I facing? Someone has to be in this court, right?" Twilight wondered and as soon as she did, the lights for this court had been turned on, revealing the full scope of it. Twilight was blindsided by the emergence of light as she got what she pondered about.
Much like what the employees said earlier, there was a crowd waiting for them. Lo and behold, it was indeed a big crowd as they were here this entire time, waiting for the battle to begin. Except, they weren't sitting in the usual crowd seats. For this carnival, they were all sitting on bumper cars of all things. Functional bumper cars too that were already turned on.
The court itself was checkered with purple, blue and pink. And that would be completely fitting considering who Twilight was facing. Apart from admiring this court, she looked ahead to see two individuals standing before her. Most definitely the employees that would battle them.
Except, these were ponies, shocking Twilight. From what she could observe, they consisted of one stallion and another was a mare, wearing colourful checkered costumes but with their own unique styles and accessories. The stallion wore a stylized carpet as his cape to stand out while one of the mares held pompoms. Noticeably the smaller one. The taller one was using magic to levitate a staff that had a music note on the top.
"We were waiting for someone new to arrive." The mare with the music note staff spoke, having a deep voice that sounded fake. "Welcome, challenger."
"Cadence. Is that you?" But immediately, Twilight discovered that it was Cadence, making her and the other two ponies gasp in shock.
"G-Gaha!" The mare who was presumed to be Cadence coughed. "N-No idea what you're talking about, Twilight."
"It's you." By saying her name casually, Twilight could confirm that it was Cadence. "Shining Armor. You too?"
"Mmm..." The stallion scrunched, lowering his face before the top hat dropped. He gasped, quickly using his magic to grab it, but it was too late. The hat fell close to his hooves and his hair and face had already been exposed. Plus, Twilight figured it out just by looking at their magical auras. "Ah, it's no use. I told you she'd figure it out too quickly."
"To be fair, the eye enhancement spell is still active on me." Twilight shrugged before turning the spell off. "Your voice change gave it away though, Cadence. But what are out two doing here? Are you employees?"
"Employees? No-no." Cadence removed her hat. "We just enjoy these outfits too much. We decided to come here for the Pokemon Festival first and were instantly attracted to this carnival."
"They gave us these outfits when we entered and we already had our fair share of battles. So we decided to stick around and enjoy ourselves some more here. Including the food or all the rides here." Shining Armor continued, putting his top hat back on. "We've just been offered to challenge new trainers. And it's too much fun."
"Ooh. But wait!" That's when Twilight came to a shocking realization. "D-Does that mean...I have to battle you two?!"
"That's right." Cadence and Shining Armor said in unison. Twilight's first opponents would be her older brother and old foalsitter. This wasn't what she expected at all. Popping out of the checkered walls, which also acted as boxes were none other than their ace Pokemon. Sylveon and Aegislash. They were also stylish too.
"Sylveon!" Sylveon sports a sort of cheerleading getup, having a pompom on her tail and some on her hooves which made silly noises when pressed on the ground.
"Aegislash!" Aegisalsh came flying in, wearing a nice spotted bowtie while also designing his blade with a piano key pattern. And much like his trainer, he too spotted a fancy top hat.
"We wanted Flurry Heart to join but she's doing her own thing. So our own Flurry Heart will just be watching from afar." Cadence aimed her hoof at the crowd stands as baby Flurry Heart was being protected by Flash Sentry over at one of the bumper cars.
"Well, this'll be different. I've only had one battle with you Shining. Not you though, Cadence. But both of you at the same time?"
"Ah, it'll be fine. You get to use five Pokemon that aren't yours except for one that is yours. The same goes for us obviously so it'll be fine." Shining Armor shrugged. "That is if you're used to them already."
"We'll see. Let's not keep this crowd waiting any longer though." Twilight held out a Poke Ball, ready to begin this battle at the carnival. The crowd cheered, excited to see how this would go. Essentially, this would be a battle against royalty.
"Espeon!" Eve was ready for this. She looked Sylveon in the eyes as the two Eevelutions were more than eager to go up against each other.
Sylveon especially. Due to her attraction to Absol, the Intertwining Pokemon couldn't help but feel bothered that Espeon spends more time with Absol than her. Even though she is Twilight's Pokemon.
"Oh, sorry, Eve. I want to give someone else a try first. But you'll get your turn later." Twilight halted Espeon, making her lower head little head.
"Esp..."
"I'll battle at my best with the Pokemon Ash gave me! Let's go, Dragonite!" Twilight revealed one of the Pokemon she had been given by her friends. In this case, it was Ash's Dragonite as a substitute for her Togekiss.
"Dragonite!"
"Ash's Dragonite...? Oooh, that might be a problem actually." Shining Armor backed up.
"Not for Sylveon. Just count on her and we'll be smooth sailing." Cadence reassured that Sylveon would be the one to help them through this. After all, she was immune to Dragonite's attacks which the majority were Dragon-Type attacks.
"Oh! And just to take care of Syvleon!" That is until Twilight revealed that she was going to unleash a second Pokemon, causing Cadence's pupils to shrink. "Go! Serperior!"
"Serperior!" Serperior was the newest Pokemon. In this case, it was Hilda's Serperior that Twilight had been given.
"Dra!" Happy to be battling alongside Twilight, Dragonite flew over, giving Twilight her signature hug as always.
"O-Okay, Dragonite! Happy to be by your side too!" Twilight's eyes widened before melting in Dragonite's warm embrace. After years of receiving hugs from her, Twilight was beginning to warm up to Dragonite's hugs. Both figuratively and literally.
"Serperior? Is that one of the Pokemon from PokePark?" Cadence asked.
"Nope. It belongs to one of my friends. But in this case, I guess you could see this as a way for me to practice for when I battle with Queen Serperior. The one back at PokePark's still available so I've yet to battle with her until that day comes."
"Fair enough. Alright then, we'll go first! Aegislash! Use Sacred Sword!" Shining Armor would start them off, giving the first command to his Aegislash.
"Aegislash!" Covering his entire bladed body in an orange light, the Royal Sword Pokemon focused on Serperior first, ascending to the skies and lunging at the Grass-Type.
"Okay, Sylveon! Use Moonblast!"
"Sylveon!" Sylveon would assist Aegislash, gathering power from the moon itself which then formed into a pink sphere. Sylveon had then unleashed this beautiful sphere by hitting it with her pompoms of all things, sending it toward Dragonite.
"Here they come! Dragonite, Dragon Claw! Serperior, use...uh.." It was just now that Twilight realized she hadn't checked Serperior's moves at all. Meaning, that she had no idea what attacks Serperior could use at the moment. Improvisation was needed right now.
"Ser!" Serperior would do his own thing for this brief moment. He saw that Twilight was stunned, unable to use any of his moves. So to help her, Serperior slithered forward, using Iron Tail to intercept Sylveon's Moonblast, smashing his tail against it. That would leave Dragonite with Aegislash as Serperior helped Dragonite to avoid a super-effective blow, prompting the Dragon Pokemon to clash his claws with Aegislash's body.
"Ooh...T-Thanks, Serperior." Twilight was grateful as she almost ruined it had it not been for Serperior's quick thinking. But instead of being disappointed in Twilight, Serperior looked back, putting a smile on as he couldn't blame Twilight. It was an honest mistake.
"Serperior!" Serperior then faced Moonblast, using his strength to launch the ball away with incredible might. Moonblast flew past Sylveon, startling her before crashing into the checkered walls. Dragonite and Aegislash separated, halting their clash for the meanwhile.
"That was my mistake not learning any of your moves when we got here. Even when I was taking it slow. I won't make that same mistake again." Learning from that slip-up, Twilight pulled out her Pokedex during the battle, just to check Serperior's moveset. And thanks to her fast reading skills, just one glance was enough to get her up to speed.
She only had to learn four moves thankfully so it was brief. And each of these were already familiar to the Princess of Friendship. And of course, her opponents would wait for her. But it didn't take long. Only a total of 5 seconds and Twilight knew what to do.
"Okay. That'll do." She passed the Pokedex over to Espeon, leaving her to put it back. "I'm ready now, Serperior."
"Serp."
As for the crowd, they could understand. After all, this challenge required a trainer to use Pokemon they've never used before. Not knowing any of the borrowed Pokemon's moves was a natural thing that happened here at the carnival. But it didn't stop them from chuckling at it every time the realization kicks in for the trainers that were battling.
"Ah, that takes me back." Shining Armor chuckled. "Something like this happened before. I remember when you were at-"
"Let's not talk about that!" However, Twilight stopped him before he could spill anything. "Get in there and use Dragon Claw, Dragonite! Serperior, Iron Tail!"
"Dra!" Dragonite and Serperior would go on the offensive next. Twilight was aiming to take full control of this battle even if she was battling with a new Pokemon from a different trainer. However, this would work in her favour. Serperior has plenty of experience with Hilda and Twilight's experience has grown exponentially.
"Sacred Sword!"
"Psyshock, Sylveon!"
"Aegis!" Aegislash and Dragonite clashed once more, this time without any breaks. Aegislash's bladed body met with Dragonite's claws for a second time, resulting in a back and forth clash between the two of them. As for Sylveon, three thick masses were sent out by her before being intercepted by Serpiero's hardened tail.
Iron Tail held back the three thick masses as Serperior was trying to break right through them, only for Sylveon to add more pressure to these beams. Eventually, Dragonite and Aegislash had a back and forth exchange with both Pokemon managing to hit each other. Dragonite slapped Aegislash away, only for Aegislash to block the next incoming hit with a swift recovery, delivering an upwards slash that pushed the Dragon Pokemon back.
Serperior showcased his impressive strength once more, slashing the three thick masses of energy in half with Iron Tail, resulting in a triple explosion of colours.
"Now, Leaf Storm! Dragonite, fly up and use Hurricane!"
"King's Shield! Protect Sylveon!"
"Aegis!" Aegislash would be Sylveon's guardian, holding out his shield as Dragonite ascended, flapping her wings to kick up a storm. Meanwhile, Serperior manipulated his own tail with enough friction to generate a turbulent whirlwind of leaves. Two different tornadoes had been unleashed.
A normal tornado and a grass tornado as they both crossed streams, almost merging in the process. But Dragonite and Serperior didn't have that kind of synergy yet so the tornadoes would go solo.
Only for Aegislash to block them both. Once the tornadoes came close, Aegislash's shield created an energy screen that blocked the incoming storms. However, the pressure from these dual tornadoes forced Aegislash to put more effort into his defence. He managed to successfully block them, but at the cost of his shield being blown away.
"Aegislash?!" Aegislash gasped as his shield went flying, leaving his sight and crashing into the floor. But that had its own major effect. Once the shield hit the ground, one of the checkered tiles had been triggered. It was soon revealed that these weren't just here for decoration.
The boxes that Sylveon and Aegislash appeared out of were already good indicators of that. And once that tile had been pressed, that's when the pendulum from outside began swinging at last. It responded to this tile, swinging one way instead of another way. But it wasn't just the massive pendulum beginning to swing thanks to this tile.
Right below Shining Armor and Twilight, two large holes had opened up. Shining Armor looked below him to see this square hole before then immediately dropping through it. "Gah!" He screamed as his voice drowned out the second he entered the hole.
Twilight managed to save herself by flapping her wings out of pure instinct. But the same couldn't be said for Espeon and Serperior, who had dropped through the holes as well.
"Ah! Eve! Serperior!" Twilight gasped once they fell.
"Ooops. We can never figure out which one opens those holes." Cadence said, revealing that this has happened before, so it wasn't too surprising for her. "Oh well. Let's move the battle elsewhere then. In we go!" Without hesitating, Cadence and e even Sylveon had jumped in. Of course, Cadence brought Aegislash's shield along.
"Sylveon!"
"Oh, is it time to move already?" Even the people here were aware of it. And they were all the more interested in it as they couldn't afford to miss out on this battle. That's where those bumper cars came in. They started moving, leaving this part of the carnival just to follow where the battle would go.
Not only were they there for entertainment and potential bumper car battles but they were also a convenient way to get around. Twilight looked around, shrugging as she couldn't try and question this. It spoke for itself.
"This isn't how I imagined a battle between them would go but...oh well. Come on, Dragonite!" Twilight jumped into the hole, seeing where it could lead to.
"Drago!"
When entering the hole, Twilight was met with a large slide that she was immediately dropped into. She started sliding as there was even some water involved just for extra fun. This water slide was her ticket to getting back into the battle as the surprises of the Battle Carnival were only ramping up from here.
Espeon clung onto Serperior while sliding downwards as all of the bumper cars could be heard above, moving rapidly to catch up. As for Cadence and Shining Armor, they were spotted on another water slide nearby that led to the same direction as Twilight's water slide.
"You know, Twilight! We can even battle from here!" Cadence bellowed to Twilight from the other side of another water slide.
"We can?!"
"Right! Like so! Moonblast, Sylveon!"
"Sylveon!" Sylveon managed to gain a stable momentum and stance on the slide, even when wearing pompoms. Even from this distance, she could still gather power from the moon and harness it. Moonblast had been unleashed naturally as if she was still on solid ground.
"Dra!" Dragonite had been sniped by Sylveon's Moonblast from a great distance, showing exceptional aim. Dragonite fell after receiving super-effective damage, falling on top of Twilight who was on the slide.
"Gouh!" Twilight was now lying flat on her face on the water slide after the Dragon Pokemon was dropped on her. She ended up gaining some velocity from this while having her face messed up by water. What's worse was that Dragonite was a relatively heavy Pokemon so this certainly wasn't comfortable.
"D-Dragonite?!"
"Mrmprgh!" Twilight spoke while having her face in the water. It was hard to tell what she was trying to say, but it was easy to see what she was doing. With her magic, she managed to take out Dragonite's Poke Ball.
Dragonite would be needed later on as Twilight, even in a comprising position, was able to return Dragonite to her Poke Ball successfully, freeing herself from further torture. "Gah! You'll pay for that Cadence! Sylveon!" Visible fangs could be seen from Twilight as her eyes were set ablaze with a fiery spirit.
"Oopsie!" Cadence simply giggled as seeing Twilight like this was rare. At least for Cadence. For others, it could be considered common. Sylveon joined in Cadence's cheeky giggle as they were having a laugh.
"Esp!" Espeon wouldn't allow Twilight to be embarrassed. She wanted to join in next if Twilight would let her. This water slide was fairly extensive, having a long layout as more directions could be seen up ahead.
As for the people in the bumper cars, they would eventually return to witness this battle. The bumper cars went down a downwards pathway, leading to the room where the water slides were located. Except, they weren't on the water slides, but rather, the bumper cars would be on the side, far from the slides but enough for everyone to watch.
Soon, this water slide area was filled with bumper cars but the momentum wouldn't stop. Twilight, Cadence and the bumper cars would be constantly moving. Thanks to the water slide, it was a moving battle instead of a stationery battle and those bumper cars would help the crowd keep up no matter what.
Twilight would have to adjust herself to this new way of battling. Right now, it was all about her environment, albeit playful and erratic. She briefly thought about the rest of her friends and how their battles could be going but after that, she would only focus on her battle and how she'll overcome this.
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Battle Carnival. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
The Battle Carnival. A place where trainers can enjoy the wonders of a carnival and battle at the same time. Best of both worlds.
Over at the Battle Carnival, Twilight was currently having a turbulent battle against Cadence and Shining Armor, which was a surprise on its own. Facing off against family was not what she was expecting, especially on a constantly moving and seemingly endless water slide. But elsewhere within the carnival, Ash had already come across some opponents. Mainly the employees.
As per the challenge of this place, he was allowed to use one of his own Pokemon and five more that were borrowed. Choosing to battle alongside him for the first time were Victini, Meloette and Hoopa. Truly a somewhat intimidating combination. Such a powerful Pokemon in the hands of a powerful trainer would scare many if they knew who they were up against.
Despite these options, he had yet to do so, thus, Pikachu was out now, scuffling with an opposing Pokemon. And for these two, it wasn't a problem at all their battle was all but wrapped up now.
"Finish it with Quick Attack, Pikachu!" Ash bellowed as Meloetta and her fellow Psychic-Types were cheering her on. Meloetta borrowed some of the outfits from this carnival, using the pompoms and so did Victini and Hoopa, boosting Pikachu's confidence. It was effective, no doubt, as Pikachu was feeling the energy that was being given to him by his mythical friends.
"Meloetta!"
"Pika!" Pikachu had finished off his opponent which was a Breloom, dashing past the Grass-Fighting-Type at lightning speeds. Breloom didn't know what hit it. In the blink of an eye, Pikachu had struck Breloom after passing it, delivering a heavy blow for an attack that was so minuscule and a Pokemon that was so small in comparison.
"B-Breloom..."Like a sack of potatoes, Breloom dropped, confirming Ash to be the victor. It was a swift victory too.
"Not my Breloom!" The colourful employee dropped to the ground, shaking her head violently. "You're strong...perhaps too strong for me. But a win is a win. Congratulations."
"Good stuff, Pikachu!" Ash ran past the carnival employee with Pikachu. "Thanks for the battle!"
"Pikachu!"
"I swear this new generation of Pokemon Trainers are unnaturally strong." The lady sighed, returning Breloom to its Poke Ball. "Must be the gene pool."
Ash and Pikachu would advance, taking the nearby door. After this, Ash would spice things up, selecting any Pokemon that he was currently sided with. Either the two Pokemon both Twilights had given him or even just the three Mythicals beside him.
"Ashkan! Choose Hoopa next! Hoopa!" Hoopa requested to be up next.
"Tini! Tini! But Victini insisted that he should go next. Meloetta pushed them both aside, already wanting to battle with Ash since the very beginning. They started bickering amongst each other, each eager to go next.
"Don't worry guys. I'll give you all a chance. Gotta give Absol and Rapidash their chances too." Ash reassured that each of them would get their chance. And if they were lucky, a double battle would ensue, giving two of them an opportunity.
Entering the next room within this massive carnival, Ash was met with a classroom of all things. It was certainly less bombastic compared to everything else but at least it kept the carnival theme, having colourful patterns on the walls, floor and ceiling.
Ash slowly walked inside the classroom as the lights automatically turned on the further he went. Of course, despite the silence, there was someone here, waiting for Ash to arrive. And Ash would be expecting this trainer with a colourful appearance.
But the trainer in question was not someone he or anyone else was expecting. Once those lights came on, a lady wearing that same fun and bombastic carnival getup could be seen, wearing a comically tall hat that was at least as long as Ash's arm.
"I've been waiting for you, Ash Ketchum. Waiting to talk to you that is..." Just then, this lady spoke to Ash with a formal tone, referring to his full name. And judging by her words, she was waiting specifically for him out of anyone else.
"Huh? Uh, thanks. I didn't think one of the employees would wait for me like this." Ash replied.
"Oh, an employee? I suppose this outfit would lead you to believe that." The lady spoke before raising her head. And by doing so, her face had been revealed instead of hiding with that tall hat.
That's when Ash and Pikachu instantly recognized important parts of this woman's face. And with a smirk on her face, it was clear that this lady wasn't waiting for Ash just because of the challenge. Green hair and crimson eyes.
Once more, the witch had appeared.
"Hey wait a sec...aren't you..?!"
"Since it's you, I'll formally introduce myself. In my favourite and true outfit. Minus the hat." The witch would finally reveal her true self, which was hidden behind a plethora of hats and outfits that fit the scenario and setting. She removed the carnival outfit with her mystical power, erasing the comically tall hat and appearing with a familiar dark appearance that another individual with green hair and crimson eyes commonly wears.
"Pika?!" Pikachu's eyes dropped as the resemblance to Ghetsis was almost uncanny from what he could see. Victini, Meloetta and Hoopa weren't surprised at all. They were out of the loop when it came to the Ghetsis debacle.
"Well? Am I exactly how you envisioned me? Twilight Sparkle did tell you about what she discovered back at Arche Valley, didn't she?"
"Green hair and red eyes. You're that witch that we've been hearing about. And you were there back at Nimbasa City too when Alpha Pikachu showed up."
"Glad you remembered. I wanted to meet you even back then but you were surrounded by others. I suppose the same applies to this scenario with these Pokemon around you. Either way, glad to formally meet you. You know me as The Witch."
"Yeah." Ash had a straight face as his current mood was unknown. Meeting the Witch for the first time sparked a neutral expression on his face. "You're not working here, are you? You showed up here like you always do without anyone seeing you first."
"That's true. I always show up when they least expect it. So, how are you feeling? I bet you have a lot of questions for me. Knowing you, you'd either want to see my magic or something akin to my appearance."
"I've got something to say." Ash already had a lot on his mind and wouldn't hesitate. Whatever comes next, the Witch was most likely ready to respond to. "Thanks. You helped my friends out a lot so far." Ash ended up thanking her. For all the witch has done while remaining a mystery, he could only show gratitude.
"That's the first thing? I'm not surprised. You are one for kindness, aren't you?"
"But...something's been on my mind because of how you helped us. At Arche Valley's library, Twilight said she found out that you look like Ghetsis for a reason. Apparently, long ago, Ghetsis' ancestors had something special, where they could release alter-egos from their bodies. I think that's how it went?" Ash tried remembering exactly how Twilight described it to him.
"You'd be correct. In the far past, they had this innate power to create alter-egos. Something no one else could do And usually, they'd appear in the form of witches." The Witch confirmed. "A shame they're not around anymore."
"But you're here though. Twilight suspected that you're Ghetsis' alter-ego. He's the only one from his family who's around. Except for N, who's adopted. I wasn't sure at first but since you're here..."
"Well? What will you do?" The Witch then revealed a staff that she was hiding in her dark cloak. "Supposedly, if I am Ghetsis' Alter-ego, what is your next course of action?"
"I just don't get it." Ash scratched his hair. "If you are...why would Ghetsis have something like this? Why would he make someone who would help us?"
"Pikachu?"
"Hmm...you raise great questions, Ash Ketchum. If he did, why would it be someone like me? He only seeks your downfall, among many others. Alter-egos aren't always predictable and what you think they are. If Ghetsis were to have one, would that alter-ego be as helpful as I am?"
"I don't know honestly." At this point, Ash wasn't sure what to think. The witch was only bringing more questions to the table than anything
"Hoopa gets it!" Hoopa spoke up. "Hoopa has an alter-ego. Well, had. Hoopa used to have someone big that was scary AND Hoopa's shadow. But now Hoopa can become that big, no problem!"
"That's true, Hoopa. And even after what happened years back, you made closure with your shadow. So what do you make of this?"
"Beats Hoopa." Despite knowing something about alter-egos, Hoopa could only shrug, not giving a clear answer.
"That doesn't help, Hoopa...But anyway. I don't know for sure. But I'm still grateful for all your help. And if you are Ghetsis' witch then..."
"Then?" The witch was waiting for Ash's response. His proper response instead of another brick wall that he would run into.
"Not much I can say. Except, how come you showed up? I get that he might have the power to do that but...why?"
"I can answer that. This all stems from the heart of the user. This is something that I can confirm with you Ash Ketchum and it's something you should keep in mind. Ghetsis' heart is as black as a black hole. It already sunk to the darkest depths once he decided to form Team Plasma for the first time. Compared to who you've faced and eventually will face, nothing will match the darkness in Ghetsis' heart. And it's not getting better. Ghetsis is getting stronger."
"Is that because of the magic in him?"
"My magic?" Just now, King Sombra finally decided to show himself in his shadow form. For this, he wanted to hear things clearly.
"Oh yes. But it's also because of his family line. He's the last of his line after all. At least by blood. The Magic from King Sombra only amplified what had already been unleashed. You've noticed that he's been getting younger too, hasn't he?"
"He did look younger the last time I faced him." Ash thought back to when he and Ghetsis had a body swap. Even before that, during the invasion, Ghetsis appeared younger than when they first battled all those years back at Unova. "Weird."
"The power within him comes naturally. And I can say that as time goes on, he'll only get stronger with that power until he reaches an insurmountable peak. You're not going to let that stand, are you?"
"No way! But...Team Plasma's in a universe none of us can reach. Daybreaker did a great job making sure we couldn't find or reach it. So you already know a lot about Ghetsis."
"Just like how I know a lot about you. And all of your friends."
"I hope you don't mean me." Sombra shook his head, still not fully seeing Ash as his friend.
"Then, you've gotta know this. How long have you been around?" Ash asked.
"Hm. I wouldn't want to tease you with all these questions. Truth is, I'm relatively new to this world. I may be old but I'm practically a year old. And I'll reveal this truth to you. I'm not Ghetsis' alter-ego. Not at all."
"Oh. So...if you're not...then does that mean there's someone else out there?!" Ash gasped, realizing there might be someone within Ghetsis' ancestral line that was out there in the world.
"Not really." The Witch shook her head. "I may not be Ghetsis' alter-ego, but I have some relation to him. I am his mother's alter-ego. The one he lost years ago along with his father. That's who I am."
"Even though she's gone, you stuck around? How can that be?" Sombra questioned.
"Think of it as a mother's willpower to live. Though she left this world, she was able to unleash me from the grave. I'd rather not think of myself as her replacement but as proof of her will. Honestly, I should've been born the day she perished but it took years for me to emerge."
"How'd it happen then? What took you so long?" Ash leaned in.
"Pika?"
"I said it was a year ago, didn't I? It was Ghetsis who woke me up. On that day when he failed to gain victory, even when stealing your body, I woke up. It was his frustration that did the trick. And here I am. But for a long time, I had no purpose until I decided to observe this world and learn as I go. Especially about you and your friends. And I have to say...it's wonderful."
"So are you like...Ghetsis' mom?! Or grandma?!" Ash immediately assumed what role she took. She was Ghetsis' mother's alter-ego, so she could count as family.
"Am I? Oh, that's strange isn't it?" She giggled, finding that amusing as it was technically true in a sense. Only she could confirm who she was to Ghetsis. "Well, yes. Yes, I am. We are still the same. I hope my son hasn't been giving you too much trouble."
"It's a mountain of trouble." Ash sighed as Ghetsis gave his friends a lot of trouble more so than him. "So what's your name then?"
"I don't have a name. I'm a witch. But that could work. Call me Witch if you want."
"Hmmm...Yeah. Witch sounds pretty neat. No complaints here." Ash accepted the name 'Witch'. On this day, he met Ghetsis' mother in a different form. "Man...when Cobalion said Pokemon and humans are one and the same, he wasn't kidding. There's a lot of neat stuff about us humans that I keep learning about."
"I'll admit. You don't look as boring as you appear." Sombra could agree to that. The humans held various mystical abilities that were comparable to Pokemon. Some of them even came from Pokemon.
"Oh! You're here to battle me, right?" Ash focused on the main reason why he came here. The battles. "Let's have at it, Witch!"
"Me? Battle? Oh well...I have Pokemon of my own but I've never taken part in a battle before. A year old and I've only caught Pokemon." The witch leaned on her staff.
"Never once?" Ash gasped.
"I'm somehow too young to battle and old enough to battle. But I wouldn't mind. Especially if it was against you, Ash Ketchum. My skills might not be the best."
"It's fine. I'm always down for a battle, witch." Ash led out a Poke Ball, ready to battle whoever he comes across. Experienced or inexperienced.
"Hm. I'll give it a try. I believe these two might be interested." Witch then held out her staff, emanating a green light from it. This was the first showcase of her mystical powers. And much like how Galaxy Master could summon Pokemon, two Pokemon emerged from her staff once the light had appeared.
Ralts and Deino to be exact.
"Ralts!"
"Deino!"
"These are your Pokemon?" Sombra squinted. He knew that Witch was new to this but she didn't think she was this new. "Hm. Boy. You'll obliterate her with ease. Hurry up and get this over with."
"Just Ralts and Deino, huh?" Ash kneeled to face these two Pokemon who had their eyes covered. Pikachu, Victini, Meloetta and Hoopa would great their fellow minuscule Pokemon as it was a party of tiny lightweight Pokemon. From cerebral Psychic-Types to mischievous Ghost and Dark-Types.
"I love them very much. When I was first brought into the world, these were the two Pokemon that resonated with me the most. Wandering around the world with such an old body and mind yet a young experience can make you lonely. I'd love to battle but my little darlings just aren't strong enough."
"Hoopa can fix that!" Hoopa felt like he could solve this issue. His rings would be the answer to it, of course, as he held one of them out. "Alléhooparing!"
"No, no." But, Witch swiftly stopped Hoopa. "I don't feel like battling anyway. Honestly, I'd like to live a quiet life. If I could find a place to live permanently that is. But...how about I help you once more, Ash Ketchum?"
"Sure. You've helped me and my friends a lot when you showed up."
"For a better challenge, I'll let the opponents here harness your skills." Suddenly, the Witch pointed her staff at Ash, focusing her magic on the Alola Champion. Ash's body was briefly surrounded by a verdant light that had then ascended to the skies. Ash and everyone gasped, following this verdant light as all of Ash's skills were currently within it.
The Witch managed to manifest Ash's years of battling experience in the form of energy before splitting the light into multiple smaller lights. They watched as these small lights spread out, ready to enter the opposing trainers.
"Y-You can do that?!" Sombra stammered. "You copied his skills?!"
"I certainly did. This will spice things up a bit, won't it?" The Witch giggled. "Now, your next opponent is waiting for you, Ash. Expect them to be on your level."
"That's...Awesome!" Ash had no problem with it. If anything, he loved it. Being able to test his skills out against someone that had his skills were brilliant and a grand opportunity to catch. "This'll help me with the Pokemon World Championships too. It's the best way to see how far I've gotten and where I can go from here. Magic is the best! Thanks, Witch!"
"Hm. Have fun like you always do." Witch saw them off as Ash and his party rushed to the next room which was right up ahead. They learned so much from this mysterious lad who truly meant well. Granted, she could still pull of an eerie smile and an eerie voice thanks to her tone. "And I shall watch for once."
But since Ash's skills have been transferred into energy, that meant that Twilight and the rest of Ash's friends were set to face off against a trainer that possessed the Alola Champion's skills.
Speaking of Twilight, she was still facing off against Cadence and Shining Armor while moving through the water slides. She had just returned Ash's Dragonite, who was taking a small break before she could jump back into the action. She also had Hilda's Serperior who was still out and facing off against Sylveon and Aegislash.
"Alright, Cadence. You wanna play like that? So be it. Are you ready for some Eeveelution action, Eve?" Twilight spoke to Espeon who was struggling to balance herself on the constantly moving water slide that seemed endless
"Espeon!" Espeon was ready, staring down her fellow Eeevelution.
"Oh, Eve's the one I was waiting for the most," said Cadence. "I can't wait to-" But before Cadence could finish her sentence, in the blink of an eye, the light of Ash's skills had flown by, entering the body of the Princess of Love. Cadence blinked, feeling a strange sensation within her.
The same went with Shining Armor, who also blinked once. Both of them felt a new kind of rush within them. Those were Ash's skills they were feeling. The skills of someone who has travelled across the land for years, trained with various Pokemon and learned so much. All of those skills were added to their current skills, increasing their capabilities as Shining Armor finally stood up.
"Oooh. I don't know what's up...but I feel great!" Shining Armor exclaimed. "Do you, Cadence?"
"Same here. A bit hungry too. Let's eat after we're finished here."
"You two won't get the chance to eat after I'm done with you! Eve! Serperior! Let's go!" Twilight exclaimed, unaware of the kind of skills she was about to face. But it would be all too familiar to her once she sees it.
Meanwhile, when Ash entered the next room, he was met with a massive Merry-go-round that was within a dim room. The lights from the merry-go-round complimented this room, however, creating a nice contrast. Ash's next opponent appeared to be a pony from what he could observe. Two of them.
"Alright, I'm here! And me and my friends are ready to go at it!" Ash bellowed, grabbing the attention of the two ponies. The light from the merry-go-round had focused on them, revealing who they were. Much like how Twilight came across familiar faces, there were other familiar faces located within this Battle Carnival.
"Perfect timing!" Clouchaser and Flitter from Cloudsdale had shown themselves to be the next opponents for Ash which would also result in a double battle. And they certainly weren't wearing bombastic clothes in the beginning. "We were getting bored waiting."
"Cloudchaser. Flitter. Nice!" Ash grinned with excitement. And knowing that his skills had been passed on to them thanks to the Witch, he was expecting great things. Even though Cloudchaser and Flitter had no idea what had become of them.
"We didn't think-" But since they were on a merry-go-round, the second it turned to the other side, Cloudchaser's voice had faded away before then returning, finishing her sentence. "...we'd be facing you."
"I wouldn't wanna do it on this though." Flitter left the merry-go-round. "It moves around too much. Especially when it accelerates."
"Usually, we'd be pretty nervous facing you, Ash. But I've got a good feeling about this one." The effects of Ash's skills were already starting to kick in for Cloudchaser and Flitter. Even in the face of such a strong opponent, they were ready.
"Love to hear it. Victini. Hoopa. You'll be up first." Ash chose Victini and Hoopa to be the first ones to battle since a Double Battle was incoming. "You'll be ready too, Meloetta."
"Victini!" Victini flew ahead along with Hoopa, ready to aid Ash in battle. And for once, it wouldn't involve the fate of a region or even the world. Watching this battle would be the Witch.
Once again, she didn't make a sound when she arrived She was just there. Witch would stand in the corner, observing Ash and seeing just how his fame proceeds him. And to an extent, the skills of the trainer who battled her theoretical son.
"Time to throw down, you two! Win or lose, let's have fun!"
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Battle Carnival. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
During an encounter with the mysterious Witch who appeared at the Battle Carnival, Ash had finally gathered the truth about this mysterious character. Her true identity had been revealed to be the alter-ego of Ghetsis' long-gone mother.
Many truths had come to light, but right now Ash was focused on battling as always. And as a bonus, the Witch had used her magic to copy Ash's years of battling skills, spreading it across the carnival. Right now, Ash's two opponents, Cloudchaser and Flitter, possessed his skills, exciting the King of the Sea.
"Time to throw down, you two! Win or lose, let's have fun." Ash said to them while having both Victini and Hoopa out, choosing them for this battle.
"Okay then. Let's see." Cloudchaser looked into her bag before holding out a Quick Ball. Flitter would do the same, taking out a Luxury Ball. "This'll do! Go!" Both threw their Poke Balls into the air, summoning their Pokemon. For them, they had Talonflame and Oricorio, Pom-pom style.
"Alright, let's have a game plan, you two," Ash spoke to Victini and Hoopa. "Cloudchaser and Flitter can-"
"Let Hoopa handle this!" Hoopa interrupted, stepping forward as he suddenly held his ring out.
"Huh? Wait, Hoopa!"
"Here goes!" Hoopa hen pulled something out of his ring. In this case, it would be a tornado that came crashing into this area Talonflame and Oricorio gasped before being carried by the tornado. It proved to be effective as Hoopa could truly bring out whatever he wanted with little limitations.
"I-Is that even fair?!" Cloudchaser stuttered once Talonflame and Oricorio were blown back by the tornado.
"See? Hoopa's still strong after all these years!" The Mischief Pokemon giggled while Victini and Meloetta simply facepalmed.
"Hoopa...that's cool and all, but we gotta work together, ya know," said Ash. He wasn't upset or disappointed with Hoopa at all. After all, Hoopa was considered a wild Pokemon without a trainer. He acted of his own volition.
"Hoopa does?" Hoopa pulled back his ring before he could potentially summon another destructive force. Probably another Pokemon if he felt like it
"Yeah. Together. That's how we become stronger and I know you love being strong even to this day."
"Hoopa loves being strong! But Hoopa's never battled like how Ashkan does."
"Just think back to when we were battling your shadow-self. Think of how I was with Rayquaza, Latios and Latias. Even when you saw me have all those battles. That'll help, right?"
"Hmm..." Digging into his memory, Hoopa recalled how Ash effortlessly commanded Rayquaza, Latios and Latias without any issue, making it seem effortless too. He even thought back to recently, when Ash battled the employee from before and back at Kalos. "Oh right. Hoopa will try."
"Great. This'll be your first time so don't worry about it buddy."
"Okay! Hoopa will try! Hoopa's ring will bring out whatever Ashkan wants!"
"Hang on!" Cloudchaser bellowed, raising her hoof. "Whatever you want? You don't mean that ring can bring out anything, right?"
"Oh, right? Can we use Hoopa's ring in battle?" This was something that even Ash wondered. Hoopa's ring could do anything and he could easily say whatever he wanted and Hoopa would make it happen.
"Let Hoopa do it! Please, Ashkan!" Hoopa wanted to. Without the ring, Hoopa wasn't much at all.
"Alright. I'll do my best with that ring. Let's go, Hoopa! Victini! Shadow Ball and Bolt Strike, go!"
"Tini!" Victini had the brightest smile on his face, overjoyed that he got to battle with Ash. And to show that excitement, he ended up using Zekrom's signature move, Bolt Strike. Meanwhile, Hoopa ascended, putting his hands together to summon up a blob of shadows.
"You'll use the ring?!" Cloudchaser pulled back. She already had a bad feeling about that ring. But thanks to the skills of Ash that have been given to her and Flitter, a part of her was too excited not to see how this would go. "Okay then! Talonflame, Aerial Ace!"
"Oricorio, use Aerial Ace also!"
"Talon!" It would be a dual Aerial Ace. Talonflame moved at confounding speeds while Oricorio joined it. Oricorio did a stylish flip, landing on Talonflame's back. And the second it did so, Ash's skills were potentially starting to reveal themselves.
"Spin! Aerial Ace Whirlwind!" Cloudchaser and Flitter both raised their hooves, shouting the same command in unison. Not only was this their usual way of working together but they had already used a tactic Ash would. High risk, high reward.
Once Oricorio was on Talonflame's back, both Pokemon started spinning with Oricorio performing a sideways pirouette and Talonflame doing a traditional barrel role. A whirlwind of white energy had emerged from their bodies due to their spinning.
This Aerial Ace combo looked like it could be troublesome as Cloudchase and Flitter were already great at working together. Combined with Ash's years of experience, it would make for a deadly combo. And it certainly did. The Aerial Ace Whirlwind had blasted through Shadow Ball, obliterating it as if it was nothing. As for Victini, he clashed with the Aerial Ace Whirlwind.
It was a powerful clash as sparks went about. But ultimately, this unification of attacks had managed to beat out Victini's Bolt Strike, crashing into Victini.
"Tini!" Victini cried out, heading towards Hoopa. Shocked, Hoopa used his ring in this instance. He held out one his rings, quickly using it as a defensive tactic. And it could be considered that as a cushion had emerged. Victini's body hit the cushion which was surprisingly strong enough to catch such an impact.
"Is that even fair...?" Flitter questioned as the impact of the attack had been cushioned. The fact that Hoopa could do this freely raised some questions.
"Doesn't matter!" Cloudchaser was past it already. She accepted it for what it was. "Let's go in again! Talonflame, Flamethrower!"
"Right! Oricorio, Revelation Dance!"
"Talon!" Talonflame and Oricorio would keep up the attack. It started with Talonflame breathing out a stream of fire which was then followed up by Oricorio's stylish moves. Oricorio did a nice cheerleading dance before then kicking the flames. The electricity from its body had emerged, surrounding the scarlet flames as another combination attack had been formed.
An Electric Flamethrower was born, heading toward both Victini and Hoopa.
"Hoopa, Protect!"
"Hoopa can do that!" Hoopa got in front of Victini, holding out another one of his rings. This time, he used his ring as a protective barrier and for once, nothing came out f it. It was simply just the energy from the ring as the combination attack had been blocked.
"Nice save, Hoopa." Ash gave a thumbs up with Hoopa putting on a proud face. So far, he's only played defensively but playing offensively against two trainers that possess Ash's skills made Ash think.
"Hmm...they're always good at working together." Ash took some time to observe his opponents. "And with my skills, they're turning their teamwork into a stronger version of it. But..."
"Don't let these weaklings stun you because that Witch gave them your experience," Sombra spoke to Ash from within. "It'd be terribly embarrassing."
"Let's go again!" The two of them said as Talonflame and Oricorio would do the same combination of Flamethrower and Revelation Dance yet again.
"Here they come! Time to use those Psychic levitations of yours! Move to the side!"
"Tini!" Victini and Hoopa would fly to the side instead of confronting this combination attack. It was a successful dodge as the attack only struck the wall instead.
"Talonflame! Brave Bird!"
"Go, Tailwind!"
"Oricorio!" Oricorio would flap its arms fast enough to alter the winds themselves as another combination attack was incoming. This time, once Oricorio altered the direction of the wind, Talonflame accelerated at double the speed. With an orange aura coating its body, the whirlwinds from Tailwind had added to that aura, causing Talonflame to come crashing it at stupendous speeds. And he was going straight for Victini.
"Here's an idea! Pull Victini away, Hoopa!"
"Gotcha!" Hoopa would do just that. He used his ring once more, placing his entire hand through it. By warping space, he managed to summon another ring behind Victini, grabbing the Victory Pokemon.
"Tini?!" Victini gasped after being pulled away. His body passed through the ring, entering another side of this area. Another swift dodge by Ash's team. But barely as Talonflame almost flew through the ring, only to receive a safe that Hoopa had summoned.
"Talon?!" Talonflame crashed into the safe, obliterating it. The impact was even strong enough to stop the Fire-Flying-Type in its tracks but not enough to harm it. The recoil damage would do just that.
"Hoopa?" Ash looked up at Hoopa once he saw the emergence of the safe. Hoopa giggled as Ash had no control over Hoopa's antics. Whatever he summons was just the best of his abilities. And the carnival encouraged that the trainers should go wild after all. "Oh well...But I think I got something from this."
"What did you get?" Sombra asked.
"They're all about how I merge my attacks together. That's the part of my experience Cloudchaser and Flitterended up getting. So...I know how I can beat them." Ash already figured it out. By looking t the way these two battled with his skills, he could see that there was a way past this. Even though it felt like he was battling against two variations of himself, Ash already knew how to get around this. The only way that could replicate this.
"Let's go! Hyperspace Fury! On three sides!" Ash bellowed as Hoopa created a large ring, the largest he made so far in this battle, summoning not just one but three of them.
"What's he planning?" Flitter wondered as these large holes appeared, exuding a massive threat.
"No idea. Let's stop it before the worst happens! Talonflame, Brave Bird!"
"Oricorio, Revelation Dance!"
"Flame!" Talonflame and Oricorio would focus on the three rings, spreading out with a stylish dance that was followed by a trail of electricity and a soaring charge.
"Here we go! Victini! Psychic on both sides!"
"Tini...!" Victini closed his eyes before then focusing on the two rings. By holding his hand out, Victini sent a Psychic wave through the two rings on the side while being in front of the third one in the middle. Once Talonflame and Oricorio came close, they were met with two large Psychic waves that had held them in place.
"Talon?!"
"Ori!" Oricorio and Talonflame had been restrained by a powerful mental constraint. They were unable to move and perform their combination attack thanks to this restraint.
"Now's your chance, Hoopa! Strike!"
"Okay!" Hoopa wasn't just there to set up rings for Victini to use. Hyperspace Hole was an attack after all. Out of it came Hoopa's hands, which had then transformed into fists. Hoopa started flailing his fists around, smacking Oricorio and Talonflame rapidly as they were unable to move.
"Is that what that does?!" Seeing what Hyperspace Hole was for the first time, Cloudchaser and Flitter gasped as their Pokemon were rapidly pummeled.
"Hoo...pa!" Hoopa delivered the final blow, pulling his arm back as he struck them both in the face. Talonflame and Oricorio were finally released from the Psychic hold, falling back. The two Flying-Types crashed into the floor right next to the pegasi.
That combination of Psychic and Hyperspace Hole proved to be effective as both Talonflame and Oricorio had fainted from that attack. Cloudchaser and Flitter were the first ones to lose some Pokemon in this battle.
"Yes! Way to go, you two!" Ash pumped his fist after he successfully defeated them both. Pikachu, Meloetta and the Witch, who was standing in the corner, applauded this first victory.
"Darn it...Maybe we shouldn't have swapped our aces." Cloudchaser sighed as it was revealed that Oricorio was her Pokemon while Talonflame belonged to Flitter. "Return."
"We're down to just three Pokemon. We've got this. I can feel it." Flitter replied.
"Yeah, I get it now. They've got my skills, for sure. But only I know how to counter my years of skills like that." Ash grinned as he was the perfect counter to his own skills. Years of experience could be matched perfectly by the one who had all the experience in the first place. "But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying it! Come on you guys! Let's keep going!"
Elsewhere, Hilbert and Hilda had come across some opponents by taking the same door. Thus, they would battle these opponents together in a double battle. They were the employees of this carnival as to be expected.
And for the most part, Hilbert and Hilda were dominating. Hydreigon and Haxorus were currently out, facing off against a Bronzong and a Ramprados. Victory was within their sights.
But that was until the verdant that possessed Ash's skills had arrived. Minutes ago, they entered the bodies of these two employees, granting them Ash's years of experience. Their loss wasn't imminent. There was a chance for them to make a comeback.
"Hydrei!" The two Dragons would charge in headfirst to put an end to this battle. And that was when the spirit of Ash woke up within them. Not only did they receive Ash's skills temporarily, but the Witch had even made it to the point where they received his spirit.
"No...It's not over yet!" One of the employees turned his top hat, just like Ash, even though there wasn't an opposite side. Ash's spirit was knocking within him. "Bronzong! Let it enter you! Flip over!"
"Huh?!" His teammate was confused by this choice of words. But with the spirit of Ash, he caught on quickly to this plan, deciding to help make sure it was efficient. "Right! Rampardos! Head Smash on Bronzong!"
"What are they doing?" Hilbert scratched his head as Bronzong lifted its body, revealing the hollow circular part that was rarely seen. But now it was as Rampardos got behind the Bronze Bell Pokemon.
Once Hydreigon and Haxorus got close, at the right moment, Ramprados smashed its head onto Bronzong's body. By doing so, when Hydreigon's head was about to enter Bronzong's hollow part, an unbridled soundwave emerged. A soundwave so strong that not only did it rupture the ears of Hyreigon and even Haxorus who was behind him, it resulted in a shockwave.
"D-Drei!" Hydreigon cried out as he had been blown back by the soundwave. He crashed right into Haxorus, causing Giga Impact to hit him instead. The result was an explosion that knocked the two Dragons in opposite directions.
Successfully, the two employees managed to save themselves, prolonging their chances to win this battle. Hydreigon and Haxorus rolled on the ground as Hilbert and Hilda were shocked to see them make this reversal.
"No way! I thought we had it!" Hilbert growled.
"They still have more in them. But where did this extra strength come from?" Hilda was the only one to recognize the fact that they didn't have this strength earlier. This entire battle was one-sided from the start.
They were both completely unaware of the magic that had entered them. This battle of theirs would last longer before they could have the chance to leave to the next area and challenge another trainer.
"Go, Eve! Dazzling Gleam! Serperior, Leaf Storm!" Meanwhile, Twilight was still facing off against Cadence and Shining Armor, who also received Ash's skills.
Rays of Rainbows were clashing with Aegislash and Sylveon. Twilight was already having some trouble with them on this endless water slide, but that trouble was only going to increase as Aegislash was swinging so fast that he managed to deflect the rainbow rays, leaving Sylveon to deal with Leaf Storm, using the energy of Moonblast to create a sphere so large that it ended up blocking the storm from getting closer.
"No good, Twilight!" Cadence exclaimed as Sylveon then released the large Moonblast sphere with Aeigslash getting rid of the last rays. The sphere came raging over towards Twilight's side of the slide. It was large enough to consume them all if something wasn't done.
"Oh no! Serperior! Iron Tail!
"Serperior!" Serperior lunged at the sphere, hardening his tail. He had the right strength to stop it as he managed to hold back the sphere. With some extra strength, he managed to cut it in half, preventing the attack from fully landing.
"Now's our chance, Aegislash! Ready, Cadence?"
"Ready. Moonblast, one more time!"
"Aegislash, stab into it!"
A combination of moves would occur even here. This time from Cadence and Shining Armor. Once the previous Moonblast had been cut in half, Sylveon made another one. But this Moonblast was average sides, prompting Aegislash to stab his entire bladed body into the fairy sphere.
Twilight pulled back after witnessing this as Aegislash created a new means to attack. Now he was holding not just sharp body but also a sphere of Aura on the tip of his blade. Plus, his ultimate defence was his shield.
"Have you two been practising something like this?!" Twilight Sparkle gasped.
"We did. It was two days ago. But we never perfected it." said Cadence. "And yet, something within us made us give it a go."
"And worked out well it looks like." Shining Armor followed as this was the result of Ash's spirit. Ash's spirit not only allowed him to come up with bizarre and unpredictable attacks, but it also allowed him to adapt.
Ash was all about adaptability. That's how he creates unpredictable moments. His observation of his opponents and his environments are what helped him persevere. He had Bertha and many others to thank for that.
"Go for it, Aegiaslsh! Sacred Sword!"
"Aegis!" Aegislash would home in, using the power of Moonblast and Sacred Sword in one attack.
"Okay then...Eve, go after Sylveon with Quick Attack! Serperior, Iron Tail!"
"Esp!" Espeon would go for her fellow Eeveelution, moving at lightning speeds as she ignored the Royal Sword Pokemon, phasing right through him thanks to Quick Attack's immunity. Aegislash would have to deal with Serperior who was slithering towards him.
"Use Quick Attack as well, Sylveon!"
"Syl!" Sylveon would meet with her fellow Eeveelution up close as well. Soon, a fierce clash between the four Pokemon would ensue. Clanging sounds from Serperior and Aegislash went off. The energy of Moonblast acted as an extra offence and layer of defence as Serperior was already being pushed back by Aegislash. His tail felt the shockwaves of Moonblast go off, giving Aegislash an advantage.
Espeon and Sylveon butted heads, going back and forth at lightning speeds with Quick Attack. They started bashing their heads against each other with Sylveon even dodging some attacks with Quick Attack. And all of this was on a water slide where they could maintain some balance.
And while all these battles were ongoing, the Witch, who was responsible for these instant power boosts, spoke while watching Ash's battle. She was essentially speaking to everyone despite being in one position.
"The power I bestowed upon them makes them strong yes. But in reality, it's only temporary. I never even gave the Pokemon Pikachu's experience. In truth, this kind of strength that someone like Ash had built up for years can only be matched by one thing. The bond between Trainer and Pokemon. The magic may not be within the Pokemon, but it's their bond that makes them strong. Just like Aura. Even my magic cannot replace that. I hope out there, you can agree with that...my son."
She referred to Ghetsis, thinking about him. While he was only an alter-ego made by his mother, she still counted as his mother. And as a mother, she cared for her son and feared that the Ghetsis of today had lost this kind of synergy with his Pokemon. A part of her knew that this was true.
Watching Ash and many others battle with these Strange and Wonderful Creatures couldn't bring her peace. The mother within was longing for that peace. And it could only be fulfilled by the son. The son who was already far gone at this point.
"You've all improved." Twilight smiled. "Shining Armor. Aegislash. All that training with Cobalion helped you both. And Cadence...I don't know where this strength came from but I love it. But I refuse to lose. After what I saw at the Cosmic Wall and everything that's happened involving our world and what could happen, I can't afford to ever slow down. So for the sake of my family and friends, I vow to improve and win!"
"Espeon!" Just like what Witch said, this resolve showed itself with Twilight and Espeon. The greater Twilight's resolve was, the more it would affect Espeon. The link between trainers and Pokemon was unparalleled as Espeon and Twilight used their Psychic abilities in this battle.
By closing her eyes, Espeon managed to evade Sylveon's incoming Quick Attack by moving just like the water itself. She swayed to the side, faster than Sylveon could perceive. "Syl?!"
"Esp!" Espeon then went in for a strike, hitting Sylveon from the side as she sent the Intertwining Pokemon flying.
"S-Sylveon!" Sylveon was now the one to roll on the water after crashing down, resulting in a turbulent ride.
"Ser!" Serperior was unable to win the clash as Aegislash slashed him back, proving to have the stronger offence.
"You've done well, for now, Serperior! I'll call you back later!" Seeing that Hilda's Serperior couldn't win this exchange with Aegisalsh of all Pokemon, Twilight chose to return Hilda's Serperior.
"Return, Sylveon!" Cadence did the same. Sylveon took a hard blow then, forcing Cadence to give her partner some rest.
Finally, this water slide had an end despite seeing so long. Bumper cars could be seen up ahead. Multiple bumper cars were at the end of this water slide as the light of day had finally shown itself. And waiting for them was the outside at last. This was their stop as Twilight and Cadence spread their wings, taking flight.
Espeon and Shining Armor leapt off the slide, heading for solid ground. Aegislash would soon follow by levitating there, keeping the Moonblast on his blade.
Eventually, the trainers landed on the bumper cars while the Pokemon would go for solid ground. The crowd that was watching this battle were still in their cars, cheering at this wonderful display. Much like every bumper car here, these ones were also active, ready to go at any moment.
Cadence already held out her next Poke Ball for the second Pokemon to arrive. Without a doubt, a rental Pokemon from the carnival as Sylveon was her only partner. As for Twilight, she would use another one of her friend's Pokemon. First, it was Ash's Dragonite, who was taking a break, then it was Hilda's Serperior and the third one would be revealed soon.
But, much like what the employees here said, they could swap opponents. Or even extensively, someone else could join. And the latter was about to happen. Entering this room was none other than Rainbow Dash who flew in, wiping some sweat off her forehead.
"Made it!" She exclaimed once entering the arena, hearing the crowd. She already finished her recent battle, ending up her next. The multi-coloured-maned mare would soon recognize familiar faces. "Oh, hey Twilight. And...Cadence and Shining Armor?!"
"Nice time to show up, Rainbow Dash. I could use some help." Now that Rainbow Dash was here, Twilight requested her assistance. She was already facing off against two opponents by herself. Having that extra muscle was beneficial.
"Right, right. I was just about to jump into the next battle anyway. Finish mine pretty quickly with j one hit, ya know." She boasted before flying to Twilight's side. "But what's your family doing here?"
"Eh. They got involved yesterday. And it even feels like they've had great growth since yesterday." said Twilight. "Be careful. I think their growth's gotten too big."
"Can't be that bad." But Rainbow Dash, who finished her battle relatively early, was unaware of what kind of skills this pair of Husband and Wife could unleash.
The battles within the Battle Carnival were amping up but would have to come to an end. But with the skills of Ash being embedded with some of them, taking down their opponents wouldn't be as swift as they would think.
Unova. Arcane Sea. Afternoon.
And meanwhile, over at Unova, Galaxy Master had returned to the Arcane Sea. When returning there, he continued his goal of giving Rift Energy back to the Rift. And this place was loaded with it. The biggest heap of energy so far.
But while gathering this magic with a comically large bucket, he soon dropped it, sensing someone nearby. Galaxy Master knew that aside from his Pikachu and Lapras, there was someone else here, lurking within the shadows while also staying away from the seas due to their unpredictability.
"I know you're there." Galaxy Master commented as the shadowy figure, who was waiting for Galaxy Master to return, finally showed himself. He couldn't from Galaxy Master as the comic book character spoke out his name.
"Darkrai."
As the journey continues.
Chapter 869 End.
Confrontation at the Arcane Sea! Ghetsis reaches his peak
Universe 11. Equestria. The Solar Empire. Canterlot. Afternoon.
Away from the jolly festivities of the Pokemon Festival, Universe 11 had its own variation of being jolly. Under the rule of their great and mighty ruler, Daybreaker.
Life continued as normal within this universe and this variation of Equestria, while various plans were being made by the higher-ups within the palace. Whether it'd be restoring Necrozma to his full strength or absolute vengeance against the residents of Universe One.
But right now, one of these higher-ups wasn't as active as usual. The ruler of Team Plasma, Ghetsis. Ghetsis was inactive at the moment while his entire team were constantly on the move. Checking up on Ghetsis was Daybreaker, opening the door to the massive room he was currently staying at.
And when those doors opened up, Daybreaker witnessed Ghetsis emanating a dark aura from his body while sitting on the bed. He looked outside the window while having this aura around him, giving off a strange vibe that hadn't been felt yet from him.
"He's been like this since yesterday," Daybreaker observed before turning to face some of the Team Plasma grunts. "Why is that?"
"Well, it was actually 21 days ago, Queen Daybreaker." A grunt started explaining. "All of a sudden, Lord Ghetsis felt ill and the next thing we know, he decided to sleep in for many days. He hasn't left his room since."
"21 days of this? That's almost a full month." Daybreaker pondered, knowing that this was not normal. Mainly for Ghetsis. "For someone like Ghetsis, he wouldn't stay out of action for this long. "That Aura around him...That might be the answer."
"I can hear you" Ghetsis spoke as he heard their conversation from outside, prompting the grunts to back away and for Daybreaker to enter.
"Is someone feeling ill? Seems almost out of character for you. Almost" Daybreaker decided to get a chuckle out of this, taunting Ghetsis. "Why is that?"
"Like I know..." Ghetsis grumbled. "I don't know what this is all about but there's something about my Aura that's screaming to me."
"Screaming to you?" Daybreaker repeated, losing her smile.
"Those 21 days ago, it was like...ugh! This is impossible to describe! It's frankly irritating." Ghetsis couldn't describe it himself. All he knew was that it agitated him.
"Hmph. Well, seems like someone is keeping up with their magic. Have no fear. I'm an expert on all things mystical. How about we get you checked up? And your Pokemon as well." Daybreaker nudged him. "It'll take a few minutes."
"I am not a child." Team Plasma's grunt groaned after being nudged. "I feel too weak to even move. I'd prefer to stay in bed. Perhaps for 5 more minutes.
"Spoken just like a child. Come along." Daybreaker would bring him along anyway, using her magic to grab Ghetsis. Ghetsis was powerless to do anything. His Dark Aura was somewhat betraying him, preventing Ghetsis from breaking free from Daybreaker's grasp. Thus, he would take this option.
After all, he could count on Daybreaker when it came to the mystical arts. But for Ghetsis, this strange feeling that existed for 21 days was too suspicious. And more importantly, too sudden.
Unova. The Arcane Sea.
The Arcane Sea. A sea rich with Rift Magic. The most Rift Magic imaginable was located here. And currently, Galaxy Master had encountered Darkrai yet again. The two of them stared each other down as both knew just how much of a threat the other was.
"You waited for me to come back." Galaxy Master said. "I suppose the Master of Nightmares has the most patience out of anyone."
"Even around the sea, I can conceal myself," Darkrai spoke, floating up as he hadn't touched the sea once. Knowing how unpredictable Rift Energy gets, he couldn't afford to slip up. Although, Darkrai was curious as to how Lapras could touch it without anything happening to her.
"Where's Princess Luna? You seem to be going solo today."
"Luna's taking a break. One she deserves. As for me, my work is never done. I vowed to be Equestria's guardian no matter what happens. That includes troublemakers such as you and your Pokemon."
"Pika...!" Pikachu didn't take kindly to being called a troublemaker as he flared his red sacs with electricity. Galaxy Master calmed him down with a path from his head.
"Even if my opponent is a fictional character, I can't afford to fail my goal."
"Fictional character?" Galaxy Master repeated. This entire time, he wasn't aware of his true origin and how he came to be. This whole time, he just assumed he popped out of nowhere.
"Right. You don't know about it yet. Well, I'll tell you now. And it'll be the last thing you here once I put you to sleep. You're the result of the Rift bringing you into reality."
"Ah that...I hate to break it to you, but I'm not a creation of the Rift. I'm my own being." Galaxy Master wagged his finger. Despite not knowing his origin, he was aware that he wasn't made by the Rift at all, shocking Darkrai. "While I don't know how I came here, I do know why. Wherever there's a cry for help, I shall appear!" Once more, he pulled off one of his many poses.
"So, he doesn't know." Darkrai spoke to himself, making Galaxy Master seem a bit more mysterious than he was in the beginning. He realize that if Galaxy Master was not a Rift Creation, he would have no problem stepping into the Arcane Sea. But because he avoided it, that confirmed to Darkrai that he was not a product of the Rift.
"Now then...we have some Rift Energy to send to the Rift. Getting all of this to the Rift would take weeks but it'll have to do. I can't allow you to stop us, Darkrai."
"Then, let's make it the last time we have to do this." Darkrai was ready to put an end to it. Within his claws, he already summoned the pulsating darkness from Dark Pulse, making the first move.
"Go, Lapras!" Galaxy Master would have Lapras continue swimming even in the face of Darkrai. Lapras showed no fear when facing the Pitch Black Pokemon as she started booking it.
"La!" Larpas would head north within this seemingly endless ocean. Darkrai, making his pursuit launched the pulses as if they were baseballs. Dark Pulses came raining down as they struck the cosmic waters, resulting in large splashes from the impact.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu would be Galaxy Master's shield, shooting out Thunderbolt from his body and intercepting the incoming Dark Pulses. Darkrai would not only clash with these bolts of lightning by launching Dark Pulses at them, but he would also evade them as well, having a great sense of multitasking.
At the same, Galaxy Master was gathering the Rift Energy from here in a way that Darkrai wouldn't think of. There wasn't a bucket or a cup anywhere to scoop this liquid up. Instead, there was another method that only Galaxy Master knew about. Right now, the goal was to lose Darkrai.
The Pitch Black Pokemon decided to use Electricity as well. He also had access to Thunderbolt, switching out of Dark Pulse for this electrifying blast. With his attention focused on the waters themselves, Darkrai unleashed Thunderbolt, going for an electrifying overload due to the sensitivity between Water and Electric.
"Look out! Lapras!"
"La?" It was too late. The electricity travelled insanely fast after interacting with the cosmic waters, electrocuting the Transport Pokemon. "L-Lapras!"
"P-PI!" And once Lapras was shocked, so were Galaxy Master and Pikachu. Pikachu resisted it but Galaxy Master and Lapras, especially Lapras, received a crushing shock from it. Darkrai had them right where he wanted them.
Once they felt the exhilarating shock, he went for Dark Void, launching two black orbs. With their bodies stunned, it looked like it was guaranteed to put them to sleep. However, Galaxy Master would change that.
He decided to send Lapras back, freeing her from this electrical torture. She turned into light particles, returning to Galaxy Master's palm. And as for Galaxy Master and Pikachu, right before he returned the Transport Pokemon, the fictional character and his Lapras, he took the time to even pull off a stylish backflip. It was unnecessary but it was natural for him due to the way Ash made him.
Galaxy Master's qualities as a fictional character showed themselves some more as he had an impressive amount of airtime when jumping off Lapras before returning her. It almost looked like he was floating. And with that air time, he had enough time to call for more help.
"Come, my feathered friends!" By raising his arm, he summoned some more Pokemon to his side. And in this case, it was all his Flying-Types. Darkrai looked up, hearing the sounds of rapid wing beats nearby. Not only that but familiar cries of familiar Flying-Types. The Dark-Type's eyes widened as Pidgeot and many of Galaxy Master's Flying-Types came swooping in.
"Pidgeot!" Once they showed up, each of them used Aerial Ace, Brave Bird and Sky Attack to move in at blinding speeds, all focused on Darkrai. Darkrai would have his claws full, but it was nothing the Pitch Black Pokemon couldn't handle.
He readied himself, evading the first incoming Aerial Ace from Pidgeot successfully but he had to worry about the rest that were incoming. After evading Pidgeot's Aerial Ace, Darkrai had used Thunderbolt from both claws, shooting one at Pidgeot from behind and targeting the second at Noctowl. However, Noctowl managed to evade the second one by swooping underneath the bolt in time.
"Noctowl!"
Darkrai received a hit from Noctowl first who came soaring upwards, delivering an upper hit to the Dark-Type. Darkrai's Thunderbolt had been thrown off course while receiving a meaty blow from Noctowl's Brave Bird. The only thing Noctowl suffered was some recoil. After knocking Darkrai back, that allowed the other Flying-Types to come flying in, delivering an assault of aerial attacks on Darkrai.
The Master of Darkness was met with a rush of Flying-Type attacks that were used consecutively. Consecutive Aerial Aces and Brave Birds had hit him from all sides, knocking the Pitch Black Pokemon around. If anything, they were playing ping pong with him.
"Swellow!" It was mainly Staraptor and Swellow who delivered these consecutive hits with Pidgeot returning the favour after being shocked. Gold and red streaks could be seen by the sheer speed these Flying-Types were moving at. After knocking Darkrai around, along came Talonflame to deliver the final blow with Brave Bird, moving faster than the rest.
"Talonflame!"
Darkrai could potentially fall into the waters if this were to land and that could not happen. So, that was where his shadows came into play. Darkrai manipulated the shadows that were over the seas, using them to his advantage. As quickly as he could, he swiftly send the shadows up in the form of tendrils. But those tendrils wouldn't be enough to stop a high-speed impact.
Darkrai quickly transformed the shadow tendrils into a large mass of darkness, forming a shield. Right on time as Talonflame crashed into the mass of darkness, causing a ferocious combustion of energy, The shadow wall had been destroyed by the impact as well. But even with that aftermath, Darkrai managed to protect himself while also concealing his body in the large body of smoke.
"Talon." Talonflame shook his head from the recoil damage as the smoke was large enough to engulf most of them, including Galaxy Master and Pikachu. Just what Darkrai needed.
Right after saving himself, Darkrai struck without a second to spare. He unleashed a Dark Void that flew through the smoke, instantly hitting Talonflame before it knew it. The Fire-Flying-Type was the first to be caught by Dark Void, immediately being put into a state of sleep.
"Staraptor!" Staraptor, seeing that Talonflame had been put to sleep within the smoke, came to its aid before it could drop into the sea. The Predator Pokemon helped its fellow Regional Bird out, using its body to catch the Scorching Pokemon.
But Darkrai's assault didn't end there. Right afterwards, other Dark Voids came flying out with the Pitch Black Pokemon hurling them at each Regional Bird.
"Noctowl!" Noctowl and the others wouldn't be blindsided like Talonflame after witnessing that. Together, they each flew out of the way, evading the orbs of darkness. However, Darkrai would send more through the smoke cloud that lasted for a fairly long time, forcing the Flying-Types to keep moving.
This pressurized the Flying-Types to constantly move and evade as many Dark Voids as they could, lest they end up like Talonflame who was out of commission.
As for Galaxy Master and Pikachu, to keep themselves safe, Galaxy Master created a body of light around his body along with Pikachu. The same light that was able to harm those dark thorns and the energy they become when flying This light protected them from the unpredictable nature of the Rift Sea, allowing them to substitute for Lapras. However, they did something better.
Just for style points as always, Galaxy Master and Pikachu started surfing on the Arcane Sea. Pikachu was even using Surf to get around, controlling the Arcane Sea for movement. Galaxy Master generated light discs on his feet, giving him the power to surf. Darkrai looked at this with a somewhat impressed look on his face.
He had to give credit where credit was due. That was creative.
But getting back into the action, after pressuring the Flying-Types, Swellow flapped its wings, eventually getting rid of the smoke that had obscured Darkrai. As soon as he did so, Darkrai got the jump on all of them. The Dark Voids were the main distraction. The real threat came from his Thunderbolt. From his entire body, he unleashed a flare of electricity that flew in every direction.
A successful hit as all Flying-Types had been struck by the fury of Darkrai's Thunderbolts that acted just like Discharge in this instance. They all received 100,000 volts in return with Galaxy Master and Pikachu surfing out of the way from these volts.
"My friends! Come back!" Galaxy Master saw that they each took hard hits from that outburst of electricity and would potentially drop to the waters. Especially Talonflame who was still asleep.
But before he could return them, at great speeds, Darkrai appeared in front of the fictional character, using Poison Jab. He was determined to put an end to all of this and it showed in how handled this great numerical disadvantage.
"Chu...Pika!" But Darkrai wouldn't get a free hit in with Poison Jab. There was still Pikachu, who had used Iron Tail to intercept Darkrai's Poison Jab. It was a heavy direct clash as Galaxy Master backed away, giving a thumbs up to his partner for that lightning-fast save.
"Thank you, Pikachu! Let me return the favour! Andromeda Flash!" Galaxy Master took the chance to chime in. With Darkrai's claw being locked with Pikachu's tail, he was then met with a flash of light that came from Galaxy Master's body.
"Ugh!" Darkrai flinched, covering his eyes before backing away. This was Pikachu's chance to strike now that Darkrai was befuddled by the light.
"Pika!" Pikachu had then delivered an overhead smash to Darkrai's head, sending him downwards. Thus Darkrai was finally sent through the waters of the Arcane Sea. Something he tried so hard to avoid and it was all for nought. Darkrai already realized that it was too late. His body had interacted with the cosmic energy.
Whatever happens next, he was unable to stop it from emerging. One thing was for sure. Even with this knockdown, Darkrai wouldn't be stopped. While something was most likely bound to happen with his body, he would still have the chance to stop Galaxy Master.
The question was what would happen to him afterwards.
Universe 11. Equestria. The Solar Empire. Canterlot. Afternoon.
Back at the Solar Empire, Ghetsis was currently being checked up on. He was brought to a medical room that focused on fairly mystical health instead of standard everyday health. In this case, this was their standard form of health. Magic circles were imprinted on the walls as there were various patients around, being treated by the flow of Equestrian magic.
As for Ghetsis, he closed his eyes, feeling somewhat humiliated by this as all he did was just stand there while a magical spotlight beamed down on him. A magic circle was also right underneath him as the many doctors and nurses were observing his Dark Aura.
Daybreaker was involved as well, using her magic to rip a piece of Ghetsis' Aura. By doing so, she received a small wisp of darkness that was already oozing with malice.
"Aw, it's a bit cute." Daybreaker laughed at this volatile wisp that was like a rabid dog, barking at Daybreaker despite being significantly smaller. "But anyway, I think I, the doctors and nurses have figured out what's wrong with you."
"What's that?" Ghetsis asked.
"Seems like you're going through a bit of a late process. No surprise considering how old you are..even though you look younger than when we first saw you. You have a combination of Dark Aura and Sombra's Magic in you, but even though you possess them, your body is now realizing how behind you are."
"Are you saying that I'm too late to use this kind of power? What are you getting at?"
"Respect our majesty, why don't you?" The doctors spoke, finding Ghetsis' attitude and tone to be disrespectful to their mighty ruler.
"It's fine. He's interesting this way." Daybreaker could care less. She was used to this as well as she wouldn't try to force Ghetsis to speak to her formally. To Daybreaker, that would spoil the fun. "Ahem. Anyway. You're late because you're already far past your adolescence. Magic like this is mainly fruitful when you're young. That's when it has all the time to grow."
"I never had it when I was young. Back in my younger days, I was wandering the world alone, planning other things such as starting Team Plasma for the first time. I had no time to search for what was deep within."
"Well, how would you have known?" Daybreaker shrugged. "You had the Aura, but nothing encouraged you to bring it out. Thus, you went through your entire childhood, juvenescence and adulthood without tapping into this power. And well...that doesn't help." Daybreaker held up the dark wisp.
"We're not sure about your Aura but for the magic you took from another Sombra from another world, it's definitely making you seem like a late bloomer. This kind of magic can only grow when you're young but you certainly aren't young anymore."
"About your Dark Aura. Did that bloom late for you too?" Daybreaker asked.
"Hmph. My Dark Aura was brought out by the Rift. It was on the same day the Rift freed me from that prison. It was its way of gaining more entertainment. I never even knew that I had this within me in the first place." Ghetsis looked at his hand which was emanating darkness to the point where he couldn't even conceal it.
"That explains it. Oh, Ghetsis. You can adapt fast to this magic, but those drawbacks show themselves with age. If only you had a younger body..." Daybreaker made a sarcastic sigh.
"I could've!" Suddenly, Ghetsis roared, startling everyone else here except for Daybreaker. "I once swapped bodies with that brat, Ash Ketchum. It was temporary, but it happened. And when I did, I felt something in there. My Dark Aura felt richer than it was, I couldn't believe it. Despite the contrast between my Aura and his, it flowed perfectly within me. Now I don't have that body anymore, nor can I grow from it."
"Funny how that happens. But...you won't need to swap bodies with anyone else. If something isn't done, your body might not handle the kind of power that hasn't been given enough time to grow as it should." Daybreaker pondered. "The results won't be pretty."
"I still need explanations of other things. Why did it feel like something left my body? There's this sensation that tells me about something that's far from here. But I feel like I know it..." The thought of this was aggravating Ghetsis.
"Unfortunately, I can't answer that. But we can help you with your little problem. What if I told you there was a way for you to adapt to your magic to the point where it felt like you were a child again, starting from zero?"
"What?" Ghetsis was curious.
"You'll peak sooner than you think with this old body. But there exists a special dimension that will feel like years when you enter there. But for this dimension, time will move at its natural pace. Once you enter that dimension, time will be awry and much slower." Daybreaker then put on a smile that sent shivers down her subjects' spines.
"So...if I enter this dimension, I'll have enough time to grow my magic to where I need it to be?"
"That's right. You'll practically stay the same age there and that way, you'll never peak. So what do you say, Ghetsis? Give it a try?"
"Of course." Ghetsis did not hesitate. "I need to become stronger at all costs. Take me there now."
"Sure, sure. I'd say 5 years which will be 5 days in this world will do." Daybreaker then walked off, guiding Ghetsis away. But the doctors and nurses were nervous about this. Something about sending Ghetsis to such a place to improve terrified them.
However, Daybreaker was not nervous at all. The thought of this didn't even scare her. Then again, it was hard to tell if anything could scare her after all she's been through. Ghetsis received some answers, but there was one final question that he hadn't solved yet.
"While Ghetsis handles that, I'll continue giving Necrozma light. And I think the Pokemon World should be next." Daybreaker thought to herself, already focusing on her many goals and her promise to the Prism Pokemon. All these goals and nothing was clogging up her momentum.
Not even Universe One.
Unova. The Arcane Sea. Afternoon.
Over at the Arcane Sea, Galaxy Master and Pikachu continued on their way. To obtain all the Rift Energy from this sea, Galaxy Master was using Lapras once more, who was once again, unaffected by Rift Energy. And this was without using the light.
"Good work Lapras. We'll send some of the water you've gathered up to the Rift after this," said Galaxy Master as it was revealed that Lapras was the one gathering it up.
Underneath her, the cosmic energies were being soaked up by the Transport Pokemon as if she was a sponge. While she was safe within the seas without needing the usage of light, she was in fact using the light just to pull in the energy. Lapras was a sponge for all this magic though she didn't even bloat up. Though she did have a limit to how much she could absorb as proven by Galaxy Master's words.
The further the group went, that's when they saw something in the distance. It looked to be a source of fire. A large source to be exact. Considering this place was rich in Rift Energy, Galaxy Master couldn't ignore that either. But there was something else he couldn't ignore.
The Arcane Sea started trembling, causing the Transport Pokemon to stop in her tracks. A seaquake was occurring with seemingly an unknown origin. Though the only origin for this would have to be someone powerful.
"Is it Darkrai?!"
It wasn't Darkrai at all. It was someone bigger and more experience on these seas. Bursting out of the sea itself, right in front of Galaxy Master and Pikachu was none other than the Milotic that roamed these seas.
More specifically, the Milotic that had been affected by Rift Energy to the point where its body was pure water while its eyes were glowing.
"ʍɨʟօȶɨƈ!"
"Great Galaxies!" Stunned by this Rift-Altered Milotic, Galaxy Master, Pikachu and Lapras got a first experience of what a Rift Pokemon truly looked like when submerged in this cosmic power.
As for Darkrai, he hadn't emerged just yet. The Pitch Black Pokemon was still underwater, filled with Rift Energy. Darkrai hadn't said or done anything yet except keep his eyes shut. He hadn't given up hope at all. Instead, being in this cosmic water made him feel the changes that were coming.
Darkrai lingered in the sea for a bit, silent and immobile. But after feeling so much Rift Energy enter his body, he then opened his eyes, realizing that he didn't need to accept this. And something from one of his friends proved this.
Mainly Twilight.
"I just had to empty out all of my magic from my body and make myself a vessel for Rift Magic. It had its drawbacks but worked like a charm. Now I have both."
That's when it clicked with Darkrai. There was a way. And Princess Twilight Sparkle was the one to discover it. Granted, Darkrai didn't have magic. But what he did have was Infinity Energy which could be considered magic. There was a way to reject this. But rather it would be a reverse of what Twilight had discovered.
"Empty it out...if Twilight can do it...then so can I!"
"MILOTIC!" Appearing in front of Galaxy Master, Pikachu and Lapras was the Milotic that lived within these seas. An Equestrian Milotic whose entire body was pure water while possessing red glowing eyes. The size of this Rift-altered Pokemon was stupendous to boot.
Galaxy Master's obstacles were only ramping up from here. These seas had many surprises waiting for him after all. And a massive Milotic that was a full-on water entity while being the size of a tower was one of them. But that wasn't the only thing he had to worry about.
Darkrai, who had been knocked into the Arcane Sea, at first feared that he would be affected by the Rift Energy, receiving something unpredictable. However, remembering the words from Twilight, he had a way to prevent that. The Pitch Black Pokemon closed his eyes, allowing the Rift Energy to fill him up first.
And once that was done, he would empty it out. All of it. Darkrai stayed underwater for a while, expelling his Infinity Energy first as that was what powered him.
If he could get rid of the Infinity Energy first, then the Rift Energy within would follow. The Dark Infinity Energy within Darkrai was vast so emptying it all out would take a while. Darkrai could only have patience until he was ready to emerge out of the cosmic waters.
"LOTIC!" Meanwhile, Equestrian Milotic had immediately attacked Galaxy Master and his team, swinging its tail. Surfing out of the way, Lapras evaded the massive tail swing but the impact from that swing said otherwise. The shockwave from the tail swing was enough to rock Lapras, fumbling her momentum.
"L-La!"
"It's already hostile! Very well then! Pikachu! Unleash your electricity!
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped off Galaxy Master's back, going for Thunderbolt. Milotic raised its head, locking onto the Mouse Pokemon once he took to the skies. Despite its massive size, Milotic was fairly swift, mainly for having a territorial advantage. To retaliate, Milotic charged up Dragon Pulse at the same time Pikachu charged up Thunderbolt.
100,000 volts and a dragon-shaped blast had met once released, creating a pulsating spark that lit up these cosmic waters. The result was an equalizer. Neither attack managed to get through.
"Lapras, unleash a stream of boiling water! Scald!"
"La...Pras!" But this gave Lapras the chance to attack. She used Scald, unleashing a stream of hot water. However, once the water reached Milotic, nothing happened. Specifically, the water had been absorbed by Rift Milotic's body, adding Scald to the mix. "La?!"
"It can absorb water and add it on as well?!" Galaxy Master and Lapras gasped. In retaliation, Milotic had used Aqua Tail, spinning the water on the back of its tail before swinging it. The momentum of this swing had also summoned a tsunami of great proportions, towering high over Galaxy Master's team.
Not only had the tsunami crashed into them but the tail even added to the impact, hitting them all. The massive tail of Milotic carried them along with the tsunami, resulting in an explosion of water. If Galaxy Master hadn't protected himself and his team with the light that they emit, the unpredictable nature of Rift Magic would certainly affect them.
A shame the light did nothing to shield the blow they received. Galaxy Master, Pikachu and Lapras went flying. Unable to recover, they fell into the Arcane Sea.
When crashing into the sea, Galaxy Master, Lapras and Pikachu were quick to recover, especially Lapras, who was also in her natural territory. Pikachu held his breath underwater, but that wouldn't last. However, Galaxy Master was a different case. He was already wearing a helmet, making his capability of staying underwater a mystery. Equestrian Milotic submerged, spotting the trio. It wasn't done with them yet, showing how ferocious and persistent it could be.
"Such persistence!" Suddenly, GalaxyMaster spoke. Even underwater, he could speak. In fact, he could breathe. "Very well then...further assistance is needed!"
In this instance, Galaxy Master would call for more help.
"Now, come to me! Swim through the seas and deliver justice!" He held his arm out, calling them from the seas instead of the skies themselves. With a dazzling flare of golden light, a spontaneous explosion shot out in different directions behind the fictional character.
"Osha!" Moving at great speeds towards the water were two more Water-Types. Oshawott and Buizel had both arrived with Aqua Jet, moving at great speeds with an aura of water.
Trailing next to them both were Glalie and Palpitoad. Milotic feared neither of them as Aqua Jet would just be absorbed into its liquid body. But, Galaxy Master, already seeing that water was ineffective against the Equestrian Milotic, improvised.
He improved in the same way Ash would, to be exact. "Glalie! Use Ice Beam on both Oshawott and Buizel!" He commanded, using a similar tactic to Ash. One that worked exceptionally well with Aqua Jet.
"Glalie!" Out of its mouth, Glalie unleashed a chilling beam that froze parts of the waters themselves. Due to being such a cold Pokemon with unbelievable temperatures, this was only natural. Thankfully, Glalie could control it as well as how much ice would cover its teammates.
"Bui!" Buizel and Oshawott had been covered by ice while still using Aqua Jet. Thus, they created Ice Aqua Jet, a tactic that was also utilized by Ash.
"MILO?!" MIlotic gasped after seeing this combination. This was something that could threaten it as both Oshawott and Buizel crashed into the Tender Pokemon with Ice Aqua Jet. The ice was the main catalyst as the impact knocked the Equestrian variant back. "LO!"
"Now, Palpitoad! Bellow as loud as you can!"
"Palpitoad!" By that, Galaxy Master meant Supersonic. Buizel, Oshawott and Glalie all played their part. Now it was Palpitoad's turn. By cocking its head back before then pushing it forward, the Water-Ground-Type released several sound waves from its mouth. Sizable ones too. Enough to encompass the sheer size of Equestrian Milotic.
"L-LOTIC!" Milotic received a full-body grab by Supersonic. Not only did it reverberate Milotic's liquid body enough to pulsate it, but of course, the main effect of Supersonic came through. With its entire body jittering, Milotic had been confused.
After being confused, Milotic decided to swing its tail around wildly in hopes of hitting someone.
"Pika...Chuuu!" And with the fourth and final follow-up, Pikachu used Thunderbolt, sending it past his teammates. Milotic received a heavy blow. Due to its entire body being water, Thunderbolt was more efficient than it's ever been,
With a devastating shock, Milotic had been defeated. Milotic let out a melodic cry before falling over. The Equestrian Variant couldn't continue any further. Now that Milotic was down, being a result of Rift energy affecting its body, this was Galaxy Master's chance. When floating over to the defeated Tender Pokemon, he was ready to have Lapras soak up the energy from Milotic's liquid body.
However, when he got close, something prevented him from going any further. Himself. Galaxy Master stopped in his tracks when getting close to Equestrian Milotic. His goal was to retrieve Rift Energy from wherever and send it all to the Rift. That involved those affected by Rift Magic.
But Galaxy Master didn't advance. He was being held back. Even when raising his arm, it trembled, unable to go forward at all. Galaxy Master felt that something was amiss.
"Strange...I need to achieve my goal but..why can't I go forward?" Galaxy Master wondered. Deep down, when looking at Equestrian Milotic and her defeated state, the fictional character couldn't bring himself to take the energy away from her.
At the end of the day, Galaxy Master was created to be a hero. And thus, something like this was right up his alley. The fictional character restrained himself from harming Milotic.
"Lotic..." Milotic let out a weaker melodic cry while squinting at Galaxy Master. Even Milotic was wondering why he was just standing there.
"Attacking back...when I should've just told you why I was here. Then again, it would've ended up the same way. I apologize. Here." Instead, he would heal the Tender Pokemon. By using that mystical light from his body, he sent a healing wave that coated the liquid body of Equestrian Milotic. This wave blended in beautifully with the water.
In fact, much like how the light resembled the one from the Sea Temple's crystals, it had those same light blue water streams around it due to being underwater. Milotic closed its eyes before feeling a new sensation coming through it. All that damage from before was being reversed by this soothing light.
Milotic felt like it was being elevated to a higher plane right now. After receiving a grand deal of healing, the Tender Pokemon was back to full strength.
"Milotic." After receiving its strength back, Equestrian Milotic made another melodic cry. This one was of thanks and happiness. Healing itself would've been a hassle and the one that defeated the Tender Pokemon was the one to remove that hassle.
"You're welcome." Galaxy Master replied. Just like that, the hostility between the two had been erased as Milotic swiftly swam away, no longer confronting Galaxy Master and his Pokemon.
However, this was unacceptable to the Rift.
Once again, Galaxy Master strayed away from the main goal. Previously, it was coming to an understanding with Pinkie Pie's group and now it was letting a source of Rift Magic leave. Despite influencing Galaxy Master a bit, it was clear that the good heart of this hero was still intact.
"Again...Why? This won't do. I need all of my power back at once!" The Rift bellowed, ready to influence Galaxy Master some more. And this time, the Rift yearned that he would never sway from the beating path.
But before the Rift could do anything, Darkrai had awoken.
A seaquake had occurred, trembling in Galaxy Master's general direction and even outside of the sea itself, startling the Rift. The Rift backed away from this Seaquake as it was still too weak to do too much.
"!" Alerted, Galaxy Master and his team faced the direction of the seaquake. Right ahead, a mass of darkness had burst out with the same display as a supernova.
And within that mass of darkness, Darkrai emerged. He had done it. He overcame the Rift Energy that was entering his body by emptying it out along with his Infinity Energy. To avoid refilling with Rift Energy, the Pitch Black Pokemon ascended from the waters, returning to the surface. There, he could recover all of his Infinity Energy without having to worry about Rift Energy re-entering him.
"I was waiting for him to show up again..." Galaxy Master said before swimming back up with his partners. There, Darkrai was waiting for them, exuding a continuous pulse of darkness. Lapras emerged with Galaxy Master and Pikachu whilst everyone else swam back up or in Glalie's case, floated back up.
"You could've taken all of that Rift Energy for yourself," Darkrai spoke. It was revealed that he had seen what Galaxy Master had done. Equestrian Milotic could've had all of its Rift Energy taken away and yet it still lives with it. "You had practically won. Why didn't you do it even though it's your goal to grab as much Rift Energy as possible?
"I'm not sure. This is confusing even for me! Hahaha!" Unable to give a proper answer, Galaxy Master simply laughed at this with his Pokemon joining in. "But, I suppose..seeing Milotic in that way was probably the main reason. Even though it has Rift Energy, I couldn't bring myself to harm it. Anyway. Shall we continue?"
"We will if you can get past the incoming Fire Tsunami," Darkrai commented before backing up slowly.
"Fire Tsunami?" Galaxy Master repeated as soon the rest of his Pokemon would discover what Darkrai meant by that. The source of fire from before had finally come into play. By turning around, a gigantic Fire Tsunami, one of the obstacles of the Arcane Sea came this way. There was something new for them to overcome.
Darkrai wouldn't involve himself with this Fire Tsunami. Or rather at all. Not yet at least. To Darkrai, he decided to wait around for a bit after witnessing Galaxy Master's act.
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Battle Carnival. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
"Ludi..." Back at the Battle Carnival, a Ludicolo and a Lairon had both fainted. This victory belonged to Bertha and Pinkie Pie, who managed to beat two employees of this carnival. Pinkie Pie had been lent Twilight's Togekiss while Bertha was lent Rainbow Dash's Luxray.
"That took a bit longer than expected," said Bertha. "You two almost had a powerful comeback there."
"Almost." The employee sighed. "Congratulations, anyway."
"Thanks for the battle!" Pinkie Pie walked away with Bertha while also having a cart of cotton candy behind her. This was the courtesy of the carnival and its benefits. To celebrate, Bertha, her and the Pokemon snagged a bite while leaving. But they were kind enough to give some to their opponents with Togekiss being the one to do so.
At least they could leave this battle with a sweet taste instead of a sour one. Meanwhile, Bertha had to wonder how those two managed to almost make a comeback. She was unaware of what the Witch had done.
The next location for these two trainers was yet to be seen. So far, they were walking down a colourful hallway and up ahead were some pathways. This carnival felt more like a maze than anything. But when approaching the end of the hallway, a familiar face walked by. Sci-Twi showed up as she had reached this hallway as well. Soon, both groups spotted each other from afar.
"Oh! Hi!" Sci-Twi waved before rushing to their side. "It's about time I found someone. It felt like I wasn't getting anywhere honestly."
"Hm? Didn't you battle anyone?" Bertha asked.
"Uh...n-no. Not really." Sci-Twi shook her head. "Truth is, I haven't run into anyone to have a battle with. I went on some rides so that was fun but nothing else happened."
"You haven't battled yet? Oh well. You're lucky then. We just finished our battle and it went from being pretty easy to almost terrifying at the end. All of a sudden our opponents got some second wind." Pinkie Pie explained.
"Did they? Oh, I don't know if I could handle that. Then again...I don't battle much, so maybe I'm lucky to not have run into anyone." Sci-Twi felt exceptionally lucky. Without anyone to challenge her, she was both the weakest and luckiest trainer here.
"Really now?" Until Bertha had something to say about it. "You ran into us. I believe that changes things."
"Yeah...wait, what?!" Immediately, she backed away, almost falling over. By that choice of words, Bertha was essentially challenging her. "I-I have to battle you?! Both of you?!"
"Well, I didn't say anything." Pinkie shrugged, puffing her face. "But I guess so."
"But you're both so much better at me at battling! Especially you, Miss Bertha! This doesn't sound fair, don't you think?" She gave an excuse, visibly not wanting to confront these two in any way. Pinkie Pie might not be as strong as Bertha but she had the power to back it up. "P-Pretty please?"
"Twilight. Avoiding opponents won't help you when searching for Alpha Pokemon." Bertha shook her head. "It's already been made clear how powerful they are, so what's stopping you from battling other powerful Pokemon here?"
"Well...I've never battled another trainer before. And everyone else is without a doubt better than me. I only managed to get the Alpha Pokemon because I had help from Ash and the others. It was mostly them."
"Are you sure?" Pinkie Pie was thought otherwise. "I don't know about that..."
"Doubting yourself too? They may have helped you, but undeniably, you earned the respect of these Pokemon for your skills as a trainer. Even if they may be new, a Pokemon could care less about how inexperienced one may be." Bertha continued.
"R-Really?"
"Mhm. You have to be confident in yourself as a trainer. It's how we grow from it. If not...then the stronger Alpha Pokemon will be impossible to catch, that much I can tell you."
"I guess so. I'm just a bit nervous about facing other trainers for the first time. That's all. Especially if it's you two. And Ash and everyone else are somewhere in here so that makes it scarier."
"That is true. I won't blame you for that. How about this then? You should face only one of us." Bertha gave her a choice. A choice that was less intimidating than facing both of them. "Just one. And after that, we'll be on our way."
"Just one of you? Oh, thank goodness!" Sci-Twi loved to hear it. "Then...I'd like to battle Pinkie Pie, please!"
"Great!" The earth pony got in front of Bertha, accepting this challenge. "No need to worry. I'll take it a bit easy if you want. I'm not a heavy battler myself so it'll be all good. Maybe."
"I dodged a bullet there...Hopefully, PInkie's not too strong." Sci-Twi spoke to herself. Despite Pinkie being weaker than Bertha, the threat of her strength was still there, especially since she's been taught by Ash. But judging by how she battles less than most of her friends, Sci-Twi felt like she could have a semblance of a chance.
Maybe.
Before that could happen, there was a mild rumble nearby that grabbed their attention. Pinkie Pie fell flat on her face from that rumbling as it was the result of a battle. A fierce one to be exact.
That would be Ash's battle with Cloudchaser and Flitter. His battle will them, even with the two of them inheriting some of his skills, had been decided.
A combination of Psychic and Shadow Ball from Victini and Hoopa was what decided it as their final two Pokemon had been defeated. Specifically a Carnivine and a Sealeo.
"That's that! Great work, you two!" With this battle over, Ash could finally leave this room as Pikachu, Meloetta and the Witch applauded his victory. After their first knockouts, the two Psychic-Types were feeling good about themselves.
"Tini!" Flying in, Victini hugged Ash, rather enjoying this form of praise. As for Cloudchaser and Flitter, though they had lost, it wasn't the end of the road for them.
"Well, at least we finally lost one since yesterday," Clouchaser commented. "Let's uh...not let that happen again, okay?"
"Yeah. We were batting Ash so it's fine if we lost. But I felt so confident there." Flitter sighed as deep down, she wanted to defeat Ash. Alas, that didn't come to fruition.
Once they lost, the skills that the Witch passed on to them had left. Much like how they previous entered them, the verdant lights flew out of these two hosts, returning to the Witch's staff.
"You're up next, Meloetta. Are you excited?" Next to battle would be Meloetta. Pikachu, Victini and Hoopa received their turns and managed to pull off a full victory by themselves.
"Melo!" She certainly was. If it was alongside Ash, Meloetta would bring her A-Game without hesitation. Battling wasn't usually her style but since she was teaming up with Ash, that was another story.
"Wanna come along, you two?" Ash asked them both now that they had been defeated.
"Eeh...sure. We want to see everything else about this place and all that. It's always a treat to see you battle, anyway." said Cloudchaser.
"We've been on the rides since yesterday and had two battles as well. Today, we'll watch you and take a break from battling. And go somewhere else, probably. Maybe somewhere with entertainment. Like that one movie place." Flitter added.
"PokeStar Studios was the place. We should be getting there by at least Friday. Everypony else will be waiting for us."
"Oh. Is something big happening there?" Ash asked.
"Mhm. Mayor Mare suggested that we should all make a big movie about Equestria. We don't have movies back in our world so having that be the first one for everypony to see would be great." The foalsitter explained. "We're obviously missing a few stars from it. Like...ya know, Princess Celestia. I doubt anyone can match her look."
"Ah, what about that one time Fluttershy dressed up as her?"
"Eeh...It was unique but not her." Cloudchaser shook her head in response to Flitter.
"A movie about Equestria?! Sweet! I gotta see it!" Ash's eyes lit up as he knew where he was going next fairly soon. And this kind of information intrigued Meloetta especially. A movie? Splendid news for the Melody Pokemon. "Thanks for telling me that. It's on Friday, right?"
"It should be if everyone else is there on time. But we have like three weeks, so there's no need to rush. Come on, let's keep moving." Flitter patted him on the back. They've spent enough time here after all.
"But uh...who's that?"Cloudchaser noticed the Witch who was sitting in the corner this entire time. "She kinda looks like...you-know-who."
"Who?" Flitter questioned making Cloudchaser facehoof.
"You know...the one who's got a dangerous name back home. He-who-must not-be-named. Ghetsis." Clouchaser spoke through her teeth, spotting the similarities between her and Ghetsis. Striking similarities from the eyes to the hair.
"You have a point. But you're overthinking it. She just looks like a sweet old lady."
"Old?" The Witch replied, narrowing her eyes as she made both Cloudchaser and Flitter shudder. The tone shift in her voice from sweet to serious was fairly intimidating and bone-chilling. Something about it reminded them of Ghetsis too. "Who are you calling old?"
"S-Sorry! You look good for your age!" Flitter tried fixing the tension. "Not old at all!"
"Hmph. I'm both young in my age and appearance, in my honest opinion." The Witch took pride in herself. Though she did in fact have the appearance of a middle-aged woman, she was somewhat young. Albeit devoid of proper age. If anything, despite appearing as a human, she could be considered another species.
Cloudchaser and Flitter felt like they dodged a bullet there. Having Ghetsis' appearance made them fear the worst. But they had nothing to fear now. Except for what Cloudchaser had said about her appearance. At least they could continue on without any fears and only awkwardness.
"So. What's the end goal for this place?" Ash asked.
"Well apparently, if we win, we get to battle the strongest trainer in this carnival. That would be the owner. So all you have to do is beat everyone else and win it." Flitter answered.
"Everyone else and soon the toughest here. Got it. I'm ready for this!" Ash rushed off, excited that there was an end goal to this carnival. At first, it seemed like he could battle as much as he wanted. But Ash always loves having something to strive towards.
Universe 11. An Unknown Dimension.
There existed a dimension somewhere in the cosmos of Universe 11. A dimension where time was exceedingly slow. 5 hours outside of this dimension was 5 years here.
And currently, the one to be brought here was Ghetsis. Here, the appearance of it appeared standard. A normal mountainscape is what Ghetsis was met with. It wasn't too impressive apart from the pink skies. But there was something u ahead that could be seen along with the mountainscape. A castle. Ghetsis' goal was to train here for 5 hours which would be 5 years in this dimension. 5 years to improve himself before his own magic destroys him.
"5 years in this place...I waited 30 years to make Team Plasma. I can handle this as well." Ghetsis was confident that he could make it through 5 years. To him, 5 years was nothing. And since it would be shorter back at Universe 11, he wouldn't have to worry about time.
But before Ghetsis could start practising, this dimension revealed that it wasn't just there for show, especially with the skies and the castle in the distance. The Team Plasma leader took a single step before feeling a tremor. Something was nearby.
"Hang on...there's life in this dimension!" Ghetsis said as he could feel some movement with his magic. There was something alive within this dimension. He wasn't alone.
Bursting out of the ground was a creature of large proportions. Veiled in shadows, this creature towered over Ghetsis, causing him to look up. It kept rising and rising before finally reaching a peak. A peak that was close to the height of these mountains.
A three-headed beast had emerged before Ghetsis. There was indeed life in this dimension. And judging by its appearance and entrance, not friendly life as a menacing growl could be heard. This three-headed beast that resembled his Hydreigon with those heads was fully enveloped in shadows before spotting Ghetsis. With crimson eyes of hostility, now that Ghetsis was here, he was a visible target.
Improving here for 5 years wouldn't be as straightforward as he thought as the journey continues.
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Battle Carnival. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
"Are you ready, Twi?" Back at the Battle Carnival, another battle was about to take place. After running into both Bertha and Pinkie Pie, Sci-Twi feared she would have to battle them both. But thanks to an option from Bertha, only one trainer would face her.
For Sci-wi, Pinkie Pie was the easiest option by far. Facing Bertha was just asking for trouble. "I'm ready. I only have three Pokemon with me. Zorua here won't battle."
"Ah, don't worry about it. I'll use three as well." As if she were a magician, Pinkie Pie held out three Poke Balls with her tail, showing them to Twilight. All three were borrowed by her friends and one of them held Togekiss. "You're up! Gliscor and Altaria!" She revealed the next Pokemon, who turned out to be Bertha's Gliscor.
"Gliscor!"
"Then I'll choose-" But before Twilight could make her decision on which Pokemon she should send out, her heart skipped a beat. Her pupils shrunk, her face scrunched and her arms trembled. She then shifted focus from Gliscor to Pinkie Pie who had a jolly and innocent smile on her face.
But that was all a coverup for what Sci-Twi sensed. Past that smile, lurked a sense of danger that Sci-Twi picked up. As if she received a sixth sense she could feel something terrifying coming from Pinkie Pie.
"I-Is she really less battle-heavy than most of her friends? So then why do I feel a sense of massive danger from her?" Twilight light could tell that battling Pinkie Pie was an omen for something dangerous to come.
"What's wrong, Twilight?" Oblivious to her own presence, Pinkie Pie wondered why her human friend hesitated, unable to unleash the Poke Ball.
"I..." But before Sci-Twi could say something else, that's when Arceus' pendant came into play. Much like how it told her to seek out all Pokemon, a voice came through. Sci-Twi stopped for a moment, listening to this voice.
"Be not afraid."
There it was again. As Baraz and Meray mentioned back at Arche Valley, that was Arceus' voice. It spoke to her once more and thanks to the mild training she received, Arceus' voice was a bit clearer. Still silent but clearer to hear.
"It's nothing." The rookie Pokemon Trainer shook her head before lightly throwing the Poke Ball in the air. For Twilight, she had been lent Ash's Lucario.
"Lucario!"
"Okay, Lucario. This is a first for everything. So, please help me out here." Twilight immediately requested help from Lucario, letting him take the wheel.
"Rrr?" Lucario simply looked back at her with a confused look on his face. By reading Twilight's Aura, he could feel a sense of uncertainty. Lucario left his usual battle stance and assumed a casual one too.
This was because Lucario responded to powerful Auras, much like how he refused to hatch when he was a Riolu, waiting for that one trainer with the right Aura to stand by. And right now, he was getting that from Twilight. Her Aura was exceedingly faint, prompting Lucario to avert his attention away from Gliscor.
"Hmm..." Bertha noticed this. Coming from the Sinnoh Region, she observed Lucario's current emotion, knowing exactly what was amiss. She already had a discussion with Twilight earlier about this and it was seeping back in.
"I'll go first then. Use Force Palm!"
"Lu." Lucario focused his attention back on Gliscor as Twilight's Aura wasn't responsive at all. Thus, when Lucario went in for a Force Palm, there was already something amiss.
"Okay then! Gliscor, Night Slash!"
"Scor!" On the other hand, Pinkie Pie didn't have to worry about having any Aura relations for this battle. All she had to do was call out a command. And with her high enthusiasm, Gliscor resonated with it, approaching Lucario. There was a stark difference between the two that would soon be discovered.
When confronting each other, Lucario's swing was slower than usual, lacking less power than what he usually emits. Thus, Gliscor was able to land the first hit in, smacking Lucario's face. "Ca!" Lucario's eyes widened from that impact as he was knocked back, failing to land Force Palm.
"Oh! Lucario!" Sci-Twi gasped as Lucario managed to get himself on his feet without falling, albeit stumbling a bit.
"Now, Gliscor! Steel Wing, go!"
"Gliscor!" Gliscor continued attacking, hardening its wings to match that of the durable and hard-hitting steel. Granted, it wouldn't effective against Lucario but an attack was an attack as the Fang Scorp zoomed in.
"Try Aura Sphere!"
"Luca...!" Lucario would counter the incoming Steel Wing with his signature attack. Putting his hands together, he concentrated a sphere of Aura from resonating with Twilight's Aura.
But, the drawbacks to Twilight's faint Aura had been revealed thanks to this. Instead of a medium-sized sphere or even a large one, all that came out was the smallest Aura Sphere everyone had seen so far. An Aura Sphere that was so minuscule it could replace an eyeball.
"That's it?!" Pinkie Pie's eyes almost popped out of her face just from the sheer size of this Aura Sphere. Even Gliscor had to be amazed by how tiny this was.
What's worse was when Lucario unleashed it. The miniature Aura Sphere had been unleashed, having the speed but lacking the power. The moment it approached Gliscor, all it did was lightly poke the Fang Scorp Pokemon. It barely felt like a tickle as the Aura Sphere didn't even explode. It just bounced off, leading Lucario to have a red face of embarrassment.
"Gli!" Gliscor got another hit in, smacking Lucario in the face with Steel Wing.
"Rrr...!" Lucario growled after being knocked back again. This was the second time he had been hit without much retaliation that would warrant a fierce battle.
"Lucario! Are you alright?!"
"This isn't what I was expecting." Pinkie Pie twirled her mane, forming it into a question mark shape. "Is everything okay there, Twi?"
"It's fine. Those were just two misses. That's all. I think. Lucario, try Reversal! Third times' the charm after all!"
"Lu...!" Lucario knew that was all pointless chatter. Third times' the charm was pointless in this instance but he would try anyway, seeing if Twilight's Aura could kick in when needed. By coating his paws in an orange energy, Lucario would head over to reverse the damage from before.
"Dodge it, please!"
"Gliscor!" All Gliscor did was dodge it. And it wasn't even a narrow dodge. Gliscor did it seemingly effortlessly, swooping to the side.
"Ca!" Lucario tried again, swinging Reversal, only for Gliscor to evade once more. And again, another swing missed with Gliscor having full advantage of the area, evading all of Lucario's Reversals.
"Okay, that isn't working. Um..." Twilight held her arm.
"Twilight," Bertha called out her name, grabbing her attention. "You're not battling well with Lucario. Your Aura is completely off."
"It is? What does my Aura have to do with it?"
"Lu...Lucario!" Naturally, Lucario was already fairly frustrated with this. He finished using Reversal, seeing that he was failing to hit Gliscor. Aggravated, the Aura Pokemon stomped his feet in Twilight's general direction, approaching her with a fairly intimidating look on his face.
"Uh..." Sci-Twi scrunched her face once Lucario got close to her. To show how frustrated he was with her, Lucario raised his voice.
"Lucario!" Lucario thundered at Sci-Twi, expressing his frustration even if Twilight couldn't understand him. Anger was universal after all. The force of his yell was enough to blow her hair and affect her ears as well.
"S-Sorry! I don't know what's going on!" Twilight apologized, shivering at Lucario's voice while putting her hands together.
"Huh. That explains it" Pinkie Pie nodded in understanding. "Twilight. Your Aura's not making Lucario battle well at all. Not one bit."
"Lucario is a Pokemon that battles in connection to someone's Aura. But right now, it seems that Lucario is frustrated with your Aura more than anything." Bertha added.
"I didn't know my Aura had to be included. I thought Lucario could battle well even if it's not as big as Ash's..."
"But. That isn't your true Aura." Despite the words that were coming her way, Bertha shed some positive light on it. "Twilight. You're harbouring a great ordeal of Aura."
"I am?"
"The Arceus Pendant around your neck is a sign of that and your accomplishments. You are a trainer that can battle alongside Lucario properly. I could tell when I first met you." The Sinnoh Elite 4 Member smiled. "You can feel it too can't you, Lucario? Somewhere in there."
"Rrr." Twilight's Aura only seemed small because of how she was battling in the eyes of Lucario. However, through the months of spending time with her, Lucario knew that there was something within Twilight that was worth some notice. This wasn't the Aura of Twilight that he sensed before.
"I'm sorry you let you down, Lucario. I just sensed something dangerous from Pinkie Pie that's all."
"You did? From me?" Pinkie Pie rapidly replied as she was the main catalyst for Twilight's hesitation.
"Rr." Lucario turned around as he couldn't fully blame Twilight for this. While she was holding him back, he could understand why she was suddenly so hesitant.
"Sorry if I scared you there, Twi. Guess I don't know my own strength." Pinkie Pie flexed her hoof, creating one bump. She did have the strength to back it up though, such was the benefit of being an Earth Pony.
"You'll be the one to catch all those Alpha Pokemon before the Pokemon Hunter does. I'd expect nothing less from you but it's you that has to build up that confidence." Bertha instructed her once more. Twilight took these words in, knowing that were was something at stake. The Alpha Pokemon and Hunter J.
Especially with what the Witch had told her. The concept of time was also at risk with these Alpha Pokemon. Showing hesitation and holding back wouldn't do.
Not to mention, Hunter J could effortlessly command her own Pokemon. If Twilight couldn't get the hang of battling one trainer, how would she possibly defeat Hunter J, who wasn't a wild Pokemon at all?
"I'm going to catch all of the Alpha Pokemon one day. Just like what Bertha said." Sci-Twi closed her eyes, remembering Bertha's words from earlier. She knew what she was getting into and now was not the time to falter. There was a lot that needed to be done. "Okay. I'm ready this time, Lucario. Hopefully."
"Rrr." Lucario looked at Twilight once more. Once she reignited her confidence thanks to the words of her friends, that's when Lucario saw it. He saw an increase of Aura, sensing a great ordeal of it from Twilight.
Lucario could work with this. She had a sizable Aura that he could resonate with. The Aura Pokemon put on a smile before turning to face Glisocr. Now, Lucario could properly battle and make up for all the damage that Gliscor delivered, albeit not-every-effective damage.
"Well, if you're feeling more confident now let's get rolling! Gliscor, Guillotine!"
"Gliscor!" Gliscor was aiming to end this in one hit, boosting through the air while enveloping its claws in a destructive energy.
"Here it comes! Double Team, please!" Sci-Twi exclaimed.
"Lu!" Lucario could feel the Aura behind that command, prompting him to heighten his senses. Upon seeing Gliscor approaching, Lucario instantly multiplied himself, creating several clones.
"Scor!" Gliscor ended up hitting one of the clones, making it disappear. Now, there were multiple clones for Gliscor to try and deal with.
"Maybe this time, it'll be bigger! Aura Sphere!"
"Luca!" Lucario and all of his clones would use Aura Sphere, putting their paws together. And this time, since Twilight's Aura was sizable enough to warrant Lucario's attention, the sphere of Aura that was generated was medium-sized, ready to be launched.
All the Lucarios surrounded Gliscor, building up this Aura Sphere while this gave Gliscor enough time to attack whichever might be the real one.
"Now would be a good time to show how observant Gliscor can be," Bertha said as this was her Pokemon after all. Thus, Bertha's skill would influence her Pokemon.
"Gotcha. But all I need is this to observe!" Pinkie Pie had her own way of doing her. Her mystical Fairy eyes would help her. By using the magic within, she was able to look past the clones. All of them had faint Auras surrounding their bodies while one of them didn't.
The one standing behind two other Lucarios was the real one as his Aura was pulsating the most with a larger size and more opacity compared to the rest.
"There he is!" Pinkie aimed her hoof in the direction of the right Lucario.
"Scor!" Gliscor went to where Pinkie Pie aimed, still utilizing Guillotine. He took out all the other clones in the way, making a path for the real Lucario.
"Rrr?!" The real Lucario gasped after seeing Gliscor approaching. Not wasting any further time, he unleashed Aura Sphere right in front of Gliscor. It was an up-close encounter as Gliscor's Guillotine clashed with Lucario's Aura Sphere. The result was an azure explosion that made everyone's hair flow.
The explosion affected Gliscor the most, launching the Ground-Flying-Type back. Lucario managed to withstand it, only sliding back a bit. But this was a good sign as he was still in the game despite the late start.
"Phew..." A relieved Sci-Twi sighed. "Okay. I think that'll do for now. Please, return, Lucario. I'll call you back later." She then chose to return Lucario for the time being, just to conserve his strength.
"Good, you two. This is the kind of battle that is always so interesting to see." Bertha commented, approving with how this battle was going. It started slow and bumpy thanks to the lack of Aura synergy in the beginning. But now, Twilight was showing the skills she picked up from her experienced friends.
"My counterpart gave me this Pokemon." Sci-Twi held out another Poke Ball which belonged to her pony counterpart, Princess Twilight Sparkle. "I don't need Aura for this guy. Go, Ninetales!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales had married, here to assist Twilight. And as a bonus, even though this wasn't his Twilight, it was a still a Twilight regardless. Upon arriving, Ninetales turned to face Sci-Twi rushing to her side with a pounce.
"Hoh, wait!" Sci-Twi screeched before being pounced on by Ninetales. This was their first proper meeting like this and the first time they've ever battled alongside each other. Excited to battle alongside a new Twilight, Ninetales showed his happiness.
"Nine!"
"Aw, isn't that sweet?" Pinkie Pie nodded. "He already likes you. You remind him of his Twilight, after all."
"I can see that!" Sci-Twi bellowed while being playfully licked. "It's nice to meet you too, Ninetales but please focus on the battle!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales knew when to stop. Since he was in the middle of a battle, it was time to put up and show the human counterpart just what he could do. "Nine!"
"Aah..." Twilight took some time to recover, standing back up and adjusting her glasses. "I might have to catch one in the future with all the Alpha Pokemon out there. Anyway, let's go, Ninetales! Energy Ball!"
"Nine!" Ninetales would start off strong with Energy Ball, lunging into the air before drawing upon nature itself. His power manifested into a verdant orb which was then shot out with the speed of a rocket.
"Night Slash!"
"Gliscor!" Gliscor would meet with Energy Ball, zooming in and retaliating with darkened claws. The claws of Gliscor cleaved the Energy Ball in half with such precision it was practically immaculate. Energy Ball combusted with Gliscor flying through the green smoke, approaching the Fox Pokemon.
"Nine!" Ninetales then received a smack in the face by Gliscor's Night Slash, sliding back before snarling. He wouldn't let himself be knocked down so easily.
"Please, use Hidden Power!"
"Tales!" After recovering from the knockback, Ninetales would fight back by using Hidden Power. Specifically, Hidden Power Dragon. A burst of draconic energy happened around his body before being manifested into five orbs that came flying out, having the power of a dragon behind them.
"Look alive, Gliscor! Start flying away!"
"Gli!" Gliscor would try and evade these attacks instead of confronting them. The orbs honed in on the Fang Scorp Pokemon instead of heading in a straight direction. And this was because of Ninetales' Extrasensory.
"Huh? What are you doing?" Sci-Twi noticed how Ninetales illuminated his eyes with a light blue aura.
"Nine!" Ninetales wanted to make sure that this Twilight would have an easy time considering how new she was. Out of the goodness of his heart, Ninetales offered to use move combinations without Sci-Twi needing to do so. And with the combination of Extrasensory and Hidden Power, he managed to direct the orbs properly.
Gliscor ended up dodging four of them but the fifth one would sneak up on him from above. Gliscor gasped as the fifth Hidden Power orb smashed onto its head. "Gli!"
And once the fifth one smashed into Gliscor's head, blowing up and firing it down, the remaining four would get some hits in, flying upwards at a descending Gliscor. A draconic explosion happened right afterwards from all those combusting orbs and dropping from the smoke was the victim Gliscor.
"Gliscor..." There wasn't a recovery here. Gliscor had fainted. With Ninetales' combination and prior damage from Lucario, Bertha's Gliscor had fallen, granting one victory for Sci-Twi and one loss for Pinkie Pie.
"Oh!" Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped. "You beat an Elite 4 member's Pokemon! Amazing! Then again, I was in control so..."
"But it was still a job well done. Even if Ninetales tried something on his own." Bertha applauded Twilight's victory despite the details. A win was a win.
"Gee, thanks." Sci-Twi rather enjoyed this applause as Pinkie Pie called back Gliscor. "Two more to go, right?"
"That's right. You're getting the hang of this. Pretty soon, battling the next Alpha Pokemon will be as simple as taking on a Pokemon Trainer after this." Pinkie Pie manipulated her mane to make a thumbs-up symbol. "But...I think I'll get a bit serious now."
"Eh?" Those words immediately struck fear into Twilight's heart. She took a moment to pause after what Pinkie Pie had uttered. That feeling of dread was returning as now the force that Twilight sensed in the beginning would show itself.
"Ooh Mew~" And that was the synergy between Pinkie Pie and Mew.
"Mew-Mew!" Appearing out of Pinkie Pie's mane was her Ace Pokemon. The New Species Mythical Pokemon Mew. By sending Mew out next instead of someone else told Sci-Twi that Pinkie Pie was going all in.
"Ninetales." But, Ninetales wouldn't let Sci-Twi feel so nervous. Not after the confidence she regained. The Fox Pokemon would do everything in his power to keep that confidence burning as bright as his own flames.
"Trust in your Pokemon...even if they aren't your own. A friend is what you must trust in." The pendant spoke to her in response to Ninetales. Both the pendant and Ninetales had the same idea. Ninetales may belong to another Twilight, but he refused to disappoint any Twilight.
"Alright then. Here I go. Ninetales, Flare Blitz!"
"Nine!" Ninetales' body became surrounded by red-orange fire as he shoots at the opponent like a missile, leaving behind a massive blazing trail.
"Go, go, go, Mew! Psyshock!"
"Mew!" Mew would meet with Ninetales. These two were friends so this could be considered a friendly battle, albeit one of them has a different trainer. By covering himself in a Psychic barrier, Mew came flying in as the two Pokemon clashed with Flare Blitz and Psyshock, resulting in a flash of light engulfing the area. This meant that the battle was finally starting to escalate from this point.
"Now, Gengar! Shadow Ball!" Back with Princess Twilight and Rainbow Dash, they were still facing off against Cadence and Shining Armor while everyone within bumper cars watched. Meanwhile, they themselves were moving in bumper cars while shouting commands. Rainbow Dash currently had Ash's Gengar assisting her. The bumper cars were even moving to accelerate the excitement of the battle.
"Gengar!" Gengar was approaching Golurk. Normally, it was Shining Armor's Golurk but due to the rule of this Battle Carnival, Cadence had swapped with her husband, receiving his Golurk.
"Don't let him get close! Phantom Force!"
"Gol!" Golurk would immediately fly back, covering its body in darkness before vanishing into the shadows. Right on time to evade the incoming Shadow Ball as Golurk was gone temporarily.
"Gen?" Gengar looked around for Golurk after its disappearance. Moving stealthily through the shadows of the bumper cars, Golurk reappeared behind Gengar.
"Behind you, Gengar!"
"Gar?!" Gengar turned around but it was too late. Golurk delivered a heavy blow to Gengar's face, which made up most of his body, resulting in a super-effective blow. Gengar was sent flying through the food stands from this heavy blow, knocking some of the carts over. "Gengar!"
"Use Cotton Guard, Slurpuff!" As for Twilight, she received one of Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff's.
"Slur!" Slurpuff guarded himself by summoning cotton around his body in the face of Aegislash, who was still out and had yet to be called back.
"Aegislash!" Aegislash had gone for Iron Head which only appeared as Aegislash swinging his entire body instead of using his face. If anything, his bladed body was his head as well. "Slash!" Aegislash delivered a super-effective blow to Slurpuff with that slash, only for Slurpuff to absolutely withstand the blow, slightly moving back.
"Now! Fairy Wind!"
"Puff!" Right afterwards, Slurpuff coughed out a ferocious pink tornado that had enveloped Aegislash, taking advantage of his up-close distance. The Royal Sword Pokemon found himself being carried up by the pink tornado, dealing mild damage to him.
"Golurk! Use Hyper Beam next! Straight through Golurk!" Cadence exclaimed as another combination would be used. In this case, Golurk would be the one pulling it off whilst Aegislash would be the passageway.
"Go...Lurk!" Instantly, Hyper Beam was released, heading in the direction of Aegislash and the Fairy Wind. And thanks to the immunity between Ghost and Normal, Hyper Beam phased through the Royal Sword Pokemon. Slurpiuff was the target in this case, being the only one vulnerable to it.
"Okay then...Slurpuff, use-"
"I got your back, Twilight! Grab Slurpuff, Gengar! Get right in there!" Rainbow Dash interrupted, taking control of this battle.
"Gengar!" Gengar would fight back in a bizarre way. He picked Slurpuff off the ground before flying directly at the Hyper Beam.
"Puff?!" Sluruff was surprised by this as well. Gengar effortlessly picked him before putting the Meringue Pokemon in the front. It looked like he was about to use Slurpuff as a shield. "Slur?!"
"Uh...That's not what I asked you to do!" Using Slurpuff as a human shield was not the plan at all as Rainbow Dash pulled her mane back whilst Twilight could only cover her eyes.
"Gengar!" But this was part of Gengar's plan. Once he got close to the Hyper Beam, he threw Slurpuff into the air, juking everyone out. Once again, Gengar was being the little trickster that he was but this time to someone's benefit.
"Slurpuff?"
"Oh...great thinking! Shadow Ball!" Rainbow Dash witnessed Gengar's plan and capitalized on it. It was rather clever, using Slurpuff as a fake shield. And since Hyper Beam phased through him, he could fly through, holding out two orbs of Shadow Ball.
"That is pretty clever...Okay then! Slurpuff, Energy Ball from above!"
"Puff!" Slurpuff would also take this chance to do something. While having some air time, he used Energy Ball, joining Gengar as Twilight and Rainbow Dash had formed their own team attack in response to Shining Armor and Cadence's Teamwork.
Three balls had been unleashed. Two of them possessed shadows while one of them possessed nature. Each had crashed into Aegislash and Golurk, dealing super-effective damage to both of them. Golurk received the worst of it by having one Shadow Ball and one Energy Ball hit it.
Everyone felt the impact of that as both Aegislash and Golurk fell from above. However, only Aegislash managed to recover in the air, barely hanging in there. The same couldn't be said for Golurk who crashed into the ground.
"Golurk..." Golurk had fainted.
"Finally. That felt like it took over." Twilight sighed as Golurk was the first Pokemon to go down in this battle. There were still a few more to get through. "I don't know if I can keep battling them like this..."
"Go on ahead, Twilight. I've got this." Rainbow Dash moved her bumper car ahead of Twilight's. "Battle someone else in this carnival. I'm pretty confident I can take them both on at the same time."
"Say what now?" Cadence pulled back before returning Golurk. "Just you against us?"
"Is that a good idea?" Shining Armor asked.
"Rainbow Dash..I'll take it. I need the break right about now." Twilight appreciated Rainbow Dash's offer. She had been battling these two longer than the pegasus and it was only now that one of their Pokemon had fainted. "I'll meet up with you wherever I show up at."
"Love to hear it. I've got this." A confident Rainbow Dash grinned before seeing Twilight off. The Princess of Friendship left here via the bumper car instead of her wings. It would be more fun this way than just flying as Slurpuff had been returned. Now it was just Rainbow Dash vs Shining Armor and Princess Cadence. "Let's go, Gengar! We've got this!"
"Gengar!"
Sinnoh. Sunyshore City. Afternoon.
Sunsyshore. A port city that was built around the bay portion of the cape, crisscrossed by elevated walkways. This shining city is known as the gateway to Sinnoh's Pokemon League while housing the Vista Lighthouse. A grand lighthouse that illuminates the Sinnoh region.
It truly did live up to its name, referencing the Sun. Granted, it was a fairly small city compared to the others in Sinnoh, but that was made up for the solar panels which are famously used for power and roads. Such a lively place, even for the Pokemon Festival.
And this was certainly a place that the Lich Queen, Rosa Maledicta would try and visit.
After leaving Hearthome with an ominous impact, she continued her little journey throughout the Pokemon World just to amuse herself. Her journey from Haerthome led her here to Sunyshore. Rosa stood near Route 222 which was the final pathway to this city, ready to see if her presence would be as effective here. Of course it would be. But much like at Hearthome, Rosa wondered if there was another trainer who could resist her presence.
Just like Fantina.
But she wasn't the only one approaching Sunyshore City. There was another ruler that was coming this way. Someone that focused on Sunyshore City just for the beautiful light that it holds.
Queen or sometimes even Empress Daybreaker. The alicorn from Universe 11 had arrived here for one goal. To satisfy and fulfil Necrozma's goal. Sunyshore was another place that was brimming with some form of light. The Sun even shined gracefully on this city that was bordered by the sea and the mountains.
Both rulers arrived here by sea as Sunyshore was a port city. Rosa came from Route 222 while Daybreaker came from Route 223. However, these two mighty rulers would soon cross paths as once they entered the city's edge, that's when Rosa's presence went off.
But it wasn't the people and Pokemon who picked up on her presence. Rather, it was Daybreaker who sensed it. But Daybreaker would return the favour with her own presence. Rosa Maledicta had to acknowledge this. There was someone else. Someone here who could emit a presence that she couldn't ignore.
"Who are you?" The two ponies, who stood afar from each other, right near the sea had locked eyes. This was either a chance or fate meeting. Either way, the Lich Queen and the Solar Empress had met at last.
Sinnoh. Sunyshore City. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Either a chance or fated encounter had occurred. Twoqueensfrom different universes had met at the same spot, noticing each other in a heartbeat.
Solar Queen Daybreaker and Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta. Both had their reasons for being here and both felt the presence of a ruler. Rosa Maledicta, who usually shows up with her presence making others feel uneasy, was retaliated by Daybreaker's presence, which wasn't magical at all but rather just foreboding enough to be noticed.
They looked at each other for a while, unable to recognize each other until a few seconds later. Boh rulers recognized those appearances despite being from different worlds.
"Oh, now I recognize you. You're Princess Celestia. But you look far different from what you usually are." Rosa commented, immediately recognizing Daybreaker as Celestia. Even with pitch black eyes and a flaming mane and tail, Daybreaker's appearance was still reminiscent of the great ruler of Equestria.
"Same here. You're Rosa Maledicta. The Rosa of this universe, anyway." Daybreaker replied, also recognizing her thanks to the universe she comes from. "It seems you exist here too."
"You know me as the Lich Queen. But do you remember what I was before? Our universes should share similarities? Do you remember when I was once a student back at your School for Gifted unicorns?" Rosa questioned, peering into the past.
"I remember. It's not so different here. You were amazing talented back then much like every other unicorn. I had great expectations for you. Your sister especially rooted for you."
"She did. Without a doubt...Roseluck was the one to encourage me the most, seeing me off at Canterlot." Rosa spoke the name of her younger sister. The pony from Ponyville and the first Equestrian League Gym Leader Roseluck. "But I doubt she'd encourage me now."
"Obviously, she wouldn't. Not with that path you went down. You chose to study the dark arts, something I forbid you from ever tackling. And you did it anyway." Daybreaker continued.
Despite being from different universes, these two were speaking with some form of familiarity. They may know different counterparts to the ones they were facing but the parallels were strong, sharing a history.
"And I don't regret them one bit." Rosa's eyes flashed a malefic green and black. "Thanks to those Dark Arts, I learned so much and gained s much. Especially becoming the Lich Queen. No one could appreciate my dark talents. I can tell the same goes for you in your world."
"Even here, you still ended up as the Lich Queen. If I knew about alternate realities, I would've never brought you into my school. Or even let you study magic in your life."
"Harsh. Your presence matches mine. I'm not too surprised by this though." Rosa smirked. "I was expecting to meet the ruler of Equestria when my Black Crusade would occur but meeting one from another universe is unexpected. What brings you here anyway"
"My name is now Daybreaker. And as for my reasoning for being here, I'm only here to gather some light for Necrozma. But meeting you already ticks something off within me." Daybreaker and Rosa started pacing around each other with an intense staredown, The tension was already prominent.
"Why's that? Is my presence actually managing to affect you?" Rosa said with an excited tone. She thrived off of something like this, much like how the sirens thrive off of negativity.
"Back in my world, you're the catalyst for so many awful things." Daybreaker thought back to how her world's Rosa was responsible for atrocities back in her war-stricken world. "You're the one who gave Chrysalis those lethal objects of magic, terrorizing many cities and towns. So many friends of mine were taken away because of what you lent them."
"Ooh. Those would be from Tartarus. You can find all the best-accursed items down there." Rosa then started chuckling, wishing to provoke Daybreaker. "Let me guess...the best one to terrorize a city would be the Septic Mist, right? Just a guess."
That only provoked Daybreaker some more. Mainly because it was completely true. A horrible green mist was the cause of so many towns and cities back in her world being torn apart, affecting the residents there as well. She could remember that even now and how it forced matters into her own hooves. But for Daybrekaer, it was for the better as she had grown stronger.
"Ah. And it would make sense that Chrysalis would use it. The Changelings and the Dread League go way back. A shame they aren't as close to us as before. But perhaps...that can change if I can reach your world."
"You're planning to travel to another universe?" Daybreaker stopped in her tracks as her full attention was grabbed by this.
"I was already made aware of them in the beginning." Rosa shrugged. "The Pokemon World was just the start. That massive invasion from two years ago opened my eyes to a bigger picture. The Black Crusade can go beyond just my world and this world. I could also mend relations with the Changelings by starting it anew that way."
Those words rubbed Daybreaker the wrong way. Dissecting what Rosa had spoken, brought a certain image to mind. It could all happen again. The horrors that Daybreaker encountered to reach this point would repeat themselves. Images of the Dread Leauge flashed in her mind, reminding the Solar Empress about what they did to her nation in the past. A repeat of the past is one of the many things Daybreaker vowed never to allow ever again.
But something else came up in Daybreaker's mind. A last-second thought. She thought back to when she encountered the Princess Luna of Universe One within the Hyperdream. Having all the power to finish her off there, Daybreaker was unable to bring herself to do so since that was her little sister. Should the Black Crusade happen in this world, that meant one thing.
Daybreaker would lose her sister yet again.
"I can't have you do that." Daybreaker's mane flared up after replying. "Not again. Not ever again."
"Why? Did I strike a nerve?" Rosa replied, flaring her own mane with her magic. The tensions rose as both of them started affecting the area around them.
Necrozma would have to wait. Daybreaker's original goal was to come to this world and retrieve light for Necrozma. However, this encounter changed things. Daybreaker was too focused on history repeating. She couldn't allow history to repeat once more. Not after what she went through.
"Before I give Necrozma some light...I'll first get rid of you and soon your entire league." Daybreaker declared, threatening Rosa and the entirety of Magehold as she expressed her resolve in the form of a large blazing wave of magic that expanded out of her.
Rosa replied by doing the same, only hers was a black and green wave of magic. Both large forms of magic clashed with each other, causing a rippling shockwave effect. The collision between these two grandiose magics sent red cracks that could be seen forming in the skies themselves.
And it didn't take long for Sunyshore City to be affected. Despite being on the outskirts of this city, their magic was more than enough to reach it. Daybreaker's magic began sending a pressure of heat that would soon be picked up by everyone.
Everything they were doing had been interrupted in a matter of moments. The temperature for them had risen but in reality, it was Daybreaker's magic that was causing this heat wave to come through.
Ice cream desserts began melting just from this pressure, unable to withstand this heat as even drinks were starting to heat up. No longer were they cold and refreshing. They immediately boiled up while some of them evaporated, startling those who were enjoying their drinks.
This heat wave was so prominent that it even reached the Pokemon Center. A place where Pokemon can come to heal and recover. Now, that wasn't the case. In the middle of healing some Pokemon for Trainers, Nurse Joy and everyone else indoors felt a sudden heat increase.
Aside from the ice cream, there were other things that were melting via Daybreaker's magic. Destruction was also following from this. Glasses from buildings had shattered from the pressure while also melting out of nowhere. Roofs were starting to come apart as the peace was being disrupted.
As for Rosa Maledicta, her presence was self-explanatory as revealed within Hearthome City. She made everyone here feel uneasy by utilizing her magic. In response to Daybreaker's magic heating others up, Rosa's magic would send uncomfortable afflictions to this city.
Eventually, their magical auras went far enough to eclipse the city as everyone within it noticed two different colours pass by. It looked like the skies had changed colours to them. It didn't take long for all of them to realize that something was wrong, something frighteningly wrong. An overwhelming feeling of dread took over and for a moment as they thought the burning and cruel sensation was just temporary.
It would only be temporary unless these two stop.
To make matters worse, the pressure from these two magics was enough to make them faint. Pokemon Trainers started fainting on the spot. They dropped like flies, one by one and sometimes in unison while the buildings and attractions around them were beginning to be sullied.
Black cracks from Rosa's magic were forming around the buildings with a parasitic instinct. They brought along a terrible sound as this cursed biomass was already spreading. This biomass had a grip on it, clenching the buildings and adding to the cracks.
Daybreaker's magic would be equally as destructive but quicker. A wildfire was imminent. Nurse Joy, who was tasked with taking care of everyone, would have her hands full as she rushed outside to see the chaos that had emerged unexpectedly. Many had fainted as soon even the Pokemon fell.
"What's happening?!" Nurse Joy gasped as she was still standing despite the pressures.
"!" It was then that Daybreaker realized that she couldn't go any further. She needed this city for Necrozma. In her frustration, she almost destroyed this place that provides a great source of light. The solar panels had even been attacked thanks to this. Thus, Daybreaker, removed her magical aura, controlling the wildfire as well. The wildfire would not start.
"What's wrong? Change your mind?" Rosa taunted.
"I can't afford to ruin Necrozma's chances. I'll destroy you in another way!" Daybreaker wouldn't stop there. She wanted the city left intact for Necrozma. So to do so, it was off to the seas with Rosa. Out of Daybreaker's horn, a large blazing blast of magic had been sent out.
Rosa's smile quickly faded away once seeing this blast of magic. Its solar appearance was something to behold as it even made the Lich Queen jump. Acting quickly, she conjured a magic shield to protect herself. The blast engulfed the shield like a wild beast, tearing up the ground itself. Rosa's shield had been pushed back along with her, forcing the Lich Queen towards the sea.
The sea itself was receiving some evaporation in the process via Daybreaker's flames. The intensity of that blast had an overwhelming amount of heat, enough to affect even the largest bodies of water nearby. Daybreaker had also unknowingly saved everyone else.
Nurse Joy noticed how the heat had vanished as if it was never there. It was unusual for a hot temperature to disappear like that. Not only that but because Rosa Maledicta had been forced away from Sunyshore City toward the ocean, her presence had been taken with her. The people, ponies and Pokemon here could no longer feel that dreadful presence. But the afflictions remained either way.
Nurse Joy felt it too, however, she seemed slightly better than everyone else. Especially her Blissey, who appeared to be just fine. "Blissey! Let's get everyone inside!"
"Blissey!"
Back at sea, Daybreaker's beam kept going, forcing Rosa back and further away from the city. By this point, Rosa Maledicta was away from the city with her shield being active. But as her shield was streaking over the sea, the water kept evaporating by Daybreaker's continuous beam.
Having enough of this, Rosa Maledicta expanded her magical shield, blowing away the magical blast at last. The result was an explosion that caused a large splash. A tidal wave formed from this as Rosa Maledicta hovered up with her now-gone shield.
"That heat of yours is stupendous." Rosa Maledicta applauded with a cheery smile on her face. "I'd say that rivals or even surpass the flames of Tartarus. Honestly."
But while applauding and giving Daybreaker a stern face just for what she aimed to do, Rosa conjured a spell in retaliation. Daybreaker already made a great first impression. Now, it was Rosa's turn. Underneath Daybreaker, a symbol had appeared.
The Solar Queen gasped, looking down to see this enigmatic symbol from below. Coloured black, it was large enough to almost reach the city while also forming a magic circle around it. The moment Daybreaker tried to move, the symbol and the circle's effects kicked in.
She was unable to move, locked in one position with her hooves only barely moving up. Daybreaker scoffed as this was clearly a restraining spell. Or rather, one-half of it was. The other half was an offensive one. Moments after she had been restrained, Rosa summoned a conflagrant burst of darkness that stormed from below Daybreaker.
Daybreaker's body had been engulfed by a black and purple storm of magic with Rosa deviously smiling, hearing the horrific sounds that were sweet to her ears. It sounded like screaming from how it erupted, reaching far enough to echo across Sunyshore City. Granted, many of them were unconscious but some of them managed to hear it.
However, within the storm of darkness, Daybreaker appeared unaffected. In response to this dark pillar, the Solar Queen had casually incinerated them. Flames erupted out of the pillar, destroying the darkness entirely with its overpowering light.
Daybreaker walked out of the flames while also incinerating the magic circle and the symbol that came with it. Rosa had to be impressed by this. So far, it seemed that Daybreaker could just burn down anything that stood in her way. After walking out of the flames, the Solar Queen then took flight, leaving the ground with the power and velocity of a rocket, approaching the Lich Queen.
Rosa Maledicta summoned a veil of darkness that greatly resembled that of the Aurora Borealis. It appeared in front of the Lich Queen, acting as a barrier while gravitating towards Daybreaker. Daybreaker eyed down the dark aurora before then stopping in her tracks.
This aurora had already grown to stupendous proportions, wrapping around the sea and near Sunyshore City as well. She was already within the Dark Aurora's surroundings. The Aurora then closed in on her, no longer having the transparency of one. Now it felt like a solid force, smashing into the alicorn from all sides.
The impact of this Dark Aurora crashing into Daybreaker let out a paroxysm of combusting darkness so vast that it caused yet another tidal wave. This tidal wave was bigger than the last, reaching a height so colossal that it threatened Sunyshore City.
Nurse Joy and others who were still conscious saw how strange things were happening around here. From the flash of multiple colours to the horrific sounds. Something was amiss. And it looked like a disaster was approaching as a tidal wave, which then became a tsunami was headed this way, threatening to crash onto the city. Not only that but the flare of darkness in the distance was so large that it covered up the clouds themselves, giving everyone a bad omen as they started running and hiding from this tsunami.
"Hahaha! You're not my Celestia, but it still feels so satisfying to do this!" Rosa chuckled while the dark explosions went off, appearing to be continuous. It wasn't a singular explosion at all. It was a multitude of them that just kept going.
"Judging by what you said, my counterpart in your world went through the same thing. We both were never accepted for our talents! You never allowed e to pursue my true potential and destiny, even in your world. What good is destiny if you strip it away from me? Well, it doesn't matter what else I say now. You'll be torn apart by this Dark Magic Veil. I'll gain satisfaction from this. But the grander satisfaction will come once I get rid of my world's Celestia!"
"My world's Rosa doesn't exist anymore." Just then, a voice echoed through the explosions of darkness, startling Rosa. This voice was the Royal Canterlot Voice, echoing even through the sound of an explosion. Multiple of them.
The gigantic tsunami had even been evaporated by an immense presence of flames. The tsunami didn't get the chance to land on Sunyshore as they had been obliterated with nothing but steam being left behind.
But instead of emerging out of the explosions, something else happened. The explosions began shrinking all of a sudden. They were halted as if being frozen in time. Or rather, being rewound in time. Even to Rosa, this was surprising as to how this was possible. And that's when she saw what this was.
Daybreaker was absorbing the explosion. The explosion and the dark flames they possessed closed in on Daybreaker. In fact, it was the flames that she was absorbing which allowed her to take control of the explosions. All of that destruction had been brought into her like a vacuum.
"I'm sorry. Did you just absorb the explosions?" Rosa questioned.
"If there's fire involved, I can deal with it. But can you deal with this?" Daybreaker would retaliate in response to the destructive explosions. The Solar Queen took a deep breath before then unleashing a stream of fire that destroyed a vast space of the sea itself with its sheer empowering force and size. All this from her mouth.
Yet again, Rosa needed to protect herself, forming another shield. The stream of fire lit up the skies with an orange light that made it seem like the sun was setting. The darkness that covered the clouds had been removed by Daybreaker's flames as even Rosa's shield was starting to lower itself.
"Goodness..." Rosa uttered with widened eyes before witnessing the flames settle. "This certainly isn't the same Celestia I know. She's impressively vicious." Seeing how Daybreaker retaliated made Rosa aware that the difference between her Celestia and Daybreaker was stark.
So stark to the point where Daybreaker proved to be a colossal threat. A threat that could keep the Lich Queen occupied for a long time. Or worse. Seeing that Daybreaker was strikingly powerful enough to be a match for her, Rosa decided on one thing.
"Being around you isn't the best option now. I can't be stuck here and delay my plans," said Rosa. "But your world has already been added to the Black Crusade. I'll disengage for now." Retreating was the best option in Rosa's eyes. With a combustion of darkness that was followed by screams, she vanished.
Daybreaker stayed silent for a bit as the darkness dropped on her, threatening to hit the alicorn as a final attack. But, Daybreaker's mane simply burned it away.
"The Dread League. Even here, they still exist." Daybreaker spoke before flying back to the land. While the seas had been disturbed, everything else was fine. "I can't find any other Luna in various universes...yet there is always a Dread League in others."
Daybreaker growled as this wasn't the second time she's encountered the Dread League. Not at all. This encounter has happened multiple times. And yet, an encounter with her sister has only happened once. That being Universe One's Princess Luna and nothing else.
"It's not fair...!" Angered by this, Daybreaker stomped her hoof on the ground, creating a small crater. Before she could vent some more, she calmed herself down. Afterwards, the Solar Queen heard the voice of Necrozma from the Ultra Ball. Necrozma was crying out to his trainer, needing satisfaction. "I know, Necrozma. Let's continue where we left off."
Equestria. Magehold. Dark Chamber. Afternoon.
Back at Magehold, Rosa Maledica had returned. But instead of heading to her throne room after retreating from Daybreaker, she instead headed to the Dark Chamber first.
There was a reason for this. Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta already brought along someone to the Dread League not too long ago. It was during the Pokemon Festival when she first made her presence away earlier today. This individual was to serve one purpose.
Teach the residents of Magehold about Pokemon. And Rosa happened to grab someone from Hearthome City. The Hearthome City Gym Leader.
Fantina.
Fantina was currently unconscious within the Dark Chamber where all the pods that hold regenerative capabilities were being stored. However, Fantina wasn't gifted the regenerative pods. Instead, she earned a pod that would just hold her and nothing. The Hearthome City Gym Leader and Contest Expert did not make a sound at all but that wouldn't last.
"Very soon, you'll be teaching us everything we need to know." Rosa walked up to the pod where Fantina was being held captive. "Everything you know about Pokemon will remain. But the memories of everything else will be gone. Daybreaker poses a problem for us. With other worlds involved, having the power of Pokemon by our side will increase our chances. So sleep tight until nightfall. That's when you'll assist us. And only us."
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Battle Carnival. The Pokemon Festival.
At the Battle Carnival, certain battles were reaching their end very soon or were ongoing. The sun was starting to set as the late afternoon was already here. And soon, nightfall.
Sci-Twi, who was battling Pinkie Pie, was facing the earth pony and her Mew with her pony counterpart's Ninetales. All the while, Bertha observed as Sci-Twi only needed two more wins to receive victory. But something about Pinkie Pie and Mew raised a red flag. Ninetales refused to let Sci-Twi down, despite this foreboding presence. They had just had a clash with Flare Blitz and Psyshock, resulting in a tie as both Pokemon were forced back. Only Ninetales received damage via Flare Blitz's recoil.
"Hm. It's getting rather late." Bertha noticed where the Sun was. A beautiful orange glow had graced Mossdep as only a few hours remained until the Silver Moon would appear.
"Okay. Here goes! Ninetales, please use Energy Ball!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales would strike next, leaping into the air and gathering the power of nature which then formed into a verdant orb.
"Here's this! Mew! Aura Sphere, go-go-go!"
"Mew-Mew!" To counter Energy Ball, Mew would make his own ball. Or rather, a sphere in this case. By harnessing Aura within his paws, Mew retaliated, headbutting the Aura Sphere instead of throwing it, just to gain some style points.
Aura Sphere and Energy Ball made contact, resulting in a slight struggle but Aura Sphere managed to break through Energy Ball. Breaking through the ball of nature, Aura Sphere crashed into Ninetales, delivering the first blow to the Fox Pokemon.
"Tales!"
"Ninetales! Use Flare Blitz!"
"N...Nine!" Ninetales staggered for a bit, almost falling on his back. However, he ended up using his nine tails to support his balance. After regaining his b balance with his tails, he immediately engulfed himself in an aura of flames before springing off the floor with his tails. The spring motion allowed him to charge in with Flare Blitz instead of just running to utilize.
"Aura Sphere again!"
"Mew...!" Mew would try Aura Sphere again, going for an up-close shot. However, thanks to the spring motion of Ninetales, Flare Blitz approached faster than expected, catching Mew off guard. Before he could form a sizable Aura Sphere, the Fox Pokemon crashed into him. "Mew!"
"Yes!" Sci-Twi expressed happiness with that impact as Ninetales suffered some more recoil damage. However, Mew had been launched back as a trade-off.
"Nice. Psyshock!"
"Mew-Mew...!" Three thick masses of purple, azure blue, and pink energy formed in front of the New Species Pokemon's body which were then held by his paws and his tail. By making a quick recovery he threw the first two before then slapping the third one with his tail.
"Hidden Power!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales would retaliate with his own orbs as well in the form of Hidden Power. But his had greater numbers, possessing draconic energy in them to boot as they were all sent straight towards the orbs of Psyshock.
The nine orbs met with the three orbs, but despite having fewer numbers, Mew's orbs packed more power behind them. The first three they came across were absolutely obliterated, heading for the other three. It was a clash between orbs that sparked across the air, sending beautiful colours around.
"Try that thing you did before! Extrasensory on those orbs!" Sci-Twi commanded, utilizing the trick that Ninetales did earlier in the battle just to impress her.
"Nine!" Ninetales would do just that. By using Extrasensory, he affected his orbs with Psychic power. And that influence was just what he needed in this case. The extra power managed to match that of Psyshock. Three Hidden Power orbs clashed with the Psyshock orbs, resulting in an immediate struggle while the remaining three had snuck up behind Mew, hitting him.
"Mew!" Mew's eyes widened as he lost focus. Thus, Hidden Power combined with Extrasensory broke through Psyshock, smashing into the Psychic-Type. "Mew!"
"I'm actually doing it! You see this, Spike? Zorua?" Excited, Sci-Twi had to look at her bag, hoping that her friends were acknowledging her current accomplishments.
"Yeah! You're great! But...Mew! Dark Pulse!"
"Mew-Mew!" Suddenly, appearing above Ninetales via teleportation was Mew. He wasn't within the smoke that emerged from the impact of Hidden Power. With this advantage, the New Species Pokemon unleashed a pulse of darkness imbued with dark thoughts from above, smacking Ninetales in the head with them and eventually consuming him.
"Nine!" Ninetales' eyes bulged before being consumed in a black explosion. Flying out of this darkened combustion was Mew after delivering the initial attack. And next in line to exit out of it was Ninetales. However, Ninetales didn't withstand it at all. Dark Pulse did the trick as he had fainted. "Ninetales..."
"Oh, Ninetales!" Sci-Twi gasped, running to Ninetales' side. While Ninetales wasn't her Pokemon, this was the first time she had seen a teammate faint. Thus, Twilight showed great concern, coming to Ninetales' aid. "Are you alright?!"
"Nine..."
"Don't get too shaken up by a Pokemon fainting, Twilight," said Bertha. "But it is nice that you're so considerate. Even if Ninetales isn't yours."
"Sorry for making you lose, Ninetales." Sci-Twi helped him before receiving a nudge on the face by the Fox Pokemon. She giggled, returning him to his Poke Ball for some rest. "Rest up, please."
"Hey. You've got an advantage over Mew. Go on." Spike nudged Hisuian Zorua, trying to encourage her to get involved.
"Mm-mm! Can't do it!" But Zorua still wasn't big on battling. Thus, she hid away inside bag, locking the zip while Spike shook his head in disappointment.
"Well...There's one Pokemon that's mine who I can count on." Sci-Twi held out her next Poke Ball. "I was thinking of an Electric-Type to carry me through this. I would've used Alpha Pikachu but Bertha has her so..."
"Pika-Pika!" Inside Bertha's bag, Alpha Pikachu was too busy filling his stomach with all of the treats that the Elite 4 Member had to offer. He opened up the bag, revealing his messy face before waving at his original trainer. The Mouse Pokemon would then lick the pink mess off his face before then continuing to snack away.
"There's someone else who I can count on! Please, come out! Luxio!" Sci-Twi's next choice was Luxio. Alpha Luxio was perhaps the only Pokemon in her party who was ready for anything aside from Alpha Pikachu. Alpha Rapidash was too stubborn and barely listens to her. Zorua is too shy. Munchlax is a wild card since he could be hungry one second and ready to battle the next. Luxio and Pikachu were the aces in the hole.
"Luxio!"
"Luxio, huh...That could be a bit tricky to deal with. Oh well. Let's spook them, Mew." Pinkie Pie rubbed her hooves as she and Mew decided to get a bit playful, wanting to give Twilight and Luxio a scare.
"Mew-Mew!" Mew nodded in agreement. He immediately transformed his body on the spot, emerging as a Pokemon that would be a massive counter to Luxio. Twilight and Luxio squinted their eyes before widening them. Their hearts skipped a beat as the Pokemon Mew emerged as was a Ground-Type. Specifically, Nidoking. "Nidoking!
"Gah!"
"Luxio?!"
"KIdding~" Pinkie and Mew giggled as Mew swiftly reverted to his normal form. "I'll play fair. That'd just be too easy to exploit, don't ya think?"
"Mew-Mew!"
"Hah..." Sci-Twi and Luxio collectively sighed in unison. That was a relief. Had that been the opponent they faced, a different song would've been playing right now. "Okay. Here we go!"
"Luxio! Night Slash!"
"Lux!" It would be Luxio who would surprise Mew next. He already surprised him by turning into a Nidoking, now it was time for Mew to be surprised as one of Luxio's moves was threatening to the Psychic-Type as he came running in with dark-coated claws.
"Oh!" Pinkie Pie even had to take notice of this. "Mew! Dark Pulse!"
"Mew!" Mew felt the approaching threat as well, quickly unleashing a short-burst Dark Pulse that was faster but lacked the full power. Thus, this allowed Luxio to absolutely power through.
"Luxio!" Luxio's claws slashed through the pulse of darkness, cleaving it in half before he then got in Mew's face. Mew was stunned before receiving a barrage of slashes from the Electric-Type, sending dark sparks flying everywhere.
"M-Mew!" Mew went flying, hurling through the air and holding his face from all those scratches. Luckily, there weren't any marks on him.
"Great! Now, use Night Slash again!"
"Xio!" Luxi would continue using Night Slash, jumping as high as he could while having darkness enveloped around his tail, just for extra measure.
"Yikes! Mew! Psyshock!"
"Mew...!" Mew would hasten this. By rolling in the air to recover, he summoned those three orbs once more. The orbs then formed into thick Psychic masses, larger in size and stronger in power. Luxio would try and cut through these ones as well but to absolute failure. Psyshock won this exchange, blasting the Spark Pokemon back to the ground.
"Lux!"
"Luxio! Are you alright?!"
He indeed was but that impact was not to be ignored. Mew had already evened the playing field with that potent Psyshock, which seemed to be the strong move in his arsenal. He got back up, shaking his head there were already tatters on him just from one attack.
"No doubt about it...I can feel that they're both incredibly strong..." Sci-Twi said to herself. "Pinkie wasn't being honest about her strength. Especially if Mew's on her side. But if I can just get Mew down, I can win this. Maybe."
"Mew! Dark Pulse!"
"Mew!" While Twilight was speaking to herself, Mew would attack, unleashing a full-power Dark Pulse from above. It was Twilight's call to find a way to deal with this pulse. Luxio waited on guard.
"Discharge!"
"Lux!" A great choice as Luxio would retaliate with a flare of electricity. By unleashing this flare, Dark Pulse and Discharge entered a fierce clash with each other where Discharge was whipping the beam but Dark Pulse would continue coming.
That's when Bertha saw it. Sci-Twi, minutes ago started off as being too unsure, unable to utilize Ash's Lucario's Aura properly. But with some confidence, she brought something promising. Bertha saw the makings of a great trainer within Twilight. A Trainer that was capable of catching many Alpha Pokemon.
And possibly more. Right now, Bertha was banking on one thing. Her lessons of observation involved teaching everyone what they could do best. She had already seen it with Ash and how his vast imagination leads to him creating unpredictable tactics. The same could also be said for Pinkie Pie, who just went with the flow. Bertha was waiting for something unique to Twilight to show itself in battle.
"This won't do! Uh..." Sci-Twi looked at her surroundings, seeing what she could use. That's when her smarts took control of this battle. This was a carnival so there was always something nearby. Right now, this room only had some food to buy, the casual windows that showed the outside and checkered tiles. Only one of them mattered. "That's it! Luxio! Get moving!"
"Luxio!" Luxio ended the clash between Discharge and Dark Pulse jetting off. Right on time as Dark Pulse hit the ground, narrowly missing the Spark Pokemon.
"Hm? What are you up to, buckaroo? After him with Psyshock!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"Mew-Mew!" Mew would surround himself with a Psychic barrier. Out of that barrier, the three thick masses had returned, chasing Luxio down while Mew also moved with it, multitasking in the process.
"Here goes! Shine next to that window pane!"
"Xio!" That's when he unleashed the electricity from his body in the form of light instead of a physical force. By using the window panes, the Spark Pokemon unleashed a blinding light that reflected from it. He unleashed a flare so bright and blinding that it stunned Mew, preventing him from going any further.
"M-Mew!"
"Holy moly!" Pinkie Pie was affected by this as well while Twilight covered her glasses. Even Bertha, Pikachu, Zorua and Spike had to close their eyes for this. It didn't help that the setting sun complimented this flare.
"Yes! Now, use Night Slash!"
"Luxio!" Luxio capitalized on this chance. Mew was stunned, giving him the opportunity to strike while the iron was hot. However, despite Sci-Twi having a clever plan, there was one major roadblock in the way.
Mew's Barrier.
When swinging his paw, Luxio smashed Night Slash into the barrier, only for it to stay up, even in Mew's stunned state. Luxio gasped, shocked that his attack didn't go through.
"It didn't work?!" Twilight gasped.
"Sorry! It was a neat plan, but Mew's barrier says otherwise! Aura Sphere!"
"Mew-Mew-Mew!" Mew held out his paws even while stunned. He could still gather up the power of Aura, creating a sphere within the barrier he was already in. And with this combination of attacks, Aura Sphere burst out of Mew's Psyshock barrier, hitting Luxio in the process.
"Lux!" Thus, Luxio was sent propelling downwards from the explosion of Aura. Sci-Twi closed her eyes as the impact of Luxio hitting the ground was fairly meaty, strong enough to blow her hair and almost knock her glasses off.
"Ah! Luxio, no!"
"L-Luxio..." And that did the trick. Luxio was down and out once that smoke cleared. Despite his efforts, Mew took the victory yet again, scoring Pinkie Pie her second win.
"Might've gone a bit overboard there but woo!" Pinkie Pie jumped for joy with her second victory. "Great stuff, Mew!"
"T-Thank you, Luxio." Sci-Twi closed her eyes before returning Luxio to his Poke Ball. "You were amazing out there. Battling with you felt like a new kind of sensation."
"Hm-hm." Bertha approved of this nicely as Alpha Pikachu was finally done stuffing his stomach. He laid on his back, patting his stomach as another bite was impossible at this point. But before Lucario was next in line to assist Twilight once again, something happened.
The lights within this room had gone off. Everything had been darkened as the moon was about to show itself. Those orange skies vanished as a substitute for the navy blue heavens. Nightfall had arrived. But more than that, once the skies changed colour, the lights came back on but with a different appearance.
Colourful lights of different varieties that would only befit a carnival had sprouted up. The employees were right when they said that the carnival looks better during the night. No one was going to argue against that prior to this happening. Speaking of the employees, one of them entered by opening the door to this room.
"Hey, hey! Come on!" The employee shouted. "It's time to go!"
"Huh? What's going on?" Sci-Twi asked the employee. "Is something big happening?"
"Indeed. At this time, all battles are postponed for one thing. We're a carnival at the end of the day, so during this time, we party!" The employee exclaimed before leaving. The battle between these two was put on hold for tonight's party. For Sci-Twi it felt like a slight relief. If anything, this was a way to prepare for what could come next.
"Well, best get going." Bertha sat up. "Either way, that was an amazing battle you two had. Even if it's halted."
"Oh yeah! I never miss out on a party either!" Pinkie Pie rushed over to Twilight once the battle was halted. "We'll finish up tomorrow morning. But that was a good one, Twilight. How are you feeling now?"
"For my first trainer battle, it was something special. Is this what you all feel when battling?"
"It is. The rush of a Pokemon is unmatched by many. Very few things in this world can rival it." Bertha added. "Never forget that excitement that you felt. It's the sensation of a Pokemon Battle that develops and grows a trainer. Think of it like magic."
"I'm more a science kind of girl. But that works for me. They picked a good time to have that party because..." Sci-Twi then stretched her arms, yawning. "I'm getting pretty tired. I saw some bedrooms while exploring this place for a while. We might be able to rest here."
"Sweet! But come on! Let's get going!" Pinkie Pie sped things up, wanting to get to the party as soon as she could. Of course, healing their Pokemon was a top priority before anything else as they departed from this room.
Everyone was there at the heart of the carnival. Some trainers had postponed their battle for this celebration while others had finished. The Trainers and the crowd that watched their battles had arrived at this one spot where the massive celebration was held.
That included Rainbow Dash, Cadence and Shining Armor. Despite aiming to take them both on at the same time, Rainbow Dash would have to wait until tomorrow for that to happen. Ash, Cloudchaser, Flitter and everyone else had shown up as to be expected.
Right now, at this party, a parade was going on. A parade showing off Pokemon with carnival attributes added onto them. Sci-Twi and the others were the last to join.
"Hey. How'd your battles go?" Ash asked once they approached.
"It's not over yet. It'll be just your Lucario against Pinkie's Mew and whichever Pokemon she was lent. But now, I got to feel what you all feel when you battle."
"It's a great feeling. So great that we're still getting used to it." Cloudchaser commented before looking over at Sci-Twi. "Uh...Princess Twilight?"
"When did this happen?" Flitter questioned upon seeing Sci-Twi. The resemblance to Twilight was uncanny. It didn't help that Princess Twilight Sparkle was already standing nearby, waving at them, only creating further confusion. "Wait...What?"
"Human counterparts. Don't think about it too much, okay?" Hilda replied, erasing their confusion. "So, if we win a lot of battles, we can reach the boss of this place. Anyone got far enough?"
"Not yet. But I wanna meet that boss and win it." Ash responded.
"You mean when I meet it. Before you get the chance, I'll be the first, Ash." Hilbert proudly said. "As the number one trainer, I gotta make sure I'm one step ahead of everyone."
"Number one? As if." Flitter scoffed, grabbing Hilbert's attention. Hilda already knew what would come from this.
"Shouldn't have said that..." A disappointed Hilda shook her head as Hilbert was ready to babble on. Immediately, an argument between Hilbert and Hilda took place. "It wasn't this bad back at Pasio..."
"After this, let's head to Nimbasa City for PokeStar Studios. They're making a movie about Equestria." Ash suggested.
"I told you, they don't have Princess Celestia yet. So, it might not happen this Friday. Either way, can't wait to star in it. Are you gonna star in it too, Ash?" Cloudchaser questioned while Pikachu, Victini and everyone else grabbed some snacks. Victini and Hoopa went with their usual way of appearing invisible to grab something.
"We'll see when we get there. I'd love to star in it as much as I'd love to be in it. And really...seeing how they appreciate their nation is gonna be nice to experience." A smile graced his face. "I appreciate it too. I'm glad that I found Equestria on that day."
"Glad we found your world too, Ash," Twilight added. "I remember when we first passed through the gateway and came across Pallet Town. You certainly didn't take all that Rift and gateway stuff seriously the first time."
"That's for sure." Ash laughed thinking back to that very first day. The first day of this long-lasting event was something that he would never forget. "That's why I've gotta help keep it together. Everything from this world and your world works so well and makes new bonds. No matter how long it takes, I'll make sure that we're all one."
"And you have our full support, Ash," Bertha replied. "From an Elite 4 Member such as myself and other Elite 4s. Gym Leaders, Champions and all. Any official would gladly love to keep things the way they are. Something special has been created here after all."
"Thanks, Bertha. And everyone."
"By the way...that's got me thinking." It was then that Cloudchaser asked a burning question. "Who runs your world? You got like a...government or something like that?"
"We do," Bertha answered.
"We do?" But immediately, Ash, Hilda and even Hilbert who stopped arguing with Flitter, said in unison. To them, this was a surprising revelation despite being within the Pokemon World longer than those from the other world. All they could do was just laugh about it and carry on with the party. Until tomorrow comes.
Kalos. Snowbelle City. Nightfall.
Snowbelle City.
Colder during the night, everyone here was wearing something to protect them from this chilling aura. All except for Princess Luna, who wasn't wearing anything to protect her.
Mainly because she was practically immune to it. Living on the moon for thousands of years and being the most active during the night will do that to someone. Mainly a powerful magical alicorn.
Luna had already enjoyed herself with the Pokemon Festival on the second day as per Darkrai's request while he goes over and finds Galaxy Master. She even spent some time with the Canterlot Guards who were with her. Those guards had already fallen asleep, held by their Golurks to keep the warm.
There was a soothing sensation at this Pokemon Festival here in Snowbelle City. Soothing enough to put anyone to sleep. But, Luna had to guard their dreams instead of sleeping. Though she was told to kick back, relax and enjoy the festival, she still followed her duties.
However, before she could leave for the Dream Realm and the Hyperdream, someone emerged from the shadows. Luna spotted this as a bright smile was put on her face. Shadows plus emergence meant only one thing. Her friend Darkrai was returning.
"Darkrai!" She exclaimed with enthusiasm. But the moment Darkrai emerged from the shadows, he appeared to be a bad condition. Tatters were around his body as he could barely stand upright. "Darkrai?! Darkrai, what happened?! Are you alright?!" A distraught Luna rushed over.
"I'm fine...just a bit bruised, that's all," Darkrai replied, groaning.
"Where's Galaxy Master?! Did he do this to you?!" Luna growled, thinking about Galaxy Master. Who else would just attack Darkrai?
"It was him. But Luna, listen...It's not his fault." Darkrai confirmed that it was Galaxy Master who did this to him, however, he had something else to say. "Listen. There's more to this than black and white."
"More to this than black and white?"
Equestria. Magehold. Dark Chamber. Nightfall.
Magehold was at its most ominous during the night. The moon was even clearer under the night sky, bringing nothing but dread to this already horrible place. And still resting within it was the unconscious and captured Fantina.
But not for long.
Because right now, Fantina was about to awake. With a light grumble and eyes that were struggling to open up, the Hearthome City Gym Leader was awakening from her unconscious state at last. However, Fantina wouldn't be greeted with the sight of the beautiful moon or her lovely city. Something else would greet her. Something dreadful.
"Attention, my little parasites~" Currently, at Magehold where the Dread League reside, a vampire had entered a room that resembled that of a classroom. Fitting as young vampires were located here. "You'll be having a new teacher today. Someone that'll help you with anything Pokemon-related."
"Really?" They all collectively said with a haunting voice. This place was haunting as well. Aside from having the standard appearance of a classroom, cursed objects could be seen. Objects that were full of mystery but most definitely possessed wicked properties. And it was all free for the children to hold and interact with.
Despite what they were about to learn today, prior to this, books containing Curse Magic were laid out on the bookshelves. Books involving Rosa Maledicta and other previous Lich Queens were written on the sides of these hidden pieces of history. And the one to see all of this was none other than Fantina.
"Here she is. Thanks to our wonderful Lich Queen, we have someone that can get us up to speed on everything happening in the outside world." The vampire continued. "Her name is Fantina. A lovely name that matches phantom. Say hello, now."
"Bonjour~" Fantina waved at them. And with such a cheery voice as well, as if she wasn't aware that she had been captured. And that was because she wasn't aware at all. All this seemed natural to her. Nothing was amiss. "I'm Fantina. I'm so glad to be teaching some new younglings about the wonderful world of Pokemon."
And while she said this with the utmost excitement, fully committed to going through with this, deep down, another story was being told. Exempt from speaking out into the outside world was Fantina's true self.
A voice emitted within her head. But no one could hear it. Only the version within her. Fantina spoke but she could only hear herself. There was one extension. She could see what was happening outside but was unable to interact or do anything about it.
"Trapped?" Suddenly, Rosa Maledicta's voice came through. Fantina recognized that voice immediately from Hearthome City. "Get used to it. Because this is your home now. To solidify that, every thought that you have, everything you see and interact with, I'll know about. But don't worry, Fantina. Once the Black Crusade is done, you'll be free. Well, still under my rule but minus my control."
Fantina was now a puppet. Not only that but she was the eyes and ears of Rosa Maledicta. Escaping sounded impossible by what she laid out.
"You want to know everything about Pokemon? Leave it to me. Now, I'd like to get to know you all first if that's okay with you." Fantina continued despite the voice of Rosa Maledicta.
"Let's see your Pokemon! Please!" The foal vampires cried out. Immediately, they wanted to glance at some Pokemon. Especially since they would come from an experienced trainer.
"My Pokemon? Wish granted!" Fantina twirled before holding out six Poke Balls. With high enthusiasm, she tossed them into the air. Out of them came all of Fantina's Ghost Pokemon.
Mismagius, Gengar, Banette, Dusknoir, Drifblim and Spirtomb. Fitting that such eerie and spectral Pokemon would make an appearance here. Some would say that they were in their natural element.
"Voila! Here they are!"
"Oooh!" Immediately, the colts and fillies flocked over to these Ghost Pokemon without hesitating. Usually, someone would be intimidated by these Pokemon, hesitating to go any closer. But in this case, due to their upbringing in Magehold, a Ghost was the equivalent of opening up a gift.
"Gengar!" Gengar stuck its face out at the vampires, attempting to scare them. But all Gengar got in return was laughter. The children weren't intimidated in the slightest. They loved things like this. "Gen?"
"Mismag..." And Mismagius was already feeling something special coming from this place. If she was still a Misdreavus, the ominous aura coming from this place would be delicious and boost her growth. The feeling of this place made the Magical Pokemon unleash her signature cry that sounded like an incantation.
"Oh! Do it again! Again!" The children loved it. So much so that they wanted to hear it again. Mismagius was a bit confused but would grant their wish. She let out her signature cry that usually causes headaches and hallucinations but it satisfied the foals greatly as they cheered for it.
"Do it some more, please!" They wanted to know more. The Ghost-Type Pokemon had their full attention in every way. And seeing how the headaches and hallucinations did nothing to the foals, Mismagius figured that no harm would be done.
"Mismagius!" Mismagius would give it a go. Another bone-chilling cry had been unleashed, sending terrifying visions to these ponies, just to entertain them.
"What's in here?" One of the foals discovered Dusknoir's secret entrance. Mainly, the entrance to the spirit world as he placed his head inside. "Wow...it looks a lot like Tartarus in here."
"Really? Let me see!" Another vampire foal shoved him out of the way, peering into Dusknoir. And soon others started crowding over to Dusknoir just to take a look inside of him.
"Dusk..." Dusknoir felt a bit uncomfortable about this. Much like his fellow teammates, it was bizarre to have so many individuals be interested in something like this.
"Just let it happen, Dusknoir," Fantina said, nodding her head. "They're having fun."
"Look at this toy!" Meanwhile, some of them saw Banette as a toy. And they weren't wrong technically. "I got this last year! Looks exactly like it!
"B-Banette!" Banette was being tossed around and manipulated just like a toy. Fighting back was pointless as one of these fillies grabbed a hold of the Marionette Pokemon with impressive strength, keeping Banette in a lock. "Bane..."
"Well, you'll fit right in with us. The choice to have you as a teacher was the best her majesty could ever make. But before that, you need to be caught up with everything here." The older vampire said.
"Certainly. What else is there to see?" Fantina asked.
"Come with us." To get adjusted to this place, Fantina would receive a tour. Her Pokemon would be left to hang around the children who were too enthusiastic about these spectral species. Fantina would also witness the rest of Magehold for herself but under a different light that befits the Dread League.
When leaving the classroom, the long windows in this already long hallway showed Fantina just what could be witnessed outside Magehold. The biggest landmark was obviously the palace where Rosa Maledicta resides. But as for the rest of the buildings, houses appeared differently than what she usually sees.
Mansions could be found here. For a place filled with vampires and skeletons, holding nothing but dread, the living conditions here looked lavish and pristine. Apart from the trees and fountains. The trees were not only crooked but bats were resting on them. Rather bats that soon transformed into ponies once they flew off the sharp branches. The wood of these trees looked to be of an unknown origin. They certainly weren't any kind of wood Fantina had seen.
The fountains seemed to possess mysterious black water. That was unknown as well. Whatever that water possesses, Fantina would rather let it remain a mystery. But when getting a final view of the palace, the garden of mysterious and unknown flowers was seen as well. Everything here held an air of mystery to it. But that made sense considering how secluded this place was.
Inside this building, Fantina saw multiple dungeons that were incredibly common, more so than Canterlot's Dungeons. One would assume that others would live here casually. And indeed, skeletons could be found inside these dungeons. And they looked completely unbothered. Then again, it was hard to tell what a skeleton was feeling when they cannot emote at all. Nothing but bones.
Fantina was currently going deeper down this building, passing by many skeleton ponies who were eyeing her down. And upon seeing a human for the first time, the skeletons had a lot to say.
"Look at all the flesh on her. So that must be a human."
"It beats seeing coated ponies, that's for sure. Lucky her...having all the flesh."
"Since you'll be living here with us, it's best to learn your surroundings. Here is the gateway to Tartarus." At the very bottom of Magehold, lying in between two dungeons was none other than the passageway to the underworld prison. Tartarus.
Massive gates are what locked the entrance to Tartarus. Large in scale while possessing a jet black appearance. Much like how there was a mysterious wood that made up the trees, these doors possessed a strange metal that caused multiple reflections.
"We're the only ones that have a proper entrance to Tartarus. Not by any magical means. Though, this door can be considered magical too. Made by an ancient metal."
"What ancient metal?" Fantina asked, curious about what metal this could possibly be.
"Oh. It's a metal that was once fragile during the earlier days of our world. But it was only made incredibly durable by one of the previous Lich King. King Vinegleam. We call it Dynasite."
"Dynasite...?" Hearing that name felt familiar to Fantina's ears. The name escaped her but there was familiarity with it, without a doubt.
"Mhm. Indestructible metal that cannot be destroyed. King Vinegleam made this possible with his magic alone. May he find solace beyond. What a pegasus..." The old vampire shook his head. "Anyway, it's best to behave. Otherwise, it's off to Tartarus. Or whatever her majesty plans."
Fantina was guided away from this deep part of Magehold. She was without a doubt the first human to ever experience these gates yet unable to see beyond them. The only thing she could get from this gate was the horrific sounds that managed to echo out.
However, all of this did not phase Fantina. Not because she was being influenced by Rosa but because of her experience with Ghost-Type Pokemon.
Which is exactly why Rosa chose her.
"Fantina. You'll certainly fit right in," said Rosa all the way from her throne room at the palace. "Despite being in a place like this for the first time, you show no signs of fear. Not even a sense of uncertainty. But I suppose the only uncertainty would be your own self. I knew I made the right choice when meeting you at Hearthome City. Teach us everything about Pokemon. From every detail possible. Knowledge of such a Strange and Wonderful species is what we need. Especially on Yveltal."
Kalos. Snowbelle City. Nightfall.
"Galaxy Master's on the wrong path?!" Back at the cold and peaceful Snowbelle City, Luna, who was currently at the Pokemon Center was speaking with Darkrai.
Nurse Joy was patching Darkrai up with all of his received bruises. She could care less about the fact that a Mythical Pokemon was in front of her. The health of someone was more important than who they were.
"Yes. I observed him back at the Arcane Sea when he faced that Equestrian Milotic. I don't think he's doing this for a twisted cause."
"So you're saying that it all really is out of the good of his heart? Saving that Milotic showed it?" Luna repeated everything Darkrai had shared with her while being healed.
"I saw more of it when that Fire Tsunami came his way. It endangered his Glalie and practically the rest of his Pokemon from how destructive. Putting his own life on the line to stop the tsunami at the last moment was admirable."
"Then what happened? Why'd he attack you?"
"Something possessed him. It was brief but it still happened. And it was done by the Rift. The Rift needs Galaxy Master to regenerate what it lost thanks to Ash. Seeing Galaxy Maser pass on absorbing Milotic is what aggravated it."
Unova. Arcane Sea. 4 hours ago.
It was when we nearby that large Torterra that exists in the Arcane Sea. That's where he planned to go next. But just like Milotic...he hesitated and refused to do so. Torterra was still a Pokemon, despite how much Rift Energy it possessed. I still remember how aggressive he became during that possession. Battling him felt like the closest battle of my life.
Darkrai reminisced on that moment. The moment when Galaxy Master's entire tone changed. At that moment, Galaxy Master and all of his Pokemon were influenced by the Rift.
Currently in a battle with them, Darkrai had been pushed back by a collective attack from Pikachu's Thunderbolt, Glalie's Ice Beam and Lapras' Hydro Pump. The Pitch Black Pokemon used the shadows to protect himself, forming a dark mass around his body which blocked these combined attacks.
Only for Oshawott to come flying in, using Razor Shell. By using its scalchop, Oshawott sliced through the mass of darkness by using the same mystical light. This light had the power necessary to destroy the darkness, stunning Darkrai. Darkrai gasped before using Poison Jab, immediately clashing with Oshawott's scalchop.
Darkrai was already damaged by this battle. The change in tone made Galaxy Master's battling style far more aggressive, putting the pressure on Darkrai, especially with his expert skills. All of Galaxy Master's Pokemon gave Darkrai some visible bruises to remind him of how dire things looked.
Palpitoad would attack from behind, using Mud Bomb to try and blindside the Pitch Black Pokemon. Narrowly, Darkrai managed to evade it by using Dark Pulse to propel himself upwards. Thus, Oshawott was the one to be hit by Mud Bomb.
Afterwards, Darkrai aimed to put them all to sleep via Dark Void. With just one orb, he shot out smaller orbs that came flying out rapidly. Oshawott, who had already been hit by Mud Bomb was the first to go. A Dark Void crashed into it, knocking the Water-Type out.
Lapras attempted to swim and evade these orbs, only for that to end in failure. The speed they came at was too much for even the transport Pokemon to avoid, putting her to sleep next.
Galaxy Master would make a move. By jumping off Lapras before she was put to sleep, he approached Darkrai with a trail of Rift Energy around his arms. Darkrai noticed how his energy had changed from Light to Rift. Something was greatly amiss.
A flash of Rift Energy came towards the injured Darkrai, who was already struggling. Anymore and Darkrai could potentially fall here, especially since Galaxy Master had more Pokemon to offer. Such as his Charizard and his Torterra. Speaking of Torterra, Darkrai couldn't let the moon-sized Torterra perish here. This new Galaxy Master certainly wouldn't let him go. Not like how he let Lapras go.
For a final attempt, Darkrai channelled all of his power into one final Dark Pulse. The Rift Energy and the Dark Pulse had collided, resulting in a Light vs Darkness clash. The impact was so vast that it eclipsed the entire Arcane Sea in a matter of seconds.
Equestrian Torterra and Equestrian Milotic had witnessed these eclipsing energies rapidly approaching as well as every Pokemon on Equestrian Torterra's body. Darkrai closed his eyes after unleashing that full-power Dark Pulse which ended up consuming him. But Galaxy Master's own light consumed his as well.
"The force of our energies resulted in me being blown out of the Arcane Sea. I managed to reach some land which allowed me to come here and find you. But Galaxy Master, I'm not so sure. I saw him and his Pokemon all fall into the sea once they had been eclipsed by the light. Possibly sinking. But I doubt that's it for them."
"That Dark Pulse of mine should've forced the Rift out of him and the eclipse should've knocked him and his Pokemon out. But I'm not so sure. Right now, we're dealing with someone who can change just by the Rift's influence."
"I see. I see." Luna nodded in understanding. "He means well...but the Rift altered his perception of things. But you mentioned how he wasn't made by the Rift. Even he doesn't know how he came to be. Why is that?"
"That light around his body might be the answer. I saw him use it a lot. It had a golden appearance and some light blue ripples around it. He only received Rift Energy when influenced by the Rift. That light of his was new."
"Gold and light blue..." Luna pondered for a moment. What force of energy did she know that possessed such a combination of two colours? That's when it hit her. The only thing possible that could replicate it. "Hold on...Are you thinking what I'm thinking Darkrai?!"
"I am. I wasn't sure at first but the more I looked at it, the clearer it became. The light he produces resembles the light from the Sea Temple, Samiya. I'd say he wasn't made by the Rift, but he probably came from the Sea Temple."
"How's that possible though?" Luna pondered. "You're certainly not saying that he's someone who lives there. You make it sound like he was formed there instead of born."
"That's all I can share. Right now, I have something else in mind. To try and help him." Darkrai sat up after being patched up by Nurse Joy. But the moment he sat up, held his arm in pain.
"Oh, sorry. But you took a heavy blow to your arm. Using it might be a bad idea for a while." Nurse Joy instructed. "Here's my option. Try and stay out of battles for a while. It's not like you have legs."
"Actually..." That's when Darkrai suddenly revealed an extension of himself that not many ever witness. Out of his body from below, his hidden legs had sprouted out. Thin sharp ones to boot as Nurse Joy and Chansey backed up with bulging eyes. "I'm not proud of them."
"Hm. I'd still listen to Nurse Joy, Darkrai. Rest up. You told me to relax and enjoy the Pokemon Festival. Now it's your turn to relax. I'll try and handle everything from here, my friend." Luna would offer to handle the rest. Darkrai's injuries were more crucial than expected after all.
"Hrrgh..." Darkrai groaned before sitting down. For the first time, the Pitch Black Pokemon experienced pain that prevented him from doing much. "This is the worst."
"Oh don't be such a baby. You've been slapped around by possessed individuals before. Hahaha!" Luna patted him on the back of his head. "Snowbelle is a nice place to relax. Nurse Joy. Could you leave a room for him?"
"Oh. You're not taking him with you? Isn't he your Pokemon, Princess Luna?"
"I'll be back at Snowbelle. And I'm not leaving yet. I have dreams to protect after all. If only I could reach Galaxy Master's dreams but he seems to be a different kind of entity."
"Ooh! Enter my dream!" Nurse Joy suddenly gained an excited tone. "You probably have the power to do good within dreams, right? If so, could you do one for me? And Chansey too."
"Chansey!"
"Uhh..S-Sure. I'll see what I can do with Lunar Ire's power." Luna agreed to Nurse Joy's offer before departing to the Dream Realm. By closing her eyes, everything around her was enveloped in darkness. Another night for guarding dreams but without Darkrai this time. Without Darkrai, it would feel lonely at times.
The Hyperdream.
Luna arrived. Mainly at the Hyperdream which contained every dream from the past, present and future. Here, Luna would focus on finding Nurse Joy's dream after agreeing to help her.
"Alright then...Nurse Joy. The problem is that there are so many Nurse Joys." Immediately, Luna realized the one problem with Nurse Joy. The sheer quantity of them. And since this was the Hyperdream, that would make things harder as who knows how many Nurse Joys have come and gone. But Luna quickly thought of a solution.
"Hm-hm. I could use my magic to change up the Hyperdream and add new categories. Yes, that will do. But before Nurse Joy, I need to try one thing. Darkrai said that the light from Galaxy Master resembled that of the Sea Temple. If that's the case, then I know what to do first before anything else."
Luna would put Nurse Joy's dream on hold. Right now, there were a certain batch of dreams that she wanted to view and her new spell to add categories to the Hyperdream could do the trick.
The Dreams of the People of the Water. The ones that possessed this mystical light. Past, present or even future, she could find something there. The Hyperdream was Luna's greatest asset. She got to work as now, it was no longer a case of stopping Galaxy Master.
But per the new goal of Darkrai, now it was the case of discovering who he was and helping him.
Within the Hyperdream, Luna set her sights on a row of dreams. The dreams of the People of the Water. Finding dreams belonging to these people would be difficult considering how vast the Hyperdream was.
After learning about how Galaxy Master emits the same light that comes from the Sea Temple, shared by Darkrai, Luna had to see if there was something she could discover. Thankfully, there was a solution to this.
"Categories...categories..." Luna would use her power within the Hyperdream to create categories. A well-needed quality of life addition as it would help lessen the hassle of trying to find specific dreams. She already used her magic to sections of certain individuals' dreams such as all of Ash's dreams and now it was time to go the extra mile. "There! I have the angle I need!"
Having enough time to prepare, Luna utilized the power of Lunar Ire to alter the Hyperdream once more. All the massive bubbles containing everyone's dreams were being moved around, reassorted to fit the layout of categories. However, Luna kept the layout of multiple dreams belonging to one individual.
These building-sized bubbles were moving rapidly under Luna's power with their purple colours flashing everywhere. Luna had to make sure to get this right. Categories of humans, ponies, Pokemon and more species from the far past dating back to the beginning of their respective universes were placed in a category.
She especially made categories for certain locations. Kanto and its various locations received categories as well as her world with Equestria having the same. The one she wanted to find first was the Sea Temple category after finishing this assortment.
Thankfully, this was a quick process as Princess Luna managed to make categories of everyone's dreams. Simple as that. Now, the hassle had been lessened.
"There. That should do it. It does look rather tidier this way."
"It sure does." Out of nowhere, right behind Luna, someone had replied to her. Luna nodded her head in agreement with this individual's response before gasping, swivelling to see who it was.
"Hm?!" And the one standing behind her was none other than Young Ash Ketchum. A regular that Luna encounters within the Hyperdream. "Ash?! H-How did you get here?! I didn't come for you!"
"No clue!" He innocently grinned. This stunned Luna as oy she had the power to bring others out of their dreams. And all of a sudden, Ash made a striking appearance without needing anyone. "So, what are we doing today, huh?"
"Oh well...I was just making categories for the Hyperdream. I'm still making new additions to this vast space of dreams just for an easier time. Right now, I'm on an important mission to discover something."
"Sweet! Can I join? Please!" Young Ash always enjoyed tagging along whenever Luna enters the Hyperdream. It was a guaranteed good time. Depending on the scenario of course.
"Certainly. We'll be visiting a place where you become king." Luna used her magic to place the young child from Pallet Town on her back. "How does that sound?"
"I become king one day? Oooh..." His eyes lit up with wonder. Luna focused on the first category that was on her mind. The Sea Temple category. Without wasting any further time, the Princess of the Night and the younger version of Ash Ketchum took off to the dreams belonging to the People of the Water.
Universe 11. An Unknown Dimension. 20 minutes after Ghetsis showed up. Total time 12 hours.
In an unknown dimension, where time moves differently, a giant three-headed beast that resembled Hydreigon had emerged while being cloaked in nothing but shadows. This creature appeared within this mountain-filled area in response to the arrival of someone.
Ghetsis.
The three-headed dragon was currently flying across the mountain, searching for Ghetsis after spotting it. The creature flew towards the farther reaches of the mountainside, unleashing devastating blasts from its mouth to lay waste to whatever was in its way.
However, Ghetsis had chosen the most obvious place to reside that the dragon surprisingly did not approach. The large castle that sat at this mountainside. For now, Ghetsis was safe.
"There had to be Life here..." Ghetsis growled while leaning on the castle walls. "What is this dimension anyway? And this place entirely? Is there any other form of life here?" Curious, Ghetsis wanted to know if others resided here. This was a castle so that had to be the case. Although, the castle looked a bit ruined.
After leaving the walls, he came across the gates of this castle. Surprisingly, they were already open as well as the drawbridge being laid out. Wherever this place was, it was clear that it could be in an older time compared to everything else he's seen.
But even when facing the castle gates and drawbridge, there wasn't any sound. Or even any guards to meet him. Cautious, Ghetsis approached as the only sound was the water from below. Albeit black and ominous water.
When walking on the drawbridge, his perception of things changed. Everything seemed to darken. The pink skies turned greyish as the creaking of the drawbridge started to ramp up in noise. And the second Ghetsis got in front of the gateways, someone popped up in front of him.
"Now, we can meet!" A voice similar to his thundered out as a familiar figure appeared in front of the Team Plasma Leader.
"Gah!" Ghetsis stepped back, receiving a jumpscare. But from whom? From that familiar figure and voice, it was none other than himself.
Another Ghetsis had emerged.
But this Ghetsis had that same shadow cloaking as that massive three-headed dragon from before and had slightly longer hair. Not to mention how his black cloak was torn apart. Holes were seen within the cloak, completely damage in every way. He had a constant grin on his face that possessed sharp teeth while his crimson eyes matched that of a serpent.
"You're me! What is this?!"
"I wanted to show up after that little encounter with Hydreigon..." The other Ghetsis commented, rubbing his hands together. And that was another surprise. His second arm. It was completely black, having cracks all around it as opposed to the other arm. While being covered in shadows it was still regular.
"Hydreigon...? That thing Hydreigon?!" Ghetsis gasped looking far into the distance to witness the giant dragon's destruction. Indeed, the appearance matched his ace Pokemon greatly. That was Hydreigon. Albeit with a stark appearance change much like this other Ghetsis.
"You should've figured it out immediately." The other Ghetsis shrugged, floating back while leaving a trail of shadows. "The resemblance is uncanny after all."
"Whatever. What is this place? I thought this was meant to be a dimension that caters to the ponies." Ghetsis questioned. "And who are you exactly?"
"I'm you. But I'll head to the answers immediately. We never were ones to wait for answers too long. This is dimension...think of it like a blank canvas. Depending on whoever shows up here, the canvas will form a painting. And since you arrived, this is what came out of it."
"This is meant for me? How's that possible?"
"Here's the surprise. Though I may be you...I'm a Shadow of you. Anyone who comes here sees their future self. And right now, this is your future. This right here is Canterlot. 30 years in the future."
"Canterlot?" Looking around, he could see some of Canterlot's style existing in this castle. It was minimal as the castle was vastly different from what Canterlot Castle usually looks like but it was there. However, most of Canterlot was overpowered by a new appearance.
"You succeeded in your goal. You crushed everyone that stood in your way and became the definitive true ruler of not just Equestria...but this world. No. Your world. Both worlds. All worlds!" The other Ghetsis rambled, revealing more about his true self. "Wonderful, isn't it? Hard work pays off in the end."
"This can't be my victory..." However, Ghetsis wasn't sure about this. When looking at this area, he couldn't help but feel that this was not the kind of castle anyone would want to live in. "Where is everyone else? There isn't another trace of life here."
"Oh, but why would we need that?" The other Ghetsis shrugged before leading his true self further into the castle, showing him what else there was to see. "After all, in the future, many opposed you and you did the right thing. Or should I say, we did the right thing? Now, who's left to oppose me? My Pokemon? As if...they listen to me."
"You...destroyed all of them?!" Ghetsis put it together instantly. He knew himself very well and the tones he was getting from this were clear as day. "How am I supposed to rule if there's no one else left?!"
"Those that get in your way need to be obliterated. Chrysalis already made that mistake once and everyone else followed. So the answer is always obvious. Who needs them anyway? Those that try and reject us must perish, especially if we're the rulers of a brand new collection of worlds."
"Rubbish! Even I know when I'm lying!" Ghetsis protested. "You're telling me this is the future? As if!"
"You can't possibly be denying your destiny. We worked hard to get to this point. Where we were rulers of the entire world. And now even more worlds are under our control. And with the power of Pokemon...all of that is possible times 100!" The Shadow Ghetsis then flared his eyes open as right next to him, shadows had erupted.
Out of these shadows emerged some Pokemon. Mainly, Ghetsis' own Pokemon. Bisharp, Cofagrigus, Drapion, Eelektross and Croagunk. However, much like Hydreigon, they had become shadows of themselves, coated in that same dark aura.
But the moment they emerged, they each either laid down on the ground or got on their knees. Bisharp and the others grunted, showing signs of damage, much like Shadow Ghetsis.
"Tch. Still weak!" Shadow Ghetsis growled. "Either way, you should prepare for this. Very soon, you will achieve victory and crush those who wronged you. Your destiny as King is already set in stone."
"Nonsense!" Once again, Ghetsis protested. "I can see why you're my shadow. As if I'd end up like you."
"Oh, but you will. Ever since you received Sombra's magic, your true potential had been unlocked. The shadows are what you'll excel at and I'm simply the right representation of you. Everything here is what will come to be."
"It can't be...I can't rule like this. Not like this." Ghetsis tightened his fist, showing signs of frustration. Hearing and seeing all of this brought a grand sense of denial to him. "You're just my shadow...Even if I have Sombra's magic, I won't let myself become you."
"Hm? And why's that? You don't want this?"
"I want to rule. More than anything. As revenge for those who wronged me and..." Ghetsis suddenly paused, unable to finish his sentence. "I would say destiny. But no. It's not destiny or fate. I'm choosing my own path to become king. Just like how I did back then."
"And look at this. This is what it's like to be king."
"You think complete destruction and lack of life is what it means to be king?" Ghetsis closed his eyes before opening them, sending a crimson flare. "Preposterous!" His voice even startled his shadow. "You're not the image of a king. You're just a madman! No wonder you're not my true self! I'd never rule in a place like this!"
"Kh. You were never one to deny destiny. So why now? And even if you protest this, you'll be spending 5 years in this place anyway. You'll have enough time to see that I'm exactly what you need to become. You need to embrace the darkness that's within you. Why hide in the shadows when you can become it? And better."
"It's true. I've grown accustomed to the darkness ever since my Dark Aura had b en unlocked and I received Sombra's magic. If anything, I've buried all the light deep within me. However, you should also know what I've experienced. Every loss at the hands of that brat changes you. He has something that I don't. I can't keep falling behind him as he's growing stronger with his goal to become a Pokemon Master. So...I should do the same with my goal to become king."
"Getting inspiration from that brat? Something's wrong here." Shadow Ghetsis scoffed. "Perhaps staying around Daybreaker and all those other inferior species is getting to your head."
"Hmph. Say what you want. I will say this...I'll have to show my thanks to Daybreaker when I return. I have 5 years which accumulates to 5 hours out there. 5 years to grow and see what I can learn."
"Feh! You're wasting your time! You can't possibly grow to the stature of a king with the way you're thinking! Those 5 years will mean nothing once you leave here. I can prove it to you. I'll always be here and put you on the right path."
"You can get lost!" Ghetsis then unleashed a burst of darkness from his body which immediately pushed back the Shadow Ghetsis and all the Shadow Pokemon around him.
"Grr...! I'll be seeing you soon!" The Shadow Ghetsis tried maintaining his form, only to be whisked away by the pure pressure of this unbridled darkness. But he vowed to show up consistently in this dimension, just to speak with his true self. Right now, he simply fizzled out.
"This is Canterlot in the future, eh? Pathetic. The one I envision will be miles better than this. But perhaps...I can make that happen for these 5 years." Ghetsis would not only train himself for 5 years but he would go the distance to try and fix this place up.
After all, a king desires a neat image, no matter where he may be. 5 years in here was nothing to Ghetsis. He would make the most of it without a doubt.
Hyperdream. The Dream of a Samiyan. The Sea Temple.
"Is that his majesty?!" Upon arriving at the Sea Temple, the People of the Water, who were currently dreaming, had witnessed the arrival of Luna but more importantly, Ash.
Young Ash hid behind Luna's leg, holding it as the People of the Water gathered around him with some of them gushing at this younger variation of their king.
"He's so adorable as a child!" A nurse gushed over Ash's appearance. "Now I know this is a dream!"
"Wait...I'm actually a real king?" Ash was shocked that his status as a King was 100% true and not a stretch.
"You are. It can be overwhelming but your future self handles it perfectly." Luna replied before covering him with her tail. "You're obviously feeling overwhelmed by it so just stay next to me."
"What brings you here, Princess Luna? Did something happen to our dreams?" A man said.
"Nothing's wrong. But there's something I need to know. It's about your temple. By chance...do you know about anyone named Galaxy Master?" Luna got to the big questions immediately without wasting any time.
"Galaxy Master?" The People of the Water spoke amongst each other. The name was tossed around as many of them were trying to figure if they remember it.
"Galaxy Master..." A soldier started thinking deeply even within this dream. "Hmmm...Actually. That name does sound familiar."
"It does?! Where?!" Luna leaned.
"Well, it wasn't too long ago. Possibly one or two months back. His majesty came here with his mother who we now call Queen Delia. She brought along many things to this temple such as fan artistry of clothing and a book."
"Hey, wait!" It was then that Ash himself ran ahead, no longer feeling nervous. "You know about my Galaxy Master?! Really?!
"Oh, right. This would be the time where he made that book..." It was just now that Luna realized this younger version of Ash would have the most knowledge about Galaxy Master. But perhaps not the right knowledge she needed.
"Yes, young king. She came here with that book in the current timeline. And she mentioned how you would make this character and this book just to stave off boredom. Of course, it didn't last long."
"I never finished it?" Young Ash scratched his hair. "Weird...Gotta fix that."
"Unfortunately, the future won't be affected by the Hyperdream." The alicorn shook her head. "But anyway. Since the book was here, do you know how he came to be? Right now, Galaxy Master has come to life, breaking free of being limited inside of a comic book."
"He's real?!" To this younger version of Ash that was a dream come true. Inside of another dream and someone else's dream.
"According to Darkrai, the light he emits is the same as what comes from your crystals here at the Sea Temple. So...by chance...is there something you can share?"
"Hmm...I think I know the answer to that, Princess Luna." The guard closed his eyes. "On that same day when Queen Delia showed up, she wanted to bring some of her fanmade clothes to life. And one of the crystals had the power to do that. It possesses the power to bring objects to life and it did so with her clothes. And other clothes for her friends. And that that same time, the book was in her hand. I remember it clearly."
The guard reminisced about that day. The day when Delia held Ash's old fanmade comic book up to the crystal right after bringing her custom clothes to reality.
"Maybe those clothes from your Galaxy Master book will do?" Delia held out Ash's old comic book, resonating it with the crystal. "Or perhaps, something new that comes to mind?"
That's when it resonated in sync. After bringing the clothes to light, the rest of the energy was close enough to the book, giving it the power of the Sea Temple.
"So that's it!" Princess Luna gasped. "Delia's the one who brought Galaxy Master to life?!"
"Isn't my mom the best?!" Ash jumped for joy. "Go, mom!"
"That seems to be the case. She originally aimed to bring the clothes of Galaxy Master to life but the decision never came through. But that did not stop the crystals from affecting the book. The energy was still active after being used on the clothing. We hope that helps, Princess Luna." The guard bowed.
"It helps massively. This is the answer that I needed. Thank you." She bowed back. "Right then. I know how he came to be. That's done. And that adds up to a lot. He wouldn't be a Rift Creation with that morality within him.
"I wanna see Galaxy Master! He's real now...!" Ash could barely contain his excitement.
"About that...Ash. I have something important to ask you." Now that she received the truth about Galaxy Master, there was something else that she wished to know. Something that could be beneficial. "It's just a curious question of mine. Since you made Galaxy Master...you gave him everything possible to create a complete character, correct?"
"Yep! He's the coolest, bestest, superhero around! Master of all Pokemon!" The young future champion gave a powerful thumbs-up.
"Hm-hm. Certainly. But... does have a weakness, by any chance?" There it was. Something that Luna needed answered to complete this mission.
"A weakness?"
"Of course. Everyone has a weakness. No one is unstoppable forever. My father told me that it's always important to have weaknesses in a story to spice it up. He was an avid reader and loved character flaws. Still to this day."
"Nope! No weakness!"
"No weakness?!" Luna backed up. "You made him without a weakness!?
"Well, he is fairly young at this time, Princess Luna." A maid replied, bringing sense to this.
"Galaxy Master can't have any weaknesses. He's always gonna get things done and win the day!" Ash put both his hands up, jumping into the air as he started flying. Since this was a dream, he could do anything. Even if this was someone else's dream.
"I understand that. Good must always triumph. But without a weakness? I understand you're young but..."
"Well, I could give him a weakness, but I don't wanna." Ash turned upside down. "It wouldn't feel right...ya know?"
"I see. You love that character too much to give it anything that holds it back. I understand. For you, it's a passion project. Albeit a short one." Luna already came to an understanding of Ash's decision. "I would do the same thing as well."
"Yeah but also...he's my dad." With a proud grin on his face, he dropped a massive bomb that blew everyone back, making the process it first before gaining a unified and loud reaction.
"Your...DAD?!" Luna and everyone thundered.
"Yep! I based him on my dad! That's why he has no weakness!" The young child from Pallet Town giggled, revealing the true reason why Galaxy Master has no weakness. And to an extension, the mild revelation of Ash's father.
Luna had something special to return with and share back in reality. The truth about Galaxy Master had been brought to light. How he was made and who he really was. The bigger problem was dealing with Galaxy Master when returning to reality in the morning. No weakness could be found in this character as the journey continues.
Universe 11. Equestria. The Solar Empire. Nightfall.
"It's been five hours now. 5 years in that dimension. Now, he should appear." Daybreaker was currently ready to retrieve GHetsis from that bizarre dimension where time moves slowly compared to this world. Team Plasma was waiting for their leader to return as 5 years in that dimension accumulates to 5 hours.
Daybreaker lit her horn with a golden glow. With her magic, she was capable of manipulating space to some degree. A degree that was powerful enough to open up a dimension. A tear within the air itself was forming up by Daybreaker's magic with multiple lights flowing out of it.
"Don't let me back out." Just then, replying to Daybreaker was the voice of Ghetsis as it echoed through the tear.
"Ghetsis? What do you mean I shouldn't let you back out?" The Solar Queen replied.
"I'm staying here for a bit longer. It's 5 hours out there, right? I'll take 10 more hours." Ghetsis revealed that his short time in that dimension wouldn't do for him. He chose to extend it. And judging by how long 5 hours was in that world, 10 hours was already a given.
"10 hours?! That's 10 years!" Daybreaker and all the grunts gasped. "What's going on in there?! You were supposed to only be there to help adjust yourself to your magic."
"That too. But there's more I want to do here. Don't call me back in 10 hours or less." With that, Ghetsis ended his communication with Daybreaker and his grunts. The Team Plasma grunts discoured with themselves, reacting to their leader's decision.
"Why would we possibly want to stay there for 10 years?" Daybreaker pondered. "I only stayed there for 5 years as well and witnessed the horrors that come with living in that dimension. But if he wants to stay a bit longer, then so be it. We'll set up other plans in the meanwhile."
"Such as?" A Team Plasma grunt questioned. "We're still focusing on the Reshiram and Zekrom problem, right?"
"We are. But there's another problem we have to deal with soon. Something that threatens us far more than Reshiram and Zekrom could. And that's the Dread League."
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Battle Carnival. The Pokemon Festival. Day.
The third day of the Pokemon Festival arrived. The first week was not yet close to being finished. After the fun carnival party and parade last night, everyone got some sleep to prepare for today. Some battles within the Battle Carnival had been postponed and would soon continue.
One of which was already about to pick up where it left off. That battle would be Sci-Twi vs Pinkie Pie. Still using the Pokemon that they borrowed from their friends, Sci-Twi currently had Ash's Lucario out while Pinkie Pie kept her Mew out. Sci-Twi had lost two Pokemon and was down to just Lucario while PInkie Pie had a third Pokemon in waiting.
As always, Bertha would watch and witness how this last battle would take place. At the same time, the Battle Carnival received some newspapers for her to read. And once her eyes laid on this information, the Sinnoh Elite 4 Member had some mild curiosity.
"The world is out of Oran Berries? Curious." Bertha commented before looking up at Twilight and the others.
"Rr. Rr." Lucario was stretching. This was the final stretch as he was Sci-Twi's final Pokemon. To claim victory, he had to be ready as Twilight walked over, patting the Aura Pokemon on the back.
"We'll make it a good one, Lucario. You can count on my Aura to win this one." Sci-Twi said.
"Ca." Lucario nodded, trusting Twilight to do so as she looked like a different person since yesterday. But for one final test, Lucario attempted to communicate with Sci-Twi via an Aura Pulse, seeing if she could hear what he had to say.
"Uhh..No clue what that means." Sci-Twi chuckled, making Lucario shake his head. She felt something but was unable to understand what it meant. Somewhat similar to the Arceus Pendant around her neck, only the Arceus Pendant has some form of communication she could almost gather. "Anyway! Let's get started!"
"Luca!"
"Okie Dokie! Let's pull the plug on this one!" Pinkie Pie and Mew were prepared, waiting for their opponents to start. Their battle would continue on the third day with only one of them walking out the victor.
Lucario and Mew, despite being friends, had never battled each other before, so this would make for an interesting scenario, no doubt.
"We'll make the first move! And I'll add two moves in one! Lucario, use Double Team and Force Palm!"
"Luca!" Lucario would go first. By taking off, he duplicated himself by using Double Team with each clone running beside him. Soon, all clones used Force Palm, coating their paws in an orange light.
"Hit them all with Psyshock!"
"Mew-Mew!" Mew formed a ring of purple masses of energy in front of his body, catered to every Lucario clone and the real Lucario. One after the other, these purple masses of energy were launched at each of the Lucarios.
One by one, the Lucario clones were being destroyed, vanishing in a puff of smoke. But while the fake ones had been taken out, the real one moved through the cloud of smoke as a way to mask himself. And with a successful stealth option, he appeared in front of Mew. "Ca!"
"Mew?!" Mew had been socked square in the face by Lucario's paw, dealing not very effective damage but a heavy blow nonetheless, one that was strong enough to push the New Species Pokemon back.
"Excellent! Now, use Force Palm again!"
"Luca!" Lucario was going in for a second Force Palm, this time, charging up a slightly stronger one.
"Yikes! Mew, Dark Pulse, quick!"
"M-Mew!" Mew managed to make a quick evasion. By shooting himself upwards with Dark Pulse, that is. He aimed his paws downwards, sending a turbulent pulse of darkness which sent him upwards. Not only that but it expanded enough to reach Lucario, interrupting his Dark Pulse.
"Rr!" Lucario was blown back by Dark Pulse, returning to the floor and ending his ample airtime.
"Great! Now, use Psyshock again!"
"Mew-Mew-Mew!" The purple waves had returned, this time, each of these masses targeted one Pokemon, moving in a compact space.
"Let's try Reversal!"
"Rrr!" Lucario would strike back with Reversal. Pulling his arm back, he channelled the damage he received from Dark Pulse, albeit minimal to this one attack. Once he thrust his palm forward, the energy that was shot from Reversal met with Psyshock, immediately clashing with it.
It was a fierce clash against the orange and purple beams, lasting for a few seconds. And by watching this battle, a smile met Bertha's face. She then looked at Sci-Twi's Alpha Pikachu as they both nodded in unison. Suddenly, without Sci-Twi and Pinkie Pie noticing, Bertha got up and left with Alpha Pikachu following.
"Mew!" Mew managed to exert some extra power into his Psyshock, overpowering Lucario's Reversal. The Aura Pokemon received a storm of Psychic energy that consumed him.
"C-Caa...!" Lucario growled while being bombarded by the storm of Psychic energy. Attempting to stand his ground, he failed to do so, resulting in the Fighting-Steel-Type being pushed back. "Lu!"
"Use, Aura Sphere!"
"Mew!" Mew would follow up, holding a concentrated sphere of Aura in his paws. With the strength of an Olympic athlete behind it, he launched that sphere like there was no tomorrow.
"Fight back with your own Aura Sphere!"
"Lucario!" Lucario stumbled for a bit before regaining his balance. To retaliate he would create not just one but two Aura Spheres, holding them in each of his paws. By using both of them, he used one to clash with Mew's Aura Sphere. Those two cancelled each other out from the Aura collision, leading the second Aura Sphere to fly in through the blue smoke.
"Mew!" Thanks to that second Aura Sphere, Mew received a direct hit once his own sphere had been dealt with. Perfect thinking on Lucario's part.
"This is where we finish things! Go hard, Lucario! Aura Sphere one more time!"
"Luca!" Lucario would go in for a second Aura Sphere. This time, it would be up close and personal as Lucario leapt in. He began increasing the size of the Aura Sphere in response to Sci-Twi's Aura which was starting to increase.
With his arms up, Lucario was ready to smash this sphere right into Mew, fighting up his body and Mew's body with an azure glow as he slammed it down.
"Psyshock!"
"Mew!" But in the nick of time, Mew managed to shield himself with the power of Psyshock By forming a pink sphere around his body. The two spheres met with a heavy collision, enough to send sparks flying everywhere. Mew managed to save himself narrowly by using Psyshock as Lucario growled at the face of this barrier.
"No good! Try and push through! That might work!"
"Rrr!" A grin met with Lucario's face. Now Sci-Twi was speaking his language.
With some extra brute force, Lucario managed to increase the size of his Aura Sphere just a bit. More importantly, just enough to force Mew to hold it back as well. Mew's barrier expanded to match that of Lucario's Aura Sphere. Eventually, both of them exerted enough power to the point where they cancelled each other out. Or rather, they blew up in unison. An azure and pink explosion went off, consuming them both.
However, both fell out of the smoke with their respective coloured trails, crashing into the floor. Both the jaws of Sci-Twi and Pinkie Pie opened up as they each leaned in to see who emerged victorious.
Neither emerged victorious. In fact, they both fainted at the same time.
"Lucario..."
"Mew..."
"A double knockout?!" The trainers collectively gasped as Sci-Twi was the one to lower her head. Pinkie Pie shrugged as she knew who exactly won this battle.
"Guess that's that." Sci-Twi walked over, kneeling to face Lucario. "Thank you for helping me, Lucario. I guess I have a lot to learn about Aura."
"Rrr..."
"That was great!" Pinkie Pie had already picked Mew up, cradling him like a baby. "I still won by one Pokemon, but great job, Twi. Mew and I had a blast."
"Mew-Mew." The winner of this battle was Pinkie Pie. Despite Mew fainting, she had one Pokemon yet to be used, thus, giving her the lead over Sci-Twi.
"Mhm. What did you think, Bertha?" And it was now that Bertha's presence was no longer here, startling everyone. Without them noticing for a few minutes, Bertha already departed from here minutes ago alongside Sci-Twi's Alpha Pikachu. "Bertha? Pikachu? W-Where'd you go?!"
Equestria. Near the Crystal Empire. The Sea Temple, Samiya. Day.
Over at the Sea Temple, which was still around the Crystal Empire's waters and slowly drifting, ponies from the Crystal Empire were indulging themselves here in the spirit of the Pokemon Festival, conversing with the People of the Water.
Princess Luna had also shown up here but for a different reason. Last night, when within the Hyperdream, the truth about Galaxy Master had been revealed. How he was created via the power of one of the crystals and how he was originally based on Ash Ketchum's father. All of it added up perfectly to Luna. From the way he acted, how he was not a Rift Creation or the light he emits.
"Here it is, Princess Luna." The guard held out the crystal to the Moon Princess. "Each crystal shares various similarities but all of them have something unique to them. This is the one that has the power to bring things like artwork and objects to life."
"So, Galaxy Master was born from this." Luna held the crystal with her magic. By using Lunar Ire's magic, she managed to look further within the crystals. And she got exactly what she expected. Billions, possibly trillions of light particles moving around in one crystal, overflowing with so much power. "Amazing...I can see why your temple was so sought after in the past."
"The power behind these crystals can linger for a long time...so it's not impossible to believe that a mild mistake from Queen Delia led to this."
"Hm. Is there any way to reverse this then? He was brought to life by the power of the Crystal so can they reverse it?"
"Reverse?" The guard pondered before looking at his fellow guards. They all just shrugged. He was just as lost as them. "Oh. Sorry. But I'm not sure we do. The Crystals can make repairs but...not like that."
"Not yet they can't." Appearing before Luna and the guards was the Royal Advisor Alo, showing up wearing a fancy Pokemon Festival hat. He was clearly having fun with this. "Those crystals may not have everything, but that can change."
"Ah! You're saying we can make it happen?!" Luna gasped with a wide smile on her face.
"Oh yes. These crystals were made to fill out countless possibilities. Such as how we used them to invent lightspeed travel for our temple or even how the People of the Vale worked with us to make their own personal crystal. It's all so creative, honestly."
"That's what I love to hear! So, we can make a crystal that can reverse what this one does!" Luna threw the crystal back to one of the guards, getting too excited. The guard caught the crystal but the strength of the launch knocked him over.
"Granted...it is a long process. And an arduous one with high effort. Making these crystals with such overwhelming power is not easy at all. To make it possible, we must go elsewhere to form a new crystal." Alo continued.
"Elsewhere? But I thought these crystals were made here." Luna paused.
"Oh, they are. It's the base of the crystals that are made here. Then, we the People of the Water use our singing to add our power to it. But the limitless power within the crystals is given to us by a third element. The reason why we have this beautiful light. The power of Arceus."
There it was. Once again, Arceus found a way to be involved with all of those. The Light of Arceus continued to have further connections all across the world.
"Arceus, eh? Would you mind if I helped you all make this crystal? It sounds fun and hard work is exactly what I love to tackle." Princess Luna immediately requested to join in on helping make a new crystal for the Sea Temple. First time for everything.
"Very well. We could use some magical skills." Alo accepted it. It was official, Princess Luna would help usher in a new Sea Temple Crystal. One that would not only be filled with Arceus' power and the power from the People of the Water but some of Luna's influence would be involved in the creation of it.
All of this for one fictional character.
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Battle Carnival.
Over at the Battle Carnival, Ash was currently zooming around, looking for someone new to battle. Along the way, Pikachu and he along with their mythical friends grabbed something to eat. But they were being joined by two other individuals.
Cloudchaser and Flitter, who they had previously defeated. After losing to Ash and his team, the two pegasi remained her, tagging along with the Alola Champion. They had yet to find someone new to battle, but that was all about to change.
Of course, not before they enjoyed the rides here. After all, this was a carnival. They took the time to entertain themselves without needing to battle. Some rides proved to be turbulent for their own good, mainly for Meloetta. After indulging themselves in these rides, they came across one room that had something shocking waiting for them.
"There's gotta be someone in here." Ash opened the door to the next room. This was backed up by the noise coming from this room. Specifically, the sound of a crowd cheering. That was already a good sign. Light rays flew out of the doors as Ash and everyone were met with an interesting sight. A sight no one of them expected to see.
For starters, Bertha was there after leaving the room where Sci-Twi and Pinkie Pie battled. But more importantly, it was who she was facing that was surprising. Or rather, who she just recently faced and claimed victory.
"Six total victories...Not a single one down..." A man wearing the most bombastic carnival clothes out of anyone was on the ground, sulking at his defeat. By his choice of words, it was clear that Bertha not only won, but she absolutely dominated in this battle.
"Hang on...you're the boss of this place!" Cloudchaser and Flitter recognized who this was after first coming here. "You lost?!"
"Mhm..." The boss of the Battle Carnival uttered with a gloomy tone. "She's too strong for me. Who let an Elite 4 Member in here?"
"Don't feel too bad. You put up a great battle and showed a lot of character. As to be expected from the owner of this carnival." Bertha chuckled, bringing some optimism. "But now...I suppose I'm the strongest trainer here. And the one to beat."
"She's right about that..." The boss sighed before standing up. "Right now, Bertha stands at the top."
"Awesome!" Ash's eyes lit up."I picked the best time to show up! So if someone beats Bertha, what does that mean?"
"Well, she took all the medals I had." The boss showed how Bertha was wearing multiple medals. Once belonging to him with different colours, now we're on Bertha. "Beat her and you gain all ten medals. The challenge was that whoever makes it through enough battles can find me and win a total of these ten beautiful medals...But it looks like she got here before any of that."
"It does look good on me, doesn't it?" Bertha showed off the medals.
"Hm. Then I'll do it!" Ash adjusted his gloves. "If I beat Bertha, I win the whole thing, right?"
"Not really. You'll just be another boss waiting to be defeated. But if you wish to leave after this go ahead." The boss shrugged as that was good enough for Ash.
"Alright. I'll take you on next Bertha. I've been waiting for this." Ash stepped up as everyone's attention was locked onto this battle. They could feel the excitement coming from it.
"Hmm...So have I." Bertha smirked. "For a while before we met again, honestly. Ever since I learned about your achievements over the years, I've been interested in battling you again. This is also a good chance to pick up where left off at Sinnoh."
"Yeah." Ash agreed. These two had battled before but that was during when Ash was still somewhat new yet experienced during his long journey. Granted, he did hold his own but ultimately lost. Now, these two will battle once more. Ash was far different than what he was back at Sinnoh and that was exciting for Bertha to find out.
"For this one...I want to use my own Pokemon." Bertha revealed that she wished to use her own Pokemon instead of the ones she borrowed. "Battling you with my true team is something I want to continue doing. How does that sound?"
"Go ahead." The owner allowed it. "You've earned that right."
"And what say you, Ash?" Bertha asked. "Will you use your own Pokemon?"
"Nah. I don't even have the same team as I did back at Sinnoh, so it wouldn't be the same. I wanna stick to this challenge and battle with borrowed Pokemon. And of course, Pikachu's still gonna be with me." Ash would stick with battling alongside Victini, Hoopa, Meloetta, Twilight's Absol and Sci-Twi's Rapidash.
"Bold. But that's what makes you interesting." Bertha couldn't argue against that. "Very well then. Let's have our second battle, Ash. And this time, a serious one. You've already shown me that you are stupendous when it comes to being observant. I can't wait to see how you've grown with it."
"Same here!" Ash grinned as he was already bringing some great energy to this area. The crowd was loving what they were hearing. Any battles ongoing right now wouldn't compare to how exciting this one would be. Pikachu's red sacs flared, ready to take on Bertha and her Pokemon. Of course, once they're all returned to her, that is.
Ash vs Bertha would commence soon here at the Battle Carnival for many to see. And for Ash vs Bertha, it was the perfect time for them to settle things here as the journey continues.
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Battle Carnival. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Ash vs Bertha. A battle that would have its second round ever since that battle back at Sinnoh all those years ago. Ash was a different trainer compared to then, which greatly interested Bertha, who managed to emerge as the top trainer at the Battle Carnival, beating out the owner without failure.
Bertha had been given all of her original Pokemon back whilst Ash would keep the borrowed Pokemon from his friends plus his partner Pikachu. And to witness an Elite 4 Member battle was a great opportunity as many flocked to this area just to see this imminent battle.
With such a loud crowd, it attracted more, especially Sci-Twi and Pinkie Pie, who had just finished having their battle with Pinkie Pie emerging victorious. After Bertha suddenly left their sights, they soon arrived here, where Bertha was currently standing before Ash Ketchum
"Ash. Why is it that you want to battle with borrowed Pokemon and only one of your own Pokemon instead of all of them?" Bertha questioned. "It's still curious to me."
"Yeah, Ash, why?" Cloudchaser asked. "You'd have an easier time teaming up your Pokemon, right?"
"Seems like an unnecessary handicap more than anything," Flitter added.
"I hear ya. But I do it for one reason. It's to help me on my path to becoming a Pokemon Master." Ash closed his eyes, bringing back his main dream and what drives him to keep on journeying.
"Does it now? How so?" Bertha asked.
"I don't wanna just keep battling with the same Pokemon all the time. Being the best means I've got full versatility on a lot of Pokemon, ya know. If I battle with many friends of all kinds, I can learn so much."
"And Ashkan can't fail with Hoopa on his side! That's why Hoopa's still battling!" Hoopa chimed in, giving his own opinion as to why Ash wouldn't use his original team.
"Hm. I see." Bertha immediately got what Ash was trying to say. "Jack of all Trades. But also a Master of everything. So that's one of the many paths of a Pokemon Master."
"Now. Before we start...Pinkie Pie." The Elite 4 Member shot her attention toward Pinkie Pie, alerting her. She even made Pinkie stand up tall as if she was a soldier. "Have you healed my Gliscor?"
"Yes ma'am! Gliscor's all healed up after our battle! Here ya go!" Quickly, Pinkie Pie revealed Gliscor's Poke Ball within her mane. By bouncing, she launched the ball out of her mane, sending it towards the original owner.
"Thank you." Smoothly, Bertha managed to catch the Poke Ball with immaculate precision. "Now, we can truly begin. Let's finish what we started at Sinnoh, Ash."
"Just what I wanted to hear Bertha!"
"Pikachu!"
The stage had been set. Bertha had all of her Pokemon ready to throw down with Ash's Pikachu and all his borrowed Pokemon. And due to Ash's reasoning for battling with borrowed Pokemon instead of his own, Bertha wanted to see what Ash could do with that handicap. After all, it would show just how fantastical a potential Pokemon Master could become even with some limitations.
"Battle to your heart's contents." The owner of the Battle Carnival commented. "As always, our motto here is that there's no limit to what you can do here. Go on and send out your Pokemon."
"Okay! Meloetta, I choose you!" Ash would choose Meloetta first.
"Meloetta!" Meloetta did a beautiful and stylish frontflip over Ash's head before appearing in front of him, hovering a few feet off the floor.
"Then first shall be Whiscash!" First up for Bertha's team was her Whiscash, making its appearance.
"Whiscash!"
"Meloetta. Let's go for your Pirouette Forme for this one. Your all combat with that."Ash suggested a form change. Meloetta's Pirouette Forme would be the option for this battle.
"Melo~" Meloetta would do just that. With a beautiful sound coming from her, she twirled on the spot, picking up impressive speed in a matter of seconds. A beautiful white light eclipsed out of her body, forming into a whirlwind. And out of that whirlwind of light was none other than her combat-oriented form. Her Pirouette Forme. "Meloetta!"
"Meloetta has a form just for battling? The more you know..." Pinkie Pie gawked. "Then again, I could've found that out with Mew one day."
"Battle Start!"
"Okay, Meloetta! Use Close Combat!"
"Melo!" With a graceful leap, Meloetta approached Whiscash while also becoming a blur from her amazing speed. In her Pirouette Forme, her speed gained a stupendous boost.
"Whiscash, use Zen Headbutt!"
"Whiscash!" Whiscash would retaliate with an attack that was perfect for the Normal-Fighting-Type. Covering her head in mental energy, Whiscash would stand in place instead of moving. No way she was faster than Meloetta after all. Meloetta's legs clashed with Whiscash's head, meeting with the mental energy that resulted in sparks flying. Meloetta jumped back, unable to successfully land the first hit. But a series of attacks is exactly what Close Combat was all about.
"Go for it, Meloetta!"
"Melo!" Meloetta moved back in, but this time from the side. She zipped to the side, going in for a knee. It was a successful hit as Meloetta kneed Whiscash's side, knocking her back.
"No water to use as our advantage but that's fine. It's time to move in, Whiscash!"
"Whiscash!" Whiscash would recover surprisingly quickly. While not as fast as Meloetta in this form, she could most definitely move at a formidable pace. She instantly lunged at Meloetta, still keeping the mental energy of Zen Headbutt in.
"Stay sharp, Meloetta! Use Close Combat to defend yourself!"
"Etta!" Meloetta would use her knee to fight back and block the incoming Zen Headbutt as well. A direct impact with this Zen Headbutt was different. Whiscash put some force into this once she lunged forward, resulting in Meloetta feeling the pressure of that impact. "Melo?!"
"Cash!" Whiscash managed to catch up to her strength that quickly as Meloetta slid back. Whiscash moved in for another Zen Headbutt, forcing Meloetta to fight back at a faster pace.
Soon, Meloetta began dancing around, evading the incoming Zen Headbutt from Whiscash by jumping over her. After that, the Melody Pokemon did a twirl above Whiscash, going for a downward attack. A dive-kick to be precise.
"Flip your head up, Whiscash!"
"Whiscash!" But Whiscash was ready for that as well. The moment Meloetta came down with a dive-kick, the Water-Ground-Type flipped her head up instantly, sending Zen Headbutt with her. Meloetta was shocked to see Whiscash's raid retaliation as Close Combat and Zen Headbutt had met once more. Once more, Whiscash managed to win this exchange, expanding the mental energy to push Meloetta away.
"Etta!" Meloetta cried out before flying back.
"Getting close will have to wait! Meloetta, use Psychic!"
"Melo!" Meloetta recovered midair via her natural levitation. By performing an aerial flip in the air, she would fight back with her own mental energy. By holding her arms out, Meloetta unleashed waves of Psychic energy in retaliation.
"Whiscash!" Whiscash tried using her own energy to fight back by expanding the mental energy around her head. However, from this distance, Meloetta had the advantage. She slipped the Psychic waves past Whiscash's front and focused on her sides like before. However, in her Pirouette Forme, Psychic wasn't as potent as to be expected. While it was strong enough to push Whiscash back, it was only a few metres and with medium impact. "Cash!"
"Yeah. I figured that her Pirouette Forme would be better up close," said Ash. Her Aria Forme would be the better option for Psychic in this case. "Let's go all in for this one, Meloetta! Close Combat!"
"Melo!" Meloetta did a quick drop from above, sticking a superhero landing. Afterwards, she began running, which was rare to see in its own right.
"Earthquake!"
"Cash!" Whiscash wouldn't let that happen. By smashing her entire body on the ground, the Whiskers Pokemon caused a potent tremor that birthed large golden shockwaves.
"Here they come, Meloetta! Do what you do best and dance!"
"Melo!" Meloetta would do just that. By using the speed of Close Combat, she began dancing just to manoeuvre around the shockwaves of Earthquake. And as to be expected from Meloetta, she did with immaculate moves. She danced around the shockwaves in a perfect motion, moving in a zig-zag pattern. And after evading them all with such precision, she got up close, giving Whiscash a heavy kick to the face. "Etta!"
"Cash!" Whiscash ended up tumbling on the floor after that meaty kick. The Whiskers Pokemon even felt a bit dizzy from the impact but she was still active, albeit receiving a good chunk of damage.
"Hm. Impressive. Return, for now, Whiscash." Bertha chose to return Whiscash, seeing that she suffered enough damage in this battle. It was time for a quick swap-out for someone who would fare well against Meloetta. Bertha had her options, she just needed to know how to properly approach this.
"How are you feeling, Meleotta? Wanna keep going?" Ash asked Meloetta since Whiscash had been returned.
"If not, then let Hoopa go!" Hoopa chimed in, latching onto Ash's shoulder as he truly wanted to jump in after Meloetta.
"Melo." Meloetta could indeed keep going from this point. She wanted to stay out a bit longer and wasn't ready to head back just yet. Hoopa then lowered his head as he would have to wait, slowly backing up.
"Let's see...I think this will do! Gliscor! Come out!" Next up was Bertha's Gliscor, who she had recently received back from Pinkie Pie.
"Gliscor!"
"Gliscor..." Ash said with observant eyes. Gliscor could be that blockade for Meloetta. But there was no blockade that Ash wouldn't try and break down. "Meloetta. Change back."
"Meloetta!" Meloetta would make a strategic change. Despite her Pirouette Forme being the one where she could focus on combat some more, there were some disadvantages, especially in the face of Gliscor and to an extent Whiscash's Zen Headbutt. With another dance and a beautiful melody, that same white light emerged from Meloetta's body, changing her back into her Aria Forme. "Melo!"
"Good choice. But will it be enough? Gliscor, Guillotine!"
"Gliscor!" Gliscor was coming in hot with a devastating attack, one that could take Meloetta out in one go.
"No way we're letting that happen! Meloetta, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Etta!" Meloetta had something else up her sleeve that she could utilize. Dazzling Gleam. From her entire body, a beautiful multi-coloured shine of magic had erupted in the form of a sphere, expanding brightly.
"G-Gli!" Gliscor immediately flinched at the sight of this blinding light. He flinched so hard that he lost his momentum when flying but it didn't stop there. The shine then shot out rays of rainbows that bombarded Gliscor, pushing him back and essentially putting an end to Guillotine. "Scor!"
"We'll keep our distance with this one and won't let you get close! Relic Song!"
"Melo~Melo~" Meloetta did what she does best, by singing a beautiful melody so great that it was soothing to everyone, even her opponent. Already, the people and ponies within the crowd could feel this wonderful melody coming through.
"Oh, this is nice..." Cloudchaser gushed as everyone felt like melting. Since they weren't involved in the battle, the sound of Relic Song would easily affect them without failure.
"Yes...Yes, it is." Sci-Twi held Hisuian Zorua, rocking her around.
"Can you now? Night Slash!"
"Gli-Gli-Gliscor!" Gliscor had an answer to that. From afar, he would use Night Slash instead of getting close. The alternate variant of Night Slash was utilized as the Fang Scorp Pokemon swung his claws so fast he sent white blades of darkness.
"Yeah, we can! Louder!"
"Melo!" Meloetta's beautiful singing had increased in volume. And with that volume increase, the soundwave of Relic Song shot up ten-fold. Its power was immense to the point where it shattered the blades of Night Slash from its intensity. Gliscor gasped before being engulfed by this song.
"S-Scor..." Captivated by the sound, Gliscor fell asleep. Right in the air too, Gliscor dropped to the floor, dozing off. Damage had been dealt to him too just for extra measure.
"Now, Psychic!"
"Etta!" Meloetta then used Psychic on Gliscor while he was on the ground. With all her might, she raised the Ground-Flying-Type up before then smashing him down, creating a large dust cloud.
A perfect combination of moves on Ash's part and with the dust clearing, Gliscor's fate had been sealed. Total defeat. Gliscor had fainted.
"Gliscor..."
"Gliscor is unable to battle! Meloetta wins!"
"Alright! You rocked, Meloetta!" In unison, Ash and Pikachu jumped for joy, celebrating Meloetta's first victory. And with such finesse too.
"Pika!"
"Melo?" Hearing that pleased Meloetta. And it was even better for her as she was receiving compliments from Ash, making her blush. If she could keep this up, further compliments would come from Ash, which would be perfect in her eyes.
Arriving here at the scene of the battle, just after Meloetta claimed victory over Gliscor, were Twilight, Hilbert and Hilda. Just in time to witness the battle in its earlier stages.
"So this is where all that commotion came from," Hilbert commented. "Looks like Ash's throwing down with Bertha."
"Has he used Absol yet?" Twilight leaned in, wondering if her Absol had battled yet since Ash currently had him in waiting along with Sci-Twi's Alpha Rapidash.
"Not yet. But you're in time to see the rest..." Suddenly, commenting behind them all was none other than the Witch. She appeared once more without making a sound, startling Hilbert, Hilda and Twilight.
"You! It's you!" Twilight gasped as the mysterious lady she was waiting to see finally arrived. And this time, within her presence. "The witch!"
"Just 'Witch' is nice." She bowed her head to Twilight. No longer did she decide to hide herself. But she still ended up appearing unexpectedly. That remained the same.
"You're hitting your stride, Ash. But what about this? Go, Nidoking!" Bertha's next Pokemon had been unleashed, ready to tackle Ash's team.
"Nidoking!"
"M-Melo." Meloetta was briefly intimidated by Nidoking just for his appearance and entrance alone. His bellow even made her flinch but she kept her composure either way.
"Nidoking, huh...Come back, for now, Meloetta!" Ash decided to call back Meloetta. Despite believing in her to defeat this Pokemon, he wanted to switch things up. Meloetta flew back to Ash, having the widest smile on her face as she wanted one response from him. "Well done, Meloetta."
"Etta!" There it was. Those words were good enough for her as Meloetta stayed behind Ash, holding onto his shoulder.
"Right. I know who I'm sending out. It's time for you to shine." Ash held out a Poke Ball. This meant one thing. Either Twilights' Pokemon would emerge. "Absol! I choose you!"
"Absol!" Princess Twilight's Absol was next. He made his entrance before turning to face Ash. Ash and Absol looked at each other before Ash gave a confident thumbs-up. In response, Absol smiled at Ash. That was a sign of utmost respect. Absol was already prepared to battle alongside Ash after all they have been through.
"Yes! My Absol!" Twilight shouted, taking her attention away from the Witch just for this moment. It was what she was waiting for after all.
"Let's go for it, Absol! Night Slash!"
"Absol!" Absol would go first, coating his horn in darkness before running in.
"Nidoking, use Thunderbolt"
"King!" Nidoking would try and put a stop to his movements with Thunderbolt. Out of his massive claws, 100,000 volts of lightning came crashing out, homing in on the Disaster Pokemon.
"Jump and strike!"
"Sol!" Absol leapt with the moment he gained from all that running. It helped greatly as he managed to evade the bolts of lightning, resulting in them only touching the floor and nothing more. Nidoking gasped, looking up to see the Dark-Type hover there for a bit like an angel. But that didn't last as Absol delivered a fierce overhead slash, striking Nidoking's head.
"N-Nido!"
"Absol!" After striking him once in the head, Absol followed up with a second slash to the face. This one pushed the Ground-Poison-Type back, garnering some distance between the two. The second slash even seemed to hit harder than the last.
"Awesome! Now, use Dark Pulse!"
"Sol!" Absol wouldn't let up. Ash knew exactly how to battle with Absol and his instincts. By opening his mouth, a beam that was embedded in dark thoughts came hurling out.
"Be on guard, Nidoking! Earth Power!"
"King!" Nidoking angrily smashed his arms on the ground, wasting no time recovering. Much like Earthquake, golden shockwaves came storming out. These shockwaves met with Dark Pulse, resulting in a clash. This clash was momentary as they both cancelled each other out.
"Let's move in again!, Absol Night Slash!"
"Absol!" Absol came rushing in, jumping through the black and gold smoke with another Night Slash imminent.
"Not this time. Earth Power, Nidoking!"
"Nido...King!" Nidoking would face Absol head-on instead of utilizing ranged attacks. By swinging his earth-clad claws, he meant with Absol's dark-coated horn, initiating another clash. But this one would last longer. The two of them growled at each other as they started going back and forth. Absol swung his horn repeatedly while Nidoking would do the same with his claws.
In terms of strength, both Pokemon were experts in that category. Their physical strength was stupendous enough to result in brute force being the overwhelming factor. But because both of them were experts in physical strength, their struggle could go either way.
"S-Sol!" Absol had been slugged by one of the Earth Powers once Nidoking found a blind spot. He staggered from the blow, resulting in Nidoking winning the exchange. Nidoking paid Absol back by delivering multiple Poison Jab blows before delivering a flow blow that pushed the Disaster Pokemon away. "Ab!"
"Now's our chance! Counter!" But this would work in Ash's favour. He's seen Absol battle a lot to know how great he was at making a full counterattack.
"Absol!" And now was the time for that counterattack. After being knocked back, his eyes flashed red. Immediately, he used the power from his horn, exuding energy from it. Instead of jumping back in to hit Nidoking, he would attack from afar, sending an orange pulse of energy.
"Hm?!" Bertha's eyes widened as she had never seen Counter utilized in such a way. Usually, it's a physical blow but not this time. "Earth Power!"
"Nido...!" Nidoking would try and strike back by using Earth Power's golden shockwaves. But it was too late. The pulse reached him at great speeds, sending all of that gathered damage back to Nidoking. "K-King!" Now Nidoking was the one to stagger and the force of that Counter was enough to make him stumble.
"I taught him that! That was something I taught Absol! Right here!" Twilight raised her hoof, cheering for Absol. "Woo! Go, Absol!"
"Not enough to make Nidoking fall over." Ash adjusted his hat as Absol shook his head. Both Absol and Nidoking were full of scratches from their exchanges but yet seemed to be healthy at the same time.
"Amazing, isn't it? This is Ash's first time battling with Absol and the others...but he's doing so well against an Elite 4 Member." Hilda commented. "Can someone catch up that fast?"
"I don't know anyone else who can catch up that fast." Hilbert shook his head as neither of them had seen growth this exponential. It was somewhat rare. Ash's decision to battle with Pokemon that wasn't his original team didn't seem as wild anymore as he was holding his own.
"He does grow fast..." Bertha thought to herself before reminiscing. "It's just like before at Sinnoh when we battled for the first time. He was so quick to learn from my teachings to the point where he forced me to put in more effort. And the same is somewhat happening here. Just how far will your ceiling go, Ash? How much stronger can you possibly get?"
"Hm. Sludge Bomb, from above!"
"Nido...King!" Nidoking would then perform an attack from above while still staying on the ground. Out of his mouth, a large ball of poison was shot up, similar to how Draco Meteor would be fired. In fact, it was a lot like Draco Meteor as out of this ball, multiple poisonous sludges came raining down from above.
"You've used it with Twilight before! So let's do it together! Counter Shield with Dark Pulse!"
"Ab...Sol!" Just then, Absol went for the Counter Shield. By using Dark Pulse, he got on his back, unleashing the attack to such a size that it would cover his entire body. Soon, a frantic burst of darkness went flying everywhere, acting as both an offensive and defensive tactic. The burst of darkness had blocked the sludges, preventing them from reaching the Disaster Pokemon while also whipping Nidoking, dealing damage in the process.
"K-King!"
"Awesome! Now, head in there at full force! Giga Impact!" Ash was going for another full-force attack. This time with Absol's Giga Impact.
"You use brute force to its absolute best, Ash!" Bertha smiled, complimenting Ash and his usage of brute force. Most trainers with brute force would fall short, but Ash knew how to battle with it and grow with it. "We'll respond with Earth Power!"
"Nido!" Nidoking would reply with a brute force blow as well. He sent all of his strength into his claws for this final attack, raising them high. Once Absol and Nidoking got close, Giga Impact and Earth Power collided, unleashing a paroxysm of Infinity Energy.
This full frontal clash had a grand impact, enough to almost knock everyone off their feet with this strong pressure. Ash held onto his hat while Bertha grasped her coat. Twilight bit her hoof, going that Absol withstood it. The answer would be revealed once the dust settled and the pressure had died down.
Everything cleared out as both Absol and Nidoking could be seen standing. They looked at each other as there was a moment of silence. The two of them were completely static when looking at each other, but only one of them managed to continue standing.
"N-Nidoking..." Dropping to the floor was Nidoking. He had fainted.
"Nidoking is unable to battle! Absol wins!"
"Awesome stuff, Absol!" Ash pumped his fist into the air as Absol put on a smile with one of his eyes closed. "You did it!"
"Pikachu!"
"A-Absol."
"That's my Absol..." Twilight started weeping which resulted in the Witch passing her a box of tissues to wipe her tears. This victory greatly struck Twilight as while she wasn't the one battling, the fact that Absol claimed a stunning victory was fantastic to her. "Is that what it feels like to be proud of someone? I feel like a mom, right, Eve?"
"Espeon."
"Come back and take a rest, Absol. I'll send you back out later," said Ash as he returned Absol to his Poke Ball.
"Thank you, Nidoking. Return." Bertha quickly swapped out Poke Balls after returning Nidoking. A proud smile graced her face. "I haven't had to think this hard before. How long has it been since I've faced such a formidable opponent? But now...this is the perfect time for me to catch up as well."
"A totally flawless run! That's what he'll have!" Flitter exclaimed as she and Cloudchaser were excitedly flapping their wings, cheering for Ash.
"Even if it isn't, he'll win for sure!" Pinkie Pie replied, holding up flags of Ash, showing her utmost encouragement.
"Mhm. But I hope he sends out Rapidash next." Much like how Ash sent out Twilight's Absol, Sci-Twi was hoping for Alpha Rapidash to appear. Ash's next action is what will determine that.
"Go now! Mamoswine!" Bertha sent out Mamoswine, letting him join the fray.
"Mamoswine!"
"Alright." Ash held out another Pokemon. That meant one thing. Rapidash was coming."Sci-Twi trusted me with you because she was so afraid to battle with you. Rapidash. Work with me, okay? Rapidash, I choose you!"
"Rapidash!" Alpha Rapidash had emerged, in all her glory. Her height surpassed that of a regular Rapidash, making everyone in the crowd witness the sheer size of her. Sci-Twi scrunched her face, putting her hands together and praying that Rapidash would take action here. She feared that she could cost Ash the battle, if not.
Ash was still sitting healthy with 6 active Pokemon while Bertha had lost two. However, the tide of a Pokemon Battle can shift at any time, especially when it's a full 6-on-6 battle. The rematch between Ash and Bertha was escalating as the journey continues.
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Battle Carnival. The Pokemon Festival. Day.
The battle between Ash and Bertha was still in its early stages, becoming the central battle that everyone in the carnival had to see. Ash was sitting healthy with 6 active Pokemon whilst Bertha only had 4 Pokemon remaining. Although, Meloetta and Absol have already suffered damage.
Right now it was Alpha Rapidash, who was originally Sci-Twi's and Bertha's Mamoswine facing off. The ceiling of this part of the carnival had opened up, bringing in the sunshine as the golden sun rays beamed through the clouds, shining down on this very battle.
For this battle, some treats would have to come by for everyone to enjoy. Having some snacks would make the entertainment even better if they had something to fill their stomachs.
"Mmm! You look a bit stunned there, Twi." Pinkie Pie, who had already grabbed herself some popcorn, sharing it with her Mew, had witnessed Sci-Twi's face of uncertainty. By using her special Fairy Eyes, Pinkie Pie could even see Twilight's emotional aura. From the way it was wobbling around, that only confirmed she was nervous. "What's up?"
"It's Rapidash. I only gave her to Ash because I think he might have an easier time working with her. Since...ya know...Ash is the better trainer and everything. But what if she ends up dragging Ash down?"
"Ah, don't worry about it. Ash has this covered." Pinkie shrugged, almost dropping some of her popcorn, only for Spinda to hop out of her mane and catch the rest. "Rapidash isn't the first stubborn Fire-Type Pokemon he's had to deal with, after all."
"Hey, Rapidash. We're gonna be battling together in this one." Speaking of which, Ash grabbed Rapidash's attention, causing the Fire Horse Pokemon to lock onto him. They had a moment of silence with each other. Alpha Rapidash was already known for not being too keen on working alongside Sci-Twi.
Rapidash had something specific to think about Ash. Something that he didn't have Twilight. When looking at Ash, Rapidash put on a smile, understanding what Ash was feeling. She nodded at him before facing her opponent. Rapidash was willing to battle alongside Ash.
"Hm. Let's make it work, Rapidash! Win or lose, let's do our best!" Ash exclaimed as he and Alpha Rapidash would battle with no issues.
"See? Easy." Pinkie Pie commented, bringing some ease to Sci-Twi. Sci-Twi could see that Rapidash respected Ash mainly because of how powerful of a trainer he was. But this also made her worry that she could never reach a level where Rapidash would respect her.
"Let's give 'em a scare! Dragon Pulse!"
"Rapi...!" Alpha Rapidash would reveal one speciality of Alpha Pokemon apart from their size. The fact that they have access to moves that their regular species cannot learn. In this case, Rapidash's Dragon Pulse as he held his breath in, gathering draconic energy.
"Dragon Pulse?!" Bertha pulled back, stunned that Rapidash had access to that attack. "In that case...Mamoswine! Stand your ground and use Earthquake!"
"Mamooo!" Mamoswine would stand still and allow this attack to come through, all the while he was building up power for Earthquake. The impact of Dragon Pulse resulted in a blue and purple explosion of Infinity Energy upon touching Mamoswine, essentially cloaking his entire body.
But within that smoke, the silhouette of Mamoswine had raised his leg, ready to send a trembling force of power from the earth itself. And that's when Ash's observation kicked in. Through the smoke, he could see the leg moving upwards. The only downside to Mamoswine was that he was on the slower side, giving Ash opportunities to react.
"Get ready! Let's use those hooves to their full potential! Jump!" Ash saw the moment when Mamoswine's leg smashed the ground, causing the golden shockwaves to emerge.
"Dash!" Rapidash leapt with great power behind her hooves. Since she was a Pokemon that was skilled in her hooves, her jumping strength and height were immaculate. She managed to evade the golden shockwaves, gaining a high enough height to do so. The height that she gathered was stunning too to the point where it looked like she was flying, almost leaving the Battle Carnival entire.
"Ooh! Can it like fly?!" Flitter exclaimed.
"Nah, she can just 'Jump Really Good! Now, use Flamethrower, from above!"
"Rapidash!" From above, Rapidash built up a burst of flames, receiving ample airtime as was the norm with Pokemon that couldn't fly. Out of her mouth, a burst of fire came streaming down, crashing onto Mamoswine.
"Mamo!"
"Double-Edge!"
"Swine!" Mamoswine, even when being engulfed by the flames, seemed fine. Fine enough to power through them and take off from the ground. While he couldn't jump as good as Rapidash, Double-Edge was the best way to take him to the skies as he approached with a silver aura.
"Dash!" From that instant retaliation, Rapidash had been struck at full force by Mamoswine whilst airborne. But after that impact, it immediately ended her airtime, causing the Fire Horse Pokemon to drop. She wasn't out yet as Mamoswine suffered some recoil damage because of this.
"Took that like a champ. That's gotta be Thick Fat." Ash growled, immediately suspecting Mamoswine's ability and his reasoning for taking Flamethrower head-on without even barely feeling it.
"You're right. But that won't stop you, will it? Mamoswine, use Ancient Power!"
"Swine!" From the floor itself, fossilized rocks had been summoned with each of them being as big as Mamoswine's head before being launched.
"Meet with Dragon Pulse!"
"Dash!" Rapidash released a short-burst Dragon Pulse. But that short burst was enough to stop the rocks in their tracks, resulting in combustion. However, Mamoswine wouldn't stop there.
"Another!" Bertha commanded that Mamoswine used Ancient Power again. And whilst the dust and smoke were still up. Once more, Ancient Power was unleashed, sending rocks through the smoke.
"Gallop away, Rapidash!"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash galloped to the side, evading one of the incoming rocks. The second one forced her to quickly change directions upon its arrival, but a larger quantity of rocks from before was starting to show up rapidly. Rapidash tried galloping away from them but even with her speed, the massive quantity of them got the better of her as two rocks managed to strike the Fire-Type. "Dash!"
And when those rocks succeeded, that staggered Rapidash, causing the rest of them to hit her. Super-effective hits all around, enough to make her fall over.
"Rapidash! Are you okay?!" Ash gasped once Rapidash dropped. Sci-Twi covered her eyes, fearing that could be it for her Pokemon.
"Dash...!" Rapidash was still in there. She stood up, attempting to shrug off the heavy impacts. Even when working alongside Ash without any struggles, she couldn't help but be stubborn.
"Yeah. That'll do. You're stubborn but that's what makes you so tough." Ash chucked before closing his eyes. "Rapidash...You respect strong trainers, don't you?"
By asking that, the Fire Horse Pokemon promptly nodded, confirming that powerful trainers are what drives here. Ash saw it from the start but just needed to confirm it.
"Figured." He responded, thinking back to his Charizard. "Guess that's something that doesn't change with tough Fire-Types. It's cool that you love battling alongside those that are powerful and extra-trained, Rapidash. But battling alongside others who are getting there isn't a bad idea either."
"Dash?"
"Not everyone starts out as top tier. I was super slow in the beginning and so were my Pokemon. Trying to be the very best is tough when you're struggling to keep up." With this conversation, Ash was also referring to Sci-Twi, trying to let Rapidash see what he was missing out on. "After this, you're gonna keep growing in strength. You're above your teammates right now, but they're gonna do what they can to be at their best."
"Rapidash..." Rapidash took some time to think about it. Truth be told, out of all his teammates, he was the strongest. Second was either Luxio or Pikachu since they had no problems with battling. Munchlax was in third due to being a wildcard whilst at the very bottom was Hisuian Zorua for her timidness. Rapidash was at the top of the game.
Despite not listening to Sci-Twi, when she does, she is a force to be reckoned with. Having Pokemon that could look up to her and try to catch up brought a sense of validity to Alpha Rapidash. But more importantly, Ash's comment made her think about her trainer, Twilight.
"I'm not gonna battle with you forever, Rapidash. You have another trainer who's starting out just like me. But no doubt, she's working hard to try and reach new heights while making new friends for you to hang out with it. So after this, help her keep up. Help her help you. Sound like a fair trade?"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash stomped her hoof, nodding right afterwards. It was a sound deal as she was ready to get this battle over with it.
"How touching...I've got no idea who he's talking about though, but he has such a way with words." Cloudchaser wiped her tears away as Ash's speech touched some of the crowd.
"You tell 'em, Ash!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, shaking her hoof. Meanwhile, Sci-Twi could already tell that this was projected towards her. It brought solace to her heart knowing that Ash was truly doing what he can to not only make things easier for her but for everybody. Such was one of his many goals.
"If you ask me, I say just leave the weak behind." Of course, Sombra had to say something about this, speaking from within Ash. "But, you do raise a good point about hard work. I'll give you that."
"Hm. Well said." Bertha even chimed in to speak about this. "Now, let's continue! Mamoswine! Earthquake!"
"Fight back with High Horsepower!"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash and Mamoswine would initiate a Ground Clash. It started with Rapidash charging in, adding all of her into her hooves which was the best option. However, her entire body was also encased in this orange light as Mamoswine summoned the signature golden shockwaves of Earthquake that were as large as pillars.
At the same, Rapidash smashed her head against Mamoswime's head whilst the pillar of Earthquake engulfed her. A heavy blow from both sides had been caused. Everyone looked forward in awe as the pressure was strong enough to warrant Hoopa, Victini and Meloetta to hold onto Ash's clothes.
After the impact ended and the dust cleared, the result had been revealed. Both Alpha Rapidash and Mamoswine had fainted at the same time.
"Rapidash..."
"Mamoswine..."
"Rapidash and Mamoswine are both unable to battle! Draw!" The first draw. Now, Bertha was down to three Pokemon while Ash was down to 5, still gaining the lead for now.
"You still have ways to go yourself, Rapidash." Ash walked over, kneeling to face the Fire Horse Pokemon. "You're gonna be way stronger with someone else in the future. Trust me."
"Rapidash." Rapidash closed her eyes before returning to her Poke Ball. Ash then stood up, heading back to this spot as Mamoswine had returned as well.
"Alright then. It's heating up from here. Hoopa. It's your time to brawl." Next up was Hoopa. And this is exactly what Hoopa wished to hear.
"Yes! It's Hoopa's turn!" Hoopa wasted no time, going in front of Ash with high enthusiasm. At the same time, Ash threw Rapidash's Poke Ball back to Sci-Twi for her to catch.
"O-Oh! Thanks, Ash!" Sci-Twi cried out after being given her Poke Ball back. She would take care of Rapidash from here.
"Go! Hippowdon!" Bertha revealed her next Pokemon. And this time, it ended up being her Hippowdown. Her ace Pokemon. Upon emerging, a wide grin met Ash's face. This was the Pokemon he was waiting for. The first Pokemon from Bertha's team that he ever faced when he first met her.
Whatever happens next could turn the tide of this battle. Such was the seriousness of an ace Pokemon being unleashed into the battle. And Ash wouldn't have it any other way.
Equestria. Near the Crystal Empire The Sea Temple, Samiya. Day.
Meanwhile, at the Sea Temple, something was being crafted. One of the many crystals within the Sea Temple, that is. With the sole purpose of undoing what one of the crystals had done. The power to reverse creation. Galaxy Master had been revealed to be a creation of the crystals after the light from within it had reached the fanmade comic book of a Young Ash Ketchum.
A crystal was being made just to undo anything that would've been made by that crystal. Assisting in this creation was Princess Luna as she would be guided on the way to creating these magical crystals.
First was making the mould of the crystals. That required various materials. Luckily, being next to the Crystal Empire meant that there were enough crystals to go around. Luna put together heaps of crystals that were gathered from the Crystal Empire, carefully, matching the usual shape of the Sea Temple Crystals.
At the same time, the People of the Water were starting to sing. They sang their signature song whilst Luna made this mould, confusing the Princess of the Night.
"Singing is a vital part of making these crystals, Princess Luna," Alo said. "As they're greatly tied with the sea, we, the People of the Water, must always let our voices flow within the crystals."
"I see. But, they're incredibly durable. Does the singing help make these crystals durable?" Luna questioned.
"Oh, their durability. Well, yes. All the crystals are powered by many things. One of which is the sea. And there is no greater defence than that of the vast blue waters of our worlds. Plural."
"Fair enough. Alright. Making the mould is simple and self-explanatory, so I needn't have to worry about that!" Luna sped things up, by using the boosted power of Lunar Ire. Thanks to this speed, she managed to complete the mould of crystal. And as to be expected, it was the right size and an identical colour.
"That fast?!" Alo's eyes, which were always closed, shot out along with everyone else. "B-But...it takes so much hard work just to make these crystals! And you did it so quickly?"
"Hehehehe. Such is the wonder of magic." Luna giggled as she had a massive advantage for being a magical prodigy. "So! We've finished with the mould! And it's a heft one too!" To show off, she used her strength to juggle the massive crystal around. "What's next?"
Just as she said asked them, the crystal had reacted moments after it was completed. Out of it, a mystical shine had emerged. Luna's eyes bulged out as these light rays shot out everywhere, reflecting beautifully on the Sea Temple. Everyone watched in awe as the light from the crystal was so grand that it ended up darkening the area, just to give it some extra shine.
Noticeably, the rays that were coming out of the crystal were similar to Princess Luna's magic and the night sky, mixed into one. "W-What is this?!" Luna gasped. "What's happening?!"
"We mentioned how the Crystals are made by two things. We the People of the Water and Arceus' light. It's always been those two elements. The only time that was different was when the People of the Vale added their power into another crystal. This is the same case...Princess Luna. Your magic has greatly influenced the crystal." Alo asked.
"Really now.." Luna gasped as now she had a crystal made after her. The most dominant power within it was her magic, similar to how the People of the Vale's crystal possessed the Dragon Force.
Of course, eventually, Arceus' power will be added to it, but for the most part, it was her crystal. Naturally, this pleased the Princess of the Moon. Having a powerful crystal made after her and by her was another achievement she could bring up.
"Hm. I love it. But perhaps..." Luna decided to take her own spin on it. By using her magic, she added a final touch to the crystal. To make it stand out, she turned the crystal's texture into her ethereal mane, making it match and truly represent her. "There. That'll do. All that's left is Arceus, right? Where to?"
"Arceus has a powerful connection with us everywhere. But the best place to be would be Sinnoh. This calls for lightspeed travel." Alo snapped his finger.
"Wait. Right now?" Luna asked.
"Right now." He nodded as the process had already begun. The entire temple was cloaked in a golden light on all sides, courtesy of one of the crystals powering the specialized machine. Everyone, including the ponies from the Crystal Empire, were about to take a trip at lightspeed, heading elsewhere.
That would be unfortunate for those approaching the Sea Temple, they were instantly met with the disappearance of said temple. In a flash, it was gone. A golden flash, that is. It didn't even move the water at all for its sudden transportation, stunning those who stood before it. All they could do was stare in awe as it was gone.
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Battle Carnival.
"Alright, Hoopa! Hyperspace Hole, right away!" Back at the Battle Carnival, Ash's battle with Bertha continued with Hoopa making the first move against Hippowdon.
"Okay!" Hoopa held both his rings out before using them as weapons. Instead of throwing them at Hippowdon, he struck his fists between both of them, summoning new rings that appeared around Hippowdon without him needing to get close.
"Hippowdon! Crunch!"
"Hippow...don!" But Hippowdon would gladly face the fists up close, even if Hoopa wasn't there. Once the fists came his way, he coated his teeth in darkness, choosing to bite on Hoopa's fist.
"Geeeehaaaa!" Hoopa winced. Those were still his hands after all and a direct gnaw of them made the Mischief Pokemon grimace. The bite was overwhelmingly strong, forcing Hoopa to move his hands back just from the intensity of it. He was unable to land a hit in because of this. "Ow! Ow-ow-ow-ow!" He held onto his hand, blowing on it just to try and soothe the pain.
"Stay strong, Hoopa! Shadow Ball!"
"Hoo...Pa!" Hoopa had a tear on his face, trying to power through the pain as if it wasn't there. He then held his injured hands together, summoning a blob of shadows which he would then separate. Hoopa preferred to battle with his rings clearly as he kept them active. But even without needing to touch them, Hoopa manipulated the rings, redirecting them.
"Where will you go now?" Bertha observed the direction of the rings, waiting for their next position. Hoopa then threw one Shadow Ball at a ring, causing it to travel through and appear behind Hippowdon, going for a back attack. "There! Iron Head!"
"Powdon!" Hippowdon quickly turned around, facing Shadow Ball. He wasn't quick enough to dodge but he was quick enough to fight back. With his head hardened to match that of iron, he bashed it into the blob of shadows, cancelling it out while suffering some recoil damage.
However, that allowed for the second Shadow Ball to come in from the side, just as Hoopa planned. From the side, Hippowdon was struck by Shadow Ball, receiving a knockback.
"Awesome! Now, Hyperspace Hole, one more time!" Hoopa would go for another Hyperspace Hole, keeping the rings in the same position. By wildly flailing his fists around, Hoopa summoned them next to the staggered Hippowdon, unloading a flurry of punches to the Ground-Type.
"H-Hippo!" Hippowdon was receiving body blows from every direction thanks to Hyperspace Hole as Hoopa went wild, enjoying every hit before knocking Hippowdon down.
"Hoopa did good!" Hoopa cheered for himself, crossing his arms before moving the rings.
"You did...But how long can you keep up this distance, Hoopa? Dig!"
"Hippo!" Hippowdon would take a different approach. Reaching Hoopa would be difficult, no doubt. But that could all change as Hippowdown burrowed into the ground.
"Watch out, Hoopa! Hippowdown could show up from anywhere! Time to put that ring to good use! Shadow Ball!"
"Hoopa gets Ashkan!" Hoopa next exactly what Ash was planning. Great minds think alike. Hoopa redirected the ring towards the hole that Hippowdown had made, using that to his advantage. Right after that, another Shadow Ball was sent, this time, small enough to fit through the hole but still possessing the same power as always.
And upon moving through the hole, a shadowy explosion had emerged, audible for everyone else to hear. That was a great audio cue for everyone to know that Shadow Ball had connected.
"Did they get it?!" Hilbert gasped.
"Not quite," Bertha smirked. "Your observation is good, but I plan for scenarios such as this! Now Hippowdon!"
It was revealed that Shadow Ball didn't hit Hippowdon at all. The rest of the ground split open, revealing a part of the ground that had a circular shape. All Shadow Ball truly hit was a random part of the underground, whilst Hippowdon was completely fine. As for Hippowdon, he emerged, sending a barrage of rocks toward Hoopa.
Hoopa, by instinct, put his arms up to block the barrage of rocks, but that was all according to Hippowdon's plan. Once he emerged, Hippowdon got up close and personal with Hoopa at last, bashing his head onto him. "Hippo!"
"Hoopa!" Ash exclaimed as Hoopa was pushed back, hurling through the air. The Psychic-Ghost-Type recovered, shaking his head as he heard ringing within his ears.
"GO, Hippowdon! Crunch!"
"Powdon!" Along came Hippowdon with Crunch once again. And this time, he was going to make sure it was up close and personal on Hoopa's entire body instead of just his hands.
"Protect, Hoopa!"
"!" That wouldn't be the case. Once Hippowdon lunged in, he was met with two things. The cheeky grin of Hoopa and a massive barrier of protection which had blocked Hippowdon's attack "Hoopa doesn't think so!"
"Hippowdon!" Hippowdon was forced back but Bertha wasn't going to slow down for a second. Protect, as good as a move as it was, had one drawback. Its usage. Now that Hoopa had used it once, it was high time to capitalize on the next strike.
"Crunch! Stop it now, if you can!" Bertha exclaimed as it was time for another Crunch to come through, resulting in another mighty lung from the Heavyweight Pokemon.
"Hoopa will stop this!" Hoopa gladly took that challenge, putting up a barrier of protection.
"Hoopa! Protect doesn't work in succession!" Ash cried out, giving Hoopa the biggest warning he'll get today. And he'd certainly figure it out personally.
"Pow!" Hippowdon bashed into the barrier, but this time, he was managing to break through. Hoopa gasped, realizing that the barrier was starting to fail as it forced him to try and keep it up. Unfortunately, try as he might, Protect had failed the second time, resulting in Hippowdon breaking through it.
"Send Hippowdon through your ring!"
"Hehehe!" But he made a quick save, just in time. With a cheeky grin, he used one of his arms around his arm, stretching it in front of him. It was a narrow save as Hippowdon went through the ring. "Phew...Hoopa thought he was a goner."
"Doing okay, Hoopa?"
"Hoopa's fine. But this battle is faster and closer than Hoopa thought." The Mischief Pokemon sighed. "Hoopa was lucky to bring that ring up."
"Oh, it should be. I'm just ramping things up from here." Bertha commented.
"Don't worry about it, Hoopa. You're doing great. If you want, you can come back and give someone else a break."
"Nope! Hoopa has a better idea." Hoopa would stay in. But he was about to share something with Ash and essentially everyone. "It's time for Hoopa to go all out."
"All out? Wait! You don't mean...!" Ash thought of only one possibility. If Hoopa was going all out then there was only one way for him to do just that. And soon, everyone in the Battle Carnival would have the opportunity to witness the other part of Hoopa.
"Hmmm...!" This required Hoopa to unleash all of his power that was laying dormant within his tiny body. He began leaving his Confined Form as a burst of shadows and darkness emerged from him. It startled the crowd as this shadow grew to colossal proportions. Hoopa's voice also changed to a deeper tone as well, representing a great shift in everything. His tiny body began changing into something else.
A large, bipedal entity with six arms could be seen emerging from the shadows. The ponytail on Hoopa's head grew larger and bushier, held in place by two golden rings. He even gained an extra part of the hair as it now covered his chin, where it formed a pointed beard and even at the back of his neck.
Everyone stared in awe as Hoopa's arms were now disconnected and floated next to his body. Instead of a small, gold spike the arms now possessed large, dark grey spikes and appear from holes along the sides of his body. Everything about him changed. And this was to be expected. This was his true power.
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Battle Carnival. The Pokemon Festival. Day.
Standing at a whopping 21'04" and 6.5 metres tall was the Unbound form of Hoopa. Hoopa Unbound was the correct term. After deciding to get serious, Hoopa emerged in his Unbound Form, shocking everyone. This was Hoopa's way of getting serious and no other form in Pokemon history screamed 'Getting Serious' as much as this one.
"Sweet Celestia..." Gazing at the sight of this titan of a Pokemon made Cloudchaser shudder. Her friend Flitter had a larger reaction after witnessing Hoopa's true form, almost passing out.
"They're right...Big things do come in small sizes..." Hilda commented. "I've never seen Hoopa's other form until now."
"Now you wanna agree on that metaphor?" Hilbert replied as Hoopa was loving what he was hearing. Specifically, the sounds of everyone gawking at his new form. Hearing this not only brought validity to the Mischief Pokemon who was now a Psychic-Dark-Type, but it fueled him with joy.
"Man...You really went into it, huh, Hoopa?" Ash gawked, raising his hat. "But are you okay in that form?"
"Hoopa's fine! Hoopa is stronger this way!" Hoopa Unbound bellowed with his new voice which had a gruff and deeper tone to it, in contrast to his playful and high-pitched voice. "Hoopa can do anything!"
"But can you defeat me?" Bertha added. "You seem highly confident in that form. More-so than usual."
"Hoopa can beat anyone!"
"Alright then. Let's keep going, Hoopa! Hyperspace Hole! Or should I say..Hyperspace Fury" Ash continued the battle, commanding Hoopa's Unbound form and giving everyone the treat of witnessing this form of Hoopa battle.
Hoopa Unbound formed six of his rings around Hippowdon, forcing the Heavyweight Pokemon to look in various directions. Bertha was on high-alert as now Hoopa was using more rings than he usually does. With his Unbound Form, his Hyperspace Hole had changed into Hyperspace Fury.
"Hippowdon! Dig!"
"Hippo!" The best thing to do was to avoid them. Hippowdon got to work, burrowing a hole. However, in this form, Hoopa had a greater speed increase than before as noted by the emergence of a fist. Hoopa landed one strike on Hippowdon's face, halting his burrowing process, preventing him from going underground.
Hoopa then repeatedly struck Hippowdon with not one, not two, but six of his fists through the rings, while watching the Heavyweight Pokemon through one of them, just to make sure he had him in his sights. Hippowdon was forced away from the hole as he was juggled via Hoopa's fists. The Mischief Pokemon wouldn't allow him to even touch the ground once.
"Crunch!"
"H-Hippo!" Hippowdon used this chance to bite on Hoopa's hands once more. With his mouth wide open, he managed to find an opening biting down on Hoopa's hands.
"That doesn't hurt Hoopa as much anymore!" But now that he was a Psychic-Dark-Type in this form, Hoopa resisted it thanks to his Dark Typing. After tanking it, Hoopa launched Hippowdon away, releasing his grip on his fists. So far, Hoopa was already showing the massive increase in strength in his Unbound Form.
"Good stuff, Hoopa! Use Shadow Ball next!"
"Hippowdon! Iron Head!"
"Pow!" Hippowdon wouldn't go down so easily, as to be expected from Bertha's Ace Pokemon. Upon witnessing the arrival of Shadow Ball, Hippowdon fought back by pulling his head back, hardening it with the might of Iron. Once Shadow Ball was thrown his way, Hippowdon, with brute force alone, not only managed to counter Shadow Ball, but even repel it back to Hoopa.
"Hm?!" Hoopa's eyes widened as he was smacked in the face by his own attack. Once again, he was no longer weak to Ghost-Type attacks after gaining the Dark Typing, but that didn't mean that any attack that came his way wouldn't hurt. Getting smacked in the face by his own attack certainly made him growl.
"For such a big target, I'll need an easier time hitting him. Return, Hippowdon." Bertha chose to return Hippowdon for a bit until he was needed again. "Go, Whiscash!"
"Whiscash!" Whiscash had returned in substitute for Hippowdon. Whiscash certainly had some extra speed going for her in comparison to Hippowdon. It wasn't much, but it'll do.
"Earthquake!"
"Cash!" Whiscash started off strong as the goal was to take down Hoopa Unbound before things get worse for Bertha. A large barrage of golden shockwaves was a potential option as they came rushing in after Whiscash slammed her entire body on the ground.
"They're coming in hard, Hoopa! Protect!"
"Hoopa doesn't need to defend! Hoopa can take on anything!" Suddenly, Hoopa denied using Protect. His hubris was starting to show, radiating pride to the point where he felt confident in tackling Earthquake head-on.
"Eh?" Ash was stunned by that response. So was everyone else since Hoopa was vocal about it. Hoopa faced the golden pillars, flexing his muscles as he decided to take the attack directly. The result was an eruption of energy from the impact which engulfed Hoopa. "Hoopa!"
"What was he thinking?!" Flitter covered her eyes, shaking them in disappointment.
"This is the Pokemon that beat us?" Cloudchaser sighed.
"Haha!" But, Hoopa wasn't bragging at all. He immediately blew away the dust, not allowing it to settle. He did indeed take the attack head-on and come out still conscious, stunning everyone as he led out a proud laugh. "See?! Hoopa told you!"
"Yeah, but you still took the damage, blockhead." Hilda lowered her eyes, already having enough of Hoopa's new personality.
"That's the kind of confidence we love to see!" Hilbert had a differing opinion as he teared up. Hoopa's hubris matched his, seeming identical even.
"And I thought my Rapidash was stubborn. This is a new level of stubborn." Sci-Twi added before chuckling. She found this to be amusing.
"Man...Guess it can't be helped." Ash shrugged. "But you gotta be careful, Hoopa. You're tougher in that form, but this an Elite 4 Member we're talking about. If we're not careful, we'll get slumped before we know it. Try and take less hits if that's okay."
"Hoopa will try." Hoopa nodded in agreement. He'll try to do so but appearing tough was what his Unbound form thrived for more than anything. It was a sense of superiority, proving that he was the best.
"Great stuff! Let's give Whiscash a multi-shot Shadow Ball!"
"Let's see if that hubris of yours sticks around. Scald!"
"Cash!" Whiscash fought back by using scalding hot water. Meanwhile, Hoopa used all six of his arms, summoning blobs of shadow from them. With all six Shadow Balls generated, he launched them all at once. Whiscash would have to find a way to deal with six different Shadow Balls.
Luckily for Whiscash, she could. The size of Scald was large enough to cover two Shadow Balls. The stream of water pierced through two blobs but was quickly stopped by the remaining four.
"Hyperspace Fury!" Ash thrust his fist repeatedly as a way to represent Hoopa's attack. Hoopadid just that, using his rings and his fist once more. This was Bertha's chance. A chance to capitalize.
"Jump on those fists, Whiscash!"
"Cash!" Whiscash had her chance. She couldn't use water to her advantage. With a mighty leap, she managed to land on one of Hoopa's fists after evading the first initial swing. ANd from there on, Whiscash would have all the advantages she needed so as long as Bertha made the right call.
"Scald!" But Bertha always makes the right call when battling.
"Whiscash!" Whiscash, while on Hoopa's fist, sprayed the Mischief Pokemon in the face with a scalding hot blast of water.
"Gah!" Hoopa growled before using one of his hands to try and catch Whiscash. But this was all part of the plan. After the second fist came along, Whiscash hopped onto the next, spraying Hoopa again. A double whammy.
First, Hoopa received a blast of hot water to the face and afterwards, he hit his own hand after failing to strike Whiscash yet again. Just as Bertha intended. She could already expose one weakness from Hoopa among many weaknesses. Irritation. Whiscash kept hopping an blasting from hand to hand each time Hoopa tried to catch her.
"Grr! Stand still for Hoopa!" Hoopa furiously roared.
"Hoopa! Let's switch it up! Use Psychic!"
"Cash!" But before he could do so, Whiscash got uncomfortably close to Hoopa, blasting his face with water. This was the hottest so far as it was directly in his eyes too. And with that up-close blast, the additional effect of Sclad had kicked in.
The Burn.
Hoopa was lit ablaze suddenly once Scald's additional effect arrived. Due to his large body which was larger than any Pokemon in this room, the flames were massive, lighting everything up. It was the biggest Burn effect anyone had seen so far as Hoopa cried out.
"Hoopa! Are you okay?!" Ash gasped.
"Ugh..." Hoopa flew back, touching the ground instead of levitating as he held his head. "Hoopa can't be hurt like this..."
"I know, Hoopa. But that's how it is sometimes in a Pokemon Battle." said Ash.
"Hoopa can't lose to this Pokemon" Agitated, Hoopa's hand was on his face, growling at Whiscash. Whiscash had been giving him some huge problems already. But it wasn't the fact that Whiscash was being a problem, it was the fact that Whiscash, to many, was a standard Pokemon. "Hoopa's not facing a Legendary."
"Hoopa?" Ash noticed that something was amiss. Mainly Meloetta, who hid behind Ash's leg.
"Hoopa's the strongest...!"
"Hoopa.Come back for now and take a rest. Pikachu and the others can handle things from here." Ash chose to return Hoopa, seeing that he had taken some damage and was now suffering from a burn effect.
"Ashkan will be down a few Pokemon because of Hoopa." Hoopa continued before raising his body. Right now, not only was he thinking about how a standard Pokemon like Whiscash was embarrassing him but he also thought about how this would impact Ash's chances. "Hoopa can't let that happen!"
Hoopa took action. It was out of the goodness of his heart but perhaps not the best option. By using his ring, he was ready to mess with space once more as everyone wondered what was going on. And without wasting any time, Hoopa already found someone. The goal was to increase Ash's chances and the best way to do that in Hoopa's opinion was to bring him another Pokemon.
But no one expected which Pokemon to emerge. Appearing from the ring was a certain serpentinte-shaped Pokemon that resembled a missile. Green and red in various parts and the guardian of the skies and Ozone layer. Everyone's eyes shot up as the Pokemon that is the most popular within the Hoenn Region had emerged.
"I-I-Is that?!" A woman in the crowd gasped as her pupils shrunk. Everyone recognized this Pokemon immediately as they couldn't believe their eyes. Altogether, they shouted out one name.
"Rayquaza!"
"What's all that noise?" Elsewhere in the Battle Carnival, Rainbow Dash was still having her battle with Cadence and Shining Armor. Their battle had a smaller crowd after learning about Bertha's presence. The sound from Bertha's battle was already reaching here, especially when Rayquaza showed up.
"Don't get distracted! Moonblast, Sylveon!" Cadence cried out.
"Oh! Braviary, hit it back wth Superpower!"
"Braviary!" Braviary's talons lit up as he smashed them onto Moonblast. The force of Braviary's hit had sent the ball rocketing back to Sylveon, blowing up around her.
"Sy-Sylveon!" Sylveon was struck by her own attack before being sent flying from the explosion.
"I gotcha! Aegislash, Sacred Sword!" Shining Armor chimed in as Aegislash flew to Sylveon's side. By using his shield, he managed to catch the Intertwining Pokemon. And as for Sacred Sword, he could mult-task coating his bladed body in an orange light.
"I don't think so! Brave Bird, go! Gengar, Shadow Ball!"
"Viary!" Braviary and Ash's Gengar worked side by side with Braviary flying ahead. Two blobs of shadows followed him as he clashed directly with Aegislash's Sacred Sword. The clash was heavy, but this allowed Braviary to keep Aegislash in one place, allowing the Shadow Balls to appear.
"Aegis?!" Aegislash gasped as the two Shadow Balls flew past Braviary, crashing into the Royal Sword Pokemon. Just as planned. A super-effective blow, one that launched Aegislash back, dropping SYlveon in the process.
"Catch him, Sylveon!"
"Syl!" Sylveon repaied the favour by catching Aegislash with her ribbons. But much like before, it would all come crashing down now that they were both in one spot.
"Now! Brave Bird! Charge in!"
"Vi!" Braviary took advantage of this. Once they were in one spot, he came charging in at full force, smashing his blazing body into both of them. Braviary managed to get a double strike, sending the two of them crashing. Braviary suffered massive recoil damage but it was all worth it.
Sylveon and Aegislash simultaneously crashed into the bumper cars before then dropping to the floor. All that reecoil was worth as that did the trick. Both Braviary and Aegislash had fainted, granting Rainbow Dash the victory.
"Finally! That took forever!" Rainbow Dash groaned after claiming victory. For her, this battle felt like it went on forever. And that was mainly because of an outside force they couldn't control. The Witch.
"Aw...We lost." Cadence went over to Sylveon. "Oh, well. It was bound to happen eventually. It only took two days for that happen. Great work Sylveon.
"Great work to you too, Aegislash." But this closure wouldn't last. While the battle was over, the sounds from the other battle were still ever-present. Rumbling even came through, echoing across this room. "What is that?"
"It sounds like a Dragon..." Sylveon added. "Maybe someone Mega Evolved their Dragon-Type. Possibly."
"It's getting pretty noticeable too." said Rainbow Dash. "Just what's going on with those other battles?"
"Rayquaza?!" Everyone gasped as the Legendary Pokemon Rayquaza had emerged, in all its glory.
Naturally, Rayquaza was equally as confused as everybody here. The appearance of the Sky High Pokemon was not planned by anyone except for Hoopa, who brought it here. Rayquaza looked around for a bit emanating a crimson glow in its eyes. That glow meant one thing.
It was fully under Hoopa's control. Since Hoopa summoned Rayquaza, he had full control of the Sky High Pokemon with ease. There wasn't even a struggle involved. If Hoopa wanted to show off how powerful he was, this was a good example of that strength.
"Lucky! You're gonna have Rayquaza on your team!" Hilbert exclaimed, seeing this as a positive.
"No way..." But Ash thought otherwise. This looked to be a repeat of the past. "Hoopa, wait!"
"Hoopa can't lose!" After summoning Rayquaza, Hoopa stated how he can never lose. And being embarrassed by Whiscash only increased his drive to say that but also annoyed him. Bertha observed Hoopa's new actions, seeing how this battle overall was changing him. "Hoopa won't lose!"
Immediately, without Ash's command, Hoopa had swung his fists towards Whiscash, focusing all of his frustration on this one Pokemon who was simply doing her best to keep Bertha in the game.
"Hm. Whiscash, dodge and use Scald!"
"Cash!" By raising her body, leaping into the air, Whiscash performed yet another successful jump. And yet again, Hoopa received a scalding hot blast to the body. Speaking of which, the burn effect was also adding to Hoopa's agitation. Never before had he experienced this kind of feeling.
After missing and receiving a hit once again, Hoopa's anger rose. And in response, he had Rayquaza take action. Rayquaza flew further out of the ring, revealing its entire body. Luckily, the Battle Carnival was big enough to fit them both in miraculously.
"This is getting out of hoof, don't you think?" Pinkie Pie scrunched her face.
"Hoopa stop!" Ash cried out as his voice tried to reach Hoopa. But his voice wasn't working as Hoopa and Rayquaza were both on the offensive. Whiscash was now a major target as the movement of Rayquaza was enough to cause wind pressures within this room. Everyone was almost forced out of their seats as Rayquaza's tail came crashing down.
The impact of Rayquaza's tail hitting the floor caused a tremor while Whiscash was simply jumping around to try and survive at this point. The crowd weren't sure how to feel about this. While it was entertaining, some danger was forming from this. The area trembled as there were even cracks forming on the wall from Rayquaza and Hoopa's movements.
Ash looked around, knowing that if this continued, it could be a repeat to what happened with Hoopa years ago. That couldn't happen again and he promised Baraz and Meray that it wouldn't.
"Alright. We've got our options. Meloetta. Do what you do best." Ash said to Meloetta, putting his faith in her.
"Melo!" Meloetta nodded in agreement. If there was one thing Meloetta specialized in, it was the ability to soothe others with her voice. That was what Ash was banking on, however there were other options. "Melo~" Meloetta began a melody specifically meant to reach Hoopa.
As Hoopa managed to finally grab Whiscash with one of his hands, ready to smash the Whiskers Pokemon into the floor, that's when Meloetta's voice came through. Hoopa paused to listen to this voice and all of its harmonic bliss. Hoopa looked dup as the singing was enough to attract everyone within the room. They couldn't help but listen to it.
Meloetta was controlling Hoopa's emotions right now with her beautiful voice, singing a song of comfort that only Pokemon would understand but everyone else could feel. A soothing aura came across this room.
"Hey, Twi. Can you hold the pendant up for a bit?" Ash then went over to Sci-Twi, focusing on the Arceus Pendant. That was another option he was going to utilize.
"Oh, sure." By holding it up, moments later after it radiated a golden light, Victini had placed his hand on the pendant. By doing so, Victini added some of his endless power into the pendant, allowing it to not only shine brighter but direct it towards Hoopa.
The combination of Arceus' light and Meloetta's voice halted the Mischief Pokemon, lowering his grip on Whiscash. Then, Ash's voice finally came through, causing Hoopa to turn around.
"Hoopa. We don't wanna go through that again, do we?" said Ash. "You've already conquered that part of yourself, so let's make sure it doesn't get out of hand anymre, okay?"
"Ashkan..." Hoopa commented before calming down. The soothing sounds and auras were just enough to bring serenity. Hoopa's crimson glow within his eyes had faded away as well as Rayquaza's.
Everyone watched in awe as Ash had quickly put a stop to a potential disaster. If this never happened, the worst possible scenario could've happened all because Hoopa couldn't successfully hit one Pokemon. Rayquaza, feeling a bit dazed, ascended, flying back into the ring that was still active and out there. The Sky High Pokemon didn't even want to think about what was going on. The only thing on its mind was leaving to where it originally passed through. And of course, the influence of Hoopa sent it away.
Speaking of Hoopa, upon calming down, he suddenly dropped to the floor, fainting. His impact was fairly heavy from his size increase as that was enough to take the Psychic-Dark-Type out surprisingly. It wasn't an attack that did him in, though the Burn effect was another catalyst.
"Hoopa is unable to battle! Whiscash wins!"
There it was, Hoopa was down and out in his Unbound form. And right afterwards, everyone started applauding. For Hoopa specifically. Applauds for Hoopa came flooding through as they all rather enjoyed what they witnessed, despite what could've been.
"Why are they clapping?" Hoopa groaned. "Hoopa lost...so they're clapping at Hoopa's loss."
"No, Hoopa. They're clapping because of the show you put on." Ash reassured him, kneeling to face Hoopa's level. "You may have almost lost it there, but they're all clapping for all the cool stuff you did. You showed them a Legendary Pokemon. Especialy one that's the most popular in this region."
"Really?"
"Really. You may have lost, but you impressed everyone. From summoning Rayquaza and turning into this form. You know how to leave an impression Hoopa." Ash's words already brought solace to the Mischief Pokemon. Even if a Pokemon is aggressive and twice his size, Ash could handle it either way. "Next time we battle, let's do it with full control, okay?"
"Okay. Hoopa won't lost next time. For Ashkan." Hoopa gave his promise before then diminishing into his Confined Form. Wth the darkness leaving his body, the Confined Form of Hoopa was returning. From his small and cute appearance to his squeaky yet appealing voice. The applauds still came through just for Hoopa before slowly ending.
"Hm. Well...it was a great idea to have you team-up with Hoopa, Ash." Bertha commented. "Had it been anyone else, I doubt they would've solved this problem."
"Thanks, Bertha. I've always gotta look out for my friends." Ash held Hoopa in his hands like a baby. "Twilight. Take care of Hoopa, okay?"
"Gotcha." He referred to Princess Twilight as she used her magic to carry the Mischief Pokemon with her. Hoopa was out of the picture for this battle.
"Alright. Let's finish things from here." Ash adjusted his gloves as the battle was still ongoing. "After this, let's take Hoopa somewhere to kick back and relax. Unova's PokeStar Studios sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?"
"Agreed." Bertha nodded in agreement. "Now then...Bring out your next friend."
"You got it! Pikachu! I choose you!"
"Pika!" Pikachu was up next. His tried and true partner as he stood in front of Ash, staring down the Water-Ground-Type. Pikachu would take care of things from here.
"Hang on! Pikachu won't do a thing to Whiscash! Or any of Bertha's Pokemon! So why'd he send him out?" Sci-Twi wondered, confused by Ash's decision. Others were just as confused. This seemed like a poor decision as Pikachu's strongest attacks won't even budge any of Bertha's Pokemon.
"Just watch uh...me." Twilight flew over while holding Hoopa. "This is Ash's speciality. Overcoming weaknesses."
"Aw...I wanted Hoopa to go on. Think of the publicity if he brought in more Legendary Pokemon." Meanwhile, the owner of the Battle Carnival was rather disappointed that Hoopa didn't bring any more Pokemon in. "Oh well. This'll make my carnival popular either way. Battle continue!"
"Let's rock, Pikachu! Quick Attack!"
"Meet it with Zen Headbutt, Whiscash!"
The battle between Ash and Bertha would continue from here and soon reach its climax. A surprising showcase by Hoopa had ust come and gone. No one expected his Unbound Form to appear and neither the appearance of Rayquaza. All the more better for the crowd. The battle between the Alola Champion and the Sinnoh Elite 4 Member would rage on until one of them emerges victorious. And after this, it was sweet peaceful times as the journey continues.
Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Battle Carnival. The Pokemon Festival. Day.
After Hoopa Unbound's agitated actions, the battle between Ash and Bertha continued as normal. Ash was currently down four Pokemon while Bertha was down three. So far, Ash had the lead as his Pikachu was out facing Bertha's Whiscash.
A fainted Hoopa was currently being taken care of by Princess Twilight, resting in her hooves. Hoopa would be healed up fairly soon but he wished to see this battle through and through until Ash claimed victory.
"Quick Attack, Pikachu! Go!"
"Meet it with Zen Headbutt, Whiscash!"
"Pika!" Pikachu took off, approaching the Whiskers Pokemon becoming a yellow blur. Moving at lightning speeds created a white afterimage just from his velocity alone as Whiscash stood her ground instead of approaching her enemy. A force of mental energy had been formed around her head as a way to protect herself and fight back. "Pika-Pika!" Pikachu clashed heads with Whiscash, sending sparks flying. However, immediately after butting heads with her, Pikachu zipped away, leaving an afterimage behind.
"Cash?" Whiscash noticed this afterimage before turning around to see Pikachu approaching from the side. But she was too late to react in time. Pikachu had already tackled her sides. "Cash!"
"Nice hit!"
"But how will you respond to this?! Ice Beam!"
"Whis...Cash!" Whiscash opened her mouth to reveal a chilling aura, ready to be unleashed. It was Ash's call to respond to this attack before it lands and potentially freezes Pikachu.
"Move back with Quick Attack!" He already had something in mind.
"Pi!" The moment Ice Beam was unleashed, Pikachu zoomed to the side with Quick Attack. His afterimage had been hit by Ice Beam, however, the speed of the beam was so fast that Pikachu was almost grazed by it, narrowly evading the attack.
"Earthquake!"
"Whiscash!" Whiscash didn't stop there. She was going for an all-out attack. After nearly grazing Pikachu, she kept up a relentless assault, slamming her body on the ground. Earthquake had been unleashed yet again in this battle and it proved to be a huge threat for Pikachu and to an extension, Victini, who had yet to battle.
"Just what I was waiting for! Smash the ground with Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" The only way to evade Earthquake was by taking to the skies. And Pikachu, while not being a Flying-Type, had one trick that could solve that issue. By using Iron Tail, he smashed the ground, causing an immediate shockwave that sent his agile little body into the air. Right on time as the golden pillars of shockwaves came rushing his way.
"What the?!" Bertha gasped after witnessing this tactic. It was the best way for Pikachu to gain an aerial advantage.
"Let's use what Rayquaza left behind for us! Hit the rocks towards Whiscash!" Ash wasn't done yet. After what Rayquaza did when being summoned here by Hoopa, he capitalized on the collateral damage. The rubble had been shot into the air once Iron Tail and Earthquake struck the floor, giving Pikachu plenty of options.
"Pika! Pika!" With this ample airtime, he started swinging, smacking all the large rubble towards the Whiskers Pokemon. Pikachu found a way to combat against a Pokemon most of his strongest moves wouldn't even phase. He always does. The rocks came crashing in, rapidly smacking Whiscash in the face, pushing the Water-Ground-Type back with each consecutive hit.
"Now, come swinging down!"
"Chu...Pika!" From above, Pikachu would perform an overhead Iron Tail. With a few rolls in the air, he smacked Whiscash in the head with this overhead Iron Tail.
"C-Cash!" Whiscash was forced to the floor by the overhead Iron Tail. Accumulating the damage done by previous Pokemon such as Meloetta and Hoopa, that Iron Tail from that height had done the trick. Whiscash had fainted. "Whiscash..."
"Whiscash is unable to battle! Pikachu wins!"
"Yes! That's one down, two more to go!" Ash cheered as now Bertha was down just two Pokemon.
"He's so close to victory! Just two more Pokemon and that's it!" Pinkie Pie bellowed. "Everything's coming up sunny! Literally!" She then squinted as the sun rays gleamed at a high intensity.
"You've taken control of this battle from start to finish, Ash." Bertha returned Whiscash. "And...you've proven your point. A Pokemon Master is truly someone who can be versatile with any Pokemon even if they aren't the trainer of that Pokemon. That kind of skill is something most trainers strive to accomplish and you make it look easy."
"Yeah. But that's because I've got the greatest friends that ever could be found. Whether it's the other world or this world. And one day, every world out there. My journey to becoming a Pokemon Master's still gonna go strong once I see everything the world has to offer."
"Good. But...I believe it's time for me to take control of the battle! Go, Rhyperior!" Bertha sent out her next Pokemon, revealing it to e a Rhyperior.
"Rhyperior!"
"Rhyperior, huh? Okay then...That's definitely gotta be the most durable Pokemon in Bertha's team." said Ash as Pikachu readied himself for the worst.
"Rhyperior?" Upon witnessing Rhyperior's entrance, Sci-Twi needed to see what this wide-bodied Pokemon had to offer.
"Rhyperior. The Drill Pokemon. It can load up to three projectiles per arm into the holes in its hands. What launches out of those holes could be either rocks or Roggenrola. It relies on its carapace to deflect incoming attacks and throw its enemy off balance. As soon as that happens, it drives its drill into the foe. From holes in its palms, it fires out Geodude. Its carapace can withstand even volcanic eruptions."
"Stay strong, Pikachu. Rhyperior can take a lot and barely fall over!"
"Pika!"
"Hm-hm. Rock Wrecker!"
"Rhy!" Rhyperior wasted no time in attacking. Rhyperior puts his hands together as small chunks of grey stones emerged out of the holes situated right in Rhyperior's hands. They formed together into a large grey rock with a pulsating red aura around it as this was without a doubt Rhyperior's signature move.
"Go! Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" It would be a direct collision against Rock Wrecker. Pikachu would face the gigantic rock head-on with pure iron. To many, this would seem like a simple outcome as this was Iron going up against Rock. However, upon swinging at the rock, that was not the case.
The red aura from the rock is what gave it most of its power. And that power was made clear as it was pushing back Pikachu's Iron Tail, preventing him from shattering the rock.
"Pi...Pi!" Pikachu groaned, trying his best to break through, but it wasn't working. This rock was greater than any rock he had encountered thus far. The only benefit to this was that Rhyperior needed to recharge. However, thanks to the power of Roc Wrecker and how long it was keeping Pikachu occupied, the recharge process wouldn't be an issue.
"Rhyperior's had enough time to rest now. Add another, Rhyperior!"
"Perior!" Another Rock Wrecker had been used. A second large rock came flying in, meeting with the first one. That only caused problems for Pikachu as the addition of the second rock made it harder for him to keep up the struggle.
"Pika!" Thus, both rocks overpowered Pikachu's Iron Tail, sending him flying with two heavy hits.
"Pikachu! This is our only chance to affect Bertha's Pokemon. "Aim for the horn with Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu flashed his eyes while still midair. The Mouse Pokemon would get his chance to damage Rhyperior by using an attack that would normally do nothing. But since Rhyperior's horn was made out of metal, that meant one thing. He was lightning rod.
However, the second the bolt of lightning hit Rhyperior's horn, nothing happened. It conducted, yes, but Rhyperior was unphased, shocking Ash and Pikachu.
"Sorry. But my Rhyperior seems to have Lightning Rod as his ability." Bertha smirked. "Thank you for the power boost! Dragon Rush!"
"Rhyperior!" Rhyperior then came charging in, flying through the air with the aura of a dragon around him. This attack made up for his lack of speed as he was coming in hot with Dragon Rush.
"Yikes! Dodge with Quick Attack! Go down!"
"Pika!" Pikachu had another close call. By using the speed of Quick Attack, he dashed downwards, leaving behind a white afterimage. Rhyperior only managed to get the afterimage as Pikachu had saved himself once more. "Pikachu!"
"Come back, for now, Pikachu!" Ash recalled Pikachu, changing up his game plan. Pikachu ran back as Rhyperior was already proving to be that one wall that Ash would have to try harder to topple. His horn strategy didn't work this time. Thanks to Rhyperior's Lightning Rod, the Drill Pokemon only got stronger thanks to that. "Rhyperior's a tough one. We need heavy hits that'll keep on coming. And I know just the guy for it! Let's go, Absol!"
"Absol!" Back in the fray was Twilight's Absol.
"Do your worst, Rhyperior! We're ready for it!" Ash exclaimed, encouraging Rhyperior to hit Absol with everything he has. Absol thought the same as well. He wanted Rhyperior to use the best attack in his arsenal.
"Be careful what you wish for! Rock Wrecker!"
"Rhyperior!" Along came Rock Wrecker once more. That same massive rock with a pulsating red aura had emerged, bigger than the previous ones. Ash was biding his time, waiting for the right moment to strike. Rhyperior was free to do whatever he wanted thanks to this momentary absence of Ash's commands and Absol's actions. as the rock was finally thrown.
"Now's our chance! Counter!"
"Sol!" The plan was to hit Rhyperior with Counter. And once that rock smashed into Absol, his body staggered, feeling the weight of a building harm his body. Absol grimaced from this impact, doing his best to stay active. Rhyperior needed to recharge as always, giving Absol the opportunity needed to strike. "Absol!" And this time, it would be up-close and personal instead of afar.
Absol appeared in front of Rhyperior with a glowing horn, having all the power of Rock Wrecker just for him. Rhyperior gasped as Absol slashed right past him with the full force of his horn. "R-Rhy!" Super-effective! Rhyperior felt that one, no doubt. Even with his great defence, that blow was enough to show signs of pain.
"Now, Dark Pulse!"
"Absol!" After slashing past the Ground-Rock-Type, Absol got one more hit in from behind. Dark Pulse was the next move that had been unleashed, knocking Rhyperior forward once it connected.
"Right back at you. Reversal!"
"Perior!" But Rhyperior had something similar to Counter. Reversal. The moment he had been slashed and blasted, Rhyperior had enough time to recharge. And once his energy was back, he did a strong turnaround, channelling all that damage into his arms. With a mighty swing, Absol had been socked in the face.
"A-Absol!" Absol's pupils shrunk as he was sent rocketing away, flying right past Bertha and crashing into the walls. The impact shook the seats of the crowd, showing just how hard Rhyperior hit him. Absol dropped from the wall, lying flat on his face as some rubble dropped on his head. After fighting a hard battle, he finally lost some steam. Absol had fainted. "Absol..."
"Absol is unable to battle! Rhyperior wins!" Just like that Bertha turned the tides, bringing Ash's Pokemon Count to just three while she was stuck at two. Twilight lowered her head as she was hoping Absol would make it to the end. Possibly even be the last Pokemon standing and grant Ash his victory. Alas, that wasn't happening."
"Thanks, Absol. You were awesome. Now, get some rest." Ash returned Absol to this Poke Ball. "Twilight!" Now that Absol was out of the game, it was time for him to return to his original owner as he launched the Poke Ball in Twilight's direction.
"Thanks, Ash!" Twilight then used her magic to catch Absol's Poke Ball in midair. "That's another Pokemon for me to heal it looks like."
"Okay." Ash adjusted his hat before taking a deep breath. "It's probably gonna come down to the wire. But we're gonna make sure that doesn't happen. Meloetta. I'm counting on you next."
"Melo? Meloetta!" Meloetta nodded in understanding. If there was anyone else that could seriously damage a Pokemon as durable as Rhyperior, it was her.
"But here's what we're gonna do." Before she could get in there, Ash had devised a new plan. Meloetta flew up to his face as the Alola Champion whispered softly to her. With her full attention being grabbed, Meloetta had been given a new game plan just for Rhyperior, but no one would know what it was until executed.
"Melo!" After the plan was given to her, she knew exactly which form to take without Ash even asking. Upon running past Ash, she did a stylish and graceful pirouette, summoning a flash of light from her body. And from that flash and pirouette, Meloetta emerged in her Pirouette Forme. "Meloetta!"
"I see what you're going for," Bertha commented. "But will it work? Let's find out, shall we? Rhyperior, use Rock Wrecker!"
"Rhy...Perior!" Starting off strong, Rhyperior was going for his strongest attack. Rock Wrecker. This time, with two rocks instead of one. The Drill Pokemon materialized two of them before launching these red pulsating grey rocks.
"We'll make it work! Close Combat, Meloetta!"
"Melo!" Meloetta would approach the rocks, just like how Pikachu did before. But things would be different. With pure power behind her legs, Meloetta ended up stepping on one of the rocks instead of just naturally kicking it. By stepping on the first rock, she created a platform for her to utilize. The Melody Pokemon then leapt off the first rock, using her momentum to kick the second one. With an increased momentum and velocity, this kick shattered the second rock while the first one was free to go wherever.
"Rhy?!" Rhyperior gasped after witnessing Meloetta's method past his strongest attack. She didn't even need to destroy both of them. After destroying them, she got up close to Rhyperior, delivering one kick to his stomach. "P-Perior!"
"Meloetta!" After diving her hoof into his stomach, Meloetta then followed up with a series of super-effective kicks, striking while Rhyperior was still recharging. Rhyperior's body was starting to stagger thanks to this as these various body blows were racking up damage. However, this also meant one thing. Reversal was being powered up.
"This is great and all but that Reversal could sting if Rhyperior manages to withstand all of this," Cloudchaser commented, already seeing how things could go wrong.
"All Meloetta has to do is knock him out. But look at how many he's taking!" Flitter added as Rhyperior was being pushed back by each hit, not falling down once. Each hit felt like a hammer being slugged against him.
"Come on, Ash...don't let Bertha get you with it..." Sci-Twi bit her nails.
"Melo...!" Meloetta then delivered an overhead kick to Rhyperior's head, trying to force him to the ground. But Rhyperior just wouldn't fall down. Rhyperior was certainly the bulkiest out of all Bertha's Pokemon. No arguments there.
"Now! Reversal!"
"Perior!" Rhyperior found an opportunity. All of that damage from before was channelled into his arms. Both of them. And all of that damage would be sent right back to Meloetta in full.
"Now! Transform!"
"Melo~!" And that's when Ash's plan had been revealed. The second the arms of Rhyperior had been swung, Meloetta switched formed. By letting the light engulf her, she switched from her Pirouette Forme to her Aria Forme. Once the hit came her way, she still received it. However, the risk was smaller. "M-Melo!" Meloetta was knocked back by the Reversal, suffering minimal damage in the process as it was a Fighting-Type attack. And with her Aria Forme, she resisted it greatly.
"Hm!?" Bertha's eyes widened.
"Yes! It worked!" Ash pumped his fist as his plan worked out in the end. "We did a quick switch. One minute she's in her Pirouette Forme and next, it's back to her Aria Forme!"
"Genius! That way, Rhyperior's Reversal won't be very effective! Way to go, Ash!" Sci-Twi applauded, seeing Ash's plan. So did everyone else as they cheered for it.
"Great! But wait. How come Rhyperior could swing so fast if it's so slow?" Pinkie Pie wondered. "That Reversal was faster than it looks."
"There's a difference between hitting fast and moving fast," Hilda added. "Rhyperior may be slow when it comes to movement but its reaction speed and physical speed say otherwise. It's too slow to dodge but it's fast enough to do something about threats."
"And it gets better. Meloetta's slower in this form but her ranged attacks hit harder than her close-up attacks! Like so! Psychic!"
"Melo!" Meloetta, from a far distance, had flashed eyes, immediately taking control of Rhyperior. Rhyperior, after receiving the hardest beatdown of his life, was only going to be further attacked from here on as even though it was difficult to knock him down, lifting him up was a different case. Meloetta had enough Psychic power in this form to raise the Drill Pokemon up from the ground, faring better in this form
"Rhyperior! Dragon Rush!"
"R-Rhyperior!" But even when held up, Rhyperior wouldn't let himself be beaten that easily. While in the air, he overtook Meloetta's Psychic hold by summoning a draconic aura around his body. By doing so, not only did he break free of Psychic, but he was rocketing down with a high-velocity rush.
"Here we go! Meet it with Close Combat Meloetta! Switch!"
"Melo!" But even then, Meloetta had a response for that. She flew towards Rhyperior before swiftly switching forms yet again. In the blink of an eye, a silhouette of her Pirouette Forme could be seen holding her leg out. After the light faded and revealed her Normal-Fighting-Type form, she smashed her foot into Rhyperior's draconic aura, resulting in an outburst of energy.
The crowd watched in awe from this collision as it was only for a second that they could see Meloetta's actions. They could only wait for the dust to settle. Out of the smoke, Meloetta and Rhyperior had simultaneously descended,d landing perfectly on the floor. It looked to be an equal exchange.
At least, that seemed to be the case from a first glance. But once they were both out of the smoke, taking a few seconds to breathe in and out, the victor of that clash had been revealed.
"R-Rhyperior..." Rhyperior had been done in by that Close Combat strike, dropping to the floor. He had fainted, leaving Bertha with only one.
"Rhyperior is unable to battle, Meloetta wins!"
"Hm. Return, Rhyperior." Bertha recalled Rhyperior as Meloetta took a knee. She has been exhausting herself in this battle, more so than ever. She rarely ever battles and for her first one, she was doing a great job. "So, I'm down to just one. Though this is my last Pokemon...I've seen what you truly have to show, Ash."
"Had me worried there..." Hilbert sighed. "He's good at making close calls, isn't he?"
"You don't know the half of it." Twilight shook her head. "Ash was the master at close-calls when it comes to most battles he's been in. He knows how to put everyone on edge.
"My carnival's gonna rocket in popularity because of this..." The owner wiped tears from his eyes, proud of what has transpired here. From the Mythical Pokemon to the appearance of Rayquaza. It was all looking up for his carnival.
"Meloetta. Rest up. We're going for broke in this one."
"Meloetta." While she wasn't out of the game, she would rest and leave it up to the rest of her teammates. And Ash only had one Pokemon left to battle with it. Victini. And as for Bertha, it was just her Hippowdon left. After this, the battle would be over and everyone would leave here as satisfied customers.
"Let's wrap it up! Hippowdon!"
"Victini! I choose you!"
The last two Pokemon had arrived. Victini and Hippowdon. Fitting as Ash was banking on the Victory Pokemon to carry him to victory. But before that, Bertha needed to think to herself. Mainly about Ash and his progress.
"Ash. From the moment I met you, your observation skills were still fresh. You were a powerful trainer with room to grow and I was hoping that one day, your skills would take you to greater heights. And after seeing you battle at the Lily of the Valley Conference and everyone you've accomplished recently...I was right to meet you and train you. I'm starting to believe there are no coincidences. Everything happens for a reason, possibly."
"Let's go, Victini! V-Create!"
"Victini!" Starting off strong was Victini's signature move. V-Create. Victini's ears ignite into flames before then disappearing, leaving behind a V-shaped yellow flame around his head and a blazing red aura around Victini's body.
"Hippowdon, Crunch!"
"Pow!" Hippowdon would meet with the Fire-Psychic-Type, having just the right arsenal to face him, covering his fangs in a veil of darkness. He waited for Victini to approach, making sure he had the right position to bite down on him.
"I don't think so! Start moving, Victini!"
"Tini!" The second Victini got close to Hippowdon, instead of going for a direct attack, Victini flew above the Heavyweight Pokemon, causing him to miss Crunch. Afterwards, a downwards headbutt had been performed, crashing into Hippowdon's back with V-Create. A large explosion emerged from it. large enough to engulf them both and almost reach both Trainers.
"H-Hippow!" Hippowdon felt that one, sliding back as Victini was coming in for another.
"Dig!"
"Hippo!" Quicky burrowing underground, Hippowdon evaded the next incoming V-Create. Now it was a matter of knowing where he was going to pop up next.
"Victini! Use Psychic to grab the rubble!"
"Tini!" Victini then used Psychic, bringing the rubble toward him as the area was still being used to Ash's advantage.
"Hippowdon!" After bringing the rubble to him, Hippowdon emerged the floor, making his reappearance. From below, he headbutted Victini, sending the Victory Pokemon upwards.
"T-Tini!"
"Unleash the rubble, Victini! Now!"
"Victini!" But the plan kept going. After being knocked upwards, Victini, who appeared upside down, sent the rubble in the form of rain. A rain of rubble came crashing down, rapidly bombarding the Heavyweight Pokemon in midair.
"H-Hippowdon!" With this, Hippowdon received some collateral damage, but it wasn't enough.
"We're not done yet! I've been saving this! Power-up Punch!" Ash smashed his fists together to replicate the impact of Power-up Punch.
"Tini...Tini...Victini!" Victini then came crashing down with his fist out. That fist possessed the power to grow if it manages to land. It was weak now, but a few good hits will increase it for certain.
"Wait for it..." Bertha waited for Victini to get close enough. And thanks to Victini's small and agile body, it didn't take long at all for that to happen. "Crunch!"
"Hippowdon!" But Hippowdon could potentially prevent that from happening. And indeed, he did. The second Victini came close, Hippowdon waiting for the right moment to strike. And that moment had been found. Victini's arm had been caught.
"T-Tini!" Power-up Punch had been stopped with haste. Victini cried out as Hippowdon delivered a super-effective hit to the Fire-Psychic-Type while also holding him in his clutches. "V-Victini!"
"Iron Head!"
"Pow!" And while Victini was restrained, unable to break free. A free hit for Hippowdon as he smashed his hardened head onto Victini's head.
"T-Tini!" But that wasn't the end of it. Another Iron Head was coming as Hippowdon pulled his head back.
"Right back at you! V-Create!"
"Victini!" Hippowdon wasn't the only one with a headbutting attack. Victini ignited his head, ready to meet Hippowdon head-on with his own head-smashing attack. Once V-Create and Iron Head clashed, yet again, the ferocious energy from Victini's V-Create went off, setting off an explosion around them both. Ash held onto his hat while Bertha grabbed her coat, keeping it on.
This was truly an explosive battle. Figuratively and literally. And through it all, the smile on their faces made it clear that it was fun. But all good things must come to an end but in this case, there were more good things to come after this.
"Finish it Hippowdon! Fissure!"
"Hippowdon!" Hippowdon revealed his strongest move. Stronger than even Dig. Fissure. By delivering a full-force stomp to the ground, the Heavyweight Pokemon opened up a fissure, sending a wave of bluish-white energy towards the Victory Pokemon as the energy burst out of the ground.
"Let's finish this! Burn! Burn brighter, Victini! V-Create!" ASh thrust his fist into the air, encouraging Victini to give out a final hurrah.
"Victini!" Victini would do just that. By using an astronomical amount of power from his body, he performed one final V-Create. And this was the biggest yet. Instead of charging in, Victini unleashed all of that power as an area-wide explosion of fire, bursting from his entire body.
The two bursts of energy had met, clashing ferociously as the windows of the Battle Carnival were coming off. Children and smaller Pokemon were being blown away from their seats just from this fierce clash. But only one of them had the power to break through.
"TINI!" And that was the infinite power of Victini. He wasn't even close to his limit. By simply adding more power to his attack, the flames consumed the white bursts of Fissure's energy. Hippowdon was next, losing his body to the flames.
And this time, the attack didn't combust. The flames simply died down. A fitting end as the chaos had calmed down, coming to an end. Once those flames vanished, Hippowdon was unable to withstand what had come his way. It was set in stone as the Heavyweight Pokemon dropped to the side.
"Hippowdon..." Hippowdon had fainted.
"Hippowdon is unable to battle! Victini wins! Thus, the victor of this battle and the new Champion of the Battle Carnival is Ash!"
"Victory! That's why you're the Victory Pokemon, Victini!" Overwhelmed with joy, Ash, Pikachu and Meloetta simultaneously jumped for joy as the crowd thundered with their highest applause yet.
"Tini!" Victini, proud of his own accomplishment raced back to his best friends. He held hands with Pikachu and Meloetta, joyfully dancing around. Ash had won with only three Pokemon left, claiming victory with a surprising number advantage.
"They did it! Never doubled them for a second!" Hilbert applauded.
"Guess that's that." Bertha walked over to Hippowdon. "Many thanks for this, Hippowdon. You battled well. But the next generation of Pokemon Trainers always finds a way to outpace the old."
"Hippo."
"Though, in this case, I suppose Ash is the old generation, ready to usher in the new."
The Battle Carnival had just finished its best battle yet as Ash was tackled by his teammates, laying on the ground, laughing with them. All of his friends rushed over to congratulate him as Bertha found perfect solace knowing that this generation and the future generation involving Equestria and the rest of the world was in good hands and hooves.
The Witch was still present here as well, watching Ash's stunning victory and lightly applauding it. That's all she could do. Nothing more. This time, she didn't bother to sneak away or leave. At least, not yet.
Their time at the Battle Carnival was about to come to an end. And their next destination would lead them to someplace less battle heavy. Winding down was the way to go now.
"Thank you so much for increasing the popularity of my Battle Carnival. All of you." The owner of the Battle Carnival, along with his employees, all showed their highest thanks to Ash's party after what they did. "Our attention is sure to skyrocket from this."
"No problem. It was fun to be here too." Ash and everyone paid their respects. It was time for them to depart after that intense battle between Ash and Bertha where it was a rollercoaster of surprises.
"Sorry if we caused any major damage though," Twilight added, referring to how there had been collateral damage after what occurred with Hoopa. And some of their battles counted.
"Ah, it's fine! If anything, the collateral damage helps greatly! At the end of the day, everyone likes a little destruction when a Pokemon Battle happens. It's only natural." The owner saw this as a positive instead of a negative. Whatever helps with Business. "We'll fix it up, anyway."
"So, wait. Rayquaza really showed up? Seriously?" Rainbow Dash asked as she missed out on all the action. A lot of stellar moments, unable to be captured in her memories.
"And we missed it..." Cadence sighed. "Why'd we take so long to finish battling?"
"I think because we felt something excite us both." Shining Armor added." You felt it too, right? I felt like I could do so much more with Aegislash."
"I did too. But what does it matter if we missed such a big battle?" Cadence disappointingly replied. "Oh, well. At least we had fun. Wish we get a rush like that more often."
"Well, we know where we're going next. How's about we pay PokeStar Studios a visit?" Ash asked.
"Not yet. Everything's not in place for it to happen," said Cloudchaser. "It probably won't be made today or tomorrow. Might take some time until everything's in place."
"Celestia and Luna are the only ones missing, right? They're the number one actors for that Equestria History film to be completed. I'm sure they'll make it. This year's festival's three weeks long after all." Ash added. "But, we're still gonna have fun there. Never a dull moment at PokeStar Studios."
"We'll be doing Equestria's history? Didn't we already do that with the Hearth's Warming Eve play?" Pinkie quickly realized that this would be another variant of Hearths Warming Eve. The first was a play adaption and this one was gearing up to be a film adaptation.
"I'd love to see it!" Sci-Twi squeed. "I want to learn about your world's history too! Everything about your species and your magic!"
"Hang on! Where's the Witch?!" But Twilight had something bigger in mind. Something that she just now recalled. The young princess started zooming everywhere, trying to find the mysterious Witch who she had spotted minutes ago. "She was right with us! Where'd she go?!"
"No clue." Pinkie shrugged. "Must've gone off early."
"The spell! Maybe I can track her with this!" Quickly using the new spell she learned just to track down the Witch. It acted in the same as X-Ray Vision and Bioluminescent lights, intended to reveal any potential footsteps and who they belonged to. However, try as she might, she couldn't pinpoint the Witch's footsteps. All she could get were her friends, family and other civilians.
Nothing related to Ghetsis.
"Nothing! Gah! She was right there and I wasted all my chances on that battle!" A distraught Twilight pulled her mane, greatly struck that she didn't get her chance to speak with the Witch. The battle was too enthralling to look away. "This blows..."
"Well, she might show up again." Ash chuckled. "Plus, I learned something about her that you're gonna love to hear, Twilight."
"Really?! Tell me everything!" Hope wasn't gone yet. After Ash met her, Twilight grabbed Ash's shirt and jacket, demanding to know what he discovered from this mysterious lady.
"S-Sure..."
"Should we go and find your daughter now, your Majesties? Your older daughter from the other world I mean." Flash Sentry, who was still holding Baby Flurry Heart asked. Cadence and Shining Armor would depart because of this, heading for the older Flurry Heart. "We should really think of a new name for her for less confusion."
"That's our cue. Let's head to Unova!" The next destination had been set by Ash. It was back to the Unova Region, just to experience PokeStar Studios once more. But...let's hang around here a bit longer, okay?"
Equestria. Out in the mountains. Galaxy Master's secret hideout. The Galaxy Tower.
Over 30 Travel Spheres. And now, a large portion of Rift Energy from the Arcane Sea. All of it had been gathered by Galaxy Master. In this remote area where his hideout was stationed underground, Galaxy Master returned from the Arcane Sea.
However, he returned to the tower with minimal memories of all that happened. All he remembered was encountering Darkrai and retrieving energy from those seas. Everything else was a blur.
"Alright. I think we have enough to restore a decent portion of the Rift." Galaxy Master looked at what he gathered, including Lapras, who was storing all of that energy.
"It'll do perfectly." The Rift was also within this area. "With this much energy, I can interact more with the world around me. The best I can do is interact with you physically."
"Right. Here you go!" Now, he could begin restoring energy to the Rift. By grabbing the Travel Spheres and having Lapras unleash a stream of water, embedded with Rift Energy, it was all directed to this cosmic entity. The Rift stood still as the moment the Travel Spheres reached it, they were being absorbed like a vacuum. The stream of water swirled within it as well as a flash of cosmic power illuminated this secret base.
Pikachu and the others squinted their eyes at the sight of this flash. After receiving all that energy, the Rift seemed to expand in size. Its energies flared out with a greater vibrance, though it was all momentary. Just like that, the Rift had received a portion of its power back.
"So. How do you feel?" Galaxy Master asked.
"Better. But I'm still missing a lot. This Aura is like an endless poison. It weakened me to stellar levels that I could've never expected. I can do a bit more now, but I still need your help to gather some more. Don't stop focusing on the Arcane Sea but make sure to check everywhere else."
"No problem! We'll keep looking!" Galaxy Master snapped his fingers. "But...lately, I've been having these blurry visions. Certain events are beginning to escape my head."
"Don't worry about that. What you should worry about is how there's a new method being made to try and destroy you. You'll find out when it comes to you." The Rift departed, leaving Galaxy Master with a foreboding message.
"Hm. Well. Let's head out again, my friends." The fictional character faced the rest of his Pokemon. Another destination would be set soon but it was yet to be discovered which one it would be.
Johto. Olivine City. Afternoon.
Olivine City. A city where one can supposedly hear the melody of the sea. Located here at Olivine City were Princess Celestia and Cynthia. Of course, Celestia was still in her human form, having yet to revert back. The two of them could be found at Olivine Port, standing next to the S.S Aqua.
But while the two of them were conversing, having some sweets to eat, the voice of a tired-out child cried out. Crawling to this city with her bare hooves was a filly, soaking wet and approaching the direction of Celestia and Cynthia. That groaning voice was immediately recognizable to Celestia, grabbing her attention.
"That voice...Premium?"
"Finally! I caught up to you!" Premium Polish was here, soaking wet yet not malfunctioning. She planted her face in the ground, breathing in and out as she was a mess. "I've been trying to reach you for a while...Hoping to cut you off and surprise you wherever you went. But boy...you know how to get around."
"Apologies. I get too excited when it comes to exploring." Celestia walked over, picking up the android filly. "Look at how much smaller you are compared to me. How adorable!"
"You were already super tall..." Premium Polish groaned. "Did you need to grow any taller?"
"So, did you come here by sea? What did you go through to find me?" Celestia asked.
"I went through a lot. But it was worth it to find you." Premium grinned before her wet mane covered her eyes. "So, can I hang around with you please?"
"Of course, you can." Celestia raised her. "Right on time as we were just about to leave here. Our next destination is...Oh." The Sun Princess froze for a bit. "Where are we headed next?"
"Mmm." Cynthia shrugged, not having an answer to that either. "We're just moving wherever, aren't we?"
"Ah. Oh. I'd like to see Reshiram and Zekrom. Did you catch them, Premium?"
"I saw them fly off in different directions back at Equestria. I don't know where they are." The android shook her head like a dog, spraying water everywhere. "But...if you wanna go somewhere, how's about we check out a contest? Just saying."
"That's it!" Celestia raised her voice, adding the Royal Canterlot Voice into it. "I've done some battles...why not tackle Pokemon Contests?"
"Pokemon Contests? Alright then." Cynthia nodded. "You qualify in my eyes."
"Mhm. But...I'd like to add a fourth Pokemon to experience the Contest with me." She then gently placed Premium Polish down, using her magic to warm her and essentially rid the little android of any liquids. "I'd like to bring Reshiram with me. That's not a bad idea."
"Reshiram?!" Cynthia and Premium Polish equally gasped.
"Ah...isn't that a bit dangerous?" The android questioned. "Reshiram's kind of a big deal, Princess Celestia. He's like a Legendary Pokemon!"
"She's right. There are those who would want the power of a Legendary Pokemon for themselves. Even though your world casually has Reshiram and Zekrom roaming around...bringing it to a contest..." Cynthia added, thinking of what would happen if Reshiram showed up at a Pokemon Contest. While it would be surprising and interesting, there were some risks that came to mind.
"It doesn't matter to me." However, Celestia already made up her mind. "Legendary Pokemon or not...a friend is still a friend. Having Reshiram and Zekrom around Equestria helps solidify why I worked hard to make Equestria what it is."
"Really?" Premium Polish added.
"Mhm. For the longest, I've been limited from doing much except being the Ruler of Equestria. Making rules and adding laws. So much to do yet so little to experience. It wasn't until Pokemon came along and that all changed. I've never felt freer, honestly. That's what I built Equestria to be and exactly what my parents aimed it to be. It doesn't matter if you're a Princess or a Legendary Pokemon. You have all the freedom you can have at Equestria. And if anyone wants to try and get in the way of that, they'll have to answer to me."
Making her statement on her nation, the sun beamed beautifully behind Celestia. It was as if the Sun responded to her words. There wasn't a sign of her controlling this world's Sun anyway.
"That was beautiful!" Premium Polish teared up, crying oil as she was still an android. She and Cynthia then applauded Celestia for her speech along with a nearby Fisherman and the people on the S.S Aqua who managed to hear it.
"Couldn't have said it better myself. Truly, I couldn't. I'm not a ruler. Well, since you're set on bringing Reshiram along, let's go find this Dragon of Truth. And which Contest Hall would you prefer to enter?" Celestia approached.
"I still want to try it in my Human Form, so I'd say...Sinnoh! They have the best Contest Halls from what I hear!" Celestia pumped her fist. "Just wait a moment, Reshiram! Wherever you are, we'll enjoy today together!"
"Why can't you show that same energy with me, Magikarp?" After hearing her speech, the nearby Fisherman spoke to his Magikarp, desiring the same kind of energy that Celestia possessed within Magikarp.
"Magikarp."
"We have to get you dressed first." Cynthia snapped her fingers. "Although, one could say that you look the part in that outfit."
"You think so?" Celestia looked at her outfit. She then looked over at the S.S Aqua as all the people onboard gave approving thumbs-up. To many, Celestia's Human Outfit looked to be Contest appropriate. "Hm. So be it then. This'll do just fine."
"Do you need some practice, Princess Celestia?" Appearing on her shoulder was Premium Polish.
"No need. I've watched your practice sessions and other contests. I can do this." Celestia was fully confident in her abilities to perform contest moves. All that confidence pumped her up to be ready for whichever contest she tackles, even if she was new.
And seeing how quick she was to grow during a battle, Cynthia predicted that potentially, the same could be said for a Pokemon Contest as Celestia was without a doubt a natural-born prodigy. But those prodigal skills would have to be witnessed at a Pokemon Contest when the time comes.
Sinnoh. West end of Route 201. Lake Verity. Day.
Lake Verity. One of the three lakes that was symbolic of the water-rich Sinnoh region. It was the sister lake to Lake Valor and Lake Acuity. Arriving nearby at lightspeed was the Sea Temple Samiya, bringing along the People of the Water, Princess Luna and some ponies from the Crystal Empire who ended up coming along thanks to the lightspeed travel.
After showing up here, Luna and the People of the Water stood before the lake, here to do one thing. In Luna's magical grasp was a special Sea Temple Crystal that she made. It even appeared with a night sky material texture just to represent her.
"So. This is where you gather the light from Arceus?" Luna asked as they came here to add the final touches to the Sea Temple Crystal. Arceus' light.
"Either of the three lakes will work. We just happened to choose this one." Alo added. "But yes. Sinnoh is the one place most connected to Arceus. Long ago, we the People of the Water would come to one of these lakes just to gather the light of Arceus. All we have to do is throw it in the lake."
"That's it? I thought it'd be harder than that..." Luna shrugged before using her magic to launch the crystal. The Night-Sky-Patterened Crystal dropped into the lake, sinking immediately. "Now do we just wait?"
"Indeed. It takes some time." Alo replied. "So, we'll take our time too."
"Hm." Luna took the time to sit and wait for this magical process to finish. In the meanwhile, Luna would daydream. She rarely gets to dream during the night but during the day and the afternoon, that was a different story. At this time, Luna had various dreams that she could conjure.
Figuratively and literally. After gaining Lunar Ire's power, Luna's dreams could become visible in a cartoonish way. Above her head, clouds were forming as all of her dreams were stationed there. Luna dreamt mainly of Ash, as to be expected, envisioning him in a regal outfit. It wouldn't be too farfetched as Ash was the King of the Sea, though he doesn't wear anything befitting of a king.
Still having a large crush on Ash, Luna's dreams were mainly occupied with Ash, putting her face in a flustering expression. The People of the Water could visibly see this as Luna conjured them up to be physical. Possibly the only time they'll ever get to see someone else's dreams.
But during Luna's daydreaming and the crystal being powered up by Lake Verity and Arceus' light, a certain Pokemon responded to her emotions. Mainly her emotions. The emotion of love attracted a certain Pokemon to appear in front of the Princess of the Moon while her eyes were closed.
The People of the Water backed up upon witnessing this Pokemon. They stayed silent, only making minimal gasps as Luna had yet to experience who was in front of her.
"Spirit..." A voice cried out to Luna, causing her to wake up. Once those eyes slowly opened, she was met with the figure in front of her and the Pokemon that resides around Lake Verity.
"Hm? Gah!" She was jump scared by the appearance of this Pokemon, flapping her wings and falling over. Without shying away from showing itself, the small fairy-like entity had made an appearance.
Appearing in front of Princess Luna was the Emotion Pokemon Mesprit. The Pokemon of Lake Verity. During the process of completing a new Sea Temple Crystal and daydreaming to herself, Mesprit appeared, startling Luna.
"Mesprit."
"W-Who are you?"Needing to know immediately, Luna quickly used her magic to unveil her Pokedex. With one scan, all the data on Mesprit had been shared with her.
Mesprit. The Emotion Pokemon. Known as the Being of Emotion and the Birth of all Emotions, In legend, this Pokémon was feared, as any who showed disrespect would have their emotions thrown into disarray. It taught humans the nobility of sorrow, pain, and joy. It sleeps at the bottom of a lake. Its spirit is said to leave its body to fly on the lake’s surface."
"You've attracted Mesprit. As to be expected from Princess Luna." Alo and the People of the Water congratulated Luna. "It must've been your fantasy about King Ash."
"You saw it?!" Luna gasped as she accidentally shot magic in the air due to the intensity of her reaction.
"Why of course! Your daydreaming was visible to all of us. You have a good sense of style too." A Sea Temple Maiden commented, only embarrassing Luna further. "That much emotion of love was certified to attract Mesprit, especially since it was here at Lake Verity.
"Mesprit!" Mesprit even found it to be humorous, giggling at a red-faced Luna. After getting some laughs in, Mesprit flew around the Moon Princess, curious about her, not just for her daydream. "Mes."
"It's already seen my embarrassing moment. What does it want from me?"
"Princess Luna. Mesprit sometimes comes to those who exhibit a great ordeal of emotions." The maiden went up to the Moon Princess. "Most likely, Mesprit is responding to those emotions."
"My emotions?" Luna repeated. "She only exhibited one emotion recently but this immediately made the alicorn think back to any other emotions she felt. There was a huge list of them but she could quickly discover why Mesprit sensed so many. Most of them came from the Birth of Nightmare Moon and Lunar Ire's emergence. "You know about those?"
"How come you all aren't surprised by Mesprit?" Luna asked.
"Our ancestors have been here before as well as us in the far past. Seeing rare Pokemon such as Mesprit isn't too surprising." Alo replied. "But since Mesprit is showing itself visibly to you, aside from sensing your emotions, that must mean one thing! Princess Luna. Could you be a new connection for Mesprit?"
"Connection?" Luna added. "W-What do you mean by that? I didn't even know it existed until now. I thought Ralts and Kirlia were the only Emotion Pokemon around."
"Mesprit." Mesprit then waved its hand in front of Luna, confusing her. She wasn't sure what Luna wanted. Considering that this was a Mythical Pokemon, it only raised Luna's confusion. Right after that, Mesprit touched Luna's head for a split second, sending a tiny Psychic wave before pulling back. "Mes."
"I wish I could understand you. If only Darkrai were here." Luna sighed.
"Mm. A crying shame indeed." Someone replied to Luna. But, right after Luna nodded in agreement, the voice that came to her sounded familiar. It sounded just like her. With a sharp turn, she noticed someone was sitting next to her.
It was her. Or more specifically, Nightmare Moon. Luna looked away for a second before looking back, spotting the familiar visage of her taller variant. She couldn't believe her eyes. "Gah!" Luna was blown back by this shocking revelation, dropping on her back as Nightmare Moon casually looked down on her.
"She seems taller, doesn't she?" A maiden pointed out, noticing the instant similarities between the two.
"How are you here?!" Highly cautious in every reasonable way, Luna stood up in a defensive position, emanating a flare of magic from her horn. The moment she saw Nightmare Moon, 'danger' was the first thing on her mind. "Why are you here?!"
"Kh! Don't you point that thing at me." Nightmare Moon scoffed, not in the least intimidated by Luna. "I'm not scared of someone as pint-sized as you."
"You...Did you do this?!" Her attention shifted from Nightmare Moon to Mesprit. She did release that Psychic wave which was brief. However, Luna wasn't blind to the series of events that occurred.
"Mesprit."
"At least nod..." Luna lowered her head, sighing. "If you're the Emotion Pokemon, does that mean you're capable of doing this? Dragging her out? In daylight, no less."
"I know right? It could have at least done it during the night, then it would be fitting. But at least I'm glad to be free. You have no idea how long I've been locked up in there. Well, you would actually."
"For 5 years straight," Luna added. "But I thought I got rid of you...My connection with Lunar Ire is proof that I finally overcame what was holding me back."
"Well, seems like you just don't have it yet." Nightmare Moon shrugged. "Maybe that's it. What a shame."
"What is this all about? Alo? Do you know why this is the case? I need a clear answer before I can solve this issue!" Luna aimed her hoof at Nightmare Moon, offending her.
"Issue?!"
"Umm..." Alo and the People of the Water looked around as they were just as confused as she was. They didn't have the answer to everything right from the start. "Apologies, but this is new to us. We've never heard of Mesprit doing this."
"Hmph. So much for that." Nightmare Moon taunted as she was only giving Luna new reasons to blast her.
"Well, Mesprit can do many things. This just looks like one of them." Alo theorized. It wasn't too farfetched to be live that Mesprit could do something like this. Seemed like its own unique thing even.
"But why would it bring you out?" Luna pondered about why Nightmare Moon was summoned. "That's what I need to know. Before I get rid of you again."
"Get rid of me again? Bah! You never did! Never will!" Nightmare Moon stood tall. "Perhaps you're just refusing to believe that I'm always a part of you from start to finish. You have everything that's happened in both worlds to thank for that."
"Mm. Hard disagree." Luna scoffed, turning around as she completely dismissed Nightmare Moon's comment. "I'm not too worried. I have other things to worry about and right now, you're not as dangerous as I remember you being."
"Just by you looking at me?!" Nightmare Moon roared. "Rude! Surely, there's a reason I'm free again. And what makes you think I'm not dangerous?"
"If you were me, you would've noticed the restraints on your hooves." The Princess of the Moon smirked, forcing Nightmare Moon to look down. The moment she said, already, Nightmare Moon had been restrained. Magical chains propped out of the ground, gripping her hooves and rendering her unable to move from one spot.
"I-Impossible! How did this happen?!" Nightmare Moon exclaimed before squirming, trying to break the spell with her own magic. But when attempting to do so, it ended in immediate failure. Her magic failed to break the spell. "Why won't it break?!"
"I told you. Lunar Ire is proof I overcame you. Though you may come from me, in the end, I'm stronger than I ever was and you simply stagnated."
"Stagnated?!"
"Alright. First, I'll get the crystal when it's done and then I'll deal with Galaxy Master afterwards." Luna spoke while Nightmare Moon was barking behind her, furiously moving about just to break free. "Then, I'll deal with you, Nightmare Moon. You're now separate from me, which is certainly odd. And maybe before that...I need to know why you did it, Mesprit. Why would you do this?"
Luna wanted answers. And the only one who could give her these answers was Mesprit, the one who split Luna and Nightmare Moon. Mesprit had already shown that it wasn't shy to appear before Luna. Now, it was all a matter of conversing with Mesprit.
"Mesprit?"
Universe 11. An unknown dimension. Another Equestria. Canterlot. 6 hours-6 Years.
6 hours have passed. In this dimension, it was the equivalent of 6 years. Ghetsis was in here for 6 years straight, deciding to extend his time to 10 hours, equalling 10 years.
And within this reality, he aimed to interact with this ruined version of Equestria, deciding to rebuild it while also improving on his magic. And by rebuilding it, he would use the power of his Pokemon to do so. Something that he's never done before.
But staying here for what was essentially 6 hours got to Ghetsis. In the process of rebuilding this destroyed city, Ghetsis was not only being bothered by the shadow variant of himself who originally ruined this version of Equestria, but he even started seeing Ash.
Not physically, but rather mentally. Staying here for 6 years with only 4 more to go was getting to even Ghetsis, despite his great patience. While he had no issues with the duration, knowing it would end soon, he couldn't help but wonder what this strange feeling within him was. Right now, all he could think about was Ash.
"Hey, come on, Ghetsis! Let's battle to wipe that frown off your face! Maybe that'll make you feel better!" The phantom projection of Ash said, putting a wide grin on his face. This mental projection of Ash was surprisingly friendly to Ghetsis, which was throwing him off.
"Silence." Ghetsis groaned. "I'm trying to think straight. I don't even know why you've propped up in my mind."
"You just hate me that much, that's why." Ash chuckled. "Plus, you're just going through a few things. Like that creepy shadow of yourself that's next to you."
"I'm already being annoyed by him. I don't need you to add to that annoyance." Ghetsis sat down, putting his hands over his face in annoyance.
"I'm surprised you're chatting with that brat." Shadow Ghetsis commented. "Something's definitely changing you...you aren't going soft, are you?!"
"Woah, seriously?" Ash said.
"No, I'm not!" Ghetsis stood up, raising his voice as he made the skies rumble.
"Well, if you're not, how come you're so off today? You looked pretty fine those past 5 years. Or hours, I should say." said Ash.
"This dimension is just different from what I'm used to." Ghetsis held his head. "But it's fine. Nothing I can't handle. This is all to make sure I don't waste my potential and catch up with all the power I failed to flourish."
"Oh, that makes sense." Ash nodded in approval as he was suddenly joined by many others in Ghetsis' head. Mainly those who opposed Ghetsis, AKA the Mane 6.
"It does." The mental projection of Twilight spoke, startling Ghetsis.
"Another one of you?!" Ghetsis pulled back, witnessing the Mane 6 standing or even hovering next to Ash. "Why do you keep showing up?! Are you even real?"
"You tell me." Pinkie Pie shrugged before flailing her hooves around like a ghost. "This dimension thing is messing with your mind. Oooh."
"The pink one is right. These are only your mental projections." Shadow Ghetsis added. "You're thinking about your worst enemies. And soon more will come."
"Figures." Ghetsis sighed. "But...I can still handle it. I had to put up with that Ketchum brat for 5 years. So I can handle the rest of his annoying colourful friends."
"Mighty kind of you to call us colourful." Applejack replied. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to us. Haha!"
"And that's the nicest thing he's ever done. Look at how he's fixing Canterlot. Isn't that sweet?" Fluttershy added, aiming her hoof at Equestria.
Previously, when Ghetsis showed up here, he was met with a ruined Equestria. This dimension essentially showed him the future. If he was to ever win, in 30 years, Equestria would become desolate with destruction based on Ghetsis' future actions. But after rejecting that future and choosing to rebuild it, a different appearance came about.
While possessing dark grey skies, the city of Canterlot had been rebuilt from its obliterated ruins to a style that befitted Ghetsis. The original structure of Canterlot had been changed, no longer sporting its classic look.
"Not bad. Creepy, but neat." Rainbow Dash nodded in approval.
"You do have a nice sense of style, I'll give you that," said Rarity. "But why go through so much trouble for one dimension that moves at a different pace?"
"I want to rule a world in my image. The type of king I strive to be is one of a massive empire that stretches far past my world. That goes for this one. Though it may be a dimension used for specific purposes, I can still control it. Just like how I controlled the Hydreigon here."
Suddenly, bursting out of the ground itself was none other than the massive Shadow Hydreigon who was astronomically larger than a regular Hydreigon. Years or rather hours ago, it was chasing Ghetsis down. Now, that wasn't the case. The gigantic Hydreigon was casually next to Ghetsis as if nothing happened.
In just the span of 6 years, Ghetsis adjusted himself to this world, starting with rebuilding what was destroyed and conquering what attacked him.
"Impressive!" Ash applauded as well as everyone else, congratulating Ghetsis for his achievements. If Ghetsis was going to be congratulated for his efforts, he needed a crowd for it, no matter how hateful.
"Just a few more years or hours." Ghetsis commented as he was only getting started with this 6-year run that would eventually reach 10. "There's more to be done here."
Sinnoh. Solaceon Town. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Solaceon Town. The town where anyone can be free of worry. The temperate climate makes this town a relaxed and casual place for people and Pokémon to live in. Beyond a path hemmed by stands of trees, one can find the entrance to the Solaceon Ruins.
Solaceon Town is populated mostly by Ranchers and Cowgirls as it appeared to be a farming community. Most of the town residents live on the western side of town, near the main road
Arriving here were Celestia, Cynthia and now Premium Polish. Celestia aimed to take part in a Pokemon Contest for the first time as per the many things she wanted to do as a human. Solaceon Town's Contest Hall was open on time for her to participate, even if she wasn't planning on becoming a Pokemon Coordinator.
"This'll do," said Celestia. "We'll amaze all of them when we get there. Isn't that right...Reshiram?" Of course, she was bringing Reshiram along. However, when turning around, the Fire-Dragon-Type was currently hiding behind a lamp post, trying to conceal himself. "Reshiram?"
Reshiram's body was very visible to everyone's eyes. Only his face was hidden as there was nothing here that could hide the Vast White Pokemon's body.
"Don't tell me you're shy?" Celestia walked up to him.
"Maybe." Reshiram made a quick reply before shimmying in front of the lamp post. But it was completely pointless.
"You'll be fine. All we have to do is dazzle them all and leave a massive impression. And you needn't worry. If it's a Tag Performance, Passion will help you."
"Gardevoir."
"You might go up against coordinators who are super skilled in there, Princess Celestia," said Premium Polish. "Even if you have Reshiram, it'll be hard to compete with them."
"She'll be fine, my little pony," Cynthia replied. "Trust me. From what I've seen from Celestia, she learns and grows faster than anyone can expect."
"Thanks. Just follow our lead Reshiram. Though...getting you inside might be a problem." Celestia soon realized one crucial issue. Reshiram's size compared to the building. Getting him indoors would be an issue. "You don't have a Poke Ball anymore...so how do we get you inside?"
"I got an answer for that!" Premium Polish bellowed. "Why don't you catch Reshiram? That'll make it easier!"
"Catch Reshiram? Hmm..." Celestia thought about it before looking at the Vast White Pokemon. "I've never thought about that ever. Reshiram. What say you?"
"I'm not that easily caught. You all know what it takes for me to stand by someone."
"For Zekrom, it's standing up for Ideals. And for you, it's the Truth." Cynthia answered. "Trainers who stand strongly with either one are chosen by you two. The same went for the two Princes in the past."
"That's it? Well, that won't be a problem. Right?" Premium Polish had high confidence in her ruler. However, Celestia's face said otherwise. Right now, the Princess was in deep thought. "Princess?"
"Hmm...Truths and Ideals. Which one do I stand for?" Celestia pondered as she didn't have an immediate answer. This was something she had to think about. In the midst of her pondering, a fanfare went off over at Solaceon Town's Contest Hall. That was an audio cue of the contest reaching its beginning phase.
"That's your cue, Celestia. It's best to get going now." Cynthia alerted the Ruler of Equestria, breaking her out of her deep thought.
"Oh, right! Stay out here, Reshiram! At least behind the building! I'll figure something out!" Celestia departed, rushing off to quickly sign up before it was too late. Reshiram would have his chance. But it was only a matter of what Celestia could do with such a big Pokemon.
As for Reshiram himself, the concept of Truths and Ideals put him in deep thought as well, blankly staring at Princess Celestia. However, whereas Celestia was wondering where she stood with Truth and Ideals, Reshiram wondered the same.
In the eyes of Reshiram, it could sway either way. She was the ruler of an entire nation and the concept of Truths and Ideals was powerful in her case. The question was, which one was she most likely to dominate at? Reshiram would have to wait for that answer eventually.
When entering the Contest Hall, Celesti quickly signed up just on time before registrations could close. She was the very last one to do so. Premium Polish, despite being a coordinator herself, chose to stay out of it and instead opted to cheer on Celestia.
8 coordinators had arrived. Celestia being the 8th and upon entering the waiting room, she was met with the other 7 coordinators. Five were human and two were ponies. These two ponies had yet to recognize Princess Celestia as the hairstyle, eye colour and crown would've been a dead giveaway at first.
Though, they probably wouldn't notice at all if not for the sound of something stomping nearby. The coordinators were lifted off the ground while some were lifted off their seats. That also applied to the crowd.
This stomping was the result of none other than Reshiram and his large body. Larger than even the Contest Hall, Reshiram's footsteps shook the Contest Hall as he tried to be discreet as he could. But that wasn't happening and it would probably get worse once he enters the hall. If he could.
Reshiram would take a peep inside, finding the outfit room where various clothes could be found. But Celestia found her Human Outfit to be just perfect. Perfect enough to qualify and perfect enough to be approved by everyone else.
And even when inside, Reshiram had to ponder what Celestia stood for. Truth or Ideals? Ever since that question had been raised, Reshiram couldn't get rid of it. But if he had to guess, Reshiram already deduced something.
"Celestia. I may know which side you may sway toward. But...the more I think about it, the more it makes me believe that you might only sway to that side because of her presence that is lurking within you. Because of Daybreaker."
Sinnoh. Solaceon Town. Solaceon Town Contest Hall. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Today, a Pokemon Contest was occurring at Solaceon Town with one of the coordinators promising a Legendary Surprise fairly soon. The opening stages of the contest were about to begin as the halls had been lit up, followed by the crowd cheering.
"Welcome to another Pokemon Festival Exclusive Pokemon Contest!" Announcing this Pokemon Festival, as to be expected was Marian. She appeared, greeting everyone to this Pokemon Contest which was open just for the Pokemon Festival. "It's only during this event where Pokemon Contests can be held in succession. And this time, there will be contests for 3 weeks straight! As always, let's welcome our judges! Someone you all know. Mr Contesta!"
"Hello, hello. I bid you good morning and good afternoon as I'm looking forward to a passionate performance from all sides!"
"Next is the president of the Pokemon Fanclub...Mr Sukizo!"
"Today, I saw a Legendary Pokemon flying in the distance. I'll call that a sign of good things to come. It'll be Remarkable, no doubt!"
"And finally, Solaceon Town's own Nurse Joy will be joining us today!"
"I woke up a bit late today." Nurse Joy commented with a slightly messy hairstyle. "A massive festival event will do that to you. But I'm excited either way."
"And for this contest, for those who missed out on receiving it, here's another chance!" Marian spun before holding out the Solaceon Ribbon. "The Solaceon Ribbon! A pristine and fresh one too! No matter what, we always have spare ribbons, just in case something goes wrong And as always, I'm your announcer, Marian. So now, let's begin with Round One! The Performance Stage! Where all of the gifted Pokemon show off their moves! And here is our first entrance!" Marian then turned to the curtains, ready to reveal the first coordinator. "You're up!"
The first coordinator appeared. Celestia would have to wait as she was the last one to enter after all. This gave Celestia all the time in the world to prepare. Luckily for her, this was indeed a Tag Performance so both Gardevoir and Reshiram were viable. Although, the biggest obstacle to overcome was bringing Reshiram inside for the contest.
Speaking of Reshiram, he was standing behind the building, peeking through the window of the Clothing Room. If anyone was there, they would witness a giant blue pupil. As for Reshiram, thinking back to the comment about Truths and Ideals, it made the Vast White Pokemon reminisce.
He reminisced about a conversation he and Celestia had around 3 months ago. Something concerning Celestia's alter-ego from another universe. Daybreaker.
Equestria. Canterlot. 3 months ago. "You still haven't found the world she's in? They must've found the perfect way to hide Universe 11." Celestia spoke to Reshiram, talking about Empress Twilight and her whereabouts. Currently, she eluded them to this day. All they knew at the moment was that she was currently at Universe 11. Daybreaker's home universe.
Try as they might, Reshiram and Zekrom were unable to enter that one. Universe 11 was seemingly off limits, no matter how many of the Empress' forces they take down.
"They do an amazing job at concealing themselves when it comes to that universe. Apologies."
"It's fine, Reshiram. You tried your best. Truth be told...I would've done the same if I was being targeted all across different universes." Celestia chuckled. "I already have an array of concealment spells that I can offer. I mean, she is me after all."
"About that. Do you fear that she's within you? Daybreaker, I mean."
"Do I fear that she's within me? Truth be told, when I learned about Daybreaker's existence, I started thinking about how it was possible for me to become her. But, it dawned on me that I'm similar to Luna. So it's not farfetched at all. Right, Passion?"
"Gardevoir!" Passion rapidly shook her head in disapproval. That was something she couldn't agree on with Celestia.
"Hm? You don't think I could ever become someone like that?" Celestia translated as Passion refused to believe her trainer could emerge as Daybreaker. Aw, that's sweet of you, Passion. But it's still possible. You can be pure of heart but there'll always be something that gets to you. That seems to be the case with Daybreaker. After what Flurry Heart told me, I can see how she came to be."
"Voir..."
"But don't worry about that." Celestia flew over, patting the Embrace Pokemon on the back for absolute reassurance. "I won't let myself become Daybreaker. If something ever goes wrong, you will all be there to make sure that never happens. I'm sure of it."
Reshiram nodded in agreement. If Daybreaker came out of her, he and many others would do what they could to stop it. Reshiram was already grateful for how Celestia took care of him during his weakened state. To let her succumb to that terrifying power would be unfair in Reshiram's eyes.
On that day, Reshiram vowed to repay Celestia back for when he helped her.
Current day. Solaceon Town Contest Hall.
The contest went on with seven performances. All that was left was the final 8th one, which would be Celestia. Among these 8 coordinators, someone had eyes on Celestia, mainly for her appearance. While no one had figured out who it was, this one individual had her suspicions. She raised her sunhat, getting a closer look at Celestia, spotting her crown and how identical it resembled the Equestrian Regalia. Meanwhile, the seventh performance was over, leading to Celestia's turn finally coming around.
"Alright then! Thank you for the performance, Miss Silver!" Marian announced as the last contestant went off. "Next up! Let's welcome...Celestia?"
"Celestia?" The crowd repeated. That name was too well-known now to be ignored. They only knew of one individual who had that name. Princess Celestia, of course.
"Here I am!" Celestia appeared. She jumped out of the curtains, gaining some impressive height and airtime before skilfully landing on the stage. Joining her was Passion, who simply floated next to her. "Ta-dah!"
"Is it actually her?!" Many in the crowd started chatting upon witnessing this Human. That hair pattern was one of a kind and the only one who possessed it was her mother, Sunlight.
"Hm. That's a Remarkable appearance." Mr Sukizo commented. "I could've sworn that she was a pony."
"She is. But this sight is making me think otherwise." Mr Contesta replied.
"Is that actually you? Princess Celestia?" Marian asked. "The resembles is uncanny if different."
"It is!" Celestia didn't bother sugarcoating it this time. She figured that many would've caught on eventually if not instantly. The only one who was quick to catch on was that lady in the waiting room, wearing a sunhat. "Hello-hello! This is just my human form so don't worry or think about it too much, okay?"
"W-Well! Glad to have you here with us! We rarely get princesses in Pokemon Contests. The only one who joins us is Princess Salvia." Marian added.
"Glad to be here. Passion and I have been waiting for this~"
"Gardevoir!"
"Just you two? Uh, Princess. You need a second Pokemon for this tag performance." Marian noticed how Gardevir was the only Pokemon she had out. "You could send out your Arcanine right now."
"I know. Just give me a moment. I need to do something!" Celestia decided to postpone her performance for a few seconds. She had a second Pokemon ready to perform. She just needed to get him inside. The Sun Princess then leapt off the stage before landing in the crowd, running up to the top of the seats. "Excuse me! Sorry!"
Many wondered what she was doing. By now, any coordinator would've started performing but some adjustments needed to be made for Celestia considering the size of this specific Pokemon. The judges allowed it. Some would believe that they were only doing it because she was a Princess. A High Ranking Princess to be exact.
"Hmm..." Celestia put her hands on the walls, feeling them out for a bit. She was exhibiting strange behaviours, no doubt. This was even many people's first introduction to the Ruler of Equestria. This wasn't what they were expecting. Meanwhile in the crowd, Cynthia simply just giggled at Celestia's carefree nature and how it leads her to do whatever she wanted. If anything, despite having the highest form of authority, this was the most freedom she felt ever.
"Aha! This will do!" After feeling out the walls, Celestia decided to show everyone some magic. Her signature golden glow appeared around her hands. Afterwards, she cast a spell on the walls, sending a golden pulse across it. If she hadn't started yet, this would make for a perfect Contest Move.
But the purpose of this spell had been revealed. It was a spell that ended up making the walls transparent. So transparent that not only could you see the entire outdoors but the sunrays could pass through here. More than that, whilst everyone was admiring the beautiful light that Celestia spread, their faces changed rapidly at the sight of who was standing outside.
Reshiram would eventually be seen by everyone inside. Once those walls became transparent, Reshiram's body was visible to the eyes, startling everyone.
"That's it! That's the Pokemon I saw earlier!" Sukizo gasped.
"It's Reshiram!" Marian exclaimed, almost dropping her microphone. "That one Reshiram from Equestria?!"
"Reshiram?" The lady in the sunhat commented before putting on a smirk. There was more to her than meets the eye.
"Reshiram! Can you hear me?!" Celestia bellowed, hoping that Reshiram could hear her from here. He could as he gave a nod in response. "Hm, good. But I still think getting you inside will be better. This stage is big enough to fit you. So, lean up to the wall for me, okay?"
Reshiram leaned his entire body up to the wall. Everyone backed away once the Vast White pokemon leaned forward, touching the building. It was a miracle that it hadn't trembled from this contact as some of the children got up to the walls just to get a closer look at Reshiram.
"Okay then. In you come!" By using another one of her spells, now that Reshiram was up the walls, Celestia managed to phase her hands through, gripping Reshiram's fur. And with the power of magic, it looked like Reshiram shrunk as Celestia pulled him forward.
She then revealed her wings s they materialized with a golden mystical aura. By using her wings, she took flight while pulling Reshiram inside. In a flash, Reshiram's body had passed through the walls, becoming minimal enough to avoid harming anyone. Once Celestia returned to the stage, that's when Reshiram's true size returned.
Now the Dragon of Truth could finally enter the Contest Hall as he made his grand appearance. Upon descending, Reshiram touched the ground, causing a mild tremor which made Mariam jump.
"There we go!" Celestia chuckled.
"Amazing! We're going to see Reshiram perform?! How exciting!" Nurse Joy applauded as many were excited to see such a rare and powerful Pokemon take part in this contest.
"This is new. But we're all for it! Okay, Princess Celestia! You're up! Go for it!" Mariam gave the call to begin. Everyone was looking forward to this and Celestia would make sure that she wouldn't disappoint.
"Right. Let's start off strong you two! Passion, use Dazzling Gleam! Reshiram. Get ready and build up a Blue Flare!"
"Gardevoir!" Passion went first. By using Dazzling Gleam, she encased herself in a flare of rainbows before leaping into the air. All eyes were on Passion right now as this sphere of rainbows then sent out rays. The rainbow rays then started spinning whilst Gardevoir levitated in the air. At that moment, she became a Disco Ball, lighting up the place.
Then there was Reshiram. By raising his head, the Vast White Pokemon shot a powerful stream of light blue flames from its mouth that was enough to rival and surpass that of a volcano. At first, it looked like it would be directed at Passion, but that was not the case.
"My turn!" Celestia suddenly took action. The second Reshiram's flames were unleashed, the Ruler of Equestria took flight, approaching the flames.
Celestia allowed the blue flames to engulf her, startling everyone. Such powerful flames had come in contact with Celestia to the point where it made many of their hearts skip a beat, especially since there were ponies in this contest who would be mortified if anything terrible happened to Celestia. Thankfully, Celestia knew what she was doing. It was revealed that she was completely fine within the flames, twirling within them while they stayed focused on her body.
Reshiram then transformed the stream into a sphere, encasing Celestia within it while also keeping it afloat. Then, Celestia mimicked what Passion had done. She used her magic to form a golden sphere around her body, copying the actions of Dazzling Gleam. The gold light mixed perfectly with the blue sphere, sending rays out while clashing well with Dazzling Gleam.
Soon, two Disco Balls were in the air but Celestia was going to take it a step further. For her final act, she then brought the Blue Flare down as she and Passion descended. The flare was then split in half by Celestia's hands as it resulted in a colourful azure flash of energy. Surprisingly, Celestia had made it to the point where there wasn't any collateral damage. The magic coating was to thank for that.
Azure and golden sparks flew everywhere once Celestia and Passion released their respective energies. And that was the end of their performance as it garnered instant applause from everyone.
"Great, great!" Marian also applauded. "Had me worried there with that Blue Flare but it done so perfectly! Judges?"
"Mm. Short but sweet!" Contesta gave a striking thumbs-up, showing his immediate love for this performance.
"Seeing Reshiram perform only added to it. That Blue Flare combination was Remarkable!" Sukizo added.
"Bravo! You could say this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! It certainly felt like one!" Nurse Joy gigged.
"Well, that's that. We'll go ahead and see which of these 8 coordinators will make it to the battle stage! Only 4 of them will have the chance!"
Celestia took a bow before then high-fiving Passion. They knew that they left an impression from all these responses. As for Reshiram, it was back outside. He couldn't fit in the waiting room, that's for sure. To return outside, Celestia would do a reverse of what she did prior to bringing Reshiram indoors. That meant pushing him through the walls.
But now that Reshiram was made aware by everyone in Solaceon, becoming discreet was officially pointless as he wouldn't even bother trying to hide behind anything. When returning to the waiting room, the six coordinators applauded Celestia, especially the two ponies who were participating, proud and expecting nothing less of their ruler.
Noticeably, the only one not applauding was that same lady wearing the sunhat from before. Instead, she was just watching Celestia from afar, crossing her legs. She eyed down the Ruler of Equestria from start to finish. From when she first entered the hall to her entire performance.
As the results were coming in, showing who managed to make it, to no one's surprise, Celestia managed to earn a spot in the second stage. She won the crowd over for various obvious reasons. And as for one of the coordinators on that screen that made it, it was the sunhat lady.
Or more specifically, Livadi.
A former Team Plasma Member who had some connections to Equestrian Magic. After removing her sunhat, she looked at the results screen, seeing that Celestia made it.
"This is good," Livadi said. "All I have to do is defeat that one pony...and I'll have my chance to tackle Princess Celestia. This should be interesting."
Livadi was also a Pokemon Coordinator. First, she seemed to be a participant in the Pokemon World Championships. But now, she took on another occupation. Luckily for her, no one knew much about her. The only person she had to worry about was Princess Celestia after the interaction she had with one of her students, Adagio Dazzle. What plans did she have here, if there are any?
"We did it, Passion!" Celestia and Passion held hands, dancing around with glee after seeing the results screen. "Oh, happy days!"
"I can't believe you manage to find a way to bring Reshiram in." Premium Polish commented. "You're sure to win!"
"Ah, let's not get carried away. Everyone else here has more experience than me after all." Celestia wagged her finger. "But, win or lose, I'll have fun either way."
"Is that it? You don't care about winning or losing?" Just then, Livadi responded to Princess Celestia, grabbing her attention. She didn't bother to sugarcoat her appearance either, acing the Ruler of Equestria. "You should want to win considering your status."
"Uhh...Who are you?" Premium Polish questioned. Celestia stood still, looking Livadi in the eyes. Luckily for Livadi, her appearance wasn't familiar to Celestia at all. Only her name thanks to what Adagio shared. She had yet to know who she was truly facing.
"I don't mind winning or losing," said Celestia in response. "Even if I'm a princess."
"Hm. Really? Not at all?" Livadi smirked. "Well, when I get the chance to face you...I'll let you experience one of these outcomes. You don't mind winning or losing, so I'll show you just how major the feeling of loss can be."
"Hey!" Premium Polish saw that was an immediate threat, getting in front of Celestia and choosing to defend her. "She won't lose! Princess Celestia's too amazing to lose."
"I Don't know about that..." Celestia giggled.
"It'll just be a quick lesson. No big deal." Livadi shrugged it off. "I mean, I bet you've never lost before, have you, princess? Victories always come your way. Major victories. Such as the one you had with the invasion and so on. So, the feeling of losing terribly isn't a problem."
"Gardevoir...!" Much like Premium Polish, Passion was being rubbed the wrong way by this lady.
"So, I'd like to be the first to give you a major loss. And if you can see how serious this contest will get, you'll probably make a turnaround and claim victory. But we'll have to wait and see once that happens." Livadi continued but she didn't get much of a reaction out of Celestia.
Celestia had a neutral expression. She wasn't truly offended by what Livadi was saying while Gardevoir and Premium felt some offence. Livadi walked off as it was time for her to enter the battle stage.
"Don't worry about it, Passion." Celestia calmed Passion down, holding her shoulder. "It's like she said, we'll have to wait and see. I can tell you want to face here immediately. Right?"
"Gardeovir!"
"You'll mop the floor with her, right?!" Premium jumped, cheering for Celestia to dominate in that battle if it ever happens. "Right?!"
"I can't guarantee that. But, it's best to show her by action rather than argue with her. That's something I learned long ago. There's no point in talking back. It will only fuel the problem. What better to end the problem than to show her?"
"Well...Yeah, that's true."
"Just you wait. I won't let any of you down." Celestia didn't bear a grudge against Livadi despite what was said. But she was going to prove her wrong otherwise. She had Gardevoir and Reshiram to help solidify that.
At the end of the day, Celestia still saw this contest for what it was. Fun. And even if she had yet to know who she spoke to, the Ruler of Equestria, from all her lessons at a young age to now, wouldn't falter as the journey continues.
Over at Lake Verity, the process of finishing this new Luna-based Sea Temple Crystal was still ongoing. Luna waited patiently with the People of the Water while also meeting with the Emotion Pokemon Mesprit. As for Mesprit, it ended up splitting Nightmare Moon from Luna simply by giving the Moon Princess a tap on the head.
Nightmare Moon was restrained, unable to move thanks to Luna's magical chains around her hooves. They even restricted her from using any magic.
"Oooh. So that's why?" Luna spoke to Mesprit as the Emotion Pokemon finally communicated with her. Luna requested to know why Mesprit would do this and that answer would be given out at this moment. "You split me and Nightmare Moon apart because I haven't overcome her yet."
"And you never will!" Nightmare Moon bellowed, still trying to break free.
"I don't understand though. Lunar Ire is proof that I overcame Nightmare Moon." Luna shrugged. "I shouldn't have much to worry about now. Should I?"
"Mes-Mes." However, Mesprit disagreed. It wanted to give Luna a warning that she couldn't ignore.
"Nightmare Moon could appear again because of future events?" Luna translated. "Hm-hm. I understand."
"What does that mean, Princess Luna?" Alo and the People of the Water slid over, curious about their conversation.
"It seems that Nightmare Moon will only stay around unless I solve something that could happen in the future. The problem is...I'm not sure what it could be." Luna grumbled. "It could be anything. I already have to deal with this Galaxy Master issue. And then there is the looming threat of the Dread League along with Universe 11. Either one of those scenarios can bring out the worst. Which could it be, Mesprit?"
"Mesprit." But Mesprit didn't have the answer to that. It could only tell Luna about how Nightmare Moon could return. Luna showing up to Lake Verity could be considered a stroke of luck. Just as Luna pondered about what could cause Nightmare Moon to return, a dazzling flash of light came from the lake.
Everyone's attention steered towards the lake as this light greatly resembled that of Arceus. It shot so high up that it even touched the clouds, piercing them.
"Ah! It's finished!" Alo exclaimed as at last, the new crystal had been completed. Immediately, it emerged from the lake after its completion, no longer submerged. A new crystal had been completed with the sole purpose of reversing another crystal's effect.
"All this is just for Galaxy Master." Luna pulled out the crystal from the lake, holding it up with her magic."With this, I can possibly undo the creation of his existence. Fairly terrifying, now that I think about it. But...I've been thinking about what to truly do about Galaxy Master."
"Isn't the goal the same, Princess Luna?" A maiden questioned.
"Well, this crystal is merely the ace-in-the-hole. After what Darkrai shared with me, I've had some time to think about what to do next. But anyway, thank you all for sharing this idea with me. And Mesprit. I feel glad to have met you."
"Mesprit."
"Ahem. What about me? You don't think keeping me here forever will change things, will it?" Nightmare Moon chimed in, disgruntled that she had little to do.
"Mesprit brought you out of me for a reason. As much as I hate to see you again, I've yet to overcome what I'm truly feeling inside. That's definitely the reason why Mesprit came to me. It sensed the emotions that I was harbouring and how they could spring out of control yet again. Right now, you're separate from me so...You'll be under my watch."
"A pony as big as me?" Nightmare Moon chuckled. "I'm as tall as Celestia. I'm the picture-perfect pony that you wanted to be. Shortie."
"Don't call me short...! I'm just a small grower compared to my sister...!" Luna grumbled as Nightmare Moon struck a nerve. It was to be expected. Nightmare Moon was Luna so she knew everything about Luna. Especially her insecurities.
"Either way, it doesn't matter what this creature tells you or does. You already accepted Lunar Ire and as much as I hate to say it, she's far more powerful than I am. So why not accept me as well?" Nightmare Moon continued. "It'll happen one day anyway."
"Pfft. You wish. Either way, I can't let you roam around freely. Surely, there has to be a way to send you back inside."
Luna approached her alternate self, knowing that keeping Nightmare Moon out in the open was prone to cause some issues. Was there a way to keep her hidden? There was. And Luna soon found it out the moment she decided to touch Nightmare Moon.
Luna felt an instant adrenaline rush through her body. Her coat and mane flew the other way as if she was being pulled by gravity. Nightmare Moon felt the same way, having a terrifying grimace. In a flash, Nightmare Moon re-entered Luna's body and much to Luna's horror, she witnessed it happen.
The intense pressure came to an abrupt halt without dying down as Luna's body stayed static. She couldn't believe what just happened. The shock factor was still kicking in for her too. She needed to process it as even the aftermath was stunning to her body. Luna just stayed there for a bit before moving via wobbling.
"Are you alright, Princess Luna?" Alo asked.
"I'll be...fine. At least I know that Nightmare Moon is still within me." Luna held her head before exhibiting the aura of Nightmare Moon from her horn. An entity she thought she got rid of was now visible to her once more. Straying away from Nightmare Moon in her mind, she focused on the specialized Crystal, focusing on what mattered more right now. "I have more impressing matters to take care of."
Sinnoh. Solaceon Town. Solaceon Town Contest Hall. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Over at the Contest Hall, the battle stage of the Pokemon Contest had occurred with only 4 coordinators qualifying. Livadi, the former Team Plasma Grunt, managed to succeed in that stage just so she could have the chance to battle Princess Celestia.
Some would say she won with flying colours, using her Malamar and Klefki. As for Celestia, her options ranged from Gardevoir, Reshiram, Kommo-o and Arcanine. This time, she toned it down. Instead of using Reshiram again, she ended up using Arcanine.
"Arcanine! Flare Blitz! Passion, Plasma Bolt!"
"Arcanine!" Arcanine would charge in, emanating the blazing aura of Flare Blitz while approaching his two opponents, who ended up being Solrock and Frost Rotom.
"Garde...Voir!" Assisting Arcane was Passion had unleashed Plasma Bolt by combining Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt to replicate this 4th element. The blast of plasma met with Arcanine, adding to his Flare Blitz Aura. The combination of Flare Blitz and Plasma Bolt created a beautiful shine that Arcanine carried.
But instead of crashing right into his opponents, the Legendary Pokemon ran circles around them, creating a loop that was formed by the energies of Fire and Plasma. There were even golden sparks within them. Right after looping around Rotom and Solrock, the energy let out a dazzling outburst that engulfed both Pokemon.
The aftermath was a Red and Blue flash of energy, representing both energies. That combination did the trick. Not only did it earn Celestia some points but after the flashes died down, Solrock and Rotom both fainted, granting Celestia the victory.
"That's all she wrote! Princess Celestia takes this one!" Marian announced as the crowd had noticeably louder cheers just for Princess Celestia. They chose to respect royalty to their fullest even if Celestia wanted no favours.
Livadi expected this. By watching from the waiting room, she wasn't surprised by this at al. If anything, after seeing Celestia's performance in the first stage, it was already clear to her that Sun Princess would have the capabilities to advance to the next round and claim victory. Livadi never doubted Celestia even before she started performing. And to think this was only Celestia giving Contests a quick try instead of making it a full-time goal.
But while Livadi was about to prepare herself for her battle with Celestia, walking up to her was Cynthia, who was tagging along with Celestia in her exploration across the Pokemon World.
"Cynthia. What business do you have with me?" Livadi asked before facing Cynthia. "Unless you already know about me? In which case, I'm glad about that. I'm getting some nice notoriety."
"I do know who you are. I've been noticing your actions over the past months. I'm just wondering what's your angle here?" Cynthia questioned. "You have access to magic. Equestrian Magic to be exact."
"I'm still working around it." Livadi shrugged. "Equestrian Magic is simple to use and learn but has so many complexities that make me work a bit harder than I'd like to. And don't worry about what I've done previously. As a former Team Plasma Grunt, my criminal days are slowly dying out. Can't a girl take a break with a contest?"
"Hm. You're only here to be in the Pokemon Contest. Can that be true?"
"Don't doubt me, please. Besides...there's a reason I haven't been turned in yet." Livadi chuckled before backing up, leaving Cynthia with a foreboding question. "Time for me to go and grant a Princess her first major loss~"
The final round of the Solaceon Town Pokemon Contest was here. Competing for that ribbon, both Celestia and Livadi would approach the stage. But not before Celestia went through the process of bringing Reshiram in once more. Reshiram re-ented the stage after being pulled in. His entire body took up most of the stage, making him a big target but some could say he was a massive obstacle for any contest moves.
"Time for the final round! Princess Celestia vs Livadi! Whoever wins this gets the Solaceon Town Ribbon without having to wait for a few months just to participate in another contest! Such are the benefits of the Pokemon Festival.
"Go, Princess Celestia!" Premium Polish stood up as she and other ponies within the crowd were cheering for their benevolent ruler. But even Livadi had her fans who cheered for her as well.
"Well, this is the last one. Let's enjoy ourselves, okay?" Celestia said with a smile on her face.
"I'll be enjoying myself only. I came here to win. You simply came here just to have fun, your majesty." Livadi taunted, making Passion growl. She was getting tired of Livadi insulting her trainer constantly.
"Well, yes. I did. I'm not doing this full-time. I just wanted to try out the contests for a bit." Celestia chuckled, revealing just how carefree she was feeling. With all this freedom, it doesn't matter what happens next. I'll be leaving here satisfied."
"Hmph." Livadi scoffed as her taunts were not reaching Celestia at all. She was completely immune to them. "You're the princess for a reason. Nothing gets past you."
"That's not true." Celestia shook her head in disapproval. "I may not look like it...but truth be told, I've had many things in my century-long existence get past me. And on top of that...I know what it's like to experience great loss."
"Hm?"
"Not in battle, but through my entire life. Being an alicorn may seem amazing and a princess on top of that, but these benefits come with great losses." Celestia closed her eyes, deciding to take some time to speak with Livadi. Everyone kept quiet just for Celestia's speech as the battle hadn't begun yet. "Living for so long means that you get to meet so many new friends from all walks of life. But...that also means you experience more losses than many do. Many of my friends from the past have come and gone. And some of them, I barely knew because of my role as a Princess. I wished to play with them in the playground, participate in plays, get into childish squabbles. All the things a child should experience. But I never got that chance. I know what it's like to experience a colossal loss. But because of the losses I've experienced, I've grown from them."
Reshiram approved greatly as Passion nodded her head in absolute joy from what Celestia was spouting. While she was now the Embrace Pokemon, she could still feel emotions either way.
"Losing so many in my life was an existential revelation that my young self couldn't accept. Sometimes, I wished I never had the blessings of an alicorn. But through the years, my growth has changed that. And even better, thanks to the Meteors from Meteor Mountain, I can reunite with my friends. Which is why that seeing so much in each world can bring some form of joy. Who cares if you win or lose as long as there's something out there to make it better?"
"Tch. Well...I can't say much about that, luckily for you." Livadi sighed as Celestia had defeated her argument entirely. And with such a soft tone too. Premium Polish bawled out oily tears while many others applauded Celestia after taking the time to listen to her speech. That's why she was the Ruler of an entire Nation. Apart from Mayor Mare, she knew just how to give a speech. "Anyway! Let's get started! Malamar! Klefki! Go!"
"Malamar!"
"Klefki!" Malamar and Klefki had been sent out as Livadi wanted to get to the battle already. She heard enough.
"You have some experience with Malamar, don't you?" Livadi got her last words in before starting the battle. "Let's hope that doesn't drag you down, your majesty."
"Okay, girls! We've had a heartwarming comment so now it's time to perform! Let the final stage begin!" Marian gave the call for the battle to start.
"We'll start off strong, you two! Reshiram, use Dragon Pulse! Passion! Follow up with Psychic!" Celestia bared her arms and fangs out as if she was a dragon, once again using her motions to battle. Reshiram shot a Dragon Pulse into the air, sending a massive dragon-shaped blast into the air.
After that, it was Passion's cue. By using Psychic, she wrapped a pink Psychic aura around the azure dragon blast, manipulating it. Passion now had full control of the dragon as she brought it her way. And thanks to her immunity to Dragon-Type attacks, what happened next was stunning.
"Gardevoir!" Passion jumped on the Dragon, taking a ride on it whilst manipulating it with Psychic. And thanks to the absolute size of Reshiram's Dragon Pulse, it looked like Passion was riding a real Dragon as it raced towards Malamar and Klefki.
"Amazing! She's taking a ride on the Dragon!" Marian commented. "Being immune to Dragon-Types has its benefits in certain scenarios! We just have to keep finding those specific scenarios."
"Impressive! But, what will you do against this?! Shadow Ball!"
"Malamar, use Rain Dance on yourself! Klefki, Flash Cannon!"
"Malamar!" Suddenly, Malamar began spinning on spot, using Rain Dance as the clouds gathered up with a darkened appearance. However, Rain Dance would be utilized in a new way. Before that, it was revealed that this entire time, there was a hatch on top of the hall that opened up.
This entire time, Reshiram could've flown through there instead of the walls. But the walls were certainly more fun to look at and it was too late to go back. However, once those droplets of rain came crashing down, instead of hitting the floor, they gravitated towards Malamar, orbiting him.
Soon, Malamar used the showers of Rain Dance to create a water whirlpool around his body, shocking everyone. This was certainly new and fresh.
"Surprised?! I could only pull this off by injecting Malamar with some Equestrian Magic. And it works so many wonders." Livadi chuckled as this was only possible with Equestrian Magic within Malamar. "But I'm sure that someone out there can make it work without magic. Go, Klefki!"
"Klefki!" As for Klefki, it chimed in by using Flash Cannon, targeting Malamar. The beam of light energy met with Malar's Rain Dance Tornado, gravitating towards it as well. And the moment it did, the energies from Flash Cannon were scattered everywhere thanks to Malamar's rapid movements.
"V-Voir!" Passion was struck by these sparks of energy that were sent everywhere. Not only did it send beautiful lights everywhere, but the constant barrage of sparks knocked the Embrace Pokemon off the giant dragon with super-effective hits. Reshiram received some blows as well from the rampant sparks. But even though they struck him, he resisted it and barely even moved from the same spot.
"Ah! Passion!" Celestia gasped as Passion dropped to the floor. As for the giant Dragon, it was no longer being controlled by Gardevoir. But Celestia had a second option. "Reshiram is only allowed to 4 moves...so out of his massive arsenal, I chose to use Extrasensory!"
There was a backup. Being that Reshiram had an access to various moves that he could use in any quantity, for this contest, he could only use 4. And Celestia picked the right one to use too. To make up for the loss of Psychic, Reshiram would use another Psychic attack to keep the momentum going.
Dazzling gold energy started to form around him, resulting in his body to become encased and dressed in a sun-like golden aura. He then opened his wing-arms as three rings of rainbow-coloured energy came bursting out of his body all around him. As the rings of energy expand, they left behind that multi-coloured aura, mixing it with Dragon Pulse. This expulsion of energy allowed Dragon Pulse to keep its momentum while adding power to it.
The sparks of Flash Cannon had been obliterated by the giant Dragon before then crashing into Malamar. It managed to overpower his Rain Dance tornado, obliterating it. The impact of the attack was even strong enough to push Klefki away thanks to its light body. "M-Malamar!"
"Klef!"
"Nice reversal there!" Mariam cheered. "Keeping the momentum with Extrasensory helped out! That Rain Dance Tornado is all but gone now as each Pokemon have traded hits now!"
"Hmph! This isn't all! Flamethrower, Malamar! Klefki, use Secret Power!"
"Klefki!" Thanks to what Malamar had summoned, Secret Power would react to the rain, switching to a Water-Type attack. Out of Klefki's body, an orb of water had encased it with Malamar adding to that. By breathing out flames from its mouth, the scarlet flames were layered over Klefki's body. Thanks to Rain Dance, all Fire-Type attacks had been weakened, allowing Klefki to be fine when Flamethrower was around its Water Orb. "Ki!"
After gaining this second layer of energy, Klefki then unleashed both of them. Two streams were sent out. Fire and Water as they spiralled around each other to form a helix.
"Two can play at that game! Thunderbolt and Dazzling Gleam!" Celestia crossed her arms, using her magic to replace the two elements in her hands.
"Gardevoir!" Passion would respond to this accordingly. By crossing her arms, Passion had two different attacks ready. On her right, Thunderbolt and on her left, Dazzling Gleam. With full force, Gardevoir smashed them both against the dual streams. Thunderbolt met with the stream of water whilst Dazzling Gleam clashed with Flamethrower. Passion would try and hold them back as the electric current ran through the water, reaching Klefki.
"K-Klefki!" It didn't help that Klefki's body was also made out of metal, making it a conducted as the electricity began throwing its balance off course. There was also Dazzling Gleam which sent rapid rainbows to pierce through the flames.
"I think not! Malamar! Night Slash!"
"Mala!" Along came Malamar to distract Passion, leaping into the air with dark-coated arms.
"Now's your cue, Reshiram! Fusion Flare!" Celestia roared, expanding a golden magic from her body. Now it was time for Reshiram to do the same but with a staggering amount of fire.
Reshiram did it exactly how Celestia envisioned it. Instead of unleashing it from his mouth, he used the energy from his body. The result was a bright flash of light so immense it could rival the sun. The flash of light had completely caught Malamar off guard, blinding him. Reshiram and his sun-covered body, ascended to the top, reaching the skies.
Everyone else wasn't affected by the light as it was only Malamar. Once Reshiram reached the skies, he made the flare bigger and brighter than before. And this vast expanse of energy ended up obliterating the rain that fell from above, affecting the skies themselves.
"Brighter! Break those grey skies, Reshiram!" The clouds parted, giving way to the sun's rays. Everyone watched in awe as Reshiram majestically brought back the sunlight with his power alone. He even looked like a second sun up there.
"Now, Passion! Plasma Bolt!"
"Gardevoir!" Passion wasn't even close to her full strength. Her eyes flashed gold before then switching from Dazzling Gleam to Mystical Fire, fighting fire with fire. But her fire was greater. With pure power alone, she managed to pull in her two attacks, merging them by clapping her hands. With this combination, Passion had summoned Plasma once more.
And with Plasma being the greater element here, not only did it obliterate the water and fire shield but the plasma scattered to the point where it reached Malamar. Livadi gasped as both her Pokemon were shocked by Pure Plasma. But there was one final flash of action coming.
Reshiram.
He then absorbed the flames around his body as if he was a vacuum, sucking them back up into his mouth. Now it was time to use Fusion Flare in the proper way. Reshiram fired a large sphere of flames with two rings surrounding it from his mouth at both of them. When the sphere struck, it created a beautiful explosion instead of a violent one.
Rainbows Flames and Plasma emerged from the explosion, creating a brand new sight that many have never seen before. They all looked in awe with Livadi putting her eyes over her face, growling. Meanwhile, Celestia just looked unbothered, calm, cool and collected.
Once that beautiful amalgamation of energies ended, dissipating, the outcome had been revealed. After such a nice display of teamwork, Malamar and Klefki were both on the floor. They had fainted.
"Malamar..."
"Klefki..."
"That's it for Klefki and Malamar! Gardevoir and Reshiram claimed this victory! That means the winner of the Solaceon Town Pokemon Contest is Princess Celestia!"
"It was risky but it worked!" Celestia gleefully pranced over to them both. "Passion! Reshiram!"
"Gardevoir!" Happy that she granted Celestia her victory and satisfied that she got back at Livadi, Passion embraced Celestia as they both started hovering over the floor. Reshiram descended, putting on a smile. While he wasn't up for a hug, that smile said everything.
"I knew it! I knew it!" Premium Polish stood with thunderous applause coming across the hall. "That's my princess!"
"Hmph. I suppose I shouldn't have expected much." Livadi walked over, helping Malamar and Klekfi up. "You two did well."
"Livadi! Thank you for the battle.!" Celestia, showing good sportsmanship, thanked Livadi for a fun Contest Battle. "It was worth trying out Contests for the first time. I might give a swing at them again if I'm honest."
"Well...you've proved your point before this battle began in the first place." Livadi shrugged, returning her Pokemon. "I'll admit...I'm not too struck by this loss. But now I refuse to lose to anyone else since you defeated me. That'd just make me seem like a punching bag."
"Hahaha! Well, do your best to be ahead of the curve." The Sun Princess chuckled in response, seeing Livadi off. Their conversation didn't end in spite. Instead, some form of respect and mutual feeling had been born from this. All it took was a battle to solidify it.
"Your majesty! Now that you won, it's time for you to grab what you've earned!" Marian slid over, standing next to Reshiram just to get that sweet camera shot that'll be legendary for years. "
"Oh, right. There's a ribbon for these." Almost forgetting what the prize was, Celestia was too invested in the battle to even think about the ribbon until now.
Cynthia watched Celestia go up to the podium, ready t receive what was rightfully hers. But her eyes soon averted to Livadi, wondering where she would go from here. But the moment she tried to spot her, Livadi was gone. Cynthia gasped as the former Team Plasma Member left without a trace.
Mysterious indeed. And to Cynthia, it was probably the reason why Livadi mentioned how no one has caught her yet. But now that she attends contests, Cynthia has a good idea of where to look next time. Three weeks of investigation help support that.
"Princess Celestia. We are proud to grant the Solaceon Ribbon." Mr Contesta said as he, Sukizo and Nurse Joy stood next to the Ruler of Equestria with Nurse Joy getting excited to stand beside Royalty.
"Oooh." Celestia got a good look at the ribbons. Their appeal was now understandable. Whoever designs these ribbons knows how to make them dazzling.
"Very soon, the first ever Grand Festival over at Equestria will arrive." Mr Sukizo commented. "It'll be a Remarkable moment for all coordinators when it happens."
"And I'll be looking forward to seeing what they can all do," Celestia replied before looking at Premium Polish, trusting her to reach the Grand Festival as well. Even if it doesn't end up being the first, the second and the rest that follows suit will grant her that wish.
For now, this was another successful day for Princess Celestia and she was going to keep her stride going, especially as a human now as the journey continues.
Kalos. Snowbelle City. Snowbelle Pokemon Center. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
"Here it is!" Luna reunited with Darkrai who was still resting up at Snowbelle City, under the care of Nurse Joy. She held up a new Sea Temple Crystal up to the Pitch Black Pokemon, showing how it resembled the night sky and was made after her image. "This will help us against Galaxy Master. It's the exact opposite of that one crystal that brought him to life. But, we'll use it only when needed."
"When will it be needed?" Darkrai asked.
"After what you told me, Darkrai, I had second thoughts. It's best that we speak to Galaxy Master, especially with what I learned in the Hyperdream. And if diplomacy fails us, then this crystal will solve our problems."
"I do hope you sort that out soon." Nurse Joy chimed in. "Though, wouldn't it be better to have another hero working side-by-side with you? Seems like a good thing."
"Well, yes. He's a hero but he's currently on the wrong side." The Alicorn replied. "If we speak to him, we might change his mind. Unless the Rift gets in the way again. But right now..." Just then, feeling some fatigue Luna yawned, stretching out her hooves before slumping against the wall. "I've exhausted myself recently."
"I'll take over for the Dream Realm in that case."
"No, Darkrai. You still need to heal. Besides, I have a plan for this. I can send one of my past selves from the Hyperdream to handle it all. It is truly convenient...and helpful." Exhausted, Princess Luna put herself to sleep, dozing off immediately.
"Sleep tight, princess. As for you, Darkrai, you should really get some rest as well." Nurse Joy suggested. "It's good for your body and allows you to heal."
"I've never slept before. Never felt the need to."
"But you can sleep, right? Oh, unless you're immune to Sleep." Nurse Joy gasped, realizing that Darkrai might be exempt from sleeping since he has the power to manipulate and put others to sleep.
"No. I can fall asleep. My own Dark Void can be used against me. You just won't see my species sleeping anytime soon. Or ever." Darkrai sighed, holding his injured arms. "I've never even attempted to sleep with how cautious I am."
"Well...how about we try it out for the first time?" Nurse Joy kneeled, going the extra mile to help Darkrai some more. Way more than just healing him, she wanted to show him one of the most pleasant experiences in the world. "I remember when I was young, all of my sisters would be so active it was impossible to sleep."
"All of them?"
"All of them." She repeated as Darkrai thought about the astronomical number of Nurse Joys in the world. "The same goes for cousins too. Our mother sang one song a special song that was passed down from generations that can soothe anyone. Human, Pokemon and I can guarantee even ponies."
"I'll take it. What's the song?"
"About that...I forgot!" Nurse Joy chuckled, making Darkrai sigh. "I became a nurse earlier than my sisters so the song escapes me! But...there's an alternative. It comes straight from a place known as Alamos Town in the Sinnoh Region. It's just as effective. Right, Chansey?"
"Chansey."
"It doesn't usually have words but some say that its beautiful melody is enough to warrant an amazing communication. So sit back, relax and let this song drift you away. And look outside at the beautiful snow and the way it falls."
"You make it sound like a big deal What's it called so that I can remember it? Just in case."
"It's called Oracion. Chansey." Nurse Joy revealed its name before nudging at Chansey. Chansey dimmed the lights just to set the mood. Once those lights were down, Nurse Jou could begin, taking a deep breath first.
"Let's walk together as we gaze ahead Just let me hear your voice again
Let's walk together, even on your lonely days When you find yourself unable to speak out, just wrap your hands around my shoulders
Let's always continue to seek out Our hearts are racing in excitement Even when we're making a little detour, right?
Our journey continues on, even onto the future Of course, I find your smile To be my favourite of them all."
Darkrai's eyes started lowering. This harmonic melody truly soothed the soul. A feeling that Darkrai had never experienced before entered his body. The voice of Nurse Joy brought serenity. Even a damaged Pokemon such as Darkrai couldn't help but feel some sort of healing as Nurse Joy contained.
"Let's run together in this wide world Untold encounters still await us
When we've grown even stronger We can even embrace anyone's weakness, right?
Let's traverse the world and laugh it out Perhaps forgetting those morning greetings at night
Whatever happens ahead It's not motivating to be alone It's good to achieve our dreams together It's good to watch the Rainbow together
I will travel across time to see you
To hear your peaceful melody My dear, you are my one and only Forever in my heart, you'll be
I will walk through Storms
Just to see you Sail through raging Seas My dear, please play your melody To calm the beasts
We may fall in the shadows But the Sun will always rise My dear, I'll always find you Through Time and Space."
Darkrai was asleep. Never before had he gone to sleep by himself. But it was beautiful. Truly an experience that would've come one day because of the individuals he was surrounded by. All was calm now at Snowbelle City.
"Sleep tight, both of you." Nurse Joy stood up, ready to call it a night. She would finish things up here with her and Chansey covering the Moon Princess and the Pitch Black Pokemon with light and soft blankets. Usually, these blankets are meant for Pokemon but thanks to Luna's size she was eligible for them.
As for Nurse Joy, even during nightfall, she was still somewhat busy. Granted, she would wrap things up before clocking out. Going up to her desk, she turned on her computer to see what could be finished up for today. But upon checking her computer, something stunned her, grabbing her full attention.
"Oh my. A large array of books has been stolen across Kalos?" Nurse Joy gasped, trying not to wake Luna and Darkrai up. But perhaps, not paying attention to them at the moment could be considered a mistake.
Out of Luna, something emerged from her. Specifically her horn. Matching the pattern of the night sky outside and the special crystal she just made, a magical aura reminiscent of that celestial body had silently slithered out of her horn.
By going undetected, this night sky pattern blended in with the darkness and the crystal, managing to leave the hallway. After getting out of sight from anyone within this Pokemon Center, the wispy aura then manifested itself. Or rather, herself.
Nightmare Moon had emerged, leaving Luna yet again. This time, without the help of Mesprit. Thanks to Mesprit splitting Luna and Nightmare Moon into separate entities just for a warning of what's to come, the taller variant of Luna was free to make her own actions.
"I'll admit. That was a nice song. But I can't be stuck here forever. I'm my own pony now." Nightmare Moon complimented Oracion as she heard it despite Luna being asleep. She had her own senses as well. "I doubt I can do much with how Equestria's changed. So...what can I do?"
Kalos. Kiloude City.
Kiloude City. This city, popular with Pokémon Trainers, is a typical example of southern Kalosian life. However, none of that mattered at the moment. What did matter were the current events happening within this city. And not for the better.
Commotion and pandemonium filled the city. Mainly from what looked to be a high-speed chase. Running through the streets of Kiloude City was a large chariot with bat wings on the sides of these wheels that seemed to resemble spikes.
This navy blue chariot was currently being pulled by nothing. It was moving on its own. At least, that looked to be the case. In reality, something was blending in the darkness. A large aura of shadows was pulling the chariot but was invisible to others. This shadow creature wasn't just pulling the chariot with its strength, but also an array of books. Specifically, Pokemon Books. Much like what Nurse Joy discovered on her computer various books from Kalos had been nabbed. And by who?
The Dread League.
7 cheeky vampires were within the chariot, carrying out the mission of finding anything about Yveltal. Even a clue. So for these vampires, the best option was to just take every book in Kalos. Kiloude City was another city that had its library ransacked and potentially everywhere else in Kalos would be attacked.
"Stop right there, Dread League!" Chasing them down was Officer Jenny and her officers, riding a motorcycle with Arcanine in the partner seat. "You won't find an inch of Yveltal in those books!"
"Says you~There's nothing good about not giving anything a shot!" A young vampire stuck her tongue out at Officer Jenny, taunting her. "Oh, but they're actually catching up pretty quickly. How fast are those two-wheeled things?"
"Ah, it's fine." A larger vampire replied before sticking his head out of the chariot, facing the officers. "We can just leave this behind and it'll be alright." By using Curse Magic, this vampire dropped a substance from his wings. This substance had a pulse of shadows within it as crawled through the ground, also resembling that of water.
"As if!" Officer Jenny, however, wouldn't let herself be stopped by one obstacle. Upon witnessing the incoming liquid shadows that were covering the street, she had to improvise. "Arcanine, Fire Spin!"
"Arca...Nine!" By facing the ground, Arcanine unleashed a vortex of flames from its mouth. That vortex ended up propelling Jenny and her motorcycle into the air. And with the right height too as these shadows were terrifying widespread. Jenny managed to evade the shadows, but the same couldn't be said for the rest of the officers.
They came to a screeching halt in front of the shadows, slowing down their bikes. The shadows latched onto their tires, threatening to rip them apart. While they couldn't evade it, they at least had their Pokemon to fend it off.
Officer Jenny went ahead though. Once the chariot drifted to another part of the street, Jenny and her Arcanine went ahead, keeping up the pursuit.
"Funny. Didn't we run into someone similar to her a few hours back?" Another vampire asked, noticing how she has seen Officer Jenny before. Little did they know about the massive family line of Jennys.
"Who cares. She's persistent though. And gaining on us!" Indeed. While they were conversing, Officer Jenny was managing to catch up with the large chariot. "Do you think the books are weighing us down?!"
"We're not losing them if that's what you're thinking!" A vampire shouted back as Officer Jenny ended up racing side by side with them. She had them right within her sights.
"Arcanine! Fire Spin, once more!"
"Arcanine!" Arcanine would attack from the sides, either facing the chariot or the vampires. Either way, the vampires weren't risking it any of those chances as Fire was a threat to them for obvious reasons. A stream of fire came crashing out, attacking the side of the chariot.
However, instead of making direct contact, a veil of shadows protected the chariot from any harm. The vampires giggled after making that quick save but it wouldn't be enough to stop Officer Jenny.
"Time to lose her. Faster!" The vampire bellowed at the shadows. And as if it had sentience, the shadows responded to her. Without giving a good cue as to how they increased their speed, the shadows accelerated. They rushed past Officer Jenny, moving at a quicker speed than her motorbike. But not by much.
"Oh yeah? Arcanine! Extreme Speed!"
"Arcanine!" Arcanine hopped out of the partner seat, deciding to show them what a true speed increase looked like. Without losing any momentum, Arcanine took its speed to the extreme, leaving behind white afterimages as the Legendary Pokemon had the means to catch up.
"No way!" The younger vampire's jaw dropped, witnessing the speed of Arcanine in all its glory.
"Alright. She is beyond persistent. But she can't keep it up forever!" The vampires would do everything in their power to stop Jenny. And of course, that involved some chaos. By accelerating their chariot, people and Pokemon were put in danger.
The chariot almost hit some of them during its speed increase. Without a care, lives were being endangered as the chariot even went off-road. Many festival objects were knocked over by the chariot or just the speed of it when it passed by. Arcanine jumped over these obstacles with Extreme Speed before reaching the back of the chariot.
After catching up, Arcanine got on the very top of the chariot, using the momentum of Extreme Speed to do so. Now, it was closer than ever to the chariot but the main goal was to try and stop its movements.
"Off our chariot, mutt!" A vampire immediately emerged from the chariot to meet with Arcanine. She spread her wings, making sure that in case this rapid chariot knocks her over, she'll be fine either way.
"Canine!"
"Pfft. The Guard Dog of the Underworld Cerberus is scarier than-" Before she could finish, Arcanine had used Fire Spin, nearly engulfing her. The vampire's pupils shrunk as she narrowly managed to evade the flames. "Nevermind!"
"Arcanine!" Arcanine advanced, using Crunch as it took a mighty leap. It was up to the vampire to figure out what to do against the Fire-Type, especially causing how threatening Fire was to a vampire. Once Arcanine came close, the vampire held her wings out, suddenly allowing Arcanine to bite them. "Ca?" But something was wrong. Arcanine's body vibrated. It felt like it bit into metal.
Which is exactly what happened. The vampire's wings suddenly became metal, causing her to chuckle accordingly for pulling such a trick. "Hah! Get off!" After catching Arcanine by surprise, she swivelled her body, attempting to launch the Legendary Pokemon.
However, she may surprise Arcanine but she couldn't get rid of it. Arcanine held on, even if the wings felt like metal. "A-Arcanine!"
"Hm?! Hey! You should be in pain right now!" The vampire growled, flapping her wings and swivelling rapidly just to try and throw the Legendary Pokemon off. "Let go!"
"A-Arcanine!" Arcanine would do just that as he finally let go of the vampire's wings. However, while having some mild air-time, it took the time to unleash Fire Sin, causing the vampire to cower. By cowering, it only allowed the flames to damage the chariot some more.
"That Pokemon looks like it's a loyal dog. Which means we can exploit that." The younger vampire said with a cheeky expression, looking back at Officer Joy. By holding a pitch black orb, this orb had sent out some magic in the form of a black vortex. This black vortex went straight for Officer Jenny while also carrying nearby objects.
"Arcanine?!" As to be expected, Arcanine was worried about the safety of its trainer more than anything. But Arcanine also knew Jenny could handle herself. But not in this case.
Officer Jenny's eyes opened, slowing down her motorcycle. The vortex was certainly wide enough to grab her as it tore through the sides of other buildings. Thankfully, coming to her rescue was Arcanine, who hopped off the chariot just for its trainer.
"Arca!" Arcanine used Fire Spin, intercepting the powerful vortex with its own vortex. Right in front of Jenny, the two vortexes had clashed, combusting and cancelling each other out. A great save on Arcanine's part, however, this allowed the vampires to keep going. Not to mention that they already gained a speed increase from earlier.
Officer Jenny held onto her helmet from the vortex explosions, keeping herself steady. Everything needed to calm down just for this. No one had been hurt thankfully, but either way, the vampires managed to get the upper hand. Or rather, upper hoof.
The shadows continued to veil the chariot, only further concealing it. They looked to have left the city while leaving behind a trail of destruction. Officer Jenny got off her bike, aiming to see if everyone else was okay after the destruction that was left behind by the vampires.
"Hmmm..." Either way, the vampires managed to escape with nothing lost. However, Jenny, along with all of her family members, would not cease their goal to stop the Dread League. For the safety of this world and for the other world. "Arcanine...get to sniffing."
"Success!" As for the vampires, after leaving the city, they already found somewhere to hide. Far from the city, they chose to hide out in a swamp. It wouldn't be a problem for them considering where they live.
They cheered together, raising their hooves as they successfully gathered a massive array of books. By far, the largest haul for this Yveltal mission. "One of these books just has to have something about Yveltal. We've gathered the most books out of anypony back at Magehold." The young vampire said.
"They'd better. Otherwise, that officer could catch up soon. You know how dogs are with their immense scent." The metal-winged vampire replied as they all collectively opened the books. "Are you hearing this, your majesty?"
"Loud and clear." As always, they were communicating with the Lich Queen, Rosa Maledicta, even from this distance. "I'm proud of you all for this haul. Now, search and see what you can find about Yveltal."
"Already on it, your excellence!" They started reading as fast as they could. What about Yveltal could they find here? Despite how many refuse to learn about Yveltal due to how dangerous it is for all life, information about the Destruction Pokemon still existed.
It was rare, but it existed.
Officer Jenny was currently having Arcanine sniff them out. Thanks to when Arcanine bit onto the wings of one of the vampires, it had a scent that it could follow. Though they may have escaped from Kiloude City, the hunt was still on. At the same time, the vampires burned minutes that would soon become hours for them. However, that wouldn't be an issue for them unless the Sun comes up.
They read and read every single book here, not stopping until they get something. Of course, they made sure to focus on history books more than anything. Those mattered more.
"Oh! Look at this!" That's when the youngest vampire here found something, prompting all the others to rush to her side. The intensity in her voice brought a good sign. On this page, it showed an ink drawing of Yveltal. And right next to it was a certain region.
The Holon Region.
"This was written by some guy who had a freaky experience with Yveltal." The young vampire pointed out. "So much so that he gave everyone a warning when making this."
"Is that why there are only two pages?" The larger vampire squinted. "This is the thinnest book I've ever seen."
"Looks like he never finished making it. Maybe. Oh well." The metal-winged vampire shrugged. "What matters is what the book says!"
"Right, right. Uhh...It says that Yveltal is a Pokemon that shouldn't ever be disturbed. It only appears when the time is right. When life needs to be destroyed so that Xerneas can rebirth it. I made this so-"
"Skip to the part that matters." A vampire interrupted the younger vampire. "We already know this."
"My bad. Um, it says here that he once spotted Yveltal at a region known as Holon. Or more specifically, the smaller region that was near Holon, known as Torren. It's smaller in comparison to Holon but there, Yveltal seemed to have marked its territory. While its whereabouts in Torren are unknown, there exists a constant flow of destruction so volatile that no one can approach it. If they do, total destruction is all that will meet them."
"Aha! We have something!" The larger vampire exclaimed, raising the thin 2-paged book. "Thank you, Author...Au...Augur? Ah, whatever. At least we know where we can find Yveltal."
"Maybe. If Yveltal made someplace in Torren its territory, then we have to find which part it could be. Can't be too hard. It's apparently so dangerous no one can approach." A taller vampire replied.
"Good...Head to Torren." Rosa Maledicta spoke to them within their minds, listening in on it all. "But I'd best be careful when getting there."
"We'll be fine. We know what we're getting into." The young vampire and the others shrugged off whatever dangers that would come their way. They were used to danger after all.
"No. I'm talking about something else. It seems that a pony by the name of Daybreaker, who comes from another universe, is also set on stopping our plans. Her forces will show up. Be ready as you always are."
There was a lead on Yveltal. And all they needed was a thin book that only had two pages and gave a warning. But to the Dread League, that warning was a welcome message. A message to find Yveltal's territory. And potentially, Yveltal itself.
Poni Meadow. A place where purple flowers bloom in abundance. Situated in a secluded area, northwest of Poni Plains and south of Resolution Cave, this meadow is most famous for the wonderful nectar the Oricorio loves to feed on. And with the Pokemon Festival, the Oricorio have never been happier as the nectar was abundant now.
All the Oricorio flocked here as the Pokemon Festival expanded n this nectar, satisfying the Oricorio even further. The number of Oricorio here even greatly outnumbered the humans, ponies and even other Pokemon.
Fluttershy's party ended up here today. It was currently the 4th day of the first three weeks of the Pokemon Festival. There was still a lot of time left to go. Due to all of this wonderful nectar, the Oricorio were friendlier than ever, getting closer to the various Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon.
"So, this was your idea, Fluttershy?" Applejack spoke.
"Mhm. I ran into some Oricorio not too long ago and planned for something like this. Sadly, I couldn't bring this special nectar to the Pokemon House since it's unique here. It wouldn't last either. So, I figured I'd just help expand the nectar here. It paid off."
"It did. Maybe a bit too much." Spike chimed in. Thanks to all of this nectar, the excitement of the Oricorio was cranked up to possibly beyond an 11. This was noted by how various Oricorios were surrounding Spike, lifting him and Equestrian Axew up and dancing about with them. The same went for Raboot and Bayleaf. Bayleef rather enjoyed this whilst Raboot felt indifferent to it, hiding his face.
Amidst all of the Oricorio excitement, some newspapers had been brought around, catching everyone up on recent events. Brought over by Pelippers, these newspapers were dropped from above. One was dropped on Applejack's head, giving her the front page story.
"Hm?!" Upon seeing this story, Applejack's eyes popped through the newspaper out of absolute shock, startling her friends.
"What's wrong, Applejack?!" Fluttershy asked. In response, Applejack showed them just exactly what caught her off guard. Recent events had been recorded in the newspaper but one of them stood out from the rest. And it was certainly nothing too bright. In the newspaper, it showed the Holon Region and the news that was partnered alongside this region was anything else but stellar.
"There's been destruction at Holon?!" Fluttershy and Spike read out the critical words. Indeed, the Holon Region was only in the news just for a shocking revelation of destruction. But it was more specific than that as Fluttershy read it out. "Last night, Officer Jenny came across a ferocious conflict that damaged the Holon Mountain Range. Crimson flames and black shadows could be seen sprouting from every side. She couldn't make out who caused the flames but she recognized that the vampires from the Dread League were responsible for this."
"This all happened last night, right?" Spike asked. "Ah, that makes sense though. Vampires always move the most at night."
"Looks like Officer Jenny managed to arrest them though." Fluttershy pointed out. "But just like the vampires from a few months ago, they vanished after combusting all of a sudden. Seven vampires she was chasing last night had been caught along with many others who showed up at Holon. But those ponies who were armour managed to get away with the gateways it looks like."
"We've got someone helping us against the Dread League. Nice." Applejack approved. "But did they leave those flames behind?"
"As long as they stop them from getting Yveltal, they're fine in my book. But uh...let's move onto something more positive!" Spike switched subjects. "Ash and Bertha had a big battle not too long ago at Hoenn."
They continued reading the news as it already sucked them in. That one piece of information about the Dread League had them hooked from the start. The events at Holon were somewhat vague about who these mysterious ponies were. But their reasoning for confronting the Dread League may be easy to figure out.
Speaking of the Dread League, naturally, Lich Queen Rosa wasn't too fond of this. She already learned about what happened back at Holon's Mountain Range.
"Daybreaker..." Rosa Maledicta knew exactly who those ponies worked for. Daybreaker. Straight from Universe 11. This destructive conflict happened overnight and ironically, it was in the favour of Daybreaker's forces instead of the Dread League despite the advantage they had with the moon.
"A-Apologies. We didn't expect so many of them to show up once we decided to approach Holon." A vampire explained. "We managed to escape by combusting as always. We don't know how they did it. They managed to make the Sun appear during nightfall of all times."
"Making the Sun appear during the night," Rosa repeated. "That's impressive, I'll give them that. And it annoyingly puts us at a great disadvantage. So...you really are going to stand in my way of reaching Yveltal s well, Daybreaker. Even if it means fighting for a world that isn't yours."
"W-What do we do now, your majesty?" Another vampire asked. She then pulled back, seeing Rosa Maledicta twitch. A foreboding sense of danger was emanating from her, filling the atmosphere. This clearly rubbed her the wrong way.
"It's been a while since I'e been agitated, honestly...Since she wants to be rude and interrupt us, we'll humour her. Don't stop your pursuit of Yveltal. But as a side mission, go on and terrorize both worlds for me. Whether it's our world or the Pokemon World. Some madness will satisfy me..."
"Oh thank you, your majesty! We'll do just that!" The vampire rushed out of the throne room as now all vampires were tasked with provoking Daybreaker just for how she now decided to protect this world but for only one crucial reason.
"Why would she even care about this world in the first place?" Rosa pondered. "Unless there's something here that she doesn't want to lose. The only thing I can think of is..."
"Oooh..." Waking up from the most joyous sleep of the week was Princess Luna. It was so good that the moment she woke up, she slumped her head on the floor, wanting extra minutes of rest. "Are you there, Darkrai?"
"Mmm..." Darkrai was in an equal spot. For the first time, he had experienced what it was like to fall asleep peacefully. And it was amazing. So amazing that he felt the need to stretch it out. For once, the Pitch Black Pokemon felt re-energized in a new kind of way. "I'm here."
"Finally. You're awake." A voice called out to them. At first, Luna suspected that it was Nurse Joy's voice. But her senses kicked into high gear once the voice fully processed into her eardrums. That wasn't Nurse Joy's voice. That was Nightmare Moon's voice. Luna gasped, looking up to witness her other half, standing in front of her.
"Y-You're out?!"
"I am." Nightmare Moon smirked. "I suppose you can't keep me locked up forever even if you tried. How funny is that?"
"You got out by yourself?!" Luna rapidly stood up, bumping her head on the crystal. "When?!"
"Last night. It only makes sense. The night is when I can truly show myself. A-Aside from the fact that I'm out in daylight right now. And yesterday at that lake."
"So, for the rest of the night, you were free to roam around?! Just when I was getting some shut-eye..." Luna facehoofed, feeling that she was gravely responsible for this.
"Hmph. If by roaming around, you mean lurking in just this city. I barely went that far." Nightmare Moon scoffed, surprising Luna.
"Truth is, she's been rather helpful." Nurse Joy showed up, casually standing next to the taller version of Princess Luna. "All through the night."
"S-She has?" Luna stammered.
"N-Not that I wanted to." Nightmare Moon also stammered, trying to keep her proud smirk up. "But this lady is persistent. I tried being as discreet as possible but I couldn't leave you, Luna."
"Why not? What would you want to do with me to the point where you wouldn't leave Snowbelle? I'd expect you to be back at Equestria at this point."
"Hmph. I can see why that Pokemon split us apart. You can't see past me. What do you take me for? A monster? I exist only to make you feel better. Isn't that the reason I formed out of you?"
"You only formed out of me because of my lowest point in time...But aside from that! What exactly did you do to help?"
"Well..." Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes, thinking back to last night and the events that she'd rather not feel proud of at all.
Last night.
Last night, Nightmare Moon, still within the Pokemon Center, had nothing else to do. She was aware that going back to Equestria was asking for trouble. Despite being locked up for 5 years now, she was aware of everything that has happened outside, especially the growth of Princess Celestia.
Nightmare Moon knew that she stood no chance against Celestia now compared to previously. A shame that Luna's current growth didn't resonate with her.
"Oh. Princess Luna?" Nurse Joy encountered her at this moment, startling the taller variant of Luna. "There's two of you?"
"Do not be mistaken, nurse. I am Nightmare Moon! The better and definitively prettier version of Princess Luna." Nightmare Moon boasted.
"Hm. Are you sure?" Immediately, Nurse Joy shot Nightmare Moon's ego, doubting her. "Well, you're taller but I'm not sure about the rest. Where's your regalia though?"
"Ah!" It was just now that Nightmare Moon realized that this entire time, she was missing her regalia and even her armour. It was no longer a part of her. She might as well be naked at this point. Usually, that's the one thing everypony notices about her. Albeit with limited eyes with how short her time in Equestria was. "N-Nevermind that! I'm still considered royalty either way! Mind your tongue, human lady!"
"Sure, sure." Nurse Joy casually shrugged it off. "You're a result of magic out of Princess Luna, aren't you? That's my guess."
"W-Well, yes but-"
"You look lost. Aren't you feeling as tired as Princess Luna?" Nurse Joy cut her off, not taking Nightmare Moon seriously in the least.
"Me? Not at all. Nightfall isn't an issue for me. I am always awake at this time. Starting now, anyway, not for the remainder of those 5 years. And as for what I shall do..." She paused, trying to think of what could be done at this moment. The taller variant of Luna already knew what she couldn't do so now a brick wall stood in her thoughts. "Curses. Nothing. If only I was out earlier."
"Ah, don't worry about it. If you can't think of much to do, there's always the Pokemon Festival. It happens even during the night." Nurse Joy opened the doors, letting the snow flow within. As to be expected, even during the silent night, the Pokemon Festival went on with those who stayed awake.
This sight froze Nightmare Moon. Not the snow but rather the festival. Seeing the active in the night hit home with this alter-ego. Her reason for existing related to this very scenario.
"Look at them...They're thriving even during the night." Nightmare Moon commented. She was reminded about how and why she came to be. Ponies thrived and frolicked during the beautiful day of her older sister while they stayed silent and rested during her silent night. This jealousy gave birth to Nightmare Moon.
However, recent events have changed that. Now, this was no longer the case. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Nurse Joy said. "Don't be shy. Go on and have some fun?"
"I-I...mm!" Nightmare Moon cleared her throat. "Can't. As a Princess, I'm not allowed to partake in activities that are...beneath me."
"Hah. Are you sure you came out of Princess Luna?" Nurse Joy rubbed her chin. "Well, if you're too snobbish to have fun, you can at least help. That's what a Princess does, right?"
"That's true. Always for the betterment of all. Wait, this isn't my world though-"
"Then, you can start by helping them all out. Come along!" Nurse Joy cut her off once more, grabbing her hoof. She insisted that Nightmare Moon assisted, pulling her outside.
"Hang on! What could I possibly do here?!" She roared before taking some time to ponder. "Wait. Maybe if I do this, I can gain their trust, especially if it's with the Pokemon. Yes, that'll do. That kind of limitless power will work greatly in my favour."
Nightmare Moon was faced with various spread-out problems that many others had, albeit minuscule. But Nightmare Moon saw everything as a big deal. One problem involved a child swimming in a recent cold lake, going too far out. While he seemed fine with the cold, the distance he was gaining said otherwise.
Nightmare Moon could handle that easily, grabbing the child from the lake before he could get too far from home and his parents. But upon saving him, she gave an intimidating face to the child. "What's wrong with you? Swimming far out? Especially with little clothing in the cold?!"
"I-I'm immune to the cold though..." The young boy whimpered. To prevent anyone from swimming far from Snowbelle, Nightmare Moon cast a massive veil of magic around the sea rocks.
"Swimming is prohibited far past these rocks! Unless you'd rather drift and freeze up." While she was intimidating, Nurse Joy and Chansey offered a nice counter to that, being their natural gentle selves. It was off to the next problem, involving a man and his comically large tractor that died out halfway.
"My tractor battery seems to be dead now. Could you maybe-"
"Get an Electric-Type or have someone with an Electric-Type do it for you next time." Luna cut him off, charging the tractor up with magic.
"I-I'll remember."
"This is so trivial. What kind of help is this?" Nightmare Moon grumbled as all of these problems appeared to be so insignificant to her in every way. But she carried on doing so per Nurse Joy's request.
An old lady threw her back out? Nightmare Moon would carry her. Although, perhaps not on her own back but with chains of magic that she put around the old lady just to help her get around. The old lady didn't seem to mind the chains at all surprisingly.
Oversleeping on the job? So much so that not even the Pokemon Festival can wake this person up? Easy. Nightmare Moon was still tied to bad dreams so just a hint of magic within this lady's mind was enough to wake her up. Of course, this was the cause of a nightmare as that was the best that Nightmare Moon could do. Blockade? Destruction. Miniscule problem after minuscule problem, Nightmare Moon found herself helping as much as she could.
She was more surprised by how many problems there could be in one night. It was enough to make her forget what she was planning in the first place.
"You did all of that?" Luna squinted her eyes in disbelief.
"Forget about it!" Nightmare Moon exclaimed. "It's in the past now. And I'd rather not try and reminisce about it. Right now, I need to figure out what to do next. What could be next for me?"
"Well, I know what's next for me. I should be heading for Galaxy Master right now. Wherever he may be." Focusing on more serious matters, Luna was ready to set out and find this fictional character out in the world. "And of course, speak with him to come to an understanding."
"Oh, him. Why bother with him"? Nightmare Moon groaned. "He seems more of a nuisance than anything. If you're going to put an end to it, just use that crystal and undo his creation. This Rift entity won't let you have the chance to reason with him after all."
"You need to stay inside first and foremost." Luna, in the blink of an eye, had already touched Nightmare Moon with minimal contact. That meant only one thing. Nightmare Moon would be pulled back inside.
"Wait!" Nightmare Moon gasped before being sucked back in.
"Aside from you, I believe I can reason with him. It's because of your existence that I know that there's a chance to come to an understanding. I won't let you ruin it for me."
"But she has a point. Most likely, the Rift's gained some of its strength back thanks to him." Darkrai added. "If he regains a certain amount of strength then his control over Galaxy Master could fully bring him to its side and we won't have many options."
"We'll always have plenty of options, Darkrai." Luna held up the crystal. "I just hope we're not too late."
Alola. Poni Plains. Near Poni Meadow. Afternoon.
Vampires had arrived.
Per the request of Rosa Maledicta, the Dread League would be more active now. Right now, they were scattered across the Pokemon World and Alola was just one of them. For an easier time, the clouds were starting to darken just for them, slowly hiding the Sun.
Among these ponies was Opal Vivacity, appearing at Alola. The vampires were exceptionally happy about this. A solid reason to cause some trouble.
"Let's not waste any time. Her majesty is upset so let's make sure she's satisfied with something truly devious. And of course...this will help with that " Opal Vivacity revealed the Box of 100 Demons. A great source of trouble. Once again, this box would be unleashed upon the world but not for the cause of finding something about Yveltal.
Instead, this box would just be used for the sake of mayhem and nothing more. And this pleased the vampires especially. Choosing the right demon wouldn't be too difficult since they were all dangerous in their own right. And with the Pokemon Festival being so abundant with life, the options were too delicious.
"Hm?" But before Opal could unleash one of them, she placed the box on the ground, shifting from a devious expression to a curious one.
"What is it, Opal?" Another vampire asked as Opal suddenly started sniffing out the air as if she was a dog.
"Do you sense that?" Opal replied, shifting her head from side to side. "Something's amiss here. A vampire."
"Uhh...we're all vampires, here." A vampire responded, causing everyone to chuckle. It seemed ridiculous for her to say that considering they were all vampires.
"No, no. It's something else. A vampire...but one in hiding." Opal's senses were telling her something else. She carried the box with her, following the scent of this odd vampire while the others trailed behind her. Opal couldn't properly describe it. But from what was said earlier, there was another vampire here who was secretive.
The closest location that the vampires were was Poni Meadow. The nectar wasn't even on Opal's mind. It was the vampiric scent. Before she could start some mayhem, she needed to know where it was coming from. Unsurprisingly, it came from Poni Meadow, but surprisingly, the one responsible for kicking off Opal's senses was among the crowd of humans, ponies and Pokemon.
Opal and the others hid behind bushes, concealing themselves from the crowd. At least, until they could properly strike. Poni Meadow was lively enough to ruin in their eyes. All this happiness could be ripped apart in a matter of moments.
"This looks like a good spot." A vampire commented. "Let's start it now."
"No...Not yet. There's somepony within my sights. A secret vampire." Opal replied.
"Who?" They all said. They needed to know exactly who this secret vampire was already. Opal already saw her. The vampire in question was... "It's her."
"She's a vampire?!" The vampires who were hiding in the bushes bellowed after what Opal Vivacity revealed to them. The secret vampire that Opal discovered was none other than Fluttershy.
Apparently.
"Not so loud...! That one Pokemon has incredible hearing." Opal hushed them, referring to Audino. They were lucky that there was already a massive crowd to distract Audino's hearing. "But yes. That yellowish-looking pony. I can sense it from her."
"Hmm...Not us." The vampires had to disagree, collectively shaking their heads. "She doesn't look like a vampire at all. Doesn't even give off those vibes."
"Obviously you all can't sense it. I can. But I can see your point. She has no fangs." Opal responded as when seeing Fluttershy speak and chuckle, her teeth were normal. "Those wings are the same as her coat." The same with her wings. There was nothing vampiric about her. "She's just an average pony with a Pokemon that has the same palette as her."
"So...Why did you sense a vampire within her?"
"Because it's dormant within her. She definitely doesn't know but she's a hybrid. Most likely not by birth but by some circumstance. So since she's probably one by circumstance, that explains why there aren't any vampire qualities noticeable on her. The only other vampire species I can think of...would be a Vampire Fruit Bat."
"Vampire Fruit Bat? Those troublesome guys" A vampire groaned as that name was familiar to them, unsurprisingly. "Why do we even consider them vampires? They're not even at Magehold."
"A vampire's a vampire. And if I'm being honest, I think we can add a new one to Magehold. And she doesn't even have to be from there." Opal had another motive. Add Fluttershy to Magehold and to an extension the Dread League. "Queen Rosa won't mind."
"Alright then. So, what do we do about this? Which demon from the box are we going to use?"
"That pony I've talked about so far is known as Fluttershy. Fairly popular thanks to certain events. And that green dinosaur Pokemon of hers has the ability to change fate thanks to those leaves. It's a useful ability for her friends but oh, is it just downright annoying for anyone having to face it." Opal rubbed her hooves, already having something in mind. "We'll send out a few demons. But there's one demon I want to try. And that one will steal that Pokemon's ability for us. The ability to change fate."
Now was the time to strike. Opal was ready to unleash some of the 100 Demons and the vampires would assist in whatever way they could. By opening the box, four malefic streams were unleashed. As for the vampires, Alola was the sunniest region by a mile so changing those clouds upon their arrival was a good call on their part. But even if they were free to roam around without many issues, the demons would do most of the work for them,
"Oh. Is it about to rain?" Meanwhile, Fluttershy looked up, spotting how the clouds had darkened, hiding away the Sun completely. This was all for the vampires since Alola was so sunny.
"Here in Alola? Might be considered rare." Applejack added. "But Tapu Fini exists so..."
"Where do you wanna go after this? I was thinking maybe Kanto." Spike, who was still being carried by the Oricorio suggested another region for them to venture. "We don't visit Kanto that much except for when we go and visit Ash."
"Hm-hm. Kanto. Sure!" Fluttershy was all for it. Their next destination would be set in stone. That is until Applejack says something then that decision was only slightly pressed into the stone at the moment.
"Kanto sounds-" Applejack was just about to do it but something drastic interrupted her. Unexpectedly, the winds had intensified. But it wasn't a gradual shift in pressure, instead, an instant burst of wind emerged, unleashing a loud howl that startled everyone. "Oh!" Applejack held onto her hat as it was almost blown away.
A typhoon had been birthed once those clouds gathered. The winds blew ferociously to the south, interrupting this jolly moment as the typhoon already formed.
"A typhoon?! Right now?!" Spike gasped as everyone, including the chipper Oricorio, started departing from Poni Meadow. No one was risking being caught up in this typhoon that soon summoned a destructive hurricane, picking up the flowers.
"M-Maybe now is a good time to go!" Fluttershy picked up Raboot as her friends followed the crowd. The hurricane was mainly focused on the south and to an extent the north. East and West were the only clear places. At least, for now.
As for the vampires, they scattered. Opal focused on Fluttershy, aiming to find her in a secluded spot. And this typhoon was definitely the way to go. Mainly because it wasn't an average typhoon.
Jet-black eyes formed within the clouds themselves as well as the hurricane. A wicked smile with crimson-red fangs appeared as this was one of the 100 Demons. Opal was casually walking next to the hurricane, unphased and not even budging for a moment, similar to how some Pokemon such as Rapidash can choose what their flames can do to certain individuals.
Resolution Cave was South from here as the caves were flooded by the crowd. However, even here, they weren't safe. One of the 100 Demons had appeared within the cave, making a striking entrance. Breaking through the cave walls were bandages all of a sudden.
Large bandages burst out of the walls in massive droves, startling everyone as this was the last thing they expected to see. The first group to witness these bandages were snatched by them. The size was enough for people, ponies and Pokemon alike, wrapping around them.
Not only that but the strength of these bandages were enough to bring down parts of the caves, only amplifying that risk. Spike was met with one of these bandages which frantically moved across each pathway.
"Gaha!" Spike came to a screeching halt as his face was almost grazed by it. Soon, multiple of them showed where Applejack and Fluttershy were located.
"What's going?! Bandages?!" Applejack backed up.
"Someone must've been injured terribly for them to appear," Fluttershy added as she wasn't too intimidated by them, making Applejack lower her eyes.
"The only ones who'll be injured are us!" Applejack pulled Spike out of the way as the bandages came zooming in. After saving Spike they smashed into the ground, missing their target completely. These bandages were not soft at all. They were as hard as rocks from the power they exhibited.
But the moment Spike was saved, right in the middle, another bandage appeared. Specifically, it ripped through the ground below, appearing in this part of the cave. The strength of its ripping in the middle of the ground split the cave in half. It was another close call as Applejack and Fluttershy were almost caught in the middle of it. But that was just the distraction.
More bandages showed up just to blindside Applejack, Spike and their Pokemon. They wrapped around their hooves, tails and legs, having Applejack, Spike, Equestrian Axew and Sceptile where they wanted them. The objective was to get them away from Fluttershy as the bandages pulled them each away while wrapping their bodies from bottom to top.
"Wait!" Fluttershy exclaimed as she wasn't grabbed by the bandages at all. Instead, she was spared. They had yet to attack as her friends were pulled into different pathways. Fluttershy, Audino, Bayleef and Raboot attempted to after them, only for a mass of bandages to block out the pathway, standing in her way.
"Raboot...!" Raboot took action. He knew one thing. Bandages were very sensitive to fire so this was the right opportunity to fight back. He used Flame Charge, igniting his body in a burst of scarlet flames before taking off. With brute force, Raboot would smash into the bandages.
While the bandages seemingly avoided Fluttershy, they didn't hesitate when it came to the rest. Raboot was one of them. The bandages opened up the pathway, causing Raboot to miss his Flame Charge. Once they juked him out, the bandages grabbed Raboot by his legs, waiting for when the flames disappeared. "R-Ra?!"
"Raboot! Bayleef, quick! Use Magical Leaf to cut them up!"
"Bay!" Bayleef 's body illuminated green as she jumped into the air. Then, light-green leaves quickly circled her body, flying out in droves. Bandages intercepted those leaves, deflecting them. It looked like the bandages would've gone straight for Bayleef, startling the Grass-Type. "Bay?!"
But that wasn't the case. The bandages understood that Opal Vivacity needed Bayleef as well. They completely passed the Leaf Pokemon, going for Audino instead. "A-Audino!" Audino was hit by a barrage of bandages before being knocked back.
"A-Audino!" The Hearing Pokemon wailed before tumbling on the rock-solid ground. Raboot's entire body had been encased in bandages thanks to the attempts to stop the rest of Fluttershy's Pokemon. The same would soon be said for Audino.
"Audi!" Fluttershy gasped as now she had to deal with two of her Pokemon being in danger except for her and Bayleef. "Bayleef! Please, try and use your leaf here!"
"Bay! Bay...!" The best thing to do was to try and use her leaf to change fate. This did seem threatening to warrant the usage of her Fate-Changing Leaves. However, that's where Raboot came in. Or rather, a bandage-wrapped Raboot.
"Boot!" Interrupting Bayleef by kicking her in the back of the head was Raboot. He used High Jump Kick to make his entrance, knocking the Leaf Pokemon over and interrupting her special ability.
"B-Bay!" Bayleef slid on the ground, eating the rocks, unfortunately. Fluttershy couldn't believe what she just witnessed. With her very own eyes, she saw Raboot strike Bayleef and especially at a time like this.
"Raboot?!" A stunned Fluttershy cried out before seeing what became of Raboot. He still had his signature and recognizable figure and shape but the rest of his body was covered in these bandages. The only thing from his body that could be seen were his eyes. Other than that, Raboot was essentially a Mummy. A Mummy that was under the control of this Bandage Demon.
"Ra...!" Raboot groaned while within the bandages. It wasn't just him though. Standing up behind Fluttershy was a larger figure, casting a shadow over her. Fluttershy's pupils shrunk, knowing who was large enough to cast this shadow.
"A-Audino...!" Audino was now under the control of these bandages as they captured her body too. To make matters worse, the bandages also managed to grab rocks, controlling them as extra weapons just in case. Fluttershy's own friends were the main weapons of the bandages, leaving the pegasus and Bayleef to an unprecedented and unexpected scenario.
A few seconds ago, the same was happening to Spike and the others whilst they were being dragged across the cave. Their bodies hadn't been trapped yet but if something wasn't one, they would be soon.
"Only one thing left to do...Axew! Grow!"
"Axew!" Axew was the ace-in-the-hole for this one. His small body was already close to being captured by the bandages. As the bandages were about to wrap around Axew's head, that's when it happened. A flash and outburst of Infinity Energy, Rift Magic and Equestrian Magic had emerged as a golden light, blowing away the bandages from Axew's body. Or rather, Haxorus. His body grew in seconds, breaking the bandages with his imminent height and weight increase.
"Haxorus!" Haxorus was here. And upon arriving, he gripped onto the remaining bandages around his surroundings. Spike was on the verge, only for Haxorus to slice them apart with his bare claws. "Hax!"
Haxorus didn't stop there. He started swinging his claws frantically by using Close Combat. Applejack and Sceptile were saved at the last second thanks to Haxorus. A successful save on Haxorus' par. Little did all of them know that these bandages had a controlling force on them.
"Thanks, Haxorus..." Spike sighed.
"Fluttershy! She's still there!" Applejack stood, adjusting her hat without taking the time to catch her breath. "Where are we even?"
"I don't know. But do you think those bandages are connected to that typhoon?" Spike asked. "This all seems awfully too intense all of a sudden."
"Maybe. I don't know, Spike. We'll figure it out after we find Fluttershy." There was no time for questions. Not when there was a typhoon and bandages roaming around. They had been split up from Fluttershy, making this a full-blown search and also a way out of Resolution Cave.
However, the four of them would come to realize just what these bandages were capable of. The people, ponies and Pokemon who had first encountered these bandages had appeared. When trying to find the right pathway to reach Fluttershy, that's when they appeared.
Covered in bandages and completely under the control of this Bandage Demon were the victims. Just like Raboot and Audino, their bodies were restrained with only their eyes being completely visible.
"Oh...what is this?" Applejack lowered her hat in disbelief. At the same time, the sound of the typhoon was getting closer, meaning the hurricane was approaching as well.
The Bandage Demon had full control over them, using its victims as weapons. This involved Pokemon Moves and Unicorn Magic. The majority of Pokemon here were Oricorio as they were used first.
"Isn't that everyone from Poni Meadow? Creepy...!" Spike shuddered as Haxorus got in front of him. So did Sceptile as these two reptile Pokemon, despite seeing the eyes of the innocents, were still dedicated to protecting their trainers.
"Corio!" The Oricorio were launched at Haxorus and Sceptile, initiating an attack by using Revelation Dance.
"Sorry about this, ya'll! Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"
"Haxorus! Use Dragon Claw!"
"Sceptile!" They had to defend themselves somehow. Both Dragons had summoned draconic energy around their claws before swinging in unison. The Oricorio were knocked back thanks to its, much to regret of Sceptile and Equestrian Haxorus. But from how aggressive the bandages were, their options were thin. The best they could do was try and free them even if they were completely encased.d
"Haxorus!" Of course, they had to deal with the normal bandages that hadn't trapped anyone. Those were just as dangerous if not more. Left and right, front and back, Sceptile and Haxorus started swinging as much as they could. At the same time, Applejack and Spike stayed close to their Pokemon in case they were caught by the bandages as well.
One of the Pokemon captured by the bandages was an Alolan Marowak. From within the bandages, it could exhibit fire. A burst of ghostly blue flames were unleashed, blasting Sceptile for super-effective damage.
"S-Sceptile!"
"Corio!" One of the Oricorio could still dance even in the bandages. Though the bandages now control their body, their traditional and signature movements still existed. A Sensu Style Oricoro had used Revelation Dance, channelling Ghost-Type Infinity Energy before kicking Haxorus square in his face.
"X-Xorus!" Being that he was now a Dragon-Psychic-Type as an Equestrian Variant, that was a super-effective blow, staggering the Tusk Pokemon. But some more came his way. Mainly from Unicorn Magic. An array of magic was thrown at the Dragon-Psychic-Type, harming him some more. While Unicorn Magic didn't hurt him as much, it was still enough to do something. Haxorus tumbled for a bit, giving the bandages the opportunity to try and grab him.
"Frenzy Plant!"
"S-Scep...Sceptile!" That's where Sceptile came in. To combat something so frantic, he had to make something frantic himself. Luckily, there was just the move for the job. Sceptile stuck his hands in the ground, summoning giant roots. These roots intercepted the bandages, smacking them away from Haxorus.
"Thanks for the save, Applejack! Okay, Haxorus! Let's focus on freeing them all! Close Combat, now!"
"Sceptile! Keep using Frenzy Plant to back Haxorus up!"
"Haxorus!" Now it was time to fully focus on freeing them. Haxorus delivered the first attack, smashing his feet onto a Ferrothorn that approached him. He then did a tail swipe, smacking away a Pa'u Style Oricorio from getting the jump on him. That's the one thing he needed to be careful about. The bandages were so abundant that they could catch him at any moment.
Luckily, Frenzy Plant was there to defend him as these roots ferociously fought against the bandages, giving Haxorus all the time he needed. Haxorus was on a roll, slugging away any bandage masses that came his way. And with his claws open, he swung it directly at one pony and one human. Haxorus put his all into that swipe, managing to cut some of the bandages apart.
A successful swipe as the middle of those bandages were torn apart, freeing the human and pony that were trapped within it. Now, Haxorus and the others could understand just how durable they were. At the end of the day, they were just bandages but they had the strength of a rock.
"Great job, Haxorus! Keep it up!" Spike cheered before hopping onto Haxorus' shoulder.
"Let's cut 'em up too, Sceptile! Leaf Blade!"
"Tile!" Sceptile would indulge in slicing these bandages. He was met with five victims who were thrown at him. The Forest Pokemon approached them each with his bladed leaves extending. In a flash, he dashed past the victims but with style, he managed to cut up those bandages. Those five victims were free too, dropping to the ground dazed and bewildered.
"Hope you're doing just as good as us, Fluttershy." Applejack said to herself, hoping that Fluttershy was handling this scenario just as well.
Arguably, probably not. Right now, Fluttershy was on the run with Bayleef. From her own Pokemon. Audino and Raboot were now hostile towards Fluttershy and Bayleef, causing them to flee. Sparks of fire from Raboot's Flames were set off, setting various parts of the cave ablaze.
And thanks to Audino's Hyper Beam, the destruction was amped to a larger degree. However, these were only meant to try and cut Fluttershy off. The bandages knew that Fluttershy was needed just for Opal. And to an extent Bayleef, thanks to her Fate-Changing Leaf. But unlike Fluttershy, Bayleef was free to harm.
Bayleef fought back against the bandages, using Magical Leaf to cut them the second they came close. But more of them would just show up to overwhelm her.
"Wait, you two!" Fluttershy tried talking to them but for once, this wouldn't work at all. She certainly didn't want to harm them either as Raboot ran on the walls just to catch up with her. However, no harm would be done to her but some restraints were needed.
Raboot leapt off the walls, coming in hot with a High Jump Kick. Bayleef received a devastatingly strong High Jump Kick, staggering her before knocking the Leaf Pokemon away. "B-Bay!" Bayleef crashed into the walls because of this. "Bay...!" The kick was stronger than expected, leaving Bayleef on the ground to groan and whimper.
"That's enough!" Fluttershy got in front of Bayleef, being her shield as the bandages were interrupted by her appearance. They wouldn't make any further movements since Fluttershy was in the way. "Let my Pokemon go! Please!"
"Mmm...Can't reason with a demon, sadly." A voice replied to the Pokemon Caretaker. At last, someone else who wasn't caught by the bandages. But unfortunately, it was the one who summoned the demons in the first place.
The bandages halted their actions along with Raboot and Audino just to make way for the culprit. Appearing here with her fellow vampires was none other than Opal Vivacity, showing herself to Fluttershy for the first time.
"That's right. Nice eye. Don't worry, they won't get you. After all, I'd never send them after a fellow vampire. Unless they tick me off." Opal giggled. "Pleasure to meet you anyway."
"Wait! You're the Dread League?!" It all clicked for Fluttershy. The demon, the wings and especially the fangs. Plus everything else that was mentioned. "Ooh...Why now?"
"Why now? Call it our majesty just venting." Opal shrugged. "Someone just had to get in the way of her plans. Well...someone already is but now there's another party added into the mix. Anyway, that's not the biggest reason why we're here. We're here for you, Fluttershy."
"Me? Why me?"
"Opal here says you're one of us. You're a vampire." A vampire added.
"More specifically..." Opal stepped forward. "A Secretive Vampire. You're definitely not full-blooded or even appear half-blooded. But I can feel it within you. There's something vampiric about you, Fluttershy."
"Vampire..." This made Fluttershy think. How could she be a vampire? That is when it hit her. There was only one instance of her ever being a vampire. And the first time she was made aware of them. The event that took place at Sweet Apple Acres.
Everything from the Vampire Fruit Bats, the Stare, Twilight's Spell and Applejack's Orchard. All of it involved smaller-scale vampires and her becoming a vampire as well. Or more specifically, a Bat Pony.
"B-But I was a Bat Pony back then! I'm not a vampire!"
"It's the same thing. You're just a slight deviation from a vampire, making you less vampiric than many But a vampire's a vampire as I always say. You may no longer appear as a vampire but somewhere in you, it's lying dormant, waiting to show up. So...Having another one of our kind back at Magehold is always welcomed. Even if this is the very first time." Opal held out her hoof, offering Fluttershy to come along.
"W-Well...I don't want to become one! Not again." Fluttershy immediately rejected this offer. She didn't think about it or ponder. She put that event past her after all.
"Eh. Expected that." Opal sighed in disappointment. "But, that doesn't mean we're giving up. You're still coming with us. And you'll live like a vampire. Besides...how do you expect to fight back against this?"
Opal wasn't just referring to the bandages. Right on cue, blowing apart a large chunk of the cave and appearing was none other than the Hurricane that came from the typhoon. That Hurricane was also a Demon, making its full appearance. Fluttershy could now see what kind of demon she was gazing upon.
Resembling a Gecko two smoking eyes stare at her with agonizing spite, and another howl rages from its hollow mouth in eerie joy. Its massive head sits atop a broad, sinewy body. Mystical electric powers crackle through its hide and horn, appearing to have symbols around them, perhaps a remnant of even stranger times. The creature moved closer with two legs firmly carrying its reptilian body with collected energy. A spiked tail whirls behind it as jagged bones protrude along its ridge.
"Oh my...!"
"Ah, but that's not it. There's also that Bayleef we need. The power to change fate itself is too good to pass on. So there's one more demon just for that." Opal would reveal another demon. This one wasn't as bombastic as the rest though. It was secretive, making it all the more dangerous.
Fluttershy found herself in a stunning position. The Typhon Demon had appeared as Alola was currently facing some potential peril. With the vampires active, Poni Meadow and Resolution Cave were already under attack. And on top of that, Fluttershy was in danger of being captured just for the sake of adding another vampire, a secretive vampire to Magehold. Only time will tell on how this will all unfold as the journey continues.
The Dread League was attacking once again. Across different regions and that involved Poni Island. Led by Opal Vivacity, four demons from the Box of 100 Demons had been unleashed, attacking those that were enjoying a jolly and lively moment at Poni Meadow during the Pokemon Festival.
A Typhon Demon that caused a destructive hurricane, a Bandage Demon that could control anyone that was caught up in its bandages and a third and fourth demon that had yet to be seen. But while they attacked everyone, the main individual exempt from this was Fluttershy, who to the vampires was a secret vampire thanks to a past experience at Sweet Apple Acres.
Two of her Pokemon had been caught by the Bandage Demon, now under its control. Audino and Raboot. Only Bayleef remained as she was cornered by her own Pokemon, the vampires and the two demons that were most active right now.
"So. If we assess things, the best option is to submit, if you ask me," Opal commented. "You can live like a vampire. How fun is that? All the advantages are there. Late night events, faster flight, specialized magic and so on.
"Sorry. But I still greatly refuse. Even if I still have some of it in me, I don't want to become a vampire ever again. And I don't want to join you." Fluttershy was still rejecting this offer from her heart. But of course, she showed her kindness in this instance as well. "B-But that doesn't mean I think living as one is bad. Everything you said sounds nice from the magic, the events and everything. I'm sure it'd be fun to lurk around, take deep bites and say things like bleh, bleh, bleh."
"Vampires do not say that! We don't say bleh, bleh, bleh!" Aggravated by that, Opal raised her voice, smashing her hoof against the wall as everyone, including the demons, had been startled and intimidated by her. She panted with aggression in her voice before calming down. "Excuse me. Anyway...by force it is. Get her."
This was to be expected as the Typhoon Demon with its Gecko appearance suddenly held its seemingly average-sized lizard arms out, only to discover that they could expand. This Typhoon Demon was hard to describe, making it all the more arcane as the bandages would move in as well.
"Bayleef!" But then there was Bayleef, the only Pokemon who would protect Fluttershy. Though Fluttershy's life wasn't in danger, Bayleef still felt the urge to use her Fate-Changing Leaf. She jumped in front of Fluttershy, unleashing her leaf. And for the first time, Opal would witness just how it works. The second the arms of this Typhoon Demon and the bandages reached Fluttershy, one of the leaves from Bayleef's neck came flying out.
With just a single tap on her nose, not even a lengthy or impactful touch, the abilities of her leaf kicked in. In the blink of an eye, a silver flash went off, eclipsing the entire part of this cave. Reality had been altered via Bayleef's own will but just for one purpose. Everything was warped, starting from the direction of the bandages and where the Typhoon Demon was looking.
It was all so fast but in the eyes of Opal, she saw a glimpse of just how this leaf functioned. And just like that, Bayleef saved Fluttershy from being caught. In a flash, they were both gone from this area, causing the bandages and the Typhoon to connect with nothing.
"Wait, what just happened?" The other vampires couldn't catch a glimpse at all. The silver flash went by them so fast but only Opal saw it.
"That's exactly why I need that power. To have the power to change Fate itself is just too good to pass on...This is why we have this demon to help us." Opal smirked, not in the slightest worried about Fluttershy escaping with Bayleef. That's when it appeared.
The third demon that was in hiding. This entire time, it was concealed on the top of the cave walls before dropping. This demon came in the form of a red blob. Once the blob dropped onto Opal's head, that's when it spread. This demon had a parasitic spread, red lines that entered Opal's head instead of staying outside. The only visible on the outside was the blob on the outside.
"This Parasite Demon will let me absorb any ability I so wish. And I think I'll start with...you!" Opal had her first target. Before she can go after Bayleef, she went straight for Audino. The red lines revealed themselves, instantly latching onto Audino's bandaged body.
Audino couldn't resist at all. The bandages wouldn't let her. Thus, the Parasite Demon was free to feast on her unique ability. And of course, that would be her stupendous sense of hearing. The red lines pulsated, showing bulges as if they were a mosquito sucking blood.
"Hoooh...!" There was a slight adrenaline rush within Opal's boy thanks to this. Now, she had access to Audino's advanced hearing. "Hoh. This'll do. Let's hurry. The Parasite will take control of my body if we're not quick." Using Audino's unique ability, Opal could hear so much.
The sounds of the wind, the other conflict happening elsewhere within the cave and even sounds that she wouldn't hear from this vicinity at all. Audino's hearing abilities were truly wonderful. And thanks to them, she was able to hear wingbeats. The wingbeats of Fluttershy to be exact.
She knew where to go thanks to those wingbeats.
As for Applejack and Sceptile, they managed to rip apart some of the bandages that attacked them. Haxorus and Sceptile freed the victims held by the bandages with their cooperation. The main counter to this Bandage Demon was Sceptile's Frenzy Plants. All these large roots could intercept the bandages and fight back against them.
"Ya'll doing okay?" Applejack spoke to some children who were just freed. Being under the control of the bandages left them bewildered once they were free. "Head on out of this cave as quick as you can."
"Thank you!" The children thanked Applejack as well as Spike. The victims in this part of the cave had been freed by Applejack and Spike, legging it to escape as fast as they could. As for the bandages here, they had dropped in quantity vastly. Seeing the tides changing, the bandages slithered away retreating.
"Nice. We scared it off." Spike said. "At least, I hope so."
"It might be back. I've seen animals that act just like those bandages. Right now, let's find Fluttershy before anything else. But, we might have an easier time with you on the lead. Go, Riolu!" Applejack would make things easier for her friends. Finding Fluttershy could prove to be troublesome but there was the Pokemon for it. Delta Riolu.
"Riolu!"
"Riolu. We need you to look for Fluttershy's Aura. Can you do that?" The farmer asked.
"Rio!" Riolu was on it. Now that they were finished with this area, Applejack and Spike could leave to find Fluttershy, who they were separated from.
Haxorus and Sceptile would watch their backs in case any sneak attacks were made. Those bandages were scattered everywhere after all. They witnessed a trail of destruction made by the bandages and more recently the Typhoon Demon.
Even as a regional variant, Delta Riolu could sense multiple auras. Most were innocent but the vicious ones were ever-present. All he had to was track one specific Aura and he would be golden. However, something prompted Riolu to stop. The Embalming Pokemon gasped as a sinister Aura was nearby. So sinister it made his heart jump, resulting in a screeching halt.
"R-Rio!"
"What's up, Riolu?! What'cha feeling?!" Applejack asked, knowing that whatever Riolu sensed did not warrant anything good. The sinister Aura was getting closer, approaching this very spot.
A rumble in the blackness, a clouding of breath, and suddenly they were met with an enormous soul of flame and fury. Two fiery eyes stared at them with a harrowing excitement and another rumble raged in their direction. Two gigantic wings extend themselves fully on the back of this Fiery Entity. It was another one of the 100 Demons.
"What is that thing?! A Pokemon?" Spike shuddered, holding out his Pokedex to see what Pokemon this could be. But of course, upon holding it up, the Pokedex did not react at all. "M-Maybe not."
But very soon, it would appear as a Pokemon. The creature continues to glare at them, specifically Applejack as a vicious smile appeared on its face. By looking at Applejack, it was assessing her. And right after looking at the earth pony, that's when this entity of Flame and Fury changed its shape. Much like the intensity of the fire, it could move around frantically and with its haphazard body, this demon was taking on a specific appearance.
The appearance of a Machamp. Four arms that were still made out of flames emerged as the physique of the Superpower Pokemon emerged. The demon got all of that from just looking at Applejack.
"Machamp?" Applejack and Spike said in unison.
"Machamp!" It even possessed the cry of a Machamp. And right after taking on the appearance of the Superpower Pokemon, it rushed towards them with its two legs steadily carrying its wicked body with maniacal energy
"Haxorus!" Haxorus got in front of them, being the first to react. He quickly put his arms up to defend against the incoming arms of Machamp. Two of them. However, though this may be a strange apparition and replication of Machamp, once those fiery fists collided with Haxorus' arms, the impact felt very authentic to being hit by an actual Machamp. "H-Hax!" Haxorus staggered and growled from this blow. Not only that but there was also the fire to consider as the weight of this strike was nothing to ignore.
The Axe Jaw Pokemon was launched via this singular double-handed blow. He passed by Applejack and the others, rolling and tumbling along the way.
"H-Haxorus! Are you alright?!" Spike gasped.
"You're in our way! Sceptile, Thunder Punch!"
"Sceptile!" They couldn't waste any time on this demon. Fluttershy was still in peril. By sparking both his hands with lots of electricity, the Forest Pokemon would do his best to end this as soon as he could regardless of who or what he was facing.
"Ma!" However, not only did this demon borrow Machamp's strength but its speed as well. In a blur, its arms moved up, grabbing Sceptile by the face with just one of them, stopping its attack. The two arms of Sceptile had easily been restrained by the usage of the other three arms.
"S-Scep!" Right after he was restrained, the grip on his face was starting to tighten, causing immediate pain. If he was ever curious about what it felt like to be in the grip of a Machamp, now he would know. And it was not pleasant at all. These mountain-crushing hands were devastating to who was unlucky enough to be held by them. To make matters worse, the flames were sensitive to Sceptile's body, slowly burning his face.
"Sceptile, no!" Applejack cried out before witnessing Sceptile cry out. "Let him go! Riolu, use Power-up!"
"Rio!" Coming to the rescue of his senior was Riolu. The Delta Variant lunged in with a flow of orange energy, going for the demon's sides. He managed to land a strong hit on the demon's face, however, the impact was minuscule. There was a slight shockwave but he only managed to budge the head of the Machamp. "Rio?!"
"Ma...Machamp!" By releasing one of its arms, it immediately swung at the Embalming Pokemon, delivering a bigger and harder hit than he could ever achieve right now. Riolu's eyes expanded as Machamp's entire bicep and arm were bigger than his body, sending the Dark-Fighting-Type flying.
"Riolu!" Applejack quickly used her lasso to catch Riolu in midair. She made a quick save, pulling Riolu towards her before the results could be catastrophic. But there was still the issue of Sceptile being restrained. Applejack held Riolu in her hooves as enough time has been wasted at this point. They weren't getting to Fluttershy anytime sooner.
"Haxorus! Head in there and use Close Combat!" But Spike would change that.
"Xorus!" Along came Haxorus, finally recovering. He was going to get up close and personal with this Fiery Apparition of Haxorus. This approach forced the demon to use the rest of Machamp's arms as it read just what Haxorus was about to do. Finally letting go of Sceptile, he tossed the Forest Pokemon away before readying for the Equestrian Variant. "Hax!"
Haxorus and Machamp collided. Both their fists met. They then exchanged a close quarter scuffle while Sceptile lay on the ground. He needed some time to recover as his face was burning from that tremendous grip.
"Sceptile Hang in there!" Applejack rushed over. Both her Pokemon received some crucial damage to them in a matter of moments. She looked up to see Haxorus struggling against this demon. Machamp had the advantage of four arms and being able to punch at blistering speeds Haxorus tried keeping up as best as he could. The only advantage Haxorus had was that he was a Dragon-Psychic-Type in his Equestrian form.
They did manage to trade blows as Haxorus wasn't going down so easily. Much like how the flames were dangerous to Sceptile, thanks to his Dragon-Typing, Haxorus could resist them, though the heat was still tremendous enough to affect him.
"Applejack! Uh, I think it's best if you go on ahead and find Fluttershy." Spike suggested. "Better to do that than stay here and deal with whatever this thing is."
"Thanks, Spike. Can you keep going, Riolu?"
"Rio!" Riolu could continue searching for Fluttershy's Aura. Nothing was stopping him from doing so. Sceptile, while receiving a bad burn on his face, could still stand and continue. Everything would be left up to Spike and Haxorus.
"Good luck, Spike!" Applejack gave her last words before departing from this area. Spike would do his best to keep this demon at bay and give Applejack all the time she needed to find Fluttershy.
"I got this. Maybe some extra help will do. Go, Goodra!" Spike saw that Haxorus was having a hard time against this demon that simply copied the appearance of a Machamp. Assistance was required. With the launch of the Poke Ball, Goodra had emerged.
"Goodra!"
"Help Haxorus out! Surf!"
"Goo...Dra!" By taking advantage of the fact that this demon was made out of fire, Goodra conjured a wave of water from his bare hands. He then smashed the water into the ground, expanding its size tremendously. It went from being the size of his hands to become the size of a wave, crashing toward the enemy.
"Ma?!" The demon, during his exchange with Haxorus, noticed the incoming wave. Even the demon was aware that despite what it was, the elements were still a massive factor. Sceptile was weak to Fire, Haxorus resisted it and this demon was weak to Water as to be expected.
Haxorus jumped back, allowing the bulk of the wave to meet with the demon. The waves crashed into the Fiery Apparition Demon, already affecting its flames just from the intensity.
"Yes!" Spike cheered as it was a direct hit. Even the demon had to acknowledge how crucial this was. But alas, if only it were that easy. Immediately after having the wave crash into it, the demon changed it up. It looked at Spike next the same way it looked at Applejack. With that same grin, much like before, the haphazard flames around its body altered itself.
In a flash, another change occurred. The flames were still being affected by the water but the massive wave had been blown back via the emergence of another Pokemon that the demon had copied. This time it turned out to be Haxorus. The demon directly copied Haxorus' appearance, specifically the Equestrian Variant, throwing Spike and the others off guard. But that wasn't the shocking part. It kept the four arms of Machamp as they were now covered in Haxorus' scales.
"Huh?!"
Meanwhile, Fluttershy was still on the run. She and Bayleef ran far enough in the cave to witness some light. And where there was light, there was a way out. However, this light was minuscule as the sun's rays were minimal thanks to the darkened clouds.
"It looks like a way out, Bayleef!" Fluttershy cried out. "We'll be out and-"
However, it wasn't as easy as she was hoping. There was one problem. The Typhoon Demon. Appearing right at the entrance was the Typhoon Demon, creating a vicious wind pressure that not only stopped them both in their tracks but knocked Fluttershy out of the air. With such a massive demon that could match the size of a hurricane, it was hard to try and conceal herself.
And it was worse considering what Opal now possesses. After Fluttershy was knocked to the ground, along came Opal and the other vampires. Thanks to the power of Audino's hearing that was borrowed by the Parasite Demon, Fluttershy was easier to find. Not only that but the actual Audino was still under her control, making this search ten times easier with two effective senses of hearing.
"Bay!" Bayleef was Fluttershy's only form of defence. The pegasus stood close to Bayleef, shuddering at what she was faced with. Typhoons, Vampires, Vicious Bandages and her own Pokemon.
"Are you surprised by how fast we found you? This parasite has so many advantages you sometimes forget the disadvantages it brings along. You forget that it has a mind of its own." Opal VIvacity commented as Fluttershy had no more pathways she could take.
The final pathway which was the entrance was blocked off by the Typhoon demon while the one she came through was blocked by the vampires and the bandages.
"Oh, that's another advantage. You get to use the Box of 100 Demons when you're in the Dread League." Opal added. "Such as this Parasite. Once it's on your head, it can take any ability you so wish, such as the amazing sense of hearing I took from your Audino. Which is exactly what I'm also going to do to that Bayleef of yours."
"Bay...!"
"The only problem is that...this Parasite gets too excited a lot of the time. No one can control it when it's out for too long. But the time it does give you is amazing."
"I still won't ever give up what I have! You're not taking Bayleef's power or me!" Fluttershy held Bayleef's hoof. "Besides, there's a limit to that Parasite, right? So you can't have her power forever."
"If I have the time," Opal smirked. "If I'm quick enough before this Parasite loses it, I can permanently have the power to change fate by my own will instead of this demon. I just have to be quick about it, that's the only issue. So...You know what's coming next! Get her!"
"Ra!" The controlled Raboot, the bandages, the vampires and the Typhoon advanced on Fluttershy. All of these forces were overwhelming and the only thing that could stop it was the leaf. But Fluttershy took another route first.
"Let's try the Counter Shield, Bayleef! It has to work! Spin with Magical Leaf!"
"Bay! The Counter Shield was the perfect alternative. By getting on her back, Bayleef conjured mystical leaves that had a vibrant pinkish glow to them. And with her body swivelling about, a frenzy of leaves started flying frantically. Counter Shield was always an amazing defence as it ended up hitting back the bandages, Raboot and the vampires.
But not so much the Typhoon. The Typhoon simply unleashed a powerful gust of wind that blew the leaves way, abruptly ending the Counter Shield. After doing so, the Typhoon Demon entered the cave by transforming into a snake, slithering with whirling fangs.
"Bayleef! Please, use Ancient Power!"
"Bay!" Bayleef jumped back up, quickly using the cave itself to her advantage. By harnessing the power of fossils, she summoned ancient rocks from the ground, unleashing them at the Typhoon Demon. The demon and its serpentine body had crashed into the rocks head-first, resulting in some pushback.
There was one advantage the Pokemon had over many. Infinity Energy. The Typhoon Demon counted as an embodiment of the skies and thus anything Rock-Related could work. This was only possible because of the Infinity Energy, otherwise, any other rock would've phased through or have been carried away.
"Great! Now use-" But before Fluttershy could say anything else, Opal made her next move. She flew in, grabbing Fluttershy from behind via a wrap-around on her mouth. "Mmm!"
"We don't need any of that." Opal menacingly commented as the bandages joined her, wrapping around Bayleef's legs. "How about I use my magic to mess with one of your senses? Maybe your sense of-"
"Bay!" Seeing her trainer in that position gave Bayleef extra strength. She used brute force alone to rip off the bandages with her teeth. Instead of using her leaf, Bayleef would attack Opal Vivacity directly. But the bandages and the other demons would get in her way.
"Sorry, no can do. There's such thing as a...forcefield." One of the vampires said as right on cue, a forcefield had been summoned. By all six of them. Bayleef crashed into this forcefield that blocked off this part of the cave, preventing her from reaching Fluttershy.
On the other side, Bayleef was left with the Typhoon Demon while Fluttershy was left with the bandages and the vampires. The Typhoon Demon continued its assault, attacking Bayleef while she was backed up in a forcefield wall. It sent a ferocious gust of wind that pushed her into the forcefield. Bayleef was bombarded by this crushing gust of wind, dealing continuous damage to her in the process.
"Raboot!" Then, along came Raboot, using Flame Charge. While Bayleef was on the forcefield, unable to do much, Raboot joined in by crashing his flame-cloaked body into Bayleef, dealing super-effective damage.
"B-Bay!"
"We just need to find a way to bring the vampire out of you, Fluttershy." Opal continued while Bayleef was being bombarded by the Typhoon Demon. Audino walked up to Fluttershy, looking down at her trainer with only her azure eyes which couldn't move at all.
Fluttershy was distraught to see her best friend in such a controlled state thanks to these bandages. There was also Raboot who was on the other side, continuously bashing into Bayleef. Fluttershy hated what was becoming of all of this. She was too outnumbered to do much.
"B-Bay...!" But there was still the ace-in-the-hole. Bayleef's leaf. No matter how great the numerical odds are, that Fate Changing Leaf can change the tides. Bayleef couldn't use it on Fluttershy since she was blocked by a forcefield. But it could be used on herself.
A leaf left Bayleef's head, touching her legs. The wind did almost blow it off course but it was close enough just to work. With just one touch, the other part of Bayleef's fate-changing power had been revealed. Not only could she alter space and reality but time itself. She suddenly reversed everything that has happened so far. That silver flash went off as Garnet saw it again. A glimpse of what the leaf could do.
Everything had been reversed. The conjuration of the forcefield, Raboot's Flame Charge, the Typhoon Demon's assault, Fluttershy's restraints and so on. But it wasn't by much. It was only by a few seconds based on what has occurred. But to guarantee Fluttershy's safety, Bayleef would warp space as well, having the power to mess with each important force in the universe, albeit with the risk of her leaves.
In a flash, the scenario had been changed. Opal gasped as she was no longer holding Fluttershy. The bandages were no longer around her hooves either. Instead, by warping Time and Space, fate had been changed to the point where Fluttershy and Bayleef managed to exit the cave.
One minute, they were within Resolution Cave and the next, they were out of it. Opal gasped, spotting the outside as if this entire scuffle never happened. "All the more reason I need that power!" Now, this drove Opal further. Warping Time and Space was too good to pass on.
"B-Bay..." And as always, Bayleef's weakness was showing. This power may be amazing but it came with a cost. Bayleef's leaves. The leaf on her head and some of the leaves around her neck had been removed after she changed fate twice. A massive chunk of Bayleef's head leaf had been taken off just to make that change possible, bringing harm to the Leaf Pokemon.
"Oh, no! Bayleef!" Fluttershy hugged Bayleef who was already groaning through the pain. She looked up, seeing that the Sun wouldn't help heal Bayleef at this point. Not when it was blocked off. So as long as the skies were blocked by the Typhoon Demon, Bayleef couldn't regenerate her leaf.
To make matters worse, Opal and the others were still approaching. The vampires didn't have to worry about the outside at all thanks to the dark clouds. If anything, things haven't gotten easier for her at all. Bayleef would still fight, however. Though she was in pain, it didn't render her immobile.
"Bay...!" Bayleef was ready to take on what was coming her way. And it was quite a lot. Whether she has the attack necessary to stop this or risk another leaf loss, she would do anything to protect Fluttershy.
"Figures...there's a weakness to it. Oh, well. Everything has a weakness. Meaning, you can't keep it up forever!" Opal chuckled. "You're mine now!"
"Gotcha!" Alas, that wasn't the case. A third party had joined the game. Large vines came flying in, intercepting the bandages. Those vines smacked the bandages away while the remaining ones went for Fluttershy and Bayleef. And instead of sensing danger, Bayleef sensed something friendly. That was to be expected as Sceptile was the cause of this. Applejack, Riolu and Sceptile had arrived. Arguably on time since Bayleef changed time itself around that one area.
"Tile!" Sceptile pulled them both away right before the other bandages could approach. Bayleef's leaves weren't needed this time.
"Applejack! Sceptile! Riolu! Oh...Thank Celestia." A relieved Fluttershy said before being held by Sceptile.
"Tch." Annoyed, Opal scoffed and kissed her teeth at Applejack. "I would've thought those bandages dealt with her and e everyone else by now."
"Bayleef ain't looking so hot. You've been having trouble with these two." Applejack observed Bayleef's torn leaves. "No need to worry. Spike and I are already handling this."
"Thank you, Applejack. But...they've already got Audi and Raboot. And I don't know what to do." Fluttershy whimpered and shuddered, glancing over at her two friends that were fully in control of those bandages which seemed endless at this point.
"We do." Applejack and her Pokemon stood tall. "They're bandages at the end of the day. Nothing a good cut can't solve."
"Really..." Fluttershy gawked before pondering. "But why don't Raboot's flames burn up the bandages? Unless the bandages don't allow that from Raboot. Then maybe..."
"Move aside, cowgirl! You don't have anything that I'd want!" Opal bellowed.
"Vampires...I hate vampires." Applejack scowled. She has some experience with Vampires much like Fluttershy. Specifically, the Vampire Fruit Bats from a few years back. So this was personal.
Very personal.
Applejack already had a large reason to show hostility towards them since they attacked Fluttershy. But now that reason has been doubled. Her drive to defeat these vampires was at an all-time high. The Dread League weren't done yet. Not until the biggest goal here was achieved. Retrieving Bayleef's power. The conflict at Poni Plains wasn't over yet as the journey continues.
Saved by the appearance of Applejack and her Pokemon, Fluttershy and Bayleef found themselves glancing at a semblance of hope. Bayleef had already used her Fate-Changing Leaf twice, resulting in losses to her leaves. And with the Sun blocked out by the dark clouds, regeneration was out of the question.
"Vampires..." Naturally, Applejack wasn't fond of these vampires for past reasons. Opal Vivacity, 7 other vampires, the Typhoon Demon and the controlled bodies of Audino and Raboot stood before her. But the latter didn't worry her. Applejack already knew how to deal with the Bandage Demon.
"Applejack. Be careful. That red blob on her head is a parasite." Fluttershy added, warning Applejack of what the vampires had unleashed. "She used that to copy Audi's hearing ability. She wants to do the same with Bayleef's ability to change fate."
"Can she now? I'll just remove it from her. I've picked off worse things from my face." Applejack wasn't too bothered by that Parasite Demon. Though she was now having her first encounter with the 100 Demons, she already knew that they weren't unstoppable, just highly dangerous and troubling.
"No can do. This thing's glued to me. And you certainly wouldn't want to irritate something that still has sentience." Opal responded. "You'd be lucky to hope that time runs out with this parasite. But that time limit will only lead to a full-on rampage where this Parasite will see everything as an enemy. Plus um, I'd worry about the numerical difference right about now."
"I ain't too worried about these numbers." Applejack continued to show her steely resolve, putting on a confident smirk that rubbed Opal the wrong way. "It ain't just me and Sceptile here."
"Hm?" Opal raised an eyebrow, cautious as to who else Applejack was referring to.
"Time to go, Golett!" The earth pony yelled, calling for her Golett who was apparently out of its Poke Ball. Or rather, multiple of them were out of their Poke Balls as ten mounds appeared from underneath.
"Golett!" Right on cue, Applejack's Golett showed up. All 10 of them. Out of the ground, the hands on the Golett popped up. Each of the 7 vampires were met with an unpleasant surprise as the Golett were below them the entire time, waiting to strike. And with their combined strengths, the vampires were pulled through the ground itself.
"Oh!" The vampires gasped as their screams diminished in audio once they were pulled underneath. Opal managed to escape thanks to the advanced hearing she received from Audino, flying out of the way. But it was a close call either way as one of the Golett just missed her. But now, in a matter of seconds, Opal's numbers dropped. She still had a major lead thanks to those bandages but losing the other vampires was unfavourable.
"Why you...!" An agitated Opal hissed and sneered at Applejack who had a face that was punchable in Opal's eyes.
"The bandages already let me know that I gotta have the better numbers. I had Golett out before I saw ya'll." Applejack spoke, shrugging it off. "But that trick that all my Golett use can come in handy when no one sees it coming."
"It certainly helped!" Fluttershy applauded. "Way to go, Applejack."
"You think you're clever?!" Opal's smile became crooked. "I still had the number lead and then some. Use whatever weird Pokemon you have, I can work around this."
"Nope." Applejack had to highly disagree as she adjusted her hat. "Let's free Audino and Raboot first! Sceptile, Leaf Blade! Riolu, Power-up Punch!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile and Riolu would start off by helping free their friends from those bandages. The two of them rushed in with Sceptile taking the lead with superior speed. Opal stood at the back right next to Audino, unbothered but agitated. Raboot would swing into action when needed while the bandages would wait it out, seeking new victims in the form of Applejack and her Pokemon.
But then along came the Typhoon Demon. The Typhoon Demon intercepted them, forming a wall of air just from its elemental body. The moment Sceptile and Riolu threw their arms, this massive wall of air blocked them. "Rio?"
"Tile?"
Right after the air wall stopped, the bandages were next, flying rampantly. In the nick of time, Sceptile and Riolu managed to back away with the bandages slightly grazing them in the process. Though they may have gotten rid of the other vampires momentarily, the Bandage Demon and the Typhoon Demon made up for that loss. The overwhelming numbers and the overwhelming strength were something to struggle against.
"Raboot!" Then there was Raboot, attacking his own friends yet again. The Rabbit Pokemon in his entire bandaged body came leaping in with High Jump Kick, heading straight for Delta Riolu with a super-effective move.
"Sorry about this, Raboot! Power-up Punch!"
"Riolu!" Riolu would clash with his friend, regrettably. But it had to be done to create a better outcome. Riolu defended himself with Power-up Punch, meeting with Raboot's leg. Riolu's strength increased twice after the double use of this attack and it would only increase when facing High Jump Kick. But right now, High Jump kick was superior as Raboot managed to push him back.
"I'll do something about that Typhoon too." Applejack squinted her eyes, focusing on the Typhoon Demon. Infinity Energy was the greatest force here that allowed attacks to hit this form of air. And thankfully, there was one attack in Sceptile's arsenal to handle this. "Thunder Punch!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile approached the Typhoon Demon. The Typhoon Demon wasn't worried at first by the electricity, seeing that it was a part of a devastating weather force. However, upon meeting with Sceptile by sending a whirlwind, that was not the case.
Much like Bayleef's Ancient Power, Thunder Punch could affect it. Confidently turning into a bear, it encountered Sceptile, swinging its hurricane claws at him. Swiftly, the Typhoon Demon was in for a rude awakening as not only did Sceptile physically make contact with its elemental body, but the electricity was highly potent. A flash and a rush of electricity ran through the Typhoon Demon's body. The demon found out just how volatile electricity can be as it was pushed back.
"What?!" Opal gasped as the Typhoon Demon fell on its back. Sparks of electricity flashed out of its body, making it feel all those potent volts that it would never originally feel.
Meanwhile underground, the Golett outnumbered the vampires by a bit. After being pulled underground, the Golett scattered, forcing the vampires to chase them down. Down here, the Golett had a massive advantage since they were Ground-Types.
"Quit moving!" One of the vampires lunged, almost catching Golett, only for the Automaton Pokemon to strike back with a Shadow Punch. Not only did the vampire miss, but she received a shadow blow in the process. The same went for the rest of the vampires as the Golett utilized their intangibility and movement across the underground, causing the vampires to continuously move from place to place. Naturally, this was exhausting to them.
Back on the surface, Delta Riolu and Applejack traded blows with both their attacks hitting each other's faces. They then pushed each other back, failing to one-up each other.
"This should give us an advantage. You there! Use Hyper Beam!" Opal commanded Audino. The Bandage-Controlled Audino stepped forward, targeting both Riolu and Sceptile. She was aiming to get them all in one hit.
"A-Audino...!" By putting her arms together, a flare of Infinity Energy had been summoned in the form of an orb. A part of Audino hesitated as this would mean harming her friends. Even with the bandages around her, Audino's heart was still there. But ultimately, the bandages forced her to attack, unleashing Hyper Beam. A giant blast came roaring in, tearing through the ground, having a radius wide enough to catch Riolu and Sceptile.
"Bay...!" But then there was Bayleef's leaf, utilized once again to save them. One of the leaves flew off her tail, floating in their direction. It was a close one this time. Hyper Beam was right up in Riolu's face, ready to consume him. But the leaf always managed to connect in time. Touching Sceptile's tail, fate had been changed once more.
The silver flash went off as time was reversed to the point where the beam was never unleashed. It went straight back to Audino's hands. Fate had been changed yet again and at the cost of Bayleef's leaves, only further harming her.
Opal Vivacity saw that she wasn't going to get anywhere at this rate. Bayleef could change fate enough times to give the other side a massive edge and the demons weren't exactly invincible. Opal needed to think before the Parasite Demon loses it.
"That's it. That'll do." That's when, amidst all of the conflict, Opal backed away, focusing on one of the holes that the Golett had dug up earlier. She would let the Typhoon Demon and the Bandage Demon handle the rest up here. The beautiful vampire then hopped into the holes, using the Typhoon Demon as cover to hide her appearance. Once the Typhoon Demon approached Sceptile, Opal Vivacity was gone.
Resolution Cave.
Back at Resolution Cave, Spike was occupied with another one of the demons. A strange fiery demon that took on the form of Pokemon was confronting him and his Pokemon. First Machamp and now Haxorus. Equestrian Haxorus, to be exact.
And as to be expected, it was a handful even with the power of Goodra and Haxorus working together. This strange fiery apparition demon not only copied Haxorus' appearance but maintained Machamp's four arms, covering them in Haxorus' scales.
"Goo!" Goodra and Haxorus had both been knocked back by the four arms of this Fiery Apparition Demon. The raw power of this demon was stupendous mainly because of the two Pokemon it copied.
"Don't worry you two! We can still do this! Dragon Pulse, Goodra! Haxorus, Iron Tail!"
"Goo!" Goodra would attack from the front while Haxorus would attack from the back. First, a dragon-shaped shockwave was sent while Haxorus swung his hardened tail. But alas, the demon dealt with that as well. It used two Machamp arms to grab Haxorus' tail while also using what looked to be a mimicked Dragon Pulse, unleashing it from its mouth.
"H-Hax!" Not only could it copy appearances but attacks as well. After the two Dragon Pulses clashed, the Fiery Apparition Demon pulled Haxorus forward, launching him towards the two pulses. Thus, Haxorus was struck by both attacks once thrown into them, receiving massive super-effective damage.
"Goo?!" Goodra gasped after his teammate was struck. The draconic explosion consumed Haxorus And moving through that explosion was the demon, holding all four arms out. It would be a direct grab to the face and entire body. However, that wouldn't come to pass.
"Haxorus!" Despite being caught in the crossfire of both Dragon Pulses, Haxorus could continue, suddenly grabbing the tail of the opposing Haxorus while on the ground. The demon was one inch away from grabbing Goodra with its arms just right near his face and arms.
"Nice save, Haxorus! Now, Goodra! Power Whip!"
"Goodra!" Now was the time to capitalize on this moment while Haxorus had the demon in his hands. Further restraints would be added as Goodra jumped back, harnessing verdant energy within his horns. He then threw his head forward, causing the horns to elongate as they wrapped around the demon's four arms. If anything, those four arms were the biggest threat by a mile due to the versatility they brought.
The demon immediately tried breaking free, using Machamp's powerful arms to try and escape. But Goodra wasn't letting that happen, even if there was an immediate strong struggle between the two. Goodra's legs were starting to move from the ground due to the demon's movements as he did what he could to keep himself steady.
"Great job! Keep it there, you two!" Spike held out a third Poke Ball, deciding that this was a job for more than two Pokemon. Three Pokemon perhaps. "Please help! Druddigon!" What better Pokemon to use in a cave than the Cave Pokemon himself Druddigon?
"Druddigon!"
"Let's go! Gunk Shot!"
"Dru!" Druddigon struck while the demon was restrained. Goodra moved to the side a massive blast of poison was shot out. The demon looked up to see this poisonous blast coming from above before being struck by it. Immediately, it felt the force of poison seep through its fiery body which even the demon couldn't believe.
"Now...all together! Dragon Claw! Dragon Pulse and Power-up Punch! Go for it!"
Now was the time to deliver a trifecta attack on this demon. It started with a slash and strike from Haxorus and Druddigon who struck the demon's body in unison. The demon staggered after receiving those two hits, swivelling in the process. Then, Goodra would finish it off with Dragon Pulse. The Fiery Apparation Demon was struck by a direct Dragon Pulse.
Now was the worst time to take on the form of a Dragon-Type as this was a super-effective hit and the best one Spike's team had landed so far. After that combination, the demon fell on its back. The four arms of the Machamp had vanished via dispersion. Most of its body was dispersing into flames.
"Phew. That did the trick." Spike sighed as it looks like this demon had been defeated at last. Any further and further problems would've sprung up. "Awesome work, you guys!" His Dragons all cheered, high-fiving each other in response to their victory.
Right afterwards, the remainder of the Fiery Apparation Demon, which was now just a flaming wisp had flown away. It was still active but no longer engaging with Spike and his Pokemon after its defeat, departing from here. Speaking of departing, Spike couldn't stand around for much longer. Not when there was trouble elsewhere.
"Let's hurry to Applejack and Fluttershy now." Spike climbed up Druddigon's back. "I hope we're not too late."
"Tile!" Sceptile had just used Frenzy Plant to rip away at the array of bandages as always. The conflict between these demons continued as Applejack was doing her absolute best to defeat them. But she had yet to free Fluttershy's Pokemon since the bandages were being increasingly stubborn with just these two Pokemon.
"No good! It wasn't this difficult before!" Applejack growled. Riolu struggled to rip the bandages off Raboot whilst the Typhoon Demon got in Sceptile's way when he approached Audino.
"Hmm...Wait! I might have an idea!" That's when Fluttershy chimed in. "This might free Audi at least. Those flames when Raboot uses Flame Charge don't burn up the bandages from the outside. But what if something happened on the inside?"
"Like what?"
"Like this." Fluttershy held her hoof out, revealing her Mega Ring. She was going to resort to Mega Evolution. "Please work." Banking it all on Mega Evolution, with a singular tap, she initiated the Mega Evolution sequence.
Just as Audino was about to use another Hyper Beam, she was stopped in her tracks. "A-Audi!" Something was coming out. Something prevented her from attacking any further and the Bandage Demon could most certainly feel it. Out of the Keystone and Mega Stone, two massive lights flared out. Golden and light blue lights came flying out from both sides before connecting. Audino couldn't resist this and the demon certainly couldn't prevent this evolution.
Audino levitated from the ground before suddenly having lights burst out of her body. The power of these lights were enough to completely obliterate the bandages that were around her body. The Bandage Demon failed to keep its control over Audino, thus resulting in the freedom of the Hearing Pokemon as Mega Audino had appeared.
"Audino!"
"It worked!" Fluttershy flapped her wings with excitement and joy.
"Dino...?" Audino was bewildered to the core, holding her head before stumbling about. But she quickly regained her balance, relieved that her freedom had come at last.
"Nice work, Fluttershy. Now it's your turn." Applejack focused on Raboot who was the only one left. Applejack looked up at the hatpin on her hat, knowing that she could initiate Mega Evolution at this moment. So, why not go for it? "Mega Evolve!"
"Scep...Tile!" With a tap on the hatpin, Mega Evolution eclipsed Sceptile's body. Raboot attempted to try and stop this with all he had, charging in with Flame Charge. So did the Typhoon Demon, sending a hurricane in Sceptile's direction as the two lights burst out.
But their attacks ended in failure as the power of Mega Evolution pushed the hurricane away along with Raboot just from the sheer force of this energy. Out of it came Mega Sceptile.
"Sceptile!"
"Get 'im, Sceptile! Leaf Blade!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile went all-in now that he was in his Mega Evolved state. It was straight for Raboot with extended blades around his bladed arms. As always, the Typhoon Demon would get in his way, sending a wall of air to block his advancements.
"Here's our chance, Audi! Hyper Beam!"
"Audi...!" But now with the power of two Mega Evolved Pokemon, the tides had changed once more. "No!" Audino launched Hyper Beam, sending it right past Sceptile before he could reach the air wall. But he didn't want to worry about the air wall at all. With the might of Hyper Beam, the wall was obliterated, receiving a powerful pierce. The beam even went the extra distance, hitting the Typhoon Demon square in the face.
The Typhoon Demon staggered once the attack blew up in its face, dropping to the ground. This gave Sceptile the chance to reach Raboot without any interruptions. Raboot would try and fight back along with multiple bandages that assisted him.
"Tile!" Sceptile started swinging wildly, cutting up the incoming bandages. Then there was Raboot who went in with Flame Charge, hoping for some high damage. After using it multiple times, he was certainly speedy enough to intercept Sceptile. He even managed to land the first hit.
"Boot!" The Bandage-Controlled Raboot smashed his head into Sceptile's head at full force. However, despite landing the hit, thanks to Mega Evolution, Sceptile was no longer weak to Fire. He resisted it, allowing him to absolutely tank the attack, stunning the Bandage Demon. "Ra?!"
"Scep...Tile!" After tanking the blow, Sceptile delivered a retaliation. With just one strike, he slashed past Raboot's bandaged body, leaving behind a verdant streak. In the blink of an eye, the bandages had been torn apart. That did the trick as now Raboot had been freed, dropping flat on his face.
Unfortunately, unlike Audino, all the damage he suffered led him to faint. That final Leaf Blade ended up being the deciding factor for him to faint. Either way, he was free.
"Oh..It all turned out fine in the end." A relieved Fluttershy said flying over to the fainted Rabbit Pokemon. "Raboot? Are you alright?"
"Raboot..." He would be fine. But some recovery was needed after this. Now wasn't the best time for recovery though.
"Nice work, ya'll." Complementing her Pokemon was Applejack. Thanks to them, Fluttershy was saved from potential captivity and the same went for Bayleef. Granted, it wasn't over yet. The Typhoon Demon may have been knocked over but it was still active.
The demon got back up, witnessing how quickly the tides had changed. One second, there was a grand numerical advantage for the vampires. Now, that has changed ever since the appearance of Applejack. The Typhoon Demon and its crooked smile quickly turned into a frown. It displayed a sense of worry as it was still a sentient being.
Applejack smirked with her Pokemon standing by her, intimidating the Typhoon Demon. Audino would heal Raboot and Bayleef with Heal Pulse whilst Applejack would take care of the rest from here. From this realization, the demon was thinking about retreating.
"Don't you dare leave!" But the voice of Opal Vivacity said otherwise. She finally reappeared from the underground, slowly walking past the Typhoon Demon. Though Raboot and Audino were free, the bandages were still active, having a seemingly endless quantity with no visible source.
"I forgot about you," said Applejack. "We have a lot of cleaning up to do here before we can continue having fun."
"Please, Applejack. Give me and Audi time to heal up Raboot and Bayleef." Fluttershy pleaded. "I need those clouds to break away for her leaves to help up fast but..."
"Gotcha. All I gotta do is get rid of that Typhoon and it's all clear skies from here. Not such a good thing for you vampires once that Sun shows up."
"Hm-hm." Opal suddenly closed her eyes before letting out a light chuckle. "Hahaha!" That light chuckle then turned into a vicious and maniacal one, confusing her opponents. "Oh, do I have a surprise for you..." By taking one step, Opal suddenly manipulated the ground.
A tremor came by, unexpected from somepony like Opal. She was strong but not this strong. Not originally, however as Applejack nearly lost her balance. This sudden tremor made her worry about what else she could possibly be hiding.
"Oh yes. I can safely say that her ability will be mine. Go." Opal trotted while the Bandage Demon and the Typhoon Demon would go in for one final gambit. It looked to be a final attempt as the intensity from these demons radiated a red aura, showing just how desperate they were to claim victory. Though, the Typhoon Demon wanted out of here soon.
"Frenzy Plant! Dark Pulse!"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile and Delta Riolu would give it their all as well with massive roots flying out alongside a pulse of darkness. It looked like this would be a full-on collision between the two attacks. Twisting and turning were the roots and the bandages fighting against each other while Riolu's Dark Pulse was in a turbulent clash with the Typhoon Demon which as now considerably weaker than when it first showed up. All thanks to the damage that's been accumulated.
And then along came Opal, spreading her vampiric wings out. She then took flight, eyeing down Bayleef. With her fangs bearing, this was also a final attempt on her part. Applejack stood in her way, steadfast to protect her friends even if it meant a close-up encounter with a vampire.
And that's when Opal's surprise came in. It started with unleashing shadows from her hooves. Shadows that greatly resembled that of Shadow Punch. In fact, they were shadow hooves just like Shadow Punch as they suddenly grabbed Applejack. "What the-" Applejack was thrown off by this. She expected physical contact instead of this as the hooves raised her into the air, giving Opal free passage.
"Audi! Protect!"
"Audino!" Audino was that last nation, forming a protective shield around her friends. If there was anything that would protect them, it would be this move. But alas, that was when the finale of the surprise revealed itself.
Opal Vivacity had phased through the barrier. To the shock of everyone, she became intangible, much like a Ghost. Audino couldn't believe what she witnessed as with a spurt of speed, she swooped in, grabbing Bayleef with her hooves. Fluttershy tried getting in the way as well, only for Opal to phase through her as well.
"A-Audino!?"
"No! Bayleef!"
"B-Bay" Bayleef was held by the same strength that she used to cause that tremor. Injured, Bayleef couldn't fight back all that much as those shadow hooves from before wrapped around each of her leaves, preventing any usage of them.
"Hang on, Bayleef! I'm-" Applejack yelled as her mouth was covered in shadows. Sceptile attempted to come to her aid, only for these shadows to multiply. The bandages joined the shadows, blocking Sceptile's path and forcing him to keep using Frenzy Plant.
"Surprise! I used the Parasite Demon to take a few things from those Golett your friend has. The powers of a Ghost have so many benefits...But none of it will compare to this!"
Now was the time. The time to steal Bayleef's ability. With a flash of her eyes and a pulse from the Parasite Demon sending red lines out, these red lines pierced the heads of Bayleef. The Parasite Demon searched for an ability as it came across two. The natural ability which was Bayleef's Overgrowth. That didn't matter. It was her ability to change fate. That mattered the most as the Parasite Demon hit the jackpot.
"B-Baaaaaay!" Bayleef screamed out in pain as a devastating flash of red energy eclipsed her body. Her cry was also chilling to the bone, echoing across the skies. Red lights flew out of Bayleef's eyes as the same went for Opal.
"Yes! YES!" Opal bellowed with joy while Bayleef bellowed with pain. The power of the Rift transferred to her. This amazing power entered the body of the vampire. After the red light went off in the sky for many to see from afar, that's when it was all over. The light faded as Bayleef was dropped from above.
Her pupils had faded, seemingly non-existent as she was in danger of hitting the ground hard thanks to the height she was dropped from. Bayleef couldn't save herself as her leaf didn't react at all. None of them did. Audino was the only one there who would save her, quickly catching the Leaf Pokemon.
As for Fluttershy, she was brought back down safely by Opal, who was still holding her. Speaking of Opal, she then touched the ground lightly after descending, with a red smoke surrounding her body, making her a silhouette. But that smoke faded away, showing her with a devious smirk.
She knows what she has done. And she couldn't be happier.
"I did it...I really did it! The power to Change Fate is mine!" Opal declared this s this was her biggest victory yet. She truly succeeded in absorbing Bayleef's unique Rift-based ability as her body even let out Rift particles.
"No way..." Applejack's jaw dropped as she couldn't believe what just happened.
"Hmph." Opal was too happy to even think straight. But she received a quick reminder once the Parasite Demon started twitching. "Now, with this power, I don't have to worry about much. I wonder. How does changing fate work for me?"
However, that's when it happened. The Parasite Demon reached a time limit, aching Opal's head. She twitched, receiving a striking head pain as this was a stark reminder that now was the time to let the Parasite go.
"Ugh! You've done all you can! Return!" Opal groaned, ordering the Parasite to return to the Box of 100 Demons before it gains its own will. The Parasite Demon at the last second listened to Opal Vivacity before potentially going rogue. The rest would be left up to Opal herself.
"Bayleef! Bayleef!" Fluttershy shook Bayleef after seeing her shrunk pupils. Possibly, the sun's rays might not be enough to heal her this time after what had just happened.
"Why you...!" Applejack growled at the vampire, showing further disdain and hatred towards her. And Opal was loving it as this was the best form of payback she could think of.
"Now then. Who wants to be the first to test out my new and wonderful ability?"
A shocking result. Opal Vivacity managed to succeed in stealing Bayleef's power, rendering Bayleef unconscious. Now she was the one who controlled Fate itself, but to what degree? And how exactly will a scuffle against this newly powered Opal turn out? Only time will tell as the journey continues.
The dreaded land of Magehold. Hidden past the Hyperborean Island and somewhere around the Frozen North where vampires and skeletons reside. Over at her throne, Rosa Maledicta was already aware of what Opal had achieved. The power to change fate itself. Truly, a terrifying ability to have. It would fit perfectly at Magehold.
"Well done, Opal. But...will your own weaknesses be your undoing?" Rosa said to herself. "I hope not. You never know what could stand in your way."
Rosa knew that Opal wouldn't be unstoppable with this newfound power. Even if she had the power to change fate, there was always a weakness somewhere. It would only take someone to bypass it. All Rosa Maledicta hoped for was that Opal would surpass that. But her hubris might say otherwise.
Alola. Poni Island. Poni Plains. Afternoon.
"I can feel it...Is this what Bayleef feels?" Opal Vivacity had succeeded in one of her goals. She successfully achieved Bayleef's unique ability that only she could utilize. The power to change fate. And upon gaining it, Opal could already feel a stark difference within her. "I'll be honest. It feels lightyears better than my magic and that already felt glorious."
"Bayleef! Are you alright?!" Fluttershy shook Bayleef, who was unconscious with non-existent pupils. Audino used Heal Pulse, trying to recover the Leaf Pokemon if possible in this shocking state.
"Why you...!" Seeing Bayleef in such a state aggravated Applejack. While her friend was in pain, Opal Vivacity was busy giggling and enjoying the new ability she possessed.
"Hmm...So, that grass dinosaur sacrificed her leaves to make this amazing power work." Opal pondered, focusing on the main crux of this ability. "I wonder what I have to sacrifice?"
"You won't get that chance. I bet ya don't even know how to use that power!" Applejack bellowed.
"Honey, I perfectly mimicked all your Goletts abilities. I think I'll be fine. But if you're so confident, why not test it out? Let's see what I can do." Cocky and confident to the core, Opal stood up in a bipedal position, spreading her front hooves as she was encouraging Applejack to attack her.
"Gladly! Riolu, Dark Pulse!" Applejack was easily swayed due to the anger she was feeling. Just what Opal wanted.
"Applejack, wait!" But knowing this, Fluttershy pleaded with Applejack not to attack. But it was too late. Riolu had already unleashed Dark Pulse. A turbulent pulse of darkness streamed over the blades of grass and all the rubble caused by this battle.
Opal just stood there. Unbothered and not even showing signs of flinching, she was truly going to stand there and let the attack come her way. She had full faith in this newfound power of hers and with the diva that she was, showing off was the best way to try it out.
"That does look like a sure-fire hit." said the vampire with a haughty voice. Dark Pulse was inches away from connecting as it looked like it would fully land without issue. "Too bad it didn't happen."
That is when it happened. Opal Vivacity harnessed the power that she felt within for the first time, releasing it. And what was the catalyst? Much like how Bayleef had to sacrifice her leaves, Opal's mane had been sacrificed too. Four strands of hair came flying out before touching her next. Opal got to witness just what part of her body would lead to this ability setting off.
And as to be expected, the second Dark Pulse got close enough, that's when fate had been altered in her favour. Instead of a silver flash, a jet-black burst went off, covering the area around Opal. And by warping space itself, the pulse of darkness had swayed to the other side, completely missing Opal. It didn't even graze her as the vampire casually stood there with a pompous, proud smirk whilst Dark Pulse blew up behind her.
Applejack expected this but she truly didn't expect Opal to get a hang of it so easily. This one usage of this power was a grim reminder of what has been gained by Opal Vivacity. She was already terrifying in her own right. But this power only elevated that terror.
"Yes...That's the look that I want to see!" Opal grinned, witnessing Applejack's absolute shock. Similar to the Sirens, the vampires enjoyed anything that was deemed negative as it was a positive to them, minus the absorption of magic. And in this case, seeing Applejack stunned was something that Opal hoped to see after the earth pony slowed her plans down.
"Ain't that just great..." Applejack growled.
"Don't worry. It's not like I'm completely passive about this. After all, I have my own Pokemon." Opal waved her hoof before revealing a Poke Ball. "Truth is, I would've never been out of options from the start. Go, Metagross!"
"Metagross!" Emerging out of the Poke Ball was Metagross, surprisingly. The Iron Leg Pokemon had arrived.
"As for the rest...can you continue?" Opal looked at the two demons that were assisting her. The Bandage Demon still had bandages to spare whilst the Typhoon Demon was weakened, showing signs of fatigue. "Hmph. Looks like one of you is nearing the end. But I need you to stay around just for the skies. No way we'll let the sun rays appear at all."
"If you can use it from your hair, then all I gotta do is have you expend it." Applejack, despite fearing what she could pull with this power, knew that it came with a drawback, just like Bayleef's leaves. "Hope you're not too worried about going bald."
"Pah. You mistake me for your fashionista friend." Opal Vivacity scoffed, having the perfect response. "Do you know why I'm so beautiful?" Just then, Opal flipped her mane, using her magic on it as a dark purple light emerged from her body, forcing Applejack and the others to squint.
From that light, a silhouette of Opal's mane could be seen changing. Her mane extended, reaching a length that was as long as a Serperior. It even stood up, floating constantly as if she had the same ethereal energy as Celestia and Luna. Once the light vanished, they got to see the radical length change in Opal's mane. Despite being comically long, it was still elegant and fabulous.
"It's because I'm always making sure I'm beautiful. And I have the magic to do so. So what was that about my mane expending? I never have to worry about going bald."
"Me and my big mouth." Applejack sighed. "Whatever! Still worth a shot! Ya can't be quick enough to use it a lot of times. Sceptile, Frenzy Plant! Riolu, Dark Pulse!"
"Scep...Tile!" By smashing his hands into the ground, Mega Sceptile had formed a massive array of roots that came charging out. Alongside those roots was Dark Pulse as the number of roots would be used just to try and outpace Opal. While the hair sacrifice was out of the question, Applejack knew that Bayleef needed to be fast to use her ability. Surely, the same applies to Opal Vivacity.
"Why need speed when I have Metagross? Use Hammer Arm." Opal ordered before then causing eight strands of hair to fly out. It barely made a difference as her hair was so massive. The strands then touched Metagross who also knew exactly what to do thanks to its supercomputer brain. All it had to do was just stand there.
Fate was changed. This time, with a time reversal. Time was rewound to the point where the attacks never happened. Frenzy Plant and Dark Pulse were sent back. But for Metagross, its movements were not reversed at all. Right as the attacks went back to their original users, the Iron Leg Pokemon came flying in with Hammer Arm, appearing in front of Riolu.
"Rio!" Riolu was stunned as in the blink of an eye, Metagross was in front of him even though it was a matter of time being affected. Right after that, the Delta Variant was smashed by the force of the Hammer Arm, receiving super-effective damage in the process. "R-Riolu!"
"Riolu, no!" Applejack gasped as Riolu was launched far by this blow. Next was Sceptile, who was soon targeted for Hammer Arm as well. "S-Sceptile! Thunder Punch!"
"Tile!" Sceptile acted as quickly as he could. Luckily, he had the speed advantage here as he immediately blocked the incoming Hammer Arm with his bladed arms in the nick of time. It was a heavy clash despite how fast it was, sending sparks flying.
But that wasn't all Sceptile had to worry about. The bandages were still a problem along with the weakened but still active Typhoon Demo. Coming his way were gusts of wind and those endless bandages that proved to be the most troublesome force here.
Metagross made away for these attacks as the Forest Pokemon was struck by all of them. From being whipped and smacked by the bandages to receiving a strong knockback from the gust of winds, Sceptile was assaulted.
"See? I've gotten the hang of it. I don't mean to be all cocky...wait, yes I do. I'm practically unbeatable now! So, what's stopping me from going all out? Metagross, Bullet Punch!"
"Meta!" Metagross continued the assault once Sceptile was on the ground, heading for a high-speed blow.
"Sceptile! Dodge it!"
"T-Tile!" But that didn't happen. Metagross' Bullet Punch moved quick enough to prevent that as multiple steely blows were delivered to the Grass-Dragon-Type, staggering him constantly. And it wasn't just Metagross. The bandages chimed in, assaulting Sceptile yet again. Some of them were even starting to wrap around his body as the bandages were looking for another victim to control. "S-Scep! S-Sceptile!"
"Sceptile, no!" Applejack bellowed with a shaky voice. There wasn't much she could do to stop this assault. But that didn't mean she was out of options. "Riolu!"
"Rio...!" Riolu could barely stand. That Hammer Arm was too potent. Delta Riolu got on his knees, struggling to fully get up as he was catching his breath. If something wasn't done, Sceptile could be taken over.
"Ah, never mind him." Opal suddenly walked past the demons and her Metagross, approaching Applejack. "You have to worry about yourself. As you already know, a vampire is stronger than the average pony. I can do my fair share of action and I doubt an Earth Pony can match me in strength. Aside from that, Fluttershy's still coming with me."
"I ain't low on options! Golett!" Applejack called out for the rest of her Pokemon. The only problem was that those Golett were still occupied with the vampires underground.
Right underground, the Golett were hoping to tire out the vampires with their constant movements underground, but alas, that never came to pass. The vampires didn't show a sign of tiring out as they eventually caught up to the Automaton Pokemon. And of course, the vampires had their own Pokemon to assist them in battle.
"Expecting us to get tired? Sorry. But we have longer stamina than an average pony. Neat, right?" A vampire taunted one of the Golett.
Golett...!" The Golett would find that this was getting a bit troublesome. But they could still hold their own. At that moment, that's when Applejack's voice rang through the underground, resonating with the Golett. "Gol?"
All 10 of them heard that voice correctly. Applejack needed assistance above. They had to stop what they were doing underground just to help her. Postponing their battles with the vampires, the Golett then took mighty leaps but that didn't mean the vampires wouldn't follow them. This was now turning into a battle where the vampires were gaining favourable odds.
All it took was the theft of one ability.
Bursting out of the ground were all 10 of Applejack's Golett, here to defend their trainer like the bodyguards that they were as they gained some airtime upon emerging.
"Oh?" Opal looked up with an unimpressed expression. Altogether, the Golett had used Shadow Punch in unison, attacking Opal Vivacity once they saw she was getting too close. But it wasn't just Opal. Some of these shadowy hands went for Metagross and the bandages. "I wonder...What if I did this?"
Opal would test the boundaries of the Fate Changing Ability. She knew one thing that was clear to everyone. The second it touches any of its allies, any form of danger will be negated. But Opal had to wonder if she could redirect it. Now was the time to test that theory as she made multiple strands of her mane fly out. Some of them touched her while the rest touched the bandages and Metargoss.
Fate was changed. But this time with a violent outcome. As the jet-black burst returned, space had been warped. Shadow Punch was one inch away from Opal, who didn't flinch at all, knowing that she wouldn't be the one to receive a shadowy blow. It would be the Golett.
The Shadow Punches all flew back to Golett, hitting them back consecutively. They received super-effective hits from their own attacks which were unfavourable considering what they had to deal with the underground.
"Gol-" Applejack was about to cry out the names of the Golett before having her mouth covered by the shadows. She forgot about another thing. Opal had also used the Parasite Demon to take the abilities of her Golett. This involved intangibility and control over spectral shadows as her mouth had been restrained by these shadows.
"Can we all agree that I've won? I can't be touched. I can't be threatened and I certainly can't run out of options." Opal spread her wings menacingly before then shoving Applejack aside. Thanks to the stolen strength of the Golett, Applejack felt a tremor-like force affect her body, causing him to slide to the ground instead of traditionally falling over.
"Audino...!" Audino looked to be that last line of defence at this moment as she held out her arms. But Opal knew this was pointless after she previously phased through Audino's Protect.
"All that's left is you, Fluttershy. I wonder what Queen Rosa will think when I get back? I might finally be her most reliable pony. Yes...that's what'll happen. Her amazing magic and my power to change fate. No one can stop us. In fact...I can already guess that we'll reach Yveltal in no time.
"Dino!"
"As for you, Audino...you have good hearing. I recall Cosmos weakening it or cutting it off. Let me do the same to you with my power over the senses." Opal threatened Audino, knowing exactly what Cosmos did to her during that event. Audino gasped. Something like that could never happen again. Audino didn't want it to happen as it struck fear in her heart.
As if things couldn't get any worse, they got worse. The vampires from underground returned, right on time to witness everything in their favour. At the end of the day, the numbers were still too vast, no matter what Applejack's group could do.
At least, that looked to be the case.
"R-Riolu...!" Then there was Delta Riolu, still trying to get back up and help his friends. That Hammer Arm truly did a number on him. The Embalming Pokemon put his all into his muscles when trying to get back up. His eyes flashed gold as his Aura emanated from his body. He held his arm out, channelling all of his Aura into his singular paw.
Right then and there, he unleashed his Aura. A pulse of it came flying over at full force with all of Riolu's passionate spirit behind it. For the sake of Applejack, his Aura was heightened. Opal casually looked at the Aura, unbothered as she knew exactly what to do here.
"Pitiful." Opal released one of her strands of her before showing pity to Riolu. But that's when it happened. The second Opal utilized the power to change Fate, Riolu's Aura resonated with it.
Specifically, it resonated with the Rift Energy. Unexpectedly, the Aura managed to accelerate when responding to the Rift Energy coming from Opal, beating out her hair strands of her hair in a race as she had been smashed in the face by this pulse of Aura. The impact was even louder than expected from something some average-sized.
Opal's head cocked back along with her hair as everyone looked in awe. They couldn't believe what just happened. Riolu had bypassed the ability, causing Opal to fall over with a painful grimacing face too. The impact on her even allowed the shadows around Applejack to vanish as the Fate-Changing Vampire tumbled.
"R-Rio...!"
"W-What...What was THAT?!" Naturally, Opal was flabbergasted to the core. She put her hands over her face as her strands of hair only touched the ground, not changing fate at all. She held her face in pain from that direct meeting with the pulse of Aura before viciously glancing at Riolu.
"That's it!" Fluttershy gasped. "I didn't know why I never thought about this before. All of that power comes from the Rift at the end of the day. And the one thing that can injure and greatly affect the Rift...is Aura!"
There it was. The major weak point to this ability aside from the sacrifices that had to be made for it. Anything Rift-Related whether it'd be an entity or a force of power or anything of the like, Aura was the biggest enemy to it. Of course, there were other forces out there but Aura seemed to always be that one spark in the dark.
"Oh, right!" Applejack sat up. "I didn't think it counted for that. This changes everything. Way to go, Riolu!"
"I-It changes nothing!" Opal furiously yelled as she was already losing her cool. "You mangy mutt! Get him, now!" She took all her anger out on Riolu instantly, commanding the demons to go after him instead.
But losing her cool was one of Opal's greatest weaknesses. Because she focused on Riolu, this allowed Sceptile some freedom from the Typhoon and Metagross.
"I don't think so! Now, Sceptile! Dragon Pulse!"
"Sceptile!" First, Sceptile immediately kicked his leg up, ripping apart the bandages that tried to capture him while also using his sharp blade arms to rip apart the ones that were around his arms. His best friend was a target for these demons and if there was one chance he could save him, now was that chance.
Out of Sceptile's mouth, Dragon Pulse had been unleashed at full power, intercepting not only the bandages but the Typhoon Demon and Metagross thanks to its size. This was before Opal had the chance to use her newfound power as she was too late in response to this high-speed Dragon Pulse.
"M-Meta!" Metagross was knocked over despite receiving minimal damage thanks to its Typing. But the Typhoon Demon wasn't doing as well. It was already weakened from before and this full-power Dragon Pulse only made things worse.
The Dragon Pulse bit into the Typhoon Demon with its fangs. The Typhoon Demon tried resisting, but alas, that was not the case. And this direct contact with the opponents resulted in the Dragon Pulse combusting. The explosion engulfed the Typhoon Demon and the rest of the bandages, incinerating them.
"Told ya! Ya gotta be quick enough to use it! Even Bayleef knows that!" Applejack taunted whilst the explosion went off, blowing her mane and forcing her to keep her hat on. Opal snarled with her vampiric fangs showing.
"Applejack! We should try and leave! Please! To heal everyone else!" Fluttershy pleaded. At this point, she didn't want to continue battling. She wanted to escape and keep everyone safe.
"I hear ya. Return, Riolu!" Applejack agreed as now would be the time to retreat. Though they managed to make a surprising reversal all thanks to Riolu, it was only temporary as this explosion was their only form of cover at the moment.
"You won't escape from me!" Opal shouted spreading out her wings once again along with the other vampires. They were ready to enter a high-speed chase with them if that's what it took. But there was one major obstacle in the way.
The Typhoon Demon was defeated by that final Dragon Pulse. And that meant only one thing. The dark clouds that came from the demon had vanished. And during summertime, there was only one celestial force in the sky that was ready to show itself at this time.
The Sun.
The golden dazzling sun of the universe had shown itself, at last, no longer being limited to just sun rays. Its beauty graced the world once more, spreading its light everywhere. Beautiful to everyone else, absolutely volatile to the vampires. Much like Aura to Rift Energy, the Vampires were threatened as they immediately hissed at the sunlight. Their bodies were already starting to smoke from it.
"D-Darn it...!" Naturally, they couldn't advance and pursue them at all. Not with this sunlight. The only place that was safe right now would be Resolution Cave. Thus, they were forced to retreat as Metagross covered Opal's body.
This confrontation had come to an end.
Seafolk Village.
The one place they could head to was Seafolk Village. Applejack and Fluttershy showed up here, having a moment of solace. Immediately, their first location was the Pokemon Center after what happened to their Pokemon, especially Bayleef.
With her pupils whitened out, she was in a worse state than most, fully unconscious. Luckily, with the Sun out, her leaves could heal now but everything else might need something else aside from the Sun.
"There you two are!" Rushing indoors was Spike who was searching for them. "I've been occupied with those bandages...they got in my way before suddenly up and vanishing. A-Am I late?"
"It's alright, Spike. You were just busy with those things as much as we were." Applejack replied. "Wish you did show up sooner after what just happened. But I don't know if it would've changed much."
"Why? What happened?" Spike asked.
"A lot happened," Applejack added. "I'll fill you in on it."
"Is Bayleef going to be fine?" Fluttershy asked Nurse Joy before looking through the window, witnessing Bayleef comfortably snug in a bed.
"Oh yes. She just received a massive shock through her system. It's rare for a Pokemon to go through that but she'll be alright. But it's almost like something entered her. What exactly happened to your Bayleef?"
Fluttershy also had a lot to say. But right now, there were only two things that mattered the most. Bayleef and Opal. Right now, Opal had access to a terrifying power. The power to change Fate. With someone as cunning as her, there was no telling what she would be able to get away with now that she has that ability on her side.
But it was not all doom and gloom. Now there was an answer. An answer that was always there from the beginning. After what Riolu did, the dependency on Aura skyrocketed. The one thing that can bypass that fate-changing power. Time would only tell what would happen next as the journey continues.
"Hmm...Why'd that Aura have to get in my way?" Over at Resolution Cave, staying away from the dazzling sun was Opal Vivacity and the vampires. She held up a mirror, adjusting her newly massive hair and fixing up her face which was met with a full force smack of Aura. "I swear. Wish there was a counter to that thing too."
"But at least you got what you wanted, Miss Opal." Another vampire replied, looking at the positives.
"I did. Bayleef's ability to change fate is now mine." Opal quickly remembered the positives and they certainly outweighed the negative. "But, what good is that ability if there's something to get in my way?"
"What do we do about that then? Are we still going to go after Fluttershy?"
"Have no fear. We'll handle the whole Fluttershy thing later. But, despite what I mentioned, I believe I can handle the Aura the next time I come across." Quickly, Opal devised a plan. "It reacts to Rift Energy at a volatile level, doesn't it? If I dare use this ability, at the right time, the Aura will resonate."
"Seems like a hassle to me having to deal with that. Maybe we should get out own Aura?" A vampire suggested.
"Even better. I'll use this new ability of mine to absolutely crush Aura!" Opal declared, making the entire cave tremble. "Who was the one who messed around with it? It was a Gardevoir, right? I'll just take lessons from her and get some advice from Queen Rosa. But aside from that, I can do whatever I want with this power. All I have to do is always keep my hair fresh which is a given."
"Seems like a clear match somehow...so, what now? Where do we go from here?"
"I want some payback, obviously. That farm girl and especially that mutt are going to pay more than anything. They're crazy if they think this is over. That Riolu is the one I'm worried about the most. Queen Rosa allowed us to do whatever we wanted ever since that event from last night and frankly, I have nothing else to lose."
"Can't we go elsewhere?" A vampire groaned, preferring to do something else.
"You all do your own thing. I'm not afraid to go at it solo." Opal finally finished polishing herself up. "With this ability, I'll give her a fate that she'll never forget. Humiliating me like that is unforgivable. The next time we cross paths, I'll make it all the more personal and my victory against her will be all the more stupendous."
"Hm. Can't argue against it." Her fellow vampires shrugged. Revenge is something they weren't against. If anything, they thrived off of it, especially Opal.
"But I need you all to do something for me. While I deal with my payback, think you could all cause a ruckus at the nearest civilization?" Opal requested. The vampires would gladly do so. They had the means to cause some more mayhem and already, Opal knew specifically what she wanted them all to do.
Seafolk Village. The Pokemon Festival.
"Bay...!" Despite being sent to the Pokemon Center to recover, Bayleef was still uncomfortable. After what happened back at Poni Meadow, the Leaf Pokemon began squirming. At least she was awake but in a painful state.
"Oh, dear. You're still not feeling any better?" Nurse Joy observed Bayleef, putting a warm towel over her head. "I was sure you'd be fine eventually..."
"Bayleef..." Waiting patiently for Bayleef to recover as Fluttershy. Raboot, Sceptile, Riolu and all the Goletts had been nursed back to health except for Bayleef who was still suffering.
"So, that's what happened. And you're sure they're around Resolution Cave?" Sharing this news to Officer Jenny was Applejack who also informed Spike and Nurse Joy about everything.
"I think so...That's the only place they'd try and hide at. That or they went somewhere else." Applejack replied, unsure as to where the vampires would be right now after their surprise attack. Realistically, anywhere without sunlight would be the obvious answer.
"But there's a vampire running around with Bayleef's ability now. What do we do about that?" Spike questioned. "I mean, you've got your Aura to help us but she might mess up some stuff that we can't fix."
A troubled Applejack crossed her hooves, thinking about all the horrific possibilities that could come from this. "She can do whatever she wants. If anything goes wrong, it'll go right for her."
"But can Bayleef still use it, Applejack?" Spike peered over at the window. "I mean...Audino still can hear better than everyone else and that Parasite Demon took her ability too."
"Eehhh...Probably. Just gotta give Bayleef more time to recover. Right, Nurse Joy?"
"I believe so." Nurse Joy walked over. "Give her some time instead of rushing her. From what you told me, it sounds like the biggest shock to her system has happened to her body and may be unmatched by anything else. How important was that ability of hers?"
"Very. She had it when she was Chikorita. Bayleef got so used to it that it became a part of her everyday life. And all those leaves around her were connected to it." Fluttershy explained. "But I never imagined something like this would happen."
"That explains it. This shock to her system shouldn't be disturbed. I'd advise Bayleef to take a back seat from now on. At least until her system recovers itself."
"And thank you for telling me about the vampires. I already have my family across certain parts in the world handling with them right now." Officer Jenny sighed.
"Right now?" Fluttershy, Applejack and Spike repeated.
"Oh, right. You don't know. Not too long ago, all of a sudden, reports of attacks had been sprouting up recently. It's from the Dread League. They're as active as ever right about now."
Kanto. Lavender Town. Afternoon.
Indeed. Ever since Rosa Maledicta's bitter mood, the order for the Dread League to do whatever they wished to this world was made. Music to the vampire's ears, they chose different spots in different regions, unleashing terrors upon them. Whilst Opal had the Box of 100 Demons, some vampires used other items exclusively from Magehold to cause mayhem.
And beautiful Lavender Town was under attack at the moment. In this case, the people, ponies and Pokemon here were trapped. They were being held back by shadows of themselves, surprisingly. Shadow variations of their original bodies restrained them, preventing the originals from moving at all.
As to be expected, this was all because of an item. In this case, a mirror. One of the vampires held up a mirror that shared a fitting property. "Here you go!" She aimed at another victim, showing the pony her reflection. And upon showing her reflection, her shadow had been stripped from her body. Once her shadow emerged, stunned by fear, it paralyzed the original owner, taking advantage of her fears.
Another victim joined the crowd. As for Officer Jenny, she was active but was faced with a problem. Multiple mirrors were in the custody of the vampires. She was currently in hiding, making sure not to be caught by the mirrors and their cursed powers. When aiming to take in the vampires, she did not expect to be met with this.
"How am I supposed to get past this?" Officer Jenny said, taking deep breaths. It didn't help that the vampires were flooding the area rapidly with their flight. Jenny would have to find a way to get past those mirrors.
Unova. Lacunosa Town.
Lacunosa Town was also under attack. But the difference here was that Officer Jenny and her fellow officers could retaliate. The vampires had their usual objects to cause mayhem but in this case, it wasn't working in their favour here at Unova.
"What do you mean it absorbs fire?!" A vampire gasped as the object in question set things ablaze. However, there was one issue preventing total destruction. Jenny's Arcanine and Swanna. One can absorb fire with Flash Fire and the other could put it out as well as the other officers and their respective Pokemon.
This came as a shock to the vampires. Setting the town ablaze did not pan out at all, not when there were Pokemon that were tailored made to handle the flames.
Their only defence now would be their own Pokemon going up against the Pokemon of the law. But with all these attacks, despite the vampires doing it just under Rosa's order, there was another reason for it. Ros wanted Daybreaker to appear. Or at least her forces. After all, Daybreaker would also stand in her way.
Back at Magehold, Rosa, who could communicate with her subjects even from another world, was waiting patiently for Daybreaker's appearance.
"She wants to stand in my way, does she? Then...even if this world isn't hers, something precious exists here that she wouldn't want gone." Of course, Rosa also referred to Equestria rather than the Pokemon World.
The power of Yveltal was dangerous enough to garner attention from Daybreaker, prompting her to make sure that the Dread League never find this Pokemon or even harm Equestria and the world. The Pokemon World to an extension, only because of Necrozma.
And of course, the Pokemon World wasn't the only place under attack. It was Equestria as well. Rosa expected either possibility. Either Daybreaker shows up to prevent further discovery of Yveltal or she steps in to prevent anything important in Equestria from being obliterated. Either way, Rosa's Dread League would be there in response.
Kalos. Couriway Town. Afternoon.
And then, there was Luna. The one who truly mattered to Daybreaker. She left Snowbelle City, taking to the skies and witnessing the events happening above. Specifically at Couriway Town. Before she could have the chance to reach Galaxy Master, wherever he may be, there was this issue.
Luna didn't hesitate to get involved with them. And the appearance of the Princess of the Night stunned the vampires who attacked this peaceful festival.
"Princess Luna?!"
"I need to make this quick. Galaxy Master's out there somewhere and this crystal isn't going to go to waste." Luna declared as she was rather annoyed by this. She already had to deal with Galaxy Master and now this new issue was just a hassle more than anything.
When facing Princess Luna, the vampires were noticeably intimidated. Compared to everyone else, Luna was of the highest importance and was definitely strong enough to handle things without her Pokemon. Certainly stronger than a vampire and all the capabilities of a Pokemon as she wasted no time in casting a spell.
There was the moment Rosa was looking for. Luna. She knew clearly that Daybreaker would certainly have to come here just for Luna after what was shared about her universe. Rosa saw an advantage and knew she'd be foolish not to try and capitalize on it. What better way to do so than to endanger Luna?
Universe 11. Equestria. The Solar Empire. Canterlot. Afternoon.
Over at the Solar Empire in this universe, Daybreaker already had to change up her plans. Aside from healing Necrozma, now she was concerned with what the Dread League does concerning Yveltal. After all, they threatened to attack multiple worlds now.
It was only natural.
"Hmm..." She even took the time to write it down. She gathered a list, writing down what needed to be done. First was healing Necrozma and right behind that was stopping the awakening of Yveltal. And behind that was everything else that Daybreaker would get to eventually. "Ah...I can't expect either to come sooner. Perhaps, I can-"
"Your majesty." Interrupting Daybreaker and entering her prestigious throne room was no one other than this world's counterpart to Raven Inkwell. "Ghetsis seems to be finished."
"Hm. That was longer than the 10 extra hours he requested." Daybreaker put the list away. "But that's strange...I would've been the one to let him out. Don't tell me he escaped by himself?!"
"He did." Raven bowed. "By himself, he left that dimension immediately. And well...he looks to be heading elsewhere, your majesty."
"Elsewhere?" Daybreaker pondered. "Ghetsis. I wonder what you've learned back in that world and what you could possibly bring to the table now. Because that world only exists for a reason."
Couriway Town.
Back in Couriway Town, Luna had successfully wrapped things up here. The vampires stood no chance as immediately their items were restrained via the usage of Luna's chains. The same chains that could even restrict the terrifying power of Nightmare Moon.
All these vampires had been restrained by the chains alongside their Poke Balls, unable to have their Pokemon help out.
"That should keep you steady for Officer Jenny and the rest," Luna commented. "I genuinely don't have time to deal with you. I fear the full revival of the Rift more than I do the awakening of Yveltal."
"No fair..." A young vampire commented.
"If I knew where Galaxy Master was, however...I would find him. The only thing I can bet for is the night sky and the golden light he leaves behind." The alicorn sighed as she was certainly far from finding Galaxy Master. He could be in any region right now but the trouble was knowing which one and where.
The vampires would try their last-ditch effort. Exploding. Much like how Night Sprout horrifically blew up in front of Celestia, the same could happen to Luna this time. But they had nothing to fear. They had that special chamber that would retrieve their bodies no matter what. However, that never occurred.
The chains said otherwise, restraining their power. Unfortunately for them, they were stuck until something else was done by this and their only hope was that Queen Rosa would interfere with this.
And something would interfere. Luna, who was about to depart, halted her imminent flight for something else. Her ears twitched as a new noise came by. This was a peculiar noise to Luna. It didn't sound like anything from Couriway Town. By looking up, she spotted something. Something devoid of colour but very visible.
"A black...comet?" Luna uttered, witnessing something dark coming this way. "Or a black shooting star? What is that?"
"Could it be her majesty?!" The vampires immediately thought about Queen Rosa, believing that this was her, coming to their rescue.
Alas, that was not the case. The second this black form of energy showed up, touching the ground, it immediately struck fear into the vampires. They shuddered in a heartbeat, even feeling their hearts skip a few beats. Judging from their reaction, this wasn't Queen Rosa.
This black form of energy expanded itself, reaching the vampires after scaring them. Luna stood her ground as her mane blew in the wind from this striking entrance. She was almost lifted from the ground even.
"Seems I get a bit dizzy after using that with how I am now..." A voice came from this veil of darkness. A familiar and intimidating one that Luna never forgot about. "Oh well."
"That voice. Isn't that...!" Luna shuddered, knowing exactly who this was. But she couldn't believe that this individual would make an appearance now of all times.
Ghetsis.
Ghetsis had returned to this world after finishing his time within that strange dimension. With his black cloak flowing menacingly, he immediately gazed at Luna with his crimson eyes. This was the third surprise in a row for Luna. First Galaxy Master, the vampires and now Ghetsis' arrival.
"Why are you here?!" Luna growled, staving away her fears to try and intimidate Ghetsis, but that wasn't working, even with a magical aura appearing around her horn. But the second her voice was raised to him, that's when Ghetsis responded with true intimidation.
Without him needing to say a word, he instantly made Luna silent. Luna could feel something new from Ghetsis. It was invisible to everyone's eyes except for her as this dark pressure was sending chills down her spine.
"So that was your magic. I picked up on something here that was flowing magic but I should've guessed it would be you." Ghetsis commented.
"So, you came here for me?" Luna replied with a sweatdrop as her fears about Ghetsis were starting to usurp.
"I'm not here for you. Or anyone else. I was just gravitated here by what I felt. I thought I'd come to find something worthwhile and take advantage of. But that's not the case." Ghetsis turned around as surprisingly, he wanted nothing to do with Luna at all. He'd rather be elsewhere.
"Wait!" Luna thought otherwise, halting Ghetsis. "You can't just leave outright. Not after everything you've done. We've been trying to reach you ever since you hid away at Universe 11...As if I'd waste this opportunity to try and detain you. I've already done it to these vampires."
"Are you sure you want to do this right now?" Ghetsis questioned before turning to face her. "These past 30 years are something that many shouldn't bother to try and tackle."
"I'm positive." Luna retained her steely resolve, deciding to tie up one more loose end before she gets to Galaxy Master. And that was stopping Ghetsis here and now. "I'll make sure you can never escape again!" She declared holding out a Poke Ball.
"So be it." Ghetsis would stay behind just for this. Out of his black coat, he revealed his arm and his Poke Ball, throwing it into the air. "Go, Hydreigon."
"Go, Aurorus!" Luna knew which Pokmon to use against Ghetsis' ace. She easily expected him to use Hydreigon first before anyone else as Aurorus and Hydreigon had entered the scene.
"Aurorus!"
"Hydreigon!"
"Freeze him over with this, Aurorus! Ice Beam, now!"
"Auro...!" Aurorus was going in for a full-on super-effective attack without wasting any time. Her opponent was Ghetsis so it had to be taken seriously no matter what as Luna was expecting Ghetsis to use his magic in this.
"Hydreigon. Dark Pulse."
"Hy...Drei...!" Hydreigon would respond in kind. By cocking all three of his heads back, he built up darkness from within, channelling his dark thoughts. All those dark thoughts became power before being unleashed in the form of spiralling black and dark purple waves.
And as soon as they emerged, at unprecedented speeds, Dark Pulse immediately obliterated Ice Beam. It was barely a contest. Aurorus gasped as she was consumed by this darkness but it wouldn't be just her. The speed it moved at not only gave it little time to crush her Ice Beam and consume her but it would also have enough time to reach Luna.
Princess Luna, flabbergasted by this, was quick to try and put a defensive shield. Dark Pulse reached her right as she made the shield, brutally attacking it as Luna was taken aback. Dark Pulse came to an end as quickly as it arrived, finishing off by turning into a black dome, covering Luna and Aurorus in it respectively. It didn't leave any destruction surprisingly once it fizzled out, but what it did leave was the downed body of Aurorus.
"A-Aurorus..." Aurorus dropped to the ground, fainting with just one attack.
"I-Impossible..." Luna almost fell to the ground as her barrier was cracked, failing to defend against it. But at least she managed to stay conscious. "Aurorus..."
"I told you I don't have time to deal with you." Ghetsis replied, returning Hydreigon. Luna breathed in and out as there were tatters all over her just from one Dark Pulse. Withstanding it could be seen as a miracle, almost. Getting back up seemed to be troublesome as well as the Princess of the Night growled at Ghetsis.
"How...? How'd you get like this?" Luna lowered her head, trying to make sense of this great jump in strength that Ghetsis obtained. "I can't lose here..."
"Of course you won't. Your determination to get back up will let you persevere until something victorious can be claimed. But for now...stay down and accept your loss. I'm headed to Unova." Ghetsis walked off. "There's something I need to do. I should've done this a long time ago,"
"Why don't you just finish me off here while you have the chance?" Luna questioned, noticing how Ghetsis left without doing much. He just showed up, defeated Luna and simply decided to leave. "What is this all about?"
Ghetsis had a reason. And the unknown dimension was to thank for that as he faced Luna once more. He didn't say much before continuing to walk off. As for Luna, she dropped to the ground, finally unable to stay steady. All she could do was keep those chains active and watch Ghetsis leave as Officer Jenny and her forces were on their way.
"I'm coming home. And I'll rebuild what I left and lost back there." Ghetsis said to himself, having something new on his mind. "And as for you Luna...I can't rush things now. Besides, you have friends by your side who will come for you. Won't they?"
Princess Luna, Suffering a shocking defeat, could only watch as Ghetsis was headed to Unova. What could he be shooting for and what was he trying to rebuild at where he considers home? Time would tell as the journey continues.
Kalos. Couriway Town. Pokemon Center. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
"Curse it all...So quickly? How did we even get here?" Feeling bitter was Princess Luna, who was currently recovering her strength at Couriway Town, which was previously attacked by vampires. Luna managed to stop those vampires before things could get out of hand but at the same time, the sudden arrival of Ghetsis lead her to suffer an instant defeat despite being warned not to confront him.
"This fill-in of recent Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon have been abundant lately." Nurse Joy added. "Everyone this month must be feeling daring. But anyway, your Aurorus is fully healed, Princess Luna."
"Many thanks." Equally recovered was her Aurorus."And what do you mean by this? Have there been more here?"
"Well, elsewhere. Every Nurse Joy stays in touch with each other if you didn't know. And right now, other places are suffering from what happened here. Minus you saving the day."
"There are other vampires?!"
"Apparently so. You can read the news to catch up since it's gaining traction. Oooh, Audino~" Nurse Joy whistled for her Audino to show up.
"Audino!" Along came Audino, holding a newspaper before tossing it in Luna's direction. With instinct, Luna caught it midair via magic, wasting no time heading straight for the headlines.
Soon, Luna would learn that this Dread League predicament spread faster than she expected. In just a few minutes, the vampires made their moves, attacking various locations in different regions under Rosa Maledicta's order to let them do what they wanted to do simply.
Only news about the Dread League was visible, describing how vampires suddenly appeared, attacking cities and towns. In addition, there was yesterday's news with the previous vampire attack as well.
"The Dread League might finally be making their first moves. But this doesn't look like it's based around Yveltal." Luna observed. "These just look like random attacks more than anything...something must be up. But do I go after them first or focus on Galaxy Master? Ahh...Why is the Pokemon Festival always filled with something crucial? I wish the only crucial things were the events in this festival." Luna groaned. Frankly, she was just wanting peace at this point.
"Well, that's why there's everyone else fighting the good fight. Like him." Nurse Joy added, holding the newspaper before flipping a few pages. "It's not all troublesome. You're not the only one trying to stop this, Princess Luna. Take a look."
"Hm? Oh!" After seeing this page, Luna gasped, slightly surprised but deep down, she was somewhat expecting this. The individual who was also in the newspaper was none other than Galaxy Master. "He showed up?"
"Apparently at the speed of light. Or at the Speed of Justice as he said. The second somewhere was being attacked, he showed up in little time and saved that town. Would you believe that there's always news about him going to the next location as soon as he could just for this predicament?"
"I would. And I do." Looking at this made Luna truly realize that her current enemy might not even be her true enemy. With what Darkrai shared, what Young Ash informed her about and what he's done now, her perception of Galaxy Master has changed drastically.
The special crystal was still a last-ditch ace-in-the-hole if things go wrong but the civil option was now top priority for Princess Luna. "Hm. Well, now I know how I can find him. Many thanks, Nurse Joy."
"Oh, it's nothing, Princess Luna. Just doing my job. But...maybe sending newspapers isn't one of them." She chuckled, making a slight joke.
"But...there's also Ghetsis? What could he be up to?" Luna focused on a third issue. Ghetsis. He was the one that led her to enter the Pokemon Center in the first place. She managed to recall his last words once he departed, wondering what he meant by that.
"I'm coming home. And I'll rebuild what I left and lost back there. And as for you Luna...I can't rush things now. Besides, you have friends by your side who will come for you. Won't they?"
Ah...so much to think about." She rustled her hair, agitated by all these issues. The only thing keeping her steady was the fact that Galaxy Master was tackling the vampire problem. That's when it hit her. "Ah. Of course! I can solve two problems at once with this. Yes...Galaxy Master. Here I come."
Hoenn. On the road. Late Afternoon.
On the road of Hoenn, Bertha's SUV was currently on the move with Ash's party still within it. Naturally, they would pick up on the news since it was spreading so fast.
"A lot happened..." Twilight looked at the newspaper. "The Dread League and Galaxy Master in the same category. So much is happening across the world right now."
"And we're probably missing out. That's a bummer." Hilbert crossed his arms, preferring to get into the action right about now instead of thinking about the severity of it.
"It's a good thing that character of Ash is helping stop these vampires though." Sci-Twi pointed out. "I guess being a hero is just natural for where he comes from. But why would the Rift let him do that? Isn't it against you and everything you love, Ash?"
"Hmmm...That's a good question." It made Ash ponder. But pondering too hard about it led him nowhere. Ash wasn't one to think deeply about things like this. He was more about finding out via action. "No clue."
"Pika..."
"So, there are seriously vampires running around? Eeugh!" Cloudchaser shuddered. "Vampires...I hoped they never existed but..."
"Rest easy, my little pony," Bertha added. "You have someone out there handling that for you. But it's not out of the question to believe we'll see some vampires along the way. They might already be around us too."
"Don't say that..." Cloudchaser lowered her head from Bertha's last sentence.
"We'll be at the airport soon and we'll head to...wherever's best. I hope none of you gets travel sick." The Elite 4 Member chuckled.
"Oh, I should check on them at this time." Now, Twilight got out her Xtransceiver, getting in touch with the rest of her friends. She had them all in alphabetical order with Ash and Applejack sharing the top spot. Going for Applejack first, she gave her earth pony pal a call. "You know...with all the vampires."
"Call Princess Celestia while you're at it." Flitter leaned in. "You know...for the show. I mean, all the princesses have each other on speed dial, right? Am I getting that right?"
"Howdy, Twilight." Right then, Applejack answered, speaking to Twilight. "Glad to see another friendly face right about now."
"Hi, Applejack. How goes things? Is your Pokemon Festival going great?"
"Uh, for the first three days. Then today, not so much." Applejack sighed as she wished it was all good from here. But alas, she's learned by now that can never be the case. Not yet at least. "Vampires happened."
"Oh, they already got to you." Rainbow Dash added. "But you look completely fine."
"I do. I do. Everyone does. Well...except for Bayleef. She's recovering after a shock went through her system. Some vampire took her special ability for herself and it freaked the poor girl out."
"What did you say?!" Ash, Twilight and Rainbow Dash consecutively gasped. All three of them knew what this meant. Bayleef's special ability was too important not to know about due to how powerful it can be and how many times it's saved some of them.
"Yeah. I don't know if she's lost it though. Audino had the same thing happen to her but she can still hear as if nothing happened. Bayleef took a heavy hit from that shock though. But she'll recover. Eventually..."
"She got her blood sucked?!" Cloudchaser assumed the most common trait of the vampire and that's how legends say they suck blood, but that was not the case. Though, some could consider it similar.
"Where are you now?" Ash asked.
"We're leaving Alola right about now, heading to Kanto next by boat. On the bright side, we got away from those vampires. My partner Riolu sure could get past that ability with that Aura of his."
"Hm? Are you saying that Riolu bypassed that ability?" Twilight questioned. "That sounds like what you're implying. But then again...it does come from the Rift."
"Pretty weakened too. Riolu just couldn't let everyone get hurt after all." Applejack added, chuckling. "What a guy!"
"In a weakened state? That's impressive..." Rainbow Dash nodded slowly.
"But it's to be expected." Bertha had something to say. "You may already know this but Aura can be tied to your emotions as well. Specifically around those you care for. The thoughts of those you love and the bonds you share with them can heighten your Aura. Ash already knows about this, doesn't he?"
"Sure do. I've felt it a lot when I battle. But I never thought that my emotions had to count for something too. Sweet..."
"We'll meet you back at Unova at a later time then. Best Wishes to Bayleef and the rest. Stay safe from vampires while you're at it. Since uh...we met one but we didn't know. Well, Pinkie Pie knew."
"I sure did!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, finally joining in on the conversation.
"Right. Catch ya later!" Applejack hung up the call, promising that they would meet up at Unova at a later time. But right now, they weren't set to go to Unova next. Not before the PokeStar Studios Equestria Film begins production. Their next location would be ambiguous.
With the late afternoon slowly coming to an end, that meant the moon was beginning to rise once again. And at this time, it would be beautiful considering the area the group would be in. Far beyond the setting sunlight out upon the sea, the last hours of the Golden Sun had come before it made way for the Silver Moon to appear.
When heading to the airport, they witnessed various buildings and how they responded to the night. City lights glistened, each of them having aesthetically pleasing colours that could bring some warmth and solace. From blue, purple, pink, red and more.
Riding an SUV was the best vehicle at the moment as Ash and the others could take in the scenery and the beautiful air itself. Seein all the signs and restaurants and how they appeared during this downtime. And this was especially special for Victini, Meloetta and Hoopa as this kind of view was tantalizing to them.
Victini rested on Ash's head, feeling tired just by looking at these city lights. The cars passing by only added to it as every form of light bounced off each other. They couldn't fall asleep now. Not until they reached the airport but they certainly weren't the only ones feeling this way.
To Sci-Twi this was also special considering she's not one for big cities at all. But with what she's gone through so far, she was getting used to it already and this sight only added to it. She marvelled at this sight which she previously used to view on her computer. But being here in person made it lightyears better. There was no comparison.
On top of that, there was the remaining piece of the Sun that decide to stay along even when the moon was up. Amidst these night skies with beautiful stars everywhere, there was a ray of light on the horizon, lingering. These starry skies were slightly pierced by the superior star that was always around, no matter which universe it may be. The Sun. The way its orange and golden glows hid within parts of the starry skies, sticking around for a bit before it would leave was magnificent.
The same went for everywhere else. The Sun still showed itself across the world, mildly being there amidst the beautiful darkness. Celestia, Cynthia and Premium Polish all marvelled at this sight as Celestia wishes she could be the one controlling that Sun right about now. But of course, this world's Sun acts on its own.
The Energetic Light and the Gentle Darkness were in harmony with each other, reminding Celestia about her sister and even everything else. It reminded her of how both forces are equal at the end of the day, despite what happens. This sight was proof of that.
Taking a van across the road were the sirens, joined by Paul, who got a good look at this. Most of them, anyway. Aria and Sonata fell asleep while Paul and Adagio were the only ones to look outside. Adagio also had Kricketot look outside who dozed off just by looking at it. Paul only looked at it briefly before closing his eyes, dreaming about the next battle that would come.
Ponies who came to this world glanced at this, wondering if there was someone out there much like Celestia and Luna who raised the Sun and Moon. They could only think about Arceus, believing he was responsible for this. Either way, they would still admire it for what it was. From the beginning, they were never concerned about how there was another Sun and Moon out there. Pegasi who took the skies had the glory of seeing the lights from above but even at ground level, unicorns and earth ponies were just in love with the view.
Princess Luna, who took the skies, took the time to stop and view the light and darkness in unison, much like her big sister. She stopped by a mountain which was the best place to have this view. In the middle, the sun peered through the mountainous horizon as Luna chose to see this as a sign. A sign that she can persevere past her worries, just like how Darkrai wanted as she continued on her way, taking flight.
And then there were Fluttershy and Applejack. Taking a boat instead of a plane gave them the chance to see the rest of the Alola Seas at this time. Bayleef was resting right now, still recovering from the shock to her system. Fluttershy comforted the Leaf Pokemon at this time, gently caressing her head with her hoof.
Bayleef seemed to be at peace when sleeping, instead of writhing and twitching like before. As for her leaves, they did end up healing thanks to the Sun and the leftovers were restored because of the mild orange glow. Fluttershy still worried about what could become of this ever since Opal attacked but for now, she could let the skies stave her fears off for the meanwhile.
For now, all was calm.
But the vampires wouldn't let that happen at all. At this time, they would come out to play. Amidst this peace, there were still locations that were threatened by the vampires. Lavender Town was a big victim of it after the shadows of the crowd managed to restrain them all.
Officer Jenny tried what she could but the numbers beat her out. Thus, Jenny's shadow held her down too as this entire city sunk into despair. And the vampires were loving it. While the Sun shined everywhere else, here, the darkness covered the sun, masking the shadows.
The vampires, being cocky as they were, took the time to partake in the Pokemon Festival while everyone was restrained. And with insult, did it to their faces.
"Mmm! We've been missing out!"A vampire said, scarfing down all the delicacies here while the crowd was powerless to do anything. Petty as they can be, some of the more fashionable vampires took accessories from a few humans and ponies just to dress themselves.
"This isn't a bad place to settle down at some time. Especially when it becomes a part of Magehold." Another vampire added, casually sitting down while innocents suffered. "I would say this is paradise but...no. Let's head somewhere in this world that is considered paradise."
"I think not!" Someone responded to them, echoing a voice across the skies. The vampires looked around, wondering what that sound could be. When looking up, they saw something in the night skies.
A golden light came zooming down. Two of them. Those two lights belonged to certain individuals who responded to the attack of the vampires as their appearance was too visible to ignore in the darkness.
And that's when Luna came in. She already remembered how she found Galaxy Master that way. She was waiting for Galaxy Master to appear once again in the night skies, hovering high up in the air for minutes on end. She waited long enough at this point as those two golden lights were a good sign.
"It's him," said Luna before following the direction of those lights that greatly resembled shooting stars. Bringing the crystal along with her, she intended to try and make this the last encounter with Galaxy Master.
But of course, much like the recent encounters, there was always the Rift. And at this point, after receiving some energy back from Galaxy Master, the Rift felt a bit more confident to get involved instead of staying back for a while. It still didn't have everything it needed back but it had something it could use. Refusing to have its chances of restoring its energy vanish, the Rift was already expecting Princess Luna at this point.
But back at Lavender Town, Galaxy Master and Pikachu made their entrance, sticking superhero landings which had blown away the accessories from the vampires just from the pressure alone.
"W-What is this?! Who are you!" A vampire bellowed after losing her stolen accessories.
"Hm? That is a good question! Allow me to introduce myself!" He spoke before he and Pikachu struck their poses yet again. It was a tradition at this point for them to do so."A flash in the cosmos! A light appears before the world to heed its sorrow and plea! From spacetime itself, I appear! "The Superstar! Galaxy Master!"
"Pikachu!"
"And I appear as well." Luna came to a screeching halt, landing on atop the nearest building instead of fully showing up to the scene. After all, Galaxy Master could be considered on her side due to how he sought out to stop the vampires as well. Why try and stop a good deed, especially with what has happened here?
But in Luna's case, perhaps she could get involved with something. Aside from confronting Galaxy Master later on, the shadows of these victims were not to be ignored. Those mystical mirrors from Magehold and the malevolence they possessed were already present to her. Luna knows a thing or two about the shadows after all. She would make her move and so would Galaxy Master. But there was a third party involved. The Rift and the ace-in-the-hole, the crystal.
Both Luna and the Rift had the same idea in mind. The same goal but with a differing path. This would indeed be the last encounter and they were going to make sure of it as the journey continues.
At Magehold, currently under control and working for the Dread League was Fantina. Still, she had no idea what truly happened to her and Hearthome. She was only thinking about what to do. Just what Rosa wanted.
Her only mission was to teach the vampires about Pokemon and listen to orders. Nothing more, nothing less. Not like she could do anything. But despite this cruel act, Fantina's Pokemon were a smash-hit with the young vampires, considering that they love anything horrific. And since each of Fantina's Pokemon are capable of horrific things, no issues were formed here at all.
On this night, Fantina continued tutoring them, sharing with them the basics of Pokemon that were easy to get through. Everything else would take some time.
"Alright, settle down children," Fantina spoke to them as the children couldn't resist spending time with her Pokemon. They would gather around these spectral species just to mess around. "It will almost be time for me to head back to my room at this point, so let's finish up what we have left, okay?"
"Ms Fantina! Your Pokemon are the best!" A colt vampire had half his body inside of Dusknoir's open body which led to the afterlife.
"Why, thank you. I'm still shocked that you children can be so casual around them. I suppose being a vampire and living here has its benefits that not many can have."
"We want more! More Pokemon like this!"
"More? Don't you have Pokemon of your own?" Fantina questioned, seeing that these young vampires each had Poke Balls. Mainly Dusk Balls with a rarity of standard Poke Balls.
"Yeah, but we want more Pokemon like this! More Ghost-Types, please!"
"Oooh! Maybe a Poison-Type too!" The children were clearly eager for these kinds of Pokemon. They had their preferences and weren't afraid to spout them out, despite how ominous it may be.
"Well...I suppose we can do that. How about I take you all on a trip to catch Pokemon? Tomorrow, I mean. But let's remember to stay safe. I'll have to speak with your seniors to get this permission though."
"That's fine. But make it a strong Pokemon this time. One that can do this to hoof." One of the vampires revealed that this hoof had come off. All because he interrupted Gengar whilst it was eating, removing his own hoof as Gengar was stunned in disbelief.
"Oh! Y-Your Hoof!" Fantina gasped while Gengar felt like throwing up after what just occurred. The Hearthome City Gym Leader felt like fainting on the spot, witnessing this dismemberment.
"Don't worry. It'll grow back. I'm a pretty fast regenerator if you must know."
"Not as fast as Mr Fractured Note. You only brag about it because we can't regenerate as fast as you." A fellow vampire nudged him as they then started bickering.
"W-Well...I think this is a good place to call it a day." Fantina didn't bother questioning this anymore. It was clear these young vampires thrived on horrific things. And it was best to leave it at that. If anything, it reminded Fantina about herself and how she came to love Ghost-Type Pokemon.
Speaking of which, despite how she was casually going along with living here, her Ghost-Type Pokemon, specifically Mismagius, felt that something was amiss. Very amiss.
The vampires all scattered, returning to their respective homes. Fantina received a home here at Magehold with a room and everything. One of the various buildings was free for her to live in.
After leaving the school, she was met with her new home which was greatly different from what she had back at Hearthome City. But despite the changes, it still looked pleasing.
From the outside this house looked posh and extravagant, fitting with the theme of Magehold. It may be creepy but it wasn't dirty. It has been built with brown bricks and has granite decorations. Tall, rounded windows add to the overall style of the house and have been added to the house in a very symmetric way.
The house is equipped with a small kitchen and one modern bathroom, it also had a surprisingly cosy living room considering the location, four bedrooms, a cosy dining room, an office and a large basement. For a place of darkness, this looked very light and comfortable.
The building was shaped like a circle. The two extensions extend into a patio to each side. The second floor is bigger than the first, which creates several overhanging parts on several sides of the house. This floor follows the same style as the floor below.
The house itself was surrounded by a well-kept yet eerie garden, with a black-grass field and mysterious flower patches at the edges of the garden.
"Hah...What strange children." Fantina lay on her bed, sighing. "But...it's good that they want to learn so much about Pokemon. And yet...I can't help but wonder about this place. Is this my home?"
Fantina had to think about it. Though Rosa made it so that she was permanently a part of Magehold, the Gym Leader couldn't fully recognize this building. Her old home looked different from this. Either way, she was going to get used to it. She had to. That involved looking at the rules of this place and that certainly couldn't be avoided since there was a list of them on her walls.
And by seeing them, she saw how aggressive they appeared to be.
This provincial law dictates all those found guilty of public indecency will face the punishment of long-term solitary confinement. ---------------------------- This provincial law dictates all those found guilty of escaping from Magehold will face the punishment of short-term servitude. ---------------------------- This provincial law dictates all those found guilty of missing the Box of 100 Demons will face the punishment of long-term servitude. ---------------------------- This provincial law dictates all those found guilty of betraying, overthrowing or assaulting the Lich Queen will face the punishment of an 'Eye for an Eye'.
"Hmmrggh..." Fantina grumbled as all she could do was go to sleep and prepare for tomorrow morning. But at this time, the vampires were active as opposed to the morning. They were indeed nocturnal some would say.
Kanto. Lavender Town. Nightfall.
Lavender Town. The Noble Town. A small town covered in a beautiful hue of purple. It is a solemn, quiet town where people come to visit their departed Pokémon. But this solemn town was disturbed by the vampires who had trapped them all by using their own shadows to do so.
However, Galaxy Master had appeared, here to save those in need as always. And following his trail via the golden flash in the sky was Princess Luna, here to make this their final encounter. She wasn't the only one planning on doing so. The Rift had the same idea in mind, already present within this area as Luna watched from atop a building.
"Those shadows...Are they being restrained by their own shadows?" Luna observed how the shadows of the victims were holding them back. She was ready to get involved early on without interacting with Galaxy Master yet.
"I'll have you unhand these innocent citizens at once!" Galaxy Master declared, bombastically pointing at the vampires with Pikachu doing the same.
"Says you. Who even are you, costumed freak?" A vampire taunted him while the rest of them laughed at his appearance.
"I already introduced myself! Now is the time for action! Not only do you restrain them...but you frolic around with what they were enjoying themselves with? For shame!"
"Aha...Well then. Let's see what your shadow thinks!" Not bothering to waste any time with him, a vampire held out the cursed mirror to him, expecting to send out his shadows to restrain him. However, upon holding the mirror up to him and Pikachu, something surprising happened.
In fact, nothing happened.
Galaxy Master simply stood there alongside Pikachu, not moving an inch. The vampire scrunched her face trying it again to see if she somehow missed. But she didn't miss at all. But it was a direct view but yet again, nothing happened. "Eh?! W-What is this?!"
"Let us try!" The other vampires would try the same thing, holding out their mirrors to the Fictional Character. Galaxy Master and Pikachu just continued to stand there while multiple mirrors were shown at them, trying to take out their shadows. But lo and behold, that was not the case. No matter how many of them were used and how frantic the vampires moved around just to try and make it work, nothing was happening and nothing would happen.
"What gives?! Why won't their shadows come out?!"
"Ah. Take a look below my vampiric villains!" Galaxy Master exclaimed, encouraging them all to look down. And once they did, they saw the reason for their failed attack.
Galaxy Master had no shadow. Neither did Pikachu. Despite how physical they appeared, there were no shadows around them at all, throwing the vampires off guard. "No shadow?!"
"No shadow?" Luna repeated while watching from afar. "Since when?"
"Now is our chance! Pikachu!"
"Pikaaaaa!" Pikachu already knew what to do. Now that they've caught the vampires off guard, Pikachu could unleash a flare of electricity from his body, which also meant he lit up his body, generating light.
"Gaaaah!" The vampires hissed, moving back as the light from the Mouse Pokemon began searing their bodies. Now it was time for Galaxy Master to continue capitalizing.
"Have some more then! Andromeda Flash!" Galaxy Master added some more light by using his own light from his body.
As Galaxy Master fought the vampires, Luna stealthily approached one of the people trapped by their shadows. She needed to be cautious as these shadows looked to be sentient, therefore aware. Luna decided on the best possible force to fend them off. The light from her magic.
One of the shadows spotted Luna, hearing the sound of magic going off. The moment this shadow turned around, Luna emitted a dark blue flash of magic from her horn, sending it towards the shadow. Upon seeing it, the shadow was affected by this light, similar to how the vampires were hit by the light of Pikachu.
The shadow had been staved off, howling eerily as it dropped the lady who had been caught being held back by it. She got on her knees before then feeling bewildered and stunned.
On two sides, lights were being flared out. One from Luna and one from Pikachu. Sensitive to the light, the vampires dropped their mirrors from this. Quickly, they sent out their Pokemon who weren't sensitive to the light at all.
Luna would gallop around, showing her light to as many shadows. Naturally, something like this would be noticed by one of the vampires. Alas, she was too weak to do something about Luna since Galaxy Master had them all occupied. At this rate, victory would be given to both sides with the vampires being exempt.
"I can fix that for you." And that's where the Rift came in. It was already planning to deal with Luna either way and now was that opportunity to do something. It took advantage of this one vampire that was in the back, using her as a vessel, the same way Galaxy Master sometimes becomes a vessel.
This vampire gasped as she felt a shock in her system. Something abnormal that her body was never meant to feel had taken over. Right now, the Rift had found a vessel to capitalize on as cosmic lights flared from the vampire's eyes. But instead of harming her, these eyes did nothing.
Speaking of lights, just then, the Rift-Controlled Vampire started casually walking despite what was being shown to her. Her body was no longer sizzling from the dual flashes of light that went off from Pikachu and Galaxy Master.
Right now, this vampire was immune to the light. A special rarity of a vampire but it would only be temporary as she picked the mirror. She went off without even being noticed by her friends, who were too busy using their Pokemon for cover from the light.
As for Princess Luna, she was on a roll, freeing as many victims as she could. Each time they were freed, they dropped to the ground either asleep, unconscious or bewildered. Either way, they needed to recover after having their shadows affected.
"Get some rest, Officer Jenny," Luna said to Officer Jenny, who she managed to rescue. Officer Jenny was also out of commission, half asleep at this point. "Alright. At this pace, Galaxy Master and I could save this town together easily. The problem is approaching him after this."
"You won't be approaching him at all, Luna." A voice replied to her. That voice came from the vampire who was speaking for the Rift. Alert, the Princess of the Night swivelled to face this Rift-Controlled Vampire who was walking casually with the lights in the distance going off. That was the first thing that stuck out to Luna.
"Fairly bold for you to come this close to me," Luna replied, shocked that one vampire chose to come this close to her considering everything that was happening.
"I can't afford to have you slow me down constantly with how much you're snooping around." The vampire spoke, giving Luna an ominous feeling. She felt that something was amiss with this particular vampire.
"Strange...a shame you're bogged by one weakness!" Luna readied her horn, causing the vampire to freeze for a bit, waiting for what Luna's next move would be. Luna smirked before unleashing a bright flash from her horn, expanding it to reach this one vampire. But after seeing what it was, the vampire simply stood casually now that she was immune to it.
Thus, she was free to use the mirror without any issues. Luna gasped, shocked that the light did nothing to this vampire, unaware of who it truly was. And upon being shocked, the vampire used the mirror, holding it up to Luna. And as to be expected, Luna did have a shadow as opposed to Galaxy Master and his Pikachu.
"!" Luna's body pulsated, letting out a chromatic flash. The effects of the mirror were starting to occur. Luna felt her own shadow being ripped out of her. A feeling that was not uncommon with her but it was never her shadow that she had to worry about. "U-Ugh...!" Luna groaned as she was starting to resist it, unlike everyone else here who ended up being overtaken instantly by the mirror.
The Alicorn struggled to hold her ground as the hooves of her shadow were starting to show themselves. As always, Luna showed to have the most resistance out of many others in Equestria and to an extent this world as well, aggravating the Rift. It was now that he decided to use some of its recovered power to guarantee Luna's restraints. By adding power to the mirror, it accelerated the curse magic within it. And by doing so, the shadow came out faster.
Thus, Luna experienced what everyone else felt. Having her own shadow out of her did cause some body problems but yet again, she wasn't fully stunned. That didn't stop her from being held back.
"Good. Stay there." The vampire added before then adding the Rift's voice into it. "Everyone else here can move freely except for you. As if I'd let Galaxy Master save you."
"The Rift!" Luna exclaimed, finding out the identity of this controlled vampire. "That explains the light immunity."
"I still haven't fully recovered because of all your interruptions, Luna. Swaying him to your side is one part of that." The Rift scoffed. "Why couldn't you have just enjoyed the Pokemon Festival? Always feeling the need to intervene."
"Apologies." Luna grinned even in her current predicament. "The same thing happened last year. When my subjects are in danger and especially my friends, I can't resist. But why is it that you let Galaxy Master do this which slows down things in its own right?"
"I still crave entertainment. Galaxy Master provides that entertainment for me. After all, who doesn't enjoy seeing heroic antics? He can do whatever he wants so as long as it doesn't involve you. Now! You should sit this one out!" The Rift expelled more of its power. This time, with a limit to how much it can use right now but it was enough. By using its own power, it heightened the shadows that were holding Luna back, only further increasing her restraints.
"Y-You can't keep me here forever!" Luna groaned and growled, trying to overpower her shadow. But this strength was something else. Just then, Luna's eyes were half-shut, feeling the need to close themselves. "What now...?!"
Unable to break free from her own shadow, Luna felt exhausted. It was hard to tell if this was the result of the shadows or the Rift's power. Either way, she felt the need to rest, though her spirit and will said otherwise. Alas, it was pointless as the shadows then covered her mouth, preventing her from staying anything else. Her saddlebag involving her Poke Balls had been ripped away, tumbling on the ground right afterwards.
"Go to sleep, Luna." The Rift turned around before leaving the body of this vampire, causing her to drop to the ground. It did what it needed to do. Silence Luna. This mirror seemed to be the ace-in-the-hole just for that one purpose.
Right now, Princess Luna had fallen asleep. Ironic since it was nightfall at this time. The vampire who had been taken over immediately fell over, unconscious once she was freed from the Rift.
Now, the Rift could expect Luna to be apprehended in some way once Galaxy Master was done with his current scenario. The cosmic entity was feeling somewhat good about itself. After frustration after frustration, doing this filled a void that it so desperately needed. It wasn't payback against Ash but it did involve one of Ash's friends either way.
"Time for the finale! Pikachu! Torterra! Go!" Galaxy Master bellowed as he had recently sent out Torterra. These two working together managed to hold back the opposing Pokemon. With a burst of electricity followed by golden shockwaves that came from the earth itself, the combined attacks of Pikachu and Torterra blew away the opposing Pokemon.
With the advantage of light on his side, Galaxy Master dominated this battle. The Rift wasn't surprised at all. Right now, the Rift needed some time to recover after using a chunk of its power to hold back Luna. But it felt like its work was done here and it expected nothing less from Galaxy Master.
The Rift needed to return to its own dimension just to recover as always. It expected Galaxy Master to deal with Luna thoroughly after the story it shared with the fictional character, albeit one that was favoured by the Rift.
"T-Time to go!" As for the vampires, they were too overwhelmed by this, feeling the need to retreat. They left behind their cursed mirrors, unable to retrieve them considering how close they were to Galaxy Master. It didn't help that Torterra stomped on one of them.
"Torterra!"
"Let's not go after them, Torterra The citizens here need our help first." Galaxy Master halted Torterra from pursuing these vampires who managed to flee. "The shadows are all that's left."
After the vampires fled, Galaxy Master focused on the next task at hand. Freeing them all. Luckily, much like Luna, he had the means to do so. The light energy from the Sea Temple of which he was made out of, would suffice. Of course, there was being cautious around these shadows as they could be unpredictable too.
Luna was at the far back of Lavender Town after choosing to distance herself from Galaxy Master. It worked to her benefit since it would take some time for him to reach here but also to her downfall as the fictional character would never witness what occurred with Luna and this one vampire and even what Luna did to the other shadows, already freeing innocents.
Luna was bound to be found by him eventually, held back by her own shadow while asleep. But, during that time when Galaxy Master continued to help this town, something else happened with Luna.
At this time, ever since Mesprit split something from her, a certain alter-ego would emerge only during the night when she feels the most comfortable. It was not Lunar Ire but instead Nightmare Moon.
Exempt from the shadows, Nightmare Moon began exiting Luna's body. As always, she appeared as a night-sky wisp rather than her full body. Slipping through the view of the shadows by disguising herself in the darkness of the night, Nightmare Moon escaped. Since she was connected to Luna, everything that happened here was memorized by this alter-ego.
Upon leaving Luna, she zoomed away in her wispy body, even taking the time to grab Luna's saddlebag with Poke Balls in them. Sensing the presence of Galaxy Master nearby and the constant flashes that were coming this way, Nightmare Moon fled. She fled the area with Luna's saddlebag, leaving Lavender Town.
And shocking, leaving Luna behind as well.
Route 12.
The wispy body of Nightmare Moon arrived at Route 12. Away from Lavender Town. Here at Route 12, she ended up at a bridge known for its fishing, nicknamed 'Silence Bridge'.
Finally away from the town, she felt the need to emerge as her true self. Nightmare Moon's full body had been brought out, feeling safe at this distance.
"Hoh..." Nightmare Moon took a deep breath once out of that wispy body. On her horn was the saddlebag before she then removed it. This was all she could grab with her current strength. Luna herself, not so much.
"What an unfortunate series of events. Luna. I must regrettably apologize. That one shadow was too strong. Far stronger than the rest because of that cosmic nuisance. You may not hear what I'm saying right now. But have no fear. You and I need each other as much as you deny it. So wait until I do something about this."
Nightmare Moon was not running away at all. Instead, she was only getting a safe distance from a rough position. Right now, Luna was restrained by a Rift-Powered Shadow of Luna who held an unconscious Princess Luna. To make matters worse, there was the presence of Galaxy Master, who Nightmare Moon would rather not approach.
All she had was her current magic level and the saddlebag of Luna's Pokemon to help her with. This was the only part of Luna that was free and unrestrained and ironically, the only one she could count on without knowing as the journey continues.
Kanto. Lavender Town. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
"Princess...Luna?" Currently, Galaxy Master, during his mission on saving the people who had been restrained by their own shadows due to the Dread League, came across Luna. She was another victim since the Rift intervened for a bit.
Freed from her shadows, she was currently asleep after what the Rift had done. Unable to do anything, Galaxy Master now had her where he wanted her. After destroying her shadow, he was met with a curious scenario. He wondered how this occurred.
To cover more ground with saving people, he sent out more Pokemon. Each of his Flying-Type Pokemon could certainly move faster than most of his Pokemon, making it easier to save them while Galaxy Master focused on Princess Luna.
"Strange. She'd never be here, down and out because of those shadows. She's too powerful for that." Galaxy Master knew that there was something amiss. He already respected Luna to the point where he knew that something like this wouldn't be enough to take her out.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu, deciding to be cautious, poked Luna's face to see if she would react. Alas, only a grumble came out of her. She was truly affected like everyone else.
"Hmm...Well, there's no point in stopping her if she's already been stopped." Galaxy Master had no need to do anything else about Luna. She was already down and out. "But...let's get everyone here back to health. Hopefully, the Pokemon Center is open." Surprisingly, Galaxy Master would help her. Seeing her in this state made the fictional character act in the only way he knew how.
"Gh!" Meanwhile, originally planning to rescue her alter-ego after escaping from the prior mess, Nightmare Moon was stunned to see that Galaxy Master was already with Luna. To her shock and surprise, he didn't go by row to save these victims. Instead, the second he saw Luna, he rushed to her without hesitation. Nightmare Moon was hoping to get to Luna faster once all the conflict was over and Galaxy Master would start from afar. That was not the case. She was too late at this point after retreating to Kanto Route 11.
In that small time, Galaxy Master was already walking off with Luna, searching for the nearest hospital while everyone else were picking themselves up. Nightmare Moon, assuming the worst possible scenario, believed that Galaxy Master was kidnapping Luna from the way he was walking off with her. But that was not the case as she bit her hoof. The number difference didn't help either.
"Why did he have to be so close? I wasn't even gone for that long! Darn it all..."
Aggravated by this, Nightmare Moon was stumped. On one hoof, she wanted to get to Luna but on the other, since she and Luna share everything including memories, she knew how powerful Galaxy Master could be and especially how he was made to be unbeatable thanks to a Young Ash. Nightmare Moon, as she currently stands, was unable to do anything. He already picked Luna up, carrying her away whilst Pikachu and Torterra followed.
"Wait? Where's that crystal?" She then thought about the crystal that Luna made specifically for Galaxy Master, looking around. It was then that she realized it was under Luna's possession, lying close to her this entire time. And due to its specialized appearance, Torterra grabbed it with his mouth, taking the crystal with him with a cheery face. He wasn't even thinking about how important it could be. Torterra simply liked the look of it. "What rotten luck...!"
By raising her voice, she drew some attention. Her appearance wouldn't go unnoticed eventually. While hiding behind a building to peek at the current scenario, Torterra ended up catching wind of this alter-ego of Luna.
"Torterra!"
"Hm?!" Galaxy Master and Pikachu were alerted promptly to Nightmare Moon. Soon, all the Flying-Types took notice of her as well. Upon seeing her, the resemblance to Luna shot them in the face but there were clear differences, starting from that height. "P-Princess Luna?! No...Who are you?!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu could already sense the vicious aura coming from this entity. He flared his sacs red as Nightmare Moon only gave out danger signs.
"Rats! What rotten luck! First the Rift now this..." Nightmare Moon growled, using her own magic to pull her mane. "Pretend my existence was never here, peasant!"
"Peasant?" Galaxy Master repeated, never before referred to as a peasant. He expected something else that described him best but in Nightmare Moon's case, everyone was a peasant. In a flash, she retreated, choosing the cowardly out, confusing the fictional character and his teammates. "What was that all about?"
"Pikachu."
"Khh! I hoped to not face him especially. It's not far. That much power from one individual is something I hoped to never encounter. Unless it's me! My only method of getting rid of him is within his vicinity too." Nightmare Moon returned to Kanto Route 12 just to speak to herself.
She grizzled her teeth. Despite having 'Nightmare' in her name, she feared Galaxy Master. Revelations about who he truly was, what he could do and what he was destined for struck fear into her.
"But! This is only a strategic retreat." However, Nightmare Moon continued to act high and mighty, pretending that she wasn't afraid of Galaxy Master at all. "Yes, that is correct. But...Now, what do I do?"
Stumped, Nightmare Moon started thinking about anything she could do at this point. What could she do? There was one thing that sprung into her mind that she could only think about.
"Hmph. Why didn't I go with this in the beginning? I need to find a way to catch up to her level. Perhaps...there's a place for me. A place where I can heighten my magic.." Nightmare Moon closed her eyes, thinking of the best way to gain high magic power. Cocky as she may be, she knew her limits and it was time to break them.
"Ah! I know a place. But it certainly isn't here. Luna. You will have to wait. First, I'll increase my magic. Then, I'll form a group where I gain some control at least, send my sister to the moon, take Equestria, make the night last forever and then get to Luna. It's foolproof and perfect!"
Alas, Nightmare Moon never forgot her main objective. And that was to make the Night last forever. Luna still mattered to her but only because she needed Luna at the end of the day. All thanks to what Mesprit had done and shared with them both.
Before Nightmare Moon could begin her mission, her stomach growled. Despite being an alter-ego, she still felt everything Luna would. And right now, that was hunger.
"But...I have not eaten in a long time. That Luna has eaten for many years now while I have been stripped of 5 years of hunger. How unfair...but! I won't let that last! I demand food! First, the food, then the magic!"
Vermillion City.
Vermillion City. Known as the Port of Exquisite Sunsets, this was a southern city that is bathed in orange by the setting sun. To grab some food, Nightmare Moon appeared here during the night, where she felt the most comfortable.
Luckily for her, Vermillion City was vampire-free right now. And as always, during the night there were those who were still active during the Pokemon Festival. This pleased Nightmare Moon. This was the closest she'd ever get to seeing many thrive within her night but of course, she wanted it to be a permanent night.
"I need to fill my hunger so that I can accomplish what I strive for." Nightmare Moon approached a food stand which had its lights open. From what she saw, this selection of food on the menu looked promising. "Hurry it up. Royalty does not like to wait."
"Hah? What's this about royalty?" The voice at the food stand replied as there was an individual kneeling, checking under the table. But it wasn't just any individual. It was Jessie. And upon standing up, she was met with Nightmare Moon for the very first time. "Eh? Huh?!"
Jessie recognized Nightmare Moon instantly. At least, for what Nightmare Moon looked like. And that was the fact that she was close to Luna's appearance with slight changes. As for Nightmare Moon, she would recognize Jessie if there wasn't one little detail preventing her from doing so.
Jessie was a master of disguise. Always managing to trick everyone with her disguises that sometimes seem to easy to see through but rarely if ever are they seen through. Of course, it wasn't just her. This involved James and Meowth.
"What is it, Jess?" Speaking of James and Meowth, they came through the door of this food stand, just to see what their fellow Team Rocket member had witnessed. Naturally, both were flabbergasted by the pony that stood before them. "Is that who I think it is?!"
"No, it can't be! She's too tall!" Meowth shook his head in response.
"Hm? Are you referring to Luna? Obviously, I'm taller!" Nightmare Moon scoffed. "For I am the embodiment of everything Luna wants to be. Such as how she's insecure about being shorter than her big sister. It still exists today."
"I-Is that so?" Jessie stammered. "Well, this is new. I didn't expect to meet a second Luna who's um...very intimidating. More so than the real one."
"Real one?!" Nightmare Moon stomped her hooves on the food stand, crushing the pastries that were laid out for anyone curious. Jessie's eyes lit up with shock and horror after what Nightmare Moon had done. "I will not be subjugated to a mere copy!"
"You...! I spent a lot of time working on that!" In response, Jessie also slammed her fists onto the food stand, roaring at Nightmare Moon. "Do you know how much we're making from this?!"
"Watch your tongue, peasant! You have no right to speak to me like that!" Nightmare Moon barked back, grizzling her teeth.
"Bah, I'll speak to you however which way I want!" Only for Jessie to grizzle her teeth as well, showing no fear against this intimidating individual.
"Now, now, Jess." James laughed nervously. "Let's try and calm down here in front of our customers."
"Right. I bet she'll pay us a lot if we satisfy her, right?"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Hmph. Doubt it." Jessie crossed her arms. "She's practically naked without any regalia to confirm things. I bet she's broke!"
"Gh!" Unfortunately for Nightmare Moon, Jessie was 100% correct. Nightmare Moon had no massive array of riches on her. Not at all. "You pink-haired menace...!"
"I bet we have more cash than her right after all the money we made." Jessie stuck her tongue out while keeping one eye closed, teasing and taunting the alicorn. "You may look like a princess but you don't have the usual benefits of one, eh?"
"Nonsense! I have something!" Nightmare Moon resorted to the only thing she had on her. Luna's saddlebag. By looking inside, she rummaged her hoof to see what she could find. Hopefully, Pokedollars to spend at once. "How does she get around in this place?! Doesn't she carry any of those PokeDollars with her?! Or even bits?!"
"Tsk, tsk. Why would Luna need that? When you're the princess, everything's either free or you use the next best thing. Gemstones." Jessie chuckled. "Seems you're not packing either."
"Curses..." Nightmare Moon lowered her head in defeat. "How far have I fallen? This can't be!"
"Feeling down on your luck? Get in line. We've been in the same boat as you for years now." Jessie shrugged. "But, you can fix all of that with this." With the wave of her hands, Jessie revealed a stack of Pokedollars on one hand and a pile of bits in the middle of each of her fingers, flaunting her superior but minimal riches to Nightmare Moon. "And you know what that means, right?"
"Oh! Y-You...You're not insisting that I...work?!" Nightmare Moon shuddered at that possibility. Another thing that was different from her Luna was the fact that Nightmare Moon saw herself above everything. Truly and absolutely above everyone.
"You're an alicorn. Use that magic of yours and make a difference, sister. Unless you're afraid of working, in which case, the road's only paved with disaster from here on."
"Bah! I have my own form of work that is within my sights!" She referred to her main plan of regaining power and retrieving Luna as well, among other things. "I can't work with this!"
"Tough break. And since you broke the food, you're going to have to pay for it if you want to satisfy your hunger. And trust me...I also know what it's like to be incredibly hungry. What say you, princess?"
"Hmmrgh..." Nightmare Moon grumbled, showing veins appearing on her head. "You...you..."
"Yes?" Jessie leaned in, waiting for her response. She was truly loving how she was taking control of this conversation, stumping Nightmare Moon with every chance. She could even hear her stomach grumble.
Nightmare Moon shifted her eyes towards the menu, seeing what this place had to offer. Deep-fried Chocolate Biscuits, Deviled Spaghetti and Meatballs, Fun Coconut Chocolates, Plum Truffles and so much more that was all so enticing to her.
"What is this feeling? These options are so...wonderful." Nightmare Moon experienced what it was like to be interested in food options for the first time. It was a stellar feeling but painful for the stomach. "Oh, those chocolates look enticing."
"So?" Jessie then juggled the various currencies around, just to see what Nightmare Moon would do.
"Mmmrgh! Only because I need consumption! Besides, this should be easy work. How hard can it be to cook for royalty, such as I? I am a prodigy, after all." Cocky, Nightmare Moon believed she could ace this with ease. Jessie had her right where she wanted her.
Approximately 5 minutes later.
"Impossible!" The food stand caught on fire momentarily. All thanks to Nightmare Moon. Upon trying to cook the Deviled Spaghetti and Meatballs, she caught fire to the stand swiftly, causing a panic. "But my skills are meant to be flawless!"
"Clearly not!" James and Meowth equally said as they started pouring water on the fire in a frenzy. Meanwhile, Jessie was casually sitting at the back. This entire time, she watched Nightmare Moon cook, doing nothing to help her, only to see her fail.
"Well, it's only natural for this to happen." A smug Jessie replied. "What's wrong Ms Prodigy? You were so sure a while ago."
"Jess! You're not safe either!" James and Meowth exclaimed as the flames were reaching Jessie as well, making her alert and aware of the dangers that were nearby.
"Gahaa!" Jessie jumped up, removing the apron as it caught on fire. Upon removing the fire-coated apron, she threw it away, only for it to reach Nightmare Moon.
"Eeek!" Startled, Nightmare Moon created a barrier of magic to protect herself from the apron. Eventually, James and Meowth managed to put out the flames, preventing total damage to the stand.
"Phew...Disaster averted." James sat down. "Worst case scenario is if Morpeko woke up. Thank goodness it ate too much and fell asleep."
"Right." Meowth nodded. "But why do we gotta put up with these two and their bickering?" Right now, Jessie and Nightmare Moon were bickering yet again, this time concerning the fire.
"You could've done us all in!" Jessie barked.
"Nonsense! I am an alicorn! I would have been fine either way, unlike you fragile peasants! This is also on you!" Nightmare Moon aimed her hoof at Jessie vigorously, pinning the blame on her.
"Me?!"
"You should've taught me how to cook in the first place, obviously. Then, this mess would have never happened."
"Aren't you the one who thought you could do it with ease?! That ego of yours is to blame for this happening!" Jessie reflected the blame.
"Both of you are to blame." James intervened, pushing them both back to prevent them from tearing each other apart. It was bound to happen if someone didn't do anything. "Jess, you're the master cook here. Why leave it to just me and Meowth?"
"Hmph. It just felt good to rub it in her face, especially with how important she looks." Jessie kissed her teeth. "I even slightly expected some magical capabilities but I was disappointed."
"Well, I'm not on the same level as Luna, if you must know. There's a 5-year gap between us. If that was never the case, this would be a different story." Nightmare Moon scoffed. "I was never cut out for this anyway."
"A shame. Glittercook would've loved the extra help." James sighed as he and the others heard Nightmare Moon's stomach growl again. Despite all of this, she truly craved something to eat.
"Consumption...Food...!" She growled, moving back before slumping on the charred table. "Curse you, Luna. And you as well, Twilight Sparkle and your annoying little friends. It's not fair."
"Yeesh. What did you go through to be mad at them?" Meowth asked. "You have a Twerp and Twerpette problem too?"
"Whatever that means." The alter-ego of Luna groaned. "Twerp and Twerpette. Hang on...aren't those the words of that one group? Team Rocket, was it?"
"Well, no use in hiding it in front of you." James saw that hiding his true appearance in front of Nightmare Moon wouldn't bring any consequences or blow his cover. Thus, he removed the disguise, which wasn't much. "I don't ever start it off, that's Jess' thing, but prepare for trouble."
"Oh, it is you. That explains why the pink one is fearless and rude."
"My name is Jessie." Soon, Jessie took off her disguise along with Meowth. Team Rocket fully revealed themselves in front of a starving Nightmare Moon.
"Ah...Funnily enough, I was looking to start a group to begin my mission. And it seems that there was one in front of me. A shame they're so chaotic."
"We're chaotic but we're efficient." Meowth crossed his arms whilst James nodded in agreement. Despite their many shortcomings that span years, Team Rocket were efficient in what they were capable of doing. Execution and success, not so much. At least, when it comes to capturing Pikachu.
"You need a group? For what?" James asked, curious.
"For my rise back into glory. Surely, you individuals who have suffered many losses would know what I'm striving for. And there is also the goal of rescuing my other half. Luna.
"Is that so? Well, we are experts when it comes to losses." Jessie replied, finding some sort of pride in that. That is a strange thing to feel proud of admittedly.
"I just need...food. At least teach me, that's all I ask."
"No need." Jessie grabbed a biscuit that was safe from the flames, still intact. "You look pretty pitiful down there. So go ahead." Feeling generous and showing pity to Nightmare Moon, Jessie threw one biscuit her way.
With her mouth open, Nightmare Moon bit into the Deep Fried Biscuit without hesitation. She didn't care how it tasted. All she cared about was satisfying her hunger. And upon biting into it, her eyes flared open. The taste did matter in the end. It was sublime. So sublime that she stood up with joy, feeling revitalized somewhat.
"This is amazing! Truly amazing! The taste is astronomically rich!" Nightmare Moon's entire attitude changed as she pranced around. "I needed this!"
"At this pitch, she does sound Luna, doesn't she?" James pointed out how Nightmare Moon's excited voice greatly resembles that of Luna when she gets excited.
"Really? I just figured she sounds just like the princess but with a serious tone." Meowth saw it from the beginning. He already knew how familiar that voice sounded to him. He was surprised that it took James and even Jessie to find out about this.
"Ahh...Ahem!" Nightmare Moon, after feeling joy from the biscuit, cleared her throat before lowering her head. "First! I want to apologize. Perhaps I was...too brash in the beginning."
"Hmph. You wouldn't have been able to pay us anyway without any of that cash." Jessie replied. "But...Glittercook wouldn't have approved of the way I acted if she were here. So...I guess I overreacted. Probably. Maybe. Debatable."
"What happened to honesty?" James and Meowth chuckled.
"There! I've decided! I could have you three help me!" Nightmare Moon found her group. "You're perfect!"
"Eh?" Team Rocket collectively blurted out.
"That's right! You shall be the first of my group which I shall expand to new heights, no doubt! I've heard that you are masters of crafting, creating metallic constructs of great feats! I need something like that on my quest. What say you?"
"Hmm...Your big words make it sound enticing." Jessie crossed her arms. "But, you haven't shown us anything that can make us wanna go with you."
"Fine then. Though there is nothing of value in this bag...I still am Luna. And I undoubtedly have access to the riches of Canterlot. From jewels of all kids and bits of such massive degrees, you wouldn't believe your eyes."
"Oooh? LIke a vault?" Jessie rubbed her hands together.
"It's more of a highly-secured chamber than anything. But whatever. Point is, the riches of anypony's dreams lie in there. And for humans and Pokemon too, I suppose."
"Hm-hm. Good bargain. We could be supremely rich...only in Equestria though." Jessie knocked her head. "Here, we're shooting for the big leagues in our world."
"W-Well...I can't access these Pokedollars. Not yet anyway. Perhaps if I have some control over this world later down the line." Nightmare Moon groaned. "What more do you want from me?"
"We'd like to work with pay, sister. But, how about a second option? You don't have the dough to give us this option. but we do." Jessie then plotted something truly bright and somewhat devious. James and Meowth shuddered to think what this could be. "We're the ones with the cash...so...how about a reversal?"
"Reversal?" The alicorn repeated.
"We need someone like you on our side! A super powerful alicorn! Well...moderately powerful at best. So, you'll work for us! You'll become an honorary Team Rocket Member!"
"Say what?!" James, Meowth and now Wobbuffet exclaimed with shock in their voices.
"Wobbuffett?!"
"Me!? Work for you?!"
"You already did it with this food stand. Might as well continue the new trend. Don't worry. We'll make gadgets and machines for you...but you'll provide us with a lot of benefits with your magic." Jessie saw a major chance and seized it. This was just how she was. "It's the only way we'll reach an understanding. What say you?"
"Grr...You are the richer force here. When did it become a money problem?" Nightmare Moon pulled her mane while Jessie laughed pompously. "But...I still need further assistance if I want to succeed and this could be beneficial. So very well! It still works in my favour somewhat!"
"Excellent! Welcome to Team Rocket, Nightmare Moon!" Jessie declared Nightmare Moon as the newest member of Team Rocket. Immediately, the food stand began changing shape. Nightmare Moon gasped as she was still within the stand, witnessing what was becoming of it.
With wheels turning, this wasn't an average food stand at all. The back of the stand suddenly extended, pulling the door with it. In fact, it was actually the front of the stand. This whole food stand was a Travelling Van, shocking Nightmare Moon. She received a first-hoof experience of the wonders of Team Rocket's genius.
"Amazing!"
"Now, let's get rolling! The night is still young!" Jessie bellowed as James immediately rushed to the wheel. "The next region's about to get a good fill of our masterclass cooking skills! Well, my skills anyway. James?"
"I say we book it to Kalos. They know how to make a good meal, I can tell you that." James suggested Kalos. Jessie and Meowth were in full agreement with that. Kalos was their next destination.
"Travelling with this thing? How is that possible?" Nightmare Moon asked.
"You're about to find out. Book it, James!" Jessie commanded.
"On it! Off we go!" James kicked it into high gear from the beginning. With a spurt of speed, the van was off as Nightmare Moon stumbled, new to the experience of being inside of a vehicle. Well, as opposed to the spaceships from the empress, this was a different experience.
Now a member of Team Rocket, Nightmare Moon was on her own quest. Her own journey that would entail various things that she may have never experienced before until now. Further away from Luna, her quest involving various steps was just beginning as the journey continues.
Moving across the road of Kalos was a combination between a Food Stand and a Van. Very few can craft such a unique unification but Team Rocket and their high-level craftsmanship can reach that possibility. Taking the wheel was James and his expert control. Somehow, for him, having a rocket as a child helped with this. There was also the Rocketship that was back at the Pokemon House just for an addition.
Currently, Team Rocket had its newest member. Shockingly, it was Nightmare Moon. After a deal had been struck between them, the alter-ego of Luna was now working alongside Team Rocket, becoming a member of the entire organization.
"Why do I have to work?!" However, now that she was working for them, she had to involve herself with their daily chores and activities.
"You're a Team Rocket Member now. Everything we do, you do." Jessie replied, grinning at the struggling Nightmare Moon who was once again trying to cook but with one difference that mattered. "Look on the bright side. At least you're being taught by yours truly. And I'm your superior in this."
"No one should be my superior...!" Nightmare Moon growled as she was currently below Jessie at this point since she was the newest Team Rocket Member. "But...I'd rather not burn anything else down. But why must I, royalty, work?"
"It is what it is. Anyway, you've done well. It's already been 2 hours and you haven't burnt anything down. Plus, you make an amazing Nightwatch since you're awake during that time a lot." chuckled Jessie with a pompous tone.
"Now's a good time to stop and sell, don't you think?" James asked.
"Right on that! Freshly baked and enough to grab a crowd from the nearest town or city. Let's hope that these shortbreads aren't bitter." Jessie then held out a pan of shortbread that Nightmare Moon made with Jessie's assistance.
"They should taste good." Nightmare Moon crossed her hooves, appearing proud of her creation. "Shortbread is perhaps the smallest delicacy anyone could have. It was only natural that I would succeed in making them."
"It only took six retries." James pointed out, making Nightmare Moon twitch. "But they look a bit darker than they should. Can we sell those?"
"Nonsense. It gives it the Nightmare flair." The shortbread had a darkened appearance. This was a clear indication that Nightmare Moon, being a rookie cook, slightly overcooked it. The shortbread was mildly burnt thanks to her inexperience, even with Jessie tutoring her.
"Luckily, I made backup food. Brownies. Just in case." Jessie revealed the spare delicacies, fearing that Nightmare Moon's food would be terrible to bite into with how darkened it appeared. "Oh, by the way. We made this as well!"
"Here you go!" Meowth suddenly held out a Team Rocket uniform. More specifically, it was a Team Rocket uniform specifically tailored to fit Nightmare Moon, having the figure of a tall alicorn, coming with boots as well.
"I'm not wearing that." Nightmare Moon immediately rejected it, refusing to wear anything unless it was her armour, which she currently didn't have at the moment.
Meanwhile, James was heading straight for Shalour, which was the first location in Kalos they would start selling their goods and where Nightmare Moon could potentially start her mission.
Shalour City.
Shalour City. Sat at the western region of Kalos, the seaside home of the Tower of Mastery, where the legend of mysterious Mega Stones and their amazing power lives on.
Now, it was time for business to boom. At least, that's what Team Rocket was hoping for. Upon arriving here, turning the van back into an average food stand, Nightmare Moon held her breath in, prepared to call in some customers. And there was only one way she knew how.
"Attention, peasants!" By degrading and shouting at them, of course. "Come hither and feast on my creation! It'll be enough to satisfy any starvation you feel. And you will feel grateful, especially when you work alongside me!"
She was still going for that group approach, deciding to gather as many individuals as she could just to gain power. And this involved random civilians. Strength in numbers, after all.
Naturally, being called peasants wasn't exactly alluring to the ears of anyone. Nightmare Moon scrunched her face, waiting for someone to respond and head this way based on her words. But again, addressing them as such wasn't bringing anyone here and especially with how pompous Nightmare Moon was. Some of them just stared at her with confused faces.
"JUST GET OVER HERE!" She raised her voice, jump-scaring them with the sheer intensity of it. That would be the power of the Royal Canterlot Voice kicking in. Surprisingly, that worked.
Intimidated just by not just her voice but also her striking appearance, she pulled in customers via pure aggression. It worked out in her favour as they swarmed to see what they could consume. And of course, first up was the shortbread biscuits that Nightmare Moon made. Neatly packed but wearing a darkened appearance with black spots hidden underneath and even poking out of different areas of each biscuit.
By paying up, some of the customers would try the shortbread out of curiosity and Nightmare Moon's expression which was giving them ominous vibes. They felt like if they didn't eat it then something terrible would happen.
"Good." Nightmare Moon rubbed her hooves together before putting on a grin, thinking to herself. "I may be behind Luna but my magic is still nothing to scoff at or underestimate. Inside each of these shortbread biscuits is mind-controlling magic. Once they enjoy the taste of them, their minds will be fully under my control and my group will rise to great succession!"
"Mmrmprh!" But no one would dare eat the full thing. Just the first bite and some of them either spat it out or breathed out fire just from how hot they surprisingly were.
"Hot! Hot!"
"Munchlax." However, someone's Munchlax would not care at all. Munchlax would eat anything after all. That involved mind-controlling shortbread biscuits, even if it wasn't aware. Nightmare Moon frowned at how many reacted to her food while also putting on a slight smirk when seeing Munchlax scarf it down. If she could get one member, that was still growing the group. Now, all she had to do was see Munchlax come to her side.
Alas, that never happened. Munchlax simply rubbed its tummy before walking away, stunning Nightmare Moon. There wasn't a reaction of magic at all.
"Impossible. My magic should've taken over...Unless...is the Pokemon simply too idiotic to be mind controlled?"
"This is bitter! What is this?!" Meanwhile, many were upset with Nightmare Moon's biscuits, complaining to her. For the first time, Nightmare Moon was faced with complaints from angry customers, the worst kind of complaints that anyone could ever receive.
"My tongue burns..."
"Bah! You have no taste!" Nightmare Moon scoffed. "I for one taste tested it myself and it was glorious, thank you very much."
"Yeah, well, taste buds seem to vary between species. But not to worry folks~" Along came Jessie's backup plan. The brownies. She held it out to the citizens, giving them a better option than Nightmare Moon's shortbread biscuits.
And immediately, the mood of the citizens changed instantly upon catching the scent of these brownies. They were piping hot too but in a good way. Not a way that would attack their insides. Their expressions changed from upset, disappointed and agitated to pleased and chipper.
They would certainly pay extra money for the brownies as neither hesitated to grab a bite. And as to be expected, the brownies tasted amazing to them, staving away their negative emotions from before.
"Hmmrgh..." Nightmare Moon was bested by Jessie, much to her chagrin. Not only that, but she failed to mind control anyone with her biscuits and the only one who took a full bite was Munchlax, but it seemed to be immune. Whether by its aloof nature and clear mind, a powerful stomach or just ineffective magic.
All Nightmare Moon could do now was slump on the table, grumbling and realizing she wasn't getting anywhere right now. "I wonder if Luna is doing better than me."
Kanto. Lavender Town. Day.
"Not again..." Speaking of Luna, once again she found herself in a hospital. Not a Pokemon Center but a hospital for humans and an extension ponies. She was on a bed as the sunrays pierced through the windows. Lavender Town was at peace yet again with everyone else recovering.
All thanks to Galaxy Master. That reminded Luna. The main reason she came here was because of Galaxy Master. But now, he was nowhere to be seen. "Wait! Where's Galaxy Master?! I lost sight of him again?!"
"Ah. Are you looking for that costumed fellow?" The doctor entered, responding to Luna's cry.
"Yes! Have you seen him, doctor?!"
"I have. But he's already gone. Left hours ago." The doctor nodded, revealing Galaxy Master was already long gone from here. "Nice fellow though. Even took the time to nurse me and everyone else here back to health."
"I'm sorry. He nursed you back to health? A doctor?" This stunned Luna. Not the fact that he helped the doctor. She already knew that Galaxy Master would do good deeds regardless. It was the fact that he practically nursed a doctor to health and presumably everyone else. "Including me?"
"That's right. Once he got rid of all those shadows, he took care of us. Of course, he had health. Mainly from one of his Pokemon. Turned out to be a special Bayleef with amazing healing properties. Plus, a wonderful form of light that was just soothing to the eye. Aah...I'm getting a warm and fuzzy feeling just thinking about it." The doctor sighed.
"Amazing..." Luna gripped the bedsheets with her hooves before pondering. "Did he say where he was headed next? And what did he say about me? J-Just curious if I was brought up."
"Funnily enough, he did mention you, my little pony. He seemed to be somewhat interested in deciding what to do with you. I think it may have been because you're a princess."
"I think it's another reason..." Luna spoke to herself, knowing the main reason why Galaxy Master would be decisive. "So. Did he decide what he wanted to do?"
"Well..." The doctor thought back to the words that were mentioned by Galaxy Master. He remembered it clearly from last night. Galaxy Master alongside his Bayleef healed up everyone within the hospital and Lavender Town once it was vampire-free.
It was all too casual and even when facing Princess Luna, they were casual as well. The hero had no issues healing Luna at all despite the fact that they were enemies. On that night, Luna had been healed thanks to Bayleef using Aromatherapy. Not only that but some of the light from the Sea Temple had been added on.
"There. She'll heal perfectly. No need to worry." Galaxy Master said to the doctor. "But...what do I possibly do with her now that she's in this state? There's no possibility of me taking her in."
"Got that right. Your name is also gaining traction. You made quite the name for yourself in Equestria fairly quickly. You're now its enemy and yet here you are helping one of its princesses. Strange." The doctor chuckled. "I doubt Officer Jenny will just let you show up with her. Even though you saved this town's Officer Jenny. What's a hero to do?"
"You have knowledge of the other world. What can you share with me, doctor?"
"Well, one could consider Princess Luna a hero too, just like you. In her world, her good deeds pile up. You should see them if you get the chance to fully explore without being hunted."
"A hero, eh? Hmm..." This made Galaxy Master ponder. Luna was portrayed as a hero in her world as said by the doctor. And from what Galaxy Master knows, the only encounters he's had with Luna were confrontational ones. Anything else was unknown. Her daily life and everything else was a mystery. "Hard to believe she's with keeping these worlds intact."
"Why wouldn't she? Pokemon are our friends at the end of the day. And from what was shared, Princess Luna barely had friends in the past. But ever since Pokemon came into her life, that changed. Friends of all shapes and sizes came her way. Literally. One of her friends is a dracone...how do you pronounce it?"
"I see. I see. Thank you for sharing this with me doctor." Galaxy Master gained new information before shaking hands with the doctor. "Well, there's now something I can consider doing."
"What would that be?"
"Bayleef. Let's teach you Sunny Day. It'll come in extremely good use during the night."
"Bay!" Bayleef raised her legs, already knowing what Galaxy Master was going for. As for the fictional character and his teammates, they would finally depart. Just like that, after healing everyone here, especially the nurses to speed things up, they left the hospital, heading who-knows-where.
And all that led to today, where Luna remained. Now she was caught up to speed since last night. The doctor said all that he needed to and all he knew. "And that's the rest of it. Nothing else I can share except for that Sunny Day part."
"Sunny Day...Sunny Day! That's it!" Luna gasped as those last words from Galaxy Master gave her an idea. An idea that was so useful that it could potentially change everything. "Yes! Why didn't I or anyone else think of this sooner?!"
"Hm? Do you need your plants to grow faster?" The doctor asked, curious as to why Luna was suddenly obsessed with Sunny Day.
"No! Well, I have a garden on the moon after being there for thousands of years but that's not the point! The key to beating the vampires has been in our faces the entire time. The Sun is too much for them. They can't focus at all unless something blocks it out. Which is why...we need Sunny Day! That way, it's always Sunny!"
"Hm. Good point." The doctor nodded in approval. "You could have your sister, Princess Celestia do the same."
"I was thinking about that. Doctor, Lay this message onto Officer Jenny at once. She needs to know about this. Any Officer Jenny needs to know!"
"Luckily, all Jennys know each other. I'm on it, princess. But, hopefully, you have a Pokemon that can use Sunny Day too. I hear you have a lot of them, correct?"
"Hmph. Of course I do." Luna smirked. "I know just the Pokemon who'll swap out a move for Sunny Day. It's-" However, it was at this moment that Luna discovered that something was missing. Something crucial.
Her saddlebag. It had all of her Poke Balls within it. But right now, it wasn't around her at all. Not only that, but Luna's expression widened even more once she realized that the Sea Temple Crystal with her unique pattern was gone as well. Two items had just up and vanished like that.
"Oh, no. No-no-no-no-no-no!" She started frantically flying around, searching for her saddlebag in this room. "Where is my saddlebag?! And my crystal?! I had them with me! Where are they?! Have you seen them, doctor?!"
"Oh, sorry. But we have no signs of your bag anywhere, Princess Luna." The doctor lowered his head. "Galaxy Master didn't have it on him either. None of our nurses are holding them."
"Darkrai...everyone else is within that saddlebag. And that crystal of mine." Luna grumbled as this really put a wrench in everything. She woke up to something good and soon discovered something terrible. "My friends."
This hurt Luna. This was the furthest she had ever been from her friends. Usually, Darkrai is always by her side but since he was resting in his Poke Ball, he was missing along with everyone else. Now, Luna was alone with no friends by her side, sadly. This made the Princess of the Night stand there, shuddering as this visibly impacted her.
"If it helps, you can ask Officer Jenny to help find them for you." The doctor suggested. "She can begin a search."
"Right...or...I can call for a hero." Luna quickly picked herself back up, having a solution to this. She was going to solve two problems in one go. Retrieving her saddlebag and finding Galaxy Master yet again. "I'm going to have Galaxy Master help me."
"Oh. That works too."
But unbeknownst to Luna, Nightmare Moon was the one truly in possession of her saddlebag and as for the crystal, at least one of these objects was with Galaxy Master. Specifically, his Torterra.
And much like Ash's Krookodile's glasses, the object comes along with him to the Poke Ball, making it harder to reach unless Torterra returns into the fray.
Kalos. Shalour City. Afternoon.
Back at Shalour City, business was booming. Those brownies were super-effective to everyone's noses and tastebuds, bring Team Rockets wads of cash. Nightmare Moon had to respect this. While her cooking would bring in no customers except for possibly Munchlax, she could respect hard work.
"I'm not getting anywhere with this." Nightmare Moon sighed. "The group is not getting any bigger right now. We need to focus on that next, you three."
"What are you talking about? You already have a group with you." James replied, counting the money they stacked up from their sales. "The Pokemon in that bag of yours."
"Oh?" It was just then that Nightmare Moon was reminded of the saddlebag that originally belonged to Luna. This whole time, it's been sitting there, only interacted with once just to be thrown aside. James had a point. She already had a group with her within the Poke Balls.
"Of course...I am Luna. And these are my Pokemon!" Nightmare Moon grinned before swiping the bag. "Excuse me. I shall step out for a moment. A meeting needs to be adjourned with these Pokemon."
"Go for it." Jessie allowed it as Nightmare Moon zipped out, ready to unleash these Strange and Wonderful Creatures, expecting them to know who she was. She hoped they would know otherwise it would be embarrassing.
Shalour Seaside.
The destination was Shalour City's Seaside area which had a beautiful view. But the views weren't important right now. The Pokemon were. Nightmare Moon counted how many Poke Balls there were.
Typically, a Trainer holds six Poke Balls with six Pokemon. But since Luna caught s many Pokemon early on in her career, she surpassed the 6-Pokemon limit. By counting, Nightmare Moon found out that there were 19 Poke Balls that could be utilized.
Granted, Luna limits herself by using a select few while some Pokemon mainly leisure themselves instead of getting into battling. "Hm. This is a sizable amount. Enough to extend the group. Now! Emerge, my Pokemon!" By using her magic, she launched all 19 Poke Balls into the air. And with that, she got to see Luna's current Pokemon.
Darkrai, Musharna, Frillish, Aurorus, Gliscor, Xatu and Florges. Those were the ones she always keeps on her. But in addition, there were also Luna's lesser used Pokemon and the ones that aren't as known.
Stufful, Cherrim, Chatot and Breloom. Nightmare Moon got to see them all in varying types.
"Ah, that's right...She did plan to catch a Pokemon of every type, didn't she? But this isn't all of them. There are some types exempt. Meaning..." Nightmare Moon noticed that despite the sizable amount, there was something amiss.
"Not all of them are here," Darkrai added before glaring at Nightmare Moon, startling her. "Some of them are back home. There are more Pokemon in Luna's arsenal. But I wonder...why do you have us?"
"Darkrai...!" Nightmare Moon shuddered after meeting Darkrai. She expected this, but being close to the Pitch Black Pokemon was a different experience, especially with that grin, even if he was injured.
"Auro? Aurorus?" Meanwhile, Aurorus and everyone else were wondering where Luna could be. The pony in front of them didn't look like her to them.
"Chatot! Where's Luna?" Chatot ended up repeating what Aurorus said, translating it.
"W-What are you on about? I am Luna!" Nightmare Moon grabbed their attention. "Or rather...I am Nightmare Moon! Your Pokemon Wielder, or trainer, obviously!"
"Nightmare Moon?!" That name was familiar to Darkrai's non-existent ears. He knew about Nightmare Moon thanks to his experiences with Lunar Ire. But now, he was finally meeting her. The entity that was presumably gone forever after Luna conquered her emotions. Alas, that was not the case.
"Hm. That's right. I am still Luna and you are my Pokemon. Now that I have your attention, we can begin this meeting and lay out the plans."
"I think not." Darkrai intervened immediately.
"Huh? You dare to object to your leader?" Nightmare Moon scoffed. Since she saw herself as a Pokemon Trainer, this was the closest she was going to get to being a ruler at this point.
"Where's Luna? I remember how you two were split up from each other. You're now separate entities." Darkrai narrowed his eyes, striking fear into Nightmare Moon's heart. "So...you may be Luna, but you're not our Luna. Where is she?"
"Gliscor!" Gliscor and the others needed to know as well. While she had Luna's voice and her mane style, she was still different from the pony they knew.
"Tch. Fine. Luna is with Galaxy Master at the moment. Most likely, under his possession. Captured, I should say." Nightmare Moon replied, revealing what she believed to be the most likely result. With that information, everyone gasped, hearing the stunning news about their trainer. "It all happened back in that town. Lavender Town. Those vampires managed to cause quite an issue, as you'd expect. Luckily, I managed to escape, retrieving you all in the process. As for Luna...well, as you can suspect, Galaxy Master was there to deal with those vampires."
"You're kidding. Luna's captured?" Darkrai shuddered. This caused some panic for some of the Pokemon. Especially Aurorus, who got down on the ground, shaking.
"Probably. At my level, I can't hope to stand up to that Galaxy Master character. Especially since he also has that special crystal that is meant to undo his creation. As you can suspect, I'm the only part of Luna left that's within your vicinity. Where is Luna right now? Not sure. But...technically, she is right here. I plan to get her back, obviously. I need her and she needs me, as much as she denies it. Which is why we are going to work together, aren't we?"
"You did say that before...but working alongside you to get back Luna?"
"Why? What's wrong with it? Don't trust me? Tsk, tsk." Nightmare Moon shook her head. "You of all Pokemon should know better Darkrai. After all, Lun and I share the same memories. You may not like it but right now, I am your trainer. And if we are to rescue her, overcoming Galaxy Master is the main issue. But...that's what I'm also working towards."
Darkrai was very cautious about this. Astronomically cautious. This was a shocking thing to wake up to indeed. Right now, all of Luna's Pokemon including Nightmare Moon had no idea where Luna could possibly be at this moment. The one in possession of them all was Nightmare Moon, technically making her their new Trainer. What were their options here?
Many of Luna's Pokemon still recognized the voice of their beloved trainer while Darkrai knew a lot about this alter-ego of Luna, making him all the more cautious. Darkrai's options were low. Injured and away from Luna, he decided to take the risky route.
"Fine. We'll come with you." Darkrai agreed to it, putting a smile on Nightmare Moon's face. "But. There's something you need to get used to."
"And what would that be?"
"You aren't the same as Luna. That goes for your skills. How are you in a Pokemon Battle? Let's find out if you're going to be our Trainer."
"What?!"
Darkrai wanted to test Nightmare Moon. He was still being cautious even after accepting her offer. This way, he could tip everything in his favour. Nightmare Moon's pride and hubris wouldn't let her reject as she saw herself as the better Luna anyway. Whoever Nightmare Moon was going to battle, she was ready to prove that she could lead these Pokemon.
And of course, lead everyone else in the long run as the journey continues.
Kalos. Shalour City. The Pokemon Festival.Afternoon.
"Hello, Shalour!" Arriving at Shalour City as a part of their wide long road trip were the sirens. From the Dazzlings to their mother. And of course, tagging along with them was Paul, who got out after everyone else.
"We still haven't found any other siren yet." Aria groaned. This was still a trip to find the remaining sirens who were potentially still around since Vivace had been found. "This sucks. How far did they get?"
"They did always love to move around," VIvace added. "But I haven't lost faith either. Neither should both of you. Plus, we get to see so many amazing sights here, don't we?"
"I'm starting to think they're messing with us." Adagio sighed after leaving the van. "They would try and find us too, wouldn't they? They're smart enough to know those portals weren't harmful."
"Chin up." But Vivace was there to give her hope. "They can't hide forever. If they do, I'll eventually find them and give them a good smack on the head."
"Forever means never mother but great encouragement." Adagio shrugged, looking to her mother's optimism, which she never lost, as opposed to Adagio who kept losing optimism as things worsened for her.
"Did you smell that?" Immediately, something caught Sonata's attention. The scent of food. Brownies. That piping hot chocolate scent was potent to anyone that so happened to be near it. That involved Aria.
"That's pretty effective...!" Aria shuddered before smiling, being on the same wavelength as Sonata. "Nice."
Attracted to the scent of brownies, the two of them fixated on the nearby food stand. Ran by Team Rocket, of course. As for Paul, he was still set on his goal of practising to become a Gym Leader. A stupendous one. All Gym Leaders, though they can be defeated by upstart trainers, are always holding back their true strength with certain Pokemon on their team.
For Paul, holding back wasn't an option. Going all out was what mattered to him the most. At least, the old Paul thought that. While he still doesn't go easy on his opponent, he at least knows how to dial things back thanks to the years that have passed
"Shalour City's Gym Leader. Korrina." Paul obviously gathered information about the Gym Leaders he faced and would soon face. For Shalour, it would be Korrina. "She has Mega Evolution on her side and this is the place where Mega Evolution was apparently birthed."
"Is battling all you think about?" Adagio came close to him, glancing at Paul's sheet. "You're probably as battle-hungry as Ash."
"I just enjoy battling, okay?" Paul replied. "Nothing wrong with that. It's a strong passion just like how you and your sisters love singing."
"Hm. Fair enough. But how come we have to stop by certain spots just to have you battle someone? We came on this for a goal, after all. And in a split-second, you showed up and added filler to it."
"Blame your sisters, not me. Besides, you're not upset about this at all. You're enjoying moving around this much. Probably the most exciting thing about this, no doubt.
"No way!" Adagio protested, pulling back after Paul's statement. "Don't joke like that!"
"You can't hide it from me. If you weren't enjoying this, you'd probably go rogue or just scowl the whole way through. And plus, now you've got another goal in mind. And that's having Kricketot evolve into Kricketune. Finally."
"Tch. Yeah, you're right." Adagio growled as Paul saw right through her. "That last one is very true too."
"Kricketot!" Speaking of Kricketot, popping out of Adagio's large mane, he was too excited to reach his evolution eventually. Then, his music could be elevated to new heights.
"Hang on...you're the one who helped Aria with her Pokemon. Well, mainly her Brionne. You're going to do the same for me. Help me evolve Kricketot since you're such an expert." Adagio demanded that Paul helped her evolve Kricketot at once, knowing how much he helped Aria.
"Can't do it yourself? I would've thought Princess Celestia's student would've figured it out solo." Just then, Paul decided to joke around, smirking as that instantly made Adagio twitch. "Guess not."
"I could do it by myself!" Adagio grabbed an unphased Paul by his shirt, shaking him with fangs baring. Once again, Paul managed to rile her up. "I can do many things on my own! There are complications, okay?!"
"Evolution isn't complicated. Not for your Kricketot." Paul replied, further agitating Adagio Dazzle. "But in all honesty, since you're so confident in yourself, you'd do the best to evolve Kricketot with what you have. You should keep that confidence for when you're helping him."
"Well...yeah, that's a good idea." Adagio released Paul after he passed on some advice. "And I am confident that I could do it alone. It's just that...you know, compared to everyone else, I'm not heavy into Pokemon."
"Even after these 3 years with them? Shocking. But, you wouldn't be the first to be stumped like this. You have a lot of catching up to do or maybe seeing your sisters in action can get you up to speed."
"Hm. You might be right." Adagio then turned to her sisters, who she has been watching for a long time now. Aside from how they were waiting in line to get some of those brownies, all of their battles, mainly Aria's, were perfect to learn from. And Adagio could certainly learn.
"Come to think of it...didn't your sisters mention how you made it far in that Canterlot Tournament? You have an Ultra Beast and everything. Why not use what you performed there?"
"That was a one-time thing and the only time I used a Pokemon in battle. Besides, I'm never using that Pokemon again. Pheromosa's too dangerous, so I left her Poke Ball at Canterlot under royal protection." The older sister replied.
"Seems like a missed opportunity. Giving up on Pheromosa because she's dangerous." Paul had to disagree with that choice. "That was the best option you could've had?"
"What else was I supposed to do? Ghetsis was the one who lent me that Pokemon and she was just as dangerous as him. You should've seen what she did back at that tournament. Well, that was only because I was in control at that time."
"Exactly why it was a mistake," Paul added.
"How? Are you telling me you'd try and keep her around?" Adagio chuckled, thinking that Paul was crazy for potentially wanting such a dangerous Pokemon on his side.
"Judging from what you said and what your sisters told me, that Pheromosa was just like you. Despite how dangerous she was, you controlled it in battle, didn't you? A bad experience with how she acts is what makes you give her up?" Paul continued, walking up to the brownie stand. "If you ask me, Pheromosa could've been along for the journey this whole time. Giving up on her like that...even if it's a Pokemon from Ghetsis, there was something there."
"Are you trying to say there was a bond?" Adagio followed.
"Not yet. But if that Pokemon helped you through the tournament..." Paul stopped in his tracks, facing Adagio. "Then you've got someone you can count on. But now, she's not here."
"!" It hit Adagio. Her fears of Pheromosa forced her to keep the Ultra Beast confiscated. Thanks to Paul's words, Adagio gained a new realization. All this time, she could've kept Pheromosa around. But instead of fearing her, Adagio could've come to an understanding with her.
Indeed, Paul could connect similarities with Pheromosa and Adagio because of this. What was stopping Adagio from continuing her team up with Pheromosa when she was perfectly listening to her?
"You're right." Adagio lowered her head. "But...that was because of Ghetsis. He ordered her to team up with me. I doubt even Pheromosa's brave enough to disobey someone like Ghetsis. Who's to say if she was doing it because we were working well together?" She brought along some doubts.
"Your sisters described you as their second role model, only behind your mom. Not exactly giving those vibes at all. If you wanna think that, then sure. But is that gonna stop you from making it a reality? If so...then that's pathetic."
"Kricketot!" Kricketot was here to encourage Adagio. He believed in her after all. He witnessed each of Adagio's battles with Pheromosa. "Tot!" The Kricket Pokemon knew that Adagio had the passionate skills to battle. He saw it all.
"Kricketot?" Adagio looked up before holding her hands out, prompting Kricketot to jump into them. She looked the Kricketot Pokemon dead in the eyes, seeing his passionate and blazing spirit within them. "Duh. You've always believed in me for what I can do. Even taking Pokemon Battling aside..."
"Don't let the smaller guy beat you out in determination." Paul taunted while also encouraging her. "That's not like you at all."
"Kricketot and I are equals! But I won't lose my determination. I'm already determined to find the other sirens, wherever they may be. So, I'll pour the rest of it into everything else. From Krickett evolving...to getting Pheromosa back."
Just what Paul wanted to hear. In the end, he ended up helping her after all. Paul has his own ways of helping others. Whether it was via physical action or verbal action. He had a certain someone from Kanto to thank for this. And it didn't take long for Adagio to realize this.
"Hey! You just..." She paused for a moment after pointing at her. "I can't believe I got myself riled up like that because of you. How embarrassing..."
"It is what it is. Now, I'm starving." Paul switched the subject before waiting for his turn t grab some brownies. Adagio did feel stumped that Paul beat her out in a clash of words. Wouldn't be the first this has happened to her. Adagio's face turned a bit red afterwards as compared to all the times she's been outplayed, this was somehow the least infuriating one, prompting her to blush with annoyance.
But some respect toward Paul had been earned by Adagio. It wasn't there in the beginning but now it truly was after the words he shared and the way he encouraged her.
"What took you so long?" Sonata said to Paul and soon Adagio, who walked over. "You could've run out of brownies with how good they are."
"You can keep eating them. Kricketot and I are gonna be busy. But save some for me." At this point, Adagio was ready to help Kricketot reach where he wanted to be. A Kricketune. "It's for when he becomes a Kricketune."
"Head to that beach them. That looks nice and open for you to use." Aria suggested before seeing a flare of electricity shoot up, grabbing the attention of the others. "Or...maybe not."
"Hm. That could be Korrina." Paul's attention was fully grabbed by this. From his research, he knew that Korrina loved to train. And that right there could be the perfect sign of her.
Shalour Seaside. 6 minutes ago.
Alas, that was not the case. Instead, the only ones here were Nightmare Moon and all of Luna's Pokemon, who were now Nightmare Moon's Pokemon. However, the only way for them to work alongside her is to see if she had the skills to battle alongside them. Luna did but could the same be said for Nightmare Moon who was tragic when it came to cooking as seen by those shortbread biscuits back at the Team Rocket Food Stand.
"I-I can most certainly battle!" Nightmare Moon proudly stood up. "What kind of question is that, Darkrai? Honestly, you should just accept what I can already do."
"Not that kind of battle. A Pokemon Battle. You don't have Luna's battling skills. I can tell." Darkrai replied, stunning Nightmare Moon. "If we're gonna work together to get Luna back, we'll need a capable trainer. You're the closest we have to Luna so you'll do."
"Hmph! Fine. I can adopt her skills no matter what!" Nightmare Moon accepted Darkrai's challenge. "In fact...I'll declare a battle right here, right now. You there! Kangaroo!"
"Breloom?" Breloom noticed that Nightmare Moon was pointing at him, referring to him as a kangaroo, which he certainly resembled with his stance.
"You shall do battle with..." Nightmare Moon then moved her hoof around, trying to figure out who was perfect for Breloom to go up against. "That lion."
"Manectric?" Manectric was Nightmare Moon's second decision as he and Breloom looked at each other.
"Yes, yes! This battle will do perfectly! Watch and learn, Darkrai. You'll see that I was always fit to take charge and lead. Especially in battle." The alicorn proudly trotted over to Breloom's side. "You will battle with me, Kangaroo."
"Breloom..." Breloom wasn't too sure about this at all. Nightmare Moon may look proud and powerful, but the Grass-Fighting-Type feared the worst when it came to taking charge in a battle.
"Fine then." Darkrai and the other Pokemon backed away. "Let's see what you can do. Don't go overboard though."
"Manectric!"
"This will be simple. Kangaroo. Run along and combat that lion for me." Nightmare Moon ordered, confusing Breloom. He was expecting a command for any of his moves but Nightmare Moon simply told him to just head on and do whatever he wanted.
"Loom?"
"Go on. Attack already!"
"Not how it works," Darkrai added, shaking his head in disapproval. "You do know everything about Luna. So say a command and that will work."
"Ah, right! The commands! I knew that. Kangaroo! Use...Eh..." Another roadblock. Nightmare Moon pouted, looking to the ground before failing to make a dramatic command.
"Now what?" Darkrai sighed.
"I seem to lack the knowledge of this one's moves. What were they again? Just to be sure I am correct!" She tried playing it up like she knew already, pretending to test everyone's knowledge.
"G-Gliscor!" Gliscor chuckled while Darkrai facepalmed. While Darkrai was embarrassed by this, Gliscor found this to be hilarious. Meanwhile, Aurorus was in the corner, moping and thinking about Luna. She even drew her face in the sand with her leg.
"Use the Pokedex please..." Darkrai groaned, being the one who was guiding Nightmare Moon in all of this.
"Ah! That voice machine! Right, right!" Quickly, Nightmare Moon held out Luna's Pokedex, removing it from her saddlebag. This made things easier to figure out what Breloom's moves were.
"Breloom. The Mushroom Pokemon. Drain Punch. Seed Bomb. Substitute. Stone Edge." The Pokedex read out.
"Many thanks, Voice in the Machine!" Nightmare Moon grinned, knowing how she wanted to start it off. "This looks promising. Kangaroo! I demand that you use Drain Punch at once!"
"Loom? Breloom!" Breloom would take it. It was an aggressive tone but it would have to do. By covering his hands in an orange energy, Breloom approached Manectric, expecting his teammate to retaliate in some way.
"Mane!" Manectric did. By using Wild Charge of course. He would intercept Breloom's Drain Punch with an aura of electricity. The two of them then clashed with Drain Punch and Wild Charge meeting. An equal encounter as both of them moved back with Manectric receiving recoil damage.
Darkrai wasn't too impressed. That was standard battling that anyone could pull off. He was waiting to see if she could show the skills that Luna possessed.
"I just have to battle like her. How do I do so?" Nightmare Moon even thought the same thing. "Hmph. I shall figure it out naturally. Use that attack again!"
"Bre!" Breloom would go in for another Drain Punch, lunging in. Manectric ended up zipping to the side instead of intercepting the attack. Breloom's Drain Punch missed, causing him to whiff.
"Manec!" Manectric then looked over at Darkrai for a bit. He and Darkrai understood each other from this distance, nodding in unison. They knew something.
"Hah? Why did you stop?! If it runs, then keep attacking!" Nightmare Moon bellowed. "Drain Punch!"
"Breloom!" Breloom would go in for another Drain Punch. However, upon going for a second Drain Punch, Manectric would continue to evade, this time jumping over Breloom. "Loom?"
"Slippery little feline...! Again! Do not stop until you land your mark!"
"Breloom! Bre!" It would be a continuous swing from Breloom, who tried hitting Manectric. But with each swing, Manectric only managed to further evade. Whether it was zipping to the side, swerving around Breloom or even performing another leap, Manectric would continue to dodge successfully. He would even use Wild Charge to move around faster without hitting Breloom, not suffering any recoil damage in the end.
"This is ridiculous!" Nightmare Moon, reasonably aggravated, roared while pulling her mane. "This is not a battle! All that lion is doing is running around! Is it a scaredy-cat?! What is this?!"
"That's because Luna's batting style isn't so simple," Darkrai said. "What you're doing...is comparable to a Youngster."
"I beg your pardon?! Are you saying that my attacks are that of a child?! How dare you?!"
"You should know how Luna does it. She has her own style to it. Sometimes, she'll keep it basic but most of the time, much like the rest of her friends, it's about getting creative. You can be aggressive but only if you know what you're doing. I highly doubt you know what you're doing."
"You think I don't know that?! I'm trying to battle like her!" Nightmare Moon groaned, already showing signs of frustration just from failing to overcome this battle. She wasn't making a good impression on all the Pokemon here. "But..."
"Then don't battle like her." Suddenly, advice had been passed down to Nightmare Moon. From the top of this seaside, everyone looked over to the source of this voice.
It was Paul.
"I beg your pardon?" Nightmare Moon said to him. Darkrai wondered if this Trainer had been watching this entire time. He certainly had the right words to respond to Nightmare Moon's outcry.
"Don't battle like someone you're not. That's pathetic." Disappointed, Paul shook his head. He expected to encounter Korrina here. But instead, he got something else. Something that brought him down.
"P-Pathetic?! Watch your tongue boy! Do you have any idea who I am?!"
"Not a great trainer, that's what." Paul snapped back at Nightmare Moon, stunning her. "If you battle like someone you're not...you're never gonna get anywhere. You look like you battled in the past before Pokemon came into your life, didn't you?"
"I-I did, obviously!"
"Then use that. Battle in the way that fits you. Not a style from someone else. Those who mimic other styles are bound to fall flat and fail in every way. They'll never know how that trainer truly feels and gets in the spirit of things. Unless you use a style that you can work with and become stronger with that." Paul advised.
"I don't know who he is, but he's right," Darkrai added, going along with it. "Trying to battle like Luna and thinking about what she does will never work. It's why Manectric's been dodging this whole time."
"I...!" Nightmare Moon attempted to find the perfect reply, but there wasn't anything at the moment.
"Your Breloom feels the same way. Look at it." Paul then nudged his head in the direction of Breloom who sat down, lowering his head in disappointment. "What's worse is that it's a Fighting-Type. To Breloom, this is one of the worst ways to battle."
"Breloom." That much was true. Breloom was not used to this at all. But, the Mushroom Pokemon could cut her some slack. This was Nightmare Moon's first battle after all.
"My way of battling." Those words reached Nightmare Moon. She wasn't immune to taking advice from others. It started with Jessie, then Darkrai and now Paul. She had to find her way of battling.
There was only one way to do so. And it was only her that could make it possible. Granted, these were still Luna's Pokemon and therefore, they have certain skills they were already accustomed to.
"Oh, but what's the point?" Nightmare Moon sighed. "These are Luna's Pokemon. Though we may be the same just separate...they've grown and gained experience of their own. How am I to utilize that experience?"
"What's stopping you?" Came Paul's voice once again as he slid down the hill, reaching Nightmare Moon and the others. "It doesn't matter what the Pokemon is...you're gonna learn from them just like how they'll learn from you. Unless you're too afraid to do that."
"Me?! Afraid! Ridiculous!" Nightmare Moon stomped her hoof. "I will show there is nothing I cannot succeed at! Watch me closely, boy!"
"I'm watching." Smirking, Paul sat down, wanting to see what Nightmare Moon could bring to the table. Riling her up just like how he riled Adagio up was effective.
That seemed to be Paul's best mental strategy.
"Once more! I command you to use Drain Punch!"
"Bre! Breloom!" Yet again, Breloom would use Drain Punch. But this time, he was hoping that Nightmare Moon could make a difference. Another lunge and potentially another evasion for Manectric. And that's exactly what happened. Manectric would move to the side yet again.
"I see you!" Nightmare Moon's eyes flashed, locking onto Manectric. She had enough of his dodging antics and wanted to throw him off immediately. There was only one way of doing so. "Strike the sand at once!"
"Loom!" Breloom knew what Nightmare Moon was going for. By using Drain Punch, he struck the sand, sending it towards Manectric with the right amount of force.
"Mane?!" Manectric gasped before then receiving sand in his eyes. Just as Nightmare Moon planned. "M-Manectric!" With sand in his eyes, Manectric's vision had been obscured.
"Hmph! Dodge this! Stone Edge!"
"Bre...Loom!" Breloom could finally use a new attack. By stomping his leg, giant crystals emerged from the ground while Manectric was currently trying to get sand out of his eyes. But this would only guarantee a direct hit.
"Mane!" Manectric was struck by the crystals, unable to defend himself. Nightmare Moon as growing fast because of this. All that talk abut being a prodigy wasn't an exaggeration. A large part of Luna was within her.
Paul wasn't too impressed. He was waiting to see what she could bring to the table. And judging by the sand tactic combined with her aggressive personality, Paul had a good idea as to what Nightmare Moon could do next.
"Huzzah! See?! I can do anything when I put my mind to it!" Nightmare Moon cackled. "Now, hit those rocks into its mouth!"
"Bre?" Breloom had to take some time to think about what he just heard, facing the alicorn.
"Just do it!"
"Loom!" Breloom went for it. By using the crystals of Stone Edge, he sent some of the rocks flying in Manectric's direction while he still had sand in his eyes.
The moment Manectric got back up, he was met with rocks in his mouth. His eyes widened, dropping some of the sand before feeling something enter his mouth. "T-Tric?!"
"So...she likes to play dirty." Just like that, Paul discovered what Nightmare Moon's style was. Playing dirty. From the sand to the eyes and the rubble in the mouth, she was all about messing up her opponent.
This type of style mirrored that of a Dark-Type Specialist. But unlike a Dark-Type Specialist, Nightmare Moon used the environment to mess with her opponents rather than the attacks themselves. Not only like Breloom had any attacks for that. This was the style of battling that she adjusted herself to instantly.
It was cruel but it was her personal style.
"Now! Smack it silly! Drain Punch!"
"Breloom! Loom! Loom!" Breloom would take advantage of this. Manectric was coughing and rubbing his eyes at the same time, unable to fight back. Thus, Breloom slugged his friend multiple times with consecutive hits.
"Excellent! You won't be evading anymore! You would dare run this entire battle? This is your punishment! Finish it with Seed Bomb!"
"Bre...!" Breloom would hold his hands in front of Manectric, who was completely staggered at this point. By gathering the power of nature, Breloom formed a seed. Instantly, that seed combusted.
A green explosion went off, launching Manectric who ended up rolling in the sand. Everyone watched in awe once Manectric stopped rolling. He came to an immediate stop, bumping into the nearby hill. That assault ended up doing the trick. Just like that, Nightmare Moon managed to impress Darkrai.
Manectric was down and out. He had fainted.
"Manectric..."
"Spiral eyes...That means...Victory is mine!" Nightmare Moon cackled once noticing Manectric fainted. "See?! Nothing I can't do! I've mastered battling already. Then, I shall master the Art of Cooking! And then the world!"
"Not bad." Paul had to pay his respects. That was indeed impressive. He saw what he needed to see. He only came here for Korrina and she wasn't here. Not even the presence of Darkrai was enough to make him stay around.
"Well, she did it." Darkrai nodded. "Those aren't Luna's skills but there's something there. I hate to admit but she might be of great help actually."
"Ah...That felt good. Hold it there, boy!" The alicorn halted Paul, grabbing his attention. "Ahem. For your assistance...I hereby declare you a part of my group! A Trainer of such experience as yourself would be a valuable asset to my group!"
"Pass."
"Pass?!" Nightmare Moon lost her balance, dropping to the ground after Paull rejected her offer, walking off. It wasn't even something he thought to ponder about. It was instant.
"I already have my own group. I don't need another." Paul was off to reunite with the sirens, who he was tagging along with, much to the chagrin of Nightmare Moon. "Good luck though."
"Ooh...But he would've been amazing." Dissappointed, Nightmare Moon twiddled her hooves, visibly upset by this.
"You have us though." Darkrai flew over as he was joined by all of Luna's Pokemon. Breloom, being the friend that he was, helped Manectric back up, apologizing for getting sand in his eyes and rubble in his mouth which the Electric-Type ended up coughing out. It was simply just Nightmare Moon's order. "We're coming. Not like we could've left with the Poke Balls around."
"S-So then...I hae earned your respect? Is that what I am hearing?"
"Anything to find Luna. We just want her back. Consider this our alliance." Deciding to help Nightmare Moon, Darkrai held out his claw. Nightmare Moon looked around, seeing all the Pokemon smile at her.
It was somewhat unnerving for Nightmare Moon, having so many smies face her. She was used to the exact opposite as a friendly aura flew her way, making her twitch.
"V-Very well. Let this be an amazing group." She returned the favour to Darkrai, shaking with him. The alliance had been formed. Although, not all of Luna's Pokemon gathered around her. Only Aurorus was there, still upset about Luna being away from her.
But right now, the mission was to find her. And with the assistance of Luna's Pokemon, Nightmare Moon's group did eventually grow. Not in the way that she expected but it worked perfectly in her favour. It was back to the food stand and back to the mission as the journey continues.
Returning to the Food Stand where Team Rocket was working was Nightmare Moon. After all, she was the newest member of Team Rocket and thus, she was bound to stick by them. But this time, the group that she sought out to form was now growing. First Team Rocket, even though she was the one working for them and now Princess Luna's Pokemon who vowed to help her find Luna, reuniting with her.
"Finally, you're back. Thought you ended up running off but I'm surprised you showed up again," said Jessie before passing more brownies to the customers in front of her.
"I was merely increasing our group size. After that recommendation of having Luna's Pokemon enter our group, it was only a matter of time before I successfully got them to our side." Nightmare Moon, feeling the need to boost her ego, slightly exaggerated it. While she did get them on her side, it was not extremely simple and neither was it something she could do on her own. "Now. Let us hurry along already. We must retrieve my other half at once."
"We're almost finished here. Come to think of it, if Princess Luna's missing...won't that mess up a lot of things? This is sort of a national problem for Equestria when you think about it." James added.
"It is. And I wouldn't want to be the one to take the blame for it since we have her along for the ride." Jessie referred to Nightmare Moon. "Who knows what'll happen if she doesn't show up again?"
"I will take over, obviously." Nightmare Moon stepped forward.
"Princess Luna's missing?" Naturally, hearing this conversation were nearby ponies who grabbed some of the brownies that were offered up. Upon hearing this, they froze with some of them dropping their brownies. This kind of news was bound to throw Equestrian residents off guard.
"OH!" Team Rocket's eyes bulged open as this was the worst time to bring up Princess Luna. If at least one pony hears it, it will spread. But multiple heard it so the news would spread like wildfire at this point as the expressions of the ponies remained stunned.
"Not quite. She's right here." But along came Nightmare Moon to stave off their worries, revealing herself to the ponies.
"Oh..." Sighs of relief came through. The same went for Nightmare Moon, who had only one fear in mind. She feared that the ponies would recognize her as Nightmare Moon from the obvious appearance. But there was one key factor that surprisingly protected her from being exposed.
She didn't have her armour. Nightmare Moon's armour was easy to spot, making her appearance well-known. But to Nightmare Moon's surprise, that one missing detail and her entire regalia being stripped away made a difference.
"Had me worried there." A pony chuckled. "You look a bit taller now, Princess. What's up with that?"
"Magic. What else would it be?" Nightmare Moon made up the perfect excuse. Does something seem off? Use the Magic Excuse. Works every time and no one can counter it. "That was close. Who knew so little could affect so much?"
"Anyway, that's enough for today~ Thank you for your patronage!" Jessie whistled before bidding farewell to her customers. They would depart from Shalour, transforming the food stand into its standard van appearance. Nightmare Moon would have to get used to this transformation as just the movement of it was unnerving.
Their next destination? Undecided. But it would only be decided if they knew where Luna was or even a trace of her. Right now, they believed that Galaxy Master currently has her. Finding her would be difficult but that would give them all the time in the world to cook up some more brownies for various regions to enjoy.
Nightmare Moon was also worried about the crystal. The one thing that could stop Galaxy Master. But much like Luna, the major obstacle of Galaxy Master being unable to lose thanks to a Young Ash Ketchum was still there. It was hard to tell if the crystal would even work with that one rule in the way.
Kanto. Pallet Town. Afternoon.
Peaceful Pallet Town. The small town located in southwestern Kanto and the hometown of Ash Ketchum. To find some solace here after the events that happened yesterday, Fluttershy and Applejack arrived. To them, they chose Pallet Town for how familiar and homely it was. But more specifically, it was for Bayleef.
"Isn't this nice, Bayleef? It's great we got away from that." Fluttershy said to Bayleef, who was still feeling the effects of what Opal Vivacity did to her. The shock within her system was effective to the point where the energetic Bayleef had to take things easy now.
"Bay..." Bayleef felt some comfort here. Perhaps, it was the homely feeling of Pallet Town that could bring some peace. But there was something bothering her. Could her Leaf still work after Opal took that power for herself or was she now fully exempt from that? There was also the fact that Fluttershy was now a major target and Bayleef potentially didn't have the proper means to change her fate anymore just to protect her trainer.
"Aw. No need to worry. We got out of there, didn't we?" Fluttershy replied. "And I have everyone else who can protect me. Isn't that right, Raboot?"
"Boot."
"What about you being a vampire?" Applejack asked. "They wanted to take you in because of that. Uh...you're not still a vampire, are ya?"
"I'm just a bat pony but it looks like it's the same thing. From what she said to me, it's still somewhere there. But I don't turn into that anymore when nightfall comes so..."
"Guess we never did figure out if that spell would run out." Applejack pondered, thinking back to when they resolved the Bat Pony issue. "Uh, sleep with one eye open tonight, maybe. Just in case."
"I'm not too worried at all, Applejack. Way back then, I would've been but not anymore. Not when I have the greatest friends by my side." Chipper, Fluttershy hugged a tired-out Bayleef, expressing her gratefulness to all of her friends. "Plus, there's also how I had no idea Riolu could do that. But I guess every Riolu and Lucario can do that."
"Oh yeah. When he got Opal good in the face. That was pretty funny." Applejack chuckled. "But uh...where was that strength before RIolu?" She then looked at the Delta Variant of Riolu, wondering where this spark of Aura came from.
"Rio...?" Riolu rubbed the back of his head, shrugging in response.
"Ooh! I know!" Fluttershy raised her hoof, flapping her wings as if she was in class. "I learned about this, actually. It was from Valerie when I had an extra class with her. It can happen with Fairy Magic but it's way more effective Aura."
"What is?"
"Apparently, Emotions can make certain Pokemon stronger. Thinking about others helps that Pokemon in strength, pushing it even further. Valerie told me how Fairy Magic can be better depending on the thoughts of our friends. And the same goes for Aura. In fact, it's way better with Aura."
"That so...?" That made Applejack wonder even more. "Eh. Nothing new. Kinda suspected that honestly. Ain't the Elements of Harmony just like that?"
"I think so. Aura and the Elements do have the same similarity. Riolu really didn't want us to suffer, so he caught some second wind. And it worked out in our favour. Well, don't Riolu." Congratulating the Embalming Pokemon, Fluttershy patted Riolu's head, making him feel proud and important.
"Rio!" And Riolu loved it. This kind of praise was nice to the Delta Variant.
"Isn't this much better?" Fluttershy brought them all together. "Even if a whole league of vampires threatens us, nothing's going to stop us from having a good time, right?"
"Nah. We never let anything else stop us after all." Applejack agreed. Though there were still the shocking events of yesterday to think about, they couldn't let it all get to them. If there was one thing they knew how to do it was to kick back, relax and take a load off.
Thus, they had the right spirits to continue the Pokemon Festival. No vampires were going to stop them from having fun even if one of them currently possessed the power to change fate itself with an endless resource being her own hair.
One of the best ways to uplift spirits would be by consuming food. According to many. And it was true. By eating the food, they could already feel at greater ease. They had themselves some Pasta with a sauce that was served by a Tangrowth. They could almost melt from it as the food in this world was wonderfully amazing as always to all species.
Soon, they passed by different buildings in Kanto, which weren't many since it was so limited. However, when passing by Ash's home, Fluttershy spotted something through the window which revealed Ash's bedroom. She only took a slight glance at it while passing by before halting, seeing if she spotted something correctly.
"Oh?" The pegasus uttered, grabbing the attention of her friends. "Look at that! Did Ash borrow from Twilight?"
"Hm? What's up?" Applejack asked before climbing up Sceptile's head, just to see what Fluttershy saw. She saw what she meant when mentioning Ash and Twilight. Inside Ash's room, there was a large pile of books suddenly stacked up in his room.
And for Ash's room, this was not natural at all. His friends know that much about him. More importantly, these stacks of books had something consistent with them. Their names.
All of them had Galaxy Master on them. There were Galaxy Master books stacked up, sitting atop the oldest version of the book which was made by a younger Ash Ketchum. But now these ones looked new and fresh, not possessing a child-like text but rather one that looked to be from an official publication.
"That can't be right. I thought this Galaxy Master character was a one-time thing Ash ended up doing?" Applejack shook her head. "That's what Princess Luna shared with Equestria, right?"
"Right, but look. They're all brand new like they just came in." Fluttershy pointed out how fresh they looked. There wasn't a lick of dust or any blemish on them at all. This raised new questions. But those questions only increased once they saw the titles.
One of them involved vampires and the other involved two individuals. Luna and Darkrai. Now, they truly needed to know what this was about. How and why did these books exist?
"Excuse me! Mrs Ketchum!" Fluttershy knocked on the door, expecting to see Delia respond. But there was no response. Delia Ketchum was out enjoying the Pokemon Festival in Unova right about now, making this home empty. "Oh...She's probably enjoying the Pokemon Festival. Right."
"Well, I don't think we have to worry about breaking and entering. Not us anyway. But they wouldn't mind and plus, this is too important to ignore. Golett. You're up." All it took was Applejack's Golett to sort it out.
7 of them emerged from their Poke Balls before being ordered to retrieve those books. They had the strength and numbers to do so. And of course, as Ghosts, they could phase through the house, entering it with zero effort.
Soon after, the books had been retrieved and there were revealed to be at least 20 of them. 20 of these books were dropped in front of Applejack and the others in their massive numbers. They saw it correctly. These were indeed Galaxy Master comic books. But the surprises would keep on coming.
"Check this out!" Applejack grabbed one of them. "This one's got Princess Luna and Darkrai on it!"
"This one looks like it's the Dread League too." So did Fluttershy as each of these books correlated with individuals they knew and have encountered. "Ths one's called...Galaxy Master: Dread. Ooh, how eerie and interesting."
"Galaxy Master and the Nightmare Duo." Applejack read out the title involving Luna and Darkrai as Sceptile and the others grabbed the rest, seeing what they entailed. "Well, they look interesting enough. But did Ash make these?"
"Well, Ash isn't exactly a master artist. This art looks too good. Almost like it's official." Fluttershy investigated. "But what about the rest of the book?"
Further investigation was needed. And that involved opening the books. And upon opening them, yet again, they were smacked in the face by more surprises. With their jaws open, they saw how the stories appeared. Specifically, the one involving Luna and Darkrai.
Applejack saw how it perfectly captured the day Galaxy Master appeared. The day he showed up in front of those Canterlot Guards and introduced himself to Equestria. Every event that the guards shared with Luna which soon passed onto Celestia and eventually Equestria could be seen here.
Even his Pikachu. Especially his Pikachu. The entrance of Pikachu via Galaxy Master summoning him and even a direct copy of the original quote he used to summon the Mouse Pokemon. "Ain't this what happened last week?!" Applejack gasped.
"It even got the news about how he stood in the way of the vampires last night." Fluttershy's eyes widened. "It was all in one night though. How was this made since then?"
"Funny...These pages have Princess Luna and the Canterlot guards in them." Applejack squinted, reading the next page, finding new mysteries. "Right here, Princess Luna's talking to those guards after they showed up all drenched and defeated."
"It has that?" Fluttershy slid over to Applejack's side. "I thought it was just telling Galaxy Master's story."
"It is. Everything involving him looks like." Applejack was quick to learn what this meant. These pages were a good indicator of the truth behind these comic books. "It's like these books tell the story about everything that's happened with Galaxy Master, making it all show up here."
"Amazing." Fluttershy gawked before continuing the comic she had in her hooves. The book that Applejack held seemed to be the continuation of the very first one Ash ever made judging by the way the story went.
Then, she saw pages that involved Galaxy Master's heroic actions. Such as how he helped a young filly get some ice cream which ended up being an interlude chapter, something that didn't receive major attention. For Sceptile, the hook was the image of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They were involved in this story as well.
"Sceptile?!" Sceptile passed his book to Applejack, causing her to pause the current one and focus on this. It involved her sister after all.
"Apple Bloom?!" Applejack's hat flew off before being caught by Riolu. And since it showed her, this involved the thorns that were summoned by Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta. She read about how the thorns attacked the young fillies when they attempted to accomplish one thing with Scootaloo's Quilava.
Applejack was in absolute disbelief by this. These books seemed to retell history itself. Mainly surrounding the Pokemon Festival as that was when Galaxy Master started making the most moves. Plus his appearance was only one week before the festival began.
At this point, Applejack was reading with her heart beating rapidly. She feared that this book would tell her about the horrible things that happened to her little sister. And it did until Galaxy Master showed up in the book once more. There, she saw how he saved Apple Bloom and all her friends from those thorns.
"He saved them?" Applejack said as her perspective on Galaxy Master had been altered just like that. So much for being Equestria's new problem when he ended up saving someone so near and dear to him. "Huh..."
Fluttershy read onwards, seeing more about Galaxy Master and his encounter with the Dread League before stopping. "Oh! There aren't any pages here."
"Say what now?" Applejack peered over.
"Look. These pages are empty. It stops right here when Galaxy Master mentions teaching his Bayleef Sunny Day. Looks like he talked about Princess Luna in this one too."
"Sunny day? Why didn't we think of that?" Applejack chuckled, realizing how useful that move would be against the Dread League considering a majority of them were vampires.
"Um...N-Nevermind! It doesn't end there!" Fluttershy screeched as something new was happening to this book. Those blank pages weren't blank anymore. Right after she brought it up, the light particles that were reminiscent of Galaxy Master and the Sea Temple had shown up.
They emanated beautifully from the book before then forming something. New images. A new panel. Specifically, a panel about this very moment.
This panel involved Fluttershy's group discovering the books and opening them to see what they entailed. All of that had been recorded here, throwing the ponies and Pokemon off guard. When turning the page, they discovered that their discussion about the mystery of these books had been recorded too. It was all coming together for them.
These books were like Time Capsules.
"Whatever happens outside...happens in there," Fluttershy said, figuring it out. This is unreal..."
"It's messing with my head." Applejack groaned. "But...this kinda feels familiar. Didn't this happen with that Power Ponies book Spike had?"
"Mhm. But that one already told the story and we were just reenacting it. This looks like the opposite and these books are too important to ignore!" Fluttershy closed the book before making up her mind. "I think we need to show this to the others right away."
"With ya on that one. Plus...these can help out a lot." Applejack said before grabbing the other books. "We can find out what he ended up doing and best of all...we can give these to Princess Celestia. Everyone's gonna think Galaxy Master's a bad guy, but after he saved my sister? I don't think so."
"Neither do I. But some of these are short." Fluttershy looked at the other books. While they were plentiful, most of them had small pages. These pages covered short stories involving Galaxy Master's actions prior to the Pokemon Festival. It involved small good deeds he did while the bigger books that led up to the Pokemon Festival were larger.
And so far, only two of them had been made. One was about the further interactions with Luna and the actions over at the Dread League plus the thorns while the other was still new, filling itself out depending on what happens on the outside.
This kind of information would be shared with Princess Celestia. But there was also someone else too who they wanted to show this to. Someone who would love this to the core.
Ash.
It was off to Unova to meet with their friends and if they were lucky, they could catch Princess Celestia in that region too. Thankfully, with the gateway nearby, travelling to Unova, specifically, PokeStar Studios would be incredibly easy.
Sinnoh. Floaroma Town. Afternoon.
Floaroma Town. A town of flower lovers, Floaroma Town is always perfumed with the sweet scent of flowers. A short, floral pathway opens up to a sprawling sea of flowers in bloom at the right time during this festive moment. This town was famous just for its honey and vividly scented flowers that grow everywhere.
Standing here was Princess Luna, who was on her lonesome. She didn't have her Pokemon or even her Xtransceiver. She was doing this alone. But she planned to fix that by summoning him. Galaxy Master. Luna knew that Galaxy Master would always help those in need. She would take advantage of that.
"Alright then..." Luna took a deep breath. "How am I to bring him out exactly? I didn't exactly plan this through..." Getting him here was the tricky part. Luna could just wait for more vampires to show up tonight but she aimed to do it now and as soon as she could. Reuniting with her friends mattered more than anything.
She sat around a field of flowers, feeling the soothing aura of this town. It was enough to put her to sleep but she stayed vividly awake during it. Luna also thought about how she would speak with Galaxy Master. Their interactions varied. But after how Galaxy Master helped heal Luna, the conversations could change with Luna knowing what he did.
"Stumped, sister?" A voice spoke to Luna, prompting her to swivel. There, that's when she saw her. A familiar face at last. And a friendly one. It was none other than her older sister and the Ruler of Equestria.
Princess Celestia.
She was still in her Human Form, revealing it to Luna for the first time while having Cynthia and Premium Polish by her side. Luna was reasonably blown back by this appearance, jumping back.
"Sister?!"
"Ta-dah!" Celestia giggled. "How do I look? I pull off being a human splendidly, don't I?"
"Uhh..." Luna had to pause and process this. Seeing her sister like this was certainly something that was engraved in her memories now. Everything else she thought about was tossed aside just for this.
"That's the reaction I love to see. Don't worry. Pretty soon, we'll have you take on a human appearance as well just like me. Then we'd match perfectly!"
"I'd rather not!" Luna bellowed, refusing to take on a Human Form just by how perplexed she was. "Have you been going around in that form the entire time sister? You look so different yet familiar at the same time...it's almost uncanny."
"Sorry if I gave you a scare. Couldn't resist. But being a human is great! You have no idea what advantages I got to experience. Anyway, I came along because I caught wind of how this whole Galaxy Master thing is ramping up. It's getting out of control, isn't it?"
"Not yet it hasn't. I plan to make sure it doesn't get out of control. But to do that...I need to speak with him immediately, sister. You have to listen to me first. Galaxy Master isn't what we think he is. Far from it."
"What do you mean by that?" Cynthia asked.
"Well..where do I begin?" Luna had a lot to share about Galaxy Master after what she learned. It was vital that her older sister learned about this especially considering how Galaxy Master was now Wanted. She began from the best place she could think of. The Hyperdream.
Equestria. Somewhere underground. Galaxy Tower.
Meanwhile, over at Galaxy Master's secret hideout, at this moment, Galaxy master had returned. And with him were new sources of Rift Energy. Once again, a majority had been pulled from the Arcane Sea as well as objects that contained this cosmic power.
He gave more of this power to the Rift, restoring the cosmic entity yet again. The Rift could feel it all coming back to it. There was still a considerable amount missing but its power was recovering in the way it hoped for.
"Excellent as always, Galaxy Master. Even when dealing with vampires, you still have time and energy for this." The Rift spoke before expanding in size after recovering some power.
"Don't mention it. Speaking of which...I need to continue dealing with that in case it gets out of control. Bayleef and I are going to learn Sunny Day just for them. Wait a bit longer, please."
"I can wait." The Rift said before seeing Galaxy Master rush off to continue his missions to help those in need. All the while, the Rift was both grateful to Galaxy Master and also plotting behind his back at the same time. "Just a bit more. if I can at least reach a good amount, I can fully have you under my control, Galaxy Master. I refuse to have someone as useful as you sway to their side. But right now...I suppose I can use my recovered power to do more now. Let's see...what should I do next?"
The Rift gathered enough power to make a big move at this point. It wasn't its full power but it would have to do for now. The RIft had many plans. Many involved Ash and taking revenge on him. But of course, the next course of action needed to be exempt from Galaxy Master getting involved. It would take some time, but the Rift would brew something eventually as the journey continues.
Unova. Liberty Garden. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Liberty Garden. An island symbol of hope for a world where humans and Pokémon live free. It was only south of Virbank City which also led to PokeStar Studios. Arriving here at this island was Ash's group. The time for Equestria's movie over at PokeStar Studios wasn't now. Not when its biggest star Princess Celestia was exempt from this region at the moment.
Right now, they weren't doing anything important. Compared to everything else happening across the world, their experiences weren't flooded with vampires yet. But that didn't stop them from finding excitement.
"Looks like we have a lot more in common. This Z-Crystal of mine is related to Arceus as well." Showing her human counterpart the Twilightium Z, both Twilights held up their respective Arceus-related objects. The Arceus Pendant and the Twilightium Z. Once both items were placed next to each other, they resonated, forming beautiful golden lights that continuously flowed out of them.
"Lucky...I wish I had a Z-Crystal based around me." Hilbert added, feeling jealousy toward these two unique items. "I can see it now. My own Z-Crystal? How could would that be?"
"Giving you any further power is a disaster waiting to happen," said Hilda, shutting down Hilbert's dreams in an instant. "Let's keep that from happening."
"The number one trainer needs to have the best equipment possible." Hilbert boasted. "Isn't that right, Ash?"
"Uh yeah! That'd be great and all!" Right now Ash was occupied with some fishing, catching something massive in the process. Massive enough to force him to struggle.
"Melo." Meanwhile, Meloetta was having her own problems. This island was close to Virbank City, meaning PokeStar Studios would be involved. Naturally, hearing about this special location and what would be done there, Meloetta yearned to involve herself but the main problem came with her appearance. The Melody Pokemon wanted to take on a new appearance during the movie, just for flair and style points.
The problem was that she couldn't think of anything. The only thing that came to mind was her Pirouette Forme but that was natural and could only present so much. "Meloetta..."
"Why so glum?" Hoopa arrived, appearing upside down in front of the Melody Pokemon. "It's a fun day right now!"
"Gotcha!" Ash managed to finally reel in the Pokemon who put up a fight. It was only natural that the one who gave Ash a hard time was a Wailord. Emerging out of the ocean was the Float Whale Pokemon, appearing as titanic as always, sending a huge flow of water in everyone's direction.
Everyone was immediately drenched and soaking wet while Ash fell on his back, feeling successful about this gargantuan pull. There was something oddly satisfying about reeling in a Wailord.
Naturally, Wailord carried on with its day after drenching everyone here. But going the whole day with a drenched appearance wouldn't do for some of them. Luckily, that's where Victini came in.
"Tini!" Victini would have them all in tip-top shape. All he needed to do was exert his own energy. With his infinite reserve of power, Victini's body shined, emanating a beautiful dazzle of flames. His flames weren't just enough to show how much power he possessed, but also enough to match that of summer.
Ash and the others marvelled as their wet clothes and hair were immediately warmed up as all forms of water were taken away from them. Wet clothes were no longer wet by the power of Victini and wet hair became warm and smooth once more.
"Pretty sure it would take some time for the heat to restore this but...what's the point in arguing against Pokemon Logic, honestly?" Sci-Twi just went with it.
"I feel you. I tried understanding it myself and failed completely." Twilight agreed. She was the first to ever question the logic of Pokemon, trying her best to figure out how they work. Alas, trying to do so was pointless as Twilight only got so far. The logic of Pokemon was best left to its own mystical and ever-wondrous devices.
"Melo. Meloetta." Ignoring the water, Meloetta shared her problem with Hoopa, explaining the minuscule problem that was big to her.
"Okay! Hoopa can solve that! Melokan will have all the dresses you need!" Hoopa heard Meloetta's wish. Naturally, he would utilize his wings as a gleaming joy formed on the Melody Pokemon's face. "Alléhooparing!" By holding his ring out, Hoopa tapped into Space, seeing what he could grab.
But of course, Hoopa is never specific so the best option for him was simply bringing in everything. And that's exactly what happened. Everyone looked up at Hoopa's ring before witnessing the objects that dropped from it.
Dresses. Massive quantities of clothes dropped from above. They already experience the wave of water earlier. Now there was this. Millions of dresses came raining down, landing everywhere on Liberty Garden. Big, small, various clothes that all looked like they came from both worlds were dropped on everyone's heads and bodies.
They especially dropped on Wailord who had large quantities of dresses on it. But even these large quantities were not enough to cover the entirety of the Float Whale Pokemon.
"Hoopa!" Hilda bellowed before receiving a dress in her mouth, preventing her from speaking any further. Despite how wild this looked, it was wondrous to the people and ponies here. The beautiful dresses that faced them were too extravagant not to acknowledge. Hoopa may have gone for random dresses but the Mischief Pokemon certainly knew style.
"So, no one's going to address how it can just summon whatever it wants?" Cloudchaser asked while Flitter frolicked in the sea of clothes.
"Oh! My old dress. I thought I lost it when I was a child." Meanwhile, Bertha ended up discovering a dress from her childhood that was once thought lost. Not anymore as she held it in her arms. It was dirty however from years of lost and absent solitude.
"See? No issue choosing a dress now." Hoopa said proudly, succeeding in granting Meloetta's wish. At least, the issue of finding a dress had been solved. With all of these options, Meloetta discovered that these dresses were either too big or not small enough for her.
"Melo..."
"If you're looking for the best dress, count on Rarity to sort it out for you," Ash added, giving the best suggestion to Meloetta. He knew of one individual who could make the perfect dress for pretty much anyone.
"Hoopa, this is pretty and all, but could you please send it all back?" Twilight spoke while buried in a sea of clothes before freeing herself. Upon freeing herself, she spotted a familiar dress that widened her eyes. "Hang on! Isn't this my Gala Dress?!"
"Hehehe!" Cheeky as always, Hoopa would send only some of them back. But, it was still admirable for him to try and grant Meloetta's wish.
"Well, let's at least see what they're up to at PokeStar Studios," Ash suggested. "I wanna see what they come up with over there. Ya think they'll use Pokemon Clothes for this one?"
"Ash! Hey, Ash!" But before that could happen, a familiar voice called out to him. Arriving here at Liberty Garden via a ship from Liberty Pier were Applejack and Fluttershy. Noticeably, Spike wasn't with them at the moment and he wasn't there at Kanto either. Calling out to her friends, Fluttershy flew out of the ship before it could even dock near the island. There was something far too critical that Ash needed to see.
That of course would be the new Galaxy Master Comic Books that had suddenly appeared. If anyone needed to see this, it would be Ash Ketchum, the original creator of this character.
Unova. Ruins of a town out in the hills. Afternoon.
Out in the hills, there lived a remnant of an old town that used to exist here in Unova long ago. Now, they were all in ruins with no one living there. This area was now only meant for sightseeing more than anything. And the cause of this destruction?
Ghetsis.
At a young age, he exacted revenge on those who betrayed his family, resulting in the destruction of this town. Which is exactly why he showed up here, of all places. Before he destroyed this place, his family lived here. This was his home.
"This is perfect." Ghetsis observed the ruins as he already had plans for them. After leaving Kalos, he came to Unova just for this area. Living in that strange dimension for 30 years which only amounted to hours changed him. And for Equestria, it was for the worse. "I can think of no better place than to start it here. Don't you agree, Rift?"
Ghetsis was now aware. Still possessing a semblance of Rift Energy, he could detect the Rift at this point, who was watching him. The Rift revealed itself when Ghetsis called out its name, appearing in its usual cosmic form.
"What are you planning on doing here, Ghetsis?"
"I was actually hoping that you'd do it for me." Ghetsis confidently smirked. "I planned to rebuild the castle that belonged to my sorry excuse of a son. But this time, for my own benefit. Right here where my home used to be."
"N's Castle? You want that place back? Why's that?"
"Seems like you became so weak to the point where you don't know what I was doing." Ghetsis taunted the Rift for its vast weakness drop. "Being in that dimension for 30 years gave me a striking realization. Perhaps something I needed for a while. But...I'd rather not bore you with it. Anyway, I have a request. Restore the castle of my son at once. But, in my image."
The old castle that used to belong to N was long gone. Its destruction predates the two worlds crossing over. Ghetsis could still remember that image. The image of Reshiram showing up to burn down the castle, ruining the ceremony and causing it to be lost to the ashes. Which is why Ghetsis wished to revive it.
"Why should I? Frankly, I'm busy at the moment to even bother with you."
"Then maybe you'd take this as an equal exchange." Ghetsis had the perfect response. He would give something great to the Rift to ensure that his wish was granted. His own Rift Energy. By holding his hand out, Ghetsis began transferring the energy originally given to him the Rift, giving it all up.
A large flow of Rift Energy came flying out, stunning the Rift as it never expected Ghetsis to do something like this, especially to someone who was greater than him. The Rift gasped, feeling an astronomical flow within it. Galaxy Master wasn't the only one giving power back to this cosmic entity.
Ghetsis went the distance to the point where he expelled it all from his body. Just like that, all the Rift Energy Ghetsis once possessed was gone, just for the Rift.
"A-Amazing!" The Rift was amazed before appearing bigger thanks to this power transfer. "You gave back such a tremendous amount!"
"Rift Energy just feels like an afterthought to me. Have all of it back. And that should suffice as an equal exchange...right?"
"Fair play, Ghetsis. This helps greatly. The fact that it comes from you means its bound to be colossal." The Rift was certainly pleased by its tone shift and the way its body vibrantly flashed constantly from this recovered power. "Very well. You want N's Castle back. But in your image? I think I can do one better."
"Hm? How so?"
"I will pull another N's Castle from another world and reshape it!" The Rift returned the favour, just as Ghetsis wanted. But the Rift would end up taking Ghetsis' wish to the next level.
With this restored power, the Rift could do much more now. That involved interacting with other worlds parallel to this one. With a flash of cosmic power, the Rift began summoning that certain castle.
Ghetsis stepped back upon seeing the ground itself split in half. By giving the Rift more power, it could now affect the Earth itself to this degree. Once the ground split apart, cosmic lights flew out before then trembling this entire area. That's when it arrived.
A gigantic castle was birthed from the split ground, standing on a tremendous scale that took up all the ruins here. In fact, the ruins had been absorbed into the castle via Rift Energy. As to be expected, it resembled N's Castle, but not only was it larger in size but within that castle, there were certain changes.
And for Ghetsis' taste, a massive Team Plasma Insignia was at the top of the castle along with a flag. This was no longer N's Castle. This was Team Plasma's Castle or specifically, Ghetsis' castle.
"This will do." Ghetsis approved. "The old one was a waste. I can make use of this one. And I'll start by doing something I should've done a long time ago. This entire area...whether it be the hills or the sea nearby...is under my property."
Despite having his castle now, Ghetsis wanted to make one little change. And that change would be highly beneficial to him. He would claim this area. It was his home after all. But he wasn't just claiming it because it was his home. Making this entire area his property would bring stellar advantages that he could thrive off.
"But, no castle is complete without quantities of life." Ghetsis continued. "All of Team Plasma shall reside here. But...I'm shooting for more."
"More? Where could you go from here?"
"There's strength in numbers. But there's also strength in a civilization. I aim to start one here. Rebuild what was lost in this area by forming a new town." Ghetsis' goals kept being revealed. This still fell in line with his quest for power. But now, Ghetsis knew what other forms of power he could obtain. "Frankly, I'd prefer...maybe outcasts. Or those without anywhere else to go. All the more for what's to come."
"If that's the case, I know a place and a group of people you can find." The Rift already knew what to do about this, choosing to help Ghetsis some more. They both had the same target in mind. Ash Ketchum. At least, the Rift did. Ghetsis, while he was Ash's enemy, wasn't crazy about going after him anymore.
"Good. But I'll also find some of my own." Ghetsis then closed his eyes, flowing with ideas that he's never had before. "If Ash Ketchum has his group of friends who are always by his side...then, I should have the same aside from the Shadow Triad. The Seven Sages...Ever since Reshiram interrupted that ceremony at the old castle, they ran in terror, never to be seen again."
"Them? In this world, they're relatively young...but time has certainly passed ever since that day. Are you sure want them?"
"I do. Team Plasma is coming back in full swing." Ghetsis aimed to bring Team Plasma back to its former glory. Before the day Reshiram came and burned the old castle down.
"Fine then. But I'll make my own suggestion. How about this? I bring you new Sages? They also come from another world. Will that work?"
Temporarily, these two would work together. By paying each other back, both benefited greatly. The Rift received a large part of its power back whilst Ghetsis' rebuilding process was in full swing.
Unova. Liberty Garden.
"Awesome!" Back at Liberty Garden, Ash marvelled at the sight of these books. Brought over by Applejack and Fluttershy, Ash got to witness new editions of a series he only did one issue on. This wasn't his work but it didn't matter to him. He loved it as he read one of the stories, sitting down with glee as if he was a child again. "This is the best!"
"Pikachu!"
"So you just found these? And they piled up?" Twilight asked while Ash geeked out. His enjoyment was joined by Hilbert, Hilda and even Raboot.
"Mhm. We think they only exist because of what Galaxy Master has done so far. Whatever happens involving him, these books will appear." Fluttershy theorized. "At least, that's what I think."
"It seems like the most likely answer," Bertha replied. "It's also fun to think about. Every experience he has and any conversation involving him will bring new books. It makes it all the more entertaining."
"Yeah, it does! He used the Andromeda Flash! It looks way cooler with this upgraded style!" Ash exclaimed as his eyes lit up. The fact that this looked like it came from an official comic book artist made it way better for him. "Oh, thanks for showing me this!"
"Figured he was being controlled by the Rift. Check out all the good things he's done." Hilda flipped the pages, witnessing Galaxy Master's good deeds.
"Tini..." Glued to this story was Victini, reading one of the books as it already gained great traction. "Victini!" Naturally, the stories were enough to even make a Mythical Pokemon interested. Then again, Victini enjoys practically almost everything. And the same went for Hoopa who was reading one of them upside down.
"We're thinking of showing this to Princess Celestia too," said Applejack. "There's uh...probably gonna be a large pile of books back home, Ash."
"Fine by me. I rarely clean my room anyway." Ash chuckled, keeping his eyes glued to the book. "But man...I knew he was good. Even with what he's trying to do."
"It's only because the Rift changed the story. But at least he can listen to reason." Twilight shrugged. "I wonder why though? Wouldn't the Rift make it so that he could never sway to the other side?"
"Weird, right?" Pinkie Pie added. "Oh well! Works for us, anyway."
"It could just be in his character, right?" Hilda added. "Ash. You made him at such a young age. Makes sense that you'd only think about making him a pure paragon of good."
"Yeah. But it's also because of how he's based around my dad."
"He's based around your dad?!" Twilight exclaimed, as to her, this was a big deal. Very little is known about Ash's faster. Any information on this one mysterious and elusive individual felt like a treasure. "Really?!"
"Yeah. My dad has always been my hero. He's the one who inspired me to start my Pokemon Journey. Without him, I'd probably never be here with you guys. So, that's why I made Galaxy Master in the first place. I had the name and everything, I just needed someone to base him on. Who better than my dad?"
"That's fair. I'd do the same for my parents as well." Sci-Twi added. "So...does that mean he sounds exactly like your dad does?"
"Yeah? Does he?" Twilight asked.
"Yep. Made sure he sounded just like my dad. I anything, he's just my dad in a costume. Sweet, right?" Ash chuckled as Galaxy Master was the closest anyone was ever going to get to know more about Ash's father. "But those Pokemon he uses aren't my dad's though."
"That's great and all but don't you guys see how useful this is?" Hilda stood up, holding out the most recent book which showed the recent events of Fluttershy and Applejack discovering these books. "We can track him down with these books, easily."
"Yeah, she's got a point! Check it out. He's got a secret base and everything. It's called Galaxy Tower." Rainbow Dash showed a page revealing Galaxy Master's base of operations. These books truly had everything.
"Oh yeah! The Galaxy Tower!" Ash cheered. "It's a tower so massive that it pierces the heavens and goes all the way to space! But it looks like it's underground here...and a bit smaller too."
"It's somewhere in Equestria...it says so right here." Fluttershy aimed her hoof at the text box that gave away the location. Useful information indeed. "So, are we going to go after him?"
"Hmm..." Ash pondered about this. He would love to see the hero he made at last. But without any ulterior motives. He just wished to see him and speak with him as well. "Yeah. Pretty soon, let's head out there and see him."
"Pikachu!"
"By the way...where's Spike?" Twilight asked, noticing that Spike wasn't present here. "I thought he was travelling with you three?"
"He went his own path in Kanto. You see, he's going for the Kanto and Johto Champion Lance." Fluttershy explained, revealing where Spike was. To continue on the path of a Dragon Master, he had to go to the best. And the best of them all was undoubtedly Lance.
Sinnoh. Floaroma Town.
"Hmm...so that's it." Meanwhile, Celestia had also been given some info on Galaxy Master, courtesy of Luna. The same things Ash shared with his friends, Luna did the same with her sister. "Well, that changes a lot."
"It does. And I'm afraid he's not under any mind control. He generally believes what the Rift has shared with him. And if the Rift grows stronger, it can make sure that Galaxy Master never sways." Luna added. "What do you propose we do now, sister?"
"Well..." This gave Celestia time to think. It took her little time to make up her mind. "For starters, I'll make sure he's not seen as the criminal anymore. At the end of the day, he is a Hero. Just a misguided one at the moment. Convincing him can be easy but getting the Rift to back away, perhaps not so much, especially since we don't know how much power he gave back to it."
"All this talk about Rifts and cosmic stuff makes my head spin." Premium Polish commented.
"When we see him again, let's make sure this chat of ours doesn't go anywhere. If the Rift wants to interfere, he'll answer to me." Celestia declared.
"Oh, thank goodness...Frankly, I was getting tired of having to choose between speaking with him or just stopping him entirely. And...I'm tired in general from all these movements."
"Not anymore. It's time you enjoyed the festival, Luna. After we get your Pokemon back, obviously. Sorry that your big sister hasn't been too involved." Just then Celestia went to grab Luna, causing the younger sister to grimace.
"W-What are you doing?! Wait! Sister!" Luna gasped as Celestia suddenly picked her up. Thanks to her size as a Human, Celestia held Luna in her arms. "I feared this would happen..."
"Sorry! I just can't get over this size difference! If it makes you feel better, we can have you become a human by going through that portal." Celestia winked.
"I'd rather not. Just help me find Darkrai and the others already."
"Right, right. Luckily for you, I have a way of doing so." Taking charge was Princess Celestia. She's already had her fun while Luna did all the hard work. Now it was Celestia's turn to work hard. The greatest sigh of relief came to Luna because of this.
Multiple scenarios and objectives were occurring all over. Whether it'd be in one region or two. Or even other worlds. The full force rebirth of Team Plasma, meeting with Galaxy Master and of course the Equestria Movie over at PokeStar Studios. Good or bad, there is always something occurring that brings in heaps of attention. And at times, leaves an impact on the world. And a new impact was coming as the journey continues.
What an amazing array of Strange and Wonderful Creatures that inhabit various worlds in various universes. Plentiful to the point where they have no limit and they never show signs of stopping. Delightful in every way and amazing in every category.
These boundless creatures can be found everywhere. Living in the lush grasslands, fields and anything verdant with great beauty. Some Pokemon soar through the heavens themselves, becoming masters of the skies. Some can be found in mountainous areas, living amongst fire and brimstone in rough yet adaptable environments for them. And some reside beyond the skies, moving across the cosmic skies of space.
No matter what, there will always be a Pokemon somewhere. Whether they're in hiding, roaming with all the joy in the world or even becoming the stuff of legends and myths, only appear in rare instances.
Which brings us to the lives of those who live with Pokemon. These are the Pokemon Trainers. Appearing in varying species as well from humans, ponies, dragons, griffins, changelings and many more, the bond they share with Pokemon can be considered beyond astronomical.
There are those who catch Pokemon, training in the art of the Pokemon Battle and the various Gyms that exist out there, leading to leagues or even partake in Pokemon Contests, showing off their unique sense of style. There are those who take it simple with Pokemon, becoming Pokemon Breeders, Nurses, Actors and too many occupations to count. But many shoot to be the best in their field.
And one of these Pokemon Trainers was Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. His journey to become a Pokemon Master covers everything, resulting in him witnessing all the wondrous sights that exist in not just his world, but other worlds as well. Alongside his best friend Pikachu, the journey to be the very best truly brought many benefits.
And with his many friends such as Twilight Sparkle, as always, the journey continues with no end in sight.
Unova. Virbank City. PokeStar Studios. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
PokeStar Studios. The perfect place for anyone to make their dream films. Right now, a majority of Ponyville's residents plus Cloudsdale were aiming to make a film about Equestria. They already do something similar back at Equestria with the Hearths Warming Play. Here at PokeStar Studios, they could go the distance and surpass the theatre plays.
This film was in progress ever since the first day of this Pokemon Festival and everyone was working hard to make sure it was the best it could be. Naturally, this was all Mayor Mare's idea as ponies were now the most prominent group at PokeStar Studios currently.
"Hey, you think I could tell a joke for this one? I think I'll get 'em with this one." Sliding over to Mayor Mare with a recommendation was Berry Punch.
"Get who?" Mayor Mare asked.
"I hear PokeStar Studios is being visited by some film critics today. Sometimes, they heckle others. But not us. I can tell a mean joke, if you must know."
"Hm-hm. Can't deflect criticism but go for it. If you're so sure about it."
"I'm ready for them. Trust me. Plus, I'll handle any insult thrown my way by them." Berry Punch boasted. "Wouldn't be the first time I've been criticized about something. Mainly my berry juices."
"I'm not sure...Film criticism seems to be the largest and strongest form of criticism out there. Even beating out food criticism. "Mayor Mare replied before seeing Stoutland hold out the traditional list of film rules. This specific list may seem pointless but any filmmaker needs to know about the obstacles that come with them. And these obstacles were gigantic in every way. "Not sure it can rival that of culinary criticism."
"Ah, I'm sure it'll be fine. Here. Let's try it, mayor. You'll be the audience and I'll throw my joke at you. Heckle at me and throw insults and see how I take it. My wits are as quick as my crafts." Berry Punch backed away, feeling fully confident in what she could deliver.
However, her Skwovet wasn't so sure, shaking his head in disapproval. Mayor Mare figured she'd give it a try. No harm done after all. "Very well then."
"Great. Here's a bad joke. Ahem." Ready to throw a bad joke toward Mayor Mare, Berry Punch cleared her throat before spouting it out. "Why shouldn’t you write with a broken pen? Because it’s pointless."
"Hmmmrrgh...!" But surprisingly, Mayor Mare found that humorous as she scrunched her face, ready to burst out into laughter. It didn't take long for her to do so as she almost dropped her glasses from the way her head reacted to her laughter.
"Wait! You found that funny?! You're supposed to boo at me, mayor!"
"Oh! Sorry! But to me, that was too good not to laugh at! Ah, that takes me back to the jokes I used to hear and say!"
"Right...She's older than most of us so something like that would hit well with her." It was then that Berry Punch realized why Mayor Mare found it so entertaining. Jokes like that were A-Plus in her book."
"Oh, oh! Mind if I throw my own in?" Mayor Mare nudged, eager to crack a joke as well.
"Uh, no thanks. I...gotta go!" Berry Punch slid away before a joke would be thrown her way. While Mayor Mare was the one who planned for this to happen and brought up the idea, she was just the overseer. The one who was making sure everything goes to plan was none other than Ponyville's second-best organizer who used to be the best.
Amethyst Star.
She was glad to have this role. It was her expertise, obviously but there was one bigger reason than most. It was the fact that a certain alicorn wasn't here. Twilight was now Ponyville's best organizer and since she wasn't here at the moment, this role was all for Amethyst Star and nopony else, making her proud.
"Almost a week in and I'm still organizing everything. This is great!" Naturally, this brought joy to the unicorn. She showed no ill feelings toward Twilight but having her title overtaken by someone who does organize things better than her left an impact that lasts a few years and was still going on. No shame in being competitive. "Take that, Twilight!"
Speaking of Twilight, she arrived, joined by Ash and the others. The moment those doors opened up, Amethyst Star sensed the presence of the Princess of Friendship. She slowly turned her head, causing a creaking sound before spotting Twilight Sparkle.
This timing could be more coincidental.
"See? It's not even close to being done yet." Cloudchaser said to them. "I don't think it's a Celestia problem. It's more like nopony here knows how to make a move."
"Nah, they know. Lyra and a few others have some experience here. But if they're going big for this one then yeah. That's gonna take longer than any PokeStar Studios films I made here." Ash added.
"It looks bigger than the one we have back at our Unova, doesn't it?" Hilda commented, pointing out how different this version of PokeStar Studios appeared. It apparently had a larger size compared to theirs.
"There you are!" Calling out to her friends was none other than Rarity. This entire time, she's been at PokeStar Studios, helping out. As to be expected, for dresses, she was in charge from the get-go. "I was wondering when you would show up."
"Rarity. Before anything else, take a look at this." Applejack rushed over, holding one of the Galaxy Master books up to the fashionista. Small talk would have to wait as the contents within the book were too important to ignore, especially since one f them involved her little sister.
"Oh. Alright then?" Rarity replied with a confused tone before pulling the book her way with magic. All she needed to do was look through a few pages to get a gist of what has happened so far. But all of these books give the full context.
"So, how close are you to getting this all done?" Ash asked, walking over to Mayor Mare. In his hands, he held Victini as if he was a baby.
"Well, we're apparently making the biggest film in this place that isn't made by professional filmmakers." Mayor Mare added. "The downside is that we're not professional. Most of us aren't. But we have a few ponies who've been here before so we can get this done eventually. Ah, but you're a professional, aren't you, Ash?"
"Nah. I've just got a lot of experience here." Ash chuckled. "The best I can do is make a cool pose and do voice-overs but this is all about Equestria. I'll just watch."
"Well...we do need a narrator. Something about a narrator just brings warmth to the soul." Mayor Mare sighed. "Especially if it's the right voice. What would be the best voice for this?"
"What?!" Meanwhile, Rarity discovered the contents within the books, shocked to see what they entailed. This was the natural reaction as it startled mostly everyone here.
"A-Anyway. Do you know a perfect voice?" Mayor Mare asked.
"The voice needs to feel mystical, Ash," Octavia added. "Something that sets the watcher in. Like my performances."
"I read that narration heightens the story even more. Like we're reading a book or something like that." So did BonBon. "So. Got the right kind of voice?"
"Hmm...The right kind of voice, huh?" Ash pondered. The range of voices for a narrator can be so unique and special. But there is one consistent thing about a narrator. It's always the way they soothe the ears. Deep and mellow voices work the most. That's when it hit Ash. "I got it! We'll have Sombra do it!"
"SOMBRA?!" Everyone gasped except for Rarity. This was not the name they expected to hear her. But of course, since Sombra was now within Ash, his name would be brought up from time to time. Now was probably not one of those times.
"Hahaha! Yes! "Excellent idea, boy! Now you're thinking at your peak!" And of course, Sombra loved that idea as he emerged out of Ash in his full pony form. This option to have Sombra as the narrator was a stunning idea that would have to be dictated later on by Mayor Mare.
Equestria. Magehold. Afternoon.
Over at Magehold, Fantina was once again teaching the vampires about Pokemon, focusing on the younger vampires the most. Once again, no complaints came from her whatsoever.
"Alright children. It seems we'll have a field trip about catching Pokemon soon. So stack up on Poke Balls that I brought you, alright?" She spoke to the vampires as each of them were holding Poke Balls of their own. Specifically, Fantina brought them Dusk Balls and Quick Balls. Not a single standard Poke Ball was seen in sight except for the Pokemon they already owned prior to Fantina arriving.
Fantina could remember it clearly. When asking permission to take them on a field trip, she was met with this one limitation from Fractured Note. The ever-loyal servant and right hoof to Rosa Maledicta.
"Do so. However, you are to take them anyway where else except away from civilization. Only the wilds will do for our little vampires. Understand that clearly, Fantina. That is one of the wishes of Queen Rosa."
"Away from civilization...I suppose the wild is the best place to catch Pokemon anyway. But the rest of the fun could be sucked out without getting to see the wonders of exploring places." Fantina said to herself as already, upon learning that this field trip was imminent, the children went crazy, discussing which Pokemon they would catch. They clearly had their preferences and it could be seen in how they interacted with Fantina's Pokemon.
So, the best place to go would be somewhere dark. Fantina by now knew that these foals were fine with anything dangerous and eerie. Here at Magehold, it would fit right in. But while everyone gossiped while hanging around Fantina's Pokemon, Fantina noticed someone in the corner of her eye.
In fact, it was the first time she noticed this pony. At the corner of this dark room resided an even darker corner that could mask almost anyone. And it certainly masked this pony. Another foal could be seen, sitting there exempt from the rest of her fellow classmates, grabbing Fantina's attention.
"Oh hello. What's your name? I haven't met you yet." Fantina kneeled, facing the filly in the dark spot.
"My name is Rattle. Miss." She said, shuddering a bit once Fantina got a better look at her. "Sorry for hiding." Her tone seemed to be lower compared to everyone else here.
"It's fine. At least I saw you. Are you nervous? Too afraid to be next to the rest of the class?"
"No." That's not it at all." She shook her head while still trembling. "I'm just younger than everypony else here...so my curse magic is..."
"Hm?" Fantina turned her head as Ratte was the youngest pony here apparently. She wondered what her curse magic had to do with it. The only thing that came to Fantina's mind was potentially what others felt about Rattle's magic. "Oh. Your magic? Is it too much or are you being made fun of?"
"No...I just got my magic a week ago. Not many know what it is. And that should be for the best." Rattle whimpered. Indeed, not only was she the youngest here, but she recently got her magic. And naturally, the way she got it was terrifying, matching the horrific events these foals had to go through to get their magic. It was mainly being chased by terrifying monsters from Tartarus and beyond, scaring them to the point where their magic finally emerges.
Rattle was the newest pony. And unlike her classmates, she wasn't all about fear. She wasn't for it at all which was surprising to Fantina. But Fantina had no idea what Rattle experienced. Rattle could still see it all. The things she had to run from and go through still roamed her mind. She had yet to settle in and accept this fear.
"Hm...Well, what is your Curse Magic if it has you like this?"
"It affects my mind, miss. I know many things about anyone I look at. I looked at my classmates and told them what could happen in the future and what I knew about them They hated me for it. Mainly for what comes next...Like how you shouldn't be here." Rattle revealed her magic.
Her magic seemed to be the power to perceive others' lives and especially the truth and future of things. And by looking at Fantina, she saw all she needed to see. "I can still see the day you met her majesty."
"You do?" Fantina uttered.
"I could tell just by looking at you. Sorry for intruding." Rattle apologized for this. It seemed that intruding in the lives of others by simply looking at them and knowing what she needed to know did not sit right here. Any other pony in Magehold would revel in this, however.
"It's fine. I don't quite understand it myself. But what do you mean by I shouldn't be here? I feel like I should honestly." Fantina chuckled as Rosa had her fully convinced she belonged here. But out of everypony here, Rattle was the only pony who thought otherwise.
"I shouldn't say it. She can hear everything you do." But Rattle refused to spill it before then putting her hooves over her head. "But this magic of mine scares me, miss. My head can't take it. All of these thoughts and everything I learned.
"You can't control it?"
"No." Rattle's magic was still new to her. "My head hurts when gaining so much, miss. I'd rather not look at anyone else ever again with this."
With this potent magic, Rattle's mind was suffering. Such a young mind s unable to take it all in. Right now, the thoughts that Rattle received were only dark thoughts. Mainly about every vampire and skeleton here. She could see all the horrific things they could take but she couldn't.
Even the creatures that chased her around, their thoughts affected her as well. All of it was too bitter and terrifying for such a young child, especially one who was not adjusted to the way Magehold presented itself. Unable to stop this magic at all and control what her mind sees, the vampire filly was essentially suffering at this point.
"It's alright." And then there was Fantina, putting her hand on Rattle's hoof and head. Seeing the vampire filly trembling prompted her to do her job as a teacher to its fullest. She wouldn't just teach them, she would take care of them. "If you're feeling scared, I'll stick by your side. All of these thoughts are getting to you, are they?"
"And the future. The future of what everyone else sees. It's all so dark and violent miss and I can't stop it from showing up in my head."
"Well...Go back to me. Look at my thoughts, please." Fantina suggested. She already knew that the vampires here thrived on everything dark so they were bound to have dark thoughts. But Fantina was an exception truly. "You said you already got everything you know about me, right?"
"Mhm. Your thoughts are the only ones that aren't terrifying miss. But everything else gets in their way." Alas, with how many dark thoughts were in her head, Fantina's was essentially drowned out. Anything remotely positive would be sent away.
"Let's go on that field trip to ease your mind." Fantina had one more suggestion. Staying here at Magehold would only flood her head with more dark thoughts until she reaches an age where she can control this magic. What was the best option? A place either than Magehold and this field trip could change that despite the limitations Fantina was met with. "Does that sound good?"
"It does." Rattle would take it. But she was still too afraid to come out of that dark corner. And of course, Rosa Maledicta heard it all.
It wasn't too surprising to the Lich Queen who heard it all the way from her throne room. Despite bringing Fantina here and erasing any memory of her home, she kept Fantina's natural kindness. But it was only for somepony like Rattle who was young and struggling to adjust to Magehold. Either way, Rosa Maledicta knew that eventually, when Rattle does settle in, these dark thoughts would become natural to her.
"Poor Rattle," Rosa spoke. "It will all look standard for the little one for when she gets older. Though...her magic is one of the best we've received so far. I will certainly continue to keep an eye on her."
Unova. Virbank City. PokeStar Studios. Afternoon.
"Ash, why?!" Twilight questioned as many were still stunned that Ash would choose Sombra of all ponies. "Why him?!"
"His voice is pretty great." Ash had to speak what he felt. And to him, Sombra's deep voice was both intimidating and interesting to listen to, making it unique.
"Thank you, boy." Sombra greatly appreciated this compliment, walking past Mayor Mare. "I do think I should narrate this film of yours. Who else can do it better than yours truly?"
"His voice is very nice to listen to, honestly," Lyra admitted to that as Amethyst nodded in agreement. Mayor Mare thought about it for a bit.
Everyone was terrified of King Sombra but a good voice was a good voice and no one could deny that. Plus with Ash here, he could be monitored. His magic was also limited so there was little to fear except for his voice. Sombra found Ash's decision to choose him to be truly kind.
So far, he's noticed how kind Ash has been to him despite their scuffle a few years back and Sombra's previous occupation and role. It made him think about Radiant Hope and how she encouraged him to find new friends. And while Sombra still sees Ash as a vessel he could hang around him, he and Pikachu were the closest he had to new friends.
Sombra honestly felt like befriending someone else. Someone more serious and just like him. But it was Ash's carefree nature that clashed with his nature. And yet, Sombra couldn't bring himself to despise it. He did in the beginning but spending time with Ash changed that.
"Very well. That is a nice voice." Mayor Mare ended up going with Ash's decision. "Alright. I think we're close to closing off each category. All we're missing is Princess Celestia herself and a few things here and there. Then, we're good to go."
"Who is this Princess, Ashkan? What does she look like?" Hoopa asked, curious about Princess Celestia.
"Only Equestria's best ruler. And well...I've got her image right here." Ash held out his Xtransceiver, turning it on. Princess Celestia was on this with her face and everything. "I guess I can just call her to tell her what's up."
"No need! Hoopa will bing Celestikan here!" Hoopa had an easier solution in mind. By holding up his ring, he would save all the hassle and bring Princess Celestia to this part of the world.
"I beg your pardon?" said Mayor Mare before witnessing Hoopa hold out his rings. As swiftly as he took them out, Hoopa dug his hand through the ring, searching for that specific pony. And by doing so, he found himself touching leather of all things. Not exactly something that he saw on a pony at all but he would go with it.
"Hm..!" Hoopa then used both his hands to pull as hard as he could. And straight through the ring, just as he promised, he brought Princess Celestia over. But not just her. Holding onto Celestia after she had been snatched were Luna, Cynthia and Premium Polish along with Celestia's Pokemon.
"Oh!" Celestia tumbled after being pulled in, nearly falling over. Of course, she was still in her human form and now this form would be revealed to everyone else as Luna fell flat on her face. Everyone was absolutely starstruck. Many of the Ponyville and Cloudsdale residents got to witness the power of Hoopa. And it was a terrific one.
"Were you surprised?" Hoopa giggled as they were certainly surprised. And also terrified by two things. The appearance of their Princess who they were able to recognize instantly thanks to her mane plus the presence of Luna, Gardevoir and Arcanine.
This meant one thing. Hoopa visibly snatched and potentially kidnapped their ruler making Mayor Mare rush over, lowering her head rapidly out of fear. "Ah! Princess Celestia! My greatest apologies for this happening?!"
"What just happened? One minute I was in Sinnoh and now..." Celestia uttered, looking at her surroundings and noticing familiar faces everywhere. "Ash? Everyone?"
"Princess Celestia?! Is that you?!" The ponies all exclaimed upon seeing their princess in her Human Form. A first-time experience that would be forever engraved in their heads.
"...Sweet." Some ponies rather liked this new look. It would take some time for many of them to get adjusted to it but for the most part, at least they make out that it was their esteemed and benevolent ruler.
"It sure is. Ta-dah~" Celestia spun around. "I'm not sure how I got here but...nice to see you all!"
"Hoopa did it! It was Hoopa!" Hoopa admitted it was him that bought Celestia here. "Were you surprised? Were you?"
"I certainly was." Celestia showed no negativity towards Celestia after he pulled her here. "But did you have to do it with such force"
"Sorry. Hoopa felt something holding you back."
"That would be us." Luna raised her hoof before standing up. "Where are we even?"
"PokeStar Studios, Princess Luna," said Mayor Mare. "We were actually waiting for Princess Celestia to show up if we could get her...but it looks like this Hoopa Pokemon solved it so easily."
"Ooh! The place where the movies are made?! Wonderful!" Celestia giggled with joy before clapping rapidly.
"Hang on. You can just bring anyone here?" Rarity asked after witnessing Hoopa's stupendous power.
"That's right! Hoopa just needs a name and sometimes a face! Nothing is impossible for Hoopa! Except for bringing Jirachi over. No fair, Rift. Playing dirty." Hoopa pouted.
"Really now?" Applejack and Rarity both said. Seeing Celestia show up here gave them a clear idea and suggestion. After reading the Galaxy Master comics, one thing came to mind. The safety of their little sisters. And there was only one way to make sure they would be close to their sisters as soon as possible.
And Hoopa was the answer to that.
"Hoopa. Could you do one thing for us?" Rarity and Applejack slid over, having the same wish in mind.
"So, what movie are you all making?" Celestia asked. "Is it done? Can I see it?"
"Well, it's a movie about Equestria. We just needed you here, your majesty. Since we were planning on making you the start of this one." Mayor Mare explained. "How does that sound?"
"Lovely!" Celestia was all for it. "But...I'd like Luna to be my co-star. I wish to do it with my sister. Especially since she needs something fun after what's been happening so far?"
"Eh? Me?" Luna sat up. "Oh...that's nice of your sister."
"Princess. Acting in a movie can be somewhat different from acting in a theatre play." Twilight suggested. Celestia had been given lessons in acting before during the previous Pokemon Festival but she remained silent through that entire play since she played the role of Arceus. This one would require lines. "I mean...you'll have an entire script to work with."
"Oh. I have to speak? That will be easy." Celestia shrugged. "I've got this. No need to worry, Twilight."
"Why am I starting to worry then?" sighed the Princess of Friendship. Meanwhile, dropping on her head were the Cutie Mark Crusaders thanks to Hoopa's ring. The three of them alongside Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon arrived causing Twilight to fall over.
"Hoopa did it again!" Hoopa announced after granting the wishes of Applejack and Rarity.
"Ugh...Why would you do that?" Sweetie Belle asked, groaning as Hoopa seemed to pull them in at the worst time. Many felt nervous about this since Hoopa could just do what he wanted with minimal limitations. It terrified them of what he could potentially bring over.
"He's sort of like a little Discord and that scares me." Carrot Top said.
"I thought that was the Unown." But thank goodness most of them are small." Berry Punch replied, giggling right afterwards. On the bright side, they all hadn't witnessed Hoopa's Unbound Form.
"Is uh...is no one going to question the other Twilight in the room?" Amethyst Star was the only one paying attention to the fact that there was another Twilight Sparkle here. Her Human Counterpart after all.
PokeStar Studios was now flooded with Equestrians at this point. Perfect considering the movie they were about to make. And with the main star here, they could truly begin. Everyone would pitch in with their expertise with production being in full swing. Granted, a majority of them had little experience with this but those who did would help out.
Ash, Fluttershy, Lyra, Derpy, the CMC and even Cynthia, each chiming in. Then there was Meloetta, looking for a dress to wear in case she was added in. In fact, she really wanted to be in. From before, Ash recommended that she went for Rarity. And right now, Rarity was within her vicinity.
"Oh, look at you." Rarity spotted Meloetta while holding a dazed Sweetie Belle. "Aren't you a beautiful Pokemon to look at? You remind me of a smaller Pheromosa."
"M-Melo." Meloetta hovered over, keeping one of the dresses that Hoopa summoned just to show Rarity, hoping she could understand her wishes.
"Hmmm...I understand." Being around Pokemon who have great fashion sense gave Rarity a clear mind on what certain Pokemon wanted. Plus, the dress was a dead giveaway. "Come with me, alright?"
"Meloetta!"
And of course, making this movie involved many of them simply talking with each other, not in a rush to make it. They could take their time with this and it made it all the more better when they interacted. And Sci-Twi along with Bertha, Hilbert and Hilda Victini, Meloetta and Hoopa got to see how they got along.
It was an absolute mess. The best kind of Mess. The kind of mess that makes it feel familiar especially with how some of them had their banter. And most of it would result in frantic movements.
If this film ends up being successful, they will surely bring film studios over to Equestria. But more than that...imagine the money we could make from this!" Octavia's eyes flashed with bits in them. She was thinking about how much she could make from this.
"Oooh! You're right!" Berry Punch replied along with Derpy. "We could gain something around...8 Million Pokedollars! And probably 100 bits!"
"8 million and a hundred?!" Derpy gasped. "That's a lot for both sides."
"It is. And if by chance, which this is most likely, the movie gets praised for its soundtrack, I think with all the hard work I'd put into it, each currently should be split by 5% for everyone. 90, 5 and another 5." Octavia believed her music would elevate this film. So she wished to get the most out of it.
"You only want 5%?" Derpy replied. "Thanks for the rest then~"
"What?! I'm the majority, muffins!" Octavia bellowed, causing Berry Punch to giggle at this exchange.
"Perfect! Yoou look amazing in this!" Rarity sorted out the best dress for Meloetta. She saw what fit the Melody Pokemon the most and judging by Meloetta's expression, it was a smash-hit. The light pink dress covered her shoulders almost fully and flows down into an elegant sweetheart neckline. It's a loose fit which makes the dress look comfortable, yet elegant and stylish.
Her arms have been covered fully. The sleeves are a tight, but comfortable fit from top to bottom, allowing for enough movement while still looking fancy and somewhat royal.
"Meloetta!" Satisfied with this design and how much it worked for her. She's wearing platforms, which matched the dress perfectly. To top it all off she's wearing a simple, but stylish necklace and several elegant bracelets.
"And the same goes for you." Just as a bonus, Victini had been dragged into this and he wasn't keen on it compared to Meloetta's joy. If there was one thing he shared in common with Ash, he didn't look to be a big fan of suits. But this suit looked flashy enough to be Victini's distinct style.
He's wearing a blazing orange shirt and buttoned it up fully to support the graceful bow tie he's wearing. On top of the shirt he's wearing a classy vest with 7 buttons, it has a narrow v-line that perfectly matched his name and insignia on his head, which allowed for the top to remain visible even when the suit's jacket is buttoned up. There was even a nice flame pattern on it to represent his Fire-Typing.
The jacket fits him like a glove, a tailored glove. It has a tight herringbone pattern which gives the suit a more formal and elegant look. A playful touch to a classy look even if Victini could do without it.
"Tini..."
"Here's some concept art for the Wendigos." Thunderlane lent Amethyst Star concept art.
"Uhh...Oh, dear..." Amethyst Star gazed at the concept art, immediately criticizing it. "This is ridiculously childish for concept art. "Who drew this? An actual child?"
"Mmmm...!" The one who drew it was indeed a child. One of the Ponyville Schoolhouse Children. Aura drew it as she began whimpering, startling Amethyst.
"Gah! I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I didn't think a child actually made this!" Amethyst apologized. Wait! Why is a child making Concept Art in the first place?!"
"There's more where that came from!" Thunderlane used his wings to reveal more concept art. "I should warn you...not everyone here's a great artist. Including me."
"Great..." Amethyst sighed. "On the bright side, at least I'm still the organizer here.
"Aw, have to transform back? But I love this Human Form?" Celestia pouted. "I have fingers that can do so much it's astronomical."
"We need your original form for the film, your majesty. It will only be brief." Mayor Mare pleaded to Celestia who grew so fond of her human form that she felt too comfortable in it.
"They're a lively bunch, aren't they?" Bertha said to Cynthia. "I should've visited their world sooner."
"Mhm. You should see them when they're at the Pokemon School. The energy they bring works so well with what we have here. All the more reason to keep them around." Cynthia responded.
"It'd be a shame to have such a colourful cast forget about all of this," Bertha added, surveying how Ash and everyone interacted with each other. "Seems like Ash here has amassed around 151 friends."
"It's more than that Bertha. By the end of it all, I think we'll go past that number cap as well with how things are going."
"I wish Darkrai and the others were here to see this..." Luna missed her Pokemon still, wishing they were here to indulge in this frantic and fun mess. "But. I have full faith I'll see them again." And yet, she had confidence. Not only that, but she was surrounded by more friends rather than just her Pokemon. And in addition, she was surrounded by family.
"This is all a parallel to my world. I could have this..." Sci-Twi realized that many of these ponies resembled the people back at Canterlot High. These were their counterparts for sure. It dawned on her. Friends of this size could soon be with her. And for Twilight, that would be amazing. "Wow..."
"Yeah. It's great, ain't it?" Ash walked over. "All of this is. When you're not battling, it's great to just be here with those you love. Chilling out with friends and family is just the best! Even if mom isn't here right now."
"Pikachu."
"Yeah. And I guess I have more friends coming my way. The Alpha Pokemon. I'll need a bigger room for them though. It's already getting a bit crowded." Sci-Twi chuckled before looking down at Alpha Pikachu. Alpha Pikachu nudged her leg in response.
"Did you say Alpha Pokemon?" Mayor Mare heard Sci-Twi after she brought up an Alpha Pokemon. "There should be one nearby. At least, it looks big enough to be an Alpha Pokemon.
"Nearby?! Really?! Where?!" Sci-Twi leaned in.
"Not sure but you'll find it here." Mayor Mare winked before having Stoutland toss over a newspaper for her to catch. "Oh. Don't wear that!" She then quickly rushed off to oversee the rest of the film process.
"Well, we know what we're doing after this." Eager to search for more Alpha Pokemon, a pat on the back was given to Sci-Twi by Ash. "First, let's see how this film turns out!"
"Ah! Wouldn't it be better to go now?!" She followed him, continuing to involve herself with all the antics that come with this group. Sci-Twi didn't know it yet but she was now a part of this group, whether she was Twilight's counterpart or not.
Everyone here was like one big family from how they bonded together. Whether they be human, pony, Pokemon etc, they get along in their own unique ways. Gentle or rowdy, bold or brash. It's all the same and all the more fun. To keep something so wonderful around was the wish of everyone here. A wish that can only be made possible in the best way. By working together.
That kind of power that brings others together truly cannot be matched by many if not anything. A wonderful thing for two wonderful worlds as the journey continues.
Unova. Virbank City. PokeStar Studios. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
Nightfall fell onto the Pokemon Festival. And with so much hard work, everypony working on the Equestria Film here at PokeStar Studios fell asleep. Luckily for them, PokeStar Studios was a place where they could rest. Some of these props are comfy and soft.
As for the film itself, they made outstanding progress. Thanks to the cooperation of so many individuals, it was in its final stage. They worked on it even past midnight. There was only one thing needed to be done.
"Finally...This should do." Mayor Mare yawned before laying on Stoutland. In her hooves, she held a film reel that contained the entire film. "Great work, everypony. And...goodnight."
"Hoopa..." Luna, who was on the edge of falling asleep, looked at the Mischief Pokemon, seeking his help. "You have the power to bring anyone, do you not? Could you do the same for my Pokemon?"
"Sorry..." Hoopa grumbled, rubbing his eye. "Hoopa doesn't know which Pokemon belong to Dark Blue Rapidash."
"Ah...So it's not specific but rather random. Good to know." Before she fell asleep, Luna learned the limitations of Hoopa's amazing power. He could bring any Pokemon here with the only limitations being that he was locked from reaching Jirachi and he's bound to bring a random Pokemon.
As opposed to Sweetie Belle, Celestia and the others, they had their own original names that were assigned at birth and even had appearances to go off of. The same couldn't be said for Darkrai and the others who had multiple species across the world, making it hard to find a specific one.
"Well, that's all of them. Mostly everyone here's asleep." Sci-Twi pointed out as she, Ash, Sombra and Fluttershy were the only ones awake. Celestia, who switched in and out from her human form and pony form was currently asleep next to Luna. She stayed in her human form after finishing filming in her original form, holding Luna in her arms.
Everyone else slept in various compromising positions after knocking themselves out. From the array of clothes and props that were scattered everywhere along with paint splatter, they put their heart and soul into this.
"It's just us now," Ash said. "So. Ready to head out and find that Alpha Pokemon?"
"Now? It's pretty late but..." She then held the newspaper which held information about an Alpha Pokemon. It was easy to see it was an Alpha based on its size and the glowing red eyes. "We can still try. It looks to be an Alpha Heracross. That's uh...certainly intimidating. Wish most of them were simple. Just like Pikachu, Munchlax or even Luxio."
"Yeah. Heracross is pretty strong when it comes to strength. Might have to put on heavy armour for this." Ash chuckled. But no need to worry about that part. So, where do you think we'll find Heracross in this?"
"It looks like it was previously at some place called Reversal Mountain before it flew off. Great. Another Alpha Pokemon that roams wherever." She groaned, hoping that Heracross would stay in one position. But much like the other two Alpha Pokemon Carlita brought up, it was going wherever it felt.
"Then we'll just head to places close to Reversal Mountain. But...Heracross does love tree sap. So I already know where we can search for it." Since he had his own Heracross, Ash knew this Pokemon's preferences perfectly.
So did his Bulbasaur, for all the wrong and uncomfortable reasons.
Leaving here meant letting the others rest peacefully while they head tree-sap prominent areas. Mainly forests. PokeStar Studios still had some lights on, revealing itself to even be 24/7, allowing many to film for as long as they want before they fall asleep on the spot.
But right now, whilst Ash and the others quietly departed from PokeStar Studios, creeping away without making a sound, deep within the dreams, Luna was currently multitasking. Resting and recovering her body while also focusing on what mattered most. Her Pokemon.
Hyperdream.
The Hyperdream. If there was one way she could try and find her Pokemon it would be in the Hyperdream. Specifically, focusing on current dreams to track them down. Hoopa couldn't do it due to the specifics so this was her next option aside from Galaxy Master.
She sorted them out via the order of Pokemon she caught. The first Pokemon she ever caught was Darkrai, so he was up first obviously. However, the dreams she gathered were not recent at all.
"Strange...Why aren't there any recent dreams?" Luna wondered, continuing to scroll through the dreams. If she could find a recent dream, she would know where her Pokemon were. But that wasn't the case. Surprisingly, none of Luna's Pokemon were asleep.
The only dreams they had were dreams from yesterday but that was before they knew that Nightmare Moon was now their trainer. For all they knew, Luna was still with them. If anything, this only scared Luna some more, making her worry about what could have possibly happened to her Pokemon for not a single one of them to start dreaming, even past midnight.
By this time, they would all be asleep. Including Darkrai, who was currently too injured from his previous encounter to even do much. He even slept for the very first time and it was a truly soothing experience. Alas, his current dreams were not present at all.
This raised problems for Luna that she never expected to face. Without any of her Pokemon currently dreaming, there was seemingly no way of finding out where they live.
"Darkrai?! Musharna?! Florges?!" She cried out, desperately trying to find their dreams. But her tone soon lowered the moment she yawned, remembering how exhausted she was currently. "Curses...I'm already tired myself. Where could their current dreams be? What could possibly be happening with them right now?"
Kalos. Glittering Cave. Nightfall.
Glittering Cave. The chances of something losing all sense of direction here is highly likely. It was also a place where Luminous Moss glows emerald green. And this moment, Nightmare Moon was still active and awake.
Naturally, it was expected for her to be awake. She was essentially an emissary of the night. However, something was amiss. Right now, Team Rocket had bags under their eyes, sitting near Glittering Cave while having their Food Stand Van parked near it. With their eyes baggy and hair messy, they appeared to be tired out of their mind but were unable to clock out and doze off.
"Hey...notice something off?" Jessie uttered with a weak voice.
"I just did. It's been two nights now and we can't sleep." James pointed out. Since last night, they never slept when heading to the Kalos Region but that didn't seem unnatural. It just seemed like James had enough energy to drive through the night despite working hard all day.
But now, it has happened a second time where they were unable to rest after working hard yet again. Thus, it led to this. A peculiar instance where none of them could sleep.
"This all started when that nightmare lady came around and joined us..." Meowth pointed out when it began. All of this was being shifted towards Nightmare Moon who was active and full of energy.
Speaking of Nightmare Moon, she was currently within Glitter Cave, not on her own. All of Luna's Pokemon with her. Not within their Poke Balls but rather outside of them. And much like Team Rocket, the Pokemon appeared exhausted as well.
Bags formed under some of their eyes, at least with those who were able to form bags. If not, they would just rub their eyes, lower their heads, slump on the nearest rock or wall and much more to try and doze off. But alas, that wasn't the case.
"Gliscor..." Even being in an advantageous area such as a cave, Gliscor could not sleep here.
"Why are you all so sluggish lately? I need to hone myself already." Nightmare Moon shook her head, not yet reading the room. "I am undoubtedly the best when it comes to the night. I can perform much better so for the sake of our alliance, we must be ready for the night."
"If we had the energy..." Darkrai grumbled. "Why can't we sleep at all? This isn't right."
"Musha...!" Musharna was currently vibrating at hyperactive speeds, desiring the need to consume dreams. Unfortunately, with no one around her vicinity falling asleep, there were no dreams for her to feast on.
"Unable to sleep? Ah, that would be me." Nightmare Moon caught on before revealing the reason for this.
"I KNEW IT!" Jessie, James and Meowth equally bellowed inside of the cave, startling Nightmare Moon.
"R-Right. Does my presence stave off drowsiness? Or wait...is that the other way around?" Nightmare Moon pondered. "How is it properly said?"
"You're doing this" Darkrai groaned. "Why?"
"Can you blame me? Well, I suppose you can. I'm a manifestation of Luna's dark wishes and desires at a dark time. And one of those wishes was to have an everlasting night. A night where none would slumber."
"Seriously?" James uttered. "Is that why I couldn't sleep last night?!"
"She imagined it all. A world wrapped in the night..." Nightmare Moon closed her eyes, still imagining the moment when Luna's dark thoughts emerged for the first time and when her alter-ego was beginning to rise. "As opposed to when all frolic and prance in the Day of her older sister, she wanted the same for the Night. But without a trace of the Sun. You could say everyone would be nocturnal."
"Can't you turn it off?!" Jessie roared, blowing Nightmare Moon's mane.
"I would if I could!" Nightmare Moon yelled back at her. "This is all natural! But consider this proof! Proof that my magic is enough to do this. Because very soon...the night will last forever when I am in control."
In the end, Nightmare Moon was still looking out for herself. While she knew she needed Luna, it was only for specific and conditional reasons rather than it being a bond similar to that of Lunar Ire. Her previous mind-control attempt was only the beginning even if it failed thanks to her horrible cooking.
"Very soon, I will have the power to make the Moon stay up for as long as it needs to." She thought to herself,
"Great...so there's no chance of us falling asleep is there?" Darkrai held his head. "I'm used to it but...I've never felt exhausted before. Two times in a row. First in the centre and now this."
"Have no fear. Consider this a fair outcome. As soon as I reunite with Luna, you shall not have to worry about these drawbacks. The night that I seek not only lasts forever, but of course, one must thrive in it."
"Yeah, if you're not a plant of the ocean," Meowth replied before falling flat on his face.
"You're a vampire's best friend at this point." James sighed.
"Now, shall we begin our session? " Nightmare Moon continued.
"I've got a better idea." But, not wanting to participate in this, Darkrai quickly switched options, capitalizing on the night for one crucial reason. "At this time, the vampires are the most active. They'll be out there in the night, free as they can be."
"Ah, vampires. Normally, I'd be fine with them since they are the only ones who would truly live under the beautiful moon. Obviously, not these vampires due to their goals..." Nightmare Moon growled. Out of the few groups in the world, vampires would love the Moon.
However, since the Black Crusade was so hostile, even Nightmare Moon disagreed with it heavily. She'd rather rule a world with flesh than a world with skeletons where she is also being ruled over by a unicorn. Darkrai would once again take advantage of the scenario in front of him.
"There's also Galaxy Master to take into account." Darkrai brought up another big name that further interested Nightmare Moon. "He'll be looking to stop the vampires and their every action. At this time, wouldn't it be best to meet with him now?"
"Galaxy Master?!" Jessie suddenly exclaimed, gaining a sudden boost of energy that made her energized. But it was only for this instance as her eyes lit up with joy. "Oh, him! He's wonderful! Read all about him on the news!"
"D-Did you now?" Nightmare Moon twitched as her eardrums had been attacked.
"Mhm. I wish he would come to my rescue..." Jessie sighed, fantasizing about the fictional character. If it wasn't already made clear, everyone could see that Jessie showed attraction to Galaxy Master. "I would've preferred a Prince Charming or a Knight in Shining Armor to come into reality but I'll take a Superhero!"
"I see...Anyway. I understand what you are saying, Darkrai. We can catch him in action this way. That is what you're suggesting to me." Nightmare Moon pondered, catching on Darkrai's suggestion. "Hm-hm. I could do without the vampires but Galaxy Master is a different story. He's a massive obstacle in my way and my goals. All because of how he was made."
"What? That ability to never lose? Lucky him. Wish I drew a character like that when I was young." James added.
"Precisely! If anyone in the world is allowed to never lose, it should be me!" Nightmare Moon rubbed her own ego once more, boasting further with every chance she could have. No one bothered to stop her though.
Darkrai wanted this, Jessie had her own massive ego and James, Meowth plus the rest of Luna's Pokemon couldn't bother to try and retort.
"Hold on...That crystal is still with that turtle Pokemon...that is potentially the only thing that can stop him." It clicked with Nightmare Moon. The crystal in Torterra's mouth was currently with the fictional character. If there was a chance to retrieve it by finding Galaxy Master, now was the time to make a chance. "Hm. Change of plans! We seek out this Galaxy Master. Where there are troublesome vampires, he will appear."
"Gotcha." Darkrai nodded in agreement. Just as planned. Now Nightmare Moon was set to find some vampires which would lead to Galaxy Master. The movements of a Superhero were sometimes simple to read after all.
"You all! Quit your lounging and start that machine of yours!" Nightmare Moon announced.
"Anything for Galaxy Master!" Jessie was all for it. She completely dismissed her exhaustion just to meet with Galaxy Master. James and Meowth would rather not however, James was the only one here who could control the van without it going out of control. He certainly wasn't going to leave it with Jessie under the wheel.
Hyperdream.
Try as she might, Luna couldn't find their current dreams, unaware of the main reason why. Because of this, she failed to find them and by now, would have to resort to her next option. However, something unexpected happened.
She fell asleep in the Hyperdream. Exhausted to the core, Princess Luna dozed off with this realm of infinite dreams, resting on one of the bubbles. After looking for the dreams of her Pokemon which dated back to tonight, she expended her own strength.
"Darkrai...Everyone..." Luna grumbled, talking about her Pokemon. How she wished she could see Dakrai right now. Alas, that one encounter with Galaxy Master left an impact that played a part in this separation. She even waited for Darkrai in this realm but alas, he never showed up thanks to his current condition.
She only dreamt good things about them as the bubbles were soft as pillows, bringing outstanding comfort to the Moon Princess. There was a gentle feeling to them, undoubtedly and the way they wobbled in response to Luna's movements was comforting as well.
There were also the sounds of the Hyperdream. Since everything here resembled bubbles and the landscape was ethereal, the sounds were unlike any other. These bubbles made a wavy sound that almost resembled the sea and space combined. Falling asleep here wasn't a bad idea with how comfortable it was.
However, without Luna even knowing, by sleeping here, she caused a new dream to appear. Out of Luna's head, a small bubble emerged. That bubble soon enlarged, creating a new dream within the Hyperdream specifically from Luna. Of course, it was automatically sent to the category of all of Luna's dreams, becoming her current dream.
"Luna...Luna..." A voice cried out to the slumbering alicorn. It had a young voice to it. Or rather him. A certain hand started patting Luna on the face, trying to get her attention.
"Not now mother..." Luna spoke in her sleep, unaware of who this was. Once again, it was none other than Young Ash Ketchum, who was out of his dream.
"Hmm. Asleep?" Ash pouted as he usually meets and chats with Luna upon showing up. Luna has already grown accustomed to bringing this version of Ash along. Now, he was on his own. No one to chat with or have Dream Adventures with.
At least, for now. Ash could change that. And there was only one way of doing so. Young Ash certainly didn't want to go on adventures on his own. When it's with someone else, the journey becomes all the more exciting. He chose to let Luna sleep as bothering her wouldn't feel right to him.
So, he thought about finding someone else.
"Let's see..." Ash jumped from this bubble to another one, beginning to search for someone else to venture with. And his options were absolutely outstanding and endless. He could truly bring anyone he wanted. And already, Ash eyed down a few options.
Someone this young having all this freedom across such an ethereal place was prone to have some high alert. If only there was any since Luna was currently asleep, unable to supervise him. Of all the times Luna was allowed to take it easy and not let herself overwork, this was potentially the worst time to do so.
2 hours later within the Hyperdream.
2 hours had passed in the Hyperdream, which was the same for the outside. Luna rubbed her eye as she managed to wake up at this time. One of the bubbles bumped into her, prompting the moon princess to finally awake from her slumber, even if it didn't last the entire night.
"Oh goodness..." She stretched before falling off the bubble via a roll. As soon as she rolled off, she landed on another bubble. The best part about the Hyperdream was that the bubbles never run out. But that could also be considered a downside since that meant there would always be something to govern over.
"Asleep in the Hyperdream...how poetic. Or ironic? What is the correct way to say it? Ah, it matters not." Luna stood up, cracking her hooves while stretching them. "I failed to find them even here. Looks like Galaxy Master is my other option. At this time, he should be searching for vampires. I should-"
But before Luna could finish her next sentence, a cupcake landed on her head, interrupting her. It slid on her face before giving her a vanilla taste. Luna nodded in approval of this taste but quickly dismissed it to wonder where it came from.
"A cupcake? Is this from Pinkie Pie's..." But the second she turned around, her eyes were graced with the absolute chaos that she wasn't aware of until now. "Dream...?!"
Multiple bubbles were scattered and flying about frantically. They were moving erratically, away from their categories, causing an immediate mess. They even moved around other bubbles by pulling them along.
"What happened here?! When did this disorganization happen?!" She pulled her mane from this horrific sight. Her eyes rapidly followed each bubble, seeing various items flying out of them. From what she could gather, this certainly couldn't have been done by her. This was too chaotic to be done by someone asleep. Only someone active would do this.
This made Luna fear the worst. So far, she only knows of a few individuals who can interact with this area. Darkrai, Nightmare Rarity and Daybreaker. But there was another. One individual who could come out of his dream without Luna needing to grab him. Young Ash Ketchum. And judging by the childlike items being dropped from different dreams, Luna could figure out who was the one doing this.
"Ash!" Immediately, she zoomed to one of the bubbles, hoping to stop this before it gets out of control. Since she was out for 2 hours, it potentially already has.
Canterlot.
This dream took place in Canterlot. Luna wasn't sure whose dream this was since this bubble was awry, so she only had to guess. But now it wasn't time for guessing. It was time for action. The Moon Princess saw that the most items flew out of this dream. Thus, it was definitely the one she needed to target.
And upon arriving at this dream variation of Canterlot, that's when she saw the culprit. Or rather, various culprits. Her eyes widened as the cast of characters inside of this dream was not what she was expecting.
Of course, Young Ash Ketchum was there as to be expected. But alongside him were some familiar faces. The Mane 6 were also here but much like Ash, they all appeared younger. They were all in their filly forms right about now. The cupcakes made sense among many other items
Not only that but since this was Canterlot, another familiar face was prominent here. Luna's own sister. Her older sister who appeared younger now. Celestia, back when she had a pink mane instead of the multi-coloured one she possesses now.
The list wasn't small either. Various ponies were around Canterlot right now, appearing in unique ways thanks to what they dreamed about. Luna could now guess that this was her sister's dream and everyone was sharing it. It only made her wonder about what the other dream bubbles entailed.
"This party's great!" Ash pumped his fists into the air while holding some cupcakes made by Pinkie Pie. "Worth the effort!"
"This is strange. Not where I am. This is my home and everything but...." A Younger Twilight said. "How'd you do this? Can you control dreams just like Princess Luna? What even are you?"
"How? That's easy. I uh..." Ash would have an answer here, but there was none. If anything, Ash himself wasn't sure how he managed to even get out of his own dream in the first place without Luna doing so. If he couldn't do so, he would've never come here. "No clue!"
"That worries me..." Twilight replied but she went along with this party either way if it meant that she got to eat sweets. A child's favourite food next to cereal.
"Luna mentioned you before too. Just like everyone here. My name's Ash. What's yours?" Ash held his hand out to a younger Fluttershy.
"It's Fluttershy..." She quietly said. She still had her shy tendencies but there was a difference. Much like how she met Ash for the very first time, the appearance of a human was enough to make her speak out a bit more. "What are you?"
"What am I? Human, that's what!" He proudly said before scarfing down some cupcakes.
"Human?"
"Mhm. You know...a human." Ash assumed she's already seen a human. But since she hasn't this made a younger Fluttershy all the more curious.
"I don't know. But I want to know." She put on a smile. "How's your hair like that? And what's that on your face? Electricity?"
"Nope. It's my birthmark! Pretty cool, huh?"
"Birthmark?" A younger Pinkie Pie slid over, poking Ash in the face. "I didn't know animals could have birthmarks."
"They can but I don't think he's an animal," Twilight added. "Are you an animal?"
"I don't know what an animal is." Ash shook his head as the concept of an animal was lost to him. However, there was one concept that wasn't lost at all. "But I know one thing! Pokemon!"
"Pokemon?" They repeated.
"What's a Pokemon?" Fluttershy leaned in with her curiosity rising. She had no idea what kind of wondrous species she could encounter. Luckily, Ash could soothe that curiosity.
"Yeah! I can show you some right about now!" Eager to show them, Ash was ready to hop into another dream. "Follow me, okay?" For them to see these Pokemon, they had to follow Ash who was taking charge.
By now, he had some experience in the Hyperdream. And naturally, since these were all children, their curiosity got the better of them.
"But Canterlot!" Aside from Rarity, who loved being in such an esteemed place. Her friends would rather see these Pokemon than stay around here.
"Ah, wait!" Luna pursued them. "Ash Ketchum! You stop right there!"
"Ah! Hey, Luna!" Ash waved his hands excitedly before jumping high enough to fly. "You're finally awake! That's great!"
"Luna...? Nightmare Moon?!" Immediately after hearing Princess Luna's name and seeing her, the Filly Mane 6 drew to one conclusion. At this point in their age, Luna was known for one thing only. Being Nightmare Moon. Naturally, this struck fear in them.
"She's after our dreams!" Twilight exclaimed, fearing the worst possible outcome. Since Luna was here within the dreams, it was only assumed that she was here to attack them and spread nightmares.
"What?!" Luna came to a screeching halt after hearing them. If they had a reason to run and follow Ash, this was a good one, Instantly, the fillies screamed, following Ash as now even Rarity felt like she needed to leave.
With her diamonds of course. She dreamt of a carriage to hold this massive array of diamonds, bringing them along. "Wait for me!" She yelled, also fearing the worst. However, everyone else didn't flee at all. They knew this wasn't the case. Just simply Luna patrolling the Dream Realm once more.
"Who's Nightmare Moon?" And of course, there was the younger Celestia who had yet to know about Nightmare Moon's existence. That name just sounded abstract to her. And of course, by this point, her younger sister was considerably smaller than her while also possessing a standard mane as opposed to the ethereal one she had.
"Umm..." As to be expected, the two sisters notice each other. Young Celestia and an older Luna locked eyes as this amalgamation of characters could only result in this interaction. "Hello, sister."
"Luna?!" Celestia gasped at the sight of her sister who was now taller than her and packed that ethereal appearance as well. Not only that, but she was now an alicorn which Celestia at this point, was one before Luna ever reached that status, coming in second.
"Goodbye!" Not having time to chat, she continued on her path to catch up with Ash and the group he managed to form. She only left her older sister, who in this case was now younger, flabbergasted. But not enough to completely throw her for a loop. After all, this was a dream.
But even if she was dreaming, Celestia was also a curious pony as proven by her current day version with how outgoing she can be. Perhaps too outgoing.
"Ash Ketchum! Young man, stop right there!" Luna bellowed out to Ash, prompting him to slow down for a bit. He stopped by a nearby bubble with Twilight and the others nervously hiding behind the Kid from Kanto. "Thank you. Now...Care to explain what this is?"
"Oh, this? I just wanted to hang out with someone. You were asleep, Luna. So I couldn't wake you up. Sorry for the mess, though." He grinned.
"How did you even do this? You certainly don't have the strength to move them around. Especially at this speed." Luna was still in disbelief. "Hopefully, reorganizing doesn't' take too long."
"Nightmare Moon...she looks a lot shorter than I thought." Rainbow Dash uttered, trying to look tough but was truly terrified much like the others.
"Short?!" Luna growled as being called short wasn't exactly a safeword around her. Her exclamation made Rainbow Dash pull back, almost fainting.
"It's cool guys. She's not a nightmare. She's a cool pony, that's what." Thankfully, Ash could vouch for her, casually walking up to the alicorn.
"I am cool." Quickly shifting tones, Luna stood proudly. Twilight and the others were amazed to see how Ash was just standing to such an important figure. A Princess, no less. Then again, he was also standing near a future princess in the form of Twilight Sparkle. "Apologies for startling you...
"I just wanted to throw a party, Luna. An awesome party with a lot of new friends!" Ash explained. "So, this is the best place to do it. And everyone's got something fun to dream about."
"Hm. So that's it. Just a party." Luna sighed as she couldn't get mad at that. "Fair enough. You are a child, after all. I should've expected this. And probably stayed awake in a place such as this. I have no reason to stop you. Not when I'm busy with something else."
"Have fun with us instead." Ash grabbed Luna's hoof. "You can party with us too, Luna."
"I really shouldn't. Darkrai and everyone are waiting for me...and I miss them so much. But perhaps...I will party with you all another time when I find them. I just wish to be at ease in this year's Pokemon Festival. Even if for one week."
"Hmmm. Okay. I gotcha." Ash couldn't stop LUna from doing what she wanted the most. Even at that age, he knew when to put his friends first. "Good luck.y"
"Thank you. And uhh...if you're going to find some Pokemon. I have a suggestion. Go for this dream first." To boost Ash and the others, Luan used her magic to bring over a bubble containing a dream belonging to a certain Pokemon. A gift before she left.
"Oooh..." Ash peered into the bubble, noticing a playful yellow figure running around, shooting out electricity while also jumping around. That could only mean one thing. Luna made the right decision to pick out a certain dream.
Luna could leave here in peace. And also come back to fix the mess that Ash made just by running around. For now, more important matters came up. Such as finding her friends. Right now, the night was in its middle stages. With at least three or four hours left, the Sun will rise again.
Luna wanted to make sure that she could find them at this time. Because much like Darkrai and even Nightmare Moon, she knew one thing. Vampires were afoot and Galaxy Master would be there. Wherever they may be.
Reversal Mountain. A mountain located in eastern Unova. It was connected to Undella Town from the east and to Lentimas Town from the west. This mountain was once visited by Spike during his shot journey to train as a Dragon Master before meeting with Kyurem. Now, here at the mountain, news spread about an Alpha Pokemon once being here. In this case, Alpha Heracross. A heavy-hitter this time.
"Why did Ashkhan have to leave so early?" Joining Ash's group was Hoopa who also brought along Victini and Meloetta. Naturally, at this time when the Sun was barely up, they were still tired.
"You could've found us anytime with your ring, Hoopa. You can still rest up back at Virbank, ya know." Ash suggested.
"But Hoopa prefers to always be next to Ashkan. Even if Hoopa has to wake up early."
"Can't say the same for Victini and Meloetta. Look at these two." Meanwhile, in her arms, Sci-Twi held Victini and Meloetta who were on the verge of falling asleep, just because they wanted to catch up with Ash. "But, I'm glad they came along this early. Victini's infinite energy might matter in this." She then thought to herself, thinking about Victini lending a hand with this Alpha Pokemon situation.
"Have a look at this." Fluttershy then halted Ash and Sci-Twi once she laid her eyes on something. Something that could be a hint of Alpha Heracross. That had to do with the massive vertical dents in the mountain. These dents all followed a consistent pattern. Their vertical appearances appeared at the same height while being scattered in multiple areas. "These dents..."
"Yeah. W-What about them?" Sci-Twi asked, unable to catch on currently.
"These are Heracross dents." But Ash caught on. It wasn't just the vertical dent but also the familiar shape on top. It was a large cross, belonging to a Male Heracross. "Yeah. He's been here alright. Might've been in a battle."
"Is there a Pokemon that can track Heracross with these dents?" Sci-Twi questioned, hoping there was a Pokemon for this. "Oh wait! Hoopa, can you bring Alpha Heracross here?"
"Hmmm...Hoopa doesn't know what an Alpha Pokemon is..." Hoopa sighed, showing the limitations to his amazing ring powers.
Alpha Pokemon were also specific and since Hoopa could only pull random Pokemon from certain species, it's never 100% guaranteed.
"Figures. Well, let's see what we can do with this. Why would Heracross leave dents?'
"I know!" Fluttershy exclaimed, having a good theory as to what Heracross might be doing next." Heracross was probably testing his own strength. If he finished here, then he'd probably try and find someplace else to do so."
"Someplace else, huh? Then...let's head there!" Ash pointed ahead, focusing on the mountain in the distance, believing that to be Heracross' next destination. Having two trainers who were well versed in this Pokemon's actions was a blessing to Sci-Twi. One of them had a Heracross while the other knew the behaviour of a Heracross.
"Hoopa could've probably found it." Hoopa felt a bit jealous. Prior to all of this, he was pulling in whatever he wanted with his ring, seemingly having no limit. But alas, even a Pokemon such as Hoopa has his limits.
Not VIctini though. His power had no limits and he was proud of that, nudging Hoopa. And Hoopa knew this without a doubt. He wasn't the only Pokemon here with astonishing power.
Equestria. Out in a harrowing forest. Nightfall.
Arriving here at this forest was Fantina and her class. Her request to take the vampire foals on a field trip had been accepted but with restrictions. A dark area such as this would be their sight and the place for them to find Pokemon.
The forest was ominous, luminous, and primal. Its canopy was reigned by sequoia, cypress, and elm, and occasional openings in their crowns allowed plenty of light through for mushrooms to make use of the thick layer of leaves below. Curving thorns embraced every tree, and a range of odd black flowers, which possessed a constant dark aura, added more life to the monotonous backdrop. Despite this array of plant life, they all appeared corrupted, especially during the night. It was a clear indicator that the Dread League have been here already.
A mixture of wild noises, most belonging to foraging creatures, most likely Pokemon. The objective for these children was for them to catch their own Pokemon. Specifically Ghost-Types or anything threatening. Immediately, they frolicked about in this dark place, being their usual chaotic selves.
One vampire child was exempt from this. Rattle. She was staying next to Fantina, being the only one she could feel safe around. Rattle would cling onto Fantina's leg, not letting go at all until this trip was over. More importantly, she counted on Fantina to protect her from any Pokemon.
However, Fantina wasn't the only teacher here. Other vampires joined her here, but only for one reason. To keep an eye on the Hearthome City Gym Leader. So far, hours had passed here and the children had spent most of their time getting into dangerous scenarios, which they loved as to be expected.
And when face to face with a Pokemon, instead of using the Quick Balls and Dusk Balls they were given to catch a Pokemon instantly, they decided to prolong it, wishing to interact with the Pokemon some more. Right now, some of them were facing a Trevenant.
"Trevenant!" The Elder Tree Pokemon stood before then, roaring at the vampires with a harrowing tone and pitch that would stun most. But not them.
"Children! Throw the Poke Balls!" Fantina exclaimed, insisting that they try and catch the Elder Tree Pokemon. "Only one of you can catch it, remember!"
"Not yet!" But the children refused. Instead, they lunged onto Trevenant. They immediately grabbed onto his branches, seeing him as the equivalent of a jungle gym.
"Treva?" Naturally, Trevenant was greatly confused by this as the children started moving around him rapidly. They hung onto his branches, swinging off them while also spinning just to gain some adrenaline. Trevenant wasn't sure how to respond to this. Usually, it would scare someone off, trap them in the forest if they disrespected it or even battle them. But instead, these foals created a fourth option that Trevenant was stumped by.
"Well then...They don't fear anything, do they?" Once again, Fantina was surprised by how fearless these children were when it came to danger. "I shouldn't be too surprised anymore. Not when I have my own Ghosts."
"Leave them to their devices." said an older Vampire. The older vampires by now knew that the foals could handle themselves. After all, they were built for something like this.
But just as the foals were playing around with Trevenant, the voice of another foal came roaring out, grabbing Fantina's attention. This wasn't a scream of joy. This one was full of fear.
"!" Fantina responded to this scream before rushing off with Rattle still clinging onto her hoof, coming along for the ride. However, the older vampires didn't react as intensely as Fantina. They seemed casual and calm about this before then following the Hearthome City Gym Leader.
Fantina rushed as quickly as she could, vowing to protect the children, even if they were okay with dangerous situations. When moving through the forest, powering through bushes and leaves, she then came across something else that was stationed in this forest. This forest not only housed eerie Ghost-Type Pokemon but also an abandoned ghost town.
The road that led to this town was now a network of vines, grasses and roots that had taken hold of every bit they could get. Fallen trees block some of the paths while others continue to grow, their branches no longer prevented from growing into houses. Many doors had collapsed as rot ate away their edges.
The open doorways that were once perhaps very welcoming were now an eerie and unwelcoming sight. There were signs of fires, in some cases, it was merely a trail of soot and smoke above a window pane, in others, it was a pile of ash where once a building stood.
Fantina saw a sign that revealed the name of this now-dead town. On this chipped sign, the name was known as Magehold, similar to the Magehold where the Dread League reside.
"Magehold?" Fantina said while gazing at the sign, surprised to see this name here. "There is another one here?"
"This is old Magehold." One of the teachers said, sitting atop one of the wilted trees. "It's a completely abandoned place for centuries ago. Nothing compared to what we have now. Especially since it was too small to handle the amazing magic that we also have now. But...if there's one thing that never left here, it was the old Lich King's creations. Probably, one of our little ponies ran into those creations."
"Aren't you going to help save that child?!" Fantina questioned, wondering why the vampire teachers weren't bothering to rush to the aid of this screaming foal.
"Hmm...Not really." She shrugged it off, shocking Fantina. "They should have the magic to handle themselves. As a vampire, you should be equipped to manage any threat that comes your way. The same goes for the little ones. Their magic potential is vast and the same goes for the next generation. If they get taken out here...well, it won't leave that much of an impact. Not when we have an answer for that."
"Incroyable! If you won't save them, I will!" Fantina roared. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. While she knew the foals here loved everything terrifying, judging by these screams, these foals weren't loving whatever they came across.
The vampire simply watched Fantina bolt off, unaffected by her words
It was a strange feeling to be in the hoofsteps of so many lives now long forgotten and not knowing what became of the ponies who once spent their lives here. But even when all the buildings are finally taken by nature there was at least the knowledge that the Pokemon wouldn't have to leave and could continue their lives in peace.
Unless they came across someone they felt like targeting as prey. And unfortunately for Fantina, she was currently prey within this forest. When heading to the source of the screams, some Pokemon stood in her way.
This forest wasn't just home to Ghost-Types. Poison-Types claimed this place as well. Appearing from the bushes was a Scolipede, standing before Fantina.
"Scolipede!"
Rattle wasn't too fond of terrifying forces as much as her fellow vampiric foals. Upon seeing Scolipede emerge, she strengthened her grip on Fantina's leg.
"Sorry. But, I don't have time for you!" Fantina already had her hand on a Poke Ball, feeling the severity of the situation to ready herself.
"Scoli!" Scolipede struck first, going for Poison Tail. By covering its tail in Poison, it ferociously swung its tail, aiming for an immediate end to its target. Rattle feared that the hit would be direct, only for Fantina to reject that possibility.
"Allez-y maintenant! Dusknoir!" By doing a stylish twirl which allowed her to evade Scolipede's tail, she then threw the Poke Ball up, summoning the Gripper Pokemon.
"Dusknoir!"
"Dusknoir! Fire Punch!"
"Dusk!" Enveloping its fists in flames, the Gripper Pokemon would use its immense strength to end this as soon as possible. Once again, Scolipede went in for another Poison Tail, hoping for a sure-fire hit. "Noir!" Only for Dusknoir to completely block it by using its flaming hands.
Thanks to this, the moment Poison Tail connected with Dusknoir's hands, the searing flames had affected the tail of the Megapede Pokemon, already causing some damage. The flames even spread across Scolipede's tail, causing it to back up and cease its attacks in the meanwhile. "S-Scoli!"
"Dusknoir!" After burning Scolipede's tail, Dusknoir went in for the blow. It swung its blazing fists, socking the Bug-Poison-Type. Scolipede's eyes expanded, taking super-effective damage in the process. Dusknoir would make sure that the job was done, going for a second blow.
A second blow was delivered to Scolipede as this packed some extra power to it. The Megapede Pokemon was overwhelmed in mere seconds before being launched away. It flew back to the same spot it emerged out of. The bushes. By crashing through the bushes, it kept going before reaching a stopping point.
Fantina didn't have time to see where Scolipede would end up though. She only cared about the screams of the foals and ensuring that they were safe. "Merci, Dusknoir! Come with me!" Instead of returning Dusknoir, Fantina kept it out. Dusknoir would definitely be needed for whatever had found the children.
The vampire teachers had even witnessed Fantina's battle against Scolipede, albeit short-lived. They were spectating her every move at this point, listening in to whatever she had to say. Mainly for one reason. They certainly did not fully trust her. Even with Queen Rosa's control over her, the vampires were sceptical.
Finally, after following the source of the noise, Fantina found the foals that bellowed. And just as she suspected, those were not screams of joy. When arriving at the scene, she saw exactly what occurred around this lakeside area.
It was a Basilisk.
A creature that embodies the powers of foresight, mental clarity and endurance. But in this case, it embodied fear as it had grabbed a hold of the vampire foals. Its serpentine body was larger than all of them combined as these children failed to escape. Fantina was too late to grab them away but not too late to arrive.
"Children!" Fantina yelled before seeing this monster pull them into the water. The Basilisk first hissed and roared at Fantina before then slithering into the murky seas that it stood nearby. Fantina knew where she needed to go next. And that was underwater as she and Dusknoir looked at each other before nodding in unison.
"Uh...I'll stay here." Rattle let go of Fantina. While she felt safe around her, going underwater was a boundary she wouldn't dare tackle right now.
"If you're staying here..." Fantina couldn't risk Rattle being on her own. After seeing the Basilisk, she wanted to keep all her students safe, especially Rattle. "Gengar will keep you safe." She sent out her Gengar to keep watch of Rattle while she handled the rest underwater.
"Gengar!"
"Gengar. Please take care of her." Fantina left her faith with Gengar before leaving with Dusknoir. Gengar in response would do its best to guard the young vampire, picking her up. The Shadow Pokemon held Rattle close to it as if she were a baby. Despite the imposing face, Rattle would much rather be held by a Ghost than go underwater at the moment.
When approaching the water, Fantina took a deep breath before diving in, showing no hesitation. If only this kind of determination to save children she barely knew could be done for the older vampires who certainly knew these foals.
They once again watched Fantina's actions, witnessing her dive underwater to pursue the Basilisk. They did not even bother to pay Rattle and Gengar any mind.
"Why's she so determined to save them? She barely knows them." One vampire asked as he found it hard to believe Fantina would be so dead-set on protecting the foals considering how little she knows about them. It felt strange to him.
"That would be a human thing. And possibly even a thing that regular ponies do. They have a great sense of right and wrong, according to her majesty. If you ask me, it's a bit lame."
"Maybe. But it works to their benefit most of the time. But I wonder if it will keep her safe from this? That Basilisk was made by the previous Lich King. It would've become one of the 100 Demons and even to this day, it still has that viciousness the king once gave it."
"It's not the Basilisk I'd bet on attacking her, you lot. It's what's underneath those waters that's feeling pretty rotten even to this day." According to this vampire, there was something else. Something underneath that was potentially as dangerous as the basilisk.
Possibly worse.
When underwater, Fantina swam as fast as she could, searching for the Basilisk and any trace of it. When entering these waters, the surface had already been blocked off by a dark veil, essentially showing Fantina that now that she was under these waters, getting out wouldn't be simple at all.
But when swimming through the dark waters, something caught her eye for a bit
In the deep waters of a harsh, tenacious sea lies the wreck of a massive ship. More specifically, a ship that was made out of bones. A giant Skeletal Ship was just resting here underwater, having the right amount of bones to make such a vessel. This was a new experience for Fantina. It was hard to say if she would ever have the chance to witness something like this had she not come under these waters.
This ship looked large enough to house the Basilisk as Fantina focused on it first, approaching it with Dusknoir.
She was not in the best of shapes, to say the least; shattered windows, cracked planks and pieces of the mast can be seen across the bony floor. The salty, cold waters were harsh on her as even the strong bony foundation could not stave off any damage.
To some, it would be a goldmine to discover and bring this ship up. She would become a prime real estate and many would be eager to claim it all for themselves at any given chance. Strange that the vampires haven't bothered to do so.
The name of this ship stuck around as well for Fantina to see. It was known as The Morbid Tartarus, confirming that it had something to do with the Dread League and Magehold. After all, it was within Old Magehold boundaries.
She's slanted to one side and her remaining sails hang motionless in place. A wide range of possessions and many different crates are scattered across great lengths of the sandy floors. Glistening items can be seen through dark cracks in the wood. A handful of bones are scattered around the scene, fortunately, they're not from ponies, but likely the remains of a recently fallen prey.
"Children? Please be safe..." Fantina thought to herself, hoping the children hadn't run out of breath before her.
Just as she suspected, coming here was the right choice. Such a massive ship that still existed underneath would garner some life. The moment Fantina got close, a tail came flying out. The tail of the Basilisk. It swung at Fantina, threatening to grab her as well.
"Noir!" But there was Dusknoir who stood in the way of that, being Fantina's shield. The Gripper Pokemon used its amazing gripping skills, holding onto the trial the second it got too close to Fantina. "Dusk!"
With great strength, Dusknoir pulled the Basilisk out of the ship. The Basilisk screeched as it was pulled through the gaps of this skeletal ship while also dealing some extra damage to it. They successfully found the Basilisk but now there were the children to find.
Fantina would leave her hopes up to Dusknoir, letting the Gripper Pokemon handle the Basilisk while she would enter the ship. The Basilisk roared before trying to break free from Dusknoir's grip. But the Basilisk had never met a creature quite like Dusknoir who could effortlessly hold with the strength of multiple creatures combined.
Fantina didn't have much time underwater. She would have to swim up and grab some air eventually. She just had to check if she could spot at least one. But with the distance she was getting, catching air would be difficult and too late potentially. Thus, she decided to swim back up to catch some air before things could get worse for her.
However, something else was amiss. The vampires did mention something else underwater that Fantina had yet to know about. The second she swam away from the ship, that's when the second danger revealed itself.
The bones of the ship started rattling, moving around with the pace of crooked fingers before sending some bones out of its own structure, fixating on Fantina. Fantina was completely caught off guard as the bones from the ship swaddled her body.
"!"
The second force was the Morbid Tartarus itself. The ship was alive. Once having Fantina with its bones, the bones of Tartarus unleashed a thrilling cry, confirming that it was indeed alive and as the vampires said, rotten. Dusknoir took notice of this before then throwing the Basilisk away.
"Noir!" The Ghost-Type rushed to Fantina's aid as quickly as it could before she could run out of breath. Fantina was already starting to fail when it came to holding her breath. She certainly couldn't grab a Poke Ball in her current condition so once again, she had to count on Dusknoir as the front of the ship was opening up to bring Fantina indoors.
All the while, the other vampires waited on the surface. Gengar especially waited for Fantina to return while keeping Rattle under its protection. That cry from the ship was loud enough to even reach up here, putting a smile on the faces of these older vampires. Judging by that cry, it was clear that the ship had found Fantina.
Now, all they had to do was wait and see what would happen next. Was Queen Rosa Maledicta right to choose Fantina or was she nothing but a waste? Those were the thoughts of the vampires as the journey continues.
Old Magehold. Situated in an ominous forest, Fantina gained the pass to bring the young vampires out for a field trip but only during nightfall and at a place flooded with Ghost-Types, away from most civilization. The goal was to catch Pokemon, but this trip came with its dangers.
Some children came across a Basilisk, formed by the previous Lich King of Magehold. Instead of revelling in the dangers as they usually do, the children showed visible signs of fear as the Basilisk pulled them underwater.
Under these murky waters, there existed a skeletal ship known as the Morbid Tartarus, an old ship belonging to the Dread League and the home of the Basilisk. Dedicated to saving these children who were dragged underneath by the Basilisk, Fantina risked her life, facing the sentient ship of bones. At this very moment, the Hearthome City Gym Leader was on the brink of drowning with only Dusknoir being able to save her.
"My breath...I can't hold it forever..." Fantina thought to herself as her face was turning blue. At any second, she could give out. "Dusknoir...Gengar...!"
"Dusknoir!" If Dusknoir wanted to save Fantina, it would need some reach. Thankfully, there was one move in its arsenal that the Gripper Pokemon could use in that way. Shadow Punch.
Dusknoir's hands become surrounded by a shadowy aura, and it vigorously reached its arms out. Two fists in the shape of Dusknoir's fired out of Dusknoir's fists before turning into hands, aiming for Fantina, only for the bones of the skeletal ship to get in its way. The bones intercepted Dusknoir's hands, prolonging the rescue. Now Dusknoir had to change them back into fists, clashing with the bones.
When connecting with the bones, the fists have a grey trail that connects to Dusknoir's fists, and when the attack hits, the fists merge back with Dusknoir's fists. However, only one fist met with the bones. The other one was used for Fantina. Dusknoir used the other fist to phase straight through the bones while the other one held back the bones.
Dusknoir needed to twist and turn its shadowy arms as the bones were relentless in trying to stop it, but in this instance, being a Ghost-Type and possessing intangibility was a blessing. By a narrow thread, Dusknoir managed to grab Fantina's dress. It was certainly big enough to be in grabbing distance. But even when grabbing Fantina, the tail of the Basilisk struck Dusknoir's back.
"D-Dusk!" This would prove troublesome for Dusknoir, but not for Fantina. With all of its strength, Dusknoir launched Fantina upwards with its shadowy fists, enough to bring her upwards to the surface as she passed through the gap, unfortunately harming her leg in the process.
Dusknoir succeeded but by doing so, it was then attacked by the Basilisk and soon the bones. Being wide open meant heavy hits were guaranteed.
"Khaa!" Fantina gasped for her air as she was saved at the last second. Upon being thrown out of the dark waters, she tumbled on land, landing flat on her back. She huffed and puffed, catching her breath before Gengar rushed over, still holding onto Rattle.
"Gengar!"
"She made it out of there?" One of the vampires said, surprised that Fantina managed to leave the waters even with what was lurking there. She only survived thanks to Dusknoir. But thanks to Dusknoir's rescue, the Gripper Pokemon was now vulnerable.
"Miss Fantina?! Are you alright?!" Rattle asked.
"You still won't help them..." Fantina coughed, glancing at the older vampires who were just sitting about while the younger vampires were underwater, surrounded by a vicious Basilisk and a Skeletal Ship. The fact that they wouldn't even bother to protect or even save their own aggravated Fantina. "Fine! Dusknoir...Children! Please be safe! Mismagius!" Fantina didn't hesitate to go back in. She didn't even bother to lie there for a bit. By sending out her next Poke Ball, Mismagius joined the fray.
"Mismagius!"
"Gengar. Continue staying here and look after Rattle." Fantina prevented Gengar from doing anything else. All Gengar needed to do was protect Rattle from any other threats. "They obviously won't."
Giving one last glance at the teachers, Fantina dove back underwater. This time, she was joined by Mismagius. Fantina wasn't sure if the foals could hold their breath for long considering how she couldn't hold it that long either.
"Wait..." Rattle wanted to chime in and help Fantina, but she felt like she would only harm herself in the process. All she could do was stand next to Gengar and hope for the best.
"N-Noir!" Meanwhile, Dusknoir was getting absolutely pummelled by the bones and the Basilisk. The Morbid Tartarus and the Basilisk took quick turns in battering the Gripper Pokemon. Dusknoir took this punishment as he couldn't even find time to phase through these attacks.
At this point, he was the equivalent of a pinball. Left and right, up and down, Dusknoir was tossed around. And during his pummelling, his eyes caught something crucial. Through the windows of the Skeletal Ship, the foals could be seen. And at this moment, they held their breath with all they could.
None of them could swim so leaving here was out of their power. Dusknoir could see that the foals weren't gone yet. If only he could grab them as well. But at this rate, even they wouldn't be able to hold their breaths. One of the foals was unable to hold her breath, thus she sunk even further than her classmates. It was getting too crucial now as the bones went in for another strike.
"Mismagius!" And then there was Mismagius. Mismagius arrived with Dark Pulse, unleashing a potent blast of darkness that came zooming in. The second the bones went for Dusknoir, the blast broke them apart with devastating strength. Dusknoir had been saved from another strike, giving it the chance to evade the tail swing of the Basilisk.
"Noir!"
"Mmm!" But Fantina came in with extra help. By throwing out one more Poke Ball, her fourth Pokemon emerged for assistance. Driblim.
"Drifblim!"
"Mismagius!" After saving Dusknoir, Mismagius homed in on the Skeletal Ship. That was her prime target and potentially the biggest threat despite how old and weakened it was. As for Driblim, she would go for the Basilisk.
The Basilisk was now the one outnumbered thanks to Fantina's extra Pokemon. However, Dusknoir would focus on the ship instead of retaliating against the Basilisk, the foals were Dusknoir's first focus. By using Shadow Punch, it once again unleashed shadowy hands to gain some distance.
The Skeletal Ship refused to let any of them get the better of it though, using the rest of its bones to target all of these spectral species. For a ship that has been here for years, unused and weak, it was surprisingly capable. Dusknoir's hands manoeuvred around these bones whilst Mismagius replicated the stylish dances of her trainer, using them to evade the ship's attacks.
The Basilisk went for Drifblim, only to soon discover that getting up close and personal with Fantina's Driblim was not a good idea unless a plan was conducted. The Basilisk had no such plan, thus, Drifblim was free to use Hypnosis. But not before giving the Basilisk a false sense of security.
The second the Basilisk went to try and gnaw on Drifblim, the Blimp Pokemon utilized its arms. Drifblim grabbed the creature's face, halting its movements while it still had its fangs out. Her body becomes outlined in light blue, overflowing with Psychic Power. The Basilisk attempted to break free by writhing around, only to find how alluring Driblim's eyes were.
"Drif...!" With the Basilisk captured via this gaze, the Ghost-Flying-Type then fired a yellow 'X' from the 'X' on her face, giving the creature a signal. That signal only had one message. Go to sleep. The Basilisk closed its eyes, seduced by this signal as it dozed off via Drifblim's command.
That was one problem out of the way, but then there was the ship. The foals within were giving out. The first foal already failed to hold her breath, sinking in the process. And swiftly, the others would follow as none of them could hold their breaths for that long. They looked to all have a similar time limit.
But then along came Dusknoir's hands. Both of them managed to wrap around four foals instead of just one. All it had to do was do the same thing it did to Fantina. The bones started closing their gaps, attempting to make things harder for Dusknoir.
"Mismagius!" However. Mismagius said otherwise, using Dark Pulse to blow away those bones yet again. The bones cracked and shattered from Dark Pulse's impact.
At the end of the day, this was still an old ship, leaving it vulnerable to various attacks. And so far, Dark Pulse was a problem, absolutely crushing the bones with its wide radius. This sentient ship let out its horrifying howl once more in response to Dark Pulse. A good indicator that these attacks were very effective. However, it also aggravated the already tenacious and violent ship.
"Dusk!" Thanks to Mismagius' actions, Dusknoir had time to throw the children up with that same tactic. In the process, Dusknoir obliterated the already-damaged windows with the strength of Shadow Punch. With a mighty toss, Dusknoir managed to throw them up. But there were only three foals left that it couldn't grab.
The bones struck back, crashing into both Dusknoir and Mismagius from the side, blindsiding them. Even still, the bones could outnumber their opponents even if parts of them are destroyed.
Fantina would focus on the three foals. And to do so involved entering the ship itself. Due to the destruction, Fantina found an entrance. While she had a fresh time limit, the same couldn't be said for these three foals. Losing consciousness and air, they noticed how Fantina appeared before them.
Before blacking out, the last thing they saw was Fantina's arms and her face coming close to them. Success. Fantina managed to grab the remaining three. But even inside, the bones were lethal.
The ship unleashed the bones from indoors, continuing its relentless attack. Fantina would have to keep them safe by having two of them in her arms and the third one on her back without dropping one. Seeing that the bones were attacking from even inside, Fantina took a mighty leap while also finding the time to twirl. The bones chased her down, breaking through the furniture that was once here and everything else.
Each of these evasions that Fantina performed was narrow. She couldn't exactly move swiftly underwater or dance as quickly. That wasn't an issue for her Pokemon though. Fantina's Drfiblim-based dress had been damaged by each incoming bone, ruining something that was so fashionably timeless.
But, to Fantina, the children mattered more than her dress which she has had for years now. She left the same way she came out but the chase wasn't over yet. Her slipper had been cleaved off by the ones along with her hair accessories. Fantina's four-bun hairstyle had been ruined thanks to the bones, now revealing the true extent of her hair.
She had vastly long hair as hinted at by the accessories that kept those quadruple hair buns up. Yet another target that was long enough for the bones to attack. Or in this case, grab. The bones managed to grab Fantina's long hair, holding her back, much like how she was held back at the beginning of this rescue mission. The third foal on her back was also grasped by the bones, making it harder for Fantina at this point.
"Drifblim!" And then there was Drifblim. Drifblim had used the Basilisk's asleep body as a weapon, launching it while also using Ominous Wind. The Basilisk was thrown into the bones, breaking them apart with the creature as the catalyst. And what was Ominous Wind's role in this? Pushback. The howling wind pushed parts of the ship back, keeping it at bay. It worked well enough as the bones of Morbid Tartarus were blown back so hard that they ended up hitting the rest of the ship, causing further damage.
This was their chance. Their chance to leave. Could they swim up in time? Only Drifblim had that answer. By using Psychic, Drifblim grabbed Fantina and the foals whilst Dusknoir and Mismagius would handle themselves, having the speed necessary to swim back up.
The Morbid Tartarus, while it had no eyes, was clearly focusing its angle on Fantina and her party. All of that struggle led to their victory instead of this sentient ship. Once again, it would rest here instead of going back up to the surface. Not that it had the strength to do so anymore.
"Hah...hah!" Fantina returned to the surface, catching her breath once again. Now, it was for the final time as she had every foal up to the surface. Her long and wet hair covered her face as her hair accessories were now lost to the sea, meaning that this style was here to stay for a bit. "Success...I did it."
But it wasn't over yet. While they all managed to receive air thanks to Fantina and Dusknoir, there was still one pony who didn't get any. It was the first pony to drown as Fantina rushed to her side. She checked up on this little filly while the other vampires coughed, gasping vigorously.
"Oh, please! Wake up, my little pony!" Fantina pressed her arms on the little vampire's chest, trying to bring air back to her. Everyone else were being tended to by Dusknoir and the rest. But this one filly was in a worse state compared to them all. Fantina pressed and pressed, doing what she could to save her.
"No use. You're too late." One f the vampires commented as Fantina kept pressing. "We told you it was pointless."
"It's never pointless!" Fantina thought otherwise as she persisted. Since the chest press failed, she went for CPR next. The vampires simply watched Fantina's efforts, having unimpressed looks on their faces as she tried what she could.
"Perhaps we should wait until she explodes." A tired vampire commented. "She'll return either way...or become a skeleton. Whichever one Queen Rosa prefers."
The vampires were unbothered due to the Dark Chambers. Those same chambers that could bring back a vampire once their bodies combust and are destroyed. They expected that to happen with this filly or the alternative. She becomes a vampire from her failed body.
"Dusknoir! Shadow Punch!"
"Dusk...Noir!"
"Gh!" Neither happened though. From all of Fantina's attempts, the filly coughed out some water after Dusknoir unleashed a heavy blow to her chest via Shadow Punch, doing it from afar even. That one strike added greatly. Her life had been saved thanks to this as now the vampires had to admit that they were impressed. "Ohh..."
"Thank goodness. Feeling better now?" A relieved Fantina said with a smile on her face.
"Ugh...What's with your hair?" The filly noticed Fantina's hair instead of realizing that she survived. She then closed he eyes before breathing in and out to collect her energy.
Fantina could rest easy now. She saved their lives after all before then lying on her back once again. "See...? I could do it." She then spoke to the vampires while looking up at the night sky, which would soon give way to the golden Sun.
"You saved us?" The other foals commented before sitting up, stunned that Fantina went that mile to save their lives. "Why?"
"Why wouldn't I? I'm your teacher. It's my job to make sure you children are safe and sound. The other teachers should know this..."
This was new to the young vampires. In fact, this only further proved that the older vampires would've never saved them even if Fantina never showed up. But someone did save them. Someone unlikely.
"T-Thank you!" For that, they were grateful to Fantina. At the end of the day, even if they were vampires and from the Dread League, they were still children, showing some signs of positivity, however, well it may be hidden. They then gathered around Fantina who needed her downtime at this point. Normally, she would be in bed by now.
The other Ghost-Types celebrated as well, joining the foals as they figured the next best thing to cheer them up was the eerie forces that they could perform. After all, they enjoyed interacting with the Pokemon on the first day they met them.
"Hmph. Whatever!" Naturally, the older vampires were a bit bitter about this after Fantina proved them wrong. What's worse was that Fantina managed to gain the respect of the children and their full-blown attention. "We're ending this field trip early."
The trip would be called off at this point. No one would receive a Pokemon after all as they would all leave empty-hoofed. This was only because of what the vampires witnessed and nothing more. Fantina laughed with all of the children around her, having smiles on their faces.
In the end, Fantina cared for them mainly because of how interesting they were. The way they interacted with her Pokemon and their enthusiasm wasn't too bizarre. After all, Fantina was a Ghost-Type Specialist for a reason.
And that reason the same reason Rosa Maledicta chose her. Fantina was reminded of her younger self when seeing these children interact with anything spectral.
As for the Lich Queen, eavesdropping on her subjects was common. And of course, even she heard what was said here. Rosa learned about Fantina's efforts and how she succeeded in saving these young vampires. However, unlike the vampires who felt bitter about this, Rosa only smiled at this. What could a smile entail for this kind of scenario?
Equestria. Magehold. Nightfall.
They all returned to the current Magehold, leaving the old one behind. Fantina was hoping it was for good. Once she was back home, Fantina got herself cleaned up before heading to bed.
Her beautiful dress now had holes and tears thanks to those bones. Her usual hair accessories were gone, revealing her long hair which had been hidden for years now.
But there was one more problem Fantina had to attend to. Healing her Pokemon. There wasn't a Pokemon Center anywhere or a Nurse Joy. She had her Pokemon out, deciding to care for them instead.
"How do I heal you all?" Fantina wondered, looking for a first aid kit or anything like that. But, try as she might, there wasn't one. A place like this having any form of first aid seemed impossible. And judging from the absence of one, Fantina found it out swiftly. "Oh well...I can try and ask the higher-ups for something. I can't have you all move around with such tatters. For now, get some rest, okay?"
Unable to heal them, resting was the only option now. Fantina would also have to sleep in this state with her beautiful clothes ruined. Mismagius and the rest of her Pokemon were unfortunately forced to sleep with battle damage on them, which is something no Pokemon is fond of.
However, the absence of healing was no longer a thing. Whilst Fantina set the bed, something passed through this building. A purplish aurora entered by phasing through the windows, catching the eyes of Fantina and her Spectral Teammates.
This purplish aurora had green sparkles inside of them, each ending up touching Mismagius, Dusknoir and Drifblim. To an extent, Fantina was touched by them. They seemed completely harmless. Instead, they were helpful as the scratches were being cleansed away as if they never existed.
Fantina was relieved by this. She wasn't sure how but there was indeed some form of healing here at Magehold somewhere. She just wasn't sure where it was coming from.
There was a source. All the way from the Lich Queen's Castle at the very top. Rosa Maledicta was the cause of it, using her magic to intervene. After healing Fantina and her team, Rosa ended her magic abruptly. That was all she needed to do and nothing more.
"Fantina. I would've probably replaced you with another Pokemon expert if you were to have failed and lost your life there. But alas, I can't have you leave. You're too promising." Rosa said to herself as she mainly did this to keep Fantina around.
But then it dawned on her. A new idea. Something that could make things easier for Magehold's Pokemon Learning Process. With a smile on her face, Rosa Maledicta was already feeling chipper about what she aimed to do next.
"But of course...why should I just stop at a Ghost-Type specialist?"
Equestria. Hidden somewhere past the Hyperborean Island. Magehold. Nightfall.
"That Fantina lady left an impression on our young ones? Should we be worried?" Concern was brewing within Magehold, and not the kind of concern that benefited them. This was concern about Fantina, the recent addition to Magehold. It has only been 2 hours since the event back at Old Magehold's Forest and the vampires already had their opinions on her.
"She was brought here to teach us about Pokemon. But she's bringing something else with her here." Concerns about Fantina were fixated on how she reacted with the foals. "From how the young ones responded to her...it was rather unusual. Since when do they enjoy being saved?"
"That Basilisk did have them deep underwater. If anything they weren't fearless enough, knowing very well they would've either blown up and returned to the chamber or become skeletons. Never have I seen them so happy to survive. That Fantina lady might change our young ones if she stays around."
"What do we do? Queen Rosa needs her here."
"We do nothing, lest we want to incur her wrath. I know I don't." A vampire shuddered as getting on the bad side of their ruler wouldn't be the brightest move in the world, even with their opinions on Fantina. "We'll just wait and see what happens next with each lesson that comes by. That Gym Leader will have to come across something she can't surpass. Even if she's talented."
"And Hearthome City? You know...the place she came from? With how she acts...do you think she'll think about that place?"
"I don't think so. After all, with how Queen Rosa left it, we won't have to worry about that city at all. As it is now, the city just looks natural. The same way it's always looked."
At this point, the vampires felt the need to do something about Fantina but couldn't risk the Lich Queen punishing them. But either way, they were now out to get Fantina, refusing to have her potentially change a few things about Magehold. Possibly to a colossal degree that none of them would expect.
Unova. Across a mountainside. Nightfall.
Searching for an Alpha Heracross was Ash's group after discovering powerful horn dents that were left behind at Reversal Mountain. If Heracross was testing out his strength, then without a doubt, he would come somewhere else to do so once more.
And over at this mountainside which was joined by a lush green forest landscape which was a neighbour to the mountains, they had a good inkling as to where Heracross may be. All they had to do was look for new dents or focus on tree sap. Heracross' favourite food.
The forest was gigantic, thick, and somewhat young. Its canopy was overshadowed by hawthorn, rhododendron, and willow, their leaves and branches allowed for just enough light to pass down for a motley of saplings to take advantage of the nut and seed-covered grounds below.
"Get a gander at this." It ended up being both. Sci-Twi spotted some acres of trees within this area, seeing how they had one consistent thing with them. They all had that dent in them.
Heracross' dent had been found, but more importantly, none of the trees fell over despite how deep the dents were to the point where they looked flat.
"That's impressive. All this damage and the tree hasn't fallen over? That Heracross could be an amazing carpenter with that horn." Sci-Twi tapped on it, feeling a burn to her finger upon making contact with the dent. "Ow! It's still fresh...so Heracross is still around here somewhere."
"Sizzling hot. Probably from all that strength he used. He's gotta be pretty precise to even leave the trees standing too, huh? Fluttershy. Can you and Audino hear him?" Ash asked before pouring a bottle of his water on Sci-Twi's finger to heal it. In response, Sci-Twi shuddered. "Oh, sorry, Twi did that sting?"
"No. It's fine. It's for the best anyway. At least it's brand new so that makes for a great hint. Ow..."
"Hmm..." Fluttershy and Audino focused on the sounds of this acre. By listening carefully, they took in all the sounclamourt were possible in this area. A clamor of beastly noises, most belonged to Flying-Type songs, resonated through the air, and were accompanied by the rustling of the leaves and branches of the tree tops in the wind.
Some of these belonged to foraging Pokemon which brightened up the forest and mountainside, and drowned out the occasional roar of a larger Pokemon trying to scare away predators. But that large Pokemon sounded more like a Rhydon than a Heracross. These were the sounds the duo picked up.
And by searching some, that's when they heard something. The sound of something being slashed processed through their eardrums. And it was a potent one, equivalent to a knife being unleashed. "Oh! That sounded like it came from the West! That might be Heracross!"
"Gotcha! West it is!" They had their destination. Heracross could potentially be slashing to the west, attacking more trees. If they hurry, they could find him before he moves elsewhere. Fluttershy and Audino would lead the way, using their hearing to track down these sounds.
Speaking of these sounds, they seemed to be getting faster. Judging by the speed increase, the attacking Pokemon was most likely slashing at great speeds as well, only forcing the group to hurry. They scaled parts of the rest which still connected to the mountains.
Some of them stopped by to see the sights, mainly Hoopa. His eyes were drawn toward the plethora of cotton candy that was stuck to the trees. He didn't even bother to wonder why cotton candy would be on trees, food was food no matter where it came from. The Mischief Pokemon rubbed his disconnected hands together before choosing to snag a piece quickly. Just a little something to have along the way.
"Why's there cotton candy on the trees? And why that of all things?" Sci-Twi wondered.
"Hoopa doesn't care!" Hoopa could care less about where they came from. All he cared about was scarfing it down. But this had Ash, Sci-Twi and Fluttershy curious.
But this continued onwards. Beautiful flowers sprouted from the trees which grabbed Meloetta's attention next. These flowers had a rare one-of-a-kind appearance to them that was too attractive for Meloetta not to ignore. The way they sparked under the moonlight was also enticing, prompting the Melody Pokemon to take one of them for herself.
"Meloetta~"
"That looks nice on you. But let's not try and get distracted in case Heracross gets too far." Fluttershy said. The flowers didn't seem out of place compared to the cotton candy. But the way they sparkled was certainly unique as no other flower in this forest gave off the same sparkle as the ones on this singular tree.
Strangely enough, it was just one tree and none of the others within this area.
Two times in a row these Mythical Psychic-Types have grabbed something that caught their fancy. There was only one Psychic-Type who hadn't been drawn towards something. Victini.
Both of these instances happened 5 minutes apart from each other while Victini had yet to run into something. Before that could potentially happen, they all ran into someone. They came to a screeching halt upon witnessing the individual standing next to another acre of trees. There he was.
Alpha Heracross.
"Yes! Heracross!" Sci-Twi exclaimed before grabbing the attention of the Alpha Heracross. As to be expected, Heracross had been slicing apart trees, leaving dents while also managing to miraculously keep them steady and rooted, only leaving them as flat husks.
"Hera? Heracross!" Heracross' crimson Alpha eyes locked onto the group, already showing high aggression. That was to be expected from an Alpha Pokemon. They were far more aggressive and hostile compared to their standard species.
"He's almost as big as a Snorlax!" Fluttershy gasped at the sheer size of Alpha Heracross. "Does your home have enough room for these Alpha Pokemon?"
"We'll see. Right now...I'm going to try and catch him." Sci-Twi said as she was finally brave enough to confront an Alpha Pokemon without needing any second thoughts. "Pikachu. Can you help me with this?"
"Pikachu!" For this, she chose Alpha Pikachu as the Mouse Pokemon ran ahead, standing in front of everyone.
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu rooted for his ancestor's victory in this, waving to the larger Electric Rodent. Out of all of Sci-Twi's current Pokemon, Pikachu, Luxio and maybe Munchlax were willing to listen to her, being the most reliable. Rapidash was still a wildcard but after the speech Ash gave her, that could change. For now, it was Pikachu who was taking control.
"Hera!" Heracross didn't hesitate. The Alpha Heracross came charging in, delivering the first action while using Megahorn, channelling its strength into its greatest and only weapon.
"Here he comes, Pikachu! Let's try and use Thunder Punch!"
"Pika!" Pikachu would respond in kind with another physical move. With electricity crackling around his arms, Pikachu approached, leaping bountifully off the ground. "Pika...!"
"Hera!" However, in the blink of an eye, Heracross moved to the side, becoming a blur with his red eyes being the only slow thing here. He moved faster than Pikachu and Sci-Twi expected, outspeeding the Mouse Pokemon.
"Pi?!" Pikachu gasped, missing his Thunder Punch. Right after that, Heracross swung his horn, smashing it against the front of Pikachu's body, causing yellow sparks to fly out. Pikachu grimaced from the impact before being smashed into the ground by Heracross' downward motion. "Pi...Ka!"
"Pikachu!" Sci-Twi gasped as Pikachu tumbled, returning to his trainer's side. Heracross wasn't about to relent his actions though. He continued his attack with Megahorn once more, spreading his wings out as he showed just how fast he could get. This speed was quick enough to force Twilight to act fast.
"Oh! T-Try Thunder Punch again!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu recovered as quickly as he could. By hopping off the ground, he would again approach Alpha Heracross, this time, hoping to strike with succession. "Pikachu!" He ended up managing to connect with Heracross as Thunder Punch and Megahorn collided.
But immediately, the power difference was shown. But this was to be expected as a normal Heracross was already stupendously strong in the physical category. An Alpha Heracross was beyond that. "Cross!"
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu was overpowered, launched via the push of Alpha Heracross horn. In terms of strength and speed, Alpha Pikachu couldn't compare right now.
"Hang in there, Pikachu!" She cried out, encouraging the Mouse Pokemon. So did his descendant as already Heracross was taking control of this battle, landing successful hits in.
"It's fast just as it is strong?" Fluttershy gulped. "That's an issue...Pikachu's usually the faster Pokemon in most scenarios."
"It's fine. We haven't lost yet. Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt, please!"
"Pika!" Pikachu slapped his face for a bit before then jumping up. In the air, he managed to gather around 100,000 volts, converting them into power. Out of his body, those volts came crashing out at full force.
"Heracross!" But once again, Heracross simply zoomed to the side, outspeeding Pikachu's attack. His speed was just too overwhelming right now.
"Again...?" Twilight growled as even Thunderbolt was unable to tag Heracross. She even showed signs of frustration as at this point, her attempts had been failing her.
"She won't be able to catch Heracross if this continues. Plus if Pikachu attacks more than Heracross, he'll tire out faster." Ash observed, already seeing what kind of drawbacks could come from this. Stamina was also a major factor and with this speed Alpha Heracross, it mattered more than ever.
"Aside from Rapidash, Pikachu's my fastest Pokemon right now. But...that can change! Pikachu! Agility!"
"Pika-Pika-Pika!" If he wanted to catch up with Heracross, he needed to match his speed. And thankfully, he had the move to do so. By leaping from side to side, Pikachu appeared to repeatedly vanish and immediately reappear in different spots while running. He relaxed and lightened his body which resulted in his speed increasing.
"Cross?" Now Heracross had to keep an eye on Pikachu and his newfound speed as the Mouse Pokemon appeared around the Single Horn Pokemon in different directions.
"Great! This should keep Heracross on his toes! Thunder Punch!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu would try Thunder Punch once more but this time with his new speed. After disappearing to another spot, he came flying in with sparking fists.
"Hera!" Heracross swivelled to face Pikachu, catching him at the right moment. Even with the speed increase, Heracross could still catch Pikachu, fighting back with Megahorn.
"Not enough?" Twilight shuddered before thinking quick on her feet. "Move around, Pikachu! Quick!"
"Pi!" Pikachu quickly moved back before Heracross could launch him again. It was the right call on Sci-Twi's part as the horn almost grazed Pikachu once he ended the direct clash.
"Heracross!" Another swing was unleashed, only for Alpha Pikachu to jump over this one. With this successful jump, Pikachu got one lick, hitting Heracross' face with Thunder Punch once. "C-Cross!"
"Yes! Finally, a direct hit!" Sci-Twi squeed, glad that one of her hits managed to succeed. "Keep going! Use Thunderbolt now!"
"Pikachu!" After getting a hit in, Pikachu would attack from afar, continuing his assault. It was time for him to turn the tables he unleashed Thunderbolt while backing up.
"Cross!" Against Thunderbolt, Heracross put his arms up to defend himself. The bolt came crashing into him as Pikachu finally managed to land a hit in, causing Heracross to slide back. "Hera...!"
"Awesome! You're doing it!" Ash and the others cheered for them both. "Keep going!"
"Heracross...!" However, Heracross wasn't showing any signs of slowing. Once the smoke cleared, the Alpha Heracross decided to take Alpha Pikachu and Sci-Twi a bit more seriously now. By doing so, he used Megahorn yet again, but this time on the ground.
One strike was all it took. The ground split from Heracross' impact as a white light started rapidly moving through the cracks. Pikachu tumbled along with the others as the sheer strength of Alpha Heracross was further revealed to reach this level with just one hit.
"P-Pika?!" Alpha Pikachu was unable to keep his balance, eventually falling over.
"Pikachu, look out!" Sci-Twi gasped, seeing that Pikachu was potentially set to fall into the split ground and eventually the white light.
"Cross!" But that was simply the distraction. Heracross zoned in, using Aerial Ace to immediately move at confounding speeds. The white shockwaves engulfed Pikachu, sending him into the air. And once he was in the air, Heracross could use his wings, taking flight as he would continue his attack from above.
"Pi-Pikaaaaa!" Struck at full force, Pikachu received a heavy Aerial Ace from the approaching Heracross. The horn was struck right in his chest, causing it to twist, almost as if Heracross punctured him.
"Heracross!" With this direct hit, Heracross then sent Pikachu far from here instead of back to this spot. The Mouse Pokemon was launched via Heracross' horn, flying through the air.
"Ah! Pikachu!" Sci-Twi yelled, witnessing Pikachu fly far from here. Right after that, Heracross landed, still looking he had more to give out. Alpha Pikachu was currently out of the way meaning that the hostile Alpha Pokemon's main confrontation was currently over.
All that was left were the others in front of him. Sci-Twi and the others were now prime targets Alpha Heracross fixated his eyes on them each. Sci-Twi was stunned for a bit before stepping back for a bit. This wasn't how she expected this battle to go.
"Pikachu...I need to get Pikachu back!" Sci-Twi stepped back a bit before then choosing to find Pikachu. She put him first before Heracross.
A dangerous move by Sci-Twi as that prompted Alpha Heracross to attack. Once again, it was by using Aerial Ace as Sci-Twi was now the second target. He would attack her even while her back was turned. That wouldn't fly on Ash's watch.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Intercepting Heracross was Ash's Pikachu, using Iron Tail to do so. This gave Sci-Twi a chance to go on ahead and find her Pikachu.
"Now's your chance. That girl and her rat managed to weaken it. Catch it." Then there was Sombra, suggesting that Ash should take advantage of this moment and catch Alpha Heracross for himself.
"No way! This is Twilight's goal and I'm not gonna ruin it!" Ash denied as his Pikachu managed to match Alpha Heracross in not only speed but also strength as Iron Tail kept Heracross' horn occupied, locking the two in a stalemate.
This wasn't Ash's battle. Despite stopping Alpha Heracross, he wouldn't give out any further commands. All he would do was have Pikachu push Alpha Heracross back. Heracross slid back, even tumbling on the damage it did to the ground via the devastating split.
"Nice, Pikachu! Come on!" Ash ended it there. Fluttershy and the others had already gone ahead, following Sci-Twi to check up on Alpha Pikachu. They then left Alpha Heracross here, giving him time to recover from the pushback.
"Hera..."
And what of Pikachu himself? Where did he land to with such a vast distance as a result of Alpha Heracross' stupendous physical strength?
Alpha Pikachu was launched to the south of the forest from Heracross' assault. He found himself in some rubble after making a hard landing.
"Pika..." The rubble ended up being one of the trees in this forest. Instead of Heracross destroying them, it ended up being Pikachu's impact. But to an extent, Heracross was involved. The acre of trees covered his body as he sat there, trying to take in what just happened.
Naturally, he took stupendous damage from the initial crash, causing him to just lie there for a while. It was even hard to tell if he would get back up from that.
"Pikachu! Pikachu!" The voice of Sci-Twi cried out for Pikachu. "Can you hear me?! Audino. Fluttershy. Please tell me you can hear Pikachu nearby."
"He looked like he flew south. I can take to the skies and make it easier." Fluttershy replied, taking flight as it would be best to cover every ground here.
"Then from above, Dragonite's who we need." Ash already had Dragonite, sharing the same idea as Fluttershy. Whether it was using Audino's amazing hearing to find the Mouse Pokemon or seeing everything from the skies, they worked in unison to find Alpha Pikachu and hopefully before Heracross could leave.
7 minutes later.
7 minutes had passed. Eventually, Alpha Pikachu had been found, lying in the rubble of trees. Sci-Twi managed to find him first, seeing his current condition. Miraculously, Pikachu hadn't fainted. He was just badly injured.
"Pikachu...I'm sorry. You probably had a better run when you were with Bertha, right?" Sci-Twi apologized to Pikachu before having Fluttershy nurse him back to help.
Fluttershy had some potions to give out, letting Pikachu drink them to restore what had been done. He drank a full bottle of these potions, showing just how heavy each of Heracross' hits felt. "Pi...Pikachu."
"Pikachu says you shouldn't worry about it too much." Fluttershy translated. "You were up against an Alpha Pokemon, so it makes sense that you'd feel a bit overwhelmed. Besides, you haven't lost yet."
"I know. I can still do this. We can still do this." Sci-Twi closed her eyes. Instead of worrying about what could come next, she instead focused on what she could do next. Now that she had powerful allies, worrying about the future was barely an option. It was a matter of changing it that she focused on.
"That's the spirit, Twi." Ash loved what he saw. Many months ago, Sci-Twi would've potentially hesitated to continue going after Heracross. But not anymore.
Sci-Twi had Ash, Siebold, Bertha, Sunset and the counterparts to her friends from Equestria to thank for this confidence. The things they shared with her helped the rookie Pokemon Trainer come this far.
"But...rest up, for now, Pikachu. Let your teammates handle the rest." Sci-Twi then held out two Poke Balls. Each of them belonged to certain Pokemon that had the strength she could count on.
However, one of them was a wildcard. Alpha Rapidash. Rapidash was on the right while Luxio was on the left. She wondered who to choose. Luxio was powerful and loyal but Alpha Rapidash surpassed them all and yet was stubborn. However, Sci-Twi remembered how Ash encouraged Rapidash to cooperate back at the Battle Carnival.
After thinking about it, Sci-Twi was focused on growing more than anything. And the best option for that growth would be Rapidash and growing the bond between the two.
"Tini!" But while she thought about it, Victini found some macarons to snack on. Another one of these trees had something attractive to them. And of course, Macarons were Victini's all-time favourite food.
"Macarons? Here?" Ash said after witnessing Victini scarf it all down. Even Ash knew that Macarons couldn't grow on trees at all. "Hmm..."
"First Hoopa and now Meloetta find something fun on those trees," Fluttershy added. "Is there something special about this forest, maybe?"
"Maybe. The only thing magical here I see is Meloetta's hair accessory." Sci-Twi focused on Meloetta's sparkling flower accessory. "Cotton candy and macarons are surprising though. First of all, you all ate from something that was connected to leaves. Are you okay?"
"Hoopa's fine!"
"Victini!" Victini and Hoopa appeared to be fine after scaring them down. The taste of the leaves didn't bother them at all. If anything, it added to the flavour, making Sci-Twi shudder.
"Anyway. Let's hurry back and get to Alpha Heracross." Sci-Twi soon dismissed it before focusing on what mattered right now. "Let's go for our second round."
"Heracross!" Heracross went back to his usual business. He kept showing off his strength, smashing trees and leaving deep dents in them. He didn't bother going after them once they got away. Thus, once again, they would come to Heracross since he wouldn't come to them.
"Heracross!" Sci-Twi yelled, once again grabbing his attention. Heracross stopped what he was doing, recognizing that voice."
"Cross?!"
"We're not finished yet. Not until I've come out as the winner of this. This Pokemon Battle isn't over until all my Pokemon are unable to battle." Talking big to the Single Horn Pokemon, Sci-Twi adjusted her glasses before holding the ball out to Heracross.
"Cross..." Heracross even found intrigue in Sci-Twi's words. Her voice had extra confidence in it. Condifence that was enough to garner Heracross' full attention and see what else she could bring to the table.
"You got this, Twilight." Ash said from the back. "Use everything you've learned so far and go wild with all of it."
"Going wild's not my thing, Ash. I prefer to be careful but I'll still win this! Please, help out, Rapidash!" By launching the Poke Ball, out came Alpha Rapidash, ready to go.
"Rapidash!"
"Rapidash. Here's our first serious battle. At least, I hope it is." Before starting, Sci-Twi had a small chat with the Fire Horse Pokemon. "For this one, please help me. Heracross is a massive obstacle in the way after all."
"Dash..." Rapidash and Sci-Twi once again looked at each other. Ash and Fluttershy scrunched their faces, hoping this time, Rapidash could come to an understanding with Sci-Twi.
And thanks to the conversation back in the south of the area, Rapidash saw it. The newfound confidence that Sci-Twi possessed. Heracross was the first to notice it and now Rapidash too. It felt somewhat alien to her, seeing Sci-Twi with such gusto and confidence.
But that kind of confidence is something that Rapidash wanted to associate herself with. Powerful confidence leads to a powerful ally.
"Rapidash!" Thus, Rapidash would help out, choosing to listen to Sci-Twi. Of course, she also wanted to test her.
"Yes! Okay, let's go for it, Rapidash!" Sci-Twi had the happiest soul right now, seeing how Rapidash responded to her. "Go! Use Dragon Pulse!"
"Rapidash!" It was time for her exclusive move as an Alpha Pokemon. Alpha Rapidash forms a ball of multicoloured energy in her mouth, taking a deep breath. After gathering her breath, and fires a crackling dragon-shaped beam of energy from it at her fellow Alpha Pokemon.
"Hera...Cross!" Heracross approached, once again, going up close as that was his speciality. He used Megahorn while spreading his wings as well. Noticeably, Dragon Pulse moved at a speed that was enough to keep Heracross where he wanted him.
The speed of Dragon Pulse forced Heracross to approach it in the first place as he smashed his horn into the blast. Heracross' goal was to try and cleave through the pulse which would end up allowing him to reach Rapidash. But while he couldn't reach the Fire Horse Pokemon, he did end up cutting the attack apart, causing it to combust. In return, the explosion harmed him a bit.
"Put him to sleep, please! Hypnosis!"
"Ra...!" The goal was to end this as soon as possible. Sci-Twi wanted to catch Heracross not defeat him after all. And the best option right now was Hypnosis as Rapidash releases light blue circles from his eyes that expanded.
"Hera!" Heracross could at least dodge this as he took flight, appearing above. The hypnotic waves weren't even close to touching him at all. Heracross, now in the air, went for an aerial assault from above. This time with Aerial Ace. "Cross!" Jetting down with a silver trail, Heracross channelled his strength into his arms instead of his horn this time.
"Quick, Rapidash! Flamethrower!"
"Rapi...!" Rapidash's head was already up and ready for whatever aerial attacks would come her way. She gathered up some flames, however, Heracross managed to get a hit in first. "D-Dash!" Rapidash was smacked in the face by one of Heracross' arms which then began a consecutive attack.
"Hera! Cross! Cross!" Heracross began delivering high-speed hits with his arms, punishing Rapidash repeatedly. Each hit was potent in every way thanks to Heracross' grand strength and he had yet to even use his horn. But of course, Alpha Rapidash withstood the hits.
"Hang in there, please, Rapidash!"
"R-Rapidash...!" Rapidash growled as even though she was taking these hits, damage was still coming through as her hooves started moving back. Rapidash held her ground as Heracross could see that she was only slightly moving back.
"He's gauging them both." Ash suddenly said, grabbing Fluttershy's attention.
"What do you mean by that?" Fluttershy, Hoopa and the rest asked.
"Heracross is trying to see how good Twilight is with Rapidash right now. Otherwise, he would've used his strongest weapon. His horn. It's probably because of what Twilight said earlier. Now Heracross is battling without all that hostility from before."
"Oooh...You noticed?"
"I'm friends with a Heracross too ya know. Plus...sometimes I even do this." Ash smirked as this is something he would definitely try in battle. And he certainly has tried it before.
"Wait for it..." Sci-Twi scrunched her face, waiting for a clear opening in all of Heracross' swift attacks. This meant that Rapidash would have to take all of these hits some more. Rapidash wondered why Twilight wasn't doing anything yet.
Did she make the wrong call to trust Sci-Twi in this instance and it would lead to her defeat? Not at all. Sci-Twi said it before. She wanted to be cautious. This is who she was. And with the lessons she learned from experts, she already found a style that suited her.
"Hera!" Heracross decided to take it up a notch. And this included using his horn. By channelling the rest of his strength into his horn this next hit would be grander than the rest.
"I see you! Rapidash, chomp on Heracross' horn!" Sci-Twi found that chance. The second he transferred power into his horn, there was a build-up as he was no longer using his arms.
"Dash!" Rapidash took that chance as well. She leaned forward while galloping to swiftly grab Heracross' horn with her bare teeth. This was right before all of it went to his horn, resulting in Rapidash stopping the transfer midway.
"H-Hera?!"
"Gotcha! That horn buildup is what I needed!" Sci-Twi adjusted her glasses before putting on a smirk. "You're still stupidly strong with it, so we'll stop any chance you get to use it! Flamethrower! Up close!"
It would be a direct hit. Flames sparked out of Rapidash's mouth, ready to be unleashed. Heracross' horn was still insanely strong, capable of lifting anything up. But in this instance, when tried doing it to Rapidash, it failed. Rapidash didn't show any signs of being launched.
"Surprised? You can't use your horn efficiently in that position! There's no momentum for you to swing upwards or even downward!" Sci-Twi exposed Heracross. She found one weakness and revealed it to its fullest capabilities. "Go, Rapidash!"
"RAPIDASH!" Finally, Rapidash unleashed Flamethrower, engulfing Heracross' body. The blast was so strong that it forced Heracross' horn out of Rapidash's mouth, carrying him away. A truly super-effective hit as the trees that Heracross attacked had been obliterated by the crashing body of Heracross and the flames. The end result was a violent explosion of flames that went off, causing Sci-Twi to hold onto her clothes from the blowback.
"H-Hera...!" Heracross emerged out of the smoke, having visible battle damage at last.
"Now's your chance!" Fluttershy exclaimed as this was the perfect chance to throw a Poke Ball.
"Not yet! Hypnosis!"
"Rapidash!" But there had to be extra measures. To make sure Heracross doesn't pull a surprising comeback, Rapidash used Hypnosis for safety. Those hypnotic waves came through, encasing Heracross. Unfortunately for him, he was now entranced by the waves.
"H-Hera...Heracross..." And as to be expected, he started dozing off. Just as planned. Heracross dropped on his face, unable to continue moving in this tiresome state. "Cross..."
"Okay! Here I go!" Now she would take that opportunity. A Great Ball was held out by Sci-Twi. She had the target in size and with all her might, she launched it, nearly falling over. This looked like it would be it. A successful capture from Sci-Twi in her first serious battle against an Alpha Pokemon without needing outside help.
Now for the moment of truth. Damage done by Alpha Pikachu earlier combined with the heavy damage from Rapidash with the finishing touch of Hypnosis had worn this physically powerful Pokemon down. The Great Ball placed him inside before beginning to shake.
1...2...3...Gotcha!
Alpha Heracross was caught.
"Yes! Success! A stunning success!" A total victory. With her full confidence, Sci-Twi achieved her goal. She caught Alpha Hracross with her skills alone. No other trainer helped her out this time. It was all her. "I actually overcame someone that strong...amazing. Amazing!"
"You rock, Twilight! Rapidash!" Ash and the others thundered with joy and applause. Victini and Meloetta danced around after witnessing her victory while Fluttershy and Ash high-fived and high-hoofed each other.
"We did it, Rapidash. Working together feels so amazing..."
"Rapidash." Rapidash had to agree. She was impressed by how Twilight took control of this battle. Therefore, Rapidash now felt that it was rather interesting to stick by Sci-Twi's side, just to see what happens next.
But for now, a new Alpha Pokemon had been added to Twilight's team at last. Without a doubt, her physically strongest Pokemon to date with Rapidash only being the fastest and strongest when it comes to ranged attacks.
"I did it! I caught Alpha Heracross!" To declare this victory which felt more satisfying than anything she's done so far, Sci-Twi raise the Great Ball into the air. "Oh...I'm tired now...Is it safe to fall asleep while standing up? I'm going to assume it isn't."
By now, the Sun would son rise and Sci-Twi had yet to get some full rest after what just happened. But it was all worth it just for this one moment. Ash and the others would get her some rest while also letting her revel at this moment.
"Still...what was with those trees?" But even so, Fluttershy had to wonder about the trees. It knew exactly what each Pokemon wanted. If they had gone any further, would they have shown Pikachu and the others something? And why only the Pokemon?
These were the questions that Fluttershy and even Ash wondered about. Questions that they wonder would ever be answered. Either way, it wouldn't take away from this joyous moment as the journey continues.
Unova. Virbank City. PokeStar Studios. The Pokemon Festival. Day.
"Come on out, Heracross!" Celebrating her first ever serious Alpha Pokemon Catch was Sci-Twi as she unleashed Alpha Heracross here at PokeStar Studios in front of Ponyville and Cloudsdale ponies.
"Heracross!" Out came Alpha Heracross fully healed thanks to Nurse Joy. He was there for all of them to see as the sheer size of Heracross was so vast that his horn could potentially hit the ceiling. If he was any taller, that is.
They had already seen her Alpha Pikachu, who was bigger than the average Pikachu. Now they feasted their eyes on the juggernaut that was Alpha Heracross.
"The size of this one...I already felt inferior in front of an average Heracross." Amethyst Star commented.
"He's a big one. Which gives me an idea!" shouted Mayor Mare after witnessing Alpha Heracross "A giant monster film! That should be up next in our options of films! We can have Alpha Pokemon be the giants and everything else explains itself."
"Uuuuughh!" But judging by all the groans from every pony, they were still fresh off the heels of making the Equestria Film. Going for another film so soon would be taxing on them all.
"But...we can wait on that." Mayor Mare postponed that idea but it was still in the air and eligible to be made.
"Princess Celestia. Princess Luna. Aren't you going after Galaxy Master?" Twilight soon noticed that Celestia and Luna were going through the recent books of Galaxy Master's adventures, reading through them as if they were in the library studying. If anything, this was studying as they needed the knowledge on his whereabouts.
"We are. And we'll be using the books to do so." Celestia replied. "It tells all of his current adventure and new images are being added to these blank pages."
"With these books, we'll never have to worry about finding him or knowing what he's up to. We'll always know his every move." Luna added.
"That's a great idea." Cynthia walked over, kneeling to grab herself one of the books. "A tad creepy thought but..."
"Although...I'd like to stay around a bit more and read these books. And even leave him to have his adventures so there's more to see." Celestia giggled, holding the books as if she was a child.
"Sister!" Luna exclaimed, startling her older sister. "This is serious. Let's not be hyper-carefree."
"Sorry, sorry. Being so free does something to a princess. Anyway, it seems that he's stopped yet another Dread League. But nothing about his recent location yet. These books seem to take their time when it comes to forming pages."
"So uh, if we do something short, is the process gonna be short?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Just guessing."
"Probably. It will only form once we stop at a certain point. Just like an actual story." Celestia explained. "Either way, we'll meet with him when we get the chance. But Hoopa, are you still sure you can't bring him here?"
"Hoopa just doesn't know specifics or whatever they're called." Hoopa twiddled his fingers, pouting as he felt disappointed that there was one thing his ring couldn't achieve.
"I have an idea that will cheer you up." Along came Rarity to stave that from off his face. "You may not be able to use your ring to find him. But...you can use it to head to his secret lair."
"Oooh!" Hoopa's eyes shot open as Rarity was on to something. Celestia and Luna nodded in approval. "Hoopa can break in?!"
"Pretty much. You can at least go there, can't you? Locations aren't out of your boundaries, are they?" The fashionista nudged. "Please tell me you can or else I'll look silly."
"Hoopa...Hoopa can!" Hoopa exclaimed. "Hoopa can go places! But...only through space. Not sure if Hoopa can find this tower."
"So you just can't decide to go to the Galaxy Tower at all. The limits on that ring are small but strong." Twilight pondered. "But, who said we'd struggle to find it? We have the location right here." She then used her magic to bring over one of the books.
And in that book, the Galaxy Tower's appearance was not only seen but the location was discovered. It was, of course, located in Equestria but since it was hidden, the tower could be found underground.
"Underground..." Hoopa gazed.
"Judging from the scenery art, you can find this place somewhere in western Equestria," Twilight added. "That should be easy enough, right?"
"Oh! Oh! You managed to bring Apple Bloom and the others here after you saw their faces! So bring Galaxy Master here too!" Pinkie Pie threw in her own suggestion.
"Hoopa tried that, actually," Luna replied. "After seeing what he did with the young ones, we figured we'd try the same thing. But even then, Hoopa failed to do so. You can even see it here on this page."
She then showed off the page to the others, revealing what happened between Hoopa and Galaxy Master. Hoopa could identify Galaxy Master since he had a unique appearance that no one else in either world had, making it easy for the Mischief Pokemon. However, upon attempting to grab Galaxy Master, the next panel showed his Galaxy Sense kicking in.
Not only did it alert Galaxy Master but the golden light particles from the Sea Temple had shown themselves. Reacting with Hoopa's ring led to the light forcing Hoopa back. After all, a bit of Arceus' power was within it thanks to what Luna leaned.
"Someone's messing with Hoopa!" Annoyed by that fact, Hoopa crossed his arms, bitter that Galaxy Master was another force that completely counteracted his ring. "What can Hoopa do about this?"
"For now, help us. Please, send us to this secret base of his." Celestia pleaded to the Mischief Pokemon. "I hope it's not too much of a hassle."
"Okay! Hoopa can do it! Underground to the West, right? Easy!" Hoopa was up to the task. He tossed up one of his rings, looking directly at the book. He would try his best to pull it off perfectly if he could. Hopping from space to space wasn't uncommon for him but when it came to this, he would have to try a bit more.
Once the ring opened up, it showed the image that was shot-for-shot exactly like the one in the comic book. Hoopa pulled it off thanks to the encouragement from the ponies. The Galaxy Tower had been seen by everyone's eyes from the outside as it was surrounded by crystals.
"You did it, Hoopa!" Ash and everyone cheered after Hoopa pulled it off. "Way to go!"
"Pikachu!"
"Looks like you just needed to break past some of those doubts. There was nothing stopping you from doing so, little one," said Rarity. "You're stronger than you think."
"Hoopa did it?" Even Hoopa was a bit shocked. After a repeat of failures, failing to grab Luna's Pokemon and Galaxy Master, this action was a stunning success. "Hoopa knew it!" Of course, Hoopa, being the prideful Pokemon that he was, boasted and shrugged it off as if it was all natural. "There was no doubt."
"Sure..." Amethyst Star sarcastically replied whilst clapping for the Mischief Pokemon.
"Now. Let's get this started." Luna rubbed her hooves together, eyeing down the tower. "Now that we have the tower in sight, let's-"
"Go!" And of course, Ash was the one to go on ahead. Not just because he had the biggest thrill for adventure but because this was also his creation to an extent. And now that it was real, he just had to enter and explore the Galaxy Tower for himself.
Entering the area would be Canterlot Guards as well, solely there to see what Rift-related objects they could find. This tower was beautiful to the eyes once everyone got a good look at it. Immediately, they all felt the urge to view it for themselves. What was the secret base of a Superhero like? Only one way to find out.
Equestria. Underground. Galaxy Tower. Day.
The Galaxy Tower.
Standing in front of its entrance, Ash and everyone got to marvel at it. For something that was underground, it was astronomically tall to the point where if it were outside, it could be seen in the distance past the cloud and maybe even the fog, especially with the radiant cosmic sparkles it gave off.
In this underground, the sparkles lit up, outshining the darkness to give this place some flair while also reflecting beautifully off the crystals.
"I know villains in stories usually have the cooler looking places but this rivals them." Rainbow Dash gawked. "You've always got a nice sense of style, Ash."
"Obviously, he does. It's how he pitched the idea of his current outfit to me. Then again, it must run in the family since Delia thought of the old outfits as well." Rarity applauded.
"It's made out of what I thought it would be..." Amazed by the fact that he was truly here, Ash placed his hand on the tower, feeling the texture as the stardust beautiful flowed past him.
"What kind of texture is this even?" Twilight did the same, trying to identify it. "It feels...unlike anything else I've felt."
"Yeah. When I wrote about his secret base, I basically said that the Galaxy Tower's made out of stars. Pretty neat, huh?" Ash revealed the strange texture to it, grinning at Twilight.
"Made out of stars?!" Hearing that, Twilight pulled her hoof back, fearing that she would be incinerated. But of course, that didn't happen. Not only that, but the texture wasn't harmful at all. "Huh...Let me guess. You made the stars solid, huh?"
"That's right! Solid Stars is what I call 'em! Well, mom actually came up with that name when she saw it. Pretty neat huh?" He chuckled.
"This is an otherworldly substance then?!" Celestia, Luna, Cynthia, Twilight, Sci-Twi and Bertha soon realized how important this was. This material was not from this world. Technically, it was from the cosmos and realistically, it was from a comic book.
This was a stunning discovery. Pure energy from the stars had been solidified and built to make this tower. This was only possible thanks to the power of the Sea Temple Crystal bringing everything about Galaxy Master to life.
"Well, how are we gonna get in? If we bust the place wide open, he'll notice." Rainbow Dash asked. "What say you, Ash?"
"Uh...we-" Ash held his hand out before the doors suddenly opened up automatically. They reacted to Ash's hand motions, prompting them to open themselves without needing special access.
"That works too." Rainbow Dash zoomed in, heading in before anyone else as the group then followed right afterwards. At this rate, this might be considered a tour and all of them were tourists. In a way, Ash was the tour guide since he technically made this but he was just as curious as them before joining all of his friends.
When entering, they found out that Galaxy Master's base from the inside was astronomically clean. So clean that the stardust twinkled from every shiny substance and the floors were so smooth it was out of this world. It worked well since everything about Galaxy Master was meant to be otherworldly, especially the tower.
There were these soft pads on the walls that immediately felt like coming into contact with pillows. Some of these pads could be found on the floor. As to be expected, the colour scheme was mainly blue with a sprinkle of white, red and gold everywhere else.
This was the cleanest place they'd ever seen. Cleaner than any castle, palace, hall or anything that was always kept in top condition.
"I think...I think I'm going to pass out from this..." Rarity felt perplexed by this as she was on the verge of fainting, loving this beautiful polish. She was then caught by Applejack, saving her from falling. "This is perfect...Too perfect it should be illegal. Twilight..why can't your Cinccino be this tidy?"
"You'd need a hundred or a thousand Cinccino and Minccino to make this possible," Twilight replied before realizing it was targeted to her Cinccino, essentially downplaying her. "And...hey!"
"The air here is special. What is this?" Celestia pondered, feeling the air within the atmosphere. Once again, this area had forces that were new to them. "It's probably from space, isn't it?"
"All of it's gotta be from space." Derpy suddenly started taking pictures of this place just to remember this stupendous appearance forever. "So is he like an alien then?"
"Nah, I don't think Ash would make his dad an alien. Or maybe he would. Would he?" Soarin wondered. "What does an alien in the Pokemon Universe even look like?"
"Let's figure out what an alien in our universe looks like before we answer that," Cloudchaser replied. "Say, do you think there's any food we can grab? Please tell me Ash made a food stand when drawing about it?"
"Checking..." Amethyst Star held some of the Galaxy Master books up with her magic, flipping the pages to find earlier portions of the Galaxy Tower prior to him emerging into reality. "Oh! Looks like there are! This page shows off al the rooms in this tower. They have a food stand, indeed."
"I can already smell it!" Interrupting Amethyst was Pinkie Pe as her nose already picked up on a delicious scent. Once the scent came her way, she zoomed off just to find it.
"It has a lot to offer here. An outfit room, armoury, hobby room, trophy room and few quarters." Amethyst continued with Cynthia and the others gathering around the unicorn. "You could live here if you wanted."
"Really now? Noted." Lyra added. "In that case, it's all up for our viewing pleasure!"
"She's right. I need to see that Trophy Room. Perhaps potential future awards can go beyond the stars themselves." Octavia replied before she, Lyra and many others went off to explore the tower to its fullest. They weren't here for the potential Rift Objects. They were here solely because of the enjoyment factor.
And the same went with Ash, who was living out his own childhood creation right now. How could he just stand around? Actually, he was already gone a few seconds ago, going ahead of everyone else before. They all went in different directions that held various pathways.
Celestia, Luna and even Cynthia would focus on what Rift-Related objects there may be here but they would take their time to explore this tower as well.
Hobby Room.
The Hobby Room was exactly as they expected. A nice, comfortable place for relaxation and of course, hobbies. When entering, the ponies and their Pokemon saw how there were sculptures and paintings. Tables with different board games could be found, ranging from a Pokemon Chess Board to a card game that didn't have a cover.
Most likely a result of Ash never continuing to write about Galaxy Master's adventures later on. While Galaxy Master is always busy, he would have this to relax when needed. The paintings looked to be relatively old as if they were made long ago despite this tower and everything else being made only a week ago. The chess game hadn't even been touched by anyone.
"A Pokemon Chess game? Why don't we have this back home?" Flitter went over to the game with Cloudchaser.
"Not sure...oh, well! Best to try it out for the first time. I'm going Red!" Her fellow pegasus already started the game upon discovering it. It was too interesting for them to just ignore.
"Then I'll go Blue!" And just like that, the two of them started the Pokemon Chess Game while others gathered to witness them go at it. Some music could be found here. Mainly in the form of a radio that looked rather old.
Vinyl Scratch acknowledged the radio, wondering what kind of music this fictional character would listen to and if it was any good. With her magic pressing down on one of the buttons, the radio was on. And what about the music that came from it?
Once it played, the music, much like everything else, was all about the stars and space and what lies beyond. In short, it had a cosmic feeling to it. Vinyl smiled as this kind of sound was euphoric to the ears. She slumped on the couch pillows upon hearing it, melting to its sweet sound as it brought a nice aesthetic to the place.
Overall, this place was just nice to be in. Meloetta could vouch for that as she decided to experience the trophy room as well, for once, not trailing behind Ash. Mainly because Ash was already ahead of everyone else.
Trophy Room.
The Trophy Room. What trophies would Ash grant this character at all in the beginning? Octavia, Rarity, Sweetie Belle and many others would find that out for themselves once they came across it. Various trophies of different shapes instead of the traditional cup could be found.
These trophies all looked otherworldly too as everything else. One of them resembled a star. One of them resembled a ringed planet, star clusters, strange eyes and more.
"These trophies are...very unique looking. What do you think they're for?" Rarity wondered.
"I don't know. There's words on some of them but the writing looks super weird...Do you think it's an alien language?!"
"If it is then..." Octavia pondered for a moment before having her eyes flash. "If I were to play some of my music to an alien, what would I receive in return? Extraterrestrials give out fresh rewards that nopony in this world could ever imagine. If that's the case...I'd have a special trophy as well~"
"Nice souvenirs too." Hilda held up a souvenir which ended up being a cosmic-coated necklace. "Strange how all of this is brand new yet old at the same time, huh?"
"We've gotta ask him about all of this someday, Rarity. No harm in it. After all, he saved our lives." Sweetie Belle pleaded.
"I suppose so. He isn't evil at all. Just working for the worst force. If only he could see it but that Rift has already imprinted a false effective truth in his mind. I refuse to believe anyone who collects such beautiful trophies and souvenirs would work for the Rift. Apart from that other version of me but never mind that."
"Speaking of the Rift...that book showed the Rift gaining some of its strength back. It's recovering." Hilda added. "If we don't talk to him soon, the Rift's gonna keep gaining control over him. It might as well puppet Galaxy Master around."
"Which is precisely why we have the means to know when he shall return." Rarity tried on another cosmic necklace. I assume he doesn't know of his own books. After all, he's a fictional character. If he were to be aware that he was brought from a book...not sure how'd he react.
Food Stand.
The Food Stand. Pleasing to the eyes, nose, stomach and mouth for what it had to offer. Unlike everything else, this wasn't otherworldly at all. It was all standard. Pinkie Pie found it first which led to everyone else tracking down the enticing scent.
All their favourites could be found here, stored within a glass container the size of a bookshelf. Spaghetti, candy, doughnuts, ice cream, varying cakes and salad. The lot of it. All kinds for everyone. This wasn't just for Galaxy Master but for his Pokemon as well.
"My hero..." Pinkie Pie melted as Mew and she licked their lips. All they had to do was have the container open. The stand here looked like it would be served by someone as it was a Food Stand after all. "Ahem! If anyone's there, I'd like to order~"
There was a response. It came in the form of a sound. A rather robotic sound. Looking ahead, Pinkie Pie could see something blue glowing in the dark with a V Symbol. This V Symbol got closer and so did the noise after reacting to Pinkie Pie's request.
Revealing itself, it was none other than a robot. A robot that had the same colour scheme as Galaxy Master but just with an alternate look while also having wheels for legs. Not the kind of service that Pinkie Pie was expecting but she wasn't complaining.
"Oh. Okay then. Can I get uh..."
"ᴜɴᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀɪᴢᴇᴅ ᴇɴᴛɪᴛʏ ᴅᴇᴛᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ. ᴜɴᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀɪᴢᴇᴅ ᴇɴᴛɪᴛʏ: ᴏᴛʜᴇʀᴡᴏʀʟᴅʟʏ." The robot then spoke while scanning Pinkie Pie, already claiming that she was otherworldly
"Entity?" Pinkie Pie repeated. "Well some of them call me something weird like eldritch...whatever it's called. But I don't know about-"
Before Pinkie Pie pie could finish, more of these robots revealed themselves. They appeared out of the most unusual places. From the walls, the ceiling and even the tables, sliding out of them. Everyone was taken aback by this as robots were the last things they would expect. They appeared in impressive numbers, surrounding this part of the room as they were in hiding the entire time before finally appearing.
"ＯＢＪＥＣＴＩＶＥ： ＡＲＲＥＳＴ."
"Arrest?!" Pinkie Pie and the others exclaimed. They went from making movies to suddenly being threatened with an arrest by these Galaxy Master Robots.
Everywhere else, these robots were showing up, reacting to the arrival of all these individuals who were not Galaxy Master. In each room, they showed up, stationed as the tower's bodyguard while Galaxy Master was away. No hostility was shown by them. Only the goal to arrest them.
As far as it stands right now, Pinkie Pie and everyone else here was a criminal. As the journey continues.
The Galaxy Tower. Galaxy Master's secret base which was located underground. Thanks to the help of Hoopa managing to find this place, Ash and many others arrived at this special tower while Galaxy Master was currently out, partaking in his usual mission.
And upon entering, most were met with two things. The wondrous design and activities of the base and the robots that resided here. Robots that had the colour scheme and visor of Galaxy Master appeared before them during their curiosity about this place. The robots only had one objective. Arrest them all.
Ash was currently the only one who hadn't encountered any of these robots as he came across a room that was ahead of most. He knew this place well since this was his creation. And upon entering this room, he was now in a Vestibule Room. A massive sculpture sat in the middle as it was of two individuals. Galaxy Master himself and another figure who seemed to be a lady wearing a superhero outfit that shared some similarities with Galaxy Master.
"Yeah...Just like how I envisioned it. Everything I thought about was made better once it became real." Ash closed his eyes as a small tear was starting to form. Something like this was enough to make him emotional as this was his childhood being brought back in a greater form than he made in the past.
"Pika-pi?" Pikachu noticed Ash's tears, asking if he was alright and worried about his best friend. But these were tears of joy, so Pikachu had nothing to worry about.
"I'm good, Pikachu. I'm really good right now." Ash responded, clearing Pikachu of any worries.
"Ash! Pikachu. There you are!" Entering the room as well was Fluttershy who finally caught up to Ash and Pikachu.
"W-Wait up...You're too fast!" Twilight breathed in and out as she tagged along. "Were you always this fast, Fluttershy?"
"Hey, guys. Check it out! Ain't this sweet?!" He immediately focused on the two sculptures of Galaxy Master and the mystery lady in another superhero outfit. Her identity was still unknown as she was the main focus.
"It is. Galaxy Master and...Who's that?" Fluttershy asked, curious about the lady who was posing with Galaxy Master.
"Is that another Galaxy Master?" Twilight flew over. "Has there always been a second one?"
"Well, ya see...I made Galaxy Master after my dad. And you can guess who this is meant to be?" Ash smiled as it already clicked with Twilight and Fluttershy. The identity of this lady was clear as day.
Delia Ketchum. This is who this was meant to be. Fitting that they were both made by their son though usually, it was the other way around.
"Aw, that's sweet, Ash. So what's her name?" asked Twilight. That's where Ash was stumped. There was one roadblock that he left behind as a child.
"Ah, the name...I never thought about a name, actually. Never went past the first book or finished it so a lot of stuff isn't even named or fully made yet." He chuckled, causing Twilight to pratfall.
"W-Well!" The Princess of Friendship cleared her throat. "If you're going to call her something, keep it to the motif of space. How does..." Soon, she was brewing up a name in her mind. All she needed to do was have something related to outer space and it would be a perfect fit. That's when it hit her. "I got it! How does Quasar Lady sound?"
"What's a Quasar?" Fluttershy questioned.
"You see, Quasars are regions at the centres of galaxies with a far higher luminosity, which isn't produced by stars. They're among the most luminous and powerful objects in the universe, as they put out thousands of times more energy than our entire galaxy and probably even the Pokemon Universe's galaxy, which contains between 200 and 400 billion stars. It's absolutely colossal! If there's anything to compare with the galaxy it's a Quasar. Trust me, Ash." Twilight explained.
"Huh...Yeah! That's a great idea! Quasar Lady it is then!" A new name had been given to this second superhero based on Delia Ketchum. Once again, keeping it space-orientated.
But this moment of peace was quickly disturbed by one of those robots. They once again appeared unexpectedly, moving past the walls that opened up. Twilight and Fluttershy were made aware, mainly Fluttershy and her Audino first thanks to their hearing.
"Ｕｎａｕｔｈｏｒｉｚｅｄ! Ｕｎａｕｔｈｏｒｉｚｅｄ!"
"W-Who are they?!" Fluttershy stammered as Raboot, Bayleef and Audino stood in front of her for protection. Espeon did the same for Twilight as they could sense danger was afoot.
"Robots?!" The alicorn bellowed, spotting just what these entities were. "Of course he'd have robots here..."
"Robots? You mean..." Ash repeated, slowly turning around to see the robots for himself. Once again, this was another of his creations as the design was too familiar to them. It was simple yet recognizable.
"He might know we're here," said Twilight. "That or the robots are the only ones keeping watch of this place."
"Hang on, Twilight. Let's not do anything hasty." But preventing Twilight from doing anything to these robots, Ash stepped forward, casually too. He didn't look bothered at all.
"Ash?! Hold on!" Twilight tried stopping him but there was no point. He shook his head, insisting that he handled this.
"Ｓｃａｎｎｉｎｇ." Upon getting close, the robots ran a scan on Ash Ketchum. In mere seconds, they gathered data on the Alola Champion, seeing what they could take from this. However, upon scanning him, instead of using what they learned against, the opposite happened.
"Ｓｃａｎ ｃｏｍｐｌｅｔｅ. Ｗｅｌｃｏｍｅ Ａｓｈ Ｋｅｔｈｃｕｍ."
"Thanks, StarBots. Great to see you all. And in full 3D!" Ash was already showing familiarity with them despite encountering the robots for the first time. Treating them like his friends, he wrapped his arms around them both. "Twilight! Everyone! These are StarBots! Pretty cool looking, huh?"
"They're kinda cute with how small they are." Fluttershy gushed at the robots and their size. Each of them were around the size of a Lucariobut slightly shorter.
"Had me worried there..." Twilight sighed. "But I guess since it's you, they wouldn't be hostile. Even though you haven't been here before."
"It might be because those are his parents up there. So the robots maybe recognize him as their son. Isn't that nifty?"
"Sure is, Fluttershy. Hey, StarBots. These are my friends. No need to try and arrest them, okay?" Ash ordered.
"Awesome! But...what about everywhere else? The other StarBots are meant to be around the entire base after all." He asked. "Which means Cynthia and the others might run into them with the wrong idea in mind."
"Please tell me you gave them a function that lets them communicate with each other from afar?" Twilight pleaded, hoping Ash made it easy for them.
"Sorry. But I only thought about the energy handcuffs and how cool they would be to use." Sadly, that was not the case. Since he was younger back then, he only thought about what would be cool instead of what was practical.
"Of course not...Okay then. Fluttershy. Everyone. Let's hurry before all our friends are locked up by these bots. Or worse, they could fight back and absolutely obliterate them. Let's face it, they have the means to."
"Gotcha. StarBots. We'll explain everything later, okay?" Ash would leave, setting off to find the rest of his friends before the worst could happen. But right now, tension was already building across the base as different rooms with other StarBots already had intruders with a high abundance.
Food Stand Area.
"Under arrest?! Now hold on a second!" Pinkie Pie bellowed as the StarBot at the Food Stand was the first to issue this arrest against her and everyone else.
"A Star Pod sounds fun. But uhh...sorry for barging in like this. We just got a bit curious, that's all." Pinkie Pie backed as the robot approached menacingly. "We didn't even know the place was occupied with robots. I just wanted something to eat too."
"M-Mew!"
"Ｕｎａｕｔｈｏｒｉｚｅｄ ｆｏｒ ｃｏｎｓｕｍｐｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ ｇｏｏｄｓ."
"Blocked from eating food? How cruel..." Pinkie lowered her head before bumping into another pony. The robots had backed them all up against each other by simply approaching at a menacing pace. Right afterwards, each of these robots generated energy cuffs to issue the arrest. But there was one downside.
The cuffs were too big for the ponies, meaning they would slip past them if they ever moved their hooves once. That prompted everyone to chuckle right at the cuffs. "You're gonna arrest us with those?" Thunderlane chuckled.
But soon after, the robots readjusted the cuffs to the size of the ponies. Whether they be stallion or mare. The laughter ceased in a heartbeat once the cuffs were readjusted.
"Can't we talk this out?"
"Ｔａｌｋｉｎｇ ｉｓ ａ ｒｅａｓｏｎａｂｌｅ ｇｅｓｔｕｒｅ．Ｐｒｏｃｅｅｄ." The StarBot surprisingly agreed with Pinkie Pie's suggestion, halting from going through with the arrest as these energy cuffs dissipated.
"Oh, really? Well, that's surprising." Even Pinkie Pie was shocked that the robot was willing to listen to her despite being so set on arresting her and everyone else here.
"Looks to me like you were about to take on full action anyway..." Misty Fly uttered quietly.
"Alright! Glad we can talk it out!" Pinkie Pie slid over to one of the robots. "Hope it's not too much of a bother...but we're just here out of curiosity, that's all. Plus the food here smelled nice and too good to resist..." The earth pony began melting at the scent of this food.
"Ｓｃａｎ ｃｏｍｐｌｅｔｅ． Ｔｈｉｓ ｏｎｅ ｈａｒｂｏｕｒｓ ａ ｇｒｅａｔ ｓｅｎｓｅ ｏｆ ｈｕｎｇｅｒ ａｎｄ ｏｖｅｒｗｈｅｌｍｉｎｇ ｆｏｒｃｅ ｏｆ ｊｏｙ." It was then revealed that the robots scanned Pinkie Pie, assessing what she was like and possessed. They did the same for everypony else, spouting out what makes them unique.
"Gee thanks. But I wanna apologize for breaking in." Pinkie placed her hooves together. "The door just kinda opened up on us and uh...curiosity's a powerful thing, ain't it?"
"Yeah, we're not here to do anything wrong." Rumble chimed in. "Honest."
"About that...how about we give out a message to the guy?" Pinkie Pie winked. "Just something for him to hear. Uh, you can do that, right?"
"We are programmed to record messages. State your speech."
"Great!" She squeed before facing the other ponies. "Don't worry everypony. I got this. Ahem! If you're hearing this, then I've got something to say. You may not know about it, but there's a true history behind us the Rift. This is uh, Pinkie Pie speaking by the way. You may or may not know who I am. Hopefully, you do cause that would be sweet! Anyway! There's a lot I gotta share with you. First...!"
Armoury.
The Armoury Room. Currently, there weren't any weapons here that could be found. Not a semblance of them. Not even a Poke Ball. This room was surprisingly empty for something that involved combat.
But at the moment, Rainbow Dash had met with the robots much like others. She would've left the room by now out of boredom but the robots quickly staved that boredom upon appearing. She was joined by Scootaloo in this room.
"Pssh! You're not gonna arrest me! No one can. Not with my speed." She argued with the robots, hovering over them with the superior advantage of flight. Scootaloo couldn't fly so Rainbow Dash would have to hold her, keeping the younger pegasus away from these mechanical creations.
"Thanks. I am pretty str- Hey!" Rainbow Dash took some pride and offence to that. She was complimented and insulted at the same time. The robots then went in for the arrest, throwing the energy cuffs instead of approaching considering where Rainbow Dash was.
However, with a quick zoom to the right, the first cuffs were evaded. Then along came the second and the third which forced Rainbow Dash to go higher while holding Scootaloo over her head.
"Missed me! Too bad for you, I've got someone else who stays up here and hits back. Go for it, Castform! Shock Wave!"
"Castform!" Out of her saddlebag came Castform, who stayed up even higher than Rainbow Dash. And at this range, Castform could attack. Mainly with Shock Wave. The weakness of an electric-powered creation is always electricity itself and sometimes water or even fire.
Luckily for Castform, he had those options as a spark of electricity came crashing down. Rainbow Dash was expecting them all to shut off as this was her approach. However, the second the shock wave of electricity crashed into one of the robots, nothing happened.
Nothing at all.
"Ｏｗ." All the robot uttered was a sound of pain. But it didn't sound that serious as it barely moved.
"I didn't ask what he states!" She cut the Robot off.
"Don't worry, protege. I got this!" Hilbert suddenly arrived, entering this room to encounter Rainbow Dash and the others. He made his entrance with a boasting voice, bellowing at them all.
"Wow. You're his protege, Rainbow Dash?" Believing that Rainbow Dash was Hilbert's protege, Scootaloo gawked with amazement.
"Heh. I am strong. You're looking at the number one trainer!" Hilbert boasted, completely ignoring the insult that was thrown his way.
"Ｓｃａｎ ｃｏｍｐｌｅｔｅ. Ｗｅｌｃｏｍｅ Ａｓｈ Ｋｅｔｈｃｕｍ."
"Ash?" Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and even Hilbert said in unison. There was clearly something wrong here as Rainbow Dash added to the conversation. "Uh, aren't robots supposed to be super smart? That's not Ash."
"Yeah. Name's Hilbert Blair, ya know. What makes you think I'm Ash? I mean he's here but..."
"Huh?! He's a counterpart to Ash?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "No way! That can't be right! Him?! Of all people?!"
"I am?" Hilbert, once again, didn't look too phased by it. "Hmm...I don't see it. Maybe the hair and the hat and the fact that we both rock blue better than anyone, but, eh. That's reaching."
"I agree with him for once. Ash is humble. He's not."
"Exactly. Hey!" Finally, Hilbert garnered a massive reaction, mainly to Rainbow Dash's words. "You're not so humble yourself. Which is why you're the perfect protege for me."
"I'm humble! For the most part..." The pegasus grizzled her teeth as she had a plethora of times when she boasted about herself. The robots even exposed it seconds ago.
"Ｓｈａｌｌ ｗｅ ｃｅａｓｅ ａｃｔｉｏｎ ｏｎ ｔｈｅｓｅ ｉｎｔｒｕｄｅｒｓ?"
"Oh, yeah. Totally. They're with me, so it's all good. But uh...mind sharing some important stuff with me? Since I'm technically Ash according to you guys." He then nudged one of the StarBots.
With that, he allowed the StarBots to let them go freely. This was a major advantage in Hilbert's favour. Rainbow Dash was somewhat dumbfounded but also not too surprised by this. As for Scootaloo, she was amazed by this revelation. She was already a huge fan of Ash and now Hilbert may soon be added to her list of icons that she looks up to.
Crime Lab.
In the base, there existed a crime lab. It was exactly what it looked like. A highly advanced forensics laboratory equipped with various computerized devices meant to dissect and investigate anything relating to a crime.
This was the room where Celestia, Luna and Cynthia ended up in. They were the most focused on what Rift-Related Objects could be found here. And as to be expected, they found some of them.
The Travel Spheres.
Celestia, held one of them up, noticing how the sphere had lost its familiar cosmic glow in the middle. All of them did. They lacked colour. They were completely dead as even when Celestia tried using them to open up a gateway, nothing happened.
"These Travel Spheres aren't responsive anymore. The book did show us Galaxy Maste giving all the power from the spheres to the Rift. That means they're no longer useful." Celestia explained. "Unless we were to put some Rift Energy back inside."
"Forget about that. Take a look at this." Cynthia made a discovery of her own that surpassed the Travel Spheres. By grabbing the attention of Celestia and Luna, they found a map of some sort. "This map shows what looks to be an entire galaxy."
"A map of a galaxy? Fairly similar to what Starmap from Pegalysium does, isn't it?" Luna added. Not many would make a map of space. The only one who made a map of this entire universe was Starmap and that was mainly because of her family line.
"Seems like there's more though." Cynthia then revealed that this map had two sides. She pulled the edge of the map as another sheet had been revealed, showing the galaxy of the Pokemon Universe. "And another one to this side." Cynthia continued, showing another galaxy that was pulled from the left edge of the main map.
"Oh! I know that Constellation!" Celestia gasped, immediately noticing one of these constellations. The entire map had some colour, making it easier to learn from. "That's my constellation right there. It's the Apollonia Constellation."
"You have your own constellation?" Cynthia asked.
"We all do. Luna and everyone in Equestria. It's meant to represent our birth."
"My constellation, the Apollonia, is Made up of eighteen stars. You can see that the Apollonia Constellation roughly resembles the shape of an eagle. If it was nightfall at a specific time, or if you happened to be in space, It can be seen most prominently high in the Northern sky just before the spring equinox."
"That's mine over there. The Selenia." Luna then aimed at her constellation. It's only made up of eleven stars. And it resembles that of a wolf. Mine can be seen most prominently above the Northern horizon during autumn."
"Interesting. Wish I had my own." Cynthia immediately thought about receiving her own birth constellation in this world. It would be wondrous to wonder what hers could be.
"But why does he have this? And why is there another galaxy in this?" Luna pondered. This map raised a few questions. To keep knowledge of it without taking it away, Cynthia quickly used her Rotomphone to capture an image.
"He would only have this for two reasons." Celestia held the map up. "It would be for his goal of separating our worlds forever...or something else." Celestia then did a test pushing the other two pieces back to where they came from. But right afterwards, she kept the map of the Pokemon Universe out.
With some experimenting, Celestia used her magic to hide the gaps and lines that separated the two universes. And by doing so, she revealed the other half of this map's potential purpose. "Perhaps, keeping our worlds together."
"Keeping them together? I thought he would want to separate it. Or rather, give as much energy back to the Rift as possible so that it can leave and reset everything back to how it was before." Luna added.
"That's still a possibility. But the book showed us how he reasoned with Pinkie Pie and the others. That well-meaning spirit of Galaxy Master probably has the other option in mind just in case. At least, that's what I'm thinking. I just hid the line with my magic after all."
"If that's the case, then what's this third map for?" Cynthia wanted to know more about the third map, pulling it out. The other maps were obvious considering they represented both worlds. This map didn't have any colour to it compared to the other two and neither were there any names on it.
"Strange...but it's nothing we can't solve. I know the pony who can help us with this." Celestia replied. "Let's go and visit Starmap. After we have the delicious food I sensed here. My nose doesn't lie when it picks up Cake."
"Now of all times? What if he shows up, sister? At this point, we've already intruded into his home without him knowing."
"I'm afraid I already know." In came a voice that responded directly to Princess Luna. This voice was all too familiar. It sounded like three individuals. That could only mean one thing.
Galaxy Master was here.
But more so than that. The Rift was once again controlling his body, letting out the two voices of Lucien and Sienna. And with some of its power restored, the control over Galaxy Master's body was prolonged. Celestia, Cynthia and Luna were now on high alert as they were caught in the act at the worse time.
Both Galaxy Master and the Rift were here now. But in this case, it wasn't Galaxy Master who was in full control. It was the Rift as the journey continues.
Chapter 906 End.
Confrontation up in the stars! The Rift takes full Action
Over at the Galaxy Tower, Galaxy Master had returned but with the Rift controlling his body as he appeared before Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Cynthia in the Crime Room.
"Galaxy Master! No...The Rift!" Celestia announced, recognizing the dual voice that was coming out of Galaxy Master. The Rift finally confronted them but within a vessel.
"Breaking and entering, are we? That's not very princess-like." The Rift spoke through Galaxy Master's body. At this moment, the Rift could have a longer control period over Galaxy Master as opposed to previously. "For now, I am Galaxy Master. And this is my base. Snooping around and trying to sabotage it, are you?"
"Quite the opposite. If anything we were hoping to encounter Galaxy Master here when he returns and also witness just what his base entails. But you're already taking ahold of his body without him even knowing. I'd say your Body intrusion is lightyears worse than our home intrusion." Luna snapped back at the Rift.
"True, true. But what does that matter now, anyway? I was already watching all of you once you showed up to the Galaxy Tower. And for once, I'm confronting you in this way. Usually, I never get involved unless I need to. But thanks to what that brat Ash Ketchum did, I've decided to become more active than I've ever been. And this vessel is perfect."
"So, you've finally decided not to be an overseer." Cynthia added. "In that case, tell me this. What is this map for?" She then held out the map that showed the two worlds and their respective galaxies as well as the third map that didn't have any colour or names. "And what is this third galaxy?"
"Like I'd tell you...I'm done being extra informative to you all. From now on, consider me your newest opposing enemy!" The Rift declared with a booming voice, shaking the room. "Oh, but there's one more info I'll give you. Right now...you can't leave this place at all."
"Why's that?" Celestia questioned.
"Because right now, the tower is in a position that none of you would enjoy all that much. You can feel it, can't you, Luna? This familiar force that you've experienced for 1000 years."
"!" Right on time, Luna felt it. Her heart skipped a beat. Her hooves quaked as she then gasped with utter shock and disbelief. The Rift loved this expression that Luna gave off.
"Luna?! What's wrong?!" Her older sister asked, wondering what on earth Luna could be feeling. It had to be something stupendous for her to have such a reaction.
"Sister...Cynthia." Luna gulped. "I'm afraid...we're all in space!"
"What?!" It was revealed exactly where they were. Only Luna could confirm this as she recognized this feeling after being trapped on the moon for so long. The feeling of space never left her memories. It was too overwhelming not to forget.
"Have a look for yourself." The Rift decided to show them how true this was. With just a wave of his hand, he made a projection of what has happening at this moment.
It was as true as it sounded and felt. Indeed, the Galaxy Tower was currently in outer space. No one even knew it had left the underground or even felt it move, making it all the more discreet. But as it stood now, the earth was right below the tower. They were all with the stars right now and in a position that was terrifyingly dangerous in every way.
"This makes it more fun, doesn't it?" The Rift chuckled. "I wouldn't even try breaking free. With my power, I cast a cosmic veil around it. Specifically for that troublesome Hoopa, if you must know. Consider this extra information."
"You fiend!" Luna roared at him, stomping her hoof. "Is this your plan to take us all out?"
"Maybe. But you all aren't the ones I care about. It's Ash at the moment. Unless you want to add to that list."
"No need. There's still that weakness to Aura. What's stopping Aura from breaking that veil of yours?" Cynthia uttered. "And what's stopping my Aura and Applejack's from doing the same?"
"I don't have to worry about that. Because as you can see...I am in the body of a being who can never lose! With this body, I'm unstoppable!" The Rift declared. "Refer to me as Galaxy Master for this instance, alright? Now, what will you do here? If you want to scuffle, you can risk the destruction of this tower and the eventual suffocation of space. You all certainly have the means to do so."
"Truth is...despite what Ghetsis gave me, I'm still running on a time limit here. But, I can make the most out of this time limit with what I can do." He then thought to himself. Missing his full power was a massive detriment but with what he received, the Rift would do everything he could to use the current extent of his abilities.
Galaxy Master gave them a massive choice. He knew clearly that if they were to battle here, they could risk this place going down and the cold harsh vacuum of space would end up destroying them. His thirst for revenge against Ash meant targeting those he was close to.
And that meant everyone.
"That's a risk we're willing to take," Cynthia said but with a slight stutter in her voice and a visible sweatdrop, showing that she would go through with it while also fearing the risk. "Now that you're here and active, we can d something about you for once."
"Seriously? Did you not hear what I just said? You Champions are far too courageous." Galaxy Master chuckled. "So be it! Pikachu! Come here at once!"
"Pikachu!" Dropping from above without anyone noticing him was Galaxy Master's Pikachu. He dropped from above, using Iron Tail to get the jump on them all.
"Gardevoir!" But there was Passion who prevented such a sneak attack from succeeding. The Iron Tail went straight for Celestia's head, only for the Embrace Pokemon to use her arm, blocking the hit. "V-Voir!"
But this also meant that she took a super-effective blow to her arm, causing her to wince. Thankfully, this gave the others the chance to back away and save themselves. Passion held her arm from that heavy A visible bruise could already be seen on it. As to be expected, now that he was in possession of this body, Galaxy Master's Pokemon were his to use.
"Go, Garchomp!" Acting fast, Cynthia unleashed her Garchomp into the fray. They were truly going through with this confrontation despite the risk. Not like they had a choice anyway.
Luna unfortunately didn't have a Pokemon to assist her since they were all with Nightmare Moon at the moment. Thus, she was on her own for this one but on her own, she was still capable.
"Garchomp, Scale Shot!" Garchomp fired multiple black-and-white-glowing scales from her body upon arriving. As the scales travelled rapidly, they left behind purple trails of energy. Each of them were targeted toward Galaxy Master, bypassing Pikachu entirely.
"Oh. I can also do this." Galaxy Master then snapped his finger before summoning a Pokemon to defend him. And he only thought of the perfect Pokemon. And it was neither of Ash's known Pokemon that Galaxy Master seemed to work with. Instead, it was an entirely different Pokemon.
Once this Pokemon was summoned, the Scale Shot made direct contact with it, resulting in an explosion. However, the Pokemon that was struck by it was completely fine as seen by the forming silhouette in the smoke.
Out of the smoke, Alolan Ninetales was revealed, summoned by Galaxy Master's special abilities. "Ninetales!"
"He could summon Pokemon similar to what Ash uses. But with this power, I can try something different. And what's also stopping me from doing something like this?" The Rift then held out his hand, generating his own power instead of the fictional character's. Rift Energy had been formed in his hand but this time, it would be used for offensive reasons. "Ninetales! Destroy that Garchomp with Ice Beam at once!"
"Nine...tales!" Ninetales held its breath in as Galaxy Master chimed in, using the energy to unleash his own beam. A Cosmic Beam and chilling beam of ice were sent out. Of course, all of this was directed towards who the Rift deemed as the biggest threat. That would be Garchomp and Cynthia.
"Passion! Mystical Fire!" Defending Garchomp from a super-effective hit were both Princess Celestia and Gardevoir. Similar to how Galaxy Master and Ninetales attacked, Celestia used her magic while a spiral of crimson flames were unloaded from Passion, meeting with the opposing attacks.
Mystical Fire and this solar-coloured beam met with Ice Beam and this spatial beam, resulting in an immediate clash. Just like the Rift said, a battle indoors would cause some destruction to the tower inevitably. And the first example had been shown. Once the attacks collided, the door to the crime lab had been blown off, crashing into the walls.
The first sign of destruction had come. Cynthia Celestia, Luna and Passion had been forced out of the room to avoid collateral damage. This conflict could spread everywhere else as the Embrace Pokemon slid on the soft floor from the collision.
The Cosmic Entity, Pikachu and Ninetales emerged out of the room as well, menacingly approaching their opponents as right now, even Pikachu was under the Rift's control without thinking for himself.
"You're facing cosmic powers now! Not unlike Cosmos!" The Rift declared before blowing away the smoke with a wave of his hand.
"You and Cosmos are both the same!" Celestia snapped back at him. "And you'll both share the same outcome of being defeated by us! Passion, use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Cosmic or not, there's nothing a Pokemon cannot tackle and stand up to! Garchomp, Dragon Claw!"
"Gar!" Garchomp went ahead with Dragon Claw whilst Passion, Celestia and Luna would provide ranged support in the form of magical beams and multi-coloured rainbow rays.
"Tch!" The Rift scoffed before then using his power to cast a barrier that matched a swirling galaxy. This barrier shielded him from the attacks, but they weren't exactly one-time uses. Garchomp started unloading on the barrier with repeated claw slashes while the rainbow rays would repeatedly bombard it. Celestia and Luna already made their beams continuous.
And with this flurry of attacks, the barrier would give out from the pressure. Much to the Rift's annoyance, the strength of these trainers were troublesome in every way, especially with what he currently had to offer.
"Pikachu!" Just then, out came Pikachu from the barrier along with Ninetales, here to prevent the barrier from being attacked any further. The others would have to focus on them now that they weren't being protected.
Thunderbolt and Ice Beam were both used, striking Gardevovir and Garchomp right afterwards. Garchomp was struck by the ice which targeted her cold blood while Passion received 100,000 volts. "G-Gar!"
"Excellent! Now get back!" After the opposing Pokemon had been interrupted, Galaxy Master expanded this galactic barrier, pushing them all away to gauge some distance.
"Passion!" Celestia cried out her partner's name before using her own barrier to protect everyone from the blowback. As for Gardevoir and Garchomp, they bumped into Celestia's barrier, receiving a softer impact instead of a hard one, keeping them safe.
"It's not over yet! Because I can still call more Pokemon." The Rift exclaimed. "And I can summon as many as I want! What can you do?!"
"He's full of absolute vengeance right now..." Luna growled. "His goal to exact revenge on Ash involves us, no doubt. And with this burning rage with that unstoppable body, he might be a bigger problem than how he originally was."
"No, he won't be." Celestia denied that notion from Luna. "I don't care if he's using the body of someone that's completely unbeatable. No one is unstoppable. Everyone has a weakness. We just have to expose it."
Food Stand.
"What's that noise?" Naturally, all of this conflict resulted in others taking notice of it. Pinkie Pie and the others inside this part of the tower were oblivious to where they were. Just when they were speaking to the StarBots without any hostility, the conflict began to surface.
"I think we were too late to warn everyone about the robots." Misty Fly commented. "What now?"
"Ｔｈａｎｋ ｙｏｕ ｆｏｒ ｓｅｎｄｉｎｇ ｕｓ ｔｈｉｓ ｍｅｓｓａｇｅ. Ｗｅ ｓｈａｌｌ ｇｏ ａｎｄ ｃｏｎｖｅｒｓｅ ｗｉｔｈ ｔｈｅ ｏｔｈｅｒ ＳｔａｒＢｏｔｓ." The StarBots already received Pinkie Pie's message to Galaxy Master after recording it. Now, they would head off to sort everything else, unaware of what was truly going on yet.
"Hm. Something feels different." Thunderlane said. "Does anything get what I mean?"
"Not really." Berry Punch added. "Well, actually...does it feel a bit lighter here."
"Really?" Rumble along with many others had yet to know why this was the case. Due to the way the Galaxy Tower was built and what it was made out of, it was impossible for them to fully feel what was going on. All except for Luna, who had full experience with space.
"So uh...guess this also means we get to chow down on some food! Sweet!" Pinkie Pie and Mew licked their lips once the StarBots left the room to relay this message and stop the current conflict that they had yet to fully grasp. For now, all the food here was available for them to eat without anyone interrupting them.
The duo chowed down on the food once the glass containers were open, wasting no time to satisfy their stomachs and taste buds to the fullest. A stark contrast of happiness compared to the dangerous life-threatening conflict.
But of course, the scuffle would spread and reach others. Outside of the food stand, the StarBots moved through the hallways, feeling each rumble as it made them jump up. The escalation of this battle was worsening before it then reached them and near the food stand.
Through the walls, Luna and Garchomp had been launched, appearing before the StarBots. The doors to the Food Stand were open as well, causing everyone else to witness this sudden crash. Luna and Garchomp hit the wall before grimacing.
"Mmm?!" Pinkie Pie nearly choked on her food before swallowing it all. "Princess Luna?! Garchomp!" The battle soon came here with Celestia, Passion and Cynthia leaving the destroyed hole, backing up once again. "What's happening?!"
"Ｇｒｅｅｔｉｎｇｓ. Ａｐｏｌｏｇｉｅｓ ｆｏｒ ｔｈｅ ｓｕｄｄｅｎ-" Just as the StarBots were there to try and also reason with Luna and the others, their lives were in danger as well.
"Move!" Cynthia quickly pushed one of the StarBots out of the way but she was unable to protect the others s a cosmic beam came flying through. The other StarBots were struck by the beam, engulfed and consumed by the galactic waves.
The remaining StarBot watched as its fellow robots were taken out. Their robotic bodies were immediately smashed against the wall, breaking apart once the beam fizzled out.
"I wonder what I'll do with you all after this? Perhaps, I'll find the best dimension possible to trap you there without any hope of escaping. Or maybe a dream so great that you wouldn't want to wake up from it?" The Rift spoke, emerging out of the smoke with his Pokemon. He didn't just have Pikachu and Ninetales with him now.
Now, he had Magmortar, Chandelure and Feraligator on his side as the number of Pokemon was beginning to increase. "Ah, it all comes down to how much it drives Ash mad. He loves his friends and family to the core, doesn't he? Being unable to help or save them will be splendid to watch!"
"You've lost it." Celestia groaned as she already had some scratches on her face. "In the beginning, you were just a curious entity. You only sought out entertainment whether it was for good or bad. You were entirely neutral. But now..."
"Oh please. After I've satisfied my vengeful urges, it'll all be alright for me." The Rift clenched his hand. "This is only a bad year for me, that's all. My thirst for entertainment will never die out. And besides...you won't remember these events once I've left and reset everything."
"The Rift? In Galaxy Master's body? What's going on?!" Pinkie Pie screeched.
"Scatter and capture them all." The Rift ordered his Pokemon, wanting to cover more ground this way.
"Chandelure!" Chandelure and the rest of his Pokemon would do so with the first target of Chandelure being Pinkie Pie and her group who were the closest to them.
"You all! Don't go too overboard!" Cynthia ordered. "Because right now...we're all in outer space?!"
"OUTER SPACE?!" Naturally, this came as a shock to them. That also explained to them why the area suddenly felt lighter.
"As for me...I'll go after the one I want to suffer the most." The Rift focused on his main objective. Ash. He began walking, waving his hand to summon more Pokemon. As it stands now, he had enough power to produce Pokemon constantly. But of course, no one was going to let him get through to Ash. Mainly Celestia and Cynthia. They stood in the Rift's way alongside Gardevoir and Garchomp.
"You won't lay a finger on him!" Cynthia announced.
"Watch me." Immediately, the Rift snapped back with a serious tone before holding both his fingers out. Out of those fingers, two cosmic beams with a thin appearance were shot out, going directly towards Cynthia and Celestia.
"Gar!" Getting in the way were Garchomp and Gardevoir as the beams connected with them. But thanks to this connection, the true purpose of the beams was revealed. "G-Gar!"
"G-Gardevoir!" Both Gardevoir and Garchomp got on their knees all of a sudden. Their bodies were then affected by what looked to be a crack of cosmic energy, spreading through their arms first.
"Passion?! What's wrong?!" Celestia and Cynthia rushed over once those cracks showed up.
"I wouldn't do that." The Rift added, knowing what purpose those cracks served. The moment the two of them got close, Garchomp and Gardevoir's pupils changed from their usual colours to the colours of the Rift. By getting close, they were attacked.
Cynthia quickly pulled Celestia out of the way once a Dragon Claw came swinging towards them both, making a close save as only a bit of Celestia's mane was sliced off.
Just like that, their own Pokemon turned on them thanks to these cracks. But it wasn't without its side effects. Upon being taken over by the Rift, Garchomp and Gardevoir could feel every bit of the crack's horrible energy.
"G-Garde...!" Passion breathed in and out, looking up at Celestia before putting her hands together to form a Thunderbolt. She slowly raised her arms as she wasn't fully willing to attack Celestia, her very best friend and even a second mother figure to her.
"Passion, don't do it!" Celestia yelled. Passion's arms trembled as she was still conscious of who she was attacking. Garchomp was ready to unleash Scale Shot as well, only for her body to tremble in hesitation, trying to fight this control.
"Curses..." The Rift looked at his hand. "If I had more of my power, those two would be fully under my control. But...what's stopping me from giving it a go?!" He then manipulated his fingers as if he was using puppet strings. And in this case, Garchomp and Gardevoir were strings.
"V-Voir!" Passion ended up releasing Thunderbolt as Garchomp unleashed Scale Shot. The only defence against these would be a protective spell from Celestia which blocked them both. The scales pummelled the barrier while the electricity kept flowing to it.
"Keep them there." Galaxy Master kept them occupied, continuing onward to his main target. Ash Ketchum.
Across the rest of the tower, the StarBots were rapidly moving to try and calm down all the rumbling. Everyone else who was confronted by the StarBots got off free due to the StarBots changing objective. But most of them were still set to be arrested after this.
Except for Ash since the robots recognized him, preventing any arrest. Upon hearing this commotion and rumbling, Ash, Twilight, Fluttershy and some of the StarBots rushed to find out what was the cause of this.
"Are we too late?!" Twilight said. "Are they already going up against the StarBots?"
"No way!" Ash suddenly disagreed "When I drew the StarBots way back then, I never made them have the ability to battle. I would've if I didn't stop writing about Galaxy Master. It's something else that's causing this. What can you two hear?"
"We hear the sound of Pokemon," Fluttershy replied as she and Audino were using their hearing to pick up on all the sounds going off. "But we can't yet hear who's doing this. Do you think someone might've broken in?"
"Not sure. But we'd better hurry. I know this place in and out so follow me if you get lost!" Ash pressed on, being their guide in this massive tower. He too was unaware of the current position of the tower and the grave danger everyone was in. "Just be safe, everyone."
"Shiftry!" Nearby and rushing through the hallways were the Pokemon of Galaxy Master AKA the Rift. A Shiftry could be seen heading in Ash's direction alongside a Heatmor.
"Shiftry? Heatmor?" Ash came to a screeching halt upon seeing them both. It didn't take long for one of the Rift's Pokemon to find Ash.
"Heatmor!" Now that they found Ash, there was only one objective. Capture him. Heatmor started the first attack via Fire Lash. Its signature move. By using the long tongue it possessed, Heatmor swung it with an impressive reach, having searing flames around it.
"Yikes!" Ash narrowly managed to back away from the lash. It nearly grazed his clothes too, almost hitting his jacket and the front of his hat.
"Shift!" Then along came Shiftry, hopping from wall to wall just to reach Ash faster. While jumping from the walls, the Wicked Pokemon used Razor Leaf, sending blade-cutting leaves from above.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Saving his best friend from harm, Pikachu blew them away with a crash of lightning from his body.
"Whoever it is, they've already sent Pokemon out!" Twilight gasped. "But I don't see them anywhere. Unless there are more Pokemon on this ship that they have? Just what's going on here?"
Pegalysium. Pegalysium Capital. The Pokemon Festival. Day.
"What is that...?" Naturally, the only ones who would be able to see this were those who were high enough. And those closest to the stars were none other than Pegalysium and its citizens. Mrs Sunpuff took notice when caring for the children over at the daycare. It was hard not to notice since they were so high up.
Many pegasi stopped to glance up at the sky, seeing the masked figure of the tower. It only appeared as a silhouette since it was in space currently but it was still visible.
Cautious about this, the Pegalsium Guards immediately called for their rulers. By using the communication shells, they could do so. In this case, Tip-Off, the Royal Advisor, used a golden shell to call the monarchs.
"Um...Y-Your Majesties...You might want to come back and see this!" Tip-Off spoke to them. "We have something that might not be a good thing. Or it could be. Either way, it's important that you see this."
Little did they know, a feud between Cosmic Being and Pokemon Trainers was going on. A drive for vengeance was all that came from this conflict. How will such a battle end in the stars themselves?
The Rift was finally taking full action and it was in a vengeful mood. So as long as it could make Ash pay and ruin everything he loves, it would be satisfied. And because of that, the horrors that such a being could bring were about to be unleashed as the journey continues.
Pegalysium. Pegalysium Capital. The Pokemon Festival. Day.
Up in the sky, a figure of the Galaxy Tower appeared as a silhouette, there for many of the pegasi to witness for themselves. But due to the fact that it was in outer space and the shape of the tower wasn't like most towers, it was hard for the pegasi to know what they were looking at. Not only that, but no one was aware of the events happening within that tower.
"See your Majesties? Up there." Tip-Off, the Royal Advisor spoke to the King and Queen, showing them the figure in the sky. King Paramount and Queen Luminary had to halt their enjoyment of the Pokemon Festival just to return here, spotting the structure in the sky. "All of a sudden, it appeared. Witnesses say that they first saw a cosmic flash up there and right afterwards, it appeared.
"What does this mean?" Luminary wondered. "That's never been there before. Do you think it's Second Wind doing this?"
"Only one way to find out. The telescope will get us a better view of it." Paramount added as there was a simpler way of witnessing this figure in the sky. A telescope would do the trick. "Tip-Off. Check the Mural. It might tell us something about this."
As for the citizens, they wouldn't have to start panicking yet. Not until it was made clear what exactly was sitting in the sky and if it would pose a problem later on. But the fact that there was something in the sky that they weren't aware of, hovering there without any movements was nervous.
Naturally, this would be noticed by the other Pegalysium. Pinnaculum Pegalysium AKA the extra and larger nation of Pegalysium that Second Wind made thanks to altering the timeline. She sat at a palace made in her image which reached the highest point of this world. The top of the castle touched the clouds as that was where Second Wind sat.
She witnessed it as well. The figure beyond the sky could not be ignored. In her regal room that carried a foreboding aura, the Unown suddenly flocked to her, sensing her current emotion as they were ready to carry out her wish.
"Not yet, Unown." Second Wind stopped them. "Let's not make any hasty actions on whatever that may be...Not yet anyway."
Meanwhile, Tip-Off immediately went to the room where the mural sat. With the mural, he could look into things, such as the prophecy containing the Pegasus of Destiny. And upon arriving here, he saw that the image on the mural wasn't exactly the same as it was before.
The image had been swapped out. Instead of showing Shooting Star, it showed something else. Multiple ponies and a few humans among various Pokemon could be seen filling up one side of the large mural. And on the other side, there was the image of one other humanoid that had a unique appearance while also pouring out cosmic energy from its body.
Tip-Off tried making sense of what he was witnessing. What could this image mean? Judging by where each of them were standing, it resembled that of a conflict. The same conflict happening up in the sky. Noticeably, he saw that one of these humans resembled Ash who stood in front of the others, staring down with the cosmic-like character.
To know more, Tip-Off then added more to the mural by pulling it. By pulling it, he managed to create an extra part of it without needing materials to build it. And by doing so, a new image popped up. This image showed two things.
"A Giant Three-headed entity and what seems to be that same figure angled differently while facing one of those gateways." He observed, trying to piece together what this meant. He only knew one thing. The gateways were involved somehow.
Outer Space. Galaxy Tower.
The Rift, now controlling the body of Galaxy Master, was currently on the move, searching for Ash to exact vengeance. He was already doing so by attacking those that Ash cared about, already summoning Pokemon to attack those within this area.
Commotion ran through the tower as many of the StarBots rushed to find the source of this discourse while many ponies and their partner Pokemon would soon be caught in the conflict due to how fast it was spreading.
"Where are you, Ash Ketchum?" The Rift spoke, strolling menacingly through the hallway. By his side, he was joined by Galaxy Master's Pikachu who was also under the Rift's control. And the newest Pokemon to join him was a Klingklang.
"This way!" Nearby, one of Ash's many friends could be heard. That voice came from none other than Applejack. She was alongside her little sister and Hilda at the moment. Much like everyone else, they were focused on the rumbling and commotion that occurred within the tower.
They had just left one of the many rooms here, trying to find the source of this noise. But, the source would end up appearing in front of them. Hilda stopped in her tracks, causing everyone else to abruptly cease movement.
"Uh...H-Hey!" Hilda nervously grinned "Galaxy Master, right? Uh, this looks bad but hear us out."
"Hey, Galaxy Master! Remember me?" Apple Bloom had a beaming grin on her face, waving to the fictional character with a good spirit, believing that he would recognize her after he saved her.
"Sorry. But Galaxy Master isn't in control right now." The Rift uttered, sending a rapid shock through Applejack. That voice was incredibly familiar to her.
"The Rift!" Applejack gasped, revealing who this truly was. Apple Bloom backed away as her expectation to reunite with Galaxy Master had been ripped apart. Right now, Galaxy Master wasn't in his right mind. Mainly because his mind was being overtaken by someone else.
"Another one of his pesky friends. Each of you are irritating to the core." The Rift growled. "Making you all suffer will be absolutely amazing, especially when Ash sees it."
"That's the Rift you all mentioned?" Hilda asked as this was her first time encountering the Rift. "I expect to meet it under a different circumstance, honestly."
"Yup. This explains all that rucks going on." Applejack added. "Finally making your move, are ya?"
"I certainly am. And with the best possible vessel. Applejack. You pose a problem to me and you know specifically why." The Rift pointed at her, knowing about Applejack's Aura and how volatile it is. "Before I can reach Ash, I need to do something about you and your pesky Aura too. It's far too dangerous to ignore."
"Glad ya acknowledge me as a threat." Applejack smirked before having Sceptile go in front of her. "Too bad this is where we end things. Sceptile!"
"Sceptile!"
"You wish. As if I'd let an earth pony be the one to do me in. Not in this generation anyway..." The Rift scoffed before then clapping his hands once. By clapping his hand once, he used his power to create a sonic sound. This sound was absolutely terrible, immediately harming the ears of those who heard it.
"Uuugggh!" Applejack and the others grimaced, covering their ears from this horrific sound.
"Iron Tail! At once! And use Flash Cannon!" He then ordered Pikachu and Klingklang.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu moved in while Sceptile was still recovering from that horrid sound. He opened his eyes to witness Pikachu swinging his hardened tail. It was a direct hit to his chest, making him stagger and cough. He was instantly pushed back, almost bumping into Applejack if he didn't keep his balance. Not only that but there was also the incoming beam of Flash Cannon to worry about as Applejack was extra close and could be caught in the explosion.
"G-Go! Reuniclus!" Hilda kept one hand on her ear before using the other to launch a Poke Ball out. This Poke Ball passed by Sceptile before bringing out Reuniclus.
"Reuniclus!" Upon arriving, Reuniclus used its powerful hands to hold the flash of light energy that came crashing in. It managed to grab the beam, holding it in place and preventing any further harm from being done to Sceptile. With just the right strength, Reuniclus crushed the beam, only slightly harming itself.
"Thanks for that, Hilda." Applejack thanked her before adjusting her hat. "Now, Sceptile! Leaf Blade!"
"Sceptile!" Saved from further damage, Sceptile could retaliate. By extending the leaves on his arms, he sharpened them, approaching Pikachu first.
"Reuniclus! Superpower on that Klingklang!" Hilda targeted Klingklang, swiping her hand to accentuate the amount of force that Reuniclus should utilize.
"Pika!" Pikachu would meet sharpness with sharpness via Iron Tail. While those two met with sharp attacks, Reuniclus approached Klingklang with a burning orange force of Infinity Energy. In response, Klingklang attempted using Zap Cannon to paralyze the Psychic-Type.
"Reu!" It was too late. Reuniclus with its superior arm reach struck Klingklang first, delivering a heavy super-effective blow to the Gear Pokemon. Because of this, the Electric-Steel-Type found itself being rocketed past Galaxy Master without him even flinching from this rapid movement.
"That Aura of yours needs to be subdued before it can grow. You hold too much potential for me to ignore!" Galaxy Master then swiped his hand, sending small stardust in everyone's direction. The stardust came with the speed of rain, interrupting Sceptile's clash with Pikachu while also drizzling on Applejack, Hilda and Apple Bloom.
The stardust felt like stings to them. Not stings that were easily avoidable. More like a sting that was akin to a Beedrill or a wasp depending on which world they were thinking about. In this case, it was both. To protect her sister from receiving more of this pain, Applejack became a shield for Apple Bloom, holding her while all the stardust struck her back.
But just like how Applejack became Apple Bloom's shield, Sceptile would become Applejack's shield, taking the other incoming stardust and receiving all this punishment. And with each stardust, it was getting worse by the second as the ferocity of these cosmic sparkles increased.
"There's more! Shock them with Thunderbolt at once!" Galaxy Mastery yelled before then raising his hand to summon a swirl of stardust above them all. This swirl even matched that of a galaxy swirl.
"Pikachu!" In unison, Pikachu and Galaxy Master attacked. A bolt of lightning and a shower of stardusts came dropping from above.
"Reuniclus! Psychic!"
"Reuniclus!" Reuniclus withstood these stardusts compared to the others as it was mainly thanks to the strange liquid around its body and also years of being with Hilda. Quickly, the Multiplying Pokemon flashed its eyes blue before using a psychokinetic hold to grab the stardusts. It managed to toss the stardusts aside but could not stop the Thunderbolt that was approaching.
However, as payback, Reuniclus, before being struck by Thunderbolt, sent the stardust back at Galaxy Master and Pikachu
"Gah!" Galaxy Master groaned as Reuniclus sent them back with greater force than they previously had. The sting of these stardusts came back to bite them as Pikachu was knocked back by this pummelling pressure. "You...!"
"Thanks, Reuniclus! Rest up for a bit!" Hilda quickly returned Reuniclus to let her heal. "It's your turn! Haxorus!" Her next Pokemon had been unleashed from its Poke Ball, making a quick-swap before anything else could happen.
"Haxorus"
"We won't do any good in this tight space. Let's find ourselves more room, okay?" Hilda suggessted.
"As if you'd get that chance!" The Rift roared before then clasping his hands together. By doing so, he manipulated the walls to the extent of his power. The cosmic material from here was pulled in, smashing together to create a tighter space for them.
"No, you don't!" Applejack groaned as her hat had taken some damage from all those stardusts. "Frenzy Plant!"
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile also had stings that were visible on his body but he could press on either way as he managed to summon massive roots in this tight hallway. These were much bigger than what Galaxy Master summoned earlier solely for their size instead of the quantity.
"Pika!" In the face of these plants, Pikachu decided to use Quick Attack as a form of evasion. He hopped onto one of the massive roots, using lightning speeds to traverse them. However, in such an enclosed space where the roots were moving with such erratic behaviour, even Pikachu couldn't dodge them forever also one of the roots caught him. "P-Pika!"
Not only did it catch him but it also caught Galaxy Master, swinging them both away upon contact. They were mashed against the wall by the large roots.
"Nice hit!" Apple Bloom cheered after the Frenzy Plant landed successfully. "Now's your chance, sis! You can have Riolu come out!"
"Gotcha!" Now it was time for the Delta Variant of Riolu to play his part. Applejack could only resonate with Delta Riolu when it came to Aura.
"No...you...don't!" But fearing the Aura so much, the Rift exploded in rage. The roots that held him up against the wall had suddenly been incinerated. This was from the burning heat of the stars which overpowered the roots of the earth itself. And from this burning cosmic energy came a bright flash.
The Andromeda Flash to be exact, which was a signature blinding move of Galaxy Master. And as always it was incredibly effective as everyone had been blinded by this cosmic light while the roots were all destroyed.
Galaxy Master then got off the wall, taking a deep breath for a moment. Burning with anger, the cosmic energies flowed out of his body with smoke. He then held one arm out which started vibrating uncontrollably. With everyone blinded, he could attack. And by doing so, he attacked in the best way he knew how. He made a large cosmic wave that even pushed himself back.
Hilda managed to recover her eyesight first before witnessing the wave. It was too late to do anything about it as it was already nearby. All she could do was gasp and duck for cover as the wave caught them all. This part of the hallway was absolutely ruined as the cosmic wave didn't even blow up after it hit its target.
Instead, it beautifully disappeared into cosmic stardust. That was its explosion. Not exactly explosive considering how potent it was. But with that excess of strength, Applejack, Apple Bloom and Sceptile were on the floor because of it. Applejack's hat fell off, still managing to survive despite having multiple holes in it now with some parts that have been ripped off by cosmic power.
Only Hilda and Haxorus were somewhat up with Haxorus also being Hilda's shield, taking the brunt of that damage. Although, Hilda was on one knee, almost falling over.
"Hah..." The Rift sighed as he lowered his vibrating arm. "Serves you right. There will be no usage of Aura in my presence anymore."
"U-Ugh..." Applejack groaned, looking over at her hat. Galaxy Master approached her through all the rubble before then stepping on her hat out of pure disrespect. "You ain't gonna get away with this..."
"Too bad." He snapped his fingers before then an orb in his hand. This orb was then targeted towards them all before then covering their bodies with less harmful stardust. But that didn't mean they didn't have a purpose. "How I wish I could just erase the concept for Aura entirely. But alas, that's not possible."
"Why don't you just get rid of us, right here and now?" Hilda growled, getting up on one knee.
"Really now?" The Rift scoffed. "You all don't understand your own existence and how important it is, so I can't blame you. Especially since you're all the ones I want to spectate over the most. But I'm not here to end you. I show no vendetta against all of you. It's Ash that I'm focused on."
"Our own existences?" Applejack repeated, wondering what that meant. But she could ask what that meant, her body was then taken into the orb after turning into stardust. The same soon happened to Apple Bloom who was unconscious to see it all happen.
"Join the stars, why don't you?" The Rift chuckled. "That way, you'll have a splendid view of the cosmos. And for-"
"Gotcha!" Before he could finish his sentence, Hilda ended up grabbing Galaxy Master's hands, trying to get the better of him. There was also Haxorus who ran behind him just to hold the fictional character in place.
"Haxo!"
"Don't interfere you tw!" The Rift growled once Hilda grabbed ahold of him. "Your persistence won't help in this! What can it do?!"
"Persistence is what we do best! Call it years of experience! And I won't let you take them away!"
"Don't get it twisted!" Galaxy Master then shoved Hilda away with brute strength alone. He did the same with even a larger Pokemon such as Haxorus, grabbing the Dragon-Type by the face and launching it away. "Believe it or not, I need this family. I only want them to stick around later just to see what will happen next?"
"You...what?" Hilda squinted as she wanted to make sure she heard that right. "Are you saying that you only want them around just to watch over them?"
"Haxorus"
"My excitement hasn't died out yet. You don't know it yet, but these two are part of a massive core of this world that brings nothing but enjoyment. I crave enjoyment in every way. It's why I came to this world. I crossed these two worlds over solely because of the events that could come from them both. Needless to say, I've been thrilled from the very beginning. You've just happened to catch me in a very bad mood, Hilda. But don't worry. Because one day...I'll do the same with your world."
"What?!"
"I have various other worlds that I want to see Crossover and the list is just endless. This is already my first time touching the Pokemon World. The second time shall be with your world where Red and the others reside. I crave excitement in all shapes and sizes."
"And you call this excitement? Attacking us?"
"I only ever got involved when I needed to. But I was always an outside source. For this, I'm getting up close and personal. And the only one that matters is Ash."
"What are you going to do with Ash then since you're so fixated on him?"
"What will I do? After what he did to me...decreasing my power to a massive degree because of this virulent aura that still resides in me...his punishment must be equal to what I received. But...believe it or not...I still want him around."
"You'll keep him around? Why? What kind of vengeance is that?"
"It's like I said. It's the core of everything that matters. I'll give him this compliment. There's no one in these two worlds that is as interesting as Ash Ketchum. Besides, making him suffer is what will keep him around, obviously.
"Like I'd let you have that chance!" Hilda then held out all her remaining Poke Balls aside from Reuniclus. "If you can't get past me, what hope do you have to reach Ash?"
"Hmph. I know I can get past you. It's because of who I am right now!" Galaxy Master then expelled a huge amount of cosmic energy from his body which made Hilda flinch just by being within its vicinity. "You're a champion-level trainer, Hilda! I expect great things from you. But right now, I only have him in my sights! So get lost!"
"Haxo!" Seeing that this expulsion of cosmic energy was approaching, Haxorus would defend by using Protect. A flash of green energy came flaring out of the Axe Jaw Pokemon's body, blocking this expulsion of Rift Energy.
Before she could be overwhelmed by another bright light, Hilda quickly threw out her Poke Balls, summoning the rest of her Pokemon. Serperior, Jellicent and Simisage and Zoroark.
"Of course...though you're not a counterpart to Ash in the same way Red, Hilbert and the others are, you do share their tenacity to be considered their equal." The Rift thought to himself. "But I can't let you bring that tenacity to me."
With one final push, he let out another expulsion of Rift Energy that managed to shatter Haxorus' barrier. The moment her Pokemon arrived, it looked like they wouldn't get the chance to do much as this entire hallway was engulfed by the cosmic light right afterwards with Hilda closing her eyes in response.
Somewhere unknown.
Waking up was Applejack. After having her body turned into stardust, she found herself in a strange spot. Upon opening he eyes, the first thing that was noticeable was her surroundings. She didn't know it at first but now she knew.
Right now, she was in outer space. More specifically, she was away from the Galaxy Tower entirely and floating in the vast expanse of the cosmos where all the stars and planets reside.
"W-What the?!" Applejack gasped, having a slight heart attack from this view. "What in tarnation...? How did...?" Not only was she in space but she was breathing without suffering any harsh results.
This was because of what she was inside. That same orb that Galaxy Master made served as a prison. An effective one at that as it hovered in the cosmos. Applejack took some time to take in her surroundings while breathing in and out slowly. She didn't forget what happened at the Galaxy Tower at all.
Moreso than that, she saw the tower up ahead, just near the Earth. Applejack got to witness her world for the first time in all of its azure and verdant glory. But right now, it wasn't the best time to sightsee as there was another cosmic orb nearby.
Apple Bloom was also trapped in this orb, suffering the same imprisonment as her older sister. But she was unconscious at the moment, unaware of what has happened so far.
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack yelled, trying to wake her little sister up. However, there was one problem that she would soon come to discover about space.
In space, no one can hear her scream. Especially not someone who was asleep and trapped within an orb. Try as she might, her constant yelling couldn't wake her little sister up. There was also Sceptile who received his own orb, also floating there in space, badly injured and on the verge of fainting.
"Darn that Rift..."
Applejack lowered her head as for once, she didn't have her hat to lower at all. It had been left behind back at the tower. Applejack then looked over at the Galaxy Tower, hoping that things turned out better for everyone there.
The Rift has already made large moves while possessing Galaxy Master. Already, he has kept Celestia, Luna and Cynthia occupied while defeating Applejack and Apple Bloom, who were both trapped in space, outside the tower.
"Heatmor..." Fainting and dropping to the floor was a Heatmor. Ash and Twilight had come together to defeat it and Shiftry. Sent by the Rift to capture Ash, it was a total failure. Once these Pokemon were defeated, their bodies suddenly turned into stardust.
"What the...?" Ash and his friends witnessed how Heatmor and Shiftry became stardust, dispersing and flying away. "Stardust? What's up with that?"
"They only fainted. I've never seen that happen to a Pokemon before." Fluttershy added. "And they look so familiar when they float away like that. Do you think it's the Rift?"
"It's exactly like the Rift's signature particles. It might have something to do with this mess." Twilight was already leaning towards the possibility of the Rift being the cause of this and she would be right. She just needed to be there to fully confirm it. "The rumbling hasn't calmed down though. Sounds to me like it's only getting worse. But are you sure it's not Galaxy Master, Ash?"
"I know it. But...if it is him, then it's gotta be the Rift who's with him, no doubt." Ash kept his optimising and good faith in his own creation. He believed that all of this commotion would never be caused by Galaxy Master unless he was facing villains. But there were no villains here.
Ash went ahead, wanting to see the truth for himself. Fluttershy grabbed her Xtransceiver, hoping to get in contact with any of her friends. But alas, when selecting Pinkie's Trainer ID, nothing happened. There were no responses. She then tried Rainbow Dash and even then, there weren't any responses at all. The same went for Applejack and Rarity. All of them did not answer.
"Nopony's picking up." A worried Fluttershy uttered whilst zooming through the air behind Ash and the others. If only she knew Applejack's current position. Even the amazing hearing of Audino wouldn't help in this case considering where she was currently located.
When moving through the hallway, the effects of the Rift's attack were starting to appear frequently. Dozens of dents and cracks could be seen as well as smoke even. But the further they went, the worse the destruction appeared, meaning that the source was probably nearby.
Outfit Room.
"What's all this noise?" Over at the Outfit Room, Rarity and a few others were checking out Galaxy Master's outfits. Unsurprisingly, they all turned out to be the same outfit that he wears, showing that there was only one style.
But this viewing was interrupted once the commotion started to spread. Rarity, Sweetie Belle and a few other ponies took notice before then hearing footsteps. Heavy footsteps to be exact. Even on this soft floor, these footsteps were threatening as they were getting closer.
Sweetie Belle stayed close to Rarity once those footsteps got closer with a heavier force each time. The room started to tremble. The outfits immediately fell over, prompting Derpy to catch one of them.
The cause of this terrifying and foreboding sound was none other than Dragonite.
Or rather, Galaxy Master's Dragonite. The Dragon Pokemon kicked the door down with brute force, sending it flying. Rarity pulled Sweetie Belle out of the way, saving her from the incoming door of cosmic metal. It was a splendid save as the door crashed into the walls, leaving a powerful dent.
"Dragonite!" Controlled by the Rift, Dragonite was now here, attempting to track down Ash, only to find this group.
"Oh, hey, Dragonite. You scared us there." A pegasus said, believing this to be Ash's Dragonite as to her and practically everyone else in Equestria, Ash's Dragonite is the most known Dragonite. "But uh...what's with the tantrum stomping?"
"Drago...!" Veins appeared on this Dragonite's head. This was a stark contrast to Ash's Dragonite as these veins started pulsating with full-on aggression. It took one step, fine with attacking other targets that weren't Ash. After all, the goal of the Rift was to target everyone and everything Ash loved.
"That's not Ash's Dragonite!" Rarity was the first to realize this. Ash's Dragonite had a familiar disposition that made her feel like a welcoming gentle force. This Dragonite was more of a foreboding threatening force. Rarity, fully cautious and thinking about the safety of her little sister, already used her magic to hold out a Poke Ball.
Everypony else backed away slowly so as to not provoke such a menacing Pokemon. It didn't help that the pupils of this Dragonite were sharper than the average Dragonite. Steam came out of its nostrils as it wasn't exactly mad. It was just hostile and aggressive.
"Dragonite!" Dragonite came flying in, spreading its wings out before then using Dragon Claw, targeting the first pony it saw. In this case, it would be Sweetie Belle.
"I think not! Ampharos!" Rarity saw this coming, using her magic to launch the Poke Ball. Out of it came Ampharos.
"Ampharos!" Intercepting Dragonite was Ampharos. He would guard Rarity and Sweetie Belle by taking the Dragon Claw directly. "R-Ros!" He was slashed once by the ferocious claw of Dragonite but endured either way.
"I'm not sure who's Dragonite this is...but all that anger in its eyes means that it could care less about who we are or why it's here." Rarity added. "But not to worry. Staving this Dragonite away is all we need to do."
"What about everyone else? If this Dragonite was moving around, don't you think it was the cause of all that noise?" Sweetie Belle asked, thinking about everyone else. "What about my friends?! Are they okay?!"
"That's a good question. One of you should go and check at once!" Rarity turned to face the other ponies who were still stunned upon witnessing Dragonite.
"I'll go!" Diamond Tiara raised her hoof, offering to do so since most of Sweetie Belle's friends were also her friends.
"So will I!" And the same went with Silver Spoon who was always with her.
"Not with all that noise, you aren't. Not without someone older. Like me." Grinning was Lyra, having the full confidence in protecting these two, only to be shaking inside, fearing Dragonite and what else could be causing all this noise.
"Dragonite!" But Dragonite heard enough chatter. It came here for conflict as it unleashed a bellowing roar that grabbed everyone's attention. The force of this roar caused a wind pressure to keep everyone steady only to them push some of them back.
After hearing their conversation, there was one thing Dragonite certainly wouldn't let them do. Leave. The only exit to this room was right in front of the Dragon Pokemon and it was going to keep it that way as it immediately went for a Hyper Beam to deliver the next attack.
"Oh my! Quick, Ampharos! Dragon Pulse!"
"Ampha!" Quickly, Dragon Pulse held his breath in, gathering his hidden Dragon blood and converting it into energy. Before Dragonite could use Hyper Beam, Ampharos was quicker, unleashing Dragon Pulse. "Ros!"
"D-Dra!" Dragonite was hit out of Hyper Beam, unable to use the attack as it received a super-effective blow. However, instead of being launched like most Pokemon, Dragonite simply slid back a few inches. It didn't move at all from the door at all and neither did it look too phased by Dragon Pulse.
If anything, that only aggravated it.
"Oh." Rarity pulled back, already seeing that this Dragonite could be a hassle. "No need to worry though! Let it have a taste of Dynamic Punch, now!"
"Ampha!" Attempts would be made to force Dragonite away from the door just to give everyone a shot at leaving scot-free. Along came Ampharos with most of his strength coming to his arms, focusing on brute strength to try and push the Dragon Pokemon further.
"Dra!" Dragonite received a slug to the face by Ampharos' Dynamic Punch. This attack would do two things. Deal damage and even spread confusion if it connects. And indeed, it did connect as the Confusion Status rushed through Dragonite's head. Its eyes squinted before having its perception alter.
"Ros!" Another Dynamic Punch came in, socking the Dragon-Flying-Type a second time. But upon being struck and confused, Dragonite got everyone's hopes up. Not even a minute had passed and already this Rift-Controlled Dragonite had an answer to the confusion before it could mess up its performance. Once Ampharos delivered a Dynamic Punch, Dragonite retaliated in the best way possible.
By moving its head forward, Dragonite headbutted Ampharos with a vicious force that was enough to create a slightly visible shockwave. This was also a way to remove the confusion as this heavy blow prevented it from fully processing. "Dra!"
"Ampha!"
"Ampharos!" Rarity gasped as Amphars launched by this headbutt. He was sent directly to Rarity's direction, potentially harming her if something wasn't done. Quicky, Rarity used her magic to telekinetically hold the Light Pokemon before he could reach her. He barely managed to catch Ampharos as the body still connected, knocking Rarity over.
"Dragonite!" Boasting its strength, Dragonite cried out while spreading its wings to show dominance, especially against an opponent who was on the floor.
"Rarity! Ampharos!" The little alicorn screamed after her sister and Ampharos received friendly fire. Phione quickly bounced over to check up on them both in case they needed healing. Dragonite was only inches away from Sweetie Belle and Phione who were focused on the downed duo, prompting it to go for an immediate grab.
"Sweetie Belle!" Saving her before the worst could happen, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon launched their Poke Balls, knocking Dragonite in the head.
This was followed by the emergence of Liepard and Glameow, slashing at Dragonite to gauge some distance. "Liepard!"
"Gonite...!" But that only irritated Dragonite some more as it viciously glanced at them both right after it received that claw swipe. In response, it swiped at them as well but with Dragon Claw, which proved to be greater in power. Both Glameow and Liepard were immediately sent flying as if they were nothing in the face of this Rift-Controlled Dragonite.
"G-Glameow!" Glameow got the worst of it, tumbling while Liepard barely managed to slide on the floor. Silver Spoon caught Glameow whose body jittered from Dragonite's Dragon Claw. At least they gave Rarity and Ampharos enough time.
Chiming was Lyra, sending out her Mime Jr who was immune to Dragonite's Dragon Claw and had the typing that was perfect for slaying Dragons.
"Mime Jr! Dazzling Gleam!"
"Mime-Mime!" Fighting back against Dragonite's assault Mime Jr released a flurry of rainbows that grabbed Dragonite's attention. The Dragon Pokemon raised its arms up, blocking the rays as super-effective hits kept coming.
And yet, Dragonite wasn't anywhere close to leaving those doors. Everyone would chime in to do what they could to take this rampaging Dragon down. Sweetie Belle unleashed her Meowstic into the fray as did everyone else with their signature Pokemon AKA their aces and the ones they believed to be their strongest.
"Paralyze that Dragon! Zap Cannon!" Rarity yelled, figuring that slowing Dragonite down was the key. And in this instance, droves of attacks would reach Dragonite.
"Liepard, Dark Pulse!"
"Meowstic! Psyshock!"
"Glameow! Shadow Ball!"
"Ampharos!" And many more attacks were called out. All together, from a far distance, everyone attacked Dragonite, starting with a pulsating ball of lightning leading the way. Streams and orbs were thrown, all enough to reach Dragonite with this radius. How would the Dragon Pokemon respond to this?
"Dragonite!" Dragonite would respond in kind. With Hyper Beam, of course. It built up the beam while also allowing the attacks to reach its body. Hyper Beam would take some time after all. Zap Cannon hit its mark, immediately paralyzing the Dragon-Flying-Type. This was then followed by other attacks that set off multiple colourful combustions.
And surprisingly, Dragonite took them all. Instead of being thrown off its balance by charging Hyper Beam, it managed to keep the energy this time. And without even waiting for the smoke to clear to reveal its current status, Dragonite merely unleashed the attack without wasting any time, sending a gigantic beam of Infinity Energy that was wider than everyone's moves combined.
"!" Rarity's eyes shrunk and became somewhat hollowed out. Quickly, she attempted to put up a protective barrier upon seeing the beam. Ampharos, who was in front of everyone else, attempted to take this attack head-on with Dragon Pulse, but it was too late.
Hyper Beam reached them too soon, engulfing Ampharos first while crashing into Rarity's barrier. The impact consumed the rest of this room in mere seconds, reaching even the clouds while somehow still staying away from the door.
"A-Aaaaah!" The sounds of everyone screaming came from this room right afterwards along with the flash of light from Hyper Beam. Dragonite watched as the explosion from Hyper Beam went off, consuming the room with nothing being spared except for the doors.
The sound of those screams were lost among all the other commotion happening everywhere else. It fit right in with the Rift's assault.
Pegalysium. Pegalysium Capital. Sky Monarch. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
"So, it's a structure in space. Wonder how that's possible...Even for where we live." King Paramount said. Thanks to the telescope, they were able to make out just what this figure in the sky was.
"The Mural also shows a few familiar faces, your Majesties." Tip-Off brought the mural over, showing Paramount and Luminary just what the next part of the mural showed. Ash, Twilight, Celestia and a few more could be seen in the style of this mural. Their appearances were still recognizable even in different styles. "It tells a story of what happens in that structure in the sky."
"With how it looks...are they inside that thing?" Luminary observed. "It looks like they're facing off against someone who possesses Rift Magic. Possibly at this very moment."
"I tried piecing it together, your Majesties. A lot of it makes sense but there are a few things I've yet to decipher. It might be because it's so far out of our reach. What shall we do?"
"We owe Princess Celestia and Equestria a lot. If they're in trouble...then I see no issue in chiming in. They've saved our nation twice now. While we won't be saving theirs...why can we not pay them back?" Paramount didn't bother to ponder about it. His immediate decision was to assist them.
"The problem is getting up there, darling." Luminary nudged him. "How do we possibly get up to outer space? Let alone breathe up there?"
"Hmm...That is troublesome." This was something not many had a response to "What to do..."
"Flying up there would be dangerous too because of how different space is to the sky," Luminary added. "But there's also that gateway the mural showed us. Where will it show up, Tip-Off?"
"I haven't yet found out, your Majesties. It could appear anywhere but it will most likely be a new one since the mural shows it appearing next to the structure. And the structure certainly doesn't look like it's going anywhere."
"Then, we should ask for help from another source." Paramount stood up tall. "We cannot ask Princess Celestia since she's up there at the moment. But we can ask someone else."
"Ah, her! The Changeling Queen Chrysalis!" Queen Luminary already knew who King Paramount thought of. The other important leader from Equestria was available and exempt from space, leaving them to ask her for help. It was back to Equestria as their Pokemon Festival Fun was still being paused just to help their neighbouring nation from below.
It was time for them to repay the favour.
Outer Space. Galaxy Tower. Outfit Room.
"Ugh..." Total defeat. The strength of this Dragonite was overwhelming as Rarity and the others were on the floor, tattered and struggling to move. Dragonite stood tall, emerging victorious.
Ampharos tried getting up, only for Dragonite to step in front of him, intimidating the Light Pokemon. Rarity's barrier absolutely failed to keep them all safe. Granted, it saved them from the full force explosion of Hyper Beam but it didn't amount to anything.
They desired relief no matter what form it came in. They even contemplated giving up completely, there didn't seem to be an end in sight. They paused for a moment and took a deep breath. Perhaps if they could shift their focus away from the pain it'd be easier to manage. It became harder and harder to swallow the pain in their current positions as some of them were unconscious from that explosion.
"C-Curses..!" Rarity growled, trying to use her magic to bring out more of her Pokemon. She still had teammates to back her up. But as it stood now, she lost with her magic unable to grab the Poke Balls with how weak she was. She used all of her strength just to protect everyone and eventually, the fashionista fainted.
"Phione..." Phione had unfortunately been caught in this mess too. Not even he could withstand what had been unleashed. Dragonite then looked down at this specific Phione, knowing his significance thanks to what the Rift has seen.
"Gonite." Dragonite suddenly scooped Phione up with its claws as if he was ice cream, deciding to bring him along. Phione, powerless to stop this juggernaut of a Pokemon, was now Dragonite's hostage.
"No...Rarity...Phione..." Sweetie Belle soon passed out along with others who had some semblance of consciousness before losing it.
Dragonite had seen enough. It knew when it was victorious. "Dragonite!" After claiming victory, the Dragon Pokemon walked off, moving through that door frame everyone tried so hard to pass through. Only Dragonite was allowed to pass through it now after claiming victory and Phione as well.
"Phione!" Phione tried spraying water on Dragonite, only for the water to barely even tickle the Dragon Pokemon. The grip that it had on Phione was also monstrous, preventing him from doing much.
"Pharos...!" Angered by this, Ampharos gazed at Dragonite, upset that he couldn't stop the Dragon Pokemon at all, resulting in his friends ending up in this state. If he could, he would get back up and take Dragonite on again with all he had.
Ampharos tried to get back up to catch up with Dragonite but at this point, Dragonite was already switching from walking to running, continuing to search for Ash Ketchum and the rest of his friends. Ampharos smashed his head on the floor, frustrated that it was taking him this long to get up.
Rarity's group wasn't the only one down on the floor. Galaxy Master ran into more of Ash's friends along the way, encountering them in other rooms. And the outcome was the same. With the Rift being in full control of this unbeatable body, he emerged victorious. Other ponies and their Pokemon were lying down, unable to continue this battle as it was completely one-sided.
"Where is he?" The Rift was still on the hunt for Ash. At least he'll have the chance to see all of his friends defeated. That look on his face will be wonderful, no doubt. But...right now, he's certainly with another group. Splitting him up is what I need to focus on next. Then, I'll have him."
The Rift continued, walking past the downed bodies of ponies and Pokemon. The path to Ash wasn't over yet. He didn't care how many trainers he would have to defeat to reach him. But there were three individuals also on the Rift's mind. Victini, Meloetta and Hoopa.
The Rift couldn't forget about those three for obvious reasons, especially Victini. Though Hoopa possessed the power to summon as many Pokemon as he wanted to just like the Rift and Meloetta's singing was one of a kind, Victini was undoubtedly the greatest of them all solely for his infinite power.
"What if I mix unbeatable with unbeatable?" The RIft chuckled, having a new target in mind before he reaches Ash. "Not a bad idea, if you ask me. Wait for me, Victini. You'll be my true ace in the hole."
"I think not." However, Galaxy Master's words were quickly shut down by someone else. When moving through the hallway and taking multiple turns, he encountered another one of Ash's friends. This time, it ended up being a Sinnoh Elite 4 Member.
Bertha.
Joining here was Sci-Twi, who sheepishly hid behind the Elite 4 Member whilst Spike already started barking, sensing bad vibes in the air. Hisuian Zorua didn't even need to come out of the backpack.
"Bertha..." The Rift said.
"Galaxy Master, correct? Or should I say the Rift?" Bertha held her scarf, gazing at the fictional character with disdainful eyes. "I was expecting to meet him on better terms...but this happens."
"Hmph. You were informed quickly of my true appearance. How's that?" The Rift chuckled. "Did Celestia tell you that?"
"I'm afraid not. It would be this that told me." Bertha then held out one of the Galaxy Master Comic Books. It was the most recent one that was still missing pages. And upon opening it, the recent pages showed the story of what has happened so far in this tower. Especially with Galaxy Master AKA the Rift's appearance.
But there was something different about it. Instead of creating a shot-for-shot accurate version of the true events, the book had altered it. Instead of appearing here with cruel intent, the book framed Cynthia and the others as villainous intruders, just to prop up the fictional character. The Rift could even be seen in the book, speaking to Galaxy Master about what it had witnessed over at its base. Only a bit of it was true.
"Fair enough." Galaxy Master shrugged. "Either way, it matters not who I bump into now. My goal is to make Ash suffer and right now, having his friends be in such helpless and defeated positions will do just fine. Especially when you're involved, Twilight."
"Me?" Sci-Twi gulped, backing up a bit after the words were directed to her. "W-Why?"
"You're also integral in every way. If you're in that position, the reaction from Ash will be too good to witness. But it will only get better when I target closer friends." The Rift continued. "Don't worry. Everything will be back to normal after I'm satisfied with my revenge. So just go along with it and don't try fighting back. You know you can't win with who I currently am."
"You wish." Bertha waed her hand, revealing a Poke Ball. "Is your drive for revenge really this foul? I'll put you down here and now before you can harm anyone else. Twilight Sparkle. You will help me."
"O-Okay, Miss Bertha!" Sci-Twi nodded, agreeing to chime in. While she was intimidated, she wasn't afraid to battle strong opponents anymore.
"Did you not hear me? I'm unbeatable when I'm Galaxy Master!" The Rift laughed. But while he cackled, Bertha put on a smile of confidence. She wasn't worried at all.
"Are you now? The stories say otherwise." Bertha uttered.
"What did you say?"
"I'm just saying. Princess Luna and Darkrai are the exceptions, aren't they? Are you truly unbeatable or are there exceptions that you cannot get past? Let's find out, shall we?" She held the Poke Ball out.
"Old bag! I'll thrash you within seconds!" The Rift roared back as Bertha riled it up. If anything, this is what she wanted. The confrontation up at the Galaxy Tower wasn't slowing down.
Not with Dragonite emerging victorious over one group as well as the Rift plus the various other battles going off that may soon reach their conclusions. For better or for worse as the journey continues.
Chapter 909 End.
Unlocked Anger! The coming of an otherworldly force
Equestria. Faye Mountains. Changeling Hive. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Away from all the conflict happening up in the stars within the Galaxy Tower and away from the nightfall attacks of the vampires were the Changelings. This area with all of its Fairy Magic remained untouched along with other locations in this world and the Pokemon World.
Of course, there was a reason considering the relations between the Changelings and the Vampires. Mainly Mellifera. Arriving here in their chariot were the King and Queen of Pegalysium, here to request assistance from the changelings. It greatly involved the situation happening in the sky as Tip-Off came with them, bringing the mural along.
Chrysalis wasn't too familiar with King Paramount and Queen Luminary but thanks to relations with Celestia, they could have a civil chat as Paramount showed her the mural and what it told.
"In space?!" Chrysalis bellowed. "Impossible!"
"The mural you see here tells of what is happening above. Right now, there is a massive structure that is beyond the skies and with the stars. These familiar faces seem to be confronting a cosmic being up in that structure." Tip-Off explained. "So, the only problem we're facing is well...getting up to space."
"If it's not any trouble, we were hoping you could share something with us that could help get us to that structure." Luminary pleaded. "I heard from Celestia that you had a plethora of magic at your disposal."
"Hmph. As if I'd know how to do so. There's not a spell in this world that I know of that can bring us to space let alone breathe in it." Chrysalis shook her head. Alas, such a spell was not possessed by her in any way.
"What a shame...I suppose such a spell is too fantastical to exist. Even for us." Luminary sighed.
"For how high we live in the sky, it's hard to believe that we don't know or have anypony that's an expert in this," Paramount added.
"But...since Ash is involved in this predicament, why should I not attempt to do something about it. Of course I'll help. However, you'll need someone who has a better understanding of space than I ever could."
"Who would that be?" Paramount questioned.
"There's this organisation of Pokemon Trainers known as the Pokemon Rangers. Perhaps, they're the ones we need to go to. They're far more advanced in this than us probably."
"Pokemon Rangers?" The Royal Duo repeated. Another term in the Pokemon World that they would have to be informed of. In this case, it was somewhat crucial to know about the Pokemon Rangers.
"Hm? Oh! Your majesties! The mural is changing again!" Tip-Off called for them as the images on the mural began shifting
New images were coming, telling of the possible future. It still focused on the event happening in the cosmos before then revealing events that have already happened.
The current position of Applejack, Apple Bloom and Sceptile. It showed them within the orbs with Galaxy Master in the middle. The image even showed the defeat of many at the hands of Galaxy Master and the Pokemon he summoned, especially his Dragonite. The rest of the image showed Celestia and Cynthia being confronted by their own Pokemon while Ash was still active.
"What does this mean?" Luminary questioned. "Because it's certainly giving me a bad feeling from how it's presented. The odds don't seem to be in their favour from what the mural is showing us"
"I know one thing. I won't stand around and not do a thing about this. If I don't, Anthophilia will surely cry forever." Chrysalis joked. "I myself don't know where to find a Pokemon Ranger, but you can ask to see one and request help. As for me...I'll wait until a way to reach that structure in space is found."
"The only way to do so is by looking at this gateway right here." Paramount pointed his hoof at the one part of the mural which showed a gateway. This was potentially the only way for them to reach the Galaxy Tower, so as long as an existing location in the Pokemon World possesses this singular gateway. And that would be an issue since there were so many gateways scattered everywhere. But they had to try. "If we find that gateway, we find Princess Celestia and her group."
"Best spread the news to, dear. I doubt that her subjects know about this since it takes place in space." Tip-Off nudged him, giving a quick recommendation.
"Leve that to me." Chrysalis smiled as she would handle spreading the news. The trust between the Changelings and Ponies has been strengthened enough for Chrysalis' voice to truly be heard.
Outer Space.
Up in space, away from the Galaxy Tower was Applejack. Alongside her little sister and her partner Pokemon, thanks to the Rift, they were all trapped in space within these orbs that kept them safe yet imprisoned.
"Come on...!" Applejack had her Xtransceiver out, attempting to contact her friends. However, the Xtransceiver had failed her. Mainly because there wasn't a single transmission available. Not out here and within this orb. Thus, calling for her friends had been ruled out.
And since that didn't work, there was always the second option which relied on Appleack's own physical strength that she's been working on for years.
Banging on the orb, Applejack tried breaking out of it just so she could help her friends who were currently dealing with a vengeful cosmic being at the moment. But, all this banging made Applejack realize two things. Her strength was pointless and breaking the orb meant that she would have to perish in space in seconds.
"Darn it..." Applejack lowered her head, ceasing her banging unless she wanted to suffocate. The earth pony then glanced at her saddlebag which possessed the rest of her Poke Balls. Unfortunately, even she knew assistance from them was pointless. There was the ace-in-the-hole, Delta Riolu, but that would potentially lead to suffocation as well.
"What can I do?" Applejack pondered. The Rift truly put her in a comprising position. Outer space was nothing like the earth, land, the sea or the sky. One wrong move in this final frontier and it would be game over.
All her hopes were placed on her friends, hoping that they could find her. But right now, she was thinking about how to reach her younger sister who was still unconscious and couldn't even hear her older sister's words.
Galaxy Tower.
"G-Gardevoir...!" Meanwhile, just as the mural showed, Gardevoir and even Garchomp were against their own trainers. But it was still the Rift taking some control of their bodies. Gardevoir and Garchomp had various hesitations in their bodies, desperately not wanting to hurt the ones they loved.
But the Rift's control was powerful enough to force them to make certain swings. Their restraint only went as far enough as to prevent any ranged attacks from being unleashed. Gardevoir would bash on Celestia's barrier, only to be then pushed back by her trainer via an expansive barrier.
"Garchomp...! Stop!" Cynthia was currently in a struggle with her Garchomp, who was on the verge of slashing the Sinnoh Champion.
"G-Gar!" But, that was futile as well. Garchomp's physical strength far exceeded any human. Cynthia could already feel her arms trembling when trying to hold Garchomp back. The only reason she wasn't fully crushed was that Garchomp was hesitating as much as she could. "Chomp!"
Garchomp then laughed Cynthia away, causing her to knock into Celestia. Both fell over but they thankfully were exempt from serious injuries thanks to the hesitation of their Pokemon.
"Are you alright, Cynthia?" Celestia asked, lifting Cynthia off her body in seconds. Now wasn't the time to slow down as they didn't have to worry about just their Pokemon but also the attacking Pokemon from the Rift. They were close by at the Food Stand along with Luna who was having trouble of her own, unable to have a Pokemon assist her since Nightmare Moon was currently in possession of them all.
"I am...But they're only going to suffer more unless we do something." Cynthia groaned. "They can't return to their Poke Balls so as long as those cracks are around their bodies.
"I can try something. This might help get Passion back to us." Celestia had a plan. A simple one that could be effective. That involved the keystone. Her bond with Passion goes as far as the point where the two of them can become one. If there was ever a time to use this, it was now.
"G-Garde?!" Suddenly, Passion's pupils shrunk in absolute shock at what she saw. It wasn't the Mega Stone. Rather it was what was behind Celestia and Cynthia.
"Beheeyem!" Beheeyem snuck up on them both, already having an attack ready for the duo. Multiple Beheyeem to be exact. They already spotted Celestia going for the Mega Stone. Seeing their trainers in peril, prompted action from Gardevoir and Garchomp.
"Voir!" Passion attempted to reach her in time, but in this instance, Beheeyem was faster. Both trainers were caught by Beheeyem's Psychic, restrained with a Psychic hold. Amidst all this scuffling, it was only a matter of time until one Pokemon would be crafty enough to catch someone off guard.
The Mega Stone from Celestia was removed from her grasp, dropping to the soft floor. Now that Beheeyem had a hold of them both, with its Psychic powers, Cerebral Pokemon used them like puppets. Or rather, ragdolls was the better term as it immediately launched them both at Garchomp and Gardevoir. All of them with their combined strength were enough to control these two ladies with a hard Psychic outline to break through, even for Celestia.
"G-Garde!" The control of the Rift was encouraging Gardevoir and Garchomp to hit them while they were coming this way. But the love they had for their trainers said otherwise. The cracks worsened as Garchomp and Gardevoir raised their arms, unable to fully stop this manipulation.
"Gar!" Then, a slash went off. Garchomp swung first while Passion went next. Celestia and Cynthia closed their eyes, fearing that their Pokemon went through with these attacks successfully. And only one of them was true.
Garchomp only slashed a bit of Cynthia's jacket off, keeping her safe from bodily harm. But the same couldn't be said for Celestia. Passion's attack ended up connecting, much to the shock of the Embrace Pokemon. Celestia was struck directly, grimacing and wincing.
Passion was frozen in disbelief. She ended up harming Celestia, the one so close to her. But Beheeyem only made it worse. After Passion stood there in shock and terror, the Psychic-Type ended up rocketing Celestia's body, sending her over Gardevoir and straight towards the volatile area of Pokemon Moves. Celestia would be struck by a random Pokemon attack that was thrown by one of the Pokemon.
But multiple moves ended up connecting with her, each coming from both sides. Celestia was injured even further for Passion to watch. This ferocity from Beheeyem only came from the control of the Rift, leading to this horrific and cruel action.
"Garde...Garde...!" Naturally, something sparked within Passion. Seeing Celestia take this damage was all that it took to push her over the edge. She was already distraught that she had to attack her own trainer who was like a mother to her. Now, this was enough to anger the Embrace Pokemon. "Gardevoir!"
She couldn't hold back what she needed to unleash. Her anger got the better of her, causing a flash of magic and Infinity Energy to flare out of her body. That dormant power in her that was still being tucked away thanks to her constantly growing potential was starting to reveal itself as the emotion of the Embrace Pokemon resembled pure rage.
"P-Passion! Don't do it!" Celestia, who could still stand even after having so many Beheeyem assault her, feared something like this happening. She then remembered exactly what Olympia said way back when Passion was still getting used to being a Gardevoir.
"A power that is the complete antithesis to Passion. One that goes against Passion's natural loving nature. Whatever is lurking within her, I fear that if Passion were to Mega Evolve once more, that strange power might be truly unleashed."
But in this instance, it wasn't Mega Evolution that was triggering this power. It was simply emotions. Despite being known as the Embrace Pokemon, qualities of Ralts and Krilia were still present within Gardevoir.
The downside to this was that since Mega Evolution hadn't been used, Celestia couldn't just end the evolution to calm her down. Something else had to be done but at the moment, Passion's anger was exploding as her magical aura then formed into furious flames. At the same time, she still had the cracks of Rift Energy around her. Even with this rage, they didn't fizzle out.
"Gardevoir!" Her first target were the Beheeyem, obviously. After what they did, she took out all her anger on them. However, while it was a positive that Passion was now fighting against the enemy instead of with them, her bursting rage plus the Rift's control brought some risks.
Everyone else was a target. Passion smashed her arms on the floor, creating a powerful and violent stream of rainbows that came rushing out, tearing the soft floor apart. At first, it looked like they were going for the Beheeyem. And indeed they were. However, the radius of it threatened Cynthia and Garchomp.
Cynthia was also being held by the Beheeyem, unable to move her body. Because of this, the raging rainbows would most definitely strike her while going on a rampage. But, for this instance, Garchomp managed to get some control yet again, lunging at Cynthia.
"Gar!" Garchomp grabbed Cynthia, being her shield. She received super-effective damage thanks to the incoming rainbows which viciously grazed her.
"Beheeyem!" Seeing how badly it Garchomp, even if they resisted it, the Beheyeem would rather not face this devastating Dazzling Gleam was they removed their control over both Celestia and Cynthia before scattering.
"Voir!" Scattering only enraged Gardevoir further. She focused on all the Beheeyem that took off, fixated on attacking all of them instead of going after just one.
"Passion! Wait!" Now that Celestia was free, she could try and stop Passion before it was too late. Right now, Passion's rage was only rising. If it were to keep going and reach its peak, then Galaxy Master wouldn't be the only one to worry about.
"Heeyem!" The Rift-Controlled Beheeyem used Shadow Ball in unison, attacking Passion from all sides.
"G-Garde!" Gardevoir covered her head once the Shadow Bals crashed into her, dealing super-effective damage repeatedly. This would only anger her further. And with this growing anger came an expulsion of electricity. "Voir!" Passion used Thunderbolt, shooting the attack from every direction.
"Be!" Such frantic bolts would hit some of the Beheeyem with how aggressively fast they approached. The walls were hit as was Garchomp. But she was completely fine thanks to her immunity.
"G-Gar...!" Garchomp, despite saving Cynthia, still felt the urge to attack her. Cynthia backed up as Garchomp was slowly approaching her. This slow movement was not just because of the hesitant heart of the Mach Pokemon but also Passion's Dazzling Gleam which grazed her.
"Garchomp...if I have to battle you, then so be it." Cynthia reluctantly said as the only option right now was to potentially battle Garchomp to calm her down.
"Don't!" But Celestia thought otherwise. While trying to reach Passion who was unleashing flashes of lightning everywhere, she pleaded with Cynthia not to confront Garchomp. "Go and find Ash! Or even Applejack! Have the Aura break the control instead of going through with this."
"You're right...!" Cynthia gasped, realizing there was another way. The best way past this and currently one of the few ways to break the Rift's Mind Control. "And by that logic, it should do the same with the Rift's Pokemon too."
"Gar!" While conversing with Celestia, Garchomp attacked, lunging with her fangs bearing out.
"Arcanine! Go!" Quickly, Celestia launched her Poke Ball in the midst of this electric field. The Poke Ball managed to slip through the lightning thanks to Celestia's guidance, unleashing Arcanine.
"Arcanine!"
"Arcanine! Guide Cynthia to Ash or Applejack! Hurry!" If there was someone here who could track Ash down, Arcanine was a great contender. After all, Pinkie Pie was occupied as well. The nose of Arcanine certainly wouldn't let anyone down now.
Just as Garchomp was ready to bite into Cynthia, along came Arcanine via Extreme Speed. By moving at speeds that were invisible to the naked eye, Arcanine tackled the Mach Pokemon away, preventing the worst from happening. "G-Gar!" This led to Garchomp hitting the walls and tumbling for a bit.
"Thank you, Arcanine! Lead the way!" Cynthia thanked him before flowing the lead of the Legendary Pokemon. That only prompted Garchomp to follow them. But of course, Garchomp knew just as well that the Aura could free her so either way, she would've followed Cynthia and Arcanine.
Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Passion, who didn't even hear comments about the Aura. If anything, Aura couldn't save her now. It would stop the mind control but the anger was something else.
"Be! Behee!" The Beheeyem were all being targeted by Passion who viciously attacked them with Mystical Fire, a truly super-effective attack. If Celestia wanted to save Passion, it would mean getting close to her as being far away would do nothing.
Just like how she got close to Passion when she was a Kirlia, this instance was identical to when Passion had another power outburst. But the scenarios were far different from each other and yet, Celestia would try and stop them with the same force as before. Absolute love.
"Chomp!" Meanwhile, Garchomp chased Cynthia and Arcanine through the hallways, using that match speed of hers. But this speed was held back thanks to Garchomp's hesitation. She wasn't moving as fast but she was certainly moving at a pace that forced Cynthia and Arcanine to move as fast they could, lest they were grabbed by the Ground-Dragon-Type's jaws.
"I hope you're close, Ash," Cynthia said to herself while on the run. "I also hope you don't witness what's become of your beloved character."
Galaxy Master, AKA the Rift, stood before Bertha and Sci-Twi, ready to face off with them. Any friend of Ash, which was practically everyone here was a target that the Rift could use just to make Ash suffer.
But, this battle would also serve as a way to prove Bertha wrong. After all, Bertha managed to spot a flaw in the Rift's claim about Galaxy Master being unbeatable in every way. Bertha wanted to prove the Rift wrong and show her that there was one weakness that Galaxy Master had. And the confrontation between Luna and Darkrai was proof of that.
Mamoswine had been sent out from Bertha's side as the Rift wanted to prove a point, without needing to use any Pokemon aside from that one Pikachu. It wanted to prove that it could defeat them all with just the body of Galaxy Master and without various Pokemon on its side. Sci-Twi gulped, despite choosing to confront the Rift, showed visible signs of fear in her body language and face.
But there were two things keeping her positive. She was alongside an Elite 4 Member and there was also the fact that she wasn't the only rookie Pokemon Trainer here. The Rift could be considered one.
"Mamoswine! Ancient Power!"
"Mamo!" From the soft floor itself and even from outer space, fossilized rocks had been summoned before being launched. Even in space, those rocks would still appear somehow, someway.
"This is nothing!" The Rift boasted before using the athletic body of Galaxy Master to stylishly flip over the rocks, evading them in the process.
"Now, Pikachu! Please, use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Surely, not even electricity could be avoided by these flips. Once that bolt of 100,000 came flying in, the Rift merely used his abilities to prevent any potential damage. Dodging lightning was out of the question as he flicked his arm up after sticking a stylish landing, creating a saucer of Rift Magic.
This dome ended up swallowing all of the electricity from Pikachu's attack instead of simply blocking it. It was not a barrier at all. After absorbing the electricity, Galaxy Master would then use this saucer as a weapon, throwing it. Out of it came those same electrical sparks along with the velocity of this cosmic saucer.
"Pika?!"
"Mamo!" Coming to Pikachu's rescue was Mamoswine. He completely let the electricity come to him thanks to his immunity, preventing Sci-Twi or Pikachu from receiving any damage. But, even after taking the electricity, he still received damage in the form of that saucer which crashed into him. "M-Mamo!" Much like being hit by an actual saucer, it was painful but against a Mamoswine, this saucer was tailormade for Pokemon.
"Here! Take these rocks back!" Galaxy Master then manipulated the rocks from Ancient Power which were way behind him. He once again used his opponents' attacks against them, redirecting these fossilized rocks.
"Pikachu! Use Thunder Punch!"
"Pikachu!" Intercepting these rocks was Pikachu as he began swinging at the rocks with electrifying fists. He managed to hit them away, but there was one problem. The other Pikachu.
"Pika!" Galaxy Master's Pikachu struck at the right time, hitting his fellow Mouse Pokemon with a Quick Attack. Right as he failed to hit the final rock, prompting a double hit. The first hit came from Quick Attack while the second was from Ancient Power.
"Understand what you're up against now?" The Rift taunted before then flicking his fingers up. By doing so, a tower of cosmic energy sprouted from the floor, racing toward them all. Bertha squinted as so far, she wasn't exactly getting the upper hand over the Rift. But the Sinnoh Elite 4 Member still knew she could change that.
"Mamoswine! Earthquake!"
"Mamo!" Mamoswine then fought back by using Earthquake. The only attack strong enough to stop this pillar was certainly Earthquake as the second these two attacks met, they were even. They both cancelled each other out upon contact, dealing no damage to the other side.
"See? With just minimal numbers, I'm this much of a threat! Now, I'm going to end this at once, Bertha!" The Rift declared once the smoke started clearing. But no one responded.
Rather, action was taken. Right as the smoke was clearing, moving through it was Galaxy Master's own Pikachu. He came flying, crashing into the head of the Fictional Character just to make him flinch. "Pi!"
"Ugh!"
"You should pay more attention to your Pokemon! Even if they aren't yours!" Bertha exclaimed as the opposing Pikachu was caught up in the clash between the pillar and the Earthquake. "Ice Beam!"
"Swine!" Taking advantage of this moment, Mamoswine followed up with an Ice Beam. But he wouldn't be the only one using a beam. Joining him was Alpha Pikachu and his Thunderbolt.
"Pikachu!"
"Why you...!" Galaxy Master growled before being caught by both attacks in an elemental sandwich. This went for his Pikachu as well. The ice began placing his body in an icy prison while the electricity would only add to this restraint via paralysis.
"More!" Bertha clamoured for more power behind the Ice Beam.
"Mamoooo!" Mamoswine added extra power into the ice which then froze Galaxy Master faster. The Rift thundered with aggravation before then having his arms frozen over. Pikachu was already frozen thanks to his smaller body and at this moment, the combination of electricity and ice was tough to try and break free from.
"Bertha...!" He shouted out her name. It didn't help that Bertha looked on with a smile, knowing that she was turning the tide of battle. Or rather, they've already been turned as one of Galaxy Master's Pokemon were frozen.
"Pika...!" Alpha Pikachu took a deep breath after using Thunderbolt. Successfully, he helped out in stopping Galaxy Master's movements.
"Yes! We did it!" Sci-Twi cheered. "Way to go, Pikachu! I didn't think it'd be that quick!
"Not yet! Let's put an end to this. Earthquake!" Bertha would continue. Restraints weren't enough. Mamoswine caused another Earthquake, sending it toward a restrained Galaxy Master, who was frozen and paralyzed at the same time.
Unable to think of a way to stop this as fast as he could, Galaxy Master could only take the hit. The shattering power of Earthquake took out his Pikachu as to be expected. But as for Galaxy Master, not so much. He took damage, but not enough to put him down.
The Rift breathed in and out, still controlling his body. Its resilience was something to behold. The only thing that was incredibly effective on it was Aura after all. Anything else was below that.
"It seems you can take a lot of punishment," Bertha added. "But for how long? Mamoswine. Keep that ice fresh."
"Don't...underestimate me...!" Galaxy Master sneered. "I still have two other Pokemon that I've yet to call...Now is the perfect time to bring them along."
There were two Pokemon in mind. Two Pokemon that the Rift could summon that Galaxy Master couldn't. The cosmic energy within his body was burning up in an attempt to melt the ice, only for Mamoswine to keep it fresh, using Ice Beam yet again.
But even though he couldn't break free at the moment, it didn't stop him from reaching these two Pokemon. Mainly because they were coming from an outside source. Specifically, another realm.
Outside the tower, Applejack stayed silent, doing nothing for the most part. She only chose to wait. She didn't have that much of an option right now. But while waiting, that's when something happened. A noise came through that could reach her ears and even Sceptile's. Not Apple Bloom who was still down and out. When hearing this noise, they found out where it was coming from.
A crack.
A crack in space had formed. Truly more surreal than seeing a crack in the sky. Applejack stood up, stunned by this crack as it was slowly getting bigger, dropping cosmic shards out of them.
"What in tarnation...?"
"Sceptile?"
What could be coming out of that crack? The answer would come in the form of two respective cries. These cries were incredibly familiar to the ears.
The cries of Dialga and Palkia. Or rather, something akin to them. Something that only the Rift could interact with. The unison of Arceus' light and the Rift's power. That combination of energy flashed out of the crack as it only belonged to two known individuals that were identical to the Creators of Time and Space.
Unbeknownst to many, Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia were coming.
The Ranger Union. The main headquarters and organization of the Pokemon Rangers. There were many Ranger Bases, most of them could be found around Hoenn.
Located in the northwest of the Hoenn Region, This ranger base was already receiving calls, mainly about the ongoings across the various regions. On each of these screens, an abundance of problems popped up. The emergence of Desires, the recent appearance of vampires from the Dread League, a large drop in Rift Energy thanks to Galaxy Master and so much more.
Right now, a new situation had propped up for them via a call from the other world. This one would match some of their biggest calls and problems undoubtedly.
"Ranger Union. Hoenn Region. What's your report?" One of the Operators spoke, answering the call. The one speaking on this phone was a fellow member of justice. Officer Jenny.
"Hello. This is Officer Jenny from Unova. We have a problem. One that's out of this world." Officer Jenny spoke with urgency in her voice.
"Out of this world? The other world or space?"
"Both. I'm here with the King and Queen of Pegalysium. They've shown me what's going up there thanks to this...magic mural? It's magic so I don't have to think too hard about it." Right now, Officer Jenny was in the same presence as the Royal Family from Pegalysium.
The best way to get help from the Pokemon Rangers would be from another force of the law. And the only existing one in this world was the ludicrous abundance of Officer Jennys and their own police forces. This was the closest region with a gateway connecting to the Faye Mountains, after all, leading the Royal Family and their guards here.
"Either way. Listen. Right now, up in space in their world, there's a predicament going on. It involves Princess Celestia and many others such as Cynthia and Bertha in some sort of structure that's in space. From what this magic mural shows, there's a battle going up there and if it continues, the end result could be dangerous considering where they currently are. No one else has the capability to reach it though since it's in space. Do you think the Pokemon Rangers are equipped to handle this?"
"A problem in space involving Princess Celestia. We have great connections with Princess Celestia and the entirety of Equestria after that invasion. Any potential harm done to her will have our utmost attention. Don't worry. Outer space isn't out of our reach either."
"That's great to hear. How soon can you get up there?"
"Well, it's still space, so we need some time. We'll send one of our best rangers to handle this. He's already experienced with Outer Space. Isn't that right, Jackie?"
In this room currently was Pokemon Ranger Jack Walker. The best of the best. Most put their trust in Jackie and he certainly had the biggest experience with Equestria compared to any other Pokemon Ranger.
"True, but you could always ask her." Jackie then revealed a book containing a certain woman in it. "Kidd Summers. She's been to space too, after all." The book showed the multi-record-breaking adventurer Kidd Summers who also explored space before among many other things. "But, I can still head up there. But what exactly are they facing in that structure exactly?"
"According to what they shared with me, there's a battle going on. That's far too dangerous to have in space since at any point, one move from a certain Pokemon could expose a hole that leads to the vacuum of space. So, before anyone suffers out there, we should get you ready. There should be a ship in Equestria that is under that nation's protection. The Rocketship, right?"
"The one from Team Rocket. Strange that they're helping out Equestria. I'll pay them a visit." Jackie then revealed a Travel Sphere in his hand. It would be the quickest way to reach Equestria. "It'll take too long for us to get one started in this world, so let's make it easy on ourselves. But uh...I'll still need that space gear."
"Alright. Good luck, Jackie. Get everyone home safe."
"Okay!" Jackie gave an optimistic thumbs up. "Just leave it to me."
Equestria. Canterlot. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
"What?! Princess Celestia's in space?!" Naturally, news about this spread to Equestria and especially the place where Celestia originally lives at. And the one responsible for this was Queen Chrysalis, knowing that she could inform everyone whilst Paramount and Luminary informed the authorities.
"Exactly. Someone should be heading up to grab them." Chrysalis, alongside some Changeling Guards, spoke to the Canterlot Guards and the residents of Canterlot, shocking them with this galactic news. "But don't panic, alright? I have full faith they'll be fine. But, if any of you have any ideas of what to do about this, they would be greatly appreciated."
"What? Going into space? We can't do that. Not even sure we can breathe up there." A pony replied swiftly.
"We can't. Neither do we know much about space." Fleur-de-lis. "It's called the Final Frontier for a reason."
"Wait. What about those stairs? The golden stairs that are meant to reach Jirachi." An idea propped up in one of the guards. The golden stairway that was made out of various sources of power was incomplete. "Could we use that?"
"Even if we did, it has a stopping point and it isn't complete yet." Raven Inkwell, Celestia's secretary shook her head. "And even if we didn't we still can't breathe in space."
"What about Reshiram and Zekrom? Can they breathe in space? I mean, they are Legendary Pokemon so..."
"They-" Raven was ready to throw another answer in, only to scrunch her face. "Hmm...That's a good point. Can they breathe in space? Where are Reshiram and Zekrom now?"
"Reshiram went along with her majesty but from the sounds of this story, Reshiram never went to the structure. Probably because of his size." A Canterlot Guard added. "So, he should be at the Unova Region right now. As for Zekrom, we're not sure where he is."
"Then go and speak to Reshiram before it's too late. And find the other Princess Flurry Heart. Her Giratina could-" Raven began throwing orders, fixating on the Legendary Pokemon.
"I have an extra idea that could help." Just then, interrupting Raven was a mysterious unicorn who was wearing a hood with a hole that could help fit her horn. All attention was drawn towards her as any idea would do right now for the sake of their Princesses.
"You do? And who may you be?" Already, Chrysalis grew suspicious of this hooded figure. She certainly wasn't going to ignore the fact that this unicorn was hiding her identity.
"There's always Mewtwo. That's a Pokemon that can actually breathe in space. You'll find that Ash Ketchum and Pinkie Pie are friends with them. At least, one of them is. If you can find Mewtwo, that would be very useful. But the other Legendaries could work out, especially Giratina."
"Mewtwo? Oh, right." Raven agreed with that idea as it was too good to argue about. "If we can reach Mewtwo that is...But thank you for the suggestion either way."
"It'll be fine. After all, there's one pony with that group who can breathe in space. And so can I."
"You can breathe in space? How so?" Chrysalis questioned.
"It's a mother and daughter thing." The unicorn revealed that somepony up at the Galaxy Tower could breathe was related to her. "We don't have to worry about the vacuum space. But don't worry about it. I have a ship that we can use. Team Rocket won't mind if we take it."
"The Rocketship? Oh, excellent!" Raven exclaimed. "That's the only good thing those invaders left behind. I-If we could pilot it, that is."
"I can pilot it." This mysterious unicorn unveiled more of herself except her true name and identity. The only thing they had to go off of was a sky-blue unicorn horn. "I have some experience."
"You-"
"Works for us!" Raven Inkwell cut Chrysalis off as any semblance of hope was a positive in her eyes, no matter how mysterious this unicorn was. "Come on, guards! We can't just stand around while our princess is in trouble!"
The guards saluted as they would be off to the Pokemon House in Ponyville just to commandeer this one ship. After all, Team Rocket wasn't using it considering they were piloting Food Stand Van instead. But Chrysalis kept her eye on this unicorn, wanting to know who she was.
Having knowledge about piloting that ship that originally came from Empress Twilight's Universe and knowing which pony could breathe in space despite not mentioning a name was too mysterious to simply ignore.
Ponyville. Fluttershy's Cottage. The Pokemon House. Afternoon.
The Royal Guards of Canterlot were approaching Ponyille. And at the same time, other guards were sent to find Reshiram, Zekrom and Princess Flurry Heart. Since Celestia and Luna were up there, this was a nationwide issue that required full-force attempts.
The Rocketship sat there, still having that giant Team Rocket R plastered on to signify who owned this ship, even if the entirety of Team Rocket had no idea that their least known goons owned such a vessel.
However, when arriving here, Chrysalis and the others saw that they weren't the only ones fixated on the vessel. Of course, Jackie's mission to reach space would involve a ship as he could be seen standing next to it.
"Hey there!" Jackie greeted them whilst surrounded by Pokemon. "I don't suppose any of you could contact Team Rocket? Having some trouble getting in here."
"Jackie, right? Great timing!" Raven zoomed over, shaking Jackie's hand with her hoof. "All the help we can get is needed with this predicament. You had the same idea as us?"
"Clearly. This is my newest mission. Reaching space and seeing if your ruler and everyone is doing alright up there. If I was going to head up to the final frontier, I would use this ship since it's already available to the public. I would be up there by now but it's locked so..." The Pokemon Ranger chuckled. "If I could the original owners, that'd be great."
"I'm afraid we can't d that." Raven sighed. "We should really be thinking about getting in touch with them for situations such as these now that I think about it."
"You don't have to worry about it." The mysterious unicorn responded, walking past Jackie and Raven before standing before the ship.
With just a tap on the vessel, it opened up. There wasn't the usage of a single key or anything like that. Just a tap is all she needed, stunning everyone and only raising Chrysalis' suspicions. The door was wide open and the ship was free to use. Not that Team Rocket would know about this.
"That works." Jackie certainly wasn't questioning it and neither was anypony else. All they cared about was reaching space to protect the Royal Family.
"Hold on. Who are you exactly?" Chrysalis needed to know, putting the unicorn on the spot. "How can you do something like that to this specific object?"
"Good point. You'd have to be someone who already knows how this thing works." A Canterlot Guard added. "You've already been inside?"
"I've been in one of these before. The way to open it is just natural knowledge I have about this ship. I'd rather not stand around any longer. Not when somepony important is up there facing trouble." But again, she didn't reveal herself to everyone here.
"We can worry about identities later." Jackie hopped inside the ship. "Right now, let's get up to those stars and sort everything out before the worst can happen."
"He's right. But um..." Raven stepped back, scrunching her face as her hooves could be seen shaking. "You can all go ahead...I'd rather not be around a place such as space. But good luck up there."
"Have it your way." Chrysalis shrugged before entering with her troops. "Oh! Almost forgot! I'd suggest keeping an eye on her. I wouldn't want my child up in space either." Before leaving, Chrysalis used her magic to pass Anthophilia over to Raven Inkwell.
"Me? Uh...alright then." Raven would take that job while everyone else would be up in the stars. "It's just a baby. I can handle it. Safe travels."
"Before that, Pegalysium has also promised to assist us. When we reach space, stop near Pegalysium to bring them along, understood?" Chrysalis ordered.
"Gotcha, bug lady. All of that will be done as soon as possible. Well, time to go." Jackie bid farewell before witnessing the door close via the control of this mysterious unicorn. "Ah, hold on...you'll all probably need protection since we're in space. Don't want you suffocating. Unless you have a spell for that."
"We wish." Chrysalis and the guards all said. Alas, they didn't have a spell for that. But if they did, it would be incredibly useful in so many ways.
"Oh well. Let me take charge of this thing." Instead of the mysterious unicorn piloting this ship, Jackie offered to do so. The Mysterious Unicorn said nothing in response to this. She just let Jackie do so, choosing not to pilot it anymore. Jackie was dependable enough to do so.
The unicorn would walk off, leaving the pilot room where everyone else was, prompting Chrysalis to follow her. If now was a good time to find out who she was, this was that moment. A moment where it was just these two.
Outer Space. Galaxy Tower.
An unpleasant sight had shot into Ash's eyes, as well as Fluttershy's and Twilight's. When moving through the tower in space, they came across a sight that was caused by the Rift.
Unconscious ponies could be seen on the floor, next to all the rubble caused by this conflict. They all lay there, each defeated by Galaxy Master and the power of the Rift controlling his body.
"Guys! Are you alright?!" Ash rushed over to them.
"They don't look injured at all." But Fluttershy was the first to notice how none of them had injuries. Despite all the rubble and their current status, not a scratch, tatter or bruise could be fine. If anything, they were all completely fine, just unable to move.
"Whatever attacked them must've not been that serious if that's the case," said Twilight. "Either way, we should get them somewhere safe. But where is safe at this point?"
"I don't know." Ash picked some of them up. He placed one pony on his back and held the other in his arms. "Let's try finding Hoopa first to send them all home. Wherever Hoopa is..."
Ash had yet to know about the cosmic veil around the tower and the fact that they were all in space. All he focused on was finding the source and getting those who had been harmed back to health as Twilight and Fluttershy carried the rest.
Meanwhile, the Rift had currently been frozen and paralyzed by Bertha and Sci-Twi. However, it did not spell defeat. If anything this only held it back as within the body of Galaxy Master, absurd durability was one of the benefits.
"Is that your best?" Galaxy Master taunted as this entire time, Bertha has been trying to knock him out, using Mamoswine's Earthquake while he was frozen. Alas, that didn't happen.
"Nothing?!" Sci-Twi gasped. "How can that be? Don't tell me Ash made this character indestructible too..." That would be terrifying to think about but not impossible. It wasn't uncommon for children to make their characters so strong to the point where they could not be harmed or even taken out.
"I told you. This character is unbeatable." The Rift cackled. "Hit me as many times as you want, it won't amount to anything. And besides...nothing's stopping me from using all this burning cosmic energy to free myself or the Pokemon I've summoned."
"Tch." Bertha scoffed.
"What do we do now, Ms Bertha?" Sci-Twi asked. "How do we deal with this?"
"There's always a way, Twilight. We just have to find it. For now, let's get this frozen body to the authorities."
"That's impossible. Very impossible." But the Rift knew why this was most likely never going to happen. "You have yet to realize where we are right now. Or even what's surrounding this area. Or even...what's approaching this tower!"
Right on cue, a roar managed to pass through the vacuum of space, being audible to various ears. Bertha and Sci-Twi wondered where that roar came from. It would only make sense for it to be from the outside. Alas, they had no idea what was truly outside. They certainly weren't under Equestria right now.
"That roar..." Bertha gasped, recognizing the sound of that roar. A second one came through that was also incredibly familiar. Sci-Twi on the hand had no idea who this roar belonged to. But Bertha knew exactly which individuals possessed these two roars. After all, she comes from that very region where the roar was recognizable.
Soon, Fluttershy and Audino would hear it. They heard it with the most clarity thanks to their hearing. It prompted them to stop in their tracks along with Ash and Twilight. They both recognized these roars.
It was all too familiar to them as not only did it belong to beings that they've met before, but also, the alternate variation of them from another realm.
"Isn't that...Dialga and Palkia?" Fluttershy managed to recognize those roars as Dialga and Palkia.
"It's not just Dialga and Palkia." Twilight shuddered as her pupil shrunk. "They've been summoned here to the tower...It's their Rift counterparts."
"Rift Counterparts?!" shouted Fluttershy. She was already told about Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia before. But now, there was a chance she'd get to see them in physical form.
Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia had broken through the unknown realm where the Cosmic Wall could be found, forming a crack through space. Applejack witnessed this for herself before then seeing these two Rift Variants of the Time and Space Creators burst out.
There was now a gaping hole in space and out of them came these Rift-Pokemon from another dimension. They responded to the Rift's call as they had half of its power within it with the other half being Arceus' power. The tower was their target but there was still the veil of Rift Energy in the way.
Of course, the Rift wouldn't call them if it knew that one of them could get through. And one of them could. That would be Rift-Palkia and its power to warp space.
By using its massive wings, it flapped them once to warp space. Twisting and turning, the veil of Rift energy was warped via this cosmic power, opening a way for the Rift Duo. Of course, there was another issue. These two were as large as the real Dialga and Palkia, completely ineligible to fit inside.
But Rift-Palkia even had an answer for that, being sentient and smart enough to see when there's a problem that needs to be sorted out. The same went for Dialga as there was a semblance of Arceus in both of them after all. Once there was a way into the tower, it used its power once more to shrink itself and Rift-Dialga down. Only to a manageable size that allowed them to enter. Everything was sorted out as they then phased through the Galaxy Tower without needing to use the entrance.
Applejack still couldn't believe what she witnessed. She recognized them as Dialga and Palkia, wanting to believe they were there to help. But judging by their alternate appearances, a bad feeling entered Applejack's heart.
That bad feeling would be correct. After phasing through, Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia appeared before the Rift, Bertha and Sci-Twi, having a manageable size that still made them look absolutely intimidating in every way, mainly for their otherworldly appearances.
"Mamo?!" Bertha's Mamoswine was the first target. He was so occupied with keeping the Rift frozen via repeated Ice Beams, he wasn't prepared for what came from the side. Rift-Dialga entered, bashing its body against the Ice-Ground-Type, ending the continuous Ice Beam and any potential Earthquakes.
"Mamoswine!" Bertha gasped as Mamoswine was knocked her way. There was a quick save on Sci-Twi's part, pulling the Elite 4 Member away before she was potentially struck by her own Pokemon. But poor Mamoswine was forced to be knocked back, tumbling on the floor.
As for Rift-Palkia, it did the honour of freeing Galaxy Master from his icy prison. By using its spear weapon, the ice shattered with a singular stab that was filled with Arceus' light and Rift Energy.
"See?" Galaxy Master melted away all the ice via cosmic heat. "It didn't last long. One way or another, I would've freed myself. That's the kind of character Galaxy Master is. So you two can just forget about your odds."
Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia then stood next to Galaxy Master as his bodyguards. It was a truly imposing sight. Seeing a cosmic entity working alongside two larger cosmic entities. One controls time and the other controls space.
"Dialga and Palkia? No." Bertha said. "Are these the Pokemon Ash and Twilight saw in that dimension?"
"Exactly. These are my Pokemon! And also Arceus' creations." The Rift boasted while giving some credit to Arceus. "You see, time and space will always be under my control, somehow, someway, even if I'm weakened. Dare to carry on?"
"I dare." Bertha showed no fear in front of them, holding out the rest of her Poke Balls, ready to truly go all out. In the face of Legendary Pokemon, going all out is always the correct option.
"As to be expected from an Elite 4 Member. You don't know the meaning of the word 'Fear'. Unfortunately, you've already stood in my way and wasted too much time already. I need you to just go down and lie there as soon as possible. And thanks to these two, that can be made possible."
"We'll see! Go, Hi-" Just as Bertha was ready to unleash her Pokemon, Rift-Dialga took action. And in the best way it could to stop Bertha's movements.
With a flash of its eyes, it stopped time. Just like the original, it had the power to stop time, albeit briefly. This time stop wouldn't last long, forcing the Rift to act quickly. And so it did. By using its power, it flicked its fingers once, pulling the Poke Balls away from Bertha's hold.
The time stop lasted for 3 seconds. And once it ended, Bertha soon felt nothing in her hands. Only emptiness as her Poke Balls had been snatched.
"Looking for these?" Taunting here, Galaxy Master revealed that all five of her Poke Balls, excluding Mamoswine's Poke Ball, were within his grasp just from that 3-second time-stop. "These are my Pokemon now. But don't worry. Once this is all over, you'll have them back."
"I still have my Poke Balls!" However, Sci-Ti still had hrs as the Rift couldn't get those out in time. "Pikachu. Can you carry on?"
"Pikachu!" Alpha Pikachu still had some energy in him. And if he were to fall, the rest of his teammates would take care of the rest, especially since two of them are stronger and faster than him.
"That won't be happening. Palkia! Now!" By the command of Galaxy Master, Palkia would once again manipulate space. Much like Rift-Dialga, there was a limit as these two were merely just variants of the Creation Trio with weaker powers. But they were still efficient.
Rift-Dialga could only stop time for about 3 seconds while Rift-Palkia could warp space to a minimal level. But even this minimal level in this area would beneficial as immediately, Sci-Twi and Pikachu were being pulled away by a strange gravitational shift.
"Huh?!" Unable to control their own movements, the space around them was split in half by Rift-Palkia. And just as the Rift wanted, it was away from Bertha. Bertha felt her gravity change but this one only pulled her closer to Galaxy Master while away from Sci-Twi. "Ms Bertha!"
"Don't worry about me, Twilight." But even without the rest of her Pokemon, Bertha remained calm. She still had Mamoswine too, so all was not truly lost. However, Sci-Twi was getting further. "You can use this opportunity to do something else. I can handle things from here."
"But-" Just as Twilight wanted to say more, the doors automatically opened for her, cutting her off from this room and into the next. Bertha faced the two Rift-Legendaries, only having her Mamoswine left.
"Still want to go down like this? Good grief...Perhaps, your old age is getting to you, Bertha." Galaxy Master shrugged, seeing Bertha as hopeless and even pitiful. "What a shame..."
"Think that as much as you want, Rift. Besides...I've yet to tell you why I do not see you as unbeatable in that body. It's best that I say it now."
"And why is that? Going to bring up Luna and Darkrai once more?"
"But it makes too much sense when you think about it. It also makes sense as to why you've yet to stop me. Galaxy Master isn't quite unbeatable, is he? Not when he's tied with Princess Luna. I may be in the same boat as her if I'm being honest. But without the rest of my Pokemon, even I have to admit when the odds are stacked against me."
"They are, aren't they?"
"But...your weakness is that you can't quite stop those who are on your level." Bertha then revealed the major weakness. "Or at least close to it."
"Hm?!" This made the Rift shoot up. Bertha was on to something.
"The outcome of this battle would've probably ended the same way with you and Luna. But not anymore. However, it confirmed what I believed. There are limits. And on this tower, there are Pokemon Trainers who have what it takes to defeat you. I'm already from a generation that is only hanging around and sharing stories and wisdom. But this generation exceeds mine and possesses trainers of greater strength. Cynthia is even a trainer of this generation too to an extent. What will you do when facing her? Or worse..."
"That's enough out of you!" The Rift didn't directly respond to that statement. And that was enough for Bertha to feel that she was correct. "Dialga! Palkia!"
"Everyone has a weakness somewhere. It just takes time to fully take advantage of that weakness. I trust in everyone else to do what they can to defeat you." Bertha thought to herself before then commanding Mamoswine. "Earthquake!"
"Mamo!" Mamoswine was faced with three different cosmic beams. Each of them from these cosmic beings. With a stomp on the floor, the biggest Earthquake yet had been unleashed as two different lights clashed against each other.
"Bertha!" Sci-Twi was dragged far away thanks to Rift-Palkia, ending up in an entirely different room. At this point, she had no idea which area she was previously in. All she remembered was the fact that the battle took place in a hallway. But this place already had enough hallways. "Ms Bertha!"
Running around, Sci-Twi tried finding a way back to the Elite 4 Member, running through as many doors as she could, screaming out her name.
"What do I do now...?" She took a moment to ponder her next move. What was next? At any moment, she could run into one of the opposing Pokemon but there was a chance for her to run into a familiar friend. Sci-Twi only had Pikachu, Zorua and Spike with her at this point. Plus, the size of this tower wasn't helping at all.
But with so many individuals in this tower, one of them was bound to encounter Sci-Twi. Footsteps were heard. These footsteps came closer to Sci-Twi's vicinity. Ready to protect her as always was Alpha Pikachu while Zorua would just continue to hide. It worked out for her during all of this after all.
And who exactly arrived? Friend or foe?
It was a friend. Running through those doors was Arcanine. Princess Celestia's Arcanine to be exact. And joining the Legendary Pokemon was Cynthia, who was set to try and find Ash or even Applejack. Solace came to Sci-Twi's heart after seeing them.
"Hah...it's just you two." She sat down, completely relieved. "Good to see another familiar face."
"Are you alright, Twilight? Are you hurt anywhere?" Coming to her aid was Cynthia, seeing if there was anything wrong with Sci-Twi at the moment.
"No...but I think I'm getting a migraine from all of this noise. I wish I was home right now or at least in one of these comfy beds that the Pokemon Hotels have."
"I'm afraid we won't be able to reach home at this rate, Twilight." Cynthia knew the truth, ready to reveal it to Twilight Sparkle." You see...right now, we're in outer space."
"Outer space?!"
There it was. Now Twilight knew where the tower was currently at. Going home wouldn't be possible in this instance. Just as she screamed with disbelief, another rumble went off just to match it in unison. The conflict raged on but so far, the odds were in the favour of the Rift.
Vengeance against Ash was only growingfrom this point. Now that it summoned two Rift Variants of the Creation Trio, the tower may not survive at all. But help was on the way in the form of more Canterlot Guards, Chrysalis and her Changelings plus Jackie.
If the mural was anything to go by, the potential outcome appeared grim. But much like the current Pegasus of Destiny, that mural can change. It was only a matter of who does what and what happens next as the journey continues.
Team Rocket's Rocketship. Originally belonging to the Empress and her forces was now under the ownership of Team Rocket, fittingly dubbed the Rocketship. But right now, ironically, they weren't the ones within the ship, taking it to the skies.
Commandeering this vehicle while Team Rocket was elsewhere was Pokemon Ranger Jackie. On this ship, he was joined by Canterlot Guards, Chrysalis and her changelings, setting off to reach the Galaxy Tower which was currently in outer space.
"Alright. I've got my space gear ready. But...not sure about you all. You aren't equipped to enter space with armour like that, are you?" Jackie said, speaking to the Canterlot Guards as Chatot repeated his sentence.
"Chatot! Aren't equipped!"
"Well...no." One of the guards lowered her head. This was the sad truth. Despite how eager they were to save their rulers, they still didn't have the means to breathe in space. The only thing that could protect them from the vacuum of space was this ship.
"Yeah, that's a problem. Unless we can find a way to get you all to reach that tower without any breathing problems, only Casey and I are gonna survive out there. But hey. You can be moral support." Jackie chuckled.
"Hang on. There might be something here for us to wear." It might not be a total loss. One of the guards rushed off to find something specific. Something that the guards from the invading universe once wore while piloting these ships. There was a chance that they might be tailor-made for space of all things considering this ship had the capability to reach outer space.
When searching for them, these suits of armour for the ponies that once piloted these ships could be found. They were placed in a mechanical wardrobe, sitting them and not even looking like they have aged a day. The titanium around them hadn't even rusted at all, making them appear fresh and new.
The ponies and changelings started putting on these suits of titanium armour as their best shot at surviving in space. And this was backed up by the helmets they had to wear which protected their faces.
"This'll do." The guards all said, appearing in this new armour.
"Hm. It might work." Jackie looked back, not having much to say about this before then kicking the ship into high gear and accelerating higher into the sky. The only one missing was Chrysalis. And to an extent, the mysterious unicorn. Right now, Chrysalis followed this mysterious unicorn to the next room just to find out who she was.
This hooded unicorn stood away from everypony else, standing in the corner silently. She then noticed the changeling Queen Chrysalis approaching, knowing exactly why she came here.
"You still want to know who I am?"
"Of course, I do. It wouldn't hurt too much, would it? Especially with what you shared with us and how you knew how to open that door." Chrysalis added. "Show yourself. Whoever you are."
"I didn't want to do it in front of a large crowd. But, since it's just you, Queen Chrysalis, I can trust you with who I am." The unicorn chose to reveal herself but only in front of one individual and that would be Chrysalis. Plus her Ribombee who always tagged along. The identity of this unicorn would be revealed just with the flip of a hood.
"Oh! Aren't you...?!" Chrysalis' eyes shot up as the identity of this unicorn was one that made too much sense considering what has been learned today.
It was none other than Skyblue Shine. The sky blue-coloured horn and the knowledge of this ship made so much more sense now that she showed her face.
She returned to this universe after being absent for a long time, hiding from the rest of Equestria after the dual events involving the Empress. From the invasion of Universe 1 to the kidnapping of her own daughter.
"I've only decided to get involved with this event." Skyblue Shine spoke. "You can understand why. My daughter, Premium Polish is up there with them."
"I thought you were away in another universe You knew?"
"I've been visiting this universe from time to time in secret without giving myself away. And each time, I've been watching my daughter, making sure she was doing alright under Princess Celestia's care. I've not yet shown myself to everyone else to this point, but one day, when the time is right, I'll return."
"Afraid to be caught, hm?" Crysalis nodded. "I understand. It's family, so risks need to be taken. But now it makes sense as to why you know so much. But who was it you were referring to when you said a pony could breathe in space?"
"My daughter can breathe in space. Not just her. But so can I. We're both androids. We don't have to worry about the vacuum of space since our lungs are artificial along with many other parts of us.
"Seriously? Lucky..." Chrysalis had some envy of that. These two had the capability to breathe in space only because they were artificially made. No other pony had this capability, making them unique in that part. "Anyway, you don't have to worry about showing yourself to everyone else up there."
"I don't?" She tilted her artificial head.
"Not at all. For you see..." Chrysalis nudged her head, prompting Ribombee to take a certain action. The Bee Fly Pokemon understood clearly before digging her hands into Chrysalis' mane.
Out of it came a Shift Stone, one that Chrysalis carried around with her in secret, greatly confusing Skyblue Shine as to why she of all species would need something like that.
"A Shift Stone? On you? Why?" Naturally, the android needed to know.
"It's just a backup plan of mine. Well, actually, it was Thorax's backup plan for every changeling. He recommended that we all had to hold a Shift Stone of ours. Because if there was ever a moment my own shape-shifting abilities fail us or something else happens to expose us, such as overwhelming...well, now it's overwhelming hatred and greediness instead of love, we always have this to use as a backup. For now, use it for yourself."
"Ah. Thank you." Skyblue Shine now had a way to continue concealing herself. "I just need to make sure my daughter's safe up there."
"I guarantee she'll be safe considering who she's with right now. Stay out of sight by turning into a Canterlot Guard if that helps." Chrysalis turned away. But before she could walk off, there was something else she could learn from Skyblue Shine while she had the opportunity. "Ah, there's something else I need to ask. Where have you been this entire time?"
"I've been staying in a universe that's outside the reach of Empress Twilight and her allies. That's because this universe used to be mine." Skyblue Shine revealed where she had been. "I used to be a human along with my daughter before a horrible force came along and tore our world apart. That world was another Pokemon World but without the existence of Pokemon. But, I'm somewhat inclined to believe that strange entity was a Pokemon of some sort. That universe has been labelled as extinct but the land remained, making it a perfect place to hide."
"You're staying in a practically destroyed world that used to be yours? You sound just like my mother." Chrysalis chuckled as Skyblue Shine's story shared similarities with her mother Mellifera. "Well, do you possibly know how to get to Universe 11 then?"
"Sorry. But Daybreaker's protected it with perfect efficiency. As far as it goes, no one can get to Universe 11 unless Daybreaker permits it. And even if we do...there's something there waiting for us. A massive flame that tears through space."
"A flame that tears through space?" Chrysalis repeated. "I beg your pardon?"
"It seemed to have been left behind by Daybreaker. Universe 11 as it stands now, cannot be entered."
Outer Space. Galaxy Tower.
"What do you mean we're in outer space?!" Sci-Twi had been hit with a shocking revelation. This entire tower was up in the stars instead of the underground of Equestria. If there was ever a bad time to be under attack by a cosmic being, it would be now considering everything here was cosmic-related. "H-How did this happen?! When did this happen?!"
"It's the Rift's way of keeping us in check. It even placed a veil of its power around the tower. As it stands, we're stranded u here unless something is done." Cynthia added. "I suggest that we force the Rift out of Galaxy Master's body. That way, Galaxy Master will turn on him. Hopefully."
"R-Right. But only Aura can harm the Rift, right? Where's Ash?"
"Arcanine and I have been looking for him. But it's not just Aura. Pokemon Attacks work well obviously and so does the magic of Celestia and Luna. But if we want to push the Rift out, then a good shock to its system will have to do."
"Uh, yeah. But um...we have another problem. I got separated from Ms Bertha. The Rift brought along these versions of Dialga and Palkia to help it. They can warp space and manipulate time just like the originals but to a lesser degree. Even so...I was pulled away from Ms Bertha." Sci-Twi lowered her head. "Maybe the Rift doesn't see me as worth its time."
"Don't say that." Cynthia put her hand on Twilight's shoulder. "You'll be worth its time. If you underestimate yourself then so will the Rift. You'll show the Rift what you're made of. It should know that since it's been watching most of us."
"Right! Thank you, Ms Cynthia!" She gave a beaming grin to the Sinnoh Champion. Arcanine would lead the way, bringing Sci-Twi, Alpha Pikachu and Hisuian Zorua with her as well as they left this room to find Ash. "Oh! I remember something! I should probably tel you this. Before we encountered the Rift, Ms Bertha revealed a weakness that Galaxy Master has."
"A weakness?! What would that be?" Cynthia questioned while zooming through the hallways, needing to know what this singular weakness was.
"Based on the books and the story they told, Galaxy Master will always win but noticeably, battles against Luna and Darkrai have either ended in a tie or unresolved. She told me that powerful trainers can make up for this unbeatable nature. And I mean powerful trainers. Like you. " "Oh, how sweet of you." Cynthia enjoyed the compliment. "But this is great to hear. So, powerful trainers are his weakness? Hm. That's so simple, yet it makes sense."
"Uh...it does? I was inclined to believe that he'd be unstoppable just because that's how the story made him out to be."
"But that's the thing, Twilight. In the beginning, a younger Ash made him out to be that way. But, he never went past the first issue. Neither did he finish making that issue. There are still blank pages there. Do you know what that means?"
"That means..." Then it clicked with Twilight. All it took were these few words from Cynthia to make her realize the key to this mystery. She thought back to the first issue and the other books that ended up sprouting into existence due to Galaxy Master's adventures. "The new books created his weakness!"
"That's right. His new adventures are filling in the blanks and developing his character some more. Because what's a story without development? This is the Sea Temple Crystal's response to that. He appeared unbeatable in the beginning..."
"But as new adventures were popping up, his character got new additions to make him feel more complete." Sci-Twi finished Cynthia's sentence. "Only his name and appearance were complete. And uh...a few other things."
"We're the ones who will make new pages in those books. And we'll overwrite the potential outcome. Sometimes, it's interesting for a villain to win in the story, correct?"
"W-We're the villains?!" Sci-Twi gasped as she was now labelled a villain.
"Sweet." Spike liked the sound of that surprisingly. He didn't mind it at all. It made things interesting to him.
"As it stands now, that's what we can do to elevate things. When I was a child, I remember reading a book where the villain won with overwhelming strength. But this time, we'll make sure the hero doesn't make a comeback. And if he does...let's have it be on our side."
"Gar!" Just then, Cynthia's Garchomp had returned. She was still under the Rift's control, breaking through the walls to appear before the Sinnoh Champion and the Rookie Pokemon Trainer.
"Garchomp?!" Sci-Twi gasped.
"The Rift got to her." Cynthia narrowed her eyes, standing in front of Sci-Twi to protect her. "She's been hesitating to attack me but even still, the control the Rift has on her is powerful. I don't want to harm her but..."
"Don't you have Lucario to help you?"
"Not now. My Lucario's back home with my other Pokemon. If only I could reach Lucario..." Cynthia closed her eyes before then holding out two Poke Balls. "For now, if I want to calm her down, I have to battle her. Go, Kommo-o! Togekiss!"
"Kommo-o!" There was no other choice. Garchomp was going to slow them down when trying to reach Ash. She didn't want to throw away Celestia's wishes of not hurting her own Pokemon but at this point, battling was the only way the Rift's control could leave.
"Toge!"
"Let me help please!" Sci-Twi stepped forward instead of staying back, launching her own Poke Ball. "Go, Heracross!"
"Heracross!" Alpha Heracross was here as this would be Sci-Twi's first time battling alongside him. It hadn't even been a day. It would be Alpha Pikachu, Alpha Heracross, Kommo-o and Togekiss against this one Garchomp. It was crucially necessary against this specific Garchomp even with this number gap.
West of the tower.
Exempt from all the chaos were the three Mythical Psychic-Types. Victini, Meloetta and Hoopa only ended up frolicking in a room where various Pokemon Toys could be found. It didn't take long for their enjoyment to be disrupted, prompting them to investigate all the ruckus.
"Ashkan?" Hoop searched for Ash or anyone else. "Pikan?" Right now, these three Mythicals were unaware of the conflict happening within the tower and even their surroundings. But only one of them had nothing to worry about when it came to outer space.
"Etta? Meloetta!" Meloetta gasped, shouting at her fellow Psychic-Types to stop in their tracks.
"Tini?"
"What is it?" Hoopa asked, only to receive his answer via the entity up ahead. His pupils shrunk along with Victini's as this entity ended up breaking down the doors as an entrance. A dramatic one too as even the walls were crushed.
The one responsible for this Dragonite. Galaxy Master's Dragonite appeared, blowing the smoke away with a single footstep. In its arms was Phione who had just been abducted by the Dragon Pokemon. Phione was currently unconscious as the goal was to bring him to Galaxy Master. After all, Phione had Arceus' blessing inside.
"Meloetta?!"
"Dragonite...!" But aside from Phione having Arceus' blessing, there were three other targets that were crucially important in the eyes of Dragonite.
The Victory Pokemon Victini. The power to have a massive boost of power from an endless source of energy that will always lead to victory was something the Rift wanted. Hoopa. The Mischief Pokemon. Possessing the power to summon almost anything he wanted with his rings while also boasting ludicrous power in his Unbound Form.
And then there was Meloetta, who was the odd one out. Compared to her Psychic Mythical Friends, she didn't have a power that could rival that of Infinite Energy or Endless Summoning. But, Dragonite wouldn't miss out on grabbing a Mythical. "Dragonite!" Victini was the first target that Dragonite locked onto as it approached with an intimidating stroll.
"Ooh...It wants trouble?" Hoopa grinned, unbothered by Dragonite's walk. He's already seen intimidating Pokemon before and summoned some. He would know. In his Unbound form, he's already intimidating. "Bad move!"
"Gonite!" But Dragonite could care less as it spread its wings out, moving faster while preparing a Dragon Claw for a quick and easy grab.
"Tini!" But now wasn't the time to float around. Victini and Hoopa gasped once Dragonite came in at great speeds. The first to move out of the way was Victini, who was almost snatched by an incoming Dragon Claw. Hoopa quickly dropped his cheeky smile, barely managing to fly away from Dragonite's claw.
"M-Melo!" Meloetta was the only one who got out of the way faster than the others without having a close call.
"A battle? Okay! Hoopa loves battling!" Hoopa still stayed cheery, immediately using Shadow Ball in response to Dragonite's Dragon Claw. A direct hit. Dragonite was met with a blob to the face that soon combusted in front of it with shadows galore.
But it didn't even take a second for the Dragon Pokemon to fly out of the smoke. There wasn't a pushback or anything of the like as Dragonite ascended, catching Hoopa y surprise. "Hoo-" Hoopa's words were cut off as he was then pushed against the wall by the Dragon-Flying-Type. Once slammed, Dragonite gripped his neck, already grabbing a hold of the Mischief Pokemon that easily.
Hoopa's grin faded upon being grabbed. And it was a vicious one too. This grab was the equivalent of a pebble being stuck between two boulders.
"Tini!" Seeing his friend was already in a potentially dangerous scenario considering who they were facing. In unison, Victini and Meloetta used Psychic, creating a Psychic outlined around Dragonite. Starting with a blink, Dragonite was forced off the Mischief Pokemon via a Dual Psychic Push which was definitely enough to launch it even with its size.
But not without Phione. Phione's body had been grabbed via Psychic as well. They had to ensure he was safe and away from Dragonite's shoulder. Once he was away, the two Psychic-Types let Dragonite have it.
"Dragonite!" Dragonite was sent through another door by the force of this Psychokinetic push before then going through a wall next.
"Gah..." Hoopa could now breathe, rubbing his neck promptly. "Thank you, Vikan. Melokan...Hoopa's neck stings..."
"Tini! Tini-Tini!" Victini rambled, grabbing Hoopa's disconnected hand which still connected to his body. Instead of continuing the battle, Victini and Meloetta agreed that leaving was the best option. They chose not to continue battling with Dragonite. Not when it's been blasted that far away.
"Huh?! What about Hoopa's battle!?" But of course, Hoopa enjoyed battles in all shapes and sizes. He barely got a chance to land a few good hits.
The sudden arrival of Dragonite confirmed the worries of these Mythicals. Something was certainly happening in this tower that did not spell good news. If Dragonite could already cause that much ruckus just from making an entrance, what could the rest be entailing? They had no idea yet.
"Dragonite!" Speaking of Dragonite, jump scaring the Mythical Trio, it appeared once more, bursting through the walls. The three of them were stunned that Dragonite reappeared so quickly. That Dual Psychic Push looked powerful enough to keep any Pokemon at bay for a while. But this Dragonite was a different story.
Upon making a surprising return in a short period of time, it instantly struck all three of them since they were grouped up. Each of them were hit by Dragon Claw. A triple hit in just one strike. The slash of the claw sent them each in the same direction at the same velocity.
The three Mythicals hit the back of the walls instead of flying through them. But the impact on the walls was still devastating. They bounced off the walls before then dropping to the floor.
Dragonite, with just one attack, manage to absolutely bewildering these three Mythical Pokemon. But that didn't mean it won yet. Victini was the one holding Phione close to him before getting back up. So did Meloetta and Hoopa.
"Lucky shot..." Hoopa growled upon recovering. "It's Hoopa's turn now."
"Meloetta..." Meloetta also got back up with her back aching. But this one strike spelt a potentially bad omen. And it didn't get any better with all the noise happening across the rest of the tower.
"Dra." Just then, Dragonite scoffed at them. Immediately, the three Mythicals took offence to this. Basically, Dragonite was essentially saying that they wouldn't be worth its time even though it was here to capture them. It called them weak compared to its power.
"Weak?!" Hoopa translated. Being called weak is certainly a grave offence to a Pokemon who prides himself on being powerful. And while Victini and Meloetta weren't as crazy about it, they still saw themselves as powerful Pokemon after battling alongside Ash at the Battle Carnival.
"Gonite." Dragonite felt like it was getting the short end of the stick with who it was facing. It already defeated Rarity and other Pokemon Trainers. Not even these three could gain its full interest apart from retrieving them.
"Victini...!" Victini had flames boiling around his body, irritated by Dragonite's dismissal of his strength and essentially calling him a too to be used for the Rift.
"Short end of the stick...!" Hoopa pouted, repeating what Dragonite said. "We'll show you!"
"Meloetta!" It even angered Meloetta to the point where she immediately transformed into her Pirouette Forme. But there weren't any flashy transformations.
"Victini." Victini chose to protect Phione, knowing that he would be harmed in this battle if he wasn't protected by something. Hoopa and Meloetta would be the ones to face off against Dragonite.
Victini then carried Phione away, backing up as Dragonite confidently crossed its arms in front of them both, only further showing disrespect. But even after being riled up, Meloetta knew that Dragonite's strength was not to be ignored after what she saw. If the wrong moves are made, then everything Dragonite said would be true to the core.
The struggle against the Rift continued up at the Galaxy Tower. As of now, the scales tipped in the favour of the Rift with what it's managed to amass. From the controlled body of Galaxy Master to the summoning of various Pokemon, including the Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia.
But those two weren't the only ones to worry about. There was Dragonite who was on a rampage, currently with the Mythical Psychic Trio, Garchomp who was still under the Rift's control and finally Passion, who was equally as big of a threat as them all. Speaking of Passion, she was also under the Rift's control, currently on the verge of losing it after seeing Celestia injured.
"Gardevoir!" Outraged, Gardevoir expressed this was a flare of magic coming from her body. Everyone fled the scene after this magic expanded. It didn't matter which side they were on. Passion's magic grew and grew in correlation with her vast potential and anger, making her, at this very moment, the most dangerous force.
Celestia, who tried reaching Passion, was unable to do so. Once that flare of magic shot out, the Sun Princess was forced to protect herself via a magical shield. The flare tore through parts of the tower with the ferocity of a meteor, ripping the walls to shreds. The Beheeyem tried fleeing, only to be caught by this flare.
Pinkie Pies group was nearby, potentially in the vicinity of this erupting flare. When hiding from some of the opposing Pokemon, they heard the sound of Gardevoir screaming and something tearing through the tower.
"What's that?" Pinkie Pie said while hiding in a cabinet with Mew. At the same time, the Pokemon were searching for the ponies after losing sight of them, only to then find something greater than them.
The outburst ended up reaching this spot, engulfing the opposing Rift-Controlled Pokemon. The energy reached the cabinet, carrying it away including Pinkie Pie and Mew without them knowing. Everypony else who were in hiding were unable to hide for long as the outburst found them too. But right after it went a certain distance, the outburst ended, nearly grabbing the other ponies who scattered to hide away.
Due to her outburst, an entire area of this tower had been destroyed, leaving only smoke and rubble behind. The Beheeyem who were responsible for igniting Gardevoir's outburst were all defeated. Their bodies dissipated, turning into cosmic stardust that flew off.
"Ugh..." Pushing away the rubble was Princess Celestia. She previously tried calming Passion down, only to be caught in the destruction. "Passion."
"Gardevoir...!" As for Passion, she was currently stuck in one spot. After defeating the Beheeyem, the Embrace Pokemon started breathing in and out deeply, constantly having this burning aura of magic to represent her anger. But after letting it all out and defeating those that harmed Celestia, she just stood there, perplexed.
She glanced over at Celestia before then getting on her knees. Quickly, Celestia rushed to Passion's side despite knowing she was still under the Rift's control. Using all of that power in that outburst exhausted her to the point where even the controlling energy of the Rift wasn't enough to make her attack Celestia.
"It's okay, Passion." Celestia comforted Gardevoir right after the raging energy faded away. Gardevoir closed her eyes, tearing up from what she had done. Despite being outraged that Celestia was harmed, she was just as upset with herself since she also put Celestia in danger by attacking everything.
In the end, Passion felt as guilty as the Beheeyem but Celestia was there to make sure that was not the case. Celestia looked to see that the energy from the Rift wasn't fizzling out at all. But now that Passion was finally stationary and not constantly moving, the Ruler of Equestria could do something about this.
"Hold still, please." Celestia took the time to use her magic on these cracks. Apart from Aura, Celestia's level of magic was able to interact with this cosmic power. A golden veil wrapped around the cracks, coating them with the warmth of the Sun.
However, these cracks fought back. The Rift Energies within began wrestling with Celestia's magic, refusing to give up Passion as a puppet. These energies were smart enough to know how powerful and useful Celestia's Gardevoir was, so giving her up would be a waste.
The two energeis started clashing against each other, harming Passion in the process. It felt like a wound was being tampered with multiple times. The wound was trying to be healed via Celestia's magic while the source of the wound was making it worse. This is what it felt like to Passion.
"What's with these cracks?!" Celestia gasped, putting more of her magic into this struggle to fend off the Rift Energies. Passion grabbed Celestia's arm, but to not harm her. Instead, she was trying to ease the pain by grabbing ahold of someone she loves dearly.
"Hang in there, Passion! Wrestling with these is challenging!" Celestia narrowed her eyes, witnessing how the Rift Energies, in usual Rift Fashion, would haphazardly move around in a frantic manner, making them hard to read. But Celestia wasn't about to let these troublesome energies make her partner suffer any longer.
For something so small, it was exceptionally troublesome. Forced to use more of her strength, Celestia blew away the last of the energies with one big attempt that made Passion grimace. But it was worth it as the Rift Cracks around her body were ripped apart, dissipating in the presence of Celestia's magic.
"Gardevoir..." But even with the cracks diminishing, Gardevoir was still utterly burnt out. With deep concentration, Celestia healed what was harming her partner with no one else to interrupt her. Just the silence of space.
"Voir..." After that, Passion closed her eyes, unable to stand back up. She then started whimpering and crying, laying her head on Celestia's hooves to try and wipe those tears away. While her outburst was brief, it was still effective.
"It's alright, Passion. You didn't mean it." Celestia patted her on the back. "I'm alright now."
"Garde..."
"Luna's nowhere to be found. We were already separated in the confusion." Celestia noticed that her younger sister was nowhere in sight. Everyone's battles had spread out, entering elsewhere. "Come on. Let's try and find Cynthia and Arcanine next. You should rest and avoid any battles, alright? Let Kommo-o handle it."
For now, Gardevoir was out of commission in her state. It would be Celestia's Totem Kommo-o who would handle everything else. Aside from Arcanine who was with Cynthia, Kommo-o was the only Pokemon she had to help out.
"Ko!" Speaking of Kommo-o, Cynthia's own Kommo-o was facing off against her Garchomp who had yet to be freed from the control of the Rift.
Kommo-o grabbed Garchomp's arms when she went in for a Dragon Claw, restraining her. It wasn't just Kommo-o holding her back. Alpha Heracross did the same from behind. "H-Hera!"
"Garchomp!" But with superior strength, Garchomp pushed them all off. She exerted all her strength into her arms, pushing Kommo-o and Heracross and sending them flying.
"Togekiss! Air Slash!" Cynthia commanded her Togekiss.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Following up with that was Sci-Twi and her Alpha Piachu as it was many Pokemon against one Pokemon.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu moved in first, using Quick Attack to tackle Garchomp in the chest. Joining him was Arcanine with Extreme Speed as they both moved at equal paces. But a second later, they were then knocked away by a vicious Dragon Claw in retaliation. "Pika!"
"A-Arcanine!"
"Toge!" Then there was Togekiss' Air Slash, raining down on the Mach Pokemon repeatedly. Garchomp growled at this as Togekiss was hoping to get a flinch from this Air Slash. But all it ended u getting in return was Stone Edge which was shot all around from the Mach Pokemon's body. "T-Toge!" Togekiss received some of these hyper-fast stones, knocking the Jubilee Pokemon out of the sky.
"Gar!" So far, Garchomp took control of this battle as trying to free her from the Rift's control was only getting harder. After knocking Togekiss down, Garchomp advanced with Dragon Claw, targeting Sci-Twi next.
"Intercept with Dragon Claw!"
"Ko!" Standing in her way was Kommo-o, clashing directly with its fellow Dragon-Type with its own Dragon Claw, resulting in another fierce physical confrontation.
"Heracross! Megahorn!" Heracross joined in, using Megahorn with rapid swings. Garchomp could handle two of them at the same time, engaging in a fearsome physical struggle. Horns and claws were clashing against each other repeatedly with Heracross being pushed back the most. Even as an Alpha Pokemon, the strength of Cynthia's Garchomp was difficult to handle.
Only Kommo-o could handle it as it stood its ground, holding both of Garchomp's claws once it found an opening. But instead of hitting back, Kommo-o kept Garchomp there. "Gar!"
"This is our chance! Now, Twilight! Use your Rapidash! I'll use my Spiritomb!"
"Rapidash? Oh, right!" Sci-Twi quickly knew what Cynthia was suggesting. Rapidash's Hypnosis came to mind as the Poke Ball of the Fire Horse Poke Ball was soon launched. Putting Garchomp to sleep was the best option. Two Pokemon could do so. Alpha Rapidash and Cynthia's Spiritomb as they were both sent out.
"Rapidash!"
"Spiritomb!"
"K-K-Kommo-o!" Kommo-o was struggling to keep Garchomp at bay as the Ground-Dragon-Type was starting to overpower the Dragon-Fighting-Type.
"Heracross!" Heracross was still in this, grabbing Garchomp once more. This time, he would make sure it wouldn't end in failure. Togekiss got back up, flying around Garchomp to do the same.
"Togekiss!" Her wings were wrapped around Garchomp's head and her eyes too, blocking her vision. But not for long. That vision was needed for what was coming her way.
"Hypnosis!" In unison, Rapidash and Spiritomb used Hypnosis together, sending a dual spiral of hypnotic waves. Right then and there, Togekiss removed its wings, giving Garchomp her vision back.
"Gar?" The hypnotic waves instantly caught her attention. They entranced the Mach Pokemon, keeping her steady while pulling her in. This is just what they needed to keep Garchomp stable.
However, that's when the cracks responded to this. Much like Gardevoir, they wouldn't give up a strong vessel. However, unlike Gardevoir, Garchomp wasn't suffering from an outburst, making her healthier. And thanks to this, the output of Rift Energy was greater. A burst of Rift Energy flew out of Garchomp which had then pushed back the hypnotic waves while also forcing all three Pokemon off her.
"Togekiss!" Togekiss and everyone were forced away in different directions thanks to this outburst of Rift Energy that came from the cracks. Sci-Twi was hit by this too before being caught by Cynthia, saving her from taking a hard fall.
"It... wasn't enough?" Sci-Twi groaned after being caught by Cynthia.
"Not quite. Look." Cynthia said otherwise. After the outburst ended, the cracks around Garchomp started pulsating. In response, this made Garchomp grimace. It truly was just like a wound. "Those cracks may let out power and control Garchomp, but they're also a detriment. Either it's from Garchomp's hesitation or a result of power output. So...the best thing to do is..."
"Force more of it out? That could work!" Sci-Twi finished Cynthia's sentence. To them, the key to winning this was to force Garchomp to work more to the point where the Rift Cracks would have to get involved and expend her stamina. At least, that was the plan.
"All together now!" Cynthia raised her arm, commanding all of her Pokemon to gather around Garchomp just for this plan to succeed. Togekiss, Rapidash, Pikachu and everyone rushed in. Minus Spiritomb. It was staying back as it was too slow to rush in. But it had something that could work from afar aside from Hypnosis.
"Gar!"
"Spiritomb!" Spiritomb quickly intercepted Garchomp's attack by using Sucker Punch. It stretched its shadowy body at a great distance, bashing the Mach Pokemon which caused a stagger. That stagger was enough to give the others all the time they needed.
Kommo-o struck first with Dragon Claw, dealing the first super-effective blow. This was then followed by Heracross slashing past Garchomp, continuing the stagger and not letting the Mach Pokemon rest at all. Togekiss would add to that by using Air Slash.
These slashes came in fast and finally, they managed to flinch Garchomp. Garchomp didn't get a chance to attack at all as this was then followed up by Alpha Pikachu using Quick Attack. And finally, there was Alpha Rapidash with Dragon Pulse, shooting out a super-effective move.
"G-Gar...!" Sensing that Garchomp was being pushed back, got involved once more. This time, they ended up shooting frantic waves of cosmic energy out of Garchomp's body to try and protect hey. These waves acted like tendrils, harming Garchomp once they emerged but became a new way to attack.
"Arcanine!" Arcanine would burn these tendrils away with the ferocity of Flamethrower, breathing out these scorching flames. This kept the tendrils occupied, allowing Spiritomb to be as free as it can be.
"Perfect! Hypnosis, Spiritomb!" Once everyone was dealing with the tendrils and Garchomp was being drained, this gave Cynthia the chance to capitalize.
The tendrils were being held back by mostly Kommo-o and Heracross to even reach Spiritomb. Hypnosis was unleashed, passing through all the tendrils and Pokemon just to reach Garchomp. Once they passed through, they captivated Garchomp's eyes once more.
The tendrils retracted just to try and defend Garchomp, but they were immediately held by the teeth of Rapidash and the arms of Heracross and Kommo-o combined. This allowed for Hypnosis to finally hit its mark. The cracks got desperate, expending all the energy they could to prevent the effect from fully going through. This is just what Cynthia wanted.
Garchomp's stamina correlated with the Rift Cracks, putting her in a flurry of pain. But it was worth the risk as the cracks tried pushing Hypnosis away once more.
"Outrage!"
"Ko!" But along came Kommo-o, smashing its claws into the cracks to keep the energy on edge. The Rift Energy went wild in response to this, fearing that Garchomp might truly fall from this.
So, instead of taking the loss, it did something else. The energy retreated. Right before Garchomp was put to sleep. The cracks slithered away in fear of losing Garchomp, forming into a Rift Wisp that flew out of the Mach Pokemon's body.
"Gar..." Garchomp was then put to sleep right afterwards. And this Rift Wisp was now without someone to control.
"Sorry about that, Garchomp." Cynthia went up to her sleeping partner, quickly returning her to let her rest. But it wasn't over yet.
The Rift Wisp wanted someone else. Someone new to control. It already lost Garchomp so now another powerful Pokemon was needed. And for this, it would choose Kommo-o, flying right at it.
"Ko?!"
"Heracross!" Heracross quickly pulled Kommo-o out of the way, saving it from being captured by this devious wisp. Even without a body, this thing was fierce.
"It's still active?!" Sci-Twi gasped.
"It wants someone else to take control of..." Cynthia added, eyeing down the wisp. "But it's not getting anyone else. Togekiss! Air Slash!"
"Togekiss!" To put an end to this wisp, Air Slash was used by Togekiss. However, this wisp was quick as it was fierce. It zigzagged past the Air Slashes, evading them thanks to its small appearance.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuu!"Then there was Pikachu, using something faster than Air Slash. By using Thunderbolt, 100,000 volts crashed in, intercepting the wisp after it avoided all those Air Slashes. Those volts moved fast enough to tag it, shocking the wisp of Rift Energy. Alas, with such a small body, it was obviously fragile.
Upon being struck, the Rift Wisp dropped to the floor, greatly weakened by Alpha Pikachu's attack. Those rapid movements ceased and so did any antics from this wisp. It dissipated, vanishing from thin air without even becoming stardust. That was definitely another part of the Rift that had been wiped out.
"Whew...Finally." Sci-Twi sat down, exhausted. "That went well. I think. How many times have I run out of breath now?"
"Good work everyone," Cynthia said to them all. "But, I'm afraid we can't rest yet. Not until this is over."
"I was afraid you were going to say that." She sighed, much to her dismay, the scuffle wasn't over. There was more to do and more to achieve, especially considering they were all in space. "Is there any way we can at least leave this tower?"
"As it stands now, no. There could be another wisp we have to deal with. But if we want to resolve this, we need to find Ash." Cynthia helped Sci-Twi up. "If we can find him, the Rift will have something to worry about. And of course, leaving this place before we potentially suffer in space."
"Great...Love to hear it." She pouted. "Please tell me we're close to Ash anyway."
"We'll see. We only have Arcanine to count on. And the trail of destruction too. We don't have anywhere else to heal Garchomp or the others right now, so let's choose our battles carefully, Twilight. If there's conflict, let's engage in a minimal amount of it. Don't overwork your Pokemon."
"Right. Got it. But...I'm still worried about Bertha. Will she be alright?"
"In all of this mess, maybe." Cynthia didn't have a positive answer for this. "But, we'll have to wait and see. Come along. There's no time to waste."
Outer space.
Waiting and waiting for anyone to notice her was none other than Applejack. Stuck in space with her sister and partner, she looked over at the tower, watching various lights flash out of it. All this conflict and Applejack was stuck here thanks to the Rift.
She slumped on the barrier, waiting patiently for something to happen while also hoping for the safety of her friends. No one could hear her in this orb anyway, especially not in space.
"After this...Might check up on James. He ain't so bad after all." Applejack said to herself with a dismayed expression. "Plus, he's good friends with Apple Bloom. Yeah. Letting him hang around ain't a bad idea."
This was starting to drive Applejack a bit mad. The absolute dead silence and the small space that she was in were utterly painful. She curled in the orb, feeling so weak at the moment with nothing to do. After being here for so long, even her hooves were becoming weak to lift up. She wanted it to end. She wanted to reach her partner and sister.
"This is so annoying! Why am I so weak right now?" Applejack shouted out of pure frustration, pulling her mane. "I can make it out of this mess, I know I can. So why am I still here?" It frustrated her even more. No one was there to respond to her. This tight space was getting to the earth pony so much that she blurted out rants.
"Sceptile." The only one there to watch her was Sceptile. Apple Bloom was still unconscious.
"I feel so lonely..." She continued before then lying on her back, looking up at the stars in the cosmos. "All this wouldn't be half as bad if I just had somepony to talk to...maybe somepony to hold me. Why hasn't anypony found us yet? Are they even looking?"
At this point, it was getting harder to even stay inside of this orb. Applejack felt like she was in one room with nothing else to it. She could only gather strength back at this case or even go to sleep. Sleeping in space didn't sound like a bad idea at the moment. If anything, it sounded somewhat peaceful to her.
But this peace would be broken once something showed up in space. Applejack sat up with her ears twitching. There was a sound coming through space. Something that rarely happens unless it was from a cosmic force. But this was not a cosmic force.
This was a ship. The Rocketship. Team Rocket's Stolen Rocketship arrived in space, piloted by Pokemon Ranger Jack Walker AKA Jackie. This ship was tailor-made to go into space after all, so it didn't take too long for it to show up.
"A ship...? James!" Applejack's smile returned to her face after witnessing the arrival of this ship. She expected James to be inside as well as the other Team Rocket duo. But instead, it was a whole other group. Applejack started waving, hoping they would recognize her. The orb was even vibrant enough to not be a star within the cosmic skies.
"There it is. That's the structure." Jackie said, laying his eyes on the tower. "So, it looks to be a tower. That's where we'll find them all.
"Was it always there?" A Changeling said. "What else is up there in space?"
"Princess Luna has a Moon Garden on the Moon. So there is a lot to see in space." A Canterlot Guard quickly said before spotting the three orbs before anyone else. "Like uh...those three things!" When facing the three orbs, they spotted someone inside of them.
An orange figure, aka Applejack, was waving rapidly, jumping around like a Madmare to grab their attention, hoping they saw her. They did. With all those movements, how could they not? They couldn't hear her but they could definitely see her. Jackie quickly equipped some glasses before then spotting the individuals inside the orbs. Applejack, Sceptile and Apple Bloom.
"Oh! The tower's gonna have to wait!" Jackie prioritized the safety of these three first, directing the ship toward the orbs. His space gear was already on as well as everypony and changeling who equipped the armour left behind by the Empress' forces. Each were all ready for space, including Chrysalis who received armour big enough to fit her.
Of course, she had to adjust the size of the armour to her own stature to make it work.
Applejack felt relieved. Someone did show up after all. She feared no one would know her current position since the tower lacked any windows, but outside sources say otherwise.
Now, Applejack could be at ease. But from all that panicking and claustrophobia she received, once there was a moment of peace, she then collapsed inside of the orb, falling unconscious from all the energy exertion, which was a common theme happening inside the tower and even out here. But even when unconscious, she could rest easy, knowing that there were those who would show up to help from the outside as the journey continues.
"Applejack...Hey, Applejack. Wake up." Calling Applejack's name was the voice of someone friendly and familiar to these earth pony ears. In this case, Pokemon Ranger Jackie called her name. He was the one who came to her rescue after finding her unconscious. She wasn't unconscious earlier but being trapped within that orb led to her claustrophobia kicking in.
"Oh..." All that slapping led to her being fully awake. Groaning and twitching as her body finally recovered after gaining some stationary rest. Although, for a while, she was stationary before she passed out.
"Ah, thank goodness. You looked so active earlier and then all of a sudden, you passed out when we got there."
"Jackie?" The earth pony sat up, finding herself on a bed that could be found in this ship among other leisurely additions.
"That's me. How are you doing? Any better than you were a minute before?"
"Yeah...I-" Before she could describe how she felt, two individuals that were more important to her came to mind. "Apple Bloom?! Sceptile?!"
"Totally fine. See?" But Jackie staved her fears away, pointing to their current location. Much like Applejack, they were rescued, appearing inside those Rift Orbs even t this moment. The orbs were placed on these beds despite the fact that they wouldn't get the chance to feel comfortable in them. These beds were certainly too big to be pony-shaped, indicating that Team Rocket added these, making it feel comfortable to them rather than just keeping it as a warship.
"Getting you inside was pretty easy. But...You were trapped inside of a Rift Orb as a prison. And you still are." It was then revealed that Applejack was still inside the Rift Orb just like Apple Bloom and Sceptile, trapped and unable to break free. "I was only able to grab it thanks to these! Rift-Handling Gloves."
"Rift-Handling Gloves?" Applejack repeated as Jackie revealed specialized gloves on his hands. These gloves had a unique texture that looked soft and silky at the same time.
"That's right. Ever since we started working with Princess Celestia and Equestria, we put a big emphasis on developing objects that are meant to handle anything Rift related. We don't want to receive any strange effects when touching that kind of energy, so we made these gloves just for that. Makes us immune to them. Plus, they're comfortable to wear. But, too much Rift Energy will definitely mess with them if we're not careful."
"Oooh..." Applejack gawked. This information was even new to the Canterlot Guards and Changelings.
"Unfortunately, though we managed to grab you and bring you aboard, we can't exactly free you," Chrysalis added as she stood in the corner. "These orbs are far beyond my power. I wish I could interact with Rift Energy in some way..."
"On the plus side, at least you're okay. Mind telling us what's going on since you're up here." Jackie requested.
"Yeah...but first I gotta get out of this thing. It's making me pretty uncomfortable. And I know just who to bring out." Now that she was inside the ship, she didn't have to worry about the vacuum of space. Only her Delta Riolu could help free her but this time without worrying about suffocating when the orb vanishes.
"Riolu!" Upon arriving, Riolu took up some space within the orb with his face smashing next to Applejack's face. The orb was far too big for both of them. "R-Rio...!"
"Sorry about that, Riolu..." She replied with a mushy voice while being pressed on the orb. "But do ya think you can get rid of this?"
"Lu..." Riolu could even be in this compromising position. Aura didn't have a specific recommendation of how one should pull it off. If someone has Aura, they can easily emanate in any position. Even when being pressed against the orb, Delta Riolu let the Aura flow, resonating with Applejack's dormant Aura.
"But...there's one issue," Jackie added whilst the orb was being dissolved. "There's this massive wall of Rift Energy around that tower. Getting past that is gonna be tricky with how much of it there is."
"None of us can do anything about it right now," said Chrysalis. "We came here to help everyone in that tower, but if we can't get in, then what's the point? Could you do it, Applejack?"
"Ah...I don't know if Riolu's got enough for that." Applejack replied before finally being freed from the Rift Orb. "Might end up passing out again. I ain't strong enough yet to stop that much. Ain't you got something that can work, Jackie?"
"Well, there's..." Jackie pulled into his bag, revealing a box that took up all the space in his bag. When plopping it down on the bed, he opened the case, revealing the objects inside. Each of these objects had a consistent theme as revealed by the flurry of words Jackie threw at everyone.
"Why's there a Rift Spoon and Fork?" A Changeling asked, cutting Jackie off. Everything else made sense except for those two utensils.
"It's to make certain food bearable. Some people can't be bothered to catch Alakazam or even find one at all in their region." Jackie answered before continuing. "Rift Zenith-Code. That one's relatively new. And finally, a Rift Shrieker. That's all we have at our disposal right now."
"You've got all these amazing items for the Rift?!" Applejack was flabbergasted by what she was witnessing. All these items are made for specific things and are special in their own way.
"Yep. Most of them were actually Princess Celestia's ideas. When we agreed to make these items to handle the Rift, she issued that each of them should be based on everything possible in the world. Both worlds. That way, we can react properly to the unpredictable nature of Rift Energy. Back at the Ranger Union, we're still making new Rift objects to this day."
"And you're saying none of them can help us?" Chrysalis used her magic to lift the Rift Radar. The radar was already active, immediately showing signs. On that radar, blue and purple dots were showing up rapidly in abundant numbers, piquing Chrysalis' interest.
"None. That radar can only tell us where massive signs of Rift Energy can be found. But I'm pretty sure we don't need the radar now with what's in front of us. A Rift Veil isn't something we're that equipped to counter yet. First time seeing one too."
"Well, how do we get in then?" A Canterlot Guard grumbled, fearing that they might not reach Princess Celestia in time with that massive veil. It covered the entire tower with chunks of Rift Energy that would take a lot of effort just to dissolve. Even Applejack knew that she wouldn't be able to get rid of that much lest she perishes to Delayed Aura Ataxia.
"Have no fear. That's why we're stopping by Pegalysium, right?" Jackie brought some hope into this. "Queen Chrysalis. You said King Paramount and Queen Luminary would be waiting there."
"Mhm. Bring them here at once. We can breathe in space with this armour but we can't get inside. If there's a chance Pegalysium has something to offer, we'll take it. Onward to Pegalysium, Ranger." Chrysalis ordered.
"Gotcha." Jackie rushed back to the helm of the ship.
"But my friends..." Applejack lowered her head.
"If you want them to be safe, wait for us to find a way to break that veil," Chrysalis responded. "Besides, I doubt they'll fall there. Your friends are too dependable, aren't they?"
"Mmm...Yeah. They are." That was one thing Applejack couldn't deny. Even if she couldn't reach them, she could count on her friends to do their best no matter what. But right now, it was off to Pegalysium.
Galaxy Tower.
Over at the Galaxy Tower, Galaxy Master's Dragonite was facing off against the Mythical Trio of Victini, Meloetta and Hoopa. But Victini would stay out of it, opting to take care of Phione who was previously in Dragonite's clutches.
Victini put his faith in his mythical friends while searching for a safe place to hide Phione. As he wandered across the hallway, Victini soon found out about the trail of destruction. This was a clear sign that there would be minimal safe locations in this tower but it wouldn't stop him from finding any.
"Meloetta!" Meloetta, in her Pirouette Forme, went ahead Hoopa, approaching the Dragon-Flying-Type. Despite knowing that she was vulnerable to Dragonite in this form after Dragonite dismissed them as being weak, it stirred up some anger in even the gentle Meloetta, allowing her to lash out, starting with Close Combat.
Meloetta came charging in with a swift and forward kick to Dragonite's face. Dragonite wasn't expecting much until that kick came through, managing to push its body weight and its head to the side. Just like that, Dragonite saw that Meloetta had something to offer. After being kicked in the head, Dragonite replied via Dragon Claw, slashing the Melody Pokemon in retaliation. "Dragonite!"
"Meloetta!"
"Go...!" Right after it slashed her away, Dragonite wasted no time in getting destructive. It opened its mouth to reveal Hyper Beam, seeking further destruction in the hallways. It worked well considering how large Hyper Beam was compared to the hallways. At least, Dragonite's Hyper Beam. The beam came roaring out, covering up most of the hallway and tearing the walls apart.
Meloetta was a prime target for this but not Hoopa thanks to his immunity. Either way, while in the midst of being knocked back, the Hyper Beam caught up instantly, engulfing the Normal-Fighting-Type. Hoopa closed his eyes and ears from the ferocity of this explosion which wouldn't even harm him in any way.
"M-Melo!" But it certainly harmed Meloetta as she bounced on the floor before making a sliding recovery. Seeing that Meloetta would be an obstacle, Dragonite took flight, taking it more seriously now. The Dragon-Flying-Type came zooming in with its favourite move, Dragon Claw once again.
"Hoopa's got this!" Along came Hoopa, moving through the smoke and stepping in. Against Dragonite, he figured that such a big target deserves to receive something big. Two Shadow Balls were smashed together to make a bigger Shadow Ball before being launched by the Mischief Pokemon.
"Dra!" Dragonite slashed the Shadow Ball, attempting to cut it apart. With this brute strength, the Dragon Pokemon succeeded, creating a perfect three-lined slash that combusted the blob of shadows. But right as it did so, Meloetta already had Dazzling Gleam available. "Dragonite?!"
"Melo!" A super-effective attack was unleashed in the form of one large rainbow beam to engulf this large target. Meloetta and Hoopa shared the same idea of having something big for Dragonite. However, despite how powerful it was, it didn't take long for Dragonite to simply fly out of the way, evading Dazzling Gleam. "Etta?!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite gradually saw these two as trouble. Underestimating them was a mistake on its part, allowing its ferocity to grow some more as it continued approaching the Mythical Duo.
"Oh!" Hoopa's eyes bulged out before quickly turning around. He wasn't fleeing, but rather running from Dragonite's incoming attack. So did Meloetta but she did so by continuously using Dazzling Gleam even while moving. This time, it appeared with those signature rainbow rays that came in great numbers, enough to keep Dragonite busy.
At least, for a while. Dragonite then revealed its other move. Fire Punch. It started smashing away at the rainbow rays with searing flames while also flying around them with its superior flight speed. This elusive action made Meloetta a bit intimidated as Dragonite was getting closer, easily closing the gap between them.
Just as Dragonite managed to break through the rest of the ways, it ended up reaching its arm to try and grab Meloetta's leg. Which it succeeded in doing while keeping the flames out. "Dragonite!"
"M-Meloetta!" Meloetta gasped once she was grabbed after such an easy Gap Closer. The flames were already harming her leg from how exceedingly hot they were. Right after it got a hold of the Melody Pokemon, Dragonite was ready to slam her to the ground, only for Hoopa to intervene. He intervened in the best way possible, with his Hyperspace Hole.
By using his rings, Hoopa ended up transporting some of the rainbow rays that failed to come into contact with Dragonite for himself. Since Meloetta couldn't successfully damage Dragonite with them, Hoopa would change that.
The rainbow rays flew out of these Hyperspce Holes, bombarding Dragonite's back the second it was about to slam Meloetta. Hoopa made a dashing quick save, sending the super-effective hits to the Dragon-Flying-Type and allowing Meloetta to break free. Dragonite was forced to the floor before being surrounded by a misty pinky smoke.
"Is Melokan okay?" Hoopa asked as Meloetta held her leg which had smoke coming out of it. Luckily, there wasn't a burn mark at all.
"Meloetta."
"Dragonite!" But a second later, Dragonite ascended from the pink smoke, not even staying down for a bit after receiving those Dazzling Gleams.
"This one is strong!" Hoopa cried out, stunned by Dragonite's absurd tenacity. "Hoopa needs to get creative for this!"
"Meloetta!" But Meloetta wouldn't need to be creative. All she needed was her own strength as the second Dragonite came dashing down with Fire Punch, Meloetta met Dragonite's punch with an upwards Close Combat kick. Hoopa flew back, gravitating his rings to him before thinking of something else to pull out. Something had to overcome this Dragonite.
Hoopa just had to find it as Meloetta engaged in an up-close exchange with Dragonite. Her beautiful and stylish attacks mimicked that of a dance but even the beauty of it wasn't enough to beat out Dragonite. Dragonite's speed boasted great efficiency as it was enough to even be on par with Meloetta, who was naturally fast thanks to her movements in such a small body.
Meloetta wasn't one to let a bigger figure overtake her. And since she battled alongside Ash back in the Battle Carnival, she's already improved as a battler despite not being too into it. She kept going, showing more signs of tenacity, albeit relaxed considering how gentle she usually is.
Their exchange involved Meloetta landing on Dragonite's arm mid-swing, kicking the Dragon Pokemon in the face while she had the chance, only for Dragonite to slap her away in retaliation. The two of them had a fierce scuffle indeed, keeping their exchanges up close and personal.
Hoopa used Hyperspace Hole once more, this time, sending it over Dragonite's head. Out of it came a snowstorm. If there was one thing various Dragons couldn't stand it was the cold. And a snowstorm looked to be the best option. Dragonite paused its exchange with Meloetta before looking up to see the storm of snow come crashing down.
Meloetta, being a bit petty, decided to leave Dragonite with an extra kick to the chin once its attention was elsewhere. After kicking that singular kick in, Meloetta flew back, lest she was attacked by the snowstorm as well.
"D-Dra!" Dragonite cried out after being engulfed by the snowstorm. This entire pile of snow filled up a majority of the hallway, drowning the Dragon Pokemon. Meloetta and Hoopa had the benefit of being able to float as they kept high up enough to be away from the snow. Dragonite's arm was the last thing seen before being overtaken by the white element.
"Melo...?"
"Haha! Hoopa did it flawlessly!" Hoopa pulled up a peace sign before chucking with glory. Indeed, he took no damage. At least, that's what he'd like to believe even though earlier, Dragonite got the jump on his friends with a Dragon Claw. But aside from that, he managed to keep his distance and had the most hits thanks to his rings. "How was that Melokan?"
"Meloetta." Meloetta approved. Though she was the one getting the most involved with Dragonite, battling with it in close-quarters combat, if it wasn't for Hoopa, it could've gone the other way. She then returned to her Aria Forme, before holding her head. During that physical exchange, each of Dragonite's hits truly stung to the point where she needed to take it slow for a bit.
"Vikan went that way." Hoopa showed the direction of where Victini rushed to. It felt like this battle was done with since there was silence within the snow and no response from Dragonite. Finding their friend and the rest of their friends was the next priority. They already took out their pettiness on Dragonite after it called them weak.
But the moment they turned their backs to enter the next room, not even the snowstorm was enough. Bursting out of the snow with an imposing figure was Dragonite. Even its weakness to the cold didn't stop it but it was visibly enraged by this. Two eyes with blue and purple energies that resembled the Rift flared out viciously. The cosmic heat of the Rift appeared around its body, melting away the snow in seconds with the heat of a star.
"Melo?!" Meloetta and Hoopa already had their backs turned. The second they swilled their heads, Dragonite grabbed them both, finally having them right where it wanted them. "M-Melo!"
"Ow!" Letting their guard down, believing they had won was their biggest mistake so far. They wouldn't be reaching Victini and Phione at all.
"Dragonite...!" Dragonite growled, tightly gripping these two Psychic-Types with pure aggression and a visible vein on its head. "G-Gonite!" But, despite Dragonite getting up, it was clear that the previous attacks from before, especially the snowstorm, did a number on it. Visible scratches and damage could be seen on this seemingly unstoppable force. It could be stopped but not for long.
As for the Rift Energy surrounding its body, much like the cracks that were around Gardevoir and Garchomp, the sentient energy reacted appropriately, using its power to form something just to keep these two Mythicals restrained. Rift Chains were formed from Dragonite's body. Being that it was controlled by the Rift, it had access to something from that pool of cosmic power.
Meloetta and Hoopa found themselves being entangled and wrapped around by these cosmic chains that struck the walls, pinning them with pure power and force. Dragonite flew back as the chains flew out of its body, even its eyes.
After the chains fully restrained them both, the colours disappeared, showing that Dragonite already used the power of the Rift just for that one instance. It gave Dragonite the advantage. But there was more.
These chains weren't just there to restrain them. Dragonite wanted to make sure that they were down and out, making them easier to carry. The Rift Chains began glowing, making a cosmic sound that was akin to constant beeping. It sounded like a countdown was going off as the energy around the chains was pulsating gently at first but as the sound continued, it started getting aggressive and wasn't stopping at all.
"Dragonite," Dragonite smirked as these chains were beneficial to what would come next. But it wouldn't just stand around and let the chains do everything for it. It wanted to make sure these two were knocked out faster. With Dragon Claw being utilized, it would do just that while they were stuck like this.
"M-Melo! Meloetta!" Meloetta groaned, writhing and wriggling in these chains. These chins were too layered and too tight for someone of her body size to break through. Hoopa was in the same ballpark. He had a bigger form but unleashing it now was an issue.
"D-Don't worry, Melokan!" But, there was one advantage Hoopa had that Meloetta didn't. The moment Dragnite swung at Hoopa, seeing him as the biggest threat, Hoopa used his Ghost-like properties, phasing through the attack and even the chains. With a cheeky giggle, he spun in the air, freeing himself. Hoopa was never in any serious trouble at all.
"Dragonite?"
"If Hoopa beats this one, those chains will vanish, right?" Hoopa theorized in the best way he could. Because right now those massive chains were only increasing in pulses. That was certainly not a good sign. Hoopa could only think of one possible result with these chains.
They could explode.
Not wanting to take any chances, Hoopa tied the possible disappearance of the chains to Dragonite's defeat. If he could defeat such a powerful Pokemon who had already taken so much punishment. But, even the hasty Hoopa knew when to think rationally when needed.
Those chains could take action at any time. What if Hoopa couldn't defeat Dragonite in time? Would he be too late to save Meloetta? "But...can Hoopa do it in time?"
Hoopa had to think, which wasn't something he was too keen on. He could either try and defeat Dragonite as fast as he could or do something about these massive chains.
"Melo! Meloetta!" Meloetta had an answer for him. She vouched for Hoopa to just try whatever he could, even with the sound of these chains going off.
"Melokan?" Hoopa was stunned to hear Meloetta's answer. He figured she would choose the option of saving her first. But Meloetta would be fine with either, so as long as it helps stop whatever was going on with these chains. "Okay...Hoopa knows the best way to do it."
Hoopa had one idea in mind. The quickest way to get rid of Dragonite and potentially the chains. In his current state, he might not be enough for this mighty Dragon. But his other form was another story.
"But Hoopa might get mad again..." Even so, Hoopa still feared that something could trigger Hoopa Unbound to go berserk. However, Ash's words rung deep in Hoopa's memories. Ash already talked to him about this. Hoopa quickly dismissed his fears before deciding to embrace what he possesses. "Oh well! If something goes wrong, forgive me Ashkan!"
Right then and there, Hoopa transformed.
He escaped his Confined Form as an outcry of shadows and darkness flew out as if they were a geyser. His shadows then grew rapidly, forcing Dragonite back from the sheer expansion of them. Hoopa's voice deepened while entering his Unbound Form as the rest of his body altered to match a bigger and burlier Hoopa.
His true power was once again unleashed. This time of his own controlled volition. Hoopa Unbound was here once again, causing Dragonite to stare with widened eyes. Dragonite could see that its opponents were greater than expected. Especially Hoopa, who was the biggest threat so far.
"HOOPA!"
"Dragonite." But despite this amazing transformation, Dragonite wasn't bothered at all. In fact, a smile graced its face as the sound of the chains ramped up all of a sudden.
"M-Melo?!" Meloetta took notice as the lights from the chains were growing in vibrancy. The pulses were reaching the zenith of aggressiveness, grabbing Hoopa's attention.
"Huh?" Just like that, Hoopa drew his attention back to Meloetta. The sound of the chains was now even more nerve-wracking at this point. Meloetta, once again, tried breaking free, but that was just pointless at this point. But this struggle showed desperation. She feared what was coming next.
Hoopa, despite turning into his Unbound Form, did not go for Dragonite directly. Instead, Hoopa went for Meloetta once the pulses were at an all-time high. He chose his friend first, quickly rushing to Meloetta's size. Right as he did so, the chains did exactly what Meloetta and Hoopa feared they would do.
Combust.
A devastating paroxysm emerged from the chains as all of that was a countdown to a large explosion. Hoopa wrapped his arms around Meloetta and the chains to protect her. He even used Protect to make sure that it would be guaranteed protection. The ferocity of the Cosmic Explosion swallowed up the rest of the already-damaged hallway. The walls were destroyed, revealing the other rooms from the sides and even above and below.
Dragonite watched as the cosmic explosion went off, unphased by it. They didn't even reach the Dragon Pokemon at all despite how massive they were. Every door nearby had been destroyed, leaving many entrances open now. The cosmic smoke began clearing and alas, Hoopa's protection didn't work. Partially.
Meloetta blinked as her body was still intact and unharmed from the explosion. That protection from Hoopa's large body seemed to work out fine. But the same couldn't be said for Hoopa. "M-Meloetta?!"
Hoopa, even in his Unbound Form, was heavily damaged by that. His barrier broke and a large cloud of smoke flew out of his back. Hoopa even transformed back into his Confined Form just from the intensity of the chains. He did his best. He ended up protecting Meloetta just like he planned. But he couldn't protect himself. His smaller body returned before dropping to the floor.
"Melo?! Etta?!" Meloetta then held Hoopa in her arms, shaking him after witnessing the catastrophic damage that was done to him. It hadn't even been a minute and he was already out of his Unbound Form, showing just how devastating that explosion was.
"Etta!" She cried out his name, hoping for a response, but all she received was silence and the closed eyes and open mouth of the Mischief Pokemon. Meloetta shook him, trying to get anything out of her fellow Psychic-Type Mythical. But there was nothing. Hoopa wasn't waking up at all. These two already formed a bond during their time at the Pokemon Festival. And seeing Hoopa in this state struck Meloetta's heart.
Dragonite simply turned around, once again, emerging victorious over its opponents. It turned its back while Meloetta wept at the state of her friend. As it stood now, Dragonite took control over all of this. The defeat of Hoopa. A weakened and devastated Meloetta.
Such was the terror of this Mighty Dragonite that came from the stars.
Pegalysium. Pegalysium Capital. Sky Monarch. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Up in the skies, further below the Galaxy Tower which was in outer space, the Rocketship was approaching the Pegalysium Captial. Previously, the ship managed to come close to the Galaxy Tower, but there was one problem. The Rif Veil was blocking any entrance to the tower.
King Paramount and Queen Luminary were already waiting for them this entire time, continuing to chime in just to repay the favour to Princess Celestia and Equestria.
Applejack could finally feel the fresh air of the Earth itself. No longer would she be confined in a ship and an orb of cosmic energy. The beautiful Earth was hers to breathe on again. Though it was somewhat humorous for an Earth Pony to fully take in the air of a Pegasus-Based location.
"Sweet, sweet air!" Applejack kissed the ground, relieved to be back on Planet Earth. But even with this happiness, the rest of her friends weren't here to experience this with her.
"Did you succeed?" King Paramount asked as Chrysalis approached, shaking her head with disappointing news.
"No. There is a Rift Veil around the tower, preventing us from entering it. That veil is too massive for any of us to handle. If Applejack were to try something, she would pass out without a doubt." The Changeling Queen explained. "That is why we've come to you."
"Oh, right. Dear, you have some Rift Magic inside of you even to this day." Luminary brought up Paramount's possession of Rift Magic.
"I do. Thanks to my Cutie Mark, I can grow the magic as if it were a plant." Paramount added. "I will see what I can do with this veil. But, could you possibly tell me what is occurring up in that structure?"
"It's a tower. Named the Galaxy Tower." Jackie answered. "And judging by what Applejack told us, that Galaxy Master character's been taken over by the Rift. That explains the veil of Cosmic Energy around it. Right now, there's most likely a large brawl happening in that tower. If it goes on, then there's a good chance that the tower could come down or even leave holes. In space, that's the biggest accident that could ever happen."
"The Rift is most likely there to exact revenge on Ash," Chrysalis added. "And by doing so, it would want Ash to suffer. It already brought that tower from the underground to outer space just as an advantage. The Rift itself is exceedingly powerful, so now that it's taken action, who knows what it could be doing up there?"
"Oh my. I knew it was serious, but I didn't think it was that serious." A stunned Queen Luminary responded, finding out the stakes were higher than expected.
"The only problem is that veil that's in the way. Applejack encountered the Rift and it wasn't at full strength yet. All of its power is still missing a good chunk. If we can just get past that veil, we could be golden." Jackie continued. "So, your majesty. Think that you can do it?"
"I can. But in case I can't succeed...There's something we have that could break that veil. But it would be extremely powerful." Paramount closed his eyes as Luminary gasped, knowing exactly what he was referring to.
"What would that be?" Chrysalis questioned.
"Follow us." Paramount would lead them all to the room of the specific thing that held extreme power. They had to wonder what it could possibly be. It certainly wasn't the Clock Door that can alter time in this nation. It was only exclusive to Pegalysium's time.
Sky Moarch. Lower level.
The lower levels. This thing was located deep within the palace and seemed to possess a great sense of security and privacy for where it could be located. It wasn't like the Clock Door which was out in the open for many to see when arriving at the Pegalysium Capital. However, there were no stairs to be found. Instead, they all moved down a slope to reach the lower levels.
"Ya don't have stairs?" Applejack questioned.
"We have wings. There is no need for stairs." Luminary answered, giving the most simple reason as to why there were no stairs in this castle. "Anyway, we keep this object greatly hidden so that not even Second Wind of her Indigo Union knows where it is despite searching hard to prove its existence. If they were to know where it was located...the results could disastrous."
"How strong is this object then? It must be a weapon." Chrysalis wondered as the further they went down, the hotter it became. Everyone felt the sudden heat increase in the atmosphere. "Is it getting hot in here too?"
"It's only natural with what's up ahead." Paramount referred to the massive door that stood before them. With his magic, he opened the door from afar. Multiple doors actually. Each of them were made out of Dynasite with over 10 layers of Dynasite doors that would be impossible for someone to open physically unless they were Legendaries of possessed a great ordeal of Aura. Upon opening all those doors, everyone was smacked in the face by what was within this room. The room itself was lit up with a perplexing light, bewildering Applejack and the others.
After their eyes were hit by this light, they took the time to witness just what was hiding beyond those doors. And their eyes couldn't believe it. Pegalysium had yet another special force exclusive to them and harboured uniqueness all around.
First, it was Dynasite, then it was the mysterious magma crystals, A Dynasite Pegasus Weapon, the tears that could turn ponies into mindless zombie-like attacks, then, a clock door that could alter time itself, Destiny Pegasi, Giant Pegasi, Meteors that could speak with those from beyond and now this.
A Colossal Thunderbolt.
Locked inside a gigantic transparent container of Dynasite, a force of lightning was the secret weapon that Pegalysium harboured. It sat there in the container, constantly crackling but not emanating the same sound a usual thunderbolt makes in the cloudy skies.
"Woah nelly..." Applejack gawked. If she had her hat right now, she would be holding it up to her chest, no doubt. Chrysalis and her Changelings had seen a lot but this one was up there with the most fantastical things they have ever witnessed.
"Nice..." Jackie whistled at this bolt of lightning as he had seen his fair share of wild objects but this one wasn't something to scoff at so easily. "So, this is your secret weapon. A Giant Thunderbolt that's constantly here."
"Not just any Giant Thunderbolt." Paramount walked up to it. "We call this the Master Bolt. It is the Symbol of Power for Pegalysium. It was originally made by the 4th Pegasus of Destiny and with help from the Pegalysium Giants."
"It would make sense for a giant to be responsible behind this..." Chrysalis added with a quieter tone.
"One day, a terrible storm came that threatened to destroy our beautiful land but with their combined strength, the 4th Destiny Pegasus and the giants worked together to form billions of lightning bolts to form this. A weapon from the heavenly endless sky itself."
"You never used it against Second Wind?" Chrysalis asked, wondering why such a weapon wasn't used during Second Wind's criminal actions.
"Surprised she hasn't even bothered to look into something like this." Applejack even pondered how someone like Second Wind, who constantly snoops around behind the backs of others, would've never found out about this weapon's location or possibly even existence.
"There's a reason why it's been locked in here for so long. The destructive power this bolt holds is unreal. If it were ever to be unleashed, the mass destruction would be akin to what threatened Pegalysium in the past. If we even take a few pieces out of it out, those few bolts will be enough to crush an entire city. My family was entrusted to keep this bolt safe for many years."
"Second Wind has been trying everything to gain something from each Pegasus of Destiny. As you already know, Windkiss, the first Destiny Pegasus, made the Clock Door and the Avus-Pegasus that lives inside of it. Each Pegasus of Destiny left behind something of great power and value that the Indigo Union have been trying to achieve for so long. My husband's family have done their best to keep them all hidden."
"Well, this could work. If it's as powerful as you say it is, then let's use one piece to get rid of that veil." Jackie suggested. "Unless that's still risky."
"We will only use one bolt." Luminary suggested. "One bolt to try and break that veil. And just in case, a second bolt. But any more than that could endanger their lives. We need to be exceedingly careful with this weapon."
"As long as it gets them out." Applejack sighed. It was official. This powerful weapon would be used but only in small portions. But there was one issue that had to be addressed. And Jackie was the one to bring it up.
"So uh...how do we grab it?"
Outer Space. Galaxy Tower.
"Hmm...How can this tower appear so small on the outside but so large on the inside." Galaxy Master, AKA the Rift, was still searching for Ash, going through the entirety of the tower just to hunt him down. Alongside him was Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia, becoming his ultimate bodyguards. "Palkia."
By hearing the Rift call its name, Rift-Palkia knew what to do. By warping space, it began reshaping parts of this tower just to make things easier for its trainer. Rooms were readjusted via Rift-Palkia's power, moving them to another part of the tower while also changing the locations for others.
Right now, the tower received swapped locations, but only to minimal level thanks to the limitations of Rift-Palkia. But these powers were still enough to confuse everyone who were in certain locations and now found themselves elsewhere. But the Rift was annoyed that it might still not be enough to find Ash, wherever he may be,
"There are still more of his annoying friends that we could run into before we even find him. But...if I waste any more time, I suppose I can do this." The Rift wanted to speed things up immediately. But with this level of power, doing whatever it wanted would be difficult. But that is where Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia came in.
By placing his hands on both of them, Galaxy Master began absorbing the Rift Energy within them. Since these creations had half of the Rift's Power, portions of them were absorbed back into the Rift, strengthening it.
But that wasn't the only power the Rift was getting back. Approaching the Rift with two Mythical Pokemon at its disposal was none other than Galaxy Master's Dragonite. It had two Pokemon that had been defeated. Hoopa, who took massive damage from protecting Meloetta and Meloetta herself, who was ultimately defeated by Dragonite's absurd strength. Even when unconscious, Meloetta was tearing up after what Hoopa had done.
"Well done, Dragonite." Galaxy Master said before being handed over both Mythicals. "But...Victini isn't with them. What a shame...if I had Victini's power, things would be different. Even with my cosmic power, I will admit that if Victini was to share its infinite energy with me, I could regain so much in so little time. These two will work either way."
"Meloetta..."
"Meloetta. You aren't too useful aside from your singing. But it's not singing that I need right now." Galaxy Master shook his head. "What I need is something else from you. Perhaps, you can serve a different purpose." He had different plans for Meloetta that went past what she was originally capable of.
By using the regained power from Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia, Galaxy Master ended up changing Meloetta. Strings appeared around the Melody Pokemon's arms before raising them. He then held his hands out as the strings were connected to his fingertips. At this point, she became a puppet but only for one reason.
"You love Ash a lot, don't you? Well then. You'll be the one to bring him to me." Meloetta would be the Rift's ticket to finding Ash. By using her as a puppet, the Rift capitalized on the one person that was near and dear to Meloetta. Ash. And this was where her singing came into play.
By using her as a puppet, Galaxy Master forced Meloetta to start singing, even when unconscious. He forced her to sing a specific song. A song that would draw Ash in.
"Meloetta~" Meloetta's beautiful song flowed through the hallways with an alluring sound. Her singing would be audible for many to hear, especially those with exceptional hearing. Galaxy Master knew that if there was one individual who could hear it, it would be Audino. Plus, Fluttershy. Ash was currently with those two specifically, making a song the best way to try and reach him.
But everyone else would hear this song. Neither would be attracted to it. It was beautiful sure, but it was only meant for Ash and no one else. Even so, the song had another effect. That effect made others feel drowsy. Meloetta's singing voice was enough to tire some of them out on the spot even from a great distance. Even the thin hallways weren't exempt from and they especially were at their best in the wider hallways.
Pinkie Pie and Mew heard it along with Thunderlane and his little brother Rumble. When reading the hordes of Pokemon, they found themselves falling weak to this song, stopping in their tracks. "Oh boy...I guess in space, it's always nighttime..." Pinkie then dropped to the floor, flat on her face too.
"Mew..." Mew yawned, soon falling as drowsy as the others.
"This song..." Cynthia held her head. "Meloetta wouldn't be doing this for no reason...did the Rift get her?" Cynthia already caught on to what this could be. Meloetta certainly wouldn't just perform a sleeping song that affected even her friends.
"I don't know...but it's so...good..." Sci-Twi was slumped onto the wall.
"Don't fall asleep, Twilight..." Cynthia was fighting to stay up, getting on one knee to try and resist it. But Meloetta's singing was just another level, barely rivalled by other Pokemon that can also sing beautifully.
One by one, ponies and Pokemon were dropping to the floor, unable to resist this melodic song. Fighting against it was seemingly pointless. Even when unconscious, Meloetta's voice was absolutely beautiful. The Rift chuckled, knowing that this song was taking effect as it started walking while controlling Meloetta like a puppet. Whoever would stand in its way would just be down on the floor, tired.
As to be expected, when entering another room, the Rift found many ponies asleep from the song. It took its effect flawlessly. And its main effect of pulling Ash in was still in motion. This sound was specifically a cry for help in the ears of Ash while everyone else heard it as a calming goodnight song.
"Good...Keep going." The Rift said before looking at Hoopa. "As for you, Hoopa. I know what I will do with you."
"Hyper Voice!" But, a voice quickly boomed through the hallway, grabbing the Rift's attention. There was someone who ignored this sound.
"Altaria!" And an even louder sound countered Meloetta's singing with another beautiful song. But this song was more upbeat compared to Meloetta's calming song. Galaxy Master felt a shockwave from this Hyper Voice as it came from Altaria.
"What?!"
Not just any, Altaria. Rainbow Dash's Altaria. The Alaria species were already great singers so Rainbow Dash's Altaria was no exception. With the doors ahead opening, Altaria could be seen flying next to Rainbow Dash and Castform. But it wasn't just those two.
Hilbert was there, also awake and active thanks to Altaria's energetic song. He had his arms crossed, donning that signature confident smirk that he always brings with him while Scootaloo was behind him, also awake.
"Nice work, my student!" Hilbert boasted. "Told ya it was a good idea to have Altaria do that! We can't be falling asleep here of all places."
"I'm not your student...and I was gonna bring Altaria out anyway." Rainbow Dash grumbled.
"So. You're Galaxy Master, huh?" Hilbert faced the fictional character. "Yeah. That's a Superhero, alright."
"Hmph. Refer to me as the Rift. I'm not too surprised you're active. You're a rambunctious one. That's only natural for someone from Unova." The Rift scoffed.
"Rift huh? Taking control of someone's body is no good." Hilbert shook his head, less surprised that the Rift had Galaxy Master's body. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were certainly surprised and even more surprised that Hilbert found it out so quickly. "But, it ain't the first time I've seen someone get their body taken over."
"Whatever. You're not Ash. But it would do me a great service if I saw you defeated, just for Ash to witness." The Rift replied.
"Tsk, tsk. That's not happening, pal." Hilbert wagged his finger, denying the Rift's statement.
"Are you blind? I've already beaten so many trainers now. You should've at least seen many of them along the way. It's only natural. Because I have the body of an unbeatable force!" The Rift exclaimed.
"Yeah, no. You're not unbeatable." Hilbert denied it once more, wagging his finger yet again.
"What makes you say that? I already proved Bertha wrong by defeating her. Many trainers have yet to take me down. Including Cynthia, who was the best of everyone here, making me the best now! What can you prove?"
"I'd say you're the second-best trainer here if that's the case. Because the true best trainer is standing right there." Hilbert was up to his cocky nature once more. "You can't be unbeatable when the Number One Trainer in the world, no, both worlds, is standing right here! Hilbert Blair!"
"You think you can be at me?"
"I don't think so. I know so. You're looking for Ash, right? Bah! Toss that aside, okay? Listen! Let yours truly be the one to take you on. Besides, those funny-looking robots said that I'm apparently another Ash, so consider this a technicality okay? Just don't start crying stardust when I beat you. Or whatever it is cosmic beings cry. If you do cry stardust, let me collect those tears after the battle's over! Then, I'll sell 'em and make a fortune!"
"He's cocky but he talks a good game." Rainbow Dash nodded, impressed by Hilbert's absolute bravado in front of whoever he faces. "Just like me."
"Yeah..." Scootaloo agreed before receiving a glance from Rainbow Dash.
"I'll take you on. Even with those uh...funny-looking Dialga and Palkia you've got with you. Of course, this is where you lose. Let me be the first to beat the unbeatable, okay? I'll be setting another record that many will tell for years and consider the final chapter in Galaxy Master's story to be published on this day! Co-written by Hilbert Blair!"
"Hmph. You're amusing. Very amusing. You are technically a counterpart to Ash from another world, but not the one I want. I'd rather not waste any time with you though. So...I'll leave it up to them." Galaxy Master backed up as Dragonite, Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia walked forward. They would take care of things from here. Galaxy Master still wanted to use Meloetta to draw Ash in after all.
"Hey! You're chickening out?!" Hilbert growled, grizzling his teeth. "Come on! That's totally Un-Hero-like, ya know! Face me!"
"Pass! I'm looking for the real Ash. But these two will deal with you nuisances." Galaxy Master responded.
"No, they won't. It'd be cool to battle them, but personally, I'm getting hungry and wanna end this soon so...let's have a stage to ourselves!" Hilbert then suddenly took off running despite the two giants that stood before him.
"Huh! Hey, wait! Hilbert!" Rainbow Dash yelled out after seeing him head in with bold action. "Oh, that guy...!"
"Scuse me!" Hilbert slid under Rift-Dialga's legs before the two Pokemon could try and stand in his way. Rift-Palkia attempted warping space, only to miss Hilbert after he slid. Rift-Dialga was too late to stop time thanks to Hilbert's risky movements. It expected to crush Hilbert first with its feet but to no avail.
"Persistent, little! Dragonite!" Galaxy Master called for Dragonite.
"Dragonite!" Dragonite took flight, immediately chasing after Hilbert. He was already close to Galaxy Master after taking off but Dragonite was even closer thanks to his flying speed. The two other Dragons would also take action against Hilbert as now Rift-Dialga was ready to stop time.
"Weather Ball! Dragon Pulse!"
"Castform!" But then there was Castform, shooting a Weather Ball at Rift-Dialga's back. The Creation of Arceus and the Rift's power turned its attention elsewhere, focusing on the one who attacked it. So did Palkia who was hit by Altaria's Dragon Pulse.
"If he wants to do it by himself, fine. But how about you two stay here with me?" Rainbow Dash offered to take these two on while Hilbert does his own thing.
"Wait, me too?" Scootaloo certainly didn't go ahead with Hilbert, leaving her to be with Rainbow Dash. "Neat!" She wasn't complaining at all.
"Dragonite!" Dragonite already reached Hilbert, forcing him to face the Dragon Pokemon. Their presence each triggered the door to the next room but Hilbert may not reach the next room if he didn't act fast.
"Yikes! Hydreigon, go for it!" Digging into his pocket, he picked out Hydreigon's Poke Ball. As fast as he could throw it, the Poke Ball nearly came in contact with Dragonite's face. Out of it, someone blocked Dragonite's path as the Dragon-Flying-Type ended up bumping into the other Dragon that slumbered inside. Hydreigon.
"D-Dra!" It was a hard bump too thanks to the velocity Dragonite was moving at. Hydreigon even felt one too from the collision.
"Hydreigon!"
"Gotcha!" As for Hilbert, when Galaxy Master tried running off, there was one attribute that led to Hilbert keeping him behind. The cape. "Cape's too long buddy! Be glad it ain't stuck in that door!"
"You brat!" The Rift roared as Hilbert pulled him back, preventing him from going further and into the next room. The length of the cape ended up being a drawback that the Rift didn't expect at all.
"There. Much better. Now, I've got you to myself. And you're gonna be dropping Meloetta and Hoopa with you two." Hilber smirked before facing the fictional character. Hydreigon backed away, returning to Hilbert's side while Dragonite was still on the other side away from its trainer.
"I generally don't have time for you...but if you're wishing for utter defeat, so be it. My Dragonite is more than enough for you!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite flew over Hydreigon and Hilbert entirely just to reach its trainer. This is what Hilbert wanted and he got his wish eventually. It was fulfilled by his enemy, making it all the more better for him. That confident smirk on his face was even familiar to the Rift's eyes.
As to be expected, it was similar to Ash's smile but with some cockiness sprinkled in it. Hilbert would now face off against Galaxy Master, set on doing two things. Achieving victory and defeating the seemingly unbeatable. force before him as the journey continues.
"It stopped.." Cynthia, who was on the verge of falling asleep thanks to a melodic sound, was active and awake. The same couldn't be said for Sci-Twi, Spike and Alpha Pikachu, who were knocked out by that song. The source of it was originally from Meloetta, forced to sing it by the Rift. However, due t the interruption of Rainbow Dash's Altaria, the song had been upstaged. Cynthia was lucky to be barely awake during that moment.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu grumbled in his sleep, completely out of commission. Even the sound of Altaria's Hyper Voice was unable to wake them up. Once Meloetta's beautiful song comes through, not much can wake the victims up.
"This is getting harder by the minute." Cynthia then picked up Sci-Twi, giving the sleeping trainer a piggyback ride. Then there was the issue of picking up Arcanine, Pikachu and Spike. To make this easier on her, Roserade, Togekiss and Kommo-o were sent out. Cynthia wised to engage in fewer battles with her Pokemon from now on until this is all resolved, however, at this point, that might not be the case.
With Togekiss, Roserade and Kommo-o carrying the rest of them, any opponent they come across would put the lives of Sci-Twi and the others in danger. She couldn't have Arcanine find Ash with his scent anymore since he was also asleep, so as it stands now, Cynthia was going in blind.
During her venture, Cynthia passed by different rooms that each seemed to have bedrooms, similar to that of the Leisure Room. If only she found them earlier. However, around the corner on this higher part of the tower, there was one room that was still in one piece.
Cynthia quickly entered this room which had only one bed there. Untouched and still tidy. It was the perfect place to stop, even if she was currently on the move and in search of her friends. Cynthia felt that even if she were to leave Twilight here, the risk of the Rift and any of its allies could get to her. But luckily, that's where her teammates came in.
Cynthia, Roserade, Kommo-o and Togekiss placed each of them down, making sure to cover them with bed sheets. She could count on them but there were others she could count on to protect each of them. And they weren't her own Pokemon.
She dug into Sci-Twi's bag, taking out the Poke Balls she possessed. Cynthia wanted full-force protection so the best way to do so was to have Sci-Twi's own Pokemon protect her. Cynthia summoned each of them as out came Luxio, Munchlax, Rapidash and Heracross.
"I need you all to also take care of them," Cynthia said to them all. "I know you'll do your best. As for me, I have to get going. My top priority is finding Ash and getting rid of this veil. If we can at least get rid of it, then we can have Hoopa free us."
"You won't leave me alone, right?" Just then, a voice came from somewhere. Cynthia looked back at Sci-Twi's bag before noticing a head pop out. This head belonged to Hisuian Zorua, who was still awake.
"Zorua! You're awake? I would've thought you fell asleep as well. Seems like you have great resistance just like me." Cynthia kneeled to face her. "Or is it something else?"
"That kind of music was too familiar to me. I've heard it before. It's something a Mismagius uses to lure others in. I fell for it once." Hisuian Zorua responded, revealing his reasoning for being awake. It was a moment from the far past. "But...you're leaving now?"
"I can't stay behind and protect you all. Not with everything happening in the tower. You will have to protect Twilight as well, okay? Can you do that?"
"I can." Zorua nodded in response. "I won't like it though..."
"Don't worry. Roserade and everyone else will keep you safe as well. Now, good luck and protect them with all you have." Cynthia gave her parting words before then rushing off with only two Pokemon left in her party. The rest of them would stay behind.
For Cynthia, if she ran into Galaxy Master, she would immediately choose to flee instead of engaging. Only Ash was on her mind. If she could find him, then an advantage could be made.
"Just wait, Ash. I'll find you."
Johto. Violet City. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Violet City. The City of Nostalgic Scents. Located in Central Johto, this old village is still surrounded by trees and other scenery. Here at Violet City, the older Flurry Heart was present there. But at the moment, she wasn't enjoying the festival. Not with what she recently heard.
"That's all happening in space?!" The young princess from another universe soon found out about the predicament happening up in the stars. From the Galaxy Tower, Galaxy Master, the Rift and so on. However, good news came her way. It was already a given that her Great Aunt Celestia and Luna along with everyone else on board wouldn't allow themselves to perish up there so easily.
Help was already heading to the stars in the form of four groups. A Pokemon Ranger, Canterlot Guards, Changeling Guards plus Queen Chrysalis and Pegalysium's rulers were chiming in.
"That's all too familiar to me." Indeed. Due to what she previously experienced prior to appearing here many months ago, Flurry Heart was already familiar with space thanks to her auntie Empress Twilight.
"So, as you can see, we need ways to enter into space." A Canterlot Guard explained. "Some have already taken that ship to the stars. The rest of our guards should've told Reshiram by now and some are searching for Zekrom. We believe one other Pokemon that can travel into space is your Giratina."
"Giratina, huh?" Flurry Heart held out Giratina's Pokemon, glancing at it with absolute silence filling the atmosphere seconds later. "Hmm...Yeah. Giratina does come from space, doesn't it? Plus it's a Legendary. Which way is the tower located? In space, I mean."
"The exact destination isn't too clear but it should be visible if we simply arrived at space or even be near Pegalysium. But we recommend that only Giratina goes. You can't breathe in space either."
"I can breathe in space."
"YOU CAN?!" The guards each pulled back with absolute shock in their voices. Flurry Heart dropped such a stunning answer that was also simple at the same time.
"Well, not normally. But when I was with Great Auntie, since she was so focused on conquering so many worlds, every moment involved space. She didn't take any chances so she found herself a spell from another universe that allowed her to breathe in space. A lot of her army were taught this. Ya know...in case something goes wrong inside of the ships. Plus they've got that armour to protect them from suffocating. And guess who's also got the same spell~!" She grinned.
"Oh...well...That works too. Please, get yourself ready, princess."
"I'm already ready! Let's do this, Giratina!" Wasting no time, Flurry Heart summoned Giratina into the fray. The Renegade Pokemon was unleashed into Violet City for many to see.
Eyes bulged out, jaws dropped once Giratina was casually sent out. Flurry Heart didn't care too much for secrecy. She let Giratina out as if it was normal. The guards had no qualms with it. After all, this was one of Celestia's many wishes. A world where it didn't matter who someone was. Princess, Legendary, Champion, etc. They were all equal.
Flurry Heart, ready to meet with her friends and family, hopped onto the Renegade Pokemon's back. Of course, she couldn't just reach space in this world. It was back home.
"If you all need to breathe in space, you can count on me. I can cast it on others." Flurry Heart revealed that she could even cast this spell on others. Not just herself. There was no need to worry about breathing in space with both Flurry Heart and Giratina active. The guards even had the opportunity to get on Giratina's back just for this moment.
It was back home and into the cosmos. The only thing they had to worry about was time itself. Would they be too late to help out? There was a chance that the tower could perish due to all the battles happening above. And if it does, two horrible endings could come from it.
Outer Space. Galaxy Tower.
Hilbert challenged Galaxy Master AKA the Rift after making his great appearance. Galaxy Master and his Dragonite were facing off against Hilbert and his Hydreigon. Elsewhere in the next room, it was Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo against Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia. Vowing to end this, Hilbert boasted as always, taking a big game without even slowing down for a bit, showing just how determined he was.
"You and the Red are the closest to Ash now that I think about it..." The Rift said. "Both of you are substantial threats. But I doubt you have access to the same pool of Aura as Ash."
"Bah! Who needs Aura when you're totally unstoppable like yours truly?" Hilbert grinned. "I'll beat you without Aura. That's a fact!"
"You underestimate how useful Aura can be, Hilbert. For the theming of your world, I'll make you see nothing but black after this battle and you'll white out just like Hilda! Dragonite! Crush him with Dragon Claw!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say! Hydreigon! Dragon Pulse, let's go!"
"Hy...Drei...Gon!" Out of all three Hydreigon's mouths, three beams of draconic energy, shaped like dragons were shot out. This would force Dragonite to try and close the gap.
"Drago! Dragonite!" Dragonite swung his claws at the three pulses, but only managed to hit two of them with his claws. The third one struck his chest thanks to the slight numerical advantage. "D-Dra!" Struck by the third Dragon Pulse, Dragonite was forced back.
"Use Stone Edge, Dragonite! Now!"
"D-Dragonite!" Dragonite would shrug it off to keep powering through. It's what he did best as from his body, multiple crystals orbited him like a planet. Each of those crystals were then thrown in multiple directions, mainly facing Hydreigon.
"Don't think so! Bash them away with Throat Chop!"
"Drei! Hydreigon!" Hydreigon would retaliate, smashing his three heads against the stones to break them apart via a devastating barrage of chops. However, Galaxy Master would once again get involved, attacking as well and not fully abiding by the usual Pokemon Rules.
He chimed in by using his cosmic power to blast Hydreigon, attacking alongside Dragonite. Hydreigon would have to focus on this cosmic wave as well, hitting it with his right head while the middle and left head dealt with the rest.
"Hey! What gives?!" Hilbert growled after witnessing Galaxy Master attack with a cosmic wave.
"I don't follow your traditional rules, boy! I do my own thing! Deal with it!" The Rift cackled. "This is how I'll win!"
"H-Hydreigon!" Hydreigon was then knocked back by the barrage of stones and the expansion of the wave, causing him to fly in Hilbert's direction. "D-Drei!" However, the Brutal Pokemon managed to recover, preventing himself from crashing into Hilbert.
"Even if you're playing a different game...I'm not gonna lose this!"
"Are you sure? Go, Dragonite! Dragon Claw!" The Rift swiped its hands before then sending tendrils of Rift Energy to fly alongside the Dragon-Flying-Type.
"I'm always sure! Even Hilda can vouch for that!" Hilbert thundered. "Throat Chop!"
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon would once again take on two targets at once. And this time, it would be up close and personal. First was Dragonite who ended up reaching Hydreigon before the tendrils could. He clashed with Dragonite directly via Dragon Claw and Throat Chop collision whilst the tendrils were still approaching.
"Fly up, pal!" Hilbert pointed upwards, giving Hydreigon a sign.
"Drei!" Right after colliding with Dragonite, Hydreigon ascended at the right time. Just as Dragonite went for another claw swipe, he missed along with the tendrils which were inches close to attacking the Brutal Pokemon.
"Check out Hydreigon's speed! Go!"
"Dreigon!" Just then, after ascending above Dragonite and the tendrils, Hydreigon closed in, accelerating in midair. In the blink of an eye, the Dark-Dragon-Type had performed a double hit. It started with him smashing the tendrils apart with his right claw and with his left claw hitting Dragonite.
"D-Dragonite!" Dragonite growled as Hydreigon flew past him with that Throat Chop. Ironically, he didn't even go for the throat when he had the chance.
"Hyper Beam!"
"Dra!" Dragonite grizzled his teeth before erasing his stagger from Hydreigon's Throat Chop via pure power alone. He soon turned around to face Hydreigon, already building up enough energy to fire an instant Hyper Beam without much charge time. "Dragonite!"
"Hydrei?!" Hydreigon was planning on going for a second Throat Chop, only for Hyper Beam to appear momentarily. The Brutal Pokemon put up his arm-heads to protect himself, having his entire body cloaked in the ferocious blast which tore apart some parts of the hallway.
Hilbert held onto his ht from the aftershock f this combustion while the Rift leaned in, expecting Hydreigon to take a chunk of damage from that attack. It truly wanted to finish this as soon as possible so that it could reach Ash.
"Dreigon!" But, once the smoke cleared, Hydreigon was still in that blocking stance, taking the entire attack while Dragonite took time to recover.
"Haha! How's that?! I raised my Hydreigon's defence to the best it could be! Not even a Fairy-Type can knock him down so easily!" Hilbert chuckled, boasting about Hydreigon's defence. Hyreigon did the same, laughing alongside his trainer as they both shared that same exuberance. "Now, Dragon Pulse, let's go!"
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon took advantage of Dragonite's recharge time, attacking with Dragon Pulse while he had the chance. But of course, the Rift had to get in the way.
A cosmic wormhole was summoned via the Rift's energy, appearing right in front of Dragonite. Instead of crashing into Dragonite, the pulse went through the wormhole., vanishing.
"Oh, come on!" Hilbert yelled, furiously stomping his feet. Hydreigon would soon flail his arms around, also ranting about Galaxy Master's intrusion. "That's totally unfair! Fight like a true hero!"
"How are you still not realizing I'm not the hero in this?" The Rift sighed. "Nevermind. You can still have the attack go through. Just not on Dragonite!"
Just then, the wormhole reappeared. But this time, it was behind Hydreigon. The Rift re-summoned the wormhole while keeping Dragon Pulse as well. Once it was summoned back, the attack crashed out, instantly delivering a super-effective blow to Hydreigon's back. "H-Hydrei!"
"Oh, no! Hydreigon!" Hilbert gasped.
"Dragon Claw!"
"Gonite!" Dragonite would follow up. Once Hydreigon was hit from the back, he was sent forward, giving Dragonite the chance to deliver a direct blow. When Hydreigon came flying this way, he was met with a devastating swipe from Dragonite's Dragon Claw, receiving another super-effective hit.
"Dreigon!" Hydreigon was once again sent flying. This time, back to Hilbert's side as he slid onto the floor, face first.
"Hmph! That should be the one to do it. I've seen more impressive Hydreigon after all." The Rift scoffed, believing that Hydreigon was done for. It was ready to soon get Hilbert out of the way and depart from this room.
"Drei!" But just one second later, Hydreigon got back up, stunning Galaxy Master. He wasn't done yet. When getting back up, he merely shook his head, feeling a bit dazed.
"Too bad my Hydreigon's in the top percentage of Hydreigon!" Hilbert laughed, putting up a peace sign to taunt Galaxy Master. "He's the most impressive Hydreigon you'll ever meet! Count on that Mr Cosmic!"
"Hydrei! Hydrei!" Hydreigon was even mocking Dragonite, dancing about while singing a tune, riling the Dragon Pokemon up.
"Tch! Pile of pebbles! You can't keep up that tough guy act forever! Dragon Claw!" The Rift continued to engage with Hilbert, commanding Dragonite once more. This battle wasn't over yet.
"Why act tough when you are tough?!" Hilbert replied back with a powerful response before then commanding Hydreigon to retaliate. "Throat Chop!"
Dragonite and Hydreigon clashed once more. It was another heavy collision for them as this hallway was beginning to give out from the battle between these two Dragons. Afterwards, Dragonite and Hydreigon engaged in a close-quarters exchange of hard-hitting physical attacks. Green and Black streams of energy continued to fly out of their arms as the two Dragons rushed each other.
"Drei!" Hydreigon landed a successful hit in first within this exchange, striking Dragonite's chest. Dragonite staggered before once again rushing with his fellow Dragon-Type. This hit would soon be returned via Dragonite who also got a successful hit.
"Drago!" Dragonite also struck Hydreigon, this time in his middle face. These two Dragons were truly fierce in their exchanges, getting every chance they could to hit each other. There was no strategy or skill. Just simply brute strength as Hydreigon then ended the clash with an upwards swing to Dragonite's neck, forcing the Dragon Pokemon upwards.
And this time, when hitting the ceiling, their battle finally revealed other rooms that were upstairs. Rubble from above dropped, shaking the rest of the room as some of the rubble even went for Galaxy Master from how hard the ceiling had been cracked.
"You two...!" The Rift was beginning to grow annoyed with Hilbert and Hydreigon before then focusing on Hilbert himself. If he could get Hilbert out of the way, that would change things. "Dragonite! Hyper Beam, once more!"
"Dra!" From above, even in the upper room, Dragonite used Hyper Beam from above. Direct contact with this attack at this angle could result in the floor being the next major target for this draconic destruction.
"Here goes! Dragon Pulse!"
"Hydrei...!" Hydreigon was ready to meet with it. However, the second Hyper Beam got close to Hydreigon, that is when the Rift redirected it. "Drei?"
Hyper Beam was redirected by the Rift to go after Hilbert instead, swerving over Hydreigon's head. Hilbert made a goofy face that also resembled absolute fear in the face of this destructive beam of Infinity Energy. The instinctive thing to do was flee from the beam. "Yikes!"
"Gon!" But even with the attack being redirected, Hydreigon would try and stop it. He would attempt to intercept the attack while it was still active, only for those blasted tendrils from the Rift to grab his head arms.
"This is it!" The Rift declared this battle to be over due to Hydreigon's current restraints and Hilbert's position. Hilbert faced the door to the next room before leaping with all of his might. The beam was right behind him as he triggered the automatic doors, allowing him to pass through.
This was to Hilbert's benefit. The speed of the doors opening compared to the speed of Hyper Beam was vast as the beam struck the edges of the doors before they could fully open. An outburst of Infinity Energy came from this, launching Hilbert away along with his hat. He managed to barely save himself before tumbling to the floor. Pieces of the door came flying out, dropping everywhere as the Trainer from Unova was still here and active.
"Phew...That was a close one." Hilbert took a deep breath. "I thought I was a goner there! But when you're the Number One Trainer in both worlds, nothing's gonna take you out! Hahahaha!"
"What kind of luck is this?!" The Rift growled. Meanwhile, this put a smile on Hydreigon's face. He expected no less from his trainer. With this lucky save, Hydreigon then ripped apart the tendrils via Dragon Rush. He engulfed his body in a flare of draconic energy that soon gave him the strength to tear these Cosmic Creations.
"Hydrei!" Hydreigon then went straight for Dragonite after breaking free. Dragonite, who was recharging, had nothing to defend himself with. The Rift was too late to protect Dragonite with a barrier thanks to his annoyance with Hilbert, resulting in Dragonite receiving a direct Dragon Rush.
"D-Dra!"
"Awesome! Now, g Hydreigon! Higher and higher!"
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon went higher, using all of his strength to continue carrying Dragonite. This resulted in the other upper levels of the tower being broken into. Ceiling after ceiling, floor after floor, Hydreigon began tearing the place down with his Dragon Rush.
"Dragonite, no!" Galaxy Master yelled after seeing so many ceilings come apart. A storm of rubble dropped from above as Hydreigon's Dragon Rush finally came to an end. The end result was Dragonite falling from above.
The Dragon Pokemon crashed into the rest of the rubble formed by the environmental destruction while Hydreigon stayed airborne. Once the smoke cleared from all this destruction, Dragonite didn't get back up at all. Seconds passed and the Dragon Pokemon didn't have his usual moment where he would suddenly emerge with a mighty comeback. That wasn't the case. The Mighty Dragonite was finally defeated.
It had fainted.
"Dragonite..."
"M-My Dragonite...! But I poured so much power into it just for it to be so powerful...!" The Rift staggered back.
"Oh yeah! That's how it's done!" Hilbert jumped for joy. "This victory is ours, Hydreigon! That's what it's like when you go up against Number One!"
"Hydreigon!" Celebrating this victory, Hydreigon unleashed three Dragon Pulses into the air as a victory fanfare, cheering alongside Hilbert while descending. As for Dragonite, he fizzled into stardust, much like every other Pokemon from the Rift.
"Well, Galaxy Master. Or Rift. That's the end of that. We win. You lose. And you're gonna be handing Meloetta and Hoopa back to us. Got that?"
"Don't be ridiculous..." Annoyed, the Rift shook its fist before keeping its cool. "So what if you defeated my Dragonite? I'm still here and I have my options. You haven't won yet, Hilbert!"
"Yeah. Guess not." Hilbert picked his hat back up, placing it on. "Let's fix that, shall we? Gonna run or gonna battle? What's it gonna be Rift? I and my Pokemon are always ready to throw down. Isn't that right, Hydreigon?"
"Hydreigon!"
"Yes...I would've chosen Hilbert's world after I was done with this world. The Pokemon WOrld hols too many possibilities, making any other world perfect for a crossover. But I suppose...much like the previous worlds, they always bring some form of trouble. Especially with those blasted counterparts." The Rift thought to itself before seeing Hilbert take out another Poke Ball, in case Hydreigon fainted.
He juggled the Poke Ball, ready to continue this battle as if it were a 6v6 Battle. Hilbert was planning to go all the way despite also wanting to finish this battle soon enough to feast on something.
"I still haven't found Ash despite my actions. And I'm afraid...Bertha might have been right. This body might not be the unbeatable force I expected it to be. I don't even have much time left with the power I've recovered. Unless I can absorb some power from Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia...I'll be out of time."
"What's it gonna be?" Hilbert asked. "Come on, don't leave me hanging."
"No...I don't have just those two. I have someone else that I can call for." That's when the Rift went for more of its options. It wasn't out of the game just yet. "I still don't want to have to deal with you! I need to find Ash at once!"
But before that other option could arrive, the Rift took, running once again instead of staying behind. This agitated Hilbert once more as it irked him the wrong way to see someone in the body of a hero flee constantly.
"Hey! Again?! After him, Hydreigon!" Hilbert pursued the fictional character with Hydreigon following suit. Galaxy Master entered the next room, triggering the automatic doors that were all around.
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon was clearly the faster force here, breaking the doors apart with brute force. Even after that powerful Dragon Rush and exchange with Dragonite, his durability allowed him to keep going.
"Fine then! If you're not gonna battle...then we'll finish it here! Dragon Pulse!"
"Drei!" While chasing him down, Dragonite used Dragon Pulse from all three heads. Hilbert chose to end this conflict once and for all.
"No, it won't end here!" Galaxy Master held up his hand to put up a barrier. Three Dragon Pulses met with the barrier, immediately showing the Rift just how much power it used in this entire event. The barrier of cosmic energy trembled as the three pulses managed to break through it. "What?!"
"Yes! Now, Dragon Rush!"
"Hydreigon!" Hyreigon kicked into high gear, using Dragon Rush to accelerate at greater speeds. By boosting through the air, Galaxy Master showed visible signs of fear. The fear of losing was upon it.
"You won't stop me! Not when I have these two!" That's when Galaxy Master held up Hoopa and Meloetta, using them as shields. This forced Hydreigon to come to a screeching halt in front of them each, preventing him from harming them.
"Hydrei?!"
"Meloetta! Hoopa! Gah...you would try that..." Hilbert grizzled his teeth, annoyed at the Rft's constant cheap actions.
"It won't end until I have my vengeance. Even you won't prevent me from doing so, Hilbert." The Rift cackled. "Meloetta is also still under my control and that song of hers should've pulled Ash in even if it ended."
"You're gonna keep going this far for revenge? Not a great idea if you ask me." Hilbert replied.
"I can go as far as I want, Hilbert Blair. Because by the end of this, I'll make sure none of it ever happened. Everything will go back to normal. But at the same time, I'll make sure things are never normal for Ash ever again. I believe I found the best way to make him suffer for what he did to me."
"Not happening!" Hilbert protested before being careful with what action he would take next, lest he risks the lives of Hoopa and Meloetta. Hydreigon especially considering how vicious his fangs were.
"Hydreigon!"
"I'm not out of options either...There's one more Pokemon from the Cosmic Wall that I can call for. Can you hear me?! Rift- Giratina?!"
As the journey continues.
Chapter 916 End.
The Perfect Wielder for the Master Bolt! A new Rift Approaches
Pegalysium. Pegalysium Capital. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Over at Pegalysium, a massive container of Dynasite was being pulled. And within it was the Master Bolt. A gigantic Thunderbolt that required this large Dynasite Container to withstand its absurd power. Thankfully, while Dynasite itself was absurdly durable, it wasn't too heavy for it to be an issue. The container was being dragged along by the guards with the Rocketship waiting for the object to be delivered.
But of course, this had to be a secret delivery. Right now, the Rocketship was placed behind the castle for one reason. This mighty weapon could alert the eyes of the Indigo Union. More specifically, Second Wind. The case was being pushed sideways due to its absurd length. But even when it eventually enters the ship, the weapon inside was highly volatile. There was a reason it was kept in one room for so long.
"Make sure nopony from the Indigo Union is watching," Paramount said to his guards. "And be careful. We kept the weapon in that room just for its fragility."
"How fragile exactly?" Jackie asked while helping the guards get the weapon inside. "It's a mass of electricity so it can't be that fragile."
"Oh but it is. This transparent Dynasite is the only thing keeping it controlled. Should something erratic happen with it, well...you already know what could happen." Luminary added.
"Gotcha. But how are gonna hold one of those bolts? That's what I'm still wondering about. Unless one of us isn't afraid of being zapped." Jackie replied.
"Lightning bolts are said to be 5 times hotter than the surface of the Sun when unleashed. This entire lightning bolt is far beyond the heat of the sun if it were to ever be used in one. Even so, using our magic on it is just as fragile." Luminary answered, continuing to reveal more about this overwhelming weapon. "Goodness...The more I talk about it, the more terrifying it appears to be. How did your family manage to keep this thing hidden for so long, dear?"
"A titanic drive of restraint. My family swore to never use the many forces that the Destiny Pegasi left behind. Only when necessary. We never used the Reanimate Tears, even if the child within me wanted to use it on my parents. And we certainly didn't plan on using the Clock Door until Second Wind's second invasion. These forces are highly tempting, so, it helps that my family lineage always had a strong sense of restraint."
"Lucky. I can't say the same about my family." Luminary chuckled. "Before I met you, dear, I was just a village girl, scooping up as many valuable items as I could. It helped though. Made me eligible to get into school and pay for my family."
"You were terrifyingly eager with so many things." Paramount closed his eyes before shuddering in fear. "It's hard to forget what impact you've left over the years."
"Anyway, about the lightning bolt. Who's gonna be the one to hurl 'em? Not sure the Ranger Union has any gloves that can withstand that." Jackie asked.
"Oh! I got it!" That's when it hit Applejack. It was so obvious. Everyone else would put themselves at risk by interacting with the bolt. And they knew it, just from what was described by it and the sheer size of it. Even someone with great heaps of magic such as Paramount and Luminary had to be cautious.
But Applejack knew one individual, or rather two individuals, who could hold them without any issues whatsoever. She had the numbers for it.
"Golett can hold 'em. All 10 of the little fellas." Applejack suggested that her Golett should hold them.
"Golett? Those small automatons?" Luminary pictured the Golett, remembering their minuscule appearance. "Oh, sorry, Applejack. But I think they're too small to hold such a powerful weapon. It's too dangerous."
"No, no. She's got a point." Jackie saw the advantage before anyone else. "Queen Luminary. Golett will be fine. You see, since it's a Ground-Type, all manner of electricity isn't a problem for it. Totally immune with nothing to fear."
"Completely immune?!" Luminary gasped. "I thought that whole immunity thing from the Pokedex was a bluff...something like that exists?"
"They'll be fine." Applejack hopped back into the ship once the weapon was finally inside. Everyone made way for this behemoth of a weapon as the ship was already feeling a slight weight increase. "When we get to that tower, count on Golett throwing those bolts without needing to worry about a thing."
"Can they breathe in space?" Paramount asked the vital question. This would be pointless if Golett couldn't breathe in space.
"On top of being immune to electricity, Golett's artificial. It doesn't have to worry about breathing in space since it's similar to a robot. Plus it's also a Ghost, so there's that." Jackie added. It was only fair that he revealed more about Golett since information about the Master Bolt had been revealed.
"My little Goletts are just something special, ain't they?" Applejack felt like a proud mother, hearing the many advantages that the Golett possessed. "Now that we've got that figured out, let's get back up there already."
The time for talking was over. The ship had closed but with very few ponies to see it close. The ship was cleverly placed at the back end of the castle, masked by a flurry of clouds. This helped to conceal the Master Bolt and the Dynasite Container, safely bringing it aboard. Of course, bringing the Master Bolt would also require stealth.
It was off to outer space once more. And this time, with a powerful weapon to try and pierce through that cosmic veil. And the wielders would surprisingly be the miniature Golett. Whichever one of the 10 Golett it may be.
Outer Space. Galaxy Tower.
"So. What now, Hilbert?" The Rift was currently at a standstill with Hilbert. Or rather, it placed Hilbert in a position where he and his Hydreigon had to stand still. Right now, in both of the Rift's hands, it had Meloetta and Hoopa.
"What's stopping Hydreigon and me from charging at you and grabbing them?" Hilbert replied, holding two Poke Balls out.
"Good point. And then there is the rest of your Pokemon to worry about. But...it's a good thing these strings for Meloetta serve another purpose!" Galaxy Master then used Meloetta via the cosmic strings that were on her.
She truly was a puppet as her body was manipulated by just the flick of Galaxy Master's fingers. And by controlling her, Meloetta's vocal cords went active yet again. This time, instead of a quiet and sombre sound, Galaxy Master made it so that her singing was destructive.
Though his mighty Dragonite had fainted, he was not out of options at all. The soundwave from Meloetta shook the room with the force of an earthquake, attacking Hilbert and Hydreigon's ears.
"Geeez...!" Hilbert closed his ears as the soundwave was even strong enough to bring a gust of wind. Hydreigon's ears weren't as visible but he was certainly being pushed back by this.
"Hydrei!"
"Did you really think the defeat of my Dragonite was all that was necessary?! I wasn't even trying to waste so much time with you! But thanks to your meddling, I'm forced to stick around your vicinity yet again, Hilbert!"
"Heh! When you're number one, everyone's gotta be around you!" As always, Hilbert looked confident and cocky even when his eardrums were being attacked.
"Enough with that number one talk!" Agitated, Galaxy Master amped the sound of Meloetta's singing even further. This level of singing started cracking the walls themselves. And right above Hilbert and Hydreigon, the ceiling came falling apart too.
This involved the floor as the Rift truly didn't want Hilbert to be around its vicinity any longer. With the floor giving out, Hilbert would head to the lower levels while Hydreigon would handle the falling rubble. Some of it already struck the Brutal Pokemon's heads.
"This won't stop us!" Hilbert cried out before struggling to keep his balance. Hydreigon quickly rushed to his side, knowing Hilbert would suffer severe damage from this height. These long hallways also meant long heights as well. He smashed aside the rubble with his arms, approaching Hilbert once he went to the lower levels.
"But it will give me time!" Galaxy Master focused on fleeing rather than further engaging with Hilbert. This gave him time to flee while still having Meloetta and Hoopa in his grasp. Charging through the falling rubble, Hydreigon grabbed Hilbert's hood with his fangs, saving him. But he only managed to save him momentarily. There was still the remaining rubble to get through as Galaxy Master used this opportunity to run while the abundance of rubble masked his figure.
"You won't get away from us!" Hilbert exclaimed. "Hydreigon! Dragon Rush!"
"Hydrei...!" Hydreigon cloaked himself in a flare of draconic energy before then taking a few rubbles to the face. All three faces and even in his eyes. But that wouldn't stop him as the best way to get out of all the rubble was to perform a full-force charge. Hydreigon did just that while also carrying Hilbert, moving at his best speed. "Gon!"
"Oh! Woaaaah!" Hilbert screamed as Dragon Rush blew away all the falling rubble as if it was a domino effect. Any rubble that came close would be engulfed and scorched by Hydreigon's energy. Once all the crashing rubble from above and below came to an end, Hydreigon successfully save Hilbert from any more harm within this vicinity.
Hydreigon suffered mild damage from all of that. Rubble wasn't enough to stop this Dragon-Type at all. Even with the previous fierce battle he had with Dragonite, he was still active and raring to find the Rift.
"Nice work, Hydreigon..." Hilbert adjusted his hat once he was out of that mess. "Now, let's keep going. He couldn't have gotten far!"
"Hydreigon!" Placing Hilbert on his back, Hydreigon began the hunt for Galaxy Master. Having such a terrifying Pokemon hunt someone down would be intimidating in every way, but for the Rift, it was already being hunted by a few individuals just to put an end to this conflict.
As for the Rift, once Hilbert and Hydreigon entered the next room, the Rift was already hidden at this point. The doors closed as secretly, it used its power to cloak its entire body, including Hoopa and Meloetta's body, blending it in with the walls to make them look flat.
It was successful as Hilbert and Hydreigon had no clue at all. Once they were gone, the Rift could continue on its way. "That was close...any more and I could've been stuck with him for hours...That Hilbert talks a big game but he can truly back it up."
"Meloetta..." Meloetta groaned while unconscious. Eventually, she would wake up.
"Don't worry, Meloetta. You'll reunite with Ash soon enough. As soon as I find him and decide what to do with Hoopa over-" But before Galaxy Master could finish his sentence, his body trembled. Or rather, the Rift trembled, emanating cosmic waves that were wobbly and slow. "Ngh!"
Something was wrong. This is what the Rift feared. Hours have gone by now. And with a majority of its power still missing, the drawbacks were rearing their ugly heads. "I haven't recovered in a while. The best I did was take some energy from Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia. If I keep this up, I may not be able to control this body forever...then my opportunity to take revenge will be gone until next time. No. I have to do something..."
The Rift refused to lose power here and now. Just when it was winning at the start, now the tables were starting to turn. All thanks to Hilbert and a few other powerful trainers who kept the Rift occupied. But, the Rift didn't lose hope. It glanced over at one other Pokemon it held in its hands.
Hoopa.
"Of course...You're the answer to my problems." The Rift quietly chuckled, finally deciding what to do with Hoopa. "I wonder if I can utilize the full extent of your power. Let's see if that's the case."
"Ash!" Running into Ash, at last, was Cynthia. She had been searching for him for a while now. And finally, the Sinnoh Champion managed to encounter the Alola Champion. She found them carrying other ponies and Pokemon who had been knocked unconscious. Dragonite and Audino were also carrying them for being the biggest Pokemon that could alongside the slightly smaller but still big, Ninetales.
"Oh, finally. I found you."
"Cynthia! Is everything okay?!" Ash asked as his group have been moving around just as much as everyone else in this tower. Whether it was fleeing or searching.
"I am. I can say the same to all of you. You're all still healthy without any scratches on you at all." Cynthia noticed how Ash's group looked completely fine with not a single scratch or tatter. "I assume you all know what's going on?"
"It's the Rift, isn't it? It has to be." Twilight replied. "All that stardust that leaves the Pokemon when they're defeated and the fact that so many of them are showing up just to attack us."
"You're right. But right now, I'm afraid the Rift is within the body of Galaxy Master. It's launched an attack on everyone here...but it's mainly after you, Ash. It's here for revenge."
"It picked now of all times to take revenge on Ash? I would've thought the Rift would plan it longer," said Twilight.
"It's here for me? In Galaxy Master's body?" Ash answered before looking down.
"The Rift has already encountered many trainers by now, gradually trying to find you. We've all been doing our best against the Rift and its Pokemon. But it won't stop unless you're found."
"Then...should we head elsewhere?" Fluttershy asked. "Maybe being in here isn't safe at all. All this noise makes it feel like it could come crashing down."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible at the moment." Cynthia shook her head as she had to reveal the shocking truth to Fluttershy and the others. "We can't leave since we're in Outer Space."
"Outer Space?!" Fluttershy and the Pokemon all blurted out. Anyone who was unaware of their current location would reasonably shout out the location once it's been revealed. And there was no location as stunning as the vast expanse of Outer Space.
"Amazing!" Twilight had a different reaction compared to Fluttershy and the Pokemon. She loved this. Space was right up her alley, even during this event.
"We can't leave. Not with a gigantic Rift Veil covering the place. Our main bet is to defeat the Rift and remove that veil. Of course...getting back to Earth is a top priority as well if we can." Cynthia continued. "Ash. Your Aura is large enough to potentially do so."
"..." Ash stayed silent, still keeping his head down. He didn't even have a big reaction when Cynthia mentioned outer space.
"Ash?" Cynthia called for his name, wondering why he wasn't responding. "What's wrong?"
"Sorry. But...before that, there's something I gotta do. I'll meet with the Rift and I'll force it out of Galaxy Master's body no doubt." Ash spoke. "But I also gotta apologize."
"Apologize? For what?" Twilight wondered.
"Cynthia. Where's the Rift?" Ash immediately asked for the Rift's location.
"Not sure. It could be anywhere. I suppose the best thing to do is keep moving until you find it. As for me, I need to get everyone healed up at once. You already have some unconscious ponies and Pokemon with you. Bring them with me. There's one room here that hasn't been trashed yet."
"I'll help!" Fluttershy raised her hoof. "In fact, I'll start a small healing spot just for everyone else. Audi's getting tired of carrying everyone else. Not sure about Dragonite though."
"Thank you, Fluttershy. Ash. If you're going directly to the Rift, be careful with how you expend your Aura. We still need to get rid of this veil and find a way back down. The only way that could work is we either free Galaxy Master from the Rift or have Hoopa help. Wherever he may be."
"I got it, Cynthia. Leave it to me. We'll close this story off for good. Right, buddy?"
"Pikachu!"
"You said you wanted to apologize. Why's that, Ash?" Twilight asked.
"The Rift's taking revenge on me for what happened back in that dimension at Holon. It's only because of how I spread my Aura and messed it up for so long. It already wanted to take revenge a few months later with Sombra warning me about incoming danger." Ash explained. "Truth is, I'm not keeping my word that way."
"Your word?" Twilight wondered before then clicking to what it might be. It made so much sense as to why Ash would suddenly feel like apologising. And she knew exactly what he wanted to apologize for.
"Let's keep in touch with each, Cynthia. Fluttershy. Audino. If you wanna find us again, I'll have Pikachu let out a signature cry to alert you."
"Mmm. We'll make sure that sound doesn't miss us." Fluttershy used her wings to give a thumbs-up, guaranteeing her promise to Ash.
"Audino!"
"Time to go!" Ash and Pikachu went ahead. Ninetales and Dragonite entrusted the safety of the other ponies and Pokemon to Cynthia's group. It was off to the Rift.
But while all of this was going on inside the tower, something else was approaching. It wasn't just the Rocketship, here to save everyone. Not at all.
The cracks in space left behind by Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia were still there, leading to that other dimension where the Cosmic Wall was resting. It wasn't like the cracks in space could just heal themselves after all. But because of this visible crack, something else was starting to emerge.
At the same time, the Rocketship was heading this way with the Master Bolt. Already, Applejack had 10 of her Golett out and ready to utilize their Type Advantage to the fullest.
"Alright, ya'll. Here's what we're gonna do. You're gonna grab some of those bolts right over there and launch em at that veil. As long as that thing's up, our friends are trapped." Applejack instructed her 10 Golett.
"Golett!"
"Your little workers can do it. I believe in you." Luminary said before gushing at the Golett. "Um...but be careful. You may be immune but the weapon should be held with care. Only the giants could carefully wield these bolts but they still needed protection to do so. You aren't quite their size."
"They're my little giants." Applejack patted one of the Golett on the head. "And they'll pull it off. Just gotta get the right range."
"Once that veil breaks, we're finding the entrance. Leaving a hole in the tower isn't the best idea. Applejack. You know where it is, right?" Chrysalis questioned.
"Sure do. We've been only facing the back this entire time. Let's go for the front. Once we get there, there'll be a lot of rooms and hallways to choose from. Just follow the trail of destruction though. That'll be easy."
"You should also use small portions of the bolt. The fact that their amazing power is about to be unleashed now means that we must use them with absolute care." Paramount ordered. "I suggest three or four."
"And if four bolts don't work?" Jackie asked. "What then?"
"We will have to increase the number. But not by much. I trust in the bolts and their stupendous power to break the veil. They're just that powerful. Ten bolts might put your friends at risk if you plan to have every Golett throw some."
But just as they were having a conversation about breaking the veil with the Master Bolt, the cracks in space started expanding. Jackie had already seen this when going to save Applejack but there was not much he could do about it except report it to the Ranger Union.
Once those cracks expanded, everyone then heard a roar. A bone-chilling yet familiar roar passed out of the crack, loud enough to even go through space for many to hear. Synchronized gasps came from everyone as Applejack already knew what this meant after witnessing Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkiaemerge from it.
Someone new was coming through those walls.
A black and red shockwave in the air and what sounds like a background choir mark the coming of someone otherworldly. These shockwaves then became bursts of energy. Not light, but something darker yet just as powerful as light.
After shooting out of the crack in space like a comet, a terrifying but also gorgeous being with piercing red eyes hovered in space, taking on a familiar form. It filled Applejack and everyone with an immense sense of awe once those eyes flashed in the dark expanse of space. This form resembled that of a certain Dragon but with new additions.
Made up of Arceus' Power and the Rift's Power. Radiant wings of dripping light cast a shimmering light on the cosmos. The figure of this entity was four-legged, greatly resembling that of Giratina. In fact, the face and the wings even looked like Giratina's wings. Two large orbs were next to this entity, floating constantly as Applejack's fear came true. It was exactly what she expected.
All of that energy was Anti-matter. The one thing associated with Giratina. And now there was another one that possessed Anti-Matter, appearing to this world.
Arriving from another dimension, straight through the Cosmic Wall and the cracks of space was the newest combination of Arceus and the Rift's power. Rift-Giratina.
"Is that...Giratina?!" Chrysalis was the first to point out how this entity resembled Giratina. King Paramount, Queen Luminary and the Pegalysium Guards weren't as shocked since they had minimal knowledge of Giratina.
"Kind of! It's got the face but everything else looks off." Jackie soon noticed that something was off. It wasn't that hard to notice it as while the face and the body structure matched that of the Renegade Pokemon, everything else was a different story.
"It's one of those things!" Applejack had further knowledge compared to Chrysalis and Jackie. This entity spelt only bad news from what Applejack could tell. Upon arriving, Rift-Giratina locked onto the Rocketship before anything else. It swam through the cosmic skies, leaving behind a trail of Antimatter. It immediately deemed those within the Rocketship as enemies as per the thoughts of the Rift itself within its otherworldly head.
It let out that signature bone-chilling cry with a sight alteration. Those shimmering wings of it unleashed a crackle of Antimatter which spread out. The crackle immediately met with some nearby asteroids, obliterating them entirely. Even the cracks that had been formed in space were destroyed thanks to this spread of Antimatter.
Inside the Galaxy Tower, the Rift was the only one inside who knew about Rift-Giratina's arrival. Mainly because it called for this otherworldly entity. Knowing that yet another powerful force was coming to assist it, if the Rift had a mouth right now, it would be putting on the biggest smile possible.
"It's coming this way!" Luminary backed up after noticing Rift-Giratina's current sense of direction. Those crimson eyes had vicious intent within them that she could easily spot. Jackie, who was piloting the ship, noticed as well before rapidly trying to turn the ship. It was clear what Rift-Giratina was here to do.
But, turning the ship certainly wasn't fast enough. Rift-Giratina got there first, charging in at full force. By coming into contact with the ship, Rift-Giratina immediately bashed its head against it. Rumbling went across the ship as it was then pushed aside via Rift-Giratina's bash.
Many Canterlot, Changeling and Pegalysium guards lost their balance, falling over, bumping into each other or the walls or sliding on the floor, or even all at the same time. Chrysalis, Paramount and Luminary used their magic to keep themselves steady, however.
"Woah there!" Jackie managed to also keep the Rocketship steady with his control, preventing it from tilting to a different angle. There was also the issue of protecting the Rocketship from receiving any damage, lest the vacuum of space enters here even with this protective gear on.
Rift-Giratina didn't stop there. It faced the front of the ship for everyone to see its menacing face. The Rift Renegade Pokemon bared its fangs before then using Aura Sphere. From its mouth, a large ball of concentrated Aura could be seen coexisting with the Rift Energy that made up half of its body. This was all thanks to Arceus' power, allowing Rift-Giratina to use this source of energy.
The sphere was spat out, meeting with the ship before resulting in an azure explosion. Naturally, the ship received more damage from this which caused it to move yet again.
"How are we supposed to help them when that thing is in the way?!" Paramount exclaimed after nearly falling over from the trembling of the Rocketship. "What even is that thing?!"
"There's two of 'em inside!" Applejack shouted. "That thing's working for the Rift since it's made up of half of that stuff. It ain't gonna let us head in there, that's for sure."
"That should be the least of our worries right now!" Luminary then looked at the Master Bolt and the Dynasite Case that held it. The fragility of this weapon was still something they all had in mind. "If this keeps up, the Master Bolt could destroy us before that Pokemon does!"
"Not like this!" A Changeling Guard screamed before whirling through the ship. Many were even feeling a bit sick as Giratina then started aggressively bashing the ship.
"What do we do? Going out there's a big risk!" Applejack questioned.
"We're not going out there!" Jackie replied, tightening his grip on the controls. "This ship was used to invade worlds, so the weapons on it have to be top-notch, right? Let's see!"
If there was any time to use the power of this ship, it was now. The ship was facing the front of Giratina yet again as the Rift Renegade Pokemon was in the perfect spot for Jackie to use whatever weapons this ship had. Of course, upon manning the weapons, he unleashed the main ones that were commonly used during the Empress' invasion. This whole ship was not just electrically powered but also powered by magic. Beams of magic were unleashed when the cannons showed up, firing at rapid paces.
Rift-Giratina's face was met with these beams of magic, but there wasn't a reaction at all. It simply took all of it to the face with dark purple explosions going off. Rift-Giratina was unphased. It barely looked like a nuisance to it.
"Nothing?" Jackie passed for a moment. "Then, how about this?!" He then amped up the levels to see if anything higher would get to Rift-Giratina. The beams were then powered up, increasing in size while also receiving a larger fill of magic. Out of these cannons, a larger magic beam was sent out, moving in fewer numbers but still at great speeds.
These ones did manage to do something, albeit to a little level. Rift-Giratina hissed at them once the beams connected as the magic behind them was still the result of the Empress absorbing magic from different worlds. The ship possessed a large pool of magic that came from multiple alicorns that allowed it to function to the fullest.
"Great! That works! But we can make it better!" Jackie aimed to increase the level of the magical beams. But Rift-Giratina wasn't having any of that. It immediately used Dragon Tail, whipping its tail at the ship to twist it.
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Luminary groaned as all of this erratic movement was getting to her. She was held by Paramount, keeping her from being absolutely bewildered by this.
"If that thing's extremely fragile, don't keep engaging with it!" Chrysalis shouted.
"Right! My bad! But how are we gonna keep it safe if it keeps attacking us?" Jackie asked. Even if they planned to keep the Master Bolt safe, that would be challenging as Rift-Giratina was unrelenting.
But that wasn't the only thing they had to try and keep safe. The Rocketship itself and the damages it received were detrimental for various reasons. Mainly because this ship, despite also being powered by magic, it was still a mechanical creation with engines that needed to be taken into account.
Looking at the radar on the control panel, Jackie saw how alerts about the engines being attacked went off. And this was only from Rift-Giratina's first few attacks.
"Oh," Jackie uttered, realizing that things were escalating for the worst. "Okay then! Someone's gotta take control of this ship for a while!"
"What?! Why?!" Applejack asked.
"If no one's there to take care of the engines, then this ship is going down. I know my way around engines thankfully, but someone has to do something that Giratina does over there. Whatever you can do, okay?"
"I can't drive a ship!" Applejack shook her head. "This was way out of her league and skill level. The same went for everyone here as they all shook their heads. Neither could steer a ship, let alone one that could take to the skies.
"I can try." But then, there was Chrysalis. "I was allied with the Empress for a while. Along with Ghetsis. Team Plasma themselves control ships that take to the skies. "I've seen two kinds of pilots from two different ships."
"Are you sure? Even if you've seen it, it's not gonna work out perfectly." Jackie questioned.
"Believe me. I can do my best." Chrysalis had full confidence in what she could do. At the same time, the ship continued to shake via Rift-Giratina's constant attacks. That was a reminder for Jackie to get moving.
"Okay then! Good luck!" Jackie rushed off to the engine room, leaving Chrysalis to handle the rest. The Changeling Queen took control of the ship's controls.
"Please be careful your majesty. I don't want t meet my end in space of all places. Though, that would feel somewhat epic." A changeling said.
"No one is perishing in space." Chrysalis used her magic to grab ahold of the entire control panel, having the best way to multitask. "Not inside the ship or that tower. I can guarantee that."
Rift-Giratina's roar came through as Chrysalis intensively stared into the Rift Renegade Pokemon's eyes. Ribombee hovered next to Chrysalis, holding on tightly for whatever impact comes next. Ribombee herself was just as fragile as the Master Bolt thanks to her size.
"Bring it on, your abominable hybrid!" Chrysalis challenged the Rift Renegade Pokemon, Even in outer space, Rift-Giratina heard Chrysalis challenge and insult.
The goal was to protect the Master Bolt or else it would take them all out before Rift-Giratina could potentially get the chance to do so. Chrysalis would ensure that Rift-Giratina's attack stopped here.
In response, Rift-Giratina unleashed a vortex of Antimatter from its body to try and engulf the entire ship in one go. An attack like this would certainly cause massive damage since everything on this ship was made out of matter. Protecting the ship from this vortex of Antimatter was Chrysalis' magic.
Even from the inside, she could unleash a large bubble of magic, shielding the entire Rocketship from this vortex of Antimatter. However, much like the ship, even Chrysalis' bubble was made out of matter. Chrysalis was already using her magic to wield the control panel and adding a magical bubble the size of this sip was already putting a strain on her.
It didn't help that the Antimatter started dissolving her bubble, eating away at it like a virus. "Something like this can't be allowed to enter that tower...!" Chrysalis groaned before trying to expand her barrier.
Thankfully, she had help. Paramount and Luminary chimed in, using their magic to expand her barrier too. They too possessed a great ordeal of magic, allowing them to push back the vortex of Antimatter. The bubble grew larger than the ship and the vortex, reflecting it back at Rift-Giratina. The Rift Renegade Pokemon received its own attack back at its, resulting in the first biggest sign of damage so far.
"Thank you! Both of you!" Chrysalis thanked the Pegalysium King and Queen. She could focus clearly since these two were helping out. "Alright then. First...I'll force this Giratina away from the tower with all I can do."
Galaxy Tower.
"T-Taria!" Back at the tower, the other two Rift Creations were still active. Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia. They were occupied by Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo at the moment. Altaria had been forced back by an attack from Rift-Dialga, hurling through the air.
"Lava!" The same went for Scootaloo's Quilava, who rolled on the floor. But not via his own movements. It was from Rift-Palkia's attacks. By this point, they were essentially facing the might of Legendary Pokemon despite how abstract these two appeared to be.
"Altaria! Are you alright?!" Rainbow Dash asked. Altaria got right back up, still active and ready to continue battling. The same went with Quilava. "Okay then! Let's go for Dragon Pulse on Palkia this time!"
"Quilava! Flame Wheel!"
"Taria!" The Humming Pokemon opened her mouth as a turquoise ball appeared. This turquoise ball was released before then transforming midway into a giant multi-coloured energy dragon that was itching to chomp on Palkia.
But, as to be expected, Rift-Palkia warped space once more. By using its power, the space around itself and Altaria's Dragon Pulse was altered. Dragon Pulse went elsewhere, flying over Rift-Palkia's head. The attack hit the ceiling instead, missing Rift-Palkia thanks to the tampering of space. But this didn't stop Rift-Palkia from using Dragon Pulse freely. With its Dragon Pulse, there was nothing to warp the trajectory of this beam.
"Altaria!" Unfairly, Altaria had been hit by Dragon Pulse, receiving super-effective damage in the process. If only she could also warp space and ignore certain attacks.
As for Quilava, he moved at great speeds, only for Dialga to stop time. Even with Quilava's rolling speed, this 3-second Time-Stop was enough to throw it all into the gutter, allowing Rift-Dialga to use Earthquake at the same time. Rift-Dialga wouldn't even need much time to pull it off as all it took was a simple stomp.
Once time resumed after 3 seconds, Quilava was met with an eruption of golden shockwaves, laced with the power of Planet Earth. "L-Lava!" Quilava attempted drifting away from this, only to be grazed by the shockwaves, receiving supereffective damages as well.
"This can't be fair. They can just stop time and mess with space? How are we supposed to get past that?!" Scootaloo moaned. Indeed, this entire time, Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia have been using their natural abilities to their advantage. And these abilities were too good and helped them greatly.
Rift-Dialga could only stop time for 3 seconds but those 3 seconds truly mattered. Rift-Plkia could only warp a limited amount of space, but Space was Space either way.
"Bah, don't worry about it." Rainbow Dash thought otherwise. "Sure, it's pretty annoying, but there's always options we can use."
"Like...?"
"Uh...we'll find something eventually! Ash and Twilight told me all about these two when they were in that weird dimension. It doesn't look like we can fully defeat them. Maybe sending them back to that wall is how we do it."
"But we can't reach that wall at all? So we can't beat them?"
"I've got an idea...and it involves us doing this!" Rainbow Dash suddenly picked up Scootaloo and Quilava before choosing to fly away instead of continuing to shout out commands. Altaria soon followed once Rainbow Dash booked it.
"Wait?! We're leaving the battle?!"
"Nope! This is all part of the plan! Sometimes, battling doesn't have to be super upfront, ya know." Rainbow Dash had it all planned. She wasn't fleeing at all. Battling Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia directly was troublesome. A whole new kind of trouble that was truly otherworldly. For that, she had to change the way she approached this battle.
"Truth is...I don't know what to do about Time and Space." In her mind, Rainbow Dash was stumped when it came to these forces. "How do I get around something like that?"
Of course, Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia would pursue them all. The two Dragons chased down Rainbow Dash's group through this long and torn-apart hallway. Rainbow Dash focused on the different doors that led to different areas. Any direction would still involve pursuit from these two Rift Creations, but Rainbow Dash was clever enough to know that even these two were still lesser variants of their original counterparts. This was proof via Rift-Dialga's temporary time-stop and what Ash and Twilight shared a few days ago. Therefore, it was time to test those limitations.
"Altaria! Ice Beam on the walls! Block them!"
"Taria!" Altaria would use Ice Beam, focusing on these walls before then blocking off this part of the area with cold hard ice. This cluster of ice came together nicely with a chilling aura emanating from them. However, these two Dragons had nothing to worry about when it came to ice.
If anything, the blockade of ice was just a nuisance. All it took was Dialga charging right through the blockade with its Diamond-Hard Skin. The ice shattered beautifully with small snowflakes dropping in the process. But after destroying the blockade, Rainbow Dash and her group were gone.
Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia looked around for any trace of this group. But there was nothing. The two doors leading to the two rooms were still there as they could've gone through either. The two Dragons looked at each other before nodding in agreement. Their communication boiled down to them splitting up and going to different rooms.
Rift-Palkia went to the right door as it opened automatically just like the left while Rift-Dialga chose the left. Even when opening these doors, Rainbow Dash's group was still absent. It fell silent right afterwards with only the hard footsteps of these two Dragons going off.
The hallways appeared empty with nothing to fill them. There were other rooms in this tower catered around storage. These storage rooms had no sign of life once Rift-Palkia showed its slightly long head inside. At this rate, Rift-Palkia was thinking of heading back to the Rift if it couldn't find this group.
Rift-Palkia left this part of the hallway, choosing to return to the Rift. But when facing the entrance, that's when they struck. Rainbow Dash's group revealed themselves.
"Gotcha! Dragon Pulse!" Rainbow Dash was waiting at the entrance, juking the Rift Creation by appearing back where they started.
"Altaria!" Altaria would make this a direct Dragon Pulse, building up the draconic energy and focusing on Palkia's face. It was time to hit it where it hurts as a dragon-shaped blast sprung out.
Acting as fast as it could, Rift-Palkia created a spatial barrier around its face via quick instincts. Even when being caught off guard, it could still be fast enough to protect itself as it wrapped the space around Dragon Pulse.
"You're fast! But not as fast as him! Now, Braviary!"
"Braviary!" Rainbow Dash's Braviary had been sent out for this battle. He was already waiting for his chance to strike. And that chance was now. From above, Braviary swooped in with a full-force Brave Bird. Unfortunately for Rift-Palkia, it was too late to try and warp space behind it. "Vi!"
"Castform!" Joining in was Castform with a Normal-Type Weather Ball, allowing the ball to travel side by side with the Valiant Pokemon while Rift-Palkia was occupied with warping the Dragon Pulse elsewhere.
A direct hit. Rift-Palkia received a hard crash from Braviary's back attack. This also allowed Dragon Pulse to fully pass through the spatial barrier. A super-effective hit on the front and a generally heavy hit from the back. Rainbow Dash could already see the limits to these Rift Creations. It was all a matter of what they could pull off rather than what they could naturally do.
"Yes!" Rainbow Dash cheered after the attacks were successful. Finally, some progress had been made. But just as there was progress, Rift-Palkia aimed to dial it all back. After the initial attack, the cosmic glow in its eyes went off. This set something off.
As a way to retaliate, Rift-Palkia suddenly used the weapon it carried with it, separating it from its body. The weapon then moved on its own, responding to Rift-Palkia's pain. In retaliation, the weapon unleashed a slash that looked all too familiar. It looked a lot like Spacial Rend.
"Uh oh!" Rainbow Dash grimaced as this slash could be seen altering space. Braviary flew ahead, holding up his wings to protect Rainbow Dash. He would do so with Steel Wing for extra durability. But this wasn't like the usual Spacial Rend. It wasn't as strong but it left a larger impact than expected.
This attack seemed to encompass all of Rift-Palkia's strength and what it was capable of. In this instance, a wider range of space was manipulated, interacting with the walls of the tower. From this outburst, Rift-Palkia's abilities increased for a bit. Another example of a Pokemon's strength going up when on the losing side sometimes.
Braviary managed to successfully block the attack, however, the wall of the tower had been erratically disorganized, leaving open areas that revealed other rooms.
"Nice save, Braiary." Rainbow Dash sighed. "That could've been too close."
"Braviary." There was a moment of silence once the Spacial Rend ended. Braviary took a deep sigh before then witnessing a shocking revelation. The second he moves his wings back, his body split apart.
In a perfectly symmetrical line, Braviary's body had been split in half, sending both halves away. The Valiant Pokemon's eyes widened once he saw what had become of him. Rainbow Dash, Castform and Altaria all had their eyes pop out of them before screaming in unison.
"Huh!?" Rainbow Dash went first, followed by Castform and Altaria. But, they would soon find out that the Spacial Rend's reach didn't just stop at Braviary. The second she went to see if her partner was alright, her body split apart too.
Rainbow Dash's body had also been split in half with perfect symmetry. The same went for Castform and Altaria as the power of this attack was greater than they expected. The pegasus took a moment to witness the horror that became of her body. She looked at one hoof with one eye and another hoof with another eye.
It seemed that Rift-Palkia didn't just disorganize and split the hallway in half, it split their bodies in half, tearing them in half as their dimensions had been scrambled.
"This is weird...! But awesome...!" Rainbow Dash wasn't sure how to feel about this. She wasn't badly hurt but she was freaking out right now. The extent of Rift-Palkia's power had been revealed. It seemed that there was more to give out with this Rift Creation that had yet to be unleashed.
With Scootaloo, she managed to get the jump on Rift-Dialga by concealing herself. The same trick had been pulled on Rift-Dialga where one Pokemon attacks from the front and the other goes for the back.
This time, it was Quilaa and his Flame Wheel. "Quilava!" Quilava attacked from the front with a full-speed Flame Wheel, almost catching Rift-Dialga off guard, only for time to stop. Rift-Dialga took the time to ascend into the air with the three seconds it had available. Once again, thanks to the usage of its power, any attack that came its way was immediately met with a Time Stop.
"I was waiting for that!" Unless something got the better of it. And someone did. Rapidash to be exact. After time resumed, Quilava's attack failed but Rapidash, who was waiting for his moment to attack, appeared out of one of the rooms, using those powerful galloping legs to jump as high as he could.
In the air, he used Double Kick. Much like Rift-Palkia, those limitations showed themselves. Stopping time for three seconds was already limited Rift-Dialga couldn't do it quick enough ironically. Thus, Rapidash was free to stomp on its back with not one but two super-effective kicks from above.
Rift-Dialga was knocked out of the air by this, crashing to the floor which caused a mild rumble. A successful cooperative attack yet again. Advantages in numbers truly did help out when facing larger forces. "Way to go, you two!" Scootaloo jumped for joy. "I think that left a mark! No doubt about it."
But much like Rift-Palkia, this attack triggered a rapid response in the form of Dialga's own signature attack. The shield Rift-Dialga carried also moved up, gaining its own will. Just like the weapon from Rift-Palkia, this shield used Roar of Time. Dialga's Signature Move.
Less powerful compared to the original but somehow larger in scale, the attack became a large pulse instead of a beam, engulfing the rest of this hallway. Scootaloo flinched, covering her eyes with her wings, fearing that this pulse would bring about a devastating blow.
But, it didn't do any damage at all. The best it did was just shake the hallway and almost throw Rapidash off balance. For the most part, it didn't harm anyone. Scootaloo and her Pokemon all had their eyes closed but they had nothing to fear from this attack.
She slowly opened them up to see how the hallway was also still in one piece. "Oh...That's it? Phew. That was kinda anticlimactic but I'll take it. Are you two okay?"
"Cynda." Shockingly, the wrong Pokemon responded to her. Scootaloo's pupils shrunk before looking down to see what had become of her Quilava.
Or rather, Cyndaquil. His pre-evolution to his entire evolution line stood before the pegasus. He was as small and cute as ever but even so, Scootaloo had a lot going on in her mind. "Cyndaquill?!"
"Ponyta?" The same goes for Rapidash. Or Ponyta rather. Just like Cyndaquil, Rapidash was back in his pre-evolution. Ponyta. But, these two weren't the only ones affected. The two Fire-Types opened their mouths in awe at what they were witnessing.
Scootaloo noticed that not only did they revert to their pre-evolutions, but somehow, she was above them. She certainly couldn't fly at all and even when they were in their first forms, Cyndaquil was around her height while Ponyta was bigger than her. That wasn't the case now. She was taller as noticed by her hoof length.
In fact, she was older.
That Roar of Time Pulse from the shield changed the flow of time for both of them. Whereas Ponyta and Cyndaquil suffered regression, Scootaloo was hit by progression. She felt her face for a bit before then looking at Dialga's diamond accessories which gave off a reflection. This confirmed to her that she was older.
"Oh..." Scootaloo felt like passing out and geeking out at the same time. She wasn't sure which one to start with first. However, she could figure that out later as Rift-Dialga wasn't done yet. Neither was Rift-Palkia. They had only been knocked down for a bit.
But they would certainly get back up.
"Uh..I...Mmm!" Scootaloo struggled to think of the next sentence, trying to take this all in. "Gotta go!" She thought of running away instead. Upon seeing Rift-Dialga getting back up, she along with her pre-evolved Pokemon high-tailed it out of there.
But now, both sides were in compromising states. One side had been hit with a change of Time while the other felt the separation of Space. Either could be considered a big deal. Such was the power of the Creation Trio. Though these may not be the real ones, their power still mimicked that of their originals.
And little did many of them know, but there was the third member of this trio right outside, having yet to enter this tower. If it even enters at all.
"Okay, no need to panic!" Right now, Rainbow Dash was trying her best not to panic. When facing off against the Rift-Palkia, by getting the jump on it, it looked like she was taking control of this scuffle. However, moments later, the unexpected happened. Something that affected Rainbow Dash and her Pokemon.
Their bodies had been split in half with perfect symmetry. Right now, Rainbow Dash's body was split with two parts of her floating in the air. The same went for Castform, Altaria and Braviary.
She wasn't hurt at all. However, being split apart brought its own problems. "Just gotta...put myself back together. That's all." When trying to move her split parts back, Rainbow Dash soon discovered the major consequence of having a split body. Both sides of her body fell over in directions in response to her trying to bring them together again. "Oh!"
One side of Rainbow Dash landed flat on her face while the other landed on her back. Rainbow Dash's attempt to fly back failed instantly. She groaned before trying to get back up. However, only one-half of her got back up while the other half was still on the floor. "What gives?"
"Castform!" Castform and the other Pokemon were having a hard time as well. They couldn't find a balance at all. Mainly because every balance had been thrown off completely. None of them could move in the way they were used to. Even on the ground since they are most known for being airborne.
With their bodies split in half, their sense of control had been thrown off. Rainbow Dash found it extremely difficult to try and get her other half up. She could barely move both wings too as it was a mess.
"I take it back...this isn't kinda awesome! I can't move like this!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "I can't walk or fly normally...everything's all messed up! How are ya doing, Braviary? Guys?"
"Braviary...!" Braviary kept bumping into the walls when trying to reassemble himself. He wasn't even close.
"Not great...either." Rainbow Dash sighed. "It's always easy when you have one body to worry about...but we've got two bodies at this point! Maybe Princess Celestia's got a spell that can fix this up."
But before she could depart from here, Rift-Palkia suddenly stood up. It wasn't down and out yet. It may be weaker than its original counterpart but it certainly wasn't fragile.
"Seriously?!" Rainbow Dash gasped with her singular eye widening at Rift-Palkia's rise. "I don't need this right now..."
"Braviary!" Even when split up, Braviary, as his name confirms, was brave enough to stand up to Rift-Palkia. Well, one half of him stood up to Braviary while the other could only see the floor. The weapon from Rift-Palkia returned to its possession as after that cooperative attack, it looked agitated at Rainbow Dash and her team even after the weapon retaliated by splitting them in half.
"I can't battle like this." But even the battle-hungry Rainbow Dash knew when to pull back from a battle. And now was a good time to do so, especially since Rift-Palkia was preparing another attack already, not wasting any time. "Time to go!"
Running was the right option. They certainly couldn't fly. However, running away was equally as difficult as flying away since they still had no proper control over their split bodies. Thanks to all the panicking, everyone's halves had been scattered across the room. If they wanted to flee, they would have to get their correct halves. Immediately, Rainbow Dash and her team started scrambling upon seeing Rift-Palkia charge up a Hyper Beam.
"Come on other me! This way! To my right!" She yelled, attempting to do what she could to bring her other half to her.
"Which right?!" The other half of Rainbow Dash yelled, wriggling on the floor like a Wurmple.
"Your right is my right!" She roared before then scrunching her face. Both halves realized that they both could speak for themselves despite being the same individual. "Wait! You can talk like that?!"
Interrupting their conversation was Rift-Palkia. The time to attack was now. It immediately went for Dragon Claw, raising its arms as the first target was the left side of Rainbow Dash's body.
"Gah!" Rainbow Dash screeched like an Exploud. Both halves did. The left side scrambled with only two hooves to work with. Immediately, she began tilting and wobbling when trying to flee with only half of herself.
But it was immediately disrupted the second her right half made a move. The movement from the second half caused a reaction between the two, leading to the left side to tumble. It was somewhat of a lucky fall as she managed to narrowly evade Dragon Claw with only her tail being grazed.
"I can't move if you move!"
Well, I can't move if you move!" The two halves of her said as the constant swinging from Rift-Palkia forced the left side to keep moving frantically.
It was utter chaos. The various halves scattered and scrambled with each of them trying to evade Rift-Palkia's attacks. Castform bounced with one half while the other ended up rolling. His bounce led to him jumping over a Dragon Claw luckily.
Braviary scurried on the floor as his massive wings ended up messing with his balance even more. He had to improvise. Rift-Palkia now had more to focus on than before. With these scattered halves moving frantically, trying to focus on one would be a bit difficult since each half possesses sentience.
It tried grabbing and slashing each of them, only for their erratic movements to keep them safe for a while. Rainbow Dash's right half ended up activating one of the doors just by wriggling and flopping next to it.
"If I can just get close...!" Rainbow Dash's right side ended up taking a mighty leap by springing both her hooves up with all she could currently muster. Flying was currently unavailable for her. And at the same time, Braviary would also leap with his talon, attempting to reach his right side.
But the second they were both near each other, the unthinkable happened. As if things weren't strange already, with both of these split bodies being so close to each other, something happened that pulled them together. Rainbow Dash and Braviary were suddenly attracted as if they were magnets, having their bodies come together with a pink cosmic glow going off. "B-Braviary?!"
"What the?!" Rainbow Dash before then sticking to Braviary's body. The Left Side of Rainbow Dash and the right side of Braviary had become one, creating this bizarre amalgamation of species. Of course, one individual was bigger than the other, making it truly unbalanced and inconsistent. "Oh, come on! What's this now?!"
"Castform..." Castform felt like passing out at the sight of this. As if things weren't difficult enough for them. Now, this combination only increased the difficulty. But they couldn't just continue standing around. Not when Rift-Palkia was charging up a Dragon Pulse.
"We'll work with it!" Rainbow Dash screeched as she and Braviary started jetting off. Braviary only had one talon while Rainbow Dash had two hooves, making their movements shift to the side constantly. Castform and the other halves from each body would soon follow, leaving this room while being chased down by a Rift Creation.
"Mmmm..." Waking up at last after falling unconscious was Rarity. She found herself in another room that was different from the outfit room she was previously in. When waking up, she saw other ponies with this one room along with beds that were being brought in. Though, many of them were mostly ruined thanks to conflict.
Fluttershy and Cynthia were responsible for this, nursing everyone who had suffered a loss to Galaxy Master and his Pokemon to health in this one room. Sci-Twi, Sweetie Belle and many others were healed thanks to Audino and Fluttershy. They were lucky to all be in one piece, especially with those who encountered Dragonite.
"Oh my. What happened?" Rarity groaned. "Are we still in the tower?"
"I'm afraid we are. And it's going to stay that way for a while unless the veil is broken." Cynthia said to Rarity. "We're in outer space. I've already informed everyone here."
"Outer space...? Somehow, I'm not too surprised." A recovering Rarity said after Audino finished healing her. "But the sights might be beautiful either way,"
"I wish we could see the sights right now," Fluttershy added. "But that can't happen with everything going on. The Rift's still active and won't stop unless it finds Ash."
"Or if it runs out of steam," Cynthia replied. "With how much of its power is missing, it can't keep going for long. Eventually, it'll have to return to its realm and recover at once. For now, we're all staying here."
"What about stopping the Rift? Who else is missing from here?" Rarity wondered.
"A few others. But since the Rift is going for Ash, that might be its main target. Perhaps at this point, it's already found Ash or Ash is coming to the Rift."
"There's better news. I've got one of the books about Galaxy Master here." Sci-Twi held up a Galaxy Master Comic. "There's a weakness for us to expose. He's not quite unbeatable, even if the Rift's controlling him."
"That's nice and all but can it happen any time soon? Are we even on the same day?" Rarity got off the bed.
"Surprisingly yes. Even in space. Everything's been moving so fast." Cynthia nodded. "But, rest easy. This could all end soon...Let's just hope it's sooner than we want it to be."
Top of the tower.
The very top of the tower. This is where Galaxy Master's main room could be found. Everywhere else was right below this part of the tower which had the most theming to it out of any other room in this structure.
Huge cosmic-themed braziers attached to each of the fourteen columns lit up every part of this room and radiated warmth across this hall. The thousands of stardust on the slanted ceiling dance in the flickering light while carved images look down upon the smooth white floor of this extravagant room.
A lilac rug runs from the throne down the centre and loops back from both left and right while ribbon banners with gilded embroideries droop from the walls.
Here, the Rift had arrived. It sat on a dignified seat of silver which sat in front of a large monitor, radiating cosmic light onto the seat. If there was any room in this tower that truly felt galactic, it would be this one.
In this room, the Rift had been trying to get through to Hoopa. The Mischief Pokemon harboured staggering power that the Rift couldn't ignore. It's why it even prevented Ash from recalling Hoopa's existence for so long during the start of the two worlds crossing over.
"Come on! Why can't I take anything from you?!" Right now, the Rift was frustrated with Hoopa. It could easily manipulate Meloetta with puppet strings and use her for battle. But with Hoopa, the amazing power he held was unable to be used.
"Ugh..." Hoopa was also slightly conscious, groaning in pain after what happened between him and Dragonite.
"What gives? I want that power f yours. If I had I could summon whatever I wanted honestly. So why won't you respond"?
"Hoopa won't give it up...Hoopa can't give it up..." Hoopa groaned.
"You can't or you won't. Make up your mind!" The Rift roared. "Unless...don't tell me. Is it Arceus' doing? That annoying equine...deer..llama...whatever Arceus is! How I wish I could do something about him as well. But...I can't access your rings. They've been specifically catered to your own volition. But do you think that'll stop me?"
"Huh?"
"If I was at my best, this would be a different story. Alas, that's not the case. I already worked hard to keep Ash and you from ever meeting again, only for events to lead up to your reunion. But, I could make this the last time you two ever see each other again."
"Don't do this...! Ashkan didn't do anything wrong!"
"Wrong! It's because of him that I'm even in this state. Do you know how virulent Aura is to me? Throughout each universe I've travelled to and each I've crossed over, I was always aware of those who would pose a threat to me. There exist forces out there who can be a problem for me if I'm not careful. Ash is just the first one who managed to finally get past my defences. Aura is the antithesis of what I do. My power intervene with life and everything natural whilst Aura is what makes so much in the world natural and keeps it going."
"And you wanna have revenge because Ashkan surprised you?"
"I enjoy surprises just like you Hoopa. But not when they're greatly against me in a way that brings me down. Never before have I felt so weak. Having to resort to finally stepping out and taking action. I don't have long in this body either, so it's not permanent at all. I'll have to go back to my realm to recover as always. Being this weak and restrained is so...aggravating! All the things I want to do...all the creativity that I harbour is now limited, even with what I receive."
"Hoopa gets it." After listening to the Rift rant about its current state, those words hit close to home for Hoopa. "Hoopa knows what it feels like?"
"What? Oh right. That clash at Dahara City. You're saying you of all Pokemon can understand me?"
"Hoopa loves to do whatever Hoopa wants to do. Hoopa's rings are the best thing ever. So much fun can come from them, so Hoopa never feels bored. But, that other part in Hoopa..."
"Your Unbound Form. Listen. You and I are barely alike. Sure, we have summoning capabilities. But I'm fighting for a different reason, genie. Understand?"
"Not that." Hoopa then flew out of the Rift's grasp, finally regaining enough strength to levitate once more. "Before that. You didn't hate Ashkan before, right? You were just like Hoopa. It was all about having fun!"
"Hmph. I didn't hate Ash at all." The Rift stood up. "Truth is, he and I had our exchanges but they were mutual. From when he requested that I bring all of his Pokemon to help during the invasion of the Canterlot Wedding. Or even when we issued that challenge as to who would win before the end of this story. Even though I cheated as some would say. Even then...Ash was an interesting one. I've had my eye on him for a long time, learning about his adventures from when he first started his journey. And I must say...There aren't many that hold up to it."
"Really?"
"Of course. The only thing that rivals is it another world that involves a pirate that might as well be Ash's twin brother. The adventures he goes on intrigued me. Especially compared to what I've seen. In every world that I've visited, the headliners and figureheads of each of those respective worlds always have triumphant victories. And then there was Ash. He was different from the rest. When he lost the Indigo League, I suspected that would be it. But he kept going and I witnessed him win the Orange League. I believed I saw everything I needed to see and could predict what could happen next. And then..."
"And then?" Hoopa questioned, wanting to know more. This was all new to him.
"His story kept pulling me back in. So many worlds, I could predict what each of the could entail at the very end. But not Ash's story. His story kept going and came with a barrage of losses I would've never expected. How does someone who is the headliner of his universe fall this greatly? It kept me intrigued constantly. But even with these losses, there wasn't a slither of him losing hope or losing the drive to continue. Most would've quit at this point, seeing themselves as too weak. But it was then that I realized...Ash isn't aiming to be the strongest."
"No? But what about that World Coro...whatever it's called."
"He still wants to be the World's Strongest Trainer. But do you think that is what determines a Pokemon Master? I've seen the end of Ash's story Hoopa. Something that felt like it was endless. And surprisingly...it might as well be endless. This concept of a Pokemon Master is something that I followed. Because he was the only one to walk this path. Learning and laughing along the way. The friends he made along the way, whether they be Human or Pokemon always had my attention. And I loved it. I loved every bit of it. Never before has a world made me so...happy."
The Rift shocked Hoopa with its words. Away from all the conflict, the Rift could utter words that only it could say due to what it's experienced. Not just in this world or the Pokemon World. But so many worlds in the past.
"I loved this world. I loved those who lived in it. And when Ash won the Alola League, a new feeling of happiness was born that I rarely get from other worlds. After watching him for so long, it all felt so wonderful. Staying along for the ride was the best decision I could ever make. And that's when I made up my mind, Hoopa. This is the world that I wanted to see the most out of. I wanted to see what the Pokemon World could bring to other worlds. The boundless possibilities with various worlds could skyrocket to new levels. And...I wasn't wrong. Especially when Ash came along. He already left a mark in this world with who he's made friends with and what he's shared."
The Rift then thought back to every moment with Ash and his adventures in this world. The Rift watched it all, finding absolute joy and entertainment in every event.
"What is not there to love? Is it that dynamic between those two headliners?"
"Or maybe it's the interactions and relationships that come from them despite the separate worlds. Not even Royalty is exempt from his presence."
"Is it all the battles that come with it? The adrenaline-pumping and eye-candy action that emerges from a Pokemon Battle or even an encounter with other forces from each respective world?"
"I love it all, Hoopa. I love it all so much."
"Then, why hate Ashkan now? Sounds like you liked what Ashkan brought."
"The effect that Aura had on me was too stellar for you to imagine. Even with what you've been through Hoopa. But even so...I don't plan on getting rid of Ash entirely. I couldn't do it either way. His existence is necessary. I just want to see him suffer." The Rift then faced Hoopa. "And until then..."
"Hoopa won't let you!" A damaged Hoopa yelled before straining himself. "Hoopa can see that the Rift had so much fun, just like Hoopa. Hoopa won't let you lose all that fun."
"I haven't lost it all. I don't need you trying to reason with me Hoopa." The Rift scoffed. "I just need you to chime in just for me. And I can exact my full revenge on Ash!"
"I don't think so!" Bursting into this room was none other than the Trainer himself. Ash. Pikachu's Iron Tail knocked the door down as Ash, Twilight and Fluttershy had arrived, finally finding Galaxy Master, Hoopa and Meloetta.
"Ashkan!"
"Finally. You came to me." The Rift said with a grizzled voice. The two individuals clad in blue and red stood before each other. It took a while, but this encounter was finally realized.
And at the same time, Hoopa gained a new perspective after what the Rift shared. Behind that vengeful spirit was a great ordeal of respect. And more importantly, a love for entertainment. But all of that was being clouded. And the one who continued to block off that entertainment was the mere sight of Ash Ketchum in the eyes of the Rift as the journey continues.
Chapter 919 End.
Wielding the Master Bolt! Arrival of the true Terror
Up in the stars, the Rift's burning anger to take vengeance upon Ash Ketchum had reached its peak. The terrifying Rift-Giratina was already attacking the Rocketship out in space, having yet to enter the Galaxy Tower. Manning the ship was Chrysalis who was also protecting it from any damage so as to keep the Master Bolt from setting off.
The best way to protect it was via a magical barrier. However, the ferocity of Rift-Giratina was unrelenting, constantly attacking the barrier which ended up shaking the ship either way.
Chrysalis was doing her best as her barrier was being assisted by Paramount and Luminary. But even their combined magic struggled to hold Giratina's attacks back. "This one is relentless!" Luminary exclaimed with a grimace on her face. "None of this ship's weapons are harming it all that much!"
"Curses! We can't reach the tower in time if this keeps up!" Chrysalis added before straining upon feeling Giratina's attacks. "What happened to those Unown of yours?!"
"We can't have Second Wind going for the door, so we let the Unown and other guards protect it," Paramount added. "Though...I wish I did have them with me."
"This Antimatter is terrifying. It just eats away at anything it touches." Luminary shuddered at Rift-Girtaina's magic. Such a devastating force was being held by this one Pokemon. Technically two as this was just a counterpart from another dimension.
"Wish I could go out there right now...!" Applejack growled as she was exempt from attacking Giratina. She almost fell over from another rumbling within the ship, only for her Golett to catch her. That's when it hit Applejack. There was a way to retaliate and it was staring her in the face. "Can't we use that bolt to get rid of it!?"
"Use the Master Bolt?" Paramount and Luminary swivelled to face Applejack.
"Yeah! You said it's strong, right? Well, how strong is it when facing a Pokemon?" Applejack questioned. "I say we throw it now!"
"Very well. But be careful! If you take even one bolt out, I can guarantee you that it will be bigger than your entire entire body." Paramount warned Applejack. One bolt was apparently already larger than her. "Open the case."
The guards hopped to it. The container for the Master Bolt would finally be opened. But it wasn't for the tower. It was for Rift-Giratina. Chrysalis would have to keep trying to keep the ship steady just to preserve this destructive weapon's energy. Parts of the barrier had been eaten away by the Antimatter.
Rift-Giratina unleashed Hyper Beam only for Chrysalis to reply via the ship's main cannon which also unleashed a beam. The Hyper Beam and the ship's magical beam clashed within the stars, engaging in a struggle. Chrysalis was already doing enough multi-tasking in moving the ship and its many commands, protecting it and now this.
"Ribombee!" Ribombee feared for Chrysalis' well-being. If she kept this up, the strain could truly get to her with an unpleasant result waiting for the Changeling Queen. Ribombee also wished she could be out there, taking on Rift-Giratina. The Hyper Beam began cracking the barrier as it was a sign of Chrysalis' strength waiting. Paramount and Luminary still kept their magic active, but even that was struggling to hold back this Hyper Beam.
Chrysalis moved the ship to the side to gauge some distance. She barely managed to do so as the Hyper Beam ended up striking the sides of the ship, taking out one of the cannons in the process.
"Jackie was right! Controlling this thing is harder than it looks! My experience with something like this is too lacklustre due to the scenario!" Chrysalis growled as she had various sweatdrops on her head.
"Bombee!" To keep Chrysalis active and grant her some healing, Ribombee used Pollen Puff. By forming a delicious ball of pollen, the Bee Fly Pokemon fed it to the Changeling Queen. Chrysalis removed her helmet to take a bite. She savoured the taste before having her face melt from the pure ecstasy it brought.
"Many thanks, Ribombee..." Chrysalis sighed. "But it might not be enough for this Pokemon. Perhaps, gauging more distance is what we need!"
Chrysalis chose to try and steer the ship away from Rift-Giratina. Immediately, she made the ship fly away from Giratina instead of sticking around this Rift Renegade Pokemon. But that wouldn't stop Rift-Giratina from pursuing it. Immediately, once the ship jetted away, the Rift Creation would not ignore it and just immediately go for the tower. Rift-Giratina already knew that they were going for the tower as well.
Meanwhile, Apple Bloom finally woke up from all this ruckus. She got the rest she needed, entering this room to find the frantic commotion and scuffle. She also witnessed the Master Bolt and how it was currently being removed from its case. The Pegalysium Guards opened it with absolute care, slowly removing the front of the Dynasite Container. Any wrong movements could set off the Master Bolt.
"There we go! You said your Golett is immune to all things electric. Time to see if the same goes for this bolt." Paramount said to Applejack.
"Count on it, your majesty. Golett. It's now or never. I'm gonna need ya to hurl one of those bolts at that funny-looking Giratina."
"Golett." Golett wouldn't let her down. One of her Golett walked up to the almighty Master Bolt, gazing at the absolute intensity of it. When it was out of the container, the rumbling could be heard clearly and was no longer blocked by sound. All Golett had to do was grasp it.
With one hand out, the main Golett that was there by Applejack's side before the rest had come into contact with this amalgamation of devastating storms. Its hand dug into the weapon, grasping a part of it. Immediately, the Master Bolt reacted violently to direct contact for the first time in centuries. It let out the crashing sound of thunder indoors, scaring Apple Bloom and Ribombee while also unleashing a flare of electricity.
The guards stepped back from these flares as they feared that they would send out wild bolts that would just fly randomly. As to be expected, Golett was immune to it. The electricity did not phase the Automaton Pokemon at all.
"Amazing...! It's holding the Master Bolt without feeling any damage!" Needless to say, Luminary was flabbergasted. What Applejack said was true. Ground-Types truly are exempt from all things Electric.
"G-Gol...!" But even though it was immune to the bolt's electricity, there was one issue. Much like what Paramount said, one piece of the bolt was bigger than Applejack's body. There was also the problem of this bolt having an impressively strong weight to it. When pulling out one piece of the bolt, Golett's arms trembled at great speeds. It succeeded in grabbing a bolt but struggled to keep its balance.
"Golett! What's wrong?!" Applejack gasped.
"The Master Bolt isn't just bigger than all of us, it's heavier than all of us!" Paramount exclaimed. "These mass of storms have some weight to them!"
Indeed. Even if someone was immune to this weapon, the other factors would stop them in their tracks. This was Pegalysium's Secret and Strongest weapon for a reason. However, Golett wouldn't just let this bolt get the better of it. Rather, all of the other Golett wouldn't. The remaining 9 Golett rushed to the main one to support it. To prevent the first Golett from falling over, they all held their fellow Automaton Pokemon up. Teamwork was a priority for them.
"Gol...!" The combined strength of the Golett was still resulting in the bolt being extremely heavy for them.
"It ain't gonna be heavy for us for long!" Applejack growled. "Strength!"
"Gol!" Four of the Golett used Strength to increase their physical strength. By using the absolute best of their muscles, they managed to keep the main Golett up. They didn't have to worry about hurting it. They were all Ground-Types after all.
Now was the time for the hatch to open. Chrysalis opened the hatch up while being chased down by Rift-Giratina who terrifyingly swam through the cosmic skies, spreading Antimatter everywhere it went. Just then, Rift-Giratina descended, disappearing from Chrysalis' view. The worst kind of outcome was for Chrysalis to not know where this Rift Creation would be at the moment. It only struck fear into her.
"Throw it at the tower first, Applejack! Get rid of that veil!" Paramount ordered.
"Gotcha! Get ready to aim and fire, Golett!"
"Gol...!" With assistance from its friends, Golett was able to barely hold up the bolt. The tower was within its sight once the hatch opened up. All it had to do was launch it at the tower and hope that it breaks through the Cosmic Veil.
But the second it opened up, Rift-Giratina was there waiting for them. It slithered underneath the ship just to appear there. The terrifying face of Rift-Girtina greeted Applejack and the others, jump scaring them. It managed to break through a fragile part of the barrier from all of this conflict, finally getting close enough to the Rocketship. And upon showing up, Rift-Giratina was already preparing to use Hyper Beam.
"Not like this!" Apple Bloom yelled as Giratina was far too close to the ship at this point. This only increased the danger of the Master Bolt being tempered with, potentially leading to catastrophic results.
"I don't think so! Sceptile, Frenzy Plant!"
"Scep...Tile!" Sceptile would stop this at once. Even in outer space, he could control nature itself. Roots sprouted out of the ship's floor, rushing out of the vehicle before entering outer space.
"Wait! Won't the roots freeze?!" Luminary yelled. "And be careful of the Master-"
But the roots didn't freeze. Any normal plant would've frozen in outer space. But thanks to the power of Pokemon, that was not the case as the roots wrapped around Giratina's head, preventing it from unleashing its attack. The Rift Renegade Pokemon roared once these strong roots got ahold of it. At last, Applejack could fight back against this cosmic foe.
"Never mind." Luminary retracted her question. Immediately after it was restrained, Rift-Giratina began using Antimatter to try and break free. Particles of this destructive energy began eating away at the roots to guarantee its freedom.
"Now's your chance! Throw it!" Chrysalis yelled.
"Alright! Go for it, Golett!" Applejack also yelled, encouraging Golett to finally unleash this bolt. It already had support from its fellow Golett to keep it steady. Now was the best time to use this weapon, especially with how close Rift-Giratina was.
"G-Gol...!" Golett moved its arm up as even with everyone helping it, throwing the bolt also required the full extent of its physical strength. Rift-Giratina was close to already breaking free from the roots, forcing Sceptile to be on his feet.
"Lett!" Two Golett let go of their main Golett, choosing to stop Rift-Giratina's movements. Now was the time for them to use Shadow Punch. By extending their fists, trails of shadows came flying out, slugging Rift-Giratina's face for some super-effective damage.
But even with this super-effective strike, Rift-Giratina not only took it like a champ, but it immediately responded by using a roar so great that it was comparable to a tornado. This roar pushed the Golett back along with Sceptile just from the pressure alone.
The windows of the ship even shattered as this roar had some Antimatter packed into it just for extra intensity. Not many roars could match this kind of ferocity at all.
"G-Golett!" The main Golett who held the bolt was also pushed back by this roar. The fragility of the bolt would finally reveal itself at this rate with how Golett was sent flying.
"No!" King Paramount couldn't allow that to happen. By using his magic, he telekinetically held Golett's body, preventing it from falling. He especially made sure most of his magic went to Golett's hand, forcing it to grip the bolt harder.
Rift-Giratina already turned the tide as it then took a bite into the hatch of the ship. Its fangs sunk deep, laced with Antimatter energy for extra destruction.
"Ribombee!" Refusing to let Rift-Giratina cause more trouble, an agitated Ribombeetook action. She flew past everyone before then going for Dazzling Gleam. Now was her chance. A barrage of rainbow rays were unleashed, raining down on Rift-Giratina's face. Another super-effective hit, however, Ribombee's strength compared to everyone else's including the Rocketship had been revealed. Much like Sceptile, her attacks were enough to keep this Rift Creation at bay. The super-effective rays forced Rift-Giratina back immediately, removing its fangs from the ship.
"Golett!" Golett's balance was restored thanks to King Paramount. With Rift-Giratina being pushed back, Golett's chances had been rebooted.
"Throw the bolt, Golett! Now!" Applejack shouted as this could be their last chance to use the bolt before everything falls apart.
"Go...Lett!" Finally, Golett launched the singular piece of the Master Bolt. And upon launching it, faster than anyone could see, the bolt let out multiple flashes in one second that would usually take 5 or more seconds to witness. The sound of thunder crashed ferociously. Even when throwing it, Golett had been launched as the crackle of the bolt damaged the inside of the ship, blowing parts of it off.
Rift-Giratina's eyes widened upon seeing this small yet devastating lightning bolt being unleashed. Danger. That's all it sensed. Everything else it had faced before wasn't all that dangerous to it. But this singular lightning bolt that was barely bigger than its teeth was above it all.
The power of a thousand storms threatened it. Rift-Giratina knew all too clearly that if something this powerful were to hit it, the result would be catastrophic to its entire body. Refusing to let that happen, its instincts, in that entire split second, prompted the Rift Renegade Pokemon to turn intangible, utilizing the best of its Ghostly properties.
The bolt phased through Rift-Giratina, leading to everyone having a shocked and mortified expression. The weapon, despite its immense power, could do nothing against the intangibility of a Ghost.
"No way...It missed...?" Luminary gasped as she felt like passing out. This was essentially a foreboding sense of despair creeping on everyone.
"No need to worry. I wasn't aiming for just Giratina!" Applejack, however, wasn't shocked at all. Sure, the bolt failed to hit Giratina, but with the direction, it was heading, its true target would finally be struck.
The Rift Veil.
"I didn't get two birds with one stone, but I'll get this!" Applejack cheered as Rift-Giratina soon realized the mistake it had made. By turning intangible, it failed to stop the attack on the veil by unintentionally helping Applejack's group.
The Master Bolt struck the Rift Veil. And with just one strike, the cosmic energies surrounding the tower had been disrupted. The veil trembled with the bolt spreading multiple volts of unbridled energy all over the place. These volts broke down each part of the veil by going all over the place.
This was all from just one bolt as it sent consecutive bursts to each part of the veil. Just like that, the raw power and speed of the lightning bolt managed to destroy the Cosmic Veil.
"Bullseye!" Applejack pumped her hoof in the air after the veil had been seen fizzling out. "See? Wasn't too much of a hassle, was it?"
"Amazing!" Paramount gawked. "I suppose it's not just a Destiny Pegasus or a Pegasus Giant that can wield this power."
"Ya see...About that." Applejack turned to face the king with a smile. "One day, they'll be giants. All 10 of 'em. Ain't that right, Golett?"
"Golett!"
"It's not over yet!" Chrysalis exclaimed as even though they successfully broke the veil with the Master Bolt, Rift-Giratina hadn't been defeated at all. If anything, this only angered it. Since it fought for the Rift, failing to protect the barrier at all angered the Rift Renegade Pokemon. A flare of Antimatter came out of its body just to signify its burning rage. No one could celebrate just yet when this Pokemon was in the way.
"Let's throw another one!" Apple Bloom suggested. "That might work this time!"
As if Rift-Giratina would let that happen. The true threat of this weapon was now made clear to the Rift Renegade Pokemon. It was far too powerful to ignore considering how it forced its instincts to go off so quickly and even broke through the Rift Veil with just one bolt.
The Rift-Renegade Pokemon flew forward, charging full force at the ship. A hard body bash went into the ship, making each of the Golett fall over. But one second later, Giratina did it again, furiously bashing the ship without stopping as the Antimatter kept eating away at everything. Closing the hatch was pointless since parts of it had been dissolved away.
"We've certainly angered it!" Luminary cried out, holding onto a chair. The ship even started tilting, forcing Chrysalis to yet again do her best to keep it steady. With all of this damage, Jackie was unavailable to pilot the ship considering how he was taking care of the engine room.
Applejack held Apple Bloom, keeping her safe from bodily harm as the ship was currently being eaten away by the particles of Antimatter that appeared in the billions.
Rift-Giratina was truly mad, doing everything in its power to tear this ship down as cracks of Antimatter came crashing in. The guards protected the Master Bolt, keeping the container completely safe and steady. Canterlot, Changeling and Pegalysium Guards came together just to keep this dangerous weapon safe. Otherwise, it will take them out before Giratina does.
Just as Rift-Giratina was ready to unleash a devastating Hyper Beam onto the ship, something intervened. Another beam interrupted Rift-Giratina from above, hitting the Rift Renegade Pokemon's stomach. Or rather, a pulse in the shape of a dragon. Another super-effective hit, however, this one truly did a number on Rift-Giratina. This was the first attack to truly bewilder the Rift Creation.
What could possibly do that since everyone else failed to make Rift-Giratina even have such an expression on its face. At least, as much as an expression such a Pokemon was capable of.
Another Giratina was the answer.
The real Giratina. Arriving here into the stars was the true Giratina. Fully made out of Arceus' power and not a semblance of the Rift anywhere. And on its back was none other than its trainer, Princess Flurry Heart from another world.
"Hey, guys!" And surprisingly to all of them, she was breathing in space. But that was only because of the spell she learned from another world.
"Flurry Heart!" Applejack, Chrysalis and Apple Bloom shouted.
"Is she breathing in space?!" Only Paramount, Luminary and the guards pointed out how Flurry Heart was breathing in space without wearing a special helmet. This was all thanks to the magic around her head. Truly a useful spell. This spell even affected the other Canterlot Guards who were on Giratina's back, here to assist them. Some of them looked sick just from showing up to space on the back of a giant Ghost Dragon.
"Another Giratina? What's up with that?" Flurry noticed the Rift-Giratina. After all, she was the one who attacked it first. "Oh, well. I'll find out later. Great auntie and auntie are in that giant tower waiting for us after all. So, we'll push this Giratina out of the way first. Full Speed Ahead, Giratina!"
"I'd rather you not..." One of the guards said, feeling like throwing up at this point or even passing out.
The Renegade Pokemon would kick it into high gear, either way, accelerating through the stars. Rift-Giratina would've never expected that its original variant would show up here at this moment. It was undoubtedly the biggest threat to this Rift Creation.
Giratina encountered his Rift Variant on this very day up in the stars, resulting in this cosmic clash continuing. If anything, with the arrival of the real Giratina, now the battle could truly begin. And with no veil to protect the tower, the entrance was free to use.
"Uh, let her handle it." Applejack suggested. "We'll go for the tower."
"Hm. Understood. I can put all my faith in a prodigy." Chrysalis agreed before kicking the ship into high gear. They wouldn't have to worry about Rift-Giratina anymore. Not when the real Giratina was here to keep it occupied.
"Just wait ya'll...We're coming." Applejack said as it was off to the tower at last. As far as everyone was concerned, their battle against Rift-Giratina ended with someone else taking control of it. But in reality, it wasn't over yet.
Or rather, it was reaching its peak. Ash had finally encountered the Rift at the very top of the tower. After many paths and hallways through the destruction and rubble, the two of them met once more. Both had the same thing in mind. All of this had to come to an end at last.
"Another Giratina? But it doesn't look quite the same..." Up in the stars, Flurry Heart, alongside some Canterlot Guards arrived on the back of her partner Pokemon Giratina. Fittingly, the two of them laid their eyes on a second Giratina, one that wasn't natural at all and came from another dimension, formed by the power of Arceus and the Rift.
Only by body and face did this Rift Creation resemble Giratina. Everything else was doing its own thing, making this creation distinct from the original. Naturally, the real Giratina wasn't sure how to take this. Should it be offended or feel some sort of superiority?
After staring at this amalgamation of energy, seeing that it was haphazardly formed by these two different powers and with who it was fighting alongside, Giratina decided. The first option was the one to feel. This alternate Giratina made the real Giratina snarl with disgust. This snarl intimidated the guards as it then prompted the alternate Giratina to snarl back in response.
"Easy there..." Flurry Heart patted her partner on the head to hold it back. "I know you're not a big fan of this. But, hey. At least I'm not the only one who has a double in this world too, right?" She grinned, joking about how her baby self can be found next to her at times.
"Princess...please take this seriously." The guards shuddered.
"Oh, right! We should be getting to the tower by now. But this one won't let us pass. So then, let's see which Giratina is better! I already know mine is!"
Giratina agreed. It did so by unleashing its signature roar but without any alterations to it, unlike Rift-Giratina. This was a cry that issued a challenge against the alternate Giratina. Although, the two of them would've battled either way.
Thanks to Flurry Heart, the Rocketship was free to pass by, approaching the Galaxy Tower. In its condition, it could still move, even after the Antimatter tore apart pieces of it. The only true downside to all of this was that Team Rocket wouldn't be too happy about this.
The ship approached the front of the door as Chrysalis steadily parked it, still controlling the ship. It wasn't until the ship finally came to a halt that Jackie showed up. The engine room had been taken care of at last.
"Hah..." Chrysalis found out what it was like to pilot such a vessel for the first time. Using her magic to control the ship's movements, and weapons while protecting it with a barrier against such a strong force drained her. "At last. I regret choosing to pilot this thing."
"You did a great job though." Jackie eased her with a pat on the back. "Thanks to you, I could make sure the engines don't lose it with all that ruckus."
"I'm surprised the bolt managed to withstand all of that. It's served its purpose thankfully," said Paramount. "Now, you've seen its strength for the first time. We're glad to have only used one bolt for this."
"It was impressive of Golett to wield such a weapon. A shame that it was too heavy for Golett to do it alone." Luminary added. "Oh, well. That throwing strength was just what we needed to break that barrier."
"Is Princess Flurry Heart gonna be okay, sis?" A worried Apple Bloom asked her big sister who was ready to leave. The hatch to the ship had been ruined by Antimatter but it was just close enough to the tower for them to reach.
"Eeyup. She's got the real deal with her. No way she's losing. As for us, we can put an end to this right now once we get inside that tower. How'd Ash open it again?" The earth pony waved her hoof around the tower the same way Ash held his hand up to the entrance. She expected a reaction, but there was nothing. Her constant waving triggered no reaction from the door. "Come on...!"
"I've got a better idea." Chrysalis stepped forward, having an easier solution to entering the tower. Magic. Specifically, a magical blast. Straight from her horn, a mighty blast of magic came flying out, blasting through the entrance. Despite being wrung out from all that action, she still had magic to spare.
The entrance was blown wide open with a large hole also being left behind, exposing the inside. "That's one way to do it." Applejack chuckled before leaping off the Rocketship.
"Your majesty? What do we do about the Master Bolt?" A Pegalysium guard asked Paramount as the bolt was now just sitting there in the Dynasite container.
"If we take it inside, we increase the risk of harming everyone else there. And that's not what we want. Some of you will keep watch of this bolt, in case the scuffle between those two Pokemon reaches here."
"Yes, your majesty!"
"Wait up, sis!" Apple Bloom jumped out of the ship, feeling the low gravity of space in this instance before then feeling natural gravity when getting close enough to the tower, sticking an almost perfect landing. Everyone else soon followed, no longer having to worry about staying safe within the Rocketship.
Now they had to worry about staying safe in the Galaxy Tower. Arguably, this one could be worse than the previous one. Immediately inside, Applejack rushed back to the last spot she recalled herself being at. Unfortunately, due to the abundance of hallways, it would be difficult to find the exact spot she was at before the Rift sent her out of the tower. Either way, she would have to find someone in here at least.
The Very Top of the Tower
"Ash. At last. Seems you came to me instead of the other way around." The Rift spoke to Ash once he finally showed up with Twilight and Fluttershy by his side.
"Ashkan!" Hoopa soon flew over to Ash with what strength he had left, embracing the Alola Champion. Seeing that Hoopa had injured all over him, he passed the Mischief Pokemon over to Fluttershy.
"I was just talking about you with Hoopa. I said some wondrous things you'd probably love to hear. But you showed up a bit too late for that." The Rift continued. "Not that it matters anymore. Not with what I plan to do with you. But I need to know what your reaction was to see so many of your friends down and defeated like that. Did it agitate you, maybe? Maybe anger you to also dish out some payback to me? I wish I could've seen your face when you came across those close to you! Well?! What did you feel?!"
"I'm not mad." Ash threw his answer in immediately, shocking the Rift. This wasn't the answer that it wanted. It expected something more that was packed with despair. "Not at all."
"What?! You're serious?!" The Rift staggered in the body of Galaxy Master. "Explain yourself!"
"I'm not gonna give you what you want, Rift." Ash snapped back. The Rift didn't get that shattered expression from Ash at all. "I know they'll be fine. Especially with how I saw them back in the hallway."
"Tch! How disappointing...Even if I'm using the body of your own created character? Honestly...what gets you mad nowadays?"
"But...I gotta say something first." Ash closed his eyes as he didn't immediately jump to any conflict despite who he was standing in front of. "I'm sorry about this."
"Sorry?" The Rift said with Fluttershy and Hoopa repeating the same thing. Twilight already knew what Ash apologizing for.
"Ashkan? What are you sorry for?"
"Some of this is my fault," Ash answered. "I made a promise to the Rift's parents back then. That I'd help bring back the real Lucien and Sienna who made up the entire Rift. But, I went and made an enemy out of it. I only slowed things down for you and your parents. And for that, I'm sorry. I wished I could've focused on speaking with you, even if it would take some time."
Ash apologized deeply, referring to that certain moment back at Holon. The expulsion of Aura that affected the Rift's body to a colossal degree. Hoopa knew of it too since the Rift shared it all with him.
"Before all of this, you weren't looking to take it out on us. If I hadn't done what I did in that pool then..." Ash even took the time to think of what would happen next even if he never harmed the Rift. Most likely, the Rift would still exist to sprout various events and scenarios for Ash and everyone to interact with. But with something different in mind.
Ash knew this to be true. He thought back to the times when he and the Rift interacted with each other. Most of the time, it was only mutual. And even so, much like how the Rift chose to interact with this world because of Ash's journey.
"D-Do you think that's enough?!" The Rift roared at Ash's apology. "You think an apology is all it takes?!"
"No, not really." He smiled. "I just needed to say it to you eventually. And it's for everything else that's happened here. Even though you pulled off cheap tricks just to keep our odds of keeping the worlds connected...you did know how to make things fun for us."
"W-What?"
"But I wouldn't call this fun at all." Ash morphed his smile into a frown. "It's just like before when you talked about having fun. I can't see the entertainment in all of this. Not when others are being hurt because of all of this. Before I can find Jirachi, I'm not just gonna stop you. But I'm also gonna make sure I don't break my promise to your parents. Even so, I've got no other choice at this point. Talking it out won't do."
"What's with this kid? What happened to all that burning anger that he harboured? No...Of course. This Ash is far different from who I've been following. That temper of his has fizzled out compared to his earlier Pokemon Career. I can't get a sense of fury anywhere. Even during the invasion..."
"Ash. Let's try and keep it safe, okay? We're still in space and at the very top of this tower. We can't be too reckless." Twilight warned. "Let's just try and force the Rift out of Galaxy Master's body before anything else."
"Ashkan. Hoopa heard everything from the Rift." Hoopa, who was currently being healed by Audino, held his hand out to the Alola Champion, sharing his sentiment. "Hoopa's just like-"
"I know, Hoopa." Ash interrupted him, knowing exactly what Hoopa was getting at. "You're alike. Both of you. Nothing wrong with having fun at the end of the day. But it's always about how you do it and even thinking about everyone around you. Rift. You already know that, but that's not your style."
"Then you might as well give up trying to change that!" The Rift scoffed. "Seems you already know that it's pointless."
"I didn't say it was pointless." Ash protested. "I can't change who you are. That's not what I even wanna do. I'm only here to end this and keep my promise. And as a bonus, I'm looking forward to the future with you."
"With me?!" The Rift pulled back as even Twilight and Fluttershy were shocked by this response.
"Yeah. To be honest, it's thanks to you that I've made so many new friends. If you never crossed our worlds over, I don't know if I'd ever find more to love. I wouldn't have met Twilight, Fluttershy, Celestia and so many others. I probably would be stuck in my world without knowing about all the possibilities I can explore beyond it. But now, it's all endless. And you only crossed it over just to see what would happen. And I love it!"
"You...love it?" At this point, the Rift could only marvel at Ash's words. Not only was he not feeling a sense of payback but he was even expressing his positivity to this cosmic being despite everything that's happened.
"Oh yeah! All the more reason I wanna keep them together! Even if you end up leaving...Keeping both worlds together and reuniting you with your parents are two promises I can't afford to break. So, again, I'm sorry for what happened back at Holon. I wish we could've done it differently. But now, I've gotta beat you if I wanna reach those goals."
"Well said, Ash." Twilight used her wings to form a thumbs-up, approving of Ash's words. Hoopa didn't need to say much at all. Ash took care of everything for him.
"Ah, my bad. I kinda rambled there for a while, didn't I?" Ash chuckled, realizing how long he spoke. "It doesn't usually go on that long, ya know. Hahaha!"
"You..." The Rift paused on its words before speaking to itself. "Even after what I aimed to do, it was all pointless? Not a shred of despair that I can take advantage of...Even in this body? What was the point then? Curse it all! Having fun together? With you? Are you nuts?!"
"But it's true. Hoopa, who had been healed back to considerable health, added his own words into the conversation. "You like having fun. That's why you came here. Why stop for this?"
"I'll have my fun when I want to!" The Rift shouted, exuding a flare of cosmic energy. "After this, here's what I'll do! Everything will go back to the way it was but with my own twist to it! Understand?! And since you want it that way, Ash? How about this? I defeat you in a way that's fitting to the character I'm possessing. And thanks to Bertha, I've made some changes to that Galaxy Master story."
"Changes?" Twilight repeated as her mane blew violently from the cosmic pressure.
"Yes! To truly make Galaxy Master unbeatable, I must write it that way!" The Rift then revealed one of the Comic Books it took from Bertha. "What better way to gain the advantage? And of course...you're the antagonists of this! Care to play out the next chapter for me?"
"Hm," Ash smirked. "Okay." His words, once again, stunned the Rift. These responses rubbed the Cosmic Being the wrong way. "But I was hoping to look different for the part. Time to throw down, Rift!"
"Pikachu!"
"We'll throw down alright...but I won't need a Pokemon to do so! Not with the power I've absorbed!" The Rift then summoned a giant cosmic ring around Galaxy Master's back which had stars inside and outside of them. The stars on Galaxy Master's outfit intensified too, receiving different colours.
Everyone squinted from this sudden emergence of multiple lights as the Rift began drawing out all that it could muster at this point. The inside of its cape soon received the appearance of space itself, showing planets and galaxies that were moving. It was like the Rift had the entire universe in its cape.
"I restored some of my power thanks to Meloetta! I couldn't get what I wanted out of Hoopa but absorbing some of his strength was worth it! I'll suffice just perfectly to beat you, Ash!"
"So you say...But we're gonna beat you instead!" Ash adjusted his hat while Twilight and Espeon stepped forward, unintimidated by this rise in cosmic strength.
"Pika!"
"Stay outside, Hoopa." Twilight used her magic to grab Hoopa, forcing him out of the main room. Fluttershy would take part in this battle, meaning she couldn't nurse Hoopa back to full health at the moment considering what stood before her. "We can finish things up here."
"O-Okay! Good luck!"
"Ash may not be feeling any form of payback, but I certainly am!" Twilight exclaimed. "There's a lot I want to get back at you, Rift."
"Do your worst then, princess."
"Audi! Use Light Screen to protect them!" Fluttershy made the first move, choosing to give everyone some resistance. When it comes to cosmic threats, ranged attacks are to be greatly expected.
"Audino!" Audino raised her arms before then coating her friends in a beautiful veil of energy.
"Thanks, Fluttershy! Audino! Okay, let's go on ahead! Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"
"Eve! You should use Quick Attack too! Go for it!"
"Do the same, Raboot!"
"Pika!" Together, Pikachu, Espeon and Raboot would approach the opponent at lightspeed, leaving behind white afterimages from their speeds as the trio ran side by side at an equal pace.
In response, the Rift shot out cosmic lightning from its hands, viciously crashing it to try and match their speed. But this only resulted in Pikachu, Raboot and Espeon zooming to the side with the speed of Quick Attack, evading the crash of lightning which destroyed parts of the floor already.
"Espeon!" After evading the cosmic lightning, Espeon charged in, headbutting the Rift's face. Soon, Pikachu would do the same, tackling the other side of the Rift's head and Raboot would go straight for the chest.
"Gh!" The Rift staggered from this swift Triple Quick attack. If it could show a face, it would be showing a grimacing look of pain right now.
"Do it again!" Ash, Fluttershy and Twilight shouted as they aimed to use a consecutive Quick Attack. Repeatedly, Pikachu, Raboot and Espeon began zooming around at lightning speeds, constantly hitting the Rift back and forth with these speedy movements, becoming yellow, white and purple blurs.
"I-I...I can't lock my target!" The Rift groaned as it was struggling to focus on three Quick Attack users. That's when it used its ring. Unable to focus on one of them, the Rift then separated parts of its body unexpectedly. It did so by turning it into cosmic stardust. When Pikachu went to tackle the side of the Rift, that specific side materialized into stardust, flying to the side as Pikachu only managed to hit a few particles. The rest of the Rift's body materialized, following the left side of the first particles just to reform elsewhere.
"Pika?!"
"Now, I've got you!" Materializing on the farther left side, the Rift then sent a scattershot of cosmic rays which assaulted Pikachu and Espeon. The two of them were hit by these rays which pelted them like rain.
"P-Pi!"
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt, now!"
"Use Dazzling Gleam at once, Eve!"
"Pika!" Even when being knocked back, Pikachu and Espeon could dish out an attack immediately. It started with them recovering on the floor before then shooting out a bolt of electricity and a barrage of rainbow rays from their body.
"Same here!" But the Rift could easily replicate it by using the same attacks it utilized prior. The right hand used cosmic lightning while the left used cosmic rays, clashing with these two attacks via an identical appearance.
"Now's our chance, you two." Fluttershy nodded at Audino and Raboot. "Go and use Hyper Beam and High Jump Kick, please!"
"Ra!" Raboot nodded before being picked up by Audino. Audino used one hand to raise him while the other was used for Hyper Beam. Raboot used Audino's hand as a pedestal for extra height as he took a mighty leap. Out of Audino's hand, Hyper Beam came zooming out, but with a thinner appearance so as to not harm Pikachu and Espeon.
"Hm?!" The Rift noticed how it was approaching it before then ending the clash with Pikachu and Espeon. Each of their respective attacks cancelled each other out. Upon ending this clash, the Rift placed a wide barrier around itself to protect against the mighty Hyper Beam. The barrier successful blocked the attack, only adding to the abundance of smoke around the area.
And once that smoke cleared, along came Raboot, charging in to smash his feet against the barrier. "Ra-Raboot!" Raboot attempted pressing through the barrier. From the height he came at, this High Jump Kick had extra oomph compared to the rest. And thanks to Hyper Beam, Raboot's attack was starting to form a crack in the weakening barrier.
"Hm?!" The Rift noticed how it was approaching it before then ending the clash with Pikachu and Espeon. Each of their respective attacks cancelled each other out. Upon ending this clash, the Rift placed a wide barrier around itself to protect against the mighty Hyper Beam. The barrier successful blocked the attack, only adding to the abundance of smoke around the area.
And once that smoke cleared, along came Raboot, charging in to smash his feet against the barrier. "Ra-Raboot!" Raboot attempted pressing through the barrier. From the height he came at, this High Jump Kick had extra oomph compared to the rest. And thanks to Hyper Beam, Raboot's attack was starting to form a crack in the weakening barrier.
"Don't you dare underestimate me!" Crying out, the Rift turned the barrier into an explosive force. The barrier blew up in front of Raboot first, consuming him before then reaching Pikachu and Espeon. But it didn't stop at just those three. Ash and the others would be targeted.
"R-Ra!" Raboot screamed after being consumed by the explosion. Quickly, Twilight put up a protective barrier of magic, shielding the rest of them. Pikachu and the other two Pokemon would have to take this damage, unfortunately.
"R-Ra!" Raboot screamed after being consumed by the explosion. Quickly, Twilight put up a protective barrier of magic, shielding the rest of them. Pikachu and the other two Pokemon would have to take this damage, unfortunately.
"I've never had to do this before..." The Rift looked at Galaxy Master's arms, seeing how they trembled. "Taking part in a battle isn't my style at all...!"
"First time for everything, right?" Ash grinned after each of the Pokemon recovered and regained their balance.
"And it'll be the last! I can proudly say that, Ash Ketchum!" The Rift roared with great disdain in its voice. "Fitting that outer space will be where it ends, don't you think?"
"It won't be the end. If anything...since it's all taking place in space, I've got a good feeling that this could start something new. Something awesome."
"Ashkan. Pikan..." Hoopa, who was outside, peeked in to witness what seemed to be the final battle on this tower. And if it was, the one who wins will truly determine one thing.
Entertainment. Nothing more. Nothing less. Both are battling with the same thing in mind. Though, each of them have their own way of entertainment that can be expressed. The battle against Galaxy Master finally begins as the journey continues.
Destruction could only be seen in this once-clean tower. An array of Pokemon Attacks and Cosmic Attacks led to this destruction. Applejack ran along these halls, hopping over heaps of rubble whilst searching for any sign of life. Signs of her friends are all she wanted to see right now.
"Twilight! Rarity! Anyone?!" Applejack called for her friends, passing through the many hallways. Following Applejack and her Sceptile was the assistance of Chrysalis and her Changeling Guards, King Paramount, Queen Luminary and their Pegalysium Guards, Canterlot Guards plus Pokemon Ranger Jackie.
"What happened here? I'm surprised a hole wasn't blown in here to the outside earlier." Jackie said whilst observing the destruction. He immediately took pictures of the mess just for the Ranger Union to witness. Anything about Galaxy Master was valuable to know and especially anything about the Rift since it was greatly involved in this. Actually, it was the cause of it all.
"Ash! Where's Ash?!" Chrysalis shouted out, peeking into other rooms. These rooms only showed her one thing. Destruction. The rooms and hallways were littered with elements of fire, water, rocks and many more. Grey and black are the new colours of what was once an immaculate and polished hallway, which has now become the stage of a fierce conflict.
Eventually, they ran into someone. Apple Bloom noticed a familiar friend up ahead, bringing a smile to her face. A fellow Cutie Mark Crusader could be seen. " Ah! Scoota...Loo?" She slowed down before noticing that something was amiss. It looked to be Scootaloo up ahead. But there was one important factor.
She looked older.
"Hey, Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo waved at her while appearing with Ponyta and Cyndaquil, who used to be Rapidash and Quilava. At the same time, somewhere around this vicinity, the roar of Rift-Dialga could be heard. But the first thing that needed to be answered by Scootaloo was her appearance. Among many other things.
"Uh...about this?" Scootaloo laughed nervously before standing before her friend, looking down at her while also matching Applejack's height.
The Very Top of the Tower.
"Move!" Back at the top, Galaxy Master AKA the Rift was still battling against Ash, Twilight and Fluttershy, finally confronting them. He shoved Pikachu aside, who tried biting into him, only to be rejected.
But this was soon met with Raboot jumping at his head from behind, holding onto the fictional character's head while igniting his body. The Rift growled before grabbing Raboot, tossing him away with a trail of fire being left behind. Their battle led them outside of this room from the destruction it was spreading, forcing Ash, Twilight and Fluttershy to back away. Hoopa would also back away the closer the Rift got just to keep himself safe for the time being.
"Go, Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu jumped in, swinging his hardened tail that matched that of Iron, meeting with the fictional character. The Rift received a mean smack to the face by this tail as to be expected from a Steel-Type move.
"Kh!" The Rift scoffed before then smacking Pikachu away with the power of its ring. The large ring on its back acted as an extra weapon, shooting away the Mouse Pokemon with nebulous waves.
"Pika...!" Pikachu slid back to Ash's side before shaking his head. The rings would shoot out these nebuli some more in droves, only for Audino to step in.
"Audino!" Protect had been used, shielding everyone from the nebula that the Rift brought along. The sound of the nebula raged in her ears, making her flinch a bit. But it wasn't enough to stop her.
"Come here!" The Rift then flicked both its fingers before summoning an outline around both Twilight and Fluttershy. With this flick, it would attempt to drag them over for closer contact.
"I...Don't think so!" But Twilight responded in kind to the Rift's actions. She used her magic to the same, combating its Cosmic Telekinesis. The Rift gasped as Twilight was starting to pull herself and Fluttershy back, resisting the Rift's hold.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy exclaimed as she felt a powerful back and forth from this struggle. Neither side wanted to give up their telekinetic hold at all. It almost looked like two children fighting over a toy in this instance.
"Head in there, Pikachu! Use Quick Attack! Lucario, you're up!" Ash took the chance to send out Lucario. At the same time, Pikachu would approach Galaxy Master, interrupting him.
"Ough! N-Not again...!" The Rift growled before then losing focus. This gave Twilight the chance to win this exchange, successfully saving herself and Fluttershy from being pulled in.
"Now, Aura Sphere!"
"Lu...Cario!" And with the Rift losing the struggle, this gave Lucario, who had just showed up, the chance to use Aura Sphere. Forming that signature azure sphere in his paws, the Aura Pokemon would then launch it in the Rift's direction.
"!" Naturally, this was a red alert for the Rift. The one thing that led the Rift to be in this situation was heading its way. In the nick of time, it managed to materialize its body into stardust, using that to evade the Aura Sphere. But barely. The sphere grazed its arm, dealing some damage in the process. But for the most part, the Rift managed to avoid the full attack of the sphere. "That was close...I feared Lucario would eventually show up."
"Is everyone doing okay?" Ash asked the group. They all nodded in unison as they were still in one piece thankfully. But the same could be said about the Rift. "Alright then. I'm gonna need help keeping the Rift still. That way, Lucario's Aura Sphere can hit its mark."
"We can do that for you, Ash," said Twilight. "Use the staff too as a backup. Just in case. That way, we can probably solve two problems. Getting the Rift out of its body and nullifying the Rift as well. Whichever one happens first."
"I can continue healing you from afar. Just look out for any Hyper Beams, okay?" Fluttershy added.
"Hmph! Are you done with your little scheming?" The Rift menacingly said while also emanating an equally menacing Cosmic Aura. With Galaxy Master's added strength, it summoned what looked to be miniature galaxies in its hands, stunning those who saw it.
"Are those...?!" Twilight pulled back.
"I wish they were as big as the original. But thanks to you Ash, this will have to do. Even so, they're as dangerous as they appear." The Rift chuckled. "Feel the turbulent storm of a galaxy!" It then launched both of these small galaxies as they started spinning as if they were discs.
"Audi! Protect!"
"A-Audino!" Audino stammered, running ahead of everyone else. Twilight would assist by chiming in her magic. In unison, Twilight and Audino formed a barrier against these Small Galaxies. These galaxies would then start spinning against their shields, having the intensity of a spinning top. Or worse. A razor.
They started cutting through the barrier while producing heat that could only come from space. Twilight felt this heat as it was as if multiple tiny stars in these miniature galaxies were radiating out of them. "It's so...hot...!" Twilight groaned.
"They may be small, but they have everything a galaxy needs!" The Rift then clenched its hand to make the galaxies explode. Naturally, this resulted in a combustion that many of them had never experienced before. This galactic explosion shattered the barrier completely while perplexing everyone's vision with this cosmic light.
Hoopa closed his eyes too before this hallway and a majority of the top part of the tower. Ash and his friends were unfortunately pushed back by this galactic outburst. The heat of these galaxies got to them. Parts of the wall were torn apart, leading to other rooms that weren't as high up as this one, but fairly high up.
"Ashkan!" Hoopa cried out before also being blown back. The Rift's hands were smoking thanks to what it had unleashed onto them. This flash of light radiated to the point where it even lit up the entire tower for a bit.
Ash and everyone could be seen against the rubble of the ruined walls, groaning and sighing. Ash's hat nearly fell off, only for him to stand back up with it. The one who took this the best was Audino. Her amazing defence is what helped her the most. Such as the perks of being a healer.
"A-Audino...!" But she would be lying if she didn't say it stung. Most of the damage was sent to her as smoke came out of her body, showing the heat of the galaxies affecting her.
"That Audino...is she immortal or something?" The Rift uttered.
"Audi!" Fluttershy flew over to the Hearing Pokemon. "Are you alright?!"
"Audino." Audino could guarantee that she was at least hanging in there. But the Rift's Cosmic Attacks have proven to be dangerous enough to even put pressure on a durable Pokemon such as herself. But soon, she felt the smoke leave her body thanks to Twilight's magic. A soothing purple light covered her as she wasn't the only one who could heal. This was mainly thanks to the Rift Magic that Twilight also possessed. "Audino?"
"The Rift's not the only one with this kind of ability on its side," Twilight said before healing herself. "I can still use the Rift Magic I gained a few months back. But...maybe not what it's doing."
"Bah. Don't get too confident just because you have some of my power. Normally, I'd be fine with someone wielding my own magic, but now, I'm not in the mood for that. I'll be kind and let you keep that magic after all of this Twilight. But not after I strip you away from it!" The Rift then suddenly approached them by taking flight, holding its hand out with a vicious bone structure.
"Ash! Get ready for an Aura Sphere! Eve, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Raboot, High Jump Kick!"
"Raboot!" Raboot and Espeon would give Lucario all the time he needed to prepare a direct Aura Sphere. They had to make sure this Aura Sphere would land successfully.
"You two are in my way!" The Rift made a giant cosmic hand from Galaxy Master's regular hand, using it to smack them both away. Raboot would use his agile and acrobatic movements to flip over the hand swipe while Espeon simply shielded herself with the rainbow sphere. The rainbows pierced through parts of the hand, weakening it. Raboot came the closest to reaching the Rift and delivering a firm stomp to its fist. "Gouh!"
"Raboot!" After that, Raboot used the Rift's face as a pedestal, jumping off it just to push the Cosmic Entity back. This always allowed Espeon to pelt her enemy with the remainder of Rainbows she could muster. Agitated, the Rift then used its ring, sending it in front of its body. This Rift acted as a shield as much as it did a weapon and a stylistic choice.
The remaining rainbow rays soon met this ring, blocking all contact with Galaxy Master. In response, after blocking each of Espeon's rays, it retaliated by turning into the face of a dragon. A Cosmic Dragon was formed from the ring, only possessing the head. It somewhat resembled that of Dragon Pulse minus the arms as the dragon then rushed over, baring its Astral fangs.
"Hold it steady Lucario!" Ash said as Lucario was currently building it up. The dragon tore through the area with great destructive force, burning away the rubble just from its mere presence.
"Hyper Beam, Audi! Please!"
"Eve, use Psychic!"
"Espeon!" To meet with this Cosmic Dragon, an invisible wave of Psychic power along with a giant beam could clash head-on. The Dragon proved to be fairly resilient as it was currently holding back two attacks. It even started pushing them both back, forcing Espeon and Audino to try harder.
This also forced the Rift to pour more of its strength into the ring, trying its best to overwhelm them. It wasn't until Twilight used her own beam against the Dragon that the Rift continued to struggle. Pikachu didn't even need to hear anything from Ash to use Thunderbolt, putting more pressure on the Cosmic Entity.
"Now's our chance! Go Lucario!"
"Lucario!" Lucario had an opening. The Rift was too occupied with Twilight and the others, leading to Aura Sphere being unleashed from his paws. The sphere of Aura travelled at great speeds, by passing Audino, Twilight and Espeon while also curving past the attacks. It managed to slip through the struggle, entering the mouth of the Cosmic Dragon.
The Dragon was given an Aura Sphere as the attack then passed through it, reaching the Rift. Not only did it weaken the Dragon but it managed to finally hit its mark. The Rift gasped as Aura Sphere was unleashed directly at the Rift's chest, breaking its balance and allowing Twilight and the others to win the struggle.
"N-No way...!" The Rift growled before then having Thunderbolt Hyper Beam, Psychic and Twilight's Magic consume it. This array of colours engulfed the entity. The Rift was finally struck by a hefty team attack. Ash even chimed in by using Sir Aaron's staff to exhibit more Aura, giving strength to Lucario's Aura Sphere.
Afterwards, the Rift was then smacked all around by this combustion of Infinity Energy and Magic. The top of this tower was in a terrible state at this point. A state almost exposed it to outer space entirely. The blue dust blew violently from the explosion that came to pass.
The Rift could be seen within the blue smoke, trembling. The attack did a number on it and yet, it was still standing. The ring around its back seemed to have vanished in that furious explosion, showing some progress had been made against the Rift.
"It's still up?!" Twilight gasped. Despite how it took a direct Aura Sphere to the chest, the Rift hadn't left Galaxy Master's body at all. It still took control of it.
"Heh...I...told you. I adjusted Galaxy Master's story with the time I had...I am truly, without a doubt, unbeatable now!" The Rift exclaimed. "So no matter what you do...no matter what you try or manage to pull off. I cannot lose!"
"No matter what?" Fluttershy uttered with shrunken pupils. The Rift certainly isn't the type to bluff. Everything it says always has a weight of truth to it.
"No matter what! Exactly how it should've been! But of course...with this fictional law being put in place...this also means I can change reality to my bidding!" The Rift unsurprisingly had more power in stock thanks to what it managed to absorb. With just a flare of its power, it altered reality just for this one instance.
In this state, despite still standing, it did obviously take damage from all those attacks. But that wouldn't be the case for long. Before the eyes of Ash and his friends, they witnessed how the Rift suddenly recovered all that had been damaged. The cape from Galaxy Master had been repaired. All other damage to the suit had been reversed right afterwards.
"Hahaha! It never happened looks like!" Galaxy Master laughed as all of that progress was thrown away. "Try something else! I'd love to see what you can come up with! Not that it will matter anyway! Because I'm going to win!"
"That's a problem...A genuine major problem!" Twilight growled. "It already changed how the story will go...This is what Princess Luna feared. Someone who can't be beaten no matter what.
"What do we do? If we keep attacking then something else will happen to change it right?" Fluttershy gulped. "Ash?"
"Yeah. That's gonna be annoying." Ash narrowed his eyes as even he was stumped by this almighty power. "But, it's not time to panic yet. I've got an idea. The first one's pretty close to us but the second one's gonna be a backup plan. Making it so that he's always gonna win is a problem, but we've got someone who can change that."
"Someone?" Twilight and Fluttershy both said before realizing who this was. Fluttershy held out one Poke Ball. The Poke Ball contained Bayleef, who was currently resting.
"Ah, right. Bayleef." said the Rift. "The one Pokemon who got arguably the best power out of any Rift-Influenced Pokemon. Her power is similar to what I've formed. But that's the issue...thanks to that vampire, it's hard to tell if that leaf's going to be as effective as it used to be. You've been avoiding having Bayleef battle recently, right, Fluttershy?"
"...Fluttershy stayed silent before holding Bayleef's Poke Ball close to her.
"Well, I'd be scared to test it out. Don't want to put Bayleef in too much trouble. Otherwise...another shock to her system could come."
"Fluttershy. It's up to you to decide." Ash said to the pegasus. "Don't worry. We've got Plan B that we can use if this doesn't work out."
"It has to work," Fluttershy replied. "At least...I hope."
"How pitiful." The Rift shrugged before thinking to itself. "Truth is...I've got a lot to worry about as well. I can't stay in this body for long unless I restore more of my energy...That Bayleef may or may not have some of it left...but I know who does."
Suddenly, the Rift took a different action. Instead of continuing this battle, with a smack on the floor, it spread out the rest of its reserves while also shaking the tower. Ash and the others kept steady, wondering what the Rift was up to now. It didn't seem like an Earthquake-like attack. It was something else.
"I'm going to be taking more from you two! Dialga! Palkia!" The Rift shouted, focusing on Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia. They both had energy for it to feed on perfectly.
Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia were currently pursuing their current targets. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. Scootaloo managed to lose Rift-Dialga but Rift-Palkia was high on Rainbow Dash's tail. Rainbow Dash was still in a predicament where she and her Pokemon had been split in half and currently had conjoined parts of each other in the wrong places.
"Follow my lead, Braviary! One flap! Two flaps!" Despite how confusing this was, Rainbow Dash and Braviary worked together to make this work. They couldn't run since Rainbow Dash had two hooves on the side whilst Braviary only had one talon, creating an imbalance.
But not with their wings. Since they both had one wing each, they could use this to their advantage. Currently, they soared through the hallways with their wings. Although, the downside was that one wing was bigger and heavier than the other. Mainly Braviary's wing. But they managed.
The same couldn't be said for one half of Castform and the other half of Braviary connected together. Plus, there was also another half of Rainbow Dash that was stuck to Castform's other half. They had to roll on the floor to get anywhere. Rift-Palkia gained on them, moving far quicker than all three of them combined and uncombined.
At this rate, they couldn't escape it. Rainbow Dash could only think about sending one of her Pokemon out in this instance if she had the balance to do so. But it looked like it would be too late. Right as Rift-Palkia went to use a Dragon Claw on Castform and Rainbow Dash, that's when it happened.
Its body felt weaker, all thanks to the Rift. Power from Rift-Palkia was taken away just to fuel its creator some more. Dragon Pulse landed its mark, hitting the side of Rainbow Dash mainly. But it was certainly weaker. The combined body of Rainbow Dash and Castform fell over from this impact, unable to keep their balance. But what it did grant them was extra momentum while also bringing some pain along the way.
"This is lame...someone help, please!"
Pinnaculum Pegalysium. Second Wind's Throne Room. Late Afternoon.
By this point, everything major was happening up in the stars. Many were aware of the events happening up there. Especially Second Wind, who was the closest to seeing the Rocketship.
Due to the height of Pinnaculum Pegalysium compared to regular Pegalysium, she was the closest to the Sun and even space. The Queen already saw the tower for herself, wondering what to do with it. It wasn't before she was constant flashes of light from different sources going off.
"Hm. I see now..." And by using the power of the Unown, Second Wind gained enhanced vision, witnessing what was the commotion happening around the tower. It was the best way to know what was going on aside from using a telescope. After witnessing enough, Secon Wind put on a conniving smile that only befitted her.
"Oh, it must be so fun up there. I've always wondered what it would be like to go into space. But that will have to wait one day." Second Wind said. "Aside from that...the amount of Rift Energy coming from that tower is outstanding. I'd rather not continue sharing that power with Daybreaker and the others. As someone who lives at the very top of the world, I deserve to have all of it."
Indeed. Second Wind saw this as an opportunity. An opportunity to gain more Rift Energy for herself. Thanks to the alliance she made with Ghetsis, Daybreaker, Empress Twilight and more, they all shared one giant orb of Rift Energy as a team. But Second Wind wanted more of it and this was certainly one way to find some.
"Unown. Prepare yourself. We're going to strike that tower down."
"This blows..." Rainbow Dash currently found herself in a compromising position. Rather, half of herself. One-half of her body was still attached to one-half of Castform, making it hard for them to move. And it certainly made the easier targets for Rift-Palkia, who put them in this mess in the first place. A Hyper Beam came crashing in, ready to engulf them both, but there was one Pokemon who stood in its way.
Altaria. She was the only one that still had both her halves separate and unattached to anyone. If anything, Altaria still had one advantage despite having her body split. Her fluffy wings acted as springs, bouncing the Humming Pokemon around with no fear of angles. But there was one issue. She did manage to piece herself back together but in the wrong direction.
One side of Altaria was facing up while the other was facing down, creating an odd symmetry. Thus, Altaria could not properly fly and had to resort to this bouncing tactic. This disorganized Altaria got in the way of the Hyper Beam, taking the hit for her friends.
"A-Altaria!"
"No time to be lying around!" The Combined Half of Rainbow Dash and Braviary flew over, pulling the other combined duo away once Altaria saved them. "Thanks for the save, Altaria!"
"But we aren't getting anywhere with this!" The Combined Half of Rainbow Dash and Altaria groaned as Rift-Palkia would take the time to recharge, giving them the chance to find a new place to hide. The main goal was to try and find a way to piece themselves back together.
The only ones they thought of counting on were Princess Celestia, Luna and Twilight due to how experienced they were with magic. They hoped that there was a spell for this kind of predicament. But at this rate, with how Rift-Palkia could easily catch up to them and their only saving grace was their random and haphazard movements, they might not reach someone else in time as Rift-Palkia warped space to redirect the angle of the room, forming a slope-like angle.
Each half of Rainbow Dash popped their eyes out in shock before falling in a different direction. The only one who could resist this was the Combined Half of Rainbow Dash and Braviary with their unified flight. The others, not so much as they screamed whilst sliding in Rift-Palkia's direction.
The Combined Half of Rainbow Dash and Braviary couldn't fly as fast as they could despite them being speedy aerial experts. A majority of their speed had been halved as they tried reaching the other two combined individuals. Rift-Palkia prepared a Spacial Rend, raising its claws while eyeing two targets down. This next Spacial Rend could potentially cause even greater confusion depending on how it's used.
"Hydreigon! Dragon Pulse!" Interrupting Palkia's next attack was Dragon Pulse. Spacial Rend was interrupted as this super-effective attack crashed into the Rift Variant, resulting in a staggering outburst that sent Rift-Palkia back. Rift-Palkia crashed through the already-ruined walls and rubble, falling on its back and even sliding down on the slope that it made as a way of dishing out karma.
The one responsible for this was a Hydreigon. Not just any Hydreigon, but Hilbert's Hydreigon. He appeared, walking through the dust and smoke, bringing some slither of hope to Rainbow Dash.
"Protege! It's alright now! Because I am here!" Hilbert boasted as always, making himself seem larger than life while standing there with his arms crossed.
"It had to be you who showed up..." Rainbow Dash wasn't too gleeful to see Hilbert. But it was better than no one showing up. "And I'm not your protege..."
"This is a cool way to make an entrance right? When you're Number One, you've gotta always show up with style!" Hilbert chuckled before walking over. He just now realized that something was amiss. Not when he first showed up here to save them but only when he approached Rainbow Dash's group.
"H-Hold on...What happened?!" Hilbert blared out with his hat even falling off from absolute shock. He wasn't sure to be amazed or terrified.
"I thought it'd be easy for you to figure out already..." Both halves of Rainbow Dash groaned. "Just help me up, please! Both of us! All of us!"
"Right, right! Guess it's a good thing Hydreigon's got three heads." Hilbert joked before picking up the Combined Half of Rainbow Dash and Braviary. Hydreigon would handle the rest via his headarms. But, as to be expected, Rift-Palkia was still present and active.
The Rift Creation lay there for a bit, taking in the damage. It certainly felt the pain to be in such a state before then standing back up. Noticeably, its chest received a mark thanks to Dragon Pulse, giving the first sign of major damage that would be visible. Prior to this, Rift-Palkia didn't even show any scratches anywhere.
"It's still up?!" Both halves of Rainbow Dash gasped, stunned that Rift-Palkia was still able to continue at this point.
"Looks like it lacks all of Palkia's strength but it makes up for all that crazy durability," Hilbert observed. "But no one's indestructible. So this'll be over quickly." The Trainer from another world in the Unova Region stepped forward, adjusting his hat before then taking out another Poke Ball. "Hydreigon. Take 'em to safety. Pinkie Pie and the others are close by."
"Pinkie and the others?" Rainbow Dash repeated. "Are they safe?!"
"Safe and sound. A little tired but they're fine. I tried chasing Galaxy Master down, only to end up finding everyone else along the way. If you're looking for someone who can fix this, some awesome magic users are waiting in that room too. So, don't get too worried, okay?" He gave her a confident smile, tossing aside all that boasting for this one moment of reassurance.
"Oh...thanks, Hilbert! You're not all that bad, actually." Rainbow Dash could see it. Despite how larger-than-life Hilbert presents himself, he meant well. Very well and when it comes down to it, he was certainly a powerful enough trainer to guarantee high safety.
Hydreigon would carry the Combined Half of Rainbow Dash and Braviary, taking them both off Hilbert's hands before then departing from this area.
"Now! You're so tough, you could practically be immortal, right?" Hilbert said to Rift-Palkia after it stood up. "If I beat you, then I'll be known as a Cosmic Slayer! Definitely worthy of the title of Number One! And I know you'll be the one to do it! Emboar!"
"Emboar!" Emboar was chosen to finish things off here. Each of Hilbert's Pokemon were eligible to do so as they were still healthy and had yet to do anything else. It was safe to say that Hilbert was the perfect candidate to handle Rift-Palkia at the moment.
West of this tower, Hydreigon brought Rainbow Dash's group to another room that of course, fell prey to the conflict. This room was more spacious than the others, mainly due to how the surrounding walls had been destroyed, leading to other rooms, essentially making this whole area one big room.
And in this room, Pinkie Pie and a few others could be seen. They were still safe and sound but most of them were actually fleeing from the opposing Pokemon instead of confronting them. And just like what Hilbert mentioned, experts in magic could be found here. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, to be exact.
"You're all okay! That's great!" Rainbow Dash cried out with joy in her voice.
"Oh! Hey, Rainbow Daaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssh?!" Naturally, upon trying to greet her, Pinkie Pie and many others in this room couldn't help but be jump scared by the amalgamation in front of them.
"Yeah yeah...I know." Rainbow Dash lowered half of her head. This was the expected reaction as these amalgamations made a few ponies faint on the spot. "I thought it was cool at first but...geez! It's hard to move like this!"
"Oh my goodness..." Lyra and many more fainted on the spot while Luna simply shrugged it off. In reality, she's seen nightmares worse than this.
"C-Can anyone fix this?" Rainbow Dash's two halves whimpered. "If you can..."
"It seems that your dimensions have been split apart, Rainbow Dash. You and your Pokemon." Celestia observed. "Which is uh...new, to say the least. At least, to this level."
"But that means you can fix it right? That Rift-Palkia did this to men and it's definitely not gonna reverse it at all. Please tell me you've got a spell that can fix this, Princess Celestia."
"I have something. I can try and put your dimensions back together. If Rift-Palkia split them with the power of Space, then I too can control space to do the same. Just like how I do with the Sun." Celestia readied herself, lowering her head as her signature golden glow arrived on her horn.
Each half of Rainbow Dash's team got together in one spot just to get it over with. They feared one thing. Rift-Palkia's attack which ended up splitting them didn't hurt. Would Princess Celestia's magic be the same or a different story. They had to stay put to find out. Celestia knew that she had to detach them each to make this work. They already attached to each other accidentally, unable to free themselves at all.
The eyes of the Sun Princess flashed as she spotted one consistent factor. Despite being split apart, none of their insides could be seen. If they could, then that would only add to the horror, making everyone truly pass out at first glance, even Luna. Thus, Celestia discovered something in between each of these halves. Familiar purple particles. The particles of Rift-Palkia's power.
"There." Celestia then coated them all in her golden light before then using her magic to carefully seep in a golden flow in between these split halves. As if she was a surgeon, she used these golden flows in a thin appearance just to try and reach these impossible areas.
The spatial particles met with the flow before being weeded out. But Celestia wasn't aiming to get rid of all of them. Only a few to the point where she could place their real halves back. Some ponies were lucky that this didn't feature any organs otherwise this would truly be unpleasant.
Though, there was still something settling about seeing these bodies being split in half. Which is exactly what happened as Celestia successfully split all of them. "There! Now...to get it right. It'll be like doing a jigsaw!"
"Oooh, good one, princess!" Pinkie Pie applauded.
"Now's not the best time for jokes..." Roseluck groaned, feeling sick from watching this.
Altaria was the easiest to solve. She was the only one who had her halves together but each in the wrong direction. With just a quick rotation and careful positioning for perfect symmetry, Celestia used the remainder of Rift-Palkia's particles to place Altaria back to normal.
"Altaria!" Thrilled, Altaria hummed with joy as everything felt natural now. Now, she was no longer looking at everything from two different angles. "Tari! Taria!"
Celestia seemed like a miracle worker here with what she was doing. First, she quelled the destructive anger of Passion and now this. The residents of Equestria expected nothing less from their Ruler but were still amazed.
"There you go..." And once again, being as careful as she can be, Celestia placed everyone's halves back to their true and original positions, restoring all of them. No harm had been done. All were aligned as the way it originally was as the golden flow would soon get rid of all of Rift-Palkia's power. It served its purpose. "Done. Good as new."
"Yes! Finally!" Rainbow Dash flew around in the air with joy. Each of her airborne Pokemon would do the same, flying around each other, giggling and rejoicing in their restoration.
"Everything seems to be coming together nicely now," said Luna. "Most of us are here and that problem has been sorted out. But...it's not truly over yet."
"Right. The Rift is still somewhere here. I suspect that Ash has already encountered it at this point." Celestia added. "Cynthia and a few others aren't with us either. And frankly, I'm not sure this ship can take much more punishment. Luna, we have to at least find a way to send everyone home. Hoopa is our ace in the hole for this one but..."
"CHATOT!" Suddenly, a disgustingly loud sound boomed across the hallways, interrupting everyone's sentence and tormenting their eardrums. Those who had fainted were immediately awoken by this booming sound as it came from a Chatot.
More specifically, a Boomburst Chatot. The volume of that cry could only come from that kind of move from that kind of Pokemon. But instead of grimacing like everyone else, Celestia put on a smile, knowing whose Chatot this was. "About time he showed up."
Top of the tower.
Back at the very top, Galaxy Master AKA the Rift had gathered as much as cosmic power from Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia to gain extra time in this fictional body. A blazing flare of cosmic energy forced Ash and the others to step back from the heat while Galaxy Master recovers some power.
"Yes! That's better!" Galaxy Master crossed his arms. "Now, I'm starting to feel like an unstoppable force with this adrenaline rush in me! I can go on a bit longer now!"
"He's really getting into it now, huh?" Ash said with his arms over his eyes. "But...we're gonna shut down that unbeatable part once and for all. Bayleef's the only one who can make it happen."
"I know." Fluttershy nodded before gazing at Bayleef's Poke Ball. "I hope you don't push yourself too far. Please be safe, Bayleef!" Choosing to let Bayleef come out, Fluttershy threw the Poke Ball and out emerged the Leaf Pokemon.
"Bayleef!"
"Oh, you're going through with it, are you?" The Rift said. "Look at you, Fluttershy. Taking risks. But even in the original timeline, you gradually keep stepping up to the plate. But maybe for this one, it could be your biggest mistake, especially since you're not so sure about Bayleef's power right about now."
"I have to have faith in her. That's all I can do." Fluttershy replied. "All we have to do is get one leaf on you. At least, I hope we can."
"You hope you can." The Rift tapped its head, repeating Fluttershy's words in a somewhat mocking tone.
"Twilight..." Ash looked at Twilight, gazing into her eyes. The two of them looked at each other for a while before nodding in understanding. They both knew what needed to be done.
"Let's see if you have the chance to even get her involved!" The Rif then took the next course of action via finger lasers. Out of its fingers, cosmic lasers were unleashed. It started with just one that travelled rapidly, approaching Bayleef. Lucario would swiftly step in the way to defend her, putting his arms up.
"Lu!" But this resulted in the laser showing its surprising strength. Lucario felt a piercing kind of feeling once the lasers hit his arms, making him grimace and flinch. These cosmic lasers were hotter than what was exuded previously.
"Take this and that!" The Rift could continue with these lasers, pointing its fingers back and forth to unleash a swift array of them.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Eve! Psychic!"
"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu would try and hit these lasers away via the power of Iron Tail. He lunged at the finger lasers, swinging at one of them with a successful knockback. However, the rest of them were equally as fast, instantly putting pressure on Pikachu. The constant barrage forced him to continue reflecting as much as he could whilst Espeon would use her mental powers to try and hold these lasers. But with how many of them were coming this way, it also forced Espeon to increase her mental hold on these lasers.
The Rift's arms weren't tiring at all. Not when it had the body of a powerful fictional character who was well beyond the average human or even a pony.
"Bay...!" Bayleef tried getting her leaf out, wanting to change the fate of this scenario at once. The first place to start was the leaf on her head as there was indeed a cosmic glow there.
The Rift Energy within Bayleef never left her at all. It was still lurking within her but the light was faint, not as vibrant as it used to be as seen by Twilight. But this only confirmed one thing in Twilight's eyes.
"I see! So Pokemon affected by Rift Magic also keep the energy inside of them! No matter what...it'll never fizzle out unless something dissolves it." Twilight uttered. This meant that any Pokemon who gets drained of Rift Magic much like Bayleef would still have some inside. Just like how Second Wind and a few others still possessed astral power.
It was an infinite pool that would only refill once it is drained. The only downside was that it can turn weak and frail. And this was seen by Bayleef's faint light as the leaf was struggling to leave her head.
"You can do it, Bayleef!" Fluttershy cheered her on.
"Seems like she can't!" The Rift taunted before continuing to assault them all with finger lasers. Pikachu was struggling to keep up as some of these lasers ended up striking him.
"P-Pika!"
"Espeon!" Unable to hold them all, Espeon was struck by these finger lasers as well, unfortunately. The lasers soon combusted around the opposing Pokemon. They were only truly fully protected by Audino's Protect, shielding everyone else from the explosions.
"Now's your chance! Get out there, you two!" Once the smoke cleared out, the hoof of Twilight would be seen flying through it along with a Poke Ball. Two Poke Balls, actually. The second one was launched via magic. The first one sent Absol out while the second unleashed Ninetales into the fray.
"Hm?!" The Rift gasped, looking up to see these two furry and canine-like Pokemon appear before it. The intense gaze of Absol and the mystical glare of Ninetales captivated and intimidated the Rift before it was then delivered a Night Slash to the head. Twilight already knew that Absol will use his own attacks without commands. That was natural. Ninetales, not so much. "Ough!"
"Sol!" A nice hard knock to the head by Absol's Night Slash made the Rift hunch over. Absol was already ready for a scuffle no matter how early he shows up.
"Wrap your tails around him, Ninetales!"
"Ninetales!" Right after Absol gave the Rift a good smack on the head, Ninetales followed up by using his nine tales to keep the Cosmic Being restrained. All nine tales wrapped around each part of the body with a mighty grip to boot, keeping the Rift in place.
"D-Don't think you can keep me still for a second!" The Rift then intensified its cosmic aura, attempting to blow Ninetales away from it. However, when trying to use the cosmic heat from this aura, Ninetales did not move. Neither did he flinch or grimace.
"Ninetales!" Ninetales instead took it. In fact, he seemed to smile in the face of this astral heat. Mainly because he loved it, seeing as he was a Fire-Type.
"What?!"
"Too bad for you! Ninetales already got a taste of otherworldly flames!" Twilight smirked, referring to how Ninetales absorbed not just the destructive flames from Celesteela but also Cosmos' malicious flames. This wasn't his first rodeo with flames that came from higher beings. "Go, Ninetales! Extrasensory!"
"Tales!" To keep the Rift further restrained, Ninetales added Extrasensory to its grip. This only made things worse for the Rift, keeping the restraints reinforced.
"Now's our chance! Aura Sphere! Let's weaken it!"
"Luca!" With the Rift completely restrained, the Aura Pokemon would use Aura Sphere while he had the chance. And this time, he was going for the head. Granted, it wouldn't defeat Galaxy Master but it would still deal considerable damage considering how effective Aura is. "Cario!" Out of his paws, the sphere was unleashed with Galaxy Master having seemingly no way to escape.
"Kh...! Not again!" The Rift wasn't looking forward to a second Aura Sphere at all. Refusing to let them get the upper hand, it then transformed its Cosmic Aura.
It went from blazing cosmic heat to something equally destructive. The Cosmic waves then transformed while expanding. Absol backed away as they formed into energy hands, quickly grabbing some of Ninetales' tails. Ninetales found four tails pulled off by these cosmic hands, giving the Fictional Character the chance to turn parts of its body into stardust, slipping through the gaps that it made.
A narrow escape from the Rift's part as it used the stardust to narrowly evade the sphere of Aura, allowing it to hit Ninetales instead. The Rift saved itself once more, proving to be as slippery as it was destructive.
"You failed again! Fate is on my side!" The Rift bellowed with a vicious cackle right afterwards.
"Not for long!" Just then, as the Rift laughed, Ash replied while having someone in his hands. That would be Bayleef. Bayleef was thrown by Ash with all his might, sending the Leaf Pokemon flying.
"Bay...!" Bayleef was all for it. If it meant getting close to the Rift. That faint light was still on her horn. It was dim but the power was still present. It just needed something to touch. And right now, with the trajectory Bayleef was moving at, that looked to be the case.
"!" The Rift was naturally stunned once Bayleef came this way. Everything looked to slow down for a bit once the two of them were close. Bayleef closed her eyes, ready for the hardest impact she'll ever have. "Fool!" But the Rift had another trick up its sleeve. A moment of teleportation.
Once Bayleef got close, it only took the Rift to teleport its body to the other side, completely shutting down Ash's plan to launch the Grass-Type directly. But alas, even the Rift was juked out as well. Right after it teleported to the other side, something was waiting for it.
Hoopa's ring. The Rift was tricked as well as Hoopa certainly didn't want to stay out of this. Not when his friends were in danger and working hard. "Were you surprised?" Hoopa chuckled, having his signature laugh as always. The Rift passed through the hoop before ending up at Bayleef's position, making no progress.
"The only way for this to work is if Bayleef touches it at the moment when fate decides to favour Galaxy aster. But maybe this can do...!" Twilight thought to herself, hoping that direct contact with the Rift along with Bayleef's weak Rift Power would be enough to do something.
Everyone was hoping the same as once Bayleef's leaf touched Galaxy Master's chest, a synergy of cosmic energy flared out of them. It didn't make a fierce sound at all. There wasn't an explosion or anything traditionally destructive. It was only a giant expanse of cosmic energy that made everyone close their eyes from this intensity.
Clearly, something major happened upon this striking contact. But was it for the better or worse? Everything in this area fell silent in the eclipsing cosmic light as the journey continues.
Chapter 923 End.
Reunion in the Stars! Decisive Fate-Changing Attack!
"Tini..." Alone in the hallways with only Phione being held by him was Victini. He lost sight of his friends after the Dragonite attack, having no clue as to what they've been through and where they were. Victini was slightly behind on everything. All he could do was follow the trail of destruction.
"Phione..." Phione had enough time to rest without much interruption. He woke up to see all the rubble and smoke, rubbing his eyes. Even after recovering energy, he felt like clocking out once more. It was hard to tell if it was Day or Night considering they were in space. In space, it is always day and night.
"Tini?!" Suddenly, Victini heard something. There was something similar to a bump in the night that went off. In this case, it was a bump in the endless dark starry skies that alerted him and Phione. At this point, Victini was on high alert. After Hoopa and Meloetta went missing, he had to be careful no matter what.
That bump could very well be the sound of an enemy approaching, according to Victini's perception. For safety measures, the V on Victini's head sparked up, preparing for a V-Create if the moment calls for it.
Thankfully it didn't. The cause of this noise was a friendly face. Meeting with Victini and Phione was none other than Hilda. She made her appearance after having a run-in with the Rift. Thrilled to see a friendly face after wandering for a while, Victini, whilst dragging Phione along, zoomed over with glee. "Victini!"
"P-Phione!" Phione was still waking up so this sudden rush of speed certainly woke him up for good.
"Hey, Victini." Hilda greeted, holding onto her cap which had tatters on it. "How long has it been since I've seen a friendly face? It's always dark in space."
"Tini! Tini-Tini!" Victini babbled on, explaining everything he could to Hilda while Phione was currently being tortured via Victini's rapid movements. On the plus side, at least Victini was such a good friend to the point where he would never let go. Of course, Hilda couldn't understand a word he was saying, but she could make out from Victini's expression that it involved the Rift's actions.
"Okay, okay. As long as you're fine. I'm fine myself. I had a battle with the Rift and it got pretty destructive." Hilda thought back to her battle. "Unfortunately, I couldn't finish my battle since we got separated in the scuffle. Finding the Rift's been tough. But when I do, it's due for a full payback! And for once, I won't let Hilbert take all the glory!" She proudly pumped her fist into the air.
"Victini!"
"But...finding the Rift is priority number one, obviously." Hilda scratched her hair. "Plus, everyone's suddenly hard to find as well. Did they ghost the place or something?"
Suddenly, that's when it happened. That flash of light that brought silence. Caused by the collision of Bayleef and the Rift, this Cosmic Energy was spreading at the speed of a wildfire. Possibly even faster. This rapid yet silent light closed in on various parts of the hallway, consuming them in mere seconds.
Hilda and Victini shielded their eyes while Phione was too overwhelmed to do so. However, this eclipsing light did not reach them. Instead, it stopped eventually, reaching a limit. Although, it did come close.
"W-What was that all about?" Hilda wondered.
"Victini..." Victini gawked as the light would then fade away. Once it faded away, despite not seeming destructive, it left a foreboding feeling in the air.
Sinnoh. Chocovine Town. The Pokemon Festival. Late Afternoon.
"What?! Our ship!" James yelled. Back on Earth, news about Princess Celestia's whereabouts spread rapidly, especially across the Pokemon World. All thanks to Chrysalis' plan. This was to get everyone aware of her current location and scenario so that anyone else in that tower wouldn't be ignored.
But Team Rocket cared more about their Rocketship than whoever could be inside. Recently, they learned that their ship had been taken to try and recuse Celestia and her group. It was without their permission, of course.
"They can't just steal what we stole!" Jessie roared. "That's our role!"
"Luna's up there...?" Meanwhile, Nightmare Moon, who was currently the newest Team Rocket Member, observed the news, learning about how Princess Luna was also up there. She still had Luna's Pokemon in her possession even at this moment.
Darkrai and the rest of Luna's Pokemon muttered with worried tones. Right now, at this very moment, they were unable to help their trainer at all. Because of recent events, they were stuck here while Luna faced off against a cosmic threat that was feeling a full-throttle spirit of vengeance.
"I wish I could be up there right now..." Darkrai growled, furious that he couldn't get up to space and assist Luna. He could only imagine what was happening up there.
"Well now that I think about it, they might bring it back, right? They're only borrowing it." James added.
"Maybe...but it won't be in the best shape." Meowth shook his head. "Since the twerp's involved, there's a big chance when it gets back down to Earth, it'll be done for. Or worse...it could come crashing down!"
"Don't say that!" Jessie and James roared.
"I see this as an opportunity." Nightmare Moon stepped forward. "They'll have to come down eventually. That involves Luna. So...I suggest we do something about this. Wherever that ship might end up, we will meet with it."
"The Pokemon House!" Jessie raised her arm. "Duh! We should be heading back there right now!"
"No, no, no." Nightmare Moon shook her head, rejecting Jessie's answer. "Judging by what this newspaper has shared with us, that battle will send the ship elsewhere. It won't be guaranteed that it lands back there. Therefore, we must anticipate where it could fall."
"Where and how though? We're not astrologists." James asked.
"Where? You three are geniuses!" Nightmare Moon raised her voice, starting them each. "You are some of the smartest crafters I have ever seen! The mechanisms you create are truly special and, if used properly, could guarantee absolute world domination or something smaller scale but still efficient and lucrative. It's honestly surprising that you've failed to catch one Pokemon all these years..."
"Way to rub it in." Jessie sighed.
"By my order, you shall build something. Build something that will help us cover more ground. Or at least, something for the eventual descent of that ship." Nightmare Moon ordered. "Those riches are still up for grabs and will likely go past whatever value your ship has."
"She's right!" Meowth exclaimed. "We'll just make something for when that ship comes down from wherever."
"Good." Nightmare Moon nodded in approval. The rest of you Strange and Wonderful creatures can sit tight and not worry about a thing. You might meet up with Luna very soon.
Outer Space. Galaxy Tower.
After a bursting Boomburst from Jackie's Chatot AKA Casey, everyone nearby couldn't ignore it. Especially since it was a positive sound despite how ear-bursting it was. Jackie, King Paramount, Queen Luminary, Queen Chrysalis and each of their respective guards plus Canterlot Guards arrived at this room to meet with Celestia and everyone else.
"There you are." Jackie waved as the group was starting to expand with this reunion. Seeing friendly faces yet again brought warmth to their hearts.
"You look to be safe despite everything around you," Paramount spoke. "Thank goodness."
"Maybe we did show up in time," Luminary added. "I would've thought something horrible happened with all the destruction here."
"We survived. Whatever happened here wasn't enough to stop us all." Luna added. "The Rift is truly weaker."
"And I knew you'd show up eventually." Celestia bowed to them. "You showed up at a calmer time though. At least for us. Right now, Ash has probably met with the Rift. It's why it even started attacking up here. So...it's not too late."
"Oh. That's good to know." Scootaloo stepped forward, appearing in her older form while also having Apple Bloom next to her. Only Scootaloo appeared older, throwing Rainbow Dash off guard. "Ash has got this."
"W-Who are you?!" Rainbow Dash pulled back. "Scootaloo's mom?!"
"Huh? Oh, right!" Scootaloo stood tall once she looked familiar to everyone else. "Uh...it looks like Rift-Dialga caught me off guard and did this to me. The same goes for my Rapidash and Quilava...Now they're just Ponyta and Quilava, and I don't know how to fix it. But hey! On the bright side, I'm older now! Isn't that neat?!"
"Not for me..." Apple Bloom wept. "We won't match now. Glad Sweetie Belle ain't here to see this."
"Wait. Does this mean I'm gonna have to retrain Pontya and Cynadquil?" The older Scootaloo twirled her mane. "Hm...It could be easier now that I'm older and know a lot more!"
"Oh...Um, sister. You fixed Rainbow Dash. Do you suppose you could fix Rainbow Dash too?" Luna asked as Celestia was the one to fix Rainbow Dash's separation problem.
"Um...No. Not really." Unfortunately, time was out of Celestia's power for this one. "This might require another method. Such as finding Rift-Dialga and reversing it. That's all I can think of."
"Well, a lot happened here." Jackie chuckled. "A shame we aren't done yet. But I guess all we have to do is find the Rift and close this book once and for all."
While everyone else reunited and mostly spoke about Scootaloo's older form and the final blockade that was the Rift, one voice called out to Premium Polish. Premium Polish was the only one to hear this voice as it sounded like it had a mechanical sound to it. That was a strikingly familiar sound as the young android was drawn to it.
Hiding behind one of the many destroyed walls was a familiar unicorn. Someone dear to Premium Polish. Her mother, Skyblue Shine. Chrysalis already knew that Skyblue Shine was here as she helped ensure that no one on the ship would find out about her. And so far, no one in the tower had seen her except for her daughter, who Skyblue Shine wanted to make sure was safe and sound.
Without screaming her name, Premium Polish pranced over to reunite with her mother. She looked back to see if anyone was watching but she was completely in the clear with everyone else focused on more pressing matters
"Mom!" Once she was alone with her mother, that's when she could cry her name out. "You're here!"
"I am. It's wonderful to see you once more, my daughter." Skyblue Shine responded, showing a smile, which was fairly rare for her to show. "And it's even more wonderful to see that you're alright. I came here just to see if you were safe after learning about your current position."
"I'm totally safe. Princess Celestia and everyone's got my back after all. She's done a great job of taking care of me." The young android grinned.
"Splendid. Though I'm terrified to show my face in front of her, I'm glad that such a pony is taking good care of you. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that she takes care of you more than me."
"Huh? That's not true."
"Why wouldn't it be? Even after resolving things with you, I was absent from your life once more, heading to other universes. Princess Celestia has done a better job at taking care of you than I ever had. She is your best bodyguard without a doubt. But one day, I wish to return and remain by your side as always."
"You can do that now. You showed up, right? So why not stay behind? I can talk with Princess Celestia and-"
"Because my work isn't done. I want to help this universe and make amends for what I did. And that means doing what I can from other universes, especially those belonging to the Empress. This Universe is crucially important and a massive target, my child. Since this is your home, I'm doing everything in my power to try and keep it safe. So until that happens, I won't be around for a while yet again."
"Aww..." Disappointed, Premium Polish whimpered before having an oil tear appear on her eyes, only for Skyblue Shine to wipe it away. "But..."
"Don't be sad. Expect another Hearth's Warming Gift from me. And if you are ever in grave danger, I will be there to save and help you. Especially with everything involving those vampires. I'll never be truly absent, Premium." Skyblue Shine brought a ray of hope back to her.
"O-Okay! Just...don't leave yet. It's still dangerous in here."
"I don't intend to. Not until you're home safe." Premium Polish hugged her daughter as if she would stick around longer just for her and of course, her safety. "Now, if we're to get home, the Rocketship is one way to do so. The Rift is still active though and there is another one of its creations outside. So, let's-"
Abruptly, her sentence was interrupted, along with everyone else's words. This room, other rooms and practically every room in this tower started to shake without any warning. There wasn't the sound of an attack going off to prompt this. It just suddenly happened.
"Ough!" Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo bumped into each other, finally having matching sizes to do so in symmetry. Celestia and a few others kept themselves steady as it felt like the tower was starting to move with all this shaking.
"What was that?!" Applejack bellowed with Sceptile holding onto her and Apple Bloom. For safety measures, Sceptile would prepare his vines as a means to keep everyone still and balanced.
"The tower...it feels like it's moving!" Celestia felt the shift in the tower's actions. "Something's moving the tower from the outside!"
"Is it Rift-Giratina?!" Queen Chrysalis gasped before grabbing everyone's attention. They couldn't just ignore that sentence.
"Rift-Giratina?!" Many of them exclaimed, stunned to hear that name. Especially those who already encountered the Rift Creations. There was indeed a third one currently outside, confronting the real Giratina and an older Flurry Heart.
"Let me see!" Jackie had the object to check it out. His Rift Goggles. By using one of his many Rift-Based gadgets, he quickly propped the goggles on to observe the outside. These goggles were obviously made out of Rift Energy, giving them special properties.
And for these goggles, they granted the wearer the ability to see through things, especially walls, similar to Luxio's X-Ray ability but without any bones being involved. And by doing so, he saw that it wasn't Rift-Giratina doing this. Right now, Rift-Giratina was wrestling with its real variant in a head-to-head draconic clash with the real Giratina pushing the Rift Variant back with Iron Head.
"It's not Rift-Giratina that's doing this..." Jackie shook his head before turning his head along with the goggles to continue finding the source. He noticed that there was a red aura around the tower that didn't come from Rift-Giratina. It was coming from somewhere else. And once he saw where the red aura started, it pointed to Earth. "It's a red aura...no. A red beam! It's coming from the Earth!"
"Red beam...?" Paramount and Luminary said before looking at themselves and later at the seven Unown that were with them. They had only one answer as they blurted it out in unison. "SECOND WIND!"
Pinnaculum Pegalysium. Late Afternoon.
Indeed. Second Wind spotted a flare of Rift Energy constantly coming from that tower earlier. After staring t the structure in the sky for a while, she decided on the most obvious solution. Take all the Rift Energy from the tower. The Grand Queen hadn't given up on that kind of cosmic power after what it felt like to use it all. She already had multiple Unown with her and this would only add to her power.
And to bring that extra power to her, involved using her Unown to use their amazing Hidden Power in unison, sending a combined red beam the size of a large bridge to reach the cosmos. And once it reached space, the beam started pulling the tower away. The combined might of these Unown worked well enough to do so.
"Good! That's it!" Premium Polish cackled. "Bring it all down! I know what to do with that power and that tower will especially serve some sort of purpose. I won't let Daybreaker and the others have more than me after all. Keep going, Unown!"
The Unown intensified their power, increasing the speed and strength of their beam. This would only force the tower down some more, but also, cause trouble from without and on the outside. This much strength threatened the tower which had already taken massive amounts of damage.
At this rate, Meowth's prediction could come true. But it wouldn't be a ship that falls and neither would it be Ah's actions that result in it.
Outer Space. Galaxy Tower. The very top of the tower.
Aside from all of that, the most crucial moment finally came to pass. The result of that bright cosmic flash ended. Though it caused no destruction, the collision warped the dimensions of this entire area.
Twilight had a carrier up, fearing that massive destruction would come from this. But it didn't happen. Instead, all it resulted in was floating platforms. She and Fluttershy found themselves on these platforms that were starting to float thanks to the sudden burst of cosmic power.
Ash could also be seen with his Pokemon, standing on these platforms. He held onto his hat, keeping it steady as everyone was finally starting to calm down. As for Bayleef and Galaxy Master, their bodies were also spotted as they were the ones who caused this.
One had the power to change fate while the other would always have fate on its side. These two law-defying powers clashed, but which one of the two emerged victorious? Galaxy Master, who was still possessed by the Rift, stood there stunned as Bayleef's Leaf touched its chest with a faint amount of Rift Energy around the tip of her leaf.
"Did it work?" Fluttershy gawked, wondering if that meant Bayleef overwrote the fate of Galaxy Master. They were still stuck in that same position while having cosmic auras around them. Right now, the two of them found themselves locked via a cosmic power.
"They both can't move!" Twilight gasped. "Did the Rift freeze itself and Bayleef for this?! Or was it a volatile result from that reaction?"
"I...can't....lose!" The Rift spoke before beginning to break out of this cosmic hold. Its arms were starting to move while Bayleef was still stuck, unable to move.
"B-Bay!" Bayleef suddenly growled before then feeling a chill rush through her body. The Leaf Pokemon shuddered as her body turned chilly. Not just her, but Ash, Pikachu and everyone else, even Ninetales and Raboot, felt this horrific chill.
"W-What is this...?! It's so cold!" Fluttershy got down, wrapping her feathers around her. In seconds, she began freezing up slowly.
"This...feels familiar!" Ash would know what this feeling was. He's been into space a few times and this feeling wasn't abnormal at all.
"Feel it...! The coldness of space!" The Rift cackled as it had unleashed the chilling atmosphere of space onto Ash and the others. "Not even Fire-Types can resist this! This cold is unlike anything you've ever felt before!"
"P-Pika...!"
"Sol...! A-Absol!"
"Audino...!" Everyone felt the harsh chill of space while Ash slowly got up, holding onto one arm while trying to resist the cold. Others were doing their best to resist it too, especially Ninetales, who tried warming himself up to sustain some heat.
"Give it up!" Galaxy Master yelled. "Space is the one thing you can't get past...It's the final frontier after all...Though, I'm running low on power after that flash here. I'll end it now while I have the chance!"
The Rift would do a last-ditch attack while it had the chance. With weak arms, it began gathering power for a cosmic blast. Simple but effective, especially against those who couldn't move. "It's over! Victory is right before my eyes!"
"No...it's not!" Ash protested, still keeping onto the spark of hope. Whether it was in space or whatever bizarre location there may be, he always saw the positive outcome. "Because...we haven't shown our ace-in-the-hole yet."
"Your Z-Move? You can't reach the crystals in your state!" Galaxy Master's legs were now beginning to move as he was slowly starting to break out of the Cosmic Lock.
"Not that." The Alola Champion grinned. It was something else that could potentially do the trick. "Now Twilight!"
"Got it! Take it all, Bayleef!" The ace-in-the-hoe revealed itself to be seemingly Twilight. Except, it wasn't. From out of Twilight's horn, a burst of Rift Magic came flying out with every ounce of her strength she could exude. Bayleef was still the ace in the hole.
All the Rift energy Twilight possessed was sent towards the Leaf Pokemon, embedding her power in an abundance of it. Bayleef's eyes flashed white before then feeling a familiar surge of Cosmic ENergy within her.
"BAY...!" Her voice echoed out with the same level of intensity as the Royal Canterlot Voice. Her body unleashed a great flash of cosmic aura that was so hot, it overpowered the chill of space. Twilight gave out all she could before nearly passing out. Thankfully, the intense aura around Bayleef warmed up this entire room. all the chilling tensions were melted away by her passionate aura.
"No way!" Galaxy Master gasped as the chill of space could no longer be felt. Now it was the heat of a star tht existed around this area. But it was to a level bearable for her friends.
"Yes, way!" Fluttershy cheered. "You can do it Bayleef! Do what you do best and change fate!"
"I don't think so!" The Rift then gained the strength to fully move before thrusting both its hand forward, unleashing a cosmic blast up close at Bayleef's body.
"Here goes! Lucario! Aura Sphere!"
"Lucario!" Lucario would strike while he had the chance. This was the one chance for his Aura to be at its most powerful. It was when Bayleef's power skyrocketed. The Aura Pokemon threw one last Aura Sphere that was as big as his head. The sphere travelled at great speeds, picking up the heat of the stars along the way before meeting with the wide cosmic blast. It intercepted the attack right as it expanded, getting in front of Bayleef.
The power of Aura clashed with it, tearing through this astral power while Bayleef was still stuck there. But not for long. The heat of her Aura melted it all way, giving the Leaf Pokemon a chance to move.
"BAYLEEF!" And now that she could move, Bayleef used this opportunity to jump over Galaxy Master's head. At this moment, that was when the full power of her leaf had been used. With nothing to hold her back, Bayleef unleashed a chunk of her leaves that let out streaks of cosmic stardust.
With just one touch on Galaxy Master's head. Fate had changed. If the Rift had eyes, they would probably shrink by now as the Cosmic Blast had been eradicated. Aura Sphere hit its mark, breaking through the attack and crashing into the Rift's stomach for a second time. This time with a greater impact than before.
"Y-You can't do this to me...!" The Rift ranted before then being pushed back by the Aura Sphere, unable to hold still against this power. "I-I won't go down here! I refuse to-" But it was immediately cut off once the Aura Sphere expanded, covering it in a giant gale of Aura that dazzled so beautifully, it could fit well in the cosmos.
"I-I am actually about to lose...Well played. Ash. All of you. But...I won't let this be my final moment at all. This won't be the place where it all ends!"
Just like that, Galaxy Master's body pulsated from the shock and outburst with the Rift finally being forced out of its body. The rest of this room had been blown apart to smithereens by the final effect of Aura Sphere. Out of the azure explosion, Galaxy Master could be seen dropping.
That was the sign. The sign that it was all over now. The winner of this battle up in the stars was Ash Ketchum, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and their Pokemon. With victory finally on their side, Ash grasped his fist before taking a deep breath and spouting out those words in a tired voice.
Outer Space. Galaxy Tower. The Very Top of the Tower.
Galaxy Master was down. The RIft had been defeated. Ash, Twilight, Fluttershy and their Pokemon gave it their all to make this work. And with Bayleef being the ace-in-the-hole, victory was now claimed by them.
"I'm done..." Twilight used all of her Rift Magic just to power up Bayleef's ability for this one instance. Now that Rift Magic was tied to her, Twilight was exhausted, slumping on the floating platform. "Rift Magic expends more than my usual magic."
"Bayleef..." The same went with Bayleef. Her power to change fate reached an all-time high in that one instance, but it seemed to have been short-lived. The moment that cosmic glow left her leaf, the Leaf Pokemon fainted on the spot. "Bay..."
"Bayleef!" Seeing that she passed out immediately, Fluttershy flew over the many floating platforms just to reach her. Despite suffering no damage in this battle, that one fate-changing action drained her. "Thank you for everything, Bayleef."
"Ashkan! You did it!" Hoopa zoomed over, embracing Ash with a flying tackle that soon transitioned into a hug. "Hoopa knew you could!"
"We did it, Hoopa," Ash added Hoopa to the list of those who helped stop the Rift. "Thanks for the help. Ah, is Meloetta okay?"
"Hoopa grabbed her with a ring while Ashkan was busy battling." Hoopa saluted. "It's alright!"
"Thanks, Hoopa. But man...I'm beat." The Alola Champion sighed. But, even after this resounding victory, the tower was still. Moving. This was because of Second Wind using the power of the Unown to try and bring the tower to her. Rift Energy was instantly detected by her and even to this day, she hadn't given up on this cosmic power. "But what's all that shaking?"
"C-Congratulations..." That wasn't the only alarming thing. The voice of Rift passed their ears. This time, it was its natural voice which was a mix of Lucien and Sienna's voices considering who the Rift truly is.
"You're still up?!" Twilight was flabbergasted. After those moments of silence, she expected the Rift to continue staying silent for a while. But alas, it did not last at all.
"It's exactly what you theorized, Twilight Sparkle...Rift Energy is an infinite pool. There will always be one piece of it that will exist, guaranteeing recovery. Aside from that, you did end up winning after all...And I didn't. Even after all of that."
"Pikachu...!" Pikachu flared his red sacs with electricity, preparing for another round if that was the case. Lucario, Absol and Ninetales would do the same, still being the healthiest out of everyone else. An Aura Sphere from Lucario was already prepared.
"I lost...My first time ever being in a battle, let alone a series of battles...and I lost." The Rift's voice started to shake as Ash and the others had no idea what reaction they could expect from this. "This is what it feels like to be a villain? It's...AMAZING!"
"Eh?" Naturally, everyone had the same confused reaction on their faces as Lucario's Aura Sphere fizzled out with a weak exit.
"Seeming so triumphant in so many scenarios only to be defeated at the end! What a spectacle! It feels exactly like how I see it in every universe! I've always wondered how the villains feel after that...and it's frankly a horrible feeling. But also wonderful!"
"I-Is it okay?" Fluttershy asked as the Rift started laughing as if it was a kid in a candy store.
"It seems happy about this." Twilight scratched her mane. "Though, I don't know anyone who'd be this happy about losing in a big way."
"Oh, and I spouted the words they would as well! I was so into it that I didn't notice until the very end! That kind of energy is what I needed for this to work! And that drive of vengeance I had..Ah, the universes' I've seen that involve such driving motivations are always entertaining to watch. I can't believe it...That was pure bliss!"
"Well, at least it's having fun again." Ash chuckled.
"Yes...Getting involved for the first time to this level was not a mistake or a failure at all. It's opened my eyes...I'd rather not this be the only time it happens though. Therefore! Starting from now...I shall be your next villain!"
"You mean you weren't before?" Twilight replied with a sweatdrop. "And what do you mean by that?!"
"This brings an opportunity. A bigger stage must be set. Even bigger than space. I wish to battle you again. As a greater villain with greater power."
"You're just gonna declare that?!" Twilight yelled, berating at the Rift. "After everything that's happened?!"
"You want to do this again?" Fluttershy added. "But why?"
"But of course. I want to experience this once more but at different levels to it. You understand, don't you, Ash?"
"Pssh." Twilight scoffed. "As if. After everything you did, as if we'd let you try something like this again. Right, Ash?"
"Yeah. It does sound like fun." Ash suddenly replied, stunning Twilight as he was up for another scenario against the Rift.
"Ash!" Twilight yelled as her pupils became hollowed out.
"But...I still won't let you get away with what you did to my friends." Ash then switched back to a serious tone. "You've gotta know that too."
"As to be expected from you. But truth be told...you aren't going to capture me either way or even dream of keeping me behind." The Rift chuckled. "Not with what's happening with the tower. At this rate, it will crash."
"What's actually happening to it?! Is it falling?!" Fluttershy gasped as the shaking was only starting to get worse.
"More like something is pulling it your way. However...though I want to experience this once more, I still have a petty side to me. That would be the Sienna in me talking. So...as a farewell message before our last encounter, I'll do this!" Surprisingly, not only could the Rift still get up, its body flared out a dazzle of cosmic energy yet again.
"You still have more...!" Twilight gasped as her hair blew from the pressure of cosmic energy.
"I took some remaining reserves from Galaxy Master. Not enough to battle anymore...but enough to do something. You just have to find out what it is. No matter what, I will always have something left within me."
"Hoopa! Get us out of here!" Ash yelled before the worst could possibly happen. Hoopa already had his rings ready with the main destination being either Earths'. Anywhere but space.
"I'm not aiming for you...but for him!" The Rift's true target had been shown. Underneath Galaxy Master, a gateway appeared. Immediately after the gateway showed up, Galaxy Master, still unconscious fell in, unaware of what was beyond there or even everything that happened here. After all, the Rift was in control most of the time.
"Galaxy Master! Dad!" Ash called him by his hero name before then referring to him as his father.
"I knew that would get a reaction out of you...Galaxy Master is someone I want to see more of...So for now, farewell." And just like that, the Rift, heavily low on power, would depart. Feeling agitated, Lucario attempted to attack the Rift while he had the chance, throwing another Aura Sphere. But, much like how it evaded attacks before, the Rift dissipated into stardust, using that to escape and disperse to the point where Lucario's Aura Sphere failed to catch it.
As it stood now, Galaxy Master was safe from potentially crashing. But he was also somewhere else thanks to the Rift. All Ash and the others could do now was focus on getting everyone out of here.
Rift-Giratina also found itself being defeated. A devastating Dragon Pulse from its original counterpart sent it flying. But it wasn't at all Giratina's Dragon Pulse that did the trick but rather, the defeat of the Rift.
Due to the Rift's defeat, Rift-Giratina suffered as well. Falling weak. It wasn't just Rift-Giratina, but Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia too. With their creator suffering a major loss, they were affected too Never before has this ever happened and now that it has, its effects were visible.
There was only one result from this. Their bodies then turned into forms of light. Flurry Heart witnessed how the body of Rift-Giratina was being pulled away. Mainly toward the crack in space that was formed by the three Rift Dragons. The Cosmic Wall called them back. All three of them.
Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia were pulled from the tower, reacting to the call of the cosmic wall. Flurry Heart got to witness this spectacle as the cracks in space were starting to reform themselves. The first to enter was Rift-Giratina which was then followed up by Rift-Dialga and Rift-Palkia.
They let out roars of defeat that only Giratina could understand. It was astonishing to witness them enter this hole in space which grabbed all the shattered pieces, patching them up. Scootaloo found herself reverting back to her original age because of this.
The young pegasus grumbled as this was short-lived. She didn't get to experience the joys of being older for even an hour, day or more. All she did was talk about her appearance and the things she could potentially do. On the plus side, she didn't have to worry about retraining Ponyta and Quilava as they were back as Rapidash and Quilava most definitely.
"Amazing..." said Flurry Heart with stars of awe in her eyes. But not-so-amazing was the fact that the tower was starting to be pulled away. Flurry Heart gasped, realizing there was another severe scenario going on that required full attention.
As for Celestia's group, the Rocketship would be their getaway vehicle as everyone who could move found themselves rushing to the entrance. All they had to do was follow Jackie. However, there was one problem. The tower had been moved so far to the point where it wasn't close to the Rocketship for anyone to hop on board. There was also the issue of how almost none of them could breathe in space.
Jackie used his Rift-Goggles to confirm it for himself, seeing through the tower and witnessing the distance gauged from the Rocketship. There was no way any of them were getting back on that ship.
"No good...We've moved too far away from here!" Jackie gasped, stunning and worrying everyone. "At this rate, she could get what she wants and bring this whole tower down!"
"The Master Bolt is still inside that ship, along with some of our guards!" Luminary exclaimed. "I hope one of them can at least control that thing!"
"What do we do now?!" Apple Bloom asked as her hooves were quivering.
"No need to worry! There has to be a way out of this." Celestia stayed adamant. "If we can just reach that ship and deal with the Unown at the same time..."
"I know someone who can." Chrysalis stepped forward, having a solution. "Well, two of them anyway. One of them is currently outside with Giratina and the moment. She can try it. But if not then there is another." The Changeling Queen turned to face Pinkie Pie and Mew specifically.
Skyblue Shine feared that Chrysalis would face her while she was undercover. But thankfully, Chrysalis would never give her identity away as Pinkie noticed that she was being eyed down.
"Uh...why are you looking at me?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Pinkie Pie. Today, I learned that Mewtwo is capable of going into space. By that logic, the original predecessor, Mew, should be capable of the same time."
"Mew can breathe in space?! Seriously?" Pinkie looked up at the New Species Pokemon. Judging by how he was laughing, Mew knew this as well. "W-Well, there more you know."
"Excellent! Then hurry up and let him save us already!" Amethyst Star exclaimed, wanting out of this tower immediately.
"Don't worry. Mew. I'm gonna need you to turn into a Pokemon that can carry us and the tower at the same time. Can ya do that?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Mew-Mew!" Mew would do his best. He thought of one Pokemon he could turn into which was his personal favourite. The New Species Pokemon followed Jackie to the entrance of the ship just to finally get out there and do what needed to be done.
He had to be quick about it as the tower was suddenly started to heat up. From the speed it was being pulled, it wouldn't take long for it to act like a meteor and come crashing down. Second Wind waited patiently for the Unown to bring her the ship, believing this to be a swimming success with no possible resistance.
However, there would soon be resistance.
"Out you go. Good luck, little guy." Jackie wished Mew all the luck he could. Now that the Rift Veil was long gone, Mew and practically anyone was free to head out into space. However, only he and a select few could enter the harsh darkness of space.
"Mew!" Upon flying out of the entrance, Mew would then transform into the one Pokemon he's known for transforming into and was without a doubt his all-time favourite Pokemon for specific reasons.
Lugia.
He emerged as the Psychic-Flying-Type, spreading his gigantic silver wings to the stars. These wings also conveniently acted like hands too, making them truly versatile. Mew eyed down the ship before accelerating through the stars. As to be expected, he could breathe just fine in space without any issue whatsoever.
As for the Rocketship, the guards inside that were tasked with keeping the Mighty Master Master Bolt safe were starting to panic. They didn't expect to see the tower just randomly be pulled away as they started running around in a frenzy.
"What do we do!? What do we do?!" One of them screamed.
"H-How do you control this thing?!" Another one was trying to move the ship but had no idea how to do so in the first place. Even Chrysalis at least know how to get it moving despite how rocky her movements were.
But this screaming was soon halted once they saw the arrival of someone. In the distance, through the shattered windows, Lugia AKA Mew was approaching, unleashing the signature roar of the Diving Pokemon.
At first, they were panicking. Now after saving the baring fangs of Lugia and his roar along with the absolute size of this Legendary Specimen that had wings that acted as hands while also appearing almost as large as the Rocketship itself, it sparked absolute fear.
The guards all screamed at the top of their lungs, terrified. The guard at the front of the ship began mashing buttons as fast as he could, hoping that something would happen. But all that did was make each compartment from the ship go on and off repeatedly with no breaks in sight.
Mew gently wrapped his wing arms around the ship while hearing them screaming in terror. Right after holding the ship with those massive wing arms, he cried out, calling for Giratina.
In outer space, the Legendary Pokemon could ignore the boundaries of cosmic silence and make noises from there. This allowed them to communicate, showing just how mighty they truly were. Giratina responded to Mew's cry, knowing what needed to be done as it would soon join the New Species Pokemon. Giratina would chime in and assist in pulling the ship. Everyone else would just have to wait and see how this all turns out in the end.
The ship was pulled by the combined might of these two Legends, heading straight for the tower. The guards noticed how instead of crushing it, Lugia was pushing it. They also laid eyes on Giratina, seeing that it was working alongside this equally large Pokemon. There was truly nothing to fear as some of them either sighed or passed out.
But there was still the issue of the tower being pulled away. The power of all those Unown kept bringing it closer as the flames were starting to kick up. The ship began re-entering the stratosphere at this point and very soon, Pinnaculum Pegalysium.
"What do we do about that?!" Flurry Heart gasped as even she had no idea how to solve this.
But someone did. Hoopa. Hoopa would use the full extent of his ring. By removing one, Hoopaknew what needed to be done. Get everyone to safety at once. The safest place he could think of it. Really, it was anywhere. The one place that came to mind first was PokeStar Studios, where they all started this scenario from. However, Hoopa wasn't thinking about bringing the tower with him.
"Hoopa! Hurry!" Twilight exclaimed. "If it gets pulled closer to Earth then..."
"Mmmm...! How does Hoopa do this?! Should Hoopa go outside?!" It was only everyone on board. Hoopa would have to improvise to a new level. He's never used his ring in such a complex way before. After all, it has always been used outside for these kinds of scenarios, never on the inside. This also meant that Hoopa would have to go outside to try and make his ring work if he could even breathe out there.
But as he pondered, that's when the tower began breaking down from the re-entry. That was a heavy sign that Hoopa needed to think fast. Mew and Giratina were still focused on the ship with only Mew deciding to let out and head for the tower himself. He dropped the focus on the ship and only thought about the rest of his friends.
"Good! Come to me!" A menacing smile with sharp pupils appeared on Second Wind's face as it looked like the tower would belong to her.
"Hoopa! Try this! We're at the top of the tower. That means everyone else should be lower than us! Use your ring up here and send it down!" Twilight gave a bright idea that could work. "You don't have to think about it too much! Just let the ring act like a giant mount and eat everything inside up!"
"Like a giant mouth? Oh, Hoopa can do that!" All it took was that simple child-like advice for Hoopa to think outside the box. That was a great call from Twilight as she sparked hope back in the Mischief Pokemon's heart. "Thank you, Twikan!" Hoopa slapped himself in the face before using the ring to the best of his abilities. "Here goes nothing! Alléhooparing!" He threw his ring up, going for one attempt that he hoped would work.
Hoopa greatly manipulated his ring, expanding its size like he usually does. He needed to make sure that was wide enough to touch the end of this tower. He spread it out, making it go great distances before it then touched the walls. Once the ring was wide enough, it acted just like a mouth.
The ring scarfed down at Ash's group first before anything else, consuming them all. That included everything else in this room. The floating broken platforms and all the rubble came with the ring as it spared no one. It finished the top level, eating up Ash, his group and the main room as well.
It would only continue from there. Everyone looked up at something hollow and dark with a golden ring that could be seen appearing. They recognized that ring very well. The floors above them were eaten and taken with them as the entire interior of the Galaxy Tower would be gone at this point. Celestia's group found themselves being taken away by the ring too.
Cynthia's group involved. No matter where they were, anyone inside the ship would come along. The ring even broke apart the walls with what it was consuming, finally revealing the outside. Mew witnessed the golden part of the ring burst through the walls before it became space debris. He wouldn't have to g any further. Not when he knew who was making sure everyone was safe.
Of course, this meant Mew wasn't coming along since he was outside of the ship. At this rate, he'd have to take the long way home. Aside from that, thanks to Twilight's idea, Hoopa pulled it off. The ring completely ate everyone and everything inside the ship. With no Rift Veil to stop or limit his ring from doing what needed to be done. Hoopa gained superior control over mostly everyone once more.
Rooms, objects, people, ponies, changelings and Pokemon alike. None were safe from Hoopa's ring. But ironically, they were safe. But as a loss, the tower would belong to Second Wind. Mew flew back, returning to help the Rocketship, while Flurry Heart was twitching uncontrollably, unaware of Hoopa's existence to guarantee safety.
"B-But what about everyone else?!" Flurry's Heart trembled. Giratina soon relayed Mew's message to the young princess, ensuring that she had nothing to worry about. Flurry Heart grew close to Giratina to speak to it in such a way. "Oh...O-Okay. I gotcha, Giratina. But uh..what's a Hoopa?"
Unova. Virbank City.PokeStar Studios. The Pokemon Festival. Late Afternoon.
"Guh!" Safe and sound. At least, as safe as they could be. Thanks to what Hoopa did, everything from the tower was brought along aside from the exterior. Rubble and objects crashed onto everyone when they were brought back to the Pokemon World.
Some found themselves being smacked in the face by shelves, some crashed into broken beds, someone were pelted by raining rubble and so on and so forth.
But looking past all of that, they were all fine for the most part. "Did Hoopa do good?" Hoopa asked before receiving a thumbs-up from Ash.
"Yeah. Great job Hoopa. Ow, my back..." Ash did receive an injury to his back though. "I think I'm gonna lie here for a bit..."
"Same here," Twilight replied as everyone here wanted to lie down at once. Everyone wanted to lie about that. That turbulent event exhausted an abundance of them, even those who already got some rest. They wouldn't even acknowledge the ruckus they made at PokeStar Studios once they crashed outside the building. For one day, they could do without any ruckus.
After all that, it was only just about to transition into nightfall. The Sun began setting, leaving its radiant golden glow behind and making way for the silver moon. Ash started laughing, which prompted Twilight to laugh, which then passed on to Fluttershy.
And soon, it became contagious. Pinkie Pie was next, then Celestia and Cynthia until everyone started laughing. But these were laughs filled with relief. They were all just happy that it was over. That's all they cared about right now. This laughter not only symbolized their victory but a time to close a book on this.
Galaxy Tower had been brought down. Thanks to the power of the Unown, Second Wind had the tower all to herself. It crashed here at Pinnaculum Pegalysium, right outside Second Wind's palace, leaving a large crater. But for the sake of gaining more power, Second Wind could care less about the damage. After all, it could all be repaired later on.
The entrance to the Galaxy Tower was there for her to see as various Pinnaculum Pegalysium Guards were surveying the area for what they could find. The main reason for Second Wind bringing this tower down was the fact that she sensed Rift Energy coming from it.
Alas, when bringing the tower down, she didn't find a gigantic amount of it as she expected. But that didn't mean Grand Queen Second Wind wouldn't gain something from this.
"Did Rift Magic affect this? It feels so...strange. How is it that it still shines so beautifully even with this destruction?" Right now, she was holding onto the rubble from the tower. The moment she made contact with it, the texture was bizarre to her. After all, it was made out of stars. This material was known as Solid Stars.
Despite how special they sounded, the battles that took place within the tower completely destroyed each of the solid stars and their foundations, leaving only this wreck of a tower that had no interior design at all. But, the rubble still shined after everything that had happened.
"Unown. Observe these. See if there's any Rift Magic within it." Dedicated t getting whatever she could, she ordered the Unown to decipher these stones to see what could be found. The Unown did just that, using their combined powers to scan the Solid Stars.
It didn't take long for the Unown to decipher them. They immediately discovered the kind of energy inside of them. Stars. Surprisingly, despite how there were stars inside of this material, not once did it combust or let out heat. That showed that Ash, even at a young age, knew to be careful with what he was making.
Upon learning about the stars inside, they telepathically relayed this message back to Second Wind, grabbing her attention for this instance.
"Stars? Inside these things? Oh...Whoever crafted something like this must be an absolute genius." She was entirely wrong, as Ash only made this up as a child with no proper logic behind it other than the fact that they were stars that turned solid. A child's imagination will always have minimal logic in the best way possible. "But, they also haven't been using it to the best of its potential.
Second Wind wouldn't dismiss this at all. These stones intrigued her. She wasn't one to leave a chance behind. If it can be used, then why not experiment? Item resource is what Second Wind thrived for as evidenced by what she has been pursuing for so long and what she continues to pursue even to this day in her current position.
"What a shame...I didn't get any Rift Energy today. Phooey. But, if this material has stars inside, then I can do something with this."
Unova. Virbank City. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
After succeeding in defeating the Rift and escaping from Second Wind's clutch, everyone returned here thanks to Hoopa. Now, some of them took the time to sleep while others just sat there on the ground, looking up at the night sky. They never got the chance to fully experience the stars but being up there only gave them a sense of wonder about what could happen next time up there.
After all, the Golden Stairway was still a possibility as it pointed to the stars. Everyone had their Pokemon healed up at the Pokemon Center whilst Celestia, Chrysalis, Paramount, Luminary and Luna helped with cleaning. Massie rubble from the tower's interior were scattered everywhere. The guards from each respective ruler would also do some heavy lifting to clean the streets of Virbank.
It was all over now. All that was left was for Mew, Flurry Heart and Giratina to return. With the Rocketship since it still had the Master Bolt with it. Now that he didn't have to worry about any sudden attacks, Hoopa would make a ring for free, leading the way for Mew and the others.
Through this giant ring, Mew flew through, appearing as Lugia for a split second before then reverting to his original form. Passing through as well was Giratina and its ever-imposing form. On its back was its original trainer Flurry Heart who was the least exhausted out of everyone here. Thanks to Hoopa's ring, the Rocketship which helped the powerful Master Bolt could be safely transported, entering the Pokemon World.
The people of Virbank City weren't sure what to focus on first. The massive amount of rubble that looked like it came out of a hotel, the giant ship in the sky, the fact that they thought they saw Lugia for a moment only for it to be Mew or the casual appearance of Giratina.
Either one required some questions but they all mainly gossiped. Although it wasn't too uncommon as Ash is known for being around these larger-than-life characters.
"That got pretty intense back there," Ash said to Twilight and the rest of his friends. "We made it out of there just fine, right?"
"Glad it didn't get too intense," Twilight added. "It's a good thing the Rift still wasn't too powerful to dominate us all. I dread what would've happened if it had power comparable to when we first met it."
"Hmph. I was out cold for the most part!" Rarity crossed her hooves. "I wanted to give the Rift a piece of my mind. Especially that Dragonite."
"Hah! Call this catharsis!" Hilbert suddenly slid over, responding to Rarity. I'm the one who took out that Dragonite. Hydreigon and I mopped the floor with it."
"We still didn't get the Rift though. Then again, what would we have done with it?" Hilda wondered. "I still want my payback though if possible."
"You might get it, Hilda," Ash replied before taking off his hat. Speaking of hats, Applejack received her hat back as it was swallowed up by Hoopa's ring too.
"Here you go, Applejack." Bertha was the one to return the hat. In its current state, it was slightly damaged but still wearable as she gently placed it back on the earth pony's head. It still fits even after the scuffle.
"What do you mean by that, Ash? I might get it?" Hilda asked, leaning forward. Ash, Twilight and Fluttershy knew something. And it was high time for them to say it.
"Back there, the Rift said something that tells us we're gonna battle again someday. Everything that happened here gavei t some inspiration and now it wants to be a villain suddenly." Ash recalled those words.
"Starting from now...I shall be your next villain! This brings an opportunity. A bigger stage must be set. Even bigger than space. I wish to battle you again. As a greater villain with greater power."
"It just declared that?!" Hilda exclaimed.
"That's what I said!" Twilight responded. "After all that, I didn't think it would give such a reaction. This is already telling us that it's gonna face us somewhere else...What could be bigger than space?"
"Space Two?" Pinkie Pie added, but no one could possibly know the answer. But that response did make everyone chuckle.
"Whatever it is...we'll meet the Rift there. I think it wants that final stage and encounter to be the last one. And if that's the final time, that means everything that comes afterwards is blind sailing. The Rift might not do anything after that." Twilight added. "All that's left would be finding Jirachi. Unless we find all of them before that."
"What about Galaxy Master? What happened to him?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"The Rift sent it somewhere else. Not sure where. If we want to find out, we could use the books that tell his story. But I think the most recent one was with the Rift. So right now...we have no idea where he could be now." Twiight continued.
"I don't wanna think about it now." Applejack sighed before slumping on Sceptile's stomach. "I just wanna sleep."
"Same here." Fluttershy yawned. "What's next for tomorrow, everyone?"
"Not sure. Anywhere but space." Rarity rubbed her eye. "And if it is space, just let it be something beautiful and peaceful instead of what we went through. Space and all its stars are too grand to ignore."
"By the way...where's Reshiram? Wasn't he here before?" Hilbert noticed Reshiram's absence. "He didn't show up at space either."
"Reshiram never came with us to the Galaxy Tower. But it doesn't look like he stayed behind at PokeStar Studios." Hilda replied. "Maybe, he went to do his own thing."
"I would've totally loved it if Reshiram was there..." Rainbow Dash yawned before falling flat n the ground, putting herself to sleep instantly. Everyon else clocked out, sleeping next to their Pokemon or even the ends that came along with the ring. All interior parts of the tower were free for them to hold and rest on, albeit a bit damaged.
Ash closed his eyes, thinking about Galaxy Master instead of the Rift's challenge. That last part was something he was expecting to deal with eventually. But Galaxy Master was another story. Since he was controlled by the Rift, he would most definitely have no knowledge as to everything that happened. Even though he was a fictional character, Ash still based that character on his father. That was just another way of him being distant with his father. To sleep it all away, Ash would join his friends and slumber.
"We should be going now." Meanwhile, Paramount and Lumniary were ready to take their leave. "At least, returning the Master Bolt back to Pegalysium. It served its purpose by breaking that veil."
"Thank you for your help. You've paid us back for all the times we helped you. That veil would've caused further problems if it wasn't dealt with." Celestia thanked, bowing her head in respect. "Same to you, Chrysalis. Way to go with alerting everyone and even that small moment of piloting."
"I didn't even pilot it that well..." Chrysalis grumbled. "All I did was use my magic to shield the ship and that's it."
"Ah, you did fine." Jackie patted her on the back by kneeling down to do so. "I mean, the worst case scenario was if you ended up crashing the ship into the tower. Or back down to earth. Either way, none of that happened."
"R-Right...!" Chrysalis stammered, realizing how horribly it could've gone if she didn't have some knowledge to that kind of ship in the beginning. While quaking, her eyes averted her to Skyblue Shine. Right now, the android mother was about to bid farewell to her android daughter. As to be expected since Skybue Shine could confirm the safety of Premium Polish now.
"I'll be off now. Take care, daughter." Skyblue Shine embraced her little android daughter with one final hug for the night.
"Goodbye, mom. Show up soon, okay?"
"I will. But...how about you share this with Princess Celestia? From what I learned, there's something being built or it's probably already finished over at Universe 11. Daybreaker calls it the Supernova. I'm not sure what it does but I'll continue to look into it. This universe is a prime target for whatever Daybreaker's planning to do with it after all. That and the fact that she needs Necrozma to take light."
"Uh, okay. I'll remember that. But I thought you liked Daybreaker. She's the one who helped you free me."
"I'm grateful to Daybreaker. But I'm afraid of what her actions will do to you since she's all about travelling from world to world as well. I doubt she'll do anything to you but it's about what could happen to everyone else."
"I gotcha. I'll tell Princess Celestia everything I know. You should stay safe out there too, mom."
"I will." Skyblue Shine backed away, looking round to see if anyone noticed her movements. She was in the clear right now, thankfully, which ld to her removing the Royal Canterlot Guard armour before disappearing into the darkness. Premium Polish had a smile on her face, knowing that her mother would be found once more.
Hopefully, under better circumstances that didn't involve a scuffle in space and a vengeful cosmc entity with amalgamtions of two forces. But everything involving Galaxy Master wasn't quite over yet. Cynthia held a map. Rather, a three-sided map. This was the special map that showed three worlds. The Pokemon World, The Earth where Twilight and her friends come from and a third one that wasn't coloured in and hard to recognize.
Cynthia wondered what this map meant and why was it in Galaxy Master's room. Something like this had to be researched further. Cynthia already took a picture of it, saving it permanently just so this image never leaves her head. But at the moment, Cynthia wished she could speak with Galaxy Master right now to know what he was planning withthis.
"Ａｒｅ ｙｏｕ ｃｕｒｉｏｕｓ?" Speaking to Cynthia was a robotic voice. More specifically, the StarBots from Galaxy Tower. They came along after being swallowed up by the ring. A majority of them were broken down while a few were still intact.
"Ah, yes. You work for Galaxy Master, so you should know what this map means, right?" Cynthia asked, kneeling to face the robots. "What does the left side of the map represent?"
"Hypothetical? Unfinished? And it's far bigger than what it appears to be?" Cynthia gawked. These words could mean a lot. But the one thing that came to mind was the fact that this hypothetical world that the StarBots mentioned could be bigger than both worlds combined.
Or rather, as Cynthia thought, it was both worlds actually combined into one. "Wait! Did Galaxy Master make this for a hypothetical world where both worlds are together?"
"I see" Cynthia received the truth behind the map. It truly did have good intentions. Galaxy Master, despite what he had been told, saw the bond that both worlds shared and the potential they held if they ever stay connected. "So, what next for all of you?"
"Noted. Good luck to your time there. You'll go well with the Pokemon Rangers and help a lot of lives. Just like your master. And sorry about your tower." Cynthia apologized before bidding the robots farewell.
They would follow Jackie's lead as they had no home to head back to now. But the Ranger Union would be their new home, being just as technologically advanced as them. They had nothing to fear. Then again, they couldn't exactly fear since they showed no emotions after that entire scuffle.
Jackie was even kind enough to bring along the robots that had been broken down, choosing to repair them instead of leaving them as scraps. These robots would truly have a new home as Jackie wouldn't dare to leave one of them behind.
If they had the current Comic that showed Galaxy Master's adventures, this could potentially be the best place to see the final chapter emerge. Alas, that was not the case. If anything, Galaxy Master's adventures weren't over yet. Not after what the Rift had done.
This story was not over yet and neither was this timeless adventure as the journey continues.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. Nightfall.
The silver moon up in the sky has never been so peaceful. After everything that happened in outer space, silence graced the heavens above as the stars could rest easy from any further conflict.
"They're not here?!" At least, for a while. Immediately, the silence was broken up. Jessie screamed as even though she hasn't had any sleep thanks to Nightmare Moon, she still had the energy to do this, startling James, Meowth and Nightmare Moon. They showed up at the Pokemon House, expecting to see their Rocketship return since it was already midnight. A day has passed by now. "We travelled all the way from Kalos for what?"
"There's still a chance it might show up." James shrugged. "Hopefully soon because...I'd like to take a rest in that ship if necessary."
"Only if she lets us sleep." Meowth pointed at Nightmare Moon. "I haven't seen a nice dream in so long..."
"How long are you going to keep us like this?!" A frustrated Jessie yelled with baggy eyes that were only getting worse. "I'm starting to look shrivelled here! Even my bags have bags!"
"Tch." Nightmare Moon scoffed. "You're too loud. Even for me. Have patience, will you? I highly doubt Luna would lose. It's a matter of waiting for them to return. And if their opponent is just that powerful, the bigger they are, the harder they fall."
"That's not what I'm mad about.." Jessie groaned, banging her face on a tree.
"Skitty!" From all this standing around and waiting, it didn't take long for some of the Pokemon to somewhat recognize Nightmare Moon. All they saw was a taller Princess Luna and assumed she had a sudden growth spurt. Thus, she attracted Skitty and other Pokemon from the Pokemon House.
"Hm? GH!" Nightmare Moon's eyes shot open upon seeing droves of Pokemon approach her. It could be seen as an adorable or intimidating sight depending on the viewer. In Nightmare Moon's case, she was slightly intimidated. The Pokemon in the front were small and adorable while the ones in the back were bigger and fiercer. "Halt!"
The Pokemon all gathered around Nightmare Moon, babbling with some of them jumping around. Some even applauded, confusing the variant of Luna as she had no idea what to make of this scenario.
"W-What are they doing?" Nightmare Moon turned to Meowth, requesting that he translated.
"Sounds to me that they're congratulating you for your growth spurt." Meowth translated all the words of the Pokemon.
"Growth Spurt?" Nightmare Moon repeated before being licked in the face by a Poochyena. "Disgusting!"
"Ah, right. Everyone here knows that Luna wishes she was as tall as her sister, so now that they've seen you like this, they can't help but congratulate you. Even though you're not the actual Luna." James explained.
"I'm always this tall! She's the one who's short!" Nightmare Moon felt somewhat insulted before then holding up Poochyena. But, it was then that Nightmare Moon spotted an opportunity in front of her. Or rather, around her. "Hold on."
Around her were various Pokemon of varying types and sizes. Nightmare Moon's most prominent goal at the moment was attempting to form a large group. And right now, all of these Pokemon fit that goal perfectly. Each and every one of them, here at the Pokemon House.
"Hm-hm-hm. Why did I not come here first?" Nightmare Moon chuckled. "It's perfect! I hereby declare you all join my group!"
"Poochy?" Poochyena and the other Pokemon tilted their heads after Nightmare Moon's declaration.
"My group shall only grow from this point. I will have three geniuses and multiple Pokemon on my side. That will bring me close to the hundreds, no doubt! I shall recruit you all to join me and together, everything I want to accomplish can happen. Because what can stand in the way of so many Pokemon?"
"Not happening." Darkrai and the rest of Luna's Pokemon shook their heads. Not because they didn't want to but because they couldn't fully trust Nightmare Moon to get it done.
"Pah! What do you know?!" Nightmare Moon scoffed. "You're mostly going off on your own, Darkrai while the others stay in groups. I don't expect all of you to..." Just then, Nightmare Moon, when surveying all of Luna's Pokemon, realized that something was amiss.
Someone was missing. She gently placed Poochyena down before counting how many Pokemon were present at the moment. Luna already had an abundance of Pokemon thanks to how she caught so many of them during her first go and continued to gather more teammates. But it wouldn't take long for Nightmare Moon to notice one of them was gone even with all these numbers. It was mainly the appearance of certain Pokemon that are easy to distinguish. And the one that was currently missing was Aurorus.
"Where is she? Where is the Ice Dinosaur?" Nightmare Moon asked.
"Aurorus? She came along with us, right?" James would soon notice that Aurorus was not present at all. So did everyone else. "Right?"
"She's gone!" Darkrai yelled. "Did she pass through the gateway?! Is she back at a Kalos?!"
"Did any of you see her at all?" Nightmare Moon questioned Team Rocket and each of Luna's Pokemon. Sadly, they all shook their heads in response. None saw Aurorus at all. "Tch. Even when I kept you all out of your Poke Balls just to make my group imposing and one of the bigger Pokemon just happens to be the one we don't notice? What could she even be doing?"
"She's probably still bummed out about how Luna's missing," Meowth answered. "That face wasn't so chipper the whole way through."
"Hm-hm. True." James nodded. "Being that she's a Fossil Pokemon from the past, you have no idea how attached she made herself to Luna. She showed up as an Amaura so that doesn't make it better."
"She's like a lost child out there, right?" Jessie added. "All scared and alone without her mother. And you're definitely not the mother figure she wants."
"By that logic, she's trying to find Luna herself, waiting for her to come back from space," Darkrai replied. "But she won't do it on her own and she can't possibly guess where Luna will appear from. After that, she could break down after a while. Her emotions got the better of her clearly. She always was the most emotional of us all. Not to dismiss you, Florges."
"Florges."
"That reckless dinosaur!" Nightmare Moon growled. "Running off on her own...! I promised I'd find Luna and she does this?! You all! We're retreading our steps to find her!"
"Moving again..." James sighed. "Without any rest too. On the bright side, at least we know how great our stamina is at the moment."
"The rest of you colourful creatures...you shall come with me as well." Nightmare Moon faced Skitty and the other Pokemon that surrounded her. "Assist me in finding this one Pokemon."
"Skitty!" They didn't even have second thoughts. Aurorus was one of them. Each of them agreed to help find this one Pokemon in whichever world she could be in.
"Hold it!" Jessie stopped them all in their tracks. "There's no way you can all fIt in the van! We already struggled with letting each of Luna's Pokemon inside because of tall, dark and petty here."
"Hmph!" Nightmare Moon crossed her arms in response, scoffing at Jessie who was just as petty as her.
"Unless she puts some of them back in the Poke Ball, you're all not coming inside." Jessie denied them entry. "Or you can all just walk and hope you're fast enough to keep up with the van."
They certainly couldn't all enter the van. But they had no qualms about staying outside. They'd have better area advantages that way. The pokemon didn't complain at all. It was off to find Aurorus, whose current location was unknown at the moment.
2 days later. Unova. Out in the Mountains. Ghetsis' Castle. Day.
Two days have passed now. Everything about the events in space calmed down. And the Pokemon Festival would resume as normal. But news about what happened in space would remain. And most definitely, it was bigger than what the first batch of news offered.
Newspapers were being spread across both worlds as they involved three prominent figures from each respective world. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Cynthia respectively. This was for many across different regions to see. Especially Ghetsis.
After receiving a new castle per his request from the Rift, he caught news of the events that happened up in space. The one responsible for letting everyone know about this was Chrysalis. He read about the events that happened up at the tower. From the Rift possessing Galaxy Master to the summoning of the Rift Creation Trio.
He sat on his new throne before putting on a smile, seeming happy about the result. Ash and his friends won and that prompted Ghetsis to put on that smirk.
"Of course you won. It'd be boring if that's where your story ended." Ghetsis said, expecting something like this to happen. He surprisingly preferred Ash to gain victory rather than lose.
Inside this castle, he gathered Team Plasma to reside here while also keeping Universe 11 as an extra hideout. This castle was a perfect mixture of old and new. Old in terms of its appearance as it looked like it came straight from the olden times while everything inside was technological with the obvious olden interior design.
"Lord Ghetsis seems awfully happy about that." A Team Plasma Grunt said. "You'd think he'd be a bit annoyed."
"Something must've happened in that other dimension. He was in there for so many years but little time passed back in Universe 11 and even our world."
The grunts were worried about what happened back in that dimension. What did Ghetsis see for those years and what did he learn back then? Whatever it was, it definitely did something to their King.
What it didn't do was change Ghetsis' goal to become a ruler. This castle was proof of that. Not only that, but he built it around his hometown which was now nothing ruins for tourists to view. At least, it used to be until this castle was summoned. Aside from the castle, buildings could be seen that had a homely appearance to them.
Houses were all overshadowed by the castle as no one was currently living in them. At least, not yet. Today was the day that Ghetsis would receive even more news concerning his newly established land.
"Lord Ghetsis." One of the grunts walked in on Ghetsis reading the newspaper. "Those houses around the land...they might be filled up finally. The Shadow Triad found people who were currently lost with nowhere to go."
"Good." Ghetsis placed the newspaper down. "Allow me to greet them."
Who were these people in question? To be lost and have nowhere to go meant that the Shadow Triad had to be very lucky to find these specific individuals. Or rather, they weren't all that lucky. These people wore clothing that looked just as old as the castle.
Mainly because these were the same people frozen by Froslass' ice so long ago, stuck in a cryo-freeze that allowed their lifespans and age to come to a chilling halt. They once lived around Snowpoint City before it became a city, freed thanks to the efforts of Rarity.
Even after being saved and caught up on what age they were in, they were still lost. At least they weren't freezing uncontrollably or suffering from frozen systems. Ghetsis would greet these ancient people, emerging from his castle.
"They look...old fashioned. Even more so than what we've seen." Ghetsis said whilst approaching the people. Walking by his side was one of the Shadow Triad Members.
"Apparently, they're not from this age, Lord Ghetsis." The Triad Member explained. "According to them, they've been frozen for years by a vengeful Froslass. It was until a few months ago that they were freed. But because of this freedom, they're completely out of touch and their original homes are long gone."
"So, they're ancient, hm? They'll fit right in and find a new place to live peacefully." Ghetsis replied before stopping in front of these people. He would soon see the rags that these people wore, unable to purchase anything new. The current currency of today was lost to them as well.
Despite that, they managed to improvise with the clothes they had, wearing rags in two styles for Male and Female. For males, What was once a shirt is now nothing more than pieces of fabric held barely together, it hung from their shoulders like a discarded old towel. There's a massive tear on the right side, which leaves much of them exposed to the elements.
They wore old jackets over their shirts. It was too small and unkempt but at least it helped them stay protected from the wind, even if only for a little. Their pants were just as bad. A big tear has split the left leg in two and the right leg is full of smaller tears as well. But at least they had shoes to protect their feet. Although they're old, a little too small and the sole of the left shoe has come loose at the heel.
The females wore their own distinct style, wearing a rugged fleece over their t-shirts. It's filthy, flimsy and worn out, but at least it helps them stay protected too. They wore large scarves around their necks and had them wrapped around their faces to just below the nose. It's torn and worn, but otherwise in decent shape.
"Rugged but stylish. Not bad." Ghetsis couldn't help but feel impressed. "So. Lost to time, are you?"
"Very much...We have nowhere to go. The world feels so different from how we remember it." One man said. "So...when we were told of this place by that man standing next to you-"
"Don't say anymore." Ghetsis stopped them. "You're free to live here. I can catch you up with the entire world. Colress will do the same with things that are harder to explain."
"Really?!" Happy gasps and tones came from these people as it didn't take Ghetsis long to accept them here at all. They already found themselves a new home and a way to keep up with the current age.
"But of course, you're under my rule now. That much is easy to know. And you'll be under my protection as well. You shall live here with little to bother you at all. Understood?"
"Mm! Understood!"
"Good. Get them to their new homes. Call for Colress too." Ghetsis ordered the grunts and Team Plasma. "They have a lot to learn."
"What about you, Lord Ghetsis? What will you be doing?" A Team Plasma grunt asked. Ghetsis turned to face the grunt before putting on a smile.
"I'm needed back at Universe 11. I'll be back soon." Ghetsis would not be present here to see his new subjects enter their homes at all. "But, don't stop searching for the New Seven Sages. I expect some progress until I get back."
Ghetsis was ready to travel. Despite giving all of his power to the Rift, that consistent part about Rift Energy returned. As long as there's one piece left, it shall regenerate as the infinite source of power it truly is. And after these past few days, Ghetsis' Rift Magic has recovered.
At least to a point where he can summon a gateway. He waved his hand, summoning a gateway to Universe 11. The people saw Ghetsis' amazing power for the first time, stunned by it. It wasn't so often that they get to see a human perform this. Or even at all. They only knew of one individual who could do this but it was hard to say if she was actually a human.
Everywhere else, the news kept going. Twilight's parents read about the events in space, proud of their daughter. They continued to be proud of her due to all her accomplishments.
The rest of her friends from Canterlot would continue to see her continuously make it far in the world. The same goes for everyone in Pallet Town, seeing the same for Ash. Both of them were making their respective home locations proud at this point.
Much like how Twilight Velvet and Night Light were proud of them, the same went for Delia, who was currently in the Hoenn Region. But it wasn't just Ash that caught her attention. Galaxy Master was obviously a prime focus in this news story. Naturally, since Ash based it on his father, Delia was essentially reading about her husband and son at the same time.
It was a bit bizarre, seeing the two people she loved duke it out in space of all places. But it brought a sense of whimsy to her that made Delia giggle. She knew for a fact that wasn't her real husband. Ash's father was somewhere else in the world after all. But it was nice to see a semblance of him.
"I wonder if this is a sign," Delia said. "A sign that we'll see each other again someday. And maybe, it'll be under the stars."
Equestria. Magehold. Queen Rosa's Castle. Day.
Nothing was stopping Rosa Maledicta from reading the news as well. Thanks to her vampires, she could catch up on the world. However, none of this truly interested her at all. She found no value in reading about Ash and the others. The only thing that slightly caught her attention was Chrysalis but that didn't last at all.
"Hmph. Worthless." Rosa tossed the newspaper into the air before obliterating it with a blast of magic. "Why can't there be news about Yveltal? Or something similar. Oh well. I still have that area in Holon that I can count on. If Daybreaker wants to get in my way again, then so be it." Rosa Maledicta would continue focusing on that spot. Yveltal's resting place wasn't something she was just going to casually ignore.
That was the biggest lead on Yveltal by far. If she couldn't find it anywhere else, then the only place where it could come and rest was the clear answer. However, when thinking about her next move, she received a message from her subjects via the usual mind communication. "What is it? Are you at Holon?"
"W-We have a problem, your majesty!" A distressed vampire yelled. "These past two days haven't been too kind for us. At least...with what's been chasing us when we got to Holon. Right now, we're underground trying to elude it."
"What? What's been chasing you?" Rosa questioned, sensing the severity in her voice.
"It's some sort of White Dragon with Blue Eyes!" The vampire screeched. "I think it knows about our plan!"
"A Blue Eyed and White Dragon? Reshiram?" Rosa Maledicta knew which Pokemon fit that description. "Ah, yes. Reshiram's a guardian for Celestia and her nation, isn't she? Hm...Well, fear not. I can fix that. I'll have Opal Vivacity there at once. She can prove to be useful with what she gained. And as a bonus, I'll throw in one of the 100 Demons. This time, I'll select the demon."
"Uh great. But what about the cliffs? Where can we find Yveltal, your majesty?"
"That is for you to find out. But, I believe Reshiram might be the key to finding Yveltal." Rosa Maledicta smiled. The vampires weren't sure how Reshiram could be the key, but they simply had to wait and see.
"I see this as a perfect opportunity. Let him keep chasing you. At least until you reach the area where Yveltal is said to rest. And of course...whatever happens to Reshiram is bound to get Celestia's attention."
Currently, underneath the area and away from the Pokemon Festival, Vampires from the Dread League were on the move. They were set on trying to reach Yveltal's resting place, but yet again, there was someone to get in their way. And in this case, it was their biggest opposition yet.
Reshiram was after them. This whole time, the Vast White Pokemon was focused on stopping the Dread League in their tracks, following any potential vampires. Reshiram could already distinguish a vampire from a regular pony via their reaction to light. And since he was brimming with fire, it was easy to expose them The underground was the only place where the vampires were safe from any light. But are they safe from Reshiram?
"Have we lost it yet?" The vampires conversed against each other while flapping their jet-black wings underground. They made sure to keep themselves silent just so they don't alert Reshiram. "It's been slightly silent now..."
"I doubt it. Dragons have a great sense of smell after all. It could track our scents down now that it knows us. But not to worry. Queen Rosa has our backs. She said that she would bring over one of the 100 Demons for us while also ordering Opal to come here. Opal received something of great value a few days back."
"Hm? Oh right. That power she took from that Bayleef. Lucky. Changing fate like that would be so useful. Next time, I'd like to use the Parasite Demon for myself."
"About that...which demon will Queen Rosa send to stop Reshiram?"
"Hmm...well the only thing that can beat a dragon is another dragon. But according to the Pokemon World, a cute little Fairy can do the same thing. Maybe she'll send a Fairy Demon if that exists."
"No way!" They started joking despite the fact they were being targeted by a giant fire-breathing Dragon that has arguably the most powerful fire in existence.
They would continue to make fun of Reshiram away from his presence while continuing on their way to those cliffs. While it was unclear what was waiting for them at those cliffs, all they knew was that at certain points, Yveltal will show up. When? No one knows. Why? It could truly be any reason.
And up above, Reshiram was surveying the area, searching for those cliffs and the vampires at the same time. The Vast White Pokemon figured that the best way to prevent them from ever reaching their goal was to camp out at the spot where Yveltal is said to rest. Naturally, the sight of Reshiram caught many eyes in Holon.
Over at Settlement Foxtrot, Professor Pine and the people living there were the first to notice the Dragon of Truth in the skies. It started with them seeing ponies being chased down by Reshiram, unaware of the stakes that were nearby.
"Why is Reshiram here? Oh! I wonder what type it'll become!" Professor Pine's eyes lit up, wondering how the Delta Storms would affect Reshiram. Most definitely, he would gain a new type thanks to the erratic nature of these storms.
However, Reshiram wasn't aware of how the Delta Storms worked. Potentially, he might have already gained a new typing without even knowing. Other settlements saw Reshiram's presence including the Holon Pyramid, where Delta Torchic and Delta Blaziken reside.
Delta Blaziken got a better view of everything by standing on the top of the tower. He was equally unaware of the stakes. Holon had no idea had these vampires were aiming for. Their goal was unlike any other goal as it was truly a destructive one with a horrible outcome.
Reshiram could see the cliffs up ahead. Now all he had to do was camp out there. But, it wasn't just the people and Pokemon of Holon watching him. Secretly, there was another outside force aside from the vampires. Aiming to stop them from reaching their goal, Daybreaker's forces were present here as well.
Reshiram got a better look at these cliffs, seeing how massive they were. The height comparison between him and the Rift was stellar. Although, he wasn't sure how Yveltal could rest here. There wasn't an open area at all. No sign of a large cave either. The only possible place was the top of the cliff where Yevltal could potentially stand up there. Either way, Reshiram will guard this area.
But as he got closer, Reshiram noticed something. There was some sort of black energy around the lives, permeating these bodies of rock. Reshiram eyed it down, presuming that it had something to do with Yveltal, no doubt. The Vast White Pokemon descended, facing these cliffs. Now all he had to do was wait.
Universe 11. The Solar Empire. Canterlot. Day.
Naturally, news about Reshiram's presence was shared by Daybreaker's forces. She received the message of Reshiram arriving at those cliffs, staying there adamantly. It was clear what Reshiram was trying to do. He had the same intentions as Daybreaker herself.
"So Reshiram's there, is he?" Daybreaker said after the message was passed on. "Good to know. Although...Reshiram has been the one getting in our way with each universe we travel to. It's getting a bit harder for Necrozma to find new light sources if Reshiram and Zekrom are present."
Truth be told, Daybreaker planned to do something about Reshiram and even Zekrom. Both of them alongside Queen Pyrestar were essentially Universal Patrol. While it wasn't her forces taking these heavy hits and it was mainly the Empress, Daybreaker knew that those two Dragons were obstacles to her alliance.
"So, which one do we do? We've waited for our chance to stop Reshiram and Zekrom. Now we can maybe stop one of them." A messenger asked. "You know...if you want, your majesty."
"Hmm...Who's my biggest enemy?" Now, Daybreaker had to think. Does she deal with Reshiram here or have him guard the cliffs against the vampires? She walked back and forth in her throne room before choosing one. She already knew who she hated more. Reshiram wasn't the one she despised.
"I'll let him stay there. The more against those dreaded vampires and their despicable queen, the better. And once that's said and done..." Daybreaker hopped back onto her throne via a fairly impressive back-jump. "I'll steal light from Reshiram next. But continue camping there. Do not interact with Reshiram unless something calls for it."
"Understood!" The messenger would soon relay this to the forces that were also camping nearby the cliffs. As it stood, for now, Reshiram would be untouched by Daybreaker's forces in an attempt to prevent the Dread League from getting closer to their goal.
"And as a bonus, Reshiram can get rid of those scampering night-walkers as well. So either way, it's beneficial." Daybreaker wouldn't mind Reshiram getting rid of the vampires. It would be one less headache to deal with.
However, neither Daybreaker nor Reshiram predicted what kind of mess would happen next.
Holon. Mountain Range. Day.
Arriving here to assist them was Opal Vivacity and her comically large and beautiful mane. And in her possession was the Box of 100 Demons. And this time, Rosa Maledicta already chose one demon to be unleashed. Her fellow vampires met with her once the coast was clear. There wasn't a sign of Reshiram anywhere, mainly because he was waiting for them.
"Your mane is..." The vampires were naturally flabbergasted by this new mane style she had.
"Wonderful, isn't it? Just a piece of it can alter fate. A beautiful ability for a beautiful pony." She flaunted. "With this, Reshiram won't know what's coming. But at least tell me you've come close to finding Yveltal."
"No...thanks to Reshiram. It knows what we want and I believe it may even find Yveltal's resting place before we do. We've barely managed to get close to those cliffs for days now. Not to mention those annoying guards."
"Oh, I can just about end that." Opal shrugged. "Queen Rosa stated that Reshiram could be the key to helping us find Yveltal. She knows best. So...to guarantee that I will chime in with my newfound ability. But we will need to confront Reshiram without retreating."
"Is the demon inside that box the answer?"
"But of curse...no one said another Dragon couldn't be a demon as well. It takes a Dragon to beat a Dragon...Unless you're some sort of Fairy." Opal would finally open the box, ready to reveal one of the 100 Demons. This one was hoof-picked by Rosa Maledicta, making this one a high-expectation demon.
If the Lich Queen chose it, it must be a wonderful decision especially since it was apparently a dragon. Once the box opened up, the demon within had been unleashed via a howling beam of light.
Narrow transparent sapphire eyes sat delicately within the creature's angular, bony skull, which gave the demon a terrifying-looking appearance. It seemed to have a somewhat anthropomorphic stature, similar to that of a Dragonite or a Garchomp. Its body was somewhat translucent, matching that of a Ghost.
growths on its chin. Several huge teeth poke out from the side of its mouth and show a glimpse of the terror hiding inside. A long neck runs down from its head and into a long body. The top is covered in curved scales and a row of armour plating runs down its spine. Its lower half is covered in massive scales and is coloured much lighter than the rest of its body. Two muscular limbs carry its body and allow the creature to stand tall and proud. Each limb has 4 digits, each of which ends in long claws seemingly made of obsidian.
Speaking of its limbs, they creepily had long fingers while twiddling them around. It appeared to have coloured fingernails too. This demonic dragon also had an uneasy smile to go with it.
Graceful phantom wings grew, starting from its shoulders and ending at the middle of its back. The wings were fully demonic as a specialized layer of seemingly colour-changing skin makes up most of the wing and small, sharp tips grow from each ending like massive spears. Its narrow tail ends in a sharp tip and is covered in the same curved scales as its body.
"This right here is the Trickster Dragon. Don't let the smile freak you out." Opal introduced the dragon. In response, the Trickster Dragon then waved its hands to the vampires.
But even when it waved its hand, a creaking sound could be heard. It sounded like bones were being adjusted, making it uncomfortable to hear. Not to the vampires though.
"Trickster Dragon? Are tricks really what we need right now?"
"Hmph. Don't underestimate this big guy. For you see...Queen Rosa forbid certain demons from being unleashed out of the box. This is one of them but on a smaller scale. This Dragon tends to get out of control, much like the Parasite Demon. But when the Trickster Dragon gets out of control, the results do not benefit either side. Which is why it's rarely used. Now would be the best time to use it."
"But of course..." The Dragon then spoke, startling the vampires. "Surprised I can talk? That's just one of my many tricks..."
"Uh, great trick." A vampire used her wing to give a thumbs-up. "So, what can you do about Reshiram?"
"Let me have my fun." The Dragon then suddenly twisted its body as if its entire upper torso was an owl. It even sounded uncomfortable. "You can predict what I'll do with my tricks. If you can."
"What kind of tricks would you pull on a dragon?" The vampires pondered as Reshiram seemed way too fierce to be tricked, especially with how intelligent he was. But this Trickster Dragon also had some intelligence.
"There is no trick in existence that won't work on anyone." The Trickster Dragon then rubbed its claws together as it sounded like metal scraping against something, harming the ears of the vampires. "Us Tricksters are the full representation of randomness and chance in the universe. Any universe. Wouldn't life be boring if there wasn't any randomness? It even embodies a sense of freedom. Us tricksters believe that nothing is part of some greater plan, even in the vast cosmos. It's all a factor of randomness."
"Sure..." The vampires all looked at each other, shrugging at the Trickster Dragon's name. "Whatever you say, pal. But, can you just go and deal with Reshiram already?"
"First. Let me get adjusted to myself. I haven't been out in 2000 years. So...you'll be an excellent warmup." Suddenly, the Trickster Dragon expressed one of its various abilities. It extended one of its fingers, touching a vampire. It touched her nose before retracting its finger.
"Ewww...! Its wrinkly finger touched my nose!" She squealed before flailing her hooves. Before she knew it, she suddenly slipped on a pebble. This tiny pebble was enough to make her fall over. The moment she fell over, her tail smack one of her fellow vampires in the face, causing him to sway to the side.
"Oof!" He cried out before bumping into another vampire. And soon, the others were knocked over. All it took was one pebble to mess them all up as they landed on each other. "Ough...What was that all about?"
"I manipulated your luck." The Trickster Dragon revealed what it pulled off.. "Or rather, I passed it on to this big-maned one. How was that?"
"Not cool..."
"Anyway. I'll be making my way there." The Trickster Dragon then hopped onto the top walls, crawling on them as if they were a spider. It even moved its limbs around as if it were a spider before crawling up to the surface. Opal and the other vampires would soon follow after the unnerving dragon.
Reshiram waited. And waited. He certainly wasn't planning on falling asleep. He also eyed down the dark energy around the cliffs, wondering if that was a sign of Yveltal potentially showing up soon or even already making an appearance prior to this.
Reshiram was already far away from Celestia and the others by now, unaware of what they had to go through. Daybreaker's forces watched Reshiram for a while, fully appreciating his glory. Despite the fact that he was an enemy, Reshiram was truly a majestic Pokemon to look at. Some even took the time to snap a picture of the Vast White Pokemon while they were still here.
Despite how majestic he was while also garnering great intelligence, Reshiram still possessed beast-like qualities. An example was how he started rubbing his ears with his wings. Wherever they may be. Scratching that itch felt satisfying to the Dragon of Truth before it then turned into discomfort.
Suddenly, his wings turned against him. Without his own control, Reshiram's wings began attacking him, smacking the Vast White Pokemon in the face. Reshiram grunted as these hits were fairly hard considering his physical strength. He tried holding back his wings from attacking him before stumbling back, almost falling over.
The one responsible for this was the Trickster Dragon. It revealed itself by crawling out of the clouds above, opening it as if it was a door. Reshiram looked up to meet this mysterious Dragon.
"Hello~" The Trickster Dragon greeted Reshiram before then shifting its size to match the Vast White Pokemon's height."You are Reshiram, right?"
"Who are you?" Reshiram questioned before barely managing to hold his wings back from continuously hitting him.
"A fellow Dragon. Many call me the Trickster Dragon. But my real name is Nyzzaghaidenunxulbiad. But Trickster Dragon is preferable."
"That voice of his...he sounds a bit like Discord. Even some of it looks like him." Reshiram noticed some key details. Mainly the voice of the dragon as it reminded him of Discord. "You said you're a Dragon. Are you actually that, or a Draconequus?"
"Am I? Oh, only partially." The Trickster Dragon chuckled while making his voice sound innocent as if he didn't know. But he most certainly knew as proven by his next batch of words. Some would call me a surprising offspring. My father was a Dragon and my mother was a Draconequus. But there was a third parent involved. A demonic one. Would you like to hear the rest"?
"I'd rather not. Are you here with the vampires? The moment you mentioned demon solidifies my presumption."
"I most certainly am. I'm here to have fun with you. while they do their own thing. I haven't been able to do whatever I wanted for 2000 years, by the way. Locked up in that box with the other demons is so boring. Most of them just growl, hiss, roar and bellow. It's a miracle none of them have torn each other up at all. Only a few of us hold the intelligence to even think of something greater."
"Well, Nyzzaghaidenunxulbiad. You won't be having any fun with me. I've set myself to protect this area from the vampires and anyone associated with them. Do your worst."
"You actually got my name right. You're a smart Dragon, for sure. But you wouldn't want me at my worst. But we can see you at your worst...as a baby!" The Trickster Dragon pointed at Reshiram, shooting out a greenish beam with a fiery outline. Reshiram would respond to this via a blast of fire from his mouth. All it took was a simple blast to incinerate the bolt. "Mmm. You weren't supposed to do that on the first turn."
Reshiram wouldn't reply at all. Instead, he focused on taking down the Trickster Dragon as he then flew in with Dragon Claw. The Trickster Dragon was slightly alarmed that Reshiram would be so instantly confrontational. So, to prevent itself from being hit, the Dragon would use its chaotic powers to manipulate its body.
As it was made out of rubber, the Trickster Demon Dragon made its body flexible, swaying it to the side while also making itself thinner. Reshiram's Dragon Claw completely missed its mark but didn't catch him off guard. Knowing that he was Part-Draconequus, he expected something random. Reshiram went in for another swing with claws, turning around fairly quickly. The Trickster Dragon chuckled before then using its flexible body to evade another Dragon Claw.
Reshiram struggled to hit the Trickster Dragon with Dragon Claw as the Dragon could make various shapes with this rubbery body that were hard to make out. "Ooh! Missed me~"
Slightly agitated, Reshiram decided to get the advantage in the best way he could think. By using Noble Roar. The Vast White Pokemon used his signature roar to an intense degree, creating a powerful soundwave. The Trickster Dragon's giggling came to an end as this sound assaulted its ears, making it flinch.
Reshiram smirked before then striking while he had the chance. He swung his claws for a free Dragon Claw or at least it seemed free. Trickster Dragon's body wasn't just flexible like rubber, it was rubber. Reshiram felt its limbs and entire body fly back.
Reshiram was forced back by the elasticity, sliding on the ground before hearing the Trickster Dragon laugh again. The demon would then disperse its own body, turning it into a strange smoke that had multiple colours within it. This smoky body would then fly around rapidly in various directions, forcing Reshiram to keep a close eye on this opposing Dragon.
"Here I am!" The voice of the Trickster Dragon came from behind but the smoke body was in front of Reshiram instead. This was to try and confuse the Fire-Dragon-Type as the voices came from all directions, correlating with the swiftness of the smoke.
Meanwhile, Opal Vivacity and the other vampires were close. They could already see Reshiram in the distance, guarding the cliffs. There, they witnessed the Dark Aura around the cliffs that permeated constantly while also appearing dull. Even if it was dull, that was a sign of Yveltal's existence.
"I see it. Now, how will Reshiram help us find Yveltal?" Opal pondered for a moment. "Maybe...it's a matter of what happens to those cliffs."
"Should we get so close though? Even with that Trickster Dragon around, Reshiram isn't that far from the cliffs at all. Plus, Reshiram is unbelievably powerful so this could take forever."
"It could...and I'd rather get back to the festival. So, I think I'll put an end to this as soon as possible. All we have to do is let that Trickster Dragon force Rshiram to hit those cliffs. Let's see what the reaction is."
Meanwhile, Reshiram was still following the smoke body as the arms of the Trickster Dragon appeared everywhere, holding multiple signs that taunted Reshiram. These signs showed drawings of Reshiram in silly states. Whether I was by what he was wearing or how deformed he looked.
But, Reshiram wasn't bothered. Instead, by biding his time, he was able to finally find an opening. That was by using Psychic. The Vast White Pokemon finally tracked down the smoke body to get it in one spot before then using mental powers to blast the Trickster Dragon. Even in this smoke-like state, the attack went through, knocking the Trickster Dragon out of its current form.
"Ouch!" The Trickster Dragon cried out before holing its head. "How did you do that?"
Reshiram didn't answer back. Instead, he went for Fusion Flare to continue his attack. Reshiram fires a large sphere of flames with two rings surrounding it from its mouth at the opponent.
The Trickster Dragon would respond to this by grabbing one of the clouds. It extended its arms, using them to grab the clouds. The clouds were then used as shields before reacting to the sphere of flames. Instead of a violent explosion, the clouds were also made to match that of a bouncy texture that wasn't quite rubber but was just as flexible as if it was rubber. The Fusion Flare was launched right back at Reshiram.
Reshiram gasped before swiftly flying to the side, evading his own attack. However, this worked to the benefit of both the Trickster Dragon and the vampires. It's exactly what they wanted. Fusion Flare struck the cliffs that possessed a Dark Aura around them.
The violent explosion happened around those cliffs, engulfing the Dark Aura within it as well. "Yes! Bullseye!" Opal exclaimed. "Now, time to see what happens!"
Her theory was backed up. Those cliffs had a Dark Aura for a reason. hey did indeed react to the Fusion Flare. The darkness around them flared out of the flames, transforming them from their usual orange appearance to a pitch-black one. Reshiran and even Daybreaker's forces eyed down the cliffs as a howl came from them.
The battle stopped promptly just to see what was happening around these cliffs. That's when a Pokemon Cry emerged from them. Reshiram was hoping that he wouldn't hear a cry from this area. That would mean only one thing. Just then, the Dark Aura then revealed something.
This entire time, the cliffs were nothing but a facade. An illusion. An incredibly well-placed illusion thanks to the power that protected it. No vampire was able to see through it at all. Not even Reshiram saw through this illusion. All it took was something powerful to break past it. And Reshiram fit that bill. Everyone else certainly couldn't do it. Rosa Maledicta was right to predict Reshiram helping in some way.
"An illusion?!" Opal gasped before seeing what was truly hidden past these cliffs. They paved the way for a mysterious island that was hidden from everyone's eyes in this small region, far offshore from Holon. its main feature is large crystals, which were all covered in a familiar power. Both the Delta Storms and the crystal from Geosenge Town. The same crystals that share a connection to Yveltal.
And resting on this island, aside from all the Delta Pokemon living there, something else could be seen at the edge. Something that the vampires yearned to obtain.
Yveltal's Cocoon.
"There it is!" Opal Vivacity cried out. "Yelta's Cocoon! So, Yveltal was in hiding this entire time. It must've used that Dark Aura of its to conceal its true location via the cliffs. And Reshiram's attack was just powerful enough to destroy that Dark Aura. Queen Rosa. Are you-"
"I've heard it loud and clear Opal." Rosa cut her off via her telepathic message. "That illusion was impressive. On par with what I could make. I doubt any of you would've broken that Dark Aura. I was right to predict Reshiram to break it. It takes a Legendary to overcome a Legendary. I'll be right there...That cocoon will be ours."
"Relay the message to her majesty, quickly!" Daybreaker's troops would act fast as well. Now that they knew where the cocoon was, they absolutely could not let the Dread League obtain it. Daybreaker had to know about this.
Reshiram meanwhile was stunned to see the cocoon as now its true location had been revealed. The Trickster Dragon shrugged, not sure how to react to this. It could care less about the cocoon after all.
"Anyway. Why don't we continue, Reshiram?" The Trickster Dragon requested them to continue.
Reshiram would continue. But he would aim to put an end to this conflict before heading to the island. He prepared a Dragon Pulse to blast the Trickster Dragon away, going for a short burst. Quick but weaker. However, for Reshiram, his attacks were naturally powerful.
"I think not!" Opal intervened. By using her long mane, she took a piece out as she appeared then tossed it from below. The piece of mane rolled on the ground, touching Reshiram's legs to quickly change fate. The second Reshiram went to unleash Dragon Pulse, his attack was disrupted, blowing up inside of his mouth. The Dragon Pokemon felt this explosion from within as it shocked him thoroughly. The Vast White Pokemon then fell over, crashing to the ground with a massive dust cloud forming in the process.
"You've served your purpose, Reshiram. Now, we need you out of the way while her majesty comes for the cocoon" Opal revealed herself along with the other vampires to Reshiram. The Vast White Pokemon snarled as the effect of the Dragon Pulse inside of his mouth truly bewildered him.
Opal wouldn't be the one to enter the island. That was Rosa's task now. Opal and the other vampires would simply get in Reshiram's way rather than advance to the cocoon. And with her power to change fate along with the Trickster Dragon, Reshiram was face-to-face with a formidable duo.
Yveltal's Cocoon has finally been discovered. Two Queens from two worlds would soon come for it now that its location was found. Will it be claimed by the clutches of the Dread League or by the Solar Empire?
Yveltal's Cocoon had been found. Hidden by an immaculate illusion of Dark Aura and also layered by the cliffs, the cocoon containing the Destruction Pokemon could be seen there once the illusion was destroyed. The Cocoon of the Destruction Pokemon was no longer concealed and hidden from the eyes.
Reshiram feared that the cocoon would be found eventually and now that it's been seen, he was currently recovering after having his own Dragon Pulse explode in his mouth. All thanks to Opal Vivacity.
At this moment, with the position of the cocoon being revealed, two important figures were set to arrive here. Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta and Daybreaker. The vampires would not advance to the island. Rather, staying behind to keep Reshiram at bay was their goal. Rosa would do the rest.
But, while the troops from Daybreaker's side would call for Daybreaker, they weren't hesitant to enter the island. Right then and there, once the message was relayed to the messenger, they left their camps, quickly rushing to the island. Discreetly of course. They would end up using Reshiram's large body and the rubble as cover, creeping their way past the eyes of the vampires. Well, mainly the vampires, not so much the Trickster Dragon, who would soon alert them by nudging Opal.
"Hm? Hey!" Thanks to the Trickster Dragon, Opal noticed them, creeping and scampering by. "Oh, you think you'll get the advantage over us? Just you wait...Her Majesty will be here soon. And her Black Crusade will be realized."
"That's funny. Because our majesty is coming here too." A guardsmare replied, hitting Opal with an effective response that startled her. "But at least we're going ahead~" She giggled before rushing toward the island with the rest of the troops.
"You shall not!" Opal stomped her hoof before using her mane to try and change fate. But swiftly, the Trickster Dragon got in her way, preventing Opal from taking action.
"They certainly won't." Just then, a familiar voice came through, halting the vampires and even Daybreaker's troops. A portal opened up, revealing the one who wanted Yveltal the most. After learning about Yveltal's location, the Lich Queen arrived with little time to spare, bringing her dreadful presence with her.
Reshiram, who was still recovering, could see just how things were starting to spiral out of control. Now that the Lich Queen was here, the situation was starting to escalate.
"I've wanted for this since last year and potentially having to go a few more years wouldn't do at all," Rosa spoke. "At first, I couldn't believe such a Pokemon exists. A Pokemon that causes life to end. All my years of planning with the Black Crusade can be made so much easier with just one Pokemon. Ah...I wish I was born in the Pokemon Universe."
The troops all stuttered and stammered upon seeing Rosa arrive. Reshiram slowly got up, at last, shaking his head before breathing out leftover smoke from the Dragon Pulse explosion.
"Step aside. That cocoon and the one that sleeps in it is mine." Rosa Maledicta lowered her tone in the face of Reshiram and Daybreaker's forces.
The troops looked at each other before then slowly backing up to the island. They certainly wouldn't want to stay around the Lich Queen at all. But the moment she witnessed their movements, Rosa took action. With a dark green flash from her horn, she managed to unleash her signature thorns. The thorns that were capable of adapting to anything as they sprouted from the ground with vicious strength. They passed the Trickster Dragon and the vampires while targeting Daybreaker's troops and even Reshiram.
The Vast White Pokemon took notice of these aggressive thorns, taking flight as he narrowly avoided them. One of the thorns grazed his foot, however before then reaching Daybreaker's troops. When trying to fly away from these thorns, they were only met with restraint as the thickness of them immediately felt like being grabbed by a Machamp. Daybreaker's troops were held in place by these thorns and the only thing to protect them from the sharpness was their armour.
"As for you, Reshiram..." Rosa looked up at the Vast White Pokemon before casually walking ahead. "I'll let everyone else handle you while I get what I want."
But Reshiram wouldn't just let her enter. He would stand in her way as he went for a Fusion Flare. That signature attack of his had been summoned, appearing with a blazing flash. But the one to stand in his way once more was Opal and that Fate-Changing Mane of hers. All it took was her to unleash a piece.
Fusion Flare was thrown, going straight for the vampires, the Trickster Demon Dragon and Rosa Maledicta in one strike. It certainly had the size to do so. Rosa Maledicta kept walking as she trusted Opal to handle it. And to an extent the Trickster Dragon, who did end up reflecting the attack earlier. She was right to trust Opal as the vampire used her Fate-Changing Mane to intervene. The long mane wrapped around her fellow vampires before then reversing time.
In a flash, time had been rewound on the spot. Reshiram's Fusion Flare found itself being reversed, as if it was never fired in the first. However, only time rewound for Reshiram while it was normal for everyone else. By this point, Rosa Maledicta had also entered the island. Not only did time flow normally for the Dread League but even the thorns moved at a normal pace.
Right as Reshiram's actions were done in reverse, after the effect of the ability came to an end, the giant thorns finally caught Reshiram, violently grabbing the Vast White Pokemon. Reshiram found himself being attacked by the thorns before then being pushed against the cliffs. It felt bizarre to Reshiram to have this sudden situation as he was unaware of what Opal was capable of. Reshiram growled as Rosa even used her abundance of thorns to block off the entranceway to the island. Large thorns closed together, masking most of the island's appearance.
Reshiram growled before then trying to incinerate the thorns with his flames. Crimson flames flared out of his body, streaming across the thick thorns with a howling sound.
"No good." Opal shook her head. "I won't even need to do anything about this. Queen Rosa's thorns are immune to flames thanks to how they've adapted. So no matter what you do, they shall not-"
But Opal was cut off as she did not mention blue flames. This was something Reshiram was capable of as he started emitting blue flames from his body, showing signs of burning the thorns away. Opal gasped as she was quickly cut off.
"T-That's surprising! But it's all pointless!" Opal grinned, using her mane yet again. Just when Reshiram was starting to make a comeback, it was all rejected. Taking to the skies while also protecting herself with an umbrella, Rosa used her mane yet again, showing no signs of ever holding back its usage. Why would she? She had this amazing power to herself. Three pieces of her mane came flying out, each touching Reshiram's face.
Reshiram soon figured out that Opal played a part in his recent missteps. And this moment was certainly one of them as once they touched his face, the blue flames ended up combusting in front of him, dealing damage to the Dragon of Truth instead.
"Hahaha!" Opal laughed as she was finding this amusing. Messing with Reshiram by changing his fate was too good for her to not chuckle at. The Trickster Dragon was impressed by Opal as she definitely shared some of its tendencies. Changing fate wasn't too different from playing tricks.
"Hmm...That's taking away my fun though." The Trickster Dragon felt a bit left out though, despite appreciating Opal's actions. "Oh well. Nothing's stopping me from doing more here. I've done my bit."
"Oh, no, you don't." But Opal promptly stopped the Trickster Dragon from departing. "You'll be staying here and keeping an eye on this Dragon. A Legendary Pokemon can't be ignored at all. Isn't that right, Reshiram?"
Reshiram snarled at her. He wouldn't let these thorns keep him at bay for long but that would only start if he found a way to get past the various obstacles that stood in his way. And more importantly, stopping Rosa Maledicta. Reshiram was undoubtedly very powerful. Powerful enough to combat the adapting thorns. But what did that matter if someone in front of her could change fate so easily?
Reshiram was in a rough spot.
Universe 11. The Solar Empire. Canterlot. Day.
News about what was happening in Holon would soon travel to this world. The messenger would receive the news from the other messenger who was currently being held by the thorns, entrusting him to share it with Daybreaker.
As for Daybreaker, she was currently speaking with Ghetsis at the moment along with Empress Twilight. The odd one out was Cozy Glow, who sat in the corner, left out of the conversation they were having.
"So then. Gardevoir gets her daily intake of Aura and that eliminates that problem. I'd rather not have another kind of vampire problem to deal with. But we still need to talk about something crucial. Lately, I've been hearing rumours about someone leaking some of our plans to Pyrestar's universe. I believe we may have a rat somewhere. But who could it be?"
"Your majesty!" The messenger came rushing in, almost falling over. "B-Big news! Very big news!"
"Don't just repeat the words. Spill it out." Daybreaker stepped forward with Ghetsis and Empress Twilight stepping out of the way for her.
"It's the cocoon! Yveltal's Cocoon has been found!"
"What!?" Daybreaker gasped as a burst of fire came from her mane via her reaction.
"Yveltal?" Ghetsis was stunned by this two. He knew exactly who Yveltal was. And no matter who hears about this Pokemon, it always results in shock and sometimes fears. Fear of the destruction that this one Pokemon can bring casually.
"But...the Dread League have spotted it too. And we fear that their ruler has already shown up there."
"Say no more." Daybreaker didn't have to hear anything else. Those batches of words were enough to let her spring into action. "I'll be there."
"What are you going to do exactly when you get there?" Ghetsis asked. "I know Yveltal very well and what it's capable of."
"Isn't it obvious? I'll be taking that cocoon elsewhere. Anywhere but near those vampires." Daybreaker would choose to conceal Yveltal's cocoon. Funnily enough, Yveltal already did that for itself via that Dark Illusion. However, after it was now exposed, Daybreaker would rectify that and choose somewhere else.
Of course, that involved interacting with the Dread League. Empress Twilight and Ghetsis chose to stay out of this one. They'd rather not tackle it. Daybreaker seemed to be bold enough to do so though.
Holon. Mysterious Island. Day.
Rosa Maledicta entered the mysterious island that was filled with crystals. These crystals were familiar as they matched the ones found at Geosenge Town.
Yveltal's cocoon was out in the open, seemingly close. But the more she walked, the more she realized this was another illusion. Though, it didn't involve any magical abilities. It seemed to be an optical illusion more than anything. The cocoon was actually farther than she thought. But that meant she had a bigger drive to get closer and reach it.
She didn't have time to sightsee this island at all. Most would consider doing so with how mysterious it was. All that mattered was Yveltal's Cocoon and nothing else.
"Aero! Aerodactyl!" However, there was also the Pokemon to take into account. Such as the Aerodactyl in the sky. Delta Pokemon were obviously going to be found here on this secluded island. But so far, it was only regular Pokemon that had been affected by Delta Storms, changing their types. No alternate forms could be seen.
Speaking of the Aerodactyl, when soaring through the skies, it noticed how Rosa was avoiding everything else on the island going straight for the cocoon. The beautiful waters were avoided completely along with the mysterious crystals. Delta Pokemon weren't important to her in any way.
However, getting in her way was that same Aerodactyl. It came swooping down, crying out at Rosa Maledicta. The Lich Queen looked up, already sensing hostility coming her way. She knew quite a lot about hostility after all. And when sensing Aerodactyl, the Fossil Pokemon exuded that.
"Trying to stop me?" Rosa said, detecting Aerodactyl's intentions. Even Aerodactyl knew the severity of that cocoon. But Rosa could care less. "You would be scared of such a Pokemon being unleashed, especially by me. I understand. All the more reason for me to retrieve it. So, you can also step aside."
Rosa would immediately interact with Aerodactyl the second it approached her. Her eyes flashed a mix of blue and purple as the clouds above Aerodactyl began shifting. Via the power of her magic, she conjured a swirling cloud formation that resembled that of a wormhole. And out of that wormhole-like cloud, giant blasts of purple lightning came crashing out.
These blasts struck down Aerodactyl immediately. The Fossil Pokemon was caught off guard by this. These lightning bolts were unlike anything it felt. It didn't feel like standard lightning bolts or even a Pokemon's lightning bolt. Aerodactyl found itself crashing into the nearby lake from its immediate downfall, unable to stop Rosa at all.
The Fossil Pokemon would take even greater damage by touching the water before then sinking. Rosa Maledicta would even check to see Aerodactyl's status. She was that confident in her victory.
But there would be other Pokemon here.
Every Pokemon here knew the importance of Yveltal and what it could do. But they knew more than just what Yveltal was capable of. There was something else. Helping Aerodactyl out of the lake was a Delta Sharpedo, lifting the Fossil Pokemon and saving it from drowning.
"Sharpedo!" Sharpedo, after saving Aerodactyl let out a cry. This cry was meant to alarm everyone else here. Someone was here, approaching Yveltal's Cocoon, as Sharpedo exclaimed. This garnered the full attention of all the Pokemon living here.
In a way, they were guardians of Yveltal's cocoon. Each Pokemon stopped what they were doing, scurrying and flocking over to Yveltal's cocoon or even Rosa's location.
Rosa already knew that she'd be interrupted. She's gotten used to it by now. But rarely is it ever Pokemon. Now was the time for a consistent string of Pokemon to stand in her way, much to her annoyance. From one universe to another. It spoke levels to how terrifying her plan was considering how she planned to use Yveltal's power on a grander scale to the point where even Daybreaker got involved. Getting in her way this time was an Ampharos and a Croconaw, holding their arms out to block the Lich Queen's path.
"Ampha!"
"Croconaw!" Ampharos and Croconaw cried out, trying to reason with Rosa Maledicta. But that was pointless. Nothing was changing her mind or stopping her at all. She then started galloping just to get a scare out of them both, while also making sure she was closer to the cocoon.
Seeing as she wasn't stopping for anything, Ampharos and Croconaw tried pushing her way. That was done with Thunderbolt and Hydro Pump as these two elements that don't usually go well with each other were in perfect sync when uniting against an enemy.
If only that enemy wasn't royalty. They were met with an illusion. Rosa Maledicta winked at them before creating these black, purple and green illusions of herself that also acted as afterimages. That was a sign she had already evaded these two attacks. The illusions faded as they were then hit back by a violent whip of thorns that sprouted from the ground. By this point, Rosa Maledicta was behind them, walking ahead while the thorns assaulted the two Pokemon.
The thorns ravaged the land, moving as if they were worms, protecting Rosa Maledicta from any further interruptions. Any Pokemon attempting to emerge from the lake would be met with these thorns jumping underwater, adapting to the point where they could do so. Sharpedo and other Water Pokemon were occupied by the thorns, unable to reach Rosa. To make things worse, Rosa kept the clouds she formed active as the lightning bolts struck down on the lake, endangering the Pokemon residing there.
"Lickitung!" A Lickitung used its tong tongue to try and grab the Lich Queen, only for her to step on it with her bare hooves. Lickitung's eyes widened as it flailed its arms around. Having its tongue stepped on with such force was unpleasant. "L-Li! Lickitung!"
"Jynx!" But as Rosa stepped on the tongue, she was soon met with a chilling feeling. Around her hooves, ice began to form, starting from the bottom and gradually going up. This was done by Jynx, of course, who was then assisted by another Psychic-Type.
"Kirlia!" A Kirlia levitated in front of Rosa Maledicta, following up where Jynx left off by using Hypnosis. A spiralling wave of hypnotic powers came out of Kirlia's eyes before then meeting with Rosa's eyes. "Kir...!" But something was amiss. Rosa was not showing signs of blinking or even drowsiness.
"Trying to put me to sleep? Sorry but...I haven't slept in years." Rosa Maledicta revealed that something like Hypnosis was pointless against her. She had never slept before, according to her. Right after revealing how she never slept, the Lich Queen would use her magic to not only shatter the ice around her but release a mental shockwave that acted like a tornado.
"K-Kirlia!" Kirlia was the first to be blown away by this magical expansion before Lickitung and Jynx were then hit by its radius too. Rosa then shook her hooves, barely feeling the chill around her.
"I haven't had to sleep ever. Not ever since I became the Lich Queen." Rosa continued on her way before spotting more Pokemon in the distance, waiting around the cocoon or approaching her.
Unfortunately, all their defences failed them. A wall of SHelgon was formed, only to be blown away by the thick thorns that Rosa manipulated, grabbing them in droves. This was the worst time to be in such a stacked position as the thorns could perfectly snag them. Even those who could evade the thorns with their agility were stopped. Swellow, Gligar and Togetic found themselves failing to be safe in the skies. There was the threat of those dark clouds along with the thorns that could reach great heights. No one could stop Rosa at all. Once the thorns grew more violent, some Pokemon started trying to escape from them, but the thorns would only hunt them down with no rest.
Eventually, she reached the cocoon. There it was. Right in front of her was Yveltal's Cocoon. The appearance of it appeared to be a black cocoon that had a pattern on it. The same patterns that could be found on Yveltal's wings. It even seemed to levitate while having a constant Dark Aura around it, having no need to touch the ground.
"Finally. Yveltal." Rosa sighed. Those that tried hiding you didn't try hard enough. This will be great...I can't think of a better Pokemon to have as my first than this one. It's fit for a Lich Queen indeed. Or perhaps there are other options out there, but I'm perfectly fine with this one."
"Why did you come here?" Just then, unexpectedly, the cocoon spoke. Or rather, the voice inside the cocoon. And the only one who could be inside would be Yveltal. Rosa was hit with telepathy from the Destruction Pokemon who immediately questioned the Lich Queen.
"Telepathy? Well, that makes communicating with you easier." Rosa then cleared her throat before announcing her name and her reasoning for being here. "My name is Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta. Yveltal. I came here for you and the power you possess. The power of destruction you hold is something I need for my Black Crusade. A crusade that will end the life of many across the planet, no, multiple planets and soon turn them into skeletal subjects for my kingdom. It was the mission of the previous Lich King, who failed to do so. So, I'm picking up where he left off. Your power will make this easier than it's ever been. So, I request that you help me and I shall help you fulfil all the destructive needs you need. We can cause mass levels of destruction together to benefit each other. And with how endless the universe is, where's the limit? What say you?"
There was a moment of silence. Yveltal did not respond for a while, leaving Rosa to wonder why it stayed silent all of a sudden. But that was for what Yveltal would say right afterwards.
"I refuse." Instantly, Yveltal shut the Lich Queen down, rejecting everything she just said. From her recommendation to her objective. All of that searching and conflict, just for the Destruction Pokemon to say No.
"W-What?!"
"I cause destruction. But not senseless destruction. My existence is needed for the balance of life. I am the embodiment of all things that end. The natural way of life. Where there is life, there is death. My counterpart brings the joy and birth of life to usher in a new path in life where I bring the destruction and end of all things that must leave, no matter how long it may take. Without it, the world. No. The universe will collapse. I do not exist to destroy for the sake of destruction. You mistake my power for evil. For that is not what it is or why it exists."
"Kh...!" Rosa Maledicta hissed as this was not the result she wanted or expected at all. Yveltal did not comply at all. Her understanding of this Pokemon had been shifted to reveal the truth. From the word of the Pokemon itself, no less.
It annoyed her. Especially Yveltal's comment on death itself. Rosa had a completely different view of it. And Yveltal did not fit that view at all.
"I-Is that so? Well then...maybe I just have to do it without compliance." Rosa twitched. "After all...what can you do in that form?!" Rosa would then attack the cocoon, using her magic against it.
A bright flash of green magic came from Yveltal's cocoon as its signature roar could be heard coming from it. The crystals here even reacted to this interaction as Rosa had the most terrifying possible look on her face. It was both a face of malice and agitation.
"I thought about something like this happening but I was hoping it wasn't from your own words! You will work under me! And I have my ways of doing so to others!" Rosa cried out as Yveltal's cocoon began cracking. Red and black flares of energy clashed with Rosa's green magic before then showing a blue eye within. That eye belonged to the Destruction Pokemon as the cocoon shattered.
And emerging out of it was a creature with avian and draconic traits. The back of its body is black with white spots along the wings and back; its front, head, and neck are bright red with branching, black lines throughout. Bright blue eyes, a black, forward-curving horn over each eye, and a thin, antenna-like growth behind each eye are what it possessed. A feathery grey ruff encircles its neck and billows out over its back. The wings themselves had a destructive presence to them as the full body of this Pokemon had been revealed.
Yveltal was awake. Interrupted by the malicious and greedy actions of the Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta, the Destruction Pokemon's cocoon had been shattered, bringing it out of its long and peaceful slumber. Rosa Maledicta's own magic was around Yveltal, attempting to put this dangerous Legendary Pokemon under some form of control.
Yveltal fought back, however, using a black and red aura to clash against her dark green magical aura. Rosa failed to sneak her control over Yveltal. It wouldn't be that easy compared to Fantina.
"Nice resistance..of course, I have more ways to catch you. You didn't think I'd just keep you out in the open back at Magehold?"
Indeed, Rosa had another method of obtaining Yveltal. The only method most who search for Pokemon would go for. Hidden underneath her cloak was none other than a Master Ball. The Ultimate Poke Ball. Rosa Maledicta truly came prepared.
Yveltal ceased any telepathic comments to Rosa. Now, it was only focused on getting rid of her. Though Yveltal was not evil and did not cause destruction for the sake of it, it was certainly vengeful as proven by stories of it. The Destruction Pokemon unleashed its signature roar at Rosa Maledicta, attempting to intimidate her. Unfortunately, that did not work. The roar did not make her flinch at all.
Yveltal saw that Rosa Maledicta was unapologetically evil. She rode on the cruelness of toying with life, especially with her ultimate goal. Even the Destruction Pokemon could see that she was dangerous. Terrifyingly dangerous. Yveltal will end Life for new Life to spring but she would end life just to fulfil a goal and leave it at that. Yveltal decided that someone like this shouldn't be allowed to exist.
After deciding on that, Yveltal struck first. It used Dragon Rush, covering its body in a black and red draconic aura. It came crashing down with a trail of darkness that would complement well with the Dread League but considering it stood against Rosa Maledicta, that would never happen.
Putting on a grimacing face, Rosa Maledicta would pull that illusionary spell once more. She divided herself into multiple colourful afterimages, allowing her to evade Yveltal's Dragon Rush by obscuring its vision. Yveltal struck the illusions instead before leaving a trail of destruction on the ground. It tore up parts of the ground just from its Dragon Rush before coming to a screeching halt.
Smoke was left behind on the ground itself, leaving a crater in the process. Yveltal hadn't even touched the ground for something like this to happen, stunning Rosa Maledicta. She soon found herself entering a battle with the Destruction Pokemon. But with the Master Ball, if she could find an opportunity that conflict could end.
Granted, it would be easier said than done. The anger that Yveltal was currently exhibiting would involve aggressive movements. And right after using Dragon Rush, Yveltal would continue attacking, preventing Rosa from having much time to react.
Meanwhile, out of the island and around the cliffs, Reshiram was still in a predicament. He was blocked from reaching the island thanks to the Dread League while these massive thorns from Rosa Maledicta were getting in his way.
The Vast White Pokemon was currently zooming through the air, doing his best to fend off the thorns. To do so, he used his blue flames which seemed to be effective against the thorns, incinerating them, only for the thorns to regenerate right afterwards.
It didn't help that the Trickster Dragon got involved along with the Pokemon belonging to the Dread League. Reshiram had to avoid thorns and Pokemon attacks, making it increasingly difficult. However, even though the thorns regenerated, Reshiram's blue flames managed to burn them up once more.
"I don't understand! How can Queen Rosa's thorns not adapt to those flames?!" A vampire gasped, wanting to know why Reshiram's blue flames kept incinerating them. Right as he wondered how Reshiram could do such a thing, the Vast White Pokemon would smack any incoming Pokemon attacks right back at his opponents. But that would only prompt Opal to change fate yet again with her mane.
All it took was one touch to make that happen. The attacks were redirected elsewhere, hitting the nearby mountains instead. Reshiram wished he could do something about Opal. But as long as she had that gigantic mane, she could change fate as many times as she wanted.
"That's easy. It seems to have flames so strong that even those amazing thorns are struggling to keep up. Blue Flames are exceptionally hot if you didn't know."
"You have a point there," Opal replied. "The stars in space also possessed a vibrant blue. If we're not careful, we could receive the worst of it. Perhaps stopping Reshiram from using those flames at all will do the trick. I've yet to use the full extent of this ability." Opal would then use a piece of her hair on the thorns themselves. After all, objects weren't out of the question and even so, the thorns were sentient.
Reshiram grabbed onto the incoming thorns, using his brute strength o try and hold them in place. While holding onto these thorns, Reshiram would try and unleash his Blue Flare from his body, only for the thorns to then grew new parts and wrap around his neck. The Vast White Pokemon found himself being choked by the thorns, but that didn't stop him from retaliating. He managed to spew out sparks of blue flames that flowed across the thorns around his neck, incinerating them.
Reshiram would once again retreat from the thorns, holding his own while multitasking. His eyes turned to the side, swiftly spotting Opal Vivacity's next move. She was ready to change fate once more and make it harder for Reshiram. He couldn't allow that to happen. So, Reshiram figured that the best way to stop her was by interrupting her.
And he did so by using Noble Roar. Reshiram unleashed his signature roar but with extra volume and intensity. A giant soundwave plus shockwave came raging out of his vocal cords, having enough strength to reach a vast radius. The grass and trees trembled as the vampires all closed their ears. Even the thorns were held back by this.
"Ugh...!" Opal growled as she was especially hit by this the most. To this day, she still had Audino's ability to hear extremely well. Unfortunately, that backfired heavily against her as the sound of Reshiram's roar attacked her enhanced eardrums, making her cower. "Gaaah!"
Now was his chance. Opal suffered the most from her enhanced senses. Reshiram struck while the iron was hot, using Blue Flare once more. But this time, he didn't aim for the vampires. Instead, it was the ground that was his target. A giant sphere of blue flames shot from his mouth, blasting through the thorns that would get in his way.
The attack connected with the ground but it did not explode. Reshiram aimed to keep the sphere there as a defence mechanism. The sphere of blue flames burned brightly at that one spot, constantly sparking without destroying the land at all. And it proved to be effective.
This acted as a secondary Sun. The vampires were already using hooded clothing to protect themselves but now with the Blue Flare at a lower level, the light could even go past their hoods. Naturally, blue flames surpassed orange flames, resulting in the vampires moving back. They hissed and screamed as the flames were even starting to burn their clothes away.
"N-No need to fear...!" Opal cried out, manipulating her mane. "Not even this...will stop us!" Instead of touching someone else with the mane, she used it on her. By using her ability, Opal managed to change fate around her, warping space yet again. Even Reshiram couldn't reach her in time if she did it on herself. It didn't help that the thorns were still active, wrapping around Reshiram's wings and legs.
By warping space, Opal saved the vampires from this aggressive heat by changing the land itself. The ground itself was readjusted with extra landmass, reaching new heights that would immediately block any view from Reshiram. These warped hills even shielded them from the azure light.
The vampires still had smoke coming from their bodies after just a few seconds around that blue star. It felt like the Sun itself truly did come down to Earth. Or rather, a greater Sun had arrived.
"Hah..." Opal sighed as she even twisted the hills to bend and form a shade, granting protection for the vampires. "That Reshiram...It lives up to its status as a Legendary Pokemon without a doubt."
"Mhm." The Trickster Dragon agreed, suddenly appearing in front of Opal in an upside-down position.
"Hey! Why aren't you doing anything?!" Opal roared at the Trickster Dragon.
"You took away my fun. It's no fun if someone else gets involved. I like to play it solo." The Trickster Dragon shrugged. "I've never been one for big battles such as this. My own battles mainly involve messing with my opponent so..."
"Kh! It doesn't matter! Queen Rosa chose you for a reason." Opal yelled.
"She chose me so that tall, white and majestic could help find Yveltal. And judging by how it turned out, I'd say I played my part perfectly by helping in the destruction of that illusion."
"Ugh...Can you at least subdue Reshiram? Do that and call it a day. You're far too dangerous to keep out for a long time considering what happens to you."
"Yes, yes." The Trickster Dragon nodded. "I already thought about turning him into a baby earlier. I can still get that chance." The Trickster Dragon stretched its arms, setting out to do what it planned from the start. The vampires would have to stay back due to the Blue Flare in the ground. As long as that flare exists, they could not get close to Reshiram. But none of that mattered as long as their queen reached her goal.
Suddenly, a blast of magic came flying in. Grazing Opal's mane was a blazing flame that soon tore through the hills that were formed by Opal's power. Opal gasped as her mane was grazed by this magical flame, exposing a hole that revealed rays from Reshiram's Blue Flare.
Daybreaker had shown up at the Holon after being alerted about Yveltal's Cocoon. And she showed up just in time to see the mess that was being caused by both sides.
"Move aside. I'm here you for your queen." Daybreaker menacingly said as she was focused on reaching Rosa instead of confronting the vampire in front of her. Despite her hatred for them, she preferred to prevent them from ever obtaining Yveltal in any way.
"D-Daybreaker...!" Opal cried out as the rays from the Blue Flare could finally reach them once more. Opal and the rest cowered from the immense heat, only for the Trickster Dragon to repair what had been destroyed. The landmass from before was sprung back to its original form by the Trickster Dragon. The vampires were once again safe from the flames.
However, none of that was stopping Daybreaker. She spread her wings out before ascending above everyone else. Her eyes met with the cliffs ahead and the passageway they gave. There, she saw the Mysterious Island. "There you are."
"Hold it!" Opal Vivaicty yelled at Daybreaker, grabbing her attention for a bit. "Don't think you can just head in there, Daybreaker. Our majesty is already ahead of you at this point. And it's our job to keep pests such as you from intervening. Much like how we're dealing with Reshiram at the moment."
Speaking of Reshiram, he had been thrown by the giant thorns. His body could be seen flying high before reaching one of the mountains. The mountains came crashing down from Reshiram's impact, resulting in large chunks of rocks dropping the Dragon-Fire-Type. Reshiram had one eye open, eyeing down the vicious thorns that he was constantly struggling with. Those thorns were unrelenting though. Right after the Vast White Pokemon found himself crashing through the mountains, the thorns pursued him, not allowing this massive threat to even rest.
Reshiram hated that he couldn't reach the island at all thanks to these thorns. While he could burn them away, they would only regenerate with greater numbers, forcing the Dragon of Truth to keep fighting back.
Daybreaker saw Reshiram's struggle in the distance but chose not to acknowledge him. Instead, she made her way towards the Mysterious Island to find Rosa Maledicta and Yveltal's Cocoon. Reshiram would have to wait for another time.
"Hey! Didn't you hear me?! Or maybe I need to change your fate for you to realize..." Opal dug her hoof into her mane before then spreading out her wings.
"Try doing that when your mane's on fire," Daybreaker replied. Opal Vivacity raised an eyebrow to that. But it didn't take long for her to realize what Daybreaker meant by that. That graze of flames from before mattered more than she expected.
Due to her massive mane, the flames were a bit hard to see with how deep they were hidden. But once they lasted for a certain amount of time, that's when they spread. Crimson flames spread across Opal's mane, startling the other vampires and especially Opal herself.
"Huh?! Aaaaaaah!" She screeched with genuine fear in her voice. That dazzling mane of hers was being consumed and wiped away by Daybreaker's flames. And much like Reshiram's flames, they were not natural at all. "My beautiful mane!"
Daybreaker smiled, knowing that Opal's power came from her mane. Mainly with how large she made it. And because it was so massive, it was an easy target for her. Parts of Opal's hair came off immediately with the other vampires receiving damage to their bodies from being too close to her. Opal's body was smoking the most since she was the victim.
Not only that but since her hoof was in her mane, that received some damage too as she now had a burnt hoof. Unable to properly focus and change fate, Opal Vivacity found herself suffering hair loss.
But it only took the Trickster Dragon to put the flames about by absorbing them into its fingernails as if it was a vacuum. The flames were sent away from her, however, it came with a cost. A majority of Opal's mane was gone.
It almost looked like she reverted to her original manestyle with how much of it was gone. Just like that, her massive and dazzling mane was essentially trimmed down.
"You...!" Opal growled, holding one hoof over her eye as she looked at Daybreaker with great disdain. "It doesn't matter! I can just grow it back whenever! You think this is enough?!"
But Daybreaker did not acknowledge her. She was out of view by the time Opal roared. Daybreaker would come across the giant blue flame in the ground, unbothered by it. The flames didn't even make her sweat or any mention that might indicate she was slightly affected. But there was nothing at all. The only thing standing in her way now was the blockade of thorns that protected the entrance to the island.
Daybreaker descend, facing these thorns that were even sentient here while still battling against Reshiram in the distance. The thorns would obviously try and block her out from entering. These thorns rose up like snakes before then homing in on the Solar Empress.
Right as they came close to her, the next reaction was a sudden flare of crimson flames. These flames emerged from Daybreaker's body, consuming and even blowing away the thorns. The vampires watched as Daybreaker effortlessly incinerated these thorns into nothing, similar to how Reshiram could incinerate.
"But...how?" A vampire said with disbelief.
"I've dealt with my world's Rosa Maledicta. You don't think I haven't encountered these thorns before?" Daybreaker gave the best answer possible before making her way to the island once the path was clear. The Trickster Dragon would lean in, raising its finger with some magic flowing out, only for Daybreaker to give it a menacing glare. That glare instantly repelled the magic that was sent her way
"!" The Trickster Dragon wasn't just intimidated by Daybreaker's glare, but it also found itself stuck. A red aura was outlined around its body the moment it received that heart-piercing glare. "Oh my...I-I seem to be unable to move. She repelled my own magic against me..."
"S-Same here...!" The rest of the vampires discovered the same feeling. Daybreaker revealed that she had the power to deflect magic with just a glare. No one even saw her horn glow at all. With this power, Daybreaker was free to enter the island with no interruptions.
The Mysterious Island.
Back at the island, Rosa Maledicta was still confronting Yveltal. Or rather, avoiding it. Yveltal started using Dark Pulse, unleashing a beam imbued with dark thoughts that caused stupendous destruction. Rosa started jumping from tree to tree, avoiding as hard as she could. The trees were destroyed by just one stream of Dark Pulse which mercilessly followed the Lich Queen.
Yveltal spread its black wings of destruction around, putting the pressure on Rosa as it certainly had the speed to keep up with her. Rosa tried defending herself from these attacks with what she had. Out of her horn, an ebony claw of mental magic raged out, clutching the Dark Pulse. It managed to hold back the Dark Pulse and with all of its might, these claws crushed the attack.
However, this was soon followed up by Yveltal using Hurricane. Without taking breaks from thinking about its next move, Yveltal was throwing everything at the Lich Queen. A large hurricane formed from just one wing flap, reaching great levels of pressure. Rosa Maledicta's cloak and mane were affected along with her hooves. The Hurricane had the intention of pulling her in.
Rosa managed to counteract this by using her own tornado. Out of her horn, a baneful tornado that rivalled that of Yveltal's was summoned. This tornado seemed to carry a dreadful aesthetic to it as there were transparent skulls flying around them. The sounds didn't even match the wind. Instead, the howls were that of screams as the two forms of wind clashed against each other.
Neither came out on top as it only ended up with some of the trees being ripped out of the ground and even the water being lifted, bringing about a large wave. Right after the destruction settled, along came Yveltal with Acrobatics. Rosa Maledicta grimaced before being finally struck by Yveltal. It was a direct wing strike to her face. Feeling the first hit befuddled her. Rosa found herself being carried into the air by Yveltal's wing, no longer being able to keep her distance.
Now that Yveltal had her, the Destruction Pokemonbegan doing what it does best. Sapping away at her life. And Rosa felt it. By just attacking its opponents, Yveltal could eat away at their energy. This was mainly seen by how Yveltal's wins started glowing red, indicating that it began eating away at her life force.
Seeing this, Rosa Maledicta summoned a rose on Yvelta's wings with just a drop of magic. The moment the rose sprouted from Yveltal's wings, they blew up. This rose acted like a bomb, consuming Yveltal in a paroxysm of malice while Rosa was free to break away from Yveltal.
She didn't have wings of her own despite ruling over vampires, but she could rely on her telekinetic levitation to keep her airborne. That vicious smile on her face returned before fading once Yveltal flew out of the smoke. Those explosions didn't slow it down at all.
"Oh-" Before she could spout out her next batch of words, she was then slapped in the face by Yvetal's Steel Wing. Pure steel connected, knocking Rosa Maledicta out of her levitation and sending her crashing down. The Lich Queen barely managed to save herself, levitating her body over the ground at the last second. From the velocity she was sent at, hitting the ground would cause some visible damage, no doubt.
"Phew..." But, right as she levitated herself once more, it didn't take long for Yveltal to start dropping constant Dark Pulses. Rosa, having little time to plan her next move, could only protect herself with a shield as these Dark Pulses rained down with Yveltal's full fury packed into it.
Black explosions went off constantly, violently attacking her shield while also surrounding the area with little room to run from. Rosa Maledicta was getting judged by these black explosions. Her shield was the only thing keeping her safe as Yveltal was going non-stop, showing no signs of slowing down or fatigue at all.
Dark explosions started covering the land, even damaging the crystals here. However, despite all of this, the Pokemon living here were free from harm thanks to Yveltal's intentions. It was vengeful and agitated but still knew that the Pokemon here tried to protect its cocoon from Rosa. Thus, it left them alone completely.
"Don't mess with me, you overgrown crow!" Rosa Maledicta yelled before then overcoming the bombardment of Dark Pulses by unleashing her own darkness. It meshed well with Yveltal's Dark Pulses before then sucking them up. She used Yveltal's own strength against it, turning the pulses into pillars of shadows. These pillars rose up to smash into Yveltal's chest.
Rosa Maledicta got a successful hit in, even managing to push the Destruction Pokemon into the air. But this wouldn't be enough. Rosa knew that very well. But she aimed to catch Yveltal with the Master Ball. Al she needed was that chance. Her Master Ball was in the back of her cloak, waiting to be used.
"This will keep you down for certain." Her eyes then widened, turning black before all of her green magic soon matched that jet-black appearance. "The Baneful Mist will do!"
Out of her horn, Rosa produced a dark paralytic mist around the target that envelopes the Dark-Flying-Type, creating a massive beam of dark spirits that reaches towards the sky. It soon transformed into a giant cube while keeping the spirits around Yveltal's body. The beams would also push the cube higher into the sky. Yveltal roared inside the cube as the dark spirits attacked its body with the viciousness of feral beasts.
After that, the cube blew up along with the spirits and beams with Yveltal around all of it. The dark explosions pierced the dark clouds before then adding more dread to them. Black particles rained down out of a large black smoke that had yet to clear.
"Dumb bird," Rosa smirked, insulting Yveltal. "But..it's that kind of power that I want. I could care less about why you destroy. I just need you to destroy what I aim t destroy. For my goal alone."
But in response, something just as destructive, if not more so than her Baneful Mist was thrown out. Hiding in the black smoke in the sky, Yveltal created a transparent violet sphere in front of it, with blue electricity-like energy in it. From the black smoke, a violet beam of energy was thrown out.
"?!" Unsure of what kind of move this was, Rosa would attempt to avoid it. She did, but it was only a narrow dodge. Except, narrow dodges wouldn't matter all that much considering what attack this was.
This was Oblivion Wing.
Yveltal's Signature Move.
Once the attack grazed her hoof, Rosa got to experience the grand destructive power she sought of. Just a graze and her hoof already turned grey. She gasped before seeing cracks form around it. A massive part of her life force was taken from her as bits of her withered hoof started dropping.
Yveltal then emerged out of the smoke, still in one piece and looking healthy to boot. Rosa looked at her hoof, perplexed by what had just happened. Not only did this confirm what Yveltal was capable of but it also showed Rosa Maledicta at a disadvantage. This was unlike anything she's experienced before. She's certainly seen this kind of status but not on her.
It wouldn't stop there. Yveltal would throw another one, this time wider. Rosa was forced to try and defend this as Oblivion Wing was a different breed of power that she didn't have many responses to aside from protection. The collision between the beam and the barrier was monumental. It left a larger crater that formed with rocks flying up. The barrier was kept up while the Oblivion Wing kept coming, leaving behind red and black cracks of electricity that were violently moving everywhere, even reaching the skies.
That's when Rosa Maledicta focused on the skies. She still had those malevolent clouds since she formed them. And there was one thing for certain. Lightning was a go-to attack for anything airborne. Of course, trying to escape Oblivion Wing was just as important too. She managed to manipulate both the weather and the barrier too, sending our purple lightning that crashed into Yveltal's back.
But Oblivion Wing would only end up combusting around the barrier, adding to that crater size as Rosa Maledicta was enveloped by the light. Both of these death-based creatures found themselves receiving something big. Yveltal nearly dropped with purple lightning around its body, only to them recover in the air. The destruction settled at last with all the rocks dropping.
The dust would settle with no signs of any green magic nearby. This island had essentially been trashed thanks to their battle. And yet, the Pokemon were unharmed. Yveltal slowly descended, shaking off the electricity around its body as if it was nothing. Not even lightning could overcome its anger at all. If anything, that attack only angered it.
The dust cleared as Rosa Maledicta could be seen standing there with her head down. Her cloak was still neat and tidy even after everything that happened but her barrier was done for. Her hoove was still damaged and withered with hols being seen. The last Oblivion Wing was barely blocked by her as her second hoof had taken some damage too. She was still standing.
Yveltal did have to give some credit for how resilient she was. But, it would only continue attacking, using Oblivion Wing once more. This time, to finish her off. Yveltal couldn't allow someone as dangerous as Rosa Maledicta to get her way considering how she threatened every form of life. This Oblivion Wing was essentially for the good of the multiverse
But it would be the end if that was truly Rosa.
The beam reached, only for it to be discovered that it was another illusion by her. A well-placed one that resembled her original colours as it faded away. Yveltal gasped as the rea Rosa wasn't there at all.
Instead, she was right behind the Destruction Pokemon. The Illusion Evasion once again proved to be highly efficient as she got the jump on Yvelta, holding out a Master Ball.
"Gotcha~" She whistled before tapping Yveltal's tail feathers with the Master Ball. Just like that, Yveltal's body was pulled in by the Master Ball by a crafty Lich Queen. The cries of the Destruction Pokemon rang out before it then shrank, entering the Master Ball. The Ball dropped to the ground as the traditional shaking would begin. But there would be no anticipation of whether it would work or not at all. After all, once it successfully hits its target, the Master Ball shall not fail.
1...
2...
3...
Gotcha! Yveltal was caught. Unfortunately. All it took was one blindsided strike for the capture to be a success. Yveltal was now under Rosa Maledicta's possession. Unwillingly, of course. Rosa succeeded in catching the Pokemon she set her eyes on from the start. After months of constant searching along with back and forth against those who stood in her way, she got what she wanted.
"Yes...Yveltal is mine!" Rosa raised the Poke Ball triumphantly into the air while in a bipedal position. "I win!"
A dark moment indeed. The Pokemon who Rosa defeated earlier witnessed it for themselves. They were too weak to stop her before. And now that Yveltal was captured, what hope did they have? Rosa's laughter only made this grimmer as the black clouds above crashed out lightning.
Daybreaker saw all the destruction from afar, rushing in as fast as she could. Alas, Daybreaker was too late to stop the capture. Rosa succeeded in catching Yveltal before she could make it here.
"Rosa!"
"Daybreaker! Glad you could be a few seconds late~" She playfully whistled. "For you see, you're too late! I have Yveltal now! And that Black Crusade will go through, no matter what. No one and nothing can ever stop me from getting what I want! And I'll make sure you're alive before everyone else is gone. I want to see the look on your face when every version of Luna is destroyed by Yveltal. Only then will you join the skeletons!"
"...Don't be so sure of yourself." Daybreaker closed her eyes, growling at her failure to stop the capture. But she didn't give up hope yet. "I'm still here. And I can still stop you."
"I'd rather not waste time with you at all. But one thing's for certain, you won't let me go so easily...just like before." Rosa smirked, aiming to leave instead of confronting Daybreaker here and now.
A standoff between two Queens yet again. But this time, one ruler had an advantage. The terrifying capture of Yveltal had come true. Rosa Maledicta and by extension the Dread League, finally had the Destruction Pokemon. However, standing in her way was Daybreaker.
Yveltal had been caught. After so much time and effort spent attempting to find the Destruction Pokemon, Rosa Maledicta finally had Yveltal in a Master Ball. Her goal was accomplished and that would bring her one step closer to realizing her ultimate goal. The Black Crusade.
Standing before her was Daybreaker, who was too late to stop this. The cocoon was broken and Yveltal officially had a Pokemon Trainer, albeit against its own will and acknowledgement of the Lich Queen. However, that didn't mean Daybreaker was too late to prevent Rosa from leaving with the Master Ball.
"Ah...my very first Pokemon. And what better option than Yveltal?" Rosa rubbed the Master Ball, pretending to show Yveltal care when that was truly not the case. "I'll be doing great things with Yveltal. After I make it comply, that is."
"Is that so? You clearly know about the efficiency of a Master Ball. But do you know what happens when a Poke Ball breaks?" Daybreaker questioned, getting a glaring reaction out of Rosa. Rosa knew. She knew very well what happens when a Poke Ball is destroyed. "I hope you have spares."
"Try and pry it off my cold, dead hooves, princess." Rosa Maledicta scoffed before unleashing massive thorns from the ground to stand on. She used them as her means of transportation and as a way to escape from Daybreaker. Rosa Maledicta preferred not to engage in battle with Daybreaker. Not when she had Yveltal at last.
Daybreaker looked up before feeling the ground shake from the thorns manipulating the area. Already, Rosa Maledicta also used her magic to open up a portal immediately, high up in the sky no less.
Daybreaker refused to let Rosa leave with such a Pokémon at her disposal. She immediately attacked the thorns, ignoring the tremor below by simply hovering over the ground. Out of her horn streams of flames raged out while moving in the motion of a sword.
Rosa's thorns were sliced apart by Daybreaker's flames before then being incinerated by them. Rosa was surprised to see that Daybreaker's flames could damage her thorns. But it didn't bother her too much. The Lich Queen still had the advantage of levitation, using her magic to carry her through the air.
However, even with levitation, as an alicorn, Daybreaker's flight speed surpassed most pegasi. All it took was her taking flight and zooming through the air for her to reach Rosa in seconds.
"Back up!" Rosa Maledicta protested, summoning a bouquet of flowers out of thin air. These flowers weren't just beautiful but explosive. That same paralytic mist from before came from them once they combusted. Daybreaker closed her eyes, putting up a blazing shield to protect her from the mist. Thanks to that, she could power through, meeting face-to-face with the Lich Queen.
Once she was finally close to Rosa, Daybreaker would try and go straight for the Master Ball first. Her hooves were first, going over Rosa's head. But of course, Rosa would intercept. She would block Daybreaker with her own hoof while Daybreakerr would do the same with her other hoof only for Rosa to retaliate yet again with a magical hold. Soon, they both entered a stalemate where neither side would let go. However, noticeably, Rosa's other hoof was withered as she chose not to use it. Any action could potentially shatter the hoof.
As for the portal, Daybreaker managed to keep Rosa from going upwards via her magic. The two of them entered a magical clash, fighting to overcome one another. It all depended on who had the greater magical force.
"I would be out of here by now if it weren't for you!" Rosa yelled before using her magic to pull the portal down
"You're just as foolish as my world's Rosa! Do you truly want a world where many are nothing but skeletons, just for some insane goal?! That sounds boring to me!"
"Say what you will! I'm getting too close! I've come too far to stop now!" Rosa then summoned more of those roses around Daybreaker's body. She was now surrounded by ticking time bombs with beautiful bouquets as the appearance. However, Rosa Maledicta wasn't getting any closer to the portal as Daybreaker was still keeping her down. Even the thorns were being held back by Daybreaker's flaming aura.
Right then and there, the roses blew up but it wouldn't be just around Daybreaker. Rosa Maledicta would be caught up in the explosions too as a blaze of energy went off in the sky. It was a mixture of Daybreaker's flames and the dark magic from Rosa Maledicta. The thorns below were incinerated and withered by these.
Holon Mountain Range.
But while that scuffle was ongoing, Reshiram was still dealing with these thorns. It was a long struggle that wasn't seeing a victor at all. Reshiram wasn't getting tired but those thorns wouldn't stop coming at all.
Reshiram got up from the rubble of mountains, looking up at the thorns which would not stop attacking at any cost. The Vast White Pokemon shook his head as he was aware too much time has passed by this point.
"It's no good. If this keeps up, I'll never reach her at all. Those thorns won't stop unless she's gone probably. And if not, only my blue flames can hold them back. But not for long. I need to do something about them."
Just as Reshiram was thinking about how to overcome these persistent thorns, it was then revealed that Daybreaker did not come alone. She was the one who mainly entered the island to pursue Rosa Maledicta. But she certainly didn't lack any firepower at the moment. Over at the distance, backup had shown up for Daybreaker's forces.
Through the clouds, large ships could be seen approaching. These ships belonged to Empress Twilight, of course, but they were currently alongside Daybreaker's forces. They all came here with the same goal. Stop Rosa Maledicta from obtaining Yveltal. But that was too late. And yet, it wasn't too late to stop her from leaving.
Opal Vivacity, the other vampires and the Trickster Dragon were still stuck in this spell that was redirected to them by Daybreaker's glare. Even the powerful Trickster Dragon struggled to reverse it since it originally came from it. But after a lot of trembling from its finger, it managed to redo the spell, breaking the control it had over them. The vampires could finally take a breather as their bones were no longer stuck.
"My beautiful mane. Oh!" Without even noticing yet, Opal Vivacity, despite her enhanced hearing, regenerated her mane after Daybreaker burned most of it. She gained the luscious and long flow once again before then focusing on the other sounds. "What now?!"
30 Ships showed up on this day, each piloted by a pony. The vampires were now outnumbered at this point as these ships blocked the sky. Reshiram was in the same boat as none of them were friendly. He was on his own compared to everyone else.
Once they showed up, they released magical beams from their ships to bombard this area. Rosa Maledicta was currently nearby and getting rid of her along with her vampires would lead to a stunning victory, no doubt. Those beams rained from the sky, attacking the cliffs and mountains. Reshiram put his hands over his wings before witnessing the giant thorns take the first hits.
The thorns were pierced by these magical beams before targeting the ships in the sky. Opal and the others would flee from the bombardment of magic to take cover. Of course, anywhere away from the Sun and the Blue Flame in the ground. The situation escalated greatly to the point where large forms of destruction were rapidly rising.
Settlements from afar noticed this. The main Holon Community, Settlement Foxtrot, Settlement Oscar and even the Holon Pyramind along with many more. They witnessed purple explosions go off in the distance, covering the skies with a new kind of ambience while the ships moved forward. With victory ready for the taking the winning side hoped to leave as soon as possible. Rosa had Yveltla after all. All she had to do was leave and that would be the end of that.
Reshiram on the other hand planned to make sure none of them would gain that victory. At this rate, this kind of destruction for just one Pokemon could worsen. And with how small of a region Holon was, it wasn't farfetched to believe that the settlements would suffer.
Refusing to let that happen, Reshiram would put everything into this next action phase. He knew what needed to be done. Figure out what to do with the thorns, reach the island and stop the ships. The thorns were already occupied by the ships in the sky which were constantly attacking it, so that was a good form of distraction.
Reshiram's eyes flashed blue before he then took the skies. He ascended as high as he could, breaking through the clouds while also creating a wind pressure so great that it would even make some of the ships shake. He then twirled in the sky before then gathering as much power as he could. Opal looked up, seeing a stream of flames envelop the Vast White Pokemon's body.
Whatever Reshiram was planning, it wouldn't benefit either side but him. Fearful of what was to come, especially with how hot the blue flames were, while in hiding from all the bombardment, Opal whispered to the Trickster Dragon, who was equally in danger due to the current scenario.
Right after gathering a huge helping of blue flames, Reshiram fires a powerful stream of light blue flames from his mouth with a large radius, enough to engulf many targets. Perfect for the ships and the thorns. The ponies within the ships looked up to see this azure light falling from above as the aggressive heat coming from it was already beginning to melt the ships without even reaching there yet. Even the thorns were being burned up via the heat alone. The vampires would especially feel the worst of it as even just looking at the flame harmed their bodies.
It looked like Reshiram would get multiple in one. But that would not be the case at all. The Trickster Dragon and Opal Vivacity had worked together to change that. All it took was a snap from the Trickster Dragon to send Opal Vivacity to a completely different position. And that position was up. With a sunhat and a coat protecting her from the Sun, the beautiful vampire appeared behind Reshiram.
It was a perfect mirror of how Rosa Maledicta caught Yveltal off guard. Now, Opal Vivacity did the same to Reshiram. By dropping some of her hair on the Vast White Pokemon's back, fate was changed. And with how large of a chunk it was, the effect was even greater.
This chunk was enough to affect Reshiram's attack. It ended up not only being shot back at the Dragon-Fire-Type but it ended up going off, hitting the wrong target. Reshiram was the target now as he was struck by his own attack. Opal Vivacity left behind a cruel smile, knowing what she had just done.
Reshiram was eclipsed by a blue explosion while Opal was safe, manipulating fate to the point where she would be untouched, as to be expected. The ships were equally threatened by the explosion in the sky with some of them losing parts from the azure heat. All of their attacks were put on hold just for this moment.
Out of the blue smoke, Reshiram fell. That Blue Flare did a number on it as his eyes were even almost whited out with a bit of blue being faintly seen. It took his own attack to do this to him, much like how his own Dragon Pulse was used against him.
Reshiram had been tricked once more and was in a potential state of fainting. He could hear the sound of Opal laughing before slowly blacking out. Reshiram growled, doing his best to stay conscious. That reflective attack did a number on him. But he certainly had one advantage. His Typing allowed him to resist the attack. He couldn't let Celestia and everyone else down. By now, he was probably thinking about what their reaction would be if he was to fall here. Letting out a spurt of flames from his mouth, Reshiram gained a second wind of energy to keep going. He put all of his strength into his wings, straining and growling before eyeing down the ground.
With his majestic roar captivating everyone's ears, the Vast White Pokemon recovered, hanging in there. He then spun his body while falling before swooping over the ground, saving himself from a devastating crash. Opal and the vampires all gasped, flabbergasted.
"Impossible! He should be down!" The vampires gasped before then receiving a wind pressure that came their way. Reshiram flew over them, carrying the vampires into the sky with his flight. The vampires screamed before having their protective clothing fly off, exposing them to the Sun. Reshiram continued flying, covering his body in an azure flame before then charging through the thorns.
The thorns attempted to stop him, only to be burnt away by Reshiram's flames and velocity alone. His next target was the Trickster Dragon who had enough power to change the odds. Reshiram knew that if he wanted a chance, the Trickster Dragon had to fall.
"Now hold on a-" The Trickster Dragon tried stopping Reshiram, only to be too late. The Dragon of Truth crashed into him. The Trickster Dragon made a comedic grimace from this impact with its eyes expanding. Its jaw and mouth dropped wide open as well. The Trickster Dragon even revealed a forked tongue before being launched by Rehsiram's impact. Even when being attacked, it spun around with humour, flailing around like a spaghetti noodle before then hitting one of the ships.
The ponies within the ship received an attack too with some of the ships bumping into each other. The weight of the Trickster Dragon was not to be ignored as the combined impact of the attack and its weight made these ships move. Reshiram then flew up, leaving behind a beautiful blue trail before then focusing on Opal Viviactiy, who was still up in the sky.
"Amazing...I'd expect nothing less from a Legendary Pokemon..." Opal Vivacity couldn't help but admire Reshiram's amazing power. Even after all that, he could make a resounding comeback against superior numbers, showing no signs of giving up at all. He truly had the spirit of a mighty Dragon. "However..."
But, Opal was not worried at all. Not with what she would do next. By simply poking herself with her mane, she changed fate yet again. Reshiram was too late to stop her as a white flash enveloped not just Opal's body, but even Reshiram's body. He closed his eyes when going into the light, fearing what could come next. But he had to tackle it head-on either way.
The Mysterious Island.
Speaking of another great scuffle, the explosion from before faded out. The portal in the sky was still there as it hadn't been closed yet. Rosa Maledicta was still here. Speaking of Rosa, she flew out of the smoke along with Daybreaker as neither of them suffered major damage. They were both still in one piece and looking healthy.
"Give it up! As long as I'm here, you won't get away!" Daybreaker exclaimed. "I'll burn you and that Master Ball to a crisp."
"Try it then. I'd even like to see your Pokemon take a swing at it." Rosa Maledicta taunted, even bringing up Necrozmoa, who she was aware of.
"Hmph." Daybreaker scoffed. Before she could take her next action, from above, those purple lighting bolts showed up. The Solar Empress switched her attention to the bolts as she reacted fast enough to fly away from them. Rosa would use these bolts as a means of distracting Daybreaker.
The Lich Queen levitated upwards while using the bolts to fend Daybreaker off. Constant crashes of lightning came from above, forcing Daybreaker to continuously fly out of the way. She even started using her magic to blast away at each lightning bolt that came her way while Rosa was getting closer to the portal. The thorns from before managed to gain new parts, rising up to boost Rosa Maledicta.
"So long~" Rosa whistled, believing that she would truly escape.
"You won't escape!" Daybreaker sliced apart the bolts with her horn. Her horn was covered by a blazing flame that had the right amount of power to do so as she was already catching up faster than what Rosa Maledicta wanted.
"Maybe not me...but this will!" Just then, Rosa Maledicta would turn around, leaving herself a bit wide open. Daybreaker took the chance to attack while she was facing the other direction, sending a flaming beam that tore through the thunderbolts and thorns that got in her way. At the same time, Rosa Maledicta would throw the Master Ball up at the portal.
Daybreaker gasped, soon seeing what Rosa Maledicta was going for. But it was too late to stop it now. The Master Ball had been pulled into the portal, entering another world. As for Rosa, she had been struck by Daybreaker's beam which ended up burning her malicious-themed clothing.
"Hahaha!" But even after being hit in the back by a devastating flame, Rosa Maledicta simply laughed while being knocked off her thorns and losing focus on her levitation. The portal above would soon diminish via Rosa's command. "No matter what...I always win, Daybreaker.
"Rosa!" Aggravated that the Master Ball got through, Daybreaker was unable to stop Rosa's success at all. In the end, Rosa Maledicta won. And this was further proven by the white light in the distance. The clash between Reshiram and Opal Vivacity grew to the point where it even reached this island. "?!"
Daybreaker and all the other Pokemon here would soon find themselves being overtaken by this approaching light. A massive flow of Rift Energy came from this which put a smile on Rosa Maledicta's face. After she put on that cocky and victorious smile, she was soon engulfed by the light along with everyone else
Only the Settlements were exempt from the light, witnessing the dazzle in the sky. Whatever happened next was yet to be seen. If it could be seen at all.
But as it stood, the Dread League had Yveltal. The first part of their plan was a success. After a fierce scuffle, it was the Lich Queen and her vampires that grasped the victory star.
And with the cost of many injured Pokemon and the destruction of the Holon Mountain Range and the Mysterious Island, this was known as The Holon Mountain Incident.
Holon. Settlement Foxtrot. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
It's already been one day since that incident. Midnight had come and gone. And during this night, Professor Pine, along with many Holon Researchers, came here to discover what exactly happened. And when they all showed up, they saw the result of this battle.
Craters could be seen all over the place with destroyed mountains. The cliffs that masked the pathway to the Mysterious Island were obliterated, exposing it. But Yveltal's Cocoon was no longer there and neither was Yveltal. Signs of Reshiram had also vanished. There was no trace of the Vast White Pokemon anywhere. No trace of the Dread League and no trace of the Solar Empire at all. They were all gone, leaving only this aftermath of destruction. The Pokemon from the Mysterious Island would be nursed back to health thankfully.
Over at Professor Pine's lab, she got records of the destruction, but nothing else. And that truly bothered her. She would never get the chance to witness the events and how they played out.
"What happened over there? It's strange how everyone involved just up and vanished without a trace. Reshiram wasn't even seen flying away at all. And those ships in the sky were gone too. But...I do have this."
Professor Pine did manage to gather something. In her hands was a purple puff of hair. More specifically, hair that possessed Rift Energy. The cosmic stardust flowed out of the hair as there was even a burn mark on it, indicating that fire interacted with this. Not only that, but she even received a white piece of fur that was unlike anything she had ever felt.
It was so smooth and warm. This, of course, belonged to the Vast White Pokemon Reshiram, explaining the appearance and the warmth it gave off. This was the only trace of Reshiram that she managed to grab.
"These are the only things that were left behind. Not sure how this puffy piece of hair survived, but maybe it's all this Rift Energy around it. All the more reason to study it~!" Even though she didn't get much or see much, Professor Pine was excited to work on these while she had the chance.
If there was something unique about it, it would be researched. Such was the drive of a Professor. The piece of hair containing Rift Magic was the first to be investigated and the one that Professor Pine would focus on the most. But as Professor Pine began investigating the Rift Hair first, aside from the Poke Balls within the lab that held Delta Pokemon and other Pokemon that were currently asleep, she was not alone. Or at least, she wasn't the only one awake.
The lights in her room suddenly turned off with the swift movement of a crooked hand as her vision had been obscured. She immediately paused her work to look up, witnessing how abruptly the lights went off. The finger that did this moved swiftly yet again, this time appearing with a rather tall figure. This shadowy tall figure escaped Pine's vision before she could even see it.
Professor Pine shifted her eyes before focusing back on her research. But the moment she turned around, she saw that there were claw marks on her table. Professor Pine pulled back a bit as these claw marks ran deep. It was strange since she didn't hear the sound of the table being clawed. None of the Pokemon in here were responsible either since they were all asleep.
She wondered how this was possible before then navigating her head around the room. Uneasiness filled the air for her. Who or what could be causing this? She held the fur and hair close to her, hoping that they wouldn't be targeted as well.
That's when she felt something above her while also close to her. When she slowly looked up, she noticed that something was touching her shoulder but she couldn't feel it at all. Her eyes dilated before then following the arm and where it came from. She discovered that the arm was comically long, having a length so great that it reached the ceiling. And speaking of the ceiling, intimidating eyes peered through the darkness, becoming visible as the wrinkly arm connected to that body.
This long arm and creepy movement belonged to none other than the Trickster Dragon. One of the individuals who was involved in the Holon Mountain Incident. It was still here and was not within the Box of 100 Demons.
"Hello there."
"Gyaaaah!" Professor Pine screeched once the Trickster Dragon spoke. She nearly fell over the table, flailing her arms around after she was touched by the Trickster Dragon. "H-Hello...! Can I help you?"
"Forgie my intrusion. Or don't. But I couldn't help but come here first before anything else." The Trickster Dragon crawled on the ceiling before then moving across the walls, revealing its intimidating height. "You want to know everything that happened there, do you?"
"Y-Yes." Professor Pine stuttered. "W-Who are you? What are you? Do you know what happened back there?"
"Oh, of course. I was involved in it." The Trickster Dragon fiddled with its fingers, making bone-cracking noises from it which just irked Professor Pine the wrong way. I saw mostly the whole thing. If you already know enough of the Dread League, I'm one of the 100 Demons that they summon. My name is Nyzzaghaidenunxulbiad. But Trickster Dragon is preferable, thank you."
"Oh, that's good to know. A demon...but at least you saw it all since you were there yourself." Professor Pine chuckled, not sure how to take all of this, especially since she found out that a demon was in the same room with her. Late at night too, no less. "But um...why are you still here then?"
"Why? Well, that's simple. I'd rather not go back inside that box. You have no idea how dull it is in there. All the screaming, howls and roars. It just gets redundant after a few centuries. You know what I mean, right?"
"Sorry. I can't relate."
"Of course, you can't. You'll be in the next life before I lose my wisdom teeth. But aside from that, I refuse to experience all that boredom again, when there's this massive expanse of worlds to explore and interact with." The Trickster Dragon said gleefully while also having a something menacing laugh. "And now that I'm free without any of those vampires knowing I'm gone...I can do whatever I want. And I do tend to get very playful. I'm feeling a great surge of fun coming through."
"Is that so? W-Well then..." Professor Pine chuckled nervously.
"And I figured I'd start here of all places. With you, especially. You don't mind, do you? Of course, you do." The Trickster Dragon crawled up to her. "I can mess around with you in any way I like. What kind of randomness can I form with my magic? Let's found out, shall we?" Just like what Opal Vivacity said, the Trickster Dragon will lose control if it's out of the box for too long. And it's definitely been too long at this point.
"B-Before you do that!" Professor Pine stopped the Trickster Dragon. "Can I at least work on this? I mean, Rift Magic is equally as random. Wouldn't it be interesting to know what would happen?"
"Hmm...Yes. What's this Rift Magic all about?" This caught the Trickster Dragon's attention as Professor Pine managed to halt it. She would continue with her research this way, albeit with a creepy Dragon in her presence.
"J-Just you wait and see. And uh, maybe you can kill some time while I work on this."
"Very well. I expect something unexpected. Especially since that mane belonged to that one vampire." The Trickster Dragon crawled back before forming a sofa on which it landed on. Professor Pine sighed as she had to live up to her promise and try to outperform whatever randomness the Trickster Dragon could bring.
However, she also somewhat wanted the Trickster Dragon to stay behind, just because of what it saw back at the Holon Mountain Incident. Because as far as it goes, not many could say what happened there on that confrontational day.
Equestria. Magehold. Nightfall.
Over at Magehold, after successfully bringing Yveltal here, Rosa Maledicta's victory was being celebrated by the vampires. They picked nightfall of all times since it was their preference. To them, obtaining Yveltal was the greatest victory possible as it would bring them closer to the Black Crusade.
However, as for Rosa Maledicta, she did indeed return to Magehold after that bright flash, but not in the best condition. Right now, the Lich Queen was in her throne room, still suffering from one thing. Her right hoof was still affected by Yveltal's power, appearing grey and withered with cracks around it. Bits of her hoof have already fallen off, leaving visible holes.
Not only that but some extra damage had been made. There seemed to be burn marks around her. There was only one individual responsible for this. Daybreaker. She could hear the sounds of her subjects cheering while also looking at Yveltal's Poke Ball, which was kept in a glass container for the moment.
As for her condition, she would be healed up. This would be done by one vampire instead of multiple. There were no nurses or doctors here but the vampire standing before her could be considered one.
"Ah...I knew I could count on you to solve this little issue, Ebony Rhyme." Rosa Maledicta spoke, facing the vampire in front of her who had some potions at her disposal.
"Your majesty. You were lucky to only have half of your hoof affected." Ebony Rhyme poured a black liquid from the potion bottle around Rosa's hoof. Smoke came out of it as the potion wrapped around the Lich Queen's damaged hoof, performing a healing process. "This potion might've needed extra work. Way more time than I already spent on it."
"Ah, but all that doesn't matter now. I got the Pokemon that I needed. Of course, controlling it is the next step before we can start the Black Crusade. Now, we don't need to carefully navigate through Equestria or even the Pokemon World." Rosa raised her hoof as the black liquid ended up healing her hoof, removing all the cracks and repairing what had been done.
"By the way, what happened there?" Ebony Rhyme asked. " heard that Daybreaker appeared.
"Daybreaker." Rosa sighed before shaking her head. "Even at the last moment, she managed to get a hit in. The burn marks are proof of that. But...I'm still somewhat worried about Daybreaker. Even with Yveltal, she also has a Legendary Pokemon on her side. I'll be sure to watch for her. Speaking of Reshiram, I have no idea where that White Dragon even is. After that white flash, him, those ships, Daybreaker and even Opal managed to disappear. I only soon found myself in my throne after the flash"
Indeed. Rosa Maledicta didn't even know where Reshiram was. In fact, Opal Vivacity was gone too along with Daybreaker and her ships. But the Lich Quen was positive that this wasn't the end of them at all. That light didn't serve that purpose at all.
"Okay then. But...what about our other plans? Are those gone now that we have Yveltal?"
"Of course not!" Rosa scoffed. "Yveltal will be hard to control, I hope you realize that. I felt it back there when I battled against it. To be honest...the only reason I was able to catch Yveltal was because of a blindsided strike. The power it exuded made it clear that it far surpassed anything I expected. If I hadn't caught it by surprise, I'm not sure even I would last long. The Dark Aura is proof that Yveltal is the strongest force we currently have here in Magehold. And will ever have. That's why everything else is still needed in case things go wrong. The Pony of Shadows. The Necropillars. The Overload of Life and many more. Before we can control Yveltal, we need substitutes."
"I get it, I get it." Ebony Rhyme replied. "So. Is there anything I can do? Apart from healing you, your majesty."
"Your potions are the best I've ever seen, Ebony. I didn't even know you could make one for something like this." Rosa flailed her right hoof. "Now that we have Yveltal...taking control of it will take some time. It has the means to defend itself. So...why not start having fun with Equestria and the Pokemon World?"
"Fun?"
"Yes!" Rosa giggled, hopping off her throne room before summoning those Cursed Thorns once more, using them to create a platform for her while Ebony Rhyme watched with an unchanging expression. "We don't need to go searching anymore! For years and years, the vampires have been in hiding, waiting for the day when they can come out. The previous Lich King failed to do so ever since the Black Crusade was never achieved at all. So, they waited until that crusade could be fulfilled. And I'm the newest Lich Queen who will carry out that goal and make sure it comes true! But..."
"But...?" Rosa repeated before having the thorns tickle her face. She immediately slapped the thorns away, preventing them from getting too close to her. The thorns would comply, surprisingly.
"That all changes now. I already ordered them to do whatever they wanted at the Pokemon Festival...now, let's remove those limitations. Let's have fun. Let's have them roam each world, doing what they do best. The Black Crusade will come but it will take some time. And what better way to wait than to have fun? No matter the region, no matter the land. Whether it's the Earth, the land, the sea or sky, they'll be there. They'll frolic about and unleash their Curse Magic as well! It's time for both worlds to see a Vampire Resurgence! An Age of Vampires!"
She cackled maniacally as thunderstruck in the skies with a fitting moment. Ebony Rhyme wasn't moved by her speech at all. But she nodded in approval of it.
"That's cool and all, but what about that Fantina lady? What do we do about her?"
"Fantina? I still need her. She's already proving to be a valuable asset with what she's teaching. But very soon, she'll fall weak to the Black Crusade." Rosa then hopped back to her throne. "I already have under my control after all. Anyway, you can do whatever you want. I look forward to seeing what kind of mess can come from this. Make sure it's surprising and when they all least expect it."
"Hmm...I've got some potions that I've wanted to try on pony life." Ebony Rhyme turned around, trotting out of the throne room. When leaving the room, Fractured Note saw Ebony off, bowing to the Potion Maker.
"Your majesty. Are we really free to do whatever we want now?" Fractured Note walked inside. "And what about my little sister?"
"You were always free to do whatever. But now, your boundaries have been shattered and the world is now your playground. As for your little sister, Opal...eh. I'm not too worried. Not when she has fate on her side."
Kalos. Out in the wild. Nighfall.
"Xatu!" Out in the Kalos Region, Nightmare Moon, Team Rocket and the rest of Luna's Pokemon were currently searching for Aurorus, who had gone missing. It had already been three days without any sign of her. But while searching for them, Xatu saw into the future once more.
And this time, the premonition was shocking. In his eyes, he saw the Dread League along with Yveltal, already knowing what the future could possibly bring as for the first time, the Mystic Pokemon shuddered.
"What's the matter with you?" Nightmare Moon questioned, noticing how Xatu was shaking at rapid speeds.
"He saw into the future. What did you see, Xatu?" Darkrai asked.
"Xatu..." In those few seconds, Xatu saw a lot. Even though he knew the Dread League existed, it was only just now that he saw a future vision of them. Whatever it entailed had yet to be seen but even Xatu was clever enough to know that nothing in any way shape or form could come from this.
Unova. Aspertia City. Nightfall.
Over at Aspertia City, Ash and his friends had shown up here, continuing their time at the Pokemon Festival. Of course, they enjoyed themselves so much that they fell asleep under the night sky. All except for a few. Nocturnal Pokemon were still awake and especially Absol, who was always staying up to keep an eye on things.
And while awake, guarding everyone while eyeing down the area, his horn started vibrating. "Absol?!" Immediate danger was picked up by his horn. A disaster was coming. Absol could sense a terrifying disaster just like how Xatu could sense the future. Both of these Pokemon knew that whatever comes in the future was bound to leave a devastating result.
Absol looked to his left and to his right before navigating the area, wondering where it could be coming from. But that's when he realized it was everywhere. In every direction, he could sense it. Absol knew what this meant. The disaster could come from any side and from anywhere. And potentially, it wasn't just one.
Absol stood next to a sleeping Twilight Sparkle who was unaware at the moment as his horn started vibrating. But even though the horn stopped shaking, that didn't mean Absol would let his guard down. At any point, he felt like the disasters could happen. Whenever it happens, he'll be ready.
Those that were still awake looked up at the night sky. Mainly Princess Celestia. To enjoy her human form some more, she quickly entered the human world and returned in this form yet again, finding it too fun to spend little time with. When looking up at the night sky, she was in deep thought.
"Reshiram...where did you go?" Celestia thought about Reshiram while holding a resting Premium Polish in her hands. Despite finishing everything that happened back up at the Galaxy Tower, Celestia felt that things weren't slowing down at all. Even this moment of peace had something off about it.
She then looked over at her subjects, who she considered her friends even more so than just the individuals she rules over. Even though some of them don't live in Equestria. Celestia worked hard to keep them safe but up at the Galaxy Tower, that barely happened. A lot of things went out of control, especially when Passion started losing it. Princess Celestia tried to get it out of her head but she couldn't. Her love for everyone here was too strong after all.
"It's not just my love for them that's growing. I need to grow my strength as well." Celestia looked over at Passion and even Luna. "I have no idea what could be waiting for us out there. It feels like we've only scratched the surface of Power that can be seen. Which is why...I need to catch up as soon as possible."
Apart from the grim outcome over at Holon and the victory of the Dread League, there was a ray of hope. And there was no better individual to fit that than the one who represents the Sun itself. And there was no need for her to worry. Not when those who can help her grow were right here.
"But...first thing in the morning, of course." It required some rest first as Celestia would doze off, looking up at the night sky. Those stars in the sky were the best way to drift away.
Aspertia City. A city at the foot of high mountains where anyone can see all of Unova.
"Morning everyone!" Celestia's voice rang strongly as she was the first one to be awake despite going to bed later than everyone else. Her melodic cry woke up her friends and family, causing them to roll out of any positions they found themselves in.
"Man...Good morning." Ash yawned as Victini was currently using his head as a bed. On his shoulder, Hoopa could be seen before dropping off, bumping into Cloudchaser's head. "What week is it?"
"I think we're closing in on the third week." Fluttershy sat up, shaking her messy mane which was then sorted out by an already awake Leavanny. One of Rarity's Leavanny managed to wake up before most of them, choosing to fix up everyone's hairstyles the moment they woke up. "Did it all really go by that fast?"
"All that time in space didn't even last a day," Twilight added. "So, what's the plan for today? Which region are we heading to this time?"
"The plan for today? Well, glad you asked." The Sun Princess rubbed her hands together in excitement. Since she was already awake, her mind was brewing with ideas. "Which one do I start with? Ah, it doesn't matter. I'd like to hear what you all think. Who's up for sightseeing and who's up for battling?"
"I am!" Some of them chose battling while some of them chose sightseeing. Either one was entertaining no matter the situation. If it involves Pokemon, it's guaranteed to be enjoyable.
"Right, right. Guards." Celestia held her hand out before receiving two maps from the Canterlot Guards. She then stylishly spun the scrolled maps around before then revealing them to everyone. "Ta-dah! Here we have two maps for you sightseers to view. One of them should look familiar while the other is brand new."
These two maps had specific locations. The first one was easy to figure out. The layout of this map mainly possessed floating islands and an abundance of clouds. It was clear which spot this was. Pegalysium. The other one was brand new as it seemed to resemble something. Or rather, someone.
"Hey...Isn't that map..." Ash stood up, narrowing his eyes before a hodgepodge of his friends all gathered together to squint and even put on some glasses, observing the image before them. This map had a specific shape. A shape of an individual that everyone here knew about.
It was in the shape of Arceus.
"Isn't that Arceus? Is Arceus on the map?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"It does look like Arceus, doesn't it? Figure and all." Rarity nodded in agreement. Anyone could easily make it out to be Arceus. No one here could forget that shape. Although, there was one exception. Despite having Arceus' pendant, Sci-Twi had never seen the figure of Arceus before. Thus, this was her first look at what the Alpha Pokemon looked like.
"What kind of map is this? Where'd you find it, Princess Celestia? And how'd you find it so fast in the first place?" Twilight questioned.
"She gave it to me," Celestia revealed that Bertha was the one who gave her the map. The Sinnoh Elite 4 Member waved at them once she received some glares. "This right here is known as the Ransei Region. Looks a lot like Arceus and probably has something to do with him. Much like everything in this world. So, we can either head to this region or take a journey through Pegalysium. King Paramount and Queen Luminary already picked out a location for us to explore."
"If I were you, I'd recommend Pegalysium first," Bertha added. Despite how Ransei was new to most of them, she chose a familiar nation instead. "For you see...it's not that easy to get into Ransei."
"Why? What's up with that place?" Applejack asked.
"Long ago, Ransei was ruled by powerful warlords who each had 17 Kingdoms, each with their own castle." Cynthia was the one who started explaining it instead of Bertha, showing that she had knowledge of this place as well. The region of Ransei is said to have been created by Arceus himself, which the shape of the region itself resembles. Legend says that conquering all 17 kingdoms will bring forth the return of Arceus."
"Bit too late for that. We've beaten them to it." Rainbow Dash proudly said. She and her friends have seen Arceus a few times. Mainly during the earlier days of both worlds crossing over. After that, Arceus only appeared in certain instances while watching over both worlds.
"To this day, they seem to be owned by descendants of those families. So entry there is strict and harsh. The only way to enter is by going through trials. Trials that I can't be bothered to do honestly." Bertha finished Cynthia's explanation. "Even then, that would take some time."
"Hmm..." Hilbert pondered for a moment. "A whole new region that's tough to enter...or a nation in the sky. That's tough...but the skies are way cooler!"
"Pegalysium's what I'm going for." Ash chose to go to Pegalysium. "Then, I'll see what that Ransei place is all about."
"Same here." Twilight chose to go to Pegalysium as well along with many others. Celestia looked back and forth at both maps, surprised that everyone chose the first option.
"Mmm..." Celestia eyed down the map of Ransei before shrugging. "Oh well. It is what it is. A lot of you said yes. I think all of you did, actually. So...we can think about the rest later and focus on explorations. What say you, Luna?"
"I'm still wondering where my Pokemon are." Luna still missed her Pokemon. Darkrai and everyone else were still absent. "I wish I had something they used to own for Slurpuff to track down. But...there are no accessories."
"I know of a way we can call for them, sister. Pegalysium might be the place to do it. Of course, they also have to be in our world for that to work, but it's worth a shot."
"Um...I believe you may not have to do that at all, your majesty. Look." However, Mayor Mare had something else to share. Her Stoutland came over with a newspaper, passing it over as Mayor Mare opened up a page. On that page, something crucial to Luna could be seen.
It was Luna. Or rather, it was Nightmare Moon. She could be seen in the news, not necessarily being the headline despite how similar she looked to Luna but important enough to receive her own page. And on that page, Nightmare Moon was seen with Luna's Pokemon along with Team Rocket, making food for customers.
"WHAT?!" Naturally, Luna shouted at the top of her lungs from this. Her scream was so powerful, it nearly knocked everyone down while damaging Fluttershy and Audino's ears. Her eyes flared with a raging fire as she even bared fangs. "So it was her the entire time?!"
"Who's that?" Ash leaned in, noticing Nightmare Moon's appearance for the first time. "She kinda looks like that Nightmare Rarity pony."
"I should've brought this up...Thanks to a Pokemon named Mespirit, Nightmare Moon had been split from my body, becoming her own separate being." Luna sighed. "Unfortunately, it seems I missed her previous actions, probably when I was unconscious. She's now out on her own, with my Pokemon...and cooking as well?!"
"Those do look tasty. Maybe she gets it from you!" Pinkie Pie was more focused on the food that was shown in the newspaper.
"I doubt it. Nightmare Moon doesn't take after all of my new skills. I was a horrible cook in the beginning but I've grown ever since then. Seems she's getting lessons from Team Rocket who've started a cooking business. While having my Pokemon!" She growled yet again.
"At least we know they're safe." Celestia calmed her sister down. "And they're very successful too. They've been in the Kalos Region recently, selling all the food they can. Their next destination is Sinnoh for some warm pastries in such a cold region. Mmm...Pastries. I wonder if there's cake involved? There has to be."
"Sinnoh, eh?" Luna then used her magic to squish the newspaper, startling Mayor Mare. "Very well then. Sinnoh, it is. You all can head to Pegalysium. This one's mine."
"You're not going at it alone." However, Celestia would object to Luna taking it solo. "I'll come with you if you don't mind. We'll find her together and reunite you with your Pokemon. Plus, it'd be great to have another sister in the family."
"I beg your pardon?!"
"Isn't it true? She's you. But at the same time, she's not. I'd like to consider that both you and Nightmare Moon are separate entities. So...I now have two sisters. Three, since I see Philomena as a sister with the bond we share."
"Gardevoir?" Passion wanted to know if she was the fourth, slowly sliding in and nudging Celestia with an impish pose.
"You're like my own daughter, Passion. That'll have to do." But Celestia gave her a second option which was just as good as a sister. Passion had no complaints there.
"Gardevoir!"
"She's way taller than you too." Ash pointed out. "The same thing was true for Nightmare Rarity. What's up with that?"
"It's because those forms take on the appearance of what we desire," Luna explained. "And well...I assume you can guess what one of my desires is."
"Wanting to grow as big as her big sister." Celestia winked, making Luna scrunch her face in embarrassment. "Ah, don't worry, Luna. It'll happen eventually. One day."
"And I'll be honest. I do wish to be taller myself." Rarity added. "Some say that height correlates to beauty. And I can say they're right about what I've experienced over these past years. She may be evil, but she's me."
"Oh. That makes sense. Man...Equestrian magic's pretty sweet. If I could do that..." Ash started daydreaming about that possibility. He could see himself appearing taller in his human form. Though, he could always wait for Father Time to do his thing.
After they all said what they needed to say, most would head to Pegalysium while Luna and Celestia would head to Sinnoh, hoping to meet with Nightmare Moon's group soon. They bid the other group farewell but would promise that they'd meet up again. Mainly up in the skies at the nation that was united with the clouds.
Kalos.
The truth is, Nightmare Moon's group was still in Kalos, searching for Aurorus, who left their sight. They hadn't yet left for Sinnoh at all for two days now. Aurorus was the top priority. They searched high and low in the wilds of Kalos, believing that Aurorus would be there instead of populated civilizations.
"Too tired to keep searching...but I still can't sleep." Jessie said, driving her van as her bags were getting even more bags at this point. It was a miracle she could still survive at this point without receiving any sleep. "Where's that Aurorus anyway?!"
"Even she will have to tire out eventually." Nightmare Moon replied, being the only one with stable energy. "Either that, or she's already passed out somewhere. We shall find her, no doubt about it."
"Just make it quick, please." James smashed his head on the table. "I'm not sure if I can keep this up. And why can't you just put us to sleep."
"Incapable. I only have to power to keep everyone awake. Sleeping is not my style, especially with what Luna envisioned. You will never catch me yawning, stretching, tilting, stumbling or even daydreaming."
"That blows..." Meowth groaned. "Ain't there anything else you can do? Nightmare's in your name after all."
"Hmm...Anything else?" Nightmare Moon pondered, wondering what else she could theoretically do. "Well, I suppose the only way for you to be free of my effect would be to distance yourself from me. Potentially."
"Good idea!" Team Rocket were all for that idea.
"But that won't be happening at all~" The alicorn then wrapped her hooves around them each with a menacing smile. "My group shall not be separated. We're staying together."
"Ugh..." Disappointing news for them indeed. As it stands now, Team Rocket was stuck with Nightmare Moon. They certainly didn't have the energy to do anything about it.
"Besides...you should be grateful to the point where you can't leave me." Nightmare Moon flipped her mane. "For it is I who ended up popularizing your food!"
"She has a point there." James nodded in agreement. "You made our food popular so quickly. Now it's being mentioned in the news."
"It's only because she looks like Princess Luna, that's all," Jessie added, refusing to give Nightmare Moon too much credit.
"Or! It could be because I know how to interest others. My way of speaking can't be ignored, especially with the charm that it brings. That is the voice of a ruler, as you can see."
"Can't say no to that, Jess."Meowth shrugged. "We could be richer than expected."
"Mrrgh...I guess. I still want to sleep. I haven't felt the joy of dreaming for days now. And for what? Just because Luna was feeling extremely jealous that one night? That's not far..." A frustrated Jessie groaned. "At least let me take a break from all the work..." But she wouldn't receive a moment to take a break at all. From within the van, something started ringing.
A powerful ringing sound went off, shaking the van while also jump scaring Jessie. Nightmare Moon surrounded her horn in magic, staying on guard and being highly cautious.
"It's the boss!" James cried out, rushing to the origin of the sound. By moving some plates off of a table, James revealed that there was a secret device underneath the table. All it took was him removing the cloth just to activate it. And from this table that appeared to be wood, a holographic projection showed up. Alas, it was not Giovanni who was calling. It was his secretary Matori of the Matori Matrix.
"Oh, it's just you." James was let down by Matori's appearance. Jessie simply groaned at the sight of her.
"You three. For once, you're going to prove your worth." Matori spoke. "You've been ordered back to headquarters immediately by the Boss."
"We have? Really?" James and Meowth collectively said. "How so?"
"Well, for the first time, your existence is somewhat acknowledged. Mainly because of that pegasus you're living with. News about the Pokemon House isn't too small considering how it's apparently a luxurious and relaxing place for all Pokemon. Mainly Wild Pokemon."
"Ah, the Pokemon House. Well, Fluttershy does her best for everyone there. Obviously, it's as popular as it appears. I mean, I'd live there. I practically do most of the time." James chuckled.
"Under our wonderful teacher, Zecora too. She rhymes more than we do." Meowth crossed his arms, nodding in agreement with James' statement.
"Mhm. Which is exactly why you're needed back. This is a massive steal that's staring us in the face." Matori ordered. "So many Pokemon can be found there. More so than any other place we know of currently. Even that Frenzy Forest is packed with Pokemon."
"You want us to haul Pokemon from the Pokemon House and Frenzy Forest?!" James gasped.
"Not you three. Anything but. Instead, Team Rocket will come there. We'll be the ones who'll show up to Equestria for this massive haul. The Boss already saw this opportunity but needed some time to strike. You've done we'll be making friends with that pony, now leave it to the professionals. You'll be sent back while other Team Rocket Members head there. Then, you'll go back to whatever pointless cooking you were doing."
"Hmph. Why can't you do it?" Jessie questioned, noticing how Matori didn't mention herself.
"I have something more important to take care of. I've been tasked with finding a Cresselia that's been spotted recently. It's only reasonable that I get the Legendary while you get the normal ones." Matori smirked, causing Jessie to bite her lip and hiss at her. "By the way, those bags really suit you. Now hurry on back and-"
"Hold it!" Nightmare Moon suddenly interrupted Matori, stomping her hoof while standing tall. "I'm afraid they won't be heading back to headquarters at all."
"..And who are you?" Matori questioned before noticing Nightmare Moon from the newspaper. "Oh, you're that pony. Apparently, royalty."
"I am royalty. And as royalty and the headliner of this group, these three won't be coming back with you at all. In fact, that haul that you spoke of won't be happening."
"And why's that?" An unamused Matori questioned.
"All those Pokemon from the Pokemon House will soon work for me instead of being stolen by you. I plan to form a massive group and I refuse to let anyone else take that away from me. And besides, I'm now a Team Rocket Member, thanks to these three assigning me."
"You?! A Team Rocket Member?!" Matori gasped. "As if! Even if you are, you can't issue orders to me!"
"Hah! But I can!" Nightmare Moon snapped back. "I am royalty!"
"Royalty or not, that's not how it works!" Matori could be seen standing up from her table, slamming her hands on her desk in retaliation. "You're not the boss of me! I'm your senior!
"Oh, but very soon, I will be. Given that I will soon rise to the throne and oversee both worlds as the penultimate ruler. And I can guarantee that possibility, so it's best that you start seeing me as your superior. Plus, I'm also thousands of years older than you are. So I am your senior, little girl."
"Grrr...!" Matori growled as she instantly grew to dislike Nightmare Moon. Jessie was loving this. Despite their differences, she and Nightmare Moon shared some similarities.
"Uh, if it makes you feel better...she has all of Princess Luna's Pokemon!" James tried calming Matori down. "She's a powerful asset to Team Rocket, no doubt!"
"You have Princess Luna's Pokemon?!"Matori was shot back by this revelation as her anger subsided. Princess Luna and her team were very well known. Especially her Darkrai. The Team Rocket secretary pondered for a moment.
"Precisely. So if I were you, whatever your name is, I'd be quiet."
"Hang on...we could use those Pokemon. Maybe even steal them from her." Matori realized the opportunities that were staring her in the face.
"What?!" Nightmare Moon turned around.
"Must be our lucky day. Yes...Having a Darkrai on our team could even help catch that Cresselia considering the relationship between both species. Not only that, but she knows other rare Pokemon. And don't they have Legendaries and Mythicals with them? Hm...that's all so interesting."
"Unfortunately for you, that's not a possibility." Nightmare Moon shook her head. "None of those Pokemon from the Pokemon House are coming with you and none of my Pokemon are going anywhere."
"What are you saying? That you'll meet us at the Pokemon House?"
"And Frenzy Forest if it comes down to it. Because as it stands, you'll be within the lands of Equestria. So, you'll have to deal with me. And as the future ruler, I will be the one who protects my lands from swindlers such as yourself. So come here and find out what happens when you interfere. Empresses and Queens have fallen under our power if you must know." Nightmare Moon issued a challenge to her.
James and Meowth gulped in fear while Jessie rubbed her hands in excitement. Matori and Nightmare Moon gazed at each other with sharp, serious eyes before a final sentence was dropped.
"So be it. See you at the Pokemon House, princess." Matori replied before turning off the projection. Nightmare Moon had made a new enemy. Ironically, it was another Team Rocket Member.
"Change of plans, you three. We're turning back to the Pokemon House at once." Nightmare Moon ordered. "Those Pokemon aren't going anywhere."
"I can't believe you said that to her," Meowth said. "We could be in big trouble now when she gets here!"
"That was amazing!" Jessie applauded. "If I wasn't a long-lasting member, I could've never said that to her! Great going, princess!"
"A-At least we weren't the ones talking back to her." James laughed nervously. "So, we'll be spared, right? Plus...that could mean we were going against the boss. Maybe."
"Don't be so cowardly." Nightmare Moon stomped her hoof. "After all, you aren't going to let her take them, are you? I've seen it enough times when I was within Luna. You've grown a bond with those Pokemon back at the Pokemon House. It's a strong one as well."
"It is?" Team Rocket repeated.
"If you didn't, you would've taken those Pokemon a long time ago, wouldn't you? Especially during times when Fluttershy herself and even Zecora were elsewhere. No one would stop you except the Pokemon themselves if it came down to it. So...are you truly aiming to let them go?"
Team Rocket looked at each other for a moment. Nightmare Moon raised an amazing point. None of those Pokemon had been stolen during the entire time Team Rocket lived there. None of those Pokemon hated them and they all felt accepted there. Especially by Fluttershy. If all were to suddenly vanish out of thin air, they couldn't imagine Fluttershy's reaction. Either disappointment, sadness, or anger. Either one is something they wouldn't want to see.
"Well, I'm certainly not letting her get anywhere near those Pokemon," Jessie answered. "She doesn't deserve to be in such a place at all."
"Agreed!" James and Meowth agreed. This was their way of standing up for the Pokemon.
"Excellent answer." Nightmare Moon was proud of their answers. "But...we still have the issue of Aurorus to tend to. Can we get it done before we reach that house?"
"Leave that to us!" Meowth exclaimed. "We've got a way we can find that dinosaur! You said we're geniuses, so we know what we can make."
"Indeed! It might work and it'll have the size to boot." James snapped his fingers. "But, we might need you to chime in on this plan, Nightmare Moon. Uh, Princess Nightmare Moon."
"Me?" The alicorn raised an eyebrow. "Um...very well. I'm not too fond of working but I'm getting used to it recently. Say the word and I will grant your wish."
After they figure out this Aurorus problem, it was off to the Pokemon House. It was somewhat inevitable for the entirety of Team Rocket to know about this. Reuniting with Princess Luna would take more time than expected with neither side getting close. However, it all depended on how things on each side went, considering one group was already heading back to Equestria as the journey continues.
"Aurorus..." Out in Kalos, Aurorus was on her own. After separating from the group, she found herself in the best habitat for her. A snow-covered land. Anywhere else wouldn't do considering how she was feeling.
Unable to find her and even knowing it was pointless for her to try and go to space, Aurorus stopped her movements. She was too tired to go on but was still unable to sleep at all. However, Aurorus was unaware that the event in space came to a close days ago, so she just sat there, staring.
She saw a shooting star pass by in the sky, believing that to be a sign of Luna. But alas, once it got closer, it was just a Minior passing by, gutting and disappointing Aurorus. She wondered if Luna would ever return to her. Being with Nightmare Moon wasn't doing at all. The cold aura around this area was nothing compared to the unrelenting chill of space, making Aurorus fear for Luna's wellbeing.
Just then, while looking at the blue skies, a light began radiating. This light formed in the far distance of the snowy landscape before then taking shape. After it pierced the skies, a familiar shape had shown itself. The shape of an alicorn. This grabbed Aurorus' attention, causing her to stand up in a split second. The shape of the alicorn was then given colour as the mane resembled that of a familiar Princess of the Night.
"Aurorus?!" A wide smile came to her face as the visage of Princess Luna arrived in the distance, reaching a size so great that it reached the clouds. But not only that, Luna's visage then waved her hoof in the sky before then calling out Aurorus' name.
"Aurorus! Where are you?!" A booming voice came through the skies, sparking love and hope in Aurorus' heart. After hearing that, Aurorus rushed to the direction she could see the visage coming from and wherever the noise could be.
In reality, this was the cause of Team Rocket. They put their minds together as always, involving Nightmare Moon in one of their plans. They built a machine that had the appearance of a Conkeldurr. But instead of the two pillars it usually holds, this time, they were large projectors. Exceedingly large projectors. The largest to ever exist in this world.
This projection was shining on Nightmare Moon, who was currently hovering in the skies to make this work. The light from the projector eclipsed the alter-ego of Princess Luna, forming this gigantic visage that also managed to obscure the rest of her detailed body, making it so that Aurorus would never guess it was actually Nightmare Moon
"Aurorus! Come back!" And as for that booming voice, the Royal Canterlot Voice was the cause of this. With this audio, she could shout loud enough for many across different areas to hear. And it was certainly effective. But it was amplified via a speaker that was given to her by Team Rocket. Nightmare Moon held the speaker up with her magic, increasing the volume of her voice. As if it wasn't loud enough.
Cities and towns not only heard her voice but the visage of the alicorn could be seen, showing how effective it was. Team Rocket did a splendid job in making a juggernaut of a machine. All those enjoying the Pokemon Festival took the time to admire this. They even believed it was part of the festival.
Darkrai and the rest of Luna's Pokemon would watch as this plan was put into full motion. They hoped that this would do the trick. To make sure that Aurorus would come this way, Xatu, Gliscor, Frillish and all other Pokemon who could take to the skies, looked over the Conkeldurr, gazing at the horizon for any sign of Aurorus. So far, all they could see were trees and roads.
When hearing Nightmare Moon's voice, believing it to be Princess Luna, some of the younger ponies chimed in just for the fun of it, repeating her words. That added more to the booming noise in the sky. Human children would do the same as it was only natural. Very soon, Aurorus' voice was uttered by many. The more Nightmare Moon called out Aurorus, the more joined in, believing it to be a part of the Pokemon Festival and its many attractions.
And it didn't take long for Aurorus' name to be heard by the Pokemon herself. While running across the land, Aurorus heard her name coming from all directions by so many tones and pitches. But the one that stood out was Nightmare Moon's voice, which had a greater weight than all of them.
Something about this brought happiness to Aurorus. She never got this much love before. It only encouraged her to keep going. Jumping over lakes, passing by other Pokemon and getting closer to this audible shout.
And with how close she was getting, knowing which direction to head at, it didn't take long for Xatu and the others to see her. The first one to spot Aurorus was Xatu, who soon alerted his teammates. "Xatu!"
"Looks like she's here!" Meowth translated. Music to Nightmare Moon's ears for sure. This plan certainly worked as all the airborne Pokemon flew in Aurorus' direction. Darkrai flew ahead of them all with superior speed while Nightmare Moon continued her shouting, just for safe measure.
"Rorus! Aurorus!" Aurorus cried out, noticing some familiar faces. She believed that this was a sign that Luna was closer than ever and returned to her. Alas, that was not the truth.
Once Nightmare Moon noticed the familiar light blue visage of Aurorus, she ceased her shouting. The alicorn turned to face Team Rocket, nodding at the trio. That was a clear sign for them to turn off the projector. Jessie and James shut down the Conkeldurr machine and the pillars that projected Nightmare Moon.
"There you are." Darkrai descended, meeting with Aurorus. Obviously, he was happy but at the same time, a bit vexed and displeased with what Aurorus did. "What were you thinking?!"
"Auro!" Aurorus squealed, standing tall and upright in front of Darkrai after he raised his voice at her.
"We searched for you for two days! You had us truly worried there. Did you think you could go into outer space by yourself?"
"Aurorus..." The Tundra Pokemon whimpered, sitting down while flashing her pleading eyes at Darkrai, hoping that he could forgive her.
"But. It's a good thing we found you." Darkrai still showed love to her despite his initial reaction, patting the Rock-Ice-Type on the head. The rest of her teammates would rush over, reuniting with Aurorus after a two-day search.
"Frillish!" Frillish and the other Airborne Pokemon flew around Aurorus as a way to show excitement. They weren't as displeased as Darkrai was. Not at all. Darkrai was the equivalent of a strict senior. And the perfect parallel to that would be Florges, who had a more soothing reaction to Aurorus returning.
"Aurorus."
"Musha!" Musharna had her own way of reacting to this in the only way she knows how. She reacted by getting on Aurorus' head as if she was about to consume her dreams. Aurorus was glad to be back with them. She knew that leaving them wasn't the best idea she had but her emotions were too strong for her to ignore. They held too much weight considering who Aurorus thought about.
And once she reunited with everyone, there was one individual left. The individual who she thought was Princess Luna. But in reality, it was Nightmare Moon. She descended from the skies, meeting with Aurorus. Her smile soon turned into a frown after witnessing the alter-ego of Luna. It was all a lie. Luna wasn't back at all.
"Rorus..." Aurorus whimpered before slowly backing up once Luna approached. But making sure she wouldn't run off anywhere else, Darkrai and Gliscor kept her steady, wanting her to hear what Nightmare Moon had to say.
"Ice Dinosaur...sorry. Aurorus." Nightmare Moon corrected herself, calling one of Luna's Pokemon by her correct name. "I am sorry. But as it stands now, Luna is not here."
"Auro..." Those aren't the words she wanted to hear. She felt like she came here for nothing.
"However, how do you expect to find her on your own?" Nightmare Moon continued. "You let your emotions get the better of you. You're just like Luna, no doubt. You certainly take after her."
"Bit harsh for the current scenario, don't you think?" James slid in, whispering at Nightmare Moon, only to be repelled back by magical levitation. "Ok then. Go ahead."
"But, just like Luna, your friends are there to help you through your emotions. And whatever problem you should face. I should know. I've seen it all. And at times, I wish I could help." Nightmare Moon looked to the side. "The number of times I've wished to come back out and help Luna in whatever problem she faces. Her emotions are what would trigger that from me. But because of those around her that never came to pass. You understand what I mean, right?"
"Aurorus?"
"If you want to see Luna again, don't go at it alone. You're Luna's Pokemon. It's the unification between you and your teammates that help you achieve things. But I suppose the same goes for every other Pokemon in the world. So, please. Work alongside me. And together, we'll see Luna again. I can make that promise as a part of her."
"Auro...!" Aurorus' eyes widened. They began dilating before receiving sparkles. It even made her baggy eyes seem invisible with how they shined. Hearing those words from Nightmare Moon of all ponies reminded the Tundra Pokemon of Luna herself. Despite being an alter-ego and now a separate entity, parts of Luna still existed within her. "Rorus!" That's all it took for Aurorus to rush over with glee, approaching the alicorn.
"Hm? Halt! Halt at once!" Nightmare Moon screeched before being tackled by Aurorus. The 8 foot 10 and 496.0 pound Pokemon landed on her, pinning the alicorn to the ground. "Ugh...! Please get off me...you are staggeringly heavy!"
"Aurorus!" Aurorus wasn't that distant from Nightmare Moon at all. She wasn't Luna but there were reminiscent parts and even traits that she possessed.
"Well, glad that's settled." Jessie stretched her arms. "Now, we just have one more thing to do. We should beat Matori to the Pokemon House. I don't want anyone like her going near them."
"If we're going to do that, we need the energy. But we don't..." James sighed. "I doubt we can stop them with how tired we are. We even expended ourselves some more working on this machine.
"Very well." Nightmare Moon was finally free from Aurorus' grasp, standing back up. "I'm still not sure if this is a possibility but...if I were to stay distant from you all, my magical effect could wear off."
"OH! Y-You mean...!" Jessie staggered with a smile slowly forming on her face. She, James and Meowth along with all of Luna's Pokemon hoped that they could finally get some rest.
"Indeed. This could be your one chance to sleep." Nightmare Moon spread her wings out. "I refuse to let that Matori become victorious. And potentially, this could help us find Luna quicker. Go on. Sleep." Nightmare Moon would fly off, distancing herself from Team Rocket and Luna's Pokemon.
It was only a theory that was yet to be proven. It was worth a shot as they've only been like this because Nightmare Moon was so close to them, around their vicinity. Once she was gone, they had to wait and see what would happen.
"And if that doesn't work...then I will have to catch some Pokemon of my own." Just to be safe, Nightmare Moon would create a backup plan. Even with how powerful Luna's Pokemon are, each of them were tired. Thus, extra support was needed. Nightmare Moon fixated her eyes on a nearby forest, having Luna's saddlebag with extra Poke Balls to spare.
It was all a matter of if they could get to the Pokemon House before Matori. Or even get a decent amount of rest to be ready for the rest of Team Rocket's arrival.
Pegalysium.
Elsewhere, Ash and his massive group of friends had found themselves up at Pegalysium. Greeting them there was none other than King Paramount and Queen Luminary. Joining them was their son, Prince Shooting Star. After choosing the option to experience one of Pegalysium's exciting and adventurous areas, how could some of them not come?
"Great that you made it here!" Luminary greeted them. "But...where's Celestia and Luna? Didn't they come?"
"They have other things to do first before they get here," Twilight answered. "They'll make it eventually."
"Aww...anyway! Now that you're here, this is a great opportunity. We don't usually get any adventures up here until you all recently showed up for these past months. Mostly because many areas that are prime for adventure were overtaken by the Indigo Alliance. But after what you all did, some areas are free to explore without little issues. How does that sound?" Luminary questioned, waiting for their response.
"Perfect!" Ash and a few others were all for it. It's why they came here anyway.
"Great to hear! So...the place you can explore is the Ethereal Pavillion." Luminary held out a map that was made by Starmap as usual, showing this pavilion and the area around it. "It's another remnant of one of the Destiny Pegasi. Specifically, Windkiss, the first one. I'm not one for spoilers so, you can head there and discover it all on your own. But be careful. Even though it's free from the Indigo Alliance, there's always something lurking there."
"Ethereal Pavillion, huh? Sounds like a journey for sure! We just got done with space, so this is a nice follow-up. Right, Pikachu?"
"Pikachu!"
"We wouldn't send you there without a goal." Paramount added. "I mean...some of you would just explore it without wanting anything in return."
"I'd like to know what's there!" Rarity leaned in and so did a surprise guest in the form of Garnet, who spoke the same words that Rarity did. "Garnet?"
"Uh, hello. Fancy meeting you here again, Rarity." Garnet waved before facing Sweetie Belle. "And you too, Sweetie Belle." It was clear as day why Garnet was here. At least, to Rarity, Paramount and Luminary.
"Mhm." Paramount squinted his eyes "Anyway, somewhere in the Pavillion, a rare item will be waiting for you that I personally picked out. The Royal Creator's Tiara will be there for one of you to claim."
"The Royal Creator? Who's that?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Is it another ruler somewhere here?"
"Windkiss was so important that she was named the Royal Creator. She was the one who made the Clock Door and the Avus-Pegasus after all. She did come from Royalty too." Paramount explained. "Her amazing ability to create such wondrous objects is truly what gave her such a title. And that tiara of hers is another item of wonder."
"What does it do?" Roseluck questioned.
"That's for you to find out and for us to keep secret." Luminary winked. "But, when you find it, you'll be thrilled, that's for sure. So good luck!"
"Don't get lost, okay? You never know when the islands might move again." Shooting Star warned.
"Hmm...I only came up here for something else." Octavia and a few others had different ideas when coming up to Pegalysium. "You wouldn't mind if I showed off my music, would you?"
"Go on ahead. There's a large auditorium here." Luminary answered. "If you just want something leisurely, go for it. No one's stopping you."
"For those who're heading out to explore, safe travels. Including you Garnet." Paramount acknowledged Garnet, allowing her to indulge in this journey.
"Yes!" Garnet pumped her hoof before thinking to herself. "A tiara is made out of valuable material. It doesn't matter which one it is. It's expensive so that's all that matters~! I wonder what'll happen if I put it on?!"
"We should get going then." Ash was given the map. "But uh...what's a Pavilion?" Not too surprising, Ash had no concept of a pavilion or what it even looked like.
"Well, Ash." Twilight cleared her throat. " A Pavilion is a flexible architectural open space that invites anyone to come in and spend time in it. It could be temporary or permanent and might even change its form and function. And if I'm guessing right...if Windkiss was the one who made it then does that mean-"
"No spoilers! I wanna find out for myself!" Hilbert interrupted.
"You'll be fine everything you need to know in there. Get going now all of you." Paramount nudged his head, encouraging them to start their exploration.
"Sure will!" Ash went ahead first, followed by Hilbert, Hilda, Twilight, Sci-Twi, Cynthia and more. And those that wouldn't join in the adventure would focus on Pegalysium instead. This was the best time to get involved since many ponies from Equestria were finally up here.
"Wanna spy on them?" Luminary nudged her husband and son. "I mean, look at them all. Aren't they so interesting to watch? They all have something special about them. One of them is even a counterpart to another. How amazing is that?"
"Hmm...It would be interesting to see what they experience there, no doubt." Paramount nodded. "Especially since one of them is a genie. That small pink one over there."
"A genie?" Shooting Star repeated as Paramount referred to Hoopa. "Oh yeah...whatever happened to genies, dad? I heard we used to have genies in the past. What happened?"
"What happened? I'm not sure. One day, they just up and vanished. The Age of Genies is long gone. Not that it lasted that long anyway."
"That other Pokemon had a large V on its head too. Doesn't that look familiar and remind you of anyone?" Luminary pointed out Victini's appearance and the giant V on his head. "And that other small one. What's she called?"
"The one with the music on her hair? I hear you. All three of them remind us of someone in the past. Best not to think about it too much. And if you do, just chalk it down to coincidence or a funny way of history repeating itself."
"Will do, dad! Anyway, how are we gonna spy on them without being too obvious? I mean, one of them's got a Pokemon that can hear really well. And smell really well too. How do we get past that?"
"I can handle that. In fact...I have an entertaining idea." Paramount rubbed his hooves together as something interesting was already brewing in his head. His wife and son looked at each other, somewhat worried about what could possibly be coming from the king.
Either way, it would correlate with the entertainment factor that he planned for everyone who was headed to the Ethereal Pavilion. And the goal was a special tiara that had something thrilling waiting for them as the journey continues.
Pegalysium. Path to the Ethereal Pavilion. Afternoon.
The Ethereal Pavilion. Created by the first Destiny Pegasus Windkiss, this massive structure could be found at the east of Pegalysium. When travelling to the east, moving from sky island to sky island, Ash and his friends spotted it in the distance.
It had an appearance that resembled Planet Earth itself. It was even coloured blue but had minimal signs of green patterns. It wasn't even a dome-shaped structure but a full-on sphere. And right behind it, also a part of the Pavilion was a large tower that resembled the Lumiose Tower with how it was shaped. Since Windkiss was around 200 years ago, the structure looked old yet somewhat modern as well. Staying true to its name, an ethereal aura flowed from the tower while beautifully affecting the clouds, causing stardust to fall down. While it was beautiful to look at, some ponies scrunched their face, being slightly reminded of the Galaxy Tower.
Hopefully, similar events do not happen there. In Ash's hands, a map of this area was given to them, specifically catered to the layout of today's sky islands and possibly tomorrow.
"That's it right there." Twilight Sparkle spoke as the Pavilion could be seen surrounded by other structures that were smaller in scale. "Feels like a bit of deja-vu, doesn't it?"
"We'll find ourselves some sort of tiara in there that does something. What do you think it does?" Rarity asked. "For something as beautiful as a tiara, it must be stellar!"
"What do you know about this place, Garnet?" Fluttershy asked.
"Nothing. That's why I came along. If you want anyone to tell you about this place, you could ask Kaleidoscope. She runs a museum after all."
"We'll find out when we enter." Cynthia added. "I've never had the chance to explore places in the sky so this is a great chance!"
"Mhm. Let's just be careful not to fall." Bertha looked down past the clouds. "Especially when we're this high up. We were already close to the Sun back in space."
"So then, let's-" Before Ash could move ahead, his Rotomphone started ringing. When grabbing it, the one calling him was Goh, who he hadn't heard of during the past days of the Pokemon Festival. "Yeah, what's up, Goh?"
"Ash! Are you still in space?!"
"Doing fine here, Goh. That whole space thing's done with." Ash reassured him that he was safe. "Guess you heard about it."
"So did Starlight. She tried calling you the moment everyone found out you were in space." Goh continued. "But her Xtransceiver didn't work."
"It didn't work at all in space. Guess it works everywhere else except there. Or maybe that was the Rift's doing." Ash scratched his hair. "Anyway, we're fine now. We're up here at Pegalysium, ready to explore a place called the Ethereal Pavilion. What about you?"
"Starlight's helping me catch some Pokemon here. Sorry, I can't join you right now. But maybe later. If I uh...don't get lost up there."
"Gotcha. See ya soon." Ash hung up before passing the Rotomphone to Pikachu. Pikachu would slide the phone back into Ash's bag as the two of them were ready to head onwards. Pikachu would hop off Ash's shoulder, wanting to explore these new Skylands for himself.
Getting to the Ethereal Pavilion wouldn't be all that difficult. All they had to do was hop to different sky islands which were surprisingly close to each other. However, some would rather fly or have airborne Pokemon assist them for an easier time. And as to be expected, with how the Pokemon managed to end up in the skies, it was only a matter of time before they spotted some of these Strange and Mysterious Creatures lurking around here.
Of course, the ones who set up this entire activity would be there. But not out in the open. Rather, undercover while watching everyone advance to the Pavilion. That would be the Royal Family. King Paramount, Queen Luminary and Prince Shooting Star showed up, already at the Pavilion by this point. Joining them were the seven Unown that they collectively had on their side.
"We'll pose ourselves as other individuals at Pavilion," said Paramount, revealing his plan. "Windkiss' Pavilion is anything but populated by other pegasi. Only Pokemon exist there now."
"Mhm. And they're surprisingly gentle when inside it. I thought they would've torn the Pavilion to pieces honestly." Luminary replied. "So, we pretend to be from ages long past? How fun!"
"Ehh, I don't know." Shooting Star wasn't too sure about this. "What's the point of this, dad?"
"Only we know what the tiara does and it sounds too entertaining not to act as guardians to it. Especially with what questions I have in store for them. The Pavilion would have guardians that would prepare others for the tiara. If not, then the outcome would be dull. That tiara is at its best when they're questioned. If you were worried about what could go wrong as usual, have no fear."
"That's when I fear the most, dear." But Queen Luminary still had her doubts. Past experiences seem to justify those doubts as Paramount ended up bringing something up related to that. "But let's see how this goes."
"Unown. Now." Paramount ordered the Unown as they would grant him his wish. With their combined power, they used Hidden Power on all three of them. A crimson light enveloped the trio, placing them in new outfits. These outfits resembled that of the clouds with how they appeared, flowing elegantly. Their heads were hooded too for secrecy as well as their faces being protected.
In fact, their bodies were now glowing. It was as if they were bio-luminescent. This helped protect their full appearance as they resembled sunrays. Their cloud cloaks were even pierced by this light but it wasn't too blinding that no one would even dare look at it.
"Oooh!" Shooting Star checked himself out after the Unown summoned mirrors for them. "Look at how shiny we are! And these cloaks! Oh!" He then put his hoof over his mouth before realizing that he sounded slightly different. His voice had been altered to be a bit lighter while also having an echo.
"Your voice has been obscured. Courtesy of the Unown. But that echo is what was used by the ponies who used to protect this Pavilion." Paramount explained. "These Cloud Cloaks were also worn by them, courtesy of Windkiss' own craft."
"They're light and help with those who struggle to fly," Luminary added. "If you were to have flying problems, these cloaks could give you ample air time and momentum as if you were actually flying."
"So then, what's with the shine?" Shooting Star questioned, wondering if the light was the result of the Unown or something else from Windkiss."
"The ponies in that Pavilion used to glow. Some would even sparkle. Of course, that's not the case anymore once the Indigo Alliance forced them out long ago but it's still possible for whoever decides to dedicate themselves to that area." Paramount replied.
"Wow...Windkiss sure did leave a lot behind. And nopony else left this much behind either?"
"Each Destiny Pegasus left something special behind for sure. But since Windkiss was the first of them all, she left more behind than anypony else and the pegasi that came after her would take inspiration from her. The best part is why she made all of this. To make our lives better. It only makes better considering where she came from."
"Now I wanna know what her life was like back then. You can learn all about it inside that Pavilion, right?"
"That's right, son. Because not only was it meant for entertainment but it can also tell you about Windkiss' past." Luminary winked as the amazement of the Ethereal Pavilion seemed even greater than before. Aside from the tiara, what wonders were residing there?
Ethereal Pavilion.
Finally, they reached the Ethereal Pavilion. And with no interruptions at all. Once inside, Ash and his friends got to marvel at the sight before them. It was certainly bigger up close. So big that it was hard to believe none of them noticed it before, even those who have already been up at Pegalysium.
A large crop circle was the first thing that caught their attention, although, it wasn't made out of crops. The shape of it mimicked that of wings that perfectly formed a circle, possibly keeping to that Earth theme that they saw on the outside. These wings were constantly glowing different colours while also cycling with visible movement, stunning everyone's eyes.
"Check it out! That's way better!" Rainbow Dash spotted something that looked to be better than this. And when everyone looked up, it certainly did seem better. When they all focused on the vast ceiling above them, they saw what looked to be some sort of aquarium. Sky Water, the same water that could be found at the Sea Cloud, was layered by a transparent ceiling, showing the aerial liquids. And within them, sea life were also swimming about.
Fishes with wings and extra fins could be seen, revealing a new species of creatures that could only be found here at Pegalysium. They swam around the Sky Aquarium as they also came in different colours.
"It's like a Sky Aquarium!" Sweetie Belle gawked. The fishes then let out bubbles from their mouths, causing these bubbles to drop out of the Sky Aquarium. As if they were interacting with Ash's group, the bubbles dropped out of the Aquarium without even popping. They simply phased through the ceiling before then landing on Rainbow Dash's head.
Rainbow Dash looked up, soon poking the bubble with her hoof as it proved to be exceptionally bouncy. She poked it a few times but it did not pop at all. Her hoof was then absorbed into the bubble as she moved it away, soon having it in her grasp.
"They don't pop at all, do they? These must be some strong bubbles," said Derpy, who was currently inside a bubble. The bubble she was in was big enough for her to fit in. Other pegasi began fitting in the bubbles as well as they were simple to slip in and didn't seem to pop at all, even with accessories and partner Pokemon by their side.
"These bubbles feel different from what we know." Cynthia managed to grab a hold of one of them with her bare hands. And even with the grip she had on it, the bubble remained intact. "They have more durability to them, surprisingly."
"Yeah." Ash also managed to grab some of them. In his hands, he had six bubbles as they were roughly the size of Poke Balls. "Hey, check it out! Poke Ball, Go!" Ash then did his usual throwing style but this time with the bubbles while also hitting Applejack with one.
"Applejack found her nose being poked by the bubble before witnessing it fly off. She pretended to be caught by the fake Poke Ball, curling herself as if she was shrinking.
"Looks like I'm caught!" Applejack giggled.
"Here!" Ash would keep this up, throwing the remaining six at the rest of his friends.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped over one of the bubbles, causing Fluttershy to receive it instead. She pretended to fall over as if it was a lethal hit, even making a prolonged exaggerated sigh. His friends would scatter the moment Ash threw them all. But after years of catching Pokemon and throwing Poke Balls constantly, Ash's aim was immaculate, hitting ponies and Pokemon directly with these bubbles.
And to make sure he had enough, Ash would grab some more bubbles, launching them constantly. One by one, he struck out many of his friends who tried to best to escape. But so as long as those Sky Fish blew out bubbles, Ash would have endless ammo.
"Right back at you!" But very soon, Ash would be hit by two of his friends in retaliation. Two of them who were essentially the same individual. Twilight and Sci-Twi. By using magic and generally good arm strength, they struck Ash's back, grabbing his attention before laughing together.
"Okay then. Join up with me, Pikachu!" Ash encouraged Pikachu to join in as the Mouse Pokemon already grabbed some of the bubbles that passed by.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu would retaliate by using a combination of his arms and tails to throw these bubbles. Soon, it would be a frenzy of bubbles that were thrown everywhere. There was impressive velocity with them as well despite how soft and squishy they were. Very soon, others would grab some of them with either magic, their wings or hooves. Droves of these bubbles flew everywhere in all directions.
"Watch how the Number One Trainer throws! This is-" Before Hilbert could continue boasting, he was rapidly bombarded by Hilda who caught him off guard. "Gah!"
"Number one shouldn't let his guard down~" Hilda laughed before being smacked in the face by an incoming bubble. But again, it didn't hurt at all. At best, it just tickled.
Already upon entering this Pavilion, they already had a plethora of fun. Didn't matter how old each of them was. Whether they were young just like the Cutie Mark Crusaders and other foals here or even older years such as Ash, Hilbert, Twilight and more. And even though the much older figures, AKA Cynthia and Bertha weren't partaking in it, they enjoyed the sight of it to be sure.
After minutes of slogging each other with bubbles from the Sky Aquarium, they all ceased their action with some of them sitting down or laying on their backs, looking up at the Sky Aquarium and all the Sky Fish that populated it.
"That was a blast...These bubbles sure are special, aren't they?" Ash held one on his finger.
"Wish we had this back at Equestria." Pinkie Pie kicked one of them up, constantly bouncing it before seeing Mew poke his head through it. It now looked like Mew had a space helmet. That certainly would've helped many of them in space in case things would've gone horribly wrong.
"Well, we have more of this Pavilion to explore," Hilda added. "Let's see what else we can find. And of course, the Tiara which is what we came here for."
"I know what we can find! Come and look at this!" Twilight went ahead, discovering something in the next room immediately. Even if they took some time to slow down, this pavilion wouldn't let their eyes rest. This building had only three stairs for how massive it was. But one of these stairs led to something captivating.
Cynthia and Bertha had already joined Twilight in this next room, prompting Ash and a few others to come along. As for everyone else, they would take different stairs, leading to different pathways.
In this room, Twilight, Cynthia and Bertha had come across a diary that was still neat and tidy even after all these years. None of the pages looked damaged at all. In fact, this diary also had the same aura around it that was also covering the Ethereal Pavilion.
"This ethereal aura must've kept it safe all these years." Twilight deduced. "It looks brand new. Maybe this is the result of Windkiss' magic."
"And in addition to that, this must be her records," Cynthia said. "Hopefully, we aren't being rude by looking at this."
"I hope she's not watching from beyond." Twilight looked around, searching for any apparitions in the area, just in case Windkiss was potentially watching this. "I mean, diaries are extremely important. Even if the author's not around anymore."
"They are. I still have my own diary." Cynthia revealed that even to this day, she owned a diary. "Well, a new one after all. There are only so many pages it can handle about my journeys. After the Pokemon Festival is over, I'll write about all of this."
"Well? Open it." Rainbow Dash cared not for the privacy of the diary. "I gotta know what's in there about Windkiss. It might give us a hint about that tiara too."
"Alright, alright. Just a small read won't hurt." Opening with caution, Twilight unveiled Windkiss' diary as an azure light flashed from it. And immediately, they were given a new sight. The light from the book acted as a way to reveal hidden objects.
The azure light flashed across the room, revealing objects that no one else could see at all prior to Twilight opening the diary. They were amazed by what the diary had done, showing them four touchstones. One on the walls, one on the floor, one on the ceiling and one on the table in front of them where the diary previously was.
"Amazing! It's like a UV light with how it revealed this!" Sci-Twi exclaimed with amazement.
"Seriously?!" Twilight then looked at the book, wondering if it mentioned anything about this light. Indeed it did. Windkiss wrote about the light from her diary just for this very scenario. However, instead of Twilight reading it out, the second she opened her mouth, the book read it for her.
More specifically, Windkiss' own voice read out the words from the book, reacting to Twilight's breath alone. Yet another brilliant phenomenon left behind by the First Pegasus of Destiny.
"Hello! If you're reading this, you've probably found my Ehereal Pavilion and my diary. I mean, you're holding it right now. You've probably seen the Sky Aquarium too. That was something I had built at the Pavilion when I first made it. It's for my aquatic friends who couldn't live in the Sea Cloud anymore, so I made it for them. Pretty neat, right? The bubbles were fun to play around with too, weren't they? They're pockets of sprites, mojo, animus and water that are filled with air."
"Is that what that was? Wish I knew what the first three were." Twilight chuckled before receiving information about what those special bubbles were. The three elements that were named were unknown to her but she could only assume that they were responsible for making the bubbles so durable.
"Ah! You're supposed to start these with Dear Diary, right? That's how it works, right? Whoops. But it's fine now. Hopefully, I have your attention after what I shared. You see, this diary is meant to show touchstones that are hidden everywhere. Each touchstone can help you see into the past. You'll get to know what happened here and what I did. You won't be disappointed at all. Trust me!"
"In the past, eh?" Cynthia would be the first to test this theory out. She pressed her hand on the closest touchstone which was on the table. Right on time, Windkiss would even mention the table.
"I left a nearby one on the table. But if you were away from the table and near the wall then that one is the closest. But I'd go for the one at the table first. It tells about my first few days at the Ethereal Pavilion after it was built. Chronological order is the best kind of order! You'll probably want to see what the touchstone shows you before reading the next page. Trust me, it'll feel authentic. See you on the next page!"
"Well. Isn't she sweet?" Bertha said before having her eyes widen. The touchstone unleashed that same light from before, eclipsing everyone here. Instantly, this light already caught their attention without being blinding to look at. It even had a warm aura to it. And aura that soothed them once they stood before it all.
And right after the light was around them, they were shown a projection of the past. The light from the touchstone acted in the same way as the diary but instead of showing something hidden, it showed magical projections that dated back 210 years.
They watched as Windkiss' body was being materialized by this magical force. The room itself was even being materialized with other objects that weren't here before but were certainly there during the past.
"What's going on?!" Sci-Twi gasped, watching how various things started materializing in front of her.
"It's just like the Time Flower that reacts to Aura!" Twilight replied. "But this all makes sense. Windkiss was the one who created the Avus-Pegasus and the Clock Door. She would know something about time."
"Then all of this is her showing us the past?" Ash gawked as his eyes lit up with whimsy and wonder. Right now, before everyone's eyes, they would get a look into the past. For the first touchstone, they would know what Windkiss' first day at the pavilion was like and what exactly happened that led to today.
After all, Cynthia and Bertha were the ones who spoke about history itself. Somehow, someway, history will be uncovered. It was all a matter of time as the journey continues.
Pegalysium. Ethereal Pavilion. A View of 210 years ago. Day.
Over at the Ethereal Pavilion, a Time Projection of the past was being shown to Ash and his friends. Currently, they were met with a 210-year past experience that involved the creator of the Ethereal Pavilion and the one pony who was correlated with time, Windkiss.
"Wow! Did we go back in time?!" Pinkie Pie gasped. Judging by how they were seeing Windkiss, who existed 210 years ago, she believed they travelled back. After all, Windkiss did invent the Clock Door and create the Avus-Pegasus.
"I don't think so." Cynthia shook her head, quickly disproving it. The second she went to touch the walls, her hand phased through them. "We're only receiving a view of the past instead of physically being there. This whole thing is a projection. Just like how the Time Flower works."
"Oh. That reminds me of a book I read when I was younger during Christmas." Bertha said. "Except it was the other way around. Well, while we're here, one of us should take notes on what we're about to see here."
"Already on it!" Twilight already had a notebook and a pen in her possession the moment Bertha brought it up. Their conversation would soon end once they saw movement from Windkiss. And the first moment was her making the diary for the first time.
The diary was already made with the first few words being written down. Afterwards, she used her own magic to coat the diary in that ethereal aura, shielding it from any future harm.
"There. With this Ethereal Time Veil, it won't age at all. It'll be constantly in this state." Windkiss caressed the book before then carrying it over her head via levitation. Watching this, Ash and the others now had the information of how this book stayed so clean.
Windkiss might as well be Dialga's counterpart in this world. Now they were wondering if Palkia had a counterpart somewhere in this world. Entering the room were a few ponies wearing cloud-like cloaks while also having bodies that glowed constantly, resembling the same getup that King Paramount and his family aimed to disguise themselves in.
"Lady Windkiss." They spoke with an echo in their voice which reverberated across this room. "Congratulations on this Pavilion's creation and official opening."
"Thank you. And I just got done making this Temporal Diary." She held the diary out to these glowing ponies. "My very first one! I'm saving this as a time capsule for anyone to view!"
"Lady Windkiss. You can't just keep using your magic for such small things." Another glowing pony said to her with a fussy tone and posture. It's better spent for bigger things that truly matter."
"She's right. Your magic is one of a kind. Being able to interact with time is an astonishing magic, Lady Windkiss. Nopony in your family line has ever achieved something like this, so be careful."
"Besides...if it's something small, I could do with a younger face." One of them wished to have a younger complexion, requesting Windkiss' power.
"But this does matter to me." She looked down at the diary. "I, funnily enough, don't have enough time to do the little things that entertain me that much. That's why I made the Ethereal Pavilion. It'll be the definition of fun for certain. Oh and uh, here you go." Granting this pony her wish, she flapped her wings, using her innate magic.
The concept of time was hers to control. This kind of magic could only be considered a spell to many and even a power that a powerful Pokemon, such as Dialga, would possess. But Windkiss was that exception even though she did have that status and title as the First Pegasus of Destiny.
"She can just do that?" Ash got in close to this magical memory, kneeling to face the glowing pony after he witnessed Windkiss' stellar power in action. "Awesome!"
"Pikachu!"
"That's probably how she made the Clock Door and Avus-Pegasus then. It was probably a huge flow of her Time Magic that made it. Or something else." Twilight theorized as they all continued watching the events unfold.
"The Royal Family will love it. Anypony will, honestly. But I'm not done yet. It's only the first day after all. There's more that I want to add very soon."
"Then, what is your next command, Lady Windkiss? As your Royal Sages, we can guarantee that it will come to fruition. Hopefully, it doesn't take too long, just like with this pavilion."
"Well, it's also about the Ethereal Pavilion. And the way it appears." She placed her hoof on the walls. "I think you already know what I want to do in the future. But, I have something greater in mind."
"The pavilion? Oh, the fact that it looks like the Planet we live in?" One of the sages answered, causing Windkiss to nod in confirmation. "What about it?"
"Well, I got this map from those great cartographers. They already made a map of the world and how it currently looks." With a flap of her wing, she summoned a map that was made by Starmap's family. Of course, way before Starmap was even born. Ash and his friends already knew this after what Princess Celestia showed them. "You see, we're up here, at the very top of the planet. It's where the clouds mostly gather and where the Sun shines the most."
"Mhm. It's beautiful isn't it?" The sages spoke amongst themselves, admiring how high up they were. Prior to Pinnaculum Pegalysium's existence, the original Pegalysium was the highest location in the world."
"Right, right. But what about everything else? The more I look at this map, the more I start to wonder. This is the only way we can see the rest of the world and as it stands...we've only seen so little of it. There's so much more all over here." She moved her hoof across the map, referring to every other land that was much lower than Pegalysium.
"The Lower Lands?" The sages then looked at each other before bringing up the existence of those areas. "I thought her parents did their best to keep that place a secret?"
"The Mapmakers are too good. Despite never being to the lower lands, they know exactly how the planet is shaped. Their magic is just as impressive as Lady Windkiss."
"Are we sure it's magic? I hear it's just a bloodline skill."
"There's more down below that we haven't seen. Plus, you don't have to keep it a secret from me. I know all about the three pony tribes after all." Windkiss grinned as this knowledge wasn't a mystery to her at all. "And out of those tribes, not every pegasus stayed in the skies and decided to go even further up, right? That's how Peaglysium was born from something so small. But I'm wondering about the other tribes and what they're doing now."
"It's best not to know." A sage shook her head, rejecting Windkiss' words. "Just a word of mouth, but I hear unicorns will zap you out of the sky with their magic and begin to consume you."
"I hear the earth ponies are brutes. The physical strength they have is something else. I'd rather not be pinned down by one at all." The sages began speaking amongst each other.
"Ah, you all are just talking nonsense. Word of mouth doesn't hold too much weight if no one can prove it." She wrapped her hooves around the sages. "Point is, I want to see more. Or rather, I want everypony to see more. If we can see what's below us and who can speak to, it'll be too amazing not to love. Of course...that comes with a few problems."
"You mean the Indigo Alliance? Bah, why should you fear them, Lady Windkiss? You're too great for them to pose a threat."
"That may be true. But it bothers me that we still don't know where they are. What's worse is that they're after what I made. Making this Ethereal Pavilion is a way to get away from all that, but it'll still be difficult since they're lurking around somewhere. I left the Clock Door in the care of the Royal Family but..."
"Ah! Your mother warned you not to worry about them, Lady Windkiss." A sage quickly slid over, stopping Windkiss from continuing any further. "The Indigo Alliance, as she puts it, are more of a nuisance than a threat to you. Your existence as a Magical Prodigy is proof of that."
"Who cares about prodigies?" She pouted. "What's the point if that one group is so shifty and sneaky? Might as well just be going about with my day, not paying them any attention. But if I don't, then they'll definitely take advantage of all of Pegalysium. And worse, I think even the entire world." She held up the map. "What if they know about the wider world and what's down there? What's stopping them from going after it?"
"Well..." The sages weren't sure how to respond to that.
"Aaahh...I'm already worrying inside a place full of enjoyment." She put her hooves on her head, groaning. "What to do..."
"Um...Well, that's why we're also here. Your mother warned us about this." Another sage stepped up, placing his hoof on Windkiss' head. "In her words, again, you're still somewhat young to get this all out of your head."
"It's the other way around." Windkiss sighed "When I was young, I didn't think too hard about it. But now that I'm older, it's easier to see it all."
"If it will make you feel any better, the pavilion's first form of entertainment might work." A sage suggested. "After that, we would still need to add some more. Might take some time but..."
"I already saw the Sky Fish show though." She turned around, facing away from her helpers. "And I've even downed myself by even thinking of the Indigo Alliance. Wish I didn't...but when else are they going to strike? They already made their move 2 weeks ago?"
"Well, to cheer you up, you can finish everything else you've been working on! How about that Instant Drink of Thought Spans!"
"They might know everything by reading everyone's minds with that drink. It's best not to make it at all. I'm the only one who knows the recipe after all."
"Speed-Reading Glasses! Nothing wrong can happen with those little things!"
"What if they read through all the secrets?!" Once again, Windkiss had something to worry about. She took whatever her sages recommended and brought a negative spin to it. "They can learn so much in seconds without even needing to take their time!"
"The Wonderful Pot of Affluence!"
"What does it do again? I stopped working on it months ago to care that much. Plus, it could be used for greed?"
"What about the Mystic Harp? Or even the Heartsworn Cube. Or the-"
"It's not good! Everything can be used by them." Windkiss exclaimed. "They already took my Time Ruby among many other things. If I keep making more objects, they'll keep pursuing them. And no matter how secretive I make them, somehow, they find a way to discover them. The Ethereal Pavilion is the one exception to this since it's only about entertainment and nothing else. Everything else..."
"Alright then. We'll leave you to it, Lady Windkiss. You clearly need some time to yourself." The sages would soon leave the room, letting Windkiss have a moment of peace. That bright smile faded away the second she brought up the Indigo Alliance and the fears that came with it.
Upon leaving the room, the sages began talking amongst each other, hoping that Windkiss wasn't hearing them. They spoke in secrecy, referring to the Pegasus of Destiny.
"She's wonderful but her main weakness is how much she worries...Do you think she takes after her father?"
"More like her uncle. Either way, I'm not sure this pavilion will suffice as a way to stave all of that away. At least, with how it's going."
"What should we do? We can't just make the Indigo Alliance go away, let alone find them. Perhaps we should relay this to her parents." But alas, despite their words, Windkiss heard it all. She had an exceptional hearing but nothing too crazy that would match that of Audino's or even Fluttershy's. After hearing the sages chat with each other, the Destiny Pegasus opened her diary, reaching a new page.
In that page, she would soon write new words, updating herself without even waiting until tomorrow. This was an instance that she wanted to jot down. And right then and there, the diary that Twilight currently had started flashing yet again.
"Huh?" Twilight looked over at the diary, seeing the constant flashing from it. Right afterwards, the magical flashback on this scenario ended as the diary turned to the next page by itself. Ash and everyone saw how the flashback materialized out of thin air, becoming beautiful wind particles in the process.
"That's it? What a bummer to end on." Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"Seems the Indigo Alliance were still as troublesome as they ever were 210 years ago." Rarity said. "And she looked so happy in the beginning. She was even already aware of Equestria's potential existence down there."
"It makes sense why the pavilion looks like this as well," Cynthia added. "Even with where she was, that map helped her see the planet and even everything she couldn't reach. What does the next page say, Twilight?"
"It says..." The second Twilight spoke, the diary would once again speak for her, exuding Windkiss' own voice.
"Dear Diary. This time, I managed to open up with the right saying. So that's a plus. But, today wasn't the best day. The Ethereal Pavilion's finally here and all. But it happened again. My fear of the Indigo Alliance. I can't stop thinking about them after what they've done. I can still remember when I was little. I was born with this amazing magic and one of my parent's servants worked for the Indigo Alliance. Since then, my fear of them only started building up, especially when I got older. I have a lot of items that I want to finish, but I'm too scared to, especially with the Indigo Alliance being around."
"Is this one of them?" Fluttershy asked, wondering if the diary was another special item that the Indigo Alliance would want. However, considering that it was still here after all these years along with the Pavilion being rid of the Indigo Alliance, it was safe to say that it was just a standard diary with magical properties.
"I've already scrapped some ideas. Thankfully, only I know how to make them. No one in the Indigo Alliance will ever know how and that's for the better. But, I started this pavilion to ease not just my mind but everyone's mind of them. What good is that if I'm already thinking about them in the Ethereal Pavilion? My sages don't sound like they have all that much faith in me. And they're probably right. If this keeps up, then this will all be for nothing. Whoever's reading this, hopefully, you understand what I mean. Please turn to the next page and the next touchstone on the wall."
"Well, do any of you?" Applejack questioned. "Cause I sure do."
"It's a shame it took so long for the Indigo Alliance to be found out. And even then, when we stopped them for the very first time, Second Wind only made a stronger one. The Indigo Union, right?" said Rarity.
"But it's fine now. Thanks to what Shooting Star told us, Windkiss managed to see a major defeat thrown at the Indigo Alliance after she helped free him from their control." Ash brought the positive side to it. "That's still a problem though."
"What actually happened with that? I'd like to know." Cynthia requested, having no idea what kind of mess the interactions with the Indigo Alliance, now known as the Indigo Union entailed.
Meanwhile, Twilight would fly over to the wall, focusing on the next touchstone to see what memory would come from that. She was hoping for something more positive. That was a possibility considering what Windkiss became at the very end. With another touch of this touchstone, the light would materialize things yet again. However, this time, it showed an arrow instead of Windkiss.
This arrow pointed towards the nearby door, essentially telling Twilight and her friends to continue on their way. Nothing else was here to see in this room. There was more waiting for them in this Earth-shaped building and potentially, more wonderful sights in store as they followed that glowing arrow, given to them by Windkiss herself.
Kalos. Out in a forest. Afternoon.
Elsewhere, Nightmare Moon was on her own, out in a forest in the Kalos Region. She was here for two reasons. To give Team Rocket and Luna's Pokemon a chance to sleep, if her magic truly did work that away and to catch a Pokemon of her own. Mainly because Mator and her team, the Matori Matrix might prove to be troublesome if Luna's Pokemon, Jessie, James and Meowth couldn't get any rest at all.
"You there!" Nightmare Moon spotted a Pokemon that interested her. In this case, it was a Scrafty.
"Scrafty?" Scrafty turned to face Nightmare Moon once she descended. Her pitch-black wings of the night spread out viciously before closing. She stood upright, wanting to show a sense of superiority against anyone in front of her.
"You look rather strong. That posture of yours is proof of that!"
"Scra?" Scrafty looked at its own posture. In reality, Scrafty's posture wasn't as mighty as Nightmare Moon described it to be. Far from it. But, Scrafty took some pride in that, putting on a proud face.
"Yes, yes. Which is why you are the perfect Pokemon to join me. You shall be my newest ally."
"Scrafty?"
"I hereby declare you as the newest Pokemon of Nightmare Moon! Soon to be the Lunar Empire by the way, if you must know." She flaunted her mane. "I promise you, the pinnacle of power is waiting for you when you join my side. Especially with what we shall face off against. But after you join my team, we shall increase our numbers! If we have enough time, that is. What say you?"
"Scrafty." Scrafty shook its head, denying Nightmare Moon's offer.
"Denial?!" Nightmare Moon pulled back before clearing her throat. "Ah. Of course. It's all a matter of testing them. Catching you means engaging in a battle with you, correct? Why did I suddenly forget that? Very well. I will ace your test with flying colours, Pokemon!"
"Scrafty." Scrafty merely facepalmed before going along with it. To indulge in Nightmare Moon's bombastic words and declarations, Scrafty would make the first move, going for Stone Edge. By stomping on the ground, Scrafty summoned large blue crystals that tore through apart, slicing apart any grass that stood in its way.
"Hmph! I shall send-" But in that instance, Nightmare Moon realized something. She had left all of Luna's Pokemon to rest. That meant all of them. None of Luna's Pokemon were by her side at all, making her a solo act now. And when looking into Luna's saddlebag, it only involved empty Poke Balls. "Ah. I may have forgotten the essential part of a Pokemon Battle."
Just now realizing that she was on her own, this allowed the crystals to hit her. Nightmare Moon was met with a strong hit to the chin by the first crystal before receiving a barrage of them via the remaining ones. She grunted before being sent flying into the air. She moved like a ragdoll, crashing into the ground right afterwards.
"Scrafty! Scra-Scra!" Scrafty chuckled at her, laughing at Nightmare Moon's misstep. And even Nightmare Moon was embarrassed by this. Removing her face from the ground, she blushed a bit, forgetting the most vital part of a Pokemon battle. The Pokemon themselves.
"Grr! Silence! It was a misstep! Cease your laughter at once!" She roared at Scrafty. But Scrafty, being the hoodlum that it was, would continue laughing, ignoring Nightmare Moon's order. "Very well then...who said I have to use a Pokemon to engage in battle?"
"Scra?" After hearing that, Scrafty's eyes opened with its laughter abruptly stopping. Those words meant only one thing. Scrafty hoped it heard that right. Judging by what Nightmare Moon said, she wasn't going to use a Pokemon at all. Instead, it would be something far more primary.
Herself.
"I shall battle you with my own abilities!" Nightmare Mare moon declared, putting on a menacing smirk. "Intimidated now, are you? Never expected to battle the trainer themselves, hm? Well, prepare yourself! I will be far more terrifying that any Pokemon you've met!"
Nightmare Moon would retaliate immediately via a blast of magic, using the most common form of magical attacks. But as an alicorn, this common attack was extremely powerful to the point where no one should underestimate it.
"Scrafty!" Scrafty certainly knew this as it cartwheeled out of the way, narrowly evading Nightmare Moon's attack as the nearby trees were blasted through. Afterwards, Nightmare Moon unleashed repeated magical bolts from her horn, shooting in droves. "Scra!" This forced Scrafty to evade them repeatedly.
With impressive evasion and agility, the Dark-FIghting-Type jumped over, slid past and flipped over many of the bolts while approaching Nightmare Moon. The alter-ego of Luna was struggling to land a clean hit as Scrafty's movements were immaculate.
"All the more reason I must catch you!" But that only motivated Nightmare Moon some more. Something this fast had to go on her new team. With bigger motivation, she then transformed her magical attack into an expanding dome of magic to try and catch Scrafty.
"Scrafty!" Scrafty was caught by surprise by this expansive dome once it got close enough. The dome would blow it away, pushing Scrafty back while landing some hefty damage. "S-Scra!" But Scrafty wouldn't let her get a free hit in without any consequences.
After being pushed back, Scrafty used Payback, shooting out black tendrils from its body which would fly back to Nightmare Moon. A quick barrier was formed by the alter-ego, shielding herself from the tendrils. Fixated on getting close, Scrafty would approach with Drain Punch, covering its hands in pulsating orange energy before then suddenly taking off with an afterimage being left behind.
"Ty!" Scrafty managed to close the gap at last, lunging through the air. Nightmare Moon would meet Scrafty head-on with her own physical attack. That would be horn, covered in magic, of course. Drain Punch and Nightmare Moon's horn clashed directly, sending out orange and blue sparks while forming a mild shockwave. The two of them stayed in one position with either side trying to push through with brute force.
"Truly impressive! You'll do perfectly against that Matori when she shows up! And whoever you partner with, shall learn from your example. Then, we shall become unstoppable the more we grow! Why doesn't that seem like a fair deal?"
"Scrafty!"
"I have no idea what you are saying. Scrafty, is it? I swear to defeat you and catch you, making you my first partner!"
"Sorry. That won't be happening." A voice replied to her, grabbing Nightmare Moon's attention. Right then and there, the moment she fixated on something else, Scrafty gained the upper hand, overpowering her horn before slugging Nightmare Moon in the face with Drain Punch.
"Scraf!"
"Gouh!" Feeling that Drain Punch, Nightmare Moon once again became like a ragdoll, this time, tumbling on the ground before then crashing into a tree, almost knocking it over. Scrafty's fist even ended up smoking from the impact that came from the initial hit. "Ugh...W-Who dares...throw me off guard?!"
"That would be me. Scrafty's Trainer." The trainer of Scrafty was responsible for this. But it was a familiar face. A face that Nightmare Moon could recognize, but only thanks to Luna's experience.
It was Hollow. He showed up, standing next to his Scrafty. Nightmare Moon wouldn't need to ask questions about who this was. She already knew clear as day.
"It's you!" She pointed out, raising her hoof vigorously.
"Now, uh...Why are you trying to catch my Scrafty? I mean, you sounded very epic with those words, I'll be honest. But this is my Pokemon."
"I uh...W-Wasn't aware." The alicorn stammered, scratching her mane. "I assumed it was a Wild Pokemon because it was so out in the open."
"Ah, that makes sense. Well, can't blame you too much for that. Uh, Princess Luna?" Hollow even noticed parts of Luna in Nightmare Moon immediately.
"Not Luna! But Nightmare Moon!" She stood back up in an instant once Luna's name came up. "Refer to me as the correct variant, please."
"Sure..." Hollow shrugged, looking at Scrafty, who would do the same. Hollow had no idea who Nightmare Moon was with no collection of her anywhere apart from the mention of Nightmare Night in Equestria. "Wait, are you a princess?!"
"Yes. Soon to be Queen, might I add." She waved her mane elegantly. "And with an empire holding the largest group anyone will ever see! Of course...that involves me having a Pokemon on my side. My own Pokemon that is. Which I do not have, unfortunately." She grizzled her teeth. "Restrictions galore are my greatest bane at the moment."
"Well, at least you tried catching one. Albeit in a physical way. You don't have any Poke Balls on you?"
"I do. But not a single starter Pokemon to assist me. And what's worse, I don't have enough time to do this. Not when I need to be back at the Pokemon House. I should have probably gone there first now that I think about it. Then, Matori would never get there before me."
"Ah, that's all? No problem. You're in luck right about now! If you didn't know, I'm a teacher who lets others new to Pokemon know all about Pokemon. Well, the essentials anyway. Right over at the Pokemon School."
"Oh, I already know who you are, Hollow." Nightmare Moon casually said his name, startling Hollow. "I need no information or lessons about Pokemon. I know enough. More than you think."
"Oh. Okay then. What about this Matori character then?"
"Someone I need to embarrass." She rubbed her hooves together. "A Team Rocket member who aims to beat me to the Pokemon House. Obviously, that's not going to happen! But it could if my own team can rest up with enough energy to spare. Catching a Pokemon is only a backup plan in case they don't rest at all."
"Team Rocket?!" Hollow was alerted by this, rushing over to Nightmare Moon. So did Scrafty as they both got up in her face. "You said they're heading to the Pokemon House?! It's not the ones who help Fluttershy, right?!"
"N-Not at all. They're with me." Nightmare Moon stammered once Hollow got close. "And you are intimidatingly tall, actually."
"Scrap all that Pokemon-catching business. I need to get to the Pokemon House." Unsurprisingly, Hollow found this to be exceedingly serious. After all, he's had some experience at the Pokemon House as well, becoming familiar there. He would not hesitate to help protect it at all. Especially if it came from the worst kind of Team Rocket Members.
"Glad to hear that." Nightmare Moon grinned as she unexpectedly found herself a new ally. She was expecting to catch a Pokemon, but arguably, she got someone better than that. Someone who was good friends with Fluttershy and the Pokemon at the Pokemon House as well as being an ally to Equestria.
Either one works, so as long as Nightmare Moon could overcome Matori. All that smack-talking needed to be backed up, after all, otherwise, Matori would be successful. Time was of the essence for her as the journey continues.
Kalos. Out on the road. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Team Rocket's van was completely stationary. Not because Team Rocket and Luna's Pokemon were waiting for Nightmare Moon, but because Nightmare Moon's theory had come true.
Without her presence nearby, they could finally rest. Jessie was seen sleeping by laying her head on the van, snoring while Musharna began feasting on her head for dreams. Musharna could surprisingly multitask by eating Jessie's dreams while also sleeping, which can be rare for this species.
Even Darkrai slept. And even when sleeping, Darkrai kept his arms crossed while levitating at the same time. Nightmare Moon returned to see them all asleep. But she didn't show up alone. Hollow and his Scrafty had arrived alongside her.
"Ah. My theory was right." Nightmare Moon said. "Without my presence, they were able to rest. But now that I've returned..."
"Gaaaaah!" Jessie screeched, waking up with her arms flailing around. Everyone else woke up as if they had been startled by something. This all happened the second Nightmare Moon arrived. One by one, they each started waking up, making their own unique screams in the process.
"They will wake up once more." Nightmare Moon finished her sentence. "Well, that clears up that theory and any assumptions of it."
"W-What happened...? I was having such a nice sleep." James groaned.
"Same here..." Meowth rolled on the ground. "That only lasted a few minutes."
"Ah, that would be because of me." Nightmare Moon said as all the attention came to her. "Isn't it obvious? My existence permeates nightmares. Luna once wished to have everypony frolic in the night instead of the day, so this power became exclusively my own. The moment I left, you were free from it and the moment I returned, you received a nightmare. Makes sense?"
"Yeah. And I hate it." Jessie banged her fist on the van. "Well...at least we got some rest."
"Over 12 minutes to be exact. But now that you've all rested up, you shall get ready and head to the Pokemon House at once before Matori does. Chop-chop, we can't be wasting time."
"12 minutes is good enough for me. Surprisingly, Darkrai felt refreshed. The same went for Frillish, Xatu and even Musharna. Those were the Pokemon who had tons of energy. "But I don't think they can drive there in time with their energy. How long would it even take for that Matori character to reach Equestria?"
"Well, the quickest way there is over at the Kanto Region. Team Rocket's base is pretty far away but with transportation that won't be an issue." Jessie groaned. "We might not make it in time..."
"I'll drive us then," Hollow suggested. "I don't drive much but I can. Even if we're at Kalos, we can still find a gateway that'll lead us straight to Equestria. At least, around Ponyville."
"You're not just going to come over here and take our van." Jessie wagged her finger. "Not when I-"
"That'll do." Nightmare Moon entered the van, allowing Hollow to take control and shutting Jessie down. "Return, all of you." To lighten the load, Nightmare Moon would finally return Luna's Pokemon to their Poke Balls. At least, the ones who had enough energy to go on. "Hurry up. Find the nearest gateway. At least one that you're aware of."
"Let us rest in the back at least. Just a few more minutes..." James pleaded before being pulled in via telekinesis. The same went for Jessie and Meowth who were too tired to move. They truly needed extra time, far more extra time to rest after the days they've stayed awake.
Taking control of Team Rocket's van would be Hollow as his Scrafty would sit in the back, already making himself feel comfortable. Team Rocket were slumped on the seats by Nightmare Moon's control, finding themselves in somewhat comfortable positions. The alicorn would then nod at Hollow, waiting for him to begin.
The van revved up as it was off to the Pokemon House. All it would take was the nearest gateway and compared to Nightmare Moon, Hollow knew his way around certain places for sure.
Pegalysium. Ethereal Pavilion. Afternoon.
Over at the Ethereal Pavilion, the wonder was just beginning. From the Sky Aquarium to the Touchstones that told the past. And this was only a small part of the Earth-shaped building. There was also the tower that was behind it.
"Ooh, what's this?" In her hooves, Cloudchaser found an object of interest. A shell. One of the common communication items in Pegalysium and the only one that acts just like a phone. However, this one had a crystal-like appearance compared to the others. By raising it up, Cloudchaser immediately triggered something. In this room, sudden movement with this object revealed a new sight for her and the other ponies to witness.
The walls were opening up before them. Leaves started sprouting from these walls as if they were waiting for this moment. These leaves caught everyone's attention as they started singing. This was identical to the flowers that sang melodies out depending on the scenario and in this case, these melodies were all uplifting and upbeat.
Cloudchaser, Flitter and other ponies marvelled at this, but there was more to come. The abundance of leaves then parted ways, showing something else that it ended up hiding from them until now. Out of these open walls, notes started flying out in the shape of birds. In fact, they even chirped and tweeted just like actual birds.
They had visible eyes that matched that of ink blots before then soaring around the room, flying to different ponies before then slowing down. Cloudchaser held her hooves out as one of the birds flew into her hooves. The bird then opened the rest of its body up revealing the words within.
"A Note Bird?" Cloudchaser immediately read the first words that caught her attention. These were named Note Birds, fittingly. Made out of paper and even came with notes themselves. In this case, Cloudchaser read these words that were directed towards her. "Read out a prophecy. The day the moon turns bright, a secret mare shall bring the rise of grandeur and the clash of titans.
"What does that mean?" Flitter asked.
"I don't know They're prophecies. I wasn't too big on them. What does yours read?"
"Mine says...There comes a day when the world becomes shrouded in shadows, the true leader shall bring technological advancement. Creepy. Do you think all of this happened one time?"
They would receive that answer sooner than expected. The moment everyone received a Note Bird, the leaves on the wall gathered up together before then taking on different shapes. With their eyes back on that wall, the leaves ended up forming the shapes of the ponies in front of them.
Cloudchaser saw herself appear along with Flitter and everypony else. The leaves perfectly got their appearances down. Not only that, but everything the Note Birds shared came to fruition. Clouchaser's leaf figure could be seen behind a leaf construct of the Moon while two giants were next to her as if they were bodyguards.
"Oh. Oh!" It took her two seconds to realize how accurately it matched the prophecy. These notes meant something rather than just cryptic words. Everypony saw themselves in these unique scenarios that were specifically tailored to them.
A majority of them appeared as larger-than-life figures, performing important things such as sending water to the sky, turning the air from white to purple, freezing the world with absolute winter, ushering forth the rise of an era of love and so forth. They even interacted with each other. Cloudchaser and Flitter's leaf constructs ended up attacking each other.
"Uh...What does that mean?" Flitter narrowed her eyes. "And why am I the one with shadows?"
"Uh, it's probably not that serious." Cloudchaser chuckled. "After all, it says here that these Prophecies pick out random scenarios. It's a lot like a prompt. You know...like Drama Class."
"Ah, I remember Drama Class." Flitter sighed with a wide smile on her face. "I could've gone pro if it wasn't my voice change at the worst time. And of all the times it decides to go back to normal..."
"Let me have a shot at it!" Appearing unexpectedly was Hilbert. He jump-scared them both, sliding in with speed after seeing what these leaves had done.
"When did you get here?!" Cloudchaser gasped, almost falling over.
"Prophecy, huh? Well, lay it on me then! I know what I'm getting!" Hilbert held his hand out as a new Note Bird came flying out, reacting to his presence. "Since I'm Number One, mine's gonna be fit for that role, no doubt!"
"How sure are you about that?" Flitter questioned. "Cause mine doesn't add up to who I am. Just saying.
"Totally. It's destiny!" He then received a Note Bird, immediately gazing his eyes on the note. "Because my prophecy says...When the day comes that the land flows like water, a young man shall mark the dawn of pastry and an age of sportsmanship. Huh?!"
"Pfft!" Cloudchaser and Flitter tried holding their laughter in, only to fail in doing so. Hilbert was completely stunned by this note as it was not what he was expecting. By far, the more underwhelming one here. "Nothing wrong about making the world a tastier place for everyone, huh?"
"Yeah. I'd love to see that Prophecy come to life!" Flitter laughed out loud as she nudged Cloudchaser.
"Come on! Can I get a retry?" Hilbert asked the Note Bird. Surprisingly, the Note Bird replied, using magic to change up its words. Hilbert's frown transformed into a smile, hoping that it would be something grander and up his alley.
Alas, that was none the case. It was at least far larger than the Pastry Prophecy. It read; When the time comes that a dry rain descends upon us, a betrayal shall cause a rise in magic and a generation of endless summer.
"That's not any better...And what does that even mean?! Summer gets too hot!" Hilbert roared as even the Note Bird let out a humorous chirp, essentially laughing at him. It soon decided to take Hilbert's request seriously, changing the words for another serious prophecy.
It read; It shall be then, when a red child is born, a betrayal shall cause the return of dragons and the dawn of wealth.
"I'll take it..." Hilbert was complacent with this decision. "But anyway, this place is pretty neat. What else can that will do?"
"I think that's just about it. It just shows us random prophecies and reenacts them. It's like a live show." Cloudchaser explained. "It does its job perfectly. Wanna see what else we can get?"
"You bet. I could stay here for hours." Flitter was up for another go at this event. The possibilities were plentiful as they could just retry their choices. And the best part was that the leaves would make a show for them as well.
The Note Birds would fly back and forth, randomizing different prompts for everyone here before then having the leaves reenact new scenarios. It was a wonderful cycle with all kinds of ideas brimming. Although, the ideas didn't come from the crowd but rather from the Note Birds, which seemed to carry an amazing sense of imagination.
And immediately finding out about their creation was none other than Mayor Mare. While everyone enjoyed having these new prompts appear, she held in her hooves a note that was exempt from the others. It was a different coloured note that had golden frames, possessing extra frames.
"Made by Windkiss." Mayor Mare read it out as this was another creation of Windkiss. However, these ones were actually fully completed after an abundance of incomplete creations. What else did this Ethereal Pavilion hold and what other creations did Windkiss create while she was around?
In another room, Ash and his friends followed the glowing arrow that encouraged them to head into the next room, where another touchstone that looked into Windkiss' past could be found. This room resembled that of a gallery but there weren't any artistic figures to be found anywhere. It was just an empty room with only one door up ahead.
Twilight used the Special Diary once more, allowing its light to shine across the room, searching for hidden touchstones. Three more had been spotted and it was right underneath them. "Oh!" Twilight even found herself accidentally stepping on this touchstone. She backed away as the touchstone reacted to her hoof press once it had been revealed.
A new magical materializing would form, but it wasn't a flashback or even an arrow this time. Instead, something else formed before their eyes. A giant catalogue of words materialized in rows in the flash of an eye. They surrounded everyone in a sphere formation as there was one consistent thing with them. They all had the words "Magic" and "Of".
"What's this now?" Cynthia wondered as a new word passed by her at breakneck speeds before adjusting itself with the other words. "It doesn't look like a flashback at all."
"Looks like some kind of catalogue. Or list?" Hilda answered, unsure of what it could be. All she saw was an abundance of words.
"They all say Magic on them." Fluttershy pointed out before reading one of these words out. "Magic of Adamant."
"Magic of Adamant?" Rainbow Dash repeated before looking up to see another word that sounded similar. It didn't take long for all of them to see that all of them were similar. "How come they all say Magic of Something?"
"Magic of Psyche? Magic of Blithe? Magic of...Discipline?" Twilight read them out. "Some of these seem a bit farfetched and out there. But more than that, doesn't it all remind you of something?"
"Oh yeah. You've got an Element, Twilight. The Element of Friendship. Ash answered. "All of them come together to make the Magic of Friendship. And there's also the Magic of Love, right?"
"Princess Cadence, Shining Armor and Queen Chrysalis used those three," Applejack added. "To be honest, I didn't know it existed. I thought there were only 6 of 'em."
"There are only 6. Six Elements of Harmony. The Magic of Love never received anything else similar to the necklaces and crown. It's only been pure magical energy. And If I'm looking at this right then all of this must be somewhat similar."
"You mean there's more of this stuff up here?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "And for all of this? Who's being stubborn and using magic at the same time?"
"I know quite a few who'd fit that category." Twilight nudged Rainbow Dash, realizing she was referring to him. Rainbow Dash couldn't argue there. Besides, it was her stubbornness that helped her in most Pokemon Battles.
"Ah. Then why are only these four highlighted?" That's when Bertha brought up something else. She was the first one to see how there were four words that were highlighted while the rest of them were not. These four words stood out to them as two of them were very familiar.
The Magic of Friendship. The Magic of Love. The Magic of Trust and the Magic of Family.
These four were crucially highlighted as the Magic of Friendship and Love were already known by them. As if their attention wasn't grabbed in the first place. Now, it truly was.
"The Magic of Friendship is right here?!" Twilight gasped. "Did Windkiss already know about it?! Did she know about Equestria and everything below too?"
"Maybe. They've got the Love one too." Hilda uttered. "I mean, she's never been down there before, right?"
"Yeah but...why's the Magic of Trust here? We trust each other already." Rainbow Dash asked, focusing on the Magic of Trust, seeing no point in it being here among the many other words that surrounded this room.
"Applejack and I sorta-kinda-related in a way." Pinkie Pie bounced over. "The Magic of Family's somewhere in there."
"It doesn't look pointless at all. All of these most definitely matter in some way." Cynthia shook her head. "When you travel the world for a long time, you come to find that out. Isn't that right, Ash?"
"You know it, Cynthia. Twilight. Check out that diary and see what it says next. Maybe Windkiss can tell us about this."
"Sure. Let's see if she's been there before." To test this theory out, Twilight would flip the page as Windkiss' voice would guide her once more.
"Dear Diary, and whoever is reading. So uh...this isn't that chronological. This takes place three days after the Pavilion was first made. But if by some chance you stepped on the touchstone on the ground instead of touching the one on the left side of the wall, you've probably noticed all the Magic Categories floating around. Those have some meaning to them. It's all dependent on the pony or any other creature. We have a lot to offer and since magic is all around us, you can guess what these are for."
"It's all so specific, isn't it though?" Rarity questioned as if Windkiss was truly there.
"You'll also notice how there are four words highlighted ad close to each other. To know more, go for the touchstone on the right wall. I know it's not chronological. I skipped out on an entire day but if you're curious go for it."
"That touchstone will do it for us." Twilight fixated her eyes on the right touchstone. But she wouldn't be the one to touch it. Pikachu would.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu used Quick Attack, moving at lightning speeds before then headbutting the touchstone. The next flashback would be materialized, out of chronological order but curiosity was the dominant force here.
Windkiss' body materialized and nothing else. Nothing else could be seen as this place was truly empty with only the words to fill it up. She was on her own without the appearance of one of those sages. At least, that looked to be the case. However, with the way she was talking, it sounded like there was someone else in the room.
"Magic of Friendship. Amazing..." Windkiss said, seemingly staring into thin air. "So, that exists back down where you come from?"
"It does." A voice replied to her as there was indeed someone else in this room. However, their body was not visible as Ash and everyone tried looking around to see if they could find anyone. Alas, no one else could be seen.
"Who's she talking to?" Fluttershy questioned. "I can't see. Even with my Fairy Magic."
"Same here." Pinkie Pie rubbed her eyes. "But then again, this is the past so..."
"Hang on!" Twilight shouted, startling them. "From what she just said, this is somepony from Equestria! An Equestrian ended up here at Pegaysium long ago?!"
"I thought all Equestrians never knew of Pegalysium's existence until we recently found out about it." Rarity replied. "Who is it then? Is it somepony we know from the past?"
"There exists the Magic of Love as well as the Magic of Family. For everything, there exists some form of magic. But these are the most crucial ones that exist." The voice had somewhat of a deep tone to it. However, no one here could recognize who it belonged to at all.
All they knew was that it was somepony from the past who came from Equestria and spoke with Windkiss while appearing invisible. Whoever it was had to be important.
"So there's a magic for everything, huh? I'm also glad that I was right about a whole other nation down below. But...letting everything know about it won't do it at all." She shook her head. "Thanks for understanding how secretive it needs to be. You know...since you're invisible right now."
"I knew of Pegalysiums' existence already. But this is quite an advancement. Pegalysium used to be so small lin the past. It would barely pass as a nation with its old size. This is definitely a nation in the best possible description."
"Hey, what about this one? The Magic of Trust?" Windkiss asked about the Magic of Trust. "Isn't that the same as all three of them? even the Magic of Love goes with the other two as well."
"They all go well together. Friendship and Family are brimming with love. And so is trust. However...Trust is a special kind of magic."
"How special?" She leaned in with dilating pupils that were filled with wonder. "Is it more important than all three of them combined?"
"Not quite. This Magic is special and rare with the fact that it involves putting your trust in someone you'd never think of trusting. Like a common enemy. There's been one recollection of this magic showing up and nothing else. This is why it exists separately."
"Trust in your enemy, huh? Well, that would be difficult, wouldn't it? I couldn't imagine myself trusting the Indigo Alliance honestly."
"Maybe not them. From what you've told me, they're far too destructive to trust. But, the Magic of Trust breaks past that boundary and makes it possible for unlikely unions. Granted, it's temporary but the results can be amazing."
"I see. Well, you know more than me anyway, sir."
"I do. But you're more impressive, Lady Windkiss. Time Magic? How can you be born with such a power?"
"Well...I'm not sure it's genetic or a lineage factor at all." She chuckled. "None of my family members ever had this kind of magic within them. My parents call it a once-in-a-lifetime moment."
"Could you teach me about Time Magic? It's too amazing not to know about." The pony requested that Windkiss taught him something about Time Magic.
"Uh, sure. I'm not used to being a teacher, especially to someone older. And it'd be risky to have this leak out to Equestria. Know what I mean? But I'll share one thing with you." And just like that, the flashback ended right then and there. That was all it had to offer.
"So, no one knows who that was, huh? Well, we can try and find out later, right? Equestria's got a ton of important figures from the past. Which one came up here though?" Ash pondered. Meanwhile, Twilight quickly looked at the diary, wondering what Windkiss had to say about this and hopefully a hint at this mysterious pony.
"Dear Diary. It's the same day again, but I have something exciting to share! I met a pony from a land called Equestria! It's just below Pegalysium and the pony who came up here that I met was called...well, he wanted me to keep his name a secret."
"Gaah!" Twilight groaned as she would unfortunately not receive this mysterious name at all. All she knew was that it was a stallion. But she kept looking to see if there were any hints of who he was.
"But he knew a lot. He ended up here by accident when experimenting with new magic. It didn't go well for him but at least he found Pegalysium. If I hadn't seen him first, who knows what would've happened to him? Pegalysium probably wouldn't want to have any connection to Equestria. After all, our ancestors never united with the other pony tribes for that very reason. They have their own rulers there. Well, one of them. Something happened to the second one apparently. I'm hoping one day, somepony from Equestria shows up here to read my diary. And if you are that pony from Equestria...Hello! I just need to know what else is down there. Hopefully, he visits again."
"No clue who it was." Twilight shook her head. "But that was still fun to read. And that Magic of Trust has me curious."
"It hasn't shown up before? That can't be right. What about Chrysalis? We teamed up with her and the Changelings to take down the Empress, right?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
"No. By then, we became familiar and allied with the changelings. Nothing about us teaming up with a full-on enemy has happened yet." said Twilight. "And if it does happen...that'd be unexpected."
"It's not uncommon though," Cynthia added. "Sometimes, your strongest ally can turn out to be your own enemy against a terrifying force. At least, in the words of that mysterious pony, temporary. It never lasts long after all. You never know who it might be."
"Hmmm..." Immediately, Rainbow Dash thought of Lightning Dust before then shuddering. Lightning Dust was more of a rival to her. "Guuugh...! No way.
"Our own enemy?" Applejack had thoughts as well as Team Rocket came to mind. But she shook her head, dismissing that since Team Rocket weren't exactly their biggest enemies. Everyone else thought of the possibilities. And they were truly plentiful. Ash had a lot to choose from. One of them already became an ally in the form of Zero. But he already did his time.
They all had to wonder who it would be and when a scenario like that could truly happen.
"You can think about it later." Hilda interrupted them. "Let's head back to the previous day. I wanna see more of her past. This is too good!"
"Oh, right, right." Twilight would then snap out of it, dismissing all the major enemies she thought about. The next one was the one of the left which would continue where the first day left off. But this one would bring about another arrow that encouraged them to move to the next room, where more wonders and amazement were waiting for this.
And yet, none of them were close to that Tiara at all.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. Afternoon.
But someone was close to what they aimed to reach. At this moment, Matori and her group, the Matori Matrix were approaching the Pokemon House, already knowing about its location.
The only one sensing trouble in the air before anyone else was none other than Krookodile, who was the bodyguard of this place. "Krookodile?" Krookodile aimed his head at the sky as his tail swished left and right slowly.
That was a sign. Krookodile wasn't sure what new kind of trouble was coming this way. But judging by what has happened over the past months, it would garner the full attention of everyone here. And unfortunately for Nightmare Moon's group, her group wasn't the closest at all.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Approaching the Pokemon House was none other than Team Rocket. More specifically, Matori and her group, Matori Matrix. They arrived here before Nightmare Moon's group, coming from the south. Should they come from the North, it would grab too much attention from everyone else enjoying the Pokemon Festival.
"There it is. The Pokemon House." And speaking within the helicopter in the sky was the leader of the Matori Maxtrix herself and the secretary of Giovanni. Matori.
"It does look cosy. Any Pokemon would love to live here and feel at home, no doubt. Which makes it a goldmine for us." This was a perfect opportunity for Team Rocket. The Pokemon House was the most open area with Pokemon that they currently knew of. The next one was the Frenzy Forest, of course.
To prepare for this massive haul of Pokemon, not one, not two, but three helicopters showed up. Although, they had fairly long appearances to look like regular helicopters. Within then, Matori's entire team grabbed objects from cases that would help guarantee their success. It was all a matter of executing it properly. These Team Rocket cases possess technology that Team Rocket have never used before. But with the ever-changing landscape of both worlds thanks to the Rift's power, it wasn't too surprising.
Krookodile, who was the current guardian of the Pokemon House, was always on full alert, even when hanging out with the Pokemon. And being the guardian, that bad feeling he sensed before was now within the vicinity of the Pokemon House. Flying-Types would soon notice the helicopter along with everyone else here.
However, Team Rocket would not drop from above to get up close to the Pokemon. Instead, they would drop something from the helicopter. By tossing some sort of pipe out of the helicopter, Team Rocket unleashed a flash of light that was perplexing to the eyes. All the Pokemon here got a glance at the light.
"K-Krookodile!" They all found themselves stunned as the light from the pipe went off. Only Matori and her team were exempt because of the protective headgear they already wore. Protected by the light, the first part of their plan was a success. Blinding the Pokemon and bewildering them was a great way to catch them off guard. However, they knew they had to hasten themselves as this blindness would not last forever.
Krookodile had one eye open already.
Once the Pokemon were blinded, Team Rocket unleashed more objects, mainly to restrain them. These cubes were dropped from above before then transforming. These cubes then transformed into cages, having the width to catch a plethora of Pokemon.
"Dile!" Seeing the cubes fall and transform, Krookodile acted as fast as he could. He used Stone Edge, unleashing a barrage of crystals that flew out of his body. This barrage of crystals would meet with the cages, crashing directly into them including the cubes that had yet to transform. However, upon meeting with them, Stone Edge did not work at all.
Those cages would not break, stunning Krookodile. Why was this the case? The Pokemon began scattering with the Flying-Types being the first to soar away, attempting to avoid these raining cages. However, some of them found themselves being caught by the cages which would soon drop them down as if they were made of gravity.
Pokemon from below would also be caught as some of them barely managed to avoid the falling cages. Even when the cages dropped, they made loud crashing sounds of metal which would vibrate across the ground. Krookodile almost received one before jumping out of the way.
Matori and her group watched as the cages successfully caught many Pokemon. However, it wouldn't be just the Pokemon that were threatened. The standard animals of this world were also caught in cages. They tend to hang around with the Pokemon but now was the worst time for that to happen.
For Angel Bunny, his tiny appearance allowed him to jump through the cages and fre himself. This was the one advantage he and the the animals had over the Pokemon. Since they were smaller than the Pokemon, Angel Bunny and some birds could easily leave the cages which were made for the Pokemon, travelling through the gaps. Though, some of them took some extra muscle to break free.
Matori cared not for the standard animals. She was here for the Pokemon after all. Animals wouldn't be worth anything to her as they did not possess any magical powers that would be beneficial. Matori then saw how Krookodile was grabbing as many Pokemon as he could before the cages could reach them. That one Krookodile was already preventing them from getting all of the Pokemon here.
"Ooh. I want that Krookodile for myself." Matori said before holding out a visor. This visor was used to scan Pokemon for one thing. To see if they were Wild or Not. The scanner picked up a gigantic number of Wild Pokemon across the Pokemon House, however, the only one who wasn't Wild and had a Trainer was Krookoddile. "Tch. Already caught? That's fine. It's a good time to test out our newest creation. Bring out the special Poke Ball."
"Roger!" The grunts exclaimed before grabbing yet another object from the cases. It was a Poke Ball that had a Team Rocket Symbol on it, even having the colours of their outfits. A Poke Ball like this already existed within their organization. However, this Poke Ball had mechanical chip lines around it, distinguishing it from the original.
She had to get in close for this one Krookodile as the helicopter descended, manoeuvring past all the other cubes that came raining down. Krookodile hastened himself as much as he could, throwing some of the Pokemon away to diminish some weight, just so he can carry the next.
Matori wanted Krookodile on his own if she wanted to catch him. From how he was moving, Krookodile was the most troublesome Pokemon here without a doubt. Using one of the various objects inside the box, Matori held up a pen-shaped object, triggering it to go off.
This pen-shaped object emitted a soundwave that only the Pokemon could hear and to an extent the animals. It was there for all of them to hear, throwing the plethora of creatures off balance.
"K-Krookodile!" Krookodile dropped some of the Pokemon because of this, covering his ears. This also allowed some of the cubes to capture the Pokemon who previously avoided them. Eventually, the cubes would drop in numbers as they were limited after all.
But even with the cues finally coming to an end, a handful of Pokemon had been caught and fewer numbers of them remained free. Krookodile included.
"That'll do for now." Out of Cube Cages, Matori and her group would finish up the rest from here. They had the numbers to do so. With helicopters descending, the ladders dropped as the soundwave from Matori's object got closer. The Matori Matrix descend via the ladder's usage, meeting with all the remaining Pokemon with Poke Balls already empty and ready to capture whoever was unlucky to be struck by them.
Krookodile eyed Matori and her group with a vicious stare, only for Matori to have a cocky smile on her face, fearless in front of him. She would soon turn off the sound just to swap the pen out for another Poke Ball. This time, it contained one of her Pokemon. "Dile...!"
"We'll wear you down some more and then finish up our big haul!" Right then and there, Matori and her team unleashed their Pokemon to assist in this crime. Team Rocket was coming at full force for this capture. And from what they've accomplished so far with the items they've utilized, victory could be within their sights.
Celadon City. Team Rocket Headquarters. Giovanni's Room. Afternoon.
And sitting patiently in the most important room in this secret base that was hidden somewhere in Celadon City was the Boss of Team Rocket, alongside his Persian. Giovanni.
He was already aware of Matori's current mission while holding out a list in this dark room with minimal light. The light source beamed on the lister and parts of Giovanni's body as he gazed at an option of items that fit perfectly with what Matori's group had used.
Supersonic Pen.
"I have to thank you two for lending us some of his equipment. They truly feel like they come from the future with how useful they are. And the Pokemon Black Market has gone through an impressive development." Giovanni spoke as the items came from none other than two individuals. Pokemon Hunter J and Team Plasma's expert scientist Colress.
"It was nothing." Hunter J spoke. "Most of the items I picked out came from the voice that's with me. I guess it's somewhat of a spirit."
She referred to Twilight's Desire which was still with her. Twilight's Desire and J worked together with the Desire mainly being the one to give commands while J took the advice. Hunter J couldn't argue against the Desire since not only did it know about Twilight Sparkle herself and her weaknesses, but it also possessed her vast intellect, despite not having a physical body. It was only a sparkle.
"But mine are objectively better." Colress stepped in. "The Pokemon Black Market cannot compare to my Power of Science at all. Especially since you have my Protean Gauntlet that I put up for sale once."
"Whatever. It's useful either way." Hunter J held up the Protean Gauntlet.
"Speaking of which, does Ghetsis know about this, Colress? Still in the dark?"
"Lord Ghetsis probably would be fine with this. He wasn't one for working with others before but now, that won't be an issue anymore. That strange dimension truly did something to him when he was in there."
"I expect great things from him especially with what I've heard from Equestria. I believe Team Rocket and Team Plasma can benefit from each other perfectly. After all, it was your team that mimicked our Mewtwo Project." Giovanni brought up the dual Mewtwos that currently existed in the world.
"Oh, that. You made it clear that it was easy to bring new Pokemon into existence with just a DNA sample. And here I was worrying that many factors went into making clones. Granted, there are, but not when gathering a sample. What do we do about those two Mewtwo, actually?"
"Both Mewtwos are far too smart to be under our full control. Even if we capture them and have them on our side, they have the will to resist."
"Let me catch them." J said. "Since you'll have problems controlling them, best to just keep them as statues. I'll gain a huge profit from it. How's that?"
"You'd probably lose the second you came in contact with one of the Mewtwo." Colress shook his head. "That gauntlet won't protect you at all. Not even that supposed voice in your head."
"Hmph!" J sneered at Colress before turning away.
"We'll talk about that later. Right now, I'm expecting Matori to make an outstanding return with new Pokemon from the Pokemon House. And potentially, Frenzy Forest. And if not..."
"If not, let me chime in." J pointed at herself. "I'll strike when the iron is hot. Believe me."
Kalos. Lumiose City. Afternoon.
The nearest gateway had been found. After travelling in the van to close the longer distances, Nightmare Moon, Hollow and the lesser-respected Team Rocket group of Jessie, James and Meowth showed up at Lumiose City.
"There. Lumiose is the best possible gateway. It'll take us to Saddle Lake and close to Whitetail Wood. That way, we can get there quicker." Hollow pointed out, driving Team Rocket's van.
"Excellent." Nightmare Moon said before opening the door. Even when the van was still moving, she chose to open it, but for an alicorn, this kind of scenario wasn't dangerous for her. "I will get a head start and meet you all there."
"Are you sure?" Hollow asked.
"Positive? Plus, you're not thinking of driving this thing through Ponyville, are you? Leave it behind at a reasonable position and then come by foot."
"I don't think we can come by foot..." Jessie groaned, still feeling tired even when her team had the chance to rest. Although, it was minimal rest.
"Stay in here for a while then. Darkrai, Xatu, Musharna, Frillish and I will handle this. Oh, and you as well, Hollow." Quickly flying out of the van, Nightmare Moon left the presence of Team Rocket, giving them another opportunity to sleep. But this might be the worst time for them to sleep considering that the Pokemon House was under attack.
The van would trail behind the alicorn as Nightmare Moon passed through, leaving Lumiose City and entering Saddle Lake. However, her group weren't even close to beating Matori's group there at all. They were already too late to plan ahead.
The Pokemon House.
"D-Dile!" Back at the Pokemon House, Krookodile and the other Pokemon living were in the midst of trying to defend themselves. Krookodile found himself being clawed by a flurry of sharp slashes that came from Matori's Alolan Meowth. It had used Shadow Claw, clawing at Krookodile's face.
"Meowth!"
"Excellent. Keep at it, Meowth!" Matori ordered as Meowth was unrelenting when attacking Krookodile. The other Pokemon were under attack by the rest of Team Rocket. Those that wanted to help found themselves trapped in these cages, made out of metal they could not break or melt.
"Krook!" But Krookodile would not go down so easily. The moment Meowth went in for another Shadow Claw, Krookodiel grabbed it by its arm at the right moment.
"Meow?"
"Kroo...Kodile!" In response, Krookodile used his own Shadow Claw, slashing back at Alolan Meowth. The Scratch Cat Pokemon found itself rocketing away before then performing a surprisingly stylish recovery right afterwards.
"Purugly!" Right after he slashed Meowth away, a Purugly tackled Krookodile from behind, blindsiding him. Krookodile almost fell over before then using his tail to slap Purugly away, retaliating instantly. He was quick to fight back even when outnumbered.
"Meowth, use Supersonic!"
Meowth!" Afterwards, the assault would continue as Krookodile was met with a powerful soundwave from Meowth's mouth, stopping him in his tracks. Krookodile tried reaching the other Pokemon to help out, only to be stopped by Supersonic.
That allowed the other opposing Pokemon to attack him for free. From all sides, he was bombarded by different attacks meant to keep him at bay and to also give Matori a chance to catch him. All the Pokemon trapped here watched as their guardian was being mercilessly pummelled and none of them could do anything sadly.
"Very good. Keep at it." Matori bounced the Poke Ball up and down, waiting for her chance to catch him. "I'll be honest, I want to see the look on that shy pony's face when she sees how this all turns out."
"Krook!" Mentioning Fluttershy's name also involved Audino, who Krookodile had great affection towards. Seeing Audino upset would be heartbreaking. Then again, he might not be there to see her expression at all. Krookodile then used the one moe he could always count on that involved nothing but unbridled fury.
Outrage.
"Krookodile!" With his body becoming coated in a crimson aura, Krookodile gathered raging strength, using all that power to cause a wide shockwave. The shockwave expelled from his body, pushing back all other attacks and Pokemon.
"Ngh!" Matori placed her arms over her head from this pressure. "Outrage?"
"Krookodile!" Krookodile began swinging violently at the opposing Pokemon with Outrage, going on a full-blown rampage. His attacks were frantic and erratic with no consistency, allowing him to blindside his opponents. Any attack that was sent his way was immediately met with Krookodile striking back, reaching his opponents with impressive speeds.
This rampage knocked out some of Team Rocket's Pokemon as it was an effective tactic, despite how little strategy was involved. But because he was on a rampage, this made it easy for someone clever to take advantage of him.
And Matori certainly did. The moment Krookodile went for Meowth, the Poke Ball had been unleashed. The Special Poke Ball was thrown in, meeting with Krookodile's face. Once it touched him, the Poke Ball would then shrink his body in a red light, making it a close call for Alolan Meowth. The Intimidation Pokemon found himself being taken by another Poke Ball despite already having one.
The Poke all then dropped in front of Meowth before all the Pokemon gasped. They couldn't believe their eyes. A Poke Ball that catches Pokemon that already have Trainers. And once they saw it shaking, their heart sank.
1...2...3...Gotcha!
Krookodile was caught. Unfortunately.
"Well, so much for your vanguard." Matori taunted, laughing at all the Pokemon once Krookodile became hers. Alolan Meowth would soon pass the Poke Ball in her direction as Matori and her group had easily crushed their hearts and hope. With minimal effort and technology from Team Plasma and the Pokemon Black Market, victory belonged to Team Rocket.
Matori held the Special Poke Ball in her hand, twirling before looking at the despair in the eyes of her victims. She got rid of the biggest threat here but to guarantee her victory, every other Pokemon would have to come with her.
"That's that. Bring the rest of them along. This Dynasite material is useful enough to be both durable and lightweight at the same time." Matori ordered as the cages were revealed to be made out of Dynasite, exclusive to Pegalysium.
Of course, since Second Wind was working with Team Plasma, this was only natural as very little can break this metal. None of the Pokemon here had the strength to do so. The rest of the Matori Matrix would clean up from here, using the helicopters to carry the cages. Hooks emerged from the bottom of them, clamping onto the Dynasite as Angel Bunny watched from afar, stunned by what he had witnessed.
He was certainly powerless to stop this. The animals felt the same. When it came to the power of Pokemon, they were too weak and insignificant to do anything. And Matori knew that. She glanced at the animals, intimidating them while larger Pokemon would also eye them down. As for as Matori, she won this race.
At least, she got there first. But getting there first didn't mean the runner-up wouldn't show up. A blast of magic came racing in, blowing off the top of the helicopter that Matori was in. The blades from the helicopter came flying off from this magical blast, sending the vehicle down.
"?!" Matori gasped after the helicopter was brought down. She held on tight before then choosing to jump off. Luckily for her, the height wasn't too large. All other Pokemon looked up to see more magic beams appear, attacking the helicopters and the grunts inside. "Magic? That means...!"
It was exactly what it meant. Matori may have beaten her here but she was too late to leave, especially with how many Pokemon she had to bring back.
Nightmare Moon.
She had arrived. A bit late to stop the capture but right on time to prevent them from leaving. She emerged from the dust, putting on a cocky smile that mirrored Matori's.
"Have no fear! For I am here, at last!" She gave a triumphant shout, sparking some hope back in the Pokemon. But it was all a matter of if she could seize victory and free the Pokemon. With how things are, Nightmare Moon and her allies who were right behind her were in for an exceptionally wild ride.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Nightmare Moon had finally arrived at a rather grim sight. Matori and her group had succeeded in catching the Pokemon living here at the Pokemon House. Krookodile, a Pokemon that already had a Poke Ball and a trainer, was caught by a special Team Rocket Poke Ball, breaking the natural rules of a Poke Ball.
Happy to see Nightmare Moon, still believing it was Luna, were all the captured Pokemon. Even in their unfortunate positions, they knew when to smile in the face of hope.
But this was the most unlikely form of hope possible. Nightmare Moon had Frillish, Musharna, Xatu and Darkrai by her side. However, Darkrai was currently hidden, most likely within the shadows where he excels.
"Someone's late," Matori said, facing Nightmare Moon with the rest of her group. "As you can see, all the Pokemon here are ours already. Trapped within cages you can't hope to break. And I've got a special prize of my own to boot."
"Hmph. Better late than never. A few hiccups made me a bit late but here I am. With some assistance of course. A bit of it anyway." Nightmare Moon responded. "How unfortunate that you were not able to escape in time. My arrival here must hold you back, correct? I can only imagine the setbacks that come from this."
"You can't be serious..." Matori squinted her eyes. In no way did they feel any form of setbacks from Nightmare Moon's arrival. Despite how she was boasting, it was quite the opposite. Even though she showed up, the Matori Matrix knew exactly why Nightmare Moon's efforts would be in vain. It was something the alicorn would soon find out herself.
"All of you here! Rest easy!" Nightmare Moon shouted at the Pokemon. "In a flash, you shall be free. Like so!" Instantly using her magic, Nightmare Moon would target one of the cages, aiming to blast it apart. However, Matori and her team did not respond to this. Instead, they let it happen, knowing something that Nightmare Moon would discover.
The second the beam went for one of the cages, it bounced off, dealing no damage or even showing signs of any successful effects as it even reflected towards Nightmare Moon.
"Wah!" The alicorn quickly swayed to the side, narrowly evading her own attack before it then took out a tree. Stunned by what she witnessed, she rapidly looked back and forth at the tree and the Matori Matrix with bulging eyes. "T-That can't be right...Darkrai!"
With absolute silence, emerging from the shadows to try and free the Pokemon was none other than Darkrai. After Nightmare Moon called for his assistance, Darkrai showed up when needed. And now was definitely the time when he was truly needed. When ascending from the shadows, Darkrai attempted to use Poison Jab on the cages to try and break them.
Alas, that was ineffective as well. The moment he slashed the cages, nothing happened. There weren't even any claw marks on the cages to show any damage. Darkrai hovered back after seeing how ineffective this was. But unlike Nightmare Moon, he could already tell what these cages were made out of.
"Dynasite."
"Dynasite? That metal from Pegalysium?" Now that the metal had been revealed, this supposed setback was non-existent. Magic and Pokemon Attacks were ineffective unless Aura was involved. "How did your team get a hold of such a substance from the skies?"
"You don't need to know that." Matori stepped forward. "All you need to know is that these Pokemon aren't going anywhere thanks to these cages. And as for that Darkrai...we don't have any cubes to go around and there's only one copy of that Poke Ball right now. So, well make do with what we have."
"Running away? How disappointing." Nightmare Moon hissed at them.
"Hmph! It's not running when we've won. But since you're here, leaving with the Pokemon will be easier said than done. Taking you out of commission will make things easier for us, no doubt. And we could have ourselves a Darkrai. One of the hardest Pokemon that we've been searching for."
"Meowth...!" Alolan Meowth and all the other Team Rocket Pokemon stepped forward, threatening Nightmare Moon and the others. Outnumbered thanks to all the caged Pokemon, Nightmare Moon's support was still in a van, approaching the Pokemon House
"I...did not think this through fully." Nightmare Moon can talk a big game and even back it up. But thanks to her massive ego and pride, it could potentially lead to situations like this where she was currently at a disadvantage.
"Don't you dare lose hope right now." Darkrai looked over at her. "Those cages are durable but not indestructible. If we can just take out this team, we'll have our chance to steer them away from the Pokemon right afterwards. It's all a matter of executing it."
"Darkrai is right." Matori nodded before whipping out that same Soundwave Pen from before. "If you can focus!" She set the pen off, unleashing another soundwave. As always, it did not affect her group but it certainly affected the Pokemon. This involved her own Meowth and all of Team Rocket's Pokemon. She would then return Meowth right after the soundwave went off, protecting it from any further ear damage. All other Team Rocket Pokemon would return for standby.
"F-Frillish!" But everyone else would suffer. Frillish cried out as all the caged Pokemon and Luna's Pokemon found themselves being paralyzed and bewildered by this sound. It was hard to describe what it sounded like exactly but all they knew was that it was unbearable in every way, even leaving Darkrai in an uncomfortable state.
Darkrai dug his claws into the trees, trying to resist as much as he could. He expected Nightmare Moon to do something about this, but surprisingly, a shocking revelation had emerged. "W-What?!" Darkrai gasped after witnessing it for himself. Even Matori and her team were surprised.
Nightmare Moon was also affected. She felt the soundwaves as well, kneeling down and straining her body as veins appeared around her neck. "Ugghh...!"
"Ah...It seems that it works on you too." Matori chuckled. "I suppose even with all that intellect, you're still just a beast at the end of the day. And this works like a charm on you!"
"S-Silence...!" Nightmare Moon whimpered in response as Matori and her group would gather around her.
"That reminds me...no. I'd rather not spoil it yet. Not until you're too weak on your knees. And as a Bonus, I have a Pokemon with Soundproof!" Matori then revealed another Pokemon on hand that she could use. It was only for this one instance that everyone's ears were being attacked. Out of this Poke Ball came an Exploud.
"Exploud!" And as to be expected, with the ability Soundproof, this specialized sound did not affect its ears at all, granting Exploud immunity. It was the only one here that could stand perfectly while everyone else was writhing in pain.
"D-Don't you dare...underestimate me." But, despite this torturous sound, Nightmare Moon would not allow herself to be so restrained. As a way to try and ignore the sound, she cast a spell on herself. Around her body was a bubble. This bubble would act as a way for her to avoid the noise. She would soon surround Darkrai, Frillish, Xatu and Musharna around this bubble to protect their ears.
"Exploud! Shatter that bubble with Boomburst!"
"Loud!" Exploud attacked, roaring out a vast soundwave that raged in Nightmare Moon's direction. The bubble she formed was struck by the soundwave before vibrating. Nightmare Moon growled as this specialized sound was no longer an issue for her, but having her bubble blown back was. Her shield slid on the ground, leaving skid marks just from trying to keep its momentum steady.
"None of us can attack if that sound is active at all times!" Darkrai exclaimed. "You need to get rid of it now!"
"I know that!" Nightmare Moon groaned. "Just let me have my chance!"
"If you can have your chance! Exploud! Louder!"
"LOUD!" Exploud would only increase the volume, further attacking the bubble. Cracks formed around the barrier, showing it was weakening. This would not grant them a safe spot. To even gain the advantage, all they had to do was get rid of that item. If they can do that, they'll have a chance.
"Call me a beast if you want...but you're still fragile!" Nightmare Moon bellowed before then expanding her magical bubble. This was made to fight back against the giant soundwave. And with the power she exhibited, Nightmare Moon managed to reflect it back at Exploud.
"Ex!" Exploud was struck by its own attack after Nightmare Moon reflected. Not only that but it was also targeted towards Matori and her group. They felt this loud vibration of sound come their way. Some of the Team Rocket Grunts had been knocked over because of this as Matori got on her knees.
However, the specialized pen left her hand, as intended. That was the best way to remove it at the moment. Once the pen flew out of her grasp, the time to strike was now.
"Now is your chance!" Nightmare Moon ordered before lowering the bubble. Darkrai and the rest of Luna's Pokemon could strike while the iron was hot.
"Frillish!" Getting on it, Frillish advanced alongside Darkrai, forming a Shadow Ball from his arms. Darkrai would join in via a Dark Void. Seeing that it was way too late to try and grab the pen, Matori would instead rely on the Pokemon to assist her.
"Exploud, meet those attacks with Boomburst!"
"Exploud!" Exploud's Boomburst would clash with Dark Void and Shadow Ball, defending Matori and her group, giving them enough time to recover after the blowback.
However, the pen would be snatched whilst this occurred. It was grabbed by none other than Angel Bunny, who managed to hop in unnoticed thanks to his minuscule size compared to everyone here, even the small Pokemon. By grabbing the pen, he guaranteed that Matori would not use it again.
As Team Rocket recovered, they sent out their Pokemon once more, free of having to worry about that specialized sound considering how it would affect any Pokemon unless they were immune to it. Alolan Meowth, Alolan Raticate, Golbat, Purugly and more came out to fend off against Nightmare Moon's group. Xatu and Musharna could finally take action themselves.
"Xatu!" To make it easier for him to hit Psychic-Types, Xatu used Miracle Eye on AlolanMeowth and Alolan Raticate the moment they arrived. By far, they would be the most troublesome for him as a pulsating pink eye flashed around both of these Pokemon.
"Meow?"
"Musharna!" After doing so, Musharna would follow up, using Psychic to lift Alolan Meowth off the ground. She could affect it thanks to Miracle Eye making all Psychic-Type attacks bypass the Type Immunity to Dark. And by taking advantage of this, she launched Alolan Meowth into Alolan Raticate, knocking them both over.
"Excellent." Nightmare Moon grinned. "As for Matori, she's mine." The alicorn would then spread her wings out, taking flight as she went straight for the leader of this group, wasting no time in going for the strongest link. However, getting to Matori wasn't that smile either.
The helicopters in the sky were still active along with the remaining Team Rocket Grunts who were up there. They would act as aerial support, defending Matori and the others by using not just Flying-Types as an advantage but also the remaining objects inside of the cases.
Of course, these were also made by Colress for extra efficiency when catching Pokemon and for dealing with those who would stand in the user's way. Both Team Rocket and Team Plasma all had that in common, making this synergy perfect.
"Fearow!" Fearow and some Golbat were sent out of the helicopters, flying to the scene. They would approach Nightmare Moon first before anyone else, grabbing the attention of Luna's Alter-Ego.
"Hm?!" Luna gasped before swooping to the side, managing to avoid an incoming Aerial Ace from the Fearow. But she was then met with an Air Slash to her back thanks to the Golbat who were already plentiful enough as it is. "Out of the way, fodder!"
Retaliating, Luna would send out a beam of magic in a swiping motion, knocking the Golbat out of the sky in one go. However, it wouldn't be the Flying-Types that she had to worry about. The Team Rocket grunts from above utilized one of the objects given to them by Team Plasma.
And fittingly, it was a ball made of plasma. Pure concentrated plasma could be seen in this orb as there were twelve more to utilize. The energy from the plasma orbs crackled viciously before being aimed at Nightmare Moon. But they had to be careful with this thing. It was plasma at the end of the day.
The flock of Fearow occupied Nightmare Moon, using Drill Peck, Sky Attack, Wing Attack and other sky-based attacks to try and take her down. But Nightmare Moon was currently the master of the skies, using her alicorn speed to elude and evade her feathered foes.
Not caring about what happens to their own Pokemon, the Team Rocket Grunts would drop the ball of concentrated plasma down, aiming to take Nightmare Moon out with it.
"Is that all?!" Nightmare Moon pushed away a Fearow before boasting and taunting her opponents. "Of course. You'd be no match for the eventual ruler of Equestria. I-" Just then, she stopped everything she was saying after sensing something nearby.
By turning around, she heard the crackle of plasma. A sound that was only familiar to her thanks to Luna hanging around Celestia and Passion, who had access to the element of Plasma. When looking up, the ball of plasma came close to Luna, kicking off an instinctive reaction within her.
However, it was a narrow reaction that only allowed her to fly to the side. The orb touched her wings, setting off immediately. It was essentially a bomb, unleashing all the plasma within in a destructive flare. Nightmare Moon found herself being engulfed by the searing volts. The Fearow would be hit by this as well, receiving the plasma as a form of friendly fire.
Darkrai and everyone gasped as a bright plasma flash erupted in the sky. It didn't quite match the sound of thunder but it had its own terrifying sound that was unique to it. The explosions was significantly wide, damaging nearby trees in the process. It nearly touched the ground, only to be limited to the sky and a few trees. This could be seen from afar, especially from those over at Ponyville. It was impossible to ignore it as it brought a blue ambience to the area from the flash of light.
Matori smirked as all the Fearow above then dropped like flies, crashing and fainting afterwards. As for Nightmare Moon, she was dropped as well, but in a less painful state as the Fearow. She managed to stay conscious, gritting her teeth and flapping her wings just in time before she could potentially crash.
"W-What was that...?!" Nightmare Moon groaned as plasma crackled out of her body. "Plasma?!"
"Correct," Matori added. "Now, we have that element on our side. We can thank Daybreaker and some random Gardevoir for that. It's a lot like what Princess Celestia does, right? I suppose they're parallel universes so it makes sense."
It all added up. Daybreaker possessed flames so great that they could even create a blockade between universes. As for Gardevoir, Nightmare Moon could easily see Daybreaker catching her own Gardevoir. But a Gardevoir that was strong enough to match Daybreaker's flames? She thought of only one Gardevoir and that was the one classified as an Aura Vampire.
"You'd hurt your own team?!" Darkrai rated at them after seeing what happened to the Fearow who was struck by the Plasma Bombs.
"Anything to succeed!" Matori laughed. "It doesn't concern you, Darkrai. What you should be concerned about is what will happen to you."
As if Darkrai needed a bigger reason to hate Matori and her group. But he did not fully hate the entirety of Team Rocket. Not when Jessie, James, Meowth and to an extent, Nightmare Moon exist. Seeing how they treat Pokemon and even their own, aggravated the Pitch Black Pokemon. Very few things get him this upset. The harm of his friends would certainly do so.
"Princess!" Arriving at the scene at last after being behind Nightmare Moon and even referring to her as a Princess was Hollow. He left the van to finally show up at the Pokemon House at a grim time. He came to a screeching halt, having none other than Officer Jenny and other officers by his side.
"Officer Jenny?" Matori gasped as already, the law managed to find her group.
"Sorry, I'm a bit late. I figured I'd go and grab help in case things went awry. So, the closest one was Officer Jenny." Hollow apologized for being a bit late.
"It's alright. I was late as well." Nightmare Moon laughed. Both of them were late to the scene. Too late to stop the Pokemon from being caged and too late to beat the Matori Matrix here first.
"We've been looking for you, Matori!" Jenny pointed at the ringleader who merely scoffed at her. "Each of you are under arrest!"
"What now, boss? This is getting a bit out of hand." A grunt asked as the numbers were starting to pile up. Mainly for the opposing side now that the law had shown up.
"You're right. It's starting to escalate from here. We've captured the Pokemon. All it takes is us leaving with them but that's easier said than done."
"Ugh...!" Nightmare Moon found it hard to stay stable with how the plasma crackled out of her. It was hard to shake off truly considering it was unlike any other element she's experienced before and the fact that it was incredibly rare with very few Pokemon being able to generate it. "To think they have something like this...No. The fact that the opposing universe can generate objects of this variety. This is far too troubling."
"Hah..." Matori sighed, adjusting her glasses. "Well, that's one thing I can't argue against. We'd be here forever if the numbers pile up. The odds will be against us. Unless we do a little levelling."
"Leveling?" Hollow repeated.
"That's right. The Pokemon will be perfectly fine. The Dynasite Material will protect them, no problem. But I can't say the same for you all. Drop them all!" Matori ordered all the Plasma Bombs to be dropped, raising her finger. She was going all out for this decision.
The Team Plasma Grunts would soon drop all of the Plasma Orbs, aiming to leave vast destruction behind. And there was no better form of destruction than this.
"You-" Nightmare Moon's heart ended up skipping a beat before looking back at Darkrai and the rest. The other Pokemon would be safe and Team Rocket already had the means to get out of range to be safe. But the same couldn't be said for everyone else, especially with how wide and destructive the plasma explosions can become.
The Matori Matrix backed away immediately, returning their Pokemon to gauge a safe distance. The Pokemon trapped within the Dynasite Cages would find themselves feeling safe and unharmed but they would have to witness what was coming next.
"Delphox! Go and use Psychic!" Hollow acted quickly, throwing his Poke Ball up to summon his Delphox.
"Delphox!" Upon emerging, Delphox would hold out her wand, focusing on the giant spheres of concentrated plasma. Musharna joined in, also using Psychic to hold them. However, this kind of contact with the orbs also set them off. It started with one Plasma Orb going off, causing a vicious outburst. And soon, the rest of them would do the same.
No matter what, they would be set off either way. Such was the mighty power of plasma. An element that very few can conjure and many can barely respond to. They could not stop the outburst at all as it would finally reach the ground. Seeing that it was approaching, Nightmare Moon would go for a last-resort option.
For the first time, Nightmare Moon was fighting for something other than herself. It was this one instance that caused it. She used all of her magic in a final gambit action, conjuring the most amount of magic she could physically master. Her dark blue magic erupted from her horn before meeting with the explosions.
The magic wouldn't clash with the explosions. Instead, it would wrap around it, placing them inside of a bubble. Momentarily, Nightmare Moon managed to restrict the explosions, but not for long as already, plasma was bringing to crackle out of the magical aura
"Nightmare Moon?!" Darkrai gasped.
"C-Curses! I cannot contain this explosion at all! It's too vicious!" Not even a minute and Nightmare Moon was feeling a great sense of strain. The power of these plasma bombs was too vast for her to deal with.
"Thanks for the help~" Matori laughed as Nightmare Moon accidentally assisted her group, by containing these explosions, this allowed the helicopters to grapple onto Dynasite Cages, lifting them up while everyone else wasn't looking prior to this. "I couldn't think of a better outcome. Hurry up and get us out of here before that thing sets off."
"Get back here!" Officer Jenny and her officers attempted to chase them. However, right then and there, plasma shot out of the aura, crashing onto the ground as Nightmare Moon's protection was waiting.
Jenny stopped in her tracks as she was almost struck by the plasma which then burned away patches of grass. More plasma volts flew out of the magical shield, breaking it apart gradually at great speeds.
"This is my fault! All of it is!" Nightmare Moon suddenly began tearing up. "I put you all through that state for days, not allowing you all to rest for a moment! If not then maybe we would've had a chance..."
"Frillish?"
"I was a fool...!" Her hooves started giving out. "I wish I wasn't a representation of something so vile...This is the worst!" Right then and there, her tears flowed. They dropped to the ground, only to evaporate from the rising heat of the plasma. She was truly distraught by this.
Right then and there, Darkrai saw more of Luna in Nightmare Moon. No matter how Nightmare Moon acted, she was still Luna at the end of the day. And with the time she spent with Luna's Pokemon, something was already growing from them. There was a reason why Mesprit split Luna and Nightmare Moon.
Darkrai was staring to see what that reason was. As such, Darkrai could not allow Nightmare Moon to feel any despair. That would involve Luna feeling despair.
"Rest easy." Darkrai flew forward as the bolts kept crashing out. He placed his claw on Nightmare Moon's head with a warm and soft touch. The alter-ego looked up with teary eyes, seeing the confident and ever-serious expression of Darkrai.
"Darkrai...?" She muttered with a whimpering voice.
"Blame yourself and you won't get anywhere with this. It's never too late." Darkrai narrowed his eyes before looking back at Hollow. "We can't save them all. But we can save some of them."
"Hm." Hollow understood what Darkrai meant by that. He knew what was coming next. The magical aura failed to contain the plasma forever. It was finally giving out.
However, Darkrai refused to let the Matori Matrix have nothing but positives on their end. Gathering all of his own strength, the Pitch Black Pokemon would fly into the magical aura itself. Everyone gasped as Darkrai entered the shield, meeting with the plasma.
"Darkrai! what are you doing?!" Stop at once!" Nightmare Moon ordered before finding herself covered in an outline of darkness. This dark power came directly from Darkrai himself. He began sharing his power with Nightmare Moon, giving her extra strength to continue. The plasma wouldn't break out just yet but this would mean Darkrai would suffer inside.
"Now, Delphox! Light Screen!"
"Del....Phox!" Delphox chimed in, using Light Screen as she aimed her wand up at the giant mass of magic and plasma. She lathered Darkrai's body in a golden light, raising his defences a bit. This would help Darkrai but not for long.
"We should do the same. Arcanine! Helping Hand!" Officer Jenny and the police would chime in. For the sake of preventing massive destruction, they would all come together to make this a possibility.
"Arca!" Arcanine would howl, boosting the strength of Delphox's Light Screen. A few of them also knew Helping Hand considering the police force was all about teamwork and unification. Light Screen had been boosted, shielding Darkrai some more.
"If Passion can do it...then so can I!" Darkrai growled as even with the boosted Light Screen, it was tough to withstand within all of this explosive plasma. "This should be enough!" Gathering all of his strength, Darkrai used Dark and Pulse Thunderbolt together within the energy, only adding more volts to it. But after doing so and using all this protection, Darkrai gathered all of the plasma in one spot, expending his own power with great risks involved.
A chunk of his Infinity Energy was being used just for this as the plasma explosions could be seen diminishing by Darkrai's control. He managed to shrink the plasma, harming his body some more as cracks were beginning to form out of him.
Right then and there, Darkrai flew out of the magical barrier, using this large sphere of plasma as a weapon. A weapon that was fixated on the Matori Matrix.
"What in the?!" Matori gasped after witnessing Darkrai emerge with this plasma sphere. Just like Matori said, the Pokemon would be fine. But in this case, she wouldn't be if it came her way.
But just then, telling Darkrai to stop was none other than Angel Bunny. He cried out from below, yelling Darkrai's name. Darkrai looked down, hearing Angel Bunny's words.
"Krookodile?" That's when Darkrai heard about Krookodile's current predicament. Right now, Krookodile was with Matori herself, captured by her. And he wasn't in one of the cages. He was instead within a Poke Ball.
"That's right" Matori laughed. "Strike us down and you'll take Krookodile out as well! What's it gonna be, Darkrai?!"
"That sleazy...!" Jessie growled, clenching her fists. This made things harder. Darkrai would put Krookodile at risk as well.
"Jokes on you...Krookodile's immune." Just then, Darkrai replied with the most obvious answer. No matter what happens, Krookodile would be fine. After all, he was a Ground-Type and plasma was still a force of electricity and flames. One was ineffective and the other wasn't very effective against Krookodile.
However, when attempting to unleash it, Darkrai's condition worsened. He could not fire the blast as the light screen was melted away by the searing heat of the plasma. His protection was fading as well as the well-being of his own body. It looked like Darkrai wouldn't fire it in time.
But Nightmare Moon would.
She swooped in, stealing what Darkrai already gathered for herself. She protected herself via magic coating before then snatching the plasma away via telekinesis.
"Nightmare?!" Darkrai gasped.
"Luna needs you more than she needs me!" Nightmare Moon looked back at Darkrai with a trembling smile. "I was meant to be sealed away after all. Never to return. This is my chance to vanish and no longer hinder Luna ever again!"
"You idiot!" Darkrai yelled before dropping out of the sky thanks to his damaged body which had cracks all over it.
"If you can't withstand this, you're as good as space dust!" Nightmare Moon would use that gathered strength with all she had. She couldn't properly aim but with an attack this large, aiming wasn't that big of an issue. She unleashed the sphere which ended up knocking her back from the force alone. The sphere burned through the atmosphere, approaching at great speeds.
Matori closed her eyes as many of the helicopters were within range. The sphere was exceptionally wide. Wide enough to touch a tree. That one contact with the tree set it off, resulting in the biggest outburst of plasma so far. The Pokemon House was eclipsed by a bright light which would mask everyone. No one was safe from this light.
It was hard to tell who would be hit by this but easy to tell who would get the worst of this. Nightmare Moon would get the worst of it for sure. The clouds were blown away with parts of the atmosphere being damaged in the process. The Pokemon House and everything built from it had been greatly affected, losing most of its flair and beauty to this conflict.
The light subsided at last, showing the result of this explosion. Nightmare Moon could be seen in the sky, hovering there. With the last of her strength, she could still fly, but as a consequence, she had been turned to stone.
Her body was now grey and hard with cracks all over. If Darkrai had unleashed the attack, this would've been him. But selflessly, she chose to put her own well-being on the line. But not without some results.
The grappling hooks had been damaged by the plasma, failing to keep the Dynasite Cages. As expected, the Pokemon were safe and free from the grasp of Team Plasma. At least, some of them were. Not all of the cages.
Some of them had been taken away. Unfortunately, Team Rocket managed to get away. Their helicopters suffered damage but it was held back thanks to the contact with the tree gauging some distance between them and the explosion.
"Hohohoho~!" Matori's laugh could be heard in the distance as the helicopters managed to get away. Not all of them though. Three of them ended up losing their blades, dropping into bushes and trees with the grunts being turned upside down. "Better luck next time~! If there is one!"
"Nightmare!" Darkrai attempted flying up, only to groan from his damaged body. Catching Nightmare Moon's falling body would be Delphox, who used Psychic to do so. She gently placed Nightmare Moon's stony body down, preventing any harm from being done to it.
"They got way..." Hollow lowered his head.
"Not for long." Officer Jenny adjusted her hat. "They're still in view for us. This is our chance to try and track them down while we have it."
"Frillish..." Seeing Nightmare Moon in this state made the Floating Pokemon mourn for her. She wasn't sure what this meant, but it didn't look pleasant for Nightmare Moon.
"Please. Go and save Krookodile too..." Darkrai pleaded.
"We'll try our best. Get some rest, alright?" Jenny said. "Hollow, was it? Can you help them recover?"
"Uh, sure. I can do that." Hollow would take on this role. Meanwhile, Officer Jenny and her officers would pursue Matori and her group while they had the chance.
Turned to stone, Nightmare Moon did everything in her power to save the Pokemon. She barely succeeded, only saving some of them while others had been taken away. However, this act would be respected by Darkrai and the others. Nightmare Moon earned their respect. What she did there was truly the act of a great Pokemon Trainer.
But what did that all mean when Krookodile had been taken and Team Rocket escaped with some of the Pokemon? What would become of this later on? As the journey continues.
Equestria. Ponyvile. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Nightmare Moon had been turned to stone. After using the destructive power of plasma, she put herself at significant risk. And the consequences showed themselves. Her body was now solid on the outside, with no response. For the doctors, this was a troubling situation that none of them had ever experienced before.
"She'll be fine." Good news came through thanks to the Doctor's words. "She has a heartbeat that's still active, despite how she may appear. Princess Luna...or I suppose, Nightmare Moon will survive. But I'm not sure how to reverse this. This is in the territory of magic."
"Good to hear," Hollow replied before gazing at Nightmare Moon's frozen body. Darkrai closed his eyes as he had recently been healed up as well. He knew that if he used all of that power, his body would turn to stone as well.
"Frillish..." Frillish, Xatu and Musharna gathered around Nightmare Moon's stony body, mourning for her. In this instance, they respected Nightmare Moon as a Trainer and now a friend, almost as if she was Luna herself. And for that, seeing Nightmare Moon frozen was heart-wrenching. But they could take some solace knowing that she was still alive.
"And there's the problem of Krookodile that we have to worry about," Hollow added. "How did he even get captured? Doesn't he have a Poke Ball?"
"Angel Bunny told me. Team Rocket possesses a Poke Ball that can catch Pokemon that already have Trainers." Darkrai replied.
"They made something like that?!" Hollow pulled back. "Scary..."
"Not just that. They've found a way to use plasma. I thought only Reshiram, Zekrom and Passion could do it. But now they have access to that kind of element and we saw how strong it could be. If they have that...who knows what else they're wielding? But then again, this was to be expected. With the way things are now, this development was inevitable."
"It was? How?" Hollow asked.
"In the beginning, everything seemed fine and peaceful at the start. Sure, there were the occasional problems that would show up. I was unfortunately one of the earlier ones in the beginning. These problems would stir up trouble in different worlds, disturbing the peace. But for the most part, it was all simple and relaxed. But then...as time went on and our enemies started revealing themselves, things spiralled out of control. It could all be equated to when Ghetsis first appeared."
"Oh yeah...He made a big impact on Equestria by conquering Saddle-Arabia. And it was so easy for him to do so too."
"Back then, no one was formidable enough to stand up to a Pokemon Trainer. As time went on, Pokemon Trainers started appearing rapidly but that also meant that our enemies would sprout up in greater numbers. Then came the larger-scale instances. The Storm Behemoth, Tirek, Spiritomb, The Indigo Alliance, The Empress invasion and so on. And by the looks of it, it's not slowing down. If anything, it's getting worse by the minute. The more we grow, the more our opponents grow. It's an endless back-and-forth of who can 1UP the other. And when that 1UP happens, the results are vast for either side."
"So it's not gonna get any better, huh?" Hollow grimaced, scratching his hair before gazing at Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon's current condition was a representation of how things were spiralling out of control.
"I've seen it happen before. It always starts out good but over time, it will build up to something unpleasant. And even when the two worlds are connected at last, it won't make things better." Darkrai shook his head at the harsh reality of all this. This extraordinary union of worlds was only going to experience more hardships through and through.
"Frillish..." Hearing that, Frillish, who was already upset, felt a bit intimidated by that. From what Darkrai said, he would have to expect more heart-crushing scenarios.
"But...it's all a matter of what we can do." Darkrai then brought a different side to this conversation. "If we want happier times, we need to keep doing our best to guarantee that. That's what Celestia said once. And even though Krookodile's been taken, nothing's stopping me from finding him."
"You can find Krookodile? How?"
"Previously, I was too tired and didn't have the energy to do much. I couldn't even enter the Dream Realm or even the Hyperdream. Now that I got some rest, I can do just that. Krookodile will fall asleep at some time. And when does, I can reach him."
"What about Princess Luna? Shouldn't you be getting to her by now? After all, you've been looking for her this entire time."
"That too..." Darkrai grumbled, closing his eyes. "Please. Inform her in some way if you can."
"Leave it to me. I'll do my best to reach her." Hollow would take it from here. Informing Luna about her Pokemon would be a top priority as well as finding Krookodile. As for Nightmare Moon, all that could be done was to let her rest and nothing more in the meanwhile.
Could she even hear them in this frozen state? No one knows.
Hoenn. Lilycove City. Afternoon.
As for Luna, she expected to see Team Rocket and Nightmare Moon over at Hoenn after reading the news. But after searching for any noticeable food stands across Hoenn, Luna and her sister failed to find them. None of these food stands had Nightmare Moon working there.
Not from what Luna had seen so far. The Sun could already be seen lowering, showings signs of a late afternoon and the eventual arrival of the night. By this point, Luna's smile was fading away the longer she was away from her Pokemon. Celestia watched as her sister sat down to gaze at the setting sunlight out upon the sea. Far beyond the Contests halls out at Lilycove City, she would try to ease down with this beautiful sight.
This year's Pokemon Festival certainly hasn't been kind to many others. Thanks to the Dread League, The Rift and now Team Rocket's Matori Matrix. Celestia feared that it could all spiral out of control, especially since this was the longest one so far.
Luna wondered if she was getting weaker instead of stronger. She encountered Ghetsis and ended up losing right afterwards, only for Ghetsis to let her go surprisingly. And every other event afterwards only downed her spirits some more
She looked up at the azure skies, wondering what was happening in Pegalysium back in her world. Could another predicament emerge there? It was seemingly likely with how the world was changing. And even after the Pokemon Festival ends, it certainly wouldn't slow down for anyone.
Both worlds had their own problems to deal with. And for the most part, their biggest threats have unified, only worsening the stakes.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House.
As for the Pokemon House, in its state, all of Fluttershy's hard work had been greatly damaged. Craters and obliterated rooms could be seen as not every Pokemon managed to escape from Team Rocket's clutches. Some had been taken. They not only missed their friends but also felt gutted by what happened to Nightmare Moon, who they still saw as Luna.
They picked up the rubble as their wonderful sanctuary had never suffered this much damage before. The worst part was that they all felt powerless to do anything. All these Pokemon with vast numbers and they didn't have the strength to fight back.
They felt like Luna in this instance. Weak. It hit them even more since they managed to help out during Cosmos' attack. It wasn't as if the Pokemon House made them soft or anything like that.
Angel Bunny held a remnant of Team Rocket's actions in the form of this special pen. This pen emitted a specialized soundwave that only Pokemon, animals and surprisingly enough, ponies could hear. At least, he held the pieces of it. Angel Bunny had never seen the Pokemon so distraught before.
Apart from when nightfall comes, this was the most silent the Pokemon House had ever been. And it may remain that way for a while with how things turned out.
Unova. Ghetsis' Castle. Colress' Lab. Afternoon.
Unfortunately, with how the enemies of the Pokemon World and Equestria were moving, the disasters wouldn't slow down at all. Not when Colress was currently working on his various inventions. In this case, it was a Poke Ball. Two of them were in front of him. One of which greatly resembled the Poke Ball that captured Krookodile.
"Glad to hear it was a success. A Poke Ball that catches Pokemon that arent Wild is truly a stupendous innovation from here." Colress chuckled. "But...let's take it a step further."
"How so?" Giovanni questioned as he was currently speaking with Colress in private.
"I'll obviously make more copies of this special Poke Ball, just for your team. Lord Ghetsis won't mind. But there's one Poke Ball that Hunter J recommended. A Poke Ball that catches Ponies."
"Go on." Giovanni was now interested in what he was hearing.
"At first, I thought that was ludicrous. But what's stopping me from creating it? After all, we live in an era where anything is possible. I believe that Poke Balls that can catch Ponies will do nicely. How does that sound?"
"Seems a bit extra to me." Giovanni shook his head. "But, if it's efficient, who am I to judge? Especially since it'll get rid of unwanted problems from Equestria."
"Oh, it will." Colress raised the Poke Ball which was still under construction. "It'll be a one-hit wonder that does its job perfectly. After that, we'll only use it when necessary."
"And who will you use it on? I know what Team Rocket in its entirety will be using it on."
"There are many contenders. But for once, I'll stray away from our biggest problems and focus on the ones that could become a problem. Daybreaker will certainly appreciate this. You as well, Mr Giovanni since this pony threatens everyone's life, no matter which side it is. I suggest we start by capturing the Lich Queen, Rosa Maledicta."
Hoenn. Lilycove City. Late Afternoon.
It was close to nightfall by now. The Sun could be seen lurking over the horizon, slowly setting. Luna waited for the moon to come up as that would give her some form of solace. She feared that this search would continue until tomorrow.
"Luna. Look this way." But that would not be the case. Celestia would do her best to cheer her sister up. But it seemed that all she needed to do was draw her attention to something else based around her. In the distance, bombastic sounds were approaching, reaching this vicinity. Luna would turn to face the direction of this sound as confetti could also be seen flying everywhere. All her thoughts were tossed aside for this very scenario.
A parade was heading this way. Not just any parade. But a parade about her. A giant Luna balloon, which was expertly made surprisingly, could be seen in the distance, towering over everything else. And the ones in charge of this parade, moving head were none other than Team Rocket.
Finally having enough time to rest, Team Rocket showed up, wearing parade uniforms as Jessie proudly twirled a baton around. "This way! Hurry it up~!"
Joining Team Rocket were a few Ponyville residents who were roped in. But they didn't mind at all. Not just that, but more importantly, Luna's Pokemon were wearing uniforms as well, wide awake and everything.
That frown on Luna's face would fizzle out swiftly after witnessing this. She not only saw a parade fitted for her but her Pokemon as well. Darkrai and everyone were here once again. "Darkrai! Everyone!"
Darkrai refused to wear a uniform, so he settled with a hat. Admittedly, in the eyes of everyone, he was a good fit and looked somewhat prim and proper in it. But none of that mattered right now. Right now, Luna mattered.
Overjoyed, she used the full extent of her alicorn speed to fly in. She immediately fly-tackled Darkrai with a mighty hug that would knock many over. But not Darkrai. She spun around the Pitch Black Pokemon's body after that staggering hug, tearing up with joy in her heart.
The rest of her Pokemon would also gather around her as a reunion. Luna gazed at them before then letting out a few chuckles after seeing all their outfits. These parade outfits were too humorous. "You all look ridiculous. But this...this parade is amazing. Seeing you all again is amazing. I missed you all!"
"We did too." Darkrai comforted her with a pat on the back.
"Successful parade." Team Rocket high-fived each other along with an extra individual who was truly the mastermind behind this. Hollow removed his hat which covered his eyes, giving a thumbs-up at Celestia's direction. Celestia would reply by using her wing to do the same gesture.
"Wait. if you're here...where is Nightmare Moon?" Luna wondered as there was no sign of Nightmare Moon.
"Resting. But not in the best state. Luna. You need to go to her right now." Darkrai pleaded. "Urgently. Before we can go and save Krookodile and a few Pokemon."
"Why? What happened with Krookodile? What Pokemon?"
"I'll tell you everything before the Sun truly sets. But as for Nightmare Moon, it's important that you meet with her. Especially with how she helped us."
"She helped you all? Nightmare Moon?" Luna couldn't believe her ears. But it was true as it sounded. All it took was the visible nods of the Pokemon to confirm this. The Nightmare Moon Luna knew wasn't exactly how she was when she first appeared. Granted, that cockiness is still there, but there was another layer to the alter-ego. And that was only possible by the original ego. Princess Luna. "Very we. But please. Let me savour this moment for a bit."
Luna wanted to savour this hug for a while before she could head to Equestria. She deserved it after missing them all. Celestia even wanted to meet with Nightmare Moon herself. After all, that was also her sister by extension. Family was family.
The Sun would stay a little while longer. Was it supernatural forces doing this just for this instance? Maybe. The Pokemon World is an anomaly. And anomaly that responds to the hearts and emotions of others that is. Even with everything dark happening across each world, only rising in numbers, there was also something bright to emerge from it. And that brightness would outshine the darkness more than anything as the journey continues.
Frozen and unresponsive, Nightmare Moon's frozen stony body sat there on the hospital bed. Not that it was doing much to heal her at all. This required magical influence. And at this moment, Princess Luna arrived, meeting with her alter-ego and seeing the state she was in.
After hearing what she did for Luna's Pokemon, Luna herself found respect for her. Previously, she was worried about what Nightmare Moon would do once she became her own separate entity. But her fears and worries had been staved off after how she sacrificed herself for the greater good.
"So, all of that turned her into this?" Luna placed her hoof on Nightmare Moon's body. And when reacting to this, even Team Rocket started weeping. They formed their own special bond with Nightmare Moon over the past few days.
"Say it ain't so!" Meowth wept.
"It should've been me! Not her!" James cried.
"Please! Please tell us you can undo this!" Jessie had her hands together, praying to Luna. "I mean, this has happened before with that Discord guy hasn't it?!"
"This isn't like Discord at all. Her body is in this way because she expended so much magic." Luna deduced. "Maybe the Elements of Harmony can reverse it still, even if it's a different scenario."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go and grab them!" Team Rocket whistled.
"Impossible." Luna shut them down instantly. "That would require the power of Twilight and the others. They are the current wielders of the elements and hold the greatest capacity with them. Even so...it's hard to tell if the elements will work on Nightmare Moon at all."
"It has to work." Celestia, who was also in the room stated. "We'll free her, Luna. Not to worry. We just have to meet with them up at Pegalysium."
"While you're all doing that, I'll meet with Krookodile and the rest of the Pokemon via their dreams," Darkrai said, aiming to retrieve the stolen Pokemon from the Pokemon House. Hopefully, Matori's group haven't returned to their base just yet.
"Allow me to join you." Luna offered. "You won't be doing it on your own. We'll save those Pokemon together. And soon, Nightmare Moon. Sister. Can you go up to Pegalysium instead and get help?"
"I'll be coming with you instead, Luna." However, Celestia would choose to help Luna rescue the Pokemon instead. "We can sort this one out next."
"Oh...Okay then. Darkrai. Get ready. By now, any one of the Pokemon should be falling asleep. Possibly by exhaustion."
"Safe Travels!" Team Rocket exclaimed in unison. It was time for them to enter the Dream Realm. And the one to join them this time would be Princess Celestia. By this time, many humans, ponies, Pokemon and other species would be asleep. Now was the best time to enter the Dream Realm as Luna engulfed all three of them in a pitch-black field. In seconds, they were already in another realm, separate from her.
As for Nightmare Moon, her body would be guarded by Team Rocket in case something awry happens. Her freedom would come later as the method to this undoing stony form had yet to be revealed.
Kanto. On the road. Nightfall.
As for the Matori Matrix, they had yet to return to their base. Mainly due to how their helicopters had been damaged after the events that happened back at the Pokemon House. A few of them were arrested, but the rest of them were still free, carrying some Pokemon from the Pokemon House with them.
Chasing them down were Officer Jenny and fellow officers. Thanks to the damaged helicopters, Jenny and the other officers were able to track her down. Losing the law was difficult for Matori's group since they made such a scene that escalated thanks to the Plasma Spheres.
"Still gaining on us?" Matori said, eyeing down Jenny's group. "If only we had more of those spheres... and especially my pen!" For Matori, her resources dwindled thanks to the conflict back at the Pokemon House.
Thanks to that scuffle, valuable items were expended or even destroyed there. Without those destructive creations, defending themselves wouldn't be so easy. The Pokemon within the cages tried all they could to break free. However, thanks to Dynasite, that was impossible.
After being carried through the skies for a while, some of them fell asleep while others were exhausted from trying to break free. This was just what Luna and Darkrai needed. However, events out of the Dream Realm were just as crucial.
Seeing as they struggled to escape from Officer Jenny while carrying so many Pokemon, Matori and her group chose to land somewhere else while they had the chance. The closest place was a nearby forest. The helicopters would descend but even still, Officer Jenny could easily spot them.
The closest location here was Fuschia City which was the closest to Celadon, where the entirety of Team Rocket's Headquarters could be found. Despite that, getting to their secret base would be difficult if the law was eyeing them down. Despite their victory over Nightmare Moon, the alter-ego of Luna ended up bringing one detriment to the Matori Matrix as a form of karma.
Hyperdream.
The Hyperdream. For the first time, Celestia could view it in all its glory. The endless array of Dreams that have happened, are currently happening or will happen. It was all here, spanning both worlds.
"This is it?!" Celestia marvelled at this sight. "Wonderful! I've been missing out on not coming here with you! Mainly because I'm asleep by then. So...how does this work, exactly?"
"All it takes is finding the most recent dreams. The biggest challenge is finding a specific Pokemon. Every Pokemon in existence have too many lookalikes to count. Mainly because of how their species biologically are. If we're to find the ones from the Pokemon House, we need to be specific."
"That is difficult, indeed." Celestia nodded as finding the dream of a particular Pokemon was astronomically difficult since so many of them looked the same. Luckily, thanks to her control over this realm, Luna could find the right dreams via categories. All she had to do was sort them.
She had Alphabetical Categories for dreams. Dreams by oldest to youngest. Dreams that are focused on family lines or even friend groups. And of course, a category for locations. She used her magic to rearrange the Hyperdream for a bit, focusing on dreams that come in location. Celestia watched her little sister perform this stellar spell that she herself could not do. This was all exclusive to her after all. Celestia could certainly enter the Dream Realm and influence dreams. She's been doing it ever since her sister went into the moon as a substitute. But never on this level.
"Here. Ponyville. And this sub-category contains the Pokemon House." By bringing over the Dreams of everyone living in Ponyville, Luna then revealed sub-categories since the Pokemon House was within Ponyville itself. These sub-categories appeared as smaller but still exceptionally large bubbles.
All the Pokemon from the Pokemon House and their dreams were revealed. And on addition, Luna would focus on the most recent ones. They had been spotted immediately. The most recent dreams flashed blue, making it a great indicator of which dreams Luna should focus on.
"There they are. These are the dreams we need, sister. And for this instance, it's best to focus on a nightmare rather than a good dream."
"Why is that?"
"Nightmares can sometimes take place in the same location where the unpleasant event is happening in reality. So if we enter a nightmare, we can know where they are. Or at least, follow their steps. And the one I'm eyeing down is Deerling." Luna selected a dream. In this case, it would be the dream of a Deerling. If there was a Pokemon that would have a nightmare about its current circumstance, it would be this one.
Deerling's Dream. Out in a Forest.
Indeed, this Deerling was dreaming about its current predicament. The same forest that the Matori Matrix went to was embedded in Deerling's mind. Obviously, since it was a dream, it was all exaggerated. Especially Matori herself, who appeared as a giant.
Deerling was hiding from this gigantic Matori and the other Team Rocket Grunts who towered over every tree here. They cast massive shadows over not just Deerling, but the other Pokemon captured by them. The trees were little more than irrelevant obstacles that were easily knocked down by them.
The massive hand of Matori attempted to catch some of them, crushing the trees that got in her way. This was the right dream to be in. Luna, Celestia and Darkrai arrived, hitting the jackpot. Not only was this Deerling's dream, but it was a connected one.
"Aha! Multiple Pokemon means that they are sharing the same dream!" Luna realized before feeling her mane blow from the giant swings. Just the movements of these large figures were enough to cause a turbulent force. Some of the Pokemon ended up being caught by Matori's group before being pulled in. One by one, they were getting picked, struggling to get away.
"Why don't we turn this nightmare into a pleasant dream?" Celestia would go ahead, taking action before the nightmare could worsen. The moment Matori's hand went to reach Deerling and a few other Pokemon, she was quickly blocked from doing so.
A magical wall stood in her way, materializing into existence. Matori grimaced the wall felt incredibly hot as if the Sun had just shown up on earth. She cried out as Deerling imagine her roar to be terrifying. It just viewed Matori as terrifying in general.
When moving back, she obliterated more of the land behind her before stumbling. More of these walls would appear, blocking the Team Rocket Grunts and burning their hands even if they had gloves on Deerling and the rest of them would glance over at Celestia as she was the ray of hope they needed. This nightmare would soon shift into a pleasant dream, as said by Celesta.
"Deerling!"
"Deerling! No need to worry now that we're here." Luna flew in, reassuring safety to Deerling and the others. They certainly felt safe now, but their nightmarish threats were still here, growling, hissing, snarling and roaring at the Royal Sisters.
"Luna. Ask them quickly while I sort this out." Celestia chose to handle the major problem while Luna handle the rest. She spread her wings out, approaching the Matori Matrix.
"Listen to me, all of you. Where are you? I can see it's a forest but what kind of forest exactly?" Luna questioned Deerling and the others.
"Deer! Deerling!" Deerling and all the Pokemon bombarded Luna with a barrage of words. The location of this forest, while it looked like most other forests, did have a nearby location. They recently saw it next to a roadside. More importantly, it was close to a city. But they couldn't exactly say which city it was.
Darkrai would fly out of the forest to investigate further. After all, this dream was centred around the locations Deerling and the other Pokemon saw. Since they all shared a dream, there were various angles to choose from. The Pitch Black Pokemon ascended, spotting the road they passed by earlier. And of course, he saw the city.
"That city...That's Fuchsia City." Darkrai said, spotting Fuchsia's appearance. It would only make sense considering how close Celadon and Fuchsia were to each other "That's where we'll find them."
"Fuschia City? Understood. Do not worry you all. We'll find you." Luna rubbed Deerling's head as comfort. "But...as a guarantee for us to truly spot you, can you do this for us? Let out as many cries as you can. Cry as if you were singing your heart out. Let your voice echo through the night sky. One of you has to wake up and start the call. That will help wake others up, prompting them to do the same. Understood?"
"Deer-Deer." Deerling and all the Pokemon would do just that. Anything to be free. Thankfully, compared to past and future dreams, current dreams affect the real world as opposed to the other two affecting nothing for the dreamers.
"Sister! It's time for us to go!"
"Understood!" Celestia replied before unleashing a large flash of golden magic which would engulf each of these giants. The Matori Matrix would fall over, unable to handle the force of Celestia's flare. Everything about it mimicked the Sun too well.
She set out to make this dream pleasant for the dreamers and for the most part, it was successful. She and Luna brought smiles to their faces, quickly changing the properties of this dream in its entirety. But they couldn't stay here forever to make the dream better. That would only waste time. To make sure this dream would never come up for them again, it was back to reality.
Near Fuschisa and Celadon. Out in a forest. Nightfall.
The helicopters finally ended up landing somewhere. However, the moment Officer Jenny and her officers showed up, the helicopters were revealed to be empty. The helicopters had no one inside. Not a human or a Pokemon to be found. They had been abandoned. The cages of Dyansite were gone as well.
"Hmm..." Officer Jenny narrowed her eyes. "They can't move faster than a helicopter, that's for sure. They're somewhere here in the forest. Arcanine."
"Arcanine!" Arcanine would sniff them out. After all, it had the scent from the helicopter to go off from. The search for the Matori Matrix would continue.
As for the Matori Matrix, after leaving behind the helicopters, they dragged along the Dynasite Cages. Thankfully for them, the cages were light despite how strong the metal was. They fled to the north of the forest, using their own hands to carry the cages while keeping a low profile from the law. All they had to do now was reach Celadon City without their helicopters.
Matori herself contacted Givaoni, updating him on the situation. The progress she made was splendid but the ending had yet to come as it brought some unwanted problems.
"So, as you can see, sir, we're not out of the clear yet," Matori said to Giovanni via her phone. "It will be difficult getting back to Celadon like this. That alicorn is to blame."
"I see." Giovanni nodded. "Well, I can cover that for you. I'll send an immediate envoy who'll be undercover. You know what he looks like anyway. You're certainly too far to take the secret pathway at this point."
"Underst-"
"Deeeeeer!" Interrupting her was none other than Deerling. It was the first one to wake up. All the dragging certainly helped wake it up.
"What now?" Matori turned to face the Deerling who was ordered by Luna to start crying. Cry like it has never cried before. It interrupted Matori and everyone else with this bellowing cry that would soon wake others up. By itself, Deerling could not do much.
The other Pokemon who were still awake would do the same. Deerling's cry also meant getting everyone else involved. After hearing what it had to sound out, those Pokemon would let out their signature cries too.
"Cherrim!" A Cherim would follow right afterwards. Then a Corsola, followed by a Spheal which would then cause a domino effect. Pokemon after Pokemon started crying out, amping up the volumes. Their cries were targeted to the skies themselves as they even sang a melody while they were at it. It was a melody that only they knew.
A melody that Fluttershy plays to them. Very soon, this would wake up the other Pokemon who shared Deerling's dream. Ad upon waking up, they knew what needed to be done. They would indulge in this song.
"What are they doing?!" Matori exclaimed as all she could hear was the singing of Pokemon from all sides. Their soundwaves came together to create a greater volume. A volume that would reverberate across the forest for all to hear.
And that involved Officer Jenny, who was searching for them. It wouldn't just be Arcanine's scent that would help track them down but the voices of the Pokemon themselves. Arcanine, by instinct, ended up doing the same thing by howling.
"They're going to attract them! Shut them up!" Matori ordered. She knew if this continued, this would attract Jenny and her officers.
"None of our Pokemon are healed up though!" A grunt shrugged as this was the result of their actions. Because of how they harmed their own Pokemon back at the Pokemon House with those Plasma Bombs, they weren't at full strength at all.
"Matori...don't mess this up." Giovanni narrowed his eyes as now the pressure was being put on Matori.
"I assure you, I won't. I just have to keep them quiet, that's all. I still have my Meowth and Exploud. They'll shut them up." Matori was the only one who had Pokemon who could do something. Exploud was damaged but still had enough energy. The same went for Meowth.
"Deeeeer! Deeeer!"
"That's enough out of you!" Matori yelled before throwing both Poke Balls into the air, summoning Alolan Meowth and Exploud. "I wish I could have Exploud outperform you, but I need to keep a low profile still. But I can knock you all out for good. "Exploud! Meowth! Hammer Arm and Shadow Claw!"
"Exploud!" Exploud would spin its arms up, looking forward to slugging each of these Pokemon while Alolan Meowth unveiled its claws, approaching the caged Pokemon.
"Deer?!" Naturally, they were intimidated by this, pulling back a bit. But Deerling and its fellow Pokemon wouldn't stop, even when threatened. They believed in Celestia and Luna to find them. "Deerling! Deerling!"
Their cries continued, going so far to the point where they would reach out of the forest itself, meeting with the road for any passerby to hear. And three important passersby ended up hearing them clearly. They all huddled up in the Dynasite Cages, still crying out loud while also being genuinely terrified.
But before Exploud and Meowth could do anything, that's when the impossible happened. In the dead of night, where the moon was beautifully shining above the world, it had been replaced. The solar light of the Sun suddenly appeared. In the blink of an eye, the Sun had shown up with the moon vanishing.
Daylight appeared earlier than before and with a powerful hit. The gleaming rays of the sun pierced the eyes of Exploud and Alolan Meowth along with Team Rocket.
"Is that...the Sun?!" A grunt gasped.
"It is! But it can't be daytime already!" Another grunt added.
"But that's impossible! How can that be?!" Matori couldn't believe this. How could the Sun be up so early when it was meant to be nighttime? Fairly early nighttime too.
There was only one explanation for this. Or rather, two explanations. But the first one was the most likely. Their jaws all dropped as two silhouettes could be spotted in the middle of the sun's beautiful light. Their wings spread out gracefully as the ones who had the power to control the Sun and the Moon, even if it does not come from their own world were none other than the Royal Sisters.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
They indeed arrived as promised, becoming that ray of hope for the Pokemon. Figuratively and literally Needless to say, when they revealed themselves. And when they descended, they met with the Matori Matrix at last. This time, the true version of Luna would encounter them.
And there was one stark difference between Luna and Nightmare Moon. Something that the Matori Matrix would soon discover. The howling worked. Coming together to let out sky-piercing cries alert many across the forest and even outside. Especially those searching for them.
Giovanni was still on the phone, witnessing Celestia and Luna for himself. Instead of hanging up, the Team Rocket Boss would stay around to watch. He had his reasons for watching. Reasons that related back to their greatest enemies.
Pegalysium. Ethereal Pavilion. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
Up at the Ethereal Pavilion, the view of Windkiss' past continued and everything she left behind. Previously, Ash and his friends viewed two memories. The day she made the Pavilion and the day she met an invisible pony from Equestria. With these two memories, they learned a lot. And right now, even when the moon was out, they managed to view a memory that came after the first one which was fairly lengthy.
It followed Windkiss' experience on how she reacted to the potential outcomes in the future. Mainly, concerning the Pavilion and the presence of the Indigo Alliance. Because of this fear, she tried cheering herself up by witnessing everyone's enjoyment at the Pavilion and the various shows it bestowed.
The diary already revealed what happened on the second day. These were the words spoken by it via Windkiss' own voice, minutes ago.
"Dear Diary. It's been a day since the Ethereal Pavilion opened up. My fears of the Indigo Alliance still run strong, sadly. Even though I made this place to get away from them, I can never forget about them or stop bringing them up. My sages are right. That's my biggest weakness by far. I'm always fearing the worst. But...on this second day, when I saw how everypony enjoyed themselves, it eased me down."
Windkiss could be seen looking over a balcony, witnessing how everypony admired this show. The show in particular was a hypothetical view of the cosmos itself since nopony here has ever seen outer space. And for a hypothetical rendition, it was accurate, mainly considering who made it.
In the current day, Ash and everyone got to witness this show as well. They saw how all the planets and stars moved so beautifully as if they were dancing.
"Sweet!" Ash gawked at this sight.
"Pika..!"
"I knew we'd get the chance to look at the stars again in a peaceful way!" Rarity exclaimed as her dream to admire the stars without having to worry about any conflict came true. Although, it wasn't in the way she expected it to be. Viewing it from the past was a new but definitely welcomed experience.
"But why isn't Windkiss feeling the same?" Twilight wondered, gazing at the magical projection of Windkiss.
All these smiles brought some happiness to her. Her main objective was realized. In this instance, everyone else forgot about the Indigo Alliance entirely. However, even though it made everyone wonderfully happy, it didn't soothe her fears at all. She was the only one not enjoying the pavilion.
"This is great...so then why can't I get it out of my head?" She placed her hooves on her head, whimpering a bit. That's when Windkisss saw something rather special that answered everything for her.
She wasn't the only one nervous about the Indigo Alliance. Other ponies here had reasonable fears and worries even with the amazing sight before them. They feared that the Indigo Alliance had snuck in and were waiting for the right moment to strike. But they all had something in common. Or someone. A friend. Their friends who were less stressed about those fears were there to ease them. As long as they had friends who brought a unique sense of safety, they had little to fear.
"That's right...I don't have any friends." Windkiss' heart sank after saying that. Something new about her had also been revealed. She had no friends in her life, surprisingly. For how wonderful her magic was and the beauty of the Ethereal Pavilion, it was surprising. But at the same time, it made sense as to why this was the case.
"She didn't have any friends?" Pinkie Pie gasped. "I thought for sure she would've had some."
"It's not uncommon for something like this to happen." Cynthia shook her head. "She's from a noble family and possesses such an amazing magical ability. Sometimes, those that are the most gifted and splendid struggle to find friends."
"That's very true." Twilight would know about this. Mainly from Celestia and Luna. "It's a shame though. Not even her sages are counted as friends?"
"Or even those Sky Fish. But I guess they can't really do much." Fluttershy added.
"What about that pony from Equestria she met before? She didn't become friends with him? Didn't he show up again as promised?" Hilda questioned as there were still possibilities for Windkiss to have a friend. This was only the second day after all and she did meet that pony on the third day. "What else is there, Twilight?"
"That's where the second day ends." Twilight showed them the diary. "But the fourth day's touchstone is said to be right over here." She would soon use her magic to zap the nearby touchstone that was on the other side of this room which led to the outside.
Instead of showing an arrow that would point them to the next room, the next memory would play instead. It switched to Windkiss standing just in between the outside of the pavilion and the inside. There, she faced some ponies who were showing up to the pavilion for a fun time. It already gained popularity after the show that was displayed.
"Dear Diary. Today is the day I try and make some friends for the first time. I heard from my mother and father that friends are there for many things. To help you get started, to give you a push on your way. They're even to help you to turn you around and get your feet on the ground for a brand new day. All the most amazing things I've heard from them as so exciting. It would be nice to have some friends. Somepony to pick me up when I'm down, maybe swallow my pride or each others'. And for once, I'd like somepony to open up to if something goes wrong. My father even says that friends will be there when they're needed and even when they're not. I can't wait to have friends."
On this day, she attempted to make friends herself after what she saw on the second day and what she learned on the third day about the Magic of Friendship and the other two Critical Magics. She would greet the ponies in front of her, trying her hoof out at befriending them first.
"So...I was wondering if you all would be my friends. We can spend time together anywhere. Mainly here." She asked them, scratching her mane. The Destiny Pegasus certainly wasn't nervous to ask them. She was brimming with confidence.
"Oh, no! We can't!" Unexpectedly, the ponies declined right on the spot.
"Eh? Why not?" Windkiss pulled back.
"We're not worthy, obviously. You're too amazing for us." The ponies chuckled.
"I-I am? Thanks but-"
"Mhm. Possessing the power of time itself, something that nopony in the Royal Family has achieved before is too amazing. And the Ethereal Pavilion as well? Too splendid."
"Well...they are neat and all but-"
"And even the other items you crafted. All of it exceeds natural imagination. Please. We aren't at your level. But if you want us to be your servants, that could work!"
"It's fine." This was a failure. The ponies saw her in a different way. It was somehow positive and negative at the same time. But, this would not discourage her to keep trying. Surely, not everypony thinks this way and genuinely wants to be friends with her. Her voice from the diary spoke once more, sharing what else came next.
"I'm apparently too respected to have friends. No one is in my league, according to what everypony says. I don't get that, honestly. Even my sages think the same surprisingly. I kept trying though, seeing if I could make some friends. I figured that maybe the nobles from the Pegalysium Capital and more fashionable ponies from the Casino City Big Sky would be my friends at least."
"Ah! But of course!" The nobles chuckled pompously in front of Windkiss, agreeing to be her friend. "We shall be your friends! Why befriend anypony else when you have us at the wonderful Pegalysium Capital?"
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Windkiss had a beaming grin from this. She felt like she succeeded in making some friends. Elated to a new level, Windkiss felt like she could be at ease with friends by her side. But the diary revealed more to it.
"I was so thrilled when I got some friends to be by my side. We could do so much and go everywhere we wanted. But...that's when I found out why they wanted to be my friends so quickly. It was the opposite of why so many of them didn't want to be my friends. It was my magic and my imagination. That's all they wanted. And I guess my family's riches too. Just like that, I stopped seeing them once I found out."
Heartbroken, Windkiss felt betrayed by who she thought were her friends who only used her for her magic and wanted every beneficial thing from her that would benefit anyone in existence. For Big Sky, they wanted her time magic to rig games just to have better odds and for the nobles, youth was all they wanted. They wanted to feel the joy of looking young forever.
Writing this down in the diary made Windkiss tear up. She rubbed her eyes, trying her best to cry silently, only to fail at it before slamming her face on the diary page. This truly hit her. At this point, Windkiss felt alone.
So far, the first few pages of her diary have been nothing but saddening news. Fear of the Indigo Alliance, the fear of being alone and the fake facade of friends. It was all hard on this pegasus who was known for such amazing feats. She would still try, fixating on the invisible pony from yesterday who promised to return one day.
She stood on the edge of this sky island, staring at the azure skies which would soon become grey and cloudy, hiding the sun's rays.
"I waited for that one pony from Equestria to show up again for weeks...but he never did. And I don't know why. I'm afraid to say it...but I think I'm truly alone."
"Please tell me there's something good in there...Cause I'm not crying!" Rainbow Dash scrunched her face, trying to hide her tears away to the best of her abilities.
"It's all gut-wrenching, I know. But from what I can gather here...it does get better. But not until the 7th day." Twilight took a sneak peek at one of the pages. That page had a positive outcome to it, potentially leading to more positive pages in this diary. "But...I'm a sucker for consistency and chronologies so we're reading it in order!"
"Aww...." Her friends groaned as that meant more time going through saddening moments. But just then, they all looked outside to see the glorious glow of the moon.
"But it's getting late. Let's call it a night. Uh...if w can find somewhere to sleep." Twilight squeed before seeing the diary glow once more. With amazement, a new page sprouted out. It was an extra page that was separate from the others as it did not have a number. Windkiss' voice would speak from it once more.
"Just a quick intermission. If you're seeing this page that means it's probably nightfall by the time you're done viewing that fourth memory. Tired? I bet. So, to let you rest and still keep up, I created magical beds just for this room. Just tap your hoof on the floor five times and it'll show up.
"Tap our hooves five times?" The Mane 6 collectively said before doing just that. But just to make sure they didn't do it out of order, each of them would tap in a unified rhythm. That rhythm did the trip as materializing into existence were magical beds.
It managed to detect multiple species in this room, creating a number of beds specifically for them. They were all lifted off the floor before then landing on these soft and comfortable beds. Each were tailored to their respective sizes. From pony to human to Pokemon.
"Oh, this is great!" Ash laughed as he automatically starts bouncing on the bed. Pikachu, Pinkie Pie and Mew would start doing the same.
"Pikachu!"
"It is! It feels exactly like my bed too." Rarity felt some familiarity with this bed. It reminded her of her bedroom.
"I think it's made to fit our own needs." Twilight felt the bed. "It feels like mine as well. Even exactly how it's designed as well. Windkiss is truly impressive."
"A shame she never got any friends. Or at least, I think so. The diary isn't over yet." Fluttershy said. "I assume the happier parts are when she received friends finally."
"But I didn't know it would be so tough on her." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Gee, that blows."
"It does, doesn't it? But it can't be helped. Stuff like this always happens to those who are famous." Hilda sighed, sitting up on the bed. "But at least there's always a chance for a better outcome. We can look forward to that tomorrow."
"Oh! Check it out! This view is still here!" Ash pointed out how the projection of space was still present even when the flashback had ended. The planets spun around above them all as if they were accessories in a baby cradle. They could admire the soothing sights of space while lying on these comfortable and familiar beds.
This pavilion did not fail to surprise them at all. They all stayed silent to gaze at the spiralling cosmos which would soon descend to get closer to them. Ash held his hand out, grabbing a hold of the Sun while Pikachu held Jupiter.
They suddenly felt physical to them as this was most definitely a part of these magical beds and Windkiss' expertise in magic kicked in. Everyone else would soon have a planet in their grasp.
Twilight held the planet Juno with her magic instead, managing to move it around as she could interact with this show instead of just gazing. That added to the excitement. Applejack caught the planet Dian in her hat as if she playing a cup game.
Rainbow Dash caught Mercury in her wing before rolling it around. Fluttershy had caught Pluto via an accidental landing on her face which would then be picked up by Audino. Rarity had Venus land on her horn before then twirling it as if she was holding a basketball. Finally, Pinkie Pie used her fairly bushy tail to catch Saturn.
Cynthia, Bertha and Hilda would hold Uranus, Minverna and Neptune as there were many other planets and stars for them to interact with. It was certainly a massive contrast compared to what they went through back at the Galaxy Tower. It felt amazing to hold the planets and stars s if they were giants. Thankfully, they weren't the real deal, otherwise, that would cause major problems and one of them would definitely lose a hand.
Eventually, after admiring the cosmos, they all began falling asleep, resting here at the Ethereal Pavilion. It was a peaceful night for them with no disruption. And as to be expected, Absol would stay up, keeping guard despite how peaceful the pavilion was. Absol always refused to let his guard down.
Watching them was none other than the Royal Family, who were currently disguising themselves as the sages from the past, having the same glow and echoed voice.
"Boy...I never knew it got that bad for Windkiss." Shooting Star said. "She never had any friends?"
"Not for a while. But eventually, she did find a friend." Paramount said. "Isn't that right, dear?"
"That's right. My grandmother to be exact." Luminary revealed to Shooting tar that her grandmother knew and was friends with Windkiss in the past. "I remember how my grandmother mentioned how thrilled Windkiss was when she found a true friend. The reaction was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. In fact...it was so explosive, she managed to change it from day to night."
"For real...?!" Shooting Star gasped before putting his mouth over his hooves, trying not to wake them up or even alert Absol.
"Funnily enough, Windkiss' true potential was never realized. Despite having Time Magic, she never used it to go back in time to change anything. That's why she left the Clock Door to us. Sothat no one would take advantage of such a power." Paramount explained.
"But that one moment of happiness made her accidentally fast-forward time to one day. Of course, it was fixed but my grandmother never forgot it and now my entire family knows it."
"Oooh..." An amazed Shooting Star uttered. "So then, if that's the case, what's up with the tiara? Windkiss left so much behind but what can that one tiara show you exactly?"
"Well, why don't we head there and see for ourselves?" Paramount suggested that they try the tiara on. "It can show you a lot. Even though that is the only function, depending on who puts it on, the tiara will show the wearer something unique."
"I can't wait to see what it gives me. Maybe a hint on my own new magic?" Shooting Star wondered as they slowly creep away from this area, keeping a low profile. It was off to the room where the tiara could be found.
Kanto. Near Fuchsia City. Out in a forest. Nightfall.
Celestia and Luna had arrived. Tracking down the Matori Matrix, they found this special Team Rocket Group and the Pokemon they captured. The Matori Matrix's chances of escaping had dwindled because of this. To make matters worse for them, their Pokemon were down and out after what happened back at the Pokemon House. The only one with at least a healthy Pokemon was Matori. Watching through Matori's phone was Team Rocket's Leader Giovanni, who saw Celestia and Luna for the first time.
"This is bad..." Matori grumbled as she would have to answer to not just two alicorns, but two alicorns who had healthy and powerful Pokemon. Not only that, but Officer Jenny's group were still approaching. The Matori Matrix were in a grim position.
"This is as far as you go," Luna said as her magical aura started flaring up with vast intensity. A bit of Lunar Ire was also being summoned by her. "I'm going to pay you back tenfold for what you did."
"Hold on. Let's not get aggressive." Celestia halted her little sister. "We could harm this forest and the Pokemon that call it home. But we will be bringing the Pokemon back home, without a doubt."
"As if!" Matori shouted in denial, ready to take out one of her Poke Balls. "We've come this far and-"
"Matori." Just then, interrupting her was none other than Giovanni himself. "Show me to them."
"Yes, sir." Matori would raise the phone, showing Giovanni to Celestia and Luna.
"And who would you be?" Celestia questioned.
"Who am I? A fellow ruler. I am Team Rocket's leader in its entirety. Giovanni's the name." Giovanni revealed himself to the Royal Sisters without sugarcoating anything. We meet at last, princesses."
"That's Team Rocket's leader?" Luna uttered.
"Well, I didn't expect to meet the leader so soon." Princess Celestia added. "Definitely not in a forest. Any reason why you want to speak with us now of all times?"
"Indeed. I would've thought Matori was more clever than this. The other Pokemon are unable to battle and she only has two that can do anything. But against you two, that won't do."
"S-Sorry. I got careless, boss." Matori lowered her head as she almost slipped up by nearly challenging Celesti and Luna.
"In that case, do you yield?" said Luna. "You should know when there is a visible disadvantage and when to cut your losses. But I am feeling bitter after what they did."
"I can see that. And indeed, Team Rocket does know when to back out when necessary." Giovanni smirked. "But, I'vehearda bout my...lesser known workers being at your world."
"Jessie, James and Meowth?" Celestia uttered their names. "What about them?"
"Nothing. I thought I could do something with them but... never mind. Back on topic, while we know when to back out, I'm a different story. I like to create a compromise, you see. How about we make a deal?"
"A deal?" Celestia repeated, narrowing her eyes.
"Yes. You might want to hear this. For your own sake and for Canterlot as well. It's about Team Plasma and their accomplices."
"Canterlot? What does that mean?!" Luna roared. Giovanni knew something that they didn't. They saw that look in his eyes. Those were the eyes of a devious plotter who had something crucial that could be unleashed. Celestia and Luna had visible sweatdrops.
"Go on..." Celestia agreed to hear what Giovanni had to say. "Say what you can. And about Canterlot as well."
Kanto. Near Fuschia City. Out in a Forest. Nightfall.
"Read my lips, princesses." Giovanni, who was currently speaking to Celestia and Luna from a phone had something crucial to say. It involved Team Plasma and Canterlot. Canterlot, judging by what Giovanni spouted, was potentially being threatened. Possibly at this very moment. "I know more about Team Plasma than you do right now."
"Tch." Luna kissed her teeth, giving a vicious glare to Giovanni. "Just spout your fall."
"Universe 11. Your biggest problems are hiding there but you can't seem to reach them at all. A powerful flame from your counterpart and alter-ego Daybreaker is shielding it with her magic alone, Princess Celestia. And even so...you can't find the location of that flame either, making it far harder than it needs to be."
"And I suppose you do?" Celestia added. "You know of a way to get past the flames and even find this universe?"
"Indeed I do. But more importantly, I know what their next big action will take place and when it will happen. What they'll do and what they aim to retrieve. Vice-versa. Everything valuable is already stored up here." Giovanni tapped bi's head.
"You know?!" Celestia gasped as Giovanni was talking big, supposedly holding bast secrets. "Every bit of it?!"
"Prove it!" But Luna wanted evidence. "How could you know?!"
"Don't you dare doubt the boss's knowledge!" Matori roared back at Luna.
"Leave it, Matori. I have connections all over the world, my little pony. Kanto isn't the only region out of our boundaries. I've been watching your world and everything you've done. Especially when your precious Gardevoir almost destroyed both our worlds as a little Krilia, having yet to fully Evolve. And even when your Darkrai first appeared at Ponyville, putting everyone to sleep."
"Y-You've been watching us...for that long?" Luna stammered, shocked that Giovanni was that ahead. Compared to Team Plasma, the Empress and many others, it took them a while to know about the two worlds crossing over. But Giovanni was aware of it from the start and took the chance to look into it.
"Very much. This isn't the first time I've dabbled in knowing about other worlds. The only proof of my organisation's existence to you were those three buffoons who now live there. They could never share that valuable information with me, not even bring it up. That is why I've had eyes all over Equestria, moving through the shadows undetected. You haven't noticed what I've done. Not at all. And thanks to my time there, I've received various secrets."
"What kind of secrets?" Celestia questioned with a visible sweatdrop forming, worrying about what Giovanni could've gained.
"For example...there's this." Shockingly, Giovanni held up something Celestia and Luna did not expect. He held an Element of Harmony. More specifically, the Element of Magic. "And there's this." To surprise them some more, in his other hand, he held a strange book that let out flares of magic around it.
"How did you get those?!" Celestia gasped. "When did you get those?!"
"I have more of these. Under your noses, they've all been obtained by my organization. You know what this book has, don't you? It'd be terrible if I were to leak what was inside. Or even this Element here. It's rather important to your world, isn't it? Or perhaps...this white stone that holds Reshiram."
In his hands, Giovanni held a white stone. Celestia backed away, shouting the name of the Legendary Pokemon out loud. "That's...Reshiram?! That can't be right...That's just a stone.
"You didn't know? Reshiram ran into a bit of an issue back at Holon. As a result, to preserve its own life, it turns into a Light Stone until it is ready to emerge. You can look at your Pokedex and immediately know about it. And when it emerges, it will have a new trainer. Not a bright idea breaking that Poke Ball it came in, Celestia. I could do more than just become its new trainer."
To make sure Giovanni wasn't lying, Celestia used her magic to bring out her Pokedex. By quickly scrolling down, she reached Reshiram's page. One touch of the Vast White Pokemon's extra dex entry and it read as followed.
"Reshiram. The Vast White Pokemon. To preserve its own life, Reshiram will take on the form of a Light Stone to stay dormant. It is one of the two Dragon Stones. For Reshiram to emerge from it, only a Hero of Truth can awaken."
"Then...that really is Reshiram!" Celestia dropped the Pokedex out of shock. The Pokedex even showed her the stone itself as it matched what Giovanni was holding.
"We need those for Nightmare Moon...!" Luna growled. "Return them immediately!"
"Nightmare Moon? Ah, the one in the hospital." Once again Giovanni surprised them, already knowing about Nightmare Moon's current location. "Nothing's stopping me from retrieving her as well. Maybe a souvenir. Perhaps, I've already done it while you were are."
"You fiend...!" Luna growled as her hoof was starting to form a tiny crater.
"Besides, that'd be asking for many other items to be returned post-haste. Granted, it won't matter since your precious Canterlot can be taken out at any minute. With just an order, I can make it happen. Curious as to how I'm able to do that?" Giovanni chuckled as he now had Celestia and Luna in a corner. All it took was him possessing vital items from Equestria. You've been so focused on every other problem to the point where my group has been neglected. I'm somewhat hurt."
"What was your deal, anyway?" Celestia gulped.
"You have so much in Equestria that's too beneficial not to transfer over here. Heaps of gold. More gold than any place in the world. Equestria has too much than can benefit Team Rocket. All the possible shares from your nation...But let me not get ahead of myself right now. This book feels far more important than whatever I have. Just like how I can share information about you with your enemy...I can also leak them. So...here is my deal."
Judging by Celestia's trembling hooves and grim expression. Giovanni was right. Inside that book held various secrets that would benefit Team Plasma, the Solar Empire, the Twilight Imperium and so on. She couldn't risk it, especially since Giovanni was somewhere they weren't aware of at the moment.
At that moment, Giovanni uttered his deal. But what could it entail? And what more did Team Rocket's Boss know and possess?
Unova. Ghetsis' Castle. Colress Lab. Nightfall.
"They've taken the bait." But this entire time, Colress had been watching. Through the view of Giovanni's recorder, he could see the interaction between him and the Two Sisters. Empress Twilight was there, emerging from the dark corners of this lab as she spoke with Colress.
"Good." Empress Twilight chuckled. "That Malamar and Gardevoir are better than I thought. Could've fooled me with those illusions as well. And as for Canterlot, with all those Unown, I firmly believe that Second Wind make it come true."
This was truly Empress Twilight's plan. With her connections to Colress, who had connections to Team Plasma, she could do so much to gain an advantage over Celestia and her world.
"A shame Daybreaker won't chime in. Too worried about vampires to even join the fun." Colress shrugged. "Oh well. The Poke Ball that will catch ponies has already finished."
"What a strange object...How can that even work? We are not Pokemon since those things were made for them. And you intend to catch the Lich Queen with that?
"Well, let's find out." For a test, Colress ended up tossing the Poke Ball at Empress Twilight. The Empress gasped as her body shrunk once the ball touched her. Indeed, it functioned just like a regular Poke Ball, but instead of shrinking a Pokemon, it would shrink a pony. The Empress found herself within the Poke Ball, stunned to the core. And once the ball dropped, it started shaking.
1...2...3...Gotcha!
Shockingly, Empress Twilight was caught. A stunning leap in science on Colress' part. He picked up the Poke Ball, twirling it around, playfully.
"Well, looks like it works perfectly fine. I'll get to making more copies at once." Colress giggled before then releasing Empress Twilight from her Poke Ball.
"Y-You...! You!" Empress Twilight's body staggered as she couldn't believe what had just happened. She became a Pokemon in that instance. Right now, Colress was her trainer. "How dare you?!"
"Ah. That was a recommendation from Giovanni if you must know."
"Giovanni?!" The Empress gasped.
"I saw you earlier. You were hiding within my lab while I was speaking to him and J. He already knew of the special Poke Ball I would make that would catch ponies. All he had to do was pretend that it was brand new to him and such a concept never came up ever. I must say, he's a fairly good actor. Of course, I had to pretend too along with J."
You set me up!" The Empress twitched.
"Only for a bit. Our alliance is still on. I'm far more terrified of Daybreaker than I am of you, honestly. But as it stands, you'll know your place, my little pony. Especially you, Empress. And this Poke Ball is proof of that." Colress smirked, aggravating Empress Twilight.
Right behind Colress, flashes of electricity went off in the darkness. That came from none other than his Magnezone, who was already guarding Colress against any potential harm. Her horn flashed purple, threatening to shoot the Poke Ball even if he had Magnezone behind him, lurking in the shadows.
"Ah-ah." Colress wagged his finger. "I convinced Second Wind to pass over some Dynasite. So...this Poke Ball is indestructible. Unless you have Aura by your side."
"I...I don't..." The Empress yeied, loweinrg her magic. She felt defeated once more. "Curse it all...!"
"I have my own deal." Just then, unexpectedly, Celestia said something else in response to Giovanni's secret deal. The Empress and Colress turned to face the screen, curious about what Celestia had to say. "What you just shared with us, Giovanni...it was something. It annoys me that you make a good deal. But, I have something to counteract that. I won't agree to your deal so easily, even if it sounds amazing. In addition, though you'll leave my nation alone, I'll make one deal with you. If you turn it down, then I'll turn yours down. And it involves..."
Celestia's deal was also spouted with the only ones hearing it being Colress and Empress Twilight. Whatever she just said stunned them as much as Giovanni's deal surprised Celestia and Luna.
Universe 11. The Solar empire. Daybreaker's Throne Room. Nightfall.
"Where are they?" And to top it all off, Daybreaker was waiting for them. She was currently with Ghetsis and Nightmare Rarity and that was it. "Ghetsis. Why isn't your scientist here?"
"Apparently, he's busy making a new type of Poke Ball. He hasn't specified what it does." Ghetsis replied. "He'll be busy so it's impossible to get him here during his work. But he has been in there for quite a while now. And it's not like him to spend that much time on a Poke Ball of all things."
"That Empress...no matter the universe, Twilight is never tardy." Daybreaker groaned. "What could they be doing?"
In reality, Ghetsis and Daybreaker had no idea what was truly going on behind the scenes. It was all invisible to them as it stands now. Daybreaker found this all to be strange. First, she suspected that someone was spilling their secrets and now, the room felt emptier with fewer members showing up.
"Something's not right." Daybreaker stood up. "We have the massive threat of the Dread League possibly destroying our universes with Yveltal's power and her Black Crusade and they're barely showing up now?"
"What do you suppose we do then?" Nightmare Rarity asked.
"Getting to the bottom of this. I already want to rip Yveltal away from the Dread League, but having everyone working together is possibly the only way to succeed. Ghetsis. You don't mind if I do some eavesdropping, right?"
"Go ahead. The castle is still new despite how it's built from the inside." Ghetsis allowed it. He wasn't bothered by Daybreaker entering his castle. "But... what could Colress be doing as well?" Right then and there, Ghetsis wanted to know about these strange absences as well.
1 hour later. Kanto. Celadon City. Team Rocket Headquarters. Nightfall.
"Well...that went rather well." Giovanni petted his Persian as his meeting with Celestia and Luna had ended. And with a smile on his face, he had no complaints seemingly. "Princess Celestia...she lives up to her title indeed. Feels more like a queen than a princess. Defending her nation to the very core while also managing to form new options."
"Persian."
"Well, to be honest, I'd rather not go up against the juggernaut that is Equestria." Giovanni shook his head. "Fooling them with this counterfeit Light Stone worked perfectly. I have to congratulate Colress for his impressive craftsmanship."
"I still can't believe we had to give up the Pokemon..." Returning here was none other than Matori. She returned but without the Pokemon from the Pokemon House, including Krookodile.
"Know when you're beaten. There was no chance of you getting away. Any longer and Officer Jenny would've surely caught you."
"Right...But about Princess Celestia's deal..."
"She raises a good deal. I'm surprised that she would decide to guarantee our safety as well. Perhaps those three buffoons managed to rub off on her. Of course, if we want total world domination, she's our biggest problem. Let's have her do her own thing while we prepare. In the meantime, have someone return these to her. She'll be waiting for them." Giovanni held out the Element of Magic and the Counterfeit Light Stone."
"But...is this not the real Element of Magic, sir? Why return it?" Matori questioned.
"It is. But it's not from this world." Giovanni smirked. "This one was handpicked from another universe, courtesy of Empress Twilight. It'll do its thing when ready. And as for this Light Stone, let her mourn over Reshiram. The real Reshiram s still somewhere out there. And we'll get to it before Celestia or anyone does."
Equestria. Ponyville. Local Hospital. The Pokemon House. Nightfall.
As for Celestia and Luna, they returned to the hospital where Nightmare Moon was still frozen. The Pokemon that were stolen quickly reunited with their friends after a successful save. And the best part was that it didn't involve any more collateral damage to the surrounding areas.
Celestia would be expecting someone from Team Rocket to show up and return the objects that were vital to them. That involved the book that contained vital secrets.
"Well done, sister. I know that must've been hard to do." Luna congratulated Celestia. "Canterlot is also in one piece, Darkrai says."
"Good...But that was terrifying." Celestia sighed. Giovanni, was it? To think someone like that has been working in secrecy without us knowing? Who knows what else he's learned? What else has he seen and done? For the past 3 years, he's gone undetected. And I never knew. None of us knew."
"Sister?"
"Should I have even made that deal with him?" Celestia held her head. "Team Rocket will help us with our enemies but at the same time...at the same time..."
Luna was starting to fear that all of this was finally getting to Celestia. It already started getting to Luna herself, but now her bigger sister was afflicted. Once more, when trying to get away from all the chaos, it manages to come back somehow in some way.
"Is this how it's always going to be?" Luna thought to herself. "Even at the Pokemon Festival...is everything truly going to get worse from here on?"
All the while, Nightmare Moon was still nothing but a statue. But, without no one even noticing, a tear dropped from the statue, in response to all this uneasiness. Sensing Luna's own fears, Nightmare Moon responded quietly in the only way she knew how to.
Pegalysium. Ethereal Pavilion. Nightfall.
Up at the Ethereal Pavilion, where many were sleeping thanks to these magical beds, one individual wasn't asleep at all.
Sombra. Still within Ash, the shadow of the previous King opened his eyes wide. This reaction was only triggered by one thing. Even from a far distance, Sombra could sense despair, prompting him to emerge out of Ash.
"Ugh...What's up?" Ash asked, groaning as he was woken up by Sombra's movements.
"From Equestria, I sense an emergence of despair. It's bound to show up eventually and it has a strong origin. Maybe I could use this to recover."
Despair? From Equestria?" Ash repeated looking at the floor for a moment before flashing his eyes. "That can't be good."
"Pikachu...?" Pikachu was soon woken up.
"This kind of despair comes from a place of doubt. Yes...The fear of what's to come from certain decisions. Only the two sisters could feel that way. It was only a matter of time before they felt it."
"Celearia and Luna huh..." Ash thought for a moment. That would make a lot of sense. He noticed how Luna was feeling recently with everything that happened. It wouldn't be farfetched to believe Celestia might experience the same feeling.
"Kh. Ah what's the point? There isn't a part of me left after what happened to the rest of my body. Recovering fully is downright annoying now."
"It's settled." Ash stood up putting his hat on. "I'm gonna go see them both."
"Pika?" Ash set his sights on Equestria instead of continuing to stay up here at the Ethereal Pavilion.
"For what purpose?" Sombra questioned, wondering why Ash would suddenly stop here and return to Equestria when there was still more of the Pavilion to view and explore.
"Isn't it obvious?"He adjusted his hat and gloves, getting his jacket ready as if it was a brand new day "For my friends."
"Ash? Ash!" Calling out Ash's name was Twilight Sparkle. Unexpectedly, Ash was gone. He was with them since yesterday and last night but vanished without a trace. "Where'd he go?"
Unbeknownst to them all, Ash was already away from Pegalysium and back down at Equestria. To assist more of his friends, he departed from the Ethereal Pavilion while everyone was sleeping.
"Strange that he suddenly up and vanished." Cynthia pondered. "Pikachu included."
"Did they go ahead of us? Gah, they've probably reached the tiara by now before us!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, smashing her hooves into her mane. "No fair, Ash!"
"No. That's not like Ash. He would've probably left something behind for us." Twilight shook her head. "See anything?"
"Ooh! Here's something Looks like it fell over there!" Pinkie Pie indeed found something relating to Ash's disappearance. A note that fell off the bed, only to be hidden underneath the sheets. Thankfully, now that Pinkie Pie found it, they can know about Ash's presence. It wasn't exactly what they were expecting.
"It says here...this note's for everyone here. I didn't wanna wake you up so I made this instead. Pikachu, Sombra and I are heading back to Equestria to check up on Celestia and Luna. I'll be back soon for more of the pavilion. But have fun up there! By, Ash. P.S. If you end up finishing before I can show up there, meet up with me over at Manehattan." Pinkie read it out.
"Oh, that's all?" Rarity leaned in. "He just went to visit them. Why exactly? And why not stay behind for this?"
"I think he forgot to write it down. At least know where he is." Pinkie would then neatly adjust the paper, turning it into an aeroplane which would then soar across this room.
"I may know why he went to them all of a sudden," Cynthia added, knowing exactly why Ash would head to Equestria all of a sudden. "And that one reason makes sense as to why he would do so. Nothing makes more sense than that."
"Well, at least we know he'll return. Why don't we continue onward? Nothing's stopping us from viewing the rest of Windkiss' memory." Bertha suggested.
"Right, right. We can share it all with Ash later on." Fluttershy finished the conversation as they would advance, continuing their search for this special tiara. They would either meet with Ash at Manehattan or see him again up at the Pavilion.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. Day.
Though the Sun had risen and a new day had become, the sting of last night could never be forgotten. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and the Pokemon would know. They experienced it. From kidnappings to blackmail and hard deals, it all left an impact on them.
Celestia sat on a bench with her sister while the jolly spirit of the Pokemon Festival went on. The Pokemon from the Pokemon House felt somewhat relieved to be back with their friends but that lingering fear of Giovanni and his group was still there.
Speaking of Giovanni, part of the deal that was made between them, items that Team Rocket managed to obtain over these past 3 years were returned to them. In her hooves, Celestia held the Light Stone. A stone meant to be Reshiram's way of preserving its life. However, this was only a counterfeit, made to look exactly like the original.
Unfortunately, since this was Celestia's first time seeing the stone and even holding it, there was no way for her to distinguish real from fake. Believing this to be Reshiram, Celestia felt gutted, keeping the stone close to her.
"Well...At least this book is also back in our possession." Luna used her magic to hold out the strange glowing book that was also returned to them. "Should our opponents learn about the dark contents in here then..."
"I'd rather not think about it right now, Luna. About any of it." Celestia would rather take it off her mind. All of it. "But I can't..." Also, she found it difficult to do so. It stuck with her, after all.
"Oh dear...Is this my fault? Perhaps I should've done it myself." Luna thought to herself. "She was so happy before all of this and now..."
Both of them had their own negative feelings brewing. Both of them were one step closer to feeling despair. It didn't even need to involve any battling for it to happen.
"Yo! Celestia! Luna!" But interrupting their sulking was none other than the arrival of Ash and Pikachu. They showed up here, waving to the sisters as Lucario was also next to them both.
"Ash? How did you find us?" Luna questioned.
"I had Lucario help me out the moment I showed up back at Equestria. The Aura led right here. And uh...I also asked everyone else here and they spotted you. Here we are!"
"Pikachu!"
"Well...it's good to see you as always, Ash." Celestia put on a faint smile that was barely being kept up. "At least you're always beaming."
"What's up? I came here because of what Sombra sensed. Is something wrong?"
"Very much. A lot happened, Ash. All of it took place last night. But...I'm afraid to even mention it honestly." Celestia removed her tiara, looking at the purple crystal resting in the mould.
"You can tell me." But Ash was willing to hear anything, no matter how harsh it would be. To Celestia and Luna, they felt like they could talk to Ash without needing to sugarcoat anything at all. They were free to speak in front of him.
When sitting on the bench with them, Celestia and Luna told him everything. This involved what Nightmare Moon had to go through as well. Ash would learn about their encounter with the Matori Matrix and how Giovanni backed them into a corner, only for Celestia to forge a deal in retaliation to Giovanni's own deal.
Listening to this conversation was Sombra itself. It was intriguing to him and boasted a great sense of despair. But he couldn't get anything out of it because of how he currently was.
"Huh. So that's what happened." Ash uttered.
"I may have made a huge mistake initiating that deal. But I wasn't sure what else I could've done. I couldn't let anything happen to my home or Reshiram at all." Celestia lowered her head. "It's all because of that book as well. Even as children, our parents wanted us about it. And just when we thought we got rid of it, Team Rocket suddenly has it."
"In this book, dark revelations about the world lie within," Luna explained. "The importance of this book relates t the beginning of our world as it is older than even us. Older than even Equestria itself or anything before it. It is the Book with No Name. We looked into it and saw the horrors that came with it. Horrors that tell of this world's past and magic itself. Our parents and whoever made this book did what they could to keep this book away. Because who so ever learns of the knowledge this book holds, can gain access to a Primordial source of magic."
"Primordial?" Ash repeated.
"The magic in our world comes from one source. It is the original source of all forms of magic." Celestia continued. "The unique source or origin of every universal concept that came before all of us. It's also suspected to be what keeps concepts working as they should. Our power to move the celestial bodies in the cosmos such as the Sun and Moon are related to it. An extension of this massive pool of magic. It does not have a proper name other than how old it is. Starswirl, our parents and ponies from the past only know about its existence. The only traces of its power come from Equestrian Magic and any other form of magic."
"But this book contains more of it. It even contains various spells that should not be learned. Learning about this Primordial Magic would even harm those who look into it. But, if they manage not to and once they find out about how this tremendous force of magic works, it will give them the position of a Supreme Being.
"Oh, man..." Hearing it now was truly stupendous to Ash's ears. The scope of this world had been heightened once more when it came to magic.
"Pikachu..."
"Our universe is the centre of all other universes since it came before the rest. The Primordial Magic is the most prevalent here. If someone like Ghetsis, Empress Twilight or even my counterpart Daybreaker got their hooves on this book...I just couldn't risk it at all, Ash. I had to create a compromise." Celestia closed her eyes while Luna merely looked to the side, slightly ashamed of herself.
"I get it." Just then Ash placed his hand on her back. "Keeping everyone you love safe is what mattered more. It was tough trying to figure a way out of that. You did your best."
"Thank you. Thankfully, unless you have the book yourself, no one can merely copy the words from it. These words are far too sacred for something so simple. But...I have no idea how Team Rocket found it. It was meant to be hidden forever far from Equestria in another dimension.
"Hmm..." Ash wondered about that as well. How could they reach it from another dimension? Most likely, it was outside help as not even Team Rocket could go that far. At least, from what Ash knows about them. "Nt a clue. But, that's not gonna stop you, is it?"
"Eh?" The two sisters uttered at the same time.
"You're not gonna let Giovanni boss you around, even if he's not here, right?" Ash stood up. "Empress Twilight. Second Wind. We've had our fair share of big bad bosses in the past. Even if they have tons of magic and a massive empire...even if they've got the power to change our reality and all that, has that ever stopped us?"
"Not really." Celestia shook her head. "We've had our fears but this one felt different from the rest. Far different, Ash. And with how things are going, they might not get better from here. That is what Darkrai even told us last night."
"If it looks like things aren't getting better, make them get better. We can't wait around for something like fate or destiny to make it all change. We gotta do it ourselves, ya know. This whole Pokemon Festival's been rough on a lot of us. And yet...even before all of what happened last night, what was stopping us from having fun?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all." Luna shook her head before having her eyes widen. Ash's words were starting to click.
"There's always a chance for you to change how things flow. No matter what it is. We've done it before and we'll do it again. Nothing's set in stone for us. It doesn't matter how big it is or how far out it may be. If ya ask me, if it exists, we can do something about it before we let it take control of our lives. Get what I mean?"
"Not at all," Sombra commented. "You say some outlandish things sometimes. But who am I to argue?"
"I do." Celestia stood up, laughing at Ash's comment. "Honestly, I knew that already, but it was all being blocked off by what I felt. I think I needed that Ash."
"Mm. It was nice to hear it from you, sh. Thank you for coming all the way from Pegalysium just to see us. We're rather touched." Luna twirled her mane.
"Don't thank me. Thank Sombra. If he never picked up on it, I wouldn't have shown up here." Ash gave Sombra some credit, making the former king growl.
"Did he now? Aw, how sweet." Celestia and Luna teased him as Sombra eyed down Ash with a menacing glare, somewhat embarrassed that he would describe it in such a way. Ash's bag suddenly rustled as popping out of it was Victini. Along with Victini, Hoopa and Meloetta showed up as they were hiding in Ash's bag the entire time.
"You guys were in there?!" Ash gasped.
"But...what about Nightmare Moon? Her body is still stone. We may need the elements to restore her still." Luna brought the topic back to Nightmare Moon's condition over at the hospital.
"We can try something else." But Ash had something else in mind. "Hidden Power."
"Hidden Power? Will that work?" Celestia questioned.
"It's the same way it can free Pokemon when they've been turned to stone. I've seen it a lot whenever J would turn a Pokemon to stone. I guess it's because it's a special kind of power?" Ash scratched his hair. "The Unown use it all the time so I can see why. But...Nightmare Moon's sounds way more serious than what I know. You said her life force was behind it."
"That is true." Even Celestia had to think about it. "It would make sense for Hidden Power to do that. Although it may be exclusively potent to the Unown since they use it more than anyone, it's still an effective move when you look at it."
"What are we waiting for then?!" Luna exclaimed. "This is our chance! Is there anypony here who has Hidden Power?!" She would quickly face the Pokemon of the Pokemon House, questioning them. She wondered if ny of them had Hidden Power.
"Skitty!" A Skitty jumped up, grabbing Luna's attention. Followed by a Bellossom and soon a Tynamo. So far, only three Pokemon revealed that they possessed Hidden Power. And that was it. No one else alerted Luna at all. Only Skitty, Bellossom and Tynamo stepped and swam forward.
"That's it? For so many Pokemon only three of them know Hidden Power?" Luna's jaw dropped. Despite how many Pokemon were present here, the fact that only three of them had this special move was astonishing.
"The Unown can't do much on their own unless multiple of them gather. Since it's their unique power, I doubt that three Pokemon with Hidden Power can help. Especially with how Nightmare Moon currently is. She hasn't just been turned to stone. It's practically her own life force that was put at risk." Celestia shook her head.
"I know who can." Ash had the easiest answer for that. He looked at the back of his bag before winking at Victini. Victini winked back, knowing what needed to be done. His infinite power would be shared once more.
"Victini"
Local Hospital.
They arrived at the hospital where Nightmare Moon was resting. Well, as much as she could rest at the moment. Facing her were the three Pokemon who possessed Hidden Power. But before they could have Victini chime in, they would use Hidden Power without any extra boosts.
"Skitty...!" Skitty, Bellossom and Tynamo faced Nightmare Moon, exuding the aura of Hidden Power from their bodies in the form of an incandescent white aura. These auras would flow across Nightmare Moon's body, softly holding her as if they were blankets. That is what a non-attacking Hidden Power felt like. Far different from what it truly was and even more so than what the Unown are capable of.
However, on their own, they were unable to do anything. This was nothing like Hunter J's Weapon. This far exceeded it. The Hidden Powers were not reversing the stony mould at all, proving to be ineffective.
"It isn't working? Guess that life force really made a difference, huh?" Ash gawked as usually, Hidden Power would free those trapped in stone. But this wasn't the case right now. These three were not enough. "Alright then. You're up, Victini!"
"Tini!" But then there was Victni who would share his power with them. By just touching Skitty's back once, a flare of energy that matched the crimson flames would spread to all three of them. Very soon, they found themselves being filled with a great ordeal of power.
"Ski?!"
"Bello?!"
"Ty?!" Their eyes all collectively flashed with newfound power that they never imagined they would feel. A surge of greatness went through them as the power of their Hidden Power skyrocketed to new heights. The room was lit up with a silver flash that almost blinded everyone.
Cracks began forming around Nightmare Moon's stone body, pierced by the silver flashes. The nearby patients were startled by this flash as it managed to reach their room and even move across the entire hospital. The windows were not safe either as the light pierced through them.
As for Nightmare Moon, it was as if she was leaving a shell with how the cracks were dropping. Luna witnessed her true body return from the night-sky complexion she possessed. A grunt and groan could be heard as Hidden Power finally calmed down, fading away gracefully.
Out of the light came Nightmare Moon. No longer a statue, her body recovered as her true appearance was even revealed to Ash for the first time. The alter-ego of Lun looked around before realizing what had just happened. "I'm free..."
"Indeed you are!" Surprisingly, Luna went to hug Nightmare Moon, giving her a surprising tackle. Her alter-ego scrunched her face, taken aback by Luna's embrace. "Wonderful! Just wonderful!"
"W-What are you doing...?!" Nightmare Moon wasn't sure how to react to this. Her body trembled as her eyes then moved around rapidly. "I-I still feel brittle!"
"Great work you guys." Ash congratulated them all, fist-bumping Victini and Bellossom while also patting both Skitty and Tynamo on the head.
"Ah!" Luna quickly realized what she was doing before then teleporting away from Nightmare Moon. She cleared her throat, acting like nothing happened between them. "Ahem. Excuse me. Natural reflexes there."
"Anyway...You actually freed me. Without the elements no less. But these tiny Pokemon." The alter-ego faced the Pokemon who helped free her. "Hm. You have my thanks."
"Skitty!"
"But...how could you just run away like that!" Luna quickly switched up on the spot, roaring at Nightmare Moon. "I was so worried! You took my Pokemon as well!"
"I didn't have much of a choice!" Immediately, Nightmare Moon had enough energy to bark back at Luna. "I was facing an unstoppable force! And I did not run! It was merely a strategic retreat!"
"Hmph! I almost had a heart attack." Luna crossed her hooves as Nightmare Moon would do the same. The both of them looked away from each other. "If anything were to happen to you...I'm not sure what the result would be."
"Well...I certainly need you since you are a part of me. My goal was to find you eventually anyway and now here we are." They acted mutually towards each other from the way they conversed. But Ash and Celestia knew that was not the case. Both were just being stubborn at the moment. "Thank you anyway..."
"I-It was nothing." Luna stammered.
"I have...Two Sisters now!" Catching them both off guard was Luna who managed to pull them in for a group hug. Her grip was powerful as the two variants of her little sister were within her grasp. "Amazing! I feel like an even bigger sister now!"
"U-Unhoof me at once!" Nightmare Moon growled, trying her best to break free. "I still have to pay you back for that one night!"
"Sister...I can't breathe!" Luna felt like passing out before finally being let go by Celesti.
"Whoops. Sorry. This is just so amazing to me. Welcome back, Nightmare Moon. This is certainly different to when we first met. Right?"
"Tch." Nightmare Moon scoffed. "Very different. One more thing. If you think I'm heading back inside you, Luna, you are sorely mistaken. I refuse to re-enter you. At least...not during the day."
"I wasn't planning on keeping you out throughout the day. You're more of a night pony anyway." Luna added. "But...I suppose letting you stay hidden away like that isn't exactly fair to you. After everything Darkrai and the others shared with me...you're still a pony at the end of the day. So..."
"So?" The alter-ego swivelled to face her true self.
"Mmm...You can still get up to some antics. So I shall keep you dormant in instances." Luna scrunched her face, coming up with a deal for Nightmare Moon. "So as long as you don't plot anything. I heard that from Darkrai as well."
"No promises." Nightmare Moon gave a cocky grin, making Luna unamused. "But...shall we work together from now on?"
"Certainly." Both held their hooves out as a way to initiate a deal. As it stands now, Luna and Nightmare Moon had buried the hatchet. For the most part. Luna still knew about Nightmare Moon's ultimate goal, which certainly never changed at all even after how much time has passed.
Celestia was just happy to have two sisters now. Granted, one of them would stay dormant in instances but it was still amazing to think about. And that's all that matters to Ash. Seeing them happy. He accomplished his goal, making them both happy and erasing their fears and worries. He knows that eventually, they would face those fears and worries and overcome them, just like how they have done before.
But he wasn't done yet. "Let's do some more, you guys!" Ash exclaimed. "We've got more of the festival to look forward to, okay? How about paying the Swords of Justice for a visit?"
"Swords of...Cobalion?!" Celestia stammered, almost falling over as that meant meeting up with Cobalion, who she greatly admired in every way. "Uhh...That would be fantastic! If we knew where he was. I mean, he is a busy Pokemon, after all, Ash."
"No need to worry. I can just call Shining Armor and he'll reach him." Ash had the easiest solution to that. Cobalion was the teacher of Shining Armor and Aegislash. One call and that could be settled. Celestia almost felt like passing out before being caught by Nightmare Moon and Luna. They both shook their heads and rolled their eyes as they shared the same sentiment about how Celestia felt about Cobalion. But then again, Luna was guilty as she was the same towards Ash.
After easing Celestia and Luna down, Ash would decide to spend some more time down here instead of heading back to Pegaysium and the Ethereal Pavilion. It was his decision to stay with them after what they went through. The Ethereal Pavilion would have to wait.
Right now, he got in touch with Shining Armor and Cadence, using his Xtransceiver to call them. This was to do one thing. Meet with Cobalion. And surprisingly, Ash had the method to do so.
"Cobalion? You want him now?" Shining Armor spoke with Ash through the Xtransceiver as he could currently be seen around a beach area.
"We just wanna meet with him, not let him come to us," Ash explained. "It's for Princess Celestia."
"It is for um...reasons!"
"Sure..." Cadence uttered, knowing exactly why Celestia would respond in such a way.
"How are you even going to meet with such a rare Pokemon? We are lucky that he's even allied with us in the first place." Luna wondered. How could they call for such a rare Legendary Pokemon? "Is it like how Ash has these Pokemon attracted to him?"
"Probably!" Hoopa was inclined to believe that along with Meloetta and Victini.
"Nope. Shining Armor, Aegislash and Cobalion came up with a pretty neat way to call for each other. Show 'em." Ash answered as there was another way.
"Right. Ready, Aegislash?"
"Aegis!" Right then and there, they showed the Royal Sisters exactly how to contact Cobalion without using any device. Instead, it was the clashing of metal. Shining Armor was given a helmet by one of the Crystal Empire guards before then holding it out to Aegislash, prompting the Royal Sword Pokemon to start hitting it. But not with the intent to destroy it, however, hard blows would be dealt to it.
Klang! Clang!
Those were the sound that came from this collision. But it was rather unique, unlike any other clanging sound. The sound reverberated across the skies, having a specific tune to it. It was done by Aegislash performing precise hits. Hits that were hard enough to break the helmet, yet it did not break.
This was then backed up by Cadence using her magic on it. By coating the helmet and the blade of Aegislash's body in her magical aura, she heightened the sound. This would elevate the already loud sound, making it reach farther than normal.
That's when there was a response.
A beam of light shot into the sky, becoming a beacon. It had a golden appearance with light particles emitting from it. This light was so bright that it was hard to know where it was coming from. Was it far or was it close?
"What's that?!" Ash and Hoopa collectively exclaimed.
"That right there is Cobalion's sword. It shines so brightly that you'd think he was close." Shining Armor explained. "But he's probably not. That's why we made this method to contact each other. We make the sounds and he gives us a beacon. And it looks like it points west."
"It was actually my idea." Cadence chimed in. "One time, when they were training, I insisted that they made up a way to find each other. Cobalion probably won't use an Xtransceiver. Or even bother with it. So a beacon was the best possible choice. All he has to do is make his sword glow enough to form that beacon. It works well in any weather at any time since it's so bright."
"Amazing! And yeah...their swords have always been bright," said Ash, recalling the times he's seen their swords in action. Each Sword of Justice can exude that beautiful golden glow. "Well, we'll be waiting for him here."
"Gotcha. Bye!" Cadence and Shining Armor would soon hang up. But before that, right as Shining Armor was about to turn it off, Cadence spotted Nightmare Moon casually standing next to Luna. "Wait, is that-"
"So, we'll wait for him. It's cool to hear how close Cobalion's getting to them too." Ash said as he passed the Xtransceiver to Meloetta who would soon place it in his bag.
"Together at the Pokemon Festival? Oh, I don't know what to do..." Celestia swayed from side to side, giggling as she imagined all the possibilities she could have with him here. This would far exceed anything they've done together.
"Please don't make it weird when gets here." Luna pleaded to her big sister. "I know how you get around him."
"Same to you, Luna." Celestia slid over, nudging her little sister before whispering to her. "I know how you get around him...So, it's all fair, really."
"You have a point there. But if something goes wrong, I'll intervene immediately. I'll probably even ask Hoopa for help. I mean, what could you two possibly do during this event?"
Pegalysium. Ethereal Pavilion. Day.
Meanwhile, back at the Ethereal Pavilion, the viewing experience continued. The tiara was still there, waiting to be seen but that wouldn't detract everyone from just enjoying what else the Pavilion had to offer, especially all the touchstones here.
It wouldn't take long for most of them to meet up with each other again. Different groups reunited on the outer parts of the Pavilion which were still part of the attraction. Hilbert would meet up with Hilda while Twilight and her friends would reunite with the majority of Ponyville.
"So. How goes your experience so far? Did you look into her history too?" Twilight asked.
"We did. But it was out of order."Lyra replied. "Some memories didn't add up. But even so....we got to see a lot."
"And learned a lot. Some of it was pretty heavy though." Roseluck commented. "What about you?"
"It's all been heavy for us. But there's a sunny side up to it apparently." Rainbow Dash answered. "We just have to find it. That's all. So what's next?"
"The arrow told us to come outside. Maybe there's a touchstone somewhere." Twilight held out the diary, using it to try and expose more touchstones that would tap into Windkiss' past. "Hmm...Nothing so far."
"The only place left would be that tower up there." Fluttershy aimed her hoof upwards. "But we haven't even finished exploring the rest of the pavilion yet."
"I really wanna know what's up with that crown though..." Rainbow Dash scrunched her face. "It sounds tempting."
"Speaking of tempting...where is Garnet?" Rarity would soon realize that everyone but Garnet was absent from here. She was the one pony who couldn't be seen in the crowd. Everyone navigated their heads, only to find out that she was gone from their sight. "Ah...She's probably gone ahead, hasn't she?"
"She might put on the tiara first. What do you think it'll show her?" Sweetie Belle wandered.
"Whatever it is...I wanted to get there first." Diamond Tiara grumbled. "I think it would fit me since I've already got a tiara."
"Were you born with that thing or something?" Hilbert pointed out, curious about the names of these ponies and how they worked throughout their entire life.
"Oh! The diary sees something!" Twilight would soon discover something with the diary. She aimed it upwards, moving past the beautiful flowers and trees as something was resting near them. Thanks to the light from the book, it revealed some sort of object that was invisible without Windkiss' magical diary. Once it was revealed, it had a strange shape to it. It was dome-shaped on the top but the bottom seemed to end with a point. Everyone else would marvel as the diary revealed this massive object that looked to be made of metal.
"What is that thing...?" Applejack squinted, trying to figure out what she was looking at. Everyone else wanted to know what exactly it was once the full appearance was shown. Only a few of them recognized this kind of shape. Hilbert, Hilda, Cynthia and Bertha did.
"That...That's a UFO! A spaceship!" Cynthia gasped as lying next to the trees and flowers was a massive ship.
"UFO?!" Everypony collectively yelled. Despite not recognizing what this object was, everyone here knew of UFOs. But their existence was another story.
Right in front of them, they were met with a vehicle from beyond this world. The stars themselves. Covered in moss, it was clear that this spaceship was ancient. Extremely ancient. More so than the Ethereal Pavilion and the first Destiny Pegasus. What exactly could it be doing here? And why at the Ethereal Pavilion?
Equestria. Ponyville. Afternoon.
Only two hours had passed and Cobalion had shown up. And the second he showed up, all eyes were on him, mainly from other ponies here. Cobalion could be seen drenched in water before shaking it all off. Clearly, he went through something.
Ash would grab the attention of the Iron Wil Pokemon, waving at him. But while Cobalion eyed down Ash and the others, he was unaware that he was being eyed down himself. By everypony here. Much like how Celestia shows vast attraction to him, everypony else, while on a smaller scale, felt the same. But more along the lines of being fans.
"I'm here. What seems to be the issue?" Cobalion questioned, immediately thinking that this was a matter of urgency that needed to be solved.
"Oh, um! Nothing urgent! I just wanted to see you again, Cobalion. It's been a while, don't you think?" Celestia grinned.
"That so? Is this another one of these 'dates'?" He asked.
"Right, right. I'd love to go on another one. What better moment than the Pokemon Festival? But...were you doing something important? You were all wet after all."
"I finished up. Nothing to worry about. But I was planning on heading to Hearthome City soon for investigation. I can wait though. You may speak what you wish to do today, princess."
"Oh, don't call me that." Celestia nudged. "Call me Celestia. It's better that way. You know that."
"Fine. Celestia."
"Well...I was thinking of somewhere great. Anywhere will do but...Manehattan sounds amazing. But so does Kalos since romance can be found there. You know a bit about Kalos, don't you?"
"Surprisingly...not much." Cobalion shook his head. "I've rarely been to Kalos despite my interactions with Kalosian Pokemon."
"Ooh! Let Hoopa do it! Hoopa will choose a place for you two!" Hoopa flew in between them, offering to transport them to somewhere fitting. If he could find that fitting place.
"Hm? Wait...you're-" Cobalion pulled back, gasping after he saw Hoopa. The Mischief Pokemon was fairly recognizable to many Legendary Pokemon for obvious and chaotic reasons.
"Were you surprised to see me again?" Hoopa giggled, hiding behind Ash with that signature cheeky grin.
"You two have already met?" Luna looked at both sides.
"We have...when he randomly summoned me and the other swords out of nowhere. Apparently, it was to challenge us and to prove his strength." Cobalion explained. "I'll never forget that mischievous ay."
"Hoopa did great on that day! Hoopa won that battle too." Hoop stuck his chest out proudly, boasting yet again.
"Sending us away is not victory, Hoopa." He facehoofed. "You were too terrified to lose so you quickly sent us back to where we were originally."
"Mmm...That's not how Hoopa remembers it." Hoopa stuck by his outcome, puckering his lips while looking to the sky and whistling. If he had a visible nose, it would be growing by now.
"Nevermind." Cobalion groaned. "Anyway. Since you're here, I have to keep my eye on you. Apologies, Celestia."
"Oh no, it's fine! Hoopa's actually tame." Celestia said otherwise. "He's been quite an interesting character with an amusing power. He hasn't caused us any major troubles, Cobalion."
"Really now?"
"Hoopa can confirm that!" Hoopa gave a thumbs-up. "Goat Pokemon doesn't have to worry about anything. It's just like Ashkan says. No need to worry."
"My name is Cobalion. Please say that." Cobalion corrected him.
"Cobalion!" His name was spouted out. But not by Hoopa. Instead, it came from the ponies who had eyes on him. "Hey~!" They waved at the Iron Will Pokemon who then glared back at them. Much like enthusiastic fans, they squealed at this reaction.
"Hm. You've gathered yourself a fanbase much like Ash and Rainbow Dash. Must be wonderful, correct?" Luna asked, only for Cobalion to shake his head. "He was not all for this but certainly didn't have the power to prevent it from happening. "Oh."
"Maybe somewhere that isn't Equestria..." Cobalion's voice lowered. "Wherever else would be nice."
"It's the Pokemon Festival. You're bound to run into some ponies, sadly." Celestia replied. "But, Hoopa here says he knows of a good place. Go ahead, Hoopa."
"Okay! Alehooparing!" Hoopa held out one of his rings, stretching it wide enough to fit everyone. He thought of one place in particular before then absorbing himself and everyone inside of the ring, exiting Ponyville and the potential crowding of massive Cobalion fans.
Back up at Pegalysium, an amazing discovery had been found. A UFO. A spaceship. Lying next to the trees and flowers was this massive vessel from the stars. Once again, Twilight and her friends found themselves coming back to the concept of space in one way or another.
It was still amazing to see. Compared to what they've seen, they've all certainly witnessed flying ships before. Team Rocket's Frigate and blimps, the Empress' various battleships and so on. But this one was different. This one belonged to the most well-known extraterrestrial force in existence.
Aliens.
And it was impossible for anyone to doubt this. Ultra Beasts and Beheyeem exist. They've seen their fair share of otherworldly forces before. Rarity was even the trainer of one of them. Technically two.
"I can't believe it! An actual spaceship!" Twilight looked into the diary as even if it confirmed it. She turned the page, ignoring chronological order just for this discovery. "Owned by aliens! But this time, they aren't Pokemon Aliens...but aliens from our world!"
"I knew we had aliens!" Derpy raised her hoof. "Never doubted if for a moment."
"So...all this time, there's been something beyond us?" Roseluck shuddered. "I thought that tower was the highest we'd ever get after what we went through...but this is amazing."
"This means that life from another planet came to your world long ago," Cynthia spoke. "Far before this pavilion and Windkiss judging by the age of it."
Pokemon that lingered around the Pavilion could be seen roaming around the spaceship on the outside. Not on the inside though. For the most part, it remained undamaged despite how much moss was on it. It didn't even rust for a moment. Twilight now had to wonder if Windkiss knew of its existence. She had to. After all, the diary revealed its appearance.
"I'll read the diary when I get in there." Twilight approached the UFO before anyone else, standing before the sheer size of it. It was already splendid on the outside. She couldn't wait to see what it was like on the inside. This amazed her the most. Ultra Beasts were already confirmation of other life from another world. But it was only the Pokemon World. Now, the same went for her world.
"We've been focusing on space a lot, huh?" Apple Bloom noticed the consistent theme.
"How'd you know it was a spaceship though?" Scootaloo asked Cynthia.
"We've seen and heard of spaceships that almost describe this one's appearance. Though it does look different from what we know. Either way, this is a fantastic find. Who's willing to go in?"
"PASS." Some of them would rather avoid that. They felt some familiarity with it. AKA, the Galaxy Tower and not many of them wanted to be reminded of it, especially from the inside. But Twilight's closest friends wouldn't mind at all.
"How do we open this thing? It has to be complex since aliens piloted this." Twilight pondered, looking at the entrance. She tapped on it a few times, trigging the sound. This wasn't like the Galaxy Tower at all. This one would require extra steps to enter. "Hmm...Is there a button or something?"
"No sign of a keypad or anything like that anywhere," Hilda observed. "Maybe it's automatic? But if it was, it would've opened by now."
"Since it's old, I doubt it's functioning still." Mayor Mare walked up, showing interest in this cosmic vessel "It's also abandoned by the way the Pokemon now roam around it. That confirms its finality. There is only one logical way to enter this place."
"I'm way ahead of you!" Hilbert exclaimed as both he and Rainbow Dash had the same idea. In the blink of an eye, they had their strongest Pokemon out. Emboar and Braviary. "Step aside! We'll make a new entrance for it!"
"Emboar!"
"Braviary!"
"Absolutely not! Surprisingly, Twilight stopped them, using her magic to force Emboar and Braviary back into their Poke Balls. "This is too precious to damage! It could be part of the pavilion you two! I won't let you muscle through it!"
"Aww..." Hilbert and Rainbow Dash sighed before sitting down. "Sorry."
"Phew..." Twilight sighed. "Now...the only ones who can enter this thing are Ghost-Types. That much is easy to explain. But I doubt they can let us in since the door won't open right now. Maybe the diary has something..."
Twilight would look at the diary, focusing on the UFO Page. The voice of Windkiss would speak once more, spilling what she found on that day.
"Dear Diary. This one's a bit different from the rest. It's not part of the Pavilion at all and was here before I even had it built. But this whole time, it was invisible to everypony except for me. Only I could see it. I guessed that helped since that meant they would've accidentally built around it without knowing. But anyway...I wanted to keep this thing a secret too, even if it's not one of my creations. What I found on this beautiful garden island was otherworldly. I managed to get inside and glance at what it could share with me. It was out of this world. Literally. There was a strange language in there that I doubt anypony else could read. But I'm moving too fast. This ship comes from another world. More importantly..."
"It comes from the past." Twilight finished Windkiss's sentence herself. This UFO that sat before them, despite how advanced it looked minus all the moss and even after what Windkiss said about the inside, it was apparently ancient. Not in its state. But in its appearance when in reality, it looked like it would fit in perfectly with the Pokemon World. The question was now; which world did it come from?
Pegalysium. Ethereal Pavilion. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Straight from the stars, a UFO had been discovered. Left behind here for centuries, appearing older than anything here at the Ethereal Pavilion. Left behind and abandoned by aliens, Twilight and a few of her friends would investigate this vessel from the stars. Not only that, but despite its advanced appearance, this apparently a vessel of the past despite how well it would fit in the Pokemon World. All they had to do was find a way inside.
"This thing's from the past?! How?!" Hilbert exclaimed, finding it hard to believe that this spaceship was old.
"Since it came from beyond the stars, the technology up there is most likely on another level compared to what we have," Hilda replied with the only possible answer. "Plus...super smart aliens and all that."
"If this is what's considered old, I can't imagine what new looks like to them." Rarity shook her head, flabbergasted. "If only we could enter. Doesn't the diary say anything about entering it, Twilight?"
"Hmm...Ah! Here's something. Windkiss slowed down so we can know just how she got in." Twilight found the method. "It says here when she first found it, the doors opened in response to her...flapping her wings twenty times? Um...okay. It says that her wings were itchy so doing that accidentally opened the door. Try that."
"Flap our wings twenty times? Easy. I can do it in five seconds! Watch!" Rainbow Dash zoomed up to the vessel. She readied herself, rustling her wings a bit before preparing to flap them twenty times. In the span of five seconds, she managed to flap her wings that quickly, flexing her speed.
And by doing so, the reaction from the UFO was expected. Despite how old it was, it still functioned. Neon lights flashed from it once those doors opened up. The inside of the spaceship would be revealed to their eyes. Once they get closer, that is.
"Wish Ash was here to see this." Fluttershy marvelled at this sight, wishing that Ash was still here so that he could he amazed as always at this sight.
"Already am." Jumpscaring his friends by suddenly speaking and appearing behind them unexpectedly was Ash Ketchum himself. They all swiftly turned around as he made his return. Not only that but Celestia, Luna and Cobalion ended up appearing.
This was all thanks to the Mischief Pokemon Hoopa. When he said he had the perfect place in mind, none of them expected it to be right back up at the Ethereal Pavilion.
"See? Hoopa thinks this place is the best!" Hoop said, choosing this place out of his own opinion. "It has so many pretty things for Hoopa to see!"
"Can't argue against that." Ash shrugged.
"Celestia! You made it! And-" Before Cynthia could walk up to her, she stopped briefly, noticing a familiar Legendary Pokemon next to the Sun Princess. "Cobalion?!"
"Afternoon." Cobalion casually greeted them.
"Nightmare Moon!" Another important name was called out by Twilight and her friends. Once again, for the second time, they witnessed Nightmare Moon. An entity they never thought they would see again.
"Hello again." Nightmare Moon appeared behind Celestia before then moving away from her, revealing herself to the Mane 6. "We meet again. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"This is a strange reunion, isn't it? But...this isn't the place I was expecting you to take us to Hoopa. At least after the date." Celestia sighed. "Oh well."
Meanwhile, Nightmare Moon and Twilight looked at each other as their past wasn't the best considering it was their only time ever meeting. There was certainly some spiteful auras going around after what the Mane 6 did. Nightmare Moon certainly never forgot that moment in her life.
"Ahem! Well, there's enough tension going around here it seems." Celestia quickly prevented ay hostility from rising to a boiling point. "How about we focus on this spaceship? It's too interesting to ignore, right?"
"Yeah. I gotta check this out!" Ash ran ahead of everyone while they were occupied looking at each other. Pikachu would soon follow. The wonders of an otherworldly vessel had yet to be experienced.
Inside.
What was to be said about this old vessel? Despite how much moss was on the outside, the inside was completely clean, mainly because no one had managed to get in for so long or even find it aside from Windkiss.
And as to be expected, the inside was unbelievably advanced and over the top. The neon lights could be found everywhere as patterns were floating all about as well as the walls were detached yet stable. It was as if some form of gravity was keeping them this way.
Speaking of detached, the floors also looked to be disconnected and yet they were safe to stand on. The gaps were completely safe as Ash's foot found itself completely stable. He could still see the grass but it wasn't even touching his shoes.
The moment he took another step forward, he found himself floating for a bit. The movement of his raised leg brought him to the air, giving him some airtime. Pikachu would soon feel the same thing once he went ahead. "Check it out! I'm flying!"
"That's gravity around you, Ash. Or rather around us." Twilight replied as she would try the same. One gallop forward and she found herself feeling lighter. "Oh, nice! The inside of this ship has low gravity!"
"Really?!" Pinkie Pie and Hilbert would do the same, jumping up, only to find themselves gaining ample airtime. The two of them laughed before then spiralling around the air. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash wouldn't need gravity to move across the air thanks to their wings. The same went for Celestia, Luna and Nightmare Moon. The Psychic-Types could just hover and levitate too. But that wouldn't stop them from feeling the light flow of gravity. Considering they had to experience the devastating Gravity Magic from Empress Twilight, this would be a great change of pace.
"It's old yet it still functions enough to have its own gravity field? Splendid!" Cynthia applauded while moving through the air. Bertha would try the same but with a gentle flow. "They must run on some power source that allows this ship to stay active."
"Yeah. Everything's detached too." Applejack went to put her hooves through one of the gaps that showed the outside. She could feel the gentle flow of the wind even from here. And yet, her hooves couldn't leave the ship. "Freaky...Knew aliens always existed but this is something else. My cousin's gonna be happy to know this. His cows might be fine somewhere. Hopefully."
"Hey! Come and look at this!" Just then, when going ahead, Ash found something. Or rather, a few things. Once everyone swam and soared through the air, they would soon encounter what Ash had witnessed.
Throne rooms. Lots and lots of thrones rooms. Ten different throne rooms were discovered, being close to each other.
Tremendous braziers half-encompassing each of the fourteen ivory columns light up the entire throne hall and engulf the throne hall in a brilliant glimmer. The artistic depictions of unrecognizable legends on the embowed ceiling dance in the flickering light while carved images look down upon the wooden floor of this magnificent hall.
"These images are rather interesting..." Cynthia drew attention to the images. "We might have our first sign of potential life."
"Are those the aliens?" Fluttershy wondered as the image of these entities could finally be witnessed. Lo and behold, they seemed to resemble ponies themselves.
They had identical shapes and statures to a pony, especially with the way they stood with one hoof up triumphantly. But, there was something different about them. Their tails were certainly not natural. Some of them possessed singular tails that had strange parts to them while others had an abundance of tails.
Similar to Ninetales, one of these alien ponies possessed around eight or seven tails. Just a bit short to compete with the Fox Pokemon. Some of them had no eyes at all. Some had claws on their hooves as if they were paws. One of these aliens had an extra pair of wings that resembled moth wings instead of pegasi wings.
Some of these looked to be a mix of equines and amphibians. The front was all pony but the back is where things changed. They had six hooves with a long, thick tails. Four eyes sat narrowly in their sockets and can often make them appear to be slick. Their huge mouths and small noses often make these aliens appear to be nervous, but looks can be deceiving. Lastly, their scale colours are mostly gold, blue, red and light yellow but this could potentially vary if more of this species could be seen.
A coral rug runs from the throne down through the centre and splits into two paths leading out while winged banners with adorned lacery dangle gently from the walls. Between each banner stand several tapers of various sizes, all but a few have been lit and in turn illuminate the artistic depictions of strange creatures that they've never seen before. Most likely from another world that lies somewhere among the stars. These creatures didn't look too far off from resembling something they knew. One of them looked like a Gorilla while another resembled a Mammoth. Broad, stained glass windows depicting late figures were framed by drapes coloured the same coral as the banners. The curtains have been adorned with fancy tassels and cosmic jewels.
Rarity ran her hooves through the curtains, feeling somewhat enlightened. Her face made it seem like she was at peace, only to then gawk at the jewels. "Cosmic jewels?! Where have you been my entire life?!"
A stately throne of gold sits within a pagoda of sorts within this hall and is adjoined by four smaller and less elaborate seats for those aiding whoever the top ruler would be. The throne is covered in symbolic otherworldly crests and fixed on each of the stubby legs is a diamond petal. The comfortable pillows are a dark coral and these too have been adorned with adorned tracery. Each of these throne rooms had large windows, making it capable for everyone to see each other no matter where they sat.
"Ten different throne rooms? Was this owned by royalty or something?" Hilda wondered.
"No clue...but these feel great!" Ash sat in the middle throne room. The seats were immediately comfortable despite how rigid they were. The aliens had a great taste in comfort as this room had a homely feeling to it.
"Yeah..." Twilight felt the same, sitting on one of these thrones as well. "If they had different throne rooms, that means each of them was royalty, most likely. And we have a good idea of what they looked like with these images." She would soon open the diary to see what else there was to know about this ship.
"Aliens?" Cobalion said while watching them all move around in this otherworldly vessel. "Not again..."
"Not again? Have you already encountered liens, Cobalion?" Celestia asked.
"Mmm. We all have. A few times. You know about the Ultra Beats, that much is clear. But then there's Eternatus."
"Eternatus? Eternatus is an alien?!" Ash and the others gasped.
"It's certainly not from our world. We were around during the older years of Galar. Somewhere around the Crown Tundra, a Pokemon by the name of Calyrex foretold of Eternatus' arrival. A Pokemon from the stars will come and bring about a dark day." Cobalion explained.
"Calyrex...?" That was a name unfamiliar to Ash. There was another Pokemon for him to wonder about and hope to see one day. But right now, he wanted to hear what else Cobalion had to say.
"Calyrex warned, Virizion, Terrakion and I of this coming threat, but it looks like Zacian and Zamazenta beat us there to it before we could. It was until years later that the worlds crossed over and Eternatus rose up. If we saw Calyrex again, another premonition would've come long ago. But I suppose Princess Twilight Sparkle's Absol already filled that role."
"So...Eternatus is maybe an alien. Yeah, that makes sense. It's freak to look at." Rainbow Dash shuddered. "Still hasn't left my memory at all."
"This ship is almost in the same scenario as Eternatus. It came from beyond, crashing here long ago and just resting here until you all found it. Eternatus came from above, resting somewhere around Galar until it was awoken at long last."
"Uh...you're not saying something dangerous might come from this ship, right?" Fluttershy gulped, hoping that wasn't what Cobalion was hinting at. They couldn't afford another Darkest Day Scenario.
"Maybe. It just feels like Deja Vu, that's all." Cobalion didn't give a clear answer, leaving it ambiguous. "But this shouldn't be too surprising to you all. You've seen your fair share of aliens. Even before you met the Ultra Beasts and Eternatus."
"You mean Cleffa?" Bertha questioned. "I heard that it came here riding a shooting star. Cleffa seem to appear in places where meteorites have struck in the past actually."
"Oh yeah!" Hilda gasped before looking at Cleffa and even Clefairy's dex entry. "The same goes for Clefairy too..."
"Cleffa. The Star Shape Pokemon. On nights with many shooting stars, Cleffa can be seen dancing in a ring. They dance through the night and stop only at the break of day when these Pokémon quench their thirst with the morning dew."
"Clefairy. The Fairy Pokemon. On every night of a full moon, groups of this Pokémon come out to play. When dawn arrives, the tired Clefairy return to their quiet mountain retreats and go to sleep nestled up against each other. Its adorable behaviour and appearance make it popular with men and women, young and old. Its numbers are few, however."
"Beheyeem is in the same boat, isn't it?" Rarity asked. "Elgyem even thinks about the stars above, as if it was trying to return home. Ash, you encountered a Beheyeem and their ship once, didn't you?"
"Got that right. Pikachu and I were with Trixie and Troy back then. We found a Beheeyem spaceship underground. After that, they jetted back into space. They might still be around the world somewhere honestly. Guess we've always been meeting aliens this whole time huh?"
"Pikachu."
"If the aliens met us, we'd be considered aliens since we come from another planet and look different. That's how it works, correct?" Cynthia giggled. "This is all too fun to think about. All the science here is waiting to be explored too."
"Speaking of science...where's my human counterpart?" Twilight would soon notice Sci-Twi's absence. Everyone else would soon spot her absence as well.
"Right here!" In reality, she was always with them. But compared to everyone else, Sci-Twi was the most excited about this. She was more of a science lady than a magic one, compared to her pony counterpart. It was natural that she was struggling to contain her excitement. She let it all out, moving rapidly across the room for anyone to track her. "These are the best days of my life right here! Actual aliens! And there are Pokemon aliens too?! Why didn't anyone tell me about this?!"
"You can see an alien for yourself right now. Rarity." Ash looked in Rarity's direction as she was still holding onto the curtains.
"Hm? Oh! Of course! I have an alien on my side." She would then use her magic to hold out a Poke Ball. Out of it came the only alien Pokemon on her team and within everyone's friend group. Pheromosa.
"Pheromosa!"
"Y-You just have an Ultra Beast with you?" Hilbert pulled back. "Lucky...First Elio and now you."
"Elgyem is still at the Pokemon House. I wouldn't mind if we had more aliens visit." Fluttershy said.
"Hmm..." Just then, Twilight looked at Pheromosa before then looking back at the book. She reread earlier parts of this page that mentioned a strange language. "A language that nopony can decipher most likely. Not even Windkiss could decipher it. Then it's somewhere in this ship. Pheromosa."
"Mosa?"
"Could you perhaps read something for us? If none of us here can read whatever text might be on this ship, maybe you can. Hopefully."
"I don't think that's how it works." Sci-Twi walked up to her pony counterpart. "I mean, sure she's an alien but can she really read whatever's here? And where is this room anyway?"
"Seems like it would be right here, you all." Nightmare Moon was the first to find this room. It was located past two diamond-shaped doors that would soon open via wing flaps. Twenty of them to be exact. Just like before. And once those doors opened, a stunning sight met their eyes. Something they would've never expected inside of a spaceship.
A city.
There was an entire city, futuristic even, located in this next room that was absolutely massive. Their jaws dropped as they couldn't believe how it fit in here. The vessel was large but not this large. This ended up playing with their eyes for sure but more importantly, despite there being a futuristic city here, compared to the rest of the ship, it looked abandoned and dead.
The buildings were in shambles with some of them being nothing but rubble. Large towers lay on the floor, crushing other buildings as there were even chariots that were out of commission. This just got even more wonderful as they all left the throne rooms and advanced to the city.
"A city? In here? How?" Twilight dropped the diary out of disbelief. Sci-Twi's glasses even fell off.
"Even I could've never expected something like this." Cobalion shook his head. "But this city looks empty."
"Yeah. And totally destroyed." Ash observed as there was even a sky within this room. Although, the sky looked completely grey and devoid of life, only making the atmosphere worse. "What happened here?"
More questions than answers sprouted up. After discovering this magnificent UFO, more of this spaceship's identity was being discovered. From the ten throne rooms, the ponies who were seen in the art and now this destroyed city, the mystery was only getting better from here.
This city was the next stopping point from there. From all this destruction, they had to know what happened here and what this ship truly was as the journey continues.
Pegalysium. Ethereal Pavilion. Inside the UFO. Afternoon.
Inside this large UFO was an even larger city, surprisingly. The size certainly didn't match the ufo as something like this was hard to believe. More importantly, this was a destroyed futuristic city. It looked to be in shambles from how the buildings appeared and all these chariots lying everywhere along with the rubble. Another impressive thing was the fact that this part of the ship had a sky. Granted, they were dark and ominous, fitting the atmosphere.
The network of roads that led to this city was torn to pieces by the elements. Strange gold and red grass filled the labyrinth of cracks and sand covered whatever was left. Random pieces of long-forgotten and otherworldly possessions littered the roads and wild, overgrown gardens within this town. Alien technology to be exact.
Some doors were shut tightly, others were broken down. Clothing, home appliances and other belongings were left lost and broken outside some of the homes. This place had been forsaken and left to rot alone. If the Pokemon could enter here, they would've filled it up by now.
"What happened here...?" Ash spoke as he and his friends began wandering the destroyed city, taking a step into it for the first time. "And how come the throne rooms and everything else on the outside look completely fine?"
"Pikachu..."
"No clue. The diary doesn't even say anything about it." Twilight looked at Windkiss' diary, trying to see if she can find something about this destroyed city and the throne room. But alas, none of them connected in any way. Only mentions of how they were different to each other. "Judging by what Windkiss wrote down here, this city was already destroyed the moment she arrived. So we're looking at an even older destroyed city."
"But how far back does this go exactly?" Celestia wondered. "And is there anyone here?"
"Nothing here seems used." Luna used her magic to pick up some chariot rubble. "It's truly dead. But this is as far as it goes. There aren't even any holes in this ship."
"What's this?" When hovering through the skies, Rainbow Dash spotted a peculiar object. It resembled a cannon of some sort but was made manageable to be held by a pony. Or in this case, an alien that has the stature of a pony. This was confirmed the moment she picked it up. The cannon was rusted, as to be expected, yet it was still smooth. She noticed how there was a handle at the side, perfect for a hoof to go through. It felt somewhat satisfying despite how rusted it was. The texture was unusually nice to feel. Age was somehow both kind and cruel to this cannon.
Once the hoof went through the handle, Rainbow Dash triggered something. Despite its age, it was still functioning. Out of it, a rainbow beam was shot out. "Woah!" Rainbow Dash cried out as the force of this beam pushed her back with some recoil. Her friends gasped as the beam went flying past some rubble before crashing into a building, making some more rubble.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Uh...Sorry! Didn't mean to trigger it! I only put my hoof through it! Geez, it's responsive..."
"A cannon?! An arm cannon no less!" Hilbert gasped. "And it shoots rainbows too? How fitting." Hilbert would soon discover another one of these cannons that were lying on the ground.
"Don't just pick it up!" Hilda roared but it was too late. He already had it in his hands. That's when the cannon had another surprise. The second Hilbert picked it up, it changed size. Everyone marvelled as the cannon grew to a new size. The handle even altered itself. Noticeably, it was large enough now to fit on Hilbert's arm.
"Did it just change size?" Applejack rubbed her eyes. "What's up with that? Ain't these old?"
"They could be the same as the ship we're in." Sci-Twi could only chalk it up to how the ship was still active and functioning even after all these years. It seemed these cannons were also active, still possessing energy. "Old but functioning. How Amazing!"
"Perfect for me!" Hilbert would put his hand through the handle too as it now adjusted itself to hit human arms.
"It even changed itself just for Hilbert's own stature," Bertha observed. "Is that science or magic?"
"Magic." Twilight went for magic. That's what she believed in the most as magic was such a central part of her world to the point where she could even believe the aliens having access to magic. After all, the Ultra Beasts and otherworldly Pokemon exist.
"Science." Sci-Twi chose science. She was all about science, seeing it as a way to answer most things in existence with how varied it can be. The cannons were certainly scientific along with many parts of this ship. She wasn't sure about the rainbow beam though.
Just then, when Hilbert put his hand through the handle, it triggered once more, proving to be extremely sensitive. And this time, it didn't fire a rainbow beam. Instead, an aqua blue beam was shot out, having a different colour that greatly resembled his jacket.
"...Both." Twilight and Sci-Twi soon agreed that it was a case of both Magic and Science.
"This thing is pretty sick!" Hilbert chuckled, already loving this cannon. There were a few more of them lying around. Seeing the way they functioned, Ash, Pikachu, Hoopa and Pinkie Pie got involved.
"So if we hold it..." Ash picked up one of these cannons as it immediately changed shape to fit him. Pikachu got one that also changed shape and so did Hoopa as his was the smallest by far. "It changes to fit us!"
"Hoopa can hold something else other than rings!" Hoop giggled as this was the second weapon he's ever held. Only his rings were his weapons. He was the third to trigger the cannon and as to be expected, it changed colours yet again. This time, for Hoopa, it resembled his pink appearance. Pinkie Pie had a much lighter pink compared to Hoopa when she triggered it. This confirmed a theory for them.
These cannons would change sizes and colours depending on who was holding them. Thankfully, everyone was careful with them. In unison, Twilight, Sci-Twi and even Cynthia wrote this down, wanting to keep records of this and whatever else happens here.
"Well, usually the weapons aren't what we start out with then exploring places but these are certainly interesting," Cynthia spoke. "And...now that I look at this place, could these weapons have been involved in this destruction?"
"Maybe. This doesn't look like the cause of time affecting the city. Instead, this looks more like some sort of conflict did this. A large battle must have happened that led to this mess." Celestia observed, chalking it up to a battle. Everyone believed that. It wouldn't be farfetched to think that at all.
After all, the way the city appeared made it clear that only a destructive force could cause. Time was destructive for sure but not to this level at all. External and less but still mighty forces were the answer.
"But where's that language that Windkiss spoke about? Maybe we can take a crack at it since it's so hard to read."
"We can check out these buildings," Ash suggested that they try the buildings left. Despite how ruined they were, nothing was stopping the from going inside. He figured that if the cannons still worked along with the ship then surely whatever is inside the buildings is functional.
Before that, they passed by not just the chariot but other vehicles that could be spotted. These vehicles had sleeker designs while also resembling pods. Most were circular with open hatches that had rooms inside. Comfortable seats were spotted along with a control panel, implying that the aliens would sit inside of them to not only get around but feel relaxed. Not anymore it seems.
As for the buildings, despite how they appeared, they were still futuristic and fairly stylish. Each of the buildings, mainly the smaller ones, had dome-shaped appearances, similar to the ship itself. They looked like cups even. Very mechanical and digital cups as there were data lines running all over them. Those were still active despite their old age. The group had to wonder if this city ran out of some sort of power. After all the cannons still worked after all and produced light energy.
"Hmm..." Applejack approached one of these pods, wondering if it was still usable. She immediately took a seat, already sinking and feeling comfortable. "Aah...Nice..." A satisfied earth pony said as it felt like being held by multiple cuddly cushions. Pure bliss. She wanted to stay in this for a while before she would enter the buildings.
"Ooh. This is interesting." Finally entering one of the rooms, Cynthia was the first to marvel at the interior designs of these buildings. In front of her stood a room that was once organized but now was hard to even observe. But that wasn't what interested her. She was the first to find it. The special language.
Inside this building, symbols could be found. This was to be expected as a civilization from the stars would most definitely use their language inside buildings. Whether it be signs, posters, notes, etc. When looking at this language, she immediately saw how confusing the symbols were.
They had unique shapes that were a bit hard to describe. Cynthia tilted her head as she tried to imagine what each of these symbols would resemble since it was difficult to know what they meant.
"A gemstone on top of a spire that had four arms while also seeming like it was holding yo-yos. That doesn't exactly make sense." Cynthia sighed as it sounded ridiculous once she described what it looked like to her. Twilight and Sci-Twi would soon enter, trying to read it out themselves as they imagined the same thing Cynthia did.
"Well, it's certainly unique." Twilight twirled her mane, laughing. "That one right there looks like five different animals hugging while also sitting on top of a pendulum. "These could mean anything. Probably just store names now that I think bout it."
"But is there anything that'll tell us about what happened here?" Sci-Twi asked. "Oh! What about Pheromosa? You said she could potentially read it."
"Yeah but...now that I think out it, it doesn't make any logical sense," Twilight asked. "Sure she's an alien but she's from a completely different universe and a whole different alien entirely. There's no way she can read it."
"Pheromosa figured it out!" Fluttershy called out as right on time, they were proven wrong yet somewhat right at the same time. Twilight and Sci-Twi collectively had their eyes expand, flabbergasted by what they just heard.
"What?!" They equally said before rushing over. Pheromosa, Fluttershy and the others could be found in what looked to be a shop. Other bizarre items lay around here, unpurchased and ruined. Pheromosa had her finger on one of the items which had symbols below it, telling what object it was as if she was a store clerk.
"Did Pheromosa really do it?!" Twilight asked. "She can actually read it?!"
"Mosa." Pheromosa gave a thumbs-up to Twilight.
"Pheromosa here says that it's not uncommon for Ultra Beasts to learn languages. Kartana can mimic human language perfectly. Even if it's backwards." Fluttershy translated. "And because there's another part to her."
"Another part to her?" Rainbow Dash repeated. None of them were aware of Pheromosa's other half who was also Froslass. There was a strong duality between Rarity's team as the two spirits inhabiting Pheromosa and Froslass were also not from Earth.
"Is that why Kartana can speak like us? Cool. Ultra Beasts are super smart then, huh." Ash nodded in approval.
"Ahem! W-Well... it looks like I made the right call to suggest Pheromosa." Twilight cleared her throat, bragging a bit. This came as a surprise, even to her. "So, what does it say?"
"Pheromo. Pheromosa." Pheromosa read it out as Fluttershy would soon translate it.
"It says here that you can buy a Cipher Kit for only 450 Union Crowns. This is their currency, maybe." Fluttershy looked around for any Union Crowns but nothing here looked like it would match that description. "Not sure where it is or what it looks like."
"Pheromosa, darling. Do you think you could help us know more about this place since you're already catching up to it?" Rarity asked. Pheromosa was the best way for them to know what this language was all about.
"Phero!" Pheromosa saluted. She would be right on it. And thanks to her amazing speed, she could travel around this massive city effortlessly. Of course, not yet. There were other buildings to explore and experience. But before they could do that, a noise came from outside the shop.
"Woah!" That noise was from Applejack who was still inside the pod. And after relaxing in it for a bit, the pod closed on its own before then suddenly taking off. "Hey! Hey!"
"Applejack?! What's going on?!" Ash questioned once he ran outside
"I only put my hooves up to get more comfortable! It started moving on its own!" Applejack screeched, looking at the control panel. It was currently going off with multiple neon lights flashing. The pod took to the skies, hovering there for a bit. After that, it would suddenly boost through the air, firing purple flames from the back. Applejack immediately felt a great sense of speed and adrenaline as she held onto her hat. Her teeth were even showing from all this speed.
"Not good!" Twilight gulped.
"I got it!" Rainbow Dash would take it from here. Using her own amazing speed, the pegasus zoomed through the air, pursuing the alien pod. Rarity nodded at Pheromosa who would soon do the same. The Lissome Pokemon would try and catch the pod as well.
Applejack zoomed through the city, barely able to catch any sights from how fast it was moving. She tried seeing if any of these buttons would slow it down. Unfortunately, these were not traditional buttons. They were moving constantly, shifting from place to place with advanced technology. Applejack couldn't solve this even if she tried.
But when in doubt, hitting random parts will always do something. She flailed her hooves around, hitting everything she could to try and stop this vehicle. Alas, that didn't stop the pod. Instead, it duplicated it. Rainbow Dash and Pheromosa watched as the pod ended up splitting with two new pods appearing.
"What the...?"
"Phero?" Now that there were three, which one could they follow? Rainbow Dash and Pheromosa focused on the middle one. They could only cover two of them instead of three. Rainbow Dash would focus on the middle pod while Pheromosa went for the left pod.
As for Applejack, she was indeed in the middle as she felt like passing out from all this speed. Rainbow Dash would up her speed, almost creating a Sonic Rainboom in the process. But the pod wasn't that fast to warrant a Sonic Rainboom. With this increased speed, she managed to outpace the pod, appearing in front of it.
"There you are! I got you AJ!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed before realizing that she had no way to physically stop the pod. Sure, she had her hooves, but no matter the vehicle, she would not be strong enough to stop it unless she used her speed to crash into it. And considering her friend was inside, that was the worst option. "Uh oh!"
"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack groaned, knowing Rainbow Dash screwed up by getting in front of the pod. Now she endangered herself as well.
"Gyah!" By instinct, Rainbow Dash flew out of the way, evading the incoming pod as it nearly crashed into her. Back to square one, it looked like. However, the more the pod travelled, the more danger Applejack was in. There were buildings in the way that were massive threats too. Applejack and the pod were approaching a floating circular building with no signs of slowing down. "Applejack no!"
"Not like this!" Applejack bellowed. She was hoping that this special vehicle was at least durable enough to protect her. Lo and behold, it did protect her. But not in the way she expected. Instead of tanking a hit from this seemingly eventual crash, the pod instead flashed red, instantly zooming to the side. On its own it avoided the building, preventing any destruction. She blinked for a moment, realizing she was still in one piece, only to see another building in the way.
Yet again, with another crimson flash, the pod would evade the building on its own, guaranteeing Applejack some safety yet again. Applejack's eyes shifted around, stunned that she hadn't come to a devastating halt yet.
"Woah..." Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. It was amazing to see how the pod was just evading any potentially disastrous result with such immaculate movements. And it wasn't that it was moving so fast to do so. That was the surprising and perplexing part that threw Rainbow Dash off guard. Her eyes could easily track the vehicle and she could move and evade it faster than it ever could.
Yet, despite how close these moments were, the pod was moving slowly yet evading them so perfectly at the same time. Rainbow Dash grimaced, almost having the wind knocked out of her from just trying to process this. How could it do something like this? Rainbow Dash herself would have to be hyper-reactive just to make these close evasions. In some way, Rainbow Dash was the slower one. Only when it came to reaction time that is. "Alien tech is too much for me..."
"Just make it stop..." Applejack sighed. Just then, with those words, the pod stopped. By mentioning that word, the pod came to an abrupt halt. It didn't seem to just stop on its own this time. After all, it was reactive in its own way for the most part. "Eh?" Applejack blinked, realizing that one whimpering request made it halt in place. It wouldn't even land at all as if it was waiting for some traffic to end. "Uh...go back?"
She figured it out. It responded to her voice. Applejack did have some control over it but not all of it. The pod would then reverse itself, listening to Applejack as it backed up slowly. She could relax as it moved at a pace she preferred. Nothing intense as it was also evading the buildings at the same time.
"Great...Now go down, please." By Applejack's command, the pod would descend gently. A gentle touch was made to the ground as she was fully safe without a single injury anywhere.
As for Pheromosa, after seeing that Applejack was safely down, she could stop pursuing the other pod. In fact, the other pod fizzled out of existence with a holographic effect.
"That was awesome!" Immediately, Rainbow Dash found that to be spectacular. "I thought it was all bad but...that was great! Did you see the way it dodged stuff?!"
"Could've been the same colour as my apples right there." Applejack sighed as the pod opened up. "But...this thing ain't so bad. I told it to stop and then it just stopped for me. Told it to go back and down and here I am."
"This alien tech is so cool! Confusing, but cool!" Rainbow Dash gawked as Applejack crawled out of the pod, feeling a bit perplexed. "Hey. Let me have a go next, Applejack."
"Ya sure? It's pretty surprising. No clue what else it can do."
"Bah. It's fast and that's what I'm all about." Rainbow Dash could care less. She hopped into the pod, being the next to utilize it. The comfortable nature of it was already sucking her in. This entire conversation was heard by Audino and Fluttershy even from afar. From what they heard, they could confirm that Applejack was completely fine.
Rainbow Dash triggered the pod next, surprisingly much faster than Applejack. The pod would ascend as Rainbow Dash then put on her Mega Evolution Aerial Goggles just to fit the mood.
"They're fine," Fluttershy confirmed to everyone else as the pod could be seen dazing through the air with that trail of purple fire. "That could've gone completely wrong."
"Mmm. We don't know what to expect from this technology. It's so advanced." Twilight nodded before having her eyes flare up. "All the more to keep exploring! And learn the language of this place! This is so exciting!"
"Then how about we try that floating building? The one that looks like a doughnut." Cynthia focused on the building that was floating and was also shaped like a doughnut.
"Mmm...I could go for a doughnut right about now." Pinkie Pie held her tongue out, already feeling hungry just by looking at it.
"Hoopa's on it!" Hoopa would grant Pinkie Pie her wish, holding one of his rings out. By digging his hand through the ring, Hoopa already found himself a box of random doughnuts. The box dropped in front of Pinkie Pie' alerting her eyes as they cartoonishly extended.
"Many thanks, Hoopa!" Thankful for the box, Pinkie Pie was about to go to town on this box. At the same time, everyone would advance and could potentially find more functioning items in this city.
The one thing most of them wanted to know is what happened here exactly. There had to be some history books here. Granted, the history books probably wouldn't tell them about this destruction but it would at least give them hints. The cannons were a good start.
The floating building spun constantly, also being active and less damaged compared to every other building. It was amazing how there were still functioning objects around. When flying through the air in the pod, Rainbow Dash admired the amazing scenery. But while admiring it, she saw something that stuck out. Underneath a majority of these buildings was a crater. A stupendously gigantic crater. A plethora of buildings were within this crater, showing that the destruction was truly something else to leave such a mark. She could only think of a potential weapon being the cause of this.
When venturing through the city, they stopped by to look at more of the buildings to see what else they could read. Pheromosa would be their translator while Fluttershy was the sub-translator. There, they found more objects that had names under them as they were all for sale. Not anymore anyway.
Twilight and Sci-Twi would write down these symbols once Pheromosa and Fluttershy translated them. This was their major chance to try and understand this language. If there was a chance they would meet these aliens somewhere else, speaking their language would be beneficial. Thanks to the translations, they already learned the names of various objects.
DNA Pack-Zone.
Sky-Range-Extender.
Photon Chiller.
Supersonic Mat.
Photon Rhymer
Psionic Vasoscalpel
Tissue Heliosterilizer.
And so much more. If they had the current,y some of them would certainly purchase these items out of curiosity. Then again, nothing was stopping them from just grabbing the items.
"How's about we experiment on them when we get back?" Twilight suggested to Sci-Twi. "It'll be fun, right?"
"Me and yu? Well, that would mean I'd have to come to your world for that." Sci-Twi chuckled. It was just then that Twilight noticed something that was off. Very off. It took her a while to even realize this.
"Wait a sec..." Twilight stopped in her tracks, prompting Sci-Twi to also stop. "You're in my world now...Why are you still a human?!"
"I-is that strange?"
"Very strange! Judging by how both worlds look, you should've become a pony by now! Probably just like how I look right about now! What's up with that?" Twilight questioned.
"Oh. That's because, before the Pokemon Festival, Sunset gave this to me." Sci-Twi revealed that she had another important item in her possession. Not just the Arceus pendant. Out of her pocket, she revealed a Shift Stone. One of the few ways to alter appearances and biology. "I used this Shift Stone on myself to make sure I always appeared as my human self. I'm uh...not ready to be a pony just yet. "
"Oh...Yeah, that makes sense." Twilight nodded in approval. "Well, I'll be waiting for that day when I can see you as a pony. It wouldn't b the first time I'd be seeing double. But don't worry. We'll experiment on these things back at your world instead of mine. Sound good?"
"Mhm! I'd like that very much! Thank you, princess!"
"We're the same character and we're friends too. Just call me Twilight, okay?"
"Sure. Twilight." Sci-Twi giggled.
"OMG! What is that?!" But interrupting this peaceful moment was Pinkie Pie. She spotted something that caught everyone's attention. Something that wasn't there before and now all of a sudden, it appeared.
Through the fog of the dark clouds, a figure appeared. It scaled to great heights, surpassing all of these buildings easily. It was so high that the head was about to touch the clouds themselves. This figure resembled that of a centaur, much like Tirek. But there was one difference. It wasn't organic.
Appearing unexpectedly without anyone even seeing it prior to this was a gigantic Mechanical Centaur that was rusted and covered in moss, kneeling with broken metal parts. Ash held onto his hat before deducing what this Mechanical Centaur could be.
Pegalysium. Ethereal Pavilion. Within an Alien Ship. Afternoon.
In this ancient futuristic city, when exploring its ruins, Ash and his friends came across something that they never saw before but all of a sudden, it just appeared unexpectedly. A giant robot.
More specifically, a giant robotic centaur. It was also covered in moss while having broken metal parts that were cut off, smashed into it or even crushed. From what they could tell, this centaur robot that looked somewhat similar to Tirek had been through something for these broken parts to exist. Time itself wouldn't do this.
"A mech...Awesome!" Ash found this to be another great discovery. The concept of mechs was already something he absolutely loved in every way.
"A centaur mech...It doesn't look like an alien centaur though. It looks like any centaur on earth." Twilight observed, noticing how there wasn't anything alien about it. Only the material was otherworldly. Ash approached the centre with Pikachu and Hilbert.
They immediately placed their hands on the mech, feeling the texture. Once again, despite being rusted, it was still smooth. At this point, they weren't going to question it at all. Alien technology just had its own boundaries. But Twilight and others who were too curious would definitely try and solve it.
"How come we didn't see it before?" Fluttershy questioned before seeing Rainbow Dash within the space pod arrive. She recently learned how to mange this pod without needing to do much. The pod would do most of it for her. "I didn't even hear it. Then again, I don't think I would've."
"Maybe it fizzled in or something?" Hilda shrugged. "No one could exactly guess how it showed up."
"Check this out. Here's an entrance." Ash instantly found an entrance when climbing this massive Centaur Mech. His suspicions were right. When finding an open hatch that was also cracked, there was a cockpit. A seat could be found along with a control panel, similar to the pods but with extra parts.
"Pikachu!"
Alas, the control panel in this mech didn't withstand the test of time that much. All the controls were covered in moss or even disjointed and broken. Ash would get a good feel of the inside. The cockpit was large enough for him to fit in but everything else was tailored to these aliens.
It was certainly small enough for Pikachu to take a seat but not Ash. Pikachu made himself comfortable but this was the one seat where he couldn't get comfortable at all. "Pika..."
"Feeling in charge, buddy?" Ash kneeled to face the Mouse Pokemon. Pikachu smirked before grabbing onto the handles. He began pulling on them to try and see what reaction would come from this mech. Perhaps some sort of engine. Alas, there was nothing. Either way, Pikachu still felt like he was controlling a mech.
"This area here is strange." Bertha observed a part of this run-down mech. There was a hole that had multiple effects around it. "It looks like this part has burnt, poisoned, shocked, shredded and disintegrated at the same time."
"What do you mean by that?" Wanting to get a look, Twilight and the others would soon see what Bertha meant by that description. Indeed, parts of this robot received multiple destructive effects that likely lead to its downfall. "Oooh..."
"Most likely, this robot must have taken a lot of punishment in whatever war there was." Bertha theorized. "It was either these effects or something else that ruined this city."
"But how are those effects still there? Is it recent?" Hilda asked, wondering how all these effects were active. The flames still burned, the poison still flowed and the electricity crackled even to this day.
"Oh! Try starting it up!" Rainbow Dash opened up the pod, wanting to see this mech in action. "It'd be so cool if we could make it start up. Imagine it...Piloting a giant robot. It'll be just like what Second Wind does but not evil."
"Yeah, we would if it could start up." Hilbert knocked on the mech. "But it's totally dead."
"You all just casually tamper with these objects even when knowing the potential dangers that come with it?" Cobalion said as he witnessed how so far, they've interacted with different objects even though they could cause some dangerous scenarios. But alas, that didn't bother them.
"That's how they are," Celestia replied. "Adventurers thrive when it comes to these things."
"Does this mech not run on the same power source as those cannons and that pod?" Luna questioned.
"Doesn't look like it. Nothing back here either." Applejack looked at the back of this giant mech as there was another open hatch but no visible power source.
"Hmm..." Ash pondered for a second. It would be splendid for them to see this thing in action. And there was only one way to give it power. In the same way most things gain power. "In that case...Pikachu."
"Pika!" Pikachu knew what needed to be done. His eyes flashed yellow as sparks of electricity flared out of his red sacs. It was time for a Thunderbolt. "PikaaA...Chuuuu!" With a surge of power, Pikachu unleashed Thunderbolt inside the mech. This would mean that Ash would take some electricity as always along with Pinkie Pie and Hilbert.
"Gggghhhh!" Ash and the others uttered after receiving 100,000 volts. But this amount of power was enough. The volts permeated the mech, reaching its power source from the back which forced Applejack back. A sound theN came from the mech. It wasn't exactly the sound of an engine but it was certainly unique. It almost sounded like a choir shout. The visor from this Centaur Mech was the first thing that lit up.
Everyone looked up to see the visor gain an azure blue colouring as those volts did the trick. The mech was online. After being slumped over for so long, the mechanical limbs from this mech started moving at last. The sound of age could be heard from this rigid movement as many parts within it were starting to recover.
Naturally, since this was a mech, the one sitting in the cockpit would be in control. Instantly, Pikachu found himself being strapped into the seat with a seatbelt forming. "Pikachu?"
Since the inside of the mech could only fit a few individuals, that's when the wonders of this machine showed themselves in two different ways. The first way was transforming the inside to create new seats. Powered by the volts from Pikachu, three new seats were made in the presence of Ash, Hilbert and Pinkie Pie.
And to top it all off, even the appearance of it started changing. Everyone backed up as the Centaur Mech changed its appearance by rearranging every single part. The shape of this mech would no longer be consistent. Instead of the strong and sturdy build of a centaur, it would soon take the shape of something friendlier, softer and strikingly recognizable.
Short, somewhat chubby and shaped like a squirrel with a lightning bolt tail, everyone marvelled at the appearance of the mech and how it adjusts itself to fit the current pilot.
No longer was it the Centaur Mech. It was now the Pikachu Mech. It perfectly resembled the Mouse Pokemon, even getting his red sacs by using neon lights to do so. The coat of paint was absent due to the age of this mech so these neon lights became the substitute, turning most of it yellow.
"No way...!" Hilda's jaw dropped as pictures of this were being taken on the double. Everything here would receive a picture. "That's crazy!"
"It's just like the cannons! It changed based on who's wielding it! Or in this case, piloting it!" Twilight pointed out. This mech acted in the same way as the cannons, showing that these two specific items were potentially involved in this mysterious battle.
"Lucky you, Pikachu!" Rainbow Dash was in awe. "I could've had one based on me..."
"For something like this to exist and for the city to be so in ruins...did the aliens know that somepony would find the ship one day? Is that why it was invisible at first until Windkiss discovered it?" said Luna.
"Whatever it is, they certainly didn't leave it for us." Nightmare Moon added. "Unless they knew of other life on our planet, they might've tried to ask for help. But nothing in that diary mentions any assistance from aliens at all."
"Look at you, Pikachu! You're in charge now!" Ash gave a thumbs-up to his partner. "A whole mech based on you! Ain't that something?"
"Pika-ka-ka-ka!" Pikachu laughed with a boasting tone. His voice even reached the outside of the mech, having an echo effect. There have been plenty of times when Pikachu has felt largely powerful. But this was a new level. It was somewhat similar to Dynamax but Pikachu still had his average-sized appearance. Now that he had control of this mech, he wished to move it around.
And amazingly, it didn't require him to do much. The moment he thought about moving it, the Pikachu Mech would move. It even walked in the same way a Pikachu would when standing in a bipedal position, albeit with a greater weight to it. Everyone nearby would back away once the Pikachu Mech went ahead.
Reacting to Pikachu's own thoughts, the Pikachu Mech took a stroll. It was a jolly one too. Once everyone was out of the way, they watched as the Pikachu Mech happily walked forward, accidentally crushing the pod that Rainbow Dash was using.
"Aw! My pod!"
"Pikachu! How are you controlling that thing?! Since when can you control something like this?!" Twilight questioned, yelling from below.
"Pikachu!"
"Pikachu says...He doesn't know how. He's not really doing anything on his own except just sitting there." Fluttershy translated. "So...is that thing moving on its own then?!"
"Pika." Pikachu wasn't aware of how the mech worked and the fact that it interacted with his thoughts. But it didn't matter. To him, this was absolutely amazing. Pikachu then felt a bit hungry as his stomach growled, echoing from the mech. "Pi." Craving some bites, the Mouse Pokemon patted its belly.
And by doing so, the Pikachu Mech would do the same, patting its stomach too in response to the pilot's actions. That's when it clicked in Twilight's head.
"Hmm...Pikachu! Jump!" Twilight shouted, wanting to test something out. A theory was brewing in her head about this special mech.
"Pika? Pikachu!" Listening to Twilight, Pikachu would give it a try. Once again, the mech would react to his thoughts, repeating Pikachu's thoughts. When strapped to the seat, Pikachu couldn't move as much but that didn't stop the mech from moving. It jumped, getting some impressive ample airtime before then landing. The ground would shake a bit.
"Woah! You didn't even jump at all to make that happen, Pikachu!" Ash gawked.
"Pika..." Pikachu blinked for a bit, still trying to process this.
"He didn't even move at all! But the robot did?" Pinkie Pie leaned in. "What's up with that?! And why is every seat in this city so comfortable?!"
"Without him moving? Pikachu! Maybe it reacts to your thoughts!" Sci-Twi exclaimed. "I watched a movie about something like that once! But it involved a lot of neural wires connected to a head. It's probably the same thing here. Whatever you might think of doing next, the mech does it for you."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu understood it now. It made perfect sense. And now that he knew how this machine worked, he was going to take full advantage of it. His next thought was to dance with it. Any dance move would do.
By thinking of it, the Pikachu Mech would lean back, using the tail to balance itself. Once the Pikachu Mech balanced itself, it started spinning. Right now, a breakdancing mech was gracing their eyes. Ash, Hilbert and Pinkie Pie held on tight as the mech become a golden blur.
What else could be said about this mech? It was self-explanatory. It could change appearances based on who was piloting it and only needed some new power to restart it. More about this alien city's technology would be revealed. Some of them would take time to try and understand, but they were certainly making progress.
Twilight would then look into the diary of Windkiss, wondering what else she had to say about this city and if there was anything here that was worth spotting. Once again, Windkiss' voice magically spoke out of the book.
"Needless to say...whoever ended up here is long gone. But my guess is that they didn't just randomly crash here. Not when the ship is clearly invisible to everyone else. The items here are amazingly functional despite how old they seem. I wonder what kind of power source they run on? Anyway, I got some answers at the floating library here but I still couldn't understand the language there. However, even without knowing the language, the actions spoke louder than words. And I saw something grand there."
"So...That's a library." Twilight eyed down the floating building which was the only floating structure here, confirming that it was the library. In there, they would learn something about what happened here so long ago.
They ended u preaching the library with Pikachu using his newfound mech to carry most of them who couldn't fly. They were raised up as those who could fly already reached the floating building that was shaped like a doughnut. Feeling hungry just by looking at it, Pinkie Pie would pass her box of doughnuts to Pikachu, satisfying his hunger.
Pikachu would leave his mech by hopping out of the cockpit. It was now on standby, waiting for its pilot to return. Right now, Pikachu wanted to explore more on his bare feet.
"Pika..." When entering the library which had open holes that made it easy to enter, the place was trashed. Books could be seen either scorched or ripped apart, proving that the devastating scuffle even involved this library. However, even with the books being destroyed, they were floating surprisingly, emanating bioluminescent lights of different colours for each book. No matter how dead it looked, this city brought some form of life with it.
"Floating books. Sure. It fits with the theme." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Maybe I'll find some sweet alien stories here. Do you think they've got their own Daring Do?"
"Only one way to find out. What book stands out the most to us?" Bertha asked.
"The one book Windkiss mentioned will show us exactly what happened here." Twilight ready the diary. "Apparently, it's a book that has four different colours around it. Every other book here only has one glowing colour each."
"Just find the one with four glowing colours? Gotcha." Ash replied as they would seek this one specific book. They would scatter just to try and find this book, moving through the ruined library.
"This isn't the kind of date I envisioned Cobalion. It's not exactly romantic." Celestia said to the Iron Will Pokemon.
"Neither was our time at Alola. But it was enjoyable. I suppose I enjoy spending time around you even when there's no romance involved. I'm not exactly well-experienced in romance too after all." Cobalion smiled, finding this to be better than romance just for the wonders it brought.
"Fair enough. And it is too much fun not to get out there and explore the unknown. That sometimes beats out romance, to be honest." Celestia replied.
"In a way, this is romance." Rarity appeared in between them. "It's romanticism."
"Romanticism?" They both repeated.
"Mhm! It's the movement of grand fantasy with a pinch of reality. Attitudes, ideas and feelings. This would fit it perfectly. Who said it had to be about fancy restaurants and dreamy sights? Although...those are wonderful in their own rights." Rarity explained. "I wish I had some of that right about now."
"Well, she said it." Cobalion nudged his head. "I'm feeling the romance for certain."
"Oh stop it you!" Celestia laughed, hitting Cobalion's hoof after that joke.
"Eugh. If I am to live side by side with her from now on, will I have to be tortured by this?" Nightmare Moon shuddered at this sight, sticking her tongue out. "At least you are nothing like her, my lesser self."
"Why thank you. Wait! Lesser?!" Luna growled as Nightmare Moon had a cheeky chuckle. Despite burying the hatchet with Luna, she was still snarky, cocky and pompous as ever.
Their search for this one book continued. They passed by many floating books, taking a peek at them to see what could catch their interest. They got to see more pictures of alien life and technology as well as the strange language. Thanks to Pheromosa and Fluttershy working together, this language would not block them from understanding anything.
Twilight would grab a floating book that was a dictionary. Just what she needed to learn this language some more. Of course, when she gets back, she'll have to request help from Rarity's Pheromosa back to back. But it would be worth it just to learn another language from the stars.
Storybooks were also here but these stories were hard to follow mainly because of the language. Ash and Rainbow Dash would find these as the only thing within these books to help them understand it would be the pictures. Pictures spoke a universal language after all.
No matter the world, stories were stories and most were easy to follow and understand even if there was an entirely different language to try and understand.
Fluttershy found some specific books that interested her. Beastiary Books. The alien wildlife already captivated here back at the throne room. She needed to know more, even if they weren't here. Fluttershy and Twilight certainly knew which books they were taking home with them.
"This is it!" Eventually, Hilda would be the one to discover this book. Everyone would soon rush to Hilda's location once she made the announcement.
Hovering in front of her was a book with four colours. Red, Blue, Green Yellow. Compared to every floating book, this one also spun just for style points. "So...this is the book that'll tell us what we need to know right?" Sci-Twi questioned.
"That's right. Whatever's in there will show us the story of this city and what happened. I hope so. Go for it, Hilda. Open it up." Twilight requested that Hilda should be the one to open it.
"Got it. Let's see what's up with this?" With her hands clutching the four-coloured book, the trainer from another world would then open the book. Immediately, four lights flared out of the book with bombastic energy. It was similar to Windkiss' diary in the way it just unleashed so much light.
And just like Windkiss' magic, it would show them the story via visions. Everyone's eyes had been captivated by the lights as they would consecutively flash. Before they knew it, they were instantly met with the sight of this city under a different circumstance.
A circumstance that led to this destruction. They were out of the library, appearing outside instead. But much like the touchstones that Windkiss made, they were yet again looking at a projection of the past. This time, everything was outlined in neon colours.
"Another projection?" Twilight said before looking up to see the cosmic skies. No longer were they on Earth. This was somewhere else. At least, at this moment in time that the book was showing.
The advanced vehicles were now abundant. Many pods could be seen in the air along with majestic chariots moving around. The buildings were even grander when repaired, sporting sleek appearances. The roads were also higher, having curved highways that made loops and different turns. Only diamonds, pearls and platinum could match the beautiful incandescent lights that shined across the city. In the distance, four different moons could be seen.
And as for the cosmic skies, when looking at them again, Twilight noticed how there was a swirling galaxy above this whole planet and city. It looked like it was so close but that was only because of its size. The skyline is crowded with luxurious cosmic-textured skyscrapers as they had aspects which represented past, present and future designs that resembled eras from Earth. Both Earths to be exact. Its allure was matched by the backdrop of modest hills which have helped shape the city.
Hundreds of cafés, bistros and coffeehouses offer a plethora of culinary choices and those who feel hungry for something else can enjoy one of the many parks, nature, an amusement park or one of the many other recreational venues.
This was all before Celestia was even born. Potentially even before Sunlight and Eventide were born. Cobalion was still a mystery. But that didn't change the fact that this old city was so far ahead of everything else at the time. It looked truly futuristic.
However, this marvellous sight would not last forever. Instead of having the chance to see how this city worked during its prime, this book would cut to the chase, focusing on what caused all this destruction. From above, Pikachu saw a crimson light break straight through the cosmic clouds.
"Pika?"
It was then revealed that this was a fireball. A fireball with stardust around it. This fireball came crashing down at great speeds, smashing into the nearest building. That building was met with a blazing combustion that destroyed parts of it. Everyone gasped as things were already escalating. They had yet to even get a good look at these aliens at all since they were standing near the outskirts of the city.
Just then, after the first fireball dropped, no time was wasted. Another came from above. And another. And another. Very soon, the skies were raining Stardust Fireballs. The cosmic clouds were coloured red with their flaming auras as the sound of thunder cracked through the skies. It was hard to tell if anyone saw this coming at all. But judging by the screams of some aliens, it was clear that some of them might have not. But some did.
"What the?! What's that above it all?!" Hilbert focused back on the sky, seeing something just below the swirling galaxy and above the fireballs. The Stardust Fireballs all came from one source.
An even bigger fireball. Specifically, a Sun. There was an entirely different Sun that could be seen submerging from the cosmic clouds, having a dark red appearance that perfectly matched the flames. It was responsible for spawning more of them, attacking this city. The aliens who were terrified ran in fear, using whatever way of travel they could utilize. Whether it'd be their own bodies or the vehicles. As expected, the pods would evade any form of danger as seen by how they saved Fluttershy. The same couldn't be said for the buildings which were being absolutely punished thanks to their massive sizes, making them easier targets. This would force other aliens out of these buildings who would use their wings to fly out, no matter how many of them they had on their backs.
"Is that the Sun?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"No...That can't be the Sun we know! It's something else!" Celestia's eyes dilated. "I'm sensing something sinister from that..."
But it would only get worse. The aliens who didn't flee were the ones standing up to this threat. Upon getting a closer look, Ash and the others saw that half of these ponies were actually standing against each other. They wore specialized armour that was only unique to them as aliens while also carrying those cannon weapons. This confirmed that a war happened here.
As the innocents were fleeing the city, the two sides of these aliens would attack each other while Stardust Fireballs were still raining viciously. Different lights from these cannons were unleashed, blasting against each other from all sides. But it wasn't limited to the ground.
Up in the skies, those pods were also offensive, not just defensive. They would reveal cannons of their own as they were joined by massive ships that showed up in the distance. These alien ships would put Empress Twilight's ships to absolute shame for how grand they were. Light beams from each side were unleashed, flying bout in a frenzy as this was a truly wild light show.
There was one ship that seemed to resemble a giant fish. Albeit an alien-looking fish. But still a fish, no less. Standing in the front of this ship without being inside was a relatively tall alien pony wearing technological armour that was strikingly regal at the same time. His masculine face shot through the crimson lights that came from above and made a scarlet ambience as on the other side, another ship that resembled a creature had shown up. This time, it looked like a bird. An alien bird to be exact.
It was an all-out war. The city was littered with technological armour, shattered technology and buildings and wounded soldiers. Red, grey and black are the new colours of what was once a spirited city, which has now become the stage of a heated war. Why did this war happen? It could be for any reason. The air which would normally carry the sound of working civilians and advanced technological tools is now thick with the stench of energy beams. Some of them resembled plasma as seen by Celestia.
Two armies fight each other for an unknown reason, but the battle was in nobody's favour yet. The wounded of one side are spread around the city and the faces of the troops were hopeful with their muscles tense and anxious and weapons clenched in their special limbs, they push harder and harder on the enemy
With no way to know if they'll survive, the other side fights with fear flowing through their hearts and heads. All kinds of technology were being unleashed. Frequency waves that disrupted vehicles only for another device to rearrange the vehicles, making them stronger than ever.
The aliens would decode each other's arsenals to try and gain the advantage, but their intellects were evenly matched, making this is a stunning back-and-forth. Elements could also be seen forming. Aside from the fireball raining from the sky, one of the ships unleashed a chilling wave of ice that would freeze over parts of this city and the opposing enemies, only for the fireballs to counteract them. Thanks to these elements rising up with the ground splitting. Defensive shields were put up from both sides to gain greater defence. They all had the same idea in mind.
The innocents tried fleeing with their pods, however, they wouldn't be safe for long. Something was able to get past the safety measures of the pod. Something came from the strange Sun in the sky. It suddenly stopped firing fireballs to do something else. Blue cracks formed around the Sun as a gigantic claw broke straight through it. There was an entity living inside this Sun. A roar that seemed to resemble that of a dragon bellowed out, breaking through the sound barrier of the cosmic skies while also throwing ships off balance.
And emerging out of that Sun was a Dragon. Not just a regular Dragon.
A Space Dragon. Its body let out an aura that flared brighter than the Su that it broke through. Its scales were textured in the same way as the cosmic skies while having a rather muscular stature. It spread out its wings, showing its dominance over the battlefield. In response to this gigantic dragon, that's when the Centaur Mech which was now the Pikachu Mech in the current day showed up in tip-top shape, having a platinum coat.
This Space Dragon would then absorb the power of this Sun that it came from, using its power. It looked like it was charging a breath attack up with cosmic lights flaring from its body. A devastating attack was incoming, only for the projection to end. Before they could even see the Dragon attack, the book just ended the story right then and there, bringing everyone back to the library.
"Wait, that's it?!" Hilda gasped before looking at the book. That's when she noticed something. A few pages were torn out. Pages that most likely told more of this story and how the battle truly was.
"It only starts at the moment this battle went down." Twilight noticed as the first 18 pages were gone. "We're missing pages from it."
"Man...That got intense fast. That explains all of this." said Ash.
"So it was a war. But we barely got to see everything from it. That Dragon might've been the reason that the crater is there. We still don't know how the ship got to this world though." Cynthia replied.
"Hm...Well, I want to solve this myself." Twilight held the book alongside Windkiss' diary. "The throne room still hasn't been fully explored either along with the rest of the ship. I'd like to take some of these home with me."
They were almost finished here. They got to see many wonderful items and even saw Pikachu obtain his own mech. Pikachu would hope back into his mech, wanting to do more with it. Twilight wanted to see if there was more she could discover to try and piece this story together.
But they certainly made a stunning discovery. Even if they wouldn't find the rest of the story, they would still leave with wonder in their minds. What caused this grand war? What was that Sun in the sky? Who was that strange alien pony that stood on top of a ship? Who was that Space Dragon? These were questions that were waiting to be answered as the journey continues.
Pegalysium. Ethereal Pavilion. Within the UFO. Afternoon.
After finding some information about this city's past and learning bits about how this city became so ruined, they searched for more. A great battle happened here involving advanced weapons, a Centaur Mech and a Space Dragon that came from a smaller but deadly Sun. It was all stellar to view. Alas, that was all the information they could gather.
They searched in this library for more information with Fluttershy and Pheromosa being their translators. Ash and his friends would find torn pages that were scattered everywhere, trying to piece some of them together. However, when attempting to do so, the damage had been done. The book would not show a projection anymore with the pages ripped out.
"This is as far as it goes," Twilight said, holding the ripped pages with her magic. "We can't see the projection of how everything else went down sadly."
"Can't we repair it or something?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We've got something for that, right?"
"No. Surprisingly. But what I can do is recreate these." Twilight already found a solution. "We have the pages here that follow the order properly. All I have to do is learn how to write these symbols and we'll be set."
"I'd gladly love to help you write these symbols."
"That should be it for this place then," said Cobalion. If you all want to carry these books back, that will require a massive bag. Bigger than what you all have."
"No need! Hoopa can do something about this!" As always, Hoopa would grant wishes for them when he saw the opportunity. The second Cobalion mentioned bags, by holding his ring out and digging into space, Hoopa would grab the necessary items.
In this case, massive bags. Comically large ones. They fell out of the ring, dropping and covering everyone immediately. However, these bags were already full of objects. Thus, when they fell, Ash and the others dropped to the floor.
"Ugh! Hoopa! These are already full!" Twilight yelled, pushing some of them off with her magic. "And heavy!"
"Put them back where you found them too please..." Hilda groaned, knowing for a fact that these bags belonged to someone and Hoopa just outright stole them. Alas, this was Hoopa merely being himself as he laughed right afterwards. He could've chosen empty bags this whole time but decided to be a trickster as always.
Pikachu, who was within his Pikachu Mech, was messing around with it. Since it reacted to his thoughts and would perform actions, he took full advantage of it. Running around, dancing, jumping and more. He mimicked Iron Tail, having the Pikachu Mech swing its gigantic tail.
But he soon realized that he would have to leave this mech behind. He definitely couldn't bring something this big back home with him. Knowing this, Pikachu lowered his ears. "Pika..."
"Don't worry, buddy. We can always just come back here and try it out again." Ash reassured him they would return here. They knew of its location after all and a way to see the ship.
However, that's when the mech had one more surprise. It reacted to Pikachu's thoughts in a different way. Instead of reacting to his movements, it reacted to his emotions. Feeling that Pikachu didn't want to leave this mech behind, that's when the device changed once more. Ash and Pikachu were still in it as they would feel the rapid movements of this machine.
Every piece of it was suddenly shrinking. From the inside and the outside. Before that, the seats within the mech would eject Ash and Pikachu for their own safety. They watched as the Pikachu Mech shrunk, turning all of its parts into simplified cubic shapes. It was doing this for a reason. Once the mech fully shrunk, it was revealed to only show up as a cube.
But that cube had the face of Pikachu on it on all sides, symbolizing who it belonged to. The Mouse Pokemon walked up to the cube, picking it up to witness this miniature transformation.
"Pikachu..."
"Awesome! That's one way to bring it along! Now it's big enough for you to carry!" Ash cheered. "Lucky you, Pikachu!"
"Pika...Pi-Pikachu!" As if he had just caught a Pokemon or won a Gym Badge, Pikachu triumphantly cried out while holding the cube in the air. Like Trainer, Like Pokemon. Pikachu gaining this cube was a good sign of how their time in this ruined city was coming to an end. They saw a lot and experienced a lot. This spaceship still had plenty of mysteries that needed to be solved.
Until they can be solved, they will return here. Cobalion even saw some interest in this place too. But for a different reason. He thought about why the ship would crash land in this world specifically due to his knowledge of otherworldly visitors from the stars.
Cobalion then recalled what Nightmare Moon said. Potentially, the aliens came here for a reason. And with how clean the throne rooms were, it has hard to know if they were still here somewhere or long gone by now. And more importantly, the existence of the Space Dragon was somewhat worrying.
Back at the Ethereal Pavilion, everypony else had already gone ahead, viewing more of this wonderful place. But in the meanwhile, right where the tiara was located, the Royal Family stopped by at the very end. Curious about how the tiara could help you see something wonderful, Shooting Star wanted to test it out for himself.
"So this is it. Windkiss' Tiara." Shooting Star said. He came face to face with this tiara that Windkiss left behind, placing his hooves on it. Once he finally had the tiara in his grasp, the young prince would place it on his head, waiting for the magic to do its thing. And it certainly did.
A beautiful dazzle enveloped his head before then widening his eyes. Shooting Star sat there perplexed for a moment. He then closed his eyes, relaxing for a bit. After a few seconds of silence, he moved his mouth around before having a smile grace his face. It didn't even take him that long to wear it as he immediately took it off.
"So. What did you see, son?" Luminary asked. "What did the tiara show you?"
"Something great. It showed me all of my friends. But...I didn't really get why it did that."
"The tiara is mysterious in that way," Paramount said. "Its entire goal is to bring solace and understanding to those who wear it. Usually, after the tiara is worn do those who've wielded know why it showed them those images."
"Guess I'm gonna have to wait then. But it was so great. Felt like I went through so many memories. But they never happened. That's the weird part. So is something similar gonna happen to everyone else who views this?"
"Correct. But not all of them will have the same thing." Paramount explained. "But they'll most certainly be happy when viewing it."
As the royal family spoke with each other, somepony else was approaching this area, but undetected. It was none other than Garnet. She was the first one to truly reach here. Garnet crept up to the tiara, gazing at its dazzling brilliance. Her eyes flashed beautifully, amazed by what she was seeing.
Now that she saw it, the cash-hungry pony would lift it up without hesitation, quickly placing it on her head. She didn't go undetected at all. Her hoofsteps on this marble floor were very audible, prompting the Royal Family to face her. Their eyes opened as they were distracted to even play their part. It was like they got dressed for nothing.
"Gah! We missed our chance!" Luminary bellowed. "We were going to ask her questions before she put it on..."
"Aah..." Garnet looked like she was in paradise as the light caressed her horn. It was truly satisfying. So satisfying that she didn't hear Luminary's voice. But right then and there, her smile turned into a frown. "Hmm...Why's all the money vanishing? This isn't that pleasant. But it still feels great for some reason."
Paramount and Luminary knew exactly what Garnet was seeing. They didn't need to put the tiara on to know this. It was self-explanatory since they knew Garnet well.
"Oh well. I don't think I can trade this in. It's too important and that's too much trouble waiting for me." She shook her head before removing the tiara. "Also why does this place have stairs? We don't need stairs."
"What did you see?" Paramount asked as the echo effect reached Garnet's ears at last.
"Gaah!" Garnet gasped before jumping up. Her wings spread out, causing her to take full flight. The nursery school caretaker would be on the ceiling, shaking and quivering after being caught. "W-Who are you ponies...?!"
"Did she not see the touchstones to know about the sages?" Shooting Star asked.
"Definitely not." Paramount and Luminary shook their heads. They knew that Garnet wouldn't bother with the touchstones. The tiara was her goal.
"Welcome, Garnet," Paramount spoke to her. "You are the first one here to find Windkiss' Tiara and wear it even before we could ask you any questions."
"Oh. Were there questions involved? I didn't know! Sorry.! I got ahead of myself!" She apologized before dropping from the ceiling. "It was just so shiny and dazzling and so fancy...Oh, the amount of Quillbits that could make."
"You've seen what you needed to see. As the um...sages of this place. That's right. Us." Luminary spoke, almost breaking out of character. "You may now leave. Or roam around the pavilion some more."
"Well, I was hoping to get something of value from here, honestly. But you all look pretty shiny, actually..." Her eyes then became narrow, eyeing down the Royal Family. Thanks to the voice alteration, she had no idea it was them. "Say...you don't think it'd be weird if I could have a piece of you?"
"Eh?" The trio were reasonably taken aback by this. Garnet's quest for wealth had its boundaries but sometimes those boundaries can be vague and hard to spot.
"All that light...Is it actual gold?! What about your clothes?!"
"Y-You're not thinking of selling us, are you?!" Luminary gasped, clinging on to Paramount. "Not again! I don't wanna go back to that!"
"No! Nothing like that! I just thought... never mind." Garnet scrunched her face, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "I can't believe I just said that."
"Ahem." Paramount cleared his throat. "Well...you've probably already found wealth here. It came from the tiara but those effects have yet to come through."
"What do you mean by that?" Garnet asked.
"I don't get it myself." Shooting Star added. "But, you'll find out sometime in the future."
"Okay then. I guess that makes sense. But I did see something when I put on that tiara. I saw my friends there. All the Quillbits I could dream of started flying away. It's pretty disheartening to see them leave. But yet...my friends being there soothed that pain."
"Mhm." Paramount nodded. Those were the effects of the tiara kicking in. Garnet loved any form of currency she could have just to get rich. But even if all of that staggering wealth were to vanish, her friends would be there.
"Oh! That reminds me! I should meet up with Kaleidoscope pretty soon. She's waiting for me in Manehattan. A place down at Equestria. Thank you for having us here at the Ethereal Pavilion."
"Thank you for being here. Hopefully, this experience bodes well for you in the future." Paramount bowed his head. Garnet would then flutter away, departing from the Ethereal Pavilion. While their surprise didn't go the way they wanted, the Royal Family could already see that Garnet gained something from this tiara.
And whoever else shows up here to wear it shall truly know what puts their hearts at peace and brings solace.
Eventually, more ponies showed up in this room to wear the tiara. Waiting for them was the Royal Family, introducing themselves as sages. The same sages that assisted Windkiss in the past. When they arrived, the Royal Family would ask them questions. Questions about why they came here and most of them were the same.
They only came here for the thrills, enjoyment and as Rarity would put it, the romanticism of adventure. That's all that truly mattered to them. It's why they even stayed in a group instead of just splitting up to different locations across the world as of recently.
After that, they would place the tiara on their heads, gaining images in their minds and eyes. The tiara deduced all of them by simply reading their auras. They all had something that would make them smile. Most involved things that were close to them. Mainly objects. But the most consistent factor were those who were in their lives. From family members and friends. And those items even correlated with them.
Eventually, Ash and his group would show up here when exploring the pavilion. They didn't expect to reach this important room so soon. Not when there was still so much more to see.
"Aren't you those sages from Windkiss' past?" Twilight pointed out, recognizing this distinct appearance. "You're still around."
"Indeed," said Luminary. "Welcome. You're here for the same reason as everyone else. That much we know. But the question is...are you ready to place that tiara on?"
"So it's been sitting here for this long...and no one's ever taken it?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "Not even the Indigo Alliance?"
"There'd be no reason to take it." Paramount shook his head. "Despite the fact that it's another one of Lady Windkiss' creations and is possibly the wealthiest item here, it would not benefit them at all."
"Whoever wears this tiara will know true solace. That is why Windkiss crafted this. For the future, she left this tiara behind to bring others smiles. Smiles that would flow across not just Pegalysium but the entire world. And it all depends on who wears it. If anypony from the Indigo Alliance were to wear it, the same would happen to them but nothing of value that benefits their entire group would come." Luminary explained. "So, they left it here. Thus, this tiara is the safest item in Pegalysium History."
"Oooh..." Ash and his friends gawked. Now they knew why this tiara was still here. If it served a different purpose, they might've never seen it.
Ash would be the first to walk up to the tiara, wanting to see what it could show him. What could bring him solace? He already had a lot on his mind.
"Tell us loud and clear what you're gonna see, Ash. I gotta know!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"When you put this on, depending on what you do, the images that are shown to you can only become real if you make them real," Paramount said to Ash before he put the tiara on. "And it will also show you what you can expect down the road, bringing your heart to ease."
"Hm." Ash nodded in understanding before placing the tiara on his head. The light from the tiara reacted to Ash, reading his Aura. His Aura was absolutely colossal, garnering a titanic reaction from the tiara. It was the biggest one that the Royal Family had ever seen.
His body became incandescent as he closed his eyes. In a few seconds, millions of images appeared in Ash's head. Images of his friends, his family and all of his adventures. From then to now. This was the most amount of images the tiara had shown. After that, Ash smiled before removing the tiara.
"Well...what did you see?" Twilight asked as everyone was curious.
"Nothing I already didn't know," Ash replied. "It showed me what I already know and love. You all. And everyone else back down there and back home. Plus, I got to see things I've never seen before."
"Like?" Fluttershy leaned in.
"Uh...not sure what it was. It was Pokemon that looked like it was made out of dough. So soft and squishy. It felt like I was actually there." Ash sighed. "I couldn't catch all the Pokemon since it was so fast but I felt what the tiara was telling and showing me."
"So you already know," Paramount replied. "Then...perhaps you didn't need to put the tiara on. You already know what brings you solace. This is why it's called the Solace Tiara if you must know its name."
"I sure do. And I'm looking at them all." Ash's friends brought him solace. Plus his family if his mother was up here right now. To top it all off, his solace was everyone's solace thanks to the meteors from Meteor Mountain and the time they've spent together.
"Glad to hear it, Ash." Cynthia walked over. "But you may have spoiled what else we'd see."
"Ah! My bad!" Ash laughed right afterwards. "Pinkie said to say it loud and clear so I did."
"Well, I want to know what I'll see." Rainbow Dash would take a crack at it, even if Ash essentially had the same thing in mind. She was next to wear the tiara, excited to know what it entailed.
When putting it on, Rainbow Dash's viewing would be swift like most others. But she would catch a glimpse of a few things. The most central thing was the viewing of a stadium. A large stadium that greatly resembled the Equestria League Stadium. Rainbow Dash was hoping this is what it meant since she could see the stadium.
But moments after, she then saw herself gathering around her friends with a group hug. Tears were flowing. But those tears were followed up with smiles. And standing behind her were Princess Luna and Darkrai. After that, the viewing came to an end.
"Huh. The Equestria League. I hope that's what I think it means. I can't wait for that day!" High hopes were placed on the multi-coloured-maned pegasus. She was even more excited when the day for the Equestria League comes. But subtly, the Solace Tiara moved on its own without making any visible distance. And with this minimal movement, it looked like it was shaking its head, knowing something Rainbow Dash didn't.
Everyone else would place the Solace Tiara on, knowing what made the happy. They already found it recently. Mainly Celestia and Luna. And some of them even found out during the events at the Galaxy Tower and before that.
But there was one pony who had a different reaction. Roseluck. She went up to the tiara, placing it on her head as she was pumped as much as everyone to see what happiness it would bring. Noticeably, it took some time for the tiara to read Roseluck.
After finally reading her, Roseluck only saw one thing. Rosa Maledicta. After that, it was over. That was the quickest one by far with the faintest aura of them all. The image of Rosa Maledicta was all that she got to see. Her vicious and intimidating form and a more gentle one that came to mind.
"Uh..I think I'm done here." Roseluck removed the tiara as there was not a smile on her face compared to the others.
"What did you see, Roseluck?" Berry Punch asked. "Skowet and I got the same thing in our minds."
"It was...roses. Yeah. Roses." Roseluck lied, hiding what she saw. "What else could it be?"
That was not the case. Once more, just like with Rainbow Dash, the tiara would shake. It disapproved of what Roseluck said, knowing what she was hiding. But at the same time, why wouldn't Roseluck hide it? Only one pony would know the truth about this, even if she wasn't here. Princess Celestia.
Pegalysium. Ethereal Pavilion. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Many had shown up to wear the Solace Tiara. And by wearing it, they found what could bring them solace and what already does. However, there was someone who was an exception to this. When wearing the Solace Tiara, Roseluck saw something meant to bring solace, but it only startled and worried her. So much so to the point that she lied about what she saw.
The Solace Tiara showed her the Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta. Her older sister. She lied, saying that the tiara showed her roses. The main thing that makes her happy. But even when lying, now that her sister had been brought up, Roseluck couldn't forget about her. Not like she forgot about her in the beginning.
Roseluck could still remember it clearly. Her sister went to study at Canterlot and was set to become another one of Celestia's students with her talented skill. Alas, that was the last she saw of her big sister before she mysteriously vanished one day.
But after what recent events have offered, Roseluck would have knowledge about her older sister. But it was something she didn't want to believe. Her sister? The Lich Queen? Ruler of Vampires and Skeletons. Master of Forbidden and Dark Magic that is rarely ever seen. Thinking about that was grim. And the fact that her sister would want to erase all life was outlandish especially since Roseluck was the only one who knew Rosa Maledicta the most.
15 Years ago. Ponyville.
It was 15 years ago.
Much like how in the current day, Roseluck's Gym could be found around Whitetail Wood, back then, there was a cottage near these woods. At this time, Roseluck was but a filly, living in this cottage. Facing her was a garden of roses. Beautiful red roses that spread around the cottage and even out to the woods. The young filly picked one of them up before then seeing how an extra bud grew from it. Different species of roses covered the house as there was a staggering abundance of them that almost masked the building.
"Ooh. Could I make beautiful roses just like you?" Roseluck sid to the pony standing in front of her. The one who created these beautiful roses. Rosa Maledicta. A slightly younger Rosa to be exact. "Please, sis?"
"Of course, you can. But unlike anyone else, our family's roses will be exceptional." Rosa said to Roseluck. "Yours will be unique. Not like mine."
"Which one will I get?"
"Well, we'll find out once you learn how to properly make them. Honestly, you're not very good at it." Rosa taunted.
"I can get good at it!" She barked. In reality, by this point, Roseluck was terrible at making roses. This was proven by the basket of wilted roses that could be seen. All of them were failures that bloomed poorly. "Eventually."
"Obviously. You're a bit slow when it comes to learning how to take care of your roses. And you're young. And I have the wonderful advantage of Magic." Rosa added, making Roseluck pout with agitation on her face. "But they'll be great someday, Roseluck. After all, if you ask me, it's wonderful to create life. Life of our own, that is."
"Life? The roses aren't alive though." Roseluck flailed a rose around.
"Oh, they very much are. Every plant in the world is alive. That's something I can teach you before School does. And with every plant in the world having Life, just like how we nurture those who are new to the world, plants deserve the same. Think of it like a child."
"A child? I'm not ready to be a mom though..." Roseluck shook her head.
"You always love ruining my speeches, don't you? But besides that, I know you'll take good care of these roses in the future Roseluck. Just like how I do."
"I get it...I'll make a lot of them and the best rose you'll ever see! It'll be massive and it'll come from a tree! It'll be the biggest rose anypony in the world will ever see!"
"A tree? Okay then. If you say so." Rosa chuckled. "You'd need magic to have that grow on a tree."
"Well, you're just lucky that you're a unicorn. You got to study at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns too. And not me..."
"Duh. Because I'm a unicorn." The older sister shrugged. "And very soon, I'll become one of the best unicorns to ever go down in history. The kinds of magic I'll invent will be astronomical. How about we reach our goals together, little sis?"
"Sure!" It was a promise. They both gave each there a high-hoof to symbolize the dreams they would chase and make a reality. "So, where are you heading today?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm heading to the Academy far off at Trottingham. And that's where I'll start my new type of magic. To expand my horizons of magic even further, I need to see what can be possible instead of just being stagnant. I'm already equipped to handle the cold. I'll be back in 6 months when we go on break. Your foalsitter and uncle will be here for you. So, don't mess up the house and give them trouble, okay?"
"I promise, I won't. This time." She put on a devious smile as Rosa knew that her little sister would somehow cause trouble when she's gone. "Come back soon, okay? And have fun!"
Alas, she never did return after those 6 months passed. Roseluck waited for months for her big sister to show up again. But once the 6 months came and went, 7 months would pass. Then 8 months, 9, months, 10 months, until it would soon reach the entire year that has gone by.
And there was no response from Rosa at all. Roseluck would stand outside in the cold of the night, waiting for her big sister to return. The moon made it all so lonely, even with her caretakers being around, It didn't feel the same without her older sister.
Her studies at Trottingham suddenly became unheard of. Rosa didn't even write to Roseluck. And as Roseluck grew, honing her skills as a Horticulturist and making beautiful roses, she would still wait patiently until her sister would return. Her home was even changed to reside in Central Ponyville. The House of Roses was never seen again. To Roseluck, she thought that Rosa was merely occupied, working extremely hard at the academy to show up again.
And for years, Rosa's whereabouts were completely unknown.
Current day.
Until recently, when Roseluck learned about her sister thanks to the Dread League. Her thoughts came to an end after reminiscing that sweet memory.
"It's impossible for both of us to reach our goals now," Roseluck said. By this point, her biggest goal had yet to be reached while Rosa's goal had drastically changed from what it originally was.
"The tiara's alive?!" But right afterwards, a thunderous roar of words came from the next room, breaking Roseluck's thoughts about her sister. Hearing this shout, Roseluck would quickly take a gander at what made them all bellow.
Ash's group was viewing another one of Windkiss' memories via the touchstones. And with this memory, they got to witness the creation of the Solace Tiara.
Windkiss could be seen moulding the tiara with her magic. The tiara was embedded with a majority of Windkiss' magic which was seemingly boundless with how much she could give out. However, Windkiss' original goal to build this tiara was different to what it became.
"There...You'll be my newest friend." Windkiss formed a friend of her own. Her first friend, as stated by Queen Luminary was Luminary's own grandmother. Thus, the Solace Tiara was the second friend she ever made.
Sentient and alive, this tiara would see Windkiss as the very first entity. It had no eyes, yet it could see. It had no ears, yet it could hear. But ironically, it had no mouth and that didn't mean it could speak. The tiara couldn't say a word except make noises that involve its material being moved around.
"Hi there. I'm Windkiss." Windkiss introduced herself to her own creation. "I made you. How does it feel to be born?"
The tiara didn't respond with words. Instead, it responded by jumping around and making noises on the table. But these movements were easy to read for Windkiss. She could tell the tiara expressed happiness. This was not strange to experience at all.
Applejack could resonate with this. After all, she and her friends built the current group f Golett that were on Applejack's team. They have experience when it comes to building friends. The Solace Tiara was no different to the Golett and other Artificial Man-made pokemon.
She picked up the tiara, attempting to hug it, only to get poked by it. It was still metal after all. "Ow! My bad!" Windkiss chuckled before spinning with the tiara. "I'm glad you have made you! I knew it was a good idea!"
In a way, this mirrored the memories of Roseluck. Both had their respective memories that were based around the creation of life. Roseluck remembered how Rosa mentioned creating and hurting life, AKA the roses. Granted, a tiara was vastly different from a rose but the motivation behind both creations was similar.
Even the words from Windkiss' diary resonated with Roseluck. This would be her first time listening to the diary, and hearing what it had to say.
"Dear Diary. I did it. I succeeded in making a new friend. Literally. Primrose Sky was my very first friend so I'm glad to have made a second friend days after. It's a tiara. Not exactly what most ponies would expect as a friend but she's my friend for sure. She's made up of all my magic and I made sure to fill her with emotions. Never quite figured out how to make a mouth, eyes or ears though. That was too tough for me. Either way, I'm glad to have made her. Creating life isn't something I'm used to even to this day. But it still feels wonderful and precious. Oh! That reminds me! I should befriend the Avus-Pegasus too! I made him after all."
Indeed. Much like her sister in the past, Windkiss could see the joy in creating life. Windkiss even slightly reminded Roseluck of her sister. Alas, it's a shame that her sister was not the same.
"You're thinking about her, aren't you?" A voice replied to Roseluck from behind, startling the earth pony. She was also joined by Gardevoir and no one else. Celestia and Gardevoir were the only ones to approach her. "Your sister, I mean."
"Princess Celestia? How did you know?"
"Passion sensed your emotions and relayed them to me. It's about your older sister, Rosa." Celestia explained. "Roseluck. If you're feeling affected by what's become of your sister, then you can head home if that's fine with you."
"It's alright. When I first heard about it, I tried to not let it get to me that much or let anypony else know. But it doesn't matter since I can't stop thinking about it. How did this even happen?" Roseluck sighed. "I thought she was just occupied at the academy but...she's a Lich Queen now? I don't get it. Now she's trying to destroy life as if everything she taught me doesn't matter."
"It may be because of what happened at Trottingham years ago," Celestia said, knowing more about Rosa aside from her being a student at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.
"What happened? Tell me, please!"
"The details are all muddled. But in the dead of night, an overflow of dark magic suddenly emerged. The library was consumed by a veil of darkness that caused the entire building to suddenly vanish. There wasn't a trace. Not even a crater. And the only pony there that emerged was Rosa. It was said that Rosa practised unorthodox magic that the academy would never allow. Any school would never allow it, really."
"You mean dark magic...right?" Roseluck gulped, hoping it wasn't true that Rosa learned Dark Magic.
"It makes sense now that we know what happened to her. She must've been studying Dark Magic for a while. And extensively, Curses. Especially with the level she reached with it. I'm not sure how she got access to such a vicious form of magic, but it's likely she went to Magehold afterwards."
"Got it." Roseluck was gutted by this. It was all true. And it had to be accepted. But something else brewed in her mind. "But that means it was by accident right? Was the magic responsible for changing her?"
"Maybe. We have yet to know. The only way to know is to ask Rosa herself. If e can reach her. But rest assured, Roseluck. We'll sort it all out. And if the worst scenario comes from your sister, then I'm afraid no other option can be available. You understand what I mean, don't you?"
"I do. Think you for talking with me anyway, Princess Celestia." She thanked the Ruler of Equestria. "I guess I do want to head home after all. But there's still so much of the festival left."
"You can enjoy it back home. But I wish you the best, Roseluck. Come on, Passion." Celestia bid farewell, walking off with Passion. Roseluck needed this. Someone to talk to. It was fitting that Celestia would be the one to do so. Even after this talk, Roseluck still feared the worst.
What could soon become of her older sister? And when the Black Crusade comes, what will that mean for Roseluck herself? Will she even remember her little sister? There was only one way for her to know and that would be to talk to Rosa Maledicta herself. But that was easier said than done.
For now, Roseluck could only choose to go home and rest for the day. Although, that had its own challenge that she couldn't figure out on her own as she went back to Celestia and Passion.
Pegalysium. Ethereal Pavilion. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
Nightfall had come. Another day at the Pokemon Festival was coming to an end. And time at the Ethereal Pavilion was starting to end. They had seen so much here and discovered so many wonders to boot. Windkiss truly left something wonderful behind for everyone to see.
And yet, Twilight was barely even halfway through this diary. Even the 3 weeks of the Pokemon Festival wouldn't even be enough to cover everything from her past. Right now, everyone could be seen at the edge of the Ethereal Pavilion and this island.
"We've had a blast here, haven't we?" Twilight said, closing the diary at last. "Learning about her past was great but the fact that there's way more calls for another time if you ask me. I don't want to miss out on the rest of the Pokemon Festival."
"It sure was. We got to see an ancient futuristic city too. Pikachu got his own mech to carry around as well. Time well spent, right Pikachu?" said Ash, facing his partner.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu held up the cube that contained the mech. Lucky him, obtaining such a massive vessel that now belonged to him. He even decided to show it off to his fellow Pokemon. Right now, everyone's Pokemon were out of their Poke Balls, here to watch the beautiful night sky on this island. Pegalysium was possibly the best nation to stargaze due to how high up it was. Granted, he couldn't exactly unleash it right now. Not with this large crowd and minimal space.
"So you got to see an alien civilization there? I was worried that you would run into aliens." Mayor Mare said.
"Oh yeah. We got to see what kind of technology they had. And it's crazy advanced. Still works to this day." Rainbow Dash replied. "Twilight's bringing some of them home with her. Both Twilights. I got to control a space pod."
"As for the aliens, we believe they could still be here somewhere." Rarity revealed what else they gathered from that futuristic city. "At least, Nightmare Moon believes that. Potentially, there could be aliens around Pegalysium and we just don't know."
"Maybe they're also over at Equestria." Derpy chimed in. "Maybe. Do you think some of us are aliens?"
"I know I'm not an alien." Berry Punch shook her head.
"Exactly what an alien would say." Hilbert joked, putting on a devious grin.
"Technically, we're all aliens, aren't we?" Fluttershy looked t the most obvious answer to all of this. "Humans, ponies, dragons, changelings, Pokemon and more. Some of us don't even come from the same world."
"I can proudly say I'm the trainer of an alien." Rarity boasted. "A stunningly beautiful one too. That makes me another beautiful alien."
"It'd be cool to meet an alien pony though...Wonder where they are right now?" Ash could only wonder about their existence. Most likely, they were somewhere in the cosmos. Ash had yet to fully explore this world after all. "I can't wait to find out."
Watching everyone settle down was the Royal Family. They could finish their fake sage occupations by having the Unown remove their disguises. They didn't have to do much since the sages from the past were just Windkiss' helpers. Everyone here got a chance to wear the Solace Tiara so there was no need for these disguises.
Shooting Star even got a chance to learn about Windkiss' past. Now he could see why she was the first Destiny Pegasus and the most legendary out of all of them. Though Shooting Star was now chasing his own destiny, he still looked up to the first of them all.
"Wish I could do the things she's done." Shooting Star said. "But, I'm not smart enough to make what she's built. How am I gonna discover my own unique magic with everything I've seen?"
"Windkiss was a prodigy just like you but even she had trouble in the beginning. You'll get there. Just don't rush it." Paramount replied, encouraging his son. "But...you were never the inventor-type, my son."
"True." Shooting Star took no offence to that. "But I'd love to create as well. Maybe not a friend. I already have friends here at Pegalysium. Oh and over at Equestria."
"That Snorunt does visit us consecutively actually. Though her mother doesn't exactly look too pleased every time she strays away from the group." Luminary said, referring to the Snorunt who instantly befriended Shooting Star. That was one the Pokemon Shooting Star had been around with the most aside from his parents' Unown.
"You've already been getting somewhere these past months though. Your magic shines more than anypony up here at Pegalysium." Luminar complimented him. Right then and there, Shooting Star would show off his incandescent magic that flowed like gentle waves. He turned bits of it into small wisps that he held in his hooves as they flickered in the night.
"It is, isn't it? Oh! The stars should be showing up by now!" Shooting Star would then direct his attention to the night sky. The time for stargazing had come.
And since they were so high up, they would get the best views. But before they could do so, someone gave most of them a scare. When they all weren't looking and were too focused on watching the night sky, Nightmare Moon would creep up on them. She then raised the volume of her voice, letting out an audible roar and a flare of magic that jump scared most of them.
It was an effective scare for sure, with a few Pokemon and ponies falling over or bumping into each other. "Gahaha! I never got the chance to do that during my first arrival. At least, I'm satisfied." Nightmare Moon said, making some of the ponies grumble.
Luna shook her head but she chose to do nothing about it. Nightmare Moon was herself. Even with the truce that they made, her personality and attitude would remain the same. And frankly, Luna wouldn't have it any other way. Celestia was just glad to have some more extended family.
Once everything settled down, they all looked up just in time for the stars to pass by. And there was an abundance of stars. Beautifully zooming through the darkness, they lit up the cosmos with their radiance. They watched as the nebulous clouds could be seen from this height. The shooting stars would even pierce through the clouds.
Anyone asleep would, unfortunately, miss this beautiful sight. But with how high Pegalysium was, shooting star views could always be viewed no matter what. When looking at the stars, Ash thought of many things. One of those was Jirachi and how sometimes it's known as the Pokemon of the Wishing Star. Finding Jirachi would mean so much. All Jirachis since they've been sealed away. He even thought of Galaxy Master and where he could be right now.
If anything, the stars in the skies represented everything that happened so far. Cosmic and divine interventions, otherworldly entities and events with more potentially coming. It only made sense that the final frontier would also be hiding the one Pokemon that can fix all of this and was home to the one cosmic being who can bring an end to all of this.
Such was the way of the stars. They will always tell a tale in some way. It was all a matter of how the next tales were told and which stars would tell their stories.
Shooting Star felt like he had to pick up the pace himself. For this beautiful union to even exist, that bridge would require his power as well. Alas, thanks to Second Wind's actions, his Destiny Magic had been overwritten. But that only gave him room to grow with his new form of magic. After gazing at the stars in the sky, Shooting Star would walk off on his own without his parents even noticing. Only the Unown noticed.
"This is wonderful..." Twilight sighed, almost falling asleep because of this sight. "But I wonder what Spike's up to now?"
Sinnoh. Camelia Town. Day.
A day had passed. The second week of the Pokemon Festival would end soon, giving way to the third week. And right now, Spike was currently in the Sinnoh Region.
He deviated from the rest of the group just to try and find other Dragon-Type Trainers. He's been at it for a while, honing his skills as a Dragon-Type Trainer. Ultimately, he was looking for the upper echelon of them. The most notable were Lance, Drake and Drayden. Two of which Spike knows. And currently, he was in a battle with a fellow Dragon Trainer. It was his Goodra against a Noivern. This battle was taking place near the outskirts of Camelia Town which was also close to Daybreak Town.
"Noivern! Use Air Slash, now!" The Dragon Trainer commanded.
"Noi! Noivern!" Noivern would go first, covering its wings in an incandescent light. By flapping them, strong and sharp blades of wind came crashing down.
"Okay, Goodra! Use Dragon Pulse to shoot Noivern out of the sky!"
"Goo!" Goodra would retaliate with Dragon Pulse, breathing in and unleashing a dragon-shaped blast out of his mouth. He sprayed the Dragon Pulse, causing it to strike the blades of air, cancelling them out. However, he couldn't stop all of them as some of the Air Slashes managed to bypass the pulse, slashing Goodra. "Dra!"
"Go, Noivern! Dragon Rush!"
"Vern!" Noivern would then follow up with Dragon Rush, covering its body with a draconic aura before then diving down at a great velocity.
"Catch Noivern, Goodra!"
"Goodra!" Goodra would toughen up even after the Air Slashes connected. Once Noivern came close, he would hold out his hands, grabbing Noivern's large ears while also digging his hands into the energy. Goodra was pushed back when trying to hold this attack. It was risky but it paid off as Goodra successfully caught Noivern, bringing it to a screeching halt.
"Noi?!" Noivern noticed that it lost momentum when using Dragon Rush. It abruptly ended thanks to Goodra's strength.
"Great! Keep it there with Power Whip!"
"Dra!" Now that Goodra had Noivern in his clutches, he would only increase the restraint via Power Whip. By covering his horns in a verdant aura, the Dragon-Type, held the rest of Noivern's body, squeezing the Dragon-Flying-Type.
"V-Vern!"
"Pull back, Noivern! Supersonic!"
"Noi...!" Noivern had a countermeasure to this. All it had to do was unleash a potent sound that would prevent Goodra from focusing properly. Alas, that had to come from its ears and Spike would take full advantage of those.
"Ash taught me this trick! Drown his ears with Surf!"
"Goo!" Goodra would then use his arms to summon orbs of water. The goal was to disrupt the noise and throw Noivern's focus off instead of Goodra's own focus. And thanks to Power Whip doing the rest of the restraint, Goodra was free to use his hands. Streams of water poured into Noivern's massive ears, making the Sound Wave's eyes expand out of shock.
Supersonic had been interrupted by all the water pouring into its earholes. "No way!" The Dragon Trainer pulled back after his evasive method had been countered by water. Of all things.
"Yes, way! Now, Dragon Pulse!"
"Goo...Dra!" Now that Goodra stopped all of Noivern's actions, he could deal a massive blow with Dragon Pulse. With one last breath attack, the Dragon-Flying-Type was engulfed and blasted with a vicious pulse. The pulse even forced it off Goodra's horns, sending it flying.
The Dragon Pulse would then explode in the air with multiple colours expanding. And out of the smoke came Noivern, who dropped to the ground. That's all she wrote. After being held by Power Whip, a Surf to the ears and an up-close Dragon Pulse, Noivern fainted.
"Noivern..."
"Oh yeah! I win!" Spike pumped his fist into the air, claiming victory in this battle. Goodra would do the same by rising his horns instead.
"Goo!"
"Aw...Good job, Noivern. Return." The Dragon Trainer would take this loss, returning his Noivern. "Well...good job kid."
"Thanks. And uh...sorry about the ear thing. It's just that it's so out there and easy to target." Spike squeed, feeling a bit guilty for attacking Noivern's ears. It would take some time for all that water to be emptied out.
"Don't be sorry. Dragon Trainers should always be hard to read when it comes to battling. And for you...that was some fine-battling. You and your Goodra."
"So. Any more like you? Just a place where I can find a lot of Dragon Trainers. I've been going around looking for some good ones, especially some of the best. But I haven't quite gotten there yet."
"Ah, you must be heading for either the Gym Leaders of Elite 4 Members, right? Hmm...Getting to them is a bit tough but when you do, you can bet they'll challenge you. Luckily, Daybreak Town is where you need to be. I just got back from there and you'll find the right Dragon Trainers you need to challenge."
"Really?! Awesome! Thanks so much!" Spike had a destination. Daybreak Town. It was great that he found a trainer that already left Daybreak Town at this point. There, he would find a jackpot of Dragon Trainers. And hopefully, some that he already knew. Daybreak Town wasn't too far from here either and the day was still young.
Daybreak Town.
Daybreak Town. Located to the east of Mt. Coronet near Sunyshore City and is known as "The Town of the Morning Light." Home to the Daybreak Contest Hall, this place wasn't exactly a Dragon Central area. But right now, it certainly was.
Spike arrived at last to see the vast abundance of Dragon-Type Trainers. Dragon-Type Pokemon farther than the eyes can see. It was wonderful. Right now, there weren't any battles or even any contests but the view was still nice. Spike certainly hit the jackpot.
"Sweet! This is my chance!" His eyes lit up, navigating the area. He wanted to know if any recognizable faces were here. So far, not really. But that wouldn't stop him from exploring. At the moment, many Dragon Trainers were conversing with each other while also taking care of their Dragons. Never has there been a moment where so many rare Pokemon gather in one town. Usually, they gather in a city.
He even got to see how many of these Dragons acted. Most were vastly different to how they usually appear. Some were enthusiastic and sociable. Mainly the smaller ones. Of course, the bigger ones were bold and boastful, showing off their strength to their juniors, AKA their pre-evolutions or just smaller Pokemon in general. Some were possessive of their trainers, preventing any other Pokemon or human from getting close to them, while some were pompous. They even wore pompous accessories that went surprisingly well on them.
Spike saw this as an opportunity to bring all of his own Pokemon out. Why not let each of his Dragons enjoy this festive scene and talk with other Dragons? "Okay. Come on-" But before he could do so, an explosion happened in the distance.
An explosion that resembled the colours of Dragon Pulse went off away from Daybreak Town while also startling a flock of Staravia to fly elsewhere.
"W-What was that?!" Spike gasped as that gave him a scare.
"Ah, that. Looks like they've already started battling." An older Dragon Trainer said. "It's no surprise that they've already become so destructive."
"I wish I could start things off with a bang just like how they do." Another Dragon Trainer said, gushing. "Then again, I'm not brave enough to wrestle with my own Pokemon just like him."
"Huh? Wrestle? Battle? Who's battling?" Spike had questions that he wished were answered.
"It's a Triple-way battle right now. Lance, Drake and Drayden are currently having a battle." It was revealed how was battling. Three big figures from different regions.
The Champion of Kanto and Johto, Lance. Hoenn Elite 4 Member Drake. Unova's Eight Gym Leader Drayden. Two of which, Spike definitely knew while the other, he only saw battle. Spike found his luckiest moment by a margin. Three powerful figures who were partners with mighty Dragons were currently battling. And there's a chance he could miss out on it.
"All three of them? Sweet! I have to see this!" Spike had to get close. Everyone else stayed behind to converse instead of spectating. If they wouldn't watch, then Spike would.
"Don't get too close!" A trainer warned him. "It's never safe to be around them! Ah, whatever. He's a kid. Let him be free."
The explosions went off some more. Gusts of winds were created just by the pressure of these attacks alone, moving the trees and even rippling the clouds. Truly a showcase of strength from the most intimidating Pokemon-Type. All the more reason Spike looked up to them.
To become a great Dragon Trainer and eventually a Dragon Master, learning from the best pays off, especially since one of them is his mentor. Spike was hoping Drayden had more to teach him. But perhaps, getting close to this fierce battle between Dragon Trainers wouldn't be the best idea with how it scared away the Staravia.
Alas, the wonder of youth trumps all. Safety is never a required option. However, Drake, Drayden and Lance weren't the only ones here. Where there was Drayden, there was his student who was now above Drayden himself. Unova's Strongest Trainer and Champion who seemed to love sitting in trees.
Iris.
The best of all the Dragon Specialists. She saw Spike approaching, already knowing why he was here. All Dragon Trainers mainly pursued the same things. And it certainly hasn't failed them ever since. Not only was Spike about to be in the presence of three mighty Dragon Trainers, but another one who could also be considered strongest of them all was close to her.
"A bit risky...but that's just like Ash," Iris said while watching high atop the tree. She saw Ash's old recklessness in Spike, shaking her head. "What a kid. But that makes sense. If he's here for a battle, he's in for a surprise."
Sinnoh. Near Daybreak Town. The Pokemon Festival. Day.
Right now, a fierce three-way battle was going off. Lance, Drake and Drayden were all having a battle, making this an exclusive Dragon-Type Trainer Battle. And already, during the start of their battle, the impact resulted in a destructive explosion that completely unphased them, only blowing their capes, jacket and beards.
Lance was currently battling with his Dragonite. Drake had his Salamence out while Drayden chose his Druddigon. The smoke cleared after these three Dragons stared each other down. There was a moment of silence before the wind started kicking up. This grassy field would be their battlefield with tons of space to go off.
The rustle of Drayden's beard. The intense sharp glares of these draconic eyes as they attempted to intimidate each other. And nearby Pokemon that dared to interrupt this would only be caught in the titanic crossfire. Not even an Ice-Type or a Fairy-Type would dare get in their way.
"So. We've each drawn the first hit," Drake spoke. "Now it's all a matter of who can land successful hits. Even if one of us loses a Pokemon first."
"Of course. And that will be me." The Champion of Kanto and Johto Lance declared, having his arms crossed as the winds blew in his direction, making his cape flow epically as always.
Coming to view this battle was none other than Spike after learning about these three Juggernaut Dragon-Type Trainers showing up. He came all the way from Daybreak Town just to view this. The battle was just down the grassy fields where a previously large explosion went off.
He was close, but another High-Tier Dragon Specialist would meet with him unexpectedly. Another champion, just like Lance and a pupil of Drayden. Iris. She was atop the trees before then dropping to meet with the Baby Dragon.
"Hey, Spike! Axew!" Iris said, casually dropping from a high place. Her amazing agility and acrobatics allowed her to be in such dangerous scenarios without a fear in her heart.
"Gah!" Spike gasped, falling over before his partner Axew caught him. "Oh...It's just you, Iris..."
"Gotcha." Iris giggled after succeeding in getting a scare out of him. Not like it was that hard, to begin with. "I can already tell what brings you here. You saw it, didn't you?"
"From a mile away." The baby dragon recovered. "How couldn't anyone see it? But...I guess I'm the only one who chose to come here. Not sure why."
"Why? Well, no reason to come here. Not for what they're battling for."
"Battling for? Hang on...why aren't you involved? Aren't you a champion just like Lance?" Spike questioned, wondering why Iris wasn't in the fray. He figured she'd be battling, making it a 4-way battle.
"About that...they're not battling because of sport. They're battling to win a buffet."
"Wait...This is all over food?!" The true reason for this battle was not as obvious as it seemed. It was the complete opposite. All this staring, all this intensity and even that massive explosion were over a buffet. But they took their buffets very seriously as seen by their expressions. And only one of them could claim it.
"Now, Dragonite! Dragon Claw!"
"Dra!" Lance's Dragonite went next, summoning that signature draconic energy around his claws. Each Dragon Pokemon already drew the first hit so now it was time for one of them to follow up.
"Druddigon! Meet it with Dragon Claw as well!"
"Salamence! Strike back with your own Dragon Claw!"
Fittingly, all three of them had Dragon Claw. A Dragon-Type can never go wrong with this move. All three of them approached each other but one was considerably faster than the other. Specifically, Dragonite, who reached Salamence first.
"Dragonite!" Dragonite swung his claws, landing a successful super-effective hit on the Hoenn-born Pokemon via an overhead slash. After that, he would slash Salamence from the side, knocking his fellow Dragon-Flying-Type away.
"Sala!"
"Druddigon!" But there was also Druddigon, zooming in with his claws out. Dragonite would quickly switch targets as both their Dragon Claws would collide. The collision summoned green sparks that flew everywhere while also making the blades of grass flow.
The two Bipedal Dragon-Types tried pushing each other back, but ultimately, Druddigon's physical strength seemed to be greater as he pushed Dragonite back. "Dra?!"
"Druddi!" Surprising Dragonite after gaining the advantage in raw strength, at least in this exchange, Druddigon would then unleash a string of Dragon Claws. But even with this string of Dragon Claws, Dragonite would eventually catch one of them, preventing Druddigon from going on a streak. "Dru?!"
"Gonite!" After catching the Dragon Claw, Dragonite would then use his own raw strength, throwing the Cave Pokemon to the side.
"Now! Blast him with Hyper Beam, Dragonite!"
"Dra...!" Dragonite would follow up after throwing Druddigon away. By breathing in, a crackling and pulsating orange ball of Infinity Energy formed in front of Dragonite's mouth. As if an earthquake was moving through the sky, Hyper Beam was unleashed, eradicating the blades of grass while also approaching Druddigon.
"Throw it back, Druddigon! Use Dragon Claw!"
"Druddigon!" But Druddigon wouldn't have that. It immediately used the strength of Dragon Claw to try and cease Hyper Beam's actions. Alas, that was a failure. He did manage to hold it back a bit, but the destructive power of Hyper Beam succeeded, engulfing the Cave Pokemon in its fury.
"I have you both where I want you. Salamence, use Flamethrower!"
"Salamence!" Salamence would strike them both with the searing flames of Flamethrower. A stream of crimson flames shot out, alerting Dragonite. The Dragon Pokemon braced himself, putting his arms up to block the flames while Druddigon didn't get time to rest after the Hyper Beam explosion. Both of the opposing Dragons were engulfed by the flames which did not fizzle out. Salamence made a continuous flame that would only go out unless he allowed it.
The grassy fields were being scorched, receiving even more damage than they already do. Their battle was only going to intensify from this point. All for a buffet. Spike could care less about the reason they were battling. This was too amazing and thrilling to his eyes.
"That's enough time to recharge! Blow it away with Twister, Dragonite!"
"Go!" Within the flames, Dragonite managed to viciously flap his wings. A dark purple tornado erupted from Dragonite's body, immediately gathering all the flames into a single point. Salamence's Flamethrower was overpowered as Dragonite then sent a draconic tornado towards his fellow Dragon-Flying-Type.
"Mence!" Now Salamence was the one engulfed by an attack as the Twister immediately carried him through the air, dealing super-effective damage as well.
"Pursue him, Dragonite! Dragon Claw!"
"Dra!" Dragonite would follow up by attacking Salamence in the air via Dragon Claw. However, he had to watch his back for what came next.
"Flash Cannon, Druddigon!"
"Druddigon!" Druddigon also recovered as the crimson flames left his body with just the pressure of his roar. Afterwards, a silver flash of light energy came roaring out of his mouth, hitting Dragonite in the back. The Dragon Pokemon was prevented from reaching Salamence as he was shot out of the sky.
"Now, Dragon Tail!"
"Gon!" Druddigon wouldn't stop there. Before Dragonite could even hit the ground, the Cave Pokemon too flight, intercepting and reaching the Dragon-Flying-Type in time. With his tail coated in draconic energy, he swung it like a whip, smacking Dragonite in the face, just moments before he could even touch the ground.
"Dra...!"
"Not yet! This year, that buffet is mine! Dragonite! Hyper Beam! Straight to the ground!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite would then recover, even after being hit by that vicious Dragon Tail. He stabbed his claws into the ground, scraping the dirt off and leaving claw marks by skidding. Afterwards, he unleashed Hyber Beam but directly to the ground instead of Druddigon.
This resulted in a violent outburst of energy that spread out across the fields. Druddigon used his arms and wings to try and block this attack which would inevitably consume him. Spike was almost knocked off his feet because of this as well as Axew, only for Iris to catch both of them.
Once the smoke cleared, Druddigon could be seen keeping that defensive stance, taking the Hyper Beam directly. But he had tatters all over him while giving an intense glare from the smoke. Alas, Druddigon couldn't fully withstand it. He did his best but that Hyper Beam did the trick, causing him to faint.
"Drudd..." Druddigon was the first to go down, meaning Drayden wouldn't get that buffet at all. Disappointed by his loss, Drayden clenched his fist, closing his eyes right afterwards. Spike wasn't sure who to root for. Drayden was a teacher of his but so was Drake. With Drayden out, that meant Drake was the one to root for. But Lance was a champion and a Dragon Trainer with that much strength that couldn't be ignored thanks to Spike's love for the Dragon-Types.
"Thank you, Druddigon. In the next round, I'll be sure to avenge you." Drayden returned Druddigon.
"Next round? They'll go at it again?!" Spike gasped as this wouldn't be as quick as he imagined.
"Yep. Whoever wins this gets the first buffet." Iris explained. "Then the second and third buffets are all that's left to try and win."
"Why can't they just share...?" Spike wondered, sighing afterwards as there would be three buffets for them each. But it wasn't that simple.
"That buffet rarely comes around and is always meant to be competed for. It's how it's been for a long time. The Pokemon Festival only ended up making it a tiny bit more frequent. Whoever wins gets to have that entire buffet for themselves and their Pokemon while the losers have to wait for their chance another time. It's made up of some of the best ingredients out there and it's so delicious to look at!" Iris gushed as she was starting to get hungry just thinking about it. "Why wouldn't they make it so that you had to battle for it?"
"All that for a buffet? It must be so good for a battle to come out of it. Now I can see why no one else wanted to challenge the three of them." Spike could see the reasoning now. "But why not you, Iris?"
"Because if Drayden won, I'd get to have one of the buffets. Looks like I'll have to wait for the second one then. Bummer..." Iris sighed.
"Don't lose sight of me! Salamence! Stone Edge!"
"Sala!" Salamence was still in the gain, soaring high above the skies before then unleashing large crystals from his body. Salamence took advantage of Dragonite's recharge time, causing the stones to connect. Dragonite was forced to receive super-effective bombardments that almost knocked him over.
"Evade and advance with Dragon Claw!"
"Gonite!" Once his recharge time was over. Dragonite would focus on his final opponent. Salamence. He would take flight yet again, this time finally having the chance to be airborne now that Druddigon was out of the picture.
"Stone Edge, once more!"
"Mence!" Salamence would unleash another barrage of stones from above, attempting to shoot his fellow Dragon Pokemon down. Dragonite would evade some of the stones, swishing, swaying and zooming in different directions while also using the strength of Dragon Claw to break some of the stones apart.
By destroying the stones, Dragonite managed to reach Salamence, getting up close and personal. He delivered a staggering slash to Salamence's face.
"Fight back with Dragon Claw!"
"Sala!" Right after getting slapped by Dragon Claw, Salamence would do the same with his own Dragon Claw. Dragonite received a retaliated slap before hitting Salamemnce back. This prompted Salamence to do the same. It became a back-and-forth exchange of claws between these two ferocious dragons. Green sparks went off in the air as these two airborne Pokemon would fly around, making this battle faster than usual.
Spike had to record this, using Xtransceiver to do so. He wouldn't want to forget such an amazing moment. The sparks intensified, almost appearing as lightning bolts. The two of them would then butt heads, proving to be somewhat equal for the most part. Neither has really overcome the other.
"This ends now!" Lance bellowed as his cape swayed to the air from his intense movements. "Dragonite!"
"Finish him, Salamence!" Drake put effort into his shouts as well, making his jacket flow to the point where it almost flew off along with his hat.
Hearing the roars of their trainers, Dragonite and Salamence would give it their all with these final hits. One last Dragon Claw to settle this. And whoever emerges the victor shall taste the wonderful buffet. They flew back before approaching each other, zooming through the air.
A direct hit! Both attacks met, resulting in a verdant explosion that eclipsed them both. The wind would finally settle once this Dragonic Clash finally came to an end. And right now, only one Dragon would emerge the victor from all of this. Out of the smoke, Salamence could be seen dropping with the weight of a bowling ball. He hit the scorched ground, damaging the grass even more than it already has been.
And Dragonite was still in the sky, flapping his wings. It was clear who won this first exchange. Salamence had fainted, leaving only Dragonite as the final Pokemon that was conscious. Thus, Lance was the victor.
"And that is how it ends," Lance smirked before adjusting his cape. "The first buffet is mine."
"Hmph. Well done, Salamence. We'll get the next one. I promise." Drake returned his Salamence, accepting defeat. "Good on you, Lance. You are the Champion of Kanto and Johto for a reason."
"Many thanks. But I expect nothing less from you two old-timers." Lance walked up to both of them. "You may be a Gym Leader Drayden. But you're incredibly powerful. Are you sure you don't want to join your region's Elite 4?"
"I'd rather not. Everything is fine the way it is." Drayden shook his head. "As for you, Drake. You might be slipping in your old age. I can still keep up with you."
"Hmph. You're one to talk about age. Still wearing those suspenders, I see?" Drake replied as they laughed at each other.
"But...don't think the next two battles will give you rays of hope. I'll be winning both of the final buffets this year." Lance declared.
"You wish. The next round will be mine." Drayden begged to differ. The friendliness between them was strong as their competitive nature. Spike still couldn't believe that this battle happened over food.
But good food is good food.
"Hm? Well, look who it is." Drake was the first one here to notice Spike standing next to Iris. The presence of the Baby Dragon caught his attention. "Spike."
"Oh! Uh, hey!" Spike waved, finally introducing himself. "Mayor Drayden. Captain Drake. It's been a while."
"Who's that?" Lance wondered. This was his first time even meeting Spike. And his first time seeing an Equestrian Dragon. "Is that a Dragon from Equestria?"
"That's right. His name is Spike. And right beside him is that unique Equestrian Axew of his. You've heard about them both, haven't you, Lance?" Drayden introduced.
"H-Hello, Lance! I'm a big fan!" Spike stuttered before regaining his composure. "I mean...I haven't seen much of you, but I've heard a lot! You're one of if not the best Dragon Master out there, right?!"
"Well...That'll soon be me." Iris boasted as she was still shooting for her goal of becoming a Dragon Master despite her status as Unova's Champion.
"Spike..." Lance narrowed his eyes, wondering if he's heard that name before. And indeed he has. While he hasn't shown up at Equestria as much. Possibly never at all, he was still aware of all the ongoing there. And since he was friends with Drake and Drayden, he had further knowledge. "Oh. You're the kid these two bring up."
"I'm brought up? Yes!" Spike loved to hear it. He was getting some recognition. And in front of an important figure as well.
"It's certainly new for an actual Dragon to want to become a Dragon Master." Lance approached them both. "Especially since you're a baby. Usually, trainers don't become full-on trainers until the age of 10."
"Well, I'm not actually a baby. I mean I am but I'm not a baby baby." Spike shrugged. "Been around for a bit now and I think I'm pretty mature."
"Right." Iris scoffed. "If you say, Spike."
"I'd love to see more of your species in your world. A world where Dragons can become Pokemon Trainers..." Lance closed his eyes. "Isn't that something?"
"It's not that bizarre. You have Ponyta, Rapidash and Ponies working alongside each other. Among more other things." Drake added.
"SO. You want to become a Dragon Master, right, Spike?" Lance kneeled to face the Baby Dragon.
"Yes sir!" Spike spoke with gusto in his voice.
"Well then...I can believe that you've already got the basics down. You're a skilled trainer in your own right."
"Aw, gee. Thanks." Sike loved the praise he was getting from Lance of all people. It made him blush. He doesn't always get praise but when he does, it's satisfying to his heart.
"But...since you and every Dragon in your world are now Pokemon Trainers, you'll have to go through the hardships of being a Dragon Trainer. Especially one that's so severe it endangers yu as much as it does your Pokemon."
"Eh...W-What's that, Lance?"
"Spike. You're cold-blooded. Just like your Axew. And just like my Dragonite. Just like more Dragon-Types honestly. You can be a powerful trainer, but what will you do against the cold? I'm not vulnerable to it. Neither is Drake or Drayden."
"I kinda am." Iris raised her arm as she was iffy around the cold.
"But you aren't. That'll be a problem, won't it?"
"Gah! You're right!" Spike exclaimed, realizing the major drawback to being a Dragon Trainer while also being a Dragon himself. A double dose of weakness for both sides.
"It's an honest and traditional mistake," Drayden said. "Most Dragon Trainers always forget their weaknesses. The power of a Dragon-Type is so vast that you always forget the drawbacks. Why wouldn't you?"
"Hm-hm. True." Drake nodded in agreement. "It's why you wrestle with Dragons. To ease those weaknesses."
"You wrestle with dragons, Mayor Drayden?!" Spike finally found out which one of them wrestles with Dragons. And judging by Drayden's physique, it made complete sense.
"I do. It's to improve myself. Sometimes, caching Pokemon, especially Dragon-Types, can get very physical fast."
"I'm not one for wrestling my Pokemon. I don't stand a chance. But I have my perks. So does Drayden. And of course, you as well, Iris. You'd be surprised how many Dragon Trainers do unorthodox things to improve."
"Oooh...So I could do something special with my Dragon Pokemon too?" Spike gawked. "Just like every Dragon Trainer out there?"
"You're late to the party but your world is still new to the World of Pokemon, so it makes sense," said Drake. "But, I hope you're not thinking of copying Drayden. If you wrestle with your Pokemon, you'd get crushed. Unless you kept Axew as an Axew."
"If I had to guess...your first special trait is getting past that weakness to ice," Lance suggested. "To become a Dragon Master, you must go through rigorous scenarios. This involves visiting unfavourable locations and habitats. Especially a snow-clad land. Understand?"
"I do." Spike gulped. This was potentially spelling out his future and what he could encounter. "Actually, I remember going to Kyurem once."
"You went to Kyurem?!" Lance and the other Dragon Specialists gasps after Spike dropped that bomb.
"Yeah. He had a castle. But when I got there, it wasn't that cold. And Kyurem's all about ice." Spike scratched his head. "Hm. Maybe I got lucky. Or maybe I've already got my special talent! Hahaha!"
"Did he already withstand the cold?" Drake asked.
"Not sure. He's so young. A baby would've perished in moments under Kyurem's cold. And he isn't even fully grown yet." Drayden shook his head.
"I think I know why." Then there was Iris, putting on a cheeky grin. "I know which Kyurem he's talking about. When I first met Kyurem, it was cold, but not unbearably cold. It felt like it was controlled. Almost as if Kyurem was anticipating a challenger."
"You know all of this, Iris?" Lance questioned.
"Yeah. But not sure how Spike resisted it. I mean, he's an actual Dragon." Iris couldn't fully answer why Spike resisted the cold. Iris only resisted it because she was a human so that made sense.
"Hm. Well, we'll think about it later. Right now. I have a buffet to feast on. Iris. Spike. I'll gladly invite you both to join in my victory feast."
"Why can't you three just share?" Spike asked. "Wouldn't it be easier that way?"
"No." All three of them said, refusing to share the food. It was tradition. Only one can have a different buffet.
"While you're here, this is a good time to teach you, Spike." Drayden walked past Spike, planning to teach him more, just like how he taught Iris.
"And tell us more of what you've done. A good adventure is always welcomed." Drake would love to hear about the adventures instead. Spike was feeling on top of the world right now. He was friends with three important Dragon Specialists and potentially one more.
"I'd love to!" Spike exclaimed with joy. "And maybe...I can head back to Kyurem!"
"Head back to Kyurem? Why's that?" Iris asked.
"I was gonna go to him after I was done here. I want to see how I stack up to him now. He's waiting for me one day and I can't wait!" Spike grinned. This was interesting to the high-level Dragon-Type experts. None of them have ever seen Kyurem in the flesh before. Perhaps sticking around this baby Dragon would bring more to the table than they expected.
Spike's adventure was vastly different to what Ash and the others were experiencing at the Pokemon Festival. But it was just as exciting in his pursuit to become a Dragon Master. As the journey continues.
Chapter 952 End.
A Feast fit for Dragons. The Final Week Approaches
Sinnoh. Daybreak Town. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
"Here you go! All for the winner!" Greeting Lance, Iris and Spike was a buffet. A massive buffet of food was given to them after Lance succeeded in the first round of this three-way battle against Drake and Drayden. For winning the first round, the first buffet was his. The cooks introduced the buffet to them in all of its glory. Over 100 mouthwatering dishes were on the menu and presented to them.
Crispy Slowpoke Tail with toast on the side. Kebab skewers. Spring rolls, Pancakes. spring onion, grilled sausage. Crispy shredded beef with carrots and scallions. Minced seafood. Fried rice. Boiled Crispy Slowpoke Tail. Pasta. Fried craw-cake. Spicy black fungus. Deep-fried crispy enigma berries. Fruity salads. Mixed barbecue platter with chilli sauce. Egg fried rice. Fried green tomato berries. Barbecue sandwich. Seafood gumbo and noodles.
And that wasn't even the entire menu. All of this made Iris and Spike drool with pure hunger in their eyes. "Oh...I can see why someone would battle over this..." Spike said with his eyes wide open.
"I told you. And it doesn't matter who wins the next rounds. Because I win too~" Iris whistled with glee. Drake and Drayden could be seen, defeated with their heads down. But they swore they would win the next buffets."
"This is my treat to you two. And your Pokemon, of course." Lance sat down, removing his cape to get comfortable. "Time to dig in. No one would want to miss out on this."
"Yes sir!" The two of them would gladly dig in. But not before sending their Pokemon out. Each of Lance's Iris' and Spike's Pokemon were sent out of their Poke Balls to enjoy this buffet. Upon emerging, Haxorus and the others, minus Deino, had their eyes widen at this delicious sight.
So many options, all catered to various groups. This was a pleasant sight for sure. Lance was proud of himself and Dragonite for winning this buffet. Now that they were all present, they would not hold back.
Lance went first, grabbing a bowl of noodles and rapidly eating it as if there was no tomorrow. Aggressive slurping was already emerging. Iris went for the skew kebabs, eating each part one by one but at great speeds, swapping from the left and right kebab.
Spike would gobble up as many Slowpoke Tails as he could. He wiggled the tail in his mouth before gulping it down. He even felt the satisfying crunch of the crispy tails that made his stomach melt.
Both Iris and Lance's Dragonite ate through the larger tails while Deino would absolutely tear the barbecues apart with his mighty mouth yet non-existent teeth. Claws would go all across the table with different Dragons snatching as many food options as possible. It was madness.
Salamence scarfed down an entire gumbo with his mouth thanks to Goodra holding the bowl over him. Goodra would multitask, using his horns to grab some berries. The chilli and other sauces meant nothing to the Dragons as they resisted the heat naturally after all, making them perfect to consume any spicy food without issue.
An entire bowl of rice was gone in the blink of an eye thanks to Druddigon. He didn't just eat the rice in one go, he ate the entire bowl, chewing on the rough material. It didn't matter at all. Druddigon was used to rough materials as he lived in a cave and had the Ability Rough Skin. Eating a bowl was nothing to him. And he'd certainly do it again with the next bowl.
Flygon was arguably the least violent eater next to Iris' Pokemon. Some of them weren't Dragons. Emolga and Excadrill specifically. They ate at slower paces compared to the Dragons with Flygon taking his time. But everyone else? It was as if they eating for survival.
This was a chaotic mess. The table was already full of sauce, soups, bits and more that made it unpolished. But who would even care? When someone is eating well, the mess is the least of anyone's worries.
They didn't even care if certain foods were stolen. It all tasted good to them. Seeing this made every other Dragon-Type here hungry. If Lance and Iris weren't there, they would've tried to fight for the buffet but that would only end in vain and a trip to the Pokemon Center before the third move could even be called out by their trainers.
Even then, when looking at Lance, just his glare alone told them to back off. No one else would be invited to join his feast. He only went for Iris and Spike.
Just like that, the buffet was gone. All of them consumed every final piece of it. Dragon-Type Trainers and Dragon-Type Pokemon weren't just fierce in battle. They kept this rapid ferociousness during a meal. Iris especially picked up this habit by staying around Ash for a long time when she travelled with him.
"Hah...I stuck around Ash for a bit too long for this to happen." Iris sighed, laying on her back. "But it was worth it..."
"Yeah...But I think I always had a big appetite." Feeling proud of his consumption, Spike patted his belly before taking a moment to lie there.
"Hm. That was an excellent meal." As if he didn't just eat like a king and a wild beast at the same time, Lance casually got back up, wiping his mouth with a tissue like a gentleman before placing his cape back on. "A meal that you two didn't get to experience."
"Hmph. We still have the other two." Drake replied. "The next battle will decide who gets the second buffet with more options on the table."
"Before that...Spike." Lance would focus on Spike next. "You said you were heading to Kyurem after this, correct?"
"That's right. I went on a solo journey once just to grow as a Dragon Trainer. That's when I met Kyurem and battled him for the first time. So, since I'm going solo again...might as well have a second go. I've improved too. I can't wait to see what Kyurem thinks of me now."
"I'm sensing some deja-vu here," Iris said. "You're challenging Kyurem for a second time? I know how that went for one Pokemon. The second time went better but there wasn't a winner in that battle."
"You mean Keldeo? I'll be fine. My team's grown now and I've picked up some new tricks. I'll last a bit longer against Kyurem this time." Spike proudly said.
"We'll see." But Iris wasn't sure. She had to see this for herself.
"Indeed...Because we're going to Kyurem." Lance declared, shocking Spike. "
"You're gonna go to Kyurem too?!" Spike gasped.
"That's right," Drayden said. "All three of us. When can someone have a chance to meet with Kyurem? Since you know where to find Kyurem, we'll be coming with you."
"I already knew where Kyurem lived. But it's been a while since I've been there. So you'll be our guide." Iris responded.
"I guess so." Spike agreed to it. Nothing wrong with having them come along. "But what about your battle? Aren't you gonna have that next before we meet Kyurem?"
"A new bet has come up." Drake looked at Drayden and Lance as they knew what to achieve for this next buffet. "Who here will challenge Kyurem and get the next buffet?"
"Challenge Kyurem?!" Spike exclaimed. The three Dragon Specialists were eager to meet with Kyurem who was known as the World's Strongest Dragon. "Right...that makes sense." It clicked with Spike instantly.
"The moment we get to Kyurem, I will be issuing the challenge and come out on top." Lance pointed himself, going for two buffets.
"I think not." Drayden shook his head in denial. "You won't get two in a row, Lance."
"If only I could get there with my ship without two following me..." Drake grumbled, wishing that he could get to Kyurem faster with his ship. But that would mean Spike would be a massive target for all three of them to follow. "Getting from Sinnoh to Unova just to reach one Pokemon would take a day, most likely.
"They sure are competitive, aren't they? Very competitive to where they'll do that..." Spike had to admire how competitive all three of them were. They were willing to challenge the World's Strongest Dragon to earn the second buffet.
"Chefs. We're going for Kyurem this time as a way to win the next buffet. Keep those options up." Drayden ordered. "We'll be gone for a bit."
"Sure thing, Mayor Draden. We-"Just then, the chefs froze after hearing the name of a critically important and powerful Pokemon. "K-Kyurem?!"
"We'll be taking that ship of yours, Drake," said Lance. "Hope you don't mind but you won't get ahead of us."
"Hold on!" Iris yelled. "Since we're heading for Kyurem, I need to get myself ready! I don't want the cold getting to me again!"
"I'll be fine." Spike shrugged even though he was actually cold-blooded. It was off to Drake's Ship which would be around the nearby port. It was off to Kyurem's Ice Castle, located in one of the coldest regions of Unova. Spike's chance to have a rematch with Kyurem may be overshadowed by these three greater forces.
When on the ship, Spike could finally sit down and relax. After travelling great distances and having the best buffet he's ever experienced, he needed this. And on the ship, Spike could finally catch up with the news. He missed out on a lot since he didn't stay with a group. These past days of the Pokemon Festival have been absolutely wild.
"Oh!" His eyes shot open, eyeing down the words and images in front of him. The first thing he spotted was the appearance of Rayquaza at the Battle Carnival in Hoenn. This was thanks to Hoopa's Ring. Speaking of Hoopa, Victini, Meloetta and the Mischief Pokemon just showed up out in the open for these news stories. Spike even saw Hoopa's Unbound Form.
But the news would only escalate from there. The Dread League came up. Vampires became commonly known, mainly showing up at night and causing mayhem when possible. Spike was personally there as he had a run-in with Opal's group and one of the demons they unleashed on Alola.
But it went past Alola. They attacked other regions. However, one consistent theme was that Galaxy Master was there. He showed up to prevent the vampires from spreading any more trouble. He truly was a hero at heart. But there was one region mentioned here that Spike had never heard about.
"Paldea? Never heard of it." He said before continuing. This is where he got the most crucial part. The events up at the Galaxy Tower. Taking place in space, the Rift took control of Galaxy Master's body, attacking everyone who ended up on that tower. And the news certainly described the event perfectly. An intense scuffle that could've ended terribly for both parties. It was thanks to the Ranger Union, the Pegalysium Royal Family, Canterlot Guards Queen Chrysalis and her changelings for preventing such a catastrophic outcome from happening.
"All of this happened? And I missed out..." Spike felt a bit gutted that he didn't get to be part of these adventures. No matter how dangerous they were. This was the most invested Spike was about the news as he kept reading. While not as abundant as the Galaxy Tower event or even the Dread League attack, there were two noticeable news stories.
A story about Hearthome City and Holon. Holon was said to have received a devastating crater around one of its larger areas. This was mainly about the scuffle between the Dread League and Reshiram. And of course, Yveltal. There was now a massive crater there without a trace of anything to go off. And then there was Hearthome City. While it looked completely normal, the news reports spoke about how the city was a bit off at the moment.
No one could truly understand why but the people and ponies there seemed to be acting unusual. The air around the city was different from what it used to be. Alas, that was all the information about Hearthome City that was given.
"A lot happened. And we're not even done with the festival yet," said Spike. "Now we're heading to Kyurem. Wish someone would make a news story about that."
"Hey. Gotcha these." Iris walked over with two scoops of ice cream for Spike and Equestrian Axew. "Lance suggested that I get you something cold to eat. Ya know...for your cold blood. Is that okay with you?"
"Ah, it's fine. I ate a bunch of ice cream buckets once." Spike received the ice cream cone and instantly licked it. "The worst I got was a tummy ache. The cold never bothered me anyway."
"How come? You're a dragon, aren't you? First, you resist Kyurem's cold and now I hear you ate an ice cream bucket once? Are you sure you're a Dragon?" Iris narrowed her eyes, curious but Spike's resistance to the cold.
"Totally. But, if we're talking extreme cold, then I'm not making it out of there. The same goes for every dragon back at the Dragon Lands. It doesn't matter how much fire we can breathe. The ice is something else."
"Dragon Lands, huh...I'd love to go there." Iris sighed. "Because then I'd get to see more Equestrian Dragons. And baby dragons as cute as you!" She then held Spike's face, pulling and squishing it, interrupting Spike's ice cream snack.
"Ow..."
"Oh! My bad! You just remind me of my Axew! And your own Axew too. I sorta forget you're a trainer sometimes." Iris apologized, finding it hard to resist herself when it comes to small dragons. "So, how did your first battle with Kyurem go?"
"It could've been better. I lasted longer than I expected but Kyurem totally mopped the floor with me. This time, I'll go even longer and try and prove to Kyurem how strong I've become. What about you, Iris? Have you battled Kyurem before?"
"Surprisingly...no. Never decided to do it after all these years." Iris twirled her massive hair. "At least Drayden and the others are gonna take this chance. Personally, I'd love to see how the World's Strongest Dragon battles one more time. It's not every day you get to see a Legendary Pokemon."
"Yeah, if you're Ash or Twilight." Spike looked at the newspaper, continuing to see what else it had to offer. "Oh! A song's coming up at the end of this festival! Sung by Coloratura and the Dazzlings."
"Who?" Iris questioned, unbeknownst to their existence. Indeed, by the end of this Pokemon Festival, Coloratura and the Dazzlings would sing a song in unison. Previously, they were against each but not anymore. With this truce, they would hype up this final event for every species to view. It would be wonderful to see the Pokemon Festival end with a song, especially from some of the best singers out there.
"Only until the third week." Spike closed the newspaper, accidentally getting ice cream on it which covered Fantina's face. "Well, the second one's about to end anyway. I hope we can reach Kyurem in time before that."
Pegalysium. Pegalysium Capital. Music Hall. Afternoon.
"Splendid!" Back at Pegalysium, applauds were echoing across this music hall. This was because of Octavia, who performed some music for the views. She certainly won their hearts as even up here at Pegalysium, her music sounded good.
Proud of herself, she nodded slowly while petting her partner Furfrou who also had to stand proud by having such a talented trainer. Forget all the battling. Music was where it was at.
"Music is a universal language," Octavia said. "So, it's obvious you'd enjoy this sound. But...I'm not quite done yet."
"Would you like to come back here at another time for some more ensembles?" One of the workers here at the hall asked, already finding great interest in Octavia's music. "We could use some Equestrian Music to expand our list."
"Why of course, I'll show up again." Octavia instantly greed before whispering to herself. "Hopefully without Vinyl for once. Just for this music hall, I'd like to go at it solo without her. But!" She then spoke up. "For it to truly be a universal language, I need to play it for the final day of the Pokemon Festival."
"Final day? What's happening?"
"A song by Coloratura herself. And some group by the name of the Dazzlings. Not sure who they are. I'd love to join in." Octavia saw this as an opportunity to boost her recognition. She was already hoping that the Equestria Movie would credit her music scores and she already received respect here at Pegalysium's Music Hall. Now it was all a matter of getting attention from everyone over at the Pokemon World by backing up the four singers.
"I swear...I'll get involved! Come along, Furfrou!" Octavia would hurry to prepare for the final day before it was too late. She would have to know which song was being played, of course. Her time at Pegalysium was simple but efficient to the point where she would even return via the acknowledgement of the workers.
By this point, the third week was closing in with only 2 days left go until this second week ends. Alas, the road t the final day wasn't all filled with happiness. Hearthome was an example of that. Unbeknownst to so many, Fantina was gone and even more crucially to everyone across the world, Yveltal was currently in the hooves of the Dread League.
Equestria. Magehold. Nightfall.
And at this moment, attempts to control Yveltal were being made. The Destruction Pokemon wouldn't just go along with this plan. Not after listening to what Rosa Maledicta had to say. He was being kept in a large orb that he tried breaking out of. But holding him back were streams of magic.
Various vampires gathered around Yveltal's orb, using their magic to try and hold him back. But Yveltal put up a fight, moving around aggressively while attacking the orb. It was absolute chaos within this hall. Yveltal's roars would boom out of the room with red and black streams flying out. He refused to let himself become a weapon of mass destruction. That would go against his entire reason for existing.
Rosa Maledicta was expecting Yveltal to eventually turn to her side, no matter how hard he resisted. She watched from afar, watching some of her vampires be sent flying from Yveltal's retaliation. It would take dozens of vampires to keep on showing up to keep Yveltal steady.
"Very soon, you'll be ours, Yveltal. But more importantly...Fantina cannot know about this." Rosa Maledicta faced Fractured Note, her loyal servant. "If she sees Yveltal, even with my control over her, the importance of this Pokemon can't be ignored. Make sure she never finds out."
"Yes, your majesty." Fractured Note bowed before leaving the room.
"The Black Crusade can still happen in the right amount of time that I envisioned, thanks to Yveltal's struggling. But eventually, all that magic will get to it." Rosa summoned her throne before rubbing her hooves maliciously. "Very soon, Equestria. My payback is near and so is the Black Crusade."
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. The Pokemon Festival. Day.
"Hi, everyone! I'm back!" Returning to the Pokemon House to see all of her wonderful friends was Fluttershy. Welcoming their caretaker back, the Pokemon and animals swarmed in Fluttershy's direction. She was tackled and pounced on by all kinds of Pokemon. Big and small. The same went for Audino, Raboot and Bayleef who received equal love.
They were waiting for Fluttershy to return eventually after what they went through. Fluttershy already knew thanks to what Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon shared. Angel Bunny appeared in Fluttershy's mane, already being the first to reach her before the Pokemon or any other animal could.
"I know, I know. It's great to see you all again. And in one piece too. Not quite done with the Pokemon Festival though." Indeed. Though she returned, there was still more of the Pokemon Festival left. She just felt like coming back here.
That went for her friends and a majority of Ponyville. They recently finished their trip to Pegalyisum and the Ethereal Pavilion. Home sweet home for them and complete happiness for all the beasts. Krookodile also felt at great ease when seeing Audino. "I'll get you all your favourite foods. I know you've missed them." Now that she was back, Fluttershy would make meals for all the Pokemon here.
But for so many Pokemon and animals, that would take a lot of time. Thankfully, Fluttershy was experienced enough to handle this. Being a Pokemon caretaker meant that she could handle as many Pokemon as she possibly could. Which was a lot. She went into a cottage, bringing out a special fragrance. This fragrance had a unique scent that could only be picked up by the Pokemon and animals
The delicious scent flowed through the air, bringing bliss to the Pokemon. All their eyes would have the same expression. Even those that could barely emote would melt from joy. Of course, Fluttershy also had some Pokemon that could help with her cooking, making the process faster as well as Team Rocket, who kept the Pokemon House safe from any further threat. In just 15 minutes, she made dozens of meals, catering to various Pokemon and animals with different tastes. She served them up.
"Sorry for leaving you all to handle everything that happened." Fluttershy apologized to Team Rocket. "But you could've just called me."
"Called you?" Team Rocket said in unison, confused by her words. Never before had they called her despite their time being here.
"Oh, right. You have Rotomphones and I have an Xtransceiver. I can still pass my Trainer ID to you." To make things easier for everyone, Fluttershy would share her Trainer ID. She trusted Team Rocket that much. By this point, they've stuck around so much to the point that Fluttershy felt like they were a part of the Pokemon House.
Once everyone got their fill, they could rest with full stomachs. Fluttershy fed them well to the point where they would stay in these blissful states for a while. But that didn't mean she would leave just yet. Although this second week was about to end, the third week was on the horizon.
Fluttershy kept this fragrance around which was within an incense, making sure that all the Pokemon here were steady. It was successful as there weren't many movements. Their positions perfectly represented how satisfied they were. Even the uncomfortable positions looked comfortable.
"There we go. Isn't that better?" Fluttershy said. "Now...I just have to fix the Pokemon House a bit. We aren't short on time here."
Thanks to the Matori Matrix, the Pokemon House received some damage, destroying the homes of different Pokemon. Team Rocket attempted rebuilding it earlier but they still weren't done. More work needed to be achieved. But with Fluttershy here, repairs could go smoothly.
And of course, assistance from her friends. Ash, Pikachu and Applejack would come by to help repair the Pokemon House, putting the Pokemon Festival on hold just to help a friend. The rest of Applejack's family would chime in with Machamp being the fastest worker out of all of them. His four arms were both mighty and swift as he even decided to show off to his fellow Fighting-Types. Of course, Fluttershy would also be repaying the favour to Twilight.
After entering that spaceship, the alien language was nigh-impossible for almost anyone to understand. But with Pheromosa being able to read it, Fluttershy having the skill to translate Pheromosa's words and Twilight. Cynthia plus Sci-Twi writing down the right words and symbols, they could understand this otherworldly language. And most definitely, anyone else once they share it.
But before that, during the rebuilding process, the scent of this fragrance attracted more Pokemon from afar. Fluttershy made it a bit too potent. Slightly far from the Pokemon House, some woods, lakes and forests could be found, housing other Strange and Wonderful Creatures. Fluttershy herself has already been there. She could see a tide of Pokemon approaching as this would increase the capacity of the Pokemon House if they chose to stay and live here. And that would only mean more mouths to feed.
"Oh my...that's a bit too many. I may have gone overboard." Fluttershy scrunched, terrified by how she managed to attract this many Pokemon.
Luckily for her, with Granny Smith being present, her old age helped her handle this massive crowd. She came prepared. Machamp, Sceptile and the Golett would reveal bags that held various apple pies. This would relieve Fluttershy's worries immediately.
The pies all had their own unique scents despite being apples. But there were enough unique apple combinations to be varied in taste. Noticeably, one Pokemon strayed away from the scent of the pies and instead focused on the powerful fragrance coming from Fluttershy's cottage.
This Pokemon became undetected within the crowd due to its small size. Then again, most of the Pokemon were small but the bigger ones would mask their appearances.
"Phew..." Relieved that everything was being sorted out around the Pokemon House, Fluttershy took a moment to lie on her couch before she would head over and help Twilight. At this moment, Twilight was most likely writing down the words she already knew. "Ash...I'm a bit exhausted. Could you finish things from here?"
"Sure thing. Need something to eat too?"
"Pika?"
"No. Not right now. Not until I'm ready to head to Twilight's place. Or Manehattan. Ooh, I hear there's something delicious there this year."
"That's why we're heading there next. There's an eating contest coming up too and we're gonna try and win that!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"That's nice. Just don't go overboard you two. But I suppose that's your speciality. Especially if you're faced with any sweet, right?" Fluttershy slumped her head on the side of the couch after responding. "Maybe I should take lessons from Pinkie Pie and make cakes for all the Pokemon here as well..."
"Dough." A voice was heard within the room where Fluttershy rested. It mentioned something about dough. That oh-so-soft piece of ingredient that is responsible for so many tasty pastries.
"Yes, dough. But when I was a filly, I made a huge mess so I never tried making cakes ever again. But my mom can. I should bring my parents over here one day." Fluttershy answered, not yet clicking that it was not Ash or Pikachu's voice. None of her Pokemon mentioned it.
"Fi." Another voice came through. It had the same pitch as the one that mentioned Dough. Not only that, but it had a fermented scent about it.
"Hold on..." Fluttershy quickly clicked with these words. She found out that this was a new voice from a new entity. She raised herself from the bed, looking at the floor. Right then and there, she and the others saw the Pokemon responsible for that fermented scent.
"Fidough."
"Oh! Who's that Pokemon?!" Ash's eyes opened up as a brand new Pokemon that he has never seen before graced his presence. This required the Pokedex as always.
"Fidough. The Puppy Pokemon. Fidough ferments things in its vicinity using the yeast in its breath. The yeast is useful for cooking, so this Pokémon has been protected by people since long ago."
"It is new!" Amazed, Fluttershy accidentally fell off her couch from pure excitement. A new Pokemon, especially a small one, was always bound to capture her heart. "It's a new dog as well!"
"Fidough, huh?" Ash gazed at the dex entry. "Talk about timing. We were just talking about food."
"Pika..."
"Hello, little one." Fluttershy shimmed toward the Puppy Pokemon Pokemon, kneeling to reach its level. Her eyes were lit up. "What brings you here?"
"Dough." Fidough swayed its head to the right and then to the left. These movements indicated that it was searching for something due to how it appeared within Fluttershy's home. No other Pokemon had entered. The Puppy Pokemon would then sniff the air, sensing the incense.
Its own fermented scent would end up overpowering the incense that Fluttershy placed. And it didn't take long for it to be sensed by others.
"Pi? Pika...!" Pikachu was the first victim. His eyes widened before then falling off Ash's shoulder.
"Ah! Pikachu! Are you alright?!" Ash gasped, facing his best friend. Pikachu landed upside his head from that potent whiff. But, it didn't look like it was horrid. Instead, judging by that satisfied look on Pikachu's face, it was wonderful.
"Pikachu..."
"Audino..." Audino fell flat on her face as if she was a plank of wood, becoming the next victim. Next was Raboot and finally Bayleef.
"Fidough." The fermented yeast was only increasing in potency. Prior to Fidough's arrival, it was fairly weak but over time, it grew to the point where any Pokemon that sensed it would fall over.
"What a powerful yeast!" Fluttershy gushed before looking outside. The yeast reached a point where it affected all the Pokemon outside. They were already satisfied but this yeast only elevated the joy in their hearts. Alas, this meant some of the Pokemon would stop working.
"Machamp..." Machamp looked like the happiest Machamp in the world, dropping planks of wood in response to Fidough's powerful presence. All of Applejack's Golett, her partner Sceptile and Delta Riolu would stop what they were doing entirely, postponing their work. Even an automaton such as Golett was unable to ignore this.
"Golett..."
"Sceptile..."
"Sceptile? Golett? What's up with you two?" Applejack wondered, ceasing her own work just to react to her Pokemon.
"Hey. Are ya doing alright?" All of Apple Bloom's Grass-Types were hit hard by this. Noticeably, all the Grass-Types received the most out of this. Bayleef looked like she passed out. As did every Grass-Type. That yeast was especially effective on them.
"Ah...wonder what Fluttershy added?" Meowth was hit next, slumping on a destroyed tree while dropping some seeds meant to grow new trees.
"No time to rest!" Jessie exclaimed. "We're not even halfway done here!"
"Ri...Riolu!" Noticeably, Delta Riolu grimaced at this scent. He put his paws over his nose, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. He reacted differently compared to everyone else. The same went for the other Dark-Types here. To get away from the scent, Riolu scampered away. But that yeast wasn't slowing down for anyone due to how far it was going.
"Yeesh. That's strong." Ash gazed at the results of Fidough's yeast. He didn't find it hard to believe this. Fairy-Types are known for their small size yet powerful effects. Ash even had Pikachu, who was in the Fairy Egg Group and was a tiny Pokemon that packed quite a punch. "But uh...isn't that gonna slow down all the rebuilding? Dragonite and the others are down and out too."
Ash pointed out how most of the Pokemon were unable to do much now. His Dragonite, Lucario, Sirfetch'd, Dracovish and Gengar all found themselves reacting differently. Dragonite had a smile on her face, Sirfecth'd fell on his shield, Dracovish's face was hard to read but it was definitely on the ground, Gengar was feeling a bit woozy from this and Lucario...didn't react at all.
His ability Inner Focus wouldn't allow him to lose focus. Alas, the same couldn't be said for Delta Riolu who ran up to his Sinnohan Variant. "Lu?"
"Rio!" Riolu grabbed Lucario's leg, seeing that he wasn't bothered or affected by the scent. Sadly, staying by Lucario didn't automatically mean the scent would vanish. He didn't have Inner Focus after all.
"Oh. It is getting to everyone." Fluttershy soon saw how it slowed down all the work. "But it's still so adorable. So what did you want, Fidough?"
"Fi." Its attention was drawn to the incense that Fluttershy made. The Puppy Pokemon jumped frantically, eyeing down the incense as was it clear that it wished to have it.
"Oh, this? You want to get rid of what's around you?" Fluttershy translated. "Ah, I get it. You're not too fond of having everyone react to your presence like this, right?"
"Dough." Very much so. That aggressive nod was confirmation of that. While producing fermented yeast from its breath was natural for the Fidough species, it was clear that it wasn't meant to be at this level to the point where any Pokemon who reacts to it essentially becomes unable to do anything unless they had a way to resist or ignore it, just like Lucario's Inner Focus.
Knowing this, Fluttershy poured all the incense onto Fidough as it came out as a liquid. The Puppy Pokemon's power yeast presence was quickly overlayed and drowned out by the incense. Just what it needed. With a satisfied sigh, Fidough wagged its tail.
"Fidough!" It jumped for joy before running around Ash and Fluttershy's legs. Pikachu would slowly recover from this powerful scent, blinking for a bit. He needed to recollect himself for a moment, especially Bayleef, who would take longer.
"Rest there for a bit, buddy." Ash would let Pikachu rest, rubbing his stomach.
"Pikachu..."
"Sounds like it wasn't meant to be so potent. Something must've happened to make Fidough's yeast so strong. Where'd you come from, Fidough?"
"Fidough! Fi!"
"Southwest from here, hm? I don't know any gateways from the southwest. Only the one that leads to another part of Kanto. What about your region? I doubt I've seen enough of each region's Pokemon. Are you from the same region as Slurpuff?"
"Dough." Fidough couldn't answer that. It knew the direction of its home but not exactly which region it comes from. Most Wild Pokemon couldn't tell which region they originate from. Only where it is unless someone mentions the region name or they end up with a Pokemon Trainer.
"No clue...Well, it's fine! Welcome to the Pokemon House! You're the newest Pokemon here. It's been...I think 7 or 8 months since a new Pokemon has shown up." Fluttershy greeted the Fairy-Type. "You're welcome to hang around here and come and visit from time to time."
"Yeah. But...it's not in the best state right now." Ash chuckled, referring to the destruction of the Pokemon House. "It still looks pretty nice even when wrecked. And we're still patching it up. Want me to wake you up until it's done, Fluttershy?"
"Nope. I'm perfectly awake now! And it's all because of this little guy!" Elated, Fluttershy would pat Fidough on the head. She found the right spot to pat it as the presence of this Puppy Pokemon removed any exhaustion she had. All she needed was the appearance of a new Pokemon.
"Would Flutterkan want more of these?" Hoopa, who appeared from underneath Fluttershy's couch, questioned. He caught Ash and Pikachu off guard with his surprising entrance.
"No, it's fine Hoopa. I wouldn't want to drag them away from their homes. Plus...I could try and find more Fidough and other Pokemon that might be around their habitat. Hopefully, Audi and the others don't pass out from the yeast. But they wouldn't do that on purpose, isn't that right?" She then rubbed Fidough's belly, already bonding with the Puppy Pokemon.
"Fi! Fidough!" And Fidough certainly felt this bond. It already grew fond of Fluttershy who helped sort out its problem and knew the right spots to scratch, rub and pet it.
"Hmm...Might be from Galar." Ash believed that Fidough could originate from Galar. He had heard about a Pokemon that was relatively sweet that comes from the Galar Region. Fidough could be that Pokemon. "Alright! Galar's up next!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu, finally revitalized, jumped back on Ash's shoulder.
"Go on and play with everyone, Fidough. You'll love it here. Oh and I should probably get to Twilight right now. Ash, can you and everyone look after things while I'm gone?"
"Got it." Ash and Pikachu would take it from here. Fluttershy could trust them both with all her heart. And I something potentially goes wrong, the rest of her friends will be here to prevent it. "This place will look brand new in no time!"
"Pika!"
Twilight's Castle.
Over at Twilight's Castle, Twilight returned with Cynthia and Sci-Twi. For the first time, Sci-Twi would witness her counterpart's own castle. How lucky was she that she was friends with a princess, a king, more princesses, champions and so on? Sci-Twi could only spiral her eyes around the large castle. Fluttershy would show up as Rarity was already there waiting.
The main translator Pheromosa was already out of her Poke Ball. To kill some time, she would swap accessories with Cynthia for some glamour points.
"So um, since we're counterparts, do you think I'll get a castle of my own?" Sci-Twi asked her pony counterpart.
"Mmmm. Uhh...Maybe?" Twilight wasn't sure about that. The Human World wasn't exactly crazy about magic or even princesses. "We'll see. Anyway. We have a ton of books from that spaceship we can work with." Stacked up behind and beside them were all the glowing floating books from the alien spaceship. Thanks to Hoopa, a majority of them were sent here to study.
"Will we need this language at all, darling?" Rarity questioned, wondering if this language would be of use one day.
"Maybe. Pheromosa and the Ultra Beasts won't be the final alien encounter we have. I can guarantee that with how vast the universe is." Twilight responded. "If we can meet with those aliens up in the stars or even if they're somewhere here on Earth, best learn what they speak."
"What if they already know since they're so smart and have been living here for so long?" Cynthia then brought a staggering possibility, making Twilight and everyone pause. "And if so, wouldn't this be a waste?"
"Uhh..It..." Twilight wasn't sure how to answer this.
"Just kidding. Maybe. Wouldn't hurt to try though." Cynthia laughed, making the Princess of Friendship sigh.
"Okay...Let's get started. Pheromosa. You can pick out the first one."
"Mosa!" Pheromosa already had one in mind. She grabbed the first book that caught her attention. This book had a crackle of blue and gold energy coming from it, yet it didn't hurt to hold them at all. "Pheromosa..."
"This one says, the Legend of the Dragon from Beyond the Stars." Fluttershy translated. "Oh and other cryptids."
"Oh! That's the one we need!" Twilight exclaimed as this would relate to the giant Space Dragon that was seen in the flashback. More of the past could be uncovered in some way since the story cut off. The book would open up as Twilight, Sci-Twi and Cynthia were ready to jot down everything they could.
Rarity wouldn't do much. She would just stay back and let them get to work while she does her own thing. Knowledge of this alien society would continue to be discovered and deciphered. And right now, the Space Dragon that absorbed the Sun was up first as Fluttershy spoke the first sentence.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
"Listen up!" Shouting at the top of his lungs was Hilbert. He attracted the attention of everypony here at Ponyville successfully with his bombastic nature. In his hands, he held a flagpole that was then inserted into the ground. On that flagpole was a poorly drawn version of his face, mostly done by him. The marker in his pocket proved it as His Emboar proudly stood by the flagpole, holding the flagpole for Hilbert.
"What are you up to now?" Hilda asked, having an unimpressed look on her face.
"This my attraction. Everyone else has one for the Pokemon Festival. I'm taking all challengers! You can take on the Number One Trainer, Hilbert Blair. Sounds tempting, right? Who wouldn't want to face the best?"
"Hmmm...Then how about I take you on?" Hilda put on a devious grin as Hilbert instantly shuddered at that response. "Sound good? Unless you're nervous since you know I'm on your level."
"Uhh...No friends allowed! Emboar!"
"Emboar!" Emboar would quickly grab Hilbert's marker, adding new words to the flagpole. Just as Hilbert said, his friends wouldn't be allowed to compete. Or in this case, only Hilda was permitted. Emboar didn't want to make it unfair for his friends either.
"There." Hilbert proudly crossed his arms, dodging a massive bullet by preventing Hilda from competing.
"Mhm." Hilda nodded. "Be that way. But you're still not brave enough to challenge me. Afraid I'll take your fake number one status if I beat you?"
"You won't tempt me!" Hilbert roared as he started a back-and-forth argument with Hilda over the title of Number One. Hilda was the only one who could retaliate against Hilbert's boasting.
And of course, most residents of Ponyville already know what Hilbert was all about. Thus, they would not indulge in his attraction. There was also the fact that he didn't have permission to do so in the first place.
Twilight's Castle.
"And...done...!" Back at Twilight's Castle, research about this alien language exhausted the Princess of Friendship, her human counterpart, the Sinnoh Champion and Fluttershy. Only Pheromosa looked energized thanks to her amazing energy which allows her to move at great speeds.
"Finally...That was so much fun. But so tiring." Sci-Twi held her face. The book they read was about that Space Dragon they saw in the flashback.
"It was totally worth it!" Twilight slammed her hooves on the table, sitting up. "The language was so challenging that it tired us out. So learning a good chunk of it paid off! Well...until we meet one of the aliens but still!"
"So now we know that dragon's name. And why it suddenly appeared out of the Sun on that day." Cynthia added. "How o you pronounce it?"
"I think it's...Khaikkex." Twilight said the Space Dragon's name. "That's how it's said. Born in the North Sun and eats the North Sun. It's amazing that their home planet has over 5 different suns. And one of them houses an alien creature we've never seen before. Which means...if we get out there, we could find a place in space that has 5 Suns and that could be their home planet!"
"If we can get close to it. 5 Suns seems like it'd be hard for any of us to live on it." Sci-Twi added. "The Planet Lindieter's built for that and the aliens who live on it."
"We still don't know why it attacked during that war though." Twilight pondered. "It just showed up, readied an attack and the rest is still history. The only way we can know what truly happened is if we find that planet ourselves. But that could take years considering how lengthy space travel is. The only reason why the Empress reached us so fast was because of a gateway. But we can't use a gateway if we don't know where the planet is."
"So...what do we do now?" Fluttershy asked. "Oh! We're not going back into space are we?!"
"No. I think we'll call it a day. We can start teaching others about this language. Just in case. Thanks for your help, everyone." Twilight thanked them for helping make this language readable. Now, she had a new arsenal of language to learn if it ever comes in handy or is necessary.
"We're done? Oh, finally." Rarity, who wasn't involved in learning this language, only showing up here to have Pheromosa be the main translator, did her own thing. This whole thing, she was essentially playing dress-up with her 12 Leavanny and Milotic.
"Oh! I know! I get to see Fidough again. You should definitely come and see this adorable little Pokemon that came by the Pokemon House today. It's an actual dough dog. Doesn't that sound tempting?"
"Dough dog?" Cynthia's mind went a bit blank as she thought about that kind of Pokemon. The concept of Fidough was never brought up to her until now. Her projection of Fidough was a dough-shaped Pokemon that had the face of a dog. She wasn't too far off.
"That makes me hungry hearing that...does the Pokemon make food?" Sci-Twi asked, feeling rather peckish after hearing about Fidough's description.
"I don't think so. Just be careful about yeast in its breath. It induces fermentation in your Pokemon. For better or for worse. That won't be a problem, right, Zorua?"
"Mmm...I don't know..." Hisuian Zorua couldn't comment at all on that. She had no knowledge of Fidough's existence. Not many in this room or this entire town did.
"Well, you can all do that. I know what I'm doing. For the final week, I've been called in for a special role." Rarity smirked. "You know of the musical performance that's happening in the final week?"
"Ah, right. Coloratura's singing. Oh and uh, the Dazzlings too." said Twilight. "Good on them for getting another musical act."
"The performance will happen at PokeStar Studios. A great place to perform, if you ask me. And since I'm well-known there, they're entrusting me to make the stage for this performance. Pheromosa, Leavanny, Ampharos, Milotic and I will be busy because of this. Not one to make something for a former enemy but oh well!"
Rarity would depart, returning Pheromosa and all of her Pokemon. She would split from the group, only to prepare for the day and that inevitable musical performance. Fluttershy would also leave, returning to the Pokemon House just to look at Fidough some more. She was also hoping to see more new Pokemon.
"Hmm...I haven't met up with Sunset or the others this entire time. I actually don't know where they are or what they're doing right now." Sci-Twi would focus on her friends from her original home world. This entire time, the counterparts to her friends here weren't present at all.
"Go for it." Twilight encouraged her counterpart. "You still have time to meet up with them. Or even bring them here. If you have enough Shift Stones to keep them as humans...Speaking of counterparts...I haven't bumped into my other counterparts from different worlds. They said they'd show up here at the Pokemon Festival, but I haven't seen a single one of them. Wonder what they're up to..."
Unova. Ghetsis' Castle. Afternoon.
Back at Ghetsis' Castle, these past days have already graced this land with swift developments. The people of the past finally settled here thanks to Ghetsis accepting them. And already, they made themselves comfortable by bringing their old-school Hisuian Traditions to this land. Of course, there were some modern upgrades considering it was a different time.
The society here had also changed thanks to what the Rift was able to give Ghetsis from the beginning and what Colress ended up making. Their industry and infrastructure are among its current greatest strengths. Unfortunately, they lack a lot in education of the current world but that wouldn't last for long thanks to Team Plasma.
Because of how new it was and the fact that Ghetsis was the ultimate ruler here, there are hardly any opposing groups against the current leadership. And there wasn't a single sign of it at all. Mainly because Ghetsis, despite being the King of this Land, wasn't constantly in his castle.
But this time he was and he came with a visitor. Daybreaker arrived at Ghetsis' new Kingdom for the first time, seeing the castle for herself. But she wasn't here for the castle. All the people of Hisui who were now official Unovans, gazed at Daybreaker's appearance.
"What kind of Rapidash is that?" They mistook her for a Rapidash with a longer horn and a more feminine appearance with the addition of fancy accessories.
"It can't be a Rapdiash. It must come from the other world." Some of them could already see that Daybreaker was from Equestria. But not the Equestria they knew.
Daybreaker was curious about the absence of Empress Twilight, so coming here to investigate brought along a surprising revelation that she wasn't ready for.
"A Poke Ball that catches ponies?" Daybreaker held a sheet of Colress' plans. One of them involved the Poke Ball plan as it was already a success with the first one being made.
"So, Lord Ghetsis. As you can see, we've made an alliance with Team Rocket. Their boss Giovanni brings a lot of benefits and this Poke Ball that I've crafted brings greater advantages."
"Hm. So that's what you've been doing." Ghetsis closed his eyes before looking at the Poke Ball. "Anything else?"
"Counterfeits. Right now, Princess Celestia believes she's holding the Light Stone of Reshiram. But it's a perfect model made by yours truly. As for the Element of Magic, thanks to the Empress, it's been put under a spell. Not only is it useless, but since there already exists an Element of Magic in our enemy's world, the second that afflicted crown comes in contact with theirs, their crown will vanish. Foolproof, isn't it?"
"A lot of hard work just to end up with nothing." Ghetsis shrugged. "But, you clearly have something in mind, so go on. The real Reshiram is somewhere out there, correct?"
"Probably in its recovery state. Maybe somewhere around Holon. I've already ordered a group to try and scout out the place but so far, nothing yet."
"Hmm...I don't know I feel about this." As for Daybreaker, she was uncomfortable with the Poke Ball option. Colress was already crafting more which would soon result in vast numbers. Being able to catch any pony as if they were a Pokemon felt off to Daybreaker, especially since the intention of these Poke Balls were vastly different to the original.
But Empress Twilight certainly felt the worst out of this considering she had been caught. She was in the shadows, scowling at Colress since she was now his Trainer. The thought of being under someone's control via hard-to-break material aggravated the alicorn. Both alicorns had their opinion about the Pony-Cathing Poke Ball. Empress Twilight hated it since it caught her and Daybreaker was iffy about its existence and purpose.
"If we're going to use this, then use it on the one that matters. The Lich Queen." Ghetsis ordered. "Someone like her threatens us all. Get her out of the way first."
"That was my intention, Lord Ghetsis. The Lich Queen will be caught the second we see her. Now if only we could find her..."
"You can find her, but you can't reach her," said Daybreaker. "Her protection magic is too vast. I experienced the same thing in my universe. Even my flames couldn't get past them."
"So how did you reach her if you couldn't get past her protection magic?" Colress questioned.
"We didn't. We had to let her come to us. The same definitely goes for her. Possibly when that Black Crusade finally arrives. All you have to do is wait for that Crusade to finally happen. Then take your chance. But you have to do it before she can put her plan into full swing. Intercept before things go out of control."
"Easy enough. If all we have to do is wait, then I'll be in my lab, preparing for that day." Colress would return to his lab. He couldn't reach the Dread League. So the best thing to do was wait for the Dread League in their entirety to show up. Ghetsis would continue on with his day since he didn't have much to do at all.
Daybreaker had a lot on her plate. The first was getting Necrozma more light energy and also preparing for the Dread League. But before she could do that, coming up to her was Empress Twilight. She only had one thing in mind and it related to Colress for obvious reasons.
"Daybreaker. We need to talk."
Equestria. Magehold. Afternoon.
In Magehold, the Potion Brewer, Ebony Rhyme was doing what she did best. Brewing all kinds of malicious potions and sometimes helpful ones that only benefit the Dread League. After what Rosa Maledicta ordered, the vampire potion brewer got to work, already making piles of potions. But she had her assistants. Younger ponies who were also being taught how to make these potions.
"3 teaspoons of Thorn Culantro. 3 dashes of Flux Moss. 1 handful of Witch's Angelica. 3 bits of Mage Celery. 2 cups of Fade Nigella." She said, adding the recipes to her newest potion. Squash the Thorn Culantro by summoning one of your own minions and having them do the work for you. Then, they'll have to put the result in a cup. Add some purified water to turn it into a lumpy paste, then add the Flux Moss in small amounts at a time. Fill a pan with Cursed Gems, if you're a younger vampire wear gloves, add the mixture and cool it down with how cool you are, then bring the mixture to a boil."
"You don't have to wear gloves yourself, miss?" A young vampire said as the potion was coming up nicely, emanating a devious black smoke.
"Even as a filly, I never had to. It's all-natural for me. Let it brew overnight, or not if you're impatient before adding the Witch's Angelica and Mage Celery, in that order. Gently warm up the mixture once more, mix in the Fade Nigella and let everything rest while you take a power nap, maybe two since you've worked hard. If you've worked hard. After that, remove the solidified impurities floating at the surface. Your potion will be ready for usage. Only a droplet is needed for the potion to take effect. If you made a lot you can store leftovers in the Oblivion Cabinet. Understand?"
"Sure! But can we do that later? We want to go to Miss Fantina's class right now."
"The human? Why's that? Don't you want to make potions anymore?" Ebony looked at them with a vicious stare.
"N-No. Those are still fun...but you should see the Pokemon! They're just as fun! There's this one Pokemon that sends us to the afterlife!" The children were fixated on Fantina, already growing attached to the Hearthome City Gym Leader as they gossiped about her.
"I think it's two of them, right? Gengar can do that. Or so I've heard."
"I wonder if you can wear Mismagius' hat...Can it even come off?"
"These kids...Fantina hasn't even been here for that long and already she's won them over." Ebony Rhyme spoke to herself while the children blabbered. "The other vampires were worried about Fantina and the influence she would spread after what happened during the first field trip.
"Should I get a Pokemon of my own?" Ebony thought to herself, wanting to win the children over. "No. My potions are enough to make them happy. They enjoy the brewing process to the core. I don't need a Pokemon. I already get enjoyment from seeing them learn from me. But a Pokemon is fairly tempting..."
"We'll make it later, miss! Bye!" Right as she thought to herself, the children ran out of her home, heading to Fantina. Ebony Rhyme stood there in silence as the final sound was the door being slammed. The brewer then looked at all of her potions which were made for the Black Crusade and the entirety of Equestri for obvious malicious reasons.
But she wasn't feeling malicious right now. Though she couldn't express what she was feeling on her face, her mannerisms and words would do so. "Tch. Fine then. Go and look at some Pokemon. You only get to view Ghost-Types so it's not that interesting anyway."
She felt bitter. Ebony would face the Oblivion Cabinet which housed various potions that had yet to be used. Not only that but in the middle of them was a picture. In that picture was Ebony herself and the students who learnt from her brewing process.
"Fantina...How did you take them away from me so fast? It can't be because you're a human. At the end of the day, the Black Crusade will get you as well and you'll be a skeletal entity walking around Magehold. Maybe it is the Pokemon..." Ebony pondered before closing the cabinet.
Would it be the Pokemon? Most likely. To Ebony Rhyme, her interest in potions stems from the wonders they can create. And the Pokemon weren't any different. They have their own wonders. Whether good or bad. They were truly the most magnificent creatures to ever grace this world.
"Then again...nothing wrong with having a Pokemon." Ebony sat down, in this quiet room with the only noises being her voice and the bubbling of potions. "I heard about a very popular one. A Pikachu. Small...yellow...red sacs and a surprisingly soft face. Hmmm..." Thinking about it for a moment, Ebony protected Pikachu in her mind.
The appearance of Pikachu was impossible for anyone to ignore, thanks to Ash's presence. Pikachu was two things. Adorable and fierce. Adorable in the sense of his cute voice, his small appearance and the way he moved. But he was also fierce for being such a great battler and being the master of electricity. One of the fiercest elements in the world, making Pikachu the perfect mix of Cute and Cool.
"Hmm...It is actually adorable." Ebony Rhyme saw the appeal of Pikachu as a small blush came on her face. The creatures from Tartarus and the 100 Demons are unsightly to look at. But I wouldn't mind having a Pikachu. Though...they'd just emit too much light."
That was the one drawback of having a Pikachu. The light. Especially in a vampire-heavy society. Ebony Rhyme shrugged it off before clearing the cloud in her mind.
"Now she's getting to me." Ebony Rhyme grumbled. "I'd best not do anything to her. The Lich Queen needs Fantina. But I'm losing time with my students because of her. But perhaps...the Pokemon themselves are what I need to focus on." The vampire would then go towards her potions as a flash of lightning cracked in the sky.
Ebony Rhyme had something in mind. Jealousy was a powerful force and here in Magehold, that force was elevated as noted by how the vampires view and speak of Fantina. Ebony was no different. By grabbing some of her potions, the vampire potion brewer had something rather devious in mind. Mainly for Fantina's Pokemon.
Because so as long as Fantina herself is fine, the Lich Queen wouldn't mind.
"Hello, children!" Greeting the young vampires was Fantina once they entered the classroom where Fantina was waiting for her. It was already close to the third week and Fantina was still under Rosa Maledicta's rule. They were mainly happy to see Fantina's Pokemon but after the dangerous event that happened prior to all of this, some of them were happy to see Fantina herself.
"Gengar!" Gengar would be tackled by the foals who were excited to see him yet again. Thanks to his fairly round build, he rolled with them on the floor. Some of them would try and do the same with Mismagius, only for the Ghost-Type to make herself intangible, causing them to crash into some toys. It was risky crashing into these toys considering how volatile they were. Some of them already harmed themselves.
"Ow..." A filly looked at her hoof as the sharpness of the toys got to her. Another foal found a bruise on himself and a few more injuries were made.
"Oh. Are you alright?" Fantina kneeled, facing the little foals and their injuries. Dusknoir would shove the toys aside after seeing the children receive some harm. "These toys of yours are a bit too dangerous for your age. But then again...it's all natural here for you."
"It's not that dangerous." But to foals, this wasn't all that dangerous to them. They've already grown accustomed to it, which concerned Fantina. But she had little to worry about aside from their own safety. She also had Rattle, who was the least into all of this.
"Anyway. We've started class a bit later than usual. You were all exhausted yesterday so I couldn't let you all show up." said Fantina.
"Yeah. And we got a bit of a scolding." One of the foals replied, removing a needle from her mane. "They weren't thrilled with us showing back home so soon."
"Well, I had to. If you're absolutely exhausted, you head home. It's natural." But that's when it clicked with Fantina. After what happened at the Old Magehold Seas, the older vampires didn't seem to care about the foals. If they were tired, they'd probably let them stay behind until they pass out. "Nevermind...Well, all that matters is that you're all awake and active. Now...what to do today?"
"Hey, Miss Fantina! Wanna try these?!" A colt went up to her, holding what seemed to be a bubble bottle. But knowing Magehold, something was off about this blower. This is pretty popular here at Magehold!"
"Oh. Now, what does this thing do? Look!" To show it off, the colt would blow the bubbles. At first, they seemed natural, but the second they flew past Fantina, the bubbles blew up. And it wasn't the traditional way of blowing up. A fiery explosion emerged instead, catching Fantina off guard.
"Explosions?!" Fantina gasped as more bubbles came her way. She frantically swayed and danced to the side, using her amazing dancing skills to evade these explosive bubbles. The foals found this entertaining, seeing Fantina dodge multiple explosions with such elegance and grace.
"Aw...I already used it up two days ago." Just then, the bubble blower ran out of its much-needed energy source after that barrage of explosions.
"Hah..." Fantina sighed. She didn't want to take the chance to see if those bubbles were lethal. Explosions were enough to make her fully alert. But right after that moment of peace, it was disrupted by a powerful sound.
It sounded like a crow screaming while also having the intensity and pitch of a lion added to it. The sound pierced Fantina's ears, nearly making her fall over.
"Oh! Sorry! That's mine!" This was the result of a young filly's object. The equivalent of a phone in this world was a miniature dragon-shaped crow that was portable. It kept squawking and squawking with brutal intensity as someone was trying to call this little pony. "I'll turn it off."
"Alright then. For today, we..." Fantina pondered for a moment, wondering what could be done today. "Hmm...I haven't planned for much today. Her options were slim since she couldn't exit the entirety of Magehold. The world she once knew and lived in was a blur to her. Only the Pokemon remained in her mind.
As she pondered, the ponies ran around, messing with Fantina's Pokemon, causing a ruckus. Rattle was the only one not participating, staying in the corner as always. But while in the corner, Rattle felt rattled yet again. A bad feeling sprung up, causing her mane to frizz.
Ebony Rhyme showed up at the classroom, having a cart of potions at the ready. She was here for one reason. Jealousy. Pure jealousy toward Fantina for winning the hearts of the children. Mainly the Pokemon. Lightning cracked in the sky in response to Ebony Rhyme's appearance, followed by her deadpan expression.
"Oh! Bonjour!" Fantina greeted Ebony Rhyme. "What brings you here and all of your...potions?"
"Miss Ebony!" The foals greeted their teacher. They didn't expect to see her so soon. But she wasn't here for the reasons many of them thought. It was hard to tell what Ebony Rhyme was feeling since she had such a blank look on her face, much like Maud Pie or Jade Pie. But she did have a slight squint compared to them both.
"So those are the Pokemon." Ebony fixated herself sight on Fantina's Ghost-Types. Mismagius, Drifblim, Dusknoir, Gengar, Banette, Spiritomb, a Female Jellicent and Froslass. Clearly, Fantina was still holding back the number of Pokemon she had on hand.
When looking at them, Ebony Rhyme wasn't sure what she was expecting when it came to Ghost-Type Pokemon. For the most part, they looked exactly as how she envisioned them. Although, the odd one out was the female Jellicent who was vibrant with pink. Even though the Ghosts were accurately intimidating, much like how she thought of a Pikachu, Ebony Rhyme, in her own mind, thought about every part of the ghosts.
Gengar had a devious grin that came naturally to him but his round shape reminded her of Pikachu's adorable round part in the middle. Dusknoir had powerful hands but Ebony felt as if she could receive a warming hug from the Gripper Pokemon. And that much was true as Dusknoir held some of the children in his hands. Some were even close to his chest which kept being gnawed on by vampiric teeth. But no harm was done.
"I wonder what it would be like to be hugged by a Dusknoir since the grip is so strong..." Once again, Ebony thought of all the possibilities. "Gengar smiles more than I ever will..."
As for Drifblim, she looked like a joy to fly with thanks to her blimp resemblance. This was backed up by the children on top of Driflbim's head, catching a ride on the Blimp Pokemon who would zoom around. Granted, they could all fly thanks to their wings but what would it feel like to fly on something else? Then there was Jellicent who stuck out like a sore hoof. Just like Pikachu, what would it feel like to touch the Ghost-Water-Type? The name was a giveaway. Jelly. This was proven by the foals who would constantly poke Jellicent's body.
"That would be nice..." Ebony's mouth opened in awe. She only heard of Fantina's Pokemon. Seeing them in action was something else. But getting close to them was on another level for Ebony Rhyme. And yet, she couldn't approach them. She was merely in awe.
"Mismagius!" But while she was distracted, she forgot about Fantina's main Pokemon, Mismagius. Mismagius snuck up behind her cart, finding some interest in potions. Mismagius already knew why. She knew that she resembled a witch thanks to the top of her head and these potions would go well.
"Hm? Oh!" Ebony gasped, barely having an expression change once seeing Mismagius with her potions. She already used Psychic to grab a few of them. "My potions. But that hat..." She quickly focused on Mismagius. "Reminds me of my mother actually."
"Mismagius, no! Don't be rude!" Fantina walked up to Mismagius as she could get up to some antics so soon around a new face.
"Mag...Mismagius!" Mismagius was too curious about these potions. But, not wanting to cause trouble, she would place them back.
"Sorry about that. She can be very excited when it comes to something new." Fantina apologized.
"It's fine. I wanted them to get close to the potions anyway." Without even hiding it, Ebony Rhyme essentially admitted that she wanted the Pokemon to get close to the potions since she mainly wanted to use them on these spectral species.
"Miss Ebony here's our school brewer. She makes all the potions here." A colt explained. "We're still learning how to make our own and the best they can be."
"You would be moving faster if you attended my classes more." Ebony looked over at the colt and the other foals. "Right now...that's not the case anymore."
"Sorry. We've been having too much fun with Ms Fantina here, that's all." A filly apologized. "We learned so much about Pokemon and we've even got our own!"
"Hm. So, your Pokemon are experts in getting these kids to favour you." Ebony was upfront about how she felt about this. If she could show anger, she would. "To the point where they're looking forward to this class instead of mine."
"It's their natural charm. But I'm sure you have some charm too since you're their teacher, non?" Fantina chuckled. "I've never seen potions up close before actually. What are they like?"
"You wouldn't want to know." She squinted, giving an intimidating glare to the Hearthome City Gym Leader.
"Oh but I do!" And yet, Fantina was not phased by this glare. She lives with Ghost-Types after all. Not much can scare or intimidate her. "I'm actually a big fan of potions!"
"Y-You...You are?"
"Oui! Well, it was mainly the witch stores that I was a fan of. But I always loved the potions they made and how they interacted with the Pokemon. When my Mismagius evolved, I thought she could make potions because of her hat. Oh well."
"Magius..." Mismagius was equally disappointed by that. She wished she could make potions but alas, that was not possible.
"Oh. Well, I didn't think you'd be a fan of them." This surprised Ebony Rhyme. Fantina was already so eager to view her potions. This wasn't going according to plan at all.
"What can they do?" Fantina walked up to the cart. "Is it just like in the stories I read?"
"Well...this potion is meant for enhanced pain relief." Ebony Rhyme would start by grabbing a few dozen potions. "This one is for craving desires. And for these...Iron skin, Dream inducement, Dreamless Sleeping, Lunacy, Fire Protection, Chaos, Rage, Size Enhacnemt, Aura Balancing, Hallucinations, Dreamwalker, Mind Restrict, Madness, Defeaning, Vision Inducement and Silence."
"That's...a lot of aggressive potions," Fantina said. So many of them were capable of unpleasant effects. "And you made all of these?"
"By myself. No help needed." Ebony replied, grabbing more potions. "A shame I've yet to test them out. Well...that moment will be coming soon once I get out there. But each one of them is meant to the absolute efficiency in what magic is capable of. Magic takes time and concentration for its various effects to work to the best of their abilities. But they have a lot of drawbacks."
"Even your own magic?" Fantina questioned.
"I don't have any magic." Ebony Rhyme revealed. She was a vampire without any magic. Her cloak already hid her wings, so there was no point in checking since they were already concealed.
"No magic? Ah, that's why you make potions, right?"
"That. And because I want to overcome traditional magic. Just a little goal of mine. No big deal. But magic is so vast...so making so many potions is what I need to do. Enough to the point where magic might just become a thing on the side"
"That's still a weird goal, Miss Ebony." One of the fillies said, poking her head from the side.
"You wouldn't understand since you all have magic. Latent magic no less. Unlike you all, being chased by those monsters didn't unlock anything. With no magic, the potions are the perfect substitute."
"But what if you run out? Can't run out of magic."
"I'll never run out. I've already planned ahead for the future. I even expect you lot to help ensure that future. That's why you're attending my class. And besides...it's not like anyone else is eager to make potions of all things except for you. But you're young so that might change."
"Why does it need to change?" Fantina kneeled to face Ebony. "These children love making your potions, don't they?"
"If you haven't noticed, it's only within Magehold. By the time I get to use my potions elsewhere, no one will be left to marvel at the wonders of potions. They don't appeal to any other vampire except the young ones." Ebony groaned. "It's mainly because I make them. Since I have no magic, they see potions as a pathetic substitute, a way for a coward like me to access the oh-so-brilliant world of magic."
"We don't think you're a coward, miss." The foals thought otherwise.
"I know you don't. But the previous students said the same thing. What's stopping you all from thinking that down the road? I've had that experience before, which is why I intend to erase all of that once my potions come into play."
"Well, I don't see it that way." Fantina shook her head. This was only because she was from a different world from this. Potions didn't seem like a coward's form of magic, especially since she grew up loving them. "Could you...teach me?"
"Teach you?" Ebony repeated.
"Mhm! I never thought potions were real for the longest time, but here they are! I'd love to make my own! I'm not too old to start!" Fantina's eyes lit up, eager to make potions. Mismagius felt the same way since she had the same interest as her trainer.
"If Miss Fantina wants to try it, I guess we're doing potion-making again today." A colt said. All the other foals would involve themselves Fantina wanted to take a crack at it. And of course, if Fantina does it, so will her Pokemon.
Ebony was speechless for a while. At first, she was afraid that Fantina and her Pokemon would take away the only ponies who would enjoy making potions with her and she'd be stuck going solo yet again. But ironically, it was Fantina who would bring them back to this class.
"Oh. Well...Okay." Ebony slowly nodded. "I have empty bottles with me and I never leave without my station. It's in the bottom of the cart, so I'm always ready to brew."
"Splendid!" Fantina applauded. "Children! We'll be brewing today! Make sure you don't make too much of a mess, okay?"
"Okay!" They all cried out in agreement. Rattle sighed. The bad feeling she picked up on subsided. All it took was a conversation between Fantina and Ebony Rhyme to prevent it from happening.
"To brew a deep sleep potion, gather the following ingredients and follow the recipe well, but feel free to use close substitutes if required." Ebony Rhyme already began the tutoring session, teaching another teacher in the form of Fantina.
Fantina already had protection in the form of her gloves, coming prepared for this without even trying. A sheet of ingredients was passed on to everyone but immediately after getting it, Fantina would try and go ahead of everyone, too eager to wait. Ebony Rhyme would slap her arm with her hoof, preventing Fantina from going ahead.
"Please don't go ahead until I've said something. You need 3 heaps of Black Snow Fennel. 2 bits of Fade Turmeric. 4 pinches of Devil Shiso. 1 dash of Storm Leaves. 6 bits of Cryflowers."
Fantina and the foals would soon use the ingredients that were given to them, following the recipe and Ebony's words by the order. Although, some were obviously better than others. When dropping the ingredients in, some went overboard, resulting in haphazard results. Mild explosions, knockback and spills galore.
Some of them managed to put themselves to sleep by making the cauldrons blow up. Some were just messing around, throwing the liquids everywhere. Some of these liquids became hard, making the throwing process easier. But Fantina was fine.
She already got a hang of it even though this was her first time. Ebony Rhyme watched as Fantina effortlessly added the right amount of ingredients while also having elegant hand movements for style points. Her Pokemon weren't as successful though.
Dusknoir's grip was a bit too strong to his own detriment sometimes. He ended up crushing them into nothing by accidental brute strength alone. Gengar was too busy playing with the foals and the ingredients to even keep up. Froslass would accidentally freeze the liquid with just one wrong move, Jellicent didn't have the right limbs to make this work and Spiritomb was self-explanatory. Only Mismagius and Driblim could make this work thanks to Psychic.
"The way they fumble is actually adorable..." Ebony thought to herself once more, finding these missteps endearing and cute. She then shook her head, focusing on the brewing process. "Anyway...Well done, Fantina."
"Thank you! This is getting fun!" The Gym Leader chuckled, getting all giddy as she rapidly tapped her feet from all this excitement.
"Next, Squash the Snow Fennel with whatever does the job for you and put the result in a cup. Add a dash of preboiled water to turn it into a watery mixture, then add the Devil Shiso in small amounts at a time. Fill a pan with fresh, clean water, add the mixture and slowly bring it to a simmer. Let it reduce by half before adding the Fade Turmeric and Storm Leaves, all at once on the count of three. Yes, three shall be the number of counting. Rapidly heat the mixture until it's hot, mix in the Cryflowers l and let everything rest for a while. If you're impatient you can skip this and move on. But don't."
Fantina certainly wouldn't. Once again, she proved to be skilled at this to the core. The other ponies would try and keep up with Fantina but she was far ahead of them. This impressed Ebony Rhyme. It wasn't the Pokemon that would captivate her but Fantina herself. But this isn't too surprising.
After all, the Trainer is why the Pokemon is always so skilled. It's that bond that gives them both power. And Faintina was certainly a representation of that. Ebony Rhyme's reasoning for coming here had greatly changed from what it truly was.
Eventually, Fantina made the Deep Sleep potion first. "I did it!" Feeling good about herself, Fantina raised the potion into the air with her Pokemon celebrating.
"That fast?!" The foals who were far behind were stunned to see how quickly Fantina made hers. "That's amazing, Ms Fantina! Are you sure you haven't made a potion before?"
"Never. And I'm glad I finally got that chance! My first potion! I didn't think it'd be a deep sleep one though."
"Good work, Fantina. The rest of you, continue until you get it right. And clean up after this." Ebony ordered as everyone else would continue until the Deep Sleep Potion was made.
Now that Fantina was done, she could hold onto the potion. It was clear that she wouldn't use it considering how different she was from everyone here. But her Pokemon might be a different story. For now, Fantina could just sit and watch everyone else work. Ebony Rhyme would come up to Fantina, having something to say other than praises.
"Fantina. Apologies for...what I would've done earlier." Ebony apologized, bowing her head.
"For what?" Yet, Fantina had no clue what Ebony Rhyme planned to do prior to all of this.
"Nevermind. I want to give my thanks to you, my fellow teacher. I'm not sure how long this will last but...thank you for having the children have some sort of resurgence in potion brewing. It's only because you and your Pokemon are doing it though. It won't last but I'll take what I can get."
"It will last." But Fantina thought otherwise. "They will keep enjoying your lessons from here on. Look at how much fun they're having now."
"That's only because they're so young. Once they grow up and their full potentials are unleashed, their magic will trump my potions. The next generation is always better after all. And what generation do I have to go off on?
"Ebony. I promise. Even if they have amazing magic, they won't forget this. The best moments are the ones we never forget about."
"I suppose...But, my old students didn't have that much fun. Their magic was already so good, they skipped out of my class. I was alone until they showed up. But I fear when they get better, they might leave as well. I'll be alone yet again."
"Then let's not have a repeat of the past. You won't be alone. Now that I'm here." By those worse, Fantina was offering to be Ebony's friend. It didn't take long for Ebony Rhyme to realize that.
"You?"
"Oui." She grinned. "Count on me, please. You'll be seeing your students have all the fun they can while making whatever potions come next. That is a promise from me. And I'll keep that promise for you."
"Wel...Thank you. I'm looking forward to and dreading when that day comes. Wish I had someone back home to stay with me though. It gets rather lonely when no one is going to school."
"Don't you have a Pokemon of your own?" Fantina asked.
"I wish. As a no-magic freak, why would I have a Pokemon? Even though the Lich Queen won't mind, to the others, having a Pokemon would be another handicap. Just like the potions."
"C'est absurde!" Fantina vehemently disagreed with a mighty roar. "That is too absurd to listen to! Nothing is wrong with having a Pokemon even with no magic. I have no magic myself and look at me. Come. We're going to fix that."
"Come where?" Ebony wondered, looking at Fantina's inviting hand. She backed up a bit as this was a first for her. But there was nothing to fear. Nothing to fear at all.
"Consider this the start of our friendship. Let's go and find you a Pokemon, okay?"
Back at Magehold, the struggle to control Yveltal continued. Red and black beams were all that flew out of this chamber. The Destruction Pokemon refused to become nothing but a pawn for Rosa Maledicta's twisted grand plan. The chamber itself was being constantly thrashed and demolished just by Yveltal's energy alone.
And of course, those who tried to restrict Yveltal perished. Statues of Vampire Ponies now littered this room as a majority were in states of fear from being hit by Yveltal's attack. Realistically, these vampires would've gone to the great beyond now, but refusing to have her subjects perish here was Rosa Maledicta.
Each time Yveltal would eliminate a vampire, the Lich Queen's Magic would fight back, only leaving the vampires in stony states rather than having them succumb to Yveltal's wrath.
"Tch." Rosa hissed as she was constantly keeping a surge of magic in this room, protecting her subjects and herself from Yveltal. "Stubborn bird...You can't resist us forever."
"But it can get rid of us forever..." An exhausted vampire said. "Your majesty. If this keeps up, we might not have enough for the Black Crusade...even if Yveltal is the only one."
"I know. I can't allow this to go on." Rosa pondered as this was growing to be troublesome. While it was wonderful that Yveltal was with them, if this keeps up, the results were not favourable at all. She looked Yveltal straight in the eyes as a crimson beam passed by her.
"We still have plenty of time until the Black Crusade can fully begin and enough time to control this Pokemon. But if not, then all of this will be pointless. I might have to use one of the 100 Demons to try and make this work." Rosa hatched a plan. The 100 Demons.
She casually summoned the box out of thin air, thinking of which demon would suffice. Which demon would work best against Yveltal? Yveltal was not an ordinary Pokemon. He was a Legendary Pokemon and one that was beneficial to the cycle of the world itself when it comes to life and death. For a Pokemon this powerful, a demon of a high calibre was needed.
Refusing to let a demon try and mess with him, Yveltal's rage correlated with his strength, only intensifying the destruction. The chamber was on the brink of destruction and the only thing to protect everypony here was Rosa Maledicta's magic s she also focused on keeping the Box of 100 Demons safe.
"Hmmm..." Meanwhile, away from all the destruction within the chambers, Fantina aimed to help out her newest friend. Ebony Rhyme the Potion Brewer. It was due to Fantina's interest in potions that this was possible. Ebony aimed to mess with her Pokemon prior to this, but plans had changed. "How do we leave here?"
The problem with trying to find Ebony Rhyme her own Pokemon was that the boundaries were limited. The Lich Queen's control over Fantina prevented her from remembering her own world. Only memories of her childhood and Pokemon remained. Finding new Pokemon would be difficult since she had no way of leaving here thanks to Rosa's magic.
"You know...we rarely get to leave this place." Speaking out was one of the students. "Actually, we never leave her. The farthest we've gone is Old Magehold."
"I haven't seen the outside world ever. What do you think it's like? How quickly do ya think we'll run into a Pokemon? What's the outside world like Miss Fantina?"
"Well, it's-" And right there, Fantina froze. Normally, she would have a barrage of answers at the ready. But thanks to Rosa Maledicta, it escaped her. The Hearthome City Gym Leader drew a blank. Nothing came up. Such a simple question and there wasn't anything to reply with. "I...Oh, my."
"What's wrong?" A filly questioned here.
"Wait. I think I'm getting something." But that was certainly not true. Try as she might, Fantina couldn't hope to reach her memories. All she could think about were her Pokemon and her childhood memories. Even though those remained intact, the locations were completely wiped out. "Not really...Think, Fantina!"
But while Fantina was trying to think deeply, knowing that there was a part of her that stored trillions of memories, Ebony Rhyme watched as she had another episode of thoughts going off in her head. She may be honest but there is a lot she loves to speak through her mind instead of out loud.
"Strange...I haven't been that approving of anyone before. At all." Ebony thought, surprised that she worked things out with Fantina so swiftly, considering what she planned to do to her Pokemon earlier. "This is a first. I need to keep thinking. Do I? I think too much maybe."
"Aah! I can't remember a thing!" Fantina pulled her hair, frustrated that her memories became a blur. A part of her knew there was something more but it couldn't be found at all. "Maybe I can ask Queen Rosa to let us go beyond. That way we can see more Pokemon."
"Will she allow you?" That was the critical question since Rosa Maledicta gave Fantina limitations the last time she asked her to leave Magehold. It was clear that she didn't want her away from Magehold.
"I hope so. Unless there is a secret passageway somewhere on the outside..." Fantina grumbled before pacing back and forth. "Or maybe a different Magehold? Does a Middle Magehold exist?"
"Come to think of it...I rarely tell anypony about my past. Let alone express it to them." All the while, Ebony Rhyme zoned out, continuing to speak within her mind. Trying to see if she was still here, Gengar waved his hand in front of her face but there wasn't a reaction. She was too deep into her thoughts by now.
"Gen?"
"Miss Ebony's thinking too hard again." And this wasn't new to the foals. They've certainly seen this before. Ebony Rhyme's deep state of thought was hard to interrupt once she got started unless she was the one to end it.
"No wait. Fantina's not the first. It's always been the Lich Queen." Ebony Rhyme closed her eyes, thinking back to her past. Not only was she in a deep state of thought, she even started having a flashback. A flashback that went back to a far younger age.
Magehold. 13 Years Ago.
15 Years Ago. Magehold hadn't changed at all. Aside from the absence of Pokemon, it was still a cruel and terrifying place to live in. And this rang true for the young foals who were brought up here. To have their latent magic potential unlocked and get them adjusted to this lifestyle, these vampiric foals were chased down by creatures from Tartarus.
This was the natural yet terrifying way to do so. From a Manticore, Chimera, Basilisks and other vicious monsters that came from the underworld. The screams of children would also erupt on certain days when they were ready to have their Curse Magic unlocked. It worked before and it certainly worked in the present.
However, there was one exception. In the midst of all the screaming and chasing, there was one pony who didn't move at all. She was barely phased by the presence of these monsters, especially when they got up close to her face.
"How goes the Potential Awakening Process?" The Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta arrived, questioning the vampires.
"Good as always, your majesty. But something's wrong with that one." A vampire would call out the one pony who was unphased by this natural terror. That pony was a younger Ebony Rhyme. Expressionless. Even when a roar was sent in her direction, it would blow her mane rather than startle her.
The presence of a Charybdis, a creature of the sea didn't make her flinch. Neither did five malevolent spirits who tried plaguing her. No matter what happened, she just sat there.
"Unphased by the monsters? At such a young age already?" Rosa raised her eyebrows. "Usually, it takes a year or two."
"No, it's not that. She's been like this for hours. Longer than the rest of them. By now, they've probably unleashed their Curse Magic. But not her. Especially since she's been in this room for seven days."
"Seven days?" Rosa narrowed her eyes. "And no magic?"
After hours of roaring and intimidation tactics, the monsters gave up. In fact, they were intimidated by Ebony Rhyme. The fact that she stood so silent and adamant in front of them creeped them out. Only Rosa Maledicta was brave enough to stand face to face with them and here was this child doing the same. They thought about what she would be like if she grew up. That wasn't something the monster wanted to think of as they backed away.
"I knew it. She doesn't have any magic." The vampires spoke amongst each other, focusing the topic on Ebony Rhyme and her absence of magic.
"I checked before-hoof. There's not a single race of magic within her. And apparently, she's supposed to be from a strong bloodline of vampires. I don't see it."
"She won't last here with no magic. Better off living on the outside. Only during nightfall though."
"That look on her face is creepy too...Everything about her is so off."
"A freak if you ask me. Who or where did she even come from?"
With all this chatter, Ebony Rhyme could hear it as she sat in that room. Words about her were nothing but negative. She was called a defect, a freak, a failure or even just terrifying. And though her eyes and mouth would barely change expressions, she would definitely unleash tears. After all, she was a child. Expressionless or not, emotions were still a factor
And at such a young age, this would stick. It was the equivalent of being called names by a fellow child. But to hear it from adults was something else. Deep down, Ebony wished she could unleash some form of magic but that wasn't possible. And with her age, she wasn't sure why she had no magic. Even a foal could unleash a tiny spark whether they be a unicorn or vampire. But not Ebony Rhyme. Thus, many vampires kept their distance, avoiding Ebony Rhyme.
To make it worse, they left her in this one room without picking her up. Everypony else had left with Ebony Rhyme being left to handle herself. Obviously, a child was incapable of doing so but what did that matter to the vampires? Her tears would drop from her static eyes as she needed something to bring her comfort. There wasn't anything in this empty room to do so. The monsters had already trashed everything. If she could hold something to comfort her she would but what was there? Broken table parts, rubble from the walls, cracked glasses and more pointless objects.
But the one pony who wouldn't keep her distance was Rosa Maledicta. She approached Ebony Rhyme who sat by herself with a stream of tears. Ebony would look up at the Lich Queen who had a stare different from all the vampires. Mostly because she wasn't a vampire. She was still a unicorn at the end of the day.
"So...You don't have any magic at all," Rosa spoke. "And yet you're so fearless in the face of monsters. That's an interesting fusion."
"I know. I'm sorry." Ebony apologized to Rosa, mainly for having no magic. "I don't have any magic in me."
"Not a trace of it." Rosa sat down with her. "That's unusual for anypony in the world. Or any species. Magic is so necessary. And yet, you still look fine without it. You even have a Cutie Mark that's visible. Why's that?"
"I don't know." Ebony Rhyme had no clear answer for that. "I don't need magic anyway. Who needs it?"
"Like I said. All species. Granted you can still live without magic but here...magic is a necessity. And the best way to live and survive, of course. Without magic, then life becomes harder. Then again, I plan to make it hard for my eventual enemies. Or just snuff it out. Most likely the second one."
"I don't want it then." Ebony Rhyme turned away from Rosa. "I liked it better back home where I could make potions."
"I'm sorry. Potions?" Rosa would lean in. "Where do you come from?"
"I...don't remember. I was with my friend and then everything went dark all of a sudden. And now I'm here. But I remember making potions. If I can't have magic, I'll just stick with potions."
"Hmm...So you use potions as a substitute. And for how long?"
"4 years. I always knew I never had magic. And the ponies here are just like the ones back home. So I don't care all that much. Maybe..." She swivelled her head to face Rosa. "They all think I'm strange. If I could scream, I would. But I can't. And then some."
"So the same goes for your old home." Ros nodded, following Ebony's words. From what she could gather, back at her original home, the ponies there viewed her absence of magic as bizarre. The vampires did the same but they were potentially more upfront about it depending on how life was for Ebony back home.
"But...I had one friend. We loved making potions together. I was always the best out of us two. Potions can be just as good as magic."
"Is that so? That could be true...If you prove it to me." Rosa would then summon a station to brew potions, already having one at the ready. "I've seen my fair share of potion brewing. So, go on ahead."
"Huh? Really?" Ebony's mouth opened. She was shocked but alas, her expressions were absent to fully show this. Even without expressions, she was certainly excited. The thing she loved doing was right in front of her.
"Make one potion. That's all I want. But if you can, make it a rather vicious one." Rosa winked.
"But...my friend was always the better potion maker than me." Ebony lowered her head.
"Speaking of which...how is it that you're a vampire yet you come from the outside world?" Rosa was curious about that. Ebony Rhyme was a vampire but she wasn't born here at all. She was even raised at another location before fully growing up in Magehold. Usually, half-vampires come from a mixture of a regular pony and a vampire pony. It was mainly the vampire who would keep the child here while the identity of the regular pony was unknown to the children and their whereabouts were invisible. But Ebony had enough time to grow up somewhere to reach this age.
"I don't know." Alas, she didn't have an answer to that. She only cared about making potions. "I can try and make something. I hope it won't take too long."
"Take as much time as you want, my little pony."
Ebony got to work. She was already given ingredients to work with. But since she was in Magehold, these ingredients were strange to her. And yet, she would try and work with them. She mashed some flaming leaves together with her hooves while wearing protective gloves, added black water that had horrifying howling sounds and dropped a ferocious vine that was alive, attempting to watch her.
Rosa Maledicta would sit by and watch her every move. She watched how such a young pony already knew how to brew potions. Not only that, she had a good handle on it. The Lich Queen would be the first pony here at Magehold to gaze and wonder at her brewing skills. Ebony may have doubted herself by saying her friend was better but she still had great skills. It made Rosa wonder who her friend could be. As for Ebony herself, the Lich Queen could see her little sister in this pony with how passionate she was about the one thing she loved. But that quickly subsided.
"Done." Ebony Rhyme completed a potion, holding it out to the Lich Queen. "This is a Deafening Potion. I don't know if it's god enough for you."
"It's wonderful! Deafening?" Rosa grabbed the potion. "Splendid! You did what I wished you would do. This is certainly a potion that can prove to be useful one day. You have potential after all. Just not in the magic category."
"Um. Thank you."
"Be more proud with the praise you get, little one." Rosa sighed. "That's how you get a confidence boost and you perform better."
"But nopony ever gives me a boost in confidence. Only my friend did when we were making potions."
"Then let me be the second pony to do so." Rosa placed the potion down. "Ebony Rhyme. Compared to everypony else here, you have a gift. I can see it. And that gift will work perfectly here at Magehold. I would like you to become Magehold's first Potion Brewer."
"You want...me to keep doing it? Why? Everypony else here hates me for having no magic? Why are you being so nice to me?"
"So what if you don't have any magic?" Rosa scoffed. "I'll be honest with you. I was seen as sort of an outcast myself. It's why I'm here and holding the title and position of the Lich Queen. The ponies back at Equestria never appreciated my Dark Talents. But I always knew someone would. And when I came to the Land of the Dead, I found it. And look at me now. If I can find happiness here, you can too. So what if they think you're a freak? We're all freaks here. They aren't any different, I can guarantee that."
"I guess so..."
"And if they reject you and betray you just like how they did to me, then strike back since they want to be your enemies. If the world will not love you, then they'll learn to fear you, just like how I intend to make the world fear the name Rosa Maledicta. And soon, all will fear the name of Ebony Rhyme. So. I look forward to your future, my little pony."
"I'll...make you proud. Thank you for this, miss." Ebony thanked Rosa Maledicta, suddenly hugging her hoof. Rosa scrunched her face, caught off guard by this hug.
"Okay. We can do without the hugging. And call me your majesty."
Current day.
"Now I've done the same with Fantina. But I guess it's not everything I've revealed to her."
"I don't have anything." Fantina sighed, sitting on a nearby rock. "What say you, Ebony?"
"Me?" Finally, Ebony Rhyme was finished with her deep state of thought. "Well...the Lich Queen has now allowed us all to exit the outside world as much as we want. I was planning on doing so already but I just needed to make sure I had enough potions ready. I'm not sure about you, Fantina. Can you even leave?"
"I don't know. I feel like I can but I-" Suddenly, Fantina was cut off. A stream of red and black beams, mainly from Yveltal, burst from one of the buildings, travelling at great speeds. The chaotic conflict in the tower was worsening. This beam would fly far from the boundaries of Magehold, crashing into the barrier.
And with the power of destruction, a hole had been made. Yveltal's power to destroy proved to live up to its terrifying potential. The legendary barrier that was said to be hard to break unless it was done from the inside received a hole. In actuality, it truly did happen on the inside after all.
"Oh. That works." Fantina nodded in approval of this open hole. But at the same time, Ebony Rhyme directed herself to the building where the red streams were coming from. What could be going on in there?
"Wait for me, all of you." Ebony pleaded. "I need to check up on something."
"We'll wait." Fantina waved. "Oh. But if you see the Lich Queen, ask her if I can have permission to leave this time. Just for this one moment, please."
"I'll try." Ebony walked off before thinking to herself. "Then again...I don't think she'll notice at all. Especially with what's happening up there. Just how strong is Yveltal?"
Fighting for his freedom, Yveltal was unrelenting. The container that held him was still standing thanks to the material and Rosa's magic but his destruction beams were starting to level holes, allowing his attacks to fly through. It once again took Rosa Maledicta to repair the holes, constantly battling against Yveltal from a distance while holding the Box of 100 Demons.
Rosa had yet to find the perfect demon to deal with Yveltal. This Pokemon was unlike anything she's ever dealt with before to the point where the options seemed limited.
"Where's that stupid dragon when you need him?" Rosa growled before narrowly evading another one of Yveltal's rays. She couldn't keep this up forever. Not when precious time was being eaten away. And Yveltal certainly wouldn't get tired. "You can't prevent what's coming Yveltal! One way or another, you will be serving under me."
But right as she said that one of the rays managed to knock the Box of 100 Demons off her hooves. Rosa almost fell with the box, only to recover. As for the Box of 100 Demons, no energy was sucked from it. Despite having demons within, on the outside, the box was not alive. But it did suffer damage, having parts of it blown off.
"Your majesty." Entering the room was Ebony Rhyme. The second she showed up, one of Yveltal's rays passed by, almost hitting her. If she could express fear, she would. Right now, she was terrified to be in the same room as Yveltal. "Still? Yveltal's resisting?"
"This is becoming a hassle for me, Ebony!" Rosa growled. "This cannot last forever. Something needs to be done. You might be the answer."
"Me?"
"Your potions. Use them. You've created a large variety of them that can do so much. Just as much as magic. You're the one who healed my hoof after Yveltal managed to damage it. Ebony, you've already shown me that your potions are capable of amazing things that even respond in kind to Legendary Pokemon. By default, even magic shouldn't be an issue for you to outdo. Now, it's time you proved it."
Ebony Rhyme was given the chance to stop Yveltal. But to her, that seemed almost impossible. Once again, this called for her own thoughts to do the talking instead of just saying it out loud. "The Lich Queen was already struggling to keep Yveltal's power at bay. What good would potions do?" Doubts sparked within her mind about assisting. "If anything, I could end up like the other ponies who were just barely hanging in there with their stone states."
"I know you're in a deep state of mind again, Ebony!" But Rosa Maledicta was used to Ebony Rhyme thinking deeply while seemingly staring into space. At the same time, the Lich Queen would use her magic to deflect the destructive rays before then forming a barrier, multitasking to the best of her abilities.
"Are you sure?" An unsure Ebony Rhyme asked. "I'm not comparable to you, your majesty.
"Do it! Whatever works! You said you wanted your potions to surpass that of magic one day. Then prove they can by using them against Yveltal!" Rosa exclaimed before having parts of her barrier shatter into pieces. Seeing how dire it was getting, Ebony Rhyme would take that chance.
"Alright. If the Lich Queen is struggling, then maybe extra help from the potions can break the equalizer between her and Yveltal. I need the best possible affliction." Ebony would gather up her potions from her cart outside, avoiding any collateral damage. This would mean that Rosa was forced to occupy Yveltal yet again but there were still some vampire ponies remaining, trying to halt the Destruction Pokemon.
The massive container unleashed an electrical shock to further damage Yveltal. But it did more than just hurt him. It enraged the Destruction Pokemon, only further increasing its strength via emotional power. Magical chains were wrapped around his wings, neck and tail, keeping him at bay for a bit.
Rosa Maledicta made up the bulk of these chains, making it harder for Yveltal to break free. But Yveltal made it harder for Rosa to maintain it. Meanwhile, Ebony Rhyme shuffled through her catalogue of potions that already had something within them. That's when she found the best possible one.
"Mind control is out of the question. Yveltal has already resisted her majesty's mind-controlling spell already. But...if multiple different effects that involve mind control were added, even Yveltal won't resist. After all, it already struggles against the Lich Queen with a constant back and forth." Ebony had the best option.
Multiple mind-manipulating potions. She figured that the best way for Rosa Maledicta's spell to work was for similar afflictions to join in, enhancing the effect. And of course, Ebony had a plethora of them along with other potions that would keep Yveltal steady.
Mind Domination, Forgetfulness, Mind Blanking, Immobilizing, Deliriousness, Mind Alteration, Paralyzing, Enhanced Pain and Tunnel Vision. Each of these would serve their purpose. Some would slow Yveltal down, some would target his mind and some would affect his natural senses. Ebony Rhyme carefully entered the room, evading whatever form of destruction came her way.
"Your majesty. I have the potions that we can use. If I combine my plethora of potions along with your Mind Control Magic, Yveltal might succumb."
"Overload Yveltal? Genius." Rosa Maledicta greatly approved. It was a simple yet potentially efficient plan. "But of course...getting it to Yveltal is its own issue. Listen carefully. Only I am a match for Yveltal. My magic is the only thing that can hold it back. You need to get those potions right where my magic can protect you, understand? Throwing them is too risky. And once you're close enough, my magic and your potions will become one."
"I understand." They had a plan and needed to make it work. "But before that..." To prepare for the worst, Ebony poured an extra potion on herself. The Iron Skin Potion. With just a few drops, her body was enchanted by a metallic effect. As if she became a Steel-Type Pokemon, Ebony Rhyme's body suddenly glistened even in the darkness. Funnily enough, it didn't burn her at all.
"Iron Skin?" Rosa looked over.
"Yveltal's destructive powers are terrifying but for a Pokemon, they have a chance to survive for a while until Yveltal fully gets to them. This iron skin will at least give me some durability comparable to a Pokemon. Now getting in close is the biggest obstacle." Ebony would approach with his iron skin as she even had iron hoofsteps.
Yveltal's wings smashed through the container as he was only rising in strength. The other ponies were failing to keep their chains up before being blown back by the sheer roar of Yveltal and even the pressure of his wings. A large wall had been opened up in the chamber, leading to the outside. Some of the vampires would fly out of this chamber room, only to recover by spreading their wings. However, staying airborne wouldn't be safe either, not with these red rays flying out. Now that the outside was exposed, Yveltal's rays would threaten nearby vampires and even the buildings here.
Hurrying as fast as she could, Ebony would move past the clutter of rubble. She would even hop over the fallen status of her fellow vampires, but in this instance, Ebony wouldn't care about them considering how they viewed her for having no magic. Since she had no magic, Ebony had to use her own natural skills for this. Luckily for her, being devoid of magic meant that she had all the time to train up her physical skills and it showed with how she scaled the container. Yveltal eyed Ebony Rhyme down, refusing to let any of those potions get close to her. To ensure the safety of these potions, Ebony placed them within her cloak as a powerful shockwave roar came from Yveltal. A destructive beam from the Destruction Pokemon broke out yet again, hitting Ebony Rhyme's stomach.
As expected, the Iron Skin potion protected her. But it didn't protect her potions. Once she was sent flying from the red and black beams, her potions were thrown into the air. Rosa would lock onto the potions, using her magic to hold them in place. A swift save on her part as Ebony was on the floor groaning. Even with the iron skin, the strength of Yveltal was not to be ignored.
"Ow..." Ebony had her hoof on her stomach. It wasn't turned to stone thanks to the iron skin but a red crackle of darkness could be seen, keeping the Potion Brewer on the floor for a while. "At least the potion works."
"The container won't last forever. And it seems to only be growing in strength thanks to its increasing rage." Rosa Maledicta thought to herself before putting on a devious smile. "Amazing...absolutely amazing! I was right to choose you, Yveltal! Your amazing strength only encourages me to overcome you!"
Thrilled that she found herself a truly formidable Pokemon, Rosa Maledicta would use the potions herself instead of having Ebony Rhyme carry them. Prior to this, Rosa was actually holding back some of her magic so that Yveltal doesn't suffer from whatever curse she may have. But at this point, holding back was pointless. If Yveltal won't hold back and can push back any form of magic, then Rosa figured she could let loose. The result was a devastating green flare.
The potions were all covered in this flare before being thrown at full force via Rosa's control. Yveltal would retaliate with his own flare which resulted in yet another flurry of destructive rays. But this time, it was a violent collision of Infinity Energy and Curse Magic.
The potions would slip and slither past the rays thanks to Rosa's protection, only for Yveltal to create more obstacles. The ceiling of this chamber was coming down, only adding to the chaos. Rosa could be seen groaning while Yveltal was managing to keep this up even when being shocked by the container. Pushing herself and revealing more of her magic resulted in a shadowy visage of black wings forming behind her back along with her pupils sharpening in the process.
Ebony Rhyme squinted as the last thing she saw was Rosa Maledicta and Yveltal being consumed by Green, Black and Red lights. After that, everything became nothing but colours for her as she closed her eyes to prevent any potential blindness. And for once, nothing was destroyed. This amalgamation of colours didn't level the entire chamber or anything like that. But it could be seen by many, that was for sure. Fantina would obviously see it.
Alas, the Hearthome City Gym Leader had no clue as to what was happening. She just assumed it was natural for the Dread League and how creepy Magehold was. Little did she know of the ongoings.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. The Pokemon Festival. Late Afternoon.
"Fidough." Away from all the madness within Magehold, the peaceful times at Ponyville continued during the Pokemon Festival. The Fidough from before stayed around, playing with Pikachu and the other Pokemon while Fluttershy finally returned.
"How'd it go?" Ash asked the pegasus.
"Good but a little tiring. I didn't think learning that language would be so exhausting. But it might be worth it in the future. If we ever head to space, that is. Um, beyond space, I mean."
"Yeah. But that's got me thinking about Galaxy Master right now." Ash sat with Fluttershy, surrounded by sleeping Pokemon who were already tucked in even during the afternoon. "I wish I could've spoken to the real him when I had the chance." Ash seemed affected by this. Not speaking to Galaxy Master and battling him with someone else in control disappointed him, especially with how excited he was to meet his own created character. Alas, it didn't pan out in the way he wished.
"You'll get your chance, Ash." Fluttershy was there to comfort him. "The Rift sent him somewhere. We just have to find him in whichever world he's in. I'm sure of it."
"Thanks, Fluttershy. I'm sure of it too. And besides...this is one of the few times I get to even speak to my dad. Since I based Galaxy Master on my dad, he's just like him. But with a whole superhero attitude and all that. Speaking to him again would be great, even if he won't have the same memories as my real dad. And I guess all that stuff on the Galaxy Tower wasn't the best first impression of him, huh?"
"Are you kidding? Before that, we learned the news about his good deeds. He's your creation for certain if he can still do good when being lied to by the Rift. But, I would've preferred it if he wasn't being controlled during that time. Here's hoping my parents aren't controlled when you meet them or it might become a tradition by that point." The pegasus laughed, prompting the King of the Sea to laugh back.
"Yeah. That's true. Say. Wanna head somewhere? Maybe where Fidough appeared. We might know where showed up from." Ash suggested. "Nah, wait. Manehattan, Galar or where Fidough came from."
"I'm feeling in the mood for the return of another Pokemon Region. Let's head to Galar together, Ash."
"Wait!" But halting them from going anywhere else was none other than Team Rocket. Specifically, it was James who yelled out. "You can't just leave again! Not after what we experienced!"
"Yeah! Stay behind! Pretty please?!" Meowth put his paws together, pleading for them to stay behind.
"Twerp!" In the blink of an eye, Jessie appeared in front of Ash. "I know we usually hate being around you even though we always come to you first, but just this once, don't leave our side. At least until we know everything's fine. Just for once, do us a solid."
"Uh, sure. You guys have been pretty helpful around the house. You haven't even tried to catch Pikachu at all or any Pokemon here for the longest time now that I think about it." Ash scratched his hair. "Oh, yeah. We gotta fix the house before we go anywhere else. My bad."
"Hah..." Team Rocket were relieved to hear that. The one time they needed Ash was this. Ash wouldn't depart just yet. Not after, the Pokemon House was back in tip-top shape. And with Applejack's family helping out, the process would be faster.
Nightfall.
Nightfall had come. Construction over at the Pokemon House had finished. Thanks to Ash, Fluttershy, Team Rocket and the Apple Family, the sanctuary for Pokemon almost looked new. Granted, some parts were missing but those could be fixed down the road. Right now, everyone wanted to rest.
Celestia and Cobalion would show up at the Pokemon House, seeing how silent it was. The first thing that caught their eyes were Ash and Fluttershy. They were already out for the night, sleeping next to a singular tree. The same went for their Pokemon as all other Pokemon, including the newly-arrived Fidough. The Puppy Pokemon was held like a baby by Dragonite, who also fell asleep. The only ones awake were the Nocturnal Pokemon and Krookodile, of course.
"So much for talking to them," said Celestia. "Oh, well. Right now, it's just you and I. Again, Cobalion. We can try getting lively at the Pokemon House later in the morning. I mean, if you have the spirit to do so."
"Not really." Cobalion was honest about it. "I couldn't get lively if my life depended on it."
"Oh, don't say that. I bet you can. With all that energy packed into your sword, how couldn't you?" Celestia nudged him. "I can bet everything that you do have a lively side. Any of the swords can vouch for that, right?"
"Not at all." He shook his head "Neither have seen me in a different light. The only ones who can be lively are Terrakion and Keldeo. Virizion and I, not so much."
"Hmm...That so. Well, you know how to have fun without being all over the place, that much is true. Just make sure not to end like me and make mistakes. Sometimes I go overboard and forget what happened afterwards, especially when I eat too much cake."
"It's happened before. Well, to all of us. Terrakion loves to joke around but sometimes he tells a joke at either the worst time or misses something thanks to his joke. Virizion is swift but her speed often leads to bad timing.
"Oh. What about Keldeo then?"
"He's young. He's easy to understand. As for me...I admit. I can be a bit too serious at times." Cobalion closed his eyes, admitting something not many would hear from the Iron Will Pokemon.
"Really now? I've never seen you be overly serious, even during dire circumstances."
"It's rare. But I was overly serious with my fellow swords when we first met long ago. I was too hard on Terrakion for being carefree and Virizion and I would argue back and forth. I blame most of those interactions on myself. I never felt the need to partner up with anyone with how powerful I am. But now, look at me. Humans, ponies and other species are my allies. How can I be overly serious again when I'm surrounded by all of this?"
"Isn't that sweet? I'm somewhat the same." Celestia added, looking up at the night sky. "I was so afraid of my failures of the past that I would try and unleash a strict nature onto some of my students. Sunset Shimmer was my biggest regret by far. It's what led to her fleeing and one day stealing Twilight's crown. I always jumped back and forth on if I should be kinder or stricter to my most-talented students. It was especially after Sunset Shimmer left and Twilight became my current student."
"Then we're both scared of being too hard on those close to us or even too kind for our own good. By that logic, down the road, your child will have to prepare for whatever side you show."
"Of course. You have to be the opposite of me when that child comes," Celestia smirked as Cobalion nodded in agreement. It took a few seconds for him to realize what Celestia meant by that. Cobalion wasn't one for having his eyes widen due to how serious they were. But in this instance, he almost broke his own biology as Celestia had one eye one, deviously smiling.
"Eugh..." Emerging out of Ash was King Sombra as he listened to their entire conversation. He felt like shuddering while hiding behind a tree. "Thank goodness I cannot have nightmares..."
Unova. Roshan City. Day.
Roshan City. A new day had come for the Pokemon Festival, meaning that one day left until the third week arrives. And here at Roshan City, arriving by boat was Captain Drake. And joining him were Lance, Iris, Drayden and Spike. All were Dragon Specialists.
They came here for one reason. To meet with Kyurem. Spike wanted a rematch while the other three wanted a shot at the World's Strongest Dragon. Iris was just here to watch Kyurem in action for a second time. Roshan City was the closest area to Kyurem's Ice Castle, which was over yonder. Even to this day, Kyurem's chill never left the atmosphere around Roshan City, yet no one was bothered by it.
"I didn't know your ship was this fast, Drake!" Spike gawked, surprised that Drake got to Roshan City after leaving the Sinnoh Region by sea. "Isn't Unova supposed to be farther from most of the other regions?"
"Never underestimate my skills, boy. And my ship also received an upgrade over time so there's that."
"We could've just taken a plane to Unova under my order," said Drayden. "But this is fine. So, you say that Kyurem is somewhere around here?"
"That's right. His castle is up ahead. Iris should know where it is too."
"Very well then. Let's make a quick stop at Roshan City." Lance walked ahead of them, confidently crossing his arms while looking into the distance as if he was the king of the world. To show off some more, the wind would even blow his cape in response. "Wait for us, Kyurem. We're coming."
"Ugh..." Recovering from the flash of three colours was Ebony Rhyme. The chamber room was still in one piece, albeit on the verge of destruction. Once everything settled down, Ebony Rhyme woke up to see crackles of Infinity Energy and Curse Magic flow through the room as if an electrical surge went off.
But beyond that, Yveltal, at long last, was out of commissions. His head was wet, confirming that all the potions managed to reach him. But in response, Rosa Maledicta received more of Yveltal's life-stealing powers. Half of her body was turned to stone after fighting back against the Destruction Pokemon. Her face was still intact along with parts of her hooves thanks to the power of her magic but a majority of her body had the life sucked away. She hung in there even with the Destruction Pokemon throwing everything at her. Such was the tenacity of the Lich Queen.
"Your majesty." Ebony got up as the Iron Skin Potion gave out while she was unconscious.
"I...I did it. Hahahaha! Obviously, I did it!" Rosa laughed maniacally. At the same time, she was in immense pain thanks to Yveltal's power. Laughing only amplified the pain since her whole body would usually react to this maniacal laughter. "I barely managed to get by. Had it not been for the container and the previous damage we racked up, Yveltal would've certainly broken free. And your potions are to thank as always, Ebony."
"Oh, thank you. But you don't look so great, your majesty. Can you move?"
"Barely. I sent all of the potions to Yveltal but before it can regain its consciousness, I need to make sure that my Mind Control Spell can work. Ebony. You have a potion that can erode the stone. Use it."
"I made sure to carry it with me in my cloak ever since we got Yveltal." Thinking smart, Ebony Rhyme had the potion that managed to heal Rosa Maledicta's hoof in her cloak. It was still in one piece and if it were to ever break, what was stopping Ebony from making another one?
Quickly moving before Yveltal could collect himself, Ebony poured the potion all over the Lich Queen. Aside from the Iron Skin Potion and other enhancements, Ebony didn't have many healing potions. But in this cruel place, the fact that the one healing item that could even stave off parts of Yveltal's power was impressive.
Rosa took a deep breath as the stone eroded from her body, freeing her from this semi-perished state. But even after being freed, Rosa Maledicta shuddered. While she had the chance, she unleashed a green bolt from her horn, unleashing the Mind Control spell.
Yveltal was smacked in the head by this spell as the mind-altering effects from all of Ebony Rhyme's potions merged with the Lich Queen's Curse Magic. She would then lower herself, feeling absolutely perplexed even after recovering.
"Yveltal did a greater number on me than I expected. My magic is weak. Weaker than it's ever been." Rosa coughed, staggering back. "I need to recover....but this won't delay anything. Now that Yveltal is ours, keep it here until the day for us to strike will come."
"What about you?"
"I will be in my room, recovering. I bet everything in that final flash. Until I recover, I'm entrusting all of you to do your best to terrorize the other world. And of course, a potion that will help with my healing."
"I understand. I'll get to it right away." Ebony nodded, ready to depart. But before that, she recalled another reason for being here. However, she decided not to say it just by seeing the Lich Queen's current condition. It would be too late anyway as Rosa used the last of her magic to teleport away.
As for Yveltal, he couldn't enter a cocoon to rest at all. As far as it went, this giant nearly-destroyed container was his cocoon. In this fierce back and forth, the Dread League claimed control over Yveltal's mind. And the entire Pokemon.
Unova. Roshan City. Day.
Back at Roshan City, before they could head to Kyurem's Ice Castle, Spike and the other Dragon Specialists decided to wind down for a bit. They could take their time since Kyurem wasn't going anywhere. Being a Legendary Pokemon meant that it was adjusted to one location that made him comfortable. In this case, the harsh cold.
After winding down, the goal was to trek across the land to reach the castle. Drake's ship wouldn't work here since there weren't any bodies of water around Kyurem's Ice Castle or even nearby despite how cold it was. So, as a substitute, a hot air balloon was used, received from Roshan City with all of them onboard.
While on the path to Kyurem's Ice Castle, the Dragon Specialists were cycling through their Poke Balls, wondering how they would each approach Kyurem. It's rare to battle a Legendary Pokemon so they needed the best possible options especially since Kyurem is super-effective against a majority of their Pokemon if not all. All except Iris, who had one Pokemon as an exception. But she wouldn't be battling Kyurem at all. Iris had her Rotomphone out, using it to film herself being around A fellow Dragon Champion, a Dragon Elite 4 Member, a Dragon Gym Leader and a Baby Dragon.
Spike still had to use an Xtransceiver, only because of his small size. The same went for ponies as they were not ready for Rotomphones yet. Not with their hooves. It was slimmer than an Xtransceiver after all.
"Another Dragon?" When looking at Spike's Xtransceiver, Iris noticed the face of another dragon. In this case, Ember and her Trainer ID were on the device, confirming that Spike could contact her easily now. "Oh, from the Dragon Lands. Right, right."
"She's not just another Dragon. She's the Dragon Lord back in my world." Spike explained. "Well, I was the Dragon Lord for like a few minutes and then I gave it up to her, but still."
"Dragon Lord?! What's that?!" This caught Iris' interest in a heartbeat as her eyes lit up. She leaned in, getting too close to Spike as it caused him to fall over. "You have a ruler of Dragons in your world?!"
"T-That's right...That's exactly what it is." Spike stammered.
"Amazing!" Iris clasped her hands together in glee. "Why didn't I see that coming?! Your world would totally have a ruler of Dragons just like how you have prominent royalties. And a Dragon Lord just sounds too amazing. Ruling over all Dragons..." She sighed.
"You're not thinking of taking that role, are you?" Drayden questioned Iris.
"What?! No way! I was just amazed that it existed." Iris rapidly shook her head before putting on a sly look. "Although...nothing's stopping me from giving it a try."
"I am," Spike interjected. "You have to be a Dragon to participate. At least, I assume that's the major rule. If you want, you can have your Pokemon give it a shot, I guess. I mean, they could become the next Dragon Lords. Maybe."
"I can see it." Drayden nodded in approval. "Seeing my Salamence be the ruler of all dragons isn't too farfetched if you ask me. For how long we've been a team, he's like a co-captain on my crew. I'd say he's fit for that role."
"As a mayor, you already know my response. My Druddigon's seen what I've done over the years. Though, I'm not sure he'd be too keen on being a ruler. He may be tough, but he sometimes finds too much time to wind down. Although, he does get back into the swing of things fairly quickly so maybe..." Drayden chimed in.
"A good answer. But I'd vouch for either of my Dragons." Lance smirked. "Dragonite and Hydreigon are good contenders. They can be complete opposites of each other. Hydreigon would definitely be an aggressive ruler and Dragonite...what kind of ruler is your current Dragon Lord?"
"Ember? Well, I haven't checked up on what she does back at the Dragon Lands all that much. I'm too busy improving myself. But she's a great trainer and a great dragon too. I'm sure she's being a great ruler right about now. The old one, her dad, I'm not so sure...He was pretty massive and loud though." Spike shuddered, remembering Ember's father. The previous Dragon Lord Torch. "Yikes..."
"You've gotta introduce me to her! You've got her Trainer ID right there. I really wanna meet a Dragon Lord! Please?!" Iris pleaded to Spike, wanting to meet Ember, even if it was on the Xtransceiver.
"I'll give it a shot." Spike would indulge. Nothing to gain, nothing to lose. He selected Ember's Trainer ID, hearing the Xtransceiver ring. It only took 7 seconds for a response. Ember was available on this fine day. Well, it was fine in this part of the world but once her face came into view, the background said otherwise. The clouds behind Ember were grey as heavy rain was pouring everywhere.
"Spike? Now's um...not the best time." Ember greeted Spike before shifting her eyes to the side.
"Hey, Ember. Just wanted to call you for her." He looked up at Iris. "You know who this is right? At least, I hope you've seen her face or heard her name."
"Hiya! Iris is my name! Unova Champion right here! But I bet that doesn't hold a candle to being the Dragon Lord, right?"
"Umm...Maybe?" Ember wasn't too positive about that answer. The status of both titles was debatable when put up against each other. "Being a champion is a big deal, isn't it? Every region has one. And not every place has a Dragon Lord."
"Nonsense!" Iris shook her head. "Rulers rule! I don't! Well, I do, but I don't rule anyone."
"Right...well, I guess I should feel honoured speaking to another champion. I know two of them now."
"How about three?" Lance spoke, coming into the frame of the Xtransceiver. He showed himself to the Dragon Lord, stunning her. His intense gaze and very sleek hair caught the princess off guard, almost making her stumble. "Now, I know two different rulers. Greetings, Dragon Lord."
"Oh, um! Greetings!"
"By the way, Ember, where are you?" Spike questioned, wondering about the background. "Looks like a storm's pouring."
"I'm going after a Sliggoo and it's proving to be a slippery Pokemon to catch once it used Rain Dance. But I'll overcome it like I always do. What about you? What are you doing with them?"
"We're doing something better than finding a Sliggoo. We're going after Kyurem! The World's Strongest Dragon!" Spike bellowed, revealing how much greater his quest currently was.
"The World's Strongest Dragon?!" Ember gasped. "Seriously?!"
"Seriously. And we know where it is." Drayden added. "One of us is going to challenge that Pokemon to win the next buffet. Which shall be me."
"Keep dreaming, old man." Lance scoffed. "I'm going for seconds."
"That's not fair! You're going after the World's Strongest Dragon and I'm struggling to catch a Sliggoo?! Where are you right now, Spike?!" Ember grizzled her teeth, feeling jealous.
"Not telling~" Spike whistled. "Guess you're gonna have to try and keep up Ember. If ya can. Good luck catching Sliggoo~!"
"Oh! Invite me one day to your lands, Dragon Lord! Pretty please!" Before the call ended and Ember could off on Spike with a powerful rant, Iris pleaded to one day come to the Dragon Lands. And before Ember could burst out with a roar, the call ended.
"Phew...Our next encounter's gonna have our best battle yet. Then again, we didn't battle for long for the first time." Spike shrugged. "But it's not like we're gonna catch Kyurem. None of you are planning on doing that, are you?"
"No." All were in agreement about not catching Kyurem. They would simply leave him be. But that wouldn't stop them from challenging the Boundary Pokemon.
"Cryo! Cyrogonal!" And of course, where there is Kyurem, the Cryogonal would be nearby. As the hot air balloon got closer to the icy lands and Kyurem's Castle which was still relatively far but visible in the distance, the bodyguards of Kyurem appeared.
"Cryogonal again?" Iris looked around to see the Cryogonal army fly around the hot air balloon while also encircling this area. Iris felt that horrid chill again, quickly digging into her bag for her snow gear. "Y-Yeah... we're getting close to Kyurem."
"Since they showed up, I guess they really are Kyurem's bodyguards. And maybe a way to let us know we're almost there." Spike added. "I'm just hoping they don't have us battle up here."
"Cryogonal..." All the Cyrogonals would eye down the passengers. Two of them looked very familiar. Iris and Spike. The two of them have been around here recently and this was not even the first time they have seen Iris in the sky. After their past experiences with them both, the Cryogonal could confirm something.
Iris and Spike were not hostile at all. And it was very clear why they came here. Thus, the Cryogonal collectively refrained from attacking. That went for the other passengers. However, another reason for them ceasing any potential attacks were Lance, Drake and Drayden.
Their piercing eyes and well-built bodies intimidated the Cryogonal. This was a clear sign for them to back away. The trio of them radiated an intimidating aura that was not to be tested. The Cryogonal would part the way for the hot air balloon. If Spike and Iris were not here, their roles as bodyguards might've failed right here just by the intimidation factor alone.
Kyurem's Ice Castle.
At last. Kyurem's Ice Castle. Once again, it hadn't changed at all. Kyurem was rather fine with how things were. He could be seen as an elder, wanting a peaceful life but wouldn't mind a bit of action as proven by Spike and the Swords of Justice.
Lance and the others had their snow gear on when approaching the castle. Iris noticed that it was colder when she was last here. Even Spike felt it but once more, though he was cold-blooded, the chill was not volatile to him. Standing between the second buffet was Kyurem and of course, the trainers themselves who want to challenge Kyurem just to have that buffet.
"So, in there is Kyurem. I can already sense something grand coming from that castle." Lance said as he stood on top of a snowy hill. "If I had known it had its own castle, I would've been here earlier.
"Who's going first?" Spike asked. "I mean, you're all pretty eager. But I think I'll go next since I had a battle with him before. It's rematch time!"
"Hold it," Drake said, freezing Spike in place before he could rush off. "I know how we can decide who gets to challenge Kyurem first." The cold air became hot. Everything intensified. Lance, Drake and Drayden looked at each other with draconic stares while Spike merely gulped.
Judging by Drake's words, there was only one way for them to decide who goes first. The usual way most Pokemon Trainers decide things. Spike feared this as he knew he would be at a disadvantage. But, in reality, it wasn't what he thought it would be.
"Rock Paper Scissors," Drake said, revealing the true way to decide who gets to battle Kyurem. Spike blinked for a bit before taking a deep sigh. This was something that he could do without worrying about skill. Iris would sit down on the nearest rock, waiting for them to get on with it while shivering.
All four trainers gathered around each other. But since Spike was shorter than them all, he had Axew transform into Haxorus, giving him a height boost by allowing the Baby Dragon to stand on his head. This was it. The deciding factor. Whoever comes out on top shall challenge Kyurem and potentially get that second buffet.
"Rock! Paper! Scissors! Shoot!" All four of them yelled, unleashing their respective hand sings. Or rather, the same hand sign. Instantly, they all chose Scissors, having the same weapon in mind. Thus, this was a Draw. But they wouldn't settle on a draw. With narrowed eyes, they would try again until one of them won.
"Rock! Paper! Scissors! Shoot!" Again, they chose the same sign. This time paper. Another Draw.
"Rock! Paper! Scissors! Shoot!" This time, they all chose rock. A Draw, yet again. "Rock! Paper! Scissors! Shoot!" Again and again, when trying to overcome the other, they would just consecutively choose the same hand signs, moving back and forth at great speeds.
It was rather impressive to see. The fact that all four of them thought the same. Iris laughed as these four Dragon Specialists shared a lot in common with each other despite how different they may be. They would not stop until one of them wins. The Cryogonalwould even spectate, speechless by this back-and-forth game.
"Kh! This isn't getting anywhere!" Lance growled as they kept drawing. "How can this be? I thought "Rock, Paper, Scissors, was a game of skill!"
"It is. But it looks like we all share the same strategy." Drayden replied as they even continued the game while speaking. "This is proving to be an issue unless one of us chooses differently.
"I've got an idea!" Iris stood up, raising her arm. She would promptly stop their game. "Why didn't I think of this before? Kyurem's the World's Strongest Dragon, no doubt about it. Its true form has yet to be seen and yet, it's still so powerful and seemingly unstoppable. So...instead of challenging it one by one to see who can win, why not just team up and battle Kyurem together? You're all super powerful and Kyurem's the perfect challenge. Oh, and you too, Spike."
"Team up?" They looked at each other. Iris proposed a rather interesting option. A team battle could be the way to go. All four of them against Kyurem at the same time. It wouldn't be the first time multiple trainers teamed up with a Legendary Pokemon.
"Hm. It'll be similar to a Raid Battle with all four of us." Drake pondered. "There's no drawback to it aside from our synergy."
"And whoever lasts until the end of defeats Kyurem first," Drayden added. "I say...we should go for it. How does that sound?"
"Hmph. I'll take it." Lance agreed. "Nothing wrong with teaming up with good friends after all."
"I get to team up with these three...?! Awesome!" Spike was overjoyed. This just kept getting better and better.
"Before that, we need a plan. Kyurem is the World's Strongest Dragon and considering where we are, our own Pokemon are already at a striking disadvantage." Drayden would think ahead. "If we're going to team up against Kyurem, we need a plan that will help us through this Raid Battle. It's all dependent on how our Pokemon bounce off each other."
"I understand. I already have my ways of dealing with Ice-Types." Lance nodded. "I know the same goes for you all. Kyurem isn't going anywhere, so let's take the time to make this work."
"Indeed. What say you, young Spike?" Drake looked at the Baby Dragon. "Ready to team up with the pros?"
"Yes sirs!" Spike said with his chest out. How could he say no? Spike wasn't going to botch this. He would bring his A-Game. And it helped that he was already used to team battles and raids. Iris did something splendid here by coming up with that choice.
"Then it's settled. Gentlemen. Today's the day we defeat the World's Strongest Dragon." Lance held his hand out as the other three Dragon Specialists added their hands, unifying their blazing spirits. The goal to take down Kyurem, who was currently undefeated, was ready to be put in motion.
The time had come. Lance, Drake, Drayden and Spike were ready to challenge Kyurem. They entered his castle, coming across Full Court. Their footsteps echoed in this icy area as the only other accompanying sounds were the Cryogonal and their cries. Iris, who was exempt from battling Kyurem, held herself to try and find warmth. But entering Kyurem's Castle meant that it would be difficult to do so. The moment they entered from the side of the castle, they were met with a room that was different from what Spike previously witnessed.
"Ghh...!" Iris shuddered. "Can we make this battle quick if that's okay with you all? I'm not sure I can take another second here."
"Kyurem should be here. Full Court is where all of his battles take place." Spike pointed at the Full Court Ring. But right now, the guts to the ring were closed off. "Then again, this castle's pretty big so he could be anywhere else."
"Anywhere but in this room. What is this all about?" Lance said, pointing out the room they were in. This room was not compatible with Kyurem's size. Not at all. The room was equipped with a modern kitchen that was neatly put together. It also had a generous living room, three bedrooms, a grand dining room, a lounge area and a playroom. Ice decorations could be seen sitting around as they were modelled after Pokemon, giving the light blue room extra flair.
"Did Kyurem make this? How? With those massive hands?" Spike was trying to figure out how and why Kyurem would make a room like this, especially since it was too small for him to fit in.
"You said Kyurem lives by himself. Aside from the lurking Cryogonal. It makes sense he'd make things hospitable for himself." Drayden added as he picked up a cup.
"Nah...I don't think Kyurem finds this hospitable." Iris shook her head. "I could probably live in here instead."
"I thought you knew what Kyurem's castle looked like," said Drake.
"From the outside. I never viewed the rest of it. I only came to battle Kyurem and that was it." Spike answered.
"And I only saw the castle show up after the whole thing with Keldeo ended. I never went back until now." Iris also added. Neither had seen this part of the castle. "But who knew Kyurem was so decorative? Do you think it could give me advice on how to touch up my room!?"
"Kyurem was collecting books as well?" Drayden would also see how there was a bookshelf. And each of these books were familiar to the Mayor of Opelucid City, focusing on the history of Unova. There were even books about Pokemon Biology and notes about certain dex entries. This was all unusual for Kyurem. And if he was collecting these for himself, why? Drayden assumed that because Kyurem was around even before Unova, he would have these books just for memories and knowledge but that theory wouldn't add up for Drayden since Kyurem wasn't the type to care about the past.
Confused by this room's existence, they would soon leave it to come across the main room that mattered more than anything. The Full Court. The stage where Kyurem battles whoever shows up here.
"There it is! Full Court!" Spike pointed at the large ring. "That's where we need to be if we wanna battle Kyurem together."
"That ring looks large enough for all of us," Lance observed. "Even for Kyurem. It's perfect. Our plan can work with this much space." But right as Lance spoke, another sound came through. It didn't come from the Cryogonal or even Iris. The four Dragon Specialists were alert, believing that Kyurem was approaching at last. This was backed up by the sounds of footsteps.
Although, they sounded lighter than expected. Usually, Iris and Spike would hear heavy footsteps since Kyurem was a pretty large individual. Lance, Drake and Drayden expected this as well unless Kyurem was somehow large and light at the same time, similar to Wailord. Instead, it was a Pokemon that was somewhat similar to Wailord but a completely different whale as it emerged from the icy smoke with a roundish body and drooping arms.
"Cetoddle."
"Eh?" They all uttered with confusion. "That's not Kyurem." Indeed it wasn't. Far from it. Instead, this Pokemon was new n fresh to the eyes of everyone here. Only the Cryogonal would know who this was.
"A new Pokemon? Who's this?" Iris whipped out her Pokedex along with Spike, ready to gather data on this small but also somewhat large Pokemon.
"Cetoddle. The Terra Whale Pokemon. This species left the ocean and began living on land a very long time ago. It seems to be closely related to Wailmer. It lives in frigid regions in pods of five or so individuals. It loves the minerals found in snow and ice."
"Toddle?"
"Aw, come here." Iris gushed at Cetoddle. Despite the fact that it was an Ice-Type, the cuteness factor would deplete her fears. Then again, time has passed and Iris' reaction to Ice-Types could've changed by then.
"Ce?" Cetoddle took a sniff of the air with its non-existent nose. Two scents were picked up. Friendly and intimidating. The friendly scent came from Spike and Iris, who waved at the Ice-Type. But Lance, Drake and Drayden were the ones who gave off that intimidating presence.
And yet, it didn't react to either of them. It would just approach the Dragon Specialists with an adorable waddle thanks to the way it was built.
"Who's there?" There was a familiar voice. Surly, gruff, loud and spoken via telepathy, heavy footsteps rung across the castle. Appearing with golden eyes flashing within the icy darkness was none other than the owner of this castle and the World's Strongest Dragon Pokemon that has yet to show his true form.
Kyurem.
"There it is." Lance smiled as the Pokemon of the hour had finally arrived. He and the other two high-level Dragon Specialists were not phased by their eventual opponent. "Kyurem."
"Hey, Kyurem! I'm back! Told ya I'd show up again!" Spike jumped up and down, waving at the Boundary Pokemon. Kyurem took a moment to assess the situation. He recognized Spike, Axew and Iris, immediately ceasing any potential hostility. But upon seeing Lance, Drake and Drayden, Kyurem was a little cautious. But since they were near Spike, Iris and Axew, he was quick to see that they were with them.
"It's you. What brings you all here of all times?"
"Sorry if we're intruding again. But I did say I'd come back and battle you one more time when I was ready. So, I did. Months later and I think it's been a full year by now, right?" Spike explained. "Axew and I are stoked to see you again."
"Axew!"
"Hm. I suppose I should've seen you coming here again someday as well. Especially if it was for the goal of battling me a second time. And you say that you've grown stronger?"
"Of course! What else would I be doing? A lot's happened since we last met. Well...an entire invasion happened days after I battled you. I even brought some friends with me who'll be helping out. This here's Lance, Drake and Drayden. They wanted a shot at you too. If you don't mind a four-on-one, that is..."
"Kyurem. As Spike just said, we challenge you to a battle!" Lance declared. The moment we heard about you, we decided ot come here and take you on ourselves. The World's Strongest Dragon. We'll be taking you down right here, right now."
"Uh, could you be a bit kinder to him?" Spike pleaded, hoping that Lance wouldn't provoke or agitate the Boundary Pokemon.
"Hmph. You think numbers worry me?" Kyurem scoffed, unphased by those words. "Boy. You've brought along a daring one."
"They're all daring. That's why they came here..." Spike chuckled nervously. "But...I'm guessing you're not bothered by this, right? This is cool with you?"
"It matters not how many of you battle me. I'm always up for a challenge." Kyurem accepted. This was the third time that he would accept a battle without having anything else in mind. After all, Kyurem tested his opponents, especially younger ones such as Spike or Keldeo. Although considering how old he was, even Drayden and Drake could be seen as younglings to him.
"Then it's settled." Lance smiled, holding out a Poke Ball. Right as he did so, the gates to Full Court started opening, making way for the challenges. Kyurem already made his way there, waiting for them to approach. The four of them would approach while Iris would hold Cetoddle in her arms, spectating what might be one of the most ferocious Dragon Battles she could ever witness.
"Remember our plan. Spike. You've already told us that Kyurem can change forms. So think about the Pokemon you want to use for this. We've already decided on ours." Drayden said. "You couldn't choose between Salamence, Axew or Goodra to start things off. How about now?"
"I've made up my mind, sir! I know who I'm sending out first!" Spike saluted.
"There won't be any recalls. You're not the only one who's been improving, boy." Kyurem narrowed his eyes. "Now, come. Show me what you and your human friends are capable of. Make this worthwhile."
"We'll show you for certain! Come forth, Gyarados!" Lance sent out his first Pokemon. His Shiny Gyarados.
"Go! Kingdra!" In response to Gyarados, Drake sent out his own Water-Type. His Kingdra.
"I'm counting on you. Hydreigon!" For Drayden, his best response was his Hydreigon.
"Then I choose...Axew! Transform!" Spike would go for the closest Pokemon to him. His Equestrian Axew who would soon become a Haxorus.
"Axew!" Axew jumped ahead of his larger Dragon allies before then enveloping himself in a golden light. Right as he touched the ground, his body expanded, shattering the ice around him as he emerged in a mightier form. "Haxorus!"
"There it is! The transforming Haxorus!" Iris' eyes lit up. "Oooh! I've got to get myself an Equestrian Axew for sure!"
"Kyurem doesn't change types when he transforms, but his arsenal is deadlier and vast, along with certain advantages. As soon as he transforms into either form, we'll keep pace with him. No matter what who we pick." Drake said.
"Don't be ridiculous. With how much I've grown, I doubt I'll need my other forms to defeat you all."
"Don't you dare shrug us off Go, Gyarados! Stone Edge!"
"Gyara!" Gyarados would be the first to attack, slamming its tail onto the ground. Out of the icy ground, a barrage of large crystals would emerge, breaking apart the ice at rapid speeds and intense force. Kyurem arrowed his eyes before suddenly advancing towards the crystals instead of evading them.
But this was only to show off his strength as he then used Shadow Claw, slashing and cutting away at the crystals with ease while approaching the opposing Pokemon.
"Kingdra! Keep Kyurem back with Flash Cannon!"
"Now, Hydreigon! Dragon Rush!"
"Go for it, Haxorus! Close Combat!"
"King!" Kingdra would use Flash Cannon, channelling up a bunch of light energy which was then transformed into a beam that blew past the remaining crystals. Kyurem was forced to come to a screeching halt in the face of Flash Cannon as he used his massive claw to slash at the light beam. The shadows of Shadow Claw were held back a bit by Flash Cannon which successfully kept Kyurem in one spot for a while.
But only for a while. Kyurem would soon overpower the beam, slapping it away as it crashed into the icy walls. But that struggle gave Hydreigon enough time to attack. "Hydreigon!" By taking off with a burst of energy, Hydreigon was enveloped by a raining blue draconic aura, moving at high speeds.
Kyurem was met with a direct Dragon Rush that he couldn't stop in time. A super-effective hit. This also gave Haxorus time to approach. The super-effective Dragon Rush caused Kyurem to stagger as he was actually pushed back by the attack, growling for a bit. But he wasn't given time to recover just yet.
"Haxorus!" Along came Haxorus, delivering his own super-effective hit in the form of Close Combat. He would target the Ice-Dragon-Type's stomach, consecutively hitting it by starting with a vicious gut punch. This was then followed by a hard tail swipe and more consecutive punches.
"Now's our chance! Join in with Dragon Rush!" Another Dragon Rush from Hydreigon would occur as the Brutal Pokemon would join in on Haxorus' onslaught.
"Shield them with Light Screen, Kingdra!"
"Kingdra!" Kingdra would provide some support, using Light Screen to reduce any heavy hits from ranged attacks as all of its draconic allies were laminated in a golden light.
"That's...ENOUGH!" Kyurem bellowed as the mere shockwave of his roar was enough to delay their next hits. Haxorus and Hydreigon found themselves being almost knocked back by the roar as their attacks were only inches from hitting the Boundary Pokemon. "Impudent Gnats!" After staggering them, Kyurem would use Dragon Pulse at an up-close range. From the front of his face, a giant dragon emerged, wide enough to hit both Haxorus and Hydreigon at the same time.
The two Dragons were blasted away as Kyurem would finally retaliate. The duo of dragons would crash onto the cold ground but they would soon receive some payback in the form of Gyarados's next attack. "Hyper Beam!"
"Gyarados!" Gyarados unleashed Hyper Beam right after Haxorus and Hydreigon were out of the way. Kyurem's eyes shifted toward the raging beam of Infinity Energy that would soon engulf him. The Ice-Dragon-Type took another attack with guts yet again. But he'd be bluffing if he tried to shrug it off. This Hyper Beam was enough to make him stagger and almost fall over.
"What a hit!" Iris gasped while Cetoddle was grabbing her face with its arms. "Are they actually gonna do it this early?!"
"Kingdra! Unleash Draco Meteor!"
"King!" Kingdra would bring its own hard-hitting attack. A sphere of purple energy forms inside of King's mouth and was fired into the sky. Up there it would combust, releasing multiple purple-glowing meteors that came ranging down like a heavy downpour.
Kyurem was hit by all these meteors that would cover most of the ring, bringing about purple explosions with each impact, enough to cover the Boundary Pokemon's large body.
"Here's our own! Stone Edge, Gyarados!"
"Attack with Tri Attack, Hydreigon!"
"Hydrei!" Hydreigon and Gyarados would add to the onslaught by using Stone Edge and Tri Attack. The crystals would show up once more, followed by three different beams of elements from Hydreigon's three mouths. Kyurem was lost in the destruction, unable to move away from it. Stone Edge and Tri Attack didn't help either as they also came with large numbers. Afterwards, all the attacks would blow up around each other from all this aggressive energy gathering around one Pokemon.
It was a vicious one as well, becoming almost blinding to look at as multiple ice shards flew across the room. The Pokemon looked at the explosion, proud of the damage they managed to rack up. These consecutive hits definitely worked out as Kyurem could do so little to try and evade or counter them.
However, while they did a good job at bringing an unrelenting onslaught, that didn't mean victory was theirs. Right as the smoke was clearing, blowing away all the debris and the icy dust was none other than a still-active Kyurem, whose roar would once again affect his opponents.
"Is that all? Now it's my turn." Kyurem sounded like he wasn't that bothered by the attacks. Spike gasped with his pupils shrinking while Lance, Drake and Drayden narrowed their eyes, preparing for the worst.
"Took it all like a champ!" Iris commented. "I doubt any of our own Pokemon would've been able to handle all of that but Kyurem looks unscathed."
Kyurem would fight back in the best way he knew how. Using one of his forms. In an instant, a violent burst of electricity erupted from his body. These lightning bolts would split the ice apart, crackling and crashing everywhere before engulfing the Boundary Pokemon in an orb. This only meant one thing. Black Kyurem had arrived. Out of the orb f electricity, Black Kyurem showed up as the Boundary Pokemon was now amping things up.
"So that's what its other form looks like," Drake spoke. "Amazing...It was worth coming here in every possible way."
"Kh!" But right as Kyurem transformed, he twitched. Turns out, some of that electricity wasn't his as he felt paralyzed. Yellow electricity instead of blue electricity would appear around him as this wasn't his doing.
"Seems that Tri Attack worked out perfectly. Though, I was hoping for the Burn Effect. But Paralysis will do. Your Legendary Pokemon are too fast for us to take chances." Using Tri Attack was part of Drayde's plan.
"You think this will slow me down? Think again!" Black Kyurem would approach, spreading out his wings as he went for Dragon Claw.
"Black Kyurem. According to Spike, this time, it's his physical strength that will hit the hardest! Kingdra! Reflect!"
"King!" Kingdra had another attack that would benefit them all. Reflect. It was added to Light Screen's effects, now focusing on resisting Physical Attacks.
"Meet it with Iron Tail, Haxorus!"
"Hold him back with Flamethrower, Hydreigon!"
"Haxo!" Hardening his tail, Haxorus would go in for an Iron Tail, lunging at the approaching Boundary Pokemon while Hydreigon would unleash a stream of crimson flames from its mouth.
But Kyurem, even when paralyzed, would use his reflexes to try and counter this. And he already found a way of doing it. The moment Iron Tail came swinging down from above, the Ice-Dragon-Type would sway his head to the side, narrowly evading it. But right after doing so, he would slash Hydreigon with Dragon Claw, sending the Equestrian Variant into the flames.
"X-Xorus!" Haxorus found himself being struck by Hydreigon's Flamethrower, crying out. This forced Hydreigon to stop using Flamethrower at once to keep Haxorus active. After doing a bit of friendly fire, Kyurem would then attack the ground. One swipe was enough to send giant dragon energy blades towards his opponents.
"He transformed Dragon Claw's energy into a different attack!" Iris gasped. "Look out, everyone!"
"I don't think so! Gyarados! Stop it with Aqua Tail!"
"Dos!" Gyarados would slam its tail into the ground, using the vortex of water in a unique way. Kyurem wasn't the only one who could improvise. The vortex of water would erupt from the ground, meeting with the draconic energy blades as a way to try and block them.
Alas, that's not what happened. Instead, the blades sliced through the vortex of water like butter with immaculate strength. Right after it broke through Gyarados' attack, Gyarados, Kingdra and Hydreigon were each struck by three individual dragon blades. Not only did it have the strength, but it had the reach.
"Oh geez!" Spike pulled back once he saw his allies being slashed and knocked back with the trifecta Dragon Claw blades. Unfortunately for Haxorus, he was the next target. Or rather, all of them were.
Following up with his Dragon Claw, Kyurem then used one of his signature moves. Freeze Shock. Black Kyurem puts his claws together as a light bluish-white ball of energy surrounded by violent crackling electricity was formed, expanding rapidly. Black Kyurem then separated his claws, throwing the attack right at the Axe Jaw Pokemon.
"Here goes nothing..." Spike gulped. "Intercept with Giga Impact!"
"Haxo...!" Haxorus would meet with this devastating attack. The goal was to stop it directly. Giga Impact was unleashed as a flaring white aura emerged from Haxorus. He would then throw himself at the attack, clashing with it. Haxorus would then try and push it away or at least fly through it. And so far, he was successful in holding it back but not exactly pushing it back. He was the one being pushed. "Xo! Haxo!"
"He won't overpower something like that! Help him Flamethrower, Hydreigon!"
"Flash Cannon, Kingdra!"
"Gyarados! Hyper Beam!"
Haxorus wasn't alone on this. He would be backed up by other attacks. Flash Cannon, Flamethrower and Hyper Beam would join in, meeting with the ball of cold electricity. This helped Haxorus as now the orb was being pushed back thanks to this combination of attacks. The synergy between the four Dragon Specialists was better than what Iris was expecting, especially since Spike was still behind them. This synergy helped them last longer against Kyurem but it would be hard to say if they could take him down.
But while admiring this amazing battle of Dragons, something else caught Iris' attention. Up at the higher parts of this castle, a small figure could be seen watching from afar, masked by the icy cold mist. From what Iris could gather, it looked to be a pony. More specifically, a young foal. Cetoddle and Cryogonal weren't the only ones in here with Kyurem. There was someone else here.
"Who is-" But before Irs could wonder, the clash of attacks had ended with the result being an equalizer. All of the attacks blew up instead of one overpowering the other, startling the Unova Champion. However, despite how large this explosion was, Haxorus managed to fly out of the smoke with all of his strength. He took damage from the explosion, but that didn't stop his determination as he crashed right into Kyurem's head. "Haxorus!"
"Nice hit, Haxorus! You did it!" Spike cheered, amazed that Haxorus powered through. Alas, against Kyurem, that wasn't enough. Right after he got a successful head smash, Kyurem would fight back with an up-close Dragon Pulse. It was already in the midst of being unleashed which didn't spell good news for Haxorus.
"Spike! Do it now!" Lance exclaimed.
"Got it! Use your lights, Haxorus!"
"Xorus! Haxorus would use his special Equestrian ability. This wasn't an attack so the recharge time for Giga Impact wouldn't be touched This was merely a natural part of Equestrian Haxorus' biology and physiology. The symbols on his body would radiate ultraviolet lights, flashing in front of Kyurem's eyes.
Kyurem's Dragon Pulse was delayed as Haxorus would be free to fall down without receiving any damage. A successful play on Spike and Haxorus' part. But for Kyurem, that was just a mere annoyance. Even when blinded, he would still unleash Dragon Pulse but as a short burst. This short burst Dragon Pulse moved swiftly enough to strike Kingdra directly.
Drake gasped as Kingdra was blown away. Safe to say that no one saw this coming. That light distraction wasn't enough for this Legendary Pokemon. But that Dragon Pulse was enough to take out Kingdra.
"Kingdra..." And now that Kingdra was down, the protective energies of Light Screen and Reflect would drop. Their defences and main supporter were gone.
"Return, Kingdra. You did well in giving us a good defence. Rest easy, my friend."
"Looks like we're on our own when it comes to defences," said Drayden as Kyurem's eyes would open. That blindness didn't last long enough.
"That trick of yours didn't work the way you planned, boy." Kyurem said, making Spike sweat and scoff at the same time. "Besides...I know a thing or two about blindness because of who's here. So if you try that again, it will end in failure."
"Who's here?" Iris repeated before then looking back at the silhouette of the mysterious foal that was hidden by the ice. Could Kyurem be referring to this pony? And if so, Iris needed to wonder why. But right now, she might not get that answer since the battle was only going to intensify.
Kyurem proved himself to be a tough wall to get by. If they can even get by him in the first place. The four Dragon Specialists were lasting long, that much was true. But how long could they last? And will they be able to pull it off? Only time will tell as the journey continues.
Within Kyurem's Ice Castle, a raid against the Boundary Pokemon was occurring. Lance, Drake, Drayden and Spike all challenged Kyurem, starting off strong by bringing an unrelenting assault to the Boundary Pokemon. Alas, the World's Strongest Dragon wouldn't let himself be overwhelmed as he barely looked like he took any damage. Despite how disgustingly powerful Kyurem was and the fact that Drake's Kingdra was the first to go down, the four Dragon Specialists were not out yet, lasting a long time against the Ice-Dragon-Type.
"Haxorus looks pretty bad right now," Spike observed his Equestrian Haxorus who was battling since the beginning. He put up a good fight, but he looked like he could give out fairly soon. Haxorus breathed in and out as that previous assault took a lot out of him. "Return, for now, Haxorus! Transform back!"
"Hax? Haxorus." Haxorus was glad to hear that. He immediately reverted to his Equestrian Axew state. Relieved he could rest up, Axew took a seat behind everyone, waiting for his time to battle again.
"You should rest as well, Hydreigon." Drayden would also return his Hydreigon, quickly grabbing the next Poke Ball.
"Now, it's your turn! Salamence!" Spike's next Pokemon was his Salamence.
"Come, Salamence!" And so did Drayden. But he wasn't the only one who would send out a Salamence. Drake would choose his own Salamence which was his ace Pokemon.
"Salamence!" There were currently three different Salamences out on the battlefield, each with varying levels of skill. Elite 4, Gym Leader and Standard Trainer respectively. Lance was the only one with Gyarados and no one else.
"Three Salamences all at once? I don't know about this..." Iris was unsure about this decision, nervously holding Cetoddle. Three Salamences meant that each of them would be highly vulnerable to the ice.
"Is this a joke?" Even Kyurem found this t be ridiculous. These Salamences were just asking for heavy super-effective attacks, especially since the World's Strongest Dragon just so happened to be an Ice-Type. The greatest weakness of most Dragons out there.
"Our previous assault didn't work. Overwhelming him didn't pan out properly. So, let's go with our second assault. The skies will be our friend for this one." Drayden said.
"Indeed. "Drake nodded in response. "Prepare yourself, Kyurem."
"Begin! Gyarados! Stone Edge!" Lance roared.
"Go now, Salamence! Flamethrower!" Drake started by having his Salamence use Flamethrower.
"You as well, Salamence! Fire Blast!" So did Drayden who had his Salamence use Fire Blast.
"Use Dragon Pulse!" As for Spike, he would go for Dragon Pulse instead of a fiery option.
"Salamence!" All three Salamences took flight, breathing in with different energies building up in their mouth. All of them would fly in different directions, forcing Salamence to focus on one of them. He swiped away at the stones from Stone Edge with Dragon Claw, only to then be struck by a Fire Blast from the side. Kyurem growled, shifting his attention to Drayden's Salamence, who was ready to throw another Fire Blast.
But he couldn't ignore the other two Salamences. Dragon Pulse and Flamethrower hit their marks, distracting Kyurem once more. It was difficult to focus on multiple moments since none of them were getting close and could easily keep their distance while attacking.
He tried getting in close, approaching Spike's Salamence with his claws being pulled back, only for Gyarados' Stone Edge to smack him in the face, giving Spike's Salamence enough time to fly away, continuing the Dragon Pulse barrage. The more these attacks kept coming, the harder it was to focus on one Pokemon because each of these attacks packed a punch. Some more than others.
Not only that, but Kyurem still had the paralysis effect from Hydreigon's Tri Attack, making him slightly slower. He even had moments where he would stagger from the paralysis, unable to move for a while. His opponents certainly set him up for potential disaster.
"Nice! Kyurem can't do much about this!" Iris leaned in. "If they keep attacking from all sides without staying in one place, they could maybe pull this off."
"Don't get too ahead of yourself!" But Kyurem always had a response. In this case, it was his signature move that could also be used by his other half, Zekrom. Since he was the originator of the Twin Dragons, Kyurem used Fusion Bolt, summoning a gigantic thunderbolt that came in the shape of a sphere. He used this to protect himself from the other incoming attacks but it served another purpose. The lighting from the sphere crackled violently spreading everywhere as a means to fight back.
Dragon Pulse, Fire Blast, Flamethrower and Stone Edge were all intercepted by the violent whips of lightning that came from Fusion Bolt. This barrage of attacks could only be stopped by another barrage. Not only were these lightning bolts enough to protect him but they even managed to hit his opponents. Gyarados was shocked by this as well as Drayden's Salamence. Both cried out but one took the worst of this. The electricity knocked them out of the sky, causing the two Flying-Types to tumble.
But only one of them recovered properly. Gyarados, after lasting longer than the others, had finally fainted, falling unconscious from that highly super-effective attack. "Gyarados..."
"Return, Gyarados. For a job well done, get some rest." Lance returned his Gyarados at last. He looked up to see all the destructive lightning bolts flying around constantly. Kyurem had a response for even this kind of scenario. An offensive barrier of lightning that was too versatile to have any flaws.
And the scary part was that Kyurem had yet to use his White Form and the destructive flames that they bring. The lightning was already destructive enough after all.
"Go, Hydreigon!" Out came his own Hydreigon, ready to get into this sweet dragon action.
"Hydreigon!"
"Keep your distance and use Dark Pulse!"
"Drei!" Hydreigon would also stay back and attack from afar, unleashing three beams of darkness that would try and fight back against the Fusion Bolt.
Now, Kyurem was the one who was hard to reach thanks to this barrier. Their attacks were pointless if they couldn't get past it. Not only that, but the lightning bolts were frantically moving around, proving to be a bigger issue.
"We can't get anywhere else if that barrier of his stays up," Drayden growled. "Is there any way to get past it?"
"There is maybe one way. We can try and cut the barrier." Drake narrowed his eyes before then looking at Spike. He then nodded at the Baby Dragon, knowing what needed to be done. "Spike."
"Aye-aye I get what you mean, captain!" Spike understood what Drake meant by them. Both of them had the means to cut anything. And all it would take was a step further in evolution.
Mega Evolution.
Drake and Spike would reveal their Mega Rings as the time for Mega Evolution had come. In unison both of them touched the Keystones within their rings, beginning the evolution process. The stone responded to the hearts of Drake and Spike, unleashing that signature golden glow that flew out as if multiple clothes were being unleashed.
"Salamence! Mega Evolve!" The duo cried out as blue lights raced out of both Salamences'. The blue and golden lights connected, forming a DNA pattern before then enveloping the Pokemon. Out of this burst of energy came the evolved form of Salamence. Mega Salamence.
"Salamence!"
"Double Mega Salamence!" Iris' eyes lit up in amazement. This elevate the battle to a new level now that Mega Evolution was being brought into the fray. "I'm the luckiest Dragon Trainer right now!"
"Salamence! Cut through that barrier!" Drake bellowed. "Use Steel Wing!"
"Go for it, Salamence! Get in there with Zen Headbutt!"
"Sala!" Both Salamences would take off in unison. Spike's Salamence would create mental energy around his head via willpower alone while Drayden's Salamence gained hard-metal wings. In this state, both Salamences could cut through anything with just their wings alone.
And this was proven by how Steel Wing cleaved through the incoming bolts of lightning, splitting it apart. Spike's Salamence would even need to use an attack that involved his wings. He would just casually fly by, showing the strength of these wings. This showcase of strength was only elevated once they reached Kyurem so easily.
However, getting through the barrier wasn't as easy as it seemed. Despite breaking through the lighting bolts, when crashing into the barrier of Fusion Bolt, they couldn't effortlessly cut through it. The two Salamences put everything they had into their wing muscles, trying their best to slice Kyurem's barrier.
Kyurem was even forced to put more effort into his strength just to prevent them from cutting it. The tips of the wings would poke through the barrier, proving they had the potential to do so. Alas, only one of the lacked the breakthrough to do so. That would be Spike's Salamence who was viciously electrocuted and blown back by the expansion of Fusion Bolt's power. "Mence!"
"Oh, no! Salamence!"
But Drake's Salamence was already at the best potential it could reach. It went further and further, digging its wings even deeper than what Kyurem expected. Refusing to let Mega Salamence get the better of him, Kyurem transformed Fusion Bolt into Freeze Shock, using it as a barrier instead, causing it to explode in front of Salamence. The Dragon Pokemon was at the front of this chilling and electrifying explosion while Hydreigon and the others barely managed to fly away.
"S-Sala!" Drake's Salamence was blown away. On the bright side, the barrier was no more and they now knew of a way to cut through it as Drake's Salamence would quickly recover midair.
"Go for it, Salamence! This time, use Dragon Claw!"
"Hydreigon! Dragon Pulse!"
"Stone Edge, Salamence!"
"Mence!" Spike's Salamence would fly back in while accompanied by a Dragon Pulse from Hydreigon and a Stone Edge from Drayden's Salamence. Kyurem would casually look at these incoming attacks before then showing off more of his strength.
Not only did he tank the attacks by simply flexing his body, causing Stone Edge and Dragon Pulse to shatter upon contact, but just to be a showoff, he grabbed Salamence's claw, stopping his attacks. The impact of Dragon Claw meeting with Kyurem's claw was heavy, causing a shockwave to emerge while also blowing away the debris. It had some weight to it, alas, it wasn't enough.
"An impressive hit. You've certainly gotten stronger since last time. I can tell." Kyurem complimented Salamence who was stuck in place. "But...it's not enough!" Kyurem would then hit back with his own Dragon Claw, slashing Mega Salamence with such force that not only did it make the Dragon Pokemon cough by the sheer magnitude of it, but it even devolved Salamence.
"S-Sala...!" Salamence's eyes widened as he was sent back into his standard form, causing Spike to gasp. This didn't happen the last time they battled. Kyurem truly had gotten stronger as Salamence was then thrown away. This easily meant that Salamence had fainted as he dropped to the ground. Just like that, Spike's Salamence was taken out so quickly.
"No way...Salamence..." Spike was in disbelief to see Mega Salamence down so fast. But there was one more Mega Salamence left in the fray. Drake's Mega Salamence.
"Now! Hyper Beam!" Together, Salamence and Hydreigon would use a dual Hyper Beam, going for the biggest damage possible. Two gigantic beams came racing out of their mouths before coming into an even larger Hyper Beam. How would Kyurem respond to this?
Simple. By channelling all of his strength into one Dragon Claw. All he had to do was swing at the Hyper Beam once. At first, it looked like there would be a struggle between Dragon Claw and this unified Hyper Beam. Alas, that was not the outcome. Instead, Kyurem absolutely overpowered the combined Hyper Beam, splitting them back into two. The force of the Dragon Claw caused their own attacks to backfire on them.
The Hyper Beams bounced back, hitting their original users before then punishing them with a violent paroxysm of Infinity Energy. It was stupendous to watch how Kyurem could so easily turn the tides. He barely looked like he was trying in certain instances.
Hydreigon and Drake's Salamence fell. Only Lance's Hydreigon fainted. Drake's Salamence was still in this. The number of Pokemon they could call out was dropping. And Kyurem certainly wasn't slowing down.
"Kyurem still looks fine. And if this continues, they'll all be down before Kyurem can even look tired." Iris gawked before noticing a hole in the castle. The afternoon Sun was moving, showings signs of an eventual nightfall. Possibly, this battle could end before the moon even rises.
Lance and Spike returned their Pokemon after they were taken out. Not even a double Mega Evolution from Pokemon that were almost comparable to Legendary Pokemon was enough to take down the World's Strongest Pokemon. However, something was off. The sight of Drayden's Salamence.
The moment Kyurem took a single step, he felt something on his back. Masked within all the mist and destruction was Drayden's Salamence who snuck up on Kyurem without him noticing.
"What?!"
"You let your guard down, unfortunately," said Drayden. "Salamence!"
"Salamence!" Salamence had used an up close Dragon Pulse. The attack was so direct that it ended up knocking Kyurem forward. Kyurem, thrown off guard by this, nearly fell over. Drayden's Salamence was the only one to successfully pull this off, but alas, it still wasn't enough.
"Awesome!" Spike cheered. "That was a great hit!"
Alas, that didn't last long as Kyurem regained his balance, immediately initiating a counterattack with Dragon Tail. Dragon Tail smacked Salamence directly, making the Dragon Pokemon roll as if he was a ragdoll. Just like that, a singular Dragon Tail was all it took to knock out Drayden's Salamence.
Meanwhile, the mysterious pony who was standing far from the battle would then leave, galloping away. Iris couldn't help but eye this pony down, wondering where the foal could be headed to. What could be more exciting than this?
"Alright...It's been made very clear to us." Lance closed his eyes. "Out of all the Dragons I've battled, Kyurem truly is the strongest by a margin. It was worth coming here."
"Indeed. But I'm afraid we won't beat him." Drayden shook his head. "We should know when we're beaten."
"I didn't think he'd grow stronger. I thought he was already as strong as he needed to be." Spike replied. Now that he knew Kyurem could improve, it was hopeless. He could never catch up to Kyurem at this rate. The Boundary Pokemon would forever leave him in the dust. If Spike would grow, Kyurem would grow even faster.
"Don't you dare give up." Kyurem suddenly spoke to Spike, seeing how he was lowering his head. "You came all this way to prove yourself. Compared to how you were previously, your growth is nothing to scoff at. So what if I'm growing stronger? What's stopping you from trying to overcome that?"
"But you're so strong, Kyurem. My Mega Evolution didn't even last that long against you. Even after all my hard work, you're still so tough to get past even when I'm teaming up with someone else."
"And? The world is vast, boy. You have yet to fully comprehend the kind of Pokemon that exist out there. There are Pokemon with so many levels of strength that would crush you in an instant. You've already met some of them, haven't you? And you haven't given up when facing them, have you?"
"No. But I look up to you, Kyurem. You too, Lance. Drayden. Drake. Oh, and Iris too. When I learned about Dragon Masters, I wanted to be one myself so badly. So, if I'm falling behind when around you guys, it kinda stings."
"I understand what you mean," Lance replied. "You wouldn't want to look bad in front of your idols. I get that. But, don't let that drown out your skills. If you want to truly grow, look to those who are staggeringly strong and imagine yourself overcoming them."
"Imagine?"
"If you can imagine it, you can believe it to be possible. Even those who are at the top can be overthrown. It's all a matter of getting there." Drake encouraged.
"So stand up proud then." Drayden chimed in. "You've come this far and you've proven to us that you have the makings of a great trainer. Don't let a few missteps discourage you. You know you can't win but that didn't stop you from having a rematch just to prove yourself to Kyurem."
"Yes sir!" Spike got a confidence boost from his three idols. Technically four. Kyurem was one as well. "I can do this!"
"Good. But...I'll make sure this is the final assault you all get." This was where Kyurem would turn things up to the next level. His body would then flash with a crimson aura that unleashed a flare of flames. Everyone squinted as Kyurem was entering his other form that was reminiscent of Reshiram.
The flare of flames melted away parts of the ice within this castle. But eventually, Kyurem will just regrow it with his own ice. Out of this destructive orb of flames was White Kyurem. And judging by those words, he was aiming to end this battle as soon as possible.
"Then, we'll do the same!" Lance adjusted his cape as he was about to get as serious as Kyurem. So was everyone else. That would mean sending out their strongest Pokemon. Spike had a few that could classify as his strongest but one of these was down and out and the other was exhausted. There was one last contender for that role. "Dragonite!"
"Go, Druddigon!" Drayden would bring out his ace. Druddigon.
"Come out, Goodra!" And for Spike, Goodra was his choice. Drake's Mega Salamence was still active as this was his strongest Pokemon undoubtedly. It would all come down to this.
The pony from before returned, this time, something was being carried. It looked to be a box of pencils along with a book. The silhouette of these objects could be made out within the ice. Not only did the foal show up with some objects, but alongside this mysterious pony was a Pokemon. A Pokemon that greatly resembled a Vulpix.
"Here we go...Goodra! Use Surf!"
"Goo!" Goodra would go first, slamming the ground with a torrent of water. This water would then expand, turning into a tidal wave that was tall enough to reach Kyurem. Kyurem would causally use Dragon Claw to cut the tidal wave in half, but that was only a distraction.
"Dragon Claw!" At the same time, three Dragon Claws were spouted out from the mouths of Drake, Drayden and Lance. Their Pokemon instantly flew through the remains of the tidal wave, using it to mask themselves. Kyurem was then hit by all three claws after Goodra successfully distracted him. He staggered from the triple slash, only to regain his footing. Kyurem would retaliate with his own Dragon Claw, entering a close-quarters exchange with his fellow Dragon-Types. Sparks flew everywhere from their clash as the three of them started putting pressure on Kyurem. At least, they tried to.
Kyurem would then overpower Druddigon and Salamence, pushing them away before then engaging with Dragonite. Now it was Dragonite and Kyurem having an intense clash.
"Use Flash Cannon, Druddigon!"
"Dru!" Druddigon would bring some payback by using Flash Cannon while flying back. Kyurem's clash with Dragonite was interrupted by this super-effective impact, allowing Dragonite to get his licks in. When trying to slash back at Dragonite, the paralysis kicked in again, slowing him down.
"Now, use Twister!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite would then switch to Twister, flapping his wings to bring out a vicious draconic tornado. This tornado had enough power to even lift Kyurem off the ground while damaging him.
"Salamence! Stone Edge!"
"Sala!" Following up with that super-effective blow, Salamence would use Stone Edge which would work well with the twister. The stones were pulled in by the aggressive tornado, rapidly beating Kyurem's body.
"Now, Goodra! Dragon Pulse!"
"Goodra!" To make it worse, Goodra would use Dragon Pulse. And by adding that extra attack, Kyurem would be bombarded and punished from all sides before then being consumed by the eventual outburst. The Boundary Pokemon would fly out of the smoke as if nothing happened. It didn't even make him take a breather or recover. He casually flew out of the explosion, going for his own Hyper Beam.
"Hyper Beam, Dragonite!"
"Dragonite!" It would be a Hyper Beam clash. These two powerful attacks would collide, initiating a beam struggle. The two beams would move back and forth, trying to 1UP each other. The outcome was a tie. But Kyurem would use this to his advantage. Once the smoke rose, he would use another signature move. Ice Burn. He didn't even need to recharge after using Hyper Beam. Kyurem could swap to the next attack is if it was nothing.
White Kyurem's body glowed orange as he created a circular reddish-purple aura around himself. The Boundary Pokemon then released multiple reddish-purple beams of energy at Dragonite as they flew through the smoke.
"Intercept with Steel Wing!"
"Sala!" Salamence flew in, knocking Dragonite out of the way to save him. But this would backfire on Salamence as he failed to cut through all of them. There were far too many of these beams for his wings to fight back against. Thus, Salamence's body froze over once the beams relentlessly pummeled him. The Dragon Pokemon found himself being forced back to the ground after saving Dragonite. "Salamence..."
That was another Pokemon down as Salamence devolved from his Mega Evolved state. But Kyurem wasn't slowing down. He would then use Kyurem's Fusion Flare, releasing another ranged attack in a matter of seconds. This time, the main target was Dragonite. Thanks to Salamence, Dragonite had enough time to recharge after using Hyper Beam.
"I don't think so! Hyper Beam!"
"Goodra! Dragon Pulse!"
"Druddigon, Flash Cannon!"
Goodra!" The remaining Dragons would try and push back this attack with Hyper Beam, Dragon and Flash Cannon. Another struggle was initiated. Three attacks against one. All three beams were struggling to hold back the large flare. The court was starting to heat up as Iris could no longer feel the chill within Full Court. All of these attacks being constantly smashed against each other changed the atmosphere greatly. The ceiling of the castle was starting to come down with shards of ice dropping along with the ground cracking apart. This battle was truly enough to level everything here.
Dragonite, Druddigon and Goodra did everything they could to try and stop this. Unfortunately, Kyurem would make it worse. He would then use Ice Burn, adding it to his Fusion Flare. The second attack combined with Fusion Flare, making it stronger than ever. That was the final nail in the coffin. All three attacks were taken out as each of the opposing Dragons were consumed by the light.
Spike and the Dragon Trainers closed their eyes as the status of the Ice Castle was still intact even after this fierce battle. The heat vanished once the attacks went through, bringing the chill back to the atmosphere.
Afterwards, everything could finally calm down. Iris opened her eyes, gently placing Cetoddle, who wasn't bothered by this at all. She saw what become of her fellow Dragon Trainers.
For starters, Dragonite, Druddigon and Goodra had been frozen thanks to Ice Burn's effect. Not only that, but even the Dragon Trainers received ice all over them. The opposing Pokemon had fainted while Kyurem was still sitting pretty, slowly descending. The Boundary Pokemon would then return to his standard form, taking a deep breath.
"That's that. Victory is mine."
"Oh my gosh! Are you guys okay?!" Iris gasped.
"We are...but we can barely move..." Drayden groaned as Kyurem rendered them immobile. They couldn't even reach their Poke Balls.
"Hold on...!" Lance growled. "This battle isn't over yet! Not when I have more Pokemon to battle with!"
"I declare this battle over. I've seen all I needed to see. And besides...you don't plan on battling like that, do you?"
"Fine..." Lance sighed. "I concede. Kyurem. He truly is the strongest Dragon. And here I thought Leon was the only one I had to try and overcome. Clearly not
"C-C-C-C-Cold!" At least, Spike could finally feel the harsh chill affect his cold-blooded body. It only took this one moment for that to happen. "So cold!"
"Apologies." Kyurem would free them at once with Flamethrower. This entire time, he had other moves that he had yet to use. Clearly, he was holding back the true extent of his power. Then again, without his true form, the true extent of his power had yet to be revealed.
Once freed, all three Dragons fainted. Lance kneeled, taking some time to breathe. It was clear that he was outmatched, even for a champion. Iris' eyes trembled, knowing that even if she joined in, the result most likely wouldn't change. Kyurem was just too strong.
But not impossible to surpass. This battle was proof that Kyurem could be put on the back foot and overwhelmed. But, the day to defeat Kyurem was not today.
"Yeah. You're too strong, Kyurem." Spike laughed. "But that's why I've gotta be better than you one day."
"That was a fine battle." Drake nodded in agreement. "Coming here was worth it all, I must say.
"Indeed," Drayden added. "We all have ways to go."
Suddenly, applause came through. The mysterious foal and the Vulpix applauded this battle. Who wouldn't? Everyone would soon hear the echoes of this applause before then facing the icy mist.
"Ah. So you were listening to this battle too, weren't you?" Kyurem spoke to the pony up there. "Did you draw all the best moments then?"
"Who's that?" Iris asked, wondering if Kyurem knew who that pony was. "Also...what's up with that tiny room? Are you using it or is it for Cetoddle here?"
"That room you saw is for her." Kyurem would then manipulate the mist, making it vanish. This would reveal the mysterious filly and the Vulpix next to her. It was an Alolan Vulpix upon seeing it and as for the pony herself, she blended in perfectly with the ice and snow "Snowdrop."
After a fierce battle between Dragons, everything settled down. And right after that, Spike and the others were introduced to a pony who was hidden behind the mist. She went by the name of Snowdrop. And much like the Cryogonal, Kyurem knew her. The room inside this castle was starting to add up as Kyurem certainly couldn't fit in it.
"Who's this, Kyurem?" The baby Dragon questioned once Snowdrop and Vulpix approached. Cetoddle would quickly drop off Iris' grasp to meet with Vulpix. This only confirmed that Vulpix was also a part of this castle and familiar with Kyurem.
Snowdrop brought along a book that contained drawings. specifically, drawings of this battle, made out of crayons. A perfect rendition of Kyurem, Lance and everyone else that participated. She even got most of the colours right. The background wasn't hard to do since it was all ice.
"Good work." Kyurem complimented Snowdrop's work, making her grin with glee. "This drawing perfectly captures what happened. Minus some of the colours."
"Hm. That is a pretty neat drawing." Iris leaned in. "Great work."
"Thank you. Whoever you are." Snowdrop said, appreciating Iris' compliment. "My name's Iris. Nice to meet you."
"This here is Snowdrop. A pony that is currently living with me in my castle. Alongside a few other Pokemon who've decided to make this place their home." Kyurem explained.
"Somepony's living here with you?" Spike gasped before pouting, realizing that he wasn't living with Kyurem. "Lucky..."
"Living with Kyurem? That is lucky." Drake nodded in agreement. "Wonder how that happened..."
"Yeah. How'd this happen?" Iris asked.
"I don't think I got everything though. Did I?" Snowdrop scratched her mane, asking Kyurem if her drawing truly captured everything. Unfortunately, a few things were missing. Iris and Cetoddle were missing but mostly everyone else was there.
"Not everything. You missed out on Cetoddle. And the other girl here." Kyurem shook his head. "But do not worry. It's only one misstep."
"You can try and draw me again if you want." Iris leaned in. "I mean if there's enough space for it."
"Really? Oh, many thanks. But, could you please tell me what you look like?"
"What I look like?" Iris repeated, tilting her head.
"Snowdrop here is blind. Everything that just happened is impossible for her to fully see. So as a substitute, the drawings are what can suffice." Kyurem revealed that Snowdrop, despite seeming like she got the full wonder of the battle, couldn't see it at all for what it was.
"I see. But how do the drawings help then?" Drayden questioned.
"The drawings suffice by letting her imagine the scenes themselves. But there is another step to elevate the experience even if she can't see right after she draws the scene with her skills. And that is how she can enjoy herself."
"Uncle Kyurem is right. I love Pokemon Battles but I wish I could see them all for what they truly are. So, these drawings are the only way to know about how amazing they are. But it gets better when that special ingredient gets added to my drawings."
"I cut our battle short because this can only happen during nightfall. Snowdrop's drawing needs to be taken back to her time."
"Her time?" They all said in unison. Kyurem didn't say 'Her World'. He specifically mentioned Time instead.
"Wait...did you travel through time?!" Iris pulled back as even the serious Dragon Specialists who were also straight-faced had to widen their eyes and mouths for this. Although, it's impossible for anyone to see Drayden's mouth.
"That's right! I'm a time traveller!" Snowdrop put on a cheeky grin. "But not on purpose. Definitely against my will. Right, Vulpix?"
"Vulpix!"
"Did Dialga do this? Or was it Celebi's doing?" Lance alternated between the two different Time-Based Pokemon.
"Neither. Snowdrop appeared here three days after the Rift began its shenanigans." Kyurem would walk over, picking up the little pegasus and placing her on his back. "In reality, despite being caught up to the events of this world, she actually comes from centuries in the past."
"Centuries? How far back are we talking?" Spike asked.
"I don't know. All I remember was...I was pretty old. Very old, I could barely feel my back. And then next thing I know, I'm young again but I ended up far from home." Snowdrop replied.
"So not only did you travel through time, but you de-aged," Drake added. "You must know a lot then. And...it's not hard to see how it happened if the Rift was involved."
"I knew from the start this had something to do with the Rift. When I found her, she had Rift particles around her. But, the gateway to her world vanished the moment I came across her." Kyurem could recall it all. He was caught up to the world despite being so secluded in his Ice Castle. Even Legendary Pokemon, who are usually hidden from the world, can know about the current state of the world. Both worlds to be exact.
3 Years Ago. Near Kyurem's Castle and Roshan City. Nightfall.
On that day, just three days after the Rift began the crossover of two worlds, Kyurem was already aware of it all. Upon exiting his castle, the Boundary Pokemon would not only feel a disturbance but the energy of the Rift could be seen up in the sky, floating there always.
Kyurem grumbled, feeling uneasy about it. And yet, he did not approach it. Even if he did, the Rift would then vanish moments later, leaving nothing behind. Kyurem would go about his day, walking past all the smaller Pokemon who would either gather around Kyurem or keep their distance. Kyurem could be seen as a friend or foe, depending on the Pokemon. Most Pokemon, mainly Ice-Types, chose to stay around Kyurem just for safety from their predators. Kyurem could care less if they stuck around him. He was too powerful to care and too gruff to acknowledge them.
"I wasn't a stranger to cosmic threats. In the far past, I've encountered a few of them by myself. But the Rift was different from the rest of them. I could feel it. One of those ways was how chaotic it felt. Especially with how it opened a portal through time."
While minding his business, moving across the snowy land, leaving behind massive footsteps, Kyurem was alerted. A booming sound roared through the tundra, scaring off nearby Pokemon. But not Kyurem. His eyes locked onto the sound of the boom, immediately spotting a gateway in the distance. He could recognize the appearance of the gateway since it was strikingly similar to the Rift. Believing that this was the entity in the sky, Kyurem would rush over to try and confront it. Possibly with intimidation tactics or even talking to the entity. Or both.
He rushed through the snow, jumping over hills and mountains to gauge better distances. And upon reaching the location of the gateway, that's when he saw her. Lying in the snow was none other than Snowdrop. Rift Particles surrounded her unconscious body, flowing through the snow and interacting with them in bizarre ways. The snow would dance around in response to these particles as if they were now sentient.
Kyurem would approach the body of Snowdrop, gazing at the young pegasus for a while. He would notice how the particles would leave Snowdrop's body, removing what seemed to be wrinkles around her face. Not only that but there was previously a cane here. That cane would also vanish. He then noticed that the gateway would disappear next. shrinking before his eyes. This little pegasus was a reminder of what previously showed up here. Kyurem assumed that she would vanish yet. But the longer he watched, noticed that she didn't vanish.
Kyurem already had something in mind. He could tell this was a child just by how she resembled that of a Ponyta. And even back then, the Boundary Pokemon was lenient. Snowdrop couldn't possibly lie here forever. By this time, Kyurem had no idea what Snowdrop was supposed to be. He just assumed she was another Pokemon. Whatever the case, he would pick the little pegasus up before walking off with her.
Moments after crossing the snowy tundra, Kyurem would return to his castle with an unconscious guest. He was kind enough to bring her to safety instead of letting her perish in the unforgiving cold. But, his castle wasn't any better since he was the Embodiment of Ice. However, Kyurem had that covered.
He would slash away at a chunk of ice, softening it up a bit for her to rest on. But some additions had to be made. For starters, she would still be cold, so some heat was needed. Thankfully, Kyurem could produce that. But at the same time, he could melt the ice away with his powerful heat.
And yet, Kyurem wasn't bothered by this. Once more, he could easily solve this as he was the master of Fire and Ice. He would add a special chilling aura around the chunk of ice before then breathing fire next to it. This unison would allow the chunk of ice to remain while the fire would peacefully burn. Best of both worlds.
Snowdrop was kept warm because of this. She would heal up nicely as Kyurem would stand by, waiting for her to wake up. Because after this, she was out of here.
"Mrrgh..." Once the flames healed her, Snowdrop found herself waking up at last. She rubbed her hoof, grumbling as she nearly fell off the ice chunk. When opening her eyes, despite being blind, Snowdrop's still had something to make out even with this blindness. Colours and shapes were still possible for her. And right now, everything was dark blue, light blue with a hint of yellow. The yellow part specifically came from Kyurem's eyes. The blurry and faint figure of Kyurem appeared but it was impossible to make it out. Normally, anyone would've freaked out and started screaming but not Snowdrop. "Oh...Hello. Oooh, it's chilly in here."
"Awake finally? Good. You may leave now." Kyurem instantly wanted her out.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Snowdrop questioned before rolling off the ice chunk. Afterwards, she held her head, feeling dazed and befuddled. "What happened?"
"You're in my castle. As for what happened, I found you outside in the tundra. You emerged out of that strange anomaly in space when I found you. You even had some of it around you."
"Strange anomaly? What?" She said with confusion before shaking her head. "I don't get it. You mean the flash? Wait. Was it because of the flash?"
"Clearly, your mind is also recovering, young one. Take some time to recover and then leave to wherever you originally came from."
"Young? I'll have you know I'm-" Just then, Snowdrop scrunched her face before then realizing something was wrong. Very wrong. The very first sign of this was her voice. It was incredibly light. This voice would belong to a child, no doubt. She would then flail her hooves around as they moved with swift speeds. She would even flap her wings a few times before taking flight. "Hang on...I can't do any of this at my age. Unless...I'm not at my age anymore?!"
"What?"
"I'm young again! Where's my cane?!" Snowdrop gasped before realizing she wasn't holding the cane that came with her. "No cane...Which means...I can fly around freely again! No more walking with back pains! Woohoo!" She was clearly elevated by this. It was a wonderful feeling to be young again. But she wasn't questioning it. She was loving it. "MY hooves don't strain anymore too! Oh, wait till everypony hears about this! They'll probably freak out! Maybe..."
"Tell them then. You can start by exiting my castle."
"Right, right. What's your name, by the way? Thank you for saving me!"
"The name I've been given and associated with the most is Kyurem."
"Kyurem. What an interesting name. Well, farewell. Many thanks!" Snowdrop would fly off, departing from Kyurem's Castle. Kyurem growled a bit as the high-octane energy from Snowdrop threw him off a bit. She didn't expect her to be so ecstatic in the face of such a large creature.
"After that, I believed we'd never encounter each other again. However, there was one problem. Snowdrop wasn't aware that she was in a world vastly different from hers. Because of that, she was lost. And being lost only draws Wild Pokemon in, making you an easy target. She was lost in the chilling lands yet again with no clue where she was. How could she now with her struggling vision? And without a Pokemon...that was just a recipe for disaster. It wasn't until a day later that I saw her again."
Being in a completely different world meant that the dangers of Pokemon would be harsh on the little pegasus. Fearful of what was out there and listening to all the bizarre sounds, she rushed back to the one place she at least remembered. Kyurem's Castle. She would fly through the skies, endangering herself since the ice and snow would threaten her wings the same way they threaten Flying-Types.
At the same time, she was being pursued by a group of Golbat who were eyeing her down. For a day she's been fleeing from Pokemon, using only her hearing instincts to protect her from whatever creatures were nearby.
"Golbat!" The Golbat would then use Air Slash, unleashing violent blades of air that would smash against the ground while going for Snowdrop. She managed to evade them but her wings were starting to freeze. If she would be kept out here longer, eventually, the pegasus would fall. Luckily, she managed to reach Kyurem's Castle in time, banging on it as hard as possible.
"Hello! Mr Kyurem! Are you there?! Help!" She yelled as loud as she could, calling for help. The Golbat were getting closer as their Air Slashes started hitting Kyurem's Castle, slicing off some of the ice. Snowdrop had to take cover, hiding underneath a pile of snow. But that wouldn't do much as the force of the Air Slashes would casually blow the pile away. There was even a close call. One of the blades sliced Snowdrop's tail, dropping two strands. Terrified, Snowdrop would back away as fast as she could before bumping into the walls of the castle. Right now, she was cornered as the Golbat would swoop in for a close encounter. This time, they would use Poison Fang to get a bite out of her.
But that wouldn't happen. Appearing as a shield by rapidly and vigorously running to Snowdrop's side, Kyurem showed up. Her vision immediately remembered Kyurem from his massive and unique appearance as a smile graced her face. He truly did come to help. Upon showing up, he used his signature move, Glaciate.
Multiple colossal ice shards that were about as big as Kyurem's head had appeared around him before viciously striking the Golbat. One by one, the Golbat would be taken out by the shards with immaculate aim. Just like that, harm to Snowdrop had been prevented as each of the dropped like flies.
"Hah...Thank you." Relieved, Snowdrop slumped on the wall, taking a deep sigh.
"You just had to run into trouble, didn't you?" Kyurem groaned. He was hoping not to see her again at all. But alas, a second encounter had arrived. And once more, it involved a dangerous position for Snowdrop.
"Sorry...but I don't know where I'm going." Snowdrop shook her head. "What were those things? And where is here?"
"Lost, are you?" Kyurem narrowed his eyes before thinking about the gateway. Kyurem clearly knew that it was a portal of some sort and Snowdrop was displaced in a location that felt alien to her. But Kyurem had yet to know how alien it truly felt. "What region are you from?"
"Region?"
"You're clearly not from here. Speak the region you come from and I will at least guide you." Kyurem would chime in one last time to help Snowdrop out of the goodness of his heart.
"Sorry, but...I don't know. I come from Equestria. Is that a region? I think it's just a nation."
"Equestria?" That name was unfamiliar to Kyurem. There was no region in this world called Equestria. This only confirmed his suspicions. That gateway didn't pull her away from a region. It pulled her from another world. "So...You are truly lost, aren't you? No clue where to go since this world is alien to you."
"Right. And it's even harder to see what's what. I'm...actually blind." Snowdrop revealed her blindness to Kyurem. Thanks to this, it was much harder for somepony who was not from the Pokemon World, especially since this was the earlier days of the two worlds crossing over.
Kyurem grumbled. This raised vast problems. Snowdrop was not only from another world but she was blind, only adding to the problem. It was soon elevated when he saw that Snowdrop had nothing else on her. There wasn't a bag or any Poke Balls that could be seen. Basically, she was defenceless out there.
"Hmph. Come inside." Kyurem would let her inside one more time. He couldn't send her back to her own world since he had no means of doing so. Plus, he couldn't let someone who was blind just go out on their own. Not when the harsh cold harboured fearsome Pokemon of all kinds that could either bypass the Ice without being Ice-Types or freeze the little pegasus in an instant if she wasn't careful.
Snowdrop was let back into the castle, feeling safe there. With a Pokemon as large as Kyurem, how could she ever feel threatened? Perhaps the cold could threaten her since it was constantly chilly here. She didn't have a blanket or anything, but she did have Kyurem's special flames that immediately staved off her shivering.
"Thanks again." Snowdrop sighed while sitting next to the flames. "I'm not sure what you are...but you make some wonderful fires."
"So. You mentioned a flash before, did you not? What did you mean by that?" Kyurem questioned her about the flash. "The same thing happened in this world but the only thing I witnessed was a strange anomaly in the sky. Did your eyes view the same thing?"
"Well...the last thing I remember was looking up to see something blue and purple suddenly showing up. I wasn't sure what it was but the colours were easy to make out. Does that help?"
"Very much. That matches the colours of the particles that were around you and the anomaly. Clearly, you've been sent here with a portal, snatching you from your own world. It's cosmic interference."
"So I'm actually not even in my own world?!" Snowdrop gasped as this went beyond just ending up in another land far from Equestria. "Then what is this place?!"
"As the humans of the world say, this is the Pokemon World."
"Po...kay-mon?" She attempted pronouncing the name of these Strange and Wonderful Creatures. Kyurem shook his head as now she had no clue what a Pokemon was. If she was to go back out there, the next Pokemon that's nearby will be hard to read and anticipate. "Apologies. But I wish I knew about everything you were talking about."
"It is not your fault. It's that anomaly's fault." Kyurem looked outside, gazing at the skies. "You won't last a second out there, nor do I have a way to take you back home."
"Figured as much." Snowdrop grumbled, taking flight. "I'll...try and get out of your hair then. If you have hair."
"No. You will stay here." Kyurem immediately prevented her from leaving. "It's far too dangerous for you to get out there, especially if you are far from home. Drastically far."
"Really?! You mean it?!"
"I need to investigate this. I sense a grave threat is upon us all. I will investigate. And you will stay put until I can sort something out."
"I understand! I'll be on my best behaviour!"
I tried finding a way to bring her back home. But by then, there were no other gateways that were visible to my eyes the further I flew. It's when I realized that the Rift at the time was actively trying to prevent me from finding a way to take her home. It was almost as if this was part of the Rift's plan. Even when I would find one, the gateways would vanish in the blink of an eye. But everyone else who would use them were exempt from this restriction.
Indeed. The gateways reacted instantly once Kyurem approached. They would either shrink and vanish or be invisible to Kyurem's eye, preventing the Boundary Pokemon from finding them. Why was this the case? And why would it only restrict Kyurem? By this point in time, Kyurem wasn't that sure at all.
The next thing I know, the nearby city became invisible to me as well. It did not vanish but it was part of the Rift's plan. But it seemed that sending her forward in time wasn't the only plan. Turning Snowdrop into a child again meant that her mind regressed. She did not forget about the flash or even the fact that she was in another world. But her memories of her future life were gone as she wouldn't behave like an adult. Instead, Snowdrop would act like an actual filly, losing years of maturity just like that.
By then, Kyurem had gotten used to Snowdrop's presence. His investigation, ironically, became cold. He had no way to keep the gateways around at all. At least, not yet. And her presence here certainly changed a few things. Kyurem would often wake up in the morning to see Snowdrop preparing decorations made out of ice. These decorations would be added to the few rooms within the castle, minus Full Court. Kyurem did not mind them at all. He could even see the appeal of these decorations.
Over time, Snowdrop grew curious about the Pokemon. Especially a Pokemon Battle. This was thanks to Kyurem grabbing objects that were necessary for Snowdrop to live. Mainly food and water. But he would even find himself some books to grant her knowledge. These books were salvaged from old places that mainly threw them out. He had to make do with what he had and it proved to be effective.
Kyurem would bring her more things as this was the most he had to ever leave his castle. And it was all for one girl. Kyurem had to wonder why this was happening. Especially with this one pony. But he didn't question it too much. Whenever he would return home with new objects, Snowdrop would greet Kyurem by hugging his leg. Kyurem, much like many solitude Pokemon, wasn't one for hugs. But he allowed it.
And as time went by, the more hugs he received, the more he warmed up to Snowdrop. He would even stay behind to see what wonders she could get up to. One day, he even discovered her special skill to draw upbeat art despite being unable to see that well. Kyurem couldn't help but pity her.
And because of this, Kyurem would grow closer to Snowdrop, being the one to read all the Pokemon Books to the little pegasus, becoming her teacher. Since he was an extremely old Pokemon, Kyurem had heaps of Pokemon knowledge that date back to the earlier years of the Pokemon World, making him the perfect teacher.
And a father figure.
Snowdrop was so accustomed to this place that she never thought about leaving it ever. Unless it was during the night. When the moon would rise, Snowdrop would gaze out into the night sky, admiring the beauty of the moon and the stars that accompany it.
At times, Kyurem would join her in stargazing. He wasn't one for sightseeing, but since he grew so close to her, he could see the beauty in this small activity. Kyurem never felt this sensation before. Watching the stars with someone else felt wonderful, especially when Snowdrop would slump on his leg. The Cryogonal would join in watching the stars as well as nearby Pokemon who were friendly.
And since then, we became close and I had someone I cared about truly. I wasn't sure how to feel about it at first...but I must admit...if this is what it feels like to be partners with another Pokemon for your Trainers, I can see the appeal.
Current day.
"So that's how it happened." said Snowdrop."Uncle Kyurem's the best, isn't he?"
"I get it now. But you're also being blocked off from reaching Equestria at all." Spike grumbled. "That ain't right."
"I wish I could go back. Maybe I can see Princess Luna again." Snowdrop sighed as despite the comfort she received here, she was truly limited to one world and that was it.
"Cheer up. We can help you with that." Iris kneeled to face her. "We'll find a way to bring you to Equestria one day. Count on it."
"Really? That makes me so happy, Miss Iris." Snowdrop could find solace in that possibility and promise.
"Before that, we must cast the spell on the book. There is a Delphox who can elevate the experience for Snowdrop." Kyurem spoke. "She comes from the other world by using a gateway that we are still unable to access. After that, we shall return here."
"You mean the one from Frenzy Fores?!" Spike gasped, knowing about that Delphox. "If that's the case...I've got an idea that could work. Kyurem, sir. Would you mind if you waited for a bit before you reached Delphox?"
"Hm? Why is that?"
"Just something I gotta test out. And I know the right friends who can chime in." Spike would hold out the Xtransceiver, knowing who to call. Lots to call and lots to help. In what way exactly? And how would it correlate with Delphox? That was a theory Spike wanted to test out.
Hulbury. A bustling seaport that many visit to see its lively market stalls and famed restaurant. Here, Ash, Fluttershy, Twilight, Cobalion, Celestia and Luna would start their little Galar adventure during this day of the Pokemon Festival. And the restaurant was the first stop as they could feast on the cuisines here. Mainly Ash and Pikachu, who were gluttons as always.
Celestia was stuck sitting by herself as Cobalion chose to stay outside. Even to this day, he chose to be invisible to many humans but not ponies. Mainly because ponies were still fresh and new to him. Ash was one of the few humans he could stick around but it was certainly awkward to see him just standing outside the window.
"You know...I could just cast an invisibility spell on you." Celestia chuckled. "That might be a better option than this, don't you think?"
"That would be nice, actually. I'm lucky to have only the children stare at me." Cobalion had his eyes closed as the only humans that noticed him were the children. When it comes to Legendary or even Mythical Pokemon, children react to these Pokemon differently than how someone older would. That was beneficial to these rare Pokemon as most wouldn't have to worry about their cover being blown if they weren't that known within certain areas. Cobalion had a lucky break here as many of the children just saw him as another standard Pokemon.
"On the bright side, you're not all that bothered by being out in public anymore. At least, when it's within your own world." Celestia said. "But, I hope you're not shy about eating in public."
"I'm not in the mood to eat. But... save some for me, if you will. Probably when the night comes."
"Oh! Great idea! It's more romantic during nightfall, isn't it?" Celestia greatly agreed for this, thinking about the romantic aura that it could bring out. But before the moon could rise, Cobalion would be hit by an invisibility spell, masking him from many eyes.
"Ah...Good stuff." Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu already blitzed through the meals in front of them, patting their stuffed stomachs. They ate like kings judging by how they were slumped on the seats.
"Pika..."
"Please don't tell me you're itching for seconds...." Twilight lowered her eyes.
"Seconds doesn't sound that bad actually." Ash was already on it, leaning forward. Even if he was satisfied, an extra helping was tempting. What was stopping him from doing it again?
"Please. Not again." Sombra shook his head while within Ash. "The way you eat is...mortifying."
"I'm eating like a king. Just like you said, Sombra. "A pretty free king if you ask me. Make it two since Pikachu's here."
"A king doesn't eat like a maniac!" Sombra exclaimed. "The fact that I'm attached to you makes it worse. You always eat like this."
"Oh come on. He ate like a king in his own way." Twilight, despite being intimidated by Ash's rabid eating habits, defended those habits from Sombra's criticism.
"I wouldn't expect to hear that from a princess of a pathetic title." Immediately, Sombra retaliated with an insult.
"Pathetic title?!" The Princess of Friendship growled, leaning forward while slamming her hooves on the table. "Rude! Friendship isn't something to dismiss! Especially since it beat you, didn't it?" She then had a devious grin on her face, knowing exactly what defeated King Sombra.
"Kh! That was a fluke! Had it not been for this boy's interferences and that Darkrai getting involved, I would have claimed victory!" Sombra tried to deflect it as she and Twilight created fierce tension in the air.
"Funny..." Twilight smirked, narrowing her eyes. "According to Cold Colt, you still would've lost in the original timeline. Isn't that a shame?"
"Now, now." Fluttershy attempted to calm them both down. "We can all eat in whatever way we prefer. I see so many Pokemon eat differently after all. Even if is royalty."
"You said it, Fluttershy." Ash nodded in approval. "If you want, Sombra. You can have a bite too for when seconds come along. Team Rocket should be in there helping out with the cooking, right?"
"Mhm. They're not just great builders but great cooks too. Whenever I'm struggling to get some of the Pokemon something to eat, Team Rocket swoop in to sort it out. Maybe they're better at other things rather than stealing Pokemon."
"Come to think of it, you've been pretty fine with Team Rocket hanging around the Pokemon House, Ash. The same goes for you, Fluttershy." Twilight pondered. "What gives? What's up with that?"
"I guess...a lot has changed over the years, ya know." Ash leaned back. "Back then, Team Rocket would always try something new to steal Pikachu and other Pokemon that interest them. And we'd always stop them and so on and so forth. It kept going and the ideas kept piling up. Plus, it's always a good training exercise for Pikachu and all my Pokemon. But ever since our worlds crossed over and when that invasion happened, it's given me some time to think. Team Rocket aren't all that bad."
"They aren't?" Twilight repeated.
"Well, it's just those guys that I know aren't bad. They've helped out before in the past, ya know. When we were dealing with the Volcanion and Magearna problem, the Legendary Birds, Team Plasma and a few other things. They even saved me twice. Plus, they've got Pokemon of their own that love them a lot. And when you bring that all together...no matter when they try and steal Pikachu next or whatever they do, they'll be alright in my book."
"Pikachu." Pikachu greatly agreed with that. And also the fact that defeating them multiple times was good training exercise through and through.
"The same goes for Sombra here. I didn't get the gist of everything he did but he's got something good going on." Ash chuckled.
"It's best you don't know actually...." Twilight nervously laughed, glad that Ash knew very little of King Sombra. But he certainly knew the good parts and sad parts of Sombra. Right then and there, Twilight received a call from none other than Spike, who she hadn't spoken to for a while. Spike was exempt from everything insane that happened with Twilight and her friends but he had his fair share of excitement. As for why he was calling, it wasn't to check up on Twilight. This was something different from what Twilight would be used to by now.
While Twilight would answer Spike's call, Celestia, while enjoying her food, was greeted by one of the birds from the Ethereal Pavilion. The Note Birds. But this one had a golden colouring to it compared to the rest. Flying from all the way from Pegalysium, this magical paper bird had something to give out. It wasn't just a note.
"Oh? What's this?" Celestia cleaned her mouth before seeing the Note Bird open up. It didn't just bring a note but it also brought along a picture. A picture of the Pegalysium Royal Family. The picture showed Shooting Star having a breakthrough with his magic just recently after they left Pegalysium no less. "Ah! Shooting Star had a breakthrough!" Celestia gasped.
"Gardevoir?" Passion leaned in as Shooting Star was seen being carried by his own magic. Not by his own will judging by the shocked expression on his face and the amusement of Luminary in the background.
"Dear Princess Celestia. Great news. After listening and witnessing everything you and your friends had done, Shooting Star was inspired. More so than he had ever been. Just hours ago, right as the Sun rose, he had a breakthrough in magic that came from what we can assume was either willpower or imagination. It's unknown yet. But what is known is that he summoned a white wisp that was sentient, similar to the Solace Tiara that Windkiss created. This is the first time he has ever made something with his magic much like the previous Destiny Pegasi. It's the start of something wonderful and this wisp is a bit mischievous, messing around with him. But it means well."
"Ah! Shooting Star found his breakthrough magic!" Celestia gasped. "How wonderful!" She then kept reading, seeing what other contents there were. The note bird would turn itself around, revealing more words on the back.
"It's in its infancy, but it shows great promise, especially because it seems to respond to Shooting Star's emotions as seen by the image that you're presented with. Though...we shudder to imagine what an angry variant would appear like. We hope that you will support him since he looks up to you and every one of your friends for what they stand through and represent. Love, the Royal Family. Mainly Luminary since I'm the one writing the crux of this. P.S. We named the Wisp Light. Is that too generic? Thoughts, please."
"That's wonderful to hear." Celestia nodded her head in approval before having her eyes open. This could only mean one thing. "Wait! This means...he could complete the staircase! The Golden Stairway could be finished!"
"Garde?"
"That giant golden stairway?" Cobalion said while appearing invisible. Right now, he was secretly standing next to Princess Celestia.
"That's the one. We couldn't add every single required source of power into it because Shooting Star couldn't access his Destiny Magic anymore. But this looks like it could change it all. With his magic, we can continue building the stairway. And it'll be one step closer to Jirachi. Literally."
"Closer to Jirachi?!" Ash overheard the conversation along with Twilight and the others. "Great going, Shooting Star!"
"Well, looks like we have something else that's also important, Spike. But I get what you're saying. You need Ash and me to be there. It's where Delphox usually appears." Twilight spoke to Spike.
"That's right. Kyurem said that this special spell only works at night so it needs to be when the moon's up. Ash and Princess Celestia could sort out that one gateway. It's for Snowdrop after all."
"Got it. I think we'll sort out the Snowdrop one first. The moon's almost showing up anyway. How's that sound?" Ash recommended.
"Snowdrop?" That name sounded familiar to Princess Celestia. Snowdrop. Where had she learned that name before? It reminded her of a few things. One of them was Luna.
"Great. See you there." Spike hung up, expecting them to arrive at Frenzy Forest to meet with Delphox. This would be before they can request Shooting Star's assistance. But that would be handled by Princess Celestia, who knew she had to share both news with Luna. Both would be equally important to the Princess of the Night and only Celestia knew why. But there was something that was bothering Celestia.
"But it's been thousands of years. How can this be?"
Equestria. Ponyvile. Late Afternoon.
"Phione..." Speaking of the Golden Stairway to the Cosmos, Phione, the one who was an envoy of Arceus and shared the knowledge of building this stairway wasn't exempt from knowing about this. After all, she was blessed by the Light of Arceus, thus, any connection to the stairway was immediately shared with her.
This was shown by the flash of light within her eyes as she entered a sort of static state. She appeared frozen before then receiving images in her mind. Images of Shooting Star to be exact.
She saw how Shooting Star had his eyes full of wonder. That moment was when the wisp first appeared, appearing as tiny as wisps usually do. That wisp came from his own magic and judging by his reaction, it wasn't something he was used to doing. At all. Most of the sentient forces in Pegalysium were the result of Windkiss and now, the most recent one had pulled off the same trick. Perhaps not in the same way. Not only could Phione witness the events but he could also hear them as well.
"Hey, little guy!" Shooting Star held the wisp in his hooves out of amazement. The wisp would react to the first emotion Shooting Star would feel, happily dancing around the young prince. This moment resembled when Windkiss first created the Solace Tiara. But the means of this creation had yet to be known. Willpower or Imagination? Either way, this was crucial as Phione knew what needed to be done.
"Hm? Oh, Phione!" Sweetie Belle would soon notice Phione walking off without saying a word. "Where are you going?!"
The 7th Element was ready to be added to the stairway. The Water-Type would then turn to Sweetie Belle, uttering words that she, unfortunately, couldn't understand unless she had a translator. But even without a translator, the glow within Phione's eyes were enough to let her know.
"Oh. This is about the stairway, isn't it?"
"Phi." Phione nodded. Sweetie Belle caught on just like that. Arceus' light was too recognizable by this point thanks to the previous encounters. Phione then saw another vision. One of the future. The 7 Elements coming together as the previously used one needed to be added once more.
The Azure Radiance of Aura. The Shining Light of Celestia. The Emotional Flow of Luna, Lunar Ire and Nightmare Moon. The Warm and Embracing Magic of Love. The Mystic and Secretive Shamanistic Magic. The Cosmic Power of Rift Magic. And now The Tenacious Magic of Destiny.
Just hours ago, Shooting Star had a breakthrough with his magic. And that breakthrough led to the birth of this wisp. The wisp first appeared large before then growing to carry Shooting Star as if he was on a magical carpet. The parents couldn't decide if this was the cause of his willpower or imagination. It could be either.
"So. Which is it?" Paramount needed to know as he asked his Royal Advisor Tip-off.
"Well, if it was imagination, he would've done it long ago. But if it was willpower, then right after he was saved and inspired by Windkiss, it would've also shown up sooner."
"So it's neither?" Luminary added. Judging by Tip-off's words, this wasn't the cause of Willpower of Imagination. It could be something different.
"I mean, it could be those two but it probably took him some time to manifest it. Each Destiny Pegasus had either one with each generation. If I had to take a guess, it might be willpower since he's inspired by his friends."
"Hm-hm. Good point." Luminary would then have the Unown bring her pictures of all the previous Destiny Pegasi creations. Each were made under certain circumstances. Good or bad. Sentient Items made by Willpower usually involved the flow of emotion while Imagination was the wonder of the mind.
"Doesn't matter. This little guy's adorable." Shooting Star said, trying to hold the wisp about. But interacting physically with this wisp also brought some mischief. Shooting Star's hooves phased through the wisp that was fittingly given the name 'Light'. The pegasus would then fall through the wisp, landing flat on his face as Light would mimic the sound of laughter by flickering and sparking.
"Well...I think I will go with both." Paramount brought on a soft smile. "What's stopping my son from having both the will to make this happen and the mind to think of it? He's different from the previous Destiny Pegasi. Even if he's on the slower side compared to them."
"But compared to the others, that means we have more time to see him grow with it. A wisp is a good starting point for his first creation. Just look at how playful it is."
"Oof!" Playful in the way that it could also get a bit rough, immediately tackling Shooting Star's chest once he got up. "Okay... Maybe let's dial it back a bit, okay?" Knowing that the wisp responded to his emotions, Shooting Star would make it calm down, lest he wished to be hit by surprisingly heavy blows from something so light.
"That Note Bird to Princess Celestia should reach her well. It was you that recommended we write letters to each other." Paramount turned to face Luminary.
"Actually, I got it from Kaleidoscope, who got it from Twilight. She would do it a lot by the end of something important. I figured I'd do the same for a change. And I'd love to get a letter back from her. Our letters to the other royals never come back after all. And I doubt Second Wind will write back to us."
"Speaking of which...how goes things with her, Tip-off? Unown? What have you all found out?" Paramount questioned.
"She's been silent. Surprisingly. Despite everything she did, Second Wind has yet to try and do something about our standard Pegalysium. All she's been doing is messing with metal. Should we be worried?"
"Very. No interaction means that something's coming. Something big." Luminary shook her head while shuddering. "No matter how long it takes we have to be ready. But I hope we aren't unprepared at all."
Equestria. Frenzy Forest. Nightfall.
Frenzy Forest. A perfect sister location to the Pokemon House where many Pokemon built their homes here. From Delphox's Hut to Queen Vespiquen's massive hive.
Speaking of Delphox, it was almost time. Time for her to bring a smile to yet another face. This time it wouldn't be a Pokemon. Instead, it was a pony who was worlds apart. Specifically, Snowdrop. Making a promise to the little pegasus and even the Legendary Pokemon Kyurem, Dephox would prepare something that, according to Kyurem, could only be done at night.
It would require her wand to make this work, of course. And a clear view of Snowdrop's drawings. She departed from her hut once the moon finally showed itself. As for where she would meet with Snowdrop, the closest gateway ended up being just near the outskirts of the forest and west of Deerling Forest. Frenzy Forest, Canterlot, Deerling Forest and the Pikachu Highlands all had the most gateways out of any distant locations due to how close most of them were.
This night was a special night for one reason. Snowdrop couldn't return to her world at all thanks to what the Rift had done. Not only was she exempt from reaching Equestria but she had been flung forward in time while having her age and even parts of her mind regressed. And yet, none of them was enough to prevent the wonderful moment that would come next. That would all change with the arrival of Ash, Twilight, Fluttershy and Luna.
"Made it!" Ash came to a screeching halt. In his hand, he still had his Xtransceiver out, using it to communicate with Spike. "Thanks for waiting, Delphox. You got everything from Spike, right?"
"Delphox." Delphox truly did. Thanks to how Kyurem and her cooperate, this was a breeze. After all, Delphox could pass through the gateways and meet with them despite being unable to bring both of them through. If anything, there was only one gateway that Kyurem knew the location of thanks to these frequent nightly visits.
Luna stood away from Ash and the others instead of getting close. Darkrai would notice how distant she was, wondering why this was the case. Since a gateway was involved, Aura was needed. Ash would hold out his other hand, summoning Sir Aaron's staff for safe measures. Twilight's magic would be added into the mix thanks to her knowledge of Rift Magic and even possessing Rift Magic as well. And for even safer measures, there would be one extra member who would guarantee a speedy process. Victini. Who else could give out such boundless energy?
"So. We gotta make this gateway work for Kyurem and...Snowdrop, right?" said Ash.
"Right. This is the only gateway location Kyurem can show up at but it disappears when he gets there. Spike says it's part of the Rift's plan. At least, Kyurem told him that. And I believe it. Phione, Jirachi and Hoopa are proof of that."
"Okay. Victini. You know what to do. Ash took a deep breath as Victini would share his Infinite Energy by touching Ash's back. Twilight's magic would also surround him, granting Ash Ketchum protection as he unleashed a stream of Aura out of the staff.
This aura would pierce the centre of the gateway, sending a vibrant flash. The gateway was enveloped by the Aura from all sides as if a hand was clutching onto it. The beautiful night was lit by a mixture of blue, purple and orange from these respective energies meeting with each other.
Ash felt less at risk thanks to Victini and Twilight who could make his Aura steady and less reactive. Thanks to this union of power, the gateway, for the most part, didn't look any different here. But in reality, it was for the other side.
Delphox moved through the gateway, entering the other side. She showed up on a Unovan Island. And waiting there as always would be Snowdrop and Kyurem. Snowdrop already had her drawings ready but to truly get the ultimate feel for them within her mind, Delphox's magic needed to be involved. But today, it would go beyond that. After being locked out of returning to her world for so long, today was the day that all changed.
Delphox was shown the image as it involved more characters than she expected. But it could work since Snowdrop had already heard the voices of Spike and everyone else, even though Iris wasn't added in. But now came the moment of truth. Getting through that gateway.
"Go." Kyurem encouraged her to move forward. There was already proof of this working. The fact that Kyurem could still see the gateway and it hadn't vanished from his sight was a sign. Snowdrop would leave her drawings in the care of Delphox before soaring towards the gateway.
There it was. With her expectations being met, Snowdrop effortlessly passed through the gateway. For the first time in three years, Snowdrop could finally return to her world after so long. And when she could feel the cosmic energies flow around her, she let out a cry of glee.
"Ow!" Although, she didn't think of who would be in front of her as she accidentally bumped into Ash's head the moment she flew through at the best speed she could muster. Ash found himself being tackled in the head by Snowdrop, dropping Sir Aaron's staff. Snowdrop would feel the same pain as just a second in her original world and already something rather painful occurred.
"Pika?!"
"Ohh! Sorry about that!" Snowdrop apologized before almost tumbling. However, the claw of Kyurem was there to catch her, phasing through the gateway. "But...I think it worked. Did it work?"
"Sure did." Twilight could confirm. After all, she was standing right here. "Welcome back!"
"Great! I'm back!" It felt great to be back home. Snowdrop had a triumphant hoof raise. Hearing this, Kyurem leaned his head through the gateway, jump-scaring Victini, Hoopa and Meloetta equally. Fluttershy would also get a slight scare by Kyurem's appearance as his entire head was almost as large as the gateway itself.
Passing through the gateway was some more company. Lance, Drake, Drayden, Iris and Spike respectively. They previously had a battle with Kyurem before learning about Snowdrop and the gateway limitations. The only one who had yet to pass through was Delphox. She was occupied with the drawing.
"Ash. I'm not even gonna ask why you have both Victini and Meloetta by your side." Iris said, noticing the two Mythicals that were next to Ash. Two of which she had bonded with as well. "But...hey."
"Hey, hey. How'd the whole thing with Kyurem go? Spike said you didn't join in on the battle?"
"I wanted to see it for myself. But...now that it's over...I kinda regret it." Iris sighed. "I could've actually battled against the World's Strongest Dragon and I blew it."
Luna watched as Snowdrop gleefully moved around, celebrating her return. She wasn't much involved with all the cosmic ongoings that went on for three years apart from being flung forward in time and having an age regression, but she could thank this cosmic power and those who could control it for bringing her home.
At that moment, Nightmare Moon, who was lurking within the shadows, spoke out to Luna, knowing exactly why she was standing away from everypony else.
"Look at you standing around as if you've never socialised before. Where's all of this coming from? You should go to her." The alter-ego insisted. "What's the harm? Are you not happy to see her again after all these years?"
"I know that," Luna growled before then stepping forward. She'd rather get close to Snowdrop than listen to Nightmare Moon berate her. Nightmare Moon wished she could get a few more words in but she could settle for what could come next. "Snowdrop."
That voice. It rang in Snowdrop's ear, prompting her to stop. Where had she heard that voice before? Though her age and mind may have regressed, not everything was gone. Memories of her home still remained. She knew she came from Equestria as she wasn't that regressed. The voice of Luna was familiar to her to the point where she froze for a bit. Luna hoped Snowdrop recognized her voice and indeed she did. With just one turnaround, the colours and shapes of Luna were instantly recognizable to Snowdrop.
The night-sky colours that perfectly resembled tonight and that iconic alicorn stature with a combination of wings and horns. Why wait to wonder who this was when it was obvious? "Princess Luna?"
"H-Hello, Snowdrop." She stammered for a bit. "How have you been?"
"Oh, it is you!" Snowdrop flew over, elated by the Moon Princess' presence. This isn't the first time they have met. Not at all. Much like how she hugged Kyurem's leg, she would hug Luna's leg upon coming to contact with her. There was a moment of silence between the two. Memories of Princess Luna remained and this wasn't just because she was Celestia's sister. "I'm so glad to see you again."
"Snowdrop...You shouldn't be here." Luna said, having something different to utter. This confused Snowdrop greatly. It was the response she was expecting. She looked up at Luna with confusion on her face.
"W-What?"
"I mean...it's been thousands of years. And you're here right now. Because of the Rift." Luna explained. "But you're younger than what you should originally be."
"A-Aren't you happy to see me?" A frown was made. Snowdrop wasn't too fond of this response. Though she was happy to see Luna, it sounded like Luna didn't share the same feeling.
"I am happy to see you. Very much. When I finally returned from the moon, I was devastated to know that I missed out on all the things we could have done together had I been back on Earth. I'm just...surprised, that's all. And confused a bit."
"Don't be. I was pretty confused from the start." Snowdrop would pat Luna's hoof. "I mean, I don't know why I was sent forward in time but...I'm not complaining!"
"I suppose so. Throwing my confusion aside...welcome back!" Luna finally expressed her full reaction, picking up the little pegasus. "Time isn't an issue for us, is it?!"
"Not at all!" Snowdrop laughed as their reunion, albeit on the slower side from the start, was exactly how they envisioned it. As far as everything goes, this was a rousing success that brought smiles to everyone's faces. Even if it was impossible to see Kyurem smile thanks to the way his face was built.
As for Kyurem, he would allow Snowdrop to experience this pure form of happiness while he spoke to everyone else about a different topic that would still relate to this.
"I thank you for doing this for Snowdrop. But there's something important you all need to hear."
"Yeah. What's up?" Ash asked as he was all ears. Him and everyone else that were facing the Boundary Pokemon.
"I said that this was part of the Rift's plan. Whatever it may be. But after giving it some time and thinking it through, I believe I've discovered what that plan might be. The Rift intentionally sent her forward in time because it probably wanted something like this to happen. Everything that happened right as I found Snowdrop was played out perfectly."
"Seriously? This is was all intended?" Twilight gasped. "How and why?"
"I didn't think it would do something like this. Doesn't it hate you, Ash? It's the reason for most of our problems, right?" said Iris.
"It would do something like this. Cosmic Entities are always fluctuating and changing their decisions. Especially when it comes to something that can entertain them, they will most likely go for an option that looks the most promising. Snowdrop is close to your princess. I can tell that. But since she comes from the far past and your princess lives as long as I do, it's clear that the Rift wanted them to reunite. However which way it would've been done, this outcome would've happened somehow and someway."
"You deduced this quickly, Kyurem," Drayden replied. "Is this something we should think about a lot? If the Rift would do something this sweet..."
"It is. I've met entities like the Rift before and know what they think. The Rift chose to send her near me so that I would find her. It wasn't a coincidence at all. It specifically chose Snowdrop of all ponies who had a disability. And I must admit...it worked out. I love that little girl as if she was my own daughter."
"Aww, isn't that sweet?" Fluttershy gushed. Hearing a Pokemon see a pony as their own child was rather warming to the heart from such a giant and chilling Pokemon
"Do you think it's all part of a greater plan then?" Lance questioned. "Did the Rift plan something ahead?"
"Definitely. It sent her to me three years ago and only three days after our worlds crossed over. Most definitely, the Rift pre-planned various things for the future."
"It did!" Twilight exclaimed. "BigTime Ben's an example of that. I already learned who he was and why he was here. He's the reason why our world got access to so many items in such a short time. If it were anything else, it would've probably taken us months or a year to get the essentials for a completely different world."
"It kept Hoopa from remembering Ashkan for a bit." Hoopa flew forward. "And Hoopa can't get a Jirachi."
"And it went for the Phione too," Fluttershy added. "All the Jirachi in existence are currently trapped somewhere that we can't reach yet. It planned so many things, didn't it?"
"Yeah...but it did it because it would all come together." Ash knew exactly why the Rift would do this. The Rift didn't want to make things easy for them from the start. Months of events led up to other larger events that came together. Whether it was by meeting new people, ponies and Pokemon and forming bonds with them or even the enemies they make. "It's all for fun. And for what would be the best thing to watch."
"All that for entertainment? I'd call it twisted but..." Lance growled.
"Speaking of which...we should get to Canterlot right now. You remember what Princess Celestia said, right? Now that Shooting Star's found a breakthrough, it's high time we return to the golden stairway that'll lead us to Jirachi.
"Lead you to Jirachi?" Lance and Iris repeated as they had no idea of this stairway's existence. But indeed. Tonight, the reunion between Snowdrop and Luna wasn't the only important thing to go down.
Something far larger was soon. The Golden Stairway. It had yet to be completed. But when it does get what it needs, how will it lead them to Jirachi? There was only one way to find out when they get to Canterlot as the journey continues.
Rosa Maledicta, the Lich Queen, was healing. After a fierce struggle with Yveltal, she was forced to rest and take a backseat. Some would say she earned it as Yveltal was successfully under her control. Alas, she could not act yet. Not when Yveltal got her body back almost destroying her.
Within one of these chamber rooms, Rosa Maledicta was being held up by bony thorns. However, these thorns were healing her, emanating a dark green light. The healing process wasn't swift. Not when Yveltal's power was involved. Rosa had her eyes closed, taking a deep sleep. But even when asleep, she could use telepathy, speaking to her subjects from afar.
"Opal. It's time." Rosa spoke to Opal Vivacity. "Before the Black Crusade can begin, soften them up for me and Yveltal. If we want to win, we need to greatly cripple them all. This involves the Pokemon World and all the valuable things there. I wish I could do it myself but I am healing. Remember how I ordered you all to go out there and do whatever you wanted? Now is your chance. Go wild. But save some for Yveltal."
"And what about me, your majesty?" Fractured Note, who was standing outside of the chamber asked.
"You will continue to make sure that Fantina doesn't notice anything. She's too valuable to us. But once you've sorted her out, I can trust you to do something amazingly terrifying as well, Fractured Note. "Now go. Unleash some demons and cause some mayhem. Make Equestria and the Pokemon World fall weak to the Dread League."
Canterlot. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
The Golden Stairway. Or the Cosmic Stairway. Or whatever name fits it. Either it, it was the key to finding Jirachi. All of them. Due to being sealed away in an unknown dimension, by the guidance of Arceus, these stairs would take them to the stars and that mysterious dimension. All that was needed was for it to be completed.
"This is it?!" Seeing it for the first time was Iris along with her fellow Dragon Experts. Arriving at Canterlot, two things stuck out. The massive castle and the stairway. The height of it nearly surpassed the entirety of Canterlot Caste. It wasn't quite at outer space level just yet.
Witnessing this stairway was also the Boundary Pokemon Kyurem. Canterlot wasn't a stranger to giant Legendary Dragons in the form of Reshiram and Zekrom, especially since Kyurem was the originator of those two dragons. Kyurem, if he was to turn into either one of his forms, wouldn't even match the size of this stairway. And later on, when the full scale of it is revealed, not even a Wailord could reach it.
"It's made up of 6 different power sources and some of us are involved. And all of it is focused on Phione who basically constructs it for us." Twilight explained. "I'd be happy to tell you how it goes but it's better to show you. Right, Princess Celestia?"
"Right, Twilight. Because now...we have the 7th Element we need." Celestia nodded in approval. After learning about Shooting Star's breakthrough, meeting with her was Phione who was always bound to sense anything relating to the stairs. Thanks to Arceus' blessing, this was natural. "I've called for everyone who helped make the stairway to show up again. According to Phione, even though Shooting Star received his breakthrough, we still need to combine our powers to enhance the stairway."
"Question is...can you all breathe in space?" Lance questioned. This was a common question whenever the stairway was brought up. Considering that it was set to go to outer space unless they were Legendary Pokemon or even Mythicals, none of them were surviving up there.
"No need. I already covered that for them." Luckily for them, Drayden sorted it out. "I've ordered space suits to be made for them all. The right sizes and everything. And um...the right patterns and flair, according to Rarity. Because it's important to be stylish in space, according to her."
"She has a point though." Twilight shrugged. "Being stylish in space can be special. Especially since we know our world has alien life out there."
"Very soon, we'll find Jirachi. All of them. And once we do, that one wish of ours will be made." Celestia could see it now. Everything would truly be together by the power of Jirachi. The fate of their future and bonds rested in the hands of this one Pokemon. "I hope Reshiram is there to see it."
"What about Reshiram?" Kyurem questioned.
"You see...While we were in outer space, Reshiram had a run-in with the Dread League. I'm not sure what happened but to preserve his energy, he turned himself into his light stone." Celestia brought out the Light Stone via her magic. It was taken from the castle, appearing outside, still in perfect condition. Believing that this was truly Reshiram's healing state, Celestia would keep it safe and clean until the Vast White Pokemon would emerge once more. "I'm hoping he can see the day everything comes together."
"Wait a sec!" Iris raised her arm, alerting everyone.. "Kyurem is the Original Dragon so everything about Reshiram and Kyurem, he probably knows about. I'm sure Kyurem over here can solve it. Maybe even heal Reshiram faster."
"Oh, that's right!" Ash gasped as Iris spoke a heavy dose of truth. It couldn't be debunked since Kyurem was the whole package. Albeit slightly limited. "Talk about being in the right place at the right time, huh?"
"Glad to hear that. Kyurem. Could you help me? I wish to see Reshiram again." Pleading Kyurem for help, Celestia would levitate the Light Stone to the Boundary Pokemon. Kyurem stayed silent for a bit before standing upright. He would welcome the Light Stone into his claws as everyone was waiting to see just how the Original Dragon could restore Reshiram. What secret powers did Kyurem have that not many would ever witness until now?
The answer...nothing.
Because Kyurem crushed it. By staring at it and feeling the orb for a few seconds, the Boundary Pokemon shocked everyone by viciously breaking the stone with a simple muscle exertion. By witnessing Kyurem shatter the orb into tiny white pieces, absolute shock shot them through their hearts and eyes. Pupils shrunk, jaws dropped, beards ruffled and more. And Celestia was more taken aback by anyone. She did not see this coming. No one did.
"W-Why...?" Celestia uttered with a weak voice, almost falling over. "Why would you do such a thing?!"
"This is a fake." Thankfully, Kyurem's response was swift. "The Light Stone is a part of me as much as Reshiram is a part of me. It is indestructible and will not break even if I willed it to."
"It's fake?!" They all said. This entire time, Celestia truly believed that was Reshiram's true Light Stone. The resemblance was uncanny to the real one.
"That means...That means..." Celestia realized that Team Rocket played her. Giovanni gave her a counterfeit that was made by Colress. "He tricked me!"
"So then...where's the real stone?" Ash asked. "Does Team Rocket have it?"
"I hope not." Celestia bit her hoof. "If they do then the things they can get away with."
"It'll be easier to find them though if they do end up using Reshiram." Lance brought the brighter side to this. "If you spot or heart of a blue-eyed white dragon, you know where to be."
"Lance is right. Plus, no way Reshiram's gonna listen to them after spending time with you." Ash reassured Celestia. "He'll know when to find you when he's healed up after what happened back at Holon. But that light stone stuff is pretty real."
"What about Zekrom then? I heard you had Zekrom in this world too?" Iris brought up Zekrom. "Did it become a stone too?"
"We haven't heard anything from Zekrom either. All we know is that he went his separate ways from Reshiram. Both had important missions to take care of. Reshiram went after the Dread League and Zekrom...we don't know." The Sun Princess couldn't confirm Zekrom's location. "Hopefully, he shows up again."
"Princess Celestia. They're here. All of them." Changing the topic was Raven Inkwell who showed up. Upon approaching, the first thing she saw were the usual faces of Ash, Pikachu, Twilight, Fluttershy, Drayden and a few more. But some of them took her back. Mainly Kyurem. Her face scrunched as it looked like Kyurem was gazing directly at her. But since he had no pupils, that was hard to confirm.
Aside from that, those that helped make this bridge appeared at last after receiving Celestia's call. The Royal Family from Pegalysium ascended from the skies in their chariot. Chrysalis would show up from the south while Cadence appeared from the north. Showing up after everyone else, almost being late were Applejack, Jade, Zecora and Cold Colt. As ordered by Phione and by extension Arceus, they all had to gather here again.
Inside the castle, Princess Luna was the only one who stayed indoors, wanting to spend more time with Snowdrop since they recently reunited. But upon seeing the arrival of the other royals, she knew she was needed outside. "That is my cue. My magic is needed to construct the stairway. But...I have to ask...what about your home?"
"My home?" Snowdrop repeated. "Is something wrong?"
"Now that you're back at Equestria, your old home is long gone by now. I can easily commission you a new house. In any shape that you prefer. And wherever you want it to be."
"About that...I think I'd prefer to stay with Kyurem." Snowdrop revealed that in actuality, she would stay with Kyurem instead of staying here at Equestria. This came as a gigantic shock to Luna. Despite returning to her home, Snowdrop did not wish to live here permanently. But only the Pokemon World.
"Only with Kyurem? But why?"
"To be honest with you...Kyurem's a lot like my father. Even if I call him uncle. Living with Kyurem has been a lot of fun and learning about Pokemon from him has been even better. I've gotten comfortable living with him."
"I would've thought you felt the same about me..." Luna pouted. She felt a bit jealous of Kyurem. It had only been three years and already Snowdrop has grown greatly attached to him, seeing the Boundary Pokemon as her father figure. "Then...you won't be coming back here?"
"I will. I'll come by and visit as many times as I can." But Snowdrop wanted to let Luna know that this wasn't the case. "My old home's gone by now. I made a new one with Kyurem and I'm very happy there. But I'll be just as happy here when I come over. And we can have fun like we used to do all night."
"I see." Luna understood. Her fears had been staved away. Snowdrop would still be around. She would just be in a different world, that was all. "Don't scare me like that."
"My bad." Snowdrop chuckled. Luna would then depart, leaving to the outside as everyone else were already set to make the magic happen. Snowdrop would have to wait. But she wouldn't be alone. Cetoddle and Alolan Vulpix were with her after all, potentially being her Pokemon.
But lurking in the shadows without Snowdrop knowing was Nightmare Moon, who overheard the entire conversation. This put a smile on her face. She couldn't help but feel proud of Luna. But at the same time, she laughed at how jealous she seemed of Kyurem.
Once more, they gathered around the Golden Stairway. Ash, Twilight, Celestia, Luna, Applejack, Cadence, Chrysalis, Zecora, Lucario, Cold Colt, Jade Skies and now Shooting Star. All 12 of them were the key to making this bridge truly work. And the one to properly conjure it was Phione who possessed Phione's light.
Iris and the other Dragon Specialists along with everyone here at the Pokemon Festival would spectate them. Most of Canterlot's residents have already seen how the bridge was made but not everyone here got the chance to witness it. Now was that chance.
"Victini." Offering up his power, Victini flew over to Phione, requesting that he chimed in. It was an obvious answer. Phione nodded in approval of Victini's request. Why wouldn't they have his power in the mix considering how helpful it was?
"Are you ready, Shooting Star?" Celestia asked.
"I hope so. My magic is still new so...I'm pretty worried it might not make a huge difference." Shooting Star squeed. "Does it matter though?"
"Not when Victini is here. With Victini, you will have a temporary boost in power. It will be enough to make this bridge work." Luna explained. "So you have nothing to worry about."
"Oh...glad to hear it. No wishing me any luck then. So how does this work?"
"Hold hands, paws and hooves. That's how we connect." Ash held his hand out as he already grabbed both Twilight and Celestia's hooves. Everyone else would follow suit, connecting their hooves and paws together. And just like before, their respective energies would flow out of them.
But this time, there were visible changes. Thanks to everything they've been through and with how much they've grown, the powers had a greater vibrance to them. They would flare out, forming a perfect union circle that would then focus on Phione. Victini would then boost Shooting Star's magic with just a simple touch, speeding up the process.
Phione's eyes opened, unleashing the almighty light of Arceus. She became a radiant beacon that unleashed gorgeous glimmering golden glitter and particles everywhere. The mish-mash of colours from each respective entity came together beautifully before interacting with the stairway.
Snowdrop could make out the colours and shapes that were moving around. And it was truly a sight to behold, especially compared to what it was like before. The stairway started growing. New steps were being added as it grew higher and higher.
It surpassed the height of Canterlot Castle at last as it kept going. Beams of light shot through the lights as a ringing sound came from the construction of this cosmic stairway. By this point, the stairway had surpassed the clouds by crashing through them. Every airborne Pokemon knew to stay away from the stairway as the voice of Arceus could be heard from it.
The speed of the stairway was also something to marvel at as it seemed to increase in speed the higher it went. It then reached the speed of sound, breaking the sound barrier while also going high enough to surpass Pegalysium's current height. It was truly going all the way. On top of that, the size of the stairway in terms of width grew. Anyone from afar could notice it and the luminescence it bestowed upon the night sky. The stars above could be seen illuminating once the stairway got closer.
Higher. Higher. The world's largest stairway would not stop. Outer space had been conquered by this point. But even that wasn't the limit. The stairway was going for Jirachi after all. Right as it reached a certain point, the power of all these energies would then open a gateway in the cosmos. This was the result of Twilight, Cold Colt and Jade Skies using their magic to make this possible.
And unlike most gateways, this one was made up of all the other elements while also having a unique white colouring instead of the usual blue and purple combination that is so commonly associated with the gateways and the Rift. Would there be any end to this Cosmic Stairway?
Only by shock. Phione gasped as something came crashing down, piercing the stairway in the middle upon its emergence into space. It looked to be a massive rose that had sharp edges. This rose was as big as a Wailord as it interrupted the union by breaking Phione's concentration.
"P-Phi!" Phione gasped, almost falling over.
"Phione?! What's wrong?!" Sweetie Belle ran over. Due to Phione losing focus, the stairway's building process had been stopped. There was now a massive hole in the middle of the stairway that was between Earth and space. This hole would then separate the top of the stairway and the rest of it. And yet, it did not fall. It just levitated there mystically.
"What happened?! Where'd that hole come from?!" Twilight cried out. This didn't seem like it was part of the plan. Not at all.
"Gotcha!" Just then, a voice rang through the skies. A familiar voice that Ash, Applejack, Spike and Fluttershy hoped they wouldn't have to hear again. Appearing in the skies as a giant face was none other than one of the most prominent members of the Dread League.
Opal Vivacity.
Still rocking that massive mane that could change fate, her whereabouts after the Holon incident had been revealed. She didn't just make it out and return to Magehold, but she was back in action, performing the biggest strike to Equestria by far. By attacking their one ticket to Jirachi's whereabouts.
"Opal!" Ash roared alongside Pikachu.
"Pikachu!"
"Usually, this would be her majesty's time to shine...but she's a bit tired at the moment. So, guess what? Much to my glee, I was entrusted to take care of things from here!" Opal declared. "As it stands now, I'm calling the shots on the entire Dread League while Queen Rosa rests."
"Who is that?" Iris asked.
"The Dread League..." Celestia snarled with her mane flaring up as if it was on fire. "Of all the times they decide to show themselves here at Canterlot..."
"Queen Rosa recently ordered us to go wild. Now that we have Yveltal, our restrictions have been let go. All vampires are now free to roam Equestria and cause as much trouble as we can. But not too much trouble. We need to save some for Yveltal after all. But we can still do a lot."
"Where is Reshiram?!" Celestia yelled, demanding the location of Reshiram. "What have you done with him?!"
"Reshiram? Unfortunately, he managed to slip away. Not sure how with a body that big...but I'm not worried about him right now! Not since it was I who kept him at bay. Back on topic...I figured that now was the perfect time to make my move. Well...one of my many moves. But I plan to make this one the best until her majesty wakes up. So, get ready Equestria. The final week of your Pokemon Festival is going to be vampire-centric. And demon centric too..." A devious smile infected the skies. "For I've opened up the Box of 100 Demons and right now...there are 15 Demons out there!"
"15?!" They each bellowed.
"Good luck. I'll be doing my own thing. Try and find me if you can~" Opal stuck her tongue out. "And if you're wondering how I'm making this big face...you can thank my brother for this. Toodles~"
"Wait! Get back here!" Applejack yelled but there was no point in yelling at the sky. Opal Vivacity was gone. And she left on a high note, unleashing demons and having the rest of the vampires take action.
"Wait, why only 15?" Chrysalis scratched her mane.
"So the Dread League are finally launching a big attack on us. And it had to be now of all times." Luna growled as this was the worst time for them to strike. On the positive side, at least it was not the Black Crusade yet.
But as it stands now, the vampires would launch a nearly full-scale attack on Equestria. And on the third week of the Pokemon Festival, no less. As ordered by Rosa Maledicta, who was merely healing but could still give orders from afar, even if Opal Vivacity was taking full control.
Now, it was The Pokemon World and Equestria vs the Dread League. And yet, the Black Crusade had yet to come. The greater form of dread was still months away as the journey continues.
Unsuspecting to many across Equestria and even the Pokemon World, the Dread League have initiated their biggest attack yet. But it was not the Black Crusade. With Opal Vivacity taking charge due to Queen Rosa's current condition, she ordered this attack to begin. And of course, it was during the night.
15 Demons had been released on this night. But where and when would they show themselves? Being the first to hear about this were Celestia and everyone else currently situated at Canterlot. The process of building the stairway to the stars had been interrupted by a massive rose that was now planted on the ground.
"So...when are they gonna show up? I don't see or hear anything?" Fluttershy asked, wondering where these demons and vampires were. Opal only stated what was about to happen before leaving moments later.
"At any time. Probably, they've already appeared elsewhere." Celestia knew that it would only make sense for them to show up away from here to scare them. That is visually a great scare tactic against any enemy.
"Do we continue making the bridge? There's a large hole in the middle of it now." Sweetie Belle was more worried about the stairway since it was interrupted thanks to Opal. The fact that a piece of it had been separated and was just floating there was a bit worrying too.
"They could be after my land first!" Knowing that she had the closest ties to the Dread League, Chrysalis feared what could happen to her home while she was away.
"No need to panic." Drayden calmed Chrysalis down. "We can sort this out. She'll think twice before attacking our homes. Especially since she's targeting two worlds. As Mayor of Opelucid, I'll throw in my full support."
"I can get in touch with the International Police and the G-Men." Lance would chip in. Realistically, they all would since Opal declared an attack on both worlds. "For her sake, she'd better be well informed of what we have."
"I believe she is. Opal apparently knows a lot despite being sheltered in Magehold. Out of all the vampires we know of, she's gotten out there the most without us noticing." Just as Luna said, all of that was true. Aside from potentially Rosa Maledicta, Opal's knowledge of most events and every essential was vast. It's how the vampires got a hold of Poke Balls in the first place or even how knowledge of Yveltal was shared.
"We could've finished making the stairway though..." Disappointed that the stairway was postponed, Applejack's hatred for vampires only elevated from here. "I hate vampires...!"
"We'll head to Ponyville." Ash offered to take Ponyville. "I think she probably knows we hang out there the most. We messed up both of her plans after all."
"Do you think she still wants me? You know...for being a vampire once?" Fluttershy nudged Applejack, worried that Opal Vivacity was still focused on capturing her and converting her into a bat pony once more.
"She ain't gonna get anywhere near you, Fluttershy." But Applejack, after recent events, would assure Fluttershy that she wouldn't be captured.
"Wait, who's a vampire?" Iris heard that loud and clear, having a few questions as her eyes locked onto Fluttershy. So far, nothing about the 100 Demons or Opal Vivacity had been found. Especially since the night is when they are the most active.
Nevertheless, whatever kind of demon that has been unleashed, most were hoping they were ready for them, despite how unpredictable they may be. The odd one out was Kyurem, who didn't expect to hear any of this. He only came to drop off Snowdrop after all. Kyurem wasn't one to get in others' business at all and yet, there were factors in this that said otherwise.
The disappearance of Reshiram and Snowdrop's safety. Opal Vivacity threatened everyone from both worlds. This meant that Snowdrop was involved in whatever mess the beautiful vampire would bring. After forming a powerful bond with the pegasus, this was one thing that Kyurem would deny.
Cobalion, who also listened in on this, knew Kyurem more than almost anyone here aside from Snowdrop. The look on Kyurem's barely-changing face already confirmed to him what the Boundary Pokemon would choose to do in this scenario. But before he could continue thinking of that, Cobalion had a new mission as he walked up to Celestia.
"Our date will be cut short, Celestia. I will have to reunite with the other swords for this. And move across both worlds to guarantee the safety of others."
"I know. It's a shame but...nation first." Celestia then held Cobalion's hoof. "Let's spend more time together after this is over. That's a promise."
"It is."
Ponyville. Nightfall.
Ponyville was untouched right now. Everything seemed fine with how it currently was. No demons or vampires to be seen or heard from. By this point, some had already gone to sleep for the night while others would stay awake.
One pony who was locked up in her home yet still awake was Roseluck. After the conversation back at the Ethereal Pavilion, Roseluck wondered about her dream. As a child, it only seemed like something a child would truly imagine. But with how the world has changed, Roseluck felt optimistic about her dream.
The world's largest flower that would bloom beautifully. Where should she put it? It needed its own special place of extravagance. Perhaps White Tail Wood or Saddle Lake would work. Either way, Roseluck couldn't wait to see everyone react to it. Including her big sister.
But as Roseluck prepared to clock out, comfortably lying on her bed, she would become oblivious to what was coming. No matter how long it has been, her sister would somehow be involved in her life yet again. But perhaps, not the way Roseluck would want. Her windows were shut and her curtains were closed as only the cold wind would blow.
Rarity, who was among one of the few ponies to stay awake at this time, held a long list of names. These names were ponies who requested suits and dresses for themselves and their Pokemon. Berry Punch and Cream Heart to Toucannon and Gothorita and even some Pokemon who chose to keep their names redacted.
Creeping up behind Rarity without her barely noticing was Mayor Mare. Once Rarity noticed, she felt a jumpscare, swiftly turning to face the Mayor of Ponyville. "Oh! What a shock...did you need something, mayor?"
"You're the one who has an extraterrestrial, correct?" Mayor Mare spoke as her voice sounded natural yet somewhat distorted, having a reverb.
"Extra...you mean Pheromosa? You know that already."
"Sure I do. Maybe this half does." She said as Rarity got a longer look at who she was truly looking at. It was Mayor Mare. But at the same time, it wasn't. The right side of her was her normal self while the other side was made out of ink. Not just ink, but there were noticeable accessories within this other side of Mayor Mare. There was a white sclera on this ink body that went across her eyes green and red diamonds plastered within the ink.
Rarity gasped, backing up as everyone else nearby wouldn't expect their mayor to have an ink-life half, especially since the ink was dripping.
"What the...who are you?!" Rarity questioned as the other half of her was almost unrecognizable.
"I've always wanted to meet an alien, you know...Oh, but who am I?" As if the left side of the body was the more dominant one, it carried the rest of Mayor Mare's body by flowing into the air. Some of the ink on the ground would then transform, turning into a large rectangular platform for the mayor to stand on. But this wasn't the mayor at all. "Don't you recognize me? I'm the demon you encountered months ago."
"What?" But Rarity had no recollection of encountering this demon. Not one bit. In fact, she had yet to meet up with any of the 100 Demons until now.
"Oh, my mistake! That was your human counterpart, wasn't it?? That makes sense. I'm in this world after all. I was hoping for some payback towards your friends but...oh well, this is cathartic enough." She then laughed. "I go by the title of the Memory Demon! Not to be confused with the Knowledge Demon as they call it. I picked a good host this time. A mayor with lots of knowledge of the past? Works for me! And the best part is that I can speak, finally..."
"Pah! More body control? Honestly, you'd think they'd try and be evil in their own bodies..." Rarity growled while looking unimpressed. This was the fourth time she's encountered someone using the body of a good-willed individual. First, it was Ash and Ghetsis, then Cynthia and Cosmos, then it was Galaxy Master and the Rift and now it was Mayor Mare and the Memory Demon. The same demon that attacked Sci-Twi's home, working alongside Opal just to dig into her memories that involved Yveltal's existence.
"Ah, it feels pretty great to finally have someone of value to possess. This knowledge is rich! Your town's history is pretty entertaining to gather, you know that?"
"Weirdo! Leave our mayor's body alone!" A citizen shook her hoof at the Knowledge Demon. Many of them ranted in opposition to what the demon had done to Mayor Mare.
"Mmmm...I refuse! Are you crazy?! Not for a moment." The Memory Demon rubbed her hooves together. "I grabbed a hold of the first pony I saw by entering her box and this is the most excited I've been in years! For so long I've had to rely on all the demons there but it gets so interesting when you realize that most demons have the same boring memory and only know how to roar. It gets frustrating! That one time I got to go somewhere different and I couldn't even possess anyone which was even more frustrating. It had been so long since I'd done anything, I got rusty and let my chance slip away."
"When you put it like that...it does sound boring." Rarity scratched her mane as the other ponies could see the demon's argument. This was similar to how the Trickster Demon felt about being in the box.
"So, I'm hosting this body. Unless one of you has something valuable that surpasses what she knows...that'd be splendid. Oh, wait. I'll possess you anyway and learn all I need to know about your memories. Even the ones you've sealed up."
"Even our deepest darkest memories?" Lyra gulped, fearing that the Memory Demon might go even further.
"All of it." The Memory Demon made sure to reassure that. "You all have something nice I can learn, don't you? Especially this beauty right here." Just then, one of the ink blots on the ground would grow from behind Rarity. Out of it, an ink copy of Mayor Mare showed up, startling the fashionista. "I'd say on par with Opal. Definitely a 10."
"On par?! I'd prefer better looking. But thank you?" Rarity took the compliment as this demon wasn't as aggressive as it seemed, despite taking over Mayor Mare's body. "However, you still won't dig into my memories. Or anyone's memories, no matter how much you may try and compliment us. But do go on."
"Rarity! Are you alright?!" Just then, arriving at the scene thanks to all the jibber jabber from the Memory Demon, Ash, Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy, Applejack and Sweetie Belle showed up. After hearing what Opal Vivacity said, Ponyville was their first priority. Luckily for them, they showed up right as the Memory Demon introduced itself.
"I'm perfectly fine." Rarity uttered as the clone of Mayor Mare would drop into the ground, becoming an ink splat while the real Memory Demon was still on top of this massive ink box. "Though, I almost got dirty with all this ink everywhere."
"Ink?" Applejack repeated, noticing the splatter of ink on the ground. There was also the very visible cube of ink that could be seen from any viewpoint. "Why's there ink everywhere? And what's up with the mayor?!"
"It's those two..." Immediately, the Memory Demon recognized Ash and Pikachu directly. It could never forget those faces. Not only that, but Twilight was also recognizable. Though it only encountered her Human Counterpart, the resemblance was still there along with Fluttershy's appearance.
"Looks like nothing went out of control yet," said Twilight. "But it might with that thing. How come Mayor Mare's left side is full of ink? Is that one of the demons?"
"From the ink-blotted mouth of that demon itself." Rarity confirmed. "I'm afraid without any of us noticing in the beginning, Mayor Mare was taken over by this demon. Apparently, it knows me. Or rather my human counterpart."
"Ash Ketchum...That's your name!" The Memory Demon exclaimed. "I was waiting to meet with you again. Thanks to you, I failed in my first mission in a long time."
"Who are you?" But Ash couldn't recall this demon at all. To him, this was his first time meeting it. But in reality, this was their second encounter.
"In this form, I'm unrecognizable. But I'm the demon who would've gained the memories of your friend from another world. Memories of Yveltal. And yet...that all turned upside down at the critical point."
"You're that ink demon?!" Now Ash remembered. That was the only demon that went for Sci-Twi's memories after all. "You can do more than look inside memories?!"
"Pika?!"
"Not just look inside. But I can also gain them. Permanently. And of course...the additional bonus of possessing a body. Right now, I'm practically the best substitute for your mayor. You didn't even have to vote for me. I know everything about everyone in this town because of her position and you have no idea how much I've longed for fresh memories that don't involve roars, screams, howls and other unsavoury things that the little ones here wouldn't want to hear. But you've been almost erased from existence so maybe you do want to hear it."
"That's great and all, but you realize you walked straight into enemy territory," Twilight replied. "If you couldn't stop him then, what good can you do now with all these numbers?"
"Duh. I know that, Princess Twilight Sparkle. But back then, my true potential was lacking. Now that I'm free to do whatever I want, I was able to grow. You have the superior numbers. I have the ink to my advantage. I could just take your bodies and learn so much, but at the same time...as ordered by Opal, I'll be terrorizing you too. So I get to know more and do this!" The Memory Demon was still here for one major reason. That was terrorizing them. By using some of the ink on the ground, she snuck up on most of them. The ink was left there as a way to get the jump on any unsuspecting victims.
Or in this case, their homes. Due to all the ink everywhere, some of them sprouted out to grasp onto buildings instead of people, ponies or Pokemon. Ash and his friend would swivel to see some of the buildings being clutched by the ink which mimicked that of claws. The claws tore through the buildings, shattering them slowly. The ponies inside would rush out as quickly as they could, just narrowly evading destruction. Their home was broken. Just like that. By ink, of all things.
"Don't worry. I plan to keep you all around. I need your memories after all. I can't really borrow them if you're gone to the next life." The Memory Demon cackled. While it wouldn't destroy them, it would endanger them. "Although...once I get them, I'll get rid of you. And maybe the young ones can be an exception. They're too young to have too many memories. The older the better. But we'll see how it goes."
"Sweetie Belle...you know what I'm going to say." Fearing for her little sister, Rarity got in front of Sweetie Belle while already preparing two Poke Balls for whatever comes next.
"I hear you." Sweetie Belle knew what Rarity was suggesting. The words from the Memory Demon were already massive red flags for what it planned to do.
"Wait a second...where's Stoutland?!" Fluttershy would soon notice the absence of Mayor Mare's Stoutland, who was always by her side. The body of Mayor Mare was still here, albeit controlled but the Big-Hearted Pokemon was nowhere to be seen. Although, perhaps the ink that was swarming around the Town hall Was a good indicator.
"Watch this!" The Memory Demon launched the first attack of many. By swiping its liquid ink hooves, it kicked up a gust of wind. Not exactly something that ink was capable of but then again, it managed to crush some buildings into pieces. The group braced themselves for the wind as it howled violently. Blots of ink were around the gust, flying everywhere. But these blots weren't just for spreading. They could do so much more as seen by how some of them landed behind some of the houses.
The ink blots would then combust, having the same properties as a bomb. Everyone watched as a stream of ink-covered explosions spread across the buildings from behind, blowing away parts of these beloved homes. The roofs were the biggest targets as well as the windows. Screams of ponies and people echoed throughout the night after these sudden outbursts.
The Memory Demon's upgrade gave it access to something far more dangerous than achieving different memories. Explosions. From a demon, this was to be expected. "See that? I could've done that back in the human world. Then we'd be singing a different tale later on. I'd even be bragging about to my fellow demons.
"Why?! I thought you said you wouldn't harm us?!" Twilight's pupils shrunk as black smoke rose up from the destruction.
"Why you...!" Angered by this, Ash eyed down the Memory Demon, who gave a smug look. Pikachu would flare up electricity in his red sacs, feeling Ash's emotions as well as Rarity and Applejack having the same reaction. "Pikachu! Quick Attack, now!"
"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu would retaliate, using Quick Attack as he bolted off the ground. The Mouse Pokemon took off like a rocket, approaching the Memory Demon with a silver trail.
"Here's this!" The Memory Demon would use Mayor Mare's other hoof that wasn't covered in ink, summoning more ink blots. But this one was larger than the rest. Larger than Mayor Mare, Ash and Pikachu combined as it dropped like a meteor
"Look out, Pikachu!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Slice through with Iron Tail! Combine them both!"
"Pika!" But Pikachu wouldn't let the size get to him. While approaching the blot of ink, he would harden his tail. "Chu...Pika!" The Electric-Type then cleaved through the ink, slicing it in half with a perfectly symmetrical shape. The ink would pass Pikachu before blowing up, giving him a slight boost.
"Right through it?!" The Memory Demon's eyes opened before then receiving a swift smack to the face by Pikachu's arrival. Alas, that smack had no weight to it at all. Instead, much like the blot of ink, the Iron Tail would go through. And that only made sense that the same would happen with this demon.
"Pika?!" Pikachu gasped as his Iron Tail failed to land a solid hit with the devious smirk of the Memory Demon facing him.
"Oh right...I'm still ink, so of course it goes through. What was I worried about?!" The demon laughed before then splattering Pikachu with ink blots. The Mouse Pokemon found the front of his body covered as these blots acted like sticky bombs.
"Pika!" Pikachu received consecutive black combustion which forced him away from the Memory Demon, who was still looking healthy thanks to that failed Iron Tail.
"I gotcha!" But protecting Pikachu from a hard fall was Twilight, who used her magic to levitate the Mouse Pokemon.
"That was a close one. Ooh! This means I'm indestructible, right?!" The Memory Demon gleefully applauded. "Lucky me!"
"I don't think so! Physical moves might not work, but liquids can be beaten out by other things. Such as energy! Use Thunderbolt!"
"Eve! Use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Pika...Chuu!" Another approach was made. Thunderbolt and Dazzling Gleam from Pikachu and Espeon. A bolt of lightning along with rays of rainbows flew in, perfectly flying alongside each other.
"Gh!" The Memory Demon grimaced as it looked visibly terrified by this. Refusing to take a hit, it immediately used the platform as a resource for more ink constructions. From the cube, Rift Clones of Mayor Mare emerged, taking the hit for the Memory Demon.
These clones all laughed before being blasted apart by the dual attacks. The bolts of lightning would continue, pursuing the Memory Demon who would increase the height of the platform just to try and get away. It was a narrow escape as the lightning bolt nearly reached it.
"Get 'em, Sceptile! Frenzy Plant!"
"Scep...Tile!" And then there was Sceptile, who sent out raging vines from the ground which would wrap around the ink platform. Seeing that it was giving the demon some advantages, the logical thing to do was get rid of it. Frenzy Plant managed to interact with the ink, constricting the cube as this threw the Memory Demon off balance.
"Oh! Woah!" The Memory Demon nearly fell over before creating a smaller platform in midair to catch it. "Yeesh...They are aggressive...Maybe just as much as demons."
"This ink is pretty solid on the side!" Applejack gasped as the ink cube wasn't breaking as easily even when the vines were constricting it. The blots of ink would drop on Frenzy Plant, blowing parts of the massive roots apart and weakening Sceptile's verdant grip.
"Tile?!"
"But maybe not from the front! Go, Leavanny! Energy Ball!" Sending one of her many Leavanny out, Rarity jumped into the action. Unfortunately, since Physical attacks seemed like a bust, Pheromosa couldn't do anything here. But her Leavanny could.
"Leavanny...!" Emerging out of her Poke Ball, Rarity's strongest Leavanny would throw a ball of energized nature. Since Sceptile was struggling to break this cube, he simply needed some extra muscle. Focusing on ranged attacks and energy, the Energy Ball would fly into the centre of this cube.
It managed to pierce the centre, leaving a visible hole. This hole would weaken the ink cube, allowing for Sceptile to crush it. The cube burst out, spreading ink everywhere as the Memory Demon immediately lost its platform
"My cube!" The demon gasped before falling. The only thing that could save it was the generation of more ink. Luckily, since it spread ink on the ground while walking, its resources could continue. The ink blots from below would respond to the Memory Demon, turning into long tendrils that flew past Ash and his friends. These tendrils then turned into claws, catching the demon as it once again saved itself. "Close one...You almost had me there!"
"Guys. Shouldn't we be trying to free Mayor Mare too?" Spike asked.
"We're trying to. This is the only way we can think of doing it. We just have to force it out of her." Twilight said. "I'm tempted to use Ninetales since ink reacts violently to fire. But at the same time...that could endanger Mayor Mare. Let's not go too crazy. That's still our friend."
"Oh. That's right." Even the Memory Demon knew this. That much was clear. "Anyway. Thanks for focusing on me so much. Because of you...I've got them now! Take a gander!"
Shockingly, one of the ink blots on the ground would get the jump on some of their friends. All it took was the smallest blot to make a difference. Seven ponies were caught by the ink blots as they were placed inside of giant ink spheres. The ink constructed itself yet again to match the shape that the Memory Demon wished. Specifically, Lyra and Sweetie Belle were caught by these.
"What is this?!" They cried out as the spheres imprisoned them. Rarity's heart skipped a beat upon seeing her sister in this semi-transparent ink.
"Sweetie Belle!" The unicorn yelled, immediately turning her focus away from the enemy to what truly mattered.
"It's great to control your element even if you're not that close." The demon laughed. "I can't have fun if you guys are gonna stop me, so let me have my fun by terrorizing those you love."
"No, you don't! Pikachu, use-"
"I wouldn't do that!" The demon raised its voice, stopping Ash and Pikachu. "That's the same ink that combusts...but only under my control this time. Just to be generous. Touch it and that's lights out for them. So that's two explosions you gotta worry about."
"You fiend!" Rarity snarled back at the Memory Demon with an intense glare.
"You can save one of them but the other gets absorbed by the explosive ink. And I can assure you, it'll be a big one, so no one would want to be caught up in this."
"Large?!" Fearful of another large explosion that would engulf them, the citizens backed away, not wanting to get anywhere near the spheres. But the main problem was that two innocents were trapped inside.
"This is gonna be fun to watch!" The demon rubbed Mayor Mare's hooves together deviously. "You tried protecting your sister, Rarity. But once you're in a battle, those eyes are locked onto the wrong one most of the time. So, what's it gonna be? Your friend or your sister? I'd love to see how the ugliness of you ponies and your nature shows itself."
"Rarity! Please get me out of here! I think there's little air in here!" Sweetie Belle attempted to bang on the sphere, fearful of what could happen to her.
"I need help here! I don't have anything for this!" Lyra cried out. "Come on!"
"Which one do we choose?!" Twilight's eyes shifted from pony to pony as the demon had placed a difficult option.
"Large numbers won't be a problem for this." The demon taunted, bringing it back to the number advantage. "Because like I said...only one of them is getting out. One touch and that's it. I'd rather not even breathe in their general direction. The bigger the numbers that try to free them, the more likely the explosion will go off. Isn't this a great challenge? Choose."
"You...demon!" Applejack insulted the Memory Demon but that was a compliment instead.
"Thank you. Now chop-chop. I have other memories to borrow. I mean...the answer should be obvious. Family matters, am I right? Or does friendship trump all, I wonder?"
"Making us choose is the worst..." Fluttershy's heart was beating rapidly. "I don't want any of them to get hurt."
"I know that..." Ash helped with visible sweatdrops on his face. "Gotta do something. Gotta think of something."
"I love my sister but...I can't let Lyra go out as well." Rarity trembled as this was a harder decision than she expected. Sweetie Belle was near and dear to her but letting Lyra perish because of one decision didn't seem right. "There's only one way to stop this..." Her eyes would then glance at the one Pokemon who could change this.
"Bayleef, right?" The Memory Demon already said her name before Rarity could. "Do that and I'll place more ponies inside more spheres. Actually, what's stopping me from doing it again? We don't want that especially not with all the memories I can take. So hurry up and choose before I take them all!"
"Um...sis...please?" Sweetie Belle panted as she was on the verge of crying. "Hurry!"
"Bayleef..." Fluttershy shifted her eyes at Bayleef. The Memory Demon already knew about what Bayleef was capable of. The question was if it would let her pull it off.
Already, an old demon from the Box of 100 Demons was causing this much trouble and putting two lives in peril. Only one would be spared but Ash and his friends wanted both lives to be spared. This decision was a rough one as the Memory Demon had the power to make it worse, unfortunately. The attack of the Dread League was in full swing at this point and with this being their first major strike, what other horrors will they bring? As the journey continues.
The attack of the Dread League started with the Memory Demon. A demon that recently encountered Ash and Pikachu back in the Human World. Back with a vengeance and using half of Mayor Mare's body, it placed Ash and his friends in a tough position.
Sweetie Belle and Lyra Heartstrings were both trapped in spheres of ink. Both these spheres had the capability to combust and unfortunately, the demon only promised to set one of them free while the other would be swallowed up by the explosion. No one wanted either to happen but only one of them could be freed.
"Hurry it up!" The Memory Demon yelled. "No funny movements but funny movements would be the best way to set it off if you get physical with either one of them. So go ahead, actually."
"Sweetie Belle's Pokemon will be caught up in the explosion too..." Twilight realized that Sweetie Belle's Poke Balls were on her. It wasn't just two lives at stake here. The same went for Lyra as she had Pokemon of her own." So does Lyra."
"You're making it harder than it needs to be!" Applejack rustled her mane. "Maybe if we try having Gengar and Golett-"
"Phase through?" The Memory Demon finished Applejack's sentence, already knowing what she was going to suggest. "I know your Pokemon well thanks to the Mayor. As Mayor, it's always important to know your citizens and those close to you, after all. So what else is there to do next?"
"Don't listen to it! You guys can't hesitate!" Sweetie Belle cried out.
"Hesitate! Hesitate!" Lyra protested. "Don't get too rash here! But if you're gonna do something...please make it quick here!"
For something so simple, it was stressful. The Memory Demon knew too much about them and every play they could potentially make. The risks were staggeringly high because of this. Bayleef was still the ace in the hole but with the Memory Demon knowing about her special ability, the time to use it was just as pressurizing.
What's worse was that the demon created Mayor Mare clones out of ink that was blotted on the ground. Each of these clones surrounded Ash and his friends, eyeing them down. These clones would also laugh at them, knowing how the pressure was getting to them.
"I see you rustling in there, Hoopa..." The Memory Demon would eye down Ash's bag, seeing it shake. Hoopa, Meloetta and Victini were hitching a ride in it as always. Unfortunately for them, Mayor Mare had met these three Mythicals, knowing what they were capable of. "Even your ring won't work."
"Hoopa hates to admit it..." Hoopa opened Ash's bag up. "But Hoopa can't risk it. Hoopa can't do anything about this." Indeed. While Hoopa's ring was powerful, it did require his hand to grab what he needed. And even if he didn't grab what he needed, the ring would drop them off, only setting the spheres off in the process. Physical contact was just too much of a factor.
"Come on! Pick!" The clones simultaneously said along with the Memory Demon. "Otherwise, that's way more ponies and people being added into these spheres. And personally, I want to do that after I take their memories."
Manipulating small blots of ink, the clones would splatter Ash and the others with these leftovers. By landing on their bodies, Ash and his friends took mini explosions around their bodies from all their stalling. They all groaned or screamed in response to these miniature explosions around them. Some were more visibly harmed than others.
Ash kneeled before gazing up at the Memory Demon, who was lazily sitting on the claw that it created, knowing the advantage it made for itself.
"I don't have to do much! This is the best!" The demon laughed as most of them were down on the ground from these mini-explosions. The Pokemon resisted but some weren't as durable as their partners.
"I could try and have Ninetales absorb the explosions with Flash Fire...but I need a window of time to make that happen. If we even think of sending a Pokemon out, that demon will set the spheres off. Bayleef can't risk doing anything with her leaf too. It might not be fast enough." Twilight thought to herself, trying to figure out what options there were. "Pheromosa's the fastest one here, but she's not even out either. And she's even at a disadvantage because of how physical she gets. We need to find something that's fast and efficient. But what?"
"Get on with it." Chiming in on this debacle was none other than King Sombra. He would show up in his shadow form, overhearing everything involving this mess. "This is taking too long. Unless you want to feel some of this."
"Sombra?" said Ash upon seeing Sombra's arrival.
"If you ask me...I say the answer is obvious. It should've been from the very beginning." The former ruler of the Crystal Empire closed his eyes as he already decided who should be chosen. "Get rid of the green one. Now."
"What!?" Lyra gasped as Sombra chose her to suffer in the explosion.
"Sombra! You can't just-" Twilight was ready to protest Sombra's decision, especially with how he disrespected Lyra.
"Why are you thinking hard about this?" But before Twilight could continue, Sombra cut her off, eyeing down a petrified Lyra. "This one is insignificant. She's not that important at all. While the little one is at least friends with Phione. The one who can construct that stairway of yours. The one who has value should always be the obvious choice. Anyone else is expendable. So get rid of the extra."
"E-Extra...?" Lyra winced as she took that to heart.
"How could you say something like that?!" Rarity clamoured as her mane even rose up from the sheer power behind her voice. "She may be my sister but Lyra is also a friend!"
"Funny. You don't seem to be around her much often. And though she is your friend, she's useless. Unless, of course, you can still work with Phione without needing the little girl at all, then be my guest. After all, there are no other Pokemon on their teams that can be of as use as the blue one." The things Sombra spouted were outlandish. Not only would he expend someone else in exchange for power, but if it came down to it, he would expend them both while still gaining power. But for Sombra, this wasn't outlandish at all. He's used to it by now.
"There has to be a way though! Right?" Fluttershy asked.
"Maybe there is. But if not...then you know what you need to do. Get rid of the undesirables and then proceed to claim victory. After all, by now, you should be used to these dirty tactics. Granted, I never got the chance to use them and I doubt I'll ever get that chance again, but this one demon, especially one that you've had a run-in with prior to this, shouldn't be that much of an issue. It's pathetic."
"Pathetic?" The Memory Demon repeated, taking offence to that. "Hey!"
"Clearly, you're far too fragile to do anything on your own. Hiding behind a cube, and clones, knowing that one attack from either of these Pokemon will be your end. From afar, of course. Using these two as a means to save your blotted skin is all you're good for, even if you have the power to gain memories or possess others."
"Fragile?! I may be ink but I'm not fragile! I had to endure centuries within that box. The kinds of demons in there would've crushed me long ago. Is that fragile to you?"
"Of course it is. Because you hid from them." Sombra smirked. "Every last one of them at the back of the underworld."
"How did you know...?" The Memory Demon pulled back.
"You're not the only one cursed with knowledge. I know my fair share of demons from that box. Alas, I could never use them. And I know you're the most cowardly of them all. In the past, you would hide behind the vessels of others no matter what, using everything you know. History repeats itself even now. But to be honest...I somewhat respect it. Somewhat. If you weren't so cowardly."
"Shut up! If I wanted to, once I find that right body and memory to take, I won't be so fragile! Argue against that, Sombra!" The Memory Demon roared back.
"Hmph. If that happens...then sure. I wouldn't be able to say much. But back on topic...don't you see the problem with taking one of these two out?"
"The problem? What could be the problem?"
"Clearly, you don't know everything. That mayor's knowledge only goes so far. I wouldn't mind if you destroy one of them but know this...one of these ponies is harbouring an intense level of anger. That anger can turn into magic and unleash a ferocious form that will certainly overpower you and anyone here, becoming a massive threat to all those who oppose the entity."
"You're talking about...Sorrowful Rage Magic!" The Demon and Ash's group would collectively say. They knew what Sombra was referring to. Hearing that name struck fear into the Memory Demon. It was strange to see a demon of all creatures being fearful of that one magic. That one magic seemed to have some recognition judging by the reaction. It wasn't just Mayor Mare's memory being used.
"Hah! That'd be the case if Princess Luna was here. But she's not, so hah." The demon laughed.
"Who said I was referring to Luna?" But Sombra referred to another pony. The only other pony that possessed this terrifying magic. Only he knew.
"Who?" Unfortunately for the Memory Demon, it wasn't aware of the second user. Mainly because the second Sorrowful Rage Magic was never publically revealed compared to what Luna unleashed.
"Let's find out. Do it. Set off the explosion." Sombra encouraged. "I'll be the majority in this if you don't mind."
"Don't do it!" Applejack shook her head violently as everyone else aside from Ash, protested against this. Twilight was noticeably quiet as she knew that Sombra was referring to her. But was it in a good light?
"Do it." But Sombra insisted that the demon go through with this, no matter how hard the others would argue. "Take the right one out at once. You know you want to. But you will have to feel the wrath of whoever unleashes the magic. And for your sake, I hope your blotted body can flow away in time. I look forward to seeing your decision.
"Please! I don't wanna go!" Sweetie Belle cried.
"Uh..." Now, the Memory Demon had to choose as well. Taking out Sweetie Belle could unlock that Sorrowful Rage Magic and the demon immediately thought that Rarity was wielding it. But taking out Lyra could also spark something.
"Fine. If you won't...I'll choose." Just then, surprising everyone, Sombra went towards one of the spheres. He used his shadowy form to race straight towards Lyra's sphere. The Memory Demon stopped what it was doing as Sombra was about to do all the work for it instead.
Right then and there, Sombra would smash his head against the ink sphere, setting it off as intended. The decision had been made. Lyra would be taken. "Great choice!" The Memory Demon needed up agreeing with Sombra's decision, despite also being terrified of what was to come. The clones of the Memory Demon certainly wouldn't want to be caught up in the explosion as they instantly vanished, returning as ink blots on the ground.
"Superpower!"
"Braviary!" Arriving at the Speed of Sound was Braviary. Not just a Braviary, but Rainbow-Braviary. A high-speed talon came flying in with tons of Infinity Energy as it reached the ink-blotted side of the Memory Demon's face. Although physical attacks were ineffective, the sheer force of the velocity and the sonic boom that came from it blew away the other half of Mayor Mare's ink body and the claws that held the Memory Demon.
It found itself being pushed off the claws, falling off as at the same time, the spheres would dissipate. In reality, it was only Sombra's shadow that reached the bubble. His head was only one inch away. Thanks to the shadows being similar to the air itself, the spheres were not set off.
Thanks to Rainbow Dash's interference, the Memory Demon's control over the spheres was quickly shut down by Twilight Sparkle's magic. Using her magic, she managed to separate the spheres by splitting them. With no one interrupting her, this could be done freely. Lyra took a deep breath before slumping onto the ground.
"That was close...Thank Celestia..."
"Sweetie Belle! Lyra! Oh, you're both still in one piece!" Rarity ran over, hugging her little sister who was absolutely mortified by this.
"R-Rainbow Dash...She wasn't here before!" The Memory Demon said before quickly using a platform to catch itself once more by using leftover ink. But thanks to that Superpower, the other half was drooping violently, making a mess everywhere while trying to recover.
"Great work, Sombra. A bit too close for comfort though." Ash said.
"I like to make things dramatic. I could've gone to drama school had I not been robbed of my childhood." Sombra boasted before putting on a cunning smirk. Honestly. Even if the options are critical, with enough time, something will come crashing in. Such as that pony and her eagle."
"You didn't want me to blow up at all, did you?" Sweetie Belle looked over. "Thanks, Sombra..."
"That was your plan from the start. Your shadows wouldn't have done a thing to the ink." Twilight added.
"It was. As if I'd let a coward claim victory in any way, shape or form. Even still, there were other options aside from that grass dinosaurs of yours. It would've been up to you to find out who. But don't get the wrong idea. If a similar predicament comes up, you will sort it out on your own. I won't help you at all."
"Gee, thanks, I guess?" Twilight responded. "You had us worried there though. Especially with how quiet you were Ash. Nice save, by the way, Rainbow Dash!"
"I saw the explosions back up at Cloudsdale," said Rainbow Dash as she descended with Braviary. "But I didn't think it'd be ink that did all of this. Are you guys okay?"
"We're fine. It's not over yet though." Ash adjusted his hat, knowing that the Memory Demon had more to give. So as long as the ink remained, there was a massive resource that could go on forever.
"Bummer...that didn't free her." Rainbow Dash growled as the ink regenerated itself, returning half of Mayor Mare's original shape. It was as if nothing happened. Nothing at all.
"Yeesh! That was a close one." The Memory Demon said, seemingly unbothered by how it was tricked as it laughed maniacally. "But...I'm pretty annoyed by how you got me, Sombra!" But in reality, it was aggravated by Sombra's trick. "You ruined a great moment for me!"
"Hmph. You don't know everything about me, unfortunately. After all, I refuse to walk around Ponyville at all and sometimes Canterlot. Anywhere else will do. The mayor doesn't even consider me a citizen due to who I truly am."
"Fine...you got me there. But. If you think that was my best trick, think again! I can still do so much! How's this for cowardly, Sombra?!" Just then, the ink blots around Braviary's talons went off.
Since he kicked the Memory Demon, ink was lathered around his talons and even some of his wings. Unbeknownst to Braviary, these were bombs. And unfortunately for Rainbow Dash, since she was still using the Harmony Phenomenon to sync with Braviary, once the explosions set off, it wouldn't just be Braviary who felt them.
"B-Brav!"
"Gaaah!" Rainbow Dash felt the same pain as Braviary but to a less staggering degree. Both of them cried out before falling out of the sky. Ash quickly caught Rainbow Dash while Sceptile caught Braviary. Rainbow-Braviary's transformation would soon be dropped upon taking these outbursts.
"And this!" To prove a point, the Memory Demon went a step further, using more of its latent abilities that it never got the chance to use. By using more of the leftover ink, it then formed a sea of destructive ink that would gather together to form this violent mass of black liquids.
Soon, a tidal wave of ink came flying in. The buildings were caught up in this destructive wave as many innocents who tried to distance themselves from the potential explosion were unfortunately caught up in this. This turbulent ink wave would violently crash through everything that stood in its way. Various homes would suffer because of this
Twilight would put up a magical shield around her friends right as the wave came rapidly towards them all. However, the second her barrier met with the wave, cracks were already beginning to form. The destructive power of this ink wave was not to be ignored. Not at all.
The wave would continue growing, catching more and more innocents along the way as they all took a turbulent and unpleasant ride. Twilight's shield would even be ripped out of the ground, becoming part of this ride.
"If it keeps going, my home'll get caught up in this!" Applejack growled before bumping her head on the barrier from these chaotic movements. The tidal wave was aiming to go after all of Ponyville. Sweet Apple Acres and the Pokemon House were involved as well.
"My home...Pallet Town!" Ash soon noticed how the gateway to Pallet Town could be caught up in this ink wave too.
"Hmph. It can use whatever it wishes. It's still fragile." Sombra scoffed, still growing unimpressed of the Memory Demon's power. "Hurry up and break free already. You have the means to do so."
"Right! I know that!" Twilight would use her Rift Magic to solve this. She turned her barrier into something else other than a barrier. By inverting it, she managed to create a form of suction from the magical barrier. But only from the front. This suction of energy would suck up the waves that came this way, sending them to an unknown space within the open hole of this barrier. But the barrier's open hole wasn't where Twilight and her friends were currently situated at. It was somewhere else as seen by the black void in the front.
Twilight would then shoot the ink right back at the ink demon by unleashing all the ink she suctioned up. The Memory Demon would duck for cover, attempting to avoid its own ink. But that failed miserably. Twilight manipulated the ink by redirecting it. Thinking that it managed to evade its own ink, the Memory Demon would be struck from above. By being struck by its own ink, the tidal wave would come to an end due to the demon losing control over it thanks to Twilight's interference.
"Nice hit, Twilight!" Spike cheered.
"Not quite!" But not even a minute later, right after being struck down, the voice of the Memory Demon came back as it emerged behind Twilight Sparkle and her friends. They would all soon turn to find out that the Memory Demon slipped through the attack by simply becoming one with it. Attacking it with ink was just as pointless since that was it's main element. Once it emerged, it used the ink to create more doubles. "That was close though. Too many close calls to call for."
"I wish we could just get rid of that ink already." Fluttershy shuddered. "What beats ink?!"
"I don't know! It's not a Pokemon Type or anything!" Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"The only thing we can do is keep attacking that part of Mayor Mare withuot hurting her." Ash answered. "But we don't how to get it away from her. One half of Mayor Mares still her but she's not saying anything. The rest of it is all the demon's doing. And since there are 14 more we gotta deal with, this night won't be easy. Or the next night."
"Same to you. I wouldn't expect anything less from your friend group. Though they may not be their counterparts, they're just as difficult to take down." The Memory Demon replied. Both of them were trouble for each other. Though, one was considerably tougher and harder to reach.
"Are Apple Bloom and Scootaloo anywhere near here?" Rarity asked. Since Sweetie Belle had been saved, she was hoping that her closest friends were just as safe.
"Apple Bloom's back home. Scootaloo went over to Pallet Town for a bit." Sweetie Belle answered. "It's gonna be weird when they come back here."
"Hopefully, they don't get caught up in what we experienced." Lyra sighed. "But can someone figure out how to stop this ink demon?"
"We already know how. We just have to hit it hard!" Ash had a simple-minded solution. "From afar though. But that's not gonna be an issue at all."
"The only way we can save Mayor Mare is by getting rid of that one half. So our attacks have to be extremely precise, or else we'll harm her too." Twilight explained.
"I don't like the sound of that..." The Memory Demon backed up as it could see the passion in their eyes. The more fired up they got, the better they could perform. The memories of Mayor Mare made that clear. "If I don't do something, they'll keep finding ways to best me. I need to outdo them before they outdo me...I suppose I can do this. I'll make a contract!"
"Contract?" They all repeated.
"I admit it! You're all difficult to get through! But that won't stop me from trying everything in the book! As one of the 100 Demons, I can make a contract with the head demon even when I'm out of the box. " The Memory Demon raised Mayor Mare's hoof as more of its power was revealed.
Or rather, something that any demon could do. Making a contract. By using its magical power, a single black wisp was shot into the sky. This wisp would then expand before summoning a giant contract. The demon wasn't joking when it mentioned one. It was truly a physical contract for everyone to see.
"I'm making a Dark Contract straight through the gates of the underworld and I can request some assistance!" The Memory Demon laughed as the strange words on the contract would flash violet colours. Then, red lightning crashed out of the contract before striking down the Memory Demon.
The skies would also receive this red lightning as a violent wind kicked up. The Memory Demon along with the true half of Mayor Mare would morph. The ink would sharpen up before creating a second head. A second head of Mayor Mare appeared from the side of the Memory Demon along with a second hoof. The dual bodies would end up twisting violently as another hoof was trying to emerge.
"W-What is this...?!" Rarity was disgusted by what she was witnessing. The force f this transforming also expanded the ink. The ink blots on the ground would grow immediately, also growing heads of Mayor Mare. But each of these blots would have multiple heads instead of just a consistent singular one. These heads would bash through buildings, leaving visible holes in them while also contaminating the grass with their darkness.
"I know about this." Sombra narrowed his eyes. "This only proves my point. When a demon feels that they're in too much trouble, at times, they'll make a contract. The easy way out."
"It's an ugly transformation but it helps to enhance our performances as demons. Until now, we haven't been able to make contracts, but thanks to Opal Vivacity, that can all change! Once it's done, your time is up!"
"As if we'd let you finish! Go, Pikachu! Electroweb!"
"Pika-Pika-Pika! Chu-Pi!" Pikachu would interrupt this transformation. He created an electric orb around his tail, flinging it. This orb would then turn into a web, instantly grabbing the Memory Demon's face. The web was adjusted to even grab the other parts of its body. Mayor Mare was exempt.
"No use!" All the clones equally said as the main demon would shrugg of the web by having the ink consume it all. It was still transforming as more body parts were starting to emerge.
"Bayleef. I'm gonna need you to get close with me." Twilight requested. "Your leaf can help us change things up. Victini. You'll be there for the extra boost. My Rift Magic's erratic enough to try something wild."
"We'll make a clear path for you." Ah reassured. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Castform! Weather Ball!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Indeed they would. Pikachu and Castform would go after these horrific clones that would swarm towards them. The bolts electrocuted the clones while the Weather Ball would leave holes in them. Twilight, Victini and Bayleef were free to move onwards with their friends giving them a pathway.
"Come on...faster!" The demon yelled as it was waiting for the transformation to finish up. Alas, thanks to the interference of Ash and the others, the blots of ink which were connected to the transformation were being taken out, slowing things down.
"Frenzy Plant, Sceptile!"
"Energy ball, Leavanny!"
"Audi! Hyper Beam!"
"Audi...No!" The attacks would only grow in numbers. Hyper Beam, Frenzy Plant and Energy Ball came rushing in, blowing away the swarms of clones and delaying the transformation. Hyper Beam was the most effective, covering a wider range overall. Some of the clones would sway away from the attacks, going straight for the trainers instead.
"Espeon!" Even without Twilight, Espeon could do something. She used Dazzling Gleam to cover a wider range as well, purging the clones with rainbow rays. Frenzy Plant would get ahead of the other attacks, going straight for the Memory Demon.
But instead of attacking the ink, it would grab Mayor Mare's real body. "Hang on a minute!" The Memory Demon gasped. "You're going to try and hurt her?!"
"Not one bit! I'm just giving Twilight here a better chance to pull her out. Go, Twilight!" Applejack encouraged as Twilight would reach the Memory Demon thanks to the pathway her friends made.
"Gotcha!" Twilight would use her Rift Magic, overlaying the ink with an aura of cosmic energy. The Memory Demon along with its extra head, found itself being frozen in place. Not only that, but Frenzy Plant was keeping the real side of Mayor Mare still.
But the demon had too much tenacity. It made an extra head from the ground below. This head elongated, stretching all the way to try and reach Twilight. As for everyone else, they already had ink blots on them, resulting in those bombs being set off. Audino and the others would take more explosive punishment yet again but it was worth it to try and guarantee Twilight's success.
"Hoopa won't let you!" But seeing the head rush in, Hoopa would use his ring to intercept this attack. The Mischief Pokemon would throw the ring in the direction of the head, using it as a way to juke it out. The head would fly through the ring, going elsewhere instead of Twilight, Bayleef and Victini. The head only ended up crashing into another one of its fellow ink demons as a counterattack.
"Bay...!" Working with Twilight, Bayleef dropped a leaf onto the Memory Demon while Victini grabbed them both by their tails. Once they all united, Bayleef's fate-changing leaf kicked in, responding to whatever Twilight had in mind. Victini's only there to guarantee that they could have enough strength.
"Gh...! Gaaahaa!" The demon groaned as it was actually starting to feel some pain. Twilight's will to try and separate Mayor Mare was mainly helped by these two Pokemon. With sheer force, she ripped out the true half of Mayor Mare from the Memory Demon. It was revealed that the demon was nothing but a husk as Mayor Mare's entire body was revealed. The roots from Frenzy Plant would soon pull her away.
"It doesn't matter though!" The demon's voice rapidly changed into something else that was not like Mayor Mare's voice at all. "I still have my original body!"
Though they freed Mayor Mare, the demon wasn't defeated yet. They only got rid of its husk. And upon freeing Mayor Mare, at the same time, the demon could still fight back instantly. "You fools! If I can't transform...then I'll use the contract for this!"
"!" Twilight then noticed how the demon started flashing. This only meant one thing. An explosion was due And this time, it was rough. This was less like a transformation and more like a special move. Twilight, Bayleef and Victini were caught up in this combustion. This was the risk they took as the red lightning flared out right afterwards.
"Twilight! Bayleef! Victini!" Ash cried out their names after witnessing the explosion. Three great friends were caught up in what seemed to be the most vicious one from the Memory Demon thus far as their eyes all lit up with the view of darkness.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
The black dust settled. After a fierce struggle to try and free Mayor Mare from the possession of the Memory Demon, it worked but in the end, the demon fought back in a destructive way. Though the mayor was safe, the demon itself was still active as Twilight, Bayleef and Victini had been caught up in the outburst that came right after the mayor's freedom.
Dropping out of the ink-blotted explosion were the three unfortunate ones to be caught up in it. And unfortunately, they took some visible and serious damage in the process. Twilight, Victini and Bayleef dropped to the ground with a plethora of bruises on them.
Twilight writhed on the floor as there was already a chunk of Bayleef's missing. Not only that but the majority of her leaf was covered in ink from all sides. Victini wasn't any better.
"Twilight! Victini! Bayleef!" Rushing to their side was Ash, followed by Espeon, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.
"Bay..." With a chunk of her leaf missing and also having some ink around it, Bayleef groaned. The moon was still up so there Sun wasn't here to regenerate it at all. Thanks to Bayleef, it was easy to see that she was the reason why they didn't fully perish in the explosion. Bayleef was once again the best possible saviour but at the cost of her own health. In this instance, the explosion was fierce enough to still damage them even when Bayleef used her power.
"Audi! Use Heal Pulse, quickly!" Fluttershy uttered. Audino would get to work, spreading healing energy around all three of them as soon as she could. Applejack and Rarity held Mayor Mare, who was currently unconscious.
"Twilight! Wake up!" Ash held her up as so far, Twilight was unresponsive. So were Victini and Bayleef. But thankfully, they could still make noises, confirming that they were still with them. Twilight would soon groan, narrowing her eyes to see Ash and Pikachu staring at her.
"Ash...Pikachu... It worked. We got her out of there. But even still..." Twilight breathed in and out as all those explosions made her horn smoke. These bruises also had burn marks on them, only elevating the pain. Twilight, Bayleef and Victini did well, but even so, they took some heavy damage in the process.
Espeon whimpered when witnessing Twilight in this state. It was rare for her to be this injured. Worried, the Sun Pokemon would nudge Twilight's face.
As for the Memory Demon, there was seemingly no sign of it. But in reality, it was everywhere at once. After the explosion, blots of ink scattered across Ponyville. Roofs, rubble, grass, trees, etc. The demon truly made sure most of itself was nearly everywhere. Each of these blots would vibrate before all moving. The blots of ink then started gathering in one place.
Once more, the demon was starting to regenerate. Even after all that, the endless resource of its own element was enough to bring it back. This was followed by horrific howling and maniacal laughter. Before they knew it, the Memory Demon had returned.
"No way...it's back?!" Rainbow Dash couldn't believe her eyes. All the ink, apart from the ones that were stuck to Bayleef's leaf, were pulled together in one spot, reforming the Memory Demon as it took on a different form, no longer appearing as Mayor Mare.
Instead, it now showed up in its original form that was more familiar to Ash and Pikachu when they first saw it months ago. But instead of one eye, it now had multiple eyes, even showing its bat wings.
"That was risky on my own part. Obviously, it didn't take them out. I still need those memories. But you're all certainly giving me enough trouble as it is."
"Hang on...that's a totally different demon!" Ash gasped as he quickly remembered another demon that looked just like this one. This didn't seem to be the Memory Demon's true form for what he remembered. "That's the one before the Memory Demon showed up with Opal!"
"Ah, you noticed!" The demon spoke while continuing to recollect itself. "You wouldn't be wrong! In actuality, we're both different in what we can do but we can also share the same appearance! I can appear as that other demon thanks to my power to borrow memories! When I was in there, I stole its appearance along with many other demons! So no matter what, you'll always catch me in a different form! And once I take your memories, I'll steal your appearances and know everything about your life! So that way, I'll know everyone I've met as if we were always good buddies! How fun is that?!"
"That's just great. We could have our lives stolen by this thing?" Applejack snarled.
"I left something behind for you three friends there. The ink that's around Bayleef's leaf will keep that amazing power of hers in check. But I'm impressed, Princess Twilight. Using Magic Coating around yourself to prevent my ink from getting on you. Too bad it didn't protect you from harm."
"Ash. Everyone...Listen." Twilight groaned as she was still conscious, but barely. Her wings fluttered weakly as Ash would help her up. "That ink is tricky. It's ink from the underworld, so its properties are obviously different to what we know and expect...but its weaknesses are the same."
"What beats out ink?" Rainbow Dash asked immediately. A clear answer to stopping this demon and its tricky ink would be greatly beneficial. "I felt it when that explosion reached me. And judging from all the explosions we've experienced, Fire won't work at all. That demon can detonate them too so ice is probably out of the question, even if it's liquid."
"So if Fire and Ice won't work, then what will?" Spike added.
"The only thing that could bypass the explosions is water. It's like the Pokemon Type Chart we're so used to. The explosions can be held back by the wetness of the water. Water normally washes away ink and it seems to also have some sharpness to it, much like Steel. Steel isn't very effective on Water-Types so try and use that logic to win this. And make sure you kick up a gust of wind too to permanently get rid of it. Give it an air-dry."
"Right. Thanks, Twilight. Rest up, okay?" Ash thanked her before gently letting the Princess of Friendship down, leaving her to Espeon. The Sun Pokemon would stand by Twilight, taking a break from this battle just to shield her trainer.
"Thanks...But I can still do something even like this." But Twilight refused to stay out of the action. "But...healing up doesn't sound so bad right now. I just hope Mayor Mare is doing better than us right now."
"Hoopa."Ash turned to face Hoopa, knowing what needed to be done. Water and Air-Drying. Only two Pokemon-Types were experts in that category. Water and Flying-Types. But they also had Pokemon on their side that could also fulfil that role. Ash, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Spike each had a Pokemon that could either generate water or even air dry.
"Hoopa's got this!" What better way to beat out the ink demon than to use overwhelming numbers? Truly overwhelming numbers that would bring about great elemental forces. After Twilight revealed the weakness of the demon, it was time to go all in. By raising his ring, Hoopa selected random Pokemon that would get the job done.
Flying-Types soared out of the ring with grace. Hoopa wasn't exactly creative with which Flying-Types he chose. He just simply picked out as many as he could. But at the same time, when trying to summon Water-Types, he ended up bringing the sea with him.
The moment the Flying-Types emerged, trying to look cool with their aerial tricks, they were immediately caught off guard by the massive stream of water that came crashing down. Their eyes widened as various Water-Types came along with the sea and very soon, so would Ash and everyone else.
"Hoopa, wait!" But it was too late. Rarity exclaimed moments after she and her friends were caught in this rampant wave. Everyone screamed as Espeon would instinctively carry Twilight with Psychic, but the wave was far too strong to avoid. All the Water-Types were greatly confused. One minute they're casually in their homes and the next, they find themselves in an ink-covered town.
But despite how reckless it was, it was the best way to go due to how massive this wave was. And by the look of the Memory Demon's expression, once it fully recovered, this wave made its eyes bulge out.
"That's good..." Twilight groaned while being splashed by the water. "Get rid of its resources too. As long as there's some ink around, it'll find a way to retaliate..."
"Silly Genie! I can do the same!" Just like before, the demon could create a tidal wave of ink that viciously formed together by using the seemingly endless resource of ink. Soon, the ink tidal wave would meet with the natural tidal wave, resulting in a titanic clash of elements. Blue and Black respectively.
Of course, such a clash would generate aggressive splashes and water flows that would affect both sides. But one side clearly had a beneficial skill. The demon could manipulate the ink even as a tidal wave. The demon would notice how the water would begin overlaying over its ink as indeed, water was a great response to this. To try and avoid this, the Memory Demon would try and raise the ink to higher levels, attempting to escape from the tidal wave.
"A-Audino!" Audino became a surfboard for those who managed to land on her back. But the other Water-Types would act as ways to traverse the water as they weren't bothered by the tidal wave at all. And of course, none of them were avoiding this battle.
As always, Hoopa had the ability to not only summon whatever he wanted but even those who are summoned by him worked for him automatically. Whether it was his Restrained Form or Unbound Form. Even though his Unbound Form certainly did it by absolute force. The Water-Types and even the befuddled Flying-Types would cooperate, understanding the assignment.
Different Water-Type attacks would meet with the ink, washing it away and dwindling the demon's resources. They were not infinite at all. All they needed to do was get rid of every last drop. And with this massive tidal wave, this could potentially clean out the town.
"So they figured out my weakness!" The demon would exclaim, confirming that Twilight found a breakthrough.
"Go, Dragonite!" Ash would send out his Dragonite post-haste. By throwing the Poke Ball in the air which would soon gravitate back to his pocket automatically, emerging at last was the Dragon Pokemon of Kanto. Dragonite.
"Dragonite!"
"Come out! Milotic!" Covering her eyes from all the splashing water, Rarity was able to send out her own Water-Type in the form of Milotic who would immediately carry Rarity upon arriving. To make things easier for the unicorn and her little sister, Milotic would carry them both on her back.
Spike would soon send out his Goodra and Salamence respectively as he could cover both elements respectively. Goodra would generate the Water while Salamence would generate the wind.
"Milotic! Use, Hydro Pump!"
"Goodra, Surf!"
"Flap your wings, Dragonite! Hurricane!"
"Braviary! Do the same with Superpower!"
"Milo...!" Milotic and Goodra would go before Dragonite, Braviary and Salamence. They needed to wet the ink before they could air-dry it. And by combining her Water attacks with other Water-Types, the Hydro Pump would blast a hole through parts of the ink due to the overwhelming pressure. Goodra only added to the tidal wave by creating an equally large wave.
The tidal wave had already affected the opposing ink wave so the time to flap their wings was now. Dragonite and other Flying-Types would generate gusts of wind in the best way they knew how. Giant gusts of wind blew in the direction of the tidal wave, focusing on the parts that had been softened up for them. Braviary did so by using Superpower to clap his wings together, making the pressure even greater than what his standard wing beats could make.
Just as Twilight said, it worked. The remaining weakness of ink had been exposed as parts of the opposing wave were being washed away. Following up was the mighty barrage of wind pressures that would then dry the ink out, rendering it useless. The Memory Demon's many eyes watched as its resources were being dried out or even fading into the wind.
"Nice! It's working!" Ash pumped his fist as this approach was the best method against the Memory Demon, even though everyone else was being carried away by the water.
"Can't there be a better way?!" Lyra screamed while rolling in the water. As for everyone's homes, a ton of cleanup would be needed after this. That is if they can win this.
The Memory Demon would also even notice how droplets of water started crashing down. Someone had used Rain Dance. Whichever Pokemon did it, it would only put pressure on this demon some more. When trying to regenerate, its resources were being taken away by the ever-increasing number of water.
"I'm losing ink faster than I can regenerate it!" The Memory Demon gasped. And with how fast the wave spread along with Ponyville being a town instead of a city, the possibility of finding some space was incredibly slim. As such, the Memory Demon tried escaping, using the remainder of its ink to slither into the sky.
"You won't get away! Dragonite, go!"
"Rrr!" Dragonite would pursue the Memory Demon along with Salamence and Braviary, refusing to let it leave. The demon would slither through the skies like a snake, moving over the roofs while also using its bat wings to gain extra acceleration.
From below, every part of it was being washed and dried away, limiting how far it could go. It was rare to see a demon being the one that was chased down but when it comes to Pokemon, that can change. However, the Memory Demon's cunning nature would still find a way to strike back even when being pushed back. Even its eyes were being taken away, leaving very few to view with.
"You surface, sky and bottom dwellers shouldn't get too ahead of yourself...!" It retaliated with the remainder of its strength and resources in the best way it could think of. But before that, something else was said by it. "It's risky to make a second contract in a row...but I'll make another one with the gate!"
The contract in the sky was still there. Even with all the rain pouring, the paper was not affected at all. However, upon hearing the Memory Demon take the contract for a second time in a row, that's when the paper mysteriously pulsated its signature red colours. No one knew what this meant except for the Memory Demon.
Before the demon could do so, a familiar voice echoed in its head. For a moment, all of its actions stopped just to listen to this voice that only it could hear. This was none other than Opal Vivacity's voice.
"Another contract?" Opal spoke through the demon's mind from whereabouts unknown. "Are you sure about that? You know what happens when you make another dark contract with the gate, don't you?"
"I do...but they're getting the better of me, wiping away my resources. I can't regenerate fast enough to best them at this rate and I haven't even taken all of their memories!"
"If you want to take that risk, then sure. But you know the consequences. And they'll be difficult to recover from. Practically impossible unless you find a way to cheat. Do you still want to take the second contract?"
"I do! In exchange for billions of years off my lifespan, I will gladly have a chance to pull off one successful move!" The Memory Demon declared. Judging by what it just spouted out, its lifespan, which was extremely long considering that it had been inside the box for centuries, would be cut short. But it would all be worth it for one successful move. A move that was so successful that it would work with maximum efficiency.
"I'm coming for you...Fluttershy!" It eyed down Fluttershy, suddenly wanting to target the pegasus.
It would then use the rest of its body as a weapon, unleashing a blunt tendril of ink. Dragonite and the other airborne Pokemon would simply fly to the side, evading a potentially hard blow. Fluttershy didn't have the power of Bayleef to save her. So her own instincts and reaction were needed for this. But before she could do that, Audino would get in front of the pegasus, using Protect. "Audino!"
"Just kidding~" But it was all a lie. It would shift its ink elsewhere, avoiding Audino's Protect as the main target was actually Hoopa. Not Fluttershy. Saying Fluttershy's name was a dud. The tendril wasn't going for her at all. The Memory Demon grinned, knowing exactly who it was going for.
It was going for Hoopa.
Hoopa was the real target, being potentially the biggest threat just because of his power to pull anything from space. Any counter to the Memory Demon could be made if this were to continue.
With a sudden speed-up, the blunt tendril ink would reach Hoopa within seconds, right as the Mischief Pokemon realized who it was truly aiming for. It bypassed every Pokemon, ignoring them completely and focusing on the strongest link. Hoopa attempted to save Ash by using his ring, hoping to send the ink elsewhere.
Alas, someone would be the target instead. Ash got in the way, taking this massive tendril to the chest to defend Hoopa. He was the only one who saw the true target. He successfully pushed Hoopa out of the way, but in the end, he wasn't fast enough to get himself out of the way.
A direct hit. Ash received this hit from the ink to the chest. He grimaced before staggering. After everything that happened, the demon managed to strike another target successfully, but not the one it was expecting. Upon hitting Ash, he would then be taken out by the remainder of rain and wind that was kicked up.
"Ash!" Everyone yelled as Ash moved back, holding his chest which was now caught by the ink. It went straight through his jacket and shirt instead of just making a mess.
"Pika-Pi!"
"Oh...man...!" Ash groaned before kneeling. Right as the Memory Demon's resources came to an end, it took the chance to get a few licks in. And by hitting Ash, it succeeded. Partially. Obtaining memories from everyone else was a bust. Everything calmed down as the tidal wave came to an end. All the ink had been washed away. The Memory Demon was seemingly nowhere to be found.
Ash took a deep breath, holding his chest and panting at every moment. He held himself together instead of dropping directly to the ground. All his friends would gather around him with Audino quickly dropping her barrier to come to his aid.
"Ash! Are you alright?!" Fluttershy asked as Audino was already fixated on healing him next. She had a lot of work to do because of the Memory Demon.
"Ashkan!" Seeing that Ash saved him yet again, Hoopa would bounce over. Much like Hoopa, Ash was also reckless, but in the best way he could be. Although, it could also be dangerous to himself at times and this was one of them. "Is Ashkan okay?!"
"Meloetta?!"
"I'll be fine...but man this hurts..." Ash growled as he quickly lowered the top of his shirt. Since the ink didn't mess his clothes up, it stands to reason that it was potentially his skin. Indeed it was. Right above his chest, a black spot could be seen. Courtesy of the Memory Demon. "Ggghhh!" It didn't seem like it was getting any better as Ash would then drop to the ground.
"Ash..." An equally harmed Twilight uttered with a weak voice as not even Ash would be exempt from heavy bodily harm. His friends would try and help him up, but helping him up wasn't enough. He needed to be taken to a hospital immediately while Bayleef and Victini needed the Pokemon Center at once.
And while everyone was concerned about their friend and their wellbeing, there was no sign of any ink blots at all. All of them had been cleared out with every building being drenched in water and dried off afterwards with tiny droplets remaining.
However, there was one ink blot that was away from everyone's view. Just near the outskirts of the town, this ink blot remained and still had sentience. The blot of ink, which was still the Memory Demon would slither away, moving through the cracks in the ground to conceal itself. Unbeknownst to them, the Memory Demon may have been defeated, but it was not gone yet.
And unfortunately, that was only one of the 15 Demons that had been unleashed. 14 were still out there. And no one was quite sure what to expect from them. All they could do was prepare for the worst as the journey continues.
Ponyville was recently covered in ink and now that was swiftly replaced by the drench of water. It could be considered a soggy mess now after everything that transpired. The important thing was that the Memory Demon was defeated but as a cost, four individuals took significant damage.
Ash, Twilight, Bayleef and Victini. Bayleef and Victini found themselves being healed up at the local hospital and the Pokemon Center. Audino's Heal Pulse wasn't enough. As for Ash and Twilight, it was the hospital for them.
Ash received a black spot on his chest thanks to the Memory Demon which brought along some severe pain. This black spot of ink also resembled the magic that one of the other vampires, Melody Moon, possesses. He laid there on his bed holding his chest as the spot had yet to leave. A Heal Pulse from Audino didn't do the trick and unfortunately, the doctor couldn't do any better.
"Sorry. This is out of my expertise. Again." The doctor shrugged. "I can let you rest up and that's about it. This needs Magical Involvement from Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. For you, Ash. Princess Twilight. You can just lay there and recover but this black spot is all about magic."
"Thanks anyway." Ash groaned before looking over at Twilight who was on the other side. Twilight, after taking a harsh explosion which she barely managed to resist with the best of her abilities, was keeping herself conscious only because of the Rift Magic within her. "Twilight. Are you doing any better?"
"I don't know. Glad I became a vessel for this magic just for this one moment. But that Memory Demon was way more troublesome than we expected. And there are 14 more that we have to deal with?"
"At least we stopped it." said Rarity. "Although, you've all been badly injured. Maybe you should stay here before doing anything else. Especially you, Ash. You'll be too eager to get back into the action."
"Hehe...yeah." Ash laughed as there was no disputing that at all. Even when he's injured, he would try and chime in. But by laughing, Ash triggered the black spot some more, causing him to strain.
"Pika-Pi!" Pikachu would climb up the bed in response to Ash's pain. Meloetta and Hoopa would soon gather around him too with stressful expressions.
"Don't worry, Pikachu. But man, this stuff is rough. Sitting up hurts and so does laughing." Ash sighed. "It's gonna take something else to get it out."
"Water and wind won't wash it away either," Applejack added. "That demon left something pretty bad behind. This ain't like the other ink blots."
"I've called Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They're still with Iris right now." Spike held up his Xtransceiver. "They'll be here as soon as they can. They're kinda preparing for the worst to come."
"How can you still smile even when you're in pain?" Standing in the corner, away from everyone else, was none other than Sombra. He already left Ash's body, deciding to stand on the outside. Though he stated that he wouldn't walk around Ponyville, for this one instance, he made an exception but only for Ash's condition."Impressive. Very impressive."
"Sombra. Do you know about this?" Ash asked, hoping that Sombra's knowledge could extend far enough to know about this spot. He seemed to know about the Memory Demon and the box from earlier.
"You will need magic to rip it out. That spot is eerily similar to a curse that already exists. But that one requires music along with unrelenting heat to make it work. That is the superior version compared to what you received."
"Is there a way to get rid of it?" Sweetie Belle asked, hoping that Sombra could also find a solution to this. She felt comfortable asking the former tyrannical ruler of the Crystal Empire solely because he practically saved her life from a potential explosion.
"Hmmrgh..." Sombra grumbled. Unfortunately for him, he knew that Ash was far too valuable to him. Since he and Ash were connected, if Ash goes out, Sombra would follow suit and there was no way to prevent it. "For my own sake...I must share this. But only for my sake. You're all lucky. Because of how the Umbrum have relations to the Dread League, this is the greatest opportunity for you to know various secrets."
"The Umbrum are connected to the Dread League? So you know everything about them?" Ash asked.
"Not everything. But quite a lot. It all has ties back to the Crystal Empire since that is the closest to Magehold. All the Umbrum were imprisoned in another realm but before that, I learned that they once moved through the underworld casually without being locked up. Those demons and that box did come from the underworld after all. As for that spot, your ruler is the answer. I can confirm that Celestia is the only one who can remove this."
"Why only her?" Rarity threw more questions in.
"Do you think those demons were just being held back just because they had nothing better to do? That's far from the truth." He shook his head. "The 100 Demons once attacked the world centuries ago before the box was even made. They were free to do whatever and cause as much chaos as they could with seemingly no limitations. This world would look a lot differently if they were given more time to unleash their destructive urges. But even before your Princess was born, someone stopped them."
"Was it another princess?" Rainbow Dash was expecting it to be another princess. Possibly an alicorn if all 100 of them were defeated.
"No one knows. Not even the Umbrum. What is known is that it was the representation of the True Sun. The Sun may appear yellow and orange but it is actually white. Some say that it was the higher cosmic forces up there intervening. But despite how brief the appearance of this Sun-clad pony was, it used the brilliance of the Sun to overpower every curse that those demons brought with extreme justice. Much like your princess, it was able to control the Sun itself. But instead of just moving it across the cosmic skies, they say that it could bring the Sun to Earth."
"Wow! That sounds amazing!" That story was stellar to the ears as Sweetie Belle's eyes lit up. "Do you think we could find whoever that is?! That'd be a lot of help!"
"Yes! Let history repeat itself!" Rarity nodded in approval.
"Impossible." But Sombra shut them down. "Despite what I said, there is one other thing known about this solar entity. It used up so much power in its battle against the 100 Demons. And unexpectedly, it was far too weak to do anything else. No one knows how, but it ended up falling, dissipating into nothing but tiny solar particles. However, though its existence was brief, some Umbrum say that it returned to the stars, resting at its home. But that's a lie. Queen Rabia knows that to be the truth. But the actual truth of what happened to it is a mystery."
"So what does this have to do with Princess Celestia?" Twilight groaned while sitting up. "Aside from the Sun connection?"
"Though the queen might not see it, I do. I believe your princess is the answer to that mystery. Moving the Sun is nothing to scoff at. To do such a thing, the common answer is being an alicorn or possessing high magical power. But, the Sun isn't just some celestial body in the sky. Not at all. The Sun possibly has something special within it that no one has yet to discover."
"For once...I don't know about that." But even Twilight found that to be a bit out there. "I always thought that it was just the way the magic in this world works. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna create the light and darkness by manipulating the Sun and the Moon and even when Princess Luna was gone for thousands of years, Princess Celestia could control both. It might just be that their magic is just right enough. It's their special talent.
"It is their special talent. Although, it seems like somepony still needs to learn a bit more about the world she lives in. What you're saying makes sense. But much like how you discovered the existence of aliens, there are wonders out there you have yet to truly see. And frustratingly, I will never have my chance to conquer those wonders thanks to my current state. But anyway...now you know. However, for your sake, you should hope that your princess can pull it off."
"Hmph. I'm getting there, okay?" Twilight grumbled before slumping onto the bed. She hated the fact that Sombra was potentially right.
"On the bright side, I can wait for Celestia. I've got faith in her that she'll pull it off." Ash gave a thumbs-up while having one eye open from all the pain. "Hopefully, pretty soon."
"You'd better hang in there, boy. You're far more resilient than most other humans and even these ponies. I don't expect you to go out like this." Sombra replied.
"Wait a sec...where's Pinkie Pie?!" Rainbow Dash noticed that the entire time, Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be seen. She never showed up once when the Memory Demon attacked.
"Don't worry. I checked up on her." But Spike had that covered with his Xtransceiver. With it, he could check up on his friends to see what they were up to. And from his words, he could guarantee that Pinkie Pie was doing fine. "She wasn't with us when we went to Canterlot and came back. Pinkie went to Manehattan instead. But what about Stoutland?"
"That demon said it took over Mayor Mare by showing up in a book. The crafty little thing...So right as it stole Mayor Mare's body, it must've attacked Stoutland too." Rarity answered.
"Fluttershy said she'd go and check up on him. He might still be in Town Hall. Hopefully he's doing alright." Spike added. "But don't we have 14 more of these demons to worry about?"
"The rest of the world definitely has to worry about them. If you all had trouble with one demon at its best potential then what do you think 14 more can do? And you have to worry about the other vampires that are roaming around." Sombra warned them. "So, do you think you can set out there and stop them?"
"I've got a better idea." Ash groaned while leaning forward. "We'll try and find Opal first. She's taking charge of this entire thing. And as for all the vampires, there's one way to stop them all."
"Hm. Going for the main problem first, eh? Clever. I didn't even have to tell you to do that." Sombra approved.
"Go after Opal first? Finding her will be tricky, won't it?" Spike questioned. "Where's she even at?"
"We don't know where she's at. But we can do one thing. We can try and force her out." Ash grinned as for once, he came up with a plan that was centred around ending this. Sure, he was a sucker for action, but when his friends are all in peril, that's when things change for him.
Opal Vivacity was certainly the main problem here. And from all of Ash's experiences, taking down the ringleader was the way to go as it would topple everything else. Of course, finding her was the biggest problem and there were still other problems out there to handle. From what Sombra said, this foreboding sense of dread wasn't going to stop at just the single demon they encountered.
Manehattan. Contest Hall. Nightfall.
Manehattan. Currently, Pinkie Pie found herself having a ball there. That is until she was told about the 15 Demons and the Vampires thanks to Spike. 15 Demons and various vampires to worry about, especially during the night. But she wasn't the only one who learned about this.
Pinkie Pie would also come across Coco Pommel who was to be expected over at Manehattan. At the moment, Coco and her Glaceon had just finished up a Pokemon Contest, removing all dresses and accessories.
"That's a bit scary to hear about it. I didn't think vampires were actually real." said Coco, who finished up placing her contest equipment away. "But why only 15 if it's a box of 100?"
"No clue." Pinkie Pie shrugged. "But no need to worry. We'll be fine by the end of this all. Don't let that distract you from your Pokemon Contests. By the way, great job on winning this one."
"Thanks. I think I'm ready for the Grand Festival by this point." Coco blushed. "It took a while but here we are. Besides, I would've been scolded by Mawile if I got too tense at the last moment. For the Grand Festival, I can't afford to feel tense even there. Even if it's the biggest part of a Pokemon Contest."
"Ah, I'm sure it would've been fine. But if you're still feeling pretty tense, you can always chat with Rarity and Sweetie Belle. After they recover from what just happened." Pinkie held her Xtransceiver out to her. "One knows a lot about contests thanks to Dawn and the other-"
Just then, right as her Xtransceiver was held out to the fashionista, right then and there, with the only warning being her Pinkie Sense, the device melted. It was thanks to her bizarre Pinkie sense that she was able to jump back. The device that was used for communicating with her friends was gone. Just like that.
"Mew?!" Mew, who was holding Glaceon's face, stopped what he was doing to notice this. Glaceon, who was letting it happen, would avert her attention elsewhere.
"M-My Xtransceiver..." Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped.
"Did your tail just react to the danger around you? Impressive." Just then, another voice reverberated across this room. It didn't come from Coco Pommel at all. Someone else was here. Pinkie Pie, who looked at her hoof to see if there was any damage, quickly swivelled.
Sitting next to the plethora of rental dresses was the concealed appearance of another pony who had the shadows to hide most of her, until they started moving away. Was she here the entire time? No one could answer that quite clearly. She just snuck up on them without a sound.
"Maybe I shouldn't think about it too much. I have your attention now." The pony continued before showing a rather cunning smile on her face. After looking at her, Pinkie Pie noticed vampire wings on her. As if that wasn't a dead giveaway.
"Vampire!" She screeched at the top of her lungs. Coco would soon grimace from this bellowing side before hiding behind Glaceon.
"Mew?!"
"Just so you know, there's a reason why we only sent out 15." She then hopped off the chair, adjusting her lavish scarf. "But you don't need to know that."
"Has she been here this entire time?" Coco shuddered.
"Not in here. I was outside for a while before showing up in this room. Unfortunately, I missed out on the contest. But...no way I was going to be in there in the first place. Too many lights for my taste." She rambled as if being around Pinkie Pie and Coco was casual despite the fact that she was a vampire. "But enough about me. Was that important?"
"Pretty important..." Pinkie Pie's ears dropped.
"Good to know. I made the right choice coming after you first, Pinkie Pie. Quite the celebrity, aren't you?" The vampire would close her eyes while putting on a rather smug smile. "A celebrity of meddlesome friends. So it's best that you don't get in touch with them ever again."
"Mew...!" That was a genuine threat. It was easy to see that. Mew got in front of Pinkie Pie, immediately becoming defensive to whatever could come this way. Glaceon would do the same, snarling at the vampire. Since Mew was a cat, the best he could do was hiss but his hiss wasn't that similar to a cat at all.
From what they saw, this vampire was involved with melting after the Xtransceiver just melted on the spot. For Glaceon, that could be troublesome if it worked in the way she believed.
"Merry Dread is my name." She introduced herself. "And I won't have you snarling and growling at me. Not when your trainers disapprove. Isn't that right, you two?"
"Mew?" Mew wondered what Merry Dread meant by that. It wasn't what Mew was thinking. Pinkie Pie didn't shake her head or tell Mew to calm down. Instead, something far worse happened. Unexpectedly, Pinkie's hoof wrapped around Mew's body, grabbing the New Species Pokemon. "Mew!"
But it wasn't a friendly grab or a hug. Instead, this was vigorous. A vigorous hof grab came from Pinkie Pie which would harm Mew instead of comfort him. "S-Sorry Mew! I didn't mean to...!" But from the tone in Pinkie Pie's voice, this was not intentional. Her hooves were visibly shaking as if she was trying to resist something.
Glaceon gasped before having her tail stomped on. By none other than Coco Pommel. It was a similar situation. Coco's hooves were trembling too. "Glaceon?!"
"Glaceon! I'm sorry! I can't feel my hooves that much!" Coco apologized as both Pokemon were being restrained by their own trainers, which was an unpleasant feeling on both sides.
"Hmm..." Merry Dread pondered while looking at this scenario. "Actually, maybe it'd be better if it was the other way around." Just then, by emanating magic from her vampiric wings, Merry was able to reverse the scenarios with ease.
Mew would suddenly feel control of his body being taken away as he would use his Psychic powers against Pinkie Pie. The New Species Pokemon would force Pinkie Pie off of her, restraining the earth pony. "M-Mew...!"
As for Glaceon, she would instantly freeze Coco Pommel by using her natural chilling capabilities that came from her fur. The ice would rapidly move across Coco's body, holding back her hooves. Glaceon tried stopping this, but the best she could do was slow it down. The ice would catch half of Coco Pommel, freezing her left hooves and her face.
"That's better," Merry smirked. "The stronger force is the better option. But don't hold out on me. I know you each have more Pokemon to spare. So I'll just take them off you right now. Mew. If you would..."
"You're controlling our Pokemon?!" Experiencing the first taste of what a vampire was capable of, Coco experienced Curse Magic for the first time. It was simple but effective and yet a common theme with the Dread League and those involved with them. Control.
"Duh. What else would it be? It's rather common back at Magehold. We just love control and possession~" She giggled as Mew would take Pinkie Pie's Poke Balls. All 7 of them with each containing 6 Slurpuff and one Spinda. Coco Pommel had Mawile's Poke Ball taken away from her as she was only with two Pokemon this time.
"K-Knock it off!" Pinkie Pie protested while straining herself. She would try and raise her hooves, only to accidentally hit herself in the face.
"I'd rather not. Let me have this, please. There's already a demon outside and it will hog all the glory with what it's capable of. You understand, right?" Merry would reveal that one of the 15 Demons had been released already. And at this very moment, it was on the outside while Merry handled things on the inside. "There are still people and Pokemon in this hall, right? It's smaller but I'll take what I can get."
And to make matters worse, the Xtransceiver that Pinkie Pie had was kaput. Merry Dread already knew what to do about that device, knowing how extremely valuable it is.
"Now, Pinkie Pie. You're friends with Fluttershy. This is a staggering advantage that I've made here. Would you mind taking us to her so we can recruit her? It's Opal's order, not mine."
"Mm-mm!" If she could shake her head, she would. Pinkie Pie greatly rejected this. "No way!"
"Figures...That'll only bring some hassle. Alright then. I'll just head to where she's at. Wherever she may be. I only found you because of this contest. Lucky me, right?"
"Mew! Glaceon! You have to break free!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "I don't know but you've gotta do it somehow cause...this is really starting to hurt!"
"This is...s-s-s-so cold..." Coco shuddered as the ice was continuing to spread. Even Pinkie was feeling this harsh chill.
"I refuse to let them let you go. Unless...you're willing to sell your soul." Merry brought up a dangerous offer. And right s she did so, the Box of 100 Demons appeared right next to her, materializing out of the air. A horrifying proposition had been made to them both.
The second case of the Dread League initiating their attack had been revealed. This time, it was in Manehattan with the culprit being a controlling pony by the name of Merry Dread. And with the Box of 100 Demons in her presence, Pinkie Pie feared what would happen next. But judging by what the vampire uttered, there was already a clear answer as the journey continues.
Equestria. Manehattan. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall
Terror struck Manehattan. From the inside and the outside. On the outside, one of the 15 Demons that Opal Vivacity unleashed found itself over at Manehattan, already spreading its own form of terror. In this instance, this demon resembled that of a bull. Smouldering and smoking skin adorns its burly head, which itself is crackling with intense heat from within. The sound of a roaring fire escapes the creature's broad nostrils. Its burly head sits atop a small, sinewy body. Scorched ropes are tied around it torso, probably remnants of an encounter with a different, horrifying being. Most likely another demon.
And as for those horns, they were the main catalyst of what was going on. Giant horns dug into the ground as they were bigger than the demon itself. The demon was about the size of a full-grown Snorlax, making it impressively large but the horns were larger as they were not only extremely long, giving this demon some great distance, but they seemed to be made out of metal.
These metal horns had the right amount of strength to mess with the ground but it didn't stop there. The Bull Demon not only had those long horns but the ropes would also be extra weapons, flailing around. Instead of just being around its torso, these ropes would grab bystanders and citizens, lifting them in the air.
But the Bull Demon wasn't the only problem here. Merry Dread, the one who came with the Bull Demon was equally as troublesome. Just not on a chaotic scale. The contest hall that she was in was also being locked up by the scorched ropes from the Bull Demon, keeping everyone inside.
"So, what do you say?" Merry Dread, who currently forced Mew and Glaceon to restrain their own trainers, held out the Box of 100 Demons out to Pinkie Pie and Coco Pommel, who were the only ones in this room that knew about Merry Dread's vampiric presence. "You can sell your soul to this box."
"Sell our soul?!" A truly horrifying suggestion. The Box of 100 Demons had this bone-chilling howl that didn't help. The sound of multiple demons echoed out of it. Neither Pinkie nor Coco could understand a thing and neither wanted to know at all.
"M-Mew...!" Mew, who was trying his best to break free, was starting to move his arms and tail. He tried releasing the Psychic hold he had on Pinkie Pie by his own will, but that was relatively difficult in every way.
"Hm?" Merry Dread would notice this. Mew was starting to fight back against her control. He had the strength to put up a fight thanks to his status as Legendary as the Psychic outline was starting to fade. "I don't think so." But with a wave of her eyes, Merry Dread used her Curse Magic once more.
This time, she would restart the control over Mew's own body movements by forcing self-damage. Mew found himself being hit by a Psychic push via Merry's curse. He felt a vibration go through his head, keeping him in check. However, this switch-up from Merry Dread gave Pinkie Pie a small window of freedom, only to be restrained swiftly.
As for Coco, the ice wasn't stopping at all. Very soon, her entire face could be frozen. She would try and sway her head to the side, but they would catch up eventually.
"As I was saying, you can free yourself from this if you give up your soul. One of these demons will gladly accept. But you should know what happens when such an agreement is taken. Your soul will be placed within the box. Granted, you won't actually be free but at least I won't be controlling them."
"Mm-mm! Still no!" But Pinkie Pie continued to refuse. This was an obvious rejection no matter what Merry Dread would offer.
"Hm. Fine. I can still have my fun with you while the demon has its own fun on the outside. Of course, I haven't forgotten about everyone else here. But after that, I think I'll mess around with Ponyville for a bit. Won't it be shocking when they see your Pokemon being against them?"
"You wouldn't...!" Pinkie Pie gasped before looking into Merry Dread's sharp eyes. And right as the ice reached the rest of Coco's face, Pinkie Pie was next. The ice was already starting to climb on her body. It was noticeably faster than when it climbed on Coco Pommel.
"I would." She replied with zero hesitation. "I'd have to clear out the main problems in that town first though. But I trust that the others can handle that. So, Mew. With a Pokemon as powerful as you, I think I'll have you..." She pondered for a moment, deciding what to do with Mew with a casual tone. It was terrifying for her to be so casual about this but this was to be expected from a vampire that hails from Magehold. "Ah! Sabotage! I always love a good sabotage! One time, I ended up sabotaging my older brother's birthday by turning his own minions against him. I had to wait for a few months for all the seeds to grow. It was an electrifying moment. Literally."
But right as she finished rambling, she saw that her crowd had been frozen over. Coco Pommel was silent due to being trapped within an ice prison. And very soon, Pinkie Pie would be next as her neck was already caught by the ice.
"Mew...! Mew!" Mew would keep trying to resist. Clearly, he had the power to do. It was proven earlier via his own arm movements. Mew knew that if he could continue doing so, he would break free without a doubt. However, knowing that Merry Dread would try and stop him, he needed to try something different.
"Ceon..." As for Glaceon, she hated how she froze her own trainer without having the strength to stop at all. If she could reverse it she could but Merry Dread's curse said otherwise.
"As for your other Pokemon..." Merry would look at the Poke Balls she ended up stealing. 8 Poke Balls were available for her to use and control. The sound of the Bull Demon's rampage went far enough to reach here as even the sound of whips cracking went off. "Yeesh. I think I should reach the rest of the crowd before that behemoth takes all the fun. Come along now."
Merry would continue onwards while also forcing Mew and Glaceon to come along. To add insult to injury, she left Mew and Coco Pommel behind. They were stuck within their ice prisons in this dark room, unable to even turn their heads. Only their eyes could move.
And to make it worse for them, the ceiling started melting. Similar to how the Xtransceiver melted unexpectedly, the ceiling would go through the same thing. Pinkie and Coco moved their eyes upwards as they could barely see the ceiling melting. It was as if it was now made of cake as the solid material was now soft and rather moist.
"I can't do anything...No fair!" Pinkie Pie groaned as the melting ceiling and its transformed liquid texture would immediately drop on her. She was somewhat lucky that it was no longer hard, however, it was still dangerous to be around. The melting ceiling let out black smoke before then making a mess of the floor. It wasn't hot at all. Not what Pinkie Pie was expecting. It was neither cold nor warm. This sensation was bizarre and Pinkie would rather not find out right now.
But if there was one opportunity to try and do something, it was now. With Mew gone, the only thing keeping her contained was the ice as her face was starting to freeze up. Very soon, Pinkie Pie was prevented from speaking at all as all the ice captured her. But before the ice covered her mouth, she uttered these words.
"If I can move with this ice around me, I'll okie do-" And that was it. It was too late. The ice completely encased her, placing her in this chilling prison. At the same time, this room was being covered in the strange melting liquid that came from the ceiling, flooding it rapidly. Pinkie Pie tried moving the ice prison she was in with all her might, hoping that her earth pony strength could do something. But right now, that wasn't the case.
As for Merry, the moment she entered the next room, she would use Mew to grab a hold of them all, unable to control that many of them. Mew was once again forced to use his Psychic abilities on everyone along with Glaceon sending ice across the area.
All of their rampant movements would come to a screeching halt thanks to the amazing Psychic power of Mew. However, some trainers who had Dark-Types would be fine. But that was where Glaceon's ice came in. The walls would freeze over thanks to Glaceon's power before then reaching new victims. This beautiful contest hall was starting to come apart while everyone else would find themselves being encased in ice. The Dread League had already taken advantage of Manehattan.
Equestria. Canterlot. Nightfall.
"Alright. Then it's settled." Back at Canterlot, Celestia was discussing plans with Luna and Cadence. This concerned plans about dealing with the Dread League. "We'll continue making the stairway as soon as we can right after we stop the Dread League. And finding their ringleader helps."
Much like Ash, Celestia was focused on going for the main cause of this problem. Opal Vivacity. All her fellow rulers, minus the presence of Chrysalis, Paramount and Luminary, nodded in agreement.
"Paramount and Luminary will show up with Shooting Star once more. Their son will be completely fine back up there and we'll receive support even from above." "Celestia added. "We have to make this moment count since we've finally gotten somewhere with that bridge. All 7 Powers have come together and we can't let it slip away."
"What about the vampires? We know what to do about the demons but what do we do about the vampires? There are probably way more of them out there." Cadence asked.
"I have that covered." Celestia smiled, having the perfect solution. "Since they want to strike now, the night is the best time for them to show up. Unless the Sun were to conveniently show up at the wrong time. Luna."
"I know." Luna was already ahead of Celestia. The key to stopping the vampire in their tracks was already there. Their performance would be poor if the Sun was up. All it would take was for Luna to lower the moon ad for Celestia to raise the Sun.
They had to do it while they had the chance. Right now, there wasn't a demon anywhere to be seen near Canterlot. Raising the Sun could potentially give away Opal's location. There were also the efforts of Drayden and Lance, who would use their connections to help. Iris, who was still here, would gaze up at the Golden Stairway, seeing that thorns from the giant rose were still there. Some of them even reached the split-off part which was now levitating in space. Despite all the energy coming from the stairway, those roses weren't going anywhere.
However, something else was amiss. When focusing her magic on the Moon, Luna found out that not much happened. In fact, nothing happened at all. When trying to lower the Moon, Luna saw that it was starting to gyrate, slowly moving down instead of at a faster pace.
"What...?" Luna was rightfully confused by this. The moon was moving, but very, very slowly. Almost to the point where it looked like it wasn't moving at all. Right then and there, just as a few seconds had passed, the moon would snap back to its original position, fighting back against Luna's control.
"What's wrong, Luna?" Celestia asked.
"The moon is barely moving! It completely denied my control at the last second!" Luna narrowed her eyes before giving it a second go. Slow movements, then snapping back to place. Once more, the same thing happened. It would only repeat itself as Luna was getting visibly frustrated. Never before has she had the Moon fight back. She would try harder, only for the moon to fight back harder. This would go on as Luna wasn't making any progress.
"That can't be right..." Cadence squinted.
"Let me try." Celestia would try the same thing, using her magic to control the moon. Luna stepped aside for a bit, allowing Celestia to take control. However, the same thing happened to Celestia. The moon would fight back. Her magic wasn't even enough to keep it steady at all. The moon would just stay there. "Oh...Oh no..."
"Don't tell me...Did the vampires already plan for this?" Cadence shuddered as the possibility of the vampires doing something to the moon was possible, considering their vast weakness to light.
"Curse them!" Luna bellowed, shaking her hoof into the air. "How did they even do it? Messing with the moon in such a way that even we can't control it."
"I don't think it's a vampire doing this." Celestia shook her head before using her magic to heighten her vision, just for this one moment. She was able to look further because of this, focusing on the moon. She couldn't get far with it but Celestia could certainly see something there. A dark purple aura could be seen flowing across the moon. That was the most glaring part without a doubt. "Something's in or around the moon!"
"What?!" Iris, who heard this conversation, gasped. "What is it then?!"
"If the vampires want the moon to stay this way...then it stands to reason that one of the 15 Demons would be behind this." Celestia would immediately chalk it up to one of the 100 Demons being responsible for this aura. "Either there is a demon on the moon or it's affecting the moon from afar."
The Moon and to an extent, the Sun were out of the equation for now. Something was amiss with this giant rock. And this strange occurrence would undoubtedly allow the vampires to continue their actions for as long as they want.
Manehattan.
As for Manehattan, at this point, there was seemingly nothing else that could be done with it. The Bull Demon was already the defacto overpowering force as all of these scorched ropes kept many at bay and the horns would act as the ultimate weapon.
Not only did these horns dig into the earth, but they started sucking up something underneath. The horns could be seen bulging and expanding as energy began flowing through the horns of the bull. No one knew what this was and they'd rather not find out. Not that they could do anything with their current predicament.
But someone could do something. Or rather, an entire group. Appearing from the skies was an Air Slash, commonly associated with Flying-Types. These blades of wind tore through the air before then meeting what the Bull Demon. The ropes would be sliced off, freeing some of the ponies from the demon's grasp.
This was one other than the Wonderbolts, who were already informed of this vampiric attack. Plus, Manehattan was a hot spot for the Pokemon Festival. They showed up, immediately setting their sights on the Bull Demon as that was the obvious main problem here. But another problem was the Contest Hall and how it had been damaged from the outside thanks to the Bull Demon's ropes.
The demon would snort before then raising its horns out of the ground. The length of its horns, coupled with the size of its body, was large enough to higher parts of the sky. It would lock onto the Wonderbolts once they interrupted, swinging its horns around.
"Oh!" Soarin's eyes bulged out, almost breaking his goggles. The horns nearly reached him and his Corviknight before missing. "Hah..." He took a deep breath as the sharpness of those horns was nothing to scoff at. In that instance, his life flashed before his eyes. "Are you alright, Corviknight?"
"Corviknight!"
"That's one of those 100 Demons? Eugh..." Misty Fly commented on the Bull Demon's appearance. "Lives up to that demon status. And there are 100 of these guys?"
"Ah, it's fine. We only have to deal with 15 and it's back to the festival. Even though...I was about to enter a food-eating contest and there would be pie there too." Soarin had tears dropping from his eyes. "And it was meant to be tonight too!"
"You can sulk about it later Fleetfoot replied. "You might not even get next year's eating contest if we don't stop this bull."
"Oh! Good point!" He wiped away his tears, knowing that there wouldn't be another food-eating contest if Manehattan was destroyed by the Bull Demon. As such, it would be the Wonderbolts against the Bull Demon. Land vs Air. Although, the horns could cover the air as well. "Go, Corviknight! Flash Cannon!"
"Cor...!" Corviknight, alongside his fellow airborne Pokemon, would continue attacking the Bull Demon, turning its attention away from the innocents and towards those who would truly scuffle with it. However, not every Wonderbolt was here.
Some Wonderbolts would focus on the Contest Hall and damage control, ensuring that no one else would be harmed in the process. And among them, their leader, Spitfire, entered the contest hall. But not before getting rid of the ropes that stood in her way.
"Scizor!" Her Scizor would slice the ropes in half, focusing on the entrance. He had the sharpness to make it happen as a way-in had been made. Once open, the Wonderbolts would quickly advance inside, seeing if anyone else was trapped inside and hadn't yet been smushed.
Thankfully, that wasn't the case. The hall was still in one piece, but from the inside, it wasn't as peachy as it usually it is. A few things were a bit off. The first was the obvious melting. Thanks to Merry Dread's magic, the hall was melting from different sides, no longer being solid and strong like they usually are.
There was also an unnerving chill which was the cause of Glaceon's ice, albeit unintentionally. Where do they even begin with this mess? There was already a bit to cover, but they wouldn't let that stop them. Not when there were multiple of them to handle different scenarios.
"Weird..." Spitfire grimaced at the melting walls as she and her friends had yet to reach the other rooms and the main hall, unaware of what was waiting for them. "Let's split up and cover some ground. That'll be easier. If you see something, call out right away."
But in actuality, they would all see something. It was only a matter of time. And right now, while they weren't fleeing much like the bystanders outside, the victims in here were in equal peril. Frozen and silent while everything around them melted away. Powerless to do anything and the culprits were powerless to stop themselves.
Equestria. Manehattan. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
Coming to the rescue, at last, was none other than the Wonderbolts. They showed up to clear out the damage and the source of the trouble. And within the Contest Hall, Spitfire and a few others discovered the melting parts of the contest hall. They weren't sure how this was possible considering the contest hall was solid. Only magic could cause this. Rather, curse magic. Courtesy of the culprit, Merry Dread.
"What happened here?" Spitfire and her partner Scizor entered the waiting room, where the contestants would usually come and prepare themselves for the eventual performances. So far, she couldn't spot anyone. Only melted walls. The chill from within the Contest Hall was only getting worse as Spitfire shuddered, staying next to Scizor for warmth. "Aren't you lucky that you're a Steel-Type, Scizor?"
"Scizor. Sci!" After agreeing with Spitfire, Scizor would then stop in his tracks. By this point, they reached the other part of the waiting room. Where the contestants usually finish up for the day and pack everything. It wasn't that populated but it certainly held some victims.
And those two were Pinkie Pie and Coco Pommel. They had been trapped within icy prisons, frozen with fear and struggle in their eyes. The ceiling above them had melted, creating an extra layer of protection around their prisons. The melted ceiling was no longer soft. Instead, it was now hard, as if its original properties never changed in the first place. The only difference was that it no longer looked like a ceiling but just hard frozen liquid.
"Hang on...Isn't that Rainbow Dash's friend? Pinkie Pie?!" Spitfire gasped, recognizing Pinkie Pie immediately. "Scizor, break them out!"
"Scizor!" Scizor would use his most-known move that he's associated with. Bullet Punch. By moving at great speeds, he swung his hard metal claws onto the protective layers first since that was mainly in the way. The Pincer Pokemon would rapidly smash the layers away before then reaching the ice prisons.
With immaculate precision, Scizor sliced the ice into pieces while also making sure Pinkie and Coco were in one piece. And since this ice wasn't natural, Scizor even had to put some effort into it. And for style points, he would take a bow right after slicing the ice apart.
"Gaaah!" Finally being able to move, Pinkie Pie and Coco Pommel did unified gasps and exhales. It would take a while for them to properly move as they immediately fell over. Thankfully, Scizor would catch them both.
"Freedom...But still so cold...!" Pinkie Pie would jitter and gyrate to the point where even Scizor's steel body would shake a bit. "Thanks for the save, S-S-S-Scizor...!"
"I thought that would've been the end..." Coco squinted as the ice affected her eyesight a bit, making everything slightly misty. Scizor was almost just a red shape to her.
"Are you two alright? Aside from the cold." Spitfire few over, checking up on them both. Pinkie Pie wouldn't stop jittering while Coco looked completely out of it. Clearly, they weren't doing so well but they would certainly recover. "How'd this happen? And why'd the ceiling of all things melt?"
"Ah! Mew!" Pinkie Pie's jittering would come to a stop once Scizor clamped her nose. That was all it took to get her steady and composed. "He took off...with her."
"Along with Glaceon." Coco sulked before looking over at her dress. It was caught up in the melting ceiling, becoming a mess while also being encased with the solidified material. "So that was a vampire?"
"Your Pokemon aren't with you? Can you at least tell me what just happened? Aside from the giant bull outside."
"Listen!" Regaining her energy, Pinkie Pie grabbed Spitfire by the face to make sure she would hear everything the earth pony had to say. "I don't want to alarm you, but there's a vampire who snatched Mew and Glaceon from us! She showed up out of nowhere and turned them against us!"
"Turned your Pokemon against you?!"
"It's how I was frozen. By own Glaceon." Coco sighed. "And she tried so hard not to do it. But the vampire's magic was just too strong for her."
"Now she's gonna mess with everyone else here just like she did with us." Pinkie Pie twiddled her hooves before grizzling her teeth. "And she's got my other Pokemon too! Oh, and she can melt things."
"That's a problem. So if she can just turn your own Pokemon against you...oh!" Hearing this information, Spitfire already deduced the worst possible scenario and it wasn't from the Bull Demon. Merry Dread was the biggest threat here because of what she was capable of. She would soon realize that her fellow Wonderbolts could experience the same thing. Especially the ones who were indoors. "Their own Pokemon could turn on them too! How does her magic work?!"
"I-I don't know." Pinkie Pie shrugged. "I think she uses her wings or something? I didn't see it since she did it so easily. It's pretty scary."
"That's a problem. A big problem..." Spitfire needed to think about this for a moment, crossing her hooves while hovering in the air. "She might be able to do it without making any movements. Nah, no one's that strong."
"Mew! Wait for me!" Pinkie Pie wouldn't hesitate to leave. Not when her partner was being used as a means for Merry Dread to cause some havoc.
"Hold it!" But with a shout from Spitfire, Scizor immediately grabbed Pinkie Pie's tail, preventing her from going anywhere for the time being. Pinkie's body was stretched just a bit from being held back. "You won't be going just yet. Not until I sort this out. From what you said, you can't just rush in there."
"Aww..."
"Hopefully, it's not too late. They won't know until it happens to them. Unless we subdue her before things worsen" Spitfire would then hold out another Poke Ball before unleashing it. Out of it came her Froslass.
"Froslass."
"Alright, Froslass. I need you to do what you do best. Scout the scene and get the jump on our target. Let out that creepy howl of yours when needed."
"Lass!" Froslass was on it. She and Spitfire had a special method when it comes to rather pressing situations such as this. The Wonderbolts weren't just for show. They were also an extension of Celestia's Guards. Froslass would phase through the wall as she was also resistant to the cold, making her perfect for this task.
"As for you two, we'll get your Pokemon back. Now, how occupied is this hall?"
"Pretty occupied." They said in unison with grimaces on their face. By that response, Spitfire feared that this would be harder than it needs to be if Merry Dread manages to get ahold of multiple Pokemon that were enough to fill this contest hall.
"Right...Okay. Maybe one more Pokemon will do." Spitfire would take out another Pokemon. This would need the support of an extra team member with specific expertise.
As for everyone else in here, Merry Dread's actions were already in full swing. By using the power of Mew, she was able to restrain various Trainers and Pokemon without needing to do much. The power of Mew was more than enough for her. But, of course, she would do something. And that was by using her magic on the Pokemon.
Some of the Wonderbolts would arrive to witness the mess in front of them. Whether that was the melted walls, frozen trainers and Pokemon or even the fact that the Pokemon were trying their best not to harm their friends. Alas, as more Pokemon would be forced to do what they would never, the more victims Merry Dread would rack up.
"I actually have a Pokemon of my own, if you must know." Merry Dread casually said to one of the trainers while walking by the hodgepodge of victims. "That's the one time I don't need to force anyone to do anything for me. It's just natural. How amazing is that?"
The Wonderbolts would stay silent and out of sight, for the time being, witnessing Merry Dread's magic for the first time. They would see exactly how it worked and it certainly wasn't from the front.
But from the back. Her tail would suddenly give off a green glint at the very tip. This glint of magic was difficult for any from the front to see, mainly because of the fact that Merry would curl her tail masking it from the view of others. It didn't help that her tail was fairly short. But this glint had a strong and swift vibrance. It would let out an enticing light that would grab the attention of whoever it seeks. And in this case, a few more Pokemon were caught up in it, unable to look away thanks to Mew restraining them with Psychic.
"Did you see that?" A Wonderbolt by the name of Surprise said, witnessing this magic. However, unlike the Pokemon, Surprise and the other Wonderbolts could still move. Mainly because they hadn't grabbed the attention of Merry Dread yet, making them safe.
"I did. Do you think she's the one behind it all?" Thunderlane asked.
"She looks like she's having a pleasant night while everyone looks uncomfortable or miserable. So I'd say she's got something to do with this." Another Wonderbolt added. Because of how Merry Dread was acting, it was clear who was the odd one out here. "But how'd she get a Mew on her side?"
"We can worry about that later. How are we gonna stop her with so many numbers on her side?" Another Wonderbolt was worried about the vast number difference. Merry Dread had already racked up many Pokemon to forcibly attack their Trainers. And with an army of Pokemon, getting to the source of the problem would be harder.
"Froslass." Froslass would appear, phasing her head through the walls right next to the other Wonderbolts. Surprise would potentially scream out of shock, only for Thunderlane to cover her mouth, keeping a low profile.
"Froslass. Just in time to see this." Thunderlane replied. "Get a good look at what she's doing."
"Lass?" Froslass would eye down the pony that Thunderlane was pointing at. She saw Merry Dread move over to another restrained Pokemon. Her tail would let out that miniature glint which would exude a stellar vibrance. Froslass watched carefully as she saw how the Pokemon would turn to her side. But it always started with their bodies shaking.
They would do everything in their power to resist Merry Dread's control, only to fail. Froslass saw it for herself, spotting how Mew, Pinkie Pie's most notable Pokemon, was amidst all of the havoc, doing the most work. Glaceon was there too, freezing those who were immune to Psychic-Type attacks.
"Fros." Froslass knew what to relay after witnessing this magic in action. The key seemed to be Merry Dread's tail. Since it was so short, it was easy for her to utilize her magic. The only flaw that Froslass saw was that it was Merry Dread needed to focus on whoever sees the glint since Froslass was still in control of herself.
"Tangela...!" But right as they were observing Merry Dread, one of the Pokemon that Merry Dread managed to affect snuck up behind Froslass and the others. The shadow of Tangela was spotted by Froslass before then seeing the arms move. A Tangela would use its massive hands to grab them, catching them by surprise.
"Lass!" Froslass managed to phase through Tangela's grip once she saw the shadow movements. She couldn't let another Pokemon get the jump on a Ghost-Type such as herself. Getting the jump on others was her job. Alas, the same couldn't be said for her allies.
Thunderlane and the others gasped upon being snatched up by Tangela, who would then use the rest of its vines to restrain parts of their bodies. "Ow! That smarts!" A swoopy-haired Thunderbolt groaned.
"Fros...lass!" Since Froslass was still free, she quickly retaliated. Froslass would try and use Ice Beam, only to be stopped by another Pokemon. This time, it was a Klinklang that ended up using Thunderbolt. Froslass was unable to get her attack off since another attack quickly ceased that possibility. This whole time, they weren't exactly concealed from the eyes of their enemies.
"Hm?" Merry Dread would swivel to hear the commotion that was near the exit of this hall. There, she would see Thunderlane and the others, restrained by Tangela and being shocked by a stream of Thunderbolt from Klinklang. "Ah. Nice costumes. Are you coordinators here?" She would trot over here. "Nice find, you two."
"A...Vampire?!" Thunderlane and the others got to see Merry Dread's wings and even her fangs, confirming to them that she was a vampire.
"That's right. Merry Dread. At your service. Or should I say...my service?" With a devious smile transforming her face, those words were easy to read since they knew what Merry Dread was up to. Whoever witnesses her glint and is chosen by Merry Dread shall undoubtedly work for her.
But there was one advantage that the Wonderbolts had. They already saw her magic at work and so, they knew what to do. Simply ignore the glint by closing their eyes or even looking away. And right on time. Merry's glint would go off, attempting to capture mainly Froslass. However, Froslass would also close her eyes, preventing that from being a possibility.
"Hm? Ah...don't tell me." She sighed. "You already know my Curse Magic, don't you? That's boring."
"Heh! That means you can't catch us by surprise!" Thunderlane laughed. "Even though we were already surprised by Tangela."
"Why can't I do surprises? It's in my name. Curse you mom and dad..." Surprise growled.
"Yeah. Very nice, but you're still trapped and restrained." Merry raised an eyebrow, pointing out how even though they could find the easiest solution to avoiding her magic, they couldn't exactly break free. "Well, if you don't want to be puppets, even though you would've had no choice in the matter, I guess I can drop some melting ceiling on you."
"Melting ceiling?" They repeated before then looking up. Merry Dread's other magic revealed itself in the form of a strange melting ability that could affect things that normally would never melt. The ceiling above them would start melting, turning into liquids instead of solids once more.
"HUH?!" Naturally, this freaked them out. Out of everything they've seen thus far, this was up there with the most bizarre things to ever experience and even be a part of by far.
"Um...Froslass! Now would be a good time to do something!" Thunderlane cried out. "I can't reach my Poke Ball here!"
"Fros...Lass!" Froslass, despite having her eyes closed, would still try her best to avoid any restraint and have the chance to relay all of this to Spitfire. She did so by phasing through the floor instead of using an attack. Tangela attempted catching her with its vines, only for Frolass to have already descended through the floor.
She wasn't escaping. Not at all. Instead, Froslass would try and equalize the playing field to the best of her abilities. And it started by her appearing on the ceiling right as it was melting. Despite being up at the ceiling, Froslass was fine. Her intangibility helped her. Once she was up there, Froslass would immediately freeze the ceiling, preventing it from melting. The chilling aura she created postponed Merry Dread's magic, creating a seal that also dropped snowflakes.
"Laaaaasss...!" Now that she had a good gist of what to expect, Froslass unleashed that signature chilling cry of hers. This cry served one purpose. To alert Spitfire. The howl was eerie to many but satisfying to Merry Dread's ears considering where she came from.
"Hmph. Mew." Merry Dread would call for Mew. The New Species Pokemon had no choice but to fly over, feeling the bones in his body ache from all of this restraint. Mew was the only one who showed some signs of resisting this power but Merry Dread would keep him in check constantly.
"M-Mew...!" Under Merry Dread's unrelenting control, Mew would approach the Snow Land Pokemon, bypassing her intangibility by throwing Shadow Ball at her. Unable to see since she was protecting herself from Merry Dread's magic, Froslass was knocked out of the air by an unforeseen Shadow Ball.
"Lass!" Froslass cried out as her inability was interrupted. Her body ended up being caught by the melting liquid after all. The ice that she formed even shattered from Mew's explosive Shadow Ball. And to make matters worse, Merry Dread would accelerate the melting process just for Froslass. Refusing to let her fall, the melted ceiling would harden immediately, catching Froslass' lower body. "F-Fross?!" Froslass found herself stuck in midair with her upper part dangling.
"Don't want to be part of my posse? Be that way. You can hang around without ever having the chance to move freely. Get it? Hang around?" Merry Dread chuckled. "Ah, it's too easy sometimes. I'm lucky to have found you, Mew. Had it been any other Pokemon, this would've been much harder. But to have the ancestor of all Pokemon on my side...is the best possible outcome."
"Mew...!" Mew snarled and hissed at Merry Dread, wishing she could dish out some payback. Making him restrain so many innocents and helping Merry Dread increase her army of Pokemon was the complete opposite of Mew's ideals in every way.
"Oh, don't be like that." Merry Dread scoffed, waving her hoof. "After all, when this is all over, we can head home and be a family. You can be the playful younger brother and everyone else can be...I'll think of something. This is way better than having my brother or even my sister over. They make things boring anyway."
"Mew!" Just then, the sound of Pinkie Pie echoed nearby. Thanks to Froslass' howl, Spitfire was alerted. In extension, that meant Pinkie and Coco Pommel would follow.
"Are you all in here?!" Spitfire's voice would also come through.
"Don't come in!" The other Wonderbolts would cry out as loud as they could, warning their boss. Spitfire heard them loud and clear, coming to a screeching halt. She wouldn't dare go any closer. Especially when she knew what was potentially waiting for her.
"Ah? Who's brave enough to keep on showing up here?" Merry Dread said, twirling her mane out of excitement. Mainly because she could add new members to her posse of Pokemon. "And what's taking that bull so long, now that I think about it?"
"Mew! Mew...!" Mew would scream as loud as he can, attracting Pinkie Pie's attention. This cry for help resonated with Pinkie Pie, who was just on the other side of the Contest Hall.
"Come in, come in~" Merry Dread whistled. "You're just about to see me transform this hall into my own personal living room! And it'll be fit for a family of...well, hundreds. And as for the trainers, I think I'll mount them just to look posh. " "MOUNT?!" All of the Pokemon Trainers shuddered at this thought. Merry Dread essentially saw them as useless when compared to the Pokemon to the point where she would try and mount them instead of adding them to her posse.
"You're all useless. Unicorn magic is boring and what can a human do, anyway?" Merry Dread shrugged. "The Expendables aren't needed since they can't contribute anything. After all, you'll all be skeletons once the Black Crusade begins so the outcome's essentially the same."
"Boss! Her magic comes from her tail! Her ta-" But right as Thunderlane exposed Merry Dread's secret, Tangela would use its vines to cover his mouth along with the rest of the Wonderbolts.
"Her tail...?" Spitfire said from the other room, staying still and having yet to approach until she can figure out how to properly tackle this vampiric problem.
"Well, he already said it. But the question is...can you prevent it?" Merry Dread replied. "I look forward to seeing you show up. I know you're there too, Pinkie Pie. Not sure how you broke free from all of that, but do come in. So that you can face your dread once again."
Pinkie Pie shuddered. How does one get past this? Spitfire thought of only one possibility judging by what Pinkie Pie shared and the words Thunderlane yelled. Despite being in completely separate rooms, the tension was rising, Scizor's claws were sharpening, Mew was trembling out of fear of harming others and Merry Dread was anticipating her next victims.
Faye Mountain. Changeling Lands.
It wasn't much better back at the Changeling Lands. Chrysalis' fears came through. Due to the connections between the Dread League and Mellifera, one of the 15 Demons had shown up.
Through the black smoke, three cruel eyes stare at the changeling with apathetic dread and another clamour resonates from its concave mouth in pure agony. Rows upon rows of quills adorn its rounded head, which itself is seemingly shifting constantly. Constant snoring escapes the creature's jagged nostrils set within a broken nose. Its rounded head sits atop a compact, skeletal body. An oddly gorgeous robe covers its torso, but your eyes don't linger for long. The creature steps closer to you, its forty legs lumberingly carrying its draconic body with chaotic energy. Two draconic wings extend themselves fully. Skin-covered bones and fleshy membranes stretch upward as a show of potential force.
This demon resembled that a Centipede, making it all the more uncomfortable with all those legs. Already upon showing up, it was already hostile by first attacking the mountains, which it was almost large enough to match in size.
Chrysalis and her Changelings were already confronting this demon as this encounter was fairly early as seen by how the Centipede Demon was crawling on the mountains, crushing them with the strength of its forty disgusting legs.
Making that golden stairway to the stars would be impossible so as long as these demons remain. And one of the key users who can make this bridge work, Chrysalis was greatly occupied. Before she can hope to finish the stairway and reach Jirchi, stopping this demon from ruining her home was a top priority before anything else.
Equestria. Faye Mountains. The Changeling Lands. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
Another demon had appeared. This time, was a giant centipede demon with over forty legs while almost being the size of an island. All those forty strengths crushed parts of the mountains that the Centipede crawled on as its triple eyes gazed at Chrysalis and her subject.
Upon seeing its new targets, the Centipede demon would then morph its face, showing off one of its terrifying traits. As if the entirety of its body wasn't terrifying enough. Its face would twist and contort before resembling that of a human, catching everyone off guard as it made an unnerving smile with that humanoid face.
"What an absolute monstrosity..." Chrysalis shuddered while holding Anthophilia, who was on the verge of crying just by looking at it. Chrysalis would pass Anthophilia onto another changeling who would keep her safe from harm.
"What kind of Pokemon is that?" Thorax questioned, unaware that this was a demon. Just by looking at its face and the way its legs scurried around, many changelings would back away.
"That's not a Pokemon...That's a demon!" Chrysalis corrected before being interrupted by the roar of this Centipede Demon. Centipedes usually never roar or even have audible cries that can be heard unless it was up close. But in this case, this demon not only had an audible roar that was easy to hear but it also sounded nothing like what a Centipede would sound like.
It sounded like a wild beast being unleashed instead of a bug. Howling through the air, the pressure of this roar would blow away some of the Changelings and their Pokemon. Chrysalis managed to stay still as Ribombee desperately held onto her leg. The rubble from the mountains would fly everywhere too, raining from above.
"Ah? Is that little Chrysalis?" Unexpectedly, the Centipede Demon spoke. But not only did it speak, it knew who Chrysalis was, referring to her as 'little'."
"Little?" The changelings all said in unison with all of them being in various positions after that air-piercing roar. They couldn't believe their ears. It sounded like the demon was disrespecting Chrysalis before referring to her as 'little', despite this being the first time it had ever shown up to the Faye Mountains.
"You look different. Very different. What happened to that obsidian-coloured child that I once knew? What happened to your crooked horn? Your holes are all gone too." The demon would crawl over, approaching Chrysalis. "Now you're all bright and frilly."
"Do I know you?" Chrysalis jeered, uncomfortable that this demon was trying to be familiar with her.
"Ah. You still have that vicious glare even with this new look." The Centipede Demon giggled. "That's one thing that won't change. But you seriously don't remember me? Even when you were still back at your mother's hive? How mean."
"Mother's hive?" Chrysalis repeated as this demon even knew of Mellifera and her old hive. This made Chrysalis think back to the past for a bit. Why did this Centipede Demon know her and how did it know her? It certainly wasn't just because it was a demon and Mellifera knew about the box. There was more to it. With a slightly audible gasp, Chrysalis' memories found something relating to this current-day scenario. "Wait...!"
She thought back centuries ago, back when she was still with her mother, albeit in a more secluded scenario. In her mind, she remembered seeing a myriapod of centipede outside her room. The old Changeling Hive wasn't a stranger to large quantities of bugs. Mellifera's locusts were proof of that.
Centipedes were crawling all over Mellifera's hoof who also had the locusts swarming all over her. Chrysalis would cringe and scream at the sight of all those tiny legs moving around, especially against the skin.
"I was always close with your mother, remember? I was the myriapod of centipede that she would keep around. But you couldn't stand the sight of me."
"Chrysalis! Cease your squirming!" Mellifera yelled, making Chrysalis jump even with her windows being shut. "If you cannot handle the sight of these centipedes, then what kind of queen will you be?"
"But the way they move is so gross!" A young Chrysalis moaned. "Mm-mm! I don't want it!"
"An insect will be your greatest ally, especially when they're affected by magic. You'll have to get used to it. When your wedding day comes, I'll place spider wreaths on your wedding day. Oh, and maybe an archway of poison moths. The ideas are too vast, aren't they?"
"Gross!" But that only made her squeamish once more. At this age, despite sharing a few similarities to bugs, she was grossed out by them, compared to how she feels about them now.
"You will one day lead a large army, Chrysalis. So this is a good place to start, without a doubt. After all, bugs may be small and weak...but in large numbers, they can prove to be colossal threats."
"Your mother was right about your growth. You got used to us bugs over the years. Even giving us menacing stares if we ever got too close to you. Times have changed yet they've stayed the same somewhat. But as for my transformation...well, I only look like this because I sold my soul."
"You sold your soul?!" The changelings all gasped.
"All of us. I was once just a group of centipedes. But after aiming to become greater than what we can usually be, we all sold our souls to that box. And thus, our bodies all combined to form this titanic form that you see today? I ended up becoming one of the 100 Demons because of this. Isn't it amazing? Losing our soul was worth it."
"Pathetic." Chrysalis gasped, making the Centipede Demon pull back. "Just because you were tired of your pathetic and pointless life, you sold your soul to become an even more pathetic creature? A demon?"
"P-Pathetic...?!" The demon stammered as Chrysalis' insults pierced just like a sword.
"Any other way to make your life interesting would've done and you decide to do that? I was already planning on ridding you just for approaching here with that hostile aura. But now you've encouraged me to absolutely crush you."
"Hmph. You're one to talk, little Chrysalis. You look different too, don't you? It seems like you also sold yourself to become something you're not. The same goes for all of your subjects." The Centipede Demon tried hitting Chrysalis where it hurt too, pointing out how different she looked to the old changelings.
"This is who I am." Chrysalis closed her eyes, unphased by the demon's retaliation of insults. "But...even if I look different and see things differently, there's one thing that will never change. I haven't forgotten many of my unfavourable ways. Ways that allow me to overwhelm you. If you think I've softened up, think again. And unlike you, I haven't thrown away everything just to gain something new."
"You sound just like your mother. Almost." The demon grinned. "Oh well. This gives me another reason to destroy this well. It's why I came here after all. I'm better than I've ever been thanks to this massive strength, so what's there to complain about?!"
The demon would go first. And it did so by lowering its body, rapidly crawling across the ground with all of those massive legs. Each crawl was enough to leave cracks in the ground thanks to the sheer strength of this Centipede Demon.
"Ribombee! Use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Ribombee!" Ribombee would be the first to retaliate. By flying in front of her trainer, she would soon throw out rainbow rays that would emerge out of her hands. However, upon hitting the Centipede Demon's face, they would barely stop it at all. The rays would slow it down for a bit, making the demon flinch, but it wasn't enough to stop these movements.
"No? Then how about this?" Chrysalis would try her hoof at halting its movements. Out of her horn, a swirling aura of magic would emerge, flowing beautifully like water. This form of magic would soon turn into a spiral that beautifully flew over Ribombee. The light from this spiralling blast made the demon squint its three eyes before then receiving a heavy collision with the attack.
Chrysalis' attack was considerably stronger as not only did it stop the demon in its tracks like a brick wall, but the light from her magic would rapidly race across the Centipede Demon's long body. The demon unleashed its horrifying roar yet again but this time it was a roar of pain. The light of Chrysalis would pierce the skeletal armour that this demon possessed, shattering it. The rest of the demon's body was revealed as hidden through these skeletal parts was the true body of an actual centipede.
"What a joke." Chrysalis scoffed before then showing an unrelenting attack. "Restrain it!" By her order, the Changeling Guards would use their Pokemon to hold the demon down. They didn't just have Fairy-Types. Bug-Types were also present with each of them.
And each of these Bugs had one thing in common. String Shot. Long strings came from the mouths of Butterfree, Joltik, Galvantula, Vikavolt and even a Slurpuff, who could also use String Shot. The strings would come in great numbers, latching and wrapping onto the titanic demon's body. The large legs were prominent targets due to how strong they were. To keep its strength in check, the strings would seal up its forty massive legs.
Alas, it was not that easy. Despite having all these strings attached, the Centipede Demon's legs were still strikingly impressive. So impressive that even with all of these restraints, all it took was for it to wriggle violently, fighting back against the opposing Bugs. The forty legs would snap away and tear the strings while also pulling some of the Pokemon close to it. With some of its legs freed, it caused more cracks to form on the ground from its vicious stomping. This time, the cracks would race over to Chrysalis and her subjects.
Reacting quickly, Chrysalis placed a barrier that was wide enough to protect those around her vicinity. The cracks would meet with the barrier before being stopped. The demon would then crawl forward, breaking apart every last string that would try and hold it back. This size was backed by this physical strength indeed.
But the demon didn't just have physical strength on its side. The demon would recollect itself at once, raising a majority of its front body, which was hard to track with how long it was. Once up, the Centipede Demon would sway away from its physical strength just to show off something else. Regeneration.
Its carapace would regenerate since Chrysalis destroyed the first one. The way the carapace would return was downright disturbing. Far more than what a regular centipede can do. "It received a new carapace that quickly?" Chrysalis gasped.
"I'm the best version of any centipede out there! That's why I sold my soul. To be the best of my species!" The Centipede Demon boasted after making a new skeletal carapace that seemed stronger than the previous one. After making a new carapace, the demon would then move in a swirling motion as fast as it could.
This motion would affect the ground itself, kicking up an aggressive dust tornado. The beautiful blades of grass would be swept away along with all the rubble, becoming one with this tornado.
Changelings' homes would be swept away by the sheer volume of this dust tornado which would also throw massive rubble as weapons. The changelings who wanted to feel safe during this would end up fleeing from their homes as the rubble would crash through the structures and even lift some of them off the ground.
"Ghh...!" Chrysalis would groan as this tornado was even strong to almost pull her off to the ground. But she managed to hold on, using magic on her hooves to stay steady. The same couldn't be said for her subjects. Many hung on to their homes and whatever they could for safety while some had already been whisked away by the wind.
"Ribombee!" Ribombee's grip on Chrysalis' tail was slipping from the tornado as she was light enough to be carried away if something wasn't done soon.
Chrysalis, in all of her power, would try and contain this tornado, shooting out a ray of magic. This ray would immediately gravitate towards the tornado, soon wrapping around the dust element. Chrysalis would use to this to her advantage, keeping the tornado layered with her magic. Chrysalis was in danger of being thrown away as she tried holding it with a magical lasso.
Unfortunately, the tornado boasted greater strength, lifting the Changeling Queen off the ground along with Ribombee. But her subjects would quickly fly over, grabbing their queen by her leg. They would assemble to try and keep their queen steady but during this violent storm, that would be difficult as they were in danger of being carried away.
But even though they were struggling to keep Chrysalis steady, this gave Chrysalis the chance to finish her spell while she had the chance. The magic lasso would finish wrapping the tornado as Chrysalis finally managed to hold it in place, keeping the swirling motions in place. The Centipede Demon felt itself come to a screeching halt thanks to Chrysalis' interference as the aggressive wind pressures would calm down. But the damage was already done.
"Spin somewhere else, why don't you?!" Chrysalis bellowed before then releasing the tornado. But she would do so differently. Not only did she release it as if she was using a spinning top, but the tornado and Centipede Demon were sent in the opposite direction, away from the Changeling Hive.
The demon would be hit by its own tornado via the rubble that was still within it. Sparks of Chrysalis magic were even left behind to add to that damage. This unfortunately meant that the nearby mountains would have to take some damage from the direction the dust tornado was headed.
The demon would stop its own movements, ending the tornado at last before then falling over out of dizziness. At that moment, Chrysalis managed to down the Centipede Demon.
"Are you alright?!" The changelings all blurted out despite the fact that they were in worse conditions.
"I'm fine." Chrysalis breathed in and out. "But that should keep it down for a while."
Not for long. Not for long at all. The Centipede Demon would recover faster than expected with all three of its eyes opening up. Chrysalis snarled as her next approach was thrown out the window thanks to the demon's swift recovery. Just as the Centipede Demon got back up, it would knock away the rest of the mountains near it with just the swing of its body.
The large boulders would come rolling this way after the demon destroyed more of the mountains. As if the Changeling Hive needed any more environmental threats. Chrysalis would quickly blast away at these boulders, easily taking them out before they could even get close to her subjects.
But the demon wouldn't stop there. It immediately burrowed its way underground, using its stellar strength and large body to make the fastest hole that anyone had ever seen. Despite how long it was, it was also swift. So swift that it ended up vanishing into the underground in just a few seconds. Now underground, the demon had another advantage. Getting the jump on them. Though, that would be difficult considering the fact that it was shaking the ground beneath them all just from its movements.
"Leave! Right now!" Knowing that the bystanders would get caught up in all of this if this was to continue, Chrysalis would carry them all with her magic, grabbing as many changelings as she could. Only the guards would stay behind. The Changeling Queen made a narrow save as the Centipede Demon would erupt from the ground at last, cracking and splitting parts of it which would send Chrysalis, the Changeling Guards and the Pokemon flying.
She barely managed to save her citizens as they were inches away from being hit by the erupting rubble from the earth itself. But didn't stop there. The demon would dive back in for another swing at it. But before doing so, out of its body, it would spew out acid. Acid from its body would fly out when it was airborne, raining droplets to spread it faster.
Chrysalis was struggling to protect those around her with how volatile these movements were. The demon would jump back in and out of the ground, leaving massive holes which would ruin the beautiful landscape of the Faye Mountains. The acid would even erupt from the holes as if they were geyser spots, only further tarnishing this area.
"If this continues...I'll end up losing this home as well." A distraught Chrysalis thought to herself. This Centipede Demon, no matter how tough it was, needed to be stopped. Somehow and some way.
Back at Manehattan, Merry Dread still had many Pokemon under her beck and call by forcing their bodies to act against their will. She recently caught some of the Wonderbolts who knew about her Curse Magic and how to avoid it. Thus, Spitfire, their boss, was well informed. However, the problem was trying to stop Merry Dread while knowing this magic exists and the army of Pokemon she had amassed.
"Come on~ You don't have to hide from us." Merry Dread spoke to Pinkie, Spitfire and Coco Pommel who were on the other side, hiding from the vampire and her posse. "Eventually, one of my Pokemon will find you. And all it takes is just one look at my magic. But since you won't look, other options are available."
"What do we do? I really want to get Glaceon back." Coco whimpered as right now, various Pokemon were searching for her group in this hall. With how limited the hall was, their options were slim. The best place was the wardrobe for the time being. The ruined changing room would help since so much of it had been melted away.
"So we can't look at her tail at all." Spitfire bit her hoof, pondering a way. "My glasses won't work and closing our eyes leaves us at a disadvantage with so many Pokemon....What to do..."
"Ah! I know!" Pinkie Pie gasped before having Spitfire cover her mouth to keep a down low. "Sorry...Spitfire. Is your Xtransceiver still working?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I've got two ideas. Pretty please, can you call one of my friends? And secondly...I know how we can do this without looking at her tail. It's pretty easy for me...I rely on my scent."
"Your scent?" Spitfire and Coco repeated.
"Mhm. Thanks to Valerie, I've got a few things in common with my Pokemon. Fairy Magic works well with my Slurpuff, so I've got a great sense of smell." She poked her nose. "And because of Mew, I know how a lot of Pokemon smell."
"And you're sure this will help?" Spitfire questioned.
"Positive. But...that is still a lot of Pokemon." The earth pony squeed. "I'm kinda hoping some of my friends can even out the odds here. Ya know. Just for safe measure."
"I doubt it. But I'll give them a call. That scent plan of yours isn't that bad either, but let's not use it indoors. Instead, let's take it outside."
"Outside? Isn't that where that giant Bull Demon is?" Coco gulped, shuddering at the thought of encountering the Bull Demon.
"It is. That's why we need to get out there and use that to our advantage." But that's exactly what Spitfire wanted as she rubbed her hooves. The goal was to get the 1UP on Merry Dread, despite the number advantage. Even if she had a large posse, all it would take was some extra chaos to throw everything off balance. And what better option than the raging bull outside?
"Mmm, I'd love to see it play out." But putting an end to Spitfire's devious grin was none other than Merry Dread's voice. She was near. Actually, she was closer than they thought.
The wardrobe started melting from the inside thanks to her magic as Merry Dread already found them. With how occupied the hall was, hiding spots were hard to find and easy to expose.
"Gotcha~" Merry Dread giggled. Spitfire would try and fly out of the wardrobe by bashing into it, hoping to also tackle Merry Dread in the process. Alas, that was a failure. The inner part of the wardrobe had hardened up immediately thanks to Merry Dread. Spitfire struck a hard texture which would knock her back, harming the Wonderbolts captain.
"Agh!" Spitfire groaned before being held by Scizor. Since she bashed it, her hoof received the worst of this pain, making her slump across the corner with straining eyes and gritted teeth.
"Scizor!"
"Spitfire! Are you okay?!" Pinkie Pie gasped.
"No good. Sealed it off already. This room was already melting anyway, so I merely transferred some of what's already melted to this wardrobe. My magic is fairly impressive, isn't it?" Merry Dread said. "Now, you could perish in there. This wardrobe could become your prison. Or...join the party! I still have some Pokemon that I want to see from the Wonderbolts Captain after all."
"As if!" But Spitfire rejected it, even though the wardrobe was hardening and melting all around her group. "It's not over yet!"
"Looks pretty over to me. Come out here and there'll be some Pokemon waiting to meet with you. And clobber you." Merry Dread replied with a shrug.
"I've got someone who can clobber you...!" The Wonderbolts Captain would growl before passing her Xtransceiver over to Pinkie Pie. On this Xtransceiver, Rainbow Dash's Trainer Number could be seen. This was the one way she could get in contact with the rest of her friends as Spitfire and Scizor would focus on everything melting in front of them.
"Scizor! Bullet Punch!"
"Bullet Punch?" Merry Dread repeated. A quick eyebrow raise made her wonder what could possibly come next. "What's a bullet?"
A devastating hit. That is what cut Merry Dread off as the front of the wardrobe was blown off with intense force to the point where it almost crashed into the vampire. Merry Dread gasped as the wardrobe doors would graze her mane before knocking one of the Pokemon away. She staggered a bit, not expecting that kind of force to suddenly pop out of the wardrobe.
"Scizor!" And with this, Scizor flew out of the wardrobe, attacking the other Pokemon that stood beside Merry Dread. It wasn't personal since he knew they couldn't fight back, but it had to be done. He would rapidly slug the controlled Pokemon with Bullet Punch, using the full force of his steel claws to dish out staggering and heavy damage, mainly to their faces. Catching them off guard, Scizor would knock them down or away thanks to the speed of Bullet Punch. One by one, the ace of Equestria's best-known trainer was clearing out the few Pokemon in this room while Merry Dread would back away, staying away from the slugfest.
"How's that?" Spitfire jumped out of the wardrobe with her eyes closed. "I can't see but that won't stop me from taking control of this. How's it going, Scizor?"
"Zor!" Scizor was doing well. Because of Bullet Punch, he could move swiftly from place to place, not only allowing him to hit certain Pokemon faster than they can react but it also meant that Merry couldn't keep pace with Scizor.
"I-I can't keep up with him!" She tried using her magic on Scizor. But that could only work if he would stay still, which was impossible as he was just a red blur at this point. "What gives?!"
"Sorry. But Bullet Punch makes even the slowest Pokemon move at blinding speeds." Spitfire would open her eyes, seeing that Merry Dread was fixated on Scizor at the moment. That was her one weakness. Since she was so focused on the Pokemon, the ones who truly unlock a Pokemon's true potential, the Pokemon Trainers, were underestimated. "And I'm not that fast but I can still do this!"
"!" Merry Dread heard the sound of rapid wingbeats before seeing Spitfire approach her. She bared her vampiric fangs, hissing at the Wonderbolts Captain who tried to tackle and pin her down. But as a vampire, Merry Dread had the natural trait of enhanced strength, greater than any pony. Even earth ponies. She would lock hooves with Spitfire, stopping the pegasus in her tracks. But Spitfire wasn't a slouch either. Though the vampire may have the strength advantage, velocity could give Spitfire an edge.
She would barely manage to pin Merry Dread to the ground as the two of them entered a hoof struggle. Spitfire was clever to go for a pin. Merry tried using her magic on the pegasus, only to find that her short tail was hidden behind her back with the way it was positioned upwards. "My tail...!"
"You made a big mistake having a short tail!" Spitfire smirked. "But it does go well with your short hair, I'll admit. Too bad for you, you can't do much!"
"I have more in store!" Merry Dread's eyes would sharpen as she managed to overpower Spitfire, pushing her off. Spitfire would recover in the air before bumping her back onto the wall.
"Scizor! Aim for her tail!"
"Scizor!" Scizor knew what needed to be done. That tail had to go. He would quickly knock out the next Pokemon before finally focusing on Merry Dread, Once the vampire got back up, Scizor would redirect his Bullet Punch, ready to use the full force of his pincers. If there was ever a time when his pincers needed to put an end to something crucial, now was the time.
Once this tail comes off, a major part of Merry Dread's magic could vanish unless it were to grow back. But with so many Pokemon down, she didn't have any protection. No one was here to guard her. At least, that's how it seemed as Merry Dread uttered these words.
"Just kidding~"
"Mew!" An Aura Sphere came flying in. It would intercept Scizor's Bullet Punch, right as he was about to cut her tail. The sphere would blast him away, ceasing Scizor's attack. The Pincer Pokemon found himself rolling and tumbling amongst the floor of the downed Pokemon that he struck.
Merry Dread still had her ultimate weapon. The best Pokemon in this hall that she could've hoped to be control. The New Species Pokemon and Pinkie Pie's trusted partner, Mew.
Equestria. Manehattan. Manehattan Contest Hall. The Pokemon Festival.Nightfall.
"Mew!" Arriving at the worst time was Pinkie Pie's Mew. Stil being forced against his own will to work for Merry Dread, having no control over his movements, the New Species Pokemon showed up, saving Merry Dread from losing her most crucial magic that led to this scenario, much to the dismay of Pinkie Pie.
With how much he's been struggling to break free of Merry Dread's control, his arms and legs were starting to ache, affecting his bones. Mew was even struggling to levitate at this rate. He would try and resist Merry Dread's control, only for the vampire to keep him in check, forcing Mew to hit himself with a Psychic push. The Psychic-Type was struggling to find time to break free of this control.
"Scizor! Are you alright?!" Spitfire gasped, witnessing Scizor slumped against the wall while next to the sea of Pokemon he defeated. But he would manage, even after that surprise Aura Sphere.
"Scizor...!" Scizor got right back up. But that Aura Sphere admittedly winded him to his core to the point where he had to kneel for a bit. Now that he was away from Merry Dread, the Pincer Pokemon would have to keep his eyes closed to avoid her Curse Magic.
"Phew. Had me sweating a bit." Merry Dread sighed, wiping her forehead. "Excellent save, Mew."
"We're still in the green here. At least, I hope so." Spitfire said with her eyes still closed. "Scizor! Get in front!"
"Zor!" Scizor still had speed on his side, quickly sliding to Spitfire's side. Instead of making a wild guess, Scizor would squint just a bit, eyeing down Spitfire's familiar colours. Merry Dread was late to respond to Scizor's movements yet again. For a Steel-Type, he was impressively fast.
"What was it that Pinkie Pie said? Use my scent?" Spitfire recalled Pinkie Pie's method of reacting even if her eyes were shut to avoid Merry Dread's magic. "That'd be great if I had what she had..."
Speaking of Pinkie Pie, thanks to Spitfire and Scizor's actions, she and Coco Pommel had enough time to leave Merry Dread's sight as the rest of the wardrobe melted away. Now, their whereabouts were unknown.
"I gave those two enough time to escape. They'd better do something to at least change how things are. These numbers aren't favourable unless we can take it outside." Spitfire continued thinking to herself, hoping that Merry Dread would only focus on her and not Pinkie and Coco.
"Good job. All I have next to me is Mew. But Mew is more than enough." Merry spoke as the only Pokemon assisting her in this room was Mew since Scizor took the rest down. "Restrain them, Mew!"
"I can't see but...Scizor! Use Bullet Punch!"
"Zor!" Once more, Scizr would move at blinding speeds with Bullet Punch, hoping to hit the New Species Pokemon. Or even Merry Dread if he was lucky. However, with his eyes closed, that was hard to do. While he did have the speed, startling Mew who was even trying to hold himself back, he completely missed. "Sci!"
Scizor punched the walls instead. With no sense of direction out of the fear of Merry Dread's magic, this was exceptionally difficult. Spitfire was even holding herself back because of this. But even if he missed, Merry Dread was on full alert of Scizor's amazing strength.
"Did you do it?!" Spitfire asked. "That sounded like a pretty hard hit!"
"Not even close." The voice of Merry Dread was close. She crept up on Spitfire with minimal hoofstep sounds, making her hard to detect. Spitfire shuddered at this chilling voice before quickly flying back, only for Merry Dread to hold her back. Merry Dread would keep Spitfire in one place, having her hoof around the pegasi's neck as if she was her buddy. "Wanna open those eyes now?"
Spitfire was met with a vampire's strength once more, struggling to break free. In this instance, she actually had the chance to open her eyes since Merry Dread was behind her, making it impossible to glance at her tail, even if it would show its vibrance. That was another weakness of this Curse Magic.
"Scizor! Look out!" Spitfire then witnessed Mew going in for another attack. It was another Aura Sphere which was held back by the New Species Pokemon. But alas, he was still forced to throw it. Scizor was unable to detect where it was coming from, thus, resulting in a vicious backshot.
"S-Scizor!" Scizor would be launched forward, hitting the walls which were already damaged from his Bullet Punch and all the melting. Merry Dread would then pull Spitfire back, holding the Wonderbolts Captain down.
"Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You let those two go so that they can get the jump on me, right?" Merry Dread said while keeping Spitfire on the floor. "I've got eyes and ears everywhere thanks to all the Pokemon on my side. Just like my sister. Almost."
"Like I care...!" Spitfire wriggled in Merry Dread's grip, trying her best to break free. "By now, Pinkie Pie's called for help so, I'm not too worried...!"
"But you should be." Merry Dread would then increase her grip, harming Spitfire's neck. "By the time help gets here, I'll already have amassed a city-wide posse. And I haven't forgotten about the Pokemon World. That's the jackpot but I wanted to start small with this place. The Pokemon are still pretty scary after all. But at least I can feel safe knowing that you standard ponies are biologically weaker than us vampires, as seen by this position. We have cooler wings and stylish fangs to boot."
"Maybe so...but teeth, no matter what shape or form...are still trouble!" Spitfire would demonstrate going for a daring yet somewhat clever counterattack. And that was by biting Merry Dread's hoof, sinking her teeth into the vampire.
"Mmm!" Merry's eyes expanded out of absolute shock. In an ironic twist, a vampire had been bitten as she would scream at the top of her lungs. "GYAAAAAH!"
This gave Spitfire the chance to kick her off and gain freedom, flying away as fast as she could. At the same time, with Merry Dread screaming, Spitfire would approach Mew when she had the chance. Mew would swivel to face Spitfire; before he knew it, she was snatched by the Wonderbolts Captain. Mew wouldn't fight back. Not when Merry Dread was bellowing and wriggling around. After all, Mew was the only one who showed signs of restraints.
"Y-You pegasus brute!" Merry roared, holding her hoof as the bite was deeper than she expected. So much for vampires having stylish fangs when Spitfire could leave something just as sharp behind.
"Scizor! Superpower! Use it on the floor!"
"Scizor!" Free to open his eyes, Scizor would get back up, taking the chance to slow down Merry Dread's movements for good. And the best way to do so was to shake this entire room to its core. With all of his strength going into his pincer, the Pincer Pokemon would smash the floor, going for collateral damage, even with the downed Pokemon.
Orange energy would rupture out of the ground, creating rapid-moving cracks. As intended, everything in this room would shake, throwing Merry Dread off balance.
"Wait-" Merry Dread would flinch as even she wasn't exempt from the destructive power of Superpower. She barely managed to save herself by creating a magical barrier as the walls behind her were obliterated. But the sheer volume of this attack would launch her upwards, even if she had her barrier. The walls and ceiling of this room would start coming down moments later.
Spitfire would flee from the scene, holding Mew closely to her. Mew, who was aching in his arms and legs, would still not fight back. Now that Merry Dread was occupied, he was free to do nothing. But this also meant that he could barely do anything with how exhausted he looked as Scizor would protect the other Pokemon in this room that he downed from the falling debris with Bullet Punch.
The dressing room was totalled, without a doubt. Little of it remained as Merry Dread and her barrier were masked by the massive chunk of rubble. Merry Dread would eye down Spitfire with scorn in her eyes before being blocked by a giant debris. Spitfire managed to evacuate the room safely with Mew while Scizor successfully protected the other Pokemon here. This destruction led to the other rooms being exposed.
"Mew..."
"Are you doing okay, Mew?" Spitfire asked the New Species Pokemon, who was curled in Spitfire's hooves. "Do you still feel her control over you?"
"M-Mew..." Unfortunately, yes. Mew would nod, confirming that Merry Dread's control was still there even if she was attacked and pressured. This Curse Magic of hers was just that potent. But Mew was strong enough to show some resistance, making him cease any hostile attacks but as a detriment to his wellbeing.
"Still? How strong is her magic?" Spitfire gasped. "Anyway, let's get you away from here and back to Pinkie Pie, okay? Scizor!"
"Zor!" Scizor would trail behind her for protection. He would look back to see if Merry Dread would emerge anytime soon and burst out of the rubble. But so far, nothing. Everything fell silent as it was only Merry Dread who was covered in the rubble. But not for long.
Just as Scizor feared, she emerged out of the rocks, melting them instead of blowing them away. Through the smoke, Merry Dread's eyes glowed, viciously staring down the duo that managed to best her.
"Best me? You must be mistaken!" Merry Dread's voice would echo out, even out of the wardrobe. The melted rubble would harden immediately, but that wasn't the only thing that would melt away. Merry Dread began melting away at the floor, starting with this room. "You're not the only one who can mess with the floor!"
By melting the floor, the downed Pokemon would end up sinking into the accursed liquid, unaware of their current predicament. But Merry Dread didn't care at all. Not when Spitfire and Scizor managed to counter her. With the floor melting, the foundation of this Contest Hall was starting to come apart.
When leaving the room, opposing Pokemon would stand in their way, still responding to Merry Dread's forceful commands. Spitfire came to a screeching halt as a Sandslash stood in her way, going for a swift Slash.
"Scizor!" Scizor would block the slash with his pincers, getting in front of Spitfire and Mew. He would immediately overpower Sandslash, using Superpower to boost his strength. By blowing Sandslash away, the force of Superpower created a fierce gust of wind that would send the smaller Pokemon flying.
As for the floor, all it took was for Spitfire and Scizor to fly over and they'd be fine. But Merry Dread knew this. She also knew that Mew was still with them and unfortunately for the duo, Mew's Psychic power would kick in once more, slowing Scizor and Spitfire down. The two flyers would feel their bodies slow down thanks to Mew's Psychic.
"Mew! Don't do this!" Spitfire yelled as she felt herself being pulled down. Merry Dread was planning on bringing them down so that their new prisons would be the solid ground themselves. But Mew couldn't fight back. He didn't have the strength to fight back thanks to all the damage he took. Spitfire's hoof was close to the floor which was melting away rapidly. Merry's magic was reaching the rest of the hall at breakneck speeds as if it was a wildfire, making it even more dangerous than it usually is.
And with no sign of Pinkie Pie or Coco Pommel, Spitfire and Scizor were basically on their own unless something was done soon.
Equestria. Canterlot. Nightfall.
"What do you mean something is on the moon?!" Luna gasped. Recently, when trying to lower the Moon and raise the Sun, both sisters failed to accomplish that. It wasn't until Celestia used her magic to view the Moon from afar, spotting a purple aura in the middle of it. Kyurem, who was only here to protect Snowdrop, would soon hear this conversation.
"I'm not sure what that is...but it's stopping us from lowering the Moon. And I'm afraid maybe even the Sun." Celestia uttered. "What kind of demon did they unleash that could do this?"
That answer would come sooner than expected. Moments after they realized something was tampering with the Moon, preventing it from being lowered, A roar in the night and a spark of darkness revealed something that was far larger than what Celestia and the others were expecting.
What they were looking at wasn't exactly on the Moon. It was only surrounding it. The aura would then separate, revealing an entity that was descending as seen by Celestia's magical influence on her eyes.
Six pupilless eyes stared at them with a pure hatred, and another shriek thunders from its bony mouth in eerie joy. The entity that was swirling around the moon as if it was a snake would get closer, showing more of i.
Skeletal bulges graced its rounded head, which itself is covered in small gashes. A constant plume of smoke escapes the creature's crooked nostrils set within a stumpy nose. Its rounded head sits atop a low, muscular body. A giant scar crosses its chest, The creature treads forward, its two legs sturdily carrying its diabolical body with dreadful energy. A whip-like tail follows behind it, it moves in the air like a charmed snake.
Four draconic wings extend themselves fully. Jagged bones and incorporeal feathers stretch upward as a show of potential force. Runes and emblems, each glowing brightly, cover parts of its torso, but while inspecting this creature it inspects you in turn.
"A demon!" Celestia gasped. One of the 100 Demons was behind this. And it was a staggeringly powerful one too. Powerful enough to tamper with the celestial force.
This demon would then slither elsewhere instead of going straight for Canterlot. It changed its direction instantly before then opening its horrific mouth. From its mouth, it started generating air within space itself. Or rather, it was pulling in constructed air.
"What is it doing?" Iris asked, noticing how this demon was generating air in space just to suck it. Celestia would keep looking, investigating this demon's actions before pulling back.
The demon was pulling in nearby asteroids with this power. Asteroids within space gravitated towards the demon's mouth which acted like a vacuum. It would pull in an abundance of asteroids even if it stayed in position constantly. Celestia couldn't believe her eyes. This only helped confirm how this demon was able to tamper with the moon. But it didn't just suck up the asteroids. The demon would look down with those six eyes, devoid of any pupils before grinning once more. Celestia shuddered, noticing how the demon was staring at her.
It already knew that Celestia and everyone else were down there. Interactions with the Moon were enough to confirm that. And right eyeing them down, the demon would then unleash all the asteroids it sucked up, spitting them out at great speeds. Just like that, the asteroids would catch on fire as the demon issued an attack on Canterlot.
"It's shooting out asteroids?!" Celestia exclaimed before turning to face everyone. "Run!" She gave the order for them all to flee the scene since these asteroids were descending. And at great speeds too. The first asteroid would show itself, breaking through the dark clouds with fire and fury, captivating the eyes of everyone who witnessed it. Naturally, all the citizens would run the moment they saw an asteroid. Even if it was a comet, they'd run and they'd especially run if it was a meteor.
The first asteroid would hit the ground, leaving behind a hard impact and crater while the rest of them would follow that trend, aiming to bring destruction in their wake. This demon already made itself a massive problem as it continued to suck up other asteroids, shooting them out yet again.
The Golden Stairway was threatened by this asteroid assault as the progress had finally made it physical. But now that the stairway was physical, this meant that the asteroids could make contact with it, spreading explosions once they connected.
Some of these asteroids would target Canterlot Castle since it was so large. It was inevitable with how many of them were falling. Kyurem and Luna gasped, realizing that Snowdrop was within the castle at this very moment. They saw her through the window, standing at one of the higher points of the castle.
"Snowdrop!" Luna and Kyurem would say in unison. Both of them had the same approach in mind but with different methods. Luna would use teleportation to enter the castle while Kyurem would approach the asteroids.
He transformed into his White Kyurem Form in a few seconds, faster than how he usually does. Seeing Snowdrop in danger prompted him to make this swift transformation as he took flight. The Boundary Pokemon would then use Shadow Claw, meeting with the asteroids that came for the castle. He made it just in time as he would viciously slash at these massive rocks from the stars, cutting them into smaller and less dangerous pieces.
As for Luna, thanks to her teleportation, she successfully kept Snowdrop safe, bringing her outside. This involved Cetoddle and Vulpix who would join her. The little filly had two of the best possible defenders she could have in the form of a Legendary Pokemon and an Alicorn.
But even though Kyurem was taking out the asteroids that aimed for the castle, there was still the issue of everywhere else that would target Canterlot. The Canterlot Gardens were unfortunately hit by one of the asteroids, ruining some of the lush greenery.
Homes were under threat of these asteroids and potentially, nowhere would be safe. The asteroids target both the streets and the structures equally. So as long as that demon had something in space to suck up, it would unleash them.
"You...!" Kyurem knew what to do. Stop the source of the problem. It was right there in the open after all, close to the planet as he gave the demon a fierce glare.
The demon merely laughed at it before ceasing its constant asteroid rain. But that didn't mean it was done. Not by a long shot. The final asteroids would fall, but something else would emerge. The last two asteroids and all the other asteroids that crashed down would suddenly crack. And not in the sense that they were failing to maintain their durability, otherwise that would ruin the demon's destructive fun.
Instead, out of the rocks, a smaller but still relatively large version of this demon would appear, hatching from the rocks. The first one would show up along with the second and soon the third. These weren't just asteroids. They were Asteroid Eggs from this star-bound demon.
"Babies?!" Cadence pulled back, flabbergasted by what she was seeing. But she wouldn't have to just to focus on the skies. The land around her would be met with these demonic hatchlings. The asteroids that already managed to land would unleash the demons which were around the size of Ponyville's Town Hall, making them almost as terrifying as the original demon that came from them.
This was the demon's main plan. To unleash its own army. Not only did it unleash the fury of asteroids from above, but it would bring about its own offsprings that were undoubtedly ready to wreak havoc the second they were born. Kyurem, refusing to let this demon continue birthing new offsprings which would endanger everyone, especially Snowdrop, would take flight, approaching the demon.
"Ah! Kyurem! Wait!" Celestia exclaimed but it was too late. He was heading for the source and there was no one to tell him otherwise. Celestia certainly wouldn't get in his way. He knew what he was doing.
Snowdrop heard the sound of her father figure leaving and taking flight before then recognizing the familiar colours of White Kyurem ascending. Even Snowdrop would know when Kyurem was ready to take action. "Be careful, uncle."
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon Festival. Local Hospital. Nightfall.
"What?! Mew?!" Back at the hospital, Rainbow Dash found herself speaking to Pinkie Pie, who was using Spitfire's Xtransceiver. Pinkie could be seen with Coco Pommel as they were both hiding from Merry Dread's posse as best as they could. But with how minimal the Manehattan Contest Hall was, they didn't have many options to work with.
"That's everything that's happened so far." Pinkie Pie brought them all up to speed in light of recent events. So far, Equestria has received three demon attacks. The Memory Demon. The Bull Demon and now the demon that was circling in the stars. But that last one was yet to be seen or heard of by Ash and his friends. In Pinkie Pie's vicinity, a crashing sound could be heard, alerting her and Coco Pommel. "But on the bright side, the Wonderbolts are doing their best."
"Yeah, but I'm not there." Rainbow Dash grumbled. "They could've called me first..."
"I don't know how I'm gonna get Mew back. And finding a new place to hide is getting harder and harder. If we weren't running for our lives, this would be the best Hide and Seek Game ever."
"I mean...I trust in Spitfire to free Glaceon. But she's on her own right now with only Scizor helping out. As long as Merry Dread uses her magic, no one can resist her." Coco Pommel added. "Cutting her tail is harder than it looks with who she has on her side."
"We'll be on our way," Ash said before holding his chest, still in pain. Princess Celestia had yet to show up to try and reverse this pain with her magic. Mainly because was occupied with the third demon. As it stands now, that black spot from the Memory Demon would remain. "Gh!"
"You're not leaving with that injury." Twilight, on the other hoof, recovered from the explosion. She still wasn't in full health but her condition was far better than what Ash was in. "But...I'm still a bit winded here."
"You're both not leaving just yet." Rarity interjected. "But where is Princess Celestia? She hasn't appeared at all..."
"Probably dealing with her own demon," Sombra added. "After that announcement, it stands to reason that the big figures would be targeted. I would do the same thing too. As we speak, Canterlot could be falling victim to a fierce demon attack."
"Thanks for the input, Sombra. That makes us feel better." Twilight sighed before smirking. "Then again...the Crystal Empire's the closest to Magehold, right? You won't take back your throne that way."
"!" Sombra's eyes widened a bit as Twilight got him there. The Crystal Empire being the closest to Magehold made it a viable target. Possibly, that might have been the first area to be targeted instead of Ponyville.
"Everyone!" Bursting into the room with high energy, more than she usually carries, was Fluttershy. "I can't find Stoutland anywhere!"
"Stoutland's missing?!" Ash gasped before harming himself yet again. "Ow!"
"I checked everywhere. Town Hall and even his favourite play spots. All the Pokemon back at the Pokemon House tried their best but...I think Stoutland's not in Ponyville anymore."
"You don't think the Memory Demon took him away?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "But we got rid of that thing, didn't we? We saw it and did it ourselves."
"Impossible." Just then, Sombra shook his head, having something else to say. "You can defeat these demons...but you cannot destroy them."
"We can't?" They all repeated.
"Not at all. If you try, they will survive and come back. Or either retreat into the box. The one who made the Box of 100 Demons made it so that no matter what, the demons would never perish. The magical power that comes from the box gives them a grandiose form of protection. Then again...it's hard to say if they can never perish since there hasn't been a way to truly finish them off. But nothing in this world is invincible, right?"
"Who made the box anyway? Was it someone from the Dread League?" Pinkie Pie said while on the Xtransceiver.
"Chrysalis' mother said that it came from Tartarus, so someone down there must've made it," Ash recalled how Mellifera mentioned the creation of the Box of 100 Demons. He could hear her words now and the moment the box was revealed to him.
"A chest that holds demons that originated from Tartarus itself. Some even from the darkest depths of it. 100 of them were locked up long ago due to how the horrors that they could display and unleash upon the world. Even I can't help but fear some of those horrific monstrosities inside of it."
"It did. But the one who made it is a mystery. And frankly, it's best that it's kept that way. But knowing how curious you are, you may all get adventurous again." Sombra finished.
"We can handle that later. Hoopa. Can you try your hand at a few things?" Ash turned to the Mischief Pokemon, requesting his assistance once again.
"Hoopa can try and bring everyone else here." Hoopa held his ring out. "But...Hoopa hasn't been to Manehattan yet. Where's that?"
"I'm not leaving until I Glacoen back." Coco Pommel said through the Xtransceiver. "But, it's not like I can do much to get her back."
"We'll come to you then. How's the contest hall looking?" Ash asked. Right on the mark, the next form of destruction would show itself. This time, the moment when Merry Dread unleashed most of her curse magic would arrive. It wasn't just the walls melting around the hall. Now, it was the floor.
"Gyah!" Pinkie Pie's eyes cartoonishly popped out. She would jump up, trying to find something to latch on to. But right now, there was nothing safe to latch on to. Everything was melting. At the speed of a wildfire, rooms were being liquified by Merry Dread, who had recently been agitated thanks to Spitfire's reversal.
"Everything's melting!" Coco yelled as she and Pinkie Pie held each other. They would back up as quickly as they could, trying to outpace the melting floor. Their only hope was heading outside if they could get the chance. And abruptly, the Xtransceiver hung up on them, ending the communication. Without a farewell.
"I'm heading there now." Rainbow Dash set her sights on Manehattan once she saw how things escalated. She would quickly open the nearby window, letting the window before spreading her wings out. With Pinkie Pie in peril, they would all go. At least, those who were still in good condition, aside from Ash and Twilight.
"I'm coming with you guys." Knowing his condition, Ash would still try and show up. No matter what, if his friends were in trouble, he would go the distance to help them.
"Ohh, Ash...why won't you stay put when you need to?" Twilight sighed as Ash stood up, choosing to power through the pain. Even if that was detrimental to him. But Twilight acknowledged this before getting off her own bed. "No use stopping you. Plus, my home's in trouble too. I need to make sure mom and dad are doing fine."
"Don't do it." But Sombra, who needed Ash to be in one piece since he was connected to him, insisted that Ash ceased whatever hyperactive action he would take next. "For your sake and for my sake."
"Princess Celestia still isn't here either," Fluttershy said. "You might need her to heal you."
"Ashkan! Let Hoopa take you to Celestikan." Hoopa suggested, going for the easier route. Thankfully, Canterlot was a location he's already visited thanks to the further construction of the stairway. "Does that sound good?"
"Great. Thanks, Hoopa. That'll do the trick." Ash approved, giving a thumbs-up. "But if Celestia's taking a while, then maybe she's already dealing with a demon just like what Sombra said."
"Only one way to find out." Sombra smiled before reverting to his shadow form.
"I'll...stay behind. For family, after all." But Applejack chose to stay here, solely for her family. With how rapidly these attacks were approaching, she couldn't afford to stay away from her family. There was also the issue of Stoutland being missing, which was also something to handle. If they could get all get the chance.
Sinnoh. Out in a forest.
At this moment, Opal Vivacity, the one who spearheaded this attack, was currently choosing to relax instead of involving herself in all of this. And she did so lavishly. She sat on a chair that glistened beautifully in the night while also helping herself to the treats of the Pokemon World. Around her was a decorated garden of sharp roses. Opal was practically eating like a queen at this point.
All the while, over in the distance, another demon was on the move. Four ghastly eyes stare down at the innocents below with a bone-chilling intensity, and another wail rages from its fanged mouth in a fit of rage. Spiky tendrils adorn its thick head, which itself is thick as leather. A constant plume of smoke escapes the creature's crooked nostrils set within a pudgy nose. Its thick head sits atop a short, stringy body. Chains are stuck within its flesh, perhaps the remnants of an encounter in a different world. The creature moves forward slowly, its four legs gracefully carrying its reptilian body with a feverish energy. A shadowy tail writhes behind it, electric energies pulse from it with every movement. These chains would then shoot out along with the electricity, raining destruction on whoever it eyed down.
"Mmm! So good~!" Opal gushed at the taste of this world's food. "After the Black Crusade, I hope we get to keep the food around. Do you think Yveltal's power messes with food too? I hope not. Then again, we can always just ask them what the recipe is before they become skeletons."
"This is great and all but...aren't you worried?" Alongside her was Melody Moon and Bittersweet as Melody nudged Opal, interrupting her tasty moment. "You did just speak to the big-wigs of Equestria after all. What if this attack fails?"
"Pretty sure that's not the point of this." Bittersweet shook her head. "We're only doing this to soften it up for Queen Rosa and Yveltal. We're not actually going to defeat them here and now."
"Bittersweet is right, Melody. Too many factors to consider. Even with Yveltal's power...do you think the other Legendary Pokemon are going to let everything just perish? After all, you know about Yveltal's counterpart, right?"
"Xerneas, you mean." Melody Moon answered.
"That's the one. And that's the biggest problem we need to take into account. Because her majesty's hard work can all come crashing down just by the existence of Xerneas. So as long as that deer exists, the Black Crusade might as well be pointless. Not only that but this world has too many guardians to our liking. Any one of these Pokemon will do what they can to stop our crusade. So, softening up both worlds is what we need to do. We're lucky that there aren't that many guardians back in our world."
"I guess. But what about Xerneas? What do we do about that?" Melody Moon asked. "Or, has her majesty already figured something out?"
"She has indeed." Opal Vivacity ginned while watching the demon in the distance wreak havoc with ever-growing intensity and violence. "Aside from capturing Yvetal and using its power, she had a second plan to erase any flaws in the crusade. I can still remember her words now..."
"We will capture Yveltal. But that is not all. Xerneas has to go. That Pokemon can't be allowed to exist. It's the complete anthesis to our plan and our league. Though we're struggling to find Yveltal, we'll put all our efforts into Xerneas as well."
"So, that's the other plan. When we find Xerneas...well immediately put an end to the cycle of life." The Dread League had another horrifying plan in mind. Ridding this world of Xerneas entirely since it was the one Pokemon who could ruin everything for them.
Canterlot. Nightfall.
Unfortunately, when arriving at Canterlot, just outside the entrance, they wouldn't be met with anything pleasant. Sombra's assumption was spot on. At this very moment, Canterlot was potentially having the most dangerous demon attack by far. And that was from the demon that was up in space.
This demon had sucked up asteroids, shooting them out to cause destruction. But not only that, it ended up hatching smaller versions of the demon out of the asteroids which were just as large as Town Hall. Canterlot was assaulted by these horrific demons, who started crawling over their homes.
These Snake Demons would constrict the homes of the residents living in them, slowly crushing them as the windows were breaking apart. The whip-like tails would viciously knock off the roofs and anything that got in the way, only accelerating the mess. The residents would flee their homes and even try to flee Canterlot, but not with the abundance of demons getting in their way.
"Sylveon! Moonblast!" Of course, those that were here wouldn't just allow this destruction to go on. Cadence had Sylveon use Moonblast, interrupting one of the demons from continuing a fierce attack. This ball of Fairy Magic that came from the Moon struck the demon directly, knocking it over.
"Darkrai! Thunderbolt!" Luna yelled, ordering Darkrai as she was currently holding Snowdrop next to her. The Pitch Black Pokemon used Thunderbolt as an area of effect, making one bolt latch onto the next nearby target.
"Twilight! You're all here!" Celestia would notice Twilight's arrival just by the entrance. "Sorry for being late! As you can see, we already have a demon problem."
"This is a mess...Is that Kyurem?!" Twilight gasped, looking up at the sky to see Kyurem approaching the demon from above. This whole scene was a mess in every way. Whether it was the demons that hatched from the asteroids, the hole in the golden stairway or the presence of two giant creatures.
Kyurem had already entered space by giving himself in an extra boost in his white form. He was already set to remove the root of this problem. The demon was revealed to be around the stratosphere instead of at a high place in space. Even so, upon seeing Kyurem approach, the demon would slither away.
Knowing that Kyurem was intimidating, even being later than it, the demon would not engage at all, surprisingly. But that didn't stop Kyurem from chasing it down once he entered the stratosphere. But Kyurem could go further than that. He was one of the few Pokemon that could breathe in space after all.
He would immediately use Dragon Pulse, shooting out a giant draconic blast. The back of this snake demon would be attacked, or so Kyurem thought. The demon would sway the back of its body, twisting it in a disgusting manner that looked painful, allowing Dragon Pulse to miss. The demon would then slingshot itself to the side after twisting its body, continuing to flee from Kyurem.
The Boundary Pokemon narrowed his eyes with a growl. He wasn't up for a chase. But it seemed like that would be the case. The demon would then continue to suck up more asteroids along the way, gathering more ammo. But this time, the ammo would be used against Kyurem. The demon would still retaliate to ensure its safety, unleashing asteroids at a rapid pace.
Kyurem bashed his body through the asteroids with just brute strength alone, breaking them apart and ceasing the chance of any more demons being birthed from them. Kyurem would then throw an Ice Beam from his hands, hoping to freeze the demon in its tracks. Before that, he made sure to aim carefully and then unleash it when the time was right. The demon would attempt to evade by messing with its own serpentine body yet again, only to have its tail frozen.
Kyurem successfully got one part of this demon, only to then witness it separate itself from its tail. The demon ripped most of its body away from its tail, leaving it in the ice. After removing its own tail, the demon would simply grow a new one. This time, as if to mock Kyurem, making it out of ice in response to what froze the previous tail.
Another Dragon Pulse would be unleashed, but this time, the demon would face the attack. By rotating its head like an owl, the demon would stare right at Dragon Pulse. By opening its horrific mouth with millions of teeth, the demon would then use its power to suck up the blast instead of trying to evade it. With a strong sense vacuum mouth, the demon managed to pull in Dragon Pulse, forcing it down.
The demon would then close its mouth as the attack would then blow up inside of its stomach. It received inner damage from this with holes being blown through it. The energy of Kyurem's Dragon Pulse would burst out of it as the demon looked like it would pop just like a balloon.
But instead, it would allow the energy to stay in there as the inside of its stomach had been revealed. It matched that of outer space. Devoid of nothing. Kyurem was taken aback by this as this demon practically had a stomach void. This was further proven as once the attack ran its course, the demon would patch up its holes, having an empty stomach instead of a full one. But it did look satisfied with that attack, blowing out blue smoke while having that cheeky grin on your face.
"You're a tricky one. So whatever you suck in won't ever be enough, eh?" Kyurem said. But the demon wasn't done showing off its tricks.
Because after absorbing Dragon Pulse, as if those Dragon wings weren't enough, its face then morphed into that of a dragon. In a few seconds, the demon changed how its face looked and even parts of its body. It soon gained Dragon Scales, becoming a new type of Dragon. All it took was eating up Dragon Pulse.
Kyurem was surprised without a doubt. That demon's mouth and stomach were something to behold, despite how disturbing it may be. But even more disturbing was the fact that the demon used its own version of Dragon Pulse. A red Dragon Pulse flew out of the demon's massive mouth, striking back at Kyurem.
Kyurem received this Red Dragon Pulse, taking a super-effective hit in the process. Infinity Energy was packed behind this attack as the demon even managed to mimic that. The Boundary Pokemon growled, flying back and bumping into some nearby asteroids. He would then hold his head before viciously eyeing down the demon that perfectly copied Dragon Pulse.
Even the Legendary Kyurem had to admit something. This would be a problem that wouldn't be solved as quickly as he wanted it to be.
And the same went for Canterlot. After Syvleon used another Moonblast, the same smaller demon would suck it in. Attacks from Darkrai's Thunderbolt and Luna's other Pokemon would be absorbed too once they came close. And just like the one that created them, these smaller demons would change their bodies.
The Thunderbolt from Darkrai turned one of the demons into a living electrical entity, similar to how the Storm Behemoth was nothing but electricity and lightning. Sylveon's Moonblast would turn another into a slightly graceful but still disturbing demon with Fairy Wings and a pink aura to boot. Other attacks gave them different Types. Water, Ice, Ghost, Steel and Psychic. All of this came from Luna's Pokemon and some Pokemon from the Canterlot Guards.
"Absorption?!" Luna pulled back.
"That's not fair..." Shining Armor uttered as it was easy to see how these demons functions. They would then retaliate with the very attacks that were used against them. One of them brought on a tidal wave by shooting it out of its mouth. This was the cause of Frillish trying to defeat one of the demons, only further elevating their strength. "Oh! King's Shield!"
"Aegislash!" Aegislash would shield the others by putting up his signature defensive shield. Since these demons were now utilizing Infinity Energy, King's Shield would successfully work out, blocking the attack. But even after blocking it, the wave would crash into buildings, breaking parts of them away with intense volumes of water.
"That was close...Good thing they haven't taken anything from Aegislash yet." Shining Armor sighed as only Aegislash managed to get some hits in without worrying about any absorption. Everyone, not so much.
"Only Aegislash?" Iris noticed how Aegislash was the odd one out in all of this.
"Is Uncle Kyurem going to be okay?" Snowdrop asked Luna, worried about Kyurem and what he was doing up there.
"Don't worry. Your uncle is the World's Strongest Dragon Pokemon after all." Luna replied. "He'll be fine. We should make sure we can be fine even with what's in front of us."
"So they went with some of the best demons out of that box." Sombra noticed, speaking through Ash while staying hidden. Once again, he knew more about these demons, especially the one that was attacking Canterlot. "The Absorption Demon is a splendid choice."
"Absorption Demon?" Ash repeated.
"That's right. Throw anything at it and it will absorb it in that endless stomach of its that knows no end, copying whatever it wants to copy. It doesn't have the concept of being full thanks to how boundless its stomach is."
"Good to know." Celestia flew over. "Passion and I almost found that out the hard way. Ash. Are you doing alright?"
"A bit. This spot's really getting to me though." Ash showed off his black spot and how it was vigorously pulsating. "Can you really do something about this?"
"Let me see." Celestia would focus all her efforts on this one spot. At least, her healing efforts. Everything else was reserved for the demons. Speaking of the demons, two of them would slither in the direction of Ash's group, aiming to get the jump on them.
Unfortunately for them, Audino would hear them coming just by how audible their slithering was. Fluttershy was alerted and soon Rarity and Twilight would perk up to see the demons now fixating on them. These demons were looking for something new to gain and to them, Ash's group were the newest ones here.
But the demons would also look at Princess Celestia and Gardevoir, who had a lot to give out on their own. Much like Kyurem, the demons would go for the biggest thing here. And so far, four of them looked like they could fill that category.
As Celestia started healing Ash's black spot with the light of her magic, Pikachu, Gardevoir, Audino, Espeon and Pheromosa would stand in front of their friends as guardians. But there was one massive issue. These two demons had already had their fill of Infinity Energy, appearing as Steel and Fire-Types. Their absorption abilities boasted a problem. A problem they had to solve. And one that Kyurem was trying to find a way through as the journey continues.
Equestria. Ponyville. Sweet Apple Acres. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
"Are ya'll doing alright?!" Rushing indoors to check up on her family was Applejack, who nearly tripped from her speed. Due to the recent demon attacks, starting with the Memory Demon bringing about an ink-blotted terror, the farm girl wanted ot make sure that her family were still sitting pretty. And thankfully, all of them were fine. Untouched and unharmed as they reacted to Applejack's entrance.
"We're doing fine. What's up?" Apple Bloom said, currently being cushioned in between a Cottonee and a Skiploom, feeling superbly comfortable with these two soft Pokemon.
"Thank Celestia..." Applejack could rest easy knowing that her family was fine. Even the meteors from Meteor Mountain which housed the spirits of her parents were still here. "All that ink looked pretty big so it had me worried. But how come ya'll didn't hear what just happened outside?"
"About that...there was this giant black wave in the way. So we got really lucky that it didn't come this way. But we couldn't leave either." Apple Bloom explained. "Then it just blew up out of nowhere and got the place messy. We cleaned it up after that."
"Is that so? Good to know. Long as ya'll are doing okay for now. Guess that demon's gone until it shows up again. Sucks that they can just come back. Sceptile, we can head over and help everyone else as soon as we can."
"Sceptile!"
"Ah...now that you mention it...when all that ink blew up, I saw some of it fly away." But Apple Bloom had more to reveal, grabbing Applejack's attention.
"Ya did? Where?" She leaned in. This correlated with what Sombra said. The demons were seemingly invincible, returning to the box of showing up yet again.
"I think it was going back to Ponyville. But it was mighty small this time with how much of it blew up." Apple Bloom added, unsure of the Memory Demon's current location. No one knew where exactly it slithered off due to how minuscule it became after that fierce scuffle.
But that only gave Applejack another reason to stay here and start searching. "Maybe that's why Stoutland's nowhere to be seen..." She even realized that it could have connections to Stoutland's disappearance since only Mayor Mare was found out in the open, but not the one with supernatural abilities. "Say, Apple Bloom...mind if I borrow that water toy in your room?"
"My Super Soaker? Why?"
Roseluck's Home.
Sound asleep, through all of that, was Roseluck. She was at her most comfortable right now despite the damage that had been done to Ponyville. Many ponies would be lucky to have the type of sleeping strength she had.
This heavy sleeping was accompanied by Roseluck tossing and turning in her sleep, messing up the bed. Even luckier for the earth pony, her home wasn't in range of all the destruction. Not every building had been severely harmed either. Most just got ink all over them that was then washed away thanks to the water and wind.
However, though Roseluck slept through it all, her presence was not ignored. While everyone else was trying to clean everything up thanks to what the demon left behind, something would slip through the doors of Roseluck's home.
It was the Memory Demon once more. The one piece of it that managed to slip away returned to Ponyville yet again. Unrelenting, the demon still wanted more memories to gather for its own pleasure. But in its current state, being seen by everyone would lead to nothing but trouble, even if the demons could just come back. Keeping a low profile, the demon chose to enter one of these homes to see what it could find. Thus, Roseluck's home was chosen.
"They can celebrate all they want. Thanks to that magic, us demons will always come back." The demon spoke in vain towards those that defeated it. "I just need some more memories and I'll be sitting pretty. But who do we have here?"
"Aha..." In her sleep, Roseluck giggled, having a pleasant dream that was enough to make her swat the air randomly.
"Hmm..." The Memory Demon would slither against the wall as a single blot which managed to blend in the darkness, going completely undetected. And by heading to the wall, it got a view of Roseluck from above, observing its next victim and if she was promising. However, upon seeing Roseluck, the demon gasped for a moment.
There was something about Roseluck that looked very familiar. The Memory Demon, ironically, attempted digging into its own memories to see what it could gather from Roseluck's appearance.
"Odd. She looks a bit like the Lich Queen." The Memory Demon acknowledged the similar appearance to Rosa Maledicta that was ringing in its head. This was the only connection it managed to find. "Oh well. Let's see what memories you have to offer."
Eager to gain new memories, the demon hopped off the wall, going straight for Roseluck's face. And since she was unaware, there was nothing she could do to stop this or even know that it was coming. Finally finding a new victim, the demon would latch itself onto Roseluck's face, immediately expanding itself, no longer appearing as a small ink blot.
"I'll come back with a vengeance with what I can gather. Maybe she's hiding something that involves any one of these ponies. That'd be so hilarious to see their reactions while I pose as her." The Memory Demon said, showing its petty nature as most of Roseluck's face was being covered. But, that's where it ended. Shockingly, when covering Roseluck's face in ink, the Memory Demon would already find the first batch of memories. And those memories involved a very familiar face that made it pause.
The face of Rosa Maledicta showed up. In a short batch of seconds, it saw the perspective of a baby Roseluck viewing the face of her older sister, Rosa. Even then, Rosa still had the same manestyle, just with a bit more vibrance to it. The demon saw many memories of Roseluck hanging out Rosa who even had the same familiar voice, only confirming the demon's suspicions.
Multiple expressions and actions of Rosa flashed by rapidly for the demon to view and gather before then abruptly stopping at the moment when she left Ponyville. The demon would then stop everything that it was doing, much to its shock and dismay. It would instantly hop off Roseluck's face, no longer having the urge to possess her
Instead, the demon was absolutely stunned. The small ink blot started shuddering at what it had seen. This one asleep pony's memories threw it for a loop as it never expected to witness those memories.
"Is this...her sister?!" The demon gasped, realizing the gravity of this. It almost possessed the sister of the fearsome Lich Queen. "And I just ended up taking some of her memories. Just my luck...What's the Lich Queen going to do if she finds out about this?!"
"What will she do indeed?" Speaking through the Memory Demon's mind was none other than Opal Vivacity as she jump scared the ink-blotted demon.
"Mmm!" The demon shuddered, dropping some of its ink to the floor. "Miss Opal!"
"You found her sister? And took her memories?" Opal continued. "Big mistake."
"I-Is it? I assume that she wouldn't care for her sister because of the Black Crusade, right? It'll be fine, right? None of this matters in the long run."
"Wishful thinking. Us vampires will be completely fine during the Black Crusade. But there are some exceptions. Yveltal will be in one piece, exempt from the wave of destruction since it will be causing all the destruction. But her majesty plans to keep Roseluck around. Family matters. And you just ended up taking her memories."
"I-I can't get rid of them either." The demon gulped. "A-Am I going to get punished for this?!"
"Hmm...You're different from the Knowledge Demon and Parasite Demon, in which, you don't rob them of their memories. So, her memories of her majesty will still be intact. Having those memories won't harm anyone. After all, her life's most definitely been boring considering where she's lived. And as long as Queen Rosa doesn't find out, you'll be fine."
"Good to know..."
"But if she does find out...then, you'd best hope she doesn't care about it at all, which is highly unlikely." Opal would soon shut the Memory Demon down. "Then again, I don't know the outcome either. The best thing to do is just wait."
"I gotta get out of here..." The demon didn't feel safe being inside this room. Just the existence of Roseluck and who she was related to absolutely terrified this memory-hogging entity. She wanted nothing to do with her and hoped that Rosa Maledicta would never find out.
The demon would slither out of the room, having most of its body back. It slipped through the gap underneath the door, leaving the same way it showed up. However, upon heading outside, someone was waiting for it. A strong hoof stomped next to the demon, startling it. This was none other than Applejack's hoof as she was here with Sceptile and Delta Riolu.
"Gah!" The Memory Demon gasped, splitting against the door from shock.
"Going somewhere?" Applejack would grin at the demon's smaller appearance with Sceptile and Riolu giving it the fiercest smiles. "Thanks for the creepy Aura. Riolu here helped me find you."
"Rio!" Riolu waved as his was Aura that was responsible for this find. So as long as there was a living being, Aura would react. And for this demon, according to Applejack, the Aura was creepy, making it stand out from the rest.
"This is Roseluck's home...Whaddya do, ink splat?" Applejack narrowed her eyes.
"None of your business. The girl's in one piece." The demon would scoff. "But I still got some new memories to keep. And not only that, but I'll still find a way to escape and return to the box with fresh new memories. How's that?"
"Ain't happening. You won't get the chance to head back into that box." Applejack threatened the demon as Sceptile and Riolu would stand on both sides to prevent it from escaping. Applejack would stay in the middle with her hooves closed for a tighter gap. "Plus, you ain't looking so hot now. How come you didn't take Roseluck's body? Scared?"
"I would've done it now. But there is no way I'm going after her unless I want to see another day." The demon replied, immediately confusing Applejack and her Pokemon. That wasn't the response they were expecting. It sounded like the demon was hesitant to control Roseluck but everyone else was fair game.
"Say what now?" Applejack looked at Sceptile and Riolu, wondering why this was the case. "What? Are ya weak to fragrances too?"
"Not at all!" The demon yelled. "Seems you don't know. How about I make you a deal?"
"Deal?"
"T-That's right...This deal will surely convince you to let me go. I know something big that you all probably don't know. Yes. Something crucial that ties back to all of this."
"Yeah right. What do you know that's gonna change our mind?" But Applejack doubted the Memory Demon, despite what it specialized in. "Be honest with me."
"Fine. In that room...that pony friend of yours...is the sister to the Lich Queen, Rosa Maledicta." The Memory Demon spouted it out, revealing the ties between Roseluck and Rosa Maledicta. In unison, Applejack, Sceptile and Delta Riolu couldn't believe their ears. Out of all the responses the demon could've given, this one was out of left field and smack them in the face with a moment of silence.
"Roseluck and...her?!" Applejack's hat nearly fell off, only to tilt and hang on her right ear. "Y-You're kidding!"
"With the memories I've taken, I never lie. Even if I am a demon." And that was the harsh truth. The Memory Demon had a strong sense of honesty mainly because it had the potential to know the truth about everything depending on whose memories it borrows. "Princess Celestia knows. She had a chat with Roseluck about her sister back at that Ethereal Pavilion. Right now, you've got the sister of a death-hungry pony in your town. And probably the only pony who will be spared during the Black Crusade."
Indeed. Very few knew that Roseluck's sister was Rosa. Family members, Opal Vivacity and Princess Celestia respectively. And of course, this was kept secretive for Roseluck's sake.
"Your Sun Princess knows by now what kind of consequences that could have if they knew about Roseluck's sister. Who knows what others would do to her? Maybe this town will be fine with it but everywhere else is another story...Not that she's as bad as the Lich Queen, not even anywhere near that level but what's stopping them from making the worst assumptions? This world has a reputation for doing that. So...how's that? Let me free for her sake?"
"No way." But even after what Applejack heard, she wouldn't let the demon escape. It never had the chance of convincing her in the first place.
"Figures. Then, I'll do it by force!" The demon would try and force its way to freedom, leaping off the ground while turning the sides of its blotted body into sharp blades.
"Rio!" But Riolu would intercept, sensing the demon's Aura rising to a hostile level. He would use Dark Pulse, getting in front of Applejack as protection before unleashing the pulse of darkness from his paws. The demon would be blown back, splitting against the door with bits of it spreading.
Applejack already knew this song and dance by now. She can damage it but it can regenerate using bits of it that get scattered just by conflict alone. But this time, she came prepared. "You ain't regenerating this time! Sceptile!"
"Tile!" Or rather, Sceptile came prepared. This whole time, his hands were behind his back, concealing something until the time was right. And that time was now as he revealed a Super Soaker Water Gun of all things.
"Apple Bloom's toy will do the trick! Soak 'em!"
"Scep!" Sceptile would take aim, unleashing the full force of this toy. Definitely, an odd weapon to use against a demon if it was considered a weapon. But judging by how the eye of the demon widened, it looked threatening enough.
Wait a sec-" The demon was cut off once it was hit in the face by the strong pressure of water, soaking it. All the while, Roseluck was still sleeping like a Queen. Not even the sound of something being pressured against her door was enough to wake her up.
"Now, Riolu! Vacuum Wave!"
"Rio...Lu!" Riolu would generate the wind that would air dry the demon's ink boy. He used Vacuum Wave to make this happen, releasing waves of wind in succession right after Sceptile soaked the demon. The Memory Demon would find itself receiving a less fierce but still effective version of what happened to it back at the centre of Ponyville when it still had a majority of its Pokemon.
But Applejack recalled what Sombra said. Despite how efficient there was, the demon would somehow, in some way, end up fine and return to the Box of 100 Demons. But that was only if it managed to get away. And right now, the farm pony wasn't taking any chances.
"Gah..." The Memory Demon groaned before sliding off the door. It was back to square one, appearing only as a small blot with one eye. "Is that all you got?"
"This should do the trick." Applejack would be the one to finish things off. By digging into her Saddlebag, she revealed a jar, of all things. At least it wasn't as strange as the Super Soaker. Applejack would contain the demon in this jar which was more than large enough to hold it. With the Memory Demon being in a weakened state, it wouldn't have the opportunity to find somewhere to heal up since it was currently imprisoned. "Let's see you head back into that box now."
"Curse you! You can't do this to me! Not when there are so many memories that I've yet to view!" The demon roared before breathing in and out, feeling too tired to continue yelling. "And why a Super Soaker and not a Pokemon?!"
"Doesn't hurt to humiliate once in a while. Plus, Granny would've told me to go for this one too." The earth pony giggled as she now successfully captured one of the demons, subduing it. But there was still more to deal with.
Faye Mountain. Changeling Lands.
One of these demons was still active. The Centipede Demon. The Changeling Lands were greatly damaged thanks to this massive demon's actions. Large holes from its tunnelling were left behind along with the toppling of various homes. Recently, it released acid from its body, which only added to the destruction.
Chrysalis groaned, getting back up as she was still giving it her all to stop this demon. Unfortunately, she was the only one capable of putting in that effort since she was the Queen. Everyone else was a different story. The acid harmed the Fairy-Type Pokemon as it was the equivalent to the Poison while many of the Changelings struggled to find a safe place to hide.
Thorax looked outside as the main Changeling Hive was still intact thankfully. He held Anthophilia who was currently put to sleep to avoid the havoc happening outside. Ribombee was also on the ground as she took considerably more damage than Chrysalis.
"Ri...!"
"Eugh. All of this has made you soft, little Chrysalis." The Centipede Demon mocked Chrysalis. "You're nothing a shell of your former self in so many ways. You expect to protect everything like this?!" It then laughed, shaking the ground with its tremendous strength, making everyone else fall over as the main hive would continuously take damage.
"S-Silence...!" Chrysalis groaned as some of the acid managed to get onto her wings, poisoning her. Chrysalis used her magic to try and protect her wings, but the acid burned violently.
"If your mother were, she'd be very disappointed. Tsk. Tsk. If you were anything like your old self, this might be a different story.y Alas, it's not!" The demon would then take off the top of the Changeling Hive with a fierce headbutt.
"Bombee!" Ribombee would still try and retaliate even with her fragile durability. She would first heal herself with Pollen Puff before then throwing Dazzling Gleam rays at the Centipede Demon. The demon's carapace had grown to a point where Dazzling Gleam wasn't that much of a problem for it. It pushed it back but the damage wasn't as substantial as before.
"Wait! Ribombee!" A strained Chrysalis said before lowering her head.
"You should learn when to quit!" The Centipede Demon roared at Ribombee before unleashing a stronger retaliation. This time it was from its forty legs. The Centipede Demon would first hit the ground, making another tremor. But this time, this tremor would launch Ribombee into the air just from sheer force.
"R-Ri...!" RIbombee gasped as she tried recovering by flapping her wings. But it was too late. The Centipede Demon was one step ahead of her as it then charged in, getting up close and personal as it then bashed its head against the Bee Fly Pokemon. Ribombee took the Centipede Demon's full strength as a large shockwave rippled through her body. Ribombee's eyes would then flicker for a bit before slowly starting to turn white. The force of the hit then sent the Bee Fly Pokemon far off, hitting one of the remaining mountains. Chrysalis watched as Ribombee would then roll off the mountain, hiding the hard edges before finally reaching the ground.
Ribombee would lay there, motionless. That attack from the Centipede Demon seemed to be the decisive hit. A hit so strong that Ribombee couldn't counteract this. With her eyes white, Chrysalis was absolutely mortified by what she had witnessed. Seeing Ribombee in this state and what was becoming of her own reminded her of the most unfortunate moment of her life.
"I'm getting bored now." The Centipede Demon said. "The Magic of Love isn't all that and that little bee went out sad if you ask me. Pathetic."
"Don't you dare insult her...!" Chrysalis' eyes flashed a vibrant green after hearing the words from the Centipede Demon. By this point, seeing Ribombee was enough to push her over the edge. And it certainly did. Her magic started flaring out great speeds, forming into a pillar. The Centipede Demon would squint as the rubble from all the destruction would rise from Chrysalis' magic.
All of her subjects would look in awe as her magical aura was greater than before. However, there was something different about it. Or rather, familiar. Chrysalis was no longer feeling the love at this moment. Nothing about this had anything to do with love. All of this havoc, destruction and humiliation was the opposite of love.
"What is this?!" The demon gasped at the sight of this magical explosion. Chrysalis was exuding hatred. And that magical aura of hers was very similar to what she used to have before entering her purity form. Her magic exploded, pushing back the Centipede Demon.
This was no longer the magic that would synergize well with the Faye Mountains and all the Fairy-Types. Speaking of the Fairy-Types, they would shudder at this. They didn't shudder at the Centipede Demon this entire time but Chrysalis' old magic was enough to make them tremble.
However, this was far greater than what it used to be. Chrysalis was far stronger than what she was before, making the return of her previous magic greater than ever. The Fairy-Types were absolutely terrified of what was emerging from that pillar. A sudden shock-wave and a muffled burst erupted through the clouds as the image of Chrysalis' eyes glared through the magical aura.
Emerging out of it was an enraged Chrysalis, who no longer radiated that loving magic that she brought along with her. Her old self would flash within the dark green aura, showing her original colours. The Centipede Demon would see the old Chrysalis before nervously grinning. There was something nostalgic yet intimidating about this.
"I won't forgive you even if you apologize!" Chrysalis let out a thunderous shout. "You're going to pay you overgrown pest!"
With her rage exploding to new heights, Thorax was hoping that Anthophilia wasn't seeing this. But in her sleep, she was starting to murmur. Was she feeling this or was this the cause of a nightmare? This magic and the way it was pulsating around Chrysalis looked a bit familiar to Thorax. He only knew of one pony that once emanated this before being defeated. Empress Twilight Sparkle. Or more specifically, Midnight Sparkle. It even started resembling that of Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon as green flames would erupt from the ground in response to her fury.
Chrysalis would unleash a standard magic beam. But it was not standard at all. It was devastatingly strong to the point where it tore apart all the holes the demon made while melting away the acid itself. The Centipede Demon would gasp before crawling out of the way. It barely managed to evade the attack due to how massive it was the beam would graze its armour. The carapace meant nothing was a piece of it was effortlessly obliterated.
The demon would yell in pain as this was the most damage it had taken, undoubtedly. The magic from Chrysalis' blast burned greatly, even melting away at the digestive acid that it stored up. The Centipede Demon ceased all its crawling to take a moment with the pain. The pain became disorienting in seconds, making the demon writhe as it was struggling to grow a new carapace as fast as it could.
Terrified of what Chrysalis had unleashed, the Centipede Demon would look over to see a Changeling that was far more terrifying than what Mellifera was, Chrysalis' Purity Form was and without a demon, her old self. The Centipede Demon made the grave mistake of reviving this terrifying power and elevating it to new heights.
Equestria. Faye Mountains. Changeling Lands. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
By this point, the Faye Mountains were in a grim state. Massive holes, acidic sprays and now the emergence of green flames, this new home for the Changelings was at its worst right now. This was all thanks to the Centipede Demon and recently, the fury of their own queen, Chrysalis.
The Centipede Demon's durable carapace had been damaged once more thanks to Chrysalis' magic, which saw a stellar increase. Chrysalis was reminded of how she lost her first home to Ghetsis. Seeing this and witnessing Ribombee being badly hurt sparked that horrible memory within her. This trigger unleashed her anger and her Magic of Love had been tossed aside just for the Centipede Demon. Much stronger than she was previously, her magic posed a greater threat as the old Chrysalis had essentially returned, minus the Purity Form.
"W-Where did this come from?" The demon shuddered, terrified of Chrysalis' new elevation of magical strength as it immediately tried getting back up, even if its carapace was struggling to regenerate fast enough thanks to the devastating blast.
"Don't you dare think about getting back up!" Chrysalis would then unload a consecutive stream of magical beams that would bombard the demon's carapace. Its hard skeletal armour would be punished by these rays that were greater than ever. Each of them packed full disdain as their main source of energy. Its carapace would come apart, losing pieces of it way faster than the demon could regenerate them.
The Changelings watched as their queen would blow away so many carapace pieces with absolute hatred, making the Fairy-Types shudder. Knowing that Chrysalis was destroying its carapace faster than it could regenerate them, the Centipede Demon tried crawling away to gain some distance and a better angle.
Alas, Chrysalis did not allow that. The moment she saw the demon trying to head elsewhere, she would aim her magic at the ground, changing her approach. The magic would shoot through the ground before rising back up, hitting the demon from below and halting its movements. She was absolutely relentless, taking all of her bottled rage out on the Centipede Demon to the point where she wouldn't allow it to catch a break.
The Faye Mountains lit up with constant green flashes going off, signifying Chrysalis' exploding rage. She was unintentionally harming the Faye Mountains as well with this outburst. The acid was melted away by Chrysalis' dark green flames. The burrowed holes would be filled up by the erupting magic. Her magic was widespread in so many ways. But this didn't just involve destruction. The changelings noticed how her magic began affecting the mountains in another way that was relatively unique. But Chrysalis had yet to notice.
Eventually, Chrysalis would cease fire. She started breathing in and out simply because of how much she was unloading a blast on the demon. This was the only time the demon could move a bit longer but it was now in immense pain. Multiple holes were left in its body as all the acid started dripping out.
"I-I didn't expect her to possess all of this..." The demon gasped, leaving behind an acid trail. "This is bad...very bad! This isn't love at all!" The demon would then gaze at Chrysalis, seeing her in a different light.
At that moment, the demon shuddered as the vision of Chrysalis in a dark background was formed. This dark background was accompanied by green flames and half of Chrysalis' body being her old self and new self mixed together. The aura she was giving off had horrific intent behind it. So horrific that even the Centipede Demon was terrified. It wasn't looking at Chrysalis right now. It was looking at something else entirely. The demon couldn't believe this. Someone that wasn't a demon could boast this much fear in it.
"This can't be her..." The demon thought to itself. "It feels like she's a demon herself! No. It's more like there is a demon hiding in her!"
"I'm not scared of you! This changes nothing!" The Centipede Demon tried shrugging this off. And to prove this, it would try charging directly at Chrysalis with a full-force tackle. The demon would tear up parts of the ground just by crawling, using all of its physical strength. It even tried intimidating her by using the full extent of its unnerving and horrifying face.
But all of that didn't matter. Not only did it not intimidate Chrysalis in the slightest, but an even more shocking revelation had been revealed. Chrysalis overpowered the demon in terms of physical strength. The second it got close, Chrysalis would hold her hoof out, allowing the demon to connect with it. And with its face meeting with Chrysalis' hoof was the equivalent of crashing into a wall or a train.
Chrysalis stopped it dead in its tracks while causing a viciously strong shockwave to erupt and reverb through the demon. The Centipede Demon's body would vibrate. It felt like being hit by a hammer at full force despite the fact that the demon was the one who approached the hammer. Chrysalis was now the one boasting the greater physical strength as her eyes were emanating a smoking green aura now.
The demon would wince and shudder as it could no longer feel its body thanks to the shock it received. This was undoubtedly a terrifyingly unpleasant feeling, especially when combined with all the pain Chrysalis gave it. Now that Chrysalis was stronger, she would show off her strength. The Changeling Queen would then raise the Centipede Demon into the air with just her singular hoof. She no longer needed magic to make something like this possible.
"My turn!" She growled before slamming the demon back into the ground. The Centipede Demon's already suffering body would take more punishment as the carapace at this point was failing to regenerate fast enough thanks to Chrysalis' elevation of strength. She would then throw the demon away with just a single exertion of strength in her hoof. The throw was relatively impressive too. She threw the demon through the last of the mountains, breaking them with ease. By this point, the Faye Mountains no longer had any mountains to back up the name. All of them were gone.
The changelings weren't sure whether to be amazed or terrified by the strength of their queen. But the latter was the most prominent reaction. While it was good to see the demon being on the backfoot, every changeling could feel Chrysalis' aura and how mortifying it was. They all saw the same thing the Centipede Demon saw. Or rather, they were on the verge of seeing it.
A demon.
Anthophilia would start crying, finally being woken up from her sleep. Thorax would gasp as now he had the duty to calm her down while all of this was going on. But judging by how the events were turning out, it could all come to an end relatively soon.
"Now's a good time to transform, Zorua!" Thorax pleaded. Zorua would do just that. The Dark-Type already had a method of calming Anthophilia down. And that was by transforming into Chrysalis herself. Zorua would walk up to the baby changeling, hoping to calm her down. But it was ineffective. By this point, Anthophilia could differentiate the real from the fake. And unfortunately, the real Chrysalis was currently erupting with rage.
The Centipede Demon was practically powerless at this point. A broken carapace, multiple holes, whimpering and weakened legs that were once tremendously powerful and even bruises on its face just from making contact with Chrysalis' hoof.
However, it wouldn't end there. The unique effect of Chrysalis' magic would show itself off. And it started with the rubble that came from the mountains. The rubble would be enveloped in Chrysalis' signature green magical aura, levitating without Chrysalis' control.
The magic would start putting the rubble back together, reforming the mountains to how they were. But there was something different about them. The mountains would sharpen in response to this magical reformation. The structure was the same but the looks were altered. It wasn't just the mountains that would be affected. The other rubble received a taste of this new magic. All of a sudden, the ground below the Centipede Demon would start twisting, opening a large hole that was enough to fit its entire body.
"W-What is this?!" The demon cried out before being dropped inside. The atmosphere would even change. What was once something full of love, now only had animosity behind it. And this animosity would suddenly affect the Fairy-Type Pokemon as a spark of Chrysalis' magic appeared on their chests.
The Fairy-Tyes would then get back up, shrugging off the acidic poisoning they once had. It was as if they were never injured in the first place. "Oh...Are you feeling better now?" A changeling asked her Kirlia who got up immediately after the atmosphere changed. By reacting to the atmosphere, the Fairy-Types changed up a bit. Not by appearance, but by what they would do next.
"Kirlia...!" Kirlia and other Fairy-Types would raise their arms, using their Fairy Magic in unison which came in a different colour. This colour was now the same as Chrysalis' magic as it would all float into the air. The ground would then gather around as much dirt as it could, dropping it on the Centipede Demon while it was underground.
This was not done by Chrysalis' choice. Instead, this was done by the Fairies. They weren't sure why and how but their bodies simply felt like doing this. Not only that, but they were emanating heaps of hatred as well. Something that was very uncommon for most Fairy-Type Pokemon. But in this instance, the changelings could already see why.
All of them collectively gasped, realizing why this was the case. Due to Chrysalis not using the Magic of Love in this scenario, she was using the exact opposite of love. Hate and animosity. And much like how the Fairy-Types thrived in the positive environment of the Faye Mountains, Chrysalis' overwhelming magic managed to affect them too.
"Miss Opal! I need help here! Please!" Desperate to get out of this, the demon would call for Opal Vivacity, hoping that she would respond with telepathy.
"I'm listening. Having trouble?" Opal replied immediately with telepathy.
"A lot of it! Send me back! Send me back now! I don't want to spend another second here!" The demon pleaded. Since it couldn't be destroyed, taking constant damage was something it was not looking forward to at all. Returning to the box was the best option right now.
"Right, right. " Opal sighed. "Who are you even having trouble with for this reaction to-" Just then, Opal's words paused before she continued. "Oh?"
"W-What is it?" The demon gulped.
"It's not responding." Opal's voice tone would change, startling the Centipede Demon. Those were words it was hoping to never hear.
"What do you mean it's not responding?!"
"It won't retrieve you at all!" Opal raised her voice. "What's with this box all of a sudden?"
"I can hear you..." Suddenly, interrupting this telepathic conversation and even making Opal Vivacity gasp was none other than Chrysalis. Her ears didn't fall deaf to this conversation. Then again, she shouldn't be able to hear this in the first place. The demon, sure. But Opal? Not at all.
"W-What was that?" Opal stammered from the other side.
"You're the one behind this, aren't you?" Chrysalis spoke with her voice being slightly gruff and exhausted at the same time. Opal's voice was clear to her, catching the vampire off guard. "After I'm done with this one...I'll come for you next."
"D-Done with me?" The Centipede Demon whimpered before having the rest of its body buried underneath the dirt. "Wait-" It was cut off once a large mound of dirt covered the hole that Chrysalis unintentionally made. After that, Chrysalis would channel all of her strength into her horn, pulling her head back before gathering a tremendous amount of magic.
The Centipede Demon's strength failed it here. It was unable to break free as the mound was covered with Fairy-Type Magic. But not the usual Fairy-Type Magic that was all about love. "H-Hold on, Chrysalis! Maybe I was too rash in the beginning! You haven't grown soft! Not one bit! I jumped to conclusions a bit too early! Let's talk it out with the power of love, please! I can't go out like this!"
After burying the demon, Chrysalis would unleash the full force of her magic. It was a simple yet gigantic blast of magic that would pierce and engulf the hole that she made, engulfing the demon. The Centipede Demon would make a final cry before having its body absolutely covered in nothing but green magic lost to the colours.
Chrysalis' final burst of magic exploded, releasing a violent pillar of magic that shot through the clouds themselves, obliterating them. The ground itself had been wasted to the core. Nothing was left behind but only bedrock. Chrysalis' magic went that far. All the changelings couldn't help but cover their eyes and shudder at what they realized.
Utter destruction. It was practically on the same scale as what Ghetsis did to the old Changeling Hive. This whole thing reminded the changelings of that one horrible scenario. It didn't help that Chrysalis was the one who did it this time. This was potentially beyond her old self in the worst way possible.
Opal's connection to the Centipede Demon ended there as it never returned to the Box of 100 Demons at all. On top of that, Chrysalis was shockingly away, being able to hear this telepathic conversation for the first tie. The smoke would clear and the only thing that would didn't end was Anthophila's crying.
Chrysalis stood there in front of the obliterated ground, having her magic fume out of her as if she was a chimney. The Changeling Queen looked perplexed and bewildered with just a single expression on her face. Deep breaths were taken as all the Fairy-Types would suddenly faint. That strange reaction from them would immediately end.
Not only that, but another shocking revelation came about. Crawling out of the bedrock and all the destruction was none other than a centipede. A regular-sized one to be exact. This regular centipede would crawl next to Chrysalis' hoof before then skittering away without even grabbing the attention of the Changeling Queen. Only the other changelings witnessed this centipede emerge.
But there were more. More centipedes would crawl out of the ground in massive numbers, catching the changelings off guard. After all that, it was bizarre to see regular centipedes show up, not doing anything but just casually crawling about. But immediately, the changelings thought of one possibility. Could these be the Centipede Demon's original form before it sold its soul to the Box of 100 Demons? With how many of them were crawling out, it could possibly be the case.
"Ugh..." After that, Chrysalis herself would faint. Just like the Fairy-Types. Drained and exhausted, all that magic would leave her body before she then dropped to the ground, almost falling into the massive hole she made. So many of them were exhausted from this, but Chrysalis was the most drained out of all of them.
Quickly, they would rush to their queen's side to immediately help her. Thankfully, since the hive was the least damaged area, the healing cocoons would be safe to use. Chrysalis and everyone else who took damage from this would desperately need it.
Sinnoh. Out in a forest.
"This can't be right..." And at the moment, Opal Vivacity was in absolute shock. In her hooves, when holding the Box of 100 Demons, a stunning revelation had come her way. "Is that even possible? Queen Rosa's not going to like this."
"What? What is it?" Melody Moon asked. "Did you get that demon back already?"
"No. That's the problem. I can't. Or rather...It's not there anymore." Opal shuddered with disbelief in her voice, stunning Melody Moon and Bittersweet. "It's as if its name has been erased from the box itself!"
"Say what?!" Melody and Bittersweet equally erupted. "We lost a demon?!"
"I'm afraid so. We're down to only 99 Demons now that the Centipede is gone..." Opal could confirm it by looking into the box. The Centipede Demon essentially made the name irrelevant since it never returned.
"But that's impossible!" Melody stretched the side of her mane. "That box has always had 100 Demons for so long! And now one of them's just gone?! They can't even be destroyed in the first place!"
"Could it be...someone found a way past that?" Bittersweet questioned.
"Sounds like it. Someone's found a way to ignore the immortality of these demons. I would've thought her majesty would've been the first to do so...But even she hasn't found a way to bypass their immortality just yet. We're assuming Yveltal can do that but the fact that someone else did it..." Opal Vivacity's hooves trembled. "Your majesty! Can I speak with you?!"
"Speak..." Rosa Maledicta spoke to Opal via telepathy after Opal made the request.
"Bad news! Someone got past the defences of the box! There are only 99 Demons left!" Opal blurted out. "I'm not sure how but that Centipede Demon was defeated by someone. I can't return or feel its presence anywhere. It's gone!"
"Uh, that's not gonna upset a balance, is it?" said Melody. "Cause if it does then-"
"Chrysalis." Rosa would say Chrysalis' name while also speaking to Melody and Bittersweet to let them know. "Who else would it be?"
"Chrysalis?" All three of them said.
"She might've done it, finally. Mellifera's wish must've come true. All of that bottled-up potential was the only thing threatening the Box of 100 Demons and nothing else. That kind of magic boasted a plethora of problems the moment that box was made."
"So Chrysalis did this? But how? What makes her so special anyway?" Opal asked, unsure of why Chrysalis would be the one to shut down one of the demons and even affect the box. "And how did she hear us speaking telepathically in the first place?"
"It's because of her magic. What else?" Rosa Maledicta continued. "This kind of magic was prophesized even before I came into power. For you see...Chrysalis was born on the same day the Box of 100 Demons was made. At the same day, the same hour, the same week and the same year. Basically, it was a unified creation."
"All of that at the same time?" Bittersweet spoke. "That's gotta be a coincidence right? And all of a sudden her magic somehow awakens?"
"SIlly Bittersweet. I would have thought you all figured it out by now. The Box of 100 Demons comes from Tartarus yes. But it is not made by any physical limbs whatsoever. Who do you think made that box?"
"That would be someone from Tartarus. Or even maybe one of the earlier Lich Kings and Queens. Right?" Opal theorized before Rosa Maledicta went silent for a bit.
"Wrong. Chrysalis' birth and the box's creation are on in the same. That's because the Creator of the Box of 100 Demons is Chrysalis. Her magic formed the box in correlation to her birth."
Another shock struck their hearts and faces. The true creator of the Box of 100 Demons had been revealed. It wasn't a demon. It wasn't a vampire. It wasn't any Lich that has ever existed. But rather, Chrysalis. As a baby. The one true owner of this box was the Changeling Queen herself.
Sinnoh. Out in a forest. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
"She created the box?!" Recently, via a telepathic conversation, Rosa Maledicta had revealed to Opal Vivacity, Melody Moon and Bittersweet who was the true creator of the Box of 100 Demons. And surprisingly, it was Queen Chrysalis. Or more specifically, when she was a baby. On the day she was born, the box was also in Tartarus.
"That can't be right! A baby?!" How come she was already making greater accomplishments than all of us at the youngest age possible?! I swear, Royals are so lucky, it's not even fair!" Melody Moon felt jealous of this, surprisingly. The fact that Chrysalis accomplished this as a baby, without even knowing that she did so, aggravated her.
"So, the rightful owner of this box is Chrysalis? How come we didn't hear about this?! We're older than you! No offence, your majesty." Opal Vivacity asked.
"I don't know the answer to that. Not even the previous Lich Kings and Queens knew about this. All they knew was that the box suddenly appeared in Tartarus, disturbing every creature that lived down there. One of the old Lich Kings found it before anyone else did and immediately assumed that it was a spontaneous creation from Tartarus. A phenomenon. But that wasn't the case. Thanks to Mellifera, I was able to know exactly how that box came to be."
"Why did Mellifera tell only you and not the previous rulers?" Opal threw another question in there.
"She did. But only one of them managed to learn about this. It wasn't until the third decade that she realized the connection between the box and her daughter. The fifth and shortest Lich King Ephemeral learned about Chrysalis' power and a deal was made. Mellifera wanted Chrysalis' true potential to shine one day and the Dread League would ensure that day would come when the greatest form of power possible would be given to them. But as you can expect...that took a turn. The moment Chrysalis decided to leave and start her own hive was when that plan was sabotaged. And since then, the Box of 100 Demons would become a staple of Magehold."
"So King Ephemeral knew about this over everyone else? Hm. He always was the most opportunistic Lich King out of them all. Very outgoing." Opal nodded in approval.
"Of course, this is all the information I was told when I gathered knowledge from the old king's grave. There may be more to this story or even certain things might be wrong unless we could find a way to prove it."
"Who cares?! It sucks we never knew about this in the first place!" Melody yelled. "I can't believe the previous rulers never even knew about this..."
"It pays to live in the modern age and be incredibly intelligent such as myself," said Rosa. "King Ephemeral had the benefit of being rather outgoing while I have the benefit of being the second Lich Queen to have come from somewhere else."
"But how did she even make those demons then?" Bittersweet had something to say. "She was a baby when it was made and she doesn't even know that it was made by her in the first place. Where'd all those demons even come from?"
"We just knew the demons existed in the box when the king found it," Opal added. "As if we'd ever question their reason for existing. That weirdo Grogar already made those monsters of his and set them free and we don't question it. It's all just natural for us vampires."
"How? Some of these demons were once regular creatures that sold their soul, wanting to become something greater than what they currently are. This ranges from wildlife...to even inanimate objects. The Box has an alluring voice that can even bring life to that which isn't alive. But the first demons and a majority of them come from Chrysalis' own imagination from when she was young. They are the result of her dreams and desires. And with her potential, it all became a possibility."
"The Power of Imagination, huh? Lame." Bittersweet scoffed. "So what now? She's all about love and that mushy stuff after all."
"Ah. I suppose desires counts as love. It's also natural for Changelings to be involved with love, even from birth. And right now, with how Chrysalis is, her love is at an all-time high. But judging by what you've shared, it seems something pushed her over the edge at last."
"What happens now?" Melody Moon asked. "Does this mean she can just get rid of a demon and lessen the numbers?"
"The box will respond to its creator. And so will the demons. Now that a massive part of her potential has been unleashed, the demons will react in different ways. That is...if it's for our benefit. Whatever Chrysalis is feeling right now to the point where a demon has been removed from the equation must be terrifying."
"Then that means...this whole thing could come crashing down!" Opal shuddered, realizing that Chrysalis could ruin this big attack that she initiated. "Gah! Not like this!"
"That'd be embarrassing but not that bad. If we get stopped by the Creator of the 100 Demons then it's less of a hard blow. Better than losing to that Moon Princess." Melody Moon shrugged.
"If I would go out, I'd rather have it be done by Princess Celestia. Losing to the big wig is the greatest honour." Bittersweet chimed in.
"Mellifera was hoping for a day like this to come. But the timing couldn't be any worse. All three of you, listen. Whatever Chrysalis' true potential is, it's clear that it threatens the entirety of our plans. Especially the Black Crusade. Now that this day has come, be wary of what could come next."
"I will, your majesty," Opal replied. "Besides...we have 14 more demons that we can count on. They're sure to soften things up before Chrysalis can have the chance to make her next big impact."
And by this point, the demons were already ahead of the curve, unable to hold back their strength, they already cause some serious destruction.
The small town of Pacifidog was unfortunately under attack by one of the 15 Demons that had been unleashed. This one was the hardest to figure out since it didn't resemble any creature or object at all.
Two flaring eyes stare at the people, ponies and Pokemon with an eerie foreboding aura and another flicker exploded from its crooked mouth in delectable glee. Bellowing smoke, and flowing shadows covered its round head, which itself is cracked all over. Toxic smog escapes the creature's breath as its sharp head sits atop a giant, ossified body. Plated of steel have merged with flesh, perhaps a remnant of even stranger times. A bony tail snakes behind it, scars and bite marks are all over its leathery surface. Two immense wings extend themselves fully. Blackened bones and feathers of bones stretched upward, and side by side.
This demon was sucking up the water of Pacifidog Town with its tail while also breathing out flaming water from its mouth which was combined with the toxic smog. The water would then lose its natural properties in exchange for this smog which was poisoning not just the water but the air itself.
Olivine City received two demon attacks. The first one resembled a beetle as a raging aura and flowing shadows on its head which itself is otherwise surprisingly smooth. A constant shadowy veil dangles around its torso while also erupting from its horn. This shadow horn, when swung, would engulf whatever it touched in shadows while also having superb strength, as expected from a beetle.
The other demon that assisted the Beetle Demon was a Triple-Headed Tiger that was made out of spectral energy. This tiger would unleash triple ghostly roars that would soon arrive as spectral beams, affecting the buildings in one specific way. The buildings would come to life, as if they were haunted. Fitting for what this demon resembled as they would immediately turn on those living inside them.
At Icirrus City, this demon was a cube. But behind it and around each of its faces was an assortment of strange symbols that all flashed green. These symbols were nothing to scoff at as the orb would be sitting pretty in the air while the symbols unleashed magic onto the city.
However, just then, while they were all wreaking havoc in the best ways they knew how, they all suddenly stopped. Unexpectedly, the demons stopped what they were doing entirely. The vampires who assisted the demons in different locations would soon notice how there was this abrupt pause.
"What are you doing?! Why'd you stop?!" One of the vampires yelled. But the demon would not respond. None of them would. The vampires would exclaim at the demons, trying to get their attention as they were seemingly staring out into space. Even the cube, which didn't have any eyes at all.
That's when all of them heard the same voice and felt the same sensation. It would echo in their heads as it was both new and familiar to them. "After I'm done with this one...I'll come for you next." That was the voice of Chrysalis. Not only that, but an outburst of magic could be felt by each of the demons. An outburst that none of them have ever experienced before.
That's when they all saw the silhouette of Chrysalis in their minds. Both as a her current self and when she was a baby. Her enraged voice and her infant crying resonated with the demons to the point where they had to soak it all in. For a brief moment, all the destruction would end. But that would leave some of the demons wide open to attacks from those protecting each location.
"What is this?!" Back in the forest in Sinnoh, the Box of 100 Demons was having yet another reaction to Chrysalis' sudden outburst. Opal Vivaicty felt the box tremble viciously, causing her to drop it from how intense it became. The three vampires would keep their distance, unsure of what this meant as the box kept gyrating.
All of a sudden, crying sounds came from the box. The Box of 100 Demons let out different crying sounds two varying levels. High-pitched and low-pitched. One sounded like an infant and the other sounded like an adult, perfectly mirroring Chrysalis' two ages.
The two ages that truly mattered for this box. The age it was made and the age it was experiencing this reaction. The ground itself would shake from this cry as the box would then force itself open without anyone needing to do so. Noticeably, the demon in the distance would also come to a stop. In fact, since it was the closest to the box, instead of just lingering around the air for a while, it would instead move.
The demon would slither through the air, bringing itself towards the box. Opal, Melody and Bittersweet watched as the demon would return, ceasing all destruction it was causing originally. The demon would then descend, blowing away the surrounding trees. The vampires watched as this one demon would then slowly walk up to the box.
"What's it doing? Why is it stopping?" Melody wondered.
"It's the box." But Opal could already see why this was the case. The answer was right in front of them all. "It's calling to the demon."
"Is Chrysalis doing this on purpose?" Bittersweet questioned. "Wait, no. She probably doesn't know. So why's it crying all of a sudden?"
"I hear two cries from that box. Without a doubt, those are Chrysalis' cries. Since she made that box, the demons probably recognize who this voice belongs to." Opal theorized. She wouldn't be wrong. Not at all.
Once the demon got close to the box, after hearing the cries coming from it, it gained a new reaction. These two cries meant something The first one was just a standard baby cry. Nothing special. But the second one had a greater weight behind it. Sadness and rage came from this second cry.
Sadness and rage for those that Chrysalis loved emanated greatly from the box. And by hearing this, the demon would also weep, catching the vampires off guard. Seeing a demon cry was uncommon and rather terrifying considering how they were built. This was only from responding to the box.
Very soon, after hearing and resonating with Chrysalis' cry, the demon would soon cry into the sky, weeping for Chrysalis. The cry would pierce the sky, causing Opal, Melody and Bittersweet to cover their ears. The trees started breaking apart with the wind being disrupted by the weeping demon.
Above the skies, green clouds would start forming. And within them, dark green lightning would flash. Opal looked up to see the lightning crash down onto the nearby town that the demon was recently attacking, believing this to just be an upgrade for the demon. A rather uncomfortable upgrade. But that wasn't the case.
The lightning would then strike down in Opal's direction, grazing her massive name while also greatly piercing her eardrums. The lighting would touch the ground, seeing the trees on fire with a verdant blaze. "Hey! Watch it!" Bittersweet yelled. "You almost hit us!"
But the demon did not hear her. Instead, it would continue crying as the lightning bolts would react to this weeping. Not even three vampires were exempt from this destruction as they would immediately fly away once they saw the next batch of lightning bolts appear. The demon was attacking both sides now, not just one.
And the same went for every other demon across the world. Though they weren't close to the box, they could hear the cries of Chrysalis from afar. Once those cries sunk in, the demons would weep as well. Nothing but cries would howl through the night, piercing everyone's eardrums as the thunder and lightning would crash with anguish within their elements.
They would all cry for their creator, even though they could not meet her. The vampires would be involved in the destruction as well, being threatened by the crashing lightning which was followed by the pressurizing howls.
As it stands now, the demons were against everyone.
Equestria. Canterlot.
The demon over at Canterlot reacted equally to Chrysalis' cry, even when the main one was up in the stratosphere, the cry of the creator could not be ignored or blocked out. Even the smaller demons that it hatched would cry vigorously, bringing about a raging storm.
"What's all this?!" Ash held his hat from the pressuring storm. Pikachu and the other Pokemons' battles would be halted when hearing the cries of the demons. However, since there were no other vampires here, the demons wouldn't attack another side. Ash's group was still prime for hostility.
"A-Audino...!" Sensitive to this, Audino would kneel down, feeling her ears taking unnecessary punishment. And unfortunately for Fluttershy, she would suffer from this too.
"Ghhh!" Fluttershy groaned, suddenly dropping to the ground.
"F-Fluttershy!" Rarity gasped once she witnessed Fluttershy slump over. It didn't help that there was lightning coming down from above, only amplifying the destruction. Luna, Snowdrop, Spike, Iris and everyone else here could barely focus with all of this crying. The demons, despite choosing to attack every side, would barely move as they kept the same weeping position while still managing to cause destruction.
"Mom...! Dad!" Twilight yelled out, hoping to find her mother and father here in one piece and not a victim of this demonic destruction.
"G-Gardevoir...!" Passion, being able to feel emotions, would resonate with all of these tears as well. But she would react differently. Gardevoir, being from the evolution line that reacts to emotions, would tremble at all of this crying. She could make out what it was meant to be.
Rage and Sadness. Two emotions that could correlate with each other. And in this case, they were at an all-time high. The rage and sadness would be expressed by the demons who would go as far as to attack the Dread League as well. Up in the stratosphere, Kyurem was hit by these cries too.
He growled as the crying would slightly push him back from all the pressure. However, Kyurem would get a different treatment that wasn't green lightning from the skies. Since he was in the stratosphere with the demon, he was the closest to the stars. And from space, green sparks went off, grabbing the attention of the Boundary Pokemon. The sparks would go off like fireworks in the skies.
But these fireworks would soon bring the green sparks crashing down, fixating on Kyurem. The Dragon-Ice-Type was bombarded by sparks of energy which would vigorously combust all over him as his body was now covered in nothing but green. The clouds below would separate from the explosion in space.
"Voir?!" That's when Passion, Fluttershy and Audino recognized this cry. All three of them shouted out Chrysalis' name at the same time in their own respective dialects. "Chrysalis?!"
Ponyville. Sweet Apple Acres.
"W-What are ya crying for?!" Applejack still had the Memory Demon she managed to capture, holding it in a jar. And much like every other demon, it would weep. The jar was starting to break apart, startling Applejack, Sceptile and Delta Riolu. They couldn't have this demon break free. Not after what happened.
"Machamp!" Machamp would rush over to hold the glass, using his amazing strength to restrict the destruction as much as he could.
The only one unbothered by this was Granny Smith who was casually rocking back and forth in her chair. "Whaddya say?" Thanks to her old age, her hearing was less than consistent by this point. The one time it was to her benefit was when all of this weeping was going on, disturbing the peace that was already previously disturbed thanks to the Memory Demon.
No one could get any shuteye at all. Then again, with this demonic attack, that wasn't a guarantee in the first place. And not even Roseluck, who was a relatively heavy sleeper, could ignore this. She woke up, feeling the wind-piercing cries herself, unaware of what happened to her while she was asleep. Applejack tried reaching her friends but at this point, that would prove to be difficult with this blasted sound.
All the while, Mellifera, the mother of Chrysalis, would hear it all. All the sadness and rage being exuded would resonate with her. However, unlike everyone else who would flinch at the sound of these cries, Mellifera did not.
She didn't cover her ears or even strain. Not for a bit. Instead, she would look up at the dark skies, knowing what this all meant. With her long-lasting age, how could she not know?
"So, she's finally done it," said Mellifera, referring to Chrysalis. "My daughter. This was the moment I was waiting for when I first learned of your amazing potential. But I'll be honest, I didn't forsee it happening like this. And even more so...hearing you cry aggravates me."
Finally, she got a reaction out of this. But it wasn't a consistent reaction. Instead, it was a motherly one. Mellifera hated this sound. The sound of her daughter crying was unbearable to listen to.
"Can I even stop it? I know a mother can soothe her child but...at this point, am I eligible to soothe you, Chrysalis?" Mellifera greatly doubted her ability to be a mother once more. After how she was around Chrysalis at a young age, the former Changeling Queen couldn't see herself putting an end to this sound. "No. Someone or something else has to stop this. Or maybe..."
Unbridled rage and sorrow. The kid of magic that relates to beings such as Daybreaker, Nightmare Moon and Midnight Sparkle. Now, Chrysalis has unleashed it and its effects were devastating once the 15 demons reacted to it. Both sides were not safe from this destruction. And even with Chrysalis unconscious, her sorrow would still be mourned by the demons. Her own unintentional creations as the journey continues.
Chapter 977 End.
Vision of Radiance! The Stairway must be completed
Equestria. Manehattan. The Pokemon Festival. 17 Minutes ago. Nightfall.
17 minutes ago, Before various demons started an outcry in response to the Box of 100 Demons, Rainbow Dash had recently arrived at Manehattan, coming to Pinkie Pie's rescue. The demon could be seen fending off the Wonderbolts while also charging through the city, destroying parts of it with its massive horns.
"S-Seriously?" Rainbow Dash looked down to see the Bull Demon that seemingly had endless stamina with how long it's been rampaging. She would notice the Wondrbolts being next to the demon. Specifically, Soarin, who was currently holding onto the ropes of the Bull Demon, trying to calm it down.
"Can you calm that thing down already?!" Misty Fly yelled as she had recently received a bewildering hit from the Bull Demon. That involved her Swellow. The blow was so bewildering that Misty Fly and Swellow ended up on rubbles of ice cream trucks with Swellow being knocked out.
"Sorry! I didn't think this through!" Soarin replied with his face being battered by the wind. As if he was a cowboy, he did his best to keep the Bull Demon steady. But much like a difficult rodeo, it was nigh-impossible for him to do so without rocking around. This Bull Demon was far more aggressive than any other bull there, making this the hardest rodeo possible. Clearly, he has been at this for a while.
But surprisingly, he hadn't fallen off yet, proving that he had some sort of skill when it came to this. At least enough to keep him stable while his friends were slumped over in different positions thanks to this demon. The Bull Demon would then take a mighty leap into the air, making Soarin hold on for dear life while reaching Rainbow Dash's height.
"Hey Rainbow Dash!" Soarin noticed Rainbow Dash, waving at her with one hoof before then regaining his control of the ropes.
"Yeah. Applejack should've been here to handle this one..." Rainbow Dash sighed, knowing that this wasn't her expertise. She focused on the contest hall, which was currently melting as badly as a soggy cake thanks to Merry Dread's Curse Magic. Rainbow Dash knew that the Wonderbolts could handle this somehow. At least, she was hoping they could handle this. Pinkie Pie was her top priority right now.
The multi-coloured maned mare would take off, zooming straight towards Manehattan's Contest Hall while the other Wonderbolts would be stuck dealing with this Bull Demon.
"You're not gonna help out?" Soarin was a bit disappointed by that as tears dropped from his eyes. He was hoping that Rainbow Dash would chime in but that was not the case.
The entrance to the Contest Hall was lost at this point, melted away by the Curse Magic. The whole building was shortening since the floors inside were melting as well, making it even harder to stay inside. Rainbow Dash didn't have many options. Seemingly none at all. But there was always a way, she just had to find it.
"Come on...Where's a hole in this place?!" Rainbow Dash zipped and dashed around the building, attempting to find something that could suffice. But so far, there was nothing she could spot. She was too late to stop Merry Dread's Curse Magic from covering everything. "If there isn't a way, I'll make one!"
Since she couldn't find a way in, creating one was the second-best option. Rainbow Dash would summon Mienfoo, bringing the Fighting-Type out. "Mienfoo!"
"No one focuses better than you, Mienfoo. I need you to blow a hole through this place with Force Palm. Make sure it's precise, okay?"
"Foo! "Mienfoo would grunt, guaranteeing that she could make it happen. When it comes to focusing, no other type does it better than Fighting-Types. Except probably Psychic-Types. Mienfoo would eye down the melted building, seeing how there were many layers to it. By this point, all the melted material overlayed each other, especially since this place was originally built with thick walls. Mienfoo needed to bring her full strength for this one.
The Martial Arts Pokemon would pull her arm back, focusing everything she had into her right paw, which was her most dominant paw. The energy of Force Palm would gather, radiating orange lights that would let out light particles in the process. Mienfoo was focused on the front of the hall which was still recognizable even with all the melted parts. She would make sure that the entrance would still remain an entrance in some way.
But her focus was immediately thrown off thanks to the Bull Demon. The rampaging demon not only shook the ground, causing tremors to fly in different directions, but it would also throw Soarin off, sending the pegasus flying. Soarin was thankfully caught by Corviknight, but the demon had yet to be slowed down for even a second.
"Foo...!" Mienfoo certainly couldn't focus like this. All this racket and shaking made it difficult for the Martial Arts Pokemon to fixate on all of her strength. It didn't help that the demon would unleash a hollering cry that was deeper than any bull in history, breaking the windows. The sound of windows shattering would also get to Mienfoo, making her eye twitch with a visible vein appearing on her head.
"Huh? Uh, Mienfoo..." Rainbow Dash would notice Mienfoo's anger rising. She was an irritable Pokemon and all of this was only provoking it. It wasn't until the Bull Demon slammed its horns onto the ground that Mienfoo finally turned her attention away from everything else.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo ranted, showing disdain for this interruption. She would then swerve her body, facing the Bull Demon who was in the distance. Aggravated, Mienfoo threw out Force Palm at its current state, sending an orange beam from her paw. The beam passed by everyone, avoiding innocents and structures while making its way to the demon.
The Bull Demon was unaware of what was coming its way. It was too busy using its horns on the earth itself. And once Force Palm came its way, the demon found itself being hit directly in the eye by the attack. The impact of Force Palm was tremendously heavy in correlation to Mienfoo's strength.
Being hit in the eyes was enough to stagger the Bull Demon. After all, even if it was physically strong, the eye was still a sensitive spot for many. The Bull Demon's reaction was enough to confirm that as the Wonderbolts witnessed the first effective hit on this creature. And it didn't come from any of them. It came from an aggravated weasel-ferret combination.
"Oh! Nice hit!" Rainbow Dash cheered. "But...ya could've used that on the Contest Hall though."
"Mien?" Mienfoo would soon realize that as well. All that strength. Wasted. But at least Rainbow Dash could confirm that Mienfoo's rage was just as effective as her concentration. The Bull Demon would stumble, nearly falling over from this devastating blow to the eye. It was so impactful that the demon had to keep one eye closed.
But even with one eye, the Bull Demon could still see who was responsible for such a blow. Mienfoo. The energy around Mienfoo's paw was fading away, but the demon had enough time to see the last of it. Knowing that Mienfoo was responsible for this sneak attack, the Bull Demon threw all of its attention toward the Martial Arts Pokemon.
"It's looking this way...!" Rainbow Dash shuddered once the Bull Demon eyed her and Mienfoo down. Mainly Mienfoo. But Mienfoo was not intimidated by the Bull Demon whatsoever. Not even when it started running over aiming for a full-force charge. "Mienfoo! Now's a good time to try it again!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo would gladly take on the Bull Demon. When it comes to rage, she was the only one here who could match the anger of the Bull Demon as she was ready to take a swing at the demon.
"Not on the demon! The door!" Rainbow Dash shook her head. Mienfoo was corrected, focusing on the door. But with how rapidly this demon was approaching, the focus she needed wouldn't come fast enough. Thankfully, the Wonderbolts were still active.
"Corviknight!" Standing in the way of this demon were Corviknight and his fellow Flying-Types who would draw the attention of the Bull Demon. Air Slash, Air Cutter and Hurricane stood in the demon's way along with physical attacks such as Aerial Ace, Peck, Drill Peck and even the always hard-hitting Brave Bird.
But there was something different about this. Thanks to Mienfoo's sneak attack, with one eye being damaged and closed, the Bull Demon had a minimal disadvantage. But that disadvantage was enough for the Wonderbolts to throw the demon off a bit. A few would target the side where its other eye was still healthy while a majority of them went for the side of the weakened eye, forcing the demon to try and focus with only one eye.
"Thanks for that, you two!" The Wonderbolts thanked their fellow Wonderbolt and Mienfoo for this advantage. Because of Mienfoo's rage, they were able to continue keeping the Bull Demon occupied. Defeating it was another story.
"Uh, no problem. Totally planned that." Rainbow Dash squeed before hearing some break. That would be the power of Force Palm blowing a hole through the melted entrance. "Ah! Great job, Mienfoo!"
"Mien." Mienfoo then failed her arm, relieving the muscle stress before running inside, leading the way for Rainbow Dash. However, entering the ha was still dangerous as a majority of the floor had been melted away. The moment she entered, Mienfoo would almost fall into the liquified solids before being caught by Rainbow Dash in the nick of time. "Mien?!"
"Careful!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as the ceiling of the hall was already enough to make melted barricades that made it even harder to fully enter. "That vampire messed this place up badly. It's gonna be hard to get through it all unless we wait for it all to harden."
"Foo..." Mienfoo growled.
"We'll just have to fly our way through and avoid all of that." The pegasus looked up, seeing how even flying was risky since the ceiling was still melting away and the entire building was being shortened.
By this point, the Manehattan Contest Hall was dead silent. The way the ceiling and walls melted made it seem somewhat otherworldly. The shine of the hall was now gone thanks to Merry Dread. And so far, the sounds of others being inside couldn't be heard. Not even Pinkie Pie's exuberant voice or even the sound of Pokemon Attacks being thrown. It was all unnerving as Mienfoo, who was being carried by Rainbow Dash shifted her eyes across the room rapidly to spot anything peculiar.
They entered the waiting room, which was long gone by now. Nothing of importance was there. Next was the room where the judges normally wait around. But again, nothing to be found. Despite how big this place was, contest halls usually only have three rooms. And the most important one was the Contest Hall, which is what Rainbow Dash would go for immediately.
"R-Rainbow Dash..." However, Rainbow Dash wouldn't head there just yet. Not when there was a familiar voice calling out to her. The pegasus would stop in her aerial tracks, hearing a stammering voice nearby. It was within her vicinity and specifically, on the walls. With a slow head turn to the right, Rainbow Dash saw her.
Pinkie Pie.
She and Coco Pommel were currently stuck against the walls, glued to them by the melted materials. A majority of their body had been restrained. Only their faces were free but had some of it covered by the melted ceiling.
"Pinkie!"
"Glad you could make it. Little help here?" Pinkie Pie squeed. Alas, Mew was still not with her. Neither was Coco's Glaceon. None of their Pokemon could be seen as of yet as Rainbow would then focus on freeing them both before she was potentially found by Merry Dread.
An unknown forest.
A white light started fading at a gentle speed, giving way to a forest. The forest was modest, light, and flourishing. Its canopy was competed for by elm, juniper, and maple, and twinkling lights bursting through their crowns allowed for disorderly mushrooms to rule the rich grounds below. Swooping creepers clung to most trees, and an array of flowers, which desperately tried to avoid the shadows, added colourful, scented elements to the otherwise beige lower level. A clamour of sounds, belonging mostly to prowling Pokemon and animals, resonated through the air, and added to the sounds of the barrage of noise coming from a waterfall in the distance.
This was was all viewed by none other than Chrysalis, who opened her eyes. With a small groan, the Changeling Queen found herself viewing possibly one of the most beautiful flora-based areas that she could ever see. It wasn't just this wonderful forest that she laid her eyes upon. The forest was accompanied by a garden as well.
A fresh patch of grass is neighbored by luscious hedges, bushes, and shrubs. A pagoda stands near the left edge of the garden, completely covered in climbing flowers. The smaller flower bushes are bordered by the larger ones, but have no difficulties claiming a spot of their own; they're home to all sorts of Pokemon and animal live, living in harmony.
The hedges, bushes, and shrubs reached 5ft high but would reach far higher if they were allowed to. A path is marked with a short, wooden border, directing visitors around in a natural way. Vines seem to refuse to try and claim more land than they've been allocated, perhaps thanks to some intervention by green thumbs.
The pagoda claimed all the glory within the garden as it outshines all others. The smaller flower bushes are nothing to sneeze at, and the hedges, bushes, and shrubs can't be denied their share of the attention, but the spotlight will always be on the pagoda.
"This is beautiful..." Chrysalis gawked at this wondrous sight that brought a flutter to her heart. "But it's not real, is it?" Alas, Chrysalis was smart enough to know that this was all fake, especially since she remembered what happened earlier. The Centipede Demon and her outburst.
But even if it wasn't real, Chrysalis wanted to take her time and soak in all of this. It was soothing enough to make her feel at ease, even if she knew of the events that happened. The Changeling Queen would lie down around the beautiful flowers which welcomed her. This was all Chrysalis' imagination at play. Being unconscious led her to think of this.
Before she could wake up by different means, she wanted some peace and quiet. Alas, even this place wasn't exempt from noise. Seconds after she sat around the beautiful flowers, taking in the sound of the water and the air, something else would arrive.
A beam of light and a blossoming of flowers mark the coming of something from above. Or rather, someone. The light would hit the ground but it wouldn't damage it in any way even though the light was blinding, forcing Chrysalis to cover her face.
After landing like a comet, a serene being with crystal clear eyes stood in front of the Changeling Queen. This being resembled that of an alicorn as a flicker of lights would encircle her from behind, constantly spinning as if this alicorn was a planet. The light would clear, only giving way to more light but her appearance was easier to see.
Her mane was pure white, much like her coat while her crystal clear eyes were pink and blue at the same time. The blue iris was minimized while her pink pupils were standard-sized. The way her mane was flowing resembled that of the Sun and the stars in space, mainly from how there were flames sparking from this incandescent white mane. The natural qualities of a full-grown alicorn include ethereal auras traditionally, but these felt different.
"W-Who are you?" Chrysalis questioned, wondering what kind of pony was standing before her. The fact that she appeared in Chrysalis' dream meant something. But why was she here exactly? "What are you?"
But before this entity could get a word, in, Chrysalis woke up. At the worst time and yet at the best time equally. The vision of this mysterious pony vanished instantly.
Faye Mountains. Changeling Hive.
"Gah!" She found herself in the healing cocoons, letting out a startling gasp. Chrysalis awoke to the sight of the cocoon and the inside of her hive which were all still in one piece even after everything that transpired. "Hah...
The Changeling Queen felt refreshed thanks to the cocoon. Once healed up, she could finally leave it, pushing through the protective layers of the cocoon with her hoof. Chrysalis' head still felt numb even after healing up. She would stumble thanks to this effect before regaining her balance.
Chrysalis wouldn't hear much from her hive. Only minimal chatter coming from the next room. It was clear that the Centipede Demon wasn't a problem anymore with how peaceful things looked.
"Your majesty! You're awake!" The guards zoomed over to their prestigious ruler.
"Is everyone alright? Is it over?" Chrysalis asked. Their confirming nods would guarantee that and bring solace to Chysalis' heart. Plus, all she needed to do was look at the cocoons and see how the Pokemon and other changelings were being healed up. "I'm glad to hear it. But what was that? What happened to me?
"Uh...Not sure." None of the changelings could guess what Chrysalis' outburst was. Especially considering how much it amplified her already high pool of magic. "But what now, your majesty? There wasn't just one demon, right?"
"No. The rest of the world is most likely dealing with their own demons right now." Chrysalis closed her eyes. "If that Centipede Demon was anything to go by, then they'll have difficult times and might not make it out. We can't let that happen."
"So where to next?"
"Well...There's something I want to do. I want to complete the Golden Stairway." Chrysalis' new goal had been decided. "This one moment was interrupted by that vampire but I won't let it slip away even if there's a massive attack on our world. On both worlds. Listen carefully, all of you."
The Changelings would gather around. Even those within the cocoons would get to listen since all of them were currently awake. All except for Ribombee, who was still unconscious after what happened to her.
"I want to complete that special wish that everyone promised to achieve. We've come so far and it'd be horrible if it was all wasted. Arceus, Ash, Celestia and everyone came together to make this possible and it cannot end here. Even if the Dread League wants to get in our way we won't let them stop us."
"Wait! Does this mean...?"
"That's right. On the first day of the third week of the Pokemon Festival, we will reach Jirachi. And it will be done before the Sun can even rise." Chrysalis was set on getting it done.
Just like how Princess Celestia wanted to finish the Golden Stairway on the first day of the third week, Queen Chrysalis aimed to do the same. She looked over at Ribombee's body in the cocoon, knowing that all of this wouldn't matter once the Rift returns everything to normal. If she wanted to see Ribombee awake and active again, getting to Jirachi was the only way.
The Rift already had something planned as proven by the encounter up at the Galaxy Tower. At any point, the Rift's ultimate plan could be the deciding factor in what happens to these two worlds. And with the Dread League attempting to weaken both worlds, that could potentially give the Rift a stark advantage.
Chrysalis couldn't let that happen. A lot was on her mind. Ribombee, her sudden increase in magic and even that vision she recently had. It was all a lot to think about. But right now, there was no time to slow down. Chrysalis would take out her Xtransceiver, ready to kick things into high gear in the best way she could.
And yet, she was unaware of what her recent outburst had truly done to the rest of the world. Chrysalis and the changelings had no idea that she was being wept for. From the past to the present.
Kyurem was still up at the stratosphere, having to deal with this Absorption Demon, much like how everyone else was handling demons back on Earth. Both Earths to be exact. But getting close to the demon was a challenge on its own. Unexpectedly it started crying, stunning even Kyurem. This cry was vocal enough to keep the Boundary Pokemon at bay with how much pressure was coming from it and the fact that it summoned magic which would combust around Kyurem.
But not for long. Kyurem would find a way past this. The best way to do so was to shut this demon up. Immediately, Kyurem's eyes would flash blue before then switching forms. A burst of electricity would emerge from his body, loud enough to even be heard in space. But not even that could grab the demon's attention or silence it. However, it did allow Kyurem to hear something else that didn't require him to cover his own ears.
The flash of lightning would bring about Kyurem's other form. Black Kyurem. Upon emerging from the lightning bolt, Kyurem would use the violent and erratic energy of electricity, shocking the demon. However, this was quickly interrupted by the green sparks that were summoned by this constant crying. The sparks automatically intercepted the lightning bolts, shielding the demon from harm.
But the Demon didn't want to waste this either. Much like how it absorbed Kyurem's Dragon Pulse, the electricity would be absorbed as well with all the leftovers flying around. Even when crying, the demon could still use its special ability. And upon absorbing Kyurem's special lightning, its arms and whiplike tail would suddenly flare up, gaining the element of electricity.
This demon could multitask. It could cry and fight back as it would shoot out its own electricity that it managed to transform, giving it that signature Changeling Green. Kyurem would fly to the side, evading the first batch of bolts, but unexpectedly, the bolts would home in on Kyurem, redirecting themselves. Kyurem would be zapped from behind before being shocked by the ones from the front.
The Boundary Pokemon growled, feeling reasonably annoyed by this. This one demon was difficult to get past. Not because of its strength, but with how erratic it was.
"My attacks from afar won't do a thing...but what about up close?" Kyurem then deduced a possibility. He noticed how the demon had the power to absorb attacks with that giant mouth of its and that seemingly infinite stomach. Any attack from afar would most definitely be absorbed. But could the same be said for physical attacks? Kyurem wanted to test that theory.
He would advance with all of his might, even with the pressure from all this crying being ever-present. Powering through was the only option he could make. Luckily for him, with his status, he could move through the pressure while unleashing lightning from his body to shock any sparks that got close
Kyurem reached his target before going for a Shadow Claw, slashing the demon successfully. Kyurem would leave a trail of shadows from this impactful hit, moving past the demon. And indeed, the demon had no response to this. Much like how a Pokemon or anyone would react to being slashed, the demon would react by staggering and even finally ceasing all of its crying thanks to the severity of the slash which was enough to leave a mark on it.
This confirmed Kyurem's theory. Ranged attacks wouldn't do unless you could get lucky but physical attacks were efficient to the core. The Boundary Pokemon knew what to focus on, but the demon certainly wouldn't let it be that easy. Right after being slashed, the demon would then reveal more of its extraordinary powers.
And that came from the back. Surprisingly, the demon grew a second face from the back. Two of them to be exact. One on the back of the head and the other at the back of its torso. Now having three heads, the demon would use two attacks at the same time. A corrupted Dragon Pulse and a corrupted Thunderbolt.
Kyurem would put his arms up, locking both attacks once they unexpectedly arrived from a different direction. All new things were being revealed from this demon and that certainly bothered Kyurem. By this point, minutes had gone by, making this battle longer than what Kyurem originally intended. As long as this demon reveals more of its abilities, Kyurem may never return.
Equestria. Canterlot. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
The same problem emerged back on Earth. The hatchlings of the demon were reaching an all-time high of annoyance. A few minutes had passed and yet it felt like hours had gone by with all of this crying. Fluttershy and Audino, who were the most sensitive to noises, were still on the ground, trying to resist this.
"Someone make them stop already!" Rarity groaned before being blown away by the pressure of their collective cries. Pheromosa, who had a supple and fragile body, would also be blown away. The bolts of green lighting would also continue crashing from above, only making it harder to get through this.
"Hoopa's ears hurt!" Hoopa writhed alongside Victini and Meloetta. Meloetta right now wished that she could retaliate with her own singing voice, but with how many of them were crying out, her voice would be lost in the noise.
"Mom! Dad!" Twilight was too busy fixating on her parents, praying that they were fine during all of this. She dearly wished to check up on them but all of this crying was making it impossible.
"There are too many of them to stop!" Luna replied as she and Celestia, Twilight and Cadence placed soundproof barriers around themselves. But even with these soundproof barriers shielding them from this violent noise, it didn't shield them from the pressure. "We can't get close with all of this pressure!"
"And we can't hit them properly either!" Cadence replied before having her barrier struck by the lightning bolts. Her shield would shudder at this impact, even showing cracks in the process. That's when, with her perceptive eye, Cadence noticed something that was rather consistent. "Wait...Aegislash! They haven't done well to retaliate against physical attacks."
"They haven't?" The other alicorns repeated before spotting Shining Armor and his Aegislash. But even those two were struggling to focus with all of this noise so it was difficult to see Aegislash in action.
"They can absorb our attacks but not all of them. We can silence them if we get up close and personal. Unfortunately, Sylveon can't do anything about this since all of her attacks are ranged attacks. But you all have Pokemon that fill that quota."
"We do. But the problem is trying to get close to them in the first place. With all of these cries, their combined strength is just going to keep holding us back." said Twilight. And it was only getting worse. Even with these alicorns using soundproof barriers, the combined might of these demons was enough to even keep them busy.
"Then we shall match their pressure with our own yells." Celestia's eyes flared as the alicorns knew what needed to be done. The Royal Canterlot Voice. In unison, they would each use the Royal Canterlot Voice and shout with all their might, creating their own pressures.
The soundwaves broke their barriers before meeting with the opposing soundwave. The clashing of sounds was truly staggering and surprisingly, even with the princesses using their magic, the number of demons was still making this difficult as the soundwaves would cancel each other out. However, this allowed the cancellation to blow back some of the demons, ceasing their cries but it also ended up pushing back the alicorns and the rubble around them.
"Now, Eve! Quick Attack!"
"Espeon!" Espeon would be the first to try and attack while she had the chance. Thanks to this disruptive shockwave that affected both sides, she would zoom in with the only physical attack she had. Quick Attack. She dashed at lightning speed, crashing into one of the demons that was surrounded by flames. A direct hit. Eve smashed her head into the demon's head, pushing it back.
But immediately, the demon would retaliate by swinging its tail back at Espeon, recovering swiftly. The Sun Pokemon would tumble before managing to recover herself by sliding on the ground.
"All of you! Use Physical attacks at once! Quick! Before they start crying again!" Celestia exclaimed to her friends, quickly sharing the best way to take on these hatchlings.
"Gotcha! Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Pheromosa, use Triple Kick!"
"Pika!" Hearing this, those who could get physical would advance. Pikachu and Pheromosa went ahead, approaching three of the hatched demons as Pikachu would vigorously swing his tail, going for an overhead hit. Pheromosa would try and hit three of them with just one attack, only for the demons to use the elements they stole. Flares of darkness and spectral energy flew out of their bodies to try and push their opponents back, only for Pheromosa to zigzag past some of these flares.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa would strike one of the demons directly in the chest right after evading all those blows, making the hatchling gasp while Pikachu would simply hit the attacks away with his tail before then slamming it against the other demon.
Now that they could retaliate, Twilight would take the chance to rush off and find her mother and father before it was potentially too late. She and Espeon would depart from the scene while also being eyed down by another demon who received the element of electricity.
Espeon would sense the imminent danger when seeing the demon lunge through the air, coming after them both with shocking fangs. Twilight would soon swivel her head to see the lunging demon who would also shoot out volts passively from its body. "Psychic can work without needing to shoot something. So...Eve! Psychic!"
"Esp!" Another strategy would be utilized. Espeon used Psychic, covering the demon in a blue outline. Indeed, Psychic wasn't like most ranged attacks, making it easy to exploit. In this case, the demon found itself being held in the air by Espeon's mental power as Twilight found another efficient way to get past their absorption abilities. "Eon!" Espeon would then launch the demon into other demons by unleashing the full force of Psychic, striking them as if they were bowling pins.
The cry of the demons had ended at last. However, this didn't stop them from trying again. They could still hear Chrysalis crying after all. Those sounds were enough to move them as they were on the verge of making yet another outcry.
"Not again! Go Dragonite!" Iris could finally chime in now that the irritating noise was gone. She definitely didn't want it to make a comeback and aimed to silence the demons for good. By sending out Dragonite, she joined in the battle. "Use Thunder Punch!"
"Rrrr!" Dragonite, upon making his entrance, would fixate on the demons with his usual aggression. He took flight, going for two demons instead of one. Before the demons could cry once more, Dragonite would intervene, slugging their throats with an electrifying blow.
The lightning would crackle all around them as they were unable to absorb this attack since it was still a direct attack at the end of the day. Dragonite would then swing at the second demon, knocking it over with a swift but heavy blow that would send 50,000 volts through each of their bodies.
"It's your time to shine. Kommo-o!" Celestia would send out Kommo-o, who was fittingly specialized in physical attacks.
"Kommo-o!"
"They can't absorb physical attacks...but if we can hit them with something like Thunderbolt, it's gotta be when they don't see it coming," Ash said. "He knew that their absorption abilities had one major flaw. Two rather. Unable to absorb physical attacks was the clearest one. But he would try and prove a second one.
And if he could, the odds of winning could elevate to new heights. Some of the demons started crying yet again, bringing back the vicious pressure that came from their voices. But this time, they had a way to retaliate. And that came from the alicorns.
Meloetta finally had the chance to sing thanks to them. And once the alicorns used their own powerful voices, the Melody Pokemon would try and chime in, but only after the Royal Canterlot Voice came to an end. She didn't want to be silenced after all.
Shining Armor would then notice Twilight heading straight for her home. Or rather, their home since they both came from the same family. And in the distance, the home of Twilight and Shining Armor had unfortunately taken damage.
Twilight rushed over as quickly as she could, finally arriving at her destination to see what had become of her home. Shocked, the roof had been blown off thanks to the asteroids while the green lightning had pierced through the walls and windows, shattering them and leaving behind green crackles. Not all of it was gone but the damage was still considerable.
"Mom! Dad?! Are you in here?!" Twilight would rush inside, crying out for her parents. But instead of seeing her parents, she would meet with one of the hatchling demons that ended up being in her home. Surprisingly, it was able to fit in it despite how large it was. But the destroyed parts of this building certainly helped it to fit in."?!"
The demon would have the body of Steel, possibly absorbing a Steel-Type attack to gain this iron-clad body. It had metal spikes all around it which glistened in the moonlight and lit up the room. Twilight was stunned and taken aback for a bit before regaining her composure. The demon would bare its fangs, ready to devour both Twilight and Espeon in one gulp. It certainly had the size to do so.
"Quick Attack!" Twilight would fly away, evading the demon's attack while Espeon would do the same but with the speed of Quick Attack.
"Espeon!" And right after evading the demon, the Psychic-Type would then tackle the side of its body. However, this steel protection kicked in, harming Espeon's head once she made direct contact while also increasing the demon's defences. Espeon crashed into one of the spikes which poked her head, causing her to pull back. "Esp!"
"Espeon! Are you-" Before Twilight could finish her sentence, the demon had already swung its hardened tail at the Princess of Friendship. Sadly, she didn't have time to check up on Espeon with how quickly this demon was moving despite having a metal body.
Twilight would be hit by the metal tail as it sounded like a hammer being smashed against a wall. Twilight would grunt at this was reasonably painful to experience. Right into the wall, Twilight would end up damaging her own home unintentionally, leaving a crater that was the shape of her stature.
She would be pinned there for a bit before witnessing the demon preparing another attack. This time it was from the spikes around its body which were shot out like missiles. Twilight Sparkle grimaced before teleporting away from her compromising position. Right on time as the spikes would pierce through the walls, making new holes in the process.
"Don't tell me mom and dad had to deal with this thing...!" Twilight shuddered at the thought of her parents encountering this demon. This building was already damaged so the possibility was there. This made Twilight's heart tense up. This could truly be a scenario where her parents had fallen victim to this aggressive conflict.
And so far, there was no sign of them anywhere.
Manehattan.
Freed from the walls were Pinkie Pie and Coco Pommel. Rainbow Dash had recently found them both stuck against the melted walls, having almost their entire bodies frozen except for their face. But if time had gone by some more, everything would've certainly been trapped. Rainbow Dash had Altaria freeze up the melted floor, making it smooth and solid once more. Albeit a bit cold.
"Gaha...Thanks for the save, Dash." A relieved Pinkie Pie uttered before slumping onto the cold hard floor. But she'd rather take this than the melted walls.
"Did you get Mew back?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"No. That vampire still has him." Pinkie Pie sighed while feeling stiff everywhere. Being frozen within the melted walls left an impact even when being freed. And all of our Pokemon.
"Drat!" Rainbow Dash kissed her teeth. "But Spitfire's still doing fine. I just know it. All I have to do is find her and help out. That vampire won't see it coming."
"Everyone else is over at the main hall, Rainbow Dash," said Coco. "Glaceon should be there too. You could probably find them all there. Just be careful. She has a lot of them on her side."
"Too many. And she's got them all forcing to hit their own trainers. She just uses that magic around her tail and messes with them. Not fair..."
"That's what I'm worried about. How am I gonna get past those numbers?" The pegasus growled. "Unless I run into the vampire first..."
"You won't have to." A familiar voice resonated with Pinkie Pie and Coco Pommel. A voice of dread. Merry Dread to be exact. Emerging from the mist was the one responsible for this damage. Merry Dread would viciously smile while also having rugged hair, showing the signs of the struggles she went through in her. Her scarf had even been damaged, having holes in them.
Rainbow Dash wouldn't dare look behind her, knowing what to expect from this Curse Magic, even if she did have some Pokemon beside her. However, the list of Pokemon was shorter now and among them was Glaceon.
"Your captain Spitfire's a real nuisance, you know that?" Merry Dread said while slowly approaching Rainbow Dash from behind. "She still has Mew and I have no idea where she is. But I'll find her. There can't be that many rooms in this place. And though she got the better of me, it's not over yet."
"How come you're short on Pokemon?" Rainbow Dash noticed how not many footsteps were being made near her vicinity. That was a clear sign that she didn't have an army of them.
"Hmph. Those fools were knocked into the melting elements and got themselves trapped, thanks to Spitfire and her Pokemon. But that won't stop me. Not when I can continue racking up an army."
"Good luck. If Spitfire's giving you trouble, then I can as well." Rainbow Dash grinned, feeling confident in her abilities after hearing about all of this.
"Oh. I should've probably mentioned past tense. She did give me trouble. But not anymore." Those words shot Rainbow Dash's heart. The implications were not subtle at all. From what Merry Dread just said, even Spitfire failed to stop her, making the pegasus gasp.
But instead of trapping Spitfire, in reality, Merry Dread actually used Spitfire for herself along with her Scizor. Emerging from the shadows were Spitfire and Scizor. Forced by Merry Dread's magic, they would approach Rainbow Dash, Mienfoo and Altaria. Even these two had managed to fall victim to Merry Dread's terrifying magic.
Rainbow Dash and Mienfoo barely managed to move out of the way from the incoming Bullet Punch of Scizor. But unfortunately, Altaria was not fast enough to do the same as she was slugged by Scizor's Bullet Punch.
"Say it ain't so!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed before seeing Spitfire trying to grab her. Alas, no matter how clever Spitfire was, Merry Dread came out on top.
"Oh, it is so!" Merry Dread exclaimed as she watched Rainbow Dash fly away from Spitfire who was unable to fight back against this control. "This is payback! I'll have you know I hate being humiliated! Whether it's from my older sister Opal or my older brother Fractured! No one humiliates me and gets away with it! And for your sake, Rainbow Dash...you'll keep your mouth shut and cease any trash-talking! But that's what you do best, isn't it? I read up on you. Or rather, Opal read up on you. Weirdo."
"S-Sorry, Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire apologized before managing to grab Rainbow Dash's hooves. Spitfire was one of the few pegasi who could actually keep up with Rainbow Dash after all. The two would enter a hoof struggle with one side trying to break free and the other side trying to restrain her target.
"Mien! Mien!" Mienfoo was swiftly dodging Scizor's Bullet Punches by backflipping as hard as she could. But Scizor was relentless, even if he was trying to fight back against Merry Dread's magic. On the slippery ice, Mienfoo had to keep her balance otherwise one slip-up could ruin everything.
"Ah, this reminds me of a story of when I was humiliated by my brother and sister and how I got my payback against them. How should I start it?" Meanwhile, Merry Dread was thinking of sharing more of her life while the rest of the opposing Pokemon would advance on Rainbow Dash's group.
Rainbow Dash looked around her to see herself surrounded on all fronts. And with Spitfire holding her hooves, the odds were only escalating by this point.
"Ah, maybe when you're paying attention. And I can fix that!" Merry Dread would then take flight, ascending over everyone else. And by doing so, she showed off the vibrance of her magic once more from her tail. And to increase the efficiency, she ended up using the body of Klang which would only create reflections of this light.
Rainbow Dash, who was too focused on Spitfire and the surrounding Pokemon, witnessed the light. Unfortunately, her eyes caught the vibrance as she was unable to work around it at all."Gotcha~"
"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie and Coco Pommel yelled her name as another one of their friends had fallen victim to Merry Dread's magic. And now, it was Rainbow Dash as Altaria and Mienfoo, who were looking away, couldn't believe their ears. They didn't need to look to know what had just happened.
Rainbow Dash would stare there in amazement at this light before then slowly removing her hooves away from Spitfire's. Spitfire would close her eyes, disappointed that Rainbow Dash was unable to avoid this at all. It seemed that eventually, this light would catch its targets somehow.
And with the light fading away, Rainbow Dash fell silent, not saying a single word. All she did was look into the light with little response As the journey continues.
Equestria. Manehattan. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
"You're mine, Rainbow Dash!" Bellowing with devious glee in her heart was Merry Dread, who had recently used her magic on Rainbow Dash. The vibrant magic on her tail would glitter, reflecting off of Klang's body and shooting into Rainbow Dash's vision.
Her body froze on the spot, much like everyone who would gaze into this light against their own will. The pegasus was taking in this light as the curse was already claiming its next victim. "Mienfoo?!" Mienfoo hoped something like this wouldn't happen. And sadly, it did. By watching Rainbow Dash look into the light, she let her guard down, allowing Scizor to get a free hit in with Bullet Punch. "F-Foo!"
"Another one down!" Merry Dread cheered, gleefully clapping her hooves. "So much for your backup, Spitfire. For your sake and for my benefit, I hope you didn't call for more help~" She mocked Spitfire, who she also managed to grab. "Now, all I have to do is find Mew. Where and what did you do with the little guy, Spitfire?"
"I won't tell you!"
"Obviously not. But you should know that I'll find him somehow, just like how I found you. He can't escape from here after all. Not with how things have turned out. Mew should've dragged you into the floor but you somehow managed to avoid that. Then again, it didn't matter in the long run since I caught you and Scizor." Merry Dread smirked. "With Rainbow Dash on my side, I-"
Just then, interrupting Merry Dread's speech was none other than the outcry of the Bull Demon. By this point, every other demon would cry for Chrysalis, causing pressures to emerge in their respective locations. The pressure would be heard even within this melted room.
The ice would even start cracking from this increasing pressure, threatening everyone in this room if it were to ever give out and unleash the melted liquids. Pinkie Pie and Coco Pommel, who were the only ones exempt from Merry Dread's control thanks to constant evasion, faced away from the vampire while covering their ears, having to focus on two problems now. But with this noise erupting from the demon, even Merry Dread was occupied.
"W-What's all this crying?!" Merry Dread roared as her ears tingled from the sheer intensity of this roar. She was a vampire after all and her senses were slightly better than the average pony's.
"It's that bull!" Spitfire groaned. The only one who wasn't getting a reaction out of this was Rainbow Dash, surprisingly. She was still staring into space, dazed.
"Foo...!" Mienfoo's gutsy nature attempted to power through the noise, but even she couldn't do anything about this. On a slightly positive fact, this meant that the opposing Pokemon were unable to fight back since they were in a similar scenario with this crying. Altaria also suffered from this as she was being held back by vines from a Weepingbell.
Outside, Soarin and the other Wonderbolts would be stunned since they were the closest to this demon's outcry. Their battle with the Bull Demon ceased immediately once the cries of Chrysalis were heard. If only they knew about how it was all across the world.
Because of this outcry, much like every other demon, the Bull Demon would summon Green Lightning from the skies which would add to the destruction. And of course, it was now on no one's side. Not even Merry Dread as the lightning bolts would smite the melted building, blowing holes in it and splashing the melted parts everywhere.
"That bull...What's it up to?! I can't think straight here!" Merry Dread snarled before using her magic once more. This time, it was standard magic that was expected by many. The vampire would make a field of magic that immediately spread across this dripping room, cancelling out the sound from the outside.
The roars were still potent enough to be heard but were diminished to a point where Merry Dread and to an extent, everyone else within this vicinity could focus. This didn't mean the pressures were gone. The building would still tremble as there were lightning bolts constantly attacking the Contest Hall.
"Much better." Merry Dread sighed as her ears found peace. "Okay. Back to what I was saying...With Rainbow Dash on my side, I have double the speed on my side. Don't you two think?"
But sneaking away were Pinkie Pie and Coco Pommel once their ears were saved from the Bull Demon's outcry. Merry Dread would notice how they were moving away slowly, hoping that Merry Dread was taking some time to recover. But she wasn't as Spitfire would immediately fly in front of them both, intervening in their escape.
"Then again. Spitfire was already enough. But back at Magehold, unfair advantages are what we do best. Even though my sister always manages to get more minions on her side than me...!" Merry Dread grizzled her teeth. "Ooh, she's always ahead of me, I hate it!"
"If you two have a solution to this...please pull it off...!" A struggling Spitfire pleaded, hoping that any of them had a way to get past this issue. With Merry Dread's commands coming from her mind, she would immediately have Scizor and Spitfire grab Coco and Pinkie. Both of them were far too slow to escape from these two speed demons. And there was already a third one in this room.
"Mmph!" Pinkie Pie's face puffed up a bit after being clamped by Scizor's pincers which lifted her into the air. Scizor could barely hold back his absurd strength within his pincers. Mienfoo, who tried getting back up, was immediately stomped on by Merry Dread, placing her hoof on the Martial Arts Pokemon's back.
"M-Mien!"
"I don't know why your trainer's just staring out into space. That's never happened before but if it keeps her from doing anything funny, I'll take it." Merry Dread said to Mienfoo. "Speaking of taking, I like the fire in your eyes. I'll take you too. All the Pokemon I've controlled so far aren't as aggressive as you. You'll make a fine addition to my team."
"Foo...! Mienfoo!" Mienfoo growled as she was using all of her strength to lift herself up, moving Merry Dread's hoof back. Merry Dread gasped before increasing her own strength to keep Mienfoo down. And for extra measure, she had a Wormadam use Psychic on the Martial Arts Pokemon, dealing a super-effective blow and keeping her down. "Mien!"
"I still can't find Mew which sucks." Merry Dread spoke while pinning Mienfoo down. "And what's got that bull crying all of a sudden? It'd better not be a sore loser or that's just embarrassing. Anyway, could you turn your head for me?" Merry Dread would then grab Mienfoo's head, attempting to turn it. But the Martial Arts Pokemon had enough fortitude to keep her head steady.
"Mien..." Mienfoo would look over at Altaria and Rainbow Dash who were currently out of commission. She was the only one who could do something. But right now, that didn't look to be the case. Pinkie and Coco kept their eyes closed, avoiding the light of Merry Dread. But even if they could avoid it, Merry Dread would still attempt to harm them. Her options were slim but not absent. Mienfoo had to find something. She was hoping her rage was enough to get through this. But not even her rage was enough.
Mienfoo then had a second thought. If her rage wasn't enough, then what of something else? Something less aggressive. For Mienfoo, she was already spoken to about this. By Bertha.
"Your Mienfoo has amazing passion. The likes of which I've only seen a few times. But, even the most passionate and fierce Pokemon have to be observant. Your Mienfoo's aggressive style is what works for her, but that shouldn't leave her wide open, especially with her being Pokemon so fixated on sharp reflexes."
Mienfoo had to be put at ease. After all, it's how she learned Meditate during her battle with Bertha's Nidoking. Her rage was amazing and could always be helpful when it comes to sheer power. But at times, ease and peace could assist a Pokemon in battle. And for Mienfoo, though it was not her style, for the sake of those around her, she would try it.
Even when pinned to the floor, Mienfoo could still use Meditate by simply closing her eyes. The Martial Arts Pokemon would let the collective fighting energy within her flow calmly instead of having it boil and explode. A blue and pink outline emerged from her body, gently moving around her as if she was underwater. Merry Dread would look down before then feeling a sharp burn on her hoof.
"Ow!" She cried out, moving back. Unexpectedly, her hoof had been burnt by the energy coming from Mienfoo's body. It was light energy after all.
"Foo...Mienfoo...!" Mienfoo would slowly get up, fighting back against Wormadam's Psychic.
"W-Wormadam...!" Wormadam struggled to maintain Psychic control of Mienfoo's body. Mienfoo's willpower far surpassed Wormadam's, mainly due to the circumstances. Wormadam's Psychic would be broken once Mienfoo's energy expanded from her body.
"Foo!" Now in a state of peace, Mienfoo would radiate the energy of Meditate around her body, breathing in and out. This allowed her to immediately sway ahead from an incoming Bullet Seed from Lombre. With that evasion, Mienfoo would then lunge at Lombre while facing the other direction, performing a backwards lunge.
"Lom!?" Lombre gasped before being kicked in the face by Mienfoo's back kick. The hit sent Lombre spinning, passing by Merry Dread who looked mildly unimpressed.
"Is that it? Get her!"
"Scizor!" Scizor, who was carrying Pinkie Pie with one pincer, who would go after Mienfoo with Superpower. Mienfoo anticipated this incoming attack thanks to her meditative state. She closed her eyes, thinking deeply as to how Scizor would strike. With only one pincer available, there were minimal options. And that was enough for Mienfoo to retaliate.
"Foo!" Mienfoo would then use Force Palm, performing a turnaround swing that clashed with Scizor's Superpower. The blow was strong enough to send rippling shockwaves across the area, breaking some of the ice around the floor while also knocking away the fainted Pokemon. Merry Dread held her ground, not only allowing this impact to throw her balance off.
Mienfoo would look Scizor in the eyes with an intense expression but she was still being calm at this point. Alas, even with this moment of peace, Mienfoo still had the odds stacked against her. And that came from none other than Glaceon. She would be shot in the back by Coco's Glaceon who would surprise the Martial Arts Pokemon with Ice Beam. "F-Foo!?"
Mienfoo would be smacked away by Scizor right afterwards, failing to keep her momentum. Unfortunately, Mienfoo would fall. Admittedly, her brief moment of retaliation did harm Merry Dread's hoof and even managed to overpower two Pokemon. But that was all she could do.
"Yikes. Opal was right about Fighting-Types. They're always prone to a turnaround." Merry Dread said before looking at her hoof. Her tail would then emanate her Curse Magic, fixating it on Altaria. She would force Altaria's eyes open with her hooves. Altaria, who couldn't retaliate due to her restraints, would soon be caught by the vibrant light.
"Mienfoo..." Mienfoo groaned, failing to get back up. Her strength had failed her in this instance. All she could do was lie there and watch Altaria succumb to Merry Dread's magic. After that, she would fixate her vision on Rainbow Dash. But something was amiss. "Mien?"
Rainbow Dash was still in the same position even after all of that went down. But she wouldn't be motionless for long. Mienfoo noticed how Rainbow Dash was suddenly jittering. It was slow but visible. Rainbow Dash was indeed moving, but it was done differently than normal.
"Hm?" Merry Dread would soon notice this. In fact, she could hear it. It sounded like electricity was being built up all of a sudden. "What the...?"
"Taria?"
"Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie Pie opened her eyes, hearing the build-up of electricity. And that wasn't the lighting outside. Speaking of which, this building wouldn't last as long as the lightning would keep crashing down. Merry Dread knew that she would have to leave her eventually. Mainly out of boredom and safety. Rainbow Dash's jittering was noticeably getting faster and faster, accelerating unexpectedly.
"What's all that vibrating for?" Merry Dread said. "Glaceon. Show her a thing or two with Ice Beam."
"G-Glaceon...!" Glaceon would attack with Ice Beam as it seemed that Rainbow Dash was wide open. Surprisingly, that wasn't the case. Instead, Ice Beam would phase through Rainbow Dash completely, hitting the walls instead. Merry Dread scrunched her face out of shock after witnessing this whiff. The vampire rubbed her eyes, hoping she wasn't seeing things wrong.
But her eyes did not deceive her. Rainbow Dash would continue vibrating before then moving her hoof at last. Her right hoof would be raised, shaking vigorously before her mouth started moving.
"What?! You should be moving under my control!" Merry Dread backed away. "How are you resisting!? And what was that earlier?!"
"A few things...Oh, this smarts!" Rainbow Dash's bones would be audible to everyone's ears, cracking in response to her rigid movements and resisting Merry Dread's magic. "When it comes to speed, I've got a few advantages over Spitfire. Plus if this was Mind Control, this would be totally different. But you don't have Mind Control, do you?"
"Hmph." Merry Dread scoffed. Indeed, Her power was similar to Mind Control, but it wasn't. It was only the manipulation of the body and not the mind. This obviously correlated with bones. "So, you caught on quickly. But it only makes sense for someone who can break out of it to find out. Even so...are you willing to risk your bones to try and break free? Nothing's stopping me from doing it again."
"She's vibrating her body so quickly that she's messing with her bones?!" Spitfire gasped, realizing what Rainbow Dash was doing. Her speed correlated with her resistance, harming her own bones to gain control of herself once more. "Ouch."
"Totally!" But Rainbow Dash would take that risk without a doubt. "But that's not all. I did with someone helping me. And vibrating so fast that Ice Beam went through me was super risky. "
"Someone helping you?" Merry Dread repeated, wondering who was assisting Rainbow Dash at the moment.
"Mienfoo, are ya doing okay?" Rainbow Dash asked Mienfoo, who was currently slumped over.
"Mienfoo..."
"You're right, Dash. I am controlling the bones of my victims. They're so easy to exploit after all with how many of them you can work with. Amazing, right?"
"But we're not gonna let it get to us again. Not ever. Luckily for me, I exercise a lot so I can deal with the pain! Take that vampire! I've got you beat!"
"So what? You found a way past my power. Let's see how quickly your bones break with all of this resistance." Merry Dread would grin before having the remaining Pokemon attack the multi-coloured maned mare. And at the same time, Merry Dread would prepare another vibrant green light to control Rainbow Dash. "Let's do it again!"
"I don't think so...Now, Castform! Reflect Type!"
"Castform!" Emerging out of her saddlebag was one other than Castform. The one who was helping Rainbow Dash had been revealed. Since his Poke Ball was gone, his only resting place was the saddlebag. And upon emerging, Castform's radioactive cells would immediately react to whatever he decided to copy. And to Castform, the best element to replicate was Steel. He would look at Scizor, copying his Steel-Typing. The most defensive typing of them all and the sharpest too.
As always, his cells would react in an explosive way to the Infinity Energy. In this case, Castform, when copying the Steel-Typing, unleashing a giant wave of silver energy that had multiple steel shards within them. The wave would expand as a pulse, pushing back the opposing Pokemon.
S-Scizor!" Even Scizor would be pushed back by this as Merry Dread's scarf was torn apart by the blades. She would back away, attempting to avoid the incoming blades and the massive wave. Glaceon was struck by the wave, taking super-effective damage in the process.
"Glaceon...!"
"You had one in your bag?! Crafty...I would've done the same!" Merry Dread exclaimed before being blown back by the force of the silver wave.
"Castform helped out by using Shock Wave on me while in my saddlebag. It hurt, but it was worth it. I knew about your magic when I spoke to Spitfire, so when I was flying over here, I came up with a plan."
"Nice going, Rainbow Dash." Spitfire complimented while being pinned against the wall via the spikes. In fact, even Merry Dread found herself being held by with the spikes stabbing into her scarf.
"We'll get out of here before it all comes crashing down! But if I wanna free you, I'm gonna knock you out first! Go, Luxray!" Rainbow Dash would then send out her next Pokemon. Luxray.
"Luxray!"
"I'll give you that...It's not a bad plan. Too bad it's not enough to stop me. You can slow me down though." Merry Dread confidently said before ripping off her scarf to break free. The vampire would then spread her wings out, baring her devious fangs at the pegasus.
"Castform! Go wild and copy whatever type you see! Luxio, Discharge!"
"Cast!" Castform would face away from Merry Dread, fixating on the next Pokemon he could copy. He focused on the Fainted Pokemon, going for Wormadam. The Weather Pokemon would copy Wormadam letting his cells go wild yet again. The typing he mimicked was the Rock-Typing. Perfect for those in the air, like Merry Dread.
"Luxray!" As for Luxray, he would unleash a flare of electricity that would shoot into the air, moving around erratically like a whip. The two elements would meet with each other. An expulsion of rocks from all sides along with the flare of electricity forced Merry Dread to evade as much as she could. But now she was the one at a numerical disadvantage as she found herself being knocked out of the sky by the barrage of rocks.
Following that was the electrocution from Discharge, only increasing the damage as she fell. The vampire would glare at Rainbow Dash with disdain in her eyes before having Altaria take action.
"Altaria!" Altaria had been taken over by Merry Dread, unfortunately. Rainbow Dash was too late to stop this bodily control as the Humming Pokemon unleashed a Dragon Pulse on them from above. "Taria!"
"L-Lux!" Luxray and Castform were caught by surprise when Dragon Pulse struck the floor around them. It ended up blowing the duo away when it combusted, forcing them away from Rainbow Dash.
"Luxray! Castform!" Rainbow Dash growled before then sliding back on the ice. Castform would tumble, only to be caught by Luxray who managed to recover. The Gleam Eyes Pokemon would grab Castform with his mouth when recovering in the air, saving the Weather Pokemon from further harm.
"Check this out! I can do more than just melt and control! Here's the best of both worlds!" Merry Dread revealed more of her power. And fittingly, it was a combination of her two most noticeable magical abilities. She would swipe her hoof before suddenly manipulating the solid melted walls, making them wet once more.
Merry Dread could control the melted parts of whatever she affected, sending them as a stream of attacks. Rainbow Dash grimaced before being shielded by Luxray's swift appearance.
"Discharge!"
"Luxray!" Luxray would put up an electric shield, fighting back against the stream of melted liquid that came his way. He would end up harming Castform and Rainbow Dash with his expulsion of lightning but it was worth it to protect them from greater harm.
Luxray's eyes would flash through the smoke once he destroyed the liquid that came his way, eyeing down Merry Dread with hostile intent. Merry Dread stuck her tongue out at the Gleam Eyes Pokemon, still being fearless.
"Get off the walls already!" Merry would then stare at Scizor, who was pinned against the walls thanks to Castform's previous stunt. By manipulating the walls, she forced Scizor off by pushing him with another melted stream.
"Z-Zor!" Scizor groaned as not only were his bones being harmed but he would be used as a body weapon. Scizor would then grab Rainbow Dash's tail unwillingly once he was launched. Rainbow Dash found herself being snatched by Scizor who would soon take flight.
"Huh! Hey!" The pegasus yelled, grabbing the attention of Castform and Luxray. But they also had to pay attention to Altaria who was fighting against her own friends.
"Alta!" Altaria would use Hyper Voice, sending a white shockwave of melodic sound which would shatter the ice around the duo. Luxray would spit Castform out, using him as a rocket.
"Lux!" As for Luxray, after shooting out Castform, he was forced back by Altaria's Hyper Voice. But it wasn't in vain. Castform would use this as a chance to tackle Altaria, as much as he regretted this.
"Cast!" Castform smashed Altaria's head with all of his little might. His little might was noteworthy as it managed to make Altaria stagger. And she was already known as a durable species.
"T-Taria!"
"Come on you guys! Win this!" Pinkie Pie cheered while also being pinned against the walls by the spikes. "And...get me out of here please."
"Come on Scizor! Don't do this!" Rainbow Dash yelled while being held up by Scizor. She would rock her body back and forth, trying to evade Scizor's pincers once they were swung at her. "Castform! Reflect Type!"
"Cast...!"
"Not this time! I've got you! Your bones are mine!" Unexpectedly, Merry Dread was already close to Castform, using Altaria's stagger to her advantage. The vampire would toss Altaria away before showing off her vibrant light to Castform.
"Cast?"
"Castform!" Pinkie Pie, Coco and Spitfire would cry out as it seemed like yet another victim of Merry Dread's magic could be claimed. This time, it would be Castform. But noticeably, Rainbow Dash did not react to this.
"Form!" Instead, Castform would smile, unleashing Weather Ball at Merry Dread which ended up blowing up in her face. The vampire would fall over, holding her face from all the pain since her guard was down for that one moment.
"Gah! My face...!" Merry Dread yelled, growling and moaning from the pain. "But that can't be...I should've controlled his bones! Unless...!"
That's when Merry Dread noticed one key detail with Castform. And that was his appearance. Castform was a small Pokemon with a distinct build compared to most of his fellow Pocket Monsters. And that was the fact that he looked like a cloud.
"Figured it out?" Rainbow Dash grinned. "Castform doesn't have any bones! He's just a walking cloud! Or a floating cloud. Wait...clouds always float. You get my point!"
"Cast!"
"Impossible!" Merry Dread pulled back as Castform was the ultimate outlier in all of this. The one Pokemon she couldn't control. Or rather, one of the few that her magic had no effect on. "It doesn't have any bones! Then how did I control Froslass?! She's a Ghost?!"
"But that head of hers has bones in them. Along with her limbs." Spitfire explained. "Froslass has a hollow body but that also means she has hollow bones. It's why she can bend her arms like that. Castform's all squishy and soft. Like a Jigglypuff or a Ditto. No matter what form he takes, he'll be boneless."
"Not only that...but your tail isn't looking so good! Not after Luxray shocked you!" Rainbow Dash pointed out how Merry Dread's tail had been burnt because of Luxray's electricity. It wasn't just her mane after all. "Do you think you can use your magic now?!"
"So...it's all because he's soft and squishy, eh?" Merry Dread got up, twitching aT that fact. It slightly irritated her but it wasn't enough to enrage her. "Fine. I'll let that slide. That doesn't mean I'm not annoyed by that. But this also means I can go all out on this little cloud since he's immune."
"Bring it on. I'll finish it with this. Luxray! Castform! Use Wild Charge and Energy Ball! Now!"
"You'll be buried underneath the Earth once I'm done with you!" Merry Dread would gather all of the melted parts that she could, raising her hooves and summoning the largest stream of melted parts yet. The vampire would then launch the giant stream of liquid like a beam as it was large enough to eclipse everyone in this room.
Luxray would charge right at it while Castform would fire a ball of nature from afar. At the same time, the Bull Demon's crying would bring down an ever harder-hitting lightning bolt of magic. This once-beautiful Contest Hall was now utterly totalled as Luxray would charge right through the stream of liquids, using the aura of electricity as his shield.
Energy Ball would help Luxray out before being lost within the melted liquid. Merry Dread would gasp as the full force of Luxray's charge would get exceedingly close, only for Scizor and Altaria to get in the way. "L-Lux!"
"Too bad! So sad!" Merry Dread laughed as Scizor and Altaria would intercept him with Bullet Punch and Ice Beam. Luxray failed to reach Merry Dread because of this. "You wanted to see if my magic would still work with this smoky tail?! Well, here you-"
But before she could finish her sentence, taking advantage of this all was none other than Rainbow Dash. She took flight, dashing through the air at her best speed before meeting with Merry Dread up close and personal. The vampire would gasp before even having the chance to use her magic.
"I'll do it myself!" Rainbow Dash would then use the full force of her velocity to tackle Merry Dread. It was way faster than what Luxray could produce, making the vampire's own bones shiver from this insane impact. Rainbow Dash took the risk of harming herself too as her own bones hadn't fully recovered yet.
But it was worth it.
Merry Dread's mouth was wide open as her pupils shrunk. Now she knew what it felt like to have her bones disrupted and harmed. And all it took was a high-speed pegasus to do it as she would fall over alongside Rainbow Dash who fell second. And while shivering from the hard body impact she performed, Rainbow Dash would declare these words after Merry Dread fell on her back with a stunned and bewildered expression.
Equestria. Manehattan. Manehattan Contest Hall. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
"Aa-Aaah..." Feeling perplexed while on the floor was Merry Dread. Recently, she got a taste of her own medicine with her bones being harmed. This was thanks to a full body charge from Rainbow Dasho who moved at a great velocity to make this happen, but as a result, she harmed her own bones which had been tampered with.
She had a bewildered expression on her face, struggling to get up as that full-body tackle along with the previous attacks that got to her, did her in. Rainbow Dash was also on the floor, feeling her bones rattle as she was equally as slumped as Merry Dread.
"I... did it!" Even so, she would celebrate her victory. And why wouldn't she? Merry Dread was down and out as she attempted to control those she managed to capture. Alas, that was not possible. In her current state, she failed to control the bones of her victims.
"Gh!" Spitfire was finally released before feeling her bones crack. After having them controlled by Merry Dread, trying her best to break free, a strain had been put on them. That went for everyone else who had been controlled by Merry Dread's magic. It essentially shut down once she was defeated and the whiplash would immediately kick in. "W-Way to go, Rainbow Dash..."
"Taria?" Altaria would fall over once Merry Dread's control over her was spent. Her bones would feel the whiplash too, making the Humming Pokemon and everyone else wince. Mienfoo was exempt from this whiplash. She could get up without having to worry about her bones. If she could get up, that is. Thankfully, Luxray and Castform were active and healthy with Luxray helping Mienfoo up. Castform would fly over to Altaria, attempting to do the same. However, his body weight wasn't enough.
"Mien...Mienfoo...!" But she was in desperate need of healing. Many of them were. And with how things turned out, barely anyone could move after the harm they received. There was a moment of silence with Rainbow Dash and Merry Dread looking up at the melted ceiling.
"You beat me...but your bones still betray you..." Merry Dread panted, taunting Rainbow Dash even in her defeated state. "This place is still coming down. Whether by all the melting or the Bull Demon's actions. So either way, I'll win this."
"You wish." Rainbow Dash replied. "We'll make it out of here...And you and that Bull Demon are gonna be lying next to each other. Plus, I've still got Pokemon to spare. So take that."
Speaking of the Bull Demon, with Merry Dread being defeated, the field of magic she made would also vanish, removing the sound limitations. The sound of its crying would come through once more, harming their ears. As if they weren't in pain already.
Not only would the crying continue, but a crack of green lightning would reveal another hole, showing the rest of the outside and the Bull Demon's body. It ended up getting closer than expected as Rainbow Dash and everyone inside would continue to grimace.
"Make it stop already...!" Coco Pommel cried out.
"Mew! Where are you?!" Pinkie Pie yelled, crying out for Mew, who had yet to be seen. Most definitely, he was hearing this outcry.
"M-Mew's a Vaporen right now...!" Spitfire replied while writhing in pain. "I told him to transform into a Vaporen since its body is mostly water! That way, he'd be fine in all of the melted parts!"
"So that's what happened...!" Merry Dread responded. "Not a bad decision..."
A shame all of that didn't matter with the Bull Demon's crying. Soarin and the others were immobilized by this sound too, unable to do much with the pressure coming from it. As it stands, Rainbow Dash and everyone in here would be stuck listening to this outcry for seemingly forever.
Canterlot.
Thankfully, over at Canterlot, many of the smaller demons had stopped their outcry. With how much smaller they were, they needed their combined voices to keep many of them at bay. Twilight and Espeon, when entering Twilight's home to see if her parents were okay, came across one of these Absorption Demons that had absorbed the power of the Steel-Typing. Twilight feared that this demon may have gotten to them already with how much destruction came to her home.
"What have you done to my parents?!" Twilight yelled. But the demon did not reply. Instead, it would unleash its own corrupted version of Flash Cannon. The Princess of Friendship and Espeon would leap out of the way as Flash Cannon would tear up the beautiful floor decorations. It was clear the demon didn't have any answers for her. "Go! Absol!" Deciding to bring out another Pokemon that was more akin to physical attacks, Absol was chosen by Twilight.
"Absol!"
"Night Slash, Absol! Go for it!"
"Sol...!" Being comfortable with physical attacks, against the Absorption Demon, close-up attacks were the way to go since these demons couldn't absorb them at all. Covering his horn in darkness, Absol would lunge forward, slashing at the Absorption Demon's Steel Body.
With this slash, the opposing demon would stagger when facing Absol's brute strength. Even with the Steel Protection, Absol's horn had grown to a point where not even Steel-Types were too tricky for him to damage. That didn't stop the demon from retaliation as it immediately expelled spikes from its body. Absol gasped as the spikes would strike his body upon emerging.
To Absol, he received a blunt hit that was akin to clubs thanks to his durability. But that didn't stop him from taking damage and being pushed back. "A-Abs!"
"Quick Attack! Counter!"
"Esp!" Right as Absol was pushed away, Espeon would charge in with Quick Attack, moving at blinding speeds. She would even zigzag to try and catch the demon off guard before then crashing into its head. Absol would then retaliate by performing a counterattack.
"Absol!" He would slide through the floor before lunging in with his horn. A counterattack had been made, slashing past the Absorption Demon. And against its Steel Body, the Fighting-Type move hit harder than the demon expected.
"And with this chance...I can do this!" Twilight would pull her head back, channelling a magic blast. She saw an opportunity. Since the demon could absorb ranged attacks, she immediately deduced that it could only do so if it had the time and space to do so. With how staggered it was, she would take advantage of this.
But it wasn't just Twilight that discovered this. Ash found out as well. At the same time, out on the streets of Canterlot, Pheromosa had used her amazing legs to kick into one of the demons that was covered in flames. With that demon stunned, Ash would use the same tactic as Twilight.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" In unison, Pikachu and Twilight, from two different spots, would attack their respective demons with a bolt of 100,000 Volts and a purple beam of magic. The two attacks would hit their targets as the demons could not absorb them in time. It was all a matter of seeing the attack coming and preparing for an absorption. That was the way the demons acted.
The demon in Twilight's home would be pushed against the wall from the blast, howling as the spikes around its body would shatter. Speaking of spikes, more of them would shoot out of the demon in retaliation. Twilight gasped, putting up a defensive shield around herself, Espeon and Absol.
The spikes would batter the shield before failing to get through. When that didn't work, the demon would use more of the Steel-Typing, summoning the spikes from above and underneath. They would erupt through the roof and floor, rapidly moving and extending while crashing into Twilight's shield.
This rapid increase of spikes would continue hitting Twilight's shield, gradually breaking it apart. Eventually, the spikes would increase in greater numbers to the point where Twilight's protective barrier would be overwhelmed by this before being masked by the plethora of spikes. The ceiling would even drop on Twilight's shield, bringing more of the house down.
Most of this room was nothing but spikes. It resembled that of a monster's teeth being closed together with minuscule gaps. The demon would grin at this, believing that it managed to get Twilight, Espeon and Absol. However, that was not the case. The moment it attempted to let out another cry, the Royal Canterlot Voice had been used.
"Mega Evolve!" Twilight's voice erupted from the hodgepodge of spikes as she called upon Mega Evolution. And blowing away all of the spikes as the destructive power of Infinity Energy would appear. The energy of Mega Evolution showed itself, scattering the spikes until they became smaller compositions of themselves. The light of Mega Evolution would then reveal Mega Absol.
"Absol!"
"Now, Absol! Use Giga Impact!"
"Sol...!" Going all out in his Mega Evolved state, Absol flew into the air and his body was immediately surrounded by spiralling orange streaks. The remaining spikes would shatter at the presence of his Giga Impact as right afterwards, a purple energy sphere surrounds Absol's body. The demon found back by swinging its whiplike tail which had dozens of spikes around the end.
The tail would crash into Absol's Giga Impact, resulting in a brief clash between the two. The Absorption Demon attempted to overpower this but found itself failing to do thanks to Mega Absol's strength. Due to this, Absol would land his attack, resulting in a combustion of Infinity Energy to erupt on the spot, engulfing the demon.
Absol would jump out of the smoke with his body smoking. After using Giga Impact, he was unable to move at all. As for the Absorption Demon, after the smoke cleared, it had a stunned expression from that devastating Giga Impact collision. It attempted to keep itself steady but failed to do so. The demon fell over as Twilight was victorious in this exchange.
This hatchling would vanish once it was defeated, dispersing into the wind as green, black and red particles. Twilight took a deep breath as Absol would drop out of his Mega Evolved State once the battle was over.
"Mom! Dad!" But Twilight was still here for her parents, wondering where they could be during all of this. Since she didn't hear them the entire time, she feared that the demon already got to them.
With all the spikes being cleared out thanks to Mega Absol, she would rush through her home to try and find them. First was her own room, which unfortunately saw some damage received. But her parents were not here either. The obvious next choice would be their room.
Twilight entered her parents' room which was only mildly pierced by two spikes. For the most part, it had the least amount of damage received. Only the cabinet received critical damage. That brought some relief to Twilight but there was still no sign of her parents anywhere.
That is until the wardrobe moved. Twilight's eyes locked on the wardrobe which was covered in a magical outline. Twilight recognize that outline from anywhere. That was her father's outline as the wardrobe would wobble, nearly falling over before being stabilized.
"There you are!" Opening the wardrobe with her superior magic was Twilight Sparkle. And by doing so, she jump-scared her parents who were still in one piece.
"Gyaaaaah!" Naturally, with what was previously in their home, they would scream at the top of their lungs while holding each other. But they had nothing to fear. Not after they saw who was in front of them.
"Oh...Twilight, sweetie. It's just you." Twilight Velvet sighed before falling out of the wardrobe out of shock.
"We thought it was the demon. Thank Celestia," said Night Light.
"Sorry about that. I was worried that the demon got to you and something terrible had happened. Glad to know that's not the case."
"We saw it heading this way so we hid as fast as we could. It's a shame it tore apart most of our home. But at least we're in one piece, right?!" Velvet squeed. "Plus, moving from room to room to elude it was fun."
"Not fun when there were spikes involved." Tears flowed down Night Light's eyes. He and Twilight Velvet would be hugged by their daughter who could care less about how it went down. She only cared about her safety.
"Well...I have to head back out there. There are still more of those demons around after all. And the main one that's up there." Twilight added. "Just stay out of danger, please. Then again, that's pretty hard with everything that's happening."
"Oh. Isn't that the Changeling Queen walking over?" Night Light would then turn his attention to something else. Outside of his window was none other than Queen Chrysalis and her subjects.
Twilight would look outside, spotting her as well. Chrysalis was showing up and it was for one reason only. To complete the Golden Stairway and reach Jirachi. "Chrysalis?"
Back outside, the remaining demons would find themselves dealing with mainly physical attacks from their opponents. Since Ash and his friends were cautious about how they approached the Absorption Demons, they would start with hard and heavy physical attacks before taking advantage with explosive ranged attacks.
"Dra!" Iris' Dragonite, Pheromosa, and Aegislash would come together to attack three of these demons. One of them sprayed out a wave of poison after absorbing the Poison-Type. The wave of poison would be bypassed by Aegislash who was completely immune to it. Aegislash would then slash at the demon with Sacred Sword, making it stumble from the initial blow.
As for Dragonite, he would grab one of the demons by its tail, swinging it around while using it as his own weapon. Dragonite would hit other demons with this singular demon, getting a free area of effect strike. Pheromosa was still far quicker than anyone else in this area as she would her breakneck speed to zip and zoom past her opposing demon who was struggling to keep up.
Pheromosa would use Triple Axel, knocking away at the demon that was made out of feathers from absorbing the Flying-Typing. A super-effective hit was landed on the demon thanks to the Typing it chose to absorb. Unfortunately for the demons, they didn't account for the coverage moves that every Pokemon had here.
They may have the power to absorb energy and make them their own. But the Pokemon would always have countermeasures to whatever opponent they happened to face. Whether it was from their biology, physiology, typing or moves.
Darkrai would then use Dark Void on the demons that were staggered and stunned. He would watch over different battles, waiting for his time to strike. He witnessed Pikachu avoid a barrage of icicles from one of the demons before having its body tackled by Raboot's Flame Charge. The demon would be burned, losing some of its body parts from the heat that was unleashed. Not only that, but Raboot's speed was something to worry about as well.
Once the demon lost parts of its that had been melted away, Darkrai would strike, throwing Dark Void like a baseball. The void would spin through the air, bypassing allies and crashing into a demon. With one touch, the demon would be put to sleep, dropping like a sack of potatoes. Darkrai would move on to his next target.
Celestia's Kommo-o use Close Combat on two demons. Since Fighting-Type Pokemon rarely use ranged attacks, they were perfect for this as much as Aegislash was fit for this. These demons hadn't absorbed anything yet, making them standard demons. And they certainly wouldn't get the chance to ever absorb anything with how vigorously Kommo-o was pummelling them. Heavy blows that were enough to break through steel were sent through their bodies before being pushed back.
That would be followed up by Gardevoir using Dazzling Gleam with the time window Kommo-o gave her. With this cooperation, the rays of rainbows would fly past Kommo-o, bombarding the two demons with Fairy Magic. Canterlot was illuminated by the plethora of attacks that had varying colours.
And now with a major weakness being exposed, Celestia's forces were making a turnaround. All it took was a simple approach. The numbers of these smaller demons would drop thanks to the unified teamwork of Celestia's group. If anything, this synergy was practically immaculate.
Ash had battled alongside every single trainer here. Iris was without a doubt the one with the most experience after her adventures in Unova with Ash. Those from Equestria, despite still having a lot more to learn about Pokemon, were formidable in their own rights. Especially Celestia.
With this synergy, there was no combination that wouldn't work for them. As long as they understood each other, they could pull off stellar attacks that would leave an impact. Neither can do this on their own. That was the magic of teamwork at play.
The Absorption Demons were overtaken by this perfect synergy. Falling one by one. Whether it was by different Physical and Ranged attacks being combined in unique ways or Darkrai's Dark Void taking full advantage of them. As for Kyurem, he was still dealing with the main Absorption Demon that had spawned these smaller demons.
The main demon had grown two more heads on its back, shooting attacks from it that would give Kyurem more to think about. But Kyurem wasn't one to let that stop him. The demon had a sharp tongue, extending it as it would follow Kyurem, who flew across the stratosphere. Kyurem would then freeze the demon's tongue once it got close enough by simply touching it.
And in the stratosphere, close space, the freezing process was faster than normal. In fact, it was a flash freeze that made the tongue solid. The demon gasped before seeing Kyurem raise his claw. Showing no mercy, Kyurem would slash away at the demon's frozen tongue, shattering it. That was its entire tongue by that slash, making it erupt in pain.
But even that wasn't enough to take it down. Not when it had two more tongues on its spare heads. Even so, Kyurem was also making a turnaround as he was the first to discover the physical weakness the Absorption Demon had.
Back on Earth, Fluttershy and Audino would heal those injured during all of this. With the number of demons dwindling, Fluttershy found a safe spot to cater to the injured. Along with Audino's Heal Pulse various Pokemon were healed up.
With all of this battling going on, watching this all unfold was none other than Opal Vivacity. She would appear as a giant face yet again, watching over Canterlot. But this time her face was concealed within the clouds, being transparent instead of visibly opaque.
"There she is" Opal spectated. The one that she was looking for was Chrysalis. She could care less about this battle. Chrysalis was the focal point due to what she was capable of.
Chrysalis showed up at a rather good time. A time when the demons were falling left and right. In her goal to complete the stairway, she was hoping that the demon issue would've been solved. Granted, it was still an issue but one that was being dealt with.
"Chrysalis!" Celestia cried out before blasting away a standard demon. "You're back! What about your hive?!"
"It's fine. I sorted it out and now I want to sort this out. I'm here to complete the Golden Stairway, Celestia." Chrysalis declared. "I want to make today the day it's completed."
"Huh. I was thinking the same thing too." Celestia nodded in approval. "Granted...that'll be difficult with everything happening now. You might want to give us some time. And we'd have to call everyone else back to this place."
"Mm. Allow me to assist and-" Before she could finish her sentence, one of the demons would creep up on Celestia, Gardevoir and Kommo-o. This one was made out of Grass Energy, appearing as a culmination of vines and thorns. The vines and thorns would then race over, slithering past the rubble and destruction before then ascending to strike Celestia and her Pokemon.
"Behind you!" Chrysalis would react first to these vines, flying past Celestia and her Pokemon. The vines and thorns would then come down as Celestia had just now witnessed the deadly flora. Opal eyed down this scenario carefully, expecting something new to happen after what she learned.
And she was right to do so.
By just one inch, the thorns and vines would suddenly stop. Chrysalis was nearly whipped by them, only to be perfectly fine. She looked up, seeing the sharp end of a thorn right near her eye, nearly poking it directly. Thankfully, that never happened. Instead, the demon would pull its vines away, eyeing down Chrysalis.
Upon seeing Chrysalis, the demon would pause for a moment before tracing it to the constant crying. Despite how different she looked from her old form, she was still the same changeling. Standing before this hatchling of the Absorption Demon was none other than the creator of its parent.
Chrysalis. The Creator of the Box of 100 Demons. With this knowledge and memory, the demon would then cease its attacks, concealing its thorns and vines.
"Did it just stop?" Celestia gasped. "Why?"
"I...don't know." However, Chrysalis had no idea of who she truly was. The creation of the box was made when she was born after all. She had no memory of ever making it.
And this leased Opal Vivacity. So as long as Chrysalis didn't know, the box could still be utilized. However, with Chrysalis' recent awakening, the first sign of trouble had emerged. One of the demons refused to attack in the presence of its creator.
"You're the real problem here, Chrysalis," Opal spoke as her voice was masked by the lightning. "Forget everything else. You're the one we need to eliminate."
Equestria. Canterlot. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
Over at Canterlot, the number of Absorption Demons had recently dropped. The tides had shifted for Celestia's group greatly. Recently, Chrysalis and her changelings had arrived, with the goal of completing the golden stairway as soon as possible. Upon arriving, one of the demons ceased an attack on Chrysalis the moment it spotted her. It would pull back, refusing to attack those that were within Chrysalis' range.
"Why did it stop?" Celestia wondered as she would've been whipped by this demon before Chrysalis stepped in, unexpectedly saving it."
"I'm...not sure." Chrysalis shook her head as the demon would then crawl away. It would not engage with this group at all. Instead, it would flock somewhere else. "Strange. Anyway..."
"Right! The stairway!" Celestia exclaimed. "If we want to make that, we have to cease that crying first. It seems to be never-ending even if we decrease their numbers. Now that I think about it...it sounds like you."
"Me?" This was strange to hear. From what Chrysalis could gather, Celestia essentially said that she was crying. Even though Chrysalis was perfectly fine at the moment. If she was crying, it would've been back at her hive where she had an outburst after seeing Ribombee being badly hurt.
"That's what Fluttershy shared with me. And I can hear it as well. But...you're not crying at the moment. And yet their cries sound exactly like yours. As if there's a second voice that's layered with theirs. Do you know why?"
"I just got here. I wouldn't know a thing." The Changeling Queen softly shook her head. But it was peculiar to hear her own voice in this. "That wouldn't be the strangest thing that's happened so far."
"Fair enough. Up there, the main demon is battling against Kyurem. Even if we defeat all the smaller ones down here, the main demon will stick around." Celestia raised her head with Chrysalis and the other Changelings doing the same. "The stairway also needs to be repaired after what Opal did to it.
"So the only way to beat them all is to hope that Kyurem can pull it off? Well, it's a good thing he's the Words Strongest Dragon." Chrysalis added before seeing sparks of lightning go off in the sky.
But Opal Vivacity, who was still concealing herself within the clouds, knew that Kyurem wasn't the only one who could pull it off. In fact, someone else could do it much better than Kyurem could. Chrysalis herself.
After all, the Centipede Demon was a prime example of it. Now, there were only 99 Demons remaining in the Box of 100 Demons. Or rather, the Box of 99 Demons. Opal was lucky that Chrysalis was not yet aware of what she was capable of and who she was to the demons. And that was for the better, in favour of the Dread League.
Even so, Opal Vivacity couldn't take any chances. Her projected face, which wasn't seen by anyone in the first place, would vanish, leaving Canterlot entirely. Opal already decided to do something about Chrysalis, but there was something on her mind that made her greatly cautious about how she could approach the Changeling Queen.
Hoenn. Pacifidlog Town.
Back at Pacifidlog, the demon that didn't resemble a creature or an object would howl out for Chrysalis as well. This went on for minutes and became unbearable to those hearing this sound.
By this point, the water from Pacifidlog was on the brink of being completely drained out as even when crying, this demon could still absorb it all with its tail. The toxic smog from its body permeated the atmosphere, making it hard for many to hold their breath and cover their ears at the same time.
However, that was when a swift green blur came flying in. In the blink of an eye, something managed to slash the demon, ceasing all of its crying. Officer Jenny and her officers would look up to see this green blur that finally brought some silence. At least, for now.
The one responsible for this was one of the Swords of Justice. The fastest one out of them all. The Grassland Pokemon Virizion. The demon would almost fall over before regaining its balance. However, that slash from Virizion left an impact that was enough to make it stagger, wobble and jitter.
"Are you all alright?" Virizion went up to some of the people, ponies and Pokemon that were close to the sea. They seemed to be wearing beach equipment, but any beach activities had been cut short thanks to this demon's actions. Virizion would then turn to face the demon once the innocents managed to flee. With all the crying coming to a halt, they could run from the smog that was tearing away at the buildings and even affecting the clouds.
The demon knew who was responsible for that slash as it would lock onto Virizion. The Sword of Justice would then follow up on her previous attack, going for a Leaf Blade. As for the demon, it would spray out poisonous water. After absorbing a majority of Pacifidlog's water, the smog within it would corrupt the water, poisoning it. The stream of poison would tear through the ground once it was unleashed.
Virizion would zip to the side, avoiding the poisonous water which melted away the concrete. Afterwards, she would lunge forward, gaining some air-time as she was going straight for the head. But the demon would then use its bony tail, swinging it violently at the Grassland Pokemon. Virizion's sword was intercepted by this tail of bones before she could even reach the head of this demon. However, Virizion would gladly take the challenge as she would then slash past the tail, making the demon wince.
The power of nature greatly impacted the bones, allowing Virizion to reach the head. A fierce slash came from Virizion, once again, making the demon stagger. Virizion would then unleash a string of slashes to the demon's head, using Leaf Blade consecutively.
The demon would then breathe out a stream of poisonous water once more. This time, while Virizion was continuously attacking its head. Once it found a window to shoot out the toxic liquids, it took advantage of it. Virizion gasped as the poisonous water would completely engulf her. The Grassland Pokemon found herself being pushed away by the stream while being dragged across the melted ground.
Following that, the demon would then increase the size of the stream, making it larger than before as the attack would then end directly at the sea, causing a large eruption of water to go off from the impact. This massive splash made it rain instantly, dropping more poison onto the area. The demon would then breathe deeply after unleashing that large stream. From that massive splash, it looked like Virizion had fallen right there. There was a moment of silence as the water began lowering.
However, once it lowered, Virzion's body was gone. Instead, she had already appeared behind the demon, shaking the water behind her. She stood atop one of the taller buildings before then using Sacred Sword. Her speed was so impressive to the point where the demon didn't even see her move from one spot to another.
The moment the demon turned around, Virizion would swing her sword multiple times in a few seconds. The demon froze for a moment once all those slashes came through. Virizion would then lower her sword before waiting for a reaction from this demon.
And there certainly was a reaction. The demon would immediately lose body parts from all those cuts. It found itself falling apart, slowly vanishing as particles. Once it realized what had just happened, it was too late to cry out now. Back to the Box of 100 Demons it went as its entire body would disperse.
Virizion watched the particles fly away, returning to where they once came from. The clouds in the skies would vanish with this demon's defeat. However, unlike Chrysalis, who had the power to destroy them, the demon would simply just return to the box. But that didn't matter. So as long as the demon had been defeated and this town was at peace.
The main problem was the lack of water. The people, ponies and Pokemon would return once the demon was gone, seeing how the water of Pacifidlog was no longer what it used to be. With such a large majority of it gone, most of the Pokemon that would call the sea their home would be disappointed.
But Virizion and many others knew that it would return to form one day with how this world works. Virizion couldn't stay put. Not when there were more demons out there causing havoc. But she did hear the cheers and thanks that she received for stopping that demon.
Johto. Olivine City.
And then there was Olivine City, which had to deal with two demons. A Beetle Demon and a Triple-Headed Tiger Demon. This made for double the cries as they were shattering the city to bits from their collective screams. Technically, this would be four cries.
Jasmine, one of the Elite 4 Members of Johto who resided here, would cover her ears while standing beside her Steelix. Her Steelix didn't have anything to cover its ears with, if anyone could actually see its ears, so it was stuck there, shaking uncontrollably. "Drat! I just wanted my parfait and this happens! They weren't this difficult earlier!" She cried out. Jasmine recently battled against these two demons before all the crying came through. "Steelix! Earthquake!"
"S-Steelix!" Even if Steelix was being tortured by this constant crying, it didn't stop this Steel-Ground-Type from attacking. All it took was one movement to make this happen. With the end of Steelix's tail touching the ground, it was enough to prompt an Earthquake. Those golden shockwaves would rip through the ground, racing past everything else to reach the two demons.
Both demons would be silenced by the rumbling ground once it threw them off balance. The demons would fall over from the tremor, putting a stop to this torturous mourning. Jasmine sighed, feeling relieved that it had all come to an end. For the most part. The demons weren't quite defeated just yet. They would simply get back up after the Earthquake knocked them over.
It started with the Triple-Headed Tiger Demon, with each of its heads hitting each other to try and get the other adjusted and balanced once more. But the Beetle Demon was already up and ready, spreading its wings out to take flight. The shadowy horn of the Beetle Demon would knock off the tops of buildings, causing them to come crashing down while the Triple-Headed Tiger Demon would unleash those spectral beams from each of its mouths.
Jasmine had a bit more to handle compared to others. Mainly because of the fact that she had two demons to deal with. And each of them were exceptionally large compared to the Absorption Demon which only summoned smaller versions of itself.
"How'd it come to this?" Frankly, Jasmie wanted no part in this. This late at night, she was already feeling tired and there was no chance of her getting any shuteye with this. But as an Elite 4 Member, there was no way she could avoid it either.
Sinnoh. Out in a forest.
"Chrysalis has grown. I saw it with my own eyes." Back in the forest, Opal Vivacity was still conversing with Melody Moon and Bittersweet. "We could run out of demons if she learns about what she's capable of. Or worse, we might have demons that refuse to battle at all. And I certainly wouldn't want that."
"So what do we do then?" Melody asked. "She's the creator of most of these demons. It's her property, isn't it?"
"That may be the case, but we can still work around this." Opal conjured up a plan. Anything to get the edge before the tides shift greatly to the other side. "That one demon over at Canterlot is one of our best. I'd hate for it to be defeated there. So...I say we give it a contract."
"Giving that demon a contract? It's already dangerous enough as it is. Even I wouldn't let it have a contract. Bittersweet shook her head in disapproval of giving this demon a contract.
"Worth a shot. Plus, I'd like to deal with Chrysalis myself. Her majesty knows of what Chrysalis can truly be capable of. I think I can try and take both Chrysalis and Fluttershy back with us. We'd have the owner of the box and a new vampire that could be our healer for all our Pokemon. Does that sound good?"
"I guess. If you're going through with it, then let it be." Melody Moon wouldn't argue against this at all. Opal was the one in charge and was the most deductive out of all of them. "I just wish we got around instead of staying in this forest already..."
"Ah, but I think taking a step further will do!" Opal exclaimed. "I wanted to soften both worlds up, so...I think I'll give all of them contracts!"
"All of them?!" Naturally, hearing this made Melody Moon and Bittersweet shudder with disbelief in their voices. Opal planned to give each of these demons contracts to work with. The results from this made them shudder. They themselves knew the consequences of these contracts and the impact they could leave. And with so many demons being out now, Opal was about to unleash an even greater wave of destruction.
Around the Stratosphere.
Back at the stratosphere, Kyurem still found himself dealing with this Absorption Demon which was persistent in the fact that it refused to go down. Kyurem rapidly dodged and deflected incoming Dragon Pulses from this demon's attacks, barely showing any signs of tiring out.
But neither did the demon. Both of them had heaps of stamina. It was hard to say if they could even get tired. On the bright side, Kyurem managed to keep the demon from sending anything else down to Earth. On the downside, Kyurem had yet to find a decisive moment to take out this demon. Even if he did, the demon would just form something new. Such as its tongue which was broken to pieces, only for the demon to generate one made out of draconic energy.
Speaking of its tongue, it would whip it at Kyurem with its impressive length, forcing the Boundary Pokemon to deflect this as well, focusing on too many things at this point. Kyurem would swiftly switch forms once more. This time, he entered his White Form, unleashing a flare of flames from his body that push back the demon's draconic tongue.
"What is it going to take to stop you for good?" Kyurem snarled. By this point, it wasn't straightforward for him at all. He certainly had superior strength but this demon had the tenacity and self-beneficial abilities on its side.
However, the demon felt a similar sentiment. Kyurem was hard to get past. Even if it would unleash something new, Kyurem's strength would rival it in some way. The demon wanted this to be done as well. As much as it loved causing trouble and destruction, Kyurem was essentially blocking it from doing so.
The two of them would eye each other down, thinking of the best efficient way to put an end to this. Kyurem thought of how he was going to absolutely destroy this demon while the Absorption Demon thought of how it was going to evade Kyurem.
But before either could think of the best possible way, that was when a contract appeared. Courtesy of Opal Vivacity, this massive contract would flash in outer space, bringing about its bizarre writing. Kyurem's attention diverged to gaze at the contract. It wasn't the strangest thing he'd ever seen but there was still something so odd about seeing a large piece of paper in space.
Not only that, but the paper didn't freeze at all even in the vast expanse of the cosmos. Upon seeing the contract, the Absorption Demon knew what this meant. A chance. A chance for it to make a turnaround and end this battle against Kyurem. All it had to do was make a choice on what it wanted.
The demon accepted the contract with a roar, speaking out its wish. The contract would then shrink after hearing the demon's wish. Kyurem wasn't aware of what this contract was truly for and what purpose it served or why it was even here. But that would be shown to him fairly soon. Once the demon took the contract, the two heads on is back would detach.
Kyurem watched as the two heads would then leave the demon's body. But not without a purpose. To distract Kyurem, the main head would use another Dragon Pulse, forcing Kyurem to pay attention to what was approaching him. This gave the two heads enough time to fly to their main target. A nearby planet.
The wish it made with the contract involved a planet from afar. A relatively small planet that didn't look too out of the ordinary. But that didn't matter to the demon. It already tampered with the moon, making it a permanent nightfall. The rest of the cosmos were on its mind as proven by the asteroids it absorbed.
After heading to this planet, the heads would then attach to it. Right as the heads found something else to conjoin with, the magic from the Box of 100 Demons and the contract would kick in. By themselves, the heads weren't that big and wouldn't be noticeable when viewing this planet. But that's where it all changed.
The heads would suddenly grow, enlarging thanks to the power of the box. They would grow and grow until they matched a size that would replicate this planet. But they didn't just grow to match the planet's size. Instead, the two heads could come together, fusing to make one singular head. And this conjoined head would then engulf the planet it conjoined two, using the back of its open heads to do so
The Absorption Demon had become a Planet. Surpassing Kyurem in size while also having a second body to work with. Kyurem was flabbergasted by this. Now there was the issue of a planet-sized demon.
This planet was slightly bigger than the moon but smaller than the Earth. However, that wouldn't stop the potential destruction that would come from this. The main body would grow the two heads back just for safe measure as the creepiest grin formed on its face. All four of them.
Now that it possessed a Planet as a body, or rather a head, the demon would take full advantage of this newfound power in exchange for its own lifespan. And it started by opening that massive mouth of its. Now that it was larger than ever, the absorption powers of the demon had been elevated to a new level.
Kyurem would snarl, feeling the grand suction that came from this demon. But he wasn't the only target. Once more, asteroids would fly into the demon's mouth from the sheer volume of this suction. However, that was all natural for this demon. The newfound powers consisted of a massive beam that was gathered up by the energy of the planet and the energy the demon already managed to absorb.
Kyurem gasped before being hit by the beam. It didn't immediately explode upon contact. But instead, Kyurem, who tried pushing it back, was being carried back down to Earth. The demon was going for a direct blow to the planet. Specifically, Canterlot.
And with an attack this large along with the asteroids that were being shot out, the results could be catastrophic. It was made worse by the fact that the demon was now large enough to threaten every other part of this world. And potentially, if it wasn't stopped, even the Pokemon World as the journey continues.
Equestria. Canterlot. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
For the most part, the hatchlings from the Absorption Demon were being dispersed, returning to their original creator. But all of that didn't matter. Not when the main Absorption Demon signed a contract with the Box of 100 Demons.
At the moment, the Golden Stairway was set to be completed. Of course, those that helped make this stairway possible needed to return and unify their strength once more. Celestia and Chrysalis would approach the stairway, gazing at the massive gap that Opal Vivacity left behind.
All the while, the Main Absorption Demon had become an entire planet, attacking Kyurem with asteroids and a beam that was gathered up by the energy of the planet it absorbed and its own energy. As for the smaller demons down here, due to them having a crucial weakness to physical attacks, being unable to absorb them, the Golurks that belonged to the Canterlot Guards were keeping the occupied.
"How is everyone doing?" Celestia asked. Ash and the others would gather up to meet with Celestia's group right next to the stairway.
"Pretty good here," Ash replied. "They're tricky but once you get the hang of what they can do, it's pretty smooth."
"Pikachu."
"Fluttershy's back with Audino, healing others up. But even though we've taken out some of these demons, the main one is still up there." Twilight said, looking at the sky to see green sparks continuously go off. "I hope Kyurem's doing okay up there."
"He has to." Spike added, having full faith in Kyurem since he was the pinnacle of Dragons in his eyes. "It's just taking some time, that's all."
"We can't stand around and wait for Kyruem. We're going to finish the stairway at once." Chrysalis ordered. "Opal has already proven she can damage it with whatever rose she used. She could botch our entire plan and crumble the stairway. It's best that it's completed as soon as possible. Where is your friend, Zecora?"
"Zecora went back to Ponyville. But I can have Pheromosa fetch her." Rarity offered. "Sweetie Belle and Applejack as well. They should be fine after we defeated a demon back there."
"Ah, we have to call them all back here?" Iris sighed, placing her hand on her forehead. "Isn't there a quicker way instead of going back and forth?"
"There is a quicker way. And he's standing right here." The Ruler of Equestria along with everyone else would turn to face the one Pokemon that could save them so much time. And that was thanks to the adventures he's had so far and the places he's seen when experiencing the Pokemon Festival.
"Hoopa knows!" Hoopa was the one that was perfect for this. And already, the Mischief Pokemon knew what needed to be done. He had memories of the two places that mattered. Ponyville and Pegalysium.
"Wait. What if Opal interrupts us again?" Cadence asked. "She seemed to be intangible when she was up in the sky. But that rose of hers wasn't. What do we do when we meet her again?"
"I...I'm not sure." Celestia, surprisingly, didn't have an answer for that. "She seems to be using some form of Astral Projection to project herself into the sky. When Opal Vivacity shows up, we'll figure it out. But another problem...The battle up there could harm the stairway as well."
"Even if Kyurem wins, the end result will set us back," Luna added. "And with Kyurem's power, I hope it's not too much of a setback."
"Only one way to guarantee that doesn't happen." To sort that potential issue out before it could ruin everything, Ash had an idea. "Hoopa. You said it yourself that you could breathe in space. After you bring the others here, could you go up there and help Kyurem out?"
"Hoopa can handle everything. Ashkan might as well let Hoopa make the stairway and everything else." The Mischief Pokemon would boast, crossing his detached arms together. He technically wasn't wrong. While there were some limitations, Hoopa could do so much that very few Pokemon can pull off.
It would start with Hoopa holding out his rings which would tap into this world's space. One side for Ponyville and the other for Pegalysium. Celestia would go for Pegalysium while Twilight chose Ponyville. It would only be those two.
Eyeing down the rings was none other than the Absorption Demons. Three of them had yet to absorb anything. However, that only meant that they had more to gain. So fr, they had avoided any trouble, waiting for their chance to strike. And that chance was now.
But there was one issue. Chrysalis. The demons would spot Chrysalis, their true creator, hanging around Ash and his friends casually. Much like the previous demon that ceased attacking Celestia once Chrysalis got in the way, these three demons had the same thought.
When it came to their creator, they would not fight back. Not when they could still hear her cries. And yet, the demons still felt the urge to attack Ash's group.
The Stratosphere.
Back at the Stratosphere, Kyurem was still holding back the beam which was threatening to crash into Canterlot. The destruction that could come from this could most likely be the most cataclysmic destruction Equestria could ever face since it threatened other locations.
Kyurem couldn't fail. Even when the asteroids were crashing into him and his body started heating up when reentering Earth's atmosphere. He couldn't fail simply for Snowdrop's safety. If he does, Snowdrop would either be destroyed by the explosion, the demons or the Black Crusade. Neither possibility was something Kyurem wanted to come true.
The Absorption Demon would cackle before using its main body to shoot at Kyurem from the side, unleashing more asteroids along with a Dragon Pulse to deal super-effective damage. Laughter from this demon continued as it was mocking Kyurem, essentially telling him that he would fail at this point. After taking the contract and becoming an entire planet combined with its erratic powers, this demon was seemingly too difficult to stop.
"You? Beat me? Don't make me laugh!" But to Kyurem, nothing was too difficult. His eyes flashed yellow as he refused to let himself fall here. He would then mix two of his powers as one to try and overcome this beam.
His left arm had the cracking power of Black Kyurem, unleashing devastating sparks of electricity. And his right arm would flare up with furious bursts of flames. Kyurem was usually seen with just one element when using specific forms. But he certainly had the power to mix and match.
Very few Pokemon can generate plasma. Whether by natural or conventional means. And Kyurem was the one who could do it better than anyone. By generating Fire and Electricity on both his claws, he would form the pulsating power of Plasma. Immediately, it made a difference, the speed that Kyurem was flying down at was diminishing.
With the power of Plasma within his claws, the Boundary Pokemon would rip the beam out of the demon's mouth before then throwing it to the main body. The Main Body of the Absorption gasped before opening its mouth. The best way to avoid this was to absorb its own attack. The demon would suck up the beam, regaining its own power with nothing new being added to the table. It was already capable of this now thanks to the contract.
The demon would jitter. Both of its bodies. The emergence of plasma was unexpected. Kyurem also had some surprises in store. Not as much but they were efficient surprises. After being startled, the voice of Opa Vivacity would enter the demon's head, speaking to it.
"You're still having trouble with that one Pokemon even after you took the contract?" Opal spoke. "That won't do. Not when your hatchlings are steering away from one changeling. Don't waste any time. Finish it off. But make sure you keep that Changeling Queen alive."
The demon would murmur. It had to end this as soon as possible. Kyurem was too much of a force to try and escape from. Keldeo would know a thing or two about that. By giving it everything it had, the demon would then perform a final blow on Kyurem in the best way it knew how.
And that was to ram into the Earth. The demon would spin its planetary body around as fast as it could, setting itself ablaze. Not only that, but the main body would gather up that same energy that was used against Kyurem, preparing it once more. The main body would then fly behind the planet, unleashing that beam on it instead.
Kyurem gasped as both the beam and the planet would be shot down. Yet again, he had to push it back. But this time, with some more force to it as this one possessed a greater wealth of strength behind it. Kyurem's body would emanate plasma as he was prepared for the worst.
Canterlot.
Back at Canterlot, when returning with Zecora, Sweetie Belle and Applejack, Ash would spot Applejack's head shaking constantly while also holding her ears. This was natural considering what she had to listen to. Twilight thankfully negated this by simply using her Royal Canterlot Voice which was an efficient counter to the overwhelming crying.
"So you've got that Memory Demon back at home?" Ash said as Applejack revealed the location of the Memory Demon.
"Twilight put that sucker to sleep. We won't be hearing from it anytime soon thankfully..." Applejack sighed. "But my ears...Let's just get this stairway thing over with already."
"Princess Celestia should be back with Shooting Star soon. Hoopa. It's your cue to help out Kyurem." Twilight nodded as Hoopa would place one of his rings back on.
"Leave it to Hoopa! Vikan! Come along!" But wanting extra support, Hoopa grabbed the arm of the best supporter possible. Victini. Victini gasped before being dragged by the Mischief Pokemon.
"T-Tini!"
"Wait, Victini can't breathe in space. Can he?" Twilight realized before it was too late. Hoopa already brought Victini along, pushing through the clouds at breakneck speeds.
"Phione. Do you have the strength to make the stairway again?" Luna asked. After all, by this point, it would be extremely late at night. Almost everyone here would have gone to bed and clocked out for the night. But thanks to the demon up there, that wasn't the case.
"Phione!" Thankfully, Phione had energy to spare. Enough energy to continue and if she didn't, Victini would be the one to fix that. But that would be a bit sooner than expected. Not even a minute has passed and already, Victini and Hoopa were flying back.
"You're back already? Did Kyurem already solve-." Rarity spoke before seeing Victini and Hoopa pass by. The two would ide behind Ash as their expressions made it seem like they saw something horrifying.
And to many, it could be seen as horrifying due to the impact it could leave. The two Mythicals would jitter rapidly before pointing up to the sky. Everyone would divert their attention to the sky, wondering what exactly was coming their way. It didn't take long for them to witness it and many couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"No way!" Ash's eyes widened in amazement along with Pikachu.
"Uh...W-What is this?!" Twilight was in absolute disbelief at what she was seeing. Something like this came out of nowhere and no one could anticipate this.
"Is that...A planet?!" Iris roared with shock and horror in her heart. Indeed. They all saw it. The Absorption Demon's Planetary Body. It was coming this way, breaking through the clouds while showing Kyurem and the massive beam that was pushing him down. "And Kyurem!"
Kyurem had to use his Plasma once more. But this time, with some more punch to it. The planet was gradually reaching Canterlot with Kyurem visibly struggling. That contract made a difference as even the World's Strongest Dragon was having some trouble keeping this at bay.
The nearby trees would start catching on fire from the pressure of this incoming planet. The stairway was once again, in jeopardy. And this time, the blow that could be dealt to it might end the stairway's construction. The already darkened area would be overshadowed by the planet and the green beam that came from it.
"This can't be happening!" Cadence pulled back. "How did this happen?!"
"I think we should stop it from happening instead!" Ash diverted his attention to the stairway which was too big of a target to miss. Just as much as Canterlot Castle.
"If the stairway is destroyed, our hope for unity will be gone! We'll never see Jirachi and all of our progress will be undone!" Zecora gasped, showing the most fear she's ever shown in her life.
"All of it?!" Iris added. That much was clear. Sure, the stairway would be broken but potentially be repaired. However, that wouldn't matter if the ones who could repair it were obliterated by an incoming planetary beam.
Naturally, everyone else would start running for their lives upon seeing this massive beam. The ones that Fluttershy healed up would scatter to wherever they felt was safe. But from the size of this incoming planet, their options were slim. Exceedingly slim.
The area itself was starting to sheer from the sheer volume of this incoming planet. Something like this had never happened to the earth aside from asteroids. Thus, the reaction to this demonic planet was already showings signs of being erratic. Kyurem's plasma would spark everywhere, splitting the clouds in half from the intensity of it, showing much power Kyurem was putting into this just to try and keep this demon from hitting the planet.
"We can't stand around and let it crash!" Luna ascended, aiming her hoof at the sky to take initiative. "Help Kyurem! If we help him, we can guarantee the safety of the stairway and Canterlot."
"We're gonna stop a planet?! How?!" Sweetie Belle was flabbergasted by what she was hearing. That sounded completely outlandish compared to what she's heard so far.
"Pure power is the only answer," Darkrai answered before ascending with Luna. "But you should keep Phione as far away as possible from this. She's the most vital part of this stairway."
"O-Okay!"
"I choose you Dragonite!" To prevent this destruction, this would require the assistance of those who could take to the skies. Ash would send out his Dragonite. Iris already had her own Dragonite out. Everyone else would choose the best Pokemon they believed would solve this.
Togekiss and Salamence emerged, joining their fellow Flying-Types in the skies. Not everyone had Pokemon that could take flight. Rarity and Sceptile were perfect examples of this. But even so, they wished to help in some way. The three Dragons, the Fairy and the Dark-Type would join together as Twilight, Cadence and Luna would fly up with them. Ash, Spike and Iris would join their Pokemon, getting on their backs while Espeon would take Togekiss' back. Pikachu held on for dear life. Possibly the most he would have to hold on considering the circumstances.
Chrysalis aimed to join them as well, but alas, all of this was just part of Opal's plan to reach Chrysalis after learning about who she truly was. And with the biggest distraction of all time heading this way, she took her chance to strike. The moment Chrysalis would spread her wings, from the shadows, a long streak of hair would emerge, wrapping around Chrysalis' beautiful wings and hooves.
"What?!" Chrysalis gasped as the hair felt like the grip of a powerful beast. She would then be taken off the ground, garnering the attention of her Changeling troops. As well as the attention of Applejack, Rarity, Zecora and Sweetie Belle.
"Chrysalis!" All three of them spoke out once they saw Chrysalis suddenly zip away without any control. This fierce streak of hair came from none other than Opal Vivacity. Applejack recognized that manestyle anywhere. And with everyone else heading up to try and divert the planet, Opal had less to worry about since for her opponents, there was a lot to worry about.
"Opal!" Applejack yelled once she saw Opal's mane. Clearing the shadows away and showing her face was none other than the ringleader of this attack. Opal Vivacity. She once again appeared, but not as a projection in the sky. To make this capture possible, it had to be done by physical means. as she was standing on a cloud.
"Hello again, Applejack!" Opal Vivacity laughed before seeing Chrysalis attempting to slice parts of her mane off to guarantee freedom. "Ah! You won't be breaking free at all, Queen Chrysalis! Not when this little guy is around. After all, it's so happy to see you, Chrysalis, that it wouldn't mind me doing this."
Another one of the 100 Demons that she unleashed had been revealed. And this one was fairly microscopic. Even more so than the Memory Demon at its weakest state.
Two piercing eyes stared at Chrysalis with pure glee, and another clamour surges from its scrubby mouth as it stared Chrysalis down, but with hostile intent surprisingly. A mane of rocks adorns its skinny head, which itself is covered in blisters and soil. Its skinny head sits atop a broad, skeletal body. Chains are stuck within its flesh, adding to the restraints of Chrysalis as they would take her neck and tail.
"I had to do quite a bit to get it to stop crying for you," Opal said once Chrysalis was held by these chains.
"For me?" Chrysalis repeated. Behind Opal, a gateway had been formed. This was done by Bittersweet, who would use a Travel Sphere to make this possible. There was only one destination for Chrysalis to go towards.
"You...You're not gonna take anyone like you've tried before!" Applejack protested.
"Pheromosa! Go!" Immediately seeing the gateway, Rarity already had her fastest Pokemon out. So now was the perfect time to have Pheromosa's speed be the beneficial factor in all of this. But of course, Chrysalis would still try her best to free, blasting her magic on the chains and mane.
Pheromosa would move ahead before anyone else, picking up enough speed to perform an amazing jump that was sure to give her ample air time. Chrysalis would even radiate her body with light to try and burn Opal. No matter the scenario, light was always going to be a problem for the vampires.
Opal hissed from Chrysalis radiating her signature magic from her body. It didn't quite free Chrysalis, but it did stall Opal and Bittersweet for a bit. But not the demon. It was fine with the light, unbothered by it. Thanks to Chrysalis' actions, Pheromsa could leap up and try her best to reach the Changeling Queen with all she had. If she could.
Meanwhile, Ash and the others had reached Kyurem's vicinity as it required them to go past the clouds. Kyurem had already left the stratosphere by now, returning to Earth. But not entirely. Not when he was trying to keep this beam at bay.
"Kyurem!" Ash called out his name. The Boundary Pokemon would see the arrival of Aerial Pokemon and alicorns, immediately having the same idea as him. Together, it was agreed upon that they would try their best to stop this planet from making contact and guarantee the safety of Canterlot and the stairway.
"You all..." Kyurem said before witnessing Ash's Dragonite place his hands on the planet.
"Rrr...!" This was already beyond what Dragonite had to deal with before. The same went for Iris' Dragonite. Both of them would join Kyurem in pushing the planet back while Twilight and the others had their own methods of doing so.
"Salamence, Hyper Beam!" Spike commanded as Salamence's arms certainly wouldn't work. Not with how his stature was built. Instead, it would be ranged attacks that would be performed.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Eve! Togekiss! Dazzling Gleam!" Twilight would do the same with her Pokemon. Both Espeon and Togekiss would use Dazzling Gleam, unleashing magical rays of rainbows that would bombard the planet as well as the contrast of Darkrai's Dark Pulse. Twilight and the alicorns would of course use their magic against the planet, firing a continuous beam at it.
This demon's durability was on another level. A level that made it almost impossible to get rid of, even for Kyurem. And this was no different. Even after new attacks were sent its way, it would persist in its goal. The demon's two bodies would amp it, increasing the size of the beam to boost the Planet's speed. A bellowing roar would come from the demon to try and pressure them all way.
"Ghh!" Ash would flinch, along with everyone else hearing this roar. But even if they flinched, they would also persist, having just as much tenacity as the demon in their own ways.
"The planet is a demon?! How can that be?!" Cadence growled while trying to sustain her beam. "What kind of demons are in that box?!"
"Are we pushing it back?!" Spike asked, unable to see if they were making any progress. One thing was for sure. They were keeping it steady, but that wasn't enough. They needed to do more. The demon would only continue making it hard for them while battling against Kyurem's plasma.
Twilight's hooves would shudder once the difficulty was increased. But she wouldn't let it throw her concentration off. "I'm not sure! It's only being held back but...!"
Down below, nature was being affected by this pulsating force of destruction. The Deerling Forest, Pikachu Highlands and Frenzy Forest were all targets of this. Rocks and trees would break apart and swish from the intensity that was descending on this world.
Very soon, multiple locations would feel it as well. A planet was still a planet after all. And as a demon, that destructive potential was only elevated t a new level. A level that no one would want to witness due to what it could unfortunately cause.
"It has to go back!" Ash would then take a risk, putting his hands on the planet as well. The heat of the planet was cooled off thanks to Kyurem's ice. But even with that cooling effect, Ash could still feel some heat when touching it.
"Ash! What are you doing?!" Luna gasped, stunned by Ash's reckless action to touch something so volatile.
"Just by impulse! If we want to keep this thing from crashing down, everything has to be used, right?!" Ash replied as his gloves were already feeling the pressure. "Every Jirachi that's ever existed are out there in that weird dimension, waiting for us! All it's gonna take is one wish! Just one wish to bring it all together once we make that stairway!
"He's right! I don't want to lose it all! Especially not when we've come so far!" Twilight strained as she poured Rift Magic and Sorrowful Rage Magic into the mix to up the ante. But even if she increased her magical power, the demon would still resist
"Pika...!" Pikachu kept up the stream of electricity as the various elements refused to let themselves be masked by this planet and the demon. The demon's main body would grow two more faces n the side of its body while also unleashing asteroids from them. A bit of Dragon Pulse was added as it was truly using everything that it had to offer and more. With this addition, the planet started moving forward, pushing back against the defenders.
"Oh, man!" Ash exclaimed as his gloves were blown off by the pressure. Even his hat was at risk of flying off. Compared to everyone, he was feeling the most pressure from this.
"You're an idiot! Do you think your mere human hands can stop this?! Even the ponies can use-"
"I can at least try!" Ash cut Kyurem off. "I can't give up! I won't give up! Not when so much is riding n this, Kyurem! You know that too...I'm keeping everything intact for you as well." He looked over at Kyurem, referring to Snowdrop. It was true. If this is all a failure, then Kyurem would never meet Snowdrop again. The one pony who brought him happiness in his life would be erased from his memories. "Because everyone's got someone from both worlds that's near and dear to them! Even if they're from a different time!"
"H-He's right!" Cadence stammered as her regalia was starting to crack. "The amount of love that comes from all of this is the most I've ever seen! Losing all of this love because of this would be devastating!"
"I've made peace with myself three times now! I refuse to let it all be reset!" Luna yelled. "I'd rather keep pressing on to the future than let everyone start from zero yet again! The past is the past after all!"
"You all...Pokemon Trainers, as they call you. I can see why the Pokemon put their trust in you all." Kyurem made a slight chuckle from this. "The thought of you all besting me in determination irks me. This only encourages me to try harder then!"
Thanks to their words, Kyurem's determination would burn brighter. Much like Ash and everyone, he would be stubborn in trying to stop this planet from crashing into the Earth. His plasma would accelerate more, knocking away the asteroids and obliterating them. This rare element would continue flowing, even moving through Pikachu in some instances.
"P-Pi!" Pikachu would jitter from this, but it wouldn't stop him from pouring more into his Thunderbolt. But this wasn't done by accident. Kyurem did this on purpose, sharing some of his strength with Pikachu to boost their chances.
The pressure was on now. For the stairway, the planet and their collective futures, they vowed to stop this demon with what they had to offer. And with their spirits, they always had something to offer.
Equestria. Canterlot. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
"Mosa!" Jumping high into the air was Pheromosa. Chrysalis had recently been grabbed by Opal Vivacity and a demon that was minuscule yet had access to massive chains. Chrysalis managed to stun the vampires by making her body shine, harming their coats.
With this chance, Pheromosa would approach Chrysalis, only to be stopped by the minuscule demon that possessed these chains. From its tiny mouth, massive chains were shot out, targeting the Lissome Pokemon. But because she was so light, she could evade attacks easier, swaying her body to the side.
"Phero!" The Bug-Fighting-Type would end up kicking some of the chains away with her swift kicks, shattering some of them in the process. Once the chains shattered, Pheromosa would then use the remainder of her air-time to try and reach Chrysalis, holding her hand out.
"As if!" But even when being exposed to Chrysalis' light, Opal Vivacity would use the fate-changing power within her mane to her advantage. She would remove a piece of it, allowing the piece to drop on the cloud itself. Fate had been changed and in this instance, the cloud shrunk and was pulled back right as the Lissome Pokemon's hand came close, causing Pheromosa to fall over.
"P-Pheromosa!" Unable to fly in any way, Pheromosa dropped, missing the cloud by two inches. And of course, with such a supple body, the impact could be devastating for her.
"Pheromosa, no!" A distraught Rarity yelled. To cease this searing light, when she changed fate Opal also made it to where Chrysalis would cease the light she was emanating. So as long as she had this massive mane with Bayleef's original powers, she change fate repeatedly with seemingly no drawbacks.
"Sceptile! Frenzy Plant!"
"Scep...TIle!" By Applejack's command, Sceptile would go for Frenzy Plant. Then again, even if Applejack didn't shout it out, Sceptile would've done it either way, simply because Pheromosa was his friend. By slamming his hands into the ground, giant roots would erupt, moving like snakes.
Not only would they catch Pheromosa, wrapping around her fragile body, but they would even go after Opal and Bittersweet with their exceptional height. The roots would pierce through the other clouds before then reaching Opal Vivacity. Opal, who attempted to reach the gateway, would find herself being blocked off by the roots as they would rest in front of the gateway, knocking Bittersweet to the side.
With this chance, the Changelings would fly up to try and reach their queen who had yet to be freed. Those chains weren't coming off at all. Chrysalis, even with her horns and hooves being restrained, would persist. Her eyes would crackle a violent green as Opal Vivacity would suddenly notice a violent increase in her magic.
It was nothing like what Chrysalis had been using these past years. Instead, it was something old and new at the same time. The same destructive magic she used against the Centipede Demon was still present and had recently awakened, albeit without much control from Chrysalis.
Sensing the sudden increase in danger, Opal Vivacity would lower her mane, pulling it back as the green lightning would crash through it, leaving holes in her beautiful hair.
"Oh my. knew it would be violent...But the hostility from that is extraordinary." An impressed Opal said with widened eyes before putting on a smile. "Excellent."
"Your majesty! Are you alright?!" The changelings arrived. Chrysalis managed to free herself just from her pressure. The minuscule demon would even back away, sensing the fury of its creator.
"I'm fine..." She sighed before looking over at Opal and Bittersweet. "That attempted foalnapping of yours was bound to fail. The odds are stacked against you."
"They are. But I still foresee my victory. It's obvious why that's the case." Opal flaunted her mane, referring to the power to change fate. "But we meet again, Applejack! How have you been?"
"Opal..." Applejack was less than pleased to see Opal Vivacity once more. Especially after what she pulled back at Alola. "Of all times, ya wanna show yourself now?"
"I planned this, so yes. Now is the best time to show up. After all, your precious Changeling Queen isn't so...standard anymore."
"Standard?!" The changelings repeated, taking grave offence to that. They would raise their hooves up ranting and yelling at Opal Vivacity for even calling their Queen standard. She essentially said that Chrysalis wasn't special at all. Not in any way. At least, not until now.
"There's something about her that she doesn't know. And personally, I'd like to keep it a secret and let you figure that out on your own while I take what I need from her. And frankly...we should've had something similar to what she has from the very beginning. The Parasite Demon can fix that in no time."
"What are you talking about?" But all of this was lost to Chrysalis, who had no idea what Opal was referring to. She kept it cryptic, making it difficult for Chrysalis to deduce it. It certainly couldn't be her ability to shapeshift. If Opal wanted it, she would've gone to the Changeling Hive while Chrysalis was here, especially in its weakened state.
"Ah, but that's not what's important. You have an entire planet to worry about right now!" Opal exclaimed, looking up at the struggle in the skies. "But don't worry Chrysalis. The destruction won't obliterate you. You're probably wondering how? Well, wait and see when the demon finally hits its mark."
"I think not!" Rarity would yell as Sceptile used Frenzy Plant to create new roots, allowing the unicorn and Applejack to arrive at Opal's level which was right around the clouds. "Ash and everyone can handle that. I know they can. You won't be an issue at all."
"Really? I doubt it. Especially since Princess Celestia hasn't returned yet. Where is she anyway? Wasn't she off to grab that prince?" Opal jeered.
"Ah-" But before Rarity could retort, Opal raised a striking point. Celestia hadn't returned. Not at all. Twilight showed up before her and she was already up there trying to stop the demon from crashing into the Earth. "Where is she actually?! Did she not come back from Pegalysium?!"
"It's been a while..." Applejack noticed the awkward absence of Celestia. Especially at a time like this.
"Celestia will show up." However, Chrysalis had faith that Celestia would appear on time. "You should all know that by now. Don't lose faith in her. The stairway will be completed with her hoof in it."
"About that...why are ya trying to stop us from fixing the stairway?! Ya'll wanted Yveltal, didn't ya? If ya'll don't let us get to Jirachi, Yveltla's never gonna be back at your place." Applejack pointed out the Dread League's folly in all of this.
"That's right! Stopping us now would be foolish! Especially since so many of my friends are needed to make that stairway possible!" Rarity added.
"You think I don't know that?" Opal smiled, stunning Applejack, Rarity and the Changelings. "It's true that Jirachi's the most important Pokemon that we'll ever need. But here's the thing. Her Majesty has already thought of something like this. Everything will be reset...except for us."
"Except for you?" Applejack and Rarity repeated.
"Your memories of every event that's happened involving Pokemon will be lost. Your Pokemon will forget about you and return to their original lives, sure. But not us. Our memories will stay intact. And our Pokemon as well. We will be the greater force in this world, having the power of Pokemon on our side and the knowledge of everything that's happened...and even will happen. Yveltal will be our ultimate weapon, wiping you all out with any way to defend yourself."
"That's insane!" Chrysalis thought the Dread League couldn't get any worse. Alas, they could. Their plan didn't just involve the destruction of life but also the destruction of memories and bonds just to gain the upper hand during the Black Crusade.
"Thank you~" Opal had a beaming grin, feeling proud of that statement.
"Oh please. This is tame for her." Shockingly, Bittersweet revealed that this wasn't that crazy for Opal, hinting that she had done something far worse than what she planned to do.
"Want to know how we'll make it possible? Don't worry about that. Because right now...Chrysalis! I need your power! I already have Bayleef's and Audino's, so you're the third viable option in all of this!" Opal declared as the green lightning in the sky could crack at her words.
"No, you won't!" Chrysalis protested. "You're insane...and I refuse to let you stockpile anything else for your sick goals!"
"Then try and stop me!" Opal would cackle before summoning long and sharp claws from her mane. These claws would be laced with poison as well as flames which would mix together in unison. Chrysalis gasped before backing away, narrowingly evading this claw swipe.
"Scep!" Sceptile and Pheromosa would keep their guard up, choosing not to attack the claws for the first time. It was to be safe as the Flames and Poison were already startling enough.
"I should've said the fourth stockpile. Because I already used the Parasite Demon on my Salazzle! And I took a crack at some Ghost-Types so that's actually more than four. I lost count anyway." Opal revealed what else she had used with the Parasite Demon's abilities.
"Salazzle and Ghost-Types...?" Applejack shuddered as the thought of Opal Vivacity receiving more abilities with the Parasite Demon was terrifying.
"My brother is usually her majesty's right-hoof stallion Second best! But I want to be better than my brother and be second-best to Queen Rosa! So I must become the perfect vampire!" Opal would continue her assault, unleashing more claws from her mane that would immediately drop poison through the clouds.
It would start raining poison from Opal's effect, but only on this one cloud. However, with how many drops were appearing from both claws, this one cloud and the poison that it would drop could be unfortunate for whoever comes across it.
Up in the sky.
Meanwhile, the struggle to keep the Demon from crashing into the earth with its planet-sized body continued. It didn't seem like either side would overcome the odds. Due to the constant struggle in the sky, it looked like a star was constantly flashing.
Rock formations around rocky areas would fall apart gradually with sandstorms being kicked up. Cities and towns would feel this pressure, especially Manehattan which was still suffering from its Bull Demon issue. They were all too distracted by the Bull Demon's crying to even notice what was affecting the city.
Ponyville's Town Hall would lose the top of its building thanks to this. Even Ponyville was somewhat near Canterlot. Anywhere near Canterlot was in jeopardy instead of the entire world. But the destruction would still be catastrophic either way.
"Is that...the Sun?" Amethyst Star wondered, gazing up at the sky as even from this distance, the energies would shine brightly in the night sky.
"No. I don't think so. There are too many colours for that to be the Sun." Octavia added.
"What's going on over there? Are you doing okay, Sweetie Belle?" A worried Scootaloo said, fearful of what could be going on at this time. It wasn't long until everyone flinched from a sudden gust of wind, forcing them to stay still. This gust of wind could potentially worsen and lead to a cataclysmic outburst the likes of which they had never seen before.
And as for those pushing back against the Absorption Demon, Ash and his friends persisted. The roar of the planet being attacked by these different elements would rupture even the sky as it would be followed by the crack of lightning, fire and even Fairy Magic.
"I-It's getting pretty stressful on me here!" Twilight groused while keeping up her continuous magical stream. Even she couldn't keep this up for long. "We don't have an infinite pool of magic, ya know!"
"Just keep pushing!" Luna echoed. Neither could Luna continue this for as long as she wanted if it would continue.
"My horn...is burning up!" Cadence could feel her horn heat up from this intense struggle. It would smoke immediately, making the Princess of Love wince and even tear up a bit.
"Not yet!" Ash's hat would fly off from this pressure before being caught by Iris, thankfully. Iris couldn't stay on Dragonite for long. Not when this pressure was getting to her too, forcing the Unova Champion to hold on for dear life. Spike, who was by far more fragile than anyone here, had to hold onto Salamence's tail after nearly being blown off.
But the Absorption Demon would have to try harder, even with its resources. Though it was tenacious, so were its opponents. Two tenacious forces would rough-house in the sky for minutes, but one side clearly had some limits. Ash's jacket would flow violently before being in danger of falling apart, just like his gloves.
Luna and Cadence's regalia had already been damaged from this scuffle. Any longer and it would all be gone. Kyurem was the only one who looked the least strained compared to everyone, but that was expected from his appearance. Even so, even the World's Strongest Dragon needed to give a ton of effort.
Opal Vivacity would notice the fierce struggle while using her claws against Applejack and the others. Sceptile would use Leaf Blade while Pheromosa used Triple Kick to try and deflect the claws. But with the raging flames, they endangered the Forest Pokemon and the Lissome Pokemon. Making contact with the Blazing Poison Claws was volatile for them both.
Chrysalis would find herself deflecting the sparks of flames that flew out of Opal's mane with a magical coating around her horn. The Changeling Queen would then attempt a direct beam attack, only to find Opal using one of the abilities she stole
As expected, Opal Vivacity now possessed the Ghost-Type intangibility after using the Parasite Demon on one of them. The beam would completely pass through Opal, hitting the roots that Sceptile created to block off the gateway in the first place.
Opal would then return to normal before retaliating with a claw swipe to Chrysalis' face. Chrysallis would feel this fierce slash of Fire and Poison. But with the flames being the most prominent force, she only received a burn since the claws just barely reached her.
The rest of the Changelings would have to deal with Bittersweet, which wasn't pleasant either. Normally, Bittersweet specialized in healing. But only towards her allies. For this instance, not only did she have her Sigilyph out, but she would continuously heal it, shielding the Avianoid Pokemon from permanent damage.
It didn't help that Bittersweet had her own form of protection. By affecting the cloud with her magic that switches things from sweet to sour, she formed a lightning cage around her. The vampire would casually rest on the cloud that was protected by this violent cage. For a cloud, a thunderbolt could be seen as sour while a clear white cloud in the sunlight was sweet. And with Sigilyph being healed constantly, no matter what attack from the opposing Pokemon would strike it, the Avianoid Pokemon would feel refreshed.
Hoopa and Victini would look to both sides, wondering which they should tackle. Hoopa would then gaze at his ring which had yet to show Princess Celestia and Shooting Star. Meloetta, who hid from all the conflict within the rubble, would eye down the skies, praying for Ash's success.
"Hoopa needs to do something..." Hoopa looked at his singular ring, wondering what to do exactly. For someone with plenty of options, he would sometimes struggle to choose. But eventually, Hoopa would make a choice. "Vikan. Melokan. Can you help me? We can stop that thing from hitting those shiny stairs and this place!"
"Tini...Victini!" Victini puffed his chest as he was already in agreement. Meloetta had that fighting capability in her but it could only be brought out if she was with Ash.
"Melo..." And to guarantee the safety of Canterlot and the stairway, being next to Ash was just what Meloetta had to do. So to the Melody Pokemon, the choice was clear, even though the risk was stellar.
"Wait!" Running up to them was Fluttershy alongside her Pokemon. "You all...you're going up there?"
"Audino?"
"We are." Hoopa nodded in confirmation before gulping. "Hoopa's never dealt with something like this before...but Hoopa's not scared of anything! Except Hoopa..."
"Alright then. Be careful up there." Fluttershy pleaded. "After all...even Kyurem seems to be having trouble with it."
"Hoopa can fix that." Hoopa would then hold out a single ring. He would help in the best way that he knew how. The most efficient way.
Bursting out of the ring in vast numbers were multiple Pokemon of multiple types. Specifically, airborne Pokemon. Different Pokemon shoot upwards at such a rapid pace that it jump scared Fluttershy, almost making her fall over until Audino caught her. Hoopa would keep the ring open for a while, allowing for hundreds- no, thousands of Pokemon to arrive.
They would soar with white auras around them, leaving behind beautiful trails in the night sky. There were so many of them it was hard to keep track of who's who. But that didn't matter. What did matter was the fact that Hoopa brought plentiful backup.
"What the?!" Opal Vivacity would notice the plethora of Airbone Pokemon flying by. White lights would streak in the sky, heading towards the Absorption Demon. Applejack and the others would stop and stare in amazement. Thousands of lights in the night sky, beautifully flying in unison.
Joining them would be Victni, Meloetta and Hoopa next. But Hoopa would take it a step further. Though he was still fearful of his Unbound Form, he couldn't deny that it was exceedingly powerful. And right now, power is what everyone needed. Hoopa would begin his transformation when ascending as his body changed shape, growing in size.
Fluttershy would then see more lights go by which would even pierce the darkened clouds. And of course, the Golurk from the Canterlot Guards would take flight. So many of them were chiming in just to stop this one planet. And essentially, one demon.
Opal sneered at this. Just seeing this view irritated her. But she didn't let it fully get to her, not when her plans were still in motion. "Melody...you'd better be playing your part like you should be."
And indeed she was. With so many of them leaving to stop the demon from crashing into the Earth, Melody Moon would take her chance to strike. At least, she hoped to do so while being discreet. Alas, that was not the case. Not when Audino's senses went off.
"Audino" Audino would swivel, hearing the familiar flutter of vampire wings. Expecting a vampire, she would see Melody Moon emerge from the shadows. Bayleef, Raboot and Fluttershy would soon spot the singing vampire too as she was distant from Opal and Bittersweet.
"Bah...You saw me." Melody Moon uttered. "But it's fine. Everyone else is occupied. So it's just you and me, Fluttershy. Just like Opal wants...you'll be coming back with us and be reborn as a vampire."
Fluttershy had her own problem to deal with. Aside from healing others from harm and eventually everyone else once this is all done, the plan to capture her and bring her to Magehold was still in full swing.
Meanwhile, Ash would spot the various lights from below flying this way. His eyes lit up to see so Pokemon of all shapes and sizes appear, and of course, their ringleader Hoopa, who had just arrived in his Unbound Form, chose to risk it just for this one moment.
"Hoopa! All of you!" Ah shouted with joy in his voice as thousands of Pokemon and essentially thousands of lights would smash into the Absorption Demon. All would push with all their might in the only way they knew how. Some would stick to blasts due to how their bodies were built or even what they specialized in.
Bodies and elements smacked, crashed, blasted, whacked and bashed into the planet-sized demon that was slightly bigger than the Moon. The strength of many physical Pokemon would be added thanks to the Golurk, Hoopa and other Pokemon that had been summoned here.
Ash looked at Hoopa, who would stare back at the Alola Champion. Right now, judging by Hoopa's smile, he had some control and it would certainly be limited. Meloetta switched into her Pirouette Forme, continuously kicking the demon, chipping way at some of the landmasses of the planet.
Parts of the planet were being obliterated thanks to the collective power of Infinity Energy, Magic and Rift Magic respectively. A giant blue shockwave would emerge from this struggle, coming from the side of Ash's group. The moon itself would shake from the struggle, even if they were away from it.
Everyone screamed at the top of their lungs when pushing themselves. Some had never been pushed this far in their life until now. The limits of their bodies were at an all-time high when trying to stop an entire planet. Many of them would feel muscle strain, eye pain, chills, temperature elevations and more. The demon responded to them by proving it could still emit more to try and come out on top.
Just then, a final flash of light would come this way. But it didn't come from the ring Hoopa had just used. Instead, it would come from the one that was constantly floating there, waiting for Celestia to return.
Mainly because, it was Celestia. Or rather, Celestial-Gardevoir. She appeared in all of her fused radiance, joining her friends and family in this planetary struggle. "Sister" Luna cried out.
"Apologies for being late!" Celestial-Gardevoir spoke with the combined voice of Princess Celestia and Passion, putting on a grin. "Now. Shall we hurry up and finish this?"
With the Ruler of Equestria here, the confidence levels surpassed their all-time high. With the amazing might of Celestia Gardevoir, who ended up using a fusion of Equestrian Magic and Infinity Energy, the shockwave would grow in size.
And of course, the one to boost them all would chime in, doing what he does best.
Victini.
"Victini" Victini would hold his breath before unleashing a flare of energy from his body. The Victory Pokemon's eyes would even fare as he shared his strength with everyone. All of them would feel Victini's warm and embracing light that would take their limits and break them.
All of their limits would be broken, surpassing what they could normally do. Elevated Infinity and Magic of all kinds. The trio of alicorns would have their eyes light up from this. Ash's eyes would light up with a flare of Aura with different Infinity Energies of different types going off in the process.
With one last push and with an infinite burst of strength, they managed to pull it off. The demonic planet was pushed back. But not only was it pushed back, but the sheer multi-coloured force of it would also end up reflecting everything back at the Absorption Demon.
The planet would go in reverse as well as the beams. It moved at staggering speeds that would make Pheromosa, Rainbow Dash and Braviary tear up. And Pheromosa certainly teared up when watching this.
The Absorption Demon tried one more time to retaliate, but it was too late. With a defeated cry, it would be hit by its own secondary body. That included the dual heads that it created. The force of a planet along with various attacks would attack the Absorption Demon and the last thing that was heard from it was a resounding roar.
The result was a vast explosion of energy that would set off, The night skies were illuminated by this explosion which was even strong enough to push many of the defenders back. Despite how successful they were, this much power would deliver a gigantic ordeal of recoil.
"V-Victory!" But even so, Ash raised his fist into the air, claiming victory for everyone. From all that pressure, he felt like passing out as his arms were stressed out from the pushback. He would be caught by Dragonite thankfully, who managed to recover even after the recoil.
It was back down to Canterlot for everyone as some of them couldn't recover from the recoil and all the pressure that was put on them. Kyurem would gladly catch some of them as well as Celestial-Gardevoir. Hoopa would drop out of his Unbound Form because of this one instance that it was needed, feeling proud of himself to have done a good deed once more.
"What a remarkable group..." Chrysalis could only admire the wonderful efforts of this group. The same went for Opal Vivacity. Even if they were her enemies, they were by far the most stupendous enemies possible. All the more reason why she couldn't allow them to come out on top and ruin her plans as well as Rosa Maledicta's plans.
Cataclysmic destruction had been evaded. The Absorption Demon was gone. As such, the strange aura around the moon would dissipate once the demon fell. Of course, it would return to the box but the deed was done either way. And of course, the Stairway to the Stars was intact.
For a better tomorrow and a brighter future, they would go to staggering lengths to guarantee that possibility, even if it means risking their own well-being. Such was the way of those from the Pokemon World and this World in general. Whether that'd be the Pokemon Trainer or the Pokemon as the journey continues.
Equestria. Canterlot. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
After an intense struggle, the destruction of Canterlot and multiple locations had been prevented by the efforts of Ash, Twilight, Kyurem, Victini and many others. The Absorption Demon had finally been defeated, returning to the Box of 100 Demons.
Celestia, Kyurem and those that withstood the recoil would place everyone safely on the ground. And of course, the golden stairway was intact thanks to their efforts.
"They did it!" Sweetie Belle cried out, allowing everyone to hear it. It was clear as day, or in this case, clear as the night that the demon was gone. Those that steered away from the conflict would cheer and jump for joy after hearing and witnessing this. At first, it looked like they would all be wiped out and from how much destruction the mere pressure of the incoming planet made, it was almost true.
Almost.
"Sister! Where were you for those past minutes?" Luna asked Celestial-Gardevoir, the fusion of Celestia and Passion.
"Apologies. One of the 100 Demons showed up at Peglysium, bawling out. It was staying hidden until it heard those cries and I just had to chime in and help the Royal Family." Celestial-Gardevoir said. "But I'm here now. And I made it just in time."
"Sweet timing, Celestia." Approving of this close-call appearance was Ash, giving a thumbs-up to the fusion of Equestria's Ruler and the Embrace Pokemon.
"Thank you, Ash!" Celestial-Gardevoir would grin back at him before suddenly flashing. "Oh. It seems that time's up." Right then and there the fusion ran out, separating Celestia and Gardevoir.
"Thank you all for your help." Hoopa would hold out his ring, returning all the Pokemon who assisted him. They all had to return due to the impact of the recoil damage that they suffered when pushing back the Absorption Demon. Any longer would be harmful to them. Hoopa, refusing to let others get hurt in this debacle, returned each of these airborne Pokemon to their homes.
"So that's what Victini's infinite power really feels like...It's amazing." Cadence was still in awe once Victini temporarily shared his infinite energy. So many of them felt like new beings once Victini gave it to them. "But...my horn's still smoking from all of that."
"Where's Snowdrop? Is she alright?" Worried about Snowdrop, Kyurem would observe the area for the little filly.
"Nightmare Moon should be taking care of her," Luna replied. "She's in good hooves. Essentially my hooves. Now, sister. The Sun and the Moon."
"Right." Now that the Absorption Demon had been defeated the effect that it had on the moon was no more. The two sisters could use this chance to greatly cripple the vampires all across the world. At least where the Sun can rise thanks to timezones.
Luna could finally control the moon without any retaliation from a demon as it would soon lower. Celestia was at the ready, prepared to bring about an earlier sunrise. Naturally, Opal Vivacity, who was up in the clouds, would watch as the moon would leave at last.
Once that Sun comes up, all vampires would be overwhelmed by the Sun's piercing and searing light. And with the Absorption Demon gone, the best way to prevent the vampires from being exposed to sunlight was seemingly erased.
"That demon was supposed to be the one to soften Equestria up the most. And now it's gone..." Naturally, Opal was rather aggravated by this. The Absorption Demon proved to be a formidable foe and of the best demons to ever come out of that box so far. It came so close to damaging most of Equestria.
"Was that your ace in the hole?" Chrysalis taunted, putting on a cocky smirk. "So much for your big attack. Seems you only have the Black Crusade to rely on now."
"Hmph. Don't be ridiculous. Do you think I didn't fear something like this happening?" But Opal scoffed Chrysalis' words away. "I gave that demon a contract just to elevate it to new heights. But it wasn't just that one demon. The rest of them took the contracts I offered. And plus...to become the second-best, just right behind her majesty, I must become a vampire that can ignore the light!"
"Ignore the light?" Rarity repeated.
"That's right! You caught me off guard with that light of yours from before Chrysalis...but not this time! Not with this!" With an uproar of energy, flames would burst out of Opal Vivacity's body. Chrysalis and everyone would flinch from the outburst of flames that would light up some of the nearby clouds.
For a vampire, this would be extremely dangerous due to the intense light that can come from fire. But in this case, Opal Vivacity used it to her advantage. Chrysalis would squint, witnessing the flames take a shape. A shape that would better befit Opal Vivacity's figure. It perfectly matched that of a pony, getting every detail of Opal before wrapping around her.
With the flames then simmering down, Opal Vivacity's devious and smug smile would emerge from them, revealing the vampire in a new coat of paint. Or in this case, a protective new armour.
"Like so," Opal spoke as she now had a Flame Dress. It matched her stunning beauty with how elegantly it appeared. It resembled a gown with blazing purple flowers on the side along with an ember brooch around her neck. And of course, she felt no pain whatsoever. "Well? How do I look?"
"You made a dress of fire?!" Chrysalis gasped.
"And why does it actually look good...?!" Rarity grizzled her teeth, annoyed that Opal Vivacity, despite being her enemy, had a stunning sense of style that she couldn't help but compliment. It irritated her when the enemy could be so fabulous. Rarity even wished she was wearing something similar. But perhaps not the Element of Fire.
"Do I even need to bring up the Parasite Demon for this? You know the gist already." Opal flaunted her massive mane which was also unaffected by the flames despite how long and flashy it was. "This is it. A taste of what the future second-best looks like. My brother surely can't compete now. Not when I'm immune to the light with this dress on!"
"Hoh? Then why haven't you kept it on this entire time?" Chrysalis smirked, making Opal flinch and twitch at that question. Chrysalis was already onto Opal the moment she revealed this dress. "Surely there's a reason for that..."
"Hmph! A reason you won't get to listen to!" Opal scoffed as the Sun was beginning to rise at last once the Moon disappeared. "Bittersweet! You and Melody are getting a taste for a while!"
"Wait...what?" Bittersweet, who was protected by the lightning cage she made from the clouds, wasn't expecting to hear that at all. Opal would involve her and Melody Moon in this Flame Dress fashion but only for a bit. Alas, Bittersweet didn't have a say in this. "G-GH!"
Bittersweet growled as the flames would expand around her body, making her grimace and stagger. She wasn't fully prepared for it at all. The flames would fly through the gaps of the lightning cage, reaching some of the changelings. Bittersweet sounded like she was in genuine pain once the flame dress emerged to give her some style. But the feeling wasn't as pleasant as the appearance.
Melody Moon, who was facing off against Fluttershy would be caught off guard by the emergence of flames around her body too, feeling the same pain as Bittersweet. But to Opal, it would be worth it since they would bypass the radiance of the Sun.
"Are you alright?!" Fluttershy gasped, attempting to get closer, only to be scared off by the violent flames that would transform to fit Melody Moon.
Gone was the night. Now, the dawn had come. A new day was born but it was a day filled with lingering conflict that had yet to be resolved. Opal would smile as she wasn't bothered by the rising of the Sun. What Opal said was true. The light of the Sun could be ignored to the point where her body wouldn't react violently to it. This was thanks to the Dress that she had on.
"No way...she's totally fine..." Applejack couldn't believe her eyes. A vampire that was immune to the light of the Sun was outlandish to her. But of course, this was only because of what Opal managed to gather thanks to the Parasite Demon. "But...you're still on your own, pretty much."
"Keep thinking that. You won't be once I do this!" Using more of the Ghost-Types abilities, Opal Vivacity would then split herself multiple times in front of her opponents. Essentially, she made phantom clones of herself.
These phantom clones only possessed Opal's stature and figure with a spectral purple energy around them. They had no eyes or mouths to go with this build. They were just phantoms that took the skies while the real one would stand elegantly on the clouds. Having a way to even the odds, some of the phantoms would join Opal and Bittersweet up here while the rest would scatter, targeting those that remained.
"Now, where were we?!" Opal aggressively said, using her claws from her mane which were also joined by the approaching phantoms that would charge in as if they were missiles.
"Pheromosa! Smack them away with Triple Axel!"
"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"
"Sceptile!" When seeing the phantoms approach them, Sceptile and Pheromosa would stand side by side, attacking in unison against these Opal Phantoms. The phantoms would find themselves being cut in half and kicked three consecutive times by Sceptile and Pheromosa, only to then split up once more, creating new phantom clones.
Once those new clones emerged, they would rush Sceptile and Pheromosa, going for a dog pile that would overcrowd them. The same went for Rarity and Applejack, who were targeted by these phantoms.
"Get back! Back!" A startled Rarity would furiously zap at the phantoms with her magic, only to be overwhelmed by their increasing numbers. Pheromosa attempted to reach her trainer, only to be stopped by the swing of Opal's claws.
The claws from her mane would first swing at Chrysalis, who would try and keep her distance from the flames and poison that they carried. However, Opal would then target Sceptile and Pheromosa once Chrysalis was out of the way for a bit. The flames would be super-effective on them both but Sceptile received the worst of it since he was weak to both Fire and Poison.
"T-Tile!" Sceptile would tumble on his roots that he made to stand on before attempting to recover. However, the phantoms would ruthlessly crash themselves into the roots at full force, breaking them apart at violent speeds.
"Let go of me!" Applejack had been carried up by some of the phantoms. Already, they snatched their prey, overwhelming Applejack who tried hitting way with them. However, she failed to do so as her hoof would phase through these phantoms. They were still ghosts after all and Applejack found herself being unable to touch them but they could touch her, unfairly.
"Applejack! Rarity!" Chrysalis yelled before nearly being caught by some of the phantoms. The Changeling Queen unleash a beam that would not only blow away these phantoms but also push her back as recoil.
"What's going up there?!" Twilight noticed the sparks flying in the distance along with the large roots. These roots were joined by spectral figures of Opal Vivacity, which were plentiful and ever-increasing. The conflict wasn't over as multiple Phantom Opal clones would start appearing.
"Opal! She's here?!" Luna gasped before seeing Chrysalis, Applejack and Rarity in the air. While they were all preventing the demon from crashing into Canterlot, they've been dealing with the ringleader of this operation.
"We still need to focus on making the stairway even if she's here! Where are Cold Colt and Jade?" Celestia asked. "Did you bring them with you Hoopa?"
"They're both still here at Canterlot with everyone else who managed to leave the scene. They're fine. I think that's everyone here, Princess Celestia." said Twilight. "Everyone that can make the stairway happen."
"Stopping Opal won't end it. Not when there are other demons out there." Celestia narrowed her eyes, knowing that there were still remaining demons that needed to be dealt with. "But we should put faith in those trying to stop them while we deal with what's bothering us here."
"Can we stop their crying first? I don't think everyone can stop those demons from wailing." Cadence suggested. "Unless they have the Royal Canterlot Voice, it'll be difficult for them to do anything about it."
"I will let Nightmare Moon know. She can let out the Royal Canterlot Voice." Luna added. "And as for the other demons...We have trainers who can be just as noisy as them with the right Pokemon. Music is the answer."
"Music? At this time?" Iris and Spike collectively said.
"I'll help out Chrysalis and the others!" Ash already chose to back up Chrysalis, Applejack and Rarity. Joining him would be Twilight and Celestia. Meanwhile, Luna would focus on that music idea of hers, knowing exactly who to go to. Hoopa attempted to open a ring for Luna only for the Princess of the Night to teleport away.
"Victini. Do not go ahead." Celestia already saw that Victini was planning on joining Ash before being stopped. "We can't let Opal do anything to you. It's far too risky. Your power is needed more than anyone's to boost up the process. So stay away, please."
"T-Tini." While it upset Victini, he understood why it needed to be done. As for Kyurem, he would look up at the array of phantoms in the sky which were already set to target everyone that they would come across. It wouldn't take long before the biggest target would be next. Kyurem was the biggest target, of course.
Ash looked up to see the horde of Opal Phantoms raining down. They couldn't do much except divebomb but it proved to be effective from the impact it left behind. They still had the raw strength of a vampire after all.
"Pikachu Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu would smack away the incoming phantoms with his hardened tail of iron, knocking them aside as if they were ragdolls. The blunt hits would prompt some of the phantoms to crash into each other thanks to this swift counterattack.
Back with Chrysalis, she managed to blow the phantoms all over her away with a piercing light from her horn. Once free, Chrysalis would then unleash a staggeringly vicious beam that was soon met by a stream of flames from Opal's claws. The beam and the stream would clash against each other, sending different sparks in erratic and inconsistent directions.
The intensity of the flames was nothing for Chrysalis to ignore. Not when they were coming from Opal. Opal's dress would even add to the flames while also sending some poison through to try and surprise Chrysalis. Chrysalis refused to be taken by surprise by these poison drops as her magic would melt away the poison just by increasing the power.
The struggle was fierce but Opal did manage to win only by the power of her mane. Once again, she used the Fte Changing Ability to mess with the outcome, touching the clouds with her extremely long mane. With just a touch, fate changed to the point where a strong gust of wind would fly up, not only blowing the cloud beneath Opal away but even throwing Chrysalis off her game as it felt like she was near a tornado.
"Gotcha!" Opal exclaimed, spreading her vampiric wings while managing to beat out Chrysalis' beam, but only because of her most useful ability. Chrysalis gasped before being struck by the flames.
"Gaaah!" Chrysalis screamed as the flames enveloped her. Not only were these flames perfect for Opal in defending her from the light but they were ironically highly effective against Chrysalis.
"S-Sceptile!" Hearing Chrysalis scream, Sceptile would use Frenzy Plant once more while he was still surrounded by the phantoms. Instead of using the ground, Sceptile ended up using the phantoms as a place to start. By touching one of the Opal Phantoms, Sceptile made it so that the roots would grow out of it instead.
The phantom would stagger as a giant root grew out of it. More roots would appear knocking the other phantom clones away. Soon, midair roots could be seen, flailing around and whacking away at any more incoming phantoms.
"You've had enough fire for one day! Let's switch it up with some poison!" Opal laughed, spreading her hooves out as she then manipulated the remaining clouds. The clouds above her would be filled with poison once Opal used her claws on them.
By inserting poison into the numerous clouds above, the vampire created a new type of rain. Poison Rain. The clouds above would gather, hiding away some of the Sun to then pour the poisonous liquids that also had some fire laced with them. After all, Opal originally took this from her Pokemon Salazzle, making this the hottest poison possible.
The roots would be taken out faster thanks to the Poison Rain, melting away with massive holes being formed in just a second or two. Sceptile gasped as he couldn't catch a break from the super-effective attacks. This time, they appeared as rain.
"Poison Rain?!" Ash looked up before having Dragonite come to a halt. Dragonite stopped right when she saw the poison rain dropping from the clouds. The clouds would then adopt the poison, only spreading it more. While not as pressurizing as the planet-sized demon, this was still an issue.
With the poison rain coming from above, melting damage would follow. The horrific poison that originally came from Salazzle would be used in a way it's never been used before. The humans, ponies and Pokemon couldn't return to the festival thanks to the Poisonous Rain, unfortunately.
But as a slight positive, the stairway was unaffected by the poison rain even when it started pouring aggressively on it. But now, there was another problem that needed to be overcome. The poison rain and the fact that it was only starting to intensify with each passing second, soon matching that of a downpour.
Chrysalis, who managed to recover in the air even after taking those painful flames, would gaze at Opal Vivacity with a jeer. Her pupils would sharpen as if her old self was showing once more. Even after all of that hard work to stop the destruction of Canterlot and multiple places, the Dread League found a way to bring about more trouble.
"Dread League...!" By this point, Chrysalis had enough of them. Mainly Opal, who seemed to bother Chrysalis the most. Because of this, her eyes would flash green before letting out crackles of magic that matched the green lightning in the sky when all the crying went off.
That awoken magic within her was still being prodded. At any moment, it would erupt and Chrysalis could unleash that destructive rage yet again. Alas, not only was she unaware of this overwhelming magic but she had n way to see it coming or even anticipate a moment to prevent it. She was still her normal self but the magic was certainly showing itself in small instances.
And with Opal's vicious actions, that magic within Chrysalis could be unleashed because of her. Or possibly, Opal could ruin everything before that could happen as the journey continues.
Covering parts of the Sun were the grey and dim clouds. But this time, thanks to Opal Vivacity, Canterlot was met with a downpour of Poison Rain instead of standard rain. Made out of Salazzle's poison, this rain was both virulent and searing as it gradually increased in abundance the more it spread to each cloud.
"Is that...poison rain?!" Twilight, who attempted to reach for the skies, would immediately pull back once the toxic raindrops poured heavily. Thanks to this poisonous rain, not only would it prevent anyone from re-entering Canterlot but already ruined buildings of Canterlot would be affected.
The phantom clones of Opal were completely fine when soaring through the air, unbothered and unaffected by the poisonous droplets. Chrysalis' group were already surrounded by the toxic raindrops due to being the closest to Opal Vivacity. And unfortunately, the poison had already afflicted them.
Chrysalis found herself being battered by the pouring poison rain right after Opal blasted her away with vicious flames. Even though Chrysalis protected herself with a magical barrier, it didn't matter since the poison had already reached her. The same went for Sceptile and Pheromosa who were also afflicted. Sceptile received the worst of this since he was vulnerable to both Poison and Fire.
"It burns...!" Chrysalis writhed but still managed to stay airborne even with the poison within her body. All of this was only further provoking the latent magic that had recently awakened within her.
"No resistance to the poison? Too bad!" Opal laughed before swinging her mane claws at the Changeling Queen. Chrysalis would try and put up a shield, only to be slower than before. The poison slowed her down, causing Opal to land her mark.
"Drat...!" Rarity groaned as she was being carried by the Phantom Clones while also receiving the poison from the clouds above. There wasn't much she could do about this after all and neither could Sceptile. The other changelings were in the same boat too, gaining the affliction moments after it started pouring poison.
"What do we do?! It's not slowing down either!" Iris yelled. "I don't wanna be burned and poisoned at the same time!"
"We can try and rearrange the clouds! That should keep the rain from going any further." Thankfully, there was another way to manipulate the clouds. All ponies that were capable of flight could do so. If they wanted to react Opal Vivacity, moving the poison rain was the most crucial part.
That and avoiding the Phantoms that she created. Celestia and Passion would immediately fire at these phantoms the moment they tried to divebomb them. The piercing lights of their respective magics would vaporize the clones.
"We've got one Pokemon who can ignore this." Ash then held out a Poke Ball, knowing the exact Pokemon that can perform well even within the poisonous rain. Shining Armor even had a Pokemon that could do the same. "Go! Lucario!"
"Lucario!" Lucario was the answer. Thanks to his immunity to Poison, the Aura Pokemon was the perfect choice. Upon emerging, Lucario would let out a bellowing roar that attempted to grab the attention of any opponents. And the only opponents here were the vampires.
Opal heard Lucario's roar before eyeing Ash's group. She flinched once she witnessed the emergence of Lucario, knowing exactly why he was out right now.
"Good thinking, Ash! Then in that case...Go, Excadrill!" Iris caught on, sending out her own Steel-Type. In this case, it was her Excadrill.
"Excadrill!"
"Tch. Steel-Types." Knowing the immunity that these Pokemon have, Opal Vivacity would scoff at their presence. She already knew that it would only mean more obstacles to deal with. It wasn't just Lucario and Excadrill that she had to worry about. Shining Armor's Aegislash would be completely fine in the pouring rain as well.
See...? You'll always have something that can counter whatever you unleash." Chrysalis smirked while in a poisoned state, loving the agitated look on Opal Vivacitiy's face. "What else will you do that'll have a perfect counter?"
"Silence you!" Opal yelled before unleashing a stream of flames at the Changeling Queen, forcing her to bring up another barrier. This time, Chrysalis could at least form it with a small window of time. Her barrier would be pressured by the flames as there were vicious explosions going off from the combustion of these virulent blazes.
Applejack, Rarity and their Pokemon wished they could help, but at the moment, they were far too occupied with the Phantoms and the afflictions they were dealing with. That is until Celestia and Passion came along.
"Passion! Psychic!" Celestia yelled. The Ruler of Equestria would interact with the nearby clouds after blowing away all the phantoms with the dazzling magic she possessed. The dark clouds would even be cleared, making way for more of the sun's glorious rays.
"Garde...Voir!" As for Passion, she would clear the way for Applejack and the others via Psychic. A strong pulse of Psychic energy would blow away each of the phantoms that surrounded them from all sides. The Opal Phantoms would find themselves being blown away with the intensity of a hammer. They would feel Passion's stellar Psychic power which would even reach the real Opal Vivacity.
The four of them were finally free from the grip of these phantoms but their status conditions were still ever present. They would fall from above before being caught by Celestia's magic. A warm golden outline would carry the four of them, preventing any crashes from this height.
As for the poison rain, Celestia only managed to sway some of it away from Ash's group. The downpour was still present in other spots. It was only a minimal but plentiful space that was free from the rain. And that would be right near the Golden Stairway and Canterlot Castle.
"You two...You should get to Fluttershy. She can remove the afflictions from you at once." Celestia looked at them both. "You've done well either way."
"I can still have my Riolu and Golett get some licks in...But yeah, you're right." Applejack groaned, desperately needing the healing.
"Unfortunately, Fluttershy is occupied!" Attempting to shoot Celestia and Passion out of the sky was Opal. She would extend her claws, using one of them to grab Chrysalis and shield while the other would go for the new prey in the skies.
Chrysalis kept the barrier up even if the claws would hold it. The grip of the claws were mighty enough to start cracking the barrier gradually while dropping flames and poison around them. Speaking of flames, thanks to the downpour, a wildfire was already starting to make an appearance. After all, this was still from Salazzle, a Pokemon that holds some of the most unforgiving flames out there.
Passion would get in front of Celestia and the others, shielding them from harm by using Dazzling Gleam. A multi-coloured beam would fly out to try and blast through the claws. Passion was even hoping to hit Opal Vivacity's claws.
However, Opal surprised Passion by using the claws to hold the beam instead. The claws would grip onto the Gardevoir's Dazzling Gleam, halting its movements and keeping Passion and her arms in place. "G-Gardeovir?!"
"Surprised? I took the strength of Dusknoir, who has a one-of-a-kind grip!" Opal would reveal one of the Pokemon she managed to use the Parasite Demon on. Dusknoir was among the list of Pokemon. She mainly took the potent grip of Dusknoir which was used to send those to the afterlife.
She would then crush the beam with Dusknoir's grip, causing it to explode. Gardevoir would be hit by her own beam once the explosion spread wide enough to reach her. "G-Garde!" The Embrace Pokemon flew back through the air but it was easy for her to recover from this. "Voir!"
"I won't be letting you go at all Chrysalis!" As for Chrysalis, Opal kept her within the claw's grasp even still. Not only that, but she managed to keep the barrier of Chrysalis steady, choosing to keep it up. Chrysalis was practically boxed in while suffering from this affliction. "Bittersweet!"
"I hear you. Here you go." Bittersweet would take action next, groaning at the Flame Dress that she currently had on. Using her Curse Magic, she would sour an already destructive force such as Fire into something far more destructive. Out of her body, blue flames would suddenly emerge, similar to how Reshiram could produce blue flames.
"Blue flames?!" Celestia was stunned by what she was witnessing. Very few could produce blue flames at all. And along came Bittersweet to change that as she forced Celestia and Passion to fly away the atmosphere-piercing flame. They barely avoided it as Celestia's horn was nearly grazed.
However, though these were blue flames, the heat wasn't quite on Reshiram's level. Celestia felt it once it flew over her. Although they weren't as searing as Reshiram's flames, they were still something to watch out for.
"Lucario! Get in there and use Force Palm!"
"Go for it, Excadrill! Horn Drill!"
"Ca!" It was time for Lucario and Excadrill to finally jump in. Twilight and the others would have to make do with the free space they had since Opal's space was still flooded with poisonous rain.
Lucario and Excadrill would dash alongside each other with Lucario jumping from building to building, ignoring the poisonous rain from above. Excadrill put his arms up to his head and formed his body into a drill. The Ground-Steel-Type's claws then illuminated orange before then lunging through the air. He then spun like a drill, spreading that orange glow all over his body.
"Rrr!" Lucario and Excadrill would reach Opal at last, appearing above her with their respective attacks being ready to be unleashed. However, with a smug face, Opal would casually stand there, allowing them to approach.
She only did this so that they would completely fail to land their attacks. Opal made herself intangible, becoming immune to the incoming Fighting and Normal-Type attacks, taking advantage of the Ghost-Type's greatest strength. "Exca?!"
"Suckers!" She laughed before then blasting them both with a flash of flames. Lucario may be immune to the poison but he certainly wasn't immune from the flames. H would be consumed by them while Excadrill, having a better resistance, would still feel their aggressive intensity.
Lucario and Excadrill would drop, but they didn't need Celestia or anyone to catch them. Excadrill's large claws could simply latch onto the nearest building while Lucario punch through one of the buildings to come to an abrupt halt. Lucario would then perform a flip, landing on top of the building while Excadrill would crawl up on it.
This building was tall enough to at least be near Opal Vivacity's height. They certainly didn't have the ability to stand on clouds. The downpour of poisonous clouds wasn't slowing down, unfortunately. It would take the efforts of the Canterlot Guards to keep the clouds organized just to prevent any further afflictions. However, some of them had already been caught by the rain and yet they would persist with the Golurk working alongside them.
"I'm starting to enjoy this," Opal spoke. "You'll give me more fun, won't you? At least until this place is weakened enough for my liking."
"We have our own fun to attend to," Celestia said before passing Applejack, Rarity, Sceptile and Pheromosa over to Twilight and the others for safety. "You're interrupting it with your massive attack. After this, you won't be leaving for a moment."
"Ooh, scary~ Then again...if I'm to become her majesty's second best, taking down the Ruler of Equestria will prove it."
"We shouldn't waste any more time here, Opal," Bittersweet replied. "Otherwise, we could slim our chances. This massive attack isn't exactly going as we intended it to."
"I know. Just let me have some more time, okay?" Opal's vicious side was starting to show. Her vicious nature prompted her to take a crack at pressuring her enemies, especially since she held grudges towards some of them. "And If I'm lucky, I can have the Parasite Demon take something for me. Oh, wait! With Bayleef's power...I'm always lucky!"
"As if you'll get what you want..." Chrysalis groaned while still being held by the giant claw.
"Somehow, I always get what I want. No matter how long it all evades me. The Poisonous Rain is meant to keep you all occupied but some of you seem fine even around or have even found workarounds. But I have more ways to soften this place up. As we speak, all of the demons are elevated by the contracts, even if they won't stop crying. Win or lose, by the end of this, so much of what you know will go up in blazes. But I want to be the one who messes with Equestria more than anyone!"
"No way we'll let that happen Lucario! Aura Sphere!"
"Excadrill, use Focus Blast!"
"Luca!" On top of the buildings, Lucario and Excadrill would throw out two FIghting-Type moves. A concentrated ball of Aura and a sphere that was made out of pure mental energy. Both would fly alongside each other before being confronted by one of Opal's claws.
"Passion! Mystical Fire!"
"Gardevoir!" But even if she couldn't get too close thanks to the poisonous rain, Passion could still lend a hand as she fired a stream of magical flames that would intercept Opal's claws. The claws would be struck by the flames which would blow half of them off. Opal grimaced for a bit before having an extra set of claws race out of her mane. "V-Voir!" Passion would be struck in the chest by this incoming claw. But thanks to her interception, Aura Sphere and Focus Blast hit their mark, going straight for Opal's face too.
However, with Bittersweet being around, she would immediately heal Opal by simply touching her long hair. Her magic would turn sweet, healing Opal's face injury as if nothing had happened. Opal would smile before then shooting poison from her mouth. But this poison would go for Passion as it was pointless against Lucario and Excadrill.
"Send it back with Psychic!"
"Voir!" Instead of evading it, Passion would return the attack. And the best way to do that was with Psychic. With a vibrant flash of blue energy in her eyes, she would manipulate the poisonous stream, reflecting it.
Alas, her massive mane said otherwise. All it took was for Bittersweet to remove a piece of it and for Opal to decide the fate. Bittersweet would throw it at the back of Opal's head, changing fate once more. Passion did successfully redirect it but Opal's ability allowed the attack to fly elsewhere, missing entirely.
Afterwards, she generated more of those phantom clones. But this time, instead of just spectral energy, they would have those destructive flames around them, only adding to their danger levels.
"Double Team into Aura Sphere! Go for it, Lucario!"
"Use Metal Claw, Excadrill!"
"Lu!" Lucario would duplicate himself multiple times as a way to handle all of these clones. Each of his duplicates would jump off the building, approaching the clones with a synchronized Aura Sphere. "Ca!"
"Excadrill!" As for Excadrill, he would get in close while Lucario would blast through the Phantom Clones. Opal would jerk back with Bittersweet being her shield. Using her Flame Dress, an excessive of flames would stream out as the process would even harm Bittersweet. "Cadrill...!" Excadrill slashed through the flames only to be held back by more of them.
"Gotcha!" Opal would take her chance to attack Excadrill while he was being held back by the flames. She would chime in, using the blue flames she emitted before as they would easily overpower Bittersweet's flames.
"Drill!" Excadrill was blasted with the raging blue flames, finding himself viewing nothing but blue and barely anything else. Excadrill would still withstand the blow, but the blue flames were nothing to shrug off. Not at all.
"You should learn when to quit!" Opal would then use Chrysalis as a weapon, carrying the Changeling Queen and her shield with her massive claws, swinging them at Celestia and Passion.
Not wanting to harm Chrysalis, Celestia and Passion would end up trying to catch the shield that the Changeling Queen found herself in, only for Opal's claws to intensify the flames and poison around them. "G-Garde!" Gardevoir screamed once the flames enveloped her as well as the poison dealing her super-effective damage. Celestia didn't get off easy either when trying to save Chrysalis. It was mainly the flames that got her instead.
"Force Palm!"
"Luca...!" Along came Lucario with Force Palm. All of his duplicates would occupy the clones which would each vanish afterwards while he went for not just Opal but also Bittersweet. "Rio!"
A direct hit. Lucario socked Opal in the face with a staggering Force Palm, making the usually beautiful vampire pull of a rather unpleasant expression. She would be knocked into Bittersweet as they would both fly off from the strong knockback and shockwave. The small cloud that they stood on would even be blown away by the pressure of Lucario's Force Palm.
"This should do it! Focus Blast!"
"Exca!" Excadrill was free from the flames at last. And with his freedom, he would throw another Focus Blast while the two vampires were flying through the air.
"Use Aura Sphere!"
"Unleash Dazzling Gleam!"
Lucario, Passion and also Celestia would join, adding to Excadrill's Focus Blast. A unison of attacks was formed. A shining orb of multiple colours would tear through the air before then reaching Opal and Bittersweet. The beautiful vampire grimaced once the light of the attacks got near her. Before she could say anything, the unified attack would explode, engulfing the two of them.
Chrysalis was also free from Opal Vivacity's grip, having her barrier break apart. Once the explosion went off, coming to her rescue was none other than Celestia who would grab her fellow ruler by swooping in. "Are you alright, Chrysalis?!"
"I could use a Refresh...but for the most part, I will be fine." Chrysalis laughed. "Excellent Unison Attack. I just wish I could've been more involved. And for Ribombee to be here..."
"I'm afraid Fluttershy could be occupied too because of what Opal spouted. Just hang in there, alright?"
As for Opal Vivacity, she and Bittersweet ended up on one of the clouds once the explosion ended. Thanks to their Flame Dresses, their durability had been raised. Granted, they could still feel the pain either way. Bittersweet's magic would kick in to heal Opal and herself from any injuries.
"No good, huh?" Ash growled as that unison of attacks didn't quite do the trick.
"I...Barely felt that one!" Opal tried shrugging it off but it was pointless doing so. In response to her very obvious aggravation, the downpour would only worsen.
Shielding most of them from the downpour would be Kyurem. His large body would guard Twilight and the others from the raging poison while they carried those that had been afflicted.
"Kyurem! Are you doing alright?!" Twilight gasped, noticing how a massive array of poison was spreading across Kyurem's back from the vicious downpour. Purple spots would show up consistently, seeping toxins into the Boundary Pokemon's body.
"I'm fine," Kyurem said. "This poison won't be enough to take me out. Hurry up and get them to your friend. Where is she?"
"Fluttershy should be somewhere nearby the outskirts of Canterlot, healing everyone else," Twilight replied.
"About that...Hoopa saw Flutterkan get close to us when we wanted to go up there." Hoopa revealed the truth. "Flutterkan isn't away from Canterlot."
"She's not? Then where is she?" Twilight wondered. Judging by what Hoopa said, Fluttershy should be within the streets of Canterlot. However, she wasn't anywhere to be found. Neither were Audino, Raboot or even Bayleef. Each of them had disappeared.
As well as Melody Moon.
Manehattan.
Poor Manehattan. A victim to the Bull's endless crying. It just wouldn't stop. And unfortunately, no one could stop it. Merry Dread even fell prey to this despite being from the Dread League.
Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, Pinkie Pie and Coco Pommel have been within the destroyed Contest Hall for hours now, unable to move or fight back in any way against this demon. It seemed like they would be stuck listening to the mourning forever.
"This isn't how I envisioned it all ending..." Merry Dread groaned as her bones were still quaking along with everyone else's that she tampered with, aside from Castform, who was immune to her magic. "Done in by my own side."
"That's rough..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "I don't wanna go down here. But...I guess taking you down would be kind of a cool way to end my story, don't you think?"
"If this is how mine ends...I'm not mad that you took me down." Merry Dread smiled. "I'll admit...you got with that Castform of yours. I didn't even think about certain Pokemon being immune to my magic."
"That's what makes them so awesome. You never know what advantages every Pokemon has in store until you see it for yourself."
The two of them would have some banter until something else changed the tides of this noise. A new noise came through. Equally disruptive but for all the right reasons. The Bull Demon's aggressive crying was then interrupted by a mighty soundwave which would even startle it.
This soundwave had a bass boost to it. Only possible by a DJ. Of course, the one responsible was Vinyl Scratch. A pony of very few words but plentiful music. But she wasn't alone. With this massive Speaker set, flying above her was none other than Princess Luna along with VInyl's Noivern. A few Exploud could even be seen on the speakers as a good handful of loud individuals were present here, disrupting the Bull Demon's crying. Vinyl played an aggressive electronic song that would continuously go on, startling the demon.
Luna did promise that she would fight back with music. Lo and behold, she did just that in the best way possible. With all of these crying demons, what other option would be better than this?
"That should shut you up for good!" Princess Luna even used her Royal Canterlot Voice to add to the volume. "Now! Each Exploud from Exploud Chasm! Let that demon have it!"
The Exploud from Exploud Chasm had chimed in. The Exploud species was undoubtedly one of the loudest Pokemon out there. And with a well-known chasm, why wouldn't Luna call for their help?
"EXPLOUD!" The Exploud would sing along to Vinyl's song, using various sound-based moves to overwhelm the Bull Demon. This involved Noivern, who would use Boomburst.
The demon found itself being covered by different soundwaves with equal consistencies. After all, Vinyl wanted a good song even when she was helping out. Quality over efficiency is what she preferred. The demon would be pushed back, almost falling over, only to then maintain its balance.
"A sturdy one, aren't you...Darkrai!"
But the music was merely a distraction. A way to cease all of the Bull Demon's crying while Darkrai made his move. And in the dead of the night, Darkrai would emerge from the shadows, having a Dark Void up and ready.
And with the size of this demon, Darkrai would make it an extra large Dark Void. This Dark Void would expand to meet the right size as Drakrai would then slam it into the Bull Demon when it was completely distracted. The demon would be enveloped by the massive orb.
The cries of the Bull Demon attempted to erupt once more, but it was too late. Darkrai's Dark Void would take effect at last. Finally, the Bull Demon, which was crying for so long, had fallen. It would drop to the ground, shaking the earth a bit before dozing off.
Everyone's ears could finally rest as Vinyl put a stop to her music. After what felt like an entire day of endless crying, they could be at ease. Granted, the city was in a poor state right now but that could be sorted once this is all said and done.
Merry Dread would sigh with relief in her heart, glad that it was all over. She felt the same sensation as her enemies. That was the only moment where she would share their sentiments. Aside from the small banter she and Rainbow Dash had. However, Merry Dread would soon realize something.
Now that the demon's cries were over, everyone else could move. For the most part. Her bones were still shaking while Castform was still active along with Luxray. The two of them would walk over, looking down at the vampire with devious grins.
"Ugh...My sister won't let me hear the end of this..." Merry Dread groaned, knowing that it was pointless to escape at this point. She was truly defeated.
"It's not over yet. We still have a little bit more work to do." Luna said, knowing that there were still some demons that needed to be silenced. But with the ultimate voice system on her side, she was ready to go across both worlds and let the music roar for all to hear.
The struggle that the Pokemon World and Equestria had against the Dread League was reaching its boiling point. Essentially, the end. Once this is all over, will Opal have achieved her goal of softening both worlds up or will they all recover swiftly and greatly with a brighter tomorrow up ahead that involves the unity of both worlds? Only one outcome can happen as the journey continues.
Equestria. Canterlot. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
Melting away were the various structures of Canterlot thanks to the poisonous rain. It had the elements of poison and fire thanks to Opal borrowing this from her Salazzle. A wildfire would spread, wrapping and rushing through whatever it came across. Only the castle and the Golden Stairway remained the most untouched so far. But that was only for the moment.
"Everyone?! Can you hear me?!" Crying out to her friends was none other than Fluttershy. She could all of the conflict nearby with the poisonous rain rapidly dropping and expanding. Twilight could be seen close by, attempting to find Fluttershy while Kyurem protects them all from the rain with his large body.
And yet, they couldn't hear her voice mysteriously. Even though she was close, they simply passed by her, ignoring Fluttershy, Audino, Raboot and Bayleef. They even ignored Melody Moon who was still facing off against Fluttershy.
"They're ignoring me...Why?"
"They can't hear you." Melody Moon shook her head. "That's my way of preventing you from getting any help. Have fun calling for them I've blocked off the sound barrier. Now, no one can help you but on the plus side, you don't have to worry about the rain. You're all alone right now."
"But I'm not alone. I have my Pokemon with me." Fluttershy corrected her as she still had company. Strong company. A protective healer, a fierce battler and a fate changer. "Oh, but...are you alright? That dress of yours looks painful. Plus, it's sunny and-"
"I'm fine!" She cut Fluttershy off when in reality, the flames were irritating to her body, even if they shielded her from the intensity of the sun. "Worry about yourself! I'm the one who's threatening to capture you."
"Oh, right. My bad."
"Hmmrgh...Sigilyph! Use Air Slash!"
"Sigilyph!" Melody's Sigilyph would attack but not on its own. Melody Moon chimed in by using the flames from her Flame Dress as a form of attack. But on top of that, her own signature magic was used. Melody Moon's Curse Magic that involved singing would generate another form of flames, this time her own unique flames.
"Quick, Raboot! Go through with Flame Charge! Bayleef, Magical Leaf!"
"Boot!" Raboot would zoom in, enveloping himself in flames. He would use this to travel through Melody's flames, resting them while also moving past the slashes of air. He would then tackle Sigilyph, gaining a speed boost as well.
"S-Sigil!" This was followed up by Bayleef's leaves battering the Avianoid Pokemon. But right after that, the flames from before would suddenly turn, latching onto Raboot's legs.
"Ra?!" Raboot gasped before being swung in the air by the flames. The flames would respond to Melody Moon's singing, moving in unique and fantastical ways as they would then throw Raboot into Bayleef. "Boot!"
"B-Bay!" Bayleef would fall over as she and Raboot received some friendly fire damage. Melody Moon would continue singing a cruel song that was perfectly represented by the intensity of the flames. They would dance around, having unpredictable movements that Fluttershy just couldn't see or even expect.
"Use Protect!"
"Audino!" Protecting Fluttershy, Audino would then use Protect, putting up a green barrier that would shield herself and Fluttershy from the dancing flames. After successfully blocking the dancing flames, Audino would then push the flames away by expanding the barrier, causing a mild shockwave in the process.
"Kh...!" Melody Moon would scoff and hiss before then twitching. The Flame Dress' lingering heat was making her freeze for a bit just to try and ease the agitating pain. She would persist, however, it was hard to ignore it.
"Now, Raboot! Use High Jump Kick! Bayleef, Ancient Power!"
"Bay!" By crying out, Bayleef summoned multiple rocks surrounded by purple energy to emerge out of the ground. The primal power from these rocks were then unleashed with Raboot jumping next to them. Melody Moon would up the tempo of her song, making the flames move faster than before as they attempted to intercept the rocks.
"Raboot!" However, Raboot would then kick the rocks instead of going for either Melody Moon or Sigilyph. He shattered one of the rocks with his swift yet staggering kicks, turning it into a multi-projectile attack. Rapid-fire rocks came raining down thanks to Raboot's involvement.
"Sigil!" Sigilyph found itself being battered repeatedly by the rocks. Melody Moon also found herself being attacked by them. They slipped past the flames while leaving the bigger ones to pass through
"Now, Audi! Hyper Beam!"
"Audi...No!" Audino would then use Hyper Beam while she had an opening. From the palm of her hands, she would generate a heavy and raging beam of Infinity Energy that was ready to be unleashed. However, knowing the severity of Hyper Beam, Melody Moon would then sing at a lower tone that would slow down the flames but change the way they appeared.
The lower tones allowed the flames to become sturdier as if they gained solid forms despite being energy. Hyper Beam was unleashed, only to be blocked by the solidified flame wall.
"Curse you, Opal...I can't heal unlike Bittersweet...this dress might do me in before the Sun does." Melody Moon thought to herself right after Hyper Beam was blocked. "She expects me to get Fluttershy as soon as possible, but that's already taking some time."
"Alright, Raboot! Try and zoom in with Quick Attack!"
"Ra!"
"Stop him dead in his tracks, Sigilyph! Sky Attack" Melody broke up her music for a bit to command Sigilyph. She would soon start humming once she spouted that command.
"Lyph!" Sigilyph, finally recovering, advanced with Sky Attack. It passed through the remaining flames as its body was soon surrounded by an orange and gold sparkling aura. The Avianoid Pokemon would then reach top speed, intercepting Raboot's swift movements.
"Boot!" Raboot would jump over Sigilyph's charge, only to be chased down. Sigilyph wouldn't cease there. Raboot would be hit from behind once Sigilyph made a turnaround, crashing into the Rabbit Pokemon. "R-Ra!"
After striking Raboot, Melody Moon would then use the flames to generate giant hands. These hands would then try and grab Raboot while he was mid-knockback, almost falling to the ground. But he wouldn't need to fall to the ground when these flaming hands were there.
"Bay!" However, that was where Bayleef came in. She would use her amazing Fate-Changing Ability, taking a chunk of her leaf off. And since the sun rays were piercing through the clouds, Bayleef decided to go all out with what she could remove. The leaf would swerve through all the rubble and sparks to touch Raboot. It would meet with Raboot's arm, altering reality.
In a silver flash, the positions had been switched. Instead, Sigilyph was the one to meet with the flaming hands. "S-Sigil?!" Sigilyph would be gripped by the vicious flame hands while Raboot found himself bouncing on the ground.
"Dino!" Audino would generate a beautiful green light that would spread across the ground. To keep Raboot and Bayleef in the battle, she would heal any damages they previously suffered.
"Wait...I can use that!" Melody Moon would then switch up her control of the elements. This whole time, only the flames were under her control just by the sound of her singing. But after seeing Audino's Heal Pulse, she decided to make up for her lack of any healing. The vampire would sing a calming song that would resonate with the healing energy of Heal Pulse.
To control it, Melody Moon would sing a song that matched that of healing. Soft and soothing to the heart, she would then send mystical soundwaves that would connect with the radiant aura of Heal Pulse. That one connection was all she needed as she managed to rip a piece of the aura out, bringing it to her.
Fluttershy gasped as the green aura of Heal Pulse changed into a purplish colour. After taking from the pulse, Melody Moon would not only heal herself, but with a quick tonal shift that was louder and harder, the healing energy would become the opposite of what it was meant to be, only turning destructive.
"A-Audino!" Audino was the first to receive this destructive wave as it crashed right into her chest. This was then followed by both Raboot and Bayleef being smacked by the destructive pulse before soon falling over. Fluttershy was unharmed by this pulse as Melody Moon was intending on harming her. Not when she was coming back with Fluttershy to Magehold.
"Hooh...I needed this..." Melody would then take in the healing energy of Heal Pulse, allowing it to calm her nerves. Shockingly, not even this was very effective. "Gh!" Melody would gasp as the flames were still prominent. "Or maybe not...This heat is too much for me!"
"Are you all alright?!" A worried Fluttershy asked after her Pokemon were knocked down and pushed back. Audino proved why she was the most durable out of all her friends.
"Audino!" Audino would manage. Raboot and Bayleef were thankful that they were healed first, otherwise, that pulse would've been more significant.
"Darn it...This dress isn't made out for me at all." Melody thought to herself once more. "That Audino's a problem too. Not as much as Bayleef, but still."
From all of this heat, Melody Moon was starting to emanate smoke from her body. She would then gasp, witnessing how the smoke wasn't coming from the dress at all. Instead, it was her own coat. The heat of the sun's rays and the dress were truly getting to her.
Melody tried using her newfound healing abilities to slow it down, but the heat was outpacing it by a margin. Taking a small piece of Audino's Heal Pulse just didn't do the trick. Thanks to this, Melody Moon felt like passing out as she breathed in and out repeatedly.
"Oh? Are you doing okay? You're smoking and breathing heavily." Fluttershy noticed the conditions that were exuding out of the vampire.
"Look after yourself!" Melody Moon roared back before tugging on her flame dress. But tugging on it was also dangerous as it would burn her hoof. "The dress won't last very long at all. It's not permanent or even that protective against the heat...So unfair! You've built up all these resistances for yourself Opal..."
Indeed, her resistance to the light was dropping. The dress just couldn't protect her forever. Knowing this, Melody Moon would go all out before she could even hope to faint. And that meant harming Fluttershy. The underworld flames she controlled would rise up as she would then generate those signature black spots of hers.
"Ah!" Fluttershy gasped as she suddenly felt a pulsating and burning sensation through her body. The black spots would appear around her hooves, immediately making her knee. "So...hot...!"
"B-Bay!" Bayleef would soon feel the black spots come through. By going all out, Melody Moon hummed a song that would summon these spots around her victims.
"Audino!" Even the durable Audino felt the burning sensation run through her body. The only one that resisted the heat was none other than the actual Fire-Type, Raboot.
"Boot...!" Raboot growled, powering through the heat. Audino managed to keep herself steady thanks to her durability but for Bayleef, it was exceptionally difficult thanks to her weakness to Fire.
"Opal actually suggested that we should be gentle with somepony like you...but I'll change that right now! You're coming back with us! Even if that means your Pokemon have to go down as well!" In response to Melody Moon's yell, the underworld flames would then race over to Fluttershy and her friends.
She wouldn't hesitate to harm who she was meant to bring back. No matter how bad the outcome would be for Fluttershy due to the destructive nature of Curse Magic.
Back with Ash, Iris and Celestia, they were still dealing with the duo of Opal Vivacity and Bittersweet. They just managed to deliver a strong unison attack on the vampires, but Bittersweet's healing abilities, which were far superior to what Melody Moon could hope to achieve, had rejuvenated them.
The poisonous rain made it impossible for most to retaliate and get close to the vampire duo. However, thanks to Lucario and Excadrill's immunity to Poison along with Celestia and Gardevoir's ranged support, they could suffice.
"All of our damage was wasted?!" Iris gasped once they were both healed up. "Let's try again then!"
"Try it then!" Opal exclaimed while looking down at them all. "The storm is only going to get worse from here! Observe!" Just as Opal Vivacity said, the poison storm would suddenly worsen. It went from a heavy downpour to a storming downpour, followed by thunder rumbles in the sky. More of the clouds would block out the Sun before then covering more of Canterlot.
Canterlot Castle would be threatened by the increasing poison storm as the Canterlot Gardens were already in peril. The first batch of grass would be touched by the poisonous rain which also contained the properties of Fire. The Canterlot Guards and the Golurk tried their best to manage the cloud formations, only to find that it didn't matter. The increasing intensity was too fast for them to keep up, even with their numbers.
The Canterlot Guards and the Golurk had no choice but to back away, lest they wish to be battered by the poisonous rain. While Lucario and Excadrill were completely fine where they were, Ash, Celestia, Iris and Gardevoir were forced to back away as they were starting to lose more space.
"Not good...Lucario! Aura Sphere!"
"Excadrill Focus Blast!"
"Now, Passion! Thunderbolt!"
Once again, a unified attack would be performed. They were hoping to knock out Opal before the rain could get worse. At this rate, it wouldn't just stop at Canterlot since Opal planned to soften up the entire nation for the Black Crusade. The two spheres and the crash of lightning would unify once more while Celestia would aim her magic at the clouds to try and hold back the incoming toxic storm.
"Not this time!" Opal grinned before using her Fate-changing mane to alter how things would turn out. She immediately used it on herself, poking her face with it. In a crimson flash, right as the attacks were about to reach her, she would alter reality.
The space around Opal would warp, grabbing the unified attacks as they were one inch from touching her. After warping space, the attacks would then be reflected, returning to their original users. But instead of a simple reflection, the attacks would vanish out of thin air.
Right as they vanished, they would reappear into existence, ready to crash into Ash's group. Lucario's Aura went off, sensing the incoming attacks before anyone else. Immediately, he would use Double Team to duplicate himself, spreading out of his clones.
"Ough!" Ash was tackled by one of the clones while Iris and Excadrill were grabbed by two of them. The remaining clones would get in the way of the incoming unison attack once it returned. The clones took the hit, resulting in a massive explosion that would not only destroy them but even send a shockwave that blew back all four of them. This included Pikachu, who was staying on Ash's shoulder as always.
"Pika!"
"Lucky miss! Opal scoffed before then holding her hoof out. From that hoof, the power grip of Dusknoir would return. But on top of that, thanks to her special mane, she changed what could be possible. Bittersweet would take a piece of her mane out, dropping it on Opal's hoof. "But...with the power of my Fate-Changing Mane, I can bend certain laws to my will! And this doesn't just involve evading danger!"
She would give an example at once. The grip of Dusknoir had been affected by the Rift Energy as Opal would suddenly physically grab the skies themselves. Her hoof could be seen holding onto the grey skies with a visible crumple forming.
"Impossible!" Celestia was flabbergasted by what she was witnessing. Opal Vivacity had essentially touched the sky. Physically. Not in the metaphorical sense.
"Unlike that Bayleef friend of yours, I've decided to work on this special ability instead of just keeping it around and waiting for moments to use it! This is still connected to Rift Energy, so the methods of manipulating laws are still in effect. I've had a decent time discovering new and amazing things. Like so!" Opal would then swing her hoof through the grey skies themselves, using the brute strength of Dusknoir to cause something staggeringly dangerous.
A Skyquake. Rumbles through the skies went off as visible cracks started shocking. Shards from the skies would drop before then throwing every cloud out of order. Those up in the skies would find themselves being caught by the Skyquake. The poor Canterlot Guards and the Golurk were the first victims of this effect as they would be blown out of the sky.
Celestia would be a victim too before putting up a shield to prevent that. The cracks in the sky raced towards her, popping out as if they had become 3D. Or rather 4D. Either way, the dimensions had been greatly altered as Celestia managed to successfully shield herself from the Skyquake for now.
"At this rate, she might actually succeed in weakening Equestria... Celestia flew back, slowly descending to meet with Ash and the others. "If we don't stop her right now, she might do more than just soften up Equestria."
"Correct! I'm glad you understand, Princess Celestia! As the second best, I will leave an impact that is just close enough to the Black Crusade! Huge threats such as you aren't allowed to get in the way!" Opal would then continue using more of her staggering power, placing both hooves in the sky.
She would then drag them down, causing parts of the skies to not only turn but also drop various elements from above. More of the poison rain managed to get ahead thanks to Opal's interference, but on top of that, she aimed the lightning bolts in the skies. The Golurk would get in the way of their guards, using their immunity to Electricity to their advantage. But that didn't stop the poison from affecting them, sadly.
"I'll drop the entire sky on you, Canterlot!" Opal laughed maniacally while injecting different elements she managed to steal into this attack. The skies were lit up with flames, poison and even spectral energy once parts of it were dropped. "All of it will come crashing down!"
"We won't let that happen! Lucario! Let's go all in for this one assault! Force Palm!" Ash would vigorously hold his arm out before then summoning Sir Aaron's staff as a way of boosting himself.
"Luca!" Lucario would exert his Aura some more in response to Ash's Aura and the staff. The Aura Pokemon would then charge in for one big attack. He would try and make this one count.
"Horn Drill Excadrill!"
"Passion! Plasma Bolt!"
Lucario's allies would join in at once. Excadrill managed to get ahead of his fellow Steel-Type, using Horn Drill to lunge through the air while taking the shape of an actual drill. It would be his strongest move against this Sky Wave that Opal managed to bring down.
"Exca!" Excadrill would crash into the wave, meeting with the poison and the flames. He easily broke through the poison but the flames held him back a bit. Excadrill wouldn't let that stop him. Not even the spectral energy that was surrounding him.
"Gardevoir!" To help out Excadrill, Passion would combine Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt to unleash Plasma Bolt, hitting Excadrill with it. Since half of it contained lightning, Excadrill would be fine as he received a boost, drilling straight through the attacks. But more of the Skyquake and its destructive wave was approaching to try and block him.
"You're gonna stay back, mole!" Opal shouted before then hitting the sky with her hooves, making it shake constantly with each swing.
"Drill...! Exca!" Excadrill could feel each rumble and tremor that Opal would make through the skies that would keep him back. Excadrill cried out before exerting himself, pressing straight through the rumbling as he would visibly drill into a piece of the sky thanks to Opal's effect. That piece was then shattered by Excadrill's drilling as he managed to reach Opal.
"What?!" Opal gasped before bringing up another part of the sky to try and shield herself. Excadrill didn't fully hit her thanks to this part of the sky, but the impact onto the sky left a pressure and shockwave that would push Opal Vivacity back. "Gh!"
Afterwards, Excadrill left his drill shape before then being slapped away by another rumble from Opal's vicious hoof swings into the sky. "Exca!" The Subterrene Pokemon would fly away before crashing into a wall nearby.
"Oh no! Excadrill!" Iris gasped as the impact onto that wall was strong enough to form cracks all over it.
"Luca! But Lucario was still in this along with Passion and Celestia. Celestia would use her magic to fend off any elements that would drop from the sky, swishing them away with a telekinetic hold. Passion would keep the Plasma Bolt active, trying to reach Opal Vivacity with it.
But with Bittersweet using Opal's mane, she would change fate once more. When Plasma Bolt managed to pass by all of the mess, the crimson flash would alter the outcome once more. The bolt of plasma would miss Opal completely before crashing into a nearby building instead. Afterwards, Passion would find herself being struck by a surprise bolt. That was her own bolt as Opal made it so that a piece of Plasma Bolt would be taken out and used against the Embrace Pokemon.
"G-Gardevoir!" The Psychic-Fairy-Type would now know what it was like to be hit by her own attack and plasma itself. It was strikingly unpleasant as she was punished with an obscene number of electrical shocks.
"Passion!" Celestia gasped before nearly being caught by surprise. A stream of flames almost engulfed the Ruler of Equestria, only for her to hold it back with her own stream.
"It's up to you, Lucario! Go! Double Team into Force Palm!" Ash's eyes would flare blue as his Aura would pulsate at a greater level.
"Luca!" Lucario would then move ahead, splitting himself multiple times before jumping from building to building and avoiding the elements to the best of his abilities. This was thanks to his Aura Sense. With the Aura emanating from the staff and in conjunction with Ash's Aura, Lucario could swiftly evade the incoming attacks before then reaching Opal and Bittersweet.
"Nice effort! But it's not enough!" Opal then had Bittersweet take another piece of her mane, abusing her power once more. With a poke on the hooves, Lucario would witness the crimson flash go off once more. How would fate be altered here?
It was revealed that Lucario had swapped positions with them. Opal and Bittersweet would be on the other side of the clouds while Lucario was facing the wrong way. And since he was on the wrong side, the gaze Opal the chance to attack.
"Gotcha!" She used the flames from her dress to attack, going for a super-effective hit. Each of the Lucario clones could be blasted by the flames that roared from this fabulous yet intimidating elemental clothing. The Force Palm and Double Team combo failed.
Or at least, that seemed to be the case.
Because the moment she obliterated the clones, she would soon find out that the real Lucario wasn't there in the first place. Instead, Lucario was the one who was behind them and also had his target. It was the other way around as he still had a Force Palm ready.
"No, we've got you! Aura Sphere!"
"Luca!" He would then switch up his Force Palm into an Aura Sphere. The Aura Pokemon would hold it like a ball with one paw that was originally meant to unleash Force Palm before launching it with all his might.
"When did he-" Opal gasped, swivelling to see Lucario. But it was too late to do anything about this. The Aura Sphere went straight for her luscious and large mane, targeting the RIft Energy within. Just like how Fire reacts to Oil, this set off a fierce reaction.
An azure paroxysm emerged from the collision with the energy of Aura Sphere blowing up inside Opal Vivacit'ys mane. Her whole body along with Bittersweet had been eclipsed by this. There was no room to escape and no way to avoid it since the only way to avoid it had been attacked.
Opal attempted to change fate but that was where the Aura denied access. It blocked off the Rift Energy, being its most common weakness as the explosion of energy would then turn the skies blue once more, but with a different kind of hue.
The dark grey skies above were blown away, giving way to the Sun once more. The golden Sun could show itself a second-time thanks to this shining impact. And out f the blue explosion, the Vampire Duo could be seen dropping without having the time to use their wings.
Opal's mane had been greatly affected by this impact as a majority of it was gone. Her mane was a mess thanks to Lucario's Aura Sphere. Bittersweet's eyes would white out but not Opal's. Instead, she would grizzle her teeth while she was falling, viciously glaring at Ash's group. The poison rain was even starting to decrease in intensity in response to the blow that Opal received. With a scornful voice, Opal Vivacity would roar at them all with a vengeful cry.
The skies were clearing at last. After suffering from a Skyquake and a downpour of poison, the natural skies returned in response to the massive damage that Opal Vivacity received. The damage had already been done at this point. The poisonous rain had left an impact on most of Canterlot.
Descending from the skies were Opal and BIttersweet, but one of them looked like they had genuinely fallen to that final attack. Bittersweet looked like she was knocked out, hitting the ground first. Opal's pupils were still visible as she attempted to recover in the air with her wings. But it was too late. Not much of her mane remained after it a majority of it was blown away by Aura Sphere. Even her Flame Dress was starting to fade away, gradually exposing her to the light of the Sun.
"Ugh...!" The beautiful vampire groaned while making a crater that was shaped like her. Lucario, who had unleashed Aura Sphere on her, would descend, no longer feeling the rapid downpour of poison. Then again, it never affected him in the first place. He had some time to breathe in and out as everything fell silent for a while.
"Did we do it?" Iris said, hoping that Opal and Bittersweet were done for this time. The skies would be at peace once more as Celestia would help Passion back down to the ground after the damage she received.
"That attack should've done the trick," Ash replied. "Faking her out with all those Double Team clones worked out for us too. But..."
Twilight and everyone else could finally cease their movements now that the poisonous rain was gone. However, that didn't change the fact that Kyurem had been poisoned. That went for some of the Canterlot Guards and the Golurk as the affliction didn't vanish once Opal was struck.
Kyurem would groan as the toxins that entered his system couldn't be ignored, even if he was the World's Strongest Dragon. He would lean forward a bit before readjusting his balance.
"Not good!" Twilight gasped upon seeing Kyurem's condition. "We still haven't found Fluttershy either! Where could she be?!"
"I can't see her anywhere." Applejack, who was still injured, groaned in response. "But at least those vampires are gonna call it quits now. It'd be even better if they got caught."
"Hoopa. Do you have anything to heal Kyurem? Maybe a Refresh? Arceus knows I need some refreshing as well" Rarity asked, hoping that Hoopa had something in store.
"Hmm...Ah! Hoopa knows what to do!" But Hoopa had a better approach to healing them. Instead of finding Fluttershy, which they were already struggling to do, by using his ring, Hoopa would grab what he could. "Hoopa knows a store in Dahara City that has something!"
And in this case, Hoopa snagged himself items. More specifically, Potions and Antidotes. Swarms of them would drop out of the ring, falling onto Twilight and her injured friends.
"T-Those work too..." Twilight stuttered while poking her head out of the sea of Antidotes that were stolen without anything in return. Twilight could imagine the faces of the employees and the customers right now. "But you're going to have to pay them back Hoopa."
"Hoopa understands."
"Have they made potions for ponies yet...?" Rarity groaned as the sea of Potions and Antidotes only increased the severity of her injuries.
"Melo." As for Meloetta, among the few who were still in one piece and relatively healthy, she would heal them. The Melody Pokemon hovered over the sea of bottles before grabbing a handful. Kyurem, Sceptile and Pheromosa were all in need of some Potions while Kyurem would need an Antidote. As for Applejack and Rarity, the potions wouldn't quite have the same effect on them.
Joining Meloetta in this was Spike, who was also among the few that remained unscathed during all of this. For the most part, thanks to the Poison Rain, he was unable to reach Opal in the first place. Chrysalis, Applejack, Rarity and all the changelings already took some damage earlier and the poison would only make it worse if they continued. As it stood, everyone would need an antidote, but not everyone could be affected by the potions.
"Drink this, Kyurem." Twilight would lend a bottle to Kyurem. Kyurem gazed at her for a bit before then awkwardly staring at the Antidote Bottle. The Boundary Pokemon growled for a bit, realizing how awkward this could be. "Come on. If you want to feel better, you have to take the Antidote. If you want, I can just spray it instead.
Twilight would g through with it, spraying the Boundary Pokemon. Kyurem wasn't one to be treated like this at all. It was the way he looked while being sprayed that rubbed him the wrong way. But he managed to deal with it. However, one Antidote wouldn't automatically get rid of the poison. The number of toxins within Kyurem was staggering as it required multiple bottles. Luckily, there were enough Antidote potions to go around.
As for Chrysalis and the others that weren't Pokemon, they would require a different method of healing. The potions just wouldn't cut it. Twilight would then look over at the massive smoke cloud, hoping that Ash, Iris and Celestia managed to cut this battle short.
Minutes ago, Celestia moved in with Passion, ready to apprehend Opal Vivacity and Bittersweet. However, upon reaching the spot that they crashed into, only one of them was still there. Opal Vivacity.
"What?!" Celestia gasped, realizing that Bittersweet was not present here at all. It was only Opal who was on the ground despite having consciousness. "Where is she?!"
"Heh...Good question..." Opal grinned before twitching on the ground. "You've bested me...I'll admit that. But that doesn't mean this is over. Not yet."
"What do you mean by that?" Ash questioned, having his guard up for whatever might pop up next.
"Pikachu?"
"Try and apprehend me, Celestia...You remember what happened with Night Sprout, don't you? It'll all be pointless since we'll make a rather explosive exit."
"!" Celestia pulled back after hearing that. Indeed. The vampires had a way to avoid being captured. Self Destruction. At any moment, the vampires could pull it off when necessary with nothing being left. Their bodies would only return to Magehold as an outcome, guaranteeing them safety.
"Gotcha~" Opal Vivacity winked. "As it stands, you can't contain me. And you never will. Not when the tenacity of the Dread League lives on. If anything...the only way to stop me is to end me. Perhaps that will do the trick."
Celestia stayed silent after hearing Opal's suggestion. It was a rather grim one, something that Celestia would never consider off the bat. But from what Opal said, it sounded like finishing her off for good was the better option. However, at this point, Celestia would vehemently disagree. "I disagree. We'll find a way."
"Goody-two-shoes Princess." Opal scoffed. "This is why you're all doomed in the end. I'll be seeing you very soon. But before that...I think I'll leave you with something better than an explosion."
"Better than an explosion?" Iris repeated while Celestia readied up a magical coating around herself and Passion, just in case it was something up close.
"Now, Bittersweet!" But it wasn't something that Celestia needed to worry about being too close. Instead, it was something that everyone should worry about. Bittersweet's location had been spotted as she ended up reaching the Golden Stairway.
A piece of Opal Vivacity's mane was also revealed to her on her hoof with a tiny bit of Rift Magic flowing out of it before vanishing. Celestia figured that Opal must have used her Fate-changing abilities to send Bittersweet elsewhere. Either way, she was right next to the Golden Stairway, conscious once more.
"Have a taste of this..." She was barely conscious, still feeling the urge to faint. But even so, she was able to pull off her Curse Magic. With one touch, she went for a sour effect on the Golden Stairway before then dropping her face to the ground.
That one touch made a stark difference as the Golden Stairway would pulsate as if it had a heartbeat. After that, a shattering shockwave moved through the ground, raising up the rubble immediately.
Ash and everyone nearby would feel threatened by this pulse, almost falling over to it. The stairway would roar before then darkening, losing its beautiful golden shine. The skies would once again darken, but the Sun still remained. The beautiful light of the stairway was no more. Instead, it started a red and black appearance. All the rubble had been wiped away from existence once these particles flew out. A crack in the wind came from this energy shift that would grab the attention of everyone.
Everyone within Canterlot or even near the vicinity of the city would be caught up in this overwhelming pressure. The stairway would continue to let out these particles that were meant to be the complete opposite of everything the stairway was made out of. And by witnessing the particles, Ash knew exactly what this was.
"This looks a lot like Giratina's Antimatter!" Ash growled, holding onto his hat as his already damaged jacket would flow vigorously in the wind, which had also heated up from the effects of this stairway.
"Antimatter?!" Iris exclaimed, stunned to hear such an element being brought up now. But there was no mistake about it. Even Celestia saw it. Flurry Heart's Giratina was proof of what Antimatter looked like. With just an alteration to the Golden Stairway, Bittersweet managed to bring about one of the most destructive energies possible.
The opposite of Arceus' Light. The Shadow of Arceus' unique and horrifying power. Giratina's Antimatter. Such a destructive force was rarely ever seen and of all times it could appear, this was the worst possible time.
"How's that?" Opal Vivacity cackled while looking up at Celestia. "What will you do about this?! The power of Antimatter is something that not many can stand up to! How will you respond?!"
The laughter of Opal rang through Celestia's ears as this was a predicament that was strikingly difficult to deal with. The particles in the atmosphere were being broken down and reassembled into hotter substances. The atmosphere started burning up before creating streams of flames that appeared out of thin air.
It wasn't just the atmosphere. The Antimatter would affect all kinds of matter. The gas from the smoke would suddenly be reversed, becoming its antimatter equivalent. The solid ground and some of the remaining rubble would liquefy and while there were no liquids nearby, without a doubt, this energy would affect it immediately.
"What's happening?!" Hoopa gasped as everyone was able to witness this.
"It's Antimatter!" Twilight replied. "It's breaking down all forms of matter and reassembling them as we speak?!"
"How did something like this appear?!" An injured Chrysalis was flabbergasted by what she was witnessing. It was clear that the Golden Stairway, which was now an Antimatter Stairway, was the cause of these effects.
And of course, Antimatter would affect living things as well. The changeling, who were all already in bad shape, would feel a sickness come through from the pulsating Antimatter. The radiation that it let off reached them, outlining their bodies in a red and black aura. They had just been cured by the poison, only to be affected by the Antimatter.
But the Antimatter wouldn't stop that Canterlot. As the particles ran through the ground, the very foundation and reasoning for this stairway's existence were vanishing. Thus, that meant the path to Jirachi was slipping away. From this excess of Antimatter, a void would appear in the sky, matching that of a Black Hole.
It even had a similar pull to a Black Hole from how it started pulling in whatever it could. Of course, Bittersweet didn't go that far. The ground would be ripped away, leaving only bedrock. But even the bedrock would be threatened as the Canterlot Mines would be revealed as well.
Red and Black Antimatter Energy crackled through the sky as if it was lightning, erasing entire clouds with just their volts. At this rate, Opal's goal to soften Equestria up would come true.
"No matter what...I always finish what I intend to accomplish..." Opal Vivacity said with a devious laugh. "Nothing can stop my perseverance! This Antimatter will threaten both worlds!"
Indeed, at this very moment, the Antimatter Energy was reaching such vicious levels of mass that they ended up passing through to the other world. Vermillion City was the first to experience this as the Antimatter broke straight through reality just to reach the Pokemon World.
Everyone at Vermillion would gasp after the Antimatter bolt would pass through. They would witness how an entire set of clouds was ripped away, vanishing from existence as if they were never there. The Antimatter mainly threatened non-living forces the most but that didn't mean it was exempt from harming everyone else. Other regions would be met by the crash of Antimatter which threatened all manner of matter.
Princess Luna, who was currently moving across the two worlds to try and shut up the constant crying of the 100 Demons, would bear witness to the Antimatter.
"Not good..." She uttered quietly. Upon seeing this, Luna already knew what this meant. She would quickly hop off Vinyl's massive speaker set before aiming to return to Equestria. "Vinyl Scratch! I must go! But keep that music playing just in case!"
Back at Equestria, it was only getting worse. Every energy that resided within it was going haywire. Aura, the different forms of Magic and even the cosmic power of the Rift were being broken down and altered. And since the rest of the stairway reached space, the Antimatter would threaten the cosmos as well. As if they needed this since they already dealt with a demon that was troublesome up in space.
"Ash! Gather up!" Celestia yelled, taking action at once against such a threatening force. "That goes for everyone if you can reach them! We can stop this!"
"How?!" Ash swivelled to face Celestia.
"Pika?!"
"Antimatter breaks down all forms of matter and energy and can even bring about the opposite of what they are. We can try and reverse what already reverses. We'll continue making the stairway to erase the Antimatter and bring back Arceus' light and everything we put in there recently!" Celestia declared, having a plan to stop this. "Hurry!"
"Gotcha!" Ash understood.
"Fools!" Opal, who was laying on the ground and looking up at the sky would scoff at this idea. "How can you expect to do that without all of the necessary members?!"
"We were able to construct it without Shooting Star before. We can do it again." Celestia said before soaring into the air to try and get everyone's attention. "To all those who can build the stairway, gather up so we can stop this! This might be our only chance to finish the stairway and reach Jirachi!"
"We're going to be remaking with all of that around?!" Cold Colt, who was with everyone else away from Canterlot to avoid all the anarchy would gasp in shock. Zecora and Jade Skies would also have to return and face the destructive energy that threatened them all.
As for Shooting Star, Hoopa would open the ring to Pegalysium once more. Celestia was the only one to previously pass through the Pegalysium ring after helping the nation in the sky out. But now, the final member of the Golden Stairway's construction could appear.
Once the ring was summoned, Shooting Star's face could be seen. He would poke through the ring, entering the other side before being startled by the crackle of Antimatter in the sky and ground. The young prince would fall out from this jump scare, crashing head-first into the ground.
"W-What was that?!" Shooting Star bellowed as he was jump-scared one more time. This time, it was from Princess Luna's appearance once she teleported in. His heart raced rapidly before being helped up by the tiny wisp that was now constantly tagging alongside him.
"Should I even ask why?" Luna sighed, not needing a full explanation as to this sudden emergence of Antimatter. The alteration of the stairway was proof of that enough.
There was one more vampire who would bear witness to the Antimatter. That would be Melody Moon and her confrontation against Fluttershy. "What have they done...?" Melody Moon shuddered before then groaning in pain from the heat of the dress and the Sun rays. Both of them threatened her in similar ways but now there was a third element in play to worry about. "Bittersweet...You just had to go and touch it, didn't you?"
"Bay...!" Bayleef trembled at this energy as her leaf was going haywire just from the threatening aura it gave off. Audino would stand close to Fluttershy in case the worst could having, already preparing a Protect and waiting for the right moment to unleash it.
"I can't take this anymore...Return, Sigiylph!" Choosing to leave the scene was Melody Moon as she would recall Sigilyph.
"You're leaving?" Fluttershy said.
"I'm not retreating...just so you know!" In reality, she just needed to get away from the heat. And the Antimatter of course. The vampire couldn't take any more of it, despite receiving less damage compared to her vampiric allies. Melody spread her wings out, attempting to find a shade to stay around. Or at least, head home. She was unable to capture Fluttershy due to these inconveniences.
As for everyone else, those that were crucial for the creation of the stairway were brought over to the heart of the chaotic force. Being this close to the Antimatter was just asking for trouble, but by this point, they were all used to it. Some, more than others.
"Alright. Is everyone here?" Celestia looked over at the list of Humans, Ponies, Zebras and Pokemon that were needed. Her eyes would across witnessing an assortment of unique colours.
Ash, Twilight, Luna, Cadence, Chrysalis, Applejack, Zecora, Cold Colt, Jade Skies, Phione and Shooting Star were all present. All of them were truly here once more. And of course, some of them had their Pokemon out to give it a boost. Lucario was still out and present, having energy to spare. And for a boost in Fairy Magic, Cadence's Sylveon would join in.
They all formed a circle around Phione once more with Victini joining in. Victini, as always, would be the one to boost Phione's energy to new levels. By now, it was needed more than ever.
"Ugh..." However, some of them were still badly injured in all of this, having to fully heal up or even find a way to heal at the moment. Chrysalis was a notable example of all of this.
"One more time. This Antimatter could destroy everything, leaving us with nothing to rebuild. So let's make this final moment count. Please." Celestia pleaded. "Chrysalis. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I want to complete this stairway just as much as everyone wants to. So let's make it happen."
"Useless!" A downed Opal would yell at them, still having a lot to say even after being slumped over. "The damage is already being done! I think I'll stick around longer to see you all fail-"
"Shut up." Darkrai, refusing to hear Opal Vivacity babble on, would drop a Dark Void on her immediately. Opal's words were cut off in a heartbeat as she was put to sleep.
"All together again." Celestia closed her arms before joining hooves with Passion and Luna. Everyone else would connect their respective limbs with Sylveon being picked up by Cadence. It felt like they had little time to lose, especially with how fast the Antimatter was escalating.
"Flurry. Dear. I hope your Giratina has a solution to this...This is his expertise after all." Princess Cadence thought to herself, knowing that Giratina could generate this energy. She was hoping that right now, somewhere out there, Giratina was dealing with the Antimatter himself. Hopefully.
"Victini!" Victini would then share his boundless power with Phione, beginning the process of constructing the Golden Stairway. His energy would then latch onto everyone else for a boost.
Ash and everyone would take in Victini's energy once more as it would push their limits for a second time even after what happened earlier.
"This time it has to be finished..." Twilight closed her eyes, speaking out. "I don't know how this will unlock the dimension where all the Jirach are, but it has to."
"If not, then we will be on our own when the day of the Rift's departure comes along," Luna added. "Failure is not an option for all of us."
"I'm still hurting over here...but I can't let that get to me...!" A strained Applejack spoke before having her eyes light up with a radiant blue Aura.
"We're gonna finish it! That's a fact!" Ash's voice would echo out as his Aura would then shine even brighter. The energy coming from everyone would then clash with the Antimatter just as Celestia suspected.
And it was a vigorous clash too. The Antimatter would meet with the standard Matter as it looked like two lightning bolts being hit against each other. For a moment, the Antimatter was stopped, however, it would only continue its path of destruction, targeting the Matter.
It now became a clash of power. The power of Ash and everyone and the power of the Antimatter. One sought to destroy everything they built while another would rebuild what was being destroyed, The stairway could be seen going through a back-and-forth process. Construction and Deconstruction. When one part was built, another would break apart. This was a repeated cycle, showing the fierce struggle between the two forces.
Only one stellar energy would emerge victorious. And the fate of both worlds, along with the Jirachi, would be decided here and now as the journey continues.
Piercing the clouds and reaching higher through the stars was the clash of two forces. Matter and Antimatter. Only one would win this struggle and guarantee the fate of the Golden Stairway.
Having their bodies pushed to the limit and receiving an infinite flow of energy from Victini, Ash and all who could make this stairway possible would be slowed down by the Antimatter waves. And upon meeting with these waves, each of them would feel a second sensation. Aside from Victini's Infinite Energy, the Antimatter was something to worry about. Not just from how it was fighting against the natural matter, but by how it threatened everyone else.
Moments later, once the stairway reached a higher point, that was when Luna felt a rough and horrific sensation go through her. It made the Princess of the Night squirm as red and black energy crackled out of her body. "Ngh!"
"What is this?!" Cadence would soon receive the same treatment as everyone else. The signature energy of Antimatter would fly out of them as if they were all flashlights.
"It's the Antimatter! It's reaching us!" Celestia replied before having her wings rustle from the crackle of Antimatter.
Is this what it feels like?!" A strained Twilight uttered as the grass ground beneath them was starting to erode and vanish from the Antimatter. "It's horrible!"
"But they're being helped by Victini's energy...! How come it's pushing back?!" Iris couldn't understand it. Surely, with Victini's help, they should easily bypass the Antimatter. But that was not the case. Instead, the Antimatter was so potent that it ended up affecting Victini as well.
"T-Tini...!" When sharing his power with everyone, Victini would suffer the same pain. He would cry out as even he wasn't exempt from this. This disastrous shock of Antimatter would throw his concentration off course as well as Phione, who was the crux of all of this
"The last time we used it, Victini's own energy was added into the mix! That must be why the Antimatter is so powerful!" Celestia deduced. "Victini's Infinite Energy is a part of the Golden Stairway now!"
"So it's using that infinite power against us?! How?!" Shooting Star questioned. "Does it have sentience or something?!"
Feeling the Antimatter course through their bodies, much like the changelings, it would affect them all in various ways. Immediately, one of the effects kicked in. The world seemed to spin around them and a sharp, throbbing pain took hold of them. The Antimatter went as far as to disrupt their vision, attempting to throw them off balance. Panic slowly took over as, for a moment, a way out of this pain began to seem more and more unrealistic. And yet, they persisted.
"Having a tough time staying still here..." Applejack groaned, feeling tipsy and off balance. At any moment, she could drop down and decrease the power of the Golden Stairway's construction process.
They paused for a brief moment, contemplating all they had fought for and all they could lose if they gave up now. Tried as they might it seemed impossible to relax completely. They were unable to block out the pain entirely. On any other day, they probably would've gone to bed and rested to make sure they'd heal well and fast, but not today. Today was a day of pushing the limits. Especially when dealing with Antimatter.
The most prominent effect was how some of them started coughing as if they were falling ill. Jade Skies suddenly coughed out of nowhere before nearly losing her grip on Cold Colts' hooves. Celestia would try and take deep breaths to resist the violent energy but it wasn't an easy task.
"I'm not sure...I can keep it up for much longer..." Chrysalis whimpered as it looked like she would give out before anyone else. And how could she not especially with what she's been through? The throbbing pain from her various injuries was enough to disorient her. Hazy, confused and weak in her knees they felt as if she could collapse under her own weight at any moment, diminishing the progress and the struggle against the Antimatter.
"Audino!" However, there was someone to regulate them. And that someone was Audino. Fluttershy's Audino. The Hearing Pokemon would generate a Heal Pulse, sending that signature and beautiful green pulse. As if they were all being held in a mother's warm embrace, Heal Pulse would join in on the energetic struggle.
"Fluttershy!" Ash cried out, turning his head to face the pegasus and her Pokemon. Not only was Audino here, but she was in her Mega Evolved State to boot.
"Are you all okay?!" Fluttershy asked. "You just seemed like you were in severe pain and all of this...what is this anyway?"
"We might feel fine now that you're here," Twilight added as the calming aura of Heal Pulse combined with Victini's Infinite Energy would keep the pain at a minimum. But it was still horrible to fight against. There was also the issue of how it dealt with the entire world and the Pokemon World. They could already see the ripples in the sky and the tears that were coming from it.
"Audino...!" Audino would growl, trying her best to push her Heal Pulse to its limits. The Antimatter would sense Audino's presence, seeking out all possible threats that would try and deny it. The red and black ripples would vibrate while slowly trying to reach Audino. "Dino?!" Audino could see them. She wasn't exempt from this either since she was interacting with Ash's group.
Seeing that they were still struggling, Fluttershy tried thinking of a way to give them a boost aside from healing. That's when she realized that there was one possible way to help them. Fairy Magic.
Cadence mainly made up the crux of the Fairy Magic portion while Sylveon had only recently pitched in. But Cadence wasn't the only one here with access to Fairy Magic. The pegasus would look at her hooves before deciding on the right thing to do. She would add her own magic into the mix, flying and touching Ash's back.
"Don't come close, Fluttershy! It'll latch onto you as well!" Twilight gasped upon witnessing Fluttershy's inclusion. She hoped that Fluttershy wouldn't have to deal with this but alas, her own will said otherwise.
"I can add in my magic too. I have Fairy Magic after all." Fluttershy replied, going along with it despite knowing the harm that this could bring her. Immediately after joining in, her wings felt weak, making her whimper. "Even if this hurts...I trust in Audi and Bayleef."
"Bay!" And then there was Bayleef. The Leaf Pokemon's Fate-Changing Ability would be a great addition to this. They needed all the help they could get. Sensing another threat to the struggle, Antimatter bolts would flash out of thin air, nearly hitting Bayleef. "Bay?!"
"Raboot!" Raboot would kick Bayleef out of the way with a swift Quick Attack. It was a close shave as the Antimatter bolt nearly grazed her. But it did graze Raboot, harming the side of his ear. "Ra!"
"Bay!" But it was a necessary risk as Bayleef was still standing. Knowing that Raboot protected her, Bayleef wouldn't waste time, running straight towards the unified circle. Mainly, the two who were giving the most power to the stairway. Phione and Victini.
Everyone nearby who could only watch were praying for their success while keeping their distance from the Antimatter. Shining Armor would be the one to keep watch over them while Aegislash was the protector. His King's Shield would be up and ready, prepared for any destructive Antimatter waves that could get too close.
"If it has Victini's energy in it...then we just have to go beyond it!" Ash exclaimed, figuring that the only way to beat the Antimatter was to outpace it. A further increase of Victini's own Infinity Energy was needed.
"But how!?" Luna questioned. Victini was the only one who could grant that possibility because of the boundless energy he possessed and yet he was being harmed by the Antimatter.
"The stairway exists as a sign of unified powers from all sides...Which means that it's flowing with both Infinity Energy and Magic." Darkrai observed while holding Hoopa and Meloetta close to him. "Fluttershy can join in because she has some of it. Then by that logic...we can add our strength as well."
"Us too?" Hoopa looked up at Darkrai.
"That's right. Take it!" Darkrai would enact his plan, adding his own energy into the mix. In this case, it was Darkness. He used Dark Pulse on Phione, adding a brand new form of power to the construction of the stairway. Phione's body was practically a vacuum by this point, soaking in the different forms of energy while using Arceus' light as the focal point.
"Phione...!" This was taxing to the Sea Drifter Pokemon for obvious reasons. However, Phione would just try and power through it even if all of this was stellar for her tiny body. The darkness from Darkrai's energy would then show itself, pushing back against the Antimatter.
Of course, thanks to Victini's power, Phione could regulate the newly added element, keeping it stable and active as well as the Fairy Magic being its natural weakness.
"It's working?!" Cadence gasped. "But I thought we needed specific forces to make it possible!"
"It's just like how Victin's power was added to the mix. The Fairy Magic is still Infinity Energy. And so is any other type along with Aura. Since this is Arceus' power, Infinity Energy in its entirety might be on the table." Celestia theorized. "Keep at it then! You can share your Infinity Energy with Phione! We can regulate all of it!"
Very soon, under Celestia's command, Hoopa would do the same, sharing his Infinity Energy. That was another power added into the mix. Next was Meloetta as the streams of energy would keep coming. Audino definitely had to join in, using her respective Fairy Magic and pouring it all into Phione while still keeping up Heal Pulse. Soon, all of her fellow Pokemon would chime in.
Espeon, Raboot, Sceptile and Pheromosa would add their power now that they were healed up at last. They couldn't waste this energy that they'd recovered. Streams of colours from each side would fly in, adding to the large pile of energies. By this point, the Golden Stairway had gone beyond the natural limitations of what it needed. And that was for the better.
Was it enough? The Antimatters reaction would answer that. It was potent but it was still not enough. The Antimatter would still fight back, relying on Victini's Infinite Power to make this possible. This unification of elements endangered everyone else who joined in. But they were all willing to take this risk. They could care less if the Antimatter would harm them greatly. So as long as they finish this stairway to the best of their abilities
Ash closed his eyes as the Antimatter started wrapping out of his arm from how aggressively it was spreading. He had already suffered a lot of pain today and this was only adding to the list of injuries. But his fiery passion to never give up let him stay in this, knowing what was on the line.
"Pika...Chuuu!" And of course, Pikachu was there to help. Pikachu's Electric Infinity Energy was added. But it didn't stop there. From all sides, more and more different sources would fly in.
Luna felt a familiar force nearby. That force was none other than Nightmare Moon. She turned around to see her alter-ego adding her respective magic which was a deviation from what Luna usually uses. Even Nightmare Moon could chime in. After all, she and Luna had made peace.
Spike, Sweetie Belle and Iris had the opportunity to send out all of their Pokemon instead of being held back by the unity circle. And once they did, they would have all of them share their power. Dragon Infinity Energy came pouring in in great numbers as well as Steel and an extra helping of Electric Energy. Sweetie Belle had a great balance of different types, making her fill plentiful.
Those nearby would use either their magic or their Infinity Energy. Whichever sources they could utilize. So as long as it powers up the group and stops the Antimatter, they would give everything they had. And why could forget Kyurem? The Boundary Pokemon gave them a triple helping of Infinity Energy. Fire, Electric and Ice. And of course, the Fire and Electricity would come together to make Plasma, making it a quadruple helping.
By this point, all 18 Types had been added. Dragon, Ghost Flying, Poison, Bug, Water, Rock, Grass, Electric, Ice, Normal, Fire, Fighting, Steel, Ground, Psychic and Fairy.
"Thanks, everyone." The amount of happiness that Ash and the others felt from seeing so many familiar faces help out was stellar. And this beautiful unity of so many faces and types had culminated in an ever-increasing power that was practically endless if more were to join.
And there was one extra touch of magic. Sombra's magic. Not even Sombra was exempt from adding his magic inside. And with that last touch, the Antimatter couldn't keep them all at bay. Too many of them were flooding in at rapid speeds. Victini would feel the pushback of the Antimatter, allowing him to express more of his strength while he had the chance.
"Phione!" Phione would then make her strongest cry yet. That was the decisive moment. The fusion of all forms of power, no matter where they came from, would unleash an even greater familiar power.
The Pure Light of Arceus. A pillar of Arceus' light would shoot up faster than anyone could even witness, piercing through the particles of Antimatter that threatened to tear everything apart until there was nothing left. All that had been torn up would be restored as the stairway would speed up as well.
The Antimatter, unable to fight back, would be purged. And as for the Golden Stairway, it finally reached a critical point. And at that critical point, a star would appear that would soon expand and explode.
This star would unleash an aurora from its supernova explosion before then parting the cosmic skies themselves. Space was affected once more, but for a different and better reason. A reason that didn't need any investigating from superior forces.
A Galaxy would appear at the end of the stairway as the open part of space was purely white. It was as if a door to the further reaches and hidden parts of the universe had been opened up. Arceus' light particles would fly out of this while hole and the galaxy.
At long last, The Golden Stairway was complete. In all of its glory, the silhouette of Arceus would then flash for a moment before fading away. It was done. They could rest.
"Phione..." Finally finishing the construction of the stairway, Phione could lower her power, taking a deep breath.
"She said it's completed..." Darkrai translated. "Which means..."
"They did it. Oh, they finally did it!" Shining Armor's eyes shot open once the truth had been revealed. The moment they were all waiting for had come. The pathway to Jirachi was completed.
And of course, it called for a rousing applause from every. Their future had been secured thanks to the existence of this stairway. For a moment there, it looked like their future would slip away thanks to what Bittersweet unleashed, but that was no longer the case.
Hugs, jumps and all kinds f movements would go around as people celebrated under the beautiful Sun of Equestria. The skies were clear but they also had the existence of the Galaxy and the White Passageway that could be seen even from Earth.
"Oh yeah! Victory! Second time in a row!" Ash pumped his fist into the air, declaring a second victory.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu would be in sync, raising his fist alongside Ash. Twilight would raise her hoof as everyone here would raise their respective limbs to resound their upbeat victory and joy.
"Hahahaha!" Twilight laughed more than she had ever laughed in her life. It was also the most she's ever had to struggle but the payoff was absolutely worth it. In fact, this was the biggest payoff imaginable. Granted, it wasn't completed yet since they haven't gone up the stairway at all but the fact still remained. They have come so far. Done so much. Gone through so much. And with the completion of the Golden Stairway, they will continue to do so.
"Let everyone know about this..." Celestia wished for everyone across both worlds to learn about the full creation of the Golden Stairway. It was definitely needed considering how so many wished for its completion. And their wishes had been granted at last.
The news would certainly get out there as soon as possible. And even better, it was during the Pokemon Festival so that would elevate the joy. Granted, there was still the issue of all the destruction that had been caused by the Dread League, but that would be sorted, of course.
Just then, with his fist in the air, Ash would suddenly blackout, dropping to the ground. He was truly exhausted and the limit-breaking energy along with all the Antimatter was enough to take him out of commission. Twilight would drop next along with Applejack, Celestia, Luna, Zecora and everyone else that put in the most effort to make this possible.
"Pika-pi?!" Pikachu gasped when Ash fell. He would then see so many of his friends just pass out, falling in different directions at different times. How could they not pass out from this? If anything, they needed this more than ever. But this blackout that they all suffered certainly wouldn't be over very soon. Not at all.
As for Opal Vivacity and Bittersweet, when turning to find them, Kyurem would see that they were no longer there. Their bodies had vanished with the only trace being a crater. Most likely, they had combusted just as they said they would. No matter what, they would've left either way.
2 days later.
Two days had passed since then. And everything had simmered down at last. The Dread League had retreated, leaving an impact just like they promised but also failing to keep the stairway from being built.
By now, everyone knew about the stairway. The news was shared within short hours during the day it was created. The Golden Stairway, now given multiple names in the newspaper such as the Cosmic Stairway, Star Stairway and Unity Stairway, was now an ever-existing force that had reached its end goal. The white passageway and the galaxy were there for everyone to see too.
As for those who had to put everything in their heart and soul to make this possible, they were still unconscious, resting in the hospital. Ash and the most crucial members had yet to wake up as the aftershock was truly taxing to all of them.
Shining Armor and Fluttershy appeared at the hospital as they were then joined by the rest of their friends who hadn't passed out. Specifically, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Their bones had healed up faster than Ash's group could.
"They're still down and out, huh? They might miss out on the rest of the Pokemon Festival at this rate." Rainbow Dash said.
"They did everything to make this possible for us. We can finally go and see Jirachi." Pinkie Pie added. "But that Antimatter looked like it really did a number on them."
"The doctor says that the Antimatter can die down eventually." Darkrai, who was lurking in the shadows as always, would speak out. "But we don't know how long that will take...We're already close to finishing this festival."
"Get well soon, everyone." Pinkie Pie prayed. "We'll throw a mega party at the end of the festival. It'll go well with the music that we'll hear."
"Let's take the time to enjoy this, okay? They would all want us to have fun at the end." Fluttershy replied, putting her hooves around Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.
They would leave Ash and everyone to get the rest that they needed. Peace and quiet were necessary. Until they recover, they would wake up to a bright and happy world that was filled with even greater hope than before. And they could rest easy knowing that they were responsible for this shining future.
After all, their hopes and dreams all shined brighter than even the Sun itself.
Hoenn. Sootopolis City. The Pokemon Festival. Day.
It has now been a few days since the attack of the Dread League had ended. The 15 Demons that had attacked different parts of each world each returned to the Box of 100 Demons. Well, most of them anyway. Thanks to the destruction of one demon, now it was merely a Box of 99 Demons.
Now that the Golden Stairway was completed, the hopes and dreams of everyone who managed to make otherworldly friends would continue. All the promises they made could remain once Jirachi is found. And yet, no one had gone up the stairway yet.
Jirachi was mostly known in Hoenn more than any other region. Naturally, hearing about this made the residents of Hoenn feel a bit proud.
"So, who's going up the stairway then?" Conversation around the stairway started up since its full creation. "Has anyone tried it yet?"
"Ah! I wanna go and see Jirachi for myself! I could make any wish I want!" Eyes lit up as many were already thinking of the wishes they could make to not just one Jirachi but multiple Jirachi. After all, the Rift kept every single Jirachi in existence in that one strange dimension to prevent any easy victories.
But now that the stairway revealed a lot, it was clear that whatever was beyond that white passageway and Galaxy would reveal the whereabouts of Jirachi. Hearing the news and currently hanging around the Hoenn Region was Paul. And of course, he was joined by the Dazzlings along with their mother.
"That's a good question. How come they haven't made a wish yet?" Sonata asked. "You'd think they would've just gone up there once it showed up."
"If that were me, I'd run up those stairs the moment they show up," Aria added. "But I did hear that they passed out when finished it. That's a shame."
"It can't be that simple." But Paul thought otherwise. "It's nearly the end of this festival and not a single wish has been made. So clearly, there's still one problem they haven't gone past."
"What would that be? Do you think someone's waiting for them there? Aside from the Jirachi." Sonata questioned.
"The Rift put the Jirachi in an unknown dimension. So that dimension in itself is unpredictable. It's not that hard to figure out." Paul shook his head.
"Hmm...That's fair. Plus, there's the whole space problem. Aw, but everyone was so happy when they heard about the stairway. Including me. It's gonna be a real bummer if they find out that they can't reach Jirachi just yet."
"That sucks," Aira replied. "It kills the mood a bit, doesn't it? But...I'm not expecting it to be too bad."
"Anyway. You've all got a performance to get ready for. Coloratura's waiting for you." Paul would bring up tonight's performance. Per the deal that they made back at the Tempo Dome, the Dazzlings would perform a song alongside Coloratura.
Paul would simply do his own thing. But Paul had to wonder about what was beyond the passageway. Despite the completion of the stairway, it was clear that it wasn't over yet. That is how it always seems to appear when it comes to both these worlds. It is never over until it is over.
Canterlot.
Back at Canterlot, many came to admire the Golden Stairway in all of its glory. It was without a doubt the tallest creation in both worlds since it went far enough to reach the cosmos. And the ones responsible for this were still unconscious after everything that had happened.
Days had gone by and they have yet to wake up, still healing at the Canterlot Hospital. Twilight's family would gather to watch over her daughter, even if they knew she would want them to enjoy the festival while they had the opportunity. After all, they had done so much just to make this stairway possible. There were also Pokemon Researchers who just had to study this stairway. Specifically, the Ranger Union and the cooperation they share with Equestria.
Coming over to visit Ash was Delia. Seeing her son in this state wasn't anything new but for once, it wasn't delayed Aura Ataxia that put her out of commission. The only ones exempt from here were Shooting Star since he was brought back to Pegalysium while Chrysalis was sent back to the Changeling Hive to heal.
As for the Golden Stairway, looking up at it was Rainbow Dash, who was surrounded by Rarity, Spike, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. The only ones that hadn't suffered the same fate as their friends.
"Hmm...So there's something there that's making it pretty dangerous to reach, huh? I thought the stairway was here to make sure we get to Jirachi in one piece."
"It's not the stairway's fault. Researchers at the Ranger Union found out that there's a violent amount of Rift Energy through that passageway. Here." Darkrai explained, revealing what was waiting for them beyond the passageway, aside from the Jirachi. He even showed them the proof in the form of a datasheet which was accompanied by Rift Pulse drawings. The pulses would be plentiful, appearing in greater numbers. "It's as if multiple Rift Explosions are happening all at once."
"Darkrai's right." A researcher walked up to them. "The number of Rift Explosions is outlandish. By far one of the biggest spots of Rift Energy possible. Maybe even more so than the Arcane Sea. If you head in there, well...unpredictability is the crux of Rift Energy, isn't it?"
"Aww...that's not fair." Pinkie Pie pouted. "All this trouble and something's blocking us? The Rift can be a bummer a lot of the time."
"We're not sure how much Rift Energy is in there but from what they told us, it's not safe right now. The suits that will help you breathe in space won't do much either." Nightmare Moon would speak as she was currently in charge due to Celestia's current state. "So stay away until we can get suits that can both help us breathe in space and deal with the energy up there."
"It took us a while to develop Rift-resistant suits for our Pokemon Rangers." The Researchers continued. "But for outer space? And with what's happening through that passageway? We need more time to develop something stronger and more versatile. Apologies for the inconvenience."
"So, we're blocked from even going through...Unless we had Aura. And we have to wait for the new suits to come in too." Rarity said. "But the ones who can generate the most are also unconscious so that's another drawback.
"On the bright side, once they wake up, we'll be ready." Rainbow Dash replied. "I just hope it's soon, ya know. The Rift's probably doing something now and the Dread League are gonna take revenge on us at any time."
"It's a scary thought, isn't it?" Nightmare Moon nodded in approval. "But...with me around, you all have nothing to fear! Let those vampires do their worst and I shall show them that the Moon is mine and not theirs!" She unleashed a booming vice, grabbing the attention of many.
"But...what about all the Jirachi up there?" Fluttershy pondered, worrying about the conditions of the Jirachi. What must it feel like to be trapped in that dimension with nothing to do but float around? The boredom must be exceptionally colossal and the thought of even staying in there for 3 years would drive anyone mad. Were the Jirachi going mad in there? These were questions that Fluttershy needed to know and solve.
Either way, despite the obstacles, the existence of this stairway was enough to keep a smile on her face. And a greater form of joy was waiting for them beyond that passageway.
Magehold.
And of course, the vampires were resting up, using the pods in the chambers. And the ones who needed them the most were Opal Vivacity, Melody Moon and Bittersweet. After being exposed to the Sun unexpectedly, many vampires who helped cause so much trouble during the night were found here.
Now it wasn't just their ruler that needed time to recover but a majority of the vampires needed it as well. From the struggle with Yveltal to the Night of the Pokemon Festival. Of course, this was only for the vampires who would take action and not all of them had done anything that would benefit the Black Crusade.
Fractured Note was among one of them, standing in the chamber as he watched so many of his fellow vampires heal within the pods. That involved his sisters. Opal Vivacity and Merry Dread. Both had blown up on the spot once they realized they had lost and soon returned here, much like every other vampire.
"Yeesh. How'd this happen?" Fractured Note was rather shocked to see the abundance of asleep vampires. "This is the most that we've had to use this chamber as of recently. Have we really been slipping that much? Ah, it's fine anyway. I'd say they did a good job messing up Equestria. But...the Black Crusade might show up later at this rate. Equestria's a real hassle, isn't it?"
"T-They're nothing..." Opal spoke through the pod, slowly opening her eyes. "At the end of the day...we can still overcome them in the end. The Black Crusade will be the prime example of that."
"If you say so, sister. But maybe you shouldn't rely on that new ability of yours. You've forgotten how helpful your standard Curse Magic is."
"Shut up." Opal groaned before shutting her eyes. "I'm going back to sleep...Fix my mane afterwards."
"Right, right. But maybe even everything that happened won't be enough." Fractured Note pondered. "Yveltal also needs some time. But maybe..."
Hoenn Sootopolis City.
The final day of the Pokemon Festival had come. The previous days started off with the continuation of the Dread League and their attacks while later days would be filled with bliss and joy, albeit with leftover destruction. The third week, much like the second week, was definitely the wildest.
The first Dread League attack, encountering Galaxy Master and the Rift up at the Galaxy Tower which was also in space to the rampage of 15 demons that ended with Antimatter. It was a wild three weeks. And yet, smiles would remain even after everything that went down. And that was all because of the hope that they had for the future.
Over at Sootopolis, the closing song for the Pokemon Festival would begin soon. There was already a stage that was set for many to see. It had all the necessary equipment that was needed to elevate the sound and presentation. As many arrived to see the concert, backstage, Coloratura and the Dazzlings were just about ready.
"Remember. This song is meant for both worlds." Baron Albert, who was Coloratura's newest manager, showed the singers the music sheet. "It's fitting for what just happened recently. It's a way for us to reminisce about the past too. Even if it was only 3 years ago."
"Got it," Sonata replied as she, along with her sisters, received their own dresses. Made in the Pokemon World, these dresses fit them perfectly. They were originally made for Pokemon Contests but for musical performances, they could work just as well. Pokemon Contest dresses do tend to have that idol flair to them. "But it's all nostalgic already, don't you think?"
"Mmm...Not really. It hasn't been that long for me to feel nostalgic about anything." Aria shook her head. "Maybe the song will change that."
"Very soon, it will be," Coloratura added while being given the final touches by her Meloetta. "Sometimes, you can feel a sense of nostalgia even if it hasn't been that long. That's how you know it's been a wonderful time for you."
"Well, that's not happening any time soon." Adagio crossed her arms. "These past years haven't been consistent with making me feel happy. So the song won't mean much to me at all."
"Don't be like that." Coloratura laughed. "Once you get into the song, you'll see just how hard it can hit. Music is universal after all. It's the greatest language possible."
"Right, right. It's time for you all to perform. Now. Don't try and 1-up each other. Stay unified. I know this is your first time working alongside each other so please...unity." Alberto pleaded as the time for them to perform had come.
They would get into their own positions as the effects of the incoming song would be backed up by Pokemon instead of practical effects. But there were still practical things here and there. Such as the number of balloons that flew through the curtains. Joining these curtains were Will-O-Wisps.
The spectral flames would fly alongside the balloons in perfect sync as everyone stayed quiet. The curtains opened up, showing the four singers. Or rather, six, since Meloetta, Kricketot and Brionne were involved. The more music the better. Speaking of music, the melody had begun as the wisps would flicker in sync with the beat.
Thank you for being by my side I can shine more than ever with greater stride
In that one moment of that one time, I could barely breathe I stood all alone in the heart of darkness
Every time I seek out happiness, I would lose sight of everything once I lose myself I already forgot when to stop, I guess
"What's the matter?" I heard your voice At last, I've finally discovered my true "love"
More balloons would fly out, surrounding their feet while Kricketot would be picked up them. And as the music would pick up, so would the Will-O-Wisp effects before showing off different elements from different Pokemon. Brionne would shoot out Water Ballons from her mouth, causing them to become one with the standard balloons, giving everyone a spectacle as Meloetta would then dance on them.
Thank you for always being by my side I shine more than ever with greater stride Even when I face a hard time alone, I'll never be afraid Because at any time, I believe in the bonds that we've made
The music would then explode along with the song, gracing everyone with bioluminescent lights that were stunning to view. Cheers would erupt from this dazzling performance that bestowed their eyes. The Golden Stairway wasn't the only beautiful thing that they would see.
Every time I take a step in this bustling city The old me is no longer there for me to see
The message in the bound album that symbolizes our thread Even now, the Tweedia remains unfaded
Thank you for smiling by my side Just because of that, tears sparkle beautifully in my eyes Even when I face a hard night alone, I won't be afraid Because at any time, I believe in the bonds that we've made
Safe to say, it was going extremely well as Meloetta would then grab Kricketot by the arms, forcing him to dance with her. Kricketot, who was mainly the backing instrument, would join Meloetta among the wisps, balloons and bubbles that would not fade or pop.
Rainbow Dash's group viewed this for themselves, having the chance to witness it live. This music was getting them all excited in various ways, even heating up their blood from how exciting it was. The bombastic energy from this concert was broadcasted live for many across the world to see. That way, it wouldn't be limited to just Hoenn. They just wished that the rest of their friends could see this.
Unbeknownst to them, they could. The hospital treated their patients well after all. Ash and everyone would have the chance to view this performance either way. Ash sat up from his bed, knowing the meaning behind this song immediately. How could he not when he's experienced it multiple times? And undoubtedly, all of his friends would know the meaning as well.
When painful moments and bitter memories overlap They look like petals and make me laugh and clap
Thank you for being by my side Just because of that, the strength I have will never subside I'm not alone because no matter when, you are here In these gallant worlds that we all share!
My wish... For you... My wish...
That was all she wrote. Everyone would applaud the performance as they expected nothing less from Coloratura. But the Dazzlings certainly stood out as well along with their Pokemon. The wisps, bubbles and balloons would finally burn out and pop once the song was over.
Just as intended, this song was the representation of both worlds and the wonderful time they've spent together, no matter how chaotic every event has been. But that chaos was also part of the charm. It spoke to everyone. Humans, ponies, dragons, changelings and more. And of course...Pokemon.
Victini, Meloetta and Hoopa even felt a grand sense of nostalgia hearing this song. Being around such wonderful friends certainly made these usually secluded and rambunctious Mythicals remember why they even show up for the Pokemon Festival. It was this sole reason. Never mind all the conflict that went down. The Pokemon Festival itself matched the song perfectly and was the perfect symbol of their happiness. They would have to return to where they came from once it was over. But it didn't leave them upset. It left them with further joy in their hearts. They knew that they could always enjoy the next one and nothing was stopping them from doing so.
Adagio would know what Coloratura meant by that. The song spoke for itself and to an extent, her own singing voice did as well. She got applause and praises from everyone but this time, her reaction to it was different. Usually, Adagio would revel in this, but the song and what it stood for gave her something else to cherish. It was what she had now.
The Dazzlings each had something special that they had ever since the two worlds crossover over. And now, no matter what, they would never lose it.
Paul looked over at the Dazzlings, smiling at them with a proud heart. Aria noticed how Paul cracked a smile, which can be considered rare for him. Once she locked eyes with him, Aria would have back at him with more energy than she usually carries. Paul would raise his hand back once, doing a light wave before turning away.
And though they would have to stay in the hospital to recover, Ash and everyone else felt like moving around and jumping for joy right about now. But perhaps when they're in better condition, they could have that thrilling moment.
Ash, Pikachu and Twilight would look through the window, seeing the Golden Stairway and how it could even back up the song with its existence. The Sun would shine beautifully, piercing through the window and giving light to their bodies. They had a lot to look forward to once it all becomes unified at last. If anything, when they get their wish, it would essentially mean that their adventures would truly take off from here as the journey continues.
Months have gone by since the third Pokemon Festival and everything that happened with it. That time of the year has come again. Christmas and Hearth's Warming. The unification of two holidays. Very soon, it would've been 4 years since their worlds had met and these dual holidays perfectly represented that.
And at the moment, Ash and those that helped make the main crux of the stairway were still in the hospital. They still needed some time to heal even after many months had passed. But even if they were couped up in here for some time to recover, they still had the opportunity to go outside and meet with familiar faces.
Keeping them warm from the cold were Arcanine, Ninetales and a few of Luna's Fire-Types. They would provide all the necessary warmth that their friends needed, staying by their side. And as a bonus, Victini, who was also a patient here, would generate his own fire to keep himself warm.
"We should be out of here very soon," Celestia said. By this time, with all the months that have gone by, they've had enough time to rest to their heart's content and heal up. And for the most part, not much trouble has sprouted up in the world.
"Being in here for this long isn't so bad," Twilight added. "We needed this, don't you think?"
"Mhm." Applejack, Cadence and Cold Colt vehemently agreed with that. With them, they were kept company by their Pokemon. Most of their Pokemon were healthy while Ash's Lucario, Celestia's Gardevoir and Cadence's Sylveon had to stay behind.
"But Ash...this is the longest you've gone without exploring much of either world." Twilight pointed out one thing from this month-long rest. Ash's lack of a thrilling and expansive journey. "Are you alright?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah. It's totally fine that I haven't gone to a lot of places that much." But Ash was perfectly fine. Even if he was coupled up here, he still had a beaming and positive smile on his face. "Plus, it's not the first time I've taken a break from exploring for a while."
"It's not?" This was surprising for many of them to hear. The first thing that came to mind was Alola and how it was the one place where Ash found the most solace and peace at. But most likely, he was referring to something else at a different time.
"Nah. I took a break one time for a pretty long time. That was when I just finished up my time in Sinnoh and I wanted to cool my jets for a bit." Ash reminisced about the past. "Before anything else that would come later, Sinnoh really threw me for a loop with everything that happened there. From Darkrai, Giratina, Zoroak, Arceus, Paul and everything else that happened there. I wouldn't mind experiencing moments like that again."
"I can see why you would want to take a break from all of that." Luna nodded in response. "But for months? I would have thought a few weeks was your preference."
"Yeah. But that kinda came back to bite me a bit. I spent so much time chilling out back home that I got kinda sloppy with my skills as a Pokemon Trainer. Heading to Unova showed me that so I had to pick myself back up and hit the ground running. I found my stride once I could feel the thrill of a journey again. So this isn't so bad."
"Morning!" Barging in to see Ash and everyone else was Delia Ketchum in a rather extravagant winter getup. And in her hands, she had various bags and boxes that were also being carried by Mr Mime. "It's almost time for you to come home, isn't it? Wonderful!"
"Mom! Mimey!" Ash jumped up before nearly falling over. "Woah!"
"Careful there! You're getting better but you're not in the clear yet." Delia would catch him. "Just a bit more and you'll be moving around at ludicrous speeds in no time. Like you usually do. But for now, here are some early gifts for you all before the fateful day"
Delia would bring early presents for them. Ash, Victini, Cold Colt and Phione would have their eyes flare with excitement. Of course, it was all tailored to their own preferences and Delia certainly knew what most of them wanted. For the past months, everyone received Get-well-soon gifts from their friends and family which soon led to a decorated room.
They all had their favourite objects plastered around the room, making it pop out compared to any other patient room. But Delia wasn't the only familiar face that would show up. Sweetie Belle appeared, coming to meet with Phione. And with her, she was carrying a large cart of snow. Assisting her in pushing this cart of snow were Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.
"What's up with that?" Applejack question. "How'd ya get all this snow here without melting it?"
"We had a Vanilluxe keep it cool enough so it doesn't melt so quickly." Apple Bloom explained. "Sweetie Belle thought of this."
"I sure did. You can't move around too much. So that means no snowball fights outside or anything like that. How about inside?" Sweetie Belle suggested the idea of having all the fun activities with snow inside.
"Inside? Hmm..." Ash thought about it. Having those activities inside was rather unorthodox. But it wasn't impossible, especially with how a Vanilluxe had tampered with the snow. "I guess so. We can sit around and throw them. That can still be fun."
"And make snow angels and all that! We've got full permission to drop all the snow on the floor here!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"You do?" In unison, they all said the same thing. Did the CMC really have that much permission? Even though they were allowed to bring such a large pile of snow along, could they drop it on the floor in front of patients?
"They do." A nurse poked her head through the nearby windows, confirming that they had full permission to spread this white substance.
"You've got Ninetales to keep you warm and all that. So it's all good!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders would then tilt the cart forward, dropping all of it at once. This specific room would soon be covered by this specialized snow, spreading across the floor immediately. They watched as not a single part of the floor was missed. Everything was absorbed by the snow.
They didn't have to go outside when all the snow-scaped enjoyment came to them. The three fillies would high-hoof each other as they felt that this was a job well done in pending. And they were right. Because immediately, Ash, Pikachu and those that usually pack high energy would take this opportunity to frolic in the snow.
"Oh yeah! Thanks!" Ash exclaimed before dropping his body onto the snow. He got his back, immediately going for a snow angel. Thankfully, as patients, they received clothes that would keep them warm during this time. And the presence of Fire-Types helped with that.
"Nice work, crusaders." Twilight congratulated before using her magic on the snow. She raised up some snow, meshing it all together to form a shape. Instead of her hooves, she would use her magic to try and create a snow pony. But she would quickly try something new and form a snow creation of Ninetales. It was her way of showing gratitude to the Pokemon that always kept her warm.
"Ninetales!" Ninetales ran up to his snow counterpart who was the perfect height. He wagged all nine tails around before poking his nose with the snow construct. To add some life and even interact with Ninetales, Celestia would chime in, using her own magic on the Ninetales Snow Construct, causing all of its nine tails to move in response. "Nine?"
Ninetales was startled by this. The Snow Construct would mimic his tail movements as if it was communicating with him. Unaware that this was Celestia's doing, Ninetales would then scamper around to see if it was alive. And as a way to humour herself and mess with Ninetales, Celestia would manipulate the construct to also scamper, giving Ninetales a fellow Fox Pokemon to play around with.
"Things have been surprisingly fine with Nightmare Moon in charge," Luna said while opening one of her gifts. "I suppose that time we had did truly change her. I have to thank Mesprit when I have the chance."
"So what was up with that Antimatter stuff? Why'd it show up all of a sudden? And what's Antimatter anyway?" Scootaloo questioned.
"It's what Giratina creates. All of Giratina's attacks and the energy it produces are packed with Antimatter. Safe to say that the Distortion World also has it. More than anywhere." Twilight explained. "Most likely, the stairway unleashed Antimatter because that's the opposite of what Arceus has."
"How's light the opposite of Antimatter? I don't get it." Jade Skies shook her head.
"It's only Giratina's exclusive Antimatter. It's said that Giratina is apparently the Shadow of Arceus. The opposite in every way." The Princess of Friendship continued. "If my Z-Crystal was involved then I'd have to deal with that problem too."
"Phione's light would've been completely wiped out had it not been for everyone's involvement. Honestly, for such a simple effect, Bittersweet's Curse Magic is shockingly good. Whatever she touches, she can make it the opposite of what it usually is. Mainly bitter when against us." Celestia sighed.
"Curse Magic's a problem, ain't it?" Applejack chuckled. "But we still won and sent them packing, didn't we? That mane of Opal's is gonna need a lot more cleaning after what Lucario did."
"Rrr." Lucario felt proud of it too. In fact, from how he blew up most of Opal Vivacity's mane, it seemed like he did that to also mess with her vanity.
"More importantly...when we get to Jirachi, we have to make our wishes count. The Rift didn't just make an entire dimension to keep them all captive but it also foresaw what kind of wish we would make." Celestia stamped her hoof on the snow, drawing out the Rift's usual appearance.
"So what are you saying? Our wishes are gonna be messed with too? That's a shame." Cold Colt pouted. "But it can't be all that bad, can it?"
"We'll see when that time comes. For now..." Celestia would then wipe away the drawing of the snow. "Let's enjoy our time. And especially what will come tomorrow. We all have our own wishes, don't we? With all those Jirachi there, perhaps we can make them all come true."
"I know what I'm wishing for! Defeating the Dread League!" Applejack raised her hoof. "Make it a sabotage!"
"Sabotage? That's very unlike you, Applejack. But I suppose it's possible. We wouldn't want any more trouble from them. But what would that wish even do?" Luna asked.
"Eh. Take away Yveltal or something?" Applejack drank an apple drink that was given to her by Delia. "I don't want the whole place to be messed up even when I make that wish. Cause...some good vampires could be there, ya know. It'd be a shame if something happened to their home out of nowhere."
"Oh...Like Night Sprout?" Sweetie Belle brought up Night Sprout. "She was pretty nice from what Premium Polish told her. A great battler too."
Celestia smiled at that, knowing that there was more to the creepiness of the vampires. While their cruel dispositions were the majority, it was not all of them. "Vampires or not, they're still ponies at the end of the day. I wish I encountered them before in the past. Maybe I could've talked to them. But the time for talking is long gone after what they've done."
"I still find it hard to believe that Rosa Maledicta is their ruler. A regular pony." Cadence shook her head. "How'd that happen?"
"I'm still banking on that one wish that we're all thinking of. Merging both worlds forever." Ash had the ultimate wish in mind and was dead set on seeing that it came true.
"About that...what do you think will happen when our worlds are together forever?" Twilight faced everyone. "I mean..obviously we'll keep everything even if the Rift leaves. But what about the gateways? If the Rift leaves, will they vanish too? Ponyville and Pallet Town might be on different sides but they're easy to enter with the gateways. Cold. Do you have an answer?"
"An answer? Well..."Cold Colt thought deeply. "If the Rift does leave...there's a good chance that everything it left behind could vanish."
"Everything? Does that mean..." Twilight paused.
"Yeah. I guess we might vanish too." Cold Colt's pupils shrank. "And everyone affected by Rift Energy might lose what they gained. Bayleef's Fate-Changing could be ripped away for good. Spike's Axew will just stay as a Unovan Axew without having the chance to transform into a Haxorus whenever he wants. It would be back to square one. And the Arcane Sea might vanish too..."
"Vanish? I don't want to vanish." Jade Skies, expressionless as always, was actually terrified by this thought. The thought of suddenly ceasing to exist once the Rift leaves was mortifying.
"Is that true?" Cadence asked, hoping that wasn't the case.
"I don't know. I guess the only ones who can answer that are Obsidian and Emerald. Wonder what Obsidian's doing nowadays..." Cold Colt pondered.
"That won't happen," Ash interjected, causing everyone to focus on him. "That wish we're gonna make...is gonna fix that. I promise. No one's going anywhere and no one's gonna vanish or lose anything. Not even the Rift. I promised the Rift's...Lucien and Sienna's parents that I'd bring them both back. So until I live up to that promise and even when Jirachi makes our wish come true."
"Do you think that the Rift's no longer going to take that form if you?" A curious Twilight questioned. "Lucien and Sienna are already hanging around in the world."
"Only one way to find out." Ash grinned. "There's a lot we gotta unpack, isn't there? So, let's discover it. And don't worry about how the world's gonna look when it all comes together. We can still see each other."
"I guess so." Twilight rubbed her hoof. "Just a bit nervous after all. The future can do that to me."
"You'd better brace it for Twilight." Celestia nudged the younger alicorn. "As an alicorn, the future is plentiful. It's all a matter of how you make it. The past is an example and the present is the mould. The future is the finishing touch. A touch that never ends."
"Aw...You guys are getting too sentimental for me!" Scootaloo tried holding back her tears but it was pointless. All of this talk was too touching.
"But it's wonderful for you all to say this. Perhaps, after everything that's happened even from day one, those above could see how it all played out. The good and the bad." Celestia would then look up at the snow-covered sky through the windows. "Whether it's our parents or even those who have passed on. Granted, we can talk to them again thanks to the meteors but still. I wonder if it wasn't just them that have been watching us..."
"Who else could be watching us?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Well...possibly the angels." The Sun Princess giggled, bringing up the opposite of the various demons that many of them have seen and encountered.
"Angels?" Many of them repeated.
"Right. Angels. If there are 100 Demons...then are 100 Angels. Probably more than that, looking down at us while they frolic in the Ambrosial Plane. I used to dream about angels. I even saw my parents as them when they became alicorns. Of course, that wasn't the case."
"Woah...there are angels up there?" Ash's eyes lit up as he recently made a Snow Angel prior to this being brought up. His worldview was expanding even further. So many species and races to see. And now, it was reaching a point where the most stellar of races were involved. From Demons to Angels. "Man...I'd love to see them too if I could."
"Pika..."
"You don't have to. There's already an angel right here for me to love." Delia kneeled holding Ash's face. "Isn't that right?"
"Aww...Mom!" Ash groaned, prompting the laughter of everyone here. The motherly love was truly powerful, especially during moments that involved pain and healing at the same time.
"Darkrai. Anything to report?" Luna asked Darkrai who emerged from the shadows.
"Good news. Those suits that'll help us in space and that passageway are close to being finished. You'd best be ready." Darkrai revealed that the specialized suits were nearing completion ever since the months went by.
"We'll totally be ready, Darkrai." Ash gave a thumbs up. "And guys...when we make that wish...what do you wanna do after that?"
"I want to continue exploring and be the first to enter the Equestria League while I wait for everyone. The Pokemon World will finally be endless." Luna went first, declaring what she would after the wish was made.
"I want to find Reshiram as soon as I can. And I want to make that dream of mine possible. A world where status doesn't distance close bonds at all." Celestia declared her wish. "Zekrom may be fine since he helped defeat one of the demons...but I'm hoping for Reshiram's safety."
Everyone else shared their dreams and what they aimed to do after the wish is made. Because once the worlds are together, everything was their oyster. Nothing would hold them back at all. And during this festive time, those wishes were elevated.
The wishes of many were all the same but still wonderful. This moment. This experience. And even these events. All of it was something no one wanted to forget or abandon. How will the world turn out after that? That remains to be seen. And the answer could be very close as the journey continues.
It was a silent night. By this time, both Christmas and Hearth's Warming were approaching. It was past midnight and once that Sun rises, the festive days would reach their pinnacle. Once the Sun arrives, a barrage of cheers will undoubtedly come.
Still in the hospital, fast asleep, were those who helped the most in making the Golden Stairway. Very soon, once their bodies were fully healed up, they would be out of the hospital. But for now, even during Christmas and Hearth's Warming Eve, they would stay here. All of them were having their respective sweet dreams as seen by the smiles on their faces.
Twilight's dream was mainly focused on what mattered at the moment. The Golden Stairway and the passageway that was at the very end. In her dreams, Twilight set foot onto the stairway without a special suit. Why would she need a suit for this since it was a dream?
Looking up at the stairway, it was an astonishing climb. Considering it started from Canterlot and went all the way to outer space, it would take a while to reach it without a doubt. But in her dreams, she could easily change that by moving faster than usual.
Twilight would excitedly prance and gallop up the stairs as each movement on it made an orchestral sound that resembled that of Arceus' cry. She would pass by Canterlot Castle, already reaching the array of clouds. She would close her eyes as the clouds move past her face as in her dreams, the distance from the sky to space was short. Already, she laid her eyes on the starry skies of the cosmos.
Twilight then spread her wings, taking flight as her wings would even drop feathers that would fall back to Earth. She moved higher, passing every star, asteroid and planet nearby as the stairway was wide enough to reach these cosmic elements.
And right at the end, just near the Sun, the white passageway that opened up a hole in outer space was waiting for her. When getting close to the passageway, she could hear a cry coming out of it. Two cries. Multiple cries. No. Millions of cries. That could only be one Pokemon. Jirachi. Granted, she has never heard a Jirachi cry before so this was only a hypothetical understanding of what it sounded like.
The ultimate wish that would unite both worlds could finally happen. And it only took a constant back and forth against two different factions and the near-destruction of Equestria to get all the key players in place. But Twilight aimed for another wish. After all, there were more Jirachis in that strange dimension.
"What else should I wish for? There are so many possibilities..." The young alicorn thought of a plethora of wishes that could be made. But before she could continue thinking of the various options, that was when something interrupted her blissful moment.
A rumble in the cosmos went off, being strong enough to throw Twilight off balance even when she was flying. Outer space shook from this rumble, causing Twilight to land directly onto the stairway. "Ugh...What?"
The cause of this would reveal itself soon. When Twilight looked up, she saw how a hand suddenly burst through the white passageway with brute force, shattering parts of it that would soon fly out into space as debris. This hand looked human as a black glove protected it. Following that was a black cloak as there was only one terrifying individual that perfectly matched his description.
Ghetsis.
He tore open the passageway, revealing the rest of himself as he was larger than what he usually was. Strikingly large to the point where he was bigger than the stairway. Twilight gasped upon seeing the terrifying leader of Team Plasma appear as a titan.
Ghetsis made a terrifying grin with his eyes being lit up, gaining a crimson glow that matched his pupil colours. The Titanic Ghetsis would then reveal something else. A second arm. Twilight had never seen Ghetsis with his other arm, assuming that it doesn't exist. But in this dream, it certainly did as Ghetsis ended up pulling out the most important Pokemon in all of this.
Jirachi.
"Jirachi?!" Twilight exclaimed as millions of Jirachi were within Ghetsis' massive grasp, crying and screaming as they tried to escape from his grasp. Ghetsis laughed as his laughter was so loud that it could even be heard in space, shaking the planets and stars themselves. "Put them down!"
Aiming to free them from Ghetsis' clutch, Twilight would start a conflict within her dreams, even if it was not her original intention. She cocked her head back, flaring her horn with magic before releasing it as a blast. But Ghetsis wasn't the only nightmarish entity to appear.
Right as her beam approached Ghetsis' hand, something smacked it out of the way. A massive hoof suddenly materialized in outer space, hitting Twilight's beam. That hoof belonged to Rosa Maledicta, the Lich Queen. While she hasn't been seen yet, she was an ever-lurking threat that Twilight was aware of thanks to the Dread League.
More of Twilight's fears were starting to emerge. The face of Empress Twilight, her counterpart from another universe would pop out, gazing at the Princess of Friendship. Twilight was in shock as the most fearsome enemies of her past were popping up. Even ones she had yet to encounter.
And they all had one thing in common. Stopping Twilight from reaching her goal and instead, taking her goal for themselves. With all the Jirachis in their grasp, they had the power to access a multitude of wishes. And with what each of them desires, these wishes could be cataclysmic in so many unfortunate ways. Their voices would all echo out as they stated what they wanted. And all of the worst possibilities rang through Twilight's ears.
"Gah!" Waking up from this nightmare was Twilight. "Hah..." She would take a deep breath once she realized it was merely a nightmare. Thankfully, her scream didn't wake anyone up. It only alerted Absol, who was always keeping guard during the night.
"Absol?"
"Sorry if I gave you a fright there, Absol...Just a bad dream," Twilight said before sitting up. "It's the worst time to have a bad dream right now."
Of all the times she could have a bad dream, Twilight wished that it wasn't during the night of two festive holidays. But those were just her fears of what could happen. The terrifying truth that Equestria's worst enemies could take advantage of the Golden Stairway was prominent. Why wouldn't they? Considering the reason for its existence. Twilight needed to clear her mind of those possibilities, especially when an enjoyable morning was coming her way. She would get out of the hospital bed, deciding to get some fresh air for a bit. Absol would accompany her.
Over at the next room and near the hallway, she would open one of the windows as the snow would blow inside immediately. Sensing how cold it was, Twilight would rethink her decision, closing the window in a heartbeat. The chill of the snow already reached her, making the Princess of Friendship shudder.
"Trying to get some fresh air?" Someone spoke to her, also appearing awake. With a swivel of her head, Twilight would find that it was Ash along with Pikachu being awake. Pikachu would act as a lightbulb, emanating a constant electrical glow to light up this room.
"Pika?"
"Ash. Pikachu. It was just to get a bad dream out of my head." Twilight replied. "I'm afraid it might show up again now that I think about it."
"A bad dream? Of what?"
"It's the stairway." Twilight would then turn her attention to the stairway outside and how the snow would lather it. And yet, it would still appear gorgeous even with the snow on its steps. "Now that we have it...aren't you worried someone might use it to reach Jirachi and wish for something else? What's stopping them from taking this chance?"
"Yeah. I've thought about it." Ash walked towards her. "It's pretty easy for any of 'em to wanna take that chance. But the ones stopping them are us after all. We've all made it clear how far we'll go to protect our homes, right? I'm not worried at all when I know there's gonna be someone to stop them. It's not always gonna be me."
"You're right. But I'm just eager to reach Jirachi as soon as possible. That one wish will make me happier than I could possibly be. What do you think?"
"It'd be awesome, for sure. Then, we wouldn't have to worry about too much anymore, right? Not when everything's together. But you're about one thing you said yesterday. Pallet Town and Ponyville might not be that close to each other anymore. The same goes for Kanto."
"That's what I'm also worried about. We're usually so close to each other that we can just move from gateway to gateway in a few seconds, we see each other. That might not happen anymore. It's a bit odd to think about having to come over by hoof or chariot now..."
"But you've still got that super-sweet teleportation magic of yours, right?" Ash nudged her. "You can always pop in with ease thanks to that."
"That's true. I can just teleport there. But with everything else, reaching each other will just take a few extra steps, that's all. I've gotten used to the gateways now. Just seeing them, especially the one over at Ponyville gives me something nice to think about and look forward to. You've been distant from some of your friends a lot of the time, Ash. How do you handle it so well?"
"I've had a lot of friends travel with me up until now. But for every new meeting, there's also a goodbye." He would look up at the night skies, envisioning all of his travelling companions through the years and regions. "Even the people who aren't with me now are doing their best somewhere."
Within his vision, he saw others he hadn't seen for so long, he could count on them giving it their all. From his rivals to different trainers he's encountered for a day or two.
"And somehow, we meet up once again. That's gonna happen with us one day, Twilight. Even if you don't see me in Equestria for a long time, we'll meet again. With every new goodbye, there's a familiar reunion afterwards."
"That's a promise. We'll meet again when that time comes in the far future." Twilight held her hoof out before using her magic to materialize a magical fist. "And by that time, I know you'll become a Pokemon Master."
"Oh yeah. Count on it, Princess of Friendship." Ash would give a fist-bump to this magical fist as the two of them would grin at each other. Wanting a fist bump, Pikachu would do the same with Absol, who would oblige with his paw. Each of them would then laugh with each other afterwards, only being heard by them.
"See you tomorrow morning. Unless you're up for a battle?" Ash asked.
"You're still on that? Ash, I'll never battle you. I'm too scared to." She would reply as her voice would fade away from this room and the hallway.
Day.
"Happy Holidays!" At last, once the Sun rose, many of their friends and family showed up to the hospital. The hospital was filled with more visitors than usual as they even went the mile to bring a tree for them. And of course, all the presents were waiting for these recovering patients.
"Here's to the eventual new year and your full recoveries, all of you," Delia said. "We doubled up on the presents this time. Or at least, I did."
"Feeling better? Here's some charge to help with that!" Premium Polish lunged at Celestia, hugging her with a jolt of electricity from her horn.
"I feel better when you're here!" Celestia laughed, patting the android filly. "I wish I could have given you a present but I was stuck in here, sadly. EIther way, I can trust that your mother brought something here just like last time.
"Okay! Le's see what we have here!" Ash cheered before rapidly unravelling his first present. What could he want when he seemingly had so much that there were was little to give him? But Ash is a fellow who enjoys life to the fullest and always finds value in something. And in this case, he got possibly the biggest surprise that he would've never expected.
A figure of Galaxy Master. The character he made and modelled after his father was his Christmas present. Perfectly crafted and polished with every detail being immaculate to the original character. "Eh?! T-This exists?!"
"How?!" Twilight leaned in along with many others who didn't expect this at all. "Did he get that popular during the Pokemon Festival?!"
"This is the closest I'll ever get to seeing him so up close," Celestia commented. "A very nice blend of colours, I must say."
"Why does he get one and I don't...?" Luna grumbled, feeling jealous of Galaxy Master's own action figure and its mere existence.
"Ah, no, no. That's not made by any company." Delia wagged her finger. "I realized that it was my fault that Galaxy Master came to life. But I suppose that's also a benefit. So, I had the idea of trying it again but with a less animated existence. I went back to the Sea Temple to make this possible."
"Oh, you used the crystal to make it real? That's awesome, mom!" Ash's eyes lit up as this was once again his mother's work. But it was fitting. Delia made Galaxy Master come to life and he was based around his father, so it only made sense that the husband of Delia Ketchum would make him once more.
"It was a last-minute idea, I'll be honest." Delia giggled. "The People of the Water had to fast travel here."
"Wait...so, they're here too?" Ash stood up. From Delia's nod, he was correct. At this moment, the People of the Water from the Sea Temple were present. Their temple wasn't around since there wasn't much of an ocean around Canterlot, thus, they would have to make an appearance on land.
Alo, Enola and all those Ash recognized from the Sea Temple gathered outside the hospital, looking up and holding various Samiya-based presents for all.
"That's not all. That Galaxy Master figure isn't the only thing made by the crystal." Delia winked. "I had a chat with your friends and parents about what you want the most. Or even what you wanted during your previous Hearth Warming's."
"All of them?" They all said in unison.
"Almost. I couldn't quite get to your parents, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. And I have yet to meet yours, Princess Cadence."
"Good luck with meeting mine..." Cadence sighed. "You'd probably find a Mythical Pokemon before you meet them."
"Wait, us too?" Rainbow Dash, who was among the ponies that brought along these gifts, was unaware of what Delia did. That applied to Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Flurry Heart and so on.
"That's right. Go ahead and open them. Whatever you wished for as a child, you can get at last. And possibly even a better version of it!" Delia spread her arms out as Mr Mime would enter the room with more presents to share.
"Mime-Mime!" With these extra presents that were conjured up by the power of the crystals. Mr Mime would send them all to their respective and soon-to-be-owners. Already, many of them had an idea of what it could be. After all, when they were children, the number of wishes they had were at an all-time high.
When opening these presents, gifts from the far past would return. Everything they wanted but never got the chance to receive mainly due to certain limitations and poor luck of the draws were finally here. Delia knew the reaction that would come out of them. How would someone react to something they never received in the past and finally achieved it? Well, in the case of this group, joy.
All of them babbled and shouted as their eyes were stunned by what they received. And it wasn't just one gift. Most of them had multiple gifts that they once wished for as children, so there was more to go around.
"She did a better job than us...Oh well." Twilight Velvet shrugged. "It is was it is."
"Granted, I've expended a lot of the power from the crystal because of this and it will certainly be out of commission for a while." Delia chuckled, revealing that the crystal was now dry thanks to her. "But it was worth it."
"Sure was! Thanks, Mrs Ketchum!" Spike thanked. And they had yet to even touch the presents that weren't made by the Sea Temple Crystal. It was safe to say that they would be occupied in this room, taking in their gifts and using them as much as they could.
In the next room, another pleasant experience was waiting for them. The food. Once they had their time with the presents, the banquet of holiday food was spread out for them. All other patients and workers in this hospital were included since no one was exempt from this.
With a touch of Pinkie Pie's influence, they would be occupied in this room as much as they were in the patient room. But who was complaining? It was time to dig in. They brought in their presents while eating these delicacies, making a mess immediately. Ash kept the Galaxy Master figure near the window where the golden sun would shine beautifully on it.
Ash looked over at the figure while slurping some noodles. It felt like his dad was watching over him even if it wasn't actually him. But seeing Galaxy Master and how much Ash wanted to see his father again, this would do perfectly.
"Ah! My cake!" When snacking on this feast, Rarity would notice that her slice of cake had vanished the moment she looked away. "Rainbow Dash, did you take my cake!?"
"Mm-mm!" Rainbow Dash shook her head while having cake frosting on her face. She would then receive a stern but light chop to the head by Darkrai who witnessed it happen. "Oof!"
"Mmrpgh! Mmm-mmgh! Mmm!" Ash spoke with a lot of food in his mouth, trying to communicate with Princess Celestia, only to fail in doing so. Celestia would simply laugh at this in response, unable to follow a single word from him.
The Pokemon were equally as chaotic as their Trainers. They would move around frantically while eating, spreading this tasty mess everywhere. Even the Pokemon had gifts that came directly from the crystal that Delia had to find out. She had her work cut out for her even if it was mainly the crystal that did most of the work. She felt like her own Santa Claus in this instance.
Chatting with everyone else from afar via the Xtransceivers, Chrysalis would speak to her friends from the Changeling Hive, witnessing their violent consumptions first-hand. Chrysalis herself was recovering fine as at this point, Ribombee was fully healed, showing her face through the screen.
And really, everyone would mostly stay indoors instead of going outside. The hospital became one big Christmas Hot Spot because of them. And frankly, after the turbulent year that was this one, perhaps staying indoors was the best option overall. They were thankful for everyone and everything around them and certainly what could come next.
And whatever comes next is determined by a single Pokemon. But one thing is for sure, this colourful chaotic cast of characters aren't ones to let the future be wasted, even if they stay in a hospital for months. "Here's to the next year!" Ash raised his fist into the air while holding a drink. Everyone would cheer with him, raising their respective objects up.
"Aaah! Feels good to be back." Finally returning to Ponyville was Twilight Sparkle. She made a full recovery, at last, feeling rejuvenated in every way. "Now, I can get back to work. And there's a lot for us to do."
"So soon?" Returning here as well after spending some time in the hospital was Spike alongside Cold Colt. All three, including their Pokemon, were approaching the castle as it was still in tip-top condition even after these past months.
"Mhm. There's not a moment to lose now that the stairway's completed. Once those suits arrive, it's off to Jirachi. And with how long I've been gone, Zero should've hooked me up with something new. The world's changed quite a bit after what happened. So to know how much...I'll need all the newspapers I can get. The hospital newspapers just weren't enough."
"Right. But ya know, we could practice my magic until I can make a suit that'll help you through the passageway." Cold Colt suggested. "If you want."
"The ones we need are nearly ready so practising won't be enough. It's all a matter if those suits are durable enough too. We wouldn't want them breaking apart the further we go."
When entering the main room where her friends usually appear, there was already someone waiting for her. Or rather, two individuals were waiting for her. One was a regular and lived here while the other was leaning towards being a regular. Starlight Glimmer was the obvious first one while the second one was Zero. Zero made himself comfortable, lounging on Twilight's throne while being yelled at by Starlight.
"Science beats magic any day of the week," Zero said, wagging his finger to Starlight. While magic is the crux of everything that's been happening so far, without science, a lot of this would fly over our heads and we'd never know how to manage it."
"Pah! Magic's easier to understand because we don't need anything wild like schematics or data or whatever." Starlight replied as the two of them were having a debate over Magic vs Science. Which was the superior force in the world?
"Uh, am I interrupting something important?" Twilight spoke, alerting them both.
"Twilight! You'll back me up, right?!" Starlight zoomed over. "By the way, well done for making a great recovery. Magic's at the top when it comes to what we understand, right?"
"You're an expert of science, Twilight. You can agree with my option, right?" Zero said.
"Uh...I'd go with both." Twilight answered but not in the way either of them wanted. "I'm pretty skilled in both categories. Plus, neither is better than the other if you ask me. Both help a lot and they're the reason we're even here right now."
"Aww...that's it?" Starlight felt dissatisfied with that answer. "I expected more but...oh well."
"Anyway, Zero. What do you have for us today?" Twilight asked. "How long have you been waiting for me to show up again?"
"Three days since I heard you would return pretty soon." He held his hand up with three fingers showing. "I thought I'd get a head start before you'd show up. You know about the special suits, right? The ones that the Ranger Union are cooking up?"
"Mhm. We talked all about it back at the hospital. Just a bit more and we'll be suited up. We might be getting it tomorrow or the day after." Spike added.
"Well, good luck then. Because when you get in there, the way they described all those Rift Pulses doesn't do it any justice. It's far worse than what you're thinking. Nothing unpredictable is coming out of it."
"What? What would happen if we went in there?" Spike asked, shuddering at the thought of this other outcome that was understated by the Ranger Union Researchers.
"All the Rift Energy you've experienced and seen are plentiful, but they've been kept to a minimum." To give a visual demonstration, Zero flicked up a small cube that would soon float in the air. This cube would bring out a projection, showcasing a digital artwork of a pony along with Rift Energy in its most common appearance. "Well, as low as it can be anyway."
"It has? It doesn't feel like it." Twilight disagreed. There were too many examples making her think otherwise. "Or even look like it. The Arcane Sea is full of it so how can that be a minimum?"
"It looks like a lot but it's actually not even close to what the Rift created in that dimension. Those Rift Pulses are a lot like Supernovas. Everything you've felt here was the equivalent of a massive bomb going off. You're lucky that you're resilient enough but for this..." The pulses would then obliterate the digital pony, causing it to evaporate, dissolve, combust and disperse all at the same time, stunning everyone. "Not so much."
"A-All of that will happen?!" Twilight stuttered.
"It's keeping every Jirachi in there while also stopping Arceus from doing anything. So obviously, a terrifying amount of Rift Energy is there. The most Rift Energy that's ever existed to this day. That special suit of yours will give you a good resistance, but just like a Fire-Type to a Ground-Type, it doesn't matter how much you resist it. If you get burned, it's only a matter of time until the effects take you out."
"Uh, on second thought, maybe going up there isn't the best idea. Let's try something else. How about bringing the Jirachi to us?" A nervous Spike suggested, having second thoughts about reaching that dimension, let alone the passageway.
"So our suits will expend in the end? But will we even reach Jirachi at that time?" Cold Colt bit his hoof. "And what if they blow us away? Oooh! No fair!"
"Then, is there a way to prevent it?" Twilight asked. "Right?"
"That's why we were having this argument in the first place. Is magic the best way to go about it or is science? Either way, we need something that can fully protect you." Zero continued. "Ever since I learned about the pulses at the stairway, I've been working hard to create a foolproof protective suit, chiming in with the Ranger Union."
"And I suggested that we should use Magic Coating." Starlight Glimmer replied. "But it needs to be the top-of-the-line Magical Coating. The best that it can be. There are levels to most of the spells that we use after all, so I'm also thinking that we use some sort of grand spell. No matter how long it takes. Victini's still with you, right?"
"Victini went back to Eindoak after everyone finished healing up," Spike answered. "He's always a great help thanks to his power. But is it gonna be enough?"
"It should be enough. If not, then we're in trouble. All we need to d is get past those pulses and we'll be smooth sailing." Zero pondered.
Thinking, Twilight thought of anything that could potentially work out. That's when she thought back to the most unusual faction. Empress Twilight and her forces. "How about...we fuse them both?" Twilight reached an answer.
"Both?" Zero and Starlight said in unison.
"Right! It's something one of my counterparts told me about. In her world, there's something known as Technomagic. Or Technomancy. Or Magitech. It's the fusion of Magic and Science put together! In fact, that's exactly what Empress Twilight uses. She already found a perfect balance between the two."
"That exists? I thought we always had it here?" However, Spike believed that this concept was already a thing in this world from what he's seen so far. After all, Pokemon are referred to as Magical Creatures by even Arceus himself and some have already been affected by Rift Energy, such as Spike's own Axew.
"Just a bit. But we've only had mostly magical forces. Anything scientific with a sprinkle of magic was only limited to the Travel Spheres. And we had to struggle when finding out the difference between Rift Energy and Rift Magic." The Princess of Friendship went into further detail.
"Now, now...don't end up like her, okay?" Starlight feared that Twilight's idea would cause her to gain the same ideas as her tyrannical counterpart.
"It's fine, it's fine. It's for a good cause." But Twilight reassured that there was nothing to fear. After all, she knows what Empress Twilight is like and what she is capable of creating. There was also the extension of her being Sci-Twi's counterpart instead of Princess Twilight's counterpart. There were certainly a few factors that went into this.
"Not bad. And if we do that...we'll be making a new phenomenon for both our worlds!" Zero stood up, encouraging the idea." Aside from that giant Rocketship by Team Rocket that's over at that Pokemon House."
"Hopefully, it'll be enough. The suits will be here soon, so let's put our heads together and mix the best of both worlds. Something that'll help the suits." Twilight rubbed her hooves together before bringing over some of Zero's items. "Let's get to work!"
Kanto. Pallet Town. Ketchum Household. Day.
"Feels good to be back..." Ash could once again feel the warmth and softness of his bed, dropping onto it like a plank of wood. Pikachu would do the same as there was enough space for him.
"Pika..."
"But...We've still got the stairway to focus on. We've already had a good break back at the hospital, so let's get ready for what really matters." Ash, despite loving the comfort of his bed, wasn't about to slow down at all. "When we get in there with those suits on, we'll charge in at full force and make our wish."
"I'd rather have my own wish when we get there," Sombra spoke within Ash. "Millions of that singular Pokemon and the power they have is so amazing...Any wish I want can become a reality. Wonderful."
"Yeah." Ash agreed, despite knowing the advantages that Sombra could make with these wishes. Jirachi was too powerful to simply waste a wish on. If Sombra were to get a wish from Jirachi, the outcomes could be less than pleasant. But even so, Ash's presence was a regulator for Sombra's actions as proven by how the two have interacted and how restricted Sombra was.
"Coming in~" Entering the room was Delia Ketchum, interrupting this moment of peace. "Sorry if I'm ruining your slow movements but...there's one more gift I forgot to share with you."
"One more? What is it?" Ash sat up as Sombra's shadowy form would emerge out of the Alola Champion.
"This one is for you, Sombra. It came in earlier today." In her hands, Delia held a letter with a crystal insignia on it. It was even made out of crystals and yet it was still as fragile as paper.
"For me?"
"Mhm. It's from your dear friend, Radiant Hope." Delia revealed who sent this before passing it over to the former King of the Crystal Empire. Sombra would leave his shadow form, emerging in his full body before snagging the letter.
Indeed, even he was not exempt from a gift. Then again, he only received one gift and it was from his closest friend. Sombra would then back away, exiting the room while having the letter in his grasp. He would prefer to read it on his lonesome. He would open the letter, seeing what kind of gift this would be. But to Sombra, he already had a good guess as to what it would entail.
"Hello, Sombra. Sorry I couldn't reach you on Hearth's Warming. Then again, we haven't had Hearth's Warming for a long time. I've forgotten how long it's been. I ended up experiencing Christmas in the Pokemon World and it was something special. It's all centred around a human who lived in the far past that... never mind. You probably don't want to hear that. Without you, it rarely feels like Hearth's Warming at all even with these nice songs playing. I wish we could spend more time together and relive the fun we had those past years. I'd hold back all these tears with a spell but I can't bring myself to do it. Not when it helps me express everything. So, this is my present. It's not much and I couldn't think of anything else to give you. But I hope it does you well. And good luck. Love, Radiant Hope."
Sombra would finish the letter before closing it up. Ash, Pikachu, Delia and Mr Mime waited for his reaction while staying in the other room. Sombra did get a reaction out of this, but it was one that kept in line with his stern expression.
"Curses..." He growled. "I don't need a spell to hold these tears back...But this is annoyingly gut-worthy. Thank you either way, Hope."
Sombra was glad. This letter was a good gift to him after all. He wasn't the best at showcasing it. Had it been any other scenario and his more bombastic personality would awaken. But even if he couldn't show it, Ash and Delia knew him fairly well by now.
"Ahem. Anyway...Get suited up, boy." Sombra turned to face Ash from the next room. "This is our big chance after all."
"You got it! Not even outer space is gonna stop us!" Ash enthusiastically pumped his fists into the air along with Pikachu.
"Pi-Pikachu!"
"Since you're going to space, you'll need some extra lunch. It's a far distance after all." Delia winked.
"I'm not sure I can eat in space mom..."
Hoenn. Ranger Union.
The Ranger Union. Home to many Pokemon Rangers and those who assist them t make the world a better and safer place. The Ranger Union recently received the StarBots from the Galaxy Tower. Jackie recruited them ever since Galaxy Master vanished and with such technologically advanced robots, the Ranger Union would gain new advantages.
The StarBots, being programmed with knowledge about the Rift, would contribute greatly to the Ranger Union and their various Rift-Resistant creations. However, there was one other piece of knowledge that they knew. This knowledge seemingly wasn't as important as the Rift but it was worth looking at.
One of the researchers would gaze at what the StarBots managed to project via holograms. And at the moment, two holographic visages of familiar trainers were shown.
"Hmm..." The researcher, who had fairly tired eyes, was staring at both Ash and Hilbert. "Counterparts, hm? These two? Does it have anything in common with the Rift? They don't look all that similar."
"Doesn't sound like it." Jackie, who was responsible for bringing all these StarBots here, would stop by the researcher's table. "This is all our own. But it's still pretty interesting to look at, right?"
"We wouldn't have known since you tend to bring Ash up quite a bit. We should really recruit him to be a Pokemon Ranger, don't you think, Jackie?"
"I think he's fine the way he is. But ya know...spending time with the StarBots and what they shared with is nice and all, but that whole counterpart thing got me thinking just like you all. Maybe even more. This guy by the name of Hilbert. He was also up there on the Galaxy Tower. He even helped stop one of the 15 Demons that showed up. From what the StarBots are saying, he's not the only counterpart of Ash that exists."
"So there are more and we don't know about them yet. Or do we?"
"Oh, we do. In fact, there's a twofer at play here. We've got triple the counterparts. Check this out." Jackie would give an example, holding out a newspaper. A fairly old newspaper as well. "This is pretty old. Dates back at least 17 years ago. A trainer started making a name for himself by the name of Ruby. Look familiar?"
"Wasn't he the one who was with that Red kid? How is here in this old newspaper?"
"That's because this is his counterpart. Ruby and Brendan are the same in almost every way. Almost. But I say it's a twofer since the StarBots here tell me that he's also a counterpart of Ash, making him a double counterpart. Crazy, right?"
"A double counterpart? Can that even exist? There should only be one counterpart of everyone." The researcher scratched her hair. "How can there be two but...one looks more like the other..."
"Ah, you're the one with the sharp brains. You'll figure it out." Jackie replied. "But uh...you should also know that the same might go for the other guy. You know...Ethan?
"Yes, because I'm the only one looking into it, Jackie. Counterparts interest me so much." The researcher faced the holograms once more. "Empress Twilight was the biggest example we've ever seen since she came from a different universe. Then there were these other Twilight Sparkles that we learned about. But they all came from their respective worlds too. But this is different. Brendan and Ruby, I can understand that. But how is it that comes back to Ash?"
"Funny you should ask that. According to these little guys, out of all the universes out there, only 8 of them have counterparts. Weird, right? I would've thought all of them had counterparts."
"It's worth learning more about it. I want to meet my own counterpart if possible. But I'm also worried...Do you think the Rift took advantage of this as well? Or will it do it eventually?"
"Maybe. But we'll be there to sort it out, won't we? For now...just try and piece two and two together. They've all got that signature sharp look in their eyes, don't you think? I can feel the fire from here."
"Right, right. Anyway, get those suits out and ready. Princess Celestia should be expecting them soon. We've waited for this stairway to show up and now's our chance."
"Gotcha!" Jackie snapped his fingers before zipping off. He and the other Pokemon Rangers would prepare the rest of the suits, enough for a whole team to head up there. There wouldn't be a need for a spaceship at all, not when the stairway existed.
This pink-haired researcher was the only one focused on this counterpart theory. She would take a closer look at Ash and Hilbert, trying to see why they would be classified as counterparts in any way aside from how they act. She rubbed her chin before deciding to interact with the projections. She moved them closer to each other, fusing the two of them to see what would emerge.
The result was a perfect fit. The two of them appeared as the same height with the same build too. While their getups were different, there was a consistent theming of blue. And yet, the researcher still couldn't see it. At least, not yet. The only thing she managed to see was how their faces moulded together.
Ash and Hilbert's faces were identical as Ash's signature lightning bolt birthmarks would mesh well too. This would take some time to experiment with, especially since she also had Ethan's appearance to go off of.
Equestria. Twilight's Castle. Afternoon.
Working hard and in perfect unity, Twilight, Starlight, Zero and Cold Colt were unifying Magic and Science together in the best way possible. This was to increase their chances of survival against the destructive supernova-like pulses of the Rift Energy.
If they wanted to even see or reach Jirachi, they had to get past those pulses with the best defences they could ask for. Twilight used a mixture of both Equestrian Magic and Rift Magic, focusing it on a standard metallic cube that Zero shared. At the same time, Zero would delicately work on the cube while wearing Rift-protective gloves.
Spike would be exempt from this hard work, only messing around with all the Pokemon while the creation of Technomagic was slowly being brought into existence.
The cube suddenly started expanding, growing in size while also gaining glowing blue and purple lines of Rift Energy. This was straightforward enough as the unpredictable nature of Rift Energy was behind this. However, they didn't want just the unpredictable nature. They wanted more. They wanted to reach what Empress Twilight had already succeeded in making. Minus the ambition of multiversal domination of course.
"Can we do it?" Starlight asked while focusing all of her magic on one point. "I mean, if we can, will it be on time before the worst can happen?"
"Hopefully. But maybe...this might be the perfect time for the Harmony Phenomenon to kick in." Twilight replied, thinking of the Harmony Phenomenon. If there was ever a time it could be involved, Twilight would love it if it was now.
And with all of their hard work, the lights from the different forms of power would emanate and flash through the castle, lighting up the winter skies. But this flash wasn't a confirmation that they were done. They still had some work to do. For the sake of the future as the journey continues.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. Afternoon.
Over at the Pokemon House, which saw its finally being fully repaired with new additions, Rainbow Dash could be found polishing up her skills as always. Whirlipede could be seen practising his momentum by rolling across the house.
"So she controlled your bones?" Fluttershy spoke as the topic of Merry Dread had been brought up. "And that's how you managed to get out of it?"
"Mhm. Speed is key. And I guess having no bones works out too. I didn't even realize Castform didn't have any bones in the first place but I guess it makes sense with how he's built." Rainbow Dash would glance over at the Weather Pokemon, who was currently in his Snowy Form thanks to the season.
"Good to know! If you ever run into her again, Castform's a great response."
"Yeah, but she might find a way past it. Controlling bones isn't all she does. It's a good thing she can't melt bodies." Rainbow Dash sighed, pleased that Merry Dread's Curse Magic had its limitations. Both of them.
"Ah! You can always prepare for whenever that happens! After all, you have the perfect Pokemon to find out which Pokemon have bones and which don't!" Fluttershy excitedly said while facing Rainbow Dash's Luxray. "Luxray, of course! The species has X-Ray Vision for a reason! It's fate!"
"Is it fate?" The multi-coloured-maned mare squinted, only seeing it as a coincidence. "But you've got a point I can just look at any other Pokemon and see who's boneless or not."
"Does that mean you'll catch a new Pokemon too?!" Fluttershy's eyes lit up from that possibility.
"Uh, not really. Maybe." But Rainbow Dash couldn't guarantee that. "Luxray. Take a look, okay?"
"Luxray!" With a flash from his eyes, Luxray would utilize his unique ability. Everything organic and built would become a way for Luxray to see through. He would scan everyone here, from the biggest to the smallest Pokemon around.
And unfortunately for Luxray, as amazing as this ability was, it did lead to him seeing how everyone's bones were structured and some were rather unnerving to the point where he wished he had never tried this in the first place.
"Whirl!" Whirlipede was a big example of having a strange bone structure. Because of his circular shape, he had a circular structure of bones which were plentiful. Disgustingly plentiful. So many of these bones were so slim and tiny that there were seemingly millions of them as they would vibrate each time Whirlipede would roll. The way the bones spun just made Luxay uneasy but that wasn't the only thing that stunned him.
Most of the Grass-Types here were devoid of any bones whatsoever. Luxray couldn't see the thing. All he saw was darkness. Complete and utter darkness, even more than what a Dark-Type can produce. This left Luxray flabbergasted. He knew that the Grass-Types were mostly tied to nature so they would certainly have a lack of bones. But this wasn't what he expected to see within them until one of them changed that for a few seconds.
"Sunflora!" The darkness within Sunflora would be illuminated by mystical golden light. No longer was it dark inside as the Grass-Type would draw power from the Sun. After that, it was back in darkness but with a flash of solar energy in the middle.
Strangely enough, Bayleef, while she did have bones, was also an exception. The Rift Energy within her had coloured her bones with a beautiful blue and purple colour combo. All the Rift Particles would fly around within Bayleef's skeletal structure, pulsating and dancing. Luxray could only assume that Axew probably had the same glow inside of him.
But it wasn't just the Grass-Types that were strange. Most of the Fire-Types had their bones masked by flames, making it nigh-impossible to even see them. Luxray could barely see something white poking through the flames. If he didn't look any further, he might've assumed that they didn't exist at all but this only applied to the Fire-Types who could emit high quantities of fire such as Flareon, Darmanitan and Heatmor. Everyone else had their bones revealed.
The same can be said for Luxray's fellow Electric-Types. A select few had their bones act as metal conductors for the flares of electricity, showing that they were constantly charging up at all times. He would even see how other types lacked any bones and how they managed to move.
"L-Lux..." Luxray closed his eyes before shaking his head. He had seen too much.
"Sounds like he saw a lot. You're so lucky to have such an ability, Luxray," Fluttershy said, unaware of what Luxray had truly seen.
"If we ever meet again, I can just outdo her like I did before," said Rainbow Dash. "Castform's the ace in the hole with how boneless he is. And ya know, for safe measure, we should hide everyone that don't have any bones and have them show up by surprise! She won't see it coming when we ambush her!"
"Castform!"
"Good luck with that. But if she finds a way past it, getting stronger isn't a bad idea either, right?"
"That's what I'm always trying to do. The final Gym Badge is waiting for me, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash gazed up at the sky, envisioning the final Gym Badge. "One more...and I'll enter the Equestria League and become Equestria's First ever Champion."
"Won't you have to face the Elite 4 after the big tournament? Or is that before the tournament and after your final badge?"
"Nah. We don't have an Elite 4 yet. But I heard Princess Celestia's already planned it out. Who knows who's gonna be an Elite 4 Member? I know it's not gonna be me. Soon to be the Strongest Trainer in Equestria."
"About Princess Celestia...Anything on Reshiram so far? We've been looking for a few months?"
"Nah. Nothing. Zekrom's like his brother and he can't find him." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I guess he's really in that stone form, otherwise we would've seen or heard of him by now. Wonder where he could be..."
Canterlot.
Celestia had the same thoughts running through her head back at Canterlot. After all, it had only been a day after Hearth's Warming and Christmas. Now that everything relaxing had come to pass, Celestia set her sights on finding Reshiram.
Her main fear was that Team Rocket managed to find the Light Stone and were currently harbouring him. Even Giovanni said that he had no clue where the actual Reshiram was, Celestia heavily doubted him after the deceit he brought with the fake Light Stone.
"Reshiram...I hope you're found before we reach Jirachi. But judging by how it's turning out, that might not happen." Celestia spoke to herself while looking out at the Canterlot Gardens. She could still see the first time she met Reshiram and he how would sit there, recovering his strength. The Canterlot Gardens and Canterlot in general was a nice home for him. And even though this is not his original world, it felt like home. "I could wish for you to return. Of course! That's easier."
"You'll have to get past the dangers first for that to happen." Approaching Princess Celestia were the Pokemon Rangers. She would turn to see the rangers arriving with large boxes being wheeled along. Of course, Jackie was among them. "Luckily for you, we can get around that."
"Jackie. Perfect timing." Celestia replied as the boxes would be stopped right in front of Equestria's Ruler. "You're here because of one reason, right?"
"That's right. The good people back at the Ranger Union did some tweaking to the suits after they found out how destructive the pulses are. So now, we've got the new versions here for you and whoever wants to wear it. You can't reach Jirachi if you get blown away, right? Take a gander!"
Jackie and the Rangers would then open up the boxes, revealing the Rift-Resistant Suits in all their glory. Of course, tailored to ponies and Pokemon. Celestia would see a suit that resembled her stature perfectly, flying in her direction. The Canterlot Guards would also see their suits meant for them as the appearance of this equipment wasn't without its flair.
Celestia's suit constantly had a golden glow around it while even having flame markings and patterns to represent the Sun. The helmet of this suit would even have a transparent symbol of the Sun in front of the glass. The guards would all get the same consistent theme. Their white suits would have appealing blue and gold colour patterns.
"Oooh!" The style was greatly appreciated judging by the voices of the guards.
"There's one for Princess Luna here that you can pass on." Jackie held out Luna's Moon-themed suit. "Those StarBots helped out a lot when making this. It sped things up a bit."
"Chatot! Sped things up a bit!" Chatot repeated.
"Thank you. With this, we can finally reach Jirachi!" Celestia gleefully said.
"Ah...not yet." Jackie scratched his hair, putting on a nervous grin that made Celestia and everyone else pause. "The suits are ready-made, but the big test has to go through. The amount of Rift Energy up there is beyond anything else we've seen, so no matter what we tested on the suits, nothing could compare to it. Before you can go up there, it's time for a test run."
"Oh...I see." Celestia pouted. "That only means you'll be taking them back, right?"
"Not at all!" Jackie snapped his finger with a booming voice. "These suits are specially made so that they can be reusable whenever Rift Energy affects them, so we can keep testing them back and forth while we also work on them with some tweaks. Sound good?"
"Excellent! But...we won't be entering it right now to test it out, will we?" She questioned.
"Mm-mm. We'll be using substitutes." Jackie then moved out of the way, revealing what else was in the box. The rangers would send out models of humans and ponies to do test runs. "We always come prepared, so don't worry, your majesty. Judging by how this goes, you might have to wait a bit longer."
"It's fine. Anything to guarantee our success. But, I've been wondering...have you found Reshiram yet? Or any trace of Reshiram?"
"Nothing yet." Another Pokemon Ranger said. "Sorry, your majesty. Reshiram's a tough one to find especially since it's resting."
"T-That's fine." That struck Celestia's heart a bit. "Anyway, let's just run these tests. Show us what these suits can handle."
Thus began a series of tests. The group would come across the Golden Stairway and its stellar length. The main problem wasn't outer space but rather what was at the end of this stairway. The white passageway, despite how inviting it appeared, was holding back a destructive force of Rift Energy that could have catastrophic results.
The Pokemon Rangers, their scientists, Princess Celestia and the guards would have the replicas out and ready. But of course, to pull off the tests, they needed to be as close to the passageway as possible.
Luna arrived with Premium Polish to find a rather striking sight. The scientists had brought along a massive cannon that was beautifully streamlined with the Ranger Union logo on it. The models would instantly be placed inside, prepared to be used as cannon fodder.
"Sister? What is happening?" Luna asked, rubbing her eyes as she was a tad exhausted.
"This looks fun! What is it?" Premium Polish asked.
"Just some scientific experiments, Luna. If we want to reach Jirachi, we need to be safe and in one piece." Celestia responded. "So the Ranger Union will use these suits and see how they manage and what can be adjusted as soon as possible."
"Spot on. The suits will be fine but the ones inside the suit...not so much." Jackie wagged his finger, revealing that whoever would try and head towards the passageway would find that only the suit would be fine and not them. "That's why we need this. We'll test it out and work on it until it's able to hold you together. That's why we chose to come here instead of staying back. Makes things easier."
"Alright...Fire!" The tests would begin. The substitutes were fired out of the massive cannons, unleashing a booming sound that rang in everyone's ears. The replicas would be completely fine as well as the Rift-Resistant Suits. But the cannon was nothing compared to what was being held back by the passageway.
"That's your cue, princess!" Jackie faced the Princess of the Sun.
"Understood!" From this distance, Celestia would use her magic on each of the replicas once they were airborne. The replicas needed some control to make this test work and Celestia was just the pony for the job as she would halt their movements with a telekinetic hold.
The replicas would then be gently placed on the stairway, but right outside of the Earth. Celestia used her magic to enhance her vision, looking past the Earth. Once she got a good view of the edge, she would then move the replicas as if they were alive.
Everyone would stay silent, waiting for the results to come in. Celestia carefully brought them upwards, gradually reaching the higher points of the stairway. However, the moment the replicas reached this point, that's when the destructive force from beyond would reach it.
Even though the suits and the models weren't close, the pulsating Rift Energy could still reach them even with the white passageway in the cosmos keeping most of it at bay. The pulsating energy would ripple through cosmic skies, causing nearby asteroids to tremble and shatter. And as for the models and suits, they would feel the pulse move through them. The outcome went as followed.
It started with the suits and the models both vibrating in response to the pulse. And immediately, the energy ripped holes through the suit, but it was only a few. The suit was made to resist it after all and for the most part, it wasn't destroyed at all. Only receiving holes.
The same could not be said for the substitute models. Jackie and all those who couldn't see from this distance used the Canterlot telescopes to view the results and what they saw was the opposite of what they expected. Previously, the researchers confirmed that unpredictable effects would come from the pulses due to the nature of the Rift.
That was not the case.
Instead, the model would be destroyed. The Rift Energy blew up the models from the inside, causing a blue and purple outburst to go off, sending bits and pieces of the models onto the stairway while some would fall back to Earth. But, as Jackie said, the suits were fine. The most they received were these holes and even with the explosion, it only resulted in more holes.
Bits of the models would drop in front of Jackie and his group, letting out blue smoke while leaving behind a small crater. Jackie would place a glove on, picking up this singular piece to examine what was left of the models.
"Okay...An explosion would happen to you." Jackie confirmed. "That's one problem we gotta deal with. But check out the suits. Completely fine. For the most part."
"We'd be blown up from the inside out?" Luna shuddered. "My goodness...They didn't even enter the passageway at all. Or even stand before it. Just the energy from afar was enough?"
"Those models were made out of plastic and hard materials. Imagine what that would do to us..." Celestia gulped. "We may be more durable when it comes to a battle but..."
"No need to worry," Jackie interjected. "That's why we're here. We can tick off Explosions and work on the suits right away. We'll make it immune to it. Let's get to work!"
Thus, they would start working on the suits to bypass the explosions that would attack them from the inside. This series of tests would go as followed as they would come to find out that it wasn't quite unpredictable in what wacky circumstances could happen but instead, the various ways the pulses can absolutely end the life of anyone they touch.
The next test would be done once new suits and models were added. This time, the explosions would be ignored in hopes of this being a smashing success. Alas, the other effects of the pulses would be revealed. What could be worse than an explosion?
In this case, disintegration. The next pulses would disintegrate parts of the suit while absolutely disintegrating the models into nothing. Now there wasn't a piece left to recover as a far grimmer outcome was now possible. That called for another rework and test.
The next test went off, only for the suits and models to experience shatters. The models would shatter as if they were made out of glass as the effects of the pulses even turned parts of the suits into glass just to damage them. The Ranger Union could confirm another thing. The Rift Pulses would change the properties of whatever they touch just to try and eliminate them easier.
The next test had the suits being immune to tears but soon, the next horrific effect would change that. The suits and the models would be torn apart as if vicious claws were attacking them. The models were all cut into pieces while the suits only received minimal claw marks. Now they had to worry about being cut in half.
Another rework and the next one saw the suit and models having to experience evaporation. The models would evaporate as if they were made out of liquids and they were encountering astronomical heat.
This went on for a while. The Sun was starting to set until the Moon would gradually make its entrance, darkening the skies. Every rework would eat away many minutes, leading to this change of time. But they would not stop. Not until they had something that could work.
The models and suits would be crushed, incinerated, materialized, imploded, ruptured, snapped, melted, impaired and so on. These suits would truly need the resistance of a lifetime to even make it past this. Premium Polish would fall asleep along with some of the Canterlot Guards as this would go as far as to even enter the night. Possibly even midnight.
But Celestia would wait.
Ponyville. Twilight's Castle.
And back at Twilight's Castle, experiments were also happening. Twilight's group already knew of what would happen if they even attempted getting near the passageway thanks to what Zero shared.
They worked together to try and make a fusion of Magic and Science, similar to what Empress Twilight managed to succeed in doing. However, this was not as easy as it seemed despite how they all specialised in one category the most. The cube they were working on had Magic and Rift Energy around it and yet it wasn't finished at all. Even with all the constant flights flashing out of the castle, they still had some work ahead of them.
"Too tired to continue..." Starlight yawned as she exhausted herself from the magic she unleashed. The unicorn would fall flat on her face, dozing off.
"I'm getting tired too..." Twilight grumbled, trying to keep her eyes open. "This is harder than it looks. I hope that Empress Twilight didn't do it with ease or that would embarrassing..."
"But we're making progress." Zero held his head, groaning. "We just need to make it so that all those destructive forces can be bypassed in some way. The best resistance possible is needed."
"Mmm...yeah..." Spike replied in his sleep, already knocking himself out from all of this, even though he wasn't involved at all.
"About Empress Twilight...that one counterpart of yours is meant to be the true counterpart of Empress Twilight, right"
"Who? My human counterpart?" Twilight yawned. "That's right. They're the real counterparts to each other. Not me. Why do you ask? Unless..."
"If Empress Twilight figured it out...then maybe she can do it too. She's the one who's more into science, isn't she?"
"I guess so but I wouldn't want to do that to her. It's best not since she doesn't want to be associated with the Empress. I think even she knows she can't tamper with this either. Not much experience."
"Fair enough..." Zero slammed his head on the desk. "But, it's getting late now. We've done our best with what we could. We'll test it out...eventually..."
"See you tomorrow. Keep watch as always, Absol..." Those were Twilight's last words before she fell asleep. Using all of that magic certainly left an impact on her to reach this point.
Absol would stand guard, even vowing to protect this cube of Magic and Rift Energy. However, as they all went to sleep, even Absol had his ideas brewing. The main goal was to make Technomagic. The ultimate unity of Magic and Science. And there were very few examples of that in the world.
However, Absol knew that there was only one way to get into the nitty-gritty of this. And that was to speak with someone who knew a lot about Technomagic. Luckily for him, he knew a pony, who was the daughter of another pony that knew all about this.
Premium Polish and her mother Skyblue Shine. Although Skyblue Shine was really seen, she was definitely the pony who would understand Technomagic. She was a walking example of Technomagic alongside her daughter as they are both android unicorns.
Absol knew that they could be greatly helpful. But there was one more individual who had ties to the Empress' various worlds. The one who came from another universe from a different time. Princess Flurry Heart. But right now, Absol would rather let them rest after the hard work they pulled off. Only by tomorrow would he tell them all they needed to know.
A new day had arrived at Equestria. The warmth of the Sun would hold back some of the winter chills with its beautiful embrace. Gardevoir could be seen sleeping on the stairway, just a few feet off the ground with her arms crossed. Around her were a few Flying-Types that would rest here or even on her head. Speaking of holding back, the Ranger Union had camped here at Canterlot, working overnight to try and overcome the Rift Pulses.
Many suits and many models had been used, spent and reworked just to find the right adjustment. Celestia and the others would wait patiently until their suits were optimized, watching how the Ranger Union's researchers would polish and retaliate against whatever the Rift Pulses would show next.
"So far, we've found out those pulses can find different ways to destroy us," Jackie said. "And there's a scary amount of ways for the pulses to do so. Princess. We've got a date for you."
"You do? When will they be completed?" Celestia leaned in, eager to know when the completion date will come. She was hoping it was soon judging by how many tests went through.
"Our researchers say that they can get it done by either tomorrow or even later today. But for now...these suits need to rest. We've put them through a lot so far. Even with how well-made they are, they can only handle so much."
"Thank you. I'd like a break too...Carrying all those models to the stars." Celestia was relieved to hear it. Throughout the entirety of the night, she had been sending those models up, burning hours with the Ranger Union. The researchers would halt their tests to repair the suits while some would finally have the chance to sleep.
By later today or even tomorrow, Celestia was hoping to see the suits at their absolute best. They would presumably be so good that no matter what the pulses threw at her, her body would be fine. Thus, the wish could go through safely. Celestia already had a few wishes in mind. The first one was the most obvious but the second involved Reshiram and his disappearance. If she could just see Reshiram again, any other worries she may have could be eliminated.
"Great auntie!" Arriving here at Canterlot, right as the Ranger Union took a break, was the Crystal Emire family. Both Flurry Hearts along with Cadence and Shining Armor made their appearance, waving at the Sun Princess. "Is it ready yet?"
"Ready? Oh, you mean the suits. Not quite. But they will be fairly soon. Did you come here because of your own suit?"
"My own suit?" The young alicorn repeated before slowly shaking her head. "No...But that'd be nice. So pretty soon and we can head up there? How soon is soon? Can it be sooner if that's not enough?"
"You can't rush it, princess. We're barely safe from the outside when it comes to those pulses. The inside will be far worse." A scientist said.
"Until these suits can reach a level where the pulses aren't that big of a threat to them and us, we can go." Celestia held out her custom suit. "We have one in your size but you might have to work around the horns and wings. Cadence, you might not have one since you're about Luna's height. And there's only one version of that suit."
"Guh..." Luna flinched in her sleep once Celestia spoke those words. It was as if subconsciously, she heard her older sister making fun of her height and how Cadence had the same stature.
"It's fine. I wasn't planning on heading up there anyway. But Flurry Heart wanted to make her own wish. It was about getting her parents back. Still to this day, we don't know where they are, so it'd be wonderful if we could sort that out."
"Right. I have a similar wish. I'd love to bring Reshiram here." Celestia shared her wish. "I believe we can have the chances we need. We just need to get past those destructive pulses. If not, then we won't ever have that chance."
"Oh! I know who could help!" Gasping, Flurry Heart sparked an idea that she would immediately try and execute. She held out an Ultra Ball. Giratina's Ultra Ball specifically. And out of it came the Renegade Pokemon himself, taking up a lot of space around the group while also startling everyone else who wasn't expecting to see a member of the Creation Trio this early in the morning. That's not to say they weren't expecting him at all since Flurry Heart made an appearance.
"G-Giratina? Really?" Celestia stammered as the people from the Ranger Union would fall over and crawl back upon witnessing the Renegade Pokemon, who could casually spread fear just by being here.
"Yeah! He can breathe in space and he's super strong! He's a Legendary Pokemon, after all, so he'll be fine! Let's have him go up there! Those pulses won't stand a chance!" Flurry Heart pitched in her idea. From what she shared, it sounded perfect. Giratina was seemingly the perfect candidate to end this once and for all.
"Sorry. But that's not happening." That is until Jackie shut her down. "Not even Giratnia is eligible for it."
"Huh?!" This shocked Flurry Heart. "Giratina won't be enough?! That doesn't sound right..."
"Trust us. Those pulses are no joke." A scientist said. "It's why we've been spending so much time fine-tuning these suits. The amount of Rift Energy they emit is the same as the energy that even kept Arceus from reaching that dimension. It's why the stairway needed to be made in the first place."
"To put it simply, Giratina could be harmed and destroyed in many ways. The Rift will find a way to do it." Celesta simplified it for Flurry Heart.
"Aw..." Flurry Heart whimpered, pouting at this fact. "I still think he's the best option but whatever..."
"I don't blame you, princess." Jackie shook his head before looking up at the Renegade Pokemon who was staring into space without a sound being made from him. "Giratina's something else, isn't it? Our suits were made for high durability and Giratina's up there, no doubt. It could take some of the heaviest damage out there."
"Mhm-mhm." The young alicorn nodded in approval, loving how Jackie would prop up Giratina.
"But Giratina could be a lot of help when trying to get up there. We need someone like Giratina so it's a good thing you brought it out. We'll be done by later today or tomorrow so stick around."
"Hah! Nice!" Flurry Heart exclaimed with joy. "Knew it all along. Can't go wrong with Giratina. From start to finish I can always count on him. And after everything's together forever...I think we'll find him a nice place to settle down. The Poke Ball sounds comfortable but how about a nice seat and all that?"
"I'm not sure he minds." Shining Armor chuckled. "Or if he'd notice with his size."
"About that...he already has a place to settle down." Jackie's tone then changed. "The Distortion World."
"Oh, right. Is it actually that comfortable?" Flurry Heart asked. "Distortion doesn't sound like the nicest word out there. But if it works for Giratina, then I guess it's fine. He'd have another Giratina to hang around with too."
"No. That wouldn't do. Two of them in the same Distortion World wouldn't be good. Not at all." Jackie replied, shutting down that possibility.
"Two of them can't be in the same spot? Seriously? Then where would he rest?" The young alicorn questioned. Jackie looked at her eyes before scrunching his face. The Pokemon Ranger would grumble for a bit before holding his breath in. There was something he was somewhat hesitant to say.
"Man...Deja Vu. This is the second time I've had to tell someone this...Princess Flurry Heart. Giratina's own Distortion World is where he would have to settle down. And I'm afraid your start-to-finish might be slightly shorter than expected."
"W-What do you mean by that?" Things were starting to catch on for Flurry Heart.
"I'd rather let them explain." Jackie backed away, allowing the scientists to go into further detail.
"There already exists a Giratina in our universe. It currently resides in its own Distortion Word, keeping watch of it and being another crux of the universe's balance. Your Giratina isn't originally from this world, princess. It was taken after all. Therefore, its own Distortion World is currently vacant without its ruler. That needs to be sorted out. Giratina must return to his universe to maintain that balance."
"Giratina has to go back?" There it was. The two words that shot Flurry Heart through her heart. This is exactly what Jackie feared as he closed his eyes.
"I'm afraid so. He should've been back long ago but...better late than never."
"I didn't know that." Cadence gasped before gazing at Flurry Heart, witnessing her expression. "D-Does it have to stay there?"
"Constantly. This Giratina is the most common Giratina that's ever existed with how many people know about his presence. Every other Giratina is-"
"No way!" Flurry Heart exclaimed, interrupting the scientist. Her hooves would tremble along with her lower lip. "So...I have to send him back? Because he's not supposed to be out here?"
"He's been away from the Distortion World for far too long. A year or more has passed by now, princess. There's an entire universe out there that could be on the verge of a crisis if Giratina doesn't return."
"Can't we just send another Giratina there?! Why does he have to go back?!" She raised her voice, bringing up an argument to try and prevent the potential departure of her one and only Pokemon "I get that the universe could suffer without Giratina but..."
"It's not easy, but it's the right thing to do. By this point, multiple universes are something we're keeping tabs on. And the safety of other worlds is easily a top priority. Ghetsis and his allies took that Giratina from his universe so it's only right for us to send him back and keep that balance steady."
"I know that...but I don't want him to go." A tear would show up. Flurry Heart was being shaken up by this as this was not the news she wanted to hear.
"Oh, Flurry..." Celestia muttered, feeling Flurry Heart's pain. The thought of having to leave such a good friend was crushing. Her parents felt the same way as they had come to like Giratina after how long he's been here.
Without saying anything else, Flurry Heart would teleport away. But before doing so, she would look Giratina in the eyes. Her body flashed out of here as she preferred to be elsewhere.
"Wait! Flurry Heart!" Cadence was too late to call out to her. She was gone. "Oh goodness..."
"Perhaps we were too direct and harsh?" A scientist said, feeling bad for spilling out this news. "I mean, it's uncommon for a Pokemon Trainer to release a Pokemon but..."
"It's fine. You were only thinking of the consequences," said Celestia. "We never took into account the ramifications that Giratina's absence from its own Distortion World would bring."
"I've seen this before." Jackie sat down, crossing his arms with a disgruntled look on his face. "I knew someone who had to say goodbye to Manaphy. That same Manaphy from the Sea Temple. Those two grew so close to each other so quickly. I felt bad when I had to tell her about Manaphy's duty. It worked out in the end but...History repeats itself it looks like."
"Is there no other way?" Shining Armor asked. "She wants to be with Giratina forever after all. And as an alicorn, that's not impossible when you think about it."
"Nothing that we can think of. Unless this Universal Alliance spreads beyond just alternate versions of your Earth and focuses on our Earth as well, then Giratina will continue his duty." The scientist continued.
"We'll talk to her." Cadence replied as she and Shining Armor would speak to their daughter. There was no one better to try and speak with her than them. "You can...sort this out while we're busy."
"Although...She could keep the Ultra Ball." Jackie pondered, already thinking of a way to regulate this problem. Cadence and Shining Armor already had a good idea as to where she would be. Giratina was still silent throughout all of this. But he would make a quiet yet still audible cry in response to Flurry Heart's emotions.
The Renegade Pokemon, despite showing no expression, knew how she felt. And even he knows the importance of his existence within the Pokemon Universe. His universe, to be exact.
Ponyville.
Showing up at Ponyville once more were Ash and Pikachu. It certainly has been a while since they've stopped by this nice And sometimes peaceful town. He would find himself hanging around with Rainbow Dash, having a pleasant discussion on the bench.
"So. You're gonna chase that Final Gym Badge now, huh?" Ash spoke, gazing into the beautiful blue sky and all the airborne entities that graced it.
"Pretty soon. It might be after the wish. I've been training hard since those past months went by and you were still in the hospital. That's the longest I went without training with you, Ash."
"Yeah. But you don't have to always train with me, Dash. It helps to do it alone sometimes. But you're never alone when you're with your Pokemon. How'd it go?"
"Pretty great! Mienfoo's...less aggressive than she usually is but she's still rough. It helps if we wanna get a hard hit in. Whirlipede's momentum and speed are always the same and I'm still holding back from using Rainbow-Braviary that much. Braviary's gotta be strong on his own or else he's gonna be seen as weak, ya know."
"I hear ya. Keep it up and you'll be ready for that final gym. And after that...it's off to the Equestria League. As for me, I'm still on the Pokemon World Championships. I'm gonna win that Coronation Series and come out on top as the World's Strongest Trainer. That'll get me closer to becoming a Pokemon Master."
"Looking forward to that. You'll beat Leon for sure. I've heard about a lot of strong trainers, but you're the strongest I know, Ash. At least, Rarity says you're the strongest when it comes to the heart."
"And you're the strongest when it comes to being loyal?" Ash nudged her as they both shared a laugh. "That counts right? How much ya wanna bet we reach our own tournaments at the same time?"
"That'd be pretty sweet. And we'd win at the same time too!" Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof into the air before gently lowering it. "That is...if I can make it far. There are some tough trainers here in Equestria that keep showing up. For a while, I was feeling good about myself when I took on the Gyms. I was the first one to do it and I thought I was the strongest trainer in Equestria for a while. That is until everyone joined the league and wanted to be the first Equestrian Champion. Next thing I know, strong trainers show up faster than I can keep up."
"That happens. I was considered the next generation years ago. Not anymore." Ash replied. "There's always a next generation showing up with even stronger trainers showing their stuff in the best way possible. That's what makes it all fun. The same goes for here. Everyone's still learning about Pokemon but they're so talented. Guess those Cutie Marks really do bring out their best talents, huh?"
"Mhm. Spitfire, Daylight and so much more. It feels like I'm falling behind a bit." The pegasus sighed. "But you're right. It does make it fun or else it would just be boring. But...if I don't make it far in the Equestria League and I lose pretty early...that would suck a lot"
"But it'd get you back on your feet and lets you improve. It's what I did every time. And boy, it's a great feeling when it all pays off." The Alola Champion closed his eyes, reminiscing on his past. "Can't win 'em all. But you can be better than them all."
"That's your whole thing with your Pokemon Master goal, isn't it? The very best?"
"Like no one ever was. I wanna be so great that no one can ever compare. That's what being the very best is." Ash would then lean forward, placing his fist on his chin. "I'd still love it if someone else wants to be the best but I'm not gonna slow down even if I reach that goal. I love a challenge after all. And the stronger the trainers get, the more I get to have fun."
"Sounds about right. I'm glad to have met you, Ash." Rainbow Dash put on a soft smile. "Honestly, you're like the brother I never had."
"And you're like the sister I never had. But consider yourself a sworn sister." Ash held his fist out with Rainbow Dash connecting with her hoof.
"Sworn sister? Love the sound of it. Then...you'll be a sworn brother. Brother and sister in arms. Sounds cool!"
"Let's help each other out in any way we can, Dash. To go to the top together. That's our unified goal." Ash winked.
"And it's gonna stay that way no matter how long it takes." She would wink back before hopping off the bench. "Speaking of helping each other...Ash. Let's battle."
"A training session or..."
"No, no. A full battle." But Rainbow Dash wanted to cease any training sessions that these two usually had together. It was time to go beyond that and remove all the training gloves they had on. "You've got me pumped up as always. But this time, I wanna battle you at my current best and your current best. We help each other out and for this...I want to finally face off with you for real, Ash. Truth is...just like how Scootaloo views us...I've looked up to you as well."
"You have?"
"Pika?"
"Mhm. As far as it goes... you're actually Equestria's Strongest Trainer. You show up here so much, it might as well be your second...or I guess third home. I admired your strength ever since I saw you and Pikachu work together. And the more we spent time together, dealing with whatever problem there was, I've always wanted to be as great as you. That's only one of the reasons I entered the Equestria League. The second reason. The first is pretty obvious. Just like Daring Do, I loved every time we teamed up and battled alongside each other. You pushed me forward like you do every other new trainer. So...I want to go further and battle you, at last, Ash. Even at your strength, I can't resist."
These words would hit Ash to the core. He never realized it before but Rainbow Dash saw him as an idol much like everyone else. He just assumed she was just a great friend and never saw him like that. Her passion for battling resonated with him as Ash sparked a large flame within the pegasus.
"Hmm...Well...who am I to turn down a battle?" Ash got off the bench, adjusting his gloves and hat. Pikachu would climb up his shoulder, wagging his tail and letting out a bit of electricity from his red sacs. "Alright, Rainbow Dash. Let's have a battle!"
"Pikachu!"
"Yes!" Music to her ears. She would take flight before spinning in the air for a few seconds. Rainbow Dash expected this but was still ecstatic by the response. Castform would fly out of her Saddlebag, sharing Rainbow Dash's excitement. The battle would be official. A clash between these two great friends would finally happen.
A stage had been set for two great friends to battle. Ash and Rainbow Dash. After having a close talk about each other's dreams and how one affects the other, they both agreed to have a battle. But not just any battle. This wasn't like their usual training sessions that they do together. Instead, this would be a serious battle where both of them would give it their all.
And what better place to have this battle than the Equestria League Stadium? But it wouldn't be as packed as it usually is. Their closest friends were here to view the battle along with a few Canterlot residents who wanted to watch this. It wouldn't be a spectacle at all but it would still be an enjoyable time.
"Hurry! I think it's about to start!" Arriving at the stadium was Spike as he had dragged Twilight along. In her hooves, Twilight had the cube that she, Zero and Starlight worked on. Speaking of Starlight, she would be present here but not Zero. "You're lucky that they're working on those suits here at Canterlot. That gives you plenty of time to watch this battle, doesn't it?"
"It does, but I'd also like to complete the process of making Technomagic," Twilight replied. "But this does sound fun and I can still spare some time."
"It won't hurt to do so," said Zero. "I can still work on it while this goes on."
"This is their first serious battle together?" Starlight added. "Would it be safe to be inside the stadium if that's the case? You know how destructive these battles get..."
"There's fewer of us around here so it won't be so-" Before Spike could finish his sentence, he would find himself bumping into a rocky substance. "Ough!"
"Oh! Sorry!" A voice would apologize to Spike once he fell over. This voice had an echo to it as it was near the rock. Or rather, in and out of the rock itself.
"It's fine..." Spike would then look up to see what he bumped into. Right then and there, the ghost of Pear Butter was the one being projected from this rock. The meteors from Meteor Mountain were brought here. Naturally, she was essentially a ghost as her spirit caught Spike off guard. He didn't expect to suddenly see her. "Gaha!
"My bad. Gave you a fright, didn't I?" She would once again apologize as Applejack brought over both meteors of her parents just for this one battle.
"What's up with this?" Zero naturally had questions about these spirits that were emanating out of the meteors.
"Oh, they're just spirits of Applejack's parents within meteors. Nothing too crazy." Starlight casually explained in the easiest way possible without even going into further detail.
"Alright then." And Zero wouldn't even try to comprehend it. He would simply go along with it, sitting down as if this was all casual. In a world that was so centred around magic, why wouldn't this be casual? "Anyway...We saw Giratina standing out there near the stairway. Why would it be there?"
"I heard something happened with Flurry Heart and she just left Giratina here," Fluttershy replied. "Apparently, Giratina might have to return to his universe and his own world."
"The Distortion World? Mm, that makes sense." Zero said. "You need Giratina to keep watch and rule over the Distortion World. Or else...the consequences will be vast, especially if Giratina is away from it for too long."
"Do you know what would happen if Giratina leaves it for too long, Zero?" Twilight asked.
"Believe me, Twilight. I do." Zero definitely knew exactly what kind of consequences this would bring. Aside from potentially Flurry Heart, no one here knew more about Giratina than him.
"Okay!" Raising his voice and starting others, Ash would put his fist in his palm, already showing the right amount of energy to start this battle. "We're both packing six Pokemon, so let's make it a full 6-on-6 battle! Thanks for being the Ref, Luna."
"Mm." For this, Luna would be the overseer of this battle, calling the shots. "You have as much time as you want. And by now, all the rules are clear to you, so you don't need to hear them from me."
"I'm ready, Ash. Do your best, please!" Rainbow Dash took her position, holding out her first Poke Ball.
"I always do my best!" Ash would then slide to his position as well, adjusting his gloves. The wind would sing for this imminent battle as everyone else here would make themselves comfortable. Pinkie Pie brought them all something to eat while they enjoy this battle, catering to everyone's tastes. Apart from Bright Mac and Pear Butter, for obvious reasons. On the plus side, this would be their first time viewing a Pokemon Battle from this position and scenario.
"Send out your Pokemon at once!"
"Pikachu! I Choose You!" Ash would start with his tried and true partner, Pikachu, who would hop off his shoulder to jump into the fray.
"Pikachu!"
"Go! Luxray!" Rainbow Dash would fittingly send out her own Electric-Type. Luxray would be up first.
"Luxray!"
"Are you ready, Luxray? This is our biggest moment yet before the Equestria League. A real battle with Ash." Rainbow Dash spoke before giving out a command. "We didn't practice for this but...we've been training alongside him for months now. So let's show him how far we've come."
"Lux!"
"Just be careful...we won't let you beat us." A glimmer appeared in Ash's eye as he wasn't intending on letting Rainbow Dash win this, even if the gap between them was large. Ash refuses to hold back or go easy on anyone. Even his closest friends are not an exception.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Oh yeah? Because I'm gonna try my best and beat you, Ash!" Rainbow Dash declared as she was looking to topple a paramount trainer such as Ash.
"Ray!"
"Alright. Now that you two have talked big...spend most of that energy on your battle. Battle Start!" Luna gave the call for the battle to begin.
"Alright, Pikachu! Use Quick Attack!"
"Pika! Pika-Pika-Pika" Pikachu runs as a white trail of energy emerged behind and around him. Sparks of lightning would flare out of his body in response to this swift movement.
"Look alive, Luxray! Use Ice Fang!"
"Lux...Ray!" Luxray would prepare for Pikachu's attack, enveloping his fangs in a chilling blue aura. Right as he did so, Pikachu crashed into him at full force, causing the Gleam Eyes Pokemon to stagger for a bit. "Lux!" But Luxray regained his composure right away, throwing his head forward to chomp on Pikachu's arm.
"Pi!" Pikachu grimaced as his arm was met with the bite of Ice Fang. The chill would run through his body as he was then thrown away by Luxray's head swing, flying through the air. "Pika?!"
"Now, Discharge!"
"Raaaay!" Luxray would follow up his attack. releasing numerous bolts of blue electricity from his body as they flew through the air, acting like violent whips.
"Counter with Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu would manage to recover midair, quickly retaliating with Thunderbolt. A flash of lightning would erupt from the Mouse Pokemon as 100,000 volts clashed with the flare of bolts. Both attacks cancelled each other out, littering the air with a combustion of energy. Pikachu would then drop down, landing safely on his feet.
"Are you looking good there, Luxray?" Rainbow Dash asked. Luxray would rustle his fur for a bit as he was still in peak condition right now, raring to continue. "Great! Let's go for an Iron Tail this time!"
"Lux...Ray!" Luxray advanced, hardening his tail with iron before approaching his fellow Electric-Type with an intimidating glare and bared fangs.
"Fight back with Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu would respond with his own Iron Tail. By also hardening his tail, the Mouse Pokemon encountered the Gleam Eyes Pokemon and an immediate clash of tails ensued.
A fierce and reverberating clanging sound would emit from their collision. The impact shook parts of the ground while also creating a shockwave. Luna, who was nearby, would protect herself with a barrier from this shockwave. The two of them would then go back and forth, smashing their tails against each other. As always, a double Iron Tail clash always sounded like two swords going at it.
And usually, neither Iron Tail manages to come out on top. Pikachu and Luxray would swing as much as they could but they both managed to counter and evade each other's attacks. Eventually, they would both push each other back with neither being able to win the struggle.
"Let's wain him down with this! Use Wild Charge!"
"Lux...!" Luxray would growl before then flaring his body with a vibrant electrical aura. This aura would then be accompanied by the sudden take-off from the Gleam Eyes Pokemon, akin to a Thunderbolt.
"Pikachu! Makeshift Volt Tackle!"
"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu would move with Quick Attack while also combining it with another move. Once he took off, he used Thunderbolt on himself, enveloping his yellow body with 100,000 volts. This was to compensate for a lack of Quick Attack as he would rival Luxray's Wild Charge, resulting in another direct clash.
This time, it was a head-on collision between the two Electric-Types. The arena lit up with sparks of lighting flying everywhere. They would stare intensively at each other, pushing back and forth with all their strength. It looked like two lightning bolts were pushing against each other from a distance. That was how much light was covering them.
"Pika...!" But the one winning this struggle was Pikachu as he started pushing Luxray back. "Chu-Pi!" Eventually, Pikachu won the struggle, blowing Luxray back with his Makeshift Volt Tackle.
"L-Lux!" Luxray staggered and almost fell on his back from this blow. It left him somewhat bewildered as both Pokemon would suffer some recoil. Luxray, because of Wild Charge and Pikachu, because of how this attack perfectly replicated Volt Tackle.
"What an impact!" Goh shouted out. "Luxray looks like he could fall here!"
"Luxray?!" Rainbow Dash gasped, fearing that Luxray would go down this early on. But hearing Rainbow Dash's cry prompted Luxray to keep his balance.
"R-Ray!" He grit his teeth, cocking his body forward. He was not down and out yet.
"Okay! Return, for now, Pikachu!" Ash would call back Pikachu. So far, Pikachu had a slight edge, dealing the most hits to Luxray. "Great work out there."
"Pika."
"So far so good." Rainbow Dash sighed. "Nothing too crazy yet...I just gotta see who he'll bring out next."
Watching this battle, Bright Mac and Pear Butter were getting excited. All the lightning-fast movements, the powerful vocal commands and the flash of energies going around were all too enthralling.
This battle would start to attract more ponies from all the crashing thunder. Watching from the balcony would be Celestia, who was already eyeing down this battle from the start. However, the battle wasn't enough to get her mind off of Flurry Heart's current emotions. The words from Flurry Heart rang in her ears.
"Can't we just send another Giratina there?! "I get that the universe could suffer without Giratina but...but I don't want him to go."
"It's for the safety of that universe. Making that alliance meant that every other world would be safe from any further harm. That goes for the Pokemon World." Celestia spoke to herself. "But..."
"Alright! Gengar, I choose you!" Ash had already selected his next Pokemon. This time it would be the Shadow Pokemon Gengar.
"Gengar!"
"Gengar, huh...?" Rainbow Dash uttered quietly, narrowing her eyes at the Ghost-Poison-Type. "He's gonna be tricky like always. But I've got my eye on him. Especially Luxray."
"Hm." For a moment, Ash would smirk, giving Rainbow Dash a slight scare. That smirk meant that he was up to something. And if there was one thing anyone facing Ash should fear, it was his unpredictable strategies. "Gengar! Shadow Ball!"
"Intercept with Discharge!"
"Gen...!" From one hand, Gengar would conjure up an eerie blob of shadows while giving a wicked smile to Luxray. But at the same time, and with a bit of an advantage in unleashing this attack, Luxray would emit flares of electricity from his body.
"Lux!" Luxray managed to shock the Shadow Pokemon with Discharge before he could throw the attack, getting the first hit in.
"G-Gengar!" But even though Gengar was pushed back by the shock, he still managed to unleash Shadow Ball. In fact, the first one would be a decoy. He would immediately summon up a second ball once the first one travelled to Luxray.
"Incoming! Smash 'em with Iron Tail!"
"Ray!" Luxray would lunge at the Shadow Ball, performing an overhead smash with his tail. The ball found itself being crushed by Luxray's tail as he even managed to split it in half. However, he wasn't quick enough to hit the second one. It already reached him, passing through the black and smoke and crashing into the Gleam Eyes Pokmon. "L-Lux!"
The black smoke would then envelop Luxray who flew through the air once more. Everyone gasped, thinking that this could be Luxray's downfall. But surprisingly, Luxray would still stand strong, sliding on the ground the second he was close to it. The Electric-Type's stubbornness and persistence was just as powerful as his ferocity. Just like his Trainer.
"Yes! You're amazing, Luxray!" Rainbow Dash cheered for Luxray after seeing how strong he stood. Even Ash had to acknowledge this resistance.
"Nice." Ash nodded in approval. Then, the shadow of Sombra would poke out, commenting on this battle.
"I thought you said you weren't holding back. She shouldn't even be lasting this long against you with one Pokemon." Sombra questioned.
"I'm not holding back. Rainbow Dash is tough after all. And I've gotta see what else she does. Gengar! Ice Punch on the ground!"
"Gen...Gar!" With a smash to the ground by a chilling fist, Gengar would cause a flash-freeze. The terrain of this arena would change rapidly, bringing an icy stage. Luxray gasped as the ice already reached him at stupendous speeds, affecting his feet.
"Not this...!" Rainbow Dash had seen this kind of strategy multiple times before. The Ice Ground Strategy was nothing to ignore as it can be very efficient when used by certain trainers. And in the case of Ash Ketchum, the efficiency was at an all-time high. "Smash it all with Iron Tail!"
"Lux!" But there was already a way to get rid of this chilling ground. And that was from breaking it apart with brute force. Iron Tail was a splendid pick as Luxray would raise his tail, ready to crush it all.
"Psychic! Move him around!"
"Gar!" But Gengar was prepared for this. By using Psychic, he would outline Luxray's tail in a purple aura, interrupting his attack process.
"L-Lux!" Luxray would then find himself being moved across the ice, unwillingly sliding on it. Gengar would specifically drag Luxray's face on the ice to cause most of the damage, chipping away at it. Luxray's voice was continuously staggering with each hit as he was getting ice inside of his mouth.
"Harsh!" Pinkie Pie grimaced. This was certainly one of Ash's rougher strategies. And Luxray could certainly feel every single roughness that came with it. "Come on, Luxray! You've done so well this entire time, so show us something greater!" She would then cheer him on along with many others who were getting into this battle which was still early.
"You heard her, Luxray! Don't let this get to you! Ice Fang on the ground!"
"L-Lux...Ray!" Luxray roared before encasing his teeth in ice. It would be Ice vs Ice as Luxray would immediately counter Gengar's control with his teeth sinking into the ground.
"Gen?" Gengar would find his control being slowed down instantly. Thanks to those sharp fangs, Luxray, in a rather compromising position that resembled the letter C but from the other side, would keep himself glued to the ground, surprising Ash.
"Ouch..." Twilight could feel the pain from Luxray's teeth being in the cold hard ground. "But, it kept Gengar's Psychic at bay."
"Awesome stuff! But...Pull him out, Gengar!"
"Gengar!" But Gengar would persist, putting more power into his Psychokinetic hold. He attempted pulling Luxray up as the Gleam Eyes Pokemon would only suffer more pain in his teeth. He growled as his teeth were being viciously pulled along with his entire body. He stayed adamant on the ground but that only forced Gengar to try harder.
"Luxray's in a bad position here..." Rainbow Dash gulped before thinking as hard as she could to try and get out of this predicament. "Unless...Luxray! Flash freeze the whole thing! Add more ice!"
"More ice? Why?" Rarity wondered. "Is it to keep Luxray there longer?"
"L-Lux!" Luxray went a step further than just glueing his teeth to the ground. He would use the chilling aura of Ice Fang to create a new flash-freeze. Once again, the arena was frozen over but with the addition of more ice, the layer got thicker and stronger as large ice spikes would then erupt from the ground in response to this second layer.
The spikes would rise up from Gengar's excessive pulling, flying in his direction. Just as planned by Rainbow Dash. Gengar gasped before being hit by the spikes. "G-Gar!"
"Yes, it worked!" Rainbow Dash laughed. "Awesome work, Luxray!"
"Yeah. That was awesome." Ash nodded in approval. Rainbow Dash was also fairly good at thinking outside the box when it came to difficult instances. This was mainly due to how she had watched Ash's battles and how he uses unorthodox tactics to overcome his opponent and throw them off guard. "But we're stopping Luxray's rampage here and now! Gengar! Descend!"
"Gengar!" Gengar would then make himself intangible, descending into the cold ground. IN this state, Gengar was exempt and immune from the cold, allowing him to move without any limitations. Luxray would then reposition himself, removing his teeth from the ground at last. And there wasn't even a single toothache that came from this.
Gengar was now underground, waiting for the right moment to strike and Ash's next command. The Gleam Eyes Pokemon snarled, flaring his face with electricity to show his guard.
"Gengar could show up anywhere...it's all a matter of if we're fast enough to see him coming." The pegasus thought to herself as the stadium went silent for a bit. "But there's one way to see him down there...Luxray! Do what you do best!"
"Ray." Looking back at Rainbow Dash, Luxray knew exactly what she meant. Luxray would use his signature X-Ray Vision. If there was ever a time when this would be useful in a battle, against a Ghost-Type who was moving underground, this was a perfect moment.
His eyes would illuminate a beautiful blue colour as he would avert them to the ground. And just like that, with striking ease, he managed to spot the moving body of Gengar which was constantly swaying back and forth, zigzagging randomly to try and trick the Gleam Eyes Pokemon.
"Great work using Luxray's special trait. I figured you'd do that," said Ash. "But can you react in time?! Night Shade!"
"Gen...!" Underground, Gengar would speed up. But this time, someone could see his actions as Luxray would carefully eye down the Shadow Pokemon's direction.
"Get ready...!" Rainbow Dash couldn't see him at all, but she trusted Luxray to anticipate him at the right time.
"Gar!" Finally, he emerged from the ground, right beside Luxray. Gengar fired a dark crimson beam, outlined in red, blue and purple from his eyes, going for a side attack.
"Discharge!"
"Lux...Ray!" Right as the beam approached him, the electricity from Luxray's face was already fully charged, soon turning into a full-powered electrical aura. The two attacks would clash but Luxray's collision was closer than Gengar's. The attacks would explode around each other as it was mainly Luxray who was engulfed by the explosion. Gengar would only find himself being slightly pushed back.
Rainbow Dash would onto her Mega Evolution Goggles from the explosion as it nearly pushed her back. Ash was sternly staring at the explosion while holding onto his hat and barely moving. The way both trainers reacted to the outbursts was perfectly represented by how each Pokemon turned out.
Gengar was fine. He only felt the shockwave of it. But as for Luxray, he was at the crux of the combustion, being too late to intercept, despite his special trait. Once the smoke cleared, the Gleam Eyes Pokemon would faint. He battled valiantly and that could not be ignored.
"Luxray..."
"Luxray is unable to battle! Gengar wins!" Luna declared the first loss of this battle. But even though Luxray lost, he received great respect from everyone else, just from how persistent he was. Applauds from ponies and Pokemon would come in, showing Luxray with praise.
They've all seen their fair share of stubborn Pokemon. Most of Ash's Pokemon and Twilight's Absol were great examples of that. And Luxray had now cemented himself among that group of Pokemon that were too stubborn to easily take out.
"Do you hear them, Luxray? You were awesome to everyone. Return." Rainbow Dash would return the Gleam Eyes Pokemon, congratulating him for a job well done. "Thank you."
"Just like an actual lion...Amazing." Scootaloo said. "Luxray's so cool!"
"Luxray...what a guy!" Pinkie Pie sent out showers of tears, proud of Luxrays' efforts. "But Rainbow Dash lost her first Pokemon. Can she get past all of Ash's Pokemon?"
"Honestly...I'm not so sure." Goh couldn't answer that properly. From how it appeared at the moment, the roles were reversed. Usually, Ash was always facing off against a staggeringly powerful foe, trying to overcome them.
But now, Ash was the staggeringly powerful foe and Rainbow Dash was the one trying to overcome him. And Ash knew this. From all of his battles, it was rare for him to become the equivalent of this towering force that he's battled throughout the years. He first experienced it with Scootaloo and now Rainbow Dash was in this position.
"So that's how it feels, huh?" Ash said to himself, finally knowing how the Gym Leaders and other Skilled Trainers he's met in the past felt when battling him. By now, this stadium was starting to fill up as more and more would appear swiftly. Now, the Golden Stairway was not the main attraction but this battle. Any battle involving Ash was appealing to the eyes.
"Okay...I'm just getting warmed up, Ash!" Rainbow Dash held out her next Poke Ball. "Get ready for what's coming next, okay? Go! Altaria!"
"Altaria!" Ataria was the second Pokemon to arrive, letting out her beautiful melody upon entering.
"Prepare yourself, Altaria! We won't let him get ahead of us! Not now or ever! Let's beat him and show everyone what we're made of!"
"Tari!"
"Hm. Return, for now, Gengar." Ash would then return Gengar, choosing to swap him out. With a quick movement of his hands, he would already have the next Poke Ball out and ready, launching it upwards. "Dracovish! I choose you!"
"Dracovish!" Dropping from the skies was the Fossil Pokemon and Apex Predator of its time. Dracovish. It would be a full-on Dragon Battle at this point between the past and the present. And there was one more Dragon in Ash's team that was waiting to show up.
The Battle between Ash and Rainbow Dash was in its infancy but it was already starting to heat up. The amazing and fierce wall that was Ash Ketchum was something Rainbow Dash aimed to try and surpass, which seemed impossible to everyone here at Equestria who looks up to Ash.
But to Rainbow Dash and even Ash, nothing was impossible. Rainbow Dash aimed to prove it and Ash wished to see her reach and break through that wall of impossibility. And all of this was the perfect way to prepare for the Final Eight Gym Badge as the journey continues.
Equestria. Canterlot. Equestria League Stadium. Afternoon.
Ash and Rainbow Dash's battle had just begun. Previously, Luxray took on both Pikachu and Gengar and ultimately fell to Gengar. But he put up an excellent fight that garnered the respect of many. Right now, it would be Altaria against Gengar, picking up right after Luxray had fainted.
More and more ponies came to watch this battle right as it was starting to amp up. This friendly battle would garner more attention, even though the Golden Stairway was right there. Joining the increasing crowd were none other than the few teachers from the Pokemon School. The three most prominent ones that the students always see. Roxanne, Brawly and Roxie.
"Ooh, a full battle between the two? Nice." Brawly commented, making himself comfortable. "Who's winning?"
"Ash is in the lead right now. But Rainbow Dash is doing pretty well so far. So far." Twilight explained. "That look in Ash's eyes means that he's only going to make it harder for her."
"He's already made it hard for her." Rarity added. "Rainbow Dash has access to Mega Evolution, Z-Moves and the Harmony Phenomenon. Ash only has a Z-Move at his speciality and yet..."
"It's go time, Altaria! Dragon Pulse!" Rainbow Dash shouted out, spreading and bending her hooves to mimic that of a dragon's fangs.
"Taria!" Altaria would unleash a Dragon Pulse, holding her breath in as a draconic beam came crashing out. A loud boom would erupt from the initial fire as this Dragon Pulse was the most ferocious that Altaria had ever unleashed.
"Water Gun, Dracovish!"
"Draco!" Dracovish would retaliate with a stream of water that didn't crash out with the same intensity as Dragon Pulse but was equally fierce as it smashed into the draconic beam. A combustion of water and arcane power would go off as both trainers would try and take advantage of this large cloud of smoke.
"Hyper Voice!"
"Ice Fang!"
"Alta...!" Altaria did what she does best. Hum beautifully as a mighty shockwave erupted from her, blowing away the smoke. At the same time, Dracovish would jump through the smoke with its fangs being coated in ice. But the second it came close, the soundwave already struck the Water-Dragon-Type, sending it back. "Ria!"
"Draco...!" Dracovish would roll on the ground from the soundwave's pressure, tumbling and bouncing before regaining its composure. Dracovish couldn't get in close at the moment. "Co!"
"Dracovish and Altaria aren't the fastest bunch, so they should be equal in speed. But on land and sky, that's a different story for both of them." Rainbow Dash said to herself. "So, I won't let it get anywhere near Altaria. Ascend, Altaria! Use Dragon Pulse!"
"Altaria!" Using the distance to her advantage, Altaria would fly up, building up arcane energy for a second Dragon Pulse. From above, Dragon Pulse would approach like a crashing lightning bolt.
"That's what you're up to...Dodge it, Dracovish!"
"Dra!" Dracovish had its own advantage on land as opposed to Altaria's aerial advantage. The Fossil Pokemon would slide on the marble floor moving to the side. The pulse would strike the arena ground, sending a shockwave that would slightly stagger Dracovish.
"Again!"
"Aria! Aria!" Continuous Dragon Pulses were spat out by the Humming Pokemon as Dracovish was met with a bombardment of these dragon-shaped attacks.
"Keep at it, Dracovish!"
"Vish!" Dracovish was forced to evade as much as it could. Each time a pulse would hit the stadium, a new outburst would come, minimizing the space it needed for safety. Luna, the referee of this battle, would continue to shield herself once the explosions ramped up. She would need to keep this up as the aggression of this battle was only going to increase. The ground, which had previously been turned to ice by Gengar, was starting to break apart thanks to this. Either way, Dracovish used this to slide smoothly.
"Trying to keep us away, huh? That won't happen! Water Gun, Dracovish! Aim it at the ground!"
"Draco...Vish!" Dracovish would retaliate. But instead of intercepting one of the Dragon Pulses, it would use Water Gun on the ground as per Ash's request. By doing so, Dracovish would propel itself upwards, using the stream of water as a pedestal. This was assisted by one of the Dragon Pulse combustions which gave Dracovish a boost.
"Higher, Altaria!"
"Alta!" But Rainbow Dash aimed to completely distance her from Dracovish. Altaria would ascend some more, charging up yet another Dragon Pulse. And with Dracovish being in the air, it would be much harder to evade this.
"It can't reach Altaria that way!" Roxanne gasped. "Can it?"
"Yes, it can!" Brawly stood up with high enthusiasm in his voice after seeing the Water Strategy. As a surfer, he respected this greatly. "Ride that wave good, Dracovish!"
"Catch up with her! More, Dracovish!"
"Vish!" But Dracovish would simply increase the power of Water Gun just to reach Altaria. The water pressure would be elevated, spreading across the ground faster while also giving Dracovish an extra boost. This extra boost would allow him to narrowly evade an incoming Dragon Pulse.
The Dragon Pulse would break straight through the Water Gun, however, ending Dracovish's rise. But that was all Dracovish needed. It managed to reach its fellow Dragon-Type with all that liquifying effort.
"Now, Ice Fang! Bring her down!" Ash smashed his fist on the ground to accentuate the motion that Dracovish needed to pull off.
"Draco...!"
"Quick, Altaria! Fire!"
"Alta...!" Another Dragon Pulse was incoming. However, this time, Dracovish had the advantage in the air as it was close enough to the Humming Pokemon. Before she could even unleash or fully build up her Dragon Pulse, Dracovish managed to bite down on Altaria's head. "T-Taria!"
"Oh no! Altaria!" Rainbow Dash gasped upon seeing Altaria's attack being interrupted and essentially shut down. Now that she was in Dracovish's clutches, escaping was the biggest challenge to overcome.
"Draco!" With its powerful apex predator jaws, Dracovish would force the Dragon-Flying-Type away from the sky and back to land. Unable to break free, Altaria would find herself being smashed into the ground first, with Dracovish landing second. The dust would aggressively fly everywhere, making Rainbow Dash flinch while Ash would casually stare, not flinching at all.
"Altaria! Are you okay?!" Rainbow Dash cried out once the smoke emerged. Out of it, Dracovish would appear and in his fangs was Altaria.
Altaria found herself trapped, unable to wriggle her way out of Dracovish's jaws. Not only was she trapped but she also received super-effective damage from that Ice Fang. She wasn't down yet but she was on the verge of fainting at this rate.
"She withstood that? Impressive." Roxanne nodded in approval of Altaria's stellar durability.
"But it won't matter with those crazy strong jaws," Roxie commented. "Break out of it if you can!"
"Tari...! Taria!" Altaria was unable to. Dracovish wasn't thinking about letting go as it would start gnawing as if it wanted a snack, startling Altaria who could receive something far worse than a knockout.
"Let's finish her off! Ice Fang!"
"Draco...!"
"No, you won't!" Rainbow Dash roared, refusing to let Altaria fall here. "Hyper Voice! Full blast!"
"ARIA!" Altaria would unleash Hyper Voice while her head was being restrained by Dracovish. Even though her head was restrained, her beak wasn't. With all of her might, she would hum as loud as she could.
And it was certainly efficient. The volume of the soundwave vibrated Dracovish's entire head since it was so close to it. The Fossil Pokemon's eyes widened as its grip on Altaria weakened. This allowed Altaria to break free, pushing back the Dragon-Water-Type with the power of the soundwave.
"Yes! We got out of it!" Rainbow Dash cheered.
"Not bad...Can ya hear properly, Dracovish?" Ash asked. Dracovish would shake its head before regaining balance. But the sound of Altaria's singing was ringing in its head.
"Okay...Those jaws freak me out. In more ways than one." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath as she was still safe currently. But at any time, it could go horribly south. "But...I'm gonna make a turnaround right now before it gets worse."
"I like that look in her eyes." Roxie noticed Rainbow Dash's intensive glare. "She's ready for something."
"I think I know what it could be." Twilight eyed down the aerial goggles on Rainbow Dash's head. And indeed, Rainbow Dash had the same idea in mind. This was a battle that would require the full strength of both trainers. And that meant the best of their Pokemon's capabilities.
"It's time!" Rainbow Dash yelled before tapping on the Keystone that was embedded in the aerial goggles. The time for Mega Evolution had come. "Mega Evolve!"
"Alta...!" With a resounding cry, the Mega Energy from both Altaria and the Keystone would go off, unleashing beautiful blue and yellow lights that would connect and form a DNA symbol. The symbols would then pulsate rapidly before then flying over to the Humming Pokemon. There was an enveloping light around her that would soon transform Altaria's body, bringing out her further evolved state. Mega Altaria. "Altaria!"
"I've been waiting for this." Ash anticipated Mega Altaria. This was Rainbow Dash's way of showing how serious she was getting. But there were two more ways she could show it that Ash was patiently waiting for.
"Go! Moonblast!"
"Taria!" Stronger than before, Altaria would gather power from the beautiful moon, turning that power into an incandescent sphere of Fairy Magic before shooting it out.
"Water Gun!"
"Draco!" Intercepting this attack with Water Gun, Dracovish would also up the ante, slightly pushing itself back from the force of Water Gun's initial release. Moonblast managed to overpower Water Gun in this instance, breaking through the stream and crashing into the Fossil Pokemon. A super-effective hit had finally come through. "V-Vish!"
"Yes! Follow up with Dragon Pulse!"
"Aria!" A second attack would be unleashed which would also bring about a super-effective effect if it landed. As if Ash would let that happen. He could see that Altaria had the advantage when it came to special attacks in her Mega Evolved State while Dracovish was far superior with Physical Attacks.
"Lower your body, Dracovish!"
"Draco!" In a more practical approach, Dracovish would lower its head, narrowly evading the Dragon Pulse.
"Now slide in and use Fishious Rend!"
"Draa!" Along came Dracovish, using the ice on the ground to its advantage. Dracovish would then lunge forward, biting down on the Altaria's wings with a light blue energy coming out of its jaws.
"A-Alta! Altaria!"
"Push it off with Hyper Voice!"
"Alta!" In this form, Mega Altaria had access to Pixilate as an ability. Thus, Hyper Voice became a Fairy-Type attack. Altaria would combine her cry of pain with Hyper Voice, damaging Dracovish with a super-effective blow that would push it away.
"V-Vish!" Dracovish would once again stumble, this time on the broken parts of the icy ground which was starting to diminish as the battle went on. The sliding advantage would no longer be present unless the element of Ice were to change it once more. Ash thought about it. Dracovish did have Ice Fang after all. There was also Altaria's Ice Beam which had yet to be unleashed solely due to Rainbow Dash's patience for Dragonite's appearance. And of course, Dracovish was not weak to ice like most of its draconic brethren.
"Alright, Dracovish. Return, for now." Ash would return Dracovish, giving it a break. "Great work as always. I'll call you back in when the time's right. Okay...It's your turn! Lucario!"
"Lucario!" Out of the next Poke Ball came Lucario. He would pick up where Dracovish left off. Lucario was the equalizer when it came to facing Altaria. His Steel-Typing gave him great resistance to all of her moves but none of his moves would do much to Altaria.
"I can't do much...but I'll still stop you!" Rainbow Dash declared. "Moonblast!"
"Altaria!" Moonblast would be unleashed, approaching the Aura Pokemon who would just stand there, unbothered by the approaching attack.
"Ca!" Lucario would simply slap it away with his arm, showing off immediately. The Moonblast would fly out of the arena, hitting the walls instead. The way he did so intimidated Rainbow Dash and Altaria as Ash didn't even need to say anything. It was thanks to Ash and Lucario's synchronized Aura that the Aura Pokemon chose to get serious.
"Always a tough guy...but that won't get to us." The pegasus growled. "Go for it, Altaria! Hyper Voice!"
"Aria!" If Moonblast wouldn't do then perhaps Hyper Voice might. Soundwaves to try and slow Lucario down were unleashed, bringing about a beautiful melody.
"Let's go, Lucario! Double Team!"
"Lu!" Along came Lucario, rushing in with multiple clones emerging from his body. These clones would run at different speeds, forming a horde that Altaria would have to deal with. Her soundwave would blow away some of the clones, causing them to vanish while the real Lucario was approaching.
"Now, Force Palm!"
"Ca!" Lucario then leapt upwards as the last of his clones vanished. That last clone gave him the chance to strike as Altaria could not slow him down at all. Before she knew it, she was socked in the face by Lucario's paw.
"T-Ta!" She staggered from this not-every-effective hit. But from how she was bewildered by it, it might as well have been very effective. Lucario would then bring about an onslaught of consecutive Force Palm hits, slugging and smashing Altaria repeatedly as he gave her little time to think. "Aaaa!"
"Altaria, no!" The multi-coloured-maned pegasus cried out. "Quick! Break out with Dragon Pulse!"
"T-Taria!" But that was fairly difficult to do when she was being staggered with each hit. Lucario was unrelenting to the core for poor Altaria.
"Does Ash seem tougher to you today?" Fluttershy said, realizing how advantageous Ash was during this entire battle and how much brute force was emanating from his actions.
"Rainbow Dash did ask for Ash at his best. Unfortunately, this means she'll have to take the full fury of Ash's battling style." Rarity answered. "And from the skill level between the two, Rainbow Dash is up against her hardest battle yet."
"What's wrong, Rainbow Dash? Don't you have something?" Ash said while Lucario's blows kept coming with multiple sparks flying everywhere.
"We won't lose like this! Altaria! Please!" Rainbow Dash pleaded to Altaria to try her best to escape this flurry. "Dragon Pulse!"
"A-A...!" While being pummeled, Altaria would try to use Dragon Pulse at any chance that she could. But she needed the right chance for that to happen. But seeing how fierce and fast Lucario was, that chance to release it was practically non-existent. So, Rainbow Dash thought of something else.
"It's risky but...Use it inside! Now!"
"Taria!" Self-sabotage. Since she couldn't use Dragon Pulse outside, Altaria would use it inside. She at least had time to build up her breath but didn't have the time to release it. With her breath, she would gather up whatever amount of draconic energy that she could.
And with it, the Humming Pokemon would unleash it inside. The explosion of Dragon Pulse would flare in her neck and out of her mouth, harming her own body. But as an odd advantage, the flare of energy would push Lucario back, gauging some distance. But the one who would truly fly back was Altaria since she took the full brunt of it.
Alas, when trying to use it as an escape mechanism, it ended in her downfall. Altaria would de-evolve while falling from above, dropping to the ground and emerging in her standard form. She had fainted.
"Altaria..."
"Altaria is unable to battle! Lucario wins!"
"Thank you, Altaria. You tried your best." Rainbow Dash closed her eyes before returning the Dragon-Flying-Type, holding her Poke Ball close to her face. Altaria truly gave it her all, but her own escape method backfired due to the damage she already received.
"Dash. That was pretty smart." Ash spoke. "Risky, but smart. Using Altaria's own attack inside of her was a great way to get Lucario away from her. But maybe next time, do it when Altaria's got some more strength. It's not a bad idea for a Pokemon to eat their own type. Trust me." He winked, referring to his Torterra.
"Thanks, Ash. But...I was thinking of calling her back but I didn't wanna waste the Mega Evolution, ya know?"
"Huh?" Ash narrowed his eyes along with Pikachu. They appeared confused by those words. "Say what now?"
"You know...Altaria had to stay out. I mean, Mega Evolution runs out if you swap, right?"
"Uh...No it doesn't." Ash and Pikachu laughed, revealing that Mega Evolution remained even if the Pokemon were to switch out. "You'd still have her in her Mega Form. It doesn't run out when you switch out."
"What?!" Naturally, this was new to Rainbow Dash due to her reaction.
"WHAT?!" But this was also new to everyone else aside from Brawly, Roxanne, Roxie and Zero.
"You can do that?!" Twilight stood up in shock at this news. This changed how she and everyone saw Mega Evolution. "And they'll still be in that form?!"
"Of course. It's just that Mega Evolution is so strong, many if not all trainers refuse to swap them out and save them for the climax of the battle." Roxanne explained. "When in reality, the effects wouldn't run out at all. I don't blame them. The power is just so immense after all."
"Of all the times to know this..." Disappointed, Rainbow Dash lowered her head before jolting it back up. "Oh well! I'll use that to my advantage the next time I battle with Altaria!"
"That's the spirit!" Ash loved to hear it, giving an approving thumbs up. "Alright! Let's keep this battle going!"
"Yeah! I choose-" Right as Rainbow Dash was ready to select her next Pokemon, Mienfoo's Poke Ball would fly out on its own. Out of it, Mienfoo would emerge. "Huh?"
"Mienfoo!"
"Mienfoo? You showed up on your own?
"Mien. Mienfoo." Mienfoo would face her trainer, hitting her own chest before then aiming her paw at Lucario. Clearly, she wanted to battle him. Fighting-Type vs Fighting-Type.
"Ooh...You wanna be the one to take on Lucario and not anyone else." Rainbow Dash understood Mienfoo clearly. "Don't tell you waited for Altaria to go down..."
"M-Mien." Mienfoo blushed as she did indeed wait for Altaria's defeat for this very moment to happen. It was rather selfish of her but Rainbow Dash expected this.
"Alright then. You've got your wish. Let's take down Lucario!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo issued the signature fighting pose of her species.
"Use Force Palm!" At the same time, the two trainers would yell at the same attack. In unison, Lucario and MIenfoo would light up their paws with an incandescent orange light. Both Fighting-Types would then move forward, meeting up close.
It would be an up-close collision of Force Palm once their arms were thrust in unison. And of course, the impact of both attacks would release an orange flash that would envelop them both. But the one who would be pushed back was Mienfoo as Lucario won the clash.
"M-Mien...!" Mienfoo would growl from losing the main exchange but she still had other chances. The Martial Arts Pokemon recovered, spotting Lucario approaching her.
"Block it, Mienfoo!"
"Mienfoo!" He would throw another Force Palm at her, only for Mienfoo to brace herself. She successfully blocked the Force Palm but not without an aftershock. Her body would shake from the hit, blowing the dust behind her. "Foo!" After blocking it, Mienfoo found her moment to retaliate.
She would use her pure physical strength to push Lucario back, ending the physical lock before initiating another one. After pushing Lucario back, she would throw out her next Force Palm by lunging in. It was an upwards collision as she would go for the chest, hitting Lucario at the centre.
"R-Rrr...!" Lucario snarled at this as Mienfoo managed to land a super-effective hit in.
"Use Acrobatics!"
"Mienfoo!" Instantly, Mienfoo would switch attacks, going for something more up her sleeve. She was all about fast hits and Acrobatics was the way to do it. The Martial Arts Pokemon, after hitting Lucario's chest, who would jump off his chest as a way to gauge some distance and even push him back. Lucario would move back before seeing Mienfoo rush back in.
"Here she comes! Double Team!"
"Ca!" But right as Mienfoo came in for Acrobatics, Lucario would already multiply himself with his clones. Mienfoo only ended up kicking a clone that would soon fizzle out.
"We won't let this get the better of us again! Go, Mienfoo!"
"Foo!" It would be a full force Acrobatics, using the best of Mienfoo's acrobatics to her advantage. She would swiftly move around, attacking each Lucario clone with rapid strikes from her paws and feet respectively. One by one, the clones would vanish instantly at great speeds, gradually approaching the real Lucario. Mienfoonarrowed her eyes, searching for the real one.
"Aura Sphere!"
"Ca...!" The remaining clones would then put their paws together, preparing an Aura Sphere to give Mienfoo more to worry about.
"Mien?!" The Fighting-Type gasped once these spheres of concentrated aura would materialize. However, she noticed something that stood out. One Aura Sphere stood out from the rest, having a greater vibrance. Rainbow Dash would soon notice it as well.
"There he is! Straight to the near left!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo knew exactly what Rainbow Dash already meant. She would fly in with Acrobatics, approaching the spheres once they were thrown. She would phase through the fake spheres before then meeting with the real one. With a powerful stomp, Mienfoo smashed her foot against the real Aura Sphere.
"Send it back!"
"Mien...Foo!" Mienfoo would end up kicking the Aura Sphere back at Lucario with all her might, using it against the Aura Pokemon.
"Awesome! But..." Ash smirked, unbothered and amazed by this. Lucario's Aura Sphere would approach him, seemingly ready to land a direct hit.
Alas, it was a juke. There was a second Lucario that was behind him. The real Lucario was only using the clone as a cover and a perfect mirage, masking his movements with it. The Lucario clone would be destroyed by the Aura Sphere, leaving room for the real one to rush in.
"Use Reversal!"
"Ca!" After tricking Mienfoo, he would slug his fellow Fighting-Type in the face, making her head turn to the side. It was almost even a full turn. Flabbergasted, Mienfoo found herself spinning in the air.
"Now! Aura Sphere!"
"Lucario!" Lucario would follow up with Aura Sphere while Mienfoo was still airborne.
"I don't think so! Reversal!"
"Mien!" An explosive aura of Infinity Energy would erupt from her body. Thanks to Reversal, she could instantly regain her balance, performing a stylish flip in the air. Her arms and entire body would light up before she then smashed her paw against the sphere.
A direct hit. The light of Aura Sphere and Reversal would flare out with Mienfoo attempting to send this one back as well. Everyone was struggling to keep up with how fast-paced this battle was turning out. When two Fighting-Types battle, it truly becomes a high-tension exchange that is devoid of much commentary.
"M-Mien...!" Mienfoo's arm would tremble when trying to push back this Aura Sphere. She did her best to reflect it, harming herself in the process. The Martial Arts Pokemon was unable to reflect it, but she could send it elsewhere. With a crack of her arms, Mienfoo knocked the Aura Sphere into the air as it would fizzle out.
Everyone looked up as it beautifully vanished with blue sparkles dropping from above. Mienfoo would drop to the ground as her arm was vigorously trembling from that initial struggle.
"Not yet! We'll take all of that damage and make it our own!" Rainbow Dash's eyes flared. "But first...Meditation!"
"Mienfo..." Mienfoo put her arms together, entering a meditative state. It was time for a new approach that would try and turn the tides. Her strength would immediately increase thanks to this.
"Mediation, huh? So, you're going for Mienfoo's new side. Let's see what she can do then! Double Team into Force Palm, Lucario!"
"Ca!" Along came Lucario with his clones which would all use Force Palm at once. Mienfoo's eyes would open up after she managed to mediate for this instance.
"We'll show you...Acrobatics!"
"Mien!" In a sudden spurt of speed, Mienfoo would take off like a rocket, leaving behind afterimages. The clones of Lucario failed to reach her as the real Lucario was instantly found by the Martial Arts Pokemon, stunning the Aura Pokemon and even Ash.
"Lu?!" Lucario grimaced after being found. And of course, he had been hit straight in the face by Mienfoo's below. But Mienfoo wouldn't stop there. Avenging Altaria, she would use the speed of Acrobatics to repeatedly hit Lucario from different directions while swiftly dashing to do so. Now Lucario was the one being smacked repeatedly.
"Reversal! Upwards!"
"Foo!" As Rainbow Dash, Mienfoo would use her damage as her strength, giving Lucario an uppercut that would almost send him upwards, but not quite there yet. However, the initial blow was staggeringly effective as Lucario would feel all of Mienfoo's increased strength.
"Force Palm!"
"Rr!" Right after he received a devastating uppercut, Lucario would soon recover with his Aura flaring out of him. The Aura Pokemon returned the favour by swinging his palm at Lucario's entire upper body.
"M-Mien!" Mienfoo would also grimace and cringe. Lucario would use his full arm strength to throw away, breaking all the ice rubble in the process.
"This is a vicious back and forth! Do you think they're pushing it too far?!" Starlight cried out.
"No. This is all-natural for Fighting-Types." Brawly, the Fighting-Type expert, would answer immediately. "They're at their best when they're going all out like this. Lucario and Mienfoo wouldn't have it any other way."
"Mien...Mien..." Panting repeatedly, Mienfoo's limits were starting to show. I was clear that she was getting the worst of it as her whole body was covered in scratches and tatters.
"Mienfoo...Come back for now!o You-"
"Foo!" But Mienfoo vehemently refused. She would never return. Not when she was facing Lucario down.
"You wanna see this through...?" Rainbow Dash uttered slowly before sighing. This was her Pkemon's wish and who was she to deny it? "Fine. You would've just forced yourself out again anyway. Let's finish this with one strike, okay?"
"Mien!" There was only one way for Mienfoo to throw everything she had at Lucario. Previously, Altaria used the best of her abilities which was Mega Evolution. Now it was Mienfoo to use the full extent of her abilities.
A Z-Move.
Out of Rainbow Dash's mane, a Z-Ring would be thrown upwards. Rainbow Dash then raised her hoof as the ring would perfectly land on her hoof. Afterwards, she would slap the Fightium Z on. The Power of Alola would show itself in a vibrant light.
"Get ready, Ash! One of your Pokemon is gonna go down right here, right now!"
"We'll see about that.
It was time for the full force of this Z-Move to be utilized as Rainbow Dash started posing to pull it off as perfectly as possible.
"We're gonna make it to the Final Gym and win!" Rainbow Dash shouted out while posing.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo yelled as her body began flowing with the aura of Z Power once Rainbow Dash pulled off the successful poses.
"All of this Z-Power is our spirit and you're gonna take the full force of it, Lucario! Anyone else we face, we won't lose to! Not when I'm going to become the Equestrian Champion!"
"Mien!"
"MIENFOO! ALL OUT PUMMELLING!"
"Mien...FOO!" Mienfoo, with all her might, unleashed a ridiculously fast flurry of orange-glowing punches and kicks that covered tore through the remaining ice and even the air. Mienfoo's veins would even show from this full-power attack.
"Now, Lucario! Use Aura Sphere and Double Team!"
"Lucario!" Lucario would also show his full spirit. As if a hurricane was around him, his Aura would erupt as the Aura Sphere he made would then appear, larger than before. Lucario and all of his appearing clones would then throw the spheres that would meet with the punches and kicks. Al the spheres were the real deal instead of being fake this time as it was a fierce struggle between the two Fighting-Type attacks.
"Move in, Lucario! Force Palm!"
"Ca!" While all the Aura Spheres were holding back the Z-Move, Lucario would approach Mienfoo while she was wide open, leaving the rest to his clones.
"Go, Mienfoo!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo's voice echoed out as her body would flash vibrantly in response to ever-increasing passion. She would all the energy of All-Out Pummeling which resulted in the Z-Move becoming stronger than ever. However, it wasn't strong enough to overcome Lucario, but it did equalize things.
The struggle came to an end as all the clones of Lucario would vanish but the Aura Spheres and Z-Move cancelled each other out. There was an immediate wide spark with Lucario failing to get in close from the tremendous shockwave that pushed him back and Mienfoo failing to successfully hit Lucario.
Thus, it was a strength tie. The dust settled from the end of this struggle, but it wasn't the end of this battle. Lucario felt bewildered by that. He didn't expect Mienfoo to cancel it all out. Her strength was truly elevated when pushed to this point.
"Awesome...She matched his strength with that last burst." Ash said. "Man, you're so cool, Mienfoo."
"M-Mien...!" Mienfoo got on one knee once she finished using all of her Z-Power. And to an extent, a majority of her natural power was gone. She was now running low while Lucario still had more to spare. Everyone fell silent to Mienfoo's current state, wondering if she could even continue.
"Oh, Mienfoo." Rainbow Dash smiled, proud of Mienfoo for being such a trooper, standing strong just like her teammates. So far, all of her Pokemon have stood strong against their powerful opponents, refusing to go down easily. "You-"
"Mien...Mien!" But then, that's when it happened. A pillar of energy erupted from Mienfoo's body, interrupting anything Rainbow Dash wanted to say. The energy would light up the sky, piercing the clouds while also causing a wind pressure to emerge. All watched in awe while squinting their eyes at this sudden outburst of power.
"Mienfoo?!" Rainbow Dash spoke, taking a peek at the blinding light. Inside, a silhouette of Mienfoo appeared. At least, for a moment. The silhouette would soon change into something else. Taller, slightly leaner and with a new coat of paint, the Martial Arts Pokemon had truly broken past her limits in this battle. And with this limit-breaking struggle, her true strength could be unleashed.
"Mienshao!" She had evolved. Arriving at the scene was the fully-evolved form of her evolution line. The Martial Arts Pokemon Mienshao.
"Mienshao?! You evolved!" An ecstatic Rainbow Dash said as everyone cheered for this surprise evolution. Pushed to her limits, the full power of Mienshao's evolution line had been unleashed. And it was truly captivating.
"Well, I'll be..." Ash raised his hat, laughing at his sudden turn of events. "Ya did it, Mienshao. You're at your best now. But there's still more to do and grow with."
"Yes! With Mienshao, she might get one of his Pokemon down!" Sweetie Belle cheered.
"Okay! We can still win this!" Rainbow Dash pumped her hooves, ready to use this newfound power of Mienshao. "Let's go, Mienshao!"
"Mienshao!" After pulling off some poses and hitting the air for a bit, Mienshao was ready to jump back into the action.
"Lucario! Let's show them you're still not gonna fall even with this evolution!"
"Lucario!"
The battle between the two was heating up even more. While Rainbow Dash had a numerical disadvantage, much like Mienshao's evolution, her spirit and fire weren't burning out anytime soon. She was looking for a turnaround no matter how long it would take as the journey continues.
Equestria. Canterlot. Equestria League Stadium. Afternoon.
During the heated battle between Ash and Rainbow Dash, Mienfoo finally evolved into a Mienshao. Struggling against Lucario brought forth her final evolution and full potential. But even with this evolved state, Rainbow Dash was still in a rough position. Ash still had Lucario out as well as all of his Pokemon being conscious. Rainbow Dash was down two Pokemon with only Mienshao, Whirlipede, Castform and Braviary remaining.
"Do you think she stands a better chance now that Mienshao's evolved?" Spike asked. "I mean, it's true that Pokemon get second bursts of wind and strength when they evolve."
"But Mienshao took a lot of damage previously and that'll obviously carry over. We'll just have to wait and see what she does." Twilight replied.
"Okay, Mienshao! Use Reversal, now!"
"Mien...!" Mienshao would flare her body with an orange energy, prepared to use all of her damage against Lucario. But that energy would suddenly turn blue, no longer having that signature orange glow.
"Huh? What's this?" Rainbow Dash gasped as this was a sudden change of elements that she wasn't expecting. Upon evolving, MIenshao had learned something new.
"Shao!" Mienshao had learned Aura Sphere. She formed her own azure sphere that was made out of her own life energy as it flashed beautifully in her arms.
"Lu?!" Lucario was surprised to see her utilize what was usually seen as his signature attack. Now, there was another Pokemon from his friend group that had access to this amazing power.
"Not bad, Mienshao! Lucario! Let's respond in kind! Aura Sphere!"
Luca!" Lucario would show her how it was done. Attempting to outdo her, he generated Aura Sphere with a larger size than before. Together, both Fighting-Types would throw out their respective Aura Spheres.
The attacks crashed into each other, entering a fierce struggle where they would spin in unison as the amount of Aura in one place would explode greatly, forming a crater. The debris would fly everywhere as the shockwave stunned them from the aftermath.
"Acrobatics!"
"Shao!" Moving through the smoke was an even faster Mienshao as she left behind multiple afterimages. Lucario looked up to see her competitive ally appear above him. Before he knew it, he was consecutively struck by Mienshao's arms which were used like arms. A flurry of lightning-fast kicks would follow suit as she was way swifter than she had ever been.
"C-Ca!" Lucario slid back from the barrage of kicks.
"Reversal!"
"Rrr!" Lucario would slow down his sliding to then return the favour to Mienfoo, swinging his arm forward. From his arm, a flare of orange energy would emanate before being used as energy. The orange beam would fly forward, blowing Mienshao back, going straight for the gut.
"M-Mien!" Mienshao's eyes widened from this blow to the gut. She would almost fall over, only to soon keep herself steady and balanced, hanging in there.
"Hang in there, Mienshao! Force Palm!"
"Lucario! Use Force Palm!"
Together, both would use Force Palm, going for another up-close altercation. This time, they would just run up to each other instead of crazy jumps or slides. Another clash ensued. This time, it would be a back-and-forth collision. Both would connect their paws, only for Lucario to get the second hit in, staggering his fellow Fighting-Type. Mienshao would snarl in response before then using her long fur as a whip once again, uppercutting Lucario.
The two would go back and forth, hitting each other continuously. Sometimes, they would block each other's incoming attack, with one trying to outdo the other. Soon, their strikes were moving so fast that they looked like blue and silver blurs. It was hard for many to keep track of this lightning-fast struggle.
They would then butt heads, growling at each other from the intensity that they were emanating. After growling at each other's faces, Lucario would manage to push Mienshao back, but not by much. Mienshao would soon retaliate by getting a Force Palm in. Lucario didn't finish without another hit in, refusing to let Mienshao get ahead of her. The Aura Pokemon stomp on his foot on his ground to keep himself steady before slugging the Martial Arts Pokemon's face before soon receiving the same blow to his own face.
Both Pokemon would end up hitting each other's face, dealing a double blow. Their eyes looked like they would pop out while their faces were grimaced because of the impact. The dual Fighting-Types found themselves, stumbling back from that shattering exchange.
"Let's finish it! Aura Sphere!"
"Caaaao!"
"Shaooo!"
They would try and finish things off with one last Aura Sphere. From their paws, only one paw this time, Lucario and Mienshao would form all of their strength into one Aura Sphere. With a final glare into the eyes of each other, they would thrust their arms in unison, smashing both spheres.
The spheres would shake and pulsate from the hard collision but only one of them would succeed. Lucario's Aura Sphere shattered Mienshao's.
Mienshao then found herself being smacked in the face by the Aura Sphere. With her eyes turning white, she would drop to the arena floor after her face was enveloped in the outburst of Aura. The Martial Arts Pokemon fell at last, dropping on her back. After such a fierce battle between these two Fighting-Types, only one of them emerged victorious. Mienshao had fainted.
"Mienshao..."
"Mienshao is unable to battle! Lucario wins!" There it was. By Luna's call, that was another Pokemon from Rainbow Dash that went down. And yet, there was a consistent theme with all of them so far. The pure persistence that each of them contained was staggeringly amazing despite how powerful Ash's Pokemon were. And Mienshao certainly showed the most vigilance.
"She lost but that was the best physical battle I've ever seen!" Brawly and many others applauded as the Fighting-Type expert teared up from what he had just witnessed.
"Mhm. Rainbow Dash's Pokemon may not have downed any of Ash's Pokemon so far, but the potential is there," said Roxanne.
"Wait. Where did Zero go?" Meanwhile, Twilight would soon realize how Zero had suddenly vanished without a trace or a sound.
"Shao..." Mienshao sighed before witnessing Lucario hold his paw out to her. The Aura Pokemon, showing good sportsmanship, would offer to assist her up. Knowing that she was beaten, even with her evolution and a second burst of strength, she acknowledged Lucario as the stronger of the two, taking his paw. She was then helped up, seeing that she had ways to go still.
"Rrr." But Lucario could acknowledge how well she battled.
"Great work, Mienshao. You were awesome. Now, return." Rainbow Dash would call back Mienshao, proud of her to the core. Mienshao left the scene with a smile on her face, also proud of her achievement. With her newfound strength, she could take on any future battle with even greater utility.
"You've done great making it this far, Dash," said Ash. "I would save this for the end but...I'm proud of you. That's some jam-packed strength you've got there."
"Thanks, Ash. But I've weakened three of your Pokemon now. All I gotta do is take those guys down and I'll be smooth sailing then and there!"
"Prove it." Ash grinned. "You're down three Pokemon and even though my Pokemon are weakened, they've got a lot of spirit to share. Isn't that right, Lucario?"
"Luca!"
"Ash still has a lot of heavy hitters remaining. His whole team is full of heavy hitters, actually." Starlight commented. "Most of Rainbow Dash's own heavy hitters are down and out now."
"Not at all of them. She still has Braviary. And Whirlipede can hit hard too." Goh shook his head. "But I don't know if Ash will allow any of them to get those hits on at this rate."
"Even if she loses, who's going to deny her skills now?" Roxie questioned. "If you asked me, anyone would be shaking and freaked out if they had to go up against her. All of that persistence is sweet!"
"I'll come at you at high speeds from now on! All of my last three Pokemon won't let you take a breather!" Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, showing that she was increasing her seriousness. "Castform! Let's go!"
"Castform!" Next up was Castform. He would fly out of the saddlebag, appearing into the stadium. While he may be small, smaller than even Pikachu, he had a lot to offer when it came to utility, just like Pikachu. And upon appearing, his body reacted to the cold weather, instantly turning him into an Ice-Type, AKA his Snowy Form. Not the best typing to be in front of a Lucario.
"Start off strong! Reflect Type!" But Rainbow Dash had an easy solution to that massive weakness.
"Cast!" Castform would glare at Lucario, rearranging his cells. The Weather Pokemon instantly copied Lucario's Fighting-Typing as his radioactive cells would unleash it as power. In this case, a massive orange energy pulse would flare out of his body, heading in every direction.
"Rrrr!" Lucario blocked the massive pulse as it would deal super-effective damage to his body.
"Now, use Weather Ball!"
"Form!" Following up that pulse, Castform would form a chilling ball of ice from the weather conditions, shooting it at impressive speeds.
"Break through and use Force Palm!"
"Caaaa!" Lucario would roar at the Weather Ball before shattering it with his bare paws. The ball became nothing but snowflakes from the crushing impact. After that, Lucario would advance on Castform, rushing in with another Force Palm ready.
"No way! Castform! Fire Blast!"
"Fire Blast?!" Ash gasped, stunned to hear such an attack being utilized by Castform.
"Castform!" Castform would ascend, zipping into the air to avoid Lucario's incoming strike. After evading it, he would hold his breath before forming up a giant blaze of fire.
"I've been practising for those 6 months while you were in the hospital, Ash! All of my Pokemon have gotten way better! Go, Castform!"
"Castform!" The giant blaze of flames would fall from above, bewildering Ash for a moment.
"Double Team!"
"Lu!" But by the skin of his teeth, Lucario managed to evade the gigantic blaze of flames by duplicating himself. The attack would crash into the ground, causing a large eruption of fire which would take out his clones in the process. Shocked, Lucario would slide back from the aftershock.
"That just makes it better!" Ash loved this instead of fearing Castform's new utility move. "Lucario! Reversal!"
"Rio...!" Lucario would gather up every last bit of damage he had suffered previously, channelling it into pure power.
"Castform, use Thunder!"
"Cast!" Castform had another powerful move at his disposal. Flying out of his body was a destructive beam of electricity that would boom loudly and crack the sound barrier. The bolt reached Lucario fasted than he could unleash Reversal, shocking the Aura Pokemon.
"Lu...Caa!" But even when being furiously shocked, Lucario powered through it, punching the air to unleash Reversal. The attack would form into a beam that would travel through the Thunder. Castform's body would be enveloped just like Lucario's but this time with an orange glow.
"C-Cast!" Castform stammered as that initial blow left him turbulent. The truth was that Castform was far more fragile than his teammates. He was more prone to fainting faster than them. And yet, he wouldn't let that happen so easily. At first, it looked like the Reversal would put him down with how much damage had been raked up, but not at all. "Castform!" Castform would keep himself steady, recovering in midair.
"Nice, Castform! All we gotta do is-"
"Return, Lucario!" But, unexpectedly, Ash would recall Lucario. He was going for a swap at last instead of keeping Lucario in. Lucario had already done enough, after all. "Gengar! I choose you!"
"Gengar!" Back into the fray was Gengar, sticking his tongue as he was ready for a second round. Gengar would then try to intimidate Castform by pulling off a face. For a moment, he managed to jolt the Weather Pokemon.
"Gengar, now? That's a problem...As if!" But Rainbow Dash was unbothered by this swap-in. "Reflect-Type!"
"Cast!" Castform would simply swap types once more. This time, it would be Gengar's Ghost-Typing, which was also strong against him. The cells within Castform changed yet again as a barrage of gigantic ghost faces would fly out of his body, cackling viciously.
"Here it comes! Dodge and use Shadow Ball!"
"Gen! Gen!" Gengar would zoom across the arena, attempting to evade these massive spectral faces that would try and consume him with their sharp and eerie expressions. However, with so many of them, some of them eventually landed, crashing into the Shadow Pokemon. "Gen! Gen...!" But even after being hit by these terrifying faces, Gengar would still manage to throw a Shadow Ball in with just one hand.
"Weather Ball!"
"Castform!" Countering the Shadow Ball, Castform would use Weather Ball to do so. An interception that turned out successful. The two attacks would equalize, ending in a tie.
"Keep your distance! Fire Blast!"
"Cast!" For such a fragile Pokemon, the best thing to do was to keep his distance. He would ascend while also charging up a Fire Blast to deal colossal damage.
"You won't get away from us! Chase him down, Gengar! Use Shadow Ball!"
"Gengar!" But Gengar wouldn't let him escape. He would pursue the Weather Pokemon, holding up two Shadow Balls for him. When the first Fire Blast came down, it prompted Gengar to fly to the side before then throwing the first ball. Castform, with his minuscule body, would narrowly evade this before then unleashing a second Fire Blast. This one intercepted Gengar's second Shadow Ball, which would be stopped in its tracks.
The two of them would keep this up with spectral blobs and bursts of fire going off constantly in the air. It was a stupendous light show, especially with the winter Sun beginning to lower. Both Pokemon were unable to tag each other with their constant back-and-forth game of Cat and Mouse.
"Let's make an opening! Thunder!"
"Form!" Castform would go for a faster attack. This time, it was Thunder. He would switch from Fire Blast to a large blast of electricity that came crashing down.
The Shadow Ball would be pierced by the blast of lightning, successfully shocking Gengar in the process. "G-Gen!" Gengar cried out before falling in a spiralling motion.
"Direct hit!" Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof. "Use Fire Blast! Go!"
"Cast!" Castform would follow up with another devastating attack. This time, he was free to use Fire Blast without anything intercepting it.
"Psychic!"
"Gar!" Gengar opened his eyes, nearly hitting the ground. He managed to recover, readjusting his position as fast as he could. As for the Fire Blast, Gengar would illuminate his eyes with a light blue aura before manipulating the giant blaze with his mind. He barely stopped the attack in its place as it nearly met with his body. Gengar could even feel the heat affecting his face.
"Send it back!"
"Gar!" Gengar would then hurl the attack back with Psychic, performing a full turnaround.
"Castform! Thunder!"
"Form!" Retaliating against his own attack was a blast of thunder. Castform was looking to pierce this one as well, only for both attacks to be equal in strength.
"Bring Castform here with Psychic!"
"Gengar!" Gengar would continue using Psychic. This time, he had a clear view and sight of Castform, outlining the Weather Pokemon in the light blue aura. Castform would soon find himself being dragged over by pure mental power, leaving the sky.
"Now, Ice Punch!"
"Gen...!" While dragging Castform towards him, Gengar would prepare an Ice Punch on one arm. It would be a direct blow at such a high velocity. Any staggering hit would be enough to put the Weather Pokemon down unless something was done.
"All or nothing! Use Fire Blast!"
"C-Cast...Form!" Castform, with all of his might, would unleash a Fire Blast. Specifically, it would be an up-close Fire Blast.
Right as Gengar's Ice Punch was approaching Castform, the symbolic flame would erupt out of Castform's entire body instead of his mouth this time. Gengar's eyes widened once he saw the eruption of flames. Castform had essentially caused his own version of Self-Destruct.
The result of this collision would cover one chunk of the arena in an explosive flame with small ice shards flying out. The dust and smoke would each settle over the crater that was formed within the marble floor. The whole arena found itself covered in flames.
Emerging from the dust, Gengar and Castform could be seen standing and floating while the flames turned everything red around them. Gengar's ice had melted away with the remainder of it dropping from his hand. Both Pokemon stayed silent for a bit along with their trainers. And that's when it happened.
A double knockout.
Both Pokemon would end up falling over and fainting. Gengar and Castform expended themselves. Castform for his fragility and Gengar for all the damage that had been racked up previously from Luxray.
"Gengar and Castform are both unable to battle!" Luna declared the double knockout. Rainbow Dash finally managed to defeat one of Ash's Pokemon at last. Granted, it meant that she was down to only two Pokemon but even managing to beat one was an achievement on its own.
"She finally did it! Oh, but Castform went out too and Ash is still sitting pretty with 5 Pokemon." Starlight deduced. "Then there's Dragonite who's an entirely different problem. The only ones that could be a huge threat to Dragonite are out."
"Not yet. Rainbow Dash still has Whirlipede who has something for Dragonite." Roxanne replied. "It's just a matter of how she executes this."
"It'll be fine. Whirlipede and Rainbow Dash have perfect unity when it comes to momentum. But then again..." Twilight was unsure of how the rest of this battle would turn out.
"Awesome job, Gengar. Get some rest." Gengar made it this far, unfortunately being the first of his teammates to fall. But he took Castform with him, so it wasn't a total loss.
"Great work, Castform." Rainbow Dash would pick up Castform, placing him back in her saddlebag. "You took out one of his Pokemon for us. Now leave the rest to Whirlipede and Braviary, okay?"
"Cast..."
"Princess Luna. Can you hold this and take care of Castform, please?" Rainbow Dash would then take out two Poke Balls before passing on her saddlebag to Luna.
"Oh. I understand." Luna knew exactly why she did this. By this point, Rainbow Dash was going for broke since she was down to her last two Pokemon. And considering one of them allowed the movement of her own body, it was wise to keep Castform out of danger. "Do not push yourself too much. I'm frankly getting tired of all the hospital visits."
"Your majesty." Back at the balcony, one of the Canterlot Guards would approach Princess Celestia. Alongside him would be Jackie and one of the Ranger Union Researchers.
"Oh. Is this about the stairway?" Celestia would turn, bringing up the stairway once she saw them both. What else could it be about?
"That's right. We're just about nearly done, princess. Someone stopped by to share something with us. Do you know anyone by the name of Zero?"
"Twilight's Research Friend. Yes? So you're nearly done with the suits?!"
"Correct. He's shared with us some sort of Techomagic device that will grant us extra protection against the pulses." The researcher explained. "We will be done in about 10 minutes. So it's best to suit up as soon as possible."
"Hmm...I think we'll stay here for a bit and finish this battle." Celestia chose to see the battle from start to finish. "But...I'm looking forward to finally reaching Jirachi. And I know they are as well."
"This is it..." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, holding up both Poke Balls. Whirlipede and Braviary. Two Pokemon she's been with since the early days of the world's crossing over. She would soon pick out one of them, throwing the Poke Ball into the air. "Go! Whirlipede!"
"Whirlipede!" Whirlipede would drop from above, bouncing for a bit as he entered the fray at last.
"In that case...Let's go, Sirfetch'd!" Ash sent out his next Pokemon.
"Sir!" Sirfetch'd slid in, valiantly holding his leek sword and shield.
"Let's keep the streak going! Sirfetch'd...Dragonite, Pikachu, Lucario and Dracovish are all going down!" Rainbow Dash declared. "I'm gonna make it a reality!"
"I'll shatter that reality then. Bring it!"
"Whirlipede, Rollout!"
"Whirlipede!" Whirlipede would move in first, rolling on the spot and taking off at great speeds. For these past months, Whirlipede had also grown and that involved his speed.
"Sirfetch'd! Night Slash, now!"
"Sir!" Sirfetch'd would coat his blade in darkness before holding his shield up to the Curlipede Pokemon. Whirlipede would end up crashing into the shield, making a mild shockwave which would shake the Fighting-Type's body. "Sir...fetch'd!" But standing strong, Sirfetch'd would push the shield forward before swinging his sword at the Bug-Poison-Type.
"W-Whirl!" Whirlipede was distanced from Whirlipede but as an exchange for this blow, Whirlipede's speed and Rollout would increase thanks to Speed Boost and Rollout's natural ability.
"Again!"
"Pede!" And Whirlipede would take full advantage of this boost. Faster than before, he moved in for another Night Slash. Sirfecth'd was met with another crash onto his shield which was stronger than before.
"F-Fetch...!"
"Keep him back, Sirfetch'd! Use Fury Cutter!"
"Whirl! Whirl!" Whirlipede would keep at it, continuously crashing into the shield at faster speeds and greater power. The debris would fly everywhere as Sirfetch'd was looking for an opening. But thanks to Sirfetch'd's speed, it was difficult to find this opening at all.
"Oooh! Whirlipede is too fast now! Sirfetch'd can't find an opening to attack!" Goh leaned in.
"Then he'd be too fast for any of Ash's Pokemon, right?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Unless they can still even it out."
"Knowing Ash's Pokemon, they'll even out that difference with ease." Rarity spoke."Unless Rainbow Dash can work around that as well."
"Once more, Whirlipede!"
"Whirl...!" Whirlipede was going in for another Rollout, ready to stack up his strength and speed.
"Detect!"
"Sir!" But Sirfetch'd had the perfect move ignore this. With a flash of his eyes, he would leave behind an afterimage, evading Whirlipede's attack with a stylish backflip.
"Now strike!"
"Fetch'd!" After performing that stylish evasion, Sirfetch'd would thrust himself forward with his leek.
"Drift, Whirlipede!"
"Pede!" But Whirlipede would soon evade as well, drifting to the side once the leek came in close. With a smooth dodge, he avoided Sirfetch'd's Fury Cutter. The like would stab into the ground after missing completely.
"Use Sludge Bomb!"
"Whirl!" One of Whirlipede's newest attacks would be revealed. This time it was Sludge Bomb. From its body, poisonous bombs were thrown out at a Sirfetch'd who still had his leek in the ground.
"Guard yourself!"
"Sirfetch'd!" With his leek stuck, he didn't have enough time to remove it. But he could still use his shield as he managed to block the incoming poisonous bombs in time. However, they were bombs for a reason. The poison would combust, shaking Sirfetch'd's body even with his shield in front. "Sir!" After blocking the bombs, Sirfetch'd would finally pull his leek out, swatting away the poisonous smoke.
"Iron Defence!"
"Whirl!" On top of his boosted speed and Rollout's increased power, Whirlipede would soon increase his defence. He made up for his lack of evolution with his constant increase in attack, speed and defence.
"We'll break through those defences! Night Slash!"
"Sir! Sir-Sir!" From afar, Sirfetch'd would use the alternate version of Night Slash, vigorously slashing the air while sending out black crescent blades of energy.
"Steamroller!"
"Pede!" Another rolling attack was imminent. This time, it would be Steamroller. At stellar speeds, Whirlipede would roll past and evade the slashes, managing to close in on Sirfetch'd. "Whirl!"
"S-Sir!" A direct hit. Sirfetch'd found himself being smashed by the full throttle Steamroller which knocked him through the air as he dropped his sword. But right as he went upwards, his body would suddenly glow for a bit as he managed to recover by flapping his wings. "Sirfetch'd!"
"What was that glow about?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"Steamroller has a chance to make the opponent flinch. And Sirfetch'd here has Steadfast as his ability. So thanks for the speed boost." Ash grinned as now Sirfetch'd receive a boost in speed.
"Oh yeah? Whirlipede's still faster! And your sword's stuck here next to him! Rollout!"
"Whirl!" Whirlipede, who was now at ludicrous speeds, would approach as a blur. But Ash had a response for such a boost.
"Detect!"
"Fetch'd!" Detect completely ignored Whirlipede's speed increase as the Wild Duck Pokemon would effortlessly flip over Whirlipede's incoming charge.
"Now get on Whirlipede!"
"Sir!" But he went a step further. Another one of Ash's wild tricks would be unleashed. This time, it was using a Pokemon as a ride. SIrfetch'd after evading Whirlipede's roll, would latch onto the Curlipede Pokemon's back.
"Whirl?!"
"What the?! Get him off, Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash pulled back as Whirlipede started running on Whirlipede's body while he continued rolling. Even though he was now on Whiripede, he had to keep his balance while holding his shield over his head.
"Yes! Now, cover his eyes!"
"Sir!" Sirfetch'd wouldn't continue running on Whirlipede. Instead, he would use his shield, covering Whirlipede's eyes with it. It was a risky attempt as he ended up losing his balance because of this. But it was still a success as Whirlipede was unable to see because of this.
And thanks to this stupendous speed, he ended up flying out of the arena, passing by Ash and Luna while Sirfetch'd ended up falling off. The Curlipede Pokemon found himself crashing into the walls of the stadium thanks to his misdirection. A large dent formed because of this crushing impact as Whirlipede's rolling wouldn't slow down even when his body was glued to the walls.
"He used his own speed against him! Harsh but amazing!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "Oh, but is Whirlipede okay though?!"
"Roll back, Whirlipede quick!"
"Whirl!" Whirlipede would force himself out of the wall, flying through the air with his amazing speed, avoiding a ring out since he refused to even touch the standard ground. Since he flew off the marble floor previously, he would use that same accident to his advantage on the wall.
"Here he comes, Sirfetch'd! Fury Cutter, repeatedly!"
"Sir...!" Sirfetch'd would start swinging the air continuously suddenly, seemingly for no reason. But there was a reason for it. Ash took advantage of Fury Cutter's best trait.
"He's hitting the air repeatedly since Fury Cutter gets stronger when used in succession! Genius!" Twilight figured it out before anyone. "That's his way of countering Whirlipede's Rollout!"
"We won't lose! Full force, Whirlipede! Rollout!"
"Whirl!" Landing back on the marble floor without touching the ground once, Whirlipede would go in for a full-force charge, hoping to finish Sirfetch'd off with all of his gathered strength.
"Sirfetch'd! Strike hard and strike through!"
"Sir...!" Sirfetch'd would give it his all as well. He swung the air enough times to build up Fury Cutter to a high level. It would be a hard-impact crash of two ever-increasing attacks. Whirlipede became a purple blur while Sirfetch'ds' leek would accelerate as a green blur.
The two would clash, bringing about another explosion in this heated battle. This one seemed louder and harder than the rest. It could even be seen as a sign of how far this battle has come and how far Rainbow Dash's strength has grown. The smoke would be pierced by Sirfetch'd's leek, clearing everything as the two Pokemon could be seen standing opposite from each other.
With views being somewhere else, Sirfetchd' and Whirlipede seemed static. Whirlipede would then slowly turn around, facing Sirfetch'd's back, seemingly having more to offer. But with Sirfetch'd turning his eye, the outcome was decided.
Another double knockout. Both Pokemon tied at the end of it all. Sirfetch'd's strength was enough to take Whirlipede out but Whirlipede's ever-increasing strength and speed allowed him to also defeat Sirfetch'd.
"Whirlipede and Sirfetch'd are unable to battle!"
"Another one?" Fluttershy commented. "That doesn't usually happen in these battles, right?"
"Nope." Applejack shook her head. "But there's a first for everything. And ain't this a good sign?"
"A good sign that Rainbow Dash is catching up. But now she's down to her last Pokemon. I think she's just about done catching up." Twilight responded, fearing that Rainbow Dash wouldn't be able to take down whoever could come next. But she was hoping that Rainbow Dash could prove her wrong.
"Thanks. Take a rest, buddy." Ash and Rainbow Dash returned Sirfetch'd and Whirlipede, thanking them both for their hard efforts.
"Well...This is it." Rainbow Dash passed Whirlipede's Poke Ball to Princess Luna before looking at Braviary's Poke Ball. "I did my best but...a bit short, huh?"
"Even when this battle ends, it was an amazing battle from start to finish," Luna said, proud of Rainbow Dash for her hard work. "You're the type of trainer that I want to face when I eventually become Equestria's first and only Pokemon Champion."
"Rainbow Dash," Ash called out her name. "Even if this is the final stretch...don't lose hope that you can make a difference. In a Pokemon battle, you've always gotta know what you can do to hang in there. And I know you won't ever lose hope."
"I know, Ash. I'm glad I got to have this battle with you. Not just to get stronger but to have the most fun I can have with my friend. I already said it but..you're not just a friend but also an inspiration to me and many others. Watching you battle all the time is why I'm here. I'm not sure I would've made it this far had it not been for you. You're the best friend and mentor a trainer could ever ask for."
"I've got something similar too, Dash. This world...everything in it...I love it. It's because of you and everyone else that I've come to love Equestria so much. I'm glad I could inspire you all and I'm also glad that I've got all this time to be around you all. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Well, except for when everything's together, but, ya know..."
"Love to hear it!" Rainbow Dash laughed before holding out her last Poke Ball into the air. "Okay! We'll finish this battle! Let's go! Braviary!"
"Braviary!" With the light from the Poke Ball shooting into the sky, the Valiant Pokemon made his entrance, shining beautifully under the sun.
"Dragonite, I choose you!"
"Dragonite!" And for his final Pokemon, Ash sent out Dragonite at last, who also end up in the air with Braviary.
Everyone would buckle up and get comfortable for this final clash between two Flying-Types. One of Ash's mightiest Pokemon versus Rainbow Dash's strongest Pokemon. And very soon, the time for them to climb the stairway would come. This entire battle was being recorded by Goh thanks to his Rotom Phone as well as Roxie. No one would want to miss out on this.
"I'm using everything from the start! Let's go, Braviary!" Rainbow Dash chose to unleash the full power of Braviary now that he was out and the final Pokemon. She would yell as a rainbow aura would fly out of her body and soon Braviary's body.
"Braaaa!" A pillar of rainbows would crash down, enveloping the Valiant Pokemon as the time for Rainbow-Braviary had come. With an explosion of rainbows, out came the unity of Rainbow Dash and Braviary. Rainbow-Braviary. "Viary!"
"Let's go! Use Dragon Claw!"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite's claws glow emanated a beautiful light-green aura that formed extra claws for her to use. The Dragon Pokemon would be the first to advance.
"Use Aerial Ace!" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings to mimic the motion of Aerial Ace's attack.
"Braviary!" Braviary would vanish for a second, leaving behind a white flash. He would then reappear in front of Dragonite, going for a slash with his aura-covered wings, only to clash with Dragonite. The Flying-Types would fight for a strength advantage, pushing against each other.
"Push through with Brave Bird!"
"Bravia....!" Braviary would switch his attack on the spot as his body becomes surrounded by red fire. He would overpower Dragonite's Dragon Claw with this switch-up, crashing into the Dragon-Flying-Type with an explosive flare of rainbows flying out. Of course, he would suffer recoil damage as well as Rainbow Dash.
"D-Dra...!"
"Hyper Beam!"
"Go...Nite!" But right after being tackled y the power of Brave Bird, Dragonite would jerk her head forward, retaliating with Hyper Beam. The massive beam of Infinity Energy was close due to how quickly Dragonite recovered.
"Steel Wing!" Rainbow Dash would cover herself with her wings which would prompt Rainbow Dash to do the same.
"Vi!" Braviary ended up shielding himself by hardening his wings, using them to reduce the damage. But the attack was still fierce as it completely engulfed him. "B-Bravi...!"
"Ugh...!" Rainbow Dash would feel the intensity of Hyper Beam, withstanding it with all her might. "Now! Superpower!"
"Viary!" After withstanding Hyper Beam, Braviary would light up his wings and talons with bombastic energy while Dragonite had to recharge. This left her wide open, allowing Rainbow-Braviary to smash his wings into her chest. Dragonite would find herself being carried downwards.
"Go!" Dragonite cried out before being dragged across the ground by the Valiant Pokemon who would keep his talon there, raising his wings for a second Superpower strike.
"Hurricane!"
"Dra!" But once Dragonite finished recharging, even when she was on the ground, the mere bellow of her roar was enough to cause a strong wind pressure. This immediately forced Braviary off, sending him upwards. Once free, Dragonite would unleash the real deal, flapping her wings to throw out a massive tornado.
The tornado would drag Braviary in, repeatedly beating against him while also spiralling his unified body. Poor Rainbow Dash would feel this turbulent ride in the process, making her dizzy.
"I don't think so! Superpower! Clap your wings!"
"Bra...Vi...Ary!" But even within the Hurricane, Braviary could still retaliate. By clapping his wings together, he made a shockwave so strong that it blew away the Hurricane around him. The clouds would part as the pressure even reached the crowd, knocking over some of the smaller Pokemon and foals.
"Steel Wing!"
Bra! Braviary! With hardened wings, Braviary would advance after blowing away the Hurricane, spinning through the air to make his own tornado.
"Dragon Claw!"
"Dra!" Dragonite responded in kind with Dragon Claw. Once Braviary got close, Dragon Claw and Steel Wing would collide. It ended up being a back-and-forth clash of attacks as the sound of metal and claws could be heard in the skies. Sparks would fly from their fierce clash.
They would even trade blows from how fierce their aerial confrontation was. Rainbow Dash felt every bit of it, staggering and stumbling. But even so, she would persist, doing her best to stand strong. "Braviary! Aerial Ace!"
"Braviary!" Braviary would end the clash, vanishing and reappearing higher in the sky where he was with the clouds themselves. He would then attempt to dive down at full force to bring the Dragon Pokemon with him.
"Use Draco Meteor!"
"Draaaaaa!" With a mighty howl, Dragonite would manipulate the cloud themselves, swirling and connecting them as a purple aura flashed out of them. Through the clouds, massive draconic meteors would fall. Braviary looked behind him to see the meteors dropping as he was in a dangerous position right now, evading the ones that were nearby.
The meteors would continuously fall, crashing into the marble floor while also pursuing Braviary. Braviary evaded as much as he could but there were too many meteors to avoid.
"Go all in! Brave Bird!"
"Braviary!" It would be a full assault Brave Bird instead of Aerial Ace. The aura of Brave Bird would change in response to Rainbow Dash's spirit. He would gain a Rainbow Aura instead, causing a Sonic Rainboom in the process.
"Hyper Beam!"
"Drago...Nite!" Dragonite would unleash Hyper Beam while the meteors were still falling, combining two moves in one. It would be Hyper Beam and Draco Meteor against the Rainbow Brave Bird.
Another direct collision. A paroxysm of rainbows emerged once the attacks all collided. The explosion was so large that all the remaining meteors would be engulfed and eradicated in the process. The clouds gained a beautiful rainbow colouring while also being separated once more to give way to the Sun.
Everyone gazed in wonder as a rainbow had been formed in the distance because of this impact. The rainbow smoke would then slowly fizzle out with the remainder of rocks from Draco Meteor dropping.
And speaking of dropping, out of the clouds and smoke, Braviary would appear, gracefully falling as his eyes were closed. His transformation was even seen to expend.
"Gh...!" Suddenly, Rainbow Dash would sit down, falling weak on her knees as she twitched. At the same time, Braviary hit the ground while Dragonite was up in the air, still active. "That's it for me..."
"Braviary is unable to battle! Dragonite wins! Thus the winner of this battle is Ash!"
It was over. The victor was Ash. Four Pokemon to all six Pokemon. One would call this a blowout but most saw this as a valiant effort. Fitting as Braviary was the Valiant Pokemon and Rainbow Dash perfectly represented her partner. Everyone respected Rainbow Dash to a whole new level now. Showers of cheers, praises and applause would come through for her, celebrating her efforts.
She lost but gained something greater in response. Rainbow Dash gently smiled before helping up the Valiant Pokemon who would also receive this praise, much like how his teammates earned so much respect. "Well, we tried our best, buddy. But Ash is still just too strong for us."
"Bravi..."
"Awesome battle, Dash." Ash, Pikachu and Dragonite would approach her. "Looks like this friendly battle became a spectacle for everyone else here, huh? That shows how awesome it was!"
"Yeah! It was awesome!" Rainbow Dash agreed as Dragonite would hug Braviary, attempting to make him feel better.
"Dra!"
"B-Bravi?!"
"Let's battle again some other time. Apart from our training sessions. I wanna reach my absolute best one day and then we can have our second battle, Ash. And that's when I'll become the Equestrian Champion!"
"You got it. Whether I become the World Champion in time, we'll slug it out once more." Ash gave a thumbs up which was followed up by a fist bump with Rainbow Dash's wings.
"Those two battle-hungry brutes...I love them!" Rarity exclaimed with tears of joy flying out.
"Encore! Battle again!" Apple Bloom roared, wanting another battle after witnessing this one.
Celestia, who loved this battle as much as everyone, could see that this brief talk between the two of them would only come true under one possibility. Jirachi's Wish. And with the battle over, the time to reach the stairway had come. The time to unify everything and grant everyone a brighter future that was brighter than the Sun itself was nigh.
Pokémon for short. Filled with the most amazing creatures imaginable. An infinite array of creatures too varied to comprehend. They fill the ever-flowing oceans, thrive in the majesty of the mountains, soar high over the azure horizons, emanating our lush green forests, share the sparkling landscapes of cities, exist in alternate realities dimensions and dwell in the eternal astral flow of the universe. Try and count them if you dare, but then, try and count the grains of sand on your favourite beach. Trillions, maybe septillions, perhaps infinity. Meticulously fashioned by the forces of nature in all its glory as only nature can. And no matter what corner of both worlds you may find yourself in, rest assured, you'll find Pokemon there as well.
Whether they are rulers of Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses, Aura Guardians, Pokemon Rangers and more, they all have their own bond with these colourful creatures. And of course, the most prominent ones are the Pokemon Trainers.
Mankind and Pokemon alike have long journeyed together to experience the thrill and challenge of the Pokemon Battle. Along with the involvement of Ponykind. Living and learning together. As teammates. Sometimes opponents and rivals, yes, but ever friends, comrades and perhaps even Pokemon Masters. And this brings us to a young trainer who has dedicated his life to the love of Pokemon and battling.
Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and his partner Pikachu, travelling and experiencing the length and breath of both worlds; no, any world, with boundless energy with his friends, passionately pursuing his goal to become a Pokemon Master. And alongside him, the Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle and her ever-stunning friends who help spread the joy and wonder of friendship to all while also sharing their own endearing dreams. Those who travel this beautiful world will certainly find many friends along the way. Together, humans, ponies, dragons, griffons, yaks and other hidden species out there in the world will carry on the story. Facing new challenges and sharing new adventures that will become the tales of tomorrow.
The world of Pokemon. It truly is a world of wonder. And there are Pokemon out there that have yet to be discovered to this day and possibly forever.
A microcosm of the vast world of Pokemon, ponies and people together. Experiencing all sorts of things one might expect. Or not. But living their dreams nonetheless. And for every new Pokemon they meet, a brand new and exciting adventure awaits them.
Equestria. Canterlot. Afternoon.
After a high-tension battle between Ash Ketchum and Rainbow Dash, they would relax at Canterlot where they had their friendly battle. All of their Pokemon had been healed up, gathering around and chatting after they slugged and blasted each other.
"For such a friendly battle, you two looked like you were trying to each other apart. All of you." Twilight said. "Especially you, Rainbow Dash. And your Pokemon mostly. Just how hard have you been practising for those past months?"
"It's that kind of passion you love to see." Ash nudged Rainbow Dash. "Keep that up when you get to the Final Gym."
"I sure will. But geez my lungs hurt from all that screaming..." Rainbow Dash placed her hoof on her lungs, still feeling the intensity of that battle, which was her hardest battle to date and possibly ever.
"Since Mienshao learned Aura Sphere upon evolving, how many Aura users do we have now?" Spike asked. "A lot, right?"
"Only five of us have it." Pinkie Pie answered as she, Ash, Twilight, Applejack and now Rainbow Dash had Pokemon that could access this amazing power. "What about you, Rarity?"
"Eeeh...I've yet to see any of my Pokemon use or learn it." Rarity couldn't confirm. None of her Pokemon have shown the capability of using Aura.
"Speaking of Aura...Ash. Bertha gave a suggestion out that could help a lot. It's a way to lessen all that pain. She suggested Mega Evolution." Twilight brought up a suggestion from months back during the Pokemon Festival.
"Mega Evolution? Wouldn't that hurt some more?" But Ash figured that it would only worsen the pain due to how much power Mega Evolution uses up.
"Bertha's the expert so...she must know what she's talking about. It wouldn't hurt to try it out. Or I guess it could potentially hurt." The young alicorn shrugged. "Only one way to find out. If it means making you feel better."
"I could show ya." Applejack, who had access to Mega Evolution and Aura was a perfect example. "I ain't passed out in a long time now, so it might be true."
Approaching Ash and his friends would be Princess Celestia, having the best news she could deliver right now. News about the stairway and the suits, specifically which were all leading up to Jirachi.
"Everyone, I have splendid news." Celesia cleared her throat before gazing at the Golden Stairway. "It's time. Everything's set up for us to finish things."
"Huh? You mean it's done?!" Ash stood up with his eyes lighting up.
"Pikachu?!"
"That Technomagic you brought was really helpful, Twilight, Starlight. Now those suits have the proper protection they need. With them, we can head up there without any fears of the pulses tearing us to pieces in different ways. All that needs to be done is for us to advance to that dimension and I think it's fitting that we all go."
"Alright! We can go and see Jirachi! Finally!" Ecstatic, Ash and Pinkie Pie thrust their arms and hooves into the air, waiting for this very moment.
"It's...it's actually happening!" Finding it hard to believe this day was upon them all was Rarity as she was feeling a bit flustered and overwhelmed. The Wish Pokemon was so close.
"All that hard work is gonna pay off." Rainbow Dash confidently nodded. "And so are all those wishes!"
"Get suited up, everyone." Celestia already brought over her own suit before handing over everyone else's suits that fit their specific statures. Most of them shared the same stature anyway. "We're heading into another dimension."
The time had come. To keep everything connected even when the Rift leaves, they would all enter the hidden dimension, have Jirachi grant their wish, free all the Jirachi and go on about their day.
The Rift-Resistant suits were placed on, matching their styles with all the unique patterns and designs. Jackie and the Pokemon Rangers were obviously coming along, placing on their suits as well. Around these suits, thanks to the Technomagic cube, azure and purple lines would constantly flow across them, giving them a neon appearance. Gathering here to witness them all enter a new frontier and grant them this universally loved wish were Canterlot's residents along with Ponyville residents who came to watch them take that first step.
"Once you head up there, you'll feel the gravity around you change immediately. The pulses will come through and try to obliterate you but your suits will shield you at all times. Try and stay on the stairway though, or you could drift into space." The researchers advised. "Speak your wish and we'll be smooth sailing forever."
"If any of you drift, we will catch you," said Luna. "It will be a long climb but..."
"We've always been in it for the long haul," Celestia added. "If anything goes wrong, I'm trusting you to help us from afar."
"Count on us." Zero nodded. "We'll pull you back in when needed. From the outside, the pulses are strong but they'll be far stronger once you enter that dimension. The Technomagic will act as an extra layer of protection for the suits, keeping the main protection safe."
"Audino..." Audino could be seen standing alongside Raboot and Bayleef with worried looks on their faces. Soon, Ash and the others would send out the rest of their Pokemon. Since they were heading to such a place with these suits on, unfortunately, not every Pokemon got a suit tailored for them.
"Sorry, Audi. There aren't enough suits for you...Or even in your shape. But don't worry. We'll be back." Fluttershy reassured as they would have to leave some of their Pokemon behind.
"Take care of Sweetie Belle and the others, all of you." Rarity looked up at each of her beautiful Pokemon. "I'm counting on you more than ever. If anything happens, I can trust you all to smack the problem away."
"Leavanny!"
"Sorry, Kommo-o. Arcanine. They didn't make suits for you, I'm afraid. But I'll be back and with a brand new world at our disposal." Celestia would bid farewell to her Pokemon too, petting Arcanine who would quietly whimper.
"I know you'll be fine, Absol. And everyone around you will feel safer than way. Take care of my parents too please." Twilight would only go with Espeon who managed to get one of her own. Darkrai would also have a suit tailored to his build along with Pikachu, Gardevoir and Mew. Poor Castfrm would have to say in the saddlebag, unable to join Rainbow Dash.
Even Bayleef, the one who could change fate, didn't receive one of her own. But one could argue that her power was so great that they couldn't risk losing her at all. Once they all said farewell to most of their Pokemon, it was time for them to depart.
"Grant some more wishes if you get the chance." Sweetie Belle requested. "There's a million of them or more, right?"
"And I wanna see the real Jirachi instead of a transformed one!" Goh pleaded as a few ponies would love to gaze upon an actual Jirachi. The most they get is Mew's transformations. "See if you can bring one of them here."
"Good luck up there, you all." Twilight Velvet spoke. "Say hello to all those Jirachi for us if you can. And don't run into any cosmology terrors while you're at it."
"We'll be fine, mom," Twilight reassured. "I promise. Well...let's not waste any more time."
"Yeah. Wait for us, Jirachi." Ash faced the stairway as he was the first to take a step forward. Upon stepping on the stairway, it unleashed a cosmic song that resembled Arceus' voice. This was strikingly similar to what Twilight heard in her dream. With another step, they would all hear Arceus' voice once more. It froze Ash for a bit before he continued along. The stairway was safe since it had Arceus' protection after all.
Twilight would follow suit along with Celestia, Luna and everyone else. They would see everyone off, waving and taking all of their luck with them. "Best Wishes!"
Over 50 of them would walk up the stairway. Most of them were Pokemon Rangers and Canterlot Guards while Ash's friend group made up the minimum. With each step, Arceus' voice would get louder and louder. To try and speed things up, Ash would attempt running upwards.
And with how wide the stairway was, it was completely safe to do so. Some would dash, prance or in the case of Pinkie, bounce. The clouds themselves were already surpassed once they would rush upwards. Everything about this stairway felt safe with how no one felt like they could slip or fall at any moment. Ash felt the cloud pass through him before then running above them. For anypony with wings, this wasn't anything special. But what would be special was the eventual arrival in space.
Far from home by this point, Delia Ketchum wished her son the best of luck. After all, he was heading back to space for the second time in a row. She knew that this was the day to grant that special wish but something about it all felt mystical to her. All she could do was wait while staring at her family picture.
Everyone across both worlds would get along with their days while still anticipating the wish to come through. They weren't sure what they would see once it was granted. Would they even notice anything different? They just had to wait and see how it would all turn out. This went for every region and nation out there. Residents from Pegalysium would view the stairway at a higher point, spotting Ash's group in the distance with all of their neon Rift-Resistant Suits.
And of course, Pinnaculum Pegalysium would take notice, especially Second Wind. From her balcony, she would watch the stairway and nothing more. The Grand Queen chose not to do anything about this knowing that her greatest enemies were on it. After all, without Pokemon, her plans could potentially falter after all her hard work.
From Ghetsis' Castle, he would also allow this to happen. Aside from the Dread League who were still recovering from the Pokemon Festival, everyone wanted this wish to happen. Ghetsis himself wished that he could see Jirachi for his own wishes but alas, the pulses said otherwise. And yet, it didn't bother him at all. A smile graced his face as he was very much looking forward to this.
Eventually, they would reach outer space as Ash couldn't even feel his body leaving the stratosphere thanks to the suit he was wearing. No one could. But they could still feel the shift in gravity. Upon arriving in outer space, Ash could finally gain a clearer view of the stars themselves.
The way they glistened was just as beautiful as the stairway he stood in. Everyone took a moment to take it all in. Rarity's wish of stargazing around the stars finally came true as it was truly a fitting time for it to come true. Various shooting stars would pass by for them to view, heading in different directions to different galaxies.
"Ooohoo!" Once Pinkie Pie bounced, she would feel herself floating for a bit, gaining air-time. Then again, there wasn't any air here. "Look at me!"
"Just a bit more and we'll get there," Jackie said before appearing above everyone else. "And by now, those pulses should come through."
Indeed, right on cue, the Rift Pulses could be seen approaching. Constantly flaring out of the white passageway, these pulses would race across the stairway, reaching Ash's group. Now, it was the moment of truth. It was time for them to see just how effective suits could be Ash put his hands up to block the incoming pulse, bracing for impact as well as everyone else.
All of that hard work paid off as the suits along with the Technomagic barrier had shielded them all from the pulse. The Rift Energy had no effect on them.
"Huh...We're still here!" Rainbow Dash looked at herself, seeing that she was in one piece. Everything was still in place and not a single body part was lost, torn, shredded, etc. "They work!"
"Thank goodness...I feared I would've become space debris." A relieved Rarity sighed before lying on the stairway for a bit.
"Now isn't the time to rest." Luna would stand over her. "Now that we know the suits work, let's get going."
"Race ya to the top!" Ash ran ahead, issuing a race. Indulging in this would be Pikachu, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Mew. Since the pulses wouldn't affect they could freely run as much as they want until they reached the passageway.
"Wait up, Ash!" Rainbow Dash would leave a rainbow streak in the cosmos, moving slightly slower since she hadn't yet gotten used to the gravity of space.
"Oh...This is the highest we've ever been. Minus the tower." Fluttershy would look back, gazing at the beautiful blue planet known as Earth. "Do you think we could build something else in space if we ever come back up here?"
"Why would we ever have to come back here?" Luna questioned. "After Jirachi grants our wish, that will be it."
"Well...what about those aliens we found out about?" Applejack brought up the aliens that existed somewhere in this universe. "We could just try and find 'em. But I'd stay out of that one."
They would continue to climb, viewing the Minior that would fly by. From this height, they could even spy the other planets in the distance. The voice of Arceus would only grow as the researchers were estimating how much time it would take for them to reach the passageway. At the rate they were going, only a few minutes.
With Rift Radars at their disposal, they would see how much Rift Energy was starting to rapidly increase the closer they went. And most definitely, once they enter that passageway, it would be at an all-time high. Already, the radar was starting to vibrate with each step.
After climbing these cosmic stairs, they finally reached it. The white passageway in the stars. Beyond there, the dimension where every single Jirachi was trapped in would be found. Jackie would be the first to stand before the passageway while everyone would stay back.
"From this point, we'll be hit with a lot of Rift Pulses so get ready." Jackie tightened his Rift-Resistant gloves. "To those who can use magic, it'd be nice if we had a third layer of protection just in case. We've only learned about what's coming from the outside. But on the inside...we might have a problem."
"It's okay if you go ahead first." Fluttershy gulped, fearing what would happen to her if she were to enter.
"If anything goes wrong but if you also manage to see Jirachi, shout out your wish," Jackie suggested. "After all, I'm pretty sure all the Jirachi want to leave already. When we make that wish, it should reset their positions and send them back to their own universes, except the ones we have. Not sure how many Jirachi our world has though."
"We're right behind you, Jackie," Ash reassured that Jackie had full support from his workmates and friends.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Thanks. Alright..." Jackie took a deep breath before starting strong in front of the passageway. Just looking at it felt like he was ascending to another plane that was far beyond his own. The sound of the Rift Pulses and the stairway only accentuated that.
He would take a simple step forward, placing his hand directly through the passageway. It felt warm when his arm passed through as if something was embracing him, welcoming him even. Right as he touched the white passageway, his body was instantly sucked in with a white flash being left behind. Rift Particles would fly out as Jackie's own gasp and scream was barely even heard after being pulled in.
"Jackie?!" Ash gasped as in the blink of an eye, Jackie was gone. The particles didn't fade out. Instead, they would Instinctively, Ash would rush in to check up on Jackie.
"Ash, wait!" Twilight would lean in, too late to stop Ash from entering the passageway. He would instantly vanish as well. She held herself back after seeing Ash's body vanish into the light with minimal sound. The young alicorn would immediately hesitate despite being eager to see Jirachi.
"What happened to them?!" Fluttershy gasped. "Are they alright!?"
"The light just sucked them in the moment they touched it. They didn't even have the option to force themselves in." Luna shuddered.
"Pika...Pikachu!" Pikachu wouldn't hesitate. Instead, he would also run in, putting his best friend first before any horrific force out there. Pikachu would also be sucked in by the white light. The researchers didn't anticipate this. No one did. The fact that the light forced them in was a worrying sight indeed.
"Well...we came here knowing the risks. Another dimension is waiting for us past there after all." Celestia said before walking up to the white passageway. She would take on whatever was waiting for her beyond this passageway. Luna felt the same way, joining her sister.
Everyone else would soon follow. If they wanted to see Jirachi, they had to go through it. Twilight would swallow her fear before flying in, joining the light. Then, the Rangers would also head in along with the researchers. One after the other, they would all enter the passageway, facing whatever fears might from this. Very soon, all would be sucked in by the light, vanishing from space completely.
Another Dimension.
"Huh?" Twilight would slowly open her eyes after being blinded by the white passageway. Upon opening them, a brand new sight came to her. The first thing she saw as an assortment of stars that were littered everywhere. However, it didn't appear like outer space. Instead, there was an ethereal aura that was constantly flowing everywhere, making up the background as it resembled the outside of the 18 Realms. Twilight got a better look at this place as there was nothing here, apart from a golden pathway.
The Golden Stairway managed to reach past the passageway, entering this dimension as its length was longer than what everyone originally expected. In this dimension, there was no sound at all. Arceus' voice could no longer be heard. There wasn't a howl or anything of the sort. Only the voices of Twilight and everyone else.
The dimension itself also appeared to be both flat and robust at the same time, confusing the eyesight of anyone who would try and understand it clearly.
"Is everyone alright?" Celestia asked, finding herself completely fine without a scratch. All she could feel was a slight tremble from how hard the light pulled her in.
"Yeah. Doing fine here." Ash spoke. "But check it out. the stairway goes further...And this place is so dreamy..."
"Jirachi can float so it would be fine here. But to those who cannot float and would soon come here, the stairway was probably extended to this point until we find the Jirachi." Luna theorized.
"They're in here somewhere, right? Let's just call for them." Pinkie Pie held her breath in, ready to shout as loud as she could. "HEY! JIRACHI! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
But there wasn't a response so far. Pinkie Pie's shout wouldn't even echo within this dimension. Most forms of sound were cut out, especially echoes. For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence. No one would respond and no one would approach.
"Maybe they're further ahead," Ash replied before advancing of the remainder of this stairway. But the second he would go any further, that's when more of the Rift Pulses had been revealed. In here, the pulses were at their maximum and the first wave would already show powerful they were.
The pulse would fly past Ash and Pikachu, making them stop in their tracks. The duo would feel themselves shake for a bit, growling quietly. "P-Pi...!"
"Are you two alright?!" Fluttershy exclaimed before soon feeling the pulse's aftershock. She and many others would flinch at this.
"I thought these suits were made to ignore this stuff!" Rainbow Dash added before feeling another pulse come through.
"Yeah, but we only managed to solve it from the outside! On the inside, it looks like they're strong enough to still affect us!" Jackie explained as this certainly threw a wrench in their plans. But it wasn't enough to stop them. "We need to keep moving or else we might run out of time with these suits."
"Hold up...what's that over there?!" Suddenly, Applejack would notice something forming in the distance. One of the pulses would abruptly freeze before reshaping into something. A burst of nova energy would suddenly be formed, creating a different energy source on the spot. Afterwards, this burst of nova energy would fire out as a spiralling beam, going straight for Ash's group.
"Is that a nova?!" Twilight, Celestia and Luna would collectively say. This transient astronomical beam would beautifully illuminate this dimension but there was nothing beautiful about what it could do to everyone.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuuu!" Even when wearing a suit, Pikachu could still unleash his attack without damaging it. 100,000 volts would meet with the nova beam, clashing with it for a bit. Pikachu found himself entering a small struggle with the nova beam that made him visibly strain before managing to overpower it. "P-Pika...!"
"That was an entire nova...what else is here?" Luna shuddered after witnessing this astronomical element in this dimension. Clearly, there was more to this place than just a prison for the Jirachi.
"I don't want to wait and find out." Celestia stepped forward, putting up a barrier around everyone. "Let's keep moving."
If they wanted to avoid any other elements that would threaten them, moving along without stopping was the best option. And so they ran, flew and dashed as fast as they could while having the large barrier around them. The researchers were unfortunately not as fast as them, trying their best to keep up.
"It's going to be so worth it once we finish researching this place!" One of them was almost out of breath, risking it all just to learn about this dimension.
"Jackie! Do you see anything ahead?!" A fellow ranger asked.
"I see something, alright!" Not a minute later and this dimension already threw more at them. Materializing within this dimension was an emission of spatial energy. Distortions in this dimension would form up, continuously combusting with compressed cosmic energy.
Some of these bombs would fly over, raining down on Celestia's barrier. The compressed energy of cosmic power would suddenly teleport parts of Celestia's shield once they connected, destroying it in unique ways.
"Impossible! It's transporting parts of my shield away?!" Celestia was naturally flabbergasted by what these bombs were doing. Her response was to quickly repair the barrier as fast as she could before it could be completely obliterated.
"Explosive teleporations?! So cool!" Ash couldn't help but be amazed by this form of power. The concept of cosmic bombs that would teleport anything away upon combusting was outlandish and wonderful. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie felt the same way but perhaps now was not the best time to be amazed. The bombs would take out more pieces of Celestia's shield as if it was a jigsaw puzzle. Not only that, but bombs would then start slicing apart Celestia's barrier, finding new ways to damage it constantly.
"Dazzling Gleam!" At the same time, Twilight and Celestia would shout out, prompting their Pokemon to retaliate. Rainbow rays would fly out of the two Psychic-Types, retaliating against this cosmic anomaly. This allowed them advance once more. But there was still more to come.
They would move along the pathway, witnessing how this dimension's energy would react to them, threatening to rid them from this place. The dimension would pressure them with these pulses as the further they went, the stronger the pulses became.
Celestia's shield would feel this ever increasing power as it was starting to fail. Luna and Twilight would add their strengto to the shield, attempting to keep it stable at all costs. The gravity around them was suddenly starting to change. The barrier would feel a heavy gravity press down on it, slowing everyone's movements down.
"Now it's gravity...?!" Twilight groaned once the gravitational pressure got to her. Many would get on their knees or lie on the stairway, struggling to press on. The pulses were even starting to break down on the Technomagic aura.
"I can't...move!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "Darn it!"
"My bones feel so brittle right now!" Rarity grimaced before lying on her back to try and ease the incoming pain. But that was easier said than done.
"It's fine....I had my experience with gravity and my parents already sorted this one out." Luckily, Luna was exempt from this after what her parents graced her. Thanks to her conflict with Empress Twilight, her resistance to gravitational effects had kicked in, allowing the Princss of the Night to move freely compared to everyone else.
With her freedom, Luna would then unleash a flash of magic from her horn. This flash would interact with the pressure, combating against it. The gravity field would be blown away by Luna's magic, giving everyone the chance to keep moving. But in response to Luna breaking away the field, an Ionic wave would fly out of the dimension, threatening to shock her from behind.
Darkrai would say otherwise, intercepting this ionic wave with Dark Pulse. Right in the nick of time as the wave moved fast enough to nearly outpace Darkrai's reaction. However, it seemed as though the effects were only getting worse as the novas would return, greater than ever. Celestia's barrier was starting to wain at this point, struggling to keep all of this at bay. The cosmic powers were staggeringly potent as expected.
"Oh...Oh!" As for the Pokemon Rangers and Researchers, they would feel their Technomagic protection crack down first. The pressure from the pulses reached a point where it started pushing them back. Unable to keep their balance, some of the rangers and researchers would be sent flying, screaming at the top of their lungs along the way.
"Hey!" Jackie swivelled to see his workmates fly off, moving to the back of the stairway. The Technomagic around their suits were hanging on by a thread and very soon, they all lose their first layer of protection. But before that, the pulses could potentially force everyone out. It already did so the Researchers and Rangers.
They found themselves being forced out of the dimension, flying through the white passageway. They were unable to stop this as the Canterlot Guards would be threatened by this as well and soon even Celestia's major friend group wouldn't be exempt from this pressure.
"At this rate, it could force us out before we have the chance to reach Jirachi!" Celestia bellowed. "Fluttershy! Do you hear the Jirachi?!"
"I...I hear something up ahead!" Fluttershy would focus as hard as she could on specific sounds, ignoring the cosmic attacks that the dimension was throwing at her friend and everyone here. "Multipel cries...I think that's them!"
"So we're getting there. No time to stop and let this get the best of us! We'll beat out these attacks then! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Eve, use Psychic!"
"Passion, use Plasma Bolt!"
"Darkrai, use Dark Pulse!"
"Go, Mew! Use Aura Sphere!"
The only five Pokemon that were here would combined their attacks to fend off this cosmic barrage. 100,000 Volts, a mental blast, a bolt of pure plasma, a beam embedded with dark thoughts and a sphere of concentrated Aura would fly. A cosmic outburst would emerge from this chain reaction, blowing away Celestia's barrier entirely. Even the combined might of Twilight and Luna couldn't sustain it for much longer.
The shockwave from the explosion would only correlate with the pulses, foricinv everyone further away from their goal. The Canterlot Guards would be launched, being the next to take the effects of this dimension. But they all had each other's backs, holding onto the stairway while their hooves were connected.
"I...can't...!" Fluttershy was especially struggling to keep this up. The first protection around her suit would fizzle out as she was almost blown away, only to be caught by Rainbow Dash.
"Gotcha!" Rainbow Dash still had the strength to keep herself steady as she would pull Fluttershy back in. But even Rainbow Dash would suffer this breakdown.
Celestia felt her body pulsate as it was then hit with a nebulous pulse. These cosmic attacks would start coming everywhere now, only growing in abundance. Passion would get in front of her, using Psychic to create a new shield, only for that shield ot be relentlessly bombarded by a bombadier of photons.
The photons would flash violently, affecting the eyes of those who would look into it. Applejack unfortunately gzed into the photons as her helmet barely protected her from it. "Gaah!" Applejack yelled as her vision had been obscured, making her stumble.
A photon stream of destruction would follow suit, breaking apart Passion's shield, only for Darkrai to intercept it with Thunderbolt. But even Darkrai couldn't keep this up. Twilight would suddenly be pushed off the stairway, as a burst of nebulas would reach her. Espeon gasped before being pushed back by a Rift Pulse, unable to save Twilight in time.
But Ash managed to do so. He would quickly grab her hoof, parenting her from being forced off the stairway as right behind her, a flare of photons nearly caught her. "Ash!"
"Pikachu! Shield us with Counter Shield!"
"Pika...Pikachu!" Pikachu would create a barrier of electricity by getting on his back and emitting a flare of lightning. With a rapid spin, he would form a shield that knocked away incoming photons and novas, giving Ash enough time to pull Twilight back onto the stairway.
"If this keeps up, we could all be blown out of the dimension." Twilight panted. "We need to find Jirachi now or else our protection will vanish for good."
"That won't happen! Passion!" Celestia's eyes flared up as she and Passion would stand beside each other. Inside Celestia's suit, her crown would suddenly trigger the Mega Stone within. This was thanks to Celestia using her magic to interact with it without needing to touch the Keystone. She wasn't about to Mega Evolve Gardevoir. Instead, she would fuse with her once more.
The two of them would face a massive ball of nova energy that would come flying in along with photon rays. Jackie braced himself for the worst before seeing two golden beams pass by him. These beams were Celestia and Gardevoir, flying directly at the nova. And in unison, right as they reached the nova sphere, the two bodies of light would combine, fusing them.
Out came Celestial-Gardevoir. Even in this form, her suit remained, moulding and matching the appearance of this fused being. With her stellar power, she would grab the nova bomb, stopping it from crashing into the stairway and eveyrone else on it. Her light would radiate beautifully in response to holding the bomb. The light rays from her body would then pierce the nova, diminishing its power while also intercepting the photon rays.
"Go on ahead!" Celestial-Gardevoir looked down at everyone else. "Reach Jirachi with all the time you can get! Don't say anything else!"
"O-Okay!" Twilight stuttered as Celestial-Gardevoir would choose to keep everything else threatening at bay with all that she could. In this state, she was the strongest entity here by far, so her strength was to be trusted. Ash and everyone else would advance once Celestial-Gardevoir brought them some time.
But she wouldn't be alone. The moment a spiral of photons would fly in, trying to catch her off guard, Luna and Darkrai would be there to intercept this. They didn't go ahead at all.
"As if I'd let you stay behind." Luna said to Celestial-Gardevoir. "We refuse to do so."
"Luna...Darkrai..." Celestial-Gardevoir would gawk as the remaining Canterlot Guards would also assist her, standing by their ruler to the bitter end. "Oh, I should've seen this coming. But I'm glad you're here with me. Make way for Ash and everyone until they make it to Jirachi!"
Celestial-Gardevoir would then mix her Plasma Bolt with Equestrian Magic, forming an incadescent beam that would be thrown at a crescent shaped cosmic bombarded. The bombardment would be plentiful, raining down at outstanding speeds which would force Celestial-Gardeovir, Luna and Darkrai to keep up with what they had.
The crescents would then expand in both size and numbers, pressuring them. Celesital-Gardevoir would choose to push herself once more for the sake of the future. She didn't care about her own safety at this point. Luna used every ounce of Lunar Ire's Magic and her own standard magic against the crescents which would soon combust around each other.
Seeing that the outburst was starting to grow, the guards would attempt to shield their rulers with their own bodies, only to have the pulses blown them away. The Canterlot Guards could not reach them at all, joining the other rangers and researchers and heading back to the white passageway.
As the combustion greew, Celestial-Gardevoir, Luna and Darkrai would be enveloped in a galactic light. And even when the light was approaching, they would continue to try and fend it off. But piercing the light was none other than a quasar ray. This ray would hit Celestial-Gardevoir square in her chest when she least expected it. The light perfectly masked this quasar, making it difficult to even detect.
"Sister!" Luna would cry out her name before being struck by the quasars as well. Darkrai was not exempt from this as he would get a taste of the quasars. Knocked off balance, they would find themselves being covered by the light.
The same went for everyone else. Fluttershy could hear the cries the further she went but at this rate, she might not even see the Jirachi. The quasars would appear before Ash's group, rushing along the Golden Stairway. This luminous active galactic nucleus would roar before growing to a staggering size, almost resembling a mouth.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Dazzling Gleam!"
"Pikachuuuu!" Pikachu and Espeon would attack this quasar wave, keeping it at bay. However, the quasars would suddenly multiply at stupendous speeds, pressuring Pikachu and Espeon to keep this up.
The quasars would then scatter, diverging into smaller yet still potent attacks try and surprise everyone. Jackie noticed one of these quasars coming after Rarity and Applejack as he would swiftly grab them both "I got you!" By the skin of his teeth, Jackie saved them from these quasars that would then fly by.
However, without looking behind him, Jackie received a hit from more quasars, damaging his Technomagic protection as he would drop Rarity and Applejack. Rarity and Applejack would also find themselves being by these galactic nuclei. The Technomagic protection around them would break apart, failing to sustain forever.
"Applejack! Rarity!" Ash cried out before ducking a quaser. "Jackie!"
"I can hear them...The Jirachi are close!" Just then, Flutteershy could hear a more audible Jirachi cry. It was clearer to her than before. But her distance from them would be rejected as Fluttershy's Technomagic shield would be obliterated. "Gh!"
"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash would attempt to catch Fluttershy once more, only to be hit by an incoming nova strike from above. The pegasus would find herself being shot out of the air, tumbling on the stairway as her protection was removed as well.
"Mew!" Mew turned himself into a Pokemon large enough to protect them all. And of course, his usual favourite, Lugia was his main pick. The New Species Pokemon emerged as Lugia, using his massive body as a shield.
Bt that only made him more vulnerable to the destructive capabilities of this dimension. As Lugia, Mew took a barrage of Nova rays before he could use an attack. Everyoen was struggling to keep it together. These cosmic were greater than what they've faced before, putting them all on the back foot.
And with this constant expulsion of pulses, the Technomagic around each suit would break apart, making way for the second protective force. The suits themselves. Pinkie Pie could feel herself stagger and shake without any way to avoid it. Mew would fall over as a Lugia, returning to his original form, unable to handle each crushing attack. Seemingly, no one could.
"Jirachi...!" Ash would growl, looking into the cosmic storm that stood in his way. Very soon, his techonmagic protection would break apart as well.
Kanto. Pallet Town. Afternoon.
Waiting for her son to return was Delia. .She would sit patiently, gazing at the blue skies and anticipating some sort of universal reaction that would signify the successful wish.
She also thought about Ash, putting her hands together to pray for his safety. After all, her son has been in the most amount of danger to date. She has seen him go through so much and overcome so much. A part of her should feel safe knowing that he could overcome whatever was thrown at him but another part feared that his limits would catch up and overtake him.
Delia couldn't do much about it. No one could. Not even Ash's father. At this moment, Delia missed him more than ever, hoping that Ash would still be here and meet with his father once more. Delia's heart would tense up as a bad feeling rushed through her.
"Ash..." Delia's bad feeling correlated with Ash. Her prayers would continue as she let the silence consume her. Right now, silence is what she needed.
Another Dimension.
Back at the dimension, with their protective Technomagic aura gone, Rainbwo Dash and the others would be carried away, unable to keep steady. All remaining POkemon Rangers, including Jackie would end up the same.
"N-Not like this!" Rainbow Dash yelled before having her voice fade in the background.
"T-Twilight...Ash!" Fluttershy cried out as she would fly off with them. Rarity and pplejack would follow suit, doing their best to hold onto the stairway, only to fail.
"Guys!" Ash cried out for all them before seeing Twilight starting to slip and nearly succumb to the powerful pushback.
"Ash...!" Twilight yelled as she witnessed Espeon fly off. The Princess of Friendship was seemingly next as her own magical power wasn't enough to keep her in one place. "I don't think we can make it at this point...It's too much! Far more than what we expected! This amount of RIft nergy is too large for us, I'm afraid..."
Twilight feared that this was as far as they would go. No matter what, this dimension always had something for everyone, harming them in various ways. And yet, the distance from them to the Jirachi was unclear. Though Fluttershy said they were close, they might never be that close with all of this cosmic energy
"No way!" But Ash greatly refused. He refused to believe that it was too much and it was impossible. "We've come this far...And we promised everyone we'd make things right. Turning back and letting the Rift win just won't slide!"
"Pika-Pi..."
"If the Rift wants to stop us at all costs then fine! But I'll make sure there's a future where everyone can meet up again!" Putting his well-being on the line, Ash would exude Ara from his body while summoning Sir Aaron's staff. The staff would enlarge in his arm, flowing with a stellar amount of Aura. "Sir Aaron...help me out here!"
Gripping the staff with all of his might, Ash would try and perform hat he did back at the other Rift Dmension. An outburst o Aura. He was going all in for this, ready to face Delayed Aura Ataxia at its worst.
"Ash! Don't!" Twilight yelled before slowly slipping away from the stairway.
"Here goes!" Ash roared as the azure colours from his Aura would explode with an amazing light. This whole place was made up of Rift Energy after all. So what better way to attack it than to use its greatest weakness. Aura.
The Aura would expand out of Ash's body in the shape of a sphere, meeting with the Rit Pulses. The pulses would find themselves being erased once they came in contact with the Aura. The novas would crash into the sphere, raining down on it to try and pierce through. Ash pushed himself, allowing his Aura to increase even further.
HIs eyes flashed blue as his suit was starting to break down. This wasn't done by the Rift Energy but by his own power. The Technomagic around him would be blown away by the sheer force of his Aura exploding out of him, removing the first layer of protection. Twilight looked in awe of Ash's erupting Aura before being pulled away by the dimension.
"P-Pika...!" Pikachu was up next as the dimension started trembling in response to Ash's power. Any cosmic attacks were suddenly halted or even interrupted by the flow of Aura that was flying out. The e quasers would fly in to try an stop Ash, repeatedly battering his sphere.
Some would even start piercing through, striking Ash's suit. Ash would growl and grimace at the piercing pain that rained down on him. His suit would take most of the hits but his real body still feel the impact. It truly felt like an entire galaxy was being thrown at him. He couldn't describe it at all but he wouldn't let it slow him.
The dimension would then gain an azure ambience as the cosmic storm up ahead would start shattering. Through the white passageway, the Aura would start to flare out, illuminating parts of space. Ash's screams would erase all silence in this strane dimension as his helmet was blown off.
The only thing protecting him now was the Aura. Sir Aaron's Staff could even be seen cracking as even it wasn't truly indestructible when facing all of this.Ash closed his eyes, feeling his body react in a horrific way. He would even feel his heart accelerate as the Aura would maintain it with all that it had.
To try and stop this, the dimension would then unleash a mixture of Novas, Quasars, Photons and various other comsic elements to try and stop Ash Ketchum. This would then become supernova of cosmic elements that would soon match Ash's gigantic Aura Sphere.
Ash gazed at the Galactic Supernova and yet that awasn't enough to scare him. Nothing was enough to scare him now. Not when so much was on the line.
He thought back to the day he and Twilight first met when their paths crossed. It was a rather humorous encounter as both would react in ways they only knew how. He could remember it all clearly.
"In the meantime, I have a few questions for you... uhh."
"My name is Ash Ketchum."
"Ash Ketchum...What kind of a name of is that?"
"Well, what's yours then?"
"Twilight Sparkle."
"I'm not giving it all up...Not ever! Without all my friends here to support me...I can't become a Pokemon Master!" And with that final eruption from his voice, his Aura would peak. It was higher than what he had ever done. Een higher than Victini gave him.
The Cosmic Storm along with the Galactic Supernova would be overwhelmed, losing to the Aura. There would be an outburst of eight different explosions with different sounds. The sounds were impossible to comprehend as a multitude of colours would flash by faster than anyone could see.
And faster than anyone could comprehend, the entire dimension would be enveloped in this azure light, even reaching outside. Ash would find himself being caught up in his own light as well as everything felt silent from the overwhelming pressure affecting his ears.
It all died down.
The explosion of Aura and Cosmic Energy would come to an end, seemingly leaving this dimension in one piece. Ash himself was floating in this vast dimension, seemingly unconscious. But he hung in there as Sir Aaron's staff, which had been greatly damaged, would fly out of his grasp.
Ash was currently alone now as the Aura particles would fly everywhere, showcasing how hard he pushed himself. The Delayed Aura Ataxia would soon take him, meaning that he would pass out in this dimension. And withe everyone else out of his sight and with no sign of any cosmic energy trying to ake him away, Ash wouldn't be forced out
However, that was when something else appeared before him. Right above him, a bright and divine light would beautifully appear, giving Ash some time to gaze at it. And out of that light, a familiar figure would appear. The figure that mattered more than anyone and the one who would bring about that shining future.
Jirachi.
"JIrachi..." Ash uttered as he was the first to see and reach Jirachi. But this wasn't just any Jirachi.
"Ash!" Calling out his name, this Jirachi would recognize Ash, flying to his aid. But it wasn't just this one. Grabbing the staff and preventing it from drifting endlessly was another Jirachi. All of them flocked here. "Ash! Ash!" Are you alright?!"
"Hey...Jirachi..." Ash smiled with a weakened voice. He would be met by billions and billions of Jirachi who would hold him up and surround him, amazed to see someone else here that wasn't a Jirachi. "Ugh..."
"Ash. I knew you'd come for me." Jirachi softly smiled. This very Jirachi was the one whe knew back in his adventures in Hoenn. "I never lost hope."
"T-That's...great..." Ash's voice was starting to weaken some more as his consciousness was slowly slipping. "I came here to do two things...save you all...and help everyone back home. Jirachi. Please grant my wishes..."
"We're listening, Ash." All the Jirachi would gladly listen to whatever wish he had to say. Ash had to make it quick otherwise he would pass out.
"I wish to unnify both worlds. I want to keep them forever and maintain these bonds...And I wish...for you all toe be free."
"Is there anything else?" All the Jirachi were satisfied with what they heard. One of them involved their freedom. finally, someone could speak a wish that would grant them happiness. And together, their bodies would all glow as it would be a unified wish. Fitting, for what was coming soon.
"I Wish..." Before he could speak his next wish, he passed out as the light from every Jirachi would envelop this endless dimension.
There was only peace now. Peace in the form of this incadecent light. All those who were forced out would witness the light as well as it would farther than Ash's Aura. The universe itself would be graced with the light of Jirachi. An abundance of them.
In the matter of seconds, the universe, both universes, would meet with the light in the skies. Everyone from all sides looked up to witness their world being caught up in yet another global-enveloping light. Or in this case, a universal enveloping light. No one would say a word. They would only stay quiet, mesmerized by what they saw. And with a smile on her face, Delia Ketchum could stand up, looking proud and at peace.
Right now, for this moment, peace was all that would eixst.
